[00:00:03]
CALLING THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE PARKS AND RECREATION
[CALL TO ORDER]
BOARD FOR MAY THE 20TH, 2024 TO ORDER PETER VIA, UH, ROLL CALL, UH, PETER VIA LOBOS.PRESENT, CATHERINE FLOWERS PRESENT.
KIM TAYLOR, JENNIFER FRANKLIN, HOLLY REED.
HAVING FOUND A QUORUM WILL NOW PROCEED TO PUBLIC
[PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL]
COMMUNICATION GENERAL.ALL SPEAKERS WILL BE LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES, AND IT'LL BE LIMITED TO THE FIRST 10TH SPEAKER TO SPEAK ON NON-AG AGENDA ITEMS. MR. DOMINIC, CAN YOU PLEASE CALL FIRST PERSON? YES, JR.
OUR FIRST SPEAKER WILL BE LIZ IDE, FOLLOWED BY CHRIS FLORES.
UM, HI, I'M LIZ BARITE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AUSTIN ROWING CLUB.
UH, TONIGHT I WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING THE PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS.
UM, ON MAY 4TH SATURDAY, WE OPENED THE BOATHOUSE TO THE COMMUNITY TO WELCOME THEM DOWN TO LEARN HOW TO ROW.
SO WE HAD OVER 80 PARTICIPANTS, UH, THAT CAME DOWN.
AND, UM, IT WAS ACTUALLY A BEAUTIFUL DAY.
IT WASN'T SCORCHING HOT, AND THEY HAD A GREAT TIME TO BE ON THE WATER.
UM, THE JUBILEE SCHOOL, UH, ALSO JOINED US FOR TWO DIFFERENT DAYS, ONE DAY OF ROWING AND ONE DAY OF PADDLING.
UH, SO WE HAD A TOTAL OF 48 STUDENTS THAT WERE ABLE TO JOIN US AND, AND LEARN HOW TO DO BOTH OF THOSE ACTIVITIES.
A RC SUPPORTED THE TEXAS REGIONAL PARISPORT ORGANIZATION AT THE REGIONAL GAMES IN SAN ANTONIO, UH, AT THE VERY END OF, UH, APRIL AND A RC IN PARTNERSHIP WITH US ROWING ASSISTED.
WE COACHED THE ATHLETES ON THE ER R COMPETITION, AND WE ASSISTED APPROXIMATELY 50 ADAPTIVE MILITARY AND CIVILIAN ATHLETES IN THIS COMPETITION.
WE HAVE A ROWING IN SCHOOL PROGRAM AT MARTIN AND MEISON MIDDLE SCHOOL.
AND SO WITH THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR, UM, THEY GET TO COME DOWN TO THE BOATHOUSE AND WE HAVE THEM GO OUT.
WE HAVE THESE ROWING PONTOON BARGES, WHICH YOU CAN SEE IN THE PHOTO.
UM, AND THEY, UH, OVER A PERIOD OF ABOUT FOUR DAYS, WE HAVE ALL OF THEM COME DOWN.
AND ACTUALLY, FOR WHAT THEY'VE LEARNED ON LAND, THEY ARE THEN LEARNING ON THE WATER.
WE ALSO ARE A PART OF THE MEXICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER WELLNESS PROGRAM.
SO THIS IS A PICTURE OF THAT PROGRAM HAPPENING.
IT WAS A ONCE A MONTH PROGRAM AND, UH, EVERYONE PARTICIPATING NOW IS MOVING TO A WEEKLY PROGRAM IN JUNE, AND THEY WILL BE ROWING IN AN EIGHT.
THEY'LL BE COACHED WITH THE GOAL OF RACING IN THE HEAD OF THE COLORADO ON LADYBIRD LAKE ON OCTOBER 26TH.
THE MACBETH RECREATION CENTER DOES COME AND HA WE ARE ONE OF THEIR ACTIVITIES, UH, ON FRIDAY MORNINGS.
SO WE TEND TO HAVE ABOUT EIGHT TO 10 OF THEIR, UH, PARTICIPANTS COME AND, UH, WEATHER PERMITTING.
OTHERWISE, WE WORK WITH THEM INSIDE ON THE ROWING MACHINES.
AND LET'S SEE, THAT WE HAD OVER SEVEN, SEVEN CLEANUPS.
LET ME JUST SAY IT WAS 350 BAGS OF TRASH AND RECYCLING, UM, OVER THE TIME PERIOD THAT WAS OFF THE LAKE.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS CHRIS FLORES, FOLLOWED BY MARK MEOR.
UH, GOOD EVENING, ESTEEMED BOARD MEMBERS.
UM, I'D LIKE TO OFFER COMMENTS BOTH IN GENERAL AND ONE COMMENT ON AN AGENDA ITEM.
THE HILL COUNTRY CONSERVANCY, UH, $900,000 PROJECT.
[00:05:01]
I WASN'T SURE.UM, CHAIR BIA LOBOS, HOW, HOW TO PROCEED.
DO I JUST DO MY GENERAL FIRST AND YOU'LL CALL ME LATER ON THE OTHER ONE? YES.
SO HERE, HERE'S MY GENERAL, UM, BARTON SPRINGS POOL, BATHHOUSE
I KNOW WE, WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING THIS WITH YOU FOR THE LAST FEW MONTHS, AND, UH, WE JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT WE'RE STILL HERE AND WE, WE WOULD LIKE TO HEAR BACK FROM CITY STAFF ON OUR PROPOSED CHANGE ORDERS.
UM, THE LAST WE HEARD THERE WERE EMAILS EXCHANGED BETWEEN DIRECTOR MCNEELY AND ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER HAYDEN HOWARD, SOMETIME AT THE END OF MARCH.
UM, BUT THAT'S WHERE WE LEFT OFF.
UM, I, I HAVE TO CONFESS, WE, WE WILL BE BRINGING THIS ISSUE UP AGAIN WITH YOU NEXT MONTH WITH A NEW TWIST.
UM, WE WOMEN SWIMMERS LEARN QUITE BY ACCIDENT THIS MONTH THAT WE OVERLOOKED ANOTHER DESIGN OPTION, WHICH WAS TRADING SHOWER ZONES WITH THE MEN.
UM, THIS WAS SUGGESTED IN THE PUBLIC COMMENT IN 2019, BUT NONE OF US HAD EVER THOUGHT TO SET FOOT IN THE MEN'S AREA.
IT, WE REALIZE THAT FOR DECADES, WOMEN HAVE GOTTEN THE SHORT STRAW WITH REGARD TO SPACE.
UM, I DON'T KNOW HOW WILLING YOU WOULD BE TO COME AND TAKE A LOOK, BUT ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS STAND THERE AND BEHOLD IT TO SEE THAT ONE IS THIS BIG AND THE OTHER IS THIS BIG.
UM, SO WE THINK WE OVERLOOKED THAT POSSIBILITY.
WE THINK CITY STAFF AND BARTON SPRINGS CONSERVANCY ALSO OVERLOOKED THAT POSSIBILITY.
AND SO WE WANT TO STUDY THE, UH, THE PLANS AND SEE IF MAYBE THIS IS AN OPTION WE CAN EXPLORE WITH YOU.
SO I'M JUST LETTING YOU KNOW THAT.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS MARK MEOR.
TO ME, I'M HOPING TO DONATE MY TIME TO CAMERON CAMPBELL
WE DO NOT ALLOW DONATION OF TIME FOR GENERAL PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.
I THINK HE SIGNED UP FOR THE ITEM.
HE MEANT TO SIGN UP FOR ITEM THREE.
DID YOU SIGN, DID YOU WANT TO SIGN UP FOR ITEM, AGENDA ITEM? YES.
AND ARE YOU SPEAKING ON THE AGENDA ITEM AS WELL, OR PUBLIC GENERAL COMMUNICATION? UH, AGENDA ITEM.
SO WE WILL CALL YOU WHEN THAT, BEFORE THAT AGENDA ITEM COMES UP.
I SEE YOU ALSO NODDING YOUR HEAD IN THE MIDDLE ALSO, AGENDA ITEM NUMBER.
JUST COME SPEAK, SPEAK WITH MR. DOBE TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE SIGNED UP SO WE DON'T MISS YOU.
ALL, ALL THREE OF YOU, IF YOU CAN.
UM, WHO'S THE NEXT SPEAKER, MR. DOBE? UH, AFTER MARK WOULD BE WOLF SITLER.
UH, MR. CHAIRMAN MEMBERS, UH, NICE TO SEE YOU AGAIN.
I WAS HERE AT THE LAST MEETING.
UH, I'M WITH THE REVIVE NORWOOD ALLIANCE.
WE PICKED UP WHERE THE NORWOOD PARK FOUNDATION LEFT OFF, AND THEY HAD WORKED WITH FOR 10 YEARS WITH THE PARKS DEPARTMENT TO CREATE A MASTER PLAN FOR THE NORWOOD HOUSE ON RIVERSIDE I 35.
UH, WE, OUR INTENT IS TO KEEP YOU UPDATED ON WHAT IS GOING ON.
AND SO THE LATEST, UH, DEVELOPMENT IS WE MET LAST FRIDAY WITH, UH, STEPHANIE HAYDEN HOWARD AND, UH, PARTS, OR KIM MCKNIGHT TO DISCUSS THE WAY FORWARD.
AT THIS POINT, UH, THE PARKS DEPARTMENT WANTS TO STUDY THE PROJECT IN MORE DEPTH.
I'M NOT SURE WHY, SINCE THE PROJECT WAS READY TO GO, UH, 18 MONTHS AGO.
AND THEY INTEND TO PRESENT A, A REPORT TO COUNSEL ON AUGUST, SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UH, THEY STILL HAVE, UH, DEMOLITION AS ONE OF THE OPTIONS, WHICH THE TRAVIS HEIGHTS COMMUNITY IN SOUTH RIVER CITY CITIZENS, UM, DO NOT SUPPORT WHATSOEVER.
WE THINK THE PROJECT, WE KNOW THE PROJECT IS ALREADY, THE HOUSE IS 25% DONE, AND, UH, WE FIGURE IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE TO DO ANYTHING OTHER THAN GET A GREEN LIGHT TO GO AHEAD.
ONCE WE GET IT, UH, OUR VOLUNTEERS ARE READY TO JUMP INTO FUNDRAISING MODE BECAUSE WE KNOW THE PARKS DEPARTMENT DOESN'T HAVE THE FUNDS REQUIRED TO, UH, DEAL WITH THIS PROJECT.
UH, SO WE'RE LOOKING FOR SUPPORT FROM, UH, FROM Y'ALL, FROM THE CITY COUNCIL, FROM WHOEVER HAS ANY INFLUENCE ON THESE MATTERS.
'CAUSE WE KNOW THAT AS AUSTIN GROWS, SO DOES THE NEED FOR PARK FACILITIES, AND THERE'S NOT A LOT OF, UH, AVAILABLE ONES THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA ADD TO WHAT WE ALREADY HAVE.
SO THIS ONE IS IN A GREAT SPOT, IT'S READY TO GO.
AND, UH, WE JUST NEED TO HAVE, UH, THE SUPPORT TO PROCEED.
WE'RE NETWORKING WITH THE AUSTIN PARKS
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FOUNDATION, AUSTIN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION PRESERVATION, AUSTIN, UH, TRAIL CONSERVANCY, ALL GROUPS THAT HAVE PREVIOUSLY EXPRESSED AN INTEREST IN THIS PROJECT.UH, ANOTHER MEMBER WILL BE HERE AT YOUR NEXT MEETING TO LET YOU KNOW WHAT'S UP.
AND, UH, WE LOOK FORWARD TO HOPEFULLY GETTING YOUR SUPPORT ON THIS MATTER.
CAN I ASK A QUESTION? WHAT, WHAT DISTRICT IS THE NORWOOD HOUSE? SEND, PLEASE? MR. SITLER? UH, DISTRICT NINE.
IT'S RIGHT AT RIVERSIDE AND I 35, UH, NEXT TO A DOG PARK.
AND IF Y'ALL HAVEN'T BEEN THERE, UH, I INVITE YOU TO GO OVER THERE AND WALK AROUND THE SITE AND SEE WHY IT IS THAT THIS WOULD BE SUCH A GREAT PARK FACILITY.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER WILL BE PHILLIP THOMAS.
AND PHILLIP, YOU'RE ACCEPTING A TIME DONATION FROM CEDAR STEVENS.
WE, WE ARE, BUT WE DON'T, WE'RE NOT DOING, WE DON'T DO TIME DONATIONS.
UH, WE'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES TO SPEAK, AND THEN CEDAR STEVENS WILL BE THE, THE NEXT SPEAKER.
I'VE GOT, GOT A VISUAL FROM EVERYBODY.
IF THEY CAN SEE WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT, WHAT I'M TALKING.
SOME OF YOU MAY HAVE SEEN THIS, UH, LAST YEAR, BUT THERE YOU GO.
MY NAME IS PHIL THOMAS WITH DEEP DEEP POLY ADVOCATES, A MEMBER OF THE FREEZE ILKER COALITION.
I LIVE IN THE HOLLY NEIGHBORHOOD IN COUNCIL DISTRICT THREE, AND I'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THE NASH HERNANDEZ BUILDING IN EDWARD WENDO PARK.
EDWARD RENDON PARK, A 99 ACRE PARK LIES ON THE NORTH SIDE OF LADY BIRD LAKE, BETWEEN I 35 AND PLEASANT VALLEY ROAD.
I, ALONG WITH OTHER NEIGHBORHOOD LEADERS AND ADVOCATES, SPENT OVER A YEAR WORKING ON THE 2014 HOLLY SHORES.
EDWARD RENDON PARK'S MASTER PLAN, OR JUST MASTER PLAN FOR SHORT PAR IN THE CITY DID DUE DILIGENCE BY INCLUDING LOCAL STAKEHOLDER INPUT AND EXPERT GUIDANCE AT GREAT EXPENSE.
THE PLAN WAS CLEAR THAT THE LONG VACANT BUILDING WOULD BE RENOVATED FOR COMMUNITY SPACE AND PART OFFICES ONCE THE FUNDING ARRIVED.
THE SPACE WAS INTENDED FOR COST-FREE COMMUNITY MEETINGS FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD GROUPS, AS WELL AS SPACE FOR LOCAL CULTURE, ART, AND HISTORY, AS WELL AS PROGRAMS FOR VETERANS AND ELDERS.
AND YOU'LL SEE ON YOUR BREAKDOWN LIST WHERE WE HAVE REFINED, UM, THOSE USES INTO, UM, A POSSIBLE SCENARIO FOR SPACE ALLOCATION.
THE 3.3 MILLION IN FUNDS ARRIVED IN 2022, AND PARD INITIATED RENOVATION PLANS IMMEDIATELY.
COUNCILMEMBER PO RENTERIA PROPOSED A RESOLUTION TO STUDY THE FACILITY FOR A DIFFERENT USE, AN ADULT CHILD DAYCARE CENTER, OR INTERGENERATIONAL RESOURCE, RESOURCE AND ACTIVITY CENTER.
WITH THE INITIALS IRAQ, THIS STOPPED THE FORWARD PROGRESS OF THE MASTER PLAN AS FAR AS THE NHB.
THE NH NA HERNANDEZ BUILDING RENOVATION WENT.
THE PROPOSED IRAC PILOT PROGRAM INCLUDED AN ELDER CHILD DAYCARE CENTER, WHICH WOULD HAVE ALIENATED PRIME PARKLAND, MAKING IT VULNERABLE TO DEVELOPMENT.
ULTIMATELY, TWO FUNDED CITY FUNDED STUDIES DID NOT RECOMMEND THE FACILITY FOR AN IRAQ USE.
MOREOVER, THE THREE IRAQ PROPONENTS ATTEMPTED, BUT FAILED TO GATHER SUPPORT FROM BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.
NEVERTHELESS, IRAQ CONTINUED PUSHING FOR THE BUILDING AND THE FUNDS, ALTHOUGH THEIR PLANS CHANGED AND MORPHED CONSIDERABLY ALONG THE WAY.
FOR MORE THAN TWO YEARS, WE HAVE WATCHED THE IRAQ GROUP TRY TO LAY CLAIM TO THIS ICONIC PARK BUILDING.
ALONG WITH THE ALLOCATED FUNDS.
NOW INEXPLICABLY, THEY ARE PRESSING TO REMOVE PARED OFFICES FROM THE MASTER PLAN, LEAVING US TO WONDER WHAT NEW SCHEME MIGHT BE AFOOT.
IN THE INTERIM, THE IMPRESSION WAS GIVEN THAT THE BUILDING WAS UP FOR GRABS, WE'VE HEARD, WE'VE HEARD OTHER SUGGESTIONS USED BY LOCALS SUCH AS A SEA HOME TYPE DEVELOPMENT, UH, OR SO-CALLED AFFORDABLE
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HOUSING.I'D LIKE TO STRESS THAT THE FUTURE OF NASS HERNANDEZ IS NOT RIPE FOR NEW PLANS.
IT'S A PARK BUILDING ON PARK LAND, AND NOT FOR DEVELOPMENT OF ANY KIND, EXCEPT FOR THE RENOVATION FOR THE BUILDING FOR COMMUNITY USE.
LET US MOVE FORWARD WITH THE PARK MASTER PLAN AS IT WAS APPROVED AND UPDATED.
LET'S BAN TOGETHER AND GET IT DONE.
NEXT, OUR NEXT SPEAKER WILL BE CEDAR STEVENS.
UH, I'M, UH, CEDAR STEVENS, AND I'M WITH BREEZE ZILKER COALITION.
AND I'M HERE IN SUPPORT OF DEEP HOLLY ADVOCATES, WHICH IS, UH, ONE OF OUR MEMBER GROUPS AND ALSO OTHER, UM, EAST AUSTIN NEIGHBORHOOD GROUPS AND ORGANIZATIONS WHO ARE TRYING TO PROTECT A CHICANO PARK IN GENERAL.
BUT, UH, SPECIFICALLY IN THIS CASE, WE'RE TRYING TO, UH, PROTECT THE NASH HERNANDEZ BUILDING.
UH, WE'VE, UH, COME TO UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S NEW MOTION HAPPENING WITH THIS.
UM, BUT WHAT WE WANT TO, UH, SEE HAPPEN IS THAT WE RETURN TO THE MASTER PLAN.
THE, UH, PROPOSAL FOR AN IROC CENTER WAS BROUGHT TO US, UH, WITHOUT ANY COMMUNITY SPORT, UH, SUPPORT, AND IT'S NOW FOUNDERING ON LACK OF SUPPORT AT BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS AND THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE.
SO WE WERE, UM, WE'RE VERY MUCH HOPING TO RETURN TO THE ORIGINAL CONCEPT OF THE USE OF THIS BUILDING, WHICH WAS IN THE MASTER PLAN, AS I UNDERSTAND, WAS GOING TO BE USED FOR, UH, PARKS OFFICES, UH, FOR THE PARKS DEPARTMENT AND FOR COMMUNITY SPACE.
NOW, WHAT WE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT, UM, WITH THE NEW PLANS AFOOT, IS HOW THAT COMMUNITY USE IS GOING TO BE ALLOCATED.
SO WE HOPE THAT THE PARKS BOARD AND THE NEW PARKS, UM, COMMISSIONER, UH, PARKS DIRECTOR WILL, UH, FAIRLY ENGAGED WITH THE COMMUNITY SO THAT NO ONE GROUP, LIKE THE IROC COMMUNITY, CAN COME IN AND TAKE OVER THE, UH, ALLOCATION OF HOW, UH, COMMUNITY SPACE IS GIVEN TO THE NEIGHBORS AND TO THE CITIZENS OF AUSTIN AT LARGE.
SO, UH, THANKS FOR YOUR TIME, AND I HOPE WE CAN MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS MASTER PLAN.
THAT IS THE, UH, THE END OF SPEAKING DURING GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
ON TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER ONE, APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE PARKS AND RECREATION REGULAR MEETING OF APRIL THE 22ND, 2024.DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY, UH, EDITS OR SUGGESTIONS? MM-HMM.
AT THIS TIME, UM, I WILL MOVE TO, UH, APPROVE THE MINUTES AS, UH, WRITTEN AND BACKUP FOR THE APRIL 22ND, 2024 MEETING.
IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND? THERE'S A SECOND.
ANY DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND.
[2. Presentation, discussion and approve letters of support for George Washington Carver Museum, Cultural Center and Genealogy Center staff and the 2024 Stay Black & Live Austin Citywide Juneteenth Festival. (Sponsors: Villalobos, Flowers). Presenter(s): Carre Adams, Culture & Arts Education Manager, Parks and Recreation Department.]
AGENDA ITEM NUMBER TWO.OH, IS THERE ANY SPEAKERS ON AGENDA ITEM NUMBER TWO? SORRY, I APOLOGIZE.
UH, MY NAME IS CARRIE ADAMS, AND I'M THE CURATOR AND CULTURE AND ARTS EDUCATION MANAGER AT THE GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER MUSEUM, WHICH IS, UH, MANAGED BY CITY OF AUSTIN PARKS AND RECREATION
[00:20:01]
DEPARTMENT, AND WE'RE A PART OF THE MUSEUMS AND CULTURAL PROGRAMS DIVISION.I'M HERE TODAY TO SHARE WITH YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OF THE PROJECTS THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON, AND PROVIDE A BRIEF ON OUR PLANS FOR OUR JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION.
UM, THAT STARTS ON JUNE 15TH AND IS GOING TO RUN THROUGH JUNE 19TH.
UM, SO AT THE MUSEUM, UM, OUR MAIN MISSION IS TO PRESERVE AND EXHIBIT BLACK HISTORY, CULTURE, ART, AND MATERIAL EXPRESSION.
UH, WE HAVE A COLLECTION AND ARCHIVE, UM, AND WE HAVE BEEN DOING THIS WORK, UH, SINCE 1980.
UH, ONE OF OUR MAJOR PROGRAMS IS, UH, BLACK HISTORY MONTH, UM, WHICH HAPPENS EVERY YEAR ON THE SHORTEST MONTH OF THE YEAR.
