Jan 10, 2024 Community Technology &amp; Telecommunications Commission

UH, COMMISSIONER PENA VIE PEN, AND I REPRESENT THE MAYOR OF AUSTIN.

COMMISSIONER ALDER AL, REPRESENTING DISTRICT THREE.

COMMISSIONER KU REPRESENTING DISTRICT SIX.

COMMISSIONER KU.

AND COMMISSIONER SUPTA, UH, SUBMIT SUPTA REPRESENTED DISTRICT 10.

UH, THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES, UH, AND WE'LL DO THAT QUICKLY.

WITH THAT, WE ARE A CALL TO ORDER.

UH, NOW LOOKING TO SEE IF THERE'S ANYBODY SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.

NO ONE SIGNED UP ONLINE, AND THERE'S NO ONE HERE TO, TO SPEAK IN PERSON.

OKAY, GREAT.

WE CAN PROCEED, UH, WITH THAT.

WE'LL START WITH,

[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]

UH, WE'VE GOT SOME GUESTS HERE IN HOUSE, UH, WHICH I'LL WELCOME HERE SHORTLY.

UH, BUT I'LL GO AHEAD AND LOOK FOR A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS PRESENTED.

AND THEN A SECOND CHAIR PITS, I MOVE TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM THE LAST MEETING.

UP THE UPDATE ON CREATIVE CAREERS PROGRAM.

COMMISSIONER DAS GUPTA.

IS THERE A SECOND? I SECOND.

THANK YOU COMMISSIONER KU.

WITH THAT, WE CAN GO AHEAD AND HOLD THE VOTE.

ALL IN FAVOR OF, EXCUSE ME, APPROVING THE MINUTES AS PRESENTED.

UH, PLEASE SAY, AYE AND SHOW YOUR HAND.

AYE.

A AYE, AYE.

ANYONE OPPOSED? OKAY.

THE MINUTES ARE UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED BY OUR QUORUM CHAIRMAN.

UH, THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER APODACA.

WELL, THAT PRESENTS A CHALLENGE, UH, BECAUSE WE HAVE ONLY SIX COMMISSIONERS PRESENT.

WE HAVE TO HAVE A QUORUM, ACTUALLY APPROVE THESE MINUTES.

SO WITH THE ABSTENTION, WE'LL HAVE TO TABLE THIS APPROVAL FOR A FUTURE TIME.

LET'S PROCEED.

AND I AM GONNA ACTUALLY BE SWITCHING AROUND OUR AGENDA JUST A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE WE'RE STILL WAITING ON OUR SPEAKER.

UH, SO, UH, DR.

TROOVER HAS YET TO JOIN US ONLINE, IS THAT CORRECT? OKAY.

SHE CONFIRMED WITH ME YESTERDAY SHE WAS GOING TO BE JOINING US.

UH, SO WITH THAT, THERE'S NOW BEEN, UH, A SLIGHT CHANGE HERE IN OUR AGENDA.

WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND BUMP

[3. Update on the Creative Careers Program (Rakeda Ervin – Program Director, Austin Film Society) ]

UH, SO, UH, WITH THAT, UH, LET ME WELCOME OUR SPECIAL GUESTS, EVERYONE HERE IN THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ROOM AT 1101 AT CITY HALL, AND EVERYONE ONLINE.

UH, FOR THOSE THAT ARE PARTICIPATING IN THE PRESENTATION, UH, WHO ARE HERE IN PERSON, UH, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO GRAB A SEAT, UH, AT THE TABLE IF YOU'D LIKE TO BE ON THE MIC.

UH, OTHERWISE I WILL GO AHEAD AND HAVE THE PLEASURE OF WELCOMING RITA.

UH, AND FOR THE SAKE OF EVERYBODY, RITA'S, UH, A COLLEAGUE OF MINE IN THIS SPACE, RITA IRVING, UH, IS THE IRVING, EXCUSE ME, IS THE PROGRAM DIRECTOR FOR THE AUSTIN FILM SOCIETY.

UH, WELCOME, RITA.

HOW YOU DOING? HAPPY NEW YEAR.

HI, CHAIRMAN PITT.

HAPPY NEW YEAR.

HI EVERYBODY.

UM, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT A FS CREATIVE CAREERS.

IT'S OUR PLEASURE.

UH, WITH THAT, UH, I'D LIKE TO, IF WE COULD MAYBE SAVE FIVE OR 10 MINUTES FOR QUESTIONS, UH, BUT JUST GO AHEAD AND HAND IT OVER TO YOU.

SOUNDS GOOD.

UM, I CAN'T SEE SLIDES.

HOPEFULLY NOW.

I MEAN, NOW.

SO AGAIN, THANK YOU ALL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT A FS CREATIVE CAREERS.

AS, UH, CHAIR KIT SAID, I'M, UH, NIKITA IRVIN.

I'M THE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY EDUCATION AT A FS, AND I ALSO LEAD THE CREATIVE CAREERS PROGRAM.

SO JUST WANNA NOTE THAT OUR CEO REBECCA CAMPBELL IS ALSO IN THE ROOM JOINING THE MEETING.

AND, UM, I'M EXCITED TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE PROGRAM AND OUR RECENT CELEBRATION, UM, CALLED THE OPENING CREDITS CAPSTONE EVENT THAT WAS HELD IN DECEMBER.

[00:05:03]

SO WHAT IS A FS CREATIVE CAREERS? THE PROGRAM PROVIDES, UH, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING FOR EMERGING CREATIVES TO GAIN ACCESS TO THE CREATIVE INDUSTRY.

SO WE LAUNCHED THE PROGRAM IN THE FALL OF 2021 TO PREPARE PARTICIPANTS FOR ENTRY INTO THIS COMPETITIVE INDUSTRY.

SO HERE'S A PHOTO HERE.

I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN ALL SEE IT.

UM, A PHOTO OF OUR CREATIVE CAREERS STAFF, UH, PARTICIPANTS, UM, IN AUSTIN BASED FILMMAKER DREW LIN, WHO TEACHES PRODUCTION ASSISTANT TRAINING.

SO THIS PHOTO WAS TAKEN FOLLOWING OUR TRAINING HELD AT OUR AUSTIN STUDIOS LOCATION, AND WE WERE EXCITED TO INTRODUCE IT BECAUSE DEDICATED PRODUCTION ASSISTANT TRAINING IS, CAN BE HARD TO FIND IN CENTRAL TEXAS.

SO IT WAS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR PARTICIPANTS TO GET HANDS-ON TRAINING TO PREPARE THEM FOR ENTRY-LEVEL POSITIONS, UH, ON A SHOW OR A COMMERCIAL OR A FILM.

SO, THROUGH AF S'S EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE, WE'VE DESIGNED A COST EFFECTIVE AND, UM, HIGH VALUE WORKFORCE PROGRAM.

SO WE REIMAGINED OUR INTERNSHIP PROGRAM AND THE TRAINING THAT WE OFFER THE COMMUNITY, UH, TO CREATE THIS WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY.

SO PARTICIPANTS HAVE ACCESS TO HIGH-END PROFESSIONAL GEAR AND SEEN IN THE PHOTO ON THE RIGHT AND HIGH-END TRAINING CLASSES TAUGHT BY INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, CAREER COUNSELING, AND JOB OPPORTUNITIES.

AND THIS ALL HAPPENED WITH SUPPORT FROM THE CITY THROUGH THE G OS GRANT AND A RPA FUNDS IN THE AMOUNT OF $450,000.

SO TO MAKE THE PROGRAM ACCESSIBLE FOR ALL, WE PAY STIPENDS AND OFFER WRAPAROUND SERVICES TO THE PARTICIPANTS.

AND THE PROGRAM SERVES AUSTINITES OF ALL EXPERIENCE LEVELS, NO MATTER WHERE THEY ARE IN THEIR CAREER, WHETHER THEY'RE BEGINNING OR PROFESSIONAL, AND MANY OF THEM DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO THE INDUSTRY.

AND THIS PROGRAM IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE'RE SEEING A LOT OF GROWTH IN FILM AND MEDIA, AND A FS IS PREPARING THE PARTICIPANTS FOR COM, THESE COMPETITIVE OPPORTUNITIES.

SO WE DELIVER THIS ALL THROUGH THREE DIFFERENT PATHWAYS, WHICH I'M EXCITED TO TELL YOU MORE ABOUT.

SO, OUR INTERNSHIP PATHWAY IS A SIX MONTH TRAINING EXPERIENCE FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE 18 TO 24 YEARS OLD.

UM, IT'S A 15 HOUR WEEK COMMITMENT AND, UH, PARTICIPANTS DON'T NEED ANY EXPERIENCE.

THEY JUST NEED TO HAVE A PASSION FOR WANTING TO LEARN MORE AND TO WORK IN THE INDUSTRY.

SO THIS PATHWAY INCLUDES AN INTERNSHIP, UM, EXPERIENCE WITHIN AN A FS DEPARTMENT.

SO WHETHER THEY'RE INTERESTED IN MARKETING OR CINEMA EXHIBITION OR ARTIST DEVELOPMENT, THEY GET THAT EXPERIENCE, UM, THAT INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE WITH US.

AND, UM, IT ALSO INCLUDES TECHNICAL TRAINING, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.

WE OFFER CLASSES ON HOW TO, UH, DESIGN A PORTFOLIO, HOW TO PUT YOUR RESUME TOGETHER, UH, WHAT TO WEAR, WHAT NOT TO WEAR, UM, ON A JOB INTERVIEW OR ON YOUR FIRST DAY OF SET.

UM, THERE'S CAREER COUNSELING AND ASSISTANCE WITH FINDING A JOB.

OUR SECOND PATHWAY IS OUR IMMERSIVE TRAINING PATHWAY, AND IT'S A THREE MONTH TRAINING EXPERIENCE FOR CANDIDATES WHO HAVE SOME LEVEL OF EXPERIENCE.

AND IT'S A EIGHT HOUR A WEEK COMMITMENT IS FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE 18 AND OLDER.

AND, UM, THEY RECEIVE HANDS-ON, UH, TRAINING THROUGH OUR PRODUCTION SERVICES INITIATIVE.

SO, A FS DOES FEE FOR SERVICE VIDEOS FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES AND NONPROFITS.

SO THEY GET A CHANCE TO LEAD THE WAY ON CAMERA OPERATION EDITING AND THINGS LIKE THAT ON THOSE VIDEO PRODUCTIONS WITH SUPPORT FROM OUR PRODUCTION SERVICES MANAGER.

AND THEY ALSO RECEIVE TECHNICAL TRAINING, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, CAREER COUNSELING, AND, UM, ASSISTANCE WITH FINDING A JOB.

THE THIRD PATHWAY IS CONTINUING EDUCATION.

