[00:00:03]
[I. Call to Order]
AFTERNOON.UH, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US AT THE OCTOBER MEETING OF THE CAP METRO BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
IT IS MONDAY, OCTOBER 23RD, AND THE TIME IS 1201.
LOOKS LIKE WE'VE GOT A NEW MICROPHONE SYSTEM IN FRONT OF US.
UH, HOPEFULLY THIS IS GOING TO REDUCE SOME OF OUR AUDIO CHALLENGES AND, UH, WELL, I JUST HOPE THAT YOU ALL KNOW THAT IF YOU DO HAVE A PROBLEM, DON'T CALL ME.
UH, BUT, UM, JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY IS, UH, KNOWS WHICH BUTTON TO PUSH.
NOW THERE'S A NICE LITTLE GREEN LIGHT, UH, LOOKING AT YOU, SO HOPEFULLY THIS WILL BE EVERYTHING THAT WE NEED.
I'LL CALL THE MEETING THE ORDER 1201.
[II. Safety Briefing]
OF OUR AGENDA IS GOING TO BE OUR MONTHLY SAFETY BRIEFING.AND, AND I THINK BARRY WHITE, I MEAN, GARDNER AL IS, IS GONNA MAKE THAT PRESENTATION FOR US.
WELL, GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE.
I SERVE AS CAPITAL METRO'S EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT SYSTEM-WIDE ACCESSIBILITY AND CHIEF SAFETY OFFICER.
AND YES, TODAY I HAVE YOUR SAFETY BRIEFING FOR THIS MEETING.
SO, UH, MOST OF YOU ARE AWARE, WE'RE LOCATED AT 29 10 EAST FIFTH STREET, AND WE ARE ON THE GROUND FLOOR IN THE, IN THE BOARDROOM.
SHOULD THERE BE AN AN EMERGENCY? UH, YOU CAN EVACUATE THROUGH EITHER EXIT, RIGHT? GO.
THE LADIES OVER HERE, SINCE IT APPEARS THEY'RE IN THIS ROOM, UH, YOU CAN EVACUATE TO EITHER EXIT, BUT PLEASE MEET US ACROSS THE STREET WHERE THERE'S A SCHOOL RIGHT ON THE CORNER SO WE CAN DO A LITTLE HEADCOUNT, MAKE SURE EVERYBODY MADE IT SAFELY.
ALSO, IN THE UNLIKELY EVENT OF AN EMERGENCY, I'LL NEED SOMEONE TO DIAL 9 1 1.
CAN I GET A VOLUNTEER FOR ONE? I HAVE ONE.
CAN I GET ONE MORE VOLUNTEER? THANK YOU.
ALSO, THERE'S A DEFIBRILLATOR LOCATED ON THIS FLOOR BY THE ELEVATOR AS WELL AS THE THIRD FLOOR.
CAN I GET A VOLUNTEER FOR THAT AS WELL? TO RETRIEVE THE DEFIBRILLATOR BY THE, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH.
AND THAT CONCLUDES YOUR SAFETY, UH, BRIEFING FOR TODAY.
SO NOW YOU GUYS KNOW WHY I SAID BARRY WHITE, RIGHT? YEAH,
UH, THE, THE, UH, THANK YOU FOR THE, UH, SAFETY BRIEFING.
UH, IT IS ALWAYS IMPORTANT TO, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE PUT SAFETY FIRST, AND GARDNER HAS DONE AN OUTSTANDING JOB WORKING WITH US THERE.
[III. Public Comment]
I WANT TO DO IS, UH, WE'VE GOT SEVERAL SPEAKERS THAT HAVE SIGNED UP IN ADVANCE.SO, UH, I'LL, I'LL CALL YOUR NAME AND IF YOU ARE HERE, IF YOU'LL COME FORWARD, IF, UH, YOU ARE AWAY, IF YOU'LL UN UNMUTE YOURSELF AND LET US KNOW THAT YOU'RE HERE, UH, THEN I WILL, UH, I'LL MAKE SURE THAT WE RECOGNIZE YOU AND GIVE YOU THE APPROPRIATE TIME.
UH, THE FIRST, UH, SPEAKER WILL BE MS. LUPE GARCIA.
YOU RIGHT AT THE PODIUM THERE? YES, MA'AM.
I AM A RESIDENT OF SANTA RITA COURTS.
I'M ALSO THE PRESIDENT OF THE RESIDENT COUNCIL THERE, AND I AM PRESIDENT OF THE CITYWIDE BOARD FOR HOUSING AUTHORITY REPRESENTING ALL 18 PROPERTIES.
TODAY, I WANTED TO COME INTRODUCE MYSELF.
I AM THE CO-FOUNDER OF THE WOMEN'S MIND AT EAST CONFERENCE THAT I'VE HELD FOR SEVEN YEARS THAT I'VE CREATED WHILE I'M THERE AT SANTA RITA.
I ALSO HAVE CREATED AN I MOUNTS PROGRAM THAT I CREATED BACK IN THE PANDEMIC.
AND IN 2021, WHICH IS GOING ON VERY STRONG, RIGHT NOW, I HAVE UP TO 74 WOMEN THAT HAVE JOINED MY IMM OSS.
I PROVIDE ALL KINDS OF RESOURCES FOR BOTH PROGRAMS, LIKE HEALTH EDUCATION TRAININGS, UH, MENTAL, UH, CLASSES, UH, GED CLASSES, EVERYTHING THAT THEY HAVE IN NEED.
AND SO WHAT I DO, THIS IS, I AM NOT A, A RESIDENT COUN, I AM A RESIDENT LED PERSON THAT I DO NOT HAVE A 5 0 1.
I AM SPONSORED BY MANY, MANY GROUPS, ESPECIALLY CAPITAL METRO.
UM, AND SO THIS PRO I WANTED TO INTRODUCE MYSELF BECAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE, UM, DON'T KNOW WHO I AM BECAUSE I DON'T SEE, I I WITH ALL OF Y'ALL, THIS IS MY FIRST TIME HERE, BUT I WANTED TO EXPRESS MY THANK YOU, MY GRATITUDE BECAUSE Y'ALL HAVE HELPED MANY, MANY, MANY PEOPLE
[00:05:01]
IN THE COMMUNITY.I DO NOT ONLY SERVE THE HOUSING, UH, COMMUNITIES, I SERVE THE OUTSIDE COMMUNITIES ALSO.
AND BY SERVING IS I PROVIDE, MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAVE FOOD, THAT THEY HAVE SHELTERS, THAT THEY HAVE, UH, THEY GET TO GO TO DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENTS.
UH, I WORK WITH PEOPLE THAT ARE, UH, HOMELESS.
I WORK WITH PEOPLE THAT NEED A LOT OF EDUCATION AND UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT'S GOING AROUND IN THEIR LIVES.
SO I WANTED TO SAY, JUST THANK YOU SO MUCH.
I HAVE SEVERAL OTHER PROGRAMS THAT I ALSO HAVE CREATED, WHICH IS THE CHRISTMAS DRIVE FOR KIDS.
I DO THE BACK TO SCHOOL BACKPACK DRIVE FOR KIDS.
I HAVE, UH, THE, THE CHALA CLASS.
IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS, THAT MEANS THE Q CLASS.
AND IT'S, IT HAS DIFFERENT TOPICS ABOUT, UH, MIRRORS AND, UH, STRESS RELEASE.
AND SO ALL THESE CLASSES ARE, ARE DONE AND, AND SUPPORTED BY SOUTHWEST KEITH.
I ALSO HAVE A HOUSING AUTHORITY THAT REPRESENTS AND HELPS AND SUPPORTS ALSO FOR THESE PROGRAMS. SO I WANTED TO JUST TO COME AND JUST BASICALLY SAY THAT NOT ONLY DO I HAVE THOSE TWO PROGRAMS, BUT I HAVE SEVEN PROGRAMS I'VE CREATED SINCE I AM A RESIDENT AS SANTA RITA.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH AND I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU AND I JUST KEEP ME IN MIND THAT WE ALL ARE HERE TO WORK FOR THE COMMUNITY.
I AM A RESIDENT HERE AT, I WAS RAISED HERE, TILLERY AND FIFTH, WENT TO BROOK SCHOOL, WENT TO JOHNSTON, AND I'M VERY PROUD TO BE A EAST AUSTIN RESIDENT.
WELL, JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO COME AND TALK TO US.
UH, UM, PUBLIC TRANSIT, PARTICULARLY FOR OUR TRANSIT DEPENDENT COMMUNITY IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO US.
BUT I'M MORE IMPRESSED WITH SOMEBODY THAT CAN MAKE GALINO GET UP OUT OF HIS CHAIR AND WORK
SO, UH, BUT, UH, BUT THANK YOU FOR THE WORK THAT YOU DO AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING A CONVERSATION, UH, THAT'LL HELP US BETTER SERVE OUR COMMUNITY.
OUR NEXT PERSON LISTED FOR PUBLIC COMMENT IS LEANDER MAYOR CHRISTINE DELI.
HEY, EVERY I, I'LL REMEMBER THAT NEXT TIME, RIGHT? THANK YOU.
I JUST WANTED TO POP IN TODAY.
I'LL BE SHORT AND SWEET, I PROMISE.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO SEND A HUGE THANK YOU TO YOUR STAFF.
I FEEL LIKE EVERY TIME I TURN AROUND LATELY, I SEE, UH, STEVEN CELSO AND DR.
ALLOY IN TOWN, UM, OR AT OUR CHAMBER EVENTS, AND IT'S BEEN FANTASTIC.
AND I KNOW I ALWAYS TELL YOU GUYS THAT I LOVE WHERE OUR PARTNERSHIP IS, BUT I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I REALLY MEAN THAT.
YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN DOING THIS NOW FOR, UH, FIVE YEARS AND I FEEL LIKE, UM, LIKE WE ALL REALLY LIKE EACH OTHER,
UM, AND IT'S JUST FANTASTIC TO BE ABLE TO WORK WITH Y'ALL AND KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, AND CARE ABOUT LEANDER AND WHAT'S GOING ON HERE.
AND I JUST APPRECIATE YOU ALL VERY, VERY MUCH.
UM, AND AS LONG AS I'VE GOT YOU HERE, I JUST WANTED TO SEND OUT AN INVITATION.
THE FIRST SATURDAY IN DECEMBER.
WE ALWAYS HAVE A FANTASTIC HOLIDAY FESTIVAL, AND THAT IS NO DIFFERENT THIS YEAR.
IT'S GONNA BE DECEMBER 2ND, IT GOES ALL DAY.
SO IF YOU'RE A RUNNER, THERE'S LIKE A RUN IN THE MORNING AND YOU GET A MEDAL, IT'S LIKE A RUDOLPH MEDAL.
UH, THERE'S A ADORABLE CHRISTMAS PARADE WITH ALL OF OUR LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS, A TREE LIGHTING AND FANTASTIC VENDORS.
AND SO, UH, IF ANY OF YOU BOARD MEMBERS OR STAFF WANNA COME UP, UM, I'M GLAD TO PERSONALLY WELCOME YOU IF YOU, UH, LET ME KNOW YOU'RE ON YOUR WAY.
I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU AND HOPE Y'ALL HAVE A GREAT MEETING.
WELL, UH, THANK YOU FOR THE INVITATION AS ALWAYS.
I'M PRETTY SURE I WON'T GET ANY MEDALS FOR RUNNING, UM, BUT ME EITHER, BUT, UH,
BUT, UH, BUT WE APPRECIATE THE TIME THAT YOU TAKE TO ADDRESS, UH, TO ADDRESS THE, UH, THE GROUP AND, AND TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE HEARING THE THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO YOU AND THAT WE'RE WORKING TOGETHER TO TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT WE ARE ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF, OF ALL OUR CONSTITUENTS.
SO, UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH AND, UH, WE ALWAYS WELCOME YOU BEING HERE.
NOW, UH, THANK YOU, ED, IF, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, MY NEXT PERSON IS MARY HANSSEN.
WOULD THAT BE OKAY IF I GAVE YOU, UH, I, I WOULD NOT FUSS AT ALL IF YOU GAVE US THIS FOR EVERYBODY.
AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR, UH, INVITING US FROM THE COMMUNITY TO COME FORWARD AT THIS TIME.
AND ONE THING I WOULD REALLY LIKE
[00:10:01]
TO STRESS IS THAT OUR THANKS FOR HAVING SOME OF THE BEST BUS DRIVERS I HAVE EVER SEEN.WE HAVE SEEN UNREAL KINDNESS AND GENEROSITY AND JUST, UH, PATIENCE AND EVERYTHING WITHIN, UH, WHEN WE TAKE THE BUS.
I MEAN, IT, IT'S JUST AMAZING.
AND, AND THEY'RE THE NUMBER ONE PEOPLE REALLY, UH, THAT MEET THE PUBLIC.
AND I THINK THAT'S SO IMPORTANT.
SO CONGRATULATIONS TO WHOEVER IN CHARGE, OOPS.
UH, MY, UH, REASON FOR COMING HERE IS THAT ONE, UH, MYSELF AND A LOT OF US VOTED FOR PROJECT CONNECT.
WE WERE VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT AS WELL AS EVERYTHING ELSE.
AND PART OF THAT ENVIRONMENT IS FOR US, IS TO GET PEOPLE OUT OF CARS AND INTO THE BUSES.
AND AS, UH, MANY OF YOU ARE AWARE OF WHAT WE HAD HERE THIS WEEKEND, UH, WE WERE FULL OF PEOPLE AT THE AIRPORT COMING AND GOING INTO THE CITY AND EVERYTHING ELSE.
AND SO WHAT I, UH, IN FACT, I HAVE GIVEN THIS, UH, TWO PEOPLE AT, UM, AT CAP METRO BEFORE, AND IT'S AN IDEA, UM, BECAUSE I HAVE WORKED WITH PROJECT CONNECT, BUT I, I THINK A LOT OF US REALIZE THAT PROJECT CONNECT, THE IDEA OF GETTING, UH, TRAINED TO THE AIRPORT.
I MEAN, I, I DON'T THINK IT'S GONNA HAPPEN, BUT I THINK WE DO NEED SOMETHING BECAUSE WHEN WE HAVE BEEN WHERE WE TAKE A RIDE RIDESHARE TO THE AIRPORT RATHER THAN THE BUS, AND IT'S UNREAL HOW BUSY, I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY OF YOU DO THAT AS WELL, BUT IT IS SO BUSY AT THE RIDESHARE, YOU KNOW, WHERE, WHERE THEY'RE DROPPING OFF OR IF YOU'RE PICKING UP TO GO HOME.
IF WE COME LATE AT NIGHT, WE DON'T USUALLY TAKE THE BUS HOME.
SO WE DO RIDESHARE, BUT IT IS FULL OF CARS AND MOST OF 'EM ARE NOT ELECTRIC.
SO WE'RE HAVING A TON OF POLLUTION COME INTO OUR CITY.
AND I MEAN, WE HAVE HUGE EVENTS.
WE HAVE SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST, WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, ACL WE HAVE, WE'RE, AND WE HAVE CONSTANTLY, WE LIVE DOWNTOWN, SO WE KIND OF GET TO SEE HOW MANY PEOPLE JUST COME INTO THE CITY, AND THEN SO MANY OF 'EM THEN GO UP TO THE CAMPUS AS WELL.
SO WHAT I'M PROPOSING IS THAT WE REALLY HAVE DIRECT BUS SERVICE.
I KNOW WE HAVE NUMBER 20 NOW, BUT THAT KIND OF MAKES A LOT OF STOPS.
AND IT'S A TYPE OF BUS THAT PEOPLE ARE NOT GONNA RIDE.
NOW WE ARE GOING TO BOSTON THIS WEEKEND, AND RIGHT AWAY WE KNOW HOW WE'RE GOING TO GET INTO THE CITY.
WE'RE GOING TO TAKE THEIR AIR, YOU KNOW, AN AIRPORT BUS INTO THE CITY.
AND, UM, MY PROPOSAL HERE IS, OF COURSE, IT WOULD BE NICE IF WE HAD AN ELECTRIC BUS, BUT I MIGHT JUST BE DREAMING THERE, BUT IT, IF WE COULD PUT 20 PEOPLE OR 30 INTO A REAL AIRPORT BUS, WHEN WE GET ON THE 20, WE HAVE TO TAKE OUR LUGGAGE.
YOU KNOW, YOU MIGHT, YOU HAVE TO TAKE UP TWO SEATS.
A CITY BUS AND AN AIRPORT BUS ARE DIFFERENT.
AN AIRPORT BUS YOU PUT YOUR LUGGAGE ON UNDERNEATH, AND THEN I WOULD ONLY HAVE TWO DROP OFFS AT THE, AT THE CONVENTION CENTER.
AND THEN THE STATE, UM, THE STATE OWNS A PARKING BUILDING WITH CHILLERS ON IT.
AND, UM, THERE WOULD BE AN AREA THERE THAT'S PROTECTED.
UM, I, I WOULD NOT USE FOURTH AND GUADALUPE AND FOURTH AND LACA BECAUSE SOMETIMES THEY'RE PRETTY SKETCHY, ESPECIALLY IN THE EVENING OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
BUT IF WE COULD JUST GET A REAL, LIKE EVERY, I KNOW THIS IS ASKING A LOT, EVERY 15 MINUTE TYPE BUS, I THINK IT WOULD TAKE PROBABLY FIVE OR SIX BUSES.
I, I, I DON'T KNOW YOU, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THAT.
BUT, UH, I, I JUST THINK IT WOULD BE SUCH A SAVING AND, AND MOST CITIES THAT WE TRAVEL A BIT, ESPECIALLY IN EUROPE, AND I MEAN, WE, EVERY TIME WE RIDE ON PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION THERE, WE, WE THINK, OH, I WISH AUSTIN WOULD, YOU KNOW, I WISH WE WOULD DO THIS.
AND SO, SO WE WILL, WE WILL PUT YOU WITH THE APPROPRIATE PEOPLE TO TALK ABOUT THE PARTICULARS.
AND JUST TO HEAR AND, AND SHOULD I HAVE, UH, SHOULD I GET SIGNATURES TO REQUEST SOMETHING LIKE THIS? BECAUSE WELL, LET'S, LET'S, UH, OKAY.
WELL, WHAT WE WANT TO DO TWO THINGS.
I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE FULLY HEAR YOUR PROPOSAL.
BUT WE'LL, WE'LL MAKE SURE WE PUT YOU WITH THE RIGHT STAFF.
I APPRECIATE YOU COMING OUT TODAY.
UH, THE NEXT, UH, PERSON SIGNED UP IS MARY MORAN.
[00:15:05]
GOOD AFTERNOON.I'M THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF ON POINT REENTRY CONSORTIUM, AND I'M HERE TO SAY A FEW WORDS ABOUT THIS NEW NONPROFIT THAT WE CREATED DURING THE PANDEMIC.
AND IT'S A BIPAP REENTRY, UH, NONPROFIT.
IT'S RUN BY, LED BY DRIVEN BY WOMEN.
AND WE ALL ON THE TEAM, US ALL WOMEN HAVE 20 PLUS YEARS IN REENTRY AND HAVE BEEN TRAINED AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL BY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CORRECTIONS AND THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.
WE HAVE TRAINED OVER 7,500 COMMUNITY PROVIDERS IN A CURRICULUM THAT IS EV EVIDENCE-BASED CALLED REENTRY EMPLOYMENT SPECIALISTS TRAINING, AND HAVE CHANGED THE TRAJECTORY OF REENTRY IN NOT ONLY OUR COUNTY, BUT SURROUNDING COUNTIES, CITIES, AND STATES.
WE PROVIDE TRAINING TO COMMUNITY PROVIDERS WHO WORK DIRECTLY WITH JUSTICE IMPACTED INDIVIDUALS.
AND THESE JUST AS IN IMPACTED INDIVIDUALS, RIDE THE BUS A LOT.
THAT'S THEIR MAIN, UH, MODE OF TRANSPORTATION.
AND, UM, WE PROVIDE THE MOST UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION ON EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES, AND ADDRESSING REENTRY BARRIERS, THUS ENSURING EFFECTIVE SERVICES TO THEIR CLIENTS.
THAT'S WHAT WE DO FOR THE, FOR THE COMMUNITY PROVIDERS.
WHAT WE DO WITH THE INDIVIDUALS THEMSELVES IS WE PREPARE AND EDUCATE AND HELP CHANGE THE MINDSET OF THESE JUSTICE IMPACTED INDIVIDUALS TO BE EMPOWERED TO NAVIGATE THE REENTRY PROCESS INTO THEIR PROSPECTIVE COMMUNITIES.
ALL SERVICES FOR OUR CLIENTS ARE PROVIDED AT NO COST.
SO FAR THIS YEAR WE HAVE ASSISTED APPROXIMATELY 400 INDIVIDUALS, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN.
AND I'LL TELL YOU RIGHT NOW, THERE'S MORE RESOURCES FOR MEN THAN THERE ARE WOMEN.
ABOUT, UH, 81% OF THE INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE, ARE INCARCERATED, UH, ARE WOMEN, UH, AND MOTHERS.
AND, UH, WE ARE THE NUMBER ONE STATE IN, IN THE UNITED STATES THAT HOUSE AND INCARCERATE WOMEN MORE THAN ANY OTHER STATE.
SO WE ARE LOOKING AT TRYING TO EXPAND THOSE, UH, RESOURCES WE HAVE HERE IN AUSTIN BY PROVIDING A, A TRAINING I USED MANY YEARS AGO WHEN I WAS WORKING FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES CALLED SURVIVAL SKILLS FOR WOMEN.
AND IT'S A VERY GOOD, UH, UM, COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL TRAINING.
UH, WE'RE GONNA BE USING THAT FOR THE WOMEN.
