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[Call to Order]
US FOR THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP BOARD MEETING.TODAY IS MARCH 27TH, AND I'LL CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER.
THE TIME IS 1:13 PM AND WE ARE MEETING HERE AT 2 0 3 COLORADO STREET IN AUSTIN, TEXAS.
AND, UM, THE MAYOR, UH, KIRK WATSON WILL NOT BE JOINING US TODAY.
SO WE HAVE TODAY'S CONFIGURATION SET UP A LITTLE BETTER SO WE CAN HAVE A DIALOGUE.
THIS IS GONNA BE A WORK SESSION.
SO THANK YOU TO THE STAFF THAT HAS PREPARED FOR TODAY'S, UM, DISCUSSION AND COMPREHENSIVE UPDATE ON AUSTIN LIBRARY.
SO, WELCOME EVERYONE, AND WELCOME TO ALL THE FOLKS THAT HAVE NOW JOINED US IN THE HALLWAY.
THAT IS OUR, UM, EXTENSION OF OUR BOARDROOM, I GUESS
SO WE DON'T HAVE ANY SPEAKERS SIGNED UP TO ADDRESS THE BOARD TODAY.
[3.1 Approval of a resolution amending the ATP Fiscal Year 2024 Budget to appropriate $65 million to the Capital Fund.]
SO WE'RE GOING TO MOVE ON TO OUR ACTION ITEMS. SO THE FIRST ACTION ITEM ON THE AGENDAS RELATED TO OUR FEDERAL PROGRESS, SPECIFICALLY THE RECENTLY SUBMITTED REQUEST TO ENTER PROJECT DEVELOPMENT UNDER THE FDA CAPITAL INVESTMENT GRANT FOR THE NEW STARTS PROGRAM, OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GREG CANAL, WOULD LIKE TO SAY A FEW WORDS.SO BEFORE I CALL THIS MOTION, UM, ON THE ITEM, CERTAINLY THANK YOU CHAIR.
UM, WELCOME EVERYONE TO WORK SESSION.
IT'S NICE TO GATHER LIKE THIS.
WE'VE, I THINK WE'VE DONE THIS USUALLY SEVERAL TIMES A YEAR, AND I LOVE THE IDEA OF ROLLING UP OUR SLEEVES, UM, TALKING ABOUT SOME OF THE HARD WORK THAT WE'RE AT.
WE'RE WE'RE WORKING THROUGH, UM, AND REALLY HAVING A DIALOGUE, UH, WITH THE BOARD AND WITH THE COMMUNITY.
SO WE THANK YOU FOR GIVING US A LOT OF YOUR TIME TODAY.
UM, I WANNA FIRST START BY RECOGNIZING WE ARE COMING UP AT THE END OF MARCH, WHICH IS WOMEN HISTORY MONTH.
AND I REALLY WANNA JUST ACKNOWLEDGE, UM, UH, OUR, OUR LEADERS, OUR OUR WOMEN LEADERS, DOTTIE, VERONICA, THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SERVICE TO OUR COMMUNITY AND ALSO OUR STAFF.
I'M REALLY PROUD IF YOU HAD A CHANCE TO WALK THROUGH OUR, OUR LOBBY.
WE HAVE UP ON OUR SCREENS KIND OF HIGHLIGHTING ALL OF OUR, UH, UH, WOMEN LEADERSHIP THAT WE HAVE IN THIS ORGANIZATION.
OVER 45% OF OUR SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM IS, ARE, ARE WOMEN.
AND I THINK DAY IN, DAY OUT, YOU SEE, UM, UH, THE, THE VALUE AND THE IDEALS OF WHO A TP IS, UM, BY OUR LEADERSHIP.
SO I JUST WANNA REALLY CELEBRATE, UM, CELEBRATE THAT
SO WITH THAT, AS YOU MENTIONED, UM, YOU KNOW, WE WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THIS, UH, A KEY MILESTONE THAT WE HAD, YOU KNOW, IN LESS THAN A YEAR AFTER HAVING A FANTASTIC COMMUNITY PROCESS, UM, AND FULL SUPPORT TO MOVE, MOVE AHEAD ON AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL PHASE ONE, WE HAVE ENTERED A KEY MILESTONE WITH THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION, WHO HAS JUST BEEN SUCH A WONDERFUL PARTNER WITH US OVER THIS PAST YEAR OF ENTERING THE FIRST PART OF THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT GRANT PROCESS.
UM, CIG IS, IS GOING TO HOPEFULLY GET US TO 50% OF OUR, OF OUR FUNDING THAT WE'LL USE OUR LOCAL TAXPAYER MONEY TO, TO AS A MATCH.
UM, AND SO WE HAVE OFFICIALLY KICKED OFF THE EFFORT, UH, TO ENTER THE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PART OF THAT CIG PROCESS, AGAIN, LESS THAN A YEAR AFTER, UM, MOVING US FORWARD.
SO PART OF THAT IS JUST SOME DEMONSTRATING TO FTA, OUR FINANCIAL CAPABILITIES AND RESOURCES, AND WE HAVE AN ACTION ITEM.
UH, THIS HAS BEEN PLANNED FINANCIALLY, BUT JUST MOVING THE MONEY INTO THE RIGHT BUCKET.
AND, AND BRIAN AND JAMIE CAN QUICKLY WALK US THROUGH THAT.
HEY, BOARD EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CANEI.
UM, YEAH, THIS, SO THIS ACTION ITEM HERE IS, IS ULTIMATELY TAKING SIX $5 MILLION FROM OUR ENDING BALANCE IN THE PROPOSED OR THE APPROVED FY 24 BUDGET AND ALLOCATING IT TO THE CAPITAL FUND TO ULTIMATELY HAVE ALL OF THE MONEY COMMITTED OR APPROPRIATED THAT WOULD BE NEEDED TO GET THROUGH THE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PHASE OF THE, UM, CAPITAL INVESTMENT GRANT PROGRAM.
SO, JEN, WOULD YOU LIKE TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE PROCESS WHEN, UH, THE GOING THROUGH FT A WITH WHERE WE ARE ON THAT, UH, PROCESS AND, AND SOME OF THE, WHAT THE NOTES ARE ABOUT, UH, HAVING TO DEMONSTRATE OUR, UH, THAT, WHAT THAT PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PHASE IS FROM F FDA'S PERSPECTIVE? UH, I'D BE HAPPY TO.
UH, SO AS GREG MENTIONED, WE DID REQUEST ENTRY INTO PROJECT DEVELOPMENT.
UM, AND SO, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THEY'VE REQUESTED FROM US, UM, AS PART OF THAT IS TO SHOW, UM, THAT WE HAVE FUNDS APPROPRIATED FOR THE FULL TWO YEAR PERIOD, UM, DURING WHICH PROJECT DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES WERE TO OCCUR.
UH, SO THAT'S WHAT THIS IS ABOUT TO APP APPRO, UH, FORMALLY APPROPRIATE SOME OF THOSE FUNDS THAT ARE CURRENTLY IN THE RESERVE TO
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DEMONSTRATE THAT WE EXPECT THAT THEY WOULD BE SPENT, UM, COMPLETING PROJECT DEVELOPMENT.DO I HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD? YEAH, MR. COMMENT? YES.
BOARD MEMBER
BUT, UH, I BASICALLY JUST QUIT PLANNING.
SHOULD I GIVE YOU HELL, THE WAY YOU GAVE ME HELL LAST I SHOULD HAVE PLAYED.
I BET IT'S ACTUALLY PERFECT TIMING BECAUSE WE'RE ABOUT TO VOTE.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, THIS IS WONDERFUL.
I DO HAVE ONE QUESTION, FIRST STEP.
SO IN MOVING THIS MONEY FROM THE RESERVE, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT WE HAVE THAT MONEY'S INVESTED IN EARNING INTEREST IN THIS, IN THOSE INVESTMENTS.
SO WHEN WE MOVE IT TO THIS NEXT BUCKET, UM, UNTIL THAT MONEY IS SPENT, IT'S CONTINUED TO BE INVESTED.
SO WE'RE ONLY GONNA UTILIZE THE DOLLARS THAT WE'RE APPROPRIATING HERE, UM, WHEN WE NEED THEM.
SO IT'S NOT LIKE WE'RE UN INVESTING THE FUNDS JUST BECAUSE WE'RE APPROPRIATING THEM.
WE DO, THEY'LL STAY IN OUR OPERATING FUND THAT WE HAVE INVESTED, UM, UNTIL THEY'RE NEEDED FROM A CASH FLOW PERSPECTIVE.
UM, BRIAN, I JUST WANNA MENTION JEN, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND THIS.
PARTLY I'M STILL TRYING TO GET MY HEAD AROUND, YOU KNOW, THE WAY WE ACCOUNT WITH APPROPRIATIONS AND THE CAPITAL BUDGET, AND JUST MAKE SURE YOU KNOW THAT I UNDERSTAND IT, THE BOARD AND THE COMMUNITY UNDERSTANDS IT.
SO WE, IN OUR ORIGINAL BUDGET, WE APPROPRIATED, SO WE HAVE A, A BALANCE OF MONEY THAT'S COMING TO US OVER THE COURSE OF TIME BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN COLLECTING, UM, YOU KNOW, THE PROPERTY TAX.
AND THAT STARTED OUT AT, UM, THE BEGINNING OF THIS YEAR, OF THE FISCAL YEAR WAS 148 MILLION.
AND THEN WE ANTICIPATED $187 MILLION OF NEW MONEY COMING IN TO BE ADDED TO THAT 148 MILLION.
THEN WHAT WE ENVISION, SO WE ALREADY HAD, WE HAD PREVIOUSLY APPROPRIATED INTO THE CAPITAL BUDGET FOR THE DELIVERY OF LIGHT RAIL 82 MILLION.
AND THIS YEAR WE VOTED, OR WHEN WE APPROVED OUR BUDGET, WE AGREED TO MOVE ANOTHER 33 MILLION OVER TO THAT, CREATING A TOTAL OF 115 MILLION IN OUR LIGHT RAIL, UM, CAPITAL BUDGET.
AND THEN AS PART OF OUR EXPENDITURES, WE PLAN TO SPEND THAT 115 MILLION THIS YEAR TO GO THROUGH ALL OF THE THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN DOING AND THAT WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT AND CONTINUE TO TALK ABOUT.
HOWEVER, THE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS IS A TWO YEAR PERIOD, AND VERY UNDERSTANDABLY, THE FTA CAME BACK AND SAID, WE UNDERSTAND YOU HAVE THE REVENUE BETWEEN WHAT YOU ALREADY HAVE AND WHAT YOU ANTICIPATE RECEIVING THIS YEAR TO FULLY FUND PROJECT DEVELOPMENT.
HOWEVER, NEXT YEAR'S HASN'T BEEN APPROPRIATED OVER TO THE LIGHT RAIL, UM, CAPITAL BUDGET.
WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT FORMAL MOVE TO FOR THE FULL AMOUNT, WHICH IS, UM, WE'RE ADDING 65, SO IT'S 1 15, 1 70, 180.
SO 180 IS THE FULL AMOUNT THAT WE WILL SPEND TO GET US THROUGH PROJECT DEVELOPMENT, WHICH INCLUDES EXPENDITURES NEXT YEAR, EVEN THOUGH NEXT FISCAL YEAR, EVEN THOUGH WE'LL BE APPROPRIATING THIS YEAR.
SO ALL WE'RE DOING IS, YOU KNOW, COMPLYING WITH THE FDA'S TOTALLY UNDERSTANDABLE REQUEST, UM, BEFORE THEY PUSH US INTO THE PROGRAM.
AND SO TO GET TO THAT, WE'VE GOTTA ADD 65 MILLION.
WE WON'T SPEND IT ANY DIFFERENTLY THAN WHAT WE'VE PROPOSED.
WE'RE GONNA SPEND IT IN THE SAME TIMEFRAME.
WE'LL GET THROUGH PROJECT DEVELOPMENT IN THE SAME TIMEFRAME.
ASSUMING EVERYTHING YOU KNOW GOES WELL WITH THE FT A, THAT'S ALL WE'RE DOING IS, IS THAT A CORRECT
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RESTATEMENT OF THIS? YEAH, THAT'S CORRECT.SO WE'RE JUST AGREEING TO MOVE 65 MILLION OUTTA, UH, OUR OVERALL FUND BALANCE INTO A VERY SPECIFIC, SPECIFIC CAPITAL BUDGET WON'T BE SPENT UNTIL NEXT YEAR.
IT'S MERELY TO MEET, TO MEET THE, THE F FDA'S UNDERSTANDABLE PRICE.
BUT THAT'S EXCELLENT BECAUSE, UH, FOLKS WANT TO KNOW EX EXACTLY WHAT, WHAT YOU PUT IN PLACE AND EXACTLY WHY YOU'RE PUTTING IT IN PLACE.
AND IF IT MEANS THAT FTA WILL SEE THIS AND SAY THAT'S WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR, UH, THAT WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP OF CREDIBILITY WITH A, WITH A RELATIVELY NEW ORGANIZATION, UH, IT'S, IT IS IMPORTANT TO POINT THAT TYPE OF THING OUT.
I THINK THAT YOU'VE DONE A GREAT SERVICE WITH YOUR QUESTIONS.
SECONDLY, THANK YOU BOTH BY BOARD MEMBER LAMORE, SECOND BY COMMISSIONER TRILLIAN.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO NOW CALL A VOTE.
ANYONE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE.
THE ACTION ITEM NUMBER ONE PASSES UNANIMOUSLY WITH BOARD MEMBER, UH, WATSON, ABSENT.
[2.1 Discussion on Austin Light Rail Implementation Plan.]
OUR DISCUSSION ON THE AUSTIN RAIL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.SO I'LL HAND IT BACK TO YOU, GREG, THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS AFTERNOON, AND WE'RE GONNA HAVE STAFF ALSO SIT AROUND THE TABLE AND I'M GONNA LET THEM INTRODUCE THEMSELVES.
THANKS FOR, AGAIN, I THINK THIS BECOMES THE ROLE AT THE SLEEVE, PART OF THE, THE MEETING AND, UM, THIS BECOMES THE ROLE AT THE SLEEVE PART OF THE MEETING.
SO I THINK IT'S JUST IMPORTANT TO HIGHLIGHT WHERE WE ARE.
YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, UM, WE'VE BEEN VERY CLEAR MINDED ABOUT HITTING OUR MARK AND HITTING, HITTING MILESTONES, AND WE'VE BEEN DOING THAT OVER THESE LAST TWO YEARS.
UM, AND WE WANT TO TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE ACHIEVEMENTS WE ARE TODAY THAT I THINK CAN HELP INFORM THE DIALOGUE THAT WE WANT TO HAVE WITH YOU AROUND TWO MAJOR TOPICS.
WHERE ARE WE IN THE BIG PICTURE OF AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL FROM A SCHEDULE PERSPECTIVE ON COST INFORMATION, AND THEN THAT REALLY KEY COMPONENT ABOUT OUR DELIVERY, UH, HOW WE'RE GONNA DELIVER THIS PROJECT WITH OUR PARTNERS IN INDUSTRY.
SO REALLY HAVING A BIG DIALOGUE ABOUT THIS TODAY.
BUT TO KICK IT OFF, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE JUST TALKED ABOUT, WE HAVE, UM, FROM OUR FEDERAL PROCESS, THERE'S TWO KIND OF KEY, UH, SWIM LANES THAT WE'RE IN.
WE KICKED THAT OFF BACK EARLIER IN THE YEAR.
THAT PROCESS IS ONGOING AND WE ARE GONNA COME BACK AND TALK TO YOU MORE ABOUT HOW WE ARE ADVANCING ALL OF THAT.
ONE OF THE KEY EFFORTS IS WE'VE JUST, UM, FINISHED UP OUR SCOPING EXERCISE THAT I THINK JEN'S GONNA ADD SOME MORE, UH, COLOR TO.
WE, AS WE MENTIONED JUST JUST A FEW MINUTES AGO, WE HAVE OFFICIALLY, UM, REQUESTED ENTRY INTO THE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PHASE OF THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION'S NEW START PROJECT.
AND AGAIN, I REALLY NEED TO, UM, THANK, UM, THE FTA STAFF BOTH HERE IN TEXAS AND IN HEADQUARTERS FOR HELPING US THROUGH THIS PROCESS OVER THESE YEARS.
THEY'RE JUST SUCH A FANTASTIC, UH, GROUP OF FOLKS, UM, THAT ARE INTERESTED IN SUCCESS HERE IN AUSTIN AND IN TEXAS AS WELL.
SO, REALLY A WONDERFUL PROCESS AND WE'RE EXCITED TO BE AT THIS MILESTONE, UM, AS AN, AS AN ORGANIZATION, BUT ALSO AS A COMMUNITY THAT WE'RE ABLE TO GET TO THIS REALLY KEY MOMENT.
UM, SO GREAT, GREAT MOMENT TO CELEBRATE THAT.
AND IT HELPS REALLY UNLOCK SOME OF THE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE WANT TO HAVE NOW, NOW THAT WE'RE ABLE TO PUT THAT START DATE ON THIS ROUGHLY TWO YEAR SCHEDULE.
IT REALLY HELPS INFORMING A LOT OF THE WORK THAT'S AHEAD OF US FROM A CONTRACTING PERSPECTIVE, FROM A FINANCIAL CASH FLOW PERSPECTIVE.
AND SO IT'S A REALLY GOOD MOMENT TO STOP, REFLECT ON THIS MILESTONE, BUT WHAT IT MEANS FOR OUR PROJECT AND FOR A TP.
AND THEN AS PART OF THAT IS, AGAIN, THE RESOURCES THAT WE'RE GOING TO USE TO CONTINUE TO ADVANCE THAT PROJECT.
WE'VE BEEN, WE HAVE BRIEFED YOU BEFORE A FEW DIFFERENT OCCASIONS ON THIS.
WE'RE REALLY GONNA GO REALLY DEEP TODAY ON SOME OF THESE TOP TOPICS ABOUT, UH, HOW WE'RE GONNA MOVE THIS FORWARD.
AND, AND, AND BRAD AND CASEY AND, AND LINDSAY AND THE TEAM ARE GONNA WALK US THROUGH WHERE WE ARE.
SO WITH THAT, I THINK I'LL TURN IT OVER TO, I THINK JEN, JUST TO GIVE US A QUICK HIGHLIGHTS ON WHERE WE ARE, BIG PICTURE, SCHEDULE WISE, AND FTA.
UM, SO I'LL, I'LL START WITH A LITTLE BIT OF THE FILLING IN SOME OF THE COLOR COMMENTARY ON THE SCOPING PERIOD THAT WE JUST CONCLUDED, WHICH IS ONE OF OUR FIRST STEPS IN NEPA.
SO WE CONDUCTED FIVE PUBLIC MEETINGS IN PERSON.
UM, AND WE GOT GREAT ATTENDANCE.
WE GOT WELL OVER 400 ATTENDEES TOTAL.
UM, AND MORE THAN TWO THIRDS OF THEM FILLED
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OUT THE SURVEY FORM THAT WE PROVIDED, WHICH IF YOU ATTENDED, YOU SAW, WE ASKED QUITE A FEW QUESTIONS.I THINK MOST OF THE PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM NOW, BUT IF SOMEBODY'S LISTENING, COULD YOU TELL US WHAT NEPA IS, JUST SO THAT EVERYBODY KNOWS WHAT THE ACRONYM MEANS? NEPA, YES.
FEEL FREE TO STOP ME WITH THE ACRONYMS ANYTIME.
I, NO, IF IF YOU, YES, I'LL TELL FOLKS GENERALLY.
SO, NEPA, NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT, UM, AND THAT IS THE PROCESS THAT, UM, OUR NOTICE OF INTENT IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER REALLY INITIATED, UH, THAT WE'RE DOING THE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW ON THIS PROJECT, UH, THE AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL PHASE ONE THAT WE'RE NOW ADVANCING.
SO THE FIRST STEP, YOU KNOW, IS SCOPING.
AND THE PUBLIC MEETINGS WE HELD WE'RE A PART OF JUST COMMUNICATING TO THE PUBLIC WHAT WE'RE DOING, WHAT WE'RE EVALUATING IN NEPA, UM, AND TO HEAR BACK, YOU KNOW, FEEDBACK ON ISSUES OF IMPORTANCE THAT WE SHOULD BE SURE TO EVALUATE, UH, AND FOLD INTO THE WORK THAT WE'RE CONTINUING TO DO.
UM, AND SO WE GOT A LOT OF FEEDBACK.
UM, PEOPLE WHO CAME IN PERSON FILLING OUT FORMS, UM, ONLINE, YOU CAN STILL SEE ALL THE SAME MEETING MATERIALS AND FILL IN ONLINE FORMS. SO WE GOT ONLINE OVER 1800 VIEWS AND, UM, 436 SURVEYS RETURNED JUST ONLINE.
IN ADDITION TO THE IN-PERSON, UH, WE ALSO MADE AN EFFORT TO REALLY REACH OUT AND MAKE SURE PEOPLE WERE AWARE OF THE MEETINGS AND HOW THEY COULD GET MORE INFORMATION IN GENERAL, UM, BY DOING AT BUS STOP OUTREACH, GOING TO DIFFERENT COMMUNITY CENTERS, YOU KNOW, ALONG THE LIGHT RAIL LINE.
UM, AND JUST TRYING TO BE, UH, REALLY SOLICITING AS MUCH FEEDBACK AS WE POSSIBLY COULD.
SO ALL OF THIS INFORMATION, UM, RIGHT NOW WE'RE SORTING THROUGH ALL THE COMMENTS, UNDERSTANDING WHAT THEY ARE, WE'RE TRYING TO PUT THEM INTO BUCKETS AND THINK ABOUT HOW THEY HELP INFORM THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING NEXT.
UM, AND WE WILL BE PRODUCING A SCOPING SUMMARY REPORT.
UM, AND THAT IS ESSENTIALLY, UH, JUST REFLECTING BACK WHAT WE HEARD, AND THAT WILL BE A PUBLICLY AVAILABLE DOCUMENT THAT WE'RE EXPECTING THAT TO BE AVAILABLE IN MAY.
UH, SO ON THE, UH, REQUEST TO ENTER PROJECT DEVELOPMENT, I KNOW WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THAT FOR A MINUTE ALREADY, UM, BUT WE'RE, UM, ENGAGED IN SOME QUESTIONS JUST BEFORE WE MOVE PAST THE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT.
UH, WERE YOU MOVING BEYOND THAT? YES, PLEASE.
SO YOU'RE GONNA MOVE TO D SO MAYBE THERE, I HAD A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ON THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, YOU SAID WE HAD REALLY GOOD ATTENDANCE.
LIKE WHAT'S THE BENCHMARK FOR THAT? YOU KNOW, HOW WOULD YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOOD ATTENDANCE AND WHAT IT WELL, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
UM, SO AT PROBABLY OUR BEST ATTENDED MEETING HAD 119 PEOPLE OR SHOW, AND THAT WAS THE ONE DOWN AT, UH, TWIN OAKS LIBRARY.
SO, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS WE TRY TO DO IS THINK ABOUT WHEN WE'RE CONDUCTING MEETINGS.
SO WE HAD A RANGE OF SOME AT NIGHT, SOME IN THE MORNING, ONE ON A SATURDAY, JUST TRY TO PROVIDE A RANGE OF OPTIONS FOR PEOPLE, UM, TO FIT IT INTO THEIR LIVES.
UM, SO, SO ONE WAY TO MEASURE SUCCESS I GUESS, IS LIKE JUST THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE COMING IN.
AND I WOULD SAY 119 PEOPLE ON A TUESDAY NIGHT IS JUST OBJECTIVELY GOOD.
THAT'S A LOT OF PEOPLE TAKING TIME OUT OF THEIR DAY TO COME.
BUT YOU CAN HAVE A GREAT MEETING WITH 25 ATTENDEES AS WELL.
UM, SO JUST ANOTHER WAY TO MEASURE IT IS NOT JUST THE NUMBERS, BUT HOW MANY PEOPLE CAME AND ACTUALLY FILLED OUT A SURVEY OR ENGAGED IN CONVERSATIONS AND SO THE QUALITY OF THE ENGAGEMENT.
AND SO THAT'S THE FOCUS FOR US AS WELL.
LIKE, BUT DO WE, IS THERE, YOU KNOW, LIKE DO WE BENCHMARK AGAINST SIMILAR, YOU KNOW, LARGE PUBLIC, UH, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS AND HOW, HOW THEY'VE, YOU KNOW, CAPITAL METRO DOES A TON OF THEM.
THE CITY OF AUSTIN DOES A TON OF THEM.
LIKE, I JUST WANT THE SENSE OF CONFIDENCE, YOU KNOW, THAT WHEN WE, BECAUSE WHAT WE WILL DO IS WE'LL GO OUT AND SAY WHAT YOU JUST SAID, YOU KNOW, WE HAD GREAT PUBLIC INPUT AS WE MOVE THE PROJECT FORWARD.
AND UM, LIKE I WANT TO BE ABLE TO SAY THAT WITH SOME DEGREE OF CONFIDENCE THAT OURS STOOD OUT, YOU KNOW, REAL, LIKE IN THE UNIVERSE OF CAPITAL PROJECTS, OURS KIND OF STOOD OUT AND LOOK, UH, IT'S NOT LIKE WE NEED 200,000 PEOPLE INPUTTING TO SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S FREAKISHLY UNREALISTIC FOR PEOPLE TO, YOU KNOW, THEY TRUST US TO DO THE WORK, BUT AT THE SAME TIME WE NEED TO HEAR FROM THEM.
HOW DO I KNOW THAT? LIKE IT IS IN FACT GOOD.
AND THEN I CAN SAY THAT WITH CONFIDENCE THAT WE REALLY HAD ROCK SOLID PUBLIC INPUT.
WELL, I GUESS I WOULD SAY A COUPLE THINGS TO THAT.
UM, ONE MIGHT BE THAT WE'VE HEARD FEEDBACK FROM SOME OF OUR PEER AGENCIES, UM, THAT, UM, THAT ARE IMPRESSED BY THE NUMBERS AND THE TYPE OF FEEDBACK THAT WE'RE GETTING.
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SO THERE'S THAT.UM, AND YOU KNOW, JUST SOME OF OUR, ALL OF OUR PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE IN TERMS OF, AGAIN, THE QUALITY AS WELL AS THE QUANTITY OF ENGAGEMENT.
UH, AND I THINK ANOTHER THING THAT WE'RE REALLY THINKING ABOUT IS, SO WE GET THIS FEEDBACK AND THEN WHAT HAPPENS NOW, IT'S GONNA BE MY NEXT QUESTION,
SO HOW CAN YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE FOLD IT INTO OUR TECHNICAL WORK EXACTLY.
AND HOW DO WE DEMONSTRATE THAT BACK TO THE COMMUNITY? EXACTLY.
HAVE THEM SEE THE, SO WHAT THEY HAVE TO SAY IS, YOU KNOW, MANIFEST ITSELF AND THE PROJECT TO THE EXTENT IT MAKES SENSE.
AND JUST REAL QUICKLY, 'CAUSE I WANNA LET YOU GO FORWARD, BUT, YOU KNOW, I WENT TO SOME OF THESE MEETINGS AND I WILL SAY ALSO, LIKE, I WAS INCREDIBLY IMPRESSED WITH LIKE, HOW THOUGHTFUL PEOPLE ARE.
LIKE THEY, THEY REALLY UNDERSTAND THEIR OWN NEIGHBORHOOD, YOU KNOW? AND SO ONE OF THEM WAS A PARK AND RIDE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD ON RIVERSIDE, AND THERE'S A GUY THAT'S TAKEN THAT UP AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE LIKE, YOU KNOW, IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE.
AND THEY HAVE 400 REASONS WHY, AND THEY'RE LEGITIMATE, YOU KNOW, FROM A GUY THAT LIVES AND WORKS RIGHT THERE.
AND HE HAD SOME OTHER PEOPLE ALONG WITH HIM AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, IF YOU DIDN'T LIVE THERE, YOU WOULDN'T NECESSARILY KNOW THAT.
BUT, SO GIVING HIM A VEHICLE TO EXPRESS THAT, AND Y'ALL DID A GREAT JOB, EVERYBODY GIVING THEM THAT VEHICLE TO EXPRESS THAT, WRITE IT DOWN, YOU KNOW, THE GUY'S WRITTEN ME EMAILS AND, UM, ALL OF THAT IS GREAT.
'CAUSE I KNOW THERE'S A WHOLE BUNCH OF DIFFERENT THINGS.
I'M JUST PULLING THIS ONE OUT AND, AND MAYBE THE PARK AND RIDE MAKES SENSE THERE, MAYBE IT DOESN'T, BUT WHAT'S THE NEXT STEP WHERE THEY LIKE THAT GUY AND ALL THE PEOPLE THAT HE'S BANDED TOGETHER TO DO THAT, AND THEN ALL THE OTHERS THAT PUT THEIR COMMENTS IN THAT MAY OR MAY NOT MANIFEST HIMSELF IN A CHANGE TO THE PROJECT.
HOW DO THEY BECOME AWARE THAT ALL OF THAT HAS BEEN, YOU KNOW, CONTEMPLATED BY US, THOUGHT THROUGH THOROUGHLY AND EITHER ACCEPTED OR REJECTED BASED ON, YOU KNOW, ACKNOWLEDGING IT AND THINKING IT THROUGH.
SO THE, THE SCOPING SUMMARY REPORT, I THINK WHAT THAT WILL ACCOMPLISH IS PEOPLE CAN SEE WHAT WE HEARD, AND THAT'S REALLY REFLECTING BACK WHAT WE HEARD.
SO KIND OF THE NEXT LEVEL OF WHAT WAS THE IMPACT OF IT.
UM, SO THE WAY THAT WE'RE HANDLING THAT RIGHT NOW IS REALLY AS WE'RE UNDERSTANDING THE COMMENTS AND SORTING THEM THROUGH, MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE SHARING THEM WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLE, THE PEOPLE DOING THE TECHNICAL ANALYSIS OR THE ENGINEERING WORK, OR WHOEVER NEEDS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE FEEDBACK WAS AND COULD TAKE ACTION ON IT AS APPROPRIATE.
UM, SO THAT'S THE WORK THAT'S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW AS FAR AS REPORTING BACK, UM, ON KIND OF WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THAT.
I THINK THAT WILL BE REALLY WITH THE DRAFT EIS WHEN THAT'S RELEASED, BECAUSE THAT WILL BE NOT ONLY THE RESULTS OF THE ANALYSES WE'RE DOING AND KIND OF THE STATE OF OUR, OUR BASE DESIGN, UM, BUT WILL ALSO CONTEMPLATE THE IMPACT OF THE INPUT THAT WE HEARD AND HOW IT MIGHT HAVE AFFECTED THINGS.
UM, SO WHICH COULD TAKE ANY NUMBER OF FORMS. YEAH.
SO, AND WHEN WE ISSUE THE DRAFT, EIS YOU KNOW, THERE'LL BE ANOTHER FORMAL PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD THEN.
UH, AND SIMILARLY, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'LL BE GETTING A LOT OF FEEDBACK AND UNDERSTANDING WHAT THOSE COMMENTS ARE AND, UM, AS A REGULAR PART OF THE NEPA PROCESS IN THE FINAL, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT, WE WILL GO THROUGH ALL THOSE COMMENTS AND RESPOND TO THEM.
AND THAT'S PART OF THAT DOCUMENTATION.
IT'S JUST GONNA ADD TO THAT CONVERSATION.
I THINK IT'S GREAT SORT TO ENFORCE THIS PUBLIC PROCESS.
WE ALWAYS TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE WORK THAT JEN AND COURTNEY AND JULIE ARE OUT AND THE WHOLE TEAM ARE OUT THERE DOING COMMUNITY INPUT ISN'T A STEP, IT'S A CONTINUUM.
AND I THINK YOU HOPE WE SAW THAT DEMONSTRATED FROM WHERE WE WERE IN THE LEAD UP TO LAST MARCH AND OUR WONDERFUL EVENT THAT WE HAD AT THE LIBRARY, THE PROCESS TO GET THERE.
AND THAT WAS, THERE WAS THE REFLECTION BACK FROM THE COMMUNITY ABOUT HOW WE WENT THROUGH THAT.
UM, WE'RE TRYING TO CARRY, WE'RE GONNA CARRY THAT FORWARD.
AND EVEN THE SENSE OF WHERE WE'RE ON SCOPING, MAKING SURE THAT THE ALIGNMENT, THIS KIND OF GETS GRANULAR, BUT THE, THE ALIGNMENT AND SEQUENCING OF GETTING THAT SCOPING INFORMATION IN AT THE RIGHT TIME, THAT WE CAN STILL ADVANCE THE PROJECT AND GET THAT MATCHED UP WITH OUR TECHNICAL EXPERTISE.
WE ALWAYS TALK ABOUT WE'RE AN ORGANIZATION OF COMMUNITY AND EXPERTS AND GETTING THAT ALIGNED.
SO THAT, THAT INPUT IS ACTUALLY, IT'S BOTH FED BACK AND REFLECTED BACK, BUT IT'S, IT'S BROUGHT INTO THIS BUILDING.
I MEAN, IT'S REALLY BROUGHT INTO THIS BUILDING SO WE CAN SAY, OH, THAT IS AN INTERESTING PERSPECTIVE OUT IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD THAT WE HADN'T THOUGHT ABOUT.
HOW CAN WE, HOW CAN WE LOOK AT THAT? HOW CAN WE SOLVE FOR IT? SO I THINK THAT'S THE, THE STEPS OF IT ARE REALLY IMPORTANT AS WELL.
SO THE TEAM IS JUST THINKING ABOUT THAT ALL THE TIME.
I HAVE ONE QUESTION, JEN, AND THANK YOU FOR THE HEAVY LIFT TO ALL OF THE STAFF THAT WENT TO
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THE PUBLIC MEETINGS.AND I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR, YOUR COMMENTS BOARD MEMBER
RIGHT? THEY ARE THE EXPERTS IN THEIR OWN NEIGHBORHOODS.