SO, UH, THIS IS A PATHWAY OF FREE COURSES TO AUSTIN AREA RESIDENTS WHO ARE ALREADY PROFESSIONALS.

SO THE TRAINING THAT THEY RECEIVE GOES BEYOND RESOURCE CERTIFICATION COURSES.

THEY HAVE ACCESS TO WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COURSES, CONTINUING EDUCATION, AND, UM, IT'S DESIGNED FOR THEM TO TAKE IT AT THEIR OWN PACE ON THEIR OWN SCHEDULE.

AND THIS IS A COOL WAY FOR US TO SUPPORT AND TO CONNECT WITH AUSTIN AREA PROFESSIONALS.

AND WHAT'S REALLY COOL ABOUT ALL OF THESE PATHWAYS IS THAT ALL OF THE PEOPLE THAT ARE IN IT CONNECT WITH EACH OTHER.

SO THERE'S JUST A LOT OF POWER IN THE COHORT, RIGHT? SO MANY PEOPLE CONTINUE TO STAY IN TOUCH, THEY'RE WORKING TOGETHER, THEY'RE SUPPORTING EACH OTHER, AND, UM, IT'S A REALLY COOL THING TO SEE.

A VERY INSPIRING SPEECH ABOUT HIS JOURNEY AS A PHILIPPINES AMERICAN FILMMAKER.

SO, AS WE HIT OUR STRIDE, WE HELD A SECOND ANNUAL CAPSTONE EVENT AT A FS CINEMA, UH, LAST MONTH TO CELEBRATE THE 20, UH, 23 GRADS.

SO THIS EVENT INCLUDED CREATIVE CAREERS, PARTICIPANTS, STAKEHOLDERS, BOARD MEMBERS, STAFF, COMMUNITY PARTNERS, AND THE EVENT STARTED WITH A RECEPTION IN OUR CINEMA LOBBY, FOLLOWED BY A PRESENTATION IN OUR LARGEST THEATER.

AND IT CONCLUDED WITH GUEST SPEAKER PJ VAL, UM, WHO'S AN A FS GRANT SUPPORTED FILMMAKER.

SO PJ, THERE'S A PHOTO OF PJ ON THE LEFT HERE, UM, IS DELI.

HE DELIVERED

[00:10:01]

AND THE AUSTIN CHRONICLE RECENTLY WROTE AN ARTICLE ABOUT HIM AND HIS WORK.

AND, UM, TOMORROW A FS IS GONNA SCREEN HIS FILM CALLED WHO WE BECOME.

UM, IT'S ALSO STREAMING ON NETFLIX, SO PJ'S GONNA BE IN ATTENDANCE AND YOU'RE ALL INVITED TO COME ON THE RIGHT SIDE.

UM, OUR IS A PHOTO OF OUR RECENT GRADS FROM THE UNIVERSITY TRAINING PATHWAY, AND THEY CREATED A BEHIND THE SCENES VIDEO THAT WE SHOWED DURING THE EVENT, AND THEY WERE SO EXCITED TO SEE THEIR WORK ON THE BIG SCREEN AND WE'RE SO PROUD OF THEM.

SO, REBECCA CAMPBELL, A F AS A CEO, KICKED OFF THE EVENT WITH WELCOME AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS, AND THERE'S A PHOTO OF HER ON THE LEFT SIDE THERE.

AND ON THE RIGHT IS A PHOTO OF, UM, OUR, OUR TEAM, OUR COMMUNITY EDUCATION TEAM.

SO THE FAR LEFT, UM, IS MARLISA MENDEZ.

SHE'S THE PROGRAM COORDINATOR FOR COMMUNITY EDUCATION.

THERE'S REBECCA, THERE'S ME NEXT TO REBECCA, AND NEXT TO ME IS JACOB RAMON.

HE'S THE PROGRAM MANAGER, UM, FOR C UM, COMMUNITY EDUCATION.

AND TO THE RIGHT OF JACOB IS CHRISTIAN NELSON.

HE'S OUR PRODUCTION SERVICES, UH, MANAGER.

SO REBECCA INTRODUCED ME AND I TALKED ABOUT HOW ACCESS, UM, IS IMPORTANT FOR THOSE WHO MAY NOT HAVE CONNECTIONS, AND I SHARED A GLIMPSE OF OUR SUCCESS WITH THE PROGRAM.

SO THIS SLIDE HERE JUST GIVES YOU A SNAPSHOT OF WHAT WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED IN TWO YEARS WITH THIS PROGRAM.

UM, TO DATE, WE HAVE A 97% GRADUATION RATE.

UH, WE'VE SERVED 71% OF BIPOC PARTICIPANTS.

UH, WE'VE SERVED MORE THAN 85 PARTICIPANTS IN THE PROGRAM TO DATE.

AND 60, UH, JOBS HAVE BEEN REPORTED TO US BY THE PARTICIPANTS AT THE END OF THE PROGRAM, EACH PROGRAM CYCLE, WE, UM, UH, WE, WE ASK PARTICIPANTS TO COMPLETE A SURVEY.

SO HERE'S A SNAPSHOT OF SOME OF THE RESULTS FROM THAT SURVEY.

UM, 95% HAVE REPORTED THAT THEY'RE EXTREMELY OR VERY SATISFIED WITH THE PROGRAM, WITH THEIR REMAINING PERCENT, UM, PER, UM, REPORTING THAT THEY'RE SATISFIED, UH, 89% SAY THAT THEY HAVE HIGH CONFIDENCE TO WORK IN THE CREATIVE INDUSTRY WITH THE REMAINING PERCENT SAYING THAT THEY'RE CONFIDENT.

95% HAVE SAID THAT THE PROGRAM IS EXTREMELY OR VERY VALUABLE FOR THEIR FUTURE CAREER WITH THE REMAINING PERCENT, UM, FEELING LIKE IT'S VALUABLE.

SO THROUGHOUT THE EVENING, WE HIGHLIGHTED, EXCUSE ME, THROUGHOUT THE EVENING.

SECOND, THROUGHOUT THE EVENING, WE HIGHLIGHTED OUR GRADS THROUGH QUOTES, VIDEO AND DISCUSSION.

SO WE STARTED WITH GRADS FROM THE INTERNSHIP PATHWAY WHO WERE DOING AMAZING THINGS, AND THEY SHARED THEIR JOURNEY WITH US.

AND THIS CONVERSATION WAS LED BY JACOB, UM, OUR PROGRAM MANAGER, WHO ALSO STARTED HIS CAREER AS AN A FS INTERN.

SO, UM, IN THE PHOTOGRAPH ON THE LEFT, YOU'LL, OR, OR BOTH TO THE FAR LEFT, UM, YOU'LL SEE DYLAN, WHO, UM, CURRENTLY WORKS AS A FREELANCE EDITOR AND VIDEOGRAPHER NEXT TO HIM IS ANDREA, WHO IS CURRENTLY WORKING AT DETOUR PRODUCTIONS IN A PAID INTERNSHIP.

AND THEN WILL NEXT TO ANDREA IS, UM, CURRENTLY PRODUCING SHORT COMMERCIALS, UM, COMMERCIAL VIDEOS.

SO HERE'S A QUOTE FROM ONE OF OUR GRADS, OLIVIA.

UH, OLIVIA SAYS, I'M EXCITED TO PRACTICE WHAT I LEARNED AND, UM, EXPERI EXPERIMENT WITH SOME MORE ADVANCED ASPECTS OF SOUND.

I'M SURE THAT KNOWING HOW TO SET UP, UH, UH, MIXERS, MICS, SPEAKERS WILL BE VERY USEFUL FOR ME.

UM, OLIVIA IS IN THE PHOTOGRAPH, UH, WEARING AN OFF-WHITE SWEATER.

AND, UM, THE PHOTO WAS TAKEN DURING PRODUCTION ASSISTANT TRAINING, AND THEY'RE LEARNING ABOUT WALKIE ETIQUETTE.

AND, UM, IN THE ROLE OF PRODUCTION ASSISTANT, THEY CAN MAKE AN AVERAGE OF $200, UH, FOR A 10 HOUR DAY.

SO OUR PRODUCTION SERVICES MANAGER, CHRISTIAN NELSON, INTRODUCED GRADS, UM, FROM THE IMMERSIVE TRAINING PATHWAY AND TALKED ABOUT THEIR POST-GRADUATION EXPERIENCE AS MEDIA PROFESSIONALS.

SO, MALAYSIA ON THE FAR LEFT, UM, HAS WORKED ON A NUMBER OF FILMS INCLUDING THE PARAMOUNT PLUS TV SERIES, BASS REEVES, UH, NOAH NEXT TO HER WORKS PART-TIME AT OUR CINEMA.

AND HE ALSO WORKS FOR ROLLING, UH, REELS PRODUCTIONS.

AND TREY NEXT TO, UM, NOAH RECENTLY GRADUATED, SO HE'S ACTIVELY LOOKING FOR HIS FIRST PAID OPPORTUNITY.

PROGRAM AND THE EXPERIENCE I RECEIVED FROM IT.

SO, A MEMBER OF OUR ALUMNI, CASSANDRA, LANDED ONE OF HER FIRST JOBS AT SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST.

AND SHE HAD THIS TO SAY ABOUT HER EXPERIENCE WORKING AT SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST WAS ONE OF THE BEST EXPERIENCES OF MY LIFE, AND I COULDN'T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT THE CREATIVE CAREERS

[00:15:01]

I'M GRATEFUL FOR ALL THE OPPORTUNITIES FS HAS GIVEN ME.

AND THE PHOTO TO THE RIGHT IS OF OUR PARTICIPANTS AND, UH, ONE OF OUR INSTRUCTORS WHO'S ALSO A FILMMAKER, ARTURO EZ.

SO WE ALSO HONORED, UH, BRADS FROM OUR CONTINUING EDUCATION PATHWAY.

AND TO REMIND YOU, IT'S THE THIRD PATHWAY OF FREE TRAINING FOR AUSTIN AREA PROFESSIONALS, 18 AND OLDER.

AND, UM, THERE'S A PHOTO OF ME ON THE LEFT, UM, ACKNOWLEDGING THOSE PARTICIPANTS.

AND THEN, UH, ANOTHER PHOTO OF PJ VAL ON THE RIGHT.

HERE'S A PHOTO OF THE, UH, PARTICIPANTS FROM CONTINUING EDUCATION FROM THE SPRING OF 2023.

AND, UM, A QUOTE FROM ANDREA, WHO WAS, UM, A PART OF THE INTERNSHIP PANEL.

AND ANDREA SAYS, I'VE LEARNED HOW STRONG AF S'S SUPPORT SYSTEM IS AND HOW MUCH THEY VALUE MAKING SURE EVERYONE FEELS INCLUDED AND SEEN.

SO AT THE END OF THE EVENING, WE THANK OUR SUPPORTERS, UH, INCLUDING THE CITY OF AUSTIN, AUSTIN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION, UM, HEB AND THE TEXAS COMMISSION ON THE ON THE ARTS.