UM, WE DO HELP WITH WORK-RELATED SUPPORTIVE SERVICES LIKE BUS PASSES, EYEGLASSES, BIRTH CERTIFICATES, WORK BOOTS, IDS AND UNIFORMS. WE CONDUCT ASSESSMENTS, ENTRY IN INVENTORY, CHECKLISTS, INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYMENT PLANS, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, WE DO AN ACES ASSESSMENT TO SEE WHAT TRAUMA HAS OCCURRED IN THEIR LIVES THAT LED THEM TO MAKE DECISIONS THAT WERE NOT GOOD.
AND IF WE, AND IF NEEDED, WE DO DO A, A WARM TRANSFER FOR MENTAL HEALTH PROVIDERS LIKE CGO WELLNESS, BLACK MEN'S HEALTH CLINIC, OR INTEGRAL CARE.
WE HAVE MANY PARTNERS IN THE COMMUNITY THAT WE HAVE MOUS WITH.
I WOULD LIKE TO THANK CAPITAL METRO FOR ASSISTING US IN PROVIDING BUS PASSES TO OUR CUSTOMERS AND SPONSORING OUR 2024 REENTRY COMMUNITY RESOURCE FAIR, WHICH WILL BE HELD IN FEBRUARY, 2024.
I HOPE THAT IN THE FUTURE WE'LL BE ABLE TO CONTINUE THIS PARTNERSHIP AS WE HOPE TO BRING AUSTIN A NATIONWIDE INTERNATIONAL REENTRY VISION SUMMIT WITH SPEAKERS, ORGANIZATIONS THAT PROVIDE A SUCCESSFUL EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES IN THEIR AREAS TO IGNITE AWARENESS OF WHAT CAN BE DONE TO TRANSFORM LIVES, BUILD A SAFER COMMUNITY, AND A STRONG ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT.
I WANNA THANK EACH ONE OF YOU ON THIS BOARD.
IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO SEE YOU, UH, WHETHER WE'RE WORKING WITH THE CITY, THE COUNTY, OR THE STATE, UH, WE ALWAYS SEE YOU FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT.
THANK YOU FOR COMING OUT TODAY AND LOOK FORWARD, UH, TO CONTINUING TO WORK WITH YOU.
AND I SEE YOU HAD GALINO WORKING FOR YOU TOO.
SO,
AND YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES, SIR.
UH, MY NAME IS GALLO FERNANDEZ AND I'M A COORDINATOR FOR EL CONCILIO, WHICH IS A COALITION OF MEXICAN AMERICAN LANDOWNERS HERE IN EAST AUSTIN.
UH, WE WILL BE CELEBRATING IN 20 24, 50 YEARS OF CIVIC ENGAGEMENT IN ADVOCATING AND PROTECTING OUR LAND FROM ZONING TO SCHOOLS, UH, TO, UH, STATE ISSUES.
UH, WE ALWAYS HAVE ORGANIZED TO PROTECT OUR LAND.
UH, WE ARE CHAMPIONS OF THE CLOSURE OF THE HOLLY POWER PLANT.
WE'RE WE CHAMPIONS OF THE CLOSURE OF THE TANK FARM THROUGH THE TRAVIS COUNTY COMMISSIONER'S COURT.
UH, DURING MARION'S TENURE, THE COURT VOTED TO GIVE KENAN MONEY TO FILE A LAWSUIT AGAINST EXXON AND, AND THAT SHUT DOWN THE TANK FORM.
UH, WE'RE ALSO CHAMPIONS OF THE RENAMING OF CSO CHAVEZ.
I MEAN, THE FIRST STREET TO C CHAVEZ WE'RE ALSO CHAMPIONS OF, UH, BRINGING AFTER
[00:20:01]
SIX YEARS OF FAILURE, SINGLE MEMBER DISTRICTS TO AUSTIN, TEXAS.THAT WAS A TWO YEAR, UH, CAMPAIGN AND EVENT.
SO ALL OF THESE ACTIVITIES AND ENGAGEMENTS ARE DONE BY GRASSROOTS PEOPLE LIKE MS. MORRAN, LIKE LUPE GARCIA, WHO DO NOT HAVE THE FINANCIAL RESOURCES THAT OTHERS IN THIS COMMUNITY HAVE YET, WE BIND TOGETHER, STICK TOGETHER AND FIGHT THE FIGHT FOR JUSTICE AND EQUITY IN OUR COMMUNITY FROM OUR GOVERNMENTS.
UH, AND, UH, WE ARE VERY PROUD TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH CAP METRO SINCE YOU'RE IN OUR BACKYARD.
UH, AND, UH, IN THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES, UH, THROUGH DEI DEPARTMENT.
AND, UH, I ONCE AGAIN WANNA THANK, UH, EDNA MM-HMM.
FOR HER HELP AND MELISSA ORTIZ.
UH, THEY'RE ALWAYS AVAILABLE FOR US FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, CONSULTATION OR ADVICE ON HOW TO, YOU KNOW, ENHANCE OUR PROGRAMS AND OUR OUTREACH IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND LIKE MARY MORRAN SAID THAT THE MAJORITY OF THE CUSTOMERS FOR CAP METRO ARE PEOPLE FROM LOW INCOME FROM BARRIOS, UH, THAT, UH, ARE YOUR BIGGEST WRITERS AND USERS.
SO IT'S WISE TO INVEST BACK INTO THOSE THAT INVEST IN TRANSPORTATION.
AND, UH, I'M NOT GONNA GIVE UP COMMISSIONER, I'M STILL SEEKING FOR THAT AUSTIN COLONY TRANSPORTATION IF IT'S THROUGH, UH, CARTS OR IF IT'S THROUGH CAP METRO.
UH, BECAUSE EVERY DAY YOU FIND MOMS, SINGLE MOMS A DAD'S HAVING TO WALK BECAUSE THERE IS NO TRANSPORTATION OVER THERE.
AND THE EXODUS OF OUR PEOPLE THROUGH GENTRIFICATION IS WHERE THEY HAVE RELOCATED.
SO I TRUST AND I HAVE FAITH IN YOU COMMISSIONER THAT WILL COME THROUGH AND WILL DELIVER THEIR, THAT EQUITY AND INCLUSION.
THAT ONE CALLER MATE, UH, WHEN I WAS HERE THE LAST TIME.
SO CAP METRO CAN ILLUSTRATE ITS TRUE COMMITMENT, ENGAGEMENT, AND INCLUSION.
AND, UH, WE WILL CONTINUE TO CHIP AWAY.
UH, AT, AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE, UH, WE, UH, SERVE THE FOLKS THAT, THAT ALMOST NEED, UH, THE, THE ACCESS TO THE SERVICE.
HOWEVER, UH, WE HAVE TO LIVE WITHIN THE CONSTRAINTS OF OUR LEGISLATURE, UH, WHICH WE KNOW ARE MANY
YOU STILL DIDN'T TELL ME HOW EVERYBODY GOT YOU WORKING FOR 'EM, BUT WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT AFTER AND THANK YOU, MS. LUCKY.
DO WE HAVE ANYONE ELSE THAT, UH, WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS THE BOARD THAT DID NOT HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, SIGN UP? NOW IS THE TIME.
UH, ANYONE ELSE THAT WOULD LIKE TO, UH, TO SPEAK TO THE BOARD.
[IV. Advisory Committees Updates]
THE NEXT PORTION OF THE AGENDA, WHICH IS OUR ADVISORY COMMITTEE UPDATES, UM, UH, MS. POWER CUSTOMER SATISFACTION ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND THE ACCESS ADVISORY COMMITTEE.UH, GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR ILIAN.
I'M CEO AND PRESIDENT DO WA DOTTIE WATKINS.
AND, UH, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
I'M THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MANAGER AND THE STAFF LIAISON FOR THE ADVISORY COMMITTEES HERE AT KEPP METRO.
I AM HERE TO PROVIDE THE OCTOBER COMMITTEE UPDATES.
I'M WITH ME AS WELL AS CHAIR HUNT FROM THE ACCESS COMMITTEE.
SO I'LL GO THROUGH MINE FIRST AND THEN I'LL PASS IT ON TO CHAIR HUNT, UM, FOR OCTOBER, ACCESS AND CSAC MET, MET ON OCTOBER 4TH AND 11TH, AND THEY RECEIVED UPDATES ON SPARE FOR, UH, SPARE TECHNOLOGY FROM SARAH SANFORD.
SERVANTS CHANGED FROM ROBERTO GONZALEZ.
UM, A HUG UPDATE FROM ATP FROM PETER MULLEN AND GIANNIS BANKS, AND ALSO A DEMAND RESPONSE METRICS UPDATE, UM, FROM CHRIS MOJICA FOR CSEC.
THEY ONLY HAD TWO ITEMS THIS MONTH, AND THAT WAS THE HUG UPDATE ALSO, UM, FROM ATP AND THE, UM, STRATEGIC PLAN FOR 2024 BINDING HOUR, UM, FOR PSEC, THEY LAST THEY MET LAST MONTH ON OCTOBER 29TH.
UM, THEY DISCUSSED SYSTEM AND DEPARTMENT UPDATES, UM, AND ALSO, UH, WE'RE WORKING ON A WORK PLAN WITH THEM FOR 2024 FOR, UM, EXPANSION OF OUR WORK WITHIN THE PSAC COMMITTEE.
UM, ACCESS AND CSAC ALSO HAVE WORK PLANS, UM, THAT THEY'LL BE DOING.
AND WE'LL ALL BE IN PERSON IN NOVEMBER, UM, TO TALK ABOUT WHAT WE SEE IN 2024.
AND TODAY WE ALSO WORKED WITH MR. EASTON TO MAKE SURE THAT WE APPOINT MR. LUIS OTA LUGO.
UM, SO, UM, HE WILL BE JOINING PSAC AND WE'RE EXCITED TO ONBOARD HIM, UH, THIS COMING MONTH.
THAT CONCLUDES MY, UH, UPDATE AND I'LL PASS IT ON TO CHAIR HUNT FOR, UM, ACCESS COMMITTEE UPDATES.
[00:25:01]
ALRIGHT, IS CHAIR HUNT AVAILABLE? YES, I AM.GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR, IAN AND ALL THE BOARD MEMBERS.
UM, THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING US TO PARTICIPATE OR ME TO PARTICIPATE TODAY.
UM, AS, AS I SAID, WE, WE HAD OUR UPDATES, UM, WAS A LOT OF INTEREST, ESPECIALLY IN THE, UH, SPARE UPDATE THIS YEAR.
THERE'S A LOT OF, THERE WERE A LOT OF QUESTIONS ANSWERED.
UM, AND THERE WAS A GOOD, UH, RECRUITER GAVE US A GOOD PRESENTATION ON SERVICE CHANGES AND ALSO THE, UH, UM, AUSTIN PARTNERSHIP, UH, ON, UH, THE, HOW THE LIGHT RAILS WORKING.
HE DID A REALLY GOOD JOB EXPLAINING WHY, UH, WE WERE IN DESIGN PHASE AND WE HAD TO COME BACK AND, AND TAKE A STEP BACK AND THAT SORT OF THING.
HE DID A REALLY GOOD JOB EXPLAINING THAT.
UM, AS FAR AS HOW SPARES WORKING, FROM MY POINT OF VIEW, FROM WHAT I'VE RIDDEN SO FAR AND WHAT I'VE SEEN, I CAN'T BE MORE THRILLED.
IT'S WORKING VERY, VERY WELL MOST OF THE TIME.
UM, DOWNTIME FORM PERFORMANCE IS FABULOUS AND THE CALL OUTS ARE GREAT.
UM, THE STAFF IS ABLE TO BE FLEXIBLE AND, AND ACCOMMODATE PEOPLE WITH, IF IT HAS TO BE A CHANGE AT THE LAST MINUTE, THAT'S WORKING REAL WELL.
UM, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO, AND WE DIDN'T TALK ABOUT THAT IN THE UPDATE FROM OCTOBER.
UM, IF I HAVE MY WAY, I CAN GET OUR COMMITTEE TO, UM, PUSH FOR GETTING THE SHARE CAPPING INCORPORATED INTO CAPITAL, INTO METRO ACCESS.
FOR ONE THING, IT'S ALSO EXTREMELY IMPERATIVE, AND THE STAFF KNOWS THIS, THAT THEY NEED TO GET THE SCANNERS ON ALL THE METRO ACCESS VEHICLES SO THAT THE METRO ACCESS PASSES WORK PROPERLY RIGHT NOW.
UM, IF A PERSON BUYS A MONTHLY PASS, OF COURSE IT'S FREE NOW IN OCTOBER, BUT A PERSON COULD BUY A MONTHLY PASS IN NOVEMBER.
AND IF YOU DON'T HAVE THIS, IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE SCANNERS, THAT PASS NEVER BECOMES ACTIVE.
SO THEY JUST SHOW THE PASS ON THE PHONE.
SO YOU COULD LOSE FARES FOR MONTH AFTER MONTH AFTER MONTH.
SO IT'S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT THAT THEY GET THE SCANNERS AVAILABLE FOR EVERYONE.
AGAIN, STAFF KNOWS THIS, SO, UM, BUT OTHERWISE, UM, AS FAR AS BEAR IS CONCERNED, WE'RE VERY, VERY PLEASED WITH IT.
LOOK FORWARD TO OUR WORK PLANNING, UPDATING UPDATE MEETING IN NOVEMBER WHERE WE DECIDE WHAT, UM, WHAT PRESENTATIONS WE'LL HAVE NEXT YEAR AND THE WORK WE WANNA DO NEXT YEAR.
THANK YOU BOARD, UH, OR THANK YOU, UH, CHAIR.
LET ME START WITH, UH, THE BOARD MEMBERS TO SEE WHETHER THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS, ANY, UH, ANY, UH, QUESTIONS THAT WE HAVE, UH, BASED ON THE REPORTS THAT WE'VE HEARD.
DOESN'T LOOK LIKE I SEE ANY, BUT I'LL ASK, ASK IT TWICE AGAIN.
ANYWAY, ANY QUESTIONS? UH, ANY QUESTIONS? HEARING NONE, UH, THANK YOU, UH, MR. POWER AND THEN THANK YOU, UH, FOR, UH, CHAIRMAN.
AND JUST, UM, AND WE WILL HAVE A SPARE UPDATE AT THE ACCESS COMMITTEE, UM, EVERY MONTH.
UM, WE'RE WORKING WITH SARAH AND CHAD ON THAT, SO WE'LL, WE'RE ALSO ADDRESSING EVERYTHING DURING THAT.
WE APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE.
EVERYTHING IS CLEAR AND CONCISE AND YOU GUIDE US TO WHERE IT IS WE NEED TO GO.
[V. Board Committee Updates]
NOW THE, THE NEXT WILL BE OUR REGULAR BOARD COMMITTEE UPDATES AND WE'LL START THIS MO THIS AFTERNOON, UH, WITH OUR OPERATIONS PLANNING AND SAFETY COMMITTEE CHAIR.UH, THE, UH, CAPITAL METRO OPERATIONS PLANNING AND SAFETY COMMITTEE MET ON WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER THE 11TH AT 12:30 PM AND, UH, WE CONSIDERED A TOTAL OF SEVEN ITEMS, UH, BESIDES OUR MINUTES.
TWO OF THE ITEMS ARE ON OUR ACTION AGENDA FOR TODAY.
ONE INVOLVES THE, UH, IMPLEMENTATION OF THE JA JANUARY 24 SERVICE CHANGES.
THE OTHER IS A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING UPDATES OF THE CAP METRO ALCOHOL PROHIBITION POLICY.
UH, BEYOND THAT, THE OTHER, UH, FOUR ITEMS ARE FOUND ON OUR CONSENT AGENDA.
WE ALSO HAD OUR MONTHLY, UH, OPERATIONS, PRESENT OPERATIONS UPDATE PRESENTATION.
UH, OTHER THAN THAT, UM, WE CONCLUDED BUSINESS.
UH, HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS, BOARD MEMBERS.
ANY QUESTIONS? ANY QUESTIONS? ANY QUESTIONS? SEEING NONE, THANK YOU FOR THE REPORT.
UH, NOW WE'VE GOT THE, UH, FINANCE AUDIT AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE.
UH, CHAIR HARRIS THANK THE CHAIR.
UH, THE FINANCE AUDIT ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MADE ON WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11TH AT 10.
UH, WE CONSIDERED FIVE ITEMS, UH, INCLUDING, UH, SOME OF THE ITEMS THAT WILL BE ON THE AGENDA TODAY, INCLUDING REVISIONS TO THE CAP METRO INVESTMENT POLICY, UH, RESOLUTION APPROVING REVISIONS TO THE PRESIDENT CEO COMPENSATION POLICY, AND ALSO AN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN, UH, READINESS TRAINING PROGRAM.
IN ADDITION, WE APPROVE THE 2024 FISCAL 2024 INTERNAL AUDIT
[00:30:01]
PLAN, AND THEN ALSO RECEIVED AN UPDATE, UH, FROM, UM, MR. FOAMER, UH, REGARDING THE 23 PLAN STATUS.ALRIGHT, ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FINANCE PLAN OR FINANCE COMMITTEE, UM, PRESENTATION? ANY QUESTIONS? ANY QUESTIONS? HEARING NONE, UH, THAT WENT SO WELL.
UH, UH, CAMPO, UH, MET ON OCTOBER THE SECOND.
UH, THERE WERE TWO ITEMS ON THE AGENDA THAT REQUIRED A VOTE.
ONE WAS THE APPROVAL OF THE AMENDMENT, THE SEPTEMBER MINUTES.
IN ADDITION, THERE WAS A DISCUSSION AND TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION ON AMENDMENTS TO THE 2326 TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM AND THE 2045 REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION PLAN.
UH, WITH RESPECT TO THE, UH, TIP AMENDMENTS, CAP METRO SUBMITTED A TIP AMENDMENT, UH, REGARDING THE RED LINE DOUBLE TRACKING FUNDED THROUGH THE RAISE PROGRAM GRANT TO PROVIDE DOUBLE TRACK DOUBLE TRACKING BETWEEN ONION AND EAST, UH, EAST TIMON STREET, UH, SECOND STATION PLATFORM AT PLAZA SALTILLO, UH, SIGNALIZATION AND POSITIVE TRAIN, UH, CONTROL MODIFICATIONS, UH, SAFER RAILROAD CROSSINGS AT FIVE LOCATIONS, AND NEW ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE BETWEEN CONE AND PERAL.
AND ON THE RE, WITH THE RECONFIGURATION OF FIFTH STREET.
UM, DOES THE BOARD HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? ANY QUESTIONS? ANY QUESTIONS? HEARING NONE, UH, THANK YOU FOR THE UPDATE ON THE CAMPO, UM, ON THE CAMPO BOARD MEETING.
AND I WILL, UH, PRESENT THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP UPDATE, UH, WHICH WAS AN UNUSUALLY SHORT MEETING.
UH, AND, UH, THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR GAVE US A MONTHLY REPORT AND THEY FOCUSED PRIMARILY ON ENGAGEMENT AND EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES.
UH, THEY ARE WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY AND HOSTING COMMUNITY MEETINGS AND, UH, THEY'RE, THEY'RE TRYING TO, UH, SET UP A CLOSER COLLABORATION WITH SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES ALONG LIGHT RAIL CORRIDORS.
THEY ARE, UM, THEY'RE DEFINITELY WANTING TO ADDRESS USER EXPERIENCE AND THEY'RE WANTING TO GIVE THE COMMUNITY AN OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, MAKE THEIR EXPERIENCES AVAILABLE ONLINE.
SO IF YOU GO TO ATP TX.ORG, YOU CAN MAKE COMMENTS ABOUT, UH, YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH, UH, WITH THE ACTIVITIES OF, OF A TP.
THE ONLY, UH, ACTION ITEM WAS ADOPTING THE MINUTES, UH, FROM THE SEPTEMBER MEETING.
THE REST OF THE MEETING WAS, UH, UH, USED TO ADDRESS THE METHODOLOGY, UH, FOR ATP, UH, STAFFING CONSULTANTS TO, UH, TO REACH THEIR, UH, THEIR FOLLOWING OBJECTIVES, WHICH WERE OPTIMIZING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE, REFLECTING ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY AND PRESERVING AGILITY, UH, DELIVERING THEIR PROJECT WITHIN THE BUDGET, AND THEN GENERATING, UM, MEANINGFUL OPPORTUNITIES, UH, FOR, UH, A LOT OF FIRMS ARE A VARIETY OF FIRMS IN THE COMMUNITY TO PARTICIPATE AND WORK IN THE PROCESS.
UH, THE NEXT MEETING OF THE BOARD IS GONNA BE HELD ON NOVEMBER 15TH.
UH, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT ATP? ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT ATP? ANY QUESTIONS? UH, HEARING NONE, UH, WE WILL MOVE
[VI. Consent Items]
TO THE CONSENT AGENDA.UH, WE POSTED FOR SEVEN ITEMS ON THE CONSENT AGENDA TODAY.
UH, HAVE YOU ALL HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW THE ITEMS TO SEE IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE PULLED? OKAY.
IF, IF, IF WE'VE LOOKED AT THE ITEMS AND WE HAVE, AND WE DO NOT SEE ANYTHING THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE PULLED AND TURNED INTO A REGULAR ACTION ITEM, THEN THE CHAIR WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO, UH, TO ACCEPT THE CONSENT AGENDA AS POSTED.
BOARD DEVE, UH, IS THERE SECOND? OKAY.
BOARD MEMBER BENGALS RECOGNIZE YOU.
IT'S BEEN MOVED AND PROPERLY SECONDED THAT WE APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA ITEM AS POSTED.
IS THERE ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE.
