[00:00:02]
ALL RIGHT.AND SO I WILL CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER
[CALL TO ORDER]
AT 6 0 7, AND I AM DIANA WHEELER, CO-CHAIR, AND I AM, UM, UH, I'M, I'M THE ONE IN PERSON.WELL, KABA IS AT HOME NOT GETTING US SICK.
AND FIRST UP, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
FIRST UP, I THINK WE HAVE SOME CITIZEN SPEAKERS.
HELLO, MEMBERS OF THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE.
I'M REQUESTING THAT THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO CLOSE ZILKER PARK'S POLO FIELD FOR OVERFLOW PARKING ON SUMMER WEEKENDS.
UM, THAT IS THE, NOT THE CORRECT SLIDE.
DAVID, PLEASE, UH, SWITCH TO THE OTHER SET.
UM, IT IS A PRACTICE WHICH APPEARS TO HAVE FINALLY DESTROYED THIS PARKLAND.
ITS USE AS A CAR PARKING LOT HAS PROVEN UNSUSTAINABLE.
THIS CAR PARKING USAGE IS CONTRARY TO CLIMATE GOALS BY DESTROYING PARK VEGETATION PRODUCES DANGEROUS AMOUNTS OF DUST, AND IS COMPACTING SOILS LOCATED OVER SENSITIVE AQUIFERS.
THAT'S A MAP WITH THE LOCATION OF THE POLO FIELD.
THIS IS THE PARKING ON IT IN THE SUMMER.
THE PARKS BOARD RECENTLY VOTED UNANIMOUSLY TO ELIMINATE PARKING ON THE POLO FIELD PERMANENTLY, STARTING ON SEPTEMBER 4TH, 2023, EXCEPT FOR USE AS AN OVERFLOW PARKING AREA DURING ADVANCED SCHEDULED SPECIAL EVENTS.
CONTINUE WITH THE SLIDES, THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION HAS PASSED A RECOMMENDATION, VOTED NINE IN FAVOR TO BAN PARKING ON THE POLO FIELD IN FISCAL YEAR 2025.
I BELIEVE THAT THOSE TWO RECOMMENDATIONS WILL PROVIDE ALL OF THE BACKGROUND INFORMATION THAT YOU NEED.
AND YOU HAVE THE LINKS IN YOUR EMAIL FROM ME.
IT IS CURRENTLY CLOSED FOR PARKING EXCEPT FOR SPECIAL EVENTS, AND THERE WILL BE NO SUMMER HILLSIDE MUSICAL IN THE PARK NEXT YEAR.
SO IT SEEMS TO ME TO BE AN IDEAL TIME TO CLOSE THE POLO FIELD RIGHT NOW AS THE PARKS BOARD RECOMMENDED.
I HAVE PHOTOS THAT SHOW THE STATE OF DESTRUCTION OF THE POLO FIELD AFTER THIS PAST SUMMER, A SEASON OF HIGH HEAT AND EXTENDED DROUGHT.
I HOPE THAT THESE PHOTOS WILL CONVINCE YOU TO JOIN THE PARKS BOARD AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION TO RECOMMEND THE CLOSURE OF THIS AREA FOR OVERFLOW PARKING AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
AND THEY'RE THE PICTURES, YOU SEE THAT THERE'S, UH, NO MORE ROOT STRUCTURE LEFT.
IT'S LOOSE SOIL, EXPOSED ROCK VIEW OF DOWNTOWN, MORE DEEP, LOOSE SOIL.
IT'S, IT'S FLOWING DOWN THE HILLS.
YOU CAN GO TO THE, THE ROADWAYS IN THE PARK AND SEE THAT'S WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SUMMER.
I'M SORRY, MY PICTURES ARE OUT OF ORDER.
AND THAT'S WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE NOW.
THERE'S NO MORE GRASS, HARDLY ANY.
I REPORTED THE DUST AS AN ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARD TO THE TCEQ THIS SUMMER, AND THAT'S ABOUT IT.
I THINK WE'RE CYCLING TO THE BEGINNING, SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
CAN I ASK, YOU SAID THE PARKS BOARD, 100% VOTED TO RECOMMEND THE ELIMINATED ELIMINATE PARKING BY, YOU SAID SEPTEMBER, 2024? NO, 23.
I MIGHT HAVE, UM, SAID THE WRONG THING, BUT NO.
BY 23, NO, I THINK I MISSED HER.
SO THE PARKS BOARD SAID THAT IT SHOULD ALREADY BE ELIMINATED AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION VOTED NINE IN FAVOR TO, UH, FULLY ELIMINATE BY FY 2025, WHICH IS OCTOBER, 2024.
IF YOU HAD ANY MORE QUESTIONS, I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER THEM IF I HAD A LITTLE MORE TIME.
IT IS A, A QUESTION OF WHETHER YOU CALL IT OVERFLOW USE OR SPECIAL EVENT USE.
THERE'S STILL THINGS LIKE, UH, WE HAVEN'T RESOLVED.
PERHAPS TRAIL OF LIGHTS WILL STILL BE PARKING ON IT, BUT AT SOME POINT IT HAS TO BE RESTORED, RESTORED BACK TO VEGETATION.
THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOMMENDED THAT THERE BE SOIL AND, UH, VEGETATIVE SEEDLING MATERIAL SEEDS TO PUT IN BY 2025.
[00:05:01]
UM, SO AT SOME POINT IT'S GONNA HAVE TO BECOME A NATURAL SURFACE AGAIN AND NOT USE FOR ANY CAR PARKING.BUT THE QUESTION IS TWO LEVELS OF PARKING, WHETHER IT'S, UH, FOR OVERFLOW SUMMER VISITORS, OR FOR SPECIAL EVENTS PARKING.
AND A AGAIN, THOSE DETAILS ARE IN THE TWO RESOLUTIONS, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE PASSED IN YOUR EMAIL.
AND KABA, DID YOU WANNA ASK HER A QUESTION? ALRIGHT, WELL, I THINK SHE MAYBE JUST ANSWERED IT.
ARE YOU SAYING THAT YOU EMAILED THE RESOLUTION LANGUAGE TO US ALL? YES.
YOU, I SENT AN EMAIL, I BELIEVE TO EVERYONE TODAY.
THAT IS, UM, MY SPEECH TODAY WITH THE LINKS IN IT FOR THOSE TWO RECOMMENDATIONS.
WELL, THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THIS TO OUR ATTENTION.
I, I DO THINK IT'S RELEVANT TO OUR CHARGE AND, UH, I THINK WE CAN'T BE SEQUESTERING CARBON IN AN AREA THAT IS NOT EVEN ABLE TO MAINTAIN ITS SOIL.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, AND PLEASE CONTACT ME IF YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED THAT EMAIL, I REALLY WANT YOU TO HAVE IT.
I'M A RESIDENT OF DISTRICT 10.
I'M A DAILY BARTON SPRING SWIMMER AND A USER OF ZILKER PARK.
THIS IS LOOKING AT BARTON CREEK, AND YOU CAN SEE THE, THE LINES OF VEGETATION GROWING IN THE WATER.
IT GROWS LIKE THAT, ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE COLORADO RIVER.
UH, I'M ASKING YOU THE SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION TO PLEASE CONTRACT WITH A NEUTRAL INDEPENDENT SCIENTIST TO STUDY AND REPORT TO YOU AND THE CITIZENS OF AUSTIN ON THE CURRENT USE OF THE GREAT LAWN AND THE WATER DRAINAGE INTO BARTON CREEK AND THE COLORADO RIVER.
I'M NOT A SCIENTIST, BUT I HAVE OBSERVED THAT THE FERTILIZED LAWN WATER, WHEN IT RAINS, IS BEING RUN OFF INTO BARTON CREEK VIA BIG CONCRETE PIPES AND ALSO TEMPORARY RAIN GUTTERS.
UM, THIS IS THE FLOODED PARK TODAY.
UM, THIS IS WHERE THE WATER FLOWS THROUGH THOSE CONCRETE, UH, PATHS.
AND THEY'RE GOING, IT'S GOING STRAIGHT INTO BARTON CREEK AND THUS INTO THE COLORADO.
I HAVE A SAMPLE OF THE WATER IN A JAR.
I TOOK IT THIS AFTERNOON IN CASE ANYBODY HERE WOULD LIKE TO TAKE IT AND TEST IT.
ANY QUESTIONS? SORRY? ANY QUESTIONS? NO, CHRIS.
I AM, UM, I REALIZE I MOMENTARILY LOST THE AGENDA.
I THINK NEXT UP WOULD BE VOTING ON THE MINUTES.
[9. Approval of minutes from the September 27th meeting of the Joint Sustainability Committee.]
IS THAT CORRECT? THAT'S NUMBER NINE, BUT WE CAN DO IT.THOUGH, WE, WE DO HAVE, WE, WE, I THINK WE HAVE ALL THE MEMBERS HERE THAT WE'RE GOING TO GET.
SO IF PEOPLE DON'T MIND IF I GO A LITTLE BIT OUT OF ORDER AND WE, UH, WE VOTE ON THE MINUTES FROM LAST MONTH.
IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION, MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.
ALL IN FAVOR? PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND OR SAY, AYE, I THINK I CAN SEE EVERYBODY.
THEN AT PASSES, THE MINUTES FROM LAST MONTH ARE APPROVED.
NOW I FINALLY GOT THE AGENDA IN FRONT OF ME.
SO I BELIEVE THAT FIRST UP IS THE, UH, SUSTAINABLE PURCHASING BEST PRACTICES.
[00:10:01]
WE'VE GOT A REQUEST, UH, FOR, UM, AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY TO GO FIRST.LET'S DO IT THEN, UH, HERE TODAY TO RESPECT THE, THE CONSULTANT TIME.
OFFICER RESOURCE FOR RECOVERY.
[2. Austin Resource Recovery Zero Waste Comprehensive Plan Update.]
LOVE TO HAVE YOU GO FIRST, KNOW HOW TO CONTROL THE, I THINK YOU JUST NEED TO LET DAVID KNOW WHEN TO ADVANCE THE SLIDES.DO YOU WANT TO USE THIS? GOOD, BUT THANKS.
SO, UH, I'M, UH, JASON MCCOMBS.
I'M WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN, AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY.
AND, UH, TONIGHT I'M PROUD TO PRESENT OUR, UH, 20 23 0 WASTE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
UM, CAN WE TRY TO FORWARD THE SLIDES? CAN WE GO? AND, UH, SO I'M JASON MCCOMBS.
I'M HERE WITH SCOTT, PASTOR N HE IS WITH BURNS MCDONALD, A CONSULTANT THAT WORKED WITH US ON THIS.
AND, UH, GET ONE MORE, ONE MORE.
SO, UM, IN 2011, UH, AUSTIN PASSED ITS FIRST ZERO WASTE MASTER PLAN.
AND THAT, UH, PLAN HAD A GOAL TO REACH 90% LANDFILL DIVERSION BY THE YEAR 2040.
AND IT WAS REALLY FOCUSED ON ONE, INTRODUCING ZERO WASTE TO THE COMMUNITY, BUT, UH, ALSO ACCESS TO SERVICES, BRINGING COMPOSTING, RECYCLING, UM, YOU KNOW, TO, TO RESTAURANTS, UH, AND MULTIFAMILY PROPERTIES, FOR EXAMPLE, ALL ACROSS AUSTIN.
AND, UH, THE, THIS PLAN THAT WE HAVE BEFORE YOU TODAY IS AN UPDATE TO THAT 2011 PLAN.
UM, AND IT'S A ROADMAP THAT IS INTENDED TO GUIDE OUR DEPARTMENT AND OUR CITY, UH, FUTURE OPERATIONAL CHANGES, POLICY CHANGES, AND, UH, AND, YOU KNOW, ASSOCIATE PUBLIC STOCK SHELTER MEETINGS.
UM, WE HAVE, UH, ACCOMPLISHED A LOT.
WE REACHED A MAJORITY OF GOALS IN THAT PLAN.
UM, AND THE CONTRACT FOR THIS WAS, UH, AWARDED IN 2019.
AND WE STARTED WRITING, DRAFTING THIS RIGHT AT THE START OF THE PANDEMIC IN 2020.
AND SO MUCH OF THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS STARTED IN 2020.
UM, WE WORKED CLOSELY WITH OUR PARTNER HERE IN BURNS MCDONALD, UH, 20 20, 20 21.
WE DID MULTIPLE PHASES OF OUTREACH AND DRAFTING OF THE PLAN WERE CONDUCTED.
UM, WE'LL HAVE, UH, SCOTT GO INTO THAT A LITTLE MORE DETAIL HERE, BUT THERE WERE, THERE WAS, UH, SIGNIFICANT OUTREACH, UM, DONE DURING THAT TIME.
UM, AND THEN THIS LAST SPRING, UM, WE MET WITH MEMBERS OF ZAC AND THE COMMUNITY.
UM, AND SINCE THEN, WE HAVE, UM, GONE TO ZAC, UM, EARLIER THIS MONTH WHERE, UM, IT WAS JUST VOTED UNANIMOUSLY TO RECOMMEND FOR APPROVAL TO COUNCIL.
WE'VE ALSO MET WITH, UH, COUNCIL OFFICES, UM, AND HAD THEM REVIEW THIS AS WELL.
AND, UM, IT'S BEEN VERY FAVORABLY SO FAR.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, EVEN THOUGH THIS HAS BEEN A LONG PROCESS, UM, I SAID WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS.
IT REALLY HASN'T STOPPED OUR PROGRESS AS A DEPARTMENT.
WE HAVE ACCOMPLISHED A LOT IN THAT TIME, AND WE WERE A LEADER IN THE STORM RESPONSE.
UM, WE HAD MULTIFAMILY COMPOSTING, WHICH WILL PROVIDE ACCESS TO, UM, UH, COMPOSTING FOR ALL MULTIFAMILY PROPERTIES ACROSS AUSTIN.
JUST RECENTLY PASSED A FEW WEEKS AGO WITH COUNCIL.
AND, UH, WE ALSO JUST RECENTLY RECEIVED A $4 MILLION EPA GRANT FOR A REUSE WAREHOUSE HERE IN AUSTIN THAT WE'LL START BY FOCUSING ON, UH, REFURBISHING FURNITURE, UM, HERE, UM, IN THE COMMUNITY AND KEEPING OUT OF THE LANDFILL.
AND SO WITH THAT, I'M GONNA HAND IT OVER TO SCOTT PASTOR NECK, AND HE'S GONNA GO INTO A LITTLE MORE DETAIL ABOUT THE PLAN AND THE PROCESS.
BEFORE I, UH, GET TOO MUCH INTO THE DETAILS, ACTUALLY, DAVID, IF YOU COULD KEEP IT ON, ON THAT ONE SLIDE.
THE, THE CITY OF AUSTIN, GETTING THAT GRANT, UH, WAS A VERY SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENT.
THERE WERE ONLY, I THINK IT WAS 25 COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE ENTIRE UNITED STATES THAT RECEIVED THOSE, THOSE GRANTS OUT OF APPROXIMATELY 300 APPLICATIONS.
SO JUST WANTED TO, TO POINT THAT OUT TO THE GREAT WORK THAT, UH, ARR CONTINUES TO DO FOR THE COMMUNITY.
AND, AND SPEAKING OF THAT, UM, I REALLY WANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT THESE ACCOMPLISHMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN, UH, PUT IN PLACE SINCE 2011 ARE, ARE REALLY, UH, VERY MEANINGFUL AND, AND SIGNIFICANT BURNS OF MCDONALD PROVIDES, UH, SOLID WASTE RESOURCE RECOVERY AND ZERO WASTE CONSULTING SERVICES TO CITIES ALL ACROSS TEXAS AND, AND THE UNITED STATES.
AND SO TO HAVE A COMMUNITY THAT'S BEEN ABLE TO, UH, IMPLEMENT THESE TYPES OF PROGRAMS OVER
[00:15:01]
THE LAST ROUGHLY 10 YEARS IS, IS PRETTY SIGNIFICANT.IN FACT, UM, OF THE CITIES THAT, THAT WE WORK WITH IN, IN TEXAS, A FEW OF THEM MAY HAVE DONE ONE OF THESE ITEMS THAT, THAT IS LISTED HERE AS THESE ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
BUT THERE'S NO OTHER CITY IN TEXAS THAT HAS IMPLEMENTED ALL THREE OF THESE, AND THAT'S A REAL CREDIT TO THE PERSEVERANCE, UM, BY OUR ARR, UH, IN THE ENTIRE, UH, CITY OF AUSTIN COMMUNITY.
UM, SO WHAT, WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO NOW ON THE, ON THE NEXT SLIDE IS, IS TO WALK YOU THROUGH THE, THE PLANNING PROCESS.
JASON GAVE YOU A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF THAT, BUT THEN ON THE NEXT SLIDE, IT'LL GIVE YOU A SENSE OF, UH, THE WORK THAT, THAT WE'VE DONE, UH, IN COLLABORATION WITH, WITH ARR.
AND THEN I'LL, AFTER I WALK THROUGH THIS SLIDE, I'LL COMMUNICATE SOME OF THE MORE DETAILS, UH, ABOUT THIS WITH YOU ALL.
BUT IT, IT STARTED WITH, UH, HERE ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE, UH, RESEARCH AND, AND ANALYSIS, UH, WHERE WE DID BENCHMARKING THAT I'LL, I'LL SHOW YOU IN, IN A FEW MINUTES, UH, THAT FOCUSED ON HOW DOES AUSTIN COMPARE TO SEVERAL OTHER ZERO WASTE COMMUNITIES FROM ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.
AND THEN THERE WERE A NUMBER OF RESEARCH, UH, AND ANALYSIS TOPICS THAT WE'LL ALSO GET INTO WITH YOU THIS, THIS EVENING AS WELL.
AND THEN FROM THERE, UH, WE EVALUATED, UH, MULTIPLE STRATEGIES AND, AND OPTIONS, UH, CONDUCTED A NUMBER OF, OF WORKSHOPS WITH CITY STAFF, UH, TO THEN ULTIMATELY DETERMINE WHAT WOULD BE THE, THE PRIORITY TOPICS TO BE ADDRESSED, UH, IN THIS ITERATION OF, UH, THE CITY'S PLAN.
AND SO IT WAS A VERY COLLABORATIVE EFFORT BETWEEN ARR AND, AND BURNSON MCDONALD TO PRODUCE THE, THE PLAN THAT JASON REFERRED TO, UH, THROUGHOUT THE, THE COURSE OF, OF THE PROJECT, THERE WAS EXTENSIVE CITY AND STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT.
UH, AS JASON MENTIONED, WE STARTED THIS PROJECT IN 2019.
WE HAD THIS GREAT, UH, ROBUST, UH, VERY, VERY MUCH GOING OUT INTO THE PUBLIC TO INTERACT WITH PEOPLE, UH, IN THE SPACES WHERE THEY WOULD TYPICALLY, UH, CONGREGATE TO TALK TO THEM ABOUT ZERO WASTE.
UH, BUT THEN COVID HAPPENED, AND SO WE, UH, WERE ABLE TO MAKE A, A NUMBER OF CHANGES TO STILL HAVE VERY MEANINGFUL, UH, STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT JUST A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE ORIGINALLY HAD TO PLANNED FOR.
AND WE'LL COMMUNICATE WHAT SOME OF THAT INVOLVED, UH, IN A FEW MINUTES AS WELL.
SO, GOING ON ONTO THE NEXT SLIDE, UH, IN TERMS OF THE BENCHMARKING THAT WAS COMPLETED.
UM, AND ON THE NEXT SLIDE, UH, AS I SAID A FEW MINUTES AGO, WE DID BENCHMARK 13 CITIES, UH, TO GET AN UNDERSTANDING OF HOW ARE THEY DEFINING, UH, UH, ZERO WASTE.
WHAT ARE THE PROGRAMS THAT THEY, THEY HAVE IN PLACE, UH, AS WELL AS, UH, SOME OF THE KEY POLICY ISSUES.
AND SO THIS INFORMATION WAS VERY BENEFICIAL IN TERMS OF HELPING TO INFORM KEY CONTENT FOR, UH, THE CON FOR THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
SO THIS NEXT SLIDE GIVES YOU A SENSE OF, UH, WHO THE CITIES ARE THAT WERE INCLUDED AS A PART OF THE, THE BENCHMARKING.
UH, SO IF WE COULD GO TO THAT, THAT NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
SO THERE WERE, UH, MANY COMMUNITIES ON, ON THE WEST COAST IN, IN CALIFORNIA AS, AS WELL AS IN, IN THE STATE OF WASHINGTON, AS WELL AS A NUMBER OF OTHER CITIES ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.
AND SO, UM, NOT EVERY CITY PUBLISHES THEIR DATA ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.
SO WE, WE, UH, COMMUNICATED NOT ONLY, UH, WHEN THEY ADOPTED THEIR, THEIR ZERO WASTE PLAN PLANNING VISION, UH, BUT ALSO WHEN DID THEY MOST RECENTLY PUBLISH WHAT THEIR RECYCLING RATE IS.
AND THEN WE ALSO, UH, COMMUNICATED WHAT ARE THE WASTE GENERATORS, UH, THAT WERE INCLUDED AS A PART OF THAT.
AND SO ONE OF THE INTERESTING OBSERVATIONS, UH, FROM THAT IS, UH, ALL OF THE CITIES INCLUDE SINGLE FAMILY, BUT THE ONES, UH, THAT HAVE THE HIGHEST RECYCLING RATES ALSO, UH, WILL INCLUDE OTHER CATEGORIES LIKE COMMERCIAL, MULTIFAMILY AND, AND COMMERCIAL AND, AND DEMOLITION MATERIALS.
AND I THINK OUR, OUR KEY TAKEAWAY, AND I THINK THIS IS REALLY CONSISTENT WITH WHAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS DOING, IS THAT YOU WANNA BE ABLE TO PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S RECYCLING, UH, OR REUSE, WHATEVER IT MAY BE, UH, NOT ONLY IN PEOPLE'S HOMES, WHETHER IT'S A SINGLE FAMILY OR MULTIFAMILY, BUT THEN ALSO WHEN THEY GO TO WORK OR WHEN THEY GO OUT TO, TO DO SOMETHING IN THE COMMUNITY, TO HAVE AS CONSISTENT OF A PROGRAM AS AS POSSIBLE, UH, IS WHAT WE SAW FROM MANY OF THOSE OTHER, UH, HIGH PERFORMING COMMUNITIES.
AND THAT'S, I THINK, UH, A REALLY IMPORTANT, UH, ASPECT OF WHAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS DOING AS, AS WELL.
SO THE, THE NEXT SLIDE, UH, GIVES SOME OF THE ADDITIONAL BENCHMARKING RESULTS.
UM, SO OF THE 13, UH, CITIES, AUSTIN IS, IS THE HIGHEST, UH, CITY THAT'S NOT ON THE WEST COAST.
UM, AND I, AND I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT, UH, FOR TWO REASONS.
THOSE, THOSE WEST COAST CITIES HAVE
[00:20:01]
BEEN AT THIS, UH, IN TERMS OF HAVING A FORMAL ZERO WASTE POLICY FOR A LONGER PERIOD OF TIME, UH, THAN AUSTIN.AND THEN, UH, THEY ALSO, ESPECIALLY IN CALIFORNIA, HAVE VERY SUBSTANTIAL STATE MANDATES THAT WE DO NOT HAVE HERE IN, IN TEXAS.
UM, AND, AND THOSE COMMUNITIES WILL ALSO, IN ADDITION TO HAVING STATEWIDE MANDATES, MAY PUT IN PLACE MANDATES AT THE MUNICIPAL LEVEL AND OR HAVE, UH, ENFORCEMENT PROGRAMS AND OR, UM, MATERIAL BANS ON, ON CERTAIN TYPES OF, OF, OF MATERIALS.
ONE OF THE CHALLENGES THAT, THAT AUSTIN HAS, UH, IS VERY CONSISTENT WITHIN THE OTHER CITIES.
AND THAT'S BEING ABLE TO, UH, CLEARLY TRACK HOW MUCH MATERIAL IS BEING RECYCLED WITHIN THE COMMERCIAL SECTOR.
UH, SO THAT'S, UH, CONTINUES TO BE A, A CHALLENGE FOR MANY COMMUNITIES.
AND THEN, UM, HOW AUSTIN IS, IS FRAMING ZERO WASTE AS, AS A VISION, UH, TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUALLY BE SOUGHT AFTER, UH, AND ASPIRED TO IS, IS DEFINITELY CONSISTENT WITH MANY OF THE OTHER CITIES AS AS WELL.
SO THE NEXT NEXT SLIDE GETS INTO SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, FOR THE BENCHMARKING.
AND THIS WAS REALLY IMPORTANT, UH, FOR, AGAIN, INFORMING, UH, KEY PARTS OF THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
AND WHAT, WHAT WE'VE FOUND, UM, IS THAT WHILE MANY OF THE CITIES ARE STILL CONTINUING TO COMMUNICATE AN, AN OVERALL RECYCLING RATE, UH, AS A KEY METRIC, UH, TO, TO MEASURE PROGRESS, THEY'RE ALSO LOOKING AT OTHER WAYS TO, TO MEASURE PROGRESS, UH, SUCH AS, UH, PER CAPITA, UH, DISPOSAL RATES, UH, WHICH IS WHERE YOU CALCULATE, UH, HOW MUCH EACH, EACH PERSON IS, IS GENERATING AND, AND HOW MUCH OF THAT IS GOING TO A LANDFILL VERSUS, UH, HOPEFULLY BEING DISPOSED, UH, OR EXCUSE ME, HOPEFULLY BEING RECYCLED.
UH, BUT THEN IF YOU ALSO LOOK AT A, UH, PER CAPITA DISPOSAL RATE, YOU'RE ALSO ABLE TO ESTIMATE HOW MUCH MATERIAL IS, IS NEVER BEING GENERATED IN THE FIRST PLACE, IS, WHICH IS REALLY WHERE YOU WANT TO BE FROM A, A REUSE, UH, TYPE OF PERSPECTIVE IN PREVENTING WASTE, UH, IN THE FIRST PLACE.
