[00:00:01]
THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR BEING HERE.
UM, OH, IS THAT OUR NEW COMMISSIONER? ALL RIGHT, I SEE.
WHAT DO I HAVE HERE? THANK YOU, MY DEAR.
BUT I NEED TO SEE WHO, WHO'S, WHO'S, WHO'S ON.
WE WILL, UH, BEGIN IN, UH, 60 SECONDS.
GUYS, MY APOLOGIES, THAT IS NOT MY NORM, BUT I DO WANNA LET YOU EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU ALL KNOW THAT I'M EXCITED, UM, FOR US TO BE HERE TOGETHER AND IN QUORUM.
THE TIME NOW IS WHAT IS MY TIME.
[CALL TO ORDER]
AND WE ARE BEGINNING THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MEETING FOR DECEMBER 12TH, 2023.AND THE PURPOSE OF THE BOARD IS TO ADVISE THE COUNCIL IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF PROGRAMS DESIGNED TO SERVE THE POOR AND THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE WITH AN EMPHASIS ON FEDERALLY FUNDED PROGRAMS. WITH THAT BEING SAID, I DO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE ALL MEMBERS THAT ARE PRESENT ON THE DAIS, MYSELF, CO-CHAIR, UH, S COMMISSIONER, LONGORIA, COMMISSIONER HASSEL, UM, AND WE HAVE ONLINE COMMISSIONER ORTIZ, COMMISSIONER ACHILLES COMMISSIONER BERTHA DELGADO, COMMISSIONER, UM, WOODS AND COMMISSIONER ESTEBAN DELGADO.
WITH THAT BEING SAID, WE ARE READY TO
[PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL]
BEGIN.WE ARE CALL TO ORDER IS GOING TO BE THAT WE DO HAVE THE FIRST 10 SPEAKERS THAT ARE ON OUR, THAT HAVE SIGNED UP, AND I DO BELIEVE WE HAVE TWO, YEAH, TWO.
WITH THAT BEING SAID, WOULD OUR SPEAKER THAT IS PRESENT, COME ON UP AND HAVE HER SEAT
GOOD EVENING, MADAM CHAIR MEMBERS.
IT IS ALWAYS, UM, UM, ENLIGHTENING TO SEE YOU.
LET US HEAR WHAT SAY YOU TODAY.
SO, UM, THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR MEMBERS.
I'M ENOVIA JOSEPH, I THOUGHT I WOULD JUST MENTION ONE PROJECT CONNECT AND TWO RENTAL ASSISTANCE AS IT RELATES SPECIFICALLY TO PROJECT CONNECT.
THERE'S ACTUALLY AN AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP MEETING TOMORROW.
IT'S AT 2:00 PM SO IF YOU WANNA SPEAK REMOTELY, I WOULD JUST RECOMMEND THAT THE MEMBERS WHO ACTUALLY SPOKE AGAINST HOME OR HAD SOME CONCERNS ABOUT THE HOME OPTIONS FOR MIDDLE INCOME EMPOWERMENT, THAT YOU CONSIDER MAKING THOSE COMMENTS IN THE CONTEXT OF PROJECT CONNECT.
IF YOU GO TO THE COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA FROM DECEMBER 7TH, LAST THURSDAY, IT'S ACTUALLY THE FIRST, UH, AGENDA OR THE FIRST ITEM IN BACKUP FROM OCTOBER 26TH, 2023.
THAT'S WHEN COUNCIL HAD THE JOINT MEETING WITH PLANNING COMMISSION.
AND SO THERE'S A SLIDE NUMBER THREE, PAGE THREE ON THAT DOCUMENT ACTUALLY HAS PROJECT CONNECT, OR IT HAS, UH, 66% OF THE JOBS.
AND THEN ON PAGE TWO, I STAND CORRECTED.
ON PAGE TWO OF THAT DOCUMENT, YOU'LL ACTUALLY SEE PROJECT CONNECT.
WHAT I WANT YOU TO REMEMBER IS THAT PROJECT CONNECT ACTUALLY WILL START IN HYDE PARK AND WILL GO TO RIVERSIDE AND IT WILL TERMINATE AT YELLOW JACKET LANE.
AND SO REALLY WHAT IS HAPPENING IS THAT HYDE PARK WAS DEVELOPED EXCLUSIVELY FOR WHITE PEOPLE, 1889 TO 1924, ON OR ABOUT BY COLONEL MONROE.
AND SPECIFICALLY THE MANTRA OR THE RHETORIC THAT'S BEING PLACED IN THE MEDIA BY THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP MEMBERS IS THAT HYDE PARK IS NORTH OF THE CITY.
HYDE PARK WASN'T NORTH OF THE CITY.
THAT THAT WAS THE LANGUAGE THAT'S BEING USED THAT'S STILL BEING USED TODAY.
I WOULD ALSO LET YOU KNOW THAT THE, ON THE AGENDA FOR TOMORROW AND ALSO FOR COUNCIL, IS THE PROJECT CONNECT LAWSUIT THAT
[00:05:01]
WAS FILED BY BILL SHAR, WHO, UM, ON NOVEMBER 6TH, 2023.SO THAT'S GONNA BE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR BOTH OF THOSE, UH, ORGANIZATIONS.
AND I WOULD JUST RECOMMEND THAT YOU HAVE SOME COMMENTS THAT YOU MAKE THEM THEN.
AND AS IT RELATES SPECIFICALLY TO THE RENTAL ASSISTANCE, I KNOW YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A DISCUSSION ITEM LATER.
I JUST WANT YOU TO KEEP IN MIND THAT THERE'S A KU ARTICLE THAT TALKS ABOUT THE, I BELONG IN AUSTIN, TENANT STABILIZATION FUND, $8 MILLION, WHICH IS READILY AVAILABLE.
AND SO I JUST WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT THE SLIDE PRESENTATION THAT YOU'LL GET LATER DOES NOT MENTION ANYTHING ABOUT, UM, I BELONG IN AUSTIN TENANT STABILIZATION, NOR DOES IT MENTION THE, UH, $4 MILLION THAT IS ACTUALLY GIVEN TO THE AUSTIN URBAN AUSTIN AREA URBAN LEAGUE, WHICH IS THE FISCAL AGENT FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS.
AND SO I WOULD JUST ASK THAT YOU CONSIDER MAKING THOSE COMMENTS AS WELL.
AND LASTLY, I WOULD JUST SAY THAT IF YOU LOOK AT THE ACTUAL, THERE'S A V UH, PRESS CONFERENCE VIDEO.
IF YOU CLICK ON THAT FROM THE 5TH OF DECEMBER, YOU'LL ACTUALLY SEE WHERE THE COUNCIL MEMBERS ARE ACTUALLY USING AS JUSTIFICATION.
UM, THE, THE, UM, THE ACTUAL STUDY THAT WAS DONE, UPROOTED STUDY THAT WAS DONE BY THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN.
AND I JUST WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT IT WAS OCTOBER, UM, 17TH, 20 20, 20 19 WHEN COUNCIL REZONED THE 1,308 UNITS ON RIVERSIDE.
AND THEN ABOUT A WEEK LATER, UH, HEATHER WAY, WHICH IS AN ATTORNEY FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS LAW SCHOOL, ACTUALLY MENTIONED THAT THEY DID NOT COMPLY, OR THEY DIDN'T FOLLOW THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE GIVEN, UH, TO COUNCIL AS IT RELATED TO THE UPROOTED STUDY.
SO THAT IS, IT JUST CONTINUES TO PERPETUATE.
BUT IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'LL GLADLY ANSWER THEM AT THIS TIME.
AND THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO BE SO EXTENSIVE.
UM, MISS, MISS MS. UM, ENOVIA, YOU ARE ALWAYS SUCH A WEALTH OF INCREDIBLE KNOWLEDGE, UH, FOR OUR PURPOSE.
AND SO THAT IS WHY WE, UH, LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR ANNOUNCEMENTS EVERY EVERY MEETING.
UM, WITH THAT BEING SAID, UM, OUR SECOND, UM, PUBLIC SPEAKER IS ONLINE MIM, OR IS IT THE CALL IN, IT'S THE CALLIN IS THE CALL IN MS. TATTOO.
IF YOU COULD PLEASE UNMUTE YOURSELF WITH STAR SIX.
THANK YOU, MS. TATO, IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, IF YOU COULD PLEASE, UH, PRESS STAR SIX TO UNMUTE YOURSELF.
AM I BEING CALLED TO SPEAK FRAN? TWO MM-HMM.
THIS IS FRAN TWO, AND I'M OUTREACH DIRECTOR WITH AUSTIN MUTUAL AID.
AND I WAS, UH, ASKED TO SPEAK TONIGHT TO ADDRESS THE REALLY EXTREME LACK OF ANY TYPE OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE.
THERE IS SOMETHING, UH, A LINK THAT WILL COME, UH, ONLINE AND THEN IT'S ANNOUNCED, AND IT'S ONLY UP FOR, UH, SEVERAL HOURS BEFORE IT JUST BASICALLY CRASHES BECAUSE THERE'S SO MANY PEOPLE, UH, REALLY NEEDING HELP WHO QUALIFY AND ARE ELIGIBLE.
UM, IF YOU CHECK OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES, ALSO MUTUAL AID, EVERY OTHER POST IS, UH, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ASKING WHERE CAN THEY GET SOME KIND OF, UH, RENT, RENT RELIEF.
UH, SO OUR FOOD BANKS ARE EMPTY.
I MENTIONED THIS THE OTHER DAY IN THE MEETING BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE, YOU KNOW, HAVING TO USE ALL THEIR FUNDS TO KEEP A ROOF OVER THEIR HEADS, AND THEY'RE HAVING TO CHOOSE BETWEEN THAT AND FEEDING THEIR CHILDREN, KEEPING THE LIGHTS ON.
SO I REALLY ASKED, UH, UM, TODAY THE, THE GOVERNING BODY HERE TO LOOK AT THIS ISSUE, UH, HELP US.
WE ALREADY HAVE APPROXIMATELY 5,000 PLUS PEOPLE ON THE STREETS, UM, AND MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ARE FALLING THROUGH THE CRACKS, AND WE'RE SEEING A LOT OF YOUNG FAMILIES IN THEIR CARS.
SO I'M NOW STARTING TO COLLECT CHILDREN'S CLOTHES, WHICH BREAKS MY HEART.
IT'S ALWAYS BEEN YOU, HELLO? OH, I'M SO SORRY.
SO IT'S JUST BREAKING MY HEART THAT WE HAVE FAMILIES IN THEIR, IN THEIR CARS, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE FIXES IN THEIR CARS, AND WE HAVEN'T EVEN HIT THE COLD WEATHER YET.
UM, SO WE NEED MORE HOUSING OUT AND WE NEED, UH, A LOT OF RENT ASSISTANCE, UH, RELIEF.
THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH AGAIN.
AND THAT'S AUSTIN MUTUAL AID, IS THAT CORRECT? YES.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE TAKE PART IN THE WINTER WEATHER RESPONSE TEAM.
UH, LAST YEAR WE WERE, UH, RIGHT THERE WITH THE BIG FREEZE.
WORKING WITH THE CITY, ACTUALLY.
[00:10:01]
OKAY.AND, UH, THIS SUNDAY NIGHT, WE HAD TEAMS OUT ACTUALLY SCABBING AND PICKING PEOPLE UP, TRYING TO GET THEM TO OVER TO THE, UM, ON TOP OF THIS REC CENTER.
WE, WE DEFINITELY APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT YOU ALL DO IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, AND, UH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR, UH, REPORT.
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING, BUT THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK.
I DO HAVE, UM, FEEDBACK OR QUESTIONS.
AND THE DEL DELGADO, BOTH OF THEM.
MY NAME IS NEFERTITI JACKMAN AND I SERVE AS THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S COMMUNITY DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION OFFICER.
AND I, UM, JUST WANT TO ADD A, A COUPLE OF POINTS OF CLARIFICATION TONIGHT.
UM, WE DO HAVE, UH, AND HABRA WHO WILL SPEAK ABOUT THE EMERGENCY RENT ASSISTANCE THAT IS AVAILABLE THROUGH THE NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING NEXT MONTH.
UH, OUR TEAM AT THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT WILL BE COMING PROBABLY WITH ELW AND SAMANO TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON, I BELONG IN AUSTIN, THE $8 MILLION RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM THAT WE HAVE THROUGH THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
AND IF YOU WOULD LIKE, I DON'T WANNA OVERWHELM YOU, WE ALSO HAVE EMERGENCY RENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS, UM, THROUGH PROJECT CONNECT, WHICH IS PART OF OUR NEW COMMUNITY INITIATED SOLUTIONS.
SO, PART BUT THO THAT THOSE DOLLARS ARE VERY SPECIFIC TO PEOPLE LIVING ALONG THE PROJECT CONNECT STATIONS ONLINE.
I WILL SAY, I JUST WANT TO STATE, UH, THAT THERE ARE EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS AVAILABLE, BUT I WILL NOT EVER SAY THAT IT IS ENOUGH TO ADDRESS THE MYRIAD OF NEEDS THAT ALWAYS EXIST.
SO, UM, JUST, AND WE'RE AVAILABLE TO COME BACK AT ANY TIME TO TRY TO SHARE THE NUMBER OF DIFFERENT SOURCES AND PROGRAMS AND ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE AVAILABLE.
I'M GONNA, UM, COMMISSIONERS, I, I HAVE BEEN REMINDED FROM THANK YOU, UH, CO-CHAIR LET ME KNOW THAT COMMISSIONER DELGADO, UH, BOTH ARE IN, UH, LINE IN QUEUE FOR QUESTIONING.
SO HOLD TIGHT, UH, COMMISSIONERS.
I WANT TO ADDRESS SOMETHING RIGHT QUICK TO MS. MS. NEFERTITI, JUST REAL QUICK.
THAT IS TOTALLY SEPARATE AND I BELIEVE IN HELL WILL PROVIDE CLARIFICATION BECAUSE THE $4 MILLION WITH THE URBAN LEAGUE, HE WILL SHARE WITH ME.
THAT IS OVER A PERIOD OF HOW MANY YEARS.
AND YOUR, IS YOUR 5 MILLION, I MEAN, YOU'RE 8 MILLION OVER A PERIOD OF 12 MONTHS? YES.
WE HAVE RECEIVED OVER 850 APPLICATIONS ALREADY.
WELL, MY LITTLE SMILE KIND OF DROOPED A LITTLE BIT ON THAT, BUT, UM, I, I DO UNDERSTAND.
BUT THAT'S WHAT THE MONEY IS FOR, RIGHT? CORRECT.
UM, UH, YOU DID ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THERE IS FUNDING AVAILABLE.
HOWEVER, UM, WE ALL, I THINK I HEARD YOU TO BE CLEARLY SAYING THAT IT IS NOT, UM, UNREALISTIC TO REALIZE THAT THE NEED EXCEEDS WHAT IS AVAILABLE AND IT MIGHT, IT MIGHT.
SO THIS IS WHAT WE'RE GONNA SEE.
SO WERE YOU ADDRESSING THE, UM, UM, RENTAL ASSISTANCE CONCERNS THAT WAS BROUGHT UP BY THE AUSTIN MUTUAL AID MM-HMM.
AND SO YOU'RE, I HEAR WHAT I HEAR YOU TO BE SAYING IS THAT WHAT YOU HAVE IN THE PIPELINE SHOULD OFFER SOME RELIEF TO THAT, THOSE CONCERNS AND ADDRESS SOME OF THOSE NEEDS, CORRECT? YES.
LET ME GO AHEAD AND, UM, BRING IN, UM, MY COLLEAGUES COMMISSIONER, UM, BERTHA, UH, DEL, UM, UM, YES, UH, DELGADO, YOU ARE THE SENIOR ONE.
SO I'M GONNA BRING YOU ON AND THEN WE'RE GONNA WELCOME COMMISSIONER ESTEBAN DELGADO.
UM, MS. DELGADO, CAN YOU PLEASE UNMUTE YOURSELF? CAN YOU HEAR ME? WE DO NOW, YES.
SO, UM, ACTUALLY, UH, THANK YOU CHAIR.
MY QUESTION, UH, WAS FOR AUSTIN MUTUAL AID, IT WASN'T, UH, ARE THEY STILL ON THE LINE? YES.
THAT'S WHEN, IRA, WE, WE, I THINK ME AND, AND
[00:15:01]
OUR NEW COMMISSIONER RAISED OUR HANDS WHEN, WHEN THAT CALL HER.PUT HER BACK BEFORE SHE JUST CAME BACK.
WE WENT TO CALLING ON SOMEBODY ELSE.
UM, UM, MY REPRESENTATIVE FROM AUSTIN MUTUAL AID, UM, THANK YOU.
AND COMMISSIONER, UM, BERTHA DELGADO HAS QUESTIONS FOR YOU, PLEASE.
I'M SO SORRY THAT I DIDN'T RECOGNIZE HER AT THE IT'S OKAY.
UM, UM, FIRST OF ALL, UM, WHAT WAS, CAN YOU STATE YOUR NAME AGAIN? I, I'M SORRY.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, FOR COMING ON TODAY AND SPEAKING WITH US.
UM, I DID WANNA ASK YOU A, A QUESTION.
SO YOU WERE STATING THAT, UM, CURRENTLY RIGHT NOW YOU'RE, YOU'RE SEEING AN INCREASE OF, UM, MORE PEOPLE SLEEPING IN THEIR VEHICLES NOW WITH FAMILIES AND CHILDREN TRANSFERRING 'EM TO THE CENTERS.
UH, IS THE CITY OF AUSTIN ACTUALLY PUTTING OUT PUBLIC NOTIFICATIONS OUT THERE THAT THESE WARMING CENTERS ARE AVAILABLE? ARE THEY ALSO PROVIDING ANY TRANSPORTATION? I JUST WANNA HEAR FROM YOUR END, 'CAUSE YOU'RE ACTUALLY BOOTS ON THE GROUND DOING THE WORK OUT THERE.
WHAT DO YOU SEE THAT'S NOT HAPPENING TO HELP, UH, THESE FAMILIES RIGHT NOW? WELL, LET'S SEE.
SUNDAY NIGHT, I THINK IT'S A, THERE'S A CHALLENGE GETTING THE WORD OUT WHEN THE SHELTERS OPEN OVERNIGHT, OR EVEN THAT THEY'RE WARMING CENTERS, UH, BECAUSE MANY PEOPLE DON'T HAVE PHONES.
SO OUR STRATEGY IN THE PAST, UM, HAS BEEN TO GET FLYERS UP.
WE EVEN THOUGHT THE BUSES MIGHT BE GOOD PLACES TO HAVE FLYERS, BUT I KNOW THAT'S A HUGE COORDINATED EFFORT.
UM, BUT THE, THE CHALLENGE WE SAW ON SUNDAY NIGHT, UH, WHEN THE, THE, THE TEMPERATURES SUDDENLY WERE GOING TO DIP DAMAGE TO AT 32 DEGREES, PEOPLE DIDN'T KNOW.
UM, AND THEN THE REGISTRATION PERIOD FOR WHEN THEY DO THE OVERNIGHT SHELTERS, YOU KNOW, WHERE EVERYONE'S TRANSPORTED FROM ONE TEXAS CENTER, UM, AT 5 0 5 BARTON SPRINGS ROAD, THERE IS A VERY SHORT WINDOW.
I THINK IT'S FROM SIX TO EIGHT.
SO PEOPLE ARE STRUGGLING WITH THEIR ANIMALS OR THEIR BELONGINGS, AND THEY'RE TRYING TO GET DOWN THERE.
UM, THEY DON'T ALWAYS MAKE IT DOWN THAT TIME.
AND THEN WE WERE DRIVING AROUND IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT TRYING TO FIND PEOPLE WHO HAD FALLEN THROUGH THE CRACKS, WHO COULD BE IN GREAT HARM.
BUT THE COMPANY, WE, WE WERE JUST LUCKY IT WASN'T WET AND IT WASN'T WINDY.
SO I THINK PEOPLE, UH, FARED BETTER, BUT IT WAS VERY COLD.
BUT THE, WHEN I CALLED THE HOTLINE FOR THE SHELTERS, THEY COULDN'T GUARANTEE PICKUP.
I WAS ACTUALLY OUT WITH JANICE BOOK OUT FROM COMMUNITY RESILIENCY TRUST, AND WE WERE FINDING WOMEN SLEEPING UNDER, YOU KNOW, BLANKETS OUT IN FRONT OF THE TRINITY CENTER.
SO I ACTUALLY DROVE FIVE PEOPLE THERE IN TWO, TWO DIFFERENT TRIPS.
UM, AND I'LL SAY THE HOTLINE WORKED REALLY WELL.
TIFFANY ON THE HOTLINE WAS GREAT IN ASSISTING ME, BUT NOT EVERYBODY WILL DRIVE PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, I'VE JUST BEEN DOING IT FOR A WHILE, SO I FEEL COMFORTABLE.
SO, SO, SO YOU'RE THINKING, UM, UM, THERE WE HAVE A, AN ISSUE WITH, UM, PUBLICATION NOTIFICA, LIKE PEOPLE BEING NOTIFIED THAT ARE DIGITALLY INCLINED.
UH, WE'RE HAVING AN ISSUE, UH, WITH TRANSPORTING INDIVIDUALS TO SHELTERS.
UH, WE DON'T HAVE A LONG, UM, UH, OPENING TIME FOR REGISTRATION.
WE ONLY HAVE A TWO HOUR WINDOW PERIOD.
UM, AND THEN YOU'RE ALSO SEEING THE STRUGGLE OF, UM, UM, OF THIS LINE THAT'S BEING CALLED, I I HEARD YOU SAYING THE BEGINNING OF THE CALL, THAT THERE'S SOME TYPE OF TELEPHONE LINE THAT'S NOT BEING ANSWERED OR SOME TYPE OF LINE, OR, OR CAN YOU CLEAR THAT UP? ACTUALLY, NO.
THE, THE HOTLINE WORKED VERY WELL.
BUT, BUT THEY, THEY COULDN'T GUARANTEE THAT THERE WOULD BE A PICKUP.
SO I THINK WHAT IT COMES DOWN TO IS, IF YOU HAVE SOMEONE WHO NEEDS HELP, THEY HAVE TO CALL 3 1 1, AND THEN THAT CAN TAKE QUITE SOME TIME.
I'VE NEVER ACTUALLY BEEN THERE WHEN 3 1 1 CAME TO PICK SOMEONE UP, BECAUSE WE'RE MOVING ON TO THE NEXT PERSON.
BUT I HEAR IT CAN TAKE SOME TIME.
ALSO, I WILL SAY THIS, THAT FOR THE WHOLE CITY, THEY OPENED UP TWO CENTERS.
THEY OPENED UP GUS GARCIA, AND THEY OPENED UP OPUS REC.
AND AT ABOUT 4:00 AM OR YEAH, AROUND 4:00 AM ON MONDAY, I TRIED TO TAKE SOMEONE TO GUS GARCIA, AND IT WAS, HAD ACTUALLY CLOSED,
[00:20:01]
I THINK, BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH PEOPLE.BUT I DIDN'T HAVE THAT INFORMATION, SO IT WAS A LITTLE INCONVENIENCE.
BUT, UM, I HAD A DISABLED WOMAN WITH ME.
I WAS TRYING TO GET HER TO SHELTER, SO.
WELL, I JUST, FIRST OF ALL, I WANNA TELL YOU THANK YOU, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, FOR DOING THAT HARD WORK THAT SO MANY PEOPLE DON'T DO.
AND, AND IT TAKES SOMEBODY VERY BRAVE AND SOMEBODY VERY, YOU KNOW, VERY PASSIONATE FOR THIS WORK.
AND I JUST WANNA TELL YOU, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
AS A HOUSING COMMISSIONER, I DO WANNA BRING THAT UP TO OUR CITY'S ATTENTION THAT, UH, MM-HMM.
UH, I, I THINK THAT, THAT WE NEED TO GEAR UP AND START FIGURING OUT, UH, BECAUSE WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE HOMELESS RIGHT NOW, WHAT ARE WE DOING, UH, FOR THAT CRISIS? AND, AND I, I'M REALLY GRATEFUL THAT YOU BROUGHT THIS TO OUR ATTENTION AND, AND I TOOK SOME NOTES AND I JUST WANNA, I JUST WANTED TO ASK SOME QUESTIONS TO SEE WHAT THE BARRIERS ARE THAT OUR PEOPLE THAT ARE LIVING IN THE STREETS ARE FACING AND PEOPLE THAT ARE BEING MM-HMM.
CURRENTLY RIGHT NOW, I, I'M NOTICING MORE FAMILIES AND CHILDREN STAYING IN HOTELS.
PEOPLE STAYING IN CARS RIGHT NOW.
AND IT'S REALLY BREAKING MY HEART FOR THIS HOLIDAY.
AND SO I JUST WANNA BE IN ASSISTANCE OF, OF SEEING WHERE WE CAN TARGET THE NEED AND, AND, AND WHERE THE NEED IS IS, IS NEEDED.
COMMISSIONER BERTHA DELGADO, UH, COMMISSIONER ESTEBAN DELGADO.
WELCOME TO THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION.
AND, UM, YOU HAVE A QUESTION? YES.
UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH, UH, CHAIR AND, UM, MY FELLOW COMMISSIONERS, UM, FOR BEING HERE THIS EVENING.
UM, MY QUESTION KIND OF PIGGYBACKS OFF OF, UM, COMM COMMISSIONER BERTHA DELGADO'S, UM, QUESTION AND COMMENTS.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WAS THINKING ABOUT THAT, YOU KNOW, I'D LOVE MAYBE A LITTLE BIT MORE ILLUMINATION ON, EITHER FROM OUR, FROM FRAN ON THE PHONE OR FROM OUR FRIENDS THERE AT CITY HALL, IN TERMS OF, UM, YOU KNOW, BACK DURING KIND OF PEAK PANDEMIC TIME WHEN I THINK THAT THERE WERE MAYBE, UM, MORE POTENTIAL SERVICES IN PLACE AROUND EMERGENCY AND MUTUAL AID, AND THOSE MAY HAVE LAPSED, RIGHT.
WHICH MAY BE EXACERBATING WHAT WE'RE, WHAT WE'RE SEEING CURRENTLY.
AND WANTED TO SEE IF THERE WERE ANY THOUGHTS ON PROGRAMMING OR INITIATIVES THAT LAPSED AFTER THE PEAK OF THE PANDEMIC THAT WE MIGHT BE WORTH RECONSIDERING, UM, AT THIS TIME TO, UM, HELP THOSE THAT WE'RE SEEING A NEED, YOU KNOW, WITH, UM, WITH THE, UH, WITH THE, THE HOUSING AND RENTAL ASSISTANCE.
