[00:00:03]
[CALL TO ORDER]
ASK ALL COMMISSIONERS TO COME ON SCREEN.COMMISSIONER HOUSTON, IF YOU'RE IN THE ROOM IN ORDER TO BE COUNTED AS PRESENT, YOU'LL NEED TO BE ON SCREEN.
COMMISSIONER CHENEY, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
I KNOW YOU'RE NOT FEELING WELL.
I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR PRESENCE.
WELCOME, COMMISSIONER HOUSTON.
LET'S GO AHEAD AND INITIATE OUR DECEMBER ARTS COMMISSION MEETING.
UM, WE'LL START WITH FOLKS HERE IN THE ROOM.
COMMISSIONER MOCK, UM, IS IT OPEN? WHICH LEFT THIS ONE? HELLO, PRESENT.
AND JOINING US VIRTUALLY, COMMISSIONER HOUSTON HERE.
UH, DOESN'T SEEM LIKE WE HAVE ANYBODY FOR PUBLIC COMMUNICATION, SO WE WILL GO ON TO THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
MOTION.MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES BY COMMISSIONER SMALL BOX.
SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER GRAY.
ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE NOVEMBER MINUTES.
I'D LIKE TO ABSTAIN BECAUSE I WASN'T AT THE MEETING.
I THINK WE HAVE A QUORUM WITHOUT WONDERFUL UNANIMOUS.
[2. Discussion of Chair’s Report on “Happy Holidays” by Chair Zisman]
IS MY CHAIR'S REPORT.UH, TO THOSE THAT CELEBRATE HAPPY SOLSTICE, HAPPY SEASONS CHANGING AND HAPPY WINTER BREAK.
UM, WE HAVE HAD A VERY BUSY AND ACTIVE, UH, SEASON, UM, WITH LOTS OF HARD WORK AND COMMITMENT TO THIS ROLLOUT OF OUR NEW PROGRAMS. AND, UM, SEEMS LIKE FROM WHAT WE'VE HEARD FROM STAFF, THAT WE'VE GOT MAJORITY OF OUR FUNDING ALLOCATED, WHICH IS A VERY EXCITING THING GOING INTO THE HOLIDAY SEASON, KNOWING THAT WE HAVE OUR COMMUNITY SUPPORTED.
UM, AND WITH THAT, LET'S GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED.
UH, COMMISSIONER MALDONADO COULD NOT JOIN US TODAY, BUT I WAS HOPING THAT OUR A IPP MANAGER WOULD BE IN ATTENDANCE VIRTUALLY.
MAYBE WE CAN CIRCLE BACK TO GET AN UPDATE FROM CONSTANCE WHITE.
[4. Discussion of the Austin Economic Development Corporation/Cultural Trust Advisory Committee by Austin Economic Development Corporation Board Member Carl Settles]
WOULD BE THE DISCUSSION OF THE AUSTIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION CULTURAL TRUST ADVISORY COMMITTEE WITH OUR BOARD CHAIR, CARL STOS, WHO WON'T BE WITH US, BUT WE WILL HAVE A VERY ROBUST PRESENTATION FROM THE A-E-D-C-A LITTLE BIT LATER.SO THEY'VE SAID THAT THEY WILL FOLD IN A GENERAL UPDATE IN THAT, I THINK I JUST SAW CONSTANCE JOIN US.
CONSTANCE, IF YOU'RE READY, WE WOULD LOVE AN UPDATE, BUT IF NOT, I CAN COME BACK.
MIGHT BE PUTTING HER ON THE SPOT.
LET'S GO AHEAD AND DO OUR DISCUSSION OF THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION WITH COMMISSIONER MOCK, AND THEN WE'LL COME BACK TO, UM, CONSTANCE.
I WASN'T ABLE TO UNMUTE MYSELF.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO, UH, HAVE A MOMENT TO COLLECT YOURSELF OR WOULD YOU LIKE TO PRESENT NOW OR GIVE US A, JUST A BRIEF UPDATE? SURE.
IF I MAY, IF THIS IS A GOOD TIME FOR YOU.
I WILL BE BRIEF AS WELL, RECOGNIZING EVERYONE ON THE, ON THE DIAZ AS VIRTUALLY AND IN PERSON.
PLEASE EXCUSE ME, NOT BEING ON CAMERA.
UM, HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO EVERYONE AS WELL.
I, MY NAME IS CONSTANCE WHITE.
I AM THE MANAGER OF ART AND PUBLIC PLACES FOR, UH, THE, WITHIN THE CULTURAL ARTS DIVISION FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
AND, UH, WE MET OUR ART AND PUBLIC PLACES PANEL MET ONE WEEK AGO ON MONDAY.
WE HAD A VERY FULL AGENDA OF, UM, PROJECTS TO REVIEW AND NO ACTION ITEMS TO MOVE FORWARD AT THIS TIME.
ONE PERTINENT ITEM FOR DISCUSSION WAS FOR THE A IPP PANEL TO CONVENE A WORKING GROUP COMPRISED OF PANEL MEMBERS.
UH, COMMISSIONER MALDONADO ALSO IS GOING TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROCESS AND HAS RECOMMENDED THAT AN ADDITIONAL COMMISSION MEMBER BE AVAILABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN REVIEWING A IPP, THE A FPP PERCENT FOR OUR ORDINANCE, WITH OUR GUIDELINES THAT ARE TO BE RE REVISED ON AN ANNUAL BASIS AS WELL.
THE FOCUS OF THAT REVIEW AND REVISION WOULD BE LOOKING AT ALL MANNERS OF PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS, COMMONLY KNOWN AS P THREES, PUDS AND PSS, AND POSSIBLY
[00:05:01]
SOME OTHER TERMS THAT I'M NOT AWARE OF OR NOT USING AT THIS TIME.IN ADDITION TO LOOKING AT OUR EQUITY STATEMENT, UM, THERE'S ALSO A RECOMMENDATION THAT WE, UM, THAT THE WORKING GROUP INVITE A COUPLE OF MEMBERS FROM THESE, FROM OUR CITIZENRY TO PARTICIPATE FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WHO MAYBE HAVE SOME INSIGHT OR EXPERTISE AND, UM, PUBLIC POLICY.
SO THAT WAS A GOOD DISCUSSION.
I THINK COMMISSIONER ALBA HAS, UH, CONVEYED INTEREST, BUT I WILL LEAVE IT TO WHO? COMMISSIONER MALINDO TO RELAY THAT INFORMATION.
SEEMS LIKE WE'VE GOT A FEW INTERESTED PARTIES ON THE DIOCESE.
BUT I HAVE A QUESTION FOR THESE.
I CAN'T SEE YOU GUYS WELL, SO, OH, YEAH.
I JUST HAVE A, A AN INTERESTING QUESTION TO ASK MS. UH, CONSTANCE.
UM, I READ AN EMAIL ABOUT THERE IS A-A-I-P-P PROJECT AT THE AIRPORT ON PLAYSCAPE.
AND, UH, HAS IT BEEN, I MEAN, WHERE IS IT? UH, BECAUSE I'M VERY INTERESTED IN THAT.
I'M JUST SO GRATEFUL THAT, THAT THEY ALLOW A PROJECT TO FOCUS ON CHILDREN.
SO THE FOCUS IS NOT ON CHILDREN.
PARDON? THE FOCUS IS NOT NECESSARILY ON CHILDREN, BUT IT'S A PLAY SCAPE, RIGHT? THE, THE PROJECT YES, IT IS, IT IS IN, IN THE NEW TERMINAL.
SO, HAS, HAS THE DESIGN BE, UH, UH, CONFIRMED OR IS IT STILL IN THE PROCESS? THE DESIGN HAS NOT BEEN CONFIRMED.
AN ARTIST HAD, WE'RE GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS OF FINALIZING SELECTION FOR THE ARTIST.
THE, THE NEXT STEP IS FOR CITY COUNCIL TO APPROVE THE RCA, WHICH IS ON THE AGENDA FOR THURSDAY, SO THAT THE, UM, CALL FOR ARTISTS WENT THROUGH THE NORMAL PROCESS AND BEFORE THIS BODY ALSO FOR REVIEW AND APPROVAL.
AND THE, THE WAY THAT THE SCOPE IS WRITTEN IS THAT IT'S APPEALING TO THOSE WHO ARE YOUNG AND YOUNG AT HEART.
SO HAVING A UNIVERSAL APPEAL FOR, UM, THAT THAT IS A PLAYFUL ENVIRONMENT THAT IS NOT NECESSARILY FOCUSED SOLELY ON CHILDREN OR, OR YOUNG PEOPLE.
WELL, YOUNG AND HEART IS GOOD AT THIS POINT.
I DID HAVE A CONVERSATION,
AND BECAUSE THE, THERE'S SO MANY YOUNG PEOPLE ARE TRAVELING, SO I SUGGEST TO THEM THAT, YOU KNOW, A NEW TERMINAL BECAUSE THEY'RE GOING TO EXPAND THE AIRPORT.
SO THERE MIGHT BE SOME A IPP MONEY, UM, FOR, TO ALLOW FOR SPACE FOR, FOR CHILDREN WHO ARE WAITING, UM, FOR THE TRANSFER.
SO I'M VERY INTERESTED WHEN, WHEN IT HAPPENS.
SO IT WAS JUST A CONVERSATION, BUT WHEN I SAW THE EMAIL, I THOUGHT THAT WAS WHAT IT WAS ABOUT.
SO, BUT IN ANY CASE, I'M GOING TO KEEP A VERY CLOSE EYE ON IT.
AND IF YOU HEARD OF ANYTHING THAT IS IN THE DISCUSSION AND NEED, UH, ALLOW VOICE, AND I WILL BE THE YOUNG AT HEART ONE, AND TO BE THERE TO ADVOCATE FOR THE CHILDREN.
WELL, I, I DEVELOPED THE SCOPE WITH, WITH A LOT OF FOLKS IN MIND, OF COURSE, YOUNG PEOPLE AND, AND ALL OF US WHO ARE YOUNG AT HEART.
AND THERE WILL BE OTHER OPPORTUNITIES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEW AIRPORT.
SO MORE TO COME ON THAT, UM, THIS ARTIST IS TASKED WITH FULLY DESIGNING, FABRICATING, AND INSTALLING A FULL PROJECT AND GOING THROUGH FINAL DESIGN FOR TWO ADDITIONAL CONCEPTS, UM, TO BE FUNDED IN THE FUTURE AS THE AIRPORT DEVELOPS AND HAS SPACE FOR THAT.
AND SO, CERTAINLY IN MY ROLE, I WILL, UM, I AM IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO STAFF OVER THERE, AND I WILL DEFINITELY KEEP OUR LIAISON, MONICA MALDONADO, UM, UP TO DATE SO THAT SHE COULD REPORT OUT ACCORDINGLY.
AND WHEN SHE ISN'T AVAILABLE TO DO SO, I'M HAPPY TO DO SO AS WELL.
[00:10:01]
THANK YOU.ANY OTHER QUESTIONS BEFORE WE MOVE ON? OKAY.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
I WANNA NOTE THAT COMMISSIONER GARZA HAS JOINED US.
UM, COMMISSIONER GARZA, IN ORDER TO BE COUNTED AS PRESENT, YOU'LL NEED TO TURN YOUR CAMERA ON.
ARE YOU ABLE TO DO THAT? LET ME SEND HIM A MESSAGE.
WE'LL KEEP GOING FOR THE MOMENT.
[5. Discussion of the Downtown Commission by Commissioner Mok]
MARK, WILL YOU PLEASE GIVE US YOUR RECAP OF THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION? WE'LL BE HAPPY TO.UH, THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION HAS, UH, A MEETING ON NOVEMBER 20TH, AND ONE OF THE, YOU KNOW, WILL, I THINK IS, UH, AN IMPORTANT ITEM THAT IT REALLY NEEDS OUR ATTENTION.
AND THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT THE SAFETY OF THE AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE IS NOW IN TOWN, AND APPARENTLY THERE WERE, UH, A FIELD CLOSE CALLS.
AND BECAUSE THIS IS A AV, SO THERE'S NO PERSON DRIVING IT, THEY CANNOT, EVEN, THE POLICE CANNOT GIVE CITATION TO, UH, AV BECAUSE THERE'S NO DRIVER TO GIVE A CITATION TO.
SO TECH.IS THE REGULATORY, I GUESS, AGENCY.
AND, UM, THEY WANT THE BIG CITIES LIKE AUSTIN, DALLAS, AND HOUSTON TO COME UP WITH SOME KIND OF A, UM, SAME PAGE OF, UH, CITATION QUOTE UNQUOTE, UM, SO THAT THEY CAN DEAL WITH IT.
SO, AS FOR NOW, MY CONCERN, I RAISED THE CONCERN THAT THE AV COMPANY, UH, COME TO AUSTIN TO DO BUSINESS IN OUR CITY WHEN THERE IS, RIGHT NOW, AT THIS POINT, THERE'S NO MECHANISM TO HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE, UH, FOR THE SAFETY OF THE CITIZEN.
SO, UM, SO I THINK WE REALLY NEED TO BE MINDFUL ABOUT IT AS THE CITIZEN WHO LIVE HERE NOW, TO, TO BALANCE.
I KNOW THAT AV IS GOING TO BE THE FUTURE, SO WE CANNOT STOP THAT.
BUT THEN HOW ARE WE GOING TO BALANCE THE SAFETY OF THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THE CITY AND UTILIZING THE TECHNOLOGY? UM, SO I THINK WE SHOULD PAY ATTENTION TO IT.
AND THAT'S ONE ITEM I WANT TO REPORT.
COMMISSIONER, MOCK COMMISSIONER, GRAY, UM, COMMISSIONER MARK, IT SEEMS, AND AND YOU MAY KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS, IT SEEMS LIKE THEY WERE ONE OF THOSE COMPANIES, IF NOT THE COMPANY, THAT MAY HAVE GONE THROUGH SOME OF THOSE PROBLEMS IN AUSTIN, THAT THEY STOPPED THE SERVICE HERE LOCALLY.
IS THAT, AM I MAKING THAT UP? NOT, NOT THAT I KNOW OF.
AND APPARENTLY THERE IS A COMMISSION, TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION OF SOMETHING.
UM, THEY DO HAVE A CENTER, A CALL CENTER.
UM, THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE ABLE TO CONTROL OR HAVE MONITOR, MONITOR ALL OF THEM.
UM, BUT BECAUSE SOME OF THE, UH, DOWNTOWN COMMISSIONERS ACTUALLY HAS, UH, FIRSTHAND INFORMATION OF THE CLOSE CALL, YOU KNOW? UM, SO, UM, AND, AND NOW, YOU KNOW, AS YOU KNOW, THE TRUCKS ARE GOING TO BE A TRUCKS ON HIGHWAYS.
SO, UM, SO, SO I, I, I, I, I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD BE OVERLY CONCERNED, BUT I THINK THERE SHOULD BE A CONCERN, YOU KNOW, BUT I GUESS THIS IS THE FUTURE.
SO IN ANY CASE, YEAH, THAT'S ALL I KNOW, BUT JUST WANT TO BRING IT, BRING TO YOUR ATTENTION.
DO YOU KNOW WHEN YOUR NEXT MEETING WILL BE IN JANUARY? IT IS JANUARY 17TH.
SO IT'LL BE JUST AFTER, OR BEF IT'LL BE JUST BEFORE I DON'T, JUST, JUST BE BEFORE I MEETING.
SO, WELL, I, I, I JUST WANTED TO SHARE OBSERVATION.
THEY DON'T HAVE DECEMBER MEETING.
OURS IS OUR MEETING'S THE 22ND, SO OURS WILL BE THE FOURTH.
SO YOU'LL HAVE A UPDATE FOR US ON THE 22ND WHEN WE MEET.
[6. Presentation by Anne Gatling Haynes, Chief Transaction Officer at Austin Economic Development Corporation, and Lara Haddock from Austin Playhouse on an update on the Cultural Trust.]
WE HAVE PRESENTATION BY ANNE GATLEY HANGS, CHIEF TRANSACTIONS OFFICER AT THE AUSTIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, AND LAURA HADDOCK FROM THE AUSTIN PLAYHOUSE[00:15:01]
ON, UM, ON AN UPDATE ON THE CULTURAL TRUST, I JUST WANNA MAKE A NOTE FOR MY NEWER COMMISSIONERS.UM, ANNE IS GONNA ALSO WALK THROUGH SORT OF WHAT THE AED C'S ROLE IS, WHO THEY ARE.
SO JUST A, A NOTE TO PAY CLOSE ATTENTION, UM, AS THIS WILL BE A, A GOOD RECAP FOR YOU GUYS.
THIS IS AN, UM, AN ARM THAT HAS BEEN IN ACTION FOR A FEW YEARS NOW, THREE, THREE YEARS, TIME FLIES.
UM, BUT WE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SOME, UM, NEW FACES ON THE COMMISSION, SO I WANT TO GIVE THEM A HEADS UP.
THIS IS A GREAT WAY TO GET TO KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING.
AND, UM, I'M GONNA ACTUALLY ASK MY CEO TESSA TO DO THE FIRST COUPLE SLIDES OF THE INTRODUCTION TO THE ORGANIZATION.
THEN WE'LL GO THROUGH A RECAP OF WHERE WE'VE BEEN FOR THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS ON THE CULTURAL TRUST AND CERTAINLY, UH, INTRODUCING YOU ALL TO AUSTIN PLAYHOUSE, YOU PROBABLY MANY ALREADY KNOW, UM, FOR THIS, UH, INVESTMENT IN THEIR NEW FACILITY.
UM, THERE WILL BE MORE QUESTIONS THAT YOU'LL HAVE AT THE END, AND WE'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER THEM BECAUSE WE MAY HAVE MISSED THE SLIDE WHEN TRYING TO DO THE RECAP.
SO, TESA, AND CAN I, DO I MOVE THIS OVER? I THINK.
THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS FOR HAVING THE AUSTIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, UM, HERE THIS EVENING.
I'M TESA ALVAREZ, OUR CEO AND PRESIDENT, UM, OF THE ORGANIZATION.
UM, I THOUGHT I'D START BY JUST INTRODUCING MYSELF SINCE I HAVEN'T, UM, I DON'T KNOW.
AND I WANTED TO START, UM, WITH MY ARTISTIC BACKGROUND.
I HAVE A MUSICAL THEATER AND DANCE, UM, BACKGROUND.
I WAS PRESIDENT OF UT BALLET FOLKLORICO.
I DANCED, UM, MUSICAL THEATER IN HOUSTON AND, UM, WITH THE ASLAN DANCE COMPANY UP UNTIL ABOUT EARLY TWO THOUSANDS.
UM, SO VERY HAPPY TO BE HERE AND SHARE, UM, THAT BACKGROUND.
UM, IT'S ALSO, I WILL SAY, HAS BEEN AN, UM, ART FORM, UM, IN THIS POSITION, UM, WORKING THROUGH THE COMMUNITY, THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UM, OUR, OUR BOARD AS, AS YOU PROBABLY ALL UNDERSTAND.
SO ART HAS COME IN VERY HANDY IN OUR BACKGROUND,
UM, SO I WANTED TO START BY, UM, REMINDING YOU WHO THE AUSTIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UH, CORPORATION BOARD IS AND OUR MISSION.
OUR MISSION IS TO STEWARD PUBLIC AND PRIVATE REAL ESTATE ASSETS FOR COMMUNITY BENEFIT.
AND IN THIS CASE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PRESERVING CULTURAL ARTS SPACES, UM, FOR AFFORDABILITY IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
AND SO YOU HAVE THE, UM, FACES OF MANY OF OUR BOARD MEMBERS.
I DO WANNA START BY RECOGNIZING, UM, THE DIRECTOR OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, SOVIA, UM, RAULT, WHO'S WITH US, UM, IS ONE OF THE FOUR CITY EMPLOYEES THAT SERVE ON OUR BOARD.
WE ALSO HAVE YOUR NOMINEE FOR THE ARTS COMMISSION IS CARL SETTLES, AND I BELIEVE HE JOINS VIRTUALLY AND GIVES YOU GUYS A MONTHLY, UM, UPDATE AS HE CAN.
HE WAS JUST SELECTED OUR BOARD CHAIR STARTING OCTOBER ONE.
WE ALSO HAVE REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE URBAN LAND INSTITUTE, UH, TWO OF THE CHAMBERS, A-I-S-D-A-C-C UNITED WAY, UM, THE REAL ESTATE COUNCIL OF AUSTIN, CAP METRO, UM, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, AND MANY OTHERS THAT YOU SEE UP THERE.
SO THAT'S JUST A REMINDER OF THE, UH, 21 BOARD MEMBERS THAT, UM, STAND BEHIND US.
AND I HAVE ALSO WITH US TODAY, OF COURSE, YOU, YOU KNOW, ANNE, WHO YOU SEE, UM, OFTEN HERE, WHO'S LEADING THE CULTURAL TRUST FOR US.
AND I WANNA SAY ALSO A BIG THANK TO FRED EV, A BIG THANK YOU TO FRED EVANS, UM, WHO WORKS FOR MEGAN WELLS IN EDD, UM, BUT IS ALSO PART, UH, PARTLY DUAL REPORTING TO MEGAN AND ANNE.
UM, SO ANNE AND FRED HAVE PUT MANY HOURS BEHIND THE CULTURAL TRUST THAT WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT, UM, TODAY.
SO IT'S JUST VERY IMPORTANT, UM, TO THANK YOU BOTH FOR, FOR EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE FOR THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT APPLY.
UM, THIS IS JUST A REMINDER THAT, UM, WE ALSO HAVE A CULTURAL TRUST ADVISORY COMMITTEE THAT HAS LED US, UM, GUIDED US AND WHO WE'VE KEPT UP TO, UM, TO DATE AND SPEED.
SO I'M NOT GONNA READ ALL THE NAMES HERE, BUT WE DO HAVE, UM, REPRESENTATIVES, UM, WE TRY TO FOCUS ON THE ARTISTIC COMMUNITY.
UM, I WILL SAY ANN HAS DONE AN INCREDIBLE JOB OF, UM, ENGAGING MEETING WITH, AND THEY ALSO, UM, WHEN ANN LED THE RFP PROCESS FOR US, UM, WE FORMED AN EVALUATION COMMITTEE OUT OF THIS GROUP HERE AS WELL, TO HELP US, UM, FOR A VERY COMPLICATED SYSTEM TO EVALUATE.
EACH APPLICATION THAT WE RECEIVED FOR THE CULTURAL TRUST WAS EVALUATED BY THREE DIFFERENT REVIEWERS SO THAT WE COULD GET, UM, A REALLY GOOD, UM, RESPONSE AND, AND AVERAGE OUT THOSE SCORES TO GET TO THE, AND, AND ANN, YOU'LL PROBABLY TALK MORE ABOUT THIS, BUT THE, JUST AS A REMINDER, WHEN WE PUT THE RFP OUT FOR THESE CULTURAL TRUST DOLLARS, AND TODAY WE'RE HERE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE, THE $12 MILLION OF BOND FUNDING, UM, THAT, IF YOU REMEMBER, 2.4 OF THAT WAS APPROVED BY COUNCIL LAST DECEMBER.
AND THEN WE HAVE THE NEXT 4.5 THAT WE'RE REQUESTING ON THIS THURSDAY'S DECEMBER 14TH, UM, AGENDA.
SO WITH THAT, I WILL, BEFORE I GO TOO MUCH INTO
[00:20:01]
ANNE'S SLIDES, I'LL GIVE IT, UM, OVER TO ANNE.SO THANK, THANK YOU ALL FOR HAVING ME.
UM, AND AGAIN, THIS REALLY, THE MISSION HERE IS BASED ON A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT FUNDING SOURCES, NONE OF WHICH ARE ENOUGH TO DO WHAT WE NEED TO DO IN AUSTIN TO PRESERVE AND PROMOTE ADDITIONAL SPACES FOR ARTS, MUSIC, AND CULTURE WAS TO EFFECTIVELY A BEACH HEAD OF REALLY INITIAL PROJECTS, INITIAL INVESTMENTS TO SHOW HOW WE COULD REALLY HELP, UM, SUPPORT ARTS, MUSIC, AND CULTURE IN THE CITY.
JUST QUICKLY AGAIN, IT'S ABOUT WE, WE STARTED AN RFP PROCESS WITH A SET OF GOALS.
THESE ARE THE STILL THE SAME GOALS OF THE ORGANIZATION AND THE CULTURAL TRUST.
UH, REALLY IT'S FACILITATING ACQUISITION AND PRESERVATION OF EXISTING AS WELL AS CREATION OF NEW, UM, IF WE HAD EVEN MORE DOLLARS, THAT WOULD NOT CHANGE.
I THINK WE NEED TO DO AS MUCH AS WE CAN TO PRESERVE WHAT WE HAVE, BUT WE ALSO NEED TO CONTINUE TO CREATE, UH, NEW, UH, SPACES AS WE LOSE THEM AT A FASTER CLIP THAN WE COULD POSSIBLY PRESERVE THEM.
UM, ACHIEVING DIVERSITY, EQUITY INCLUSION, THAT WAS A PART OF THE RFP PROCESS CONTINUES TO BE PART OF OUR DECISION MAKING, SPECIFICALLY AS IT RELATES TO MAKING SURE THE FACILITIES ARE OPEN AND INCLUSIVE AND AVAILABLE AND AFFORDABLE, UM, AND PROVIDING AS MUCH PERMANENT AFFORDABILITY FOR CULTURAL AND CREATIVE PURPOSES.
UM, AND REALLY THE PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAM IS TO CREATE A SUSTAINING PIPELINE THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO REFER TO.
AND CERTAINLY AS NEW FUNDING BECOMES AVAILABLE, OPEN THAT UP TO BE ABLE TO KEEP TRACK OF THE NUMBER OF PROJECTS THAT WE NEED TO SUPPORT.
NEXT ONE, UM, THESE ARE BASED ON THE RFP PROCESS, AND I'LL GO THROUGH THE TIMELINE IN A SECOND.
THESE WERE THE THREE BUCKETS OF MONEY, AND THIS HAS BEEN MAYBE ONE OF THE MOST COMPLICATED PIECES OF THIS PROGRAM, BECAUSE EACH DOLLAR COMES WITH IT, A DIFFERENT SET OF STRINGS ATTACHED.
AND WE DID ONE RFP TO INCOMP ENCAPSULATE, RIGHT? THAT'S WHAT THAT WORD DIDN'T COME OUT VERY WELL, ENCAPSULATE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT PROJECTS.
WE FROM AN RFI THAT EDD HAD RUN IN 2020, I BELIEVE, MAYBE 2021.
WE KNEW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THE PROJECTS WERE, UH, BUT SPECIFICALLY STARTING OUT IN 2021, WE KNEW THAT WITHOUT HAVING REAL PROJECTS WITH A LOT OF INFORMATION, WE WOULD NOT KNOW HOW TO ALIGN THESE DOLLARS TO THOSE PROJECTS.
AND I WILL BE THE FIRST TO ADMIT, THIS PROCESS HAS TAKEN A LOT LONGER THAN ANY ONE OF US ANTICIPATED WHEN WE ROLLED OUT THE RFP.
BUT $12 MILLION WERE THE CREATIVE SPACES BOND FUND FROM 2018.
IN ADDITION, IN 2021, UH, THE ED THE COUNCIL HAD PUT FORTH THE ICONIC VENUE RESOLUTION, WHICH INCORPORATED THE IDEA OF HAVING A 2.4 MILLION HOT FUNDED FROM THE HOT FUNDS FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION FOR THAT ICONIC VENUE FUND, AND THEN AN UP TO AN ADDITIONAL 15 MILLION OVER FIVE YEARS IN TRANCHES OF ABOUT APPROXIMATELY 2.5 BY THE TI.
WHEN WE RE, WE RELEASED THE RFP AND EFFECTIVELY CLOSED THE RFP THAT MARCH IN THE BUDGET CYCLE, WE WERE AWARE OF ANOTHER 5 MILLION OF, OF GENERAL FUNDS THAT WOULD BE AVAILABLE FOR THE ICONIC VENUE FUND.
SO THAT WAS REALLY WHAT WE WERE WORKING WITH.