UM, THERE'S ALSO A, A NEED TO EVALUATE OPTIONS, UH, TO GET DATA FROM, FROM HAULERS.
AND THEN, UH, THE CITY HAS, UM, UNDER A SEPARATE PROJECT CARRIED OUT WASTE CHARACTERIZATION EFFORTS.
AND THEY ARE, UH, DOING THAT BY, UH, COLLECTING DATA AND EVALUATING THAT FROM A CAPTURE RATE PERSPECTIVE.
WE'LL SHOW IN IN THE NEXT COUPLE SLIDES, UM, HOW WE'RE DEFINING THAT TERM CAPTURE RATE IN, IN MORE DETAIL.
AND THEN, UM, REALLY STARTING TO, TO GET INTO MORE DETAIL IN TERMS OF WHAT THE CONTENTS ARE OF, OF RESIDENTIAL SET OUTS, BOTH FOR, FOR TRASH AND RECYCLING.
AGAIN, AS A PART OF THAT CHARACTERIZATION EFFORT IS GONNA BE IMPORTANT GOING FORWARD.
SO AS WE GO INTO THE, THE NEXT SLIDE, THIS, UH, THIS COMMUNICATES THE WORK THAT WE DID FROM A, A RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS PERSPECTIVE.
AND SO THIS IS DIVIDED INTO THREE BROAD CATEGORIES.
SO ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE IS, IS RESIDENTIAL, THE MIDDLE, UH, ADDRESSED, UH, PRIVATE FACILITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE WERE CATEGORIES THAT, UM, ADDRESSED ISSUES FROM A CITYWIDE PERSPECTIVE.
UH, SO WHAT I'M GONNA DO NOW IS, IS JUST TO WALK THROUGH, UH, EACH OF THESE THREE CATEGORIES, UH, STARTING ON, ON THE NEXT SLIDE WITH RESIDENTIAL.
AND SO THIS IS INFORMATION THAT, UH, CORRESPONDS DIRECTLY, UH, TO WHAT WE HAD TALKED ABOUT A FEW MINUTES AGO WITH REGARD TO THE, THE BENCHMARKING.
AND, AND THAT IS A RECOMMENDATION TO IMPLEMENT ALTERNATIVE METRICS, INCLUDING THE PER CAPITA DISPOSAL AND, AND CAPTURE RATE.
AND THE, THE REAL BENEFIT BENEFIT OF THIS IS TO SET A SHORT TERM, UH, GOALS.
AND SO, UH, WHEN WE USE THAT TERM CAPTURE RATE, UH, AN EXAMPLE OF THAT IS, IS DEFINED ON, ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, AND IT'S, IT'S REALLY INTENDED TO MEASURE FOR THOSE MATERIALS THAT ARE A PART OF, WHETHER IT'S A RECYCLING PROGRAM OR, UH, COMPOSTING OR, OR ORGANICS FOR EACH OF THOSE MATERIAL TYPES THAT ARE INCLUDED IN THAT PROGRAM, HOW MUCH OF THOSE MATERIALS ARE, ARE ACTUALLY GETTING, UH, RECYCLED OR, OR COMPOSTED.
SO THIS EXAMPLE IS, IS JUST FOR PLASTICS.
AND SO IN THIS EXAMPLE, THERE WAS, THERE WAS, UH, 5,000, UM, 653 TONS OF MATERIAL THAT, THAT WERE GENERATED.
UH, AND OF THAT 2,933 WERE RECYCLED.
SO IF YOU JUST DIVIDE, UH, THE 2,900 BY THE, THE 5,600, THAT GIVES YOU A, A CAPTURE RATE OF, OF 52%.
UH, SO IN THAT EXAMPLE, UH, YOU KNOW, THE GOOD NEWS IS ALMOST A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN HALF OF THAT MATERIAL IS, IS BEING RECYCLED.
THE BAD NEWS IS, UH, 48% OF IT IS,
[00:25:01]
IS STILL GOING TO THE LANDFILL.SO THE WHOLE IDEA IS WHAT COULD BE DONE, UH, TO DECREASE THAT, THOSE QUANTITIES THAT ARE, THAT ARE GOING TO THE LANDFILL AND INCREASE MORE ON THE RECYCLING SIDE.
AND SO, AS I'LL SHOW YOU ON, ON THE NEXT SLIDE, AND IN JUST A MOMENT, NOT, NOT QUITE YET, IS THAT, UM, AN IMPORTANT ASPECT OF THIS PLAN IS, IS TO PRIORITIZE CAPTURING THE MATERIAL THAT HAS THE, THE GREATEST, UH, FUTURE DIVERSION POTENTIAL.
UM, AS WELL AS, UH, LOOKING AT WHAT CAN BE DONE TO INCREASE THE ACCESS TO, TO PROVIDE GREATER OPTIONS, UM, FOR HARD TO RECYCLE TYPE MATERIALS.
AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THOSE IN JUST A MOMENT.
UH, BUT ON THIS, THIS NEXT SLIDE, IT JUST GIVES YOU A SENSE OF WHAT ARE, UH, THE PRIORITY TYPES OF MATERIALS TO, TO BE CAPTURED.
AND SO, UH, THESE ARE THE, THE TOP 14 CATEGORIES ON, ON THE RESIDENTIAL SIDE, UM, BY TONNAGE.
AND SO ANYTHING THAT'S IN GREEN AS A PART OF THE, UH, ORGANICS OR, OR COMPOSTING PROGRAM AND WHAT'S IN BLUE ARE MATERIALS THAT CAN BE RECYCLED AS A PART OF THE, THE CITY'S RECYCLING PROGRAM.
AND THEN, UH, YOU CAN SEE HOW MANY TONS WERE DIVERTED AND THEN, UH, BASED ON 2018 DATA, WHAT THAT CAPTURE RATE WAS.
AND SO THE GOAL, UM, AS PART OF THIS PLAN IS TO INCREASE THOSE, THOSE CAPTURE RATES TO 90%.
UM, SO FOR THAT EXAMPLE OF, OF THE PLASTICS THAT WE JUST TALKED ABOUT IN A MOMENT AGO, WHERE IN THAT EXAMPLE, UH, 52% WERE BEING CAPTURED, THE GOAL IS TO GET THAT ALL THE WAY UP TO TO 90%.
UH, JUST ABOUT THE DEFINITION OF CAPTURE RATE.
SO IS CAPTURE RATE JUST MEAN WHAT GOES INTO THE BLUE RECYCLING BIN VERSUS WHAT GOES INTO THE TRASH BIN? OR DOES IT MEAN, I SEE A LOT OF PEOPLE WISH CYCLING, RIGHT? MM-HMM,
DOES CAPTURE RATE LITERALLY MEAN WHAT IS ABLE TO BE RECYCLED AFTER THE WISH CYCLING IS, GOES TO THE GARBAGE? OR DOES IT LITERALLY JUST IS CAPTURE RATE? JUST ANYTHING THAT GOES INTO THE BLUE RECYCLING BIN? MM-HMM,
UM, BUT TYPICALLY WHAT WOULD BE COUNTED AS BEING CAPTURED IS THE MATERIAL THAT ULTIMATELY DOES GET SOLD AS SAY THAT, THAT PLASTIC MATERIAL.
'CAUSE YOU'RE, YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
YOU KNOW, IF YOU PUT A BUNCH OF MATERIAL IN A, IN A BAG, UM, YOU KNOW, IT, IT MAY OR MAY NOT GET, GET RECYCLED JUST 'CAUSE NO, NO RECYCLING FACILITY, YOU KNOW, CAN IS, IS PERFECT TO BE ABLE TO SAY, RIP OPEN EVERY BAG OR, OR THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND SO, SO THE IDEA HERE IS THAT IF YOU CAN REALLY FOCUS ON THOSE MATERIALS THAT, THAT ARE ALREADY A PART OF THE, THE PROGRAMS THAT ARE IN PLACE BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UM, TO HAVE A GOAL OF, OF 90%, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S STILL A VERY, UH, HIGH PERCENTAGE, UH, BUT IT'S STILL WITHIN THE GRASP OF, OF WHAT CAN BE DONE.
UM, I WILL SAY I DON'T, I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY OTHER CITIES IN THE COUNTRY THAT ARE AT 90% CAPTURE RATES.
SO THAT IS A VERY LOFTY GOAL TO HAVE IN PLACE.
UM, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS BEFORE I KEEP GOING? SO THE, THE NEXT SLIDE ADDRESSES WHAT I MENTIONED A MOMENT AGO IN TERMS OF HARD, HARD TO RECYCLE, UH, TYPES OF MATERIALS.
SO THESE WOULD BE, UH, MATERIALS LIKE HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE, UM, FERTILIZERS, PESTICIDES, THOSE, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.
AND SO THE CITY OF AUSTIN DOES HAVE A, A, A REALLY GREAT PROGRAM THAT'S BEEN IN PLACE FOR, FOR A LONG, LONG TIME.
AND THAT IS THE RECYCLING DROP-OFF CENTER, WHICH IS HERE WITH THIS, THIS GREEN.IS PRETTY MUCH AT THE INTER CLOSE TO THE INTERSECTION OF I 35 AND, AND BEN WHITE.
UM, SO IT'S ON THE, ON THE SOUTHERN SIDE OF, OF THE CITY.
JUST TO COMMENT, UM, WIND, UH, IF YOU'RE NOT IN THE, ON THE MICROPHONE, THEY HAVE TROUBLE HEARING YOU ON THE WEBINAR.
THANK YOU FOR THAT, THAT REMINDER.
UM, AND FOR THOSE, THOSE OF YOU ALL WHO ARE, UM, VIRTUALLY PARTICIPATING, HOPE YOU HAVE A SENSE OF WHERE THAT, THAT GREEN.IS.
'CAUSE I'LL, I WAS JUST GOING AND POINTING TO THAT.
UM, BUT ANY RATE, THE, THIS SLIDE IS, IS COMMUNICATING WITH, WITH ALL THE RED DOTS.
UH, IT'S, THIS IS ESSENTIALLY A HEAT MAP.
AND SO THOSE RED DOTS, UM, ARE SHOWING PEOPLE WHO ARE SOUTH OF, OF THE COLORADO RIVER ARE USING THAT FACILITY AT A MUCH GREATER RATE AS COMPARED TO PEOPLE WHO LIVE, UH, NORTH OF THE RIVER AS, AS SHOWN BY, BY THE BLUE DOTS.
AND SO, UH, IT'S A, IT'S A GREAT FACILITY.
[00:30:01]
BUT THE IDEA HERE IS THAT IF THERE COULD BE ANOTHER FACILITY THAT COULD, COULD BETTER SERVICE, UH, RESIDENTS ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE CITY, UH, THAT THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO, TO CONSIDER GOING FORWARD.SO THE, THE NEXT SLIDE, UH, ADDRESSES, UH, AGAIN, MORE OF THE, THE RESEARCH ANALYSIS AND RESULTS, UH, RELATED TO INFRASTRUCTURE AND PRIVATE ENTITIES.
UH, SO SOME OF THE KEY KEY ISSUES HERE ARE, ARE TO CONTINUE TO MONITOR BOTH RECYCLING, PROCESSING AND TO DISPOSAL CAPACITY, UH, WITHIN THE REGION.
I'LL SHOW YOU ON THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, WHY WE THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO UTILIZE TRANSFER STATIONS IN THE FUTURE, UM, DUE TO GROWTH IN THE CITY.
AND THEN, UH, FOOD WASTE CONTINUES TO BE A, A VERY SIGNIFICANT PART OF THE, UH, WASTE STREAM.
UH, SO WE SHOWED A, A MOMENT AGO, UH, HOW IMPORTANT IT IS FROM A SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL PERSPECTIVE, BUT IT'S, IT'S JUST AS HIGHER, EVEN HIGHER, UH, FROM A, AN OVERALL CITYWIDE PERSPECTIVE AND JUST SORT OF FOCUS THERE ON COMMERCIAL, UH, FOOD PROCESSORS, UM, WHOLESALE FOOD DISTRIBUTION AND, AND RETAIL GROCERY STORES IS GONNA BE A KEY EFFORT IN THE FUTURE.
UH, AND THEN TO, TO CONTINUE TO EXPAND AND ENHANCE, UH, THE URO, UH, GOING FORWARD IS ALSO GONNA BE VERY IMPORTANT.
UH, SO THIS NEXT SLIDE GIVES, UH, GIVES AN OVERVIEW OF, OF THE REASONS FOR RECOMMENDING, UH, A TRANSFER STATION, UH, IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
AND SO ALL OF THE, THE TRASH THAT IS COLLECTED BY, UH, AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY IS DIRECTLY HAULED, UH, TO THE, THE LANDFILL OWNED AND OPERATED BY TDS AND CREEDMORE.
AND SO, UH, FOR THOSE VEHICLES THAT ARE, UH, ESPECIALLY, UM, NORTH OF THE RIVER OR EVEN FURTHER NORTH OF IN THE 180 3 CORRIDOR, YOU'RE LOOKING AT VERY, VERY LONG DISTANCES, UH, TO BE ABLE TO HAUL THAT, THAT MATERIAL.
AND SO BY HAVING A, A TRANSFER STATION THAT PROVIDES MULTIPLE BENEFITS, UH, IN TERMS OF REDUCING, UH, AIR EMISSIONS, UH, BUT THEN ALSO INCREASING THE EFFICIENCY TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THOSE COLLECTION VEHICLES, UH, ON THEIR ROUTES TO BE SERVING CUSTOMERS MORE.
SO, UH, DURING THE COURSE OF THE DAY.
UH, THE NEXT THE NEXT SLIDE, UH, TRANSITIONS US INTO THE CITYWIDE, UH, ASPECT OF, OF THE RESEARCH THAT WE, THAT WE COMPLETED.
AND IN HERE WE LOOKED INTO, UH, THE IMPORTANCE OF INTRODUCING THE, THE CONCEPT OF, OF ZERO WASTE ON A COMMUNITY-WIDE BASIS.
BUT TO DO THAT, UH, THROUGH ACCESSIBLE AND SIMPLE LANGUAGE.
UH, SO AS I'LL SHOW YOU ON ON THE NEXT COUPLE SLIDES, IT'S, IT'S KIND OF LIKE TO SAY WE'RE GONNA FOCUS ON ZERO WASTE, BUT WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY GONNA USE THAT TERM ZERO WASTE BECAUSE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC, YOU KNOW, THEY, THAT YOU CAN HAVE A TOUGH TIME REALLY GRASPING WHAT, WHAT THAT REALLY, UH, IS INTENDED TO, TO MEAN.
AND THEN, UM, OTHER ASPECTS, UH, FOCUSED ON CONTINUED EFFORTS TO, TO EXPAND, UH, REUSE AND, AND WASTE REDUCTION EFFORTS.
BECAUSE AS, AS, AS GREAT AS RECYCLING IS, THE ULTIMATE GOAL IS, IS TO JUST ELIMINATE WASTE, UM, IN ITS ENTIRETY ALTOGETHER.
AND THE BEST WAY TO ACHIEVE THAT IS THROUGH, UH, REUSE AND, AND WASTE REDUCTION TYPE OF EFFORTS.
UM, AND THEN TO ENGAGE WITH BUSINESSES ON CIRCULAR ECONOMY TYPES OF, OF ISSUES.
SO THE, THE NEXT SLIDE, UH, GIVES A SENSE OF, OF, UM, SOME OF THE IDEAS THAT ARE, UH, A PART OF THE RESEARCH IN TERMS OF HOW TO INTRODUCE THE CONCEPT OF ZERO WASTE ON A, ON A COMMUNITY-WIDE BASIS THROUGH, THROUGH THAT ACCESSIBLE AND, AND SIMPLE TYPE LANGUAGE.
AND, AND THE, UH, GRAPHIC ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE IS, IS A REALLY GOOD EXAMPLE OF THAT, JUST TO BE ABLE TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION OF, OF HOW DO, HOW DOES, UH, SOMEBODY COMPOST AND TO COMMUNICATE THAT IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES HERE IN, IN ENGLISH AND, AND SPANISH.
AND SO TO USE JUST VERY STRAIGHTFORWARD LANGUAGE.
AND THEN TO COMPLIMENT THAT WITH THE, UH, WITH THE PICTURES OF, OF WHAT THOSE MATERIALS ARE, UH, THIS HAS, UH, BEEN FOUND TO BE VERY EFFECTIVE IN COMMUNICATING, UH, BEHAVIOR CHANGE, UH, ACROSS, ACROSS THE COMMUNITY.
THEN THE NEXT SLIDE, UH, GIVES YOU A SENSE OF, WHEN WE SAY DON'T NECESSARILY USE THE, THE TERMS ZERO WASTE, WHAT DO YOU SAY INSTEAD? AND SO THIS IS A, A WORD CLOUD, UH, THAT ARE IN, UH, INTENDED TO COMMUNICATE OTHER WAYS TO, TO COMMUNICATE THAT SEVERAL OF THESE ARE, ARE ALREADY, UH, VERY MUCH IN USE BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, SUCH AS THE, THE FIX IT, UH, AUSTIN TO WHERE YOU, UH, CONDUCT CLINICS, UH, SAY FOR BICYCLES THAT THAT NEED TO BE REPAIRED.
UM, AND THEN PROBABLY ONE OF MY FAVORITE ONES IS, IS TO THE IDEA TO GIVE AN EXPERIENCE.
SO RATHER THAN GIVE SOMEBODY A, A GIFT THAT'S
[00:35:01]
JUST GONNA GO IN THE BACK OF THEIR CLOSET OR, OR MAYBE GO TO, TO GOODWILL INSTEAD, IF YOU CAN GIVE AN EXPERIENCE, UH, THAT, THAT MAY BE THE PREFERRED ROUTE TO GO AND DEFINITELY, UH, REDUCES THE AMOUNT OF WASTE GENERATED.SO THEN WE'RE GONNA, UH, TRANSITION TO THE, THE NEXT SLIDE, UH, TO TALK ABOUT STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT.
AND AGAIN, UM, WE DID, UH, NEED TO MAKE A, A 90 DEGREE TURN ON ON THAT, YOU KNOW, ONCE WE REALIZED WHAT WAS HAPPENING WITH, WITH COVID.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ABLE TO, TO PIVOT AND, AND CLOSE COLLABORATION WITH, WITH ARR AND, AND THE PUBLIC INFORMATION, UH, OFFICE WITHIN THE CITY.
SO, SO ALL IN ALL, IT, IT WORKED OUT VERY WELL, UM, TO WHERE WE CONDUCTED MULTIPLE FOCUS GROUPS, UM, WITH 46 ORGANIZATIONS AND, AND BUSINESSES, UH, ACROSS SEVEN STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS.
UH, AND THEN IN 2021, UH, THERE WERE ADDITIONAL FOCUS GROUPS THAT INVOLVED, UH, 50 RESIDENTS ACROSS ALL 10 OF THE COUNCIL DISTRICTS.
UM, AND THEN THERE WERE MULTIPLE COMMUNITY SURVEYS, UH, BOTH IN 20 AND 21, UH, WHERE, WHERE THE CITY WAS ABLE TO GET FEEDBACK, UH, FOR MORE THAN THAN 3000, UH, CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, RESIDENCE.
UM, SO WITH THAT, I'M GONNA TURN THINGS BACK OVER TO, TO JASON TO, TO WRAP US UP.
SO IF WE COULD GO TO THE, THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
SO, UM, SO YEAH, SO THIS IS OBVIOUSLY, IT'S BEEN A LONG-TERM PROCESS.
UM, IT'S A LONG-TERM, ALSO PLANNING DOCUMENT.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH A LOT OF THESE, THIS IS, IS REALLY A ROADMAP FOR US, AN UPDATE TO OUR 2011 PLAN.
UM, YOU KNOW, EACH ONE OF THESE POLICY AND PROGRAMS, WE WILL HAVE FUTURE STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS, FUTURE DISCUSSIONS.
THIS IS GONNA HELP GUIDE US KIND OF ALONG THAT PATH TOWARDS ZERO WASTE.
UM, JUST SOME KEY, UM, YOU KNOW, GOALS.
I THINK WITHIN THE, WITHIN THE PLAN ITSELF, UM, JUST LIKE THE HIGHLIGHT IS, UM, ON CALL, UM, COLLECTION OF SERVICES, THESE LIKE BULKY MATERIALS INSTEAD OF, YOU KNOW, BEING SCHEDULED TWO TIMES A YEAR TO BE PICKED UP.
WE ARE PILOTING RIGHT NOW THE ABILITY TO HAVE AN ON-CALL SERVICE, UM, WHERE YOU'D GET A CERTAIN NUMBER OF, FOR LACK OF A BETTER TERM, MAYBE CREDITS PER YEAR.
AND YOU COULD HAVE IT COLLECTED, YOU KNOW, AT YOUR, YOU KNOW, SCHEDULING ON A, YOU KNOW, THROUGH AN APP, UM, OR THROUGH PHONE CALL TO SCHEDULE IT FOR COLLECTION, UH, LIKE ARE LOOKING AT THAT FOR HHW BULK AND POTENTIALLY BRUSH AS WELL ROLLING THAT OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS.
UM, EXPANDING INFRASTRUCTURE, THE IDEA OF TRANSFER STATIONS AND SERVICE CENTERS IS A, IS A, A REALLY IMPORTANT PART OF THIS.
UM, ONE OF OUR BIG GOALS IS TO ELECTRIFY OUR FLEET.
AND SO TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT, WE ARE GOING TO NEED INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, AND THESE TRANSFER STATIONS TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
SO THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF A DOMINO EFFECT THERE.
UM, SO, BUT THESE WILL BE IMPORTANT STEPS THAT WE'LL BE LOOKING TO HERE IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
UM, AND THEN DATA, I THINK DATA IS A BIG PART OF THIS AS WELL.
UM, AND SO I THINK WE, YOU'VE HEARD US SAY THERE'S RIGHT NOW WHERE THERE'S KIND OF A LACK OF DATA, I THINK MIGHT WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
AND SO WE'RE, WE'RE REALLY LOOKING TO, UH, BE MORE DELIBERATE ABOUT COLLECTING IT AND COLLECTING IT EFFECTIVELY IN WAYS THAT CAN ACCURATELY MEASURE WHAT WE'RE DOING.
UM, RIGHT NOW, UH, DIVERSION RATE IS THE PRIMARY ONE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
UM, BUT DIVERSION RATE REALLY ONLY CAPTURES WHAT'S ALREADY IN THE BIN.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, EXPANDING, KEEPING THAT DIVERSION RATE GOAL IS IMPORTANT, UM, BUT ALSO EXPANDING WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
AND THOSE WERE THE CAPTURE RATES THAT WE TALKED ABOUT AND THE PER CAPITA DISPOSAL RATES, WHICH DO, UH, DO A LITTLE BIT BETTER JOB OF SOMETIMES OF CAPTURING SOME OF THE OTHER ACTIVITIES LIKE REUSE AND REDUCTION, UM, THAT DIVERSION RATE MAY NOT NECESSARILY CAPTURE.
UM, AND SO, RIGHT, UM, BIG PICTURE, I THINK RIGHT NOW THIS, UH, IS ON THE NOVEMBER 2ND, UM, CITY COUNCIL AGENDA.
UM, WITH THAT, I WILL, UH, CLOSE ANY QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONERS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? HEY, Y'ALL APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.
UM, I'VE HEARD A LOT ABOUT MULTIFAMILY COMPOSTING BEING IN THE PLANS FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, CAN ANYBODY SPEAK ON THAT? YEAH.
UM, SO YES, IT IS, IT ISN'T OUR PLAN.
UM, AND WE'VE ACTUALLY JUST HAD A POLICY PASSED, ACTUALLY THIS IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS IN OUR PLAN THAT KIND OF WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON OVER THE YEARS.
LIKE I WAS SAYING, IT DIDN'T STOP US FROM ACTUALLY MOVING FORWARD WITH IT.
SO, UM, IT WAS THREE WEEKS AGO, TWO WEEKS AGO, IT ACTUALLY JUST PASSED COUNCIL.
UM, SO WHAT IT WILL, WHAT WE WERE LOOKING FOR, IT WILL BE A 20 OCTOBER, 2024 IMPLEMENTATION DATE.
UM, BUT IT WILL REQUIRE COMPOSTING ACCESS AT, UM, ALL MULTI-FAMILY PROPERTIES IN AUSTIN, UH,
[00:40:01]
FIVE UNITS AND ABOVE.AND THEN, UM, I HAD ANOTHER QUESTION TOO.
UM, I GUESS THIS IS SORT OF LIKE, YOU KNOW, BEFORE THE BIN OR YOU KNOW, IF IT DOESN'T MAKE IT INTO THE BIN KIND OF A QUESTION, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, I SERVE ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION AND, UH, WE HAD A, A, A PRESENTATION RECENTLY ABOUT, UH, TRASH IN THE CREEKS, RIGHT? AND, UH, ONE OF THE COMMENTS THAT WAS MADE WAS THAT ONE OF SORT OF THE, THE WORST THINGS THAT THEY FOUND IN THE CREEK WAS LIKE, YOU KNOW, STYROFOAM CONTAINERS, RIGHT? WHICH YOU WOULD TRADITIONALLY FIND FROM LIKE, YOU KNOW, UH, TO GO FOOD ORDERS AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, THEY GET INTO THE CREEK AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU SMASH STYROFOAM UP, IT TURNS INTO LIKE, YOU KNOW, LITTLE PELLETS OR WHATEVER.
UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, IT BECOMES A LOT MORE DIFFICULT TO CLEAN UP AND SORT OF LIKE, UH, TRADITIONAL SOLID THAT YOU MIGHT FIND, UM, OB AGAIN, OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT SURE IF THIS FALLS WITHIN ARRS JURISDICTION BECAUSE IT'S SOMETHING THAT TECHNICALLY IS LIKE OUTSIDE THE BIN, SO TO SPEAK.
UM, BUT YEAH, I WAS WONDERING IF SORT OF, IF THAT'S ON Y'ALL'S RADAR AS FAR AS LIKE, YOU KNOW, MATERIALS TO TRY TO EITHER, YOU KNOW, DIVERT, UM, YOU KNOW, BEFORE IT SORT OF GETS OUT OF THE BIN AND SORT OF, YOU KNOW, INTO WATERWAYS OR SOMETHING.