UM, UH, WOULD YOU, MS. NE NEFERTITI SURE.
WOULD YOU, UM, BE INCLINED TO BE ABLE TO ANSWER ES COMMISSIONER ESTEBAN'S? SURE.
UH, ONE OF THE THINGS I WILL, WILL SAY IS THAT WE, THE I BELONG IN AUSTIN PROGRAM IS A PROGRAM THAT WE SAW THE CONTINUED NEED TO ESTABLISH BEYOND, UH, THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC.
SO, UM, THIS IS WHY WE HAVE ASKED FOR ADDITIONAL, UH, FUNDS AND RESOURCES FOR EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE.
AND SO WE ARE ALSO SEEING THAT THE EVICTION RATES ARE CONTINUING TO RISE.
SO, UM, THIS IS IN DIRECT RESPONSE TO THAT.
AND I WILL SAY, UM, I CAN'T SPEAK ON OTHER CITY RESOURCES THAT ARE AVAILABLE RELATED TO HOUSING, I MEAN FOOD OR OTHER AREAS THAT ARE NOT SPECIFIC TO THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT, BUT WE ARE SEEING INCREASED COLLABORATION, BOTH WITH OUR NONPROFIT PARTNERS, AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH AND OTHERS, TO TRY TO STRENGTHEN THE SAFETY NET BECAUSE, UH, THE NEEDS ARE CONTINUING.
UM, AND THEN I WAS SPEAKING TO INHALED TONIGHT, AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH, UH, AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH TO SORT OF UNDERSTAND THE RANGE OF NEW PROGRAMS THAT HAVE BEEN SET UP IN RESPONSE OR AS A RESULT OF BEING MAGNIFIED DURING THE PANDEMIC.
UM, IT'S REASSURING THAT IT, YOU KNOW, EVERY, THAT, THAT MULTIPLE, UH, DEPARTMENTS, AGENCIES, UM, HAVE THEIR EYES ON THIS SITUATION.
UM, IT'S DISAPPOINTING THOUGH THAT WE DON'T HAVE YET A, UM, A SOLUTION THAT WE ALL FEEL IS ADEQUATE.
UM, AND I RECOGNIZE THERE'S A LOT OF WORK THAT'S GOING ON, AND A LOT OF WORK DOES NOT MEAN, AND WORKING HARD DOES NOT MEAN THAT WE STILL CAN'T FALL SHORT OF OUR GOAL AND THEREFORE BE DEEMED INADEQUATE.
[00:25:01]
AND SO, WHEN I SAY INADEQUATE, THAT'S NOT TO THE, UM, DIMINISH THE HARD WORK OF THOSE INVOLVED, BUT IT IS INADEQUATE AND WE, WE, WE, WE JUST HAVE TO STARE IT IN THE FACE AND FIGURE OUT WHAT WE CAN DO.UM, I DID LIKE SOME OF THE IDEAS, WELL, WELL, I CAME UP WITH SOME IDEAS WHEN FRAN, UH, WAS SPEAKING AND THANK YOU AGAIN.
UM, COMMISSIONER BERTHA DELGADO, AND THAT IS, YOU TALKED ABOUT THE BUSES AND SO FORTH.
I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS REASONABLE, BUT, BUT WHAT IF THE, WE GOT CAPITAL METRO TO BE ABLE TO ADVERTISE ON THE, ON, YOU KNOW, ON THE BUSES.
LIKE, YOU KNOW, JUST DRIVING AROUND TOWN.
I DIDN'T KNOW WHEN YOU SAID ON THE BUSES, YOU MEANT PHYSICALLY ON THE BUSES, LIKE ADVERTISEMENT OR HANDING OUT A FLYER ON WHILE YOU'RE PHYSICALLY RIDING ON THE BUS.
WHAT WAS YOUR THOUGHT ON THAT, FRAN? MY THOUGHT WAS THAT THERE COULD BE FLYERS POSTED AT BUS STOPS AND MAYBE ON THE BUSES.
AND THAT'S A LOT TO ASK BUS DRIVER TO HAND OUT FLYERS.
BUT NO, I'M, I'M ASKING, NOT ASKING THEM TO HAND OUT THE FLYERS.
I THINK MAYBE ON THE BUS STOPS.
AND, AND, AND I WAS ALSO THINKING OF MAYBE PHYSICALLY ON THE MOVING VEHICLE ITSELF.
IT'S JUST AN ADVERTISING, LIKE A, LIKE A BILLBOARD THAT'S PASSING BY.
UM, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, WE CAN ONLY COME UP WITH IDEAS AND IF WE PUT 'EM OUT THERE, YOU KNOW, WHETHER YOU SAY YOU BUILD IT, THEY MIGHT COME.
AND SO, UM, THAT WAS, UM, SOMETHING THERE.
I JUST WANTED A LITTLE CLARIFICATION ON THE FLYERS.
WHY, WHY AM I NOT SEEING THE DOG ON HIM? THERE'S
COMMISSIONER ORTIZ, I'M READY FOR YOU.
I JUST WANTED TO CONTINUE THAT CONVERSATION WITH CAPTAIN NITRO.
UM, UNFORTUNATELY BECAUSE OF HOW TEXAS WEATHER IS, UM, AS WELL AS THE CONTRACT THAT WE HAVE WITH THE, UM, THE MAKERS OF OUR SIGNAGE, AH, UM, WE'RE ONLY ALLOWED CERTAIN AMOUNT TO BE USED FOR PUBLIC SERVICE.
UM, SO WE HAVE DIFFERENT PROGRAMS LIKE FOR NONPROFITS CALLED METRO CARES, THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, WE COULD, UM, WITH THROUGH OUR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICE, MAYBE POST, UM, DAY OF OR AFTERNOON OF, DEPENDING ON WHEN THE DRIVER COMES THROUGH THE YARD, UM, HAVE A, A CONTACT SHEET THAT'S BEHIND THE DRIVER.
BUT WE CAN'T HAVE LOOSE FLYERS.
UM, BUT THE GRAY THING AS WELL, 'CAUSE I KNOW THAT THE COMMUNICATION IS WHERE IT'S KEY, IS OUR, I, THIS WAS JUST HAPPENED TO BE TIMING.
UM, I WAS IN A MEETING EARLIER TODAY WITH, UM, ALEX AVI, WHO IS HEAD OF OUR, UH, EMERGENCY, UH, MANAGEMENT SERVICE WITHIN CAP METRO AND WORKS WITH THE CITY FREQUENTLY, UM, IS TRYING TO FIND THE BEST WAYS TO, UH, COMMUNICATE WITH OUR LEADERSHIP AND MAKING SURE THAT, UM, OUR DRIVERS ARE NEVER TO, UM, TELL SOMEONE NO WHEN THEY'RE GOING TO A WARMING SHELTER.
AND, AND IF THEY SEE SOMEONE TO ALSO BE WORKING WITH, UM, THE DRIVERS TO LET THEM KNOW, HEY, LET THAT PERSON KNOW THAT IF YOU SEE SOMEBODY AT A STOP MULTIPLE TIMES, THEY PROBABLY DON'T HAVE A PLACE TO GO.
SO, UM, HE'S TRYING TO COME UP WITH THE, A BETTER PLAN AS WELL.
SO I APPRECIATE THE CONVERSATION AROUND THE COMMUNICATION, UM, AS WE CONTINUE TO WORK ON THAT AND TRY TO FIGURE OUT WAYS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT COMMISSIONER ORTIZ.
AND WE DO, UM, VALUE YOUR CONNECTION, UH, DIRECTLY THERE WITH THE CAPITAL METRO.
UM, I'M GOING TO, UH, YIELD TO COMM COMMISSIONER BERTHA DELGADO.
UM, JUST QUICK, I WANNA CHIME IN REAL QUICK WITH, UH, COMMISSIONER ORTIZ AND THEN ALSO THANK YOU CHAIR FOR ALWAYS MAKING SURE THAT YOU POINT OUT THE PRIORITIES AND, AND THE POINTS OF, OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT THIS COMMISSION'S DOING AND, AND WHAT WE NEED TO BE FOCUSING ON.
AND, AND WHEN YOU SAID IDEAS, WE, WE ALL TALK ABOUT A LOT OF GREAT IDEAS, BUT ACTUALLY, AND, AND WE ALL PUT 'EM IN ACTION.
'CAUSE SO MANY OF US WERE THERE THIS LAST PAST THURSDAY.
THANK YOU ALL COMMISSIONERS AND SHERIFFS FOR BEING THERE WHO WERE THERE, UH, TO FIGHT, UH, FOR, FOR, UH, AFFORDABILITY, UH, HERE IN, IN OUR, IN OUR CITY.
VERY IMPORTANT, UH, THAT WE ARE VERY PROACTIVE, OKAY? UH, AS WE HOLD THESE TITLES, AS WE HOLD THESE TITLES, WE'RE NOT JUST TO SIT HERE AND JUST, UM, UH, COME UP WITH SOLUTIONS, BUT ACTUALLY HELP PUT 'EM IN PLACE.
AND SO, SINCE YOU ARE CONNECTED WITH CAPITAL METRO, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE, UH, AFTER, AFTER OUR MEETING OR OR IN ANOTHER CONVERSATION, IF WE, ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS WOULD LIKE TO JOIN THIS CONVERSATION AND DIALOGUE TO SEE IF WE CAN, WE CAN BE PROACTIVE AND SEEING IF WE CAN GET SOME EMERGENCY TRANSPORTATION, UM, ASSISTANCE THROUGH CARTS
[00:30:01]
OR ANY OTHER CONTRACTORS THAT ARE CONTRACTED WITH CAPITAL METRO, UM, THAT CAN PROVIDE THIS EMERGENCY AID.I THINK PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN A PART OF THE WINTER STORM AND BEEN AN ADVOCATE OUT THERE, AND ACTUALLY WITH GIVING OUT AID, BECAUSE THE CITY OF AUSTIN DID NOT HAVE RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO PROVIDE THE CITY OR INFRASTRUCTURE TO HAVE A A, AN ELECTRIC, UH, BLOWOUT FOR FOUR TO FIVE DAYS WHERE PEOPLE WERE WITHOUT LIGHT.
WE WERE VICTIMS. WE WERE, WE HAD TRAUMA.
I'M, I'M ONE TO SAY THAT I WAS, AND CREATING A, AN AID, UH, A DISTRIBUTION CENTER FOR JUST BASIC NEEDS FOR OVER 5,000 RESIDENTS IN DISTRICT THREE I, I NEED TO MAKE SURE AS WE'RE ENTERING INTO THE WINTER, WINTER STORM AND, AND COMING, ARE WE, ARE WE GONNA, AS COMMISSIONERS, ARE WE GONNA BE ASSISTING WITH THAT SHELTERING AND HELPING WITH PEOPLE GETTING INTO, UM, ANY TYPE OF, OF, OF TEMPORARY OR TRANSITIONAL SHELTERS OR HOUSING? SO I JUST WANNA BRING THIS UP TO, TO YOU MS. ORTIZ, IF WE CAN SEE IF WE CAN MEET WITH, UM, WITH, UH, THE PEOPLE THAT ARE IN CHARGE OF EMER EMERGENCY TRANSPORTATION FOR CAPITAL METRO.
UH, I DON'T WANNA PUT THIS ON THE, BUT ON THE BUSES, YOU, LIKE YOU SAID, THEY CAN'T GIVE OUT FLYERS, BUT PUBLICATION, LIKE OUR CHAIR SAID IS SO VITAL IF WE CAN PUT ART OUT THERE RIGHT ON THE BUSES MM-HMM.
AND, AND IF WE CAN GET, AND HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH TRANSPORTATION TO GET THIS GOING BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE USING THEIR OWN VEHICLES TO TAKE THESE PEOPLE TO THE SHELTERS.
AND I, I, I COULD ALREADY FORESEE THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE A VERY COLD WINTER AND THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE A LOT OF ELECTRIC BLOWOUTS, UH, DUE TO OUR, UM, OUR, YOU KNOW, OUR ELECTRIC SYSTEM HERE IN TEXAS, RIGHT.
I, I'M GETTING VERY NERVOUS IF WE DON'T HAVE ANY IMPLEMENTATION, UH, ALREADY SET.
AND I DON'T HEAR ANYTHING FROM OUR MAYOR AND OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS.
UM, SO AS A HOUSING COMMISSION, I WANT US TO PRIORITIZE THAT.
YEAH, I'D BE HAPPY TO, I'LL, UH, MAKE SURE I, UM, CONNECT WITH ALEX.
'CAUSE LIKE I SAID, HE'S BEEN WORKING ON ALL THAT SIDE, UM, SINCE I'M IN ACCESS.
UM, I DON'T KNOW ALL OF THE PLANS LIKE I USED TO, UH, WHEN I WAS IN ENGAGEMENT, BUT HE'S A GREAT RESOURCE.
SO I'LL DEFINITELY MAKE SURE ANYBODY WHO WOULD LIKE TO BE CONNECTED AS WELL AS YOU, UH, COMMISSIONER GARGA, UM, WITH HIS, WITH HIS EMAIL AND MAKE SURE THAT Y'ALL ARE ABLE TO TALK AND YOU CAN ASK MORE THOROUGH QUESTIONS AND, AND FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION.
UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT BOTH OF COM, YOU COMMISSIONERS, DELGADO AND ORTIZ.
I WILL SAY THAT MY CONCERN WITH US MEETING, WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO, LIKE YOU SAID, BERTHA, I GET WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
WE NEED TO GET TOGETHER AND BRAINSTORM AND KIND OF WORK THIS OUT.
UM, I I'M CERTAIN THAT OUR, OUR, UH, RESTRICTIONS THROUGH TOMA ARE GONNA GIVE US SOME KIND OF A GUIDANCE IN REFERENCE TO THAT.
I'M GONNA LOOK TO STAFF TO CONFIRM, UM, THAT I'M NOT, UH, MISSPEAKING.
'CAUSE YOU KNOW, THAT CAN VERY WELL BE THE CASE.
BUT I DO FEEL THAT PERHAPS, UM, A COMMITTEE OR SOMETHING MAY NEED TO BE, UM, UM, UH, FORMED, UM, SO THAT WE CAN, WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT WE DO ADDRESS THOSE CONCERNS AND PERHAPS COME UP WITH SOME POSSIBLE, UH, UH, UH, UM, SUGGESTIONS AND IDEAS.
UM, WILL THAT WORK STAFF GUIDE ME ON, ON THAT IN TERMS OF WHAT WE NEED TO DO WITH WHAT COMMISSIONER BEL, UM, BERTHA DELGADO IS SUGGESTING? YES.
UM, JUST TWO, UM, COMMISSIONERS NEED TO, UM, AGREE TO THAT.
VOLUNTEER AND THEN NAME THE COMMITTEE AND YOU'RE GOOD TO GO.
WELL, WE'RE LOOKING, I SEE THUMBS UP AND, AND FINGERS UP.
AND SO, UM, IT LOOKS LIKE THAT PERHAPS COMMISSIONER ORTIZ AND COMMISSIONER BERTHA DELGADO, WE CAN COUNT ON YOU TO FOLLOW THROUGH WITH CONNECTING THE TWO OF YOU COMMISSIONERS AND MAYBE BRAINSTORMING YOU HAVE A QUESTION OR COMMENT? COME ON, BERTHA.
UM, THE, THE THING IS, IS I THINK YOU'RE GONNA GET CLARIFICATION FROM STAFF IF, UH, IF IT'S AGAINST THE TOMA GUIDELINES THAT WE HAVE A MEETING WITH THE EMERGENCY SERVICES, UH, THERE AT TRANSPORTATION, A COMMITTEE'S FINE.
WE CAN HAVE A COMMITTEE, BUT I, I WANNA HAVE A MEETING LIKE NEXT WEEK.
UM, AND IF IT IS AN ISSUE, THEN, THEN WE NEED, I NEED TO KNOW THAT IF, IF, IF WE COULD GET CLARIFICATION NOW SO I COULD WEAR A DIFFERENT HAT AND, AND GO IN A DIFFERENT CAPACITY.
'CAUSE I AM A NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, PRESENT AS WELL AS THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR.
UH, I HEAR WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
I WANNA DOUBLE CHECK SOMETHING AS WELL AS, UM, COMMISSIONER BERTHA DELGADO.
I MAY PUT THIS ON PAUSE JUST FOR A QUICK SECOND TO MAKE SURE THAT
[00:35:01]
I DON'T HAVE ANYBODY, ANY OTHER SPEAKERS IN THE QUEUE.UM, BEFORE WE MOVE ON, WHERE ARE WE, UM, ON THAT? UM, MR. BLAKE, ARE WE GOOD? WE'RE WE'RE GOOD TO MOVE FORWARD? OH, WE'RE GOOD TO MOVE FORWARD.
ALL RIGHT, COMMISSIONER, UM, CO-CHAIR, I JUST RECEIVED A MESSAGE THAT SOMEBODY'S ON ONLINE.
CAN WE CHECK ON THAT? UM, WE DO HAVE, WE DO HAVE A, UM, REGISTERED SPEAKER FOR ITEM THREE THAT'S ONLINE.
SO, UM, IT SOUNDS TO ME THAT WE'RE GOOD WITH THE TOOMA AS LONG AS OUR TWO COMMISSIONERS DECIDE TO MOVE FORWARD AS A COMMITTEE.
WE JUST NEED TO ESTABLISH THAT AT SOME POINT, I PRESUME TODAY AND, AND VOTE ON IT, DON'T ACCIDENTALLY CREATE QUORUMS. SO IF IT'S ONLY TWO THEN, THEN WE'RE FINE.
SO THE TWO OF THEM WOULD BE FINE.
THEY'VE GIVEN ME GUIDANCE THAT THE TWO OF YOU ALL CAN GET TOGETHER.
AND MY NEXT THING IS, ARE THEY, UM, ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD IN MEETING WITH, UM, WHOEVER IS IN LEADERSHIP AT CAPITAL METRO? CAN THEY MOVE FORWARD WITH MEETING ON BEHALF OF THE COMMISSION? THAT'S FINE.
UM, UM, WORKING GROUP, MS. DMA DAM, DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING? AND IT, IT'S A WORKING GROUP, NOT A COMMITTEE.
I'M SORRY? IT'S A WORKING GROUP.
THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION.
AND BECAUSE WE DO WANT, WE DO WANT TO BE RIGHT, WE DO WANT TO BE RIGHT.
SO WE'LL HAVE A WORKING GROUP AND I THINK THAT, THAT I, THAT MAKES THAT CLICKS BETTER.
UM, A WORKING GROUP OF THE TWO COMMISSIONERS, COMMISSIONER ORTIZ AND COMMISSIONER, UM, BERTHA DELGADO.
UM, IF YOU ALL CAN MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT, UM, AND BE READY TO REPORT BACK AT OUR NEXT MEETING, BECAUSE WE'RE GONNA BE IN THE MIDST OF THE, IN THE MIDST OF THE WINTER.
OUR WINTER IS EXPECTED TO GO FOR AT LEAST 60 MORE DAYS.
SO WE, WE GOTTA BE ON TOP OF IT, LIKE FAST.
WE, UH, CAN PUT THAT TO REST AND THOSE, UM, WHETHER IT BE, UM, MS. NEFERTITI OR MS. FRAN, ANYBODY WHO IS KNOWLEDGEABLE AND EVEN ON HELL, IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT YOU ALL HAVE KNOWLEDGE OF THAT MIGHT BE OF BENEFIT TO THE WORKING GROUP OF COMMISSIONERS, BERTHA DELGADO AND COMMISSIONER ORTIZ IN REFERENCE TO THIS, PLEASE, UM, BE PROACTIVE AND BRING THAT TO THE TABLE AND NOT HAVE US WAIT AND ASK FOR IT.
IF YOU KNOW OF SOMETHING THAT COULD WORK, PLEASE.
BECAUSE TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE IN THIS, IN THIS REGARD.
WE DON'T NEED WARMING CENTERS COMING ON BOARD BY MAY.
YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? SO, ALL RIGHT, THERE WE GO.
UM, I DO BELIEVE OUR PUBLIC COMMUNICATION, UM, UM, PUBLIC SPEAKERS IS CLOSED NOW.
ARE WE READY TO MOVE ON? YES, THAT'S CORRECT.
WITH THAT BEING SAID, COMMISSIONERS, WE ARE MOVING ON TO THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
FROM OUR NOVEMBER MEETING.UH, I HOPE BY NOW YOU'VE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW THOSE.
ARE THERE ANY, UM, COMMENTS ON THE MINUTES? ANY CORRECTIONS FOR THE NOVEMBER MEETING? OH, I SEE A HAND.
UM, I'M SURE SOMEONE ELSE WILL PIPE UP WITH THIS, BUT, UM, SMALL, SMALL DETAIL.
COMMISSIONER BROWN WAS ONLINE AS WELL.
OH, I DIDN'T ACKNOWLEDGE HIM EARLY AT THE BEGINNING.
I MEAN, IN THE MINUTES FROM THE LAST MEETING.
YEAH, NO, HE WAS, YES, HE WAS IN ATTENDANCE AND HIS OH, HE WAS REMOTE.
SO I JUST, IF WE NEED TO BE REALLY CAREFUL.
ARE WE HAD TWO FOLKS ONLINE AND THEN A FEW FOLKS.
UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT.
I'M GONNA COUNT ON, ON THAT, THOSE KIND OF, UM, UH, UH, CORRECTIONS.
AND YES, WE DO WANT TO BE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.
SO, UH, COMMISSIONER BROWN WAS REMOTE, UM, LAST, LAST WEEK.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER ACHILLES.
ANY OTHER ADJUSTMENTS AND CORRECTIONS? I SEE NO HANDS.
DO I HAVE A MOTION THAT WE ACCEPT THE MINUTES WITH THE CORRECTION THAT COMMISSIONER ACHILLES HAS SO APTLY POINTED OUT.
I MOVE THAT WE APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM NOVEMBER 14TH WITH THAT CORRECTION.
I DO SEE BERTHA COMMISSIONER BERTHA DELGADO IS, UM, SECONDING
[00:40:01]
THAT.SO WE WILL MOVE FORWARD WITH ACCEPTING THE MINUTES WITH THE CORRECTION.
[2. Presentation on the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) (Angel Zambrano, Manager, Neighborhood Services Unit, Austin Public Health)]
OUR DISCUSSION ITEMS. WE DO HAVE OUR PRESENTATION FOR THE COMMUNITY SERVICES BLOCK GRANT FROM OUR, UH, FAVORITE HEL ZAMBRANO, AND HE'S THE MANAGER OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES UNIT.ALRIGHT, WELL, GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS AND WELCOME TO THE NEW COMMISSIONER DELGADO.
UH, SO THIS IS MY MONTHLY, UH, PROGRAMMATIC AND FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE COMMUNITY SERVICES BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM AT THE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES UNIT.
ANO NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES UNIT MANAGER, UH, FOR ALL OF YOU FOR THE NEW COMMISSIONER IN PARTICULAR.
I'LL GO A LITTLE BIT MORE IN DETAIL TODAY WITH THE FIRST PAGE.
UH, THE COMMUNITY SERVICES BLOCK GRANT FUNDS THE DELIVERY OF SERVICES TO LOW INCOME TEXAN RESIDENTS IN ALL 254 COUNTIES.
WE RECEIVE SOME OF THAT FUNDING AND ARE ABLE TO PROVIDE THOSE SERVICES HERE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
OUR MISSION, THE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES UNIT IMPROVES THE LIVES AND HEALTH OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCING POVERTY BY PROVIDING PUBLIC HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES AND CONNECTING RESIDENTS OF AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY TO COMMUNITY RESOURCES.
WE DO THAT WITH PROVIDING BASIC NEEDS SERVICES, FOOD, CLOTHING, INFORMATION REFERRAL, NOTARY SERVICES, TRANSPORTATION, ET CETERA.
PREVENTIVE HEALTHCARE, UH, FREE NURSING, PUBLIC HEALTH, NURSING SERVICES AT OUR NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER, HUBS AND COMMUNITY EVENTS.
UH, SOME CASE MANAGEMENT SERVICES BY OUR SOCIAL WORKERS, HELPING FOLKS, UH, REENTER THE WORLD OF WORK AND BE SUCCESSFUL IN THAT WORLD.
UH, THEY PROVIDE EMPLOYMENT SUPPORTS AS WELL, INTAKES ASSESSMENTS, GOAL SETTING, JOB READINESS TRAINING, JOB PLACEMENT ASSISTANCE, AND JOB RETENTION SERVICES.
THE BOTTOM OF PAGE ONE SHOWS OUR BUDGET, UH, THROUGH OCTOBER OF 23.
UH, THIS FUNDING WILL GO THROUGH MARCH OF 2024.
IF YOU GO TO PAGE NUMBER TWO, IT TRANSITIONS OUTTA POVERTY.
I'M GONNA POINT OUT A COUPLE OF THINGS ON THIS PAGE.
THROUGH NOVEMBER, WE HAD 18 TRANSITIONS.
WE HAD SEVEN MORE IN THE MONTH OF, UH, OCTOBER, UM, IN, SORRY, THROUGH DECEMBER.
UH, IT WAS A TOUGH YEAR FOR US, UH, IN TERMS OF MEETING THIS GOAL.
WE HAD TURNOVER IN THE, UH, SOCIAL WORK POSITIONS.
WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO FILL THOSE POSITIONS NOW AND ARE SLOWLY BUILDING UP THE CASE LOADS.
I'D LIKE TO POINT OUT, UH, ONE OF OUR OUTCOMES IS FOUR E HOUSEHOLDS TO AVOID EVICTION THROUGH OUR SMALLISH RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
THIS YEAR, WE WERE ABLE TO ALMOST MEET OUR GOAL SO FAR.
UH, OUR TARGET WAS TO HELP 400 HOUSEHOLDS AVOID EVICTION.
WE ARE UP TO 394 HOUSEHOLDS FOR A 99% SUCCESS RATE.
I'D LIKE TO POINT OUT FIVE A ONE OF THE SERVICES WE PROVIDE IMMUNIZATIONS.
THOSE ARE FLU SHOTS THROUGH THE NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS TO, UH, LOW INCOME FOLKS AND FOLKS THAT DON'T HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE.
OUR NURSES WERE ABLE TO PROVIDE 355, UH, FLU VACCINES, UH, AT OUR NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS IN THE MONTH OF OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER.