AND WE INVITED OUR, UM, AUDIENCE TO DONATE TO HIGHER GRAD AND TO LOOK FOR OUR NEXT CREATIVE CAREERS APPLICATION.

UM, AND THAT OPENS ON JANUARY 22ND.

SO PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD.

SO THE FUNDS THAT WE RECEIVE HELP US CONTINUE SERVING AUSTIN'S EMERGING CREATIVES, AND HERE'S A SNAPSHOT OF THE EMPLOYERS WHO HAVE ALREADY HIRED OUR GRADS.

AND WE'RE EXCITED TO START A NEW PROGRAM CYCLE IN THE SPRING AND TO SEE NEW AND AMAZING THINGS HAPPEN FOR PARTICIPANTS, OUR ALUMNI IN THE COMMUNITY.

UM, IT'S ALL VERY INSPIRING AND, UH, TO SEE OUR PARTICIPANTS LAND THEIR FIRST JOBS.

YOU KNOW, I THINK BACK TO WHEN I FIRST STARTED AND HOW, YOU KNOW, THE FEELING OF JUMPING FOR JOY.

SO, UM, IT'S BEEN AWESOME.

THE CAPSTONE EVENT WAS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO BRING EVERYBODY TOGETHER TO CELEBRATE THEM AND TO LOOK FORWARD TO THE NEXT, UH, PROGRAM CYCLE THAT, UM, WILL START, UM, IN A COUPLE OF MONTHS.

THAT WAS WONDERFUL.

THANK YOU, UH, RITA.

AND THANKS TO ALL OF THE STAFF AND, AND EVERYBODY WITH AUSTIN FILM SOCIETY.

I DID WANT TO GIVE YOU A CHANCE TO ADD SOMETHING TO THE RECORD IF YOU'D LIKE BEFORE I ASK A QUESTION.

UH, DID YOU WANT TO SHARE THE NAMES OF YOUR GRADUATES WITH THIS COHORT? OH, WOW.

THERE, UH, WE HAVE A LOT OF GRADUATES.

MAYBE IT'S NOT FEASIBLE, , UH, BUT I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE DIDN'T MISS OUT ON THAT OPPORTUNITY.

NO, THANK YOU FOR, UM, FOR ASKING ABOUT THAT.

SO WE HONORED GRADUATES FROM OUR SPRING AND OUR FALL CYCLE AND, UM, EACH PROGRAM CYCLE, UM, THEY'RE ABOUT, UM, 20 PLUS FROM 20 PLUS FROM EACH PROGRAM CYCLE, UM, IN THE PROGRAM.

OUTSTANDING.

WELL, UH, THE NEXT TIME I GET AN INVITATION, I KNOW I'M GONNA MAKE SURE TO BE THERE.

I APOLOGIZE THAT I COULDN'T MAKE IT, UH, TO THE, TO THE EVENT, BUT IT LOOKS WONDERFUL.

UH, ABSOLUTELY.

SO THANK YOU FOR THAT.

THAT THEY COME BACK AND TELL US WHAT IS IT THAT THEY HAVE THAT HAS MADE A DIFFERENCE IN THEIR CAREERS FROM THIS EDUCATION, FROM THIS TRAINING? WHAT PARTICULAR THINGS HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE AND HOW IT COULD BE BETTER IMPROVED OVER TIME? OH, THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER.

SO THANKS FOR THE GREAT PRESENTATION.

MY MAIN QUESTION IS THIS, UH, OUTSIDE OF WHAT THE COMMISSION IS ALREADY DOING, WHAT CAN WE DO TO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT OR TO ADD ADDITIONAL VALUE TO THESE PROGRAMS AND SERVICES FOR THE COMMUNITY? THE BIGGEST THING IS REALLY FUNDING, YOU KNOW, SUPPORTING, UM, THESE PROGRAMS THROUGH FUNDING.

UM, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO OFFER STIPENDS AND WRAPAROUND SERVICES TO THE PARTICIPANTS IS WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF BARRIERS THAT MAY PRE, UH, PREVENT FROM PEOPLE, UM, PREVENT PEOPLE FROM DOING A PROGRAM LIKE THIS.

SO BEING ABLE TO OFFER THAT TO THEM, TO GIVE THEM SUPPORT ON, YOU KNOW, TRANSPORTATION OR WHATEVER KIND OF, UM, CHALLENGES THAT THEY'RE HAVING, UM, AS IS HUGE TO KEEP, UH, PROGRAMS LIKE THIS GOING.

UNDERSTOOD.

UM, AND I I, I, I DO HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION I'M GONNA HOLD, UM, BUT I APPRECIATE THAT CANDOR.

WITH THAT, LET ME GO AHEAD AND PAUSE AND OPEN IT UP TO THE, THE REST OF THE COMMISSION.

UH, I NEED TO SEE YOU SO I CAN ACKNOWLEDGE YOU, AND THEN I'LL DO THAT AND THEN, UH, GET YOU A CHANCE TO ASK A QUESTION.

SO I SEE COMMISSIONER SUPTA GOT HIS HAND UP, COMMISSIONER DO SUPTA.

I'VE ACTUALLY GOT TWO QUESTIONS.

ONE IS, UH, OF THE GRADUATES THAT COME OUT OF THIS, UH, YOU KNOW, THIS EFFORT, HOW MANY OF THEM ACTUALLY GET EMPLOYED HERE AND HOW MANY HAVE TO GO ELSEWHERE? AND THE SECOND QUESTION IS, UM, WOULD IT BE, UH, YOU KNOW, A GOOD IDEA TO, UH, AFTER SAY A COUPLE OF YEARS OF EXPERIENCE

[00:20:01]

THAT'S AN EXCELLENT QUESTION.

UM, SO WE REALLY SUPPORT, UM, OUR PARTICIPANTS AND OUR GRADS, UM, LANDING WORK HERE, YOU KNOW, LANDING WORK IN, IN AUSTIN.

UM, THIS IS AN INDUSTRY WHERE, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY, UM, BEING IN LA, BEING IN NEW YORK, BEING IN, YOU KNOW, UH, LARGER CITIES, THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES, BUT THERE'S SO MUCH HAPPENING HERE.

AND, UM, I'M A TESTAMENT OF THAT.

I'M A, YOU KNOW, I WAS A WORKING PROFESSIONAL WHEN I, I MOVED TO AUSTIN AND WAS ABLE TO CONTINUE TO, UH, STAY IN THE CITY AND WORK.

AND THERE ARE SO MANY OPPORTUNITIES FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.

WHETHER A PRODUCTION COMES TO TOWN FROM, YOU KNOW, ANOTHER PLACE AND THEY'RE LOOKING FOR TALENT, UH, WE'RE CULTIVATING THIS TALENT SO THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT THEY DON'T HAVE TO BRING PEOPLE FROM THEIR, UH, LARGER CITIES TO COME TO AUSTIN, TO COME TO TEXAS TO WORK ON THESE PRODUCTIONS.

WE HAVE PEOPLE HERE THAT ARE TRAINED.

THEY'RE READY TO WORK, THEY'RE EXCITED TO DO IT.

UM, AND MANY OF THEM, WHEN THEY GRADUATE, THEIR GOAL IS TO STAY IN THE AREA AND TO WORK IN THE INDUSTRY.

UM, AND AS I MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, THERE'S SO MANY OPPORTUNITIES, WHETHER THEY'RE IN VR PRODUCTION OR DIGITAL MEDIA OR ON SHOWS.

UM, THERE'S A LOT OF, UH, CREATIVE JOBS THAT ARE AVAILABLE.

AND, UM, MANY OF THEM ARE SUPER, THEY STAY IN TOUCH WITH US AND THEY'RE SUPER EXCITED TO COME BACK AND, YOU KNOW, TELL US ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES.

AND SO THERE'S ALWAYS THAT OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO HAVE ALUMNI.

OUR ALUMNI IS CONT IS GROWING.

IT'S A VERY NEW PROGRAM.

UM, BUT WE'RE STARTING TO SEE MORE AND MORE ALUMNI THAT REACH OUT TO US AND TELL US ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES.

SO, UM, WE'RE ALWAYS EXCITED TO GET THE WORD OUT, UM, SO THAT PEOPLE ARE AWARE AND THEY KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING AND, UM, THEM AMAZING THINGS THAT PEOPLE ARE DOING.

, GREAT QUESTION.

COMMISSIONER SUPTA, UH, THANK YOU FOR THAT RESPONSE.

UH, WE, WE DE INDEED HAVE SO MUCH POTENTIAL FOR CAPACITY BUILDING HERE IN THIS COMMUNITY.

UH, AND WHAT A GREAT THING THAT YOU'RE DOING IN A FS TO HELP ENABLE THAT.

UH, I'VE GOT ANOTHER QUESTION I'M HOLDING.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME? OKAY, WELL, MY LAST QUESTION REALLY IS I THINK, UH, PERTINENT AND IT GETS SEGUE BASED ON WHAT WAS JUST DISCUSSED.

WE HAVE A TOWN HALL PLANNED ON JANUARY THE 27TH AT THE UNIVERSITY HILLS BRANCH LIBRARY.

AND IT WOULD BE WONDERFUL IF A FS TABLED AT THAT EVENT.

IT IS A SATURDAY, UH, BUT IT'S SCHEDULED FROM 12 TO THREE.

UH, SO YOU GUYS ARE GETTING A PERSONAL INVITATION FROM ME.

UH, WOULD LOVE TO BE ABLE TO CONFIRM AND TO LET PEOPLE KNOW YOU'RE GOING TO BE THERE.

UH, THAT WAY THEY CAN START LOOKING INTO YOU AND, AND THEN BE READY TO TALK TO YOU IF, UH, YOU CAN MAKE IT.

THAT SOUNDS GREAT.

THAT'LL BE A WEEK AFTER OUR APPLICA OR, UM, SPRING, UM, PROGRAM CYCLE APPLICATIONS OPEN UP.

SO WE'LL BE IN THAT PERIOD OF ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO, UM, APPLY FOR THE PROGRAM.

WONDERFUL.

THANK YOU FOR THAT.

WELL, THAT'S GREAT.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE WONDERFUL PRESENTATION AND ALL THAT YOU'RE DOING AT A FS.

APPRECIATE IT.

THANKS, PEER PITTS.

YOU GOT IT, NIKITA.

ALRIGHT, WELL WITH THAT, MOVING ON TO OUR AGENDA NOW TO AGENDA.

AH, WELL, UH, UH, NOW WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND KEEP MOVING IN THE AGENDA.

UH, SO, UH, OUR OTHER GUESTS WHO ARE HERE IN PERSON, UH, WON'T HAVE TO WAIT.