THEY ARE THE, THEY KNOW WHAT THEY'RE LACKING.
SO MY QUESTION IS, HOW DOES, IF THERE IS A CONFLICT OR SOMETHING THAT IS NOT ALIGNING FROM WHAT THE COMMUNITY WANTS AND WHAT THE SFTX EXPECTS OR THE SOLUTION, THAT'S AN ENGINEERING SOLUTION.
IF THERE'S A DISCONNECT OVER THE PERIOD OF THE TWO YEAR EVALUATION OR THE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT, WE TRY TO RESOLVE THOSE ISSUES, RIGHT? TO COME TO THAT ALIGNMENT.
BUT WE DON'T WANNA LOSE PEOPLE IN THE PROCESS.
SO THAT IF YOU HAD A GREAT IDEA AND WE TRY TO STUDY IT, BUT IT CAN'T BE IMPLEMENTED, IT'S, IT'S JUST NOT FEASIBLE FOR WHATEVER REASON, ENVIRONMENTAL CAUSED, UH, CULTURALLY WHAT, WHATEVER THE REASON IS.
IN YOUR EXPERIENCE, HOW, HOW DO WE, HOW HAS THAT MANIFESTED WITH THE FDA OR IN, IN THE DIS REPORT? HOW DO WE COME TO TERMS WITH THAT? WELL, UM, SO IN THE SITUATION THAT YOU'RE SUGGESTING, YOU KNOW, WHERE THERE ARE SUGGESTIONS MAYBE OF ALTERNATIVES OR IDEAS THAT SOME, A MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC IS PUTTING FORWARD MM-HMM.
AND I THINK THAT AT LEAST THAT EXAMPLE YOU'RE SUGGESTING, I WOULD PUT IT IN THAT CATEGORY, UM, AS WE HAVE RECEIVED FEEDBACK AND, YOU KNOW, THERE HAVE BEEN COMMENTS LIKE THAT REALLY EVEN OVER THE YEARS, UM, THAT WE'VE EVALUATED AND WORKED THROUGH.
AND IT'S JUST A KIND OF CONTINUUM OF, AS WE, UM, CONSIDER ANY IDEAS AND DECISIONS ARE MADE ABOUT THEM, THAT THAT'S DOCUMENTED AND IT'S AS TO WHY AND WHAT THE RATIONALE WAS.
UM, AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE CONTINUING TO DO.
UM, AS WE'RE LOOKING THROUGH THESE COMMENTS, IF THERE ARE NEW IDEAS OR CONCEPTS OR OPTIONS PUT FORTH, UM, TO, UH, YOU KNOW, IF THEY'RE PRACTICABLE TO CONSIDER THOSE.
UM, AND IF IT'S SET ASIDE, WHY IS THAT AND IT'S DOCUMENTED OR IF IT ADVANCES AND WE'RE CONTINUING TO EVALUATE, THAT'S THE CASE.
SO, YEAH, BECAUSE I THINK FOLKS REALLY, I THINK THE SUCCESS OF ANY PROJECT OF THIS MAGNITUDE, ESPECIALLY IF IT'S GENERATIONAL, LIKE OUR WARS, GIVING PEOPLE THE OWNERSHIP, THEY OWN IT.
THIS IS THEIR PROGRAM, THIS IS THEIR INVESTMENT.
I THINK IT'S REALLY CRUCIAL AND HOW WE RESOLVE ANY ONE OF THOSE DISCONNECTS PERHAPS.
AND I'M THINKING THERE'S A LOT OF REALLY GOOD IDEAS THAT MAY BE OUT OF THE BOX.
AND I THINK AUSTIN LIKES TO STAND OUT AS WE'RE VERY ORIGINAL IN THE WAY WE DO THINGS.
SO THERE'S A WAY OF BEST PRACTICES AND A WAY OF REINVENTING SOMETHING ALLOW AUSTIN RIGHT.
THE WAY THAT AUSTIN WOULD DO IT.
SO I JUST WANT US TO HAVE A, AN OPEN MIND OF SOME OF THE WACKY IDEAS THAT COULD COME OUT AND HOW WE COULD IMPLEMENT THEM AND STUDY THEM AND EMBRACE THEM AND NOT IMMEDIATELY DISMISS THEM.
AND I THINK WE ARE OPEN TO ALL THAT.
YOU KNOW, UM, IF YOU KNOW YOU'RE INVITING PEOPLE TO COME TO THE PUBLIC MEETINGS AND SPEAK TO YOU, YOU HAVE TO BE OPEN TO THAT.
YOU HAVE TO BE, AND THAT THIS TEAM TRULY IS, IS OPEN TO ALL THE IDEAS COMING, UH, TO US TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE CONSIDERED.
UM, AND KIND TO YOUR POINT, I THINK WE ALL WANT THIS TO BE VERY MUCH A PROJECT OF AUSTIN.
AND THAT MEANS IT'S, WE'RE VERY ENGAGED WITH AUSTINITES AS TO WHAT THAT MEANS AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
AND YET, AS QUICKLY AS WE ARE WHEN WE'RE DEALING WITH OTHER ENTITIES, IT'S GOOD TO KEEP IN MIND THAT WE MAY NOT HAVE THE LAST WORD.
SO DRAWING FOR AN EXAMPLE FROM ANOTHER FIELD ENTIRELY.
UM, WE AS CITIZENS OF AUSTIN WANT TO, UH, END THE OPERATION OF THE, UH, FA POWER PLANT.
IT'S VERY DIRTY AND, UH,
[00:30:01]
BECAUSE THEY HAVE THE LAST WORD.SO IT'S IMPORTANT TO KEEP IN MIND THAT WE DON'T ALWAYS HAVE THE LAST WORD.
WE HAVE TO STILL WORK WITHIN CERTAIN PARAMETERS.
WE CONVEY THAT TO THE PUBLIC IN AS KIND OF WAY AS WE CAN, BUT THAT'S, IT IS WHAT IT IS.
THE ONLY THING I WAS GONNA ADD TO YOUR POINT, TO MAKING SURE THAT EVERYONE FELT WELCOME.
I, I WILL SAY Y'ALL DID A GREAT JOB DOING THAT.
IT WAS PE PEOPLE I THINK FELT VERY WELCOME, VERY FREE TO EXPRESS OUR IDEAS AND THEIR OPINIONS, BOTH PRO AND CON.
SOME OF THE PEOPLE THAT WERE COMPLAINING, I WOULD'VE PROBABLY SPENT LESS TIME THAN Y'ALL DID.
SO EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE FELT VERY WELCOME IN TRYING TO ASSURE OURSELVES THAT PEOPLE HAVE HEARD US TO REMIND ME ALL THAT SATISFIED LBJ OR JAKE
UM, JUST LOOKING AT MY NOTES TO SEE IF THERE'S ANYTHING WE HAVEN'T TALKED ABOUT ON THIS SLIDE.
BUT I, I THINK, UH, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT ENTERING PROJECT DEVELOPMENT, UM, AND ON THE PROCURING ADDITIONAL RESOURCES, WE'LL BE HEARING QUITE A BIT MORE ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT LATER WITH PROJECT DELIVERY.
UM, AND, AND SOME OF THE OTHER WORK WE'RE DOING TO GET RESOURCES ON BOARD TO CONTINUE THE ENGINEERING AND, AND ULTIMATELY TO BRING ON SOME MORE OWNER SUPPORT THROUGH OUR DELIVERY PARTNER.
UM, BUT IN THE MEANTIME, I'M GOING TO MOVE TO TALKING ABOUT OUR, OUR INITIAL PLANNING SCHEDULE.
WE'RE PLANNING OUT OUR WORK NOW THROUGHOUT THE DURATION OF CONSTRUCTION TO A A 0.0 OPERATIONS AND, AND REVENUE SERVICE.
UM, AND SO WE'RE EXPANDING OUR THINKING TO REALLY THINK THROUGH THE WHOLE LIFE CYCLE OF THIS PROJECT RIGHT NOW, UM, TO SUPPORT OUR FTA COORDINATION TO BE ABLE TO COMPLETE THE THINGS THAT WE'RE GONNA NEED TO DO DURING PROJECT DEVELOPMENT.
UH, AND ALSO IT, UH, MAKES SENSE WITH THE WORK WE'RE DOING TO ADVANCE THE THINKING ON OUR PROJECT DELIVERY AND THINK ABOUT THE DIFFERENT IMPACTS ON, UH, SCHEDULE AND COST, UH, THAT WOULD RESULT.
SO, UH, SO THIS IS, UM, HOW WE'RE, WE'RE THINKING ABOUT SOME OF OUR KEY MILESTONES.
UH, CERTAINLY THE, UH, LIGHT RAIL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN THAT WAS APPROVED LAST YEAR.
WE'VE ADVANCED THAT AS WE'VE ALREADY DISCUSSED.
UH, WE'RE IN THE FEDERAL PROCESS NOW WITH REGARD TO NEPA, UM, AND PURSUING PROJECT DEVELOPMENT.
UM, AND SO PROJECT DEVELOPMENT IS A TWO YEAR PROCESS GENERALLY.
UM, SO WE'RE ANTICIPATING IN 2026, UM, WE'LL BE REACHING KINDA WHAT FTA CALLS THE ENGINEERING PHASE.
UM, AND IT'S, UH, PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT TO US BECAUSE THAT IS THE POINT AT WHICH WE WILL FINALIZE WITH FTA, WHAT THE FEDERAL FUNDING AMOUNT WILL BE.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN A GRANT AGREEMENT IS EXECUTED, UM, WE ARE LOOKING TO BEGIN SOME CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES IN 2027, UH, ULTIMATELY OPEN FOR SERVICE.
UH, WE'RE, UM, PROJECTING 2033.
UH, AND THAT MEANS THAT CONSTRUCTION WOULD, UM, CONCLUDE WITHIN THAT PERIOD, BUT ALSO TESTING, UM, AND BE READY FOR SERVICE.
SO THIS IS OUR PLANNING SCHEDULE, UM, MEANING WE'RE GONNA BE CONTINUALLY EVALUATING IT AND IT, UH, WILL BE INFORMED BY COMMUNITY INPUT, CERTAINLY THE FEDERAL PROCESS, UM, AND PERHAPS MORE OF IN ANYTHING BY FINAL CONTRACTING, UM, AND HOW WE ULTIMATELY, UM, PACKAGE AND, AND SEQUENCE THE WORK.
UM, SO AS WE'RE SPEAKING ABOUT THIS PLANNING SCHEDULE, UM, THIS SCHEDULE FOR WORK REALLY INFORMS TOO HOW WE'RE CONSIDERING COSTS.
UH, WE'RE CONSIDERING COSTS IN TERMS OF OUR EXPENDITURES OVER TIME AND HOW THAT WOULD PLAY OUT.
UM, AND CONTINUALLY LOOKING AT THAT AND THINKING ABOUT VALIDATING OUR FINANCIAL PLANNING ASSUMPTIONS.
UH, SO WITH THAT, I'M GOING TO, UH, PASS IT OVER TO BRIAN OR PAUSE FOR QUESTIONS.
OH YEAH,
YEAH, NO, AND I WILL SAY, BY THE WAY, I REALLY APPRECIATE Y'ALL DOING A WORK SESSION.
LIKE HAVING, JUST BEING ABLE TO TALK ABOUT THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR OUR SAKE TO UNDERSTAND IT, BUT ALSO TO CONVEY TO THE PUBLIC SO THEY UNDERSTAND IT SO THEY KNOW THAT WE'RE, UM, YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE WE UNDERSTAND IT AS WELL.
SO BEFORE WE MOVE TO THE BUDGETING, YOU KNOW, PAYING FOR THE PROJECT, I HAD A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS AROUND THE SCHEDULING OF IT, WHICH YOU'VE TALKED ABOUT BECAUSE, SO TO MY MIND, YOU KNOW, FROM LIKE BEING ON THE CAP METRO BOARD, WE DIDN'T DO AS MUCH CAPITAL WORK THERE, BUT CERTAINLY AT THE C-T-R-M-A, YOU KNOW, WE DID SOME MAJOR CAPITAL PROJECTS THERE.
I KNOW YOU DO AT THE COUNTY AS WELL.
UM, I KNOW YOU DID WOULD HAVE AT AUSTIN ENERGY, UM, YOU KNOW, LIKE ONCE YOU GET TO A POINT WHERE, SO WE
[00:35:01]
REPRESENT THE PUBLIC, RIGHT? YOU KNOW, US AS BOARD MEMBERS, LIKE THAT'S OUR BOSS, THAT'S WHO WE'RE ACCOUNTABLE TO.AND AT SOME POINT ALONG THE WAY, WE'RE GONNA PUT OUT THERE, THIS IS THE DAY THAT Y'ALL ARE GOING TO GET TO RIDE THE PROJECT THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON FOR X NUMBER OF YEARS.
UM, AND THEN IT BECOMES OUR JOB ON BEHALF OF THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE TO HOLD OURSELVES, INCLUDE US STAFF, THE WHOLE ORGANIZATION, WHOEVER WE CONTRACT WITH TO THAT SCHEDULE.
SO WE'VE NOW KIND OF FOR THE FIRST TIME REALLY PUT OUT IN A SLIDE 2027 START CONSTRUCTION 20, BREAK GROUND 2033, CUT A RIBBON.
GIVE ME A SENSE OF LIKE HOW ON A, LIKE, 'CAUSE THIS ALWAYS WORKS FOR ME ON A SCALE OF ONE TO 10 OF THE CERTAINTY OF LIKE, ARE WE NOW COMMITTING TO THAT? IS IT THE FIRST OF 2027, IS IT THE END OF 2027? AND WHAT ARE THE VARIABLES THAT YOU KNOW ARE CONTINGENT? BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY WE'RE PROJECTING SOMETHING WELL INTO THE FUTURE, BUT I JUST WANT TO KNOW AT WHAT POINT DO I START HOLDING MYSELF ACCOUNTABLE ON THE PUBLIC'S BEHALF? AND IN TURN, BECAUSE THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS THE BOARD WILL DO, IS MAKE SURE WE'RE ON SCHEDULE AND ON BUDGET FOR THIS PROJECT.
AND YOU CAN BET THAT THIS BOARD, YOU KNOW, YOU WERE ON THE STAFF END OF IT AT CTRA WILL START SAYING, YOU KNOW, HOW ARE WE TRACKING? ARE WE PAYING CONSISTENT WITH, YOU KNOW, BEING DONE WITH CONSTRUCTION BY 2033? YOU KNOW, WHAT SLIPPING, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, IT, THE WHOLE DIALOGUE SHIFTS TO SOMETHING ENTIRELY DIFFERENT IN TERMS OF HOLDING OURSELVES AND Y'ALL AND EVERYONE ELSE INVOLVED ACCOUNTABLE.
SO JUST GIVE ME A SENSE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE THROWN OUT NUMBERS NOW.
I KNOW THERE ARE A LOT OF CONTINGENCIES FLOATING AROUND.
LIKE I DON'T WANNA BLOW PAST THAT, LIKE FOR MY OWN SAKE AND EVERYONE ELSE'S.
AND JUST SO I UNDERSTAND LIKE HOW CERTAIN THAT, YOU KNOW, UH, MARCH, 2024 YOU ABOUT, YOU KNOW, BREAKING GROUND IN 2027.
SO I GUESS A COUPLE OF THINGS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALWAYS GOING TO KNOW THE NEAR TERM SCHEDULE A LOT BETTER THAN THE FARTHER OUT.
UM, BUT WHAT I'M HEARING YOU ASK IN PARTICULAR IS KIND OF WHEN WILL WE KNOW THAT THIS SCHEDULE IS REAL, WE'RE ACCOUNTABLE TO IT AND IT'S MAYBE A MORE SPECIFIC DATE FOR REVENUE SERVICE OR, OR ANY OF THE OTHER MILESTONES? AND I THINK, UH, ONE WAY TO RESPOND TO THAT I CAN THINK OF A COUPLE WAYS.
AND FIRST IS WHEN YOU ACTUALLY HAVE CONTRACTS FOR CONSTRUCTION, OKAY.
THAT WILL BE ASSOCIATED WITH SCHEDULES THAT WE WILL BE TRACKING.
UM, ANOTHER UH, WAY I WOULD ANSWER THAT TOO IS WHEN WE HAVE EXECUTED A GRANT AGREEMENT WITH FTA, UM, FOR THE DOLLARS, BECAUSE YOU KNOW, AT THAT POINT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE SAYING THIS IS OUR MONEY AND YOU KNOW, TIME IS MONEY.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, OUR, UM, OUR BUDGET IS CLOSELY LINKED TO SCHEDULE.
UM, AND SO, UH, SO THOSE ARE A COUPLE THINGS.
SO WE'RE GONNA BE IN PLANNING SCHEDULE MODE FOR PROBABLY THROUGHOUT PROJECT DEVELOPMENT, UM, AND THEN HAVING SOME MORE FIRM CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULES, UM, AFTER ENGINEERING.
I GET THAT, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY IT ALL SHIFTS ONCE YOU SIGN A CONTRACT WITH, YOU KNOW, DESIGN BUILD TEAM OR WHATEVER WE WIND UP DOING.
UM, BUT LIKE HOW CERTAIN ARE WE? NOW LET'S, ON A SCALE OF ONE TO 10, IF 10 IS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ABOUT AS CERTAIN AS WE CAN BE, WE'RE GONNA TURN IT ON TOMORROW.
YOU KNOW, ONE IS LIKE, OH MY GOD, YOU KNOW, THIS IS LIKE, I'M JUST FLOATING THIS OUT THERE FOR THE HELL OF IT.
UM,
I GOT IT MORE THAT MAYBE THAT PUTS INSTEAD OF FIVE.
I'M SHOCKED AT DIS BEING
AND A REALLY BIG ONE IS THE NEPA PROCESS AND THE ROD CONCLUDING AS ANTICIPATED, UM, IN 2025, UH, THAT IS PROBABLY OUR FIRST BIG MILESTONE ON WHICH ALL THE SUBSEQUENT ONES RELY.
SO LET'S JUST HOLD ONTO THAT ONE AND THEN MOVE TO THE NEXT ONE.
SO THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR.
UM, HOW MUCH IN CONTROL OF THAT PROCESS ARE WE VERSUS LIKE THE FTA SAYING YAY OR NAY TO CERTAIN THINGS, OR YOU NEED
[00:40:01]
TO DO FOUR MORE MONTHS WORTH OF WORK HERE.LIKE, BECAUSE IF YOU TELL ME WE'RE 95% IN CONTROL OF THAT, THEN I'M GONNA SAY, OKAY, WE'RE NOW ACCOUNTABLE UNEQUIVOCALLY TO THE PUBLIC FOR NEPA GETTING TO THE ROD HAPPENING IN THAT TIMEFRAME.
SO JUST GIVE ME A SENSE OF THAT.
UM, SO NEPA, THERE, THERE ARE MANY FACTORS CONTROLLING, I THINK OUR SCHEDULE PROGRESS ON THE NEPA SCHEDULE AND CERTAINLY WE ARE ONE OF THEM, RIGHT? OKAY.
UM, AND SO WE PURSUE STAFFING RESOURCES TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE WHAT WE NEED TO MEET OUR TARGETED SCHEDULE.
OKAY? SO THAT'S ONE THERE IS THE FTA AS WELL AS YOU, YOU KNOW, SUGGESTED.
UM, AND SO WE WORK WITH THE FTA, THEY REVIEW, YOU KNOW, WE WORK TOGETHER WITH THEM, UM, UH, AND THEY HAVE BEEN A FANTASTIC PARTNER, UM, GOD BLESS 'EM,
AND ONE OF THE THINGS WE HAVE DONE TO KIND OF, UH, SUPPORT THE CAUSE OF MEETING OUR SCHEDULE GOALS ON NEPA IS, UH, YOU MAY RECALL, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A, A CONTRACT APPROVED, I GUESS I THINK IT'S BEEN A COUPLE OF MONTHS NOW THAT WE CALLED IT THE 1 39 J CONTRACT, BUT SO THERE'S SOME, AGAIN, STAFFING RESOURCE SUPPORT FOR FTA, UM, TO HELP FACILITATE REVIEWS, YOU KNOW, ON THE SCHEDULE.
SO THAT'S HOW WE'VE KIND OF THOUGHT ABOUT THOSE.
BUT THERE IS ALSO COMMUNITY, UM, AND THE FEEDBACK THAT WE HEAR, OKAY, UM, YOU KNOW, WE ARE FINISHED WITH SCOPING.
WE WILL BE IN, I MEAN WE'RE ALWAYS KIND OF OUT THERE TALKING TO FOLKS, BUT THERE'LL BE A MORE FORMAL, EXCUSE ME, PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOLLOWING THE DRAFT DAS AND WE DON'T KNOW YET EXACTLY WHAT WE'LL HEAR AND WHAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE APPROPRIATE RESPONSES.
SO THAT'S ONE TOO WHERE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE ARE PLANNING FOR, UM, HAVING APPROPRIATE TIME PERIODS, UM, BUT IT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT YOU DON'T FULLY CONTROL.
NEED, BUT A ROD WE'RE LARGELY IN CONTROL OF, BASED ON THE DESCRIPTION YOU JUST GAVE, NOT ENTIRELY, FTA HAS A ROLE, PUBLIC HAS A ROLE, BUT WE'RE LARGELY, AND THAT'S ONE OF THE FIRST ONES TO GET US TO 2027.
WHAT ELSE COMES AFTER THAT IN TERMS OF LIKE US UNDERSTANDING THE THINGS THAT NEED TO GO A CERTAIN WAY FOR US TO HIT THIS DEADLINE? JUST SO WE UNDERSTAND LIKE WHAT DEGREE OF CONFIDENCE WE CAN TALK ABOUT 2027.
UM, SO TO SPEAK TO THIS MILESTONE OF FINALIZING THE FEDERAL FUNDING AMOUNT, WHICH IS WHERE WE WANNA BE, IT JUST INCREASES OUR CERTAINTY, UM, YOU KNOW, IN THE SCHEDULE, YOU KNOW, THE COSTS.
UM, AND SO WHAT DO YOU NEED TO GET THERE? I'D SAY, WELL, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO HAVE A CERTAIN LEVEL OF ENGINEERING SO THAT WE HAVE ENOUGH CONFIDENCE OR AN APPROPRIATE LEVEL, I GUESS, OF, OF CONFIDENCE IN OUR COST INFORMATION TO, UM, BE ABLE TO AGREE WITH AND, AND SPEAK WITH FT A ABOUT THAT.
AND SO THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WE'RE PURSUING, UH, ENGINEERING SUPPORT TO CONTINUE THAT WORK TO PUT US IN THAT POSITION.
SO I KNOW WE'RE GONNA TALK TO LINDSAY ABOUT THAT SHORTLY.
UM, BUT AGAIN, WE SHOULD BE LARGELY IN CONTROL OF THAT.
WE'VE CLEARLY GOT THE FUNDS AVAILABLE TO DO THAT.
NOW THEY MAY ENCOUNTER SOME COMPLICATIONS AS THEY START TO MOVE THROUGH ENGINEERING THAT THEY DIDN'T ANTICIPATE PREVIOUSLY.
THEY WOULD SAY, OH, THIS IS A LOT MORE COMPLEX THAN WHAT WE THOUGHT.
BUT IN LARGE RESPECT, WE'RE SORT OF IN CONTROL OF THAT.
WE HIRE 'EM IN A CERTAIN TIMEFRAME.
LINDSAY HAS A GOOD SENSE OF HOW LONG IT TAKES TO GET TO 30% OF ENGINEERING AT THE POINT AT WHICH YOU WOULD LET A CONTRACT.
UM, SO AGAIN, LARGELY WITHIN OUR CONTROL, NOT ENTIRELY, THERE MAY BE SOME UNKNOWN COMPLEXITY, BUT LIKE, SO TO GET THROUGH TO THAT POINT, WE SHOULD STILL BE HOLDING OURSELVES PRETTY WELL ACCOUNTABLE FOR THAT.
AND, AND SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE ARE, ARE DOING IS THINKING ABOUT OUR, OUR RISK MANAGEMENT PROCESS.
UM, AND THAT WILL BE PART OF WHAT OUR DELIVERY PARTNER COMES ON BOARD TO HELP WITH, UM, TO, AND THEY'LL BE WORKING WITH FTA ON THIS TOPIC TOO, TO REALLY METHODICALLY GO THROUGH WHAT OUR RISKS ARE AND ASSESS THEM AND THINK ABOUT HOW WE'RE MITIGATING THEM.
UM, AND SO THAT'S AGAIN, HOW WE TRY TO PUT OURSELVES IN THE BEST POSSIBLE POSITION TO MEET THE SCHEDULE DATES THAT WE'VE LAID OUT.
SO IS THAT KIND OF THE ESSENCE OF THE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PHASE THAT'S WOULD GET US TO THE START OF CONSTRUCTION BY 2027? IS THERE ANY OTHER MAJOR SORT OF CONTINGENCY FLOATING OUT THERE THAT YOU THINK IS A RISK FOR US ACHIEVING
[00:45:01]
THAT TIMEFRAME? UM, WELL, ANOTHER KEY KIND OF AREA OF WORK DURING PROJECT DEVELOPMENT, WE'LL BE KINDA WORKING WITH FTA ON THE RATING FOR THE PROJECT.UM, SO WE'RE WORKING THROUGH THAT NOW.
DOING, AND THAT'S MODELING ANALYSIS AND OTHER TYPES OF ANALYSIS.
UM, WE ACTIVELY COORDINATE WITH FTA ON THAT TOPIC.
UM, WE WILL BE, UM, LATER IN THE YEAR SUBMITTING INFORMATION TO FTA TO EVALUATE OUR PROJECT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CRITERIA.
AND THAT AGAIN, WILL, WE'RE, WE'RE DOING IT IN TIMING TO HELP GIVE US MORE CERTAINTY AS WE GO FORWARD ON, YOU KNOW, THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE COMP, YOU KNOW, APPROPRIATELY COMPETITIVE FOR THESE GRANT DOLLARS.
IT, I GUESS THAT, UH, I'M CONVINCED THAT YOU ALL, OR DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? BUT WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IS, UM, SOME DIFFERENT SCENARIOS WHERE UNEXPECTED STUFF HAPPENS TO US.
UM, AND BECAUSE IT JUST DOES HAPPEN, UM, SO THIS, MY SENSE IS THAT THIS PLAN ASSUMES THAT IT GOES ON IMPEDED AND WE THEN GET DONE, BUT, BUT WE DON'T HAVE COMPLETE CONTROL OF OUR DESTINY.
THERE ARE OTHERS WHO WOULD WANT TO STOP US, FOR EXAMPLE.
SO WE, I THINK WE NEED TO, THERE ARE SCENARIOS NEED TO INCLUDE WHAT COULD HAPPEN TO IMPEDE US AND WHAT WOULD BE THE CONTINGENCY PLAN THAT WE DEVELOP TO KEEP MOVING FORWARD.
UM, BUT THAT I WOULDN'T WANT TO BRING MYSELF TO THIS SCHEDULE WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT THAT WE HAVE CONSIDERED WHAT COULD IMPEDE US.
UH, UM, JUST AS A MATTER OF DISCUSSION, UH, WE HAVE, WE HAVE HAD THIS CONVERSATION AT THE, AT THE COUNTY CONTINUOUSLY.
AND UH, AND WE HAVE GOT A TRACKING SYSTEM THAT WILL TAKE YOU BACK TO OUR 2011 BOND, UM, APPROVALS.
AND THEN, AND THEN 17 AND THEN 23.
AND ALL OF OUR PROJECTS THAT ARE, THAT ARE COS AS WELL, OUR CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION.
AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE, WE HAVE A TRACKING SYSTEM.
UH, PART OF IT IS INTERNAL STAFF, PART OF IT IS A CONTRACT THAT WE EXECUTED.
WHENEVER WE ARE PUTTING A BOND OUT, WE HAVE GOTTEN MORE THAN A BILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF PROJECTS SCOPED, BUT THEY'RE NOT ALL FIRST PRIORITY PROJECTS.
SO WE GO THROUGH A COMMUNITY PROCESS TO SELECT, BUT AFTER THEY'RE SELECTED AND AFTER THEY GO THROUGH OUR, OUR, UM, ELECTION PROCESS, THEN YOU CAN KNOW NOT ONLY THAT A PROJECT HAS BEEN SCOPED OUT, BUT WHAT PHASE IT'S IN, WHETHER THERE'S STILL PLANNING LEFT TO DO, WHETHER IT'S BEING IMPLEMENTED, UH, WHETHER IT IS SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLETE, THE LEVEL OF COMPLETENESS AND THEN CLOSURE.
SO IT SEEMS TO ME THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE ARE, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF MODELS THAT ARE OPERATING IN THIS MARKET THAT GIVE YOU THE TYPE OF INFORMATION THAT YOU WANT BECAUSE WHAT WE WANTED TO HAVE WAS ENOUGH DATA ON PROPOSED PROJECTS, UH, TO MAKE, NOT ONLY TO MAKE KNOWN GO NO, UH, KNOWN, UH, GO NO GO, UM, DECISIONS, BUT ALSO, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE IN A CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVING PROCESS.
UH, MAKE SURE THAT THINGS ARE AT THE RIGHT PLACE OR, OR THAT THEY'RE STILL OUR PRIORITIES.
OR IF WE FIND THAT THE CITY IS DOING SOMETHING SIMILAR BUT NOT THE SAME SCHOOL DISTRICT, UM, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE, WE KNOW WE'RE WORKING WITH, WE HAVE FLEXIBILITY TO MOVE AROUND IF WE NEED TO.
BUT THAT SYSTEM ITSELF, UH, HAS BEEN A REVELATION.
I JUST, SO AGAIN, GREAT CONVERSATION.
THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE WANT TO BE, YOU KNOW, HAVING A DIALOGUE ABOUT.
I THINK IT WAS IMPORTANT THOUGH, AT THIS MOMENT, UH, AS WE KICK OFF THE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PIECE OR, OR INITIATE THAT, IT'S THE NUMBER ONE QUESTION THAT I GET THAT A LOT OF US GET, RIGHT? WHEN ARE WE GONNA START CONSTRUCTION? WHEN ARE REOPENING? SO THE LABELING, THIS IS IMPORTANT AND IT'S AN INITIAL PLANNING SCHEDULE.
I THINK BOARD MEMBER GARZA, AS YOU TALK ABOUT, THERE ARE, THERE ARE DIFFERENT PATHWAYS.
UM, AND WE HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THERE ARE, THERE ARE DIFFERENT KIND OF OUTSIDE INFOR OUTSIDE INPUTS TO THIS.
UM, WE HAVE A LOT OF, WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO JUST TO KEEP THE PLANNING GOING LOCALLY WITH OUR PARTNERS AND WITH THE REST OF THE COMMUNITY.
AND THEN A BIG ONE ON THERE THAT JEN HAS ON THERE IS THE FEDERAL PROCESS AND SPECIFICALLY THE FEDERAL FUNDING PROCESS.
I THINK, I THINK WE CAN ALL ASSUME THAT WE ARE NOT THE ULTIMATE PARTY RESPONSIBLE FOR, UH, FOR, UH, THE FEDERAL FUNDING OF THE US GOVERNMENT.
AND SO I THINK WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING, WE UNDERSTAND FT HAS BEEN GREAT IN BRINGING US ALONG IN THAT PROCESS.
SO THERE ARE A LOT OF FACTORS.
THE IDEA THAT OVER TIME AS WE CONTINUE
[00:50:01]
TO HONE DOWN THAT SCHEDULE, UM, AND THEN EVENTUALLY CREATE A FINAL SCHEDULE THAT GETS THAT ACCOUNTABILITY METRIC THAT WE ALL HAVE TO LIVE WITH.UM, AND SO IT IS A PROGRESSION.
I THINK YOU'LL HEAR THAT WORD A LOT TODAY, THIS IDEA OF PROGRESSION, PROGRESSION THROUGH OUR DIALOGUE AROUND SCHEDULE, OUR PROGRESSION AROUND OUR COST INFORMATION, OUR PROGRESSION AROUND OUR DELIVERY MODEL.
UM, BECAUSE WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO ROUTE THAT SO WE CAN GET IT DOWN.
SO, BUT IT IS A, THERE ARE, THERE ARE A LOT OF INPUTS EVEN UNDERNEATH THESE THREE BUCKETS THAT, UM, I THINK THAT CONVERSATIONS THAT WE KEEP HAVING WITH THE BOARD AND WITH YOU PUBLICLY.
I MEAN, AND WE'LL GET TO THE FUNDING PIECE, BUT I KNOW THOSE ARE THE NEXT ROUND OF SLIDES.
BUT IT SOUNDS TO ME, JIM, THAT LIKE, THERE'S A RELATIVELY HIGH DEGREE OF CERTAINTY AROUND YOU, YOU KNOW, CERTAINTY THAT LIKE A HIGH DEGREE OF CONFIDENCE IN 2027 BEING A GROUNDBREAKING YEAR FOR THE AGENCY BASED ON YOUR EXPERIENCE, BASED ON THE FT A BEING A GREAT PARTNER TO DATE AND ANTICIPATING THAT GOING FORWARD, ALL OF YOU'VE ALLOCATED, YOU KNOW, HOW LONG THESE THINGS TAKE, YOU KNOW, WE BUILT IN APPROPRIATE AMOUNT OF TIME TO ACCOMPLISH THOSE OBJECTIVES.
AND SO THERE'S LIKE, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO FEEL AND TOTALLY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THERE ARE A BUNCH OF UNKNOWN CONTINGENCIES, BUT AT SOME POINT YOU HAVE TO EXPRESS CONFIDENCE.
AND THEN IF A CONTINGENCY HAPPENS, YOU KNOW, YOU JUST TALK ABOUT IT PUBLICLY AND YOU KNOW, WE ADDRESS IT AND HOPEFULLY PEOPLE WILL UNDERSTAND THAT IF IT WAS SOMETHING COMPLETELY OUT OF OUR CONTROL THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA DO OUR BEST TO MITIGATE ITS IMPACT TO THE SCHEDULE.