ANOTHER ONE I WANNA PUT OUT IS FIVE JJ.
IT KIND OF GOES WITH WHAT MS. NEFERTITI WAS TALKING ABOUT.
I LIKE THE FACT THAT SHE SAID, UH, WE ALL TRY TO STRENGTHEN THE SAFETY NET FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, WE DO THAT A LOT THROUGH FOOD DISTRIBUTIONS AND TRYING TO TACKLE FOOD INSECURITY HERE IN THE CITY.
THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WE SERVED WAS 63,988 THROUGH OCTOBER.
TO GIVE YOU SORT OF A COMPARISON THROUGH THE SAME TIME LAST YEAR WHEN I WAS SITTING HERE, I REPORTED 26,694 PEOPLE.
SO AGAIN, IT DOES SPEAK TO THE, UH, THE CONDITIONS OF NOT ENOUGH AFFORDABLE HOUSING INFLATION, COST OF LIVING IN GENERAL HERE IN THE CITY AND COUNTY.
UH, WE WERE, WE, WERE WE MORE THAN DOUBLED.
UM, THE FOOD DISTRIBUTION ASSISTANCE WE PROVIDED TO, UH, FOLKS IN, IN AUSTIN, TEXAS THAT COMES IN, UH, COLLABORATION WITH THE CENTRAL TEXAS FOOD BANK AND, UH, AMAZON, AS I WILL MENTION ON THE NEXT PAGE.
AND THEN I WANNA FOCUS ON EMERGENCY CLOTHING AS WELL.
IT'S KIND OF A SMALL ITEM, BUT I THINK ONE OF THE SPEAKERS, THE MUTUAL AID, UH, DIRECTOR TALKED ABOUT THAT TOO.
OVER 1000 PEOPLE WERE SERVED WITH OUR EMERGENCY CLOTHING CLOSETS THROUGH OCTOBER OF LAST YEAR WAS 125.
SO AGAIN, IT SHOWS THE NEED, UH, IS THERE DUE TO THE, UH, HOW UNAFFORDABLE IT IS TO LIVE HERE IN THE CITY, UH, ESPECIALLY FOR THE POOREST OF THE POOR.
[00:45:01]
OF THE FOLKS WE SERVE ARE UNDER 200% FEDERAL POVERTY GUIDELINES, WHICH IS VERY LITTLE TO LIVE ON.IF YOU TURN TO THE NEXT PAGE, I'LL GO OVER SOME, UH, ADMINISTRATIVE UPDATES.
NUMBER FOUR, ONCE AGAIN, THE HOME DELIVERY PROGRAM, STRENGTHENING THE SAFETY NET.
THIS PROGRAM REALLY, UH, EXEMPLIFIES THAT FOR THE NEW COMMISSIONER.
UM, WE HAVE A COLLABORATION WITH, UH, CENTRAL TEXAS FOOD BANK AND AMAZON.
AMAZON PROVIDES THE FLEX DRIVERS, THE FOOD BANK PROVIDES THE FOOD.
WE PROVIDE THE STAFF THAT IS ABLE TO GET THIS ALL COORDINATED, PACKED AND READY TO GO FOR THE AMAZON DRIVERS TO COME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER, PICK IT UP AND DELIVER IT.
AND JUST IN SEPTEMBER, WE WERE ABLE TO SERVE 2,257 HOUSEHOLDS.
THEY HAD FOOD DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO THEIR HOUSE, UH, ONCE A MONTH FOR AS LONG AS THEY NEEDED.
NOW TO DATE, UM, IN 2023, WE'VE DELIVERED ABOUT ALMOST 23,000 DELIVERIES FROM THE MOMENT.
THIS PROGRAM STARTED IN JUNE OF 22, UM, RIGHT AT SORT OF THE TAIL END OF THE PANDEMIC IN SOME WAYS.
UM, OR YOU COULD SAY THE MIDDLE OF THE PANDEMIC.
WE'VE HAD ALMOST 50,000 DELIVERIES MADE AROUND THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
SO A GREAT PROGRAM, UH, THAT DOES STRENGTHEN THE SAFETY NET OF OUR, AGAIN, THE POOREST OF THE POOR.
NUMBER FIVE THANKSGIVING EVENTS.
THE NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER SERVED 1,662 HOUSEHOLDS AND ALMOST 6,000 INDIVIDUALS.
AT OUR THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY EVENTS.
UH, IN LATE TO NOVEMBER, A LOT OF FOLKS WERE PROVIDED A WHOLE MEAL, UH, TURKEY, THE SIDES FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLES.
JOHN'S UP NORTH ACTUALLY HAD A DIFFERENT TAKE ON IT.
AND THEY DID A DISTRIBUTION EVENT WITH, UH, CLEANING SUPPLIES, UM, PLATES, CUPS, UH, HOUSEHOLD ITEMS THAT ARE ALSO VERY EXPENSIVE.
UH, BUT WERE GIVEN FREE TO, UM, ANYONE WHO CAME.
AND THEN NUMBER EIGHT, THE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES UNIT.
PUBLIC HEALTH NURSING, AS I MENTIONED IN THE PREVIOUS PAGE, 355 FLU SHOTS TO, UH, THE VERY LOW INCOME FOLKS THAT COME TO OUR CENTERS.
THEY CONTINUE TO PROVIDE, UH, FREE HEALTH SCREENINGS AS YOU CAN READ THERE.
UM, BLOOD PRESSURE, BLOOD SUGAR, CHOLESTEROL, HEALTH EDUCATION, A1C, UH, PREGNANCY TESTS, AND JUST GENERAL INFORMATION TO HELP PEOPLE GET HOOKED UP TO A MEDICAL HOME OR WHATEVER ELSE NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED.
AND THAT ENDS MY, UH, MONTHLY SUMMARY.
THEY PUT, I ALREADY HAVE COMMISSIONER, UM, ESTEBAN DELGADO.
AND PLEASE EXCUSE ME IF, UH, ANYTHING THAT I KIND OF MENTIONED HERE IS, UH, YOU'RE FINE OFF TARGET.
YOU KNOW, I, I, I, I PROMISE TO GET UP TO SPEED SHORTLY, BUT I WANTED TO REALLY, UM, THANK OUR PRESENTER FOR THAT INFORMATION.
I WANTED TO ASK TWO QUESTIONS.
ONE, UM, THE FIRST ONE BEING, I SEE THAT WE WERE RIGHT OVER 50% UTILIZATION OF BUDGET FOR, FOR 2023.
AND I JUST WANTED TO SEE IF THERE WERE PLANS TO EXPEND THAT TOTAL BUDGET ON THESE WITHIN THE PROGRAMMING, UH, BEFORE THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR, IF THAT'S WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
AND THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, THE SECOND THING THAT I JUST WANTED TO BRING UP IS, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A, WITH EVERYTHING KIND OF GOING ON, UM, WITH, UH, THE TEXAS SUPREME COURT THIS WEEK, I KNOW THAT, UM, THE TEXAS TRIBUNE PUT OUT AN ARTICLE, YOU KNOW, STATING THAT IN 2021 THERE WERE OVER 50,000 ABORTIONS, UM, WITHIN THE STATE, AND WITHIN THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF 2023, THERE WERE ONLY 26.
AND I'M JUST WONDERING, UM, WHAT TYPE OF IN INFORMATION WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP PROVIDE, UM, AT OUR HEALTH CLINICS FOR THOSE THAT ARE, UM, THAT ARE LOOKING TO, YOU KNOW, TAKE CARE OF THEIR, UH, PREGNANCIES IN THE WAY THAT THEY, UM, WANT TO DETERMINE.
UM, AND SO JUST WANTED TO SEE IF THERE WAS, UH, IF YOU HAD ANY THOUGHTS OR, OR COMMENTS THERE ON YOUR FIRST QUESTION.
UH, WE HAVE SOME PERSONNEL SAVINGS THIS YEAR, SO THAT'S WHY WE ARE ASKING FOR A THREE MONTH EXTENSION ON THE CSPG FUNDING.
SO THAT'S WHY I MENTIONED EARLIER THAT IT GOES THROUGH MARCH OF 2024.
AND ON THE SECOND COMMENT THROUGH QUESTION, I DON'T QUITE UNDERSTAND.
UH, WE ARE A RESOURCE SO THAT ANYBODY CAN COME TO US AND OUR NURSES WOULD DEFINITELY POINT THEM IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
THEY PROVIDE A LOT OF EDUCATION AND WARM HANDOFFS TO OTHER AGENCIES THAT COULD HELP WITH SOME OF THE THINGS YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.
UM, THEY DEFINITELY WOULD BE ASSISTED.
YEAH, I THINK JUST TRYING TO GET A SENSE OF LIKE,
[00:50:01]
SINCE THE INFORMATION AND THE AVENUES FOR PEOPLE TO DEAL RIGHT, UM, HAVE BEEN, DEFINITELY BEEN RESTRICTED.AND, UM, AND I JUST, YOU KNOW, WANTED TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE, UM, BEING COGNIZANT OF THAT AND THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE, WHICH, WHICH SEEMS TO BE CHANGING ON THE DAILY RIGHT NOW.
SO I, I APPRECIATE THE, UH, UH, THE ATTENTION TO IT.
COMMISSIONER ESTEBAN DELGADO, COMMISSIONER ACHILLES, I SEE YOUR HAND.
AND, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
UM, AND I AM KIND OF ALSO LOOKING TO, TO NOE, I KNOW WE HAD A, UM, WORK GROUP MEETING THAT, AND I HAD A QUESTION THAT, THAT AROSE OUT OF, OUT OF THAT.
AND I THINK ONE OF 'EM, THIS MAY ACTUALLY BE A GREAT TIME TO RAISE IT, BUT HILD, IF YOU'RE GONNA COVER THIS IN YOUR PRESENTATION, PLEASE STOP ME.
I KNOW WE HAVE ANOTHER PRESENTATION COMING, UM, BUT I THINK IT PIGGYBACKS REALLY WELL ON THE CONVERSATION WE ALREADY HAD, UM, EARLIER THIS EVENING.
AND THAT'S ABOUT THE, JUST THE VOLUME OF NEED.
AND SO I HAVE SORT OF TWO, TWO QUESTIONS RELATED TO THAT.
UM, AND I'M GUESSING THIS WOULD BE A BIG ASK, BUT IF YOU AREN'T ALREADY DOING IT, BUT DO Y'ALL TRACK ON THE RENTAL ASSISTANCE? DO YOU TRACK THE FOLKS WHO AREN'T SERVED, WHO YOU AREN'T ABLE TO SERVE, UM, WHO REACH OUT MAYBE AFTER THE DEADLINE OR, UM, SO AFTER THERE AREN'T WE, THERE'S, THERE ISN'T ANY ADDITIONAL FUNDING THAT WEEK.
UM, 'CAUSE I THINK THAT WOULD REALLY HELP US AND THE CITY TO HAVE A BETTER PICTURE OF WHAT IS, UM, ME AND THE WORK GROUP.
SORRY, I'M NOT THE ONLY PERSON WITH THIS IDEA.
I'M NOT TRYING TO TAKE
BUT, UM, BUT I, IT WE, WE WONDERED IF IT WOULD BE POSSIBLE TO GET THAT, UM, THAT INFORMATION.
BECAUSE I THINK THAT, AND ALSO LISTENING TO, TO YOUR PRESENTATION, IS THERE, IS THERE A FORMAL WAY THAT THAT COUNCIL AND OUR OTHER CITY LEADERS SEE THIS YEAR OVER YEAR COMPARISON AND HOW MUCH THE NEED IS INCREASED? OR IS THAT INCUMBENT ON US? SHOULD WE PUT TOGETHER A REPORT? LIKE WHAT IS OUR, AND IT'S HARDER VIRTUALLY 'CAUSE I CAN'T REALLY SEE PEOPLE, BUT, UM, LIKE WHAT IN, IN THE ROOM TOO TO, TO GET FEEDBACK, BUT LIKE, WHAT, WHAT IS OUR ROLE IN THAT AND HOW CAN WE HELP LIFT UP HOW MUCH BIGGER THE NEED, UH, IS THAN WHAT WE'RE ABLE TO MEET? SO THAT'S ONE REALLY BIG QUESTION.
UM, AND THEN I ALSO HAD A FOLLOW UP QUESTION TO ESTEBAN'S, WHICH IS TO COMMISSIONER ESTEBAN DELGADO, UM, WITH THE UNEXTENDED FUNDS IS, UM, DOES, DOES EXTENDING THE GRANT THEN DELAY WHEN WE GET ADDITIONAL FUNDING? AND WOULD WE BE, SO IS THERE ANY DOWNSIDE TO THAT EXTENSION? AND IF SO, IS THERE, WOULD THERE BE ANY WAY TO INCREASE THE RENTAL ASSISTANCE GIVEN OUT? WHAT I, I IMAGINE THAT WITH THE FEDERAL GRANT, THERE'S NO SHIFTING AROUND OF FUNDS LIKE THAT.
AND AN EXTENSION IS PROBABLY THE BEST BEST BET.
UM, I REALIZE THIS IS MY, I'M JUST NOW LEARNING THIS PARTICULAR GRANT, SO I JUST HAD TO, TO ASK THAT AS WELL.
UH, NUMBER ONE, WE DON'T TRACK FOLKS THAT DON'T, NOT ELIGIBLE FOR OUR SERVICES.
USUALLY THEY'RE NOT ELIGIBLE DUE TO INCOME RESTRICTIONS.
LIKE I SAID, OUR PROGRAM IS VERY SMALL.
WE SERVE THE POOREST OF THE POOREST 200% FPIL, I HAVE IT RIGHT HERE IN TERMS OF THE EXACT NUMBERS, JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA.
SO, UH, AND DO WE, DO WE CHECK THE ONES THAT AREN'T SERVED THAT WERE ELIGIBLE? WE SERVE EVERYONE WHO'S ELIGIBLE UNTIL THE MONEY RUNS OUT.
SO UNLESS THERE IS SOME, MY OTHER PRESENTATION I'LL SHOW, THERE MIGHT BE TIMES WHEN PEOPLE DON'T HAVE THE PAPERWORK IN ON TIME OR THE LANDLORD IS NOT WILLING TO NEGOTIATE, UH, WITH US.
UM, THERE ARE, THAT'S VERY RARE.
I MEAN, WE, WE REALLY SERVE EVERYONE WHO ENTERS OUR ELIGIBILITY.
UM, TRACK, UH, GETS ASSISTANCE.
WHAT, WELL, WHAT IN REFERENCE TO, DOESN'T THE MONEY RUN OUT AT SOME POINT? YES.
AND THEN WE DON'T TAKE RENTAL.
I MEAN WE, AND SO THOSE, WE REFER PEOPLE TO OTHER, UH, AFTER THE MONEY RUNS OUT, DO, IS THERE ANY ONGOING DATA COLLECTION? UH, UH NO, THERE IS NOT.
WE REFER PEOPLE TO OTHER PROGRAMS. LIKE LET'S SAY IF THE MONEY RUNS OUT, WE SAY, OH, THERE'S ENDEAVORS, THERE'S, I BELONG IN AUSTIN.
UH, THERE'S, UH, CATHOLIC CHARITIES.
SO, UM, SO SPECIFICALLY COMMISSIONER LEY, UH, ACHILLES, YOU ARE BASICALLY, WERE YOU ASKING, DID I HEAR YOU TO BE SAYING THAT YOU WERE ASKING WHAT THE DATA COLLECTION IS FOR THOSE THAT ARE ELIGIBLE THAT WE DON'T SERVE, PERHAPS IN THIS CASE BECAUSE FUNDING HAS EXPIRED, HASN'T BEEN EXPENDED, IS THAT CORRECT? YES, BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S, SO IN OUR, IN OUR WORK GROUP, UM, I'M SPEAKING WITH MS. JOSEPH, IT, IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE, THERE MAY BE IT, IT SOUNDED LIKE FUNDS ARE GETTING EXTENDED PRETTY
[00:55:01]
QUICKLY MM-HMM.DURING THE WEEK AND THERE MAY ACTUALLY BE A LOT OF FOLKS WHO AREN'T MM-HMM.
AND WE JUST DON'T HAVE A SENSE OF WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
AND, UM, SO AGAIN, IF THIS IS A BETTER CONVERSATION IN THE NEXT PRESENTATION, I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND THAT.
BUT I THINK JUST TRYING TO REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT KIND OF VOLUME WE'RE LOOKING AT AT A WEEKLY BASIS AND HOW MANY FOLKS WERE NOT ABLE TO MEET THAT.
AND AGAIN, NOT, NOT, THIS IS NOT A REFLECTION ON STAFF, RIGHT? SURE, SURE.
I DON'T MEAN, I JUST MEAN LIKE THE NEED IN THE CITY.
NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO NEED TO APOLOGIZE.
I'M NOT THE, THIS IS NOT THE POL NO, YOU'RE FINE.
THAT'S, THOSE ARE, THAT'S VERY VALID.
MY QUESTION I, I'LL ASK, ALLOW YOU TO ANS ANSWER THAT ON HILL IN TERMS OF, UM, YOU MENTIONED THAT THERE'S THE WARM HANDOFF.
SO THERE REALLY IS NOT ANY TRACKING BEYOND WHAT WE'VE EXPENDED WHEN OURS FUNDS ARE GONE.
THERE IS JUST THE WARM HANDOFF.
IS THERE ANY TRACKING OF HOW MANY MORE ARE KNOCKING AT THE DOOR? NOT IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES UNIT? MAYBE THERE'S ANOTHER DEPARTMENT IN THE CITY THAT DOES THAT KIND OF DATA COLLECTING, BUT WE DON'T HAVE THE CAPACITY TO DO THAT.
I WOULD SEE MORE OF THAT IN TERMS OF PLANNING OR RESEARCH OR OKAY.
I DO WANT TO HIGHLIGHT AND UNDERSCORE WHAT SHE IS ASKING IN REFERENCE THAT, AND I DON'T KNOW IF, UM, MS. NEFERTITI OR ANYONE, I'M NOT NECESSARILY SAYING SHE YOU'RE WELCOME TO COME UP AND SPEAK ON THAT, BUT I I, I DO UNDERSTAND THAT IF IN FACT WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF MONEY AND WE HAVING TO DO WARM HANDOFFS, WHICH IS WE, WE ARE, UM, UM, THAT'S GREAT THAT WE ARE, I GUESS MY QUESTION WOULD BE WE WOULD HAVE TO AT SOME POINT START TO COLLECT THE DATA OR ELSE WE WON'T KNOW HOW MUCH MORE WE NEED TO EXPAND AND SO FORTH.
I PULLED, UH, MS. NEFERTITI UP, UM, BUT I DO SEE MY CO-CHAIR, UM, SIGNALING ME, SO LET ME YIELD TO HIM.
SO YEAH, I I MEAN I COMPLETELY AGREE WITH, UH, THE NEED FOR THAT COLLECTING THAT DATA.
UH, WOULD THAT BE, YOU KNOW, ALSO SOMETHING THAT WOULD GO TO OUR, UM, OUR NEEDS ASSESSMENT, SOMETHING THAT WE COULD COLLECT ON THAT? UH, I MEAN, I THINK THAT'S REALLY BIG FOR, YOU KNOW, UM, DETERMINING WHAT OUR NEEDS ARE.
HELLO? UM, NFER, TD JACKMAN WITH THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT.
UM, AND I THINK SOMETIMES THE CONFUSION, WE DO HAVE TWO DIFFERENT PROGRAMS AND, AND HALE'S PRE PANDEMIC, UH, HE WAS SHARING THAT THEY WERE EXPENDING, THEY WOULDN'T EVEN EXPEND ABOUT $250,000.
SO THE, THE NEED FOR THE EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS HAVE CONTINUED TO EXPAND AS A RESULT OF THE PANDEMIC.
AND SO REALLY EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE SETTING UP IS SORT OF NEW IF, IF YOU WILL.
WE DID DO, UM, HAD A REPORT, UH, THAT WAS CONDUCTED.
WE WORK WITH, UH, HOUSING WORKS AND THEY, SO THEY DID THIS NEEDS ASSESSMENT FOR US.
AND SO IT HELPED US TO SORT OF UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS THE SCOPE OF NEED THAT WE WERE NOT MEETING.
AND THEN ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE DOING NOW, SO THAT WAS THE RENT PROGRAM, AND I HAVE, AND I WROTE IN MY NOTES TO SEND YOU GUYS THE REPORT THAT WE HAD FOR THAT.
UM, BUT ONE OF THE CHALLENGES IS THAT EVERYTHING IS NEW.
SO YOU, YOU HAVE TO STOP AND GO, RIGHT? BUT WE'RE TRYING TO, THROUGH THE CURRENT I BELONGING AUSTIN PROGRAM, ESTABLISH THE BASE OF NEED SO THE CITY WILL UNDERSTAND, DO WE NEED $5 MILLION ANNUALLY? DO WE NEED $8 MILLION ANNUALLY? DO WE NEED 12 MILLION? BUT THERE IS A LOT OF DATA AND RESEARCH THAT IS AVAILABLE BEYOND JUST THE CITY OF AUSTIN, BUT IT MIGHT BE FROM OTHER PARTNERS LIKE OUR, UH, TRELLA, UM, THAT THEY WORK SPECIFICALLY WITH EVICTION, UH, EVICTIONS, RIGHT? SO WE ARE WORKING TO COLLECT THAT DATA.
UM, AND I WILL MAKE SURE THAT I BELIEVE WE ARE ALSO TRACKING EACH WEEK.
WE KNOW HOW MANY WE CAN SERVE AND HOW MANY REMAIN IN THE PIPELINE.
SO THAT WILL ALSO GIVE US AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE LARGER, UM, SCOPE OF NEED IN TERMS OF WHO WE CAN SERVE AND HOW MANY PEOPLE APPLIED FOR ASSISTANCE THAT WE WERE NOT ABLE TO HELP.
SO WE WILL BEGIN, WE'RE COLLECTING THAT INFORMATION, AND WHEN WE COME BACK IN JANUARY, WE CAN SHARE THAT INFORMATION, UH, WITH YOU.
SAY, BUT THAT'S GREAT BECAUSE I HEAR YOU TO SAY, BE SAYING THAT THERE IS SOME, SOME COLLECTION OF DATA
[01:00:01]
OF HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE REMAINING IN THE PIPELINE, EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE BEING HANDED OFF WARMLY.WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO OFFER ASSISTANCE.
BUT, UM, THAT IS SOMETHING, UM, BECAUSE AGAIN, AS, UH, CO-CHAIR HAS MENTIONED THAT WE WON'T BE ABLE TO PLAN AND YOU ALL, YOU HAVE APTLY SAID IT, SO I WON'T ECHO WHAT YOU SAID.
UM, DID YOU HAVE A, WE HAVE ANOTHER HAND, UH, COMMISSIONER BERTHA DELGADO.
UM, FIRST OF ALL, I JUST, UH, WANNA THANK, UH, ANHE FOR ALL THE HARD WORK YOU'RE DOING, ALL THE WORK YOU'VE BEEN DOING, UM, THROUGHOUT, UM, THIS ENTIRE TIME THAT YOU'VE BEEN SERVING IN THAT ROLE.
IT'S VERY, VERY, UH, IMPORTANT ROLE.
UM, I DO WANNA, UM, YOU KNOW, SH YOU KNOW, COME IN AND, AND VOICE MY CONCERNS WITH, WITH OUR NEW COMMISSIONER THAT STATED, UM, ON THAT, THAT DATA.
UM, I KNOW THAT THERE'S A WAY THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, NOT NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING, NOT THIS COMMISSION, BUT SOLELY THE ENTITY OF CITY OF AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS, UH, AND I KNOW ON HEAD THIS IS KIND OF OUT OF YOUR ROLE, BUT I KNOW THIS IS YOUR SUPERVISOR'S ROLE OR THE DIRECTOR'S ROLE OVER THE ENTIRE, UH, DEPARTMENTS.
WE NEED TO, WE, WE HAVE A HUGE CRISIS RIGHT NOW.
AND, AND, AND I KNOW THAT WE'RE FOLLOWING PROTOCOLS AND I KNOW WE'RE, WE'RE, YOU KNOW, TALKING DIALOGUE, COLLECTING DATA, AND DOING ALL THE WORK THAT WE HAVE TO DO, RIGHT.
TO, TO BE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT AND GET FUNDING AND ALL THAT.
AND THAT CAN ALL TAKE A GOOD, YOU KNOW, THREE TO SIX MONTHS OR EVEN LONGER.
MY CONCERN IS IN THREE TO SIX MONTHS, ARE WE GONNA HAVE PEOPLE, UM, WHERE ARE THEY GONNA GO? UM, WHERE ARE THEY GONNA GET ASSISTANCE? UH, BECAUSE WE HAVE SUCH A LIMITED DOLLAR AMOUNT, TRAVIS COUNTY HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES HAS CUT THE, THE, THE, THE, THE LINE ON HOW MANY PEOPLE CAN APPLY.
WE, WE HAVE A HUGE CRISIS RIGHT NOW.
CHURCHES CAN ONLY GIVE OUT CERTAIN AMOUNT OF, UH, OF, OF, UH, VOUCHERS.
AS FOR, FOR RENTAL ASSISTANCE OR, AND TO HELP PEOPLE WITH EVICTIONS.
WE DON'T HAVE A MORATORIUM ON EVICTIONS.
SO PEOPLE ARE GETTING EVICTED EVERY DAY.
I, I, I'M VERY CONCERNED, ESPECIALLY FOR, FOR THE, THE LOW INCOME AND THE, AND THE FAMILIES RIGHT NOW, UM, HOW CAN AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, UM, CREATE SOMETHING AS FAR AS EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE, OTHER THAN WHAT YOU ALREADY HAVE IN PLACE FOR THE PEOPLE THAT DID QUALIFY, LIKE SHE SAID, BUT WERE NOT ABLE TO GET SERVED.
HOW CAN WE, AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS UNDER THE RENTAL DEPARTMENT, RENTAL ASSISTANCE DEPARTMENT PROGRAM.
HOW CAN YOU ALL IMPLEMENT AN IDEA? 'CAUSE I KNOW IDEAS ARE, ARE SPRAWLED OUT OF CONVERSATION AND OUT OF EXPERIMENT AND PILOT PROGRAMS. 'CAUSE CITY OF AUSTIN'S AN EXPERIMENT.
WE'RE GETTING ALL THE MAJOR MONEY EXPERIMENTS.
HOW CAN WE ASSIST AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH? AND IF THIS DIOCESE CAN'T, I'M, I'M ASKING FOR, FOR, FOR A DIRECTION HERE.