UM, AND SO WE DO OUR BEST TO MAKE THE MOST OF IT.
UM, AND SO SOME OF OUR SIGNATURE PROGRAMS DURING THAT TIME INCLUDE, UH, BLACK HISTORY MONTH KIDS DAY, UM, WHICH IS REALLY ABOUT MAKING BLACK HISTORY CULTURE AND ART VERNACULAR FOR YOUNG PEOPLE AND FOR FAMILIES.
UM, FINDING, UM, NEW AND ENGAGING WAYS FOR FOLKS TO TAP INTO SOME OF THEIR HISTORY AND THEIR CULTURE.
IT'S USUALLY VERY WELL ATTENDED.
UM, AND WE PARTNER WITH A LOT OF THE LOCAL SCHOOLS, UM, SPECIFICALLY, UM, KEELING MIDDLE SCHOOL, UM, USUALLY COMES BY AND WE HAD SOME OF THEIR STEP TEAMS PERFORM THIS YEAR.
WE ALSO HAVE A SOLAR SATURDAYS PROGRAM, WHICH IS MODELED OFF OF BROOKLYN FIRST.
I'M NOT SURE IF ANY OF YOU ARE FAMILIAR, BUT BASICALLY IT'S A, A SITE-WIDE ACTIVATION THAT HAPPENS ON A QUARTERLY BASIS BECAUSE OF BUDGET.
UM, BUT WE DO HAVE, UM, A, UH, COMMUNITY PARTNER, P UH, PNC BANK, UH, PNC, OR IS IT P IS IT PNC OR IS IT I ALWAYS MIX IT UP.
UM, THAT, UM, RECENTLY STARTED SPONSORING, UH, PART OF OUR SOLAR SATURDAYS PROGRAM.
AND SO WE DO EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOPS.
UM, WE HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH THOUGHT LEADERS.
WE OFFER WELLNESS PROGRAMMING, AND WE ALSO, UM, DO TOURS OF OUR GALLERY SPACE IN THE COMMUNITY GARDEN SPACE.
UM, AND THERE'S TYPICALLY, UH, LOCAL OR REGIONAL, UH, MUSICAL PERFORMANCE.
AND THAT'S ALSO SOMETHING THAT, UM, HAS HISTORICALLY AND CONTINUES TO BE REALLY WELL ATTENDED.
AND WE'RE LOOKING TO DO MORE OF THAT.
ANOTHER ONE OF OUR PROGRAMS IS OUR FILM SERIES PROGRAM.
THAT'S MY FACE, UM, WHICH, UH, SHOWCASES, UH, FILMS BY AND ABOUT AND, UM, BY AND ABOUT, UM, PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT.
UM, AND IT'S EVERYTHING FROM ANIME TO DOCUMENTARIES, RIGHT? UM, AND WE USUALLY PARTNER WITH, UH, MUSICOLOGY PROFESSOR, DR.
CARL, DR. CARSON, UM, WHO DOES THE Q AND A TALK BACK WHEN WE CAN'T HAVE, SAY, YOU KNOW, UH, THE ACTUAL FILMMAKERS COME AND, AND DO THE TALK.
AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT, UM, IS ALSO ONE OF, I THINK, OUR FAVORITE REGULAR PROGRAMS. AND WE ALSO HAVE A CREATING HILL PROGRAM, WHICH WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS, UM, ESTABLISHED IN 2020, RIGHT? UM, AS A WAY FOR PEOPLE TO SORT OF BEGIN PROCESSING SOME OF THE ENDEMIC VIOLENCE ALONG WITH THE COLD CURRENT GLOBAL HEALTH CRISIS.
SO WE WERE FIGURING OUT HOW CAN WE HOST CONVERSATION AND DO SOMETHING THAT'S THERAPEUTIC AND MAKE SPACE FOR FOLKS TO LEARN SOMETHING NEW AND JUST BE IN COMMUNITY.
AND SO OUR CREATING HEAL PROGRAM HAS, UM, EXISTED SINCE 2020, AND IT CONTINUES TO BE ONE OF OUR, UM, MOST POPULAR PROGRAMS. SO THERE WERE A FEW OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID.
UM, DURING BLACK HISTORY MONTH THIS YEAR, WE ALSO HAD ABOUT 2,500 TO 3000 PEOPLE ATTEND OUR PROGRAMS OVER THE COURSE OF THE MONTH.
SO WE WERE VERY PLEASED WITH THAT.
UM, ANOTHER ONE OF OUR MAJOR PROGRAMS IS OUR SMALL BLACK MUSEUM RESIDENCY PROJECT.
UM, AGAIN, THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS STARTED IN 2020 BECAUSE WE HAD A BUDGET FOR, YOU KNOW, EXHIBITIONS THAT WE COULDN'T USE BECAUSE OUR FACILITY WAS CLOSED.
UM, AND SO THIS, UM, IS A RESIDENCY PROJECT FOR, UM, EMERGING YOUNG ARTISTS.
SO THEY'RE GONNA BE EARLY CAREER.
THEY MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE AN MFA.
UM, WE PROVIDE ALL OF THE THINGS THAT A NORMAL RESIDENCY PROVIDES WITH A, WITH A FEW ADDITIONS.
UM, OUR FOCUS IS REALLY ON PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.
WE WANT THEM TO BE COMPETITIVE, UM, IN MARKETS OUTSIDE OF AUSTIN AND IN DIFFERENT KINDS OF CREATIVE ECONOMIES.
SO WE GEAR OUR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRAMMING AROUND THOSE THINGS IN ADDITION TO OFFERING CURATORIAL GUIDANCE, FEEDBACK, UM, AND SUPPORT.
SO THIS YEAR'S RESIDENCY ARTISTS WERE CORY SHEARD JR.
TAYLOR BARNES AND NATASHA JOHNSON.
UM, EACH OF THEM FROM REPRESENTING DIFFERENT CITIES, HOUSTON, DALLAS, AND TEXAS, UH, AUSTIN, TEXAS.
UM, AND THEIR SHOW JUST OPENED ON MAY 16TH.
I'M EXCITED TO SEE A COUPLE OF REVIEWS, UH, MOVING ON JUNETEENTH 2024.
UM, SUPER EXCITED ABOUT THIS LINEUP.
UM, OUR STATE BLACK AND LIVE JUNETEENTH PROGRAM STARTED AS A LIVE STREAM, AGAIN, PANDEMIC ERA, AND WE ACTUALLY HAD ABOUT 10,000 PEOPLE WATCH OUR TWITCH FEED.
I THINK WE WERE ONE OF THE FIRST, I THINK, CULTURAL CENTERS OF ORGANIZATIONS TO KIND OF PIVOT TO FESTIVAL FORMAT ON ONLINE.
UM, AND SO WE WERE REALLY, YOU KNOW, PROUD
[00:25:01]
OF OURSELVES.UM, AND IT'S GROWN SINCE THEN.
UM, WHAT WAS JUST A LIVE STREAM IS NOW A MULTI-DAY.
UM, MULTI-SITE ACTIVATION THAT INCLUDES, UM, PANEL DISCUSSIONS IN SYMPOSIUM, IN ADDITION TO, YOU KNOW, BARBECUE AND MUSIC, UH, AND PARADING, RIGHT, WHICH IS A SIGNATURE OF JUNETEENTH.
AND SO THIS YEAR, UM, OUR HEADLINER, OUR CONFIRMED HAND LETTER IS TAKING THE BANGERS.
I DON'T KNOW IF FOLKS ARE FAMILIAR, BUT THEY, UM, WON A TINY DESK CONCERT.
SOMEBODY BEHIND ME KNOWS WHO TANK THE BANGERS ARE
UM, AND SO, UH, WE WERE, WE WERE ABLE TO, UH, TO, TO SECURE THEM AND WE'RE SUPER EXCITED, UM, BASED OUT OF NEW ORLEANS.
UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK FAMILY FRIENDLY, UM, AND I THINK UP AND COMING, GRAMMY NOMINATED.
UM, AND SO, UM, THESE ARE SOME PICTURES FROM LAST YEAR.
UH, WE HAD, UH, ACTIVATION, UM, THE NIGHT BEFORE, UH, THE PARADE LAST YEAR.
THAT WAS, YOU HAD KIND OF FAMILY FOCUSED, RIGHT? WE HAD, YOU KNOW, UH, HULA HOOPS AND KITES AND MUSIC AND BUBBLE GUNS, AND JUST A LITTLE BIT OF, I THINK, LIKE, UH, LEVITY AND FUN BEFORE THE FESTIVITIES KICKED OFF.
UM, AND HERE'S SOME PICTURES OF FOLKS THAT ALSO ATTENDED THE DAYTIME COMMUNITY COOKOUT AND MUSIC FESTIVAL.
UM, SO LIKE I SAID EARLIER ON JUNE 15TH, UM, WE ARE GONNA BE HAVING THAT FESTIVAL AND TAKING THE BANGERS WILL BE HEADLINING AND SCARFACE, UM, IS INTERESTED IN COMMITTED.
WE'VE NOT UNDER CONTRACT YET, BUT PROVIDED EVERYTHING GOES WELL, THAT WILL ALSO BE HAPPENING.
UM, AND THEN OG RON C UM, IS ALSO COMING THROUGH.
UM, AND SO HE'S A HOUSTON, TEXAS BASED DJ AND PRODUCER.
UM, HE'S ALSO THE GODFATHER OF CHOPPED AND SCREWED.
SO IF YOU ARE WONDERING WHERE ANY OF THAT CAME FROM, OG RON C.
UM, SO HE'S GONNA COME IN, DO A DJ SET, AND PROBABLY GIVE US A LITTLE BIT OF A MUSIC HISTORY LESSON AS WELL.
UM, THE SYMPOSIUM AND LECTURE SERIES STARTS ON THE FOLLOWING MONDAY.
UM, AND SO WE ARE GONNA HAVE AMANDA JOHNSON, WHO IS THIS YEAR'S TEXAS POET LAUREATE, AND SHE'S ALSO THE FIRST, UM, BLACK WOMAN TO RECEIVE THIS HONOR.
UM, AND SHE'S BEEN A LONG TIME PARTNER, UM, AND COMMITTEE MEMBER AT, UH, OF THE CARBON MUSEUM.
SHE'S A CO-FOUNDER OF TORCH LITERARY ARTS, WHICH REALLY LIFTS, UH, THE POETRY AND LITERARY WORK OF BLACK WOMEN ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
UM, SO WE'RE EXCITED VERY MUCH TO BE IN DISCUSSION WITH, WITH HER.
UM, DR. QUINN WEST, WHO IS ACTUALLY RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT IN 2024, UM, HAS TENTATIVELY AGREED TO COME, UH, SPEAK WITH US AGAIN.
HE WAS IN TOWN PREVIOUSLY, UM, AND HE LOVED THE SPACE.
UM, WE HOSTED HIM, UH, ALONG WITH THE OTHER COMMUNITY PARTNERS.
UM, AND SO WE'RE JUST WAITING TO HEAR BACK.
OBVIOUSLY WE CAN'T PAY HIM IF HE WANTS TO TALK ABOUT HIS PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, AND WE WOULD NOT.
UM, UH, BUT WE'RE HOPING THAT THAT WILL, THAT WILL TAKE PLACE ON THE, UH, EARLY AFTERNOON OF THE 18TH, BUT WE SHOULD BE CONFIRMED, UM, HERE SHORTLY.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE PUBLIC SCHOLAR, DR.
MARLON AND BAILEY, UM, WHO WROTE A, A BOOK CALLED, UH, BUTCH QUEEN UP IN PUMPS.
IT'S JUST ABOUT BALLROOM CULTURE IS SOMETHING THAT'S BECOME, I THINK, PRETTY BIG AND POPULAR CULTURE.
AND I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US, UM, AS A CULTURAL CENTER IS THAT WE UNDERSTAND THAT BLACKNESS AND BLACK EXPERIENCE IS MULTIFACETED.
PEOPLE OCCUPY SO MANY DIFFERENT IDENTITIES OUTSIDE OF THEIR RACE AND ETHNICITY, AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UM, BLACK FOLKS, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT EVERYBODY.
UM, AND SO, UM, WE'RE LOOKING TO HAVE HIM, UM, COME AND SPEAK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HIS WORK, ANOTHER, UM, BOUNCE MUSIC SCHOLAR, UM, AND THEN WE'LL BE, UH, HOSTING A PERFORMANCE OF PATCHES, UM, THAT FOLLOWING EVENING.
AND THEN, UM, PUBLIC SCAR SCHOLAR, UH, ZOE, UH, SHE, UM, ACTUALLY HAS A, UH, BACKGROUND IN, UM, GENOCIDE STUDIES AND PEACE STUDIES.
UM, SHE'S A SOUTH AFRICAN SCHOLAR, UM, AND WE WANTED TO HAVE A, A, A, A CONVERSATION ABOUT CURRENT GEOPOLITICAL LANDSCAPE AND ALL OF THE DIFFERENT, UM, WARS AND CONFLICTS THAT ARE HAPPENING AROUND THIS COUNTRY AND, AND HOW, HOW WE'RE CONNECTED TO THEM AS PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN THIS COUNTRY.
UM, AND SO, UH, THIS YEAR, UM, OUR FISCAL BUDGET IS, UM, APPROACHING 300 K.
UH, LAST YEAR WE HAD, UM, CITY COUNCIL MEMBER NATASHA, UPPER MADISON, UM, ADD A HUNDRED K SPECIFICALLY FOR JUNETEENTH PROGRAMMING.
AND SO THAT'S THE MONEY THAT'S COMING OUT OF OUR GENERAL FUND BUDGET TO SUPPORT THIS PROJECT.
UM, AND THEN WE HAVE A COMMUNITY PARTNER THIS YEAR, CARVER, A TX FOUNDATION, WHICH IS A 5 0 1 C3 NONPROFIT THAT WAS ESTABLISHED IN 2022, SPECIFICALLY TO SUPPORT, UM, MAJOR PROGRAMS, PROJECTS, AND INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE CARVER MUSEUM.
[00:30:01]
BEEN OUR NONPROFIT PARTNER WHO HAS RAISED ADDITIONAL DOLLARS, UM, FOR THIS PROGRAM TO HAPPEN.AND WE ALSO HAVE A SERVICE AGREEMENT WITH THEM, UM, TO HELP US BOOK SOME OF THE MAJOR ACTS THAT I SHARED, UM, WITH YOU EARLIER.
UM, AND WE ALSO RECEIVE A LOT OF SUPPORT FROM OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND INTERNAL DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE CASHING IN KIND.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT GENERALLY COMPOSES OUR BUDGET.
I THINK LOOKING FORWARD, UM, I WOULD LOVE TO SAY THAT THE PRICE OF THIS IS GONNA GO DOWN
SO I DO THINK THAT PROBABLY AS TIME PROGRESSES THIS WILL INCREASE, BUT I THINK WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO DIVERSIFY, UM, THE WAY THAT WE FUND THIS PROJECT AND WHO WE COLLABORATE WITH.
AND I'M VERY, VERY EXCITED FOR THIS YEAR'S PROGRAM.
UM, HERE'S JUST A TENTATIVE RUN OF SHOW OF OF EVERYTHING THAT'S GONNA HAPPEN OVER THAT WEEKEND.
UM, AND THEN LEADING INTO THE WEEK WITH THE, UH, FREEDOM MIND LECTURE SERIES SYMPOSIUM.
SO THE HISTORIC JUNETEENTH PARADE, UM, IS, UH, ORGANIZED BY GREATER EAST AUSTIN YOUTH ASSOCIATION.
THEY'VE DONE THE PARADE FOR DECADES, RIGHT? AND SO WE START OUR PROGRAMMING AFTER THE PARADE IS SUPPOSED TO BE OVER, UM,
YEAH, WELL, LIFE IS WHAT HAPPENS AFTER YOU MAKE YOUR PLANS.
SOME THINGS ARE ON TIME AND SOME THINGS ARE NOT.
UM, BUT WHEN THE PARADE IS SUPPOSED TO BE OVER, THAT'S WHEN OUR PROGRAMS BEGAN.
UM, AND THIS YEAR, WHAT I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT IS THAT WE'RE HAVING A JUNETEENTH CHESS CLASSIC.
UM, SO WE'VE DONE A PARTNERSHIP WITH, UM, JOYOUS TUTORING FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS NOW, AND THEY ARE TEACHING, YOU KNOW, DOING LITERACY PROGRAMMING THROUGH CHESS, RIGHT? UM, AND IT'S, UM, YOUTH AND THEIR FAMILY COME AND THEY LEARN HOW TO PLAY CHESS, AND THEY ALSO GET ASSISTANCE WITH THEIR HOMEWORK.
UM, AND IT'S A REALLY COOL WELL ATTENDED PROGRAM.
UM, AND WE DECIDED THIS YEAR THAT WE WANTED TO HAVE A CHESS TOURNAMENT.
SO THAT'S GONNA HAPPEN INSIDE, UM, DURING THE JUNETEENTH FESTIVITIES.
UM, AND SO THEY'RE GONNA GET STARTED AT ABOUT 12 O'CLOCK, BUT EVERYBODY THAT'S PARTICIPATING IS GONNA ARRIVE AT 1130, AND THERE'LL BE CASH PRIZES AND TROPHIES AND LOTS OF BRILLIANT YOUNG PEOPLE RUNNING AROUND, UM, WHO DREAM ABOUT CHESS ALL DAY.
UM, AND SO WE ARE EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
AND THEN OBVIOUSLY, HERE'S OUR MUSICAL LINEUP, UM, FOR, UH, THE FESTIVAL THAT DAY.
UH, UH, AND THEN, SO ON MONDAY, JUNE 17TH, WHAT HAPPENS THERE IS OUR, OUR LECTURE SERIES BEGINS AND WE, WE KIND OF, I THINK, TRY TO HAVE UNCONFERENCE SORT OF SCHEDULE WHERE IT'S LIKE, THERE'S SOME WELLNESS, THERE'S SOME MOVEMENT, THERE'S SOMETHING THAT'S HAPPENING WHERE YOU'RE NOT JUST SITTING THERE LISTENING TO SOMEBODY TALK, UM, JUST TO GET THINGS FLOWING.
AND THEN WE'RE HOPING TO SCREEN, UM, I'M NOT YOUR NEGRO.
UM, AND RAUL PECK, WHO IS THE, UH, DIRECTOR, WRITER, AND PRODUCER OF THAT, UM, WILL HOPEFULLY BE JOINING US.
IF NOT, UM, ONE OF HIS, UM, ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS WILL PROBABLY COME AND JOIN US.
AND THEN THAT EVENING WE WILL HAVE THE CONVERSATION WITH, UH, TEXAS POET LAUREATE AMANDA JOHNSON.
UM, BUT THIS TIME WE'RE GONNA BE SCREENING MISS JUNETEENTH, UM, AND CHANNING GORIE PEOPLES IS EXPECTED TO BE IN ATTENDANCE TO HELP TALK ABOUT WHAT INSPIRED THEM TO MAKE THIS FILM.
WE WANTED TO SCREEN IT IN 2020, BUT, UM, WE COULDN'T GET IN TOUCH WITH THEM.
SO WE'RE EXCITED TO ACTUALLY BE DOING THAT NOW.
AND THEN WE'LL BE HAVING A DISCUSSION ABOUT GEOPOLITICS, GAZA GENOCIDE, ALL OF THOSE THINGS, UM, WITH, UH, DR.
UM, AND THEN THAT EVENING WE'LL CONCLUDE WITH, UH, A SLAM POETRY COMPETITION THAT'S GONNA BE HOSTED BY CHRISTOPHER MICHAEL IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ALL POETRY SLAM AND CARVER, A TX FOUNDATION IS ACTUALLY OFFERING A GRAND PRIZE FOR $2,500.
SO THEY'RE GONNA BE SOME REALLY, REALLY AMAZING POETS IN THE HOUSE, UH, FOR THAT KIND OF CASH MONEY.
SO, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE SUPER EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
AND THEN CORNELL WEST, UM, AND EVERY YEAR WE CONCLUDE OUR, UM, JUNETEENTH, UM, PROGRAMMING WITH A REMEMBRANCE CEREMONY, UM, JUST TO HONOR THE ANCESTORS THAT, THAT FOUGHT FOR OUR FREEDOM AND LIBERATION, UM, TO LIFT THAT, TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT, AND TO THINK ABOUT ALL OF THE WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE.
I HAVE A VIDEO MAYBE, UM,
UM, I CAN SHARE IT WITH YOU OF JUST A RECAP OF WHAT WE DID LAST YEAR.
AND SO I THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND WELCOME ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, GORDON BOARD.
DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? I'LL JUST SAY THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, UM, THE ARCHIVES AT THE CARVER MUSEUM.
I'VE BEEN THERE MANY TIMES AND REALLY APPRECIATE WHAT YOU DO TO KEEP AND PRESERVE
[00:35:01]
ARCHIVES IN EAST AUSTIN.IF PEOPLE HAVEN'T VISITED, GO AND SEE.
YEAH, AND I'LL REITERATE THAT I'VE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO VISIT THE CARVER MUSEUM IN GEOLOGY, GEOLOGY CENTER MANY A TIMES FOR, UH, EITHER COMMUNITY EVENTS, UM, THAT WERE BEING HOSTED THERE, OR FOR EVENTS THAT I'M PARTICIPATING IN AS WELL.
UM, AND IT'S, I I, IT'S, IT'S VERY TOUCHING THAT Y'ALL ARE, UH, THIS, THIS IS GROWING, ESPECIALLY AS THAT PART OF TOWN EAST SIDE IS GROWING AND IT'S LOSING A LOT OF WHAT USED TO MAKE IT, UH, VERY SPECIAL TO THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY.
SO, UH, SEEING Y'ALL GROW WHILE THAT IS THE DICHOTOMY THAT'S HAPPENING OUTSIDE OF YOUR FOUR CORNERS IS, IS REALLY AMAZING.
UM, AND I HOPE THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO SUPPORT YOU IN ANY WAY POSSIBLE IN ORDER TO KEEP THE MISSION, UM, AND THE, UH, VISIBILITY THERE AND GROWING.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT.
