[00:00:09]
[CALL TO ORDER ]
HAVE QUORUM.SO I'M CALLING THE MEETING TO ORDER.
[PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL ]
HAVE SPEAKERS? YES.HELLO, MY NAME IS CRAIG NAZER AND I'M AN ALTERNATE TO THE COMMITTEE AND I'M ALSO WAS ON THE NATURAL SYSTEMS WORKING GROUP, WHICH IS MY PASSION.
AND I ALSO THINK IT'S THE LOWEST HANGING FRUIT OF ANYTHING.
'CAUSE IF YOU GET THE NATURAL SYSTEMS WORKING RIGHT THERE, VERY INEXPENSIVE TO MAINTAIN.
UM, I FOUND TWO REALLY INTERESTING THINGS WHEN I DUG DOWN ON THIS.
UH, ONE IS IT'S NOT READY YET, BUT VERY SOON.
LIDAR THEY THINK WILL BE ABLE TO TELL TREE SPECIES IN SIZE.
I DON'T THINK YOU CAN DO IT YET, BUT THE LIDAR HAS ALREADY BEEN DONE.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO NEW LIDAR.
THEY COVERED THE UNITED STATES AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS THE, THE VERY GOOD PROPOSAL WE HAVE FOR UH, PUBLIC TREES, THE CITY COUNCIL PASS IT.
WE COULD DO IT ON PRIVATE LAND TOO WITHOUT INVASIVE, WHICH WOULD BE HUGE I THINK WOULD BE VERY, VERY BIG.
THE OTHER THING THAT I FOUND OUT IS WITH RIPARIAN RESTORATIONS, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE HAVE THESE GOOD IDEAS, YOU GOTTA SEE HOW THE CITY'S GONNA DO IT.
AND THAT TURNED OUT TO BE THAT THERE'S A BOTTLENECK IN RIPARIAN RESTORATIONS.
AND I WAS SU VERY SURPRISED TO HEAR THAT THE BOTTLENECK IS IN NOW GETTING NATIVE SPECIES OF TREES TO PLANT.
AND BECAUSE A WHOLE LOT OF NATIVE NURSERIES HAVE CLOSED DOWN.
I KNOW A FEW THAT CLOSED DOWN, BUT I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS A BIG DEAL.
BUT IT APPARENTLY IT'S HAPPENING EVERYWHERE.
TREE FOCUS, TRYING TO START UP A NATIVE NURSERY.
I DON'T KNOW HOW THE CITY WOULD DO THIS, BUT ANY MONEY TO THAT WOULD BE A REALLY BIG HELP.
IF ANYBODY HAS ANY IDEAS IF I'M JUST TALKING OUT THERE.
BUT I THINK THIS IS A GREAT ENDEAVOR AND I THINK EVERYBODY'S DONE A REALLY GOOD JOB IN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME.
AND THANK YOU ALL FOR TAKING IT ON.
THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR MEMBERS, I'M XENOBI JOSEPH.
MY COMMENTS ARE IN THE CONTEXT OF TITLE VI OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964, WHICH PROHIBITS DISCRIMINATION BASED ON RACE, COLOR, AND NATIONAL ORIGIN.
I DO RECOGNIZE YOU HAVE THE EQUITY ACTION PLAN ON LATER AGENDA ITEM, BUT I WANTED TO SPEAK MORE SPECIFICALLY TO HOUSING, AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND THE DISTANCE FROM TRANSPORTATION.
SPECIFICALLY, I WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT IT'S ONE TO FIVE MILES TO THE NEAREST BUS STOP.
THERE'S A TRAVIS COUNTY COMMISSIONER'S COURT AGENDA BACKUP ON DECEMBER 15TH, 2020 THAT ACTUALLY SPECIFIES THE DISTANCE BASED ON MY RECOMMENDATION AND MY REQUEST FOR THE LOW INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDIT DEVELOPMENTS.
I WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE AS WELL THAT THE SYSTEM IS INE EQUITABLE NORTH OF US.
AND I KNOW THE PREVIOUS SPEAKER JUST SPOKE OF TREES.
I WOULD ASK YOU TO GO DOWN BREAKER LANE AND YOU WILL SEE THAT THEY'RE ABOUT TO RAISE THE LAND THERE.
THERE'LL BE ABOUT 500 UNITS THAT WILL BE DEVELOPED.
AND SO WHAT I WANT YOU TO UNDERSTAND IS THAT WHILE MANY PEOPLE TALK ABOUT DENSITY AND TRANSIT, I WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT THERE ARE NO SHELTERS IN THAT AREA.
THERE ARE OVER 2000 APARTMENT UNITS WITHIN ABOUT TWO MILES FROM SAMSUNG AND THERE'S NO TRANSPORTATION.
I WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT THERE ARE APPROXIMATELY 2000 UNITS AS WELL ON YEAGER AND TECH RIDGE BOULEVARD AND THERE'S NO SHELTER THERE AS WELL.
I WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE AS WELL AT THE MARSHALLING YARD, IT'S APPROXIMATELY A HALF MILE WALK FROM THE BUS STOP THROUGH ROUTE 20.
BUT I WANT YOU TO UNDERSTAND THAT EVEN THOUGH THERE ARE 300 PEOPLE THAT ARE BEING WAREHOUSED THERE, AFRICAN AMERICANS ARE OVER SIX TIMES MORE LIKELY THAN THEIR WHITE COUNTERPARTS TO BE HOMELESS IN AUSTIN.
AND SO WHAT I WANT YOU TO UNDERSTAND IS THAT THE DISCRIMINATION THAT YOU MENTIONED IN THE PLAN, THE 1928 PLAN IS BEING RE CODIFIED TODAY.
I WOULD ASK THIS COMMISSION TO ACTUALLY PUT FORTH AN AGENDA ITEM TO ACTUALLY GET COUNSEL TO SHOW YOU ARE FOR THE STAFF TO SHOW YOU THE DENSITY AND THE AREA MEDIAN INCOME OVER IN THE AREA WHERE THE MARSHALING YARD IS.
THERE'S ALSO CAMP ESPERANZA, I WANT YOU TO UNDERSTAND THAT'S WITHIN TWO MILES.
I ACTUALLY PUT IN AN OPEN RECORDS REQUEST BECAUSE THE MAYOR DID A DEAL WITH THE GOVERNOR OF TEXAS AND ACTUALLY WILL PUT APPROXIMATELY 700 MORE INDIVIDUALS THERE.
AND THEY DO NOT HAVE ANYTHING IN THAT AREA.
AND SO WHAT I WANT YOU TO UNDERSTAND IS THAT I CALL IT EQUITY IDA
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INFORMATION OF THE MOUTH FROM SAYING EQUITY TOO MUCH.SIMPLY PUTTING EQUITY IN A PLAN DOES NOT MAKE THE SYSTEM EQUITABLE.
AND SO I WOULD JUST ASK YOU TO RECOGNIZE AS WELL THAT THIS DOES NOT AFFIRMATIVELY FURTHER FAIR HOUSING.
THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAD ITS FAIR HOUSING SUMMIT, OR ITS TWO-DAY CONFERENCE ON THE 16TH AND 17TH.
AND JUST ON THAT PARTICULAR DAY, I WAS TRYING TO GET TO SEE THE MAYOR GIVE THE PROCLAMATION.
I BELIEVE IT WAS FALSEHOODS, BUT I WANTED TO HEAR IT FOR MYSELF.
AND CAPITOL METRO ACTUALLY DIVERTED THE BUS FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND MADE US WAIT SO THAT THE WHITE CHOICE RIDERS AT HOWARD STATION WHEN THE RAIL WENT DOWN DIDN'T HAVE TO WAIT.
SO I WANTED TO UNDERSTAND THAT THESE INEQUITIES HAPPEN ON A DAILY BASIS, BUT IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'LL GLADLY ANSWER THEM.
AND I DO HAVE A PRESENTATION, I'M JUST NOT SURE WHAT, HOW YOUR COMMISSION OPERATES.
IF YOU COULD JUST TELL ME, TECHNICALLY IF I GIVE IT TO A TXN OR EMAIL IT TO THE LIAISON.
YEAH, YOU CAN EMAIL IT TO RAHAN AND HE CAN CIRCULATE IT TO US.
DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER SPEAKERS? NO.
[1. Approval of minutes from the April 24th, 2024 meeting of the Joint Sustainability Committee. ]
HAVE OUR, OUR MINUTES NEED TO GET THOSE APPROVED SO WE CAN POST THEM.HAS EVERYBODY SEEN THEM? MOTION TO APPROVE THE MEDS? OKAY.
WE'VE GOT A MOTION A SECOND AND A SECOND.
ANY EDITS, BUT FOR THE MINUTES.
ALL IN FAVOR? RAISE YOUR HAND, SAY AYE.
LOOKS LIKE EVERYBODY IS VOTING IN SUPPORT OF APPROVING THE MINUTES.
UM, SO WE, I DON'T THINK WE HAVE
[2. Joint Sustainability Committee discussion and approval of recommendations for the Environmental Investment Plan, in the areas of Buildings and Energy, Transportation, Natural Systems, and Consumption. ]
ANY CERTAIN ORDER THAT WE NEED TO GO IN.UM, OTHER THAN THAT, I WOULD, UM, BECAUSE WE DID NOT GET TO, UH, THE SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS RECOMMENDATIONS LAST TIME, CHARLOTTE DID SEND IN SOME QUESTIONS, WHICH I REPLIED TO.
HOPEFULLY THOSE GOT CIRCULATED.
UM, BUT I JUST WANTED TO MAYBE FIRST JUST CHECK IN SINCE WE DIDN'T HAVE DISCUSSION ON THAT AT OUR LAST MEETING.
UM, CHECK AND SEE IF THERE WERE ANY COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, CONCERNS, UH, RE REGARDING ANY OF THOSE ITEMS. AND I DID, UM, JUST WANNA NOTE THAT BASED ON SOME FEEDBACK, UH, THERE ARE SOME FTES ADDED INTO THAT, KIND OF A LOT OF FTES ACTUALLY.
UM, SO JUST, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS A CHANGE FROM LAST TIME.
ANYBODY HAS ANYTHING ON THOSE SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS ITEMS? CAN WE MAYBE PULL THOSE UP? OKAY.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S HELPFUL FOR FOLKS ONLINE.
IT'S PROBABLY NOT HELPFUL FOR US HERE, BUT
UM, IT WOULD, I DID NOT SEE RESPONSES TO, UM, THE QUESTIONS THAT I SENT IN, AND I, I DON'T, AND I DON'T WANNA TAKE A TON OF TIME, BUT I THINK SINCE WE DID NOT GET A CHANCE TO, TO DISCUSS OR LOOK AT THESE AT ALL LAST TIME, IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO JUST MAYBE QUICKLY RUN THROUGH AN OVERVIEW OF WHAT THE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE.
AND SORRY THAT THE, I WAS, I WAS TRYING TO KEEP, KEEP US OUTTA TROUBLE, SO I THINK I DIDN'T REPLY TO YOU DIRECTLY.
SO THE FIRST PIECE HERE IS REALLY JUST KIND OF A STATEMENT ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE.
FEEL FREE TO PULL IT UP ON YOUR COMPUTER TO READ IT.
BUT, UM, BASICALLY THE, THE FIRST SEVERAL ITEMS ARE, ARE ALL FOCUSED ON, UM, THE VARIOUS STRATEGIES TO DECARBONIZE AUSTIN ENERGY'S SUPPLY, WHICH ALIGNS WITH BOTH THE AUSTIN ENERGY RESOURCE GENERATION AND CLIMATE PROTECTION PLAN, AS WELL AS THE AUSTIN CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
[00:10:01]
THE FIRST ONE IS ON ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS. UM, AND WHAT'S ENVISIONED HERE IS, IS PARTIALLY JUST RAMPING UP WHAT IS ALREADY BEING DONE AT AUSTIN ENERGY, BUT ALSO DOING ADDITIONAL OUTREACH BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE EFFICIENCY IN BUILDINGS THROUGHOUT AUSTIN, UM, WITH THE EXISTING PROGRAMS THAT THE PEOPLE JUST ARE NOT EVEN AWARE OF AND NOT NOT TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THEM.SO BOTH AN INCREASE IN, UM, BUDGET, WHICH, UH, I WAS TOLD SHOULD ALSO COME WITH AN INCREASE IN FTES, WHICH I THINK DOES MAKE SENSE WHAT THE RIGHT NUMBER IS.
I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR ANY THOUGHTS ON.
UM, BUT, UH, THEN I GUESS I'M GONNA, I'LL JUST DESCRIBE THE NEXT ONE AS WELL.
'CAUSE IT'S VERY SIMILAR WITH THE DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAMS, UM, ALSO KIND OF RAMPING UP EXISTING PROGRAMS. BUT ON THIS ONE, UH, DEMAND RESPONSE FOR ANYBODY WHO'S NOT, UH, DEEP IN ENERGY STUFF IS, IS ESSENTIALLY DIFFERENT, UM, TECHNOLOGIES OR PROGRAMS THAT ALLOW THE END USER BE THAT RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL, WHATEVER, TO BE ABLE TO CHANGE THEIR ENERGY USAGE.
UM, GENERALLY IN TIMES OF, OF HIGH ENERGY DEMAND AND HIGH ENERGY COST.
UM, SO THE RECOMMENDATION IS TO RAMP UP WHAT THEY HAVE, BUT ALSO TO MAKE SURE THAT THESE PROGRAMS ARE PRICE BASED SO THAT THE CUSTOMER IS GETTING A REAL SIGNAL THAT THERE'S, THERE'S A DIRECT BENEFIT TO PARTICIPATING, UM, AND TO EXPAND SOME OF THE, UH, WAYS IN WHICH, UH, DEMAND RESPONSE IS BEING IMPLEMENTED.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF TECHNOLOGIES.
AND SO, AGAIN, THIS CAME WITH ADDITIONAL FTES AND ADDITIONAL BUDGET.
THESE ARE BOTH KEY TO GETTING TO GREENHOUSE ZERO GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS FOR AUSTIN ENERGY BECAUSE WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO REDUCE OUR OVERALL DEMAND, THAT'S THE EFFICIENCY PART, AND THEN BE MORE FLEXIBLE WITH DEMAND.
ALRIGHT, SO I'LL PAUSE THERE IN CASE FOLKS HAVE QUESTIONS ON THOSE.
UM, NEXT UP IS BATTERY STORAGE.
AND, UH, SHARLA, I KNOW YOU HAD QUESTIONS, UM, ON THIS ONE WANTING, YOU KNOW, HOPING FOR MORE, MORE KINDA DETAIL.
UM, I CAN SAY THAT YES, DEFINITELY THIS IS, UH, CRITICAL FOR ENABLING A TRANSITION AWAY FROM FOSSIL FUELS AT AUSTIN ENERGY.
UM, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW THEY HAVE THEIR NATURAL GAS PLANTS THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE RESOURCE THAT CAN RESPOND TO, UM, YOU KNOW, INCREASED COST AND, AND ENERGY NEEDS LOCALLY.
IF WE WANT THAT TO GO AWAY, WHICH THE PLAN DOES ENVISION, UM, BOTH PLANS ENVISION, THEN THERE NEEDS TO BE ANOTHER FLEXIBLE RESOURCE.
AND THAT'S WHAT BATTERIES, YOU KNOW, UM, ALLOW IS THAT FLEXIBILITY.
SO DOES DEMAND RESPONSE, BUT YOU CAN'T, YOU CAN'T DO IT WITH DEMAND RESPONSE ALONE.
YOU NEED, YOU NEED SOME ENERGY STORAGE AS WELL.
SO THIS IS MOSTLY FOCUSED ON THE UTILITY SCALE SIDE, BUT UM, REALLY THERE'S A NEED FOR BOTH UTILITY SCALE AND DISTRIBUTED, WHICH IS MENTIONED IN HERE, BUT THE PRICING THAT AE HAD HAD PUT FORWARD IN THEIR RESOURCE PLANNING PROCESS WAS, WAS FOCUSED ON UTILITY SCALE.
UM, THESE NUMBERS, UH, WERE THE BEST TESTS OF THE RESOURCE PLANNING WORKING GROUP FOR, FOR WHAT AUSTIN ENERGY MIGHT NEED TO ACTUALLY GET TO THAT CARBON FREE GOAL.
UM, IT'S POSSIBLE THE NUMBER IS SOMETHING SMALLER OR SOMETHING BIGGER.
WE HAVE NOT REALLY GOT AE TO WEIGH IN ON WHAT THE OPTIMAL NUMBER IS.
AND IN TERMS, OH, I THINK YOU HAD ASKED ABOUT THE PAYBACK TIME.
I DON'T HAVE A DEFINITIVE ANSWER.
UM, I KNOW THERE WAS, I CAN'T REMEMBER, MAYBE IT WAS ONE OF YOU HERE HAD TOLD ME ABOUT A UT YEAH, GO AHEAD ANNA.
YEAH, SO THERE'S A MASTER'S THESIS THAT, UM, OH, I'M FORGETTING THE, THE, THE YOUNG WOMAN'S NAME, BUT OUT OF, UH, DR. MICHAEL WEBER'S GROUP AT UT AUSTIN THAT DID THAT, LOOKED AT, UM, UTILITY SCALE STORAGE ON THE ORDER OF ABOUT, I BELIEVE IT'S ONE MEGAWATT, UM, WHICH IS, WHICH IS AN ERCOT LIMIT, UM, THAT BELOW WHICH WE DON'T TRIGGER CERTAIN REGULATORY CONSTRAINTS.
UM, BUT THEY SHOWED THAT IF YOU, YOU KNOW, DID ESSENTIALLY FANCY MATH AND, AND YOU FIGURED OUT WHAT WAS THE MOST EFFICIENT WAY TO DO IT, UM, YOU'D GET A PAYBACK THAT WAS WITHIN A COUPLE YEARS.
AND, AND THE ASTERISK THERE IS, IT DEPENDS ON THE SIZE OF THE SYSTEM AND THE COST OF THE SYSTEM.
[00:15:01]
WHEN I WAS LOOKING UP, UM, YOU KNOW, BATTERY PROJECTS THAT EXIST IN, IN TEXAS, THERE'S A WIDE RANGE OF PAYBACK PERIODS.AND, AND I ACTUALLY FOUND, UM, A, A A, A PROJECT IN, IN SOUTH TEXAS, UM, THAT WAS REPORTED ON IN, IN I BELIEVE LIZARD'S, UM, LEVELIZED COST OF ENERGY REPORT FROM, FROM LAST YEAR.
UH, THAT QUOTED AN AN INTERNAL RATE OF RETURN OF ABOUT, I THINK 20%, WHICH IS, I MEAN, THAT, THAT'S LIKE INSANE.
SO I THINK THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD REALLY BE ENCOURAGING THE CITY TO, TO LOOK AT, UM, QUITE STRONGLY.
AND I GUESS I, I AGREE THAT THERE'S SOME QUESTIONS HERE ON THE DETAILS.
LIKE I HAVE QUESTIONS, YOU KNOW, HEY, DO, COULD WE ADD IN SOME EIGHT HOUR BATTERIES, WHICH ARE, ARE SOMEWHERE BETWEEN THE, THE, UM, FOUR AND THE, YOU KNOW, A HUNDRED HOUR COSTS.
UM, BUT I THINK IN, IN ANY, THEY'RE ALREADY OUT THIS, THAT'S PART OF THIS.
UM, I THINK THERE CLEARLY NEEDS TO BE, YOU KNOW, BOTH THE FUNDING ALLOCATED AND, AND THEN PROBABLY A DEEPER POLICY LOOK AT SPECIFICALLY, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THE DETAILS LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE PAPER I WAS REFERENCING LOOKED AT, UM, PLACING, UH, BATTERIES AT SUBSTATIONS, FOR EXAMPLE, ONE MEGAWATT BATTERIES AT SUBSTATIONS.
UM, AND SO THAT'S ABOUT A TRAILER SIZED, UH, SORRY, LIKE A SHIPPING CONTAINER SIZED BATTERY, WHICH YOU COULD IMAGINE HAVING.
UM, SO THESE ARE THE TYPES OF DETAILS THAT I, I THINK, NEED TO BE ACTUALLY PROPERLY WORKED OUT WITH, WITH A LOT OF THOUGHT.
BUT I, UH, I THINK THERE IS CLEAR MARKET EVIDENCE THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, THAT CAN PAY YOU BACK AND, AND PAY YOU BACK, I THINK IN A RATHER
SO I THINK AUSTIN SHOULD HAVE THE OPTION TO BE GETTING THOSE TYPES OF COST SAVINGS.