OR IF THERE'S LIKE A WAY THAT THE CITY CAN TRY TO, YOU KNOW, DISCOURAGE BUSINESSES FROM USING THESE MATERIALS THAT CAN, YOU KNOW, END UP, UH, IN OUR WATERWAYS AND, AND SORT OF POLLUTING, YOU KNOW, THOSE SPACES.
UM, YES, IT'S VERY MUCH I THINK ON OUR RADAR.
UM, THERE'S A FEW COMPONENTS TO THIS.
I THINK ONE IS WE DO CONDUCT OUTREACH, I THINK REGULARLY ON THIS WITH BUSINESSES AND RESIDENTS.
UM, WE DO HAVE A REBATE PROGRAM AS WELL THAT WE ACTIVELY WORK, ESPECIALLY WITH BUSINESSES AND RESTAURANTS WHERE THEY CAN TRANSFER FROM LIKE STYROFOAM CONTAINER TO COMPOSTABLE CONTAINERS AS WELL.
UM, I THINK IT'S $1,800 IF THEY, YOU KNOW, TO HELP THEM GET THAT, UH, PROGRAM STARTED AS WELL.
SO WE DO DO A LOT OF ENGAGEMENT AROUND THAT AS WELL.
UM, YOU KNOW, BIGGER PICTURE, I THINK WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THIS THERE, IT'S A CONTAINER.
THEY'RE DEFINED AS A CONTAINER.
SO FROM THE STATE LEVEL, THERE IS SOME POTENTIAL CHALLENGES THERE THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO INVESTIGATE MORE IF, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU REMEMBER THE BAG BAND THAT HAPPENED AND THEN GOT OVERTURNED? OH, YEAH, YEAH.
AND SO THAT WAS, UM, YOU KNOW, IT WAS REALLY TALKING ABOUT CONTAINERS AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, SO IT IS SOMETHING WE'LL HAVE TO NAVIGATE, I THINK, YOU KNOW, BEYOND THE CITY ITSELF, BUT IT IS VERY MUCH ON OUR RADAR AND SOMETHING THAT WE TRACK, EDUCATE ON, TRY TO MOVE PEOPLE AWAY AND STEER PEOPLE AWAY FROM, YOU KNOW, STYROFOAM, UM, TO EITHER REUSABLE OPTIONS OR, UM, COMPOSTABLE OPTIONS.
I THINK YOU SEE A LOT OF, UH, YOU KNOW, PLACES THAT ARE MORE COGNIZANT OF THIS, RIGHT? THEY USE SORT OF THE, LIKE YOU SAID, THE COMPOSTABLE, UH, TO GO CONTAINERS OR UTENSILS OR STRAWS.
SO YEAH, FOR SURE APPRECIATE IT.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS, UH, PRESENTATION.
UM, I BELIEVE THAT, UH, THIS BODY DID RECEIVE A DRAFT OF THE ZERO WASTE PLAN A FEW MONTHS AGO.
UM, AND IT WAS MUCH MORE DETAILED AND SPECIFIC WITH REGARD TO SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM GOALS.
IS THERE AN UPDATE OF THAT WHICH IS PLANNED TO GO TO COUNCIL? UM, AND, AND SECONDLY, UH, THIS BODY ALSO DID MAKE A COUPLE OF RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, WITH RESPECT TO, UM, THE DISPOSAL RATE.
I THINK ONE OF THE EARLY VERSIONS WE SAW HAD A DISPOSAL RATE THAT STAYED FLAT INSTEAD OF, UH, DECLINING OVER TIME.
SO WE HAD RECOMMENDED THAT IT, UM, YOU KNOW, DECLINES OVER TIME AS OPPOSED TO REMAINING FLAT.
AND THEN ALSO THAT THE SHORT TERM GOALS, UM, IN THE DRAFT PLAN WERE SOMETHING LIKE FIVE YEARS.
UM, AND WE WERE RECOMMENDING THAT THEY WOULD BE A LITTLE BIT MORE NEAR TERM, A MORE, A LITTLE BIT MORE, YOU KNOW, CLOSE IN.
UM, SO I JUST WONDERED, IS THERE, UM, SOMETHING THAT'S MORE, UM, YOU KNOW, DETAILED THAT WE COULD LOOK INTO AND IF EITHER OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS HAD BEEN CONSIDERED? YEAH, SO, UM, RIGHT, SO ON THE, ON THE PLANS WE'VE GOT SHORT TERM GOALS, WHICH ARE, THIS IS CONSIDERED A 10 YEAR COMP PLAN FOR US.
AND SO WE CONSIDER THE FIVE YEARS, WHAT DO WE CALL NEAR TERM? AND THEN THE 10 YEARS WAS BEYOND THAT.
UM, AND SO THE REASON THEY WERE DONE THAT WAY IS TO ALLOW FOR US TO HAVE STRATEGIC PLANNING AND TO BE ABLE TO SHIFT THINGS AROUND AS NEEDED TO MAKE ADMINISTRATIVE DECISIONS TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
AND SO RIGHT NOW WE ARE UNDERTAKING THAT PROCESS.
UM, RIGHT NOW, INTERNALLY WE'RE TAKING THE GOALS IN HERE.
THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN IS ANOTHER ONE.
WE'VE GOT A LOT OF COMMITMENTS THAT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, THAT WE'RE KIND OF SHUFFLING AROUND.
AND SO WE'RE MAKING SURE THAT WE'VE GOT A LITTLE BIT OF ADMINISTRATIVE, YOU KNOW, LATITUDE TO SHIFT THOSE AROUND.
AS I MENTIONED, THIS HAS NOT STOPPED US MOVING FORWARD.
WE'RE MOVING FORWARD ACTIVELY AND AGGRESSIVELY ON MANY THINGS.
[00:45:01]
BIGGEST GOALS, YOU KNOW, MULTI-FAMILY COMPOSTING WAS ONE, YOU KNOW, THIS GRANT FOR FURNITURE REUSE, THESE HAVE HAPPENED.AND SO WE ARE MOVING FORWARD ON THOSE PRETTY QUICKLY.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I SAID IT'S REALLY ABOUT, YOU KNOW, IT'S ADMINISTRATIVE FLEXIBILITY, YOU KNOW, FOR OUR TEAM.
UM, BUT THAT, YOU KNOW, LIKE I SAID, WE ARE, WE ARE ALL COMMITTED TO THIS AND WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA BE, YOU KNOW, MOVING FORWARD AGGRESSIVELY ON THESE.
SO WAS, I'M SORRY, WAS THERE ANOTHER OR MORE TO THAT WAS PER CAPITA THING? YES.
UM, SO, UM, YOU KNOW, SO I THINK WE, WE DID A LOT OF RESEARCH ON PER PER CAPITA.
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK FROM THE BEGINNING WITH, WITH THIS TIES INTO THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF, I CAN CONCERNS WITH THAT.
AND I THINK REALLY COMPARING TO OTHER ENTITIES AS WELL, UM, IT'S MEASURED VERY DIFFERENTLY, YOU KNOW, BETWEEN THE EPA, YOU KNOW, UM, TCQ, IT'S, IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF THE, EVERYONE'S KIND OF GOT THEIR OWN WAY OF DOING IT.
IT'S A RELATIVELY NEW MEASURE AS FAR AS DATA GOES WITHIN, YOU KNOW, THE, THE RECYCLING ZERO WASTE WORLD.
AND SO, UM, IT WAS CHALLENGING I THINK FOR US TOO, ALSO, JUST SPEAKING TO THAT IDEA OF LACK OF DATA, I THINK THAT WE'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, WHAT DO WE KINDA MORE OURSELVES TO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S STABLE.
AND SO THE BEST REALLY INFORMATION THAT WE'VE GOT IS ON OUR RESIDENTIAL CURBSIDE WHERE WE DO HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, MATERIAL, UM, IT'S AUDITED THE DATA, WE FEEL SECURE IN WHAT IT IS.
AND SO, UM, AND THAT RIGHT NOW FOR THE CITY, I THINK IS IN 2022 WAS AT 4.2.
I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, FOR THE STATE RIGHT NOW, IT WAS AT LIKE 6, 9, 6 I THINK FOR TCQ FOR PER CAPITA.
UM, AND WE ALSO DID A COMMUNITY-WIDE ONE, BUT WE DO HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT KIND OF THE DATA INTEGRITY THERE.
SO WHEN WE SAY FOUR, WE DO THINK THAT'S AN AGGRESSIVE GOAL.
UM, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY IN THE SHORT TERM THAT'S EFFECTIVE NOW, I THINK IT'S DAY ONE, AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GONNA SHOOT FOR IN THE SHORT TERM.
WE'RE NOT JUST FIGHTING AGAINST GOING DOWN, YOU KNOW? 'CAUSE UM, YOU KNOW, AS WE KNOW, THE PER CAPITA, WHAT WE'RE SEEING ACROSS THE NATION, IT'S GOING UP, THERE'S INCREASING PROBLEMS WITH PACKAGING DESIGN WITH PLASTICS, YOU KNOW, SO WE'RE NOT JUST FIGHTING GOING DOWN A FEW DECIMAL POINTS, WE'RE FIGHTING THE TURN, YOU KNOW, OF THAT, THAT UPWARD TREND THAT WE'RE SEEING ALL ACROSS THE US.
SO, UM, SO REALLY THE SHORT TERM IS WE'RE TRYING TO KEEP THAT, TURN THAT DOWN TO A FOUR.
WE WANT TO GET IT DOWN TO ONE, THAT'S OUR, THAT'S OUR 10 YEAR GOAL AND OUR VISIONARY GOAL THAT WE'RE GONNA BE WORKING TOWARDS.
I THINK THERE'S SOME QUESTIONS FROM THE VIRTUAL ATTENDEES.
SO I GUESS WHO, WHO ON THE VIRTUAL, UH, ATTENDEES HAS A QUESTION? MELISSA, DO YOU HAVE, OR FEEL FREE TO JUST START TALKING? I, I DO, BUT UM, EVA HAS HAD HER HAND UP, SO SHE CAN GO FIRST AND THEN I CAN GO AFTER HER.
UM, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, I GUESS, UH, I, I, I DID SEE, I THOUGHT A CURRENT VERSION, BUT MAYBE IT'S CHANGED AGAIN.
UM, AND SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND WHAT, WHAT THE DISPOSAL RATE, UM, GOALS SAY.
THE LAST VERSION I SAW ONLY REALLY CALLED OUT A NEAR TERM GOAL OF, OF HOLDING STEADY ARE, ARE THERE NOW NEAR AND LONG, LONG-TERM GOALS.
AND, AND CAN YOU JUST STATE AGAIN EXACTLY WHAT THOSE SAY? YEAH, SO LET ME BEAR WITH ME HERE.
UM, SO YEAH, I THINK IN CHAPTER FIVE, UM, IS WHERE WE TALK ABOUT IT.
BUT YEAH, THE, THE GOAL RIGHT NOW, WHAT I WOULD CONSIDER OUR SHORT TERM GOAL IS FOUR POUNDS, YOU KNOW, PER HOUSEHOLD.
UM, AND SO LIKE I SAID, THAT IS LOWER THAN WHAT OUR DATA IS FROM LAST YEAR.
UM, AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GONNA BE SHOOTING TOWARD IN THE, YOU KNOW, IN THE SHORT TERM REALLY IT'LL BE THE POLICY THAT DRIVES, YOU KNOW, DATA IS A REFLECTION OF THE POLICY.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'RE HOPING IS THAT THE POLICIES WE HAVE, EVEN THE ONES WE JUST PUT IN PLACE WILL HELP, YOU KNOW, MOVE THAT DOWNWARD NEXT TIME WE DO OUR MEASURE.
SO IT'D BE IN CHAPTER FIVE, AND IT'S, LIKE I SAID, IT'S THE SHORT TERM IS FOUR, THE LONG TERM IS ONE, IS WHAT WE'VE GOT IN THE PLAN.
SO, UM, IS THAT NOW CALLED OUT IN THE CURRENT VERSION? BECAUSE WHAT I HAD SEEN HAD ONE KIND OF BURIED IN THE TEXT, BUT IT WASN'T IN THE BOXES THAT WERE CALLED OUT WITH THE LONG-TERM
[00:50:01]
GOALS, IS THAT CALLED OUT IN A BOX NOW OR IS IT ALL JUST BURIED IN THE TEXT? UM, IT IS IN THE TEXT.IS THERE A REASON THAT THAT IS NOT, UM, NOT BEING CALLED OUT LIKE THE OTHER GOALS IN THE, IN THE DATA SECTION? IN THE DATA SECTION, WE'RE SPEAKING TO THE MEASURES THAT WE'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE, AND THEN WITHIN THOSE, WE, I THINK DURING THE TEXT WE TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE GOALS WOULD BE.
NO, I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT THE DEPTH SECTION.
I'M, I'M JUST SAYING IN EACH, IN EACH KIND OF SECTION THERE ARE THESE, I THINK I'M JUST SCROLLING THROUGH NOW, I THINK IT WAS LIKE GRAY KIND OF BOXES, THE AD OR BLUE BOXES I GUESS MAYBE, UH, YEAH, NEAR TERM GOALS.
AND THEN SOME OF THEM ONLY HAVE NEAR TERM, SOME OF THEM HAVE NEAR TERM AND LONG TERM.
SO I'M JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND LIKE, UM, THERE'S A LOT IN THIS PLAN.
IT'S, IT'S KIND OF A LONG DOCUMENT.
SO, UM, AND, AND THAT GOAL IN PARTICULAR, UH, IS AS YOU POINT OUT, IT DIRECTLY LITERALLY IS SUPPOSED TO PLUG INTO THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
SO COULD THAT LONG-TERM GOAL OF ONE POUND PER HOUSEHOLD BE, UM, ILLUSTRATED? SO FOR EXAMPLE, I'M SEEING ON CHAPTER SIX, CIRCULAR ECONOMY, THERE'S BOXES WITH NEAR TERM GOALS AND THEN LONG-TERM GOALS.
SO COULD WE GET THAT ADDED, UM, TO HIGHLIGHT MORE CLEARLY WHAT THE LONG-TERM GOAL IS ON, ON DISPOSAL? YEAH, YEAH, I MEAN I, YEAH, WE CAN CONSIDER THAT FOR SURE.
UM, I WAS, I HAD A FEW OTHER, SO I, I, I, YOU KNOW, AS, AS YOU KNOW, WAS MENTIONED, WE, WE'VE MADE A COUPLE RECOMMENDATIONS.
ONE WAS AROUND, UM, THE, THE DISPOSAL RATE.
AND SO I, I AM, I AM GLAD TO SEE THAT, THAT THERE IS A GOAL TO, TO REDUCE IT, UM, SIGNIFICANTLY THAT THAT'S GREAT.
UM, AND SO I THINK WE CAN, YOU KNOW, IT, I THINK JUST ILLUSTRATING THAT ONE BETTER WOULD, WOULD KIND OF CHECK THE BOX ON THAT, BUT THE OTHER ONE HAD TO DO WITH THESE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF NEAR TERM VERSUS LIKE MEDIUM OR LONG-TERM GOALS.
AND I, AND I HEAR YOU THAT THE, YOU KNOW, THE DEPARTMENT WANTS, YOU KNOW, FLEXIBILITY ON SOME OF THOSE.
UM, BUT SOME OF THE ITEMS SEEM LIKE, LIKE, LIKE YOU HIGH HIGHLIGHTED, UM, ARE ALREADY MOVING FORWARD, UM, OR HAVE ALREADY BEEN PILOTED.
UM, AND SO I'M WONDERING, UM, IF SOME OF THOSE COULD BE CALLED OUT FOR, YOU KNOW, MORE IN THE LIKE ZERO TWO YEAR TIMELINE, UM, FOR, YOU KNOW, TO SIGNAL TO THE COMMUNITY THAT THESE THINGS ARE, ARE ACTUALLY COMING AND, UM, YOU KNOW, FIVE YEARS IS STILL, YOU KNOW, QUITE A LONG TIME.
YOU KNOW, THE, I THINK ALL OF THE MEASURES IN THE, UM, CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN WERE, WERE INTENDED FOR FIVE YEARS YEARS.
SO, UM, THINKING ABOUT THE NEAR TERM, I THINK OF TWO YEARS IS, UM, IT IS, IS AN APPROPRIATE KIND OF NUMBER.
AND, AND A COUPLE OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT COME TO MIND, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU MENTIONED THE ON-CALL BULK COLLECTION.
I KNOW THAT'S BEEN PILOTED I THINK FOR TWO OR THREE YEARS NOW, RIGHT? IS THAT SOMETHING I THOUGHT THE DEPARTMENT WAS MOVING FORWARD WITH EXPANDING THAT CITYWIDE.
CAN YOU SPEAK TO THE TIMELINE, THE INTENDED TIMELINE ON THAT? UM, YEAH, SURE.
WE ARE PILOTING IT RIGHT NOW AND WE ARE INVESTIGATING, YOU KNOW, EXPANDING IT IN, IN THE NEXT, YOU KNOW, CALENDAR YEAR.
WE'RE INVESTIGATING THAT RIGHT NOW.
UM, THAT, THAT IS ONE WE ARE LOOKING AT.
BUT WE DON'T HAVE A, A FULL ROLLOUT IMPLEMENTATION AT THIS TIME.
BUT AM AM I REMEMBERING CORRECTLY THAT THAT PILOT'S BEEN GOING ON FOR TWO OR THREE YEARS ALREADY? UM, I BELIEVE THE, OKAY.
I, I, IF I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER WHICH ONE, IT'S THE BULK ONE THAT HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR AY YEAH.
SO I CAN GET BACK TO YOU, GET MORE DETAILS, BUT I THINK, BUT WHAT I REMEMBER IS I KNOW THE BULK ONE HAS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW, SO, OKAY.
AND HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE DOOR-TO-DOOR COLLECTION, HAS THAT ALREADY BEEN PILOTED AS WELL? YES, IT IS BEING PILOTED RIGHT NOW AS WELL.
BUT IT'S, I MEAN, I, I UNDERSTAND THE PILOT IS CONTINUING, BUT IT, WHAT HA THAT HASN'T THAT ALSO BEEN GOING ON FOR
[00:55:01]
SOME COUPLE OF YEARS AT LEAST? YEAH.SO YEAH, IT HAS, SO IT'S BEEN GOING ON SINCE 2021 AND IT, YEAH, WE'RE LOOKING TO EXPAND IT, YOU KNOW, THE MICROPHONE.
UM, AND THEN I GUESS, LET'S SEE, SORRY, I JUST HAD THROUGH A COUPLE OF OTHERS.
UM, ENGAGING COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, UH, TO SUPPORT MULTI-FAMILY RESIDENTS, UM, YOU KNOW, AS, AS WAS MENTIONED, MULTI-FAMILY COMPOSTING, YOU KNOW, HAS NOW BEEN ADOPTED AND WILL WILL BE, YOU KNOW, SUPPOSED TO BE IMPLEMENTED WITHIN A YEAR FROM NOW.
UM, IT SEEMS LIKE NOW WOULD BE THE TIME TO, UM, YOU KNOW, BOOST BOOST ENGAGEMENT WITH MULTI-FAMILY RESIDENTS AND, AND MY UNDERSTANDING FROM TALKING TO OTHERS IN THE DEPARTMENT OR IS THAT THAT IS PART OF THE PLAN, CAN YOU JUST CONFIRM THAT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT, THAT IS HAPPENING IN THE, LIKE, YOU KNOW, MORE IMMEDIATE THAN LIKE FIVE YEAR KIND OF TIMEFRAME? YEAH, NO, IT, IT IS DEFINITELY HAPPENING I THINK RIGHT NOW.
UM, RIGHT NOW WE'VE, UM, ESPECIALLY RELATED AROUND THE COMPOST, WE'VE ALREADY STARTED ACTIVELY ENGAGING WITH THE APARTMENT ASSOCIATION.
WE ARE WORKING WITH THEM WITH EDUCATING OF THE PROPERTY MANAGERS.
UH, THE NEXT PHASE THAT I THINK WE'RE PROBABLY GONNA START LOOKING INTO AFTER THE CALENDAR YEAR, STARTING TO ENGAGE RESIDENTS.
AND SO REALLY ME SPEAKING MORE TO ITS COMPOSTING FOR NOW, JUST 'CAUSE THAT'S THE MORE IMMEDIATE KIND OF CHANGE.
BUT LONG-TERM, WE DO SEE THIS CONTINUING.
UM, YOU KNOW, OVER HALF THE RESIDENTS IN AUSTIN ARE, UM, LIVING IN MULTIFAMILY PROPERTIES NOW.
AND SO WE DO SEE THIS AS SOMETHING THAT WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO EXPAND EDUCATION TO MULTIFAMILY.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT A PRETTY ROBUST, UM, ZERO WASTE BLOCK LEADER PROGRAM THAT, UM, IS, WHILE THERE IS SOME MULTIFAMILY COMPONENT TO IT IS LARGELY SINGLE FAMILY HOME, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, FOCUSED.
AND, UH, THAT IS IS SOMETHING TOO WE HOPE TO POTENTIALLY EXPAND INTO MULTIFAMILY IN THE COMING YEARS.
SO, UM, YES, IT IS ACTUALLY BE MOVED ON RIGHT NOW.
UM, WE, UH, I GUESS IT WAS A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO, HAD A, A GOOD PRESENTATION FROM THE, UM, AUSTIN, WHAT IS THAT? I ALWAYS SAY THE NAME WRONG, BUT I WANNA SAY AUSTIN CLIMATE CORE, BUT I THINK IT'S AUSTIN.
AUSTIN COMMUNITY CONSERVATION CORPS YES.
AND ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THAT? VERY FAMILIAR WITH THAT PROGRAM? YES, YES, WE'RE VERY FAMILIAR, YES.
YEAH, I, I THOUGHT, I THOUGHT YOU WOULD BE, I'M, I'M WONDERING IF YOU THINK THERE MIGHT BE OPPORTUNITY THERE TO, UM, YOU KNOW, HAVE A, HAVE A TRACK THAT MIGHT BE FOCUSED ON, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PERHAPS? UH, YEAH, IT'S SOMETHING WE CAN DEFINITELY LOOK INTO.
OH, SORRY, I DIDN'T MEAN TO CUT YOU OFF.
UM, YEAH, WE CAN DEFINITELY LOOK INTO THAT FOR SURE.
UM, IT IS SOMETHING ON THAT FURNITURE REUSE WAREHOUSE THAT, UM, I REFERRED TO EARLIER FOR THE GRANT.
THAT IS SOMETHING WE ARE HOPING TO, YOU KNOW, PARTNER WITH THE CONSERVATION CORPS ON, UM, TO HOPEFULLY TEACH, UH, REPAIR, UM, HELP MAN, YOU KNOW, TEACH JOB SKILLS AND ALSO POTENTIALLY, YOU KNOW, JUST HELP MAN THE WAREHOUSE ITSELF.
SO, SO WE ARE LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES, UM, ANYWHERE WE CAN TO PARTNER WITH THE CONSERVATION CORPS.
YEAH, WELL, I I THINK THAT'S A, A PRETTY GREAT OPPORTUNITY THERE, A GOOD PROGRAM.
UM, AND THEN ON THE MULTIFAMILY PROPERTIES, UM, WITH, WITH UP TO FOUR UNITS, UM, THIS WAS MENTIONED AS, UH, A, A GOAL, AT LEAST IN THE LAST VERSION OF THE PLAN, UM, THAT I SAW TO KIND OF EXPLORE, UM, YOU KNOW, STANDARDS FOR SERVICE ON THOSE PROPERTIES.
UM, I, I KNOW THIS HAS BEEN A, AN ONGOING ISSUE, SO I WAS JUST WONDERING IF YOU COULD SHARE A LITTLE WHAT THE STATUS QUO IS AND IF THAT REALLY IS, YOU KNOW, IF THAT ISSUE IS GETTING ADDRESSED, YOU KNOW, NOW, OR IF, IF WE'RE STILL YEARS AWAY FROM HAVING, UM, YOU KNOW, FULL SERVICE FOR THOSE PROPERTIES IN TERMS OF BOTH COMPOST AND, AND RECYCLING.
YEAH, SO I THINK WHAT, WHAT YOU'RE REFERRING TO IS FOURPLEX COMPLEXES OR TYPICALLY FOURPLEX COMPLEXES HERE IN AUSTIN, UM, RIGHT NOW MANY TIMES HAVE, HAVE CONTRACTED DUMPSTER SERVICE AND WE'VE ALREADY BEGUN THE PROCESS ON SOME PROPERTIES OF SHIFTING THAT OVER TO A CART SERVICE AND TO PROVIDE ALL THE CART SERVICES, SO TRASH CARTS, RECYCLING IN COMPOSTING CARTS.
UM, WE'VE ALREADY ROLLED OUT, UM, I KNOW ONE BIG ONE AT BROWNIE LANE, UM, AND WE'RE LOOKING EXPANDING MORE HERE IN THE NEXT YEAR.
UM, I THINK, UM, DON'T HAVE IT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD RIGHT NOW, BUT IT, IT IS, WE'RE ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN TRANSFERRING THOSE OFF OF THE, A LOT OF THOSE OFF THE DUMP STRIP SERVICE AND THEN BRINGING IN A CART SERVICE AT THOSE FOUR PLEXES.
[01:00:01]
ACTIVELY HAPPENING.SO YOU'RE AJ HERE THAT, LIKE THAT YOU SAID IN THE NEXT YEAR, DO, DO YOU THINK THAT WILL, YOU KNOW, ADDRESS THAT UNIVERSE WITHIN THE NEXT YEAR? OR IS IT GONNA TAKE LONGER THAN THAT? YEAH, I DON'T KNOW AN EXACT COUNT, BUT I KNOW LIKE, SO WE JUST, WE JUST DID A, DID A PRETTY EXTENSIVE ROLLOUT AT BROWNIE LANE.
WE'RE LOOKING AT ANOTHER ONE, IT NAME ESCAPES ME RIGHT NOW HERE IN THE DECEMBER JANUARY TIMEFRAME AS WELL.