WE ALSO REALLY RECOGNIZED THAT OUR GOAL WAS TO LEVERAGE AS MANY PRIVATE DOLLARS AND OTHER KINDS OF DOLLARS AS WE COULD, UM, WORKING SO MUCH ON THE SPECIFIC INITIAL INVESTMENTS.
I WOULD SAY THAT'S STILL SOMETHING THAT, STARTING WITH OUR CONVERSATION TODAY, BUT ADDITIONAL PROJECTS HAS BEEN THE GOAL TO CONTINUE TO LEVERAGE THE FUNDING THAT WE HAVE FROM THE CITY.
UM, THAT, AND THAT'S A, IT'S A WORK IN PROGRESS AS WELL.
SO WE ISSUED THE RFP IN 2021, SEEMS LIKE A THOUSAND YEARS AGO, BUT, UM, ISSUED THE RFP IN NOVEMBER OF 2021.
THAT WAS ABOUT FOUR MONTHS TO THE END OF THE RFP PROCESS, ABOUT 45, UH, EXACTLY 45 PROJECTS CAME IN, PLUS 16 PIPELINE ONLY APPLICATIONS.
AND, UM, BASED ON THE, THE, THE APPLICATIONS THAT REPRESENTED MORE THAN $300 MILLION IN NEEDS, AND THAT WAS EVEN BEFORE DOING THE DUE DILIGENCE TO FIND OUT HOW MUCH IT REALLY COSTS.
SO THAT IS CERTAINLY SIGNIFICANT NUMBER.
UM, THAT IS ONLY THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG OF WHAT KIND OF FUNDING WE NEED.
UM, THROUGH THE PROCESS OF THE EVALUATION COMMITTEE, AS TESA MENTIONED, UH, WE DID TAKE THE 45 PROJECTS AND SURFACE ABOUT 14 PROJECTS ON WHAT WE CALL THE LONG LIST, KNOWING THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO DO ALL 14, BUT WE KNEW THAT WE NEEDED TO DO FEASIBILITY AND DUE DILIGENCE, MANY OF WHICH THESE PROJECTS INVOLVED REAL ESTATE.
AND WE HAD TO LOOK AT THE VERY NATURE OF THOSE PROJECTS.
JULY THROUGH OCTOBER OF 2022, WE REALLY DID THAT INITIAL EVALUATION AND DUE DILIGENCE.
UM, AND THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF A EDC APPROVED ESSENTIALLY WHAT THE PRIORITIZED LIST WAS TO START TO ASSOCIATE DOLLARS WITH PROJECTS, KNOWING THAT STILLMORE INVESTIGATION ACTUALLY WAS REQUIRED.
THE TWO PROJECTS THAT SURFACED QUICKLY,
[00:25:01]
UM, THAT COULD GO TO COUNCIL FOR THE ON THE BOND FUND SIDE WERE THE TWO PUBLICLY OWNED PROPERTIES.SO THE MILLENNIUM, AND THEN THE SPACE THAT WE IDENTIFIED AT THE PDC.
AND BECAUSE THAT IN OUR MULTI-PARTY NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE CITY, EVEN THOUGH THERE'S STILL NEGOTIATION INVOLVED, WE FELT THAT IT WAS A, A SHORTER PATH TO GETTING THOSE DOLLARS APPROVED.
AND THEN, UM, AND ACTUALLY FOR THOSE THAT WANT SOME OF THE DETAILED, UM, RE UH, REFLECTIONS DURING THIS EVALUATION PROCESS, UH, TASA PRESENTED TO CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION ON 12 SIX TO COUNCIL.
AND THAT WAS KIND OF A REALLY IN-DEPTH LOOK AT WHAT WE WERE LOOKING AT.
AND CERTAINLY IN THE FUTURE, UH, WE KNOW THAT THERE'S A NEW COUNCIL NOW, AND THERE'S QUITE A FEW MEMBERS WHO ARE VERY INTERESTED IN KIND OF NEXT STEPS AND WHERE THIS GOES FROM HERE.
SO HOPEFULLY WE'LL BE BACK AGAIN.
UM, AND THEN ULTIMATELY AFTER THE PDC INVESTMENT AND MILLENNIUM, AND WE'LL DO A LITTLE BIT OF AN UPDATE TODAY ON, UH, PDC SPECIFICALLY.
UH, BUT WE THEN ANNOUNCED IN JULY, 2023, THE INVESTMENT IN THE HOLE IN THE WALL, WHICH WAS THE FIRST ICONIC VENUE FUND.
SO THE FIRST TWO WERE BOND FUNDS.
THE HOLE IN THE WALL WAS THE FIRST ICONIC VENUE FUND INVESTMENT.
AND WE'VE CONTINUED TO WORK, UM, PART, UH, PROJECT BY PROJECT, UH, WITH THE CITY ORGANIZATIONS AND PROPERTY OWNERS, UM, AND IN SOME CASES MORE COMPLEX PROPERTY OWNERS THAN JUST A PROPERTY OWNER.
SO WE CERTAINLY HAVE ENDEAVORED TO BRING THESE FORWARD TO YOU ALL AS SOON AS WE POSSIBLY CAN.
AND TONIGHT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO GIVING YOU SOME MORE INFORMATION ON THE PLAYHOUSE.
THIS JUST GIVES YOU A SENSE OF THAT IT'S BEEN REALLY TRYING TO FUNNEL THROUGH A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT PROJECTS AND DIFFERENT FACTORS THAT CREATE A FEASIBLE PROJECT.
UM, BY THE END OF THIS PROCESS, WE DO STILL ANTICIPATE TWO TO SIX PROJECTS AND INITIAL INVESTMENTS ARE MADE, UH, BUT WE'VE GOT A FEW MORE TO GO, UM, AS WELL.
NEXT ONE, AND, AND ACTUALLY THIS IS IMPORTANT.
EACH OF THE PROJECTS WE'RE LOOKING AT HOW TO BEST UTILIZE THE SPACE TO CREATE ENOUGH SPACE AND AVAILABILITY FOR A BROAD VARIETY OF USES.
THAT INCLUDES THE ICONIC VENUE FUND, BUT SPECIFICALLY THE, THE BOND PROJECTS.
IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO US THAT WE'RE UTILIZING SPACE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE TO KEEP THINGS AFFORDABLE.
AND SO WE CERTAINLY ARE LOOKING VERY CAREFULLY AT A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT FACTORS THAT, UM, DIFFERENT, UH, ORGANIZATIONS AND HOW THEY UTILIZE THE SPACE IS, IS HAPPENING.
UM, THIS JUST IN THE LONG LIST, IT'S REALLY A BROAD SPECTRUM OF USES, AND I KNOW THAT I THINK ONE OF THE BIGGEST, UM, CONUNDRUMS HAS BEEN THAT BECAUSE SO MANY OF THE PROJECTS ON THE LIST AND INVOLVE REAL ESTATE, WE, IT'S NOT LIKE A GRANT PROCESS.
WE HAVE NOT ANNOUNCED WHO IS ON THIS LONG LIST.
AND I KNOW THAT'S BEEN A VERY DIFFICULT CONVERSATION, I'M SURE HERE AS WELL AS IN MANY CIRCLES.
AND WITH MANY OF THE FOLKS THAT ARE EVEN ON THE LONG LIST, IF THIS WAS NOT SO TIED TO REAL ESTATE IN THE MAJORITY OF PROJECTS, IT WOULD BE EASIER TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
AND SO CERTAINLY, UM, WE'RE LOOKING FOR BETTER WAYS IN THE FUTURE TO DO THIS PROCESS SO THAT AT TIME THAT AWARDS ARE BEING CONSIDERED, IT MIGHT BE MORE PUBLIC, BUT WE CERTAINLY HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET THE FEASIBLE PROJECTS TO COME FORWARD.
NEXT ONE, THIS IS THE PDC, THE CREATIVE CENTER.
I THINK SOME OF YOU WERE ACTUALLY AT THE, UH, THE REVEAL, WE CALLED IT IN MAY.
UM, AND WE'VE ACTUALLY KICKED OFF THE DESIGN PROCESS.
UH, THE FIRST BIG WORK SESSION DURING THE DESIGN PROCESS WAS IN OCTOBER 6TH.
WE HAD INTENDED TO DO ANOTHER ONE IN JANUARY, UH, DECEMBER.
BUT DUE TO THE HOLIDAYS AND WHERE SOME OF THE WORK BEHIND THE SCENES WITH THE DESIGN CONSULTANT HAVE BEEN, WE ARE THINKING JANUARY IS A BETTER DAY FOR THAT.
AND WE DEFINITELY WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IT IS AFTER YOUR JANUARY MEETING, SO WE CAN MAKE SURE TO MAKE THAT PROJECTION CLEAR CAREFULLY, UH, GET THE TIMING RIGHT.
UH, WE DIDN'T, WE DID IDENTIFY RUDE MAX AS THE FACILITY MANAGER PROGRAM IS AUSTIN BATCAVE.
AND WE'RE WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH THEM, UH, AND THE ARCHITECTS AS WELL AS ALL OF THE COMMUNITY INPUT TO NOT JUST LOOK AT THE DESIGN, BUT ALSO THE, THE BUSINESS MODEL.
HOW IS IT GOING TO STAY OPEN AND AVAILABLE AND WELL UTILIZED BY THE PUBLIC? AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH RIGHT NOW.
THIS WAS THE ICONIC VENUE FUND.
ONE IS REALLY OPERATIONAL SUPPORT IN THE FORM OF A LEASE GUARANTEE.
UH, WITH THE PROPERTY OWNER, WE WERE ABLE TO NEGOTIATE, UH, ASSIST THE ORGANIZATION, NEGOTIATE A 20 YEAR LEASE.
THIS WAS CRITICAL FOR THE LONGEVITY OF THE ORGANIZATION FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO PLAN, UM, AND THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS, BECAUSE THEY HAD BEEN OPERATING ON YEAR BY YEAR EXTENSIONS OF LEASE FOR A LONG TIME.
YOU DON'T TEND TO INVEST IN YOUR PROPERTY AND RIGHT THROUGH COVID, THAT MADE IT VERY DIFFICULT.
BUT THOSE INVESTMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN HAPPENING ALL FALL ARE HELPING THEM ACTUALLY BETTER UTILIZE THE SPACE, UH, BRING IN, UM, A FOOD SERVICE THAT HELPS SUPPORT A LONGER TIMEFRAME OR LONGER, UM, SET OF HOURS FOR THE ORGANIZATION,
[00:30:01]
AS WELL AS BRINGING ADDITIONAL REVENUE IN FOR THEIR, UM, FOR THEIR CONTINUED OPERATIONS.AND, UM, ACTUALLY THIS IS A NEW MURAL THAT WAS HIDDEN UNDERNEATH A, THE ONE TO THE LOWER LEFT THAT WAS HIDDEN UNDERNEATH OTHER IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROPERTY.
IT'S ONE OF THE ORIGINAL, UM, ILLUSTRATIONS THAT WERE PART OF THE ORGANIZATION.
SO, UM, IT'S, YOU KNOW, SOME UNSEXY THINGS LIKE PLUMBING AND AIR CONDITIONING THAT YOU CAN'T ACTUALLY SEE, BUT THOSE THINGS HELP.
UM, NEXT, UH, NOW WE'RE HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE PLAYHOUSE.
AND SO WHAT I WANTED TO DO, GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, THIS WAS, UM, LAURA HADDOCK AND BEN WOLF ARE GONNA TELL YOU MUCH MORE ABOUT THE, UM, ENTIRETY OF THE STORY OF THE PLAYHOUSE AND HOW WE GOT HERE.
BUT THIS, UH, $4.5 MILLION OF BOND FUNDS INVESTED IN THIS PROJECT LEVERAGES AN ADDITIONAL, I'M DOING THE MATH INCORRECTLY, BUT IT, SO $7.5 MILLION PROJECT.
SO WHAT IS THAT? THREE ADDITIONAL, 3 MILLION OF PRIVATE DOLLARS, UH, TO REALLY, UH, GET A PROJECT THAT HAD BEEN PERMITTED, DESIGNED, PROPERTY ACQUIRED, READY TO GO.
AND WE GET TO SEE THIS HAPPEN.
IT'LL STILL TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME, UH, BUT THE IDEA IS THIS FACILITY WILL BE, UH, PART OF THE CULTURAL TRUST AND CERTAINLY PART OF THE LANDSCAPE OF SPACES AVAILABLE, UM, FOR, FOR USAGE AND SPECIFICALLY AFFORDABLE.
UM, AND I, I THINK, LAURA, YOU'RE GONNA PRESENT AND THEN WE'RE GONNA GO TO FRED WITH SOME NEXT STEPS.
A QUESTION, UH, WHAT ARE, WHAT IS RFP AND PC STAND FOR? RFP IS A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS.
SO IN NOVEMBER OF 2021, WE RELEASED A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS, AND WE ASKED FOR ORGANIZATIONS OF ARTS, MUSIC AND CULTURE TO PROPOSE THEIR PROJECTS THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO POTENTIALLY BE INVESTED IN.
AND I DIDN'T HEAR THE SECOND QUESTION UNTIL, I'M SORRY.
PDC OH, PDC, PERMITTING AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER, I'M SO SORRY.
IT IS THE CITY'S BUILDING THAT IS ON, IT'S AT THE HIGHLAND MALL AND WILLAMINA DRIVE, I BELIEVE IS THE OFFICIAL ADDRESS.
YEAH, THE A A CC HIGHLAND AREA.
IT'S AN, IT'S A NEW BUILDING, UH, IN THE A CC HIGHLAND AREA.
UM, THANKS FOR HAVING ME HERE, Y'ALL.
AND THANK YOU FOR ALL THE WORK YOU'RE DOING FOR THE ARTS IN AUSTIN.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF, UH, THE VISION AND THE BACKGROUND FOR OUR PROJECT.
AND THEN IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS, I'M HAPPY TO ADDRESS THOSE.
UH, THE AUSTIN PLAYOFFS ART CENTER WILL BE LOCATED ON THE 180 3 FRONTAGE ROAD NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF 180 3 AND CAMERON, SO IT'S JUST EAST OF I 35.
IT WILL PROVIDE, AS THE VISION SAYS, A PERMANENT SUSTAINABLE HOME FOR AUSTIN PLAYHOUSE.
UH, BUT IT'S ALWAYS BEEN ENVISIONED TO PROVIDE AFFORDABLE PERFORMANCE REHEARSAL AND GATHERING SPACE FOR DOZENS OF OTHER LOCAL ARTS GROUPS.
WE ENVISION THIS CENTER AS A WELCOMING HUB FOR DIVERSE ARTISTIC ACTIVITY WITH TWO FLEXIBLE PERFORMANCE SPACES, INCLUDING A 207 SEAT MAIN STAGE THEATER AND A 99 SEAT, UH, BLACK BOX THEATER, AS WELL AS A LARGE OUTDOOR PATIO AREA, LOBBY GALLERY CLASSROOMS, AND STUDIO SPACES.
THE FACILITY SHOULD BE USED BY MULTIPLE GROUPS SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
AND JUST TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BACKGROUND, AUSTIN PLAYOFFS IS A PROFESSIONAL THEATER COMPANY.
WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR 24TH SEASON.
WE WERE FOUNDED BY OVER 20 AUSTIN ARTISTS, AND WE'VE OPERATED MULTIPLE VENUES IN AUSTIN, INCLUDING CONVERTING A, A WAREHOUSE AT PENFIELD INTO A TWO VENUE PERFORMANCE SPACE.
WE LEFT THAT IN 2011 DUE TO DRAMATICALLY RISING RENTAL RATES.
UM, WE RENOVATED AN OLD FOOTLOCKER STOREFRONT IN HIGHLAND MALL, AND WE WERE THERE FOR ABOUT SEVEN YEARS THROUGH ITS TRANSITION FROM HIGHLAND MALL TO A CC HIGHLAND AND OUR CURRENT INTERIM SPACE.
WE WERE INVITED, UH, BY UNIVERSITY BAPTIST CHURCH IN THE WEST CAMPUS AREA.
THEY HAVE AN EDUCATION BUILDING THAT HAD AN OLD PERFORMANCE SPACE THAT WASN'T BEING USED.
AND SO WE RENOVATED THAT INTO A MORE MODERN, BUT STILL NOT QUITE UP TO FULL MODERN STANDARDS FACILITY.
UM, SO WE'RE, WE'RE VERY GRATEFUL TO BE THERE RIGHT NOW.
BUT THAT'S AN INTERIM FACILITY.
AND AS I SAID, WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR 24TH SEASON RIGHT NOW.
UH, WE'VE WORKED TOWARD A PERMANENT HOME FOR OVER A DECADE.
BOTH THE VENUE SIZES IN THE ART CENTER AND THE ORGANIZATIONAL FRAMEWORK THAT WE WE'RE PROPOSING FOR OFFERING AFFORDABLE RENTALS WERE DEVELOPED THROUGH A SERIES OF COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS THAT WE STARTED OVER A DECADE AGO.
IN 2012, WE FUNDED A NONPROFIT ARTS MARKET MARKET SURVEY, UH, THAT WAS ADMINISTERED BY ARTSPACE.
THEY'RE A NATIONAL NONPROFIT DEVELOPER.
AND ITS PURPOSE WAS TO IDENTIFY THE MOST RELEVANT SPACE NEEDS.
I MEAN, WE ALL KNOW THAT THERE ARE SPACE NEEDS, BUT WE WANTED TO QUANTIFY THAT.
UM, AND THE PREFERENCES IN THE AUSTIN ARTS COMMUNITY, WHAT EXACTLY WERE THE SIZES OF FACILITIES THAT WERE MOST NEEDED? AND WE FOLLOWED THAT
[00:35:01]
UP IN 2017 WITH A SERIES OF TOWN HALL COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS TO SURVEY EXISTING ARTS ORGANIZATIONS.AND THAT DIRECTLY INFLUENCED THE CURRENT DESIGN, UM, PRIMARILY REGARDING THOSE VENUE SIZES OF THE 207 SEAT THEATER, WHICH YOU, WHICH IS NOT VERY COMMON IN AUSTIN RIGHT NOW.
UM, THAT KIND OF LARGER MID-SIZE VENUE.
AND OF COURSE, WE CAN ALWAYS USE MORE 99 SEAT BLACK BOX TYPE THEATERS.
UM, BOTH OF THESE SPACES WILL BE FLEXIBLE AND RECONFIGURABLE.
IN 2019, WE PURCHASED A 2.8 ACRE TRACT OF UNDEVELOPED LAND ON THE 180 3 FRONTAGE ROAD.
AND THE, UM, THE FOOTPRINT IS A 17,000 SQUARE FOOT FACILITY THERE.
IT'S DESIGNED AS A TILT WALL CONCRETE BUILDING, SO IT'S, UM, THE SECOND MOST AFFORDABLE POSSIBLE STRUCTURE.
BUT BEING RIGHT ON THAT 180 3 FRONTAGE ROAD, WE THOUGHT SOME SOUND ABATEMENT MIGHT BE NECESSARY.
SO, UM, SO THAT'S WHAT IT'S DESIGNED TO BE.
UH, THE GROUND FLOOR INCLUDES THAT MAIN STAGE THEATER, THE SECOND STAGE THEATER LOBBY, CLASSROOM SUPPORT FACILITIES, AND THE MEZZANINE LEVEL WILL INCLUDE OUR OFFICES STORAGE TECHNICAL BOOTHS.
UM, IN 2020, THE PROJECT WAS FULLY PERMITTED AND READY FOR GROUNDBREAKING, BUT, UH, RISING CONSTRUCTION COSTS FOLLOWED BY A PANDEMIC, DELAYED THE PROJECT.
UM, SO IN 2021, WE COMPLETED A STRATEGIC PLAN WITH THE DEVOSS INSTITUTE OF ARTS MANAGEMENT.
AND ONE OF THE PRIMARY GOALS OF THIS PLAN CENTERED ON INCREASING OPPORTUNITIES AND REMOVING BARRIERS FOR PARTICIPATION IN AUSTIN'S DIVERSE POPULATION OF ARTISTS, AUDIENCES, AND ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP.
UM, AND THAT DIRECTLY PLAYS INTO HOW WE PLAN TO HAVE THIS FACILITY USED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY.
UM, WE'RE INTENT ON RAISING THE PROFILE OF OUR AUSTIN'S ARTS COMMITTEE COMMUNITY.
Y'ALL KNOW THE INCREDIBLE COMMUNITY WE HAVE HERE.
AND I, I PERSONALLY THINK THAT THIS PROJECT CAN BE AN EXAMPLE OF, UM, OF A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY AND HOW IT CAN HELP ELEVATE NOT ALL OF OUR GROUPS, BUT A LOT OF THEM.
UM, WE'RE COMMITTED TO BEING AN EQUITABLE, DIVERSE AND INCLUSIVE ANTI-RACIST ORGANIZATION.
WE HAVE, HAVING FLEXIBLE AND AFFORDABLE SPACES THROUGHOUT THE CITY IS ESSENTIAL TO THE SUSTAINABILITY OF AUSTIN'S CULTURAL, UM, E ECOSYSTEM.
AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO TAKING THE NEXT STEP AS AN ACCESSIBLE ART CENTER THAT WILL SERVE AS A CREATIVE HUB AND PROVIDE TREMENDOUS GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES FOR AUSTIN PLAYHOUSE AND OUR PARTNERS IN THE ARTS.
WE'LL CERTAINLY HAVE LOTS OF
UH, AGAIN, FRED EVANS, UH, PROJECT MANAGER WITH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
VERY PLEASED TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS PROJECT.
UH, IF COUNCIL APPROVES OUR, THE FUNDING REQUEST ON THURSDAY, WHICH WE'RE HOPEFUL THEY WILL, UH, WE'LL BEGIN NEGOTIATING, EXECUTING A WHOLE SERIES OF TRANSACTION DOCUMENTS, UH, THAT ARE REQUIRED FOR A REAL ESTATE DEAL LIKE THIS.
UH, WE WILL BE A DC, WE'LL BE GROUND LEASING, UH, THE PROPERTY FROM AUSTIN PLAYHOUSE, AND THEN SUBLEASING IT BACK.
UH, THAT STEP'S NECESSARY FOR THE BOND FUND INVESTMENT.
UM, BECAUSE THE BOND FUNDS HAVE TO BE SECURED, UH, THE INTEREST IN THE REAL ESTATE HAS TO BE SECURED FOR A PERIOD OF TIME, UH, AT LEAST THE DURATION OF THE BOND.
SO WE'RE CONTEMPLATING A 40 YEAR GROUND LEASE, A 40 YEAR SUBLEASE BACK TO AUSTIN PLAYHOUSE.
UH, THEN WE WILL BE THE OTHER MAJOR DOCUMENT THAT WILL BE, UH, NEGOTIATING AS A DEVELOPMENT CONSTRUCTION AND FUNDING AGREEMENT, UH, WHERE THE PARTIES AGREE ON A TOTAL PROJECT BUDGET, WHO'S PUTTING IN WHAT MONEY, WHO'S MANAGING WHAT ASPECT OF DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION.
AND, UM, THAT WILL BE COUPLED WITH A FACILITY MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT.
AGAIN, A 40 YEAR, ALL THE, ALL THE TERMS ARE ALIGNED.
LUCKILY, UM, FACILITY MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT WITH AUSTIN PLAYHOUSE AS AN ORGANIZATION TO MANAGE THE FACILITY, UH, FOR THE, FOR THEIR OWN PRODUCTIONS AS WELL AS THOSE OF OTHER COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
UM, WE DO FORESEE AN ESCROW AGREEMENT, UH, BETWEEN THE CITY AND A DC TO FACILITATE THE CHANNELING OF BOND FUNDS, UH, TO THE PROJECT THROUGH A DC.
UH, AND THERE ARE PROBABLY OTHER AGREEMENTS TOO.
UM, BUT THOSE ARE THE, THOSE ARE THE MAJOR ONES WE CONTEMPLATED THIS TIME.
AS SOON AS ALL THAT'S IN PLACE, WE WILL BE UPDATING THE CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS THAT ARE ALREADY PRETTY MUCH COMPLETE AND PERMITTED.
UM, BUT WE HAVE TO LOOK AT THINGS LIKE, UM, I THINK THEY WERE COMPLETED IN 2019, SOMEWHERE AROUND THERE.
UH, NEED TO LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE AUSTIN PLAYHOUSE'S CURRENT BUSINESS NEEDS? WHAT COMMUNITY INPUT MIGHT'VE INFLUENCED DESIGN DECISIONS?
[00:40:01]
UM, LOOKING AT CITY STANDARDS THAT HAVE TO BE INCORPORATED, BECAUSE THIS WILL HAVE TO BE BID THROUGH THE CITY'S PROCUREMENT PROCESS FOR CONSTRUCTION SERVICES, AND, YOU KNOW, ENSURING THAT WE'RE WITHIN THE BUDGET THAT WE'VE AGREED TO.SO AFTER THAT'S UP, UH, AFTER THOSE CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS ARE UPDATED, WE'LL BE TAKING IT THROUGH THE CITY PROCUREMENT SYSTEM, COMING OUT THE BACKSIDE WITH A CONTRACTOR, UH, THAT WE'LL ENTER INTO A CONTRACT WITH AUSTIN PLAYHOUSE, AND THEY WILL MANAGE, UH, ALONG WITH A EDC, THE DELIVERY OF, OF THE BUILDING ITSELF.
UM, WITH THE TILT WALL CONSTRUCTION CONSTRUCTION THAT IS EXPECTED TO BE A LITTLE BIT QUICKER THAN SOME OF THE STANDARD OTHER, OTHER CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES.
AND WE ARE HOPEFUL TO HAVE, UH, CONSTRUCTION COMPLETED AND OCCUPANCY OF THE, OF THE FACILITY, UM, BY THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 2025.
SO I THINK THAT'S ALL THE UPDATES, AND I KNOW THERE'S A LOT THERE.
AND CERTAINLY WE KNOW THAT SOME OF THE NEWER, UM, COMMISSIONERS MAY HAVE SOME QUESTIONS EVEN ABOUT A DC.
WE'RE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU FOR THAT PRESENTATION.
A LOT OF REALLY EXCITING THINGS ON THE HORIZON FOR Y'ALL.
UM, LET'S GO AHEAD, IF WE CAN, UH, CITY STAFF GO AHEAD AND PULL UP OUR COMMISSIONERS SO I CAN SEE FACES
COMMISSIONERS, THE FLOOR IS OPEN.
LET'S START, SINCE WE JUST HEARD ABOUT AUSTIN PLAYHOUSE, I'D LOVE TO KEEP THAT MOMENTUM.
SO QUESTIONS REGARDING AUSTIN PLAYHOUSE, AND THEN WE CAN BROADEN IT TO THE A EDC, COMMISSIONER HOUSTON, KICK US OFF.
UM, I JUST WANTED, UH, TO SAY, UH, TO AUSTIN PLAYHOUSE, UH, UH, ON THE, UH, COMMENDING THEM FOR BEING SO INVENTIVE ABOUT REDEVELOPING SPACES AND FINDING SPACES TO, TO ALLOW THEATER TO THRIVE IN AUSTIN.
IT'S, IT'S BEEN AMAZING TO WATCH Y'ALL BUILD THESE SPACES WHEN THERE'S BEEN SUCH A, A NEED FOR NEW SPACES AND MOVE FROM PLACE TO PLACE AND REALLY GET SOMETHING DONE.
SO I WANNA COMMEND YOU ALL ON A WONDERFUL JOB IN PUTTING UP WONDERFUL SHOWS AT THE SAME TIME.
YES, I WANT TO ECHO THAT SAME, UH, THING.
I'M JUST, UH, BEING THAT, UH, AUSTIN PLAYHOUSE, IT SEEMS TO ME, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT WHEN THE NONPROFIT WAS PUT TOGETHER, FOR THOSE OF US THAT HAVE BEEN IN AUSTIN LONGER THAN THAT, REMEMBER ALL THE WORK THAT CAME BEFORE THAT HAPPENED.
SO TO KNOW THAT THAT LONGEVITY AND THAT HISTORY HAS COME TO THIS PLACE BRINGS TEARS TO MY EYES.
COMMISSIONER MARK? YES, I, I'M SORRY, I'M NOT QUITE FAMILIAR WITH, WITH YOUR ORGANIZATION.
I'VE MOVED, UH, DOWN FROM BOSTON TO HERE.
