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I LIKE TO CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER.
THE TIME IS 1:06 PM TODAY'S WORK SESSION IS BEING CONDUCTED AT A TP LOCATED AT 2 0 3 COLORADO STREET IN AUSTIN, TEXAS.
[1.1 Discussion on the Proposed Fiscal Year 2025 Budget. No action will be taken.]
OUR FIRST DISCUSSION ITEM IS GONNA BE THE WORK SESSION AGENDA, WHICH IS RELATED TO THE PROPOSED FISCAL YEAR 2025 BUDGET.WE'LL HAVE AN ACTION ITEM NEXT MONTH ON THE SEPTEMBER BOARD AGENDA.
AND SO TODAY'S THE BOARD'S OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A DIALOGUE ABOUT THE PROPOSED BUDGET WITH ALL OF THE A TP STAFF.
SO FIRST, WE'LL HEAR FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GREG CANALI, TO KICK OFF THIS DISCUSSION.
UM, REALLY, UH, LOVE SEEING EVERYONE AROUND THE TABLE.
UM, YOU KNOW, THIS WORK SESSION REALLY IS A RESULT OF LAST YEAR'S BUDGET DIALOGUE AND PROCESS WHERE I THINK, UM, THE BOARD REALLY HAD A GOOD, GOOD IDEA FOR US TO COME BACK AND ROLL UP OUR SLEEVES AND HAVE A, AN ADDITIONAL DEEP DIVE ON WHERE WE ARE ON THE BUDGET.
SO I THINK, UM, I'M EXCITED TODAY TO BE ABLE TO KIND OF WALK THROUGH IT WITH THE TEAM.
YOU SEE OUR, OUR A TEAM SITTING HERE, OUR WHOLE ALL OF ATPS AND A TEAM.
BUT HAVING EVERYONE SIT HERE TO GIVE YOU A CHANCE TO KIND OF TALK ABOUT, UH, WHERE WE ARE ON THE BUDGET, UH, WHERE WE ARE, AND HOW THE BUDGET IS REALLY REFLECTING WHERE WE ARE IN THE OVERALL ADVANCEMENT AND MOMENTUM THAT WE HAVE ON AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL.
UM, SO I KNOW BRIAN AND JAMIE HAVE A FEW SLIDES JUST TO KIND OF ROOT US IN THE WORK, REMIND US WHAT WE, WHAT THE OVERALL PROPOSED BUDGET IS, AND THEN LET LEACH OF OUR, OUR, OUR, OUR HEADS OF OUR AREAS TALK ABOUT IT IN MORE DETAIL AND, AND LET YOU GUYS HAVE SOME QUESTIONS AND DIALOGUE ABOUT THAT.
SO, I THINK OUR GOAL TODAY REALLY IS A CONVERSATION.
UM, WE WANT TO, UM, UH, AGAIN, I THINK LET BRIAN AND JAMIE GET THROUGH A FEW SLIDES, BUT AFTER THAT, UM, HAVE AT IT.
UM, THAT'S REALLY OUR GOAL FOR TODAY.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS LAST YEAR THAT WE WERE, AS WE TALKED ABOUT THE BUDGET LAST YEAR, WE WERE VERY INTENTFUL, AND REBECCA'S GONNA DIVE A LITTLE BIT MORE ON IT, IS MAKING SURE THAT OUR BUDGET AND OUR PERSONNEL HAD AN ALIGNMENT.
UM, IT WAS A VERY THOUGHTFUL EFFORT ABOUT, FROM A RESOURCE PLANNING PERSPECTIVE, WHAT DO WE NEED LOOKING AHEAD? AND WHAT WE DID IS WE MADE SURE THAT THAT, UM, DIALOGUE AND CONTENT WAS INTEGRATED WITH OUR DELIVERY STRATEGY.
YOU KNOW, WE'VE NOW BEEN IN FRONT OF YOU A HANDFUL OF TIMES TALKING ABOUT HOW WE'RE GONNA DELIVER THIS LARGE, LARGE CAPITAL PROJECT, UM, WITH OUR FIRST ROUND OF PARTNERS THAT ARE GONNA BE COMING IN HERE SOON, OUR DELIVERY PARTNER, AND MAKING SURE THAT THEY WERE MESHED AND THOUGHT THROUGH ON THIS.
AND SO, UM, YOU'RE GONNA HEAR A LOT ABOUT THAT TODAY ABOUT WHERE OUR STAFFING IS AND HOW IT RELATES TO OUR UPCOMING, UM, UH, PARTNERSHIPS WITH SOME OF THE INDUSTRY THAT WE'RE GONNA BE BRINGING ON.
WE WANT TO BE THOUGHTFUL AND INTENT ABOUT THAT.
I THINK YOU'RE GONNA HEAR A LOT ABOUT WHERE WE ARE ON THE PROJECT AND THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE THIS PAST YEAR, BUT ALSO HOW IT RELAYS FORWARD, UM, AND, AND REFLECTS IN THE BUDGET OVERALL, THE MOMENTUM'S GREAT.
UH, I WAS, I WAS, I WAS TELLING, UM, UH, COMMISSIONER BILION THAT WE HAD FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION IN HERE, I THINK ABOUT THREE WEEKS AGO.
IS THAT RIGHT? JEN? UM, FROM HEADQUARTERS IN DC AS WELL AS REGION TO DO AN ALIGNMENT TOUR AND GIVE THEM AN UPDATE.
UM, WE OBVIOUSLY KNOW THE EXCITEMENT IN AUSTIN FOR ADVANCING THIS PROJECT IS STRONG, BUT ALSO, UH, IN DC WITH, UH, WITH OUR PARTNERS AT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
AND SO IT'S ALWAYS NICE TO HAVE FOLKS COME IN.
AGAIN, THEY KEEP COMING ON IN THE SUMMER.
WE GOTTA REMIND THEM THAT THERE'S A BETTER SEASON SOMETIMES TO COME TO AUSTIN.
BUT NONETHELESS, UM, IT IS A FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
UM, WE WANT THEM HERE IN THE SUMMER BECAUSE WE WANT TREES.
MM-HMM,
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST, FIRST OF ALL, SOME OF THEM HAVE NOT BEEN TO AUSTIN FOR A WHILE.
SO TO SEE THE RAPID CHANGE, UH, UH, THEY HAVEN'T BEEN HERE FOR 20 YEARS TO SEE, TO SEE THAT CHANGE, BUT TO TAKE THEM ALONG THE ALIGNMENT THROUGH THEIR EYES, UM, JUST THE ENERGY THAT THAT TRIP CREATES, AND FOR US AS STAFF TO SEE THAT, UH, WAS REALLY, REALLY WONDERFUL.
WE WANTED TO CONTINUE TO GET THAT.
I THINK YOU'LL HEAR ELEMENTS OF THAT TODAY AS WE TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE WORK THAT WE HAVE PROGRESSING.
UM, SO AGAIN, THIS IS YOUR MEETING TO, TO KIND OF DIVE AND WE'RE HERE.
UM, WE'RE HERE AS LONG AS YOU NEED US TO BE HERE TO GO THROUGH OUR BUDGET AND, AND CONNECT IT UP TO OUR WORK.
SO WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO BRIAN AND JAMIE TO GET US GOING.
THANKS EVERYONE FOR BEING HERE TODAY.
UM, SO THE FIRST COUPLE OF SLIDES ARE GONNA LOOK SIMILAR TO THE SLIDES THAT WE WENT OVER BACK IN, UM, I WANNA SAY JUNE, BUT IT'S JULY.
UM, JUST KIND OF GO OVER HIGH LEVEL POINTS OF THE BUDGET.
AND AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR GREG MENTIONED, UM, WE'LL BE GOING THROUGH EACH OF THE EVPS DEPARTMENTS AND KIND OF HIGHLIGHTING THE WORK THAT FOLKS WILL BE COMPLETING OVER THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
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UM, SO TO START OFF, REALLY, OUR, OUR BUDGET IS KIND OF GOAL ORIENTED WITH THESE PARTICULAR OUTCOMES IN MIND.UM, OBVIOUSLY WE'RE ADVANCING THE DESIGN DEVELOPMENT OF THE LINE, AS GREG MENTIONED.
WE'RE ALSO KIND OF TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION ALL OF THE WORK THAT WE DID AROUND OUR ORGANIZATIONAL READINESS.
AND ALL OF THAT IS FED INTO THIS YEAR'S BUDGET.
YOU GUYS WILL HEAR ABOUT THAT HERE SHORTLY.
AND ADVANCING REALLY A LOT OF THE COMMUNITY RELATIONSHIPS THAT WE'VE CONTINUED TO BUILD OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS AS WE'VE PUSHED THE PROJECT FORWARD.
UM, SO WITH THIS, YOU'VE SEEN THIS SLIDE, UM, IN THE PAST, BUT WE JUST WANTED TO KIND OF HIGHLIGHT AGAIN, AS WE WALK THROUGH EACH OF THE DEPARTMENT'S OUTCOMES AND JUST OUR OUTCOME AS AN ORGANIZATION FOR THIS NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
WE WANTED TO SHOW HOW IT ALIGNS WITH THE DIFFERENT ITEMS THAT WE'RE PUSHING FORWARD, UM, FOR THE PROGRAM AS A WHOLE.
SO, AGAIN, WE'RE GONNA BE, UM, ADVANCING THROUGH THE NEPA PROCESS, UM, THROUGHOUT FISCAL YEAR 2025, UM, ENDING WITH OUR FINAL EIS AND RECORD OF DECISION.
AND THEN AS WELL AS WE JUST RECENTLY ENTERED INTO PROJECT DEVELOPMENT ON THE FEDERAL FUNDING SIDE.
UM, SO THAT PROCESS, AGAIN, IS GONNA BE CONTINUED TO BE ADVANCED THROUGHOUT FISCAL YEAR 2025.
AND AGAIN, LINDSAY AND JEN, AS THEY WORK THROUGH THEIR PARTICULAR SLIDES, THEY'LL KIND OF TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE WORK THAT THEY'LL BE ADVANCING THROUGHOUT THE FISCAL YEAR TO KIND OF PUSH THESE, THESE PARTICULAR ELEMENTS FORWARD.
SO AGAIN, I WANTED TO REVISIT THE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS OF OUR BUDGET AS WE KIND OF TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THE CONVERSATION THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE WITH THE DEPARTMENTS, EACH OF THE EVPS THROUGHOUT THE SESSION.
UM, THERE'S REALLY TWO MAIN COMPONENTS WITHIN OUR BUDGET.
WE HAVE OUR ANNUAL OPERATING BUDGET, WHICH IS REALLY JUST OUR REVENUE CAPTURE FUNDS.
SO IT'S WHERE ALL OF THE PROP A DOLLARS GET DEPOSITED, AND THEN FROM THERE, THOSE FUNDS GET DISTRIBUTED TO THE DIFFERENT CAPITAL BUDGETS.
SO THE CAPITAL BUDGETS THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE, UM, IN OUR BUDGET ARE THE AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL CAPITAL FUND.
WE HAVE THE ANTI DISPLACEMENT FUND, AND WE HAVE THE CAP METRO COMPONENT PROJECT FUND.
UM, AND THE DIFFERENCE REALLY BETWEEN THE ANNUAL AND THE CAPITAL BUDGETS ARE THE FACT THAT THE ANNUAL BUDGET IS JUST THAT IT'S AVAILABLE FOR ONE YEAR.
UM, AND THE CAPITAL BUDGETS ARE REALLY MULTI-YEAR APPROPRIATION.
SO ONCE THE BOARD APPROPRIATES THOSE DOLLARS AND THOSE DOLLARS GET MOVED INTO THOSE RESPECTIVE FUNDS, THEY'RE AVAILABLE TO BE USED, UM, FOR THAT FISCAL YEAR AND THE FUTURE OF FISCAL YEARS AS THEY ARISE.
IT'S, IT'S REALLY A, IT HELPS WITH, UH, UH, REALLY MAKING SURE THAT YOU HAVE THE RESOURCES FOR LARGE EXPENDITURES THAT MIGHT BE COMING DOWN THE LINE HELPS YOU FINANCIAL PLAN FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE.
UM, AND ALONG WITH THE CAPITAL BUDGET, THERE'S AN UNDERLYING SPENDING PLAN.
SO THIS YEAR AS WE'LL WALK THROUGH HERE SHORTLY, WE HAVE A SPEND PLAN ASSOCIATED WITH OUR FISCAL YEAR 25 BUDGET.
AND IT'S REALLY BROKEN INTO TWO BUCKETS.
WE HAVE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, WHICH YOU GUYS HAVE ALL, UM, SEEN THOSE CONTRACTS COME THROUGH THE BOARD AT SOME POINT IN TIME, UM, IN THE PAST.
AND THEN WE HAVE OUR ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY CAPTURING IN THE CAPITAL BUDGET FUND, WHICH IS THE AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL FUND, JUST GIVEN THE NATURE THAT REALLY ALL OF OUR ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTIONS HERE ARE GARNERED TOWARDS ADVANCING THE CAPITAL PROJECT CURRENTLY.
WHAT IS THE MODIFIED ACCRUAL BUDGETING? SO THAT'S JUST THE WAY THE, THE FUNDS ARE ACCOUNTED FOR.
SO, UM, WELL, I'VE HEARD OF REPORTING, BUT NOT BUDGETING.
SO AGAIN, IT'S, IT'S ACCOUNTING FOR THE DOLLARS.
UM, AND JAMIE, YOU CAN STEP IN TOO.
UM, IT'S ACCOUNTING FOR THE DOLLARS WHEN WE ANTICIPATE ON RECEIVING THEM VERSUS WHEN THEY'RE ACTUALLY RECEIVED.
SO THERE MIGHT BE TIMES WHERE, LET'S JUST TAKE OUR PROP A DOLLARS.
WE'RE CURRENTLY, WE RECEIVE THE LATER PORTION OF THOSE DOLLARS FROM THE CITY WHEN THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR SORT OF STARTS.
UM, BUT WE'RE ACCOUNTING FOR, FOR THOSE FOR IN THIS FISCAL YEAR.
IT'S A TIMING, TIMING RELATED.
SO HERE WITHIN, AGAIN, IS JUST KIND OF GO OVER OUR FUND OVERVIEW.
UM, WE HAVE, AS I MENTIONED, OUR ANNUAL BUDGETS AND OUR CAPITAL BUDGETS.
UM, AGAIN, THE PROP A DOLLARS ALL GET DEPOSITED INTO THE OPERATING FUND.
AND THIS SORT OF SHOWS THE, THE WATERFALL, IF YOU WANT TO CALL IT, OF HOW THOSE FUNDS GET PUSHED DOWN INTO THE DIFFERENT CAPITAL BUDGETS.
RIGHT? UM, WE'LL HAVE, ULTIMATELY, ONCE WE ISSUE SOME OBLIGATIONS AND SOME DEBT, WE'LL HAVE A DEBT SERVICE FUND WHERE THOSE DOLLARS ARE GETTING APPORTIONED TO FIRST AND BEING SET ASIDE TO SERVICE THOSE OBLIGATIONS ONCE WE ISSUE THEM.
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ARE ACCOUNTED FOR, THEN THE REMAINING DOLLARS WILL BE PUSHED DOWN TO THE ASSOCIATED FUNDS TO FUND, UM, THE CAPITAL COSTS AND THEN FUTURE LIGHT RAIL O AND M COSTS AS WELL.UM, AND ALL OF THIS IS, IS TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT AS WE'RE THINKING ABOUT THIS FISCAL YEAR AND FUTURE FISCAL YEARS AS WELL.
SO, AT 20, IN FISCAL YEAR 25, UM, WE HAVE REALLY TWO MAJOR BUCKETS OF, OF REVENUE THAT WE HAVE COMING INTO A TP.
UM, WE HAVE THE PROP, A CONTRACT REVENUE THAT COMES IN FROM THE CITY VIA THE ILA THAT WE HAVE, UM, EXECUTED WITH THEM CURRENTLY ANTICIPATING THOSE DOLLARS TO AMOUNT TO ABOUT $172 MILLION, WHICH IS A THREE AND A HALF PERCENT INCREASE OVER LAST YEAR'S, UM, PROJECTED REVENUE OR FY 20 FOURS PROJECTED REVENUE.
AND IT'S IN LINE WITH, UM, THE, THE ASSUMPTIONS LEADING UP TO, TO THE VOTE AS WELL.
UM, ALONG THE, IN ADDITION TO THE CONTRACT REVENUE THAT WE HAVE, THERE'S INVESTMENT INCOME THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO, UM, GENERATE OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF FISCAL YEARS.
UM, AND REALLY WITH RATES INCREASING OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, THAT'S BENEFITED US, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO UTILIZE THOSE DOLLARS TO GENERATE ADDITIONAL INCOME FOR A TP, UM, TO HELP COVER COSTS AND HELP GO TOWARDS OTHER OBJECTIVES AS WELL.
SO, WITHIN THE OPERATING FUND FOR FISCAL YEAR 25, WE DO HAVE TWO SEPARATE APPROPRIATIONS THAT ARE ACCOUNTED FOR IN THIS YEAR'S PROPOSED BUDGET.
WE HAVE $20 MILLION THAT'S GONNA BE APPROPRIATED TO THE ANTI DISPLACEMENT FUND, WHICH IS IN LINE WITH, AGAIN, THE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT THAT WE HAVE WITH THE CITY, FOR THE CITY TO ADVANCE THOSE PARTICULAR EFFORTS.
AND THEN WE HAVE $10 MILLION, UM, GOING INTO THE LIGHT RAIL CAPITAL FUND.