UM, I, I THINK THAT FOR SURE WE WOULD BE IN A, IT WOULD BE IDEAL IF THIS DETAILED ANALYSIS HAD HAPPENED BEFORE WE NEED TO MAKE THESE RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, I THINK, I THINK THE IMPORTANT THING HERE IS THAT WE SIGNAL THAT BATTERIES ARE AN IMPORTANT THING TO INVEST IN, AND CLEARLY AE STILL HAS WORK TO DO, WHICH I THINK THEY WILL BE DOING OVER THE COMING MONTHS TO KIND OF FIGURE OUT THE DETAILS.
OTHER QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS ABOUT THIS? COMMENTS? I GUESS I'D JUST LIKE TO ADD KIVA, I, I THINK I, I THINK THESE NUMBERS, THESE AE NUMBERS COME FROM NRE L'S, UH, LIKE REPORTS THAT THEY, THEY DO, THEY PUT TOGETHER THESE BIG LIKE LEVELIZED COST OF ENERGY REPORTS AND THOSE REPORTS DO FORECAST A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN BATTERY COSTS OVER TIME.
NOW, THAT'S NOT TO SAY WE SHOULD DELAY DOING THIS, UM, BUT TO SAY, I THINK THOSE ASTERISK, LIKE, LIKE THERE'S, THERE'S SOME SHORT TERM, YOU KNOW, MARKET CRUNCHES, LIKE IF EVERYBODY WANTS THESE, THE PRICE WILL GO UP.
BUT LONG TERM, THE PRICE WILL GO DOWN.
AND I THINK, UM, THE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE RESOURCE PLANNING WORKING GROUP WERE TO, TO PHASE THIS IN OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT LIKE WE'D BE BUYING, UM, YOU KNOW, LIKE AUSTIN ENERGY WOULD BE BUYING ALL THESE BATTERIES AT ONCE.
UM, AND IT MAY BE THAT SOME PORTION OF THIS CAN COME IN THE FORM OF DISTRIBUTED, UH, BATTERIES THAT AE MAYBE ONLY PAYS A PORTION OF BECAUSE THE CUSTOMER ALSO IS A PAIN, BUT THAT STRUCTURE NEEDS TO BE PUT IN PLACE.
ECONOMIC PROSPERITY COMMISSION.
I THINK YOU RAISED A REALLY GOOD POINT THAT I WANTED TO, TO, TO DOUBLE DOUBLE CLICK ON, IF YOU WILL.
YOU TALKED ABOUT THIS RESOLUTION HELPS US SIGNAL TOWARDS THE IMPORTANCE OF INVESTMENT IN BATTERIES.
AND I, WITH THOSE OF US IN THE GROUP WHO ARE MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE ON THAT SUBJECT, I'D LIKE TO DISCUSS THAT MORE BECAUSE I THINK THAT IS A REALLY IMPORTANT POINT WHEN WE LOOK AT NOT JUST WHAT ARE THE RECOMMENDATIONS WE'RE MAKING AND IS THE STRATEGY STRONG, BUT WHAT DOES THIS RECOMMENDATION SIGNAL AND OTHERS, RIGHT? YEAH.
IT'S UNLIKELY THAT ALL OF OUR RECOMMENDATIONS ARE GONNA BE, UH,
UM, I THINK THESE ARE, THESE ARE TOPICS THAT WE'RE, WE'RE GETTING ON A LIST AND OF COURSE IT'S, YOU KNOW, IDEAL IF WE CAN PUT OUR, OUR BEST INFORMATION FORWARD.
BUT I THINK WE'RE, WE'RE ALL FINDING THAT OUR, THAT OUR BEST INFORMATION STILL HAS GAPS.
UM, NEXT UP IS UTILITY OWNED OR CONTRACTED ROOFTOP SOLAR? UM, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE, THERE ARE KIND OF A SUITE OF RESOURCES THAT ARE NEEDED TO GET TO, UH, YOU KNOW, ZERO CARBON, ZERO EMISSIONS FUTURE FOR AUSTIN ENERGY.
THEY NEED TO REDUCE THE DEMAND, THEY NEED MORE
[00:20:01]
FLEXIBLE DEMAND, THEY NEED THE STORAGE.THEY DO ALSO NEED LOCAL GENERATION.
AND IF WE WANT THAT TO BE CARBON FREE AND EMISSIONS FREE.
SOLAR IS, IS PRETTY MUCH OUR, CURRENTLY OUR LOCAL OPTION.
AND, UM, DUE TO HIGH LAND PRICES, THAT'S MORE THAN LIKELY GONNA BE ROOFTOP SOLAR PREDOMINANTLY WITH SOME EXCEPTIONS.
UM, SO THIS, THIS IS A, A STRUCTURE TO ENABLE GREATER DEPLOYMENT OF ROOFTOP SOLAR THAT DOES NOT RELY ON CUSTOMERS OR PROPERTY OWNERS INVESTING BECAUSE AUSTIN ENERGY'S CURRENT PROGRAMS, THEY'RE ALL INCENTIVE BASED, WHICH MEANS THE PROPERTY OWNER, THE CUSTOMER NEEDS TO MAKE AN INVESTMENT.
UM, AUSTIN ENERGY IS WORKING ON ANOTHER PROGRAM THAT SHOULD HELP ADDRESS THAT FOR COMMERCIAL ROOFTOPS.
THIS ONE'S FOCUSED ON RESIDENTIAL.
UM, AND, UH, IS IS REALLY, UH, DERIVED FROM, THERE'S AN EPA PROGRAM THAT IS THIS INCLUSIVE UTILITY INVESTMENT.
IT'S FOCUSED MOSTLY ON EFFICIENCY, BUT THERE ARE SOME UTILITIES THAT ARE NOW STARTING TO PILOT IT WITH SOLAR AND OTHER, UM, UTILITY INVESTMENTS AS WELL.
SO THE IDEA IS THAT THE UTILITY ACTUALLY IS PAYING FOR THESE INSTALLATIONS AND THEN THE CUSTOMER REPAYS THAT OVER TIME WITH A TARIFF WHILE THEY'RE ALSO EARNING FROM THAT SOLAR.
SO THEY'RE ALWAYS GETTING A NET BENEFIT ON THEIR BILL.
AND THEN AT, AT A CERTAIN POINT THEY NO LONGER HAVE TO PAY THAT REPAYMENT TARIFF, UM, AND THEN THEY JUST GET THE EARNINGS.
SO IT'S, IT'S A WAY TO, UM, ENABLE ULTIMATELY CUSTOMER OWNED SOLAR, BUT WITHOUT THE UPFRONT INVESTMENT BY THE, BY THE CUSTOMER.
AND THIS WOULD NOT BE A LOAN TO THE CUSTOMER.
IT'S, UM, TIED TO THE METER AND IT'S, IT'S MORE OF A UTILITY INVESTMENT IN SOLAR.
IT'S JUST ROOFTOP INSTEAD OF, INSTEAD OF SOLAR FARMS, LIKE WE'RE, WE'RE MAYBE USED TO WHEN WE THINK OF UTILITY PURCHASED SOLAR.
UM, I WILL SAY THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE POTENTIALLY SOME OTHER ALTERNATIVES TO THIS PARTICULAR STRUCTURE AND AM HAVING LIKE ACTIVE ONGOING CONVERSATIONS WITH, UM, WITH AUSTIN ENERGY ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE, WHAT THE RIGHT PATH FORWARD IS AND HOW IT FITS IN WITH THE SOLAR FOR ALL GRANT THAT THEY JUST GOT.
UM, SO IT'S POSSIBLE THAT SOME OTHER SOLUTION EMERGES.
UM, BUT EITHER WAY THEY DEFINITELY NEED MORE STAFF ON THAT TEAM.
UM, AND I THINK THAT'S JUST KIND OF A THEME, UM, THROUGHOUT THESE, UH, AT LEAST THREE OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE'VE JUST REVIEWED, NOT SO MUCH WITH THE BATTERIES THAT'S NOT QUITE AS STAFF, UM, STAB STAFF HEAVY, BUT WITH A LOT OF THESE CLEAN ENERGY RESOURCES, IT REALLY SWITCHES FROM YOU PAY NOW, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF COST IN FUEL, RIGHT? YOU PAY FOR GAS, YOU PAY FOR COAL.
WELL, WITH CLEAN ENERGY, YOU'RE NOT PAYING FOR YOUR FUEL, BUT THERE IS MORE, UM, YOU KNOW, MORE LABOR NEEDED, WHICH I THINK IS A GOOD THING 'CAUSE IT'S PUTTING PEOPLE TO WORK.
BUT, UM, IT IS, IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO INVEST IN HAVING THE STAFF TO ACTUALLY DEPLOY LARGER PROGRAMS. SO REGARDLESS THE STAFF NEED IS THERE AND, UM, IF WE WANT AE TO INVEST, THEY NEED SOME, THERE NEEDS TO BE A POT OF MONEY TO DO THAT.
THOUGHTS, QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? I, YEAH, I REALLY LIKE THIS PROGRAM AND I NOMINATE MY, MY HOME TO
UM, I WAS GONNA, I WAS GONNA MENTION THAT.
IS THIS, IS THIS PROGRAM BEING ADVERTISED ONLY FOR SINGLE FAMILY HOMES ARE, WITH THE GROWTH OF THIS PROGRAM, YOU ENVISION IT ALSO GOING TO MULTI-FAMILY TOWN, HOME CONDOMINIUM, COMMERCIAL ROOFTOPS, UM, OR IS THIS PRETTY MUCH STRUCTURED JUST FOR THE SINGLE FAMILY HOME TOP? HMM, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
I COULD SEE IT WORKING FOR MULTIFAMILY GIVEN THE OTHER, UM, SOLAR KIND OF BILLING STRUCTURES THAT AE NOW HAS IN PLACE.
I THINK IT COULD WORK FOR MULTIFAMILY.
UM, TECHNICALLY YOU COULD DO IT FOR COMMERCIAL AS WELL.
UM, YOU KNOW, THIS IS, THIS IS VERY MUCH IN THE EARLY STAGES OF, UM, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO WORK OUT THE DETAILS.
SO, UM, ALL TO BE DETERMINED, UM, I THINK, AND ALSO PROBABLY DEPENDENT
[00:25:01]
UPON HOW THIS OTHER PROGRAM, THIS STANDARD OFFER PROGRAM ENDS UP WORKING OUT.AND IF THAT'S SUPER SUCCESSFUL FOR COMMERCIAL, THEN, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THIS ISN'T A PATH THAT THEY REALLY NEED TO GO DOWN FOR COMMERCIAL.
I WILL SAY THE DOWNSIDE OF DOING IT FOR COMMERCIAL IS LIKE, THIS PROGRAM RELIES ON AUSTIN ENERGY MAKING THE INVESTMENT AND THEY GET THE MONEY BACK, BUT IT'S OVER 15 YEARS AND COMMERCIAL INSTALLATIONS ARE LARGER.
SO YOU WOULD BE PUTTING DOWN, YOU KNOW, THE UTILITY WOULD BE PUTTING DOWN A MUCH LARGER, UM, YOU KNOW, CAPITAL OVERLAY TO, TO GET TO THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, TO, TO GET A CUSTOMER SET UP WITH AN INSTALLATION COMPARED TO, YOU KNOW, RESIDENTIAL BUT IS, YOU KNOW, GENERALLY AVERAGES AROUND SIX KILOWATTS.
SO PROBABLY THIS PROGRAM WOULD BE BEST FOR RESIDENTIAL, BUT I COULD SEE, YOU KNOW, MULTI-FAMILY FITTING IN THERE.
AND MAYBE THE ROLES CHANGE FOR COMMERCIAL VERSUS, UM, FAMILY STRUCTURES.
SO, BUT YEAH, THAT'S, THAT'S GOOD THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GETTING TO THE BRAIN JUICES FLOW HERE.
OTHER QUESTIONS ON THIS? SHOULD I MOVE ON? OKAY, NEXT UP FAYETTE, THIS ONE IS I THINK, FAIRLY STRAIGHTFORWARD AND THAT FAYETTE'S LARGEST SOURCE OF THE AUSTIN COMMUNITIES GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY THE LCRA HAS, UM, BEEN SAYING THAT THAT THAT THE CITY NEEDS TO PAY A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT TO CHANGE THE CONTRACT SO THAT THEY CAN GET, SO THAT THE CITY CAN GET OWNERSHIP OF A SINGLE UNIT AND ACTUALLY SHUT IT DOWN, WHICH IS THE STATED GOAL.
UM, SO THIS IS, YOU KNOW, PUTTING FORWARD THAT, YOU KNOW, THE CITY SHOULD ALLOCATE MONEY TO DO THAT.
UM, IT MAY NOT BE IDEAL, BUT, UM, GIVEN THE LARGE PORTION OF EMISSIONS AND THAT WE LITERALLY CANNOT MEET OUR CLIMATE GOALS WITHOUT SHUTTING IT DOWN, AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE AMOUNT EMISSIONS AND, YOU KNOW, THE SOCIAL COST OF CARBON, WHICH ACCOUNTS FOR THE HARM FROM THOSE EMISSIONS, YOU KNOW, IT, IT'S ACTUALLY NOT A TERRIBLE DEAL FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE.
I THINK IT'S, IT'S MORE JUST THAT LCA IS BEING A BIT PUNITIVE, BUT, UM, THIS RECOMMENDATION IS TO, YOU KNOW, ALLOCATE SOME AMOUNT OF MONEY.
UM, AND THAT'S KIND OF TO BE DETERMINED.
'CAUSE I THINK NEGOTIATIONS ARE NOW ONGOING AGAIN, UM, OR SO I'M TOLD.
UM, SO AGAIN, THIS, THIS IS, THIS IS A RANGE BECAUSE WE DON'T, WE DON'T REALLY KNOW.
THIS IS ALL CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION PARTS.
UM, DO YOU, DO YOU HAVE LIKE A BALLPARK NUMBER FOR THAT SOCIAL COSTS? UH, YOU, YOU'RE SAYING THAT IT'S QUITE A BIT HIGHER.
UH, SO I WAS WONDERING IF, IF WE ARE ABLE TO GET THAT NUMBER MIGHT BE GOOD TO INCLUDE IT THERE TO JUST HAVE SOME YEAH.
I SHOULD HAVE, I SHOULD HAVE INCLUDED THAT IN THIS.
UM, UM, IF YOU, YOU HAVE A HANDY, I DIDN'T DO THE SOCIAL COST OF CARBON, BUT I DID MOCK UP WHAT THIS WOULD BE FOR A SIMILAR SCENARIO.
IT WAS HALF AS MANY MEGAWATTS.
YOU DID 700, RIGHT? NO STORAGE.
LET ME, LET ME DO SOME MATH AND MAYBE WE CAN COME BACK TO THIS AT THE END AND I'LL GET YOU THANKS.
'CAUSE WE JUST HAVE TO PLUG IN THE FAYETTE EMISSIONS, RIGHT? YEAH.
MULTIPLIED BY, YEAH, YOU JUST NEED TO MAKE SURE YOU'RE USING THE, UM, THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S PORTION AND NOT THE FULL EMISSIONS, UM, WHICH THEY DID GIVE TO US.
SO LET ME KNOW IF YOU CAN'T FIND THAT.
I THINK JUST WE CAN ADD THAT IT'S, IT'S BASIC MATH.
SO IF Y'ALL WOULD, IF WE CAN'T GET TO IT IN THIS MEETING, IF YOU CAN, IF YOU CAN TRUST US TO PUT IN THE NUMBERS, THEN, THEN I THINK WE SHOULD, UH, CHARLOTTE.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT CAME UP IN PUBLIC COMMENT IN TALKING ABOUT THIS IS, UM, CLEANUP AND MITIGATION, UM, OF THE SITE.
SO I WONDERED IF THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS CONSIDERED AS, AS PART OF THIS RECOMMENDATION.
UM, SO AUSTIN ENERGY DOES HAVE A NON, A NON-NUCLEAR DECOMMISSIONING FUND.
UM, AND SO THAT'S DECOMMISSIONING FOR FAYETTE AND FOR THE GAS PLANTS.
UM, SO THAT'S WHY IT'S NOT INCLUDED IN HERE IS THAT, THAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO HAVE ALREADY BEEN COLLECTING FOR IT.
I THINK IT'S A VERY VALID QUESTION TO ASK, HAVE THEY COLLECTED ENOUGH?
[00:30:01]
UM, AND, AND I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT.UM, AND AUSTIN ENERGY HAS NOT DONE A FULL DECOMMISSIONING STUDY ON FAYETTE, AND I THINK THAT IS DEFINITELY WELL PAST TIME, ESPECIALLY GIVEN THAT IT WAS SUPPOSEDLY SUPPOSED TO BE SHUT DOWN BY NOW.
UM, SO I THINK WE SHOULD, WE SHOULD PUSH ON THAT AS, AS A, YOU KNOW, POLICY OR WHATEVER AN ACTION THAT NEEDS, UH, DOING.
UM, AND IT'S POSSIBLE THAT THERE IS MORE MONEY NEEDED FOR THAT.
I JUST DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER, SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WOULD PUT IN THERE, BUT I AGREE THAT IT'S IMPORTANT.
SORRY FOR THE MAYBE NOT SATISFYING ANSWER
OH, THAT'S HELPFUL, THANK YOU.
UM, I'M GONNA MOVE ON FOR NOW.
WE CAN, WE CAN COME BACK IF, IF WE GET THAT NUMBER CALCULATED.
UM, WE HAVE A COUPLE HERE THAT ARE, ARE KIND OF SUBSETS OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY, I WOULD SAY, BUT SPECIFIC PROGRAMS. UM, AND, AND, AND CHARLOTTE, YOU ASK ABOUT THIS AIR CEILING TASK FORCE TRAINING PROGRAM AND TRAINING PROGRAM.
UM, AND AT FIRST I THOUGHT, OH YEAH, IT MAKES SENSE.
LET'S ROLL THAT IN WITH THE OTHER, UM, A CCC, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND THEN I READ AGAIN AND I CHECKED IN WITH TREY, WHO WAS THE, THE ONE WHO KIND OF PUT THIS ONE TOGETHER.
AND THIS REALLY ISN'T, IT'S, IT'S DIFFERENT THAN THE PROGRAMS THAT THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY, AUSTIN CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS, UM, RUNS IN THAT IT'S NOT REALLY TRYING TO BRING NEW FOLKS INTO THE WORKFORCE.
IT'S TRYING TO GIVE SPECIFIC LIKE CONTINUING EDUCATION YEAH.
FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE ALREADY IN, YOU KNOW, WORKING IN THE FIELD.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE WHY IT'S SEPARATE? YEP.
UM, HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ON THAT, BUT I'M GONNA GO ON FOR NOW TO PASSIVE HOUSE.
UM, THIS WAS ACTUALLY JUST, UM, SUPPORTED, UH, EARLIER THIS MONTH BY COUNCIL.
UM, THEY DIRECTED STAFF TO GO FORWARD AND, AND CREATE THIS PILOT PROGRAM.
UM, SO THIS IS REALLY JUST, UH, RECOMMENDING, UM, FUNDING OF SAID PROGRAM ONCE IT'S DEVELOPED.
UM, THE IDEA IS NOT NECESSARILY THAT THIS LEVEL OF 4,000 A UNIT WOULD LIKE CONTINUE, BUT THAT BY DOING A PILOT, UH, THAT IT WILL HELP DEMONSTRATE THAT PASSIVE HOUSE AND, YOU KNOW, JUST EVEN MORE GENERALLY BUILDING HIGHLY EFFICIENT BUILDINGS IS POSSIBLE AND THAT IT IS COST EFFECTIVE AND, UM, YOU KNOW, APPROPRIATE FOR THIS CLIMATE.
SO IT'S, IT'S KIND OF ABOUT, UM, GETTING A, GETTING A MARKET SHIFT GOING HERE.
'CAUSE I THINK THERE ARE CURRENTLY NO CERTIFIED PASSIVE HOUSE, UH, BUILDINGS, EXCUSE ME.
AND PASSIVE HOUSES JUST LIKE A SPECIFIC CERTIFICATION FOR SUPER TIGHT BUILDINGS THAT ARE NOT, UM, ALLOWING, YOU KNOW, UM, LEAKAGE FROM, FROM OUTSIDE.
ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THOSE TWO BEFORE I MOVE ON? OKAY.