WE HAVE QUITE A FEW OF THOSE BASEMENT CHURCHES.
SO I'M SO GLAD THAT WE HAVE ONE IN AUSTIN LIKE YOURS.
UM, SO MY QUESTION IS, UM, I'M INTO EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION, AND FOR CHILDREN, IT IS SO INVALUABLE FOR THEM TO GET INTO DRAMA CLASSES, ESPECIALLY RIGHT NOW, THEY'RE ALL INTO DIGITAL AND THEY REALLY ARE LACKING OF SOCIAL COMMUNICATION SKILL.
SO I'M WONDERING, AT YOUR ORGANIZATION, DO YOU OFFER LIKE SUMMER CLASSES FOR DRAMA SO THAT THEY CAN REALLY FULLY EXPRESS THEMSELVES? I, I JUST THINK THAT IT'S VERY MUCH NEEDED AND IT CAN BE A, A REVENUE GENERATED, YOU KNOW, TYPE OF PROGRAMS THAT SUPPORT, UH, THE CHILDREN'S DEVELOPMENT AND ALSO HELPING WORKING PARENTS.
I'M JUST WONDERING IF YOU HAVE PROGRAMS LIKE THAT.
UM,
SO WE DO THAT AND WE'VE, UM, DONE SEVERAL PRODUCTIONS THAT WAY.
UH, BUT WE ALSO HAVE SUMMER CAMPS.
IT WAS PART OF OUR, THE STRATEGIC PLAN I MENTIONED IN HERE, UM, ACTUALLY HAS A LINE ITEM ABOUT SCREEN CULTURE AND ABOUT DEVELOPING WAYS TO, UM, COMBAT IT FEELS, FEELS A LITTLE TOO COMBATIVE, BUT, BUT YES, TO ADDRESS, UM, OTHER WAYS THAT STUDENTS NEED TO BE SUPPORTED AND WHAT LIVE THEATER CAN BRING TO THEM.
SO WE, UM, AND WE HAVE HAD HALF PRICE STUDENT TICKETS FOR ALL OF OUR PRODUCTION SINCE OUR INCEPTION.
SO ANY, ANY, UH, SHOWS THAT ARE APPROPRIATE, NOT JUST FOR YOUNGER STUDENTS, BUT JUNIOR HIGH, UM,
[00:45:01]
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS.I HAVE A 9-YEAR-OLD AND A 7-YEAR-OLD, AND THEY'RE VERY INVOLVED IN THE THEATER AS WELL.
I THINK YOU SHOULD PROMOTE THAT MORE
WE HAVE, WE HAVE A WINTER CAMP JANUARY 2ND THROUGH FIFTH AND
IS FOUR TOO YOUNG? CAN WE DROP THEM OFF?
AND THEN WE'LL GO TO COMMISSIONER GRAY.
THANK YOU FOR, UM, THAT INTRODUCTION.
UM, AS AN OLD SCHOOL AUSTIN ARTIST, IT WAS, I'VE, I'VE ONLY BEEN KIND OF FAMILIAR AT THE SURFACE LEVEL, AND IT'S REALLY NICE TO HEAR THE LEGACY AND ALSO KIND OF IMAGINE THE FUTURE.
AND I'M CURIOUS IF YOU COULD TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT, UM, THE, THE NON-THEATRICAL USE OF THE SPACE.
THERE WAS A A LITTLE BIT IN THERE ABOUT MM-HMM.
UM, WHAT I, I DON'T WANT IS FOR THE FACILITY TO JUST BE OPEN DURING PERFORMANCES.
SO, YOU KNOW, SEVEN O'CLOCK THURSDAY, UH, WE HAVE FACILITIES THAT WOULD WORK FOR COMMUNITY MEETING SPACES, UM, FOR CLASSES DURING THE DAY, THINGS THAT, UM, THAT MEET THOSE CULTURAL ACTIVITY CRITERIA.
UM, BUT DON'T NEED A THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY PERFORMANCE RUN.
AND, AND SO WE, WHAT I ENVISION IS STARTING A SERIES OF COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS IN THE SAME WAY WE DID WITH PERFORMING ARTS GROUPS.
AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO, BECAUSE IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE WE TALKED TO A LOT OF GROUPS.
UM, SO WE WANNA RESTART THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
BUT ALSO I'VE, I'VE TALKED WITH SOME RESIDENTS OF THE WINDSOR PARK AREA, WHICH IS JUST SOUTH OF WHERE WE ARE.
AND IT'S REALLY AS KIND OF A COMMUNITY MEETING PLACE THAT, THAT WE'VE, WE'VE HAD THOSE INITIAL CONVERSATIONS, BUT I WOULD SEE A LOT MORE MM-HMM.
UM, AND WE'D, WE'D WANT THOSE SPACES, THE LOBBY SPACE, THE PATIO, THE FACILITIES, THE CLASSROOM SPACE.
UM, THEY WILL ALSO HAVE SCREENING CAPABILITIES.
SO IT WOULD BE A MULTIMEDIA USE SPACES THAT, THAT I THINK WILL BE USEFUL.
AND I, I LIKE THE, THE LOCATION IS REALLY INTERESTING.
SO THAT'S GONNA SERVE AN INTERESTING KIND OF DEMOGRAPHIC AS WELL.
YEAH, I KNOW, I KNOW IT'S CHANGING, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF THOSE AUSTIN CULTURAL FACILITIES THAT ARE KIND OF CONCENTRATED FURTHER SOUTH.
AND I, AND WE DID SEE THIS AS AN AREA OF TOWN, IT'S REALLY ACCESSIBLE WITH THE 180 3 AND THE I 35 AND TWO 90 CORRIDORS THERE, THAT, THAT CAN CERTAINLY SUPPORT SOME GROWTH.
YEAH, I'M DOING A HAPPY DANCE OVER HERE 'CAUSE THAT'S MY NEIGHBORHOOD
SO IT'LL BE NICE TO SORT OF BALANCE OUT WHERE THINGS ARE.
UM, COMMISSIONER GRAY, A COUPLE OF THINGS, BUT YOU OPENED UP ANOTHER THOUGHT FOR MINE.
ONE OF MINE IS WITH REGARD TO THIS SPACE, BUT THE OTHER IS AN A DC QUESTION WITH RELATED TO CONTRACTS.
UM, SO TRUE ABOUT THAT NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND ALSO THERE WAS A VERY ANCHORED DANCE ORGANIZATION IN WINDSOR THAT MOVED OUT, I THINK THREE OR FOUR YEARS AGO.
I MEAN, WE'RE TALKING DECADES.
SO THINKING ABOUT, SO MY QUESTION WITH REGARD TO DANCE IN GENERAL, HAVE YOU GUYS THOUGHT ABOUT, AND MAYBE VERY PREMATURE TO ASK THIS QUESTION ABOUT THE SAFETY OF RAISED FLOORING FOR DANCE AND ALL THAT STUFF.
HAS THAT GONE INTO THE PLANNING STAGES OR YOU THOUGHT ABOUT IT? I PLAN TO LOOK AT ALL OF THOSE THAT PRE PRELIMINARY DESIGN, BUT THEN I WOULD WANT TO TALK WITH MEMBERS OF THAT COMMUNITY AND MAKE SURE THAT THEIR INPUT IS, IS NOT JUST HEARD, BUT IMPLEMENTED IN, IN THE DESIGN OF THE SPACE.
SO MANY TIMES PEOPLE WILL THINK OF DANCE JUST AS A BIG OPEN ROOM, BUT THAT FLOORING HAS SUCH A, AND IT'S GOOD FOR EVERYBODY TO, TO BE ON SOMETHING THAT'S NOT HARD.
THIS MAY BE A REALLY NUTTY QUESTION, AND IT MAY BE KIND OF NAIVE IN ONE THING, BUT I JUST THINK LONG TERM.
SO I THINK ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NON-PROFIT MANAGEMENT AND THE CITY IN A 40 YEAR MM-HMM.
'CAUSE I THINK ABOUT HOW MANY, NOT, NOT THAT YOU'RE GOING ANYWHERE 'CAUSE YOU'RE NOT AUSTIN PLAYOFFS IS GONNA LAST FOR 150, 200 YEARS, BUT WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT NON HOW THAT, YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING? MM-HMM.
SO THAT'S, AND I THINK THIS IS PROBABLY AN A DC QUESTION, ALTHOUGH, YOU KNOW, THE CITY IS HERE
[00:50:01]
AS WELL, AND I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS WITH THIS SET OF AGREEMENTS, THESE AGREEMENTS DON'T EXIST.AND I THINK WE'VE LEARNED A LOT FROM MAYBE OTHER LONG-TERM AGREEMENTS THAT THE CITY HAS HAD DIFFERENCE BEING THAT A EDC, THE CULTURAL TRUST BEING KIND OF LIKE AN INNER LAYER BETWEEN THE, THE CITY AND THE NONPROFIT WHO'S MANAGING THE SPACE.
WE FELT IT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT WITH CULTURAL TRUST FOR THIS TO BE A PROFESSIONALIZED MANAGED SPACE SO THAT IT REALLY SUITS OUR PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AS MUCH AS INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
UM, WHICH IS A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT MODEL THAN THE CITY'S TYPICAL CULTURAL CENTERS AND PERFORMANCE CENTERS.
THOSE ARE GREAT SPACES, BUT WE'RE KIND OF TRYING TO ESTABLISH ALMOST NEW TEMPLATES FOR HOW THIS WOULD BE RUN.
AND I THINK THE ONE THING WE'VE HEARD A LOT ABOUT IS THE AFFORDABILITY OF THIS SPACE.
AND CERTAINLY THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GONNA BE EYES WIDE OPEN TO TRY AND FIGURE OUT WORKING WITH LAURA AND HER EXPERTISE IN TERMS OF BUILDING AND MANAGING SPACES, MAKING SURE WE HAVE A SYSTEM OR A BUSINESS MODEL THAT WE FEEL CAN ASSURE THAT, UM, AFFORDABILITY.
UNFORTUNATELY WITH THE GREAT TO HAVE DOLLARS FOR THE CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION, THERE ARE NOT AUTOMATIC DOLLARS THAT COME TO HELP SUBSIDIZE THAT AFFORDABILITY.
AND SO PART OF, YOU KNOW, HAVING A BUILDING THAT CAN BE OPERATED MULTIPLE HOURS OF THE DAY FOR MULTIPLE FUNCTIONS IS ONE WAY THAT WE CAN REALLY START TO LOOK AT HOW DOES THAT FEASIBLY WORK? BUT WITH THIS, UM, WITH THIS APPROVAL AT CITY COUNCIL, THAT'S THE WORK THAT WE REALLY HAVE TO GO INTO WITH THE DESIGN, FINALIZING THE DESIGN AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'VE GOT SOMETHING THAT WE CAN PRETTY MUCH GET OUT OF THE GATE, ASSURING THAT AFFORDABILITY.
AND THEN OVER THAT REALLY LONG ARC IS YOU'RE TALKING WHAT I THINK IS DIFFICULT FOR ANY, ANY CITY, ANY ORGANIZATION IS SEEING WHAT THE SITUATION'S GONNA BE 40 YEARS FROM NOW WE HAVE 40 YEARS, IS WE WANT THIS TO BE AFFORDABLE FOR THAT LONG ARC, IF NOT FOREVER, BUT THE 40 YEARS REALLY JUST COMES FROM THOSE BOND INVESTMENT DOLLARS.
AND CERTAINLY AS WRITING THESE AGREEMENTS, THERE'S GONNA BE A LOT OF QUESTIONS OF THE WHAT IFS.
LIKE WHAT IF, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING HAPPENS TO THE THE PLAYHOUSE, OR WHAT IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO A EDC? WHAT IF, YEAH.
LIKE, THERE'S A LOT OF THOSE THINGS THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO FIGURE OUT AS MUCH AS WE CAN, WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN.
YEAH, I THINK THAT'S WHAT I WAS THINKING.
I KNOW YOU HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS TO ANSWER BEFORE WE GO INTO THAT, BUT HONESTLY, WHERE MY HEART AND BRAIN WENT WAS THE PRESSURE OF AUSTIN PLAYHOUSE OF HOLDING UP TO A 40 YEAR COMMITMENT ON A REVERSE LEASE BACK.
IT'S LIKE, I DON'T WANT IT TO BE A PRESSURE THAT IS ON THE, YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING? YEAH, YEAH.
YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT WE'RE KIND OF GOING INTO THIS.
OH YEAH, THERE IS SO MANY, FRED SHOULD SPEAK HERE TOO, BUT I THINK WE'RE GOING INTO THIS WITH EYES WIDE OPEN, NOT KNOWING THAT WE DON'T KNOW THE ACTUAL FINAL RESULT OR SOLUTION.
AND SO CERTAINLY, UM, THE LAST THING, WE WANT OUR ORGANIZATIONS TO GO BANKRUPT, UM, BUT WE ALSO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ALSO DON'T HAVE AN EMPTY BUILDING RIGHT.
FOR, FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS, SO, RIGHT.
JUST TAKE CARE OF THE ARTISTS.
THE ONLY THING I'D ADD IS THERE'S MANY ASPECTS OF THIS PROJECT THAT ARE ANALOGOUS TO THE ZACHARY SCOTT PROJECT, UH, THAT WAS A 99 YEAR, UH, AGREEMENT LENGTH.
UH, BUT VERY SIMILAR IN TERMS OF THEM OCCUPYING THE SITE OF THEM PARTICIPATING IN THE CONSTRUCTION COST AND THE PROJECT DELIVERY COST, HAVING A SUBLEASE, HAVING A MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT FOR THE FACILITY.
UH, SO WE DO HAVE SOME MODELS TO LOOK AT AND BUILD UPON AND IMPROVE, UH, UPON.
SO COMMISSIONER HOUSTON AND THEN COMMISSIONER MOCK, UM, JUST AS IT, AS WE WERE, UH, DISCUSSING HERE, IT, THE PARALLELS TO ZACH DID COME TO MIND, AND I WOULD URGE EVERYONE INVOLVED TO REALLY PINPOINT AFFORDABILITY AND NOT GET IN A SITUATION LIKE WE ARE WITH ZACH, WHERE THE MAJORITY OF THEIR SEATS ARE OUT OF REACH FOR MOST THEATER GOERS.
SO I WOULD REALLY PLEASE, PLEASE KEY IN ON AFFORDABILITY, BECAUSE THAT'S ONE THING THAT'S MISSING IN, IN THAT AGREEMENT WITH ZACHARY SCOTT, I APPRECIATE THAT.
IF I COULD SPEAK TO THAT FOR A SECOND.
ONE OF THE, THE THINGS THAT MADE ME MOST COMFORTABLE WITH STARTING THIS NEGOTIATION PROCESS WITH A EDC WAS THEIR ALIGNMENT WITH OUR VISION FOR THE SPACE, WHICH IS AFFORDABLE, ACCESSIBLE FOR AS MANY ARTS ORGANIZATIONS AS POSSIBLE.
UM, ABSOLUTELY IT WILL PROVIDE A PERMANENT HOME FOR AUSTIN PLAYHOUSE, AND WE WILL ANCHOR THAT FACILITY.
AND I, I BELIEVE THAT THAT WILL BENEFIT THE OTHER GROUPS THAT USE THAT BY HAVING US AS AN ANCHOR THERE.
UM, BUT THIS IS, I'M ADAMANT THAT IT, IT, IT IS ACCESSIBLE TO AS MANY GROUPS AS POSSIBLE AND YOU KNOW, THAT THE AFFORDABILITY MEANS DIFFERENT
[00:55:01]
THINGS TO DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS.SO WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT THAT AND WHAT, UH, WHAT THAT MEANS TO INDIVIDUAL GROUPS SO THAT WHEN WE SET UP THIS FRAMEWORK FOR RENTALS, WE'RE REALLY RESPONSIVE TO THOSE NEEDS.
AND, AND NOT JUST, NOT JUST FOR RENTALS, BUT FOR TICKET PRICES AS WELL.
AND THAT'S, AND AGAIN, THAT'S PART OF, WE, WE HAVE, WE HAVE PICK YOUR PRICE THURSDAYS AND HALF PRICE, STUDENT TICKETS AND
UM, I, I JUST QUESTIONED WHY 40 YEARS THE, UM, LIKE THE WATERLOO PARK, LIKE THE, UM, TRAIL FOUNDATION, DO THEY HAVE LIMIT TERM LIMITS? I DON'T THINK SO.
SO I'M JUST WONDERING WHY 40 YEARS? WHY NOT JUST LET HIM GO WITH IT? I MEAN, AND JUST CURIOSITY, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE DIFFERENT MODELS I KNOW WHEN HE'S MANAGED BY THE PROJECT.
I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY HOW TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION.
JUST SO YOU KNOW, THE 40 YEARS CAME, UM, FROM A LOT OF EVALUATION WITH A LOT OF DIFFERENT PROJECTS.
AND REALLY THE BONDS ARE KIND OF WHAT DRIVES THE TERM, WHICH IS IT COULD BE 20 YEARS, BUT THEY GET REFINANCED.
SO THERE'S A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME THAT, THAT, THAT SORT OF REQUIRES ANY AGREEMENT SPECIFICALLY, UM, WITH THIS PARTICULAR ONE, BECAUSE THE PLAYHOUSE ACTUALLY OWNS THE LAND, UM, IT'S, IT'S IN A DIFFERENT CAPACITY BECAUSE AT A CERTAIN POINT IT'S AN ASSET THAT OF COURSE WE'RE INVESTING IN AND FOR THE LIFE OF THE BONDS IS, IS TRULY A PUBLIC FACILITY.
CERTAINLY A LOT OF THINGS CAN BE WORKED OUT IN TERMS OF EXTENSIONS OF AGREEMENTS OR KIND OF, UM, BEING ABLE TO CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN THE AFFORDABILITY AND THE MISSION OF THE ORGANIZATION.
I THINK IT GOES BACK TO THE WHAT IFS.
I THINK WE NEED TO KIND OF MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S ENOUGH IN THERE, BUT WE ALSO NEED TO PROTECT AN ORGANIZATION WHO WENT OUT ON A LIMB TO ACQUIRE A PROPERTY, AND EFFECTIVELY IS GONNA BE PUTTING IN AT LEAST HALF OF THE MONEY FOR THE PROP PROJECT.
IT'S REALLY A JOINT VENTURE IN THIS CASE.
AND SO LIKE AFFORDABLE HOUSING THAT MIGHT HAVE A 40 TO 50 YEAR LIMIT.
THEY'RE SORT OF LIKE THE LIFE OF THE PUBLIC IN INVESTMENT.
AND THEN CERTAINLY WANTING TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S AN INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF WHAT THE GOALS OF THE PROJECT ARE.
I'M NOT SURE I HAD THE PERFECT ANSWER, BUT, WELL, I'M JUST TRYING TO GET YOU A LONGER LIST.
UM, COMMISSIONERS, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS REGARDING, UH, THE PLAYHOUSE? JUST MANY, MANY CONGRATULATIONS.
HOWEVER, WE CAN CONTINUE TO SUPPORT YOU, UH, AS IT MOVES TO COUNCIL.
UM, I THINK WITH THAT WE CAN OPEN IT UP TO GENERAL QUESTIONS ABOUT THE A EDC.
AGAIN, WE HAVE GOT SOME NEWER COMMISSIONERS, PEOPLE THAT MAY JUST NEED POINTS OF CLARIFICATION.
THERE HAS BEEN A LONGER TIMELINE FOR SOME OF THIS STUFF.
UM, SO LET'S GO AHEAD AND, AND DO THAT.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
UM, LARA COMMISSIONERS QUESTIONS FOR ANN ORESA REGARDING A EDC.
WELL, I'M WONDERING CHAIR THAT SINCE THEY'RE GOING TO ASK FOR MONEY ON THURSDAY, IS THERE A, UM, BENEFIT FOR US? I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS A ACTION ITEM,
I'M, I'M JUST THINKING IF YOU CAN TELL EVERYBODY WE ARE, IF IT IS, WE CAN BEEN HOLLERING.
WE CAN COME UP WITH SOME KIND OF, SOME FORM OF SUPPORT THE CITY AND SEND IT TO OUR COUNCIL.
EI MEAN, THAT, THAT WE WOULD BE HAPPY TO DO, I THINK INDIVIDUAL ACTION ON BEHALF OF, UM, OUR DISTRICTS.
WE CAN ABSOLUTELY WRITE INTO, UM, OUR COUNCIL PEOPLE IN SUPPORT OF THIS.
I THINK THAT'S A VERY EASY THING WE CAN DO.
IS THERE A UNIFIED ACTION WE COULD TAKE? UH, NOT, IT'S NOT POSTED FOR ACTION TONIGHT, SO YOU COULDN'T DO LIKE A RESOLUTION OF SUPPORT, BUT YOU CERTAINLY, LIKE YOU SAID, JUST REACH OUT AND SAY, YOU KNOW, I WANNA TOUCH BASE WITH YOU ON THIS ITEM.
I THINK IT'S NINE, NINE ON THE AGENDA.
UM, AND JUST SAY, YOU KNOW, ARTS COMMISSION IS SUPPORTIVE OF THIS GOING FORWARD, AND, YOU KNOW, HOPEFULLY IT'LL BE ON THE CONSENT AGENDA AND YEAH.
MAKE ITS WAY INTO, YOU KNOW, IS, IS IT ON THE CONSENT AGENDA CURRENTLY? WELL, IT HASN'T, WELL, I MEAN, IT'S NOT, NOT ON THE CONSENT.
IT'S, WE HOPE THAT IT STAYS, UH, THERE'S JUST NO WHO, WHO WOULD BE AGAINST THIS.
SO I'M ASSIGNING HOMEWORK FOR EVERYBODY, AND EVEN FOR THOSE NOT HERE, UM, WE HAVE UNTIL THURSDAY.
THAT'S WHEN, UH, COUNCIL ACTION.
SO PLEASE, I URGE YOU, UM, NO, IT'S NOT, UM, UH, TO REACH OUT TO YOUR COUNCIL,
[01:00:01]
UH, REPRESENTATIVE IN EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR THIS ACTION.UM, NOW THAT WE'VE HAD THIS WONDERFUL PRESENTATION AND MAKE YOURSELVES AVAILABLE TO YOUR COUNCIL, PEOPLE SHOULD THEY HAVE QUESTIONS, WE CAN ALWAYS, OBVIOUSLY RECONNECT THEM WITH THE PEOPLE THAT ACTUALLY HAVE THE ANSWERS.
BUT, UM, LET'S TAKE THAT UPON OURSELVES TO, TO DO THAT AS A BODY INDIVIDUALLY.
WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL SUGGESTION, AMY.
QUESTIONS FOR A DC COMMISSIONER GRAY? NOT A QUESTION.
JUST TO THINK FOR NEW COMMISSIONERS AS WELL AS THE PUBLIC, WOULD YOU BREAK DOWN? IT'S, IT'S CLEAR ABOUT THAT ORIGINAL 45 ON THE RFP, JUST THAT, BUT THE BREAKDOWN OF THE DIFFERENCE, EVEN THOUGH NOBODY KNEW WHO'S WHO THEY ARE, BUT THE IDEA OF THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE 14 AND THE PIPELINE MM-HMM.
SO IF YOU CAN CLARIFY THAT FOR THE PUBLIC, THAT'D BE GREAT.
AND THE NEW COMMISSIONERS, GOOD QUESTION.
UM, SO TECHNICALLY WE, AT THE, AT THE DUE DATE OF THE RFP, WE ASKED PEOPLE TO, THEY COULD EITHER APPLY THROUGH I'M LOOKING FOR INVESTMENT OR A NEW PLACE, OR EXISTING ON THEIR EXISTING PLACE, OR THEY COULD APPLY JUST TO BE ON THE PIPELINE.
AND THAT WAS JUST MORE OF AN INFORMATION ONLY JUST TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WOULDN'T FORGET SOMEONE, OR KNOWING THAT THERE'S MANY PEOPLE WHO WEREN'T ON THE PIPELINE AT ALL.
BUT THAT WE HAD ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON AN ADDITIONAL 16 FOLKS THAT CAME IN AT THAT POINT.
UM, OF THE 45, 14 OF THOSE WERE ADVANCED INTO THE DUE DILIGENCE AND, AND PHASE, BUT THE REMAINDER, YOU KNOW, INCLUDING EVERYONE STILL ON THE LONG LIST, PLUS THE REMAINDER OF THE 45 PLUS THE 16, WE WOULD CONSIDER THE PIPELINE.
SO TOTAL IS 45 PLUS 16 MM-HMM.
YOU KNOW, IN GENERAL THAT'S A LOT OF, THAT'S TRUE.
AND, AND TO BE CLEAR, THIS IS KIND OF THE FIRST TIME, WELL, WE WERE NEW, BUT ALSO THE FIRST TIME WE'VE KIND OF RUN THE PROGRAM.
I MEAN, THERE WAS RFIS, THERE WAS DISCUSSION, LOTS OF ADVOCACY FOR MANY, MANY YEARS.
AND CERTAINLY A LOT OF QUESTIONS ON HOW TO RUN THIS PROGRAM.
UM, IN, IN HINDSIGHT, CERTAINLY AS SOON AS WE GET A FEW MORE INVESTMENTS DONE, WE DO WANNA DO A THOUGHT PROCESS ON LIKE HOW THIS MIGHT BE RUN GOING FORWARD.
THAT SAID, WE HAVE INFORMATION ON THE FULL 63 ORGANIZATIONS AND WE HAVE BEEN DOING AS MUCH AS WE CAN.
AGAIN, CAPACITY CONSTRAINED, BUT AS MUCH AS WE CAN FOR THOSE ON THE FULL LIST.
BUT CERTAINLY FOR THE FOLKS ON THE 14, 'CAUSE WE DON'T EVEN HAVE ENOUGH RESOURCES TO SUIT ALL OF THE 14.
UM, AND SO AT THE MOMENT, BASED ON THAT LIST THAT WE HAVE, WE'RE CERTAINLY GONNA TRY AND ACCOMMODATE AS MANY PEOPLE AS WE CAN.
NEW AND NEW DOLLARS THAT ARE FOUND, HOPEFULLY GET THROUGH THOSE.
BUT ULTIMATELY, UM, TIME HAS CHANGED.
YOU KNOW, TIME HAS CHANGED A LOT OF CIRCUMSTANCES AT THIS POINT.
SO THE BOARD WILL TALK ABOUT KIND OF NEXT STEPS IN THE CULTURAL TRUST, UM, IN THE NEW YEAR ONCE WE'VE GOT A FEW MORE UNDER OUR BELT.
I HAVE ONE MORE ADDED QUESTION.
AND IT'S JUST A LOT OF TIME HAS GONE BY SINCE THAT WONDERFUL WORK STARTED.
DO YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE YOU GUYS ARE SO BUSY WITH THE 14, WHAT, WHAT'S GOING ON? HOW MANY OF THOSE ORIGINAL ORGANIZATIONS ARE STILL AROUND? OH, WELL, THEY'RE, THEY'RE ALL STILL AROUND.
BUT A LOT OF THEIR CON SITUATIONS AND CONDITIONS HAVE CHANGED.
AND SOME ARE PERILOUSLY CLOSE TO EITHER LOSING SPACE OR, UM, JUST REALLY, UH, THE SITUATION WITH WHAT THEY ORIGINALLY APPLIED FOR HAS CHANGED.
SO, BUT YOU'RE IN TOUCH WITH ALL OF THAT.
THAT'S BEEN ONE OF THE DIFFICULTIES OF THIS TAKING AS LONG AS IT HAS.
I WAS JUST GONNA ADD, WE DEFINITELY HEAR RINS GOING UP.
I MEAN, THE SAME THAT WE HEARD FROM LAURA.
WE ARE, WE'RE HEARING THAT OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
YEAH, THAT WAS GONNA BE ONE OF MY QUESTIONS IS HOW ARE YOU BRINGING WITH YOU THE ORIGINAL, UM, PEOPLE THAT WERE, YOU KNOW, SUBMITTED THEIR INFORMATION WERE ELEVATED INTO THAT PIPELINE FROM WHEN YOU HAD, HOW MANY PEOPLE TOTAL SUBMITTED RFPS ORIGINALLY? OH, THE, THE PROPOSALS, THE RESPONSES WERE THE 45 PLUS 16 FOR PIPELINE ONLY.