AND YOU MIGHT THINK THAT THE, THE LOOKS A LITTLE SMALL, UM,
SO AGAIN, THINKING ABOUT SOME OF THE ACTIONS THAT THE BOARD TOOK IN FISCAL YEAR 24, THERE WAS A BUDGET AMENDMENT THAT WENT, UM, ALONGSIDE OUR ENTRY INTO PROJECT DEVELOPMENT LETTER THAT WE PUSHED FORWARD TO THE FTA, UM, THAT WE HAD TO DO TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN COVER ALL OF THE COSTS TO COMPLETE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT.
SO AGAIN, THIS $10 MILLION APPROPRIATION IS REALLY JUST TO KIND OF TOP OFF THE, THE LIGHT RAIL CAPITAL FUND TO HELP US COMPLETE OUT ALL OF THE WORK THAT WE'RE ANTICIPATING ON COMPLETING FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025.
SO WITHIN THE LIGHT RAIL CAPITAL FUND, AS I MENTIONED, THERE'S REALLY TWO MAIN BUCKETS OF, OF SPENDING IN THAT SPEND PLAN.
SO WE HAVE OUR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACTS, WHICH AGAIN, AS I MENTIONED, ARE ALL ASSOCIATED WITH CONTRACTS THAT THE BOARD HAVE, HAVE PREVIOUSLY APPROVED, ASIDE FROM THE DELIVERY PARTNER.
UM, SO IN CORPUS, IN THE, THE PROGRAM MANAGEMENT, SOME OF THE WORK THAT HDR IS HELPING US ADVANCE AS AN ORGANIZATION, WE HAVE, UM, THE HUG TEAM ACCOUNTED FOR AS WELL ON THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES SIDE FOR SOME OF THE WORK THAT THEY'RE HELPING, UM, ADVANCE WITH THE INTEGRATED DESIGN TEAM.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE SOME OF THE NEPA RELATED WORK THAT, AGAIN, JEN, JEN AND HER GROUP ARE HELPING SHEPHERD THROUGH THAT PARTICULAR PROCESS.
AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE THE ON-CALL ENGINEERING, UM, CONTRACTS THAT WERE PREVIOUSLY APPROVED BACK IN MAY, I WANNA SAY, AND HAVE ALL OF THOSE DOLLARS ACCOUNTED FOR WITHIN THIS YEAR'S SPEND PLAN.
ON THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES SIDE, THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SPEND PLAN WITHIN THE FISCAL YEAR 2025 BUDGET IS THE ADMIN EXPENSES.
SO ADMIN EXPENSES, THINK OF SALARIES, UM, AND BENEFITS FOR STAFF, AS WELL AS A LOT OF THE BUSINESS SUPPORT CONTRACTS THAT ARE HELP PUSHING FORWARD SOME OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE, UM, WORK FOR THE ORGANIZATION.
SO WE HAVE SOME LISTED UP HERE.
SO WE HAVE THE LEGAL, UM, CONTRACTS THAT WE HAVE.
WE ALSO HAVE SOME OF THE MARKETING AND, AND, AND THOSE EFFORTS THAT WERE APPROVED BY THE BOARD IN 2024.
WE HAVE THE ERNST AND YOUNG, UM, RISK ADVISOR AND PROCUREMENT CONTRACT ACCOUNTED FOR ON THIS SIDE.
AND SOME OF THE WORK THAT THEY'LL BE HELPING US PUSH FORWARD THROUGHOUT FISCAL YEAR 25, AS WELL AS OUR FINANCIAL ADVISORY, UM, CONTRACT THAT WE HAVE.
AND INVESTMENT ADVISORY SERVICES ARE ALL ACCOUNTED FOR ON THE ADMIN SIDE, UM, OF, OF THE SPEND PLAN.
SO WHEN YOU TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AND THE ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES FOR THE SPEND PLAN FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025, UM, AGAIN,
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TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE APPROPRIATIONS THAT WE HAD AVAILABLE LEADING INTO FISCAL TO THIS NEW FISCAL YEAR.UM, AGAIN, WE'RE TOPPING IT OFF WITH $10 MILLION IN NEW APPROPRIATIONS.
WE'RE CURRENTLY ANTICIPATING ON THE CAPITAL, SORRY.
CURRENTLY ANTICIPATING ON THE CAPITAL, UM, FUND SIDE IS TO HAVE ROUGHLY ABOUT $6 MILLION, I BELIEVE, OR $7 MILLION REMAINING APPROPRIATIONS AT THE END OF FISCAL YEAR.
IF WE SPEND, AS WE'RE CURRENTLY BUDGETING, UM, OBVIOUSLY THAT WILL BE DEPENDENT ON, ON HOW THINGS ADVANCE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
SO WITH THIS, I WOULD LIKE TO TURN THIS PARTICULAR SECTION OVER TO REBECCA, AND THIS IS GONNA BE, UM, SHE'S GONNA DIVE A LITTLE DEEPER ON THE ORG ASSESSMENT RELATED WORK THAT WE COMPLETED INTO FY 24 THAT HELPED FORM OUR FTE PLAN FOR FY 25.
AND I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, REPRESENT A LOT OF THE WORK REALLY BEING LED BY CASEY BURRICK, WHO'S NOT ABLE TO BE HERE TODAY.
UM, CASEY CONVENED AROUND THIS WORK REALLY WITH A LOT OF CULMINATING SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE FROM THOSE AT THE TABLE WHO, AS YOU KNOW, HAVE DELIVERED LIGHT RAIL.
UM, SO LOOKING AT THIS FROM AN ORGANIZATIONAL LEVEL, IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, UM, GREG CANAL'S THOUGHT PROCESS A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO WHEN WE WERE AT 87 IN OUR STAFFING.
AND THERE WAS A LOT OF CONVERSATION IN OUR BUDGET PROCESS, RIGHTFULLY AROUND, HOW DO YOU GET THAT NUMBER AND REALLY, UM, ENSURE THAT WE ARE BRINGING A NUMBER FORWARD THAT'S WRAPPED IN DATA AND THE APPROPRIATE ANALYSIS.
AND THE DECISION WAS REALLY MADE TO STAY THE COURSE UNTIL WE COULD BRING SOME DATA FORWARD THAT REALLY CHARTED THE WHY WE'RE CHANGING THE NUMBER.
WE'RE HERE TODAY TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT, AND A LOT OF WORK HAS BEEN DONE, UM, AND IT'S ACTUALLY BEEN DONE, TIMED AND ALIGNED WITH THE RECENT RELEASE OF THE SOLICITATION AROUND OUR DELIVERY PARTNER, WHICH REALLY BRINGS TO MIND WORDS LIKE STEWARDSHIP, MAKING DECISIONS THAT ARE WRAPPED TRULY IN, UH, EXCELLENT DATA THAT DRIVE DECISIONS AROUND THESE DOLLARS.
SO ABOUT, UH, 15 DIFFERENT CITIES AND MODELS WERE LOOKED AT, LOOKING AT PEER CITIES AND LOOKING AT THE CONTRACT METHODOLOGY, THE DELIVERY METHODOLOGY, UM, STAFFING TO, UM, ANALYZE SCALE AND LIGHT RAIL DELIVERY, BOTH LARGE AND SMALL AND ALIGNED WITH OUR SIZE AND WHAT DID IT TAKE ALONG WITH THE METHODOLOGY OF DELIVERING LIGHT RAIL IN THOSE VARIOUS CITIES.
AND SO, THROUGH THE COURSE OF THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS, EXPERTISE, AGAIN, WHO HAVE DONE THIS WORK, UM, HAVE BEEN INFORMING THAT.
AND YOU'LL SEE A DELIVERY PARTNER SOLICITATION THAT TAKES ALL OF THAT INTO CONSIDERATION.
AND A PERSONNEL BUDGET OF 66 THAT CONTEMPLATES NOT JUST WHAT A TP NEEDS, BUT AT ALL PHASES OF OUR PROJECT.
WHAT WILL THE DELIVERY PARTNER BRING TO BEAR, UM, THROUGH NOT JUST THIS YEAR AND NEXT YEAR, BUT ONWARD.
I THINK THE LAST THING I'LL SAY, AND I'LL TURN IT OVER TO A NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE, UM, GIVEN EXCELLENT INPUT INTO THIS PROCESS, IS THIS IS RECALIBRATED AS NEEDED.
SO IT ALLOWS US TO WORK WITH OUR DELIVERY PARTNER, UM, AS THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN CARRIES FORWARD OVER A NUMBER OF YEARS, WE GET TO MAKE THOSE DECISIONS.
BUT YOU WILL SEE A BUDGET THAT REFLECTS THE 6 66, AND THAT IS BASED ON AN EXCELLENT MODEL THAT GIVES US THE, UH, THE ABILITY TO RECALIBRATE AS AS WE NEED TO.
AND I WILL TURN IT OVER TO, YOU KNOW, I, I WANNA BE SURE THAT WE ACKNOWLEDGE THE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE AT THE TABLE, WHO'S WORKED WITH THE ENGINEERING FIRMS, ET CETERA, AND HAVE A LOT OF STEEP KNOWLEDGE IN HOW, UH, THE MODEL IS DESIGNED.
DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME? YES.
BOARD MEMBER QUESTION? ANY, DID THE LAST COMMENT, THE FUTURE HIRES, THOSE ARE ON THE PROPOSED BUDGET? THAT IS CORRECT.
AND DID I UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY, UM, THIS NUMBER REALLY HAS DROPPED, WE USED TO HAVE 87 FTES, CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT.
AND WE ARE PROPOSING A BUDGET WITH 66.
AND, AND JUST, JUST SOME BACKGROUND ON THAT.
AGAIN, I THINK THIS WAS, UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS WE DID LAST YEAR'S BUDGET WAS ACTUALLY FORMALIZE FORMALIZED BOARD APPROVAL OF FTE COUNT.
UM, THAT WAS KIND OF A BEST PRACTICE TO PUT IN PLACE.
AND WE, AND WE DID THAT WITH WHAT WAS DONE, WHAT HAD WE, WHERE THE KIND
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OF TOTAL COUNT OF EMPLOYEES WERE.BUT THE LAST YEAR AT THIS TIME, WE TALKED ABOUT THE NEED TO HAVE THIS ALIGNMENT.
AND I THINK WHAT REBECCA JUST WALKED THROUGH WAS REALLY JUST RIGHT SIZING WHO WE ARE.
UM, WE'RE A SPECIAL DELIVERY CORPORATION, WE'RE FOCUSED ON GETTING THIS PROJECT DONE, MAKING SURE, AND KNOWING NOW THAT WE HAVE A PLAN, UH, TO BRING ON A DELIVERY PARTNER, I THINK THAT BRAD WILL TALK MORE ABOUT, AND, AND, AND, AND JEN AND LINDSAY AND PETER ABOUT HOW THEY'RE GONNA HELP US BOTH ON A STAFF AUGMENTATION AS WELL AS BRINGING EXPERTISE THAT WE DON'T HAVE THAT THEY NEED TO HELP US GET ON.
WE THINK THIS IS THE PLACE TO LAND AND, UH, AND BOARD MEMBER, ER YES, WE HAVE, SO WE HAVE ABOUT 54 CURRENTLY FILLED, AND THIS ALLOWS FOR US FILLING AN ADDITIONAL 12 UP TO THAT TOTAL AUTHORIZED OF 66, AS I THINK AS REBECCA ALLUDED TO, AS WE BRING ON A DELIVERY PARTNER.
AND, AND I THINK WE'LL TOUCH ON IT HERE TODAY, TO BE QUITE HONEST.
I THINK IT'LL COME UP A LOT AS IT SHOULD.
BUT AS WE BRING THAT CONTRACT BACK TO YOU ON SCHEDULE FOR THE END OF THE YEAR, THE BEGINNING OF 25 IS THAT FIRST EFFORT AROUND THAT MOBILIZATION WILL BE A LOT AROUND US HAVING A DIALOGUE ABOUT WHERE'S THE RESOURCE NEED TO BE.
OUR OUR GOAL ALWAYS WILL BE TO, UM, HAVE EFFICIENCY AROUND OUR RESOURCES, RIGHT? WE ULTIMATELY WANT ALL OF OUR RESOURCES AS MUCH AS THEY CAN, GOING TO GETTING THE PROJECT IN THE GROUND.
WE HAVE TO HAVE THE RIGHT SUPPORT TEAMS IN PLACE.
ADMINISTRATIVELY, WE NEED TO BE ALIGNED TO DO THAT.
BUT WHEN WE HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS AS WE GO THROUGH BOTH THE SOLICITATION PROCESS AND SELECTION PROCESS, AS WELL AS THE BOARD APPROVAL, THEN THINKING ABOUT, UM, DOING THAT.
SO I WOULD FAST FORWARD TO NEXT YEAR, WE'RE GONNA HAVE THIS SAME CONVERSATION AGAIN AS THE DELIVERY PARTNER IS, HAS WOULD'VE BEEN ONBOARDED BY THAT POINT AND CALIBRATING THAT LOOK AHEAD, UM, ALWAYS GETTING READY FOR CONSTRUCTION.
UM, SO, BUT THIS IS A RESULT OF THAT EFFORT OF THAT, OF THAT 66 POSITIONS THAT WE'D BE ASKING FOR APPROVAL FOR, UM, AS APPROVED, UH, CAP ON IF ON FTS.
I JUST WANTED TO ADD ON TOP OF THAT, THERE'S A METHODICAL PROCESS AS WAS WE'RE GOING THROUGH AND THINKING ABOUT WHICH POSITIONS WE ARE GONNA FILL.
IT'S ALWAYS THAT CONSTANT BATTLE OF IS THIS A POSITION THAT A TP NEEDS TO HAVE LONG-TERM POSITION THAT WE'RE GONNA FILL? OR ARE THERE OTHER RESOURCES THAT WE COULD LEVERAGE TO MAKE SURE THAT, AGAIN, AS, AS GREG MENTIONED, WE'RE USING OUR RESOURCES AS EFFICIENTLY AS POSSIBLE.
SO IT'S BOTH ON THE INTERNAL A TP SIDE AS WELL AS THINKING ABOUT IT FROM THE VENDOR SIDE OF, OF THE FOLKS THAT WE'RE BRINGING ON.
UM, SO, AND WITH THAT, WE'RE GONNA DIVE INTO EACH OF THE, UM, EVPS RESPECTIVE SECTIONS NOW, AND THEY'LL, THEY'LL GO THROUGH, UM, THEIR, THEIR OUTCOMES FOR THIS NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
AND AGAIN, I THINK IF MAYBE TO HELP WITH THE CONVERSATION, WE CAN PAUSE FOR A LITTLE BIT ON EACH SECTION IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS.
UM, AND THEN WE CAN JUST CONTINUE TO MOVE ON AS, AS WE SEE FIT.
UH, SO I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT THAT INCLUDES PROJECT CONTROLS, THE PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT WORK, AND ALSO THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
UH, SO THE DEPARTMENT OUTCOMES ARE ON THE SLIDE, BUT I'LL, I'LL JUST TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT KINDA WHAT WE'RE DOING OVER THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR, UM, TO ACHIEVE THESE OUTCOMES.
UH, SO THE FIRST ITEM IS A FEDERAL PROCESS.
WE'RE HEAVILY IN THE FEDERAL PROCESS NOW, UH, AND A LOT OF OUR WORK NOW AND INTO THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR, UH, WILL BE ABOUT THAT.
UH, THAT INCLUDES COMPLETING THE NEPA PROCESS, WHICH IS REALLY HAPPENING NOW, UM, AND WILL, UH, CONCLUDE NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
BUT THAT'S A HEAVY LIFT, UM, TO DO ALL THE ANALYSIS AND ALL THE PUBLIC PROCESS, UH, THAT'S REQUIRED.
UM, WE ARE STILL ON TRACK TO RELEASE OUR DRAFT EIS LATER THIS YEAR.
UM, SO WE'LL BE, UH, IN A PUBLIC DIALOGUE AROUND THE END OF THE YEAR, UM, AND THEN BE WORKING ON THE FINAL EIS AND DISPOSITIONING ALL THE COMMENTS AND, AND CONCLUDING THAT PROCESS.
UH, ANOTHER BIG COMPONENT OF THE FEDERAL PROCESS IS WORKING WITH THE FTA, UH, TO ADVANCE, UH, THIS PROJECT THROUGH THE GRANT PROCESS.
UM, AND SO A BIG ELEMENT THERE IS, UH, THE PRO THE PROJECT RATING AND EVALUATION.
SO WE'RE, WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THAT QUITE A BIT THIS YEAR, AND WE'LL BE DELIVERING, UH, A SUBMITTAL FTA THIS MONTH.
UM, BUT AS WE CONTINUE INTO THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR, THAT'S GONNA BE A VERY ACTIVE DIALOGUE, UH, WITH FTA ON ON THOSE ITEMS. SO THAT PACKAGE IS INCLUSIVE OF A LOT, INCLUDING ALL OF THE RIDERSHIP MODELING, UH, AND ANALYSIS, UH, AND THE FINANCIAL PLAN DEVELOPMENT, UH, BECAUSE THE LAST ITEM I'LL, I'LL MENTION HERE WITH THIS WORK PLAN IS WITH CAMPO.
UM, AND WE ARE ENGAGED WITH CAMPO AS WELL TO INTEGRATE, YOU KNOW, OUR CURRENT PHASE ONE PROJECT INTO THE RTP, WHICH IS PART OF THE NORMAL PROCESS THAT WE'RE GOING THROUGH.
UM, THAT WILL CONCLUDE NEXT YEAR AS WELL.