DECARBONIZING MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS.
THIS IS REALLY, UH, JUST JUMPING OFF OF THE, UH, WHAT I'M, I'M GONNA GET THE NAME WRONG, BUT THE AUSTIN, THE, THE PRIORITY CLIMATE ACTION PLAN FOR THE AUSTIN METRO AREA.
I DON'T KNOW, I THINK I GOT SOME OF THOSE WORDS RIGHT.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, THIS GENERAL STRATEGY, I DON'T KNOW, WE MAY NOT HAVE, UH, DUPLICATED IT EXACTLY, BUT BASICALLY RETROFITTING MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS, UM, IS PART OF THAT PLAN.
AND I KNOW THE CITY IS, UH, OR TRAVIS COUNTY IS APPLYING, I THINK FOR THE MONEY FOR THAT, BUT THAT'S GONNA BE, IF THEY GET IT SPREAD AROUND BUILDINGS IN FIVE COUNTIES.
UM, SO NOT, CERTAINLY NOT ENOUGH TO TAKE CARE OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND FOR THAT MATTER, NEITHER, NEITHER IS NECESSARILY THIS AMOUNT.
SO THERE'S MORE THAN 10 BUILDINGS.
BUT, UM, THE IDEA HERE IS TO, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY FULLY UPGRADE SOME BUILDINGS TO, UM, BOTH BE MORE EFFICIENT AND, UM, YOU KNOW, KINDA BE RESILIENCE HUBS AS WELL BY ADDING BATTERIES AND, UM, OTHER, OTHER, UM, OTHER MEASURES THAT THAT CAN, CAN MAKE THEM BOTH A DEMONSTRATION AND, UH, YOU KNOW, BENEFICIAL
[00:35:01]
TO THE COMMUNITY.WE HAVE TWO ON WATER AND I'M KIND OF THINKING, CHRIS, DO YOU MIND TALKING ABOUT THESE TWO? 'CAUSE YOU'RE MUCH MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE THAN I AM ON EITHER OF THEM.
SO I, WE WANTED TO OBVIOUSLY TRY TO PUT SOME SORT OF WATER CONSERVATION, UM, GOALS INTO, UH, THE RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND SO OBVIOUSLY YOU LOOK AT THE LOW HANGING FRUIT, AND SO THE FIRST ONE HERE IS, UH, WATER LEAK DETECTION PROGRAMS. UM, SO AS YOU SEE IN 2023, AUSTIN WATER LOSS, UH, 8.6 BILLION GALLONS OF WATER.
SO OBVIOUSLY THAT'S IN LEAKS IN THE GROUND, BUT THAT'S ALSO POTENTIALLY METER LOSS AS WELL.
UH, YOU KNOW, NOT ACCOUNTED FOR WATER THAT ACTUALLY PASSES THROUGH THE METERS.
SO IT IS USED, IT'S JUST, IT'S NOT, UH, ACCOUNTED FOR.
UM, AND SO, UH, THIS EQUATES TO ABOUT 21.7 GALLONS PER CAPITA PER DAY OF WATER LOSS.
SO A HUGE AREA, UH, OF IMPROVEMENT.
UH, I INQUIRED TO AUSTIN WATER ABOUT THEIR CURRENT BUDGETS FOR THIS, AND RIGHT NOW THEIR CURRENT BUDGET IS, UM, 140,000 FOR SMALL DIAMETER, UM, LEAK DETECTION PROGRAMS AND A MILLION DOLLARS FOR LARGER DIAMETER, UH, PIPE, UH, ASSESSMENT AND, UH, AND FIXES.
SO, UH, I GUESS THE ASSUMPTION WOULD BE, UH, AGAIN, JUST THE THOUGHT OF HOW MUCH TO ADD TO THIS.
UM, AND SO THEREFORE I THINK, YOU KNOW, TRIPLING THAT, SO I THINK THE NUMBER WOULD BE ABOUT 3.5 MILLION TOTAL ACROSS A LARGE DIAMETER AND SMALL DIAMETER.
SO THAT WOULD BE THE NUMBER THAT WE WOULD SLOT INTO THE, THE COST.
AND OBVIOUSLY THE BENEFITS ARE, ARE HUGE AS, UH, KAABA HAD, UH, ENUMERATED THERE ON THE BENEFITS THERE.
BUT THAT'S THE, UH, LEAK DETECTION PROGRAMS, UH, BULLET POINT.
ANY QUESTIONS FROM ANYONE ABOUT THAT? I HAVE A COMMENT TO MAKE YES, ABOUT THAT.
THE, UM, STATE AGENCY TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD, THEY HAVE, UM, EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES AND, UM, OTHER MATERIALS TO HELP PREVENT WATER LOSS AND, UM, WATER LOSS DETECTION KITS AND REPAIR KITS THAT THEY OFFER TO THE PUBLIC.
SO, UM, THAT COULD BE A CONNECTION THAT AUSTIN WATER COULD USE AS, UM, ADDITIONAL RESOURCE.
I MEAN, I KNOW THAT AUSTIN WATER TRIES TO DO A LOT OF EDUCATION ON THAT SIDE OF, OF LEAK, YOU KNOW, PREVENTION INSIDE THE HOMES.
SO OBVIOUSLY USING SOME OTHER RESOURCES FROM A STATE AGENCY WOULD BE BENEFICIAL.
SO, UM, YEAH, THERE'S SOME LANGUAGE I CAN TACK INTO THAT FOR, UH, UH, 'CAUSE THIS IS ALL, UH, THE TALKING ABOUT LEAK PREVENTION, YOU KNOW, BEYOND THE METER.
SO IN THE STREETS, UM, ON THE CONVEYANCE LINES, UH, ONCE IT GETS INTO THE HOME, THEN IT'S, UH, THE HOMEOWNER TO KINDA WATCH, UH, PROPERTY OWNER TO WATCH OUT FOR, UH, WATER WASTE AND LEAKAGE.
AND THEN, UH, IF NO OTHER QUESTIONS, THEN THE NEXT POINT IS, UH, TO IMPROVE THE REBATES FOR THE RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL LANDSCAPE, UH, CONVERSIONS.
SO, UM, YOU CAN JUST LOOK AT THE WATER DEMAND, UH, CHARTS OVER THE YEARS AND IN THE SUMMERTIME IT, YOU KNOW, WATER USE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, YOU KNOW, SPIKES LIKE YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE.
AND, UM, OBVIOUSLY THIS IS FOR IRRIGATION USE.
UH, THIS SPIKE IS FOR IRRIGATION USE.
SO THE IDEA IS THAT, UH, MORE REBATES SHOULD BE PUT TOWARDS GETTING HOMEOWNERS TO, UH, VOLUNTARILY CONVERT THEIR LANDSCAPING OR, OR COMMERCIAL BUILDING OWNERS AS WELL TO CONVERT THEIR LANDSCAPING IN SPECIFICALLY REDUCED TURF AREAS.
SO, UM, I'VE INQUIRED ABOUT THEIR BUDGET FOR THIS.
I WOULD BELIEVE IT'S PRETTY LOW.
UM, ALL OF 2023, WHAT IS IT? THERE WAS ONLY 19 REBATE APPLICATIONS IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, I'M ASSUMING APPLIED FOR SO VERY, VERY LOW UPTAKE.
UH, SO THE, THE PROGRAM COULD BE CHANGED A LITTLE BIT, UH, BUT ALSO INCREASING THEIR REBATE, UM, COULD HELP, UH, ENSURE THAT MORE PEOPLE WANNA DO THIS.
ANY QUESTIONS ON THAT? THANKS, CHRIS.
[00:40:01]
DO FEEL LIKE WE NEED TO, WELL, I DON'T KNOW.I GUESS WE CAN JUST SAY THE BUDGET SHOULD BE INCREASED.
UM, BUT YEAH, IT MAKES IT A LITTLE DIFFICULT THAT WE DON'T HAVE A NUMBER.
WELL, HOPEFULLY IN THE NEXT DAY OR TWO I'LL GET THE RESPONSE AND THEN FROM THAT, THEN WE CAN PUT SOMETHING IN.
YEAH, I GUESS, UH, I GUESS IT'S JUST A MATTER OF WHETHER PEOPLE FEEL YEAH.
COMFORTABLE, YEAH, COMFORTABLE.
I MEAN, IT IS GONNA BE A PRETTY LOW, UH, COMPARATIVE TO THESE OTHER ITEMS. YEAH, IT'S GONNA BE IN THE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS, I WOULD BELIEVE.
SO IT'S A PRETTY LOW, UH, NUMBER THAT I THINK WILL GET SLOTTED IN THERE.
SO IF EVERYONE IS, UH, ON BOARD WITH THE IDEA OF INCREASING REBATES FOR THIS, BUT I DON'T THINK THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS ANY SORT OF CRAZY BUDGET CURRENTLY RIGHT NOW FOR THAT PARTICULAR REBATE ITEM.
SHOULD WE JUST PUT FORWARD A NUMBER REGARDLESS OF WHAT THEY HAVE BUDGETED NOW THAT WE THINK? SURE.
I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE WE CAN PUT A PIN IN THAT AND YOU CAN YEP.
DO A LITTLE THINKING ON THAT WHEN WE ABSOLUTELY CIRCLE BACK.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THESE BEFORE WE MOVE ON? OKAY, SO, SO WE HAVE ADDED TWO NEW I, WELL TECHNICALLY ONLY ONE OF THEM IS NEW AND IT'S, IT'S ONLY NEW TO THIS CONVERSATION.
WE, WE ADOPTED IN OUR BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS RECOMMENDATION FOR OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY TO, UM, COORDINATE OUTREACH FOR ALL OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN SUSTAINABILITY INCENTIVES.
UM, SO I THINK IT WAS CHARLOTTE SUGGESTED, UM, THAT WE REVIVE THAT RECOMMENDATION FOR, FOR THIS.
AND I KNOW THAT THERE HAD ALSO BEEN CONVERSATIONS ABOUT A WEBSITE TO CONSOLIDATE ALL THAT INFORMATION.
SO I DID MY BEST TO PUT THIS INTO ONE RECOMMENDATION, BUT PLEASE, PLEASE SPEAK UP WITH ANY OBJECTIONS OR CORRECTIONS OR EDITS OR ANYTHING.
ONE QUESTION I DO HAVE IS, WOULD THIS BE BETTER ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH AN FTE OR THROUGH AN RFP FOR AN EXISTING VENDOR? UM, DO YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ABOUT WHY WE CHOSE TO GO FT? BECAUSE I MEAN, EITHER, EITHER WAY HAS BENEFITS, SO I WAS JUST CURIOUS IF THERE WAS A STRATEGY BEHIND GOING FTE VERSUS RFP FOR THE WEBSITE? OH, I DON'T THINK THE WEBSITE WAS IN, I THINK THE FTE WAS, UM, FOR THE COORDINATION FOR COORDINATING THE, THE OUTREACH, WHICH OH, I GUESS WOULD BE DONE MOSTLY VIA GRANTS AND CONTRACTS WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.
BUT YEAH, I THINK THE WEBSITE, I, I, I JUST DIDN'T EVEN SPEAK TO HOW THAT SHOULD GET DONE.
FIGURED OTHER PEOPLE CAN FIGURE OUT THAT OUT IF THEY HAVE SOME BUDGET TO DO IT.
I HAVE A CLARIFICATION QUESTION UNDER THE COSTS, 'CAUSE I SEE 500,000 AND THEN I SEE 200,000, WHAT IS THE 200,000? YEAH.
UM, REFERRING TO? YEAH, I KNEW THERE WAS GONNA BE CONFUSION THERE.
SO THIS WAS, WE HAD IN OUR BUDGET RECOMMENDATION 200,000 FOR THE CONTRACTS.
SO THAT'S WHAT THAT IS REFERRING TO IS THE OUTREACH GRANTS, CONTRACTS AND STIPENDS.
UM, AND THEN WE JUST FOR THE BUDGET RECOMMENDATION HAD THAT 200,000 PLUS, I THINK IT WAS 120,000 FOR THE FTEI ADDED TO THAT THOUGH, TO GIVE BUDGET FOR ACTUALLY STANDING UP AND, AND MAINTAINING THE WEBSITE.
I HONESTLY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THAT COSTS.
SO, UM, PLEASE, ANYBODY
[00:45:01]
THE WEBSITE CONSTRUCTION'S NOT PART OF THIS, THAT WE SHOULD STRIKE IT FROM THAT LAST SECTION.UM, 'CAUSE IT DOES SAY THAT'S PART OF THE, UM, PART OF THIS POSITION.
UH, WHICH, WHICH SENTENCE? IT'S UNDER COST.
YEAH, IT'S IN THE LIST OF THINGS UNDER COST.
IT SAYS WEBSITE CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE.
YEAH, SO I, I I WAS PROPOSING THAT THAT BE PART OF WHAT THIS MONEY BE USED FOR.
SO IT'S JUST NOT PART OF THAT POSITION R RIGHT, RIGHT.
MAY I MAKE A SUGGESTION? PLEASE.
UM, SO I THINK THIS WOULD BE CLEARER IF THE SEPARATE PIECES WERE, WERE, UM, SEPARATED OUT.
SO, UH, WHAT WE HAD IN OUR ORIGINAL RECOMMENDATION WAS $120,000 FOR THE FTE TO COORDINATE.
IT'S A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SPECIALIST, COORDINATE COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND PARTNERSHIP ACTIVITIES.
THEN WE HAD 200,000 FOR GRANTS CONTRACTS AND STIPENDS FOR COMMUNITY LEADERS AND COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS TO DO DIRECT OUTREACH.
UM, SO THAT LEAVES JUST DOING THE MATH 180,000 FOR WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT.
I PERSONALLY THINK THAT'S EXORBITANT.
UM, I, I THINK WE CAN GET SOME WEBSITE DEVELOPED FOR FAR LESS THAN THAT, BUT WHATEVER THAT AMOUNT IS, I THINK IF WE PUT THOSE IN THOSE THREE BUCKETS, THEN IT'LL BE CLEARER TO, TO FOLKS WHAT THAT'S ABOUT.
AND ALSO JUST TO, TO SPEAK FURTHER TO THAT, LIKE WHILE WE'RE, WE'RE SAYING ALLOCATE THIS MUCH TOWARDS THIS INITIATIVE, BUT CHARLOTTE'S RIGHT, I'VE BUILT WEBSITES THAT COST A MILLION DOLLARS AND I'VE BUILT WEBSITES THAT COST $500.
SO LEAVING, SO SETTING, YOU KNOW, DEDICATE BUDGET TOWARDS COMMUNITY OUTREACH BECAUSE THAT'S IMPORTANT.
DEDICATE BUDGET TOWARDS FTE BECAUSE WE WANT THIS TO BE A PERMANENT PART OF YOUR DEPARTMENT AND CREATE AN RFP FOR A COMPETITIVE WEBSITE TO BE EXECUTED INTERNALLY OR EXTERNALLY.
I DON'T THINK WE NEED TO UNDERLINE FOR THEM HOW MUCH TO SPEND ON THE WEBSITE.
AND I THINK IN ALL HONESTY, THE FULL BUDGET YOU GIVE, IF THE WEBSITE WASN'T INCLUDED, BUT YOU SAID BE COMPETITIVE, I WOULD STILL BE COMFORTABLE WITH THE DOLLARS THAT YOU PROPOSED BASED ON THE INITIATIVES AND THE GOALS THAT ARE OUTLINED.
SO BASICALLY WHAT I'VE JUST DONE IS BREAK THAT INTO THREE BULLET POINTS, 120,000 FOR THE ONE ADDITIONAL FDE 200,000 FOR THE OUTREACH GRANTS, CONTRACTS AND STIPENDS, AND THEN JUST WEBSITE CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE, UM, VIA COMPETITIVE RFP
I THINK WE COULD JUST SAY WEBSITE CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE.
I THINK PUT YOUR TOTAL, I THINK YOU COULD PUT YOUR TOTAL PROGRAM ALLOCATION BECAUSE, UH, ONE 20 FTE MAY GET IT DONE AND MAY NOT.
BUT I DON'T KNOW THAT YOU NEED TO PUSH TO, TO RESTRAIN TO, TO HOW, HOW THAT, UH, ALL HOW THOSE THREE BULLETS ACROSS THE BOARD ARE SPENT.
LIKE, I THINK I, I THINK THAT'S, YOU'RE PUTTING UNDUE PRESSURE ON YOURSELF.
THERE ARE, ARE YOU SAYING WE SHOULD JUST SAY STAY SILENT ON ALL THE AMOUNTS? OKAY.
YOU'RE LIKE HALF A MILLION TO COMPLETELY FIGURE IT OUT.
IS EVERYBODY GOOD WITH THAT? YEAH.
AND SORRY THAT MY WRITING WASN'T THE MOST CLEAR
YOU'RE THE, YOU, YOU DIALED IN ON WHAT WE NEEDED THEM TO DO.
SO THAT WAS REALLY HELPFUL FOR ME.
UM, THE OTHER ITEM THAT WE, IT'S, IT'S NOT NEW BECAUSE IT WAS IN, I THINK, BUT IT'S MERGED.
UM, SO WE NOW HAVE ONE ITEM THAT ADDRESSES THE AUSTIN CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS.
BOTH THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE COMING FROM NATURAL SYSTEMS AND THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE COMING FROM, UH, SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS.
SO MAYBE WE CAN JUST MAKE SURE THAT THAT IS MEETING EVERYONE'S
[00:50:01]
EXPECTATIONS.CAN WE BRING THAT ONE UP PLEASE? OH, THE, UM, GOSH, WHAT IS THE FILE NAME? CIVIL AUSTIN CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS RECOMMENDATION.
SO THE FORMATTING IS DIFFERENT AND I'M REALIZING THERE'S A TYPO THAT SHOULD SAY THIS INCLUDES THE SOLAR TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM AND I KNOW THAT AFTER I SENT THIS, I SAW YOUR EMAIL CHARLOTTE, AND YOU WERE SUGGESTING TO ALSO INCLUDE AT A CC, THE, WHAT WAS IT, SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE PROGRAMS. IS THAT RIGHT? THAT WAS, THAT WAS JUST A THOUGHT.
I KNOW, UM, JOHN HAD MENTIONED THAT IN HIS CONVERSATION WITH THE A CC PERSON, THEY, THEY HAD A SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE TRACK, BUT, SO I I'M NOT INSISTENT ON THAT
SO I'VE JUST ADDED THAT TO THE LAST END OF THE LAST SENTENCE UNDER DETAILS.
THEY HAD ALSO ADDED, HAD A, A WIN PROGRAM, BUT ALL OF THIS IS BASED ON THE DEMAND.
SO IT WAS, IT WAS DORMANT, BUT THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY THERE FOR MORE SUSTAINABLE, UH, PROGRAMS OVER THERE AT A CC IF THEY GET THE, THE PEOPLE INTERESTED IN TAKING THOSE COURSES.
DO YOU FEEL LIKE THE LANGUAGE HERE IS GENERAL ENOUGH, UH, TO SUIT THAT NEED OR, YEAH, I THINK SO.
BECAUSE I, I THINK THERE'S PROBABLY MORE THAT HADN'T BEEN, YOU KNOW, HAVE BEEN, HAVEN'T BEEN THOUGHT OF OR CREATED YET, SO.
UM, I WILL SAY WHAT I, I DID, I DID WHAT I COULD IN TERMS OF TRYING TO TAKE THE INFORMATION THAT, THAT JOHN HAD GATHERED, UM, ABOUT THE FTES AND THE TEMPORARY STAFF AND THEN TRY TO APPLY THAT TO LIKE, WELL IF YOU'RE ADDING NEW ENERGY FOCUSED PROGRAMS, UH, ON MULTIPLE TRACKS, LIKE WHAT MIGHT THAT NEED LOOK LIKE THEN? UM, IT'S PROBABLY NOT EXACT, BUT, UM, DID ADD I THINK TWO FTES AND THEN I THINK DOUBLED THE TEMPORARY STAFF BUDGET, UM, IN ADDITION TO ADDING TO THE OVERALL, UM, BUDGET.
I KNOW A LOT OF YOU CARE ABOUT THIS PROGRAM.
IS THIS WHAT WE WANNA BE SAYING? IS EVERYBODY HAPPY WITH IT?
YEAH, JUST UM, JUST A, UM, A MATH CHECK ON THAT TOTAL COST, I THINK IT'S 4.0 1000004.01.
