Oct 23, 2023 Design

MINUTES, AND THIS WAS FROM OUR, OUR DESIGN COMMISSION MEETING ON AUGUST 28TH.

AND OUR NEXT ITEM IS THE APPROVAL OF

[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]

DO I HAVE A MOTION? I MOTION TO APPROVE? I HAVE A SECOND.

WE GOT A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER HOWARD AND A FIRST ON MCKINNEY.

IT'S A STAFF BRIEFING, UH, STAFF BRIEFING REGARDING THE TRANSPORTATION ELECTRI ELECTRIFICATION PLAN.

UM, PARDON ME.

UM, WE'LL HAVE TO TAKE A VOTE FOR THE MINUTES.

OH, GOTCHA.

ALRIGHT, DO WE DO ALL APPROVE? MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.

ALL.

IS EVERYBODY VOTED? THERE WE GO.

STAFF

[2. Staff briefing regarding the Transportation Electrification Plan. Presented by Cameron Freberg, Austin Energy]

BRIEFING.

STAFF BRIEFING REGARDING THE TRANSPORTATION ELECTRIFICATION PLAN, UH, PRESENTED BY CAMERON FREEBURG OF AUSTIN ENERGY.

HELLO, CAMERON? UH, YEAH.

AND THIS IS THE PROBABLY MOST RELEVANT TO ME, IS THE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE THAT IS NEEDED TO SUPPORT THAT KIND OF GROWTH.

THERE WAS ONE BUTTON THAT SAID PUSHED.

I FIGURED THAT OUT.

GOOD .

UM, SO GOOD EVENING.

UH, MY NAME IS CAMERON FREEBERG.

I AM THE MANAGER OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES FOR AUSTIN ENERGY.

UM, SO TONIGHT WE'LL BE GOING OVER HOW TRANSPORTATION ELECTRIFICATION FITS INTO THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, AS WELL AS SOME UPDATES ON, UH, THINGS THAT WE ARE WORKING ON AS WELL AS SOME OF OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS AS WELL.

AND I BELIEVE I HAD 15 MINUTES JUST TO CLARIFY THAT, JUST TO MAKE SURE I DO NOT RAMBLE OVER.

UM, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

SO, I, FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO KIND OF JUST GIVE A LITTLE BACKGROUND, UH, FOR THOSE THAT MIGHT NOT BE COMPLETELY FAMILIAR WITH THE, THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN OR THIS COMPONENT OF IT.

SO A FEW YEARS AGO, THE SUSTAINABILITY OFFICE LED AN EFFORT, UH, AS THE CLIMATE.

IT WAS THE CLIMATE ACTION PLAN UPDATE, WHICH BECAME THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.

THERE WERE SEVERAL KEY AREAS THAT WERE ADDRESSED IN TERMS OF EMISSION REDUCTIONS THROUGHOUT OUR CITY TO INCLUDE HOW WE ADDRESS TRANSPORTATION AND LAND USE, HOW WE DO SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS, YOU KNOW, WASTE AND MATERIALS.

AND, UM, SPECIFICALLY FOR TONIGHT, WE WILL BE GOING OVER HOW TRANSPORTATION ELECTRIFICATION FITS INTO THAT ROADMAP OF GETTING TO, UH, NET ZERO GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS IN OUR CITY.

SO, UM, I GOTTA BE A PART OF THE WORKING GROUP FOR THIS AREA.

AND THIS WAS A COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE THAT INCLUDED NOT JUST CITY STAFFERS, BUT ALSO COMMUNITY MEMBERS, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, UM, ACADEMIA ACROSS THE BOARD REPRESENTATION THROUGHOUT OUR CITY.

AND THERE WERE THREE MAIN AREAS THAT WERE IDENTIFIED AS GOALS THAT WERE SET FORWARD IN THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN FOR TRANSPORTATION, ELECTRIFICATION, UH, THE FIRST ONE BEING ON HOW MANY VEHICLES WE GET HERE, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, UM, HOW MANY VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED ARE DONE ON AN ELECTRIC PLATFORM HERE.

SO YOU'LL SEE AT THE END OF THIS GOAL, UM, WE CALL OUT AROUND 460,000 ELECTRIC VEHICLES IF IT, IF IT, UM, YEAH, IT'S BROKEN OUT THERE, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, IT'S AROUND HAVING 40% OF OUR VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED IN AUSTIN, BE ON ELECTRIC PLATFORM.

AND THE REASON WE TALK ABOUT IT THAT WAY IS BECAUSE WE DON'T WANNA FOCUS JUST ON THE INDIVIDUAL OWNING THE INDIVIDUAL CAR PARKED IN THEIR INDIVIDUAL GARAGE.

WE WANNA LOOK AT EVERYTHING FROM THE BUS DOWN TO THE ELECTRIC BIKE AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN, BECAUSE VEHICLE OWNERSHIP'S NOT THE SAME FOR EVERYBODY.

HOME OWNERSHIP AND WHERE YOU LIVE AND HOW YOU COULD CHARGE THESE IS NOT THE SAME FOR EVERYBODY.

SO WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE INCLUSIVE ACROSS, UM, ALL TECHNOLOGIES THAT FIT WITHIN ELECTRIFICATION.

THE SECOND GOAL IS REALLY FOCUSED AROUND,

[00:05:01]

SO, JUST TO PUT IN CONTEXT, WE ARE, YOU KNOW, AN OVER A MILLION CAR CITY HERE.

AND SO 40% VMT IS VERY SIGNIFICANT, AND THE AMOUNT OF CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDED TO SUPPORT THAT IS ALSO EXTREMELY SIGNIFICANT.

SO, UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT AROUND 37,000 CHARGING PORTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO SUPPORT ALL OF THIS ELECTRIFICATION, UM, FROM MY STANDPOINT AND THE ELECTRIC UTILITY ONE THAT'S AROUND 226 MEGAWATTS OF LOAD.

SO THAT IS A VERY SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF ELECTRICAL INFRASTRUCTURE THAT'S GONNA NEED TO GO INTO SUPPORTING THIS.

ALSO, IT'S A WAY FOR US TO QUANTIFY, YOU KNOW, SOME CHARGING IS MORE IMPACTFUL THAN OTHERS OF HOW MUCH SUPPORT CAN PROVIDE.

SO YOU'LL SEE WHAT WE CALL LEVEL ONE CHARGING THESE OUTLETS ON THE FLOOR.

THAT'S JUST 110 VOLT OUTLET CAN GET A LOT OF PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, SUPPORT.

A LOT OF CHARGING, UH, HABITS CAN SUPPORT A LOT OF CHARGING BEHAVIOR, BUT IT'S NOT THE RIGHT SPEED FOR EVERYBODY.

THERE'S ALSO, WHAT'S DC FAST CHARGING IS THE BIGGER, FASTER, STRONGER, YOU KNOW, LARGER, UH, CHARGING STATIONS THROUGHOUT THIS CITY THAT ARE AROUND, YOU KNOW, A HUNDRED TO 200 KILOWATTS OF LOADS.

SO THAT'S, THAT'S A LOT OF A POWER GOING THROUGH THESE KIND OF STATIONS.

SO WE WANNA BE ABLE TO MEASURE WHEN FASTER CHARGING GOES IN, HOW THAT CONTRIBUTES TOWARDS THIS GOAL AS WELL.

AND THE THIRD ONE, UH, IS REALLY FOCUSED AROUND US MAINTAINING A LEADERSHIP STATUS, UH, BOTH, YOU KNOW, AS A GOVERNMENT, BUT ALSO WITHIN THE INDUSTRY, UH, IN THE ELECTRIC TRANSPORTATION SECTOR.

AND I DO WANNA POINT OUT THERE ARE, UH, STRATEGIES UNDER EACH OF THESE GOALS.

I HAVE PUT THEM IN THE DECK.

SO WHEN THAT'S MADE AVAILABLE, YOU CAN, YOU CAN SEE THEM THERE.

UM, THEY'RE ALSO LISTED OUT ON THE SUSTAINABILITY OFFICES', UH, CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN DASHBOARD, BUT IT WAS JUST VERY GRANULAR TO GO THROUGH ALL THOSE.

BUT I AM GONNA TOUCH ON A FEW OF THOSE TODAY.

UH, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

SO, UH, THE PRESENTATION NIGHT, IT STEMS FROM A KIND OF A SERIES OF PRESENTATIONS AND, UM, AND IT GOES BACK TO THE, UH, PRESENTATION I GAVE TO THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE JUST A FEW MONTHS AGO.

AND THEY LEFT, THEY KIND OF WANTED ME TO LEAVE WITH SOME POINTING QUESTIONS.

SO I'VE USED THOSE AGAIN BECAUSE I THINK THEY'RE VERY, VERY RELEVANT TALKING POINTS TO TALK ABOUT SUCCESS WITHIN THIS PLAN.

BARRIERS AND WHERE LOW-HANGING FRUIT IS WITH TRANSPORTATION ELECTRIFICATION.

SO WE WANNA TALK ABOUT EMISSIONS EQUITY, SOME OF THE LOW-HANGING FRUIT, AS WELL AS SOME OF THE BARRIERS AND CHALLENGES.

AND, UH, THAT'S PERFECT.

SO PRETTY SIGNIFICANT NUMBERS.

OH, UH, PERFECTLY FINE.

UM, SO JUST TO SET THE LANDSCAPE HERE.

SO I MENTIONED WE'RE OVER AT A MILLION VEHICLES HERE, UH, IN TERMS OF JUST OVERALL VEHICLES, BUT RIGHT NOW WE HAVE JUST ABOUT 40,000 ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN OUR TERRITORY.

SO IN THE GREATER, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY REGION, WE HAVE 39,415.

THAT'S THE COUNT SO FAR.

THAT'S ROUGHLY 20% OF ALL THE ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN THE ENTIRE STATE OF TEXAS.

AND WE'RE SEEING FOR EVERY NEW VEHICLE THAT'S REGISTERED HERE, ABOUT 12% OF THEM ARE ELECTRIC.

I I STARTED DOING THIS WORK IN AUSTIN IN 2012, AND I REMEMBER WHEN WE PASSED, I BELIEVE IT WAS OUR 100TH EV.

AND SO I THOUGHT WE'D REALLY MADE IT THEN.

UH, BUT NOW WE'RE, UM, SEEING VERY, VERY SIGNIFICANT GROWTH AND SEEING A LOT OF MAKES AND MODELS COMING ON THE MARKET.

UH, PRETTY MUCH EVERY AUTO MANUFACTURER IS REPRESENTED HERE, BUT IT, I KNOW THE, UH, LETTERS ARE SMALL, BUT TESLA DOES HAVE A VERY SIGNIFICANT, UH, ADOPTION HERE IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN TONS OF THOSE AROUND TOWN.

SO, WHEN I TALK ABOUT HOW WE SUPPORT ELECTRIC TRANSPORTATION, I WANNA APPROACH IT FROM AR LENS, FROM AUSTIN ENERGY A LITTLE BIT JUST ON THE, THE KEY AREAS THAT WE FOCUS ON.

PRETTY MUCH EVERY PROJECT PROGRAM INITIATIVE, EVERYTHING WE DO FITS INTO ONE OF THESE FIVE CATEGORIES THAT WE WORK ON AND HOPEFULLY ALL CONTRIBUTING TOWARDS THOSE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN GOALS.

THE FIRST MANNER WE FOCUS ON CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, THEN WE GO INTO EQUITY, AFFORDABILITY, UH, FLEETS, NEW MOBILITY, OUTREACH AND EDUCATION.

AND THEN FINALLY, SINCE WE ARE THE ELECTRIC UTILITY, FIGURING OUT WHAT GRID INTEGRATION LOOKS LIKE AND HOW THESE VEHICLES INTERACT WITH THE ELECTRIC GRID.

AND I'LL GO INTO EACH ONE OF THESE JUST A LITTLE BIT DEEPER THROUGHOUT THE PRESENTATION.

BUT OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, UH, WE'RE SEEING MORE AND MORE INVESTMENT IN THAT AREA, MORE AND MORE PROVIDING THAT SUPPORT.

SO, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE, WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO SUPPORT THAT FOR A LITTLE OVER A DECADE, UH, THROUGHOUT AUSTIN.

UM, WE HAVE ABOUT 1600 CHARGING PORTS THAT AUSTIN ENERGY HAS EITHER INSTALLED OR WORKED WITH COMMERCIAL PARTNERS THROUGH INCENTIVES AND PROGRAMS TO GET ON A SINGLE NETWORK THAT WE PROVIDE THROUGHOUT THE CITY.

UM, THE GOOD NEWS IS, IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE'VE SEEN TONS OF, UH, PRIVATE SECTOR INVESTMENT IN THIS AREA AS WELL.

WE DON'T LOOK AT IT AS JUST WE'RE THE ONLY ONES PROVIDING IT.

WE WANT TO OWN THAT.

WE WANT TO A, PROVIDE THAT SERVICE, BUT ALSO REDUCE ANY KIND OF BARRIERS TO, UM, OTHER COMPANIES OR MANUFACTURERS COMING IN AND PROVIDING THAT SERVICE AS WELL.

I'D SAY FOR THE BETTER PART OF 10 YEARS, IT WAS KIND OF A TOUGH SELL AND THERE WAS NOT A LOT OF THAT INVESTMENT COMING HERE,

[00:10:01]

AND SO, WHICH IS GREAT TO SEE.

UM, WE ALSO, UM, HAVE EXPANDED A NETWORK OF, I MENTIONED THE DC FAST CHARGING.

UH, WE DID INCLUDE A NETWORK OF D 30 DC FAST CHARGERS THROUGHOUT AUSTIN AS WELL.

SO WHEN I TALK ABOUT DIFFERENT KINDS OF CHARGING, I MENTIONED LEVEL ONE, THAT'S MOSTLY WHAT PEOPLE HAVE AT HOME.

IT'S LIKE 110 VOLT OUTLET.

WE HAVE WHAT WE CALL LEVEL TWO CHARGING.

IT'S 240 VOLTS.

THERE'S A BUNCH IN THIS GARAGE RIGHT HERE.

THEY'RE ABOUT THIS TALL.

THEY CAN RECHARGE YOUR VEHICLE A LOT FASTER THAN 110 VOLT OUTLET, BUT STILL IT'S HOURS, NOT MINUTES.

AND THEN FINALLY IS DC FAST CHARGING WHERE, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE VERY LARGE, UH, LARGE MACHINES WITH LOTS OF POWER THROUGH 'EM, AND THAT'S WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT REFILLING AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE IN MINUTES AS OPPOSED TO HOURS.

SO WE'VE BEEN BUILDING OUT THAT FOR, UH, QUITE A WHILE.

AND WE ACTUALLY PUT IN FOR SOME GRANT FUNDING THROUGH THE US DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO GREATLY, UH, GREATLY EXPAND THAT IF AWARDED.

UM, SO WE'RE STILL WAITING ON, UH, AWARD FOR THAT ONE, BUT REALLY HOPEFUL THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO PUSH THAT INFRASTRUCTURE BUILD OUT.

THE MAINTENANCE SIDE ALONE, UH, AT THEIR SERVICE CENTERS AS WELL AS JUST ON FUEL COSTS FROM MAKING THAT TRANSITION.

WHEN WE TALK ABOUT EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY, OUR SECOND PILLAR HERE, THIS IS WHERE I WANT TO GET BEYOND JUST LIKE INDIVIDUAL CAR OWNERSHIP TOO.

UM, AND IT DOESN'T JUST INCLUDE INCENTIVES, BUT ALSO HOW WE ADDRESS CERTAIN AREAS, HOW WE ADDRESS CERTAIN PARTNERS, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, THINGS LIKE THAT.

SO WE LOOK AT THINGS BEYOND JUST INDIVIDUAL CAR OWNERSHIP AND REALLY PUSHING HOW WE CAN DO A E-BIKE ACCESS THROUGH BOTH PERSONAL OWNERSHIP AS WELL AS THROUGH SHARED MOBILITY OPTIONS.

UM, SO WE'VE HAD A PRETTY ROBUST E-BIKE REBATE FOR, FOR YEARS.

AND, UM, NOW THE MARKET FOR E-BIKES HAS TAKEN OFF A LOT TOO IN THE LAST COUPLE YEARS.

TECHNOLOGY'S GOTTEN A LOT BETTER.

THERE ARE A LOT MORE IN THE MARKET.

YOU SEE A LOT MORE OF THOSE, UH, THROUGHOUT AUSTIN.

SO AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS YEAR, WE ACTUALLY DOUBLED THAT REBATE AND INCLUDED A, UH, UP TO $1,300 REBATE FOR CAP CUSTOMERS.

NOW CAP IS OUR CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS. THAT'S WHAT THAT ACRONYM STANDS FOR.

SORRY, I WORK FOR UTILITY.

WE USE TONS OF ACRONYMS. UH, SO I HAVE TO BE MINDFUL OF THAT AT TIMES.

UM, SO WE, WE HAVE A, A STANDARD REBATE OF $600 FOR, UH, ANY CUSTOMER, AND THEN $1,300 FOR CAP CUSTOMERS.

AND WE'VE ALSO BEEN WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH CAPITAL METRO ON THEIR METRO BIKE EXPANSIONS.

UM, SO THERE'S A LOT OF INTEREST IN NOT JUST IN EXPANDING METRO BIKE THROUGHOUT AUSTIN, BUT EXPANDING METRO BIKE WITH ELECTRIC BIKE OPTIONS AND HAVING CHARGING KIOSKS THROUGHOUT THE CITY FROM THEIR, TO CONNECT ALL THE DIFFERENT, LIKE KINDS OF MOBILITY HUBS HERE.

SO, UH, WE WANNA LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST DIFFERENT OPTIONS OF EVS, BUT ALSO DIFFERENT OPTIONS IN TERMS OF HOW PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO USE THEM THROUGH EITHER A SHARED MODEL OR A PERSONALLY OWNED MODEL.

AND THEN ON THE SECOND ONE ON THE OUTREACH AND EDUCATION, OR SORRY, THE EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY PIECE IS, I JUST WANNA GIVE AN EXAMPLE OF SOME OF THE, UM, ONE OF THE PARTNERSHIPS THAT WE'VE DONE.

WE'VE WORKED WITH AISD THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS ON A PROGRAM THAT WE ACTUALLY ENDED UP, I THINK IT WAS TAGGED BY THEM, CALLED EVS FOR SCHOOLS, WHERE WE WORKED WITH AISD TO GET CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE INSTALLED AT THEIR SCHOOLS.

NOT JUST FOR, YOU KNOW, TEACHERS OR ANYBODY TO HAVE ACCESS TO CHARGING, BUT TO THAT IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF IT.

BUT ALSO, UH, CREATE A CURRICULUM, UM, THAT WE DEVELOPED WITH A PARTNER ECO RISE, WHERE THIS COULD BE AN EDUCATIONAL LIVING LAB.

SO WE HAVE THIS, THE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE THERE.

WE HAVE A CURRICULUM DEVELOPED SO IT CAN ACTUALLY BE TAUGHT IN SCHOOLS.

UM, AND WE'VE ACTUALLY EXPANDED THAT WELL BEYOND AUSTIN.

IT'S BECOME A MODEL FOR A LOT OF OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS OR ACTUALLY THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES, UH, FROM ECO RISE.

SO, UM, SO WE LOOK AT, WE LOOK AT THESE THINGS NOT JUST FROM A, YOU KNOW, PROGRAMS, WE'RE PROVIDING INCENTIVES, BUT ALSO MEANINGFUL OUTREACH AS WELL.

UM, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

ON THE THIRD PILLAR, I WANT TO, UH, JUST BRIEFLY DISCUSS FLEET'S NEW MOBILITY.

UH, THIS IS WHERE WE WORK QUITE CLOSELY WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN, AND THEY'RE DOING, UH, VERY GOOD WORK IN TERMS OF TRANSITIONING THEIR FLEET TO ELECTRIC.

UM, THEY HAVE OVER 275 ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN THEIR PERSONAL FLEET NOW.

AND THIS IS ONE OF THOSE AREAS, IF WE'RE GOING TO BE PROMOTING THIS, IF WE'RE GOING TO BE, YOU KNOW, DEVELOPING PROGRAMS ON IT AS A CITY, THEN OUR OPERATIONAL SIDE SHOULD PROBABLY REFLECT THAT AS WELL.

SO, UH, THE CITY OF AUSTIN FLEET'S MAKING THIS TRANSITION ALL WITH LIGHT DUTY VEHICLES AT THE MOMENT, AND THEN TRANSITIONING INTO MEDIUM AND HEAVY DUTIES AS MORE VEHICLES AS THESE, UH, MODELS BECOME AVAILABLE.

UM, SO YEAH, THE MARKET FOR LIKE LIGHT DUTY, LIKE NISSAN LEAFS, CHEVY BOLTS, VERY ROBUST.

THE, UH, ELECTRIC FIRETRUCK MARKET NOT AS ROBUST.

SO THAT'S PROBABLY WHY THESE ARE COMING FIRST AND WHY MEDIUM AND HEAVY DUTY WILL BE COMING SUBSEQUENTLY.

AND THE PROGRESS TO DATE HAS BEEN, UH, BETTER THAN EXPECTED.

WE PROJECTED, I BELIEVE IT WAS THREE AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS IN SAVINGS OVER A 10 YEAR PERIOD FOR THIS FIRST PUSH.

AND I THINK WE PROJECTED AROUND 330 EVS SO FAR BETWEEN FUEL AND MAINTENANCE DATA.

THEY'RE ALREADY AROUND 50% ABOVE THOSE SAVINGS.

UM, SO THEY'RE SEEING VERY SIGNIFICANT, UH, SAVINGS ON

[00:15:01]

UH, AND THEN JUST AS A, A LAST KIND OF NOTE THERE FOR THAT IS THROUGH THE PROCESS OF INSTALLING THE EV CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE AND CONVERTING THESE VEHICLES, WE'VE ACTUALLY, UH, GOTTEN A NEW QUICK TURNAROUND PERMIT FOR EV CHARGING.

UM, THAT MIGHT NOT SEEM AMAZING FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE, BUT SOMEONE THAT HAS TO DO A LOT OF CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS WITH, UH, PERMITTING, EV CHARGING, THAT IS A HUGELY, UM, BENEFICIAL THING TO HAVE WITHIN THE CITY.

UM, AND THEN SECONDARILY, I, SECONDLY, I WANNA TALK ABOUT THE WORK CAPITALS, METRO'S DOING, AND AUSTIN ENERGY WORKS DIRECTLY WITH THEM ON EVERYTHING FROM LIKE SOME OF THE TRANSPORTATION SIDE PLANNING TO GETTING THE SERVICE INFRASTRUCTURE INSTALLED FOR MAKING THEIR TRANSITION TO ELECTRIC BUSES.

SO THEY ARE, UM, THEY ALREADY, I BELIEVE, HAVE A DOZEN THAT ARE ALREADY IN OPERATIONS AND ANOTHER 200 OR SO MORE ON ORDER THAT THEY'RE TRANSITIONING TO THROUGH NOT JUST THE PASSAGE OF PROJECT CONNECT, BUT ALSO JUST SOME OF THEIR OWN INTERNAL SUSTAINABILITY PLANS THERE.

AND THEY DO HAVE A CHARGING DEPOT UP IN NORTH AUSTIN THAT WE GOTTA WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH THEM WITH ON DEVELOPING, AS THEY DID A REDESIGN OF A PARKING LOT.

WE WANTED TO ENSURE THAT IT DIDN'T JUST STAY A PARKING LOT, THAT IT BECAME A CHARGING LOT.

SO, UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

AND I APOLOGIZE.

I TALK REALLY FAST SOMETIMES.

SO, UH, ON THE THIRD, UH, NEXT PILLAR IS AROUND OUR OUTREACH AND EDUCATION SIDE OF THINGS.

AND THIS IS WHERE I THINK ONE OF THE BEST DOLLARS THAT CAN BE SPENT EDUCATION.

UM, I THINK WE CAN TYPICALLY FALL VICTIM TO, IF WE KNOW SOMETHING, WE ASSUME EVERYBODY ELSE KNOWS IT AS WELL, BUT, UM, WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE COGNIZANT OF THAT.

SO WE HAVE A FEW THINGS OUT THERE.

ONE BEING OUR EV BUYERS GUIDE, WHERE WE WORK WITH LOCAL DEALERSHIPS, UH, TO GET INVENTORY OF ALL THE NEW AND USED ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN THE AUSTIN AREA INTO A SINGLE BUYER'S GUIDE.

UM, SO THAT ALSO GIVES THE DEALERSHIPS AN AVENUE FOR PROMOTING THESE, UH, FROM BOTH THE U NEW AND USED MARKET.

UH, IT GIVES CUSTOMERS LOOKING AT THIS ACCESS TO THINGS LIKE INCENTIVES, CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, A LOT OF FAQS ABOUT HOW ALL THIS WORKS, UM, JUST WHAT THAT TRANSITION LOOKS LIKE.

UM, AND IT IS AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH.

AND WE'VE HAD THAT LIVE FOR A COUPLE YEARS NOW WITH, UH, PRETTY HEAVY TRAFFIC COMING THROUGH IT, WHICH HAS BEEN NICE TO SEE.

AND THE DEALERSHIP NETWORK CONTINUING TO GROW.

UM, I'LL TALK ABOUT THE ELECTRIFY EXPO NEXT.

JUST ELECTRIFY EXPO NEXT JUST BECAUSE IT IS COMING UP SOON AS WELL.

UH, SO WE'VE HAD THE ELECTRIFY EXPO HERE IN AUSTIN THE LAST TWO YEARS, UH, OUT OF THE CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS TRACK.

UM, IT IS COMING UP THIS YEAR AGAIN FROM NOVEMBER 10TH THROUGH THE 12TH.

UM, I THINK, YOU KNOW, IT WAS LAST YEAR THERE WERE 13,000 ATTENDEES.

AND THIS IS NOT LIKE A EVENT THAT JUST HAS LIKE EV STUFF AT IT.

UM, IT IS AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE ONLY EVENT.

AND THAT, THAT ATTENDANCE TO ME IS KIND OF STAGGERING THAT THAT MANY PEOPLE WOULD SHOW UP JUST FOR, YOU KNOW, EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES, RIDE AND DRIVES, UH, DEMOS OF ALL THE TECHNOLOGY OUT THERE.

UM, SO THIS YEAR'S GONNA BE EVEN BIGGER THAN THE LAST COUPLE AND EVEN MORE AUTO MANUFACTURERS THERE.

SO I JUST WANNA, UH, AND WE PARTICIPATE EXTREMELY HEAVILY IN THAT.

SO I JUST WANNA KIND OF HIGHLIGHT THAT ONE.

AND THEN FINALLY, I'LL, I'LL, I'LL SKIP THE LAST ONE 'CAUSE I JUST BRIEFLY MENTIONED EVS FOR SCHOOLS EARLIER, BUT, UH, THAT'S ANOTHER AREA WHERE WE CASCADE OUTREACH AND EDUCATION AS WELL.

YOU GET TOLD THEY DON'T GET USED.

UH, AND THEN FINALLY JUST AROUND, UH, EV GRID INTEGRATION.

THIS IS JUST, UH, FIGURING OUT HOW ALL OF OUR ELECTRIC VEHICLES TRANSITION INTO OUR ELECTRIC GRID.