UH, SO ON, I'LL SWITCH TO PROJECT CONTROLS, A LITTLE BIT OF
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A DIFFERENT, TO DIFFERENT BUT RELATED TOPIC.UH, SO PROJECT CONTROLS, YOU KNOW, HERE AT A TP ENCOMPASSES ALL OF THE SCHEDULING, ALL THE COST CONTROLS AND MANAGEMENT.
UH, SO ORCHESTRATING THE RISK MANAGEMENT PROCESS, UM, AS WELL AS, UH, SUPPORTING THE COST ESTIMATING.
SO, UM, OUR, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING TO ACHIEVE THIS YEAR AND NEXT FISCAL YEAR IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE SET UP, UM, AS FAR AS OUR SYSTEMS AND HOW WE'RE MANAGING PROJECTS, NOT ONLY FOR THE WORK THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW, BUT AS WE HAVE MORE AND MORE COMPLICATED CONTRACTS THAT WE'RE MANAGING.
UH, SO A BIG PART OF THAT IS, UH, SETTING UP OUR, UM, ALL OF OUR SYSTEMS AND OUR PROJECT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS. UM, WE ARE GOING TO BE CONFIGURING, UH, A NEW SYSTEM CALLED PROCORE.
UM, SO THAT WORK IS GOING TO BE GUIDING US FOR THE NEXT YEAR.
AND THAT'S NOT JUST ABOUT CONFIGURING A SYSTEM, BUT ALSO AFFIRMING WHAT OUR PROCESSES ARE, HOW WE WANNA OPERATE, HOW WE WANNA MANAGE THESE PROJECTS TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE WORKING WITHIN OUR, OUR COST PARAMETERS, UM, AND THAT WE'RE CLOSELY MONITORING VERY COMPLICATED SCHEDULES.
UM, ONE ADDITIONAL NOTE THERE, UM, IT'S NOT ONLY JUST HAVING TOOLS AND DATA TO SUPPORT THE MANAGEMENT OF THE PROJECTS, BUT ALSO TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE SET UP FOR THE REPORTING THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DO TO FTA, UH, IN SUPPORT OF THE FEDERAL GRANT PROCESS.
UH, SO THE THIRD MAJOR, UH, COMPONENT HERE IS THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
AND I KNOW YOU ALL ARE, ARE FAMILIAR WITH THAT WORK ALREADY, AND IT WILL CONTINUE, AND IT'S REALLY PART OF ALL OF THE COMPONENTS OF PROJECT DEVELOPMENT THAT WE'RE DOING.
UM, CERTAINLY IT'S GONNA BE VERY HEAVY, YOU KNOW, UM, UH, IN LATER THIS CALENDAR YEAR, UH, THE BEGINNING OF THE NEXT NEXT FISCAL YEAR AS WE RELEASE OUR DRAFT EIS.
BUT IT'S ALWAYS THERE, YOU KNOW, IT'S ALWAYS THERE.
WE ARE INCORPORATING COMMUNITY FEEDBACK AND ENGAGEMENT, UH, WITH HOW WE'RE PROGRESSING THE DESIGN AND ALL THE OTHER COMPONENTS OF THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING.
UM, AND IT'S EITHER ENGAGEMENT, IT'S INFORMATION, WE ARE OFTEN OUT THERE TABLING AND SUPPORTING OTHER EVENTS IN THE COMMUNITY, UH, SO THAT WE CAN TAKE EVERY OPPORTUNITY AVAILABLE TO US TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING AND, AND HOW WE'RE DOING IT.
UM, ANOTHER ELEMENT I'LL, I'LL MENTION THERE, JUST ESPECIALLY FOR NEXT FISCAL YEAR, WE'RE TRY THINKING AHEAD TO CONSTRUCTION AND WHAT THAT WILL BE LIKE AND THE PROGRAMS THAT WE WILL WANT TO PUT IN PLACE TO SUPPORT BUSINESSES, UH, IN THE COMMUNITY IN GENERAL.
UM, SO THAT'S GONNA BE AN ACTIVE PART OF OUR WORK PROGRAM INTO THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR AS WELL.
UM, I GUESS ONE LAST COMMENT THAT I CAN PAUSE AND IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS.
UM, ALL THE WORK THAT'S DONE IN THIS DEPARTMENT, UM, IS VERY CLOSELY INTEGRATED WITH OUR PROGRAM MANAGER, HDR, AND THE DELIVERY PARTNERS.
SO, UH, THEY'RE VERY MUCH BLENDED TEAMS, UH, AND THAT'S PART OF HOW WE SUCCEED AS WELL.
SO IN, UH, COMING UP WITH FTE COUNT AND THINKING ABOUT THAT, UH, WE'RE THINKING, UH, TRYING TO THINK QUITE CLEARLY ABOUT HOW THE TEAMS BLEND TOGETHER AND HOW THAT'S GONNA WORK.
UM, THE COUPLE OF ADDITIONAL POSITIONS THAT WE HAVE FOR THE NEXT BUDGET ARE IN THE PROJECT CONTROLS AREA.
UM, SO THAT WE HAVE A, A CORE PROJECT CONTROLS TEAM.
AS WE START TO GROW THAT AREA, UH, WITH DELIVERY PARTNER, UH, WE WANNA HAVE THAT CORE TEAM NOT ONLY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GUIDING ALL THAT WORK IN A WAY THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, ACHIEVES OUR GOALS AS FAR AS SCHEDULING AND COST CONTROL ON THE PROJECTS, UH, BUT ALSO JUST AS A PRACTICAL MATTER, UM, THERE ARE SOME THINGS WITH OUR ACCOUNTING SYSTEM, IT REALLY JUST HAS TO BE, UH, AN A TP PERSON
UM, AND PLEASE, YOU KNOW, LET ME KNOW IF THERE'S ANYTHING I I SHOULD DELVE MORE INTO OR ANY QUESTIONS.
ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD? NO, I DO HAVE A COMMENT ON PROJECT CONTROLS.
YOU HAVE, I MET ONE PERSON THAT STAFF HAS BEEN HIRED ON PROJECT CONTROLS, AND I'M GLAD TO HEAR THAT THERE'S GONNA BE SOME AUGMENTATION OF HOW WE SET UP OUR SYSTEMS WITH PROCORE.
UM, IS THERE, HOW DO WE MANAGE BETTER OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT? I MEAN, THIS TWO PEOPLE THAT ARE HAVE BEEN ADDED, IS IT TO HELP YOU SUCCEED WITH NEPA IN THE ENGAGEMENT PART? IS IT, YOU MENTIONED PROJECT CONTROLS, LIKE, OH, SO I'M SORRY.
DO YOU MEAN THE TWO, UH, ADDED STAFF ADDITIONAL POSITIONS? YES, THOSE ARE IN THE PROJECT CONTROLS AREA.
UM, SO, UH, WE, WE DO HAVE ONE PERSON THERE NOW, BUT THEY'RE AUGMENTED BY, UM, A NUMBER OF FOLKS FROM OUR PROJECT, OR SORRY, PROGRAM MANAGEMENT TEAM.
UM, SO WE ARE GOING TO BRING THAT UP TO THREE PEOPLE IN HOUSE IN PROJECT CONTROLS AND IN PROJECT CONTROLS.
I KNOW, AND I DON'T WANT TO, I JUST WANNA UNDERSTAND BETTER FOR LIGHT RAIL, I KNOW THERE'S A WHOLE LANGUAGE ON HOW WE INVENTORY, FOR LACK OF BETTER WORD, ALL OUR SINGLE, EVERY SINGLE SHEET THAT GETS PRODUCED THERE HAVE AN NOMENCLATURE.
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A VERY SOPHISTICATED SYSTEM THAT YEAH, IT'S A LANGUAGE.UM, HOW DOES THAT CONNECT TO CAP METRO'S PROJECT CONTROLS? LIKE, ARE WE DEALING WITH ANYTHING THAT BRIDGES HOW WE GROW THOSE SYSTEMS OR FUND ANYTHING WITH CAP METRO IN YOUR OWN PROJECT CONTROLS? I MEAN, I'M JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY, SO, WELL, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
UM, SO ANSWER THAT IN A COUPLE OF WAYS.
AND ONE IS THINKING ABOUT PROJECT CONTROLS IN TERMS OF HOW WE'RE MANAGING OUR CONTRACTS AND THE PRODUCTS ASSOCIATED WITH THEM.
OKAY, SO DOCUMENT CONTROLS, YES.
IS A BIG ONE FOR US AND HOW WE'RE MANAGING CHANGE, UM, YOU KNOW, ON THE CONTRACTS AND, UH, YOU KNOW, AND IN THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING.
SO THAT IS, UM, THAT IS FAIRLY INDEPENDENT.
AND I KNOW THAT, FOR EXAMPLE, CAP METRO INDEPENDENTLY HAS PROJECT CONTROLS ON, SAY, THE RAPID PROJECTS, UM, BECAUSE IT IS SPECIFIC TO MANAGING, YOU KNOW, THE CONTRACTS AND THE WORK UNDER EACH OF THOSE CONTRACTS, UHHUH,
UM, SO I THINK THERE'S MORE ENGAGEMENT, ESPECIALLY AS WE MOVE TOWARDS HOW WE'RE GOING TO, YOU KNOW, MANAGE ASSETS, UM, AND TOPICS THAT ARE GONNA BECOME MORE PRESSING, YOU KNOW, IN FUTURE YEARS.
WE, I MEAN MY, MY BRIEF UNDERSTANDING OF PROJECT CONTROLS WITH COMMUTER RAIL, THAT, THAT IN PARTICULAR, I JUST WANTED TO UNDERSTAND IF WE ARE HAVING THAT BRIDGE AS WE DO LIGHT RAIL, IT'S LIKE WE'RE ADDING A NEW PRODUCT OF MOBILITY, FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD, TO THIS INVENTORY OF MOBILITY PRODUCTS.
AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A LANGUAGE MM-HMM,
AND I, YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE AN ANSWER NOW,
AND, UH, AND, AND MAYBE I'LL SAY TOO, THAT'S PART OF OUR THINKING AS WE'RE DEVELOPING OUR CHANGE MANAGEMENT PROCESSES FOR HOW WE GO ABOUT THAT.
UM, AND AS WE ARE MOVING THROUGH THE DESIGN PROCESS AND DEVELOPING THE PROJECT THAT WE, WE KNOW WE HAVE THE APPROPRIATE COORDINATION TOUCH POINTS, WHETHER IT'S WITH, UH, OTHER MODES AND HOW THEY'RE OPERATING OR, YOU KNOW, AND REALLY ANY ASPECT OF IT.
SO WE ARE TRYING TO BE VERY THOUGHTFUL ABOUT WHAT THAT PROCESS IS AND HOW WE'RE GOING TO IMPLEMENT IT.
YEAH, IT'S A SCIENCE AND IT REALLY IS.
ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS? NOT TO BELABOR THE POINT, BUT JUST TO SAY, UM, IF, IF WE'RE WORKING IN AN AREA WHERE WE DO HAVE SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCE AND THERE ARE BEST PRACTICES, IT'S, IT'S, I IMAGINE IT'S GOOD TO LOOK INTERNALLY AND EXTERNALLY JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THINGS THAT AREN'T OBVIOUS.
SO, UH, THAT WE ARE MEETING REGULARLY, THAT WE ARE, UH, DISCUSSING WHAT WE'VE SEEN WORK IN THIS MARKET, UH, THAT WE FIND OUT, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT, UM, WE RECENTLY ATTENDED AN APTA CONFERENCE AND, AND IT'S BEST PRACTICES FROM EVERYWHERE.
SO HOW DO WE MAKE SURE, UH, THAT WE, WHEN SOMETHING NEW IS OCCURRING, THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH THE FOLKS THAT ARE IN THE INDUSTRY AND WE'RE GETTING THE BEST INFORMATION.
I WILL COVER THE ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION DEPARTMENT BUDGET, UH, BEFORE WE TAKE A LOOK AHEAD INTO 2025, WANNA REFLECT BACK A LITTLE BIT ON THIS PAST YEAR AND, AND WHAT THIS DEPARTMENT HAS FOCUSED ON ACHIEVING.
AND, UH, WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THAT IT REALLY HAS BEEN A PRIVILEGE TO WORK WITH A TEAM OF INCREDIBLE PROFESSIONALS THAT HAVE TIRELESSLY WORKED TO ADVANCE THE DESIGN ON THIS PROJECT, UH, THAT SERVES AS THE FOUNDATION FOR MANY OF OUR PROCESSES.
SO THE, THE FEDERAL WORK TO ANALYZE THE, THE ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY FOR THE PROJECT AND, AND REALLY TO ADVANCE, TO COMPLETE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR PROJECT DEVELOPMENT.
THEY HAVE NEVER MISSED A DEADLINE.
THEY ALWAYS KEEP US ON TRACK, AND THEY CONTINUE TO ENGAGE OUR PARTNERS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE DESIGNING AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL IN A WAY THAT'S RIGHT FOR AUSTIN AND MEETS THE REQUIREMENTS THAT WE HAVE IN THIS CITY AND, AND THE REQUIREMENTS OF OUR COMMUNITY AS WELL.
UH, LOOKING AHEAD TO NEXT YEAR, UH, WOULD PROBABLY FOCUS ON TWO PRIMARY OBJECTIVES.
UH, ONE BEING COMPLETING THE REQUIREMENTS FOR PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AS, AS WE ARE NOW FORMALLY INTO THAT PROCESS AND ADVANCING DESIGN, UH, THAT'S NECESSARY TO MEET THOSE REQUIREMENTS.
AND THE OTHER BEING TO PREPARE FOR THE NEXT PHASE OF WORK AND HELPING US TO NOT ONLY
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GET READY FOR AND, AND WORK WITH BRAD AND, AND MANY OTHERS ACROSS THE TEAM TO GET READY FOR THE SOLICITATIONS FOR FINAL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION AND EVEN THE VEHICLES, BUT TO BE READY FOR THOSE TEAMS WHEN THEY COME ON BOARD.THERE'S A LOT OF WORK, UH, WELL BEYOND JUST THE PROCUREMENT ACTIVITIES, BUT TO BE READY TO HANDLE THESE TEAMS WHEN THEY'RE ON BOARD AND HAVING THE RIGHT INFORMATION AND DECISIONS MADE AND, UM, AND ELEMENTS ESTABLISHED TO MAKE THOSE TEAMS SUCCESSFUL AND HAVE EVERYTHING THEY NEED TO DO TO DO THEIR JOB WELL.
AND WE ARE EXCITED AND, AND REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO ENGAGING ALL OF THESE NEW PARTNERS.
UH, YOU KNOW, IN THE NEAR TERM, WE ARE GETTING THE, THE ON-CALL, PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING CONTRACTS THAT WERE RECENTLY AWARDED THIS PAST SPRING UP AND RUNNING.
AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO DOING SO WITH THE DELIVERY PARTNER NEXT YEAR AS WELL, AND REALLY TAKING THE TIME AS, AS REBECCA AND, AND OTHERS HAVE SAID, TO COLLABORATE WITH THOSE PARTNERS TO DEFINE OUR RELATIONSHIPS IN THE RIGHT WAY AND HAVE A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF WHO IS DOING WHAT.
SO, UH, NOTED HERE ARE SOME OF THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES I MENTIONED, THE ON CALL AND, UM, THE UPCOMING DELIVERY PARTNER WORK.
SO WE CURRENTLY HAVE SEVEN TODAY WITH UP TO THREE POSITIONS APPROVED FOR THE NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET.
ONE OF THOSE THREE IS POSTED NOW.
WE ARE SEEKING A, A DIRECTOR OF SAFETY TO HELP MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE GUIDING OUR, NOT ONLY OUR DESIGN, BUT REALLY EVERY SINGLE ASPECT OF ALL OF THE WORK WE DO ACROSS ALL DEPARTMENTS IN A, A SAFE WAY, AND ENSURING THAT EVERYONE INVOLVED IN THIS PROJECT, UH, GOES HOME SAFE AND WELL EVERY DAY.
AND, AND FOR THE DURATION OF THE WORK.
UH, THE OTHER TWO POSITIONS ARE, I WOULD SAY, REALLY SUBJECT TO THAT COLLABORATION WITH THE DELIVERY PARTNER.
UH, ALTHOUGH WE WANT TO HAVE THE FLEXIBILITY TO POTENTIALLY FILL THOSE INTERNALLY, IT IT'S VERY POSSIBLE THOSE OTHER TWO POSITIONS WHEN WE BRING THE DELIVERY PARTNER ON BOARD AND REALLY UNDERSTAND WHERE THE BEST TALENT EXISTS THAT WE MAY ELECT TO NOT FILL THOSE TWO POSITIONS INTERNALLY.
UH, ONE OF THEM IS RELATED TO SYSTEMS AND, AND THAT COULD BE A FUNCTION THAT WE ELECT TO, UH, LEAN ON OUR DELIVERY PARTNER FOR.
AND THE OTHER IS, IS JUST A, A DIRECTOR POSITION TO KIND OF HELP US MANAGE THE DAY-TO-DAY WORK OF, OF ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT ELEMENTS OF DESIGN SIMULTANEOUSLY AND REALLY AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS.
I WAS GONNA ASK ONE, VINCE, I THINK IT MIGHT BE VALUABLE TO GO BACK ON THE ON CALL THAT THAT WAS APPROVED.
CAN ME GO THROUGH THE DIFFERENT BUCKETS OF WORK YES.
THAT EACH OF THEM ARE DOING, YOU KNOW, BETWEEN THE UTILITIES, THE BRIDGE WORK MM-HMM.