SO THE TOTAL RESPONSE WERE 63 PEOPLE.
SO THEY'RE STILL ALL BEING CARRIED ALONG AND, YEAH.
BUT I MEAN, TO BE PERFECTLY HONEST, WE'VE BEEN FOCUSED IN THE LAST YEAR ON THOSE THAT ARE ON THE LONG LIST.
IT'S BEEN THE MAJORITY OF WORK, CERTAINLY AS FOLKS FROM THE REST OF THE LIST HAVE COME AND REQUESTED SUPPORT OR, OR QUESTIONS ON WHERE TO GO, OR EVEN ADVICE ON SOMETHING THEY MIGHT BE NEGOTIATING WITH THEIR LANDLORD.
WE'VE CERTAINLY BEEN AS RECEPTIVE AS WE CAN BE.
BUT WE'VE BEEN HYPERFOCUSED ON THE 14TH.
I'VE GOT A, A STRING OF QUESTIONS, SO I WANT TO JUST KIND OF PREFACE IT, UM, WHERE I'M GOING HERE AND I'M GONNA QUOTE OUR, UH, FAMOUS FORMER COMMISSIONER AND SAY, TREAT ME LIKE I'M THE DUMBEST PERSON IN THE ROOM.
COMMISSIONER BARNES, YOU SHOWED US IN YOUR, IN YOUR SLIDES, YOU'VE GOT THESE THREE POOLS OF MONEY AND WITH EACH POOL OF MONEY ARE DIFFERENT STRINGS ATTACHED.
SO DOES THAT MEAN THAT HOLE IN THE WALL THAT CAME FROM ICONIC FUNDS? SO THEN THAT IS COMING FROM THAT SPECIFIC POOL OF MONEY, AND THEN WE HAVE
[01:05:01]
THESE OTHER TWO BOND POOL.SO THE, THE JOINT VENTURE WITH AUSTIN PLAYHOUSE, IS THAT COMING FROM THE, FROM THE BONDS? FROM THE BONDS AND, UM, WERE, WAS AUSTIN PLAYHOUSE PART OF THE 14? ARE WE STILL WE'RE PULLING FROM THAT LIST STILL.
SO THAT'S, UH, THE MILLENNIUM SPACE, THE PDC SPACE, AND NOW WE'RE SEEING AUSTIN PLAYHOUSE.
SO JUST TO, I'M TRYING TO CREATE A TALLY UNDER EACH AND UNDERSTANDING HOW THAT IS THEN AFFECTING THOSE TOTAL AMOUNTS.
WE KNOW THAT WE NEED MORE MONEY TO ACTUALLY HIT THE TOTAL PEOPLE IN THE PIPELINE.
UM, HOW WOULD PRIVATE, 'CAUSE THAT WAS ONE THING THAT YOU TOUCHED ON VERY BRIEFLY, IS THAT THERE IS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR PRIVATE COLLECTIONS DONATIONS.
HOW DOES THAT AFFECT EXPEDIENCY? IS THAT NOW THEN ITS OWN POT OF MONEY WHERE IT'S NOT STRUNG IN? DOES THAT GET FOLDED INTO BOND MONEY? BECAUSE I'M CURIOUS, WE DON'T HAVE NECESSARILY A NONPROFIT THAT, THAT DOES THOSE MASS COLLECTIONS.
BASICALLY WHAT A EDC IS DOING.
UM, AND SO WHEN WE HAVE PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY SAYING, HEY, I WANNA HELP THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE TO POINT THEM TO THE A EDC, UNDERSTANDING WHAT THAT MEANS, HOW QUICKLY THEN WOULD THOSE MONIES REACH THE COMMUNITY? MM-HMM.
WELL, SO I WOULD START BY SAYING THIS EXAMPLE WITH THE PLAYHOUSE IS A PRIVATE PUBLIC PARTNERSHIP, RIGHT? BECAUSE AUSTIN PLAYHOUSE IS REPRESENTING THE PRIVATE CO, THEY'VE BOUGHT THE LAND WITH PRIVATE MONEY, RIGHT? SO THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF ONE, BUT I THINK WHERE YOU'RE HEADED WITH PHILANTHROPY DOLLARS, WHICH I'M SURE WILL BE NEEDED IN THIS CASE, AND MANY OF THE OTHERS, UM, THE OTHER TWO, WHEN YOU WERE DOING YOUR TALLY AT PDC OR RU MAX AND AUSTIN BAT CAVE.
SO EVEN THOUGH THERE'S $2 MILLION OF BOND FUNDS BEING INVESTED THERE, WE'RE GONNA NEED TO LAYER IN PHILANTHROPY ON TOP OF THERE BECAUSE THERE'S OPERATION, THERE'S, THERE'S ALL KINDS OF COSTS, BUT JUST WITHIN OPERATIONS, THERE'S, THERE'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE A GAP, AS WE KNOW IN THE ARTS, RIGHT? BECAUSE WE SEE, WE SEE THIS OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
SO I JUST WANTED TO MENTION THOSE TWO TO YOUR TALLY, BUT YES.
UM, THE A A DC IS A VEHICLE TO, UM, WE'VE IDENTIFIED 14 PROJECTS THAT NEED FUNDING.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, THERE WE WILL ALSO BE LOOKING FOR EACH OF THESE PROJECTS, PHILANTHROPY TO LAYER ON TOP.
BUT I THINK, JUST TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, HOW FAST IT MIGHT IT GET TO THE COMMUNITY? RIGHT NOW WE'RE FOCUSED ON THE PROJECTS THAT CAME THROUGH CURRENTLY ON THE LIST.
UM, IF THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT POOL OF FUNDING THAT CAME TO THE A EDC THAT IS DIFFERENT THAN THE POOLS WE ALREADY HAVE, I THINK THE BOARD WOULD PROBABLY GO BACK AND TAKE A LOOK AT HOW THE RULES OF THE ROAD ARE, BECAUSE WE CERTAINLY HAVEN'T HAD THAT CONVERSATION YET.
WE'VE BEEN HYPER-FOCUSED ON THE ONES JUST TRYING TO DEMONSTRATE OUR ABILITY TO ADVANCE SOME OF THESE PROJECTS.
UM, AND I THINK THAT THERE IS GOING TO BE A NEED FOR PRIVATE DOLLARS, UM, FOR THE PROGRAM TO BE ABLE TO KIND OF AS LIKE AN INTERMEDIARY TO GET TO PROJECTS POTENTIALLY.
UM, BUT I WOULD ALSO SAY THAT, AND THAT THOSE ARE THE BEST DOLLARS TO HAVE BECAUSE THEY'RE GONNA PROBABLY HAVE LESS RESTRICTIONS THAN WHAT WE HAVE TO WORK WITH, WITH THE CITY DOLLARS.
UH, BUT I WOULD SAY, AGAIN, TO GO BACK TO WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, OUR IMMEDIATE PROJECTS ARE PROBABLY THE ONES THAT WE ALREADY ARE WORKING ON AND INVESTING IN, AND KNOW THAT THERE'S GONNA BE GAPS.
BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT IF, UM, THERE IS A MECHANISM, IF WE CAN BE A HELPFUL MECHANISM TO, AGAIN, BEING INTER INTERMEDIARY TO GET DOLLARS TO SOME OF THE ADDITIONAL PROJECTS, WE WOULD LOVE TO DO THAT.
I THINK WE'RE STILL EARLY STAGE FOR THAT.
AND THAT THE, THE PROGRAM ITSELF IS SORT OF EVOLVING AS THINGS ARE PRESENTING THEMSELVES.
AND AS THE LANDSCAPE IS CHANGING, I GUESS I'M STILL JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND.
WE HAVE A QUEUE OF 14 THAT ARE BEING ROLLED IN.
WE KNOW THAT THE DOLLARS AREN'T NECESSARILY THERE TO INITIATE ALL THESE PROJECTS.
AND EVEN WITHIN THE FIRST FEW THAT HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED, WE COULD SPEND ALL THE MONEY ON THOSE, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
SO WHAT, WHAT ARE THE BOUNDARIES? WHAT ARE THE, WHEN DO THOSE BUDGETS MAX OUT IS? AND AGAIN, YOU MAY NOT HAVE THESE ANSWERS.
THESE ARE SORT OF THE THINGS THAT ARE, I'M, I'M THINKING AND SPEAKING AT THE SAME TIME, BUT, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A WONDERFUL EXAMPLE WHERE YOU'VE ALREADY MADE THIS EFFORT, YOU OWN THE LAND, AND THEN IT'S LIKE, HEY, MEET US HERE.
AND THEN OBVIOUSLY AS A NONPROFIT, YOU HAVE THE MECHANISM TO HAVE THE PRIVATE FUNDING COME INTO THE, THE EXPENSES THAT YOU NEED, UH, THAT ARE BEING IN DEMAND IN A TIME BASIS.
UM, SO THE, THE PEOPLE THAT ARE WAITING, YOU KNOW, THAT IT JUST SEEMS LIKE, AND WHAT, TO YOUR POINT, THAT THE, THE LANDSCAPE IS CHANGING, THINGS ARE GETTING MORE EXPENSIVE.
THAT LIST OF 60, YOU KNOW, THREE MAY DWINDLE DOWN VERY RAPIDLY AS YEARS PASS.
AND WHEN, AND I KNOW, AGAIN, YOU MAY NOT HAVE THESE ANSWERS.
[01:10:01]
UM, MY BRAIN'S GOING BLAHSO THIS IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING TO HAVE YOU GUYS HERE REMIND US ALL WHETHER THE A DC CORPORATION IS A NONPROFIT? YES.
AND A LOCAL GOVERNMENT CORPORATION.
SO TO DATE, SINCE, UH, THE 5 0 1 C3 HAS BEEN ACTIVE, UM, AND LAST REPORT, HOW MANY FUNDS HAS THAT ORGANIZATION RAISED? UH, PHIL PHILANTHROPY DOLLARS? YES.
UM, SO WE HAD IN OUR FISCAL YEAR, UM, WE HAD SET A GOAL OF RAISING $50,000 LAST YEAR.
HOWEVER, THAT WAS FOR 12 MONTHS.
WE DID NOT RECEIVE OUR 5 0 1 C3 UNTIL MARCH OF, UH, 2023.
SO IT'S, WE'RE ONLY A FEW MONTHS IN MM-HMM.
AND THAT $50,000 GOAL, UM, WE SURPASSED IT BY 7,000.
SO WE'VE, IN OUR FISCAL YEAR, LAST YEAR RAISED 57,000, $50 OF PHIL OF PHILANTHROPY MONEY.
BUT TO CLARIFY THAT IS FOR US, THE A DC, NOT SPECIFICALLY FOR CULTURAL TRUST.
AND, AND I'LL SAY 50,000 OF THAT WAS ONE WELLS FARGO GRANT, SPECIFICALLY FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING ON EAST 11TH.
UM, C3 WAS, WAS ONE OF THE GRANTS THAT, UH, FUNDED MUSICIANS AS PART OF EAST 11TH.
SO THERE, YOU KNOW, SO THERE, IT, IT MIXES WITH CULTURAL ARTS, UM, AND HOUSING.
BECAUSE EAST 11TH IS ANOTHER PROJECT WE HAVE THAT HAS AN ARTS COMPONENT TO IT.
MAY I ASK, AS A COMMISSIONER, WHEN WE GET OUR REPORTS MONTHLY, CAN YOU DO THOSE NUMBERS FOR US AS FAR AS WHAT'S BEEN RAISED AND WHAT THOSE FOCUS POINTS ARE? EVEN IF IT'S QUARTERLY SO WE KNOW WHAT'S ACTUALLY GOING ON, BUT SPECIFIC TO THE CULTURAL TRUST FUND OR SPECIFIC TO THE ORGANIZATION? 'CAUSE WE CULTURAL TRUST, WE DO MULTIPLE PROJECTS.
AND SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT YEAH.
I MEAN, I THINK, I THINK A LOT OF US WOULD WANNA KNOW THE HEALTH OF A A DC AND HOW, AND EVERYTHING'S TAKEN CARE OF, BUT HOW, I MEAN, I THINK WHATEVER APPROPRIATE MEANS, YOU KNOW, JUST TO SEE.
SO SELENA, I WAS JUST, OH, UM, SORRY.
UM, JUST TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, UH, 'CAUSE YOU KNOW, WITH THIS 4.5 MILLION, UM, ABOUT 5.1 MILLION STILL REMAINS IN THE ORIGINAL POOL OF 12 MILLION OF THE BOND FUNDS.
BUT WE ARE CURRENTLY, UH, LOOKING AT PROJECTS THAT THOSE DOLLARS WERE ALLOCATED TO BY OUR BOARD.
AND, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, AS SOON AS WE CAN COME TO SORT OF MULTI-PARTY NEGOTIATION ON THOSE, WE WOULD HOPE TO RETURN WITH THOSE.
UM, THE OTHER FUNDS, AND PROBABLY ON MY, MY PART I COMPLICATED EVERYTHING.
SO, ICONIC VENUE FUND IS MADE UP OF MULTIPLE FUNDING STREAMS, BUT IT IS ALL PART OF THE ICONIC VENUE FUND.
SO ALSO THERE ARE OTHER PROJECTS FROM THE LONG LIST THAT IS CURRENTLY DOLLARS ARE ALLOCATED FROM THAT FUND.
BUT AGAIN, WHEN THOSE MAY, SOME OF THOSE, ANY OF THOSE PROJECTS THAT MAY NOT MOVE FORWARD, WHAT OUR BOARD HAS DISCUSSED IS THE MONEY THEN GOES TO THE NEXT PROJECT ON THE LIST WITHIN THAT LONG LIST UNTIL WE'VE REACHED THROUGH THAT LONG LIST.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF IN TERMS OF, WE CAN'T REALLY DO A, LIKE A WHAT'S LEFT TALLY EVERY MONTH BECAUSE THEY'S SORT OF, WE'RE VISUAL PEOPLE.
I KNOW, I KNOW SOME LITTLE CLIP ART.
IT REALLY, LIKE, WE'RE ON THAT PAPER, SEND IT MY WAY, I'LL MAKE IT, IF I HAVE THE DATA, I WILL MAKE IT IT AND CIRCULATE IT, BECAUSE I THINK IT IS, IT'S HARD.
AND I THINK EVEN FOR OUR, FOR OUR COMMUNITY TO UNDERSTAND, OKAY, WE SEE BIG NUMBERS, WE SEE THINGS ROLLING OUT.
I'M STILL SEEING THESE BIG NUMBERS, BUT REALLY IT'S A BUCKET THAT IS DEPLETING MM-HMM.
SO TO UNDERSTAND MONEY'S GOING DOWN, UM, YOU KNOW, HAVE REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS OF WHAT CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED IN A YEAR TO ENCOURAGE PHILANTHROPY AT THAT LARGE CORPORATE LEVEL.
WE KNOW WE HAVE THESE PEOPLE IN OUR TOWN.
AND SO TO BE LIKE, YEAH, WE HAD THIS GRANT $19 MILLION AT ONE POINT, AND NOW LOOK AT ALL THE AMAZING THINGS THAT, THAT ARE HAPPENING AND ROLLING OUT, AND WE STILL HAVE THIS QUEUE.
UM, AT ANY POINT, IS THAT LIST GONNA BE MADE PUBLIC OR IS THAT FOREVER TO BE A SECRET? NO, THE, THE LIST OF 45 IS PUBLIC.
IT'S, HONESTLY, IT'S IN A PRESENTATION, A POWERPOINT IN ON OUR WEBSITE.
IT PROBABLY, AS WE'D ALL LOVE TO UPDATE OUR WEBSITE TO HAVE LIKE, INFORMATION WHERE PEOPLE WANNA FIND IT.
BUT AT A CERTAIN POINT THAT HAS BEEN PUBLIC.
WHAT HAS NOT BEEN PUBLIC IS THE LIST OF 14.
WELL, AND I THINK ON THE 14, WHAT WE CAN SHARE, I BELIEVE IT'S FIVE IF I DID THE MATH RIGHT IN MY HEAD RIGHT NOW, SO THE FIVE OF THOSE 14 THAT ARE PUBLIC IS AUSTIN PLAYHOUSE, RU MAX, AUSTIN BATCAVE, MILLENNIUM
[01:15:01]
HOLE IN THE WALL.AND THEN, AND THEN OF THE BOND DOLLARS, THERE'S, THERE WAS ORIGINALLY 12 MILLION OF BOND DOLLARS.
THERE'S 5.1 MILLION LEFT, ASSUMING THURSDAY WE GO ON CONSENT.
FINGERS CROSSED IT'S GONNA HAPPEN.
SO THERE'LL BE 5.1 MILLION OF BOND DOLLARS LEFT.
THAT'S THE SIMPLIFIED VERSION.
I KNOW THAT'S NOT THE, THE 19 MILLION BREAKDOWN.
'CAUSE THAT GETS MORE COMPLICATED.
BUT THE 5.1 MILLION, WE'RE LOOKING AT THE, WHAT IS THAT, 14 MINUS FIVE, WHO'S LEFT THERE TO MATCH THOSE DOLLARS? AND WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH ALL 14 OF THE ORGANIZATIONS, WHICH HAS BEEN, THIS IS WHERE I CAME BACK WITH THE ART FORM IN MY INTRO.
THIS, THE ART FORM HAS COME INTO PLACE.
TO TRY TO MATCH THE DOLLARS, UM, WITH THE RESTRICTIONS.
WE'VE GONE, YOU KNOW, WITH EACH POT OF MONEY THERE BEING SO MANY RESTRICTIONS.
AND I, I WANNA THANK, UM, ANN AND OUR BOARD AND, AND THE EDD TEAM, MEGAN ESPECIALLY, WHO'S BEEN ON
UM, I DID NOT MENTION MY FINANCE AND REAL ESTATE BACKGROUND, BUT WE HAVE HAD TO BE CREATIVE IN REAL ESTATE AND FINANCE TO MAKE THESE DOLLARS WORK.
AND SO IT'S BEEN A TEAM EFFORT.
UM, COUNCIL CITY STAFF, OUR BOARD, UM, YOUR, YOUR ARTS COMMISSION, MUSIC COMMISSION, IT HAS REALLY BEEN A TEAM EFFORT TO, UM, TO WORK BEHIND THE SCENES TO MAKE THESE MATCH.
IT'S, IT'S BEEN NOT BEEN EASY.
UM, AND THEN JUST ONE QUESTION, THEN I'M GONNA GIVE TO HAND THE MIC OVER TO COMMISSIONER MARK, Y Y'ALL'S STAFF THAT COMES FROM GENERAL FUND THAT COMES FROM SYDNEY, THAT'S NOT, IS THAT COMING FROM THE, THE POT OF NO, WE ARE, WE'RE NOT THE, THE OF THE 12 MILLION BOND MM-HMM.
SO WE HAD, UM, ORIGINALLY THREE YEARS OF GENERAL FUND DOLLARS THAT, UM, CAME THROUGH EDD, AND THEN THIS LAST BUDGET CYCLE, WE GOT ANOTHER THREE YEARS OF GENERAL FUND, UM, OPERATING DOLLARS.
WE DO NOT WANNA, WE DO NOT WANNA TAKE DOLLARS AWAY FROM THE ARTS COMMUNITY.
WE'RE TRYING TO LEVERAGE, UM, AND, AND FIND NEW INVESTORS IN THE ARTS LOCALLY AND NATIONALLY.
ONCE WE SHOW SOME, UH, LOCAL PROGRESS.
WE ALSO WANT TO BRING IN SOME NATIONAL PHILANTHROPY AS WELL.
BUT, YOU KNOW, EASIER SAID THAN DONE.
UH, I REALLY APPRECIATE PEOPLE'S HARD WORK, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE THIS IS A LOT OF WORK BECAUSE WE, WE SAW THIS PROBLEM COMING WITH AUSTIN BEING SO DIFFICULT, TOTAL, SO EXPENSIVE TO LIVE MM-HMM.
NOW TO SAY THAT I HAVE NO SHAME TO ASK FOR MONEY.
SO THE BETTER PICTURE YOU GIVE US MM-HMM.
SO THERE ARE NEW COMPANIES COMING INTO TOWN.
I WANTED TO BE ABLE, WHEN I HAVE SIPPING COCKTAIL WITH THEM TO SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT PIECE OF LITTLE LAND THAT YOU HAVE, YOU CANNOT EVEN REALLY DEVELOP.
I THINK IT WOULD BE GOOD TO DONATE IT TO WHOEVER.
AND THEN WE HAVE THESE 14 PROJECTS.
WHAT IS THE, I MEAN, IN A PERFECT WORLD, HOW MUCH MONEY ARE YOU LOOKING FOR TO HELP DEVELOP ALL THIS PROJECT? YOU KNOW, THEN I CAN GO AND SAY, HEY, WRITE A CHECK.
I DON'T KNOW, 20 MILLION, WHATEVER, YOU KNOW, BUT I NEED TO HAVE THAT CLEAR PICTURE.
IT WILL HELP OUR JOB SO MUCH BETTER, BECAUSE I DO GO TO HOLIDAY COFFEES AND THEN START BEGGING AND ASKING FOR RESOURCES, BECAUSE WE UNDERSTAND AS US COMMISSION, WE UNDERSTAND THIS IS COMING.
AND MAYBE WE ALSO NEED TO PREPARE FOR THE NEXT BOND CYCLE.
BUT WE ALSO NEED TO HAVE A CLEAR PICTURE ABOUT HOW MUCH SHOULD WE ASKING FOR 30%, 50%.
AND HOW MUCH IS THAT? SO, AND, AND THAT'S WHY WE ARE ANXIOUS TO DO OUR JOB.
AND WE NEED YOUR DATA SO THAT I YES.
SO THAT I CAN, SO THE SIMPLE ANSWER IS $280 MILLION IS WHAT YOU SHOULD ASK ALL YOUR FRIENDS FOR 200 AND 280 MILLION.
WELL, I'M JUST SAYING FROM THE DATA THAT, THAT WE HAD 300, WE IDENTIFIED $300 MILLION OF NEEDS FROM THE ARTS ORGANIZATION, AND THAT'S JUST THE ONES THAT APPLIED.
AND WE KNOW NOT EVERYBODY APPLIED FOR, FOR, FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS.
SO WITH THE ROUGHLY 20 MILLION THAT WE HAVE, I'M JUST DOING SIMPLE MATH.
BUT AGAIN, I THINK AS MEGAN'S SAYING TO ROUND UP, BUT I'M, BUT PURELY BASED OFF THE DATA, I WOULD SAY 280 MILLION IS THE, IS THE NUMBER.
I MEAN, IF PEOPLE DO NOT HAVE MONEY TO GIVE YOU, BUT THEY HAVE LAND.
[01:20:01]
WHO KNOWS, YOU KNOW, IN THE TRUST THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT THEY, THEY SAID, WELL, WELL, MIGHT AS WELL HELP THE CREATIVE COMMUNITY.SO I MEAN, AND I THINK, I THINK YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT TO ASK FOR THE DATA.
AND WE, WE NEED THE STORY, THE NARRATIVE THAT GOES ALONG WITH WHY IT'S IMPORTANT TO INVEST IN THESE TYPES OF FACILITIES.
I JUST WANNA SAY THAT ONE OF THE THINGS WE DON'T HAVE IS THE FUNDING THAT WE DO NEED, WHICH ARE OPERATIONAL DOLLARS TO HELP MAKE SURE THAT THESE PLACES DO STAY AFFORDABLE.
AND SO I, AND, AND ALSO BACK TO THE POINT OF NOT PUTTING SOMETHING SO FAR TIGHT AROUND, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN PLAYHOUSE OR OTHER FACILITY ORGANIZATION'S NECK, IS THAT THIS IS A COLLECTIVE ISSUE AND A COLLECTIVE NEED THAT NEEDS TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT KIND OF AN ENDOWMENT TO MAKE SURE THAT THESE PLACES STAY, UM, OPERATING AND AFFORDABLE.
SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO THINK ABOUT IT HOLISTICALLY TOO.
I MEAN, IT'S DEFINITELY THE LAND, IT'S DEFINITELY THE DOLLARS TO, YOU KNOW, IMPROVE SPACES AND SECURE THEM.
UH, BUT IT'S ALSO THAT OPERATIONAL SIDE THAT WE DO NEED THE FUNDING FOR AS WELL.
COMMISSIONER CHARLA, AND THEN I SAW COMMISSIONER HOUSTON.
THANK YOU FOR, UH, PRESENTING THIS INFORMATION.
UM, IJ JUST FOR MY UNDERSTANDING, SO WHEN, UH, WE SIGN A 20 YEAR LEASE, UH, IF IT'S SOME, AN ESTABLISHMENT LIKE HOLE IN THE WALL, DOES THAT ENSURE THAT THE ESTABLISHMENT STAYS THERE FOR 20 YEARS, OR, UH, IT LOCKS IT TO WHERE THEY CAN'T BE IN THE DEVELOPMENT THERE? OR IS THAT, IS THAT WHAT THAT MEANS? YES.
AND, UH, JUST, JUST TO BE CLEAR THOUGH, EVERY SINGLE FUNDING AGREEMENT WITH EVERY ORGANIZATION YOU GO THROUGH LOTS OF WHAT IFS AND WHAT IF THINGS HAPPEN, AND THEN WHAT'S THE SEQUENCE OF THINGS THAT WILL ALSO HAPPEN.
BUT THE DOLLARS INVESTED THERE IS INTENDED TO KEEP THAT AS A LIVE MUSIC VENUE AND IDEALLY HOLE IN THE WALL FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
SO THERE ARE SOME OUT CLAUSES IN, IN SOME SITUATIONS IF THE, WHAT IFS ARE WORKED OUT AS PART OF THE CONTRACT.
AND, UM, WELL, I, I DON'T THINK ART AND MUSIC SHOULD ALWAYS BE, UH, MEASURED ONLY IN TERMS OF, UH, FINANCIAL ROI AND STUFF.
BUT WHEN IT COMES TO PRIVATE ENTITIES, ESPECIALLY, UH, I THINK YOU, YOU JUST TOUCHED UPON IT ALREADY, SO I, I WOULD VERY MUCH ASSUME THE ANSWER IS YES.
UH, UH, ARE, IS, IS THE INVESTMENT SUSTAINABLE ENOUGH? AND, UH, LORD, JUST I'M NOT SPEAKING IN GENERAL ONLY OF THE, UH, HOLE IN THE WALL AS AN EXAMPLE, BUT JUST IN GENERAL, ESPECIALLY WITH PRIVATE ENTITIES, IS THIS, UM, THE INVESTMENT SUSTAINABLE ENOUGH OR, UM, THE INVESTMENT PLUS HAS, IS THERE ENOUGH ANALYSIS THAT GOES INTO, UM, THE SUSTAINABILITY AND THE LONGEVITY OF THESE PLACES, UM, ESPECIALLY PRIVATE ESTABLISHMENTS, UH, IN A MARKET ENVIRONMENT AS TO IS EVERYTHING ELSE IN PLACE FOR IT TO SURVIVE 20, 40 YEARS WITH THE INVESTMENT THAT'S ALSO BEING MADE? HOW DO WE EVALUATE THAT? AND, UM, I CAN ANSWER IT, IT'S PROBABLY A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT ANSWER FOR EACH PROJECT, BUT, UH, WE ARE DOING SOME FINANCIAL MODELING FOR THESE LENGTHY TERMS. UM, AND WE ARE LOOKING AT BOTH, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH WE COULD PREDICT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T PREDICT NEXT YEAR, LET ALONE, YOU KNOW, 40 YEARS FROM NOW.
IT TURNS OUT I MAY NOT BE HERE IN 40 YEARS.
BUT I THINK THAT THE ISSUE IS, IS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO PROJECT OUT FROM THE FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE AS BEST AS WE CAN.
UM, AND SPECIFICALLY WITH HOLE IN THE WALL, UH, LOOKING AT THAT 20 YEAR, MAKE SURE THEY HAD ENOUGH INCOME COMING IN TO MAKE, TO MEET UP WITH WHAT THE INCREASES THAT WE PROJECT ARE GOING TO BE.
AND AGAIN, YOU KNOW, PROPERTY TAXES ARE NOT THE EASIEST THING TO PROJECT.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THERE'S SOME HEALTHY CUSHIONS THERE.