BUT YOU HAVE A MODERATELY HIGH DEGREE OF CONFIDENCE WITH THE EARLIER OF THOSE TWO DATES, WHICH ARE SIGNIFICANT DATES, OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, CONSTRUCTION AND RIBBON CUTTING, FAIRLY HIGH DEGREE OF CONFIDENCE.
WELL, I, I THINK WHAT WE DO IS WE TRY TO PLAN OUT THE SCHEDULE, UM, AND TO THE BEST OF OUR ABILITY, UNDERSTAND WHAT THE RISKS ARE, WHAT COULD GO WRONG,
UM, SO THAT'S HOW WE THINK ABOUT IT.
WE, YOU KNOW, THERE COULD BE SOME THINGS THAT HAPPEN AT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT LEVEL THAT, YOU KNOW, WE RESPOND TO.
UM, AND PART OF OUR STRATEGY THERE IS LIKE, WE'RE JUST A VERY AGILE ORGANIZATION, YOU KNOW, AND WE HAVE TO BE, WE HAVE TO RESPOND TO CONDITIONS.
UM, AND WE'RE ALSO OPEN TO INPUTS.
AND THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO WHEN, UM, BRINGING ON A DELIVERY PARTNER TO JUST HAVE ADDITIONAL, UM, FOLKS WITH EXPERIENCE WITH THESE KINDS OF COMPLEX PROJECTS TO HELP VALIDATE OUR SCHEDULE INFORMATION.
UM, SO WHILE WE DO HAVE CONFIDENCE IN IT AND LIKE WE'RE PUTTING IT OUT THERE, WE'RE TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE RISKS AND DO WHAT WE CAN RIGHT NOW TO MAKE IT HAPPEN, UM, WE'RE ALSO GOING TO BE CONTINUALLY EVALUATING, YOU KNOW, THIS SCHEDULE, UM, AGAINST CONDITIONS AGAINST NEW INPUTS AND DATA THAT WE HAVE.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WE'LL ALWAYS KEEP YOU IN THE COMMUNITY INFORMED IF THERE ARE ADJUSTMENTS.
UM, BUT IS THAT AN, IS THAT, YEAH.
YEAH, THAT'S, I MEAN, UM, UH, THANKS.
I RESPECT IT, YOU KNOW, HAVE A SENSE OF OUR DEGREE OF CONFIDENCE AROUND 2027, WHAT SOME OF THE MAJOR RISK FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH ACHIEVING THAT DATA ARE, YOU KNOW, IT'S DEFINITELY, WE PUT IT OUT THERE PUBLICLY, IT'S, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOW SHOOTING FOR THAT AND, YOU KNOW, UM, COMMITTED TO TRYING TO GET THERE SUBJECT TO WHATEVER MIGHT HAPPEN THAT'S UNFORESEEN.
AND I, AND I APPRECIATE THAT WE'RE NAILING ON A DATE.
I MEAN, IT'S A, IT IS OUR NORTH STAR, RIGHT? AND I THINK THAT EVERY GOOD ORGANIZATION HAS A STRATEGIC PLAN.
WE HAVE TO WORK TOWARDS THESE GOALS.
AND I DO THINK ALSO THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE THE ABILITY TO HAVE SOME PILOT PROJECTS AHEAD OF TIME TO, TO HAVE THOSE LESSONS LEARNED AND WHERE WE'RE GONNA BE DEALING WITH.
SO I THINK THAT'S GONNA BE FOLLOWING UP IN YOUR DISCUSSION.
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT YOU MENTIONED JEN TOO, IS THAT THE FDA RATING, AND WHEN I MET WITH YOU, YOU MENTIONED SOMETHING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, LIKE WHAT ARE THE TIERS OF THAT RATING? HOW ARE WE GONNA BE GRADED AND HOW DO WE COMPARE? BECAUSE THESE ARE VERY COMPETITIVE FUNDS.
DOESN'T MEAN THAT JUST BECAUSE WE FOLLOW EVERY STEP THAT GUARANTEES US THAT WE HAVE THE FUNDING.
SO THAT'S A MAJOR CONTINGENCY.
I MEAN, WHAT HAPPENS IF WE DON'T HAVE THE MATCHING FUNDS FROM FT? I HOPE THEY'RE NOT LISTENING, BUT
[00:55:01]
WHAT IF, I MEAN, I DON'T WANNA TAKE ANYTHING FOR GRANTED, BUT WHAT IS OUR, WHAT ARE THE MI AGAINST? WELL, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW, REALLY LOOKING AT HOW WE DO RATE AS IT WERE, UH, AGAINST THE CRITERIA.AND THAT'S SOMETHING WE'VE ACTUALLY BEEN LOOKING AT FOR A LONG TIME, FOR, FOR YEARS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE YOU, YOU KNOW, ADVANCING A PROJECT THAT CAN BE SUCCESSFUL.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, THAT IS BASED ON A LOT OF LIKE THE RIDERSHIP, UM, MM-HMM,
AND SO THOSE ARE THINGS THAT WE'RE CONSTANTLY EVALUATING.
UM, AND OUR WORK WITH THE CITY ON THE CODE AMENDMENTS THAT ARE ONGOING AND LAND USE THAT, UM, ALSO I KNOW PRESENTS A VERY POSITIVE STORY TO FTA ABOUT, UH, ORGANIZATIONS WORKING TOGETHER, UM, TOWARDS COMMON GOALS THAT, YOU KNOW, AND MUTUALLY REINFORCING POLICIES.
UM, I'LL SAY ALSO KINDA THE WORK BEING DONE ON SOME OF THE FIRST, LAST MILE PLANNING, ALSO VERY HELPFUL TO THE PROJECT.
SO WE ARE PUTTING ALL THOSE PIECES IN PLACE, YOU KNOW, TO BE SUCCESSFUL.
AND THAT, AND AGAIN, BACK TO THAT QUESTION ABOUT THE FDA RATING, THE TIERS, CAN YOU JUST EXPLAIN TO US WHAT ARE THOSE THREE TIERS AND WHERE NORMALLY ALL AGENCIES KIND OF LAND? AND SO, AND BY TIERS DO YOU MEAN LIKE THAT WE'RE RATED LOW, MEDIUM.
MEDIUM, MEDIUM HIGH, MEDIUM LOW.
AND SO THERE'S A LOT THAT GOES INTO THAT.
AND THEY'RE MEASURING OUR FINANCIAL PLAN AND, UM, OUR FINANCIAL RESOURCES, WHICH THOSE ARE STRONG ACTUALLY.
UM, THEY'RE ALSO LOOKING AT THE PROJECT ITSELF IN TERMS OF WHAT IS THE RIDERSHIP, WHAT'S THE CONGESTION RELIEF LOOKING LIKE? WHAT ARE THE ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS? THEY'RE LOOKING AT THE LAND USE, THEY'RE LOOKING AT THE LAND USE POLICIES.
UM, SO THOSE ARE THE PIECES THAT FOLD INTO, UM, OVER LIKE BEING AN OVERALL MEDIAN RATING, SAY, UH, WHICH WOULD BE OUR BASELINE MINIMUM CONDITION FOR WHERE WE WANNA BE IS A MEDIUM.
I, I WAS, I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT THE ACCESS TO FEDERAL FUNDS AS WELL.
I WAS GONNA DO IT IN CONJUNCTION WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR BUDGETING BIT OF IT.
IT'S LIKE A, ONE OF OUR MOST FUNDAMENTAL UNDERLYING ASSUMPTIONS.
'CAUSE I KNOW WE'LL GET INTO THE MONEY BIT.
WE'VE GOT FIXED REVENUE, UM, MORE OR LESS.
SO EVERYTHING HAS TO, YOU KNOW, FOR US TO COMPLETE OUR PROJECT HAS TO FIT WITHIN A BUDGET ESTIMATE.
A HUGE PIECE OF IT IS 50% COMING FROM THE FEDS.
WE KEEP SAYING THAT OUT IN PUBLIC, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ANTICIPATING 50% FROM THE FEDS.
LIKE, WHAT'S OUR DEGREE OF CONFIDENCE AROUND THAT? LIKE, WHAT, YOU KNOW, HOW DOES THAT WORK? 'CAUSE HONESTLY, I DON'T REALLY UNDERSTAND LIKE WHAT IS OUR DEGREE OF CONFIDENCE, YOU KNOW, WHERE ARE WE IN THIS PROCESS AT THE POINT WHERE THEY, YOU KNOW, SIGN SOMETHING THAT SAYS YOU'VE GOT 50%, IT'S REALLY A DOLLAR AMOUNT, ALTHOUGH IT'LL EQUATE TO 50% OF YOUR ESTIMATED COST AT THAT POINT.
LIKE, WHAT IS OUR DEGREE OF CONFIDENCE ONE TO 10? UH, BUT NO SIR.
LIKE, IT'S A HUGE ONE AND I KIND OF NEED IT TO KNOW, LIKE WHEN I GO TALK TO PEOPLE AND JUST FOR MY OWN SAKE AGAIN, FOR HOLDING OURSELVES ACCOUNTABLE FOR THAT.
AND, UM, WELL, AND I'M ACTUALLY, I'M GLAD YOU ASKED THAT QUESTION BECAUSE IT, IT, IT LETS ME TALK FOR A MINUTE ABOUT THE NEW STARTS PROCESS, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE IT'S THE LARGEST DISCRETIONARY GRANT PROGRAM IN THE COUNTRY.
UM, AND THERE AREN'T MANY, LIKE THERE, THERE'S ACTUALLY NOT ANOTHER ONE LIKE I CAN THINK OF, YOU KNOW, NORMALLY FEDERAL GRANTS YOU PUT IN AN APPLICATION, YOU WAIT, YOU HEAR BACK, YOU GOT IT OR YOU DIDN'T.
AND IT'S JUST NOT REALLY LIKE THAT.
UM, BECAUSE THESE ARE SUCH LARGE GRANTS AND LARGE PROJECTS, IT'S NOT A MOMENT IN TIME.
IT'S REALLY A MATTER OF WORKING WITH FTA TO GO THROUGH THESE COUPLE OF GATES, UM, FROM PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND ENGINEERING.
AND ALL ALONG THE WAY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE DEVELOPING THE PROJECT, YOU KNOW, IN TANDEM WITH OUR FEDERAL PARTNERS.
AND THAT IS REALLY TO, UH, PREPARE FOR SUCCESS TO THE BEST OF OUR ABILITY IN THE PROGRAM.
RIGHT? SO, UM, WE ARE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO PASS THROUGH THE GATES IF WE'RE NOT READY.
UM, SO THAT'S WHY WE WORK VERY COLLABORATIVELY WITH FTA, UM, ON OUR PROJECT DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES AND GETTING INTO ENGINEERING.
SO THAT JUST THE, IT'S SORT OF THE MORE YOU ADVANCE, THE MORE CERTAINTY YOU HAVE.
UM, AND OF COURSE THE ULTIMATE CERTAINTY IS WE ACTUALLY HAVE EXECUTED A GRANT AGREEMENT.
UM, WELL, I'M STILL A LITTLE, YOU KNOW, LIKE THIS WHOLE, THE ORDER OF THE PROCESS IS A, YOU KNOW, A BIT CONFOUNDING TO ME IN THAT, YOU KNOW, WE PUT OUT A 9.8 AISLE SYSTEM
[01:00:01]
WITH X NUMBER OF STOPS.YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A FACT SHEET THAT LAYS ALL THAT OUT.
WE'VE GOT AN A COST ESTIMATE BASED ON VERY PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING, AND I UNDERSTAND, AND YOU KNOW, LINDSAY'S GONNA GET US THROUGH SOME OF THE NOTIONS, HOW WE GET THROUGH TO THE FINAL BIT.
UM, BUT WE'RE SAYING, OKAY, $7.1 BILLION SYSTEM, UM, WE EXPECT, ARE WE EXPECTING 3.55 BILLION FROM THE FEDS? SO, UH, BOARD MEMBER, I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT OUR FEDERAL PROCESS AND WE, WE ACTUALLY HAVE SOME FAQS OUT ABOUT THAT.
MAKE SURE THAT THE PUBLIC UNDERSTANDS THAT THERE'S A, THERE'S A STEP PROCESS THAT WE'VE, WE'VE COMMUNICATED ABOUT ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE NOW, WE'VE JUST KICKED OFF THIS FEDERAL PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, AND A LOT OF THESE THINGS ARE, JEN MENTIONS THESE KIND OF NECESSARY GATES TO GO THROUGH.
IN TERMS OF LANDING ON WHAT THAT ULTIMATE DOLLAR AMOUNT IS, WE HAVE, WE HAVE TARGETED 50%.
A LOT OF IT GETS DOWN TO WHAT YEAR OF EXPENDITURES ARE.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF WORK AHEAD ON THAT IN TERMS OF THAT, THAT 50% TARGET.
UM, AND I THINK RICH WITH, RICH LEPE WITH EY CAN HELP US WITH THAT.
THAT WAS AN INFORMED DIALOGUE THAT IN FACT, I THINK WE HAD IN FRONT OF THE BOARD IN ADVANCE OF SELECTING OUR AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL OPTION.
UM, THE, THE, THE FEEDBACK ABOUT WHERE WE ARE ON THAT.
SO IT WAS NOT JUST SAYING WE THINK IT'S THIS, IT'S LOOKING WHAT'S HAPPENED AROUND THE COUNTRY.
IT'S TRYING TO KIND OF, UM, YOU KNOW, TAKE THOSE FACTORS INTO PLACE.
FROM A PLANNING PERSPECTIVE, AGAIN, THE WORD YOU'RE GONNA HEAR A LOT TODAY FROM A PLANNING PERSPECTIVE, SO WE FEEL CONFIDENT THAT THAT'S THE RIGHT TARGET IN TERMS OF THE FINAL DOLLAR AMOUNT.
THERE'S WAYS TO GO BEFORE WE KIND OF START LOCKING THAT IN.
THAT'S THAT TWO YEAR PROCESS THAT WE NEED TO GO THROUGH.
I MEAN, UNDERSTAND ALL THAT, UM, LET'S JUST SAY THEY COME BACK AND THEY SAY, OH, WE'RE GOOD FOR 40%.
YOUR RIDERSHIP'S NOT HIGH ENOUGH, THIS OR THAT.
WHAT DO WE DO THEN? LIKE WHEN WILL WE KNOW THAT? LIKE WHEN DO WE ANTICIPATE KNOWING THAT RELATIVE TO THE 2027 CONSTRUCTION DAY? SO WE'RE, I'M SORRY, DID YOU BUT YEAH, I WAS JUST GONNA MENTION WE LOCKED IN THE, THEIR FEDERAL CONTRIBUTION WHEN WE'RE GOING INTO THAT TO ENGINEERING PHASE.
UM, YEAH, I THINK THAT IT, AGAIN, AS JEN MENTIONED, IT'S AN ITERATIVE PROCESS THAT WE'RE BRINGING 'EM ALONG.
UM, BRINGING THE FT A ALONG WITH, AND ULTIMATELY IF, IF THERE IS A SMALLER CONTRIBUTION THAN ANTICIPATED, THEN WE'D LOOK AT IT FROM A MODEL PERSPECTIVE ON THE CASH FLOW SIDE OF THINGS TO SEE HOW WE CAN STRUCTURE OBLIGATIONS AROUND THAT LOWER CONTRIBUTION AMOUNT AND TRY TO MAKE IT WORK WITH WE HAVE AVAILABLE.
SO OUR STARTING POINT WOULD BE WE DON'T WANNA SCALE BACK THE PROJECT IF THEY COME BACK IN, IS THERE SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DO TO FILL THAT GAP? I MEAN, OUR, OUR REVENUE'S FIXED, LIKE WE DON'T GET TO CHANGE THAT.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S JUST SET DYNAMIC.
GOD BLESS THE CITY SENDS IT TO US, BUT IT'S EIGHT AND THREE QUARTERS CENT WITH THE, YOU KNOW, GROWTH BELOW THE ROLLBACK RATE.
UM, SO OUR STARTING POINT ON THAT WOULD BE LIKE, THAT COULD HAPPEN.
THEY COULD COME BACK AND SAY, WE'RE NOT DOING 50% OF YOUR PROJECT.
I MEAN, YEAH, THAT'S THE CONVERSATION WE'D BE HAVING WITH THEM IN THE 2026 IS TIMEFRAME.
IS WHAT THAT PARTICIPATION WOULD BE.
BUT, BUT THEY COULD COME BACK AND SAY THAT.
THANKS FOR THE INTRODUCTION, GREG, AND THANKS FOR HAVING ME.
AND I THINK, UM, IT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT THE QUANTITY, BUT IT'S ALSO ABOUT THE TIMING.
RIGHT? THEY'RE GONNA GIVE THIS TO US OVER TIME.
SO THERE'S, THERE'S VARIOUS INPUTS AND, AND WE HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT AS WELL.
BUT AS BRIAN ALLUDED TO, THE POINT WOULD BE THAT WE WOULD CONSIDER THAT, AND WE HAVE A TWO YEAR PERIOD WHERE WE'RE HAVING AN ITERATIVE CONVERSATION WITH THEM TO HAVE THAT DIALOGUE AND UNDERSTAND WHERE WE MAY END UP WHEN WE GET TO THAT ENGINEERING PHASE.
AND THAT ALLOWS US TO LOOK AT DIFFERENT SCENARIOS AND HOW WE MAY MITIGATE THE ISSUE OF RECEIVING LESS THAN WE'RE TARGETING.
SO, ALRIGHT, THAT MAKES SENSE.
I MEAN, I LIKE THE F FDA A PROCESS ACTUALLY MAKES SENSE TO ME.
LIKE IF I WERE THEM, I'M SURE I WOULD COME UP WITH SOMETHING SIMILAR TO THAT AND THEY NEED TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE ALL THESE THINGS LINED UP.
BUT WE HAVE LOOKED AT THIS, THERE'S LIKE A WHOLE HOST OF BENCHMARKS THAT WE HAVE THAT HAVE LED US, SAY, OURS OUGHT TO FALL INTO A 50% RANGE.
IT, IT AIN'T A DONE DEAL UNTIL IT'S A DONE DEAL.
I LIKE, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS THAT, INCLUDING MYSELF, THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT COULD BE A CONTINGENCY THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO CONTEND WITH IN THE FUTURE WHERE THEY COME BACK AND SAY, WELL, ONE OF YOUR THINGS ISN'T ADDING UP TO 50% CONTRIBUTION FROM THE FEDS, IT'S GONNA BE SOMETHING LOWER, AND THEN WE HAVE TO DO A RESET.
LIKE, I DON'T WANT PEOPLE TO HEAR THAT FOR THE FIRST
[01:05:01]
TIME WHEN WE HAVE TO DO A RESET.I WANT THEM TO UNDERSTAND TODAY THAT THAT'S A RISK FACTOR THAT WE ARE NOT IN CONTROL OF.
UM, BUT THAT IS VERY WELL KNOWN TODAY.
YOU KNOW, GOD BLESS THE FT A AND I MEAN IT THAT THEY LIKE WANT THIS PROJECT TO SUCCEED.
OF COURSE, THEY'RE TRANSIT ADVOCATES, THEY SEE A HUGE PROJECT IN A, YOU KNOW, A BOOMING CITY.
IT DOES EVERYTHING BENEFICIAL THAT PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AND RAIL TRANSIT IN PARTICULAR DOES.
SO THEY WANNA SEE IT MOVE FORWARD, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, OF COURSE THEY DO.
YOU KNOW, THEY'RE PEOPLE THAT ARE OUT THERE BELIEVE IN THIS, KNOW IT'S BETTER FOR EVERYBODY AND THEY WANNA SEE IT HAPPEN.
SO, YOU KNOW, OUR INTERESTS ARE PERFECTLY ALIGNED, BUT IT'S A RISK.
LIKE, AND THERE'S, AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT WE, YOU KNOW, THERE MAY BE SOME MOVEMENT AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE.
IT'S NOT 90% CERTAINTY THAT WE'RE GONNA GET 50% OF 7.1 BILLION AND EVEN 7.1 BILLION IS A NUMBER SET AT A POINT IN TIME.
THERE'S CASH FLOW ELEMENTS OF WHEN YOU NEED THE MONEY AND ALL OF THAT.
SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND IT AND THAT THE WORLD AT LARGE UNDERSTANDS THIS AS I STATED IT ALL PROPERLY.
I MEAN, BASED ON YOUR, I MEAN, I'M JUST KIND OF IN SOME RESPECTS REPEATING WHAT YOU'RE TELLING ME.
TELL ME IF I HIT A WRONG NOTE ON THAT.
NO, I THINK YOU'RE SPOT ON, RIGHT? I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S, WE'RE IN THE INITIAL PLANNING PHASE, IT'S ITERATIVE PROCESS.
AND AGAIN, WE'RE NOT GONNA KNOW WHAT THAT DOLLAR AMOUNT IS UNTIL WE LOCK IN THAT FEDERAL CONTRIBUTION.
SO, AND, AND WE DO OUR BEST TO MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS.
THIS IS BASED ON PRECEDENT WHAT WE'VE SEEN IN THE MARKET.
THIS IS BASED ON NEW LEGISLATION THAT WE SEE COMING THROUGH AND HOW THAT MIGHT IMPACT WHAT WE MIGHT RECEIVE.
SO WE'RE TAKING THE INFORMATION WE DO HAVE IN TRYING TO MAKE THE BEST INFORMED DECISION TO, YOU KNOW, TARGET SOMETHING THAT WE THINK IS APPROPRIATE.
BUT NOW, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, ONE THING I THINK THAT, THAT MY COLLEAGUE IS ASKING FOR IS A CONTINUOUS UPDATING PROCESS THAT ALLOWS US TO UNDERSTAND ALL THE PROJECTS THAT HAVE BEEN PLANNED, DESIGNED AND ARE IN THE PIPELINE SO THAT WE CAN UNDERSTAND THE, THE STATUS ON A RELATIVELY FREQUENT BASIS AS WE GO FORWARD.
AND AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE QUESTION BECOMES, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE, UH, MAKE SURE THAT WE DOCUMENT EVERY PROJECT THAT IS IN PLACE? HOW DO WE MAKE SURE, UH, THAT WE ARE REPORTING THE KEY, UH, GUIDEPOST, UM, ISSUES? HOW DO WE, WE MAKE SURE THAT IF WE ANTICIPATED THAT IT'S AT 25%, BUT IT'S AT 35% OR IT'S AT 15% THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED ALL THOSE, ALL THOSE, UH, FACTORS THAT WILL ALLOW US TO, UH, HAVE, HAVE THE INFORMATION NECESSARY TO ENTER, ENTERTAIN, AND ANSWER THE PUBLIC.
IF, AND CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, ONE THING THAT BECAME APPARENT WHEN THE VOTE WAS SUCCESSFULLY APPROVED BY THE CITIZENS OF AUSTIN IN 2020 IS THAT WHEN A LOT OF CITIES PULLED THE PLUG, AUSTIN MOVED FORWARD WITH THIS VERY CRUCIAL VOTE, RIGHT? AND SO IT KIND OF PUT US AHEAD OF THE CURVE FOR ALL THE, ALL THE CITIES THAT, YOU KNOW, SUFFER THAT SAME INFLATION, SUFFERED, ALL THOSE, UH, THE SAME PIECES OF, OF CHALLENGES THAT WE FACE.
BUT MY UNDERSTANDING TOO, AND DOTY, I THOUGHT, I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, WITH CAP METRO THERE, THERE IS ALSO A POSSIBILITY I'M THE ULTIMATE OPTIMIST.
SO I THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, I KNOW WE HAVE MAYBE NOT GET THE 50% MATCH, BUT CAP METRO WAS ABLE TO OBTAIN LIKE A 60% MATCH FOR THE METRO RAPIDS IN MANY WAYS.
SO I KNOW THERE'S ALSO THAT OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN, LIKE WHAT HAPPENS IF WE DO GET EXTRA FUNDING, RIGHT? DOES THAT GET US EXTRA MILES? DOES THAT GET US, YOU KNOW, WHAT DOES THAT BIAS? I APPRECIATE YOUR OPTIMISM CHAIR
UM, SOMEBODY HAS TO BALANCE OUT JOHN L. MOORE
CURRENTLY WE ARE CONSTRUCTING TWO METRO RAPID LINES, AND THOSE LINES WERE FUNDED AT 60, LIKE THREE POINT SOMETHING PERCENT, UM, WHICH IS NOTEWORTHY.
THE, THE FTA SAID, THIS IS A CITY THAT WE WANT TO INVEST IN.
NOW GRANTED, THOSE TWO LINES COMBINED ARE JUST OVER A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS.
SO THE, THE, THE SCALE OF THE DOLLARS IS SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT.
UM, I ALSO THINK THOUGH THAT WE, UM, WERE, WHEN THAT FUNDING LEVEL WAS DETERMINED, WE WERE IN A DIFFERENT KIND OF ECONOMIC CONDITION AS A COUNTRY FROM AN INFLATIONARY STANDPOINT AND ALL OF THAT.
SO IT'S KIND OF ANYBODY'S GUESS AT THIS POINT.
AND I THINK WE'VE GOT REALLY SMART PEOPLE WHO ARE LOOKING AT WHAT'S HAPPENING ACROSS THE COUNTRY WHEN WE MAKE THIS ASSUMPTION OF 50%.
[01:10:01]
AN ASSUMPTION.YEAH, NO, I WANTED TO POINT THAT OUT, THAT IT COULD GO EITHER WAY, RIGHT? IT COULD GO LESS THAN 50, MORE THAN 50, AND IT DEPENDS ON WHAT'S AT STAKE.
AND I ALSO WANT TO ALWAYS REMIND COUNCIL THAT WE ARE REALLY APPRECIATIVE THAT IS THAT THEY HAVE MOVED THE NEEDLE FORWARD WITH LAND USE AND THAT THEY KNOW THAT THAT WAS OUR LOWEST, UH, SCORE IN THIS CATEGORIES OF SELECT OF GRADING US.
SO, UM, I'M SURE CITY COUNCIL IS ALSO LISTENING, SO THANK YOU AND LET'S KEEP DOING THE LAND USE REFORMS THAT WE NEED.
I KNOW WE COVER A LOT OF THINGS ON ONE SLIDE, SO LET'S MOVE ON.
NATIONAL IAN POLICY HAS REMAINED FAIRLY CONSTANT, CONSISTENT FOR DECADES.
UH, NOT TO SAY THAT THINGS CAN HAPPEN, BUT WE'RE BEING COMMITTED AS THE COUNTRY TO, TO THIS CONCEPT.
THANKS EVERYONE FOR THE GREAT DISCUSSION.
SO, UH, I KNOW RICH WAS INTRODUCED EARLIER, BUT RICH PING WITH EY, HE'S GONNA HELP ME WITH THE NEXT COUPLE OF SLIDES AS WE KIND OF WALK THROUGH THIS CONCEPT OF TALKING THROUGH CURRENT YEAR DOLLARS VERSUS YEAR OF EXPENDITURES.
UM, SO AGAIN, AS WE START TO ALIGN OURSELVES WITH THE FEDERAL PROCESS AND STARTING WITH PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND SORT OF MOVING THROUGH NEPA AS WELL, UM, WE WILL START TO REPORT FROM A COST PERSPECTIVE, UM, OR COST INFORMATION IN THE YEAR OF DOLLAR EXPENDITURE PERSPECTIVE.
AND THERE'S A COUPLE THINGS THAT VARY YOU HAVE TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT WHEN THINKING ABOUT CURRENT YEAR DOLLARS VERSUS YEAR OF EXPENDITURE.
SO ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS IS TIMELINE FOR JUST FOR DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION.
SO AS, AS JEN WALKED EVERYONE THROUGH HERE IN INITIAL PLANNING SCHEDULE, ALL OF OUR YEAR OF DOLLAR, YEAR OF EXPENDITURE ASSUMPTIONS AND KIND OF WHAT WE'RE MODELING CURRENTLY ARE BASED OFF OF THAT INITIAL PLANNING SCHEDULE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE CASH FLOW AVAILABLE TO FUND THE PROJECT.
UM, SO TIMELINE IS A, A BIG ASPECT OF, UM, A A DRIVER OF THAT YEAR OF YEAR OF EXPENDITURE DOLLAR AS WELL AS INFLATION.
SO I KNOW WE TOUCHED ON IT EARLIER, BUT AGAIN, THE INFLATIONARY PERIOD COMING OUT OF COVID HAS BEEN SIGNIFICANTLY ELEVATED OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
AND WE STILL REMAIN AT A HIGHER THAN, THAN, UM, HIGHER THAN NORMAL INFLATIONARY, UM, PERIOD.
IT'S STILL, IT'S COME DOWN A BIT, BUT AGAIN, THAT'S KIND OF ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT WHEN THINKING ABOUT, UM, ESCALATING COST UP FROM CURRENT YEAR DOLLARS TO YEAR OF EXPENDITURES.
YEAH, I GUESS I WOULD, I WOULD ONLY ADD THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, RIGHT, WE'RE, WE'RE HERE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION BECAUSE OF THE THINGS JEN HAS TALKED ABOUT IN TERMS OF MILESTONES WE'VE REACHED BECAUSE OF THE THINGS THAT LINDSAY'S GOING TO DISCUSS AROUND PROJECT DELIVERY AND US ADVANCING THIS PART OF THE PROJECT, IT ALLOWS US TO COME WITH A, A GREATER, UH, LEVEL OF CONFIDENCE AROUND TIMELINE.
YOU KNOW, WHILE THE, THE PROSPECT OF SIGNING A RATING IS TERRIFYING, WE'RE, WE'RE INCHING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, RIGHT? WE'RE RELATIVELY HIGHER THAN WE WERE BEFORE.
UM, AND, AND THAT AS BRIAN SAID, YOU KNOW, SO THAT'S ONE COMPONENT.
AND THEN WHEN WE TALK ABOUT INFLATION, WHAT WE'RE NOW, YOU KNOW, HOPEFULLY, YOU KNOW, EVERYONE'S PAYING ATTENTION TO THE FED THESE DAYS OVER THAT HUMP OF THIS VOLATILE, UNPREDICTABLE ENVIRONMENT WITH INFLATION AND HOPEFULLY GETTING INTO THIS LEVEL OF NORMALCY.
THAT'S WHERE, THAT'S WHERE WE HOPE WE'RE HEADED AND WE'RE STARTING TO SEE THAT DISCUSSION.
SO WITH THAT GAIN CONFIDENCE IN BOTH THESE AREAS, THAT'S WHY WE'RE HERE HAVING THIS DISCUSSION NOW.
YEAH, AND I, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.
AND I WILL SAY, LIKE I ALWAYS KNOWING THAT, YOU KNOW, THE ORIGINAL 4.4 NUMBER FLOATING AROUND WAS 2023 NUMBER, THAT IT WAS NEVER GONNA BE, THAT ALWAYS MADE ME CRINGE, YOU KNOW, THAT WE WEREN'T LIKE, AND BECAUSE THE PRESS, AND NOT ACTUALLY, THERE'S BEEN SOME REALLY GOOD REPORTING, LET ME SAY ON THIS, ESPECIALLY OF LATE, LIKE, AND I COMMEND YOUR EFFORTS, EFFORTS IN THAT REGARD.
LIKE, IT'S VERY CLEAR THAT THEIR UNDERSTANDING IS ELEVATING.
AND YOU KNOW, THE PRESS, WHEN I TALK ABOUT THE PRESS, THAT'S THE VEHICLE TO GET TO THE PUBLIC AT LARGE.
SO IF THEY DO A GOOD JOB, THE PUBLIC IS GONNA UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE DOING, WHICH IS VERY IMPORTANT.
'CAUSE I FEEL SO CONFIDENT IN WHAT WE'RE DOING AND YOU AND Y'ALL AND EVERYBODY THAT'S WORKING ON THIS IS DOING A GREAT JOB.
SO IT'S, UM, IT, IT MAKES ME NERVOUS WHEN, LIKE WE SAY, 4.4 BILLION AND THERE'S A TINY LITTLE FOOTNOTE DOWN AT THE BOTTOM THAT SAYS, YOU KNOW, BY 2020 $3, LIKE, WE NEED TO BE TALKING, IT'S GOOD THAT WE'RE HAVING THIS, THAT YOU DID IT PREVIOUSLY, AND THAT WE'RE HAVING THIS DISCUSSION SO THAT THE PUBLIC IS AWARE THAT LIKE IF IT, IF WE COME IN AT 7.1 BILLION, YOU KNOW, AND THAT'S WHAT WE SIGN A CONTRACT FOR, THAT WE'RE ON BUDGET, YOU KNOW, WE'RE WHAT WE PROPOSE, AND IT CAN
[01:15:01]
DEFINITELY MOVE SOME BASED ON ANY OF THE NUMBER OF THINGS.BUT LIKE, WE NEED TO BE TALKING IN THOSE TERMS SO THAT WE DON'T GET HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR SOMETHING THAT WAS NEVER, YOU KNOW, THAT WHEN IT'S 7 BILLION IN 2027 WHEN WE SIGN A CONTRACT, WE HAVE IT BLOWN PAST OUR BUDGET.
UM, YOU KNOW, SO I'M GLAD WE'RE HAVING THE DIALOGUE.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE BE VERY CONSISTENT IN THAT RESPECT, YOU KNOW, AS BOARD MEMBERS THAT WILL TALK ABOUT IT IN PUBLIC AND, YOU KNOW, STAFF I KNOW IS WELL AWARE.
SO I APPRECIATE THE CONVERSATION.
IT'S MAYBE BEEN A LITTLE BIT LATE IN COMING, BUT DEFINITELY BETTER LATE THAN NEVER.
WELL, I SAY YOU GO MORE TO THE NEXT SLIDE, ACTUALLY, I GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
THIS ACTUALLY I THINK IS THE MOMENT TO GO FROM OUR METHODOLOGY OF CURRENT YEAR.