WAS ARE YOU MAYBE ADDING IN THE 80? NO.
I JUST ADDED THE, THE, THE COST THERE.
570 FOR SIX FTES, ONE 60 FOR TEMPS STAFF, 80 PER FLEET.
3.2 FOR PROGRAMMING AND TRAINING.
I THINK THE, IS THAT NOT ALL? I THINK TO BE ADD MY DOUBLE COUNTING, I THINK THE 80 IS THE ONLY ONE WE DON'T NEED.
THAT DOESN'T MEAN I DID NOT DO MY MATH WRONG HERE.
SO I'M GONNA JUST DOUBLE CHECK RIGHT NOW.
THE 80 I THINK IS LIKE A ONE TIME, AT LEAST THAT'S WAS MY UNDERSTANDING.
IS THAT CORRECT JOHN? FOR FLEET? YEAH, THAT'S A, THAT'S CORRECT.
[00:55:01]
AND THEN SINCE YOU DOUBLED THE TEMPORARY STAFF ONE 60, WAS THAT THE QUESTION YOU HAD ASKED OR, UH, NO, IT WAS ABOUT THE, IT WAS ABOUT THE VEHICLE.SO I JUST, I JUST RECALCULATED AND I THINK, I THINK IT IS THE 3.93 IF YOU'RE NOT INCLUDING THE 80,000 'CAUSE THAT'S A ONE, WHAT IS, WHAT IS ACCESS TO FLEET VEHICLE ONE TIME? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? IS THAT JUST PI BUYING ONE TRUCK? IS THAT, IS THAT WHAT THAT IS THAT, YEAH, THAT'S MY UNDERSTANDING WITH MY CONVERSATION WITH THE PROGRAM MANAGER IS THAT, UM, YEAH THEY NEED TO ADD, THEY NEED TO GET A, A VEHICLE SO THAT THEY CAN GET TO THEIR VARIOUS LOCATIONS WITH THEIR EQUIPMENT.
SO IT IS ONE TIME, I'M JUST A LITTLE UNCERTAIN WHY IT WASN'T ADDED.
'CAUSE THAT'S AN ANNUAL FIGURE, THE 3.93 MILLION PER YEAR, SO YEAH.
I THINK I, I'VE GOT, I'VE GOT SOME BAD WRITING HERE ON THIS ONE TOO.
'CAUSE IF THAT'S ONE TIME WE DON'T WANNA CONFUSE.
SO WE HAVE 80 AND IS THERE A REASON IT'S ACCESS TO A FLEET VEHICLE? I MEAN IS IT NOT JUST TO PURCHASE, IS IT TO PURCHASE A VEHICLE? IS THAT WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT? YEAH, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
I THINK I JUST WROTE IT DOWN FROM HIS NOTES OF WHEN WE WERE COMMUNICATING AND THAT'S, THAT'S THE WAY HE HAD WORDED IT TO ME.
BUT YES, IT'S THE TO I'M NOT SURE HOW THE FLEET VEHICLES WORK.
UM, BUT YEAH, IT'S FOR PURCHASING A TRUCK.
I'M JUST GONNA SAY THAT THAT SEEMS, IT SEEMS JUST ONE TRUCK.
IT DOES SEEM LOW, BUT VEHICLE VEHICLES, MAYBE WE LEAVE IT AS ACCESS TO FLEET VEHICLES.
THAT WAY IF THEY NEED TO PURCHASE, GREAT.
IF THEY'RE REALLOCATING, GREAT.
AND IF THEY NEED MORE THAN ONE THAT'S IMPLIED.
WELL I THINK, I THINK THE 80 THOUSAND'S ONLY GONNA GET THEM ONE.
UM, YEAH, I THINK, I THINK IT'S THAT THEY LIKE NEED THIS FOR GOING OUT LIKE INTO THE PARKS WHERE THEY'RE DOING MAINTENANCE IS MY GUESS.
AND THAT'S WHY THEY DON'T NEED A WHOLE BUNCH OF THEM.
'CAUSE IT'S NOT LIKE FOR ALL ASPECTS OF THE PROGRAM, IT'S LIKE A SPECIFIC, YOU KNOW, IT'S PROBABLY FOR THAT NATURAL SYSTEMS PORTION TO LIKE CARRY THE EQUIPMENT.
YEAH, THAT WAS THE WAY IT WAS EXPLAINED TO ME.
IS THAT OKAY SOMETIMES THAT'S THE BARRIER, JUST GETTING A TRUCK TO GET OUT THERE.
MAYBE IT COULD BE A SITUATION TO WHERE THEY RENT IT.
ARE YOU SAYING YOU WOULD RATHER HAVE THEM RENT IT THAN PURCHASE? OH, I WAS JUST A SUGGESTION.
IF THEY'RE ONLY NEEDING THE VEHICLE, UM, ON CERTAIN TIMES WHEN THEY'RE MAKING THESE NATURAL SYSTEM CHECKS, THEN IF THEY DON'T NEED IT DAILY THAN MAYBE RENTING IT IS A MORE COST FEASIBLE OPTION.
JOHN, YOU HAD THE CONVERSATION
UH, I MEAN I THINK IF WE CAN LEAVE IT OPEN AS THE 80,000 IS ALLOCATED TO KINDA LIKE WHAT YOU HAVE IT IS TO GET ACCESS TO A VEHICLE, WHETHER THAT'S THROUGH RENTING IT, BUYING IT, OR I'M NOT SURE HOW, HOW THE HARD FLEET WORKS.
BUT, UM, OKAY, SO IT NOW SAYS 80,001 TIME FOR ACCESS TO A TRUCK.
I HAVE A REALLY QUICK QUESTION.
MM-HMM,
[01:00:01]
THERE'S ANOTHER PROGRAM THAT DOESN'T DEAL WITH THE SUSTAINABILITY.SO ADDING, TAKING THAT NUMBER AND THEN ADDING THE FTES AND THEN THE, THE OTHER TWO ITEMS THERE THAT I THINK 2.2 MILLION IS THAT 95%.
SO THEN ADDING EVERYTHING ELSE UP GETS YOU TO THAT 3.2.
THAT'S THE WAY I DID IT IN MY, ON MY CALCULATOR.
YOU, YOU SAID 2.2 MILLION FOR PROGRAMS, BUT DO YOU MEAN 3.2? UM, NO, LET ME SEE.
IN OTHER WORDS, WOULD THIS BE A $1 MILLION INCREASE? THAT'S THE INTENTION BECAUSE OKAY.
THE SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS WORKING GROUP WAS RECOMMENDING A MILLION DOLLARS FOR THE SUITE OF CLEAN ENERGY PROGRAMS. I MEAN THEY'RE ALL LISTED CLEAN ENERGY, BUT I MEAN, REALISTICALLY YOU WOULD HAVE DIFFERENT TRACKS FOR THOSE DIFFERENT, UM GOT IT.
SO IT WOULD BE AT LEAST LIKE A $1 MILLION INCREASE IN, IN FUNDING FOR PROGRAMMING PURPOSES.
AND THEN THERE'S ALSO, AM I UNDERSTANDING CORRECTLY ALSO AN INCREASE IN THE AMOUNT OF STAFF? THAT IS CORRECT.
WELL, TEMPORARY AND FTE THE TEMPORARY IS BASED ON THE INCREASED PROGRAMMING.
THE INCREASED PORTION, THEY THE EXTRA 80,000 IN THERE.
UM, BUT THEN THE FT YEAH IS AT 570, WHICH IS BASED ON 95,000 PER FT.
RODRIGO, ARE YOU GOOD WITH THAT OR DO YOU WANNA MAKE EDITS? NO, UM, I JUST WANTED TO GET A SENSE OF WHETHER THIS IS KEEPING IT AT THE SAME LEVEL OR THIS IS A SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE 'CAUSE I WOULD WANT SEE AN INCREASE.
WELL THEN I THINK WE'VE MADE MINOR EDITS TO THIS ONE.
UH, BUT I'VE GOT THOSE SAVED HERE.
ANNA, DO YOU WANNA I GOT SOME NUMBERS GO NEXT.
OH, YOU'VE GOT NUMBERS ON FOR FIT TO PLUG INTO THE FAYETTE ONE? YEAH.
'CAUSE I WAS CALCULATING WRONG.
I WAS CALCULATING IT BASED ON, UM, LIKE AVAILABLE ENERGY EFFORT, WHAT THEY CALL IT INSTALLED CAPACITY YOURWAY IS DOING.
UM, I LOOKED AT THE 2022 NUMBERS FOR FAYETTE.
I LOOKED UP THE TOTAL PURCHASE NUMBER OF KILOWATT HOURS FROM AUSTIN ENERGY AND IT LOOKED LIKE ALL OF THOSE 17% ACCORDING TO OUR, THE 2022 REPORT CAME FROM 17% CAME FROM FAYETTE ASSUMED AVERAGE EMISSIONS FOR COAL, WHICH IS PROBABLY INCORRECT, BUT IT'S UNCLEAR HOW YOU COULD BETTER APPORTION THAT WITHOUT MORE DETAILED DATA.
THERE'S ABOUT 2.5, UM, MILLION METRIC TONS OF CARBON DIOXIDE EQUIVALENT.
UH, AND WITH THE SOCIAL COST OF CARBON OF $43, YOU COULD GIVE ME YOUR FAVORITE SOCIAL COST OF CARBON NUMBER IF YOU DON'T LIKE THAT ONE.
THAT COMES TO ABOUT $107 MILLION.
IS THAT THE, LIKE, IS THAT THE CURRENT NUMBER FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT? THEY, THAT'S THE OLD OBAMA NUMBER.
UM, SO I, I HAVEN'T FOLLOWED IT.
I CAN, SO ANYWAY, WHAT WAS, SO WHAT WAS THE NUMBER THAT TWO AND A HALF MILLION TONS OF CARBON DIOXIDE EQUIVALENT, UH, AND ABOUT A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS COST OF SOCIAL ANNUALLY.
SOCIAL COST OF CARBON FOR ONE YEAR.
SO IF WE, IT'S A LOT, RIGHT? SO IF, IF WE SPENT A HUNDRED MILLION, WE WOULD, YOU KNOW, FROM A SOCIAL COST TO CARBON PERSPECTIVE, THAT WOULD BE ONE YEAR'S WORTH OF EMISSIONS.
UM, I WILL, I THINK IF WE WANNA PUT THE NUMBERS IN AUSTIN ENERGY, I THINK DID SHARE THEIR ACTUAL NUMBERS.
SO I THINK WE CAN, WE CAN TWEAK THAT, BUT WE COULD MAYBE LOOK AT THAT.
WE COULD REPORT THAT AS LIKE A THREE YEAR.
YOU KNOW, THREE YEARS OF FAYETTE WOULD COME TO WHATEVER, ONE YEAR, WHATEVER.
WE CAN REPORT IT HOWEVER WE WANT.
DOES ANYBODY HAVE A PREFERENCE FOR HOW WE STATE THOSE NUMBERS ONE YEAR, MULTIPLE YEARS? YEAH, I MEAN, I THINK, I MEAN, AT THE VERY LEAST MULTIPLE YEARS, I MEAN, MAYBE YOU CAN DO ONE YEAR AND THEN MULTIPLE, BUT I THINK MULTIPLE IS IMPORTANT TO JUST KIND OF MAKE ENOUGH NOTE THAT IT'S, YOU KNOW, WITHIN THREE YEARS YOU'RE ALREADY, UM, GAINING ALL
[01:05:01]
OF YOUR SPENDING IN THOSE 300,000, UH, 300 MILLION.SO YEAH, I THINK, UH, YOU KNOW, IF THE RANGE LISTED IS A HUNDRED MILLION TO 300 MILLION, THEN YOU KNOW, HAVING LIKE A, A FIVE YEAR SPAN WHERE YOU SHOW THE MATH IS LIKE, HEY, OVERALL THIS WILL BE POSITIVE, UH, WITHIN FIVE YEARS AS FAR AS LIKE FROM A COST PERSPECTIVE.
SO WE CAN, WE CAN SHOW, WE COULD SHOW LIKE ONE, ONE YEARS, ONE THROUGH FIVE KIND OF WHERE THAT COST COMES OUT.
DO YOU WANT ME TO SEND THOSE NUMBERS SOMEWHERE OR DO YOU HAVE WHAT YOU NEED? UH, LET'S, CAN WE GET TOGETHER? UM, MAYBE I WANNA, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE USING AS ACCURATE OF A NUMBER AS WE CAN FOR THE FAYETTE EMISSIONS.
UM, SO YEAH, THIS IS A, THIS IS A GOOD BALLPARK.
YEAH, I THINK THAT'S OUR BALLPARK AND IT'S GONNA BE CLOSE AND WE CAN JUST REFINE IT WITH WHATEVER THEY REPORTED.
AND I GUESS, UH, ONE, ONE COMMENT IN REGARDS TO THAT, UM, I MEAN THAT WOULD BE YOUR SOCIAL COST OF CARBON, BUT THEN, AND I MEAN THIS MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT MORE NUANCED TO CALCULATE, BUT ALSO LIKE SAYING THAT THAT COST DOESN'T ACCOUNT FOR THE, THE COST OF LOCAL AIR POLLUTION.
THAT IS, THAT WOULD BE ADDITIONAL.
SO FOR LIKE POLLUTANTS SUCH AS NITROGEN OXIDES OR CARBON MONOXIDE WOULD HAVE AN, AN ADDITIONAL SOCIAL COST THAT WOULDN'T BE CAPTURED IN THAT NUMBER.
SO NOT TO SAY TO INCLUDE IT, BUT JUST TO SAY THAT THE SOCIAL COST IS ACTUALLY HIGHER IF YOU ACCOUNT FOR LOCAL POLLUTION.
YEAH, WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT THAT IS, THAT IS CLEAR.
THAT IS, WE, WE COULD DO THAT ANALYSIS AS WELL.
THERE IS A TOOL FOR THAT, BUT MAYBE JUST IN THE INTEREST OF EXPEDIENCY, WE'LL JUST MAKE A NOTE
UM, I WAS GONNA THANK YOU FOR THAT.
I WAS GONNA ASK IF YOU WANTED TO, UM, REVIEW THE FEW CHANGES THAT YOU MADE TO THE CONSUMPTION.
UM, SO AS A REMINDER, THE CONSUMPTION GROUP IS RECOMMENDING MONEY FOR A RR FLEET, ELECTRIFICATION, CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND WASTE REDUCTION PROGRAMS. UM, A LOW CARBON CONCRETE FUND, UM, PRO CLIMATE, PRO HEALTH FOODS, UM, SUSTAINABLE PURCHASING AND CARBON ACCOUNTING AND AN AR TRANSFER STATION, AND THEN A CITY OWNED COMPOSTING FACILITY.
OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE DISCUSSED LAST, UH, MEETING, WE HAVE NOT MADE SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO THESE.
I THINK WE'VE MADE SOME SMALL MINOR CHANGES, WHICH I'LL, I'LL WALK THROUGH.
UM, FIRST IS, IS A NOTE, UH, REGARDING THE A RR FLEET ELECTRIFICATION.
UM, THERE IS SIGNIFICANT FUNDING AVAILABLE FROM TCQ.
UM, HOWEVER WE, WE HAVE BEEN INFORMED THAT WE CANNOT IN FACT TAKE ALL OF THAT FUNDING.
UM, I THINK
UM, BUT, UH, AS OF TODAY, YOU KNOW, 50%, 50%, OH, WELL THAT'S GREAT.
THAT'S, THAT'S A LOT OF, THAT'S A LOT OF MONEY.
UM, AS OF TODAY THERE'S AROUND, WHAT IS IT, $240 MILLION, UM, AVAILABLE FROM TCEQ FOR THIS.
UM, WE CHANGED THIS TO, TO, TO NOTE THAT FUNDING IS AVAILABLE NOW.
UM, AND, AND IT MAY BE AVAILABLE AGAIN, BUT THE, THE KEY HERE IS, IS TO GET STARTED.
UM, BUT THE COST FOR THIS WOULD BE $200 MILLION.
UH, AND THAT WOULD COVER ALL 300 HEAVY DUTY AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY TRUCKS AND AN ADDITIONAL 60 MILLION FOR, FOR CHARGERS.
AND I BELIEVE, I BELIEVE THAT'S, WAS IT 10 CHARGERS? IT WAS A LOT OF CHARGERS.
UM, BUT NOT ONE CHARGER PER EVERY VEHICLE, NOT 300 CHARGERS.
UM, I WILL PAUSE FOR QUESTIONS THERE.
I'LL ASSUME THAT THAT MEANS NO QUESTIONS.
UH, THE OTHER ITEM THAT WE MADE, SOME SOME MINOR BUT SUBSTANTIVE IMPORTANT CHANGES ON WAS THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND WASTE REDUCTION PROGRAMS. UM, WE SLIGHTLY TWEAKED THE BUDGET ON THIS.
UH, DID WE? YEAH, YOU ACTUALLY, I THINK THIS MIGHT HAVE ACTUALLY LIKE, GONE DOWN IN ONE OF THE BUCKETS INTENTIONALLY OR NOT.
UM, BUT I THINK WE, I DIDN'T INTEND IT TO CHANGE IT.
[01:10:01]
IN THIS THAT THERE'S ONGOING COST BUT ALSO, UM, UH, UH, A ONETIME COST KI A.WELL, AND THEN TALK ABOUT, UM, YEAH, I JUST ADDED SOME LANGUAGE, UM, THAT KIND OF INTROED THIS SECTION.
'CAUSE WE HAD ALL THESE PROGRAMS LISTED HERE AND I WASN'T, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE CLEAR KIND OF THE CONNECTION.
UM, SO MENTIONED THE, THE GREENHOUSE GAS, THE SCOPE THREE GREENHOUSE GAS INVENTORY AND, AND, AND WHY, HOW THESE CONNECT TO OUR CLIMATE GOALS.
UM, JUST TRYING TO KIND OF TIGHTEN UP THAT CONNECTION A, A LITTLE.
I DIDN'T MESS WITH THE NUMBERS.
SO NOW I'M LIKE, IS THIS THE NUMBER WE PRESENTED BEFORE I, I COULD BE MISREMEMBERING? I THINK IT IS, BUT IT'S POSSIBLE THAT SOMETHING GOT CHANGED AND I DIDN'T MEAN IT, UM, BEFORE IT JUST SAID 10 TO 15 MILLION.
AND, UM, THE FIRST VERSION, AND THIS VERSION CLARIFIES THAT, THAT IS 10.4 TO 15.4 MILLION PROBABLY AFTER WE SUBMITTED IT LAST TIME, IT WAS, I JUST ACTUALLY LIKE, DID THE MATH AND ADDED IN ANOTHER PROGRAM OR SOMETHING, WOULD BE MY GUESS.
I THINK, I THINK IN ANY CASE, OUR VIEW ON THESE PROGRAMS IS, IS THAT THEY ARE HAVE A SMALL MONETARY COST COMPARED TO THE MAJORITY OF, COMPARED TO THE AUSTIN BUDGET, THE WAY WE BUDGET FOR OTHER THINGS.
UM, BUT WE THOUGHT THAT THEY WERE, WERE, WERE SMALL BUT, BUT MIGHTY AND MEANINGFUL AND, UM, WOULD HELP AUSTIN, UH, SORRY, AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY, UM, FULFILL ITS MISSION AND HELP, UH, AUSTINITES REDUCE, REDUCE WASTE.
DID THE O HAVE THE OTHER GROUPS MADE CHANGES THAT YOU WANNA HIGHLIGHT? REVIEW TRANSPORTATION? YES, WE DO.
UH, BUT I, I THINK CHARLOTTE HAD HER HAND UP.
I'M HAPPY TO GO SECOND, WHATEVER.
YEAH, I THINK IT'LL BE, IF YOU DON'T MIND CHARLOTTE, 'CAUSE I KNOW WE SPEND THE MOST AMOUNT OF TIME BEFORE, SO I, I WANT, I WANT TO GIVE YOU THE EARLIER TIME.
UM, CAN YOU BRING UP THE NATURAL SYSTEMS, UH, RECOMMENDATION? THANK YOU.
UM, SO THESE HAVE, HAVE NOT CHANGED SUBSTANTIALLY.
THEY HAVE JUST, UM, WE JUST ADDED SOME NUMBERS IN FOR, UM, FUNDING.
SO ALL OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, ARE THE SAME WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE FUNDING FOR PERMANENT FUNDING FOR THE A CCC, WHICH GOT PULLED OUT TO ITS OWN, BUT, UM, PRESERVATION OF EXISTING AGRICULTURAL LAND.
