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WHAT'S MY TIME? THAT'S MY TIME NOW.
[CALL TO ORDER]
TIME NOW IS SIX 30 ON AUGUST 13TH, 2024.THIS IS THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION.
THE PURPOSE OF THE COMMISSION, THE PURPOSE OF THE BOARD IS TO ADVISE THE COUNCIL IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF PROGRAMS DESIGNED TO SERVE THE POOR, THE POOR, AND THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE, WITH AN EMPHASIS ON FEDERALLY FUNDED PROGRAMS. AS WE CALL OUR AGENDA TO ORDER, WE DO HAVE OUR PUBLIC COMMUNICATION PORTION.
AND AT THIS TIME, I UNDERSTAND, UM, MR. BLAKE, WE DO, I I KNOW WE DID NOT HAVE ANY SIGNATURES AT THE TIME.
UH, IT LOOKS LIKE WE DO HAVE, IN TERMS OF BEING PRESENT, THANK YOU.
UH, I DO WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE DO HAVE COMMISSIONER TOLIVER PRESENT.
WE DO HAVE COMMISSIONER, UH, WOODS PRESENT.
UH, WE DO HAVE, I THINK I SAW, YEAH, I SAW COMMISSIONER WOODS.
UH, COMMISSIONER ACHILLES PRESENT, COMMISSIONER HASSO, UM, VICE CHAIR ALIAS.
WE DO HAVE OUR VETERAN, UM, BIRTHER DELGADO PRESENT.
AND IN ADDITION TO THAT, ONLINE, I DO HAVE COMMISSIONER ORTIZ AND COMMISSIONER ESTEBAN DELGADO AND, UH, AND MYSELF.
SO, OH, AND COMMISSIONER LAGUARDIA.
SO WE DO HAVE A, A GOOD FULL HOUSE.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
THAT, WE WILL MOVE FORWARD WITH THE APPROVAL OF OUR MINUTES.WE DO NEED TO APPROVE OUR JUNE 11TH, UM, MINUTES.
COULD YOU ALL TAKE A LOOK AT THOSE? AND LET'S SEE THAT WE ARE REFLECTING WHAT WE, WHAT WE HAD GOING ON CHAIR ON THE MINUTES.
I ASSUME, ED, I, NO, MAYBE NOT.
I, I CAN'T REMEMBER WHO ANSWERED THOSE OTHER THAN THE CORRECTION FROM ED BROWN TO ED BLAKE UNDER BRIEFINGS NUMBER TWO.
DO YOU ALL SEE ANY OTHER ADJUSTMENTS? HEARING NONE DO OH, SOMEONE HAS THEIR HAND UP? NO.
CAN WE HAVE A MOTION TO ACCEPT THEM? I MAKE A MOTION THAT WE ACCEPT THE MINUTES FROM JUNE 11TH.
A MOTION HAS BEEN MADE BY VICE CHAIR AND SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER ESTEBAN DELGADO.
WE DO HAVE ION, UH, WE NEED OUR VOTE.
PLEASE SAY AYE OR RAISE YOUR HAND FOR THOSE OF YOU.
I AM DETERMINED TO MOVE US THROUGH TODAY, UH, BUT WE DO WANNA MAKE SURE WE DOT OUR I'S AND CROSS OUR T'S IN THE MIDST.
[2. Briefing on the Heat Resilience Playbook (Marc Coudert, Program Manager, Environmental Conservation, Office of Resilience).]
BRIEFING REGARDING THE HEAT RESILIENCE PLATE, AND THAT'S GONNA BE, UM, IF THEY ARE, THE INDIVIDUALS ARE HERE.IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE MARK, IS IT DER? UM, UM,
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HE'S THE PROGRAM MANAGEMENT MANAGER OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION OFFICE OF RESILIENCE.MARK, WOULD YOU PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I MISPRONOUNCED YOUR NAME? MY APOLOGIES.
UH, THERE'S A REASON WHY MY WIFE DID NOT TAKE MY LAST NAME IS, AND PEOPLE OFTEN MISPRONOUNCE IT, SO I APPRECIATE YOU PRONOUNCING IT CORRECTLY.
YEAH, BECAUSE I'VE HEARD CO COER COER.
I'M HERE TO TALK ABOUT HEAT, AND I'M GONNA QUICKLY CHECK RIGHT NOW.
SO THAT'S TEMPERATURE PLUS HUMIDITY.
SO IF YOU WALK OUTSIDE RIGHT NOW, IT'S 106 DEGREES.
KIND OF CURIOUS, WHO HERE GREW UP IN CENTRAL TEXAS? I DIDN'T GROW UP IN CENTRAL TEXAS.
YOU THINK? UH, IT'S GETTING HOTTER, OR I GUESS, I GUESS I CAN SAY EVERY OTHER YEAR IT IS HOT.
UH, BUT, UH, IT, AS THE OLD FARMER'S
CAN YOU TURN YOUR MIC? OH, OKAY.
BUT IT IS GETTING HOTTER THAN WHAT IT BEEN IN THE LAST FOUR YEARS.
AND I DON'T THINK THAT'S BECAUSE OF THE CLIMATE.
WHAT I BELIEVE IS THAT, UH, IT IS PREPARING US FOR ANOTHER ICE STORM.
FOR SOME DAYS I WISHED I WOULD COME SOONER.
IN THE 1970S, WE AVERAGED ABOUT 12 DAYS OVER A HUNDRED DEGREES.
SO THIS YEAR WE'RE ABOUT A LITTLE OVER, I THINK, CLOSE TO 20 DAYS, OVER A HUNDRED DEGREES.
OVER 140 OF THOSE DAYS WERE OVER 105.
AND I WAS HERE IN 2011 WHERE WE HAD 90 DAYS OVER A HUNDRED.
SO CLIMATE PROJECTIONS AND TEMPERATURES OVERALL ARE SAYING IT IS GETTING HOTTER AND IT'S GOING TO GET HOTTER GOING FORWARD.
BUT WE ALSO KNOW THAT MORE PEOPLE DIE OF HEAT NATIONALLY, INTERNATIONALLY, BUT MOSTLY NATIONALLY.
MORE PEOPLE DIE OF HEAT THAN ANY OTHER CLIMATE EVENT COMBINED.
SO IF YOU THINK OF IT THIS WAY, IS THAT IF YOU THINK OF FLOODS, TORNADOES, HURRICANES, MORE PEOPLE DIE OF HEAT THAN ANY OF THOSE COMBINED.
AND IT'S OFTEN CALLED THE SILENT KILLER BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE SAY, WE LIVE IN THE SOUTH, IT GETS HOT.
IT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST PART OF LIVING IN AUSTIN, BUT IT'S NOT THE SAME ANYMORE.
IT'S GETTING A LOT HOTTER AND A REALLY, REALLY DANGEROUS.
SO THIS WORK IS SORT OF A CULMINATING ALL THE DISCUSSIONS WE'VE HAD WITH COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND ALL THE DISCUSSIONS WE'VE HAD WITH STAFF TO SORT OF BRING IT ALL TOGETHER INTO ONE DOCUMENT.
NOW IT, NOW I DO WANNA ASK YOU THIS, MARK, HOW LONG DO YOU ANTICIPATE THIS? I'M LOOKING HERE AT, UH, THE PACKET THAT YOU HAVE, AND IT HAS SOME PRETTY, UH, IMPRESSIVE INFORMATION.
IS THIS SOMETHING WE'LL BE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH IN 15 MINUTES OR LESS? YES, I CAN DO IT.
SO I'M GONNA QUICKLY GET INTO THE BACKGROUND OF HOW WE GOT HERE, WHAT'S IN THE PLAYBOOK, AND THEN ONE PAGE ON CLIMATE PROJECTIONS.
UM, WHY DO WE HAVE THIS? IS BECAUSE, AS I MENTIONED, TEMPERATURES ARE GOING UP.
COUNCIL IS ASKING LIKE, WHAT ARE WE DOING AROUND HEAT THE COMMUNITY? WHEN WE TALK TO THEM, IT'S LIKE, WHAT ELSE ARE WE DOING ABOUT HEAT? BUT ALSO WE'RE DOING A LOT, WE HAVE 14,000 EMPLOYEES.
WE HAVE A LOT OF DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS.
THEY ALL PLAY A ROLE IN HEAT MITIGATION, AND IT'S A GOOD WAY TO SORT OF COMMUNICATE.
ONE IS THAT WE'RE DOING THINGS, BUT ALSO WE SHOULD TAKE HEAT VERY, VERY SERIOUSLY.
SO WHAT IS THE PLAYBOOK AND WHY IS IT CALLED A PLAYBOOK AND NOT A PLAN? IT'S BECAUSE IT'S A SNAPSHOT OF WHAT WE'RE CURRENTLY DOING TO MITIGATE HEAT IN THE COMMUNITY.
IT DOESN'T HAVE A BUDGET, DOESN'T HAVE A TIMELINE, DOESN'T HAVE IMPLEMENTATION ME METRICS.
IT'S JUST SIMPLY A WAY TO COMMUNICATE ALL THE THINGS WE'RE DOING IN THIS PROCESS TO LOOK AT HEAT OVERALL.
THIS ALL STARTED, SO I'M WITH THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY AND OFFICE OF RESILIENCE, AND I STARTED BACK IN 14 YEARS AGO, SO 2010, LOOKING AT HOW HEAT, DROUGHT, FLOOD, WILDFIRE IMPACTS OUR ASSETS AND OPERATIONS.
SO THINK ABOUT ROWS, BRIDGES, SUBSTATIONS, WATER TREATMENT, PLANTS, ET CETERA.
AND AT THE TIME, WE DIDN'T EXPECT COLD WEATHER TO HAPPEN, SO WE DIDN'T TALK ABOUT THAT.
BUT HEAT WAS DEFINITELY COMING UP A LOT IN OUR INFRASTRUCTURE ROWS, OUR BRIDGES, OUR STAFF WHO WORK OUTSIDE.
IN 2018, WE CAME OUT WITH THE CLIMATE RESULTS ACTION PLAN.
AND THEN, UM, IN 20 20, 20 21, WE GOT A GRANT FROM NOAA, NATIONAL OCI ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION TO DO HEAT MAPPING.
SO WORK WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND DRIVE AROUND WITH, UH, SENSORS THAT TRACK HEAT AND HUMIDITY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, LOOKING PRIMARILY IN EAST AUSTIN.
THIS LED TO A LOT OF COMMUNICATION, A LOT OF CONVERSATION WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN THE RUNDBERG AREA WITH, UH, A LOCAL NONPROFIT NAMED GOS AND AU TO UNDERSTAND LIKE, HOW DOES HEAT IMPACT PEOPLE AT HOME? LIKE, WHAT'S GOING ON IN
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THE NEIGHBORHOOD? MM-HMM.AND THAT LED TO THIS DOCUMENT BECAUSE AS WE TALK TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS, THEY'RE LIKE, WELL, WHAT ARE WE DOING ABOUT LIKE, WEATHERIZATION? OR WHAT ARE WE DOING ABOUT POOLS? AND IT ALL SORT OF CAME THAT WE NEEDED THIS DOCUMENT TO SORT OF SHOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING AS A CITY.
UH, SO WHO WORKED WITH US? IT WAS A DOZEN OR MORE DEPARTMENTS, UM, AUSTIN ENERGY, AUSTIN WATER, PUBLIC HEALTH, EVEN TRAVIS COUNTY, CAP, METRO, DSD.
I MEAN, ALL THESE DEPARTMENTS WERE, WE JUST ENGAGED THEM ALL TO GET ONTO THE SORT OF THINK ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING.
AND WHAT WE DID IS THAT WE LOOKED AT INTERNATIONAL BEST PRACTICES.
UM, THESE ARE GOOD GROUPS LIKE C 40 DLEE AND OTHER GROUPS ARE LOOKING AT WHAT OTHER CITIES ARE DOING.
WE TOOK ABOUT 72 ACTIONS, SAT DOWN WITH DEPARTMENTS SAYING, WHAT ARE WE DOING TO ACHIEVE THESE ACTIONS? AND THROUGH THAT PROCESS, AND THEN REALLY SORT OF DIGGING IN ON LIKE, WHAT'S GOING ON, WHAT ARE THE BARRIERS? WE IDENTIFIED ABOUT 52 ACTIONS STRATEGIES ACROSS ALL DEPARTMENTS.
UM, BUT WE HAVE TO SORT OF BE CLEAR IS THAT THERE'S NO SILVER BULLET.
AND ALL OF A SUDDEN, HEAT IS NO LONGER AN ISSUE.
IT IMPACTS OUR GRID, OUR WATER SYSTEM.
IT IMPACTS OUR INFRASTRUCTURE, OUR ABILITY TO, YOU KNOW, RECREATE OUTSIDE OUR WATER SYSTEMS. OUR FOOD SYSTEMS BASICALLY IMPACTS EVERYTHING IN OUR LIVES, BUT WE ALSO HAVE TO BE CLEAR THAT IT DOESN'T IMPACT EVERYBODY EQUALLY.
YOU CAN SAY HEAT HAPPENS ALL OVER AUSTIN.
THE PEOPLE WITH THE LEAST AMOUNT OF RESOURCES AREN'T ABLE TO BOUNCE BACK OR ADAPT TO THAT HEAT.
IF YOU HAVE A TROUBLE PAYING FOR ENERGY, THEN YOU KNOW, ENERGY BILLS ARE GONNA BE REALLY EXPENSIVE.
IF YOU HAVE TO USE A BUS AND DOESN'T HAVE A BUS SHELTER, IT'S GONNA BE REALLY HARD FOR YOU TO GET AROUND.
IF YOU DEPEND ON FOOD THAT SPOILS AND YOUR, YOU KNOW, YOUR FRIDGE DOESN'T WORK, OR YOU GET TO HAVE A HARD TIME GETTING INTO A GROCERY STORE, IT'S GONNA IMPACT YOUR LIFE.
SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE REALLY MAKE IT CLEAR.
THERE ARE AREAS IN AUSTIN THAT ARE MUCH MORE SEVERELY IMPACTED BY HEAT.
AND IT'S NOT JUST THE PEOPLE'S LIVES.
IT'S ALSO, IF YOU LOOK AT TREE CANOPY, THERE ARE AREAS OF TOWN IN WEST AUSTIN, A WONDERFUL TREE CANOPY, 80%.
THERE'S SOME PLACES IN AUSTIN, SAY IN, IN ST.
SO IT'S NOT EQUAL ACROSS THE, THE AUSTIN, WE HAVE TO SORT OF CONSIDER WHERE TO FOCUS IN ON FIRST.
AND THEN, AS I MENTIONED, THERE'S NO SILVER BULLETS.
LIKE WE HAVE TO LOOK AT ALL OPTIONS.
AND THERE ARE A LOT OF GREAT OPTIONS.
YOU LOOK AT WEATHERIZATION, YOU LOOK AT POOLS, YOU LOOK AT SHADING DEVICES, YOU LOOK AT TREES.
THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS WE CAN ACTUALLY MITIGATE HEAT IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO THE HEAT RESILIENCE PLAYBOOK IS BROKEN DOWN INTO THREE TOPICS, STARTING WITH ONE IS SORT OF VERY PERSONAL.
IT'S THE SORT OF PEOPLE'S COMMUNICATION, PEOPLE'S HEALTH.
UM, AND I'LL GET INTO MORE DETAIL IN A SECOND.
THE SECOND ONE'S SORT OF LIKE HOMES AND NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND THEN THE THIRD IS VERY SORT OF LARGE SCALE FOR THE WHOLE CITY FOR, UM, SORT OF SUPPORTING HEALTHY AND PREPARED AUSTIN AUSTINITES.
UM, THE BIG THING IS COMMUNICATION.
WHEN WE DO HEAT SURVEILLANCE WITH AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, WE TRACK HOW MANY PEOPLE SHOW UP E EMERGENCY ROOMS OR GET PICKED UP BY AMBULANCES.
WE KNOW THAT A LOT MORE PEOPLE ARE IMPACTED BY HEAT WHEN THERE'S A CHANGE IN TEMPERATURE RATHER THAN OVERALL TEMPERATURE.
SO WHEN WE GO FROM 85 TO 95 IN LIKE THREE OR FOUR HOURS THE FIRST TIME OF THE YEAR, A LOT OF PEOPLE GET IMPACTED BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT THINKING ABOUT IT, RIGHT? YOU'RE OUT RUNNING, YOU'RE OUT DOING SOMETHING, AND ALL SUDDEN YOU GET IN TROUBLE.
BUT IF WE GET LIKE A HUNDRED DEGREES FOR FIVE DAYS, IT DROPS OFF BECAUSE PEOPLE ATE THAT SAID, IF WE HAVE 105 FOR LIKE A WEEK, IT GOES BACK UP BECAUSE IT'S JUST TOO HOT.
REALLY FOCUSING ON COMMUNICATION WITH HOMELAND SECURITY, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, GETTING THE WORD OUT, ENGAGING COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
THAT'S NUMBER TWO, SORT OF WHEN WE'RE TALKING TO PEOPLE, MAKING SURE THEY'RE THINKING ABOUT IT.
THREE IS, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE 14,000 EMPLOYEES.
A LOT OF THOSE PEOPLE WORK OUTSIDE.
SO ENSURING THAT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT THOSE PEOPLE, WHAT ARE THE PROTOCOLS WEHO HAVE IN PLACE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ALL SAFE? THE LAST PIECE ON THIS ONE IS WORKING WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS TO SORT OF MAP OUT AND THINK ABOUT RESEARCH NEEDS SO THAT WE'RE GETTING THE LATEST DATA TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE COMMUNICATING THAT WITH STAFF, BUT ALSO WITH THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
THE NEXT PIECE IS SORT OF A LARGER SORT OF NEIGHBORHOOD LEVEL SCALE.
AND THIS IS LOOKING AT HOMES, UH, WEATHERIZATION PROGRAMS, ENSURING THAT, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE DON'T HAVE REALLY HIGH ENERGY BILLS, UH, COMMUNITY SPACES.
IS THERE SOMETHING WITHIN A BLOCK THAT THEY CAN GO TO THAT'S COOL, THAT'S MAYBE HAS A POOL, MAYBE HAS SHADE, DRINKING FOUNTAINS, UH, OUTDOOR OASIS, SAME IDEA, LIKE WHAT ARE THE SORT OF POCKET PARKS WITHIN A NEIGHBORHOOD PEOPLE CAN GO TO? AND THE LAST ONE IS LIKE, HOW DO YOU MAKE SURE WE'RE THINKING ABOUT ALL THOSE THINGS CONNECTED? LIKE IF YOU HAVE TO TRANS GO ACROSS A FREEWAY THAT'S SUPER HOT.
MM-HMM,
WE'RE THINKING ABOUT KIDS, WE'RE THINKING ABOUT ELDERLY, WE'RE THINKING ABOUT EVERYBODY.
THIS THIRD, THERE IT IS, IS, UH, SORT OF A LARGER LOOK AT THE WHOLE CITY IS ONE IS COOL BUILDINGS, LIKE FOR THE WHOLE CITY LOOKING AT CODIFYING NEW RULES.