SO WE WE'RE LOOKING AT 'EM KIND OF ONE BY ONE AND HOW STRATEGICALLY WE CAN START ROLLING THEM OUT, SO I DON'T, YEAH.
I DON'T KNOW HOW WE GONNA GET THROUGH ALL OF 'EM, BUT WE'RE, LIKE I SAID, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE MAKING OUR WAY THROUGH THEM QUICKLY.
UM, MY, MY, ONE OF MY FAVORITE TOPICS, LITTER, LITTER CONTROL, UM, I, THE, THE, THIS IS A, A, AS YOU KNOW, A A PET ISSUE OF MINE BECAUSE I THINK WE'RE ALL GONNA, YOU KNOW, REALLY REGRET THE AMOUNT OF PLASTIC WE'RE ALL EATING AND DRINKING.
UM, AND, AND I SAW IN THE PLAN THAT, THAT THERE WAS A GOAL TO EXPAND THEIR CONTROL SERVICES.
UM, AND I GUESS IT, IT SEEMED THAT IT WAS, UM, FOCUSED ON, ON AREAS WITH A HIGH FOOT TRAFFIC.
AND, YOU KNOW, HONESTLY I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT MAP LOOKS LIKE, BUT, UM, JUST IF YOU COULD SPEAK TO THE AREAS THAT, THAT MIGHT BE INCLUDED IN THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT MIGHT, UH, I, YEAH, I DON'T KNOW.
MAYBE THAT ALIGNS WITH THE AREAS THAT I SEE THAT HAVE REALLY SEVERE LITTER ISSUES.
BUT, UM, DEFINITELY THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF LITTER ISSUES IN THE KIND OF SOUTHEAST AUSTIN AREA, UM, WHERE, WHERE I LIVE.
AND, YOU KNOW, LIKE, LIKE I SAID, THIS IS NOT JUST A BEAUTIFICATION KIND OF ISSUE.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE UL ULTIMATELY THAT THAT LITTER IS ENDING UP IN THE WATERWAYS AND, AND ULTIMATELY IN OUR FOOD AND WATER.
SO, UM, YEAH, JUST HOPING YOU COULD PROVIDE SOME MORE INFORMATION ON WHAT THE PLAN THERE IS IN TERMS OF EXPANDING THOSE SERVICES.
UH, GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS, RICHARD MCHALE, DIRECTOR OF FROST AND RESOURCE RECOVERY.
WE ARE EXPANDING OUR, OUR LITTER CONTROL ACTIVITIES.
UM, WE, WE HOPE TO HAVE ANOTHER FULL, UH, FULLY FUNDED CREW TO, TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT, UM, TO TAKE SOME OF THE WORK OFF THE, THE CURRENT CREWS THAT ARE WORKING CURRENTLY, UH, IN THE CBD AREA.
SO, UH, WE, WE HAVE PUT TOGETHER A, A LIMITED CREW FOR RIGHT NOW, AND THEIR, THEIR WORK WILL BE BOTH IN THE CBD AND IN SOME OF THE OUTLYING AREAS WHERE WE, UH, WE DO RECEIVE, UH, COMPLAINTS AND SERVICE ORDERS FOR, UH, WE'VE ALSO DEVELOPED, UM, KIND OF A, A WHAT WE CALL A STRIKE TEAM, TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE AREAS WHERE, UH, SOME OF THE ENCAMPMENTS HAVE, UH, CONSIDERED AMOUNT OF, UH, MATERIAL OUT THERE, AND IT'S SOMETHING THEY NEED TO BE ADDRESSED, UH, IN A TIMELY MANNER.
UH, THESE ARE TYPICALLY, UH, ENCAMPMENTS WHERE THERE'S NO, UH, IN INDIVIDUALS, UH, TYPICALLY THERE AT THE TIME, UM, AND USUALLY ABANDONED.
SO, UH, WE'VE ALSO SET UP THAT TEAM TO, TO DO THAT WORK.
SO, UH, LITTER IS DEFINITELY ON THE FOREFRONT OF WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
WE'VE, UH, HERE IN THE NEXT, UH, I BELIEVE NEXT MONTH, UM, WE'RE GONNA BE GATHERING TOGETHER, UH, STAKEHOLDERS FROM AROUND THE COMMUNITY, UM, DIFFERENT, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS, UH, GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, OTHER STAKEHOLDERS, UH, THAT DEAL WITH LITTER, UH, ON A REGULAR BASIS, AND JUST HAVE, UH, BASICALLY A, A, A, A MEETING.
UH, JUST HAVE, MAKE INTRODUCTIONS, FACILITATE THOSE INTRODUCTIONS AND MAKE THOSE CONNECTIONS AND KIND OF, UH, JUST GET A, A REPORT OF WHAT ALL, UH, THE INDIVIDUAL, UH, ENTITIES ARE DOING, WHAT TYPE OF WORK THEY DO.
UM, SOME OF 'EM, UH, WHAT WE'VE NOTICED IS SOMETIMES WE'LL BE OUT DOING A CLEANUP, SAY IN A CLEA, UH, CREEK AREA, AND THERE'LL BE ANOTHER GROUP OUT THERE DOING A CLEANUP THAT WE WEREN'T AWARE OF.
SO WE JUST WANTED TO HAVE SOME BETTER COORDINATION AS FAR AS THESE CLEANUPS GO, SO WE CAN REALLY, UH, AMPLIFY THE EFFORTS.
SO IF, UM, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE IN AN AREA WHERE ANOTHER GROUP IS AND THEY CAN DO SOME OF THAT WORK, AND THEN WE WERE ABLE TO MAYBE HAUL THOSE BAGS OFF IF, 'CAUSE IF, IF IT'S FROM, UH, OUR JURISDICTION, THEN WE DEFINITELY WANNA MAKE THOSE CONNECTIONS AND BE ABLE TO FACILITATE THAT WORK.
SO A LOT OF WORK COMING UP, UM, OVER THE NEXT YEAR.
UM, REGARDING LITTER, UM, YOU, YOU'LL REMEMBER WATERSHED HAD DONE A REPORT, UM, GOSH, PROBABLY ABOUT A YEAR AGO NOW, UH, TALKING ABOUT, UH, LITTER, ESPECIALLY IN THE WATERWAYS.
UM, AND THERE WAS A LOT OF RECOMMENDATIONS THAT CAME IN THAT REPORT.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE KIND OF IN THE PROCESS RIGHT NOW OF STARTING TO IMPLEMENT SOME OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS AND, UM, GETTING SOME ADDITIONAL DATA ON, ON THE ISSUE.
SO, UH, JUST THE BEGINNING, YOU'RE GONNA BE HEARING A LOT MORE ABOUT LITTER IN THE, UH, COMING, COMING YEAR.
SO, C, BD DOWNTOWN, EXCUSE ME.
UH, YOU SAID C IN THE CCBD AREA, IS THAT THE
[01:05:01]
DOWNTOWN AREA? YEAH, YEAH, SORRY.SO THAT'S WHERE THAT TEAM WILL OPERATE OUT OF, UM, FOR A PORTION OF THE DAY.
UM, USUALLY AFTER THE, THE MORNING CREWS HAVE LEFT THAT AREA.
UM, BUT THEY'LL ALSO HAVE A CONTINGENT GROUP THAT GOES TO SOME OF THE OTHER, UH, KIND OF HOTSPOT AREAS THAT WE DO.
UH, RIVERSIDE BEING ONE OF 'EM.
UM, SOUTH CONGRESS, UM, NUMEROUS AREAS AROUND THE CITY THAT WE HAVE TO WORK TO, TO CLEAN UP.
WELL, I KNOW I'VE SAID IT BEFORE, BUT I'M GONNA SAY IT AGAIN.
I, I, I WORK DOWNTOWN AND I LIVE OFF OF EAST RIVERSIDE, AND THERE'S A STARK DIFFERENCE IN THE AMOUNT OF LITTER IN THOSE TWO AREAS.
UM, AND IT, AND I REALIZE IT'S BECAUSE THERE IS A, UM, YOU KNOW, A CREW WORKING THE DOWNTOWN AREA MM-HMM.
BUT THERE IS, THERE IS JUST VASTLY LESS LITTER THERE.
SO I, UM, I REALLY HOPE THAT, YOU KNOW, EAST, EAST AUSTIN AND I THINK ESPECIALLY KIND OF SOUTH OF THE RIVER, EAST AUSTIN, UM, COULD BE A HIGHER PRIORITY.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF Y'ALL ARE ALREADY DOING IT, MAKING ANY EFFORTS, BUT, UH, THERE'S STILL AN ONGOING PROBLEM WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS MOWING BEFORE LITTER HAS BEEN COLLECTED.
AND THAT IS JUST ONLY MAKES IT MORE IMPOSSIBLE TO, TO PICK UP.
SO, UM, I, IS THERE ANY EFFORT THERE TO TRY TO, UM, YOU KNOW, NOT, NOT MOW UNTIL CLEANUP HAS BEEN DONE? YEAH, YOU KNOW, I CAN'T SAY FOR SURE FROM, FROM OUR DEPARTMENT IF WE'VE REACHED OUT TO THEM, BUT I CAN CERTAINLY DO THAT NOW AND REACH OUT TO, UH, TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS ABOUT THEIR, UH, THEIR MAINTENANCE SCHEDULES AT, ON THEIR MEDIANS IN THE RIGHT OF WAY.
SO WE CAN DEFINITELY HAVE THAT CONVERSATION WITH THEM.
AND THERE'S LIKE, UM, RIGHT NEAR ME, UM, I GUESS JUST KIND OF LIKE A DRAINAGE AREA THAT GETS MOWED.
AND IT JUST HAPPENED A COUPLE WEEKS AGO THAT, UH, IT GOT MOWED AND THERE WAS A LOT OF TRASH AND, YOU KNOW, I WAS OUT THERE PICKING OUT LIKE, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY PRACTICALLY MICROPLASTICS TRYING TO CLEAN IT.
BUT I MEAN, IT'S, UH, IT, IT, IT TAKES A, IT NEEDS A WHOLE CREW OUT THERE, SO, UM, IF THERE'S PEOPLE AVAILABLE, UM, I WOULD LOVE TO POINT YOU TOWARDS SOME, SOME HOTSPOTS.
YEAH, NO, AND THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S A GOOD POINT.
AND WE CAN PROBABLY, THAT'D BE A GOOD TOPIC FOR OUR MEETING.
'CAUSE THERE WILL BE OTHER, UH, ENTITIES THERE THAT DO THAT.
UM, SPECIFICALLY TXDOT, UM, 'CAUSE WE'RE KIND OF SEEING THAT SAME ISSUE ALONG, UH, BEN WHITE, UH, WHERE WE JUST, UH, LOOKS LIKE THEY HAD COME THROUGH AND REMOVED MOST OF THE VEGETATION AND JUST, UH, SHREDDED MOST OF IT.
SO NOW WE'RE OUT THERE HAVING TO CLEAN THAT UP.
UH, IT'S, IT'S SO MUCH HARDER.
WELL, UH, I COULD GO ON FOREVER, BUT I KNOW OTHERS HAVE QUESTIONS.
ALL RIGHT, MELISSA, WERE YOU NEXT? DO YOU STILL HAVE A QUESTION? WELL, UH, ROHAN HAD JUST SENT IN THE, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS LIST FOR JSE.
SO I WAS LOOKING AT THAT AND I, I HAVE A COUPLE OF COMMENTS TO EXPAND ON A COUPLE OF THE, UM, LETTER RE RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND, UM, SOME OF THOSE ARE, ARE EMPHASIZING WHAT EVA WAS JUST TALKING ABOUT.
SO, UM, CONTINUING ON THIS, THIS LITTER ABATEMENT CONVERSATION OR LETTER E COMMUNITY SERVICE EXPAND LITTER CONTROL.
THE HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS PRODUCE A LOT OF LITTER, AS WE ALL KNOW, BUT THEY DO MOVE, THEY CYCLE THROUGH DIFFERENT AREAS.
AND SO WHENEVER THEY'RE GONE, THEN WE'RE LEFT WITH THE TRASH, BUT THEN THEY'RE CREATING NEW TRASH WHERE THE NEW ENCAMPMENTS ARE LOCATED.
AND SO WE USED TO HAVE, AND I'M SURE WE STILL DO, I JUST, I HAVEN'T HEARD MUCH ABOUT IT, THE VIOLET BAG PROGRAM TO WHERE WE EMPOWER THE ENCAMPMENTS TO, YOU KNOW, THROW AWAY THEIR OWN TRASH.
AND TO THE POINT THAT CAVA WAS MAKING ABOUT THE PLASTICS.
WHEN IF THIS VIOLET BAG PROGRAM IS STILL ACTIVE, IS IT ALL JUST GOING TO LANDFILL OR, BECAUSE THE MAJORITY OF OF IT ARE DISPOSABLE PLASTICS, UM, IS THERE A WAY TO OFFER THE VIOLET BAG PROGRAM TO HAVE A LANDFILL PORTION AND THEN A RECYCLING PORTION? IS THERE ANY RECYCLING POSSIBLE WITH THE, THE VIOLET BAG PROGRAM? AND IS THIS PROGRAM STILL ACTIVE? AND IS IT MOVING TO WHERE THERE'S NEW ENCAMPMENTS POPPING UP IS SORT OF THE, MY POINT FOR THAT RECOMMENDATION.
AND THEN FOR THE DOOR-TO-DOOR COLLECTION.
AND THEN THE, I GUESS, AND ALSO FOR D THE ON-CALL BULK COLLECTION IS MATTRESS RECYCLING.
AND I SEE MATTRESSES EVERYWHERE AND THEY GET BULK PICKUP, BUT THEN THEY GO TO THE LANDFILL.
[01:10:01]
WANTING TO DO A CAPTURE RATE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF, THERE'S A LOT OF CAPTURE RATE THAT WE COULD INCREASE IF WE STARTED RECYCLING MATTRESSES.SO, YOU KNOW, UM, FOR, FOR THOSE WAC UH, YOU KNOW, I'VE, I'VE HEARD RICHARD TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S POTENTIAL, UM, MATTRESS RECYCLING COMPANIES THAT COULD BE ON BOARD.
THERE WERE SOME IN THE TALKS, AND THEN COVID HAPPENED, AND THEN AFTER COVID WAS OVER, THEN WE HAD THE ICE STORM OF A CENTURY
SO I KNOW IT'S BEEN PUT OFF A WHILE BECAUSE OF THESE EXTREME EVENTS, BUT, YOU KNOW, HAVING MATTRESS RECYCLING IN OUR CITY, I THINK COULD MOVE THE NEEDLE FOR US.
UM, SO IF THAT, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT IS A BIG PORTION OF, OF THE PLAN.
IT'S JUST NOT, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S SPECIFIED.
AND ALSO FOR THAT IS, UM, I ALSO WANTED TO MENTION, I, LET'S SEE, WE'VE DONE SOME STUFF.
OH, UM, YEAH, FOR THE DOOR-TO-DOOR STUFF, THE TEXTILE COLLECTION, YOU KNOW, THAT'S GREAT THAT WE HAVE THAT.
AND IF IT COULD BE EXPANDED, 'CAUSE I KNOW WE HAVE THE DOOR-TO-DOOR HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE.
AND EVENTUALLY WE'RE GONNA GET A NORTH LOCATION FOR THAT, WHICH IS EXCELLENT.
AND IF, YOU KNOW, WHERE, WHERE IS THE TEXTILE, UM, PICK DOOR TO DOOR, WHERE IS THAT PREDOMINANTLY MOST POPULAR AT? AND IS IT, IS IT GONNA BE EXPANDED OR WHAT THE STATUSES OF THAT AND WHAT ALL IS ENTAILING IN THAT, YOU KNOW, CAN PEOPLE PUT IN PILLOWS, BLANKETS, CLOTHES, SHOES, YOU KNOW, IS IT JUST PRETTY MUCH ANY, ANY TEXTILE, UM, OR IS THERE A LIMITATION TO THAT? LIKE, YOU KNOW, TOYS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO, UM, I GUESS THOSE ARE THE ONLY, THE ONLY ADDITIONAL COMMENTS I HAD FOR, UM, BASED ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS LIST THAT, THAT ROHAN HAD EMAILED OUT, UM, DURING THE MEETING.
UM, LEMME START WITH THE, THE TEXTILES FIRST.
SO THE, THE TEXTILE COLLECTION PROGRAM IS CITYWIDE PROGRAM.
SO IT IS, IT'S AVAILABLE TO, TO ANYONE REALLY WHO CALLS IN, UH, ANY TYPE OF, UH, CLOTH TEXTILE CAN BE, UH, INCLUDED IN THERE.
UM, EVEN THINGS THAT AREN'T, UM, YOU KNOW, WEARABLE OR USABLE.
'CAUSE THEY, THEY CAN STILL BE USED.
UM, THEY, THEY'LL, WHAT THEY'LL DO IS THEY'LL, UH, THE PROCESS IS THEY'LL CULL THROUGH THE MATERIAL USE, BE ABLE TO REUSE WHAT'S REUSABLE, AND THINGS THAT ARE NOT, UH, NO LONGER REUSABLE ARE USUALLY MADE INTO, UH, EITHER RAGS OR SOME OTHER PRODUCTS.
I THINK WE ALSO, AND I WOULD'VE CHECKED THE WEBSITE, BUT I THINK YOU CAN ALSO, UM, SMALL HOUSEHOLD ITEMS CAN ALSO BE COLLECTED IN THAT PROGRAM.
SO, UM, SO IT'S NOT JUST TEXTILES IN THAT PROGRAM.
AND I, AND HONESTLY, I'D HAVE TO LOOK AT THE WEBSITE FOR ALL THE, THE MATERIALS THAT ARE COLLECTED THERE.
UM, THE VIOLET BAG PROGRAM HAS PRETTY MUCH BEEN PHASED OUT, UM, ONCE THEY, UM, UH, CHANGED THE RULES AS FAR AS CAMPING GOES.
UH, THE THOUGHT WAS KEEPING THOSE VIOLET BAG, UH, SITES WOULD, UH, KINDA ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO STAY, UH, IN PLACES THAT THEY PROBABLY SHOULDN'T BE AT.
UM, SO MOST OF THOSE HAD BEEN REMOVED, AND USUALLY WE REMOVED THEM AFTER WE, UH, WOULD GO TO ONE OF THOSE SITES AND, UM, WORK WITH OUR, OUR PARTNERS IN THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND, UM, ABLE TO BE ABLE TO FIND THOSE FOLKS SOME, UH, HOUSING.
UM, AS FAR AS RECYCLING, WE'VE ACTUALLY STARTED RECYCLING SOME MATERIAL THAT WE CLEAN UP FROM ENCAMPMENTS.
AND I THINK WE STARTED THIS PROBABLY ABOUT, I'D SAY ABOUT SIX MONTHS AGO, UM, WHERE WE'RE STARTING TO KIND OF SEPARATE SOME MATERIALS.
SOME OF THE SITES WERE SO SMALL IN THE BEGINNING THAT WERE, IT REALLY DIDN'T MAKE SENSE TO, TO SEPARATE THAT, 'CAUSE WE JUST HAD THE ONE TRUCK.
BUT NOW WHEN WE HAVE, SOME OF THESE SITES ARE MUCH LARGER IN SCOPE, UH, WE'RE ABLE TO SEGREGATE THAT MATERIAL AND TAKE THAT MATERIAL TO, UH, TO GET RECYCLED.
SO, UH, WE'VE JUST BEGUN DOING THAT.
UM, YOU, YOU ALL MAY HAVE SEEN AN ARTICLE ABOUT, UH, UH, IN THE NEWS ABOUT THE SHOPPING CARTS.
AND, UH, THAT HAS BEEN ONE ISSUE.
ONE THING HAS BEEN, UH, BROUGHT UP, UH, REPEATEDLY ABOUT SHOPPING CARTS THAT, UH, LEAVE THE, THEIR, UH, ORIGINAL PREMISES AND END UP IN CREEKS AND, UH, IN RIGHTS OF WAYS.
SO, UM, WHAT WE'VE DONE IS WE'VE TRIED TO, UH, REACH OUT TO SOME OF THOSE, UH, UH, OWNERS OF THOSE CARTS TO SEE IF THEY WANT TO COME AND GET THOSE.
UM, SO WHAT WE END UP DOING IN THOSE CASES IS WE, UH, TAKE THAT MATERIAL AND THEN, UH, ENDS UP GETTING RECYCLED.
SO, UM, SO THERE IS SOME RECYCLING GOING ON.
[01:15:01]
YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT THE IDEAL CIRCUMSTANCE, UM, THAT WE'RE COLLECTING UNDER, BUT, UH, THERE'S A LOT OF MATERIAL THERE AND IT'S A SHAME TO HAVE TO LANDFILL THAT STUFF.SO IF WE'RE ABLE TO, UM, UH, WE DO DO THAT.
UH, YOUR OTHER QUESTION, I BELIEVE WAS THE DOOR TO DOOR.
UM, HHW IF, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, UM, UH, LIKE WAS MENTIONED EARLIER, WE ARE GONNA BE EXPANDING THAT PROGRAM, UM, HOPEFULLY THIS FISCAL YEAR.
UM, SO NOT THAT WE'RE NOT TRYING TO PUSH THAT OFF, UH, WE REALLY WANT TO GET THAT GOING.
UH, WE'VE GOT A LOT OF GOOD FEEDBACK FROM IT.
UM, BUT WE ALSO, SURPRISINGLY GOT A LOT OF FEEDBACK, BUT FOLKS THAT, UH, KNOW ABOUT IT BUT DON'T WANT TO USE IT 'CAUSE THEY LIKE COMING TO THE FACILITY 'CAUSE THEY LIKE TO GO DOWN THERE AND PICK UP ITEMS FROM OUR REUSE STORE OR, UH, JUST TO, TO SEE WHAT'S GOING ON.
SO, UM, THAT DEFINITELY TELLS US THERE'S STILL A NEED FOR PERMANENT FACILITIES.
SO I THINK THIS WILL JUST BE A COMPLIMENT, UH, COMPLIMENTARY, UH, SERVICE THAT WE OFFER, UM, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE FOLKS THAT MAY NOT HAVE THE TRANSPORTATION, EITHER A VEHICLE OR, UM, ANY OTHER WAY OR MAYBE JUST PHYSICALLY CANNOT GET THAT MATERIAL TO US.
SO, UH, WE THINK THIS IS A REALLY GOOD PROGRAM BECAUSE A LOT OF THOSE FOLKS ARE REALLY THE AREAS THAT WE NEED TO GET THIS MATERIAL OUT OF.
YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO GET THIS OUT OF THEIR GARAGES IN THEIR HOMES AND, UH, AND INTO, UH, PROPER DISPOSAL.
AND WE CERTAINLY DON'T WANT FOLKS THROWING THIS STUFF IN THE TRASH.
'CAUSE WE HAVE NUMEROUS FIRES EVERY YEAR FROM, UH, MATERIALS THAT ARE PLACED IN THE TRASH AND, UH, THEN, UH, IGNITE AND, AND CAUSE TRUCK FIRES OR IN CERTAIN CASES, UM, EVEN WHEN WE TAKE OUR MATERIALS TO, UH, THE RECYCLING FACILITIES, UH, WE'VE HAD SOME HOT LOADS WHERE THERE'S BEEN MAYBE A LITHIUM ION BATTERY IN THERE THAT, UH, IGNITE.
SO IT'S A HUGE PROBLEM FOR THE INDUSTRY.
UM, SOMETHING THAT WE'RE TRYING TO GRAB, UM, GRAPPLE WITH RIGHT NOW.
SO, UH, DEFINITELY AN ISSUE FOR US.
UM, AND I HOPE I ANSWERED YOUR, YOUR QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONER ROTHROCK.
EVERYTHING BUT THE MATTRESSES.
MATTRESSES NOW, UH, MATTRESS, WE DEFINITELY WANT TO GET THAT GOING TOO.
WE ACTUALLY SUBMITTED IT AS A, UH, UH, ONE OF OUR ITEMS IN THIS CURRENT BUDGET, UM, FOR THIS CURRENT FISCAL, UH, FISCAL YEAR.
UH, WE, WE HAD TO CALL DOWN OUR LIST.
UM, WHEN WE PRESENTED THE DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS PRESENTED THEIR BUDGETS.
UM, WE ALL HAD TO MAKE SOME, SOME CUTS IN CERTAIN AREAS AND CERTAIN PROJECTS DIDN'T MAKE IT THROUGH.
AND THAT WAS ONE OF THE ONES FOR US THAT DIDN'T MAKE IT THROUGH.
UH, BUT WE'RE GONNA BE SUBMITTING THAT REQUEST AGAIN FOR THIS CURRENT, UH, OR THIS NEXT UPCOMING, UH, BUDGET, UH, WHICH WILL BE STARTING, UH, IN EARNEST PROBABLY THIS JANUARY WHERE WE START, UH, THE EFFORTS TO GET OUR NEXT, UH, FY 25 BUDGET IN PLACE.
SO IT IS, UH, IT IS ON OUR RADAR.
THE SCOPE OF WORK IS, IS IS BASICALLY DONE.
SO, UM, WE'RE JUST, UM, JUST WAITING FOR THE, THE RESOURCES TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.
I DON'T SEE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS.
CAN I ASK, CAN I ASK TWO MORE QUICK ONES OR HOPEFULLY QUICK ONES? YES.
UM, SO ON, UM, FIRST ONE ON, ON FEES FOR CONTAMINATION.
I SEE THIS IS, UM, WITHIN THE DRAFT AND, UM, YOU'RE AT LEAST CONSIDERING FEES FOR CONTAMINATION.
I KNOW IT'S BEEN, YOU KNOW, AN, AN ISSUE THAT HAS BEEN DISCUSSED FOR MANY YEARS.
AND SO JUST WONDERING, UM, YOU KNOW, IT SEEMS LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE EVIDENCE IS THERE THAT, THAT EVEN A SMALL FEE CAN, CAN HELP REDUCE CONTAMINATION AND, AND CONTAMINATION IS A, A, A BIG BARRIER TO, TO MEETING THE ZERO WASTE GOALS, UM, BECAUSE IT RUINS THINGS OTHERWISE COULD BE RECYCLED OR COMPOSTED.