UH, ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE CONSENT AGENDA AS POSTED, PLEASE LET IT BE KNOWN BY SAYING AYE.
UH, IF, IF THERE'S ANY OPPOSITION, PLEASE LET IT BE KNOWN BY SAYING, AYE.
NOW HEARING NO OPPOSITION, THE BOARD CHAIR WILL MAKE IT UNANIMOUS.
ALRIGHT, SO, UH, SO LET'S MOVE
[VII.1. Approval of a resolution authorizing the President & CEO, or her designee, to implement the January 2024 Service Changes.]
TO OUR ACTION ITEMS AND, AND, UH, WE'RE POSTED FOR EIGHT ITEMS TODAY, UH, STARTING WITH THE APPROVAL OF THE, OF THE, UM, POSTED 2024 SERVICE CHANGES AND, UH, AND LAWRENCE DIETER WILL BE MAKING THAT PRESENTATION FOR US.[00:35:01]
CHAIR TAVION, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, UH, PRESENT, CEO WATKINS.MY NAME IS LAWRENCE DIETER AND I'M THE MANAGER OF SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING.
I'LL BE PRESENTING THE PROPOSED JANUARY, 2024 SERVICE CHANGES TO YOU THIS AFTERNOON.
AND, UM, ULTIMATELY I'M HERE TO ASK YOU TO APPROVE A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE PRESIDENT, CEO OR HER DESIGNEE TO IMPLEMENT THE JANUARY, 2024 SERVICE CHANGES.
WE WILL DISCUSS THE PROPOSED, UH, SERVICE CHANGES USING THE FRAMEWORK OF THE RECENTLY APPROVED, UH, SERVICE STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES, AND THEN WE WILL LOOK AT WHAT IS COMING NEXT, INCLUDING A REVIEWING PICKUP PERFORMANCE.
SO FIRST, UH, A LITTLE BACKGROUND, UM, LEADING UP TO THE PANDEMIC CAP METRO WAS EXPERIENCING MONTHLY RIDERSHIP INCREASES AFTER THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BOARD APPROVED CAP REMAP.
THEN, AS PART OF CAP METRO'S ONGOING COMMITMENT TO BEST SERVE THE COMMUNITY AND STEWARD LIMITED RESOURCES RESPONSIBLY RE-IMPLEMENTED SEVERAL DATA-DRIVEN SERVICE ADJUSTMENTS AND REALLOCATION.
UH, STARTING IN MARCH OF 2020, WE REDUCED SERVICE LEVELS ON ALL COMMUTER SERVICE, INCLUDING THE SUSPENSION OF ROUTES 9 81 AND 9 87.
THEN IN SEPTEMBER OF 2000, UH, IN SEPTEMBER OF 2021, WE SUSPENDED THE EBUS AND REDUCED DAILY SERVICE FREQUENCIES ON ROUTES 18 2 17 AND 3 35.
ALONG WITH FREQUENCY, WEEKEND FREQUENCY REDUCTIONS ON OTHER HIGH FREQUENCY ROUTES, THE DECISION TO TEMPORARY SUSPEND THESE SERVICES AND REDUCED FREQUENCIES WAS NOT TAKEN LIGHTLY, BUT WAS TREATED AS A NECESSARY STEP TO EFFICIENTLY DISTRIBUTE RESOURCES, UM, LIMITED RESOURCES TO PROVIDE RELIABLE SERVICE TO OUR CUSTOMERS OVERALL.
THE FIRST, UH, THIS IS, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, THE FIRST SERVICE CHANGE TO UTILIZE OUR NEW SERVICE EVALUATION PROCESS THAT WAS ADOPTED AS PART OF THE JUNE, UM, IN JUNE WITH OUR SERVICE, UH, STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES.
AND SO I'VE, WE, THE TEAM HAS DESIGNED THIS PRESENTATION TO MATCH THAT.
YOU'LL NOTICE ICONS, UH, MATCHING, UH, UH, UP AT THE TOP THROUGHOUT THE, UH, PRESENTATION.
SO FIRST WE IDENTIFIED ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES AND, UH, THE MOST SIGNIFICANT ONE WE IDENTIFIED IS THE AVAILABILITY OF RESOURCES.
UM, WE'VE, UM, THE COVID SUSPENDED RESOURCES HAVE BEEN REDISTRIBUTED TO OTHER IN NEED ROUTES, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE CONTINUE TO HEAR FROM OUR CUSTOMERS VIA THE GO LINE.
UH, 53% OF CALLS IN THE LAST SIX MONTHS ARE ABOUT SERVICE RELIABILITY, DEMONSTRATING, UH, THE NEED TO CONTINUE TO ALLOCATE RESOURCES IN A WAY THAT PRIORITIZES PREDICTABILITY AND RELIABILITY FOR CUSTOMERS.
EVEN WITH THESE REALLOCATED RESOURCES, CAP MICHU METRO CONTINUES TO EXPERIENCE, UH, SOME CHALLENGES IN GETTING, UH, IN CONSISTENTLY PROVIDING SERVICE WITH SOME, UH, ROUTE EXPERIENCING RIDERSHIP GROWTH AND OTHERS.
UH, AND THAT WHILE AT THE SAME TIME CAP METRO WAS REGULARLY LOSING SERVICE, IF WE WERE TO, UH, RESTORE SUSPENDED SERVICE PERFORMANCE ACROSS THE ENTIRE SYSTEM WOULD BE NEGATIVELY IMPACTED BECAUSE WE DO NOT HAVE THE RESOURCES TO SUPPORT ALL THIS SERVICE.
ANOTHER ISSUE IS THE NEED, NEED FOR TRANSPARENCY, WHICH IS A CAP METRO CORE VALUE.
IT WAS CAP METRO'S ORIGINAL INTENTION TO RESTORE THESE ROUTES IN THEIR, TO THEIR ORIGINAL LEVELS, UH, ONCE VARIOUS RESOURCES WERE AVAILABLE AND TRANSIT DEMAND RETURNED.
HOWEVER, DETERMINING THE TIMELINES AND PROCESSES FOR RESTORING SERVICE HAS PROVEN TO BE UNPREDICTABLE, GIVEN THE NUMBER OF FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE PROCESS.
RECRUITMENT, SUCCESSFUL HIRING, AVAILABILITY OF VEHICLES AND REPLACEMENT PARTS TO NAME A FEW THAT UNPREDICTABILITY HAS LED TO AN INDEFINITE SUSPENSION WITH CUSTOMERS ASKING WHEN OR IF SERVICE WILL RETURN.
WE NEED TO PROVIDE AN ANSWER TO OUR CUSTOMERS, AND I KNOW THIS IS THE ANSWER THAT, UM, NOT ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS WANT.
UM, TAKING A QUICK LOOK AT RIDERSHIP.
RIDERSHIP IS RECOVERING AND GROWING, HOWEVER, THERE IS ONE AREA IT IS NOT RECOVERING AND GROWING, AND THAT IS EXPRESS SERVICE THAT REMAINS AT ABOUT 10% OF PRE PANDEMIC HARDSHIP, UH, LEVELS.
AND THIS IS, UM, CONSISTENT WITH TRENDS OBSERVED ACROSS THE INDUSTRY.
AS WE LOOK AT THE OPPORTUNITIES WE CONTINUE TO COORDINATE WITH SMALL MEMBER CITIES AND REGIONAL PARTNERS, UH, THIS CHANGE IS COMPLIMENTARY OF ALL THE REGIONAL WORK, UH, THAT THE BOARD APPROVED LAST MONTH.
SO THE NEXT STEP IS TO DEVELOP SERVICE CHANGE.
UM, IS TO DEVELOP THE ACTUAL PROPOSALS.
[00:40:01]
AND SO WHAT WE ARE PROPOSING TODAY IS TO MAKE PERMANENT THE STATUS OF SERVICES AS THEY'RE OPERATING TODAY AND TO ADD NEW SERVICE WHERE WE CAN.SO, JUST TO BE CLEAR, WE ARE NOT PROPO.
REALLY, THIS IS A SERVICE CHANGE THAT ISN'T A SERVICE CHANGE OVERALL FOR OUR BEST CUSTOMERS.
WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE OPERATING THE SERVICES OPERATING IN OCTOBER OF 2023 IN JANUARY OF 2024.
SO THAT MEANS FOR ROUTES 18, 2 17 AND 3 35, WE RECOMMEND THAT SERVICE LEVELS STAY AT 30 EVERY 30 MINUTES.
WE UNDERSTAND THE DESIRE FOR A FULL, UH, RESTORATION OF SERVICE, BUT WE WOULD RATHER PROVIDE RELIABLE SERVICE AT 30 MINUTES THAN PROMISE A HIGHER LEVEL OF SERVICE WE CAN'T PROVIDE.
WE ALSO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE TRAVEL PATTERNS HAVE CHANGED AND AREN'T LIKELY TO BE SIMILAR TO PRE PANDEMIC.
THEREFORE, WE ARE RECOMMEND MAKING THE SERVICE SUSPENSIONS PERMANENT, INCLUDING ROUTES 9 81 AND 9 87 IN THE EBUS FOR ROUTES 9 81 AND 9 87.
THERE ARE SIMILAR ROUTES THAT PROVIDE AN OPTION THAT WILL REMAIN IN PLACE FOR CUSTOMERS.
SPECIFICALLY CUSTOMERS WHO USE ROUTE 9 81 CAN USE ROUTE 9 82 AS AN ALTERNATIVE.
AND THOSE THAT USE ROUTE 9 87 HAVE THE OPTION TO SWITCH TO THE RED LINE OR ROUTE 9 85.
ANOTHER MEASURE OF CONSERVING RESOURCES, WE RECOMMEND DISCONTINUING THE EBUS, WHICH ARE DUPLICATIVE OF OUR NIGHT HOUR SERVICES.
SO UT STUDENTS WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE OPTIONS TO GO DOWNTOWN LATE AT NIGHT IF THEY SO DESIRE.
UH, REAL QUICKLY, THE EBUS WAS A SERVICE THAT OPERATED ON THURSDAY, FRIDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHTS 10:00 PM TO 3:00 AM UM, CONNECTING AREAS OF STUDENT, UH, HOUSING TO DOWNTOWN.
AND EVEN BEFORE THE PANDEMIC, WE WERE SEEING RIDERSHIP ON THOSE SERVICES, DEC DECLINE AS STUDENTS WERE FINDING OTHER, UH, SERVICES TO, UH, TRAVEL ON MOSTLY ON DEMAND, SUCH AS, UH, SCOOTERS, METRO BIKE, LYFT, AND UBER.
AND FINALLY, WE DO WANNA ADD SERVICE WHERE WE CAN.
AND WE HAVE THE OPERATOR'S, VEHICLES AND FUNDING AVAILABLE FOR A NEW PICKUP ZONE IN SOUTHEAST AUSTIN.
AND WE KNOW THE COMMUNITY IS VERY EXCITED ABOUT THE ADDITION OF THE THIS ZONE AS THEY HAVE BEEN INTRICATELY INVOLVED IN OUR PLANNING PROCESSES, UH, FOR THE ZONE.
AND WE HAD A ROBUST ENGAGEMENT EFFORT, WHICH JUST FOCUSED ON THAT ZONE REAL QUICKLY.
THE ENGAGEMENT EFFORT INCLUDED INFORMING STAKEHOLDER GROUPS AND LOCAL COMMUNITY LEADERS OF THE NEW SERVICE.
WE ALSO REACHED OUT TO BUSINESSES AND ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE ZONE TO SEEK INPUT ON DESTINATIONS AND SERVICE LEVELS.
SO THE NEW ZONE WILL BE, UH, BOUNDED BY IE 35 ON THE WEST, BEN WHITE ON THE NORTH, STASSNEY ON THE EAST, AND BASICALLY WILLIAM CANNON ON THE SOUTH.
UH, IT INCLUDES DESTINATIONS SUCH AS HEB, TRAVIS COUNTY ASSOCIATION FOR THE BRINE, AUSTIN LIGHTHOUSE FOR THE BRINE, THE FUTURE SITE OF THE DOVE SPRINGS MEDICAL CENTER, AND NUMEROUS SCHOOLS FROM ELEMENTARY TO HIGH SCHOOL.
THE PROPOSED HOURS ARE FROM 7:00 AM TO 7:00 PM MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, AND 10:00 AM TO 6:00 PM ON SATURDAYS.
THESE CHANGES ARE CONSIDERED A MAJOR SERVICE CHANGE.
THIS ROUTES ARE BEING DISCONTINUED OR MILES AND HOURS AND MILES ARE BEING REDUCED BY MORE THAN 25%.
THEREFORE, A, A TITLE SIX SERVICE EQUITY ANALYSIS AND A PUBLIC HEARING ARE REQUIRED.
THE PUBLIC HEARING WAS ON OCTOBER 11TH, AND THE TITLE VI ANALYSIS WAS PREVIOUSLY, UH, PRE PRESENTED TO THE BOARD.
UH, THE ONLY FINDING WAS A DISPROPORTIONATE BURDEN FOR ROUTES 9 81 AND 97, WHICH IS MITIGATED BY A SIMILAR EXPRESS AND RAIL SERVICE.
WE HAD AN EXTENSIVE, UH, PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT, UH, PROCESS TO HELP OUR CUSTOMERS UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS CHANGING AND THE LEVEL OF CHANGES.
AND, UM, IT ALL BEGAN BACK IN AUGUST WHEN WE PREPARED A BOARD MEMO AND IT DID THE SERVICE EQUITY ANALYSIS.
UH, IT EXPANDED IN OCTOBER, UH, WITH PRESENTATIONS TO THE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION COMMITTEE, UH, WEBSITE ON, ON BUS BROCHURE AT STOP SIGNAGE, A VIRTUAL PRESENTATION.
WE DID METRO ALERT SOCIAL MEDIA.
WE ALSO DID, UH, NOTICES TO OUR OPERATORS.
THEN IN THIS MONTH, WE HAD ACTUAL AT STOP OUTREACH WHERE THERE WERE PEOPLE AT OUR STOPS.
WE PRESENT TO THE ACCESS COMMITTEE, UH, THE PUBLIC HEARING, AND TODAY WE'RE HERE TO ASK FOR THE BOARD APPROVAL.
AND IF APPROVED IT, THE CHANGES WOULD BE IMPLEMENTED ON JANUARY 14TH, 2024.
UH, WE HAD OVER 500 RESPONDENTS PROVIDE, UM, APPROXIMATELY 85 COMMENTS TO OUR, UH, ONLINE SURVEY WITH MOST OF THE COMMENTS FOCUSING AROUND, UH, THE ROUTE 18.
UM, THEN TO A LESSER EXTENT, WE HEARD COMMENTS ABOUT THE TWO 17 AND 3 35 WE DID.
I'D LIKE TO NOTE WE ALSO HEARD A LOT OF VERY HELPFUL COMMENTS THAT WE WILL,
[00:45:01]
THAT'LL BE GREAT TO INCORPORATE INTO OUR TRANSIT SERVICE PLAN WHEN THAT, UH, KICKS OFF, UM, LATER THIS YEAR.SO NOW MOVING INTO THE LOOKING AHEAD PORTION, UM, WHERE WE ARE GOING TO TALK ABOUT, UH, PICKUP.
AND BEFORE I BEGIN THIS, UM, I'D JUST LIKE TO MAKE IT CLEAR ALSO THAT WE ARE NOT PROPOSING ANY CHANGES, UH, TO PICKUP SERVICE AS PART OF THE JANUARY, 2024 SERVICE.
SEPARATE IN NEW ZONE, OBVIOUSLY, BUT WE'RE NOT PROPOSING ANY CUTS OR, UH, HOUR CHANGES TO ANY OF THE EXISTING ZONES.
SO THE PICKUP PERFORMANCE SCORE IS BASED ON A BOARD APPROVED PICKUP.
THE BOARD APPROVED PICKUP SERVICE GUIDELINES, AND THERE ARE THREE COMPONENTS OF, OF THE SCORE.
THERE'S A, UH, COMMUNITY, UH, CHARACTERISTICS THAT INCLUDE DEMOGRAPHICS AND ESSENTIAL SERVICES.
THERE'S SERVICE QUALITY THAT INCLUDES RIDERSHIP ON TIME, PERFORMANCE AND ZONE SIZE.
AND THEN THERE'S SUSTAINABILITY THAT USES COST EFFECTIVENESS MEASURES.
UM, THE NUMBER OF A ACCESS CUSTOMERS USING PICKUP, MOBILITY IMPAIRED PASSENGERS, TRANSPORTED AND SHARED RIDES.
SO THERE'S 30 POINTS AVAILABLE POSSIBLE IN EACH CATEGORY FOR A TOTAL OF 90 POINTS.
UM, WE HAVE COMMITTED TO PROVIDING PICKUP ZONE PERFORMANCE SCORES EVERY SIX MONTHS IN JANUARY AND JULY.
OPERATIONS IS CONSISTENTLY REVIEWING SERVICE PERFORMANCE AND ATTEMPTING TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE IN ALL ZONES.
PARTICULAR ATTENTION IS PAID TO ZONES THAT SCORE BELOW 60 POINTS.
AND FOR THE JULY ANALYSIS, THIS DID INCLUDE SIX ZONES.
UM, ONE OF THOSE ZONES IS THE PICKUP, UH, EXPOSITION.
IT IS THE EXPOSITION PICKUP ZONE THAT HAS NEVER SCORED OVER 40 POINTS.
SO STAFF, UM, HAS BEEN WORKING HARD, UM, IN EARLY OCTOBER AND THEY JUST COMPLETED YET ANOTHER ROUND OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND PROMOTION.
UM, BECAUSE WE DO, WE ARE PROMOTING THE, THE ZONE TO TRY AND INCREASE RIDERSHIP, IT IS OUR DESIRE TO SEE THE ZONE CROSS THE 40 POINT THRESHOLD.
HOWEVER, IF THE ZONE CONTINUES TO UNDERPERFORM, WE WILL SEEK BOARD APPROVAL TO DISCONTINUE THE ZONE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE BOARD ADOPTED PICKUP SERVICE GUIDELINES.
SOMETIME DURING THE SUMMER, DURING THE SUMMER 2024.
THERE ARE OTHER ITEMS WE ARE LOOKING AT AND DESIRE TO ACCOMPLISH IN 2024 AND 2025.
UH, THESE INCLUDE NEW AND MODIFIED, UH, PICKUP ZONES, RESTORING WEAKENED FREQUENCY ON HIGH FREQUENCY ROUTES, REVIEWING RED LINE SERVICE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE NEWLY CONSTRUCTED INFRASTRUCTURE AND TO CONTINUE IMPLEMENTING PROJECT CONNECT SERVICES, INCLUDING THE UPCOMING RAPID LINES.
BUT PROBABLY THE THING, UH, WE'RE ALL MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO IS THE TRANSIT SERVICE PLAN.
UM, AND THAT, LIKE I SAID, IS SCHEDULED TO START LATER THIS YEAR.
AND SIMPLY A TRANSIT SERVICE PLAN IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO A COMPREHENSIVE EVALUATION OF OUR EXISTING SERVICES, OF THE, UH, NEEDS OUT IN THE COMMUNITY AND THE SURROUNDING AREAS.
AND THEN TRY AND PROVIDE THE BEST, BEST SERVICE.
WE TAKE THE NEWLY ADOPTED SERVICE STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES TO, UM, GUIDE AND DIRECT THAT PROCESS TO TRY AND PROVIDE THE MOST EQUITABLE AND ACCESSIBLE SERVICE POSSIBLE.
AND WITH THAT, I BELIEVE I'M READY TO ANSWER ANY OF YOUR QUESTIONS.
LET ME MAKE SURE THAT I READ THIS ACTION ITEM INTO THE RECORD.
UH, ITEM NUMBER ONE WAS APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE PRESIDENT AND CEO OR HER DESIGNEE TO IMPLEMENT THE JANUARY, 2024 SERVICE CHANGES.
DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS COMING FROM THE BOARD? ANY QUESTIONS? ANY QUESTIONS? HEARING NONE CHAIR WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE ACTION ITEM ONE.
UH, BOARD MEMBER HARRIS WITH THE MOTION, A BOARD MEMBER VA WITH THE SECOND.
SO IT'S BEEN PROVED AND APPROPRIATELY SECONDED THAT WE APPROVE ACTION ITEM NUMBER ONE.
ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE.
UM, ALL IN FAVOR, LET IT BE KNOWN BY SAYING AYE.
OPPOSED? SAME SIGN, HEARING, NO OPPOSITION.
THE CHAIR WILL MAKE IT UNANIMOUS.
[VII.2. Approval of a resolution adopting revisions to the CapMetro Investment Policy.]
NUMBER TWO IS APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION ADOPTING REVISIONS TO THE CAP METRO INVESTMENT POLICY.I THINK THE PRESENTATION WILL BE MADE BY CATHERINE WALKER.
[00:50:04]
SURPRISEI WAS, I WAS HEADS DOWN AND WORKING.
I SERVE AS CAT METROS EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF FINANCIAL RISK OFFICER.
CHAIR PAVILION, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD PRESIDENT C MS. WATKINS AT OUR UM, FA COMMITTEE EARLIER THIS MONTH.
WE PRESENTED OUR INVESTMENT COMMITTEE FOR THEIR CONSIDERATION.
UM, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO DO EVERY YEAR AS PART OF OUR, UM, UH, ANNUAL DUE PROCESS.
AND IT'S GOOD FOR US 'CAUSE IT IS A REMINDER FOR, UH, MYSELF AND THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE FA COMMITTEE AS WELL AS THOSE WHO SIT ON THE INVESTMENT COMMITTEE ABOUT OUR REQUIREMENTS.