ARE THERE NEW POLICIES WE SHOULD BE CONSIDERING? WE
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HAVE A POLICY RIGHT NOW THAT IF YOU'RE A COMMERCIAL WHITE FLAT ROOF, IT HAS TO BE WHITE.ARE THERE OTHER POLICIES THAT WE SHOULD PUT IN PLACE TO MAKE SURE THAT HOUSES ARE INSULATED AND HAVE AIR CONDITIONING? UH, TREE PLANTING, WE HAVE A GOAL OF THE CITY.
IT'S GONNA BE REALLY HARD TO GET THERE, ESPECIALLY WITH ALL THESE FREEWAYS.
BUT WE SHOULD REALLY SEE LIKE, HOW CAN WE START TO INVEST IN, IN TREE CANOPIES IN AREAS WITH THE LEAST AMOUNT OF TREE CANOPY, PARKS AND GREEN SPACES.
THEY'RE SORT OF DESIGNED LIKE IT'S ENGLAND.
HOW WILL WE DESIGN THEM SO THAT IT'S MORE SHADE AND MORE AREAS FOR PEOPLE TO CONGREGATE? I DON'T KNOW.
UH, RESILIENT ENERGY SYSTEMS, AS WE'VE SEEN, UH, OUR GRID IS SOMETIMES STRESSED BY HEAT.
SO HOW DO WE START TO LOOK AT BACKUP POWER AND OTHER ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES IN THE COMMUNITY? AND THE LAST IS SORT OF THINKING ABOUT LONG RANGE PLANNING.
HOW DO WE INCORPORATE, UH, CLIMATE DATA, HEAT DATA INTO LONG RANGE PLANNING? SO WE'RE THINKING ABOUT THOSE THINGS GOING FORWARD.
AND THEN HERE'S MY LAST SLIDE.
YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THIS WONDERFUL PARTNER DOWN THE STREET CALLED THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, AUSTIN, FULL OF PROFESSORS WHO DO CONSTANT RESEARCH ABOUT ALL THE THINGS YOU NEVER EVEN THOUGHT ABOUT.
BUT WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO TIE THAT DATA TO DECISION MAKING.
WE MAKE DECISIONS ALL DAY LONG.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE MAKING THE RIGHT DECISION AT THE RIGHT TIME FOR THE PEOPLE WHO NEED IT MOST.
HOW DO YOU START TO BRING IN THAT DATA NOW SO THAT WE ARE THINKING ABOUT THOSE THINGS? SO THINGS LIKE CLIMATE PROJECTIONS, THINGS LIKE SEASONAL OUTLOOKS.
WHAT'S GONNA LOOK LIKE FOR THE NEXT 12 MONTHS DOWN TO LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE WORKED WITH UT ON THE HEAT MAPPING.
HOW DO WE START TO LIKE, BRING IN STUDENTS, BRING IN COMMUNITY MEMBERS, BRING IN STAFF INTO THAT CONVERSATION? OUTSTANDING.
UM, I HAVE YOU UNDER BRIEFINGS.
SO, UM, ED, WOULD YOU GUIDE ME A LITTLE BIT ON PROTOCOL? I HAVE HIM UNDER BRIEFINGS AND NOT UNDER DISCUSSION, SO I NEED TO TELL HIM.
UM, YEAH, I COULD TELL QUESTIONS.
CLARIFYING QUESTIONS ARE ACCEPTABLE, BUT NOT THE DIALOGUE.
SO COMMISSIONERS IN, IN LIGHT OF OUR NEW PROTOCOL AND AB ABIDING BY IT, WE'RE UNDER, THIS IS UNDER A BRIEFING, SO IF THERE'S SOMETHING YOU HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT REGARDING CLARIFICATION FOR, UM, MARK, THEN WE, THAT'S, WE'RE FINE WITH THAT.
BUT IF YOU'RE, PLEASE BE MINDFUL.
IS YOUR QUESTION ABOUT CLARIFICATION OR CAN WE TAKE A FIVE MINUTE BREAK AT THAT POINT? WE'RE OFFLINE.
I, I'M NOT SURE, UH, ED, HE'S SUGGESTING WE TAKE A, I DON'T THINK I CAN, I DON'T THINK THAT FALLS WITHIN OUR BURN FIELD.
COMMISSIONER TOR, I WILL RECOGNIZE COMMISSIONER TOR, YOU HAVE A CLARIFYING QUESTION.
UH, UH, ANYBODY REPORTED THE STREETS ARE BEGINNING TO CRACK.
THE ASPHALT IS BEGINNING TO SEPARATE.
SO WE IN CENTRAL TEXAS, LIVE IN THIS STRANGE AREA THAT THERE'S THIS BAND OF ELASTIC SOILS THAT GOES FROM NORTH DAKOTA DOWN TO SAN ANTONIO, AND THE SOIL IS ESSENTIALLY ELASTIC.
AND WHAT IT DOES IS THAT WHEN IT GETS WET, IT, IT EXPANDS.
AND WHEN IT GETS DRY AND HOT, MOSTLY DRY, IT SHRINKS AND IT CREATES A LOT OF CRACKS IN OUR FOUNDATIONS AND OUR ROADS.
SO YOU'LL NOTICE ON THE EAST SIDE OF AUSTIN, YOU'LL SEE A LOT MORE CRACKS IN THE ROAD, AND THE ROADS ARE LIKE, THIS IS BECAUSE OF THAT CLAY SOIL.
DO YOU HAVE A FOLLOW UP? NO, THAT'S IT.
AND YEAH, THAT I WAS GONNA SAY, AND I'M SURE IF, IF POSSIBLE, IT'S OUR GOAL TO BE WRAPPED UP, UH, AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
IF YOU COULD STICK AROUND WITH THE, SOME OF THE COMMISSIONERS MAY HAVE INDIVIDUAL QUESTIONS FOR YOU.
WELL, WHAT YOU MIGHT STICK AROUND, LIKE WE'LL SEE
UM, UH, COMMISSIONER ACHILLES.
I'M GONNA TRY TO KEEP THIS IN PURVIEW.
UM, TELL ME IF IT'S NOT AND I'LL STOP.
WOULD Y'ALL GIMME SOME MORE VOLUME? I THINK MY AGE IS COMING UP.
I'VE BEEN HAVING TROUBLE HEARING TOO, BUT I'LL, I'LL TRY TO LEAN IN.
UM, SO TO CLARIFY, BECAUSE WE GET, WE, WE RECEIVE A LOT OF COMMENTS ABOUT HEAT AND UNCOVERED BUS STOPS, WHICH I IMAGINE IS COVERED SOMEWHERE IN HERE, BUT DOESN'T SEEM TO BE GETTING BETTER.
SO TO CLARIFY, WHERE WOULD THAT FALL WITHIN HERE AND, AND WHAT MY ACTION STEPS MIGHT BE UNDERWAY THAT WE'RE NOT AWARE OF? THAT'S A GREAT CLARIFYING QUESTION.
UM, YEAH, SO WE WORK CLOSELY WITH CAB METRO AND CAB METRO WAS PART OF THIS PROCESS AS WELL.
AND WE TALKED, WE'VE HAD A FAIR AMOUNT OF CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM ABOUT INCREASING BUS SHELTERS, PARTICULARLY IN THE ROMBERG NEIGHBORHOOD RIGHT NOW, BUT EVENTUALLY TO OTHER AREAS IN AUSTIN.
UM, AND WE ARE LOOKING FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO DO MORE BUS SHELTERS IN, AT BUS STOPS IN AUSTIN.
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THANK YOU.SO I'M NOT SURE IF, UH, IF YOU SPOKE ON THIS, BUT MY QUESTION WAS, UM, WHAT, DO YOU HAVE ANY DATA OR ANYTHING ON HOW CITY ACTIONS OR LIKE CITY POLICIES AFFECT THE HEAT? UM, AND MAYBE LIKE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT YOU HAVE FOR CITY? UM, WE HAVEN'T DONE A POLICY ANALYSIS OF WHAT COUNCIL HAS PASSED TO SEE IF THAT HAS HAD POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE IMPACT ON HEAT OUTCOMES.
UM, YEAH, AS WE HAVEN'T DONE THAT POLICY STUDY, WE DO LOOK AT, SO IN THE, SO FOR CLARIFYING, UH, IN THE DOCUMENT, THERE IS A DISCUSSION ABOUT UPDATING CODES TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT HE GOING FORWARD.
TYPICALLY, WE WOULD WORK WITH AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN BUILDING, THEY HAVE A POLICY TO LOOK AT INNOVATIVE NEW CREDITS WITHIN THEIR RATING SYSTEM.
AND THEN THAT EVENTUALLY BECOMES PART OF THE RATING SYSTEM AND THEN EVENTUALLY WOULD BECOME PART OF BUILDING CODE.
SO ON THE, UH, THREE PILLARS ON PILLAR THREE, UM, THE 3.2 TREE PLANTING AND MAINTENANCE AND THE 3.3 PARKS AND GREEN SPACE, UM, I JUST NEEDED SOME CLARIFICATION.
ARE YOU ALL DOING, UM, ENSURING IN THOSE CATEGORIES THAT, UH, THE PROTECTION OF THE HERITAGE TREES AND THE TREES OF AUSTIN ARE BEING PROTECTED FROM BEING REMOVED, UM, AND CUT DOWN AS WELL AS, UH, THE INFRASTRUCTURES OF THE GREEN SPACE THAT WE HAVE OUT THERE NOT BEING YEAH.
UH, REMOVED? DO WE HAVE PROTECTIONS UNDER THOSE CATEGORIES? CLARIFICATION.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE ACTUAL DOCUMENT, THOSE, THOSE, THE STRATEGIES ARE ONLY ABOUT A PARAGRAPH LONG.
UM, I WILL SAY THAT WE DO WORK REALLY CLOSELY WITH DSG, FORESTRY AND OTHER AND TREE FOLKS IN THE COMMUNITY TO TRY TO INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF TREES IN THE COMMUNITY.
I CAN'T SPEAK TO HERITAGE TREES.
I THINK THAT'S A VERY SENSITIVE POLITICAL TOPIC, BUT I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO BRING BACK FOLKS TO TALK ABOUT THAT.
UM, COMMISSIONER LONGORIA, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING? UM, NO.
UM, ESTEBAN DELGADO, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING? YOU'RE GOOD.
COMMISSIONER WOODS? YOU'RE GOOD.
UM, I'LL END WITH A CLARIFYING QUESTION.
YOU MENTIONED ABOUT THE, UM, THE TREE CANOPY.
WE'RE MOVING, TRYING TO, WHAT'S THE YEAR ON THAT? BY 2050, WE NEED TO BE AT 50%.
SO IN THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, UHHUH
DO YOU KNOW WHAT WE CURRENTLY ARE? I THINK WE HOVER AROUND 30 TO 40%.
SO WE NEED TO INCREASE, UH, 20% TO GET TO OUR GOAL.
AND I THINK IT'S BECAUSE 50 BY 50 SOUNDED GOOD.
BUT, BUT, UH, IT IS, LIKE I SAID, IT'S A MOONSHOT.
IT'S GONNA BE REALLY HARD TO GET TO THAT.
IS IT UNREALISTIC? UM, BECAUSE WE'RE NOT PLAYING, SO I'M NOT INTERESTED IN LIKE, YOU KNOW, I, I MEAN, I WANNA MAKE SURE, I MEAN, 50 50 BY 2050 DOES SOUND GOOD.
BUT IF IT'S TOTALLY UNREALISTIC, I, YOU KNOW, I WANT TO LIKE, I WANNA BE, I WANNA ACT, I WANNA LIVE IN THE REALITY YEAH.
OF WHAT'S, WHAT'S, WHAT'S, WHAT'S A REASONABLE GOAL.
SO ON THE ONE HAND, UH, THERE ARE AREAS OF TOWN THAT HAVE 80% G CANOPY.
THERE ARE PERIOD OF TOWN THAT HAVE LIKE 7%.
AND I THINK IT ABOUT INCREASING THOSE 7% UP AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
BUT WE ALSO LIVE IN A DIFFERENT TIME.
LIKE, WE HAVE ICE STORMS, WE HAVE HEAT THERE, WE HAVE, UH, DISEASE SPREAD.
SO IT'S THIS CONSTANT BATTLE OF KEEPING OUR CURRENT, UH, TREE CANOPY AND THEN INCREASE OUR TREE CANOPY IS CAN IT BE DONE? SURE.
BUT IT'S GONNA BE REALLY HARD AND REALLY EXPENSIVE.
WELL, WE MIGHT HAVE TO COME BACK AND, LIKE YOU SAID, AND INVITE YOU BACK TO GET A LITTLE BIT.
AND MY LAST, UM, UM, QUESTION, OR FOR CLARIFICATION IS YOU HAVE YOU SPEAK ABOUT, UM, COMMUNICATING, UH, COMMUNICATION.
AND MY QUESTION IS THE DO THE HOMES, UH, AND, AND, AND, AND RESIDENTS, UH, AND, AND COMMERCIAL PROPERTY OWNERS
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ARE THAT LIVE IN THE HIGH HEAT NEIGHBORHOODS MM-HMM.IS THAT, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? YEAH.
UM, I GUESS FIRST OF ALL, I PROBABLY WOULDN'T GO TO A COMMUNITY AND SAY YOU LIVE IN A HIGH HEAT NEIGHBORHOOD.
I THINK THEY ALREADY KNOW THAT.
UM, BUT I THINK THERE IS A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH SCHOOLS, ESPECIALLY WITH, UH, PARENT SUPPORT SPECIALISTS, WORK WITH REC CENTERS, WORK WITH CHURCHES AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS IN THE COMMUNITIES TO SORT OF TALK TO PEOPLE ABOUT HEAT, ABOUT THE DANGERS, HEAT.
AND WHAT I'D LIKE TO SEE IS A LITTLE BIT MORE INVESTMENT IN WEATHERIZATION PROGRAMS AND OTHER PROGRAMS IN THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE OPPORTUNITIES AND THAT WE CAN INVEST IN THOSE COMMUNITY MEMBERS SO THAT THEY AREN'T IN DANGER.
AND I WOULD, UM, CLOSE, AND WE REALLY DO APPRECIATE THIS.
WE, WE WERE, WE HAD ASKED ABOUT THE HEAT, UM, A LITTLE WHILE AGO.
UH, I WOULD SAY THAT, UM, OTHER, UH, I I, I WOULDN'T ASSUME THAT INDIVIDUALS THAT LIVE IN A HIGH HEAT NEIGHBORHOOD KNOW THAT THEY ARE IN A HIGH HEAT NEIGHBORHOOD.
I THINK THAT THEY MAY ASSUME THAT EVERYBODY YEAH.
UH, VERSUS, BECAUSE IF WE HAVE, UM, INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE COMING INTO THE CITY AND THAT ARE LOOKING TO PURCHASE IT, IT IS, I DO BELIEVE THAT IT, IN ALL FAIRNESS, IT IS ALMOST TOO LATE WHEN YOU BUY A HOME IN A HIGH HEAT AREA TO REALIZE THAT, OH, THIS IS A HIGH HEAT AREA I COULD HAVE PURCHASED, YOU KNOW, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
I JUST, I, I, I DON'T, I, I, I DON'T WANNA ASSUME THAT ALL OF THE, UM, UM, LANDOWNERS OR LAND, UH, INDIVIDUALS WHO LIVE IN THOSE AREAS ARE, UH, COMPLETELY AWARE.
SO I, I WOULD BE INTERESTED IN COMMUNICATING, UH, THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE.
DO YOU THINK THAT WE CAN BRING HIM BACK FOR A DISCUSSION? BECAUSE I REALLY THINK THAT THIS IS A REALLY GOOD, UM, PLAYBOOK AND I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO DIVE IN MORE BECAUSE I THINK THAT THIS COULD REALLY HELP THE ENVIRONMENTAL, UH, CLIMATE CRISIS MM-HMM.
AND THEN ALSO, I'M JUST WANTING TO WRAP MYSELF AROUND POLICY AND HOW THIS CAN REALLY BE A TOOL.
AND GIVE OUR RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, AND, AND THAT SUBJECT, SUBJECT FOR COUNCIL OR FOR, YOU KNOW, WHEREVER THIS DATA IS GOING TO, BECAUSE I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT.
I THINK OUR, OUR, UM, OUR ENVIRONMENTAL, LIKE ENTIRE, UH, DEPARTMENT OF THE COMMISSION, EVERYONE IS NEEDING TO HEAR MORE ABOUT, ABOUT THE HEAT NOW THAT WE'RE IN THE HIGH MM-HMM.
AND I THINK THAT A LOT OF OUR GREEN SPACES AND TREES AND OUR, YOU KNOW, UM, HABITAT IS REALLY AT RISK RIGHT NOW IN AUSTIN SINCE WE'RE MOVING INTO A LOT OF DEVELOPMENT.
AND A LOT OF THAT'S BEING, YOU KNOW, ENDANGERED OF TAKEN AWAY FROM US.
I WOULD LIKE TO SEE Y'ALL COME BACK MM-HMM.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER DELGADO.
I DO WANNA STRESS THAT AS THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY AND OFFICE OF RESILIENCE, WE DON'T OWN ANY ASSETS.
SO IF YOU DO WANNA DIG DEEPER, PLEASE ASK ME BACK.
BUT ALSO TELL ME WHICH TOPICS YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT SO WE CAN BRING FAIR ENOUGH THOSE DEPARTMENTS ALONG.
'CAUSE I FEEL LIKE I DIDN'T ANSWER YOUR TREE QUESTION VERY WELL, AND I THINK HAVING SOMEBODY FROM THE FORESTRY DEPARTMENT COME WOULD BE GREAT.
WE, WE REALLY ARE, UM, LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVING YOU BACK.
UM, BECAUSE IT DOES IMPACT, UM, THE COMMUNITIES THAT WE DO REPRESENT, PARTICULARLY, UM, THOSE WHO ARE, UM, ECONOMICALLY CHALLENGED IN OUR COMMUNITY.
WE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THEM, UM, BEING RESILIENT TO THE HEAT.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, MARK FOR COMING.
[3. Presentation and discussion regarding Project Connect Anti-Displacement Land Acquisition and Preservation investments (Nicole Joslin, Real Estate Division Manager, and Alexe Radtke Housing Development Manager, Housing Department).]
FORWARD THROUGH OUR AGENDA TO DISCUSSION ITEMS. WE DO HAVE ITEM NUMBER THREE, WE HAVE OUR PROJECT CONNECT, THE PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION REGARDING PROJECT CONNECT, ANTI DISPLACEMENT, LAND ACQUISITION, AND PRE, UH, PRESERVATION.PRESERVATION, UH, INVESTMENTS.
WE DO HAVE MS. NICOLE AND WE ALSO HAVE, IS IT ALEXI OR
[00:30:01]
IS ALEX? OH, YOU'RE ALEXI.NICOLE HAD A ILLNESS IN HER FAMILY TODAY.
THANK YOU MS. ALEXI FOR BEING HERE.
UM, AND WE WILL LET YOU MOVE FORWARD.
AND IS THAT REDNECK? UH, RADKEY RAD.
SO MY NAME IS ALEX RADKEY AND I'M THE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT MANAGER, UM, WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN HOUSING DEPARTMENT.
UM, I OVERSEE THE AUSTIN HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION PARTNERSHIP TEAM.
UM, BUT I ALSO, UM, MY TEAM, ONE OF THE RESPONSIBILITIES FOR MY TEAM ALSO INCLUDES, UM, USING PROJECT CONNECT ANTI DISPLACEMENT FUNDS FOR ACQUISITIONS.