UM, SO YEAH, JUST WONDERING IF, UM, YEAH, WHAT THE DEPARTMENT'S THINKING IS ON THAT AND, AND IF THERE'S AN INTENTION TO, TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT.
SO, UH, FEES FOR CONTAMINATION, IT IS SOMETHING WE'RE CONSIDERING.
UM, IT'S NOT SOMETHING I THINK IN THE IMMEDIATE, LIKE, YOU KNOW, NEXT YEAR OR TWO PLANS, BUT IT'S SOMETHING WE'RE WATCHING CLOSELY.
UM, IT DOES SEEM TO BE A BIG DIVIDING LINE, I THINK WHEN YOU, YOU DO SEE, WHEN YOU SEE DIVERSION RATES AND ACROSS A LOT OF THE OTHER CITIES ACROSS THE US, THEY TEND TO KIND OF GET STUCK IN THIS LIKE, YOU KNOW, 30, 40% RANGE.
AND, YOU KNOW, THE, THE THING THAT TICKS THINGS OVER IS USUALLY SOME SORT OF, YOU KNOW, COMPLIANCE ENFORCEMENT OR FEES ATTACHED TO CONTAMINATION.
SO IT'S VERY MUCH IN OUR RADAR.
UM, IT'S SOMETHING WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING AT, BUT I DON'T KNOW THAT I HAVE A, LIKE, HARD DATE, BUT IT'S VERY MUCH IN OUR PLAN.
IT'S VERY MUCH BEING DISCUSSED, I CAN SAY THAT.
[01:20:04]
OKAY.UM, THE OTHER ONE WAS AROUND, UM, FRONT OF HOUSE DIVERSION REQUIREMENTS.
UM, AGAIN, ALL THIS IS IN THERE, BUT IT SEEMED A LITTLE BIT, UM, I, I CAN'T REMEMBER THE EXACT LANGUAGE, BUT IT, IT, IT SEEMED A LITTLE SQUISHY AND, AND MAYBE JUST NOT AS, AS IMMINENT, BUT I'M, I'M HOPING THAT, YOU KNOW, MAYBE, MAYBE THAT WAS A MISREADING OR, YEAH, JUST WANTING TO KNOW WHAT, WHAT THE THOUGHT IS THERE IN TERMS OF GETTING, LIKE RECYCLING AND COMPOSTING AT, YOU KNOW, ACCESSIBLE TO, TO CUSTOMERS AT, AT RESTAURANTS AND, AND POTENTIALLY SOME OTHER BUSINESSES AS WELL.
YEAH, SO FRONT OF HOUSE RECYCLING IS SOMETHING, IT IS SOMETHING WE ACTIVELY PROMOTE FOR, YOU KNOW, BUSINESSES THAT WANT TO DO IT.
UM, THE, THE BIG CHALLENGE THERE IS CONTAMINATION AND CONTAMINATION RATE, AND THERE'S USUALLY A LOT THAT HAS TO GO IN TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE ARE PUTTING THINGS IN THE RIGHT BIN.
UM, RIGHT NOW, A LOT OF OUR POLICIES ARE FOCUSED ON BACK OF HOUSE, THE EMPLOYEES AND STUFF, FOR EXAMPLE, REALLY BECAUSE THE EMPLOYER CAN HAVE CONTROL OVER THE EMPLOYEES, YOU KNOW, ABOUT WHAT THEY CAN AND CAN, YOU KNOW, THEY CAN HAVE THAT LEVEL OF CONTROL.
YOU KINDA LOSE THAT LEVEL OF CONTROL WHEN YOU START GOING OUT PUBLIC.
SO IT IS SOMETHING WE KNOW IF WE WANT TO GET TO 90% DIVERSION, WE NEED TO HIT, THERE'S A LOT OF STEPS I THINK WE NEED TO TAKE BEFORE WE GET THERE.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, ONE, IT'S GETTING CONTAMINATION AND CONTAMINATION RATE, I THINK UNDER CONTROL WOULD BE A BIG HURDLE.
UM, BUT IT IS ONE OF THOSE THINGS WE SEE A LITTLE FURTHER OUT, BUT WE KNOW IT'S SOMETHING WE NEED TO DO AT SOME POINT IF WE'RE GONNA GONNA GET THERE.
UM, YOU KNOW, I BELIEVE IT WAS A FEW YEARS AGO, THE CITY OF PORTLAND TRIED IT AND HAD TO SCALE IT BACK JUST 'CAUSE THEIR CONTAMINATION RATES WERE SO HIGH.
AND SO IT DOESN'T MEAN THEY'RE GONNA TRY IT AGAIN.
WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO LOOK AT IT, BUT, UM, LIKE I SAID, IT'S SOMETHING WE KNOW WE NEED TO DO IF, IF WE'RE GONNA GET TO THE 90% AVERSION RATE.
BUT LIKE I SAID, IT'LL BE A LITTLE LONGER, I THINK, TIMEFRAME FOR THAT.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
AND, UH, LET'S SCOTT SAY THANK YOU TO SCOTT, PASTOR NECK WITH THE BURDENS OF MCDONALD TOO.
[1. Sustainable Purchasing Best Practices – Johanna Anderson, Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council.]
OKAY, NEXT UP ON THE AGENDA, SUSTAINABLE PURCHASING BEST PRACTICES CHAIR.ARE WE, ARE WE POSTED TO BE ABLE TO TAKE ACTION ON THIS ITEM TONIGHT? WE ARE POSTED TO BE ABLE TO TAKE ACTION ON THE, UH, UH, PROPOSED LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENTS.
UM, THE ONLY THINGS WE'RE PROPOSED TO, THE ONLY THINGS UNDER DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS ARE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES, WHICH WE'VE DONE AND RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF PROPOSED LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENTS.
ARE WE ALLOWED TO TAKE ANYTHING ELSE ON THE FLOOR? I DON'T WE'RE ALLOWED TO DISCUSS, BUT I JUST PULLED UP THE AGENDA AGAIN.
I THINK YOU'RE, I THINK YOU'RE RIGHT.
I THINK WE CAN'T TAKE ACTION ON THIS.
IS, IS, UM, SUSTAINABLE PURCHASING IN THE ROOM OR ONLINE? I'M ONLINE.
UM, I HAVE NEVER BEEN A PART OF THIS MEETING.
DO I JUST GO RIGHT AHEAD OR
I HAVE, UH, PLEASE JUST INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND THEN START WITH YOUR SLIDES.
I AM THE DIRECTOR OF LEARNING AND MEMBER ENGAGEMENT AT THE SUSTAINABLE PURCHASING LEADERSHIP COUNCIL.
UH, THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS BEEN A MEMBER OF THE SPLC FOR SEVERAL YEARS.
UH, SO I'VE HAD THE PLEASURE OF GETTING TO KNOW SEVERAL CITY STAFF, UH, AND THEY ASKED ME TO COME TODAY.
UH, I, I BELIEVE YOU ALL ARE INTERESTED IN UNDERSTANDING MORE ABOUT SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT.
CLEARLY YOU ALL HAVE, UM, SOME KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE IMPACT OF PROCUREMENT ON SUSTAINABILITY.
I'VE, I'VE WORKED WITH YOUR TEAM ON, UH, STARTING TO, TO PLAN FOR MORE STRATEGIC ACTION IN THIS AREA, AND I CAN SEE THE, THE COMMITMENTS THAT YOU ALL HAVE MADE TO ADDRESSING, UH, SUSTAINABILITY IMPACTS THROUGH PROCUREMENT, WHICH IS REALLY AWESOME.
BUT, UH, TODAY I AM GOING TO SHARE, UH, SOME, SOME SLIDES TO MAKE SURE WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE FOR WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AND SHARE SOME BEST PRACTICES.
BEFORE I DO THAT, UH, THOUGHT I'D SHARE JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR ORGANIZATION.
UH, THE SPLC LEADS A GLOBAL COMMUNITY OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PURCHASERS, SUPPLIERS, UH, PUBLIC INTEREST ADVOCATES, AND EXPERTS WHO ARE ALL WORKING TO LEVERAGE THE POWER OF PROCUREMENT FOR GREATER GOOD.
[01:25:01]
SLIDE, PLEASE.WE'RE A MEMBERSHIP BASED NONPROFIT.
SO AS I MENTIONED, THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS A MEMBER.
UH, YOU ARE A MEMBER OF THE ORGANIZATION ALONG WITH ABOUT 180 OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, WE ARE UNIQUE IN A COUPLE OF WAYS.
ONE IS THAT WE ARE SOLELY FOCUSED ON INTEGRATING SUSTAINABILITY INTO PROCUREMENT.
UH, SO WE PARTNER WITH A LOT OF GREAT SUSTAINABILITY ORGANIZATIONS AND A LOT OF PROCUREMENT ORGANIZATIONS, BUT WE'RE REALLY ONE OF THE ONLY PLACES BRINGING THOSE TOGETHER.
WE'RE ALSO UNIQUE BECAUSE OUR MEMBERSHIP IS MULTI-SECTOR, SO WE HAVE A LOT OF GREAT PUBLIC SECTOR MEMBERS FROM SMALL CITIES THROUGH LARGE STATE GOVERNMENTS AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES.
BUT WE ALSO DRAW MEMBERS FROM THE CORPORATE SECTOR, FROM SMALL BUSINESSES THROUGH GLOBALLY OPERATING CORPORATIONS AND HIGHER ED INSTITUTIONS, FROM COMMUNITY COLLEGES THROUGH THE IVY LEAGUES.
AND WE ALSO HAVE NONPROFITS WHO JOIN BECAUSE THEY'RE WORKING ON ISSUES THAT CAN BE MEANINGFULLY ADDRESSED THROUGH PROCUREMENT.
SO WE'VE CREATED THIS BIG TENT.
IT ALLOWS FOR A LOT OF REALLY INTERESTING CROSS POLLINATION OF IDEAS.
UM, BUT WE, BECAUSE WE ARE, ARE LARGE ENOUGH NOW, UM, THERE IS A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY TO ENGAGE WITHIN YOUR SECTOR.
SO, THE AGENDA FOR TODAY, I KNOW YOU ALL HAVE HAD, UH, A LOT OF DISCUSSION ALREADY ON ONE TOPIC, SO I DON'T WANNA TAKE TOO MUCH TIME, BUT I DO WANNA MAKE SURE, UH, WE ESTABLISH SOME BASELINE DEFINITIONS FOR SUSTAINABILITY AND SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT.
I WANNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHY OUR ORGANIZATION IS REALLY FOCUSED ON SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS ON TAKING A STRATEGIC PROGRAM APPROACH.
AND THEN FINALLY, I'LL SHARE, UH, A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS THAT ARE DOING A REALLY GOOD JOB WITH SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT.
SO, UM, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT, UH, LIVING, UH, A HEALTHY LIFE AS AN INDIVIDUAL, UM, BUT ALSO CREATING HEALTHY CONDITIONS FOR YOUR COMMUNITY, UH, MAKING SURE THAT YOU ARE SUPPORTING, UH, THRIVING BUSINESSES, MAKING SURE EVERYONE WITHIN THAT COMMUNITY IS ABLE TO MEET THEIR BASIC NEEDS, THAT THEY HAVE ACCESS TO CLEAN AIR AND CLEAN WATER, AND THAT THOSE CONDITIONS EXIST NOT JUST FOR YOUR OWN SELF, NOT JUST FOR YOUR OWN DIRECT COMMUNITY, BUT ACROSS THE WORLD, AND THAT THEY PERSIST INDEFINITELY.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY.
SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR PROCUREMENT? UH, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT CONVENTIONAL PROCUREMENT, TYPICALLY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT COST, QUALITY AND DELIVERY, ESSENTIALLY MAKING A PURCHASE THAT HELPS YOU MEET YOUR BUSINESS NEED.
NEXT, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT, WE ARE ALSO, UH, VALUING ALL OF THOSE TRADITIONAL VALUES OF CONVENTIONAL PROCUREMENT, BECAUSE YOU CAN'T HAVE A SUSTAINABLE PURCHASE IF YOU'RE NOT MEETING THE BUSINESS NEED.
BUT WHAT SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT DOES IS IT BRINGS IN BENEFITS THAT SUPPORT A HEALTHY ECONOMY, A HEALTHY SOCIETY, AND A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT.
SO YOU'RE, YOU'RE MEETING THAT BUSINESS NEED WHILE ALSO, UH, GENERATING THOSE EXTERNAL BENEFITS.
NEXT, I'M USING THE PHRASE SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT TODAY.
UM, I PUT UP ON THIS SLIDE A FEW OTHER EXAMPLES OF PHRASES AND TERMS THAT WE SEE BEING USED IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THERE ISN'T ANY CONFUSION.
UM, YOU KNOW, MAYBE YOU HAVE A DIFFERENT IDEA OF WHAT YOU MIGHT CALL, UH, SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT IN YOUR, YOUR ORGANIZATION, BUT, YOU KNOW, IF RESPONSIBLE SOURCING RESONATES BETTER WITH YOUR NOMENCLATURE, GREAT.
IF ENVIRONMENTALLY PREFERABLE PURCHASING, UH, AND SOME OTHER TYPES OF WORDS WORK BETTER, NO PROBLEM.
I'LL KEEP USING SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT, BUT I'D JUST LIKE TO MAKE SURE WE WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE HERE.
LET'S GET A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL BEHIND WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WHEN WE SAY THAT SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT YIELDS THESE EXTERNAL BENEFITS.
SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS, UH, THAT PROCUREMENT CAN HAVE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THINGS LIKE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS, WHICH I KNOW HAS BEEN PRIORITIZED BY THE CITY.
UH, I GOT TO SEE EXAMPLES OF THE DIFFERENT COMMITMENTS YOU'VE MADE AROUND THAT.
SO PROCUREMENT CAN, UH, BE PROTECTIVE OF THE CLIMATE.
UH, WE'RE ALSO TALKING ABOUT WASTE REDUCTION.
I JUST SAT IN ON, UH, PART OF YOUR CONVERSATION HERE ABOUT WASTE FROM RECYCLING.
SO PROCUREMENT ABSOLUTELY IS A DRIVER OF REDUCING WASTE.
UM, IT'S ALSO PROTECTIVE OF AIR QUALITY,
[01:30:01]
REDUCING, UH, AIR EMISSIONS.WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SOCIETAL BENEFITS, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THINGS LIKE ENSURING THAT EMPLOYEES ARE PAID FAIR WAGES AND THAT THERE'S NO FORCED LABOR IN YOUR SUPPLY CHAIN.
AND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT ECONOMIC BENEFITS, THINGS LIKE SUPPLIER DIVERSITY OR SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESSES AND LOCAL BUSINESSES IN YOUR COMMUNITY, THESE ARE ALL THINGS THAT PROCUREMENT, SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT CAN AND SHOULD ADDRESS NEXT.
BUT THERE ARE ALSO A LOT OF DIFFERENT BENEFITS INTERNAL TO YOUR ORGANIZATION AND TO YOUR CITY THAT SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT CAN HAVE.
SO THERE ARE SOME TANGIBLE BENEFITS.
UH, YOU MIGHT SEE A DECREASE IN REGULATORY BURDEN.
IF YOU REMOVE A TOXIC CHEMICAL FROM A PRODUCT THAT YOU PURCHASE FREQUENTLY.
UM, YOU MIGHT SEE SOME EFFICIENCY GAINS IN YOUR PROCESSES.
THERE ARE MANY ALSO INTANGIBLE BENEFITS TO SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT.
SO WE KNOW, UM, THAT YOUNGER GENERATIONS ARE ABSOLUTELY LOOKING TO DO WORK THAT ALIGNS WITH THEIR VALUES.
SO ALLOWING A NEW PURCHASING PROFESSIONAL TO TAKE ON SUSTAINABILITY AS A PRIORITY COULD LEAD TO BETTER EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION.
AND CERTAINLY FOR YOU ALL AS A CITY, UH, WITH RESIDENTS WHO CARE A LOT ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY, UH, ABSOLUTELY SHOWING THAT YOU ARE, UM, CREATING THE FUTURE THAT YOU WANT TO CREATE, UH, THROUGH THE DOLLARS THAT YOU SPEND, UM, CAN HELP YOU, UH, EARN THE, UM, THE GOODWILL OF YOUR CITIZENS NEXT.
LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHY TAKING A PROGRAM APPROACH IS SO IMPORTANT.
SO, UH, A LOT OF TIMES WE SEE, YOU KNOW, WE WORK WITH A LOT OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONS, AND A LOT OF TIMES SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT STARTS, UH, BY BEING OPPORTUNISTIC.
SO THERE'S A CONTRACT FOR A PRODUCT THAT YOU WANT TO INFLUENCE.
YOU GO AHEAD AND YOU, YOU SET SOME NEW REQUIREMENTS THERE, AND THEN YOU GRAB THE NEXT ONE THAT'S UP FOR BID AND NEXT AND NEXT.
BUT A LOT OF TIMES THAT LEADS TO MORE WORK, LESS IMPACT, OR AT LEAST LESS MEASURABLE IMPACT WHEN YOU AREN'T PRIORITIZING.
WHEN YOU TAKE THE TIME TO FIGURE OUT WHERE YOUR IMPACTS ARE WITHIN THE GOODS AND SERVICES THAT YOU'RE BUYING, YOU CAN SPEND YOUR LIMITED TIME AND RESOURCES DRIVING CHANGE IN THOSE CATEGORIES AND BE MORE PLANFUL, UH, AND THEN DRIVE THAT IMPACT THROUGH THAT PRIORITIZATION.
AND I WANNA SAY, I KNOW YOU ALL ARE ALREADY ON THAT PATH.
UH, I KNOW THAT YOU ARE DOING A BASELINE EMISSIONS INVENTORY, WHICH IS AWESOME.
UH, SO YOU'RE ALREADY ON THIS PATH, AND THIS IS, THIS IS A GREAT FIRST STEP.
SO, ONE OF THE REASONS THAT THIS HAS PRIORITIZATION HAS BEEN A CORE FOCUS FOR OUR ORGANIZATION IS BACK WHEN WE WERE FOUNDED IN 2013, WE DID, UH, A PILOT PROJECT WITH A PARTNER ORGANIZATION TO UNDERSTAND WHERE THE IMPACTS LIE WITHIN A TYPICAL HIGHER ED INSTITUTIONS PURCHASING.
SO WE HAD PROCUREMENT DATA FROM A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT HIGHER ED INSTITUTIONS, AND WHAT WE FOUND WAS THAT JUST FIVE PURCHASING CATEGORIES OUT OF ALL OF THE CATEGORIES THAT HIGHER ED INSTITUTIONS BUY, WHICH IS MANY JUST FIVE CATEGORIES, REPRESENTED WELL MORE THAN HALF OF THEIR SPEND AND DROVE OVER 80% OF THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS.
SO, AS YOU CAN SEE, RATHER THAN JUST SORT OF GRABBING AT ANY OPPORTUNITY, IF THEY SPENT TIME, THEY DIRECTED THEIR PER PROCUREMENT DEPARTMENTS TO FOCUS ON THESE TOP FIVE CATEGORIES, THEY'D HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DRIVE MORE CHANGE AND IMPACT.
SO, BECAUSE OF THIS, UH, THE SPLC IS REALLY FOCUSED ON SUPPORTING OUR MEMBERS ON TAKING A STRATEGIC PROGRAM APPROACH AND THE PROCESS THAT WE RECOMMEND, UH, LOOKS LIKE WHAT YOU SEE ON THE SCREEN HERE.
WE SUPPORT MEMBERS IN DEVELOPING A VISION FOR THEIR SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT PROGRAM.
WE HELP THEM FIGURE OUT WHICH IMPACTS TO PRIORITIZE, AND THEN FROM THERE, DEVELOP FOCUS AREAS CENTERED AROUND ADDRESSING THOSE IMPACTS, BUILDING GOALS THAT WILL WORK TOWARDS DRIVING CHANGE IN THOSE FOCUS AREAS, AND THEN CREATING STRATEGIES TO MEET THOSE GOALS.
SO SOME OF YOUR STAFF, THE CITY OF AUSTIN STAFF ARE ACTUALLY CURRENTLY PARTICIPATING IN THIS, THIS, UH, COACHING PROCESS.
UH, AND I'M REALLY EXCITED TO SEE WHERE IT GOES NEXT.
THESE ARE SOME OF THE BENEFITS.
SO I JUST TALKED ABOUT PRIORITIZATION BEING SO IMPORTANT, BUT IN ADDITION, THERE ARE SO MANY BENEFITS OF TAKING A PROGRAM APPROACH.
I WON'T READ THROUGH ALL OF THESE, I KNOW YOU HAVE THESE SLIDES, BUT, UM, FROM MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE BUILDING A PROGRAM FOR THE STATE OF MINNESOTA, UH,
[01:35:01]
I KNOW IMMEDIATELY WHAT HAPPENED WHEN WE, WHEN WE DECIDED TO TAKE THIS STRATEGIC PROGRAM APPROACHES, WE BROKE DOWN THOSE SILOS.SO PROGRAMS THAT USED TO EXIST IN ISOLATION AND COMPETED FOR RESOURCES BEGAN TO COLLABORATE MORE EFFECTIVELY.
ANOTHER BIG BENEFIT, UH, WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU TAKE THE STRATEGIC APPROACH IS THAT YOU CAN REALLY MEASURE THE BENEFITS.
SO IF YOU'RE JUST KIND OF TAKING THINGS AD HOC, YOU'RE NOT SPENDING TIME ON, ON TRACKING AND MEASURING, BUT IF YOU'RE STRATEGIC AND YOU FOCUS ON A FEW AREAS, YOU SET UP THOSE MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS, YOU GET TO REALLY IDENTIFY THE BENEFITS THAT YOU'RE ACHIEVING AND AND ROLL THOSE UP INTO, INTO AGGREGATED IMPACT NEXT.
OKAY, SO I WANTED TO END HERE WITH A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES FROM TWO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.
UM, THE FIRST I HEARD CITY OF PORTLAND MENTIONED, I WASN'T, I DIDN'T QUITE HEAR WHAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT, BUT, UM, CITY OF PORTLAND IS A LONGTIME MEMBER OF THE SPLC.
IT'S ACTUALLY WHERE I LIVE RIGHT NOW.
UM, AND THEY HAVE BEEN A SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT LEADER FOR MANY YEARS.
UM, I PUT UP ON THE, IN THE BLUE AREA ON THIS SLIDE, THAT IS THE CITY OF PORTLAND'S VISION FOR THEIR SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT PROGRAM.
UM, PRETTY BOLD TO THINK THAT EVERYTHING THAT THE CITY BUYS IS GOING TO, UH, BE A FORCE FOR GOOD, BUT THAT'S REALLY WHAT THEY'RE SEEKING TO DO WITH THEIR SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT PROGRAM.
AND THEY'VE HAD A FORMAL COMMITMENT IN PLACE THROUGH THEIR SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT POLICY SINCE 2003.
SO FOR 20 YEARS NOW, THEY'VE HAD A FOCUS ON SUSTAINABILITY AND PROCUREMENT.
UM, BUT OF COURSE THAT PROGRAM HAS EVOLVED OVER TIME.
AND THEY RECENTLY, UM, UH, AMENDED THEIR POLICY IN 2022 TO BE MUCH MORE STRATEGIC IN NATURE.
THEIR PROGRAM DOES COVER ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF PROCUREMENT.
UM, AND THEY DO HAVE ONE FULL-TIME STAFF DEDICATED TO SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT.
THAT PERSON SITS WITHIN THE PROCUREMENT DEPARTMENT, AND THEY HAVE, UH, MANY RELATIONSHIPS ACROSS THE CITY DEPARTMENTS, UH, TO HELP THEM WORK ON VARIOUS INITIATIVES.
ANOTHER THING I ALWAYS POINT OUT AND THAT WE PRIORITIZE, UM, IDENTIFYING IN OUR COACHING PROGRAMS IS MAKING SURE THAT YOU ALIGN YOUR SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT TO EXISTING, UH, ORGANIZATIONAL GOALS, COMMITMENTS, AND PRIORITIES.
SO THE CITY OF PORTLAND'S PROGRAM IS DIRECTLY CONNECTED INTO THEIR, THEIR VARIOUS CLIMATE COMMITMENTS, THEIR EQUITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION COMMITMENTS, AND THEIR GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM.
SO, UH, SOME GREAT EXAMPLES IN HERE.
I LINKED, UH, IN THE SLIDES, THEY LINKED TO THE PAGE WHERE YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THEIR POLICY AND SEE THEIR VARIOUS PRIORITY AREAS.
THEY'RE RE THEY'RE REALLY LEADING IN THE SPACE FOCUSING ON LOW CARBON CONCRETES, UH, SWEATSHOP FREE APPAREL, UM, CLEAN AIR CONSTRUCTION.
SO A LOT OF REALLY INTERESTING WORK HAPPENING THAT'S BEING DRIVEN THROUGH PROCUREMENT.
THIS ONE IS AN EXAMPLE FROM THE COUNTY OF ALAMEDA IN THE BAY AREA OF CALIFORNIA.
UM, THEY HAVE ALSO BEEN LEADERS IN THIS SPACE FOR MANY YEARS.
THEIR POLICY, WHICH IS ACTUALLY AN EPP ENVIRONMENTALLY PROFITABLE PURCHASING POLICY, HAS BEEN IN PLACE SINCE 2011.
UM, AND THEY'VE REALLY, THEY HAVEN'T ACTUALLY MODIFIED THAT POLICY MUCH SINCE THEN, BUT THEY'VE BEEN ABLE TO BUILD ON IT BY CONNECTING IN DIRECTLY TO A WHOLE BUNCH OF DIFFERENT, UH, COUNTY PROGRAMS AND POLICIES.
MOST SPECIFICALLY, AND MOST RELEVANT FOR THEM NOW IS THEIR CLIMATE ACTION PLAN.
SO I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S, UH, PROBABLY A GOOD, UM, UH, THING TO ALIGN FOR YOU GUYS SINCE I KNOW YOU ALL ARE ALSO FOCUSING ON CLIMATE.