UM, I BELIEVE THE POLICY SHOULD BE IN FRONT OF YOU IN THE DOCUMENT.
AND WE HAD TWO VERSIONS FOR YOU.
ONE, AN APPROVED OR A REVIEWED VERSION, UH, BY OUR COMMITTEE AND ALSO A RED LINE VERSION.
THERE WERE NOT REALLY ANY MAJOR CHANGES OTHER THAN A FEW TYPOGRAPHICAL CHANGES, SOME VERBIAGE CHANGES.
UM, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANYTHING ABOUT THE POLICY TO YOU.
UM, AGAIN, UH, THIS IS DONE ANNUALLY BY THE COMMITTEE AND THERE WAS NOTHING MAJOR.
WELL, THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH FOR BEING AVAILABLE.
DO WE, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FROM BOARD MEMBERS? DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY.
HAVING LAST TIME HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? HEARING NONE, UH, CHAIR WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO ADOPT THE RESOLUTION.
MOVED BY BOARD MEMBER ROSS, SECONDED BY BOARD MEMBER BENGAL.
UM, IS THERE ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE.
UM, ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVING ACTION ITEM NUMBER TWO, PLEASE LET IT BE KNOWN BY SAYING AYE.
HEARING NONE, UH, THE CHAIR WILL MAKE IT UNANIMOUS.
WE HAVE GOT NOW ACTION ITEM NUMBER THREE, WHICH
[VII.3. Approval of a resolution authorizing updates to the CapMetro Alcohol Prohibition Policy.]
I'LL READ INTO THE RECORD.APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING UPDATES TO THE CAP METRO ALCOHOL PROHIBITION POLICY, UM, BY UH, T UH, TABLE.
GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR ILIAN COMMITTEE MEMBERS, UM, AND PRESENT.
I SERVE AS CAPITAL METRO'S EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, CHIEF SAFETY OFFICER.
AND I'M HERE TO REQUEST YOUR APPROVAL OF THE UPDATES MADE TO OUR ALCOHOL PROHIBITION AND PROCEDURE POLICY.
UH, THIS POLICY SERVES AS A REMINDER TO OUR CUSTOMERS AND EMPLOYEES AND CONTRACTORS THAT CAPITAL METRO PROHIBITS CARRYING OPEN CONTAINERS, WHICH CONTAIN ALCOHOL AND THE USE OF ALCOHOL IS PROHIBITED WHILE OPERATING OR WHILE DRIVING, RIDING, OR WHILE ON CAPITAL METRO'S PROPERTY.
MOSTLY, IT, IT FURTHER EMPHASIZES OUR DESIRE TO HAVE A SAFE AND HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT FOR ALL WHOM WE ENGAGE.
ENGAGE, UH, THIS POLICY DID NOT UNDERGO SUBSTANTIAL REVISION.
NONETHELESS, IN FOLLOWING OUR REQUIREMENT TO PERIODICALLY REVIEW THIS POLICY, WE ASK FOR YOUR APPROVAL.
UH, BOARD MEMBERS, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? ANY QUESTIONS? THIRD TIME? ANY QUESTIONS? HEARING NONE.
UH, CHAIR WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE THE ITEM.
I LOOKED TO, TO MY RIGHT MOSTLY THAT TIME.
I'LL LOOK AT YOU GUYS NEXT TIME.
UM, SO IT'S BEEN MOVED AND PROPERLY SECONDED THAT WE APPROVE.
IS THERE ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? NO DISCUSSION.
ALL IN FAVOR? LET IT BE KNOWN BY SAYING AYE.
IF OPPOSED BY THE SAME SIGN, HEARING NONE, THE CHAIR WILL MAKE IT UNANIMOUS.
[VII.4. Approval of a resolution approving revisions to the President & CEO Total Compensation Policy.]
ITEM NUMBER FOUR.AND I DIDN'T SAY BARRY WHITE THAT TIME.
UH, APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION APPROVING REVISIONS TO THE PRESIDENT AND CEO'S TOTAL COMPENSATION POLICY.
AND THAT PRESENTATION WILL BE MADE BY OKAY.
I AM DONNA SIMMONS, EXECUTIVE VICE
[00:55:01]
PRESIDENT OF ADMINISTRATION AND DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION OFFICER.UM, THIS POLICY IS FOR THE BOARD TO CONSIDER, UH, CONSIDER UPDATES TO THE COMPENSATION POLICY FOR THE PRESIDENT AND CEO.
UH, THE BOARD'S BYLAWS REQUIRE THAT THE BOARD, UM, CONSIDER CHANGES OR, OR, OR MAKE NO CHANGES JUST TO CONSIDER AND CONFIRM, UH, POLICIES EVERY FIVE YEARS.
THIS POLICY WAS MOST RECENTLY ADOPTED BY THE BOARD IN 2018, SO IT'S TIME FOR THE BOARD TO, TO CONSIDER IT.
UM, PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE POLICY ARE IN YOUR PACKET.
UM, I'LL COVER WHAT SOME OF THE SUBSTANTIVE CHANGES TO THE POLICY ARE.
UM, WE HAVE ADDED, UM, OR, OR CHANGED OUR POLICY ON OR PROPOSING CHANGING THE POLICY ON THE FREQUENCY OF LOOKING AT SALARY SURVEYS TO UPDATE OUR SALARY SCHEDULE, TO DO THAT ON AN ANNUAL BASIS VERSUS EVERY OTHER YEAR.
UH, WE'VE ADDED A DEFINITION OF TOTAL REWARDS, UM, TO PROVIDE, UH, WHAT WE CONSIDER AS PART OF OUR TOTAL REWARD PACKET.
NOT ONLY TOTAL REWARDS PACKAGE, NOT ONLY FOR THE CEO BUT FOR ALL EMPLOYEES.
THAT INCLUDES, UM, MORE THAN JUST OUR BASE COMPENSATION.
WE, UM, ALSO MADE AN UPDATE TO THE POLICY TO, UM, INDICATE THAT THE PRESIDENT AND CEO'S PERFORMANCE GOALS WILL BE DEVELOPED IN CONSISTENCY TO BE CONSISTENT WITH, UM, THE CAPITAL METRO STRATEGIC PLAN.
AND I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.
ANY QUESTIONS? BOARD MEMBERS? ANY QUESTIONS? ANY QUESTIONS? HEARING NONE CHAIR WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE ACTION ITEM NUMBER FOUR.
SEE, I SAID I'D LOOK LEFT THIS TIME
UH, IT'S BEEN MOVED AND PROPERLY SECONDED THAT WE APPROVE.
IS THERE ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE.
ALL IN FAVOR? LET IT BE KNOWN BY SAYING AYE.
THE CHAIR WILL MAKE IT UNANIMOUS.
[VII.5. Approval of a resolution adopting the FY2024 Annual Internal Audit Plan.]
FIVE, APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION ADOPTING THE FFY 2024 ANNUAL INTERNAL AUDIT PLAN.AND THAT SHOULD BE BY, UH, TERRY FULMER.
UH, CHAIR TIAN, BOARD MEMBERS PRESIDENT WATKINS.
I'M THE VICE PRESIDENT OF INTERNAL AUDIT.
I'M HERE BEFORE YOU TO DISCUSS THE PROPOSED FISCAL YEAR 2024 AUDIT PLAN AND REQUEST YOUR APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION APPROVING.
THE FINANCE ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE REQUIRES THAT I PREPARE A RISK-BASED AUDIT PLAN ANNUALLY AND PRESENT IT TO THE COMMITTEE AND THE BOARD.
I WANT TO THANK MEMBERS OF THE BOARD AND CAP METRO MANAGEMENT TEAM FOR THEIR PARTICIPATION IN THE ANNUAL RISK ASSESSMENT AND PROVIDING INPUT AND GUIDANCE AS TO THE PROJECTS WE SHOULD DO FOR THIS COMING YEAR.
THE INFORMATION GATHERED BY THE BOARD MEMBERS AND MEMBERS OF MANAGEMENT IS INVALUABLE AND PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN DEVELOPING THE ANNUAL AUDIT PLAN THAT I'M PRESENTING TO YOU.
THE PROPOSED AUDIT PLAN HAS 27 PROJECTS, WHICH IS AN INCREASE OF SEVEN OVER THE PRIOR YEAR BECAUSE TENDER PROJECTS ARE CURRENTLY IN PROGRESS.
AND I CURRENTLY HAVE FIVE UT AUDIT INTERNS THIS SEMESTER HELPING OUT FOR THE PROJECTS.
I BELIEVE I HAVE THE RESOURCES NECESSARY TO COMPLETE THIS EXTRA PROJECTS IN THE 2024 AUDIT PLAN.
PROFESSIONAL PRACTICES OF THE NSTITUTE INTERNAL AUDITORS REQUIRE THAT I CONFIRM TO THE BOARD AT LEAST ANNUALLY MY INDEPENDENCE FROM MANAGEMENT.
UH, TO THAT POINT, I CONFIRMED THAT THE CAP METRO AND
AS SUCH REMAINS OBJECTIVE IN CONDUCTING AUDITS.
AND OUR STAFF HAVE NO CONFLICTS IN THE AUDIT PLAN JUST COMPLETED, AS WELL AS THE PROPOSED PLAN FOR FISCAL YEAR 2024.
I'M REQUESTING YOUR APPROVAL OF THE FISCAL YEAR 2024 AUDIT PLAN AND WANTED TO SEE IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, BOARD MEMBERS.
ANY QUESTIONS? ANY QUESTIONS? ANY QUESTIONS? HEARING, HEARING NONE? UH, THE CHAIR WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE THE, UH, AGENDA.
UH, IT'S BEEN MOVED AND PROPERLY SECONDED.
IS THERE ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE.
UM, ALL IN FAVOR OF ACT OF APPROVING ACTION.
ITEM NUMBER FIVE, PLEASE LET IT BE KNOWN BY SAYING AYE.
THE CHAIR WILL MAKE IT UNANIMOUS.
[VII.6. Approval of a resolution authorizing the President & CEO, or her designee, to finalize and execute an Interlocal Agreement with the University of Texas at Austin, for participation in the University’s IC2 Institute Readiness Training Program for an amount not to exceed $60,000 for a term of one year beginning October 1, 2023, thru September 30, 2024, and a 12-month option term.]
SIX, APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE PRESIDENT AND CEO OR HER DESIGNEE TO FINALIZE AND EXECUTE AN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE UNIVERSITY'S IC SQUARED INSTITUTE READINESS TRAINING PROGRAM FOR AN AMOUNT NOT TO[01:00:01]
EXCEED $60,000 FOR A TERM OF ONE YEAR BEGINNING OCTOBER 1ST, 2023 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2024, AND A 12 MONTH OPTION.UM, IN, IN TERMS, UM, LOOKS LIKE MS. EVANS WILL MAKE THE PRESENTATION.
GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR ILIAN, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, CEO AND PRESIDENT, UH, DOTIE WATSON.
I'M THE DIRECTOR OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION FOR CAP METRO.
I'M HERE TODAY SEEKING APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE PRESIDENT AND CEO OR HER DESIGNEE TO FINALIZE AND EXECUTE AN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE UNIVERSITY'S IC SQUARED INSTITUTE READINESS TRAINING PROGRAM OR IRTP FOR IN THE AMOUNT OF, IN THE AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $60,000 FOR A TERM OF ONE YEAR.
THROUGH THIS ILA CAP METRO DEMONSTRATES COMMITMENT TO SUPPLIER DIVERSITY FOR AND THE DISADVANTAGED, UH, FOR COMMITMENT TO SUPPLIER DIVERSITY AND THE DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE, DBE AND SMALL BUSINESS ENTERPRISE SBE PROGRAMS DESIGNED TO ENHANCE OUR D-B-E-S-B-E PARTICIPATION IN FEDERALLY AND LOCALLY FUNDED CONTRACTS AND PROCUREMENTS.
THIS PROGRAM IS AIMED AT BUSINESS GROWTH AND IN DOING BUSINESS WITH THE PUBLIC SECTOR CAP METRO WILL PARTNER WITH THE UNIVERSITY, PROVIDE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT TRAINING SERVICES THROUGH THE UNIVERSITY'S IC SQUARE'S READY READINESS TRAINING PROGRAM TO DBE SBS AND MANY.
AND THAT MAY COMPETE FOR CAP METRO'S, CONTRACTS AND PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITIES.
THROUGH THIS AGREEMENT, THE IC SQUARED PROGRAM PROVIDES THE FOLLOWING EDUCATION OF CAP METRO'S SUPPLIER DIVERSITY PROGRAM TRAININGS, FOCUSED ON BUSINESS GROWTH TRAINING ON HOW TO DO BUSINESS WITH CAP METRO.
IT ALSO PROVIDES EXPANSION OF CAP METRO'S, D-B-E-S-B-E POOL OF SMALL BUSINESSES, UH, TO BE SOLICITED FOR PARTICIPATION IN CONTRACTS AND PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITIES AIMED TOWARDS OUR ANNUAL DIVERSITY GOALS.
IT ALSO PROVIDES THESE VENDORS ASSISTANCE IN SEEKING PARTICIPATION IN A MENTOR AND PROTEGE PROGRAM.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS? BOARD MEMBERS? DO I HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? ANY QUESTIONS? ANY? OKAY.
SO I SEE THAT WE'VE ADDED SOME TRACKING, UM, HOW TO TRACK SUCCESS IN HERE, WHICH IS NICE 'CAUSE I'M HAD SOME QUESTIONS LAST TIME, BUT WHAT, WHAT, WHAT DO WE CONSIDER SUCCESS WITH THIS? I MEAN, HOW MANY DO WE PLAN ON ADDING? I KNOW THERE'S 20 TO 30, IS THERE IS 50% CONSIDERED SUCCESSFUL IS, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR? I KNOW IN THE BIG SCHEME OF THINGS, 60,000 ISN'T A LOT OF MONEY CONSIDERING OUR BUDGET, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GETTING WHAT WE NEED OUT OF THIS.
OR IF THIS IS AN EXPERIMENT THAT WE'RE SEEING, IF IT IS SUCCESSFUL, HOW ARE WE GONNA GAUGE THAT? OH, ABSOLUTELY.
I, I SEE THIS REALLY, THIS PROGRAM IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR, UM, THESE SMALL BUSINESSES TO REALLY ENHANCE THEIR BUSINESSES, GROW THEIR BUSINESSES, AND SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE, YOU KNOW, FOR THEM TO GROW THEIR BUSINESSES, LIKE I SAID, FOR THEM TO GET THOSE PROCUREMENTS THAT THEY NEED TO GROW THEIR BUSINESSES AND REALLY SO THAT THEY CAN HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO HELP OTHERS GROW THEIR BUSINESSES.
SO, YOU KNOW, CONTINUING ON, RIGHT? AND, AND THEN THAT MAKES SENSE FROM THE, FROM THE OTHER BUSINESSES ASPECT OF IT.
BUT I'M LOOKING AT IT FROM THE CAP METRO ASPECT OF IT IS WHAT, WHAT, WHAT DO WE EXPECT TO GET OUT OF THIS PROGRAM? AND FOR THE 60 GRAND THAT WE'RE COMMITTING TO, WHAT IS OUR EXPECTATION OF THE IC SQUARED AND WHAT THEY'RE GONNA PROVIDE TO US, AND HOW DO WE KNOW WHEN THAT IS GONNA BE SUCCESSFUL WHEN WE'RE DOING THIS TRACKING, IS IT THAT WE'VE ADDED 50% OF THE BUSINESSES THAT I'M ASSUMING THEY'VE RECRUITED INTO THIS PROGRAM HAVE JUMPED THROUGH AND, AND LEARNED WHAT THEY NEEDED TO LEARN SO THAT THEY COULD BE SUCCESSFUL, UM, VENDORS FOR CAP METRO, WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT IT? I MEAN, I CAN TOTALLY SEE THAT THE ADVANTAGES FOR A BUSINESS SIGNING UP TO PARTICIPATE IN IT.
BUT WHEN I LOOK AT IT FROM THIS ANGLE, WHAT ARE WE EXPECTING? THE EXPECTATION
[01:05:01]
IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, WE SEE MORE GREATER PARTICIPATION IN OUR PROCUREMENTS FROM THIS PROGRAM.SO, YOU KNOW, THAT I, I GUESS HOPEFULLY THAT ANSWERED YOUR QUESTION.
SO, SO IF I COULD, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS IS ONE OF THE PROGRAMS THAT THE COUNTY HAS PARTICIPATED IN, AND, UH, AND WE LOOK AT TWO OR THREE ITEMS. UH, FIRST ITEM IS, UH, THAT EVERYONE GETS A, AN ASSESSMENT OF THEIR, OF THEIR, THE CURRENT STATE OF THEIR BUSINESS WHERE THEY ARE.
SO IS YOUR INSURANCE ADEQUATE TO GO AFTER THE JOBS THAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR? UM, HOW, UH, HOW, HOW IS YOUR BACK OFFICE SET UP? HOW DO YOU COMMUNICATE WITH PEOPLE THAT, THAT, UH, THAT YOU MIGHT WORK FOR IN A SUBCONTRACTOR CAPACITY? UH, THE OTHER THING IS IT IS KIND OF DESIGNED TO GO FROM GOOD TO GREAT.
A LOT OF FIRMS THINK THAT IF I CAN DO A $500,000 CONTRACT, WELL I CAN DO A $5 MILLION CONTRACT.
OFTENTIMES OUR INFRASTRUCTURE IS NOT SET UP FOR THAT.
SO THEY WILL ASSESS YOUR CAPA YOUR CURRENT CAPACITY AND TALK ABOUT THE STEPS THAT NEED TO BE TAKEN, INCLUDING BONDING, UH, TO GET YOU TO A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN GO FOR LARGER PROJECTS.
AND, AND THEN THE OTHER OP, UH, OPPORTUNITY THAT IT PROVIDES IS WHEN WE LOOK FROM A DISPARITY STUDY PERSPECTIVE, IT ALLOWS YOU TO, TO, UH, TO PUT A NON RACE-BASED PROGRAM IN COMPARISON WITH A RACE-BASED PROGRAM TO SEE WHAT THE OUTCOMES ARE OF RESOURCES PUT INTO EITHER AND, AND, UH, SO WHAT WE HAVE FOUND IS, UH, THE COMPANIES THAT HAVE GONE THROUGH THIS, PARTICULARLY THE ONES THAT HAVE GOTTEN A MENTOR, HAVE, HAVE, UH, REALLY BEEN GIVEN AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN AND GROW ALL ASPECTS OF THE BUSINESS AND, AND HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF HOW I MOVE FORWARD AND THE TYPES OF THINGS THAT I NEED TO DO TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THIS ENVIRONMENT.
SO, UM, SO, SO JUST OUTTA CURIOSITY THEN, THIS IS THE FIRST, IS THIS, IS THIS THE FIRST TIME THAT WE AS CAP METRO HAVE PARTICIPATED IN THIS PROGRAM? YES.
THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT WE'VE PARTICIPATED.
UM, MR. CHAIR, HOW LONG HAS THE, THE COUNTY PARTICIPATED IN THIS PROGRAM? IS IT AN ONGOING PROJECT IN COUNTY? IT'S ONGOING.
I WANT TO SAY IT'S YEAR FOUR OR FIVE.
SO, UM, IS THIS IT, SO JUST FOR, UH, FOR CLARIFICATION PURPOSES, DO, DO THE BUSINESSES THAT THAT, THAT COME INTO THIS, ARE THEY SEEKING, UM, D-B-E-S-B-E CERTIFICATION? BECAUSE I KNOW THAT THERE, THERE ARE DIFFERENT ENTITIES AND ROUTES BY WHICH A BUSINESS CAN GO, UH, SEEK THAT CERTIFICATION AND MUST BE CERTIFIED BEFORE THEY CAN, UM, CONTRACT WITH, UH, GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES LIKE, UH, LIKE CAP METRO, UH, FOR THAT PURPOSE, MANY OF THESE, UM, ORGANIZATIONS ARE HUB CERTIFIED AND SMALL BUSINESS CERTIFIED.
UM, AND SO WE'RE WORKING ON THEIR, WITH THEM TO GET THEIR, ALSO THEIR DBE CERTIFICATION AS WELL.
SO THEY, THEY ARE, THEY ARE HUB CERTIFIED.
AGAIN, THIS CAN GET, THIS GETS REAL TRI REAL TRICKY AND THAT'S PART OF THE ISSUE IS THAT JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE HUB CERTIFIED DOES NOT NECESSARILY MEAN YOU ARE, UH, YOUR, YOUR F-T-A-D-B-E CERTIFIED.
WE ALSO HAVE A, A SMALL BUSINESS IN THE S YEAH.
SO THIS, THEN WHAT WE CAN DO THE, IS THE, IS THE INTENTION AND THE HOPE HERE THAT WE CAN BUILD AND BROADEN OUR BASE TAKING OTHER COMPANIES THAT ARE OUT THERE DOING THAT, THAT, THAT ARE HUB CERTIFIED WORKING IN OTHER AREAS THAT, THAT, THAT COULD BENEFIT AND, AND, AND HELP CAP METRO, BUT, BUT HELP THEM GO OUT AND, AND GO THROUGH THE PROCESS TO BECOME ADBE OR SBE CERTIFIED BUSINESS TO JUST, AGAIN, GROW THE POOL.
THEY'RE, THEY'RE DOING THIS ALREADY, BUT NOW, THEN THEY JUST NEED TO GO THROUGH THE PROCESS TO BECOME PROPERLY CERTIFIED AND TRAINED UP.