GET THAT, GET THAT, GET THAT IMPLEMENTED.
SO WHEN THE FUNDS DO COME, EMERGENCY FUNDING, YOU ALREADY HAVE THAT LIST OF PEOPLE THAT Y'ALL COULDN'T HELP A WEEK AGO, BUT YOU HAVE THE PEOPLE THAT ARE NEEDING IT BEFORE JANUARY 31ST BEFORE THEY GET EVICTED.
I, I, I'M CONCERNED ON THE TIMEFRAME OF THINGS.
JANUARY, WE COME BACK IN A COUPLE WEEKS, THAT'S WHAT TH FOUR, THREE AND A HALF WEEKS.
WITHIN FOUR WEEKS, HOW MANY MORE PEOPLE ARE GONNA BE CALLING IN FOR ASSISTANCE? AND THEN YOU ALL DON'T HAVE A WAITING LIST TO GO BACK TO THOSE PEOPLE AND SAID, HEY, ARE YOU STILL NEEDING RENTAL ASSISTANCE? I JUST THINK THAT THE NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS ARE WHAT YOU, I CONSIDER A NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER THE FIRST ACCESS TO ME, IF IT'S IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD THAT HAS RESOURCES.
AND SO I JUST WANT US TO BE PROACTIVE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS.
UM, AND I KNOW YOU'RE DOING THE BEST YOU CAN.
I HAVE NOTHING BAD TO SAY ABOUT THAT.
I KNOW THIS IS A BIGGER QUESTION FOR A BIGGER ROLE, BUT I FEEL LIKE THIS QUESTION, I MEAN, WE HAVE TO DEMAND AN ANSWER AND WE HAVE TO GET SOMETHING MOVING.
UM, I'M GONNA TRY TO RE I, I WILL ALLOW YOU, UM, ON HILL, IF YOU DON'T MIND, TO BRIEFLY TRY TO ADDRESS WHAT, UM, COMMISSIONER BERTHA DELGADO BROUGHT IN AND COMMISSIONER DELGADO, IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND, UM, KIND OF, SORT OF DETERMINING WHAT THE SPECIFIC QUESTION IS, BECAUSE WE'RE GONNA BE GOING INTO ITEM THREE.
[01:05:01]
THREE I THINK IS PROBABLY MORE IN LINE WITH WHAT YOU'RE SPEAKING OF.AND SO I WANT TO TABLE IT JUST A, JUST A TAD, IF THERE'S SOMETHING BRIEFLY UNHA THAT YOU CAN DO TO ADDRESS WHAT COMMISSIONER, UH, DELGADO AND THANK YOU MS. NEFERTITI FOR THAT.
AND THEN I'M GONNA BRING YOU BACK TO ITEM TWO, BECAUSE THERE MAY BE OTHERS THAT HAVE ITEM, UH, COMMENTS ON ITEM TWO.
WELL, THANK YOU COMMISSIONER DELGADO FOR YOUR FEEDBACK.
UM, THERE'S A LOT TO UNPACK THERE.
ALL I CAN SAY IS THAT, LIKE YOU SAID, YOURSELF, WE'RE DOING THE BEST WE CAN.
WHEN WE GET FUNDING, WE PRETTY MUCH STAND IT UP AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
IT DOESN'T TAKE MONTHS TO DO THAT.
UH, UNLESS IT'S A NEW CONTRACT, THEN OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, BEING THE CITY BUREAUCRACY, IT DOES TAKE MONTHS, YOU KNOW, TO GET THAT EXECUTED.
BUT IN GENERAL, WE'RE PRETTY NIMBLE.
WE MOVE VERY QUICKLY AND WE HELP THE POOREST OF THE POOR.
SO PEOPLE CALL US, THEY COME IN, WE ARE THERE TO HELP AND, UM, THAT'S WHAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO.
THE BIGGER PICTURE, I DON'T KNOW.
I MEAN, HONESTLY, THE CITY CONTINUES TO BE MORE UNAFFORDABLE.
THERE CONTINUES TO BE MORE EVICTIONS, MORE PEOPLE WHO ARE FOOD INSECURE, WHO DON'T HAVE HEALTHCARE, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
IT'S OUR ROLE, I THINK, TO KEEP TALKING ABOUT IT AND BRINGING IT UP, POSSIBLY YOUR ROLE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HAVE YOUR VOICES HEARD.
IN THE OTHER SIDE WHERE COUNCIL SITS, UM, I'M NOT PRIVY TO THAT.
MAYBE HOUSING AND PLANNING STAFF IS IN TERMS OF, I DON'T KNOW, PROCLAMATIONS OR SOME KIND OF WHATEVER IT TAKES THAT YOU GUYS CAN DO, UH, THEY CAN INSTRUCT YOU ON THAT.
ALL I CAN DO IS BRING YOU MY REPORT AND THE DATA THAT I HAVE AND TELL YOU WHERE ALL IN IT TOGETHER.
UH, WE'LL CONTINUE TO HELP AS MANY PEOPLE AS WE CAN.
AND UNFORTUNATELY, A LOT OF THOSE FOLKS WILL BE EVICTED, WILL BE HOUSED.
UH, FOOD INSECURE WON'T HAVE HEALTHCARE.
WE JUST HAVE TO KEEP, KEEP HOPE AND KEEP WORKING HARD.
UM, THANK YOU FOR THAT ON HIM.
AND COMMISSIONER, UM, BERTHA DELGADO, YOU CAN, UM, WE'LL RECOGNIZE YOU AGAIN ON THAT IN, UH, ITEM THREE, WHEN WE GET TO THAT PART IN FULL.
UM, HIL, UM, COMMISSIONERS, DO ANY, DOES ANYONE OTHER THAN MYSELF HAVE ANY OTHER, UM, CUS QUESTIONS SPECIFIC TO HEL REGARDING ITEM TWO, WHICH IS SPECIFICALLY WHAT HE IS ADDRESSING, UH, TALKING ABOUT THE BLOCK GRANT? ANYBODY ELSE REGARDING THE BLOCK GRANT SPECIFIC? ALRIGHT, VERY GOOD.
IF THERE ARE NONE, I'M GONNA, UH, MOVE FORWARD.
JUST FOLLOWING MY NOTES, ANGEL, YOU MENTIONED THAT WE, UM, DID HAVE THE GOAL OF 43.
I'M ON UP HERE AT THE TOP, OUR TRANSITION OUT OF PROPERTY POVERTY GOAL.
AND I DO UNDERSTAND THAT WE DID HAVE, UM, EMPLOYMENT CHALLENGES WITH THE SOCIAL WORKERS, ET CETERA, AND WE WERE ABLE TO ACHIEVE 58%, BUT NOT, UM, MUCH MORE THAN THAT.
WHAT ARE THE PLANS IN THE FUTURE? WHAT HAP WHAT HAPPENS IF WE END UP WITH A SHORTAGE OF STAFF IN THE FUTURE? I MEAN, NOW THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED, IT'S KINDA LIKE COVID ONCE IT'S HAPPENED, I KNOW IT CAN HAPPEN.
I MAY NOT HAVE KNOWN IT COULD HAPPEN BEFORE IT HAPPENED, BUT NOW I KNOW IT CAN HAPPEN.
SO WHAT DO WE DO? UM, AND I'M NOT LOOKING FOR HARD ANSWERS RIGHT NOW, BUT ARE YOU, AS AN ORGANIZATION LOOKING AHEAD TO REALIZE THIS HAS HAPPENED AND THIS CAUSED SUCH A DRASTIC IMPACT ON OUR ABILITIES TO IMPACT THE POVERTY LEVEL? W WE HAVE SOMETHING IN PLAN IF THIS HAPPENS AGAIN.
WE'RE WORKING CLOSELY WITH, UH, SOME OF THE TRAINING CENTERS.
LIKE SKILL POINT A CC TO BE ABLE TO KIND OF REACH OUT TO THOSE FOLKS WHO ARE ALREADY, WHAT I CALL IN KIND OF CONTEMPLATION STAGE, RIGHT? THEY'RE IN A TRAINING PROGRAM, THEY'RE MOTIVATED, THEY JUST NEED THAT EXTRA BIT OF HELP.
IT COULD BE SOME RENTAL ASSISTANCE, A BUS PASS, SOME COUNSELING, SOME OF THOSE EXTRA RESOURCES THAT WILL HELP THEM ENTER THE WORLD OF WORK AND REMAIN.
SO WE'RE DOING MORE TARGETED OUTREACH TO BE ABLE TO, UH, ADDRESS THAT NEED.
'CAUSE I, I, I, I WOULD, I I I, IT'S ONE THING FOR US TO HAVE MONEY AND NOT BE ABLE TO EXPEND IT BECAUSE WE ARE SHORT STAFFED AND I UNDERSTAND SHORT STAFFING, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT'S A BIG DEAL.
AND I WANT TO, I DO WANNA EXPLAIN TO COMMISSIONER ACHILLES AND YOURSELF THE FUNDING THAT IT'S ALL PERSONNEL.
SO THAT FUNDING IS NOT ALLOCATED FOR RENT ASSISTANCE OR BUS PASSES OR ANYTHING RELATED TO CLIENTS.
THEY ARE FUNDING 14 TO 16 FTES THAT PROVIDE THE SERVICES THAT I MENTIONED TO YOU EVERY MONTH.
JUST TO BE CLEAR, SOMETIMES PEOPLE THINK THAT MONEY IS, CAN BE USED FOR HELPING CLIENTS DIRECTLY, IT'S FOR PERSONNEL.
I'M NOT CONCERNED ABOUT THE, I'M NOT TO SAY I'M NOT CONCERNED.
[01:10:01]
MISSPOKE.IT'S NOT THAT I, I'M FOCUSING JUST, I'M FOCUSING ON THE FACT THAT THE LACK OF PERSONNEL GENERATED A SHORTAGE OF OUR SUCCESS RATE.
THAT'S WHAT I'M CONCERNED ABOUT.
I UNDERSTAND THAT THE MONEY IS ALLOCATED SPECIFICALLY FOR, FOR, UH, EMPLOYMENT AND THAT IT CANNOT BE TRANSFERRED OVER TO SOMETHING ELSE.
I'M COOL WITH THAT, BUT I DON'T WANT US TO BE SO SHORT STAFFED THAT, YOU KNOW, IF WE CAN FIGURE OUT SOME WAY OH, OF COURSE, OF COURSE.
THAT'S, THAT'S ALL THAT, THAT, THAT'S A LITTLE ALARMING TO ME.
SO WE STILL HAVE ANOTHER TWO MONTHS OF DATA COMING IN.
UM, THE OTHER THING I HAVE, AND AGAIN, UM, UH, UH, OH, UH, OH, I SEE COMMISSIONER, UM, ESTEBAN, COMMISSIONER ESTEBAN DELGADO, COME ON.
I JUST WANTED TO, TO MAYBE RE ELEVATE AND HIGHLIGHT WHAT YOU, WHAT YOU, UH, CHAIR JUST MENTIONED.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, UH, AS WE LOOK TO BRING IN THOSE, UM, WITH THE IDEAS OF INNOVATION IN THIS SPACE, I WONDER IF THERE'S A WAY THAT WE CAN MEET THAT WITH A PLAN OR, OR TO, YOU KNOW, SEE A ROBUST PLAN TO ENSURE THAT, UM, THAT STAFFING CAN MEET THAT INNOVATION AND THOSE IDEAS AS WELL AS WE, WE LOOK TO SOLUTIONS.
AND SO, UM, JUST WANTED TO SEE IF MAYBE, UM, AT OUR NEXT MEETING OR EARLY WITHIN Q1, WE CAN GET A, AN UPDATE ON, ON HOW HIRING HAS BEEN FOR THOSE 14 TO 16 FTES AND, AND WHAT THE, THE DEPARTMENT MIGHT BE DOING TO INCENTIVIZE FILLING THOSE SLOTS TO MEET THE, UM, THE WORK OF, OF, UM, OF THIS COMMITTEE AND THE, AND, AND OTHER PARTNERS AND STAKEHOLDERS.
COMMISSIONER HIL? UH, YES, WE CAN DO THAT.
WE'RE FULLY STAFFED RIGHT NOW, SO WE HAVE ALL THE SOCIAL WORKERS ON BOARD.
WE'RE GOING INTO THE NEW YEAR STRONG.
YOU KNOW, WE'VE MET THIS GOAL MANY, MANY TIMES SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE.
IT'S JUST HAPPENED THAT THE PERFECT STORM WITH, YOU KNOW, POST COVID VACANCIES OKAY.
EMERGENCIES, FAMILY SITUATIONS WHERE PEOPLE HAD TO MOVE OUT OF STATE THINGS THAT ARE NOT THE NORM.
SO I'M NOT PANICKED ABOUT IT, BUT DEFINITELY HAVE A PLAN FOR NEXT YEAR.
IT, I, THAT'S THE, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ALL ARE RECOGNIZING THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S SOMETHING WE WANT TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT.
UM, ALRIGHT, SO OTHER CONCERNS THAT I HAVE IS, UM, I WAS, YOU KNOW, YOU TALKED ABOUT IN 20, UM, 22, OUR FEW DISTRIBUTION WAS A OF SOMEWHERE IN THE AREA OF ABOUT 27,000 AND NOW WE'RE AT ABOUT 64,000.
DID I UNDERSTAND THAT TO BE CORRECT? UH, YES MA'AM.
UM, AND I ALSO HEARD YOU TO SAY THAT OUR EMERGENCY CLOTHING IN 2022 WAS ONE TWENTY, A HUNDRED TWENTY FIVE.
UM, I, I LIKE THE FACT THAT YOU'RE GIVING ME NUMBERS, BUT IS THERE A WAY, UM, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS, THIS IS JUST A REQUEST, NO BIG DEAL TO GIVE A PERCENTAGE, UH, UH, TO GIVE LIKE WHAT 2022 LOOKED LIKE AND VERSUS 2023, EVEN IF IT'S AT THE END OF THE YEAR, I CAN DEAL WITH IT AT THE END OF THE YEAR.
BUT I'M INTERESTED IN LOOKING AT THAT AND THEN SEEING WHAT THE, UH, PERCENTAGES, UM, AS A THIRD COLUMN TO BE ABLE TO SEE WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
BECAUSE IT'S ONE THING, 'CAUSE HONESTLY, IF YOU HAD, I WAS HERE LAST YEAR AND THE FACT THAT YOU SAID 64 THIS TIME, I WAS LIKE, OH, OKAY, OKAY.
AND THINKING ABOUT PEOPLE AND THEN WHEN YOU SAID 27 LAST YEAR, I WAS LIKE, OH MY GOODNESS, THAT'S HUGE.
AND SO I THINK THAT THAT FOR ME GIVES ME THE CONTEXT OF THE NUMBER.
I'M LOOKING AT A NUMBER THAT YOU'RE REPORTING NOW, BUT WHEN YOU OPEN MY EYES AND SAY, WELL NOW LAST YEAR SISTER, THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE.
I'M LIKE, OH, WELL MY GOODNESS.
SO I'M INTERESTED IN THAT GOING FORWARD.
IS THAT SOMETHING WE CAN DO AT THE OF YEAH, I'D LOVE TO DO THAT.
'CAUSE BEFORE I CAME HERE TODAY, I WAS THINKING I REALLY KINDA KIND OF SPICE THIS UP AND CHANGE IT UP A LITTLE BIT.
SO YEAH, WE DEFINITELY WILL, I'LL DEFINITELY WORK WITH A MANAGEMENT TEAM TO COME UP WITH A NEW FORMATTING FOR NEXT YEAR.
UM, WHAT WAS MY NOTE HERE? OH, SO OVER ON NUMBER FOUR, HOME DELIVERY PROGRAM ON PAGE THREE.
YOU DID, I UNDERSTAND YOU AGAIN, TO SAY THAT WE HAVE 66 15 6,615.
THAT'S FOR A 12 MONTHS OR THAT'S THROUGH THE 10 MONTHS? THAT'S JUST IN SEPTEMBER.
SEPTEMBER? NO, NO, NOT, OH, THAT WAS JUST IN SEPTEMBER.
[01:15:01]
I'M TALKING ABOUT THE 66 15.THAT'S HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE IN THAT HOUSEHOLD.
SO WHEN A GRANTOR LOOKS AT IMPACT, GREAT.
THEY SEE THE IMPACT, IT HELPS EVERYBODY IN THAT HOUSEHOLD.
THAT IS, SO THE 2257 IS A, BASICALLY A THIRD.
THAT'S HOW MANY HOUSEHOLDS AND THEN ABOUT THREE PEOPLE PER, SO THEN IT THE, OKAY, I'M WITH YOU.
UM, YOU MENTIONED THAT THE ST.
JOHN'S FOR THE THANKSGIVING ITEM NUMBER FIVE, THEY DID, UM, SOMETHING A LITTLE INNOVATIVE AND HANDED OUT, UM, CLEANING SUPPLIES, THINGS THAT ARE VERY EXPENSIVE.
MY QUESTION IS THIS, WERE THERE ANY, DO YOU KNOW OF IF THERE WERE INDIVIDUALS THAT WENT TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD EXPECTING TO GET FOOD BUT WAS OFFERED SUPPLIES OR, UH, THIS WAS A SEPARATE EVENT.
SO THEY GOT FOOD EARLIER IN THE WEEK.
THEY WERE ABLE TO GET TURKEY SOMEWHERE ELSE TOO.
UH, SO THEY WERE NOT SHOT OUT FROM THAT PART.
THEY JUST HAD ACCESS TO THIS OTHER, THAT WAS WHAT I WANTED TO MAKE SURE OTHER 'CAUSE I WANTED TO FIND OUT WHAT WAS THE ADVERTISING, YOU KNOW, JUST TO LET YOU KNOW THAT YOU'RE NOT GOING, WE ARE NOT GOING FEED YOU, BUT WE CAN GIVE YOU SOME OF CLEAN UP.
UH, ALL I THINK THAT THAT WAS ALL I HAD.
UH, ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS ON ITEM NUMBER TWO BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER THREE, WHICH IS THE RENTAL ASSISTANCE.
AND WE DO HAVE A PUBLIC SPEAKER, UH, UH, UH, HOLD ON.
UM, COMMISSIONER DEL, UM, ESTEBAN DELGADO, HAND RAISED.
YOU KNOW, UM, I JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT ONE THING.
YOU KNOW, IT SEEMS TO BE A REOCCURRING THEME OF, OF OUR MEETING TODAY IN TERMS OF PREPARING, YOU KNOW, FOR THE WINTER.
AND I JUST WANNA BRING, UM, AND HIGHLIGHT, UH, FOR MY COLLEAGUES AND THOSE WITH US, UM, AN ARTICLE THAT WAS PUBLISHED IN THE, BY THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE ABOUT THE, UM, ERCOT CEO, UM, WARNING OF WINTER BLACKOUT RISK IN TEXAS BEING, I THINK THE, THEM SAYING, YOU KNOW, THE, THE REALITY IS THE RISK IS INCREASING AND, UM, THE WARNING COMES, YOU KNOW, TWO YEARS AFTER WINTER STORM, EARLY, YOU KNOW, HAD A DEVASTATING IMPACT ON, ON THE REGION.
SO I THINK IT'S PRESCIENT, YOU KNOW, THAT THE, THE CEO IS, IS, YOU KNOW, SOUNDING THIS ALARM RIGHT NOW.
AND, AND ALSO THAT WE'RE, THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THIS TO MAYBE ECHO WHAT MY, UH, FELLOW COMMISSIONER BERTHA DELGADO HAS BEEN, HAS BEEN STATING ON THIS CALL.
AND SO IF IT'S POSSIBLE TO LINK THAT, UM, THAT NEWS ARTICLE IN THE, IN THE MEETING MINUTES, UH, I, I APPRECIATE THAT.
HAVE TO COMMI COMMISSIONER, UM, DELGADO, UM, ESTEBAN DELGADO, WOULD YOU FORWARD THE, UM, ARTICLE THAT YOU'RE SPEAKING OF TO MR. BLAKE? YES, I'M HAPPY TO.
BECAUSE THAT WAY WE'RE, WE'RE, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ALL ARE THINKING ABOUT THE EXACT SPECIFIC ONE THAT YOU'RE SPEAKING OF, AND THAT NO ONE IS, IS MISTAKENLY THINKING SOMETHING DIFFERENTLY.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS ON ITEM NUMBER TWO? ALL RIGHT, WE CAN MOVE ON TO
[3. Presentation and discussion on Neighborhood Services Unit Rent Assistance Program (Angel Zambrano, Manager, Neighborhood Services Unit, Austin Public Health)]
ITEM NUMBER THREE.I DO BELIEVE WE HAVE A SPEAKER THAT MAY BE WAITING ONLINE.
THANK YOU SPEAKER FOR WAITING PATIENTLY.
UM, WE ARE READY TO MOVE FORWARD.
MS. ARNOLD, IF YOU COULD PLEASE UNMUTE YOURSELF, UH, WITH, UH, STAR SIX.
I JUST WANT TO SAY, YOU MAY HEAR MY CHILD IN THE BACK, SO EXCUSE ME.
UM, I JUST, MY NAME IS MIKA ARNOLD.
I AM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE HEALING PROJECT.
I'M A BORN AND RAISED AUSTINITE AND COMMUNITY MEMBER, AND I'M HERE TO SPEAK FOR THE DIRECTLY IMPACTED PEOPLE.
I WANT TO START BY SAYING THANK YOU ALL FOR WHAT YOU DO AND ALSO THE ORGANIZATION.
I'M JUST HERE TO SPEAK FROM LIVED EXPERIENCE AND NOT PUT ANYBODY UNDER THE BUS.
I WANNA START WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICE.
UM, FROM MY EXPERIENCE, THERE ARE BARRIERS WITH THIS PROGRAM BECAUSE THEY ONLY ALLOW FAMILIES TO RECEIVE FUNDING ONE TIME.
AND I BELIEVE THAT WAS A RECENT POLICY CHANGE BECAUSE I RECENTLY APPLIED FOR RENTAL ASSISTANCE, UH, I BELIEVE IN NOVEMBER.
AND IT WAS STATED THAT I COULDN'T APPLY BECAUSE I RECEIVED ASSISTANCE IN 2018.
WELL, THE DIFFERENCE IS, IS, UM, I HAVE MORE KIDS NOW.
I HAVE A BIGGER SIZED HOUSEHOLD, SO I'M DENIED BECAUSE I WANTED A, I NEEDED ASSISTANCE.
AND THAT'S NOT FAIR BECAUSE THAT'S NOT SUSTAINABILITY WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND IT SEEMS LIKE THE PROGRAM IS ALSO A PART OF THE PROBLEM.
I ALSO WANT TO SPEAK ON THE PROJECT CONNECT DUE TO THE FACT THAT IT IS
[01:20:01]
SPECIFIC IN SELECTIVE AREAS, BUT THE WHOLE OPTION WILL BE AFFECTED BY THIS PROJECT.I FEEL LIKE THEIR APPLICATION PROCESS IS, IT'S NOT FAIR AND IT CREATES MORE BARRIERS BECAUSE THEY'RE ONLY SELECTED 50 PEOPLE ONE WEEK AT A TIME.
AND THAT'S RANDOMLY AND WE HAVE OVER 5,000 PEOPLE FACING HOMELESSNESS EVERY DAY, INCLUDING ME.
I ALSO WANNA SPEAK ON THE AUSTIN AREA URBAN LEAVE BECAUSE I RECENTLY APPLIED FOR RENTAL ASSISTANCE THIS YEAR AGAIN, AND UNFORTUNATELY I WAS DENIED AND I WAS NOT GIVEN A REASON ON WHY I DENIED.
UM, I WAS GOING TO, UH, GO THROUGH THEIR WORKFORCE PROGRAM.
UM, UNFORTUNATELY THE COMMUNICATION WAS LOST AND I DIDN'T, UH, ATTEND THE FIRST DAY DUE TO CHILDCARE ARRANGEMENTS.
AND THEY JUST IMMEDIATELY DENIED ME WITHOUT, UH, OFFERING ME ANY OTHER RESOURCES.
UH, ALSO I WANT TO SPEAK ON ENDEAVORS.
I APPLIED FOR RENTAL ASSISTANCE FOR ENDEAVOR ENDEAVORS OCTOBER 12TH, AND I STILL HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY RESPONSE BACK OR ANYTHING FOR THEM.
AND I SENT MULTIPLE EMAILS AND I WANNA REPLY BACK TO THE MANAGER SPEAKING ON THE SHORTAGE OF STAFF.
IF Y'ALL GO AHEAD AND TAKE THE INITIATIVE TO HIRE COMMUNITY LED ORGANIZATIONS THAT ALREADY HAVE THAT TRUSTED AND ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE COMMUNITY, MAYBE THAT WILL BRIDGE THE GAP OF THE TRUST.
MAYBE THAT WILL BRIDGE THE GAP OF ACCESSING, ACCESSING CAPITAL.
MAYBE THAT WILL BRIDGE THE GAP OF HOMELESSNESS.
MAYBE THAT WILL BUILD BRIDGE THE GAP OF PREVENTING HOMELESSNESS.
I'M JUST HERE TO SPEAK FOR DIRECTLY IMPACTED PEOPLE AND IT IS VERY HARD TO ACCESS RENTAL ASSISTANCE.
I AM A RESOURCE NAVIGATOR, SO I ALSO DO GENTLE HANDOFFS AND NAVIGATE PEOPLE TO RENTAL ASSISTANCE.
AND EVERYBODY ON THAT LIST, INCLUDING NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES, PROJECT CONNECT, L GWEN AUSTIN AREA URBAN LEAGUE ENDEAVORS HAVE NOT REPLIED OR RESPONDED TO MOST OF THE PEOPLE I DIRECTED TO THEM.
AND I WANT TO LET Y'ALL KNOW I HAVE OVER 30 PEOPLE CONTACTING ME EVERY DAY VIA EMAIL, VIA SOCIAL MEDIA, AND VIA PHONE CALL.
AND THE ONLY THING I COULD DO IS A GENTLE HANDOUT.
IF Y'ALL WOULD LOVE TO DO SOMETHING FOR C THE COMMUNITY CONTACT NICO ARNOLD AT THE HEALING PROJECT, AND LET'S SEE HOW WE CAN PARTNER SO WE CAN MAKE A BIGGER IMPACT IN SERVING THESE MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES, OUR BLACK AND BROWN PEOPLE WHO BUILT OFTEN SHOULD NOT BE SUFFERING AND FACING HOMELESSNESS.