AND THAT WORKLOAD AND HOW STAFF IS INTEGRATING WITH THAT.
SO THE, THE WORK FOR THE ON-CALL PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING CONTRACTS, UH, IT SERVES THOSE TWO KEY OBJECTIVES I I LISTED EARLIER OF GETTING US TO A SUFFICIENT LEVEL OF DESIGN TO MEET THE FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND PREPARING US FOR HAVING THE FINAL DESIGNER ON BOARD.
WE'VE BROKEN UP THAT WORK INTO KIND OF FOUR KEY COMPONENTS.
ONE IS ADVANCING THE UTILITY WORK.
UH, THAT'S WORKING CLOSELY WITH OUR NOT ONLY CITY UTILITIES AND PUBLIC UTILITIES HERE, BUT ALSO OUR FRANCHISE AND PRIVATELY OWNED UTILITIES TO CONFIRM WHAT OUR CONFLICTS ARE, WHAT NEEDS TO BE RELOCATED VERSUS WHAT WE THINK MAY BE ABLE TO BE PROTECTED IN PLACE AND STAY WHERE IT IS WITH THE PROJECT.
UH, THAT TEAM WILL ALSO HELP US EVALUATE AND RECOMMEND OPPORTUNITIES FOR WHAT WE CALL ADVANCE UTILITY RELOCATIONS.
SO ELEMENTS OF THE WORK THAT WE MIGHT WANT TO DO SOONER AND, AND HELP DE-RISK THE PROJECT.
SO THINGS LIKE, YOU KNOW, MOVING A KEY UTILITY THAT MAYBE NEEDS TO BE BUILT IN A NEW CORRIDOR AND IN A DIFFERENT STREET, WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO THAT WORK EARLY BEFORE WE'RE ACTUALLY DOING CONSTRUCTION IN THE LIGHT RAIL ALIGNMENT.
A QUESTION, UH, LIKE THE IDEA VALUE ENGINEERING AS YOU GO, I'M INTERESTED IN, UH, THE CHANGE MANAGEMENT PROCESS SURE.
SO THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT WE'VE GOT A WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE THAT LAYS OUT EVERYTHING THAT WE NEED TO DO.
AND IF WE ARE REASSIGNING A TASK OF WHAT TYPE, WHAT TYPE OF TEAM PUTS THAT TOGETHER.
AND HOW DO WE REPORT IT OUT SO THAT, UH, WE SAVED X MM-HMM.
I, I WILL, UM, HIGHLIGHT THAT.
MAYBE LET ME MENTION THE OTHER ON-CALL REAL QUICK, AND THEN WE CAN TALK ABOUT HOW WE MANAGE THAT ACROSS ALL OF THEM.
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BUCKETS ARE FOR THE, UH, THE END TO END, YOU KNOW, CIVIL STATIONS, RAIL SYSTEMS DESIGN ACROSS THE FULL ALIGNMENT.UH, THE NEXT ONE IS THE MAINTENANCE FACILITY.
AND THE LAST ONE, BECAUSE IT, IT, IT WILL BE A SPECIAL THING HERE IS, IS LOOKING AT THE LADY BIRD LAKE BRIDGE.
SO THOSE ARE THE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS.
AND, AND COMMISSIONER TO YOUR POINT, UH, KIND OF DETERMINING WHO'S DOING WHAT AND HOW TO COORDINATE CHANGE ACROSS ALL OF THOSE DIFFERENT ELEMENTS AND INTERFACES IS CRITICAL TO OUR WORK.
WE ARE, UH, I CALL IT A, A TREND LOG, UH, APPROACH WHERE AS WE ADVANCE DESIGN, ANYTHING THAT CHANGES FROM THE BASELINE AND, AND BASELINE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE DEFINE AS WHAT WE WILL BE PUBLISHING IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENT HERE LATER THIS YEAR THAT JEN MENTIONED.
SO AS WE PROGRESS AND ADVANCE THE DESIGN, WE HAVE TO TRACK AND MONITOR ANY CHANGES THAT OCCUR FROM THAT.
UH, AND, AND THOSE CHANGES, UH, COULD HAVE IMPACT.
AND, AND WE NEED TO, UM, YOU KNOW, COORDINATE THOSE.
AND, AND BY IMPACT, I MEAN THEY CAN BE OPPORTUNITIES.
GOOD CHANGES DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN A BAD THING, BUT IT CAN AFFECT OPERATIONS, IT CAN AFFECT COMMUNITY CONCERNS.
IT, IT CAN AFFECT COST, SCHEDULE, ALL OF THOSE ELEMENTS.
AND WE WILL USE A TREND LOG AS DESIGN ADVANCES TO TRACK EACH OF THOSE INDIVIDUAL CHANGES AND NOTE WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR, UM, CARRYING THOSE CHANGES FORWARD.
AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHERE I WAS GOING.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE FOLKS THAT ARE CRITICAL OF IT.
UH, BUT IF WE DOCUMENT WHAT WE DID AND HOW WE DID, SURE.
MIGHT NOT LIKE IT
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS REGARDING THE SAFETY PROGRAM? YES.
SO I HOPE THAT WE GET TO A POINT WHERE WE SAFETY ON OUR PROJECTS INVOLVES NOT JUST OUR EMPLOYEES FOR EVERYBODY THAT COMES IN CONTACT WITH, WITH THE WORK SITE.
AND ONE EXAMPLE WILL STAY WITH ME THE REST OF MY LIFE.
I WITNESSED, UH, UH, A CONTRACTOR'S EMPLOYEE FALL TO HIS DESK.
UH, I HAD, I, I SENT, IN FACT, I MADE A CALL TO STOP THE WORK BECAUSE I FELT THAT EMPLOYEE WAS IN DANGER.
AND ALL LAWYERS ADVISED ME THAT INVOLVING MYSELF IN THE SUBCONTRACTORS, UM, SAFETY ASPECT EXPOSES OUR COMPANY'S RISK.
AND SO I GOT A BETTER JUDGMENT.
I HELD BACK AN EMPLOYEE, FELL ABOUT 50 FEET AND DIED.
UM, AND I DON'T WANT THIS TO HAVE THAT ATTITUDE.
A HUMAN LIFE IS ALWAYS VALUABLE NO MATTER WHO THEY WORK FOR.
SO WHEN YOU DESIGN YOUR SAFETY PROGRAM OR YOU GO TO THE DREAM AND WORK TENT AND BREAD AND FIND A WAY TO LIMIT OUR LIABILITY, BUT SAVE THEIR LIFE, THANK YOU FOR, FOR THAT COMMENT.
AND I THINK IT'S SO CRITICAL THAT SAFETY AND ALSO QUALITY, UH, BE EMBEDDED INTO EVERY ASPECT OF OUR WORK.
NOT JUST THE THE TECHNICAL WORK PRODUCTS THAT WE DELIVER, BUT OUR CULTURE DAY TO DAY, HOW WE ENGAGE WITH COMMUNITY, EVERY PERSON THAT STEPS ONTO OUR JOB SITES, AND ULTIMATELY THE CUSTOMERS THAT ARE, ARE GOING TO USE THIS SYSTEM ONCE IN OPERATION.
I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS THE RIGHT TIME FOR THIS QUESTION, BUT IT IS KIND OF CONNECTING DOTS ON THE, LEMME TRY TO FORMULATE THE QUESTION FIRST.
UM, YOU WERE ADVANCING THESE FOUR BUCKETS RIGHT NOW, AND TO GET THE WORKFORCE TO BEGIN DOING SOME OF THAT PRELIMINARY WORK.
I BELIEVE WE FUNDED A GRANT WITH WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS, I BELIEVE, TO HELP US TRAIN.
AND I'M, THE REASON THIS CAME UP IS WITH SAFETY TRAINING AND HOW WE, I MEAN, IT DOESN'T HAPPEN OVERNIGHT, RIGHT? RIGHT.
NOT ONLY THE SKILL FORCE, BUT THE, WHO WE DEPLOY IN THE FIELD, OUR PARTNER, UH, DELIVERY PARTNER WILL DEPLOY IN THE FIELD THAT TAKES YEARS MM-HMM.
HOW ARE WE DOING WITH THAT? AND HOW, HOW IS THAT BUCKET OF FUNDING INFLUENCING OR HELPING WITH THIS BUDGET? SO, UH, I MIGHT TAG TEAM WITH JEN HERE.
UM, OVERALL, AND THERE'S PROBABLY MULTIPLE FACETS OF, OF THAT.
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UM, THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION THERE IS OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS.UH, THERE'S ALSO MANY OTHER ELEMENTS THAT, THAT WE HAVE TO DO JUST IN OUR, OUR DAY-TO-DAY WORK TO HELP BUILD WORKFORCE AND THE CAPACITY THAT'S GOING TO BE NEEDED TO DELIVER A, A PROJECT OF THIS SCALE.
AND SOME OF THOSE ELEMENTS ARE, UH, EMBEDDED IN CONTRACTS THAT WE'RE CONSIDERING.
YOU KNOW, AS WE LOOK TO BRING ON OUR, OUR FINAL DESIGNERS AND CONTRACTORS, UM, HERE THAT BRAD'S GONNA TALK ABOUT IN A LITTLE BIT, WHAT CONTRACT TERMS AND REQUIREMENTS SHOULD WE, UM, EMBED IN IN THEIR WORK.
UH, IT'S ALSO WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS AND, YOU KNOW, WE ACTUALLY JUST, UM, JEN AND GREG AND I MET WITH A CC JUST EARLIER THIS WEEK TO TALK ABOUT NOT ONLY OUR, OUR PROJECT FROM A, YOU KNOW, DESIGN AND OPERATIONS PERSPECTIVE, AND THOSE INTERFACES WITH A CC HAVING, UH, MULTIPLE LOCATIONS ALONG THE LINE.
BUT HOW CAN WE PARTNER TOGETHER TO GET AHEAD OF THOSE REALLY UNIQUE, UH, RAIL REQUIREMENTS AND, AND SKILLED LABOR THAT WE'LL NEED THAT IS NOT NECESSARILY TYPICAL TO WORKFORCE TRAINING PROGRAMS THAT EXIST HERE TODAY.
SO THINGS LIKE RAIL SYSTEMS AND, YOU KNOW, THINGS THAT THERE PROBABLY ISN'T THE CAPACITY HERE 'CAUSE IT'S, IT'S, IT HASN'T NEEDED TO BE HERE.
BUT JEN, MAYBE IF YOU WANNA TALK MORE BROADLY AS WELL ABOUT THOSE PARTNERSHIPS.
AND, AND I'LL FOCUS TOO ON THE NEXT YEAR AND WHAT WE'RE REALLY LOOKING TO ACCOMPLISH.
UM, BECAUSE CERTAINLY WE WILL BE, UM, LOOKING AT CONTRACTS, YOU KNOW, FOR FUTURE PROJECT DELIVERY AND, AND CONTEMPLATING WHAT, WHAT GOES IN THERE FROM A WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVE.
BUT I THINK YOU MENTIONED WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS AND BEING PART OF THESE REGIONAL PARTNERSHIPS WILL CONTINUE TO BE VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY THIS IS A REGIONAL TOPIC, UM, UH, LOOKING FOR NOT JUST CON CONSTRUCTION WORKFORCE, BUT ALSO FUTURE OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE.
AND I THINK IT'S CONTINUING TO BE PART OF THOSE PARTNERSHIPS AND, AND COLLABORATING REGIONALLY AND TO KIND OF FURTHER CLARIFY WHAT TO DELIVER, YOU KNOW, ATP'S PROJECT, WHAT WILL BE NEEDED IN TERMS OF THE TYPES OF POSITIONS, THE TYPES OF WORKFORCE, AND THE TIMELINE FOR THAT.
SO WE'RE GENERATING THAT INFORMATION JUST TO HELP US PARTICIPATE MORE EFFECTIVELY IN THESE REGIONAL PARTNERSHIPS AS WELL.
SO IF WE'RE PARTNERING WITH A CC, AND THANK YOU FOR, FOR DOING THAT LEG WORK, WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE FINANCIALLY ON, DO WE FUND, DO WE PARTNER WITH THEM? DO WE GIVE SCHOLARSHIPS? LIKE FROM A BUDGET STANDPOINT, IS THERE A PARTNERSHIP THAT TAKES A FINANCIAL THAT HELPS A C, C AND HELPS US? HOW, HOW, HOW WOULD THAT, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? YEAH, LEMME TAKE A STAB AT THAT.
ONE, TO GO BACK, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
THAT WAS REALLY A STUDY THAT THEY PUT IN PLACE TO LOOK AT THE CURRENT IN WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND NETWORK IN AUSTIN.
THE RESULTS ARE THAT WERE SOMEWHAT VALIDATING.
WHAT I THINK EVERYONE AROUND THE TABLE ALREADY KNEW IS WHEN YOU GOT $25 BILLION WORTH OF INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS COMING, THE, THE GAPS BETWEEN WORKFORCE AND THE DEMAND FOR WORKFORCE ARE BIG.
AND SO HOW DO YOU BRING, AGAIN, WHAT IS A GREAT, A GREAT, UM, GREAT, UM, ASSETS THAT WE HAVE LOCALLY.
WE KNOW BOTH A CC DOES A LOT OF WONDERFUL TRAINING WORKFORCE AS A FRONT DOOR BRINGING PEOPLE IN, BUT ALSO SOME OTHER SMALL NONPROFITS THAT DO A LOT OF TRAINING AS WELL.
SO HOW DO YOU BRING EVERYBODY TOGETHER? SO WE DID THAT STUDY OUR NEXT EFFORT.
AND BY THE WAY, ON THAT, DOTTIE AND I ACTUALLY SIT ON A WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS, UH, GROUP THAT MEETS ABOUT EVERY MONTH TO TALK ABOUT NOT JUST OUR OWN NEEDS, BUT HOW THEY WORK.
THE FOLKS FROM THE CITY THERE, FROM THE AIRPORT, TXDOT, TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS ALIGNMENT AS THESE NEW PROGRAMS ARE GETTING DESIGNED.
OUR EFFORT CHAIR, I THINK IS GONNA BE FOCUSED ON US ACTING AS THIS CENTRAL PIVOT ROLE, UH, AS LINDSAY SAID, BETWEEN CONTRACTORS, THE, THE, THE CONTRACTING COMMUNITY, WHO ARE THE FOLKS THAT ULTIMATELY WILL BE HIRING AND SUBCONTRACTORS AND WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THIS ECOSYSTEM THAT EXISTS AND IS CHANGING WITH THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY.
KIND OF A CC ACTING AS A FRONT DOOR FOR A LOT OF THE TRAINING PROGRAMS. UM, I THINK OUR ROLE WILL BE, UM, AND WE, WE WANNA WORK THROUGH THIS.
WE WANNA LET THAT PROCESS WORK OUT, THE DESIGN OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY WORK THROUGH.
WE SEE ONE OF OUR CORE EFFORTS THOUGH, IS FOCUSING ON REQUIREMENTS THAT WE WANNA PUT IN OUR CONTRACTS ABOUT WORKFORCE.
WE THINK THAT'S THE BEST WAY TO LEVERAGE OUR FUNDS TO MAKE SURE THERE'S A CONNECTION THERE, BUT OPEN TO NEW INVESTMENTS AS THEY COME FORWARD.
IF WE HAVE TO HELP ACCELERATE OR AMPLIFY SPECIFIC TRAINING PROGRAMS THAT ARE GONNA BE VALUED TO US, WE'RE VERY MUCH OPEN THAT WE JUST, WE WANT TO, I THINK THERE'S SOME ADDITIONAL WORK THAT TOMARA ATKINSON IS DOING TO LOOK AT WHAT THOSE NEW
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INVESTMENTS WOULD BE.AND CLEARLY WE'D HAVE TO BRING THAT BACK HERE FOR ANY NEW INVESTMENTS.
SO, UM, I, I'M HAPPY THAT WE ARE ASSOCIATING, UH, SAFETY, UH, AS AN INTEGRAL PART OF OUR TRAINING PROGRAM.
SO, UH, SO CRITICAL, HAVE TO AGREE WITH MY COLLEAGUE.
UH, ONE, UH, WHEN, UH, IN THE OLD DAYS, WE USED TO HAVE, UH, SITE BY SITE BY SITE AND AN OP PROGRAM OR A ROSA PROGRAM OR OWNER CONTROL INSURANCE.
I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW WHETHER THAT IS THE RIGHT VEHICLE, BUT THERE SHOULD BE SOME VEHICLE THAT GUARANTEES US SITE BY SITE, EVERY SINGLE SITE, UH, THAT ALL OF THE PERSONNEL, PARTICULARLY OUR NEW PERSONNEL IS OSHA 10 TRAINED, THAT ALL OF OUR MANAGERS ARE OSHA 30 TRAINED, THAT SOMEBODY SIGNS IN ON EVERY SITE.
UH, WE HAVE FOUND THAT THOSE PLACES WHERE SAFETY IS NUMBER ONE, UH, NUMBER ONE, THEY ALWAYS COME IN ON TIME.
THEY ALWAYS COME IN ON BUDGET BECAUSE THERE'S NO STOPPAGE OF WORK BECAUSE SAFETY'S A PRIORITY.
SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE VEHICLE IS IF THAT IS STILL OPS OR IF WE'VE EVOLVED TO SOMETHING ELSE, BUT IT'S, IT'S CRITICAL TO KNOW THEN IN EVERY TYPE OF SITE, UH, WE HAVE CONSIDERED EVERY TYPE OF PERSONNEL THAT'S THERE.