CURRENT YEAR TO NOW, BECAUSE OF TWO THINGS.
WE'VE KICKED OFF THE FEDERAL, KICKED OFF THE FEDERAL AND ABLE TO PUT OUR INITIAL TIMELINE, THEY ALL WEAVE TOGETHER.
SO THIS ACTUALLY IS THE MOMENT.
I DON'T THINK WE COULD HAVE DONE IT EARLIER.
WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT IT HAVING SOME DIALOGUE AS WE'VE GONE THROUGH SOME FEDERAL PROCESSES.
BUT AGREEING EVERYTHING YOU'RE SAYING RIGHT ABOUT THESE, THESE, THESE, THE WAY WE TALK ABOUT IT, I THINK IN THIS MOMENT WE'LL BE MOVING FORWARD AND TALKING ABOUT IT IN THE COST, THE WAY THEY'RE ACTUALLY GONNA HIT US.
'CAUSE WE HAVE MORE, I LIKE THE WAY RICH SAYS WE'RE INCHING TOWARDS THAT CERTAINTY AROUND SCHEDULE BECAUSE WE HAVE TO HAVE IT AS THAT NORTH STAR.
WE NEED TO HAVE IT FROM A DELIVERY PERSPECTIVE, WE NEED TO HAVE IT FROM A CASH FLOW PERSPECTIVE.
WE NEED TO HAVE IT FROM A COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVE.
SO THIS IS A GOOD MOMENT TO HAVE THAT AND, UH, AND HAVE THE DIALOGUE WITH YOU.
AND I WANNA TOUCH ON ONE THING YOU MENTIONED, GREG.
UM, THINKING ABOUT WHERE WE WERE EARLY 2023, AS WE'RE WALKING THROUGH THE LIGHT RAIL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN, UM, WE HAVE MORE CERTAINTY NOW, ALBEIT IT'S STILL UNCERTAIN TO THE, TO A LARGE DEGREE THAT INITIAL PLANNING SCHEDULE, BUT IT'S, WE'RE A LITTLE MORE CONFIDENT IN THE YEAR OF EXPENDITURE DOLLARS OR INFLATING THOSE COSTS UP TO A YEAR OF EXPENDITURES DOLLARS NOW THAT WE HAVE THIS INITIAL PLANNING SCHEDULE ESTABLISHED.
UM, SO YEAH, ON THIS, ON THIS CHART HERE IS KIND OF JUST WALKS THROUGH THE METHODOLOGY OF, OF INFLATING THOSE COSTS FROM CURRENT YEAR DOLLARS TO, TO, UM, YEAR OF EXPENDITURE DOLLARS.
AND AGAIN, IT'S, IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT AGAIN, THE, THE DOLLARS WE COMMUNICATED BACK IN 2023 FROM A YEAR OF EXPENDITURE DOLLARS ARE STILL WITHIN WHAT WE ORIGINALLY ANTICIPATED THE COST TO BE.
UM, AGAIN, AS AS MENTIONED, THERE ARE CERTAIN DRIVERS THAT ARE GOING TO IMPACT THE YEAR OF EXPENDITURE NUMBER, UM, ACTUAL INFLATION, OBVIOUSLY, AS, AS WE PROGRESS THROUGH THE YEARS AND WE GET INFLATION DATA ON MORE CURRENT INFLATION DATA, WE'LL BE MONITORING THAT AND UPDATING, UM, THE YEAR OF EXPENDITURE ESCALATION RATE, AS WELL AS WHEN WE LOCK IN CERTAIN CONTRACTS, THAT PROVIDES US MORE CERTAINTY AROUND WHAT THE ANTICIPATED COSTS ARE GONNA BE FOR THE DIFFERENT ELEMENTS OF THE PROJECT.
SO AGAIN, AS AS TIME PROGRESSES, THE, THE UNCERTAIN NATURE OF THE YEAR EXPENDITURE DOLLARS, WE'LL BECOME MORE CERTAIN AND WE'LL JUST CONTINUE TO MONITOR, MONITOR THIS THROUGHOUT THE YEARS.
SO LISTEN IN, IN KEEPING WITH, UH, BOARD MEMBER LANGER'S S COMMENTS, UM, I HOPE WE HAVE THIS CONVERSATION AGAIN, UH, RATHER BECAUSE IT'S SO IMPORTANT THAT WE NOT BE MARRIED TO THAT INITIAL MEMBER.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S VERY REAL AND THIS IS HOW WE MAINTAIN THAT TRUST WITH THE PUBLIC BY BEING TOTALLY OPEN ABOUT THE WAY IT WORKS.
IT'S, IT'S HAVING THE CONVERSATION OVER AND OVER AGAIN AS WE GAIN MORE COST INFORMATION THAT ALLOWS US TO INFORM WHERE WE'RE GOING TO END UP.
IF, IF WE COULD DELIVER THIS PROJECT TOMORROW AT $4.8 BILLION, WE WOULD, UM, BUT THIS IS CHALLENGING AND IT TAKES TIME.
AND THAT'S WHY WE NEED TO ACCOUNT FOR ALL OF THESE POTENTIAL INPUTS THAT ARE GONNA HAPPEN OVER THE COURSE OF THAT PERIOD.
I JUST, I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING AND AGREE.
I, I THINK THAT, UM, AT SOME POINT THOUGH, YOU KNOW, WITH YOUR WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE, YOU IDENTIFY ALL OF THE THINGS THAT ARE GONNA BE DONE, CAN'T TELL YOU HOW MANY SUPERVISORS I'VE HAD THAT SAID, UH, RUN INTO THE OFFICE TODAY AND SAID ON FRIDAY, I NEED THUS.
AND SO, AND BECAUSE WE BUILT A WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE AND IDENTIFIED ALL THE THINGS THAT NEEDED TO BE DONE, WHO HAD TO BE ENGAGED IN THE PROCESS, WHO OWNED THE DATA, AND WHAT THE WHOLE PROCESS WAS GONNA LOOK LIKE, WE COULD TELL THEM, IT'S NOT GONNA BE THIS FRIDAY.
IT'S GONNA BE NEXT FRIDAY, BECAUSE ALL OF THESE THINGS HAVE TO BE DONE.
I THINK THE MORE THAT EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS WHAT THE WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE IS, UH, THE MORE, UH, UNDERSTANDING THEY WILL BE ALONG THE LINE AS EITHER ISSUES POP UP OR, OR THAT WE FIND THAT, UH, WE ARE ON TIME ABOUT BUDGET.
SO I THINK WE WANNA MAKE SURE, UH, THAT PEOPLE HAVE REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS ABOUT ALL OF THE THOUSANDS OF DECISIONS THAT HAVE TO HAPPEN BEFORE
[01:20:01]
SOMETHING IS DELIVERED.WHAT WE MIGHT DO REAL QUICKLY, RICH, YOU WEREN'T FORMALLY INDUCED, UH, INTRODUCED TO US, AND MAYBE YOU HAVE BEEN PREVIOUSLY HADN'T, UNLESS IT WAS THE ONE BOARD MEETING I MISSED, LIKE WHAT YOUR BACKGROUND IS.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, WHAT YOU'RE BRINGING TO THE TABLE IN TERMS OF ENSURING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE ARE GONNA GET THIS THING DONE IN A TIMELY COST EFFECTIVE MANNER.
UH, WELL, YEAH, I'VE BEEN HIDING IN THE BACKGROUND.
UM, I HAVE HAD THE PLEASURE OF WORKING WITH THIS, UH, THIS GREAT TEAM FOR OVER TWO YEARS NOW.
UM, SO I, I'M WITH ERNST AND YOUNG AND MY BACKGROUND.
I WORKED, UH, ALMOST 20 YEARS AS A KIND OF A MUNICIPAL ADVISOR WORKING WITH, DIRECTLY WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, MUNICIPAL CLIENTS, THE CAPITAL MARKETS.
UM, AND I'VE NOW SPENT, UH, OVER FIVE YEARS WITH EY, SPECIFICALLY FOCUSED ON PROJECT DELIVERY, UM, AND CAPITAL, UH, AND, AND, AND FUNDING PLAN OF FINANCE, EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE.
UM, SO THAT'S WHERE I COME FROM AND, YOU KNOW, I'VE SEEN THE EVOLUTION OF WHAT THIS TEAM HAS PUT TOGETHER OVER THE COURSE OF THE TWO YEARS TO GET US TO THIS POINT.
SO THE LAST SLIDE WE HAVE HERE IS JUST SORT OF AN ALLOCATION OF WHAT THAT 7.1, UM, BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR OF EXPENDITURE NUMBER COULD LOOK LIKE.
UM, I KNOW THIS IS REMINISCENT OF THE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON THE FINANCE SIDE THAT WE PRODUCED BACK IN THE EARLY PERIOD OF 2023, BUT YOU'LL NOTICE THAT IT'S BROKEN OUT INTO CERTAIN CAP COST CATEGORIES.
AND AGAIN, ALL IN AN EFFORT TO ALIGN WITH THE COST REPORTING STRUCTURE THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO ABIDE TO THROUGH THE FTA PROCESS.
AND AS WE CONTINUE TO GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS, SO IF CERTAIN BUCKETS HERE, UM, LIGHT RAIL, CIVIL GOING ALL THE WAY DOWN TO MAINTENANCE FACILITY AND, AND VEHICLES.
SO JUST WANTED TO PROVIDE THIS OVERVIEW OF HOW THE COST COULD BE ALLOCATED ON THE LIFE OF THE PROJECT.
SO I WANT ASK A, SOMETHING THAT OCCURRED TO ME, IT'S KIND OF RELATED, BUT IS THE 8 CENTS FIXED OR IS IT SUBJECT TO UH, UH, NO, IT'S NOT FIXED.
SO IT WAS THAT EIGHT AND THREE QUARTER CENTS WAS USED AT THE TIME OF THE VOTE.
AND EVERY SUBSEQUENT YEAR FROM THAT, AGAIN, ALIGNING WITH OUR INTER LOCAL AGREEMENT THAT WE HAVE WITH THE CITY, IT'S A, IT'S AN APPORTIONED AMOUNT OF THE CITY'S NOW MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS TAX RATE THAT THEY APPROVE EVERY FISCAL YEAR.
I'M, I MEAN, NOT QUITE SURE EVERYBODY WOULD GET THAT BASED ON YOUR DESCRIPTION.
'CAUSE THAT IS A VERY COMPLEX CONCEPT.
HERE'S, HERE'S HOW I'LL SAY THAT.
'CAUSE WE ARE, WE'LL BE BACK HERE IN MAY AS OUR DO OUR FINANCIAL FORECAST AND, UH, JAMIE AND BRIAN HAVE SOME REALLY COOL NERDY SLIDES ON HOW TAX RATES WORK.
AND WE WILL REITERATE THAT PROCESS ABOUT HOW WE HAVE OUR TAX RATE PROP A REVENUE, REMEMBER IT'S A REVENUE THAT COMES OVER US FROM THE CITY AND HOW THAT APPLICATION OCCURS.
SO YEAH, WE CAN LEAVE THAT ASIDE FOR NOW KNOWING THAT WE'LL GET TO IT IN THE FUTURE BECAUSE IT'S VERY COMPLEX.
I MEAN, IN SOME RESPECTS IT'S EIGHT THREE QUARTER CENTS FIXED WITH A CERTAIN GROWTH AND IN OTHERS IT'S A PERCENT OF THE BUDGET IT A PERCENT OF THE REVENUE OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
BUT ANXIOUS TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION.
HAPPY TO PUT IT ON ICE KNOWING THAT IT'S COMING.
UM, HEY, ONE THING, SORRY, GO AHEAD.
THERE ARE ACTUAL CLASSES YOU CAN GO TO
IT'S, UH, IT'S COMPLICATED FOR US.
IT'S SPENDING A LOT OF TIME ON IT, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE TRYING TO GET IT IN PASSING IS A TOUGH DEAL AND TOUGH THING TO EXPLAIN.
HEY, LET ME ASK YOU SOME QUESTIONS TO GIVE US, BECAUSE I KNOW LIKE THIS, THIS IS A HYPER-SPECIFIC BREAKDOWN OF COST AT THIS STAGE OF THE GAME.
YOU KNOW, TO PUT OUT THERE, WE'VE GOT 937 MILLION ALLOCATED FOR REAL ESTATE.
UM, YOU KNOW, WITH THAT, UH, CONSTRUCTION DATE BEGINNING IN 2027.
CAN YOU GIMME A SENSE, LET ME JUST PICK REAL ESTATE BECAUSE IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S SUPER VOLATILE IN AUSTIN, YOU KNOW, LESS SO THAN SOME OF THESE OTHER ONES.
LIKE WHAT ARE SOME UNDERLYING ASSUMPTIONS THAT YOU USED TO, UH, TO TAKE YOUR 2024 NUMBER AND GROW IT TO, YOU KNOW, 20, 27 AND BEYOND? BECAUSE I KNOW IT WON'T ALL BE ACQUIRED IN 2027.
UM, SO JUST GIVE US A SENSE LIKE US AND YEAH, SURE.
AND THE PUBLIC, WHAT'S BUILT INTO THAT? UH, SURE.
[01:25:01]
SO WE HAVE A GREAT GROUP OF FOLKS HERE INTERNALLY THAT JUST FOCUS ON REAL ESTATE AND RIGHT OF WAY ACQUISITION.UM, SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT AGAIN, IS DESIGN IS ADVANCED THAT THEY CONTINUALLY LOOK AT IS HOW, AGAIN, AS A DESIGN IS BEING ADVANCED, HOW THAT IMPACTS RIGHT OF WAY AND, AND CERTAIN TAKES, RIGHT? AND IN THEORY WE WANNA, WE HOPEFULLY WANT TO GET TO A POINT WHERE WE REDUCE OUR RIGHT OF WAY ACQUISITIONS, UM, DOWN SUBSTANTIALLY.
UM, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF LAND, NOT COST OF RIGHT, RIGHT.
AND THAT'S GONNA BE AN ITERATIVE PROCESS AS DESIGN IS ADVANCED AS FAR AS THE ASSUMPTIONS, I KNOW.
UM, IT'S ONE THING THAT OUR REAL ESTATE TEAM ARE CONTINUALLY LOOKING AT, RIGHT.
AND LOOKING AT, UM, VALUES AND, AND ASSOCIATED, ASSOCIATED VALUES WITH THE PARCELS THAT ARE POSSIBLY IMPACTED FROM A RIGHT OF WAY PERSPECTIVE.
UM, AND THEN ALSO LOOKING AT THE, THE, THE DURATION OF WHEN THOSE RIGHT OF WAY ACQUISITIONS CAN TAKE PLACE AND INPUTTING THOSE INTO OUR CASH FLOW MODEL TO SEE, UM, WHEN THOSE ACQUISITIONS WOULD ULTIMATELY BE TAKEN DOWN.
DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF LIKE, UM, UH, WHAT RATE OF GROWTH IN THE PRICE OF REAL ESTATE THEY'VE USED OVER THAT TIMEFRAME? I DO NOT KNOW THAT OFF OF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, BUT I KNOW THAT WE DO HAVE CONTINGENCY AGAIN, AS, AS WE WENT THROUGH, I HOPE.
SO WE WENT THROUGH THE PROCESS, UM, LAST MARCH.
AND AGAIN, OUR CONTINGENCY THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY CARRYING IS 40%.
SO WE DO HAVE A HEFTY THAT'S DIFFERENT CONTINGENCY BUILT IN TO ALL OF THESE INDIVIDUAL, UM, COST CATEGORY.
SO, BUT THAT TO ME IS DIFFERENT.
A RATE OF INFLATION IN THE UNDERLYING PRICE IS A DIFFERENT ONE.
LIKE, I'M JUST CURIOUS WHAT THAT RATE OF INFLATION IS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IT'S BEEN FREAKY IN AUSTIN OVER THE YEARS.
IT'S, YOU KNOW, RELENTED SOME RECENTLY.
I'D JUST BE CURIOUS BECAUSE IT, LIKE, RIGHT, AGAIN, I I'M HELD ACCOUNTABLE BY THE PUBLIC FOR THESE NUMBERS.
UM, YOU KNOW, HOW, WHAT'S MY DEGREE OF CONFIDENCE IN TERMS OF YOUR UNDERLYING ASSUMPTIONS? 'CAUSE WE'D ALL HAVE SOME OPINIONS ON YOUR, IF YOU SAY, OH, WE'RE GROWING IT BY 2% A YEAR, YOU KNOW, THE COST FOR X NUMBER OF ACRES THAT WE THINK WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO ACQUIRE, WE'VE GROWN IT BY TWO, I'D SAY YOU'RE OUTTA YOUR MIND, LIKE I GOT NO CONFIDENCE IN THAT.
YOU KNOW, IF YOU SAID IT WAS 40% GROWTH, I'D BE LIKE, COME ON MAN.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S LIKE, WE'RE JUST SO CURRENTLY THROUGH 25, UM, AND RICH, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, WE ARE CARRYING A HIGHER INFLATIONARY, OUR ESCALATION RATE, I BELIEVE TO THE TUNE OF 7.5%.
UM, AND THEN ALL AFTER 25, WAIT, WHAT DOES THAT RELATE TO? THE SEVEN POINT HALF IS ACTUALLY FOR THE ENTIRE, FOR THE ENTIRE PROJECT.
AND SO, AND WE WOULD HAVE TO, I'D HAVE TO GO BACK AND KIND OF LOOK AT THE REAL ESTATE ASSUMPTION OKAY.
IN ITS OWN, BUT SEVEN POINT A HALF AND FOR THE ENTIRE PROJECT OKAY.
AND THEN WE'RE TAPERING IT OFF TO A THREE POINT HALF PERCENT RATE POST 25 BECAUSE AGAIN, THAT IS, THAT IS WITH THE NORM OF WHERE INFLATION HAS BEEN OVER A LONGER DURATION OF TIME.
AND HOPEFULLY WE'RE THERE BY THAT PERIOD.
Y'ALL SHOULD PUT THAT IN ONE OF YOUR SLIDES.
YOU KNOW, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT REAL ESTATE, IT'S ABOUT HOW THE LAND GETS ACQUIRED.
IT COULD IMPACT THE COST OF IT ALONG THE WAY, RIGHT? UH, WE'RE STILL AT THE EARLY STAGES OF DESIGN, SO WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT PARCELS WILL BE IMPACTED BY THE ALIGNMENT.
SO I CAN, I CAN GIVE YOU A 10 ON YOUR SCALE THAT THAT NUMBER WILL CHANGE.
AND, AND YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE WORKING THROUGH THESE ASSUMPTIONS CONTINUALLY TO INFORM THAT FIGURE.
THAT'S LIKE IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR US TO KNOW, UM, THAT YOU AREN'T JUST ATTACHING SOMETHING AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL THAT IN FACT WE HAVE TEAM MEMBERS THAT ARE LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, THE MICRO PIECES OF THIS AND GROWING THEM AT AN APPROPRIATE RATE, YOU KNOW, BASED ON PEOPLE THAT UNDERSTAND THAT INDUSTRY.
TO SHOW THE DETAILS HOW WE GET HERE.
AND ALSO JUST TO DEMONSTRATE AS WE ADVANCE IN THIS MOMENT HERE, THIS THE KIND OF THIS, THIS TRANSITION INTO THIS, THIS, THIS PROCESS WITH, UH, PROJECT DEVELOPMENT IS, IT'S A LOGICAL QUESTION.
WHAT'S PART OF THAT 7 BILLION TO SHOW THESE CATEGORIES AND WE'RE ADHERING TO THE FEDERAL PROCESSES WITH THOSE COST STANDARD COST CATEGORIES, BUT TO START SHOWING THOSE BUCKETS.
UM, NOW WE OBVIOUSLY WANNA CONTINUE TO REMAIN, RE REMAIN OUR COMPETITIVE EDGE AS WE GO OUT AND COMPETE CONTRACTS AND, AND DO ALL OF OUR WORK.
AND WE THINK THIS IS THE RIGHT, UH, LEVEL TO BE TALKING ABOUT.
SO WE THINK IT'S GREAT TO BE ABLE TO, UM, SHOW WHERE WE ARE NOW ON THIS COST INFORMATION THAT WE HAVE NOW.
BUT I THINK AS BRIAN AND RICH HAVE TALKED ABOUT, WE'RE CONSTANTLY ASSESSING
[01:30:01]
AGAIN, WHERE INFLATION IS.WE HAVEN'T TALKED TO MAYOR IS INTEREST RATES.
WE HAVE A LOT OF DIALOGUE IN THE UPCOMING YEAR ABOUT WHERE RATES ARE AND WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE DOING THAT AS WELL, CERTAINLY, WHICH IS ANOTHER BIG EXPENSE ONCE WE HOPEFULLY ISSUED DEBT.
AND, YOU KNOW, THE COMMISSIONER ILION EARLIER POINT, NOW THAT WE'VE PUT THIS OUT THERE, WE BEING THE PUBLIC AND US, UH, WILL WANNA KNOW, YOU KNOW, IF THESE THINGS START TO CHANGE ALONG THE WAY, WE SHOULD KNOW AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
GUESS WHAT? WE FOUND SOME SAVINGS BECAUSE WE CAN ACQUIRE A LOT LESS RIGHT OF WAY THROUGH SOME SUPER CREATIVE THINKING ABOUT HOW THE SYSTEM WILL WORK.
OH, YOU KNOW, COSTS HAVE INFLATED MORE IN THIS BUCKET THAN WHAT WE HAD ANTICIPATED.
LET US KNOW AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND WE'LL TAKE THAT UNDER ADVISEMENT IN TERMS OF HOW WE HOLD OURSELVES ACCOUNTABLE.
UM, SO LET ME PUT A PIN IN THAT BECAUSE THAT'S A CRITICAL POINT.
UH, IF THERE'S ANYTHING, PARTICULARLY IF WE CONSIDER IT TO BE BAD NEWS, BAD NEWS DOES NOT GET BETTER WITH TIME.
AND AT THE END OF THE DAY, UH, THE EXTENT TO WHICH WE UNDERSTAND THE ISSUES, THE EXTENT TO WHICH WE CAN EXPLAIN AND PLAN AROUND, I THINK WE GET BETTER OUTCOMES.
BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, UH, WE GET TRUST FROM THE PEOPLE WHO ARE LOOKING IN AND AND WANTING TO MAKE SURE, UH, THAT, THAT THERE IS, UH, REAL OVERSIGHT.
SO, UM, WHEN WE ARE AWARE OF THINGS THAT ARE GOOD, LET'S, LET'S, LET'S MUTE, LET'S LET PEOPLE KNOW WHEN WE ARE AWARE OF THINGS THAT MIGHT NOT BE SO GOOD.
LET'S LET 'EM KNOW TOO THIS MIGHT IMPACT.
AND, AND THAT IS THE WAY THAT YOU BUILD TRUST I THINK OVER TIME.
WELL, IF THIS IS, I THINK WE'VE REACHED THE END OF THIS, RIGHT? AND, UH, SO I THINK NOW WE'RE GONNA WELCOME.
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR THOUGHTFUL RESPONSES AND THE DIALOGUE FOR THIS NEXT SECTION SINCE WE HAVE A LOT OF MATERIAL TO COVER.
AND I DID GET THE NICE LITTLE NOTE FROM REBECCA SAYING, HEY, WE'RE ONLY ON SLIDE FOUR OF
I'M LIKE, LET'S, LET'S MOVE FORWARD.
WOULD Y'ALL BE OKAY IF WE COVER THE NEXT SLIDE, PROBABLY TILL SLIDE 13 FROM NINE TO 13 WITH STAFF? AND THEN, AND THEN WE'LL ASK QUESTIONS.
'CAUSE I THINK THEY'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO GIVE US A BROADER VIEW AND WE CAN ALWAYS REWIND TO A SPECIFIC SLIDE.
DOES THAT WORK? SO YOU GUYS CAN HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A MOMENTUM IN MOVING FORWARD WITH THE NEXT GROUP OF, OF, UM, THIS IS, THIS IS GONNA BE AN EXCITING DISCUSSION I CAN ALREADY TELL.
SO IMPORTANT AS CASEY GETS SET HERE, I'LL JUST DO A QUICK WHAT KEEP THE TIME MOVING HERE.
YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD, YOU'RE GONNA HEAR A LOT ABOUT A TOPIC THAT WE'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE ON RIGHT? TALKING ABOUT GLUE'S.
SO IMPORTANT AS WE ADVANCED ALL OF OUR, UH, LIGHT RAIL OPTIONS, ADVANCED OUR FEDERAL PROCESS.
WE'VE HAD ALL THESE WORK STREAMS WORKING TOGETHER, SOME, A LOT BEHIND THE SCENES HERE, BUT REALLY ADVANCING THE SENSE OF DELIVERY.
AND, UH, WE'RE EXCITED THAT THE PROGRESSION CONTINUES AND YOU'RE GONNA HEAR ABOUT WHERE WE ARE IN THESE UPCOMING MOMENTS AND, AND WHERE WE ARE.
AND I THINK WE'RE, WE, WE'VE, WE'VE POSITIONED OURSELVES WELL TO GET TO, UH, THIS BIG, TO ADHERE TO OUR MARKERS OF OUR SCHEDULE AND DELIVERY IS A REALLY KEY COMPONENT.
I THINK THIS IS, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE ARE ESSENTIALLY A DELIVERY ORGANIZATION.
SO THE WAY THAT WE, UM, ENGAGE WITH INDUSTRY THAT'S GOING TO ULTIMATELY CONSTRUCT THIS PROJECT IS REALLY CRITICAL TO, YOU KNOW, WHO WE ARE.
SO, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT FOR OVER A YEAR NOW.
UM, WE'VE TRAVELED AND MET WITH PEER AGENCIES.
WE'VE BEEN, YOU KNOW, ERNST AND YOUNG.
STEVE WILL INTRODUCED HIMSELF, BUT HE'S, UM, THAT WHOLE TEAM, TOM, WHO'S REGULATOR BOARD MEETINGS, AND RICH, WHO JUST MET, WE'RE THINKING ABOUT THIS THROUGH A COMMERCIAL LENS.
THE TECHNICAL IS REALLY CRITICAL, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY, BUT WE, WE'VE MADE SURE THAT WE HAVE A, A HIGH LEVEL INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM THAT COMES TOGETHER AND THINKS ABOUT THESE THINGS THROUGH THE TOP OF THE ORGANIZATION AND IT'S, UM, CRITICAL TO OUR SUCCESS.
SO I, JUST TO PREFACE THE CONVERSATION, BUT HOPEFULLY WE CAN HAVE A NICE DIALOGUE TODAY ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW FAR WE'VE COME AND HOW FAR WE STILL HAVE TO GO Y'ALL.
AND MAYBE BEFORE WE GET STARTED, WE CAN MAKE QUICK INTRODUCTIONS, UM, GOING ACROSS THE TEAM.
LINDSAY WILLIAMS, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION.
I'M SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACTS MANAGEMENT.
HI, I'M STEVE PGO, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, ERNST YOUNG.
SO AS CASEY MENTIONED, WE'RE, UM, WE'VE BEEN THOUGHTFUL AND DELIBERATE ABOUT THIS PLANNING PROCESS, NOT RUSHING TO ANY RASH DECISIONS OR, UM, OR COMING TOO QUICK TO JUDGMENT ON A TOPIC THAT IS SO CRITICAL TO OUR SUCCESS OF DELIVERING AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL.
UH, WE BUILT THIS PROCESS STARTING BACK IN 2022 THAT HAS ENGAGED OUR,
[01:35:01]
OUR PEERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND IN NORTH AMERICA, AND ACTUALLY EVEN GOING A LITTLE BEYOND THAT AT TIMES, UH, ENGAGING INDUSTRY AND ENGAGING OUR LOCAL BUSINESS COMMUNITY AND DBES AND SMALL BUSINESSES TO REALLY UNDERSTAND HOW WE CAN HELP BUILD LOCAL CAPACITY TO DELIVER THIS VERY LARGE COMPLEX PROGRAM.AND I'VE HAD SEVERAL TOUCH POINTS WITH OUR, OUR BOARD ALONG THE WAY.
AND WE ARE NOT DONE BY ANY MEANS.
WE ARE NOT HERE TO TODAY TO TELL YOU A FINAL ANSWER OR A DECISION.
WE'RE HERE TO BRING EVERYONE ALONG IN OUR THINKING AND, AND TALK ABOUT SOME OF THOSE NEXT STEPS.
SO I WANNA SHOW THIS, AND THERE'S A LOT GOING ON ON THIS SLIDE.
AND MY INTENT IS NOT ACTUALLY TO WALK THROUGH EVERY STEP OF THE EVALUATION, BUT RATHER TO DISPLAY THE COMPLEXITY AND, AND THE THOUGHT THAT WE ARE PUTTING INTO OUR DELIVERY PLAN.
AND FEEDING ALL OF THAT, LISTENING AND LEARNING THAT WE JUST TALKED ABOUT THROUGH THE PROCESS INTO OUR EVALUATION.
UH, WE ARE ARE STILL CONTINUING TO ASK OURSELVES, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE MAKE THE DELIVERY METHODS AND, AND MODELS BEST FIT OUR PROJECT? UNDERSTANDING THAT THERE IS NO SILVER BULLET AND THERE'S ALSO NO ONE TOOL THAT APPLIES TO EVERY ELEMENT OF OUR PROJECT.
AND I WANNA HIGHLIGHT SORT OF THE LAST PHASE OF THIS EVALUATION HERE, WHICH IS THAT WE BELIEVE IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO BRING OUR, ON OUR DELIVERY PARTNER THAT WE'RE GOING TO, UM, DIVE FURTHER INTO HERE IN JUST A MOMENT AS A KEY STEP IN OUR PROCESS TO HELP VALIDATE OUR THINKING AND KNOWING THAT THEY ARE REALLY GOING TO BE WORKING HAND IN GLOVE WITH US TO EXECUTE THIS PLAN AND, AND MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE THE FULL SUPPORT OF, OF THAT TEAM IN THE DECISIONS MOVING FORWARD AND, AND ENGAGING, UM, YOU ALL AS WELL AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
SO I MENTIONED WE SPEND A LITTLE TIME ON DELIVERY PARTNER, UH, BUT BEFORE WE DO THAT, BRAD, ACTUALLY, DO YOU WANNA GIVE A, A LITTLE UPDATE ON SOME PROGRESS IN TERMS OF THE OVERALL CONTRACTING FRAMEWORK IN SOME OF THE EARLY ENGINEERING AND, AND PLANNING SERVICES THAT WE ARE ALREADY MOVING FORWARD WITH? YEAH, DEFINITELY.
SO THIS IS A SLIDE, UM, OR A GRAPHIC THAT THE BOARD HAS SEEN A NUMBER OF TIMES BEFORE, BUT WE KEEP SHOWING IT BECAUSE WE WANNA SHOW YOU THE PROGRESS THAT WE'VE MADE, UM, ON THE OWNER SUPPORT SIDE.
UM, SO THERE USED TO BE A WHOLE NOTHER COLUMN OF CONTRACTS THAT WE WERE GOING TO SOLICIT AND GET, UM, APPROVED.
UM, AND THANKS TO THE BOARD SUPPORT AND EFFORT ON THAT, WE'VE GOTTEN THOSE APPROVED, UM, CONTRACTORS ONBOARDED AND STARTING TO WORK FOR US, WHICH IS GREAT.
UM, THE NEXT BIG SET OF CONTRACTS IS OUR ON-CALL ENGINEERING AND PLANNING CONTRACTS.
UM, WE ISSUED THAT SOLICITATION BACK IN JANUARY AFTER GOING THROUGH A REALLY THOROUGH, UM, REQUEST FOR INFORMATION PROCESS BEFOREHAND TO HAD ADVANCE INTEREST AND TO ALLOW TIME FOR TEAMING.
UM, WE'RE IN THE FINAL STAGES OF EVALUATING THE PROPOSALS ON THAT.
WE HOPE TO BRING THAT, UM, THOSE AWARDS TO YOU AT THE NEXT BOARD MEETING, UM, WHICH WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT.
I DO WANNA SAY, GOING THROUGH THAT EFFORT, UH, THE ADDITIONAL EXTRA EFFORT THAT WE DID AT THE BEGINNING PROCESS REALLY NETTED US BETTER PROPOSALS.
UM, AS FAR AS TEAMING STRUCTURES WERE INVOLVED, LOCAL AND DVE PARTICIPATION, THE NUMBER OF PROPOSALS THAT WERE RECEIVED EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS.
UM, SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO REPORT ON TAKING THAT EXTRA EFFORT AND BEING DELIBERATE AND WORKING WITH THE INDUSTRY AS EARLY ON IN THE PROCESS AS POSSIBLE IS REALLY NETTING US THE BEST RESULTS THAT WE CAN.
AND WE'LL SHARE MORE OF THOSE WITH YOU, UM, AT THE NEXT BOARD MEETING AS WE COME, UM, TO YOU FOR, UM, AWARDS ON THOSE.
UM, BUT WE'RE GOING TO BE TAKING A SIMILAR PROCESS WITH DELIVERY PARTNER, UM, ISSUING AN RF UM, QUEUE HERE IN THE SECOND QUARTER.
BUT REALLY, AND WE'LL KIND OF DIVE INTO THIS A LITTLE BIT MORE, BUT STARTING IT AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE AS WELL.
BUT, UM, WHY A DELIVERY PARTNER? YEAH, SO WE'RE VERY INTENTIONAL ABOUT WHAT WE'RE CALLING THIS, AND IT'S A SOMEWHAT UNIQUE TERM THAT MAY NOT BE, UM, STANDARD TO WHAT WE TYPICALLY IN THE INDUSTRY, UM, OFTEN REFER TO AS, UH, SORT OF PROGRAM MANAGEMENT SERVICES, UH, SOMETIMES CALLED A-P-M-L-R AND OWNERS REPRESENTATIVE PMC AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT, THAT THERE'S A LOT OF VARIATIONS ON THAT, BUT DELIVERY PARTNER IS A BIT OF A NEW VARIATION ON THAT.