SO WITH THAT BEING SAID BOARD, I DID, AS IS TRADITION.
WE DID WRITE A LETTER, UM, AND I'LL JUST READ IT OUT LOUD AND THEN I'LL MAKE A MOTION, UH, AFTERWARDS.
SO IT SAYS, UH, DEAR WA DEAR GEORGE, WASHINGTON CARBON MUSEUM CULTURAL CENTER, GEOLOGY CENTER, AND 2024, STAY BLACK AND LIVE.
AUSTIN CITYWIDE JUNETEENTH FESTIVAL STAFF.
WE ARE WRITING TO EXPRESS OUR COLD-HEARTED SUPPORT FOR THE DEDICATED STAFF OF, UH, TO THE DEDICATED STAFF.
THIS ANNUAL CELEBRATION IS A VITAL AND VIBRANT PART OF OUR COMMUNITY, PROVIDING A POWERFUL PLATFORM TO HONOR AND REFLECT ON THE HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF JUNETEENTH, WHILE ALSO CELEBRATING THE RICH CULTURAL HERITAGE AND CONTRIBUTION OF BLACK AMERICANS IN AUSTIN AND BEYOND.
THE CARVER MUSEUM STANDS AS A BEACON OF EDUCATION, CULTURE, AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN AUSTIN.
THE WORK THAT, UH, THE MUSEUM DOES IS INVALUABLE IN PRESERVING THE HISTORY AND FOSTERING THE CULTURAL EXPRESSION OF AFRICAN AMERICANS.
THE COMMITMENT IN PROVIDING A SPACE FOR LEARNING, EXPLORATION AND CO AND CELEBRATION IS DEEPLY APPRECIATED AND CRUCIAL FOR THE ENRICHMENT OF OUR CITY'S CULTURAL LANDSCAPE.
YOUR WORK UPLIFTS THE SPIRIT AND RESILIENCE AND UNITY THAT JUNETEENTH REPRESENTS THE FESTIVALS.
NOT ONLY THAT DOES NOT ONLY COMMEMORATE THE EMANCIPATION OF ENSLAVED AFRICAN AMERICANS, BUT ALSO SERVES AS A REMINDER OF THE ONGOING STRUGGLE FOR EQUALITY AND JUSTICE.
BY OFFERING A DIVERSE ARRAY OF EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES, YOU CREATE AN INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENT THAT BRINGS TOGETHER PEOPLE OF ALL BACK BACKGROUNDS TO CELEBRATE THIS IMPORTANT DAY.
UM, WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR THE POSITIVE IMPACT THAT YOU HAVE HAD ON OUR CITY.
YOUR WORK CONTINUES TO ENRICH OUR COLLECTIVE EXPERIENCE AND FOSTERS A SENSE OF PRIDE AND CONNECTION.
WE'RE PROUD TO SUPPORT YOU, THE CENTER, THE GEOLOGY CENTER, THE MUSEUM, THE JUNETEENTH FESTIVAL, AND THE 20 AND THE STATE BLACK AND LIVE AUSTIN CITYWIDE JUNETEENTH FESTIVAL.
OUR COMMUNITY LOOKS FORWARD TO PARTICIPATING IN THIS YEAR'S CELEBRATION AND WINNING THE CONTINUED GROWTH AND SUCCESS OF YOUR EFFORTS.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR UNWAVERING COMMITMENT TO OUR COMMUNITY AND FOR PROVIDING A SPACE WHERE HISTORY AND CULTURE OF AFRICAN AMERICANS CAN BE CELEBRATED IN CHERISH SIGNED PEDRO VILLA LOBOS AND CATHERINE FLOWERS AND THE PARKS RECREATION BOARD.
SO WITH THAT, UH, BOARD, I WILL MAKE A MOTION THAT WE ADOPT THIS LETTER, UM, AND SEND IT OFF TO THE APPROPRIATE PEOPLE.
IS, UH, THERE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND.
ALL THOSE, ANY DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND.
OH, AND I FORGOT TO MENTION AS A NATIVE IAN, I APPRECIATE, UH, THE PEOPLE THAT YOU'RE BRINGING IN REGARDS TO CHOP AND SCREWED.
I WAS, I, I'VE HAD MANY OF FRIENDS WHO EXPOSED ME TO THAT WHEN I WAS YOUNGER, SO IT'S GOOD TO SEE THAT IT'S, IT'S EXPANDED, IT'S BOUND BEYOND HOUSTON, AND IT'S NOW, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S NOW EVERYWHERE.
SO,
[3. Discussion and approve a recommendation to Austin City Council to direct the Watershed Protection Department to seek alternative solutions to the current proposed plan for the Reed Park Water Quality Improvement Project. (Sponsors: Reed, Taylor). ]
ITEM NUMBER THREE.UH, WE WILL MOVE ON TO PUBLIC COMMENT.
AND BEFORE WE, UH, MOVE ON, I WANT TO CONFIRM THAT WE ARE ACCEPTING TIME DONATIONS ON THIS ITEM.
SO CHAIR, I'D LIKE TO ASK, UM, BECAUSE, UH, SOME OF THE CITIZENS WHO ARE PRESENTING TONIGHT HAVE A PRESENTATION THAT RUNS A LITTLE BIT LONGER THAN THREE MINUTES.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO ASK FOR YOU TO PLEASE ALLOW, UM, DONATIONS.
I, I, I, THE BOARD DOES, OTHER BOARD MEMBERS ARE, ARE NODDING THEIR HEAD.
AND UH, I WANT TO CONFIRM THE SPEAKER LIST BEFORE WE GET INTO IT.
SO I HAVE SIX PEOPLE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM.
I WANNA CONFIRM THAT THEY'RE ALL HERE.
UM, CAMERON CAMPBELL, JAMES PAGE, MARGARET RAIN, WALTER, JAMES RAIN, ANN CAMPBELL.
[00:40:02]
ONE PERSON SIGN UP MARK METER.AND MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT YOU ALL WILL BE ESSENTIALLY COMBINING YOUR TIME INTO ONE SPEAKING SEGMENT OF 18 MINUTES.
AND THAT THAT SEGMENT WILL BEGIN WITH COMMENTS FROM JAMES PAGE.
AND THEN CAMERON CAMPBELL WILL TAKE UP THE MAJORITY OF THE SPEAKING TIME, CORRECT? CORRECT.
WELL, WITH THAT, I'LL INVITE JAMES PGE AND CAMERON CAMPBELL UP TO THE, Y'ALL WILL HAVE A COMMAND, 18 MINUTES TO ADDRESS THE BARKS BOARD.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME TODAY.
UH, MY NAME'S JAMES PAGE WITH FRIENDS OF REED PARK.
UH, WE'RE A 5 0 1 C3 ORGANIZATION, UH, KINDA STEWARDING REED PARK IN WEST AUSTIN, TAKING CARE OF THE PARK.
AND WHAT WE'RE HERE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT TODAY IS, UH, OUR OPPOSITION TO THE CURRENT WATERSHED DEPARTMENT PLAN FOR WATER, WATER FILTRATION FOR REED PARK.
UM, REED PARK WAS GIFTED TO THE CITY IN 1951, UM, NAMED AFTER, UH, MRS. DICKEN DIXON, UH, GIFTED IT TO THE CITY, NAMED IT AFTER HER TWO DAUGHTERS.
AND SO EVER SINCE THAT, THE PARK HAS BEEN USED FOR THE USE AND ENJOYMENT OF THE NEIGHBORS.
UH, THE BALL FIELD RECREATION IS ACTUALLY INTENDED FOR THE LOCAL, UH, CASIS ELEMENTARY KIDS TO ENJOY USING THE FIELD TO PLAY, UH, YOU KNOW, ON THE FIELD AND RECREATIONAL PURPOSES.
AND SO WE REALLY WANT TO MAINTAIN OUR BALL FIELD.
WE'RE, UH, ADAMANTLY OPPOSED TO WATERSHED'S CURRENT PLAN TO TURN OUR BALL FIELD INTO A WATER RETENTION POND FOR WATER FILTRATION PURPOSES.
AND I'LL LET CAMERON CAMPBELL CONTINUE TO PRESENT ON THIS MATTER.
I AM A LOCAL RESIDENT, UM, AND USE REED PARK FREQUENTLY.
AND I AM ALSO A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT, UM, PRACTICING HERE IN AUSTIN.
UM, WE'VE PUT TOGETHER A LITTLE PRESENTATION TO SPEAK, UM, ABOUT THE WATERSHED PLAN.
WE HAVE A FEW SLIDES JUST TO KIND OF SPEAK ABOUT FRIENDS OF REED PARK, AND I THINK, IF IT'S OKAY, JAMES AND I WILL KIND OF JUMP BACK AND FORTH A LITTLE BIT FOR, FOR THE FIRST PART.
SO, AS I SAID, FRIENDS OF REED PARK IS A 5 0 1 C3, MEANT TO BASICALLY MAKE THE PARK AS GOOD AS IT POSSIBLY CAN.
SO, UH, WE'VE ACTUALLY BEEN AROUND FOR MULTIPLE GENERATIONS AND OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS HAS MOST RECENTLY BEEN HANDED OFF TO CAMERON, MYSELF, MEG RYAN AND AARON STEVENS.
WE RECENTLY HAVE REDONE THE PLAYSCAPE THERE, UM, AT REED PARK.
AND REALLY THE GOAL OF OUR ORGANIZATION IS TO ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY AND USE THE PARK, UM, TO ITS ABSOLUTE POTENTIAL.
WHEN THE WATERSHED DEPARTMENT REED PARK PLAN CAME TO OUR ATTENTION, FIRSTLY WE TRIED TO GET IN TOUCH WITH THEM AND WEREN'T REALLY ABLE TO DO SO FOR A VERY EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME.
BUT AROUND THE TIME THAT THEY ISSUED A PUBLIC SURVEY, AS WELL AS A DIRECT MAIL CAMPAIGN TO LOCAL RESIDENTS AND AN IN-PERSON WALKTHROUGH WITH THE PARK, THEY GATHERED COMMUNITY INPUT REGARDING, UH, THIS WATERSHED PLAN AFTER THE WALKTHROUGH AND AFTER THE COMMUNITY WAS FULLY AWARE OF THE INS AND OUTS OF THE PLAN AND WHAT IT WOULD CONSIST OF.
AND AS YOU'LL SEE IN OUR SLIDE DECK HERE, THERE'S SIGNIFICANT OPPOSITION TO THE PLAN IMMEDIATELY RIGHT AFTER THE ENGAGEMENT WAS PUT FORWARD WITH THE COMMUNITY.
UH, MOST OF THE FEEDBACK HIGHLIGHTED THERE YOU'LL SEE IS IN DIRECT OPPOSITION TO THE USE OF CONCRETE, THE USE OF WATER BASINS, FRANKLY, JUST CHANGING THE PARKLAND AS IT WAS DESIGNED AND GIFTED TO THE CITY FOR AT THE BEGINNING.
AND SO WE DID OUR OWN COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
WE'VE HELD COMMUNITY EVENTS, WE'VE WORKED WITH AUSTIN PARKS FOUNDATION MOST RECENTLY FOR, IT'S MY PARK DAY IN MARCH TO CLEAN UP THE PARK.
AND SO WE KIND OF HELD OUR OWN, UH, INFORMAL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, BUT HAD, YOU KNOW, STICKY NOTES PUT ON A, A BULLETIN BOARD THERE WHERE EVERYONE WAS ABLE TO WRITE WHAT THEY WANTED, UH, OUT OF OUR PARK.
AND MORE THAN ANYTHING, WE GOT THAT, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE JUST WANTED TO KEEP THE PARK AS IT IS OPEN AND FREE FOR, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE TO PLAY AND DOGS TO ENJOY IT.
WE'VE, WE'VE ORGANIZED AS A COMMUNITY AND WE HAVE A WEBSITE.
THERE'S A LOT OF DISCUSSION GOING
[00:45:01]
ON OVER THE WATERSHED PLAN.AND, UM, WE ARE, WE'RE REALLY KIND OF UNIFIED ON THIS STRATEGY TO, UM, ESSENTIALLY REQUEST FOR AN ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION TO THE CURRENT WATERSHED PLAN.
WE'VE THOROUGHLY REVIEWED THE, UM, PROPOSAL.
WE'VE LOOKED AT THE VARIOUS, UM, ITEMS AND BENEFITS.
WE ARE VERY MUCH SO IN SUPPORT OF STILL IMPROVING WATER QUALITY, UM, BY TREATING THE 127 ACRES OF WATERSHED UPSTREAM OF THE PARK.
HOWEVER, WE ARE NOT IN SUPPORT OF TAKING AWAY A CURRENT USE OF A BALL FIELD THAT'S BEEN THERE FOR, FOR MANY DECADES TO PUT BACK THE STORMWATER DETENTION AS A NEW USE OF THE PARK.
UH, THIS PROPOSAL PROPOSES 30,000, UM, POUNDS OF SEDIMENT TO BE REMOVED FROM THE PARK ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.
WE HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT THE MAINTENANCE AND REMOVAL OF THE SEDIMENT.
UM, WE HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT THE AESTHETICS AND THE FUNCTIONALITY OF THE PARK AS WELL.
AND THE FOLLOWING SLIDES WILL REALLY SPEAK TO THIS.
AND EVEN ON THE WATERSHED PAGE, THEY SAID, HEY, THIS IS GONNA STILL BE A PLAY FIELD, HOWEVER THEY REFER TO IT AS A POND.
WE'VE SET UP A, UH, UH, PETITION IN RELATION TO THIS CURRENT PLAN AND OVER ABOUT A MONTH'S TIME, WE'VE ALREADY GATHERED 762 SIGNATURES IN OPPOSITION TO THIS PLAN.
CLEAR CUT OPPOSITION TO THE PLAN AS IT EXISTS.
UM, THAT'S LIKE I SAID, IN A MATTER OF WEEKS OF JUST OUTREACH.
UH, SO OBVIOUSLY THE COMMUNITY IS VOICING THEIR OPINION AND, UM, ON ALL LEVELS, EVERYTHING THAT WE HEAR AS WE REPRESENT THE PARK.
AS FRIENDS OF REED PARK, EVERYONE HAS BEEN IN OPPOSITION TO THIS PLAN, UH, VEHEMENTLY.
OKAY, SO I WANTED TO GIVE A LITTLE OVERVIEW OF THE PARK.
UM, IT'S FLANKED BY PECOS STREET ON THE EASTERN SIDE.
UM, WE'VE HIGHLIGHTED THE EXISTING PLAY FIELD, IT'S ABOUT 0.6 ACRES, AND THE OVERALL PARK SIZE IS A 6.4 ACRES.
SO IT'S, IT'S A VERY SMALL PORTION OF THE PARK AS IT IS.
AND THIS IS THE ONLY OPEN SPACE PLAY FIELD THAT WE HAVE, UM, IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND SO IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE HAVE THIS FLEXIBLE AREA FOR KIDS TO PLAY, FOR FAMILIES TO GATHER, FOR EVENTS TO TAKE PLACE.
UM, SOME PHOTOS OF HOW WE ARE USING IT TODAY.
SOCCER, THROWING THE BALL WITH A DOG.
LARGE EVENTS, THE 4TH OF JULY PARADE CONGREGATES IN THIS SPACE.
UM, IT'S VERY MUCH RESPECTED AND UTILIZED BY THE COMMUNITY.
UM, THIS IS A PHOTO OF, UH, THE ORIGINAL CONCEPT PLAN FROM THE 1980S, UH, 1983 TO BE EXACT, UM, PROPOSING UNSTRUCTURED PLAY IN THAT PARK AREA.
SO THE PLANS GO BACK FROM THE PARKS DEPARTMENT MANY DECADES NOW, AND WE REALLY WANT TO PRESERVE THAT.
UM, SO WE'VE DUG INTO THE WATERSHED PLAN.
THIS IS AN OVERLAY OF THE PROPOSED PLAY FIELD THAT WATERSHED IS PROPOSING TO LEVEL OUT THE AREA, PUT IN, UH, BERMS AND STORM WATER, UH, BIO AND FILTRATION BASINS ALL THE WAY AROUND THE PLAY FIELD.
WHAT'S HAPPENING IS ESSENTIALLY THEY'RE CUTTING THE OPEN SPACE IN HALF, GOING FROM 240 LINEAR FEET TO A HUNDRED BY 60.
AND SO UP ABOVE YOU CAN SEE THE SIZE OF A FOOTBALL FIELD AND THE SIZE OF A BASKETBALL FIELD.
IT'S ABOUT THE SIZE OF THE BASKETBALL FIELD, AND THAT'S NOT GONNA ALLOW US TO THROW A FRISBEE.
IT'S NOT GONNA ALLOW US TO HAVE SOCCER GAMES OUT THERE LIKE WE USE IT CURRENTLY.
UM, THE PLAN IS A BEAUTIFUL PLAN TO SOME EXTENT.
AND AGAIN, WE ARE VERY MUCH IN SUPPORT OF IMPROVING WATER QUALITY TO TAILOR SLOUGH.
UM, HOWEVER, WHEN WE DUG IN DEEPER, WE REALIZED THAT THE PLAN WAS GOING TO SIGNIFICANTLY INTERFERE WITH THE CURRENT USE.
UM, IT'S A VERY PICTURESQUE PARK.
IT'S SURROUNDED BY MATURE TREES.
UM, AS YOU CAN SEE IN THIS PHOTO, THERE'S EXISTING CHAIRS, DEDICATED BENCHES, UM, TABLES, ALL FLANKING THE EDGES OF THE GREEN SPACE.
AND THOSE ARE THE PLACES THAT PEOPLE SIT AND GATHER IN THE SHADE, BUT STILL ENGAGE IN THE FIELD.
THEY, YOU SIT IN A CHAIR, YOU THROW A BALL FOR YOUR DOG, UM, YOU LET YOUR KIDS KICK THE BALL AROUND, BUT THE SHADE ON THE EDGES AND ACTIVATING THE EDGES OF THIS PARK IS ESSENTIAL, UM, AND PRESERVING THAT.
AND SO WITH THE CURRENT PLAN, THE WATERSHED PLAN, IF WE OVERLAY THEIR PLAN ON TOP OF OUR PLAN, UM, THIS WOULD SEVERELY IMPACT THE CURRENT USE OF THE PARK AS IT'S BEEN PROPOSED.
IT WOULD NOT BE FUNCTIONAL IN THE SAME WAY THAT IT IS.
UH, WE HAVE A BACKSTOP, WHICH IS AN AREA THAT WE USE FOR, FOR, UH, KICKBALL GAMES AND T-BALL AND SOCCER.
THAT BACKSTOP WOULD NOW BE IN THE CENTER OF A STORM WATER INFILTRATION BASIN.
[00:50:01]
PROPOSED BY WATERSHED.UM, WE'VE RESEARCHED THIS AND DUG IN AND HAVE OUR BIT OF FEEDBACK AND COMMENTS ON THIS.
AND IT'S, IT'S HARD FOR ME TO READ THE EXACT NOTES HERE, BUT WE'VE HIGHLIGHTED SOME KEY ELEMENTS, PROPOSED RETAINING WALLS AROUND THE PERIMETER.
UM, THE PLAY FIELD WILL SERVE AS A POND, WHICH WILL, UM, ESSENTIALLY, UH, CREATE DEBRIS, MUD, AND DESIGN TO FLOOD OVER 30 TIMES A YEAR.
AND CURRENTLY WE HAVE NOT SEEN IT FLOOD ONCE.
UM, SO WE HAVE REAL CONCERNS ABOUT THAT.
AS I MENTIONED, PECOS IS ON THE EASTERN SIDE.
THAT'S THE MAIN VIEW OF THE PARK.
UM, IT'S A BEAUTIFUL VIEW AND IT, WHEN YOU LOOK INTO THE PARK, YOU WILL NOW SEE A GIAN BASKET AND A, A SEDIMENTATION TRAP AND LIKELY SOME SIGNAGE AS WELL.
AND I'VE GOT SOME SLIDES TO SHOW THAT, UM, RETAINING WALLS.
AND IN ORDER TO CREATE A POND, AN INFILTRATION BASIN, AND YOU HAVE TO LEVEL THE ENTIRE PARK CURRENTLY, THERE'S A GRADUAL SLOPE.
AND SO WE WILL, UM, THEY WILL HAVE TO, THEY'RE PROPOSING BURMING UP ALL OF THE AREAS, PUTTING A CONCRETE TRAIL ALL THE WAY AROUND AND JUST SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCING THE USE OF THE PARK AND HOW WE CURRENTLY USE IT TODAY.
UM, THIS IS A VIEW FROM PECOS OF WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE CURRENTLY.
THIS IS THE COMMUNITY LOOKING INTO THE PARK AND SEEING WHAT'S GOING ON.
AND THE PROPOSED PLAN IN THIS VIEW, UM, LIKE I MENTIONED, WILL HA BE A GABON WALL, A RETAINING WALL, SEDIMENTATION TRAP, UM, LIKELY SIGNAGE, UM, SIMILAR TO THIS BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO NOW REQUIRE THAT IT'S A STORM WATER FACILITY.
IT'S A CHANGE OF USE OF THE PARK, TURNING IT INTO A STORMWATER FACILITY.
AND WE DO NOT BELIEVE THAT THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THE RIGHT THING TO DO, TO TAKE AWAY OUR OPEN SPACE TO TURN IT INTO A STORMWATER FACILITY.
UM, BIOFILTRATION BASINS WILL INFILTRATE THE PERIMETER AS WELL.
AND A CONCRETE PATH, UM, WHICH WE DO BELIEVE IN A DA ACCESSIBILITY.
HOWEVER, WE'RE CONCERNED ABOUT THIS BEING DESIGNED FOR MAINTENANCE VEHICLES WITH ADDITIONAL SIGNAGE AND GATES.
UM, THIS IS ANOTHER VIEW FROM THE OTHER SIDE LOOKING AT THE CREEK, UM, HOW IT IS TODAY.
IT'S VERY NATURAL AND UM, IT'S, IT'S A WONDERFUL PLACE TO BE.
