* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:02] WE ARE [CALL TO ORDER] GONNA START THE AUSTIN MAYORS COMMITTEE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES. OUR, UM, MONTHLY MEETING. LET'S START WITH, UM, A CALL TO ORDER. UM, DO Y'ALL JUST INTER I FORGOT. DO Y'ALL INTRODUCE YOURSELVES OR DO I HAVE TO CALL THE NAMES? NO, YOU JUST TAKE ATTENDANCE. OKAY. UM, I'M ELIZABETH MEYER, VICE CHAIR. UM, OUR CHAIRPERSON CANNOT BE WITH US TODAY. UM, IS DONNA BETTS HERE? CAN YOU UM, SHE'S NOT, SHE'S NOT. OKAY. UM, WHAT ABOUT M SORRY, GUYS. IT'S HARD. I DIDN'T REALIZE I WAS GONNA HAVE TO READ THESE NAMES AND I CAN'T REALLY SEE IT. UM, IS IS MICKEY HERE? I CAN HELP YOU OUT IF YOU NEED. OKAY. THAT'D BE GREAT. THANK YOU. YEAH, SURE. UM, ADRIAN HOGAN. OKAY. UM, HERE. JENNIFER POWELL. I'M HERE. LARA RAMIREZ? HERE. PETE SALAZAR? HERE. KRISTEN VASSALLO. HERE. PERFECT. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU. UM, [PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL] THE NEXT ITEM IS PUBLIC COMMENT. DO WE HAVE ANYONE THAT WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A PUBLIC COMMENT? NO. OKAY. THERE'S NO ONE ONLINE AND THERE'S NO ONE, UM, HERE IN PERSON. SO WE'RE [1. Approval of the minutes from the Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities December 8, 2023, regular meeting.] GONNA MOVE ON TO APPROVAL OF THE COMMITTEE MINUTES. UM, ALL IN FAVOR? UH, DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY, UM, ANYTHING THEY WANNA SAY ABOUT THE COMMITTEE MINUTES FROM LAST TIME? AND THEY GET A MOTION TO APPROVE AND, UM, I'LL MOTION. MOTION TO APPROVE. OKAY. MOTION TO APPROVE. DOES ANYONE SECOND? I'LL SECOND. OKAY. ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE COMMITTEE MINUTES FROM LAST MONTH. SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. UM, ANY OPPOSED? ALL RIGHT. WE'LL APPROVE THAT. UM, SO WE HAVE STAFF BRIEFINGS IS NEXT. UM, OH, [2. Introduction and welcome to Christi Vitela, the Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities new staff liaison beginning March 2024.] UM, WE HAVE A NEW STAFF LIAISON COMING IN SOON. WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAY ANYTHING? SURE. HI. THANK YOU, VICE CHAIR MEYER. UM, MY NAME IS CHRISTIE ELLA, UH, SHE HER PRONOUNS. I WORK FOR THE OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK AS A BUSINESS PROCESS SPECIALIST. I'VE BEEN WITH THE CLERK'S OFFICE FOR ABOUT A YEAR NOW. I'VE, UM, BEEN WITH THE CITY AS A PUBLIC SERVANT FOR ABOUT 15 YEARS WITH TIME AT THE LIBRARY AND THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT. UM, I WON'T BE OFFICIALLY TAKING OVER UNTIL TENTATIVELY MARCH, BUT, UM, NICE TO MEET YOU ALL AND, UM, PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF THERE'S ANYTHING I CAN HELP OUT WITH. THANKS. ALL RIGHT, WELCOME. THANK YOU. UM, LET'S SEE HERE. [3. Discussion and updates from the Joint Inclusion Committee (JIC) December 6, 2023, meeting. (Jeremy Garza and Alejandra Mireles)] SO FOR OUR DISCUSSION ITEMS, THE FIRST ITEM IS THAT WE'RE OUR DISCUSSION AND UPDATES FROM THE JOINT INCLUSION COMMITTEE. DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY UPDATES FROM THEM? UM, ALEJANDRA AND JEREMY WEREN'T ABLE TO ATTEND. SO JENNIFER, ARE YOU ABLE TO GIVE UPDATES FROM THE DECEMBER MEETING? I MISSED THE DECEMBER MEETING AND, UH, SO I AM SORRY. I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING FOR YOU. I'M HOPING JEREMY WOULD BE HERE. OKAY. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, SO WE CAN MOTION THE TABLE LET UNTIL THE NEXT MEETING SO SOMEBODY CAN SPEAK ABOUT IT. OKAY. ARE YOU MAKING THAT MOTION? YES, I MOTION THE TABLE. UH, DO I HAVE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND THAT. UM, ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. ANYONE OPPOSED? SAY NAY. ALL RIGHT. UH, MOTION. WE WILL TABLE THAT UNTIL THE NEXT MEETING. UM, [4. Discussion and updates from the COTA Disability Access Taskforce liaison. (Donna Betts)] THE NEXT ITEM FOR DISCUSSION, UM, IS DISCUSSION AND UPDATES ON THE CODA DISABILITY ACCESS, UM, TASK FORCE. UM, DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY UPDATES FOR THAT? DONNA IS ALSO ABSENT. OKAY. DO WE WANNA TABLE THAT TO NEXT MONTH? OR, [00:05:01] UM, WHAT DO Y'ALL WANNA DO WITH THAT? YEAH, I CAN MOTION THE TABLE UNTIL SHE MOTION THE TABLE UNTIL NEXT MEETING. OKAY. DO I HAVE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND. OKAY. THANK YOU. ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. UM, ANYONE OPPOSED? SAY NAYYY. ALL RIGHT. SO WE WILL, UM, TABLE THAT UNTIL OUR NEXT MEETING. [5. Discussion to determine ad hoc committees based on the goals of the Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities.] THEN WE HAVE OUR, UH, DISCUSSION TO DETERMINE THE COMMITTEE BASED ON GOALS OF THE MAYOR'S COMMITTEE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES. SO I KNOW THAT WE HAVE A, UM, TRANSIT KIND OF PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE WORK GROUP. UM, ARE THERE ANY OTHER WORK GROUPS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO MAKE? I ALSO THINK WE CAN TABLE THIS UNTIL AFTER WE HAVE OUR TOWN HALLS TO SEE IF ANY OTHER CONCERNS OR INSIGHTS ARISE THAT WILL MAKE US SUGGEST THIS IF WE NEEDED TO. OKAY. THAT'S A GOOD IDEA. UM, SO, WE'LL, IS IT POSSIBLE, GO AHEAD. OH, I'M SORRY. IS IT POSSIBLE TO MAKE SUGGESTIONS PRIOR TO THE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT SESSIONS? OF COURSE. OKAY. I MEAN, SO, UM, SO WHAT, SO I'M SORRY TO INTERRUPT YOU, BUT WHAT JACQUELINE TOLD ME THIS, UM, THAT IT, BEFORE WE WERE TALKING ABOUT DISCUSSION AND ACTION, BUT, UM, SOMEONE TOLD HER THAT WE HAVE TO DISCUSS AND DETERMINE THE COMMITTEES THAT WE WANTED, UM, THAT WE WANNA DO, AND THEN AT THE NEXT MEETING WE HAVE TO VOTE ON THEM. SO, UM, I'M, THE FLOOR IS OPEN TO ANYONE WHO HAS ANY SUGGESTIONS OR WANTS TO DISCUSS POSSIBLE COMMITTEES OR WORK GROUPS. I HAVE TWO TO POTENTIALLY OFFER FOR DISCUSSION. OKAY. THANK YOU. GO AHEAD. UM, HOUSING AND WORK. UM, SO WOULD YOU, DO YOU THINK THAT WE SHOULD HAVE HOUSING AND ALSO WORK OR TWO SEPARATE COMMITTEES? TWO SEPARATE. OKAY. UM, DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANYTHING THEY WANNA ADD TO THAT OR DISCUSS ABOUT IT? I THINK THOSE ARE REALLY GREAT IDEAS. IT'S, IT'S, JENNIFER, WHEN YOU SAY COMMITTEES, DO YOU, DO YOU MEAN WORK GROUPS? CORRECT. OKAY. IT'S A WORK GROUP JUST TO GET THEM COMMITTEE. ALRIGHT. I'M WITH IT NOW. YEAH, THAT SOUNDS GREAT TO ME. I HAVE ONE THAT I THINK WE'VE DISCUSSED BEFORE, IF I COULD BRING THAT UP. YEAH, OF COURSE. GO AHEAD. I THOUGHT THAT WE DISCUSSED IN OUR LAST MEETING, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF IT WOULD EVEN FALL UNDER BEING A WORK GROUP, BUT KIND OF DEFINING THE SCOPE, UM, OF, OF WHAT OUR COMMISSION IS, UH, WHAT, WHAT OUR GOALS ARE AND, UH, WHAT EXACTLY WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING. UM, KI KIND OF LIKE IF YOU WERE A COMPANY, YOU'D HAVE LIKE A MISSION STATEMENT. UM, DID WE HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT THAT OR AM I DREAMING IT? NO, I THINK IT GOT TABLED UNTIL AFTER WE WOULD HAVE THE, UH, THE TOWN HALLS TO THEN. OKAY. AND, AND WE HAVE SOME PEOPLE MISSING. SO IT, IT'S, TODAY'S NOT THE DAY TO, TO DO IT, BUT, BUT WE WOULD HAVE IN THE NEW BUSINESS BASED AFTER OUR TOWN HALLS, THAT WOULD END AT THE END OF THE FEBRUARY TO THEN EITHER DISCUSS AT OUR NEXT MEETING OR HAVE A SPECIAL MEETING TO DISCUSS OUR FINDINGS AND THEN WE CAN MAKE COMMITTEES