SO GETTING FARMLAND THROUGH, UM, LAND BANKS, CONSERVATION EASEMENTS, THAT SORT OF A THING.
UM, WE PUT IN A COST ESTIMATE, UH, LAST TIME WE DIDN'T HAVE IT, BUT OF, UM, 25 MILLION PER YEAR TO FUND EASEMENTS.
AND THAT'S JUST BASED ON AN ASSUMPTION OF 5,000 ACRES AT $5,000 PER ACRE.
UM, AND WHAT THAT DOES IS BUY OUT THE DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS, UH, OF THE FARMLAND SO THAT IT CAN BE PRESERVED FOR AGRICULTURE, UH, IN PERPETUITY.
UM, AND THAT'S, THAT IS JUST AN KIND OF AN ANNUAL FIGURE.
IT MAY BE MORE, IT MAY BE LESS.
UM, BUT THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN ENVISIONS PROTECTING 500,000 ACRES OF LAND.
UM, YOU CAN DO THE MATH, IT WOULD TAKE QUITE SOME TIME.
UM, SO I DON'T KNOW IF FOLKS HAVE THOUGHTS ABOUT THE MAGNITUDE, UM, OF THAT WILLING TO, YOU KNOW, HEAR COMMENTARY COMMENTS, REMEMBER, SPEAK UP 'CAUSE I CAN'T SEE HANDS.
UM, THE, THE SECOND ONE WAS A REVOLVING LOAN FUND FOR WORKING FARMS FUND, WORKING FARMS FUND PILOT.
THAT ONE HAS NOT CHANGED, UM, NOR HAS THE ENERGY AND WATER DASHBOARD FOR THE CITY FACILITIES.
UM, AS YOU RECALL, THAT'S JUST ABOUT CONSOLIDATING THE, THE DIFFERENT DATA SOURCES SO THAT, UM, PARTICULARLY PARKS AND
[01:15:01]
REC CAN BETTER MANAGE THEIR WATER USAGE, UM, DETECT LEAKS AND UH, FIGURE OUT ON, UH, BUILDINGS WHEN, UM, ELECTRICITY IS BEING, UM, NOT BEING CONSERVED, THAT SORT OF THING.AND THEN THE FOURTH ONE, THERE WERE SOME NUMBERS THAT WERE ADDED IN HERE FOR THE, UM, COMPREHENSIVE PUBLIC TREE INVENTORY.
UM, LANE, I DON'T KNOW IF LANE'S STILL ON.
HE HAS ADDED SOME DETAIL ON THAT ONE, SO I'LL LET HIM TALK ABOUT THAT IF HE WANTS.
UH, IT'S PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD.
UM, SO 6 MILLION FOR THE INITIAL TREE INVENTORY, WHICH AS I MENTIONED LAST TIME IS BECAUSE IT REQUIRES A LOT OF PEOPLE TRUMPING AROUND COUNTING TREATS.
UM, AND THEN, UH, 250,000 ADDITIONAL FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPREHENSIVE TREE PLANNING AND REPLACEMENT PLAN BASED ON THAT DATA, UH, WHICH WE CURRENTLY DON'T HAVE AND WHICH IS SORT OF THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS HAVING A MORE, UM, SORT OF REGULAR MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE FOR THE URBAN FOREST THAT WE COLLECTIVELY OWN.
UH, I THINK THAT'S PRETTY MUCH IT.
EVERYTHING ELSE IS THE SAME AS THE LAST TIME WE SPOKE.
UM, I'M REALIZING, UH, THERE WAS A, A CHANGE THAT I WAS HOPING TO MAKE.
I, I HEARD BACK FROM ANGELA ABOUT IMPLEMENTING THE, UM, GOAL EIGHT IN THE, THE PRO PRO CLIMATE FOOD GOAL.
AND SHE GAVE ME A GREAT LIST OF THINGS, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, PROGRAMS TO BE FUNDED WITHIN THAT, UH, IN THE FUTURE.
AND SHE SAID THAT, WELL, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M BEING, I'M BEING CAUTIOUS, UH, BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT WE CAN DO WITH CURRENT STAFF.
UH, SO I THINK WE SHOULD INCLUDE ADDING ADDITIONAL STAFF TO IMPLEMENT THAT.
UM, SO I WOULD JUST SUGGEST THAT MAYBE WE COULD, COULD ADD THAT INTO THE TEXT THERE, THAT, THAT, THAT CAN BE INCLUSIVE OF, I THINK RIGHT NOW WHAT'S IN THERE IS LIKE A MILLION DOLLARS FOR THAT.
IF WE COULD JUST SAY THAT THAT INCLUDES FUNDING AND A COUPLE OF ADDITIONAL STAFF FOR IMPLEMENTING THE, THAT PART OF THE FOOD PLAN.
SO TO, TO CLARIFY, KIVA, YOU'RE, YOU'RE PROPOSING THAT WE ADD, UH, FTE TIME OR WE CLARIFY THAT MONEY ALLOCATED FOR PRO CLIMATE PROHEALTH FOODS INCLUDES, INCLUDES A COUPLE ADDITIONAL FTES.
SHE HAD A GREAT LIST OF, YOU KNOW, UM, I THINK INITIATIVES THAT WOULD FALL WITHIN THAT.
AND, AND FRANKLY, THEY ALL LOOKED LIKE THEY COULD BE SCALED UP FROM WHAT SHE WAS SENDING ME.
'CAUSE WHAT SHE WAS SENDING ME WAS, AGAIN, LIKE WHAT SHE THOUGHT COULD BE DONE WITH, WITH CURRENT STAFF, UM, WHICH I APPRECIATE.
BUT ALSO I THINK OUR MISSION HERE IS TO TRY TO TAKE IT TO THE NEXT, NEXT STEP.
SO THAT'S WHY I'M SUGGESTING THE LARGER OVERALL AMOUNT AND THEN INCLUDING TWO FTES.
AND THEN ARE YOU CURRENTLY, THAT WAS SUGGESTED AT $1 MILLION PER YEAR.
ARE YOU SUGGESTING CHANGING THAT AMOUNT? NO, I'M, I'M SAYING I THINK, YEAH.
ANY OTHER, SORRY, I JUST FORGOT THAT I LIKE HAD THAT CONVERSATION AND DIDN'T CONVEY IT.
UNLESS THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS ABOUT THAT, WE CAN GO TO TRANSPORTATION AND LAND USE.
UM, ROHAN, DO YOU WANT TO HOLD THAT UP? OKAY.
SO YEAH, I THINK THE, A LITTLE BIT STILL STILL THE SAME, BUT WE CAN GO KIND OF ONE BY ONE.
I THINK THIS ONE, HEATHER, THERE WASN'T, UH, AN UPDATE.
NO, I THINK THERE WAS JUST MAYBE THE LAST SENTENCE OF THE BENEFITS, UH, HAD AN UPDATE.
WOULD YOU AGREE WITH THAT? YEAH, I WAS JUST PROVIDING MORE JUSTIFICATION AND, UM, CHARLOTTE, I, YEAH, CHARLOTTE ASKED A QUESTION IN OUR DOCUMENT, UM, JUST TO CLARIFY THE COST.
SO UNDER THE COST SECTION, IT SAYS, UM, IF, IF IT IS DOWN A LITTLE BIT MORE, IF YOU'RE LOOKING, UM, AT ROHAN'S SCREEN SHARE, UM, WE GO DOWN A LITTLE TO COST, IT WASN'T ENTIRELY CLEAR THAT IT WAS ASKING FOR, UM, 22.6 MILLION
[01:20:01]
ON TOP OF THE 11.3 MILLION.SO I, I CAN ADD IN THAT CLARIFICATION, BUT NOTHING CHANGED IN THE ACTUAL AMOUNTS.
SO DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, CHARLOTTE? YES, IT DOES.
UH, SO IF YOU KEEP ON GOING, UH, ROHAN TO THE PICKUP SERVICE AREA, I DON'T THINK THERE WAS ANY, SO NO UPDATES HERE.
UH, KEEP ON GOING THE DOWNTOWN HIGH FREQUENCY CIRCULATOR.
I THINK YOU ASKED IT OR, YEAH, SO THIS ONE, SO I THINK, UH, I THINK
I WANTED TO GET THOUGHTS FROM THE GROUP ON POSSIBLY REFRAMING THIS TO NOT FOCUS ON DOWNTOWN.
UM, SO I KNOW WE HAD TALKED ABOUT IN PREVIOUS MEETINGS, UH, THE POTENTIAL FOR NEIGHBORHOOD CIRCULATOR SHUTTLES THAT COULD ADDRESS, UM, TRANSIT DISPARITIES IN LOW INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS.
UM, WE HAD SPECIFICALLY TALKED ABOUT RUNDBERG AND, UH, NORTH AUSTIN CIVIC ASSOCIATION IN KIND OF THAT AREA.
UM, SO I PUT TOGETHER ALTERNATE LANGUAGE, UM, THAT WOULD FRAME THIS MORE AS A NEIGHBORHOOD E CIRCULATOR PROGRAM, UM, RECOMMENDING THE CITY INVEST UP TO $10 MILLION TO IMPLEMENT THE HIGH FREQUENCY FOR YOUR LOW CARE ELECTRIC CIRCULATOR IN NEIGHBORHOODS FACING SIGNIFICANT MOBILITY BARRIERS, UM, WITH A FOCUS ON CONNECTING RESIDENTS TO ESSENTIAL COMMUNITY SERVICES, INCLUDING HEALTH CLINICS, GROCERY STORES, CULTURAL RECREATION CENTERS, PARKS AND TRAILS LIBRARIES, AND OTHER COMMUNITY CENTERS AND AMENITIES.
SO I'D LIKE TO GET THE, UM, FOLKS THOUGHTS ON REFRAMING THIS, UH, INSTEAD OF FOCUSING ON DOWNTOWN.
YEAH, I CERTAINLY THINK THAT'S A GOOD IDEA IF WE CAN EXPAND THE, UH, RANGE OF THE PROGRAM TO, UM, TO WHERE, HOW CAN I POLITELY PUT IT TO WHERE, UH, RESIDENTS HAVE A WIDER, UH, DEMOGRAPHIC RANGE OF SALARY.
UH, I THINK THAT'S JUST A POSITIVE THING.
UM, PRIOR TO LIVING IN AUSTIN, I LIVED IN BALTIMORE WHERE WE HAD A FREE CIRCULATOR THAT RAN THE CENTRAL CORRIDOR, AND IT WAS QUITE FRANKLY, AN EQUITY DISASTER.
IT JUST BASICALLY SUBSIDIZED WHITE PEOPLE'S PUBLIC TRANSIT, UM, AT THE EXPENSE OF LITERALLY EVERYBODY ELSE.
UM, AND, UH, IT WAS ALSO A LITTLE EMBARRASSING.
UM, SO LIKE, I, I, I THINK THIS IS GREAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HEARD ABOUT EQUITY IN TRANSIT AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS MEETING, AND SO I, I APPLAUD THE FOCUS ON THIS.
I THINK WE SHOULD, UM, I AGREE.
WE, I I AM NOT SURE EVERYONE KNOWS THIS IS REPLACING DOWN, I THINK WE'RE TALKING ABOUT REPLACING THE DOWNTOWN ONE.
IS THAT RODRIGO? SO TAKE THAT OUT ENTIRELY OR IS THIS IN ADDITION BECAUSE IT'S NOT CLEAR ENTIRELY? UM, I MEAN, I, I AM PRESENTING THIS AS AN ALTERNATIVE, AND I'M NOT, I'M NOT SAYING WHAT NEIGHBORHOODS I'M, I'M SUGGESTING WE START WITH THREE NEIGHBORHOODS AND I'M, I'M PROPOSING AN EMPHASIS ON NEIGHBORHOODS, UM, WITH RESIDENTS THAT FACE SIGNIFICANT MOBILITY BARRIERS, INCLUDING, YOU KNOW, LOW INCOME HOUSEHOLDS, ELDERLY FOLKS, RESIDENTS WITH DISABILITIES, UM, YOU KNOW, RES UH, HOUSEHOLDS WITH CHILDREN.
SO I'M NOT SAYING WHICH NEIGHBORHOODS, I'M JUST SAYING THE, THE FOCUS SHOULD BE DIFFERENT.
YOU'RE GIVING THE CRITERIA AND THE FRAMEWORK FOR THE SPACES TO SELECT.
SO THE DOCUMENT IN OUR DRAFT GOOGLE DOC HAD EASTERN CRESCENT, BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT YOU, YOU'RE PROPOSING SOMETHING MORE OPEN, IS THAT RIGHT? UM, I AM SUGGESTING WE FOCUS ON EASTERN CRESCENT NEIGHBORHOODS.
UM, I'M NOT SAYING THAT IT SHOULD ABSOLUTELY NOT INCLUDE DOWNTOWN, BUT I THINK WE, WE SHOULDN'T BE FOCUSING ON DOWNTOWN.
UH, RODRIGO, I I, I THINK YOU MAKE A GOOD POINT ABOUT DOWNTOWN ALREADY HAS A LOT OF OPTIONS
[01:25:01]
FOR, FOR MOBILITY AND, UM, AND TO ANNA'S POINT AS WELL ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT WE'D BE SUBSIDIZING WITH THE CIRCULATOR.I DO, I I, I LOVE THIS, THIS THINKING HERE, AND IT, IT DOES KIND OF REMIND ME OF THE PICKUP OPTION.
SO I THINK THERE IS, THERE'S A RECOMMENDATION WITHIN THIS, UM, DOCUMENT ABOUT EXTENDING THE PICKUP SERVICE ZONE.
SO THOSE ARE THE SHUTTLES THAT KIND OF GO WITHIN A NEIGHBORHOOD.
UM, HOW WOULD THIS BE DIFFERENT FROM THAT? WOULD IT, DOES IT MAKE SENSE TO KIND OF COMBINE THOSE IDEAS? UM, AND I THINK I, I LOVE THIS IDEA OF MAKING SURE THAT, THAT PEOPLE CAN GET TO GROCERY, CAN GET TO, YOU KNOW, GREEN SPACES, HEALTH CLINICS, THOSE ARE ALL GREAT THINGS.
AND, UM, ESPECIALLY IN PLACES WHERE THE, WHERE THE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IS, IS LACKING.
SO HOW DO YOU YEAH, THAT'S A, THAT'S A GREAT POINT.
I, I HAD BEEN THINKING ABOUT THE CONNECTION TO THE KIND OF ON DEMAND STUFF AS WELL.
I'M, I'M JUST, I'M NOT SURE WHAT THE BENEFIT IS OF, OF HAVING AN ON-DEMAND SERVICE VERSUS LIKE A CIRCULATOR SERVICE.
UM, SO YEAH, THAT, I, I THINK THAT'S AN OPEN QUESTION.
I'M, I'M NOT SURE I, I COULD SEE THEM BEING COMBINED AND WE COULD SAY IT COULD BE A CIRCULATOR SLASH ON DEMAND TYPE SERVICE.
UM, I DON'T THINK WE HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION TO, YOU KNOW, WE HAVEN'T CONDUCTED AN ANALYSIS TO SEE WHAT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE GIVEN EACH NEIGHBORHOOD.
SO I THINK THAT WOULD HAVE TO HAPPEN.
ARE YOU STILL ENVISIONING CONNECTING THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS TO, UM, I DON'T KNOW, POINTS OF INTEREST, PLACES LIKE ZILKER PARK TO ENABLE PEOPLE TO ACCESS, YOU KNOW, THE CITY SERVICES AMENITIES, WHATNOT, OR WHAT'S, WHAT'S THE VISION? I, I, IN THE DRAFT LANGUAGE, WHICH I CAN SHARE WITH YOU, KIBA, I I SAY THE, THIS CIRCULATOR SHUTTLE OR THESE CIRCULATOR SHUTTLE SHOULD CONNECT RESIDENTS WITH ESSENTIAL COMMUNITY SERVICES THAN AMENITIES, WHICH COULD INCLUDE ARCS, BUT IT'S MORE EXPENSIVE THAN THAT.
IT WOULD BE LIKE HEALTH CLINICS, GROCERY STORES, RECREATION CENTERS, LIBRARIES, OTHER COMMUNITY CENTERS AND AMENITIES.
I MEAN, I WONDER, DO YOU WANNA JUST SHARE YOUR SCREEN RIGHT NOW? OR DOES EVERYBODY FEEL COMFORTABLE THAT WE'RE AT A PLACE THAT WE CAN VOTE ON THIS RECOMMENDATION BEING DESCRIBED? OR DO WE WANNA SEE SOME, SOME, I, I CAN SHARE MY SCREEN.
LET ME JUST FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO IT.
UM, LET ME JUST EMAIL YOU THE, THE DRAFT LANGUAGE.
IS THAT OKAY? WELL, I THINK YOU HAVE THE SAME ACCESS THAT I DO.
UM, YEAH, BUT I, I JUST INSTALLED WEBEX AND IT'S NOT, GO AHEAD.
YEAH, YOU CAN SHARE IT WITH ME.
YOU CAN SHARE IT WITH ME OR MAY MAYBE, ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW WHAT, MAYBE CHRIS, CAN YOU SHARE YOUR SCREEN? 'CAUSE IT'S IN THE LIVE DOCUMENT? YEAH, CAN I CAN TRY IT.
LEMME SEE IF, UH, SEE IF THIS WORKS.
WELL, WELL, CHRIS IS WORKING ON PULLING THAT ONE UP.
UM, I JUST WANNA KIND OF SET US UP HERE.
UM, I KNOW WE NEED TO PULL ONE ITEM.
WE'LL BE VOTING ON THAT ONE SEPARATELY.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER ITEMS THAT WE'VE REVIEWED THAT ANYBODY WOULD LIKE US TO PULL OUT AND VOTE ON SEPARATE, OR CAN WE VOTE ON EVERYTHING ELSE AS A SINGLE BATCH? UH, CAN, ARE YOU SAYING, JUST SAID ANOTHER WAY, IF THERE IS ANY RECOMMENDATION AMONG ALL OF THE ONES THAT WE'VE GONE THROUGH, ALL OF THE WORKING GROUPS THAT PEOPLE DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE WOULD LIKE TO PULL OUT OR BE RECORDED AS, AS VOTING AGAINST, THEN WE PULL THAT OUT.
IS IS, ARE YOU SAYING WE, WE VOTE ON THIS SUITE OF RECOMMENDATIONS AS ONE TIME? I'M, I'M SUGGESTING THAT, UH, IF THERE ARE, IF THERE ARE NO, UM, CONCERNS ABOUT THE OTHER ONES, YES.
IF THERE'S NOBODY WANTING TO ABSTAIN OR, OR VOTE AGAINST ANY OF THE OTHERS THAT WE COULD VOTE ON THEM, UH, IN ONE, IN ONE VOTE.
BUT WE WILL DEFINITELY PULL OUT THE PRO CLIMATE PROHEALTH
[01:30:01]
FOODS BECAUSE I KNOW YOU NEED TO ABSTAIN FROM THAT ONE.SO EVERYBODY CAN THINK ABOUT THAT WHILE ALSO LISTENING TO CHRIS AND RODRIGO, CAN YOU, CAN YOU ZOOM IN 'CAUSE WE CAN'T SEE? SURE.
LET ME KNOW HOW MUCH THIS GOOD OUT.
WELL, ACTUALLY NOT PERFECT FOR ANYBODY WHO DOESN'T HAVE A SCREEN, IF YOU CAN ZOOM IN A LITTLE FURTHER.
OH, CAN YOU READ THAT OR WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO READ IT ALOUD? YOU CAN SEE.
I THINK WE CAN READ, LET ME KNOW WHENEVER YOU WANT ME TO SCROLL DOWN.
I'M, I'M GOOD WITH YOU SCROLLING OR OTHERS.
SO ESSENTIALLY IT TAKES THE, I MEAN, THE IDEA, WHICH IS TO HAVE A CIRCULATOR, WHICH WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IN THE PAST, BUT CHANGES THE GEOGRAPHIC FOCUS OF WHERE THOSE CIRCULATORS WOULD BE IMPLEMENTED, RIGHT? YEAH.
SO INSTEAD OF FOCUSING DOWN, I MEAN, IT COULD STILL GO THROUGH DOWNTOWN, BUT I THINK YES, YOU'RE SAYING THE PRIORITY IS MORE ON, ON, UH, UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES AND, AND HELPING, HELPING THEM.