UH, THE NEW PLAN WILL PROPOSE RETAINING WALLS ON BOTH SIDES TO REGRADE THE SITE TO HOLD UP THE LEVEL, CREATE A DAM TO ALLOW FOR THE INFILTRATION BASINS TO TAKE PLACE.
UM, THE FLAT LAWN WILL BE CUT IN HALF.
NEW FIELD WILL BE REDUCED TO A BASKETBALL SIZE IN COURT.
UM, WE EVEN DUG IN AND CUT SECTIONS THROUGH THE PARK.
AND UM, YOU CAN SEE THERE'S ESSENTIALLY TWO SECTIONS THAT WERE CUT IN A CROSS SECTION.
THE EXISTING SECTION HIGHLIGHTS THE OPEN SPACE AND AREA THAT WE HAVE NOW.
AND THE PROPOSED SECTION SHOWS THE BERMS, THE CONCRETE PATHWAY AND THE STORMWATER INFILTRATION BASINS.
UM, THE BOTTOM LEFT, UH, SECTION SHOWS THE BACKSTOP AND A LOT OF THE EXISTING PARK BENCHES TABLES DEDICATED BENCHES WILL ALL HAVE TO GO AWAY AS WELL.
UM, WE ALSO TOOK THE WATERSHED PLAN AND WE STAKED IT OUT ON SITE TO GET A SENSE.
WE SAID, WELL, GOSH, LET'S JUST SEE WHAT IT LOOKS AND FEELS LIKE.
UM, MAYBE WE CAN LIVE WITH THIS.
AND WE REALIZED THAT, UM, IT'S SO SMALL COMPARED TO WHAT IT IS NOW, UM, THAT ALL OF THESE AREAS OUTSIDE OF THAT RECTANGULAR PROPOSED, THE A HUNDRED FOOT BY 60 FEET WILL BE RECLAIMED BERMED UP THREE TO ONE SLOPES, THREE TO FOUR FEET TALL, UM, RETAINING WALLS, UH, GIAN BASKETS, ET CETERA.
SO THESE ARE SOME OF THE DIFFERENT VIEWS SHOWING ALL OF THE OPEN SPACE THAT WE'RE GONNA LOSE WITH THIS CURRENT PROPOSAL.
UM, THE NEW FIELD LOCATION, OOPS, ANOTHER SHOT OF THE BACKSTOP AND THE LOSS OF, OF THAT AREA AS WELL.
SO JUST A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE OF USE REALLY IS OUR CONCERN.
UM, DURING THE PUBLIC INPUT PROCESS, UH, WATERSHED, UM, HELD AN ONLINE FORUM, UM, SPOKE ABOUT THE PROJECT, IT'S BEEN RECORDED, IT'S ACCESSIBLE ON THE WATERSHED WEBSITE.
UM, THEY SPOKE A LOT ABOUT BATTLE BEND PARK AS A GREAT PRECEDENT FOR SUCCESSFUL USE OF, UM, THIS STRATEGY.
AND, UH, AND ON MAY 8TH, 2023, FRIENDS OF REED PARK WENT OUT TO BATTLE BEND PARK TO GO TAKE A LOOK AND SEE WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE.
UM, THE FIELD WAS OVERGROWN, THE LAWN WAS NOT THERE ANYMORE.
THERE WAS SEDIMENT DEPOSITED IN THE LAWN AREAS.
AND, UM, WE EXPRESSED OUR CONCERNS AND THE, UH, WATERSHED SAID THAT THEY WERE GONNA FIX IT.
WELL, WE WENT BACK AGAIN A YEAR LATER, MARCH 8TH, 2024, AND IT GOT WORSE.
THESE ARE SOME SHOTS SHOWING THE SIGNIFICANT
[00:55:01]
AMOUNT OF MUD CONES.UM, SOME OF THE SIGNAGE AND THE GATES THAT SAY BASICALLY KIND OF STAY OUT, IT'S NOT A VERY INVITING SITE AND I'M NOT EVEN SURE IF THE COMMUNITY IS ABLE TO USE IT, NOR DO THEY KNOW THAT THAT WAS INTENDED TO BE A PLAY FIELD FOR REED PARK.
WE'VE BEEN USING IT FOR DECADES, AND THIS IS GOING TO CHANGE A USE THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE AS AN OPEN SPACE AND FIELD.
SO HERE'S THE CURRENT PROPOSED, UM, POND AND BASIN PLAN AND THE WATERSHED PLAN.
AND WE'RE HERE TODAY TO SPEAK ABOUT FINDING AN ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION TO TREAT THE WATER QUALITY ISSUES.
WE'RE NOT SAYING THAT WE'RE AGAINST THE IDEA OF, UM, IMPROVING WATER QUALITY.
WE'RE VERY MUCH SO, UM, PROPONENTS OF IMPROVING THE WATER QUALITY AND TREATING THE WATERSHED, UM, UPSTREAM OF US.
BUT WE'D LIKE TO ASK YOU TODAY TO, UM, SEE IF WE CAN GET SUPPORT TO PROVIDE AN ALTERNATIVE PLAN.
UM, FRIENDS OF REED PARK HAS PUT OUR HEADS TOGETHER.
WE'VE TALKED TO SOME CIVIL ENGINEERS, WE'VE TALKED TO, UM, OTHER COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND WOULD LIKE TO FIND ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS TO THE CURRENT STORMWATER, UM, INFILTRATION BASINS OUTSIDE OF THE PLAY FIELD BECAUSE IT'S SUCH A SUCCESSFUL SPACE.
SO THIS IS A PLAN SUGGESTING ALTERNATIVE BASIN LOCATIONS, UM, WITHIN OUR SIX AND A HALF ACRE PARK ESSENTIALLY, BUT PRESERVING THAT 0.6 ACRES OF OPEN SPACE THAT WE HAVE CURRENTLY.
UM, WE'D ALSO LIKE TO SEE IF THIS GOES TO THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, THINK ABOUT OTHER ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS, UM, SUCH AS CAN THE CITY PURCHASE LAND SOMEWHERE NEARBY TO TREAT THE STORMWATER? WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE IN A PARK THAT'S BEEN GIFTED, UM, TO THE COMMUNITY THAT'S BEEN PROPOSED TO BE USED IN A CERTAIN WAY? UM, OR CAN THE CITY FIND A WAY TO WORK WITH THE PUBLIC TO FUND UNDERGROUND CISTERNS THAT REPLACES THE AGING AND, AND REPLACING THE AGING WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE THAT THEY SAY IS CONTRIBUTING TO THE PROBLEM.
WE'VE HEARD ABOUT HIGH E COLI, YOU KNOW, ISSUES AND DIFFERENT THINGS IN IT.
SO WE THINK THAT IT COULD BE ATTRIBUTED TO PARTIALLY THE WASTEWATER SYSTEM.
SO WE'RE A PROPONENTS OF REMOVING THAT, BUT STILL PRESERVING THE OPEN SPACE AGAIN.
UM, AND CAN THE CITY, CAN WE WORK WITH THE CITY TO PROMOTE THE USE OF THE RAIN CATCHER PROGRAM FOR THE 120 SECOND, UH, SEVEN ACRES UPSTREAM.
UM, FIND OTHER SOLUTIONS THAT MEET THE GOALS OF WATERSHED BUT NOT TAKING AWAY OUR PARK.
SO WITH THAT, UM, THANK YOU AND WE WOULD LIKE TO OPEN IT UP TO COMMENTS, FEEDBACK, AND UH, GO FROM THERE.
WHAT'S YOUR DEFINITION OF URBANIZED AREA IN YOUR LAST SLIDE? UH, I DON'T KNOW IF WE CAN GO BACK TO THE SLIDE.
OUR DEFINITION OF AN URBANIZED AREA WOULD ESSENTIALLY, UM, BE EVERYWHERE.
THAT HAS BEEN URBANIZED OVER TIME.
WATERSHED GAVE US SPECIFIC AREAS FROM 35TH STREET ALL THE WAY DOWN TO IT SEEMS, WHETHER IT'S IN INFIELD OR LAKE AUSTIN, UH, WEST OF MOPAC, DRAINING TOWARDS REED PARK.
SO I SHOULD MENTION TOO, REED REED PARK IS, HAS TAYLOR SLEW THAT FLOWS DOWN TO SCENIC AND FLOWS INTO LAKE AUSTIN.
AND, UM, WE'RE VERY MUCH AWARE THAT THE CITY IS URBANIZING, THAT THE PRESSURE ON TREATING THE STORM WATER UPSTREAM AND IN ANY AREA WE CAN IS, UM, A NECESSITY AS AUSTIN CHANGES.
UM, HOWEVER, OUR OPEN SPACE IS PRECIOUS TO US AND WE WANT TO FIND ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS.
YEAH, YOU I JUST HAVE A QUESTION.
I FEEL LIKE THIS HAS TURNED INTO A PRESENTATION AND I WAS WONDERING IF WATERSHED OR ANYONE FROM WATERSHED IS HERE AS WELL.
CAN I ANSWER THAT? I THINK WE DO HAVE SOMEONE FROM WATERSHED.
YEAH, SHERRY, JUST TO SAY, WILL YOU BE PRESENTING OR SPEAKING OR ANSWERING QUESTIONS OR, UM, I WAS NOT PLANNING TO SPEAK JANAE SPENCE WATERSHED PROTECTION, UH, PROJECT DESIGN DELIVERY.
WE DID NOT HAVE A PRESENTATION PREPARED.
UM, WE WERE UNDER THE IMPRESSION THIS IS, WE HAD SENT SOME STUFF TO YOU GUYS TO GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF HEADS UP, BUT WE GONNA HAVE THE IMPRESSION THIS IS FOR HEARING FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND AS THE PROJECT PROGRESSES, WE'LL COME BACK AT A LATER TIME AS IS OUR USUAL SCHEDULE FOR THESE PROJECTS.
SO BOARD MEMBER BAAN, WHAT I WILL DO IS, AND IF YOU'RE AMENABLE TO THIS IS UNLESS ANYONE ELSE HAS ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, I'LL JUST ASK YOU, I'LL JUST GO BACK TO THE AUDIENCE SEATS, BUT
[01:00:01]
DO, HOLD ON, LEMME JUST SEE IF ANYONE HAS ANYTHING AND THEN I'LL KEEP IF YOU CAN STAY THERE AND WE'LL SEE IF ANY BOARD MEMBER HAS ANY QUESTIONS.SO DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY BOARD MEMBERS FOR FRIENDS OF REED PARK MEMBERS THAT ARE HERE TODAY? SPEAKING QUESTIONS.
DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? QUESTIONS? WHAT DID I SAY? BOARD MEMBERS.
I'VE BEEN UP SINCE LIKE 4:00 AM UM, ALRIGHT.
AND CAN YOU JUST STATE YOUR NAME TOO, JUST SO WE ALL KNOW WHO YOU ARE? JANAE SPENCE.
AND YOU'RE WITH WATERSHED? WATERSHED PROTECTION ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OVER PROJECT DESIGN AND DELIVERY.
AND BOARD MEMBER WAS ON, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO YOU.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAD ANY QUESTIONS.
YEAH, I JUST WANTED, UM, UH, WE, WE, WE RECEIVED THE MEMO, BUT I JUST WANTED TO KNOW IF ANYTHING HAD CHANGED SINCE THAT MEMO CAME IN.
UM, OR YOU KNOW, WHAT THE PARTICULAR, UM, RELATIONSHIP HAS BEEN BETWEEN Y'ALL AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD RECENTLY? YEAH.
AND NOTHING HAS CHANGED SINCE THAT.
YOU KNOW, WE HEARD THE FEEDBACK, ESPECIALLY I WAS IN THE MEETING IN, UH, MARCH WITH THE FRIENDS OF REED PARK.
UH, PERSONALLY I WAS IN THE MEETING, HEARD THE FEEDBACK SINCE THEN.
I, I TALKED TO THE TEAM, I SAID, HEY GUYS, I THINK WE NEED TO LOOK AT THIS AGAIN.
WE HAVE A COUPLE CONCEPTS WE'RE GETTING CLOSE TO, UH, FINALIZING TO TRY TO KEEP THAT ITERATIVE PROCESS.
THE, THE CONCEPTS THAT WE'VE COME UP WITH, THEY'RE NOT OUR FINAL, THESE ARE THE ONES, IT'S JUST FOR CONVERSATION.
WE ARE NOT EVEN IN THE DESIGN PHASE YET.
YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS HERE? THE REASON I BROUGHT THIS, UM, FORWARD TODAY IS BECAUSE, UM, I HAD HEARD FROM CONSTITUENTS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND ALSO AT OUR LAST PARKS BOARD MEETING, HAD REQUESTED A PRESENTATION FROM WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT AND OR PARD TO, UM, JUST GET THIS OUT THERE SO THAT THE PUBLIC COULD HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT ON IT.
I WANNA THANK THE, UM, COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO CAME AND COMMENTED TONIGHT, APPRECIATE YOUR HARD WORK AND TRYING TO COME UP WITH AN ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION.
UM, I'VE BEEN AWARE OF THE PLAN SINCE IT WAS FIRST DESIGNED AND ALSO PARTICIPATED IN COMMUNITY MEETINGS WITH WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT.
AND IT DID LOOK LIKE THE DESIGN HAD STARTED TO HAPPEN.
THE OVERALL ALL PLAN WAS READY TO GO.
AND I FEEL LIKE THAT FUNDAMENTALLY THERE IS, UM, AN ISSUE HERE THAT IS A LITTLE BIT LARGER, WHICH IS ABOUT TAKING PUBLIC DESIGNATED PARKLAND TO SERVE AS A TREATMENT FOR RUNOFF WATER STORM, STORM WATER RUNOFF.
AND THAT IS NOT AN APPROPRIATE USE OF PUBLIC PARKLAND WHEN PLANNING COULD HAVE BEEN DONE OR SHOULD BE DONE FOR GREATER URBANIZATION.
AND UM, I ALSO WANTED TO QUICKLY SHOW AND POINT OUT THAT THE NEIGHBORHOOD PARK SERVES AN AREA THAT GOES WELL BEYOND THE CITY'S RECOMMENDED ONE QUARTER MILE WALKING DISTANCE TO THE PARK.
AND I HAVE A COUPLE OF SLIDES THAT I'D LIKE TO SHOW IF YOU CAN BRING THOSE UP.
READ PARK ONE, TWO, AND THREE.
SO, UM, THE CITY OF AUSTIN, THE PARKLAND DEDICATION PAGE HAS A MAP THAT SHOWS PARK DEFICIENT AREAS THROUGHOUT AUSTIN.
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE IS A DEFINITION FOR WHAT IS A PARK, WHAT IS CONSIDERED PARK DEFICIENT AREA.
THE CITY OF AUSTIN SAID, REALIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF LIVING NEAR PARKS AND OPEN SPACES.
CITY COUNCIL PASSED A RESOLUTION IN 2009 STATING THAT ALL RESIDENTS LIVING IN THE URBAN COURSE SHOULD BE WITHIN A ONE QUARTER MILE OF A PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE AND CHILD-FRIENDLY PARK, A FIVE MINUTE WALK, AND WITH A HALF MILE, WITHIN A HALF MILE.
FOR THOSE OUTSIDE THE URBAN CORE, THIS PARK IS IN THE URBAN CORE.
SO IF YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
REED NEIGHBORHOOD PARK IS SURROUNDED BY A HALF TO OVER ONE MILE IN SOME DIRECTIONS OF PARK DEFICIENT AREA THAT'S SHOWN IN ORANGE.
ON THE MAP YOU CAN SEE REED PARK, LET'S SEE,
IT'S THE SMALL PARK THAT'S SURROUNDED BY WHITE IN THE MIDDLE.
THAT'S THE QUARTER MILE WALKING DISTANCE.
SO WHEN I ASKED WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT WHY THEY WOULD NEED TO CHANGE THE USE OF THE PARK LAND OR OTHER PARKS TO TREAT STORMWATER RUNOFF, THEY EXPLAINED THAT INCREASED URBANIZATION IN AUSTIN IS CAUSING THE ISSUE.
[01:05:01]
FROM WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT AND TAKING PARK LAND TO DEAL WITH IT IS ONE OF THEIR CHOICES TO TREAT THE, THE STORM WATER WITH THE LOSS OF PARKLAND DEDICATION, FUNDING, INTENSE CLIMATE CHANGE, URBAN HEAT ISLAND EFFECT, AND PASSING OF RECENT LAND, DEVO LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENTS THAT INCREASED DENSITY AND IMPERVIOUS COVER IN OUR INNER CITY NEIGHBORHOODS.WE NEED TO PRESERVE EVERY INCH OF PARKLAND FOR OUR CITIZENS.
AND SO WE DON'T HAVE IT TO SPARE AND WE DON'T HAVE THE FUNDS TO ACQUIRE NEW PARKLAND.
SO, SO I'M BRINGING A RECOMMENDATION FORWARD TO ASK THAT, TO ASK THAT THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL DIRECT WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT AND PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT TO SEEK ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS AS YOU'RE DOING TO THE CURRENT PROPOSED PLAN FOR THE REED PARK WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT THAT DO NOT REQUIRE CHAPTER 26, CHANGE OF USE FOR THIS PUBLIC PARKLAND.
YOU ALL ARE FAMILIAR WITH CHAPTER 26, RIGHT? OKAY.
AND ALSO THAT THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL DIRECT WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT AND PAR TO WORK WITH CITIZENS AND STAKEHOLDERS TO FIND A SOLUTION THAT DOES NOT ALTER OR DIMINISH THE CURRENT AREA OR USE OF THE REED PARK OPEN BALL FIELD.
AND I'M HAPPY TO READ THE RESOLUTION, IF THAT'S ALL RIGHT.
MAKE A MOTION TO SEE IF ANYONE, ANY QUESTIONS.
DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR THE WATERSHED REPRESENTATIVE? UH, BOARD MEMBER BAAN? YES.
I JUST HAVE A, UM, QUESTION ABOUT THE SAFETY CONCERN RELATED TO THE CREEK.
UM, 'CAUSE I, YOU KNOW, I BOARD MEMBER RE I'M GLAD YOU BROUGHT THIS FORWARD.
I CERTAINLY DON'T WANT ANYBODY'S PARK SPACE TO BE TAKEN OVER.
UM, AND I KNOW HOW, UM, WE DON'T HAVE, WE, WE HAVE A LACK OF FIELDS IN, IN THE CITY AND SO, UM, CERTAINLY WANT TO BE ABLE TO HAVE AS MUCH GREEN SPACE AS POSSIBLE.
BUT THE SAFETY CONCERN THAT WAS ISSUED IN THE MEMO IS, UM, I GUESS WHAT I'D LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT.
YEAH, AND I'M, I'M AN ENGINEER BY TRADE, NOT A SCIENTIST, SO WE MAY HAVE TO HAVE THE, UH, DIFFERENT PEOPLE IN THE ROOM TO GIVE YOU ALL THE DETAILS OF IT.
BUT BASICALLY, UH, POOR WATER QUALITY DOES CONTRIBUTE TO OTHER ISSUES DOWNSTREAM, OF COURSE, FOR ANY, UH, BODY OF WATER, NATURAL BODY OF WATER, WE TELL PEOPLE NOT TO DRINK IT IF IT'S NOT POTABLE WATER.
UM, BUT YEAH, IT, THIS IS ONE OF THE WORST AREAS IN TOWN FOR WATER QUALITY.
ONE OF OUR FOUR, UH, WORST CREEKS AND, AND IS, IS IMPAIRED PER TCEQ.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TRYING TO MITIGATE OTHER ISSUES THAT WE HAVE DOWNSTREAM IT ALSO WITHIN THIS CREEK.
AND SO PART OF THAT, THIS IS, THIS PROJECT ALONE WON'T SOLVE IT AND WON'T SOLVE IT FOR THE CITY OF NOW WE'RE GONNA HAVE GREAT WATER QUALITY EVERYWHERE, BUT IT IS A STEP IN THE DIRECTION OF WHAT WE NEED TO DO IN ORDER TO GET INTO A BETTER SPOT.
SO I JUST WANNA FOLLOW UP ON BOARD MEMBER BISON'S QUESTION TO MAKE SURE I, MY UNDERSTANDING, AND I KNOW YOU MAY, YOU'RE NOT A SCIENTIST, SO YOU MAY NOT WANNA FULLY COMMIT, BUT THAT IT'S DIRECTIONALLY ACCURATE.
SO IF A CHILD WERE TO SAY, PUT THEIR HANDS IN THE WATER AT THIS SPECIFIC PARK, RUB IT ALL OVER THEIR FACE, LIKE A 3-YEAR-OLD IS WANT TO DO, THERE'D BE A CONCERN THAT E COLI IS POTENTIALLY IN THE WATER.
IS THAT FAIR? THERE'S AN INCREASED RISK.
AND THEN IN TERMS OF THE, THE DOWNSTREAM RUNOFF ISSUE, IT'S OBVIOUSLY RUNNING INTO LADY BIRD LAKE THAT'S CONTRIBUTING OVERALL, AS YOU SAID, IT'S ONE SMALL PART.
THERE'S MANY OTHER CONTRIBUTORS TO SOME OF THE PROBLEMS WE HAVE IN THE LAKE WITH WATER QUALITY.
YOU HAVE, I DON'T HAVE A QUESTION I WAS GONNA CALL ON YOU.
I WANNA ASK FOR ONE MORE THING.
SO I, I'D ALSO LIKE TO ASK YOU ABOUT, UM, A QUOTE FROM LEE LEE SHERMAN WHO WORKS WITH WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT.
HE SAID THAT, UM, HE SAID THAT AGING URBANIZED, UM, HE SAID THE, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE MAY BE WHAT WAS THE WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE MAY BE A SOURCE OF POLLUTION IN TAYLOR SLOUGH SOUTH.
UM, CAN YOU SAY FOR SURE THAT SOMEONE HAS TESTED THE WATER IN THE CREEK RIGHT NOW AND THAT THERE'S E COLI IN THE CREEK? WE WOULD ASSUME THAT, UM, THE DEPARTMENT OR WATERSHED WOULD'VE PUT WARNING SIGNS UP THAT THE KIDS SHOULDN'T GO IN THE CREEK OR THAT THERE WAS ALGAE IN THE CREEK.