AND CERTAINLY WHEN IT GETS TO THE 20 YEAR LEASE, WE COULD, A NORMAL COMMERCIAL LEASE IS FIVE YEARS.
SO WE FELT VERY GOOD ABOUT BEING ABLE TO SECURE SOMETHING FOR 20 YEARS.
UM, THE QUESTION IS, AFTER THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA DO OUR BEST TO GET THE, THE BUSINESS IN A, THE GOOD ENOUGH PLACE TO BE ABLE TO SUSTAIN AS LONG AS THEY POSSIBLY CAN.
AND WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS A LOT INTERNALLY.
THE BEST WAY TO SECURE A REAL ESTATE FOR THE LONG TERM IS TO OWN THE LAND.
WE DON'T ALWAYS HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY IN THE MARKET.
A PROPERTY OWNER MAY NOT WANNA SELL, WE MAY NOT HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO PURCHASE IT.
SO A LOT OF TIMES WE'RE LOOKING AT THE NEXT BEST THING TO BE ABLE TO SECURE THAT LAND FOR AS LONG AS WE CAN TO HAVE THAT OPTION.
TO, TO YOUR POINT, WE ARE DOING FINANCIAL MODELING TO SORT OF DO AS BEST AS WE CAN TO PREDICT THE SUSTAINABILITY OF THE ORGANIZATION.
SO COMMISSIONER HOUSTON, DID YOU STILL HAVE A QUESTION? EXCUSE ME.
LET ME COME, I'VE GOT SOMETHING WRONG.
[01:25:01]
TWO.I CAN'T, I CAN'T SEE ON ONE, BUT I CAN'T HEAR ON THE OTHER, SO IT'S VERY STRANGE.
BUT, UM, I FORGOT WHAT PDC STANDS FOR.
THE PERMITTING AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER, IT IS THE NAME OF THE BUILDING WHERE WE HAVE 7,000 SQUARE FOOT ON THE GROUND FLOOR THAT IS EMPTY RIGHT NOW.
THAT WOULD BE FIT OUT FOR THAT, UH, CREATIVE CENTER.
BUT WHAT IS, IS THAT JUST A PLACEHOLDER NAME? YES, THAT IS A PLACEHOLDER NAME.
IN FACT, WE'RE HOPING THROUGH THE DESIGN PROCESS, A NAME WILL BE BORN.
I, I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY THAT 'CAUSE I KEPT GOING BACK, GOING, I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT IT'S CALLED.
THAT'S GONNA BE A PROBLEM IF PEOPLE CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT IT'S CALLED.
UM, TWO VERY, VERY DIFFERENT THOUGHTS.
UM, IS THERE A PERCENTAGE OR FOCUS ON THE DIFFERENCE? UH, OR DO YOU HAVE KIND OF IDEAS OF, OF THE MIXED, MIXED USE SPACES THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT AS COMPARED TO ICONIC VENUES OR EVEN MUSIC VENUES? IS THERE SOME KIND OF, NOT TO SAY WHO EVERYBODY IS, BUT IS THERE A FOCUS MORE ON MIXED USE IN GENERAL? DOESN'T MATTER, WHATEVER COMES UP.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING? WE'VE BEEN MOSTLY RESPONDING TO THE PROJECTS AS PROPOSED.
UM, BUT THEN CERTAINLY FOCUSING MORE ON SORT OF THE MULTI-USE AND OKAY.
AND UTILIZATION OF THOSE SPACES.
SO, UM, AND WE'VE WROTE BEEN MATCHING WITH DOLLARS THAT WANTED IT TO BE CERTAIN THINGS, IF THAT MAKES ANY SENSE.
ICONIC VENUE RESOLUTION HAS VERY SPECIFIC THINGS YOU HAVE TO LOOK FOR.
SO IT REALLY DEPENDS ON WHAT'S COMING.
BUT YOU DO HAVE MM-HMM,
I KEEP, I, WE KEEP HEARING PROPERTY TAX GOING UP, ET CETERA.
I MEAN, WHAT ARE THE, THIS IS, AGAIN, IT MAY BE A VERY NAIVE QUESTION, BUT I LOOK YEARS DOWN THE ROAD OR SOMEBODY'S LIKE, OUR WORKING GROUP IS WORKING ON THIS, IS IF TESLA AND ORGANIZATIONS CAN COME TO AUSTIN AND GET EXEMPTIONS FROM CERTAIN THINGS BY BEING HERE, WHY COULDN'T SOMETHING IN THE FUTURE, SOON BEFORE GO TO CITY COUNCIL THAT THESE THESE PROPERTIES DO NOT PAY PROPERTY TAX? UM, I, I CAN'T SPEAK FOR SOME OF THE OTHER EFFORTS THAT THE CITY'S BEEN DOING IN TERMS OF POLICY WORK,
AND I THINK THAT THE PROPERTY TAX IS THE SINGLE MOST DIFFICULT THING FOR MOST OF THE ORGANIZATIONS TO, TO WORK THROUGH.
ONE OF THE BENEFITS OF ONCE THE PLAYHOUSE IS BUILDING BUILT ON NON-PROFIT OWNERSHIP LAND WITH A NON-PROFIT CITY INVESTMENT MM-HMM.
THAT'S GONNA BE A BENEFIT GOTCHA.
SO THAT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING, RIGHT.
SO EACH PROJECT, WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT ANGLES, YOU KNOW, HISTORIC ZONING DESIGNATION IN ONE HAND AND OTHER WAYS TO MITIGATE THAT.
BUT IT'S, UM, THERE ARE MORE TOOLS IN THE TOOLBOX AND I KNOW EDD HAS BEEN WORKING ON THAT.
AND I ALSO KNOW THE PERCENTAGE OF NEW CONSTRUCTION AND ALL THAT STUFF IS PART OF IT AS WELL.
HERES NOVIA HOLT REV, DIRECTOR OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
UM, TESLA, UM, HAD A, AN INCENTIVE AGREEMENT WITH THE COUNTY.
THEY DID NOT COME TO THE CITY, BUT IT IS A COMMUNITY BENEFIT.
WE ARE ALWAYS TRYING TO NEGOTIATE, SO WE ARE WELL AWARE OF THAT.
SO IT IS A TOOL IN OUR TOOLBOX, ESPECIALLY AROUND OUR INCENTIVE PROGRAM THAT WE TRY TO GET PARTICIPATION.
I THOUGHT THAT, THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER SMOCK.
UM, SORT OF SIMILAR, BUT I'M WONDERING ABOUT, I GUESS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK IS A, A, UH, A POTENTIAL OR MAYBE ONGOING ALREADY IN THE WORKS BENEFIT OF THE A EDC MODEL IS THE ABILITY, YOU SPOKE TO IT A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST LOOKING AT LOCAL PHILANTHROPY, BUT ALSO NATIONAL PHILANTHROPY.
AND THEN I'M ALSO WONDERING ABOUT, SO THERE'S THAT, BUT A LOT OF OUR ORGANIZATIONS ARE, ARE WELL EQUIPPED TO SEEK PHILANTHROPY.
I THINK WHERE A LOT OF US, AS YOU KNOW, ARTS ADMINISTRATORS AND ARTISTS ARE NOT AS WELL EQUIPPED IS IN THE INVESTMENT SPACE.
AND LIKE, WHAT ARE THE PLANS TO LEVERAGE Y'ALL'S KNOWLEDGE TO SEEK THE KINDS OF PRIVATE INVESTMENT THAT MAY BE, YOU KNOW, AT THE LOW, LOW LEVEL, LIKE, YOU KNOW, BLANKET TERM ANGEL INVESTOR, BUT LIKE PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT EXPECTING HUGE RETURNS ON INVESTMENT.
BUT WE'RE, WE'RE SAYING LIKE INVESTING IN THE ARTS IN THE CITY IS AN INVESTMENT IS AN ECONOMIC INVESTMENT.
THAT RETURN HAS A RETURN, IS THERE, AND I FEEL LIKE THERE ARE,
[01:30:01]
THAT, THAT IS OUT THERE AND IS SOMETHING LIKE A HUGE BENEFIT THAT A EDC AND YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF THAT SPACE CAN BRING TO ALL OF THESE PROJECTS.AND I'M JUST WONDERING IF THAT'S STARTED, IF IT'S, ONCE YOU HAVE, I KNOW EVERYTHING'S STILL VERY NEW AND YOU'VE DONE SO MUCH IN TWO YEARS, BUT LIKE, WHERE IS THAT IN THE PLAN? YEAH, I WOULD SAY THAT ONCE WE HAVE SOME SUCCESS WITH THESE PROJECTS, MY HOPE IS THAT WE HAVE PROJECTS TO POINT TO, TO SAY THIS IS HOW A SUCCESSFUL CULTURAL TRUST LOOKS.
AND I HOPE TO LEVERAGE OUR BOARD, YOU KNOW, THE CITY PUT TOGETHER A PHENOMENAL, UM, GROUP OF LEADERS, UM, TO, TO GUIDE THIS BOARD.
AND I THINK THAT THAT'S THE PLACE WE START.
AND I THINK JUST THE, THE GRANTS THAT WE HAVE STARTED TO COME IN AND I'VE BEEN FRANTICALLY APPLYING FOR GRANTS IN ALL OF MY SPARE TIME.
AND WHEN I WAKE UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, UM, AND EVERY TIME I APPLY FOR A GRANT, I SEND AN EMAIL TO THE BOARD AND I ASK THEM, YOU KNOW, USE YOUR CONNECTIONS.
UM, SO I'M HOPING, NUMBER ONE, TO LEVERAGE OUR BOARD, WHICH WE ALREADY HAVE.
UM, WITH THE DOLLARS THAT HAVE COME IN, I ALSO WANNA RECOGNIZE THE CITY HAS PUT SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT, UM, AS WELL AND CONTINUES TO DO SO.
BUT YES, WE, WE ABSOLUTELY ARE WORKING TOWARDS A PLAN OF HOW DO WE SHOW SUCCESS IN THE PROJECTS TO LEVERAGE MORE FOR THE FUTURE BECAUSE WE WANT THIS TO BE AN ONGOING CULTURAL TRUST, NOT JUST, LET'S ALLOCATE THIS 20 MILLION AND IT'S OVER BECAUSE THEN WHAT? MM-HMM.
AND I'LL SAY, UM, ALTHOUGH IT'S NOT FORMALLY PART OF OUR PLAN YET, THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF INVESTIGATION BOTH PRIOR TO US, BUT ALSO INCLUSIVE TO OTHER MODELS.
EVEN IF IT'S LIKE A BLENDED INVESTMENT FUND THAT'S FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING OR IT'S FOR SMALL BUSINESSES, WE'RE LOOKING AT THOSE MODELS BECAUSE WE WANNA FIGURE OUT THE BIGGER TOOLBOX AND ABSOLUTELY.
AND I THINK WE CAN BE A VEHICLE FOR SOME OF THOSE, UM, TYPE OF INVESTMENT POOLS AS WELL.
UM, BUT WE WE'RE STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT ARE THE MOST HELPFUL TOOLS AND ULTIMATELY THEN FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET THE MONEY TOWARDS THAT.
COMMISSIONERS, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER HOUSTON? THIS IS MY, THIS IS MY LAST ONE ONCE AGAIN.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT I WAS, UM, LOOKING UP TO SEND MY SUPPORT TO MY COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, TO SEE WHERE IT WAS ON THE AGENDA.
AND IT'S DEFINITELY ON THE CONSENT AGENDA AND IT'S ITEM NINE.
SOMEONE WAS SAYING THEY WEREN'T, THEY WEREN'T SAYING IT WAS, THEY WEREN'T GONNA SAY WHETHER IT WAS OR IT WASN'T.
IT'S DEFINITELY ON THE CONSENT AGENDA FOR THURSDAY.
THINGS DO GET MOVED, SO I, I STILL ENCOURAGE OUR COMMISSION TO, TO WRITE IN AND SUPPORT SO THAT THEY THEY'RE HEARING FROM.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT ELSE CAN WE DO IN TERMS OF PUTTING A BOW ON THIS VERY LONG CONVERSATION? AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO, TO BE SO THOROUGH IN YOUR RESPONSES TO OUR QUESTIONS.
YOU KNOW, WE SUBMIT BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS, WHETHER THEY'RE LISTENED TO OR NOT, YOU KNOW, HOW ARE YOU GUYS FEELING SUPPORTED BY THE CITY? IS THERE, YOU KNOW, THINGS THAT WE CAN DO AS AMPLIFIERS AND COMMUNITY AMBASSADORS, UM, DO IS, I KNOW WE'VE SUPPORTED ASKS TO THE CITY BUDGET WISE IN THE PAST, LIKE, DO YOU NEED MORE STAFF? DO YOU NEED MORE SUPPORT IN THAT WAY? THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION.
AND, AND FIRST I WANNA SAY THE ARTS COMMISSION AND MUSIC COMMISSION HAVE BEEN EXTREMELY SUPPORTIVE.
YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN, UM, I THINK THE ORIGINAL BOARD, UH, ANOVIA, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, IT WAS FOR CITY EMPLOYEES, ARTS COMMISSION, MUSIC COMMISSION.
SO YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN HERE FROM THE BEGINNING.
UM, AND EVEN WITH THE TRANSITION OF COMMISSIONERS, WE'VE FELT EXTREME SUPPORT FROM, UM, THE COMMISSIONERS, OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS, OUR CITY STAFF AS WELL.
UM, I THINK, YES, WE NEED MORE STAFF.
RIGHT? I'M SURE ALL THE ARTS, ARTS ORGANIZATIONS NEED MORE STAFF.
EVERYBODY ALSO NEEDS MORE PLACE TO OFFICE.
UM, I KNOW THE, THE CITY'S LOOKING FOR THAT AS WELL.
UM, I DO, I WAS NOTICING WHEN WE HAD THE CULTURAL TRUST, UM, I DO THINK, UM, MICHELLE GER WAS STILL LISTED.
I DON'T KNOW IF WE HAVE, I DON'T KNOW IF WE HAVE.
I WAS GONNA ASK IF SHE'S STILL PARTICIPATING.
'CAUSE JAIME IS STILL IN TOWN.
BUT IF SHE, YOU KNOW, SHE'S NO LONGER IN US.
IT'S NOT THAT SHE DOESN'T HAVE DECADES OF WISDOM TO SHARE AND SHE WOULDN'T STILL BE AN ABSOLUTE TREASURE AND GIFT TO HAVE ON THAT BODY.
BUT IF SHE'S NOT, JAIME IS, YEAH.
AND BY THE WAY, WE GENERALLY, UM, WE'VE HAD ACTUALLY A LIST OF FOLKS THAT WANNA BE ON THE, UM, THE CULTURAL TRUST.
AND ESPECIALLY THROUGH THE YEAR, IF PEOPLE AREN'T COMING, WE TEND TO MAKE THOSE SEATS AVAILABLE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE NEW YEAR AND BRING ON NEW PEOPLE.
I WILL TELL YOU THAT, UM, MICHELLE POLGAR IS A VERY DEDICATED CULTURAL TRUST ADVISORY MEMBER AND DID NOT WANNA STEP OFF.
I'M GLAD TO KNOW THAT SHE'S STILL THERE.
AND, AND STILL IS IN SUPPORT OF, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE COMMITTEE.
BUT I WOULD JUST SAY THAT TOWARDS THE BEGINNING OF
[01:35:01]
THE YEAR, UM, WE'RE GONNA ASK AGAIN, THOSE WHO WANNA STEP OFF OR CAN'T PARTICIPATE VERY OFTEN, SO THAT WE CAN BRING ON A COUPLE OF ADDITIONAL PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN ON THE WAITING LIST FOR A WHILE.WELL, I KNOW EVEN WITHIN OUR NEWER MEMBERS THAT WE HAVE VETERANS OF THE COMMUNITY MM-HMM.
SO IF THERE ARE SPACES THAT DO BECOME AVAILABLE, PLEASE DON'T HESITATE TO REACH OUT TO US.
UM, YEAH, MICHELLE POLGAR IS THE BAT PHONE, SO I'M SO GLAD THAT SHE'S STILL, UM, ENGAGED AND, AND PRESENT IN THOSE CONVERSATIONS AS WELL AS COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN.
WHEN SHE ROLLED OFF, SHE CALLED US AND SAID, HOW CAN I STAY ENGAGED? AND SO SHE'S, SHE'S BEEN THERE AS WELL.
SHE, YEAH, SHE MIGHT NOT BE ON THAT LIST ACTUALLY.
AND SHE'S NOT ON THE UPDATED, SHE CAME ON AFTER SHE ROLLED OFF COUNCIL.
SHE'S BEEN A LONG TIME ADVOCATE OF, UH, FOR ARTS AND, AND THAT'S INCREDIBLE.
UM, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS LAST CALL, Y'ALL? WE'VE, WE'VE HELD THEM LONG ENOUGH HOSTAGE.
I THINK WE COULD PROBABLY, BUT UM, I KNOW THAT WE WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOU OFTEN, YOU KNOW, IF NOT MONTHLY, MAYBE A QUARTERLY PRESENTATION AND AN UPDATE JUST TO GET A REFRESHER, YOU KNOW, WHERE ARE THINGS AT, WHAT'S HAPPENING, HOW WE CAN CONTINUE TO SUPPORT AND REALLY TRULY WITH THE BUDGET ASKS, IF YOU SEND US A, YOU KNOW, WISHLIST, WE WOULD BE HAPPY TO INCORPORATE IT INTO OUR, AND I ASK, AND AGAIN, WE'RE DOING A LOT OF WORK WITH MUSIC.
YOU MIGHT SEE A FAMILIAR FACE VOLLEYS HERE.
UM, BUT WE ARE REALLY TRYING TO DESI THE, THE ARMS AND THE BRANCHES OF EDD.
SO TO HAVE A UNIFIED ASK ACROSS ALL THREE DEPARTMENTS OF EDD, I THINK WOULD, WOULD BODE WELL TO COUNCIL.
SO PLEASE COMMUNICATE WITH US AS MUCH AS IT HELPS Y'ALL.
THAT WAS WONDERFUL AND EXCITING.
[7. Staff update on the Hotel Occupancy Tax by Jesús Pantel, Cultural Funding Supervisor]
STAFF BRIEFING, STAFF UPDATE ON HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX WITH JESUS PANTEL CULTURAL FUNDING SUPERVISOR.I'M THE CULTURAL FUNDING SUPERVISOR.
UM, WE WILL BE GIVING AN UPDATE ON THE HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX.
LAURA IS OUT TODAY, SO I WILL TRY AND ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS, UM, UM, THAT I CAN, UH, MEGAN AND ENOBI ARE THERE AS WELL.
UM, SO HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX COLLECTION IN OCTOBER WAS $27,683,351.
AND SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT OUR HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX CULTURAL ARTS FUND COLLECTION NUMBER FOR OC WAS $2,643,706.
THAT MEANS WE ARE ALREADY 18% TOWARDS OUR FISCAL YEAR 24 APPROVED BUDGET.
AND THE FISCAL YEAR STARTS IN OCTOBER.
SO WITH JUST ONE MONTH OF COLLECTION, WE'RE 18%, UH, TOWARDS THE, UH, FY 24 F GROUP BUDGET.
UM, AND AS A REMINDER, THERE IS A DELAY IN HOW HOT REPORTING HAPPENS.
UH, THIS REPORT SHOWS FUNDS COLLECTED IN OCTOBER FOR HOTEL STAYS THAT HAPPENED IN SEPTEMBER.
AND SO, UM, UH, THE, THIS GRAPH HERE SHOWS HOW OUR MONTHLY PROGRESS TOWARDS THE APPROVED BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 24.
UH, WE'LL BE ROLLING OUT THROUGHOUT, UH, THE YEAR.
UM, OUR HOT CULTURAL ARTS FUNDS ACTUALS FOR FISCAL YEAR 24 ARE, AGAIN $2,643,760.
AND AS A REMINDER, THE FUNDS COLLECTED IN FISCAL YEAR 24 WILL BE USED TO FUND PROGRAMS IN THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR, FISCAL YEAR 25.
WE ALSO WANTED TO SHARE, UH, CULTURAL ARTS FUND HOT COLLECTIONS BY QUARTER FOR THE PAST FEW FISCAL YEARS, UH, TO GIVE A BIT OF A, UM, LET LET YOU LOOK WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
UH, SEE, SEE WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE THROUGHOUT THE QUARTERS.
UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, THE ONE MONTH OF COLLECTIONS, UM, AT THE BOTTOM IN THE BLUE, UH, ONE MONTH OF COLLECTIONS SO FAR FOR FISCAL YEAR 24 IS ALMOST AS MUCH AS ALL OF QUARTER ONE IN FISCAL YEAR 23 AND MORE THAN ALL THAT WAS COLLECTED IN QUARTER ONE IN FISCAL YEAR 22.
UH, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, THE FUNDS COLLECTED IN FISCAL YEAR 24 WILL BE USED TO FUND PROGRAMS IN THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR, FISCAL YEAR 25.
SO A REMINDER THAT WHAT IS COLLECTED IN ONE FISCAL YEAR BECOMES THE ACTUAL FUNDS IN THE FOLLOWING FISCAL YEAR.
SO THIS SLIDE IS A VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF HOW THAT WORKS.
UH, SO FOR EXAMPLE, $12.87 MILLION WAS COLLECTED IN FISCAL YEAR 22 AND BECAME THE FISCAL YEAR 23 ACTUALS.
SO THE 12.87 MILLION BUDGET FROM THE ACTUALS WAS USED TO FUND THE VARIOUS FISCAL YEAR 23 PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES.
SIMILARLY, THE 15.65 MILLION THAT WAS COLLECTED IN FISCAL YEAR 23 WILL BECOME
[01:40:01]
THE ACTUALS USED IN FISCAL YEAR 24.AND THIS SLIDE IS THE SAME INFORMATION JUST, UH, PRESENTED IN A DIFFERENT VISUAL FORMAT SHOWING, UM, HOW WHAT IS COLLECTED IN ONE FISCAL YEAR BECOMES THE ACTUALS IN THE FOLLOWING FISCAL YEAR.
SO HAPPY TO ANSWER, UM, ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE ON THE HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX FUNDS.
WE'RE JUST IN AWE OF THOSE SLIDES.
UM, I'M VERY APPRECIATIVE TO LAURA IN, IN ALL SINCERITY.
I'M VERY APPRECIATIVE TO LAURA FOR PUTTING, TAKING THE TIME TO PUT THOSE TOGETHER BECAUSE I'M NOT KIDDING.
AND WITHOUT THOSE PICTURES I WOULD BE TOTALLY LOST.
SO I, UM, WILL BE HA BE DISTRIBUTING THOSE THROUGH OUR CHANNELS AS WELL, BECAUSE ART IS ART.
UM, COMMISSIONERS, ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING THE HOT UPDATE? WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THOSE NUMBERS.
JESUS, EVERYTHING'S LOOKING GREAT.
AND AGAIN, REALLY, THOSE, THOSE, THOSE, UH, INFOGRAPHICS ARE BEYOND WHAT WE COULD HAVE DREAMED OF.
SO PLEASE CONVEY OUR GRATITUDE TO LAURA AND WE'LL HAVE, I WILL BE SURE TO DO SO.
WE'LL HAVE, UH, SEVERAL MONTHS OF UPDATED NUMBERS FOR YOU IN JANUARY.
WE MAY HAVE THREE MONTHS, BUT DEFINITELY TWO DEPENDING ON WHEN WE GET THE NEXT NUMBERS.
OKAY, NEXT WE HAVE JESUS, I HAVE A FEELING YOU'RE NOT GOING VERY FAR.
[8. Staff update on the Cultural Arts Funding Programs by Jesús Pantel, Cultural Funding Supervisor, and Peggy Ellithorpe, Cultural Funding Specialist ]
UPDATE ON THE CULTURAL ARTS FUNDING PRO PROGRAMS WITH JESUS PENTEL, CULTURAL FUNDING SUPERVISOR AND PEGGY ELLEN, CULTURAL FUNDING SPECIALIST.THANKS FOR JOINING US TONIGHT.
YES, HELLO AGAIN, COMMISSIONERS.
AGAIN, SUE PENTEL, CULTURAL FUNDING SUPERVISOR.
UM, I WILL BE DOING THE FIRST PART OF THIS PRESENTATION AND THEN PEGGY ELLITHORPE WILL DO THE SECOND PART.
UM, SO IN THIS PRESENTATION, UH, FOR THIS PORTION OF THE PRESENTATION, I WILL BE PROVIDING AN UPDATE ON THE CONTRACTS AND PAYMENTS FOR THE VARIOUS CULTURAL FUNDING PROGRAMS, AS WELL AS LETTING YOU KNOW SOME OF THE GRANT FUNDED ACTIVITIES HAPPENING ONCE THE NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
SO ALL OF THE INFORMATION I'M ABOUT TO PRESENT IS AS OF DECEMBER 1ST, SO, UH, THE BEGINNING OF THE MONTH, ABOUT 10 DAYS AGO.
SO, UH, JUST KEEP THAT IN MIND.
BUT, UM, FOR ELEVATE, THERE WERE 200 AWARDEES.
UM, OF THOSE 200, 193 CONTRACTS HAVE BEEN SENT.
AND A REMINDER THAT THE LONG CENTER HOLDS THE CONTRACTS IN ELEVATE, THEY ARE THE CONTRACT MANAGING THE CONTRACT FOR US.
UM, OF THOSE 193 CONTRACTS THAT HAVE BEEN SENT, 185 HAVE BEEN SIGNED AND PROCESSED.
196 TEST PAYMENTS HAVE BEEN ISSUED, AND 191 OF THOSE, UH, TEST PAYMENTS HAVE BEEN VERIFIED.
SO THE LONG SENDER WILL SEND A SMALL DEPOSIT TO THE BANK ACCOUNTS OF THE RECIPIENTS, AND THEN THE RECIPIENTS NEED TO, UH, LET THE LONG CENTER KNOW, UM, WHAT THAT AMOUNT WAS.
SO THAT WAY, UH, THE LONG CENTER CAN THEN, YOU KNOW, ONCE THE, UH, FULL PAYMENT IS READY OR THE FIRST PART OF THE PAYMENT IS READY, IT CAN BE RELEASED.
AND SO WITH THAT 187 FIRST PAYMENTS HAVE BEEN ISSUED OF 191 TEST PAYMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN VERIFIED.
UH, THAT FIRST PAYMENT IS FOR 50% OF THE AWARD.
SO 93% OF AWARDEES, UM, IN ELEVATE HAVE RECEIVED, UM, THEIR FIRST PAYMENT.
91 SECOND PAYMENTS HAVE ALSO BEEN ISSUED.
THAT'S, UH, THE SECOND 40% OF THE AWARD.
AND A REMINDER THAT IN ORDER TO RECEIVE THE SECOND AWARD, UH, THE ELEVATE RECIPIENT MUST EITHER COMPLETE A MILES PARTNERSHIP MARKETING CLASS AND TAKE A SURVEY, UM, OR THEY NEED TO POST TO VISIT AUSTIN AND, UH, TELL CULTURAL FUNDING STAFF, UH, TO BE ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE THE SECOND PAYMENT.
SO IF YOU ARE AN ELEVATE RECIPIENT AND YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED A SECOND PAYMENT YET, UM, AGAIN, BE SURE TO EITHER, UM, NOT JUST TAKE THE MILES PARTNERSHIP MARKETING CLASS, BUT ALSO FILL OUT THE SURVEY SO THAT WAY WE KNOW THAT YOU'VE DONE IT OR LET US KNOW IF YOU HAVE POSTED, UM, ONE OR MORE EVENTS TO VISIT AUSTIN.
UM, SO IN TOTAL, UH, $4,164,252 HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTED TO DATE OF THE 6.25 MILLION, UM, ALLOCATED IN ELEVATE.
UM, AND JUST A REMINDER THAT, UM, YOU SEE THAT NOT EVERYBODY HAS, UH, SENT THEIR CONTRACTS OR, UM, GOTTEN THEIR PAYMENTS IN.
SO STAFF HAS BEEN WORKING WITH THE LONG CENTER IN REGARDS TO OUTREACH TO NON-RESPONSIVE ELEVATE AWARDEES.
UH, THIS INFORMATION IS ON NEXUS.