I, I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM ANYONE ON, ON THE WORKING GROUP WHO, UM, WAS, WAS INTO THIS IDEA OF THE DOWNTOWN CIRCULATOR AND MAYBE RESEARCH THE HISTORY OF IT.
AND JUST BEFORE WE JUST PUSH THAT ASIDE, UM, I, YOU KNOW, MAYBE, AND MAYBE IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE LOOK AT DOING BOTH.
I JUST, I DON'T, IT SOUNDS LIKE PEOPLE ARE KIND OF GRAVITATING TOWARDS THE, UM, UNDERSERVED NEIGHBORHOODS, BUT BEFORE, LIKE ABANDONING THE DOWNTOWN IDEA, IF, IF ANYONE WANTS TO SPEAK ON ITS BEHALF, I'D LOVE TO HEAR THAT.
YEAH, I THINK THERE WAS PUBLIC COMMENTS AND THERE'S BEEN A CALL FOR SOMETHING DOWNTOWN TO CONNECT THE VARIOUS AMENITIES DOWNTOWN TO SORT OF REDUCE CONGESTION OF VARIOUS KINDS IN THAT, I MEAN, OF COURSE THERE'S A LOT OF TRANSPORTATION THERE, BUT IT'S A LOT OF RIDE HAILING, IT'S A LOT OF SCOOTERS.
UM, SOME OF THOSE ARE EXPENSIVE AND SOME OF THOSE JUST AREN'T ACCESSIBLE TO A LOT OF PEOPLE.
SO THIS DOES, DEFINITELY DOESN'T, I MEAN, ANYONE COULD USE IT, BUT IT ISN'T A DOWNTOWN CIRCULATOR RUNNING OUT TO SILK OR FOR EXAMPLE, WOULD MOSTLY BE SERVING, YOU KNOW, THE, THE PEOPLE WHO ARE USING THOSE, UM, THOSE AMENITIES, ENTERTAINMENT, THINGS LIKE THAT.
BUT THE HOPE WOULD BE YOU GET PEOPLE OUT OF, UM, THINGS LIKE RIDE HAILING, UM, AND OPEN UP MORE MOBILITY.
UM, THAT'S HOPEFULLY A LITTLE SAFER AND MORE ACCESSIBLE TO MORE PEOPLE.
BUT YEAH, THAT'S BEEN THE, I I MEAN, I, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT BE INCLUSIVE OF DOWNTOWN, ESPECIALLY OUT TO ZILKER.
UM, BUT NO ONE'S HAD AN ANSWER ON THIS, BUT, UM, THERE WAS A PILOT, UM, THAT WASN'T PICKED UP AND DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE HAD A PROPOSAL TO RUN SUCH A THING, UH, BACK IN 2020 AND IT NEVER GOT PICKED UP.
SO MAYBE IT IS NOT THE BEST IDEA FOR THAT REASON, BUT I WAS HOPING LIKE, IF WE KEPT IT IN THE MENU, YOU KNOW, MAYBE PEOPLE WHO HAD DONE THAT RESEARCH OR KNEW WHY THAT FAILED, UM, YOU KNOW, WOULD DECIDE NOT TO PURSUE THE DOWNTOWN OPTION.
SO I'M, I MEAN, I'M, I'M NOT GOING TO, UH, BY ANY MEANS OBJECT TO THIS IF PEOPLE AREN'T INTERESTED IN DOWNTOWN.
THIS DOES OVERLAP A LOT WITH A PICKUP SERVICE, UM, AREAS.
'CAUSE THOSE ARE CONCENTRATED IN THE EASTERN CRESCENT, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE NEEDS ARE THERE.
UM, I KNOW RODRIGO TALKED TO PEOPLE WHO HAVE A BETTER SENSE OF THAT.
[01:35:01]
IF THERE'S STILL A NEED FOR A CIRCULATOR IN THAT ZONE, I THINK WE SHOULD PURSUE IT.I MEAN, I, I, GIVEN THE NUMBER OF RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE HAVE IN HERE, I, I DON'T THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE, WE SHOULD ABANDON PER SE.
IF WE, IF WE WANNA VOTE ON IT, PEOPLE WANNA PULL IT OUT AND VOTE ON IT SEPARATELY, THAT COULD BE A THING.
I THINK, I THINK I WOULD BE IN FAVOR OF, OF KEEPING BOTH, ESPECIALLY SINCE THE IDEA WAS TO HAVE A LAUNDRY LIST OF, OF THINGS THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
AND I THINK THE, THE ONE THAT ROD, ROD, UH, PROPOSED MIGHT BE MORE BENEFICIAL AND HAVE AN A MORE OF AN EQUITY FOCUS.
BUT I THINK THIS ONE WOULD STILL HAVE, WOULD BE A GOOD ONE.
SO I'LL BE IN FAVOR OF SUPPORTING BOTH.
I'M IMAGINING VISITORS TO AUSTIN, UM, FOR CONFERENCES NOT HAVING TO, YOU KNOW, RENT CARS OR RIDE RIDE HAIL AS MUCH.
UM, AND I ALSO, I DO, IT DOES FEEL, IT DOES FEEL A LITTLE, UM, THE ON DEMAND PICKUP SERVICE AND THE CIRCULATOR IDEA IN THE SAME AREAS FEELS A LITTLE DUPLICATIVE AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S BETTER, WHAT'S NEEDED MORE, WHAT'S MORE EQUITABLE, WHAT WOULD BE, UM, YOU KNOW, USED MORE, MORE ECONOMICAL, UM, MM-HMM
BUT JUST TO COMMENT THAT IT, IT FEELS LIKE THOSE ARE, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE DIFFERENT OPTIONS THAT WE MIGHT NOT NEED BOTH OF CHARLOTTE JUST TO, UM, TO THAT POINT, I'M, I'M LOOKING AT CAP METRO'S, UM, ON DEMAND PICKUP AREAS, AND THEY DON'T INCLUDE PLACES LIKE MONTOPOLIS, UM, GEORGIA ACRES, NORTH LAMAR, RUDBERG, THOSE, THOSE PLACES AREN'T IN THOSE ZONES.
SO WAS ISN'T THE RECOMMENDATION TO EXPAND THE ZONES? YEP.
YES, I, I BELIEVE SO, BUT I DON'T, I ALSO DON'T THINK THAT WE'RE, WE'RE EXPLICITLY SAYING WHERE, RIGHT.
I THINK DELL VALE AND MONTOPOLIS ARE EXPLICITLY MENTIONED.
UM, BUT I DO AGREE THAT ADDING LIKE REHBERG GEORGE ACRES, UH, NORTH AUSTIN CIVIC AREA, UH, DESSAU, HOWARD, ET CETERA, PROBABLY A GOOD IDEA.
YEAH, WE DIDN'T SPECIFY, I MEAN WE USED DELL VALLEY AND MONTAO AS EXAMPLES, BUT DIDN'T SAY DEFINITELY PUT IT THERE.
'CAUSE I DON'T, I I DON'T KNOW OUR DIDN'T KNOW THE RESEARCH BEHIND THAT EXACTLY, BUT DID HIGHLIGHT THOSE AREAS AS SEEMING TO BE GAPS THAT ARE CURRENTLY UNDER-RESOURCED.
SO I'M HEARING THAT THERE'S BOTH SUPPORT FOR CIRCULATORS AND SUPPORT FOR, UH, THE PICKUP EXPANSION AND THAT THERE IS SOME DEBATE OR CONVERSATION ABOUT WHICH IS THE APPROPRIATE STRATEGY KIND OF WITHIN NEIGHBORHOODS.
IS IS THAT, IF I CAN CHIME IN, AT LEAST FROM MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, RIGHT, CIRCULATORS ARE GOOD BECAUSE THEY CAN TAKE YOU LIKE RODRIGO SAID, TO DIFFERENT SORT OF HIGH INTEREST OR HIGH IMPACT AREAS, RIGHT? UM, IDEALLY FOR FREE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE PICKUP APP IS GOOD, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE PRIMARILY THE WAY THAT YOU USE IT FOR FREEZE BY GOING FROM BUS STOP TO BUS STOP.
SO WHERE THE PICKUP APP IS REALLY GOOD IS LIKE, NOT ONLY FOR GETTING TO SPECIFIC LOCATIONS, BUT ALSO IF YOU ARE TRYING TO CATCH A BUS STOP THAT IS LIKE, PRETTY MUCH ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE PICKUP ZONE TO TRY GET OUT OF YOUR SPECIFIC NEIGHBORHOOD ZONE, THAT'S REALLY, UH, ONE AREA WHERE IT'S SUPER USEFUL.
ARE YOU SAYING THAT IT'S MAYBE MORE USEFUL THAN A CIRCULATOR IN THAT SITUATION? 'CAUSE IT COMES RIGHT TO YOU? UH, I'M NOT GONNA MAKE ANY BLANKET VALUE STATEMENTS LIKE THAT.
I JUST THINK THAT THEY BOTH HAVE DIFFERENT SORT OF OPTIMAL USES.
ALRIGHT, Y'ALL, I REALLY WANNA GET US OUTTA HERE.
THAT
UM, AND, AND MAYBE IT'S THAT WE PUT FORWARD ALL THE THINGS AND UM, YOU KNOW, YEAH, I, I THINK EITHER WE COULD PUT FORWARD ALL THE THINGS OR WE COULD VOTE ON
[01:40:02]
ALL OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND SEPARATE OUT THE FOOD ONE AND THE CIRCULATOR ONE AND FORCE US TO MAKE A DECISION AS A GROUP BETWEEN THE ALTERNATE LANGUAGE OR ONE THAT ALSO INCLUDES DOWNTOWN.SO I THINK THOSE ARE TWO POSSIBILITIES FOR, FOR MOVING FORWARD.
YEAH, WE HAVE, WE HAVE TWO RECOMMENDATIONS THAT HAVE POTENTIAL SIGNIFICANT CHANGES.
UH, THE CAR SHARING IS ANOTHER ONE.
SO WE CAN, YEAH, WE CAN POTENTIALLY SEPARATE THOSE TWO SO THAT PEOPLE HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME TO DIGEST IT AND VOTE SEPARATELY ON THOSE.
SO DO WE NEED TO GO BACK TO THE CAR SHARE? YES.
LET'S TRY TO EXPEDITE OUR CONVERSATION HERE.
I JUST WANT TO PAUSE AND, AND SAY THAT WE HAVE A PUBLIC SPEAKER SIGNED UP FOR THIS ITEM AS WELL.
SO I WANT TO GIVE HER A CHANCE TO COME ON UP, COME ON UP AND SPEAK ON IT AS WELL.
I ACTUALLY SENT MY SLIDES TO THE LIAISON AND I'M NOT SURE IF HE CAN PULL THOSE UP FOR YOU.
HOW ABOUT WE GO BACK TO THIS DISCUSSION WHILE YOU WORK OUT THE PRESENTATION? YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO ANYWHERE.
WHILE THEY WORK THAT OUT, CHRIS, CAN YOU WALK US THROUGH YOUR CHANGES? SURE.
UH, WELL THE HEAT RESILIENCE INFRASTRUCTURE IS ONE THAT WAS ACTUALLY ALSO ADDED.
UH, BUT THIS ONE, THIS ONE WE IS, IT'S BASED ON A PREVIOUS RECOMMENDATION.
UH, IT'S JUST, I DON'T KNOW, HEATHER, IF YOU WANNA ADD SOMETHING TO THAT.
SO THIS IS, UM, SORT OF MERGER OF, UM, THE, SOME PUBLIC INPUT.
WE GOT TO ADD MORE INVESTMENT IN GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO IT'S MERGING THAT WITH A RECOMMENDATION OUR GROUP PUT FORWARD.
AND THAT WAS APPROVED BY ALL OF US, UM, BACK IN FEBRUARY, MARCH.
AND TIED IN THE RECENT RESOLUTION, WHEN WAS THAT? FROM, I GUESS FEBRUARY, UM, TO BUILD OUT GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO, UM, WE HADN'T BEEN CONSIDERING RECOMMENDATIONS WE PUT FORTH BEFORE AND REALIZED THAT WAS AN OVERSIGHT OR WE JUST THOUGHT THESE WERE SEPARATE, SO WE DIDN'T INCLUDE IT, BUT WE THOUGHT THIS WAS IMPORTANT BASED ON PUBLIC INPUT WE'VE RECEIVED AND THE GOALS OF THE INVESTMENT PLAN.
SO ALSO INCREASED THE AMOUNTS, UM, TO AIM HIGH, GIVEN THAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT AIMING HIGH.
BUT YEAH, SO IT'S FOR SHADING AND COOL CORRIDORS AND UM, AND ALSO ADDING MORE GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE AS THE ROADWAYS ARE, UM, ARE REBUILT FOR BIKEWAYS.
SO, SO THIS ONE WAS THE OTHER ONE.
ANOTHER ONE THAT WAS ADDED, THIS ONE WAS BASED ON THE CITY, CITY LEAP, A TX PLAN.
DO YOU WANNA TOUCH BASE ON THIS HEATHER TOO? YEAH, THIS ONE, WE GOT A, WE GOT A PRESENTATION ON IT LAST WEEK AND WE THOUGHT IT WAS BOLD AND MAYBE, UH, TOO BOLD, BUT WE THOUGHT WE WOULD PUT IT FORWARD IN THE INTEREST OF, UH, MOONSHOT GOALS AS PLANET TEXAS ALWAYS SAID.
UH, SO THIS IS CONVERTING LANES OF LARGE, LARGE ARTERIAL ROADS TO BIKE OR, AND OR BUS INFRASTRUCTURE.
UM, SO THIS JUST DRAWS DIRECTLY FROM THAT PROPOSAL AND JUST ADDED LANGUAGE ABOUT THE BENEFITS THAT HADN'T REALLY BEEN EMPHASIZED AS MUCH.
AND THEN THE LAST, THE LAST, YEAH, SO THE CAR SHARING ONE, THIS ONE.
SO WE ADDED A COMMENT IN REGARDS TO,
[01:45:01]
UH, CONSIDERING LOWER FEES, UH, TO LOW INCOME CUSTOMERS, CAP CUSTOMERS.I KNOW YOU, CHARLOTTE HAD A COMMENT ABOUT, UH, POTENTIALLY PROPOSING IT, NOT JUST THIS, BUT ALSO DOING A SLIDING SCALE.
UH, SO WE CAN, WE CAN INCLUDE THAT IF YOU WOULD LIKE, IS THAT, THAT WAS YOUR COMMENT? NO, SHARE ONE OF YOUR COMMENTS.
JUST TO BE MORE, MORE INCLUSIVE AND BROADER THAN, THAN JUST CAP CUSTOMERS.
THERE'S OTHER, THERE'S OTHER MODELS BESIDES EVIE EVIE'S GREAT.
AND THERE'S OTHER MODELS LIKE ME, ME, CAR, MEAL, CAR, AND, UH, GOOD TO GO AND COLORADO CAR SHARE THAT HAVE, YOU KNOW, GOOD, GOOD LEARNINGS, GOOD LESSONS.
AND I DID SEE, WE ALSO SAW YOUR COMMENT ABOUT, UH, I GUESS BEING A RISK FOR POTENTIALLY OF THIS BEING TOO MUCH OF A PROGRAM FOR, FOR THE CITY TO TAKE ON.
AND ACTUALLY, THIS IS THE ONE, THE OTHER ONE THAT WE HAVE SOME ALTERNATIVE LANGUAGE TO IT, AND THIS WAS PROPOSED BY ROD.
SO IF YOU WANNA, IF YOU WANNA JUMP IN ROD AND EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT MORE, THAT'LL BE GREAT.
KIND OF TO YOUR POINT, CHARLOTTE, UM, ABOUT MAYBE HAVING A BROADER SET OF SOLUTIONS, UH, A POSSIBLE ALTERNATIVE WOULD BE TO DEVELOP SOME KIND OF E MOBILITY PILOT PROGRAM, UM, WHERE THE CITY WOULD HAVE FUNDS THAT COULD BE DISPERSED TO, UM, COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS, NONPROFITS, SOCIAL SERVICE PROVIDERS, EVEN SMALL BUSINESSES TO ADDRESS MOBILITY BARRIERS THROUGH ELECTRIC MEANS.
SO THAT COULD INCLUDE SOMETHING LIKE AN ALL ELECTRIC CAR SHARE PROGRAM, BUT IT COULD ALSO LOOK LIKE PROVIDING AN EVENT OR AN E SHUTTLE TO A SOCIAL SERVICE PROVIDING ORGANIZATION, FOR EXAMPLE, LIKE AN ELDERLY CARE ORGANIZATION OR AFTERSCHOOL YOUTH, AFTERSCHOOL YOUTH PROGRAM.
UM, IT COULD ALSO LOOK LIKE LOCAL MINIBUS SERVICES.
UM, IT COULD LOOK LIKE MOBILE HEALTH CLINICS.
SO IT'S BASICALLY BROADENING THE SET OF SOLUTIONS THAT NOT JUST INCLUDE CAR SHARE, BUT OTHER KINDS OF E MOBILITY.
I THINK THESE ARE, UM, THESE ARE GREAT AVENUES TO EXPLORE, UM, A LOT OF GOOD THINGS IN HERE.
MY CONCERN IS THAT IT'S, IS NOT SPECIFIC ENOUGH TO, TO BE KIND OF A, A STARTING POINT.
IT'S, THERE'S SO MANY THINGS THERE.
IT KIND OF FEELS LIKE A, YOU KNOW, LIKE A LAUNDRY LIST OF POSSIBILITIES AS OPPOSED TO, YOU KNOW, HERE'S A, YOU KNOW, A TRACK, AN AVENUE THAT WE WANT YOU TO GO DOWN AND EXPLORE, UM, YOU KNOW, CREATING A PILOT CAR SHARING PROGRAM OR, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS.
SO WHILE I, I THINK ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE, ARE WORTHY, ELDERLY CARE AFTER SCHOOL YOUTH PROGRAMS, ALL OF THOSE, I I, I'M NOT SURE THAT THIS IS I BAKED ENOUGH TO, YOU KNOW, FOR, FOR THE CITY TO GO AND, YOU KNOW, TAKE IT AND RUN WITH IT.
IS, IS THIS THE SAME AS WHAT WE WERE EMAILED OR DIFFERENT? THIS, THIS IS AN ALTERNATIVE TO WHAT WAS EMAILED.
SO THIS, YEAH, THIS WAS AN EMAIL.
ARE YOU STILL ALSO PROPOSING WHAT WAS EMAILED? YEAH, SO I GUESS THE, THE, THE, WHAT RIO WANTED TO KINDA, UH, BRAINSTORM, AND THIS WAS ALSO, I GUESS BASED ON, UH, CHARLOTTE'S COMMENT AS WELL WAS IT COULD EITHER BE A, IT COULD EITHER BE AN ADDITIONAL TO, TO THIS OR IT COULD BE A REPLACEMENT.
AND SO THAT, I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET JCS INPUT.
IF, IF PEOPLE ARE OKAY WITH THE, WITH THE PROPOSED PART SHARING, WE CAN APPROVE THIS ONE AS AS WE GO AND WE CAN SEPARATE, WE CAN SEPARATE THIS ONE FOR OUR SEPARATE VOTES.
UH, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE THIS IS WHAT CHARLOTTE SAYS, THIS ONE IS A LITTLE BIT TOO GENERAL AT THE MOMENT.
I, I WOULD, THAT'S JUST ON THAT SAY, COMMENT, I'M NOT, AND I WOULD PUT, I WOULD PUSH BACK ON THAT SAY, KIND OF BY DESIGN, BECAUSE IT'S MEANT TO FUND SOLUTIONS THAT ARE APPROPRIATE GIVEN THE CONTEXT AND THE SITUATION IN ANY GIVEN NEIGHBORHOOD.
SO I, I DON'T THINK CAR SHARING IS ALWAYS APPROPRIATE.