UH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE, IF YOU'D BE SO KIND AS TO HAVE A SEAT.

AND THEN I'LL GO AHEAD AND, UH, MAKE THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THIS AGENDA ITEM.

UH, WE'RE NOW MOVING ON TO

[4. Presentation on Autonomous Vehicles (Rachel Castignoli – Business Process Consultant Senior, Transportation and Public Works) ]

AGENDA ITEM NUMBER FOUR, UH, PRESENTATION ON AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES.

AND, UH, THE ONLY REGISTERED SPEAKER, UH, WAS, UH, RACHEL CAGNOLI, UH, OUR BUSINESS PROCESS CONSULTANT, UH, SENIOR BUSINESS PROCESS CONSULTANT WITH TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS.

UH, BUT SHE'S BEING JOINED BY SOMEONE ELSE AND I'LL GIVE HER A CHANCE TO INTRODUCE HIM AND I'LL PASS IT ON TO YOU, RACHEL.

THANKS SO MUCH.

UH, I'M HERE WITH THE DIVISION MANAGER FOR SMART MOBILITY PERKS, SCANLON.

OVER THE LAST FIVE, SIX MONTHS, UH, AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY AND DRIVING OUR TRANSPORTATION NETWORK.

IF IT, IF IT'S OKAY WITH Y'ALL, I'LL JUST, UH, I'M JUST GONNA SET THE TABLE FOR THIS PRESENTATION, BUT OF COURSE, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.

SO NICE TO MEET YOU.

NICE TO MEET YOU TOO.

UH, YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.

SO PLEASE GO AHEAD, TAKE IT AWAY.

ALRIGHT, WELL, GOOD EVENING, UH, CHAIR PITTS AND MEMBERS OF THE CTTC.

THANKS FOR HAVING US.

WE'RE HERE TO GIVE A BRIEFING, UM, REGARDING AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES.

SO IF, UH, I THINK WE HAVE A SLIDE A DECK HERE SECOND.

YEP, NO PROBLEM.

SO JUST KIND OF, I CAN KICK IT OFF JUST SAYING, UH, I THINK MOST FOLKS HAVE SEEN

[00:25:01]

UM, SO I THINK MOST FOLKS ARE PRETTY FAMILIAR WITH CRUISE, UM, WHICH HAD THE BIGGEST PRESENCE IN OUR COMMUNITY AS WELL AS, UM, SOME RELATIVELY, NOT NEWCOMERS, BUT SOME ADDITIONAL COMPANIES CALLED WAYMO VOLKSWAGEN.

AND THEN I THINK THERE ARE A FEW OTHERS, AND RACHEL'S GONNA COVER ALL THAT IN DETAIL.

SO WHAT WE'D LIKE TO DISCUSS, UM, IS FIRST OF ALL, WHAT IS THE REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT AROUND AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES? UM, AND JUST KIND OF LAY BARE WHAT, UH, WHAT THE SITUATION IS AS FAR AS HOW LOCAL GOVERNMENTS SUCH AS, UH, AUSTIN AND DALLAS AND HOUSTON, HOW WE CAN WORK WITH THESE COMPANIES.

UM, AND THEN WE'RE GONNA GO INTO MORE DETAIL ABOUT, UM, WHAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS DOING SPECIFICALLY TO COORDINATE OUR RESPONSE TO AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES.

SO JUST TO LAY IT, BEAR, UM, THE STATE LAW, UM, PREEMPTS THE CITY'S FROM REGULATING AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES.

SO WE HAVE NO AUTHORITY TO, UH, TELL THEM, TO GIVE US DATA, TO TELL THEM WHERE THEY CAN GO OR NOT GO TO TELL THEM HOW THE SIZE OF THEIR FLEET, WE CANNOT ISSUE PERMITS.

SO, YOU KNOW, I I THINK THE REASONING FOR DOING SO IS THAT THEY WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THEY, YOU KNOW, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS DON'T QUASH, UH, INNOVATION, THAT THEY DON'T HAVE A PATCHWORK SYSTEM OF REGULATIONS AND SUCH.

SO THERE WAS, YOU KNOW, REASONING AT THE STATE LEVEL FOR DOING THIS.

WHAT IT DOES DO IS PUT A CHALLENGE TO THE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS WHO SUDDENLY HAVE AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES DRIVING AROUND AND, UM, CAUSING SOME ISSUES.

AND WE'LL GO INTO THOSE AS WELL.

UM, SOME OF YOU MAY BE FAMILIAR, WITH'S HAPPENED IN SAN FRANCISCO, THEY'VE ALSO DEPLOYED IN PHOENIX, UM, SEATTLE, SOME OTHER CITIES AS WELL.

SO AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES ARE NOT, UH, NEW TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

UM, THEY'VE ACTUALLY BEEN AROUND SINCE ABOUT 2019 WHEN, UM, FORD ARGO CAME IN.

BUT FORD ARGO DEPLOYED SOLELY WITH TEST DRIVERS AND THEY WERE DRIVING, DOING THEIR MAPPING AND TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, START TO JUST TO PRETTY MUCH PILOT THAT TECHNOLOGY.

AND BETWEEN THEN AND ABOUT 2023 IS ALL OF A SUDDEN CREWS CAME IN.

CREWS ALSO ALSO TESTED AND MAPPED FOR A WHILE, BUT THEY WERE THE FIRST ONES TO GO COMMERCIAL.

AND THEY DID A SOFT LAUNCH WHERE ANY OF US COULD GET THE APP AND GO TAKE A RIDE IN A CAR THAT HAD NO DRIVER.

SO THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF WHERE WE'RE AT NOW.

CRUZ HAS STOPPED, UM, BECAUSE OF ISSUES THEY HAD IN MOSTLY IN CALIFORNIA, BUT THEY HAVE STOPPED OPERATIONS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, SO THEY'RE NO LONGER OPERATING IN AUSTIN.

UM, WE'VE SEEN THIS COMING SINCE ABOUT 2017.

SMART MOBILITY OFFICE DRAFTED AND CREATED WHAT'S WE CALL THE SMART MOBILITY ROADMAP.

AND IT REALLY NEEDS TO BE UPDATED.

FIVE YEARS OF TECHNOLOGY CREATES A LOT OF CHANGE, AND IT'S ABOUT TIME WE KIND OF START TO LOOK AT ALL THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF TECHNOLOGY WE THOUGHT WERE GONNA BE IN PLACE NOW THAT AREN'T, THAT DIDN'T PAN OUT AND WE NEED TO KIND RESET THAT PLANNING PROCESS, UM, TO THE NEXT SLIDE.

COULD DRIVE FROM NEW YORK TO LA WITHOUT ANY ASSISTANCE.

SO I'M GONNA HAND IT OVER TO, UH, RACHEL TO KIND OF DIVE INTO THE TECH AND ALSO TALK MORE ABOUT OUR AV, UM, SAFETY WORKING GROUP.

UH, HI EVERYONE, MY NAME IS RACHEL CASTAGNO AND I FACILITATE OUR AV SAFETY WORKING GROUP IN OUR AV PROGRAM.

UM, BECAUSE YOU'RE A TECH GROUP, I WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE INCLUDED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE TECH WE SEE IN AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES.

UM, MOST AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES WE SEE HAVE RADAR, LIDAR, AND CAMERAS ON THEM THAT LETS THEM KIND OF DETECT AND TRACK MOVING OBJECTS, GET REALLY GOOD 3D MAPS OF THEIR ENVIRONMENT.

AND ALSO THEY'RE USING THE CAMERA, THEY'RE READING OUR SIGNS, THEY'RE READING, UM, OUR STRIPES ON OUR STREETS.

THAT'S HOW THEY ARE NAVIGATING THE STREET.

THERE ARE THE, THE SOCIETY OF AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERS HAS SEVERAL LEVELS OF AUTOMATION.

UM, SO LIKE A LEVEL ONE IS SOMETHING THAT YOU SEE IN MOST MODERN CARS.

NOW THAT'S, IT TELLS YOU YOU'RE LEAVING THE LANE.

UM, IT LETS YOU KNOW TO BREAK LEVEL TWO IS, UM, WHAT TESLA IS.

UH, WITH THE FULL SELF-DRIVING LEVEL THREE, WE SEE THESE ARE MOSTLY FOR VEHICLES THAT HAVE A PERSON IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT THAT ARE USING ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY.

LEVELS FOUR AND FIVE ARE HIGH AUTOMATION AND FULL AUTOMATION.

EVERYONE WE'VE SEEN SO FAR CLAIMS TO BE A LEVEL FOUR.

UM, A LEVEL FIVE WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT

[00:30:01]

SO RIGHT NOW, UM, THE VEHICLES ARE USUALLY DEPLOYED IN AREAS THAT THEY'VE MAPPED BEFORE, THEY'VE MAPPED WITH A HUMAN DRIVER IN THEM.

UM, SO THIS IS ACCURATE AS OF KIND OF THE END OF LAST YEAR.

AND I THINK WE'VE SEEN SOME MORE WAYMO'S, UM, DEPLOYING AND, AND KIND OF THEM COMING IN MORE.

BUT LAST YEAR WE HAD CRUISE.

WE HAD ABOUT 150 CREWS AT THE PEAK.

UM, WE HAVE WAYMO, WHICH IS OWNED BY ALPHABET CRUISE IS OWNED BY GM, A DMT, WHICH IS OWNED BY VOLKSWAGEN.

AND WE ARE THEIR PRIMARY NORTH AMERICAN CITY.

SO THEY'RE HERE, THEY'VE GOT ABOUT 10 TO 12 OF THOSE ID BUZZES.

AND WE HAVE A COMPANY CALLED AV RIDE, UM, WHICH IS BASED OUT OF ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, I BELIEVE.

THEY HAVE A FEW, AND THEY'RE TESTING IN NORTH AUSTIN RIGHT NOW.

EVERY VEHICLE THAT'S AUTONOMOUS ON THE ROAD HAS A SAFETY ENGINEER IN IT.

IT MIGHT BE AN AUTONOMOUS MODE, BUT IT SHOULD HAVE A SAFETY ENGINEER IN IT WHO CAN TAKE IT OUT OF AUTONOMOUS MODE IF THEY NEED TO.

UH, IN THE SUMMER WE STARTED EXPERIENCING KIND OF COMPLAINTS AND ISSUES ABOUT THE AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES.

SO WE PUT TOGETHER SOMETHING WE CALL THE AV SAFETY WORKING GROUP.

UM, EVEN THOUGH WE CAN'T REGULATE AVS, WE DECIDED TO BE PROACTIVE AND TO WORK TOGETHER.

UM, ALL OF THESE FOLKS, POLICE, FIRE AND EMS COME TOGETHER FOR TRAININGS WITH THE AV COMPANIES.

WE COLLECT THE SAME DATA.