UM, SO WE KNOW EVERYTHING FROM HOW DO YOU CONTROL CHARGING THROUGH PRICE SIGNALS? HOW DO WE ACTUALLY DO, UH, WORK WITH CUSTOMERS TO TURN EV CHARGING OFF DURING TIMES OF STRAIN ON THE GRID? AND THEN FINALLY, WHAT WE WILL EVENTUALLY BE GETTING TO IS HOW DO THESE VEHICLES PUSH ENERGY BACK ONTO THE ELECTRIC GRID? UM, EVERYONE LOOKS AT EVS AS A POTENTIAL THREAT, BUT UNLIKE EVERYTHING ELSE IN TEXAS THAT'S BASED ON TEMPERATURE AND HOW OUR GRIDS IMPACTED EVS DON'T HAVE THAT SAME CORRELATION.

SO THERE'S JUST AS MUCH OF AN OPPORTUNITY THERE AS IT COULD BE.

UM, UH, HARMFUL.

UH, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

AND SO, UM, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, LIKE, THE FIRST ONE I WANNA TALK ABOUT IS LIKE THE HIGHEST EMISSIONS REDUCTION POTENTIAL, UM, WITHIN THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN AREAS THAT WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO ADDRESS.

THE FIRST ONE'S REALLY ABOUT BEING AROUND FLEET ELECTRIFICATION.

SO THERE'S A LOT OF INTEREST IN NOT JUST OUR PUBLIC FLEETS THAT I TALKED ABOUT NOW, BUT IN THE PRIVATE WORLD.

UM, EVERYBODY FROM AMAZON TO UPS TO OTHERS ARE ELECTRIFYING FLEETS.

SO CONTINUING TO SUPPORT THAT, PUSH THAT IN OUR AREA, WE WILL MAKE SIGNIFICANT MOVEMENT HERE.

THAT'S WHERE WE'RE REDUCING NOT JUST CO TWO, BUT OTHER SORTS OF EMISSIONS THAT COME FROM DIESEL AS WELL.

UH, SO I THINK THAT'S AN AREA AS LONG AS WE CAN BE, UH, SUPPORTIVE OF THAT IN ANY WAY POSSIBLE, THOSE ARE GONNA BE VERY HIGH, UH, EMISSIONS REDUCTION POTENTIAL HERE IN AUSTIN.

UH, AND THEN THE SECOND ONE FOR EMISSIONS REDUCTION POTENTIAL, IT'S REALLY TIED TO THE SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE.

IF THERE IS NOT THE ABILITY TO HAVE THAT CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE OR TO ALLOW OTHERS TO BE ABLE TO BUILD THAT OUT, MAKING THAT TRANSITION FOR THESE AREAS IS VERY, VERY DIFFICULT.

I'VE, I'VE LEARNED THAT HAVING CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE OUT THERE WITHOUT VEHICLES MIGHT BE SLIGHTLY ANNOYING BECAUSE

[00:20:01]

BUT, UM, THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT COIN IS YOU HAVE A LOT OF VEHICLES HERE WITHOUT THE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE, AND THAT IS FAR MORE PAINFUL, UH, THAN THE OTHER WAY AROUND.

SO IT'S, IT'S VERY HARD TO OVERBUILD, UH, OR VERY HARD TO, YOU KNOW, OUTPACE THE VEHICLES WITH INFRASTRUCTURE.

SO MAINTAINING THAT SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT FOR THE VEHICLES TO COME HERE TO REDUCE THOSE EMISSIONS.

UH, FROM AN EQUITY IMPACT POTENTIAL, UM, THERE'S ONE, THERE'S TWO AREAS THAT, UM, I THINK REALLY, REALLY DRIVE THIS HOME IS, UH, SORRY, AN EV COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT.

UM, THIS IS A BROAD TOPIC.

IT TOUCHES A LOT OF DIFFERENT AREAS.

SO YOU'LL SEE THIS TWICE.

YOU'RE GONNA SEE THIS ALSO IN THE EQUITY IMPACT POTENTIAL.

YOU'RE ALSO GONNA SEE IT IN THE BARRIERS ONE, AND I'LL, I'LL JUST TALK ABOUT 'EM BOTH RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE WITH THAT BROAD OF A SCOPE, IT CAN HAVE SUCH HIGH IMPACT, BUT IT HAS TO BE REALLY FOCUSED.

AND WE CANNOT BE, UM, YOU KNOW, PREDEFINING THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY OR, OR OMITTING PORTIONS OF THE COMMUNITY, WHETHER IT BE, UM, GEOGRAPHICALLY, UM, FROM DIVERSITY STANDPOINTS.

WE, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE KIND OF CAPTURE THE NEEDS OF ALL THOSE.

SO IT CREATES A LOT OF IMPACT AND A LOT OF POTENTIAL THERE.

BUT, UH, SCOPING THAT TO BE MEANINGFUL IS ALSO ONE OF THE AREAS WE HAVE TO FOCUS ON AS WELL.

UH, ALSO, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, JUST FOCUSING ON THINGS OUTSIDE OF THE INDIVIDUAL VEHICLE, UH, LIKE EXPANDING OUR E-BIKE ACCESS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, UM, IS, IS ONE OF THE MORE MEANINGFUL IMPACTS I THINK WE CAN CREATE ON THE EQUITY SIDE OF THINGS.

ALSO, UM, AS I TALK ABOUT OUTREACH AND EDUCATION, IT'S CONTINUING TO WORK WITH GROUPS LIKE, UH, THE, YOU KNOW, THE HOUSING AUTHORITY, THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, OR HAKA WORKING WITH LIKE THE MULTI-FAMILY COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT AUSTIN AND REALLY, REALLY PUSHING ON THE OUTREACH AND EDUCATION SIDE, ESPECIALLY WHEN THERE'S INCENTIVES THAT CAN BE TIED TO THOSE TO CREATE THAT AWARENESS IS ONE OF THE AREAS WHERE WE CAN CREATE A LOT OF IMPACT AS WELL.

ON THE BARRIERS AND CHALLENGES SIDE OF THE THINGS WITHIN THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.

I MENTIONED THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT, AND THAT'S REALLY AROUND JUST SCOPING IT AND MAKING SURE THAT IT'S MEANINGFUL.

'CAUSE WE CAN CREATE IT, BUT WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE CREATE IT, UH, TO BE A MEANINGFUL ACTUAL END PRODUCT.

UM, SOME OF THE AREAS THAT ARE ALSO CAUGHT ON HERE IS, ONE IS REDUCING TOLLS OR REDUCING THE ENTITY, OR SORRY, REDUCING TOLLS IN THE EASTERN CRESCENT FOR EVS.

UM, THAT'S JUST A BARRIER BECAUSE IT'S OUT OF THIS, THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S PURVIEW, SO WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO BE INFLUENTIAL THERE, BUT WE DON'T HAVE DIRECT CONTROL OVER THAT.

SO I JUST LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT THAT IF YOU SEE LIKE A BIG RED MARK, IT'S LIKE, WIDEN THIS ONE DONE, YET IT'S, IT'S JUST A LOW AREA OF CONTROL FOR US VERSUS ACTUAL, UH, MEANINGFULNESS.

AND THEN, UM, THE THIRD ONE IS ALSO KIND OF A LOW IMPACT AREA, IS HOW WE CAN EXPAND THE EV BUS BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM HERE.

UM, NOT SAYING THERE'S NOT A LOT OF PROGRESS THERE, BUT I THINK, UH, THE CITY HAVING VERY FRIENDLY POLICIES, VERY, UM, YOU KNOW, AGGRESSIVE POLICIES TOWARDS THIS HAS HELPED INFLUENCE THAT.

UM, BUT WHEN ORGANIZATIONS ACTUALLY MOVE HERE, UM, ALSO CAN BE KIND OF A LOW CONTROL AREA AS WELL.

AND THEN, UM, THIS IS MY LAST SLIDE ACTUALLY.

UM, SO I JUST WANNA HIGHLIGHT ONE OF THE AREAS TOO IS I, I COVER QUITE A BIT, UM, THERE, BUT I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT I DON'T GIVE THE IMPRESSION THAT THIS IS ALL OF OUR WORK.

UM, A LOT OF THIS COMES THROUGH THE COLLABORATIONS WITH THE COMMUNITY, COLLABORATION WITH EDUCATIONAL, UH, ENTITIES, AS WELL AS, UM, DIFFERENT LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT.

SO, UM, IT'S NOT JUST LIKE, YOU KNOW, LOCAL DEALERSHIPS HERE.

UM, IT'S ALSO WORKING WITH DIFFERENT PARTS OF ACADEMIA, UH, CERTAIN COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, UM, AND THEN DIFFERENT LAYERS OF GOVERNMENT THROUGH LIKE, FUNDING ALL THESE THINGS COMING TOGETHER AND KIND OF BEING CREATIVE ON HOW YOU FUND THIS, ON HOW YOU LAUNCH PILOT PROJECTS TO SCALE THEM UP TO GROWTH, AND HOW YOU GET LIKE, RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS TO EITHER PROVE SUCCESS OR MOVE ON AND PIVOT TO ANOTHER THING, HAVE BEEN MONUMENTALLY IMPORTANT TO SUPPORTING ALL THIS.

BUT, UM, I ALWAYS LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT THIS ONE JUST TO GET THE CAVEAT.

WE'RE NOT DOING ALL THIS, UH, BY OURSELVES.

IT'S, IT'S A LOT OF WORK WITH A BUNCH OF COMMUNITY PARTNERS AS WELL.

I THINK THAT WAS MY LAST SLIDE, AND HOPEFULLY I DIDN'T GO TOO FAR OVER.

MM-HMM, .

UM, I THINK FOR ME, I THINK, UH, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO KINDA HEAR THE, THE, THE, WHAT Y'ALL ARE WORKING ON AS WE, UH, ARE UPDATING OUR DESIGN GUIDELINES.

YOU SAW WAS YOU SAW A HEAVY INTEREST IN THE VEHICLE ADOPTION SIDE OF THINGS, AND ON THE INFRASTRUCTURE ONE, THE, EITHER THE BUSINESS MODEL WASN'T THERE, SO YOU HAD A LOT OF EITHER GOVERNMENT ENTITIES OR UTILITIES KIND OF, UH, SUPPORTING THAT.

UM, AND IT'S GREAT TO SEE, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT MOVEMENT FORWARD AND, UH, ELECTRIFICATION THAT IS ALL OFTEN KIND OF A QUESTION MARK.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, AS WE ALWAYS MOVE FORWARD IN THESE REALMS IS NEVER ENOUGH.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, I'VE, I'VE WORKED WHERE WE WERE DESIGNING SCHOOLS AND WE WERE ALSO DESIGNING PORTABLES FOR THOSE SCHOOLS ALREADY.

AND SO IS IN THIS PARTICULAR PLAN AS FAR AS HOW WE'RE GROWING, UM, IS IT SUFFICIENT TO GET US TO A SPOT WHERE WE CAN KIND OF GROW PERIODICALLY WITH IT? OR IS IT GONNA BE ONE OF THOSE WE'RE STILL BEHIND, STILL BEHIND? UH, NO, I, I THINK IT'S GONNA BE, IT IS GONNA BE A CONSTANT RACE WITH IT.

I, I THINK THAT WHAT

[00:25:01]

NOW I THINK THAT THERE'S THE BUSINESS MODEL SIDE ON A LOT OF THAT AS WELL, SO IT SHOULD KEEP PACE MUCH BETTER, UM, AS EV ADOPTION CONTINUES TO SPIKE.

UM, SO, UH, WHERE I THINK YOU'RE GONNA SEE A BIG CHANGE IS EV CHARGING IS GONNA START TO HIT A LOT MORE CORE COMPONENTS OF LIKE, CITY DESIGN, LIKE ZONING DESIGNATIONS AND UM, AND, AND, AND THINGS LIKE THAT THAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE NOT CUSTOMED TO SEEING.

SO, UM, SO, SO I THINK YOU'RE JUST GONNA HAVE A LOT MORE KIND OF MASS INFLUENCE AS OPPOSED TO JUST, HEY, JUST FIGURE OUT WHERE TO PUT 'EM AND PUT 'EM THERE, .

SO, YEAH.

DO ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? COMMISSIONER WIRA? THANK YOU CHAIR.

UM, ECHOING THAT, I THINK, AS YOU KNOW, FOR THE PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM, IT'S ALSO INCUMBENT ON US TO, UH, ADDRESS THE, UM, DEMAND SIDE OF VEHICLE MILES TRAVEL, IN ADDITION TO THE SUPPLY.

REALLY APPRECIATE WHAT Y'ALL ARE DOING, AND THANK YOU FOR THAT PRESENTATION.

UM, SUPER INTO THE, UM, VEHICLE TO GRID CHARGING.

UM, EXCITED TO HEAR THAT.

THAT WAS IN THE, I HAD WRITTEN THAT DATA AS A QUESTION AND THEN YOU'VE COVERED IT.

UM, SO CERTAINLY EXCITED TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THAT AS IT DEVELOPS.

UM, ONE QUESTION AND, AND NOT TO BE CRITICAL AT ALL, BUT IN THE SPIRIT OF NO GOOD DEEDED GOES UNPUNISHED MM-HMM, , WE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE SEEN A GROWING BODY OF RESEARCH THAT EVS WAY MORE, UM, AND THEN PRODUCE MORE, YOU KNOW, WHILE WE'RE REDUCING TAILPIPE EMISSIONS WHERE INCREASING PARTICULATE EMISSIONS, WHICH ARE NOT AS REGULATED, UM, IN THE AGGREGATE.

LOOKING AT THE, THE EMISSIONS FROM TIRE EROSION FROM CARS, IS THAT FACTORING INTO ANY, UM, ANY PLANNING OR IS THAT KIND OF, OF ON THE RADAR FOR, FOR Y'ALL IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN YET? FOR, UH, FOR US, I MEAN, FROM THE UTILITY PERSPECTIVE IT'S NOT AS MUCH, BUT, UM, I DO KNOW THAT THERE'S, YOU KNOW, THERE'S CERTAIN TO LIKE, SPECIFIC ENGINEERING FOR LIKE COMPONENTS EVEN DOWN TO LIKE THE WHEEL LEVEL, I BELIEVE.

UM, BUT YEAH, I THINK THAT ACTUALLY THOSE DISCUSSIONS FOR LIKE, WHAT ARE THE, UH, BYPRODUCTS OF LIKE, OTHER EMISSIONS, SO EVERYTHING FROM THE, LIKE THE MANUFACTURING TO, YOU KNOW, THE WEAR AND TEAR AND HOW IT AFFECTS, IT'S AFFECTED FROM LIKE, HEAVY DUTY VEHICLE OR SORRY, THE WEIGHT OF EVS VERSUS OTHERS.

UM, THOSE WERE ALL DISCUSSED WHEN WE LOOKED AT LIKE HOW WE'RE CALCULATING LIKE EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS THROUGHOUT THE CITY.

UM, SO YEAH, THERE'S, UM, THERE IS AN ADDITIONAL KIND OF INCREASE IN LIKE THAT OR LIKE PARTICULATE.

UM, BUT WHEN WE WORK WITH THE SUSTAINABILITY OFFICE, I BELIEVE LIKE THE OFFSET OF TAILPIPE AND THINGS LIKE THAT WERE, YOU KNOW, FAR GREATER THAN WHAT YOU'RE INCREASING ON SOME OF THE SUPPLY SITES.

ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS? I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION, UH, ONCE I GET COMMISSIONER LUKINS, UH, COMMISSIONER MCKINNEY SOUNDS WAS A GREAT PRESENTATION, VERY EXCITING.

I WAS WONDERING, ARE THERE ANY REGULATORY BARRIERS TO THE SIDING OF THE DC FAST CHARGING STATIONS FROM A REGULATORY STANDPOINT? NOT YET.

'CAUSE OR WE HAVEN'T COME ACROSS 'EM MAINLY BECAUSE WE'VE, OR WE HAVEN'T COME ACROSS 'EM.

WE, WE'VE DONE 'EM IN QUITE A FEW APPLICATIONS TO INCLUDE, UH, WORKING WITH AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT ON DOING 'EM IN LIKE RIGHT AWAY AREAS.

AND THEN BOTH PRIVATE AND PUBLIC, UM, UH, KIND OF INSTALLATIONS THE BARRIERS MORE SO COME FROM A COST PROHIBITIVE STANDPOINT OF WHERE POWER IS AVAILABLE.

UM, ALSO THINGS LIKE TRENCHING AND GETTING ADEQUATE SPACE FOR THE INFRASTRUCTURE.

BUT FROM A A REGULATORY SIDE, UM, NOTHING'S COME UP YET.

AND, UM, THERE'S A, WHICH IS GREAT, BUT THERE'S POTENTIAL FOR THAT TO HAPPEN WHEN WE LOOK AT THINGS LIKE, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S A PRIMARY USE CASE FOR A, YOU KNOW, FOR A PROPERTY VERSUS, LIKE, ALL EV CHARGING'S BEEN INSTALLED, INSTALLED AS LIKE AN AUXILIARY USE.

SO WHEN WE START MAKING THAT SHIFT, UH, WE WANNA BE COGNIZANT, UH, THAT THOSE THINGS DON'T CHANGE OR IT DOESN'T HAVE ANY UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF HOW YOU ACTUALLY INSTALL ON SITE.

SO IT'S BEEN EARLY ENOUGH WHERE WE HAVEN'T SEEN THOSE BARRIERS YET, BUT I WOULDN'T SAY WE'RE COMPLETELY OVER IT.

NOT JUST HERE, BUT NATIONALLY WHEN WE COME TO THE, LIKE LAND USE DESIGNATIONS.

COMMISSIONER MCKINNEY.

I, UH, WANNA COMMEND YOU GUYS.

THE EASE OF THE REBATE PROGRAM IS FANTASTIC.

I HAVE BENEFITED FROM THE E-BIKE REBATE, UM, AND IT WAS SO EASY TO COMPLETE, SO THANK YOU FOR THAT.

AND IT HAD GREAT SIGNAGE, UM, WHERE I BOUGHT MY BIKE, THERE WAS AN AUSTIN ENERGY LIKE SIGN THERE WITH THE QR CODE.

IT WAS SO EASY TO DO.

THAT'S FANTASTIC TO HEAR.

SO THANK YOU.

AND CLEARLY YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT 'CAUSE YOU DIDN'T READ US YOUR SLIDES MM-HMM.

, WHICH I REALLY APPRECIATE.

SO YOU'RE VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT THIS AND IT SHIPS.

YEAH, MY EYESIGHT'S NOT GOOD EITHER, SO I CAN'T READ THEM.

PERFECT.

UM, I HAVE A COUPLE, ONE QUESTION TO KIND OF CLOSE, UH, COMMISSIONER SR'S THOUGHT ON, IS THERE, HAVE WE STARTED CONVERSATIONS WITH AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY ABOUT WHAT THE RECYCLING OF, 'CAUSE YOU SAID MAINTENANCE COSTS ARE DOWN AND THAT'S GREAT, BUT WE HAVEN'T REALLY GOTTEN TO THE POINT WHERE WE'RE MAINTENANCE IN THE MAJOR PART OF THE CAR YET.

OF THESE, WHICH IS THE BATTERY.

FOR A LOT

[00:30:01]

SO IF THOSE CONVERSATIONS HAPPENED AND WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE FOR THE PROGRAM IN THE FUTURE? THEY, THEY HAVE, THAT'S, THAT'S VERY HIGH ON THE RADAR.

UM, AND IT'S TWO WAYS.

IT'S, IT'S BOTH AUSTIN ENERGY.

SO WE HAVE AN ENVIRONMENTAL TEAM THAT WE'VE WORKED WITH ON, ON THIS AS WELL AS AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY.

AND SO WE'RE LOOKING AT NOT JUST, UM, NOT JUST HOW THEY'RE LIKE RECYCLED, BUT ALSO WHAT REUSE POTENTIAL LOOKS LIKE AS WELL.

BECAUSE ONE OF THE AREAS THAT THERE'S A LOT OF INTEREST IN, YOU KNOW, BUSINESSES WANTING TO DO THIS AS WELL, IS JUST BECAUSE A BATTERY HITS END OF LIFE AS A VEHICLE BATTERY THAT CAN PROPEL AN LIKE A CAR.

IT HAS SO MUCH LEFT IN A AUXILIARY USE, WHETHER IT BE LIKE STATIONARY STORAGE, WHETHER IT BE UPS BACKUP SYSTEMS FOR BUILDINGS, THERE'S STILL A LOT OF POTENTIAL FOR THAT AS WELL.

SO, YEAH, SO WE'RE NOT, WE ARE TALKING WITH THEM ON WHAT, LIKE BATTERY REUSE LOOKS LIKE, UM, YOU KNOW, WHO CAN ACCEPT DIFFERENT KINDS OF LITHIUM ION CHEMISTRIES AND WHERE THEY CAN GO AND TRAVEL AND AND THE EMISSION CYCLE CONNECTED TO THAT MM-HMM.

UM, SO, UM, BUT THEN ALSO HOW CAN WE POTENTIALLY LOCALLY LOOK AT REUSE PROGRAMS, CONNECT WITH INDUSTRY PARTNERS TO, YOU KNOW, FUNNEL POTENTIAL PRODUCTS FOR REUSE PROGRAMS, THINGS LIKE THAT.

SO YEAH, THAT, THAT IS VERY HIGH ON THE RADAR FOR US.

AWESOME.

ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS? NOPE.

WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR PRESENTATION AND, UH, LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING THIS MOVE FORWARD.

OF BUSINESS IS, UM, DISCUSSION ITEMS PRESENTATION BY PETER MULLEN, AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION PARTNERSHIP REGARDING THE UPDATE ON THE LIGHT RAIL RAIL PROGRAM FOR PROJECT CONNECT.

I APOLOGIZE FOR GOING OVER.

SO, NO.

BEFORE WE MOVE FORWARD, I JUST WANT TO TAKE A MINUTE TO WELCOME OUR NEW COMMISSIONERS.

UM, WE HAVE, UH, BRITA WALLACE, DID I SAY THAT? BRITA? OKAY.

AND I JUST WANT TO SEE IF, UH, YOU WANT TO JUST TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHO YOU ARE AND TAKE A MINUTE? SURE, SURE.

UH, I'M BRITA WALLACE.

I'M AN A SMALL SCALE INFILL DEVELOPER, AND I'M ALSO THE PRESIDENT RIGHT NOW OF THE AUSTIN INFILL COALITION.

SO THAT'S, MY BACKGROUND IS MOSTLY IN INFILL, BUT I'M VERY HONORED TO BE ON THE COMMISSION AND EXCITED TO PARTICIPATE.

UM, I'M CURRENTLY PRACTICING WITH LOW DESIGN OFFICE.

I I'M ALSO CURRENTLY SERVING WITH THE A I A AUSTIN CHAPTER AS THE CURRENT SECRETARY AND, UM, INCOMING TREASURER.

AND, UH, I AM HAPPY TO BE HERE TO SERVE ON THE DESIGN COMMISSION AND SHARE MY KNOWLEDGE AND LEARN FROM, FROM YOU ALL AS WELL.

SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR WELCOMING ME, WELCOMING ME IN, AND LOOKING FORWARD TO IT.

[3. Presentation by Peter Mullan, Austin Transit Partnership, regarding an update on the Light Rail program of Project Connect]

GOOD EVENING EVERYONE.

UM, THANKS FOR HAVING US, UH, AND HAVING ME THIS EVENING ON YOUR AGENDA.

UM, PETER MULLEN, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT FOR ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN DESIGN AT AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP.

AND, UH, I JUST WANTED TO TAKE THIS EVENING JUST TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON WHERE WE ARE AND SOME OF THE PROGRESS WE'RE MAKING, UM, ON THE DESIGN FRONT.

UM, NEXT, SO, UH, BACK IN JUNE, UM, SOME OF YOU MAY REMEMBER WE, UH, THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE CITY, UH, THE CAP METRO BOARD AND THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP BOARD, UH, UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED THE PHASE ONE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL.

UM, OBVIOUSLY LIGHT RAIL IS ONE COMPONENT OF THE PROJECT CONNECT PROGRAM OF PROJECTS, UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, A BIG ONE.

UH, AND SO THE, THE PHASE ONE ALIGNMENT WILL RUN FROM 38TH STREET IN THE NORTH.

THIS IS SORT OF SHOWN ON THE, ON THE YELLOW, UH, BIG FAT YELLOW LINE, UH, 38TH STREET IN THE NORTH, UH, DOWN TO OLD TORF IN THE SOUTH AND OUT TO YELLOW JACKET ON THE EAST, UM, ALONG EAST RIVERSIDE.

AND, UH, AS PART OF THAT PROCESS, WE ALSO IDENTIFIED WHAT WE CALL PRIORITY EXTENSIONS.

SO, UM, THE AREAS THAT ARE IN THE, YOU KNOW, STRIPED, UM, STRIPED LINES AT THE TOP, AT THE NORTH END AND THE EAST END, UM, THOSE ARE, ARE, WE'RE IDENTIFIED AS PRIORITIES IN THE COMMUNITY SO THAT IF WE CAN FIND ADDITIONAL FUNDING SOURCES, UM, WE MAY BE ABLE TO ACCELERATE THOSE, UM, PORTIONS OF THE PROGRAM.

UM, BUT RIGHT NOW THE FIRST PHASE WOULD BE FROM 38TH TO ALT WHARF TO YELLOW JACKET, UH, NEXT.

UM, AND ONE OF THE BIG, UH, CHANGES IN THE PROGRAM THAT CAME OUT OF THAT, UH, THAT SORT OF THAT PUBLIC PROCESS AND THAT, THAT PHASING ANALYSIS,

[00:35:01]

UM, PROCESS WAS THAT, UH, MUCH OF THE, OF THE ALIGNMENT, UH, WILL BE AT GRADE, UM, INCLUDING THE, THE PORTION ALIGNMENT THAT IS, UH, DOWNTOWN, WHICH PREVIOUSLY WAS, WAS CONCEIVED OF AS BEING BELOW GRADE.

UM, AND THE ONLY REASON I, I, I SHOW THIS SLIDE IS THAT IT REALLY IS, THE GOAL IS TO, TO GIVE AN IMAGE OF, OF THE INTENT TO HAVE A HIGHLY INTEGRATED, UM, LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM THAT REALLY ENLIVENS AND ADDS ACTIVITY TO THE URBAN REALM AND IS HIGHLY INTEGRATED INTO URBAN REALM.

I THINK DURING THE PROCESS OF, OF LOOKING AT DIFFERENT ALTERNATIVES, UM, FOR THE LIGHT RAIL, WE REALLY SAW THAT BEING AT GRADE DOWNTOWN AND ELSEWHERE AND EVERYWHERE, UM, IS A REAL ADVANTAGE, UH, BECAUSE IT JUST, IT, IT MAKES THE, THE LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM MORE ACCESSIBLE, UM, EASIER TO, TO, TO SEE, TO UNDERSTAND, TO USE.

AND THAT'S REALLY OUR GOAL IS HOW DO WE ACTUALLY INTEGRATE THE SYSTEM INTO THE FABRIC OF THE CITY, INTO THE FABRIC OF PEOPLE'S LIVES, UM, BECAUSE THAT'S HOW IT'LL HAVE THE MOST IMPACT AND THE GREATEST EFFECT.

UH, NEXT, UH, SO WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF MOVING THE LIGHT RAIL DESIGN FORWARD.

UH, AND THERE ARE MULTIPLE STRANDS OF WORK THAT ARE PROGRESSING.

UM, SO, WHICH YOU SEE HERE THROUGH THESE VARIOUS LINES, UM, YOU KNOW, AT THE TOP WE'VE GOT ARCHITECTURE AND ENGINEERING, AND, AND THOSE ARE BOTH INDEPENDENT BUT ALSO INTERTWINED.