AND SO THAT, THAT IS WHY, UH, WE
[01:50:01]
PUT TOGETHER THIS ALTERNATIVE.RODRIGO, CAN I ASK HA, HAVE YOU, LIKE, ARE THERE ONGOING CITY, LIKE IS THERE ONGOING INITIATIVES WITHIN THE CITY TO LOOK AT PROGRAMS LIKE THESE? OR HAS THIS COME UP IN, IN CONVERSATIONS YOU'VE HAD WITH STAFF, AS IN DOES, IS THERE A SIMILAR PROGRAM EXISTING RIGHT NOW THAT PROVIDES, I, I GUESS, YOU KNOW, IS THERE, IT DOES, LIKE IF, SO SOME OF THESE PROGRAMS DON'T EXIST, BUT IS THERE, YOU KNOW, ALREADY SORT OF AN INTEREST FROM STAFF IN PROPOSING THESE PROGRAMS? LIKE, IS THIS, ARE WE, IF WE WERE TO SUPPORT THIS, WOULD WE BE SUPPORTING ALREADY, YOU KNOW, INITIATIVES THAT ARE ALREADY EXISTING OR FOMENTING OR BUBBLING UP, OR IS THIS LIKE ENTIRELY NEW AND PEOPLE HAVEN'T BEEN THINKING ABOUT THIS? I MEAN, I THINK FOR AS AT, AT LEAST FOR THE CAR SHARING, I WASN'T PART OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE, UM, CHRIS, MAYBE YOU CAN PROVIDE CONTEXT THERE.
IS THAT, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU HAD A CONVERSATION WITH STAFF ABOUT? I MEAN, THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS, UH, I MEAN, IT WAS IN A CLIMATE ACTION PLAN AS SOME, AS, YOU KNOW, LIKE A VERSION OF, OF, OF THIS.
AND I, YOU KNOW, I DID SOME RESEARCH, SO I DIDN'T SPEAK WITH STAFF SPECIFICALLY ABOUT IT.
IT WAS MORE DOING RESEARCH GOT IT, OKAY.
SO, YEAH, AND I WOULD SAY IT'S ALSO, BUT I MEAN, THESE POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS WHICH AREN'T PRESCRIPTIVE WOULD ALSO ALIGN WITH THE GOALS OF THE AUSTIN CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
UM, I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S A CURRENT EFFORT TO TRY TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
THAT'S, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT SHOULD BE A LIMITING FACTOR THOUGH.
DO WE WANNA MAKE MAYBE SEPARATE THIS ONE? I, I THINK FOR A LATER VOTE, I THINK WE SHOULD SEPARATE THIS ONE OUT.
JUST BE, IT'S NEW AND I DO AGREE IT'S, UH, IT'S NOT BAD, BUT IT IS, UM, A LITTLE LESS DEFINED, UM, THAN, THAN THE OTHERS.
I MEAN, I FEEL LIKE REALLY ALL OF THE SECTIONS THERE IN COMMAS COULD BE BROKEN OUT INTO THEIR OWN THING, BUT IT'S A LOT OF WORK, SO I TOTALLY GET WHY IT'S IN THE CURRENT STATE THAT IT IS.
ARE YOU READY TO YEAH, THAT, THAT'S IT FOR OKAY.
WE'RE GONNA HEAR FROM OUR, OUR SPEAKER HERE.
THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR MEMBERS, I'M XENOBI JOSEPH, AND ONCE AGAIN, I AM GOING TO MAKE MY COMMENTS IN THE CONTEXT OF TITLE SIX OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964, WHICH PROHIBITS DISCRIMINATION BASED ON RACE, COLOR, OR NATIONAL ORIGIN.
I DID LOOK AT THE 2020 AUSTIN CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, AS YOU SEE IN FRONT OF YOU, AND JUST WANTED TO CALL TO YOUR ATTENTION SPECIFICALLY IN THE 2023 PRO HOUSING APPLICATION FROM THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO HUD.
THEY ACTUALLY ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THERE ARE LESS THAN 10 AFFORDABLE HOMES THAT WERE BUILT IN WEST AUSTIN.
I JUST WANTED TO CALL TO YOUR ATTENTION AS WELL THAT THERE WAS AN AUDIT IN 2023 WHERE THE AUDITOR STATED THAT STAFF BASICALLY IS NOT USING THE DATA TO INFORM THEIR DECISIONS.
IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, MY OPPOSITION SPECIFICALLY TO THE CIRCULATORS OR TO THE PICKUP ZONE IS THAT IT DOES NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE TIME THAT YOU'RE ACTUALLY ON HOLD.
IT COULD BE FIVE MINUTES, IT COULD BE 60 MINUTES.
AND I WANTED YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT IN 2014, THE PROJECT CONNECT LOCALLY PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE NORTH CORRIDOR STUDY ACTUALLY INDICATED THAT TWO THIRDS OF THE JOBS WOULD BE IN THE NORTH CORRIDOR BY 2035.
AND SO COUNCIL ACTUALLY ELIMINATED THE NORTHEAST WEST METRO RAPID THAT WOULD'VE BEEN ON PALMER LANE.
AND THIS PARTICULAR RECOMMENDATION THAT YOU HAVE, I JUST WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT THERE ARE THREE HE BS, SAMSUNG, THE APPLE, THERE'S A 425 ACRE DEVELOPMENT AT EAST VILLAGE, AND THERE IS NO TRANSPORTATION.
AND SO I WOULD ASK YOU TO RECOGNIZE THE NEED TO INCLUDE SOME TYPE OF RECOMMENDATION FOR THERE TO BE USE OF THE PICKUP VEHICLES, WHICH ARE THE CUTAWAY VEHICLES TO ACTUALLY SERVICE NORTHEAST WEST IN THAT AREA.
AS IT RELATES SPECIFICALLY TO THE INEQUITIES IN THE SYSTEM, THIS IS RECENT FROM SUNDAY.
I JUST WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT ROUTE 3 25, WHICH SERVES THE RUNDBERG AREA, ACTUALLY WAS A 15 MINUTE ROUTE.
IT SERVED NORTH, IT WENT FROM WALMART, NORWOOD TO WALMART, NORTH CROSS, AND NOW IT WAS 60 MINUTES ON SUNDAY.
SO WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT WHERE THE PICKUP ZONES NEED TO BE, I WANT YOU TO KNOW AS WELL THAT IN GEORGIAN ACRES, THERE WAS A PILOT AFTER CAPITAL METRO ACTUALLY SOLD
[01:55:01]
US PROPAGANDA ON ABOUT EQUITY, MORE FREQUENT, MORE RELIABLE AND BETTER CONNECTED SERVICE.AND WE GOT INFREQUENT, UNRELIABLE, DISCONNECTED SERVICE AFTER PROJECT CONNECT PASS, THEY GOT A $1 MILLION NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION GRANT WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN FOR THAT PILOT SO THAT THEY COULD HAVE A CIRCULATOR FOR THE PEOPLE IN GEORGIAN ACRES FOR THE TRANSIT DESERT.
UH, AS IT RELATES SPECIFICALLY, THIS IS JUST AN EXAMPLE TO SHOW YOU THAT, UM, IT'S BLACK AND WHITE AND BASICALLY, UM, I'LL GIVE YOU A PICTURE ON THE NEXT SLIDE, BUT I JUST WANTED YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT THE SERVICE THAT IS BEING PROVIDED DOWNTOWN COMES IN THE FORM OF A ONE SEAT RIDE.
THIS IS ACTUALLY THE DATA FROM THE MOST RECENT CAPITAL METRO BOARD MEETING AS IT RELATES TO PICKUP.
AND I JUST WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT WHAT HAPPENED IS THAT THEY ELIMINATED THE SERVICE IN ROCKY AND MAINOR AND SOME OF THE OTHER AREAS THAT ARE IN NORTHEAST AUSTIN, NORTH OF US, 180 3, ALL THE ONE SEAT RIDES WERE ELIMINATED.
SO WHEN THEY COUNT THE RIDERSHIP, THEY'RE ABLE TO COUNT AS TWO AND THREE TIMES.
SO THIS IS WHY I, I'M IN OPPOSITION AND WOULD ASK YOU TO FUND, UM, RESTORE THE SERVICE AS OPPOSED TO EXPANDING THE AMENITIES AND THINGS THAT ARE NICE TO HAVE.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'LL GO AHEAD AND ANSWER THEM AT THIS TIME, BUT WELL LASTLY, JUST SAY, MADAM CHAIR, THE 2017 FINANCIAL PLAN FROM CAPITAL METRO ACTUALLY HAS THE DATA AND THE FINANCIAL FIGURES THAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR, FOR DOWNTOWN CIRCULATORS IN THE, THE SYSTEM AT LARGE.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'LL GLADLY ANSWER THEM.
DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? YEAH, I WAS CURIOUS, YOU SAID THEY ELIMINATED THERO AND MANNAR STOP FOR THE PICKUP APP.
IT'S ACTUALLY ROUTE 300 WAS A ONE SEAT RIDE, AND WHEN CAP RE MAP TOOK PLACE JUNE 3RD, 2018, THAT ROUTE ACTUALLY ELE THAT PART OF THE ROUTE WAS ACTUALLY ELIMINATED AND IT FORCED THE PEOPLE AT PECAN SPRINGS TO WALK HALF A MILE TO 51ST.
NO, I LIVE, I LIVE OUT RIGHT THERE.
SO NO, NO, THE CIRCULATOR, UM, I'M NOT SAYING THAT'S ELIMINATED.
I'M SAYING THE REASON THE CIRCULATOR EXISTS IS BECAUSE THEY ELIMINATED THE FIFTH, RIGHT? RIGHT.
THEY MOVED THE 300 DID NOT GO DOWN ROCKY ANYMORE, BUT INSTEAD GO UP, UH, I THINK SPRINGDALE, SPRINGDALE AND CAMERON AND 51ST STREET.
SO THEN WE GET COUNTED TWO OR THREE TIMES BECAUSE OF THE TRANSFERS, AND THAT'S PROBABLY HEALTH RIDERSHIP.
BUT THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION.
I I HAVE A CLARIFI CLARIFICATION QUESTION.
UM, SO YOU SAID CIRCULATOR, BUT ARE YOU REFERRING TO THE ON DEMAND SERVICES? SO IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE 2017 FINANCIAL PLAN, IT HAS BOTH.
SO 4, 6, 6 AT THE DOMAIN WAS, IS A CIRCULATOR, BUT IT USES A 40 FOOT BUS.
SO IT RUNS LIKE A FIXED ROUTE.
UH, THE ON DEMAND SERVICE, ACTUALLY, YES, IT DOES PICK YOU UP DOOR TO DOOR, BUT IT ONLY RUNS SEVEN TO SEVEN.
IT STARTS TOO LATE AND ENDS TOO EARLY FOR YOU TO RELY ON IT TO GO TO WORK.
AND YOU CAN BE ON HOLD FIVE MINUTES TO, TO 60 MINUTES.
AND THAT IS NEVER REPORTED OUT WHEN THEY TALK ABOUT THE SUCCESS OF THE SYSTEM.
AND BECAUSE THOSE ROUTES WERE ELIMINATED IN NORTHEAST AUSTIN, OF COURSE PEOPLE ARE USING THE BUS IN THE RUTLAND AREA AND FOR NORTHEAST AUSTIN AS WELL.
I HOPE THAT ANSWERED YOUR QUESTION.
COULD YOU SEE, I'M VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE PALMER CORRIDOR THAT YOU SPOKE OF.
UM, IS THE CONCERN WITH CIRCULATORS WHERE WE'RE LOOKING TO PLACE THEM, OR DO YOU SEE AN IRA OF OPPORTUNITY FOR CIRCULATORS TO PERHAPS REPLACE SOME OF THE ROUTES WE'VE LOST? RIGHT, AND THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION.
THE, THE PROBLEM IS THAT THERE'S RIDERSHIP IN AND THERE'S COVERAGE, AND COVERAGE IS THE FIXED ROUTES.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS I THINK THAT IS MISSING FROM THE CONVERSATION IS THAT CAPITAL METRO ACTUALLY HAD ABOUT 5,000 SURVEYS.
AND SO THEIR TARGET AUDIENCE HAPPENS TO BE WHITE MILLENNIALS WHO TOOK THE SURVEYS.
72% WERE WHITE, 52% WERE FEMALE.
THEY MADE $100,000 AND HAD ACCESS TO TWO VEHICLES.
SO THE, UM, THE THING THAT WOULD NEED TO HAPPEN IS THAT YOU HAVE LIKE 19 AND 30, WHICH IS WALSH CHARLTON, AND THAT BECAME A ONE SEAT RIDE JANUARY, 2023 WHEN IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A PICKUP BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE THE RIDERSHIP.
AND THEN ON WALSH, CHARLTON E'S ISD STUDENTS DO NOT LIVE IN THE SERVICE AREA, AND THEY DON'T ACTUALLY PAY FOR THE SERVICE.
BUT IF YOU GO BACK TO THE NOVEMBER 16TH, 2016 BOARD MEETING, YOU'LL SEE THAT THEY WERE ADVOCATING HASHTAG SAY 30.
AND SO THE CHAIR AT THE TIME LIVED IN OR HAD PROPERTY IN WEST LAKE HILLS AND ASKED MAYOR, UH, LINDA ANTHONY TO ACTUALLY PAY INTO THE SERVICE.
AND THEN FAST FORWARD TO 2023, CAPITAL METRO THEN CONNECTED THE 19 BULL CREEK AND THE 30 WALSH CHARLTON, WHICH AS YOU KNOW, SERVES PREDOMINANTLY WHITE INDIVIDUALS.
AND UNFORTUNATELY IN THE 19 BULL CREEK AREA,
[02:00:01]
IT'S $65 AND 27 CENTS SUBSIDY AT THE TIME, ONLY 1.8 PEOPLE RODE THAT BUS AN HOUR COMPARED TO LESS THAN $5 SUBSIDY FOR THE COVERAGE THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT TODAY, WHICH IS NEEDED.AND IT'S ALSO NEEDED IN THE NORTHEAST AREA AT COLONY PARK, CRAIG WOOD.
AND I WOULD JUST EMPHASIZE THAT WHEN THE BUS GOES DOWN LIKE 2 37 COMMUNITY FIRST VILLAGE, WHERE OUR FORMERLY HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS ARE LIVING, THEY ARE SITTING IN THEIR WHEELCHAIRS FOR TWO HOURS.
SO IT IS NOT A MATTER OF JUST PUTTING A PICKUP OR A CIRCULATOR IN THEIR AREA.
SO THE 3 37 COULD ACTUALLY CONNECT THEM, UM, AND IT COULD TERMINATE THERE, AND THEN IT COULD GO ON, BUT NOW THEY CAN'T EVEN GET TO DAY LABOR.
SO, UM, IT'S JUST INEQUITABLE.
IF YOU LOOK AT WHERE THE ACTUAL CIRCULATORS ARE SERVING AND WHERE THE ONE SEAT RIDES ARE, IT'S THE LOW END, THE LOW DENSITY WHITE NEIGHBORHOODS.
UM, AND I WOULD LASTLY JUST TELL YOU THAT THE OAK HILL GAZETTE IN 2016, NOVEMBER, UM, FIFTH, 2016 ACTUALLY MENTIONED, UH, LAWRENCE DIETER, WHO IS THE SENIOR PLANNER AT THE TIME, SAID THAT SOUTHWEST AUSTIN DID NOT MEET THE RIDERSHIP.
SO IT'S PERPETUATING THE 1928 CITY PLAN.
IT IS JUST DISGUISED A DIFFERENT WAY.
UM, BUT I HOPE THAT ANSWERED YOUR QUESTION.
SO YES, PARMA LANE DOES NEED SERVICE, AND IT COULD CONNECT FROM MANOR ALL THE WAY TO LEANDER BECAUSE THERE WAS A WHITE GENTLEMAN WHO'S BLIND, AND HE ACTUALLY SAID AT LEANDER THAT HE LIKED TO BE ABLE TO WORK, UH, AT DELL AND DIFFERENT PLACES, NOT JUST DOWNTOWN.
SO ULTIMATELY, JUST TO TAKE THIS A STEP BACK, WHAT I'M HEARING FROM YOU IS NOT JUST A KERFUFFLE OF SERVICE DELIVERY, BUT ULTIMATELY THERE'S A NEED TO CHANGE THE SURVEY PROCESS THAT WAS USED TO ASSESS THE RIDERSHIP NEEDS IN THE FIRST PLACE.
UM, WELL, I WOULD SAY IT, IT IS NOT NECESSARILY JUST THE SURVEYS, IT'S ACTUALLY, UH, USING THE DATA TO INFORM THE DECISION.
SO THE DATA SAID THAT YOU, YOU HAD LOW DENSITY NEIGHBORHOODS THAT WERE NEVER GOING TO INCREASE, UH, THE RIDERSHIP.
AND I'LL JUST TELL YOU THAT ON CONVICT HILL IT WAS 2.9 BOARDINGS AN HOUR, AND IT'S IN THE WATERSHED RESTRICTED AREA, SO IT WILL NEVER GROW RIDERSHIP.
AND ON THE OTHER END OF WILLIAM CANNON, YOU HAD THE, THE HALLOWEEN FLOOD, AND SO THAT IT WILL NEVER GROW RIDERSHIP BECAUSE THAT'S GREENLAND NOW.
UM, SO I WOULD JUST SAY THAT IT, IF YOU LOOK AT THE NUMBER AND YOU USE THE DATA, THE $4.7 MILLION THAT WOULD'VE SERVED METRO RAPID ON PALMER LANE IS FAR LESS THAN THE $7 MILLION THAT'S BEING PROPOSED TONIGHT FOR THIS PICKUP SERVICE, WHICH MAKES PEOPLE WAIT.
AND I WILL JUST TELL YOU THAT IN 2016, THE CONSULTANT RUSH CHISHOLM ACTUALLY TOLD CAPITAL METRO THAT ANYTIME THAT YOU HAVE TO TRANSFER, YOU HAVE TO BUILD IN THE WAIT TIME TWICE.
AND THAT'S IN THE JUNE 15TH, 2016, UH, PRESENTATION THAT HE GAVE.
SO YOU HAVE TO ASK YOURSELF IF THEY GOT THE INFORMATION FROM THE CONSULTANT, THE EXPERT, AND THEY KNEW THAT THEY WEREN'T GOING TO GROW RIDERSHIP, THEN WHY IS THE FREQUENT SERVICE IN SOUTHWEST CENTRAL AUSTIN AND BLACK PEOPLE ARE WAITING 60 MINUTES, 10 TIMES LONGER THAN WHITES TODAY STILL, BUT JUNE 10TH, 2020, CAPITOL METRO ACTUALLY PASSED A RESOLUTION TO MAINTAIN THE SYSTEM THE WAY THAT IT IS.
AND SO IT'S INSTITUTIONAL RACISM.
I JUST DON'T KNOW HOW ELSE TO TELL YOU.
UM, IT'S BAKED IN THE DECISIONS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE, BEEN MADE.
BUT UH, WHEN IT COMES TO TELLING THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION WHAT'S NEEDED, EQUITY IS ACTUALLY LISTED AND STATED AD NAUSEUM IN THE DOCUMENTATION.
SO IT'S A MATTER OF FOLLOWING THE CODE OF ETHICS.
I MEAN, I THINK WE SHOULD COME BACK TO THIS TOPIC.
I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA MOVE US SURE.
ON, IN THE INTEREST OF, OF US NOT BEING HERE ALL NIGHT, BUT I THINK CLEARLY THERE ARE PUBLIC TRANSIT ISSUES THAT WE NEED TO DIG DEEPER INTO.
UM, DO FOLKS FEEL LIKE WE ARE AT A POINT TO MAKE A DECISION ON THESE ITEMS IN QUESTION? WE HAVE TWO DIFFERENT CIRCULATOR PROPOSALS.
WE HAVE TWO DIFFERENT, UM, EV RIDE SHARE PROPOSALS.
I, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK, I THINK MAYBE WE SHOULD PULL ALL OF THAT OUT SINCE THERE SEEMS TO BE, UM, SOME, SOMETHING LESS THAN CONSENSUS AROUND THEM.
SO LET'S TAKE ALL THE, THE ORIGINAL ONES, THE, EVEN THE, THE ORIGINAL ALTERNATIVE OUT FOR BOTH LATER.
THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, I'M, I'M JUST, I'M, I'M LOOKING, LOOKING TO THE ROOM TO
[02:05:02]
CHARLOTTE, YOU HAD YOUR HAND UP.YEAH, I THINK THAT MAKES SENSE.
AND THEN I ALSO THINK, YOU KNOW, MAYBE, MAYBE WE MIGHT BE READY TO VOTE ON THE OTHER, ON SOME OF THE OTHER NOT, NOT AS CONTROVERSIAL SETS.
SO RIGHT NOW WE HAVE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE KIND OF BROKEN DOWN UNDER FOUR WORKING GROUPS.
PLUS WE HAVE TWO THAT ARE STANDALONE.