UM, THERE WERE 51 AWARDEES IN NEXUS AND 50 CONTRACTS HAVE BEEN SENT OUT AGAIN AS OF DECEMBER 1ST.
UM, AND FOR THIS ONE, UH, THE LONG CENTER IS HELPING WITH PAYMENTS, BUT UH, THE CITY HOLDS,
[01:45:01]
UH, THE CONTRACT.WE MANAGE THE CONTRACTS DIRECTLY IN NEXUS.
UM, ALL THE 50 CONTRACTS THAT HAVE BEEN SENT ALL HAVE ALSO BEEN SIGNED AND PROCESSED.
ALL, UH, 50 THAT HAVE BEEN SENT TO THE 51, UH, 42 TEST PAYMENTS HAVE BEEN ISSUED.
AND THOSE 42 HAVE ALSO BEEN VERIFIED AGAIN BY THE LONG CENTER.
UM, AND THE FIRST PAYMENTS HAVE BEEN ISSUED, UH, FOR ALL 42 OF THOSE.
SO THAT'S 90% OF THEIR TOTAL AWARD IN NEXUS.
UM, SO $4,500, UM, AS ALL NEXUS AWARDS FLAT $5,000.
SO THAT MEANS $189,000 IN TOTAL HAS BEEN DISTRIBUTED, UM, IN NEXUS AS OF DECEMBER 1ST.
UM, AND THEN A REMINDER, UH, WHEN THE, UH, LONG CENTER, UM, UH, WHEN WE SEND THE MONEY, UH, FOR, UM, NEXUS, WE, UH, ACTUALLY THEY INVOICED US AT THE BEGINNING OF NOVEMBER.
UM, IT TAKES ABOUT TWO TO THREE BUSINESS DAYS, UH, TO PROCESS.
AND THEN THE NEXUS FUNDS ARE DISTRIBUTED, UH, AS SOON AS IT HITS THE LONG CENTER ACCOUNTS TO THOSE WHO HAVE SIGNED AN AGREEMENT, SUBMITTED FINANCIAL INFORMATION AND VERIFIED A TEST PAYMENT.
SO VERY SIMILAR TO, UM, ELEVATE.
UH, THIS IS INFORMATION ON THRIVE.
SO THERE WERE 36 AWARDEES IN THRIVE, UM, ALL, AND THIS, UH, SLIDE HAS NOT CHANGED, UH, FROM THE LAST TIME.
SO ALL 36 THRIVE CONTRACTS HAVE BEEN SENT OUT.
UM, AND, UH, THE CITY IS MANAGING ALL OF THE THRIVE CONTRACTS.
UM, ALL 36 UH, CONTRACTS HAVE BEEN SIGNED AND PROCESSED, ALL TEST PAYMENTS ISSUED AND VERIFIED ALL FIRST PAYMENTS ISSUED AND ALL SECOND PAYMENTS ISSUED AS WELL IN THRIVE.
SO FIRST AND SECOND GONE OUT, THAT'S A TOTAL OF $3,447,500, UM, DISTRIBUTED OF THE 3,935,000 FOR YEAR ONE.
A REMINDER THAT THRIVE IS A TWO YEAR CONTRACT PERIOD.
UH, THE OTHER CONTRACTS ARE FOR ONE YEAR, AND WITH NEXUS IT'S REALLY MORE LIKE A SIX MONTH, UM, AS WE HAVE TWO ROUNDS OF NEXUS, UM, UH, PER YEAR, UM, IN THRIVE, THE GRANT ADMINISTRATOR, UM, JESUS VALA, WHO IS ALSO, UH, THE ARTS COMMISSION LIAISON, UH, THERE, UM, IN PERSON WITH THOSE OF Y'ALL THERE AT THE FACILITY, UM, HE HAS MET WITH EACH OF THE ORGANIZATION AND PEGGY, UM, HAS, UH, MET WITH SOME OF THEM AS WELL, I BELIEVE.
UM, AND THEY'VE MET WITH THEM INDIVIDUALLY TO SET THEIR STRATEGIC GROWTH GOALS FOR YEAR ONE.
UH, THEY'RE PREPARING THE LAUNCH OF CAPACITY BUILDING WORKSHOPS USING THE FEEDBACK FROM THE THRIVE COHORT.
AND THE NEXT ROUND OF REPORTING AND PAYMENTS WILL BE IN JANUARY OF 2024.
UH, FOR ARTS EDUCATION, UM, SO THIS ISN'T, UM, HOTEL OCCUPANCY, TAX FUNDED MONEY, BUT WE DID RECEIVE, UM, FEDERAL DOLLARS, UM, NEA AWARDS, UH, TO GO OUT TO ARTS EDUCATION GRANTS.
UM, ALL CONTRACTS AND PAYMENTS ARE BEING PROCESSED BY THE CITY.
SO, UH, WITH THE OTHER ONES, THE LONG CENTER WAS EITHER DOING CONTRACTS OR PAYMENTS OR BOTH.
THIS ONE FOR ARTS EDUCATION, ALL THE CONTRACTS AND THE PAYMENTS ARE BEING PROCESSED BY THE CITY.
UH, 17 OF THE 19 CONTRACTS HAVE BEEN SENT, AGAIN, AS OF DECEMBER 1ST.
UM, ALL 17 OF THOSE SENT CONTRACTS HAVE BEEN SIGNED, UH, AND ARE IN THE CITY PROCESS FOR PAYMENT CODES.
UM, AS OF DECEMBER 1ST ONE, FIRST PAYMENT HAS BEEN ISSUED, UH, FOR 90% OF THE TOTAL AWARD, WHICH IS, UH, $22,500.
UM, NO FINAL PAYMENTS HAVE BEEN ISSUED, UM, AS THIS WILL, YOU KNOW, PRESUMABLY BE GOING, UH, TILL THE END OF THE, OF A CONTRACT PERIOD.
UM, SO $22,500 HAS BEEN, UH, DISTRIBUTED TO DATE.
UH, THE TWO CONTRACTS NOT YET SENT.
UH, WE WERE WAITING ON INSURANCE CERTIFICATES, UH, FOR THOSE TO, UH, TO GET, UH, BRING THAT UP TO 19 CONTRACTS SENT OUT.
SO ONCE WE GET THAT, UH, WE WILL BE SENDING THAT OUT.
UM, SO NEXT, UM, I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT, UH, DECEMBER, UM, UM, GRANTEE ACTIVITIES, UM, FOR ALL OF THE DIFFERENT, UH, PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE.
UM, WE RECEIVED THIS INFORMATION FOR THE GRANTEE EVENTS FROM VISIT AUSTIN.
UM, SO IF YOU ARE A CONTRACTOR AND YOU HAVE AN EVENT, BUT IT'S NOT HIGHLIGHTED HERE, UH, PLEASE BE SURE TO POST IT TO VISIT AUSTIN.
PEGGY WILL BE DISCUSSING HOW TO DO THAT, AS WELL AS HOW TO FIND EVENTS ON VISIT AUSTIN, WHICH MAY BE OF, UM, YOU KNOW, MORE INTEREST TO THE COMMISSIONERS, UH, LATER IN THE PRESENTATION SO YOU CAN FIND HOW, YOU KNOW, WE FOUND INFORMATION LIKE THIS, UM, OF THE DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES.
UM, I DO WANNA KNOW THAT, UH, PJ VAL'S EVENT HAS PASSED, BUT I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT IT AS IT WAS, UH, YOU KNOW, NETFLIX PRE-RELEASE PARTY.
SO HIS FILM, YOU KNOW, UH, WAS, IS AVAILABLE ON NETFLIX.
SO THEY HAD A PRE-RELEASE PARTY ON DECEMBER 1ST AT THE MUSEUM OF HUMAN ACHIEVEMENT.
UM, AND TAPESTRY'S EVENT IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING AT THE AUSTIN VENTURE STUDIOS THEATER AT VALE AUSTIN.
IT SHOWS, UH, TRINITY STREET PLAYHOUSE HERE.
SO, UH, I'M NOT SURE IF THE, OF THE MIX UP HERE, I MAY HAVE BEEN LOOKING AT, UM, AN INCORRECT PLACE WHEN I WAS
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LOOKING AT ALL THE DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES HERE.UM, SO THAT'S COMING UP, UH, THIS WEEKEND, DECEMBER 16TH AND 17TH, THEY'RE DOING THE PRECIOUS PRESENT AGAIN AT, UM, THE AUSTIN VENTURE STUDIO THEATERS AT BALLET AUSTIN, UH, PRIZE.
OH, AND, UH, WE DID ADD THE DISTRICTS IN, UM, BECAUSE YOU HAD ASKED THOSE.
SO ALL OF THESE DISTRICT NUMBERS OR DISTRICTS ARE, UH, WHAT WAS PROVIDED TO US IN, UH, THE, UM, APPLICATION IN PORTAL.
SO, UM, HOPEFULLY THIS IS CORRECT, BUT WE ARE GOING BY WHAT WAS, UH, PROVIDED TO US IN PORTAL.
SO, UM, PJ VAL IS IN DISTRICT NINE, UH, TAPESTRY DANCE COMPANY, DISTRICT FIVE, UH, PRIZER ARTS AND LETTERS IN DISTRICT THREE WILL BE HAVING THEIR FORT LONESOME 10TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW DECEMBER 16TH AND 17TH AT PFIZER ARTS AND LETTERS.
UH, BEER TOBIN FROM DISTRICT 10 WILL HAVE THEIR HOPPY HOLIDAYS, UH, FROM DECEMBER 10TH.
UH, SO YESTERDAY, UH, THROUGH DECEMBER 23RD AT THE NEIL COCHRANE HOUSE MUSEUM AND ZACH THEATER AND DISTRICT NINE IS DOING A CHRISTMAS CAROL NOW THROUGH DECEMBER 1ST, UM, AT THE TOP FOR THEATER THERE AT ZACH.
UH, WE DID NOT HAVE ANY UPCOMING, UH, NEXUS EVENTS YET LISTED ON VISIT AUSTIN, AT LEAST AS OF DECEMBER 1ST, OR YOU KNOW, WHEN WE PUT THIS PRESENTATION TOGETHER.
UH, BUT THERE ARE NEXUS EVENTS THAT HAVE ALREADY HAPPENED IN DECEMBER, SO I JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THOSE.
UM, BLOOD BATH STUDIO FROM DISTRICT THREE HAD THEIR VENERATION FASHION SHOW ON DECEMBER 2ND AT SUITE SIX 50.
AUSTIN SISTER CITIES INTERNATIONAL FROM DISTRICT EIGHT HAD THEIR PASSPORT TO THE WORLD FESTIVAL ON DECEMBER 9TH AT THE CENTRAL LIBRARY AND FLORES MARKET FROM DISTRICT ONE HAD THEIR FLORES MARKET AT CANOPY HOLIDAY 2023 ON DECEMBER 9TH AT CANOPY.
UM, THERE WEREN'T THAT MANY DECEMBER THRIVE EVENTS EITHER, SO, UH, SINCE THERE WERE SOME JANUARY EVENTS, I LISTED SOME EVENTS THAT WERE PRIOR TO YOUR NEXT, UH, JANUARY ARTS COMMISSION.
SO THE VORTEX IN DISTRICT ONE HAS THEIR BUTTERFLY BLUE GRA BLUEGRASS JAM ON DECEMBER 20TH AT, UH, BUTTERFLY BAR.
UM, THERE, RIGHT AT X UH, MEXICAN MUSEUM IS FROM DISTRICT NINE.
THEY'RE DOING THEIR NDA DE NOW THROUGH JANUARY 7TH AT, UH, MEXICO MUSEUM.
AND THEN PUERTO RICAN FOLKLORE DANCE FROM DISTRICT THREE IS DOING THEIR 15TH ANNUAL OKTA VITAS WITH LOS RES MAGOS JANUARY 21ST AT THE PUERTO RICAN FOLKLORE, UH, DANCE CENTER.
UM, AND NOW I WILL TURN IT OVER TO PEGGY TO DISCUSS, VISIT AUSTIN.
I HANDLE THE CULTURAL ARTS DIVISIONS RELATIONSHIP WITH VISIT AUSTIN.
UH, YOU MAY ALSO KNOW THEM AS THE AUSTIN CONVENTION AND VISITOR BUREAU.
I WILL DEFINITELY TAKE QUESTIONS AT THE END OF THIS PRESENTATION.
VISIT AUSTIN IS THE POWERFUL SITE THAT THE CULTURAL ARTS DIVISION GRANTEES AND NOW MUSIC GRANTEES AND HERITAGE GRANTEES USE TO REACH INCOMING TOURISTS.
THE SITE HELPS GRANTEES TO GAIN BEST EXPOSURE TO TOURISTS.
COMING HERE VISIT AUSTIN HELPS TO KEEP LOCAL ARTS AND ALL OF THEIR EVENTS TOP OF MIND FOR TOURISTS THAT ARE MAKING PLANS AND FOR THOSE WHO HAVE ALREADY ARRIVED IN THE CITY.
AND IT IS A CONTRACTUAL REQUIREMENT FOR OUR GRANTEES TO POST ALL ACTIVITIES FUNDED BY EDD ON VISIT AUSTIN.ORG.
NEXT, BY USING VISIT AUSTIN, GRANTEES HAVE AN EXPONENTIAL REACH TO TOURISTS WHO ARE PLANNING CURRENT AND FUTURE VISITS TO AUSTIN.
VISIT AUSTIN IS THE NUMBER ONE SITE USED BY TOURISTS PLANNING VISITS TO AUSTIN.
VISIT AUSTIN HAS 6.2 MILLION VISITORS ANNUALLY AND 15.1 MILLION PAGE VIEWS.
THE SITE IS WEB AND MOBILE FRIENDLY AND ALLOWS VISITORS TO USE THE INFO IN ADVANCE OF THEIR TRIP AS WELL AS GEOLOCATE ONESELF TO NEARBY EVENTS IN REAL TIME.
WHEN WE BEGAN WORKING WITH VISIT AUSTIN, THEY HAD 2.9 MILLION VISITORS ANNUALLY AND 8.2 MILLION PAGE VIEWS, AND THAT WAS BACK IN 2020 AS THE PANDEMIC WAS STARTING.
SO WE ARE CURRENTLY REACHING MORE TOURISTS THAN EVER BEFORE.
BETWEEN OCTOBER, 2022 AND SEPTEMBER OF 2023 VISIT, AUSTIN HAD 6.2 UNIQUE VISITORS WHO VIEWED OVER 15.1 MILLION PAGE VIEWS.
NEXT I SHOULD MENTION, IT'S ALSO AVAILABLE IN EIGHT LANGUAGES.
THE FIRST AD ITEM IN OUR ADVERTISING AGREEMENT IS A FOUR COLOR FULL PAGE AD, BOTH IN
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PRINT AND DIGITAL VERSIONS OF THE AUSTIN VISITORS GUIDE THAT IS DISTRIBUTED ACROSS THE UNITED STATES VIA UNITED STATES MAIL AND DIGITAL DELIVERY.THE DIGITAL PART OF THIS CONTENT DRIVES VIEWERS TO OUR CUSTOM CONTENT PAGE ONLINE AND HAS RECEIVED 182,000 140 PAGE VIEWS SO FAR.
THE PRINT GUIDE HAS A CIRCULATION OF 200,000.
THE VIRTUAL GUIDE TRACKS 41,138 USERS WHO VIEWED THE GUIDE AND HAS A TOTAL OF 1.3 MILLION PAGE VIEWS.
TOURISTS CAN EITHER REQUEST A PRINT VERSION OR GO DIRECTLY TO THE THE DIGITAL VERSION ON VISIT AUSTIN'S WEBSITE.
NEXT, OUR CUSTOM CONTENT SITE ON VISIT AUSTIN IS REFRESHED ANNUALLY.
SHORTLY AFTER THE CUSTOM CONTENT PAGE IS REFRESHED EACH YEAR VISIT, AUSTIN THEN SENDS OUT A CUSTOM EMAIL TO OVER A HUNDRED AND TWENTY FIVE HUNDRED, TWENTY FOUR HUNDRED TWENTY 5,000 SUBSCRIBERS.
THAT DRIVES THEM TO OUR CUSTOM CONTENT PAGE.
THE CUSTOM EMAIL THAT IS SENT IS BASED OFF OF THE TEXT AND THE IMAGES THAT ARE ON THE CUSTOM CONTENT PAGE AND IT HAS A HUNDRED PERCENT SHARE OF VOICE, WHICH IS A FANCY WAY OF SAYING THERE ARE NO OTHER ADVERTISERS IN THAT EMAIL EXCEPT FOR US.
ITS OPEN RATE IS 40.5% WITH A 2% CLICK-THROUGH RATE.
AND THERE IS A LIMIT AVAILABILITY TO REQUIRE THIS CUSTOM EMAIL AS THEY ONLY SEND OUT 12 ANNUALLY.
AND SO IT'S THE KIND OF OPPORTUNITY THAT IS VERY UNIQUE AND OUR EMAIL HITS TRAVELERS JUST BEFORE MARCH EVERY SINGLE YEAR, RIGHT WHEN SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST TOURISTS ARE GEARING UP AND MAKING THEIR PLANS.
WE ALSO HAVE BANNER ADS ON THE SITE, THE DRIVE TRAFFIC TRAFFIC TO OUR CUSTOM CONTENT PAGE AND AN AD IN THE E-NEWS SECTION OF A MONTHLY LE LEISURE NEWSLETTER THAT HAPPENS EVERY AUGUST, WHICH IS USUALLY RIGHT ABOUT THE TIME WHEN WE HAVE A WHOLE NEW SLATE OF FALL FESTIVAL TRAVELERS BEGINNING TO MAKE THEIR PLANS.
NEXT A BIT MORE ABOUT THE CUSTOM CONTENT PAGE.
IT HIGHLIGHTS AUSTIN'S CULTURAL, CREATIVE, AND ARTISTIC COMMUNITIES.
CURRENTLY OUR CATEGORIES INCLUDE DANCE, VISUAL ART AND THEATER, AFRICAN-AMERICAN CULTURAL AND HERITAGE FACILITY, CULTURAL FESTIVALS, ART IN PUBLIC PLACES, OUR UNESCO CITY OF MEDIA ARTS DESIGNATION, ICONIC AUSTIN FILM AND FILM FESTIVALS, AND THE PEOPLE'S GALLERY THAT IS LOCATED INSIDE CITY HALL.
EACH YEAR WE REFRESH THESE CATEGORIES AND WE UPDATE THEM WITH CURRENT GRANTEE INFORMATION AND EVENTS FOR THE COMING YEAR.
THE BASE OF THAT PAGE ALSO INCLUDES A SEARCHABLE SECTION CALLED AUSTIN ARTS EVENTS AND SHOWS, WHICH I WILL DEMO WITH YOU TOWARDS THE END OF THIS SESSION.
THIS CONTENT PAGE HAS 1,125 PAGE VIEWS THAT WERE VIEWED BY 6,279 UNIQUE VISITORS, WHICH MEANS THAT INTEREST INTERESTED PEOPLE THAT LOOKED AT THE SITE RETURNED TO IT FREQUENTLY AND THE AVERAGE TIME SPENT ON THIS PAGE BY OUR VIEWERS WAS ONE MINUTE AND 22 SECONDS.
NEXT, THE E-NEWSLETTER THAT I MENTIONED GOING OUT IN AUGUST ANNUALLY KEEPS OUR CULTURAL AND CREATIVE GRANTEES TOP OF MIND FOR ANY TRAVELERS PLANNING THEIR VISITS IN THE FALL.
AS MENTIONED BEFORE, THERE ARE OVER 125,000 SUBSCRIBERS WITH AN OPEN RATE OF 42% AND A 2.4% CLICK THROUGH RATE.
NEXT VISIT AUSTIN'S THINGS TO DO ART SECTION ON THEIR SITE CONTAINS IMAGES OF OUR GRANTEES AND PUBLIC ART THROUGH A CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE CALLED CROWD RIFF.
THE CROWD RIFF IMAGE GALLERY HAS 44,000 PAGE VIEWS THAT HAVE RESULTED IN 2,200 INTERACTIONS WITH A 5.1 ENGAGEMENT RATE.
AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE IMAGES THAT ARE ON THE TOP OF THAT PAGE LEAD DIRECTLY TO OUR CUSTOM CONTENT PAGE.
AS I MENTIONED, EVERYTHING THAT IS CLICKED THROUGH ON THIS PAGE GOES DIRECTLY TO OUR CUSTOM CONTENT, AS YOU CAN SEE THROUGH THE GIF THAT'S ON THIS PARTICULAR IMAGE.
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NEXT SLIDE.OUR ARRANGEMENT WITH VIS GIVES US A GREAT AMOUNT OF DETAIL ABOUT CLICK-THROUGH RATES AND GENERAL ADVERTISING PERFORMANCE FROM THE VISIT AUSTIN DEVELOPMENT TEAM.
QUOTE FROM THE VERY START, CAD'S CONTENT HAS HISTORICALLY HAD THE VERY BEST PERFORMING CAMPAIGNS THAT WE'VE EVER SEEN.
TO PUT EVERYTHING IN PERSPECTIVE, THE AVERAGE MILES PARTNERSHIP CLICK THROUGH PERFORMANCE IS ABOUT 0.36% AND THE NATIONAL AVERAGE IS ABOUT 0.1%.
THEY'RE THE MAIN HUB FOR VISITOR INFORMATION, INSPIRATION AND TRIP PLANNING RESOURCES.
THE WEBSITE HIGHLIGHTS THINGS TO DO, PLACES TO STAY UPCOMING EVENTS AND INFORMATION ABOUT THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S ARTS AND MUSIC SCENES.
AND THE PLATFORM HAS HAD A 13% INCREASE IN VISITORS YEAR OVER YEAR WITH AN 8% INCREASE IN PAGE VIEWS.
HERE ARE OUR PERFORMANCE METRICS ON OUR VISIT AUSTIN ADVERTISING FROM FEBRUARY 1ST, 2023 UP THROUGH NOVEMBER THE 16TH OF THIS YEAR.
I'M NOT GONNA READ THIS SLIDE TO YOU, BUT I DO WANNA NOTE HOW MUCH BETTER OUR CLICK THROUGH RATE IS COMPARED TO THE NATIONAL AVERAGE CLICK THROUGH RATE, WHICH IS 0.1%.
AND I'LL STOP HERE FOR A SECOND SO YOU CAN TAKE A MINUTE TO LOOK AT THE SLIDES.
ONE OF THE BEST THINGS ABOUT OUR MOVE IN 2020 TO WORK WITH VISIT AUSTIN HAS BEEN OUR ACCESS TO DATA ABOUT OUR GRANTEES EVENT SUBMISSIONS VISIT AUSTIN BUILT OUT A SPECIALIZED EVENT SUBMISSION PAGE FOR OUR GRANTEES, WHICH WE HAVE NOW EXPANDED TO ALLOW MUSIC GRANTEES AND HERITAGE GRANTEES TO ALSO USE.
AND THAT DATA IS SENT TO STAFF EVERY TWO MONTHS.
THIS SCREENSHOT SHOWS A TYPICAL DATA POLL SHOWING EVENT NAME, EVENT CATEGORY, DISTRICT NUMBER, AND WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE A GRANTEE OF ANY PARTICULAR EDD HOT FUNDED PROGRAM.
ALRIGHT, NOW WE'RE GONNA DO A LITTLE TOUR OF THE SITE TOGETHER.
JESUS AND I, WE'RE GONNA DO THIS, HE'S GONNA DRIVE WHILE I NARRATE ON THE ACTUAL VISIT AUSTIN SITE, SO STANDBY BY WHILE HE PULLS THAT UP.
AND YOU CAN ALSO DO THIS ON YOUR MOBILE DEVICE IF YOU WANNA FOLLOW ALONG.
BUT THIS IS BASICALLY WHAT THE UH, VISIT AUSTIN SITE LOOKS LIKE.
UH, IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT IT FROM AN END USER PERSPECTIVE.
UH, AND UP IN THE TOP OR LEFT IS A A LITTLE BOX THAT SAYS MENU.
AND IF YOU CLICK ON IT AND YOU LOOK AT THINGS TO DO, THERE'S A LITTLE PLUS SIGN OVER ON THE SIDE.
IF YOU CLICK THAT, ARTS IS THE VERY FIRST THING THAT SHOWS UP.
AND WHEN YOU CLICK ON THAT, IT TAKES YOU TO VISIT AUSTIN'S ARTS WEBSITE.
AND AS I MENTIONED ON THAT CROWDRIFF IMAGE ACROSS THE TOP, ALL OF THOSE ARE CROWDSOURCED IMAGES.
EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE SQUARES TAKES YOU TO ONE PLACE, OUR CUSTOM CONTENT PAGE FOR THE CULTURAL ARTS DIVISION.
AND IF WE GO AHEAD AND CLICK THROUGH ON, OH WAIT, ACTUALLY LET'S TALK ABOUT THE BANNER AD THAT'S RIGHT THERE THAT SAYS, UH, CHECK OUT AUSTIN'S ART SCENE.
THAT'S A BANNER AD THAT GOES ALSO DIRECTLY TO CAD'S CUSTOM CONTENT PAGE.
AND IF WE GO TO OUR CUSTOM CONTENT PAGE, YOU CAN SEE TOWARDS THE TOP WE HAVE A PUBLIC ART PIECE THAT WAS INSTALLED LATE LAST YEAR.
AND I WILL MENTION THAT THIS CUSTOM CONTENT PAGE IS ABOUT TO GO THROUGH A REFRESH 'CAUSE WE REFRESH EVERY JANUARY.
SO THIS CONTENT HAS BEEN UP FOR ABOUT A YEAR, A LITTLE LESS.
AND HERE ARE CATEGORIES THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER, DANCE AND VISUAL ART AND THEATER, THE AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL AND HERITAGE FACILITY, CULTURAL FESTIVALS, ART AND PUBLIC PLACES, UNESCO CITY OF MEDIA ARTS, ICONIC AUSTIN FILM AND THE PEOPLE'S GALLERY.
[02:05:01]
AND IF YOU SCROLL DOWN A LITTLE FURTHER, YOU'LL SEE AUSTIN'S ART EVENTS AND SHOWS THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER.AND THIS IS REALLY A POWERFUL TOOL IF YOU'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S GOING ON IN YOUR AREA IN THE UPCOMING WEEKS.
SO JESUS HAS SELECTED EVERYTHING FROM TODAY GOING THROUGH TILL THE FIRST PART OF JANUARY.
AND YOU CAN LOOK AT IT WITH AS THESE TILES AND YOU CAN SCROLL DOWN AND LOOK THROUGH VARIOUS EVENTS.
YOU CAN ALSO CHOOSE TO SELECT A CATEGORY LIKE FREE OR FAMILY FRIENDLY OR PERFORMING ARTS.
THERE'S A WHOLE BUNCH OF CATEGORIES THERE THAT YOU COULD SELECT.
AND THEN ALSO THERE'S A WAY TO LOOK AT IT AS A LIST, WHICH IS WHAT'S SHOWING NOW.
AND THEN THERE'S ALSO A WAY TO LOOK AT ALL OF THESE EVENTS AS A MAP, WHICH IS REALLY GREAT BECAUSE THEN YOU CAN SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING CLOSE TO WHERE YOU'RE LIVING OR CLOSE TO WHERE YOU'RE HAVING DINNER WITH FRIENDS OR CLOSE TO WHERE YOUR FRIENDS ARE STAYING AT A HOTEL.
SO THIS WORKS ON A MOBILE PHONE AND THIS WORKS ON A COMPUTER OR A TABLET AND IS RESPONSIVE BASED ON THE TYPE OF UH, PLATFORM YOU'RE USING.
UM, AND IF YOU LOOK ON THE SCREEN YOU'LL NOTICE SCARD DE'S EVENT THAT JESUS PANTEL MENTIONED EARLIER, FRIEND DE UNI.
AND THAT'S A THRIVE EVENT THAT IS HAPPENING THIS MONTH.
I ALSO WANNA GO AHEAD AND GO BACK TO OUR SLIDE DECK TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE LOOK AT WHAT OUR SUBMISSION PAGE LOOKS LIKE FOR ALL GRANTEES, WHETHER THEY BE CULTURAL ARTS, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT OR HERITAGE TOURISM.
WE HAVE A PLACE FOR ALL GRANTEES TO LIST THEIR EVENTS.