AND THEN, MR. CHAIRMAN, TO WHAT YOU SAID, THEN, HOW DO YOU GO FROM BEING A $500,000 CONTRACTOR TO $5 MILLION CONTRACTOR? AND THEN I, I, DOES IIC SQUARE THEN HELP YOU KIND OF HELP US, HELP US AS CAP METRO ALSO STUDY THAT AND LOOK AT, KIND OF LOOK AT THOSE AS PART OF THE OUTCOMES TOO? WELL, THEY'LL, THEY'LL DOCUMENT WHO COMES THROUGH AND, AND WHAT THE OUTCOMES WERE, BUT THERE IS A CONTINUUM OF CERTIFICATION.
SO, SO IT IS, IT IS AN EDUCATION PROCESS ON ONE HAND, BUT IT ALSO IS A PROCESS THAT GIVES YOU ACCESS TO ALL THE INFORMATION THAT'S NECESSARY TO CHOOSE WHERE YOU WANT TO BE INVOLVED IN THE MARKET.
YOU'LL FIND SOME PEOPLE THAT JUST WANNA BE HUB CERTIFIED, THEY ONLY WANT TO DO
[01:10:01]
BUSINESS WITH THE STATE.YOU'LL FIND OTHERS THAT WANT TO DO BUSINESS WITH THE CITY OR IN THE STANDARD METROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREA.
AND SOME WILL WANT TO BE DBE CERTIFIED BECAUSE THEY CAN GET RECIPROCITY IN OTHER AREAS WHERE DBE CERTIFICATION IS BEING USED.
SO IT WILL NOT HAVE ONLY IMPLICATIONS FOR THE AUSTIN MARKET, FOR, FOR MARKETS LIKE THE HOUSTON MARKET IN DALLAS, UH, MARKET AS WELL, POTENTIALLY.
SO BASICALLY THIS ENDS UP, 'CAUSE EVEN, SO LET ME BACK UP.
SO FROM THE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE, HOW HAS HAS THAT, THOSE THAT LIST OF VENDORS BEEN ABLE TO BE BROADENED THROUGH THIS PROGRAM FOR THE COUNTY? WE, WE THINK THAT THE LIST HAS BEEN BROADENED, UM, BECAUSE OF THE PROGRAM, BUT ALSO THE WAY THAT THE PROGRAM, UH, OPERATES WITHIN THE NETWORK OF, OF, UM, MINORITY CENTERED PURCHASING.
YOU KNOW, THE CITY OF AUSTIN PROVIDES, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, PLANS, ROOMS, THE ANYBODY CAN USE.
WELL, THAT'S KIND OF THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO THE PROCESS.
UH, WHEN, UH, THE, UH, THE COUNTY PROVIDES, UH, THIS TYPE OF TRAINING, UH, THE, UH, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SYSTEM PROVIDES TRAINING ABOUT BONDING, BUT ALL OF THOSE WORKING TOGETHER WILL GIVE DIFFERENT ELEMENTS OF OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, PEOPLE THAT MIGHT WANT TO DO BUSINESS IN THE GOVERNMENT, UH, WITH A GOVERNMENT ENTITY.
SO IT'S HOW, HOW DO YOU WORK TOGETHER TO BUILD CAPACITY BECAUSE IT'S NO ONE THING.
UH, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE, HAVE WORKED IN A, FOR EXAMPLE, IN A, UH, A CITY OR A COUNTY OR A STATE JOB FOR 25 YEARS AND HAVE GREAT SKILLS AND GREAT EXPERIENCE, BUT THEY'VE NEVER RUN A BUSINESS BEFORE, HAVEN'T HAD TO PUT BONDING TOGETHER, HAD TO MAKE PAYROLL EVERY, UH, EVERY COUPLE OF WEEKS.
IT DOES THE THINGS THAT ARE NECESSARY TO TALK ABOUT ALL THAT YOU MUST DO RIGHT.
IN ORDER TO DISCUSS THIS ENDS UP BEING MORE OF A, WE'RE SPONSORING, WE'RE NOT ACTUALLY, THIS SOUNDS TO ME LIKE, 'CAUSE ALL THE COMMENTS, ALTHOUGH I THINK IT'S A GREAT PROGRAM.
WE'RE ALL FROM THE BUSINESS OWNERS ASPECT, IT'S NOT FROM THE CAPITAL METRO.
AND THAT'S WHERE I'M STRUGGLING HERE.
SO WE ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE ADBE PROGRAM BECAUSE WE USE US DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FUNDING.
IT'S A, IT'S THE DESIGNATIONS.
ALL THIS ACRONYMS WE'RE THROWING AROUND ARE DEPENDING ON WHICH GOVERNMENT'S FUNDING YOU'RE USING.
UM, AND OUR AND CAPITAL METRO HAS ADOPTED ADBE POLICY THAT SAYS WE WILL DO ALL THE THINGS TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO PARTICIPATE TO HELP REMOVE BARRIERS OF PARTICIPATION.
BUT OUR OWN POLICY ALSO SAYS THAT WE WILL ASSIST IN HELP DEVELOPING FIRMS SO THAT THEY CAN PARTICIPATE OUTSIDE OF THE DBE E PROGRAM.
SO THE GOAL HERE IS NOT JUST TO BE ABLE TO CHECK THE BOX AND SAY WE HAD DBE, BUT TO BE A REAL COMMUNITY PARTNER IN HELPING OUR SMALL AND MINORITY BUSINESSES PER FIRMS QUESTION IS TO GIVE $60,000 AS MORE OF A SPONSORSHIP TO BE ABLE TO DO THOSE THINGS.
BECAUSE WE BELIEVE THAT IN THE END WE'LL GET MORE THAN $60,000 IN VALUE BACK FROM A BROADENED POOL OF FOLKS AND PEOPLE THAT CAN SERVE US, WHETHER THEY'RE SERVING US AS ADBE OR AS A PRIME FIRM.
UH, THEN, UH, CHAIR WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE ACTION ITEM NUMBER SIX.
I DIDN'T SEE, UH, DIDN'T SEE THE, OKAY.
ALRIGHT, IT'S BEEN MOVED AND PROPERLY SECONDED THAT WE APPROVE.
IS THERE ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE.
ALL IN FAVOR, LET IT BE KNOWN BY SAYING AYE.
UM, IF YOU OPPOSE SAME SIGN, HEARING NONE, THE CHAIR WILL MAKE IT UNANIMOUS.
[VII.7. Approval of a resolution authorizing the President & CEO, or her designee, to finalize and execute a single lump sum contract with Technology International, Inc. to provide Transformers and Switchboards for Electric Bus Charging for the Expo Center and Pleasant Valley MetroRapid Lines and 2910 E. 5th Street Facility, for a total not to exceed contract amount of $990,900.]
ACTION ITEM NUMBER SEVEN, APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE PRESIDENT AND CEO OR HER DESIGNEE TO FINALIZE AND EXECUTE A SINGLE LUMP SUM CONTRACT WITH TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL INC.TO PROVIDE TRANSFORMERS AND SWITCHBOARDS FOR ELECTRIC BUS CHARGING FOR THE EXPO CENTER AND PLEASANT VALLEY, UH, METRO RAPID LINES.
AND THE NINE, UH, 29 10 EAST FIFTH STREET FACILITY FOR A TOTAL NOT TO EXCEED THE CONTRACT AMOUNT OF $990,900.
KEN CARTWRIGHT WILL MAKE THE PRESENT.
I'M KEN CARTRIGHT, VICE PRESIDENT OF CONSTRUCTION AND FACILITIES.
AND, UH, THANK YOU FOR INTRODUCING THIS ACTION ITEM.
AND AS THE, UH, THE BOARD IS AWARE, WE ARE IN THE PROCESS, THE AGENCIES IN THE PROCESS OF ACQUIRING BATTERY ELECTRIC BUSES, AND AT THE SAME TIME WE'RE DEVELOPING THE ELECTRIC CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE TO SUPPORT THOSE BUSES.
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ELECTRIC CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE AT OUR NORTH OPS FACILITY CURRENTLY, UH, BUT THEN WE ARE NOW BUILDING IT TO SUPPORT OUR FUTURE RAPID BUS LINES AS WELL AS, UH, THE INFRASTRUCTURE AT THIS FACILITY AS WELL.IN ORDER TO CHARGE THOSE BUSES.
WE ARE WORKING CLOSELY WITH, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY IN ORDER TO, UH, IMPLEMENT THE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND WE WOULD NORMALLY WORK WITH THEM IN ORDER TO ACQUIRE THESE, UH, COMPONENTS OF THE TRANSFORMERS AND SWITCHBOARDS.
HOWEVER, EACH OF THESE THREE PROJECTS, UM, IS UTILIZING FEDERAL FUNDS AND AS A RESULT, UH, WE'RE REQUIRED TO COMPLY WITH BUY AMERICA REQUIREMENTS.
SO AS A RESULT, UH, WE ARE INDEPENDENTLY ACQUIRING THESE WITH BYER COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS AND, UH, THE, UH, THE FUNDING FOR THIS IS INCLUDED IN THOSE SPECIFIC PROJECT BUDGETS AS WELL AS IN OUR, UH, APPROVED FISCAL YEAR 2024 BUDGET.
AND I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE REGARDING THE SECTION ITEM.
UM, BOARD MEMBER VA, THIS IS A COMMON CONCERN.
UH, WE'VE SEEN THIS AT THE CITY IN TERMS OF, UH, HOUSING, UH, PROJECTS GETTING, UH, DELAYED, UH, PARTICULARLY PERMANENTLY SUPPORTIVE HOUSING FOR THE HOMELESS BEING DELAYED BECAUSE WE'RE WAITING ON A TRANSFORMER, WE'RE WAITING ON CRITICAL ELECTRIC SUPPLIES.
JUST ANY INSIGHT INTO WHAT'S GOING ON, WHERE THE MARKET IS, YOU KNOW, HOW TIGHT THE, THE SUPPLY CHAIN IS.
APPARENTLY IT'S VERY TIGHT BECAUSE WE'VE ACTUALLY PROCURED, UH, THESE COMPONENTS TWICE AND HAD NO BIDS THE FIRST TWO TIMES THAT WE'RE FORTUNATE THIS TIME TO GET A BID.
AND THEY ARE LONG LEAD ITEMS, THEY'RE 12 MONTH LONG LEAD ITEMS, WHICH IS ANOTHER REASON THAT WE'RE ACQUI, THAT WE'RE ACQUIRING THEM AT THIS POINT IN TIME.
AND MY UNDERSTANDING, AND I, AGAIN, I'VE HEARD THIS JUST ANECDOTALLY, IS THAT AUSTIN ENERGY AND OR OTHERS HAVE STARTED LOOKING AROUND THE WORLD, WHEREAS NORMALLY THEY WOULD BUY PRODUCTS NORMALLY JUST IN THE UNITED STATES DOMESTICALLY, BUT NOW THEY'VE LOOKED IN ASIA, YOU KNOW, ALL OVER THE WORLD FOR, IS THAT, IS THAT WHAT Y'ALL ARE, ARE SEEING AS WELL? AND AND THAT'S PART OF THE DIFFICULTY, UH, IN THE FACT THAT WE DIDN'T GET BIDS THE FIRST TWO TIMES AROUND BECAUSE WE DO HAVE THE BUY AMERICA COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS AND WE BELIEVE THIS IS ONE OF THE VERY FEW, UM, SUPPLIERS THAT ACTUALLY CAN MEET THOSE REQUIREMENTS.
AND AGAIN, NOT TO BELABOR THE POINT, BUT JUST TRYING TO INFORM MYSELF THE TRANSFORMERS.
WHAT EXACTLY, AGAIN, I I'M NOT AN ENGINEER, ELECTRICAL ENGINEER BY ANY MEANS, BUT YOU KNOW, WHAT EXACTLY ROLE DO THOSE PLAY? WHY ARE THEY SO CRITICAL IN GETTING SERVICE UP AND RUNNING? IT'S ESSENTIALLY THE COMPONENT THAT STEPS DOWN THE ELECTRIC POWER FROM THE TRANSMISSION LINES DOWN TO THE LEVEL THAT YOU CAN USE IT FOR THESE, UH, VEHICLE CHARGERS.
SO YOU CAN HAVE A LARGE FACILITY THAT IS PULLING ELECTRICITY WITHOUT HAVING A TRANSFORMER THAT'S THERE TO, TO, UH, YOU KNOW, TRANSFER THE, TRANSFORM THE ELECTRICITY TO THE MORE DOMESTIC KIND OF NORMAL USE.
BOARD MEMBERS, ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS? ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS? UH, HEARING NONE, THE CHAIR WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO, UM, APPROVE ACTION ITEM NUMBER SEVEN.
UH, IT'S BEEN MOVED AND PROPERLY SECONDED THAT WE APPROVE ACTION ITEM NUMBER SEVEN.
UM, ALL IN FAVOR OF THAT PROPOSITION, PLEASE LET IT BE KNOWN BY SAYING AYE.
HEARING NONE, UH, CHAIR WILL MAKE IT UNANIMOUS.
ACTION ITEM NUMBER SEVEN IS APPROVED.
[VII.8. Approval of a resolution authorizing the President & CEO, or her designee, to include additional funding of $676,028 to an existing contract with Stacy and Witbeck, Inc. for an in-progress Design-Build project for the McKalla Rail Station for a total contract amount not to exceed $21,559,973 and to extend the contract performance period by 102 days.]
ITEM NUMBER EIGHT.LET ME READ IT INTO THE RECORD.
APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE PRESIDENT AND CEO OR HER DESIGNEE TO INCLUDE ADDITIONAL FUNDING OF $676,028 TO AN EXISTING CONTRACT WITH STACY AND WHITBECK INC.
FOR AN IN PROGRESS DESIGN BUILD PROJECT FOR THE MCAL RAIL STATION FOR A TOTAL CONTRACT AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $21,559,973 AND TO EXTEND THE CONTRACT PERFORMANCE PERIOD BY 102 DAYS.
AND MR. CARD WRIGHT, WILL YOU WALK US THROUGH THAT? YES, THANK YOU AGAIN, CHAIR ILION.
UM, AS YOU MENTIONED, THIS IS THE STACEY AND WHITBECK CONTRACT.
THEY ARE THE DESIGN BUILD CONTRACTOR FOR THE MACAL RAIL STATION.
AND IN APRIL OF THIS YEAR, WE BROUGHT IN, UH, A CONTRACT MODIFICATION TO YOU RELATED TO STORM WATER, UH, IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE'RE MAKING AS PART OF THE PROJECT IN, UH, COLLABORATION WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
AND SO THAT CONTRACT MODIFICATION WAS APPROVED, HOWEVER, IN THROUGH WORKING THROUGH THE EASEMENT REQUIREMENTS, UH, FOR THE STORMWATER AND ALSO THE WASTEWATER, THEY BOTH REQUIRE, UH, WIDER, UM, EASEMENTS THEN IF YOU HAVE THEM SEPARATELY.
SO WORKING WITH THE CITY, UH, WE IDENTIFIED WHAT THOSE
[01:20:01]
EASEMENT WIDTHS WOULD BE, AND THEY WERE DETERMINED TO ENCROACH ON THE SOUTHERN END OF THE NORTHBOUND PLATFORM FOR THE RAIL STATION.AND SO WE ARE GOING TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO THE, UH, THE SOUTHBOUND PART OF THAT NORTHBOUND PLATFORM IN ORDER, UH, SO WE DO NOT ENCROACH ON THE EASEMENTS THAT HOUSE THE STORM WATER AND THE WASTEWATER.
SO THIS IS BOTH DESIGNED AND CONSTRUCTION, THE MODIFICATIONS IN ORDER TO, UH, AVOID THAT ENCROACHMENT AND PREVENT THAT CONFLICT BETWEEN THE STATION AND THESE, UH, THESE INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS.
AND, UH, SO WITH THAT, I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE REGARDING THE SITE.
WE'LL SAY THAT THIS IS, UH, WITHIN THE, UH, APPROVED FISCAL YEAR 2024 BUDGET BOARD MEMBER
I WAS JUST CURIOUS, WE, WE'VE BEEN HAVING TO BRING THE, I'VE, I'VE NOTICED WE'VE BEEN SEEING MACAL COME UP A LOT LATELY.
UH, THAT USUALLY IT'S, UH, KIND OF A, WELL, UM, WE'VE FOUND SOMETHING ELSE.
IT SEEMS TO BE THE COMMON THEME THAT KEEPS COMING BACK UP.
I, I KNOW WE HAD THIS WITH THE, WITH THE DOWNTOWN STATION AND TO, TO, TO THE CREDIT OF CAP METRO WHEN OUR CONTRACTORS, Y'ALL WERE ABLE TO COME TO, TO STILL DELIVER DOWNTOWN STATION, UH, UM, ON TIME AND UNDER BUDGET.
UM, MY CURIOSITY IS AT THIS POINT, YOU KNOW, WHERE, WHERE DO WE STAND JUST OVERALL AS A PROJECT WITH MACAL AND KNOWING THAT, THAT, THAT WE, I I, I FEEL LIKE THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT WE, WE'VE BEEN HAVING THESE, THESE CHANGE ORDERS COME IN WITH THESE THINGS AND THESE, AGAIN, WE DON'T, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WE DON'T KNOW.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE START DIGGING, WE START TEARING UP AND THEN WE FIND THINGS LIKE THIS.
BUT, BUT AT THIS POINT, YOU COULD MAYBE GIVE THE BOARD AN IDEA OF IN THE PUBLIC KIND OF WHERE WE ARE IN TERMS OF THE OVERALL COSTS AND KIND OF WHERE WE THOUGHT WE WERE VERSUS WHERE WE ARE NOW.
THANK YOU, UH, FOR RAISING THOSE, UH, THOSE POINTS.
AS I MENTIONED, UH, THIS, UH, MODIFICATION WOULD BE WITHIN OUR APPROVED, UH, UH, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT BUDGET AS WELL.
AND I, I FAILED TO MENTION THAT IT REFERS TO 102 CONTRACT, UH, DAYS EXTENSION.
SO THAT'S THE CONTRACT PERFORMANCE PERIOD.
HOWEVER, OUR GOAL REMAINS TO OPEN THAT STATION, UH, TO COINCIDE WITH, UH, THE, UH, 2024 MLS SEASON.
SO, UH, WE WILL REMAIN THAT GOAL.
UH, MS. WATKINS, MR. ACHE AND I HAVE HAD THAT VERY DISCUSSION THAT YOU MENTIONED WITH THE CONTRACTOR TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T FEEL LIKE WE'RE GOING TO FIND ANYTHING ELSE THAT WE DON'T KNOW ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR ONE.
UM, ISSUE EVOLVED OVER THE DISCUSSIONS WITH THE CITY ON THE EASEMENT WITH REQUIREMENTS.
SO WE KNEW THAT WE WERE RELOCATING STORMWATER AND WASTEWATER LINE, SO THEY DID NOT CONFLICT WITH A PA PLATFORM, OTHERWISE THEY WOULD'VE RUN UNDERNEATH THE NORTHBOUND PLATFORM.
SO WE DID DECIDE TO MOVE THEM AWAY.
HOWEVER, UM, THE CITY, UM, IDENTIFIED TO US THAT TWO, UH, UTILITIES LIKE THAT SIDE BY SIDE REQUIRE A WIDER EASEMENT.
AND SO THERE WAS, UH, THEN THAT ENCROACHMENT.
SO AT, AT THIS POINT, THE STATION IS WELL UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
UM, IF YOU GO OUT THERE AND TAKE A LOOK AT IT, UM, YOU WILL SEE THAT IT NOW LOOKS LIKE A STATION.
SO WE ARE VERY FAR DOWN THE PATH OF IDENTIFYING ANY OTHER ISSUES.
NOW THERE'S ALWAYS THE POSSIBILITY OF THAT, BUT WE MET AS, AS RECENTLY AS A FEW HOURS AGO WITH A CONTRACTOR JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE FELT LIKE WE HAD IDENTIFIED EVERYTHING AT THIS POINT IN TIME.
AND, AND THEY ASSURED, UH, THAT BASED ON WHAT THEY KNOW ABOUT WHAT THEY'VE DUG UP AND CON AND, YOU KNOW, ENCOUNTERED SO FAR THAT YES, THAT WE FEEL LIKE WE'RE, UH, REASONABLY CONFIDENT THAT THAT, THAT THOSE WILL BE THE END OF THE CHANGES ON THE PROJECT.
IF, IF I CAN ADD BRIEFLY JUST AS A, 'CAUSE YOU MENTIONED THE DOWNTOWN STATION AND, UM, THE, THE, UH, BUREAUCRATIC WANTS TO CLARIFY THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO PROJECTS
SO, UM, JUST TO BE CLEAR THAT THIS ONE, WE ACTUALLY PROCURED IN OUR DELIVERING THIS STATION AS A DESIGN BUILD PROJECT, WHICH MEANS WE STARTED BUILDING BEFORE WE WERE DONE DESIGNING, AND THAT ALLOWS US TO DELIVER IT MORE QUICKLY, UM, WHICH WAS SOMETHING WE THOUGHT WAS VERY IMPORTANT, BUT IT WE DID NOT FOLLOW.
AND DOWNTOWN STATION WAS A DESIGN BID BUILD PROJECT.
SO WE WERE AT 95 PLUS PERCENT DESIGN.
WE WERE BASICALLY DONE BEFORE WE HIRED THE CONSTRUCTION FIRM AND SAID, LET'S GO BUILD THIS THING EXACTLY IN, IN THIS CASE, WE HIRED BOTH A DESIGNER AND A CONSTRUCTION FIRM TO WORK TOGETHER TO, TO DESIGN IT AND KIND OF BUILD IT AS WE GO.
I THINK THIS IS OUR FIRST EVER DESIGN BUILD CONSTRUCTION AT THIS SCALE.