AND I HAVEN'T SEEN ANY OF THAT RIGHT NOW.
SO IS THE QUESTION, HAVE WE DONE THE TESTING? JUST WANNA CLARIFY THE QUESTION.
HAVE YOU DONE THE TESTING? AND ALSO IS, IS THE AGING WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE CONTRIBUTING TO THIS PROBLEM? YEAH, SO THERE IS, THERE ARE AGING WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE AREA THAT WE THINK COULD BE CONTRIBUTING TO IT.
AND SO AS PART OF THIS PROJECT, WE TALKED WITH OUR PARTNERS AT AUSTIN WATER AND THERE IS A SECTION THAT THEY'RE ALSO WILLING TO, UH, REPAIR AS PART OF THE PROJECT.
SO THAT WILL BE ANOTHER GOOD HOPEFUL, GOOD IMPROVEMENT FOR WATER QUALITY IN THE AREA.
[01:10:01]
UM, AS FAR AS THE E COLI COUNTS, WE DO HAVE TESTING IN THE AREA THAT'S PART OF THE TCEQ TEST AS WELL THAT SHOW THAT THERE IS A HIGHER LEVEL OF E COLI IN THE AREA.WE AS, AGAIN, FROM OUR MARKETING, WE LET THE WHOLE CITY KNOW THAT ANY OPEN BODY OF WATER, PLEASE DO NOT INGEST.
AND SO, BUT, UH, WATERSHED DOESN'T FEEL THAT IT'S NECESSARY TO PUT UP WARNING SIGNS TO TELL THE PUBLIC NOT TO GET IN THE CREEK OR TCEQ.
WE DO NOT DO THAT AT THIS TIME.
FOR ANY PARK? FOR ANY PARK OR JUST FOR THIS PARK? FOR ANY PARK, YEAH.
AND TCEQ PLAYS A ROLE IN NOTIFICATION.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE DO WITHIN OUR MARKETING AR WITHIN OUR MARKETING FOR CITYWIDE AND TCEQ HAS WAYS THAT THEY PUT THAT INFORMATION ONLINE, BUT WE DO NOT DO IT SPECIFIC TO AREAS OF TOWN.
AGAIN, WE SAY CITYWIDE DON'T, DON'T INTERACT IN THAT WAY, INGESTING THE WATER.
I HOPE THIS HAS LED AN ENGINEER QUESTION.
WHEN WE TALK, WHEN WE KEEP TALKING ABOUT URBANIZATION LEADING TO THIS PROBLEM, WHAT DOES, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? LIKE, ARE WE PUTTING UP SHOPPING MALLS, SHOPPING CENTER? I'M A LAWYER.
I DON'T DO THIS FANCY ENGINEERING STUFF.
SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? JUST INCREASE IMPERVIOUS COVER.
SO IF YOU DON'T HAVE WAYS TO CLEAN THE WATER AND IT'S RUNNING OFF OF PARKING LOTS OR, UH, DRIVEWAYS, ANY OF THOSE THINGS, AND IT'S NOT GETTING CLEANED BEFORE IT GETS TO THE WATER, THEN ALL THAT IS GOING INTO, INTO THE WATER.
SO THEN WHY, WHERE IS HAVE, HAVE, AND AGAIN, HOPEFULLY, YOU KNOW, ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION, WHERE'S THE MAIN, WHERE'S THE SOURCES OF THE POLLUTION COMING FROM IN REGARDS TO THIS? LIKE, CAN YOU POINT TO LIKE A STRIP CENTER? IS IT A SCHOOL, IS IT A, IS THERE A MECHANIC NEARBY? I DON'T, WELL, WHERE IS IT FROM? YEAH, IF WE COULD POINT TO ONE, THAT WOULD BE DEFINITELY HELPFUL FOR ME.
THERE'S MULTIPLE THINGS THAT CAN CONTRIBUTE TO THIS.
YOU CAN HAVE FERTILIZER THAT HAS INCREASED NUTRIENTS, UM, YOU KNOW, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.
YOU TALKED ABOUT MECHANICS, THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
THERE ARE, UH, WASTEWATER LINES, OLD INFRASTRUCTURE.
THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT THINGS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO, TO WATER QUALITY ISSUES.
SO THEN IS IT FAIR TO SAY THAT YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE THIS IS COMING FROM, BUT RATHER THAT IT'S PRESENT? I'M JUST TRYING TO GET LIKE AN IDEA.
IT'S COMING FROM, WE KNOW, WE KNOW THE THINGS THAT CAN CAUSE IT AND WE KNOW THE AREA OF THE WATERSHED THAT IS DRAINING TO THE AREA.
AND WE KNOW THAT THE TESTS SAY THAT THERE ARE ISSUES WITH THE WATER QUALITY IN THE AREA.
SO BASICALLY IT'S 127 ACRES THAT ARE NEAR REED PARK THAT STORM WATER IS RUSHING TOWARDS.
AND THIS IS CONSOLIDATING THAT STORM WATER RUNOFF INTO A SMALL AREA OR POND, BIOFILTRATION POND.
UM, IN ORDER TO KIND OF PURIFY IT, BASICALLY.
IS THAT, WOULD THAT BE OKAY TO SAY CORRECT AND, UM, BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE ANY OTHER LOCATION THAT THIS RUNOFF FROM 45 PER PERCENT IMPERVIOUS COVER, WHICH IS WHAT WHAT WATERSHED HAD TOLD ME WAS THE IMPERVIOUS COVER IN THAT 127 ACRES.
THERE IS NO OTHER AREA FOR THE STORM WATER TO BE TREATED.
WE ARE LOOKING, YOU KNOW, AFTER THE LAST MEETING, WE ARE LOOKING TO SEE WHAT OTHER AREAS IT IS DIFFICULT TO FIND FIRST.
YOU WANNA HAVE OPEN SPACE, OF COURSE, A LOT OF IT IS ALREADY DEVELOPED OUT.
THIS IS AN AREA THAT'S VERY DEVELOPED WITHIN AUSTIN.
SO THERE'S NOT A LOT OF JUST OPEN SPACE TO SPARE.
UM, ALSO YOU HAVE TO BE COGNIZANT OF WHERE YOU ARE IN THE WATERSHED.
SO IF YOU'RE AT THE TOP OF THE WATERSHED, THERE'S NOT A LOT OF IMPERVIOUS COVER THAT'S ACTUALLY FLOWING THERE.
SO YOU LOWER DOWN IN THE WATERSHED, YOU'RE HAVING MORE WATER THAT YOU CAN TREAT.
THE FEATURE IS, HAS MORE, UH, MORE BENEFITS ON THE FINAL PRODUCT OF WHAT GOES INTO THE LAKE.
SO I WANNA THANK YOU FOR, UM, BEING OPEN TO OTHER SOLUTIONS.
DO, DO YOU FEEL THAT THERE IS A WAY TO WORK WITH THE COMMUNITY AND WITH, UH, THE PARKS DEPARTMENT TO TRY AND FIND AN ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION TO THIS? YEAH, I SURE HOPE SO.
I MEAN, I'M AN OPTIMIST AND I, I I'M HOPEFUL THAT WE CAN FIND A SOLUTION THAT CAN DO DOUBLE DUTY.
THAT'S THE HOPE HERE IS THAT WE CAN HAVE OUR PUBLIC LANDS WORK AS HARD FOR US AS THEY CAN.
WE CAN HAVE GREAT PARK AMENITIES AND THAT THE PARK CAN FUNCTION, UH, WELL FOR THE RESIDENTS, BUT THAT WE CAN ALSO TREAT WATER QUALITY TO IMPROVE, UH, WATER QUALITY DOWNSTREAM AS WELL.
I FEEL LIKE THIS IS A PRECEDENT SETTING CASE BECAUSE IT HAS HAPPENED IN OTHER PARKS IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
WE'VE JUST HAD A LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENT, UM, SOME EXTENSIVE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENTS PASS THAT WILL INCREASE IMPERVIOUS COVER THAT WILL REMOVE PERVIOUS COVER SUCH AS YARDS.
AND I FEEL LIKE IT'S, UM, SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD GET AHEAD OF, INSTEAD OF HAVING TO TAKE PUBLIC PARKLAND AWAY FROM THE PUBLIC IN ORDER TO TREAT SOMETHING THAT IS A CONSEQUENCE OF URBANIZATION, OF ADDING MORE IMPERVIOUS COVER IN THE CITY.
LET'S FIND A WAY TO NOT HAVE TO TAKE PUBLIC PARKLAND AWAY FOR THIS USE.
[01:15:01]
COMMENTS.UM, I HAVE ONE FOR BOARD MEMBER REED REGARDING THE, UM, THE ACTUAL TEXT OF THE RECOMMENDATION.
SO THE REC, WELL, LET'S, SHOULD WE WAIT? OKAY.
YEAH, LET'S JUST WAIT ON THAT.
UM, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? BOARD MEMBERS ON LINE? I ALRIGHT.
UM, I WILL, WELL LET'S SEE WHAT HE AND, AND THEN WE CAN MAKE A MOTION.
YOU CAN MAKE A MOTION WHENEVER YOU WANT.
BUT I, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANNA ANSWER BOARD MEMBER BECKER'S, UH, QUESTION FIRST.
UM, LEMME JUST GO AHEAD AND READ THIS, UH, YOU YOUR TIME.
SO, UH, I MOVE TO APPROVE A RECOMMENDATION TO THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL TO DIRECT THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT TO SEEK ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS TO THE CURRENT PROPOSED PLAN FOR THE REED PARK WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT.
THERE'S A MOTION ON THE FLOOR.
IS THERE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND IT FOR, I'LL SECOND IT.
UM, OKAY, WE'RE NOW GOING TO DISCUSSION.
I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE LANGUAGE, UM, UH, ON THE FIRST POINT AND THE RECOMMENDATIONS.
UH, WHERE YOU SAY, UM, ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS TO THE CURRENT PROPOSED PLAN FOR REED PARK WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT THAT DO NOT REQUIRE CHAPTER 26, CHANGE OF USE FOR THIS PUBLIC PARK LAND.
UH, I'M CURIOUS ABOUT THE, THIS, IS THAT REFERRING SPECIFICALLY TO THE CURRENT MODEL? ARE YOU SORT OF SAYING SHOULDN'T USE CHAPTER 26 AT ALL? IT'S FOR THE REED PARK.
YEAH, I, THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT, BUT I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY.
UH, PARTICULARLY BECAUSE WHEN THE DRINKS RESIDENT INPUT, WE SAW, THAT'S SORT OF AN ALTERNATIVE THAT I PRESUME WOULD ALSO REQUIRE USE OF PUBLIC PARKLAND.
SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT THAT WASN'T RIGHT.
THAT WAS, THESE TWO WEREN'T IN CONFLICT.
WHAT WE HEARD FROM, UM, THE RESIDENTS AND WHAT THIS SAYS.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? BOARD MEMBERS, UM, BOARD MEMBER REED? I HAVE A QUESTION IS DID YOU, IS THIS, DID YOU WRITE THIS, I DUNNO WHO WROTE THIS? I JUST NO, I'M, I SUBMITTED A LIST OF QUESTIONS TO WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT, THAT IS THE ANSWERS TO THOSE QUESTIONS.
ARE, AND I CAN READ 'EM OUT LOUD IF YOU'D LIKE.
UM, UH, NO, THERE'S NO, I WAS JUST WONDERING 'CAUSE I WAS GONNA ASK, I HAD ONE QUESTION, BUT SINCE YEAH, SURE.
NO, THESE ANSWERS ARE PROVIDED BY LEE SHERMAN FROM THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT.
SO HERE'S, HERE'S, HERE'S WHERE, HERE'S WHERE MY, HERE'S WHERE I HAVE SOME CONCERNS AND I HOPE THAT YOU CAN ALLEVIATE THEM.
SO MY FIRST CON I, I GUESS IN GENERAL, I'LL LIST THEM IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER.
THE FIRST CONCERN I HAVE IS THIS ISSUE OF THIS ISSUE THAT DOES NEED A RESOLUTION OF SOME TYPE MM-HMM.
UM, SO I WANT TO, I WANT TO KEEP, I WANT TO KEEP FOCUS ON WHAT THAT RESOLUTION IS.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S WHAT IF IT INCORPORATES OR IF IT IS OR INCORPORATES THE ELEMENTS THAT, UM, THE FRIENDS OF REED PARK DEMONSTRATE FOR US IN THEIR PRESENTATION OR WHETHER THEY'RE FEASIBLE OR NOT.
UM, I THINK THAT'S A QUESTION FOR WATER SHIFT.
AGAIN, I DON'T, THAT'S NOT MY AREA OF EXPERTISE.
SO I ULTIMATELY, I THINK MY, MY CONCERN IS, IS THAT I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS IS MEANT TO FOSTER, UH, PRODUCTIVITY AND GET TO A SOLUTION RATHER THAN TO HAMPER WHAT, UH, NEEDS TO BE DONE IN ORDER TO MITIGATE SOME OF THIS WATER RUNOFF.
UM, THE SECOND CONCERN I HAVE, AND THIS IS JUST MORE OF AN ANECDOTAL THING FOR ME, IS I WONDER IF, AND MAYBE IT'S NOT THAT BIG OF A CONCERN BECAUSE IT'S NOT ADDRESSING A RECOMMENDATION, BUT THERE'S THIS, UH, RUSH TO BLAME OR, UM, SOLELY THIS, UH, THE CONCEPT OF URBANIZATION.
UM, AND I KNOW WATERSHED HAS, HAS SAID THAT IT ATTRIBUTES TO THAT, BUT, YOU KNOW, ANECDOTALLY, I'VE DRIVEN THROUGH THAT.
I AREA OF TOWN MANY TIMES, UM, AND HAVEN'T SEEN WHAT, I HAVEN'T SEEN MUCH URBANIZATION HAPPENING IN THAT AREA OF TOWN.
UM, THE BIGGEST THING, THE BIGGEST AREAS OF, UM, CONCRETE BIGGEST SWATS OF CONCRETE COME FROM, I, THE BEST I CAN TELL DECEASED AND, AND THE SHOPPING CENTER ACROSS THE STREET.
AND THEN THERE'S THE, UM, LITTLE RETAIL CENTER RIGHT THERE ON WINDSOR, AND I FORGOT WHAT THE STREET, WHAT OTHER STREET, THE STREET NAME IS RIGHT THERE, WHERE THE, THERE'S A GROCERY STORE, I THINK OFTEN PET'S ALIVE IS THERE.
AND, UH, THERE'S A, IS THAT TERRY TERRYTOWN PHARMACY'S THERE TOO? UM, SO I DON'T KNOW IF NECESSARILY THAT'S A BIG CON A A BIG CONCERN OF MINE BECAUSE IT'S NOT LISTED IN THE RECOMMENDATION,
[01:20:01]
BUT I THINK THERE IS A RUSH TO SOLELY BLAME URBANIZATION FOR THIS PARTICULAR ISSUE.BUT ULTIMATELY, I GUESS WHAT MY ULTIMATE CONCERN IS, IS I WONDER IF, AND I WILL, I WILL THEN, UH, TURN IT OVER TO YOU TO KIND OF ADDRESS MY CONCERN IS I WONDER IF BYPASSING THIS RESOLUTION, WE ARE PUTTING THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE.
AND BY THAT I MEAN, I WONDER IF, UH, WATERSHED WHO SEEMS TO BE LEADING THIS PROJECT IS STILL IN THE PROCESS OF GATHERING DATA HASN'T IMPOSED A, HASN'T PUT A PLAN A, A FINAL PLAN FORWARD, AND IS STILL SEEKING THE FEEDBACK OF THE COMMUNITY RESIDENTS AS IF APPEARS THAT THEY ARE, UM, IF WE'RE, IF WE'RE KIND OF INTERJECTING OURSELVES, UM, AT THE, AT THE INAPPROPRIATE TIME FOR THE CONVERSATION, UM, OR WHETHER WE'RE PUTTING THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE ON THIS PARTICULAR ISSUE.
SO I JUST WANNA GET YOUR THOUGHTS ON THOSE, THOSE ISSUES.
SO NUMBER ONE, UM, NO, I'M, THIS IS NOT AN ANTAGONISTIC ATTACK ON WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT.
THIS IS AN ATTEMPT TO WORK WITH THEM, UM, WITH THE CITIZENS, WITH THE STAKEHOLDERS, WITH THE COMMUNITY THAT HAS EXPRESSED SO MUCH CONCERN ABOUT LOSING THIS PARK LAND, UM, THAT'S VERY DEAR AND CHERISHED AND, AND ACTUALLY HISTORIC IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD.
UM, NUMBER TWO, I GOT ALL OF THIS INFORMATION ABOUT URBANIZATION CAUSING THE STORM WATER RUNOFF FROM WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT.
IN FACT, I WAS, UM, I WAS REALLY SHOCKED BECAUSE EVERYONE SEEMS TO THINK THAT WEST AUSTIN IS NOT URBANIZED AND WEST AUSTIN DOES NOT HAVE TOO MUCH IMPERVIOUS COVER AND THAT IT CAN CERTAINLY BECOME DENSIFIED MORE.
UM, AND I RECEIVED THIS STATEMENT, AUSTIN NEEDS PROJECTS LIKE THIS ONE TO HELP OUR WA PROTECT OUR WATER QUALITY AND OFFSET THE IMPACT OF CONTINUED URBANIZATION ON OUR STREAMS. AND SO THAT PROMPTED ME TO ASK WATERSHED WHAT THE EXACT CAUSE FOR THE ADDITIONAL STORM WATER RUNOFF WAS.
AND THESE ARE THE ANSWERS THAT I GOT.
UM, AND THE GRAPHIC THAT YOU SEE ON THIS PAPER IS WHAT I GOT FROM WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT.
SO I'M, I'M NOT TRYING TO SAY THAT APPROPRIATE URBANIZATION IS WRONG.
UM, I'M TRYING TO SAY THAT THIS IS A BIG CONSEQUENCE OF IT, THAT THE PUBLIC WOULD BE HAVING A PARK PARKLAND TAKEN FOR AS A CONSEQUENCE OF THIS RUNOFF AND THIS URBANIZATION.
I BELIEVE THAT TERRYTOWN SHOPPING CENTERS OUTSIDE OF THE 127 ACRES.
BUT, UM, 'CAUSE THERE'S A LITTLE GRAPHIC OF THE STUFF, SO IT'S OH YEAH, IT'S RIGHT THERE.
IT IS, I I FOUND IT ON THE MAP.
SO, NUMBER ONE, YES, WE, WE WANT THIS TO BE A FRIENDLY COOPERATIVE.
UM, THE REASON I'M BRINGING THE RECOMMENDATION FORWARD AT THIS TIME AS OPPOSED TO NOT AFTER THEY BRING ANOTHER PLAN FORWARD IS I WOULD LIKE FOR THE PARKS BOARD TO WEIGH IN ON WHATEVER THE ADDITIONAL, THE NEW PLAN IS, AND ALSO ALLOW THE CITIZENS TO HAVE WHAT THEY WERE EXPRESSING BE PART OF THAT ADDITIONAL PLAN.
UM, ONE OF THEM WAS THAT THEY REALLY DID NOT WANT TO HAVE THE CHANGE OF USE ON THE BALL FIELD AND TO HAVE THAT AREA DIMINISHED.
AND SO THAT'S WHY I'M BRINGING THE RECOMMENDATION FORWARD RIGHT NOW.
AND I'M SORRY JANAE TO HAVE TO PULL YOU UP AGAIN, BUT IF YOU COULD ANSWER A QUICK QUESTION FOR ME.
UM, SO FROM A CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT STANDPOINT, I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY IT'S PHASED, RIGHT? WHEN DID YOU MOVE FROM FEASIBILITY STUDY INTO PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING? WHEN DID WE MOVE FROM FE? FE? YEAH.
LIKE WHAT, AROUND WHAT TIME? IT DOESN'T, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE EXACT.
I'M NOT GONNA HOLD YOU TO IT, BUT WAS IT A YEAR AGO, SIX MONTHS AGO? THREE YEARS AGO? UH, I DON'T KNOW.
AND I CAN'T TELL YOU OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
BUT YOU ARE IN PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING RIGHT NOW? YEAH.
SO WE'VE FINALIZED A PRE PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING REPORT, AND USUALLY WE WOULD MOVE INTO DESIGN AND WHEN WE STARTED KIND OF PRESENTING, HEY, HERE'S WHAT WE DECIDED TO MOVE INTO DESIGN ON, THAT'S WHEN WE STARTED HEARING THE FEEDBACK.
SO WE WERE READY TO TAKE IT TO COUNCIL FOR THE DESIGN CONTRACT.
IT SEEMS LIKE WE NEED TO DO MORE ENGAGEMENT WHERE WE NEED TO HAVE MORE CONVERSATION.
SO THAT'S WHERE WE'RE AT RIGHT NOW.
SO YOU'RE SORT OF STILL PAUSED IN THAT PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING PHASE TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE IT COMPLETELY CORRECT BEFORE YOU MOVE ON INTO DESIGN.
AND WHEN YOU MOVE TO DESIGN, CAN YOU GIVE ME AN IDEA IN BRIEF OF WHAT WILL HAPPEN BEFORE IT'S FINALIZED AND YOU'RE MOVING INTO BIDDING OF THE STEPS? AS FAR AS WILL IT COME BACK HERE? YEAH.
WILL IT COME BACK HERE? WAS IT GOING TO COUNCIL, SORT OF WHO'S SEEING IT AND APPROVING IT BEFORE IT GOES TO THE PERMIT? YEAH, DEFINITELY.
SO AS PART OF, AS PART OF THE PROCESS, WE WORK WITH PAR CLOSELY TO SAY, HEY, THIS IS WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING.
WE WORK WITH, UH, THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
WE GET TO A GOOD PLACE WHERE WE THINK IS, YOU KNOW, THE BEST CASE SCENARIO OF WHAT WE CAN, WHAT WE CAN PROPOSE.