UM, AND SO I KNOW Y'ALL HAD ASKED US TO COME AND SPEAK SPECIFICALLY ON THE LAND ACQUISITION PIECE TODAY.
UM, BUT I DO WANNA REMIND Y'ALL, UM, THAT THE PROJECT CONNECT ANTI DISPLACEMENT FUNDS ARE ALSO BEING USED FOR A NUMBER OF OTHER PROGRAMMING, UM, GOALS.
AND WE DO HAVE ENOUGH FOR TD IN THE AUDIENCE WHO CAN SPEAK TO SOME OF THOSE OTHER PIECES.
UM, SO THIS IS KIND OF A VERY, UH, SPECIFIC FOCUS, UH, TODAY.
UM, SO REAL QUICK, WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE AVAILABLE FUNDING, UM, THAT WE HAVE WITH PROJECT THROUGH PROJECT CONNECT, THE REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS THAT WE'VE MADE TO DATE WITH THE FUNDS WE'VE RECEIVED.
UM, AND THEN A QUICK SUMMARY OF THE ANTI DISPLACEMENT COMMUNITY ACQUISITION PROGRAM, UM, THAT WE, UH, FOR BREVITY USUALLY CALL AD CAP, UH, WHICH IS ANOTHER PROGRAM RECEIVING FUNDING THROUGH PROJECT CONNECT.
SO HERE'S JUST A QUICK REMINDER OF THE INVESTMENT TIMELINE FOR PROJECT CONNECT, UM, WHICH SPLIT UP THE 300 MILLION FOR ANTI DISPLACEMENT EFFORTS OVER 13 YEARS.
UM, AND WE ARE IN YEAR FIVE, UH, ALMOST INTO YEAR SIX AT THIS POINT.
UM, AND THEY DID FRONT LOAD, FRONT LOAN FUNDING SO THAT MORE FUNDING WAS RECEIVED, UM, IN THE EARLIER YEARS.
UM, AND THEN, UM, KIND OF TRICKLING DOWN AS WE GET TO THE END OF THE 13 YEAR PERIOD.
UM, SO THE PROJECT CONNECT, UH, FUNDING THAT, UM, MY TEAM OVERSEES IS FOR LAND ACQUISITION PRESERVATION OF EXISTING MULTI-FAMILY PROPERTIES, UM, AND CAN ALSO BE USED FOR REHAB, WHICH IS SPECIFIC TO THE ACAP PROGRAM AS I MENTIONED BEFORE.
UM, WHEN IT COMES TO PRESERVATION, REALLY WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS TRYING TO PRESERVE FAMILY, UH, PROPERTIES THAT ARE ALREADY PROVIDING AFFORDABLE HOUSING, WHETHER IT'S NATURALLY OCCURRING, UM, OR IF IT'S, UH, A FORMAL AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECT THAT, UM, COULD POTENTIALLY LOSE, UH, IS AT THE END OF ITS AFFORDABILITY PERIOD.
AND WE WANT TO EXTEND THAT AFFORDABILITY.
UM, WE'RE ALSO, OF COURSE, PURCHASING, LOOKING TO, TO PURCHASE PROPERTIES WHERE WE CAN DEVELOP AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
UM, THE RESTRICTIONS ON THE FUNDS OR THAT THE SITES MUST BE, WHETHER IT'S PRESERVATION OR ACQUISITION, MUST BE WITHIN ONE MILE OF THE PROJECT CONNECT SYSTEM.
UM, AND JUST A REMINDER, I'M SURE Y'ALL HAVE SEEN THIS BEFORE, BUT WE DO HAVE A GREAT, UH, SPENDING DASHBOARD THAT TRACKS HOW ALL THE ANTI DISPLACEMENT FUNDS ARE BEING USED, NOT ONLY FOR THIS PROGRAM, BUT UM, ALSO, UH, FOR THE OTHER, UM, PROGRAMS USING THESE FUNDS.
SO, UM, I'M GONNA GO OVER THE REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS WE'VE MADE SO FAR.
UM, JUST WANNA FIRST MENTION THOUGH, KIND OF OUR INVESTMENT STRATEGY WITH THESE FUNDS.
SO, AS I ALREADY MENTIONED, THEY DO HAVE A GEOGRAPHIC RESTRICTION.
WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, PROPERTIES THAT ARE WITHIN A MILE OF THE PROJECT CONNECT SYSTEM.
IN ALL HONESTY THOUGH, OBVIOUSLY WE'RE TRYING TO FOCUS ON THINGS THAT ARE AS CLOSE TO THE SYSTEM AS POSSIBLE.
UM, SINCE WE REALLY WANNA TRY AND, UM, MAKE SURE THAT FOLKS, UM, HAVE ACCESS TO THESE TRANSIT SYSTEM, THE TRANSIT SYSTEM AS IT'S BEING BUILT OUT, UM, WE ARE ALWAYS KEEPING AN EYE ALSO ON ASSEMBLAGE OPPORTUNITIES.
SO IF THERE'S A PROPERTY, THERE ARE TWO PROPERTIES NEXT TO EACH OTHER THAT WE CAN TRY AND GET, ACQUIRE BOTH SITES THAT WE CAN PRODUCE, UM, MORE UNITS, UM, OR IF WE HAVE A PROPERTY THAT WE ALREADY OWN THAT'S NEARBY THAT WE CAN ALSO KIND OF HAVE SOME SYNERGIES WITH.
UM, FOR EXAMPLE, RIGHT NOW WE HAVE, UM, A PROJECT WHERE WE'RE DOING, WE'RE DEVELOPING RENTAL HOUSING, UM, ON ONE LOT AND THEN ON THE SAME BLOCK, UM, OWNERSHIP UNITS.
AND WE'RE REALLY HOPING THAT THAT PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY THAT FOLKS CAN PERHAPS GET INTO RENTAL UNITS.
AND THEN, UM, IF THEY ARE ABLE TO AND ARE INTERESTED IN OWNERSHIP, THAT WE WOULD HAVE OWNERSHIP CLOSE BY THAT WOULD ALLOW THEM TO STAY IN THAT SAME NEIGHBORHOOD.
SO JUST AN EXAMPLE OF KIND OF SOME OF THE THINGS WE'RE THINKING THROUGH, UM, ON OUR, UM, INVESTMENTS I ALREADY MENTIONED ON PRESERVATION OPPORTUNITIES.
[00:35:01]
IN, THIS WILL FALL IN TWO BUCKETS, EITHER WHAT WE CALL NATURALLY OCCURRING AFFORDABLE HOUSING.SO, UM, THERE'S NO FORMAL RESTRICTIONS ON THE HOUSING, BUT GENERALLY THESE ARE OLDER PROPERTIES THAT ARE ALREADY KIND OF RENTING AT LOWER LEVELS.
UM, AND SO THEY ARE AFFORDABLE TO FOLKS.
UM, OR WE HAVE EXPIRING, UM, TAX CREDIT PROPERTIES, UM, WHERE THERE'S A, UM, LIMITED AFFORDABILITY PERIOD AND ONCE THAT EXPIRES, UM, THAT THOSE AFFORDABILITY RESTRICTIONS CAN BE LOST, UM, AND THE RENTS COULD GO UP, FOLKS COULD GET DISPLACED.
SO AGAIN, KIND OF KEEPING IN MIND THE GOAL OF THE FUNDS, UM, THAT'S ANOTHER BUCKET, UH, THAT WE KIND OF LOOK AT.
UH, AND THEN FINALLY I'LL MENTION WE KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF KIND OF MULTI-PHASE DEVELOPMENT.
UM, SOMETHING WITH KIND OF A LARGER POTENTIAL TO REALLY, UM, CREATE HOUSING AND SYNERGY WITH THE, UM, PROJECT CONNECT SYSTEM AS IT GETS BUILT OUT.
UM, HERE IS THE LIST OF ACQUISITIONS THAT WE'VE MADE SO FAR.
UM, SO GOT FOUR ACQUISITIONS MADE, TOTALING 37 AND A HALF MILLION.
UM, THE FIRST TWO THAT YOU SEE THERE, MIDTOWN FLATS AND SOCO WERE BOTH, UM, WHAT WE CALL NATURALLY OCCURRING AFFORDABLE HOUSING, LIKE I MENTIONED, AND I'M GONNA HAVE INDIVIDUAL SLIDES ON EACH OF THESE.
SO I'M GONNA GO REAL QUICK JUST ON THIS SLIDE.
UM, CITY VIEW WAS A EXPIRING TAX CREDIT PROPERTY, UM, AND THEN TOKYO ELECTRON, UM, Y'ALL MIGHT HAVE ALREADY, Y'ALL MIGHT HAVE HEARD ABOUT THIS.
SO THE CITY ACQUIRED THE TOKYO ELECTRON CAMPUS IN, UM, MARCH.
UM, THE PROPERTY HAD, UM, A LARGE PORTION OF UNDEVELOPED LAND.
UM, AND SO PART OF THE FUNDING USED FOR THE PURCHASE WAS PROJECT CONNECT DOLLARS.
UM, AND SO WE WILL BE RECEIVING 66 ACRES OF UNDEVELOPED LAND, UM, FROM THAT ACQUISITION.
AND SO, UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, KIND OF THE, THE NUMBER OF UNITS, UM, ON THE PROPERTIES THAT WE'VE PURCHASED TENDS TO BE SOMEWHAT SMALLER, WHICH IS THE, UM, STRATEGY THAT'S RECOMMENDED IN THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING BLUEPRINT FOR PRESERVATION IS KIND OF TRYING TO TARGET SOME OF THOSE SMALLER, YOU COULD SAY, MAYBE MISSING MIDDLE TYPES OF, UM, RENTAL PROPERTIES.
UM, AND THEN OBVIOUSLY AGAIN ON THE TOKYO ELECTRON ONE LOOKING TO, UM, PURCHASED, UH, LAND THAT CAN BE DEVELOPED INTO AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
UM, LIKE I SAID, THIS IS A NATURALLY OCCURRING AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROPERTY.
40 UNITS, A MIX OF ONE AND TWO BEDROOMS. UM, THIS IS LOCATED UP NEAR NORTH LAMAR AND AIRPORT BOULEVARD.
UM, IT WAS ACQUIRED IN JUNE OF 2022 FOR, UM, JUST OVER SEVEN AND A HALF MILLION.
UH, WE OWN THE PROPERTY OUTRIGHT, UH, AUSTIN HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION.
THAT IS, UM, AND THE AFFORDABILITY MIX THAT WE'VE PUT IN PLACE IS A RANGE FROM 30% MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME UNITS UP TO 80% MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME.
UM, JUST SO Y'ALL KNOW, ON THESE PROPERTIES THAT WE'RE ACQUIRING, UM, OUR APPROACH TO THE AFFORDABILITY MIX IS TO TRY AND, UM, GENERALLY MIRROR WHAT THE EXISTING TENANT MIX ALREADY IS.
SO AS WE'RE GETTING TO KNOW THE TENANTS AND GET INCOME INFORMATION, AGAIN, THE, THE GOAL HERE IS TO COMBAT DISPLACEMENT TO, SO TO ENSURE THAT THOSE FOLKS CAN STAY AND STAY AT AFFORDABLE RENTS.
UH, THIS PROPERTY IS JUST SOUTH OF ST.
UM, THIS ONE ACTUALLY DID THIS IS 52 UNITS OVERALL, ONE AND TWO BEDROOMS AS WELL.
UM, THIS ONE ACTUALLY DID HAVE A SMALL SUBSET OF UNITS THAT HAD A FORMAL AFFORDABILITY RESTRICTION ON THEM.
HOWEVER, THAT RESTRICTION WAS GOING TO BE EXPIRING IN 2032.
UM, WE ACQUIRED THE PROPERTY IN MARCH OF 2023 FOR 10 AND A HALF MILLION, UM, OF WHICH, UH, JUST UNDER HALF OF THAT WAS PROJECT CONNECT FUNDING.
THE REST OF IT WAS FROM, UM, 2018.
UH, GENERAL OBLIGATION HOUSING BONDS, UH, WE'RE A HUNDRED PERCENT OWNER AGAIN.
AND THIS ONE ALSO HAS A MIX OF 30%, 80% MEDIAN FAMILY UNITS.
UM, AND THEN WE DID SET UP A, UH, LOAN ON THIS ONE TO DO SOME, UH, REPAIRS, UH, RIGHT WHEN WE PURCHASE THE PROPERTY.
UM, NOT SURPRISINGLY, A LOT OF THE REASONS WHY THESE NATURALLY OCCURRING AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROPERTIES ARE ABLE TO OFFER LOWER RENTS IS BECAUSE THEY ARE DEFERRING MAINTENANCE.
AND SO OBVIOUSLY THAT'S A VERY IMPORTANT THING TO US WHEN WE COME INTO THE PROPERTIES TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE BRINGING EVERYTHING UP TO HEALTH AND SAFETY CODES AND IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR RESIDENTS.
UM, NEXT UP WE'VE GOT CITY VIEW AT THE PARK.
UH, SO THIS, LIKE I SAID, WAS A LOW INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDIT PROJECT.
UH, SO IT HAD BEEN FORMAL AFFORDABLE HOUSING FROM DAY ONE, UM, BUT THE PROJECTS AFFORDABILITY PERIOD WAS EXPIRING.
UM, AND SO, UM, BY US COMING IN AND PURCHASING IT, WE'RE ABLE TO EXTEND THAT AFFORDABILITY PERIOD.
IT'S A SENIOR ONLY COMMUNITY FOR 55 AND UP RESIDENTS WITH 70 UNITS, UH, ONE AND TWO BEDROOMS
[00:40:01]
THAT WE ACQUIRED IN DECEMBER OF 2022 FOR AN ACQUISITION PRICE OF 2.6 MILLION.UM, AND THIS ONE HAS A RANGE OF 30 AND 60% MEDIAN FAMILY, UH, UNITS, AND THEN TWO MARKET RATE UNITS.
UH, AND THEN FINALLY TOKYO ELECTRON.
UM, SO THIS IS RIGHT, UM, NEAR PLEASANT SOUTH PLEASANT VALLEY AND EAST RIVERSIDE, UM, VERY CLOSE TO WHERE THERE'S AN EXPECTED A LIGHT RAIL STOP, UM, IN THAT AREA.
UM, THE, WHAT YOU SEE HERE IN THE PICTURE, THE YELLOW IS THE TOKYO ELECTRON VACANT LAND PIECE.
AND THEN THERE'S AN ORANGE PARCEL THAT'S OUTLINED JUST TO THE RIGHT OF IT.
UM, THE ORANGE PARCEL IS ALSO OWNED BY A HFC.
WE PURCHASED THAT WITH 2018 GEO BONDS FROM AUSTIN ENERGY, WHO HAD PURCHASED THAT YEARS AGO TO BUILD A, UM, I THINK THEIR HEADQUARTERS THEN THEY HAD CHANGED PLANS, SO IT NEVER BEEN DEVELOPED AND WE HAD PURCHASED IT.
UM, SO NOW BETWEEN THE TWO SITES, WE HAVE, UM, CLOSE TO OR OVER 80 ACRES, UM, THAT WE'RE HOPING TO DO A MULTI-PHASE DEVELOPMENT.
UM, AND WE WILL BE WORKING WITH THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT ON THAT AS WELL.
UM, UM, AND THEN I JUST WANNA MENTION, SO I'VE, I THINK ARNIE AND A COUPLE OF THESE I'VE MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, WE, I, I'M HERE TONIGHT TO TALK ABOUT THE PROJECT CONNECT ANTI DISPLACEMENT FUNDS.
UM, BUT, UH, AS Y'ALL ARE AWARE, WE ALSO HAVE AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOND DOLLARS THAT WE'VE ALSO USED, UM, TO INVEST IN, UM, PRESERVATION AND SO, AND IN NEW DEVELOPMENT.
AND SO QUITE A FEW OF THOSE ARE ALSO LOCATED QUITE CLOSE TO THE PROJECT CONNECT SYSTEM.
UM, AND I JUST WANTED TO MENTION SOME OF THE NUMBERS THERE.
SO ALL THE NUMBERS YOU SEE HERE ARE IN ADDITION TO THE PROPERTIES I JUST MENTIONED.
SO WE'VE PRESERVED 109 UNITS, UM, PUT A 171 UNIT PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING PROPERTY INTO OPERATION THIS YEAR.
UM, WE'VE GOT 1300 RENTAL UNITS IN DEVELOPMENT, INCLUDING 448 PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING UNITS.
UM, AND THEN, UM, CURRENTLY HAVE 113 OWNERSHIP UNITS, UM, ALSO IN PRODUCTION, AND THEN 18 ACRES OF UNDEVELOPED LAND, WHICH IS THE, UM, PROPERTY THAT'S ADJACENT TO, TO THE TOKYO ELECTRON SITE.
AND THEN FINALLY, I'M GONNA BRIEFLY TALK TO Y'ALL ABOUT THE, UM, ANTI DISPLACEMENT COMMUNITY ACQUISITION PROGRAM AD CAP.
I WILL TELL Y'ALL UPFRONT, UH, THIS PROGRAM IS ACTUALLY ADMINISTERED BY A DIFFERENT STAFF MEMBER.
SO I'LL DO MY BEST TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS, BUT MIGHT ALSO NEED TO TAKE THOSE BACK AND GET BACK TO Y'ALL WITH THE ANSWERS.
UH, SO JUST AS A QUICK OVERVIEW, THE PROGRAM, IT WAS DESIGNED, UH, TO PROVIDE NONPROFITS WITH FUNDING, UH, TO ACQUIRE PROPERTIES AND DEVELOP AND PRESERVE AFFORDABLE HOUSING ON SMALL SITES.
UM, IT'S A ROLLING APPLICATION PROCESS.
UNLIKE OUR HOUSING DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, WHICH IS A QUARTERLY PROCESS.
UM, THE, UH, AFFORDABILITY TERM FOR A RENTAL PROJECT IS 40 YEARS.
UM, TARGETING, UH, UNITS THAT ARE AT OR IN THE UNITS THAT WOULD QUALIFY FOR HOUSING.
THE, UM, FUNDING ARE 50% MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME AND BELOW ON OWNERSHIP.
WE'D BE LOOKING FOR AN AFFORDABILITY TERM OF 99 YEARS AFFORDABLE TO HOUSEHOLDS AT 80% MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME.
AND BELOW THE MAXIMUM TOTAL AUSTIN HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION SUBSIDY PER UNIT IS ALLOWED TO BE UP TO 80,000 PER UNIT ON AN EFFICIENCY AND UP TO 120,000, UH, PER BEDROOM PER UNIT, UM, FOR LARGER UNITS.
UH, AND HERE'S THE LIST OF AD CAP AWARDS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE SO FAR, TOTALING JUST UNDER 300 MILLION TO DATE.
UM, AND THERE IS A REMAINING 505 5 MILLION, UM, IN THE PROGRAM.
UM, THEY, AS YOU CAN SEE, MOST OF THE AWARDS SO FAR HAVE BEEN TO THE AUSTIN REVITALIZATION AUTHORITY.
AND THEN WE'VE HAD ONE, UH, TO THE GUADALUPE NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.
AND THAT WRAPS UP THE PRESENTATION.
HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU'LL HAVE.