WE'VE COMPLETELY STANDARDIZED OUR DATA COLLECTION AND OUR DOCUMENTATION, AND THIS LETS US FACILITATE COMMUNICATION WITH AV COMPANIES, UM, SO THAT WE CAN HAVE STANDING MEETINGS WITH THEM, STANDING MEETINGS WITH EACH OTHER, AND REALLY IDENTIFY AND WORK THROUGH ISSUES.

UM, SO HERE'S LIKE A BIG, WE HAD A VERY BIG TRAINING WITH CREWS, UH, THAT WAS POLICE, FIRE AND EMS. WE HAVE AN EXPECTATIONS DOCUMENT THAT WE DEVELOPED.

YOU KNOW, LIKE KIRK SAID, WE CAN'T REGULATE, BUT WE CAN COMMUNICATE WHAT, HOW WE EXPECT THEM TO ACT AS GOOD CITIZENS IN AUSTIN.

UM, WE'VE ALSO INCLUDED TEXAS DPS AND UT POLICE AS THEY'RE ALSO EXPERIENCING SIMILAR ISSUES.

AND THEN SOMETHING WE'VE DONE THAT YOU'LL SEE MAYBE IN OUR NEXT SLIDE IS ALL OF OUR INCIDENTS ARE MAPPED THAT WE CAN, THAT'S A TIME, A PLACE AND A LOCATION.

AND THAT LETS US DETERMINE WHERE THERE ARE HOTSPOTS.

AND BY DETERMINING WHERE THERE ARE HOTSPOTS, WE ARE ABLE TO MITIGATE RISKS AROUND THOSE HOTSPOTS.

SO SOMETIMES THAT'S AN ISSUE THAT WE BRING TO OUR AV PARTNERS AND SAY, WE KEEP HAVING AN ISSUE AROUND SPECIAL EVENTS AROUND UT FOOTBALL AT THIS SPECIFIC INTERSECTION, AND WE'RE ABLE TO GO WITH THEM TO THAT INTERSECTION AND SEE WHAT IS THE ISSUE? WHY IS THIS AN ISSUE? MAYBE IT'S NEAR A FIRE STATION AND THEY'RE SEEING LIGHTS AND SIRENS A LOT, OR MAYBE IT'S OUTSIDE THE MOODY CENTER AND THEY, UM, ARE STRUGGLING WITH THE TRAFFIC DIRECTION FROM THE POLICE.

SO THAT'S BEEN ONE OF THE MOST HELPFUL THINGS.

WE'VE COME TOGETHER AS A SAFETY GROUP TO DO, TO GO DO SITE VISITS AND REALLY UNDERSTAND OUR LIKE INFRASTRUCTURE AND HOW THE AVS ARE INTERACTING WITH IT.

AND THIS IS THAT MAP.

UM, THESE ARE ALL OF THE INCIDENTS AND THESE REALLY RANGE FROM, UH, PEOPLE CALLING 3 1 1 SAYING THAT IT'S A NUISANCE ALL THE WAY TO COLLISIONS.

UM, AND WE HAVE SEEN SOME COLLISIONS.

YOU CAN SEE IT'S MOSTLY CONCENTRATED DOWNTOWN.

THAT'S MOSTLY WHERE THE AV COMPANIES WERE DEPLOYING.

WE'VE GOT SOME FURTHER OUT.

UM, THESE ARE COMING IN MULTIPLE WAYS.

3 1, 1 COMING IN THROUGH COUNCIL OFFICES FIRE INCIDENCES.

A PD IS, YOU KNOW, HAVING INCIDENTS.

UM, TPW, WHICH IS US TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS, THAT WOULD BE SOMEONE PARKING SEES SOMETHING AND THEY FLAG IT.

AND THEN EMS AS WELL.

SO WE'RE ALL GETTING TOGETHER STILL LOOKING INTO THESE.

IT'S BECOMES KIND OF VERY OBVIOUS WHERE ISSUES OCCUR A LOT ON TRINITY STREET, A LOT AROUND CONSTRUCTION NEAR THAT NEW CAPITAL MALL.

UM, AND THIS LETS US, LIKE I SAID, COME TOGETHER AND MITIGATE THE RISK, DETERMINE GOOD TREATMENTS FOR THOSE AREAS THAT MAKE IT SAFER FOR ALL DRIVERS AND EVERYONE USING THEM RIGHT OF WAY.

AND I THINK THAT'S OUR PRESENTATION.

I HAVE ONE, ONE THING TO ADD, UM, BECAUSE WE, OH, SORRY.

UH, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT BACK IN 2017, WE HAD ENVISIONED A RIGHT OF WAY FULL OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF TECHNOLOGY AND CONNECTED VEHICLE DSRC 5G ONE THING THAT'S KIND OF IMPORTANT TO KNOW IS THAT WHEN YOU TALK TO THESE COMPANIES AND WE ASK, WHAT DO YOU NEED FROM US? YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT IN THE RIGHT OF WAY CAN MAKE THESE SAFER? WHATEVER.

THEY'RE LIKE, WE DON'T NEED ANYTHING FROM YOU.

WE ARE BUILDING TO WORK IN YOUR, YOUR ENVIRONMENT ESSENTIALLY.

UM, WHICH I THINK IS KIND OF AN INTERESTING, AN INTERESTING SHIFT FROM THE WAY WE THOUGHT IT WOULD ALL WORK.

THAT THEY WOULD ALL BE CONNECTING TO SPAC DATA AND HAVING ALL THIS, YOU KNOW, VDX

[00:35:01]

KIND OF STUFF GOING ON, BUT THEY ARE KIND OF SELF, WOULD YOU KIND OF SAY SELF, UM, SELF-DRIVING .

SO JUST WANTED TO ADD THAT LITTLE POINT IN THERE.

YEAH, NO, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION AND, AND THANK YOU FOR THE CONTEXT FOR THAT AND SETTING THE STAGE.

UH, REALLY APPRECIATE IT, UH, AND ALL THE WORK YOU'RE DOING.

IN FACT, I, I WANT TO THANK, UH, YOUR COLLEAGUE HEATHER AND THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT FOR MAKING THIS INTRODUCTION AND, UH, FACILITATING THIS BRIEFING.

UH, I'VE GOT A COUPLE QUESTIONS, UM, AND THEN I'LL OPEN IT UP TO THE GROUP FOR QUESTIONS.

UH, JUST TO TECHNICAL CLARIFY SOMETHING HERE ON THE LAST SLIDE, UH, WOULD YOU MIND CONFIRMING FOR ME WHAT IT MEANS TO IGNORE A PD DIRECTION? SURE.

UM, IGNORING A PD, CAN YOU TURN YOURSELF, SORRY.

THANKS, ECHO.

UM, IGNORING A PD DIRECTION IS THEY REALLY, WE FOUND THAT THEY STRUGGLE WITH HAND TRAFFIC CONTROL.

SO BECAUSE THERE'S NO ONE IN THE CAR WATCHING, SO THE COMPUTER IN THE CAR HAS TO INTERPRET THE PERSON STANDING IN THE ROAD DOING HAND SIGNALS.

UM, AND THAT HAS PRESENTED A CHALLENGE SO MUCH SO THAT, UM, WE REALLY TR ASK PEOPLE TO AVOID SPECIAL EVENTS WHERE WE KNOW WE WILL RELY ON HUMAN TRAFFIC CONTROL.

I APPRECIATE THAT EXPLANATION.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CANDOR.

UM, OKAY.

SO, YOU KNOW, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, UH, IN THE PREVIOUS BRIEFING, UH, I WANT TO MAKE SURE TO OFFER THIS COMMISSION UP TO HELP ANY WAY THAT WE CAN IN LIGHT OF THE VALUE AND POTENTIAL FOR THIS TECHNOLOGY, AS WELL AS, UH, THE OPPORTUNITY FOR COMMUNITY INPUT AS YOU SHAPE THE TECHNOLOGY.

UH, AND, AND SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, HOW CAN THE COMMISSION BEST CONTRIBUTE, UH, TO THAT, ESPECIALLY AS IT RELATES TO MAKING SURE THAT, UH, THE COMMUNITY HAS A VOICE? SURE.

UM, SO WE ARE BEGINNING TO ENGAGE.

WE WERE KIND OF IN A REACTIVE MODE, UM, BEFORE, AND NOW WE'RE IN A MORE PROACTIVE MODE.

SO WE'VE BEGUN TO ENGAGE WITH A ISD UT, UM, AND ESPECIALLY DISABILITY ORGANIZATIONS ON, YOU KNOW, LIKE WHAT THEIR EXPECTATIONS ARE, WHAT POTENTIALS THEY SEE, WHAT CHALLENGES THEY SEE, SO THAT AS WE KIND OF ROLL OUT WITH AVS AGAIN IN 2024, UM, WE ARE CONSTANTLY COMMUNICATING WITH OUR AV PARTNERS ABOUT WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE SEEING ISSUES, WHAT WE NEED.

SO WE LOVE FOR PEOPLE TO, YOU KNOW, NOTE TO CALL 3 1 1 IF YOU SEE AN ISSUE.

IT HELPS US FILL THAT MAP.

UM, BUT ALSO COMMUNITY PARTNERS WHO WANNA WORK WITH US.

UM, AND THAT MAP THAT YOU SAW AS PUBLIC, IT'S ON CITY, UH, THE CITY WEBSITE AT BACK SLASH AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES.

IT'S UPDATED EVERY DAY.

UM, SO COMMUNITY PARTNERS WHO, YOU KNOW, ARE LIKE, THIS IS A SCHOOL ZONE.

PEOPLE ARE ALREADY SPEEDING HERE, I'M WORRIED ABOUT IT.

LIKE, WE WANNA HEAR ALL THAT INPUT.

'CAUSE IT REALLY DOES HELP US, UM, SHAPE OUR CONVERSATIONS THEN WITH OUR AV PARTNERS.

THANK YOU FOR THAT.

I APPRECIATE THAT.

UH, LET ME GO AHEAD AND TAKE A LOOK.

UM, I SEE A COUPLE HANDS UP.

I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND ACKNOWLEDGE VICE AKA FIRST.

COMMISSIONER SUPTA, EXCUSE ME, COMMISSIONER

THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.

UM, MY QUESTION RELATES TO, UM, THE INFORMATION PRESENTED AT THE BEGINNING OF YOUR PRESENTATION.

SO THE, UM, UH, THE, THE STRATEGY THAT WAS, THAT WAS COVERED, UH, YOU ALLUDED TO THE, THE STRATEGY DATE OUT OF DATE, UH, NEEDING A REFRESH.

I'M JUST CURIOUS, WHERE IS THE CITY CURRENTLY ON THE PROCESS FOR, UM, FOR REFRESHING THE PLAN AND, UH, HOW CAN THE COMMISSION HELP? UH, THAT WAS A SMART MOBILITY PLAN WE COVER AT THE BEGINNING.