WE GO INTO DESIGN, WE GET IT TO THE DETAILS.
SOMETIMES THINGS ARE TWEAKED WITHIN THAT.
AND THEN THAT WOULD COME BACK TO PARKS BOARD LATER BEFORE A RECOMMENDATION AND THEN IT WOULD GO TO COUNCIL.
[01:25:04]
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? BOARD MEMBERS? THIS IS BOARD MEMBER BZA.I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S A QUESTION OR MORE OF A STATEMENT.
I GUESS MAYBE IT'S A QUESTION FOR BOARD MEMBER REED.
I GUESS I'M NOT SURE WHY WE'RE, UM, PUTTING UP A RECOMMENDATION TO SEEK ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS WHEN IT SEEMS TO ME AS THAT IS WHAT'S HAPPENING, THAT WE ARE STILL ON THAT PHASE.
AND SO I DON'T, I THINK MAYBE I'M IN THE SAME, UM, THINKING OF, UM, CHAIR VIA LOGOS, AND WE MAY BE MOVING BEFORE WE NEED TO HERE.
FEELS LIKE, UM, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE ASKING ARE GOING TO BE DONE BOARD MEMBER ON IT'S TO GIVE DIRECTION TO THE ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS BASED ON COMMUNITY INPUT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? I'LL, I'LL, I'LL JUST SAY THIS, UH, AND THEN I, I'LL, UNLESS ELSE, UNLESS SOMEONE ELSE HAS SOMETHING TO SAY, I'LL, I'LL SAY THIS, BUT I DO, I, I, I WILL LIKELY VOTE IN FAVOR OF THIS RESOLUTION ONLY FOR THE FACT THAT IT SEEMS TO BE INNOCUOUS, UM, THAT IT IS MEANT TO BE PRODUCTIVE RATHER THAN DESTRUCTIVE.
UM, THAT BEING SAID, I, I DON'T THINK IT'S A COMMENTARY ON WHAT ANY FUTURE VOTE OF MINE WILL BE IF THIS EVER SHOULD COME UP.
UM, AND THEN LASTLY, I WILL SAY ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, I THINK THAT THIS, UH, RESOLUTION AND THIS PROJECT, THIS ISSUE HAS BROUGHT UP IS THE ISSUE OF, UH, URBANIZATION AND HOME AND ALL THAT STUFF, WHICH, UM, I THINK AS IT, AS IT PERTAINS TO ME AND THE KNOWLEDGE I HAVE, HAS BECOME A BUGGY MAN FOR A LOT OF THE ISSUES THAT WE DEAL WITH.
UM, YOU KNOW, AS SOMEONE, UH, WHO TRIES TO BE MORE COLLABORATIVE IN NATURE AND ALL THAT STUFF, I DON'T WANT THAT TO BE, UH, BECOME THE, THE FUTURE BOOGIEMAN AND, AND ANY RESOLUTION THAT WE END UP TAKING BECAUSE I DON'T THINK THAT THAT'S THE CASE.
AND IN FACT, I THINK THAT, UM, IT WAS VERY MUCH NEEDED FOR MANY VAR MANY VARIOUS REASONS.
SO I'LL JUST PREFACE THAT BEFORE WE TAKE A VOTE.
I DON'T KNOW IF ANYONE HAS ANYTHING ELSE TO SAY.
UM, I JUST WANNA SAY THAT I, AND I, I KNOW NO ONE'S GONNA LIKE ME FOR THIS, BUT I JUST CAN'T VOTE FOR IT BECAUSE FROM A PROCESS STANDPOINT, I THINK WATERSHED'S ACTING IN GOOD FAITH AND TRYING TO DO THE PROCESS OF ENGAGING WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT THE NEIGHBORHOOD IS HEARD.
BUT I ALSO THINK THAT WATERSHED IS DOING THAT AND TO INTERVENE AT THIS STAGE OF THE PROCESS SETS A BAD PRECEDENT FOR THE BOARD.
UM, THAT WE, AND NO, WE WON'T TAKE ANY FURTHER PUBLIC COMMENT, THOUGH.
UM, I, I JUST CAN'T, AND I'M SORRY ABOUT THAT.
UM, I WILL VERY MUCH CONSIDER IT IF IT COMES BEFORE US AGAIN AND WE FEEL THAT WATERSHED HAS NOT HEARD THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
MY, IT MAY, I MAY FEEL VERY DIFFERENTLY, BUT AT THIS POINT I REALLY DO FEEL THAT WATERSHED IS ACTING IN GOOD FAITH TO HEAR THE NEIGHBORHOOD'S FEEDBACK, PARTICULARLY BECAUSE THEY DID NOT HAVE TO PAUSE PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING.
OF COURSE IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO, BUT THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO.
AND IT REALLY SEEMS LIKE THEY'RE MAKING AN EFFORT.
SO JUST PUTTING IT OUT THERE, I THINK THE PROCESS IS REALLY IMPORTANT AND WE AS A BOARD HAVE TO BE VERY CLEAR ABOUT WHAT THE PROCESS IS FOR HOW PEOPLE BRING ISSUES BEFORE US.
I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANKS TO VICE CHAIR FLOWERS BECAUSE THAT WAS, I GUESS KIND OF MY QUESTION IS WHAT TYPE OF PRECEDENT APPROVING SOMETHING LIKE THIS RECOMMENDATION DOES? UM, ONLY BECAUSE I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING THAT'S IN A BOARD MEMBER.
READ THE, ASK THEM NOT TO CHANGE THE, LIKE, DETERMINATION OF THE PARK AS SOMEONE WHO LIKE IS ON THIS BOARD, MAINLY TO PRESERVE THIRD SPACES AND PARKS IN GENERAL.
LIKE, I, I ALSO SIDE WITH THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS ON THAT, BUT TAKING THE PRECEDENT INTO CONSIDERATION, I ALSO THINK THAT I DON'T WANNA OVERSTEP, UM, SINCE IT DOES SOUND LIKE THEY'RE READY TO LISTEN TO THE COMMUNITY'S INPUT, WHICH I APPRECIATE.
ANY OTHER FURTHER COMMENTS? SO I FELT THE RECOMMENDATION WOULD HELP AS GUIDANCE AS WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT IS WORKING TO COME UP WITH AN ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION.
IT, IT WASN'T TELLING THEM WHAT TO DO, IT'S MORE OF GIVING SOME GUIDANCE TO IT AND, UH, AND REPRESENTING THE COMMUNITY, WHICH IS WHAT I FEEL OUR DUTY IS AS PARKS BOARD MEMBERS.
UM, THIS ISN'T GOING BEFORE THE CITY COUNCIL YET, BUT GIVING A RECOMMENDATION TO THE CITY COUNCIL TO GIVE SOME DIRECTION.
UM, AND I DO HAVE A COUNCIL MEMBER THAT IS INTERESTED IN THIS AND, UH, I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL
[01:30:01]
TO CALL GREATER ATTENTION TO IT FOR THIS PARTICULAR PARK.BOARD MEMBERS, BOARD MEMBER BECKER.
I'M JUST GONNA MAKE A PROCESS POINT FOR BOARD MEMBER REID, WHICH IS WITH ONLY SIX OF US HERE.
IF WE DON'T HAVE THE UNANIMOUS VOTE, IT'S GOING TO BE DIFFICULT TO MOVE IT THROUGH.
I DO WONDER IF I'LL, I'LL PUT ON THE TABLE AS AN OPTION THE POSSIBILITY OF LIKE, UH, REVISITING THIS NEXT MONTH WITH SLIGHTLY CHANGED WORDING IN A WAY THAT IS SORT OF MORE IN SUPPORT OF THE EXISTING PROCESS.
UM, I'M NOT SURE WHAT YOU WOULD SUGGEST WITH IT WOULD BE DIFFERENT WORDING ON THIS.
UM, PRETTY FIRM ABOUT THE, THE DIRECTION IN THE RECOMMENDATION.
SO WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND, RIGHT? OKAY.
DO YOU WANNA TAKE A VOTE? YEAH.
THE QUESTION'S CALLED, ALRIGHT.
AT THIS TIME WE'RE GONNA TAKE A VOTE.
UM, AND, UH, THERE, THE QUESTION HAS BEEN CALLED AT THIS TIME WE'LL TAKE A VOTE.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION, UH, PRESENTED BY BOARD MEMBER REED, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND.
ALL THOSE OPPOSED, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND.
UM, WE'LL MOVE ON AND JUST, I GUESS I DIDN'T HAVE MY MIC ON.
WHAT I WAS TELLING BOARD MEMBER READ IS, IS THAT, UM, IF THE MOTION CHANGES, THERE'S NOTHING STOPPING IT FROM COMING UP AT A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM.
YEAH, THIS NEXT ONE'S PROBABLY GONNA BE A LITTLE BIT LONG.
SO, UM, WE'RE GONNA TAKE A BREAK.
IF IT IS NOW 7 37 WITHOUT ANY OPPOSITION, WE WILL TAKE A BREAK AND WE'LL COME BACK IN ABOUT, UH, 10 MINUTES.
[4. Presentation, discussion and approve a recommendation to Austin City Council to approve the negotiation and execution of a Parkland Improvement Agreement with Hill Country Conservancy for the Violet Crown Mile Zero Trailhead project that includes a maximum amount of funding of $900,000 the Parks and Recreation Department will allocate to Hill Country Conservancy for a portion of the cost to construct the project. (Sponsors: Villalobos, Flowers). (PARD Long Range Strategies: Relief from Urban Life, Urban Public Spaces.) Presenter(s): Christine Chute Canul, Program Manager II, Parks and Recreation Department and George Cofer, Violet Crown Trail Project Manager, Hill Country Conservancy. ]
GONNA GO TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER FOUR.IS THERE ANY SPEAKERS? MR. BECK? YES.
AND YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES WHEN YOU BEGIN SPEAKING.
UM, I, I HAVE A CONCERN FROM A CITIZEN ABOUT, UH, $900,000 GOING FROM A CITY FUND TO A CONSERVANCY.
UM, I AM COMING TO YOU TO ASK YOU TO PLEASE RECOMMEND A SIX MONTH PAUSE ON LARGE FINANCIAL OUTLAYS FROM CITY COFFERS TO NONPROFITS.
THERE WAS ONE LATE LAST YEAR, 800 AND SOME THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR, UM, THE HOLLY STREET AREA.
AND THESE ARE, THESE ARE HUGE AMOUNTS OF MONEY.
AND MY REASON FOR ASKING YOU TO PAUSE IS THAT WE NEED TIME.
THE CITY AUDITOR NEEDS TIME TO LOOK AT THESE FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS CLOSER.
UH, IT SEEMS LIKE AN AWFUL LOT OF MONEY FOR BATHROOMS ON A, ON A TRAIL JUST LIKE THAT.
800 SOME THOUSAND DOLLARS, UH, OUTLAY FOR A FISHING OUTCROPPING SEEMED INFLATED.
UM, I WORRY THAT THIS MONEY WILL FUND ANOTHER ARTIE VANITY SINGLE TOILET, LIKE THE TRAIL FOUNDATION PUT AROUND LADY BIRD LAKE.
THAT WILL MOSTLY BE SHUTTERED DUE TO VANDALISM.
IF IT'S TOILETS THAT ARE NEEDED ON THE TRAIL, CAN THE CITY BUILD THEM INSTEAD WITH COMPETITIVE BIDS AND CITY PROJECT MANAGERS? CAN THAT BE DONE? IS THAT A LOWER COST ALTERNATIVE? UM, I'M COMPELLED TO REMIND YOU, THERE ARE LOTS OF OLDER PARKS IN AUSTIN THAT HAVE NO PLUMBING AT ALL.
IN MY AREA, MAYFIELD PARK, THERE'S TODDLERS OLD PEOPLE, LOTS OF QUINCEANERA PHOTOGRAPHS BEING TAKEN THERE ALL WEEK AFTER WEEK.
AND THERE'S TWO PORTABLE POTTIES.
[01:35:01]
PEOPLE IN WEDDING GOWNS WITH THOSE PORTA-POTTIES.UH, I DON'T KNOW IF A NEW TRAIL NEEDS BATHROOMS MORE THAN AN OLD PARK.
THAT'S A, THAT'S SOMETHING YOU GUYS CAN BE CURIOUS ABOUT.
UM, THE SECOND PART I WANTED TO BRING YOUR ATTENTION TO IS MOUNT BONNE.
NOT EVEN PORTA-POTTIES, NO DISABLED ACCESS THERE.
THE FAMILIES GO CLAMBERING UP THE STAIRS AND THE PEOPLE WITH THE STROLLERS AND THE CANES JUST HAVE TO STAND IN THE PARKING LOT.
SO THERE'S A NEED FOR JUST BASIC TOILETS AND LIGHTING AND ACCESS ALL OVER AUSTIN PARKS.
SO I THINK IT JUST WOULD BE WISE TO SLOW DOWN THESE RUSH, UH, OUTLAYS OF MONEY, HUGE AMOUNTS OF MONEY WHEN WE ARE SO FRUGAL, UH, WITH ALL THE OTHER PARKS.
ANY OTHER SPEAKERS ON THIS MOTION? I MEAN ON THIS, UH, AGENDA ITEM? ALRIGHT, UH, WE'LL NOT HEAR THE PRESENTATION.
HI, I AM CHRISTINE CHU KNO AND I'M WITH THE PARKS DEPARTMENT AND I MANAGE THE COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAM.
AND I'M HERE TO, UH, PRESENT ON THE VIOLET CROWN TRAIL MILE ZERO TRAILHEAD PARKLAND IMPROVEMENT AGREEMENT WITH HILL COUNTRY CONSERVANCY.
SO HERE IN 2006, HILL COUNTRY CONSERVANCY BEGAN PLANNING A REGIONAL TRAIL SYSTEM.
ORIGINALLY CALLED THE WALK FOR A DAY TRAIL WITH THE AIM OF CREATING THE FIRST REGIONAL TRAIL SYSTEM IN CENTRAL TEXAS.
THE GOAL OF THE PROJECT WAS, IS TO PROVIDE A UNIQUE RECREATIONAL EXPERIENCE THROUGH THE WILDLANDS.
GREEN BELTS, PARKLAND, PUBLIC RIGHTS OF WAYS AND WATER QUALITY LANDS ALONG THIS ROUTE.
THE TRAIL WILL CONNECT SCENIC NATURAL AREAS TO NEIGHBORHOODS, SHOPPING CENTERS, A LIBRARY, AND THE LADY BIRD JOHNSON WILDFLOWER CENTER.
ONCE COMPLETE, THE 30 MILE TRAIL WILL BE THE LONGEST TRAIL OF ITS KIND IN CENTRAL TEXAS.
UM, THE, THIS PICTURE HERE IS THE LOCATION.
SO THE PICTURE ON THE BOTTOM IS THE EXISTING CONDITIONS OF THE SITE.
AND THEN THE SECOND, THE LARGER PHOTO THERE IS SHOWING THE LOCATION OF THIS, UH, IMPROVEMENT.
THIS NEXT SLIDE IS, UH, REALLY SHOWING WHERE THE IMPROVEMENTS WILL TAKE PLACE.
SO YOU'RE SEEING, UH, A, B, C, AND D ON THIS MAP.
THE IMPROVEMENTS, UM, AT THE SITE INCLUDE A GATHERING AREA, A MEADOW PAVILION OBSERVATION DECK AND OVERLOOK, STABILIZED DECOMPOSED GRANITE TRAIL MEADOW ENHANCEMENTS IN A WALKING TRAIL, BIKE RACKS EDUCATIONAL SIGNAGE, AND AN IMPROVED CROSSWALK AND A DA ACCESS THE ENVIRONMENT, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS INCLUDED IN THE PROJECT, OR REDUCTION IN IMPERVIOUS COVER ON WILLIAM BARTON DRIVE, INCREASED IN MEADOW BIODIVERSITY, RIP ZONE IMPROVEMENTS, WATER QUALITY, RAIN GARDEN, AND INFILTRATION IMPROVEMENTS AND PROTECTION OF HERITAGE PECAN TREE AT THE SITE.
THIS IS A BREAKDOWN OF THE PROJECT COST ESTIMATE.
UM, YOU'LL SEE HERE THE TOTAL AT THE BOTTOM, WHICH IS 2.316 MILLION.
UM, THAT INCLUDES THE CONSTRUCTION COSTS, THE MATERIALS COSTS, THE ESTIMATED PROJECT COSTS, THE CONTINGENCY PERMITTING DESIGN, PROJECT MANAGEMENT COSTS, AND INCLUDES THE IN-KIND DESIGN AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT FROM THE CONSERVANCY.
THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT FOR THE PROJECT BEGAN IN LATE 2018 AND WAS COMPLETED IN 2019.
THE SITE PLAN WAS APPROVED IN 2022.
UM, WE'RE HERE TODAY AT THE PARKS, UH, AND RECREATION BOARD, UM, PROPOSING TO GO TO COUNCIL IN JULY AND THEN EXECUTE THE PARKLAND IMPROVEMENT AGREEMENT.
THE CONSTRUCTION, UM, WOULD THEN BEGIN POTENTIALLY LATE 2024, EARLY 2025.
THE PROJECT WOULD HAVE TO GO OUT TO BID.
AND SO IT WOULD BE DEPENDENT ON THAT WHOLE PROCESS.
SO TODAY WE'RE HERE TO ASK, UH, THE PARKS AND REC, PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD TO MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL TO APPROVE THE NEGOTIATION EXECUTION OF A PARKLAND
[01:40:01]
IMPROVEMENT AGREEMENT WITH HILL COUNTRY CONSERVANCY FOR THE VIOLET GROUND CROWN TRAIL MILE ZERO TRAILHEAD PROJECT.THE AGREEMENT INCLUDES A MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF PARKLAND DEDICATION FUNDING OF $900,000 FOR THE CONSTRUCTION.
THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT WILL ALLOCATE TO HILL COUNTRY CONSERVANCY FOR A PORTION OF THE COST OF CONSTRUCTION THE PROJECT.
DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? BOARD MEMBERS, BOARD MEMBER REED? YEAH.
UM, SO THIS IS PARKLAND DEDICATION FUNDS THE $900,000.
UM, AND, AND YOU'RE SAYING UP TO $900,000 OR IT WILL IT PROBABLY BE THE COMPLETE $900,000? IT, IT, THE AGREEMENT WOULD ALLOW UP TO $900,000.
UM, BECAUSE IT'S PARKLAND DEDICATION FUNDS, DOES THAT MEAN THAT THAT CAME FROM DEDICATION FROM A NEARBY DEVELOPMENT PROJECT? CAN YOU TELL US WHICH ONE THAT WAS? YOU CAN GO TO THEM.
THERE IS A MAPPING THAT YOU CAN SEE WHERE THE FEES ARE COMING FROM.
THEY'RE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE ON THE PARKS WEBSITE, BUT IT WASN'T, WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ONE PROJECT, BUT, UH, SEVERAL PROJECTS AROUND THAT AREA.
AND, BUT WE CAN COME BACK TO YOU WITH THAT INFORMATION.
SO THE, UM, ACCORDING TO PARKLAND DEDICATION FUNDING, UM, THE CITY OF AUSTIN EXPENSE FEES WITHIN TWO MILES OF A DEVELOPMENT TO ENSURE THE FEES BENEFIT THOSE RESIDENTS.
SO THESE, THIS IS PARKLAND DEDICATION FEES FROM WITHIN THAT CAME FROM DEVELOPMENTS WITHIN TWO MILES OF THE ENTRANCE TO THE VIOLET CROWN TRAIL.
IS THAT CORRECT? I BELIEVE SO.
I'LL HAVE TO GIVE THAT BACK TO YOU.
UM, DOES THE COST ESTIMATE IN ANY WAY INCLUDE MAINTENANCE OF THIS AREA? UH, NOT FOR THE PARKLAND IMPROVEMENT AGREEMENT, BUT THERE IS MAINTENANCE.
UH, WE DO HAVE A AGREEMENT WITH THE, UH, CONSERVANCY FOR STEWARDSHIP AND MAINTENANCE OF THE PROJECT.
UH, THAT IS JUST FOR THE VIOLET CROWN TRAIL IN GENERAL.
IT'S NOT JUST FOR THIS SITE, BUT IT DOES INCLUDE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.
SO FOR ADDED MAINTENANCE AND STEWARDSHIP OF THE PARTNER FOR THE IMPROVEMENTS OF THE SITE.
AND WOULD THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT BE ADDING ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR THAT, OR IS THAT GOING TO BE UNDER THE HILL COUNTRY CONSERVANCY? SO THE MAINTENANCE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES ARE SPELLED OUT.
THIS, THIS CITY WILL CONTINUE TO DO TRASH, UM, AS WELL AS THE, ANY OF THE STANDARD AMENITIES THAT ARE THERE MAINTAINING THEM.
SO BENCHES, THE BIKE RACKS, UM, MOWING.
UM, AND THEN THE OTHER ADDED ENHANCEMENTS OF THE, THE, UH, DIFFERENT, THE MEADOW AND THE PLANTINGS AND THE RAIN GARDEN WILL BE MAINTAINED BY THE CONSERVANCY.
SO THE BASIC MAINTENANCE IS GOING TO BE DONE BY PART AND OF COURSE PAID FOR BY PART.
THESE ARE EXISTING MAINTENANCE AT THE SITE.
IT, IT JUST, IT, AS THE CITIZENS WERE SAYING, THAT'S A VERY HIGH FIGURE.
UM, PARKLAND INDICATION IS VERY SCARCE RIGHT NOW BECAUSE WE HAD THE ORDINANCE REMOVED BASICALLY.
WELL, UM, AND CANNOT COLLECT PARKLAND DEDICATION ANYMORE.
SO IT SEEMS LIKE A HIGH FIGURE.
IS THERE ANY WAY THAT YOU COULD FURTHER BREAK DOWN THE CONSTRUCTION COSTS AND HOW IT ENDED UP BEING $2,316,553? THIS SEEMS LIKE A REALLY, REALLY HIGH COST.