AND LET'S ALSO INCLUDE THE HOME INITIATIVE THAT JUST PASSED THAT WILL AMPLIFY THE NEED FOR HOUSING AND RENTAL ASSISTANCE FOR THE LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES.
PLEASE HEAR ME OUT AND PLEASE UNDERSTAND ME.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT MS. MIKA ARNOLD, UH, WE APPRECIATE YOU, UM, BRINGING YOUR LIVED EXPERIENCE TO, UH, THE FOREFRONT AND WE WILL ALLOW, UH, I DO SEE COMMISSIONER BERTHA HAS A COMMENT.
UM, UN ANGEL, DID YOU WANT TO, UM, GIVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS SOME OF THOSE THINGS IF IT, BECAUSE SHE'S, SHE'S SHARING, SHE OH YEAH, FOR SURE.
I MEAN, I'M GLAD SHE'S SHARING MM-HMM.
SO I JUST WANNA, UH, WITNESS THAT.
AND THE WAY WE ADDRESS IT IS WHAT I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, IN THIS POWERPOINT.
UM, THIS, THIS MAY BE SOMETHING THAT YOU'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT IN THE POWERPOINT, BUT I DO WANT TO SET, ASK THIS QUESTION WHEN INDIVIDUALS AND THAT IT, IT, I'M THIS, IT'S JUST A QUESTION, IS IT STANDARD FOR THEM TO RECEIVE AN EXPLANATION AS TO WHY THEY AREN'T RECEIVING ASSISTANCE? OF COURSE.
DO IT IS OF, SO IT IT'S STANDARD TO, FOR THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE APPLYING TO RECEIVE AN EXPLANATION AS TO WHY THEY'RE NOT RECEIVING.
AND THEN MY OTHER QUESTION IS, SHE MENTIONED SER UH, RECEIVING SERVICES IN 2018, AND I'M A MATH TEACHER.
AND SO, UM, AND THEN SHE NOW IS APPLYING AND FIVE YEARS LATER, WHAT IS THE DURATION? SO IF I RECEIVE ASSISTANCE AT ONE, AT WHAT POINT AM I ELIGIBLE AGAIN? UH, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION THAT I WILL ADDRESS OKAY.
UH, COMMISSIONER, UM, UM, BERTHA DELGADO HAS A, UM, A COMMENT, A QUESTION, AND WE DO WANT TO ALLOW HEL OPPORTUNITY TO DO HIS PRESENTATION, UH, JUST IN CASE HE MIGHT ANSWER THE QUESTIONS I ASKED AHEAD.
SO WE, WE ALSO HAVE ONE MORE SPEAKER.
OH, WE DO HAVE ANOTHER SPEAKER.
I'M SO SORRY ON ITEM THREE, BUT I DON'T KNOW, DO YOU WANNA GO FIRST AND THEN SPEAKERS HAVE YEAH.
UM, UM, COMMISSIONER BERTHA DELGADO, CAN
[01:25:01]
YOU HOLD ON ONE MOMENT? WE DO HAVE ONE MORE SPEAKER, PUBLIC SPEAKER.SO LET'S, LET'S HEAR OUR SPEAKER.
ARE THEY PRESENT? OH, OH, SISTERS AN YES.
I LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU, BUT WE, WE, I DON'T, I DON'T, I WANNA MAKE SURE I'M CLEAR ON THE FRONT SIDE.
WELL, I'M TRYING TO BE CLEAR TOO.
MADAM CHAIR
I JUST WANTED TO MAKE A FEW COMMENTS AND I ECHO WHAT THE PREVIOUS SPEAKER JUST SAID.
UH, THE PROCESS IS ACTUALLY ARDUOUS.
YOU CALL ON MONDAY AND THEY TAKE ABOUT 10 CALLS.
AND SO IT'S LIKE THE LOTTERY IS HOW I BEST DESCRIBE IT.
WHERE YOU CALL, YOU HOPE TO GET THROUGH.
IF YOU GET THROUGH, THEN THAT'S THE DATA THAT YOU SEE.
AND SO THE PROCESS NEEDS TO BE IMPROVED.
I JUST WOULD SAY SPECIFICALLY, EVEN THOUGH ELBOW AND SAMANO DOES GREAT WORK, CULTURE DOES MATTER.
AND I THINK ONE OF THE SHORTFALLS FOR AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH AND EVEN THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT IS THAT THEY'RE NOT USING THE DATA TO DRIVE THE DECISIONS.
AND WHEN YOU HAVE DATA THAT TELLS YOU THAT AFRICAN AMERICANS ARE OVER SIX TIMES MORE LIKELY TO BE HOMELESS IN AUSTIN THAN THEIR WHITE COUNTERPARTS, THEN AT WHAT POINT DO YOU USE THE INFORMATION THAT YOU RECEIVED FROM ECHO FOR THE LAST DECADE? TRAVIS COUNTY COMMISSIONER'S COURT HAVE HAD A REPORT FROM CAN THE COMMUNITY ADVANCEMENT NETWORK THAT TOLD THEM SPECIFICALLY THAT AFRICAN AMERICANS WERE BASICALLY, UH, IN THE WORST OF ALL THE CATEGORIES EXCEPT FOR PERHAPS ONE.
AND SO AT SOME POINT, EVEN THOUGH ELBOW AND SAMARI TAO IS AN EXCELLENT PROVIDER, THEY ARE NOT NECESSARILY REACHING THE PEOPLE WHO ARE AFRICAN AMERICAN.
AND I SAY THAT SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE ON OCTOBER 31ST, 2023, THEY RECEIVED $6.3 MILLION FROM TRAVIS COUNTY COMMISSIONER'S COURT FOR I BELONG IN AUSTIN TENANT STABILIZATION FUND TWO.
THAT THEN I WOULD HAVE TO GO BACK TO THE VIDEO AND SEE WHAT DR.
MARILLO SAID, BECAUSE IT'S AN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY COMMISSIONER'S COURT.
AND I SPECIFICALLY READ THE, THE 33 PAGE, UH, ACTUALLY THE CONTRACT.
AND THAT'S HOW I GOT THE ASSISTANCE THAT I NEEDED WAS BECAUSE I CHALLENGED BASICALLY THE LANGUAGE IN, IN THE CONTRACT.
SO I'M NOT SURE WHAT ELSE WAS THERE, BUT I CAN JUST TELL YOU THAT WHEN SHE BRIEFED, MEANING DR.
MARILLO BRIEFED TRAVIS COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, THERE HAD ALREADY BEEN ABOUT 300 TH 400 PEOPLE WHO HAD ALREADY APPLIED FOR SOME PROGRAM THAT THEY WERE ACTUALLY, UM, IN THE PROCESS OF PUTTING OUT TO THE PUBLIC.
AND I JUST WONDERED WHO KNEW, HOW DID THEY EVEN KNOW TO APPLY THAT THAT MANY PEOPLE WOULD'VE BEEN IN THE PIPELINE? SO THIS WAS TO EXPAND THE PROGRAM AS SHE EXPLAINED IT FOR PEOPLE WHO WERE OUTSIDE OF THE JURISDICTIONAL, UH, AREA THAT THEY WERE ACTUALLY SERVING WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS.
SO THIS WAS TO EXPAND IT TO TRAVIS COUNTY RESIDENTS AS WELL.
UM, SO I JUST, I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.
AND I ALSO THINK THAT THE DATA COLLECTION IS IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO, TO GET AS WELL.
I WROTE A WHOLE BUNCH DOWN, UH, AS FAR AS, UH, THIS THURSDAY, ITEM 40 IS THE $900,000 THAT'S GOING TO TEXAS RIO GRANDE LEGAL AID.
UM, AND I WOULD JUST TELL YOU, I'VE SAID THIS TO COUNSEL TOO.
LAST WEEK, SPECIFICALLY AS IT RELATES TO THE AUSTIN TENANTS COUNSEL, THEY JUST RECEIVED $900,000 MORE.
I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT ON NOVEMBER 1ST, 2022, THERE WAS $6.3 MILLION THAT WAS GIVEN TO THE THREE ORGANIZATIONS.
AND I'LL WRAP UP ON THIS NOTE, BUT I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT THEY'RE NOT LAWYERS AT AUSTIN TENANTS COUNCIL.
AND SO ONE SOLUTION IS MARK MELTON IN DALLAS COUNTY, THEY STAFF THE DOCKET IN JUSTICE COURT AND THAT IS WHAT IS NEEDED.
AND THEY WIN ABOUT 80% OF THEIR CASES.
SO JUST THROWING MONEY AT THE PROBLEM IS NOT HELPING TENANTS BECAUSE, BECAUSE WHAT TEXAS RIO GRANDE LEGAL AID DOES IS BASICALLY GIVES YOU THE TEXAS LAW HELP INFORMATION THAT'S ONLINE AND YOU'RE REALLY JUST DOING PRO SE REPRESENTATION.
AND I JUST KNOW FROM MY OWN EXPERIENCE.
BUT IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'LL GLADLY ANSWER THEM AT THIS TIME AND WILL CERTAINLY DEFER TO MS, UH, NEFERTITI JACKMAN TO EXPLAIN THE MONIES THAT CAME FROM TRAVIS COUNTY VERSUS WHAT THE CITY HAS.
BUT WE NEED BLACK PROVIDERS, I JUST NEED TO SAY THAT.
WAS THAT DALLAS COUNTY THAT YOU WERE SPEAKING OF THAT HAS, UH, THE JUSTICE? RIGHT.
AND THEY, AND THERE'S AN ARTICLE WITH MARK MELTON AND HIS WIFE AND MARK MELTON.
AND IT SHOWS THAT THEY WENT ABOUT 80% OF THE CASES AND THEY WON'T TAKE, UH, THE GOVERNMENT'S MONEY.
SO HE FORMED THIS ORGANIZATION BASED ON HIS OWN EXPERIENCE OF BEING ON A HOUSE WITH HIS TWO CHILDREN.
AND SO THAT EXPERIENCE STAYED WITH HIM.
[01:30:01]
FOR, UM, PROVIDING THAT EXTRA INFORMATION FOR ME.I DON'T MEAN TO GO LONG ABOUT IT, BUT I NEED YOU TO UNDERSTAND THAT IS WHAT'S NEEDED.
BECAUSE HE SAID THERE WAS A LADY IN COURT WHO SAID TO THE JUDGE WHATEVER THE ISSUE WAS, AND AS AN ATTORNEY, HE SAID, WELL, SHE WAS RIGHT.
BUT EVEN WHEN YOU'RE RIGHT, AS A LAYPERSON, THEY DEFER PRIMARILY TO THE LANDLORD.
AND SO YOU LITERALLY NEED A LAWYER TO SAY, I CAN TELL YOU FROM MY OWN CASE, IT WAS A, A PROPERTY THAT WAS A, YOU KNOW, IT WAS, THEY ACTUALLY HAD A HUD YOU KNOW, THEY GOT ALL THE FORBEARANCE AND ALL OF THAT.
BUT, AND I SAID, THEY'RE COVERED UNDER THE CARESS ACT.
AND THE, THE LAWYER AND THE JUDGE SAID NO, AND THEN THE CASE WAS NON SUITED ON APPEAL BECAUSE IT'S UNDER THE CARESS ACT BECAUSE IT APPLIED.
BUT I SAID IT DIDN'T, DIDN'T REALLY MATTER, BUT YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE MONEY.
THE LAST THING I'LL TELL YOU, THE OTHER SOLUTION IS THE MONIES NEED TO BE THERE FOR THE APPEAL SO THAT THAT PERSON CAN HAVE A LITTLE BREATHING ROOM SO THAT MONEY CAN GO INTO THE COURT REGISTRY.
AND RIGHT NOW, IF YOU LOSE AN EVICTION COURT, JP COURT, THEN YOU'RE JUST KIND OF OUT THERE BECAUSE YOU NEED TO COME UP WITH THE MONEY WITHIN FIVE DAYS.
YOU HAVE TO PAY, UH, YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO PERFECT THE APPEAL, AND THEN YOU HAVE TO PAY THE RENT AGAIN WHEN IT COMES DUE.
AND IF YOU DON'T HAVE TWICE THE RENT AVAILABLE IMMEDIATELY, BASICALLY, THEN YOU'RE FALLING THROUGH THE CRACKS.
BUT THE MONEY IS THERE AND THAT'S WHERE IT'S NEEDED.
MY UNDERSTANDING IS BASICALLY WHEN SOMEONE ISN'T APPEALING SOME, UH, THE, UH, I MEAN AN EVICTION THAT, UM, DURING THAT TIME, BECAUSE THEY WOULD HAVE ALREADY BEEN RULED AGAINST, THEY, UH, THE REALITY IS THAT THEY'RE HAVING TO MAKE THAT MOVE, ET CETERA.
AND MOST OF US WOULD RECOGNIZE THAT ONCE YOU MAKE THAT MOVE AND GO ON ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS, UM, YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BE CONTINUOUSLY FIGHTING, UM, SOMETHING AND PUTTING MONEY WITH THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TOWARDS GETTING BACK TO WHERE YOU HAVE ALREADY BEEN EVICTED.
SO I DO CLEARLY UNDERSTAND, UH, THAT, SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR, UH, RESEARCH AND PLEASE FORWARD YOUR INFORMATION TO MR. BLAKE AND HE DOES DO AN OUTSTANDING JOB OF DISSEMINATING IT TO US.
UM, UM, COMMISSIONER BERTHA DELGADO, I DO SEE YOUR HAND.
I'M GONNA HAVE HEL HEL DO YOUR PRESENTATION JUST IN CASE IT ADDRESSES SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE, UM, THAT ANSWERS SOME OF OUR CONCERNS.
CAN WE JUST MAKE SURE THE CALLER'S STILL ON THE CALL? 'CAUSE THIS WAS ABOUT THE CALLER.
THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION.
UM, BECAUSE IT IS ABOUT THE CALLER.
UM, UM, YES, COMMISSIONER BERTHA DELGADO.
UM, FIRST OF ALL, UM, I WANNA THANK ANIKA ARNOLD, UH, FOR STAYING, UH, ON THE LINE, UH, WAITING YOUR TURN TO SPEAK.
I, I THINK IT'S VERY, VERY VITAL THAT THE COMMISSION HEARD YOU TODAY.
THANK YOU FOR ALL THE WORK YOU'RE DOING OUT THERE IN THE COMMUNITY, THE HARD WORK, UH, THAT THAT, THAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE OUT THERE, UM, SERVING THAT WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU, YOU, YOU BROUGHT UP A, A CONCERN TO ME, AND IT GOES BACK TO ANHE AND AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH OF HOW THE SYSTEM IS WORKING AT THE NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS.
YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY ONE THAT HAS BROUGHT THAT TO MY ATTENTION.
IT'S BEEN BROUGHT UP TO OUR ATTENTION FOR THE LAST SEVEN YEARS.
AND I KNOW THAT THEY'RE TRYING TO DO THE BEST THEY CAN, AS YOU HEARD, AND I ALSO HEARD ON HILL SAID, WELL, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, ALL WE COULD DO IS HOPE AND ALL WE COULD DO IS, YOU KNOW, AND HE'S BEING VERY OPTIMISTIC AND I UNDERSTAND HIS ROLE.
UM, BUT I, I DO UN I DO WANT TO POINT OUT ON HILL THAT YOU'RE HEARING AGAIN, AND, AND YOU'RE SEEING IT OUT THERE, UH, IN THE PUBLIC, IS THAT THE BRIDGE AND THE GAP THAT, THAT WE HAVE WITH THE NOT HAVING ENOUGH NOW, I GUESS STAFF OR THERE'S ALWAYS A REASON OF, OF WHY WE'RE NOT ABLE TO SERVE, UH, A LARGE AMOUNT OF RECIPIENTS IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS.
UM, AGAIN, I, I DON'T WANT US TO JUST KEEP HOPING AND WISHING FOR MORE MONEY AND, AND, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO FIGURE THINGS OUT.
I THINK WE NEED TO ADDRESS IT HEAD ON AND FIGURE IT OUT.
UM, MY DAUGHTER WAS ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE THAT CALLED AND CALLED AND CALLED AND WAS TOLD THEY DON'T HAVE NO MORE FUNDING.
SHE CALLED, THEY PUT ON HOLD, THEY DIDN'T ANSWER THE PHONE.
SO OUR CHILDREN, NOT JUST THE PARENTS, BUT OUR CHILDREN ARE FACING THIS ISSUE BECAUSE
[01:35:01]
WE ARE A CITY OF BOSTON BODY.AND BECAUSE OUR RESPONSIBILITY IS TO OVERSIGHT THE AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH NEED ASSESSMENTS AND NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS AND ALL THE NONPROFITS THAT ARE RECEIVING OUR FEDERAL DOLLARS, OUR GRANT MONIES FOR OUR PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY PEOPLE OF COLOR AND POOR WORKING CLASS CHILDREN, DISABLED.
WHAT ARE WE DOING WHEN THESE RECIPIENTS ARE COMING TO US BEGGING, JUST LIKE PEOPLE WE'RE BEGGING CITY COUNCIL.
I DON'T WANT OUR DEPARTMENTS TO SAY, GO TO THE CITY COUNCIL, GO TO THE MAYOR.
HAVE YOU SAW US ALL GO AND BEG THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL TO NOT PASS AN INITIATIVE THAT WAS GONNA HARM THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY HERE IN EAST AUSTIN.
I, I, I WANNA SEE SOMETHING ELSE COME OUT OF THIS.
UM, ESPECIALLY WHEN I HEAR PEOPLE LIKE NIKA, MS. JONES AND OTHER PEOPLE THAT JUST COME CONSTANTLY TO THIS DIOCESE, WHICH IS VERY, A SMALL AMOUNT OF PEOPLE BECAUSE PEOPLE DON'T KNOW HOW TO NAVIGATE THE PHONE OR, OR GET ON, YOU KNOW, UM, ZOOM OR EVEN GO TO COUNCIL AND GO THROUGH, I MEAN, GO TO CITY HALL AND HAVE TO GO THROUGH SECURITY, HAVE TO GET A PARKING, HAVE TO WALK.
I MEAN, THE BARRIERS ARE REAL.
SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT YOU COMMISSIONERS ARE REALLY HEARING THIS AND US FIGURING OUT WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO? BECAUSE WE, WE'VE TRIED TO PROVIDE A RES A RESOLUTION COUNCIL LAUGHED AT US AND DIDN'T CARE ABOUT OUR RESOLUTION, DIDN'T EVEN READ OUR RESOLUTION.
SO WHAT ARE WE DOING AS A COMMISSION TO HELP HOLD THE DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE OVERSEEING THESE CRISIS ISSUES OF OUR RECIPIENTS ACCOUNTABLE? ECHO, HAVE NOT BEEN HELD ACCOUNTABLE.
WE HAVEN'T EVEN GOT THE DATA I HAVE REQUESTED FROM ECHO.
AND I ASKED FOR THAT DATA IN THE BEGINNING OF THIS YEAR, AND I, I DON'T STILL HAVE THE DATA THAT WAS PROMISED TO ME.
SO I, I JUST WANNA VOICE NIKA, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR DOING THAT WORK AND CONTINUE THE FIGHT AND CONTINUE TO COME TO THESE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS AND BE THE ADVOCATE AND THE VOICE THAT YOU NEED TO, FOR SO MANY THAT NEED TO BE HEARD AND THAT CANNOT SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.
BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT OUR JOB IS, TO HEAR YOU AND TO FIND A SOLUTION AND BE PROACTIVE AND IMPLEMENT IT.
IMPLEMENT, LET'S DO SOME POLICY CHANGING.
I JUST DON'T WANNA JUST PUT THIS IN THE BACK SHELF AND NOT COME BACK TO IT.
AND I, AND I THINK THAT AFTER THIS MEETING WITH THE DIRECTOR OF AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH IS GONNA BE MY ROLE TO DO AS AN INDIVIDUAL IF I CAN'T DO IT AS A COMMISSIONER, BUT I WILL DO IT BECAUSE WE HAVE PEOPLE THAT ARE DYING OUT HERE AND AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH NEEDS TO BE MORE HELD ACCOUNTABLE TO OUR CONSTITUENTS HERE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
HIL, DID YOU HAVE A COMMENT, RESPONSE TO WHAT COMMISSIONER HAS PUT FORTH BESIDES THE ECHO, WHICH WE WILL ADDRESS, UM, IN ANOTHER COMMENT CONVERSATION? I WOULD SAY THE SAME THING AGAIN.
I THINK IT'S A HUGE ISSUE AND DEFINITELY I CAN TELL YOU'RE VERY PASSIONATE.
I'VE KNOWN YOU FOR MANY YEARS.
I RESPECT THE WORK THAT YOU DO, AND WE'RE DOING WHAT WE CAN.
WHEN I MENTION HOPE, I DON'T MEAN THAT WE'RE JUST LIVING ON HOPE.
THAT WAS ONE OF THE DATA POINTS.
SO WHEN I HEAR THAT, NOT NECESSARILY ACCUSATIONS, BUT OBSERVATIONS THAT WE'RE SERVING LESS PEOPLE, THAT THERE'S EXCUSES, STAFFING, WE'RE SERVING A LOT MORE PEOPLE THAN WE DID.
THE HOME DELIVERY PROGRAM SHOWS THE NUMBERS THERE TOO.
OVER 45,000 DELIVERIES IN A, IN A YEAR AND A HALF.
OUR RENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM IS VERY SMALL.
WE'RE JUST A TINY PART THAT IS FIGHTING AS HARD AS WE CAN TO HELP THOSE THAT ARE THE POOREST OF THE POOR.
THERE'S OTHER PROGRAMS THAT ARE MUCH BIGGER AS THE STAFF HERE CAN ATTEST TO $8 MILLION.
WHEN THE CARES ACT CAME, IT WAS MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TOO.
WE'RE GONNA BE GETTING ANOTHER ABOUT 775,000 A YEAR FOR THE NEXT FIVE, WHICH I THINK IS ONE OF THE, UM, COMMENTS THAT ONE OF THE SPEAKERS SAID.
MS. ANOVIA JOSEPH, THAT'S OVER A FIVE YEAR PLAN, FIVE YEAR, UH, CONTRACT.
WHEN DOES THAT BEGIN? THAT BEGINS IN, UH, JANUARY.
SO, SO I CAN SPEAK TO SOME OF THAT TOO AS I GO THROUGH THIS PRESENTATION.
UH, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE ON REFERENCE TO WHAT, UM, COMMISSIONER BERTHA DELGADO HAS? YOU'RE, YOU'RE, YOU'RE GOOD WITH RESPONDING TO WHAT SHE HAD TO SAY ON THAT, ON HELP YOU OH, MYSELF.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE ALRIGHT.
I DO WANNA SAY ONE MORE THING IN TERMS OF THE
[01:40:01]
DIVERSITY, I DON'T HAVE THE NUMBERS, BUT I WOULD SAY A OVER 80% OF OUR STAFF IS PEOPLE OF COLOR AT THE NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS.THAT PROBABLY SPEAKS FOR ITSELF IN TERMS OF THE, UH, COMMENTS THAT WERE MADE EARLIER THAT THERE'S NOT ENOUGH DIVERSITY IN THE STAFF.
YOU KNOW, I MISSED THAT COMMENT.
I DON'T DUNNO HOW I MISSED IT, BUT I MISSED THAT COMMENT.
THANK YOU FOR ADDRESSING THAT.
UM, I DO SEE A HAND AND I WILL, UM, ACKNOWLEDGE COMMISSIONER ESTEBAN DELGADO TO GO AHEAD AND MAKE A COMMENT, AND THEN WE WILL BE MOVING FORWARD INTO ON HILL'S PRESENTATION.
'CAUSE IT MIGHT ADDRESS SOME OF OUR, UH, ISSUES.
UM, AND CONCERNS COME ON, COMMISSIONER.
AND I APOLOGIZE FOR SLOWING US DOWN.
ONE OF THE, AND BUT THE REASON WHY I WANTED TO MAKE A COMMENT, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE MY FELLOW COMMISSIONER'S, UM, COMMENTS ON THIS.
UM, YOU KNOW, FROM THE, THE LAST TWO PRESENTERS, I I I, AND CORRECT ME IF I, IF I MISHEARD, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE WAS KIND OF THIS CALL FOR GREATER, UM, CULTURAL COMPETENCY, RIGHT? IN THE, IN THE SENSE OF LIKE WANTING TO ENSURE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, OH, WHEN SOMEBODY FOUND OUT IF WE ARE, UM, PROVIDING GRANT ASSISTANCE RIGHT OUT OF A LATINO SERVING, UM, AND LATINO LED ORGANIZATION, THAT WE'RE ALSO MAKING IT, UM, ENCOMPASSING AND WELCOMING FOR THOSE OTHER BIPOC COMMUNITIES.
AND, AND I'M SURE THAT THIS IS, YOU KNOW, PART OF THE CASE, BUT YOU KNOW, THE, THE CONCERNS THAT WERE RAISED TODAY, YOU KNOW, KIND OF POINT AT, YOU KNOW, HOW WE ARE PROMOTING THAT ACCESS AND BELONGING TO ALL OF OUR SITES, TO ALL OF OUR RESIDENTS.
AND I JUST WONDER, UM, IF THESE SITES ARE REQUIRED TO, UM, OR, OR IF THEY WRITE IT ALL, YOU KNOW, ANY TYPE OF, UM, ACCESS BELONGING OR DEI STATEMENT AROUND HOW THEY, YOU KNOW, UM, HOPE TO BE CULTURALLY COMPETENT, YOU KNOW, THROUGHOUT ALL OPERATIONS.
AND IF NOT, I WONDER IF IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO, UM, FOR ASK FOR SOME TYPE OF, UM, STATEMENT THERE, WHICH, YOU KNOW, COULD JUST ASSURE US, YOU KNOW, AND, AND ALSO PUTS INTO, INTO THE MINDS OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE'RE PAYING ATTENTION TO, UM, ACCESSIBILITY NOT JUST WITHIN, UM, CULTURAL OR GEOGRAPHIC COMMUNITIES, BUT WE, WE REALLY WANT EVERYONE TO, YOU KNOW, TO, TO SERVE, UM, THE POOREST OF THE POOR THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
AND I THINK ONE COMMENT THAT WAS SAID, YOU KNOW, THAT THOSE BLACK RESIDENTS BEING SIX TIMES MORE LIKELY, YOU KNOW, TO, TO NEED ASSISTANCE.
THAT'S, THAT WAS A BIG NUMBER FOR ME TO HEAR.
AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE DOING ALL WE CAN TO ENSURE THIS COMPETENCY EXISTS WITHIN ALL OF OUR, OUR GRANT UH, ADMINISTRATOR SITES.
COMMISSIONER DELGADO, UM, ON ANGEL, DID YOU HAVE A RESPONSE IN REFERENCE TO COMMISSIONER ESTEBAN DELGADO'S COMMENTS? UH, I CAN'T SPEAK FOR BUEN.
UH, BUT I WOULD BE HAPPY TO SPEAK TO A PHI THINK WE HAVE A PRETTY ROBUST, UM, YOU KNOW, KIND OF LUNCH AND LEARN EDUCATION CLASSES, MANDATORY TRAININGS, AND I THINK IT MIGHT BE GOOD FOR THAT POINT OF CONTACT THAT A PH TO COME AND PRESENT TO YOU GUYS.
UM, IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN TERMS OF WHAT A PH IS TRYING TO DO WITH, WITH, WITH, UH, WITH, UH, EQUITY AND INCLUSION AS A CULTURE SHIFT IN A DEPARTMENT THAT'S VERY DIVERSE ALREADY, BUT THEY'RE TAKING THAT ON TOO AS WELL.
SO IF YOU'RE INTERESTED, LET ME KNOW.
AND I DO SEE, UM, MS. NEFERTITI HAS, UM, STEPPED UP.
I WOULD LIKE TO SAY, UH, AS PART OF THE APPLICATION FOR THE, I BELONG IN AUSTIN PROGRAM, CULTURAL COMPETENCY WAS ONE OF THE EVALUAT WEIGHTING CRITERIA THAT WAS USED TO ASSESS YEP.
UH, THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE WOULD BE VENDOR THAT WAS SELECTED.
UM, AND THAT IS, THAT IS, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN MUTE THE CALLER.
UM, AND THEN IN, IN ADDITION TO THAT, UH, THROUGH THE PROJECT CONNECT COMMUNITY INITIATED SOLUTIONS GRANTS, WE CONTRACTED SEPARATELY WITH, UH, CONSULTANTS, THREE DIFFERENT CONSULTING AGENCIES TO PROVIDE CULTURAL COMPETENCY TRAINING FOR THE 12 VENDORS THAT WERE SELECTED TO PROVIDE THE RANGE OF SERVICES THAT ARE AVAILABLE THROUGH, UH, PROJECT CONNECT FUNDING.
SO AGAIN, THIS IS A CORE VALUE, UH, FOR THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT AND SPECIFICALLY THE DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION DIVISION REGARDING THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE SERVED, UH, PARTICULARLY BLACK PEOPLE THROUGH I BELONG IN AUSTIN WITH.
AND THE DATA SHOWS THAT THE NUMBER OF BLACKS SERVED THROUGH THAT PROGRAM IS MUCH HIGHER THAN THEIR POP THEIR OVERALL
[01:45:01]
POPULATION IN THE CITY.MARIA COMES IN JANUARY, I THINK, UH, SHE IS SLATED TO BE PRESENT, UH, ON JANUARY 9TH AT THE NEXT CDC MEETING.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S CONFIRMED, BUT I BELIEVE I BELONG.
AND AUSTIN IS ON THE PROGRAM FOR JANUARY, AND WE CAN CONFIRM IT AT YOUR NEXT MEETING, BUT SHE WILL BRING THOSE DATA POINTS TO SHOW WHO IS BEING SERVED AND THAT WE ARE COLLECTING A LOT OF, UH, ROBUST DATA TO SHOW WHO'S BEING SERVED, UH, THROUGH THE PROGRAM.
I'M SORRY, CAN I, CAN I ALSO ADD A COMMENT? I YES.
I ALSO WANNA MENTION, UM, VO EXECUTIVE CHIEF DIRECTOR MS. UH, ROSA MARIA.
UM, SHE DO PLAN ON VISITING BLACK MAMA'S VILLAGE, WHERE I'M THE HEALING PARTNER IS PARTNERING WITH NAVIGATING RESOURCES ON JANUARY 23RD, BECAUSE I DID HAVE CONCERNS THAT THE MINORITY BLACK, UH, COMMUNITY WILL GO, UH, UH, UH, UNSERVED.
AND, UM, I DID WANT TO, MY INTENTIONS WERE TO PARTNER WITH THEM, GET TRAINED.
SO I CAN ALSO SERVE THE BLACK AND BROWN COMMUNITY, BUT MAINLY THE BLACK COMMUNITY BECAUSE I DON'T WANT US TO BE OVERLOOKED BECAUSE THE BLACK COMMUNITY IS THE MINORITIES IN AUSTIN, TEXAS, AND WE HAVE THE HIGHEST PERCENT OF HOMELESSNESS.
SO I JUST WANT Y'ALL TO KEEP THAT IN MIND AS WELL.
AND WE ALSO HAVE, UM, MAMA ASANA.
UH, MAMA SAANA, WHICH, UH, WORKS DIRECTLY WITH BLACK WOMEN WHO ARE PREGNANT, UH, AS PART OF THE PROJECT CONNECT COMMUNITY INITIATED SOLUTIONS TO PROVIDE, UH, DIRECT RENTAL ASSISTANCE.
SO WE ARE LOOKING TO BE VERY TARGETED IN THE DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES, UH, WHO ARE BEING SERVED.
I ALSO WANNA ADD THAT I DID SPEAK WITH SOMEONE AT BAMA ACTUALLY TODAY, AND THEY DO PLAN ON WATCHING A RENTAL ASSISTANCE, UH, IN MARCH OR MAY.
AND I ALSO, UM, PROPOSED THAT THE HEALING PROJECT IN BLACK MAMMOUTH VILLAGE, UH, ASSIST WITH NAVIGATING RESOURCES.
THE ONLY BARRIER IS THAT WE CAN'T WAIT THAT LONG AND THERE'S GONNA BE HIGHER RATES OF HOMELESSNESS AND HOMELESSNESS PREVENTION IN UNHOUSED.
IT, IT'S EVICTIONS, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S GONNA BE A HIGHER RATE.
WE'RE, WE'RE BACK AT THE RATE PRE COVID.
YOU DEFINITELY ARE GIVING US A LOT TO THINK ABOUT.
SO, UM, THE, THE FACT THAT I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY DOESN'T MEAN THAT I'M NOT HEARING IT AND IT'S REALLY, UM, WEIGHING ON ME.
SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, THANK YOU, UM, MS. ARNOLD, YOU'RE PLEASE STICK AROUND, UM, BECAUSE, UM, THE PRESENTATION THAT'S COMING UP MAY OR MAY NOT, UM, PROVIDE ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY.
UM, AND THEN WE'LL GO FROM THERE.
I HAVE A SHORT POWERPOINT KIND OF GOING OVER THE, UH, RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
AGAIN, THE CAVEAT IS THAT DEPENDING ON THE, UH, FUNDING SOURCE, SOME OF THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA MIGHT CHANGE.
SO I'M SPEAKING TODAY OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN FINANCIAL STABILITY FUNDING AND WE'LL WAIT FOR THE SLIDES TO COME ON.
I THINK YOU MIGHT HAVE 'EM IN YOUR BACKUP AS WELL.
AGAIN, LIKE I JUST MENTIONED, THIS IS A PRESENTATION ON THE CITY OF AUSTIN NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES UNIT RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
SMALL PROGRAM EMBEDDED IN THE AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH UNDER COMMUNITY SERVICES.
THE CITY OF AUSTIN FINANCIAL STABILITY PROGRAM HAS A FISCAL AGENT, WHICH IS CATHOLIC CHARITIES OF CENTRAL TEXAS.
THEY'RE THE ONES WHO, UH, BASICALLY CUT THE CHECKS TO THE LANDLORDS.
WE DO THE ELIGIBILITY AND THE SCREENING AND THE, UM, DIRECT CLIENT CONTACT.
THE CRITERIA FOR THIS PROGRAM IS, UH, RIGHT THERE.
CITY OF AUSTIN OR TRAVIS COUNTY RESIDENT, YOU NEED TO BE ADD OR BELOW 200% OF F FEDERAL POVERTY INCOME GUIDELINES.
AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, UH, FOR A FAMILY OF FOUR THAT'S MAKING LESS THAN, UM, $60,000 A YEAR FOR, LET'S SAY A MOM WITH TWO KIDS THAT WE'D BE MAKING LESS THAN 49,720.
SO AGAIN, REALLY SERVING THE VERY POOR IN AUSTIN, UH, NEW CLIENTS ONLY.
THAT'S WHERE, UH, I SAID I WAS GONNA TALK ABOUT THAT DURING THIS PRESENTATION.
UM, WE DECIDED WITH THIS LAST BIT OF FUNDING THAT WE HAD, THAT WE WERE GOING TO SERVE NEW CLIENTS LIKE NO REPEATS.
[01:50:01]
SO THAT YOU'VE HEARD FROM A, A, UH, ONE OF THE SPEAKERS SAYING, YOU KNOW, THEY WERE DENIED UH, SERVICES DUE TO THE FACT THAT THEY WERE NOT A NEW CLIENT.NOW THAT CAN, THAT'S A, WE CAN READDRESS THAT.
WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IS THERE ENOUGH NEED DEMAND FOR PEOPLE THAT WE'VE NEVER HELPED BEFORE.
SO THE LEADERSHIP TEAM AT THE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES UNIT MADE THAT DECISION FOR THIS LAST ROUND OF FUNDING.
UH, THE RENT HAS TO BE PASSED DUE 'CAUSE THE MONIES ARE FOR EVICTION PREVENTION, UM, AND HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITIONS.
WE WERE TARGETING THREE DIFFERENT DEMOGRAPHICS, UH, HOUSEHOLDS WITH MINORS IN GENERAL.
THAT'S USUALLY MOMS WITH KIDS.
SOMETIMES IT'S A SINGLE DAD WITH KIDS.
UH, ANY MEMBER WHO RECEIVES SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS OR HOUSE WITH WITH MEMBERS WHO ARE 60 YEARS OLD OR OLDER.
SO I'M KIND OF TARGETING THE MOST VULNERABLE POPULATIONS WITH THIS ROUND OF FUNDING.
WE WERE ABLE TO, UH, ASSIST, UH, PEOPLE WITH PAST DUE RENT AND FEES.
SOMETIMES WE CAN NEGOTIATE THE LATE FEES.
SOMETIMES THE LANDLORD DOESN'T GIVE IN ON THAT, BUT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE TRY TO DO UP TO $4,000 WITH THE CENTER MANAGER APPROVAL.
ANYTHING OVER $4,000 GOES TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES UNIT MANAGER FOR APPROVAL.
WITH THE LAST ROUND OF FUNDING ON THAT PAST SLIDE, I CAN JUST SAY THAT THE AVERAGE PAYMENT WAS THAT WE MADE WAS AROUND $2,500.
BUT WE DID MAKE PAYMENTS WITH THAT ROUND OF FUNDING BEFORE, UH, UP TO $12,000.
'CAUSE PEOPLE WERE REALLY, SOME FOLKS WERE REALLY IN A HARD, HARD SITUATION.
OUR ADMINS WHO TAKE THE PHONE CALLS, UH, OR THE COMMUNITY WORKERS, THEY COLLECT THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION, NAME, DATE OF BIRTH, VERY SIMPLE ADDRESS, CONTACT INFORMATION, NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN THE HOUSEHOLD, THE LANGUAGE SPOKEN, AND THEY HAVE TO VERIFY THE RESIDENCY, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, CITY OF AUSTIN OR TRAVIS COUNTY.
AND WE USE THE, UH, JURISDICTION MAP THAT'S LINKED RIGHT THERE ON THE POWERPOINT.
ONCE THAT HAPPENS, UH, THE ASSIGNED WORKER CONTACTS THE, THE, UH, CALLER, WE CALL THEM WITHIN ONE BUSINESS DAY.
WE WANNA MOVE ON THIS QUICKLY 'CAUSE I KNOW THEY'RE IN CRISIS AND NEED THIS TAKEN CARE OF.
IF WE CAN'T REACH 'EM BY PHONE, WE TRY EMAIL.
UH, WE CALL OR EMAIL ONE MORE TIME WITHIN THE SECOND BUSINESS DAY.
AND CLIENTS HAVE TWO BUSINESS DAYS TO RESPOND TO OUR CONTACT FROM STAFF'S INITIAL CALL.
AT THAT POINT, THE COMMUNITY WORKER OR SOCIAL WORKER WILL SCREEN THE CALLER IN FIVE PHONE OR IN PERSON.
MOST PEOPLE SINCE THE PANDEMIC PREFER TO DO IT BY PHONE.
BUT WE DO HAVE PEOPLE WHO STILL LIKE TO WALK IN AND TALK TO US IN PERSON.
WE VERIFY ALL THE DATA THAT'S PROVIDED.
UH, WE ASK ABOUT THE HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION ELIGIBILITY.
ARE THERE MINORS IN THE HOUSE? IS THERE A HIGH HOUSEHOLD MEMBER WITH SOCIAL SECURITY PAYMENTS? DOES THE HOUSEHOLD HAVE A MEMBER WHO'S 60 YEARS OLD AND OLDER? AGAIN, FOCUSING ON THOSE VULNERABLE, UH, DEMOGRAPHICS.
WE ASK IF RENT IS PAST DUE 'CAUSE THAT'S WHAT OUR FUNDING IS FOR, UM, TO PREVENT EVICTION.
WE ASK FOR DETAILS OF THE CURRENT CRISIS.
THAT HAS TO BE DOCUMENTED IN OUR SYSTEM AS WELL.
UM, THAT CAN VARY FROM LOSING A JOB.
I CAN JUST OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, UH, HOUSEHOLDS LOSING SOMEONE TO SUICIDE, WHO WAS THE MAIN PROVIDER.
HOUSEHOLDS WHERE THE CHILD HAS BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER, WHERE THEY HAD TO TAKE TIME OFF, WAS LAID OFF.
ALL KINDS OF SITUATIONS THAT WE LISTEN TO, UM, AND TRY TO SUPPORT IF CLIENT MEETS THE LF CRITERIA, YOU COLLECT ALL THE HOUSEHOLD DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION AND MOVE TO THE NEXT STEP, WHICH IS GETTING THE DOCUMENTATION.
CLIENTS MUST GET ALL THE DOCUMENTS IN WITHIN FIVE BUSINESS DAYS.
FROM THE INITIAL CALL, THEY CAN EMAIL COME IN PERSON US MAIL.
MOST FOLKS LIKE TO, UH, EITHER DROP IT OFF OR SEND IT ELECTRONICALLY.
AND THESE ARE THE REQUIRED DOCUMENTATIONS, UH, THAT WE NEED TO HAVE.
WE TRY TO GET AS LITTLE, AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE IN TERMS OF BARRIERS, BUT WE DO NEED THE ID, THE PROOF OF ADDRESS, PROOF OF INCOME, THE LEASE.
MOST OF THE LEASES ARE FORMAL, BUT WE DO TAKE INFORMAL LEASES AS WELL.
THE LEDGER STATEMENTS SAYING HOW MUCH THEY OWE PAST DUE SO WE CAN FIGURE OUT WHAT THE LATE FEES ARE AND, UH, WHAT THE HISTORY IS.
AND THEN FOR THE NEIGHBOR SERVICES UNIT FORMS THE RELEASE OF INFORMATION WITH CATHOLIC CHARITIES SO THEY CAN MAKE THE PAYMENT, THE LANDLORD INFO CONFIDENTIALITY FORM CONSENT FORMS. UH, NEXT SLIDE.
THE ACCESS TO OUR RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM IS CALLING THE, UH, RENTON UTILITY HOTLINE OR WALK-INS.
LIKE I SAID, IT'S VERY BRIEF, IT'S VERY SIMPLE.
[01:55:01]
WE TRY TO HAVE THE LEAST BARRIERS AS POSSIBLE.AND I, I'M OPEN FOR QUESTIONS NOW.
I HAVE, UH, UH, I SEE UH, COMMISSIONER ACHILLES HAS A QUESTION, BUT BEFORE, UM, I RECOGNIZE YOU COMMISSIONER REAL QUICK.
I JUST WANNA QUICK CLARIFICATION.
YOU MENTIONED MOSTLY IT'S MOMS WITH KIDS AND THEN YOU SAID SOMETIMES IT'S DADS WITH KIDS, RIGHT? ARE THEY BUT THEY'RE EVALUATED EQUALLY? YEAH.
IT'S MOSTLY MOTHERS WITH CHILDREN.
SINGLE MOMS. IT IT'S A PARENT, PARENTS, IT'S A PARENT, A PARENT WITH KIDS.
MAYBE TOO MUCH DETAIL, BUT I JUST WANTED, SO YOU CAN PICTURE WHO USUALLY CALLS, YOU KNOW.
I JUST, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE.
YEAH, THAT WE WEREN'T DOING REVERSE.
UM, COMMISSIONER ACHILLES, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.
AND, AND THANK YOU HIL FOR, FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, I WANTED TO SAY, I ACTUALLY PROBABLY HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS.
I'M GONNA START ACTUALLY WITH A QUESTION TO THE CHAIR AND THE GROUP.
UM, WE'VE, WE HAVE HAD JUST A, A FABULOUS, ROBUST CONVERSATION TODAY.
UM, AND I THINK THAT THERE MAY BE A LOT OF QUESTIONS FROM OTHER FOLKS TOO.
IS, IS THIS ANOTHER WORKING? AND SO WE HAD A WORKING GROUP.
DO WE WANT NOE AND I TO CONTINUE THAT, KEEP LOOKING INTO SOME MORE QUESTIONS AND THEN WOULD OTHER FOLKS WANNA JOIN US? DO WE WANNA EXPAND THE SCOPE OF THAT GROUP TO, 'CAUSE I, I, LIKE I SAID, AND SO BEFORE DIVING INTO LIKE IN THE WEEDS QUESTIONS, I WANTED TO SAY THAT BECAUSE IF IT'S MORE APPROPRIATE TO DO SOME MORE RESEARCH OUTSIDE OF THIS AND COME BACK WITH, UM, WITH A SUMMARY FOR, FOR THE GROUP, I AM MORE THAN HAPPY TO DO THAT.
UM, I DO BELIEVE THAT WE NEED TO KEEP GOING.
I THINK, UH, WHAT I'M SEEING IS THAT WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, THIS UH, RENTAL ASSISTANCE AND WE HAVE OTHER PROGRAMS THAT WE SHOULD ALSO BE LOOKING AT.
UH, AND DEFINITELY IF ANYBODY ELSE WANTS TO JOIN ANY OTHER COMMISSIONER, UH, WE'D DEEPLY APPRECIATE YOUR HELP.
I'D BE HAPPY TOJO THAT WITH COMMISSIONER ACHILLES AND, AND COMMISSIONER, UM, ALIAS, YOU'RE GONNA NO, YOU'RE STILL GONNA YES.
THAT STILL CAN REMAINS AS A WORKING GROUP.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE STILL GOOD.
AND WE CAN ADD COMMISSIONER DELGADO.
UM, 'CAUSE I THINK, YEAH, I HAVE IN THE WEEDS FOLLOW UP ON, ON HOW FOLKS, UM, ARE ABLE TO NAVIGATE THAT.
BUT I ALSO JUST HAD, HAD IN THE WEEDS QUESTIONS ABOUT OTHER HOUSING, UM, SOURCES.
'CAUSE I'VE BEEN TRYING TO, TO LOOK ONLINE AND, AND HAVE BEEN STRUGGLING.
SO I WILL SAVE ALL OF THAT FOR, FOR FOLLOW-UPS, ESPECIALLY IF WE'RE ABLE TO, TO REALLY DIVE IN WITH UNHEALTH, UM, SEPARATELY OUTSIDE OF THE MEETING.
AND UNHA YOU'LL BE AVAILABLE FOR THEM WITH THAT? UH, YES.
UM, ALRIGHT, JUST LET ME KNOW REALLY QUICK.
WHAT WAS THE NAME OF THE WORKING GROUP AGAIN? DID YOU, DID, DID Y'ALL COME UP UP WITH ONE? I CAN'T REMEMBER.
UM, DO WE, UM, LET'S SAY, DO WE WANNA NAME IT RENTAL SUPPORT? RENTAL ASSISTANCE.
RENTAL RENTAL SUPPORT OF, OF THOSE? YEAH.
UM, WE'LL COME UP WITH THE NAME.
WE'LL HAVE A NAME BEFORE WE END.
I'LL, I'LL, I'LL CHAT WITH HIM JUST BRIEFLY.
UM, AND THEN I DO WANNA LET EVERYBODY KNOW, AND I DO WANNA APOLOGIZE TO MS. JOSEPH PARTICULARLY, UM, IN THE FACT THAT I DID GET, UH, CARRIED AWAY JUST IN MY INTEREST.
SOMETIMES, GUYS, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I AM CONCERNED ABOUT IT.
I, I ANGUISH OVER REALLY NOT BEING ABLE TO JUST DO SOMETHING.
AND, UM, I DID, UH, FALL OUT OF OUR, OUR, UH, DECORUM IN TERMS OF OUR ORDER AND HOW WE ARE SUPPOSED TO ENGAGE WITH OUR PUBLIC SPEAKERS.
AND SO, UH, I'M GONNA, I'VE GOTTEN TIGHTENED BACK UP SO I GOT THE GIRDLE BACK ON AND, UM, WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA STAY WITH WHAT WE HAVE.
SO I APOLOGIZE ESPECIALLY TO MS. JOSEPH 'CAUSE I KNOW, UH, SHE WOULD'VE ENJOYED THAT CONVERSATION.
UM, ANY OTHER COMMENTS ON THE PRESENTATION BY, ON ANGEL? IF NOT, WE WILL MOVE FORWARD 'CAUSE WE STILL HAVE A COUPLE OTHER ITEMS. OH, DO WE? GOOD.
UM, MOVING FORWARD TO THE NUMBER FOUR,
[4. Discussion regarding eligible uses of Community Development Block Grant funds (Mandy DeMayo, Chris Duran, Housing Department)]
WE ARE WITH THE DISCUSSION REGARDING THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT AND THAT'S OF COURSE WITH MS. DE MAYO.MR. DURAN FROM THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT.
MANDY DE MAYO, DEPUTY DIRECTOR AT THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT WITH, AND I'M, UH, CHRIS DURAN SENIOR RESEARCH ANALYST.
UM, THIS, UH, I WON'T CALL IT A FORMAL PRESENTATION.
WE WANTED TO PROVIDE SOME, UH, ADDITIONAL CONTEXT AND INFORMATION TO YOU ALL ABOUT THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT.
[02:00:01]
UM, AND THIS WAS PRECIPITATED BY THE FACT THAT CITY COUNCIL PASSED A RESOLUTION, UM, ON NOVEMBER 30TH REGARDING THE USE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FUNDS.YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT, UH, THE COMMU, I'LL JUST CALL IT CDBG FOR SHORT.
IT IS OUR LARGEST BLOCK GRANT THIS YEAR.
WE, UM, GET, UH, RECEIVED 7.3 MILLION, APPROXIMATELY $7.3 MILLION.
IT'S ONE OF OUR FOUR BLOCK GRANTS THAT WE GET, UM, EVERY YEAR.
THAT'S CDBG HOME, ESG AND HOPWA.
ESG AND HOPWA ARE OF COURSE, ADMINISTERED BY AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH AND CDBG AND HOME ARE ADMINISTERED BY THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT.
OVER THE YEARS, CITY COUNCIL HAS HAD VARYING IDEAS ABOUT WHAT TO DO WITH COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FUNDS.
THE FIRST RESOLUTION THAT WE COULD FIND FROM CITY COUNCIL WAS FROM 1982.
UH, THERE WERE SUBSEQUENTLY FOUR MORE RESOLUTIONS THAT CLARIFIED AND OFTEN PROVIDED CONFLICTING GUIDANCE REGARDING THE USE OF CDBG FUNDS.
THE RESOLUTION THAT CITY COUNCIL PASSED ON NOVEMBER 30TH WAS AN IN ANTICIPATION OF OUR CONSOLIDATED PLAN PROCESS, WHICH I KNOW CHRIS HAS BEEN TALKING TO Y'ALL ABOUT.
AND WE WILL BE TALKING, UM, A LOT ABOUT IT IN JANUARY.
THAT'S OUR FIVE-YEAR PLANNING PROCESS THROUGH HUD.
UM, OTHER COMMUNITIES USE CDBG IN A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT WAYS.
WE'VE HISTORICALLY, OVER THE PAST, I'M GONNA SAY 20 ISH YEARS, USED CDBG, UM, IN VERY SIMILAR WAYS YEAR AFTER YEAR BECAUSE WE HAVE HEARD SO MUCH FROM THE COMMUNITY OVER THESE YEARS AS WE DO OUR COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
AND REALLY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR ABOUT DIFFERENT WAYS TO USE FEDERAL FUNDING.
WE WANTED TO STRIP DOWN THE, THE REQUIREMENTS AROUND CDBG AND REVERT IT JUST BACK TO THE FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS.
AND THAT'S WHAT I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT.
SO, THE, THE USE OF CDBG WILL BE GUIDED BY THIS BOARD AND COMMISSION, THE CITY COUNCIL, AND WHAT WE LEARN FROM OUR COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT, WHICH WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT.
UM, SO COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROVIDES ANNUAL GRANTS ON A FORMULA BASIS.
WE DON'T APPLY FOR A SPECIFIC DOLLAR AMOUNT.
IT'S A FORMULA THAT HUD, THE US DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT DETERMINES.
UM, AND IT'S BASED ON A VARIETY OF FACTORS, INCLUDING POVERTY, UM, AND, AND, AND OTHER, UH, QUANTITATIVE ITEMS TO DETERMINE THE AMOUNT.
AS I MENTIONED, 7.36 MILLION THIS YEAR IN CDBG, IT IS PROVIDED TO STATES AND LOCAL JURISDICTIONS, UM, AND THE PURPOSE IS TO PROVIDE DECENT HOUSING AND A SUITABLE LIVING ENVIRONMENT AND EXPANDING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES PRINCIPALLY FOR LOW AND MODERATE INCOME PERSONS AND LOW AND MODERATE INCOME PERSONS IN THE HUD DEFINITIONS REFERS TO HOUSEHOLDS MAKING AT OR BELOW 80% MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME.
CDBG CAN BE USED FOR A VARIETY OF ACTIVITIES.
HOWEVER, ANY USE OF CDBG, ANY ACTIVITY MUST MEET ONE OF THE THREE PRINCIPLE, WHAT'S CALLED NATIONAL OBJECTIVES.