UM, COMMISSIONERS, THIS IS OUR TIME FOR DISCUSSION.
UM, DOES ANYBODY WANNA KICK US OFF OR I CAN KICK US OFF IF ANYBODY'S STILL READING.
COME ON, COMMISSIONER YASA AND THANK YOU.
ON THESE, UM, AD CAP AWARD, CAN YOU TELL ME THE ZIP CODES WHERE THESE PROJECTS ARE? I MEAN, I KNOW VARGAS ROAD IS FOUR ONE, BUT THE OTHERS, UM, I CAN GET BACK TO YOU WITH THE ZIP CODE.
YEAH, SORRY,
COMMISSIONERS, I, I'M GONNA SAY 'CAUSE I HAVE QUESTIONS, BUT I'LL, I'LL LET Y'ALL GO ON.
SO ON THE AD CAP MONEY, UH, MY QUESTION
[00:45:01]
IS, I SAW THAT IT WAS THAT FOR HOME OWNERSHIP WE'RE DOING 80% MFI UP TO 80%.UM, SO JUST THINKING ABOUT THAT, I WAS THINKING ABOUT THE PREVIOUS, UH, PART OF THE PRESENTATION ABOUT ACQUIRING APARTMENTS AND LOOKING AT THE RESIDENTS AND YOU KNOW, WHO LIVES THERE AND WHAT THEY CAN AFFORD AND ALL OF THAT.
UM, I MEAN, I WOULD THINK THAT WE WOULD TRY TO TARGET SOMETHING LOWER FOR HOME OWNERSHIP AS WELL.
I MEAN, I'M THINKING LIKE IT, THEY MIGHT BE, I'LL BE, LIKE I SAID, I'M, I'M FAMILIAR WITH THE APPLICATION.
SO I, IT'S POSSIBLE THAT THEY ARE TARGETING LOWER MM-HMM.
BUT I MEAN, IF THE, IF THE TARGET OR THE CAP IS AT 80% MFII, I MEAN, I GUESS MY OPINION IS THAT THAT'S PRETTY HIGH.
UM, A I WAS JUST LOOKING AT LIKE THE CITY OF AUSTIN MINIMUM WAGE IS ABOUT $21, TWO EMPLOYEES AT CITY OF AUSTIN.
LIKE A COUPLE WOULD BE AT LESS THAN 80% MFI, SO THEY, THEY WOULDN'T FALL UNDER THAT.
UM, SO I GUESS YOU CAN'T, YOU CAN'T ANSWER THAT ONE OR YEAH, I MEAN, I THINK MM-HMM.
UM, I I, AND I CAN GET SOME MORE INFORMATION TO Y'ALL AS TO, YOU KNOW, WHAT STEPS ARE BEING TAKEN THERE.
BUT, UM, THEY ARE LOOKING AT THE GUIDELINES.
I KNOW THERE'S BEEN SOME DIFFERENT QUESTIONS FROM THE, UM, APPLICANTS ABOUT THE CRITERIA THAT'S USED.
AND ALSO THE, THE COMMUNITY BASED NONPROFITS.
I SAW THAT YOU'VE ONLY MENTIONED THAT THERE WAS ONE, RIGHT? THE REST, UH, I THINK IT WAS GUADALUPE THAT GOT THE MONEY.
UM, THE, YEAH, I THINK SO FAR THE ONLY MM-HMM.
SO HOW CAN OTHER COMMUNITY-BASED NONPROFITS, UH, GET SOME MONEY? IT, TO MY KNOWLEDGE, IT'S AN OPEN APPLICATION.
UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, THE AFFORDABILITY CRITERIA WAS UP THERE.
I THINK THERE MIGHT BE SOME OTHER CRITERIA, YOU KNOW, UM, THE SUBSIDY CRITERIA IS ALSO IN THERE.
SO TO MY KNOWLEDGE, IT'S, IT'S OPEN TO ANY ORGANIZATION THAT WOULD HAVE AN ELIGIBLE SITE AND PROJECT.
CAN, MAY I LET YOU GO AND THEN I'LL COME BACK? OH YEAH.
LET ME FIND OUT IF ANYONE ELSE, 'CAUSE I HAVE SEVERAL.
YOU READY? ARE YOU READY FOR YOURS, SIR? I, AFTER.
I WANT TO, UM, LEMME CHECK AND SEE IF ANYBODY ELSE BEFORE, UH, COMMISSIONER, UM, TOVER? YES MA'AM.
I WOULD LIKE TO ASK A QUESTION.
LOOKING AT, I USUALLY TRY TO BE LEFT.
Y'ALL PRINTOUT AND EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING IS STAYING SOUTH.
I HAVEN'T SEEN NOTHING NORTHEAST NOR OH, NORTHEAST.
WELL, I MEAN, I WAS GONNA SAY, UM, MIDTOWN IS ACTUALLY, UM, RIGHT NEAR THE, UH, CRESTVIEW HIGHLAND NEIGHBORHOOD.
SO IT'S NOT, THAT'S NOT PART OF, NOT, IT'S NOT NORTHEAST.
IT'S NOT, UH, BECAUSE WHAT I'M SPEAKING OF NORTHEAST IS FROM ED BLUESTEIN OR 180 3 SOUTH OR NORTH ALL THE WAY TOWARDS BRO, UH, TWO LOAVES OF FISHES AND BREAD.
AND, UH, I'M JUST WONDERING IF Y'ALL GOING TO EVER DECIDE TO PUT ANYTHING LIKE THIS OUT THAT WAY.
UM, LIKE I SAID, WE, I WENT OVER THE KIND OF INVESTMENT STRATEGY THAT WE LOOK AT.
SO, YOU KNOW, I, I WISH SOMEBODY, I HAD A PROJECT CONNECT MAP UP IN FRONT OF ME RIGHT NOW.
SO OBVIOUSLY WE WOULD NEED TO LOOK AT WHAT ARE THE PROPERTIES THAT ARE WITHIN THAT ONE MILE RADIUS THROUGH NORTHEAST? WELL, MOST OF THE PROPERTIES THAT'S OUT THERE RIGHT NOW, UH, YOU ARE LOOKING AT, UH, 360 APARTMENT COMPLEX RIGHT THERE AT ED BLUESTEIN IN LOYOLA.
THEN YOU GOT ANOTHER 465 LOYOLA AND UH, CONY PARK AND GO ON, ON THE OTHER SIDE OF LOYOLA AND DECKER LANE.
YOU GOT ANOTHER 340 APARTMENT COMPLEX.
SO IN OTHER WORDS, THIS HERE THAT Y'ALL ARE REVITALIZING OR BUYING UP LAND, NONE OF THAT IS Y'ALL'S OUT THERE, RIGHT? UM, I'M NOT, NOT TO MY KNOWLEDGE.
AND AGAIN, THE, I I'M HERE SPECIFICALLY ON THE PROJECT CONNECT ONE, SO THAT'S WHY I'M ASKING JUST, AND IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE ARE PROPERTIES THAT COULD POTENTIALLY BE ELIGIBLE.
UH, COMMISSIONER BERT DELGADO.
UH, ON THE AD, UH, CAP ON ON THAT.
[00:50:01]
I, I NOTICED THAT THE SAME THING THAT, UM, OUR COMMISSIONER MENTIONED EARLIER, UH, ELIAS ON THE 80% MFI.SO HOW IS THAT DETERMINED? UM, BECAUSE IT IS UNAFFORDABLE, UM, TO HAVE, I MEAN, YOU WOULD HAVE TO HAVE TWO INCOMES AND EVEN WITH THAT, PROBABLY SLIGHTLY MAKE IT, UM, SO HOW THE OWNERSHIP OF 99 YEAR TERM, WHICH, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE NOT, UH, REALLY FAMILIAR WITH LAND ACQUISITIONS AND WHAT THAT MEANS THAT THEY DON'T OWN THEIR LAND, THEY ONLY OWN THEIR HOME OR THEIR CONDO.
SO THAT REALLY, UM, BECAUSE THAT HAS BEEN SUCH A TOPIC AND, AND, UM, I GUESS A FIX FOR GENTRIFICATION AND ANTI DISPLACEMENT, THEY SAY, UM, WHERE, WHERE'S THAT, THAT INFORMATION BEING DISTRIBUTED, UM, FOR DISPLACEMENT IN THE AREAS THAT, THAT THE PEOPLE ARE BEING DISPLACED, HOW IS THAT GONNA BE LIKE EDUCATED TO THEM THAT THEY DON'T OWN THEIR LAND TO 99 YEAR TERM.
SO IF THEY EVEN LIVE TO 70 YEARS OLD AND THEN THE, THEY HAVE TO MAKE THAT AMOUNT OF MONEY.
UM, AND THEN THE COST OF LIVING HERE IN AUSTIN AND THE PAY OF AUSTIN IS REALLY, REALLY HARD, UM, AS TO MAKE THAT AMOUNT.
UM, SO I'M A LITTLE CONCERNED ABOUT WHO, YOU KNOW, CAME UP WITH THAT CALCULATION.
I UNDER, I LOOK AT THE 50% MFII, I WOULD THINK THAT AFFORDABLE WOULD BE CONSIDERED BETWEEN 30 AND 45%.
SO I WAS, I HAD THAT QUESTION.
THAT'S KIND OF THREE QUESTIONS IN ONE, BUT SURE.
SO I WOULD POINT OUT THOSE ARE CAPS.
SO THAT'S NOT SAYING THAT SOMEBODY APPLYING IS GOING TO BE AT 50 AND 80, THAT'S JUST SAYING YOU CAN APPLY AN ELIGIBLE UNITS COULD BE ELIGIBLE UP TO THAT.
I ALSO, AND AGAIN, I'M NOT A, WHAT'S THE MINIMUM? UH, THERE IS NO MINIMUM.
UM, AND THEN AGAIN, I APOLOGIES 'CAUSE I'M NOT, UM, I DON'T WORK ON AD CAP DIRECTLY.
UM, I DON'T THINK THAT IT ASSUMES THAT IT'S A COMMUNITY LAND TRUST MODEL.
I THINK IT'S ASSUMING THAT YOU WOULD HAVE A RESTRICTIVE COVENANT ON THE PROPERTY FOR 99 YEARS.
BUT IT, I I DON'T BELIEVE IT HAS TO BE A COMMUNITY LAND TRUST OWNERSHIP PROJECT.
ARE THEY ABLE TO SELL THE PROPERTY? UH, YEAH.
UNDER, YEAH, WITH IT WOULD JUST MEAN THAT THERE WOULD BE A RESTRICTION.
YOU'D HAVE TO SELL IT TO A ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLD THAT'S STILL SO, AND THEN THERE'S USUALLY A FORMULA SO THAT THE PRICE WOULD STILL BE AFFORDABLE TO THAT NEXT HOUSEHOLD TO ENSURE THE LONG-TERM AFFORDABILITY OF THE UNIT.
AND UNDER THE AD CAP, UM, JUST LIKE, UH, COMMISSIONER LEE MENTIONED EARLIER, SO I SEE THAT, UH, AUSTIN, UM, THE, THE AUSTIN NONPROFIT RECEIVED 1, 2, 3, 4, UM, FIVE OPPORTUNITIES.
IS THERE A REASON FOR THAT? BECAUSE I WOULD ASSUME THAT GUADALUPE NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, UM, ONE BEING ONE OF THE OLDEST, UM, DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS IN EAST AUSTIN WOULD WANNA, UH, INQUIRE MORE LAND AND PURCHASE.
'CAUSE THAT'S BEEN THEIR PROBLEM IS THEY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH FUNDING, UH, AS WELL AS THEY DIDN'T HAVE A LOT OF LAND OPPORTUNITIES.
SO IT WAS REALLY KIND OF SAD TO SEE THAT, ESPECIALLY IN EAST AUSTIN, UH, IN OUR DISTRICT WHERE, UH, ME AND, UM, JOSE ALIA REPRESENT, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, EAST OPIS AREA THAT I, WE DON'T SEE THAT MANY, UM, OF THAT ANTI DISPLACEMENT FUND GOING TO OUR AREA.
SO THAT WAS A QUESTION I HAD IS WHAT IS THERE LIKE, UM, I'M SURE THERE'S AN APPLICATION LOG AND SO I CAN, UM, ASK AND SEE IF WE CAN PROVIDE THAT.
I DON'T, WELL, I JUST WANNA SEE IF YOU'RE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITIES TO ALL NONPROFITS THAT HAVE THE SAME QUALIFICATIONS THAT THEY DO AND THAT IS THERE A FAIR SYSTEM OF, THERE SHOULD BE FOR TWO, FOR AUSTIN, TWO FOR GUADALUPE, TWO FOR, UH, BLACK LAND DEVELOPMENT, TWO FOR, UH, UH, MEALS ON WHEELS.
TWO FOR, UH, HABITAT FOR HUMANITY.
LIKE THERE'S SO MANY NONPROFITS OUT THERE AND I JUST KIND OF ASKING THE QUESTION 'CAUSE THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT WE'VE GOT THIS PRESENTATION.
SO IT'S REALLY, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT THE AWARDS, LOOKING AT HOW MUCH MONEY'S BEEN INVESTED, LOOK AT HOW MUCH MONEY'S REMAINING, YOU KNOW, UH, I JUST DIDN'T SEE THE FAIR SYSTEM THERE.
UH, THE NEXT QUESTION WAS ABOUT, UM, OTHER PROJECT CONNECT, UM, ADJACENT INVESTMENTS.
I WOULD LIKE TO ALSO HAVE YOU COME BACK AND BRING BACK THE 109 UNITS THAT HAVE BEEN PRESERVER PRESERVED 171 IN OPERATION, PERMANENT SUPPORT HOUSING 1,304 RENTAL UNITS IN DEVELOPMENT, INCLUDING 448 PERMANENT SUPPORT HOUSING UNITS, 113 OWNERSHIP UNITS, INCLUDING 54 UNITS FOR AUSTIN COMMUNITY LAND TRUST, AND 18 ACRES OF UNDEVELOPED LAND.
[00:55:01]
DESCRIPTION OF WHERE THIS IS AT, WHAT ZIP CODES, WHAT AREAS, BECAUSE IT'S GOOD TO GIVE THE PRESENTATION, BUT TO GIVE US THE DATA AND THE BACKUP OF IT MAKES US UNDERSTAND WHERE, WHERE YOU ARE DOING YOUR WORK AT.UM, ANOTHER QUESTION WAS ON THE TOKYO ELECTRON 2,400 GROVE BOULEVARD, WHICH IS, AGAIN, IN OUR DISTRICT.
UM, SO IT LOOKS LIKE THE ACQUIRED LAND HAS ALREADY BEEN ACQUIRED
SO, UM, IT ALSO LOOKS LIKE A BUNCH OF TREES ARE GONNA BE REMOVED HERE.
THERE'S GONNA, IT'S 66 ACRES OF VACANT LAND.
SO I WOULD ALSO WANNA SEE MORE DETAILS ON THE, UH, ANTICIPATED MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT BECAUSE WE ARE SEEING THAT LARGE DEVELOPMENTS ARE BEING BUILT AND THEY'RE BECOMING A SHORE DISTRICT, WHICH THERE'S A LOT OF BUSINESSES AND NOT ENOUGH AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
AND SO WE COULD GET SOME MORE DETAILS ON THAT SINCE IT'S ALREADY BEEN PURCHASED SINCE MARCH.
UM, THAT'S PRESERVATION OPPORTUNITIES.
I, I DON'T SEE ANYTHING IN HERE SHOWING A YARD PRESERVING OUR SCHOOLS, OUR BUILDINGS, OUR BUSINESSES, OUR RESTAURANTS.
WE'RE LOOKING AT A ENTIRE AREA THAT'S BEING REDEVELOPED AND PEOPLE'S TAXES HAVE RISEN SO HIGH THAT I DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING ABOUT TAX RELIEF, UH, TAX ASSISTANCE, UH, FOR THESE RESIDENTS.
AS WELL AS I DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING FOR BUSINESSES LIKE ANGIE'S RESTAURANTS, JOE'S BAKERY, ALL OF THESE MINORITY BUSINESSES ARE AT RISK OF BEING LOST DUE TO PROJECT CONNECT.
SO, UH, YEAH, AND I CAN ADDRESS THAT.
UM, SO THE FUNDING THAT I'M HERE TO SPEAK ABOUT TODAY IS THE ACQUISITION FUNDING THAT'S, UH, FLOWING TO THE AUSTIN HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION, WHICH CAN ONLY BE USED FOR HOUSING PURPOSES.
LIKE I MENTIONED, THERE ARE OTHER PROGRAMS THAT ARE USING, UM, THOSE DISPLACEMENT DOLLARS.
AND MY UNDERSTANDING IS SOME, AND SOME OF THAT IS GOING TO BUSINESSES AND OTHER, UM, USES IN THE COMMUNITY, BUT WE ARE LIMITED.
UM, AND WE CAN ONLY PURSUE, UH, RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES AND RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT.
AND CAN I ADD A POINT OF CLARIFICATION? ACTUALLY, WE DO NOT AS A HOUSING DEPARTMENT, WE FOCUS ON, UH, TENANT AND HOMEOWNER STABILIZATION.
SO OUR FUNDS ARE NOT INVESTED INTO SMALL BUSINESSES OR LOCAL BUSINESSES.
UH, AND THEN ALSO, UH, MS. DELGADO, COMMISSIONER DELGADO, I'D LIKE TO JUST SHARE, I KNOW THERE IS A, UH, DESIRE TO ADDRESS THE NEEDS REGARDING TAXES, BUT WE CANNOT USE TAXPAYER DOLLARS TO ASSIST RESIDENTS IN TAXES, ON TAXES.
WE DO HAVE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS, BUT IT IS, IT IS, UH, BY STATE LAW.
SO IT IS NOT OUR DESIRE, BUT IT'S ABOVE US.
SO WE CANNOT PUT DOLLARS TOWARDS THOSE INVESTMENTS, UNFORTUNATELY.
THANK YOU FOR THAT POINT OF CLARIFICATION.
WHEN IT SAID PRESERVATION, I SEE PRESERVATION AS PRESERVATION OF NOT JUST HOMES.
'CAUSE WE'VE LOST A LOT OF OUR HOMES AND THERE IS NO PRESERVATION OF HOMES.
SO I THINK YOU SHOULD TAKE THAT OUT BECAUSE THERE IS NO PRESERVATION OF HOMES.
HOMES ARE BEING DEMOLISHED AND HOMES ARE NOT BEING PRESERVED.
AND SO, IF I WANNA KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THIS DEPARTMENT IS DOING WHEN IT SAYS THE WORD PRESERVATION.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT ALEX, UM, SHARED IN HER PRESENTA PRESENTATION TONIGHT, AND I THINK THERE'S ANOTHER PRESENTATION THAT MAY BE THAT YOU, YOU GUYS, YOU AND, UH, UH, I'M DRAWING A BLANK.
NICOLE SHARED RECENTLY, NICOLE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, WE DO PRESERVE AFFORDABLE UNITS, AND THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS SHE SHOWED AT TONIGHT BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN ACQUIRING, UH, PROPERTIES THAT ARE UP FOR SALE, WE, UM, ARE ABLE TO KEEP SOME OF THOSE UNITS AFFORDABLE.
THAT IS WHAT HER PRESENTATION WAS ABOUT TONIGHT.