AND HAS THE DESIGN BEEN APPROVED ALREADY? UM, YES.
AND WE CAN GIVE AN ITEM MORE ITEMIZED OF THE COST.
SUPPLIES HAVE THE CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, UM, WENT UP CONSIDERABLY IN THE LAST TWO YEARS.
SO THAT WAS A LOT OF THE COST IS THOSE MATERIALS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION.
SO EVEN LIMESTONE, DECOMPOSED GRANITE.
BUT YES, WE CAN GIVE, UM, PROVIDE MORE ITEMIZED.
I DON'T HAVE IT ON ME, BUT WE CAN.
I MAY HAVE A COUPLE MORE QUESTIONS.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? BOARD MEMBERS, ANYONE ON WEBEX? UM, I HAVE ONE QUESTION.
IS THIS HAS TO GO TO, IF I READ, IF I SAW THAT CORRECTLY AND HEARD THIS HAS TO GO TO CITY COUNCIL BY JULY THE 18TH, THAT'S WHEN THEY'RE TAKING UP A VOTE? THAT'S THE PROPOSED, YES.
SO I'M JUST CURIOUS, UM, WHEN YOU, WHEN WHEN, UM, THE HILL COUNTRY CONSERVANCY IS GONNA BID OUT FOR CONTRACTING,
[01:45:01]
UM, WHAT SORT OF RULES DO THEY HAVE TO FOLLOW FOR THAT? UM, WHEN CITY FUNDS ARE, UH, INTEGRATED INTO A PARTNER PROJECT, THEY FOLLOW THESE SAME PROCUREMENT PROCESSES, THE CITIES.SO, UM, WE HAVE A PROJECT MANAGER THAT IS ASSIGNED TO ALL OF OUR PROJECTS THAT ARE ON PARKLAND.
AND SO, UH, THE PROJECT MANAGER AND THE CONSERVANCY WILL WORK TOGETHER TO BID THOSE OUT.
IT WILL GO THROUGH THE CITY PROCUREMENT PROCESS.
SO THAT'S DONE BY PARD IN YES.
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE PARTNER THAT'LL GO THROUGH THAT PROCESS? YES.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? BOARD MEMBER? ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ALRIGHT, UH, BOARD MEMBERS, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? OKAY, AT THIS TIME I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO POSTPONE THIS ITEM TO THE JUNE, IRREGULAR JUNE MEETING OF 20, UH, 2024.
IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? SO I'M CONFUSED.
YOU'RE ASKING TO, YOU POSTPONE IT TO THE JUNE, 2024 MEETING.
I FORGOT WHAT DATE IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE, BUT THE REGULAR JUNE, 2024 MEETING.
AND THIS IS FOR MORE INFORMATION? YEAH.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND.
UM, WE'RE NOW GONNA MOVE ON TO
[5. Discussion and create a Public Access to City-Owned Baseball Fields Working Group. (Sponsors: Becker, Bazan).]
AGENDA ITEM FIVE.ANY SPEAKERS ON AGENDA? ITEM NUMBER FIVE? YES CHAIR.
THE FIRST SPEAKER, UH, ITEM FIVE WILL BE JOELLE MANZO, FOLLOWED BY C NER.
EACH SPEAKER WILL HAVE THREE MINUTES TO ADDRESS THE BOARD BEGINNING WHEN THEY START SPEAKING.
MY NAME IS JOEL MONSO, UH, DISTRICT SEVEN, BORN AND RAISED IN AUSTIN, TEXAS.
I WANT TO FIRST THANK, UH, THE BOARD FOR LETTING US SPEAK AND, UM, PARK STAFF LIKE LUCAS MASSEY AND CRYSTAL MCCARTHY FOR HEARING US OUT ON OUR CONCERNS OF THE LACK OF ACCESSIBILITY TO BASEBALL FIELDS.
UM, OUR SOLE PURPOSE HERE IS FOR POSITIVE MENTAL HEALTH.
I WOULDN'T SAY PHYSICAL HEALTH 'CAUSE I'M OVER HERE LIMPING AROUND FROM A BASEBALL INJURY.
BUT, UM, THAT'S, THAT'S HOW IT GOES WHEN YOU'RE ACTIVE.
I ROLL MY ANKLE ON THE HIKING BIKE TRAIL.
I FALL OFF MY BIKE AND HIKING BIKE TRAIL.
PRETTY SURE SWIMMERS COLLIDE WITH EACH OTHER AT BARTON SPRINGS POOL.
BUT OUR SOLE PURPOSES FOR MENTAL HEALTH, UM, GATHERING A, A POSITIVE COMMUNITY TO PLAY BASEBALL AMERICA'S GREATEST PASTIME.
UM, A FEW OF THE CHALLENGES ARE, ARE CITY ORDINANCE 2 0 1 0 0 2 0 4 DASH 0 3 9, WHICH ONLY ALLOWS YSO CONTRACTED OUT FACILITIES TO BE ONLY BE RENTED OUT TO YSO.
AND THAT INCLUDES HIGH SCHOOL VARSITY.
UM, THERE ARE 18 AND 19-YEAR-OLD YOUNG MEN PLAYING.
UM, 1819 IS PROBABLY THE PEAK OF MOST PEOPLE'S ATHLETICISM.
SO I DON'T THINK WE CAUSE ANY MORE HARM OR DANGER THAN THESE YOUNG INDIVIDUALS, WHICH WE PLAY TO RESPECT OF THE ISSOS.
UM, THIS HAS BEEN A STRESSFUL AND UPHILL BATTLE.
WE JUST GOT DENIED ACCESS TO GARRISON PARK, WHICH IS UNDERUTILIZED.
UM, THERE'S LACK OF MAINTENANCE, LACK OF ACCESSIBILITY, AND, UH, LACK OF UPKEEP, WHICH ADULTS WITH A LITTLE BIT OF MONEY IN OUR POCKETS CAN HELP ENHANCE THAT FACILITY, NOT ONLY FOR THE YOUTH, UH, THE COMMUNITY AND THE REST OF CITY OF AUSTIN THAT WANTS TO, UH, PLAY BASEBALL.
UM, WE ARE ONE OF THE MOST DIVERSE GROUPS IN AUSTIN WITH, UM, MEN, WOMEN, AND QUEER TEAMS. AND, UM, WE HOPE TO, WE HOPE THAT Y'ALL MOVE FORWARD ON THIS WORK GROUP AND, UH, GATHER A DIVERSE GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS TO HELP ENHANCE OUR, UH, BASEBALL EXPERIENCE.
WE HAVE TWO MAJOR EVENTS COMING ON, GOING ON, UM, THIS SUNDAY AT THE LONG TIME, LONG TIME AUSTIN, WHERE THE TEXAS PLAYBOYS PLAY AT.
THERE'S BASEBALL GAMES AT 11 AND AT THREE O'CLOCK.
AND THEN THIS IS GONNA BE OUR SECOND ANNUAL SANDLOT ESRA EXTRAVAGANZA AT DOWNS FIELD, WHICH IS A HISTORIC NEGRO LEAGUE FIELD.
UM, I WISH THE GENTLEMAN FROM GEORGE WASHINGTON CAR, I MEAN THE CARVER MUSEUM WAS HERE SO WE COULD POSSIBLY TEAM UP DURING JUNETEENTH,
[01:50:01]
UM, WHICH PREVIOUSLY WAS ONE OF THE FEW DAYS THAT DOWNS FIELD WAS ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC.UM, SO I HOPE Y'ALL MOVE FORWARD WITH OUR WORK GROUP.
AND I'M ALSO FOR ENHANCING THE VIOLET CROWN TRAIL.
I WAS A, UH, UM, PARK STAFF AT ZUCKER PARK FOR FOUR YEARS, AND THAT AREA IS, NEEDS MAJOR ENHANCEMENT FROM OUR KIOSKS FALLING DOWN FOR A LACK OF, UM, OF, OF SIGNAGE.
AND, UM, CAN'T THANK Y'ALL ENOUGH.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER WILL BE C NER, FOLLOWED BY BEN SOTHEBY.
UH, JUST TO ECHO WHAT, UH, JOELLE WAS SAYING, UM, HE KIND OF HITS THE NAIL ON THE HEAD.
HE KNOWS, UM, THE INS AND OUTS OF THIS OPERATION.
AND JUST TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE MORE CONTEXT ON THE COMMUNITY, WHICH I'M SURE Y'ALL ALREADY HEARD A FEW TIMES BEFORE, BUT IT'S JUST A, A GROWING COMMUNITY THAT HAS WELL OVER 20 TEAMS IN THE AUSTIN AREA.
AND, UH, LIKE IT OR NOT, WHETHER OR NOT IT'S VINYL RECORDS OR MULLETS, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S COMING BACK.
AND, UM, WE, EVERY TEAM, EVERY, UH, TIME WE CONVENE AS A, AS A GROUP IS JUST MORE PEOPLE TRYING TO GET IN.
AND AS WE TALKED ABOUT, IT FEELS LIKE THE ONLY ACCESS WE HAVE IS TO A PRIVATELY OWNED SPACE IN THE LONG TIME OUT IN WEAVERVILLE AND THE GO VALLEY PARK.
AND IF Y'ALL EVER JUST DRIVE BY GO VALLEY PARK, YOU'LL SEE A THRIVING, GROWING COMMUNITY WHERE WE HAVE THREE GAMES ON EACH SATURDAY AND SUNDAY.
AND, UH, AS JOEL WAS SAYING, UH, IT'D BE GREAT TO BE ABLE TO ACTIVATE SOME OTHER FIELD SPACE SUCH AS CAMACHO OR GUERRERO OR, UH, MAYBE BE ABLE TO GET SOME FIELD TIME AT CHEF FIELD WITHOUT WHILE WE'RE ALSO PUTTING IN OUR SWEAT EQUITY AND A LITTLE BIT OF OUR RESOURCES THAT WE CAN JUST TO IMPROVE EVERY PARK THAT WE WE TOUCH LIKE WE HAVE WITH, UH, GO VALLEY.
AND THAT'S, WE'RE JUST HOPING TO HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE, UM, UH, ACCESS TO, TO MORE SPACES AND FACILITIES.
AND WE, WE HOPE TO, HOPE TO BE ABLE TO ACHIEVE THAT GOAL IN THE, IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER WILL BE BEN EBBY.
UH, MY NAME IS BEN EBBY, LONGTIME D ONE RESIDENT, NOW A D FOUR RESIDENT.
UM, I USED TO BIKE RIGHT PAST DOWNS FIELD, UM, AND I'M THINKING ABOUT OTHER FACILITIES LIKE ROY G. GUERRERO, GARRISON, UH, NORTHWEST.
THERE'S A LOT OF FACILITIES, UH, THAT COULD SEE MORE USE AND MORE COMMUNITY BENEFITS.
UM, JUST, UH, FOR THOSE FOLLOWING ALONG AT HOME, UH, THE PLACE THAT THE, THE ORDINANCE, THE 2010 ORDINANCE THAT WE'RE REFERENCING, IF YOU GO TO CAPITAL CITY ATHLETICS.COM, THE PLACE WHERE YOU WOULD SIGN UP TO RESERVE A FIELD, IT'S UNDER THE YOUTH SPORTS SECTION.
IT'S THAT FIRST DOWNLOAD, THAT FIRST PDF.
AND IF YOU LOOK AT, AT THAT, UH, WE CAN SEE SOME UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF THE SECTION THAT JOEL MENTIONED, UM, WHERE AUTHORIZED APPLICANT IS LIMITED TO ONLY BE A YSO.
SO THAT IS EVEN PUTTING LIMITATIONS ON YSO.
UH, I CAN SEE A, A SCENARIO HAPPENING WHERE IT'S LIMITING THE ABILITY OF THESE YOUTH SPORTS ORGANIZATIONS TO, UH, MAYBE INVITE A TEAM OF, YOU KNOW, OLDER PLAYERS OR WHATEVER, UH, WHO WOULD BE ABLE TO HELP WITH MAINTENANCE AND SEE GREATER USE OF THIS, UH, PUBLICLY HELD GOOD, RIGHT? THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE COLLECTIVELY OWNED AND AND PAY FOR.
UM, AND, UH, WE CAN ACTUALLY SEE A BENEFIT TO THOSE YOUTH SPORTS ORGANIZATIONS BY HAVING THEIR FIELDS BE BETTER MAINTAINED BECAUSE THEY'RE SEEING MORE USE FROM THE PUBLIC.
UM, AND THEN ALSO GIVING THEM THE FLEXIBILITY THAT IF THEY DO WANT TO, UH, TRADE OR HAVE A SCHEDULING THING, THEY'RE NOT LIMITED TO ONLY SCHEDULING AGAINST OTHER YSO.
SO IT'S ACTUALLY SOMETHING THAT WOULD BENEFIT, UH, THOSE YOUTH SPORTS ORGANIZATIONS.
AND I SEE ANOTHER COMMUNITY BENEFIT THAT MAYBE SOME PEOPLE HAVEN'T THOUGHT ABOUT.
UH, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU KNOW THIS, BUT, UH, UH, THERE'S A GROWING LATINO COMMUNITY IN AUSTIN THAT'S NOT MEXICAN AMERICAN LIKE ME, UH, THAT ARE FROM THE CARIBBEAN, RIGHT? MY BARBERSHOP ARE ALL CUBAN GUYS.
THERE'S, UH, A COMMUNITY THAT I KNOW OF, A BUNCH OF, UH, FOLKS FROM DOMINICAN REPUBLIC.
UH, AND, UH, MY NEPHEW WHO I HELP COACH ON, I'M A SOCCER GUY, UH, ON SOCCER.
UH, HE'S HALF CUBAN AND HE'S SAYING, THEO, I WANNA PLAY T-BALL.
UH, THERE ARE COMMUNITIES WHO ARE LOOKING FOR MORE, UH, USE OF SOFTBALL, BASEBALL FIELDS.
MY WIFE IS A SOFTBALL PLAYER, PLAYS ON PUBLICLY OWNED GOOD.
SO I JUST REALLY WANT TO THANK THE, UH, ESPECIALLY THE BOARD MEMBERS, BECKER AND BASAN FOR, UH, BRINGING THIS ITEM.
I'D LOVE TO SEE THIS TYPE OF COLLABORATIVE CONVERSATION.
UM, PLEASE, PLEASE HAVE THIS WORKING GROUP, START EXPLORING THE OPTIONS THAT ARE THERE.
OUR LAST SPEAKER WILL BE BERTHA RENDON DELGADO.
UM, SO IT'S REALLY GOOD TO BE BACK HERE TO ADDRESS THIS BOARD, THIS
[01:55:01]
DAIS.UH, THANK Y'ALL FOR YOUR HARD WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING.
UH, BUT WE DO HAVE MAJOR CONCERNS.
UH, THE PUBLIC HAS, UH, BEEN BRINGING THIS UP TO THE PARKS DEPARTMENT, HOW OUR BASEBALL FIELDS ARE NOT JUST UNDERUTILIZED, UH, FOR THE YOUTH AND THE MEXICAN POPULATION, ESPECIALLY THE EAST AUSTIN FIELDS.
SO I WANNA SPECIFICALLY TALK ABOUT, UH, THE VELAZQUEZ PLAZA, UH, UH, COMPLEX, WHICH IS IN THE EDWARD WIND DO AND HOLLY HORS MASTER PLAN.
SO THOSE FIELDS, UM, HAVE BEEN CONTRACTED OUT TO A NONPROFIT.
AND AS THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF CHANGES AND GENTRIFICATION IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD, I AM A AUSTIN EAST AUSTIN KNIGHT.
45 YEARS IN THAT RIO, UH, WE HAVE SEEN THE AREA BE, UM, YOU KNOW, DEGRADED IN SO MANY WAYS.
UH, IF YOU LOOK AT THAT AREA, WHICH WE'VE DONE A WALKTHROUGH TWO YEARS AGO, PARKS DEPARTMENT, UH, I'M NOT SURE, WELL, KIMBERLY, OUR FORMER DIRECTOR, WHICH IS NO LONGER HERE, WHICH ABANDONED OUR LEADERSHIP HERE IN THE PARKS DEPARTMENT.
THOSE BASEBALL FIELDS ARE AT RISK.
UM, IF YOU ALL DON'T WANNA SEE THAT, IF YOU WALK DOWN THERE, THEY DON'T HAVE SCOREBOARDS.
THE BENCHES, UM, ARE ALL BROKEN.
THEY HAVE BEEN A BIG SAFETY CONCERN.
UH, THE DUGOUT GATES ARE, ARE OVER 30 YEARS OLD.
UH, THEY KEEP BRINGING THE NONPROFIT, UH, WHICH IS GREATER EAST AUSTIN YOUTH LEAGUE, UH, TO BE THE ONES TO MAINTENANCE THAT AREA AND BRING IT UP TO PAR, WHICH THAT IS NOT THAT RE THEIR RESPONSIBILITY.
THE PARKS DEPARTMENT SHOULD ALLOCATE FUNDING, WHICH THE COMMUNITY HAS ASKED OVER AND OVER TO FUND THE EAST AUSTIN BASEBALL FIELDS, PANAM, VALLA, GO VALLEY, SARATA VELASQUEZ, AND THE PARKS DEPARTMENT STILL HASN'T DONE THAT.
SO I'M REALLY GLAD TO SEE A BOARD MEMBER, BISON AND BOARD MEMBER BECKER BRING A GROUP TOGETHER BECAUSE WE HAVE IMMIGRANTS.
UH, WE HAVE MULTI UH, GENERATION, WE HAVE MEXICAN AMERICAN, MEXICANS, UH, WE HAVE ALL TYPES OF PEOPLE OF COLOR THAT ARE NOT UTILIZING THESE FIELDS.
IF ANYTHING, THEY'VE BEEN CONTRACTED TO WHITE PROFESSIONAL ATH ATHLETICS.
I DRIVE BY MY NEIGHBORHOOD AND I SEE WHITE PEOPLE PLAYING IN THOSE FIELDS.
I DON'T SEE MY MEXICAN NEIGHBORS OR THE COMMUNITY THAT'S BEEN DISPLACED, AND I DON'T SEE OUR YOUTH AND OUR CHILDREN ALSO UTILIZING THE FIELDS.
I AM A SOFTBALL PLAYER FROM PAN AM.
I WENT TO, UH, A YOUTH PROGRAM THERE IN THE 1990S WHERE WE WOULD USE THAT AS AN ACTIVITY AND AN EXERCISE, UH, IN OUR COMMUNITY.
OUR CHILDREN, MY CHILDREN, MY GRANDCHILDREN, PLAY ON THOSE.
I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT ALL BASEBALL FIELDS IN THE EASTERN CRESCENT ARE BEING USED BY BROWN PEOPLE.
AND I HOPE THAT THIS BOARD AND THIS DAIS DOES THAT JOB TO HOLD THOSE PEOPLE ACCOUNTABLE, WHICH ARE THE, THE CONTRACTORS.
I JUST LEARNED A LOT FROM THESE GENTLEMEN THAT JUST SPOKE BECAUSE IT'S A VERY VITAL ISSUE IN THE PUBLIC AND IT NEEDS TO BE BROUGHT UP AND IT NEEDS TO BE, UM, DEALT WITH.
AND WE NEED TO FIND OUT SOME, SOME SOLUTIONS FOR THIS.
WE'RE NOW IN DISCUSSION FOR, UH, AGENDA ITEM FIVE, BOARD MEMBER BECKER, BOARD MEMBER BAAN.
I'D JUST LIKE TO SPEAK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE REQUEST TO, UM, TO PUT THIS WORKING GROUP TOGETHER.
UM, REALLY WHAT I WANNA DO IS THANK ALL OF THE CITIZENS AND RESIDENTS WHO HAVE COME FORWARD, NOT JUST AT THIS MEETING, BUT AT MANY OF OUR MEETINGS OVER THE PAST SIX OR SO MONTHS TO PRESENT THIS ISSUE TO US.
I THINK IT'S A, HONESTLY A FANTASTIC EXAMPLE OF, UM, SORT OF PASSIONATE CITIZEN COMMITMENT TO AN ISSUE AND REALLY FIGURING OUT HOW TO RAISE RA RAISE AWARENESS ON THIS BOARD.
AND IN GENERAL, UM, UH, SINCE THAT'S HAPPENED, I HAD, I'VE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK INDIVIDUALLY WITH MANY OF THE FOLKS WHO ARE HERE PRESENTING TONIGHT AS WELL AS OTHERS.
I'VE ALSO HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH OTHER STAKEHOLDERS INSIDE THE CITY, OUTSIDE THE CITY ABOUT THIS ISSUE.
AND, UM, AS WITH SO MANY THINGS CITY RELATED, THE MORE YOU DIG INTO IT, THE MORE COMPLEX YOU REALIZE IT IS.
THEIR ISSUES OF ACCESS, THERE ARE ISSUES OF MAINTENANCE, THERE ARE ISSUES OF EQUITY AS WE JUST HEARD.
UM, UH, THERE ARE ISSUES OF TRANSPARENCY.
THERE'S ALL SORTS OF SORT OF THE, THE, UH, RANGE OF ISSUES.
BUT I, I, WHAT, WHAT I CAME TO SEE IN HAVING ALL OF THESE CONVERSATIONS, UM, ALONG WITH BOARD MEMBER BAAN, IS THAT THERE ARE, UM, THERE, THERE IS DEFINITELY A PATH THROUGH THIS.
I THINK IT'S GONNA TAKE SOME TIME AND A LITTLE BIT OF WORK AND, UM, AND WE DEFINITELY HAVE TO GET A NUMBER OF VOICES INVOLVED TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT THE PATH THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS ONE THAT IS GOING TO BE EFFECTIVE AND COLLABORATIVE AND SOMETHING THAT IS SUPPORTED BOTH BY THE COMMUNITY OR COMMUNITIES THAT NEED TO USE THESE FIELDS OR WISH TO USE THESE FIELDS, UM, UH,
[02:00:01]
AS WELL AS THE CITY THAT HAS TO SORT OF SUPPORT AND MAINTAIN THEM.BUT I DO THINK THAT THAT PATH EXISTS, UM, AND I'M HOPEFUL THAT THIS WORKING GROUP IS GOING TO BE ABLE TO FIND IT.