SO LOOKING AT IT FROM THE, THE SYSTEM, FROM THE NEEDS OF THE TRAIN AND ALL THE TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS OF THE LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM, AS WELL AS THE ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN DESIGN OPPORTUNITIES THAT COME WITH THAT, AND, AND THEN WEAVING THOSE TOGETHER OVER TIME.

UM, OBVIOUSLY THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IS, IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF OUR PROCESS AND WILL BE WOVEN INTO THAT AND INFORMING SOME OF THE DECISION MAKING ALONG THE WAY.

UM, BUT WE'RE ALSO ABOUT TO START, UH, OR RESTART, I SHOULD SAY.

THE, THE FEDERAL PROCESS.

YOU KNOW, UM, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS A, IS AN INVESTMENT PARTNER OF OURS, UH, THE FTA, THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION.

AND, UH, IN THE PROGRAM THAT THE, WE ANTICIPATE THAT ABOUT 50% OF THE CAPITAL COSTS OF THE PROGRAM WILL BE PICKED UP, UH, BY THE, THE FTA.

SO, UM, WE'RE PREPARING TO RE-ENTER THE, THE NEPA ENVIR PROCESS, THE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW PROCESS, UM, AS WELL AS THE CAPITAL INVESTMENT GRANT PROCESS, THE CAG, UM, PROCESS.

SO THOSE THINGS AND THOSE, THOSE HAVE VERY SPECIFIC TIMELINES AND, AND PROCESSES ASSOCIATED WITH THEM THAT, UM, GUIDE OUR WORK.

UM, AND SO WE'LL BE SORT OF, AGAIN, TRACKING THOSE AND, AND, AND INTEGRATING OUR DESIGN PROCESS INTO THOSE.

UM, WE'RE ALSO, UH, IN THE PROCESS OF BUILDING UP ATP AS AN ORGANIZATION TO BE ABLE TO DELIVER THE PROGRAM.

UM, WE ARE A, IN SOME WAYS WE ARE A, WE'RE A LOCAL GOVERNMENT, NEW LOCAL GOVERNMENT CORPORATION FOUNDED IN 2020, WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND CAP METRO.

UH, BUT WE'RE ALSO A LITTLE BIT OF A STARTUP, AND WE'RE BOTH TRYING TO LEVERAGE THAT, UH, THE INNOVATION THAT, THAT COMES WITH BEING A STARTUP, BUT ALSO BUILD OUR CAPACITY TO BE ABLE TO DELIVER THE PROGRAM OVER THE NEXT NUMBER OF YEARS.

NEXT, UH, SO IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS, WHAT, WHAT YOU WILL COME TO WE'LL BE SEEING, UM, IS BOTH ADVANCEMENT ON, ON THOSE, THOSE VARIOUS STRANDS.

UM, WE'LL BE DEVELOPING THE BASE DESIGN.

UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT, UH, PUBLISHING THE NOTICE OF INTENT, UH, AS PART OF THE NEPA PROCESS IN EARLY 2024.

UM, AND THEN HAVING A DRAFT EIS PROBABLY THE FALL OF NEXT YEAR.

UH, AND THEN A FINALLY ISA YEAR AFTER THAT.

UH, AND THEN WE'LL ALSO EARLY IN 2024, WE'LL BE ENTERING INTO PROJECT DEVELOPMENT, UM, AND COMPLETING THAT IN, IN TWO YEARS.

SO, UM, THAT'S REALLY WHAT WE'RE FOCUSED ON RIGHT NOW IS, YOU KNOW, DOING WHAT WE HAVE TO DO TO, TO BASICALLY CHECK ALL THE RIGHT BOXES AND FOLLOW THE FEDERAL PROCESS IN ADVANCE TO THE DESIGN IN THESE NEXT TWO YEARS.

UH, NEXT.

SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE A WANT, IT'S PART OF OUR DESIGN PROCESS.

UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE ARE REALLY IN, IN THE, IN THE, IN THE SPIRIT OF INTEGRATING THE LIGHT RAIL PROGRAM INTO THE FABRIC OF OUR COMMUNITY, UM, IS REALLY TAKE WHAT WE CALL A HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN APPROACH.

UM, THIS IS, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE BIT INNOVATIVE FOR TRANSIT PROJECTS, UM, I THINK TO HAVE THIS KIND OF, UH, PEOPLE-CENTERED FOCUS AT THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE PROCESS.

UM, BUT IT'S REALLY, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IT'S HARDWIRED INTO OUR DESIGN PROCESS AND REALLY INFORMING EVERYTHING THAT WE DO.

SO HOW DO WE DO THAT, RIGHT? AND WE'RE, UM, WORKING WITH A GREAT CONSULTANT TEAM ON THIS AS WELL.

UM, BUT IT REALLY STARTS WITH RESEARCH, RIGHT? WE NEED TO DO RESEARCH TO BE THE FOUNDATION FOR THE DESIGN AND THAT HUMAN-CENTERED APPROACH.

UM, FROM THAT, WE'LL DEVELOP A SET OF USER NEEDS.

I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT LATER IN THE PRESENTATION FROM THAT EMERGES DESIGN PRINCIPLES, UM, IS THAT HOW WE ACTUALLY SATISFY THOSE NEEDS? UM, AND THEN FROM THAT, WE DEVELOP THE DESIGN, RIGHT? SO WE'RE NOT JUMPING

[00:40:01]

DIRECTLY INTO THE DESIGN, WE'RE, WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE BUILDING ON ALL THE WORK WE'VE DONE TO DATE, BUT WE'RE ALSO IN SOME WAYS TRYING TO, UM, TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF A BROADER VIEW AND, AND TO LOOK AT THIS FROM A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT ANGLE AS WE, AS WE ADVANCE THE DESIGN.

SO NEXT, SO I WANNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE RESEARCH WE'VE DONE TO DATE AND, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S COMING UP IN TERMS OF WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE IN TERMS OF USER NEEDS AND DESIGN PRINCIPLES.

UM, SO ON THE ONE END, WE DID A LOT, WE'VE DONE A LOT OF LOCAL CONTEXT RESEARCH, UM, LOOKING AT AUSTIN FROM A, A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES TO REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT, WHAT IS CRITICAL ABOUT AUSTIN THAT WILL INFORM THE DESIGN WE WANT THE, THIS LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM TO BE OF THIS PLACE AND OF, YOU KNOW, LIKE NO OTHER, UM, AND SPECIFIC TO IT.

SO LOOKING AT LOCAL URBAN FORM, UH, WHAT IS THE TYPICAL, UH, LOCAL BUILDING TYPOLOGIES, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT THE LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM IS SYMPATHETIC TO THAT? AND WE'RE WORKING WITH THAT.

UM, LOOKING AT LOCAL CULTURAL, CULTURAL AND HISTORIC TOUCHPOINTS, UM, THAT CAN BE INCORPORATED INTO THE DESIGN.

AND OBVIOUSLY SOME OF THOSE ARE NEIGHBORHOOD SPECIFIC, AND NOT JUST AUSTIN AS A WHOLE SPECIFIC, UM, LOOKING AT LOCAL LANDSCAPE TYPOLOGIES.

YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THIS INCREDIBLY RICH, UH, ECOSYSTEM THAT'S CONVERGENCE OF, OF A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT, UM, UH, REGIONAL SYSTEMS. AND SO WANTING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE SENSITIVE TO THAT, BUT ALSO LEVERAGING, LEVERAGING OUR LANDSCAPE APPROACH AS PART OF THE DESIGN.

AND, YOU KNOW, INTEGRATED IN THAT IS ALSO A VERY INTENTIONAL APPROACH TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY.

UM, MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE REDUCING OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.

AND ALSO ADDRESSING, UH, CLIMATIC ISSUES THAT I THINK WE, THIS SUMMER, IT WAS GREAT IN ONE WAY TO, FOR OUR DESIGN TEAM TO BE WORKING.

'CAUSE THEY GOT TO REALLY EXPERIENCE, UM, HOW THE, SOME OF THE SEVERITY OF OUR CLIMATE CONDITIONS DURING CERTAIN PARTS OF THE TIMES OF THE YEAR.

UH, AND WE KNOW WE'RE REALLY FOCUSED ON HEAT, SO MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE DESIGNING, UM, YOU KNOW, AROUND OUR, OUR CLIMATIC CONDITIONS, WHICH ARE ONLY GONNA GET MORE INTENSE OVER TIME.

UH, LOOKING AT LOCAL MATERIALS, LOCAL TRADITIONS OF, OF CRAFTSMANSHIP AND CONSTRUCTION METHODOLOGIES.

UM, OBVIOUSLY WE WANT TO TAP INTO OUR LOCAL INDUSTRY AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, UM, AS WELL AS LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO INNOVATE WITHIN THAT.

AND THEN, UM, LOOKING AT WAY FIGHTING IN A HOLISTIC APPROACH, HOW DO WE ACTUALLY BUILD A, A WAY FIGHTING APPROACH INTO THE DESIGN? SO WE'RE NOT ONLY RELYING ON SIGNAGE ENGINE GRAPHICS, UM, BUT IT'S THE, WE'RE HOPING TO USE THE DESIGN TO MAKE THIS AS INTUITIVE A SYSTEM AS POSSIBLE NEXT.

SO WE COMBINE THAT LOCAL RESEARCH, LOCAL CONTEXT RESEARCH WITH, UM, SOME OBSERVATIONAL RESEARCH.

AND, UH, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE ARE FOCUSED ON IS, YOU KNOW, UNDERSTANDING HOW PEOPLE ACTUALLY BEHAVE, RIGHT? SO WHEN WE THINK ABOUT WHAT MAKES THIS A PLA UH, DESIGN HUMAN-CENTERED, IT'S REALLY UNDERSTANDING HOW PEOPLE MOVE, WHERE THEY WANT TO GO, AND HOW THEY WILL WANT TO USE THE SYSTEM.

UM, SOMETIMES WE DESIGN THINGS WITH CERTAIN INTENTIONS ABOUT HOW PEOPLE SHOULD BEHAVE, AND IT'S NOT ALWAYS THE SAME AS HOW THEY ACTUALLY DO.

SO WE SPEND A LOT OF TIME OBSERVING AUSTINITES MOVING THROUGHOUT THE CITY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT ARE THE KIND OF TYPICAL MOBILITY PATTERNS THAT WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND AND DESIGN FOR, UH, NEXT.

AND WE'VE DONE THAT THROUGH A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT TOOLS, BOTH, UM, ANALOG BEING OUT IN THE FIELD AND WATCHING PEOPLE, BUT ALSO WE'VE INCORPORATED SOME TECHNOLOGY, AND I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT IN A SECOND.

SO, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS OUR CONSULTANT TEAM DID IS THEY, THEY WENT OUT INTO THE FIELD AND JUST OBSERVED PEOPLE, UM, AROUND, UH, TRANSIT NODES TO UNDERSTAND HOW ARE AUSTINITES, UH, MOVING AROUND THE CITY, GETTING TO AND FROM BUS STOPS AND TRAIN STOPS, UM, YOU KNOW, WHERE DO THEY TEND TO GO, WHERE THEY TEND TO LINGER, UM, WHEN THEY'RE WAITING FOR A BUS, WHERE DO THEY WAIT? UM, AND SO REALLY STARTING TO UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, SORT OF NATURAL AND, UM, ACTUAL, UH, MOBILITY PATTERNS BY AUSTINITES AS THEY MOVE AROUND THE CITY AND, AND RECORDING THAT, UM, DIGITALLY.

SO THEN WE CAN START TO, UH, IDENTIFY THEMES, UH, THAT EMERGE FROM THAT, FROM, AND THAT ARE CONSISTENT AND REPEATED.

UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE EMERGED, AGAIN, A LOT OF THIS IS VERY COMMONSENSICAL, BUT IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE VALIDATE IN THE FIELD, UM, IS THAT PEOPLE TAKE THE SHORTEST ROUTE, EVEN IF IT'S UNSAFE, RIGHT? SO WE OBSERVE A LOT OF PEOPLE BASICALLY JAYWALKING, UM, AND CROSSING IN SOME CASES, MANY LANES OF TRAFFIC, UM, WHERE THEY SHOULDN'T BECAUSE IT'S THE STRAIGHTEST ROUTE FROM A, WHERE THEY'RE COMING FROM TO A BUS STOP.

UM, SO WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DESIGNING THOSE PATHS OF TRAVEL IN A WAY THAT IS SAFE AND INTUITIVE, UM, SO THAT WE AVOID THOSE UNSAFE CONDITIONS.

WE'VE COMBINED THAT WITH ALSO ANALYZING HOW PEOPLE MOVE IN RELATIONSHIP TO DIFFERING, UH, DIFFERENT URBAN DESIGN CONTEXT AND CONDITIONS.

UM,

[00:45:01]

UM, LOOKING AT HOW THOSE MOVEMENTS RELATE TO THE BUILDING FABRIC AND THE STREET FABRIC AND THE URBAN DESIGN FABRIC.

UM, AND ALSO WHAT KINDS OF, UH, INFRASTRUCTURAL ELEMENTS TEND TO CREATE BARRIERS FOR PEOPLE.

SO ONE OF THE THINGS WE NOTICE IS THAT THE LACK OF INFRASTRUCTURE WE HAVE FOR MICRO MOBILITY OFTEN MEANS THAT THOSE MICRO MOBILITY DEVICES ARE DIRECTLY IN THE PATH OF TRAVEL, UM, IN WAYS THAT INHIBIT MOBILITY, PARTICULARLY FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE MOVING AROUND IN WHEELCHAIRS.

UM, WE'VE ALSO NOTICED THAT, YOU KNOW, PLACES THAT HAVE REALLY ACTIVE STREET SCAPES AND ACTIVE GROUND FLOOR, UH, RETAIL STREETS, SCAPES, UH, TEND TO ATTRACT MORE PEDESTRIANS THAN PLACES THAT DON'T, UM, AGAIN, SEEMS KIND OF OBVIOUS, BUT I THINK IT'S, IT, IT WILL BE AN IMPORTANT FACTOR AS WE START TO THINK ABOUT HOW DO WE ENCOURAGE MORE PEDESTRIAN ACTIVITY, BECAUSE THAT WILL BE KEY TO GETTING PEOPLE TO USE THE LIGHT RAIL NEXT.

UM, WE ALSO DID AN EXERCISE WORKING WITH, UH, TECHNOLOGY AND, UM, UH, BASICALLY WE, WE GOT RECRUITED VOLUNTEERS TO TAKE A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT TRANSIT JOURNEYS.

UM, AND THOSE VOLUNTEERS REPRESENTED, UH, PEOPLE WITH DIFFERENT LEVELS OF FAMILIARITY AND, UM, MOBILITY, UM, FUNCTIONALITY TO THEM SO THAT THEY REPRESENT AS A KIND OF A, A, A CROSS SECTION OF DEMOGRAPHICS OF POTENTIAL TRANSIT USERS.

UM, AND WE EQUIP THEM WITH BIOMETRIC SENSORS, SO WRIST WATCHES THAT MEASURED THEIR TEMPERATURE, UH, THEIR BODY TEMPERATURE AND THEIR, UH, SWEAT LEVELS AND THEIR HEART RATE, AS WELL AS THESE GLASSES THAT BASICALLY TRACK THEIR EYE MOVEMENTS AND WHAT THEY WERE LOOKING AT AS THEY WENT THROUGH THEIR TRANSIT JOURNEY.

SO BY COMBINING THAT DATA OF WHAT PEOPLE WERE LOOKING AT AND ALSO WHERE, UH, THEY HAD INCREASED LEVELS OF STRESS IS MEASURED BY THOSE BIOMETRICS, UM, WE CAN START TO UNDERSTAND WHERE THE POINTS OF FRICTION ARE IN OUR EXISTING SYSTEM, RIGHT? SO THAT WE CAN START TO DESIGN, UH, THE SYSTEM IN A WAY TO MITIGATE THOSE OR TO ELIMINATE THOSE.

SO SOME REALLY INTERESTING LESSONS, UM, PARTICULARLY YOU, ONE OF THE USERS WHO IS, UH, MOVES IN A WHEELCHAIR.

YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS WE, WE SAW AS SHE MOVED AROUND THE CITY IS THAT, UM, ANYTIME THAT SHE APPROACHED AN INTERSECTION WHERE SHE HAD TO, UM, ENGAGE WITH A, A, A CAR OR A, OR A MOTOR VEHICLE, SHE HAD A HEIGHTENED SENSE OF ANXIETY BECAUSE SHE REALLY FELT LIKE SHE COULD NOT BE SEEN BECAUSE SHE'S LOWER THE GROUND.

AND, UM, SO THAT WAS A, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT WASN'T NECESSARILY INTUITIVE FOR THOSE OF US THAT DON'T MOVE AROUND IN WHEELCHAIRS.

UM, AND I THINK IT REALLY MADE US REALIZE THAT THAT KIND OF SENSE OF VISIBILITY AND THOSE SIGHT LINES ARE REALLY CRITICAL AS WE DESIGN THESE PATHS TO TRAVEL AROUND THE, THE, THE LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM NEXT.

AND THEN WE HAD SOME FOCUSED, UM, UH, WORKSHOPS IN THE FIELD, UH, WITH SPECIFIC USERS, UM, PARTICULARLY THOSE WHO, UM, HAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, SOME MOBILITY CHALLENGES.

SO, UH, FOLKS WITH BLIND FROM THE BLIND AND LOW VISION COMMUNITY, UM, FOLKS FROM THE DEAF AND HEARTED GEARING COMMUNITY, UH, YOU KNOW, FOLKS, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT THE PERSPECTIVE FROM KIDS WHO ARE TRAVELING TO AND FROM SCHOOL TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THEIR SPECIFIC, UM, NEEDS AND CONCERNS WERE SO THAT WE CAN ALSO BUILD THAT INTO THE SYSTEM.

AND THAT WAS ALL PART OF OUR RESEARCH.

IN PLACES THAT HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF DISTANCE FROM THAT, UM, AND PROVIDE THAT BUFFER, UM, BUT ALSO CONNECTION TO NATURE.

SO FROM ALL THAT RESEARCH, RIGHT, SO, YOU KNOW, SOME, SOME, SOME TECHNOLOGY BASED, SOME STRAIGHT OBSERVATIONS, SOME CONVERSATIONS, UM, WE HAVE DEVELOPED A, A DRAFT SET OF USER PRIORITY USER NEEDS THAT WILL BE THE BASIS OF OUR DESIGN PROCESS.

UH, AND, UM, THESE ARE ORGANIZED IN A KIND OF PYRAMID OF PRIORITIES.

UM, THE BOTTOM BEING, YOU KNOW, THINGS THAT ARE REALLY FOUNDATIONAL THAT WE KNOW WE HAVE TO SATISFY AROUND SAFETY AND SECURITY, AND THEN GOING UP THE LADDER TO, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK SOME NEEDS THAT ARE A LITTLE MORE ASPIRATIONAL, BUT NEEDS, NONETHELESS, THAT RELATE TO, UH, HOW WE ACTUALLY PARTICIPATE IN, IN THE, UH, COMMUNITY, IN OUR COMMUNITY AND, AND HOW THE TRANSIT SYSTEM CAN SUPPORT THAT.

UM, SO AT THE, AT THE FOUNDATION WE HAVE THINGS LIKE EASE OF ACCESS AND PREDICTABILITY.

UM, WE ACTUALLY MOVED THERMAL COMFORT DOWN INTO THE BO INTO THAT FOUNDATIONAL LEVEL TO BE REALLY ABOUT THERMAL SAFETY, UM, RECOGNIZING THE, THE THREATS THAT THAT ARE ARE, ARE INCREASED, UM, HEAT, UH, CONDITIONS, YOU KNOW, POSED TO PEOPLE WHO ARE USING TRANSIT, UM, DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS.

UM, THE NEXT LEVEL UP, YOU KNOW, DEALS WITH ISSUES OF COMFORT.

SO, UM, YOU KNOW, CLEAR NAVIGATION, CONVENIENCE, UM, COMFORT FROM NOISE.

ONE, ONE OF THE THINGS WE FOUND IN OUR RESEARCH IS THAT PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS TRYING TO GET AWAY FROM THE STREET NOISE.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, WAITING FOR TRANSIT

[00:50:01]

UM, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THERE'S A CALMING EFFECT ON PEOPLE'S EXPERIENCES OF THE URBAN REALM.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, AND SOME OF THE QUESTION IS HOW DO WE ACTUALLY IN THE DESIGN, YOU KNOW, INTEGRATE THESE MULTIPLE NEEDS INTO SINGLE DESIGN MOVES? AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WILL EVOLVE OVER TIME.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, PROVIDING COMFORT FROM NOISE AND CONNECTION TO NATURE, THOSE ARE THINGS THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO TO DO, UM, BY INTEGRATING THE LANDSCAPE APPROACH INTO OUR DESIGN PROCESS.

AND THEN AT THE TOP, THINKING ABOUT, UH, SOCIAL CONNECTION, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAD A LOT OF INTERESTING, UH, DATA FROM PEOPLE AND THEIR, BOTH THEIR, THEIR BENEFITS OF SOCIALIZING ON THEIR TRANSIT JOURNEY.

WE FOUND THAT, YOU KNOW, ANYTIME SOMEBODY INTERACTED WITH A CHILD, UM, THAT THEIR STRESS LEVEL WENT DOWN.

UH, SO THERE'S SOME BENEFIT TO THAT SOCIAL CONNECTION.

BUT ON THE FLIP SIDE, ALSO, PEOPLE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAVE, UM, A LITTLE BIT OF, YOU KNOW, CONTROL AND CHOICE OVER, OVER THEIR SPACE.

SO MAKING SURE THAT THERE'S, THERE'S AGENCY ASSOCIATED WITH THAT, BUT BUILDING A CONNECTION TO PLACE.

AND I THINK THROUGH THE TWO OF THOSE, BUILDING A SENSE OF BELONGING TO AUSTIN, I THINK ONE OF THE BENEFITS OF, OF THIS ENHANCED TRANSIT SYSTEM THAT THAT PROJECT CONNECT WILL BRING TO AUSTIN IS THIS, UM, CIVIC SENSE OF BELONGING THAT WE GET WHEN WE, WHEN WE DO THINGS TOGETHER, AND PARTICULARLY WITH PEOPLE THAT MAYBE WE DON'T GET TIME, THE CHANCE TO SPEND TIME WITH IN OUR REGULAR DAILY PATTERN.

SO, UM, SO I THINK THERE'S SOME REAL OPPORTUNITY THERE THAT WE WANT TO TAP INTO IF WE CAN.

UH, NEXT, SO WE HAVE THIS DRAFT SET OF, OF USER NEEDS, AND WE'RE, UH, THIS FALL GONNA BE TAKING THOSE OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY, UM, THROUGH SOME ADDITIONAL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.

UM, WE ARE HOSTING A, WE'LL BE HOSTING A SERIES OF WORKSHOPS IN NOVEMBER AND EARLY DECEMBER, UM, AS WELL AS DOING SOME ADDITIONAL, UH, EXPERIENCE-BASED ENGAGEMENTS, SO ADDITIONAL WALK SHOPS AND ON-THE-GO ENGAGEMENTS, UM, OUT IN THE COMMUNITY WITH, UH, UH, VARIOUS USERS.

UM, AND WE'LL ALSO BE LAUNCHING A SURVEY SO THAT WE CAN BROADEN OUR REACH AND GET MORE INFORMATION, UM, THAN WE CAN IN, IN SOME OF THESE MORE, UH, INTIMATE SETTINGS.

SO ALL OF THAT WILL THEN, UM, FEED INTO OUR FINDINGS AROUND USER NEEDS AND DESIGN PRINCIPLES SO THAT THEN WE HAVE A REALLY STRONG FOUNDATION, A STRONG BASE AS WE, UM, DEVELOP THE DESIGN NEXT AND HAVING TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.

AND I, I, I EXPECT WE WILL BE BACK IN FRONT OF THIS COMMISSION, UM, AGAIN AS THE DESIGN DEVELOPS, BUT WE THOUGHT IT WAS GOOD TO JUST GIVE YOU A SENSE OF WHERE WE WERE IN OUR, IN OUR METHODOLOGY AND OUR APPROACH.

SO HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.

UM, VICE CHAIR MINORS.

ALRIGHT, HOPEFULLY YOU CAN HEAR ME.

YES, YES.

UM, SO I KNOW THAT THERE ARE SOME PLANS IN PLACE TO LOOK AT INCLUDING AFFORDABLE HOUSING, BUT I'M JUST CURIOUS, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THE DEMOGRAPHICS? THE OTHER THING IS, I, I QUESTION THE NECESSITY OF MORE FEEDBACK.

UM, SO, UH, I HAVE BEEN SERVING ON THE DESIGN COMMISSION FOR QUITE A WHILE, SO I'VE SEEN SEVERAL ITERATIONS OF THIS PRESENTATION, AND THANK YOU FOR THE UPDATE.

UM, THE OTHER THING THAT I WANTED TO SHARE IS THAT I DO HAVE A UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE AS POSSIBLY ONE OF THE ONLY PEOPLE ON THE DESIGN COMMISSION WHO IS TRANSIT DEPENDENT.

UM, NOW I DON'T KNOW THE BACKGROUNDS OF SOME OF THE NEWER FOLKS WHO JUST JOINED US, UM, BUT I CAN SAY THAT I'M SOMEONE WHO HAS TO BUILD MY LIFE AROUND TRANSIT, AND I, LIKE MANY PEOPLE IN THE CITY FEEL THAT I'VE BEEN LET DOWN TIME AND TIME AGAIN WITH THE CONTINUED PROMISES AND THEN THE LACK OF FULFILLMENT.

UM, SO I THINK THAT THERE'S A GENERAL SENSE THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, THE COMMUNITY WAS SOLD SOMEWHAT OF A BAIT AND SWITCH.

NOW, I THINK FOR ME, UM, ONE OF THE EXPERIENCES THAT I'VE HAD WITH TRANSIT IN AUSTIN HAS BEEN CENTERED AROUND METRO RAIL.

I LIVE BY A METRO RAIL STATION AND I KNOW OTHERS WHO DO AS WELL.

AND WITH THE CURRENT SYSTEM, THEY'RE NOT EVEN ABLE, INCLUDING MYSELF, TO BUILD OUR LIVES AROUND IT.

BECAUSE OUR LIVES DON'T JUST HAPPEN FROM 7:00 AM TO 6:00 PM ON A MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY BASIS.

UH, YOU KNOW, OUR LIVES GO BEYOND THAT.

PEOPLE WHO ARE WORKING WORK BEYOND THOSE HOURS, UM, PEOPLE WHO ARE ENJOYING OUR CITY, UH, WHO WANT TO ENJOY OUR NIGHTLIFE, WHO WANNA SUPPORT THE LOCAL BUSINESSES IN DOWNTOWN, WANT TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT, UH, AFTER WORK.

SO RIGHT NOW, THAT JUST HASN'T BEEN A POSSIBILITY FOR A LOT OF US.

AND SO I THINK THAT YOU ALREADY HAVE A NEGATIVE IMPRESSION FROM FOLKS LIKE ME WHO WERE VERY OPTIMISTIC, BUT WHO HAVE GROWN TO BECOME VERY CYNICAL.