AND I THINK THE BIG LEARNING WE HAVE FROM IT IS, UM, HOW WE PACKAGE IT FOR PROPER APPROVAL UPFRONT BY THE BOARD AND NOT NEED TO COME BACK FOR A LITTLE CHANGE HERE AND A LITTLE CHANGE THERE.
UM, BUT THIS SORT OF CHANGES ALONG THE WAY IS TYPICAL OF A DESIGN BUILD PROJECT.
AGAIN, THAT, THAT WAS MY BIGGEST, MY, MY BIGGEST QUESTION IS ARE DO WE FEEL CONFIDENT THAT WE'RE STILL ON TIME ON BUDGET EVEN THOUGH Y'ALL ARE HAVING TO KEEP COMING BACK AND MAKING THESE, THESE LITTLE CHANGES TO THE BOARD PERIODICALLY?
[01:25:01]
YES.WE ARE STILL ON TIME ON BUDGET AND LOOKING FORWARD TO OPENING THIS STATION IN TIME FOR THE 2024 AUSTIN FFC SEASON.
'CAUSE IT'S ALREADY LOOKING THAT WAY AS I DRIVE, AS I GO DOWN THERE ON THE RED LINE, IT'S, IT'S GETTING PRETTY EXCITING.
AND I WOULD REFER TO THAT AS O OPERATIONAL EXPERTISE, NOT BUREAUCRACY.
ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS? FURTHER QUESTIONS? FURTHER QUESTIONS.
HEARING NONE CHAIR WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE ACTION ITEM NUMBER EIGHT.
BOARD MEMBER STRATTON AND, OKAY.
BOARD MEMBER ROSS, YOU, YOU, YOU'VE HAD A FEW.
IT'S BEEN MOVED AND PROPERLY SECONDED THAT WE, THAT WE APPROVE.
ALL IN FAVOR, LET IT BE KNOWN BY SAYING AYE.
HEARING NONE, UH, THE BOARD CHAIR WILL MAKE IT UNANIMOUS.
[VIII.1. 2023 Origin and Destination Survey Presentation]
MORE DISCUSSION ITEM ON OUR AGENDA TODAY, UH, WHICH IS A PRESENTATION OF CAP METRO'S 2023 ORIGIN AND DESTINATION SURVEY.AND, UH, MS. GOVE IS, IS HERE TO PRESENT THAT FOR US.
GOTTA LOWER IT PRETTY LOW FOR ME.
UH, MY NAME IS, UH, GOOD AFTERNOON, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD PRESIDENT, UH, WATKINS, CHAIR BILION.
MY NAME IS JENNIFER GOVEA AND I'M THE SERVICE ANALYSIS MANAGER IN THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT.
AND I'M HERE TODAY TO PRESENT THE RESULTS OF THE 2023 ORIGIN AND DESTINATION SURVEY PROJECT.
IN OUR DISCUSSION TODAY, WE'LL COVER THE BACKGROUND AND METHODOLOGY, LOOK AT THE ORIGINS AND DESTINATIONS AS A RESULT OF THE PROJECT, LOOK AT SOME KEY FINDINGS ON OUR WEEKDAY SERVICE.
UH, PART OF THAT WILL BE LOOKING AND COMPARING TO OUR 2015 LAST FULL SURVEY.
AND THEN I'LL CONCLUDE THE PRESENTATION.
WE HIRED ETC INSTITUTE TO OVERSEE THIS PROJECT.
THEY HAVE A, AN EXTENSIVE HISTORY AND BACKGROUND AND EXPERIENCE IN CONDUCTING THESE TYPES OF PROJECTS.
THEY ALSO WORK CLOSELY WITH THE FTA.
THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO GATHER STATISTICALLY VALID AND ACCURATE INFORMATION ON THE TRAVEL PATTERNS OF OUR PATRONS.
WE DO THESE PROJECTS EVERY FIVE YEARS.
THE LAST FULL SURVEY WAS DONE IN 2015.
WE, UH, CAME BACK AROUND IN 2020 IN HOPES OF GATHERING SOME GOOD INFORMATION, PARTICULARLY FROM CAP REMAP.
BUT WE ALL KNOW WHAT HAPPENED IN 2020.
SO WE HAD TO STOP THE SURVEY RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF DATA COLLECTION.
OUR 2023 SURVEY WILL BECOME OUR NEW BASELINE ON HOW OUR, UH, RIDERS ARE USING OUR SERVICE.
SINCE WE KNOW, UM, A LOT HAS CHANGED SINCE THEN, OUR CUSTOMERS WILL BE ONE OF OUR, UM, BENEFICIARIES OF THIS, UM, EFFORT AS WE'LL.
HAVE A GOOD COMPREHENSIVE SET OF INFORMATION TO UNDERSTAND HOW THEY USE OUR SERVICES.
UH, THE INFORMATION WILL ALSO BE USED FOR LONG RANGE AND SHORT RANGE PLANNING EFFORTS SHARED WITH OTHER AGENCIES, UH, FOR TRAVEL DEMAND FORECASTING EFFORTS, AND ALSO HELP US MEET OUR FEDERAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS METHODOLOGY.
FOR THIS PROJECT, WE COLLECTED OVER 25,000 SURVEYS.
WE DID THAT FROM JANUARY THROUGH APRIL OF THIS YEAR ON OUR BUS, RAPID RAIL AND OUR PICKUP SERVICES.
WE USED A STATISTIC STATIST, I ALWAYS GET TONGUE TIED ON THIS ONE STATISTICAL SAMPLING METHOD TO ENSURE THE ACCURACY OF THE DATA AT THE ROUTE LEVEL.
THE SURVEY DESIGN CONSISTED OF THREE COMPONENTS.
THEY'RE THE ORIGIN AND DESTINATIONS.
UM, THE USAGE INFORMATION AND DEMOGRAPHICS AS FAR AS INTERVIEWING OUR PATRONS.
UM, SURVEYORS WOULD BOARD THE BUSES AS YOU KIND OF SEE HERE, USING A TABLET DEVICE.
THIS ALLOWED US TO DO ON THE SPOT A GEOCODING OF THOSE ORIGINS AND DESTINATIONS AND BOARDING AND A LIGHTING LOCATIONS TO, UM, HAVE BETTER ACCURACY ON THAT PART OF THE DATA THAT WAS COLLECTED.
THE TABLETS ALSO ALLOWED RESPONDENTS TO ANSWER SOME OF THE QUESTIONS DIRECTLY ON THE TABLET.
UM, 'CAUSE SOME OF THE QUESTIONS MIGHT, UM, SEEM A LITTLE SENSITIVE, SUCH AS AN INCOME QUESTION.
SO THEY WERE ABLE TO DO THAT, UM, DIRECTLY ON THE TABLET.
UH, WE ALSO DID A PILOT TEST RIGHT BEFORE PRODUCTION SURVEYING TO ENSURE THAT THE TABLETS WORKED PROPERLY AND, YOU KNOW, TEST THE TIMING OF THE SURVEYS AND MAKE ANY OF THOSE ADJUSTMENTS.
BEFORE WE WENT INTO PRODUCTION, THROUGHOUT THE DATA COLLECTION PROCESS, ETC INSTITUTE PROVIDED US, UH, A NICE LITTLE DASHBOARD THAT WE COULD CHECK DATA AS IT WAS COMING IN DAILY SO WE COULD LOOK AND SEE THAT WE WERE MEETING THOSE QUOTAS AT A ROUTE LEVEL AND THAT
[01:30:01]
WE WERE ON TRACK TO FINISH SURVEYING BY, UM, APRIL 30TH.DATA EXPANSION WAS BASED ON CURRENT RIDERSHIP LEVELS AND WAITED TOWARDS THE 2023 SPRING, UH, RIDERSHIP LEVELS.
AND I KNOW THAT WAS A LOT OF INFORMATION, BUT WE'LL, UM, START LOOKING AT SOME OF THE RESULTS WITH STARTING WITH THE ORIGINS OF DESTINATIONS.
AND WE'LL LOOK AT A FEW MAPS HERE.
THIS FIRST MAP IS KIND OF A ZOOMED OUT VERSION OF OUR ORIGINS IN THE, IN THE REGION.
THE GRADE LINE REPRESENTS OUR SERVICE AREA BOUNDARIES.
UH, THE SHADED AREAS ARE BASED ON CENSUS TRACK, AND OF COURSE THE HEAVILY SHADED AREAS ARE MORE, THE MORE DENSE ORIGINS, AND THE LIGHTER SHADED AREAS ARE THE LESS DENSE ORIGINS.
BUT THOSE LIGHTER SHADED AREAS ARE, ARE IMPORTANT BECAUSE THAT SHOWS HOW FAR SOME OF OUR, UM, RIDER ARE COMING TO UTILIZE OUR SERVICES.
THIS NEXT MAP IS A, A SIMILAR MAP WITH REGARDS TO DESTINATION, WHERE, WHERE WE SEE, UM, OUR RIDER ARE HAVING TO, ARE GOING OUTSIDE OF OUR SERVICE AREA AFTER UTILIZING OUR SERVICES TO SOME S FAR OUT OF OUR SERVICE AREA.
THIS NEXT SLIDE IS KIND OF A ZOOMED IN VERSION OF THE, UH, PREVIOUS TWO MAPS THAT WE JUST LOOKED AT.
AND IT SHOWS THAT, UM, OUR ORIGINS AND DESTINATIONS ARE HEAVILY CONCENTRATED IN THE CENTRAL CORE OF AUSTIN, ALONG THAT, UM, CORE NORTH AND SOUTH CORRIDOR AND OUT TOWARDS THE AIRPORT.
THIS NEXT SLIDE IS SHOWING THE BOARDING AND A LIGHTING LOCATIONS AS OPPOSED TO ORIGIN AND DESTINATION.
AND SO THIS IS STRICTLY WITHIN OUR SERVICE AREA, AND IT'S CONSISTENT WITH WHAT WE WOULD EXPECT TO SEE WITHIN OUR SERVICE AREA FOR THE BOARDINGS AND THE LIGHTINGS.
SO SOME OF THIS MAY NOT BE TOO SURPRISING, BUT OUR TOP ORIGINS AND DESTINATIONS REMAIN ALONG THAT CENTRAL CORE OF AUSTIN AND REGIONAL PLANNING IS AND WILL BE A KEY COMPONENT IN THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR SERVICES AS WE KNOW THAT MANY OF OUR RIDERS ARE COMING TO AND FROM OUR SERVICE AREA TO UTILIZE OUR SERVICES.
THOSE HEAVILY SHADED AREAS YOU SAW ALONG THE CORE, UM, THROUGH UT AND DOWNTOWN, WE'LL SUPPORT THE PROJECT CONNECT CORRIDOR PLANS, THE CURRENT ONES AND THE MINI MEDIUM SHADED AREAS FURTHER NORTH INTO THE SOUTH AND OUT TOWARDS THE AIRPORT WILL SUPPORT THOSE FUTURE PROJECT CONNECT EXPANSION PLANS.
OUR NEXT SECTION, WE'LL LOOK AT THE KEY FINDINGS WEEKDAY AND FIRST WE'LL DO SOME COMPARING TO OUR 2015 SURVEY.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE WANTED TO UNDERSTAND WAS TRIP PURPOSE, WHETHER IT WAS ORIGIN OR DESTINATION, HOW OUR OUR PATRONS USE UTILIZING OUR SERVICE.
UM, IT'S NOT SURPRISING THAT HOME IS THE MOST POPULAR, UH, TRIP PURPOSE.
UM, LET ME JUST SAY THE LIGHTER BAR THERE IS 2015 AND THE DARKER BAR IS 2023.
WE SEE OUR COLLEGE, UM, ID HOLDERS AND OUR WORK WRITERS ARE UTILIZING OUR SERVICE A LITTLE BIT LESS THAN IN THE PAST, AND WE SEE A LOT MORE SHOPPING TRIPS BEING MADE.
WE KNOW THAT, UM, THROUGHOUT THE PANDEMIC, UM, A LOT OF COLLEGE COURSES WENT ONLINE.
PEOPLE ARE WORKING FROM HOME, MAYBE A HYBRID WORK ENVIRONMENT.
UM, I KNOW MY SON, HE GOES TO UT, HE, TWO OF FIVE OF HIS CLASSES ARE STILL ONLINE, SO HE DOESN'T HAVE TO TRAVEL TO CAMPUS FOR THOSE, THOSE CLASSES.
SO, UM, THINGS ARE STILL EVOLVING.
UM, WE ALSO ASKED ABOUT FREQUENCY OF USE.
THIS KIND OF, UM, FALLS IN LINE WITH THE PREVIOUS SLIDE WE JUST LOOKED AT, WHERE IF THEY'RE UTILIZING IT LESS FOR COLLEGE AND WORK, THEY'RE USING IT LESS FREQUENT.
AND WE SEE THAT FIVE TO SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
UM, PATRONS ARE USING IT, UH, QUITE A BIT LESS.
AND, BUT THEY'RE, THAT MEANS THAT ONE TO FOUR DAYS A WEEK, UM, INCREASED.
SO SOME OF THESE RESULTS ARE NOT TOO SURPRISING BASED ON WHAT WE KNOW THROUGH THE PANDEMIC.
JUST KIND OF SOLIDIFIES, UH, WHAT WE'VE SEEN.
WE, UM, SEE HERE LOOKING AT GENDER THAT FROM 2015 TO 2023 FEWER FEMALES ARE RIDING OUR SERVICES AND MORE MALES ARE RIDING OUR SERVICES.
UM, AGAIN, WE CAN, YOU KNOW, MAYBE SLICE AND DICE THIS INFORMATION A LITTLE FURTHER, MAYBE TO FURTHER UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON HERE.
WE KNOW MAYBE ANECDOTALLY THAT, UM, FEMALES WERE LEAVING THE WORKFORCE A LITTLE BIT MORE THROUGH THE PANDEMIC TO CARE FOR FAMILY.
MAYBE THAT'S PART OF WHAT WE'RE SEEING HERE.
BUT, UM, WE CAN TAKE A LOOK AT THIS IN MORE DEPTH WITH THE DATA THAT WE COLLECTED.
UM, TRANSIT DEPENDENCY WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS DISCUSSED EARLIER TODAY, UM, AND IS A QUESTION THAT WE ALSO ASKED IN THIS SURVEY.
[01:35:01]
COMPARED TO 2015, MORE OF OUR PATRONS ARE, OR A HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF OUR PATRONS ARE TRANSIT DEPENDENT.THAT MEANS THEY EITHER DON'T HAVE A VEHICLE OR THEY DIDN'T HAVE ONE AVAILABLE, UM, FROM HOME THAT THEY COULD USE.
WE CAN, UM, AGAIN, TAKE THIS INFORMATION AND, YOU KNOW, LOOK AT IT IN DIFFERENT ASPECTS.
AND HERE WE BROKE IT OUT BY RACE, RACE AND ETH ETHNICITY.
AND IN MOST CATEGORIES WE SEE THAT, UM, OUR PATRONS ARE MORE TRANSIT DEPENDENT, UM, SINCE 2015 WITH AFRICAN, AFRICAN-AMERICANS BEING THE MOST TRANSIT DEPENDENT AT 88%.
HERE'S ANOTHER LOOK AT RACE AND ETHNICITY.
HERE WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, THE MINORITY POPULATION.
UM, WE'RE COMPARING 2023 TO 2015, THE GREEN BEING A AFRICAN-AMERICAN LIGHT BLUE, ASIAN AND YELLOW HISPANIC.
AND THE LITTLE GREEN SLICE IS NATIVE AMERICAN.
WE SEE THAT, UM, THE SHARE OF WRITERS ON OUR SERVICES HAS INCREASED, UM, WITH THE MINORITY POPULATION FROM 60 TO 65% WITH HISPANIC MAKING UP THAT BIGGEST INCREASE.
NEXT, WE'RE GONNA BE LOOKING AT WEEKDAY FINDINGS OF THE CURRENT SURVEY AND NOT DOING THAT COMPARISON TO 2015.
AND THIS IS JUST ANOTHER WAY WE CAN SLICE AND DICE THAT.
UH, ETHNICITY QUESTION HERE, WE'RE LOOKING AT IT BY MODE.
WE HAVE RAIL, RAPID PICKUP AND BUS.
AND THE ADDITIONAL COMPONENT ON THIS ONE IS THE WHITE AND ANGLO, WHICH IS THE DARK BLUE.
AND JUST KIND OF AT A GLANCE, WE CAN SEE THAT RAIL LOOKS A LITTLE, YOU KNOW, QUITE A BIT DIFFERENT THAN OUR OTHER SERVICES.
UM, LOT FEWER MINORITIES RIDING A RAIL COMPARED TO OUR OTHER SERVICES.
AND AGAIN, WE CAN DIG A LITTLE FURTHER, UM, WITH THE INFORMATION THAT WE COLLECTED TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THOSE THINGS.
AND SOME OF THESE RESULTS MIGHT NOT BE TOO SURPRISING EITHER.
WE ALSO WANTED TO UNDERSTAND LANGUAGE ON OUR SERVICES.
UM, SURPRISINGLY 90, ABOUT 93% OF OUR PATRONS, UM, SPEAK ENGLISH WELL OR BETTER.
40% OF OUR WRITERS, HOWEVER, DO SPEAK A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE AT HOME WITH THE, UH, PRIMARY LANGUAGE BEING SPANISH AT ABOUT 68%, WHICH IS NOT SURPRISING.
AND THIRD, UH, THOSE LANGUAGE SPOKEN AT HOME IS CHINESE AND HINDI AT ROUGHLY 5%.
ONE QUESTION THAT WE DIDN'T HAVEN'T ASKED IN ANY OF OUR PREVIOUS SURVEYS THAT WE'VE CONDUCTED AT CAPITAL METRO, AT LEAST ORIGIN AND DESTINATION SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE, AND I'VE BEEN AT CAPITAL METRO A WHILE, UM, IS WHETHER A WRITER IDENTIFIED AS HAVING A DISABILITY.
WE DISCOVERED THAT AROUND 15%, UH, AS A WHOLE OF OUR WRITERS IDENTIFY AS HAVING A DISABILITY.
AND, BUT IN THIS, UM, GRAPH HERE, WE BROKE IT UP BY MODE.
AND IT'S INTERESTING TO SEE THAT NEARLY 30% OF OUR RIDER ON PICKUP SERVICE IDENTIFY AS HAVING A DISABILITY COMPARED TO THE OTHER SERVICES.
UM, I THINK THAT SHOWS THAT OUR PICKUP SERVICE IS IMPORTANT COMPONENT IN OUR, UM, SERVICES.
AND MANY OF OUR RIDER ON PICKUP DO TRANSFER TO OUR REGULAR FIX DROUGHT SERVICES.
WE ALSO COLLECTED INFORMATION ON FAIR TYPE, HOW OUR, OUR CUSTOMERS UTILIZING FARES TO ACCESS OUR SERVICES.
THE MAJOR GROUPINGS HERE, WE LOOKED AT CASH USAGE, COLLEGE ID HOLDERS, MONTHLY PASS HOLDERS, WHETHER THEY HAD, UH, WERE PART OF MAYBE A FREE PROGRAM, WEEKLY PASS HOLDERS AND OTHER SMALLER CATEGORIES OF BUSINESS, METRO ACCESS AND EMPLOYEE DEPENDENT.
BUT INTERESTING, I MEAN, WE STILL HAVE, YOU KNOW, NEARLY A THIRD OF OUR PASSENGERS ARE UTILIZING CASH TO BOARD OUR SERVICES WITH 23% BUYING A DAY PASS WHEN THEY BOARD OUR SERVICES.
IT'S GONNA BE IMPORTANT, YOU KNOW, AS WE ROLL OUT THESE NEW FAIR PROGRAMS TO DIG INTO THIS INFORMATION A LITTLE BIT FURTHER AND UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT WE'RE SEEING HERE.
SO THIS, UM, SURVEY IS VERY IMPORTANT.
UM, I MENTIONED EARLIER THAT THE INCOME QUESTION CAN BE KIND OF A SENSITIVE QUESTION.
UM, IF WE LOOK HERE, UM, AT THE LEFT SIDE OF THE SCREEN, THE TOP TWO, UM, SHOW THAT ABOUT 54% OF OUR RIDERS MAKE UNDER 38,000 A YEAR.
SO, UH, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF OUR RIDERS ARE LOWER INCOME.
UM, BUT WE DID GET A BETTER SAMPLING RATE IN THIS SURVEY COMPARED TO OUR 2015 SURVEY.
AND IT MAY LOOK HIGH HERE AT 17% REFUSED THE QUESTION, BUT WE HAD NEARLY 25% REVIEWS IN 2015.
AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, HAVING THOSE ADDITIONAL TOOLS TO HELP OUR CUSTOMERS ANSWER THE QUESTIONS AND GET BETTER RESPONSE RATES MAKES OUR DATA,
[01:40:01]
UM, MORE ACCURATE.THIS IS JUST ANOTHER WAY WE CAN SLICE THE INFORMATION, LOOK AT IT, INCOME DISTRIBUTION BY MODE.
UM, WE'VE BROKEN IT UP BY PICKUP, BUS PICKUP, BRAIL AND RAPID WITH THE GREEN BARS BEING OUR BUS AND RAPID SERVICE, BLUE BEING PICKUP AND YELLOW BEING RAIL.
AND, UH, AGAIN, MAYBE THE RESULTS AREN'T TOO SURPRISING, BUT, UM, MORE OF OUR RIDERS ON OUR BUS SERVICES ARE LOWER INCOME COMPARED TO OUR RIDERS ON OUR RAIL, WHICH ARE HIGHER INCOME.
FINALLY, WE'RE, UM, WE DID ASK A QUESTION ABOUT HOW LONG OUR PATRONS HAVE USED OUR SERVICES.