ANY OTHER BOARD MEMBER? THANK YOU.
I JUST HAVE A LITTLE BIT TO ADD.
I'VE HAD BASEBALL IN MY MIND FOR A WHILE.
I, WHEN I DID, UM, UM, A WALK IN D FIVE AND UH, SAW THE FIELDS AT GARRISON, HAD LOTS OF CONVERSATIONS AROUND MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION AT THAT POINT.
AND SO, UM, AND THEN AS YOU SAID, IT WAS THROUGH THE PROCESS OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS COMING, YOU KNOW, MONTH AFTER MONTH TO SHARE THEIR STORIES WITH US.
AND I REALLY APPRECIATED THAT.
UM, AND I'M THANKFUL FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY, HOPEFULLY TO PUT TOGETHER THIS WORKING GROUP, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DO FOLLOW A GOOD PROCESS, UM, AND BRING FORTH SOMETHING THAT WE CAN ALL BE PROUD OF AND REALLY RALLY BEHIND.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS? BOARD MEMBERS? NO.
I'LL JUST SAY THIS AND THAT, AND THAT'S THAT I'M REALLY HAPPY THAT WE'RE VOTING ON THIS AGENDA ITEM.
AND I THINK ONE OF THE BENEFITS OF TO MAKING THIS A WORKING GROUP IS THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY ABLE TO THEN INVITE MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY WHO HAVE BEEN VERY INVESTED IN THIS ISSUE TO BE A PART OF THIS PROCESS AND TAKE A VERY PROACTIVE AND ACTIVE ROLE IN WHAT IT IS THAT EVENTUALLY GETS RECOMMENDED TO CITY COUNCIL, UH, THROUGH THE PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD.
SO I HOPE THAT, UM, IF LANE IF BOARD MEMBER BECKER REACHES OUT, THAT Y'ALL WILL BE WILLING TO SERVE IN WHATEVER SMALL OR BIG CAPACITY, UH, THERE IS AND THAT YOU'RE ABLE TO GIVE.
UM, SO FOR THAT, I'M VERY, I'M VERY THANKFUL FOR THAT.
UM, SO I REALLY DO APPRECIATE THIS AGENDA THAT HAS BEEN BROUGHT UP BY BOARD MEMBER ZA AND BOARD MEMBER BECKER.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, I'VE TOUCHED UPON AND I'VE TALKED TO MANY OF YOU ABOUT IS, IS THAT IN GENERAL, JUST THE LACK OF ACCESS OF RECREATION SPACES.
WE DO HAVE THE AND RECREATION PART TO THE BOARD PARKING BOARD, RIGHT, THAT WE OFTEN FORGET ABOUT.
UM, YOU KNOW, RECREATION SPACES IS, IS, IS DEFINITELY NEEDED.
WHETHER IT'S FOR BASKETBALL, SOCCER, BASEBALL, SOFTBALL, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN NAME THE SPORT, WHATEVER.
WE NEED THOSE RECREATION FACILITIES IN ORDER TO BE A THRIVING, HEALTHY COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE THESE ARE ONE OF THE VERY FEW PLACES THAT MINORITY COMMUNITIES HAVE ACCESS TO IN ORDER TO PLAY THESE SPORTS.
WE, MOST MINORITY COMMUNITIES CAN'T AFFORD TO ACCESS THESE SPACES AT FANCY AIR CONDITIONED, PRIVATELY MAINTAINED LUSH FACILITIES.
SO IF WE DON'T INVEST IN THESE FACILITIES AS A CITY, IN ORDER TO HAVE THEM FREE AND OPEN TO ALL, WE'RE NOT GONNA BE SERVING ALL OF OUR COMMUNITY.
SO I'M VERY HAPPY FOR YOUR ADVOCACY THESE PAST FEW MONTHS, AND I'M VERY HAPPY THAT BOARD MEMBER BAZAN AND BOARD MEMBER BECKER HAVE DECIDED TO BRING THIS ISSUE TO THE FOREFRONT.
SO, UM, IF I MAY MAKE ONE MORE COMMENT, UM, AS I THINK I'VE REGISTERED WITH THIS BOARD IN THE PAST ONE, UH, ONE OF THE FAILINGS OF WORKING GROUPS IS THAT THEY, UM, AREN'T PARTICULARLY PUBLIC.
UH, THERE'S NO VIDEO REPRESENTATION, THERE'S NO REQUIREMENT OF MINUTES.
I JUST WANTED TO MAKE A PUBLIC COMMITMENT THAT WE'LL BE TAKING EXTENSIVE MINUTES DURING OUR WORKING GROUP MEETINGS AND THAT WE'LL BE POSTING THEM, UH, AT THE, UH, AS BACKUP IN THE NEXT MEETING, WHENEVER THAT FOLLOWS.
JUST WANTED TO MAKE THAT COMMITMENT PUBLICLY SO I DIDN'T FORGET.
SO EVERYONE CAN HOLD ME TO IT.
UH, IS ANYONE WANTING TO MAKE A MOTION? WAIT, ONE, THIS, THIS IS AN ACTION.
IT IS PRESENTATION AND ACTION.
WAIT, IT SAYS DISCUSSION AND CREATE.
NOT TO BE THAT PERSON, BUT NO, WE CAN, WE DO IT AS LONG AS THIS HAS TO BE LISTED.
YEAH, WE HAVE TO VOTE TO AGREE.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION MAKING SURE.
UM, I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO CREATE A PUBLIC ACCESS TO CITY OWNED BASEBALL FIELDS WORKING GROUP.
ALRIGHT, IS THERE A SECOND? I'D LIKE TO SECOND THAT.
THERE'S A, THERE'S A SECOND FROM BOARD MEMBER BISON.
ANY DISCUSSION ON THIS AGENDA ITEM? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND.
WE'LL NOW MOVE ON TO THE, WHO'S DOING SIX? WHO'S, OKAY.
WE'LL NOW MOVE ON TO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR BEING HERE.
WE'LL NOW MOVE ON AND THANK YOU OVER THERE TOO FOR BEING HERE.
[6. Staff briefing on Parks and Recreation Department community engagement events, planning updates, development updates, maintenance updates, program updates and administrative updates. (Sponsors: Villalobos, Flowers). (PARD Long Range Strategies: Relief from Urban Life, Urban Public Spaces, Park Access for All). Presenter(s): Parks and Recreation Department Assistant Director. ]
ITEM NUMBER SIX.BOARD MEMBER DIRECTOR MCNEELY.
UM, I AM, UH, JODY JI SERVE AS ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT.
AND, UH, JUST WANTED TO GO, I MEAN, IT'S EARLY SO WE CAN GO THROUGH THIS PRETTY QUICKLY.
UM, A COUPLE OF THINGS I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT, UM, IS SOME COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, UH, OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE COMING UP.
UH, THE ALL ABILITIES PLAYGROUND AT ONION CREEK HAS AN ONLINE SURVEY, UM, HELPING TO DESIGN, UH, THE, THE PROJECT ITSELF AND WHAT WILL BE PROVIDED WITH, UH, TO THE COMMUNITY.
UM, AND THAT, UH, THAT SURVEY WILL BE ON, UH, ONLINE UNTIL MAY 2ND.
NO, THAT'S NOT RIGHT TILL JUNE 20TH.
[02:05:01]
UM, A PROJECT NEAR AND DEAR TO MY HEART IS, UH, THE, THE BIDDINGS HAVE BEEN OPENED TO, UH, THE AQUATIC FACILITIES AT MONTOPOLIS AND, UH, BEVERLY SHEFFIELD, UH, UH, POOLS.UM, SO THE BIDDING IS OPEN FOR, UH, THOSE PROJECTS AND BOTH POOLS WILL BE, UH, OPEN FOR THE 24 SEASON.
UH, BUT, UH, UM, THE PROJECT SHOULD START IN SEPTEMBER OF 24.
UM, AND THEN THE TEEN AND LEADERSHIP TRAINING PROGRAM, THAT'S ONE THING I WANTED TO, I, UH, HIGHLIGHT AS WELL.
UM, THE, IT IS WE, WE, UH, REFER TO IT AS TILT.
UH, TEEN AND LEADERSHIP SAW 36 GRADUATES THIS YEAR.
AND, UM, IT'S FOR TEENS THE AGE OF 15 TO 18 WHERE THEY GET JOB READINESS AND LEADERSHIP TRAINING.
AND THOSE STUDENTS GO ON TO BE EMPLOYED WITH THE, UH, AUSTIN PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT FOR THE 24, UM, SUMMER SEASON.
UH, ONE SENIOR PROGRAM I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT WAS THE CINCO DE MAYO EVENT, WHICH HA AT CONLEY GUERRERO THAT HAD 120 PARTICIPANTS THIS YEAR, OR THIS, THIS YEAR.
TURNER ROBERTS, UM, UH, HAD ITS MOTHER'S SON DANCE.
UM, IF I HAD NOT JUST COME BACK FROM A HIP REPLACEMENT, I WOULD'VE GONE, UM, BECAUSE MY SON WOULD'VE, UH, AND REALLY ENJOYED THAT EVENT.
BUT THAT HAPPENED ON MAY 10TH, UH, TO CELEBRATE MOTHERS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, THERE WAS FOOD FUN AND A DJ FOR THE KIDDOS.
UM, THE 11TH ANNUAL CELEBR CELEBRATION EVENT AT THE AUSTIN OR THE ASIAN AMERICAN RESOURCE CENTER, UM, TOOK PLACE.
UH, WHEN DID IT TAKE PLACE? THERE'S NOT A DATE.
UM, BUT THERE WERE, UH, 1500 PARTICIPANTS THIS YEAR.
AND, UH, ALSO, UM, WE HAD OUR SECOND ANNUAL, UM, THERAPEUTIC RECREATION, UH, ADAPTIVE FIELD DAY ON APRIL 26TH WITH 250 PARTICIPANTS AT PARK AROSA RECREATION CENTER.
UM, PARK AROSA RECREATION CENTER IS, UM, UH, A NEW ADVENTURE FOR US WHERE WE'RE GOING TO BE HAVING, UM, PARTICIPANTS FROM, UM, ALL ABILITIES TO, UH, IN ONE LOCATION.
AND THIS WAS ONE OF THEIR NEW, UH, EVENTS THAT WE WERE PARTICIPATING AT THAT LOCATION.
UH, VIRGINIA L. BROWN RECREATION CENTER.
ON APRIL 27TH, WE HAD A FREE BIKE, UM, AND HELMET GIVEAWAY.
UM, WE, UH, WITH, UH, PARTNERS AT LITTLE, UH, HOMIES BIKE PROJECT AND THE YELLOW BIKE PROJECT WHERE 50 KIDS, UM, IN OUR AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM GOT NEW BIKES.
UM, IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO DO THE, AT THE ZILKER BOTANICAL GARDENS, THE CONSERVANCY WILL BE HOSTING THE WOODLAND BERRY TRAIL, UM, THROUGH JULY, UH, JULY 13TH.
AND, UM, UH, AND WE INVITE YOU OUT TO SEE THAT.
UM, WE HAD 140 TEENAGERS, UM, FROM EIGHT DIFFERENT RECREATION CENTERS, UM, ON MAY 8TH.
UH, HAVE, UM, 650 ART PIECES HIGHLIGHTED, UM, IN, UM, MEDIA, MINI MEDIAS, UH, PAINTING, UM, DIGITAL ARTS, FILMING SCULPTURES, AND, UH, FASHION DESIGN.
AND I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S IT.
OH, ZILKER UH, SHUTTLE IS, UM, UH, STARTING ON THE 25TH, RUNNING THROUGH SEPTEMBER 2ND, UM, ON SATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS AND HOLIDAYS FROM 12 TO EIGHT 30.
UM, WE'RE INCREASING IT FROM TWO VEHICLES TO THREE, UM, AND ADDING A PILOTED, UM, PICKUP AND DROP OFF LOCATION WITHIN THE PARK.
AND, OH, I'M GONNA DO ONE MORE THING.
[02:10:01]
READY TO WORK FOR THIS SUMMER.UM, THAT IS BEATING LAST YEAR'S RECORD NUMBER OF 333 AT THE SAME TIME.
SO KUDOS TO THE, UM, LIFEGUARD TEAM.
YEAH, IT MIGHT BE UP A LITTLE BIT MORE, BUT SINCE THEN, BUT THAT WAS AS OF APRIL 30TH.
VERY GLAD TO HEAR THE LIFEGUARD NUMBERS.
'CAUSE IT'S GONNA BE HOT SUMMER.
I JUST WANNA SAY I'VE SEEN THE SIGNAGE ABOVE THE STREETS FOR THE ZILKER SCHEDULE.
AND I APPRECIATE THE, UM, THE ADDITIONAL EFFORT THAT'S BEEN PUT INTO MAKING SURE THAT IT'S WELL ADVERTISED THIS YEAR.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS, QUESTIONS? ALRIGHT, THANK YOU.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
AGENDA ITEMS? BOARD MEMBERS, BOARD MEMBER, REED, BOARD MEMBERS? UM, I, I JUST WANNA SAY THAT, UM, WE'RE KIND OF AT A TURNING POINT WITH THE PARKS DEPARTMENT.WE HAVE A NEW CITY MANAGER AND WE WILL HAVE, I THINK AN INTERIM PARKS DIRECTOR.
DO WE KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE INTERIM PARKS DIRECTOR YET? OKAY.
UM, NO, WE DON'T HAVE ANY CONFIRMED INFORMATION.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO PROPOSE A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM, WHICH WOULD BE, UH, FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE PARKS DEPARTMENT, JUST AN EVALUATION OF THE FUNDING FOR PARD BECAUSE I'VE SEEN OVER THE PAST YEAR, UM, ESPECIALLY WITH THE BUDGET THAT, UM, PARD IS REALLY UNDERFUNDED AND IT WOULD BE GREAT TO HAVE FROM P'S PERSPECTIVE, AND I MAY NEED TO TALK TO ASSISTANT DIRECTOR CALLA OR SOME OF YOUR OTHER, OTHER ASSISTANT DIRECTORS, UM, TO EVALUATE THE FUNDING WHERE IT'S COMING FROM AND TO COME UP WITH SOME, UM, REALLY GREAT ALTERNATIVE IDEAS FOR PERMANENT FUNDING FOR THE PARKS DEPARTMENT.
UM, HAVING SEEN THAT YOU'RE SHORT 70 FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES TO GET TO A LEVEL OF PEAK SERVICE COMPARABLE WITH 2014.
I THINK WE DISCUSSED THAT DURING THE BUDGET WORKING GROUP PRESENTATION AND, AND THE, AND THE BUDGET RECOMMENDATION.
IT WOULD BE REALLY GREAT TO HAVE A GOOD DISCUSSION AND AN IDEA OF WHAT ARE SOME GREAT ALTERNATIVES FOR PERMANENT FUNDING FOR THE PARKS DEPARTMENT.
AND I FEEL LIKE THIS IS A GOOD TIME TO DO THAT.
SO JUST TO SUMMARIZE, YOU, YOU'RE SEEKING TO PUT AN AGENDA ITEM IN REGARDS TO THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT BUDGET AND IT WOULD BE MORE OF, UM, A PRESENTATION BY PART OF AN EVALUATION OF THEIR OWN FUNDING TO, TO SEE WHAT SOME ALTERNATIVE FUNDING MECHANISMS COULD DO.
UM, WHAT ARE, WHAT, WHAT FUNDING IS COMING FROM NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, WHAT FUNDING IS COMING FROM THE BUDGET, WHAT YOU NEED AND, AND WHAT WOULD BE A BETTER PERMANENT SOURCE OF FUNDING? I'M NOT ASKING THE PARKS DEPARTMENT TO COME UP WITH THAT, BUT JUST TO HAVE A LIST, AN EVALUATION OF WHERE WE ARE NOW.
UM, THERE WAS A COUNCIL RESOLUTION IN MARCH OF 2020 TO REALLY PUSH FOR CREATION OF MORE PARK PARTNERSHIPS, UM, SINCE THE PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM BEGAN THERE, UH, I'D LIKE TO TO HEAR FROM THE PARKS DEPARTMENT WHAT HAVE BEEN THE SUCCESSES AND WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES OF IT.
WE'VE HAD, WE'VE HAD LEADERSHIP CHANGES, WE'VE HAD CHANGES IN THE ECONOMY, UM, POST COVID CHALLENGES.
UM, AND IT WOULD BE GREAT TO HEAR FROM THE PARKS DEPARTMENT A PRESENTATION OF, AN EVALUATION OF HOW THAT'S WORKED OUT, HOW FUNDING HAS WORKED OUT.
I JUST HAVE A QUESTION JUST, JUST FOR CLARIFICATION PURPOSES.
MY UNDERSTANDING, OH, I TRIED TO REALLY TURN OFF MY MIC.
MY UNDERSTANDING IS, IS THAT ALL THE FUNDING FOR PAR COMES FROM THE CITY BUDGET.
AM AM AM I NOT CORRECT IN THAT STAFF? I THINK, I THINK, UH, WHAT BOARD MEMBER'S ALLUDING TO IS THAT, UH, FOR INSTANCE, P PEACE PARK CONSERVANCY IS A PIECE OF PARKLAND AND OPERATED BY THE CONSERVANCY.
AND WHAT, WHAT MIGHT BE THE VALUE OF THAT AS OPPOSED TO, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S, AS OPPOSED TO BEING OPERATED BY GENERAL FUND, IF I,
[02:15:02]
IS THAT CORRECT? BOARD MEMBER READED.UM, THERE ARE A LOT OF PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS GOING ON IN THE CITY AND THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF GREAT RESULTS FROM THAT.
I WOULD ALSO, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SEE FROM THE PARKS DEPARTMENT'S PERSPECTIVE, I FEEL LIKE INSTEAD OF THE PARKS, UM, BUDGET GOING UP AND GETTING BETTER AND BEING MORE, UM, STANDING ON ITS OWN TWO FEET PART IS GETTING HOLLOWED OUT IN, IN A WAY AND LESS ABLE TO CARRY OUT MAINTENANCE OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE, LESS ABLE TO FUND WHAT YOU WANT TO FUND.
AND I'D JUST LIKE TO HEAR THE PERSPECTIVE FROM THE PARKS DEPARTMENT ON HOW IT'S WORKED OUT, HAVING PARTNERSHIPS AND ALSO, UM, WHY THE CITY BUDGET FOR PARD HAS BEEN SO LOW, WHAT COULD BE DONE TO TRY AND HELP AND INCREASE THAT AND EMPOWER THE PARKS DEPARTMENT AND, AND CREATE A SUSTAINABLE FUNDING MECHANISM.
AND, AND YOU'RE WANTING THIS, YOU'RE WANTING THAT'S A BIG ASK
I KNOW YOU'RE WANTING, UH, SO YOU'RE WANTING A STAFF BRIEFING ON EVERYTHING THAT YOU JUST SAID, RIGHT? A STAFF BRIEFING ON WHAT YOU JUST STATED, RIGHT? YEAH.
AND, AND I CAN PUT IT IN BETTER WORDS IF YOU'D LIKE ME SEND IT TO YOU EARLY ON.
BEFORE JUNE, I WANTED TO CONFIRM IT WAS THE, THE, AND MIGHT IT BE, AND NOT TO OVERSTEP HERE, BUT A GOOD IDEA TO TALK TO SUZANNE TO MAYBE SHAPE THIS REQUEST INTO SOMETHING THAT MAKES SENSE.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S THE CORRECT DIRECTION FROM Y'ALL'S PERSPECTIVE, BUT SUZANNE IS VERY OH, AND SHE'S SITTING OVER THERE.
I DIDN'T KNOW YOU WERE EITHER
I THINK THAT MIGHT BE, 'CAUSE I THINK I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT MORE DETAIL OF YOUR REQUEST, SO JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S CORRECT WHAT WE'RE CAPTURING.
I THINK SUZANNE WOULD BE THE PERSON TO YEAH, SO I THINK WHAT WE CAN DO IS WE CAN JUST BEFORE THE NEXT MEETING WHEN THE AGENDA AROUND AGENDA DISSEMINATION TIME MM-HMM.
UH, WE CAN, UH, GET TO THE MEAN AND BONES OF IT.
AND AS A, AS I SAID, AN EVALUATION IS, IS I GUESS THE, THE BEST WORD FOR IT.
UM, I'M SORRY, THE VICE CHAIR DIDN'T THINK THAT MADE SENSE.
BUT, UM, WELL, I THINK, I JUST THINK THE EVA EVALUATION TO ME SAYS YOU'RE INSTRUCTING THEM TO DO SOME WORK BEFORE THEY COME BACK TO YOU.
SO IF THAT'S WHAT'S YOU'RE SAYING THEN IT DOES MAKE SENSE.
I GUESS I WAS THINKING MORE YOU WANTED AN IDEA OF WHAT PARTNERSHIPS EXISTED, BUT IF YOU WANT THEM TO ANALYZE IT, THAT IS A DIFFERENT REQUEST.
NO, IT'S VERY CLEAR WHAT PARTNERSHIPS EXIST.
IT'S, IT'S MORE OF AN ANALYSIS OF HOW THIS HAS WORKED OUT.
THE CHALLENGES AND THE, AND THE SUCCESSES OF PARTNERSHIPS.
SO WE CAN DO A GREAT, SO STAFF BRIEFING ON THE STATE AND SUCCESSES OF AND, UH, NEEDS IN REGARDS TO PARTNERSHIPS.
DID I SUMMARIZE IT PROPERLY? THAT'S CLOSE, YEAH.
AND IF IT ENDS UP BEING NOT BEING, WE CAN ALWAYS ADJUST IT AND I CAN PHRASE IT AND SEND IT.
ANY OTHER FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? I ALL RIGHT.
IT IS NOW 8:35 PM AND I AM ADJOURNING THIS PARKS AND BOARD MEETING WITHOUT ANY OBJECTION.
YOU NEED PUSH THROUGH JACKSON.