SO MY QUESTION IS, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THE PROJECTIONS AS FAR AS, UH, YOUR FUTURE WRITER WHO ARE, WHO ARE YOUR FUTURE WRITERS FROM A DEMOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE, UM, WHO'S CURRENTLY USING IT? UM, I ASK THESE QUESTIONS WITH CONCERN THAT THE AREA THAT IS NOW BEING DESIGNATED FOR THE NEW PATH IS LOCATED IN WHAT COULD BE CONSIDERED SOME OF THE WEALTHIEST NEIGHBORHOODS IN AUSTIN, AND MANY FOLKS WHO CURRENTLY USE TRANSIT UH, OR WOULD USE TRANSIT, UM, ARE BEING PUSHED OUT OF THIS AREA.

[00:55:01]

WE'VE BEEN GATHERING FEEDBACK FOR SIMILAR LIGHT RAIL PROPOSALS SINCE AT LEAST 2001.

UM, SO I JUST FEEL LIKE WHAT WE'RE DOING IS WE'RE FURTHER EXTENDING THE PROJECT'S DELIVERY DATE, WHICH IS ALREADY BEING THREATENED BY THE TEXAS, TEXAS LEGISLATURE.

WE'VE ALREADY SEEN THAT THESE DELAYS HAVE ADDED TO COSTS.

SO I QUESTION, YOU KNOW, WHY IS THERE SO MUCH MORE ADDITIONAL NEED FOR COMMUNITY INPUT ON THIS SYSTEM? I FEEL LIKE THE DATA POINTS SHOULD BE THERE.

SO I'D LOVE TO GET A BETTER SENSE OF, UM, NUMBER ONE, HOW CAN PEOPLE FEEL CONFIDENT THAT THEY CAN BUILD THEIR LIVES AROUND THIS SYSTEM WHEN IN THE PAST, YOU KNOW, PERHAPS, UH, THAT HASN'T BEEN THE CASE.

ALSO, UM, WHAT ARE THE PROJECTIONS OF WHO WILL BE WRITING THIS AND, YOU KNOW, WHY, WHY THE NEED FOR ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK AND INPUT.

SO, UM, SO THANKS FOR ALL OF THAT AND REALLY APPRECIATE THE BANNER.

UM, CERTAINLY, YOU KNOW, I THINK, UM, IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, BUILDING PEOPLE'S CONFIDENCE THAT THIS IS GONNA SERVE THEM, UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE REALLY, THE, THE PROMISE OF PROJECT CONNECT IS TO BE ABLE TO EXPAND OUR TRANSIT NETWORK SO THAT, UM, IT MAKES IT EASIER TO USE AND MORE USEFUL, RIGHT? SO MORE OPTIONS, UM, MORE MODES, MORE FREQUENCY, ET CETERA, RIGHT? AND ALL OF THAT IS PART OF THE PLAN.

UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S IMPORTANT TO, TO, TO REMIND PEOPLE IS LIGHT RAIL IS DIFFERENT FROM METRORAIL, PARTICULARLY IN TERMS OF THE FREQUENCY OF THE SERVICE.

LIKE WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, 10 MINUTE FREQUENCIES ON TWO OF THE LEGS, AND THEN FIVE MINUTE FREQUENCIES WHERE THEY COME TOGETHER.

SO IT'S REALLY ABOUT, YOU KNOW, REALLY RAPID REGULAR SERVICE ON THE LIGHT RAIL.

AND THEN ALSO ENSURING THAT THOSE, THAT SYSTEM IS ALSO INTEGRATED INTO THE REST OF THE, THE TRANSIT ECOSYSTEM.

WE KNOW THAT LIGHT RAIL ISN'T A PANACEA, IT'S NOT GONNA DO EVERYTHING, UM, BUT INTEGRATED WITH METRO RAPID AND LOCAL BUS SERVICE AND OTHER FORMS, PICKUP, ET CETERA, UM, YOU KNOW, WE FEEL CONFIDENT WE CAN SERVE, YOU KNOW, MORE PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY.

UM, AND ALSO REMEMBERING THAT WHAT WE'RE SHOWING RIGHT NOW IS PHASE ONE AND THERE THAT WE WILL EXPAND IT, CONTINUE TO EXPAND IT OVER TIME.

UM, YOU KNOW, YOUR SECOND QUESTION, WHICH WAS ABOUT WHO IS THE, THE TRANSIT USER? YOU KNOW, I THINK CERTAINLY WE HAVE TO BE FOCUSED ON, UH, ON THOSE WHO ARE, WHO ARE USING THE TRANSIT NOW AND WHO ARE TRANSIT DEPENDENT, RIGHT? WE KNOW THAT TRANSIT IS A LIFELINE FOR THESE COMMUNITIES, AND SO WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO SERVE THOSE, UM, AS A PRIORITY.

WE'RE ALSO TRYING TO MAKE TRANSIT MORE ACCESSIBLE TO MORE PEOPLE, RIGHT? AND TO BUILD A CULTURE OF TRANSIT FOR ANY BROADER SET OF USERS.

SO IT'S REALLY BOTH.

AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT CERTAINLY WHEN WE WERE GOING THROUGH THE ALTERNATIVES FOR PHASE ONE, WE WERE VERY AWARE OF, OF SOME OF THE TRADE-OFFS IN TERMS OF WHERE, UM, TRANSIT USERS ARE, ARE FOCUSED.

ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE'RE INVESTING AS MUCH AS WE ARE ON THE EAST SIDE, IT'S BECAUSE WE THINK THERE'S A HIGH CONCENTRATION OF, OF TRANSIT PEOPLE WHO NEED TRANSIT OUT THERE.

SO, UM, THAT'S BEEN, BEEN AN IMPORTANT PART OF OUR DECISION MAKING.

AND THEN THIRDLY, IN TERMS OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, YOU KNOW, I, I APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT, THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT YOU FEEL LIKE WE'VE GOTTEN A LOT OF FEEDBACK AND IT'S TRUE WE HAVE, UH, BUT I THINK WE JUST WANT TO REINFORCE THAT THIS IS A, THIS IS A CONTINUAL PROCESS, RIGHT? IT'S NOT LIKE WE'RE GONNA GET FEEDBACK AND THEN JUST GO AWAY FOR FIVE YEARS AND DELIVER THE PROGRAM, RIGHT? EVERY STEP OF THE WAY, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE COMING BACK, CHECKING BACK IN, UM, YOU KNOW, WE LEARN, WE LEARN NEW THINGS IN EVERY STEP OF THE WAY, AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, THAT WHAT WE'RE LEARNING IS VALIDATED WITH THE COMMUNITY, AND THEN WE'RE ALSO ENRICHING THOSE LEARNINGS FROM WHAT WE CAN GET FROM EVERYDAY USERS OF THE SYSTEM.

SO IT'S A CONTINUAL PROCESS THAT WILL CONTINUE THROUGHOUT UNTIL WE, YOU KNOW, OPEN THE SYSTEM.

YEAH, I MEAN, THE ONLY ADDITIONAL POINT I WOULD ADD IS JUST AS FAR AS PRIORITIZATION.

I KNOW THAT YOU HAVE TWO EXTENSIONS THAT ARE OUTLINED AS PRIORITY.

UM, ONE WAS, I THINK EXTENDING BEYOND, IS IT NORTH 38TH STREET, WHICH IS THE NORTH ONE GOES UP TO CRESTVIEW IN THE NORTH? THAT'S CORRECT.

AND IT STARTS AT 38TH.

UM, AND THEN THE OTHER WAS, I BELIEVE OUT TO THE AIRPORT.

THAT'S CORRECT.

AND THEN OUT OF THOSE TWO, IS ONE PRIORITIZED OVER THE OTHER? NO, IT'S NOT REALLY NOT SEEING, WE SEE BOTH OF 'EM AS HAVING DIFFERENT POTENTIAL, UH, ADDITIONAL FUNDING SOURCE OPPORTUNITIES.

AND SO I THINK THE FUNDING WILL REALLY DRIVE, YOU KNOW, WHETHER WE CAN DO ONE OR BOTH OF THOSE EXTENSIONS.

AND WHEN, SO WHERE I HAVE SOME CONCERN IS, UH, WITH PRIORITIZATION AS FAR AS CONNECTING TO METRO RAIL, YOU ALREADY HAVE A BUILT-IN, UH, DEMOGRAPHIC THERE, WHO IT IS UTILIZING THE RAIL, EVEN THOUGH IT HAS

[01:00:01]

LIMITED SERVICE.

I THINK THAT AS PART OF PROJECT CONNECT, I MEAN, CLEARLY THERE'S, UM, SOME, UH, SCOPE, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT'S OUT OF YOUR PURVIEW WITH REGARD TO, UH, CAP METRO, THEIR CAPACITY PLANNING.

UM, BUT RIGHT NOW, I MEAN, YES, YOU'RE RIGHT, YOU CAN'T HAVE THE SAME FREQUENCY, UH, ON METRO RAIL, BUT THAT CERTAINLY COULD BE EXPANDED, UM, AS FAR AS SERVICE HOURS AND DAYS OF THE WEEK TO INCLUDE SUNDAY.

UM, SO I THINK THAT THERE'S A REAL POTENTIAL TO OPTIMIZE AND MAXIMIZE CAPACITY BY HAVING THAT SECTION PRIORITIZED TO GO TO THE CRESTVIEW STATION.

UM, THE OTHER THING TOO IS THE, UH, THE SCHOOL FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED, I BELIEVE IS LOCATED ON 45TH STREET.

SO YOU'RE NOT EVEN, I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW HOW FAR 38TH IS FROM 45TH AS FAR AS, UM, THE END POINT AND WHERE THE SCHOOL IS, UM, EXACTLY.

UM, BUT YOU KNOW, CLEARLY THAT'S, THAT IT'S NOT QUITE HITTING IT.

SO I DUNNO, I JUST THINK THERE ARE A LOT OF COMMUNITIES AND, UH, POTENTIAL WRITERS THAT, UM, COULD BE SERVED.

YOU COULD ALREADY START PROMOTING BUILDING THAT, UH, RIDERSHIP BY HAVING, UM, THE EXPANDING CAPACITY ON THE METRO RAIL.

THAT WOULD BE A BUILT-IN DEMOGRAPHIC.

IT WOULD ONLY ADD MORE UTILITY.

SO I WOULD URGE TO, TO PRIORITIZE THAT LEG PERSONALLY.

UM, BUT YEAH, THOSE, THOSE ARE MY, UH, CONCERNS.

AND, UH, THANK YOU FOR ANSWERING MY QUESTIONS.

I APPRECIATE IT.

VICE CHAIR MINORS.

IS THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS FROM ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS? NO.

PRIORITY, BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT IF WE, IF WE SERVE THOSE USERS, WE SERVE EVERYBODY.

COMMISSIONER HOWARD, MY BUTT.

OH, IT DOES THE LIGHT'S ON TOP.

GOT IT.

THANKS.

UM, UH, THANK YOU.

UM, I, I THINK IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S REALLY EXCITING TO SEE THIS AMOUNT OF ANALYSIS AND DATA GOING INTO KIND OF USER EXPERIENCE.

UM, I'M REALLY CURIOUS, UH, ABOUT HOW YOU AND HOW YOU SEE THE PRIORITY OF USER NEEDS KIND OF, UM, BE, UH, INFORMING THE DESIGN AND INFORMING KINDA THE PROJECT MOVING FORWARD.

UM, ESPECIALLY AS IT RELATES NOT ONLY JUST TO, YOU KNOW, THE EXACT STATION AREA, BUT THE SURROUNDINGS WELL, UM, SO AS THEY, YOU KNOW, I PRESENTED THE, WE HAVE THIS KIND OF THIS, UH, TRIANGLE OF PRIORITY USER NEEDS.

AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK OUR GOAL IS TO TRY TO SATISFY ALL OF 'EM TO THE EXTENT TO WHICH WE CAN.

AND SO PART OF, UM, YOU KNOW, THE DESIGN PROCESS IS TO FIGURE OUT HOW DO WE ACTUALLY DO SOLVE AS MANY OF THOSE NEEDS WITH THE FEWEST NUMBER OF MOVES, RIGHT? BECAUSE THE MORE EFFICIENT WE CAN BE, UM, THE MORE EFFECTIVE WE CAN ALSO BE.

UM, SO AGAIN, THAT'S WHY I SAID THE, GAVE THAT EXAMPLE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, PROVIDING SOME COMFORT FROM THE STREET AND CONNECTING PEOPLE FROM NATURE, YOU KNOW, CAN BE SOLVED WITH, BY PROVIDING, YOU KNOW, NATURE-BASED AND SHADED AREAS THAT, THAT PROVIDE THAT, THAT LEVEL OF COMFORT, RIGHT? SO THAT'S ONE EXAMPLE OF, OF I THINK HOW WE HOPE THAT WE CAN SERVE MULTIPLE PRIORITIES, UM, AT THE SAME TIME.

UM, YOU KNOW, SO I I, I DON'T, YOU KNOW, AND THERE IS, YES, WE PUT THEM IN A LITTLE BIT OF A HIERARCHY BECAUSE I THINK THERE ARE SOME THAT WE KNOW THAT ARE CRITICAL TO SATISFY, BUT I'M VERY, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE'RE, WE WANT TO BE ASPIRATIONAL ABOUT TRYING TO, TO, TO SOLVE ALL OF THEM.

UH, NOW OBVIOUSLY THEY'RE ALWAYS GONNA BE TRADE-OFFS JUST BECAUSE WE HAVE LIMITED CAPACITY, BUDGET, YOU KNOW, REAL ESTATE, ET CETERA.

UM, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S THE DESIGN PROCESS, IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN DO THE MOST, UM, AS EFFICIENTLY AND EFFECTIVELY AS WE CAN.

UH, CAN I ASK JUST ONE MORE FOLLOW UP QUESTION ON THAT? UM, HOW, HOW ARE THESE PRIORITIES OF NEEDS GOING TO RELATE TO OTHER USERS OF THE RIGHT OF WAY AND THINGS LIKE THAT ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I SEE THE KIND OF RIGHT OF WAY DESIGN IS OFTEN PRIORITIZING CERTAIN USERS CONVENIENCE AND COMFORT OVER SOMETHING.

MAYBE IT'S A HIGHER PRIORITY AND A HIGHER, UM, LEVEL AND A NEED FOR OTHER USERS.

WELL, I THINK THAT, UM, AND WHAT I THINK YOU'RE GETTING AT, RIGHT, IS, YOU KNOW, WHAT DOES, WHAT DOES THE, THE STREETSCAPE LOOK LIKE MAYBE BEYOND THE STATION, RIGHT? UM, FOR BOTH PEDESTRIANS AND CYCLISTS.

AND, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE VERY AWARE OF IS IF WE WANT TO BUILD A CULTURE OF TRANSIT, WE HAVE TO ENABLE PEOPLE TO GET TO THE TRANSIT TO BE ABLE TO USE IT.

UM, AND UH, SO THAT'S WHERE BIKE LANES AND SIDEWALKS AND STREET TREES BECOME CRITICAL ELEMENTS OF THE, OF THE STREETSCAPE.

UM, AND IT'S NOT JUST AT THE STATIONS, IT'S THROUGHOUT THE ALIGNMENT.

SO I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TRYING TO SET, SERVE AS MANY USERS AS WE POSSIBLY CAN.

UM, OBVIOUSLY ACCESSIBILITY IS A KEY PRIORITY, SO MAKING SURE THAT, UM, SERVING, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WHO HAVE MOBILITY CHALLENGES IS, IS A

[01:05:01]

UM, BUT CERTAINLY, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOTTA, WE'VE GOTTA MAKE THIS AS ACCESSIBLE TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE.

COMMISSIONER TRO THANK YOU, CHAIR.

I JUST WANNA UNDERSCORE WHAT I, WHAT I THINK THE, THE IMPORTANCE OF, OF COMMISSIONER HOWARD'S COMMENTS THERE.

UM, WITH REGARD TO THE USERS IN THE PUBLIC REALM.

AND MR. MULLEN REALLY APPRECIATE HOW YOU BRING ON THIS PRESENTATION REALLY THROUGH THE LENS OF, OF THE PEOPLE USING IT.

IT IS SO EASY ON A HEAVY CIVIL PROJECT LIKE THIS TO, UH, FALL INTO THE TRAP OF MAKING IT WORK REALLY WELL FOR THE TRAINS.

UM, AND FORGETTING THAT THE TRAINS ARE SERVING THOSE PEOPLE AND, AND THAT SOME OF THE PEOPLE THAT ARE GOING TO BE INTERACTING WITH THIS ARE NOT EVEN TRANSIT USERS.

THEY MIGHT BE PASSERS BY.

SO I REALLY, UH, I DON'T WANNA SAY THAT TO SAY THAT, UM, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I'VE SEEN THE PYRAMID OF PRIORITIES.

UM, I THINK THAT IS AN EXCELLENT FRAMEWORK.

I LOVE TO SEE SOME OF THE TOOLS YOU'RE USING.

UH, I LOVE TO SEE, UM, THIS PLATFORM'S RETURN TO GRADE.

I THINK THAT'S GOING TO REALLY CREATE A MUCH RICHER URBAN DESIGN, UM, RICHER PEDESTRIAN EXPERIENCE AND NOT SIPHON AWAY USERS FROM THE DOWNTOWN STREETS.

SO, UH, I WANNA COMMEND YOU ON THAT PRESENTATION.

I UNDER, I UNDERSTAND THE DIFFICULTIES, UH, OF THE TRADE-OFFS, AS YOU SAY, BUT, UH, THANK YOU FOR HOW YOU'RE PRESENTING THIS.

THANKS.

ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS COMMENTS, QUESTIONS? WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.

UM, LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING THE NEXT PHASE OF THIS.

LOOK FORWARD TO COMING BACK.

THANKS FOR YOUR TIME.

APPRECIATE IT.

COUNCIL, WHETHER THE PROJECT BEVERLY S SHEFFIELD, NORTHWEST DISTRICT PARK POOL RENOVATION, LOCATED AT 7,000 RDA STREET, COMPLIES WITH THE CITY DESIGN SUSTAINABILITY STANDARDS PRESENT BY ZACH MUNOZ, MARVIN MOCK ARCHITECTURE, AND PATRICK BAYER PARKS AND REC DEPARTMENT.

ALL RIGHT, THE NEXT ITEM, UH, FOR DISCUSSION AND ACTION, UH, IS DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION TO RECOMMEND TO CITY

[4. Discussion and possible action to recommend to City Council whether the project Beverly S. Sheffield Northwest District Park - Pool Renovation, located at 7000 Ardath Street, complies with the City Design and Sustainability Standards. Presented by Zach Munoz, MarmonMok Architecture, and Patrick Beyer, Parks and Recreation Department.]

AND JUST FOR NOTE, UM, COMMISSIONER SALINAS, I NEED TO RECUSE FROM ITEMS FOUR AND FIVE.

HELLO EVERYBODY.

MY NAME IS PATRICK BYER.

OH, MY NAME'S PATRICK BYER.

I'M A PROJECT MANAGER AND LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT WITH THE SPONSOR DEPARTMENT.

THAT'S THE, UH, PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT.

UM, I'M GONNA INTRODUCE, UH, ZACH MUNOZ, WHO'S GONNA WALK YOU THROUGH THE, UH, PRESENTATION.

HE'S WITH MARMON MOCK ARCHITECTURE, THE, UH, PRIME ARCHITECT.

GOOD EVENING EVERYONE.

THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING US TO PRESENT OUR PROJECT TONIGHT.

UM, SO WE'RE GONNA BE LOOKING HERE AT THE BEVERLY S SHEFFIELD NORTHWEST DISTRICT PARK POOL RENOVATIONS.

UM, THIS IS AN EXISTING POOL IN THE NORTHWEST SIDE OF AUSTIN THAT WAS IDENTIFIED IN THE 2018 AQUATIC MASTER PLAN AS, UH, NEEDING SOME ATTENTION.

SO, UM, THIS POOL WAS ORIGINALLY BUILT IN THE LATE 1950S.

UH, AT THAT TIME IT WAS THE FIRST 50 METER REGULATION, OLYMPIC SIZED POOL IN AUSTIN.

AND SINCE THEN, OBVIOUSLY THERE HAVE BEEN OTHER LARGER POOLS CREATED.

BUT, UH, IT REMAINS, UH, A BELOVED FEATURE OF THE LOCAL NEIGHBORHOOD THERE, AND STILL TRACKS A GREAT NUMBER OF VISITORS.

SO, GIVEN THAT IT WAS LAST DONE IN THE FIFTIES, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF ITEMS THAT HAVE POPPED UP OVER TIME THAT, UH, NEED TO BE ADDRESSED AND NATURALLY BECAUSE OF WEAR AND TEAR OVER TIME AND SETTLEMENT.

SO, AS WE LOOKED AT HOW TO IMPROVE THIS POOL, NOT JUST, UM, IN TERMS OF MAKING IT MORE ADA ACCESSIBLE, WE ALSO LOOKED AT HOW TO INTRODUCE FEATURES THAT THE COMMUNITY HAD BEEN WANTING TO SEE.

SO WE CONDUCTED A NUMBER OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MEETINGS, UH, OVER LAST SUMMER.

AND IN THOSE, WE FIRST KIND OF ASKED WHAT FEATURES THEY'D LIKE TO SEE, AND THEN CAME UP WITH TWO SEPARATE OPTIONS, ONE BEING WHETHER THEY WOULD LIKE THE EXISTING KITTY POOL TO REMAIN AS A KITTY POOL, BUT TO INTRODUCE A ZERO SLOPE ENTRY, MAKING A, A MORE OF A UNIVERSAL DESIGN.

AND THEN, AS YOU CAN SEE THERE IN CONCEPT B, THE ALTERNATIVE WAS TO INCLUDE A SPLASH PAD AND THE THOUGHT BEHIND THE SPLASH PAD BEING THAT IT MAY ALLOW FOR SEPARATE MEANS OF ACCESS AND LONGER OPERATING HOURS.

SO WE SHARED THOSE CONCEPT OPTIONS WITH THE COMMUNITY AND ALLOW THEM TO VOTE THROUGH THE, UH, LINK THAT YOU SEE THERE.

AND IT TURNS OUT THAT THEY SELECTED THE KITTY POOL OPTION, WHICH IS WHAT THEY HAVE NOW, BUT, UH, THAT THE NEW KITTY POOL WOULD INCLUDE A ZERO DEPTH ENTRY.

PEOPLE SAID, WELL, THAT, THAT ALL SOUNDS GREAT, BUT PLEASE DON'T CHANGE IT MUCH.

SO, IN PART OF THIS COMMUNITY INPUT, WE ALSO TOOK SURVEYS TO UNDERSTAND WHETHER WE WERE ACHIEVING THE COMMUNITY'S GOALS.

AND WE LARGELY HEARD FROM THE COMMUNITY THAT THEY LIKED THE POOL JUST AS IT IS.

IN FACT, UH, WHEN WE STARTED KIND OF TOSSING OUT IDEAS FOR VARIOUS IMPROVEMENTS, MANY

[01:10:01]

AND SO WE, WE KEPT THAT IN MIND.

AND LIKE I SAY, THE THRUST OF THIS PROJECT REALLY IS ADDRESSING ADA ACCESSIBLE ISSUES.

UH, A GOOD PORTION OF THE EXISTING POOL DECK, UH, AT THE ENTRY IS, UM, SLOPED RATHER STEEPLY AND HAS JUST SETTLED OVER TIME.

SO THAT'S REALLY WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.

AND IN THAT SURVEY, UM, PEOPLE DID MENTION THAT THEIR FOCUS REALLY WAS ON THE, THE SWIMMING FEATURES OF THE POOL.

UM, LESS SO ON, YOU KNOW, CONCESSIONS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.

IN FACT, WHEN WE SPOKE TO CONCESSIONS, THEY WERE RATHER VOCAL ABOUT NOT WANTING THAT.

UM, A BIG REASON BEING THAT IT LEADS TO TRASH AND, UH, ADDITIONAL MAINTENANCE CONSIDERATIONS.

OKAY, SO WE'RE GONNA STEP INTO THE SITE DESIGN NOW.

SO, AS I MENTIONED, THIS IS AN EXISTING POOL WITHIN EXISTING NEIGHBORHOODS.

YOU'RE LOOKING THERE AT THE LAND USE MAP, UH, CLEARLY INDICATING THAT IT'S MOSTLY RESIDENTIAL AROUND IT.

SAME WITH ZONING.

IT'S MOSTLY ZONED FOR SINGLE FAMILY HOMES ALL AROUND.

THIS POOL DOES BENEFIT FROM A NUMBER OF, UH, NEARBY NEIGHBORHOOD CONNECTIONS.

I WOULD SAY THE MOST SPECIAL ONE TO ME SEEMS TO BE SHOAL CREEK.

UH, SHOAL CREEK, AS YOU SEE THERE ON THE DOTTED RED LINE, THERE'S KIND OF HUGGING THE WEST SIDE OF THE SITE.

AND, UH, THERE'S ALSO A BUS STOP NOT TOO FAR BY OFF BURNETT ROAD, AS WELL AS SOME OTHER, UM, NEIGHBORHOOD CONNECTIONS.

ONE THING WE ARE DOING WITH THIS PROJECT, AND YOU'LL SEE IT LATER IN A SITE MAP, IS WE ARE IMPROVING PEDESTRIAN CONNECTIVITY IN THAT THERE'S CURRENTLY AN EXISTING SIDEWALK IN FRONT OF THE NORTHWEST, UH, POOL THAT JUST KIND OF HAS A DEAD END.

AND SO WE WILL BE EXTENDING THAT SIDEWALK SO THAT, UH, IT BECOMES CONTINUOUS WITH ANOTHER SIDEWALK THAT'S ALREADY ACROSS THE STREET ON UH, ALBERTA AVENUE.

SO HERE WE HAVE THE LANDSCAPE CONCEPT PLAN, AND I, I DO BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE COLEMAN WITH COLEMAN, UH, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS PRESENT.

IS THAT CORRECT? THAT IS CORRECT.

UH, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SPEAK TO THIS ANN? ANN? THANK YOU.

ANN COLEMAN WITH COLEMAN ASSOCIATES AND FORMER DESIGN COMMISSION MEMBER.

MY KIDS AND I GREW UP AT THIS POOL, SO I KNOW IT VERY WELL.

AND I ACTUALLY KNEW BEVERLY SHEFFIELD, I THINK HE WAS PARKS DIRECTOR FOR SEVERAL DECADES.

REALLY INCREDIBLE MAN IN HISTORY OF OUR PARKS, DEPARTMENT PARKS SYSTEM.

THIS PROJECT, WHAT YOU NOTICE THE MOST ARE THE EXISTING TREES AND ALL OF THE EXISTING TREES ON THIS PROJECT ARE BEING RETAINED EXCEPT FOR ONE TREE THAT WAS DETERMINED ALREADY BY THE CITY AS BEING IN DECLINE OF PECAN TREE.

SO IT WAS AN IMMINENT DANGER.

SO IT HAS ALREADY BEEN APPROVED FOR REMOVAL.

OTHER THAN THAT, ALL THE TREES HAVE BEEN RETAINED AND ARE IN GOOD SHAPE.

SO THE DESIGN IS WORKING AROUND THAT.

WE ARE RE-VEGETATING WITH A ER GRASS.

SO, UH, ZOIA GRASS IS A LITTLE HARDIER AND SHADE AND, UH, WORKS WELL WITH FOOT TRAFFIC.

UM, AS ZACH WAS TALKING ABOUT, WE HAVE IMPROVED THE CONNECTIVITY.

IT DOES BENEFIT FROM HAVING EXCUSE AND, SORRY, UM, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO BE AT THE D PLEASE IN ORDER TO PRESENT.

ANN COLEMAN, COLEMAN ASSOCIATES LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS FORMER DESIGN COMMISSION MEMBER.

I'LL FORGET THE PRELUDE.

I THINK YOU ALL HEARD THAT.