UH, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS THIS IS OWNER SUPPORT.
THIS DELIVERY PARTNER ROLE IS ABOUT BEING AN EXTENSION OF US, UH, MEMBERS THAT ARE IN FACT INDISTINGUISHABLE FROM US AS WE DELIVER
[01:40:01]
THE PROJECT AND BECOME FULLY INTEGRATED WITH OUR TEAM.BUT IT IS NOT THE FINAL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION ELEMENTS.
UH, THOSE ARE, ARE SEPARATE AND LATER AND, AND TO COME IN THE FUTURE.
SO WE'LL DIVE A LITTLE BIT MORE INTO WHAT THE SCOPE OF THIS EFFORT IS, UM, BUT WANTED TO HAVE JUST A LITTLE BIT OF A CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW WE'RE THINKING A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY ABOUT IT AND, AND USING THAT DELIVERY PARTNER TERMINOLOGY TO SIGNAL SOME OF THAT THINKING.
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE A, A TEAM THAT IS JUST AS DEDICATED AND COMMITTED TO THE OUTCOMES WE ARE HERE TO ACHIEVE AS WE ARE.
AND SO STRUCTURING OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH, WITH THIS TEAM TO BE INCREDIBLY COLLABORATIVE AND ALSO TO HAVE ELEMENTS OF ACCOUNTABILITY BUILT INTO THAT RELATIONSHIP AND, UH, SOME KIND OF PERFORMANCE INCENTIVE REGIMES TO, TO HELP US WORK THROUGH THOSE ELEMENTS OF ACCOUNTABILITY.
UH, AND CASEY, YOU KNOW, YOU ARE REALLY THINKING ABOUT IT.
WE'RE ALL THINKING ABOUT IT IN TERMS OF HOW, UH, NOT ONLY HOW TO BRING THIS TEAM ON, BUT WHAT IT MEANS FOR HOW WE GROW OUR TEAM AND MAKING SURE THAT WE COLLECTIVELY HAVE THE RIGHT PEOPLE AND THE AGILITY TO RAISE UP AND DOWN OVER ALL THE DIFFERENT, UM, TIME PERIODS AND, AND DIFFERENT NEEDS OVER A LONG PERIOD OF TIME IN DEVELOPING THE PROJECT.
YEAH, THAT'S A, THAT'S A REALLY GOOD POINT.
SO AS WE'RE DEVELOPING THIS CONTRACT, UH, THE SOLICITATION AND KIND OF WHAT WE WANT IN THE SCOPE AND THE PEOPLE THAT WE WANNA BRING ON BOARD TO BE PART OF OUR TEAM, WE'RE KIND OF LUCKY THAT WE'RE ALSO BUILDING THE TEAM ON OUR END, RIGHT? WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT ORGANIZATIONAL ASSESSMENTS AND CAPACITY AND DELIVERY CAPACITY, MAKING SURE IN A CITY THAT HASN'T BUILT LIGHT RAIL YET, THAT THAT AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP IS READY TO DO THAT AND TO DO IT AS CLOSE TO THE SCHEDULE THAT WE PUT PUT OUT THERE, RIGHT? SO WE, IT'S, IT'S A LUCKY OPPORTUNITY.
IT'S ALSO A LOT TO THINK ABOUT, I THINK, UM, BECAUSE WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION ABOUT WHETHER SOMEONE SHOULD BE HIRED AS AN EMPLOYEE DIRECTLY WITH US OR AS PART OF OUR DELIVERY PARTNER CONTRACT.
AND, UM, A CRITICAL LENS TO THAT IS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND THE GRANT PROCESS AND THEIR EXPECTATIONS ABOUT, OF COURSE, WE'RE ALWAYS ACCOUNTABLE, BUT HOW DIRECT IS THAT LEVEL OF ACCOUNTABILITY? UM, AND THEN I THINK, YOU KNOW, ALSO WE'RE THINKING ABOUT JUST, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE OVERALL DELIVERY STRUCTURE THAT WE'RE GONNA BE COMING TO? AND WE'LL TALK TO THAT, YOU KNOW, THE FINAL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION COLUMN THERE AND HOW WE WANNA EXECUTE THOSE CONTRACTS.
DEPENDING ON HOW YOU SHAPE THAT, YOU BRING IN CERTAIN TYPES OF EXPERTISE TO THE ORGANIZATION.
SO WE HAVE TO KIND OF BE THINKING MANY YEARS DOWN THE ROAD IN ORDER TO PLAN FOR WHAT THIS CONTRACT WILL INCLUDE AND WHO WE WANNA, WHO WE WANNA HIRE ON OUR SIDE AS WELL AS WE GO THROUGH DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND COMMISSIONING.
SO I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY AND IN THIS CONTRACT AND IN THE STRATEGIC THINKING TO, UM, BE THINKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHERE PEOPLE WILL SIT, BUT ALSO HOW LONG THEY'LL BE WITH US AND, AND, AND MAKING CRITICAL DECISIONS AROUND THAT.
AND A LOT OF THAT'LL TIE INTO OUR UPCOMING, UM, IN LATER BOARD MEETINGS, BUDGETARY CONVERSATIONS AS WELL THAT THIS IS AN EFFICIENT MODEL OF DELIVERY VERSUS, UH, MAINTAINING ALL RESOURCES THROUGH ALL PHASES OF THE PROJECT.
IT LETS US BRING ON THE, UH, YOU KNOW, LET'S SAY CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT TEAM AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME AND BRING THEM ON AND OFF IN, UH, AS WE'RE MOVING THROUGH THE PROGRESSION OF THE WORK TO ALIGN THE EXPERTISE AND THE RESOURCES WITH THE NEED OF THE MOMENT AND PREPARING FOR THE NEED OF THE NEXT MOMENT.
UH, AND THEN I WANNA HIT A LITTLE BIT ON THIS, THIS LAST ITEM HERE AND, AND TRANSITION A BIT INTO WHAT IS THE SCOPE OF THE DELIVERY PARTNER.
AND, UH, BRAD CAN TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW WE ARE ALIGNING THAT SCOPE WITH HOW WE PROCURE THE TEAM AND HOW WE TIE THAT SCOPE TO THOSE, THOSE ELEMENTS OF ACCOUNTABILITY THAT I MENTIONED AND KEY RESULT AREAS.
AND IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO REMEMBER THAT WE CAN'T HOLD SOMEONE ACCOUNTABLE FOR SOMETHING THEY'RE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR.
UH, AND SOMETHING THAT WE HAVEN'T DELEGATED A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR.
SO WE ARE WANTING TO BE VERY INTENTIONAL IN THE LANGUAGE WE USE IN OUR SCOPE TO, UH, BE AS CLEAR AS WE CAN BE AND SEEK FEEDBACK WHERE PERHAPS, UH, MORE CLARITY IS NEEDED ABOUT WHAT WE ARE ASKING THIS TEAM TO LEAD AND, AND OWN VERSUS KIND OF SUPPORT AND FACILITATE.
SO THAT, YOU KNOW, I'VE, I'VE BEEN ON, ON THESE TYPES OF TEAMS, UH, FROM A, A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE, I SUPPOSE.
AND, UH, A CHALLENGE CAN BE THE,
[01:45:01]
THERE'S NOT ALWAYS A COMMON UNDERSTANDING OF ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES BETWEEN THE AGENCY AND, AND THE CONSULTING TEAM AND WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT, WHO OWNS WHAT.AND WE WANT TO BE VERY INTENTIONAL ABOUT THAT FROM THE VERY BEGINNING AND ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS, UH, INDUSTRY REVIEW PROCESS TO NOT ONLY COMMUNICATE THAT, BUT GET FEEDBACK, UH, FROM INDUSTRY ABOUT WHERE WE'RE NOT CLEAR AND HOW WE CAN DO BETTER AT THAT.
UH, SO THE KEY SCOPE AREA IS NOTED HERE, A FEW WORDS HIGHLIGHTING WHERE, UH, INTENTIONALLY BREAKING SOMETHING OUT CALLED A CONTRACT MOBILIZATION PHASE.
AND THAT IS BECAUSE WE'RE, THIS PARTNER IS GOING TO BE WITH US FOR THE LONG HAUL, AND WE WANT TO INVEST THE TIME NEEDED TO BRING THEM ON AND INTEGRATE WITH US IN THE RIGHT WAY.
UH, REALLY PARTNERING WITH THEM, GETTING, UH, THEM FULLY UP TO SPEED ON ALL ELEMENTS OF THE PROGRAM, UH, ASSESSING WHAT THE NEEDS ARE WITHOUT BEING OVERLY PRESCRIPTIVE ABOUT THOSE, BUT ALLOWING THAT TIME TO, TO SIT TOGETHER AND ASSESS WHAT THOSE NEEDS ARE, UH, AND ASSESS HOW THEY, UH, HOW THE, THE KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS SHOULD TIE TO THEIR ROLE.
UH, AND THEN THERE'S THE, THE MORE TRADITIONAL PIECES OF, OF PROJECT AND PROGRAM MANAGEMENT, UH, AND, AND PROJECT CONTROLS.
IT'S VERY CLOSELY TIED TO THAT.
UH, I MIGHT HIGHLIGHT THAT WE EXPECT THIS TEAM, SOMETIMES WE CALL IT PMCM PLUS.
UH, THE PLUS CAN MEAN A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS.
BUT ONE ASPECT OF THE PLUS IS THAT WE'RE REALLY THINKING ABOUT THEIR ROLE FROM A SORT OF A THIRD PARTY CONTRACT MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE.
UH, THESE FINAL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION ELEMENTS, HAVING A, A STRONG ROLE IN SHEPHERDING THOSE TO BE DELIVERED SUCCESSFULLY ALONGSIDE US.
UH, AND, AND HELPING US THROUGH THE FEDERAL PROCESS AND PROVIDING ADVISORY SERVICES, NOT ONLY ON FEDERAL PROCESSES, ON EVERYTHING, REALLY.
UH, AND, AND THEY ALSO TYPICAL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT SERVICES.
SO THOSE ARE OVERSIGHT SERVICES, UH, TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE MOVING THE PROJECT FORWARD IN COMPLIANCE WITH ITS REQUIREMENTS AND OUR REQUIREMENTS AS A COMMUNITY.
UH, AND THEN HELPING US CLOSE OUT THE PROJECT SO IT DOESN'T END AT CONSTRUCTION AND RIBBON CUTTING THERE.
THERE'S A WHOLE PROCESS WE NEED TO GO THROUGH FOR CLOSEOUT AS WELL.
AND BRIAN, I THINK YOU'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT HOW WE ARE RELATING THESE AREAS OF SCOPE TO HOW WE BRING ON THE RIGHT TEAM TO WORK WITH US.
SO, UM, JUST TO PIGGYBACK A LITTLE BIT ON THE CONTRACT MOBILIZATION PHASE, DOING THIS AS A PART OF, UM, THE RESULTS OF INDUSTRY FEEDBACK, UM, PEER FEEDBACK AND OUR OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCES DELIVERING MAJOR PROJECTS AND SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT WE'VE SEEN, AND BEING ABLE TO DO THAT AND REALLY DEVELOPING THIS TIME PERIOD WHERE WE INVEST IN EACH OTHER AND GETTING TO KNOW HOW TO WORK TOGETHER IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.
UM, AND NOT, NOT ONLY 'CAUSE WE'VE SEEN IT WORKING AND NOT WORKING, UM, IN DIFFERENT PROJECTS THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO WORK ON, BUT THE INDUSTRY IS REALLY FOCUSED ON, UH, LETTING US KNOW THAT IT'S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.
UM, YOU SEE THAT WE'VE DESIGNATED NINE KEY PERSONNEL POSITIONS.
THIS IS NOT GOING TO BE THE ONLY KEY PERSONNEL POSITIONS THAT ARE GOING TO BE A PART OF THE PROGRAM.
UM, WE ARE TRYING TO NOT BE PRESCRIPTIVE AND ALLOWING, UH, THE DELIVERY PARTNERS TO ARE GOING TO BE PROPOSING ON THIS PROJECT AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE INNOVATIVE AND HELP US IDENTIFY WHAT KEY STAFFING POSITIONS THAT THEY THINK ARE NEEDED ON THIS PROJECT AS WELL.
UM, SO YOU SEE NINE, IT'S NOT GOING TO BE LIMITED TO THESE NINE BECAUSE WE WANT THEM TO BE INNOVATIVE, UM, AND PROACTIVE IN HELPING US IDENTIFY WHAT OTHER POSITIONS ARE IMPORTANT TO THE DELIVERY OF AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL.
AND THEN WE'RE TYING ALL OF THESE POSITIONS INTO, UM, REALLY KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE MANAGING OVER THE LIFE CYCLE OF THIS CONTRACT.
UM, SECRETLY BEHIND THE SCENES THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH OUR CURRENT EXISTING CONTRACTS TO REALLY HONE IN OUR CONTRACT MANAGEMENT PROCESSES AND HOLDING CONTRACTORS ACCOUNTABLE FOR WHAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DELIVERING AND DELIVERING ON SCHEDULE AND WITHIN BUDGET.
UM, SINCE THIS CONTRACTOR'S WHOLE JOB IS TO HELP US DELIVER THIS PROJECT ON TIME AND WITHIN BUDGET, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE TO THAT.
UM, SO I, IDENTIFYING CERTAIN PROGRAM MANAGEMENT CONTROLS, QUALITY APPROACHES, HEALTH AND SAFETY, ALWAYS BEING A HUGE FOCUS ON THE PROJECT AND HOW WELL THEY IMPLEMENT, UM, AND COMPLEMENT THE TEAM THAT WE HAVE HERE AT A TP IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.
SO WE'RE GOING TO BE DEVELOPING THOSE KEY METRICS AND PERFORMANCE INDICATORS AND EVALUATING THEM ON A REGULARLY SET BASIS, UM, THAT BOTH IN INFORMS US ON HOW WE HELP INCENTIVIZE THEM TO DO THE WORK, UH, AND ALSO JUST HOW WE HELP MANAGE THE WORK AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
SO IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE LOOK AT THE SCOPE,
[01:50:01]
WE LOOK AT THE PEOPLE WHO ARE IMPORTANT, BUT ALSO HOW WE'RE GOING TO HELP MANAGE AND ASSESS THE WORK THROUGH THE LIFECYCLE OF THE CONTRACT IS IMPORTANT.UM, AND WE'VE BEEN WORKING AND HONING IN A REALLY GREAT PROCESS THAT'S GOING TO HELP US, UM, DO THAT REALLY, REALLY WELL WHEN WE GET THIS CONTRACTOR PUT INTO PLACE.
AND THOSE PROCESSES HAVE BEEN INFORMED NOT ONLY BY THE INDUSTRY ENGAGEMENT, BUT STEVE, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE EEY TEAM HAS BEEN HELPING US TO LOOK AT HOW OTHER AGENCIES HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT A, A DELIVERY PARTNER.
I I, I SAID IT'S UNIQUE, BUT WE'RE NOT THE FIRST, UH, THERE, THERE HAVE BEEN OTHERS TO COME BEFORE AND WE'RE LEARNING FROM THEM TOO.
THERE'S THE, THE INDUSTRY TREND IS GOING TOWARDS US FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS.
THESE ARE LARGE, COMPLEX PROJECTS.
WE NEED PARTNERS THAT ARE THERE AND ACCOUNTABLE TO A TP IN ORDER TO DELIVER WHAT THEY'RE BEING TASKED TO DELIVER.
UM, WE'VE SEEN THIS, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE COLLEAGUES IN CANADA AND ACROSS CALGARY, TORONTO THAT ARE WORKING WITH DELIVERY PARTNERS.
YOU'LL SEE THIS IN LONDON ON THE CROSS RAIL.
OUR PROJECT FROM A FEW YEARS AGO.
WE ALSO SEE IN CALIFORNIA AND NOW MOST RECENTLY IN NEW YORK ON GATEWAY.
SO WHILE IT, IT'S NEW, IT'S INNOVATIVE, IT'S AN INDUSTRY TREND, AND THERE'S A REASON FOR THAT.
AND WE WERE ABLE TO LEARN FROM A LOT OF THE BEST PRACTICES THAT THEY'VE BEEN USING, UH, TO INFORM OUR DECISIONS AND SOME OF THE, THE, THE CHOICES WE'VE MADE WHEN PUTTING TOGETHER THE SCOPE OF SERVICES.
SO, UM, I AM GONNA QUICKLY GO OVER THE TIMELINE FOR, UM, BRINGING ON A DELIVERY PARTNER ON BOARD.
SO WE ARE HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE ON FRIDAY, WE'RE ISSUING OUR, UH, PRES SOLICITATION FEEDBACK OPPORTUNITY REQUEST WHERE WE GIVE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE INDUSTRY TO SEE THE SOLICITATION DOCUMENT, THE SCOPE OF WORK, THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, AND GIVE THEM AN OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW, MAKE COMMENTS, UM, ADD SUGGESTIONS FOR MAKING IT BETTER OR MORE APPLICABLE, UM, MORE INTERESTING FOR THEM TO PARTICIPATE IN, UM, AND COLLECTING THAT FEEDBACK.
AGAIN, WE DID THIS WITH ON-CALL AND HAD A HUGE AMOUNT OF SUCCESS.
WE RECEIVED OVER 250 COMMENTS FROM OVER 30 DIFFERENT FIRMS, UM, AND IT REALLY HELPED, UM, MAKE THE EVENTUAL SOLICITATION EVEN BETTER.
AND LIKE I SAID, I'M REALLY HAPPY TO SHARE THAT WITH YOU AT THE NEXT MEETING, THE NUMBER OF FIRMS AND THE INVOLVEMENT THAT WE WERE ABLE TO SEE FROM THAT.
BUT WE'RE, WE'RE GOING TO DO IT AGAIN.
UM, BUT WE'RE ALSO GOING TO INCORPORATE A ONE-ON-ONE ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITY FOR THOSE THAT RESPOND TO THIS REQUEST, UM, WHERE THEY CAN COME IN AND HAVE A DESIGNATED AMOUNT OF TIME TO TALK TO US INDIVIDUAL OR COLLECTIVELY, UM, ABOUT THEIR THOUGHTS ON THE PROJECT, UM, WHAT INTERESTS THEM ABOUT IT, THE ISSUES THAT THEY SEE THAT THEY WANT US TO BE AWARE ABOUT, THINGS THAT, UM, ANY FATAL FLAWS THAT THEY SEE IN THE SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS.
UM, BUT REALLY TO ALLOW THAT ONE-ON-ONE COLLABORATIVE OPPORTUNITIES, EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.
UM, WE'RE GOING TO BE HOSTING A DBE AND SMALL BUSINESS OUTREACH EVENT, UM, IN APRIL TO HELP BUILD CAPACITY, UM, FOR SMALL FIRMS WHO WANT TO PARTICIPATE ON THIS TYPE OF CONTRACT.
AND THEN ALSO CREATING A PARTNERING OPPORTUNITY THAT'S GOING TO TIE IN WITH THAT ONE-ON-ONE ENGAGEMENT PERIOD TO INCENTIVIZE THE PRIME CONTRACTORS WHO WANTED TO COME AND TALK TO US TO ALSO TALK TO SUBCONTRACTING, UH, SUBCONTRACTORS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN WORKING ON THIS PROJECT.
UM, WE'LL GET A LITTLE BIT MORE INTO THAT TOWARDS THE END OF THE SLIDE DECK, BUT THAT'S GOING TO BE A PART OF IT.
WE'LL ISSUE THE RFQ DOCUMENT, UM, IN JUNE, UM, ALLOW A TIME PERIOD FOR QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.
UM, WE ANTICIPATE THAT WE WILL HAVE THOSE RESPONSES DUE, UM, IN AUGUST, WE'LL SHORTLIST A SET OF, UM, PROPOSERS, UM, INTERVIEW THOSE PROPOSERS AND THEN SEND OUT A, UH, NOTICE TO THE FIRM THAT WE FIND THE TECHNICALLY MOST QUALIFIED.
AND THEN WE HOPE TO BRING THIS TO YOU IN DECEMBER FOR ACTION, UM, WITH A NOTICE RECEIVED TO START IN JANUARY.
SO IT'S A REALLY DELIBERATIVE PROCESS.
IT'S GONNA TAKE US NINE MONTHS FROM BEGINNING TO END, BUT WHERE WE'RE UTILIZING EVERY SECOND OF THAT TIME PERIOD TO REALLY GET THE BEST TEAM ON BOARD TO DELIVER THIS PROJECT, UM, AND INVOLVING THE INDUSTRY FROM BEGINNING TO END ALONG THE WAY.
AND WITH THAT, I THINK WE'RE READY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
OH, SO YOU'VE GIVEN US ANOTHER NORTH STAR.
SO, SO WE LOOK FORWARD TO DECEMBER OF THIS YEAR TO A BIG MILESTONE.
THIS IS A MAJOR MILESTONE, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THE, YOU KNOW, THE WAY THAT YOU WERE DESCRIBING HOW WE HAVE REACHED OUT TO OUR PARTNERS IN DELIVERING THE, THE SYSTEM IS ANOTHER COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN ITSELF, RIGHT?
[01:55:01]
THAT THEY ARE, THEY, THEY GIVE THE FEEDBACK AND WHAT WORKS FOR THEIR TEAM BECAUSE THEY, THEY'RE INVESTING A LOT IN HAVING TO STAFF THE TEAMS. ONE OF THE KEY CRITERIA THAT I PERSONALLY BELIEVE IT'S CRUCIAL FOR ANYONE LISTENING AND ANYONE TRYING TO PURSUE THIS IMPORTANT WORK IS THE TURNOVER OF THEIR TEAMS. THAT THESE ARE VERY LONG, LONG PROJECTS THAT THEY REQUIRE A LOT OF PATIENCE, THAT REQUIRED A LOT OF CONTINUITY.AND EVERY TIME THERE'S TURNOVER FROM THE, FROM US AS AN AGENCY OR ANYONE OUT THERE TRYING TO WORK WITH US, IT IS, IT'S VERY DISRUPTIVE, VERY DISRUPTIVE, LOTS OF INFORMATION, VERY COSTLY.
SO NOT ONLY THE BRINGING UP AND THE OTHER THING THAT REALLY RESONATED TO ME IN THIS, UM, ANALYSIS OF WHAT YOU ARE ARE PROPOSING IS THE ON RAMP, ANY ON-RAMP THAT'S REALLY SUCCESSFUL REALLY IS SET UP FOR SUCCESS.
SO WE WANT TO HAVE ANYONE THAT WANTS TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROGRAM TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THIS EFFORT.
WE WANT THE BEST FOR THEM AS WE WANT IT FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
SO THEIR SUCCESS IS OUR SUCCESS.
SO, UM, LET'S OPEN IT FOR QUESTIONS AND WE CAN ALWAYS REWIND.
UM, SO MY INTEREST IS, UH, HOW WE ARE BUILDING SYSTEMIC CAPACITY INSTEAD OF TRANSACTIONAL CAPACITY.
AND, AND WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE ARE $25 BILLION WORTH OF CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS THAT ARE ON THE GROUND TODAY.
SO IT SEEMS TO ME THAT OUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE IS TO, UH, FIND ENOUGH, UH, COMPANIES THAT ARE CAPABLE OF DOING THE WORK THAT'S ON THE GROUND.
I DON'T KNOW, EVEN WHEN I RAN SMBR, I DON'T KNOW THAT I'VE EVER SEEN THIS BEFORE THAT WE HAD AIRPORT PROJECTS, SOME STANDARD ROAD PROJECTS, WATER WASTEWATER PROJECTS, ALL OF THOSE THINGS, UH, THAT REQUIRE THE COMPETENCIES THAT WE'RE ASKING.
AND, AND SO NOW WE'VE GOT $25 BILLION WORTH OF PROJECTS.
AND THE DIFFICULTY IS IN STATE, IN, IN THE, WITH THE STATE LEGISLATURE NOW, UH, DEI TYPE PROGRAMS, HUB TYPE PROGRAMS ARE DEFINITELY OPERATING IN HOSTILE WATERS.
THERE'S NO QUESTION ABOUT THAT.
UH, SO HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN BUILD SYSTEMIC OPPORTUNITY IN THE CONTEXT OF THE HOSTILITY THAT WE SEE? AND, AND THE COUNTY HAS BEEN WORKING AT IT A CERTAIN WAY.
WE HAVE WORKED WITH UT WITH IC SQUARE TO IDENTIFY FIRMS THAT WANT TO DO BUSINESS, ASSESS THEIR CAPACITY, AND THEN, UH, WHERE THERE IS A NEED TO BUILD THEIR CAPACITY, UH, GIVE THEM COUNSELING FOR, UH, YOU KNOW, WHERE AND HOW TO FIND ACCOUNTANTS, GIVE US COUNSELING ON, UM, HOW YOU MAINTAIN YOUR CERTIFICATIONS AND WHATNOT.
IT'S GONNA BE INTERESTING WHETHER WE ARE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, THERE USED TO BE A TOOL OIP, OWNER CONTROLLED INSURANCE PROGRAMS OR, OR ROLLING OWNER CONTROL PROGRAMS THAT ALLOWED US, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE LOOKING AT INSURANCE AND MANAGING RISK AND MAKING SURE THAT EVERYBODY WAS ON THE SAME INSURANCE POLICY.
SO IF THERE WAS AN ISSUE, YOU DIDN'T HAVE DUAL SUBS AND, AND, AND, UH, AND PRIME CONTRACTORS.
UH, WHAT TYPES OF TOOLS ARE WE PUTTING IN PLACE TO MAKE SURE, UH, THAT WE ARE BUILDING SYSTEMIC CHANGE AND OPPORTUNITIES AND WORKING WITH THOSE FIRMS THAT ARE BEST IN CLASS? AND I SEE SQUARED AS ONE OF THE BEST OF THE BEST AT THIS.
UH, SO WHEN THEY, THEY, THEY NOT ONLY PROVIDE MENTORING, THEY NOT ONLY PROVIDE COUNSELING, BUT THEY ALSO ARE, ARE INVOLVED IN RAISING CAPITAL FOR SOME OF THE FIRMS THAT THEY ARE WORKING WITH.
SO, UM, WHAT ARE WE DOING? SO I, I GUESS I SHOULD CRAFT THIS INTO A QUESTION, BUT A LOT OF FOLKS WANNA MAKE SURE THAT ON EVERY PROJECT, UH, IF, IF YOU WERE, IF YOUR CONTRACT SAYS YOU WERE TO DO A CERTAIN JOB AND THERE WAS A CERTAIN CLASSIFICATION, WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, THAT WE ARE FOLLOWING THE CLASSIFICATIONS AND NOT ALLOWING CRIMES TO GIVE A LOWER CLASSIFICATION AND THUS LOWER RESOURCES TO THE FOLKS WE ARE WORKING WITH? HOW DO WE USE SAFETY TO KEEP THE PRICE OF OUR CONTRACTS DOWN? BECAUSE THOSE PLACES THAT ARE, THAT ARE SAFETY ENGAGED, UH, HAVE MORE TIME ON TASK.
SO WHAT ARE WE DOING IN THOSE AREAS TO RECOGNIZE WE'RE OPERATING IN A HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT, UH, MAKING SURE THAT, THAT, UH, WE ARE WORKING WITH ENTITIES THAT HAVE EXPERIENCE HERE, AND THEN PUTTING MECHANISMS IN PLACE SO THAT IT'S NOT JUST A TRANSACTION, IT'S A SYSTEM THAT WILL WORK THE ENTIRE, UH, LIFE OF THE CONTRACT.
[02:00:01]
WE MIGHT BREAK THAT UP AND INTO SOME PIECES AND, AND, AND TAG TEAM.UM, I'LL START WITH THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PIECE.
UM, THAT IS ACTUALLY A, UM, DISCREET ELEMENT OF OUR EVALUATION CRITERIA THAT WE WILL BE EVALUATING THIS TEAM AGAINST.
SO IT IS SO IMPORTANT THAT WE MADE IT SOMETHING WE ARE ARE SCORING, UM, THESE TEAMS APPROACH ON.
NOW, I WILL NOTE WE'RE THINKING ABOUT THE EVALUATION AS A WHOLE, PERHAPS A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY THAN SOME OTHER AGENCIES AND PROGRAMS HAVE, MEANING THAT IT'S SO IMPORTANT TO US TO BRING INNOVATION FROM THIS TEAM, THAT WE'RE NOT BEING OVERLY PRESCRIPTIVE ABOUT ANY ELEMENTS AND HOW THE TEAM NEEDS TO APPROACH, UH, ANY OF THE AREAS.
SO WE'RE NOT, YOU KNOW, SPECIFICALLY SAYING, YOU, YOU MUST HAVE AN INTERNSHIP PROGRAM OR, UH, OR ANY OTHER, UM, PIECE.
WE ARE NOTING THAT THIS IS AN, A CRITICAL VALUE AND IT'S NEEDED TO SUCCESSFULLY DELIVER.
AND WE WILL ACTUALLY BE SCORING AND EVALUATING THESE TEAMS AGAINST THEIR APPROACH FOR THAT.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE AN ELEMENT IN OUR EVALUATION FOR MEANINGFUL DBE ENGAGEMENT AS PART OF THEIR TEAM.
SO NOT JUST MEETING A GOAL, BUT MEANINGFULLY ENGAGING THEIR TEAMING PARTNERS TO BUILD THAT CAPACITY.
UH, AND EVEN TO BUILD THE CAPACITY, UH, WITHIN AUSTIN AND OUR ORGANIZATION AS A WHOLE AND, AND SORT OF TRANSFERRING KNOWLEDGE AND, AND HAVING THAT BE BUILT IN TO OUR EVALUATION.
ANYTHING YOU WANNA ADD ON WORKFORCE? JUST TO TAG ONTO THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE THAT THE ENGAGEMENTS THAT DBE AND SMALL BUSINESSES HAVE ON A PROJECT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.
HAVING WORKED WITH A LARGE NUMBER OF, UM, DBE MINORITY AND WOMEN OWNED FIRMS OVER THE YEARS, I'VE MET A LOT THAT JUST FEEL LIKE THEY ARE A PART OF A PROJECT TO FULFILL A, A GOAL OR A NUMBER.
WE WANT TO CREATE MEANINGFUL EXPERIENCES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR BUSINESSES TO GROW, DEVELOP, AND EXPAND THEMSELVES.
AND REQUIRING THAT, UH, THE PROPOSERS TO IDENTIFY EXACTLY HOW THESE PROJECTS ARE MEANINGFUL FOR EACH OF THE SUBS THAT THEY'RE PROPOSING IS HOW WE'RE GOING TO HELP IDENTIFY THAT.
UM, WE WANT IT TO BE MORE THAN A FILL A GOAL PROCESS, UM, BECAUSE THAT DOESN'T REALLY ACHIEVE THE RESULTS OF THE PROGRAM.
SO WE'RE REALLY FOCUSING IN ON TRYING TO MAKE THESE PROJECTS MEANINGFUL FOR EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATES, UM, YOU KNOW, FROM PRIME TO SUB TO THE COMMUNITY.
UM, SO THAT, THAT'S ONE ASPECT THAT WE'RE DOING.
UM, IT IS A, A SCARY TIME FOR DBE AND M-W-E-B-E AND DIVERSITY PROGRAMS. UM, AND I THINK WHAT WE ARE DOING BEHIND THE SCENES IS REALLY TRYING TO FIGURE OUT DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO TAKE IN THE EVENT THAT SOMETHING DRASTIC DOES HAPPEN TO ONE OF THOSE PROGRAMS AND OUR ABILITY TO UTILIZE THEM, UM, AND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WAYS TO TURN OUR PROGRAMS THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE INTO SMALL BUSINESS RELATED PROGRAMS THAT ARE MORE ENCOMPASSING, THAT PEOPLE WHO ARE ALREADY CERTIFIED CAN AUTOMATICALLY BE CONSIDERED A PART OF, UM, WITHOUT HAVING TO GO THROUGH ADDITIONAL, UM, LABOR, SOME PROCESSES.
BUT, YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE STILL EARLY STAGES BEING DISCUSSED ABOUT AND HOPEFULLY RESORTS THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO JUMP TO.
UM, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, DBE PROGRAM HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME BECAUSE OF, UM, YOU KNOW, THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE CREATED FROM IT.
AND IT WOULD BE A SHAME TO SEE PROGRAMS LIKE THAT, UM, NOT BE AFFECTED ANYMORE.
AND I'M GLAD YOU MENTIONED INSURANCE.
THAT CAN BE SUCH AN OBSTACLE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES TO PARTNER WITH US WITH THESE REALLY HIGH LIMITS OF LIABILITY THAT ARE VERY DIFFICULT TO FINANCIALLY CARRY FOR SMALL FIRMS. AND SO WE'RE THINKING ABOUT, UH, THE INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS DIFFERENTLY FOR THE PRIME AND, AND THE MAJOR PARTNERS THAN WE ARE FOR SUB CONSULTANTS THAT, UH, MAY HAVE, YOU KNOW, VERY SPECIFIC NICHE ROLES ON THE PROGRAM IN ORDER TO MAXIMIZE OPPORTUNITY FOR, FOR PEOPLE TO BE PART OF, OF THIS.
A LOT OF PROJECTS I'VE SEEN JUST HAVE DIRECT FLOW DOWN INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS, AND WE'RE TAKING A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO, YOU KNOW, ALLOW SMALL BUSINESSES TO NOT, TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE AND AFFORD TO BE A SMALL BUSINESS AND MAINTAIN THE INSURANCE LEVELS THAT THEY, THEY HAVE.
SO WE'VE TAKEN A LOT OF CONSIDERATION INTO THAT.
UM, I WAS GONNA SAY, OH, I'M SORRY.