BASED ON OUR FINDINGS OR OTHER THINGS, AND THEN LOOK AT THE MISSION OF THE MAYOR'S COMMITTEE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES OR MAKE IT UP IF ONE DOES NOT EXIST. AND THEN WE CAN HAVE THAT AND THEN, AND DO THAT FOR THE NEW BUSINESS. OKAY. I THINK THAT I SPOKE WITH SOMEBODY WHO WAS ON THE, I, I CAN'T REMEMBER IF IT WAS THE COMMISSION FOR AGING OR THE WOMEN'S COMMISSION, UM, WHO THEY HAD JUST DEFINED EVERYTHING THAT THEIR COMMISSION DID AND, UH, EVERYTHING THAT THEY WANTED TO DO IN THE FUTURE. AND IT WAS EXTREMELY HELPFUL. THEY GOT IT ALL OUT ON PAPER AND IT, UH, IT REALLY WAS HELPFUL IN STEERING, UM, THE AGENDA FOR, FOR THE COMMITTEE. AND, UH, I THINK THAT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL FOR US. BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE ANOTHER DAY IS WHEN WE, WHEN WE'LL GET TO IT, BUT I THINK HAVING A KIND OF A, A DOCUMENT IN FRONT OF US ALL, [00:10:01] LIKE THE I IF WE DON'T, IF WE HA IF WE DON'T HAVE THAT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL. YEAH, AGREED. I, I AGREE. I THINK, UM, WE HAVE HAD THIS ON OUR AGENDA FOR A WHILE FOR PEOPLE TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS OR AT AT LEAST TALK ABOUT WHAT, UM, SIT, WHAT PROBLEMS THEY SEE IN THE COMMUNITY AND WHAT THEY MIGHT WANNA TACKLE. UM, BUT I KNOW THAT WE'VE HAD PEOPLE KIND OF IN AND OUT LATELY, SO WE WE'RE GONNA DO THESE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THINGS. I'M GONNA DO TWO VIRTUAL ONES AND MR. SALAZAR IS GONNA DO ONE IN PERSON. WE ALSO HAVE, UM, OUR TRANSPORTATION, UM, SURVEY THAT WE'RE GONNA SEND OUT. YES. UM, I HAVE THAT TRANSLATED, IT'S IN BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH. AND I WILL SEND THAT OUT TO JACQUELINE WHO WILL SEND THAT OUT TO YOU AND WE CAN DISSEMINATE AMONGST OUR, UM, LIKE VARIOUS GROUPS THAT WE'RE INVOLVED IN. GREAT. UM, SO I'M HOPING TO HAVE THE, UM, VIRTUAL SESSIONS DONE BEFORE THE FEBRUARY MEETING SO THAT WE CAN MAKE DISCUSSIONS ABOUT IT AT FEBRUARY IN THE FEBRUARY MEETING. UM, FOR SOME REASON I WAS THINKING THAT WE CAN MAKE THE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE BUDGET IN MARCH, BUT I I THINK THAT THE, ARE THE BUDGETS DUE MARCH 1ST? DO YOU KNOW? I'LL HAVE TO CHECK. OKAY. IF THAT IS, THAT'S SUCH A JEREMY QUESTION. WHERE IS IT? THE, UM, I THINK RECOMMENDATIONS ARE TAKEN IN MARCH. THAT'S WHY WE PUT FEBRUARY AS THE DEADLINE TO HAVE THESE TOWN HALLS. OKAY. AND JUST WORK ON THAT. OKAY. SO, UM, BUT WE, WE NEED TO BE PREPARED TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS IN MARCH. SO WE MAY NEED TO HAVE A SPECIAL SESSION BETWEEN FEBRUARY AND MARCH IF WE CAN'T GET IT ALL, UM, COMPLETED IN THE FEBRUARY MEETING. THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING, BECAUSE I THINK I WON'T BE HAVING MY IN-PERSON UNTIL FEBRUARY 22ND OR SOMEWHERE AROUND THAT TIME. OKAY. AND THEN WE CAN DO A SPECIAL MEETING AND THEN WE CAN DEFINE WHAT OUR GOALS ARE, WHAT WE WANT TO DO, AND THEN WE CAN GO OVER WHAT WE FOUND OUT BASED ON THE, THE TOWN HALL IN PERSON AND THE ONES THAT WE HAVE HAD ONLINE TO HELP US KIND OF FILTER THROUGH ALL THIS STUFF. AND THEN WE CAN HAVE IT ALL SET UP AND THEN READY TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO SO WE CAN MEET DEADLINES. OKAY. THAT SOUNDS REALLY GOOD. UM, IN THE MEANTIME, PLEASE BE THINKING ABOUT THE COMMUNITIES THAT YOU'RE INVOLVED WITH AND WHAT THEIR NEEDS ARE AND, UM, ALSO BE THINKING ABOUT THE KIND OF WORK GROUP THAT YOU WOULD WANNA PARTICIPATE ON OR MAYBE LEAD, UM, BECAUSE THE, WE HAVE, WHEN WE FORM THESE WORK GROUPS, WE NEED PEOPLE TO, UM, STEP UP AND DO THEM. UM, SO, BUT I'M EXCITED AND WE, I'M REALLY EXCITED TO SEE WHAT OUR COMMUNITY HAS TO SAY. HOPEFULLY WE GET SOME PARTICIPATION ONCE I FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO THE, THEY DON'T USE ZOOM IN THE CITY, THEY USE SOMETHING, SOME OTHER KIND OF PLATFORM. AND ONCE I FIGURE OUT HOW TO USE IT, I'LL BE SENDING OUT THAT LINK AND UM, HOPEFULLY WE CAN JUST PUT IT OUT THERE TO ALL OF OUR WORK GROUPS AND OTHER PEOPLE THAT WE KNOW THAT MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING. HOPEFULLY WE'LL GET SOME PARTICIPATION. SO, UM, AND IS ANYONE INTERESTED IN CO-HOSTING ONE OF THOSE VIRTUAL THINGS WITH ME? ALRIGHT, THIS IS, THIS IS KRISTEN. I'M HAPPY TO. OKAY, GREAT. YEAH, I WILL, UM, I WILL EMAIL YOU AND WE CAN FIGURE THAT OUT. SO, I'M SORRY, I FEEL LIKE I'M, I KEEP SAYING, UM, WE'RE GONNA FIGURE IT OUT, BUT I'M JUST BRAND NEW TO ALL OF THIS, SO, BUT I'M SURE THAT WE WILL FIGURE IT OUT AND IT'LL BE GREAT. WE WILL FIGURE IT OUT , UM, SOME WAY CAN, SO DO WE, DO WE NEED A MOTION TO TABLE THIS ITEM, THIS DISCUSSION ITEM FOR NEXT MONTH AS WELL BEFORE WE TABLE IT? I DID HAVE ONE QUESTION. YEAH. UM, I WONDER IF, IN ORDER TO DEFINE OUR SCOPE, DO WE NEED TO HAVE PUBLIC INPUT? I MEAN, THERE ARE OUR BYLAWS WHICH ARE COMPLETELY SEPARATE FROM THE SCOPE THAT WE ARE EXPECTED TO, UM, YES. I HOPE THAT WE GET LOTS OF PUBLIC INPUT IN OUR, WE ARE, LIKE I SAID, WE'RE HAVING TWO VIRTUAL MEETINGS AND ONE IN-PERSON MEETING. AND UM, YEAH, THE SURVEY, THE SCOPE OF THE SURVEY WE'RE GONNA SEND OUT IS BASED ON TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUES. UM, BUT AT THE TOWN HALLS THAT WE HAVE, HOPEFULLY WE WILL GET PUBLIC INPUT ON WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT TO [00:15:01] THEM. OKAY, THANK YOU. AND OF COURSE, PEOPLE ARE WELCOME TO COME AND MAKE PUBLIC COMMENT AT ANY OF OUR, UM, MEETINGS AS WELL. UM, SO DO I HAVE A, DO DOES SOMEONE WANT A MOTION THAT WE, UM, MAKE THESE GROUPS OR DISCUSS THESE GROUPS AGAIN NEXT MONTH? BUT DON'T DO THAT IN NO BUSINESS OR WHEN IT'S TIME FOR NO BUSINESS. OKAY. IT'S AN, IT'S AN ITEM NOW THOUGH, RIGHT? YEAH. IS IT, IT IS. YEAH. THE, IT IS ITEM NUMBER FIVE, DISCUSSION AND TO DETERMINE ALL THE COMMITTEE BASED GOALS OF THE MAYOR'S COMMITTEE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES. WELL, WHEN THE NEW BUSINESS NEEDS TO BE DISCUSSION WITH ACTION BECAUSE WE JUST DISCUSS. OKAY. I DON'T THINK WE CAN DO THAT. THAT'S WHAT, UM, JACQUELINE WAS SAYING. WE HAVE TO DISCUSS AND THEN WE HAVE TO VOTE. SO WE HAVE TO DISCUSS AND DECIDE ON THE COMMITTEES, AND THEN THE NEXT MEETING WE HAVE TO VOTE. OKAY. SO WE'LL JUST, WE'LL TABLE IT TO THE MID NEXT MEETING, DISCUSS AND THEN HAVE A DISCUSSION WITH ACTIONS FOR THE FOLLOWING. MM-HMM? , YES. YEAH, SO WE'LL, UM, YEAH, WE'LL DISCUSS AND DECIDE ON THE COMMITTEE ON THE WORK GROUPS THEN IN FEBRUARY AND THEN IN MARCH WE CAN VOTE ON THOSE WORK GROUPS AND THEN ALSO WHO'S GONNA BE ON THE WORK GROUPS. OKAY, THAT'S FINE. SOUNDS GREAT. SO I'LL MOTION THAT WE TABLE IT UNTIL WE GET OUR TOWN HALLS DONE AND SOME COMMUNITY INPUT SECOND. THAT SECOND? YES. ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? SAY NAYYY. ALL RIGHT, GREAT. UM, [6. Discussion and possible action to establish a working group to review an amended census for people with new physical or mental challenges and people who are experiencing lifelong physical or mental challenges.] SO THE NEXT THING ON THE AGENDA IS THIS DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS. OH, THIS IS THE ACTION ITEM ON THE ACTIONS ON ESTABLISHING WORK GROUPS TO REVIEW AN AMENDED CENSUS FOR PEOPLE WITH PHYSICAL OR MENTAL CHALLENGES AND PEOPLE WHO ARE EXPERIENCING LIMITED PHYSICAL OR MENTAL CHALLENGES. AND THAT SAYS PEOPLE THAT ARE, THAT ARE NEW, THAT ARE EXPERIENCING NEW. OKAY. SORRY, I MISSED THAT. YEAH, SO, AND THAT, THAT IS DIFFERENT, UM, THAN PEOPLE WHO ARE, ARE USED