I'D SAY IT'S, IT'S UNDER CONSTRUCTION.

WE, WE'D, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO, WHAT WE'VE DONE, UM, IN THE SMART MOBILITY OF OFFICE PRETTY MUCH OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS IS OPENED UP, UH, WHAT WE'RE CALLING OUR, UM, EXPRESSION OF INTEREST PORTAL.

AND WE'VE BEEN TAKING, UH, PROPOSALS FROM THE PRIVATE SECTOR FOR ALL TYPES OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGY, UH, SPECIFIC TO MOBILITY.

AND WHAT WE'VE REALLY LEARNED OVER THAT LAST FOUR YEARS, THE BREADTH AND THE, THE CHANGES AND THE ITERATIONS IN EMERGING TECH IS WHAT WE REALLY NEED TO GO BACK AND DIVE INTO TO ENSURE THAT WE CAN TO, TO BUILD, HELP BUILD THE NEXT PLAN.

UM, SO THERE'S, THERE'S, IT'S REALLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION, THERE'S A LOT OF WORK TO BE DONE.

BUT TO YOUR QUESTION, WHAT CAN THE THIS COMMISSION DO IS LIKE, WE COULD CERTAINLY, UM, WE'D BE CERTAINLY HAPPY TO BRING OUR WORK BACK TO Y'ALL TO GET YOUR INPUT.

AND, SORRY, UM, FOLLOW UP TO THAT IS WHAT, IS THERE A TARGET DATE FOR THE NEXT ITERATION OF THE PLAN TO BE, UM, FINALIZED? NO, NOT AT THIS TIME.

GREAT QUESTION.

[00:40:01]

AKA UH, NOW, COMMISSIONER, UH, SUPTA SUPTA.

UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION AND THE UPDATE.

SO I LOOK AMONG ALL OF THIS AV WORK AS SIMILAR TO ANOTHER ENGINEERING PROJECT THAT I WAS FAMILIAR WITH IN A COUPLE OF DECADES BACK WHERE THE PROBLEM WAS DIVIDED INTO TWO PARTS.

THERE WAS A COMPETITIVE PHASE AND THERE WAS THE NON-COMPETITIVE PHASE.

SO THESE COMPANIES THAT ARE TESTING OUT THEIR AVS, EW, HYUNDAI, TESLA, ET CETERA, THEY ARE IN THE COMPETITIVE DOMAIN.

THEY'RE TRYING TO SELL MORE CARS THAN THE REST OF THE COMPETITION, BUT THEY ALSO HAVE COMMON PROBLEMS. WHAT KIND OF INFRASTRUCTURE ARE YOU PUTTING TOGETHER AND HOW CAN THIS COMMISSION HELP IN PUTTING THIS INFRASTRUCTURE TOGETHER SO THAT THIS COMMON PROBLEM SET THAT THEY ALL FACE CAN BE SOLVED TOGETHER SO THAT WE DON'T COME UP WITH 10 DIFFERENT SOLUTIONS.

YOU KNOW, ULTIMATELY IT'S ABOUT PASS, YOU KNOW, PASSENGER SAFETY, PEDESTRIAN SAFETY, UH, REDUCTION IN, UH, IN IN TRAFFIC CONGESTION, ET CETERA, FOR A HIGHER QUALITY OF LIFE.

SO HOW CAN WE WORK TOGETHER TO FACILITATE THAT NON-COMPETITIVE ARENA? UM, THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.

IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO US.

UH, BUT AS THE CITY, WE ARE WORKING HEAVILY WITH NITSA, THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRANSPORTATION SAFETY ASSOCIATION, ALONG WITH, UM, EVERYONE AT U-S-D-O-T AND THEIR EMERGING TECHNOLOGY STUFF TO PROVIDE THEM WITH DATA SO THAT THEY CAN USE THE DATA THAT WE PROVIDE, SAN FRANCISCO, PHOENIX, AND ANY OTHER CITIES, UM, THAT HAVE HAD THESE AV ROLLOUTS.

WE'RE ALSO BRINGING ALL OF OUR DATA WITH OUR PEER CITIES.

SO AS AVS ROLLOUT IN NEW CITIES, WE CONTACT THEM, WE WORK TO MAKE SURE OUR DATA ALIGNS THAT WE'RE, WE'RE DEFINING NEAR MISS THE SAME WAY, UM, THAT WE'RE GATHERING THE SAME DATA SO THAT WE CAN COMPARE AND CONTRAST.

SO THAT'S SOME A CONVERSATION.

WE'VE, UH, HAD A LOT WITH SEATTLE, SAN FRANCISCO AND LOS ANGELES, UM, BOTH THROUGH, YOU KNOW, PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE'RE MEMBERS OF, BUT ALSO WITH OUR PARTNERS AT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WHO ARE INCREASINGLY INTERESTED IN OUR EXPERIENCE, UM, SO THAT THEY CAN PROMULGATE NATIONWIDE RULES.

NOW THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION, COMMISSIONER SUPTA.

AND I WANNA, UH, CIRCLE BACK ON THE, THE PART OF IT THAT WASN'T NECESSARILY ADDRESSED.

HOW CAN WE HELP WITH THAT? 'CAUSE IT SOUNDS LIKE A GOVERNANCE CHALLENGE, BASICALLY.

UH, CAN THE COMMISSION ACTUALLY HELP? IS THERE A WAY WE CAN, CAN ADD ANY VALUE? UM, I, YOU KNOW, KEEPING UP WITH THE INFORMATION COMING OUT OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, THERE'S A LOT OF RULEMAKING, UM, THAT IS KIND OF COMPLEX.

I KNOW THAT THE CITY OF SAN FRANCISCO HAS DECIDED, UM, TO GET INVOLVED IN THE RULE MAKING IN A WAY THAT WE HAVEN'T DECIDED TO DO.

BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE PROVIDING ALL OF OUR DATA TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND TO TXDOT, UH, SO THAT THEY CAN MAKE THOSE RULES, BUT THE RULES HAVE TO BE MADE NATIONWIDE.

UNDERSTOOD, UNDERSTOOD.

UH, WELL WITH THAT, UH, UNLESS THERE'S ANY OTHER BURNING QUESTIONS, UH, I'D LIKE TO JUST SAY THANK YOU GUYS FOR ALL YOU'RE DOING AND FOR THE GREAT PRESENTATION.

WE APPRECIATE IT.

UH, CERTAINLY WANT TO INVITE YOU BACK AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WELCOME YOU TO COME BACK WITH THAT PLAN ONCE YOU'RE READY TO EITHER COME INTO PERHAPS A CLOSED WORKING GROUP SESSION AND REVIEW IT.

UH, WHICH IS AN OPTION, BY THE WAY.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO JUST COME HERE.

UH, YOU COULD START WITH ONE OF OUR WORKING GROUP MEETINGS AND WE COULD TALK OFF THE RECORD ABOUT DIFFERENT THINGS, UH, THAT COULD HELP.

UH, AND THEN ALSO, OF COURSE, FUTURE MEETING FOR THE COMMUNITY'S BENEFIT AT LARGE, ALTHOUGH IT'S ALL ABOUT THE COMMUNITY, RIGHT? SO THANK YOU AGAIN FOR BEING HERE, Y'ALL.

PROCEED WITH OUR AGENDA TO DISCUSSION ITEMS, UH, BEGINNING WITH THE TEXAS DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY PLAN, COMMENT PERIOD AFTER ACTION.

PLEASURE.

OKAY, WITH THAT, LET'S GO AHEAD AND MOVE FORWARD WITH OUR AGENDA.

UH, OKAY.

SO, UH, WITH THAT, UH, WE'RE ADVANCING IN OUR AGENDA.

UH, WANNA THANK OUR, OUR GUESTS AGAIN FOR COMING IN PERSON.

IT GETS LONELY DOWN HERE SOMETIMES AT CITY HALL.

SO THANK YOU, AGAIN.

UH, BE SURE OF COURSE, TO GET YOUR PARKING VALIDATED.

UH, IF YOU'RE LEAVING NOW, OTHERWISE, YOU'RE WELCOME TO STAY.

UH, BUT WITH THAT, WE'LL

[5. Discussion Over Possible After Action Regarding the Texas Digital Opportunity Plan Comment Period]

UH, THIS WILL BE A BRIEF DISCUSSION, UH, BUT I DID WANT TO GIVE, UH, EVERYONE A CHANCE TO, UH, SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS AND, AND FEEDBACK ON HOW THINGS WENT.

UH, I WANT TO SAY CANDIDLY THAT I'M DELIGHTED THAT AUSTIN ENERGY, UH, WAS WILLING TO PRINT OUT THE

[00:45:01]

IN-PERSON FORM FOR THE TEXAS DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY PLAN, AND FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE AS WELL.

JUST TO BE CLEAR, UH, THE TEXAS DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY PLAN IS A CRITICALLY IMPORTANT THING FOR THE STATE OF TEXAS, THE CITY OF AUSTIN, IN EVERY COMMUNITY, REALLY, HERE IN OUR, IN OUR GREAT STATE, WE HOSTED A SUMMIT.

UH, WE ACTIVATED AS, UH, DECA UH, WE ACTIVATED, UH, AS, UH, THE COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY DIVISION AND TRYING TO GET AS MUCH DRIVING, UH, AS MUCH PUSH OF A PUSH AS WE COULD MAKE TOWARDS PUBLIC COMMENT.

UH, BECAUSE THAT WAS THE ASK, UH, THAT WE GET AS MUCH FEEDBACK FROM THE PUBLIC AS WE COULD AS POSSIBLE ON THAT PLAN.

AND AS WE STATED AT THE SUMMIT, AS PART OF THE CALL TO ACTION TO DRIVE PUBLIC COMMENT, THAT WAS BY NO MEANS MEANT TO BE THE END ALL, BE ALL.

IT'S LITERALLY THE PLAN, WHICH NOW EVERYTHING IS BEING TARGETED TOWARDS LATER ON FOR THE RELEASE OF A FUNDING OPPORTUNITY, UH, FOR DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS TO APPLY FOR FUNDING, UH, ORGANIZATIONS THAT WORK WITHIN THE DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY SPACE.

SO THOSE THAT PROVIDE DIGITAL, UH, NAVIGATION SERVICES, UH, THOSE THAT ALSO PROVIDE ACCESS, UH, TO DEVICES.

UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE KEY THING IS REALLY IS EVERYTHING THAT BASICALLY KIND OF WRAPS AROUND INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, THAT IS DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY, UH, WILL BE THE FOCUS OF TDOP OR THE TEXAS DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY PLAN.

SO OUR VOTED ACTION WAS TO TAKE THE COMMUNICATION THAT WE WANTED PUSHED OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY TO SHARE WITH OUR DISTRICT OFFICES, AND THEN TO ASK THEM TO SHARE THAT WITH THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE.