AND WE HAVE TAKEN THE PRECAUTIONS THAT ARE NECESSARY TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE IS TRAINED AND CERTIFIED TO BE, TO WORK AS SAFELY AS POSSIBLE.
COMMISSIONER, I KNOW YOUR EXPERIENCE WORKING ON THESE LARGE CAPITAL PROJECTS, RIGHT? IN, IN YOUR, IN YOUR CAREER.
YOU SEE THAT ULTIMATELY TO GET THESE DONE, YOU NEED, UH, A SAFE WORKFORCE, RIGHT? THAT FEELS SAFE OUT THERE FOR US, IT COMES ABOUT, IT'S ABOUT CREATING CULTURE, RIGHT? A CULTURE OF SAFETY.
WE KNOW WE'RE GONNA HAVE, UM, WONDERFUL PARTNERS THAT ARE GONNA JOIN US, UH, TO HELP BUILD OUT AUSTIN FOR US.
UM, FOLKS THAT ARE HERE, NEW FOLKS ARE GONNA COME, UM, BUT ULTIMATELY WANT EVERYONE TO VIEW AS THEY'RE WORKING FOR ONE TEAM, RIGHT? THEY MIGHT, THEIR PAYCHECK MIGHT BE COMING FROM A DIFFERENT PLACE, BUT IT'S ONE TEAM.
AND THAT CULTURE, I THINK SAFETY ALLOWS FOR US TO KIND OF CROSS ACROSS THAT.
AND SO I THINK YOU'LL, AS WE, AS WE TALK MORE, A LOT OF THESE GREAT TOPICS AS WE DIVE MORE IN FOR OC OUR OCTOBER WORK SESSION ON DELIVERY, I THINK THIS, THIS, THIS, UM, PROBABLY REQUIRES A FURTHER CONVERSATION.
'CAUSE I THINK HAVING IT IS BOTH.
SO WE, AS WE BUILD, 'CAUSE WE'RE JUST START TO YOUR POINT, WE'RE JUST STARTING TO BUILD, RIGHT? AND IT'S ALWAYS FOR US ABOUT READINESS.
THAT WE'RE DOING THINGS NOW TO BE READY FOR THREE YEARS VERSUS TWO MONTHS BEFORE WE BEGAN, OH, WHAT HAVE WE THOUGHT ABOUT FROM X, Y, Z? SO I THINK THIS DESERVES A DEEPER DIALOGUE BECAUSE OF, BECAUSE OF THAT.
BUT IT'S HOW DO WE BUILD A CULTURE HERE, AND THEN HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT OUR TEAMS THAT WE'RE BUILDING IN, UM, EMBRACE THAT CULTURE? UM, BECAUSE ULTIMATELY I THINK BOARD MEMBER GARZA WHAT YOU SAID, THAT IS CLEARLY OUR, EVERY, EVERY DAY THAT WE WAKE UP WILL BE THAT WILL BE, HAS TO BE FRONT AND CENTER IN OUR, IN OUR DELIVERY OF THIS PROJECT IS SAFETY FOR OUR WORKERS, SAFETY FOR OUR CITIZENS THAT ARE GONNA BE OUT THERE AS CONSTRUCTION'S HAPPENING, AS WELL AS KNOWING THERE'S OTHER CONSTRUCTION HAPPENING.
AND THAT INTEGRATION, WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH I 35, MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT IT AS A SYSTEM IS SOMETHING THAT, UM, IT, IT'S, IT'S BEYOND IMPORTANT, UM, REGARDING THE, THE MONIES THAT WE SPEND ON WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.
UM, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHAT WE'RE DEALING WITH, BUT AT THE END OF THE ROAD, I WANNA KNOW HOW MANY JOBS WE CREATED AND I WANNA KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE WE TRAIN TO FILL THOSE JOBS.
OTHERWISE IT'S BASICALLY AN ABSTRACT, UH, PROBLEM THAT WE ADDRESS.
AND ONE CONCRETE NUMBERS THAT'S THAT SHOW WE'RE ACTUALLY HIRING LOCAL PEOPLE PLACING IN THOSE JOBS BECAUSE THAT WAS A HUGE SELLING POINT FOR PROJECT CONNECT.
THAT LOCAL RESOURCES WOULD CREATE LOCAL JOBS.
SO WE, NOT EVERY SINGLE ONE, BUT WE CERTAINLY WANT A TRAINING SYSTEM THAT, THAT EMPLOYS THE FOLKS WHO ULTIMATELY WE HOPE WILL RIDE THE SYSTEM.
SO THOUSANDS OF JOBS, AND AGAIN, AS I KICK MY NOTES FOR, I THINK THIS IS A ANOTHER, AS WE TALK ABOUT DELIVERY IN OUR OCTOBER KIND OF WORKSHOPS SITTING AROUND THE TABLE AGAIN LIKE THIS, THAT'S AN ELEMENT THAT WE, LET'S LET'S GET, GET, BRING YOU ON WHAT WORKFORCE HAS DONE.
UH, WE GET TOMER HERE TO TALK ABOUT THAT AND THEN KIND OF WHAT THE GO AHEAD LOOKS LIKE.
AND I WOULD JUST LIKE TO ADD, UM, CONTRACTUALLY WHAT WE'RE STARTING TO DO, AND WE WE'VE DEVELOPED THIS WITH A DELIVERY PARTNER, IS THERE'S A SCOREABLE SECTION THAT THEY HAVE TO PROPOSE ON, ON WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND HOW THEY INC ANTICIPATE INCLUDING LOCAL WORKFORCE AS A PART OF THE DELIVERY PARTNER, UM, EMPLOYEE GROUP.
UM, SO IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'LL EVALUATE AS PART OF THEIR WORK PLAN.
AND THEN ONE OF THEIR ASSIGNMENTS WILL ALSO BE HELPING US DEVELOP, UM, AND STRENGTHEN OUR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT POLICY AS WE MOVE FORWARD AND, UH, ON THESE LARGER
[00:55:01]
CONTRACTS.SO WE DO HAVE A MECHANISM BUILT IN WITH DELIVERY PARTNER WHERE WE'RE ASKING THEM TO IDENTIFY THEIR OWN WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM ON INCORPORATING LOCAL WORKFORCE IN THEIR WORK, AND THEN HELPING US DEVELOP A BROADER WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM THAT WE CAN INCLUDE IN OUR CONTRACTUAL FUTURE LARGER CONTRACTS WHERE, UM, WE HOPE TO ANTICIPATE LARGER GROWTH ON THAT.
AND THEN WE ARE KEEPING TRACK OF LOCAL FIRMS THAT ARE AWARDED CONTRACTS SO WE CAN KEEP A RECORD OF, YOU KNOW, WHO IS HELPING US BUILD THE SYSTEM LOCALLY AND, UH, REGIONALLY.
SO WE ARE KEEPING THAT RECORD OF, OF DEVELOPMENT BOTH AS PRIMES AND SUBCONTRACTORS, UM, THAT WE CAN PROVIDE REPORTING ON AS NEEDED AS THE PROJECT MOVES FORWARD AS WELL.
I LOVE THE IDEA, THOUGH, TO LIST THE TRACKING LIST OF OUR THANK YOU.
UM, SO, UH, YOU KNOW, IN THE ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN DESIGN DEPARTMENT, UM, YOU KNOW, AS WE CONTINUE TO WORK TO, TO ENSURE THAT THIS IS A, A PEOPLE CENTERED DESIGN OR IT'S, WE'RE APPROACHING THE DESIGN PROCESS FROM A PEOPLE CENTERED PERSPECTIVE, UM, I WILL SAY THAT EVERY DAY THAT WE WORK ON THIS AND WE CONTINUE TO ADVANCE THE PROGRAM, UM, THE, THE OPPORTUNITY, THE, THE, THE TRANSFORMATIVE NATURE OF THE OPPORTUNITY IN FRONT OF US, IT JUST, IT GETS OUR, OUR APPRECIATION OF THAT JUST DEEPENS AND IS FURTHER ENRICHED.
WE CONTINUE TO DISCOVER WAYS IN WHICH THIS PROGRAM WILL CHANGE PEOPLE'S LIVES IN THIS COMMUNITY FOR THE BETTER.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE, WE ARE ALWAYS SEEKING TO IDENTIFY THOSE, PUT A PIN IN THEM, DEVELOP THEM, INTEGRATE THEM INTO THE, INTO A PROGRAM.
SO IT'S, UM, I WILL SAY IT'S, IT'S, IT'S A HUGELY SATISFYING PROCESS TO BE ENGAGED IN.
UM, YOU KNOW, FROM THE DEPARTMENT'S PERSPECTIVE, WE, YOU KNOW, WE, UH, WE, UH, WE, THE WAY WE DO THAT IS REALLY THROUGH COLLABORATION, RIGHT? SO WE HAVE A RELATIVELY SMALL STAFF, SMALL BUT MIGHTY.
UM, UH, AND I WANT TO GIVE, FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO GIVE THE, THE STAFF SHOUT OUT, UM, LISA STORE WHO WAS BROUGHT IN INITIALLY TO MANAGE OUR SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAM.
UM, SHE'S TAKEN ON MORE RESPONSIBILITY IN TERMS OF, UH, COLLABORATING WITH ALL OF OUR PARTNERS.
UM, YOU KNOW, UH, PARTLY 'CAUSE SHE HAS A LOT OF EXPERIENCE WITH THE CITY ALSO, SO FROM HER TIME THERE.
SO I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, COLLABORATING WITH ENGINEERING OF COURSE, BUT ALSO THE PLANNING TEAMS, UM, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, OBVIOUSLY ALL OF THAT WOVEN INTO OUR WORK.
UM, AS WELL AS OUR WORK WITH THE PARTNERS, UM, BOTH CAP METRO AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
SO I THINK WE ARE, AGAIN, WE'RE, WE ARE A SMALL TEAM, BUT WE, WE LEVERAGE OUR WORK REALLY THROUGH A COLLABORATIVE PROCESS WITH THE REST OF, OF THE OFFICE.
AND IT'S REALLY BEEN A PLEASURE, UM, TO DO THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK, UH, I ALSO WANNA GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO ALEX MEDINA, WHO MANY OF YOU PROBABLY DON'T KNOW, WHO'S THE NEWEST MEMBER OF OUR TEAM WHO WAS BROUGHT IN TO REALLY FOCUS ON, HE'S AN URBAN DESIGNER, UM, WITH REALLY, REALLY, REALLY TALENTED PERSON.
AND SO, UM, I THINK WE JUST WE'RE IN A REALLY GREAT SPOT FROM A PERSONNEL RESOURCE STANDPOINT, AND I COULDN'T BE MORE PROUD OF THE WORK THAT THEY DO EVERY DAY.
UM, WE ARE PLANNING TO INCREASE THE TEAM A LITTLE BIT, PARTLY BECAUSE LISA'S TAKEN ON MORE RESPONSIBILITY.
I THINK WE WANNA BE ABLE TO BOLSTER OUR SUSTAINABILITY RESOURCES TO MAKE SURE AS WE GET MORE DETAILED, UM, AND MORE IN AND ADVANCED ON THE DESIGN, TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT IS FULLY INTEGRATED AND TRACKED AS WE, AS WE MOVE THE DESIGN FORWARD ACROSS, YOU KNOW, ALL, ALL OF OUR WORK.
UM, IN TERMS OF, OF OUTCOMES, YOU KNOW, WE, AGAIN, WE ARE, WE'RE REALLY MARRIED UP WITH THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN OTHER DEPARTMENTS, RIGHT? SO, UM, YOU KNOW, ONE IS WE'RE WE'RE WORKING IN PARALLEL WITH THE ENGINEERING TEAM AND THE ON CALLS THAT ARE COMING ON, UM, SHORTLY, YOU KNOW, BOTH ON, ON MAKING SURE THAT THE, THE, UH, STATION DESIGN AND THE PUBLIC FACING ELEMENTS DESIGN AND, AND THE PREPARING FOR, UH, FUTURE DELIVERY OF THOSE ELEMENTS IS INTEGRATED, UM, WITH THE REST OF THE DESIGN TEAM.
SO THE, UH, THE HUG TEAM, WHICH HAS BEEN WORKING REALLY INTENSIVELY, I'LL TALK ABOUT THEIR WORK IN A SECOND.
UM, THEY, UH, THEY'LL BE WORKING BASICALLY IN PARALLEL WITH THE ON-CALL, UH, CONTRACTS, UM, TO BASICALLY MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S REALLY AN INTEGRATED PROJECT DELIVERY TEAM.
SO, UM, THEY'LL BE DEVELOPING STATION, THE STATIONS DESIGNS, UM, REALLY GUIDELINES FOR THE STATIONS DESIGNS, SO TO, TO, TO HELP COMPLETE THE FEDERAL PROCESSES THAT ARE BEING DONE FOR THE PROGRAM AS A WHOLE.
UM, BUT WORKING IN TANDEM WITH THE ON-CALL ENGINEERS AND, AND OTHER ENGINEERS THAT ARE ENGAGED.
UM, WE ARE ALSO ADVANCING OUR SUSTAINABILITY CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES AS WELL.
UM, SO MAKING SURE THAT THAT IS INTEGRATED INTO ALL OF OUR PROCESSES.
UM, AND SO THAT WILL CONTINUE.
UM, AND WE'RE ALSO WORKING REALLY CLOSELY WITH THE PROJECT CONNECT OFFICE AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO DEVELOP A FRAMEWORK FOR
[01:00:01]
HOW WE ACTUALLY INTEGRATE, UM, EVERY, ALL SORT OF, ALL MODES AND THE NEEDS OF ALL USERS WITHIN THE RIGHT OF WAY.UM, SO NOT JUST THE TRAIN, BUT ALSO, YOU KNOW, HOW DO PEDESTRIANS AND, UM, HOW DOES THE BUS NETWORK AND HOW DO PEOPLE GET FROM ONE MODE TO ANOTHER, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL THOSE NEEDS ARE MET.
AND DEVELOPING A FRAMEWORK FOR HOW, UH, DECISIONS CAN BE MADE, UM, YOU KNOW, TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT ALL THOSE NEEDS ARE MET.
SO, UM, TREES ARE A BIG PART OF THAT.
UM, WE WILL BE DEVELOPING A TREE MANUAL ESSENTIALLY FOR HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PRESERVING ALL THE TREES THAT WE CAN, WE'RE PLANTING TREES AS MANY AS WE CAN WHERE WE CAN, HOW IS THAT COORDINATED WITH UTILITIES, ET CETERA.
SO ALL OF THAT BEING INTEGRATED INTO OUR, UM, DELIVERY PROCESS.
UM, SO, UH, YEAH, ONE THING THAT'S NOT ON THE, ON THE SLIDE THAT I ALSO WANNA MENTION IS THAT WE ARE GONNA START BUILDING OUR FRAMEWORK FOR PUBLIC ART AS WELL.
WE KNOW THAT THAT'S GONNA BE AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE PROGRAM, AND I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THAT IS AN INTEGRATED ELEMENT AND NOT SOMETHING THAT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, ADDED ON AT THE END.
SO, BUILDING A REALLY THOUGHTFUL FRAMEWORK FOR HOW THAT CAN BE INTEGRATED, HOW ARTISTS ARE SELECTED, UM, WHAT THE COMMUNITY'S ROLE IN THAT PROCESS IS, ET CETERA.
SO STARTING TO BUILD THAT OUT SO THAT WHEN OUR COLLABORATIVE CONTRACTING PARTNER COMES ON BOARD, THAT WE, WE HAVE SOME REALLY THOUGHTFUL, A THOUGHTFUL APPROACH TOWARDS THAT PART OF THE PROGRAM AS WELL.
I NEED YOU TO FOCUS A LITTLE BIT ON, UH, AS WE WERE TALKING ABOUT SCOOTERS, MAKING IT A LITTLE WIDER.
FOUR WHEELS KIND OF LOOKS LIKE A SURFBOARD, UH, BECAUSE THE ONES YOU GOT AREN'T WORKING FOR ME.
I, SO I, IT'S A, IT IS A GREAT POINT.
I MEAN, AGAIN, WHEN I SAY ABOUT ENRICHING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE NEEDS OF OUR COMMUNITY, UM, ALL OF THE MODES THAT WE HAVE TO INCORPORATE, YOU KNOW, THEY ALL REQUIRE SPACE, RIGHT? AND SO, AND SPACE IS LIMITED.
SO REALLY BEING THOUGHTFUL ABOUT HOW DO WE ACTUALLY APPROACH A DESIGN PROCESS WHERE ALL THOSE, ALL THOSE NEEDS CAN BE MET, UM, WHICH COULD INCLUDE, I'M GOING TO TEE UP, YOU KNOW, PROJECTS THAT MIGHT BE OUTSIDE OF THE SCOPE OF THE LIGHT RAIL PROGRAM, RIGHT? WE MAY NEED TO, YOU KNOW, COORDINATE WITH OTHER PROJECTS THAT, THAT FEED INTO THE LIGHT RAIL PROGRAM TO HELP SUPPORT IT AND MAKE IT WORK BETTER.
SO, TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THOSE POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES ARE AS WELL.
JUST NEEDED FOUR WHEELS,
IF YOU CAN GET THE CITY TO COURT TO ALIGN THE THREE POLICIES, WE'LL HAVE ACCOMPLISHED SOMETHING I NEVER KNEW
THAT'S WHERE, THAT'S WHERE WE'RE GOING.
I MEAN, I THINK IT'S, UH, WE CHAT.
ARE YOU TRYING?