TO BEING, HAVING LIMITATIONS. OKAY. THAT SOUNDS GOOD. YEAH, NO. UM, SO ANYONE WITH A NEW OR EXISTING LIMITING CONDITION? UM, I AM, I DON'T REMEMBER THIS. WHO, WHO PUT, UM, WHO WOULD LIKE TO DISCUSS THIS? ADRIAN HOGAN. SHE RAISED HER HAND. OH, OKAY. ADRIAN, GO AHEAD. OH, SORRY. WAS I MUTED? LET'S SEE. I CAN HEAR YOU. I DON'T KNOW. I CAN HEAR YOU NOW. THANK YOU. UM, YEAH, I, UM, I REALLY APOLOGIZE FOR BEING ABSENT FOR THE LAST MEETING, UM, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT IT WAS PROBABLY SLATED TO BE DISCUSSED THEN, BUT, UM, I'M INTERESTED IN JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE BREADTH AND DEPTH OF THE POPULATION THAT WE SERVE. AND I THINK THAT, UM, INFORMALLY TALKING ABOUT THIS WITH, UM, ANOTHER PERSON ON THE COMMITTEE, UM, WHERE WE JUST HAPPENED TO MEET UP, UM, WE BOTH AGREED THAT WE WEREN'T REALLY SURE WHAT AUSTIN'S POPULATION WAS, BUT THAT ANY BUDGETARY, UM, PROPOSAL THAT WE MADE TO THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL WOULD REALLY BE STRENGTHENED BY COUNTING THE NUMBERS. SO, UM, WE'RE JUST INTERESTED IN, YOU KNOW, A POTENTIAL HEADCOUNT, UM, WITH ANY OTHER DEMOGRAPHIC DATA THAT THAT MIGHT YIELD. WE DO OBVIOUSLY HAVE TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT SENSITIVE POPULATIONS WHO DON'T WANNA BE COUNTED, BUT, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ANY WAY OF GENERATING IDEAS BECAUSE I REMEMBER THIS, THE LIMITED THAT DATA. WE, WE HAVE NO DATA. WE HAVE NO DATA. THERE WAS A, THERE WAS A CENSUS THAT WAS SENT OUT I BELIEVE A YEAR AGO OR A YEAR AND A HALF AGO THAT WAS FUNDED BY THE CITY THROUGH A THIRD PARTY GROUP. AND APPARENTLY SOME OF THE QUESTIONS WERE NOT AS DIPLOMATIC AS YOU MIGHT WISH. UM, AND THERE WERE VERY FEW RESPONDENTS. UM, AND SO PART OF THE PROBLEM WAS THE QUESTIONS, PART OF THE PROBLEM WAS THE CHANNELS OF DISTRIBUTION. I MEAN, YOU CAN SEE LIKE THERE'S A MYRIAD OF POSSIBLE PITFALLS AND THE QUESTION BECOMES [00:20:01] HOW DO YOU DO IT CORRECTLY? HOW CAN WE GET AN ADEQUATE GAUGE? AND I KNOW THAT OUR TIME HERE IN THE COMMITTEE IS REALLY LIMITED, SO I'M KIND OF CURIOUS IF THERE'S ANY WAY TO GENERATE IDEAS OR GET A DOCUMENT WHERE PEOPLE ARE CONTRIBUTING OUTSIDE OF THE, THE TIME TO MEET. I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S UM, WELL IT WOULD BE GOOD TO KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE WE, WE ARE TRYING TO SERVE IN AUSTIN AND WHAT THEIR NEEDS ARE. LIKE I, RIGHT. THIS IS SO MUCH, UH, SO MUCH OF THE STUFF ON THIS COMMITTEE I FEEL UNCLEAR ABOUT. AND THAT WOULD, THAT WOULD CLEAR THINGS UP A LOT. AND I, I JUST WONDER, UM, IF THERE'S A WAY THAT WE COULD TALK TO THE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT APPOINTED US IF THEY HAVE ANY DATA. UM MM-HMM. IT, I, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW IF THEY DO. UM, I DON'T KNOW IF THE CITY DOES AT ALL. I MEAN, I KNOW, AND IT'S NOT THE SAME THING, BUT IT'S SIMILAR IN THE SENSE OF WHEN WE WANT 'EM TO DO THE POINT IN TIME COUNT FOR HOMELESSNESS OR DO STAND DOWNS FOR VETERANS TO FIND OUT WHO NEEDED ASSISTANCE. WE CREATED THE STAND DOWNS WERE A WAY THAT WE USED VFWS TO DO IT, TO INVITE EVERYBODY FROM THE COMMUNITY TO COME DOWN AND TALK ABOUT WHAT THEIR NEEDS WERE OR TO GET SOME TYPE OF ASSISTANCE. SO IN USING THAT KIND OF MODEL, WE WOULD HAVE TO FIGURE OUT A TIME WITHIN THE NEXT COMING MONTHS TO CATEGORIZE IT, BUT INVITE PEOPLE, I DON'T WANNA SAY JUST WITH DISABILITIES, BUT WHATEVER, WHATEVER SUBCATEGORY IN WHICH WE WOULD USE. MM-HMM. IF THEY COULD COME DOWN TO COMMUNITY CENTERS OR WHATEVER JUST FOR ENGAGEMENT. IT COULD BE TEA TIME, WHATEVER. HOWEVER WE WANNA ENCAPSULATE, UH, IT WOULD TAKE SOME SERIOUS PR TO, YOU KNOW, TO COMMUNICATE THIS TO THE PUBLIC THOUGH. YEAH. AND I, I'M