UH, I CAN PROBABLY SAY THAT I WAS ABLE TO DO THAT, AND, UH, ALTHOUGH I DON'T KNOW, UH, TO WHAT EXTENT THE OUTREACH TOOK PLACE, I KNOW AT LEAST I DID MY PART IN, IN MAKING SURE TO INFORM THE, THE DISTRICT ONE OFFICE.

UH, I'D LIKE TO GIVE EACH OF YOU A CHANCE TO SHARE WHAT YOU'RE ABLE TO DO.

UH, I'D LIKE TO START WITH VICE TRCA.

ALSO, UH, REACHED OUT TO DISTRICT TWO OFFICE, MADE THEM AWARE OF THE OPPORTUNITY.

UM, I BELIEVE IT WAS ADDED TO ONE OF THE NEWSLETTERS FOR THE DISTRICT.

WONDERFUL.

THANK YOU FOR THAT.

UH, COMMISSIONER DASS GUPTA, UH, I, UH, SENT A NOTE.

I, I ESSENTIALLY, UH, COPIED THE TEXT AND SENT IT TO, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER'S OFFICE.

AND I IMMEDIATELY HEARD BACK FROM HER, LIKE WITHIN LIKE LESS THAN AN HOUR, SAYING THAT SHE WILL MAKE SURE THAT IT IS DISSEMINATED, UH, TO THE, YOU KNOW, DISTRICT 10, UH, ME MEMBERS, UH, RESIDENTS.

UH, I DIDN'T GO BACK, YOU KNOW, TO HER WEBSITE.

I DIDN'T GO BACK AND CHECK, UH, BUT SHE DID SAY THAT IT WAS NOT, NOT ALIGNED WITH HER NEWSLETTER, SO IT'S NOT GONNA MAKE THE NEWSLETTER, BUT SHE WILL DO HER BEST TO DISSEMINATE THE INFORMATION IN PARALLEL.

WHAT I DID WAS I TOOK THE TEXT, COPIED IT INTO A PRIVATE MESSAGE, AND SENT IT TO ABOUT 40 PEOPLE WHO I THINK ARE VERY IT SAVVY.

AND I HEARD FROM A COUPLE OF THEM WHO ASKED ME SEVERAL FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS SAYING THAT THIS WAS A WONDERFUL IDEA, AND THEY WERE GOING TO, ONCE THEY HAD DISCUSSED IT WITH ME, THEY WERE GONNA LOG IN AND FEED IN THEIR COMMENTS.

THAT'S GREAT.

THANK YOU FOR SHARING THAT AND FOR TAKING THAT ACTION.

UH, LET ME JUST KINDA GO HERE IN THE ORDER OF THE SCREEN, UH, UH, COMMISSIONER PENA VIA, WOULD YOU BE SO SUBCONSCIOUSLY SHARE WHAT YOU'RE ABLE TO DO, IF ANYTHING? YES.

I MEAN, UH, I SHARED WITH THE OFFICE OF THE MAYOR, UH, BUT I STILL NEED TO FOLLOW UP WITH THEM SINCE, UH, I HAVEN'T HEARD BACK FROM MY POINT OF CONTACT.

BUT THANK YOU FOR DOING THAT, AND I APPRECIATE THAT.

UH, COMMISSIONER WI JAIKU, WOULD YOU BE SO KIND AS TO SHARE? I'M NOT SURE IF YOU, UH, WERE AWARE ABOUT THAT ACTION, UH, BUT WANTED TO MAKE SURE, UH, TO CHECK WITH YOU.

WE'LL COME BACK TO COMMISSIONER KU, UH, COMMISSIONER AL DIRECT, UH, SAME KIND OF THING APPLIES BECAUSE YES.

CAN YOU HEAR ME? HI, UH, YES.

JUST WANTED TO CHECK TO SEE IF, UH, YOU WERE ABLE TO ISSUE OUT, UH, SPREAD THE WORD AND, AND, AND HOW THAT WENT FOR YOU.

YES.

THANKS FOR, FOR MAKING ME AWARE.

I WILL FOLLOW UP WITH, UH, CITY COUNCIL, UH, MEN ON DISTRICT THREE AND MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN PUSH THAT OUT.

JUST TO LET THEM KNOW THAT WE'RE GONNA BE TAKING SOME NEXT STEPS AND WE CAN TALK ABOUT THAT NOW, UH, BECAUSE THAT PRETTY MUCH COVERS EVERYBODY HERE.

WELL, THAT'S GREAT.

WELL, JUST TO BE CLEAR, UH, THE ACTUAL PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD IS CLOSED.

OH, GOOD.

UH, THAT WAS, UH, AN OPPORTUNITY UP UNTIL JANUARY 5TH, AT LEAST THE INITIAL PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD TO BE, TO BE CLEAR.

MM-HMM.

UH, BUT WE HAVE AN OPEN AUDIENCE WITH THE TEXAS BDO OFFICE.

RIGHT.

UH, SO, UH, WHAT I WOULD SUGGEST IS, UH, YOU FOLLOW UP WITH THE COUNCIL MEMBER OFFICE

[00:50:01]

UH, AS FAR AS THE NEXT STEPS, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE BASICALLY IN A MODE NOW OF WAITING FOR A FUTURE REVISION OF THE PLAN TO BE RELEASED.

UH, IN THE MEANTIME, WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO DO IS TO SHARE WITH YOU THE SUBMISSION THAT WAS MADE BY THE DIGITAL EMPOWERMENT COMMUNITY OF BOSTON.

UH, AND I'LL GO AHEAD AND ASK NOW IF I CAN GET SOME HELP FROM CITY STAFF WITH THAT ASPECT OF IT.

I MEAN, I, I KNOW THAT I'VE GOT A FORM THAT I CAN SHARE, UH, BUT YOU GUYS MIGHT WANT TO, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANNA PRESENT IT IN THAT WAY TO THE WHOLE COMMISSION OR WHAT YOUR THOUGHTS ARE.

UH, BUT WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS TO, TO MAKE SURE THE WHOLE COMMISSION HAS WHAT WAS SUBMITTED BY DECA, UH, THAT REPRESENTS THE CITY.

UH, YEAH, WE, WE CONCUR AND WE CAN SHARE, UM, THE FULL SUBMISSION THAT, UH, THAT DECA APPROVED TO, TO THE COMMISSION.

SO WE'LL BE SURE TO GET THAT OUT.

I HATE TO POINT THIS OUT, BUT I THINK THAT WE'VE FALLEN BELOW QUORUM.

OOPS.

OH, NO.

WELL, UH, TO BE FAIR, ACTIONS AREN'T BEING TAKEN NOW.

UH, SO FACES DON'T NEED TO BE SEEN.

I KNOW THAT PEOPLE MAY BE DISTRACTED, BUT UNTIL THERE'S AN ACTION, I, I'M JUST GONNA ASSUME THEY'RE DISTRACTED.

NOT THERE, AND NOT, NOT, AND NOT, NOT THERE.

BUT WHAT DO YOU THINK? I I THINK THAT COMMISSIONER WAKU, UH, WAS PRESENT AND THEN DROPPED OFF.

I THINK HE DEFINITELY NOW HAS NOW THAT I SEE, SEE, THE SCREEN IS GONE.

HIS NAME IS GONE.

THAT, THAT, YOU'RE RIGHT.

HE SURE HAS.

UH, WE ARE TRYING TO REACH OUT TO HIM TO SEE IF WE CAN CONFIRM.

COULD HAVE GOT A LITTLE MORE MEANING IN THERE BEFORE THAT CHICKLET DROPPED AWAY.

BUT, UH, UH, THANKS FOR THE HEADS UP.

UH, AND I GUESS WE SHOULD JUST GET READY FOR THAT, Y'ALL, UH, BECAUSE ULTIMATELY WE HAVE TO, UH, INFORM THE PUBLIC, UH, OF THIS SCENARIO.

UH, THIS IS A, A FIRST FOR ME, AND ALMOST IN ALMOST EIGHT YEARS.

UH, IT'S NEVER NOTHING LIKE THIS.

SO, BUT THE PROTOCOL IS PRETTY CLEAR.

UH, WE HAVE TO MAINTAIN QUORUM IN ORDER TO HAVE THE MEETING.

UH, SO WE JUST HAVE TO UNFORTUNATELY, LET THE COMMUNITY KNOW THAT WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF CONFIRMING, UH, THAT EVERYTHING'S OKAY WITH COMMISSIONER RAKU WHO WAS ON THE CALL.

UH, AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO HOPEFULLY RESUME SHORTLY.

UH, OTHERWISE WE'LL GIVE YOU A, UH, AN INDICATION THAT THIS MEETING, UH, WILL BE FORCIBLY ADJOURNED DUE TO OUR QUORUM BREAKING, WE BE SO SAD.

HOW LONG ARE WE ABLE TO WAIT? QUESTION FOR JESSE? UH, WELL, THAT'S THE QUESTION THAT JESSE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO ANSWER, BECAUSE WE'VE NEVER EXPERIENCED THIS BEFORE.

UH, BUT I, I'LL, I'LL TELL YOU THIS.

UH, WE NORMALLY ONLY WAIT 30 MINUTES AT THE START OF OUR MEETING TIME.

RIGHT.

THAT'S THE PROTOCOL.

I DON'T WANNA KEEP EVERYBODY ON THE PHONE FOR ONLINE FOR 30 MINUTES.

UH, SO WHAT I'M GONNA DO TO TRY TO EXPEDITE THIS IS TO CALL COMMISSIONER KU RIGHT NOW.

SO, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE.

THANKS FOR DOING THAT.

I'M HERE.

I'M JUST GONNA GO OFF CAMERA.

UH, BUT I'M HERE.

A SPECIAL CALL MEETING MAY EVEN BE NECESSARY AT THIS POINT, UH, BECAUSE OUR, OUR GTOP S REVIEW PANEL FOR ONE IS WAITING FOR THIS COMMISSION TO APPROVE IT.

[00:59:15]

HMM.

I'M NOT HAVING MUCH LUCK HERE, Y'ALL.

UH, BUT I'D LIKE TO TRY TO MAKE THE MOST OF THIS TIME, UH, WITH US JUST TO BRIEFLY CHAT ABOUT, UH, WORKING GROUPS, BECAUSE, UH, THEY'RE GONNA BE VERY IMPORTANT THIS MONTH, .

IF, IF WE, AND AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, I GUESS IMMEDIATELY,

[01:00:01]

UH, WAS EVERYONE HERE ON THE CALL ABLE TO SUBMIT THEIR SCORES? I WAS, YES.

YES.

I I DIDN'T SUBMIT MINE BECAUSE I, I WANT TO WAIT TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY DISCUSSION, BUT, UM, I CAN SUBMIT MINE NOW.