I KNOW THIS PROJECT VERY WELL.

I'VE HAD MANY, MANY HOURS WITH MY OWN FAMILY AT THIS POOL.

UH, I WAS LEFT OFF WITH THE TREES.

TREES ARE ALL BEING PRESERVED.

REVEGETATION IS OCCURRING IN A SHADY AREA SO THAT THE, THAT THE, THE LAWN WILL SURVIVE IN THOSE CONDITIONS.

WE ARE ALSO COMPLETING THE CONNECTIVITY.

THERE IS LOTS OF CONNECTIVITY TO MULTIPLE AREAS.

AS ZACH POINTED OUT IN THIS PROJECT.

WE ARE ALSO IMPROVING THE, UH, ADA ACCESSIBILITY.

I THINK ZACH SPOKE TO THAT AREAS WHERE THERE'S A ONE AREA IN PARTICULAR WHERE THE SIDEWALK JUST ENDS.

THERE'S ALSO BEING SHADE STRUCTURES ADDED IN THE POOL AREA.

THOSE ARE INDICATED BY THE DARK BLUE AREAS.

SO FOR COMFORT ALONE, UH, THAT'S A, A BIG IMPROVEMENT TO THE PROJECT.

UM, I'VE ALREADY MENTIONED THE ONE PECAN TREE THAT'S ALREADY BEEN PRE-APPROVED BY THE CITY ARBORIST GROUP FOR REMOVAL.

'CAUSE IT WASN'T IMMINENT DANGER, AN OLD PECAN TREE.

UH, OTHER THAN THAT, WE'RE NOT DOING MUCH TO CHANGE THE POOL.

ZACH SAID, UH, EVERYBODY, THIS IS A BELOVED POOL THAT PEOPLE DON'T

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WANT A WHOLE LOT OF CHANGE.

IT'S JUST BEING UPGRADED.

IT'S GOING TO BE MORE COMFORTABLE, AS WE TALKED ABOUT, THAT'S IMPORTANT IN OUR, IN OUR VERY HOT SUMMERS.

AND CONNECTIVITY AND ACCESS IS, IS ONLY BEING IMPROVED.

THANKS, ANNE.

OKAY, WE CAN MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE.

AND THIS PROJECT WILL BE PURSUING SITES CERTIFICATION.

SO IN DOING SO, WE ARE BEING MINDFUL OF, UM, INCLUDING NATIVE VEGETATION WHERE POSSIBLE BEING WATER EFFICIENT AND EVERYTHING ELSE THAT WE NEED TO DO IN ORDER TO MEET OUR CERTIFICATION GOALS.

AND NOW WE'RE GONNA MOVE INTO THE FLOOR PLAN.

SO, AS I MENTIONED, THIS IS AN EXISTING POOL, EXISTING FACILITIES.

WE'RE NOT ACTUALLY CREATING ANY NEW BUILDINGS ON THIS SITE.

UM, IT'S MOSTLY SITE WORK.

UH, THE POOL ITSELF WILL BE COMPLETELY GETTING RENOVATED IN THAT THERE'S A NEW POOL SYSTEM CALLED MHA RENO ACTION THAT WILL BE INSTALLED WITHIN THE EXISTING POOL.

UH, WHAT THAT ESSENTIALLY INVOLVES IS RELINING ALL OF THE CONCRETE POOL WALLS WITH A WATER TYPE STEEL LINE, STEEL LINER ENCLOSURE.

SO ESSENTIALLY ALMOST LIKE, UM, A NEW BATHTUB COATING TO THE EXISTING WALLS.

UH, THE, THE BIG AREA THAT WE'RE REALLY RENOVATING IS THE EXISTING BATHROOMS. YOU CAN SEE THEM ON THE LOWER RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE PLAN IN THE CIRCULAR AREAS.

UM, THESE BUILDINGS ARE, UH, ELIGIBLE FOR BEING REGISTERED AS A HISTORICAL BUILDING, UM, ALTHOUGH THEY'RE NOT RIGHT NOW.

SO KNOWING THAT AND WORKING WITH PARGE HISTORICAL TEAM, WE HAVE BEEN VERY MINDFUL OF PROTECTING THE HISTORICAL INTEGRITY OF THE BUILDING, UH, REALLY LIMITING OUR INTERVENTIONS TO ONLY THOSE THAT ARE NECESSARY TO MAKE IT ADA COMPLIANT.

AND THEN THE OTHER MAJOR AREA THAT I'D LIKE TO POINT YOUR ATTENTION TO IS NEAR THE NUMBER 13 RENOVATED ENTRY PLAZA.

SO, AS I MENTIONED, ANYONE WHO'S BEEN TO NORTHWEST TODAY WILL KNOW THIS AREA AS JUST A, A BIG, KIND OF FREE FOR ALL CONCRETE SIDEWALK AREA THAT HAS CRAZY SLOPES OCCURRING ALL OVER THE PLACE.

AND SO TO REMEDY THAT, UH, AND BRING EVERYTHING, YOU KNOW, INTO A FLAT RAIN AS NECESSARY, WE'VE, UH, INTRODUCED SOME RATHER LARGE PLANTERS TO KIND OF GUIDE PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC THROUGH SOME, BOTH SLOPED WALKS THAT ARE NOT STEEP AT ALL, AND THEN THROUGH SOME, UH, STANDARD ADA SLOPED RAMPS.

SO I THINK THAT'S REALLY GONNA HELP FRAME THE, THE VISITOR EXPERIENCE COMING INTO THE POOL.

NOW, NEXT SLIDE.

THIS IS JUST A, A BLOWUP OF THAT ENLARGED RESTROOM PLAN.

AS I MENTIONED, WE ARE NOT CHANGING THE BUILDING FROM THE EXTERIOR.

UM, IT, IT CURRENTLY IT'S LIMESTONE.

YOU'LL SEE THAT IN ANOTHER SLIDE.

UH, WHAT WE ARE DOING IS REPLACING ALL OF THE FIXTURES.

WE'RE REDOING THE FLOOR SLAB AGAIN TO ADDRESS ADA, UM, ISSUES.

AND WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO BE INTRODUCING A NEW SHOWER IN A UNIVERSAL FAMILY CHANGING ROOM.

SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT THE FACILITY DID NOT HAVE BEFORE.

I THINK IT'S REALLY GONNA BE A, A GREAT BENEFIT TO MANY FAMILIES AND THOSE PEOPLE WHO, UH, ACQUIRE AN EXTRA LEVEL OF PRIVACY.

AND WITHIN THE LARGER CHANGING ROOMS, WE'RE ALSO RENOVATING THE SHOWERS, UM, TO INCLUDE, UM, DUAL ADA, UM, SHOWER CONTROL VALVES, ADA BENCHES, AND IN GENERAL, JUST KIND OF TOUCHING UP ALL THE LIGHTING ELECTRICAL DEVICES.

SO IN THIS ELEVATION SLIDE, WE JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF WHAT THE EXISTING BUILDING LOOKS LIKE.

'CAUSE AS I MENTIONED, WE'RE NOT ACTUALLY CREATING ANY NEW BUILDINGS FOR THIS PROJECT.

UM, SO WE JUST KIND OF WANNA REDIRECT EVERYONE'S ATTENTION TO WHAT IS THERE AND WHAT WE ARE INCLUDING IN THE SCOPE OF THIS PROJECT IS, UH, POWER WASHING THE EXISTING LIMESTONE AND REPAIRING THE GROUT WHERE IT'S CLEARLY FALLEN IN INTO DISREPAIR.

AND SO WE'RE GONNA JUST CONCLUDE THIS LITTLE PRESENTATION WITH A FEW SNIPPETS OF, UH, RENDERINGS WHERE WE'RE CURRENTLY AT.

SO THIS IS A VIEW LOOKING DOWN TOWARDS THE SOUTHWEST OF THE POOL.

UH, ONE THING ABOUT THIS RENDERING IS, UH, IT'S A LITTLE DECEPTIVE WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE NUMBER OF TREES SHOWN.

THERE'S ACTUALLY A LOT MORE TREE COVER IN THE ACTUAL PROJECT TODAY.

AND, AND AS ANNE MENTIONED, WE'RE NOT REDUCING THE NUMBER OF THOSE TREES, SO WE SHOULD HAVE THE SHADE, UH, IN THE FUTURE THAT WE HAVE TODAY.

UM, THERE IS SOME SHADE STRUCTURES PROPOSED.

I, I BELIEVE BECAUSE OF BUDGETARY CONSTRAINTS, THEY MAY BE IDENTIFIED AS AN ALTERNATE RIGHT NOW.

SO IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT WE WILL HAVE THE DESIGN PREPARED FOR, BUT IT WOULD ONLY ACTUALLY GET INSTALLED IF, UH, IF WE LEARN THAT THE BUDGET CAN SUPPORT IT.

AND THEN ONE THING YOU'LL SEE HERE, THERE'S A BIG TREE MISSING FROM THAT PLANTER RIGHT IN THE CENTER.

AND THAT'S JUST BECAUSE IF WE INCLUDED THE TREE, THAT'S ALL YOU'D SEE IN THE RENDERING.

SO, UM, WE WANTED TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF WHAT'S ACTUALLY OCCURRING AROUND THAT PLANTER.

SO AS I MENTIONED, YOU'VE GOT A SLOPE WALK ON THE LEFT WITH A A FEW LITTLE

[01:20:01]

BREAKOUT PICNIC AREAS.

AND THEN ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THAT, A LARGE PLANTER, YOU'VE GOT THE ACTUAL ADA RAMP.

AND ONE OTHER THING WE'RE ADDING TO THE POOL THAT, UM, I FORGOT TO FOCUS IN ON, BUT AGAIN, I THINK THIS IS GONNA BE A GREAT ADDITION, IS ON THAT LOWER RIGHT HAND CORNER OF THE LARGE POOL THAT YOU SEE UNDER THE SHADE STRUCTURE, WE'RE INTRODUCING A, A STEPPED ENTRY.

SO CURRENTLY NORTHWEST POOL JUST HAS LADDERS TO GET IN EVERYWHERE.

AND AS WE ALL KNOW, LADDERS, UM, CAN BE DIFFICULT.

NOT NECESSARILY JUST FOR THE DISABLED FOR, BUT FOR ANYONE.

UM, A STEPPED ENTRY IS MUCH EASIER TO WALK INTO.

AND OBVIOUSLY A ZERO SLOPE ENTRY IS THE BEST.

BUT, UH, WE HAD TO GO WITH WHAT THE PROJECT COULD SUPPORT.

UM, AND SO WE INTRODUCED A NEW STEPPED ENTRY.

THIS IS ONE MORE VIEW, LOOKING DOWN AT, UM, THE ADA RAMP.

AS I MENTIONED, WE'RE STILL WORKING ON SOME DESIGN ELEMENTS.

SO, UH, WHAT YOU SEE THERE ON THE, THE HANDRAIL IS STEEL.

UH, AGAIN, THERE WOULD BE A NUMBER OF PLANTS AND SHRUBS IN THESE PLANTERS THAT YOU SEE TO YOUR LEFT AND RIGHT.

AND TO YOUR RIGHT HAND SIDE, YOU SEE THE KITTY POOL THAT WOULD BE RENOVATED WITH THE ZERO, UM, ENTRY SLOPE.

AND SO, YEAH, THIS IS OUR LAST RENDERING.

THIS IS LOOKING BACK UP TOWARDS THE NORTH AND THE DISTANCE THERE, YOU SEE THAT RENOVATED ENTRY PLAZA, AS I MENTIONED WITH THE PLANTERS.

UM, WE ARE GOING TO MAINTAIN DIVING AS IT OCCURS TODAY, WHICH YOU SEE ON THE LOWER HAND OF THE POOL.

ONE SMALL INTERVENTION THAT WE'RE DOING IS THERE IS A LITTLE WALL THAT WE'RE INTRODUCING WITHIN THE POOL THAT YOU CAN KIND OF SEE TO THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE DIVER THERE.

UM, IT'S A MINOR, UH, ADDITION, BUT IT IS NECESSARY TO MAKE THIS POOL CODE COMPLIANT.

PRESENTLY, UH, THERE'S JUST ABOUT A 10 FOOT DROP OFF BETWEEN A FIVE FOOT SHALLOW AREA THAT SUDDENLY BECOMES 12 FOOT.

AND SO OBVIOUSLY THAT'S UNSAFE AND IT'S ALSO AGAINST CODE.

SO WE'RE INTRODUCING THIS WALL TO ADDRESS THAT CONCERN, AND THAT WOULD CONCLUDE THE PRESENTATION FOR NORTHWEST.

UM, ANY COMMISSIONERS HAVE QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? ALRIGHT, COMMISSIONER HOWARD.

UM, I, I JUST DISCOVERED THIS POOL THIS SUMMER AND IT IS AWESOME.

UM, IT STAYS COOL.

UM, AND, BUT I DID NOTICE THAT THE, THE SECTION BETWEEN THE, BETWEEN THE TWO POOLS, THE KITTY POOL AND THE, THE FULL-SIZE POOL, IS THAT WITH THE, THE PROPOSED SHADE STRUCTURE? UM, IS THAT CLEAR WIDTH CHANGING? IS IT GETTING NARROWER? UM, SO IT'S GETTING A LITTLE BIT NARROWER.

AND ONE THING THAT THE PLAN SHOWS, BUT YOU'D HAVE TO REALLY ZOOM IN ON IT, IS THERE'S GONNA BE A, A LINE OF BENCHES INTRODUCED INTO THAT AREA.

AND SO ONE THING THAT'S WITHOUT LOOKING AT A DETAIL THAT'S A LITTLE HARD TO UNDERSTAND IS THAT THE DECK LEVEL AT THE KITTY POOL IS ACTUALLY ABOUT, UH, A FOOT OR SO TALLER THAN THE DECK AT THE LARGE LAP POOL.

SO TODAY THERE'S LIKE A FOUR FOOT TALL CHAIN LINK FENCE THAT SEPARATES THE TWO DECKS MM-HMM.

AND SO RATHER THAN HAVING A, A FENCE SEPARATE THE TWO DECKS, WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A LITTLE BETTER TO HAVE BENCHES ACTUALLY KIND OF CREATE THAT BARRIER IN THAT THEY CAN ACT AS A BARRIER, BUT THEY'RE ALSO VERY USEFUL.

THANKS FOR THAT CLARIFICATION.

YOU KNOW, THAT'S ONE THING THAT PULLS LACKING IS A LOT OF SEATING AROUND THE DECK AREA.

MY SECOND QUESTION IS, UH, AROUND THE ACCESS.

I KNOW YOU'RE, YOU WERE ADDING STAIRS KIND OF NEAR THE ENTRANCE, UH, POINT, BUT THE POOL, AS I UNDERSTAND IT, IS KIND OF DIVIDED BY THE LAP, THE, THE LAP, UM, LANES.

UM, AND SO WILL IT CONTINUE TO NOT HAVE ANY STAIR ACCESS ON THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE POOL? UM, THAT'S CORRECT.

WE ARE ONLY ADDING STAIRS TO ONE PORTION OF THE POOL, OTHERWISE IT WOULD ALL BE LADDER ACCESS AS IT IS TODAY.

CLARIFICATION, COMMISSIONER RE THANK YOU CHAIR.

UH, A COUPLE QUESTIONS.

UH, FIRST QUICKLY, UH, I KNOW WE'RE, IT'S A RENDERING AND JUST REPRESENTATIONS YOU WERE SHOWING AS PROGRESS AT THE END.

THOSE, THOSE LIGHT FIXTURES LOOK AWFULLY TALL AND ANGLED.

ARE, ARE WE, WE ARE GOING FULL CUTOFF HERE AND DARK SKIES COMPLIANT.

IS THAT CORRECT? YES.

OKAY, THANK YOU.

UM, I THINK BROADLY MY COMMENTS REVOLVE AROUND THE PROCESS OF, OF PURSUING SITES HERE, AND THAT'S SORT OF A BIGGER PICTURE CONVERSATION THAN, UM, THAN THIS PROJECT ALONE DESERVES.

UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, IT IS, I I COMMEND PARS DECISION TO, TO MOVE TO THAT, UM, CERTIFICATION, UH, THAT SAID SITES IS NOT SPECIFICALLY WELL WRITTEN FOR PROJECTS THIS SMALL, UM, AS YOU PROBABLY HAVE LEARNED BY NOW, .

UM, SO THERE'S, YOU KNOW, THE, THE SITE IS SO INTERESTING TO ME READING THE BACKUP MATERIAL THAT THE ENTIRE, OR A GOOD PORTION OF THIS PART IS A DETENTION FACILITY AND IT WAS ORIGINALLY

[01:25:01]

CREATED AS SUCH.

UM, SO THAT RIGHT THERE MIGHT ANSWER THE QUESTION OF HOW YOU INTEND TO MEET THE SITE'S PREREQUISITES FOR, UH, STORM WATER, WHICH ARE MORE RIGOROUS, UM, THAN THE CITY'S, UM, REQUIREMENTS THERE.

AND LOOKING AT OTHER, UM, JUST GENERAL QUESTIONS OF HOW HOW SITES CAN BE ACHIEVED AND ANY OTHER ROADBLOCKS THAT YOU'RE POTENTIALLY LOOKING AT, UM, OR CHALLENGES THEREIN.

I'M NOT SURE IF THAT WAS A QUESTION OR ME JUST RAMBLING.

WELL, YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.

I MEAN, ONE THING ABOUT THIS POOL THAT MANY PEOPLE WILL GET SURPRISED BY INCLUDING THE CODE VIEWERS, IS THAT THE ENTIRE FACILITY IS WITHIN A DETENTION POND.

AND IT, IT BECOMES A BIT TRICKY BECAUSE IN MANY PROJECTS, UH, A GOAL BECOMES, YOU KNOW, HOW TO RETAIN WATER, HOW TO NOT LET IT KIND OF LEAVE THE SITE.

BUT IN THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT, YOU'RE ALREADY IN A BIG POND, SO THERE YOU CAN'T REALLY PROVIDE A POND WITHIN A POND.

AND ONE OTHER, UH, LAST POINT ON SITES THAT YOU'RE EITHER, UM, GRAPPLING WITH NOW OR WILL, UM, IS A LOT OF THE REQUIREMENTS ON THE CONSTRUCTION END FOR SPECIFICATIONS, UM, MAINTENANCE EQUIPMENT AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.

UM, REALLY KIND OF TURNING MY, UH, ATTENTION TO, TO MR. BYER HERE WHO, UH, WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS, BUT, UH, RECOMMEND THAT YOU'RE GOING TO KEEP SEEING CHALLENGES FOR MAINTENANCE AND EQUIPMENT AND SPECIFICATIONS AS PART, UH, YOU KNOW, GETS UP TO SPEED WITH ITS, WITH ITS, UM, COMMENDABLE REQUIREMENT TO USE THIS.

AND, UM, JUST ONE, ONE THING THAT I WOULD RECOMMEND TO THE PROJECT TEAM IS GET OUT IN FRONT OF THAT AND THAT WILL MAKE THE REST OF THIS CERTIFICATION PROCESS MUCH SMOOTHER.

ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU.

ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS, COMMISSIONER GALLES? YES, I DID.

UM, I DID WANT TO COMMENT ON THE ADDITIONAL ACCESS TO THE SHOAL CREEK GREENWAY.

UM, I I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT THAT CONNECTION WAS MADE AND I DID WANT TO, UM, JUST QUESTION THE, THE NEW FENCING THAT I THINK IS BEING PLACED AROUND THE ENTIRE PERIMETER AND, AND WONDER WHETHER THERE WOULD BE ACCESS THROUGH THAT AT THE POINT OF THAT SHOAL CREEK CONNECTION OR IS, IS THERE ONE SINGLE POINT OF ENTRY THROUGH THE MAIN SORT OF FUNNEL THAT YOU'VE CREATED RIGHT NOW? IT REMAINS ONE SINGLE POINT OF ENTRY.

UM, WE'VE KIND OF DISCUSSED THAT WITH THE OWNER IN THE PAST.

IN FACT, THAT WAS PART OF THE IDEA BEHIND THE SPLASH PAD WAS THAT PERHAPS THERE WOULD BE A SECOND POINT OF ENTRY.

BUT, AND PATRICK, YOU CAN CONFIRM THIS, BUT I THINK IT'S PARS PREFERENCE TO JUST HAVE ONE MAJOR POINT OF ENTRY.

IS THAT CORRECT? YEAH, THAT'S CORRECT.

AND THEN THE, THE FENCE IS A, A POOL REQUIREMENT, THE SIX FOOT FENCE, BUT WITHIN THE PARK ITSELF, THERE'LL BE VERY LIMITED FENCING.

AND THAT, THAT LEADS ME TO THE SECOND QUESTION WITH REGARD TO THE FENCE BEING THAT THERE IS SO MUCH OF IT.

UM, I, I WONDER IN TERMS OF THE DESIGN, OBVIOUSLY THIS IS GONNA BE A MAJOR PART OF YOUR, YOUR BUDGET AND SCOPE, BUT TO JUST, YOU KNOW, PAY ATTENTION TO THE QUALITY THERE.

'CAUSE THAT DOES TEND TO INFORM WHAT THE PUBLIC REALM FEELS LIKE, UM, IT BEING A NEW ENCLOSURE.

UM, BUT THEN ALSO IN TERMS OF SAFETY, UH, I'M SURE YOU'VE CONSIDERED THIS, BUT IN, IN THE EVENT OF AN EMERGENCY, WOULD THERE BE A SORT OF PUSH ACCESS FOR A SECONDARY EXIT IN, IN A, AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE PRIMARY? I, MARY? NO, ABSOLUTELY.

UM, ON YOUR FIRST POINT REGARDING THE AESTHETICS OF THE FENCE, WE, WE ARE SELECTING SOMETHING THAT LOOKS GOOD.

UM, IN FACT, IT'S THE SAME FENCE THAT, UH, WE'RE WORKING ON FOR THE NEW COLONY POOL AND GIBBONS POOL RENOVATION PROJECTS IN AUSTIN, TEXAS.

SO THIS IS NOT GONNA BE A CHAIN LINK STYLE FENCE.

AND THEN AS REGARDS EXITS, WE'RE ACTUALLY SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVING THE SAFETY OF THE FACILITY AS COMPARED TODAY IN THAT WE ARE PROVIDING TWO ADDITIONAL EXITS, UM, ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE PROPERTY FROM THAT FENCE THAT WILL INCLUDE PANIC HARDWARE AND THE OTHER THREE EXITS THAT REMAIN TODAY, THOSE WILL BE REDONE AND INCLUDE PANIC HARDWARE AS WELL.

SO IT, IT'S A BIG IMPROVEMENT.

'CAUSE RIGHT NOW, IF, IF THERE WERE AN EMERGENCY ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THAT POOL, IT'S, IT'S QUITE A WAYS TO MAKE YOUR WAY TO THAT EXIT.

MM-HMM, , THANK YOU.

ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS, VICE CHAIR MINORS? HEY.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SPEAK TO THAT? YEAH, I COULD START.

UM, SO I'VE ASKED THIS IN THE PAST AND I DON'T RECALL THE REASONING, BUT, UM, ONE OF THE REQUESTS THAT I OFTEN HEAR FROM MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY IS THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE CONCESSIONS AT THESE FACILITIES.

AND I'VE HEARD IN THE, IN THE PAST THAT THERE ARE LIMITATIONS TO THAT.

CAN YOU EXPOUND ON THAT AND WHY THEY'RE NOT INCLUDED IN THESE PLANS? GIVEN THAT I FEEL LIKE CONTINUAL IN THE NEWS, WE HEAR ABOUT THE CONSTRAINTS WITH FUNDING FOR POOLS AND NEW POOLS AND KEEPING THEM OPEN.

SO WHAT'S THE SITUATION THERE? I COULD SPEAK TO THAT OR PATRICK,

[01:30:01]

SO, UM, WE DID CONSIDER IT FOR NORTHWEST.

IT WAS CALLED OUT IN THE AQUATIC MASTER PLAN.

BUT WHEN WE WERE GOING THROUGH THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS, WE REALLY HEARD FROM THE COMMUNITY THAT THEY DID NOT WANT THE, THE VENDING.

AND IT WAS ACTUALLY A, UH, A FOOD TRUCK, UH, OPPORTUNITY THAT WAS GONNA BE IN THE, THE PARKING AREA.

AND THEN AS FAR AS HAVING THE, THE FOOD SERVED WITHIN, UM, THE POOL SPACE, THERE ARE SOME ADDITIONAL CHALLENGES WITH LIKE MAINTENANCE AND, AND FIRE ANTS AND THAT TYPE OF THING.

SO IT'S GENERALLY OUTSIDE OF THE POOL AREA, UH, THAT WE TRY AND PROVIDE THOSE CONCESSION OPPORTUNITIES.

SO DO YOU DO THAT ANALYSIS WITH EACH NEIGHBORHOOD WITH REGARD TO THE PARK AND THEIR COMMUNITY? OR IS IT JUST THAT YOU HAD COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN THAT ONE NEIGHBORHOOD WHO KIND OF DICTATED FOR THE ENTIRE SYSTEM THAT SUCH FACILITY SHOULDN'T BE INCLUDED OR THAT THEY WERE UNDESIRABLE? RIGHT, RIGHT.

IN THIS INSTANCE, WE LOOKED AT THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE AQUATIC MASTER PLAN, SO THEY HAD SUGGESTED IT AND THEN WE PROPOSED THAT IDEA TO THE COMMUNITY.

UM, SO I THINK IT IS CASE BY CASE WHEN WE'RE GOING THROUGH THAT, UH, DEVELOPMENT PROCESS THAT WE JUST GET CONFIRMATION AS WE MOVE FORWARD.

YEAH, I MEAN IT JUST SEEMS LIKE ONE OF THOSE KIND OF NO-BRAINERS, UH, FOR AN ADDITIONAL FUNDING STREAM, BUT, UM, THANK YOU.

ONE, ONE, UH, LAST QUESTION IN THE BACKUP MATERIALS, UM, YOU REFERENCED THAT THE PROJECT HAS PARTIAL COMPLIANCE WITH SUBCHAPTER E AND HAS DSD UH, APPROVAL FOR THAT PARTIAL COMPLIANCE COUNTS FOR FULL COMPLIANCE HERE.

CAN YOU ELABORATE ON THAT? I WAS JUST CURIOUS WHAT THAT MEANT.

UM, AND DO YOU WANNA SPEAK TO THAT AT ALL? 'CAUSE I, I, I UNDERSTAND A BIT OF IT, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF MAYBE YOU UNDERSTAND A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT IT.

ANN COLEMAN, AND I'M NEVER SPEAKING TO YOU AGAIN.

UM, , I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT AND MARISSA CAN'T TELL ME.

NO, NO, NO.

I, I, I, I KIND OF KNOW THE ANSWER.

SO THAT'S WHY , I, I DIDN'T KNOW IF MAYBE YOU COULD, UH, SPEAK IT MORE ELOQUENTLY, BUT WELL, IT'S NOT BUILDING PLACEMENT.

WE KNOW THAT.

UM, OKAY.

BECAUSE I, I RECALL WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT SUBCHAPTER E THAT IT HAD TO DO WITH PROVIDING SHADE AT SIDEWALKS.

IT COULD BE THE SHADED PATH.

THANK YOU, ZACH.

THERE YOU GO.

AND, AND SO WHAT, AND SO ONE THING WE ARE PROVIDING ACTUALLY IS WHERE WE ARE EXTENDING THE SIDEWALK THAT I MENTIONED, UH, LANDSCAPE ACTUALLY IS ADDING, UH, TREES TO SHADE THAT NEW PORTION OF SIDEWALK.