YEAH, I MEAN, I, THIS IS NOT NECESSARILY A QUESTION, BUT JUST A COMMENT TO THE, THERE'S ALWAYS SO MUCH EMPHASIS ON UTILITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE AND THINKING OF TREES AS INFRASTRUCTURE, I THINK ELEVATES THE CALIBER OF THE VALUE THAT THEY BRING AND THE USABILITY OF OUR SYSTEM OVERALL.
SO YOU'LL HEAR EVERY CHANCE I GET, I'M GONNA MENTION THAT IN EVERY MEETING I GET, SO BEAR WITH ME.
BUT THAT REALLY MANIFESTS INTO SO MANY WIN, WIN, WIN, WIN-WINS FOR, FOR OUR CLIMATE, FOR OUR ENVIRONMENT, FOR SO MANY THINGS.
UM, SO FUNDING IT AND BEING INTENTIONAL ABOUT THE POLICIES THAT MAKE THAT COULD MAKE THAT HAPPEN IS SOMETHING THAT CAN BE AN ACCIDENT.
AND I, I LOVE HEARING FROM YOU, PETER, THAT INCORPORATING THE, THE POLICIES AND HOW WE'RE GOING TO IMPLEMENT ART IN ART IN TRANSIT.
SO YOU HAVE A GREAT LEGACY OF OTHER ENTITIES THAT WE CAN LEARN FROM DART, I THINK, UH, OTHER, OTHER PLACES AROUND THE UNITED STATES THAT HAVE REALLY BROUGHT ART AS, AS FUNDAMENTAL PART OF THE FABRIC OF THE DESIGN, BUT ALSO, I, ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS THAT I SEE IS FUNCTIONAL ART, THE ART IN PUBLIC PLACES, BUT IT'S ALSO SERVES A FUNCTION THAT IT'S BEAUTIFUL, IT'S DELIGHTFUL, AND IT'S ALSO FUNCTIONAL.
SO REALLY THINK IN THOSE TERMS THAT I THINK COULD RENDER MORE BENEFIT TO OUR, TO BEING STEWARDS OF THIS FUNDS.
SO I THINK IT COULD BE GOOD OPPORTUNITIES, BUT AS WE'RE THINKING OF THIS OF ONE QUESTION I HAVE FOR BOTH YOU AND LINDSAY THAT I NOTICED WITH YOUR SLIDES THAT'S DIFFERENT FROM ALL THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS IS THAT THE BUSINESS SUPPORT CONTRACTS ARE ZEROED OUT.
SO I WANTED TO UNDERSTAND, IS IT BECAUSE WE'RE GETTING A DELIVERY PARTNER OR HELP HELP ME UNDERSTAND MORE WHAT, WHY, WHY THESE TWO PARTICULAR GROUPS ARE ZEROED OUT? SO I CAN SPEAK TO THAT.
UH, THESE TWO GROUPS ESPECIALLY ARE AUGMENTED BY, UM, PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACTS.
SO YOU'LL SEE WE, WE TALK ABOUT CONTRACTS IN A COUPLE PLACES IN A COUPLE DIFFERENT WAYS.
[01:05:01]
SERVICES CONTRACTS ARE THOSE, UM, THAT ARE WORKING DIRECTLY ON THE, SO AGAIN, THE, THE HUG, THE HDRS, THOSE, THOSE BIG CONTRACTS.AND SO THESE TWO DEPARTMENTS, WHILE THEY'RE STAFFING AND THEIR, UH, BUSINESS SUPPORT CONTRACTS ARE LOWER, THEY'RE MORE HEAVILY AUGMENTED, OKAY.
UM, BY THOSE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACTS.
SO WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT BUSINESS SUPPORT CONTRACTS, WE'RE TALKING MORE, YOU KNOW, LIKE IT SERVICES, YOU KNOW, UM, FINANCIAL ADVISORY SERVICES, THOSE CONTRACTS THAT ARE SUPPORTING THE OVERALL ENTITY AND HELPING US MANAGE, BUT NOT NECESSARILY WORKING DIRECTLY ON THE PROJECTS.
IT'S JUST SORT OF HOW WE, THOSE BUSINESS SUPPORT CONTRACTS ARE PART OF OUR ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES, WE CALL THEM.
THAT, THAT MAKES ME FEEL BETTER, BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE A BIG, THEY HAVE SUPPORT.
I WAS LIKE, HOW, YEAH, IT'S LIKE HOW BENEFIT, HOW DOES THAT WORK? I'M SORRY, BUT I'M, THANK YOU FOR THE CLARIFICATION.
UM, AGAIN, SIMILAR TO, TO PETER.
I JUST WANNA SHOUT OUT THE TEAM, REALLY.
UM, THINK FOR A GOOD PERIOD OF TIME, IT WAS MYSELF, JAMIE, AND REEN, WHO'S NOW OUR SVP OVER FINANCIAL SERVICES.
AND BETWEEN THE THREE OF US, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO, TO TACKLE SO MUCH.
AND THIS JUST THIS PAST YEAR, WE WERE ABLE TO, TO ONBOARD SOME ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ON BOTH THE BUDGETING AND THE ACCOUNTING SIDE OF THE HOUSE.
UM, BUT AGAIN, WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING AT WHAT WE NEED TO ADVANCE OVER THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR, AND THERE ARE SOME ADDITIONAL RESOURCES THAT WE'RE ANTICIPATING ON BRINGING ONBOARD.
UM, SO WE WILL BE LOOKING AT BRINGING ON A, A DIRECTOR OF ACCOUNTING.
SO SHEREEN, WHO WAS OUR SVP RIGHT NOW WE'RE FINANCIAL SERVICES, UM, WAS PROMOTED AND WE'RE GONNA BE BACKFILLING HER ROLE.
SHE'S BEEN AMAZING AND BEEN ABLE TO REALLY GET US THROUGH THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS OF OUR AUDITS REALLY.
UM, AND, AND ANOTHER LARGE EFFORT THAT, AGAIN, THE TEAM WAS ABLE TO SORT OF GET THROUGH THIS PAST YEAR WAS, UM, REALLY FINALIZING THE, THE INDEPENDENT SIDE, UM, OR INDEPENDENT NATURE OF A TP WITH FINISHING AND FINALIZING OUR OWN, UM, ERP OR FINANCIAL SYSTEM.
SO, UH, THANKFULLY TO DOTTIE AND HER TEAM, THEY BEEN, THEY WERE A GREAT RESOURCE AS WELL AS WE WERE CONDUCTING THIS EFFORT.
UM, 'CAUSE ORIGINALLY WE WERE HOUSED WITHIN THE SAME ENVIRONMENT AS CAP METRO.
UM, AND LUCKILY SO BECAUSE WE WERE ABLE TO REALLY LEVERAGE, AGAIN, YOUR, YOUR TEAM'S EXPERTISE AS WE WERE CRAFTING THE ENVIRONMENT.
SO, UM, WE WERE ABLE TO KIND OF BENEFIT FROM THAT ASPECT.
AND THEN THIS YEAR WE LOOKED AT ONBOARDING IT AND BRING IT INTO OUR SORT OF DOMAIN OF IT THAT'S, UH, A TP LED.
UM, SO WE WERE ABLE TO FINALIZE THAT THIS YEAR.
AND AGAIN, WE'RE, WE'RE CONTINUING ON WITH, UM, SUSTAINING THAT ENVIRONMENT THROUGH FY 25.
AND REALLY, AGAIN, FINANCIAL SERVICES IS, IS REALLY A SUPPORT NATURED, UM, DEPARTMENT FOR THE ORGANIZATION AS A WHOLE.
SO WE'RE HERE, WE WORK CLOSELY WITH JEN AND HER GROUP ON THE PROJECT CONTROL SIDE.
AND AS THEY'RE PUSHING FORWARD THEIR EFFORT TO ONBOARD THEIR PROJECT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, WE'RE GONNA BE MAKING SURE THAT BOTH THAT SYSTEM AND OUR FINANCIAL SYSTEM ARE BOTH INTEGRATED.
SO AGAIN, WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE'S WORKING FROM THE SAME DATA SET.
UM, SO AGAIN, AS, AS WE PUSH FORWARD THOSE EFFORTS, SOME OF THE OTHER OBJECTIVES THAT WE'RE GONNA BE LOOKING AT COMPLETING HERE OVER THE NEXT YEAR, AGAIN, IS CONTINUING TO, TO PUSH FORWARD ON OUR FINANCING PROGRAM.
UM, WE HAVE THE, THE ISSUANCE SIDE OF, OF THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT THAT WILL BE COMPLETING, HOPEFULLY IN THIS NEXT FISCAL YEAR, AND REALLY LOOKING AT OTHER TYPES OF OBLIGATIONS THAT WE MAY BE ISSUING TO HELP COMPLETE AND ROUND OUT THE FINANCIAL PLAN FOR, FOR THE PROJECT AS A WHOLE.
AND AGAIN, LASTLY, I, I GUESS I WOULD MENTION IS WE ADVANCE THROUGH THE FEDERAL PROCESS.
UM, WE'RE CONTINUING TO LOOK AT OUR INTERNAL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ON THE GRANT MANAGEMENT AND GRANT REPORTING SIDE OF THE HOUSE, KNOWING THAT THAT'S GONNA BE A BIG REQUIREMENT AND BIG LIFT AS WE EXECUTE THE FFGA.
SO AGAIN, JUST THINKING 3, 4, 5 STEPS AHEAD TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE BOTH THOSE PROCEDURES IN PLACE AND THOSE RESOURCES REALLY IN PLACE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN, UM, MEET WHATEVER REQUIREMENTS THE FTA MAY PUT ON US AS WE EXECUTE OUR FFGA.
UM, THE, AGAIN, THAT'S, SO CHAIRS YOU MENTIONED, THE BUSINESS SUPPORT CONTRACTS BETWEEN
[01:10:01]
MY DEPARTMENT AND YOU'LL SEE HERE, UM, SOON WITH THE BUSINESS SERVICES DEPARTMENT AS WELL.MOST OF THOSE CONTRACTS ARE ON OUR SIDE OF THE HOUSE.
SO WITHIN, UM, THE FINANCIAL SERVICES REALMS, WHAT'S WHAT'S INCORPORATED REALLY IN THAT BUSINESS SUPPORT CONTRACT BUCKET ARE THE SERVICES THAT ARE RENDERED FROM ERNST AND YOUNG.
SO THEY REALLY, AGAIN, HELP US ACROSS THE ENTIRE PROJECT AS A WHOLE.
UM, I WOULD SAY THAT THEY'RE SORT OF THE WAY WE STAFF AUGMENT THE FINANCIAL SERVICES SIDE OF THE HOUSE, REALLY.
UM, BUT THEY WORK CLOSELY WITH BRAD AND HIS TEAM THINKING ABOUT THE, THE PROCUREMENT STRATEGY AND DELIVERY METHODOLOGY FOR THE ORGANIZATION.
I KNOW THAT THEY WORK CLOSELY WITH LINDSAY AND, AND HER TEAM AS WE'RE THINKING ABOUT THE DESIGN AND REALLY THE CONSTRUCTION AND CASH FLOW ASSOCIATED WITH THOSE, UM, CONTRACTS THAT WE MIGHT BE ONBOARDING IN THE FUTURE.
SO AGAIN, THEY'RE JUST, UH, A TEAM THAT WE'RE ABLE TO LEVERAGE ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION AND FILL THOSE GAPS THAT WE NEED.
UM, SOME OTHER RESOURCES THAT ARE ENCOMPASSED WITHIN THAT BUSINESS SUPPORT CONTRACT, UM, BUCKET ARE OUR FINANCIAL ADVISORY SERVICES.
SO, AGAIN, AS WE PUSH FORWARD OUR FINANCIAL PLAN AND MOVE THROUGH THE ISSUANCE PROCESS, WE HAVE A WHOLE TEAM ON THE FINANCIAL ADVISORY SIDE THAT REALLY HELP GUIDE US IN PRODUCING THE DOCUMENTS THAT WE NEED TO PRODUCE TO ISSUE THE OBLIGATIONS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE ISSUING, AND AS WELL AS JUST LOOK AT OUR FINANCIAL, UM, FRAMEWORK AS A WHOLE.
AND, UM, AGAIN, WE ALSO HAVE OUR INVESTMENT ADVISOR, AGAIN, LIVES WITHIN THOSE BUSINESS SUPPORT CONTRACTS.
UM, THE TEAM'S BEEN GREAT REALLY IN HELPING US THINK ABOUT WHERE WE'RE DEPLOYING OUR, OUR MONEY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE BOTH KEEPING MONEY ON THE SHORT END SO WE HAVE THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE WHEN WE NEED 'EM, BUT ALSO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THOSE OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE IN THE MARKET WITH RATES WHERE THEY ARE CURRENTLY.
UM, AND YEAH, THAT'S ABOUT IT.
UM, I APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT YOU DO AND, AND THE, THE NET THAT YOU'RE CASTING, JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, UH, TAKING ADVANTAGE OF OTHER OPPORTUNITIES, EVEN IF THEY SEEM SMALL.
FOR EXAMPLE, UH, THE ANTI DISPLACEMENT DOLLARS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, WELL, CITY AND THE COUNTY TOGETHER ARE INVESTING MORE THAN $200 MILLION IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
IT WOULD BE GOOD TO KNOW WHERE, AND WE HAVE, AND WE HAVE A MAP, AN ASSET MAP OF ALL OF THE PLACES THAT WE ARE INVESTING SO THAT YOU CAN KNOW, UH, WHERE THEY ARE GOING, WHAT PERMITS HAVE BEEN REQUESTED.
IT GIVES YOU INFORMATION AND, AND HOPEFULLY AN OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO COORDINATE, UH, AS WE EXTEND OUR PICKUP ZONE NETWORK.
THAT IS, THAT IS, UH, SOMETHING THAT CAN BE HELPFUL TO PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN COMMUNITIES.
WHERE ARE OUR PARK AND RIDES GOING? YOU KNOW, WE'VE PUT MAYBE, UH, FIVE NEW PICKUP AREAS DOWN IN A PARK AND RIDES GONNA BE AT, AT THE, UH, EXPO CENTER WITHIN THE NEXT YEAR.
JUST KNOWING WHERE ALL OF THOSE PUBLIC ASSETS ARE GOING AND HOW WE CONNECT THE DOTS, UH, FOR PEOPLE COULD BE REALLY IMPORTANT.
IT'S NOT A PRIMARY LINE OF BUSINESS, BUT IT'S CER IT IS CERTAINLY AN OPPORTUNITY TO COORDINATE AND CONNECT THE DOTS.
YEAH, AND THAT'S ACTUALLY ONE OF THE, THE GREAT THINGS THAT I THINK ABOUT OUR STRUCTURE AND HOW WE'RE DEPLOYING THOSE ANTI DISPLACEMENT FUNDS, IS THAT THE CITY IS REALLY HELPING SHEPHERD HOW THOSE FUNDS ARE UTILIZED AND REALLY TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THEIR AFFORDABLE HOUSING PLAN THAT THEY HAVE ON THEIR SIDE, AS WELL AS LOOKING AT THE RESOURCES THAT THEY HAVE AFFORDED TO THEM THROUGH THE ANTI DISPLACEMENT FUNDS TO THINK ABOUT WHERE THOSE RESOURCES SHOULD GET DEPLOYED.
SO, MM-HMM,
UM, AND I WOULD JUST HIGHLIGHT, YOU KNOW, SOME OF ALL THE, THE GREAT WORK THAT WAS DONE IN THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF 2024 ON LAND USE POLICY ADVANCEMENT, UM, WHICH OBVIOUSLY HAS A POSITIVE IMPACT ON OUR, UH, RATINGS PACKAGE AS PART OF THE FTA, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR, UM, CIG APPLICATION.
SO THERE WAS A LOT OF COORDINATION, YOU KNOW, BETWEEN OUR OFFICE, THROUGH THE PROJECT CONNECT OFFICE AND DEPARTMENTS OF THE CITY AND ELSEWHERE.
UM, SO I THINK FIGURING OUT HOW WE EXTEND THAT TO THE COUNTY WOULD BE A GREAT GREAT THING FOR US TO FOLLOW UP ON.
JUST, UH, ONE OF MY PREVIOUS LIVES I WAS A CFO AND, UM, IT ALWAYS STRUCK ME HOW HARD IT WAS TO PROPERLY STAFF AND RESOURCE FINANCIAL SERVICES BECAUSE EVERYTHING ELSE HAS HIGHER PRIORITY, BUT NOTHING CAN HAVE GREATER PRIORITY THAN KEEPING OUR ACCOUNTS ATE
[01:15:01]
AND DOING A GOOD JOB OF PRUDENTLY MANAGING OUR FINANCES.SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR REQUEST PROPOSAL.
UH, COULD TO YOU BOARD MEMBER ONE TO A CFO, ALWAYS A CFO, JUST
I CONCUR WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE SAID.
I'M GLAD TO HEAR ALSO WE'RE AUGMENTING THE GRANT REPORTING EARLY.
THAT WAS ONE OF THE REQUESTS WE HAD ASKED ALSO FROM OUR DIRECTOR OF AUDIT TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT COULD BE IN LINE WITH WHAT THE REQUIREMENT'S GONNA BE FROM FDA TO MAKE SURE WE'RE NOT TRYING TO FIGURE THAT LATER.
THAT'S A ROBUST REPORTING THAT HAS TO HAPPEN.
I WAS READING ON PAGE 33 OF OUR BUDGET, WHICH BY THE WAY, YOU GUYS DID A REALLY GOOD JOB IN PUTTING THIS TOGETHER.