'CAUSE OVERALL, OUR OBJECTIVE IS JUST
[02:05:01]
TO MAXIMIZE COMPETITION ON THESE PROJECTS.AND THEN ULTIMATELY, WE'VE BEEN TYING ALL OF THESE MAJOR SOLICITATIONS INTO OUTREACH OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE DESIGNED TO CONNECT, UH, LARGE AND SMALL BUSINESSES TOGETHER.
UM, UH, WE DID THAT WITH THE ON CALLS, AND WE'RE GONNA BE DOING IT AGAIN WITH THIS ONE, AND WE'LL DO IT AGAIN WITH FUTURE, UM, SOLICITATIONS TO REALLY HELP DRIVE THAT CONNECTING POWER.
UM, YOU KNOW, THAT WE CAN HELP, UM, YOU KNOW, DRIVE BUSINESSES TOGETHER IF I COULD.
SMALL BUSINESSES ARE IMPORTANT TO ME, BUT LOCAL BUSINESSES ARE MORE IMPORTANT TO ME.
UM, TO ME IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE BUILD WHAT WE HAVE HERE.
YOU KNOW, REMEMBER, UM, HEY STEVE, YOU TALKED ABOUT, UH, THIS PMCM APPROACH HAS BEEN DONE OTHER PLACES RELATIVELY NEW.
WHAT'S BEEN THE EXPERIENCE WITH THIS APPROACH? UM, GOOD, BAD, UH, ALL OF THE MAP.
YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S GENERALLY BEEN WELL ACCEPTED.
IT'S NOT MATERIALLY DIFFERENT FROM HISTORICAL NORMS. WHEN YOU DO LIKE AN OWNER'S REPRESENTATION, IT'S REALLY HOW YOU'RE PROVIDING THEM AUTHORITY OR ENABLING THEM FROM AN AUTHORITY AND LEADERSHIP PERSPECTIVE TO MAKE DECISIONS.
SO THE DAY-TO-DAY JOB IS ACTUALLY NOT TOO DIFFERENT.
YOU'RE JUST LETTING THEM MAKE DECISIONS, WHICH ACTUALLY ALLOWS THEM TO DO THEIR JOB BETTER AT TIMES.
UM, WE'RE ACTUALLY HAVING FOLLOW UP CONVERSATIONS.
WE, WE'VE MET WITH TORONTO METROLINKS, UM, NOW OVER A, OVER A YEAR AGO WHO HAS, THEY RECENTLY BROUGHT ON A DELIVERY PARTNER, AND WE'LL BE TALKING WITH 'EM AGAIN IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS TO SEE HOW THAT FIRST YEAR HAS REALLY GONE FOR THEM.
SO WE ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO REPORT BACK TO YOU AND THAT I, I WOULD ASSUME WE HAVE NOT HAD THIS CONVERSATION YET, THAT THINGS HAVE BEEN GOING QUITE WELL, BECAUSE SUBSEQUENTLY TO THAT, THEY'VE ACTUALLY GONE OUT AND PROCURED ANOTHER DELIVERY PARTNER FOR A DIFFERENT PROJECT.
SO YOU'RE FINDING SOMETHING IN THIS MODEL THAT IS WORKING WELL.
AND THAT'S PART OF THE REASON WE GRAVITATED TOWARDS THIS, THIS MODEL IS BECAUSE OF THAT EXPERIENCE, UM, AND KIND OF LEARN FROM WHAT THEY'VE DONE.
AND YOU SEE IT ALSO, NOW WE'RE WORKING WITH GATEWAY, UM, EY IS WORKING WITH GATEWAY, WHO ALSO JUST SOLICITED A DELIVERY PARTNER FOR SOME OF THE SAME REASONS.
SORRY, REMIND ME WHO? GATEWAY IS NEW YORK.
AND I WOULD SAY THE, UH, THE DELEGATION OF DECISION MAKING AUTHORITY IS A, A REALLY IMPORTANT TOPIC OF HOW WE WORK WITH THIS TEAM.
WE CAN'T HOLD A TEAM ACCOUNTABLE FOR THINGS THEY CAN'T CONTROL, AND WE NEED TO BE HONEST WITH OURSELVES ABOUT THE THINGS WE WANT AND NEED TO CONTROL AND HAVE THAT TWO-WAY CONVERSATION.
THERE ARE SOME THINGS WE CAN NEVER, UH, RELEASE CONTROL OVER IT.
IT'S MORE ABOUT TAKING A CASE BY CASE AND STRATEGIC APPROACH TO THAT DECISION MAKING AND ESTABLISHING A VERY CLEAR SHARED UNDERSTANDING WITH, WITH THEIR, UM, OUR TEAM COLLECTIVELY, OUR TEAM TOGETHER ON WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT AND, UH, A DELIVERY PARTNER'S KIND OF A FUNCTION OF OUR, YOU KNOW, THINKING THAT WE'RE GONNA MOVE TOWARDS A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH TO THE BIGGER PARTNER.
IS THAT RIGHT? I MEAN, LIKE, WE HIRED A DELIVERY PARTNER.
IF WE THOUGHT WE WERE GONNA GO DESIGN BID BUILD, I THINK WE WOULD.
BUT IT WOULD POTENTIALLY BE A DIFFERENT KIND OF DELIVERY PARTNER.
SO BRINGING THE RIGHT, UH, THE DELIVERY PARTNER HELPS US MANAGE THE INTERFACES ACROSS ALL OF THE DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THE PROJECT.
THERE ARE MULTIPLE DIFFERENT CONTRACTS.
WE'RE GOING TO HAVE MULTIPLE DIFFERENT PHASES, AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE INTERFACES IS, IS A RISK.
WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE NOTHING FALLS THROUGH ANY OF THOSE CRACKS.
AND THEY HELP US TO BRIDGE ACROSS ALL OF THOSE ELEMENTS FROM VEHICLES TO SYSTEMS, UH, ENGINEERING STATIONS, CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE, AND THE CONTRACTING TERMS THAT GO ALONG WITH ALL OF THOSE DIFFERENT ELEMENTS, ALL THE WAY INTO SAFETY CERTIFICATION TESTING, COMMISSIONING, SYSTEMS INTEGRATION.
IT, IT'S REALLY THINKING ABOUT THE PROJECT THROUGH A RISK MANAGEMENT LENS AND BRINGING ON THE EXPERTISE THAT CAN, UH, AUGMENT OUR TEAMS TO MANAGE THOSE RISKS.
SO I WOULDN'T SAY IT'S BECAUSE WE ARE LOOKING AT A COLLABORATIVE MODEL, BUT I WOULD SAY IT CHANGES THE NATURE OF THE PEOPLE AND INDIVIDUALS THAT WOULD BE RIGHT FOR US AND FOR THE PROJECT.
UM, CAN YOU SPEAK IN, YOU KNOW, FOR A SECOND TO THE NOTION OF LIKE HOW WE'RE, UM, HIRING, YOU KNOW, THIRD PARTY VENDORS TO DELIVER CERTAIN PARTS OF THE PROJECT RELATIVE TO HIRING EMPLOYEES TO DO
[02:10:01]
IT AND BUILDING AN ORGANIZATION, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE YOU DON'T WANNA HIRE SOMEONE THAT YOU'RE, YOU NEED THEIR SKILLSET SET FOR TWO YEARS.YOU DON'T WANNA BRING 'EM ON AS AN EMPLOYEE.
SO JUST HELP ME UNDERSTAND, LIKE THE DIET, THE BALANCE THAT Y'ALL ARE STRIKING BETWEEN BUILDING AN ORGANIZATION FOR FOLKS THAT WE'RE GONNA NEED IN PLACE FOR A LONG TIME VERSUS CONTRACTING FOR SERVICES WILL NEED FOR A LESSER TIME.
YEAH, I THINK THAT'S A REALLY GOOD QUESTION.
UM, I MEAN, PART OF IT IS THIS IS THE FIRST PHASE, THIS IS THE FIRST PROJECT.
WE REALLY HAVE A PROOF OF CONCEPT, RIGHT? WE'RE IN THIS ORGANIZATION THAT HAS TO DELIVER THAT PROJECT.
UM, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE LOOK AT HOW, AS AN AGENCY OR AN ORGANIZATION, WE WANT TO GROW INTERNALLY, WE WE'RE KIND OF, WE'RE GETTING THERE, RIGHT? WE'RE, WE'VE GOT A GREAT STAFF, WE'VE GOT A GREAT MANAGEMENT TEAM, UM, A LEADERSHIP TEAM.
I LIKE THIS IDEA OF TECHNICAL EXPERTISE PLUS REALLY COMMUNITY FOLKS AND FOLKS LIKE LINDSAY WHO ARE BOTH, YOU KNOW, BORN AND BRED AUSTINITES, WHO ALSO HAVE THAT EXPERTISE.
UM, SO WE'VE GOT AN INCREDIBLE FOUNDATION AS IT STANDS.
UM, AND THEN WHEN WE LOOK INTO THE FUTURE, YOU'RE RIGHT, IT'S THE DURATION OF WHEN WE'RE GONNA ACTUALLY NEED THAT LEVEL OF EXPERTISE ON THE TEAM AND, UM, IN, IN TERMS OF US DECIDING WHETHER THEY SHOULD BE A FULL-TIME EMPLOYEE OR COME IN THROUGH THE DELIVERY PARTNER CONTRACT.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE, FOR THE MOST PART, WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT EBB AND FLOW, AND WE'RE GONNA PROBABLY HIRE OUT MOST OF OUR TALENT TO GET US THROUGH THE END OF THE PROJECT THROUGH THAT, YOU KNOW, THROUGH THAT CONTRACT.
SO THAT'S REALLY HOW WE'RE, WE'RE APPROACHING IT.
UM, BUT LIKE I SAID EARLIER, IF THE FTA, YOU KNOW, IF, IF THEY REALLY ARE KEEN TO SEE CERTAIN EXPERTISE, AND MAYBE THERE'S A FEW MORE POSITIONS THAT WE WOULD BRING IN HOUSE TO DO THAT, WE'RE PLANNING FOR THAT, UM, OR JUST REALLY CRITICAL, UH, PROJECT CONTROLS EXPERTISE, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT WE WANNA HAVE IN-HOUSE, UM, WHICH WE'VE ALREADY STARTED TO BUILD THAT TEAM UNDER HALEY.
UM, SO WE'RE KIND OF LOOKING, LOOKING AND PLANNING THROUGH THE, THROUGH THAT LENS, THROUGH A FINANCIAL LENS, OF COURSE, THROUGH A RECRUITMENT LENS, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE.
WE CAN BE MORE NIMBLE TO HIRE SOME OF THAT TALENT AND WE CAN MAYBE GET THE EVEN BETTER TALENT IF WE'RE HIRING IT, BRINGING IT ON THROUGH THE DELIVERY PARTNER FOR A CERTAIN PHASE OF THE PROJECT, RATHER THAN AS A FULL-TIME EMPLOYEE LONG TERM.
AND JUST TO ADD TO THAT, I THINK HOPEFULLY WHAT YOU CAN SEE IS WE'VE BEEN HAVING A SIDE-BY-SIDE PROCESS ON THIS CONVERSATION ABOUT OUR OVERALL DELIVERY STRATEGY WITH A DELIVERY PARTNER AS A KEY FIRST COMPONENT OF THAT AND OUR INTERNAL ORGANIZATION.
SO COMING OUT OF LAST YEAR'S BUDGET, ACTUALLY KICKING OFF THIS IDEA OF OUR INTERNAL PROCESS AS WE HAVE A MEETING ABOUT, TALKING ABOUT DELIVERY PARTNER AND OUR OVERALL DELIVERY STRATEGY, THINKING ABOUT OUR STAFFING NEEDS, ALL KIND OF LINING UP FOR OUR INITIAL FINANCIAL FORECAST DISCUSSION ABOUT THESE TWO THINGS.
SO I THINK WHEN WE'RE IN FINANCIAL FORECAST, WE'RE ACTUALLY GONNA, WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT STAFFING, BUT WE'RE ALSO GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT, UM, DELIVERY METHOD AGAIN FROM A, JUST A DIFFERENT LENS.
'CAUSE WE SEE THEM, TO YOUR POINT OF QUESTION, WE SEE THEM AS TWO KIND OF JUST EFFORTS THAT HAVE TO BE INTERTWINED.
AND DEFINITELY ULTIMATELY, UM, AS A VERY NIMBLE, SMALLISH ORGANIZATION, I, WE'RE, WE'RE NOT COMMITT AN ORGANIZATION OF 5,000 PEOPLE, RIGHT? WE'RE GONNA BE AN ORGANIZATION OF SMALL PEOPLE.
WE, WE HAVE SEEN THAT MODEL, WE'VE TESTED THAT MODEL AROUND THE COUNTRY.
THE FEW PLACES THAT HAVE DONE IT LIKE THIS.
AGAIN, WE ARE NEW IN TERMS OF NOT US.
WE'RE, WE'RE NOW, WE'RE NOW OLD-ISH.
UM, UH, YOU CAN TELL, RIGHT? THAT, UH, IS, BUT THE IDEA OF THIS MODEL AROUND THE COUNTRY.
SO FOR US, THOSE THINGS ARE, HAVE TO BE CONSTANTLY INTEGRATED.
AND AS WE HAVE THAT CONVERSATION ABOUT STAFFING, UH, AS WE COME TO YOU WITH STAFFING NEEDS AND RESOURCE NEEDS, WE VIEW OUR RESOURCE NEEDS AS BOTH, NOT JUST EXTERNAL, IT'S INTERNAL, EXTERNAL TOGETHER.
UM, AND JUST BEING ABLE TO TALK ABOUT THAT, HOW WE DO IT.
AND, AND SOMETIMES IT'S GRANULAR, RIGHT? ABOUT CERTAIN POSITIONS AND WHAT THE ASPECTS, FOR EXAMPLE, FTA LENS MIGHT HAVE ON SOMETHING OR IN THE, IN THE FINANCIAL WORLD, WHAT FOLKS WE EXPECTING.
UM, OUR OBJECTIVE IS TO MAKE SURE THEY STAY ALIGNED AND WE'RE, WE'RE LANDING THEM TOGETHER.
BUT THERE'S WORK, THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF WORK AHEAD, ALTHOUGH IT'S PROGRESSED A LOT.
YOU'RE SEEING SOME OF THAT TODAY.
AND YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE, WE, I APPRECIATE THAT CONVERSATION KNOWING THAT Y'ALL ARE THINKING IN THAT WAY.
YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY IN OUR, OUR THINKING IS ALIGNED, WE WANT TO MAINTAIN AS, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, AS COST EFFICIENT IN THE ORGANIZATION AS WE CAN WHILE ENSURING THAT WE DELIVER THE PROJECT, YOU KNOW, IN THE MOST EFFICIENT, COST EFFECTIVE, TIMELY MANNER AS POSSIBLE.
AND I APPRECIATE YOUR THINKING ON THAT.
IT'S NICE TO KNOW THAT LIKE, WHEN YOU RESPOND TO THAT, IT'S CLEAR YOU'VE GIVEN IT SOME THOUGHT.
AND I KNOW THAT WHEN BUDGET ROLLS AROUND IS WHEN YOU'RE GONNA COME FORWARD AND SAY, YOU KNOW, WE WANT A HEAD COUNT OF X NUMBER
[02:15:01]
OF PEOPLE.HERE'S Y AND HERE'S HOW IT RELATES TO THOSE EARLIER DISCUSSIONS WHERE WE WANNA REMAIN, YOU KNOW, AS TIGHT AN ORGANIZATION AS POSSIBLE.
AT THE SAME TIME ENSURE WE HAVE ALL THE EXPERTISE NEEDED, WHETHER IT'S REQUIRED BY THE FTA OR, BUT PRIMARILY ENSURE THAT WE DELIVER THE PROJECT, UH, IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE.
I JUST, THIS ISN'T A QUESTION, BUT, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF TIMES WHEN WE MAKE STATEMENTS, IT'S KIND OF A, A, A STATEMENT OF LIKE THE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE VALUES OF THE ORGANIZATION THAT WE AS THE BOARD WANT TO HELP ESTABLISH.
AND THERE'S, YOU KNOW, A FEW THINGS THAT Y'ALL HAVE SAID THAT I THINK RELATE TO THAT.
AND I WANNA, YOU KNOW, IN LARGE RESPECT, JUST, UM, RE REITERATE, YOU KNOW, UH, COMPLIMENT YOU ON PIECES OF IT AND THEN REITERATE IT.
ONE IS, YOU KNOW, YOU SAYING HOW IMPORTANT IT IS, YOU KNOW, CHAIR, UH, TO ENGAGE THE PRIVATE SECTOR, LIKE IT IS SO CRITICAL TO WORK COLLABORATIVELY WITH A PRIVATE SECTOR ON A PROJECT LIKE THIS.
THERE ARE GONNA BE SO MANY UNFORESEEN ASPECTS TO THIS PROJECT.
YOU KNOW, YOU CAN JUST START WITH UTILITIES AND WORK YOUR WAY DOWN.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, ALL, ALL OF US IN OUR SUNDRY ROLES HAVE BEEN IN THOSE PROJECTS WHERE YOU GET INTO A CONTENTIOUS RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR PARTNER THAT'S HELPING YOU DELIVER THIS.
AND MAN, IT IS HELLISH, YOU KNOW, THERE IS NOTHING WORSE WHEN Y'ALL START ARGUING OVER CHANGE ORDERS AND, YOU KNOW, THEY GET DISTRACTED.
VERSUS THOSE PROJECTS WHERE YOU'VE GOTTEN INTO, YOU KNOW, A GOOD CONSTRUCTIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR PARTNER.
IT, YOU KNOW, IT REALLY, LIKE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IT EARLY, BUT YOU CANNOT UNDERSTATE THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THAT BEING A GOOD RELATIONSHIP.
LIKE TALKING ABOUT IT NOW, IT'LL MANIFEST ITSELF IN, YOU KNOW, THE YEARS BETWEEN 2027 AND 2033.
HAVING THAT MINDSET WILL BE ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS WE WILL HAVE ESTABLISHED.
SO I JUST, YOU KNOW, AND LINDSAY, YOU SAID IN ONE OF OUR MEETINGS THAT LIKE, ONE OF THE THINGS YOU TOOK THE MOST PRIDE IN WAS HOW MUCH YOU ENGAGED YOU, YOU KNOW, Y'ALL AS A TEAM, THE PRIVATE SECTOR, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH REALLY CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK YOU'VE GOTTEN, AND YOU'VE REALLY SORT OF FOCUSED ON THAT.
SO THAT'S WHERE I WANT TO COMMEND YOU.
LIKE, I'M NOT JUST HERE TO SAY WE HAVE GREAT STAFF MINDLESSLY, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, BUT THIS IS AN AREA WHERE YOU'ALL HAVE REALLY MADE, LIKE, IT'S BEEN DIFFERENT.
AND I OBVIOUSLY VISIT WITH INDUSTRY FOLKS ON MY OWN, AND I HEAR IT BACK.
SO I WOULD JUST ENCOURAGE THAT ONGOING APPROACH TO WORKING WITH THEM.
NOW, WE DON'T WANNA BE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO DRIVE A HARD BARGAIN, BUT GOT NO PROBLEM WITH THEM MAKING A GOOD PROFIT, AND THEN GOING AROUND THE REST OF THE COUNTRY AND SAYING, LOOK HOW WELL WE WORKED WITH A TP.
AND THEY CALL US AND WE SAY, YEAH, AS A MATTER OF FACT, WHOEVER WAS A GREAT PARTNER IN DELIVERING THIS, AND IT'S WHY WE DID IT ON TIME AND ON BUDGET, WHICH I KNOW WE'RE GOING TO.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I JUST WANT TO, LIKE, THAT'S A STATEMENT IN TERMS OF, I THINK THESE ARE THE VALUES OF US AS AN ORGANIZATION.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE OBVIOUSLY ENGAGING THE LOCAL AUSTIN PUBLIC ABOUT THE PROJECT AND GETTING THEIR INPUT AND BEING RESPECTFUL AND INCORPORATING IT WHERE IT MAKES SENSE.
YOU KNOW, THE OTHER PIECE OF THAT IS ENGAGING THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND ENSURING THAT WHEN THEY COME ON BOARD, NOT ONLY HAVE WE PUT TOGETHER A CONTRACT THAT THEY, WE'VE HAD THEIR INPUT ON THE FRONT END, WHICH IS AWESOME, BY THE WAY.
LIKE, THAT'S NOT AN, THAT'S NOT SO TYPICAL, YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE Y'ALL ARE JUST KIND OF DESCRIBING IT AS THOUGH IT'S SOMETHING TYPICAL IT'S NOT.
AND THEN ENSURING THAT, AGAIN, WELL, WE'LL DAMN SURE, HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE, BUT IT'S FROM A PARTNER'S PERSPECTIVE, JUST LIKE, YOU KNOW, OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH CAPITAL METRO, OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN, YOU KNOW, OUR TWO MAIN PARTNERS ON THESE PROJECTS.
SO, UM, COMMEND YOU ON THAT, UM, CARRY IT FORWARD, AND WE WILL, WE, THE CITY OF AUSTIN, THE PROJECT ITSELF WILL REAP HUGE BENEFITS FROM YOU HAVING STARTED THIS WHOLE THING WITH THAT MINDSET AND SEEING IT THROUGH TO THE END.
THAT WAS, YOU KNOW, IT'S A CULTURAL SHIFT IN MANY WAYS THAT, AND, AND BECAUSE THERE'S SO MUCH RISK INVOLVED AND THERE IS SUCH A TANGIBLE FINANCIAL IMPACT TO IT, THAT EVERY DECISION REALLY MANIFESTS VERY PHYSICALLY IN VERY HIGH VALUE CAUSE.
AND THAT'S WHY IT'S, IT BECOMES VERY CONTENTIOUS IN MANY WAYS.
BUT I, I REALLY APPRECIATE THE, THE THOUGHTFULNESS IN WHICH YOU
[02:20:01]
SUMMARIZE THE VALUES OF THIS ORGANIZATION AS A WHOLE, THAT WE WANNA BE PART OF THE TEAM IN DELIVERING THIS.AND, AND SECOND, THE COMMENDING TO, TO ALL OF YOU.
AND I KNOW WE HAVE ANOTHER SEVEN SET OF SLIDES.
DO YOU ALL WANNA DO THE SAME THING, GO THROUGH THEM SEVEN AND THEN, UM, ASK QUESTIONS AGAIN? I KNOW WE'RE COMING TO THE END, SO GO FOR IT.
UM, SO WE, COMING OUT OF THE DELIVERY PARTNER CONVERSATION AND, AND BRAD UPDATED, UH, US ALL A LITTLE BIT ON, ON THE, ON-CALL, PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING AND PLANNING EFFORTS.
UH, WANNA MOVE TO THE, THE RIGHT SIDE OF THIS CONTRACTING FRAMEWORK AND INTO THOSE FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES FOR FINAL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION.
UH, WANT TO, UH, SORT OF LEVEL SET US ALL IN, UH, THE REMINDER THAT IT'S REALLY NOT ONE BIG CONTRACT.
THERE ARE SEPARATE ELEMENTS OF THIS PROGRAM, AND DIFFERENT TOOLS MAY BE RIGHT FOR THOSE DIFFERENT ELEMENTS.
SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT DELIVERY, UH, AND, AND DIFFERENT MODELS, WE'RE THINKING THAT THERE WILL BE DIFFERENT ANSWERS FOR DIFFERENT PIECES OF THE PIE.
YOU KNOW, THE, THE ADVANCED UTILITY RELOCATION MAY HAVE SOMETHING THAT IS A BETTER FIT FOR THE NATURE OF THAT EFFORT, UM, THAN FOR THE, THE COLLABORATIVE CONTRACTING THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT FOR SOME OF THE CIVIL SYSTEMS AND, AND LARGE ELEMENTS.
AND THEN WE'LL HAVE THE MAINTENANCE FACILITY AND, AND LIGHT RAIL VEHICLES AS WELL.
UH, WE DO HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL ON EACH OF THESE.
IT WAS JUST A LOT OF WORDS TO PUT IN A SLIDE, BUT HAVE A, A LITTLE SCREENSHOT THERE AS A REMINDER THAT ON OUR WEBSITE, WE HAVE THE SCOPE ELEMENTS IN EACH OF THESE BUCKETS OUTLINED FOR ADDITIONAL CLARITY.
SO THE QUESTIONS WE ASK OURSELVES TO START THIS, UH, EVALUATION AND, AND CONVERSATION, UH, GENERALLY FALL IN, IN THESE BUCKETS NOTED, NOTED HERE.
BUNDLING MEANING WHAT PIECES OF THE OVERALL PROJECT SHOULD BE TOGETHER VERSUS SEPARATE, UH, THE CONTRACTING.
WHAT DELIVERY METHOD IS APPROPRIATE TO EACH OF THOSE PIECES? AND WHAT IS THE ROLE OF, OF US AND, AND OUR OWNER SIDE TEAM VERSUS THE, THE CONTRACTORS AND, AND DESIGNERS THAT WOULD BE ADVANCING THAT WORK.
AND, AND BEING VERY THOUGHTFUL ABOUT THINGS LIKE, WHERE DOES RISK LIE? WHO CAN BEST MANAGE IT UNDER ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT MODELS? UH, AND THEN THINKING ABOUT HOW DO WE BRING ON THE RIGHT TEAMS? SO I COULDN'T AGREE WITH YOU A MORE BOARD MEMBER THAT IT, YES, CONTRACTS ARE IMPORTANT AND YES, WE WILL ENFORCE THEM, BUT PEOPLE AND RELATIONSHIPS MATTER SO MUCH TO OUR SUCCESS HERE.
AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, UH, SELECTING AND EVALUATING TEAMS TO BRING US THE RIGHT PEOPLE THAT ARE BEST FOR THE OUTCOMES WE ARE HERE TO ACHIEVE ON THE PROJECT.
SO A LITTLE BIT OF A, A DEEP DIVE INTO THE DIFFERENT DELIVERY METHODS THAT WE ARE, ARE WORKING THROUGH.
UH, SO I'LL, I'LL QUICKLY HIT ON, ON KIND OF THE, THE 1 0 1 ASPECT OF THIS DESIGN BID BUILD, THAT THAT'S THE TRADITIONAL MODEL THAT MANY ARE USED TO, UH, TAKE IT TO FULL DESIGN, THEN YOU ISSUE FOR BID FOR DIFFERENT CONTRACTORS, UM, TO, TO COME IN AND BID ON THAT WORK AND, AND THEN CONSTRUCT IT.
THE OTHER THREE NOTED HERE ARE REALLY ALL VERSIONS OF ALTERNATIVE DELIVERY MODELS.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT UNDER STATE LAW, THAT'S KIND OF HOW IT'S VIEWED, NOT KIND OF, BUT HOW IT'S VIEWED AS WELL IN TEXAS, AND PARTICULARLY THE STATE LAWS THAT GOVERN OUR DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS UNDER CHAPTER 4 31 AND THE TRANSPORTATION CODE.
SO WE WILL COME BACK TO YOU GUYS IN THE FUTURE YEARS WHERE YOU'LL SEE US MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE COMPLYING WITH THOSE LAWS AND SETTING UP THE VISION FOR HOW WE'LL DELIVER THESE PROJECTS FOR EACH OF THE ELEMENTS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT, UM, AND THE PARTICULAR MODELS THAT WE THINK ARE MOST APPROPRIATE.
SO I JUST WANNA CHIME IN THERE AND WE'LL,
UH, AND THE, THE DESIGN BUILD BEING THE MODEL WHERE YOU TAKE SOMETHING TO, UM, SOME LEVEL OF PRELIMINARY DESIGN AND, AND THEN, UH, THE, THE CONTRACTOR'S BID ON THAT ELEMENT.
UH, CAN CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT RISK, OR A, AS WELL AS PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD, UH, BOTH BRING THE CONTRACTOR IN EARLY DURING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE EARLY DESIGN.
SO THAT'S A KEY DIFFERENCE THERE.
AND, AND MAYBE I'LL NOTE ON EACH OF THESE THAT, AND WE CAN KIND OF TALK THROUGH SOME OF THE CONSIDERATIONS AS IT RELATES TO OUR PROJECT.
UH, YOU KNOW, DESIGN BUILD OVER TIME USED TO BE GREAT AND WAS USED
[02:25:01]
ALL THE TIME, AND IT WORKED WELL.THE NATURE OF THE MARKET HAS, HAS JUST SHIFTED.
COMPLEX COMPLEXITY OF PROJECTS HAS INCREASED.
THE PROJECTS ARE BIGGER, THEY CARRY HIGHER RISKS AND BRINGING THEM TO FULL DESIGN WITHOUT ANY INVOLVEMENT OF THE CONTRACTOR.
UH, THOSE RISKS HAVE PLAYED OUT IN SUBSTANTIAL CHANGE ORDERS OCCURRING AFTER YOU BRING THE, THE CONTRACTORS ON BOARD.
BUT WE THINK IT COULD BE RIGHT FOR SOME SMALLER ELEMENTS OF THE PROJECT, MAYBE SOME EARLY WORKS UTILITIES, THINGS THAT WE WANT TO FULLY DE-RISK FROM A DESIGN STANDPOINT, UH, BUT NOT FOR THE REALLY, REALLY BIG COMPLEX, UM, PIECES.
AND THEN DESIGN, JUST TO NOTE, THAT'S ALSO WHAT WE'VE HEARD BACK FROM THE INDUSTRY AS WELL, IS THEIR APPETITE FOR DESIGN BUILD PROJECT ON THE MORE BIGGER COMPLEX PART OF THIS PROJECT IS REALLY SMALL.
AND WE'RE STARTING TO SEE THAT REALLY INDUSTRY WIDE AS WELL.
THAT DESIGN BUILD FOR MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR PROJECTS IS REALLY SCARY FOR THEM BECAUSE THEY'VE TAKEN ON ALL OF THAT RISK AND IT'S COME BACK TO HURT THEM IN CERTAIN WAYS WHERE THEY HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO NEGOTIATE OUT OF THAT THROUGH CHANGE ORDERS.
UM, SO IT'S JUST BRINGING BACK THE INDUSTRY FEEDBACK AND MAKING THESE DECISIONS IS IMPORTANT IN HOW WE LOOK AT IT, WHICH IS A GREAT TRANSITION TO THE NEXT ONE.
YES,
AND THE, OUR ABILITY TO HAVE OPEN COMPETITION IS SIGNIFICANTLY HINDERED UNDER THAT MODEL BECAUSE CONTRACTORS, WHEN BIDDING ON SOMETHING AT SAY, 30% DESIGN, UH, THEY ARE PRICING A LOT OF RISK INTO THOSE JOBS.
AND, AND EVEN AFTER PRICING A LOT OF RISK INTO THOSE JOBS, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE SEEING TRENDS ACROSS THE COUNTRY WHERE THERE ARE STILL MAJOR CHANGES AND, AND CLAIMS RESULTING OUT OF THOSE PROCESSES.
UH, SO THAT BRINGS US TO THE BOTTOM TWO THERE.
AND, AND THOSE ARE, AS I MENTIONED, UM, VARIATIONS WHERE WE'RE BRINGING THE CONTRACTOR IN EARLY TO BE PART OF THE DESIGN DEVELOPMENT, UH, AND REALLY HELP DE-RISK THE PROJECT.
UH, I'M GONNA USE THE, THE BIGGEST PIECE OF THE PROJECT TO TALK ABOUT THOSE COLLABORATIVE METHODS HERE.
SO, UH, AS WE MOVE INTO THE CONVERSATION OF COLLABORATIVE CONTRACTING, I, I'M MOSTLY TALKING ABOUT THE MAJOR PACKAGES OF, YOU KNOW, CIVIL STATIONS, THE TRANSIT WAY, ALL OF THE, THE LIGHT RAIL ELEMENTS AND, AND SYSTEMS HERE, KNOWING THAT OTHER TOOLS MIGHT BE MORE APPLICABLE TO SOME OTHER PIECES OF THE PROJECT.
SO I, WE START WITH CASEY, JUST A LITTLE OVERVIEW.
YEAH, NO, JUST FOR CLARITY ON THAT LAST SLIDE.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, ONE THING WE'VE SAID BEFORE IS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TRYING TO KIND OF MINI MINIMIZE THE INTERFACE RISK ON THESE, ON THESE PROJECTS.
AND SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THOSE ELEMENTS, WE'RE, WE'RE TESTING THE MARKET FOR WHETHER WE CAN COMBINE ALL OF THOSE ELEMENTS INTO ONE VERY LARGE CONTRACT.
I MEAN, JUST TO BE STRAIGHTFORWARD.
SO THAT'S WHY COLLABORATIVE LOOKS LIKE A GREAT, LOOKS LIKE THE WAY THAT WE WANNA GO AND WHAT INDUSTRY IS TELLING US IS BECAUSE OF THE SIZE OF THAT CONTRACT.
BUT, BUT THEN YOU HAVE ONE ORGANIZATION THAT'S RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING SURE THAT ALL THOSE PIECES TALK TO ONE ANOTHER, AND THAT HELPS US STAY ON BUDGET
SO IT, IT IS A, IT'S A LARGE, UM, ELEMENT, A LARGE CONTRACT, AND MAYBE WE TALK THROUGH THE DIFFERENT PHASES OF COLLABORATIVE CONTRACTING.
UH, THE, THE EARLY PHASE BEING THE SELECTION PROCESS AND MAKING SURE THAT WE TAILOR THAT FROM A, A PROCUREMENT APPROACH STANDPOINT TO SELECT THE RIGHT TEAM THAT'S ALIGNED WITH COLLABORATIVE DELIVERY PHILOSOPHY.
THOSE ARE NOT THE SAME PEOPLE ACROSS ALL DIFFERENT DELIVERY MODES.
AND, AND THOSE SKILLS AND STRENGTHS ARE, ARE NOT ALWAYS TRANSLATABLE FROM, UM, SOMEONE THAT'S BEEN DOING ONE MODEL FOR A VERY LONG TIME INTO A DIFFERENT MODEL AND MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE VERY THOUGHTFUL ABOUT HOW WE SELECT THE TEAM THAT, UH, WILL BE SUCCESSFUL UNDER THIS MODEL.