UM, NOW THERE'S OTHER PORTIONS OF THE SIDEWALK THAT ARE EXISTING THAT WE ARE JUST REPLACING IN KIND MM-HMM.

AND WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY ADDING NEW TREES TO SHADE EVERY LINEAR FOOT OF THAT SIDEWALK.

SO I THINK THAT'S WHERE THE PARTIAL COMPLIANCE COMMENT COMES FROM.

SHADED PATHWAY AND, AND NEW PATHWAYS TO THE RIGHT OF WAY.

CORRECT.

I HOPE THAT HELPS A LITTLE.

ALRIGHT, ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS, ANY COMMENTS, QUESTIONS? NOTHING.

WOULD ANYONE LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION? I WOULD, I WOULD MOVE THAT WE, UH, I'M TRYING TO THINK OF HOW TO PHRASE THIS, THAT WE, UM, SUPPORT THAT THIS PROJECT HAS MET THE, UH, DESIGN AND SUSTAINABILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

DO WE HAVE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND THAT.

ALL RIGHT, LET'S HAVE A VOTE.

ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE.

YOU'VE GOT OUR SUPPORT.

UM, PARDON ME, CHAIR SALINAS.

UM, I JUST WANTED TO NOTE FOR THE RECORD THAT COMMISSIONER LADNER JOINED THE MEETING AT 7 25.

IS, IS THAT ANY ISSUES WITH THEM VOTING ON THAT OR NO? NO ISSUES.

ON ANOTHER, UH, POOL RENOVATION.

WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

WELL, WE HAVE THE SAME GROUP PRESENTING

[5. Discussion and possible action to recommend to City Council whether the project Montopolis Neighborhood Park - Pool Renovation, located at 1200 Montopolis Drive, complies with the City Design and Sustainability Standards. Presented by Zach Munoz, MarmonMok Architecture, and Patrick Beyer, Parks and Recreation Department.]

UM, THIS IS MONTOPOLIS NEIGHBORHOOD PARK POOL RENOVATION LOCATED AT 1200 OPIS DRIVE COMPLIES WITH THE CITY DES DESIGN STANDARDS, UH, DESIGN AND SUSTAINABILITY STANDARDS.

SAME PRESENT, UH, PRESENTER, MR. MUNOZ AND MR. BAYER WITH THE PARKS AND REC.

ALRIGHT, IT'S ALL YOURS, .

SO, UH, MOVING ON TO OUR OTHER PROJECT HERE.

UM, WHOA, THE SLIDES ARE FLYING.

OKAY, RIGHT THERE.

UM, SO MONTOPOLIS POOL, SO THIS IS ALSO

[01:35:01]

ANOTHER EXISTING POOL.

UH, DIFFERENCE BEING WITH THE LAST ONE WE JUST SHOWN IS THAT THIS IS FAR MORE OF A NEIGHBORHOOD POOL, UH, RATHER THAN A REGIONAL POOL.

IT'S MUCH SMALLER IN SIZE.

UM, BUT THIS POOL IS ALSO QUITE OLD.

IT WAS ORIGINALLY BUILT IN THE SEVENTIES AND, UH, IT IS VERY MUCH VALUED BY THE LOCAL COMMUNITY.

IN FACT, DURING OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS, UH, I FOUND THAT THERE WERE MORE PEOPLE WHO YOU COULD TELL JUST HAD A VERY STRONG ATTACHMENT TO THIS POOL.

UM, AND THEY, THEY, IT'S VERY MUCH FORMS A PART OF THEIR DAILY LIVES, IT SEEMS. SO ONE THING WITH THIS POOL IS, BUT THE OTHER IS THAT, UH, IT DOES SUFFER FROM A NUMBER OF ADA ISSUES, UM, MOSTLY RELATED TO THE DECK.

OVER TIME.

AGAIN, THE DECK HAS SETTLED, UH, CREATING SOME TRIPPING HAZARDS.

UH, THEY AREN'T AS SEVERE AS WE SAW AT NORTHWEST, BUT KNOWING THAT WE HAVE THOSE ISSUES AND THAT WE ALSO ARE GONNA RENOVATE THE POOL, UH, WITH THIS PROJECT, WE WILL BE REPLACING THE ENTIRE DECK.

AND SO WE DID THREE COMMUNITY MEETINGS, ACTUALLY TWO.

AND THEN THE FINAL ONE WAS JUST A PRESENTATION OF THE WINNING CONCEPT.

AND WITH THIS POOL, UH, THERE SEEMED TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE DESIGN FLEXIBILITY IN THAT WE ARE ACTUALLY DOING A NEW BUILDING HERE.

UM, IT'S GOING TO BE A NEW RESTROOM BUILDING.

THE EXISTING FACILITY ALREADY HAS A RESTROOM BUILDING DIRECTLY ADJACENT TO THE POOL.

SO WE'RE GONNA BE ADDING A NEW ONE THAT INCLUDES SHOWERS, UH, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT THAT COMMUNITY REALLY WANTED.

IT'S LONG OVERDUE.

AND SO AS WE LOOKED AT OPTIONS, WE REALLY THOUGHT ABOUT WHERE WE COULD PLACE THE RESTROOM, THE NEW RESTROOM THAT WE WERE GONNA DESIGN.

AND ALSO WE THOUGHT CLOSELY ABOUT, UH, HOW PEOPLE COULD ENTER THIS NEW POOL.

'CAUSE AS IT STANDS TODAY, UH, THERE IS NO ZERO ENTRY.

IT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, YOUR, YOUR TYPICAL KIND OF LITTLE POOL THAT HAS STEPS TO GET INTO IT.

AND SO WE SHOWED THE COMMUNITY SOME OPTIONS AS TO HOW THAT ZERO ENTRY COULD BE PLACED AND WHERE THE RESTROOM COULD BE PLACED.

AND AFTER KIND OF TAKING A POLL, IT LOOKED LIKE OPTION B, WHICH YOU SEE ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, THERE WAS THE ONE THAT WAS SELECTED, WHICH PUT THE NEW RESTROOM ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE SITE, UH, KIND OF FORMING A, A FRAMED OPENING WITH THE EXISTING RESTROOM.

AND, UH, THIS WORKED WELL, UH, FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS, BUT IT ALSO HELPS TO PRESERVE VIEWS TO THE BASEBALL FIELD, WHICH YOU CAN'T SEE IN THOSE LITTLE GRAPHICS.

YOU'LL SEE IT IN THE NEXT, UH, SITE PLAN.

BUT BY RELOCATING THAT RESTROOM, THE NEW RESTROOM, LIKE I MENTIONED, WE'RE PRESERVING VIEWS TO THE FIELD.

AND AS WE WERE LOOKING AT THESE OPTIONS WITH THE COMMUNITY, I THINK THE, THE DIFFERENCES SO SUBTLE THAT SOME PEOPLE COULDN'T REALLY UNDERSTAND THEM.

AND SO THAT'S PROBABLY A REFLECTION OF WHY YOU SEE ON THE SURVEY, WELL, DO YOU LOVE THIS PROPOSAL OR HATE IT? AND I THINK HALF OF PEOPLE LIKED IT AND THEN HALF PEOPLE JUST DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO THINK OF IT.

UM, SO IT'S THAT THAT COMMONLY HAPPENS EVEN IN, UH, ANY KIND OF VOTE YOU HAVE NOWADAYS.

UM, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

AND, UH, BUT I THINK EVERYBODY WAS PRETTY CLEAR IN THAT THEIR, UH, AMENITY THEY WERE LOOKING FORWARD TO MOST WAS THE ZERO ENTRY.

YOU KNOW, AS I MENTIONED, IT'S NOT JUST SOMETHING FOR CHILDREN, IT'S REALLY ABOUT UNIVERSAL DESIGN.

IT JUST MAKES IT SO MUCH EASIER FOR EVERYONE TO ENTER THE POOL.

AND WE'RE ALSO INTRODUCING A NEW WATER SLIDE, SO THAT'S GONNA BE SOMETHING GREAT FOR OUR FAMILIES.

AND WE, UH, LOOKED AT THE LAND USE MAPS TO DEMONSTRATE KIND OF EXISTING CONDITIONS.

AGAIN, THE, IT'S NOT A NEW POOL, SO IT'S, UH, SURROUNDED BY SINGLE FAMILY HOMES TODAY, AND IT'LL BE SURROUNDED BY THEM TOMORROW.

SO THIS ONE HERE IS SHOWING SOME OF THE REGIONAL CONNECTIONS WE HAVE NEARBY.

UM, LIKE WITH NORTHWEST, THERE'S KIND OF DIFFERENT WAYS OF APPROACHING THIS POOL.

UH, YOU'VE GOT, UH, SOME TRAILS THAT KIND OF RUN THE PERIMETER OF THE ATHLETIC FIELDS AS YOU SEE RIGHT THERE DASHED IN RED.

AND, UH, THERE'S A GREAT NEIGHBORHOOD CONNECTION GOING DOWN TO THE SOUTH TO CARNATION TERRACE.

YOU SEE THAT AS THE PAVED TRAIL WITH THAT PURPLE LINE TYPE.

SO IT'S A GREAT CONNECTION TO A LOCAL NEIGHBORHOOD AND ALSO WINDS ITS WAY THROUGH AN EXISTING PLAYGROUND.

AND THE, UH, RECREATIONAL CENTER, WHICH WAS RECENTLY BUILT JUST A FEW YEARS AGO AND ALSO NEARBY, THERE'S SOME BUS STOPS.

SO THIS, THIS POOL IS ACTUALLY, I THINK, EASIER TO REACH BY METRO THAN NORTHWEST IS IN THAT IT'S, IT'S CLOSER TO KIND OF, YOU KNOW, AN URBAN PRESENCE.

UH, THIS PROJECT TOO BENEFITS FROM BEING VERY CLOSE TO THE MON, WELL, IT'S IN THE BACKYARD, THE MONTOPOLIS, UH, EXISTING RECREATION CENTER.

AND SO HERE AGAIN, WE HAVE A LANDSCAPE PLAN THAT I THINK, UH, ANN COLEMAN MAY WANT TO SPEAK TO.

UM, SO I'LL LEAVE IT TO HER.

[01:40:02]

SO YOU GET A LOT OF SYNERGY BETWEEN THOSE TWO, TWO, UH, PROJECTS, BOTH TWO BUILDINGS.

UH, THIS TOO, UM, HAS GREAT CONNECTION WITH THE SHADED SIDEWALKS GOING TOWARDS LARGE TERRACE TO THE NORTH AT THE GOOGLE EARTH IMAGE.

THERE'S A LOT OF EXISTING SMALLER TREES ALREADY PLANTED THERE, SO WE DIDN'T SUPPLEMENT THAT.

IT ALSO HAS CONNECTION TO BEGONIA CIRCLE, WHICH IS TO THE PLAN WEST.

THAT'S IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD ITSELF.

IT ALSO HAS TREES ALONG THE WAY, BUT THE LIGHTER COLOR TREES THAT YOU SEE ARE TREES THAT WE'RE ADDING.

SO WE'RE ADDING TWO TREES ON THE SOUTH SIDE ALONG THAT CONNECTION TO BEGONIA THAT GOES ALL THE WAY NORTH TO LARGE TERRACE, WHICH ISN'T SHOWING UP ON THIS SLIDE, BUT IT'S DIRECTLY PLANNED NORTH.

SO WE'RE SUPPLEMENTING THAT AS A SHADED SIDEWALK, WHICH WOULD BE IN THE SPIRIT OF SUB CHAPTER E.

SO I HAVE A BETTER ANSWER ON THIS PROJECT.

SO, UM, WE ARE NOT PROPOSING OR THERE, WE'RE NOT IMPACTING THE EXISTING TREES ON THIS SITE AREA EITHER THERE IS ONE TENANT INCH TREE THAT'S ADJACENT TO THE RAIN GARDEN THAT WE'RE STILL FINE TUNING WITH CIVIL TO SEE IF WE CAN SAVE IT.

WE THINK WE CAN, BUT WE DO HAVE RAIN GARDEN BECAUSE WE DID ADD A NEW BUILDING AS ZACH WAS, UH, UH, TALKING ABOUT, WHICH INCREASED OUR IMPERVIOUS COVER SLIGHTLY.

SO WE ARE IMPROVING THE STORM WATER MANAGEMENT IN A GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE WAY.

AND AGAIN, THE, THE OLIVE COLORED TREES THAT YOU SEE MOSTLY ON PLANT EAST ARE ALL BEING PRESERVED IN PLACE.

AND, UH, THE RAIN GARDEN WILL BE NATIVE PLANT MATERIALS THAT SUSTAIN THEMSELVES AND DO THE BIOFILTRATION WE WANT IN THAT AREA.

UH, WE HAVE EXISTING BICYCLE RACKS.

THERE ARE ALSO EXISTING BICYCLE RACKS AT THE REC CENTER AND A DIRECT SIDEWALK CONNECTION FROM THE REC CENTER TO THE POOL THAT ALREADY EXIST.

I THINK I HIT THE HIGH POINTS BECAUSE YOU ALREADY TALKED ABOUT THE GREAT, UH, MASS TRANSIT THAT WE HAVE PLANNED NORTH AND EAST AT THE INTERSECTION OF LARGE TERRACE AND, UH, MONTOPOLIS, OH, SHADE STRUCTURES TOO THAT ARE PROPOSED PROBABLY AS AN ALTERNATE AS ZACH ILLUSTRATED EARLIER AT THE NORTHWEST SHEFFIELD POOL.

BUT ADDING THOSE, THOSE DARK BLUE LINES IN THE POOL AREA ARE PROPOSED SHADE STRUCTURES.

THANK YOU ANN.

AND AS WITH NORTHWEST, WE WILL ALSO BE PURSUING SITES CERTIFICATION ON THIS PROJECT.

UM, I THINK THIS ONE HAS A LITTLE BIT MORE OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO HIT SOME MORE POINTS THAN WE WERE AT NORTHWEST.

UH, MOSTLY BECAUSE WE ARE ABLE TO INTRODUCE A RAIN GARDEN HERE.

OUR PROJECT DOES NOT RESIDE WITHIN A LARGE DETENTION POND, AND, UH, THERE'S JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE FLEXIBILITY THAT COMES WITH THIS SITE.

SO THIS IS JUST A LARGER FLOOR PLAN, UH, OFFERING A LITTLE HIGHER LEVEL OF DETAIL THAN YOU COULD SEE ON THE SITE PLAN.

SO YOU CAN SEE THERE ON THE NORTHEAST CORNER IS THE NEW ENTRY.

UH, WE'RE INTRODUCING A LITTLE, UH, PLANTER WALL RIGHT THERE THAT KIND OF FRAMES YOUR ENTRANCE AS YOU WALK IN.

UH, ONE THING WE HEARD FROM THE COMMUNITY THAT THEY WERE VERY VOCAL ABOUT WAS THE EXISTING RESTROOM WILL REMAIN ACCESSIBLE OUTSIDE THE PERIMETER OF THE POOL.

UH, WE HAD ORIGINALLY EXPLORED THE IDEA OF INCLUDING IT WITHIN THE POOL FACILITY SO THAT SOMEBODY WOULD HAVE TO COME INTO THE POOL TO GO TO THAT RESTROOM.

BUT, UH, THE COMMUNITY WAS VERY VOCAL ABOUT WANTING TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT HAS CONTINUOUS ACCESS OUTSIDE THE POOL.

SO THIS IS, UM, ARE WE SATISFIED THAT.

AND THEN SOMETHING ELSE YOU'LL SEE HERE IS THAT WE RECENTLY ADDED A STAIR ENTRY TO THE POOL AS WELL.

SO WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A ZERO SLOPE ENTRY WHERE YOU SEE THE NUMBER 12, BUT THEN AS YOU REACH THAT, UM, HEAD WALL, THERE WILL BE A SET OF STAIRS THAT ALSO TAKE YOU INTO THE POOL.

AND WORKING WITH PARD, WE ALSO DECIDED TO ADD A LITTLE PENINSULA THAT YOU SEE THERE.

NUMBERED IS 10.

SO WE THINK THIS WILL GIVE, UH, LIFEGUARDS GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO KIND OF, UH, GET A LITTLE CLOSER TO WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE WATER AND MAKE IT A LITTLE BIT MORE SAFE.

AND OTHER ITEMS YOU SEE THERE, LIKE, AS I MENTIONED, THERE'S THE EXISTING RESTROOM BUILDING WHERE YOU SEE NUMBERS 1, 6, 2, AND THREE WE'RE ENTIRELY REPLACING THE FIXTURES, TOUCHING IT UP WITH, UH, NEW PAINT.

AND THEN THE NEW, UH, UNIVERSAL FAMILY CHANGING ROOMS, WHICH WILL INCLUDE SHOWERS ARE WHERE YOU SEE THE NUMBERS.

4, 5, 4.

ALL RIGHT, ELEVATIONS.

SO THIS IS AN ELEVATION OF THE NEW RESTROOM BUILDING THAT I WAS MENTIONING THAT WILL HAVE SHOWERS.

SO THE MATERIAL WE'RE USING HERE IS A CONCRETE BRICK PRODUCT CALLED SPEC BRICK.

UM, IT'S STRUCTURALLY, IT ACTS LIKE CMU, BUT IT LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE

[01:45:01]

BRICK.

SO WE THINK IT'S GONNA BE A, A GREAT MATERIAL THAT'S LOW COST, BUT STILL KIND OF HA GIVES US THAT GOOD LOOK THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR.

UH, ATOP THE BRICK WALLS, WHICH YOU SEE THERE IS A MESH SCREEN SYSTEM FRAMED OUTTA STEEL, WHICH WILL ALLOW THE RESTROOM TO BE ENTIRELY NATURALLY VENTILATED.

UM, IT WOULD ALSO ACT AS, UH, PROTECTION AGAINST VANDALISM, YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY BEING ABLE TO CRAWL OVER A WALL AND GET IN.

UM, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

AND HERE WE HAVE THE EXISTING RESTROOM BUILDING.

UH, THIS BUILDING IS INTERESTING IN THAT THERE'S AN EXISTING MURAL ON IT, AND AS I SAY MURAL, I JUST RECALL IT NOW, IT'S SOMETHING WE DIDN'T MENTION NORTHWEST, BUT IT'LL APPLY TO BOTH THESE POOLS, IS THAT THEY'RE BOTH, UM, PARTICIPATING IN THE ART AND PUBLIC PLACES PROGRAM.

SO WITH THIS PARTICULAR POOL PROJECT, AS WE WERE LOOKING AT POTENTIAL ARTISTS, UH, THE COMMUNITY WAS ALSO VOCAL ABOUT WANTING TO EMBRACE, UM, THIS, YOU KNOW, KIND OF STYLE OF MURAL.

AND SO WHILE THERE'S ALREADY ONE THAT EXISTS ON THE EXISTING BUILDING THAT WILL GET TOUCHED UP, ACTUALLY AS PART OF THIS PROJECT, UH, IT'S EXTREMELY LIKELY THAT THERE WILL BE A NEW MURAL AS WELL.

UM, AND MY GUESS IS IT WOULD PROBABLY OCCUR AT THE NEW RESTROOM TOO.

SO WE THINK THERE, THERE REALLY COULD BE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR KIND OF, YOU KNOW, THE MURALS TO SPEAK TO EACH OTHER AND, AND KIND OF CREATE THIS, UH, COHERENT ENTRY EXPERIENCE.

SO HERE WE HAVE A PERSPECTIVE LOOKING TOWARDS THE SOUTHWEST.

SO WHAT YOU SEE IN THE FOREGROUND THERE IS TO THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, THE EXISTING RESTROOM BUILDING AND TO THE LEFT THE NEW RESTROOM BUILDING.

NOW ONE THING ABOUT THE EXISTING RESTROOM BUILDING THAT, UM, YOU'LL SEE THERE, IT'S A LITTLE SUBTLE, IS THERE'S TWO LITTLE ROOFS THAT WE ARE ADDING TO IT.

UM, THIS IS SOMETHING WE HAD TO ADD BASED ON A PRELIMINARY CODE REVIEW.

UH, THE EXISTING RESTROOM DOES NOT HAVE A ROOF.

IT'S JUST EXPOSED TO SKY, WHICH IN AND OF ITSELF IS, IS ACCEPTABLE.

UH, THE PROBLEM IS IT HAD SOME DRAINS THERE THAT, UH, WERE NOT CODE COMPLIANT WITH GOING OUT INTO THE DETAILS.

AND AFTER WE LOOKED AT POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS, IT SEEMS THAT REALLY THE ONLY SOLUTION THERE WAS TO ADD A ROOF.

SO WE'RE ADDING A COUPLE LITTLE ROOFS RIGHT THERE, UM, IN THE SAME STYLE AS WHAT WE'RE DOING AT THE NEW RESTROOM BUILDING, WHICH I THINK WILL HELP 'EM SPEAK TO EACH OTHER AS WELL.

SINCE ARCHITECTURALLY THEY'RE A LITTLE DIFFERENT.

THIS WAY THEY'LL HAVE A, A SHARED MATERIAL.

UH, OTHER THAN THAT, WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING, AS YOU LOOK INTO THE DISTANCE THERE IS THE, UH, RECONFIGURED POOL AND SOME OF THE SHADE STRUCTURES.

SO HERE WE ARE ON THE, UH, OTHER SIDE, KIND OF LOOKING A LITTLE BIT TOWARDS THE NORTHWEST AND THE FOREGROUND.

THERE'S SOME PICNIC AREAS, UH, THAT'LL BE COVERED BY THE SHADE STRUCTURES.

I, I THINK WITH THIS PROJECT WE'RE, WE'RE PLANNING TO INCLUDE IT IN THE BASE BID.

UH, WE THINK THAT, UH, WE MAY NOT NECESSARILY EVEN NEED TO IDENTIFY IT AS AN ALTERNATE.

UH, IN THE DISTANCE THERE, YOU'RE SEEING THAT SLIDE THAT'S RED.

UM, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY GOING TO BE RED, THAT'S JUST, UH, FOR ILLUSTRATION PURPOSES.

AND, UH, OFF TOWARDS THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, THAT'S THE EXISTING PARK PAVILION.

UM, AND THE TRAIL THAT CONNECTS TO IT ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE THERE IN THE FOREGROUND, THAT WOULD BE THE RAIN GARDEN.

AND AGAIN, THIS RENDERING IS PARTLY DIAGRAMMATIC IN THAT IT'S CERTAINLY NOT GOING TO BE A FLAT STRETCH OF GREEN.

THERE'S GONNA BE A, A BEAUTIFUL MIX OF NATIVE PLANTINGS AND OTHERS, SO IT'LL LOOK REALLY GOOD.

AND SO THIS WOULD BE OUR LAST SLIDE.

THIS IS LOOKING BACK TOWARDS THE NORTHEAST.

SO IN THE DISTANCE THERE, YOU HAVE THE ENTRANCE AND, UH, ONE OTHER SMALL STRUCTURE WE'RE ADDING IS RIGHT THERE IN THE FOREGROUND.

IT'S, UH, ESSENTIALLY A, A SHED THAT'LL BE, UH, PAINTED, UH, OF CMU.

SO IT'LL LOOK STURDY.

I I DON'T REALLY LIKE CALLING IT A SHED, BUT IT'S, IT'S REALLY, IT'S A MECHANICAL ENCLOSURE, AND THAT'S TO PROTECT THE NEW POOL EQUIPMENT.

UH, PART OF WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH THIS POOL WILL INVOLVE SOME EQUIPMENT THAT'S A LITTLE BIT LARGER THAN WHAT USED TO BE THERE BEFORE.

AND SO BECAUSE OF THE LIMITED SPACE UNDERGROUND, UH, WE HAD TO KIND OF, UM, PUSH IT ABOVE GROUND AND THEREFORE PROTECT IT FROM THE ELEMENTS.

SO THAT'S IT.

OH, FORGOT THAT SLIDE.

THERE YOU GO.

THAT'S A GOOD ONE TO CONCLUDE WITH LOOKING TOWARDS THE NEW RESTROOM.

THAT FOR THE RESTROOMS WITHIN THE POOL FENCING, THAT THEY WOULD DEFINITELY ONLY BE OPEN WHEN THE POOL IS OPEN, WHICH WOULD BE POOL SEASON RATHER THAN ROUGHLY MAY, SEPTEMBER.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.

UH, I'M GONNA OPEN IT UP TO COMMISSIONERS FOR QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? WHICH DIRECT COMMISSIONER, WHICH DIRECT THANK YOU CHAIR.

UH, A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.

UH, FIRST OF ALL, MY, MY DIATRIBE FROM ABOUT SITES APPLIES HERE JUST FOR THE RECORD.

UM, UH, QUICK QUESTION, ARE THE RESTROOMS INTENDED TO BE OPEN YEAR ROUND OR ARE THEY ONLY GONNA BE OPEN WHEN THE POOL IS OPEN? I, I CAN ANSWER THAT.

UH, PATRICK, YOU MAY WANNA ANSWER THAT AS WELL, BUT I WOULD THINK

[01:50:01]

AS TO THE RESTROOMS THAT ARE OUTSIDE OF THE POOL FENCE THAT I MENTIONED THE COMMUNITY WAS VOCAL ABOUT.

I HEARD TALK ABOUT THEM BEING OPEN 24 7.

I I NEVER HEARD WHAT CARD LANDED ON AS FAR AS THE ACTUAL OPERATING HOURS.

YEAH, THAT'S THE PLAN THAT THEY WOULD BE.

UM, THE EXISTING RESTROOM BUILDING WILL REMAIN OPEN YEAR ROUND.

UM, AND JUST A, A A COUPLE COMMENTS ABOUT THE, THE, THE, THE FRONT ENTRY OF THE, OF THIS PROJECT.

UM, I RECOGNIZE THAT YOU'RE WORKING WITHIN THE EXISTING PARKING LOT AND, AND BUILDING FRAMEWORK AND YOU DON'T HAVE A LOT OF SPACE THERE.

UM, BUT MY REACTION TO THAT ENTRY IS THAT IT DOESN'T FEEL LIKE A PARTICULARLY WELCOMING SPOT FOR THE POOL THERE, ESPECIALLY MAYBE IF YOU'RE ARRIVING A LITTLE EARLIER IN THE POOL HASN'T OPENED YET.

THERE DOESN'T FEEL LIKE ENOUGH CONGREGATION SPACE.

AND I THINK ON THE LANDSCAPE PLAN, I SAW INDICATION OF SOME SEATING THERE, UH, WHICH I THINK IS PROMISING, BUT I, I KNOW, I KNOW WE'RE LATE IN DESIGN, BUT I'D ENCOURAGE THE DESIGN TEAM TO LOOK AT TRYING TO THINK OF THAT SPACE AS ITS OWN KIND OF CONGREGATION, UM, RATHER THAN JUST A PORTAL THAT YOU IMMEDIATELY PASS THROUGH ON YOUR WAY TO THE POOL.

UH, AND IN THE SPIRIT OF THAT SAME COMMENT, UM, I THINK THAT IT WOULD, UM, BE A HUGE BENEFIT TO THIS PROJECT IF IT IS FEASIBLE TO DO SO, TO INCLUDE BICYCLE PARKING DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF THIS FACILITY IN ADDITION TO, UM, IN THE, THE RECREATION CENTER.

I THINK IT'S, YOU KNOW, WE WANNA SEND A MESSAGE TO PEOPLE ARRIVING TO THE SITE BY BIKE THAT THEY DON'T NEED TO PARK FARTHER AWAY THAN A CAR CAN.