I MEAN, IT IS GOOD TO SEE THAT WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, ABOUT 34% OF OUR RIDER USING, HAVE, HAVE USING, HAVE USED OUR SERVICES FIVE YEARS OR MORE.
BUT WE DO SEE THAT, UH, 58 TO NEARLY 60% OF OUR RIDER HAVE USED OUR SERVICES LESS THAN THREE YEARS.
THAT MEANS THEY'RE NUISANCE SINCE THE PANDEMIC.
AND AGAIN, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SOME GOOD, UM, DETAILS WE CAN DRILL ON TO DRILL DOWN TO, WITH THE DATA THAT WE COLLECTED TO MAYBE BETTER UNDERSTAND THIS AS WELL.
WHAT DOES ALL THIS TELL US? WELL, MAYBE A LOT OF IT'S NOT TOO SURPRISING.
SOME OF THE RESULTS, UM, WITH ALL THE EFFECTS THROUGHOUT THE PANDEMIC AND UNDERSTANDING WHAT'S GOING ON.
JUST NOT IN OUR, NOT JUST IN OUR AREA, BUT ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE STILL AT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, 75 TO 80% OF OUR RIDERSHIP LEVELS PRE COVID.
UM, WE HAVE THOSE, THE HYBRID WORK AND SCHOOL ENVIRONMENTS ARE STILL, UM, OCCURRING.
SO WE DON'T HAVE THOSE ADDITIONAL RIDERS.
UH, WRITING IS FREQUENT AND MORE THAN HALF OF OUR RIDERS ARE NUISANCE THE PANDEMIC.
THIS IS A LOT OF GOOD INFORMATION THAT WE COLLECTED.
AND, UM, THE TRANSIT SERVICE PLAN WAS MENTIONED EARLIER.
UM, THIS INFORMATION WILL BE USED AS OUR, UH, PLANNING DEPARTMENT WORKS ON THE NEXT TRANSIT PLAN.
LOOKING AT OUR SERVICE THE NEXT FIVE TO 10 YEARS, DOING THAT TRAVEL PATTERN ANALYSIS AND HOW OUR PATRONS USE OUR SERVICE.
UM, PROJECT CONNECT CAN UTILIZE THIS INFORMATION FOR LONG, LONGER RANGE PLANNING EFFORTS.
AGAIN, UNDERSTANDING THOSE CORRIDORS AND ALIGNMENTS REGIONAL PLANNING.
UM, WE'RE GONNA SHARE THIS INFORMATION, UM, AND IT'LL BE INCORPORATED INTO OF, TO SOME OF THE TRAVEL DEMAND MODELING.
AND WE'LL ALSO BE ABLE TO UTILIZE IT AND LOOK AT THOSE ORIGINS AND DESTINATIONS OUTSIDE OF OUR SERVICE AREA FOR THAT OUT OF SERVICE AREA PLANNING.
AND IT ALSO HAS GOOD VALUE ADD TO CAPITAL METRO AND HELPING US MEET OUR REQUIREMENTS IN DOING OUR FAIR AND SERVICE EQUITY ANALYSIS.
AND ALSO HOW, HOW DOES THE INFORMATION ALIGN WITH THE POPULATION AND CENSUS DATA AND ALSO, UM, UNDERSTANDING THE USE OF THE INFORMATION FOR FUTURE MARKETING EFFORTS.
AND THAT CONCLUDES THE PRESENTATION FOR TODAY.
UH, BOARD MEMBER, VE THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
IT'S A EXCELLENT PRESENTATION AND JUST REALLY MORE A COUPLE OF QUICK COMMENTS THAN, THAN QUESTIONS.
BUT, UH, FIRST THING IS YOU JUST, THE PROJECT CONNECT ALIGNMENT JUST JUMPS OUT TO YOU WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE, UH, AT THE MAP ON THE DENSITIES AND ON WHERE PEOPLE ARE GOING AND WHERE THEY'RE, UH, UH, BOARDING AND THE LIGHTING, UH, THAT, THAT JUST, UH, REINFORCES I THINK THE FACT THAT, THAT WE PICKED A, A GOOD ROUTE.
UH, AND THEN AGAIN, I, I'VE GOTTA THINK ABOUT MY, MY DISTRICT AND, UH, WOW.
DISTRICT FOUR IS A TRANSIT INTENSIVE DISTRICT.
A LOT OF ROUTES GO THROUGH THERE.
A LOT OF, UH, RIDERS IN THAT DISTRICT.
UH, AND AGAIN, IT JUST REINFORCES MY CONVICTION TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S GOOD QUALITY SERVICE FOR, I MEAN, NOT JUST MY CONSTITUENTS, BUT, YOU KNOW, UH, UH, PUSH IT AS FAR, UH, INTO, UH, THOSE, UH, DIRECTIONS AS POSSIBLE.
AND THE ONLY OTHER THING IS ON, ON THE, LOOKING AT THAT MAP, GOD, I WANT TO SHOOT THAT, THAT, THAT LINE FARTHER NORTH TO CAPTURE SOME OF THOSE OTHER, UH, REAL DEEP COLOR, UH, BLOCKS AT PROJECT CONNECT LINE A LITTLE FARTHER NORTH.
I WISH WE COULD, I WISH THE, YOU KNOW, MAGIC MONEY WOULD FALL FROM THE SKY AND, UH, AND HAVE US DO IT.
BUT AGAIN, I JUST REALLY APPRECIATE THE INFO I I'LL, I'M GONNA TRY TO SHARE THIS MORE WIDELY.
IF YOU COULD, UH, PLEASE, UH, SEND ME AND, AND HONESTLY THE THE BOARD, UH, THE, THE PRESENTATION, I, I, I'LL, I, I WANNA SHARE THIS, UH, WITH THE, WITH THE PUBLIC.
I THINK WE SHOULD SEND THEM A LARGER BILL IMMEDIATELY.
UH, BOARD MEMBER HARRIS, I JUST WAS CURIOUS, IS THERE A MORE FULSOME, I KNOW THIS, WOULD WE, WE GEN THIS DOWN FOR A BOARD PRESENTATION.
IS THERE A MORE FULSOME REPORT THAT YOU COULD SHARE WITH US? YES, ETC PROVIDED US A, A DETAILED, UM, REPORT, A SUMMARY REPORT AT THE END OF THE PROJECT AND IT GOES INTO MORE DETAIL, YOU KNOW, ABOUT, UM, HOW WE, UH, SET UP THE SURVEY AND ALL THE,
[01:45:01]
UM, DATA QUALITY EFFORTS AND THEN FULLY GOES INTO EVERY SINGLE, I DIDN'T COVER EVERY SINGLE THING OUT OF THE SURVEY IN THIS PRESENTATION.SO THAT IS COVERED IN THAT, UM, REPORT.
IT WOULD BE, IT WOULD BE GOOD TO GET A, A COPY OF THE PRESENTATION AND A COPY OF THE ETC REPORT AS WELL JUST TO SURE.
TO HAVE IN FILE ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS, FURTHER QUESTIONS.
YEAH, I JUST, UH, AGAIN, THANK YOU.
UH, I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU JENNIFER.
THIS IS, UM, IN SOME WAYS IT, I THINK IT KIND OF, UH, STATES WHAT IN MANY WAYS I THINK WE ALREADY SORT OF ANECDOTALLY KNEW RIGHT? ABOUT, UH, CHANGE IN, IN, IN COMMUTER PATTERNS.
WHAT WAS INTERESTING TO ME, UH, JUST CONFIRMED WHAT I, I ANECDOTALLY HEARD ABOUT, UM, COMMUTER PATTERNS THAT, THAT WE SEE.
I THINK WE'RE SEEING MORE THE, THE TUESDAY, THURSDAY WORK WEEK COMMUTERS, UH, ESPECIALLY OUT ON THE ROADS.
I THINK WE'RE SEEING, UM, THAT TRAFFIC'S REALLY BAD TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, BUT RIGHT.
BUT IT'S, IT'S, IT TENDS TO BE LIGHTER ON MONDAY, FRIDAY.
I THINK WE'RE SEEING A MORE OF A, THAT HYBRID MODEL OF, UH, WORK FROM HOME ON MONDAYS AND FRIDAYS TWO DAYS A WEEK.
AND THEN TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY REALLY IS WHEN IT TENDS TO BE THE MOST INTENSE.
UM, THE, THE ONE THING THAT, THAT I WAS, I WAS CURIOUS ABOUT IS, UM, AND, AND MAYBE YOU DON'T HAVE THE ANSWER TO THIS, BUT I AM, I AM CURIOUS TO SEE HOW WILL THIS BE, UM, 'CAUSE THIS, THIS IS JUST FOR WHAT OUR CURRENT USERS OF TRANSIT ARE IN THE AREAS THAT WE CURRENTLY GO ON, THE ROUTES WE CURRENTLY TAKE.
HOW WILL THIS BE FACTORED IN AS PART OF THE BIGGER PICTURE FOR, UM, LIKE, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, MAYBE AREAS WE HAD, FOR EXAMPLE, A A, YOU KNOW, A A, UH, A CONSUMER THAT, THAT THAT CAME UP IN PUBLIC TESTIMONY TALKING ABOUT, HEY, WOULDN'T IT BE GREAT IF WE COULD, YOU KNOW, AT LEAST GET, GET SOMETHING MORE CONSISTENT OUT TO THE AIRPORT? AND I KNOW AS PART OF ATP AND, AND PROJECT CONNECT, THAT HAD BEEN ONE OF THE PI HIGH DREAMS MM-HMM
SO I THINK THERE WILL BE SOME OTHER EFFORTS TO GATHER MAYBE SOME OF THAT CELLULAR TYPE DATA IN THE FUTURE AND UNDERSTAND WHERE PEOPLE ARE GOING FROM AND, AND GOING TO, UM, RIGHT.
I MEAN, YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT WITH THIS SURVEY WE ONLY TALK TO OUR CURRENT PASSENGERS.
SO IF WE ONLY OFFER SERVICE TO A CERTAIN AREA AND DON'T OFFER ANOTHER AREAS OR HAVE THAT FREQUENCY TO THOSE AREAS, WE WOULD, WE DON'T NECESSARILY KNOW THAT WITH THIS CURRENT INFORMATION.
AND THE, THE ONLY THE OTHER THING I'D STATE IS, UH, IT'S ONE THAT'S TRUE.
I DO SEE THAT THIS IS, THAT THIS IN SOME WAYS OR VERY MUCH SO JUSTIFIES WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH, WITH PROJECT CONNECT RUNNING UP AND DOWN THE CENTRAL CORRIDOR THERE.
THE, THE ONE THING THAT I WOULD BE CURIOUS ABOUT, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ANY WAY WE CAN FIND THIS OUT OR JUSTIFY IT OR NOT, IS, YOU KNOW, IS THE ORIGIN AND DESTINATION SO INTENSIVE IN THAT CENTRAL CORRIDOR, WHICH IS, I I'M PRESUMING LOOKING AT THIS MAP HERE, YOU KNOW, UP AND DOWN THAT THAT, YOU KNOW, NORTH LAMAR CORRIDOR MM-HMM.
IS IT ALSO SO INTENSIVE AND CENTRAL BECAUSE WE HAVE SUCH HIGH FREQUENT SERVICE ALREADY PROVIDED THERE SO PEOPLE ARE ACT ACTUALLY USING IT MORE? IT'S, IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S AN INTERESTING QUESTION TO ASK IS, YOU KNOW, YEAH.
WHICH CAME FIRST THE RIGHT FOR FREQUENCY, RIGHT? YEAH, EXACTLY.
IT'S, I THINK YOU ALSO, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THAT KIND OF CORE CENTRAL CITY, YOU SEE MORE DENSITY, RIGHT? RIGHT.
AND SO MORE POPULATION DENSITY IS GOING TO BE BETTER SUPPORTIVE OF MORE, UM, FREQUENT SERVICE, WHICH IS WE KNOW THAT FREQUENCY AND RELIABILITY ARE THE TWO KEY FACTORS TO ATTRACTING RIDERSHIP.
SO IT IS A CONTINUOUS FEEDBACK LOOP BETWEEN THOSE THREE.
UM, AS JENNIFER MENTIONED IN OUR UPCOMING TRANSIT SERVICE PLAN THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING A LOT ABOUT, BUT WE ARE VERY EXCITED ABOUT WORKING ON, UM, ONE OF THE KIND OF BACKGROUND DATA EFFORTS THAT THE STAFF HAS UNDERWAY RIGHT NOW IS WORKING WITH OUR GENERAL PLANNING CONSULTANT TEAMS TO FIGURE OUT WHAT IS THE BEST DATA SET OF GENERAL TRAVEL PATTERN, UM, DATA FOR OUR REGION, WHETHER THAT BE CELL PHONE DATA OR OTHER TRAFFIC COUNT DATA OR SOME COMBINATION OF THEM SO THAT WE HAVE THAT DATA UPON WHICH TO OVERLAY OUR CURRENT WRITER DATA.
AND WE CAN USE ALL OF THAT TO INFORM WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO, UM, GOING FORWARD FOR THE NEXT 3, 5, 10 YEARS.
SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
THIS WILL BE OUR FIRST TIME REALLY DELVING INTO THAT.
HISTORICALLY, WE'VE HAD TONS OF GREAT ORIGIN AND DESTINATION DATA AND DAILY RIDERSHIP DATA THAT WE COULD LOOK BACK ON THE LAST FIVE TO SEVEN YEARS AND FEEL PRETTY CONFIDENT THAT THAT WAS A RELIABLE DEMONSTRATION OF WHAT WAS GONNA HAPPEN.
BUT THE PANDEMIC BLEW ALL OF THAT UP.
UM, AND SO WE DON'T HAVE FIVE TO SEVEN YEARS WORTH OF DATA WE CAN RELY ON FROM OUR OWN COLLECTION AT THIS
[01:50:01]
POINT.AND SO, UM, WE'RE EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO KIND OF PEPPER IT IN WITH, YOU KNOW, SOME, SOME NEW OPTIONS AND SEE HOW WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO USE THAT DATA GOING FORWARD AS WELL.
AND, AND I DO HAVE, UH, ANOTHER QUESTION IS, UM, THE NINE, THE THE 9 85, THE, THE, THE EXPRESS B, THE EXPRESS BUS ROUTES, HOW WERE THEY CATEGORIZED IN YOUR DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS HERE? THEY WOULD BE IN THE BUS SECTION.
THEY'RE IN THE BUS SECTION SUPPOSED YEAH, THE HIGH LEVEL MO YEAH, THE HIGH LEVEL MODE OF BUS.
BUT WE, WE COLLECT INFORMATION ON ALL THE ROUTES SO WE CAN DRILL DOWN AT THE ROUTE LEVEL, UM, AND, AND LOOK AT THOSE RESULTS.
PART OF THE REASON WE ONLY DO THIS EVERY FIVE YEARS IS IT'S AN ENORMOUS EFFORT.
THERE WERE, HOW MANY TOTAL SURVEYS TAKEN? OVER 20,000? YEAH, 25,000.
UM, BUT WE DO THAT MINI SURVEYS SO THAT WE CAN BE STATISTICALLY VALID AND RELIABLE AT THE ROUTE LEVEL BECAUSE WHEN YOU START DOING ROUTE PLANNING, BEING ABLE TO DRILL DOWN TO THE ROUTE LEVEL IS IMPORTANT.
UM, I WAS JUST CURIOUS 'CAUSE I KNOW WE, WE'VE GOT RAPID BROKEN OUT HERE, BUT I WAS JUST CURIOUS THAT, UM, KNOWING THAT IF WE'RE, IF WE'VE GOT THE RAIL ON THERE, HAVING IT BROKEN DOWN, SHOWING THE EXPRESS ROUTES TOO WOULD BE INTERESTING BECAUSE THAT WOULD SHOW ADDITIONAL COMMUTER PATTERNS.
THAT'S, THAT'S DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE GONNA BREAK THE RAPID OUT THERE, HAVING THAT, THE, THE EXPRESS BUS THERE KIND OF SHOWS A DIFFERENT, I MEAN IT KIND OF GOES A LITTLE BIT WITH RAIL, BUT REMEMBER WE DON'T, THE RAIL DOESN'T NECESSARILY YOU, YOU DON'T HAVE THE SAME COMMUTER PATTERNS.
WE'VE GOT THOSE, WE'VE GOT EXPRESS BUSES THAT COME OUT OF, YOU KNOW, THAT COME OUT OF HOWARD EXPRESS BUSES THAT COME OUT OF, UM, OAK KNOLL.
WE'VE GOT EXPRESS BUSES FROM OTHER PLACES THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, COME AROUND THAT, THAT ARE DIFFERENT THAT I, I EXPECT WE'RE GONNA SEE SOME VERY SIMILAR, UH, KIND OF DEMOGRAPHICS FOR COMMUTER PATTERN THAT YOU WOULD OUT OF THE RAIL, BUT I WOULD BE INTERESTED TO SEE HOW THAT WOULD SPLIT OUT JUST GENERALLY SPEAKING FOR WHAT THE COMMUTERS ARE.
BUT GREAT, GREAT JOB AND THANK YOU.
AND I APPRECIATE ALL THIS IS, THIS IS AMAZING.
THIS IS GOOD BREAD AND BUTTER FOR US TO BE LOOKING AT KNOWING YES, ABSOLUTELY.
WHERE, WHERE, WHAT THE NEXT STEPS ARE FOR US AND, AND FOR INFORMED DECISION MAKING.
ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS? ALRIGHT, WELL, WE'VE, WE'VE,
[IX.1. President & CEO Monthly Update]
UH, GOTTEN TO THE POINT NOW WHERE, UM, WE ONLY HAVE ONE FURTHER DISCUSSION ITEM AND IT WILL BE A FINAL ITEM BEFORE WE GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION.AND IT IS THE MONTHLY REPORT FROM THE PRESIDENT AND CEO.
I FEEL LIKE EVERY MONTH I THINK, WOW, THIS MONTH WAS REALLY BUSY, BUT MAN, WAS, WAS THE LAST MONTH REALLY BUSY? UM, SO WE HAVE LOTS OF GREAT THINGS TO SHARE WITH YOU TODAY.
UM, FIRST UP, UM, TRANSIT UNPLUGGED TV, WHICH, UM, STREAMS YOU CAN'T CURRENTLY GET IT FROM YOUR CABLE.
UM, PROVIDER RECENTLY VISITED AUSTIN TO SPOTLIGHT CAT METRO.
UM, THIS SHOW CALLED TRANSIT UNPLUGGED DELVES INTO THE HEART OF A CITY EXPLORING ITS TRANSIT AGENCY CULTURE, FOOD, AND MUCH MORE.
UM, SO THEIR HOST PAUL COMFORTER YOU SEE THERE ON THE TOP RIGHT.
UM, INTERVIEWING ME UP AT OUR MACAL RAIL STATION.
IT LOOKS WAY MORE LIKE A STATION TODAY THAN IT DID WHEN WE WERE OUT THERE EARLIER IN THE MONTH.
MET WITH A BUNCH OF OUR LEADERS, UM, THEY SHARED A MEAL, TALKED ABOUT BARBECUE.
THEY'RE GONNA BE, UM, FEATURING US IN AN EPISODE WITH TWO OTHER BARBECUE HOTSPOTS IN THE COUNTRY.
UM, MEMPHIS, HOW DID I MISS BARBECUE? I, HOW DID WE NOT INVITE YOU TO JOIN US FOR BARBECUE? DULY NOTED CHECK.
UM, THEY'LL ALSO BE VISITING KANSAS CITY AND MEMPHIS AND HAVING A HEAD TO HEAD ON THE BARBECUE.
SEEMS EASY TO ME, RIGHT? UH, WE, WE NEED BURNT ENDS DOWN HERE, BUT IT WAS A, IT WAS A REALLY GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO NOT JUST SHOWCASE ALL OF THE GREAT THINGS ABOUT OUR TRANSIT SYSTEM, BUT ALL THE GREAT THINGS ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY.
SO WE'RE REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO, TO, UM, THAT COMING OUT.
UM, AND IT WILL AIR IN FEBRUARY, SO, UM, THEY'VE GOT A LITTLE WAYS TO GET ALL THE, THE FOOTAGE COLLECTED.
UM, NEXT UP, UM, OUR CREATIVE COLLABORATION AND COMMUNITY SPONSORSHIPS.
UM, SO MANY MEMBERS OF OUR, UM, EXECUTIVE TEAM AND BOARD MEMBER ELLIS COLLABORATED, UM, WITH THE TALENTED ARTISTS FROM COOL, SOMETHING COOL STUDIOS WHO'S WORKING ON THE, UM, MOSAIC MURAL FOR OUR MACAL STATION PROJECT.
UM, TOGETHER THEY CREATED TO THE ACTUAL PHYSICAL CREATION OF THAT MURAL, UM, IT WILL SPAN AN IMPRESSIVE 80 FEET IN LENGTH AND BE EIGHT FEET TALL.
UM, SO THEY HELD A NUMBER OF WORKSHOPS, UM, WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS FROM THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY TO HELP, UM, KIND OF MOSAIC BY NUMBER, LIKE YOU GOT A LITTLE PILE OF, OF MOSAICS AND YOU DID A LITTLE SQUARE AND YOU PUT IT ALL TOGETHER AND ALL OF THOSE LITTLE SQUARES COME TOGETHER AND BECOME AN ENORMOUS MURAL.
SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO SEE THAT COME TO FRUITION.
UM, ALSO ON THE RIGHT YOU'LL SEE, UM, KAT METRO TEAM MEMBERS ALONG WITH, UM, KAT METRO BOARD MEMBER AND LEANDER CITY COUNCIL MEMBER BECKY ROSS, AS WELL AS MAYOR LYLE, WHO ATTENDED THE 15TH ANNUAL LEANDER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE GALA AND AWARDS LAST MONTH.