AND I WAS GONNA LOOK UP THE TERM REVISIONARY INTEREST ON ITEM SEVEN, WHICH I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THAT MEANS.
CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND THAT
THE GRANTOR WILL RETAIN A REVERSIONARY INTEREST IN THE CAPITAL ASSET OVER THE ESTIMATED USEFUL LIFE OF THAT ASSET.
SO THAT'S JUST TALKING ABOUT THE OWNERSHIP, THAT YOU'RE GONNA RETAIN THE OWNERSHIP, UM, WITHIN THE, FOR THAT PARTICULAR ASSET, WHATEVER WAS FUNDED WITH THE GRANT DOLLARS, UM, OVER THE LIFE OF THAT ASSET, ULTIMATELY YOU'RE NOT GONNA USE GRANT DOLLARS AND THEN SELL AN ASSET THAT WAS FUNDED WITH GRANT DOLLARS.
EVEN IF IT STILL HAS A USEFUL LIFE OF TWO YEARS, FOR INSTANCE, YOU'RE GONNA UTILIZE AND KEEP THAT PARTICULAR ASSET ON THE BOOKS FOR THAT LIFE OF, OF THAT PARTICULAR, LET'S JUST SAY TRAIN FOR INSTANCE, UHHUH
I MANAGED SURPLUS WITH A COUPLE DIFFERENT AGENCIES.
SO IF YOU SELL SOMETHING THAT STILL HAS A USEFUL LIFE LEFT, YOU HAVE TO DESIGNATE THE PORTION OF THAT MONEY BACK TO THE FDA OH THAT THEY RETAINED THAT INTEREST IN.
SO IF WE SOLD A, IF WE HAD A CAR AND THERE WAS MORE THAN $5,000 LEFT ON IT, WHATEVER WAS ABOVE $5,000 WOULD GO BACK TO THE F FDA A AH, UNDERSTOOD.
THAT IS A QUESTION ONLY AN ENGINE.
UM, SO HERE WE HAVE THE BUSINESS AND LEGAL SERVICES GROUP, WHICH REBECCA IS GONNA HELP.
UM, AGAIN, REPRESENTING EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT CASEY BURRICK, AND REALLY, UM, A NUMBER OF SENIOR LEADS IN THIS PARTICULAR AREAS.
SO I THINK OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS WE'VE DONE REALLY GOOD STRUCTURAL GOVERNANCE WORK TO MOVE SUPPORT SERVICES UNDER ONE AREA.
AND THIS HAS BEEN AN INTERESTING AND INSIGHTFUL OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE A LOOK AT STAFFING NEEDS BECAUSE THEY'RE VERY CLOSELY IN THE SAME KIND OF RESPECTIVE GROUP AND RIGHT FIT, CERTAINLY RIGHT FIT WHERE NEEDED.
SO WHEN WE VERY FIRST STARTED IN THIS AREA, FOR EXAMPLE, THE ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM NEEDED TO BE VERY RIGOROUS.
WE WERE LITERALLY MOVING PEOPLE IN THE BUILDING AND SETTING UP PROCESSES AND SOPS AND, YOU KNOW, IN MANY CASES MANUALS THAT HAD NOT BEEN WRITTEN, ET CETERA.
WE'VE HIRED A NUMBER OF EXPERTS THAT HAVE TAKEN ON THOSE WORK STREAMS, FOR EXAMPLE.
SO HAVING ALL OF THE WORK STREAMS UNDER A SUPPORT SERVICES, UM, EXECUTIVE HAS REALLY ALLOWED US TO, TO ANALYZE THAT VERY CLOSELY.
SO YOU'LL SEE HERE PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION, LEGAL SERVICES, REAL ESTATE SERVICES, IT SERVICES, GOVERNMENT RELATIONS, HUMAN RESOURCES, BOARD RELATIONS AND COMMUNICATION SERVICES.
AND IN MANY CASES, FOR EXAMPLE, WE ARE ALL HELPING ONE ANOTHER OUT, CERTAINLY ON THE SUPPORT SERVICES SIDE, AND RARELY ARE ANY OF THESE GROUPS JUST TOUCHING ONE WORK STREAM.
FOR EXAMPLE, OUR GENERAL COUNCIL IS ALSO ON OUR BOARD RELATIONS TEAM.
OUR HUMAN RESOURCES TEAM IS WORKING OFTENTIMES IN INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS.
OUR COMMUNICATIONS TEAM, JUST LIKE THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TEAM IS LIFTING LITERALLY, YOU KNOW, AND SUPPORTING THE WORK OF THE WHOLE.
SO THIS HAS BEEN REALLY HELPFUL TO HAVE ALL OF THESE, UM, INCREDIBLE EXPERTS IN ONE AREA.
THE OTHER THING THAT I WOULD SAY IS, IN MANY CASES, THESE SERVICE OR WORK STREAMS ALSO HAVE GREAT AUGMENTED STAFFING.
UM, SO FOR EXAMPLE, OUR LEGAL SERVICES IS AUGMENTED WITH EXPERTISE.
UM, I WORKED AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN FOR A LITTLE BIT AND THEY HAVE AN ENTIRE DEPARTMENT OF LEGAL EXPERTS THAT CROSS THE NUMBER OF,
[01:20:01]
UM, WORK STREAMS THAT WOULD HAVE TO REQUIRE PROBABLY MANY LAWYERS.UM, BUT WE HAVE GREAT STAFFING CAPABILITY THROUGH CONTRACTING.
UM, SO YOU'LL SEE IN THIS PARTICULAR AREA, BUSINESS SUPPORT SERVICES CONTRACTS, AND IN THAT IT IS TO SUPPORT ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT AREAS, IN SOME CASES, UM, VERY LIGHTLY AND IN OTHER CASES MORE HEAVILY, UM, SOME REALLY OBVIOUS, AND I THINK VERY PRESENT.
AND, UM, THE WORK THAT YOU'RE SEEING DAY TO DAY IS, UH, SOME OUTCOMES THAT WE'LL BE LOOKING AT INTO FISCAL YEAR 25 AS THE CONTINUED PROTECTING OF ATP'S FUNDING SOURCES AT THE LOCAL, STATE AND FEDERAL LEVELS.
SO A LOT OF RIGOR IN THE GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS AREA.
UM, AND THEN JUST THE DELIVERY OF OPERATIONAL RESILIENCY.
I'LL JUST TAKE A MOMENT HERE TO HIGHLIGHT SOME EXCELLENT WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE IN OUR IT SERVICES, UM, WITH THE TEAM MEMBERS EVEN BEHIND US, BUT VERY BIG COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS THAT ARE INTEGRATED ACROSS THE ENTIRE DEPARTMENT WITH SETTING UP OUR IT SERVICES.
WE, UM, HAVE A GREAT EXECUTIVE IN THAT AREA, BRUCE AND BRUCE IS REALLY MODELING WHAT WE ALL ARE DOING DAY TO DAY, BUT EVEN WITH THE IT CABINET, TAKING EVERY SINGLE REPRESENTATIVE ACROSS OUR ORGANIZATION AND MAKING DECISIONS AROUND IT WITH, UH, EXPERTISE AT THE TABLE THAT HAS CROSS CUTTING KNOWLEDGE, UH, WHERE WE LIFT, WE LIFT AS A WHOLE, THE SAME THING WITH OUR PROJECT MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM, UM, THAT IS GOING TO BE LED AND REALLY DELIVERED IN A DECISION MAKING STRUCTURE WITH EXPERTS AT THE TABLE CONVENED BY IT.
BUT AGAIN, INTEGRATED DECISION MAKING WITH EVERYONE AT THE TABLE.
SO A LOT OF THIS WORK IS CERTAINLY NOT NECESSARILY WORK BY JUST ONE WORK GROUP.
IT REALLY TAKES EVERYONE AT THE TABLE TO DO IT.
UM, OUR COMMUNICATIONS WORK, HOPEFULLY YOU ARE ACTUALLY SEEING THAT.
OUR COMMUNICATIONS EXPERTS, UM, HAVE GREAT STAFF, UH, EXPERTISE.
YOU'LL REMEMBER YOU BROUGHT ON THREE FIRMS TO DELIVER PUBLIC INFORMATION, MARKETING, PUBLIC RELATIONS, MEDIA SERVICES, OUR BRAND DEVELOPMENT, AND JUST EXCELLENT SUPPORT EVEN WITH OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TEAM.
THEY'RE ACTIVELY AT WORK IN EVERYTHING THAT WE DO.
BUT SOME OF THE WORK THAT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD, UM, TO IS, UH, REALLY DELIVERING A WEBSITE THAT IS HIGHLY FUNCTIONAL AND VERY SPECIFIC TO OUR BUSINESS.
WE ARE WORKING ACTIVELY, UM, TO DELIVER A PUBLIC INFORMATION PLAN THAT WILL VERY MUCH DETAIL HOW ALL OF OUR BIG WORK WILL BE RESOURCED FROM A COMMUNICATION STANDPOINT OVER THE COURSE OF THIS YEAR.
AND REALLY OUTWARD A CAMPAIGN THAT LOOKS AT THE ENTIRE PROJECT TIMELINE, BUT THEN REALLY FORENSICALLY LOOKS AT YEAR ONE, YEAR TWO, AND WHAT, WHAT IS IT GONNA TAKE TO ACTUALLY DELIVER ACROSS THE COMMUNICATIONS DELI DISCIPLINES WHEN YOU SEE EVERYTHING FROM SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES, INDUSTRY RELATIONS, UH, MARKETING PLANS.
AND SO WE ARE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THE TALENT THAT WE HAVE, UM, BROUGHT ON THROUGH SOME LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES WHO HAVE JUST BEEN INCREDIBLE.
THEY BRING THAT LOCAL CONTEXT AND HAVE BEEN JUST REALLY ABLE TO DELIVER A WEALTH OF EXPERTISE THIS PAST YEAR AND INTO THE NEXT.
UM, I WOULD LOVE TO HAND IT OFF TO BRAD CUMMINGS TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME GREAT WORK IN CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION.
CERTAINLY CONTRACT COMPLIANCE, I THINK AS A COMMUNITY CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION, MOST EVERYTHING THAT WE DO, WE'RE GONNA DO THROUGH CONTRACTS.
SO HANDING IT OFF TO YOU TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON THERE.
UM, I WANT TO START OFF BY THANKING MY TEAM TOO.
WE HAVE, UH, A TEAM OF FIVE PROCUREMENT PROFESSIONALS WHO ARE REALLY DEDICATED AND COMMITTED TO, UM, ENSURING THAT WE FULFILL OUR DUTIES AND OBLIGATIONS TO THE AGENCY.
UM, WE HAVE A MOTTO THAT WE EXIST TO HELP OTHER PEOPLE GET THE TOOLS AND RESOURCES THEY NEED TO DO THEIR JOBS.
THAT'S ESSENTIALLY WHAT WE DO, UM, IS TO HELP PEOPLE GET EVERYTHING THEY NEED TO BE ABLE TO BE SUCCESSFUL AND WHAT THEY DO.
AND UNDERSTANDING THAT INTERNAL SERVICE NATURE OF WHAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING HAS REALLY HELPED TRANSFORM HOW WE THINK AND DO OUR, OUR OUR JOBS.
UM, WHICH HAS BEEN REALLY BENEFICIAL.
UM, WE SET OUT SOME REALLY STRONG TARGETS AND WE'VE HIT EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM THAT WE PUT OUT TO THE BOARD AND TO THE INDUSTRY, UM, AND DELIVERING CONTRACTS IN A TIMELY MANNER, AND WE WANT TO ENSURE THAT WE CONTINUE DOING THAT.
SO YOU'LL SEE, UM, SOME OF THE INCREASES, UM, IN THE BUSINESS SUPPORT
[01:25:01]
CONTRACTS AND, UM, PROFESSIONAL SERVICES ARE AIMED TO HELP AUGMENT, UM, MY TEAM AS WE TAKE ON BIGGER AND MORE CHALLENGING SOLICITATIONS AND CONTRACTS IN THE NEAR FUTURE.UM, ADDITIONALLY, ONE OF THE FTE COUNTS THAT WE'RE ASKING FOR IS TO PROVIDE A QUALITY CONTROL, UM, REPRESENTATIVE FOR PROCUREMENT.
UM, EV NOW THAT WE ARE THE DESIGNEE FROM THE FDA, WE WILL BE GETTING AUDITED BY THE FTA ONCE EVERY THREE YEARS IN A VERY ROBUST TRI-ANNUAL REVIEW.
UM, AND IF YOU TALK TO ANYONE WHO'S EVER BEEN A PART OF A TRIANNUAL REVIEW, THEY'LL TELL YOU THAT 30% OF ALL FINDINGS HAPPENED IN PROCUREMENT AND 20% HAPPENED IN THE DBE PROGRAM.
UM,
UM, AND I'M NOT GONNA LET A TP HAVE ANY
UM, THIS PROJECT IS TOO IMPORTANT.
SO, UM, FINDING A PERSON WHO CAN HELP ENSURE THAT WE ARE, UM, UPHOLDING OUR OWN VALUES AND POLICIES AND PROCEDURES THROUGH ALL STAGES OF THE PROJECT ARE, IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO ME.
SO THAT'S ONE OF THE POSITIONS.
AND THEN ANOTHER ONE IS TO, UM, HAVE OUTREACH BE A THOUGHT PROCESS OF THE EARLIEST STAGES OF, OF THE PROJECT.
UM, WE PUT TOGETHER A PROCUREMENT PLAN WITH THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT TEAM AT THE EARLIEST STAGES OF DEVELOPING A BUDGET, AND I WANT OUTREACH TO BE A PART OF THAT, UM, FOR OUR MWBE AND LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES.
SO WE'RE ARE LOOKING FOR A NEW DIRECTOR OF DBE TO HELP, UM, DBE AND SMALL BUSINESSES TO HELP SUPPORT THAT FUNCTIONALITY OF HAVING AN OUTREACH PLAN FROM THE EARLIEST STAGES AND MOVING FORWARD, UM, WITH, UM, A ROBUST OUTREACH PLAN THAT THAT'S WELL THOUGHT OF, UM, FROM THE EARLIEST STAGES.
UM, WE HAVE LOTS OF BIG SOLICITATIONS COMING UP FOR FINAL DESIGN, UM, IN VARIOUS AREAS AND ON CONSTRUCTION THAT WILL BE LETTING OUT NEXT FISCAL YEAR AND THE YEAR AFTER THAT.
UM, AND WE ARE, WE'RE HERE TO HELP SUPPORT THE AGENCY IN DELIVERING THOSE.
THE ONE THING I MIGHT WANT TO ADD, JUST FOR CLARITY'S SAKE, UM, THERE ARE, SO WHILE THERE ARE TWO VACANT POSITIONS THAT WE'RE BRINGING INTO FY 25, AGAIN WITH A LOT OF THE ORG WORK THAT WE DID OVER THE LAST, UM, FISCAL YEAR, THERE WAS SOME REALIGNMENT OF POSITIONS, UM, WITHIN THE BUSINESS AND LEGAL AFFAIRS GROUP, UM, WHICH IT WAS A TOTAL OF ABOUT THREE, AND THAT REALIGNMENT REALLY, IT TOOK PLACE AT THE END OF JUNE, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN.
UM, SO WHILE IT DOES SHOW THE PERSONNEL, UM, BUDGET GROWING FROM FISCAL YEAR 24 TO 25, BUT ONLY TWO FTES IN THE POSITION, ULTIMATELY IT'S A TOTAL OF FIVE TOTAL FTES THAT ARE ANNUALIZED AND FISCAL YEAR 25 THAT ARE ONLY, THAT ARE NOT ACCOUNTED FOR, PARTIALLY ACCOUNTED FOR IN FY 24.
SO WHILE IT DOES LOOK LIKE THE PERSONNEL STAFF IS GROWING, UM, DUE TO THOSE TWO POSITIONS, IT'S A TOTAL OF FIVE ENCOMPASSING THOSE TWO.
SO JUST WANTED TO PROVIDE THAT CLARITY.
UH, JUST WANT TO MENTION TO YOU THAT, THAT, UH, I KNOW THAT, UH, THE DBE PROGRAMS AND OUR PROCUREMENT PROGRAMS ARE ALWAYS LOOKED AT MOST CLOSELY.
UH, THEY ARE, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE GOT TEAMS OF LITIGATORS WHO ARE LOOKING TO CLOSE DOWN EVERY PROGRAM IN THE COUNTRY.
UM, WE HAVE AS A RESOURCE IN THE REGION, UH, KNOW THE COUNTY HAS, I THINK A TP HAS USED.
I KNOW CAP METRO HAS USED, UH, COLLETTE HOLT, WHO IS THE PERSON WHO IS MOST FAMILIAR WITH AND WAS A, A PART OF THE LAST TEAM THAT PUT TOGETHER A SUCCESSFUL DEFENSE OF PROCUREMENT PROGRAMS. UM, WE HAVE BEEN WORKING DIRECTLY WITH IC SQUARED OUT OF THE BUSINESS SCHOOL, WHICH IS THE REMNANTS OF THE COSMETIC SKI SYSTEM.
UH, SO, UM, THEY DO THINGS BY THE BOOK, THEY MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS ALL THE RULES, ALL OF THE CURRENT LAW, ALL OF THE, ALL OF THE LAWSUITS THAT ARE IN THE PIPELINE.
UH, COLLETTE IS A REAL IMPORTANT KEY THERE, AND I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU, UH, TO REACH OUT TO HER AND ALLOW HER TO HELP GUIDE YOU THROUGH THIS, UH, TARGET RICH LAND MINEFIELD AREA.