NOT SURE HOW WE WOULD DO IT. AND YOU KNOW, I, IT MAKES ME WONDER IF IT WOULD TAKE MONEY, UM, TO ADVERTISE IT WELL ENOUGH WHERE THE COMMUNITY WOULD EVEN HEAR ABOUT IT. UM, I MEAN WE, I MEAN, AND THAT'S THE PART OF MAYBE WE CAN MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO COUNSEL THAT WE NEED TO HAVE A, A FOCUSED EFFORT, A FOCUS GROUP ON YEAH. YEAH. A FOCUS GROUP EFFORT. NO, I THINK YOU'RE RIGHT. AND, AND AND DOING THIS, EVEN IF IT'S NOT THIS YEAR OR WITHIN THE NEXT SIX MONTHS TO HOW DO WE DO THAT AND LOSING AUSTIN HEALTH OR WHATEVER OTHER ENTITIES THAT WE HAVE TO OUR DISPOSAL TO REALLY WORK TOGETHER TO COME UP WITH SOME KIND OF MECHANISM TO GET THIS DATA THAT WOULD CLARIFY SO MANY THINGS. AND I THINK, SO MAYBE THAT WOULD BE A GOOD WORK. MAYBE THAT WOULD BE A GOOD WORK GROUP IS TO HAVE A GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT WERE WORKING ON FINDING THIS DATA BECAUSE THERE MIGHT, THERE MIGHT BE SOME SURVEYS OUT THERE AND THERE MIGHT NOT, YOU KNOW. BUT, UM, IF WE HAD A WORK GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT WERE JUST FOCUSED ON IT, UM, UM, I HAVE ONE COMMENT. I THINK THAT'S A VERY GOOD IDEA. THIS IS KRISTEN. BUT THE ONE THING I WOULD SAY IS WE SHOULDN'T STALL ANY OF THE WORK THAT WE HAVE SLATED FOR THIS YEAR ON THAT INFORMATION. YEAH. I MEAN WE WOULD, IF THAT WILL AUGMENT WHAT WE'RE DOING AND IT WILL BE VERY HELPFUL. BUT I WANT US TO CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD PERSONALLY. UM, I'M REALLY HOPING TO GET SOME GOOD INFORMATION FROM OUR TOWN HALLS. UM, I HAVE A LIST OF ALL OF THE, UH, WELL, I MEAN I'M SURE IT'S NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT, BUT IT HAS A LARGE MAJORITY OF THE VARIOUS AGENCIES AND ORGANIZATIONS HERE IN AUSTIN THAT ARE SERVING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, BOTH LIKE FAMILIES, CHILDREN, OLDER ADULTS. AND SO I'M HOPING THAT IF I CAN SEND EMAILS OUT TO THESE PEOPLE, THAT WE CAN GET SOME TRACTION AND WE WILL GET SOME PARTICIPATION. UM, AND I THINK THAT WILL BE REALLY HELPFUL AND REALLY TARGETING WHAT WE NEED TO BE DOING AS A COMMITTEE. THIS IS, THIS IS, GO AHEAD. THIS IS COMMISSIONER RAMIREZ. I, UM, I DEFINITELY AGREE ON THE NEED TO GATHER MORE DATA OVERALL. UM, I WONDER IF IT MAY BE POSSIBLE, 'CAUSE I KNOW THE DISTRIBUTING SURVEYS, GETTING, GETTING STUFF TO ENOUGH PEOPLE IS A CHALLENGE. IF IT MAY BE POSSIBLE TO ATTACH A QUESTION TO AN EXISTING SURVEY, TO A PLAN SURVEY JUST IN GENERAL TO GET DATA RELATED TO DISABILITY TRACKED ACROSS [00:25:01] THE BOARD IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN. I THINK SOME OF THAT COULD BE REALLY HELPFUL, UM, ACROSS THE BOARD. I, I DO REMEMBER THAT THE, WHEN WE HAD TALKED WITH THE COMMISSION ON AGING AND THEN SOME DISCUSSIONS ON THE JOINT INCLUSION COMMITTEE HAD BEEN THAT THERE HAD BEEN SOME ATTEMPTS TO GET OTHER CATEGORIES TRACKED WITHIN THE CITY OF AUSTIN. SO I THINK THAT THAT COULD BE A PART OF A LARGER EFFORT AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT A WORKING GROUP COULD WORK ON AS WELL. YEAH. I MEAN, BUT FOR THE CITY, THERE'S VERY FEW THINGS IN WHICH THEY DO CITYWIDE. I MEAN, POINT IN TIME COUNT IS ONE OF THE ONLY ONES, AND THEY DIDN'T DO THAT FOR THE PAST FOUR YEARS, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS DONE ANNUALLY BEFORE FOUR. AND THAT HAD TO DO WITH HOMELESSNESS. AND EVEN IF WE ATTACH TO THAT, THE DEMO, THE SUB DEMOGRAPHIC ITSELF WOULD KIND OF BE FILTERED. WELL I THINK THAT A GOOD STARTING POINT WOULD BE TO CONTACT SOME OF THESE LOCAL AGENCIES THAT SERVE PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN OUR COMMUNITY. MANY OF THEM PROBABLY HAVE DATA, UM, THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR AND WE CAN SEE WHAT'S OUT THERE, UM, THAT WE COULD USE. 