ONE ABOUT THE AUSTIN CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS, AND ONE ABOUT THE OUTREACH AND WEBSITE FOR SUSTAINABILITY INCENTIVES.
AND WE HAVE PULLED, WE'RE PULLING OUT OF THAT, THE PRO CLIMATE PROHEALTH FOODS.
AND WE'RE PULLING OUT OF THAT, THE RIDE SHARING PROPOSALS, BOTH OF THEM THAT HAVE BEEN, BOTH THE ONE THAT WAS EMAILED AND THE ONE THAT WAS PRESENTED AND THE CIRCULATOR PER PROPOSALS, BOTH THE ONE THAT WAS EMAILED AND THE ONE THAT WAS PRESENTED.
DOES EVERYBODY FEEL COMFORTABLE THAT WE COULD MOVE FORWARD WITH A VOTE ON THE OTHER, ALL OF THE OTHER ITEMS THAT WERE PRESENTED? CHARLOTTE, UH, I'M SORRY, I APOLOGIZE FOR, BUT I DID HAVE ON THE TRANSPORTATION, THE LAST ONES MM-HMM.
SO, UM, THAT, THAT COULD BE A RECOMMENDATION TO INCREASE THE FUNDING FOR THAT OR INCREASE THE REBATE FOR THAT.
IT JUST SEEMED THAT THE NEAR THE SMALL BUSINESSES ONE FIT BETTER IN THE MULTIFAMILY.
IS IT, MAYBE I'M READING IT WRONG.
I READ THAT TO MEAN THEY WERE STILL AT CITY OWNED FACILITIES, BUT THAT THEY WERE FACILITIES THAT WERE NEAR SMALL BU BUSINESSES.
IS THAT THE INTENTION? MAYBE I MISREAD THAT.
YEAH, THAT WAS, THAT, THAT'S THE INTENTION OF THE CURRENT, YEAH.
THE, THE THE CITY OWNED FACILITIES.
COULD YOU MAYBE JUST ADD, PRIORITIZE CITY BUILDINGS INSTEAD OF LOCATIONS? PRIORITIZE CITY BUILDINGS NEAR SMALL BUSINESSES, JUST FOR CLARITY, YOU GO TO LOWER.
SAY THAT AGAIN, PA SO I'M LOOKING AT THE GREEN HIGHLIGHTED PORTION.
UM, THE SECOND GREEN HIGHLIGHTED, IT'S UNDER THE MAIN DESCRIPTION HERE, AND IT SAYS FUNDING SHOULD PRIORITIZE.
DO YOU SEE THAT? YEAH, I CAN SEE IT.
AND THEN INSTEAD OF LOCATIONS, JUST SAY CITY BUILDINGS OR CHARGING NEAR CITY BUILD OR, YOU KNOW, I THINK JUST WORK IN CITY BUILDINGS THERE.
DOES THAT SOUND GOOD? YEAH, THAT SOUNDS GOOD.
CHARLOTTE, DOES THAT ADDRESS? YES, THAT'S GREAT.
AND THEN, UH, AS FOR THE MULTIFAMILY WITH PRIORITY AND LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES, UM, JUST THE QUESTION IS THAT THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING SEPARATE FROM THE EXISTING REBATE PROGRAM FOR AUSTIN ENERGY, OR WOULD IT BE SOMETHING THAT THE REBATE COULD BE INCREASED FOR, FOR THOSE, OR FULLY FUNDED FOR THOSE, OR IT JUST SEEMS LIKE SINCE THERE'S SOMETHING ALREADY IN EXISTENCE THAT THERE MIGHT BE HMM, YEAH, I'M NOT, I'M NOT, I'M NOT SURE ABOUT, ABOUT THAT.
YEAH, I WASN'T THINKING ABOUT THAT REBATE SPECIFICALLY CHARLOTTE.
BUT WE CAN, WE CAN CERTAINLY INCLUDE LANGUAGE.
I MEAN, WE CAN LEAVE IT AS IS.
I THINK IT, THE FUNDING MAKES SENSE.
IT IS JUST THAT, UM, FOR, I'M THINKING ABOUT THESE TO BE ACTIONABLE AND TO BE PICKED UP.
UM, IF IT'S TIED TO SOMETHING THAT'S ALREADY EXISTING, IT MIGHT BE AN EASIER, UM, SELL POTENTIALLY.
SO WHAT IF IT, AFTER JAY'S THAT 10 MILLION BE PROVIDED TO SUPPLEMENT EXISTING EV REBATES AT MULTIFAMILY BUILDINGS, UH, EV CHARGING STATIONS AT MULTIFAMILY? UM, 'CAUSE RIGHT NOW THERE'S A, I THINK THERE'S A 50% REBATE AND IT'S CAPPED AT $3,000
[02:10:03]
AND YOU PROBABLY KNOW WHAT IT CLOSER TO WHAT IT ACTUALLY COSTS.UM, YEAH, I CAN INCLUDE THAT LANGUAGE IN THAT.
UM, SINCE WE'RE ON THIS ONE, I SEE THAT YOU ADDED THE MODERATE INCOME IN THE TEXT, BUT, BUT NOT IN THE TITLE.
DO YOU MIND IF WE ADD THAT IN THE TITLE TOO? SURE.
ANY OTHER CHANGES ON ANY OF THE OTHER ITEMS BEFORE WE OH, WHAT ABOUT THE, THE WATER, UM, THE LANDSCAPING? WHAT NUMBERS, IF ANY, SHOULD WE PUT IN THERE, CHRIS? 400,000 FOR THAT.
SO WE'LL JUST SAY AN INCREASE OF, OR AN INCREASE OF 400,000 OR, UH, GOOD QUESTION.
SET THE BUDGET AT 400, HUNDRED HUNDRED THOUSAND.
SO WE'LL THAT WILL BE ADDED INTO THAT SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS RECOMMENDATION, UNLESS THERE'S OBJECTION TO THAT.
MAKING OUR NOTES SO I DON'T FORGET ANYTHING ELSE.
AND ANY OTHER ITEMS OTHER THAN THE FOUR TRANSPORTATION THAT WE'RE PULLING OUT AND THE ONE PRO CLIMATE PROHEALTH FOODS THAT WE'RE PULLING OUT.
DOES ANYBODY WANNA MAKE THE MOTION
AND THEN FROM THE, UH, TRANSPORTATION, THERE ARE TWO THAT HAVE, THAT WERE TWO THAT WERE ONE THAT WAS PRESENTED AND ONE THAT WAS EMAILED ON THE CIRCULATOR.
AND THEN A RIDE SHARING ITEM THAT WAS EMAILED AND A RIDE SHARING, UH, ITEM THAT WAS PRESENTED.
SO WE'RE PULLING OUT THOSE FOUR, BOTH CIRCULATOR, BOTH RIDE SHARE.
WHO WANTS THE HONORS? WE GET YOUR NAME IN THE MINUTES.
WE'VE GOT A MOTION THAT'S SPECIFICALLY, I, I, I MOTION THAT WE PUT THIS TO A VOTE.
WE'VE GOT A MOTION TO SECOND VOTE AND A SECOND TO VOTE ON ALL THE ITEMS EXCEPT FOR THE FIVE THAT HAVE BEEN DESCRIBED.
ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND.
THOSE ARE ALL UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTED.
NOW LET'S DO THE PRO CLIMATE PROHEALTH FOODS.
'CAUSE I THINK THIS ONE'S SIMPLEST.
DO WE HAVE ENOUGH WITHOUT HER? YEAH.
SO CHARLOTTE'S RECUSING HERSELF.
UH, WE CAN, I, I'LL, I'LL MAKE THE MOTION A, A MOTION THAT WE ADOPT THE PROLI PROHEALTH FOOD, UH, RECOMMENDATION.
ALL IN FAVOR? RAISE YOUR HAND.
WE'VE GOT 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.
TRANSPORTATION PEOPLE, I LEAVE IT TO YOU TO, TO MAKE A MOTION ON SOMETHING OR SOMEBODY
DOES IT HAVE TO BE, I GUESS IT'S TODAY, THE, TONIGHT THE DEADLINE FOR THE, FOR LEASE FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTMENT THING.
WE HAVE BEEN, WE HAVE BEEN ASKED TO GET THESE TO COUNCIL BY THE FIRST, SO, YOU KNOW, THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE CAN'T MAKE ANOTHER RECOMMENDATION AT ANOTHER TIME, BUT I DON'T, I DON'T INTEND TO CALL ANOTHER SPECIAL MEETING FOR THIS PURPOSE, IF THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE ASKING.
RIO, DO YOU WANNA, I GUESS, YEAH.
DO YOU WANNA KIND OF MAKE ANY SUGGESTIONS ON, ON YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS SINCE YOU WERE KIND OF THINKING ABOUT ALTERNATIVES?
[02:15:02]
YEAH, I, I, I GUESS I, I STILL HAVE QUESTIONS JUST KIND OF BASED ON THE COMMENTS WE RECEIVED.UM, I'M NOT, YOU KNOW, A HUNDRED PERCENT SURE.
I, I FULLY UNDERSTOOD WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE LIKE A REGULAR, LIKE A FREQUENT CIRCULATOR OPTION WOULD BE BENEFICIAL TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE SERVICE GAPS THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, THAT ARE A CLEAR PROBLEM.
UM, YOU KNOW, BASED ON CONVERSATIONS THAT I'VE HAD IN OTHER SPHERES, IT SOUNDS LIKE IT WOULD HELP SERVE A NEED THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE KIND OF REGULAR SERVICE.
THERE NEEDS TO BE HOURS THAT ARE, UM, THAT ARE GONNA LET PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, GET TO AND FROM WORK.
IT NEEDS TO BE EARLIER, IT NEEDS TO BE LATER.
SO I, I STILL THINK THAT IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE COULD POTENTIALLY VOTE ON.
I'M NOT OPPOSED TO COMBINING IT WITH A DOWNTOWN ONE, ALTHOUGH I THINK THE DOWNTOWN FOCUS IS, SHOULDN'T BE A PRIORITY.
UM, AND I, THE LANGUAGE THAT YOU PRESENTED, UM, CHRIS DOESN'T EXPLICITLY SAY DOWNTOWN'S NOT ALLOWED, BUT IT DOES SAY FOCUS ON EASTERN CRESCENT NEIGHBORHOODS.
I DON'T KNOW IF ANYBODY HAS ANY THOUGHTS ON THAT.
UM, I WOULD SAY THIS, UM, BECAUSE I THINK WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
DON'T, AND THIS IS GONNA SOUND BIZARRE.
YES, THEY'RE ASKING US FOR BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS, BUT IF WE COME WITH A SOLIDLY CRAFT RECOMMENDATION ON MAY 20TH, IT'S NOT LIKE, OH, WELL YOU GUYS DIDN'T GIVE US THAT ON MAY 1ST, SO WE NEED TO WAIT ANOTHER YEAR.
UM, I, I THINK THAT THE CHALLENGE WITH OUR CITY IS IT IS VERY GEO FOCUSED.
SO TO YOUR EXACT POINT, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT EASTERN CRESCENT AND DOWNTOWN, AND SOMEONE JUST POINTED OUT, UH, LET ME TALK TO YOU ABOUT PARMER, WHERE WE'RE RUNNING ACROSS THREE CITIES AND WE HAVE NO TRANSIT AND THESE MAJOR CAMPUSES.
YOU ARE A HUNDRED PERCENT RIGHT.
SO MY QUESTION THERE IS WHAT ELSE HAVE I MISSED? AND TO YOUR EXACT POINT, WE ARE SAYING DOWNTOWN.
SO WHETHER WE SAY THIS IS A NEED, BUT DON'T FOCUS, JUST THE SAYING OF DOWNTOWN WILL MAKE THAT A FOCUS.
UM, I AM VERY MUCH IN FAVOR OF EVERYTHING THAT YOU'RE SAYING, AND I'M ALSO VERY MUCH RECOGNIZING THAT WE MIGHT ACTUALLY BE, NEED TO BE BIGGER.
AND MAYBE IT'S BY OPPOSITIONAL DEFIANCE THAT SAYS, I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR MAY 1ST DEADLINE.
I KNOW HOW BUDGETS WORK, AND IF WE GIVE YOU A WELL CRAFTED, WELL THOUGHT OUT DATA RICH RECOMMENDATION, JUST BECAUSE IT'S AFTER MAY 1ST, YOU'RE NOT GONNA IGNORE IT.
THAT'S JUST MY 2 CENTS TO GIVE US SOME GRACE TO GET IT RIGHT VERSUS GETTING IT ON DEADLINE.
I DO WANNA ADD THAT STAFF WILL BE PREPARING, UH, A PRESENTATION, UM, TO COUNCIL AS WELL WITH OUR RECOMMENDATIONS, AND WE'RE GONNA CROSSWALK IT WITH THE JSCS RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND A RECOMMENDATION ON MADE ON MAY 22ND WILL NOT BE ABLE TO BE PART OF OUR CROSSWALK AND OUR RECOMMENDATIONS BASED ON THE DEADLINES THAT WE HAVE TO POST ITEMS FOR COUNCIL.
WOULD, WOULD, I GUESS, AMY, TO YOUR POINT, INSTEAD OF SAYING AUSTIN'S EASTERN CRESCENT, IF WE JUST SAY UNDER OR NEIGHBORHOODS UNDERSERVED BY TRANSIT, WOULD THAT POTENTIALLY HELP ADDRESS THAT ISSUE? I THINK THAT IT WOULD ADDRESS IT PERFECTLY.
LIKE I AM ALWAYS IN FAVOR OF GIVING CRITERIA AND PARAMETERS VERSUS SPECIFICS.
UNLESS I HAVE A SPECIFIC COMMUNITY THAT IS STEPPING UP AND SAYING, THIS HAPPENED IN OUR COMMUNITY AND ONLY OUR COMMUNITY.
LIKE, LET'S SAY A DOVE SPRINGS FLOODING PROPOSAL WOULD BE SOMETHING I WOULD THINK OF WHERE I'D WANNA SPECIFICALLY SAY, WE ARE DOING THIS FOR THIS AREA.
BUT YEAH, I WOULD, I WOULD SAY GIVE PARAMETERS OVER MAP POINTS.
SO I, I JUST CHANGED THE MENTION OF AUSTIN'S EASTERN CRESCENT TO JUST SAY, WITH A FOCUS ON NEIGHBORHOODS UNDERSERVED BY TRANSIT.
CAN YOU SHARE YOUR SCREEN IF, IF WE'RE WORK, ARE WE, ARE YOU WORKING OFF OF THE ONE THAT'S ON THE GOOGLE DOC INSTEAD OF YEAH, I CAN'T, YEAH, I CAN'T SHARE MY SCREEN, BUT YEAH, IT'S THE GOOGLE DOC.
I, I WILL SAY, I, I KNOW Y'ALL ARE DOING YOUR BEST, BUT, UM, WE, WE GOT, WE GOTTA, WE GOTTA BE A LITTLE BETTER ABOUT EMAILING THINGS AROUND AHEAD OF TIME, SO WE AREN'T DOING QUITE SO MUCH WRITING FROM THE DAAS HERE.
[02:20:04]
ARE YOU ABLE TO SHARE CHRIS? YEAH.LET ME, LET ME, I TRY AND, UH, I THINK IT NOW, SO THAT WHERE THE CURSOR IS, THAT'S, THAT'S THE CHANGE THAT WAS MADE.
IT USED TO SAY WITH A FOCUS IN NEIGHBORHOOD OR WITH A FOCUS ON IN
I CAN MAKE A MOTION TO ADOPT THE ALTERNATE, THE NEIGHBORHOOD E CIRCULATOR PROPOSAL.
WHO, WHO WAS THAT? WHO? CHARLOTTE.
CHARLOTTE WAS THE SECOND, OR THE MOTION? THE MOTION.
UM, I'M, I'M JUST WONDERING FOR CIRCULATORS IN, CAN WE SAY CIRCULATOR SERVING NEIGHBORHOODS BECAUSE I'M, I'M HEARING THAT WE WOULDN'T NECESSARILY WANT THE CIRCULATOR TO STAY WITHIN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, RIGHT? YOU WANT IT TO MAYBE TAKE PEOPLE OUTTA THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
SERVING NEIGHBORHOODS UNDERSERVED BY TRANSIT.
SO I'M LOOKING ON THE IMPLEMENT HIGH FREQUENCY FREE OR LOW ELECTRIC CIRC CIRCULATORS SERVING RIGHT.
I APPRECIATE YOU ACCEPTING THAT EDIT AMENDMENT.
ANY OTHERS BEFORE WE VOTE ON THIS? OKAY, LET'S STOP SHARING SO I CAN SEE EVERYBODY.
ALL IN FAVOR? PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND.
LOOKS LIKE EVERYBODY'S SUPPORTING THAT.
SO I THINK WE JUST HAVE ONE ISSUE LEFT TO GO RIDE SHARING.
DID WE NOT PULL OUT THE DOWNTOWN? NO.
OR DID WE ALREADY APPROVE THAT DOWNTOWN? I THOUGHT WE JUST MADE THIS ONE GENERAL ENOUGH THAT WE DON'T NEED TO ALSO VOTE ON DOWNTOWN, BUT IF SOMEBODY WANTS TO VOTE SPECIFICALLY ON DOWNTOWN, WE CAN ARE YOU MAKING A MOTION TO THAT EFFECT? I, I THOUGHT WE WERE PULLING BOTH OF THOSE SEPARATELY OUT AND I, I, YES.
I WANTED TO SUPPORT THE DOWNTOWN CIRCULATOR AS WELL.
I MOVE TO ADOPT THE DOWNTOWN HIGH FREQUENCY CIRCULATOR.
I'M NOT EVEN GONNA ASK FOR MORE CONVERSATION.
ALL IN FAVOR? RAISE YOUR HANDS.
EVERYBODY'S ALSO IN FAVOR OF THAT.
SOMEHOW I THINK WE COULD HAVE COMBINED THESE TWO INTO ONE RECOMMENDATION, BUT, UM,
C WOULD WE ALL BE OKAY WITH COMBINING THESE TWO? THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE BIGGEST SOURCE OF EMISSIONS.
KIND OF SHOULDN'T BE THE ONE
SECOND, SECOND BIGGEST, BUT YEAH.
UM, STILL, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? SHOULD WE, SHOULD WE VOTE ON THE CAR SHARING NOW? THE SIDE OF THAT ONE? SURE.
WHICH ONE ARE YOU MOTIONING? LET ME SHARE.
UM, WELL, LET ME SHARE MY SCREEN SO PEOPLE CAN SEE IT.
I MEAN, I LIKE, I ACTUALLY LIKE, UH, I MAKE A MOTION FOR THE FIRST ONE.
THIS IS THE ONE THAT WAS EMAILED? YEAH, THE ORIGINAL ONE.
AND SHOULD, SHOULD WE ADD, UM, LOWER THE SLIDING SCALE HERE? I THINK IT'S FINE.
I WOULD SUPPORT IT EITHER WAY.
[02:25:01]
TO, TO APPROVE, UH, THIS ONE.CAN YOU STOP SHARING PLEASE? WHO IS THE SECOND? CAN YOU JUST CLARIFY? OH, IT'S LANE.
ALL IN FAVOR? RAISE YOUR HANDS.
ARE YOU WANTING TO MAKE ANOTHER MOTION ON THE OTHER RIDE SHARING ITEM, OR IS THAT ONE GONNA BE LEFT BEHIND? I'LL, I'LL MAKE A MOTION ON IT.
CAN WE JUST CLARIFY WHICH, WHICH RIDE SHARE MOTION OR WHICH CAR SHARE MOTION THIS IS? I DON'T THINK YOU HAVE THIS TEXT.
IT'S THE ONE THAT RODRIGO'S BEEN SHARING ON HIS SCREEN.
COULD YOU PULL IT UP, CHRIS, REAL QUICK? SURE.
OKAY, SO I THINK WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND IF YOU CAN STOP SHARING SO WE CAN SEE THE VOTES.
SORRY, WHO WAS THE SECOND ON THAT? HARRIS.
ALL IN FAVOR? RAISE YOUR HAND.
ANY OPPOSED? I THINK WE HAVE 1, 2, 3.
I'M GONNA ABSTAIN ON THAT ONE.
SO WE HAD 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.
WERE YOU GUYS ALL UPRIGHT? YEAH.
7, 8, 9, 10, I BELIEVE, IF I'VE COUNTED RIGHT? YES.
SO THAT DOES PASS, RIGHT? YEAH.
WE'RE AT THE END OF OUR AGENDA.