UM, ON THAT NOTE, AND I LOVE THAT YOU MENTIONED THE PIECES THAT GET THE MOST OVERSIGHT TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY'S PLAYING BY THE SAME RULES THAT WE'RE AS INVITING TO GIVE OPPORTUNITIES TO SMALL LOCAL FIRMS AND DISADVANTAGED BUSINESSES.
YOU KNOW, WE HAVE HEARD FROM CONSULTANTS THAT THEY, THERE'S BEEN AN A BURDEN ON THEM AND AS THEY PURSUE SOME OF THESE CONTRACTS, AND I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW FINANCIALLY HOW WE CAN TEAM UP, HELP THEM OUT,
[01:30:01]
CREATE PROCESSES THAT ARE SEAMLESS OR OR LESS THAT MEET THE INTENT OF FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS, BUT ALSO HELP THEM BE IN LINE WITH, YOU KNOW, HELP THEM PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROCESS.SO HOW DO WE REMOVE SOME OF THOSE BURDENS? SOME IDEAS THAT WE'VE RECEIVED THAT I'VE DISCUSSED WITH OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR HAS BEEN, YOU KNOW, DO WE CREATE A SMALL WORKING GROUPS WITH THOSE SMALL FIRMS TO MAKE SURE THEY CAN ADVISE US ON THINGS THAT THEY'VE DEALT WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN CAB METRO ALREADY THEY PASSED THROUGH SOME OF THOSE BURDENS, AND WHAT'S THE RECIPROCITY WITH THOSE? AND SO SOME OF THOSE THINGS I THINK ARE REALLY IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO AS AN, AS AN ENTITY TO HELP SUPPORT THE, YOUR EFFORTS? YEAH, THAT IS A REALLY GOOD QUESTION.
I THINK ONE OF THE, THE BIGGEST BURDENS THAT LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES HAVE HAD IN TRYING TO WORK WITH US, ESPECIALLY BEING AN FDA RECIPIENT NOW, IS THE NEED TO HAVE CERTIFIED OVERHEAD RATES THAT ARE INDEPENDENTLY AUDITED WITH CPAS.
AND COMPLIANT WITH FAR PART 31 MM-HMM.
UM, WHICH IS AN FDA REQUIREMENT FOR ALL CONTRACTS AND SUBCONTRACTS THAT WE HAVE.
UM, SO WHAT WE DID IN PREPARATION FOR THE DELIVERY PARTNER SOLICITATION IS WE HIRED ERNST AND YOUNG TO COME AND GIVE A DEMONSTRATION AND PRESENTATION ON WHAT THE RULES ARE AND THE REQUIREMENTS AND SOME ASSISTANCE IN THAT.
WE'VE ALSO WORKED WITH TDOT TO UNDERSTAND SOME OF THEIR PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES MORE AND HAVE ACCEPTED ANY SAFE HARBOR RATES THAT, UM, TDOT HAS ACCEPTED BECAUSE IT GOES THROUGH A SIMILAR ROBUST PROCESS.
IT'S VERY SIMILAR TO FAR PART 31.
UM, I'VE WORKED WITH, UM, THE CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER WITH THE CITY TO UNDERSTAND THEIR PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES FOR APPROVING OVERHEAD RATES.
UM, AND THEY HAVE, UM, THREE DIFFERENT WAYS OF DOING THAT.
WE DO FAR PART 31 COMPLIANCE, WHICH IS OUR REQUIREMENT, TEXT DOTS, UM, SAFE HARBOR RATES.
UM, AND THEY ARE ARE FORTUNATE ENOUGH FOR, I GUESS, FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD, NOT HAVING FEDERAL FUNDS AND HAVING TO HAVE STRICT COMPLIANCE WITH FAR PART 31.
SO THEY HAVE A TEAM OF RESOURCES THAT HELP, UM, REVIEW, UM, THINGS THAT, THAT DON'T FALL WITHIN THOSE FIRST TWO AREAS TO SEE IF THEY'RE ACCEPTABLE.
UM, UNFORTUNATELY, WE, WE CAN'T DO THAT BECAUSE OF THE FAR PART 31 COMPLIANCE, BUT WE ARE ALSO, UM, NOW ASKING AND PUTTING SOME MORE ONUS ON PRIME CONTRACTORS TO ASSIST THEIR SMALL CONTRACTORS IN MEETING THESE GOALS AND RESPONSIBILITIES WHEN THEY PROPOSE A TEAM THAT THEY'RE ENSURING THAT THEIR TEAMS THAT THEY'RE PROPOSING ARE CAPABLE OF DOING THE WORK, WHICH INCLUDES THAT INDEPENDENT CERTIFICATION.
UM, SO WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO HELP EASE THE BURDEN ON THE SMALL LOCAL BUSINESSES, UM, AND, AND PLACING, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THAT RESPONSIBILITY WITH, WITH PRIME CONTRACTORS, UH, AS WELL.
AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO SIMILAR OUTREACH AND, AND, UM, ASSISTANCE AS MUCH AS WE CAN TO ENSURE THAT THE LOCAL SMALL BUSINESS WORKFORCE HERE IS READY TO HELP TAKE ON AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL PROJECTS.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SEEN IN THE MARKET, UH, TWO, AT LEAST TWO APPROACHES THAT WORK.
UH, ONE IS CALLED THE STEMPLE PLAN, WHERE ULTIMATELY YOU GET THE PRIME CONTRACTORS TO BE MENTORS TO, UH, THE SMALLER CONTRACTORS AND TO WORK AND GUIDE WITH THEM, GUIDE THEM OVER A PERIOD OF TIME.
UH, THAT HAS BEEN SOMETHING THAT HAS, UH, WORKED EFFECTIVELY WHERE WE HAVE PUT IN PLACE, UH, MIN AND PROTEGES.
UM, BUT THAT IS, THIS IS A SPECIFIC REASON WHY WE BUILT A PROGRAM THROUGH IC SQUARE, UH, SO THAT THROUGH THE BUSINESS SCHOOL, THEY TAKE A COHORT OF NEW BUSINESSES EVERY YEAR AND THEY SIT DOWN WITH THEM AND THEY ANALYZE WHERE THEY ARE AND THE TYPES OF THINGS THAT THEY NEED TO GO TO THE NEXT PHASE BECAUSE EVERY, EVERYBODY WITH A $500,000 CONTRACT THINKS THEY CAN DO A $5 MILLION CONTRACT.
AND THERE ARE A WHOLE LOT OF THINGS THAT HAVE TO HAPPEN BETWEEN 500,000 AND 5 MILLION, AND THEY INFORM THEM OF THESE THINGS AND GUIDE THEM OVER THE COURSE OF A YEAR AS A COHORT.
SO THEY'RE SITTING DOWN LISTENING TO THE ISSUES OF OTHER BUSINESSES, UH, IDENTIFYING HOW THOSE AREAS ARE ADDRESSED AND BRINGING IN PROFESSIONALS THAT HAVE EXPERTISE AND TRAINING IN THOSE AREAS.
SO THE EXTENT TO WHICH WE CAN WORK THROUGH A BUSINESS SCHOOL OR THROUGH A NON-PROFIT THAT DOES PRECISELY THAT, UH, I THINK IT, IT JUST CREATES GREATER OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL INVOLVED.
YEAH, AND, AND I HAVE A VERY DETAILED, UH, EMAIL THAT WAS SENT TO ME ABOUT IDEAS AND THINGS THAT THEY'RE EXPERIENCING DIRECTLY.
SO I'D LIKE FOR YOU GUYS TO, TO HELP MITIGATE SOME OF THOSE THINGS.
AND, YOU KNOW, ALL IDEAS WOULD BE WELCOME AS WE ENTER IN THIS PROCESS, BUT I THINK THAT YOU MENTIONED THAT SOME OF THAT BURDEN COULD BE ABSORBED BY THE PRIME CONTRACTOR.
PUT SOME IDEAS THAT WE WERE THINKING ABOUT IS IF THEY HAVE
[01:35:01]
CPAS ON BOARD AND THEY CAN HAVE THEIR ENTIRE TEAM BE CERTIFIED THROUGH THEIR RESOURCES, ECONOMIES OF SCALE THAT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT, THAT COULD HELP THOSE SMALLER FIRMS ULTIMATELY IT, THEY WILL BILL US FOR ANY OF THOSE EXPENSES, RIGHT? LIKE ULTIMATELY THIS PROGRAM PAYS FOR THAT.BUT I WAS REALLY, HOW WE PASS ALONG THOSE COSTS AND HOW WE MAKE SURE THAT THOSE DO NOT BECOME BARRIERS OF ENTRY, I THINK ARE REALLY IMPORTANT.
UM, SO IDEAS ARE WELCOME AND IMPROVE SYSTEM.
SO YOU SHOULD LOOK AT THE, THE PROMPT PAYMENT PROGRAM YES.
THAT THE CITY PUT TOGETHER FOR CITY HALL.
SO 50 SOME MILLION DOLLAR PROJECT, AND WE BUILT THE PROGRAM IN A WAY THAT, UH, WELL, AND IT, AND YOU HAVE TO PAY THE PRIME TO, FOR THE ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS FOR MANAGING THE PROGRAM.
NOW, THERE ARE WAYS TO OFFSET THAT USING, WE USED RETAINAGE IF I, IF I RECALL.
UM, BUT SO THAT, SO THAT ULTIMATELY, UH, WE FLOWED THE PROCESS, CASH FLOWED THE PROCESS AS WE NEED NEEDED TO REIMBURSE THE PROCESS WHEN THE, WHEN THE WORK WAS DONE.
UH, BUT I MEAN, THERE WAS A SPECIFIC WAY THAT IT WAS DONE AND WE DID NOT LOSE ONE CONTRACTOR ON CITY HALL, RIGHT? THERE WAS A LOT OF CONTRACTORS ON, AND HENSEL PHELPS RAN THAT FOR US, IF I RECALL.
SO THE LAST, UM, SLIDE WE HAVE HERE IS FROM KATIE AND HER GROUP AND THE WORK THAT SHE'LL BE DOING OVER THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST, YOU CAN SEE OUR, UH, PRIMARY OUTCOMES LISTED HERE.
I WOULD SAY THE, THE KIND OF THE BREAD AND BUTTER, OR THE ONE THAT WE, WE ALWAYS CHAMPION FIRST AND FOREMOST IS ENHANCING THE ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY OF THIS PROGRAM.
IF THAT'S THE OUTCOME WE'RE GOING FOR, THEN THE OUTPUT THAT WE HAVE THAT KIND OF FEEDS THAT IS, IS REALLY OUR AUDIT PROJECTS AND OUR ADVISORY SERVICES.
UM, ONE OF THE CHALLENGES, KIND OF A FUN CHALLENGE FOR AN AUDITOR, BUT, BUT CERTAINLY A CHALLENGE FOR US IS HOW WE COME UP WITH THOSE PROJECTS AND EXECUTE THEM IN A WAY THAT IS HELPFUL IN CONSTRUCTIVE TO THE ORGANIZATION NOW, GIVEN ITS MATURITY AND, AND KIND OF WHERE WE ARE IN OUR DEVELOPMENT.
UH, SO THAT'S SORT OF ALWAYS A PRIMARY GOAL OF OURS.
THE NEXT KIND OF OUTCOME THAT WE'RE ALWAYS HOPING TO ACHIEVE OR, OR STRIVING FOR HERE IS TO HELP BUILD THE ETHICAL CULTURE OF A TP.
IF THAT'S THE OUTCOME, THEN THE OUTPUT THAT WE, WE ACHIEVE THAT KIND OF DRIVES THAT WORK IS MANAGING THE ETHICS HOTLINE AND THEN ALSO PROVIDING RESOURCES.
SO THAT'S LIKE OUR FRAUD, WASTE AND ABUSE TRAINING.
UH, ALSO WE PARTICIPATE IN NEW EMPLOYEE ONBOARDING, REALLY JUST KIND OF SERVING AS A RESOURCE TO GUIDE KIND OF QUESTIONS AROUND ETHICS AND, UH, HOW WE HANDLE THINGS HERE.
AND THEN THE LAST OUTCOME IS MAYBE A LITTLE BIT SQUISHIER, BUT I WOULD SAY JUST KIND OF BROADLY ADVISING ON ATP'S, RISK MANAGEMENT, GOVERNANCE AND CONTROL, AND REALLY HELPING TO SERVE AS THE EYES AND EARS OF THE BOARD AND ANSWER Y'ALL'S QUESTIONS AND MAKE SURE YOU'RE INFORMED ON SORT OF WHAT RISK MANAGEMENT LOOKS LIKE HERE.
UH, THE OUTPUTS, I WOULD SAY THAT KIND OF GENERALLY DEMONSTRATE THAT WORK IS, UM, CERTAINLY OUR INTERNAL AUDIT CHARTER AND THEN OUR ANNUAL AUDIT PLAN TEASER THAT SHOULD BE COMING TO AN INBOX, UH, NEAR YOU, HOPEFULLY LATER THIS WEEK, MAYBE NEXT WEEK.
UM, AND REALLY THAT'S KIND OF THE BULK OF WHAT OUR WORK IS THIS YEAR.
AND THEN CONTINUING INTO NEXT YEAR, I'LL SAY, UH, THAT THIRD BULLET THERE.
WE CERTAINLY ARE GONNA HAVE QUITE A BIG PROJECT THIS YEAR.
UH, CAMERON AND I, BECAUSE OUR PROFESSIONAL AUDIT STANDARDS ARE CHANGING, OF COURSE, THEY'VE BEEN IN PLACE FOR ALMOST 10 YEARS, AND NOW THAT WE FEEL PRETTY SOLID IN HAVING OUR PROCEDURES, UH, IMPLEMENTED, UH, THE STANDARDS ARE CHANGING.
SO WE WILL BE, UH, GOING BACK AND MAKING SURE WE ARE ALIGNED WITH THOSE PROFESSIONAL, UH, RESOURCES.
SO THAT'S REALLY, UM, THE PRIMARY WORK OF OUR TEAM THIS YEAR.
AND IN TERMS OF OUR BUDGET, I THINK WE'RE MAYBE THE SMALLEST, UH, HERE.
UM, SO THAT'S WHAT YOU SEE REFLECTED IN OUR NUMBERS THERE.
AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS Y'ALL HAVE.
I DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS.
I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU FOR THE HARD WORK.
YOU'VE BEEN AMAZING TO HELP US LAUNCH AND SET UP THIS ENTIRE, UH, DEPARTMENT TO HELP US DO A LOT OF WORK WITH BEING, WHILE BEING NIMBLE IN, IN SETTING UP A, YOU KNOW, THIS ORGANIZATION.
SO THANK YOU FOR THE HEAVY LIFT.
AND I WILL GIVE SO MUCH OF THE CREDIT TO CAMERON,
[01:40:01]
WHO'S NOT HERE TODAY, BUT SHE'S, SHE'S REALLY FANTASTIC.I'M LUCKY TO HAVE HER SUPPORT.
SO ON THE BACK END OF THIS PRESENTATION, JUST FOR, FOR, UM, PUBLIC AWARENESS, WE DO HAVE THE FUND SUMMARIES FOR BOTH THE OPERATING FUND AND THE CAPITAL FUND.
AND THESE ARE BOTH INCLUDED IN THE BUDGET DOCUMENT ITSELF, WHERE WE FIGURED WE'D JUST POST IT UP HERE JUST FOR, UM, EASE OF REFERENCE FOR FOLKS.
UM, BUT REALLY THAT'S ALL WE HAVE FOR YOU GUYS TODAY.
IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS, FEEL FREE TO LET US KNOW.
THE NEXT STEP IN THIS PROCESS NOW WOULD BE BUDGET ADOPTION AT THE SEPTEMBER BOARD MEETING.
UM, AND JAMIE AND I REMAIN AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS THAT ANYONE MIGHT HAVE OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS AS WE MOVE TOWARDS THAT SEPTEMBER BOARD MEETING.
BUT ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS FROM MY COLLEAGUES? I GOT ALL MINE NOW.
THANK YOU FOR ORGANIZING THIS WORKSHOP AND, UM, FOR MY COLLEAGUES TO ATTEND AND CARVE TIME OUT OF YOUR BUSY SCHEDULES.
AND, UM, I ALSO WANNA COMMEND, JUST AS A LAST NOTE, IT'S BEEN SO WONDERFUL TO SEE ALL THE NEW SHELTERS FOR METRO RAPID POP UP.
AND I JUST WANNA THANK YOU, DOTTIE, FOR YOU AND YOUR TEAM FOR EXECUTING AN INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF WORK, BECAUSE A LOT OF THIS FUNDING THAT HAS BEEN TRANSFERRED OVER TO YOU IS NOW MANIFESTING VERY PHYSICALLY IN OUR CITY.
SO I'M REALLY HAPPY TO SEE THAT.
I, I'M JUST REALLY HAPPY TO SEE ALL THAT WORK BEING WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
AND WE APPRECIATE ALL OF, UM, THE, OUR LOCAL RESIDENTS, PATIENTS AS WE CLOSE LANES TO DO THAT.
BUT THE, THE UPGRADES THAT WE ARE PUTTING, NOT JUST AT PHYSICALLY THE BUS STOP, BUT THROUGHOUT THE CORRIDOR, ORDER TO ENHANCE BIKE AND PEDESTRIAN CONNECTIVITY ALONG THOSE CORRIDORS IS GONNA REALLY HELP TRANSFORM THOSE STREETS.
UH, THE MEETING WILL BE CLOSING.
SO THIS WORK SESSION NOW STANDS ADJOURNED, AND THE TIME IS 2:48 PM THANK YOU.