'CAUSE A LOT OF THEM PROBABLY, UH, COLLECT VARIOUS DEMOGRAPHIC DATA FOR THE PEOPLE THEY SERVE WITH THEIR GRANTS AND THAT SORT OF THING. AND THE, UM, COMMISSION ON AGING. THEY MIGHT HAVE SOME QUESTIONS IN THEIR SURVEY ABOUT DISABILITIES OR PEOPLE BEING ABLE TO ACCESS, UM, TRANSPORTATION OR WHATEVER WE MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN. UM, SO I THINK, AGAIN, I THINK THIS WOULD BE A REALLY GOOD TOPIC FOR A WORK GROUP TO REALLY F FIND OUT WHAT WHAT IS ALREADY GOING ON IN THE COMMUNITY. AND THERE MIGHT, WE MIGHT HAVE THIS DATA OUT THERE, SOME, SOME AGENCY SOMEWHERE THAT, YOU KNOW, I KNOW, I KNOW HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES IS THE MAJOR GRANTOR FOR THE CENT FOR THE INDEPENDENT LIVING CENTERS. SO, AND THOSE ARE STATEWIDE. SO THERE WOULD ONLY, BUT THERE'S ONLY A FEW THAT OPERATE WITHIN AUSTIN OR THERE'S ONLY ONE THAT OPERATES WITHIN AUSTIN. SO THAT'S ONLY ONE PIECE OF AN ENTITY OF THAT. BUT IT'D, IT'D BE SIMILAR TO THAT 'CAUSE YOU HAVE THE MAYOR'S COUNCIL FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES THAT ARE STATEWIDE. RIGHT. BUT I ALSO GOVERNORS, SORRY, I ALSO THINK OUR OWN HOUSING DEPARTMENT, UM, AND MAYBE OTHERS WOULD ALSO KNOW OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT SERVE PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES. SO IS THERE ANY INTEREST, IS THERE ANY INTEREST IN STARTING A WORK GROUP TO GATHER THIS INFORMATION? I'M INTERESTED. I'M INTERESTED TOO. UM, JUST I'M INTERESTED AS WELL. OKAY. SO THAT'S THREE WE'RE THAT'S GOOD TO GO. THE NEXT MEETING. SO DO WE NEED TO MAKE A MOTION TO PUT THAT ON THE AGENDA FOR THE NEXT MEETING FOR FUTURE BUSINESS WHEN IT'S COME? THE FUTURE BUSINESS? IS IT DO, UM, WE CAN DO IT. OKAY. THAT'S THE LAST DISCUSSION ITEM. THE NEXT ONE. THAT WOULD BE THE LAST DISCUSSION ITEM. AND UM, THE NEXT POINT IS THE FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. OH, IT IS A DISCUSSION IN ACTION. SO YOU ALL SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO IT THIS MEETING. WE CAN VOTE THIS TIME. MM-HMM. ? YES. OKAY. UM, WOULD SOMEONE LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO CREATE THE, UM, WHAT ARE WE GONNA CALL IT? THE DEMOGRAPHIC WORK GROUP? WHAT DO Y'ALL WANNA CALL IT? THAT SOUNDS PERFECT. YEAH, THAT'S, THAT'S FINE FOR NOW. WE MAY MAYBE CHANGE IT, BUT THAT'S PERFECT FOR NOW. THAT'S GOOD START. DO I MOTION THAT WE CREATE A DEMOGRAPHIC WORK GROUP TO, TO FIND AND ENCAPSULATE THE AMOUNT OF AUSTINITE WITH DISABILITIES THAT GET SERVICED OR NEW SERVICES? I'LL SECOND THAT. OKAY. ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? SAY NAYYY. ALL RIGHT, GREAT. UM, SO WHO AGAIN WOULD LIKE TO BE ON THAT WORK COMMITTEE? ADRIAN HOGAN. OKAY. JENNIFER POWELL. LEAH RAMIREZ. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. WELL GREAT. THANKS. UM, SO LET'S TALK ABOUT [FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS] FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. UM, I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION THAT WE PUT A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM TO, UM, GET A CAC UPDATE. I'M ON THE, UM, THE, THE PROJECT CONNECT. THE ACCESS COMMITTEE. AND I'LL BE ATTENDING THOSE MEETINGS. SO I ATTENDED ONE LAST NIGHT, UM, SO I WOULD JUST MAKE A MOTION JUST TO KIND OF HAVE A STANDING JUST UPDATE ABOUT THAT. [00:30:04] SO YOU WANNA HAVE THE STANDING UPDATE AS FAR AS THE AGENDA? YEAH, LIKE ON THE AGENDA FOR ME TO GIVE AN UPDATE LIKE ALL THE COMMITTEES? YEAH. YEAH. KINDA LIKE THE JOINT INCLUSION COMMITTEE DOES. YEAH. SO I'LL UM, GO AHEAD, MOVE APPROVAL THAT WE INCLUDE THAT AS PART OF OUR MONTHLY MEETINGS. SECOND. OKAY. ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? SAY NAYYY. ALL RIGHT, GREAT. UM, SO WE ALSO NEED TO PUT ON THE AGENDA FOR FEBRUARY, UM, THAT WE COME BACK AND DISCUSS THE RESULTS OF ANY OF THE MEETINGS THAT ANY OF THE, UM, VIRTUAL OR IN PERSON, UM, KIND OF TOWN HALLS WE HAVE, I MOTION THAT WE HAVE DISCUSSION WITH ACTION ON ANY, UH, FINDINGS WE HAVE IN THE TOWN HALL MEETINGS, WHETHER VIRTUAL OR IN PERSON COULD THEN BE USED TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNSEL IF NEEDED FOR BUDGET ITEMS OR ANYTHING ELSE. DO WE HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. I'LL SECOND. OKAY, GREAT. UM, ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. DID EVERYBODY SAY AYE? OKAY. ANY OPPOSED? AYE. SORRY. ANY OPPOSED SAY NAY. OKAY, GREAT. UM, ANY, OH, THERE WAS AN EMAIL. UM, LET ME FIND THE NAME OF THE PERSON. SO WE RECEIVED AN EMAIL FROM THE EQUITY BASED PRE, UH, PRESERVATION PLAN. AND SO THE DRAFT OF THE EQUITY-BASED PRESERVATION PLAN IS COMPLETE AND SOMEONE FROM THAT COMMITTEE WOULD LIKE TO COME AND, UM, DISCUSS THAT PLAN WITH US. I, I RECOMMEND THAT WE DO IT IN APRIL BECAUSE WE WILL BE SO BUSY IN FEBRUARY AND MARCH. OKAY. SO WE CAN TABLE THAT UNTIL MARCH IS MEETING FOR FUTURE BUSINESS. OKAY. BY MOTION TABLE UNTIL MARCH IS MEETING FOR FUTURE. DO I HAVE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND THAT. OKAY. ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. UH, ANY OPPOSED? SAY NAYYY. ALL RIGHT, GREAT. WE'LL DO THAT. UM, DOES ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ANY FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO PUT ON FOR FEBRUARY? UH, VICE CHAIR? YES. THE, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION CHAIR HAD REACHED OUT TO SEE IF THERE WAS ANY INTEREST IN DOING A JOINT MEETING OR TALKING ABOUT TRANSPORTATION RELATED OR PUBLIC SAFETY RELATED ISSUES AND TRANSPORTATION POTENTIALLY WITH THIS COMMITTEE. UM, SO I THINK LIKE WE HAVE TO TABLE THAT TILL MARCH. WE JUST HAVE SO MUCH GOING ON IN FEBRUARY AND MARCH. GO AHEAD MR. SALAZAR. YEAH, I WAS GONNA SAY ALSO WE MIGHT HAVE SOME NEW FINDINGS THAT CAN BE ADDRESSED IN THAT ONCE WE HAVE, I AM HOPING TO PARTICIPATE IN SOME PUBLIC SAFETY STUFF THROUGH THE CAC COMMITTEE AS WELL. SO MAYBE I'LL HAVE SOME MORE INFORMATION ON THAT BY THEN. SO DO I HAVE A MOTION TO TABLE THAT FOR MARCH I MOTION? DO I HAVE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND THAT. OKAY. ALL IN FAVOR, MR. RAMIREZ, IS THIS SOMETHING TO PUT ON THE, IS THIS SOMETHING TO PUT ON THE AGENDA OR MORE SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO BE SEPARATELY SCHEDULED? SO WE'RE GONNA, UM, DISCUSS, WE'RE GONNA IN MARCH, WE JUST NEED TO PUT THESE THINGS ON THE AGENDA FOR APRIL OR MAY. BUT, BUT, UM, MR. RAMIREZ HAS ASKED THAT WE JUST KIND OF TABLE THESE DISCUSSIONS AND DISCUSS IN MARCH WHETHER OR NOT WE WANNA HAVE THEM PUT ON IN APRIL. WELL, I THINK THAT'S ALSO SOMETHING THAT JONATHAN FRANKS NEEDS TO BE HERE FOR, SO I THINK THAT'S A GOOD IDEA. YEAH. SO WE'LL DO THAT. ALL RIGHT. UM, SO I'LL, I'LL IN FAVOR. DID I GET A SECOND FOR THAT MOTION? YES, I SECOND. OKAY. ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? SAY NAY. OKAY, GREAT. UM, ANYTHING ELSE? MOTION TO ADJOURN? I'LL SECOND. ALL RIGHT. I'LL, HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY. HAPPY NEW YEAR. HAPPY YEAR. HAPPY NEW YEAR. UM, THANK YOU EVERYBODY FOR COMING. [00:35:01] I AM EXCITED ABOUT OUR WORK GROUPS THAT WE HAVE GOING. UM, I THINK THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO, I'M HOPING TO GET LOTS OF PARTICIPATION AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO REALLY HONE IN ON WHAT IT IS THAT WE WANNA DO AS A COMMITTEE. UM, ALL RIGHT. WELL, THANK YOU. SEE EVERYBODY IN FEBRUARY. BYE. THANK YOU EVERYBODY. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.