SO THEY HAVE BIG PRIORITIES AROUND, UH, GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION.
THAT IS SOMETHING THAT'S REFLECTED IN THEIR EXISTING EPP POLICY, UM, AND OBVIOUSLY HAS BEEN STRENGTHENED THROUGH THEIR CLIMATE ACTION PLAN.
AND THEY ALSO HAVE A LOT OF GOALS AROUND BUILDING HEALTHY AND RESILIENT COMMUNITIES.
SO I REALLY THINK THIS IS A NICE BALANCE FOR THEM, UH, FO REALLY FOCUSING IN ON TWO BIG PRIORITY AREAS THAT ALIGN WITH OTHER COUNTY PROGRAMS. THEY HAVE TWO FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES DEDICATED TO THIS, UH, IN THEIR SUSTAINABILITY DEPARTMENT, BUT WITH A DIRECT LINE AND, UH, CONNECTION TO PROCUREMENT.
UH, AND THEY ALSO COLLABORATE ACROSS THE COUNTY, UH, DEPENDING ON THEIR, THEIR AREA OF FOCUS.
SO, UH, SO GREAT EXAMPLES HERE.
BOTH OF THESE ARE CURRENT SPLC MEMBERS.
SO THE CITY OF AUSTIN STAFF THAT ARE ENGAGING IN SPLC, UH, HAVE DIRECT CONTACTS WITH THEM, UH, TO LEARN FROM THEM.
AND WE HAVE MANY OTHER GOVERNMENT FOLKS WHO ARE REALLY DOING A GOOD JOB IN THIS.
BUT I WANTED TO PULL UP TWO, TWO GOOD EXAMPLES FOR YOU ALL TO CONSIDER.
[01:40:01]
I'LL PAUSE THERE.I DON'T KNOW IF YOU ALL HAD ANY QUESTIONS.
UH, I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR NEXT STEPS ARE WITH THIS.
I KNOW THIS IS MORE FOR LEARNING AND SHARING, BUT HAPPY TO, UH, ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS IF YOU HAVE ANY.
I TAKE THE COMMISSIONERS IN THE ROOM.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, JOANNA, FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
UM, I KNOW THAT, UH, AUSTIN HAS, UM, FIRST OF ALL, I DIDN'T, I DIDN'T KNOW THE EXTENT AUSTIN HAD THE PARTNERSHIP WITH SPLC.
I KNOW THAT THERE IN SOME CASES, THERE'S POLICIES THAT ALLOW THE CITY TO PAY MAYBE A 5% PREMIUM OR JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE FOR, FOR A CONTRACT OR A PRODUCT OR SERVICE THAT IS, UM, PREFER ENVIRONMENTALLY PREFERABLE OR HAS SOME OTHER SORT OF, YOU KNOW, CLIMATE OR ENVIRONMENTAL, UM, BENEFIT.
BUT, UM, I'M CURIOUS FROM YOUR EXAMPLES OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, UM, SEEMS LIKE BOTH OF THOSE EXAMPLES INCLUDED, UM, FTES THAT, UM, DEALT WITH PROCUREMENT.
AND I DON'T THINK WE HAVE THAT FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
AND SO I'M CURIOUS, WHENEVER WE DO BUDGETING, GETTING ADDITIONAL HEADCOUNT IS ALWAYS A CHALLENGE.
SO I'D LOVE TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS ON, UM, HOW SPLC CAN, CAN HELP THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO, UM, YOU KNOW, INCORPORATE A LOT OF THESE PRACTICES THROUGHOUT PROCUREMENT, UM, WITH OR WITHOUT FTE AND KIND OF THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING, UM, A DEDICATED STAFF MEMBER THAT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT.
REALLY GREAT QUESTION AND GREAT POINT.
UH, I DID INCLUDE THAT, THAT STAFF, UH, BULLET POINT ON BOTH SLIDES BECAUSE I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT TO POINT OUT THAT I CAN'T THINK OF A SINGLE PROGRAM, UH, THAT DOESN'T HAVE AT LEAST A PORTION OF SOMEONE'S TIME DEDICATED TO SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT THAT HAS BEEN ABLE TO MAKE PROGRESS, LIKE, LIKE THESE ORGANIZATIONS HAVE.
UM, DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN'T MAKE ANY PROGRESS.
UH, SOMETIMES, UH, EFFORTS START WITH, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE WHO'S WORKING ON A RELATED INITIATIVE RECOGNIZING THAT PROCUREMENT IS AN IMPORTANT LEVER AND THEY START DRIVING CHANGE EVEN WITHOUT SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT BEING A PART OF THEIR WORK PLAN.
UM, BUT I DO THINK HAVING A DEDICATED STAFF PERSON TO MANAGING THE PROGRAM IS PRETTY IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE, UH, INTENDING FOR PROCUREMENT TO HELP YOU ADDRESS THE MANY DIFFERENT COMMITMENTS, UH, THAT I SAW DOCUMENTED IN ONE OF THE FIRST, UH, SESSIONS I WORKED WITH RECENTLY ON CITY OF, UH, WITH CITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, YOU HAVE SO MANY DIFFERENT COMMITMENTS THAT PROCUREMENT WILL PLAY A DIRECT ROLE IN, AND IT REALLY HELPS, UM, MAKE SURE THAT YOU, UM, MAXIMIZE THE IMPACT YOU CAN DRIVE THROUGH PROCUREMENT IF YOU HAVE SOMEONE THAT IS SERVING AS THE LEAD, UH, FOR THAT AREA.
SO, UM, ABSOLUTELY THERE, THERE'S PROGRESS THAT CAN BE MADE, UH, IF YOU'RE STRATEGIC, UH, WITHOUT A DEDICATED STAFF PERSON.
BUT I THINK IF YOU WANT TO, UM, ESPECIALLY WITH, UH, SOME OF THE CLIMATE SPECIFIC WORK, UM, THAT PROCUREMENT WILL HAVE TO LEAD, I THINK YOU NEED TO HAVE EITHER SOMEONE IN PROCUREMENT OR SOMEONE IN, UH, A PARTNER DEPARTMENT LIKE SUSTAINABILITY WHO'S ASSIGNED TO LEAD THOSE EFFORTS, TRACK THEM, UH, ESTABLISH PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS AND IDENTIFY NEW OPPORTUNITIES.
HEY, MS. ANDERSON, UH, APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, IT WAS BROUGHT TO, UM, OUR ATTENTION THAT THERE AREN'T NECESSARILY ANY FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES, YOU KNOW, WORKING, UH, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PROCUREMENT TO JUST STEAL THE COPY THAT'S ON THE SLIDE.
UM, BUT YOU DID MENTION THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE EMPLOYEES THAT DO HAVE CONTACT WITH SPLC AND WORK WITH Y'ALL.
UH, CAN YOU SPEAK AS TO LIKE WHAT DIVISIONS THEY'RE IN OR SORT OF, YOU KNOW, THE WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING THAT SORT OF, UH, YOU KNOW, GETS THEM INVOLVED WITH SPLC? UM, JUST TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND, DO YOU, ARE YOU ASKING SPECIFICALLY ABOUT CITY OF AUSTIN OR OTHER, OTHER ORGANIZ? UM, YES.
SO I, I MEAN, I THINK THE, THE PROGRAM, THE COACHING PROGRAM THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN STAFF ARE
[01:45:01]
PARTICIPATING IN, UH, THE MOST, THE FIRST MEETING WE HAD HAD PEOPLE FROM SUSTAINABILITY.UM, I KNOW THAT THE CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER WAS, HAD INTENDED TO COME, AND ACTUALLY I MET YOUR CHIEF CITY OF AUSTIN'S CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER AT A CONFERENCE A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO.
UM, AND SHE INDICATED REAL INTEREST IN THIS WORK.
UH, BUT JUST, YOU KNOW, A-A-C-P-O IS, IS SO BUSY, IS HARD TO, TO MAKE THE TIME, ALWAYS TO ATTEND THESE MEETINGS.
BUT I THINK PRIMARILY I'VE WORKED WITH SUSTAINABILITY, UH, STAFF FROM THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
I'D IMAGINE IT'S PROBABLY RELATIVELY DIFFICULT TO PROCURE TIME FROM THE, UH, CHIEF OF PROCUREMENT.
UM, YEAH, AND I HAD ANOTHER QUESTION TOO.
UM, YOU KNOW, SO YOU MENTIONED, UM, YOU KNOW, AS THE EXAMPLE IS YOU GAVE ALAMEDA COUNTY, RIGHT, WHICH, UH, I'M PRETTY SURE THAT THE CITY OF ALAMEDA IS IN, THEN YOU ALSO GAVE THE EXAMPLE OF THE CITY OF PORTLAND, RIGHT? UM, SO DO YOU THINK THAT IT MAKES SENSE FOR, LET'S TAKE PORTLAND FOR EXAMPLE, RIGHT? UH, PORTLAND IS IN MULTNOMAH COUNTY, RIGHT? SO DO YOU THINK, YOU KNOW, DO Y'ALL HAVE ANY SORT OF, UH, YOU KNOW, CONTACTS WITH SORT OF MULTNOMAH COUNTY AS WELL AS THE CITY OF PORTLAND, DO YOU THINK THAT IT MAKES SENSE TO, UH, YOU KNOW, LIKE YOU SAID, CROSS COLLABORATION ALWAYS HELPS, YOU KNOW, WITHIN SORT OF ORGANIZATIONS, BUT YOU, DO YOU THINK THAT IT WOULD HELP EFFORTS IF SAY, LET'S TAKE US FOR AN EXAMPLE, RIGHT? THAT LIKE, YOU KNOW, TRAVIS COUNTY OR IF YOU WANNA TAKE IT FURTHER, EVEN, YOU KNOW, HAYES AND WILCO, UH, WHICH IS LIKE WILLIAMSON COUNTY, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, UH, THERE ARE PARTS OF AUSTIN, THERE ARE IN A COUPLE OF OTHER COUNTIES AS WELL.
DO YOU THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, HAVING THESE COUNTIES WORK IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN, YOU KNOW, FOR SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT, UH, WOULD HELP? AND DO Y'ALL HAVE SORT OF ANY, YOU KNOW, CASE STUDIES THAT Y'ALL HAVE WHERE IT'S JUST LIKE, HEY, IF THE CITY AND THE COUNTY SORT OF CONSIDER THIS PRIORITY THAT, YOU KNOW, STUFF GETS DONE, UH, A LOT BETTER.
UM, AND, AND YES, I'D SAY SO, UH, MULTNOMAH COUNTY IS ALSO AN SPLC MEMBER ACTIVE HAS A GREAT SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT PROGRAM.
I WAS, YOU KNOW, I THOUGHT I WOULDN'T BE BIASED AND PUT MY, MY COUNTY AND MY CITY IN HERE,
BUT, UM, BUT YEAH, SO I THINK ABSOLUTELY IT DOES HELP FOR, FOR MANY REASONS, RIGHT? THERE CAN BE REGIONAL INITIATIVES THAT YOU CAN TACKLE TOGETHER.
UM, SO, UH, SO I THINK WHENEVER YOU CAN HAVE, UH, YOUR LOCAL, YOUR, YOUR LOCAL MUNICIPALITIES, THE HIGHER ED INSTITU, HIGHER ED INSTITUTIONS WITHIN YOUR, YOUR REGION, UM, PRIORITIZING THIS, UH, I, IN MY FORMER ROLE AT THE STATE OF MINNESOTA, I USED TO COORDINATE, UH, A GROUP OF COUNTIES IN THE METRO AREA, UH, ON SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT TO SHARE BEST PRACTICES AND TALK ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES.
A LOT OF TIMES, UH, THEN YOU CAN MAYBE LEVERAGE COOPERATIVE CONTRACTS THAT HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED BY ONE ENTITY OR THE OTHER, UM, THAT AGAIN, COULD HAVE A MORE REGIONAL FOCUS AND THEN YOU CAN DRIVE PROCUREMENT TO, UH, LOCAL BUSINESSES, UH, THAT MAYBE WOULD BE A LITTLE HARDER TO DO, YOU KNOW, AT THE NATIONAL SCALE.
UH, SO I THINK THERE ARE A LOT OF GREAT OPPORTUNITIES.
I'LL HAVE TO THINK ABOUT IF I HAVE ANY, UH, SPECIFIC CASE STUDIES, BUT I, ANECDOTALLY I CAN SAY ABSOLUTELY, THAT DOES HELP.
AND, AND UT UT AUSTIN IS A MEMBER, ACTUALLY, ALSO.
ANY COMMISSIONERS VIRTUAL WHO HAVE A QUESTION? NO.
FIRST THANK, THANK YOU FOR, UH, COMING AND PRESENTING.
I'M DEFINITELY GONNA, UH, CHECK OUT THE SPECIFIC, UH, PLANS THAT YOU'RE HIGHLIGHTING AND, AND THANK YOU FOR HIGHLIGHTING THE NEED FOR STAFF.
WE ACTUALLY MADE THAT RECOMMENDATION OR, UH, THIS BUDGET, IT WAS JUST ADOPTED AND THAT WAS ONE OF OUR RECOMMENDATIONS WE DIDN'T GET.
BUT, UM, SOUNDS LIKE WE NEED TO
UM, I WAS JUST WONDERING, UM, DO YOU, UH, DO ENGAGEMENT WITH SMALL BUSINESSES ON SUSTAINABLE PURCHASING? IS THAT PART OF WHAT YOU DO? SO, UM, WE, WE HAVE ENGAGED WITH SMALL BUSINESSES.
UH, WE HAVE, WE HAVE SEVERAL SMALL BUSINESS MEMBERS WHO JOIN, UM, TO KIND OF DIALOGUE WITH MEMBERS.
UM, WE, IN THE PAST, SO WE USED TO RUN, AND WE DID COME BACK TO AN IN-PERSON CONFERENCE THIS YEAR, BUT WE USED TO HAVE A IN-PERSON CONFERENCE EACH YEAR, AND WE DID A BUYER SUPPLIER MATCHMAKING.
UH, WE DO HAVE A LOT OF PARTICIPATION WITHIN OUR ORGANIZATION OF SUPPLIER DIVERSITY PROFESSIONALS, WHO THAT'S THEIR PRIORITY IS
[01:50:01]
WORKING WITH SMALL AND OR DIVERSE AND BUSINESSES.UM, AND SO THERE'S A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT, ABOUT THAT KIND OF WORK.
UM, BUT WE'RE JUST STARTING TO LOOK AT WHETHER IT MAKES SENSE FOR OUR ORGANIZATION TO SUPPORT SUPPLIER DEVELOPMENT THAT IS TYPICALLY TARGETED TOWARDS SMALL BUSINESSES, UM, BECAUSE WE DO HAVE RESOURCES THAT WOULD BE VALUABLE.
IT JUST ISN'T, HASN'T BEEN A DIRECTION WE'VE FULLY MOVED IN YET.
BUT YOU DO HAVE RESOURCES THAT ARE MORE, UH, DIRECTED TOWARDS LARGER BUSINESSES, IS THAT CORRECT? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.
WE HAVE A, AS I, UH, I THINK HOPEFULLY, I, I MENTIONED WE, OUR MEMBERSHIP DOES HAVE CORPORATE MEMBERS, AND SO, UH, WE HAVE A LOT OF CORPORATE MEMBERS THAT ARE JOINING BECAUSE THEY WANT TO WORK ON THEIR OWN PURCHASING, BUT THEY'RE ALSO SUPPLIERS TO OTHERS.
YEAH, THE, OUR CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, KIND OF AS, AS YOU MAY HAVE READ, YOU KNOW, IT, IT SPANS, UH, KIND OF A WIDE ARRAY OF VISION THERE.
YEAH, THANKS VERY MUCH, JOANNA.
HAVE A GOOD REST OF YOUR MEETING, EVERYBODY.
UH, THE NEXT SEVERAL ITEMS ON THE AGENDA ARE UPDATES FROM THE DIFFERENT COMMISSIONS AND PLANNING COMMISSION
[3. Updates from the Planning Commission.]
IS UP FIRST THERE.CAN YOU ALL HEAR ME? YEAH, ALICE CAN HEAR YOU.
UM, SO WE PASSED AND, UH, WE'VE FURTHERED A RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL LAST NIGHT THAT WAS IN LINE WITH SOMETHING THAT THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE HAS DONE IN THE PAST, UM, AROUND THE CITY'S TELEWORK POLICY.
SO WE MADE SOME SUGGESTED UPDATES TO THE CITY'S COMPREHENSIVE PLAN TO MAKE IT CLEAR THAT THE CITY SHOULD LEAD, UM, IN SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THEY HAVE AROUND TELEWORK AND THE CITY'S POLICIES SHOULD BE IN LINE WITH WHAT THEY'RE RECOMMENDING FOR, UH, PRIVATE BUSINESSES.
UM, SO I'M HAPPY TO SHARE THAT WITH THE GROUP.
AND THEN WE HAVE A JOINT MEETING TOMORROW EVENING, WELL AFTERNOON AND EVENING WITH CITY COUNCIL AROUND THE HOME INITIATIVE AND ASSOCIATED ORDINANCES.
UM, AND I CAN KINDA WAIT TO TALK MORE ABOUT THAT, UM, UNTIL WE GET INTO THE RESOLUTION ON THE AGENDA.
BUT THAT'S COMING UP FOR PLANNING COMMISSION.
AND THEN WE'LL HAVE ANOTHER PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING RELATED TO THOSE ORDINANCES, WHICH I THINK HAVE SOME SUSTAINABILITY IMPLICATIONS THAT WE CAN CONSIDER TOGETHER.
BUT I THINK THOSE ARE MY ONLY UPDATES FROM PLANNING COMMISSION AT THE MOMENT.
AND I REALIZE PLANNING IS LISTED AS NUMBER THREE AND NUMBER EIGHT, SO I'LL DO IT AGAIN IF Y'ALL
[4. Updates from the Urban Transportation Commission.]
URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION, WHICH IS ME.SO WE HAD A MEETING ON TEN THREE, AND WE HAD THREE PRESENTATIONS.
THE FIRST WAS ABOUT SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL, UM, WHICH, UH, YOU KNOW, THE TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC'S WORK DEPARTMENT IS, UM, IS WORKING HARD TO, UM, TO IMPLEMENT SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL.
UH, THE INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGER PRESENTED, UH, YOU KNOW, THE 26 MOBILITY BOND WAS ABLE TO GET TWO STAFF POSITIONS.
AND, UM, THEY ARE STILL WORKING ON, UM, UH, THEY'RE STILL WORKING.
THE 27.5 MILLION IN THE BONDS WAS DIVIDED EQUALLY ACROSS THE DISTRICTS, EVEN THOUGH, EVEN THOUGH NOT SOME DISTRICTS NEED THE SAFE FROST TO SCHOOL MONEY MORE.
SO RIGHT NOW, THE MONEY IS EQUITABLY DIVIDED WITH THE 2016 BOND, BUT WITH THE 2020 BOND, UH, SAFE FROST TO SCHOOL GOT $20 MILLION MORE AND CAN PUT IT TO THE AREAS OF GREATEST NEED.
SO SHE WAS, UM, SHOWING THE INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGER WAS SHOWING HOW THEY DEVELOPED THE MATRIX TO TRY TO BE ABLE TO PUT THE MONEY IN THE PLACE OF THE GREATEST NEEDS.
SO WE WERE WALKING THROUGH THEIR, UH, HOW THEY ARE PICKING WHERE THE 2020 BOND MONEY GETS TO GO BASED ON GREATEST NEED.
UM, NUMBER ONE RECOMMENDATION IS FOR THEM TO PUT IN SIDEWALKS,
UM, THEN AFTER THE SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL, UH, THERE WAS A PRESENTATION ON EAD, WHICH IS THE EQUITABLE TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT THAT, UH, CAP METRO AND AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP AND COA OR IMPLEMENTING, UM, WITH THE GOALS OF, YOU KNOW, MAKING TRANSPORTATION SAFE, RELIABLE WITH THE RACIAL HEALTH
[01:55:01]
AND, AND WEALTH GAP CLOSURE, AFFORDABLE HOUSING ACCESS TO GOOD JOBS.AND, UM, THEY'RE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW HOW TO TURN THE, THE EQUITABLE TRANSPORTATION ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT PLAN INTO A REALITY SINCE IT WAS OKAYED BY COUNCIL IN MARCH, 2023.
SO THEY'RE TRYING TO DECIDE LIKE HOW TO MEASURE SUCCESS.
THEY'RE WORKING ON, UM, MAKING SURE THAT THEY CAN IMPLEMENT THAT AND, AND BE ABLE TO TALK, YOU KNOW, TALK ABOUT HOW THEY'RE IMPLEMENTING IT AND HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, ACTUAL MEASURES THAT ARE WRITTEN DOWN, PROCESSES, PROCEDURES.
SO THE EAD PLAN WILL BE REGULARLY UPDATED AND PUBLISHED, AND THEY WILL PRESENT ON IT.
AND THE LAST, UM, WAS THE, THE LAST PRESENTATION WAS, UM, TO REMOVE PARKING, UH, THE PARKING MINIMUM, UH, REQUIREMENTS, WHICH IS GOING TO COUNSEL.
SO THEY, THEY EXPLAINED TO US THAT THE ADA PARKING REQUIREMENTS AND THE BIKE PARKING WOULD ABSOLUTELY STAY IN PLACE, BUT THE, UH, THE MINIMUM PARKING REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE, THAT ARE, THAT ARE HAD RIGHT NOW FOR, YOU KNOW, ANY KIND OF NEW DEVELOPMENT, THEY ARE TRYING TO, UM, GET RID OF THAT REQUIREMENT.
AND SO THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION VOTED TO SUPPORT THE CHANGES TO TITLE 25 OF THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE TO REMOVE THE MINIMUM OFF STREET PARKING REQUIREMENTS.
[5. Updates from the Zero Waste Advisory Commission.]
MELISSA? IT IS, YEAH.SO ZAC MET EARLIER THIS MONTH ON OCTOBER 11TH, AND IT WAS ALLUDED EARLIER DURING THE ARR UM, ZERO WASTE, UH, PLAN PRESENTATION THAT, UH, IT'S MY SECOND TIME HEARING THAT PRESENTATION.
AND, UM, SWAC DID RECOMMEND IT TO COUNCIL.
WE ALSO VOTED IN A NEW COMMITTEE MEMBER TO THE URO, WHICH, UH, EVA HAD MENTIONED IN THE COMMENTS, THAT'S THE UNIVERSAL RECYCLING ORDINANCE, WHICH INCLUDES COMPOSTING.
SO THAT'S GONNA BE A REALLY IMPORTANT COMMITTEE AS THE, UM, MULTIFAMILY COMPOSTING INITIATIVE STARTS TO, YOU KNOW, GET ON THE RAILS A LITTLE BIT STRONGER.
AND FOR OUR LAST ITEM OF BUSINESS IN SWAC, IT WAS TO VOTE ON A ALTERNATIVE REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE JSC.
SO IF I CAN'T MAKE IT, THEN, YOU KNOW, NOW WE HAVE SOMEONE WHO IS WILLING TO BE IN MY PLACE.
AND THAT'S, UH, CRAIG NAAR, SO REPRESENTING DISTRICT SEVEN.
SO IF I'M NOT HERE, IT'LL BE, IT'LL BE CRAIG IN THE FUTURE.
[6. Updates from the Design Commission]
UP IS DESIGN COMMISSION.UM, IN OUR LAST MEETING, UH, AT THE DESIGN COMMISSION, UM, WELL I, THE PROCESS THAT WE'RE AT NOW IS THAT WE HAVE, UH, SOME ADVISORY WORKING GROUPS IN WHICH WE ARE UPDATING THE, UH, THE DESIGN STANDARDS.
UM, AND, AND THAT'S BROKEN UP INTO VARIOUS PARTS OF THE DESIGN STANDARDS, SO THE BUILDING COMPONENT AND THE STREETSCAPE COMPONENT.
AND WE ALSO HAVE, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE PORTION, WHICH WE DON'T RIGHT NOW, HAVE ANYBODY ASSIGNED TO THAT.
EVERYONE HAS BEEN WORKING ON THIS SINCE LAST OCTOBER, AND WE'VE PRESENTED OUR FIRST DRAFT, UH, I BELIEVE AT IT WAS, IT WAS AT THE END OF AUGUST.
AUGUST, AND, AND WE WERE INTENDING TO HAVE OUR FIRST COMMUNITY EVENT, UM, IN MIDDLE OF SEPTEMBER, BUT THAT GOT POSTPONED.
SO WE'RE GOTTA WORK WITH STAFF ON, ON GETTING TOGETHER TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THAT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT LOOKS LIKE.
UM, I THINK WE ARE SCHEDULED TO DO THIS THREE TIMES.
UM, AND SO THAT'S WHERE WE'RE AT.
WE'VE GOT, WE'VE HAD A LOT OF, UH, NEW FOLKS JOIN THE COMMISSION.
I THINK THERE'S FOUR OF US THAT HAVE BEEN THERE.
UH, NOW I'VE ONLY BEEN THERE A YEAR AND A HALF, AND SO EVERYONE ELSE BELOW ME HAS, HAS BEEN THERE, IS PRETTY RECENT WITHIN THE LAST FEW MONTHS.
SO WE'RE GOING THROUGH SOME, JUST A LITTLE BIT OF A LEARNING CURVE RIGHT NOW.
SO IT'S GONNA BE, UM, A NEW, UH, A MAJORITY OF A NEW TEAM MOVING FORWARD.
[7. Updates from the Electric Utility Commission.]
UH, UPDATES FROM ELECTRIC UTILITY, EVA?[02:00:03]
HEY Y'ALL.YEAH, UM, WE GOT A, UM, UPDATE ON THE RESOURCE PLANNING PROCESS FROM AUSTIN ENERGY, AND THEY'RE GONNA BE DOING SOME MODELING OF SCENARIOS, AND I BELIEVE PRESENTING THOSE AT OUR MEETING ON NOVEMBER 13TH.
UM, THERE, THERE IS SOME INTEREST IN TRYING TO GET SOME ADDITIONAL SCENARIOS, UH, AND KIND OF VARIABLES ADDED TO THAT MODELING.