[01:55:01]
DERBY WAS THE THEME.WE FEEL LIKE THE NEED TO CALL THAT OUT FOR THE SAKE OF THE MAYOR, PERHAPS, UM,
UM, AND WE WERE PR A PROUD SPONSOR OF THIS EVENT AND LOVES CONTINUING OUR CONTINUING SUPPORT OF, UM, THE LEANDER, UM, COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE.
UM, NEXT UP IN TERMS OF, UM, OUR PROGRAMS TO SUPPORT ACCESSIBILITY AND AWARENESS FOR THE UNHOUSED COMMUNITY, UM, WE ARE THRILLED TO HAVE ANNOUNCED THE LAUNCH OF OUR NEW TRANSIT PATH, SPECIFICALLY TAILORED, UM, TO SUPPORTING THOSE SOCIAL SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS THAT SERVICE OUR, UM, UNHOUSED COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
UM, WE HELD, UM, ENROLLMENT EVENTS AND WE WELCOMED REPRESENTATIVE FROM OVER 20 ORGANIZATIONS WHO EAGERLY EMBRACED THE PROGRAM AND LEARNED HOW THEY'LL BE ABLE TO GAIN ACCESS TO THE PASSES.
UM, ON ON THE RIGHT YOU'LL SEE OUR DEDICATED COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, UM, AND INTERVENTION SPECIALISTS, UM, WHO ATTENDED A BALANCED APPROACH TO HOMELESSNESS IN AUSTIN, WHICH WAS PART OF A SERIES OF EVENTS, UM, PUT ON BY THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE.
UM, SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THE PROGRESS WE'VE MADE TOWARD HELPING, UM, PROVIDE THE TRANSPORTATION SOLUTIONS NECESSARY, UM, TO HELP THAT, UM, GROUP OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO ARE STRUGGLING, UM, LIVE THEIR BEST LIVES.
SO, UM, KUDOS TO THE TEAM FOR ALL OF THEIR WORK THERE.
UM, NEXT UP IS THE SPARE LAUNCH.
YOU HEARD DURING OUR, UM, COMMITTEE REPORTS THAT OUR, UM, METRO ACCESS SERVICE, UM, RECENTLY LAUNCHED A NEW OPERATING SOFTWARE SYSTEM SPARE.
THIS IS THE FIRST NEW SOFTWARE SYSTEM SINCE THE INTRODUCTION OF SOFTWARE SYSTEMS AT CAT METRO.
WE'VE BEEN PRE, WE HAD USED THE PREVIOUS SYSTEM FOR WELL OVER 30 YEARS, UM, AND WE'RE LOOKING FOR A MORE MODERN CLOUD-BASED SOLUTION.
UM, WE ARE VERY THRILLED ABOUT HOW THE LAUNCH HAS GONE, BUT A TON OF TIME, EFFORT, AND ENERGY WENT INTO THIS TO BE ABLE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE COULD FLIP THE SWITCH OVERNIGHT AND ENSURE THAT EVERYTHING STILL WORKED.
UM, THIS CHANGE WILL ALLOW OUR WRITERS TO RECEIVE REAL-TIME TRIP NOTIFICATIONS, LIKE A CALL OR TEXT MESSAGE, UM, OR AN EMAIL.
EVENTUALLY WE WILL ROLL OUT A MOBILE APP SO THEY'LL BE ABLE TO SEE REAL TIME WHERE THEIR VEHICLE IS ON A MOBILE APP.
THEY'LL BE ABLE TO BOOK TRIPS ON A MOBILE APP AND WON'T HAVE TO CALL US IF THEY DON'T WANT TO.
UM, AND SO WE THINK THAT THIS WILL REALLY HELP US IN MAKING THINGS, UM, MORE ACCESSIBLE AND MORE, UM, CUSTOMER FRIENDLY FOR OUR METRO ACCESS CUSTOMERS.
UM, WE ARE THE LARGEST SHIFT
KNOCK ON WOOD, IT'S STILL EARLY DAYS.
UM, BUT MANY KUDOS TO CHAD VALENTINE AND THE ENTIRE DEMAND RESPONSE TEAM.
UM, AS WELL AS THEIR SUPPORT IN OUR IT, UM, DEPARTMENT.
THEY HAD GREAT SUPPORT FROM OUR, UM, EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAMS TO WHO WERE THERE TO SUPPORT THEM DURING THE LAUNCH.
JUST A, A VERY WELL-ROUNDED EFFORT AND WE'RE QUITE THRILLED WITH HOW IT HAS GONE.
A COUPLE OF COMMUNITY EVENTS THAT HAPPENED THIS MONTH, THE NATIONAL NIGHT OUT EVENT, UM, WE WERE EXCITED TO HAVE OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND PUBLIC SAFETY TEAMS ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN NATIONAL NIGHT OUT EVENTS THAT WERE HELD IN COLONY PARK, THE SANTA RITA COURTS, UM, GOODRICH AND BOLD OAKS COMMUNITIES.
UM, NATIONAL NIGHT OUT IS A COMMUNITY BUILDING EVENT THAT'S HELD NATIONWIDE THAT IS, UH, MEANT TO FOSTER MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS BETWEEN NEIGHBORS AND LAW ENFORCEMENTS.
AND, AND THESE EVENTS GAVE US A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE, UM, WITH OUR COMMUNITY WHAT WE ARE DOING, UM, IN PUBLIC SAFETY AND HOW WE ARE COLLABORATING TO HAVE SAFER NEIGHBORHOODS ALSO PICTURED ON THE RIGHT.
UM, OUR, MANY OF OUR TEAM MEMBERS PARTICIPATED IN SALT OR SENIORS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT TOGETHER IN THEIR RESOURCE FAIR.
UM, WE WERE ABLE TO TALK ABOUT, UM, OUR COMMITMENT TO ENHANCING ACCESSIBILITY AND CONVENIENCE FOR ALL OF OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
AND WE WERE THRILLED, UM, TO HAVE THE FEDERAL SECURITY DIRECTOR FOR THE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION.
UM, GILBERT MRAZ WAS THE, UM, GUEST SPEAKER FOR THAT EVENT.
SO IT WAS GREAT TO NOT ONLY BE ABLE TO ENGAGE WITH THE COMMUNITY, BUT ALSO HERE FROM OUR FEDERAL PARTNERS.
A FEW THINGS THAT I DID THIS MONTH.
UM, ON THE LEFT, UM, I HAD THE FANTASTIC OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TO, UM, STUDENTS FROM THE LBJB SCHOOL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, UM, FROM THEIR POLICY AND COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL PLANNING PROGRAM, UM, ABOUT CAP METRO AND WHAT WE'RE DOING, WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON, AND JUST ALL THE GREAT THINGS, UM, THAT GO ON IN TRANSIT.
UM, THE STATE OF PUBLIC POLICY IS IN GOOD HANDS WITH THESE, UM, WITH THESE INDIVIDUALS, BUT IT WAS, IT WAS FUN TO TALK ABOUT KIND OF WHERE WE ARE AND WHERE WE'RE HEADED AND HOW ALL OF THAT FITS IN.
[02:00:01]
THERE, I HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF PARTICIPATING ON A PANEL DISCUSSION DURING THE FIRST DAY OF THE TWO DAY EVENT MOVING FORWARD MOBILITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE WORKFORCE SUMMIT THAT WAS HOSTED BY, UM, WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS, UM, CAPITAL AREA.YOU MAY RECALL THAT CAPITAL METRO HAS AN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS TO HELP US IDENTIFY THE, UM, MOBILITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE, WORKFORCE PIPELINE AND GAPS, UM, AS WE LOOK TO NOT ONLY BUILD OUT OUR TRANSIT SYSTEM, BUT ALSO NEED THE WORKFORCE AVAILABLE TO OPERATE AND MAINTAIN THAT SYSTEM.
AND SO, UM, THIS WAS A GREAT KICKOFF, UM, FOR THAT EVENT SHARING THE INITIAL FINDINGS, IT WAS VERY WELL ATTENDED AND WE THINK WE'VE GOT THE, THE EAR OF THE COMMUNITY AND WANTING TO HELP PARTNER WITH US TO HELP MAKE SURE THAT WE'VE GOT GOOD PROGRAMS TO HELP SUPPORT WORKERS, UM, SO THAT AS WE EXPAND OUR OUR SYSTEM, WE'RE NOT JUST HELPING THE COMMUNITY WITH BETTER TRANSIT, BUT WE'RE ALSO GIVING, UM, THE OPPORTUNITY FOR BETTER CAREERS.
UM, AND THEN LASTLY, ON THE RIGHT THERE, I ATTENDED THE AMERICAN COUNCIL OF ENGINEERING COMPANIES, CENTRAL TEXAS AND SAN ANTONIO JOINT TRANSPORTATION FORUM, UM, EARLIER THIS MONTH.
UM, THEY MET IN THE MIDDLE IN SAN MARCOS AND, UM, HAD A DAY TALKING ABOUT TRANSPORTATION.
I, UM, SHARED THE STAGE WITH A COLLEAGUE FROM VIA DOWN IN SAN ANTONIO AND, UH, WAS ABLE TO TALK ABOUT THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON AT CAP METRO AS WELL AS JUST SORT OF TRANSPORTATION IN THE STATE.
UM, IT'S ALWAYS, UH, GOOD TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, THE, THE GROUP OF ENGINEERS THAT WE RELY UPON TO GET ALL OF OUR WORK DONE ARE PAYING ATTENTION TO ALL OF THE GREAT STUFF THAT WE DO.
UM, CELEBRATION AND AWARDS GALA SEASON HAS BEGUN.
MM-HMM,
UM, ON THE LEFT I HAD THE PLEASURE OF ATTENDING THE 2023 CELEBR BRANDO AUSTIN GALA.
UM, IT WAS THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION, UM, FOR THIS GROUP.
IT'S HELD BY THE AUSTIN HISPANIC, GREATER AUSTIN HISPANIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
UM, I WAS THRILLED TO BE JOINED BY BOARD MEMBERS VELA IN STRATTON, UM, AS WE WERE ABLE TO REALLY JUST CELEBRATE THE AMAZING CONTRIBUTIONS OF INDIVIDUALS WITHIN AUSTIN'S VIBRANT HISPANIC COMMUNITY.
UM, AND FRANKLY, IT WAS JUST A WONDERFUL PARTY.
SO A LOT OF FUN AND REALLY APPRECIATED BEING ABLE TO BE THERE.
AND THEN ON THE RIGHT, WE'RE THRILLED TO SHARE THE EXCITING NEWS THAT CAP METRO WAS NOT ONLY NOMINATED FOR BUT VICTORIOUS AT THE AUSTIN CHAMBER, GREATER AUSTIN BUSINESS AWARDS OR GABA AWARDS.
UM, UH, THE TWO NOMINATIONS THAT WE RECEIVED, WE PROUDLY TOOK HOME THE MOBILITY CHAMPION AWARD, UM, RECOGNIZING ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE HELPING MOVE, UM, SOLVE AND ADDRESS MOBILITY PROBLEMS, UM, IN THIS ORGANIZ IN THIS COMMUNITY.
AND YOU'LL SEE, UM, BOARD MEMBER BENGAL PICTURED HERE, UM, WAS WITH US TO RECEIVE THAT AWARD.
JUST LAST WEEK, WE CELEBRATED, UM, OOPS, I SKIPPED ONE.
OKAY, WE'RE NOT TO LAST WEEK YET.
EARLIER THIS MONTH,
UM, UM, A, A GROUP OF US WERE AT THE APTA, AMERICAN PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION, UM, TRANSFORM CONFERENCE.
UM, THE ANNUAL MEETING, UM, CHAIR ILION WAS ABLE TO JOIN US AS WE GOT TOGETHER WITH LEADERS ACROSS THE NATION TO LEARN ABOUT THE FUTURE OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, TO TALK TO OUR VENDORS.
IT WAS AN EXPO YEAR, WHICH THEY DO EVERY THREE YEARS.
IT'S LIKE THE ENORMOUS TRADE SHOW WHERE, YOU KNOW, STADLER ALWAYS BRINGS AN ACTUAL TRAIN TO THE MIDDLE OF THE CONVENTION CENTER.
'CAUSE IT'S VERY EYE-CATCHING, UM, BUSES UP IN THE AIR.
IT'S ALL SORTS OF FUN FOR TRANSIT, GEES, LIKE MYSELF.
UM, AND I WAS ABLE TO, I PARTICIPATED ACTUALLY.
UM, YOU, YOU SEE THERE, ME TALKING, THERE'S ALL THESE PICTURES OF ME TALKING IN THESE, I'M, I'M NOT SURE WHAT THAT MEANS.
UM, THAT WAS ACTUALLY TRANSIT UNPLUGGED.
THAT SAME GROUP THAT DID THE TELEVISION PROGRAM ALSO HOSTS A PODCAST.
UM, AND SO THEY DID A PODCAST WITH, UM, CEOS THAT ARE RELATIVELY NEW TO THEIR POSITIONS IN THE FIRST YEAR TO 18 MONTHS OF THEIR ROLE.
UM, AND I WAS HONORED TO BE ON THAT.
THAT PODCAST WILL ACTUALLY AIR, I THINK LATER THIS WEEK.
UM, SO ONCE IT'S OUT IN THE WORLD, WE'LL SHARE IT WITH YOU.
UM, FUN FACT TO MY SITTING TO MY LEFT IN THAT IS FORMER CAP METRO, UM, VP OF RAIL OPERATIONS, DAVE DECK, WHO IS NOW THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, UM, FOR TRI RAIL IN SOUTH FLORIDA, AND ALSO JOINED ME ON THAT PANEL.
SO IT WAS A LOT OF FUN, UM, TO CATCH UP WITH AN OLD FRIEND AND ALSO GET TO, TO REPRESENT CAP METRO.
UM, SPEAKING OF REPRESENTING CAP METRO ON THE RIGHT, YOU'LL SEE, UM, IN HER VIBRANT YELLOW JACKET, JACQUELINE EVANS, OUR OWN DIRECTOR OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND CONCLUSION, WHO PARTICIPATED IN A PANEL TITLED RACIAL EQUITY COMMITMENT ROUND TABLE.
UM, AND HELPED DISCUSS ALL THE THINGS WE ARE DOING HERE AT CAP METRO TO, UM, PROGRESS TOWARD BEING A FULLY INCLUSIVE WORKPLACE.
[02:05:01]
IN AUSTIN.SO BEHIND THE SCENES QUIETLY WHILE WE'RE GETTING ALL OF THESE AWARDS AND GOING TO ALL OF THESE GREAT EVENTS, OUR OPERATIONS TEAM HAS BEEN KILLING IT, UM, WITH TWO WEEKENDS OF ACL AUSTIN FC.
WE ALSO, THIS PAST WEEKEND, SURVIVED ANOTHER, UM, FORMULA ONE RACE.
IT'S KIND OF TINY, BUT THE PICTURE THERE AT THE BOTTOM OF BARTON SPRINGS STATION WAITING FOR THE, THE, THE BUSES THAT ARE STUCK ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE LIGHT WHILE ALL OF THE PEDESTRIANS ARE, ARE FLOWING OUT OF BARTON SPRINGS AND THEY HOLD THE TRAFFIC FOR A BIT TO GET ALL THE PEDESTRIANS THROUGH, UM, REALLY LINING FOLKS UP WAITING TO GET THEM HOME.
OUR 8 0 3 ROUTE, WHICH YOU SEE, WHICH IS, UM, WHAT THIS STOP SERVES, UM, IS HEAVILY UTILIZED BY FOLKS WHO ARE, WERE ATTENDING THE AUSTIN CITY LIMITS EVENT.
UM, WE WERE AT CRUSH CAPACITY PARKING AT OUR WESTGATE TRANSIT CENTER, WHICH IS ALWAYS FUN TO SEE, UM, AND HAD REALLY GREAT BUSY WEEKENDS, BUT REALLY GREAT SERVICES FOR THOSE EVENTS.
UM, WE HAD IN AN AVERAGE OF 11% INCREASE ON BUS AND 44% INCREASE ON RAIL DURING THOSE EVENT WEEKENDS.
AND FINALLY, WE CAN GET TO LAST WEEK.
SO LAST WEEK, UM, WE CELEBRATED, WE PARTICIPATED IN THE 2023 WHITE CANE DAY CELEBRATION AT THE TEXAS SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED.
UM, IT WAS A DAY FILLED WITH MEANINGFUL ACTIVITIES, INCLUDING A FUN, A FUN RUN, A SPIRITED MARCH, UM, AN INSPIRING PRESENTATIONS AND PERFORMANCES.
UM, WE, UM, HAD A, A CROSS-FUNCTIONAL TEAM FROM THROUGHOUT THE ORGANIZATION, INCLUDING COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT OPERATIONS, UM, ACCESSIBILITY, AND A NUMBER OF FOLKS THERE IN THOSE LIGHT BLUE SHIRTS ARE ACTUALLY, UM, DEMAND RESPONSE OPERATORS WHO, UM, CAME OUT AND HELPED SUPPORT, UM, CAP METRO AND, UM, SHOW OUR COMMUNITY WIDE SUPPORT OF, UM, PEOPLE WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENTS.
SO, UM, VERY, VERY BUSY MONTH.
WE EXPECT A COUPLE OF MORE BUSY MONTHS TO COME.
UM, JUST A COUPLE OF QUICK, UM, THANK YOUS AND, UM, HOUSEKEEPING.
FIRST AND FOREMOST, I'D LIKE TO PERSONALLY AND VERY PUBLICLY THANK CHRIS GAMBLE AND TRAVIS WILSON, WHO, UM, WORKED PAINSTAKINGLY TO GET US A MICROPHONE SYSTEM THAT HAS NOW LASTED AN ENTIRE BOARD MEETING
THEY DID NOT ONLY FIGURE OUT EXACTLY WHY THE OTHER ONE KEPT FREAKING OUT, BUT THEN FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET ONE THAT DIDN'T FREAK OUT.
IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH WIPO WIFI FREQUENCIES THAT I DON'T UNDERSTAND, BUT IT WORKED.
UM, AND ALSO WANTED TO REMIND BOARD MEMBERS AND THE PUBLIC THAT, UM, THIS WEEK WE, UM, ANNOUNCED THAT WE ARE NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS TO THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE IS JOINTLY FORMED BY CAP METRO, ATP AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UM, TO PROVIDE ADVISE ON ANTI DISPLACEMENT AND EQUITY MATTERS.
AND THE PROJECT CONNECT PROGRAM AND APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN FOR ABOUT ANOTHER MONTH, UM, UNTIL NOVEMBER 17TH.
SO, UM, WE URGE EVERYONE TO SPREAD THE WORD TO ALL OF THEIR FRIENDS IF THEY HAVE FOLKS THAT WOULD BE LIKE TO GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY IN THAT WAY.
UM, WE'VE GOT A NUMBER OF, UM, SEATS THAT ARE COMING OPEN THAT WE'D LIKE TO GET FILLED.
SO, UM, THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESIDENT'S REPORT.
[X. Executive Session]
UH, WE'RE NOW GONNA GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION, UH, FOR THREE ITEMS. UH, JUST WANT TO SAY THAT, UM, WE ARE NOT GOING TO HAVE ANY, UH, VOTES SCHEDULED AFTER EXECUTIVE SESSION.SO EFFECTIVELY THIS, THIS WILL BE, UH, THE END OF THE PUBLIC PORTION OF THE MEETING.
HOWEVER, I WILL READ INTO THE RECORD THE THREE ITEMS THAT, THAT WE WILL BE, UH, EVALUATING, UH, UNDER SECTION 5 5 1 0.074 FOR PERSONNEL MATTERS.
WE'LL HAVE A DISCUSSION OF, OF PRESIDENT AND CEO'S FYI 2024 PERFORMANCE GOALS.
ITEM NUMBER TWO UNDER SECTION 5 5 1 0.071 IS FOR CONSULTATION WITH AN ATTORNEY AND SECTION 5 5 1 0.072 FOR DELIBERATION REGARDING REAL ESTATE MATTERS RELATED TO THE PROPOSED CITY OF PFLUGERVILLE CON CONDEMNATION OF A 1.28 ACRE, UH, TCE ACROSS CAP METRO'S PROPERTY LOCATED AT 10 85.
UH, UH OKAY, 1 0 8 0 5 CAMERON ROAD.
AND THEN ITEM NUMBER THREE WILL BE, UH, SECTION 5 5 1 0.071 FOR CONSULTATION WITH AN ATTORNEY.
AND SECTION 5 5 1 0.072 FOR DELIBERATION REGARDING, UH, REAL ESTATE MATTERS RELATED TO THE PROPOSED CITY OF AUSTIN.
CONDEMNATION OF THREE, UH, 1.385 ACRES OUT OF CAP METRO'S PROPERTY LOCATED AT LOYOLA LANE AND JOHNNY MORRIS ROAD.
SO, UH, THOSE WILL BE OUR THREE ITEMS. WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE ANY, UH,
[02:10:01]
REMAINING AGENDA ITEMS AFTER WE LEAVE EXECUTIVE SESSION EXCEPT FOR ADJOURNING, RIGHT? OKAY.OKAY, SO WE ARE RETURNING FROM EXECUTIVE SESSION AND, UM, CALLING THE MEETING AT 3 0 2.
UH, THERE ARE NO ADDITIONAL ITEMS TO VOTE ON, NO ISSUES THAT WE WILL, UH, DISCUSS ANY FURTHER.
SO I WILL ADJOURN THE MEETING OF THE CAPITAL, UH, METRO BOARD OF DIRECTORS AT 3 0 3.