AND WE ALSO HAVE PRODUCED A HOW TO GUIDE ON HOW TO NAVIGATE THIS EVENT SUBMISSION PAGE.
THIS EVENT SUBMISSION PAGE IS JUST FOR US AND MUSIC AND HERITAGE AND WE HAVE PULL DOWN MENU SO THAT PEOPLE CAN SELECT WHAT TYPE OF GRANTEE THEY ARE.
UM, FROM THE INCEPTION OF THIS ARRANGEMENT WITH VISIT AUSTIN IN FEBRUARY OF 2020, JUST AS THE PANDEMIC WAS HITTING THROUGH THE PANDEMIC AND INTO POST PANDEMIC TIMES, WE HAVE FELT VERY SUPPORTIVE BY THE VISIT AUSTIN STAFF AND CONTINUE TO WORK TOGETHER TO EXTEND THIS TOOL TO OTHER GRANTEES HERE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
EACH HAS THEIR OWN PULL DOWN TO DESIGNATE WHAT DIVISION IN EDD THEY ARE BEING GRANTED THROUGH.
AND ON THAT NOTE, WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE AND I'M HAPPY TO TAKE SOME QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION WITH PEGGY AND JESUS.
YOU SHOWED THAT ON THE SUBMISSION SIDE THAT THERE'S A WAY TO DEMARCATE IF YOU'RE AN EDD FUNDED OR A CAD FUNDED PROGRAM.
BUT IS THERE A WAY TO SEARCH THE NO, THERE IS NOT A WAY TO SEARCH, UH, VISIT AUSTIN STAFF INDICATED WE ARE NOT ABLE TO ADD ANY ADDITIONAL FIELDS TO THE EVENT DISPLAY WIDGET AS THIS IS A CORE WIDGET FOR OUR WEB DEVELOPER AND CANNOT BE CUSTOMIZED AT THIS TIME IN INCOMING EVERY OTHER MONTH REPORTING STAFF CAN REVIEW AND TRACK HOW MANY EVENTS ARE BEING SUBMITTED FOR GRANT TYPE AND FUNDING MECHANISM.
IS THERE A WAY, BECAUSE THERE'S A SEARCH FEATURE ON THE WEBSITE THAT COMBS THE WHOLE WEBSITE, RIGHT? MOST WEBSITES COME EQUIPPED WITH THAT.
IS THERE LANGUAGE THAT WE COULD REQUIRE IS INCLUDED IN THE SUBMISSION OF AN EVENT THAT THAT WAY, I'M JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT AN ARTISTIC LOOPHOLE HERE.
SO IF IT'S LIKE, YOU KNOW, SUPPORTED BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN, IF THAT, IF PUTTING THAT AT THE, AT AS A FOOTER IN THE SUB, THE EVENT DESCRIPTION WOULD THEN YIELD THAT, UM, TO THOSE LISTINGS TO COME UP WITHIN THE GENERIC SEARCH FEATURE OF THE WEBSITE.
'CAUSE I ONLY ASK BECAUSE WE'VE HAD COMMUNITY COME TO US SPECIFICALLY WITH THAT REQUEST AND I COMPLETELY HEAR VISIT AUSTIN AND WHAT THEY'RE SAYING AND IT'S A, IT SEEMS LIKE THIS IS A MECHANISM LIKE THEIR TEMPLATE IS USED ACROSS ALL CITIES THAT THEY WORK WITH.
BUT IF THERE'S SOMETHING CREATIVE WE COULD COME UP WITH SO THAT IT'S HIGHLIGHTED OR IF,
[02:10:01]
YOU KNOW, LORD KNOWS WE NEED ANOTHER WEBSITE, BUT LIKE IF THERE'S A DIRECTORY WHERE THEY LIVE THAT'S HOSTED THAT ROUTES PEOPLE TO VISIT AUSTIN, BUT IS A, JUST A LIST WITH HYPERLINKS TO THOSE SUBMISSIONS.JUST THINKING OUT LOUD HERE, I CAN CERTAINLY TALK TO VISIT AUSTIN ABOUT THAT.
UM, BUT I DID GO AHEAD AND UH, DO A SEARCH FOR THE WORDS FUNDED BY AND IT BROUGHT ME 115 RESULTS, THE FIRST ONE BEING.
BUT IF HAD LIKE, LIKE SOUTHWEST, YOU KNOW, ALMOST THE WAY A HASHTAG WORKS, RIGHT? LIKE SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE BESPOKE TO OUR PROGRAMMING THAT'S LIKE A ABRACADABRA OR SOMETHING VERY SPECIFIC THAT WOULDN'T BE SUCH A GENERIC 'CAUSE I UNDERSTAND FUNDED BY OR SUPPORTED BY LIKE THOSE ARE PRETTY BROAD KEYWORDS, BUT IF THERE IS SOMETHING THAT'S AT THE, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT WOULD EVEN FUNCTION, BUT I'M JUST CURIOUS TO SEE IF IF UM, IF THEY WOULD BE OPEN TO, YOU KNOW, FIGURING OUT SOMETHING THAT WOULDN'T REQUIRE THEM TO OBVIOUSLY REDESIGN THEIR BACKEND.
UM, THAT WOULD GET US SOMEWHERE CLOSE TO BEING ABLE TO SEE.
BECAUSE I THINK, YOU KNOW, FOR OUR PURPOSES IT IS A DIRECTORY FOR OUR, THE, OUR CAD FUNDED PROGRAMS FOR OUR EDD FUNDED PROGRAMS. AND SO HAVING SOMEWHERE THAT DOESN'T MASH THEM UP WITH, YOU KNOW, BEER GARDEN EXTRAVAGANZA CRAFT MARKET, YOU KNOW, LIKE THOSE ARE TO BE SUPPORTED AS WELL.
BUT I THINK IT WOULD BE BEHOOVE US TO HAVE A WAY TO SEPARATE EDD FUNDED PROGRAMS. I HAVE EXPLAINED TO VISIT AUSTIN THAT THE MUSIC COMMISSION, THE HERITAGE COMMISSION, THE ARTS COMMISSION AND VARIOUS STAFF AND COUNCIL WOULD REALLY LOVE TO HAVE THAT TYPE OF DESIGNATOR.
AND THEIR ANSWER THAT CAME BACK TO ME AT LEAST INITIALLY BACK IN JANUARY OF 2020 WAS THAT FUNDED BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS NOT SOMETHING THAT A TOURIST WILL SEARCH ON.
BUT WE COULD DESIGNATE, LIKE THAT'S THE THING 'CAUSE WE'RE BEING ASKED BY THE COMMUNITY HOW DO I SUPPORT EDD FUNDED EVENTS? AND THAT WAY WE SAY, HEY, THEY CAN'T DO A FILTER BECAUSE OF THE HARD MECHANISM, BUT IF YOU SEARCH THIS, THAT WILL YIELD THOSE SEARCH RESULTS.
AND I'M, I THINK, YOU KNOW, I UNDERSTAND THIS IS PROBABLY BRICK WALL AND HEAD AND AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN, AND I DON'T MEAN TO BE REDUNDANT, BUT IF YOU WANT SOME SUPPORT AND SOME BACKUP, I KNOW I WOULD HAPPY TO SIT IN AND I REMEMBER WHEN THEY WERE FIRST BROUGHT ON, WE WERE MAKING THAT TRANSITION TO VISIT AUSTIN, THEY WERE VERY OPEN TO FIGURING OUT THE WAYS THAT THEY COULD BEST SERVE THIS CONTRACT, EXCUSE ME, CONTRACT.
AND YOU KNOW, IF IT NEEDS TO BE A BUDGET AMENDMENT, IF THEY'RE, IF IT'S AN ADDED IF TASK FOR SOMEONE ON THEIR STAFF, LIKE I I THINK THAT THAT'S A BETTER ANSWER THAN NO.
AND THE WAY I UNDERSTAND THINGS OVER AT VISITOR AUSTIN IS THAT THEY ARE TRYING TO RAMP UP TO PRE PANDEMIC STAFFING LEVELS.
AND WHAT I HAVE BEEN GIVEN TO UNDERSTAND IS THAT THERE SEEMS TO BE A, A DESIRE TO REALLY GET CAUGHT UP WITH WHERE THEY WERE.
AND SO I'M CERTAINLY OPEN TO CONTINUING TO ASK, BUT WE MAY NOT SEE SOMETHING LIKE THIS COME TO PASS UNTIL THEY'RE FULLY STAFFED AND HAVE, AND THAT'S, I WOULD RATHER TAKE THAT ANSWER BACK TO THE COMMUNITY THAN TO BE LIKE, MEH, THEY SAID THEY CAN'T DO IT.
SO, UH, AT YOUR DISCRETION WHEN IT IS STRATEGIC TO CONNECT THE CHAIRS OF THE COMMISSIONS WITH VISIT AUSTIN WITH OUR PERSONAL REQUESTS, YOU KNOW, A ZOOM MEETING OR SOMETHING SO THAT WE CAN AT LEAST SUPPORT YOU IN IN LIKE YOU'RE NOT JUST BLOWING SMOKE, RIGHT? LIKE THIS IS A LEGITIMATE ASK.
THIS IS I THINK A CORE FUNCTIONALITY THAT WE SHOULD HAVE TO BEST SUPPORT OUR ECOSYSTEM AS WELL.
UM, THESE ARE VETTED, YOU KNOW, ADJUDICATED COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT HAVE WORKED HARD TO PRESENT THEIR PROGRAMMING.
WE SHOULD BE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO GET BUTTS IN SEATS.
SO, UM, AGAIN, I WOULD RATHER HAVE A TIMELINE WHERE THAT BECOMES AN ACTUALIZED FEATURE VERSUS A MEH, THAT'S TOUGH.
SO IF WE CAN INITIATE THOSE CONVERSATIONS, TO ME THAT'S EVEN PROGRESS TO, TO HAVE SOMETHING ONGOING.
'CAUSE I REALLY THINK I UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY'RE SAYING IN TERMS OF THE CORE FUNCTIONALITY OF THE FILTERS FINE, BUT THEY'RE ASKING FOR THAT CHECKBOX ON THE SUBMISSION END.
THERE HAS TO BE A WAY THAT WE CAN, WE ASKED FOR THAT, I REMEMBER.
AND WE FORCED IT BECAUSE WE NEEDED A WAY TO BE ABLE TO PULL THE INFORMATION.
AND THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING, LIKE SO I UNDERSTAND LIKE IT, IT'S ALREADY BEING TRACKED TO SOME CAPACITY.
[02:15:02]
PLAINLY IN THE SUBMISSION WHERE IT IS A COPY PASTE FOOTER THAT GOES WI WITHIN THE SUBMISSION OF EVERY, UM, EVENT THAT'S COMING THROUGH CAD OR MUSIC OR HERITAGE SHOULD IN THEORY SHOULD PULL THOSE RESULTS IN A GENERIC SEARCH SO THEY'RE NOT HAVING TO DO ANYTHING ELSE.THAT WOULD BE PURELY ON OUR END.
I JUST AM CURIOUS IF THAT WOULD WORK.
I WILL DEFINITELY CHECK IN WITH THEM.
THEY ALSO HAVE A BRAND NEW STAFF MEMBER HANDLING AUSTIN.
SO, UM, YEAH, SHE'S SHE'S DOING HER BEST TO GET CAUGHT UP WITH EVERYTHING THAT WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO.
AND I, I COMPLETELY RESPECT THAT AND UM, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE EVERYTHING'S URGENT, EVERYTHING'S A PRIORITY, BUT I UNDERSTAND THAT THINGS TAKE TIME AND I'M GONNA JUST SAY THIS OUT LOUD, YOU KNOW, SUBMISSIONS ON VISIT AUSTIN ARE FREE.
YOU CAN DO THAT FOR ANY EVENT, UM, FOR THE WHOLE COMMUNITY.
SO MAYBE WE CAN ALMOST CREATE A TEST EVENT AND SEE IF THAT WOULD WORK.
'CAUSE AND THEN IT WOULD JUST HAVE TO BE A CONVERSATION WITH STAFF AND HOW TO GET OUR CONTRACTORS TO IMPLEMENT IT BECAUSE I DO SEE IT AS AN ADVANTAGE FOR THEM IN GETTING PEOPLE TO THEIR EVENTS.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? UH, COMMISSIONER CHENEY THEN COMMISSIONER GRAY.
SO I WAS LIKE LOOKING AT THE WEBSITE ON MY PHONE, UM, AND I HAVE JUST SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT SOME OTHER AREAS THAT WE DIDN'T TOUCH ON.
UM, BUT BEFORE WE GET TO THAT, I WANTED TO ASK ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA.
SO I WAS ALSO LOOKING AT THE INSTAGRAM, UM, 'CAUSE I KNOW VISIT AUSTIN IS PRETTY NEW.
UM, I'VE BEEN IN THE AUSTIN NONPROFIT WORLD FOR OVER A DECADE, SO I REMEMBER THE ONE BEFORE THAT THAT WAS MANAGED BY I THINK, UM, A CA, UM, SO THIS IS DEFINITELY LIKE A HUGE IMPROVEMENT.
UM, BUT SOCIAL MEDIA IS THE VISIT AUSTIN SOCIAL MEDIA, WHO IS THAT MANAGED BY ON INSTAGRAM THAT IS MANAGED BY THE AUSTIN CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU? BECAUSE VISIT AUSTIN IS MERELY A REBRAND OF AUSTIN CONVENTION AND VISITOR BUREAU.
SO THOSE ARE STAFF MEMBERS THAT WORK AT THAT FACILITY THAT MANAGE THAT SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNT.
MY FIRST LIKE IN LIKE FEEDBACK FOR THE SOCIAL MEDIA, SO I'M A BIG LIKE MARKETING SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PERSON IS, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE SOME OF THESE.
SO THE, I SCROLLED THROUGH FOR A WHILE AND I THINK THE ONLY THING I SAW, UM, THAT WAS LIKE REALLY COMMUNITY FOCUSED WAS THE CREEK SHOW.
I DIDN'T SEE LIKE REALLY ANY CONTENT, UM, THAT WAS GENERATED FROM GRANT SUPPORTED ACTIVITIES AND LIKE SOCIAL MEDIA IS KING, RIGHT? LIKE THAT'S HOW THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE ARE GETTING THEIR INFORMATION NOW.
UM, IF I WANNA LOOK UP SOMETHING TO DO, I, I TYPICALLY GO TO SOCIAL MEDIA BEFORE I GO TO A WEBSITE.
SO KIND OF THINKING LIKE HOW USERS, UM, OF DIFFERENT DEMOGRAPHICS USE DIFFERENT TOOLS ON THE INTERNET.
UM, WOULD THAT, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S EVEN A QUESTION FOR Y'ALL, BUT LIKE, WOULD THAT BE A POSSIBILITY, UM, TO DO HIGHLIGHTS FROM LIKE THRIVE AND ELEVATE OR DO LIKE, UH, YOU KNOW, AN ELEVATE ROUNDUP, UM, IN DECEMBER? I DON'T KNOW, I'M JUST THROWING OUT SOME CONTENT IDEAS JUST BECAUSE I SEVERELY SAW THERE WAS A LACK OF ANY KIND OF SOCIAL MEDIA.
UM, AND THAT'S QUITE A BIG FOLLOWING.
SO LIKE IF YOU HAD LIKE A, I DON'T KNOW, I'LL JUST USE LIKE, UM, A THEATER GROUP FOR EXAMPLE THAT HAD AN UPCOMING SHOWING THAT WAS LIKE SUPER HYPERLOCAL IF A INSTAGRAM THAT HAS, YOU KNOW, OVER A HUNDRED THOUSAND, I DIDN'T EVEN, I DON'T EVEN REMEMBER, I THINK IT WAS OVER 200,000 FOLLOWERS ON THERE, AMPLIFIED THAT, YOU KNOW, NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION DOING A THEATER SHOW AND TAGGED THEM THAT'S PROVIDING LIKE REAL VISIBILITY, REAL ACTION.
UM, SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S LIKE AN OPTION MOVING FORWARD, LIKE THE MARKETING, THE WEBSITE MARKETING IS GREAT, BUT I THINK THAT COULD BE LIKE A DIFFERENT AVENUE.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S LIKE ON THE TABLE OR, SO HISTORICALLY THEY HAVE COME TO US WITH LIKE YET ANOTHER AD BUY FOR A LITTLE BIT LIKE ONE MORE SOCIAL MEDIA AD.
SO AS I UNDERSTAND IT, EVERYTHING THAT'S ON SOCIAL MEDIA IS PAID FOR.
SO WE CAN CERTAINLY INQUIRE ABOUT GETTING SOME EXTRA SOCIAL MEDIA DONE, BUT I DO FEEL LIKE IT'S GONNA COST US SOME MONEY AND WE WOULD HAVE TO ADD THAT TO OUR MARKETING BUDGET.
CAA TO CLARIFY, ARE YOU REFERRING TO VISIT AUSTIN'S INSTAGRAM OR THE CULTURAL ARTS DIVISION? INSTAGRAM? I'M, I'M TALKING ABOUT THE VISIT AUSTIN'S INSTAGRAM.
THE VISIT AUSTIN INSTAGRAM, I MEAN I WAS LOOKING AT LIKE LIKES UM, VIEWS AND UM, THE CULTURAL ARTS DIVISION, INSTAGRAM GREAT INSTAGRAM, UM, BUT OBVIOUSLY WAY MORE FOLLOWERS ON THE VISIT AUSTIN ONE.
'CAUSE THERE WAS A LOT OF USER GENERATED CONTENT ON THERE THAT LOOKED
[02:20:01]
LIKE INFLUENCERS MADE IT AND I WAS LIKE, HUH, THAT'S INTERESTING.UM, OKAY, WELL THAT CLARIFIES SOMETHING FOR ME THERE.
UM, MY NEXT QUESTION IS ABOUT THE WEBSITE.
SO I WAS KIND OF LOOKING AT UM, KIND OF THE SIDE PANEL AND YOU KNOW, MEETINGS FOR PROFESSIONALS, TRAVEL PROFESSIONALS, SPORTS COMMISSION, FILM COMMISSION, MUSIC OFFICE.
WOULD THERE JUST BE AN AREA IN THAT, IN THAT LIKE, UM, I'M LIKE TRYING TO SHOW YOU MY PHONE, BUT IN THAT NAVIGATION WHERE YOU COULD JUST PUT LIKE ART FUNDED PROJECTS SIMILAR TO WHERE YOU DO THE COMMISSION AND IT'S JUST KIND OF LIKE A, A FEED THROUGH.
THAT'S ALSO A THOUGHT THAT CROSSED MY MIND BECAUSE IF YOU GO TO LIKE STUDIOS AND FACILITIES, WHICH LIKE MY ORGANIZATION IS ON AND I DON'T THINK I SUBMITTED ANYTHING.
SO I THINK PEOPLE ARE DOING SOME RESEARCH, UM, LIKE THIS IS A GREAT LIST AND IT HAS LIKE ALL OF THE, Y'ALL CAN'T SEE WHAT I'M SHOWING YOU, BUT COULDN'T THERE BE SOMETHING SIMILAR FOR LIKE DECEMBER EVENTS AND IT'S LIKE A ROUNDUP OF ALL GRANT FUNDED EVENTS, BUT AGAIN, THAT PROBABLY IS GONNA COST MONEY, RIGHT? IT MAY COST MONEY.
UH, I WILL SAY THAT THE UH, EVENT SUBMISSION PLATFORM WAS UH, SOMETHING THAT WAS ARRANGED BY MEGAN WELLS AND KIM PALMER WHEN SHE WAS AT VISIT AUSTIN.
AND THAT SUBMISSION PAGE COST US $0, NO MONEY AT ALL.
THEY WERE HAPPY TO DO IT SO THAT THEY COULD GET LOCAL CONTENT BY LOCAL PRODUCERS UP INSIDE OF THEIR WEBSITE FOR TOURISTS WHO PREFER TO HAVE A LOCAL EXPERIENCE.
MEGAN, DID YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD? YEAH, UM, FAA THANKS FOR ALL YOUR GREAT SUGGESTIONS.
I I THINK A LOT OF THIS, UM, INFORMATION WE JUST WANTED TO BRING TO YOU AS A PART OF THE CONTINUATION FROM LAST MEETING WHERE YOU WERE KIND OF LIKE, TELL US MORE ABOUT HOW OUR HOW OUR AGREEMENT WORKS.
BUT I THINK THERE'S, TO YOUR POINT, PEGGY, I THINK THERE'S, THERE'S AN AVENUE FOR US TO BE A LITTLE MORE PRESCRIPTIVE ABOUT WHAT KIND OF THINGS THAT THE COMMISSION IS INTERESTED IN SEEING, UM, WHAT KIND OF USER CONTENT OR NAVIGATION CAN BE HELPFUL TO KIND OF PUT MORE OF THAT ARTS CONTENT FRONT AND CENTER.
AND TO PEGGY'S POINT, THEY'VE BEEN VERY RECEPTIVE TO OUR FEEDBACK.
UM, I WILL SAY, YOU KNOW, WE, WE DO HAVE LIMITED BUDGET FOR, FOR OUR ADVERTISING AGREEMENT, SO THERE ARE SOME BOUNDARIES THERE, BUT IT DOESN'T PRECLUDE US FROM HAVING THE CONVERSATION AND ASKING, YOU KNOW, IF WE CAN'T DO IT WITH OUR AGREEMENT, COULD THAT BE PART OF AN ONGOING DISCUSSION ABOUT HOW VISIT AUSTIN CONTINUES TO REVAMP OR IMPROVE THEIR OFFERINGS FOR ARTS RELATED PROMOTIONAL, YOU KNOW, CONTENT.
SO I, I'M HAPPY TO BE AN AMPLIFIER OR, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER THAT THAT MIDDLEMAN IS FOR, FOR THE COMMISSION TO HAVE INPUT OR JUST FEEDBACK AND IDEAS THAT YOU GUYS WANNA BRING FORWARD THROUGH THROUGH US.
COMMISSIONER MARK, TO ME IT'S JUST VERY SIMPLE.
WHEN I HAVE A VISITOR IN TOWN, I TOLD THEM THAT I SERVE ON THE ASK COMMISSION.
I WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO POINT IT TO THEM DURING THE WEEK WEEKEND.
THESE ARE ALL THE PROGRAMS WE ARE FUNDED.
NO, YEAH, I HEAR, I HEAR THAT WE ARE GONNA WORK ON THAT.
UM, THERE'S JUST NOT, THERE'S NOT A EASY FIX FOR THAT RIGHT THIS SECOND, BUT I THINK THAT CAN BE SOMETHING WE BUILD INTO OUR, OUR PORTAL OR WHATEVER WE'RE CALLING, YOU KNOW, THE SUBMISSION PORTAL LIKE HAS BEEN SUGGESTED.
MAYBE A CHECKBOX THAT WE CAN PULL FROM.
I DON'T KNOW THE PROGRAMMING PARTS OF THAT, BUT I'M HAPPY TO ASK ABOUT HOW WE CAN MAKE THAT.
AND WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO BRING IT FORWARD SO WE'LL BRING IT BACK INTO TO FOCUS WITH THEM.
'CAUSE WHEN I TRAVEL BACK TO BOSTON, THEY HAVE THEIR WHATEVER VISIT BOSTON, SIMILAR THING AND IT'S EASY AND IT'S VERY FRIENDLY.
WELL, I WILL LOOK AT THEIR WEBSITE TOO.
YEAH, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THAT.
YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT WILL REALLY, I'M JUST A VERY SIMPLE THING, YOU KNOW, JUST AS LONG AS I CLICK THAT BUTTON I KNOW, OKAY, THIS WEEKEND THIS IS GOING ON.
SO THEN I CAN JUST, YOU KNOW, TAKE A CHANCE WITH WHATEVER.
WELL, CAN YOU SEND LINK? UM, YES, I'LL, YEAH, THAT'D BE GREAT.
BOSTON, EVERY, UM,
YEAH, I THINK WE CAN CERTAINLY, UM, VISIT OTHER CITY THAT HAS DONE A VERY SUCCESSFUL JOB WITH THEIR CONVENTION CENTER LIKE COLORADO, DENVER, I KNOW DENVER, BOSTON, EVEN SAN FRANCISCO, YOU KNOW, ALL THOSE BIG CITY ARE DOING REALLY WELL.
I MEAN HONESTLY OUR NEW REPRESENTATIVE FOR VISIT AUSTIN HAS BEEN 20 YEARS IN THE COLORADO MARKET.
[02:25:01]
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONERS? OH, COMMISSIONER GRAY AND THEN COMMISSIONER KY.BACKING UP A LITTLE BIT ON THE ELEVATE GRANTS.
AS FAR AS CONTRACTS AND FIRST PAYMENTS, I WAS A LITTLE CONFUSED SINCE THERE WAS 185 CONTRACTS AND 187 FIRST PAYMENTS.
THINK YOU MAY BE MUTED AS YOU'RE MUTED.
I DON'T THINK, I THINK HE'S JUST NOT.
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? JUST BARELY A LITTLE BIT.
CAN WE GET HIS PRESENTATION PULLED BACK UP? OH, HE'S GOT CONTROL OF IT.
YOU JUST KICKED BACK OVER THERE.
I THINK IT MIGHT JUST BE A TYPO WHERE THE TEST PAYMENTS DON'T MATCH UP WITH CONTRACTS SIGNED OR FIRST PAYMENTS ISSUED.
SO YEAH, CAN YOU HEAR ME? YEAH, YEAH.
I'M USING MY THEATER VOICE EVEN THOUGH I'M SITTING IN FRONT OF A LAPTOP, SO, UH, NO.
SO THEY SENT THE TEST PAYMENTS OUT EVEN BEFORE THE CONTRACTS WERE READY TO GO, WHICH NORMALLY THEY DON'T DO.
BUT SINCE THEY WERE, UM, UM, SINCE WE WERE WORKING ON, UM, CONTRACT AMENDMENTS, THEY WANTED TO GET THE PAYMENTS TO GO, UM, AS, UH, QUICK AS POSSIBLE.
SO YOU CAN SEE 196 TEST PAYMENTS HAVE BEEN ISSUED.
UM, OH, I SEE WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
YEAH, THE QUESTION WAS NOT REALLY, MY QUESTION WAS REGARDING THE TEST PAYMENTS.
IT'S THE FIRST PAYMENTS, YEAH.
I SENT THAT INFORMATION FROM A SPREADSHEET THAT WE BOTH SHARE.
SO, UM, I CAN TAKE A LOOK AT THAT FOR NEXT MONTH TO SEE, UM, EITHER IF I MISREAD THAT INFORMATION OR IF THAT WAS ENTERED INTO THERE INCORRECTLY.
SO SOMEONE MENTIONED, I THINK IT WAS, UH, CHAIR ZIMAN THAT IT WAS PROBABLY A TYPO.
I CAN LOOK INTO THAT AND HAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE HAVE THE INFORMATION NEXT MONTH, UH, WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S UP TO DATE.
JESUS, AND I BELIEVE WE TOUCHED ON IT A LITTLE BIT IN THE LAST MEETING.
IS THERE A DEADLINE FOR THE 15 CONTRACTORS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN LOCATED OR CONTRACTED OR, I KNOW YOU HAD HAD MENTIONED THAT THERE WAS SOME SEARCH GOING ON.
UM, SO WHAT WE HAVE, UH, TRADITIONALLY DONE, UM, IN THE PAST WITH OUR CORE AND CULTURAL HERITAGE FESTIVALS PROGRAMMING IS, UH, STARTING IN ABOUT JANUARY OR FEBRUARY, WE WOULD KIND OF LIKE RAMP UP.
UM, WE HAD LIKE A THREE STEP PROCESS FOR THOSE WHO HAD NOT SUBMITTED THEIR CONTRACTS YET, WHERE WE KIND OF START OFF A LITTLE BIT, HEY, ARE YOU GONNA ENTER INTO YOUR CONTRACT YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, IN, UH, YOU KNOW, IN DANGER OF POTENTIALLY LOSING YOUR FUNDS AND THEN, YOU KNOW, GENERALLY ESCALATING, UM, UPWARDS.
SO WE USUALLY DO THAT, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY STARTING IN JANUARY OR FEBRUARY.
WE'LL, UH, RAMP THAT UP TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, THEY GET EVERYTHING IN IN TIME.