SO WE'LL SEE WHAT THAT, UM, ENDS UP LOOKING LIKE.
AND THE, UH, ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION, UH, RESOURCE PLANNING WORKING GROUP HAS CONTINUED MEETING AND, UH, IS, IS NOW KIND OF GOT IN OUR NEXT MEETING GONNA BE MOVING INTO THE PHASE OF TRYING TO IDENTIFY WHERE FOLKS STAND ON THE ISSUES SO WE CAN START DEVELOPING, UH, RECOMMENDATION ON THE RESOURCE PLAN.
UM, ALSO, UH, I AM EXCITED THAT AUSTIN ENERGY, UH, DID SUBMIT AS PART OF A LARGE COALITION AND APPLICATION FOR THE, UH, SOLAR FOR ALL GRANTS.
AND, UM, I THINK THEY HAVE A, A PRETTY, UM, YOU KNOW, SOLID GOOD, UH, PLAN FOR DEPLOYING THOSE FUNDS LOCALLY.
IF THEY DO GET IT, IT WOULD, UH, FUND SOLAR AND STORAGE, UH, LOW INCOME, UH, HOMES, UH, LOW INCOME MULTIFAMILY HOUSING, AS WELL AS, UM, KIND OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS I THINK PRIMARILY THAT ARE LIKE SERVING, UM, YOU KNOW, SERVING PEOPLE DIRECTLY IN SOME WAY.
UM, SO IT, UH, WOULD BE A COMBINATION OF, OF LOCAL SOLAR AND ALSO STORAGE, SO ADDING RESILIENCY AS WELL.
SO, YOU KNOW, FINGERS CROSSED THAT, THAT THEY, UH, I GET THAT GRANT.
I JUST WANTED TO SHARE THAT THEY'VE APPLIED TO THAT.
AND ON THE AGENDA, I WASN'T SURE IF THE LAST PLANNING WAS MEANT TO BE A DIFFERENT COMMISSION, BUT I DON'T KNOW.
I GUESS IF IT DOESN'T SAY A DIFFERENT COMMISSION, THEN WE WILL JUST MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SECTION, WHICH IS VOTING AND RESOLUTION.
AND WE ALREADY VOTED ON THE MINUTES.
SO THAT LEAVES THE RESOLUTION IN
[10. Resolution in support of proposed Land Development Code amendments.]
SUPPORT OF THE PROPOSED LAND USE DEVELOPMENT CODE.AND IN THE PACKET THAT WE ALL GOT, THERE IS A 10 A RESOLUTION, BUT THEN THERE IS ALSO A 10 B BACKUP RESOLUTION, UM,
THE, THE, THE 10 B IS, IS NOT THE RESOLUTION, IT'S JUST BACKUP INFORMATION.
AH, IT'S BACKUP INFORMATION CONTEXT, 10 A IS THE RESOLUTION.
SO THEN 10 A IS IN THE, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF WE SHOULD DISPLAY 10 A, IT'S NOT VERY LONG.
IS THAT, THAT THAT MUST BE THE 10 B BACKUP RESOLUTION.
YEAH, I THINK DISPLAYING THE RESOLUTION IS PROBABLY MORE USEFUL, BUT I MEAN, IT'S NOT MY ITEM.
SO LET'S, SO LET'S, IF YOU DON'T MIND THE 10 A, WHEREAS THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE RECOGNIZES THE CITY'S VISION FOR NET ZERO EMISSIONS THERE.
SO THIS WOULD BE THE CUT TO THE CHASE, THE BE IT RESOLVE THAT WE, OUR COMMITTEE WOULD RECOMMEND THAT THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL APPROVE AMENDMENTS TO THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE TO ALLOW FOR MORE COMPACTED AND CONNECTED COMMUNITIES IN KEEPING WITH THE GOALS OF THE AUSTIN CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
UM, AND THEN SPECIFICALLY THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS, UH, THE APPROVAL OF THE AMENDMENTS INCLUDED IN THE MIDDLE INCOME EMPOWERMENT INITIATIVE, THE TINY HOME RESOLUTION AND THE ELIMINATION OF ALL CITY OCCUPANCY LIMITS TO ALLOW FOR FLEXIBLE, AFFORDABLE CO-LIVING OPTIONS.
DO, UM, DO WE PROCEDURALLY, DO WE MOVE APPROVAL AND THEN OPEN DISCUSSION OR, OR HAVE WE ALREADY OPENED DISCUSSION OR
[02:05:01]
WE, UH, THAT'S, THAT'S A GOOD, SO WE, SOMEONE CAN EITHER MOVE TO APPROVE AND THEN WE APPROVE OR WE CAN HAVE DISCUSSION, BUT I DON'T, I THINK WE CAN HAVE DISCUSSION ABOUT IT BEFORE WE MOVE.WE, WE MAKE A MOTION TO, UM, APPROVE OR NOT APPROVE.
UM, WE DID RECEIVE THIS, UM, RESOLUTION, UM, A COUPLE WEEKS AGO, I THINK.
SO WE'VE HAD IT, BUT I WOULD STILL LOVE FOR, UM, ONE OF THE SPONSORS OR CO-SPONSORS TO JUST SUMMARIZE AND SAY WHY WE SHOULD VOTE FOR THIS.
IS, I, IT SEEMS LIKE SOMETHING I, I'D BE GENERALLY SUPPORTIVE OF.
UH, JUST WOULD LIKE TO HEAR A SUMMARY, YOU KNOW, ENDORSEMENT OF IT.
UM, I THOUGHT IT WAS VERY TIMELY THAT WE HAD THE SEPTEMBER, 2023 CARBON FOOTPRINT UPDATE AT OUR LAST MEETING, WHICH SHOWED HOW TRANSPORTATION IS THE SINGLE GREATEST SOURCE OF CO TWO EMISSIONS LOCALLY.
AND I THINK THAT AT ITS CORE, A LOT OF THESE CHANGES AIM TO ALLOW MORE PEOPLE TO LIVE AFFORDABLY WITHIN CENTRAL AUSTIN AND WITHIN AUSTIN IN GENERAL, RATHER THAN HAVING TO SEEK AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN EXURBS AND THROUGH GREENFIELD DEVELOPMENT.
UM, AND THEREFORE JUST SPENDING A LOT LESS TIME IN THEIR CARS TO GET TO WORK AND THEIR CHILDREN'S SCHOOLS.
UM, AND THEN ANOTHER PIECE OF THAT CARBON FOOTPRINT UPDATE WAS THAT HOME SIZE WAS A BIG, UH, FACTOR IN DETERMINING HOUSEHOLD LEVEL EMISSIONS.
AND SO THIS ALLOWANCE FOR THREE DWELLING UNITS ON SINGLE FAMILY LOTS, OBVIOUSLY THE ALLOT SIZE IS NOT CHANGING AT THIS POINT.
AND SO THOSE DWELLING UNITS ARE LIKELY TO BE SMALLER THAN WHAT WOULD OTHERWISE BE ONE LARGE DWELLING UNIT.
UM, SO FOLKS WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO LIVE IN SMALLER HOMES THAN ARE CURRENTLY LEGALLY ALLOWED, UM, BASED ON OUR LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE.
SO I THINK TRAFFIC IS THE MAIN DR DRIVER THAT MAKES THIS, I BELIEVE A SUSTAINABILITY A HAVE A POSITIVE SUSTAINABILITY IMPACT THAT WE'RE POTENTIALLY GETTING SOME CARS OFF THE ROAD AND FOLKS ARE SPENDING LESS TIME IN THEIR CARS COMMUTING TO AND FROM WHERE THEY CAN FIND AFFORDABLE HOUSING AT THIS POINT, UM, AND ARE ABLE TO LIVE IN SMALLER HOUSES, WILL HAVE A GREATER DIVERSITY OF HOUSING STOCK UNDER THESE POLICIES, YOU KNOW, THAT WHICH WILL ALLOW FOR DUPLEXES AND TRIPLEXES ON SINGLE FAMILY LOTS.
AND THEN I THINK THAT THE OCCUPANCY LIMITS PIECE OF IT ALSO ALLOWS FOR MORE FLEXIBILITY AND AFFORDABILITY IN TERMS OF CO-LIVING OPTIONS WITHIN THE CITY.
YOU KNOW, ALSO JUST OPENING UP OPTIONS WITHIN CENTRAL AUSTIN, WHICH WILL KEEP PEOPLE OUT OF THEIR VEHICLES AND NOT COMMUTING QUITE AS FAR EVERY DAY.
AND I'M HAPPY TO KINDA SPEAK ON OTHER ASPECTS OF IT, BUT I'LL, I'LL LEAVE IT THERE FOR NOW IF THAT ADDRESSES YOUR QUESTION.
HEY, THANKS FOR THAT OVERVIEW.
I'M WONDERING, UM, PARTICULARLY FOR THE FIRST PART OF THE RECOMMENDATION AROUND THE THREE UNITS PER SINGLE FAMILY LOT PROPOSED CHANGE.
IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S A, LIKE A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT CHANGE.
AND I'M WONDERING WHAT LEVEL OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT OR, OR, OR, OR UH, DISCUSSIONS HAVE BEEN HAD, UM, PARTICULARLY IN LOW INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS THAT MAYBE MIGHT FEAR SOME POTENTIAL UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF THAT KIND OF CHANGE OR, OR IN NEIGHBORHOODS THAT ARE MAYBE AT RISK OF, OF EXPERIENCING FURTHER GENTRIFICATION.
UH, CAN YOU SPEAK TO THAT? YEAH, I THINK THAT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT QUESTION AND I THINK THAT A LOT OF WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THIS ORDINANCE WAS INITIALLY PART OF THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE REWRITE UNDER CODE NEXT THAT CAME WITH SOME OTHER DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION MEASURES, UM, THAT WOULD IDEALLY GO ALONG WITH THIS.
AND UNFORTUNATELY, YOU KNOW, BASED ON WHAT HAPPENED WITH CODE NEXT, WE'RE, WE'RE NOT ABLE TO DO A WHOLESALE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE REWRITE AND WE ARE KIND OF TAKING THIS PIECEMEAL APPROACH.
SO I DO THINK THAT DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION MEASURES ARE AN IMPORTANT PIECE TO GO ALONG WITH THIS AND I HOPE THAT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT COUNCIL IS GONNA TAKE UP SEPARATELY.
UM, IN TERMS OF COMMUNITY OUTREACH, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY A LOT OF OUTREACH WAS DONE DURING THAT LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE REWRITE PROCESS.
AND THEN THE REASON THAT THERE
[02:10:01]
ARE THESE THREE MEETINGS IS TO GIVE THE COMMUNITY THREE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PUBLIC INPUT.SO THE JOINT MEETING, THIS WILL COME BEFORE PLANNING COMMISSION AND THEN IT WILL GO BEFORE CITY COUNCIL ON DECEMBER 7TH.
BUT I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU THAT THAT INPUT PROCESS IS NOT NECESSARILY EQUITABLE.
AND OBVIOUSLY IT REQUIRES PEOPLE TO HAVE TIME DURING THE DAY TO EITHER SHOW UP AT CITY HALL OR CALL IN.
UM, THERE WAS A CITYWIDE NOTICE THAT WENT OUT AROUND THESE POLICY CHANGES, UM, THAT SHOULD HAVE ARRIVED AT EVERY ADDRESS REGISTERED WITH, UM, REGISTERED AS HAVING UTILITIES IN AUSTIN.
AND UM, I BELIEVE THAT WENT OUT IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH.
BUT AGAIN, LIKE THAT, I, I COMPLETELY AGREE THAT SOME OF THESE OUTREACH PROCESSES IN GENERAL, UM, DON'T WEIGHT DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES EQUALLY.
AND I THINK THAT'S A LARGER PROBLEM THAT I DON'T KNOW THAT THIS SPECIFIC POLICY IS ABLE TO KIND OF, WHAT AM I TRYING TO SAY? UM, I THINK THAT'S A LARGER PROBLEM AND I THINK THIS SPECIFIC POLICY HAS REALLY POSITIVE IMPLICATIONS FOR HOUSING AND AFFORDABILITY AND SUSTAINABILITY AND I ALSO HOPE THAT WE CAN IMPROVE OUR COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROCESS.
UM, ON, ON NUMBER ONE, UM, I I JUST WAS WONDERING, UM, YOU KNOW, I SEE THAT IT ALLOWS THREE UNITS.
UM, I I DON'T SEE ANYTHING HERE ABOUT ANY CHANGES TO OTHER, UM, YOU KNOW, RESTRICTIONS SUCH AS IMPERVIOUS COVER OR PROTECTED TREES.
ARE THOSE AFFECTED IN ANY WAY, UM, BY THAT CHANGE OR WOULD THOSE RESTRICTIONS STILL APPLY? JUST THE SAME IF YOU HAVE THREE UNITS.
SO MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THERE IS NO CHANGE TO PROTECTED TREES AND I BELIEVE THAT THE ONLY CHANGE TO IMPERVIOUS COVER IS THAT ON SSF ONE LOTS, THE IMPERVIOUS COVER IS CHANGING FROM 40 TO 45% ALLOWED.
BUT I WANT TO PULL UP THE BACKUP AND MAKE SURE THAT I'M CORRECT ON THAT.
'CAUSE I'M JUST SAYING THAT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
UM, SO I CAN PULL UP THE, THE RED LINE OF WHAT IS ACTUALLY BEING PROPOSED IN TERMS OF CHANGES TO THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AND DROP THAT IN THE CHAT AS WELL.
I, IS THERE, ARE YOU AWARE OF ANY ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR, UM, DIFFERENT LOTS AND WITH THIS, WHAT I MEAN IS I KNOW THERE ARE SOME REQUIREMENTS BASED ON THE SIZE OF THE LOT AND SOME I HONESTLY DO NOT HAVE, UM, THE NUMBERS BEHIND, BUT I KNOW THERE ARE SOME LOTS THAT DO NOT NEED THE, UH, ADO REQUIREMENTS BECAUSE OF LIKE 200 SQUARE FEET SHORT, FALLING SHORT.
UM, SO THIS COULD HELP SOME PEOPLE, I GUESS, UH, UNDER THOSE CONSIDERATIONS.
AND I WONDER IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT HAD BEEN DISCUSSED OR, UM, LOOKED INTO.
SO PART OF THIS OVERALL HOME INITIATIVE, WHICH WAS, UM, INITIATED BY COUNCIL MEMBER POOLE AND MAYOR WATSON OVER THE SUMMER WAS TO REDUCE THE MINIMUM LOT SIZE FOR ALL SINGLE FAMILY ZONED LOTS.
AND THAT IS NOT IN WHAT IS BEING CONTEMPLATED AT THE MOMENT.
SO THAT'S BEEN PULLED OUT AS A POSSIBLE PHASE TWO CHANGE THAT WOULD HAPPEN NEXT YEAR.
HOWEVER, THERE IS A CHANGE IN MINIMUM LOT SIZE REQUIREMENT FOR DUPLEXES ON SINGLE FAMILY ZONE LOTS.
AND THAT'S IN THE LINK THAT I JUST DROPPED IN THE CHAT.
BUT THAT CHANGE IS THAT THE MINIMUM LOT SIZE REQUIRED FOR DUPLEXES IS CHANGING FROM 7,000 SQUARE FEET TO 5,750 SQUARE FEET.
DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, MELISSA? I SEE YOU HAVE YOUR HAND UP, BUT YES.
SO, UM, REGARDING THE, THIS NEW RECOMMENDATION FOR THE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES, UM, YOU KNOW, IN SWAC IT WAS, IT WAS MENTIONED AS SORT OF A, A COMPLAINT THAT WHEN THERE'S FOURPLEXES OR DUPLEXES OR UM, MULTIPLE PROPERTIES
[02:15:01]
ON A LOT, THEY GET THESE, THEY GET THE INDIVIDUAL CITY BINS.SO THEY GET THE BIG BLUE RECYCLING BIN, THE LANDFILL BIN, AND THEN NOW THEY GET THE COMPOST BIN.
SO THAT'S THREE BINS PER HOUSEHOLD.
BUT WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THREE HOUSEHOLDS PER LOT, YOU KNOW, WE GOT NINE BINS WORKING AROUND THAT PROPERTY.
AND, YOU KNOW, IT CAN BE, IT CAN BE OVERWHELMING FOR A PROPERTY TO HAVE THAT MANY DIFFERENT BINS FLUTTERING UP THE ROAD, THE ROADWAY.
UM, HAS THAT BEEN A DISCUSSION ABOUT THE, THE WASTE BINS? Y THAT'S A, THAT'S A GREAT POINT.
AND THERE'S NOTHING IN THE PROPOSED ZONING CHANGES THAT RELATES TO THAT SPECIFICALLY, BUT I'M SURE THAT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THE CITY WILL HAVE TO CONTEMPLATE, UM, AND WORK WITH WASTE MANAGEMENT ON AS AS AND IF THIS CHANGE, UM, MOVES FORWARD.
AND I SHOULD ALSO NOTE THAT THE MEETING TOMORROW IS JUST FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.
THE FIRST VOTE WILL BE TAKEN BY PLANNING COMMISSION IN NOVEMBER, AND THEN CITY COUNCIL WILL VOTE ON THIS IN DECEMBER.
AND UNTIL THOSE VOTES ARE TAKEN, PLANNING COMMISSION AND CITY COUNCIL STILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE AMENDMENTS TO WHAT'S BEING PROPOSED.
SO THAT'S THE KIND OF THING THAT IT'S REALLY HELPFUL TO HEAR AND UM, POTENTIALLY SOMETHING THAT WE COULD INCLUDE AS AN AMENDMENT.
SO IF WE WERE TO VOTE ON THE, SORRY, IF WE WERE TO VOTE ON THIS RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF NOW AND IT CHANGES, WOULD WE HAVE TO THEN VOTE LATER ON THE CHANGES OR SHOULD WE WAIT UNTIL THE CHANGES ARE POSSIBLY IN PLACE? THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION AND I MIGHT DEFER TO ROHAN.
I DO THINK THAT IT CAN'T CHANGE SO SUBSTANTIALLY BECAUSE OF WHAT WAS NOTICED.
UM, IT CAN'T REALLY GO OUTSIDE THE BOUNDS OF WHAT EVERYONE RECEIVED A PAPER NOTICE FOR.
UM, SO THE CHANGES WOULD BE TO, YOU KNOW, HOW IT'S IMPLEMENTED THROUGHOUT THE CODE.
BUT, UM, I I WONDER IF ROHAN YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ON THAT? I THINK KABA MIGHT HAVE A BETTER ANSWER ON THAT THAN ME.
THIS IS, THIS IS OUTTA MY WHEELHOUSE.
UM, ALICE, I I I APPRECIATE THE LINK YOU DROPPED AND I, I WAS JUST, I'M, I'M A LITTLE, UM, UNSURE EVEN OF WHAT, WHAT I'M LOOKING AT THERE.
I MEAN, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THERE'S NOT A CHANGE IN IMPERVIOUS COVER, BUT I'M, I'M WONDERING IF THAT'S HOW YOU'RE READING IT.
SORRY, I AM JUST LOOKING AT THAT NOW.
I'M ALSO NOT SEEING A CHANGE IN IMPERVIOUS COVER ON THERE EXCEPT FOR ON THE FIRST PAGE UNDER NEW THREE UNIT RESIDENTIAL USE.
I THINK THAT IS WHERE THE MAX IMPERVIOUS COVER IS GOING UP TO 45%.
SO POTENTIALLY ONLY FOR THREE UNIT, ONLY FOR SINGLE FAMILY.
BUT I WISH I HAD A BETTER, I WISH I HAD MORE CLARITY ON THAT.
LOOKS LIKE UNDER TWO FAMILY THERE MIGHT BE A CHANGE REMOVES LOCATIONAL SECOND STORY SQUARE FOOTAGE AND BUILDING COVER REQUIREMENTS UNDER TWO, TWO FAMILY ON PAGE TWO.
I SEE THAT, BUT I'M NOT SEEING IMPERVIOUS COVER LIST.
YEAH, IT JUST SAYS BUILDING COVER.
IT'S NOT SPECIFIC
SORRY ALEX, COULD YOU SHARE AGAIN THE TIMELINE? UM, WILL, WILL THIS BE, IS THE INTENTION TO FINALIZE THIS BEFORE OUR NEXT MEETING? YES, THANK YOU.
I WAS GONNA SAY OUR NEXT JSC IS NOVEMBER 15TH.
WAS PLANNING GONNA MEET BEFORE NOVEMBER 15TH TO YES.
FINALIZE PLANNING IS VOTING ON NOVEMBER 14TH AND THEN CITY
[02:20:01]
COUNCIL IS VOTING ON DECEMBER 7TH.SO I DON'T THINK THIS WOULD NOT BE, THAT'S A CONFUSING WAY TO SAY THAT.
I THINK THIS WOULD STILL BE IMPACTFUL IF WE VOTED ON IT.
SO IF, I MEAN, SO THAT WOULD BE AN OPTION, RIGHT? IS IF WE DELAY THE VOTE ON THIS NOW AND WE UM, TAKE IT UP, WE PUT IT ON THE AGENDA FOR NOVEMBER 15TH MM-HMM
AND THAT WAY IF THERE WERE ANY MODIFICATIONS TO IT OR IN THE INTERIM QUESTIONS COULD GO BACK AND FORTH, IS IT, IS A SUGGESTION, ARE YOU MOVING TO TABLE IT? I AM NOT MOVING TO TABLE IT.
UM, I'LL SAY THAT I, I, I PERSONALLY AM IN SUPPORT OF THIS, UM, RESOLUTION.
IF WE VOTE ON IT TONIGHT, I PLAN TO VOTE FOR IT.
UM, I DON'T THINK IT'S GOING TO CHANGE TRE, YOU KNOW, TREMENDOUSLY AND THE FACT THAT WE'RE NOT, UH, A SOVEREIGN BODY.
UM, IT'S REALLY JUST A SIGNAL THAT WE ARE IN SUPPORT OF THESE CHANGES IF WE DO MOVE, UM, APPROVE IT AND, UM, I WOULD BE WILLING TO MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE IF THERE'S NOT FURTHER DISCUSSION QUESTION.
HEY ALICE, I JUST WANNA GO BACK TO TWO THINGS YOU MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY IN RESPONSE TO MY FIRST QUESTION.
UM, HAS THE PLANNING COMMISSION CONSIDERED POTENTIALLY PAUSING ON PUSHING THIS FORWARD SO QUICKLY TO ALLOW TIME FOR THOUGHTFUL ENGAGEMENT WITH LOW-INCOME HOMEOWNERS AND RENTERS GIVEN THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THESE POTENTIAL CHANGES? SO I THINK THAT THE, THE HOPE WAS TO MOVE IT FORWARD BY THE END OF THE YEAR.
UM, I DO BELIEVE THAT THAT ENGAGE, THAT NEIGHBORHOOD LEVEL ENGAGEMENT HAS CERTAINLY HAPPENED.
AND UM, YOU KNOW, I REPRESENT DISTRICT TWO ON THE PLANNING COMMISSION.
I KNOW COUNCILWOMAN FUENTES HAS SPENT A LOT OF TIME IN THAT DISTRICT EDUCATING FOLKS AND GETTING FEEDBACK ON THESE POLICY CHANGES.
AND I IMAGINE THAT THE SAME HAS HAPPENED IN OTHER DISTRICTS.
SO I DON'T NECESSARILY FEEL THAT THIS PROCESS HAS BEEN SO RUSHED, BUT I I CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND THE, THE CONCERN AROUND ENGAGEMENT.
THE GOAL IS TO MOVE THIS FORWARD BY THE END OF THE YEAR.
AND THEN YOU ALSO MENTIONED YOU, YOU MADE A POINT ABOUT ANTI-DISPLACEMENT KIND OF ELEMENTS THAT POTENTIALLY WOULD BE BENEFICIAL IF THEY HAD BEEN INCLUDED AS PART OF A PACKAGE.
AND I'M, I'M WONDERING WOULDN'T IT BE IMPORTANT TO HAVE SUCH MEASURES IN PLACE BEFORE MOVING FORWARD WITH SOMETHING LIKE THIS TO AVOID UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES AND WOULDN'T THAT BE AN IMPORTANT PART OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AS WELL? SURE.
AND AND I DEFINITELY AGREE WITH YOU.
I, I DO THINK THAT THE POLICY CHANGES INHERENTLY PREVENT DISPLACEMENT BY GIVING FAMILIES AND HOUSEHOLDS WHO ARE POTENTIALLY PROPERTY TAX BURDEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE NEW SOURCES OF INCOME BY BUILDING A SECOND UNIT OR HAVING A TINY HOME ON THEIR LOT OR ALLOWING FAMILIES TO LIVE TOGETHER MULTI-GENERATIONALLY.
I DON'T THINK THAT THERE IS REASON TO BELIEVE THAT THIS WILL INCENTIVIZE OR ENCOURAGE DISPLACEMENT EITHER.
I THINK IT, IT ALLOWS FOR MORE FLEXIBILITY AND AFFORDABILITY.
I I CAN SEE HOW THE, HOW THE MULTI-GENERATIONAL ASPECT WOULD, WOULD HELP.
BUT I'M SPEAKING PARTICULARLY ABOUT LIKE THE LOWEST INCOME HOMEOWNERS.
I MEAN, I, I DON'T REALLY THINK IT'S FEASIBLE FOR SOMEBODY WHO'S SOMEBODY WHO'S BARELY GETTING BY PAYING THEIR, THEIR MORTGAGE OR THEIR TAXES TO LIKE SOMEHOW HAVE THE MONEY TO BUILD AN ADU OR, OR TWO UNITS.
SO I'M, I'M SPEAKING SPECIFICALLY ABOUT CONCERNS FOR THE LOWEST INCOME HOMEOWNERS.
YEAH, I THINK WHAT'S MORE REALISTIC IS THAT THEY WOULD HAVE TO SELL THEIR PROPERTIES TO DO THAT, WHICH MEANS THAT THEY'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE IT, RIGHT.
IT'S GOING TO BE OTHER PEOPLE THAT ARE GOING TO MOVE IN THAT WOULD BE AFFORDABLE TO THEM, BUT NOT TO THE PEOPLE ORIGINALLY LIVING THERE.