UH, THE NEXT PHASE BEING, UH, CALL IT THE PRECON PHASE OR BASICALLY THE, THE DESIGN BEFORE YOU GET TO YOUR FINAL, UH, PRICE NEGOTIATION.
AND YOU MENTIONED CASEY A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE SIZE OF THESE PROJECTS.
WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THIS PROBABLY NOT AS ONE PRICE, BUT AS MULTIPLE PACKAGES OF ELEMENTS.
IT'S NOT GETTING TO ONE GUARANTEED MAX PRICE.
WE'LL LIKELY HAVE ROLLING GMPS, THERE'S EARLY WORKS PACKAGES, THERE CAN BE SYSTEMS PACKAGES, WILL, UH, WITH THE INPUT OF A CONTRACTOR REALLY BE ABLE TO THINK ABOUT HOW
[02:30:01]
TO BREAK THIS UP AND, AND ALSO, UH, BUILD THAT, UH, PHASING AND SEQUENCING APPROACH INTO THE DESIGN AND PLANNING OF THE PROJECT FROM THE EARLY STAGES.AND IT'S REALLY VALUABLE TO HAVE THE CONTRACTOR PERSPECTIVE FROM A CONSTRUCTABILITY AND ALIGNING THE PROJECT SCOPE WITH COST EARLY IN DESIGN.
UH, AS, AS AN ENGINEER, I, I ADMIT, ENGINEERS ARE NOT THE BEST AT COST.
UH, WE, WE DON'T THINK ABOUT IT IN THE SAME WAY THAT CONTRACTORS DO.
AND BRINGING THAT PERSPECTIVE AND EXPERTISE AND TRULY UNDERSTANDING THE COST EARLY IN DESIGN, UH, IS A KEY ELEMENT TO OUR SUCCESS AND OUR, OUR APPROACH HERE.
AND THEN THE LAST PHASE, THE, THE CONSTRUCTION PHASE OF BRINGING THINGS THROUGH FINAL DESIGN AND, AND PERMITTING HERE, UH, OH, OFF RAMP.
SO YOU DO, IN THIS MODEL, YOU NEGOTIATE PRICE.
UH, IT'S NOT A ONE-TIME PRICE, IT'S PRICE OF DIFFERENT ELEMENTS.
UH, BUT ADD A PHASE THAT'S NOT QUITE A FINAL DESIGN.
AND SO THERE IS AN OFF RAMP A, A CHOICE THAT SHOULD YOU NOT COME TO TERMS ON THAT PRICE, YOU CAN OFF RAMP THE CONTRACTOR AND SELECT TO PROCURE THE CONSTRUCTION AND, AND FINISH THAT DESIGN, UM, AND PROCURE THE CONSTRUCTION IN A DIFFERENT WAY.
UM, IF, IF YOU DON'T, UH, IF YOU DON'T HAVE A MEETING OF THE MINDS, UM, OR IF SOMEONE IS SELECTED AND AT SOME POINT IN THE PROJECT THEY DETERMINE THEY CANNOT PARTICIPATE, HOW DO YOU REPLACE THEM? WHAT IS THE PRO WHAT IS YOUR SUBSTITUTION PROCESS LOOK LIKE FROM A CONTRACTING STANDPOINT? YEAH, DEFINITELY.
SO THROUGH THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS, YOU USUALLY LEAVE OPEN A PERIOD OF TIME IF THERE'S AN ISSUE EARLY ON IN THE PROJECT TO BE ABLE TO SWITCH TO THE NEXT HIGHEST, MOST QUALIFIED FIRM.
UM, IF IT'S LATER ON IN THE PROJECT AND YOU COME TO AN ISSUE THAT'S INSURMOUNTABLE OR THEY WANT TO QUIT THE PROJECT, UH, WE WOULD HAVE TO GO THROUGH ANOTHER RE-PROCUREMENT OF, OF THE PROJECT.
BUT THERE ARE CONTRACTUAL PROVISIONS IN THERE THAT HOLD THAT CONTRACTOR LIABLE FOR ANY ADDITIONAL COSTS THAT THE AGENCY WOULD HAVE TO EXPEND IN ORDER TO RES SOLICIT, HIRE A NEW CONTRACTOR WHO MAY BE MORE EXPENSIVE, UM, BECAUSE THEY'RE THE PARTY THAT'S LIABLE FOR THOSE ISSUES.
SO, UM, YOU, YOU KIND OF HOLD A CARROT IN A STICK IN CERTAIN WAYS TO KEEP A CONTRACTOR ON BOARD, UM, IN, IN, IN THAT REGARD.
BUT THE LIKELIHOOD OF, UH, SOMEONE LEAVING A PROJECT, UM, IS REALLY LOW, UM, ON THESE TYPE OF PROJECTS BECAUSE THEY'VE INVESTED SO MUCH TIME, MONEY, AND EFFORT TO GET THE CONTRACT IN THE FIRST PLACE.
AND THEN TO CONTINUE ON THE LIFE OF THE PROJECT, THE, THE LIKELIHOOD OF SOMEONE LEAVING IT IS SMALL, BUT IT'S A RISK THAT WE PUT INTO PLACE THROUGH CONTRACTUAL TERMS TO, TO HELP MITIGATE AND MANAGE.
LET, LET ME JUST GO AHEAD AND SAY IT.
UM, I, I'M MORE CONCERNED ABOUT PRESSURE FROM THE PRIME TO PUSH OUT THE SUB THAN I AM SUB LEAVING THE PRIME.
THAT'S, UH, NOW THAT I UNDERSTAND THAT, UM, WE HAVE A SAY IN, UM, REMOVAL, UH, REMOVAL OF KEY PERSONNEL AND CERTAIN SUBCONTRACTORS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THOSE KEY PERSONNEL AND REPLACEMENT.
UM, SO IF THERE IS A PRIME THAT, OR A SUBCONTRACTOR THAT IS A DBE THAT GETS REPLACED, THEY HAVE TO REPLACE IT WITH A EQUALLY QUALIFIED DBE.
THEY HAVE TO MAINTAIN THEIR GOALS AND HIT THEIR GOALS, AND WE'LL HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE TO ACHIEVING THOSE GOALS.
BUT WE'LL HAVE, UM, SOME SAY IN THAT PROCESS, WE'RE NOT GOING TO DICTATE TO THE COMPANY EVERY ASPECT OF HOW THEY MANAGE AND DELIVER THE PROJECT, BUT WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, A, A SAY IN IN THAT PROCESS AS WELL.
SO BEFORE I, I TALK ABOUT THE, THE NUANCE BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF, OF COLLABORATIVE DELIVERY MODELS.
I WANNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THIS RIGHT NOW? UH, WE MENTIONED WE'RE NOT COMING TO A DECISION TODAY.
WE'RE, WE'RE NOT MAKING ANY SORT OF FINAL RECOMMENDATION, BUT IT IS IMPORTANT FOR US TO CONTINUE HAVING THE CONVERSATION, UH, IN PART TO SIGNAL TO INDUSTRY THE TYPE OF EXPERTISE THEY NEED TO BRING TO THE TABLE AS PART OF THEIR TEAMS. SO IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THEY KNOW WE ARE STRONGLY CONSIDERING A PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD MODEL THAT'S A, A UNIQUE MECHANISM WITH, UM, UNIQUE EXPERIENCE AND EXPERTISE THAT, THAT WE WOULD WANT TO BE PRESENT.
UH, AND, AND SIMILARLY WITH, WITH CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT RISK, THERE'S SOME DIFFERENT RELATIONSHIPS THERE OF, OF HOW WE WORK WITH THOSE TEAMS BETWEEN THAT AND THE PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD OR PDB MODELS.
[02:35:01]
YOU SEE THE CMAR, AGAIN, CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT RISK.YOU BRING THE CONTRACTOR ON EARLY, DURING EARLIER STAGES OF DESIGN BEFORE YOU WERE NEGOTIATING A, A FINAL PRICE.
BUT IN THIS ONE, THE DESIGNER ACTUALLY IS CONTRACTED TO US AS THE OWNER.
UH, WHEREAS IN THE PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD MODEL, THE DESIGNER IS CONTRACTED TO THE CONTRACTOR OR THE DESIGN BUILDER.
WE STILL ARE ENGAGED IN THE DESIGN THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT, BUT IT'S, IT'S A DIFFERENT CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIP.
ONE HAS A THOU SHALT COORDINATE CLAUSE TO IT WHERE YOU HAVE THAT SORT OF DASH LINE RELATIONSHIP UP HERE.
AND THE OTHER IS A DIRECT CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIP.
AND THERE ARE SOME NOTABLE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THAT.
AND I, THE, THE BIG DIFFERENCE IS, IS WHERE THE RISK IS HELD IN A CMAR, UH, SITUATION, AND THE OWNER TAKES ON A LOT OF THAT RISK TO COORDINATE AND, AND HAVE THE COORDINATION HAPPEN BETWEEN THE DESIGNER AND THE CONTRACTOR.
UM, AND A PROGRESSIVE DESIGN AND BUILD SITUATION.
THE RISK IS MORE SHARED, UM, BETWEEN THE OWNER AND THE DESIGN BUILDER ON THE PROJECT.
UM, BECAUSE THEY TAKE ON A LOT OF THAT RESPONSIBILITY TO HAVE, UM, THE COORDINATION HAPPEN INTERNALLY WITH IN THEMSELVES.
SO THAT PROBABLY ONE OF THE BIGGER DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO IS JUST KIND OF WHERE THAT RISK IS ASSOCIATED.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, AS WE LOOK AT WHAT MODELS TO GO WITH THE, THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'LL MAKE SURE WE EVALUATE AND TAKE ON.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE APPROPRIATE RISK FOR THE PROJECT AND THE EXPERTISE ON OUR SIDE NEEDED TO MANAGE THAT RISK IS DIFFERENT FOR THESE MODELS.
ON, ON ONE SIDE, WE'RE MORE DIRECTLY MANAGING THE DESIGN ON THE OTHER SIDE, WE ARE DIRECTLY MANAGING, UM, A LOT OF COMMERCIAL TERMS THERE.
THERE'S OPEN BOOK COSTING AND, AND HAVING THE RIGHT EXPERTISE TO BE ABLE TO FULLY DIVE INTO ALL OF OF THOSE DETAILS.
UH, THAT'S PROBABLY THE, MAYBE THE NUMBER ONE THING.
I DON'T KNOW, STEVE, YOU COULD DISAGREE THAT I THINK WE'VE HEARD WHEN WE'VE, UH, BOTH FROM INDUSTRY AND OUR PEER AGENCIES OVER AND OVER AGAIN, THAT WE HAVE TO ALIGN OUR EXPERTISE ON THE OWNER'S SIDE WITH THESE MODELS.
YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE RIGHT PEOPLE TO DELIVER EITHER OF THESE MODELS.
AND AND I THINK WE'VE HEARD THAT ALMOST UNIVERSALLY THROUGHOUT OUR LISTENING SESSIONS.
IT'S, IT, YOU NEED A COHESIVE TEAM IN, OR A COHESIVE TEAM THAT MATCHES WHAT YOU'RE ASKING THEM TO DELIVER TO YOU.
AND YOU MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE FOLKS ON YOUR TEAM TO BE ABLE TO INTERACT WITH THAT AND BE A CORE OR A COHESIVE, UM, TEAM TO ACTUALLY ABLE TO DELIVER IT TIME AND TIME AGAIN.
EVERY PEER AGENCY, EVERY INDUSTRY, UM, GROUP WE TALKED TO SAID THE SAME THING.
I WOULD JUST SAY THAT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO TIE IT BACK TO THE DELIVERY PARTNER.
'CAUSE WE'RE THINKING ABOUT THIS, RIGHT? LIKE LINDSAY SAID, WE'RE SIGNALING TO INDUSTRY THAT WE'RE CONSIDERING A PDB MODEL, WHICH, YOU KNOW, UM, IS A LITTLE BIT LESS COMMON IN THE US BUT IT'S STILL HAPPENING.
AND SO WE'RE, WE'RE THINKING ABOUT THAT.
SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE, WHILE THE DELIVERY PARTNER WILL HELP VALIDATE AND CONFIRM THE MODEL THAT WE CHOOSE, THAT WE'VE GOT THE EXPERTISE SO THAT WHEN WE GO INTO THAT CONSTRUCTION PHASE, WE'VE GOT THE RIGHT PEOPLE WHO CAN GO INTO THE COSTING AND THEN CAN, CAN GO TO TOE TO TOE WITH A CONTRACTOR.
UM, SO THAT LEAVES US, WOULD Y'ALL MIND IF WE ASK SOME QUESTIONS NOW ABOUT THIS? 'CAUSE THIS SHIFTS TO A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT THING THAT I KNOW YOU CAN RUN THROUGH QUICKLY, BUT IT'S KIND OF AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT THING THAN WHAT WE'VE JUST BEEN TALKING ABOUT.
UM, HEY, IF WE COULD GO BACK TO THE SLIDE THAT'S, UM, YOU KNOW, THE CONTRACTING FRAMEWORK AND FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES WITH THE OWNER SUPPORT AND THE FINAL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCT.
UM, SO JUST TO BE CLEAR, LIKE WE, WE MIGHT DO A DESIGN BID BUILD OR A DESIGN BUILD, SOME TYPE OF DIFFERENT CONTRACTING METHOD FOR THE ADVANCED UTILITY RELOCATION.
UM, AND THEN MIGHT BE THE SAME FOR THE MAINTENANCE FACILITY.
SO REALLY THE COLLABORATIVE PIECE IS JUST THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, MORE OF THE ACTUAL CONTRACTING OF THE BUILDING OF THE SYSTEM ITSELF GENERALLY, YES.
UH, I WOULD SAY THE, THE MAINTENANCE FACILITY WE'RE, WE'RE STILL EVALUATING THAT ONE.
THERE, THERE COULD BE A REASON TO CONSIDER CMAR ON THAT.
[02:40:01]
THINKING ABOUT DESIGN BUILD, UH, THAT ONE'S A, IT COULD BE A NUMBER OF THINGS AND WE, WE HAVEN'T REACHED ANY ELEMENT OF DECISION ON THAT POINT BEING, WE MAY TAKE A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO EACH OF THESE VARIOUS ONES BASED ON WHAT'S THE MOST EFFECTIVE MEANS OF DELIVERING CORRECT.THAT PIECE OF THE PROJECT, BUT ALMOST FOR SURE THAT BIGGEST PIECE, UM, WOULD BE ONE OF THESE TWO COLLABORATIVE METHODS.
THEN IF WE COULD GO TO THE EVALUATION OF THE CONTRACTING MODEL.
SO I JUST WANT TO LIKE AT ONE IN ONE PLACE, WALK THROUGH THESE AND MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND THESE DIFFERENT DELIVERY METHODS.
SO DESIGN, BID BUILD VERY TYPICAL, LIKE YOUR TEXT DOT PROJECT.
THE AGENCY WOULD HIRE AN ENGINEERING FIRM, DESIGN THE ENTIRETY OF THE PROJECT, THEN PUT OUT AN RFP FOR A CONTRACTOR THAT WOULD TAKE THAT SET OF ENGINEERING DESIGNS AND SAY, HERE'S HOW MUCH IT'S GONNA TAKE US TO BUILD THAT THING.
SO EVERY DESIGN BUILD IS DIFFERENT, UH, BUT GENERALLY A RULE OF THUMB IS USUALLY AROUND 30%.
SO THE AGENCY ITSELF WILL 30% OF THE DESIGN WORK AND THEN GO OUT TO THE CONTRACTING ENGINEERING WORLD AND SAY, YOU GUYS COME TOGETHER WITH A SINGLE TEAM AND A CONTRACTOR WILL PARTNER WITH AN ENGINEERING FIRM TO FINISH THE REMAINING 70% AND THEN BUILD THE THING.
SO THEY, UH, CONTRACTOR WILL, YOU KNOW, GET A CONTRACT BETWEEN THEM AND AN ENGINEERING FIRM AND COME AND PUT FORWARD A SINGLE BID ON THE REMAINING 70% OF ENGINEERING AND THE FINAL CONSTRUCTION OF THE PROJECT.
AND, UH, IT, IT TYPICALLY DOESN'T GO FROM LIKE 30% TO A HUNDRED, AND THEN YOU BUILD IT, THE, THE CONSTRUCTION STARTS TO OVERLAP WITH DESIGN AND BREAKING IT UP INTO LOTS OF DIFFERENT PIECES, WHICH IS ONE OF THE ADVANTAGES.
LIKE THEY MAY GET TO 40% DESIGN WORK, AND GUESS WHAT? YOU CAN START MOVING DIRT OR ACQUIRING RIGHT OF WAY AT THAT POINT.
AND THAT IS ONE OF THE LIKE BIG ADVANTAGES OF DESIGN BUILD.
THE OTHER BEING THAT THE CONTRACTOR HAS INPUT TO THE CONSTRUCTABILITY OF THE DESIGN WORK BEING DONE BY THE ENGINEERING TEAM, WHICH YOU ACKNOWLEDGE Y'ALL AREN'T NECESSARILY GREAT AT.
UH, AND SCHEDULING IS ONE OF THE BIGGER ADVANTAGES WITH THE DESIGN BUILD PROJECT.
NOT ONLY ARE YOU ONLY DOING ONE PROCUREMENT IN A SHORTER PERIOD OF TIME, BUT YOU DO HAVE THAT INVOLVEMENT BETWEEN IVENESS, BETWEEN THE DESIGNER AND THE BUILDER WHO CAN PHASE OUT DIFFERENT PRO ASPECTS OF THE PROJECT TO EXPEDITE IT.
UM, SO LIKE YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, YOU CAN PUT, YOU CAN DESIGN WHILE CONSTRUCTING AT THE SAME TIME AT DIFFERENT PARTS.
THE SEQUENCING CAN BE A, A GREAT BENEFIT TO THAT COLLABORATION.
AGAIN, ONE OF THE BIGGEST CONS OF DESIGN BUILT IS YOU'RE GETTING A PRICE, A GUARANTEED MAXIMUM PRICE UPFRONT WHEN YOU DO THAT SOLICITATION.
SO THEY'RE GIVING YOU AN ESTIMATED PRICE FOR DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION AT THAT LIMITED LEVEL OF DESIGN.
SO THEY BUILD IN ALL OF THE RISK ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.
AND THEN AGAIN, WHAT WE'VE SEEN, UM, ON PROJECT AFTER PROJECT IN THIS COUNTRY ON DESIGN BUILD PROJECTS, THAT THAT LEVEL OF RISK HAS NOT BEEN ENOUGH AND IT'S BEEN CHANGE ORDERED, UM, OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN TO ACCOMMODATE THAT.
AND JUST TO BE CLEAR, FOR THE PUBLIC'S PERSPECTIVE, THIS IS GREAT, AND I KNOW Y'ALL HAVE SAID THIS IN KIND OF VARIOUS PIECES, AND I JUST WANT TO KIND OF WALK THROUGH ONE BY ONE BECAUSE KNOWING HOW IMPORTANT A DECISION THIS IS FOR US, UM, THAT, UH, THE, THE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMUNITY THAT Y'ALL HAVE BEEN, UM, ADMIRABLY, ENGAGED WITH TO DATE HAVE SAID A PROJECT OF THIS COMPLEXITY WHERE YOU'RE TALKING, WHAT'S OUR CIVIL BID OF THIS IS WHAT, LIKE THREE PLUS BILLION DOLLARS, YOU KNOW, IN THAT BREAKDOWN OF ALL OF OUR COSTS OF 7.1 AND BUILDING AN URBAN RAIL SYSTEM IN A HIGHLY DENSE DOWNTOWN ENVIRONMENT, DRIVEWAYS COMING AND GOING, TRAFFIC, RELOCATION, ALL OF THAT TYPE STUFF.
THEY SAID WE WOULDN'T EVEN COME FORWARD.
IT'S LIKE IF YOU ONLY PUT OUT 30% ENGINEERING AND YOU ASK US FOR A PRICE, LIKE WE WON'T EVEN, LIKE, WE COULD JUST, YOU KNOW, ESTIMATE THE RISK ASSOCIATED WITH ALL THE THINGS WE DON'T KNOW AT THAT LOW LEVEL, BUT WE WON'T EVEN DO IT.
LIKE WE, WE WON'T EVEN PRICE IT.
LIKE WE DON'T WANT A PART OF THAT.
AND UH, AS MUCH AS I LOVE OUR PROJECT, I HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT WE ARE NOT THE ONLY PROJECT IN
[02:45:01]
THE COUNTRY.THERE ARE OTHER BIG OPPORTUNITIES SO THEY CAN WALK AWAY.
THERE IS A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY OUT THERE.
NO, I BELIEVE BRIDGE PROJECT
UM, SO WE ARE, SO THAT MOVES US INTO ONE OF THE TWO COLLABORATIVE APPROACHES.
UH, IT IT BENEFITS US AND IT BENEFITS THE INDUSTRY, YOU KNOW, BENEFITS US, REALLY BENEFITS THE PROJECT, UM, AND, AND THE INDUSTRY.
SO CMAR, IF YOU LOOK AT, IF YOU GO TO YOUR SLIDE EVALUATION OF CMAR VERSUS PDB, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND THIS, AND I HOPE BY THE WAY, WE HAVE A CHANCE TO RETURN TO THIS BEFORE WE GET, BEFORE YOU REACH YOUR FINAL DECISION.
I, I GOT THE IMPRESSION YOU'RE LEANING TOWARDS PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD BY THINGS YOU ALL HAVE SAID.
I JUST WANNA BE CLEAR, WE'RE STRONGLY CONSIDERING IT AND THAT CONSIDERATION, UH, IT NEEDS A LOT OF DUE DILIGENCE BECAUSE IT IS NOT AS COMMON AS CMAR.
SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT BOTH OUR DELIVERY PARTNER TEAM, YOU KNOW, IN ABSENCE OF THAT DECISION RIGHT HERE IN THIS MOMENT, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THEY BRING THAT EXPERIENCE ON BOTH TO HELP VALIDATE THAT FINAL DECISION MAKING.
THEY, THEY REALLY CAN'T PROVIDE INPUT INTO SOMETHING THEY HAVE NO BACKGROUND DELIVERING IN.
AND SHOULD WE END UP ON THAT PATH, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE, WE HAVE A, A BENCH OF, OF EXPERTISE APPLICABLE TO THAT MODEL.
UH, BUT WE ARE NOT MAKING A DECISION NOW ON THAT.
SO WE'RE GONNA BRING, WE'RE WE'RE ABOUT READY TO, YOU'RE GONNA COME FORWARD WITH, UM, A PREFERRED PARTNER FOR OUR ON CALL DESIGN GROUP.
TAKES US TO PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING, AND THEN THAT WOULD TRANSITION TO, UM, EITHER OF THESE MODELS OKAY.
SO THAT'S WHAT IT FROM PRELIMINARY THROUGH FINAL.
SO THAT'S WHAT I, I WANNA MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND.
SO WE'VE GOT A BID OUT NOW FOR ONCALL ENGINEERING FIRMS AND THEY WILL TAKE US TO WHAT DEGREE, WHAT PERCENT OF DESIGN.
AND I KNOW IT'S AN INEX EXACT SCIENCE, BUT SURE.
SO THEY'LL TAKE US TO THE POINT THAT, UH, IN THE SLIDE JEN PRESENTED EARLIER IN OUR SCHEDULE WHEN WE ENTER ENGINEERING FOR THE FEDERAL PROCESS YEP.
AND THE, THE CAPITAL INVESTMENT GRANTS AND, UM, NEW STARTS FUNDING.
THAT, UH, IS GENERALLY, UH, HISTORICALLY AROUND 30%, BUT IT'S, IT'S DIFFERENT FOR EACH ELEMENT OF THE PROJECT.
SO SOME PARTS MAY GO TO 10 OR 15, OTHERS MIGHT GO TO 30 TO 40.
AND I'M WORKING AT A HIGHER LEVEL THAN THAT RIGHT NOW TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND IT, BUT IT'S BALLPARK, THEY'RE GONNA GET US TO 30% ISH DIFFERENT ISH.
UM, BUT WHAT, BUT WHAT THAT, AND THEN WE'RE GONNA HAVE THE UH, UH, PMCM TEAM, THE DELIVERY PARTNER THAT'S GONNA COURT SORT OF OVERSEE THIS WHOLE PROCESS.
THEY AREN'T GONNA DO THE DESIGN WORK.
THEY'RE GONNA BE, YOU KNOW, OUR EXPERTISE ON ALL THE VARIOUS PIECES.
SO WE'VE GOT OUR ON-CALL GROUP GONNA GET US TO ROUGHLY 30%, GET US TO THE POINT WHERE WE ARE PREPARED TO GO OUT TO, UH, EITHER TAKE ON A CM AT RISK OR A PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD TEAM.
SO THEY'RE GONNA BE PRESENTED WITH THAT DEGREE OF ENGINEERING.
UH, ROUGHLY 30% WILL BE HAD FOR THEM TO EVALUATE THE PROJECT.
SO THERE, WE STILL NEED TO GO THROUGH A PROCESS OF THINKING THROUGH THE BEST PROCUREMENT APPROACH DEPENDING ON THE MODEL.
SO AS PART OF, UM, I'LL PICK PDB FOR A MINUTE.
ONE OF THE ADVANTAGES OF THAT MODEL IS THE DESIGN INNOVATION THAT A CONTRACTOR AND DESIGNER KIND OF INTEGRATED TEAM CAN BRING.
SO WE HAVE TO THINK THROUGH HOW MUCH OF THE DESIGN AND HOW PRESCRIPTIVE DO WE WANT TO BE YEAH.
OR WE START TO UNDERMINE THE VALUE AND BENEFIT OF THAT MODEL.
UH, SO I WOULD SAY WE HAVE NOT YET, WE KIND OF NEED TO KNOW THIS DECISION BEFORE WE KNOW WHAT LEVEL OF DESIGN WE WANT TO HAND THEM BECAUSE IT SHOULD MATCH.
SO IS THERE, ALRIGHT, SO THAT'S A GOOD SEGUE TO, AND, BUT I WOULD JUST ADD THOUGH, THAT WE NEED TO HAVE THAT DESIGN LEVEL OF DESIGN TO HAVE THE CERTAINTY AROUND THE COST OF THE PROJECT AND NOT TO LOCK IN THAT FEDERAL SHARE AT ENTRY TO ENGINEERING.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO HAVE THESE T THAT'S DIFFERENT THING, TWO DIFFERENT THINGS.
THAT'S A DIFFERENT OBJECTIVE THAT WE NEED TO ACHIEVE.
WITH OUR ON-CALL TEAM IS HAVE A CERTAIN, UH, COMFORT LEVEL
[02:50:01]
WITH THE OVERALL COST BECAUSE THE FEDS ARE GONNA TAKE THAT AND SAY, WE'LL DO A PERCENT OF YOUR ESTIMATED COST, BUT YOUR ESTIMATED COST, LIKE WE'LL DO IT, IT IS A PERCENT, BUT IT'S A FIXED NUMBER.LIKE ONCE WE, YOU KNOW, IF YOU BLOW YOUR BUDGET, THIS ALL YOU GET FROM US IN DOLLAR TERMS, IT WAS 50%.
IF YOU BLOW YOUR BUDGET, IT'S ONLY 30%.
THAT'S YOUR PROBLEM, NOT OURS.
YOU KNOW, I THINK WHAT THAT IS IS THIS IS, SO THIS IS GREAT.
I MEAN THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE WANT TO, I MEAN THIS IS RIGHT.
'CAUSE THIS IS SO KEY TO, TO HOW WE'RE GONNA ADVANCE AND HOPEFULLY WE CAN SEE IT.
I THINK HE SAID IT'S TWO DIMENSIONAL.
IT'S IT'S MULTI IT'S LIKE EIGHT SIDED DIMENSIONAL, RIGHT? YEAH.
YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT, AND HOPEFULLY YOU'RE GETTING A FLAVOR OF THAT.
WE'RE THINKING ABOUT, OKAY, HOW'S IT FROM FTA FROM THAT, THAT TIMELINE OF ROCKING YEAH.
HOW WE'RE GOING TO ISSUE BONDS AND THE TIMING OF THAT WITH OUR CASH FLOW, THE ON CALLS TRANSITIONING INTO THIS.
AND SO WE'RE FEEDING THAT ALL TOGETHER.
WHAT I'LL SAY, AND I SAY THIS ALL THE TIME, IS, AND WE COLLECTIVELY, THIS GROUP THAT YOU SEE HERE, WE GET TO DO THIS EVERY DAY, RIGHT.
'CAUSE THIS IS OUR SOLE FOCUS ON DOING IT.
SO WE'RE THINKING ABOUT THAT ALL THE TIME.
VERSUS LIKE, IF IT WAS DONE DELIVERED BY THE CITY THAT'S GOT A BILLION, ROBERT HAS A MILLION, HAS A LOT PLAYED, RIGHT? YEAH.
AND SO IT HELPS US, AND WE'VE HEARD THAT BACK FROM FOLKS BECAUSE WE GET TO INVEST.
AND BY THE WAY, AND BY US, I MEAN US YEAH, NO, NO, I UNDERSTAND.
TO INVEST THE TIME IN THIS, IN THIS DIALOGUE TO SEE IT AND WE'RE HONING OR WE'RE ALWAYS HONING TO THAT DECISION, BUT MAKING SURE THAT WE WE'RE NEVER CUTTING OFF A DECISION TOO EARLY.
BUT MAKING SURE WE'RE ALSO NOT MAKING A DECISION THAT'S GONNA HURT US DOWN THE LINE.
SO IT'S THIS EVOLVEMENT OF THAT.
AND THAT'S WHERE WE'RE HERE, WE'RE HONING YEAH.
WE'RE HONING THIS EFFORT, BUT ADVANCING.
AND SO WHEN YOU COME BACK, WE COME BACK NEXT WEEK WHEN BRAD COMES BACK NEXT MONTH WITH OUR, SORRY, UH, APRIL, ME, MEG WITH OUR, UH, ON CALL.
IT'S A PATTERN OF DELIVERY THAT WE WANT TO START EXEMPLIFY.
SO I WANT GO BACK TO THIS LIKE PROCESS JUST TO MAKE SURE.
GET TO SOME DEGREE OF ENGINEERING WITH OUR ON CALL ROUGHLY 30%.
WE, AT THAT POINT WE'VE CHOSEN A DELIVERY METHODOLOGY OF THE TWO COLLABORATIVE APPROACHES.
WE WILL NEED TO, IF WE'RE GONNA GO THE CMAR ROUTE, THEN WE'RE GOING TO, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TWO SEPARATE RFPS.
AND SO WE HIRE THEM DIRECTLY, BUT PART OF IT IS THEY'RE ALL STARTING WITH THE SAME LEVEL OF ENGINEERING.
WE AT SOME DEGREE OF GREATER CONTROL, I WOULD ASSUME OVER THE ENGINEERING PIECE OF IT, THAT WE'RE, THEY'RE CONTRACTUALLY OBLIGATED TO US.
BUT THE ESSENCE OF IT IS WE'RE ALL GONNA SIT IN A ROOM TOGETHER AND WE'RE GONNA COME UP WITH THE REMAINING 70% OF THE DESIGN WORK AND CONTRACTOR.
YOU GET TO HEAR EVERY BIT OF IT ALONG THE WAY.
YOU GET TO INPUT, IF THE ENGINEERS GO OFF AND LA LA LAND, YOU GET TO BRING THEM BACK THAT THAT'S NOT THE WAY IT WORKS.
AND YOU GOTTA MOVE TRACTORS UP AND DOWN A STREET AND THIS AND THAT.
UM, IS, IS IS THAT DESCRIPTION OF CMAR? CORRECT.
AND THEN WE'LL WORK THROUGH TO A HUNDRED PERCENT OF DESIGN INTO NOT QUITE CLOSE.
UM, SO THERE'S, IT, IT DOESN'T QUITE WE'LL START WORK EARLIER.
IT DOESN'T QUITE GO TO A HUNDRED PERCENT DESIGN.
YOU TAKE IT TO A LESSER DEGREE AND NEGOTIATE PRICE WHEN, UH, AND THERE'S A LOT OF FLEXIBILITY IN THAT LEVEL OF DESIGN THAT YOU BRING IT TO WITH THEM WHERE YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE STILL OWNING THE DESIGN AT THAT POINT.
YOU TAKE IT TO 65 75, SOME PEOPLE TAKE IT TO 95.
UH, IT, IT'S A VERY, UM, CONTEXT SENSITIVE DECISION AND, AND CAN VARY WIDELY IN THAT RANGE.
YOU NEGOTIATE PRICE AT, AT THAT POINT IN DESIGN.
AND THEN YOU, THAT'S WHERE I WAS GOING.
YOU REALLY, UM, YOU, YOU HAND OFF A, A BIT OF DESIGN CONTROL AT THAT POINT BECAUSE YOU HAVE CONTRACTED FOR THIS WILL BE DELIVERED FOR THIS PRICE.
AND WE ALWAYS MAINTAIN CONTROL OF DESIGN COMPLIANCE.
THEY'RE ALWAYS RESPONSIBLE FOR MEETING THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE PROJECT, VARIOUS CODES, CRITERIA, UH, GUIDELINES, ALL OF THE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO BE VERY INTENTIONAL ABOUT UPFRONT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PROJECT DELIVERS TO OUR, AND BY OUR, I MEAN AUSTIN'S, UM, NEEDS.
BUT ONCE YOU'VE NEGOTIATED PRICE IN THAT MODEL, YOU NO LONGER FULLY, UM, CONTROL THE DESIGN THE REST OF THE WAY.
THAT IS EXACTLY WHERE THE PIECE OF IT I WAS TRYING TO UNDERSTAND.