UM, DO WE NEED MORE? DO WE STILL HAVE GAPS? WE ABSOLUTELY DO.
AND ESPECIALLY FOR HOUSEHOLDS, UM, AT 50% AND 30% MEDIUM FAMILY INCOME.
SO THAT IS CON CONTINUES TO BE A CHALLENGE, BUT THAT IS OUR GOAL AS A DEPARTMENT.
AND UNFORTUNATELY, IT'S BIGGER THAN IT'S, IT'S A REALLY HUGE PROBLEM.
COMMISSIONERS ON THE, UM, ONLINE COMMISSIONERS.
OH, THE COMMISSIONER LA I'LL GO.
UM, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, WHEN, WHEN I SEE, OR WHEN I THINK OF ENDED IT'S DISPLACEMENT, I THINK OF LIKE PEOPLE, UM, UM, I DO SEE THE, THE LANG ACQUISITION STRATEGY.
UM, I, I ALSO, I GUESS MY QUESTION IS LIKE, ON THE INVESTMENT TIMELINE,
[01:00:01]
I SEE THAT YEARS IN ONE THROUGH THREE, LIKE THERE'S A HUNDRED MILLION, AND IF LOOKING AT THE TIMELINE, UM, IN 2024 TO 2025, YOU KNOW, ONE WOULD HAVE ASSUMED THAT MORE THAN A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS WOULD HAVE BEEN INVESTED ALREADY.SO THAT'S FOR ALL OF THE, UM, ANTI-DISPLACEMENT FUNDING COMING TO OUR DEPARTMENT.
AND SO AGAIN, THAT'S SPLIT OFF.
AND, UM, THERE'S A NUMBER OF OTHER PROGRAMMING LIKE TENANT STABILIZATION, UM, AND CONTRACTS WITH DIFFERENT NONPROFITS PROVIDING DISPLACEMENT SERVICES THAT ARE ALSO WITHIN THAT SCOPE.
UM, AND THEN ACQUISITION IS JUST A PORTION OF THAT.
AND, UM, WE WILL COME BACK WHEN THE COMMISSION IS READY.
I DIDN'T WANT TO BRING EVERYTHING TO YOU GUYS TONIGHT.
I WANTED TO FOCUS JUST ON THE REAL ESTATE, AND THEN WE WILL COME BACK AT YOUR REQUEST, WHETHER IT'S IN SEPTEMBER OR OCTOBER, AND WE'LL SHARE, SHARE WITH YOU THE INVESTMENTS INTO THE PEOPLE.
SO WE DO BOTH HOUSING AND THE IMMEDIATE, UH, NEEDS OF HOMEOWNERS AND TENANTS.
THAT WAS MY RECOMMENDATION, RIGHT.
JUST LIKE THE PEOPLE PART, BUT, UM, GREAT.
UM, UM, I'M GOING TO, I'M GONNA FOLLOW UP A LITTLE BIT.
UM, SOME OF THE COMMISSIONERS HAVE ASKED, UM, SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT I HAD.
I'M CURIOUS ABOUT, I DON'T KNOW WHAT PAGE IT IS, BUT IT TALKS ABOUT THE OTHER PROJECT CONNECT ADJACENT INVESTMENTS.
AND IT TALKS ABOUT PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING UNITS.
CAN YOU GIVE ME A LITTLE BIT MORE CLARIFICATION? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? UM, YES, I WILL DO MY BEST, BUT OKAY.
UM, THAT WOULD ALSO BE WORTHY OF A WHOLE NOTHER PRESENTATION.
SO PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING, UM, IS GOING TO BE, IN THIS CASE IT'S A HUNDRED PERCENT PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING PROJECT.
SO, UM, IT IS ALL, UM, STUDIO UNITS THAT, UM, ARE RENTED TO FOLKS WHO ARE, UM, EITHER AT RISK OR EXITING HOMELESSNESS.
THAT'S PROJECTS IN THE CASE OF THAT PROPERTY SPECIFICALLY, AND IT'S FAIRLY COMMON.
UM, WE WERE ABLE TO SECURE SOME PROJECT BASED VOUCHERS, WHICH MEANS WHEN THAT, UM, TENANT MOVES INTO THAT UNIT, THERE'S ALREADY A VOUCHER IN PLACE THAT, UH, REDUCES THE RENT TO 30% OF THEIR INCOME.
UM, IF THEY DO NOT HAVE INCOME, THEN THEY'RE, UH, NOT PAYING, UM, THAT RENT, BUT THEY ARE ABLE TO HAVE THAT HOUSING.
THERE'S ALSO A SIGNIFICANT ONSITE SUPPORTIVE SERVICES PROVIDED, BOTH FOR, UM, GENERALLY FOR MENTAL HEALTH, UM, FOR, UH, CAREER, FINANCIAL, UH, ASSISTANCE.
UM, KIND OF A WHOLE KIND OF WRAP.
USUALLY THE TERM IS KIND OF WRAPAROUND SERVICES, KIND OF TRYING TO PROVIDE FOLKS WITH, UM, ALL OF THE ASSISTANCE HOPEFULLY THAT THEY COULD NEED TO STABILIZE, UM, AND HAVE A HOME.
UM, AND SO THAT PROJECT IS CALLED SPARROW AT RUTLAND, IF ANYBODY, UH, IS, IS CALLED WHAT? SPARROW.
UHHUH AT RUTLAND, UH, SPARROW.
AND IT OPENED UP IN MAY THIS YEAR, I THINK, IF I REMEMBERING CORRECTLY.
SO, UM, AND WHAT IS THE TIMELINE IF, UM, ON THE RES THE STENTS THAT ARE LIVING IN THE SUPPORTIVE, PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING UNITS? IT, THEY'RE A REGULAR TENANT, SO AS LONG AS THEY WOULD LIKE TO STAY THERE, THAT THAT'S THEIR HOME IF THEY'RE PAYING OR NOT PAYING.
AND, UH, COMMISSIONERS, I'M ON PAGE 14.
IF, IF THERE'S A VOUCHER IN PLACE, UM, WE DON'T HAVE, VOUCHERS ARE HARD TO COME BY, SO THERE'S NOT VOUCHERS ON ALL OF THE UNITS.
UM, AND SO I KNOW THERE'S USUALLY KIND OF LIKE A, TRYING TO DO THE BEST MATCH, OBVIOUSLY WITH, UM, BETWEEN TENANTS AND THE DIFFERENT UNITS, BUT, UM, WE'D BE HAP I'D BE HAPPY TO TRY AND GET SOMEBODY WITH A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE LEASING PROCESS, IF THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE INTERESTED IN.
AND EARLIER I SAW SOMETHING THAT SAID THAT WE WANTED TO, THAT THE PROJECT CONNECT WAS WITHIN ONE MILE YES.
UM, SO, BUT WHAT ABOUT IT IS IT, IS THE BUS IT, THE AND BUS, RAIL AND BUS LINES.
AND SO ARE WE ADHERING TO THAT OR, I MEAN, I, YES, IT, IT IS.
NOW, I'LL BE HONEST WITH YOU, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE MAP, IT IS A VERY LARGE SWATH OF AUSTIN, UM, THAT IS WITHIN A ONE MILE, WHICH IS WHY I MENTIONED EARLIER, SPECIFICALLY FOR THE PROJECT CONNECT FUNDS THAT WE HAVE, WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING TO GET MUCH CLOSER THAN A MILE OUT FROM THE SYSTEM.
NOW, ARE WE TALKING ONE MILE? LIKE IF YOU LOOK AT IT FROM THE MAP, JUST KIND OF LINEARLY AS AS THE BIRD FLIES? YES.
ARE WE TALKING ABOUT ONE MILE IN TERMS? SO
[01:05:01]
ONE MILE LINEARLY COULD, IN ESSENCE, FOR INDIVIDUALS WALKING TO THAT PARTICULAR BUS LINE, IN ESSENCE COULD BE 2, 3, 4 ACTUAL MILES IN IT, THE IN TO UTILIZE THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT IS CURRENTLY EXISTING.IS THAT CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT.
SO THE DEFINITION UNDER WHEN I THINK IT'S, I CAN'T REMEMBER NOW IF IT'S IN THE CONTRACT WITH THE VOTERS OR THE BOND LANGUAGE HAD STATED IT WOULD, IT WAS WITHIN A MILE OF THE PROJECT CONNECT SYSTEM, WHICH IS LINEAR LINEARLY, UM, AS YOU'RE POINTING OUT.
BUT AGAIN, THAT'S WHERE FOR US, WHEN WE'RE USING THAT FUNDING, WE'RE NOT TRYING TO GET A MILE OUT.
WE'RE TRYING TO GET TO SOMETHING THAT IS ACTUALLY USABLE AND ACCESSIBLE TO THE TRANSIT THAT WE'RE TRYING TO CONNECT TO.
BUT FOR PURPOSES OF JUST MAKING CLEAR, 'CAUSE THIS IS A PRETTY NARROW SCOPE THAT WE WERE ASKED TO PRESENT TO, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE, MAKE SURE Y'ALL KNOW WE HAVE QUITE A FEW OTHER PROJECTS THAT ARE, AND THAT'S, THAT'S, AND FAIR ENOUGH.
BECAUSE I DID ASK THEM TO NARROW THE SCOPE.
SO I, I, I'M GONNA, UM, BE, UM, I'M GONNA DO BETTER.
UM, AND, UM, WHEN DO YOU, YOU MENTIONED THAT THE AD CAP GUIDELINES MAY BE UNDER REVIEW AND POSSIBLE ADJUSTMENT.
DO YOU KNOW WHEN THAT'S PERHAPS SCHEDULED AND DO YOU KNOW, I CAN GET THAT INFORMATION FOR YOU? YEAH, YOU'LL HAVE TO GET THAT FOR US.
AND THEN JUST TO, I DID A LITTLE RESEARCH, UM, SO I'M ON PAGE 17 COMMISSIONERS, UM, ON IT TALKS ABOUT THE CURRENT AWARDS.
AND SO I JUST WANNA GO THROUGH AND SHARE OUT LOUD WITH THE, UM, THE PUBLIC, SO THEY KIND OF HAVE AN IDEA.
YOU GAVE THE, THE STREET NAMES.
UM, I DO WANNA SAY THAT THE FIRST ONE IS THAT GUARD CREEK CIRCLE, AND THAT DOES SEEM TO BE, UH, OFF OF LOYOLA.
AND SO, UH, WE HAVE FOUR UNITS THERE.
UH, THAT'S THE, A RA, UM, WAS DOING THAT ONE.
WE DO HAVE A VINTAGE HILLS, UM, OFF OF ED BLUESTEIN AND MANOR.
UM, THAT ONE IS, UH, 7 8 7 2 3.
UM, THE TWO ON CARMEN COURT ARE IN THE HIGHLAND AREA THERE, 7 8, 7 5 2.
UM, THE RIVERSTONE, I WAS INTERESTED BECAUSE I SAW E CDAT HAD GOTTEN SOMETHING, AND THAT'S 7 8 7 2 4.
AND THAT'S IN THE COLONY PARK AREA.
UM, AND SO THAT'S, THAT'S HELPFUL.
AND, UM, I SEE THAT THE ONE ON VARGAS IS, UM, UH, 7 8, 7 4 1 AREA, AND I'M NOT SURE WHY.
OH, THAT ONE IS RIVERSIDE OVER OFF OF METROPOLIS.
UM, SO I JUST WANTED TO PUT THAT INTO THE RECORD SO THAT, UM, UM, UM, THE PUBLIC IS AWARE OF WHERE IT IS SOME OF THESE FUNDS ARE GOING.
UM, WE DO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A NOD IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, BUT I DO BELIEVE THAT, UM, MORE, I KNOW Y'ALL THINK WE JUST KEEP WANTING MORE AND MORE, BUT WE DO BECAUSE WE HAVE TO KEEP FIGHTING FOR THOSE WHO MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO FIGHT FOR THEMSELVES RIGHT NOW FOR WHATEVER CIRCUMSTANCE.
AND SO, WITH THAT BEING SAID, WE ARE, UH, CONCERNED.
WE DO RECOGNIZE THAT YOU'RE MAKING, UH, MOVEMENT.
UM, UM, AND WE'LL HAVE YOU GUYS BACK WITH A LITTLE BIT, UH, MORE, UH, COMMISSIONER ACHILLES IS GONNA WRAP US UP.
DO YOUR, DO ANY OF THESE PROPERTIES ALLOW FOR FOLKS WHO ARE FORMERLY INCARCERATED FOLKS WHO MAY HAVE CONVICTIONS? YEAH, SO WE USE THE SAME, UH, LEASE ADDENDUM THAT OUR GAP FINANCING PROGRAM USES, THAT HAS, UM, A, UM, SCREENING CRITERIA THAT IS SPECIFICALLY, IT WAS DONE A LITTLE BIT BEFORE MY TIME, BUT MY UNDERSTANDING IS IT WAS DONE WITH A LOT OF INPUT TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, FOLKS ARE NOT PENALIZED PAST THE TIME THEY'VE SERVED, ESSENTIALLY.
UM, AND HAS LIKE A VERY DETAILED CHART, UM, THAT WE REQUIRE, UM, OUR IS USED BY PROPERTY MANAGEMENT.
UM, VICE CHAIR HAS SOMETHING AS WELL.
SO EARLIER DURING OUR PREVIOUS PRESENTATION, I TALKED ABOUT, OR I ASKED ACTUALLY, ABOUT CITY ACTIONS, CITY POLICY, THINGS THAT ARE AFFECTING THE HEAT, UH, CREATING HEAT ISLAND EFFECTS.
AND I WAS THINKING ABOUT THIS, UM, OFF OF WHAT COMMISSIONER DELGADO MM-HMM.
OH, THAT, THAT'S 66 ACRES OF COMPLETELY UNDEVELOPED LAND.
[01:10:01]
IT SEEMS LIKE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO CUT A LOT OF TREES DOWN.UM, AND I MEAN, JUST THINKING ABOUT THE, AGAIN, THE HEAT RESILIENCE AND THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN THAT THE CITY HAS, UH, AND THE FACT THAT I BELIEVE MENTALIS IS A HIGH HEAT AREA.
UM, ARE THERE ANY PLANS TO, YOU KNOW, OR WHAT, WHAT WOULD BE THE PLANS HERE WHEN WE START DEVELOPING THIS PROPERTY? SO, UM, LIKE I SAID, WE, WE ACQUIRED IT IN MARCH MM-HMM.
UM, MY UNDERSTANDING EVEN THIS EARLY ON IS THAT QUITE A BIT OF THE PROPERTY DUE TO DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS WILL PROBABLY NOT BE DEVELOPED.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, WE'RE VERY EARLY STAGES.
AND SO, UM, I DO EXPECT THERE TO BE A PRETTY LENGTHY COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS, UM, ON THIS.
UM, WE'RE, WE'RE STILL WORKING ON IT, SO I DON'T HAVE ANY REAL, UM, I GUESS, DETAIL RIGHT NOW TO OFFER.
BUT, UM, THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS WILL DEFINITELY BE THERE.
AND AS FAR AS THAT, UH, PROCESS, THAT WOULD INCLUDE ALSO THE KIND OF AFFORDABILITY THAT WE NEED IN THAT AREA AND ALL OF THAT.
I MEAN, I KNOW THAT WE NEED DEEPLY AFFORDABLE HOMES FOR FAMILIES, THREE TO FOUR BEDROOM UNITS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, THAT WE, I MEAN, YEAH, I THINK IT'S SUCH A LARGE PROPERTY.
OUR HOPE IS THAT WE'RE ABLE TO DO A REAL MIX OF DIFFERENT AFFORDABILITY.
I MEAN, I WILL SAY, MY, MY HOPE AND WHAT I EX WOULD, I WOULD EXPECT IS THAT WE'LL HAVE OWNERSHIP AND RENTAL AND BE ABLE TO DO A REAL VARIETY OF, UM, DIFFERENT HOUSEHOLD SIZES AND TYPOLOGY.
SO I DON'T HAVE ANY, ANY NUMBERS OR ANY MIXES TO SHARE.
BUT, UM, I DEFINITELY THINK WE'LL BE, I'M SURE WE'LL BE LETTING Y'ALL KNOW AS THAT KIND OF PROCESS REALLY GEARS UP.
I JUST WANNA EMPHASIZE ALEX, UH, SHE'S SAYING EVERYTHING RIGHT.
I JUST WANNA EMPHASIZE THAT, UH, WE DID TALK ABOUT THAT, UM, PUTTING OUT A SOLICITATION FOR ENGAGEMENT.
WE ARE VERY EARLY, UH, BEFORE WE HEAR FROM THE COMMUNITY, START THE ENGAGEMENT TO REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT THE PRIORITY, UH, COMMUNITY NEEDS ARE FOR THAT AREA.
BUT WE ARE HOPEFUL, UM, THAT IT WOULD BE A MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT WITH, UH, A RANGE OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING, UM, TYPES.
UM, IN FASHION THAT I CONTINUE TO BE, I WILL, UM, UNLESS ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS HAVE ANYTHING, I HAVE I THINK THREE FOLLOW UPS.
UM, CLARIFICATION ON SLIDE NINE ON THE PROJECT CONNECT PER, UH, ION AND ACQUISITION SLIDE, WE TALK ABOUT THE 66 ACRES FOR THE TOKYO ELECTRONIC PROPERTY.
BUT THEN ON SLIDE 14 WE TALK ABOUT 18 ACRES OF UNDEVELOPED LAND.
DO THOSE SO THAT THOSE, THOSE DON'T CO SO IF YOU REMEMBER THE SLIDE I MENTIONED, THERE WAS, I CAN'T REMEMBER THE COLORS YELLOW AND ORANGE PARCELS.
SO, UH, THE ORANGE PARCEL, I THINK IT WAS, IS THE 18 ACRES.
AND THEN THE YELLOWS, THE TOKYO ELECTRON 66 ACRES.
SO IT IS THE SAME UNDER THEY'RE THEY'RE ADJACENT.
AND, UM, UM, I KNOW YOU UTILIZED THE TERM DEFERRED MAINTENANCE FOR THE PROPERTIES.
BUT I THINK THAT I, I, I DO FEEL THAT AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH OUR COMMUNICATION WITH THE COMMUNITY, THAT WE JUST TALK, THAT IS UNKEPT, YOU KNOW, JUST, I MEAN, WHEN WE START TALKING ABOUT DIVERT DEFERRED MAINTENANCE, I, I THOUGHT THAT WAS REALLY CUTE.
'CAUSE I HAD TO THINK ABOUT, WELL, WHAT IS DEFERRED MAINTENANCE? OH, THE STUFF IS NOT, THAT, THAT IS WHAT PROPERTY PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANIES WILL USE, IS THEY'LL CALL IT DEFERRED MAINTENANCE.
SO, WELL, WE TALK TO THE COMMUNITY THOUGH, IS WHAT I'M SAYING.
'CAUSE AGAIN, WE'RE THE COMMUNITY.
SO WE'RE INTERESTED IN THE COMMUNITY AND SOMETIMES NOT EVERYONE IN IN THE COMMUNITY MAY TOTALLY GET THAT.
AND SO THAT MAY REMINDED ME THAT IN ALL OF OUR COMMUNICATION WITH THE COMMUNITY, IF IT'S POSSIBLE, AND I, I'M SURE Y'ALL, WE CAN DO IT.