ONE OF THOSE IS BENEFITING LOW AND MODERATE INCOME PERSONS.
THE OTHER IS PREVENTING OR ELIMINATING SLUMS OR BLIGHT.
AND THE THIRD IS MEETING OTHER URGENT COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT NEEDS.
TYPICALLY IN COMMUNITIES THAT'S BEEN RESPONSES TO THINGS LIKE FLOODS, UH, FIRES, UH, SOME PRETTY SIGNIFICANT COMMUNITY DAMAGE, AND THOSE COMMUNITIES DETERMINE THAT THEY WANT TO USE THEIR FEDERAL FUNDS TO RESPOND TO THOSE URGENT NEEDS.
TYPICALLY, UM, ALL OF OUR ACTIVITIES HAVE FALL FALLEN UNDER THE BENEFITING LOW MODERATE INCOME PERSONS WANTED TO JUST RUN THROUGH A LIST OF ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES, UM, AND LET YOU ALL KNOW A FRAMEWORK THAT WE'RE REQUIRED TO WORK IN THAT 7.3 6000020% OF THAT IS DESIGNATED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE AND PLANNING COSTS.
15% OF THAT IS FOR PUBLIC SERVICES, AND I'LL DESCRIBE WHAT THOSE CONTRACTS ARE.
AND THEN THE REMAINING IS FOR THE CDBG, UM, ACTIVITIES THAT WE'RE GONNA DISCUSS.
THEY INCLUDE THINGS LIKE HOUSING COUNSELING, TENANT LANDLORD COUNSELING, DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE, RENTAL HOUSING DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE, REHABILITATION OF HOUSING FOR HOMEOWNERS, EMPLOYMENT TRAINING, HEALTHCARE SERVICES AND FACILITIES, SENIOR SERVICES AND CENTERS, CHILDCARE SERVICES AND CENTERS, SERVICES AND CENTERS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, YOUTH CENTERS, NEIGHBORHOOD FACILITIES, NONPROFIT
[02:05:01]
CAPACITY BUILDING.THERE ARE MANY MORE ACTIVITIES THAT ARE ELIGIBLE, BUT THIS IS JUST A SAMPLING OF THE ACTIVITIES THAT ARE DEEMED ELIGIBLE BY FEDERAL REGULATIONS.
I WILL SAY THAT HISTORICALLY WHEN WE LOOK AT OUR RECENT, UM, CONSOLIDATED PLANS AND ACTION PLANS, WE HAVE PRIMARILY USED OUR DOLLARS FOR HOME REPAIR.
WE, UH, RUN, UM, UH, MINOR HOME REPAIR PROGRAM THROUGH UTILIZING CDBG FUNDS ABOUT A MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR.
WE ALSO DO AN ARCHITECTURAL BARRIER REMOVAL PROGRAM UTILIZING CDBG, SO MAKING HOMES ACCESSIBLE FOR SENIORS AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.
UM, WE ALSO, UM, UH, HAVE A HOME REPAIR LOAN PROGRAM THAT WE ADMINISTER INTERNALLY.
WE SERVE BETWEEN SEVEN AND 10 HOUSEHOLDS.
WE'D LIKE TO EXPAND THAT, BUT SEVEN AND 10 HOUSEHOLDS DOING, UM, PRETTY SIGNIFICANT UP TO $75,000 IN HOME REPAIRS TO BRING THE HOMES UP TO CODE.
IN TERMS OF OUR PUBLIC SERVICES, THAT'S THAT 15% CARVE OUT RIGHT NOW.
OUR PUBLIC SERVICES INCLUDE CHILDCARE SERVICES.
WE HAVE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES.
WE HAVE SOME SENIOR SERVICES, A CONTRACT FOR BILL PAYER SERVICES WITH FAMILY ELDER CARE.
UM, AND WE ALSO HAVE A CONTRACT WITH AUSTIN TENANTS, FORMERLY AUSTIN TENANTS COUNSEL.
IT'S NOW A PROGRAM OF TEXAS RIO GRANDE LEGAL AID FOR ABOUT $300,000 A YEAR TO DO LANDLORD TENANT COUNSELING.
WE HAVE HISTORICALLY, ONE OF THE REASONS WE WERE EXCITED ABOUT, UM, REVERTING THE CDBG USES, UM, TO REALLY ANYTHING THAT IS REQUIRED WITHIN THE FEDERAL REGULATIONS IS WE HAVE, OVER THE YEARS, HAD TROUBLE SPENDING OUR CDBG DOLLARS.
SO IT'S NOT USE IT OR LOSE IT, BUT AFTER A CERTAIN POINT, WE GET PENALIZED IF WE DO NOT MEET WHAT'S CALLED OUR TIMELINESS RATIO.
IT'S NOT YOU HAVE TO SPEND YOUR FUNDS EVERY YEAR, BUT APPROXIMATELY WITHIN TWO AND A HALF YEARS OF RECEIVING THE FUNDS THEY NEED TO BE EXPENDED.
SOME OF OUR PROGRAMS, UM, BECAUSE THE FEDERAL REGULATIONS COME WITH A WHOLE LOT OF STRINGS ATTACHED AND PAPERWORK, UM, SOMETIMES THOSE PROGRAMS HAVE A HARD TIME SPENDING THEIR DOLLARS.
AND SO IN THE LAST SIX YEARS, I'VE BEEN WITH THE CITY FOR SIX YEARS, TWO TIMES, WE HAVE HAD TO, UM, EXPEND FUNDS IN A, A PRETTY QUICK MANNER, AND WE'VE, UM, ELECTED TO USE ALL OF THOSE CARRY FORWARD FUNDS, THE FUNDS THAT NOT, UH, EXPENDED TO ACQUIRE.
IN THE FIRST CASE, IT WAS, UM, THE SOUTH, WHAT IS NOW THE SOUTH BRIDGE SHELTER SERVICING, UM, PROVIDING TEMPORARY BRIDGE SHELTER FOR PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.
UM, AND THEN WE ALSO, UM, PROVIDED FUNDING FOR THE PURCHASE OF A HOTEL IN THE ARBORETUM AREA TO PROVIDE PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING FOR PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.
SO TWO DIFFERENT HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES, ONE SHELTER, ONE PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING FOR PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.
BUT THOSE WERE PRETTY SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENTS BECAUSE WE, WE WEREN'T ABLE TO EXPEND THE FUNDS IN THE, THE TIMELY MANNER THAT WE WANTED TO.
WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO DO THIS YEAR IS WORK WITH YOU ALL AND THROUGH THE COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT TO IDENTIFY OUR HIGHEST PRIORITY NEEDS THAT ARE IN FACT, CDBG ELIGIBLE.
NOT EVERYTHING IS, UH, WE WANNA MAKE SURE IT'S CDBG ELIGIBLE AND THEN SEE IF WE CAN MATCH UP THE APPROPRIATE PROGRAMS WITH THE APPROPRIATE FUNDS AND INCORPORATE THAT INTO OUR CONSOLIDATED PLAN.
I'M HAPPY, I KNOW THAT WAS A LOT OF INFORMATION.
HAPPY TO SEND YOU CDBG GUIDELINES AND MORE SUMMARY INFORMATION ON CDBG.
I JUST WANTED TO GIVE A PRETTY HIGH LEVEL LOOK.
UM, AND ALSO LET YOU KNOW IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN SOME BEST PRACTICES FROM OTHER COMMUNITIES.
UM, OTHER COMMUNITIES IN THE STATE OF TEXAS DO USE CDBG FOR, UH, UH, HOME REPAIR, LIKE WE DO.
A LOT OF COMMUNITIES USE IT FOR INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS, INCLUDING BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, TRADITIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE LIKE ROADS AND WATER AND SEWER, FLOOD PREVENTION, UM, THINGS THAT REALLY SERVE SERVING PRIMARILY LOW MODERATE INCOME FOLKS, I SHOULD SAY.
SO THERE ARE SOME RESTRICTIONS THERE.
AGAIN, HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS OR WE CAN KIND OF PIVOT TO THE COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
UM, NO, I, I HAVE, I I DO HAVE, I DO HAVE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR, FOR, FOR THE, THE OVERVIEW, THE BIRD'S EYE VIEW.
I KNOW THAT MS. JOSEPH HAD MENTIONED,
[02:10:01]
I, I THINK I, THE SECOND TIME I'M HEARING THIS RIO GRANDE LEGAL AID.PEOPLE, UH, IS THAT THE SAME ORGANIZATION THAT SHE WAS REFERENCING? IT IS.
AND ACTUALLY NEFERTITI, JACKMAN AND I WERE TALKING BECAUSE MY UNDERSTANDING IS, OR MY HOPE IS THAT WE WILL BE BACK ON THE JANUARY AGENDA TO GIVE YOU A MUCH FULLER LOOK AT SOME OF OUR RENTAL ASSISTANCE AND TENANT STABILIZATION PROGRAMS. OKAY.
UM, INCLUDES, UH, COORDINATION AND COLLABORATION WITH TEXAS RIO GRANDE LEGAL AID AND EVICTION REPRESENTATION IN COURT.
SO WE WOULD LIKE TO BRING IN TEXAS RIO GRANDE LEGAL AID.
I SHOULD ALSO SAY, OH, I THOUGHT, OKAY.
I HOPE SHE'LL JUMP UP IF I'M MISSPEAKING.
BUT, UM, AUSTIN TENANTS COUNCIL WAS, UM, EFFECTIVELY MERGED WITH TEXAS RIO GRANDE LEGAL AID AND IT'S NOW A PROGRAM OF TRLA OR TRALA, TEXAS RIO GRANDE LEGAL AID.
SO OUR CONTRACT IS NOW WITH TRALA THREE YEAR CONTRACT.
THAT IS WHAT'S GOING TO COUNSEL ON THURSDAY.
UM, AND THEN, UM, MS. JOSEPH MENTIONED SOMETHING ABOUT THE MARK MELTON'S.
UM, UM, UH, I DON'T KNOW, IT WAS A ARTICLE.
I KNOW SHE MAY ME MENTIONED TO IT.
MY QUESTION WOULD BE, WHEN YOU MENTIONED THAT THERE ARE OTHER COMMUNITIES WITHIN TEXAS THAT UTILIZE THEIR CBDG GRANTS THAT WAY INTO, IN THIS MANNER, WOULD, WOULD YOU BE FAMILIAR WITH THAT PARTICULAR ORGANIZATION? I DON'T KNOW THAT PARTICULAR ORGANIZATION.
THERE ARE ORGANIZATIONS CERTAINLY IN THE DALLAS-FORT WORTH AREA THAT ARE VERY, UM, UH, PROACTIVE IN TERMS OF EVICTION REPRESENTATION.
AND REALLY IT'S A MODEL THAT WE'RE EMULATING HERE LOCALLY.
AND I'LL, I'LL DEFER TO NEFERTITI.
SO, UH, THE PROGRAM, I, I DON'T, I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH IT AND I LOOK FORWARD TO READING THE ARTICLE THAT MS. JOSEPH WILL FORWARD TO US.
BUT, UH, WHAT MANDY IS MENTIONING, THE, THE PROGRAM THAT WE HAVE, I BELONG IN AUSTIN.
IT IS A VERY, UM, WE, THE DESIRE AND GOAL WAS TO CREATE A, UM, HOLISTIC APPROACH TO DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION AND TENANT STABILIZATION.
SO IN ADDITION TO THE EMERGENCY RENT ASSISTANT, WHICH IS JUST ONE COMPONENT OF THE PROGRAM, WE DO PROVIDE A FUNDS FOR NEGOTIATED SETTLEMENTS.
SO IF A HOUSEHOLD, AND MRS. JOS, MS. JOSEPH IS CORRECT, IF HOUSEHOLDS ARE IN COURT, THEY'RE FACING EVICTION.
IF A SETTLEMENT OR AN AGREEMENT IS MET OR MADE BETWEEN A LANDLORD AND THE ATTORNEYS OR THE LANDLORD AND THE RENTER, THERE IS USUALLY OFTENTIMES WHAT HAPPENS, PEOPLE WILL, CAN BE EVICTED IF THEY ARE, ARE NOT ABLE TO COME UP WITH THE ADDITIONAL FUNDS NEEDED FOR THAT SETTLEMENT THROUGH.
I BELONG IN AUSTIN, WE WORK WITH TRELLA AND VOLUNTEER LEGAL SERVICES OR VLS TO PROVIDE LEGAL REPRESENTATION.
AND THEN LBU N THROUGH I BELONG IN AUSTIN, WILL PROVIDE THE FUNDS TO MEET THE NEGOTIATED SETTLEMENT.
SO WE DO HAVE A PROGRAM LIKE THAT THAT I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH, THE ONE, UM, IN DALLAS.
THIS IS MODELED AFTER OTHER, UH, EVICTION REPRESENTATION PROGRAMS, UM, IN OTHER CITIES AND WITHIN THE STATE OF TEXAS.
I WOULD, UH, I WAS CURIOUS TO MAKE SURE IT WAS WITHIN THE STATE SO THAT WE DON'T BE TRYING TO EMULATE SOMETHING THAT, OH, WE ARE RESTRICTED WITHIN THE STATE OF TEXAS TO DO ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.
'CAUSE WE HAVE VARIOUS RESTRICTIONS THAT MAY NOT APPLY IN OTHER STATES.
UH, HAND UH, THANK, THANK YOU.
WE STILL HAVEN'T HEARD FROM CHRIS.
I DO HAVE COMMISSIONER ACHILLES ON THE, UH, HAND UP.
YOU HAVE THE FLOOR COMMISSIONER.
JUST QUICK, ONE QUICK REQUEST FOR THE, THE PRESENT, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH.
UM, AND UNLESS, UM, THE CHAIR AND OTHER ERS DON'T THINK THIS WOULD BE HELPFUL, BUT FOR THE PRESENTATION IN JANUARY, I WONDER IF, UM, SINCE OUR, OUR ROLE IS, IS UNDERSTANDING AS A COMMISSION, BUT ALSO OUR ABILITY TO THEN SHARE WITH OUR COMMUNITIES, I THINK I WOULD FIND IT HELPFUL IF, AS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AVAILABLE PROGRAMS, IT WAS SORT OF FRAMED IN A WAY THAT LET US SEE HOW THE PUBLIC FINDS IT AND INTERACTS WITH IT TOO AS PART OF THAT.
JUST, UM, 'CAUSE I KNOW THAT'S ONE OF MY STRUGGLES AND I DO KNOW WHERE THE, I BELONG IN AUSTIN, BUT IF OTHER FOLKS WOULD FIND THAT HELPFUL TO, SO WE CAN JUST ALWAYS KEEP FRONT
[02:15:01]
OF MIND HOW WE'RE SHARING THIS WITH AND HOW THE COMMUNITY'S INTERACTING WITH IT.UM, AND THAT THE WORKING GROUP WILL BE ABLE TO, UM, BE INVOLVED WITH THAT AND FOLLOW UP.
AND THAT WOULD BE PART OF THE THINGS THAT I'M EXPECTING YOU ALL TO, TO TAKE LEADERSHIP WITH THAT.
MR. CHRIS, I DO BELIEVE YOU'RE UP.
UH, I'LL BE SPEAKING MORE ON ITEM FIVE.
I WAS JUST HERE TO SUPPORT MANDY AND HELP ANSWER ANY CDBG QUESTIONS IF THEY CAME UP.
BUT I THINK, I THINK I'M GOOD TO GO FOR NOW.
DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING IN PARTICULAR? NO.
UM, WE'LL MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER FIVE.
[5. Discussion regarding FY 24-29 Consolidated Plan Community Needs Assessment (Chris Duran, Housing Department)]
YEAH.AND, UM, THAT IS GONNA BE OUR DISCUSSION WITH OUR, UH, FISCAL YEAR 24 THROUGH 29 CONSOLIDATED PLAN FOR OUR NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
AND MR. CHRIS DURAN FROM THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT IS UP.
WELL, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.
UM, I KNOW THE HOUR'S GETTING LATE, SO I'LL, UH, TRY BE THOROUGH, BUT BRIEF.
UM, YEAH, I WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS.
I WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING FROM Y'ALL.
I'M GLAD Y'ALL HAVE THE PRINTED OUT SHEET AS WELL, UH, THIS YEAR.
I, UM, LIKE, LIKE I, UH, SAID LAST TIME I WAS HERE, I WAS LOOKING FORWARD AND WORKING, UH, COLLABORATIVELY WITH Y'ALL TO, UM, GET YOUR INPUT ON THIS LIST THAT WE'RE GONNA BE MEETING WITH DIRECTLY.
UM, BASED ON SOME OF THE CONVERSATIONS I'VE HAD SINCE THEN, I DID WANT TO CLARIFY THAT, UM, WHILE THIS IS A LIST WE MEET WITH, UM, WE GO AND PRESENT WITH, HAVE A DISCUSSION, UM, THERE'S ALSO A LOT OF OTHER OUTREACH THAT WE'RE DOING TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC AT LARGE DURING THIS PERIOD, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A SPEAK UP AUSTIN PAGE, WE'RE GONNA HAVE PUBLIC HEARINGS, PRESS RELEASES, ET CETERA.
UM, AND THIS IS, THESE ARE GROUPS THAT WE TAKE AN EVEN DEEPER DIVE WITH AND GIVE OUR PRESENTATION AND GET THAT IN PERSON, UH, EXPERIENCE.
AND SO I JUST WANTED TO START OFF THE DISCUSSION BY NOTING THAT, UM, LAST, UH, LAST MEETING, WE HAD TWO COMMISSIONERS, UM, UH, RIGHT OFF THE BAT SUGGEST ADDING GAVA AND ADDING, UH, SOMETHING SPECIFICALLY A-I-S-D-I SAY SPECIFICALLY 'CAUSE A ISD IS INVOLVED WITH A LOT AS GROUPS, BUT YOU KNOW, AS AN A ISD FOCUSED, UH, YOU KNOW, LITERALLY WITH THAT ORGANIZATION, THE ONLY REASON I DIDN'T GO AHEAD AND, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, PURSUE REACHING OUT TO THEM IS 'CAUSE I WANTED TO SEE WHAT ELSE WE, UH, WE HAD, UH, TO HEAR FROM Y'ALL TODAY.
UH, JUST 'CAUSE IF WE HAVE A, A HUGE AMOUNT, WE MIGHT HAVE TO KIND OF WORK THROUGH AND PRIORITIZE WHICH ONE WE WANT.
SO I'M CURIOUS TO HEAR, UH, IF Y'ALL HAVE ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS IN ADDITION TO GAVA AND A ISD.
AND THEN I ALSO WANTED TO NOTE THAT, UM, WE'VE HAD SOME NEW STAFF, UM, THAT ARE WORKING WITH US, UM, THAT WORK FOR THE QUALITY OF LIFE COMMISSIONS.
AND THEY, UH, WE WERE, UH, EMAILING BACK AND FORTH TALKING ABOUT HOW WE WANT TO STRUCTURE THIS COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
AND THEY CAME BACK WITH THE SUGGESTION THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE MEETING WITH THREE TO FOUR QUALITY OF LIFE COMMISSIONS, HISPANIC, LATINO QUALITY OF LIFE, ASIAN AMERICAN QUALITY OF LIFE, LB LGBT, UH, THERE ARE 10 QUALITY OF LIFE COMMISSIONS.
AND THEY SAID, WELL, YOU'RE, YOU'RE MEETING WITH THREE OR FOUR, WHICH IS GREAT, BUT YOU'RE NOT MEETING WITH ALL 10.
AND WE SAID, WELL, WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO MEET WITH ALL 10, BUT THERE ISN'T A JOINT INCLUSION COMMISSION, WHICH INCLUDES A REPRESENTATIVES FROM EACH OF THE 10 QUALITY OF LIFE COMMISSIONS.
SO WHAT THEY'RE RECOMMENDING, UH, AND WHAT I, I THINK LEADERSHIP THOUGHT WAS, UH, A GOOD DIRECTION TO GO WAS, UH, TO CONSOLIDATE OUR QUALITY OF LIFE MEETINGS THAT YOU SEE ON THE, UM, THE LIST HERE WITH MEETING WITH THE JOINT INCLUSION COMMISSION THAT'LL ALLOW US TO PRESENT TO ALL 10 QUALITY OF LIFE COMMISSIONS.
SO WE'RE NOT LEAVING SOME OUT.
AND IT'LL ALSO HELP US TO BE MORE EFFICIENT.
UM, YOU KNOW, THESE GROUPS ARE REALLY BUSY.
THEY HAVE REALLY FULL AGENDAS, SO IT IS A BIT OF A SACRIFICE, OR IT IS, YOU KNOW, UH, DEFINITELY A, A LOT OF CAPITAL TO GIVE US THESE, THIS TIME ON THEIR AGENDAS.
AND SO WE THOUGHT, UM, TAKING OFF, YOU KNOW, THE SPECIFIC, UH, HISPANIC LATINO QUALITY OF LIFE AND MEETING WITH THE JOINT INCLUSION COMMISSION WILL GIVE US THAT OUTREACH TO ALL 10 QUALITY OF LIFE COMMISSIONS AND THEN OPEN UP SOME SPACE FOR US TO ADD MORE MEETINGS AND KIND OF BE MORE EFFICIENT AND PRODUCTIVE IN THIS PROCESS.
AND I THINK MANDY HAS A COMMENT, WELL, THIS IS TO YOUR DISCUSSION EARLIER ABOUT, UM, HOW TO IMPACT, I THINK IT WAS COMMISSIONER DELGADO WHO MENTIONED THIS IMPACTING THE BUDGET AND REALLY, UM, ADVANCING THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY, UH, TO THE CITY AS A WHOLE.
AND I THINK YOU ALL ARE AWARE THAT OUR BUDGET PROCESS AS A CITY STARTS EARLY IN THE SPRING.
UM, AND THE JOINT INCLUSION COMMITTEE IS VERY ACTIVE IN TERMS OF, UM, PUTTING FORTH BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO I THINK DOING, UM, A DEEP DIVE WITH THE JOINT INCLUSION COMMITTEE WILL ALSO HELP DOVETAIL, UM, WITH THE BUDGET CONVERSATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
[02:20:01]
THAT COME OUT OF THOSE BUDGET CONVERSATIONS.AND, UH, THAT WOULD, THAT WOULD ENABLE US TO, YOU KNOW, IF WE HAVE THAT DIRECT EXPERIENCE WITH THE JOINT INCLUSION COMMISSION, I'M GONNA BE REQUESTING THAT THEY, THEY TAKE OUR SPEAK OFF AUSTIN LINKS AND EVERYTHING BACK TO THEIR FULL COMMISSIONS TO THEN GET, UH, ALL OF THEIR COMMISSION'S INPUT AS WELL.
AND, AND I DID WANT TO SAY TOO, IF WE GET, UM, SOME REALLY STRONG, UH, INTEREST FROM A COMMISSIONER ON THE JOINT INCLUSION COMMISSION, SAY, HEY, COME TO MY QUALITY OF LIFE COMMISSION, WE COULD, WE COULD LOOK INTO THAT AS WELL.
I WANTED TO, YOU KNOW, BE RESPECTFUL OF MAKING SURE WE'RE GETTING OUR FACE TIME WITH EVERYONE WHILE ALSO BEING EFFICIENT.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S ONE CHANGE WE'RE LOOKING AT AS WELL.
UM, SO, BUT YEAH, I'D, I'D BE CURIOUS TO KNOW IF Y'ALL HAVE ANY, ANY INPUT, ANY NEW GROUPS, ANY FEEDBACK, UM, FOR US TO, TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION.
UM, LEMME SEE THE, UM, MISSIONERS THAT ARE REMOTE.
I DEFINITELY HAVE, OKAY, WE'LL START HERE.
SO, UM, LAST TIME WHEN I SUGGESTED AA IS THE, UM, I WAS THINKING MORE, WELL, I WAS THINKING ABOUT THEIR PROJECT HELP.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU, YOU KNOW, THAT PART OF IT, UM, THEY DEAL WITH HOMELESS STUDENTS, UM, UH, FAMILIES THAT ARE, UM, IN, IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, BUT, UM, ARE NOT HOUSED.
UM, AND ALSO THE PARENT SUPPORT SPECIALIST PROGRAM, UM, THEY HAVE TO, THEIR NAVIGATORS, THEY, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY SUPPORT FAMILIES WITH EVERYTHING THEY, THEY NEED.
SO THOSE ARE THE TWO THINGS THAT I WAS THINKING ABOUT WHEN I SUGGESTED A ISD.
AND CAN I CLARIFY, THIS WOULD BE PROJECT HELP IS A PROJECT WITHIN A ISD.
SO WE WOULD BE TALKING TO THE STAFF OF PROJECT HELP.
AND THE STAFF OF THE PARENT SUPPORT SPECIALISTS? YES.
AND THEY HAVE THE DISTRICTWIDE.
UM, I THINK THE PART OF THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PART IS, UH, IT, THEY'RE THE LEADERS OF PROJECT, UH, SORRY, OF PARENT SUPPORT SPECIALISTS.
I BELIEVE THERE'S ONE IN EVERY CAMPUS.
IS THAT CORRECT? UM, IT SHOULD BE LIKE EVERY TITLE.
AND I THINK I'VE MET THE FOLKS WHO RUN THE PARENT SUPPORT SPECIALISTS.
SO THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS THAT ARE REMOTE.
DO I, ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS REGARDING, UH, MR. DURAN'S PRESENTATION WITH THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT? THERE WE GO.
COMMISSIONER ACHILLES, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.
UM, JUST, JUST ONE THOUGHT AND YOU'RE TALKING TO LIFEWORKS, IT MAY JUST MAKE SENSE TO, TO FLAG THIS AS A QUESTION TO THEM.
I KNOW THAT AUSTIN HAS AN OPPORTUNITY YOUTH COLLABORATIVE THAT, UM, BRINGS A LOT OF ORGANIZATIONS TOGETHER.
AND SO LIFEWORKS MIGHT BE ABLE TO ALSO BRING, LIKE, SPEAK ON BEHALF OF THAT OR TAKE THAT BACK TO THE, THE BROADER OPPORTUNITY YOUTH, UM, NONPROFITS.
UM, SO I THINK THAT JOINT INCLUSION COMMITTEE, IT'S A GREAT IDEA.
JUST KIND OF BRING EVERYONE IN, YOU KNOW, MORE EFFICIENT, EFFECTIVE, UM, HAVE, HAVE YOU CONSIDERED MAYBE LIKE, UM, UT UM, MAYBE STUDENTS, YOUNG STUDENTS NAVIGATING, UM, YEAH.