UM, SO I THINK THAT'S A, A LOW SPACE, UM, ADDITION THAT COULD HELP, UH, COMPLIMENT MAKING THAT, UH, A MORE WELCOMING ENTRY.

UM, BUT THANK YOU ALL FOR THE PRESENTATION.

I APPRECIATE IT.

ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS? COMMISSIONER GILLES? THANK YOU.

UM, I JUST WANNA ECHO THE, THE SENTIMENT THERE REGARDING THE ENTRY.

UM, I, I FEEL THE SAME AND, UH, WANTED TO ASK THE QUESTION REGARDING THE EXISTING PARKING ALLOCATIONS, UM, AROUND THAT ENTRY.

IT WASN'T CLEAR ON THE, THE SITE PLAN WHETHER THERE WAS AN INTENT TO REMOVE SOME OF THOSE EXISTING BAYS SO THAT THAT ENTRANCE WOULDN'T NECESSARILY BE BLOCKED BY, BY PARKED CARS, WHETHER THEY WERE ADA ACCESSIBLE SPACES OR, OR NOT.

I UNDERSTAND THAT THE, THE PATHWAY FROM THE PUBLIC TRANSIT IS BEING MADE ADA ACCESS ACCESSIBLE, WHICH IS, IS GREAT AND I BELIEVE IS WITHIN THE SCOPE OF YOUR IMPROVEMENT.

UM, SO, SO THAT WAS MY FIRST QUESTION REGARDING THOSE, THOSE BAYS.

MY SECOND QUESTION I THINK LEANS A LITTLE TO THE, UM, TO THE LANDSCAPE, UM, MITIGATION OR MA LANDSCAPE STRATEGIES THAT WILL HELP TO MITIGATE THAT TRAFFIC NOISE THAT WILL COME FROM THAT AREA AND, UH, NOT JUST THAT LARGE PARKING AREA, BUT ALSO THE PROXIMITY TO THE PRIMARY THOROUGHFARE BEING MONTOPOLIS DRIVE, I BELIEVE.

AND WHILST THERE IS A, A PLAYGROUND SPACE IN BETWEEN, I'M NOT CERTAIN THAT THE PROXIMITY, UM, OF THE POOL AWAY FROM THE STREET IS ENOUGH TO AVOID ALL THAT TRAFFIC NOISE JUST WAFTING OVER AND SORT OF RUINING, OR AT LEAST JOINING IN TO THE, THE POOL EXPERIENCE.

SO WHILE YOU HAVE THAT RAIN GARDEN ON THE EAST SIDE, I DID WONDER WHETHER THERE WAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO INCLUDE SOME TALLER, MORE EVERGREEN PLANTING THAT WILL HELP TO ABSORB SOME OF THAT TRAFFIC, UM, SOUND COMING OVER TO THE POOL AREA.

UM, I CAN SPEAK TO THE FIRST QUESTION.

I MAY ASK ANNE TO SPEAK A LITTLE BIT TO THE SECOND REGARDING PLANTING, BUT FOR THE FIRST, AS TO THE PARKING, WE ARE NOT, UH, CHANGING THE PARKING AS PART OF THIS PROJECT.

AS, UH, THE BAYS THAT YOU SEE THERE ARE REMAINING, UM, THE, THERE ARE ADA SPACES THAT ARE JUST ON THE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE NEARBY, THEY'RE JUST ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SIDEWALK.

UH, WE DID LOOK AT THE RAMIFICATIONS OF ADJUSTING THAT.

AND, UH, IF WE INCLUDE MORE ADA SPACES, THERE'S THE RISK THAT WE WILL LOSE OUR PARKING SPACE COUNT.

AND THIS PROJECT IS OPERATING UNDER AN EXISTING SITE PERMIT THAT WE'RE SUBMITTING A REVISION FOR.

SO, UH, WE'RE TRYING NOT TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF PARKING SPACES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TODAY.

AND SO THAT'S WHY WE LARGELY WERE HANDS OFF WITH THAT.

AND ARE YOU GONNA SPEAK TO THE SECOND ITEM? HELLO? HELLO.

THE, UH, THE SWIMMING POOL AS IT EXISTS TODAY.

UM, IN RESPONSE TO YOUR QUESTION ABOUT THE, UH, SOUND MITIGATION, I'M LOOKING AT THE SCALE.

I DON'T KNOW IF THE OVERALL PLAN IS UP OR NOT, BUT FROM WHAT I CAN READ HERE IN MY PLAN, THE, UM, MON TOPLESS DRIVE IS ABOUT A FOOTBALL FIELD FROM

[01:55:01]

AND, UH, LOOKING AT GOOGLE EARTH AND BEING ON SITE, THERE ARE A LOT OF TREES, EXISTING TREES, MOSTLY LIVE OAKS BETWEEN THE BUILDING AND MON TOPLESS.

SO I, I CAN'T REALLY TELL YOU THAT I CAN RESPOND TO THE NOISE MITIGATION, BUT THERE IS QUITE A BIT OF DISTANCE.

AND THE MEIS REC CENTER ITSELF, UH, IS JUST SLIGHTLY NORTH OF THE BUILDING.

SO IF YOU CAN SEE THIS DIAGRAM, THIS IS THE RECREATION CENTER HERE, AND THIS IS OUR PROJECT AND THIS IS MONTOPOLIS DRIVE.

SO THE EXPOSED AREA SEEMS TO BE PLANNED EAST.

AND, UH, AGAIN, YOU, UH, IF YOU ZOOM OUT GOOGLE EARTH, YOU CAN SEE THERE'S A LOT OF TREES.

SO I GUESS WE COULD LOOK AT THAT AGAIN AS A TEAM.

BUT, UM, I DON'T THINK IT MAY BE QUITE THE ISSUE THAT WE THINK IT IS ON PAPER LOOKING AT THAT SKETCH IN COMPARISON TO THE EXISTING CONDITIONS AND THE AMOUNT OF VEGETATION AND THE BUILDING BETWEEN THOSE TWO.

SO I HOPE THAT HELPS WITH THAT QUESTION.

AS FAR AS THE ENTRY GOES, WE DO HAVE SOME ARTICULATED PAVEMENT IN THAT AREA.

WE ARE NOT REMOVING ANY SPACES RIGHT NOW, SO THE SPACE ITSELF HASN'T GROWN LARGER, BUT WE ARE TRYING TO CELEBRATE THE ENTRY WITH SOME ARTICULATED PAVEMENT, THE SEAT WALL AND, UH, NATIVE LANDSCAPE AND THAT PENINSULA TO JUST IMPROVE AND ENHANCE THE EXPERIENCE.

BUT IT'S NOT GETTING LARGER, BUT IT IS BEING IMPROVED.

AND THEN THE OTHER THING I WOULD ADD IS, UM, AUSTIN PARKS FOUNDATION, OUR NONPROFIT PARTNER, THEY'RE IN THE EARLY STAGES OF, UM, REDEVELOPING THE PLAYGROUND, UM, UH, AND LAUNCHING THAT PROJECT SO WE CAN LOOK INTO ANY MITIGATION WITH THE PLAYGROUND REPLACEMENT PROJECT.

GREAT, THANK YOU.

UM, I DID HAVE ONE ADDITIONAL QUESTION THAT I FORGOT TO ASK INITIALLY.

YOU MENTIONED YOU WERE REPLACING THE, THE POOL DECK, AND BY THAT YOU MEAN THE WALKING SURFACE BECAUSE THE EXISTING HAS BEEN DAMAGED THROUGH SETTLEMENT AND THERE ARE SOME CRACKS APPEARING, BUT IT WASN'T CLEAR WHAT THE INTENTION FOR REPLACEMENT WAS.

IS THAT GOING TO GO BACK WITH CONCRETE OR, OR A PAVING STYLE SURFACE? SO, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.

IT'S GOING BACK WITH PAVING.

UM, THERE IS AN AREA THAT WAS SHOWN IN THE SITE PLAN WHERE YOU SAW THAT LAWN.

UM, AND THAT'S WHERE WE WOULD BE ACTUALLY USING PAVERS.

UH, SO THAT WOULDN'T NECESSARILY BE A REPLACEMENT, THAT WOULD JUST BE A NEW ELEMENT THAT DOESN'T EXIST TODAY.

BUT WHEN WE SPEAK TO POOL DECK, WE'RE REALLY TALKING ABOUT CONCRETE.

AND THE OTHER BIG ADA CHANGE IS WE ARE, UM, WE'RE NO LONGER USING AREA DRAINS, SO IT'S GONNA BE LIKE A, A LINE DRAIN.

SO THAT WILL ALSO HELP WITH ADA COMPLIANCE.

ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS THAT HAVE QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? COMMISSIONER LADNER? THANK YOU.

UM, I JUST HAVE A COUPLE QUICK LITTLE ONES AND THANKS SO MUCH.

UM, HAVING DONE A FEW OF THESE POOL PROJECTS, I KNOW HOW INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT THEY ARE AND Y'ALL ARE JUST STARTING THAT JOURNEY.

UM, AND SO IT'S REALLY NICE TO SEE 'EM TO COME TOGETHER.

A COUPLE LITTLE QUICK QUESTIONS THAT I'M HONESTLY JUST CURIOUS ABOUT.

UM, ONE IS THE DEFINED FENCE LINE.

I KNOW YOU'RE WITHIN A PARK, SO THAT FENCE LINE FOR THE POOL, UM, I GUESS THAT'S COMPLETELY SET, OR IS THERE A WAY TO GET ADDITIONAL ROOM AROUND THAT POOL ANYWHERE? UM, SO THE FENCE LINE AS, AS WE'RE PROPOSING IS MOSTLY WHAT EXISTS TODAY.

WE DID A COUPLE OF SMALL ADJUSTMENTS TO IT, BUT UM, CERTAINLY WHEN IT COMES TO THE NORTHWEST PORTION OF THE SITE, THAT'S WHERE WE'RE ADJACENT TO THE BASEBALL FIELD.

UH, AND SO I, YOU KNOW, AS WE WORK WITH PART ON THAT, UH, OF COURSE WE'D LOVE TO HAVE AN EVEN BIGGER LAWN IN, IN THE POOL, BUT THEN IT'S ZERO SUM GAME WE'RE, WE'RE TAKING AWAY FROM THE ATHLETIC FIELD.

SO I THINK THAT'S REALLY WHAT, UH, PERSUADED US TO, TO MOSTLY KEEP WITH WHAT THE PERIMETER IS THERE.

UM, AND THEN THERE'S ALSO THE ISSUE OF BUDGET, YOU KNOW, JUST 'CAUSE UH, IT IS PURSUING SITE CERTIFICATION AND ANYWHERE THAT WE'RE DEALING WITH LAWN SPACE THAT WE'D BE MODIFYING, WE HAVE TO DO SOIL RESTORATION ON.

SO, UM, KNOWING THAT THESE PROJECTS ARE VERY FINANCIALLY CHALLENGED, WE JUST, WE HAD TO LIMIT OUR AMBITIONS.

THAT IS CHALLENGE.

THAT SOUNDS VERY CHALLENGING SITES ON A POOL PROJECT.

UM, OTHER QUESTION IS ABOUT THE SLIDE.

I WAS JUST CURIOUS TO UNDERSTAND THAT A BIT MORE.

I MEAN, MANY MOONS AGO WE DID THE BARTHOLOMEW POOL SLIDES, THOSE WERE ALL RUN OUTS, SO THEY DIDN'T GO DIRECTLY INTO THE POOL.

I WAS JUST CURIOUS IF THAT'S SOMETHING Y'ALL HAVE LOOKED AT AND CONSIDERED.

UM, AND THAT'S IT.

THANKS AGAIN SO MUCH.

I RECALL, I THINK IT WAS SPRINGWOODS, THAT JODY HAD USED AS AN EXAMPLE IN THE PAST THAT WAS VERY SUCCESSFUL.

I THINK WHEN IT COMES TO THE SLIDE, WE HEARD FROM HARD THAT THERE WAS REALLY AN INTEREST IN PURSUING A FLUME STYLE SLIDE.

AND I, I THINK PATRICK,

[02:00:01]

IS THAT CORRECT? YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT.

THIS, THIS PARTICULAR SLIDE IS, UH, IS IN AN EXISTING PARK POOL IN ANOTHER LOCATION THAT OUR AQUATIC STAFF IS PRETTY HAPPY WITH, AND THEY SUGGESTED WE REUSE IT.

AND SO ONE THING WE DID EXPLORE IS OPEN FLUME VERSUS CLOSED FLUME.

UH, I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANT BEFORE, BUT ESSENTIALLY MEANS WHETHER IT'S A CLOSED TUBE OR IF IT'S A TUBE THAT'S PARTIALLY OPEN.

AND, UH, AFTER DISCUSSING WITH OUR AQUATICS CONSULTANT, IN PART IT WAS DETERMINED THAT, UH, WE ALL THINK THAT THE OPEN FLU IS BETTER, JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE SAFE.

THERE'S LESS LIKELIHOOD OF IT GETTING JAMMED IN THE PIPE AND NOT KNOWING THAT THEY'RE ALL IN THERE, YOU KNOW? YEAH.

I THINK MY QUESTION WAS MORE ABOUT THE RUNOUT.

YOU KNOW, YOU CAN DO THAT SO YOU DON'T GO DIRECTLY INTO THE LAP POOL.

AND THEN YOU JUST GET, YOU JUST STAND UP AND GET OUT OF THE, OUT OF IT.

, UM, I WAS JUST CURIOUS, BUT IT DEPENDS ON THE AMOUNT OF SPACE YOU HAVE AND HOW YOU CAN INTERACT WITH THE POOL.

YEAH, YEAH.

IT WAS, IT WAS TOUGH FINDING A GOOD SPOT FOR IT.

THAT WAS ONE THING IN OUR COMMUNITY MEETINGS, LIKE I MENTIONED, THERE WAS SUBTLE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CONCEPT A AND B, BUT THAT WAS ONE OF THEM WHERE WE SHOWED THE SLIDE.

WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

DO WE HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS? ALRIGHT, COMMISSIONER WALLACE, I WAS ALSO CURIOUS ABOUT THE FENCE LINE AROUND THE POOL, AND I CAN'T TELL FROM THE ANSWER LIKE, IS THE FENCE LINE STAYING THE SAME OR IS IT THE EXACT SAME FENCE AS BEFORE? BECAUSE I'D BE CURIOUS IF ANY COMMUNITY INPUT WAS CONSIDERED ABOUT WHERE TO PLACE, LIKE WHERE THAT FENCE LINE ENDS UP, ESPECIALLY GIVEN THE SHADE STRUCTURE.

, UH, AT NUMBER, NUMBER 19.

SO THE FENCE LINE IS ALMOST THE EXACT SAME AS IT WAS BEFORE.

UM, THERE ARE TWO DIFFERENCES ON THE SOUTHEAST CORNER.

THERE USED TO BE A LITTLE 45 DEGREE ANGLE THAT WE HAVE TURNED INTO A 90 DEGREE ANGLE SO THAT THERE'S MORE SPACE FOR THE POOL.

AND IN FACT, BY DOING THAT, THAT'S WHAT ENABLES US TO PLANT A NEW TREE THERE THAT OCCURS NEAR THE PICNIC AREA.

SO I, I THINK THAT'S, I, I, I THINK EVERYONE WOULD AGREE THAT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO.

AND THEN ON THE NORTHEAST CORNERS WHERE WE HAVE THAT ENTRY, AND SO THAT'S THE PORTION, LIKE I SAY, THAT WE ACTUALLY WENT THROUGH A NUMBER OF DESIGN EXERCISES TO UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, THE TRADE OFF BETWEEN MAKING THE PROCEEDING SPACE LARGER BEFORE YOU GET INTO THE POOL OR MAKING THE POOL AREA LARGER.

ONCE YOU'VE GOTTEN THROUGH THAT GATES, AND AGAIN, YOU KNOW, IT'S THE SAME REFERENCE TO ZERO SUM GAME, ONE SIDE'S GONNA WIN AND THE OTHER'S GONNA LOSE.

SO WHAT WE LOOK EXISTING CONDITION, I THINK THAT GATE WAS ACTUALLY FARTHER OUT, CREATING LESS OF A CONGREGATIONAL SPACE BEFORE YOU GET INTO THE POOL.

SO WE TRIED TO BUMP THAT A LITTLE BIT, BUT THEY, THEY, THEY'RE SMALL ADJUSTMENTS.

DO WE HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS, COMMENTS FROM COMMISSIONERS? WOULD ANYONE LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION? I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION THAT THIS PROJECT COMPLIES WITH THE DESIGN GUIDELINES, SUSTAINABILITY STANDARDS.

UH, DO WE HAVE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND.

LET'S CHAIR, MAY WE, UH, UH, ARE WE OPEN FOR DISCUSSION THERE? UH, SURE.

IF YOU HAVE AN AMENDMENT TO, UM, I WOULD, I WOULD LIKE, I WOULD LIKE TO OFFER AS A, A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT, UH, THE, THE RECOMMENDATION THAT THE PROJECT INCLUDE BIKE PARKING.

I, I AGREE TO THAT AMENDMENT.

UM, ANY, ANYONE ELSE? I GUESS THAT'S IT.

IT'S JUST ME AND YOU.

UM, ALRIGHT.

ALL IN FAVOR? AYE.

ANY OPPOSED? ALL RIGHT.

LOOKS LIKE YOU, UH, YOU'VE GOT THE APPROVAL WITH THE FRIENDLY AMENDMENT TO INCLUDE BIKE PARKING.

UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.

THE TIME IS 8 0 5.

I WANT TO TAKE A QUICK FIVE MINUTE BREAK AND THEN WE WILL RECONVENE AT EIGHT 10.

ITEM FOR DISCUSSION AND ACTION IS TO CONDUCT OFFICER ELECTIONS FOR THE CHAIR AND THE VICE CHAIR .

THE TIME IS EIGHT 13.

AND THE NEXT

[6. Conduct officer elections for the Chair and Vice Chair.]

SO I WOULD LIKE TO ASK THE VICE CHAIR MINORS, UM, IF YOU HAVE ANY INTEREST IN BEING CHAIR, IF YOU ARE NOMINATED.

I HAVE INTEREST, BUT I, UH, HAVE, UH, SOME PENDING CHALLENGES

[02:05:01]

THAT WOULD PREVENT ME FROM SERVING IN THAT CAPACITY.

UH, SO I WOULD DECLINE, UH, THE NOMINATION.

IF I MAY.

JGE LAN EXECUTIVE LIAISON, THE PROPER PROCEDURE WOULD BE TO OPEN THE FLOOR FOR NOMINATIONS.

AND THEN YOU CAN HAVE DISCUSSIONS ON THOSE NOMINATIONS AND TAKE A VOTE.

IF THE CURRENT VICE CHAIR IS NOMINATED AND SELECTED AS CHAIR, THEN YOU WOULD MOVE INTO NOMINATING AND SELECTING A VICE CHAIR.

GOTCHA.

BECAUSE YOU WOULD VACATE, THE VICE CHAIR WOULD VACATE THAT SEAT.

SO FOR NOW, YOU WOULD OPEN THE FLOOR TO NOMINATIONS FOR CHAIR.

BEGIN WITH THAT.

ONCE YOU DISPENSE OF THAT ACTION, THEN IF NEEDED, YOU CAN MOVE INTO NOMINATIONS FOR VICE CHAIR.

GOTCHA.

THANK YOU CHAIR.

ALRIGHT, THANK YOU.

ALRIGHT, LET'S OPEN THE FLOOR FOR NOMINATIONS FOR CHAIR.

CAN I ASK A QUICK QUESTION? SURE.

UM, ARE THERE, UH, MEMBERS THAT ARE INELIGIBLE BASED ON BEING CHAIR ALREADY OR ARE THERE, ARE THERE, IS THERE ANYONE THAT IS NOT ELIGIBLE TO BE IN THIS POSITION? YES, SIR.

CHAIR, IF I MAY? YES, SIR.

NO, COMMISSIONER.

ANY COMMISSIONER CAN BE NOMINATED.

I DON'T KNOW , SO CAN I MAKE A MOTION FOR DISCUSSION FOR ANYONE WHO'S INTERESTED TO SEE, TO GAUGE INTEREST, BECAUSE I THINK IT SEEMED ODD TO NOT KNOW WHO WOULD EVEN BE INTERESTED.

UH, YOU KNOW, AND THEN NOMINATE SOMEONE.

YEAH, I AGREE.

UM, SO I THINK IF THERE IS ANYONE WHO IS INTERESTED, UM, YOU KNOW, IN BEING CHAIR, UM, WE'D LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU FOR PROCEDURE.

I WILL SECOND THE MOTION TO DISCUSS WHO WANTS TO BE CHAIR? ALRIGHT, I GOT A SECOND.

SO LET'S DISCUSS.

OH, DO WE NEED TO VOTE ON THAT? ALRIGHT.

I HAD, I HAD, SO I WAS ALLUDING TO THIS QUESTION, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, IN THE CASE THAT THERE ISN'T A LOT OF INTEREST IN THIS, YOU KNOW, IT SEEMS THAT DAVID CARROLL HAS PLAYED THIS ROLE, UM, PREVIOUSLY, AND, UM, MAYBE THAT WOULD BE A GOOD FIT, BUT I DON'T WANNA NOMIN HIM.

IT'S NOT HERE.

, I KNOW HE'S, HE'S, UH, BEEN CHAIR MANY TIMES IN THE PAST.

UM, I DON'T KNOW IT IF HE WOULD BE INTERESTED.

UM, AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE PROCEDURE IS.

I I BELIEVE YOU'VE GOTTA BE PRESENT, I WOULD ASSUME.

IS THAT CORRECT? 'CAUSE THEY'VE GOTTA WANNA DO IT.

UM, YEAH.

SO DOES ANY, IS ANYONE INTERESTED IN BEING CHAIR CHAIR? I AGREE WITH COMMISSIONER HOWARD THAT, UM, COMMISSIONER CARROLL HAS A, A STERLING RECORD OF SERVICE, UM, AND IS ALSO NOT PRESENT HERE.

UH, I THINK SPEAKING FOR MYSELF, UM, A LITTLE UNCLEAR AS TO HOW WE AS A COLLECTIVE CAN DISCUSS THIS.

UM, IT, YOU KNOW, WERE WE TO POSTPONE A DECISION TODAY, HOW WE COULD DECIS DISCUSS THIS IN EFFECTIVE MANNER WHILE MEETING OPEN MEETINGS REQUIREMENTS? YEAH, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.

IF WE WERE TO SHELVE THIS TODAY, HOW COULD WE CONTINUE TO HAVE THIS DISCUSSION AND MEET OUR REQUIREMENTS? OH, YES.

LIGHT AT THE TOP.

UM, NO, THIS, I THINK THIS NEEDS TO BE DECIDED ON TODAY.

IN, YEAH.

AND, AND JUST FOR THE RECORD, SINCE WE DO HAVE A VICE CHAIR, VICE CHAIR MINORS, UM, IF VICE CHAIR MINORS IS NOT TO BE THE CHAIR, THEN WE DON'T, WE ONLY NEED TO VI VOTE FOR THE CHAIR.

IF VICE CHAIR MINORS IS GOING TO BE THE CHAIR, THEN WE WILL ALSO NEED TO VOTE FOR A VICE CHAIR.

CAN I OPEN IT UP? YEAH.

JORGE'S GONNA SPEAK JUST ONE SECOND AND SEE WHAT, UM, HIS COMMENT IS.

IF I MAY.

YES, SIR.

EFFECTIVELY, YOU HAVE A CHAIR, WHICH IS THE VICE CHAIR.

IF YOU DON'T HAVE A QUORUM AT YOUR NEXT MEETING, THE VICE CHAIR CONTINUES TO SERVE AS CHAIR.

BUT THE VICE CHAIR WAS NOT ABLE TO BE PRESENT TONIGHT, SO YOU TOOK ON THE ROLE COMMISSIONER OF THE CHAIR.

SO IF YOU WISH NOT TO TAKE ACTION THIS EVENING, THE VICE CHAIR WILL CONTINUE TO SERVE AS THE CHAIR.

OH, GOTCHA.

BUT I BELIEVE YOU HAVE OPENED THE FLOOR FOR NOMINATIONS.

YOU MAY CHOOSE TO CLOSE THE FLOOR FOR NOMINATIONS.

HOWEVER, IF I MAY JUST INDULGE YOUR, UM, A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME,

[02:10:01]

SO IT SOUNDS LIKE THE ONE PERSON THAT HAS EXPRESSED NO INTEREST WILL CONTINUE TO SERVE AS CHAIR .

I DID EXPRESS INTEREST JUST TO, IF I MAY, UH, I, I DO HAVE INTEREST.

I JUST, UH, DON'T KNOW IF I WOULD BE ABLE TO SERVE, UM, A FULL TERM, UH, JUST GIVEN SOME MOVEMENT IN MY LIFE, UH, WHICH COULD IMPACT MY TENURE, UM, ON THE DIOCESE.

SO, YOU KNOW, I'M HAPPY TO, TO CONTINUE SERVING IN THE CAPACITY.

UH, BUT I CAN'T PROMISE THAT I'D BE ABLE TO DO IT IN THE LONG TERM.

WELL, I GUESS IF, DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY? NO.

I GUESS IN THE INTEREST OF THIS, UM, KNOWING THAT WE DO NEED, WE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD ON THIS, I WOULD SAY THAT I WOULD BE INTERESTED TO DO IT.

SO, UM, IF ANYONE WANTS TO MAKE THE NOMINATION, I WOULD BE HAPPY TO MAKE THE NOMINATION FOR COMMISSIONER SALINAS TO BE CHAIR.

SECOND.

ALRIGHT, THANK YOU.

DO, DO YOU ACCEPT I ACCEPT THE NOMINATION.

THERE YOU GO.

YOU MAY, YOU MAY NOT MOVE TO VOTING.

ITEM IS, UM, DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON OUR MEMBERSHIP OF OUR WORKING GROUPS.

I'LL VOTE TO HAVE ME AS CHAIR SAY.

[7. Discussion and possible action on the membership of Working Groups.]

UM, SO RIGHT NOW WE HAVE OUR WORKING GROUPS, UH, FOR THE DESIGN COMMISSION.

AND WHEN WE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE WORKING GROUPS FOR, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE PLANS THAT ARE SUBMITTED, UM, BEFORE OUR PRELIMINARY PLANS OR WE TALKING ABOUT THE WORKING, THE ADVISORY WORKING GROUPS FOR THE UPDATES TO THE, THE OH, OKAY.

FOR ITEM NUMBER SEVEN FOR DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION OF MEMBERSHIP OF WORKING GROUPS.

AND YOU'RE ASKING WHICH WORKING GROUPS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT? YEAH, .

THE, THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM, ONE THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, THE NAME IS THE PLANNING AND URBAN DESIGN WORKING GROUP, AND THAT WAS THE ONE THAT HAD MEMBERSHIP SHIFT.

SO THERE WAS TWO, THERE ARE, THERE WERE COMM ON THAT WORKING GROUP THAT ARE NO LONGER COMMISSIONERS.

AND SO THAT IS WHY WE WANTED TO CALL THAT ONE OUT.

UM, RIGHT NOW IT'S JUST, UM, YOURSELF, SO CHAIR SALINAS AND VICE CHAIR MINORS, AND IT'D BE GOOD TO GET OTHER MEMBERS ON, RIGHT? LIKE THAT'S, THAT'S THE ONE WHERE THERE ARE TWO HOLDS, TWO CALENDAR HOLDS PER MONTH.

NOT THAT THERE ARE TWO MEETINGS PER MONTH, BUT THERE COULD BE.