I'M, I'M READY TO DO IT.

WELL, I'M STILL BUSY, YOU KNOW, BUSY READING ALL THE DETAILS.

I'M NOT READY TO, OKAY.

WELL, THIS IS SOMETHING WE WANTED TO VOTE ON TODAY.

UH, RIGHT? YES.

SO, UH, THE ASK WAS TO TRY TO GET AHEAD OF IT TO SAVE TIME THIS EVENING.

UH, BUT IF NOTHING, IF WE'D ACCOMPLISH NOTHING ELSE, IF WE CAN ACCOMPLISH THAT, AT LEAST IT WON'T STOP THE, THE WHOLE JEEP TOPS PROCESS, UH, FROM SLOWING DOWN.

WE'RE NOT VIOLATING ANY RULES AGAIN, BECAUSE WE'RE SUB QUORUM, SO WE'RE NOT A WALKING QUORUM HERE HAVING A MEETING WHEN THERE'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE A MEETING BECAUSE WE HAVE A BROKEN QUORUM.

RIGHT.

SO IT'S AN IMPROMPTU WORKING GROUP MEETINGS, WHAT WE'RE HAVING RIGHT NOW.

UM, SO YES, COMMISSIONER SUPTA, IF YOU COULD JUST PLEASE, UH, YOU KNOW, GIVE THAT YOUR ATTENTION THIS EVENING AND, AND SUBMIT THAT.

UH, I'M GONNA, I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH THE OBJECTIVE YET, BUT WORKING ON IT, YOU KNOW, I REVIEWED, UH, ABOUT SIX OR SEVEN OF THEM.

AND FRANKLY, WE ALL, ALL OF THEM LOOK GOOD.

IT'S A REALLY GOOD, WELL, OKAY.

UH, YOU KNOW, EVERYONE'S ENTITLED TO TO THEIR OPINION.

UH, THIS IS BASIC THAT WE'RE HAVING THIS OFF THE RECORD WORKING GROUP DISCUSSION, UH, ABOUT THIS.

UH, BECAUSE I LOOKED, I READ EVERY APPLICATION AND LOOKED AT EVERY RESUME AND DEFINITELY HAD MIXED FEELINGS.

UH, ARE WE, ARE WE BROADCASTING? NO, WE ARE NOT RIGHT NOW.

THAT, THAT'S WHY I SAID THIS IS OFF THE RECORD.

YEAH, WE ARE, WE ARE STILL, THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN STOP IS CALL RECESS.

I SEE.

WELL, IN THAT CASE, WE'RE NOT HAVING AN OFF THE RECORD, WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE AN ON THE RECORD WORKING GROUP MEETING ABOUT THIS TOPIC.

UH, IN FACT, WE SHOULD JUST PRESS PAUSE, UH, AND WE'LL REGROUP.

BUT FOR THE BENEFIT OF EVERYONE HERE IN THE COMMUNITY, THEY KNOW WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH.

UH, WE'RE TRYING TO, TO, TO DO THE WORK OF THE CITY.

UH, AND, AND UNFORTUNATELY THINGS HAPPEN, UH, AND IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE EITHER DEALING WITH TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES OR SOMETHING, UH, WITH, UH, ONE OF OUR COMMISSIONERS, UH, AND ALSO ONE OF OUR SPEAKERS.

UH, SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING ABOUT THAT, UH, AS WE WORK THROUGH THIS AND UNDERSTAND THAT WE ARE GOING TO, UH, BE ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH OUR GTOP S REVIEW PROCESS.

UH, AND, UH, THAT'S BECAUSE WE'RE COMMITTING THIS TIME, AT LEAST ON THE RECORD, TO MAKING SURE WE HAVE OUR SCORES IN.

SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING.

SO, UH, WHAT'S THE NEXT, NEXT? SO WE'RE GONNA GIVE THIS ANOTHER FIVE MINUTES.

PLEASE.

UH, IF YOU COULD JUST BE PATIENT.

UH, BUT DID YOU, DID YOU HAVE A DIFFERENT QUESTION, COMMISSIONER SUPTA? NO, NO, NO.

I WAS JUST SAYING WHAT, WHAT'S THE NEXT STEPS? OKAY.

SO AFTER WE WAIT, UH, WE'LL THEN HOPEFULLY BE ABLE TO, UH, DISCUSS BRIEFLY TIMING OF A SPECIAL CALLED MEETING, WHICH WE MAY HAVE TO SCHEDULE MM-HMM.

, AND GO FROM THERE.

SO IF YOU CAN JUST, UH, STAND BY FOR FIVE MINUTES, UH, OR FOUR NOW, AND, AND THEN WE'LL GO FROM THERE.

NO PROBLEM.

HEY, CHAIR PITTS, ANY UPDATES? NO, UNFORTUNATELY NOT.

[01:09:08]

UH, AND BY MY CLOCK, THAT DOES GIVE US FIVE MINUTES NOW.

UH, SO FROM A PROTOCOL STANDPOINT, I GUESS WE HAVE TO ANNOUNCE A CANCELLATION OR, UH, A CESSATION, AN ADJOURNMENT, UH, A FORCED ADJOURNMENT, RIGHT? OR JUST AN ADJOURNMENT.

IT'S WHAT WOULD BE, UH, THE FACT THAT IT'S FOREST IS, UH, HAS BEEN DISCUSSED AND IS NOW, IS NOW A MATTER OF RECORD AS WELL FOR THIS TRANSCRIPT ANYWAY.

UH, SO, UH, BUT FOR THE, THE SAKE OF OUR TIME, UH, SINCE I, I'VE GOT YOU GUYS, UH, BEFORE WE DROP OFF THIS CALL, I, I, I'D LIKE TO COULD, IF WE COULD, UH, CONFIRM AVAILABILITY FOR

[01:10:01]

A POTENTIAL SPECIAL CALLED MEETING, UH, AT LEAST WITH THE FIVE OF US.

AND THEN THAT WAY WE ONLY HAVE TO HOPEFULLY ADD A COUPLE MORE COMMISSIONERS TO MAKE SURE WE'VE GOT OUR QUORUM.

UM, HOW DO YOUR SCHEDULES LOOK? UH, AND, AND ADMITTEDLY THIS IS, UH, NOT THE BEST WAY TO HANDLE THIS PROCESS BECAUSE WE, WE, WE ALWAYS NEED TO CONFIRM MEETING ROOM AVAILABILITY.

SO LEMME JUST PAUSE, UH, ANY LEMME INSIGHT THERE.

WE CAN, UH, I WOULD SUGGEST WE WORK THROUGH SCHEDULING OFFLINE SO THAT WE CAN ALSO TRY AND COORDINATE WITH OTHER COMMISSIONERS, UM, WHO AREN'T HERE.

AND, AND JUST AS A NOTE, I BELIEVE ONCE WE CALL AN ADJOURNMENT, WE'RE GONNA LOSE THIS MEETING.

NO, WE WILL, UH, YEAH, WE DEFINITELY WILL.

UH, AND I APPRECIATE THAT.

UH, MENTION, JESSE, THE REASON WHY I'M WANTING TO AT LEAST, UH, I'VE GOT FIVE COMMISSIONERS.

I'VE GOT FOUR COMMISSIONERS HERE THAT I CAN GET A DATE, DATES, POTENTIAL DATES, UH, SO HOW ABOUT WE START THERE? UH, ANY DATES, DAYS OF THE WEEK, UH, HERE IN, IN JUST THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS THAT DON'T WORK FOR A RESCHEDULED SPECIAL CALL MEETING FOR EVERYBODY? LIKE, JUST BLACKOUT DATES THAT ARE JUST COULDN'T POSSIBLY WORK.

I AM OUT, UM, FEBRUARY 6TH THROUGH THE 17TH OKAY.

OF TRAVELING INTERNET.

I DO WANNA, UH, WE DO NEED TO HAVE THIS MEETING THIS MONTH THOUGH.

SO, UH, IF WE CAN, UH, ANY BLACKOUT DATES BETWEEN NOW AND THE 31ST? NO.

IF WE CAN AVAILABLE, YEAH, IF WE CAN AVOID ANY WEDNESDAY FOR THE REST OF THE MONTH.

UH, SO, UM, S UH, YES, I, I, I'M FREE THE NEXT, UH, MONDAY, TUESDAY.

AND THEN FAMILY COMMITMENTS THROUGH THE FOLLOWING TUESDAY, AND THEN I'M FREE THE FOLLOWING WEDNESDAY.

PARDON THE INTERRUPTION? UH, OR, UH, I JUST WANNA CLARIFY, I JUST WANNA KNOW WHEN YOU CANNOT MEET.

I JUST WANNA KEEP THIS AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE.

I CANNOT MEET YEAH.

WHEN, WHEN YOU CANNOT MEET, DEFINITELY CANNOT.

DEFINITELY CANNOT MEET FROM THE 17TH THROUGH THE 23RD.

OTHERWISE, YOU KNOW, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND CHECK ON DATES.

SO WE'RE GONNA START THERE WITH YOU, YOU GUYS, JUST SO YOU KNOW, UH, I'M GONNA OFFER ALL THOSE DATES.

UM, UH, I MAY HAVE SOME THINGS TO MOVE AROUND, BUT WE'RE GONNA START THERE.

AND THEN WE'LL GOING TO, WE'RE GONNA REACH OUT AND SEE ABOUT AVAILABILITY.

THEN WE'LL CHECK WITH THE REST OF THE COMMISSIONERS, AND WE'LL GET THIS, UH, SPECIAL CALL MEETING SCHEDULED, AND THEN THE PUBLIC WILL BE INFORMED ABOUT THAT NEW DATE.

UH, SO YOU JUST GOT A LITTLE PEEK UNDER THE HOOD ABOUT OUR PROCESS IN TERMS OF SPECIAL CALL MEETINGS AND, UH, THE QUORUM.

SO I HOPE THERE'S SOME VALUE IN THAT.

UH, BUT I JUST WANNA THANK EVERYBODY FOR, UH, YOUR TIME THIS EVENING.

UH, I'LL, I'LL REACH OUT TO YOU ALL INDIVIDUALLY OVER EMAIL, UH, THAT ARE ON THE CALL TODAY, UH, TO AVOID A WALKING QUORUM AND, UH, JUST RETHINK ABOUT THE ITEMS ON THE AGENDA HERE.

SO AT LEAST WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE.

UH, BUT SINCE WE'RE TOGETHER, ANYTHING THAT ANYONE WANTS TO ASK FOR THE GROUP HERE BEFORE, UH, ACKNOWLEDGING AGAIN THAT IT'S GONNA BE ON THE RECORD BEFORE WE FORMALLY, OFFICIALLY ADJOURN.

NOTHING FURTHER FROM MY END.

YEAH, NOTHING FROM MY END.