I WOULD, I WOULD LIKE FOR US TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF OUR COMMUNICATION IS LIKE, REALLY CLEAR AND DOWN TO EARTH.
JUST LET'S, LET'S JUST BE LIKE FOR REAL.
YOU KNOW, LET'S JUST BE FOR REAL WITH IT.
AND THEN THE LAST THING I HAVE IS WHAT COMPLAINTS IF, IF, IF, IF, YOU KNOW, AND ALL THESE PROPERTIES AND STUFF, IF INDIVIDUALS HAVE COMPLAINTS IN THE PROCESS, IF THERE ARE CITIZENS THAT ARE IMPACTED BY THE, UM, YOU KNOW, AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE PARTICIPATING OR WHATEVER, WHAT IS THE, WHAT RECOURSE DO THEY HAVE TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES? UM, YOU KNOW,
[01:15:01]
IN THIS PROCESS OR WHATEVER.I'M NOT SURE IF IT'S THIS PROCESS OR JUST IN GENERAL.
DO YOU, ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH ANYTHING THAT'S BEING PUT IN PLACE TO, UM, UM, MAKE IT, UM, ACCESSIBLE FOR, AND NOT ON THE COMPUTER, BUT ACCESSIBLE FOR INDIVIDUALS TO SHARE THEIR CONCERNS ABOUT HOW THINGS ARE BEING DEVELOPED? I GUESS, ARE YOU ASKING FOR ABOUT LIKE, FOLKS WHO ARE LIVING AT THESE PROPERTIES IF THEY HAVE AN ISSUE WHILE THEY'RE LIVING AT THE PROPERTY, OR, UM, AS THE PROPERTY? YOU KNOW, YES AND NO.
I, I DON'T HAVE A SPECIFIC, I REALLY WILL BE HONEST WITH YOU.
BUT I KNOW THAT THIS IS IMPACTING PEOPLE.
AND YOU HAVE A MUCH GREATER, UM, UM, PERSPECTIVE OF, OF HOW AND WHERE IT IMPACTS PEOPLE.
AND I GUESS INSTEAD OF ASKING THE QUESTION, I'M GONNA MAKE A STATEMENT.
MY STATEMENT IS, UM, PLEASE HAVE SOMEWHERE, SOME PROCESS SO THAT CITIZENS THAT ARE BEING IMPACTED AND UTILIZING THESE RESOURCES, ET CETERA, HAVE A WAY TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES IF THEY HAVE CONCERNS.
THAT'S, IT'S JUST A STATEMENT BECAUSE I, I JUST, THAT'S IT.
AS A ALEXI, I THINK, I THINK I HAD, THERE WAS A MISSPELLING.
THANK YOU ALEX FOR COMING CHAIR.
YOU GET TO CLOSE US OUT THEN YOU CLOSE US OUT.
I JUST HAVE THE QUICK QUESTION, ALEX.
TAKE YOUR TIME WITH THE DASHBOARD.
HOW FREQUENTLY IS IT UPDATED? I JUST WAS CURIOUS, HOW FREQUENTLY IS THE DASHBOARD UPDATED? YEAH.
'CAUSE I'VE BEEN ON THE DASHBOARD TOO.
UM, I HAVE TO CONFIRM, THEY SAY REAL TIME, BUT I, I DON'T KNOW, THE ORGANIZATION.
CIS ORGANIZATIONS REPORT ON A WEEKLY BASIS.
I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE
SO WE WILL GET AN ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION.
SO, UH, WE, WE CAN'T CONFIRM IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE REAL TIME, BUT WE SUSPECT THERE MIGHT BE A BIT OF A LAG.
UM, BUT WE CAN CONFIRM HOW OFTEN.
AND IT'S A PRETTY DECENT, UM, IT'S GOOD.
I DON'T WANNA SAY DECENT, BUT IT, I, I'VE BEEN LOOKING AT YOUR DASHBOARD AND CLICKING ON DIFFERENT THINGS.
SO FOR COMMISSIONERS, UM, THE DASHBOARD THAT THEY DO HAVE THERE, UH, IS, IS, UM, IS THE ANTI DISPLACEMENT FUNDING.
UM, YEAH, IF YOU PUT THAT IN@THEAUSTINTEXAS.GOV, YOU DO GET THE DASHBOARD, WHICH DOES SEEM TO BE, UM, PRETTY HELPFUL.
THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS FOR THAT ROBUST CONVERSATION.
[4. Presentation and discussion regarding outcomes for the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) (Angel Zambrano, Neighborhood Services Unit, Austin Public Health).]
INTO ITEM NUMBER FOUR ON HELL.LET'S HEAR FROM YOU REALLY QUICK.
OUR PRINTER WENT DOWN AT THE OFFICE.
SO YOU DO NOT HAVE FOUR, FIVE, AND SIX.
WELL, I'LL HAVE IT 'CAUSE IM GONNA LOOK IT UP.
SO, WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE TO FOLLOW ON SCREEN.
IN THE INVITE, YOU DO HAVE COPIES OF MM-HMM.
UM, AND IF YOU DON'T, I'LL EMAIL 'EM BACK OUT TO EVERYBODY AGAIN.
THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME THIS MONTH.
ANO NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES UNIT MANAGER.
I DO HAVE A FEW ITEMS ON THE AGENDA.
AND, UH, WE WENT THROUGH THIS A YEAR AGO.
WE'RE GONNA GO OVER OUR CAP, OUR BUDGET, WHICH IS VERY SIMPLE, AS YOU GUYS KNOW.
AND, UM, OUR STRATEGIC PLAN FOR OUR NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES UNIT.
SO IT'S VERY, VERY MUCH GUIDED BY T-D-H-C-A AND CSPG.
IT'S NOT A BROAD CITY PLAN, IT'S JUST A PLAN FOR OUR OWN UNIT.
BUT WE'LL START WITH THE, UH, MONTHLY, UH, PROGRAMMATIC AND FINANCIAL REPORT TO KEEP IT IN SIMPLE LANGUAGE.
LIKE THE CHAIR SAID, I'M NOT GONNA READ THE MISSION WORD FOR WORD.
IT'S JUST WE HELP PEOPLE WHO ARE LOW INCOME OR HAVE NO INCOME IN, UM, OFTEN IN TRAVIS COUNTY, WE HELP THEM WITH BASIC NEEDS, PREVENTIVE HEALTH, CASE MANAGEMENT, AND EMPLOYMENT SUPPORTS.
YOU WILL, I DON'T THINK YOU HAVE IT, BUT ON THE SCREEN YOU WILL SEE OUR, UH, EXPENDITURES.
TO DATE, WE ARE 22% EXPENDED FROM OUR $1.1 MILLION THAT WE RECEIVED FOR CSPG.
[01:20:05]
UH, NEXT PAGE PLEASE.I'LL JUST FOCUS ON A FEW ITEMS ON THIS PAGE.
OUR TOP, WE HAVE 13, UH, TRANSITIONS OUT OF POVERTY.
IT'S BEEN PRETTY CHALLENGING, AS YOU GUYS HAVE KNOWN.
UM, SELF-SUFFICIENCY CASE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM IS, UH, WORKING HARD TO HELP THOSE FOLKS WHO ARE UNEMPLOYED OR UNDEREMPLOYED.
UM, TRANSITION OUT OF POVERTY.
IF YOU GO DOWN, I'LL FOCUS ON OUR OUTCOMES.
FOUR E OUR HOUSEHOLDS TO AVOIDED EVICTION.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE ARE VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT, AGAIN, HELPING PEOPLE STAY IN THEIR HOMES.
OUR TARGET FOR THE YEAR WAS 800, AND I PRESENTED ON THIS LAST YEAR, AND THAT'S WHERE WE HAD THE 800.
BUT TO DATE, WE'VE, UH, HELPED 2006 HOUSEHOLDS AVOID EVICTION WITH OUR, UH, ERA TWO FUNDS AND SOME FINANCIAL STABILITY FUNDING FROM THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
A LOT OF THESE OTHER SERVICES ARE SMALLER, BUT YOU CAN LOOK AT 'EM ON YOUR OWN TIME.
THE FOOD DISTRIBUTION, ANOTHER THING THAT WE FOCUS ON IN OUR SERVICE IN THE, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES UNIT, A LOT OF FOOD INSECURITY.
WE SEE THE NUMBERS CONTINUE TO INCREASE.
UM, THE NUMBER SERVED TO DATE THROUGH JUNE 57,018 THROUGH THE SAME PERIOD.
MM-HMM,
THE BOTTOM OF PAGE TWO, SOME PROGRAMMATIC ADMINISTRATIVE UPDATES.
GO TO NU UH, NEXT PAGE, PLEASE.
YEAH, IT'S NOT ON THE PA I THINK, UH, YOU WERE OUT OF THE ROOM, BUT IT'S NOT IN THE PACKET.
IT'S ONLY ON THE GREEN, SO YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO PUT YOUR GLASSES ON.
ALRIGHT, WE'LL LOOK AT NUMBER TWO.
THE CDC NOMINATION SELECTION UPDATE.
I KNOW WE HAVE A COUPLE OF VACANCIES.
I EXPLAINED TO YOU GUYS LAST MONTH THAT WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF AMEND, AMENDING THE BYLAWS.
I MET WITH, UH, THE CITY LAW YESTERDAY.
NEXT MONTH I'LL BE COMING BACK WITH THE PROPOSED CHANGES.
SO MORE FORMAL, YOU GUYS CAN DISCUSS THOSE AND, UM, GIMME THE BLESSING.
UM, AND I'LL EXPLAIN MORE ABOUT THAT NEXT MONTH.
BUT FOR NOW, UM, I DID WANNA SAY THAT THERE WERE NO INTERESTED INDIVIDUALS AT THE MEETING ON, UH, THURSDAY, JULY 18TH FOR THE NORTH AUSTIN SEAT.
SO WE'RE HOPING TO, UH, REGROUP AND HAVE THAT ELECTION ON SEPTEMBER 19TH.
I WILL SEND SOME INFORMATION OUT TO YOU ALL.
UH, SO YOU CAN SPREAD THE WORD, UH, GIVE YOU THE, UH, GEOGRAPHIC AREA.
'CAUSE PEOPLE NEED TO LIVE WITHIN THAT GEOGRAPHIC, UH, AREA IN ORDER TO VOTE OR TO, UH, PARTICIPATE.
UM, AND AGAIN, WE'RE DOING THAT WITH THE HELP OF AUSTIN VOICES, WHO'S THE RESPONSIBLE ORGANIZATION IN THAT AREA.
UH, NUMBER FOUR, HOME DELIVERY PROGRAM.
UM, CITY COUNCIL APPROVED THE CONTRACT WITH THE FOOD BANK.
SO WE'VE BEEN WORKING REALLY HARD TO TRY TO GET FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES INTO THOSE BOXES OF SHELF STABLE FOODS.
WE'VE BEEN TRYING THAT FOR A COUPLE YEARS.
EITHER IT'S A FUNDING ISSUE, LOGISTICS ISSUE, FOOD SAFETY ISSUE.
THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT COME UP THAT MAKE IT HARD.
BUT I'M HERE TO SAY THAT WE ARE GONNA BE SUCCESSFUL IN DOING THAT.
AND JUST IN TIME, BECAUSE THE, UH, HOME DELIVERY PROGRAM IS GONNA MOVE A HUNDRED PERCENT TO THE CENTRAL TEXAS FOOD BANK FACILITY.
SO, UH, AMAZON HAS AGREED TO TRY A NEW LOGISTIC MODEL TO GO FROM THEIR FLEX DRIVERS TO THEIR REGULAR, UH, AMAZON DRIVERS.
IT'LL HELP WITH EFFICIENCIES AND HELP PROBABLY REACH MORE PEOPLE.
UM, AND OUR ROSA AUGUSTA NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER WILL BE CLOSING IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS FOR, UH, THE BIG HVAC REPAIRS.
SO, PERFECT TIMING 'CAUSE THAT'S WHERE THE PROGRAM WAS, UH, BASED IN JUNE.
JUST TO GIVE YOU THE LAST DATA ON THIS.
AND THEN I PROBABLY WILL GET THE DATA FOR THE WHOLE PROGRAM AND PRESENT IT AT SOME TIME IN THE FALL.
JUST THE, THE IMPACT FROM JUNE OF 22 WHEN WE STARTED THIS PROGRAM.
A LITTLE BIT, NOT KNOWING WHAT WE WERE DOING.
YOU KNOW, IT'S BRAND NEW AND WE VERY COMPLEX TO NOW.
UM, IN JUNE, WE SERVED, UH, 2,157 HOUSEHOLDS, OVER 6,000 INDIVIDUALS AT FOOD BOXES DELIVERED TO THEIR DOORSTEP.
I MENTIONED EARLIER THE STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS.
SO I'LL GO OVER THOSE IN THE ONE OF THESE, UH, AGENDA ITEMS LATER.
UH, AGAIN, WE HAVE OUR OWN STRATEGIC PLAN.
IT KIND OF SUPPORTS WHAT WE DO AND KIND OF GUIDES US OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.
SO WITH EVERY FIVE YEARS, THE STATE REQUIRES THIS TO HAPPEN.
SO THE LAST ONE WAS IN 2020, UH, 20 19, 20 20.
AND NUMBER SIX, OUR COMMUNITY ACTION PLAN AND BUDGET.
I WILL DO A PRESENTATION ON THAT AS WELL TODAY.
AND THEN IT'LL BE UP FOR DISCUSSION AND APPROVAL FROM YOU GUYS.
[01:25:01]
SO I CAN REPORT THAT TO THE STATE.AGAIN, IT'S A TEXAS, UH, RULE, UM, THAT WE DO THIS AND IT'S IN THE BACKUP.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF KIND OF DETAILED INFORMATION IN THE BACKUP THAT I'M NOT GONNA GO OVER IN TERMS OF THE SERVICES AND WHAT OUR, UH, PREDICTED OUTCOMES ARE, WHAT WE WANNA WORK TOWARD OUR GOALS.
SO I'LL LEAVE THAT FOR YOU OWN TIME.
I'LL FOCUS ON A COUPLE OF THE BIG ONES.
AGAIN, THE RENT ASSISTANCE, THE FOOD, UH, AND SOME, UM, SOME THINGS WE LEARNED FROM STAFF.
AND, UH, AND SPEAKING WITH, UM, STAKEHOLDERS.
SOME OF YOU PARTICIPATED IN THE CNA INTERVIEW PROCESS AND GAVE US FEEDBACK.
THE CNA ALSO HAD A SURVEY WITH CLIENTS.
SO WE TOOK ALL THAT INFORMATION AND USED IT TO GUIDE OUR STRATEGIC PLAN.
IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT PAGE, THAT'LL BE ITEM NUMBER SEVEN ON THIS, THE RENT ASSISTANCE FUNDING.
UM, FROM JANUARY TO JUNE, WE'VE ASSISTED, UH, 499 PEOPLE AND 177 HOUSEHOLD TO AVOID EVICTION WITH JUST THE, UH, CITY OF AUSTIN FINANCIAL STABILITY FUNDING.
IT'S ABOUT $775,000 THAT WE GET A YEAR.
UM, THE DATA FOR ALL OF THE HOUSEHOLD, THE 1000, SOMETHING THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER, INCLUDED THE ERA TWO, BUT I DROPPED THAT OFF TO THIS SINCE WE'VE ALREADY EXPENDED THAT FULLY.
UM, THE CHAIR ASKED ME TO PROVIDE A LITTLE MORE INFORMATION IN THE PUBLIC HEALTH NURSING WORLD KIND OF NUMBERS TO SEE WHAT THE IMPACT IS.
HERE AGAIN, WE PROVIDE FREE HEALTH SCREENINGS, DIABETES CASE MANAGEMENT, UM, AND AGAIN, FROM JANUARY THROUGH JUNE, 3,873 INDIVIDUALS WERE SERVED BY NSU NURSING ACTIVITIES.
SO THAT COULD BE BLOOD CHECK, CHOLESTEROL, BLOOD PRESSURE, UH, INFORMATION REFERRALS.
AND THIS IS ALL FREE OF CHARGE.
SO REALLY GREAT IMPACT THE NURSES ARE HAVING, AND THEY'RE GIVING UP RIGHT NOW FOR FLU SEASON AND TRYING TO HELP, UH, IMMUNIZE OUR LOW INCOME OR NO INCOME HOUSEHOLDS.
NUMBER 10, OUR SELF-SUFFICIENCY CASE MANAGEMENT SERVICES.
UM, IN JUNE, THERE WERE SEVEN TRANSITIONS OUT OF POVERTY.
AS A RESULT OF THIS PROGRAM, WE PARTNER UP WITH, UM, TRAINING PROGRAMS LIKE SKILL POINT, UH, AFRICAN AMERICAN YOUTH HARVEST IS SORT OF OUR NEW, OUR NEW ONE.
THEY HAVE A PROGRAM, A CERTIFICATE PROGRAM FOR, UM, KINDA SOFTWARE PROGRAMMING, THINGS THAT HAVE TO DO WITH COMPUTERS.
SO WE'RE HOPING THAT WE CAN GET SOME FOLKS THAT ARE GOING THROUGH THAT PROGRAM INTO OUR SELFSUFFICIENCY CASE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM WHERE WE CAN HELP THEM WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, JOB COACHING, JOB SEARCH, UH, COUNSELING.
SOMETIMES WE'RE ABLE TO PAY THEIR RENT IF THERE'S FUNDS AVAILABLE.
SO ONCE THEY GET EMPLOYED, UH, KIND OF GET THEM GOING BEFORE THEY HAVE TO JUMP RIGHT IN AND START PAYING LIKE THEIR FIRST MONTH'S RENT.
SO, AND THERE'LL BE A PRESENTATION NEXT MONTH ON, UH, THE SELF-SUFFICIENCY CASE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM AND THE SATISFACTION SURVEY.
SO YOU GUYS CAN SEE HOW SATISFIED PEOPLE ARE.
IT'S NOT A HUGE PROGRAM SO THAT IT'S NOT HUGE NUMBERS IN THE END, BUT DEFINITELY GIVES US AN IDEA OF THE IMPACT.
AND ALSO THEY TELL US, YOU KNOW, WHAT CAN BE BETTER AS WELL.
I ADDED TWO PAGES AT THE END THAT DRILL DOWN A LITTLE MORE.
SO FOR YOUR OWN TIME, BUT FOR NOW, WE CAN LOOK AT 'EM REAL QUICK.
I'M ABOUT SEE SEEING 'EM IN THE LINE.
IS IT, I I'M NOT SEEING TWO ADDITIONAL PAGES.
IT LOOKS LIKE, DOES IT LOOK LIKE THIS? OKAY, LET, ARE YOU SEEING THESE? THEY DON'T HAVE LET, LOOK, THEY DIDN'T COME IN.
WELL, THERE'S A, THERE'S A REPORT ITEM NUMBER.
SO IT'S NOT, IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN PART OF THE PACKET, BUT IF IT'S NOT, IT'S OKAY.
I'LL JUST, UM, TELL YOU, I'LL SEND THEM TO YOU.
IF THEY'RE B, C, C, I CAN JUST KIND OF SEND IT THROUGH.
SO AGAIN, THIS COMES FROM THE CHAIR'S.