SO WE'LL GET TO, WE WILL HIRE THAT NEW DESIGN FIRM MAY BE
[02:55:01]
THE SAME AS OUR, THE ALL OF OUR ON-CALL CAN BID FOR THIS.IS THAT RIGHT? DO YOU WANNA TALK TO OCI? THEY MIGHT BE CONFLICTED OUT.
WE ARE TRYING OUR BEST TO CREATE A SEPARATION POINT SO THAT WAY WE DON'T LIMIT COMPETITION BASED ON PREVIOUS INVOLVEMENT.
SO OUR GOAL AND OUR INTENTION IS TO DO JUST THAT, IS TO NOT CREATE A UNNECESSARY CONFLICT.
I WOULD ASSUME IF THOSE FOLKS KNOW THAT THEY COULD BID FOR THE CMAR CONTRACT A LOT MORE WOULD BE WILLING TO DO THE ON-CALL.
BIT OF IT IF THEY KNEW, IF THEY WEREN'T HAVING TO MAKE A CHOICE, LIKE, OH, I GOTTA DO THE ON-CALL BID.
BUT I REALLY WOULD LIKE THE, UH, THAT ONE IF THEY, IF THERE'S SOME NOTION THAT THEY COULD DO BOTH, WILL ENHANCE THE POOL OF ON-CALL.
AND, AND WE, WE SAW THAT AS A RESULT OF THE LEVEL OF COMPETITION THAT WE HAD BY LETTING THEM KNOW THAT WE ARE DOING OUR BEST TO REMOVE A LOT OF CONFLICTS THAT OTHER AGENCIES MAY BE PUT ON.
CERTAIN HATS OFF TO YOU WITH SOME EXCEPTIONS.
I WANNA MAKE SURE THERE ARE SOMETHING, THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS.
I UNDERSTAND THERE COULD BE EXCEPTIONS.
YOU NEED TO SAY PUBLICLY ABOUT THE EXCEPTIONS.
SO THERE, IF WE WENT DESIGN BUILD ON SOME ELEMENT THAT BROUGHT PRELIMINARY DESIGN TO YEAH.
THEY'RE INHERENTLY CONFLICTED.
IF, IF THEY'RE DEVELOPING BRIDGING DOCUMENTS FOR SOME PIECE OF THE PROJECT THAT WE'RE TAKING TO DESIGN BUILD, YOU CAN'T BID ON.
SO THERE ARE SOME EXCEPTIONS, BUT AT A CONCEPTUAL LEVEL, AND OF THOSE WE'RE LETTING THEM KNOW BEFOREHAND, BEFORE THEY GET THE WORK THAT IT DOES CREATE SOME CONFLICTS WHERE THEY CAN MAKE A BUSINESS DECISION FOR THEMSELVES AT THAT POINT, AT THAT POINT IN TIME.
UM, SO WE, SO MY THING WAS, WHERE I WAS GETTING AT IS THIS PRICE NEGOTIATION.
SO WHAT WAS OUR, WHAT'S OUR NUMBER THAT WE HAVE BUILT IN, IN THE 7.1? HOW MUCH OF IT IS THE CIVIL WORK? THREE.
AND WHAT, WHAT IT'S, IT'S A NUMBER.
UH, YOUR COST BUILD UP THAT WE HAD, WHAT WAS IT? UH, ALLOCATION WAS THREE ONE.
SO WHERE THIS IS THE KIND OF FUNNY PART ABOUT, UH, UM, COLLABORATIVE APPROACH IS, YOU KNOW, FOR A PUBLIC AGENCY DESIGN BID BUILD, THEY COME IN, THEY OFFER YOU A PRICE, YOU KNOW WHAT IT IS, YOU HOLD 'EM ACCOUNTABLE TO THAT AT THE POINT THAT YOU HIRE THEM, WE ARE NOW HIRING SOMEONE IN ADVANCE OF HAVING NEGOTIATED THEIR PRICE.
AND SO SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY, SOMETHING PAST 30%, LIKELY LESS THAN A HUNDRED PERCENT, WE SAY WE'RE FAR ENOUGH ALONG, Y'ALL HAVE BEEN PART OF THIS GETTING FROM 30 TO 65.
YOU'VE BEEN IN THE ROOM, YOU'VE BEEN WITH US THE WHOLE TIME.
WE'VE ALREADY HIRED YOU, YOU'RE OUR TEAM.
AND THEY'LL GO BACK AND THEY'LL WORK UP THEIR PRICE.
AND WE COULD HAVE REJECTED AT THAT POINT.
SO MAYBE YOU CAN TALK ABOUT LIKE HOW THAT OPEN BOOK ASPECT OF THE COLLABORATIVE PROCESS PROTECTS US AS AN AGENCY, WHICH IN TURN IS REALLY THE TAXPAYERS OF AUSTIN.
IT'S A CRITICAL ELEMENT OF THAT APPROACH.
AND IT'S NOT JUST AN OPEN BOOK ESTIMATE.
WHEN YOU GET TO THAT NEGOTIATION, WE ACTUALLY BUILD THE PRICING INTO THE SCOPE DEVELOPMENT OR DESIGN DEVELOPMENT AS WE'RE PROGRESSING IT.
SO WE CAN HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, A AN INITIAL OPINION OF, OF PROBABLE CONSTRUCTION COST ON THAT 30% THAT, THAT CAN HELP US VALIDATE OR WHERE WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO EXACTLY FOR ONE PURPOSE ANYWAY.
UM, WHERE OUR FEDERAL SHARE AND, AND REALLY UNDERSTANDING THE PROJECT RISKS AT THAT TIME, WE CAN BUILD IT INTO MULTIPLE CHECKPOINTS THAT WE COLLABORATIVELY WITH THAT TEAM CAN DEFINE.
THERE'S ALSO WAYS OF INTEGRATING COST CONTROL, LIKE TRULY INTO THE DAY-TO-DAY DEVELOPMENT OF THE WORK.
THAT IS DONE IN DESIGN BUILD MODELS NOW WHERE YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW, WEEKLY TECHNICAL WORKING GROUP MEETINGS BETWEEN THE CONTRACTORS AND THE DESIGNERS.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF WAYS THAT WE CAN INTEGRATE THIS KIND OF OPEN COST MINDSET AND, AND APPROACH INTO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS.
UH, BUT IT DOES REQUIRE VERY INTENTIONAL STAFFING ON OUR SIDE AND THROUGH THE, UH, PARTICULARLY THROUGH THE DELIVERY PARTNER CONTRACT, TO HAVE THE RIGHT PEOPLE THAT CAN EVALUATE THOSE COSTS AND, AND TO BE ABLE TO COME TO FAIR NEGOTIATIONS.
UM, I'M, I'M GETTING MY HEAD AROUND IT.
SO REMEMBER, I THINK MAYBE IF BRAD WANTS TO SPEAK TO, UM, THE ELEMENTS THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO GET UPFRONT, LIKE THEIR PROFIT MARGIN AND THAT KIND OF THING TOO.
[03:00:01]
NOT THAT WE DON'T NEGOTIATE ANY PRICE ELEMENTS AT THE BEGINNING OF THAT.AND THE PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD MODEL, YOU TRY TO LOCK DOWN THE THINGS THAT YOU CAN.
SO PROFIT, OVERHEAD, ANY OTHER EXPENSES THAT YOU KNOW ARE GOING TO TAKE PLACE, UM, YOU'D WANNA LOCK THOSE IN AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE.
'CAUSE THOSE CAN BE CONSISTENT THAT YOU HELP CONTROL DESIGN THROUGH THE LIFETIME, RIGHT.
SO THERE'S CERTAIN THINGS THAT YOU WOULD LOCK IN, HOLD THAT TRUE THROUGH THE LIFETIME OF THE PROJECT, UM, AS EARLY ON AS POSSIBLE.
BUT THE THINGS THAT YOU CAN'T, YOU, YOU KNOW, OPEN BOOK PRICING MODELS AND COLLABORATION AND DISCUSSIONS AND NEGOTIATIONS ARE HOW YOU TRY TO MANAGE THAT.
AND, AND THESE KIND OF MODELS HAVE SOMETHING VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT WE CALL THE CONTRACT MOBILIZATION PHASE FOR THE DELIVERY PARTNER.
THERE'S TYPICALLY A VALIDATION PHASE IN, IN THESE COLLABORATIVE MODELS, UH, WHERE YOU HAVE THAT KIND OF ON RAMPING AND YOU HAVE THAT, UH, YOU CAN TRANSITION THEM TO A FULL UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROJECT DESIGN RISKS, UM, INITIAL ESTIMATES OF COST, AND THOSE CAN THEN HELP INFORM NEGOTIATION OF DESIGN FEES TO GO FURTHER THAN THAT POINT.
SO I, I REALLY LIKE THAT VALIDATION STAGE.
VERSUS TRYING TO NEGOTIATE, YOU KNOW, SAY A, A, A FULL DESIGN FEE UP FRONT.
THAT THAT'S MOSTLY A RECIPE FOR US FIGHTING WITH THE DESIGNER, UM, AT EVERY TERM.
IT WOULD HAVE FREAKED ME OUT TO NOT NEGOTIATE WITH OUR CONTRACTING FRIENDS OF PRICE UPFRONT, BUT FOR ALL OF THAT STUFF THAT YOU JUST DESCRIBED AND KNOWING THAT IT'S BEEN DONE SUCCESSFULLY IN OTHER PLACES.
SO THE LAST LITTLE THING I WANT TO COVER IS JUST WE SORT OF DID THAT IN THE CONTEXT OF CMAR.
THE ONLY REAL DIFFERENCE WITH PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD WITH RESPECT TO WHAT WE'VE JUST BEEN DESCRIBING, WE'LL STILL WORK WITH OUR ON-CALL PARTNERS TO GET TO A CERTAIN LEVEL OF ENGINEERING MAY OR MAY NOT BE DIFFERENT THAN WHAT IT WOULD BE UNDER CMAR IF WE HAD PREVIOUSLY CHOSEN THAT APPROACH.
SOME DEGREE IN THE BALLPARK OF 30% GO OUT WITH AN RFP.
AT THIS POINT, WE'RE GOING OUT WITH A SINGLE RFP AND MUCH LIKE A DESIGN BUILD TEAM, THE CONTRACTORS, ALL THE CONTRACTING COMMUNITY IS GONNA BE TALKING TO THE ENGINEERING COMMUNITY, AND THEY'RE ALL GONNA BE PUTTING THEIR TEAMS TOGETHER.
THERE WILL BE A LARGE ENGINEERING FIRM, ALMOST FOR SURE, IN A LARGE CONTRACTOR, ALMOST FOR SURE.
THEY'LL BE PARTNERED, WE'LL GO TO THEM SINGULARLY FOR THAT PIECE OF IT, BUT THEN WE ALL GET IN THE ROOM TOGETHER.
THE PROCESS IS MUCH THE SAME FROM THAT POINT FORWARD WHERE, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THE DESCRIPTIONS OF HOW YOU GET TO YOUR PRICING WOULD TAKE PLACE IN THE SAME MANNER.
UH, YOU KNOW, THE COLLABORATION OF US SEEING HOW THEY GET TO, YOU KNOW, PROGRESS, THE DESIGN WORK WE WATCH THE INTEGRATION OF THE CONSTRUCTABILITY WITH THE DESIGN TEAM TAKE PLACE IN FRONT OF US, WE'RE PART OF IT.
SO ALL OF THAT REMAINS LARGELY THE SAME.
SO THAT'S WHAT I WANNA HEAR ABOUT.
I MEAN, THERE'S, UM, I'LL PICK THE PERMITTING PROCESS.
JUST AS ONE THERE, THERE'S A, I WOULD SAY THE NATURE OF THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE TEAM MEMBERS CHANGE ACROSS THESE DIFFERENT MODELS BETWEEN THESE TWO MM-HMM.
UM, AND, AND PERMITTING IS JUST ONE OKAY.
EXAMPLE WHERE IF YOU HAVE THE, THE DESIGNER AND THE CONTRACTOR ON ONE TEAM, THAT RESPONSIBILITY IS SORT OF CENTRALIZED, UM, VERSUS DIVIDED UP OVER DIFFERENT ELEMENTS WHERE, UH, A SEPARATE DESIGNER AND A CONTRACTOR, YOUR ENGINEER IS HELPING GO THROUGH THE SITE PLAN REVIEW AND APPROVAL PROCESS.
AND THEN AT SOME POINT THAT RESPONSIBILITY GETS HANDED OVER TO A CONTRACTOR TO PULL PERMITS.
SO THERE, THERE'S DIFFERENCES.
UM, ACROSS PROBABLY MANY TOPICS.
AND, AND THAT'S SOMETHING WE'LL CONTINUE TO EVALUATE YEP.
SO I THINK WHEN WE COME BACK TO THE BOARD THAT, UM, THAT KIND OF DEEP DIVE WOULD BE REALLY VALUABLE, UH, YOU KNOW, LATER THIS YEAR AS WE CONTINUE TO DIVE ON THAT TOPIC.
I THINK IT'S ALSO A GOOD EXAMPLE TO LOOK AT WHERE RISK IS HELD.
UM, IN THE CMR, THE OWNER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT RISK WHEN THE DESIGNER AND THE BUILDER MAY HAVE AN ISSUE, AND THE PERMITTING IS ONE, WE CAN DEFINITELY SEE THAT HAPPENING ON THAT TRANSITION.
THE OWNER REALLY TAKES RESPONSIBILITY FOR THAT.
WHEREAS IN A PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILDER SITUATION, BECAUSE OF THE DESIGNER BUILDER CONNECTED TOGETHER, CONTRACTUALLY THAT RISK IS SHARED, BUT HELD MORE ON, ON THEIR END.
WELL I'LL, I'LL GREAT DISCUSSION OF THIS.
LIKE, I FEEL LIKE I THOROUGHLY UNDERSTAND IT, WHY WE'RE PURSUING A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH, WHY IT MAKES SENSE FOR A PROJECT OF THIS SIZE AND, UM, SCOPE AND COMPLEXITY.
YOU KNOW, I'LL BE ANXIOUS TO GET THE
[03:05:01]
ADDITIONAL UPDATES AS YOU REFINE YOUR THINKING, AS YOU GO OUT AND TALK TO OTHER AGENCIES THAT HAVE DEPLOYED THESE METHODS AS YOU CARRY FORWARD YOUR CONVERSATIONS WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR TO, YOU KNOW, GET TO THE NEXT STEP OF WHERE YOU ARE LEANING ONE WAY OR THE OTHER, AND WHY, AND GOING THAT STEP DEEPER INTO, YOU KNOW, THIS IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO AND THIS IS WHY WE THINK WE'RE GOING THIS DIRECTION.SO I REALLY APPRECIATE, YOU KNOW, THE DISCUSSION.
SUPER HELPFUL FOR UNDERSTANDING THIS.
AND I THINK WE'RE GOOD ON PERMITTING.
ROBERT HAS COMMITTED TO PULLING ALL THE PERMITS.
PERSONALLY
SO I DON'T, I THINK WE MIGHT TAKE IT.
I THINK WE'RE TAKING PERMITTING OUT OF ALL THE SCOPES.
IT'S JUST GONNA BE, YOU SAY IT IS GONNA SAY, ROBERT, NOT EVEN ROBERT, GOOD GOOD'S GONNA SAY ROBERT
THIS IS WHY YOU HAD TO STAY TILL THE BITTER END OF THIS FOUR HOUR DISCUSSION.
SO THIS, I MEAN, THIS IS GREAT.
THIS IS THE EXACT DIALOGUE WE'RE HAVE.
AND I THINK AT THE END THOUGH, ONE OF THE CORE, YOU KNOW, AS WE LAND, THIS IS AT THE END, IT'S A KIND OF ABOUT OUR PHILOSOPHY, RIGHT? UM, WE, WE ASSESS PROS AND CONS FROM THE DELIVERY METHOD.
WE LISTEN TO PEER, WE UNDERSTAND TO THE FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF IT.
BUT FOR ME AND FOR IT'S ABOUT HOW DO WE BUILD OUR TEAM OUT, RIGHT? THIS CREATION OF TEAM THAT'S SITTING IN THIS ROOM, MOST LIKELY BIGGER ROOM, PROBABLY AT ONE POINT.
AND AS WE LOOK AROUND THAT TABLE, DO WE ALL KNOW EACH OTHER? DO WE KNOW ACCOUNTABILITY? DO WE KNOW WHO'S, UM, DO WE KNOW THE SIMPLICITY OF IT? OR WE HAVE A COMPLEX PROCESS? HOW DO WE BUILD A SIMPLE TEAM TO DELIVER THAT WHERE THERE'S ACCOUNTABILITY AND UNDERSTANDING OF SHARED, UH, RESPONSIBILITY, ALL ON THAT.
I THINK THAT GOES INTO THIS KIND OF FINAL THING AS WELL AS WE GO IN THIS LEARNING.
I HAD A, YOU KNOW, TALKING TO OUR COLLEAGUES AROUND THE COUNTRY WHO HAVE BEEN THROUGH THIS, NOT EVEN ON TRANSIT PROJECT, OTHER BIG, OTHER BIG PROJECTS.
AS YOU BUILD THAT TEAM, IT'S NOT JUST US MAKING SURE THAT THERE IS CLARITY AROUND THE TEAM.
AND I THINK THAT BECOMES THAT LAST KIND OF ELEMENT AS WE KIND OF HONE IN ON THIS FINAL DECISION.
BUT THIS DIALOGUE TODAY IS ALSO SO HELPFUL FOR US TO, TO FIRST OF ALL, FOR US TO ANSWER MORE QUESTIONS AND DETAILS AND COME BACK AND DO THAT AGAIN.
SO WE APPRECIATE IT VERY MUCH.
I, I KNOW CLEAR IS KIND, YOU'VE HEARD THAT PHRASE, RIGHT? CLEAR IS KIND.
UM, I DO HAVE ONE QUESTION AND, AND YOU MENTIONED A COUPLE THINGS THAT REALLY RESONATE WITH ME.
ONE, REGARDING THE INTERFACES, I DON'T KNOW IF I'M USING THE CORRECT TERM, BUT SOME OF THE TIME THAT IT TAKES TO, SOMETIMES WE WANT TO SPLIT THE, THE WEALTH OF THE PROJECT.
I MEAN, TALK ABOUT THE SCOPE AND AMOUNT OF WORK THAT'S GOING TO BE POSSIBLE WITH THIS PROGRAM THAT SOMETIMES WE'RE REALLY WORKING AT DIVIDING UP THE PIE.
THE MORE FIRMS THAT CAN PARTICIPATE, THE MORE WE CAN DIVIDE AND, AND SHARE THE, IN THE WEALTH OF, OF THOSE OPPORTUNITIES, WHAT HAPPENS.
UH, WHAT I'VE LEARNED AS WELL IN READING ABOUT, UH, HONOLULU, THE HONOLULU SYSTEM, IS THAT THEY KIND OF WENT THAT WAY, RIGHT? THEY TRIED TO DIVIDE UP IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT TEAMS SO THAT THEY COULD SPREAD THE PIE AND THOSE LESSONS LEARNED.
WHAT I'M INTERESTED IN IS, AS YOU GO AND DO YOUR OUTREACH AND INVESTIGATION AND UNDERSTANDING OF PROS AND CONS FOR EACH, TELL US, TEACH US, GUIDE US ON WHAT WENT WELL, WHAT WENT WRONG.
BECAUSE SOMETIMES THE IDEA LOOKS GOOD IN THEORY, BUT THE EXECUTION WAS VERY DIFFICULT TO, TO ACHIEVE BECAUSE EVERY ONE OF THOSE INTERFACES HAS TO GET ALONG AND WORK WELL AND MEET DEADLINES AND DEAL WITH CHALLENGES.
SO THE OTHER THING I WANT TO LEARN IS, AND I DON'T REMEMBER IF IT WAS YOUR DAD OR YOU, LINDSAY, PLEASE FORGIVE ME, BUT AS I WAS ASKING SOME QUESTIONS IN OUR, IN OUR PREP MEETINGS, YOU, YOU BROUGHT UP THE FACT THAT THE FDA MAY NOT, THEY'RE NOT VERY WELL VERSED IN PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BILL AS THE FDA, LIKE, BUT THE, AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL, THEY MIGHT BE REALLY WILLING TO, UM, THEY'RE, THEY'RE TRYING TO LEARN ALSO FROM THE FEDERAL LEVEL AND THEY'RE PUTTING TOGETHER A WHITE PAPER OR OF SORTS, WHAT HAS WORKED WELL AND, AND HASN'T, UH, WAS IT YOU JEN? I DON'T THINK IT WAS ME.
BUT I DID WANNA COMMENT ON THAT.
UM, WHICH IS THAT PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S BEEN IMPLEMENTED BEING IMPLEMENTED IN SOME SPOTS, BUT IT'S DEFINITELY, UH, LEARNING.
WE'RE LEARNING ABOUT IT, RIGHT? AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE BEEN TALKING TO FTA ABOUT IS DOING THAT KIND OF PEER LEARNING ACROSS THE REGIONS, AND THAT WOULD BENEFIT US.
IT WOULD BENEFIT, UH, YOU KNOW, REGION SIX OF FTA.
UM, AND, AND SO, SO I THINK WE'RE ALL LEARNING.
I MEAN, ANY INFORMATION THAT YOU'VE COME ACROSS, ALL OF US ALONG, TOGETHER IN THAT, AND, AND
[03:10:01]
FT A'S BEEN A WONDERFUL PARTNER IN, UM, ENGAGING ON THIS CONVERSATION AS WELL, AND THE DELIVERY PLANNING AND UNDERSTANDING HOW THESE DIFFERENT DELIVERY MODELS FIT IN WITH THE FEDERAL FUNDING PROCESS.UH, SO IT'S MORE A MATTER OF PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD IS JUST A, A, A NEWER MODEL IN THE US OKAY.
UH, BUT IT HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED IN OTHER PLACES AND ALL OF US COLLECTIVELY WANTING TO BRING THOSE LESSONS LEARNED AS, AS YOU NOTED, TO INFORM OUR PROCESS.
AND I JUST WANNA KNOW, IT'S NEWER TO TRANSIT, BUT IT'S BEEN A, A TRIED AND TRUE METHOD FOR WATER DISTRICTS, UM, FOR THE LAST 20 YEARS.
AND AVIATION HAS REALLY ADOPTED IT OVER THE LAST 10 TO 15 YEARS AND IMPLEMENTING MAJOR COMPLEX PROJECTS SUCCESSFULLY THROUGH PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD PROJECTS.
SO NEW TO TRANSIT, NOT NEW ENTIRELY.
UM, THAT'S GOOD BECAUSE IN THE TRANSPORTATION ARENA, AND, AND I DO THINK THAT LEARNING FROM THOSE EXAMPLES, I, I DO THINK THAT AS AN INDUSTRY, THE TRANSIT INDUSTRY, WE WANT MORE OF IT.
WE WANT TO DELIVER IT WELL, BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE VERY GOOD TRACK RECORD SOMETIMES ON TRANSIT PROJECTS.
BUT BECAUSE I DO THINK THEY'RE SO COMPLEX AND THE, THE, I BROUGHT A NOTE AS YOU GUYS WERE TALKING HERE, THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE'S SO MANY HIDDEN ASPECTS OF WHAT'S BURIED BECAUSE WE'RE GREAT OR WE'RE UNDERGROUND.
AND SO THE, THE CITIES ARE LIVING ORGANISMS, AND NOT ONLY ARE WE FINDING THE SURPRISES, BUT EVERY TIME WE CUT A TRENCH OPEN, IT'S LIKE AN OPEN WOUND IN MANY WAYS.
AND PEOPLE STILL EXPECT PORTABLE WATER RUNNING FROM THEIR FAUCETS, RIGHT? SO IT'S SO COMPLEX IN SO MANY LEVELS THAT WE DON'T NEED TO BEAT THAT HORSE TO DEATH.
BUT IT'S THE FACT THAT WE, WE WANT TO DO AN ITERATIVE PROCESS.
PILOT PROGRAMS A ALLOWING US TO LEARN AND HAVE LESSONS LEARNED OF WHAT, HOW TO DO THIS IN OUR CONTEXT.
WE'RE GONNA CROSS THE DENSEST MOST COMPLEX PART OF OUR CITY IN THIS CORRIDOR.
SO WE WANT TO, IT, IT, IT WILL COME WITH ALL OF ITS BELLS AND WHISTLES, LIKE ALL OF IT.
IT'S GONNA BE DIFFICULT TO, TO MANAGE THIS PROCESS, BUT I'VE LEARNED A LOT.
HERE YOU MENTIONED HALLELU IN THE, THE PROS AND CONS.
I LIKE TO VOLUNTEER TO GO TO EVALUATOR
I WANNA WRITE THAT SYSTEM TOO.
I DID A MINI EVALUATION OF IT.
AND TO, TO KIND OF CLOSE OUT THIS PART OF THE DISCUSSION, WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE THE SAVE THE DATE FOR A SMALL BUSINESS AND DBE OUTREACH EVENT OPPORTUNITY THAT WE'RE GOING, GOING TO BE HOSTING HERE AT THE OFFICES ON APRIL 30TH.
UM, THE OBJECTIVE IS IN THE MORNING TO PROVIDE A, A EDUCATIONAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITY TO HELP SMALL BUSINESSES BE PREPARED TO TAKE ON SOME OF THESE PROJECTS THAT ARE COMING UP.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE NOTICED AND LETTING OUT SOME OF OUR PREVIOUS SOLICITATIONS IS, UM, BEING, HAVING FDA COMPLIANCE SOLICITATIONS FOR MAJOR CAPITAL PROJECTS IS NEWER TO THIS AREA.
SO A LOT OF THE SMALL BUSINESSES AREN'T AWARE THAT YOU HAVE TO HAVE CERTIFIED OVERHEAD IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE ON FDA FUNDED PROJECTS.
UM, AND IT'S BEEN A, A SERIOUS ISSUE THAT, THAT WE'VE SEEN.
SO WHAT WE'RE GOING TO BE PROVIDING IS A CLASS ON HOW TO GET CERTIFIED OVERHEAD PROFITS.
UM, SO THAT WAY FIRMS ARE READY AND PREPARED TO PROPOSE ON THAT FOR THIS PROJECT AND UPCOMING PROJECTS, UM, TO PREVENT THAT BARRIER, UM, OF ACCESS TO OUR PROJECTS.
UM, ANOTHER ISSUE THAT WE'VE SEEN IS ENSURING THAT PEOPLE GET CERTIFIED IN A TIMELY MANNER.
SO WE'LL HAVE SOMEONE FROM, UM, T DOT CERTIFICATION TO BE AVAILABLE ON HAND TO TALK ABOUT HOW TO GET CERTIFIED AS A-D-B-E-M-W-B-E BUSINESS, UM, AND TALK ABOUT THE ADVANTAGES THAT CAN COME FROM THAT AND OPPORTUNITIES THAT CAN COME FROM THAT.
AND THEN, UM, AN OPPORTUNITY IN HOW TO MARKET YOURSELF TO LARGER COMPANIES, UM, AND, AND BEING ABLE TO DELIVER AN ELEVATOR PITCH THAT SELLS YOURSELF REALLY QUICKLY, UM, AND GETS PEOPLE INTERESTED IN MORE, UM, OPPORTUNITIES.
SO THINGS LIKE THAT WILL BE HAPPENING IN THE MORNING AND THE AFTERNOON WILL GIVE A REAL LIFE EXAMPLE ON HOW TO DO AND DELIVER THOSE PITCHES BY HAVING HOPEFULLY OUR PRIME CONTRACTORS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN BECOMING A DELIVERY PARTNER ON BOARD HERE.
UM, BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO BE THE SAME WEEK THAT WE'RE HAVING OUR ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEWS, OUR ONE-ON-ONE OPPORTUNITIES AS A RESULT OF THE PRES SOLICITATION FEEDBACK OPPORTUNITY.
SO THEY'RE ALREADY GOING TO BE HERE AND WE'RE HOPING THAT THEY'LL HELP US PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROCESS.
AND SMALL BUSINESSES WHO ATTEND IN THE MORNING CAN PITCH THEMSELVES, UM, IN THE AFTERNOON, UM, AS AN INTRODUCTORY PROCESS.
SO REALLY TRYING TO BUILD CONNECTIONS AND UM, UM, FROM THIS PROCESS, YOU KNOW, IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.
[03:15:01]
REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS OPPORTUNITY.UH, COURTNEY, UM, ON OUR TEAM HAS REALLY SPENT A LOT OF TIME DEVELOPING THE PROGRAM TO ENSURE THE, THE GREATEST SUCCESS POSSIBLE AND REAL LIFE HANDS-ON EXPERIENCES THAT CAN HELP, UM, PREPARE PEOPLE FOR THAT.
UM, AND IT'LL BE HELD HERE AT, AT P OFFICES.
I THINK AFTER THIS MEETING, WE'RE GONNA SEE IF YOU CAN SAY PRES SOLICITATION FEEDBACK OPPORTUNITY THREE TIMES FAST.
I KNOW
WHY DON'T YOU TRY IT? LET'S SEE.
UM, AND THEN, UH, NEXT SLIDE GOES OVER KIND OF THE NEXT STEPS THAT WE HAVE, UM, COMING UP.
UM, SO WE ARE GOING TO BE STARTING THE PRES SOLICITATION FEEDBACK OPPORTUNITY, UM, OPPORTUNITIES STARTING ON FRIDAY.
SO THAT'LL BE ISSUED, IT'LL BE AVAILABLE ON PLANET BIDS, WHICH IS OUR E-PROCUREMENT RESOURCE TOOL.
UM, AND THEN WE WILL ISSUE THE ACTUAL RFQ, UM, IN JUNE, THE OUTREACH EVENT WE JUST DISCUSSED.
WE'RE GOING TO BE COMING BACK TO THE BOARD HERE IN THE NEXT MEETING OR TWO TO AWARD THE ON-CALL, PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING AND PLANNING CONTRACTS.
AND WE'LL CONTINUE ADVANCING, ADVANCING DIFFERENT DELIVERY, UM, OPTIONS THROUGH PEER ENGAGEMENT, INDUSTRY ENGAGEMENT, UM, PREPARING, YOU KNOW, THOSE FUTURE SOLICITATIONS FOR FINAL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION WITH THE INDUSTRY INVOLVEMENT IN MIND, AS WELL AS FUTURE WORKSHOPS WITH OUR BOARD, UM, TO HELP EDUCATE AND GET YOUR INPUT IN DELIVERING, UM, THESE PROJECTS.
SO THAT WAS, THAT WAS A GREAT, UH, BRUNCH OF THE SHOW.
AND BEFORE WE CLOSE OUT, I REALLY APPRECIATE THE HARD WORK FROM ALL OF YOU TO GET US TO THIS POINT.
SO THANK YOU AGAIN AND EVERYONE THAT'S TUNED IN.
BUT BEFORE WE ADJOURN, WE DO HAVE A SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF GREG BECAUSE THIS IS THE FIRST YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF YOU BEING OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.
AND, UM, AND WE'RE REALLY PROUD OF THE TEAM YOU HAVE ASSEMBLE.
IT IS VISIBLE WITH THE EXPERTISE THAT, UM, THANK YOU REBECCA.
AND, UM, SO THIS IS A VERY SMALL IMAGE OF SOMETHING GRAND THAT IS COMING, BUT I KNOW YOU ARE, UM, VERY MUCH ABOUT THE LOVE OF AUSTIN AND THE NOSTALGIA OF AUSTIN.
BUT THIS IS THE LIGHT, THE TROLLEY, THIS PHOTO FROM 1925, THE FIRST TROLLEY RUNNING ON THE DRAG ON GUADALUPE.
AND, UH, WHAT IS WRITTEN HERE, IT SAYS, HONORING YESTERDAY FOR BUILDING TOMORROW.
SO THIS IS THE BOARD PRESENTING YOU THIS TOKEN OF APPRECIATION FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP IN COMMEMORATING THIS FIRST YEAR, UM, OF YOU BEING PART OF THIS TEAM AND HELPING US BUILD THE, THE TEAM AND BUILDING OUR
AND YOU, UH, ENJOY YOUR EVENING AND THEN BACK TO WORK TOMORROW,
UM, WELL, I COMPLETELY, UM, THANK YOU.
AND HOPEFULLY YOU SAW TODAY WHAT WE HAVE BEEN DOING AND WORKING ON EVERY DAY HERE.
THIS IDEA OF CREATING TEAM AND CONVERSATION AND CURIOSITY ABOUT HOW WE DO OUR WORK, UH, AND PARTNERSHIP.
AND, UM, I THINK TODAY WAS A, WAS A GOOD DAY TO, TO, TO SHOW THAT AND DEMONSTRATE THAT.
AND WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THE DAYS AND WEEKS AND YEARS AHEAD AS WE BUILD OUR FUTURE WITH, UH, ALWAYS REMINISCING ABOUT WHERE WE'VE BEEN AS A COMMUNITY.
AND, AND I'D LOVE THAT WE GET TO DO IT TOGETHER.
AND PLEASE STAY LONGER, LONGER, LONGER.
CAN Y'ALL BELIEVE THIS IS ALMOST A HUNDRED YEARS OLD AND WE ALREADY HAD TROLLEYS A HUNDRED YEARS AGO, YOU KNOW, 1925, JUST FOR REFERENCE.
AND THANK YOU REBECCA, FOR DOING THE DIGGING AND FINDING THE RIGHT IMAGE.
AND, BUT WHILE WE'RE AT, I CAN'T HELP MYSELF TO ALSO DOTTIE'S SITTING HERE 30 YEARS SERVING OUR COMMUNITY AS CAP METRO.
AND LEAD AND LEADING OUR, LEAVING OUR TRANSIT AGENCY IS, WE, WE JUST COULDN'T BE ANY LUCKIER AS A COMMUNITY.
AND ON THAT HAPPY NOTE, UM, THIS CONCLUDES THE MARCH 27TH, A TP BOARD MEETING.
[03:20:01]
MEETING STANDS ADJOURNED, AND THE TIME IS 4:33 PM THANK YOU.