ANYWAYS, JUST, JUST A THOUGHT.
UM, ALSO, WHAT IS GAVA GO AUSTIN.
IT'S A NONPROFIT FOCUSED ON LOW INCOME FAMILIES IN AUSTIN, PRIMARILY THE EASTERN CRESCENT.
AND I THINK IT WAS A SUGGESTION BY COMMISSIONER, UH, BERTHA DELGADO.
AND FOR UT THANK YOU FOR THAT SUGGESTION.
WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH UT AND ALL FIVE OF THE, UM, UH, MAJOR CAMPUSES, SO INCLUDING A C, C, UT HOUSTON, TILTS AND CONCORDIA ST.
I FEEL LIKE I, NO, I THINK IT'S JUST FIVE MM-HMM.
WE'VE MET WITH THE STUDENT COMMISSION, I THINK IT OR COMMISSION ON STUDENTS.
UM, AND WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH EACH OF THE CAMPUSES INDIVIDUALLY TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THEIR NEEDS, THEIR PLANS, UM, FOR CONNECTING STUDENTS AND HOUSING.
SO I THINK WE'VE GOT A GOOD GROUNDWORK FOR THAT.
I'M GLAD THAT, UM, YOU DID INCLUDE THE OTHERS.
[02:25:01]
BE ONE OF MY FOLLOW-UPS TOO, IS TO SAY WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, ALL OF OUR STUDENTS IN THE AREA.SO THANK YOU FOR BRINGING IT UP.
COMMISSIONERS, ARE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS REGARDING ITEM NUMBER FIVE, OUR NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND WHAT WE CAN DO, UH, TO SUPPORT THAT? YES, WE DO.
COMMISSIONER BERTHA DELGADO, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.
I, I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
I THINK, UM, I WAS ABLE TO ADDRESS MY CONCERNS IN THE LAST MEETING.
UM, I'M SORRY, CAN YOU, CAN YOU REPEAT YOUR NAME AGAIN? UM, OUR PRESENTER.
I, I ALWAYS FORGET YOUR NAME AND I'M GONNA, I SWEAR I'M GONNA
WHAT WAS IT AGAIN? IT'S TOTALLY FINE.
UM, I, I REALLY WANNA THANK YOU.
UM, I, I FEEL THAT SOMETIMES WE DON'T, YOU KNOW, WE'RE SO BUSY, RIGHT? AND, AND TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, HEAR THE PUBLIC TRYING TO FIGURE OUT SOLUTIONS, HEAR ALL THE NUMBERS, ALL THE, YOU KNOW, THE LOGISTICS OF THE, YOU KNOW, PRESENTATIONS.
AND, AND, AND I JUST WANT, BEFORE THE NIGHT ENDS AND WE LEAVE THE DAIS, I WANT TO TELL YOU THANK YOU.
UH, FOR, FOR YOUR PASSION AND YOUR HARD WORK.
AND I, AND I KNOW YOU CARE ABOUT, UM, THE WORK YOU'RE DOING AND YOU CARE ABOUT THE PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY 'CAUSE YOU'RE FROM HERE.
UM, AND SO JUST THANK YOU AGAIN AND, AND WE HOPE TO SEE YOU, UH, CONTINUE TO STAY PROACTIVE AND, AND ATTEND OUR MEETINGS AND, AND HEAR OUR FEEDBACK AND HEAR OUR CONCERNS.
UM, I JUST, UM, AGAIN, I'M SORRY I MISSED YOUR PRESENTATION.
I HAD TO GO TO THE, THE RESTROOM ANYWAY.
UM, ANYTHING ON LIKE, UM, UNDOCUMENTED RESIDENTS? YEAH, I MEAN, THEY'RE, THEY'RE HERE.
UM, THEY HAVE THEIR CHILDREN HERE, IMMIGRANT AFFAIRS WHO LIVE HERE, AFFAIRS.
AND SO SOMEONE WORTH, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW TO ANSWER YOU.
UM, SO IN THE PAST WE'VE HAD COMMISSION ON, UH, IMMIGRANT AFFAIRS.
UM, AND WHAT MANDY WAS JUST ASKING ME WAS, ARE THEY PART OF THE JOINT INCLUSION? SO WE'LL LOOK INTO THAT.
UM, AND IF THEY'RE NOT, WE'LL, WE'LL DO A COMMISSION ON IMMIGRANT AFFAIRS.
UM, LAST YEAR, UM, IT WAS TOUGH.
WE JUST, WE HAD A REALLY TOUGH SCHEDULING CONFLICT, SO THEY WEREN'T PART OF IT LAST YEAR, BUT WE WANNA BRING THEM BACK OR THEY'LL BE PART OF JOINT INCLUSION.
AND THEN THERE ARE SOME, UM, I JUST WILL SAY, UH, LAST YEAR WE INCLUDED, UH, CATHOLIC CHARITIES.
I KNOW THEY'VE COME UP TONIGHT BEFORE AND THEY HAVE A VERY, VERY HEAVY, AS YOU MAY KNOW, UH, UH, INTERFACE WITH THE UNDOCUMENTED COMMUNITY AS WELL.
SO WE'RE KIND OF HITTING IT FROM DIFFERENT ANGLES.
BUT, UM, YEAH, WE'LL MAKE SURE.
AND, UM, ADDING TO THAT, I THINK THE EQUITY OFFICE HAS A IMMIGRANT, UM, UH, GROUP OR SOMEBODY THAT WORKS WITH IMMIGRANTS.
WE'LL DEFINITELY MAKE SURE THAT UNDOCUMENTED AND IMMIGRANT, UM, ASPECT IS ADDRESSED.
THANK YOU MR. CHRIS DURAN, WE REALLY, REALLY APPRECIATE
COMING ON IN AND, UM, AND THE COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN PUT FORTH.
UM, WE DEFINITELY APPRECIATE THAT.
UM, WITH THAT BEING SAID, THAT WRAPS UP ALL OF OUR DISCUSSION ITEMS. UM, WE WILL MOVE
[6. Update from the Austin Transit Partnership Community Advisory Committee (CAC) (Vice Chair Elias)]
QUICKLY INTO OUR WORKING GROUP AND OUR COMMITTEE UPDATES.AND, UM, WE DO HAVE THE AUSTIN TRANSIT, UH, PARTNERSHIP.
THEN THE CAC AND VICE CHAIR WILL TAKE CARE OF THAT UPDATE.
SO, UH, THERE HAS NOT BEEN A MEETING SINCE LAST TIME WE MET HERE.
UM, THE MEETING IS THIS THURSDAY.
UM, I DID WANT TO TALK ABOUT HAVING AN, HAVING AN ALTERNATE COMMISSIONER.
I MISSED A COUPLE OF MEETINGS OVER THE SUMMER, AND THEN I ACTUALLY HAVE TO MISS THIS COMING UP MEETING.
UM, WE HAD AN ALTERNATE, UH, COMMISSIONER BEFORE.
UM, AND I GUESS WHAT THE PROCESS WOULD BE TO HAVE SOMEBODY DO THAT CAN, UM, I, I'M DEFINITELY WILLING, YES, WE DO NEED TO HAVE BACKUPS ON ALL OF THESE BECAUSE WE ALL RECOGNIZE WE ALL ARE VOLUNTEERING AND THERE ARE TIMES THAT WE MAY, MAY NOT BE ABLE TO, UM, BE, UM, WHERE WE WISH TO BE.
I DON'T KNOW IF COMMISSIONER ORTIZ, COMMISSIONER ORTIZ, I DON'T KNOW IF YOUR PLATE IS ALREADY FULL, AND IF IT IS, LET ME KNOW, BUT I AM, UM, WHEN IT'S BECAUSE IT DOES DEAL WITH TRANSIT, I KNOW THAT YOU HAVE A LOT OF WORKING KNOWLEDGE WITH THAT.
NOT TO SAY THAT NO ONE ELSE DOES.
SO, UM, BUT COMMISSIONER ORTIZ, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT BEING SECOND FOR THAT? I DON'T, I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH IT, ESPECIALLY SINCE I'M NOT DOING ENGAGEMENT ANYMORE.
UM, IN THE ROLE OF ENGAGEMENT,
[02:30:01]
I MEAN AT CAP METRO.AND ESPECIALLY AS A BACKUP, I DON'T HAVE ANY PROBLEM WITH.
AND BEFORE I MOVE FORWARD, I JUST WANTED TO ASK THAT IF WE HAVE OTHER COMMISSIONERS THAT ARE INTERESTED IN DOING IT, THAT I DON'T WANT TO EXCLUDE, EXCLUDE YOU.
IT JUST BECAUSE I DID ASK THE QUESTION OF COMMISSIONER ORTIZ.
DOES ANYBODY ELSE, UM, YOU KNOW, ANXIOUS ABOUT PARTICIPATING AND, UM, BACKING, UH, CO-CHAIR, UH, UM, A VICE CHAIR UP IN REFERENCE TO THAT.
COMMISSION, I MEAN, WITH THAT WORKING GROUP.
IF NO ONE ELSE IS JUMPING UP AND KNOCKING OVER COMMISSIONER ORTIZ, THEN WE WILL
UH, SO, UM, COMMISSIONER ORTIZ, UM, MR. BLAKE WILL BE MOVING IN AS THE SECONDARY TO SUPPORT THAT WORK.
OH, WE DO ALREADY HAVE, I WAS IT HER? WE WE HAD COMMISSIONER SLOAN BEFORE.
IT WAS AND SHE AND SHE RESIGNED.
THANK YOU FOR, UH, CHECKING ME ON THAT.
WE HAVEN'T REALLY TALKED ABOUT 'EM.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAD SOME STUFF.
WHAT'D YOU HAVE? SO, UM, OH, SORRY.
I WANNA FIND OUT THE NAME OF THE WORKING GROUP FOR THE, UM, RENTAL ASSISTANCE.
DID YOU HAVE, HAVE YOU GIVEN SOME THOUGHT OF THAT ACTUALLY? UH, COMMISSIONER ACHILLES, WOULD YOU, UM, I AGREE WITH, WITH YOUR IDEA.
RECOMMENDATION, UM, WORK GROUP ON RENTAL ASSISTANCE GAPS.
BARRIERS, ACCESS AND OPPORTUNITIES.
WAIT, SAY, SAY THAT AGAIN?
CAN WE, SHE RESPOND? THAT'S ALL.
YEAH, NO, THAT'S, THAT'S FINE.
I, 'CAUSE I MEAN, I THINK IF, IF FAILS EVERYTHING THAT WE WERE, WE'RE TRYING TO ADDRESS, TRYING TO ADDRESS, WE CENSUS GAPS, GAPS, BARRIERS, ACCESS AND OPPORTUNITIES.
THAT'S THE NAME ASSISTANCE I WAS THINKING OF.
UM, A, A, A LITTLE JUST, I, I WAS, I WAS MORE CONCERNED ABOUT THE PROCESS, BUT I THINK WHEN YOU ALL TALK ABOUT BARRIERS AND ACCESS AND ALL THAT, IT DOES DEAL WITH PROCESS.
I WAS THINKING OF, OF, OF, OF, YEAH.
NOW BEFORE WE LEAVE, UM, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE MR. BLAKE? CAN WE, ARE WE READY TO WRAP UP? OKAY.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
YES, MANDY HAS.UM, THIS IS FOLLOWING UP ON AN AGENDA ITEM THAT WAS REQUESTED BY COMMISSIONER DELGADO.
UM, UH, THAT'S, I WAS GOING ASKING ECHO TO COME SPEAK.
UM, WE HAD A PRETTY FULL AGENDA THIS, UH, MEETING.
THEY HAD A CONFLICT AND SO WE INVITED THEM TO COME TO THE JANUARY MEETING TO PROVIDE A PRESENTATION.
I WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE PROVIDING WHAT YOU WANT TO PROVIDE A PRESENTATION ON THEM AS AN ORGANIZATION, HOW THEY FIT INTO THE HOMELESS RESPONSE SYSTEM.
THEY HAVE A TON OF DATA, UM, ON HOMELESSNESS IN AUSTIN AND, UH, SERVICES, AND YOU NAME IT.
IT REALLY IS A THOROUGH OVERVIEW, BUT I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IS, I, I SEE COMMISSIONER DELGADO NODDING, SO I'M HOPING THAT THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR.
CAN I CHAIR, CAN I RESPOND? YES, PLEASE.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, I, FIRST OF ALL, ECHO HAS COME TO OUR COMMISSION BEFORE, CORRECT? I DON'T, I HONESTLY DON'T RECALL THEM COMING, BUT THEY, THEY COULD HAVE, THEY, THEY'VE COME CERTAINLY TO CITY COUNCIL AND TO THE HOUSING AND PLANNING COMMITTEE.
I THINK THEY CAME A COUPLE YEARS AGO, UH, WHEN THEY FIRST INITIATED, UH, DURING PANDEMIC, JUST TO KIND OF DO AN INTRODUCTION.
NOW I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THE PRESENTATION
[02:35:01]
THAT THEY BRING, UM, PROVIDES US WITH NOT JUST, YOU KNOW, THE BELLS AND WHISTLES AND ALL THE GOOD STUFF THAT THEY'RE DOING, BUT ACTUALLY PROVIDES US WITH THE DATA THAT I REQUESTED AND WHICH THE DATA IS THE, UH, HOW MANY PEOPLE, UM, HAVE RECEIVED, UH, COORDINATED ASSESSMENTS? MM-HMM.HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE PENDING? UM, WHAT IS THE, I KNOW, I, I HAD ASKED FOR I TO SEE HOW MANY ARE BEING PLACED.
UM, WHAT'S THE TURNAROUND TIME? I, I THINK THERE WAS A, A BIG ISSUE AND COMPLAINTS ABOUT HOW LONG IT'S TAKING.
UM, BY THE TIME THEY GET TO THE RECIPIENT, THE RECIPIENT'S ALREADY BEEN, UH, YOU KNOW, NO LONGER UNDER THE BRIDGE.
NOW THEY'RE SOMEWHERE ELSE AND THEY'RE HAVING HARD TIME CONNECTING.
SO ALL THE DIFFICULT, AND ALL THE THINGS THAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN ASKING AND, AND, AND THINGS THAT WE NEED TO BE OVERSIGHTING.
SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THEY DON'T JUST COME IN TO GIVE US THE SHINY PRESENTATION THAT WE, WE REALLY ARE GETTING, UM, THE MEAT OF, OF, OF WHAT WE'RE ASKING.
COMMISSIONER, I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT IT WON'T BE SHINY BECAUSE I JUST SAT THROUGH THE PRESENTATION.
IT REALLY DOES FOCUS ON THE BARRIERS.
THE CHALLENGES YOU MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, THE PERSON WHO WENT THROUGH COORDINATED ENTRY WHO WAS UNDER THE BRIDGE, AND NOW THEY CAN'T FIND THAT PERSON.
AND, YOU KNOW, IT MAY BE A YEAR ALL OF THE CHALLENGES.
UM, AND THEN ALSO I BROUGHT UP THE CONTRACT.
I, I, I THOUGHT THAT WE COULD SEE A COPY OF THAT CONTRACT, UM, BECAUSE I THINK THAT AS A HOUSING COMMISSION, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT IF THIS IS THE ACTUAL HUB NAVIGATING SYSTEM THAT ALL OF OUR DOLLARS ARE FUNDING THROUGH, AND EVERYONE HAS TO GO THROUGH THIS SYSTEM IN ORDER TO GET A HOUSING VOUCHER OR BE PLACED IN SUBTYPE OF TRANSITIONAL OR WRAPAROUND HOUSING OR, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, WE'RE GONNA HEAR, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT THEY'RE DOING OUT THERE.
I DO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE AS COMMISSIONERS, UH, CAN ALSO TOUCH THAT CONTRACT, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE IN COMPLIANCE.
SO I SHOULD, AND, AND WE CAN TALK MORE ABOUT THIS IN JANUARY, UM, THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT DOES NOT CURRENTLY HAVE A CONTRACT WITH ECHO.
RIGHT? UH, I DON'T BELIEVE THAT AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH HAS A CURRENT CONTRACT.
WE HAVE A NEW HOMELESS STRATEGY OFFICE, UM, THAT IS BEING LED NOW BY THE DIRECTOR, UH, DAVID GRAY.
AND IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL TO ALSO BRING HIM IN, UH, TO TALK ABOUT, UH, THE CITY'S APPROACH TO HOMELESSNESS AT A BROADER LEVEL.
BECAUSE I, I KNOW THAT IN ORDER FOR DOLLARS TO BE FUNDED THROUGH ANY NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION, THERE HAS TO BE SOME TYPE OF, UH, MEMORANDUM AND, YOU KNOW, UH, AN M MO U YOU KNOW.
AND THERE HAS TO BE SOMETHING AND, AND THERE HAS TO BE, UH, SOMETHING THAT WE CAN SEE THAT, UM, THEY'RE IN COMPLIANCE.
UH, I THINK THAT WE AS A COMMISSION NEED TO BE, BE CHECKING THAT COMPLIANCE, UH, BECAUSE I THINK THAT WHAT WE'RE SEEING AND WHAT WE'RE HEARING IS VERY DIFFERENT.
UM, AND I, AND I, AND I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, ARE REALLY, REALLY, UM, DIRECTING THE QUESTIONS AND GETTING THE ANSWERS THAT WE NEED AS COMMISSIONERS TO TAKE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY.
I, I, I CAN'T TAKE BACK NOTHING.
I HAVE TO BE ABLE TO TAKE BACK SOMETHING.
UM, AND IF I, IF I'M HEARING AS WE'RE HEARING TODAY, AND OTHER TIMES WE'VE BEEN HEARING THAT THESE, THESE PROGRAMS ARE NOT WORKING, UH, WE NEED TO BE SURE TO REVIEWING THOSE CONTRACTS AND SEEING WHERE, WHERE'S A DEFICIENT AT? WHERE, WHERE IS IT THAT IT'S NOT WORKING AND HOW CAN WE IMPROVE IT? OR IS, OR DO WE NEED TO FIND ANOTHER STRATEGY, YOU KNOW, IN THE YEARS TO COME.
I, I, AGAIN, I, I'M NOT HERE TO MICROMANAGE THEM.
I JUST WANT, UM, TO, TO SEE THEM MORE, MORE INVOLVED IN, IN GIVING THE COMMISSION, UM, UPDATES.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, UM, ABOUT WHETHER THERE'S AN ONBOARDING MANUAL FOR NEW COMMISSIONERS.
UM, SO IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THE COMMISSION WOULD LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THAT WE COULD PUT ON AN AGENDA ITEM, OR IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT MAKES MORE SENSE FOR ME TO, TO JUST PUT TOGETHER WHAT I NEED AND THEN I'M HAPPY TO SHARE IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THE COMMISSION WOULD WANNA LOOK OVER AND APPROVE FOR, WHETHER IT COULD BE SHARED WITH OTHER FOLKS.
WHATEVER MAKES THE MOST SENSE IS THE MOST APPROPRIATE, UM, PROCESS I'M
[02:40:01]
HERE FOR.UM, UM, I, I WAS THINKING MR. BLAKE DIDN'T, DID, WE DIDN'T, DID LISA FORWARD THE INFORMATION TO COMMISSIONER ACHILLES THAT WE TALKED ABOUT? SHE DID.
AND WHAT, SORRY, WHAT I MEANT WAS MORE ALONG THE LINES OF LIKE US, RIGHT? LIKE WHAT IS OUR MASTER TIMELINE? WHAT ARE OUR BACKGROUND DOC DOCUMENTS? 'CAUSE I KNOW LIKE THERE'S A BUDGET AND THERE'S FINAL REPORTS AND THOSE COME UP THROUGHOUT THE YEAR AND LIKE, I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY ARE.
AND LIKE THE, THE CAPER FIVE YEAR PLAN AND ALL THE ACTION PLANS.
THERE'S JUST LIKE, THERE'S SOME STANDARD THINGS I THINK THAT YOU GUYS ALL KNOW WHERE THEY ARE AND HAVE USED FOR YEARS THAT I'M LIKE PIECING TOGETHER.
AND AGAIN, HAPPY TO PIECE IT TOGETHER ON MY OWN AND THEN OFFER IT BACK TO THE GROUP IF IT'S HELPFUL.
I DID, I DID LOOK AT THE EXISTING DOCUMENTS AND, UM, STILL HAD SOME MORE THINGS THAT I NEED, BUT I AM MORE THAN HAPPY TO PUT THEM TOGETHER OKAY.
AND THEN SHARE BACK OUT IF OTHER COMMISSIONERS, I JUST DIDN'T KNOW IF I NEEDED TO BRING THAT TO THE GROUP AND IF WE NEEDED TO HAVE A WHOLE, LIKE A GROUP CONVERSATION ABOUT IT.
I, I, I ENCOURAGE ALL OF US TO SPEAK UP BECAUSE WE WOULDN'T KNOW UNLESS WE DO SPEAK UP.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I, UM, TWO THINGS I'M GONNA SAY AND THEN I'LL DEFER TO MR. BLAKE.
UM, I DO FEEL THAT WE NEED TO HAVE SOME TYPE OF A SYSTEM WHERE COMMISSIONERS, UM, CAN EX EXPRESS EXACTLY WHAT THEY'RE ASKING FOR, BECAUSE I DO BELIEVE THAT THERE IS GOOD INTENTIONS WITH STAFF TO TRY TO GIVE US WHAT WE'RE ASKING FOR.
BUT IT SOMETIMES THERE, IT MAY, THERE MAY BE ROOM FOR, UM, NOT REALLY FULLY UNDERSTANDING WHAT IS BEING REQUESTED.
AND SO I DEFINITELY WANT TO, UM, ASK STAFF TO, AND I'VE ALREADY BEEN IN COMMUNICATION WITH LISA MAYBE, OF COMING UP WITH SOME TYPE OF, UM, OF A, UM, OF A, OF A WORKING FORM THAT WE HAVE THAT COMMISSIONERS PUT FORTH TO, IF IT'S EVEN A FILLABLE PDF TYPE OF FORM THAT WE FILL OUT SO THAT THEY CAN KNOW EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR SO THAT WE CAN BE MORE EFFICIENT WITH WHATEVER IT IS THAT WE ARE DOING.
THE OTHER ITEM THAT I WANNA, UM, BRING UP THAT IS PROBABLY ALONG THOSE SAME LINES WOULD BE THAT, UM, MAKING SURE THAT WE ALL ARE USING OUR, UH, CITY OF AUSTIN EMAIL.
BECAUSE I DO KNOW THAT THERE HAVE BEEN TIMES THAT WE'VE BEEN REACHING OUT TO EACH OTHER AND WE MAY NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO CONNECT.
SO IF THAT, YOU KNOW, IF THAT IS YOU COMMISSIONERS, PLEASE, LET'S MAKE SURE THAT WE GET, FIGURE OUT WHAT THAT IS.
I'M GONNA, I NEED TO ASK SOMEONE ABOUT THAT AUTHENTICATION THING TONIGHT BEFORE WE LEAVE.
UM, BUT, UM, THAT BEING SAID, UM, UH, THAT, YEAH.
SO YES, AS FAR AS A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM, YES, COMMISSIONER ACHILLES, WE CAN MOVE FORWARD WITH FINDING OUT, WHAT I HEAR YOU TO BE SAYING IS YOU'RE LOOKING FOR A PROJECTED CALENDAR OF WHAT IT IS WE TYPICALLY, WHAT OUR, WHAT WE WOULD TYPICALLY BE COVERING IN A CALENDAR YEAR, SO THAT YOU CAN BE AWARE OF THAT COMING UP AND BE READY AND KNOWLEDGEABLE BEFORE IT ARRIVES.
IS THAT CORRECT? THAT, THAT'S PART OF IT.
AND I, I ALSO, I THINK I CAN JUST REACH OUT TO, TO LISA AND ASK COUPLE MORE.
THEN, THEN YEAH, WE WE DO HAVE A TOOLKIT THAT, BUT DO THEY SEND IT TO HER? YEAH.
SHE DOESN'T SOUND LIKE SHE GOT THAT ONE.
IT WASN'T WHAT I'M ASKING FOR.
WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF UPDATING IT TOO.
'CAUSE IT WAS A LITTLE OUTDATED, SO, OKAY.
WELL, WE DO NEED TO, WHAT I REALLY, WHAT I REALLY WANT TO HAVE HAPPEN, UM, IS THAT WHEN COMMISSIONERS ASK FOR SOMETHING THAT WE AS COMMISSIONERS ARE CLEAR AND EXPLICIT ENOUGH TO STAFF SO THAT THEY, 'CAUSE THEN I'M GONNA BE HOLD ASKING STAFF, HOLDING STAFF RESPONSIBLE FOR FOLLOWING THROUGH AND GETTING THAT.
BUT THIS PASSING IN THE NIGHT KIND OF THING IS NOT WORKING FOR ME.
YOU KNOW, IF SHE'S ASKING FOR SOMETHING, WE'RE GIVING HER SOMETHING.
AND COMMISSIONER DELGADO'S ASKING FOR SOMETHING, SHE'S NOT WHAT SHE'S ASKING.
BUT, BUT COMMISSIONER DELGADO, WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO, TO COMMUNICATE BACK WITH YOU.
I'VE ACTUALLY BEEN VERY ON TOP OF MY, ON MY BOARD EMAIL BECAUSE I KNOW THAT IS SO IMPORTANT THAT YOU ALL BE ABLE TO ACCESS ME AT ANY GIVEN POINT.
WE'LL TAKE, TAKE THAT UNDER CONSIDERATION.
COMMISSIONER ACHILLES, UH, ANYTHING ELSE? DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING VICE CHAIR? I'LL BRING IT NEXT
[02:45:01]
TIME.ALRIGHT, WE, THE HOUR IS LATE GUYS.
THANK EVERYONE FOR HANGING IN THERE.
UM, I, I HAVE TO ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE BACK AND FORTH.
I THINK THAT THAT PROBABLY ADDED TO IT.
YOU HOLD ME, HELP ME, KICK ME UNDER THE TABLE.
SO, UM, THAT BEING SAID, UH, WE'LL MOVE FORWARD, BUT I DO GET CAUGHT UP IN THE PASSION OF THE, UH, SPEAKERS AND PEOPLE WITH LIVED EXPERIENCE.
AND IT DOES, UM, IT DOES TAKE ME AWAY FROM, UH, ROBERT'S RULES OF ORDER, ET CETERA.
I NEED TO STAY ON POINT THOUGH.
AND WE STAND ADJOURN IF THERE'S NOTHING ELSE.