UM, REQUEST TO SEE A LITTLE MORE OF THE DATA IN TERMS OF ZIP CODE SERVICES, UM, RACE AND ETHNICITY AND, UM, YEAH, 'CAUSE I WAS LOOKING FOR THAT.
AND, UH, POP POVERTY LEVEL FOR OUR RENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
SO WHEN I SEND THIS, WHEN IT'S THE NSE OASIS ASSISTANCE, THIS IS EVERYTHING BUT RENT.
SO IT'S A LOT OF OUR FOOD, OUR CAR SEATS, OUR, UM, ALL OUR OTHER FOOD EVENTS, THE CLOTHING CLOSET, ET CETERA.
YOU WILL SEE THE BIGGER THE SQUARE, THE MORE SERVICES OKAY.
[01:30:01]
THING.SO, UH, I KNOW IT'S HARD TO EXPLAIN THIS WAY, BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT, YOU'LL SEE, OH WOW.
THE BIG GREEN SQUARE HERE IS FOOD PANTRY.
SO FROM JANUARY THROUGH JUNE, FOOD PANTRY, OUR, OUR HOME DELIVERY PROGRAM WAS SORT OF OUR BIGGEST IMPACT, RIGHT? 'CAUSE WE DO 2000 PEOPLE A MONTH.
AND THEN SOME OF THE SMALLER ONES ARE FOOD PANTRY AT SOUTH FOOD PANTRY AT EAST MARKET DAYS AT ST.
JOHN'S, WHICH INCLUDES SOME FOOD RECOVERY.
SO NEXT MONTH I'LL EXPLAIN A LITTLE MORE, BUT THIS GIVES YOU AN IDEA OF, OF WHAT WE'RE DOING.
WE'RE ON THE GROUND IN TERMS OF, UH, RACE AND ETHNICITY.
WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, A PIE CHART.
SO YOU'LL SEE, OH WOW, THERE'S THIS MANY PERCENTAGE ARE HISPANIC, THIS MANY ARE AFRICAN AMERICAN, UM, WHITE.
THE TOP ZIP CODES FOR THESE SERVICES FROM JANUARY THROUGH JUNE.
SO AGAIN, IN TERMS OF OUR FOOD AND CAR SEATS, ET CETERA, ET CETERA, OUR, UM, THE NUMBER OF CASES, THE LARGEST NUMBER OF CASES CAME FROM THE FOUR ONE.
SO YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SEE THIS.
AND THEN WE HAVE THE O2 FIVE THREE, THE NORTHEAST, THE FIVE TWO NORTHEAST, THE TWO FOUR.
SO IT GIVES AN IDEA OF WHERE WE'RE, UH, HELPING PEOPLE.
AND THE FOUR FOUR WAS ALSO ONE OF OUR TOP SIX ZIP CODES FOR NON RENT SERVICES.
SO THE OTHER PAGE ALSO SHOWS YOU A LITTLE BIT OF THE SAME DATA, BUT FOR RENT.
SO WHEN YOU SEE THIS, AGAIN, YOU WILL SEE THE AVERAGE ASSISTANCE WAS 2,280.
SO THE AVERAGE RENT PAYMENT FROM JANUARY THROUGH JUNE, UH, THE POVERTY LEVEL, 53% OF OUR FAMILIES FALL BELOW THE 50% FEDERAL POVERTY INCOME GUIDELINES.
A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN THE MFI THAT HOUSING USES, BUT PRETTY SIMILAR.
53% UNDER 50% FOR A HOUSEHOLD OF ONE, IT'S ABOUT 7,500 A YEAR, WHICH JUST, SO WE'RE DEFINITELY HELPING.
THE POOREST OF THE POOR FOR A FAMILY OF FOUR IS 15,600 A YEAR.
SO AGAIN, OUR PROGRAM DEFINITELY IS HELPING.
THE VERY, VERY, VERY POOR MM-HMM.
WE HELP ANYONE, YOU KNOW, FOR, FOR FOOD AND, AND THAT WE HELP PEOPLE UP TO 200% FOR RENT.
BUT MOST OF OUR FOLKS ARE DEFINITELY VERY, VERY POOR.
THE FOLKS WE SERVE PASS CAP HEAD AROUND.
WHAT'S THAT SIR? PASS HEAD AROUND
I MEAN, YOU COULD PASS IT AROUND WHILE I TALK.
I MEAN, IT'S, OH, AND ONE MORE, ONE MORE PAGE.
'CAUSE THE CHAIR ALSO HAS ZIP CODES.
YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHERE'S THE FIVE THREE MM-HMM.
LIKE WHERE ARE YOU GUYS HELPING PEOPLE? AND I DON'T KNOW EVERY ZIP CODE, THERE'S A LOT OF ZIP CODES HERE.
I HAVE MY OWN LITTLE CHEAT SHEET AND I GO, WOW, THERE'S, THERE'S MORE THAN THIS.
BUT IN TERMS OF YOU GUYS SEEING IT ON PAPER, IT'S KIND OF A HEAT MAP.
SO IT'LL SHOW YOU AGAIN WHERE WE'RE THE DARKER, THE MORE PEOPLE WE SERVE IN THOSE AREAS.
IT ALL VERY MUCH FALLS ON TOP OF THE AREAS THAT YOU GUYS ARE ALREADY FAMILIAR WITH AND THE AREAS THAT YOU REPRESENT.
SO Y'ALL PASS THIS AROUND, UM, AS THAT'S GOOD.
UM, I THINK THAT WAS IT FOR THE MONTHLY REPORT.
UM, THAT IS THAT COM UH, UH, COMMISSIONERS, UM, QUESTIONS REGARDING ITEM NUMBER FOUR FOR HEL COMMISSIONER YASO.
UM, AN UPDATE ON THE DOVE SPRINGS HEALTH CENTER.
WHEN'S IT GONNA OPEN? I KNEW YOU WERE GONNA ASK
WELL, I'M GLAD, I'M GLAD YOU ASKED BECAUSE I WAS THERE TODAY WITH THE FOOD BANK DOING A WALKTHROUGH.
SO I THINK, DON'T QUOTE ME, EVEN THOUGH THIS IS PUBLIC RECORD, I'M THINKING THE GRAND OPENING WILL BE IN NOVEMBER.
THIS YEAR WE'RE DOING A PUNCH WALKTHROUGH.
I'M PRETTY SURE NOVEMBER WILL BE THE GRAND OPENING.
AND SO WHEN WILL SHOTS FOR TOTS MOVE OVER? AND HAS THE CONTRACT BEEN PUT OUT FOR THE CHILDCARE CENTER? HAS A PROVIDER BEEN SELECTED? I'M NOT SURE.
'CAUSE THAT'S SEPARATE FROM MY WORLD.
SO THEY'RE THERE, BUT THEY'RE, IT'S A SEPARATE PROCESS.
SO I KNOW ABOUT WIC WILL BE THERE IN NOVEMBER.
UM, OUR NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER, OBVIOUSLY.
AND THEN WILL YOU BE HIRING A NURSE OR, I KNOW YOU'RE DOWN A COUPLE OF POSITION OR ONE POSITION.
I KNOW YOU'RE DOWN, BUT ALSO WITH THE OTHER SITES CLOSED, WILL THOSE NURSES SORT OF ROTATE THROUGH? THEY, THEY WILL, THEY'LL HELP TRAIN THE NURSE THERE, BUT WE WILL, WE'RE HOPING TO HIRE, BUT, YOU KNOW, WITH THE WHOLE BUDGET RIGHT.
WE'RE, EVERYTHING'S ON HOLD RIGHT NOW, SO I'LL KNOW MORE NEXT MONTH.
[01:35:01]
DELGADO BERTHA DELGADO.SO ON, UM, I DIDN'T HEAR THIS.
SO DID THE ROSEWOOD AREA, UM, NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER GET REOPENED? I KNOW THERE WAS SOME, SOME CONSTRUCTION THAT WAS HAPPENING AND I KNOW PART OF THE CLINIC WAS OPEN AND THE OTHER PART WAS UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
DID WE, DO WE HAVE AN UPDATE ON THAT? UH, YES.
UM, CENTRAL HEALTH IS OPENING THEIR CLINIC ACROSS FROM US.
UM, STATE-OF-THE ART CENTER WITH SPECIALTY CARE.
AS WE'RE CLOSING ON THE 23RD FOR, UM, HVAC RENOVATIONS.
THAT BUILDING WAS BUILT IN 1974 AND HAS NEVER HAD AN HVAC UPGRADE.
SO WE WERE CLOSED TODAY FOR ONE DAY.
'CAUSE THE AIR, IT JUST, IT JUST CAN'T KEEP UP.
SO, SO IT'S CLOSING ON THE 23RD AND THEN IT'S GONNA REOPEN WHEN? UM, JANUARY, FEBRUARY.
AND THEN PEOPLE WILL GO TO WHAT ALTERNATE SITE? EAST AUSTIN NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER.
THAT'S WHAT I WAS GONNA ASK YOU.
THAT WAS MY NEXT, NEXT QUESTION ON THE KAMAL UM, CENTER IS WHEN ARE THE FOOD DISTRIBUTION DAYS? ARE THERE FOOD I CAN SEND, I CAN SEND YOU THAT.
THERE ARE, THERE'S, THERE'S A FOOD PANTRY.
THERE'S FRESH FOOD FOR FAMILIES MARKET.
WE HAVE FRESH FOR LESS COMING TOO, UH, ANOTHER AGENCY.
SO I CAN SEND YOU ALL, I THINK IT'S TIME FOR ME TO SEND IT ALL TO YOU, ALL OF YOU GUYS.
EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD, WE CAN LET YOUR FOLKS KNOW.
SO I'LL DEFINITELY SEND THE ZIP CODE, I MEAN THE POWER BI PRESENTATION AND THE, UM, FOOD DISTRIBUTIONS FOR THE DIFFERENT CENTERS.
'CAUSE I WOULD LOVE TO SHARE THAT ON MY SOCIAL MEDIA SITES.
I KNOW THAT, UM, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT LIKE WHERE THE, WHERE WE'RE HAVING THESE, THESE DISTRIBUTIONS AND RIGHT.
AND IT'S GOOD TO HAVE THE, THE NEW, THE NEW ADDRESS.
UM, DID WE, ARE WE STILL, WHAT'S THE STATUS ON US FULFILLING THE ROSEWOOD POSITION? I KNOW YOU WERE GONNA BE LOOKING INTO SOME INFORMATION.
WE WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO AMEND THE BYLAWS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
IF THE LONG PROCESS HAS TO GO TO COUNCIL AND IT'S GOTTA COME TO YOU ALL FIRST.
SO NEXT MONTH I MET WITH LEGAL YESTERDAY.
SO NEXT MONTH I'LL BRING IT TO YOU VIA THE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS.
IT'S BASICALLY REMOVING THE RESPONSIBLE ORGANIZATIONS AND JUST HOLDING THESE SELECTION MEETINGS WITHOUT A MIDDLE PERSON.
THAT'S HOW SAN ANTONIO DOES IT.
'CAUSE THEN WE DON'T HAVE TO HAVE OFTEN VOICES OR ANY CONTACT TEAM BE IN COMPLIANCE.
BECAUSE LIKE WITH ROSEWOOD, WE WENT BACK TO THE BOARD, TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION THERE, AND THEY WERE DEFUNCT AT THAT POINT.
'CAUSE THERE'S NO OTHER, THERE AREN'T MANY BOARDS THAT ARE ACTIVE AND THAT NEED, THAT MEET MONTHLY AND HAVE THEIR OWN BYLAWS AND ARE VERY OFFICIAL.
A LOT OF THESE GROUPS KIND OF COME AND GO.
OR THEY ONLY DO SEASONAL EVENTS LIKE THEY MEET FOR THANKSGIVING OR A SUMMER PICNIC.
WE NEED SOMETHING MORE REGULAR OR NOT AT ALL.
AND WE CAN JUST HOLD THE ELECTIONS QUICKLY.
WE'RE NOT GONNA LOSE OUR COMMUNITY, UH, APPOINTEES, RIGHT? OH, NO, NO.
AND WE WILL, WE WILL STILL HAVE, UH, AT LEAST ONE FOOD DISTRIBUTION AT THESE CLOSED CENTERS.
THEY'RE HAVING MARKET DAYS, UH, ON UH, I THINK TODAY, ON TUESDAY.
SO THERE'S STILL SOME PRESENCE OUTSIDE, BUT WE DEFINITELY CAN'T BE INSIDE WITH ALL THE, UH, RENOVATIONS AND ASBESTOS ABATEMENT AND ALL THAT.
OTHER COMMISSIONERS? ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS HERE? ALRIGHT, I HAVE TWO, THREE ITEMS REAL QUICK.
UM, IS THIS, YEAH, THIS IS, NO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WE ARE IN DISCUSSION.
UM, UH, NUMBER TWO, THE JULY 18TH.
'CAUSE YOU, YOU'RE ABOUT TO BE HERE FOR A WHILE.
JULY 18TH, THERE WAS NO INTEREST IN THE, UM, NO ONE SHOWED UP.
HOW WAS THAT ADVERTISED? EVERYWHERE.
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? AUSTIN VOICES EVERYWHERE.
AUSTIN, AUSTIN VOICES SENT THAT OUT TO THEIR LISTSERV.
UH, SOCIAL MEDIA FOR AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, WE PUT FLYERS OUT.
OUR NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS, WE LET PEOPLE KNOW.
AND, UM, I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE, YOU KNOW, WE CAN DO.
I MEAN, I PRESENTED AT ONE OF THE MEETINGS FOR AUSTIN VOICES THAT A LOT OF THE SCHOOLS WERE THERE.
THEY HAVE A LOT OF PARENT LEADERS IN THAT AREA WHO ARE MM-HMM.
COMMISSIONER LONGORIA WAS AT THAT MEETING PRESENTING ON SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
SO I'M HOPING THAT JULIE WEEKS, WHO, UH, KIND OF RUNS THAT, YOU KNOW, THE RESPONS ORGANIZATION.
ARE WE, ARE WE ENGAGING THE FAITH-BASED, UM, ORGANIZATIONS? UM, AND IF
[01:40:01]
I WOULD SAY, IF NOT, IS THERE A WAY I'M, AGAIN, I'M JUST TRYING YEAH.TO MAKE SUGGESTIONS THAT I THINK MIGHT HELP US.
BUT I THINK THAT SOMETIMES THE FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS MAY, UM, HAVE INDIVIDUALS THAT MAY GOOD POINT, UM, BE, UM, ENGAGED AND OR, UM, YOU KNOW, ALREADY EXHIBITING, UH, SOME TYPE OF COMMITMENT TO THE COMMUNITY.
SO, UM, WE REALLY DO NEED THAT.
AND THEN NUMBER NINE, WITH THE WALK-IN, I MEAN WITH THE NURSES, IS THAT, IS THAT WALK-IN NO APPOINTMENT NEEDED? JUST SHOW UP AND, UH, YES.
SO THAT, THAT COUNT, THAT WILL BE ON THE CALENDAR THAT I SEND YOU ALL.
BUT WE ALSO HAVE NO, NO APPOINTMENT NEEDED.
AND SOMETIMES NURSES GO AND THEY, THEY MIGHT GO TO THE MEXICAN CONSULATE.
ON A WEEKEND OR, UH, THERE'S, UM, YOU KNOW, HOPE FEST THIS FALL.
AND THANK YOU FOR, UM, SHARING THIS INFORMATION THAT, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, UH, WE DIDN'T GET IN OUR PACKET.
I DO WANT TO JUST, I'LL PAUSE NOW AND, UH, LET YOU KNOW THAT I AM INTERESTED IN, UM, SOME, A QUESTION, A FOLLOW UP OH, SURE.
UH, WITH WHEN YOU AND I ARE TOGETHER ON THIS, SO NO PROBLEM.
UH, CHAIR, I DID WANT TO, SINCE YOU DID SHOW ME THAT NUMBER TWO REALLY QUICK.
CAN I ASK AND THEN YOU WRAP IT UP.
SO WE CURRENTLY HAVE 1, 2, 3 VACANCIES.
UM, UH, DO WE STILL HAVE, UH, COMMISSIONER BROWN? NO.
AND THE NEXT ONE FOR SEPTEMBER THE 19TH IS NORTH.
DO WE KNOW THOSE BOUNDARIES AND WHAT ZIP CODE THAT IS? JUST SO, LIKE OUR CHAIR SAYS, I'LL SEND YOU THAT.
WE, WE CAN, WE CAN, WE HAVE A GEOGRAPHIC MAP THAT I'LL SEND YOU, SHOWS YOU EXACTLY WHAT THE STREETS ARE.
WE CAN HELP YOU GET THE WORD OUT AND GET PEOPLE THERE.
I'M RESPONSIBLE FOR TWO OF THOSE.
SO THE OTHER ONES I'M NOT, JUST FOR THE RECORD.
YOU'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR NORTH AND ROSE ROSEWOOD AND THEN THE PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYEE.
WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT ONE? I'LL, I'LL DEAL WITH YOU ON THAT.
I'LL LET YOU KNOW ABOUT THOSE.
AND KNOW LAST TIME, UH, GAVA WAS VERY ACTIVE.
AND WE HAD SOME PEOPLE COME WHO, UH, NOMINATED THEMSELVES.
SO I THINK I'LL REACH OUT TO THEM TOO 'CAUSE THEY KIND OF KNOW THE, THAT AREA.
I'M GONNA PASS THAT ON OVER TO COMMISSIONER
THAT'S SOME OF THE, UM, COUNCIL MEMBERS.
UM, I DO BELIEVE WE ARE FINISHED WITH, I DO HAVE, UM, UM, MS. OPIA, UM, IS HERE TO SPEAK ON NUMBER FIVE.
DID WE JUST FINISH? NO, NO, WE'RE NOT READY FOR THAT.
WE NEED TO GO TO, WE NEED TO GO TO OUR PUBLIC HEARING.
AND ON ANGEL, THAT'S YOU, YOU, YOU, YOU'RE GONNA SIT.
DO YOU KNOW YOU'RE ON, YOU'RE ON PROGRAM FOR THE NEXT FOUR.
IS THERE ANYONE HERE TO SPEAK FOR THE APOLOGY? YES.
SHE, YEAH, WE ARE GONNA SPEAK, SPEAK ON THAT UHHUH.
SO, UH, JUST TO LET YOU KNOW, WE HAVE YOU ON FOUR NUMBER FIVE, SIX, AND SEVEN.
AND ALL THREE, AFTER YOU SPEAK ON EACH ONE, UM, MS. JOSEPH IS, UH, SIGNED UP TO, UM, SHARE HER, UM, CONCERNS, UM, IN HER THREE MINUTES FOR EACH OF THOSE.
[5. Conduct a public hearing to receive comments on the proposed 2025 CSBG Budget and Community Action Plan, as required by 1) US Department of Health and Human Services, and 2) the Texas Administrative Code, Title 10, Part 1, Chapter 6, Subchapter B, §6.206 (Angel Zambrano, Manager, Neighborhood Services Unit, Austin Public Health). ]
PUBLIC HEARING, TELL US ABOUT IT.ALRIGHT, SO, UM, CAN YOU HEAR ME OKAY? THAT'S THE PUBLIC HEARING.
ALRIGHT, SO, UH, NUMBER FIVE, CONDUCT A PUBLIC HEARING TO RECEIVE COMMENTS ON THE PROPOSED 2025 CSB BUDGET AND COMMUNITY ACTION PLAN.