YEAH, I, I THINK THAT'S AN IMPORTANT POINT.
I CERTAINLY DON'T FEEL THAT THIS POLICY CHANGE IS GOING TO SOLVE ALL OF OUR AFFORDABILITY PROBLEMS IN AUSTIN.
AND CERTAINLY, UM, THE LOWEST INCOME HOMEOWNERS THERE, THERE ARE A LOT OF OTHER POLICY CHANGES THAT ARE NEEDED.
BUT I DO FEEL STRONGLY THAT THIS IS AN IMPORTANT STEP FORWARD TOWARD ADDRESSING OUR AFFORDABILITY CRISIS.
AND IT'S NOT THE WHOLE PACKAGE.
THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS THAT NEED TO HAPPEN, BUT I, I DO FEEL LIKE THIS IS A POSITIVE STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
[02:25:01]
SO PLANNING, WE'LL TAKE THIS UP LATER.AND THEN COMING BACK TO THE IMPERVIOUS COVER POTENTIAL, POTENTIAL TREE DAMAGE, WHICH COMMISSION WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR LOOKING AT THIS AND MAYBE ADDRESSING FLOODING CONCERNS? 'CAUSE THAT'S WHAT MY NEIGHBORHOOD WOULD HAVE IS I WOULD IMAGINE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION.
WE DEAL A LOT WITH IMPERVIOUS COVER AND DEFINITELY WE GO CRAZY OVER ANY TREE RELATED ISSUES.
SO, SO THIS MIGHT COME TO THEN ENVIRONMENTAL AS WELL, THIS RESOLUTION.
UM, I'M SURE THAT, UH, DEFINITELY THERE'LL BE A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT THIS TYPE OF STUFF.
ANY KIND OF IMPERVIOUS COVER, YOU KNOW, UM, THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE CONCERNS, LIKE YOU SAID, WITH FLOODING AND, AND DRAINAGE.
UM, A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT, UH, ARE NOT GONNA BE SUPER HAPPY TO SEE AN INCREASE IN IMPERVIOUS COVER 'CAUSE THAT JUST MEANS MORE WATER DURING RAINFALL.
UM, SO YEAH, I MEAN I WOULD IMAGINE THAT THIS IS SOMETHING WE DISCUSSED FOR SURE.
HOWEVER, I REALIZE I AM LAX IN THAT THERE WAS A MOTION MADE TO, UM, TO VOTE, UH, TO VOTE ON THIS.
UM, SO IS THERE A SECOND OR AM I ALLOWED TO HAVE MORE QUESTIONS IN BETWEEN THE FIRST AND THE YEAH, I THINK I AM.
YEAH, UNTIL THERE'S THIS SECOND.
OKAY, SO ALICE SECONDS AND THEN NOW WE TAKE A VOTE.
ALL WHO, UH, ARE IN FAVOR ALL KABA.
YES, ACTUALLY I, SO WITH WITH, WITH THAT MOTION ON THE TABLE, I, I WOULD LIKE TO, UM, MAKE WHAT I, I HOPE IS A, A WELL RECEIVED, UH, AMENDMENT TO ITEM ONE.
JUST TO CLARIFY, UM, THE, SINCE, SINCE THERE SEEMS TO BE SOME UNCERTAINTY ON THE IMPERVIOUS COVER, COULD WE ADD A CLAUSE, UM, SAYING THAT WE MAKE THAT RECOMMENDATION, UH, WITH, WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT IMPERVIOUS COVER LIMITATIONS WILL BE MAINTAINED AT THE STATUS QUO, OR, UM, WOULD THE CAVEAT THAT IMPERVIOUS COVER LIMITATIONS OR MAINTAINED AT THE STATUS QUO, WOULD THAT BE ACCEPTABLE? SO JUST TO CLARIFY, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THAT ONLY CHANGE TO IMPERVIOUS COVER WILL BE FOR SINGLE FAMILY LOTS WITH THREE UNITS ON THEM INCREASING FROM 40 TO 45%.
UM, AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT EN ENVISIONING THAT THERE WILL BE A HUGE CHANGE TO IMPERVIOUS COVER HERE.
BUT THAT WOULD COUNTER WHAT EVA SAID, WHICH WAS THE CAVEAT THAT THERE WOULD BE NO CHANGES TO IMPERVIOUS COVER.
'CAUSE IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE WOULD INDEED BE A CHANGE TO IMPERVIOUS COVER, WHICH MINOR, BUT THERE WOULD BE ONE.
YEAH, I JUST THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT FLOODING ISSUES AND, AND, AND OTHER, YOU KNOW, JUST KIND OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT, BUT ESPECIALLY FLOODING ISSUES, THAT IF WE COULD MAINTAIN THAT IT WOULD GO A LONG WAY TOWARDS, UM, I THINK JUST FRANKLY MAKING THE ARGUMENT THAT, UM, THAT, THAT THIS IS NOT A DEGRADING OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION WITHIN THE CITY, WHICH, UM, YEAH, I THINK IS IMPORTANT.
SO ALICE, IN THE, UH, THE BACKUP, UM, INFORMATION, IT WAS TALKING ABOUT THE REPORT, OR I GUESS PART OF THE RESOLUTION IS, YOU KNOW, WHEREAS THE, WHERE IS IT THE, UH, ENVIRONMENT TEXAS OUTLINES COMPACT DEVELOPMENT, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH.
UM, SORRY, LET ME GO BACK TO IT.
SO IT MENTIONS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, IMPERVIOUS COVER BUT ALSO TALKS ABOUT GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE.
UM, IS THERE ANYTHING IN SPECIFIC, OR SPECIFICALLY IN ANYTHING WITH THE HOME INITIATIVE, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE IT'S ALLOWING, HEY, LET'S, YOU KNOW, THREE UNITS ON ONE, BUT THEN, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE MITIGATE MAYBE SOME OF THESE IMPACTS OR MAYBE WITH THE INCREASE OF THE 5% IN PREVIOUS COVER, YOU KNOW, IS THERE ANY POTENTIAL TO ADD THE GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE REQUIREMENTS OR, OR SOMETHING, IS THAT ANY SORT OF PART OF THIS AT ALL? SO NOT AS WRITTEN.
UM, I HOPE THAT WATER FORWARD WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE OR WILL START HAVING AN IMPACT ON OUR WATER INFRASTRUCTURE.
UM, AND I ALSO JUST WANNA KIND OF KEEP IN MIND THAT ON A LARGER SCALE, THIS KIND OF COMPACT DEVELOPMENT THAT THIS POLICY WOULD ALLOW FOR
[02:30:01]
OVERALL IS GOING TO REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF WATER THAT'S USED THROUGHOUT THE CITY AND THROUGHOUT THE EXURBS.UM, BUT I, I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND THE CONCERNS AROUND IMPERVIOUS COVER.
UM, AND I THINK THERE'S SOME, SOME POINTS ON THAT WATER USE AND HOW REDUCING LOT SIZES REDUCES DEMAND FOR WATER IN THAT ENVIRONMENT, TEXAS REPORT IN THE BACKUP.
SO I, I DO THINK THAT THIS IS OVERALL CERTAINLY NOT A DEGRADATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONS.
OKAY, SO WE HAVE A MOTION, WE HAVE A SECOND FROM KABA.
I'M NOT QUITE SURE WHERE TO GO FROM HERE.
I THINK WE HAVE, IF THERE'S AN AMENDMENT, I THINK WE HAVE TO VOTE ON THE AMENDMENT UNLESS YES, BUT I THINK THE WAY, THE WAY WE OPERATE HERE IS WE HAVE TO HAVE A SECOND TO THE AMENDMENT OR ELSE IT, IT, NOTHING HAPPENS WITH IT.
SO UNLESS SOMEBODY WANTS TO SECOND MY MOTION FOR AN AMENDMENT, THEN WE WOULD GO BACK TO THE ORIGINAL MOTION.
WHY NOT? OKAY, SO WE HAVE A SECOND TO PUT IN A CAVEAT TO PUT IN A A, A BIT OF A PARAGRAPH A, YOU KNOW, A CA A HALF OF A SENTENCE THAT SAYS WITH THE CAVEAT THAT IMPERVIOUS COVER, THAT EXISTING IMPERVIOUS COVER RULES WILL NOT BE IMPACTED.
HOWEVER, FROM WHAT I WAS SAID IS WE KNOW THAT THAT'S ALREADY, UH, NOT WHAT IS GONNA HAPPEN.
WELL, BUT I MEAN THAT COULD BE CHANGED, RIGHT? EXACTLY.
I MEAN THAT SEEMS LIKE THAT'S PROBABLY YES.
SO NOW WE HAVE TO VOTE ON THE, YES, I HAVE SOME CONCERNS ABOUT JUST LIKE PROCEDURALLY IN TERMS OF ENGAGEMENT BECAUSE IT, IT SEEMS LIKE THIS IS MOVING PRETTY QUICKLY AND PROBABLY THERE SHOULD BE SOME ENGAGEMENT WITH COMMUNITIES THAT ARE MOST DIRECTLY IMPACTED BY HOUSING ISSUES, INCLUDING LOW INCOME RENTERS AND LOW INCOME HOMEOWNERS IN NEIGHBORHOODS THAT ARE GENTRIFYING.
SO I WOULD, I WOULD MOVE TO TABLE THIS, UM, SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE OF THOSE CONCERNS.
CAN WE MOVE TO TABLE? I THINK WHAT WE HAVE TO DO IS, I THINK WE FIRST HAVE TO ADDRESS THE, THE, UM, YOU HAVE TO VOTE ON THE AMENDMENT, THE, THE AMENDMENT FIRST WE HAVE TO, UH, VOTE ON THE AMENDMENT AND THEN I THINK WE HAVE TO VOTE ON THE MOTION AND THE SECOND BEFORE WE COULD, AND THEN WE HAVE TO VOTE ON THE TABLING.
DID WE TABLE IT? WE DON'T VOTE YES.
NO, BUT I, I UNDERSTAND THAT IF WE TABLE, WE DON'T VOTE.
BUT AM I ALLOWED TO OFFER UP THE TABLE NOW WHERE WE ARE PROCEDURALLY? I DON'T, I DON'T THINK SO.
THERE'S A MOTION ON THE FLOOR? YES, THERE'S A MOTION ON THE FLOOR.
SO THE MOTION ON THE FLOOR IS TO ADD INTO THE FIRST WHERE, UM, UH, UH, I DON'T HAVE IT UP.
UM, EVA, WOULD YOU, WOULD YOU MIND PUTTING IN, I KNOW IT SAYS, I WROTE DOWN WITH THE CAVEAT THAT EXISTING IMPERVIOUS COVER RULES NOT BE LIMITATIONS MAINTAIN.
UM, I SAID WITH THE CAVEAT THAT EXISTING IMPERVIOUS COVER LIMITATIONS ARE MAIN CHANGE.
SO THE MOTION IS ON THE FLOOR.
MAY I ASK FOR, UM, WHO VOTES TO APPROVE THE MOTION TO ADD THE CAVEAT ABOUT IMPERVIOUS COVER NOT BEING MODIFIED? ALL IN FAVOR? AYE.
UH, ANY ABSTENTIONS? OH, I'M SORRY.
1, 2, 3, 4 OPPOSED? YOU WERE OPPOSED.
CAN I, CAN I JUST GET A, A VERBAL ON? YEAH.
SO YOU WANT, AGAIN, WHO WAS, WAS, UH, WHO, UM, IS VOTING FOR THE CAVEAT? YES.
OR DO YOU JUST WANNA DO A ROLL CALL? NAME BY NAME? IS THAT EASIER? UM, IF YOU COULD JUST GIMME A LIST OF WHO SAID YES, THAT'D BE GREAT.
SO RAISE YOUR HAND AGAIN IF YOU SAID YES FOR THE
[02:35:01]
CAVEAT THAT IMPERVIOUS COVER NOT BE MODIFIED.SO I COUNT 1, 2, 3 IN THE ROOM AND ONE, TWO REMOTE.
WHO'S IN THE ROOM? IS THAT DIANA AND DIANA HARRIS.
CHRIS, CHRIS, DIANA, CHRIS AND HARRIS.
SO YOU, MELISSA, ALICE, DID YOU VOTE NO OR DID YOU THAT AND I'M SORRY, ALICE ELSE.
ALICE, DID YOU VOTE? I'M VOTING, NO.
OH, I JUST COULDN'T SEE YOUR HAND.
OKAY, SO IT'S 1, 2, 3, 4 NOS AND THEN ABSTAIN.
LEGAL RODRIGO ISN'T WHAT? YURI AND YURI.
AND DID THAT, I I DIDN'T EVEN DID THAT PASS? I, I THINK SO, BUT I, I WAS LOOKING UP ROBERT TROLL 'CAUSE THE MOTION TO, TO TABLE.
HONESTLY IT WAS ONE WHERE I, I KNOW THAT THE MOTION, BUT I COULDN'T REMEMBER THE ORDER.
IT MIGHT BE THAT WE ARE SUPPOSED TO TAKE THAT UP FIRST.
I'M SORRY, I'M NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT SURE.
CAN I, CAN I ASK WHAT WAS THE, WHAT WAS THE VOTE? IT WAS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.
SORRY, URI, I DIDN'T CATCH YOUR VOTE THERE.
I'M, I'M NOT SURE WHAT THE QUORUM REQUIREMENT FOR YET.
I, I THINK ON A MOTION TO AMEND MAJORITY RULES IS THAT A MAJORITY OF PEOPLE AT THE MEETING OR A MAJORITY OF THE VOTE? THAT'S AT THE, UM, UH, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
OKAY, SO IT SAYS IF WE WANT TO POSTPONE A MOTION, IT LOOKS LIKE IF WE WANT TO MOVE TO TABLED THE MOTION, THE MOTION MAY BE TAKEN.
NOW IS THE, IS THE WAY YOU READ IT, IS IT THE, THE MOTION TO TABLE THIS? YEAH.
SO YOU'RE MOVING TO TABLE THE MOTION SO WE CAN MOVE TO TABLE THE MOTION.
EVEN IN THE MIDST OF ALL THESE AMENDMENTS.
'CAUSE IT'S LIKE LAYERING MOTION.
WELL, BUT YOU KNOW, SO THE AMENDMENT IS, WE'RE NOT YET SURE IF THE AMENDMENT PASSED OR NOT, BUT IT, BUT, BUT WE CAN, WE CAN, I CAN MAKE A MOTION TO TABLE THIS NOW AND BRING IT UP AT THE NEXT MEETING.
SO CAN WE PLEASE CONFIRM WHAT THE VOTING RULE IS SO THAT WHEN WE VOTE ON TABLING, WE KNOW WHETHER THAT MOTION, THAT VOTE PASSED OR FAILED.
SO WHETHER IT'S THE MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE IN THE MEETING OR MM-HMM,
SO IF THE, THE MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE IN THE MEETING MEANS THAT THE, THE AMENDMENT DID NOT PASS.
SO WE NEED EITHER TWO THIRDS OF THE MEMBERS PRESENT AT THE MEETING OR, UM, THE NUMBER OF MEMBERS NECESSARY TO PROVIDE QUORUM.
AND IT JUST DIDN'T IN GENERAL.
AND TO PASS THE, SO THE CAVEAT THAT IMPERVIOUS COVER, BECAUSE THERE WERE FIVE FOR THAT, FOR AGAINST THAT TO ABSTAINING IT DOES NOT PASS.
SO THE MOTION TO AMEND DID NOT PASS EVEN THOUGH IT GOT A PLURALITY.
UM, SO NOW WE'RE STILL BACK TO THE MOTION IN A SECOND TO, TO TAKE UP THE, UM, RESOLUTION AS IT WAS WRITTEN.
HOWEVER, I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE, MAKE, MAKE A MOTION TO TABLE THIS DISCUSSION UNTIL THE NEXT MEETING.
DO WE STILL HAVE TO VOTE? I THOUGHT 'CAUSE THERE'S A MOTION ON THE TABLE THAT HAS A, DOESN'T HAVE A RESOLUTION TO IT, RIGHT? RIGHT.
BUT YOU'RE VOTING TO TABLE THE MOTION ITSELF.
YOU HAVE TO VOTE ON THE MOTION TO TABLE.
BUT THE MOTION, I'LL HAVE TO GET A SECOND FIRST, BUT THERE'S ALREADY A MOTION ON
[02:40:01]
THE TABLE THAT HAS A SECOND TO APPROVE.HONESTLY, GIVEN OUR LEVEL OF CONFUSION, I'LL, WELL, IT LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE A SECONDING.
AND SO I, I SECOND MY THOUGHT IS THAT IT NEEDS TO BE PASSWORD FAIL AND IF IT FAILS, THEN WE MAKE ANOTHER MOTION TO TABLE IT.
THAT'S MY, SO IF IT FAILS, THEN WHY DO WE NEED TO TABLE IT? WHY, WHY WOULD WE TABLE SOMETHING THAT FAILED? THE AMENDMENT HAS FAILED.
NOW WE'RE JUST BACK TO THE MOTION.
IT'S, SORRY, WE WERE BACK TO THE RESOLUTION AS WRITTEN.
SO THE RESOLUTION AS WRITTEN RESOLUTION AS WRITTEN HAD A MOTION TO, UM, TO VOTE.
AM I ALLOWED? AND IT LOOKS LIKE YOU NEED IT LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE GONNA NEED, UM, SORRY, I CAN I TABLE IT? CAN I, CAN I MAKE A MOTION TO TABLE IT NOW IN THE MIDST OF HAVING A FIRST AND A SECOND, OR DO WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE VOTING? I ALREADY MADE THAT MOTION.
THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT THE MOTION TO TABLE IT.
OH, WERE WE ALLOWED TO DO THAT IS MY QUESTION? THAT'S THAT'S WHAT, OKAY, SO THERE WAS A MOTION MADE TO TABLE THIS.
YOU MADE IT AND I'M SECONDING IT.
AND SO NOW I GUESS WE VOTE ON THE MOTION TO TABLE.
I NEED TO GET MY OWN ROBERTS RULE OF ORDERS.
OKAY, SO ALL VOTING TO APPROVE TABLING THIS FOR NOW.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 8 VOTES TO TABLE THIS UNTIL EIGHT.
EIGHT IS A PA EIGHT IS THE, THE MINIMUM REQUIRED TO PASS, UM, THE TABLING.
SO IS THAT CHARLOTTE, MELISSA, AND JOHN THAT VOTED AGAINST THAT THEY DIDN'T VOTE ON THE FOR YES.
I SHOULD ASK FOR THE WHO VOTES NOT TO TABLE 'CAUSE THERE MIGHT BE AN ABSTENTION.
SO WHO VOTES NOT TO TABLE? I KNOW, SORRY, I, YEAH.
SO, AND DOES ANYBODY ABSTAIN THE VOTE TO TABLE? NO.
ALRIGHT, SO IT PASSES THAT WE WILL TABLE THIS MOTION UNTIL THE NEXT MEETING.
AND CAN WE PUT THAT ON THE AGENDA THEN FOR THE NEXT MEETING? YES.
AND THERE ARE NO OTHER ITEMS ON OUR AGENDA RIGHT NOW.
OH, EXCEPT TO TALK ABOUT FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
WE DO HAVE FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. WE KNOW ONE OF THEM IS THE RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF THE PROS LAND CODE, UM, THE UPDATES FROM THE COMMISSIONS.YEAH, I'D LIKE TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE FROM WATER AND WASTEWATER AT NEXT MEETING.
I, UM, YEAH, IF WE HAVE LIKE A, A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM TO, TO BRING UP.
UM, AT THE LAST UM, ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION, THERE WAS, UH, A PRESENTATION ON THE, UH, QUICKTRIP THAT THEY'RE BUILDING ON THE OTHER SIDE OF, NOT THE OTHER SIDE.
EVERY SIDE IS THE OTHER SIDE, UM, ON THE EAST SIDE OF 9 69 AND ONE 30.
AND SO ONE OF THE POINTS THAT THEY MADE WAS THAT LIKE, HEY, THIS WILL ENCOURAGE TRUCKERS TO USE ONE 30 BECAUSE YOU KNOW, IT'S MORE FUELING FACILITIES.
AND UH, ONE OF THE COMMISSIONERS BROUGHT UP, WELL, HEY, IT'S ONLY, YOU KNOW, 20% OF THE, UH, YOU KNOW, BIG RIGS THAT ARE COMING THROUGH AUSTIN USING 35, UM, ARE MEANT FOR, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE NOT STOPPING IN AUSTIN, RIGHT? 80%, UH, ARE, YOU KNOW, IN THE METRO AND 20% ARE NOT IN THE METRO.
THEY'RE JUST USING AUSTIN AS A PLACE AS YOU KNOW, GOING THROUGH 35.
AND I WAS LIKE, WELL, 20% IS STILL KIND OF A LOT, RIGHT? LIKE THAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LIKE AC MINUS AND A MINUS, RIGHT? WHICH IS LIKE BASICALLY THE EQUIVALENT OF EITHER BEING GROUNDED OR BEING ALLOWED TO, YOU KNOW, GO OUTSIDE OR WHATEVER.
UM, AND I KNOW THAT CITY COUNCIL HAS TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, UM, PROVIDING SOME KIND OF, UH, INCENTIVE FOR, FOR TRUCKERS TO USE ONE 30, RIGHT? AND I THINK, UH, YOU KNOW, WITH TEXDOT, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT GONNA SAY THREATENING, BUT UH, YOU KNOW, GIVING SIGNALS THAT THEY'RE GOING TO ENGAGE IN SORT OF THIS, YOU KNOW, I 35 CONSTRUCTION PROJECT.
YOU KNOW, UM, AGAIN, I KNOW CITY COUNCIL HAD BROUGHT THIS UP WHENEVER THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, SORT OF I 35, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO STOP TEXDOT.
UM, HAS THERE EVER BEEN ANY, YOU KNOW, ANY SORT OF RESOLUTION OR RECOMMENDATION FROM THIS COMMISSION AS FAR AS LIKE THE CITY, UM, OR YOU KNOW, THE CITY MANAGER SORT OF PURSUING
[02:45:01]
ANY KIND OF INCENTIVE PROCESS FOR TRUCKERS TO USE ONE 30? I'M TAKEN BY THE SILENCE THAT THAT'S PROBABLY A NO.SO I MEAN, MAYBE SOMETHING TO CONSIDER, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER.
BUT HEY, IT'S MORE WORK AND WE ALL GOT TONS OF WORK, SO YOU KNOW, TIME WE CAN, SO WE CAN ADD AS A POTENTIAL FUTURE AGENDA ITEM, UH, TRUCKER INCENTIVE.
BECAUSE IF ANY OF Y'ALL HAVE EVER BEEN STUCK ON I 35 TRAFFIC, UM, LATE AT NIGHT FROM PFLUGERVILLE OR FROM SAN ANTONIO COMING TO THE CITY, IT GETS, UH, PRETTY GNARLY SOMETIMES.
I'M NOT SURE WHO YOU WOULD GET TO PRESENT ON IT, BUT WE CAN, UH, I KNOW KABA AND I MEET WITH THE STAFF TO TALK ABOUT THE AGENDA ITEMS. YEAH, FOR SURE.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMISSIONS THAT WOULD LIKE TO PRESENT NEXT TIME? UM, I WAS JUST WONDERING, WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO HAVE AN AGENDA ITEM TO DISCUSS LIKE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT AFTER OUR RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WENT TO CITY COUNCIL AROUND THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN? LIKE WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS AND KIND OF BRAINSTORMING AROUND THAT MIGHT BE HELPFUL.
I DO YOU NOT FEEL LIKE THAT'S HAPPENING IN THE WORKING GROUPS? SAY THAT AGAIN KATE, BUT I DIDN'T HEAR YOU.
UM, I GUESS I'M WONDERING IS, IS THAT WORK NOT HAPPENING, UH, IN THE WORKING GROUP? I, I, YOU KNOW, I KNOW IT'S CONTINUING AND, AND AT LEAST A COUPLE OF THE WORKING GROUPS KIND OF TRYING TO, TO MOVE ITEMS FORWARD.
BUT YEAH, I GUESS, YEAH, I'M, I'M OPEN TO IT WONDERING.
I WAS THINKING MORE FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF HAVING SOME KIND OF LIKE COHESIVE STRATEGY ACROSS WORKING GROUPS AROUND HOW WE CAN START TO PUSH ON THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS.
I HAD LIKE TO PROPOSE FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEM, THE CLIMATE AMBASSADORS.
IT WOULD BE GREAT IF THEY COULD COME AND SPEAK ABOUT THEIR PROGRAM AND ABOUT POTENTIALLY THEIR WILLINGNESS TO HELP PARTICIPATE IN OUR CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN INITIATIVES.
UM, UH, I'D LIKE TO PRESENT NEXT TIME ON THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION, UM, UM, YOU KNOW, OUTCOMES LIKE I DID TODAY.
I THINK WE DO LAST TIME WE NEEDED A SECOND FOR, TO ADD THESE ITEMS FOR SURE.
SO IDEAS, YOU DON'T NEED A SECOND, BUT THINGS THAT ARE ABSOLUTELY GONNA BE ON LAST TIME ROHAN SAID WE NEEDED A SECOND.
YOU YOU NEED A SECOND? ALL RIGHT.
ANY OF THE COMMISSIONS KNOW RIGHT NOW THEY WANT TO PRESENT NEXT MONTH, WHICH AGAIN WILL BE NOVEMBER 15TH, I'M SURE PLANNING COMMISSION WILL HAVE SEVERAL UPDATES.
PLANNING COMMISSION AS ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION.
AND I WILL SECOND BOTH OF THOSE.
AND ROHAN, JUST TO VERIFY, NOVEMBER 15TH, OUR NEXT MEETING, WHICH LOCATION IS THAT AT? UH, THAT IS AT, I BELIEVE IT IS BACK AT THE P.
BACK AT THE PDC? NO, IT IS, IT IS STILL AT AUSTIN ENERGY, STILL HERE.
SO I WILL CALL THIS MEETING ADJOURNED AT 8:56 PM THANK YOU.