AND THAT'S WHEN THE, UM, THE APPLICANT WILL BRING THAT PROJECT FORWARD AND IT'S THAT INFORMAL SPACE AND IT'S GOOD TO HAVE YEAH.

MORE THAN ONE PERSON.

AND, AND HOW MANY COMMISSIONERS CAN WE HAVE ON THAT WORKING GROUP? UH, I MEAN, YOU CAN HAVE UP TO FIVE.

UM, AND SO JUST TO BREAK THAT DOWN IS, I, I BELIEVE IT'S ON WEDNESDAYS THAT WE MEET AND WE, WE SEE THE PROJECTS THAT ARE GONNA BE, TYPICALLY THEY'RE ON THE NEXT, UH, AGENDA ITEM, BUT WE SEE THEM BEFORE THEY, UM, OFFICIALLY SUBMIT SO THAT WE COULD, UH, GIVE 'EM COMMENTS ON IT BEFORE THEY SUBMIT.

UM, IT'S, FOR ME PERSONALLY, IT'S A VERY HELPFUL PLACE TO KINDA SEE WHAT'S COMING THROUGH AND TO KIND OF FORMULATE MY IDEAS AND, AND PUT THEM DOWN SO THAT THEY HAVE, UH, SOME SORT OF COMMENTS AND, AND WAY TO ADDRESS THEM BEFORE THEY SHOW UP TO THE COMMISSION.

SO IT'S A GOOD HEADS UP.

UM, IF THERE'S ANYONE THAT'S INTERESTED IN JOINING THIS, UH, COMMISSIONER MCKINNEY.

UM, IS THERE ANYONE ELSE OR DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION OR ARE YOU SAYING THAT I AM INTERESTED.

COMMISSIONER, UH, HOWARD.

UM, IS THERE ANYONE ELSE THAT WOULD BE INTERESTED? ALL RIGHT.

UM, YEAH, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.

IF THERE'S ANYONE ELSE.

WE STILL GOT ONE MORE SPOT.

FOUR IS GREAT.

IF THERE'S ONE MORE SPOT CHAIR, I WOULD, UH, I'VE, I'VE SPOKEN ALREADY TO WHAT, UH, OF VALUE I THINK THIS WORKING GROUP HAS BEEN PROVIDING, UH, SO FAR.

I WOULD BE HAPPY TO PUT MY MONEY WHERE MY MOUTH IS AND, ALRIGHT.

BE OF ASSISTANCE.

ALL IF SOMEONE WANTS TO MAKE A MOTION , I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO ADD, UH, COMMISSIONER WHIR, COMMISSIONER MCKINNEY AND COMMISSIONER HOWARD TO THE WORKING GROUP.

COMMISSIONER WITCH STRUCK FOR OUR FIFTH COMMISSIONER ON THE WORKING GROUP.

AND THERE, THERE DOES NEED TO BE A VOTE.

I THINK WE CAN VOTE FOR ALL THREE AT ONCE.

[02:15:01]

WHAT'S IT CALLED AGAIN? PLANNING AND URBAN DESIGN WORKING GROUP TO THE PLANNING AND URBAN DESIGN WORKING GROUP.

UM, DO I HAVE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND.

SECOND.

FROM HOWARD.

COMMISSIONER HOWARD.

AND WE WILL VOTE ALL IN FAVOR SAY A.

UNANIMOUS.

DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON THE 2024 DESIGN COMMISSION MEETING SCHEDULE.

IS THAT SOMETHING THAT Y'ALL HAVE CHAIR, CHAIR IF I MAY? YES, PLEASE.

PARDON THE INTERRUPTION.

I I THOUGHT YOU WERE STILL GONNA BE ON NUMBER SEVEN.

OH, I, IF I MAY JUST, UH, HAVE A BRIEF DISCUSSION, THE POINT OF ORDER.

I HAD A DISCUSSION WITH, UH, COMMISSIONER CARROLL MM-HMM.

, WHO WAS INTERESTED IN FORMULATING A LEADERSHIP WORKING GROUP TO ASSIST WITH THE UPDATE TO THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES THAT WAS COMPRISED PREVIOUSLY OF VARIOUS COMMISSION MEMBERS THAT WERE GUIDING THE PROCESS OF THE UPDATE TO THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES.

THERE IS NO NEED FOR YOU TO CONSIDER ACTION ON THAT ITEM THIS EVENING, BUT JUST TO PLANT THAT, UH, BEFORE THE COMMISSION, YOU, IF YOU WISH TO TAKE ACTION TONIGHT, YOU CAN DO SO.

IT WOULD BE ADDING MEMBERS.

RIGHT NOW THE ONLY COMMISSIONER IS COMMISSIONER CAROL, WHO IS PART OF THAT.

HE IS THAT WORKING GROUP, AND WE HAD OTHER COMMISSIONERS THAT HAVE LEFT THE COMMISSION THAT WERE PART OF THAT WORKING GROUP.

AND THIS, I'M ON THAT, I'M ON THAT GROUP AS WELL, RIGHT? AM I NOT, OH, PARDON ME.

SO YOU HAVE TWO TWO WORKING GROUP MEMBERS.

RIGHT NOW YOU CAN APPOINT ANOTHER TWO AND TYPICALLY THAT'S TWO TO THREE MORE WHERE YOU WOULD HAVE THAT LEADERSHIP WORKING GROUP, AND THAT WOULD, THAT WORKING GROUP WOULD GUIDE THE PROCESS OF UPDATING THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES.

AND JUST SO I UNDERSTAND THIS IS THE, UM, THEY PROVIDE THE UPDATES OF THE GROUPS THAT THEY'RE WORKING WITH WITHIN THOSE, THOSE INDIVIDUAL GROUPS WITHIN THE UPDATES OF THE GUIDELINES, THAT THAT WAS ONE OF THE TASKS CHAIR? YES.

AND ALSO, AS THE DRAFTS HAVE STARTED TO COME OUT, THERE'S GOING TO BE ADDITIONAL WORK IN COORDINATION.

AND, AND, AND I APOLOGIZE, I DON'T MEAN TO SPEAK FOR COMMISSIONER CARROLL, BUT IN OUR DISCUSSIONS, IT, IT WAS ENVISIONED TO HAVE A COLLABORATION WITH STAFF TO INITIATE REVIEW OF STAFF COMMENTS AS WELL AS CREATE THAT WORKING GROUP TO FURTHER GUIDE THE PROCESS OF THE EVOLUTION OF AN ENGAGEMENT PLAN AS THE COMMISSION IS PREPARED TO COMMENCE ENGAGEMENT ONCE YOU HAVE THE DRAFTS IN A STATE WHERE YOU FEEL THEY'RE READY FOR PUBLIC DISSEMINATION.

GOTCHA.

SO IS ANYONE INTERESTED ON BEING, ARE YOU, YOU HAVE A QUESTION? NO, I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO ADD THIS PIECE OF THE WORKING, THIS PARTICULAR WORKING GROUP AS A DISCUSSION ITEM FOR OUR NEXT OKAY.

MONTH'S AGENDA.

WE HAVE A MAJORITY FRESHMAN GROUP OF COMMISSIONERS.

AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON THE 2024 DESIGN COMMISSION MEETING SCHEDULE.

WHO HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THIS PROCESS HAS LOOKED LIKE UNLESS YOU WENT BACK AND WATCHED ALL OF THE PRIOR MEETINGS.

UM, AND I WOULD LIKE, I THINK I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO ADD THIS TO THE AGENDA AND GET A BRIEFING OF WHERE WE'VE BEEN AND WHERE WE NEED TO GO AT NEXT MONTH'S AGENDA.

I WOULD, I WOULD SECOND THAT MOTION.

SO, ALL IN FAVOR? ALL RIGHT.

OKAY, SO THE DISCUSSION

[8. Discussion and possible action on the 2024 Design Commission meeting schedule.]

UM, SO THIS IS THE PROPOSED OR THE DRAFT SCHEDULE FOR THE, FOR NEXT YEAR, FOR 2024.

UM, I THINK, JACKSON, CAN YOU SCROLL DOWN JUST A LITTLE BIT? I THINK THERE'S SOME FOOTNOTES.

UM, EVERY MEETING IS ON THE FOURTH MONDAY EXCEPT FOR,

[02:20:01]

UM, MEMORIAL DAY, WHICH IS IN MAY.

SO, UM, THAT WAS PROPOSED FOR THE THIRD MONDAY, UM, WHICH IS MAY 20TH.

AND THEN WE DON'T HAVE A MEETING JULY USUALLY.

UM, AND THEN FOR NOVEMBER, THAT IS THE THIRD MONDAY OF THE MONTH, UM, DUE TO THE THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY AND DECEMBER, UM, WE PROPOSE THE SECOND MONDAY OR THE THIRD MONDAY FOR Y'ALL TO DECIDE ON.

HMM.

WELL, I GUESS WE GOTTA, UH, LET'S PUT THIS UP FOR DISCUSSION.

UM, DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY KNOWN CONFLICTS? I KNOW THIS IS LOOKING WAY AHEAD, ESPECIALLY AT THE DECEMBER OF NEXT YEAR.

UM, AND IS THIS SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO ANSWER TODAY OR CAN WE SHE THIS TILL NEXT, OUR NEXT MEETING? UM, SCHEDULES NEED TO BE APPROVED, UM, PREFERABLY AT THIS MEETING, BUT, UM, CAN BE NEXT MEETING TOO, BUT PREFERABLY THIS MEETING.

DECEMBER 16TH OR DECEMBER 9TH.

UM, I WOULD LIKE JUST BRING IT UP FOR DISCUSSION IF THERE'S ANYONE THAT SEES ANY CONFLICT OR ANY PROBLEMS WITH THIS, JUST RIGHT OFF THE BAT.

UM, OR ANY NECESSARY, ANY NEED TO, UH, POSTPONE THIS TILL NEXT MONTH.

UM, LET, I HAVE A, A LIGHT PREFERENCE FOR THE DECEMBER 9TH INSTEAD OF THE SIX, OR FOR THE 16TH INSTEAD OF THE NINTH, BUT I COULD UNDERSTAND IF OTHERS HAD A OPPOSITE PREFERENCE ON WHICH DATE? DEC OH, I SEE.

ANYONE ELSE? I, I HAVE NO PREFERENCE AND WOULD DEFER, DEFER TO COMMISSIONER HOWARD.

UM, ALL RIGHT.

I CAN'T REALLY SEE EVERYONE ONLINE.

UM, BUT DOES ANYBODY HAVE THEIR RIGHT HANDS RAISED? ALL RIGHT, SO I GUESS WE NEED TO VOTE.

IS THAT CORRECT? I THINK WE NEED A MOTION.

AND I WOULD MOTION TO APPROVE THE DATES AS PRESENTED WITH THE DECEMBER 16TH DATE BEING SELECTED FOR DECEMBER.

I SECOND THAT IN MOTION.

UM, ALL IN FAVOR? ALL AYE.

LOOKS UNANIMOUS.

TO THE GUIDELINES, UM, WE DON'T, THAT'S DAVID CARROLL AND HE'S NOT HERE.

UH, REGARDING UPDATES

[9. Update from the Urban Design Guidelines Working Group regarding updates to the guidelines.]

UM, SO WE WILL POSTPONE THAT UNTIL I WOULD LIKE TO ASK ABOUT, UM, I KNOW THAT THE LAST TIME WE LEFT IT, WE HAD THAT MEETING SCHEDULED, THE COMMUNITY, THE NEXT COMMUNITY MEETING SCHEDULED, AND THEN THAT GOT CANCELED.

HAS THERE BEEN ANY MOVEMENT ON THE STAFF SIDE REGARDING ANY RESCHEDULING OR WHAT THE NEXT STEPS NEED TO BE THERE? OKAY.

UM, YES.

SO STAFF HAS BEGUN WORKING ON THE ENGAGEMENT PLAN.

AND, UM, THE WORKING GROUP THAT JORGE WAS TALKING ABOUT EARLIER.

WOULD DEFINITELY BE A WORKING GROUP THAT WOULD REVIEW THE ENGAGEMENT PLAN AND HELP, UM, JUST HELP WITH IMPLEMENTATION OF IT.

AND THAT'S OBVIOUSLY PART OF THE WHOLE PROCESS OF THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES UPDATE.

SO IS THERE A, JUST THE TIMEFRAME AT ALL THAT WE KNOW, LIKE HOW LONG THESE THIS WOULD TAKE? ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THIS BEING A FOUR MONTH PROCESS? FIVE MONTH PROCESS OR, I, RIGHT NOW, SINCE THE ENGAGEMENT PLAN ITSELF IS IN DRAFT MODE AND THERE'S BEEN COMMISSIONERS THAT HAVE BEEN ON AND OFF, AND SO WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO CIRCLE BACK WITH A GROUP, IT'S JUST BEEN DAVID CARROLL AT THIS POINT.

UM, I THINK IT'D BE BETTER TO SPEAK TO THAT.

I THINK THE NEXT MEETING WILL BE A GOOD OPPORTUNITY.

UM, IT SOUNDS LIKE I'LL PROBABLY GIVE A PRESENTATION ON KIND OF WHERE WE'VE BEEN AND WHERE WE THINK WE'RE GOING.

UM, OKAY.

TAKE A VOTE ON IF THEY SO CHOOSE TO DO SO.

IS THERE ANYTHING, IF I MAY CHAIR? YES, SIR.

THERE WAS ALSO CONCERNS BY RAISED BY SEVERAL COMMISSIONERS THAT THE, THE PROCESS WAS NOT AT THE POINT TO COMMENCE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT AND THE NEED TO CREATE THE ENGAGEMENT PLAN THAT WOULD GUIDE THE PROCESS TO SHARE THOSE DRAFTS PUBLICLY WITH THE FULL UNDERSTANDING THAT THE WORKING GROUPS HAVE ALREADY COMMENCED A PORTION OF THAT ENGAGEMENT PROCESS BY DRAFTING THOSE ELEMENTS.

HOWEVER, IT'S IMPORTANT TO INVOLVE VARIOUS OTHER COMMISSIONERS AND THEN HAVE THE COMMISSION, UH, ENDORSE OR

[02:25:01]

THE PROCESS BY WHICH YOU WILL ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY, WHOEVER THAT COMMUNITY IS.

AND THERE ARE VARIOUS LEVELS OF STAKEHOLDERS, VARIOUS TYPES OF STAKEHOLDERS.

THE ENGAGEMENT PLAN WILL BE YOUR GUIDING PRINCIPLE.

SO WHILE THE, THE, THE EVENT WAS NOT CANCELED, IT WAS JUST POSTPONED SO THAT THE NEW COMMISSIONERS ON THE COMMISSION COULD GET UP TO SPEED.

SO THAT THE WORK, THE LEADERSHIP WORKING GROUP, I BELIEVE IT WAS CALLED THE STEERING COMMITTEE.

WE CAN'T CALL IT A COMMITTEE, WE'RE CALLING IT A LEADERSHIP WORKING GROUP, COULD BE REESTABLISHED, AS WELL AS BRINGING BACK THE ENGAGEMENT PLAN THAT WILL GIVE YOU THE STEP-BY-STEP TOOLS AND PROCESS THAT THIS COMMISSION AND THE WORKING GROUPS COULD TAKE ON TO BE ABLE TO ENGAGE DIRECTLY WITH THE COMMUNITY AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME.

AND ALSO GIVE THE WORKING GROUPS AN OPPORTUNITY TO DRAFT AND REDRAFT SOME OF THE PRODUCT THAT HAS COME OUT.

SOME OF THE SECTIONS OR CHAPTERS IF YOU ALLOW THE EXPRESSION IN PREPARATION FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH THE PUBLIC.

I BELIEVE SEVERAL COMMISSIONERS, EVEN THE FORMER COMMISSIONERS THAT ARE NO LONGER ON THE, ON THE COMMISSION REALIZE REALIZED THAT THERE NEEDED TO BE AT LEAST AN ADDITIONAL ONE OR TWO DRAFTS OF THE CHAPTERS TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THOSE READY FOR CONSIDERATION BY THE COMMISSION AND THEN TO ENGAGE WITH STAKEHOLDERS.

I BELIEVE AT THAT POINT IT WAS, IT NEEDED ADDITIONAL DRAFTING IMAGES, DRAWINGS, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT ARE STILL LACKING IN SOME OF THOSE ELEMENTS.

THANK YOU, CHAIR.

I MEAN, YEAH, I'M UNAWARE OF THAT, BUT I THINK IT'S, I THINK DAVID, UH, I NEED TO TOUCH BASE WITH DAVID CARROLL ON, ON WHERE THAT STANDS.

UM, YEAH, THE LAST I HAD HEARD WAS THE CANCELLATION OF THAT OR THE POSTPONEMENT OF THE, THAT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PORTION.

UM, BUT I'LL GET WITH HIM TO KIND OF FIGURE OUT WHAT HAS BEEN DISCUSSED AND, AND HOW TO MOVE FORWARD.

REPRESENTATIVE OF THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION REGARDING THE LAST MEETING.

UPDATE FROM THE

[10. Update from representative of the Downtown Commission regarding last meeting.]

I'M NOT SURE WHO THAT IS.

THAT'S ME.

UM, I WAS NOT ABLE TO ATTEND THE MEETING LAST MONDAY, BUT, SO MY MEETING NOTES ARE FROM THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION MEETING ON, UM, SEPTEMBER 20TH.

UM, WE RECEIVED A PRESENTATION REGARDING SCOOTER INJURY INCIDENTS IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA, WHICH AS MANY MAY ASSUME OCCUR IN THE EARLY HOURS OF SATURDAY AND SUNDAY MORNING.

UH, THE STUDIED AREA WAS RF TO AIRPORT TO LAMAR TO MLK.

UM, THE GENERAL CONSENSUS FROM THE EMS OFFICER THAT PRESENTED WAS THAT INJURIES PER TRIP ARE VERY LOW, UM, THAT THEY'RE SEEING ISOLATED INCIDENTS.

AND THERE WAS A LOT OF QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION, BUT, UM, IT WAS JUST A PRESENTATION ON INJURY INSTANCE.

UM, WE ALSO RECEIVED A PRESENTATION ON THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAN FROM APRIL LARUSSO AND MATT SCHMIDT FROM THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.

I THINK IT WOULD BE A VERY INTERESTING PRESENTATION TO HAVE AT THIS COMMISSION AS WELL, BECAUSE IT INVOLVES, UM, THEY PRESENTED INFORMATION ON DENSITY BONUS AND HOW MANY PROJECTS HAVE RECEIVED DENSITY BONUS, UM, AND HOW MUCH MONEY AND AFFORDABLE UNITS HAVE BEEN PRODUCED, UM, BECAUSE OF THAT PROGRAM.

AND, UM, THEY INCLUDED A PRESENTATION ON GREAT STREETS, THE PALM DISTRICT PLAN, AND, UM, THE OS UH, AUSTIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT AND KIND OF WHAT THEY'RE IN CHARGE OF.

ANYTHING THAT MAY BE OCCURRING BECAUSE OF THE SELF-DRIVING CAR ISSUE.

, UM, AS FAR AS THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT DISTRICT, THE CULTURAL TRUST, UM, AND THEN FURTHER DEVELOPING VARIOUS DISTRICTS, UM, LIKE THE RED RIVER, RED RIVER DISTRICT, THE ME, MEXICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE CORRIDOR, AND THE RAINY STREET DISTRICT.

UM, THEY ALSO TALKED ABOUT THEIR HISTORIC PRESERVATION FUND AND NEXT STEPS THEY'RE LOOKING AT KIND OF AS THEY'RE FURTHERING THIS PLAN SUCH AS EQUITY PLAN, IMPLE IMPLEMENTATION TRACKING, AND, UM, UPDATES REQUIRED THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE PART OF CODE NEXT, BUT THEY'RE TRYING TO IMPLEMENT, UM, SINCE THAT'S STALLED, UM, A LARGE PART OF THE COMMISSION MEETING INVOLVED SEVERAL, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THE DILLO RETURN TO DOWNTOWN AUSTIN, FOR MANY OF YOU DON'T KNOW, THAT WAS THE DOWNTOWN CIRCULATOR BUS, UM, WHICH WAS APPARENTLY A BIG HIT.

SO AS WE TALKED ABOUT TRANSIT TONIGHT, UH, THAT SEEMS PRETTY RELEVANT.

I'M NOT SURE IF IT'S GOING ANYWHERE, BUT THERE WAS A LOT OF DISCUSSION ON IT.

UH, THERE WAS ALSO TALK ABOUT SELF-DRIVING CARS AS AN ISSUE, UM, IN DOWNTOWN.

AND, UH, THE, UM, I DON'T REMEMBER WHO COMMENTED ON THIS, BUT IT WAS STATED THAT THERE'S VERY LITTLE TO BE DONE BY THE CITY, UM, THAT THIS IS A STATE LEVEL ISSUE.

AND SO THE CITY REALLY HAS NO CONTROL OVER

[02:30:02]

UM, AND THE COMMISSION DID REQUEST UPDATES TO THE HOBBY BUILDING SITE, UM, AS TO WHAT'S KIND OF OCCURRING WITH THAT.

UM, AND SO THAT WAS OUR DOWNTOWN COMMISSION REPORT.

WELL, THANK YOU.

UM, AS FAR AS, UH, SUBMITTING, UH, AN ITEM FOR THE AGENDA.

SO SHE WOULD SEND IT TO YOU AND B, C, C EVERYONE AND THEN GET A SECOND ON THAT.

UM, YES, YOU CAN ALSO DO IT HERE AT THE MEETING AS WELL.

I WOULD MOTION THAT WE GET A PRESENTATION FROM THE DOWN, A PRESENTATION ON THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAN, SIMILAR TO THAT PRESENTED AT DESIGN COMMISSION AT A FUTURE MEETING OF THE DESIGN COMMISSION.

ANYONE WANNA SECOND THAT? I SECOND THAT MOTION.

FROM THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE REGARDING THE LAST MEETING.

ALL IN FAVOR? ALRIGHT, WE GO.

ALRIGHT, SO UPDATES

[11. Update from representative of the Joint Sustainability Committee regarding last meeting.]

THAT WAS, THAT'S ME.

UM, IN OUR LAST MEETING, THE BIG TAKEAWAYS, UM, THAT WE, WE, UH, HAD IS THAT, UM, WE VOTED TO APPROVE THE THREE WORKING GROUPS, UM, THE OUTPUT FROM THE SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS WORKING GROUP, THE TRANSPORTATION WORKING GROUP, AND THE CONSUMPTION AND NATURAL SYSTEMS WORKING GROUP AS THEY ARE, UM, APPLICABLE TO THE CLIMATE TO SUPPORT THE AUSTIN'S CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.

UM, THAT WAS THE BIGGEST ITEM THAT WE HAD, UM, GOING THROUGH EACH LINE ITEM.

UM, AND THAT GOT APPROVED.

I'M STILL UNCLEAR AS TO WHERE THAT GOES AFTER THAT, BUT, UM, THAT'S THE UPDATE FROM THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE.

UM, AND THEN THE UPDATE FROM

[12. Update from representative of the South-Central Waterfront Advisory Board regarding last meeting.]

THE REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT ADVISORY BOARD.

I DON'T BELIEVE THAT'S ME.

UH, ALRIGHT.

COMMISSIONER LADNER.

UM, YEAH, SO THERE'S SOME PRETTY GOOD MOVEMENT.

UH, SO A MEMO WAS PROVIDED, UM, WHICH DIRECTED STAFF TO DEVELOP A REGULATING PLAN FOR THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT AREA.

AND SO THAT'S REALLY IN PROCESS AT THIS POINT.

AND WE, DURING OUR LAST MEETING, WE KIND OF TALKED THROUGH THAT PLAN, UM, BASICALLY, AND I'LL READ SOMETHING OUT VERBATIM HERE.

UM, INITIALLY THE STAFF ANTICIPATED THAT THE REGULATING PLAN WOULD BE PRESENTED TO COUNCIL FOR CONSIDERATION IN DECEMBER.

HOWEVER, BASED ON PRELIMINARY COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, THE TIMELINE HAS SHIFTED.

UH, THEY'RE NOW ANTICIPATING IT GOING TO PLANNING COMMISSION AT SOME POINT, UH, IN EARLY 2024, UM, WITH COUNCIL CONSIDERATION AFTER THAT.

UM, THERE IS A WORKING GROUP ESTABLISHED NOW THROUGH THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT ADVISORY COMMITTEE, UH, WHICH HAS TAKEN A, A CLOSE LOOK AT THAT REGULATING PLAN.

WE DID GO THROUGH IT IN OUR MEETING AND THERE'S CERTAINLY A LOT OF COMMENTS AND A LOT OF QUESTIONS ON THAT REGULATING PLAN.

UM, AND SO THAT'S ALL IN PROCESS.

NOW, THE UPDATED SCHEDULE THOUGH, UM, OF WHAT, WITH REGARDS TO THE LAST MEMO IS THAT THE REGULATING PLAN WOULD BE REVISED AS A DRAFT THROUGH OCTOBER COMMUNITY COMMENT PERIOD THROUGH DECEMBER OF REVIEW AND SYNTHESIS WITH THE COMMUNITY INPUT AND MODIFICATIONS THROUGH JANUARY.

AND THEN THE REGULATING PLAN WOULD BE PRESENTED TO BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS IN FEBRUARY WITH THE HOPE THAT IT WOULD BE FINALLY PRESENTED, UM, AND HOPEFULLY APPROVED BY COUNCIL IN APRIL.

UM, AND SO OBVIOUSLY THE BIG THING HERE IS THAT THERE IS NO REGULATING PLAN RIGHT NOW TO MOVE FORWARD, KIND OF ALL THE GREAT VISIONING THAT WAS DONE AS PART OF THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT PLAN.

SO, UM, I THINK IT'S A GOOD STEP STAFF'S WORKING HARD ON.

IT SEEMS LIKE THERE'S GOOD FEEDBACK.

SO WE'LL SEE HOW IT EVOLVES OVER THE NEXT MONTH OR TWO.

COMMISSIONER LADNER, ARE THERE ANY, THAT CONCLUDES ALL OF THE ITEMS ON OUR AGENDA.

UM, IS THERE ANY OTHER DISCUSSION OR ITEMS THAT WE NEED TO JUST BRING UP? ANY SIR SHERIFF? I MAY, YES.

YES, SIR.

IN THE PAST, STAFF HAS GIVEN A BRIEFING ON THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM.

NOW THIS IS DIFFERENT FROM THE DISCUSSION ITEM AT THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION THAT WAS DONE EARLIER.

PERHAPS THIS IS RELEVANT TO THIS COMMISSION AND THE PROCESS THAT THIS COMMISSION TAKES TO EVALUATE PROJECTS FOR COMPLIANCE WITH THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES.

STAFF IS HAPPY TO BRING THAT IF THE COMMISSION IS INTERESTED, AND ALL YOU WOULD NEED WOULD BE SOMEONE TO REQUEST THAT

[02:35:01]

IN A CO-SPONSOR.

AND YOU DON'T NEED TO TAKE A VOTE ON THAT IF YOU'RE INTERESTED.

I THINK IT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL.

UM, WE GOT A NEW GROUP, SO I'M GONNA SUGGEST THAT YES, WE DO THAT.

AND IF I CAN GET A CO-SPONSOR, I'LL CO YEAH, I'LL CO-SPONSOR.

LOOKS LIKE, UH, YEAH, WE'LL HAVE IT AT OUR NEXT MEETING IF, IF WE CAN MAKE A QUORUM.

YES.