UM, UH, WITH NEXUS, UM, WE'RE IN CON IN, IN UH, CONTACT WITH, UH, THE TWO, OH NO, I'M THINKING OF THE NEA RC ED ONE.
UM, BUT WE'LL, WE'LL EXPEDITE THAT PROCESS FOR THOSE WITH A SHORTER, UH, TIME PERIOD.
UM, WE WILL FOLLOW THAT, UH, FOLLOW OUR STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES FOR THOSE WHO HAVE, UH, NOT, UH, BEEN, UM, COMMUNICATIVE WITH EITHER US OR WITH THE LONG CENTER STAFF.
UM, AS AN ARTS COMMISSIONER, CAN I ASK THAT THAT PROCESS IS EVALUATED FOR THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR, CONSIDERING THAT WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY OF DEADLINE SEEMS PRETTY LONG FROM THE ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE AWARDS.
UM, SURE WE CAN LOOK AT DOING THAT, UH, WITH THESE PILOT PROGRAMS WHERE, YOU KNOW, YEAH, FOR SURE, FOR SURE.
ING NEW THINGS AND WORKING OUT OUR NEW PARTNERSHIPS.
BUT YES, DEFINITELY WE DEFINITELY LOOK AT AT THAT FOR THE FUTURE.
UM, COMING BACK TO THE VISIT AUSTIN SITE, I WAS JUST SCROLLING THROUGH MY PHONE AS WELL.
UM, AND I'M CURIOUS ABOUT THE USER SUBMITTED, UM, LISTINGS AND THE EVENTS GOING ON.
AND I NOTICED, UM, THAT THERE'S LIKE TRIVIA RIGHT NEXT TO ALL THE ARTS EVENTS AND I'M JUST WONDERING LIKE DOES THE SUBMITTER DECIDE WHAT CATEGORY THE EVENT IS GOING IN OR HOW DO WE MAKE SURE WE'RE REPRESENTING THE, LIKE THE ART SCENE OF AUSTIN IS NOT JUST TRIVIA AND OF ANY GIVEN NIGHT.
THERE ARE TWO PLACES TO SUBMIT AN EVENT ON VISIT AUSTIN AND ONE OF THEM IS THE GENERAL PRODUCERS OF EVENTS HAVE A GENERAL SUBMISSION PAGE AND THEN WE HAVE OUR GRANTEE SUBMISSION PAGE, WHICH WAS MIRRORED AFTER THE MAIN SUBMISSION PAGE ONLY.
WE ADDED IF SOME THINGS THAT WE NEEDED TO HAVE IN OUR REPORTING MECHANISM, SO WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE WITH MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT, CULTURAL ARTS, ET CETERA.
[02:30:01]
THEN TAKES ALL OF THOSE EVENTS AND PUTS THEM INTO THE BUCKETS THAT THEY HAVE.AND I BELIEVE THIS IS AT THE CRUX OF THE ISSUE THAT WE CONTINUE TO DISCUSS, WHICH IS THAT VISIT AUSTIN DOESN'T HAVE A WAY TO JUST PULL OUT JUST OUR FUNDED EVENTS INTO ONE LOCATION.
SO IF SOMEBODY FITS, PUTS IN AN EVENT LIKE A QUIZ SHOW OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT AND IT'S CHECKED OFF AS A A PERFORMANCE EVENT OR IT'S CHECKED OFF AS A CULTURAL EVENT OR WHAT HAVE YOU, THEN IT'S GOING TO FLOW INTO THE SECTIONS OF VISIT AUSTIN THAT VISIT AUSTIN CONTROLS.
SO IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR FREE EVENTS, IF OUR CULTURAL CONTRACTOR OR MUSIC CONTRACTORS ARE DOING FREE EVENTS, IT'S GONNA SHOW UP WITH ALL THE OTHER FREE EVENTS THAT WERE SUBMITTED ON THE OTHER SUBMISSION PAGE.
SO THEY'RE, UH, VISIT AUSTIN DOESN'T JUST COLLECT JUST GRANTEE EVENTS.
THEY COLLECT ALL LOCAL EVENTS AND THEY PUT 'EM ACROSS THEIR WEBSITE IN VARIOUS LOCATIONS.
AND DO YOU KNOW, ARE THEY VETTED, LIKE, I'M JUST CURIOUS LIKE SO THAT SPAM DOESN'T END UP ON THERE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT? YEAH, UM, IT TAKES ANYWHERE FROM TWO DAYS TO FIVE BUSINESS DAYS TO GET YOUR EVENT SUBMISSION APPROVED AND THEY ARE LOOKED AT BY REAL PEOPLE THAT WORK FOR VISIT AUSTIN.
AND SO THEY ROUTINELY ON THEIR MAIN SUBMISSION PAGE INDICATE THE THINGS THAT THEY WILL NOT APPROVE SUCH AS FUNDRAISERS.
THEY WILL NOT ALLOW FUNDRAISERS TO SHOW UP ON THEIR, ON THEIR SITE.
UM, AND FREQUENTLY OF OUR CONTRACTORS ACCIDENTALLY USE THE WRONG SUBMISSION PAGE.
THEY MIGHT HAVE THEIR SUBMISSION DECLINED BECAUSE THEY PUT SOMETHING IN THEIR SUBMISSION THAT VISIT AUSTIN WON'T ALLOW UNLESS IT COMES THROUGH OUR SUBMISSION PAGE.
THEN IT'S A LITTLE BIT LOOSER BECAUSE THEY KNOW THAT THE PEOPLE USING OUR SUBMISSION PAGE ARE GRANTED BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT AND THAT WE WANT THOSE EVENTS TO SHOW UP ON VISIT AUSTIN.
AND I'LL SAY THE TRIVIA COMES UP WITHOUT THE FILTER.
SO IF YOU CLICK PERFORMANCE ARC FILTER, IF YOU CLICK VISUAL ART, THOSE DON'T SHOW UP.
SO THE, THE MAIN EVENTS PAGE IS EVERYTHING AND THEN THE SECONDARY STEP IS TO CHOOSE THE CATEGORY THAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR.
AND THEN I THINK THAT ELIMINATES WHAT YOU'RE SEEING IS JUST LIKE GENERAL COMRADERY GATHERINGS.
SO YEAH, IT DOES TAKE A COUPLE EXTRA STEPS FOR THOSE THAT ARE SEEKING EVENTS.
UM, BUT YEAH, THERE IS A WAY TO TO NARROW DOWN WHAT'S BEING SHOWN.
UM, COMMISSIONERS, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONER? I DO WANNA JUST BRING ATTENTION TO THE TIME.
IT IS 8 37 AND WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH OUR WORKING GROUP UPDATES YET.
UM, AS WELL AS ITEMS FOR INFORMATION, I JUST WANTED TO ADD A CLARIFYING POINT TO, UM, HOW THEY'RE REVIEWED AND JUST SAY THAT AS A A CULTURAL ARTS FUNDED ORGANIZATION, WE DID ACTUALLY HAVE SOME STUFF REJECTED BECAUSE IT WENT THROUGH THE WRONG.
UH, SO IF ANYBODY'S WATCHING THAT IS FUNDED BY THE ELEVATE OR THRIVE OR WHATEVER, YOU HAVE TO USE THAT LINK.
'CAUSE WE HAD TO DOUBLE BACK AND DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN BECAUSE THE PERSON THAT WAS SUBMITTING IT DIDN'T USE THE CORRECT LINK AND SO THEY REJECTED ALL OF THEM
UM, SO JUST SO EVERYBODY KIND OF KNOWS THAT IF YOU ARE FUNDED IT, IT IS, IT IS A LITTLE BIT TRICKY WITH THE LINK IF YOU, IF YOU DON'T LOOK FOR IT.
SO, AND ALSO, UM, VISIT AUSTIN ADDED ON THEIR MAIN EVENT SUBMISSION PAGE, A SENTENCE THAT BASICALLY SAYS IF YOU ARE FUNDED BY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, PLEASE CLICK HERE TO POST YOUR EVENT.
SO IT'S UH, PRETTY FRONT AND CENTER IN BRIGHT RED TEXT AND HOPEFULLY THAT WILL NOT HAPPEN TO PEOPLE WHO HIT THAT SUBMISSION PAGE.
IF THEY SEE THAT SENTENCE, THEY'LL CLICK THE RIGHT LINK AND GET TO THE RIGHT PAGE.
THAT'S A GREAT, UM, SAFETY MECHANISM THERE,
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR JESUS OR PEGGY? ALL RIGHT, LET'S GO AHEAD AND KEEP ON F*****G, WE HAVE NO DISCUSSION.
I THANK YOU JESUS AND PEGGY FOR THOSE PRESENTATIONS VERY MUCH.
WE APPRECIATE ALL THE DETAIL AND AGAIN, BOTH OF THOSE ARE IN OUR BACKUP EVERYONE, SO IF YOU NEED TO GO BACK AND REFER TO THEM, WE HAVE ACCESS TO THEM.
UM, THOSE ARE SOME GREAT STATISTICS ALSO FOR THE MARKETING NERDS IN YOUR BACKUP IS THE VISIT AUSTIN'S MARKETING SLIDE DECK.
SO IF YOU REALLY WANNA DIG INTO UH, ADD PERFORMANCE AND THINGS LIKE THAT ON VISIT AUSTIN, YOU HAVE THAT IN YOUR BACKUP.
AND UM, JESUS ELA, WILL THOSE BE
[02:35:01]
IN PUBLIC BACKUP TOO? 'CAUSE I THINK ESPECIALLY THE VISIT AUSTIN PRESENTATION AS A PUBLIC ACCESS POINT.UM, NO DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS THIS ROUND, BUT WE ARE GONNA GO AHEAD AND GO ON TO WORKING GROUP UPDATES.
[9. Update from Emergency Funding and Proactive Strategies for Future Funding Working Group with Commissioners Schmalbach and Zisman (chair)]
FROM THE EMERGENCY FUNDING AND PROACTIVE STRATEGIES FOR FUTURE FUNDING WORKING GROUP WITH COMMISSIONER MBE AND ZIMAN.UM, I WILL SAY THAT WE ARE STILL MOVING FORWARD WITH THE PROJECT, THE A CCC, AUSTIN CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS THAT IS STILL UP AND RUNNING.
I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANYTHING OF NOTE TO UPDATE THERE.
UM, I WILL SAY THAT COMMISSIONER SMBA AND I HAVE BEEN, UM, CONTINUING THE CONVERSATION AROUND, UM, WEIGHT STRATEGIES TO, UH, INCREASE THE HOT AS WELL AS ALWAYS DISCUSSING, UH, DISCUSSING ALTERNATIVE, UH, FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES.
UM, SO THERE IDEALLY WILL BE AN UPDATE, MORE OF A ROBUST UPDATE IN JANUARY, UH, REGARDING THAT.
[10. Update from joint Arts/Music Commission Working Group on Urban Core Issues with Commissioners Gray, Maldonado, and Schmalbach (chair).]
HAVE UPDATE FROM THE JOINT ARTS AND MUSIC COMMISSION WORKING GROUP ON URBAN CORE ISSUES WITH COMMISSIONERS GRAHAM MALANO AND SMALL CHAIR COMMISSIONER, SMALL BA YEAH, WE ARE ACTUALLY, WE HAVE OUR DECEMBER MEETING THIS WEEK ON THURSDAY.SO, YOU KNOW, WITH THE CHANGE IN TIMES WE'RE SORT OF BEHIND.
BUT, UM, WE WILL HEAR FROM, AGAIN, FROM DON JACKSON AND GET UPDATES ON, UM, THE MOVEMENT ON CREATIVE DISTRICTS AND REGULATORY INCENTIVES THAT ARE COMING OUT OF CHANGES TO THE LAND USE, UH, CODE.
WE'RE ALSO IN CONVERSATION WITH, UH, THE TOURISM COMMISSION ABOUT ALIGNING OUR DESIRE TO CAPTURE THE MISSING, UM, HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX THAT SHOULD BE COMING IN FROM, UM, SST, SHORT-TERM RENTALS, SHORT-TERM RENTAL PLATFORMS, AND ALIGNING AGAIN TO HAVE LIKE A A THREE-PRONGED APPROACH TO, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS AND, AND, UM, WHAT WE'RE GONNA BE ASKING FOR THERE.
WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO JANUARY'S UPDATE, UM, UPDATE FROM COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WORKING
[11. Update from Community Engagement Working Group with Commissioners Zisman, Houston, Csillagi, and Kracheni (chair)]
GROUP WITH COMMISSIONERS, UH, ZIMAN HOUSTON CHILA AND CNI CHAIR.DO YOU WANNA GIVE JUST A BRIEF UPDATE? YEAH, THERE ISN'T ONE
UM, I HAVEN'T DONE ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING.
I'M HOPING WITH THE NEW YEAR, UM, THAT WE CAN ALL GET TOGETHER AND KIND OF, UM, GET TOGETHER KIND OF OUR FIRST PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT EVENT.
UM, AGAIN, I DO HAVE SOME IDEAS, BUT YEAH, JUST HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING YET.
IT'S A BUSY TIME OF YEAR FOR EVERYBODY AND I KNOW WE'RE ALL BATTLING SICKNESS AS WELL, SO WE'LL DEFINITELY, UM, LET'S GET TO PLAN TO GET TOGETHER IN THE EARLY WEEKS OF JANUARY SO THAT WE CAN HAVE A, AN UPDATE ON THE BY THE 22ND.
UM, SOMETHING THAT'S NOT ON THE AGENDA THAT I DO FEEL LIKE MAYBE SHOULD HAVE BEEN, AND I APOLOGIZE FOR NOT CATCHING IT, IS THE, AN UPDATE TO THE, UM, APPELLANT WORKING GROUP.
SHOULD WE SAVE THAT FOR JANUARY SINCE IT'S NOT ON THE AGENDA.
THE, UH, OR THE, UM, THE WORKING GROUP ESTABLISHED FOR THE APPEALS THAT WE HAD FOR THE TWO PRO FUNDING PROGRAMS. I THINK IT, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S ALL BEEN, WE, I'LL GIVE A VERY INFORMAL UPDATE.
UM, THE WORKING GROUP MET, UH, ALONG WITH CITY STAFF AND WALKED THROUGH THE TWO APPELLANTS THAT WERE ELIGIBLE AND WE FOUND THAT, UH, WE, UH, UNANIMOUSLY RULED IN FAVOR OF THE APPELLANTS.
HOWEVER, THOSE, UH, THE IMPACT OF THE SCORE THAT THAT MADE WAS NOT ENOUGH TO CARRY THEM PAST THE THRESHOLD OF RECEIVING FUNDING.
THOSE TWO, UM, GROUPS HAVE BEEN IN COMMUNICATION WITH CITY STAFF AND HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED WITHIN THAT 30 DAY WINDOW THAT WE WERE GIVEN.
UM, AND UM, IT'S, UH, FOR THE DISCUSSION I THINK HAS BEEN TAKEN UP WITH CITY STAFF.
BUT IN TERMS OF OUR ROLE FROM THE COMMISSION END, WE'VE, WE'VE COMPLETED THE WORK.
UM, AND DID I FEEL LIKE I'M PRETTY PROUD THAT WE WERE ABLE TO GET TOGETHER AND, UM, MEET AND HAVE UM, UM, AN ANSWER FOR THEM, UM, WITH, UM, AS MUCH URGENCY AS WE COULD BRING TO THE SITUATION.
SO I DON'T KNOW THAT WE CAN SUNSET THE WORKING GROUP THIS MONTH, BUT I DID WANNA PROVIDE AN UPDATE TO THE COMMUNITY AND WE CAN FORMALLY SUNSET IT NEXT MONTH JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE WITHIN THE CONFINES OF ROBERT'S RULES.
[ITEMS FOR INFORMATION]
ITEMS FOR INFORMATION 2024 APPROVED A IPP PANEL MEETING SCHEDULED.IS CONSTANCE STILL? YES, I SEE HER.
CONSTANCE, HANG ON TILL THE END.
UH, ME AND MY TEAM DUTIFULLY REVIEWED THE, UM, THE ARTS COMMISSION, UM, MEETING SCHEDULE FOR NEXT YEAR AND ALIGNED OUR REGULAR MEETING SCHEDULE ACCORDINGLY.
UH, GENERALLY WE MEET THE FIRST MONDAY OF EVERY MONTH.
WE'VE MADE A COUPLE OF ADJUSTMENTS BASED ON HOLIDAYS AND INSTEAD OF MEETING THE FIRST MONDAY OF JANUARY, BECAUSE THAT IS A HOLIDAY, WE'RE MEETING JANUARY 8TH.
[02:40:02]
THE OTHER EXCEPTION IS, UH, WE'RE GONNA MEET, UH, JULY 1ST AND ALSO, UH, IN SEPTEMBER AND THINKING ABOUT LABOR DAY INSTEAD OF ME MEETING SEPTEMBER 2ND, WE'RE MEETING SEPTEMBER 9TH.AND THOSE ARE THE ONLY EXCEPTIONS TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED MONDAY MEETINGS.
AND I'M SURE, UH, COMMISSIONER MALDONADO HAS THIS SCHEDULE.
I DO WANNA REMIND OUR COMMISSIONERS THAT Y'ALL ARE WELCOME TO ATTEND AS LONG AS WE DON'T HIT QUORUM, IT COULD BE A PARTY.
UM, UH, CONSTANCE ARE THESE MOSTLY VIRTUAL, A SMALL PARTY, A MODEST PARTY? THEY'RE VIRTUAL STILL.
THEY HAVE ALL BEEN VIRTUAL, UH, SINCE COVID AND, UH, WE ARE HAVING THE DISCUSSION FIRST MEETING IN JANUARY ON EITHER WHAT, WHATEVER THE OPTIONS ARE TO EITHER GO HYBRID MEET IN PERSON OR CONTINUE TO MEET VIRTUALLY.
BUT THE FIRST MEETING IN JANUARY WILL BE A VIRTUAL MEETING.
PLEASE KEEP US POSTED IF THOSE ARE EVER GONNA BE IN PERSON, WHERE THEY MIGHT BE.
UM, AGAIN, I ENCOURAGE ALL MY COMMISSIONERS TO AUDIT AT LEAST ONE OF THOSE MEETINGS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
I THINK IT'S VERY INFORMATIVE AND ALSO JUST HEALTHY TO HAVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH OUR SISTER COMMISSION, UM, AND FOR THEM TO KNOW US AND FEEL LIKE THEY CAN, YOU KNOW, CONNECT WITH US.
SO UNITY, UM, THANK YOU CONSTANCE.
UM, WE WILL ADD THOSE DATES TO OUR CALENDAR AND PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR STAFF MEMBER TO CONTINUE TO INVITE US.
I'VE BEEN RECEIVING THOSE CALENDAR NOTIFICATIONS AND IT DOES HELP.
UM, WITH THAT WE CAN MOVE ON TO FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. LET'S JUST MAKE YES.
CAN I, UH, INFORMATION, OH, DID I SKIP ITEMS FOR INFORMATION? I DID, YES, PLEASE.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE CITY HAS A NEW INITIATIVE CALL.
WE ALL BELONG AND, UH, DISTRICT 10, ME AND MY MUSIC COMMISSIONERS, UH, ORGANIZE A EVENT IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
UH, IT IS CALLED WE ALL BELONG SUNSETS ON HATE.
SO IT IS AT THE CORNER OF THE CAT MOUNTAIN COVE AND CAT MOUNTAIN DRIVE, UM, IS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE TO WATCH THE SUNSET.
AND THERE WILL BE CONCERT, IT WILL BE MUSICIAN THERE AND THEN THERE WILL BE, UH, WE'LL INVITE LEADERS FROM DIFFERENT COMMUNITY TO COME AND JUST TALK ABOUT HOW WE ALL BELONGS AND WE SHOULD NOT HAVE NO PLACE FOR HATE IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND I WOULD REALLY LOVE TO INVITE THE COMMISSIONERS TO COME AND THE CITY ACTUALLY HAS FUNDING FOR IT.
YOU CAN APPLY UP TO $3,000 FOR YOUR NEIGHBORS.
AND I THINK THE BEST WAY TO, UH, COMBAT HAZE IS TO REALLY GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER.
SO WE ORGANIZE THIS, UH, MUSIC EVENT BEFORE THE SUNSET SO YOU CAN HAVE YOUR OWN POP-UP EVENT IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
AMY, WILL YOU CIRCULATE THAT INFORMATION? I, IT IS, IT'S ON OUR EMAIL SO IT'S NOT IN YOURS.
I WILL, I WILL DEFINITELY, UM, FORWARD THAT TO YOU.
SO IT'S A SUNDAY, JANUARY 7TH, UH, AROUND FIVE 30 IS WHERE THE SUNSET IS.
YOU KNOW, SO JUST COME AND ENJOY AND I THINK IF WE CAN GET A, THE FUNDING THING YEAH, THE FUNDING THING SO THAT IT CAN BE, UM, RE UH, YOU, YOU CAN GET REIMAGINED TO, IT'S AN INITIATIVE, UH, BY OUR DISTRICT 10, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER AL AMAZING.
IT WAS HER BABY BECAUSE OF THE ANTISEMITIC HATE IN TOWN.
SO YOU CAN GET UP TO $3,000 AND GO TO THE WEBSITE AND JUST APPLY FOR IT.
AND UM, AND, AND, AND JUST A DO A NEIGHBORHOOD EVENT, YOU KNOW, SIMPLE, SIMPLE.
YES, I'LL DEFINITELY GRAB THAT INFORMATION WHERE WE CAN AND, AND CIRCULATE IT.
AND I WOULD SAY IF, IF WE CAN TALLY AND GET A GRASP ON HOW MANY COMMISSIONERS WANNA ATTEND, ALL WE NEED IS A SPECIAL OH YES.
THAT THERE'LL BE MORE THAN A QUORUM THERE OR THAT THERE'LL BE A QUORUM THERE.
UM, BUT WE SHOULDN'T HAVE ANY ISSUES, UM, ALL ATTENDING AND I THINK WE SHOULD BE THERE.
UM, OTHER ITEMS FOR INFORMATION, OBVIOUSLY IT'S THE HOLIDAY SEASON MAKERS ARE, UM, IN THEIR HIGH SEASON.
GO TO THE ARMADILLO, GO TO BLUE GENIE, STOP AT EVERY POP-UP AND CRAFT AIR, BUY LOCAL SUPPORT.
IT MAKES YOU AN AMAZING PERSON.
IT'S GREAT FOR YOUR KARMA AND IT JUST MAKES YOU COOLER, FRANKLY, IF, UH, IT'S UP TO ME.
UM, ANY OTHER ITEMS FOR INFORMATION? I DIDN'T MEAN TO PASS OVER THAT.
COMMISSIONER GRAY, THE PRECIOUS PRESENT AT AUSTIN VENTURES
[02:45:02]
STUDIO THEATER THIS WEEKEND OPENS ON SATURDAY MATINEE SUNDAY NIGHT CLOSES ON SUNDAY MATINEE TICKETS@TAPERE.ORGAND COMMISSIONER GRAY IS THE MOST PRECIOUS PRESENT, SO PLEASE LET US ALL GO.
I WILL BE AT THE 2:00 PM DECEMBER 17TH SHOW AND WE CAN, WE CAN ALL CHEERS TOGETHER.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
ITEMS. WE'VE GOT THE SUN SETTING OF THE APPELLANT WORKING GROUP THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDED TO OUR WORKING GROUP UPDATES.I'M BLANKING IF THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE TO DO SOMETHING FOR THE DID.
I DON'T THINK WE NEED TO APPROVE IT.
THERE WAS NO, IT WASN'T AN ACTION, IT WAS JUST AN ITEMS FOR INFORMATION.
THE PERSON, THEY'RE THEY'RE GONNA BRING IT TO US.
OH, THEY'RE BRINGING IT TO US.
I WAS, I CLARIFIED THAT AT THE, ON THE FRONT END.
UM, BUT THEY'LL BRING IT THAT TO US AND YOU'LL GET GRAND PPO ONTO THAT WORKING GROUP AND THEN WE COULD PROBABLY DISCUSS WHAT COMMUNITY MEMBERS ARE GONNA BE THE BEST FIT FOR THAT.
UM, ANY OTHER AGENDA ITEMS OR DESIRED AGENDA ITEMS? JUST A REMINDER TO MY COMMISSIONERS.
SO IF YOU AND A BUDDY WANNA ADD A COMMISSIONER BUDDY WANNA ADD SOMETHING, BRING IT TO ME.
I'M ALWAYS HAPPY TO BE A SECOND.
UM, IF THERE'S SOMETHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO BRING TO THE AGENDA, IF THERE'S A COMMUNITY MEMBER THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO PRESENT A TOPIC THAT NEEDS FURTHER DISCUSSION, UM, I'M ALWAYS OPEN TO HEARING THAT.
I WANNA GIVE A BIG SHOUT OUT TO COMMISSIONER HOUSTON GOLD STAR 'CAUSE SHE IS ALREADY EMAILED HER COUNCIL PERSON IN SUPPORT OF AUSTIN PLAYHOUSE.
AND Y'ALL NEED TO GET ON THAT TRAIN.
YOUR HOMEWORK IS TO SEND A LETTER OF SUPPORT, AN EMAIL, A NOTE, A CARRIER PIGEON, MAYBE NOT CARRIER PIGEON.
'CAUSE IT NEEDS TO GET THERE BY THURSDAY TO LET THEM KNOW THAT WE UNANIMOUSLY SUPPORT AUSTIN PLAYHOUSE.
DO I NEED TO, TO, TO TALK ABOUT HOW MUCH OR JUST TO APPROVE? NO.
YEAH, WE'RE, WE JUST GOT A, I I SENT A QUICK EMAIL WHILE, UM, INSPIRED BY COMMISSIONER HOUSTON SAYING, YOU KNOW, JUST GOT AN AMAZING PRESENTATION FROM ME.
A EDC AND AUSTIN PLAYHOUSE, UNANIMOUSLY SUPPORTED BY THE ARTS COMMISSION.
SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES AND I THINK THAT'LL DO THE JOB.
UM, BUT YES, THAT IS YOUR HOMEWORK.
YOUR OTHER HOMEWORK COMMISSIONERS IS TO RESPOND TO JESUS'S EMAILS WHEN HE SAYS, WHO'S COMING ONE MONTH, I DIDN'T DO IT.
OR WHO'S NOT COMING BECAUSE I FIND THAT THE DAY OF WE ARE PLAYING, DID YOU HEAR FROM THIS PERSON? DID I HEAR FROM THIS PERSON? AND I LEGALLY CANNOT CONTACT YOU.
IT'S WALKING QUORUM IF I TEXT INDIVIDUALLY.
SO YOU'VE NEVER RECEIVED THOSE TEXTS FROM ME, EVER.
UM, I SEND REMINDERS OF MEETINGS, BUT, UM, IT WOULD BE SUPER DUPER HELPFUL FOR WHEN, YOU KNOW, EVEN THE DAY OF WHEN YOU RECEIVE THE BACKUP AND THE CONFIRMATION WITH THE WEBEX LINK AND WHERE WE'RE GONNA BE MEETING, IF YOU CAN SAY, OH, I WILL BE THERE, OR OOPS, I WILL NOT BE THERE.
UM, AND THAT WAY WE CAN BE SURE WE HAVE QUORUM.
BECAUSE IF WE GET HERE, CITY STAFF GETS HERE, A TXN STAFF GETS HERE, WE HAVE THIS BEAUTIFUL ROOM AND WE HAVE THREE PEOPLE.
SO YOUR HOMEWORK IN THE NEW YEAR IS TO DO YOUR DUE DILIGENCE AND RESPOND RSVP TO OUR WONDERFUL STAFF PEOPLE SO THAT WE KNOW, UM, WHO WILL BE PRESENT.
AND WITH THAT, WE'VE REACHED THE END OF OUR AGENDA.
DOES ANYBODY WANNA MAKE A LITTLE SUGGESTION? MOCK YOU LOVE TO DO THIS, JOHN, AND HAPPY HOLIDAY.
HOPE TO SEE YOU AT THE PRECIOUS PRESENT OR AT THE ARMADILLO OR AT ANY OF OUR OTHER AMAZING CULTURAL FUNDED PROGRAMS. WOOHOO, TRUST.