MM-HMM,
TITLE 10, PART ONE, CHAPTER SIX.
AND THERE'S SOME SUBDIVISION SUB CHAPTER B 6.206.
IT'S IN THE BACKUP WHOEVER WANTED TO TALK.
UH, BASICALLY THIS GONNA, IS GONNA SHOW YOU ALL, UM, OUR PLAN FOR NEXT YEAR IN TERMS OF OUR SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE.
THIS, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ASKS FOR SERVICES AND FPI NATIONAL PERFORMANCE INDICATORS.
AND THAT'S WHAT THE CAP ENTAILS IN TERMS OF THE WEEDS.
UH, AND THEN OUR BUDGET IS VERY SIMPLE.
AS YOU GUYS KNOW, IT'S $1.1 MILLION.
ALL OUR, OUR BUDGET ALL GOES TO PERSONNEL.
UH, SO AGAIN, THAT'S FOR OTHER AGENCIES IT MIGHT BE MORE DIFFICULT 'CAUSE THEY USE IT FOR PERSONNEL.
THEY USE IT TO, WHO KNOWS WHAT OTHER COSTS THEY HAVE.
SO FOR US, IT'S PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD.
I'LL SHOW YOU THE CAP AND THE BUDGET AND A POWERPOINT AFTER WE OPEN IT UP FOR COMMENT.
[01:45:01]
AND THEN I'LL STEP AWAY.YOU HAVE THE SPEAKER? UH, YEAH.
WE'LL LET, UM, MS. JOSEPH, YOU'RE READY FOR ITEM NUMBER FIVE REGARDING THE BUDGET AND THE INFORMATION THAT WAS AND FOR EVERYONE WHO IS LOOKING ONLINE, THAT WAS, UM, BACKUP ITEM NUMBER SIX.
AND FROM OUR AGENDA ON, UH, LINE.
THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR MEMBERS.
SO I'LL JUST SPEAK FROM MY HEART.
I JUST WANTED TO CONTEXTUALIZE MY COMMENTS BY SAYING THAT ON APRIL 26TH, 2023, YOU WILL FIND KXAN ACTUALLY DID A STORY ON ME WHEN THEY HAD THE FAIR HOUSING SUMMIT.
AND SO I JUST, THAT WAS THE FIRST SUMMIT AND THEN THEY HAD THE TWO DAY EVENT THIS YEAR.
SO I JUST WANTED YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT I AM THE FACE OF HOMELESSNESS AND I'M GOING TO SHARE MY STORY NOT FOR SYMPATHY, BUT BECAUSE I WANT YOU TO DO SOMETHING BETTER FOR THE PEOPLE WHO ARE UNHOUSED SPECIFICALLY.
YOU HAVE YOUR NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
I LOOKED AT IT, IT HAS TRANSPORTATION IN THERE, HOUSING, FOOD.
AND SO I'M JUST GOING TO TRY TO SHARE WITH YOU, UH, A BUS PASS TO NOWHERE DOESN'T HELP PEOPLE WHO ARE UNHOUSED.
SO EVEN THOUGH THEY GET TWO YEARS TO RIDE THE BUS FOR FREE, THERE'S NO ACCESS BETWEEN THE JOBS.
AS YOU ARE AWARE ON SAM FROM SAMSUNG TO APPLE, IT WAS $4.7 MILLION FOR THE METRO RAPID.
THAT WAS ELIMINATED JULY 27TH, 2020.
AND I WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP SPENDS ABOUT $4.7 MILLION FOR ABOUT 13 PEOPLE TO DO MARKETING.
SO YOU KINDA HAVE TO WONDER WHERE THE PRIORITIES ARE FOR THE CITY AS IT RELATES TO FOOD.
I'M SURE THOSE WHO RECEIVE IT ARE APPRECIATIVE OF IT.
BUT I WILL TELL YOU THAT IF YOU'RE UNHOUSED AND YOU GET $13 PACKET OF FISH AND SOME RAW CHICKEN, IT JUST WILL SPOIL.
AND SO I THINK THERE ARE, WELL-MEANING PEOPLE WHO ARE OUT THERE DOING GOOD WORK, BUT THERE NEEDS TO BE CONSIDERATION OF WHETHER OR NOT YOU HAVE A PLACE TO WARM THE FOOD, WHETHER YOU WANT COLD FOOD OR WHETHER YOU WANT IT HOT.
AND SO ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS I HAVE FOR COUNCIL IS YOU REALLY, AND FOR YOU GUYS TOO, IS TO REALLY CONSIDER THE NEED FOR INDUSTRIAL MICROWAVES.
M-I-D-E-A MEDIA IS ONE OF THE ORGAN, YOU KNOW, IT'S THE ONES THAT ARE IN AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE.
IT'S THE ONES YOU SEE BY THE VENDING MACHINES.
AND SO THERE ARE APPROXIMATELY 300 TO $400.
I ACTUALLY DID THE LITTLE COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS.
WE SPEND $500 ON A DOG FOR A THIRD PARTY PROVIDER TO TAKE A DOG.
I THINK IF YOU COULD INVEST $400 IN A MICROWAVE AND PUT THESE IN THE REC CENTERS, THAT WOULD ACTUALLY BE BENEFICIAL.
IT DOES NO GOOD FOR YOU TO JUST SIT IN THERE IF YOU DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO A PLACE TO WARM YOUR FOOD.
AND ALL YOU CAN DO IS TAKE A SHOWER.
IF YOU GO TO GUS GARCIA, UNFORTUNATELY THE WATER IS HOT FOR ABOUT A MINUTE AND THEN IT GOES OFF, AND THEN YOU HAVE TO PUSH THE BUTTON.
AND THE MORE YOU PUSH THE LESS IT'S WARM.
SO I JUST WOULD ENCOURAGE EACH OF YOU TO GO TO YOUR OWN SHOWER IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOODS, WHEREVER YOUR REC CENTER IS, SEE IF IT'S WORKING, SEE IF IT'S FUNCTIONAL, BECAUSE THOSE ARE THE COOLING CENTERS, THOSE ARE THE HEAT, YOU KNOW, THE PLACES FOR HEAT.
AND SO I JUST WILL STOP THERE AND MAKE THE REST OF MY COMMENTS WHEN YOU GET TO THE OTHER ITEMS. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS THOUGH, I'LL GLADLY ANSWER THEM AT THIS TIME.
UM, THIS IS A DISCUSSION ITEM, SO IF COMMISSIONERS, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, UM, THAT'S FINE.
ANGEL'S GONNA DO HIS PRESENTATION FIRST.
UM, MS. JOSEPH, UM, YOU CAN STICK AROUND.
IF WE HAVE QUESTIONS, WE'LL DO IT.
HIL, PLEASE PROCEED WITH YOUR PRESENTATION NOW.
THAT HELPS NUMBER, I ALREADY EXPLAINED IT IN THE, UH, THE HEARING.
IT'S PART OF OUR CSPG UH, REQUIREMENTS.
COMMUNITY ACTION PLAN COMPONENTS INCLUDE THE TOP FIVE NEEDS.
WE DID THE, DID THE COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND UH, KELLY NICHOLS CAME FROM KELLY FROM NICHOLS AND TORRES AND PRESENTED ON THAT A COUPLE MONTHS AGO.
UM, WE LOOK AT POVERTY RATES, PROVISION OF NUTRITIOUS FOODS, CASE MANAGEMENT SERVICES, GAPS IN SERVICES AND PERFORMANCE TARGETS, WHICH IS PART OF THE CAP AND OUR SERVICE LOCATIONS.
SO I WILL PRESENT ON THESE SIX
[01:50:01]
THINGS TODAY.THE TOP FIVE NEEDS, UH, IN 2024 FOR OUR COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
AGAIN, IT'S FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES UNIT.
I KNOW THE CITY, THERE'S A TON OF NEEDS ASSESSMENT ALL OVER THE CITY FOR TRANSPORTATION, FOR AVIATION, ET CETERA.
OUR FOLKS, UH, STAKEHOLDERS, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, STAFF, ALL HAD INPUT.
AND THESE WERE THE FIVE HOUSING.
NUMBER TWO, EMPLOYMENT, HEALTH AND INCOME.
IN 2021, EVERY THREE YEARS, WE HAVE TO DO THIS IN 2021, THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT HAD HOUSING NUMBER ONE, HEALTH NUMBER TWO, WHICH MAKES SENSE.
A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE WORRIED AND REALLY NEEDED TO HELP.
UH, EMPLOYMENT WAS NUMBER THREE, WHICH IS NUMBER THREE.
AGAIN, UH, BASIC NEEDS WAS NUMBER FOUR.
I THINK A LOT OF MONEY, A LOT OF FUNDING WENT TO ADDRESS BASIC NEEDS.
SO I THINK THAT'S WHY IT WAS A LITTLE BIT LOWER.
AND HEALTH WAS HIGHER DUE TO THE PANDEMIC AND EDUCATION WAS NUMBER FIVE.
THIS TIME EDUCATION KIND OF DROPPED OFF TO SIX.
AND INCOME FINANCIAL, WHICH KIND OF GOES WITH EMPLOYMENT KIND OF CREPT UP TO NUMBER FIVE.
I WANNA SPEND A LOT OF TIME HERE.
YOU REPRESENT PEOPLE WHO ARE POOR, BUT IT KIND OF GIVES YOU AN IDEA OF, UH, THE POVERTY RATES.
UH, THE LATEST DATA WE HAVE FROM 2022 FOR TRAVIS COUNTY, TEXAS AND THE US.
UH, IT'S A LITTLE LOWER IN TRAVIS COUNTY THAN IT IS FOR TEXAS AND THE US FOR SOME OF THESE, UH, GROUPS.
POVERTY RATES OVER TIME, SAME THING KIND OF SHOWS YOU, UM, A THING HOW POVERTY IS TRENDING.
UM, OBVIOUSLY IT'S TOO HIGH, WHETHER IT'S IN TRAVIS COUNTY, TEXAS OR THE STATE.
POVERTY RATES BY RACE AND ETHNICITY.
AGAIN, YOU LOOK AT TRAVIS COUNTY THERE, TEXAS AND THE US AGAIN, I WANNA SPEND A LOT OF TIME HERE.
YOU GUYS KNOW THIS STUFF AND YOU CAN LOOK AT IT ON YOUR OWN TIME, BUT IT KIND OF PUTS IT IN CONTEXT OF THE PEOPLE THAT WE, WE, UH, HELP.
AND THEN POVERTY RATES BY AGE.
UM, TRAVIS COUNTY, 11.6 UNDER 18.
SO AGAIN, IT'S LOWER IN TRAVIS COUNTY, BUT IT'S STILL DEFINITELY NOT ACCEPTABLE.
UH, AND THEN BY IN SORT OF INCOME AND, UH, SHADING SHOWS THAT, SO AGAIN, IT SHOWS YOU WHERE WE'RE AT AND WHERE THE FOLKS THAT, UH, ARE IN THE POVERTY OR IN POVERTY LIVE.
SO IT IS MOVING, AS YOU GUYS KNOW, TRENDING, PEOPLE ARE MOVING FURTHER AWAY FROM WHERE THE CENTERS WERE ORIGINALLY BUILT.
BUT AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE OTHER, UH, BACKUP THAT I HAD, WE'RE STILL SERVING A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THOSE ZIP CODES THAT ARE STILL PRETTY CLOSE TO, UH, WHERE THE NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS ARE PROVISION OF NUTRITIOUS FOODS.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WAS BIG IN WHAT WE DO.
FOOD PANTRY, FRESH FOODS, THE WHOLE PROGRAM FOR THE ELDERLY, THE MOBILE FOOD PANTRY, WHICH IS AT ONION CREEK AND, UH, TURNER ROBERTS.
UH, FOOD RECOVERY PROGRAMS, WHICH WE PARTNER WITH, UH, AGENCIES LIKE OUR BUSINESSES LIKE WHOLE FOODS OR WHEATSVILLE.
A LOT OF, A LOT OF OUR MARKET FOOD COMES FROM FOOD RECOVERY AND OUR HOME DELIVERY PROGRAM IN TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT AND INCOME.
WE HAVE OUR CASE MANAGEMENT SERVICES.
UM, AND OUR ULTIMATE GOAL FOR THOSE FOLKS THAT ARE IN THAT PROGRAM IS TO TRANSITION OUTTA POVERTY ALONG WITH OUR HOUSEHOLDS.
AND THIS KIND OF SHOWS YOU WHAT WE DO.
THIS IS PART OF THE FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS.
SO WE LOOK AT THE GAP, OBVIOUSLY YOU'VE HEARD YOU HEAR EVERY MONTH HERE, NOT JUST FROM YOU, BUT OTHER FOLKS.
SAFE AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS AN ISSUE IN AUSTIN AND CONTINUES TO BE.
WHAT CAN WE DO IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES UNIT? I AGREE WITH ENOVIA.
A BUS PASS ISN'T GONNA GET YOU REALLY VERY FAR, BUT IN TERMS OF THIS IS THROUGH THE LENS OF WHAT WE DO IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES UNIT.
SO WE HELP WITH EVICTION PREVENTION, THAT'S OUR RENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
UM, AND THE OUTCOME IS HOW MANY HOUSEHOLDS WE HELP AVOID EVICTION.
ANOTHER NATIONAL PERFORMANCE INDICATOR FOR THE BASIC NEED GAPS, LACK OF SUFFICIENT SUPPORT SERVICES TO MEET BASIC NEEDS, WHATEVER THOSE ARE.
UH, KEEPING THE LIGHTS ON, HAVING ENOUGH FOOD ON YOUR TABLE, HAVING A CAR SEAT FOR YOUR CHILD.
UH, HAVING CLOTHING FOR A JOB INTERVIEW OR JUST CLOTHING IN GENERAL.
SOME OF THE SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE TO ADDRESS THAT AS THE NUTRITION AND FOOD, UH, THE FINANCIAL COACHING FROM OUR SELF-SUFFICIENCY, CASE MANAGEMENT COUNSELORS, BUS PASSES AND A LOT OF REFERRALS AND LINKAGES.
SO, BUT WE DO KNOW A LOT OF AGENCIES THAT CAN DO OTHER THINGS THAT WE CAN'T.
SO WE DEFINITELY, I'M VERY PROUD THAT OUR STAFF ARE VERY TRAINED AND PASSIONATE ABOUT DOING WARM HANDOFFS AND REALLY GETTING PEOPLE CONNECTED TO OTHER AGENCIES.
AND SOME OF THE OUTCOMES THAT WE MEASURE
[01:55:01]
HERE ARE, UM, SENIORS, INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES, CHRONIC ILLNESS WHO MAINTAIN OR AN INDEPENDENT LIVING SITUATION.THAT'S THROUGH OUR FOOD PROGRAM.
THAT'S HOW THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SEES IT.
IF WE'RE HELPING PEOPLE THROUGH THE WHOLE PROGRAM.
SOME OF THESE, UH, FOOD NUTRITIOUS PROGRAMS, IT'S PART OF HELPING THOSE SENIORS STAY IN THEIR HOUSING.
SO IT'S A VERY KIND OF NARROW DEFINITION FOR THAT OUTCOME.
AND THEN INDIVIDUALS WHO REPORT IMPROVE FINANCIAL WELLBEING.
CASE MANAGEMENT CLIENTS, AGAIN, WHO, UH, COME IN, TAKE A, YOU KNOW, KIND OF A BASELINE WHERE THEY ARE.
AND THEN AT THE END, DO THEY OR DO THEY NOT FEEL THAT THEIR FINANCIAL WELLBEING WAS IMPROVED FROM OUR PROGRAMMING AND OUR HELP.
ANOTHER MPI THAT WE HAVE IS FOR EMPLOYMENT, INCOME AND FINANCIAL GAPS.
SO AGAIN, ADDRESSING ONE OF THOSE FIVE TOP NEEDS.
THE SERVICES ARE JOB SEARCH, CAREER COUNSELING, EMPLOYMENT SUPPORTS.
OUR OUTCOMES MEASURE NUMBER OF EMPLOY EMPLOYED ADULTS WHO OBTAIN EMPLOYMENT WHILE IN OUR PROGRAMMING, A NUMBER OF CASE MANAGED ADULTS WHO INCREASED INCOME OR BENEFITS.
SO EITHER ONE OF THOSE THINGS, IF THEY HAVE MORE, GET MORE BENEFITS THROUGH OUR PROGRAMMING AND OUR ADVOCACY AND COACHING, OR THEY GET A HIGHER INCOME AND NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ACHIEVE AND MAINTAIN INCOMES ABOVE 125%, WHICH IS AGAIN, SET BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
SO IT'S STILL, LIKE I MENTIONED A YEAR AGO, THEY'RE TRANSITIONING OUT OF DEEP POVERTY, BUT THEY'RE STILL CONSIDERED POOR, ESPECIALLY WITH THE COST OF LIVING HERE.
BUT THAT'S HOW IT, THAT'S HOW IT'S MEASURED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
AND THEN THERE'S THE HEALTH GAP.
SO ANOTHER ONE OF THE NEEDS ON THE FIVE TOP NEEDS WAS HEALTH.
I THINK THAT WAS NUMBER, NUMBER FOUR THIS YEAR.
UM, LACK OF AFFORDABLE HEALTHCARE AND MENTAL HEALTHCARE AS WELL.
THE SERVICES WE PROVIDE ARE ALL UP THERE.
AND THE OUTCOMES IS WHAT WE FOCUS ON.
THE CAP IS INDIVIDUALS WHO DEMONSTRATED IMPROVED PHYSICAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING.
THESE ARE THE FOLKS IN OUR DIABETES CASE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.
I THINK WE HAVE 42 PEOPLE ENROLLED AND 19, UM, AT IMPROVED PHYSICAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING.
THEY DO A LOT MORE OF LIKE THE SCREENINGS, BUT THEY ALSO HAVING, THEY'RE CARRYING CASELOADS NOW AND WE CAN MEASURE IMPROVEMENT, UH, WITH DIABETES.
UM, THEN NOT, NUMBER TWO HAS TO DO WITH THE CAR SEAT PROGRAM, INDIVIDUALS WHO IMPROVE SKILLS RELATED TO THE ADULT ROLE OF PARENTS OR CAREGIVERS.
SO IN THAT PROGRAM, WE, WE, UH, TRAIN PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO INSTALL A CAR SEAT CORRECTLY AND WE GIVE THEM A CAR SEAT.
AND THAT'S, UH, MEASURED FROM A PRE-TEST TO A POST-TEST.
UH, THE EDUCATION GAP, UM, EVEN THOUGH IT WASN'T ONE OF THE TOP FIVE, WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON THIS.
'CAUSE I THINK IT'S VERY, IT'S PART OF THE OTHER NEEDS AS WELL.
UH, SO WE'RE GONNA KEEP THAT IN HERE.
LACK OF EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES.
UM, SERVICES WE PROVIDE TO ADDRESS THAT GAP IS THE CASE MANAGEMENT SERVICES AND REFERRALS TO OTHER TRAINING PROGRAMS LIKE, UH, SCALE POINT AND THE ONE AT AFRICAN AMERICAN YOUTH HARVEST AND A FEW OTHERS.
UM, AND THE OUTCOMES IS PEOPLE WHO OBTAIN AN EDUCATIONAL OR VOCATIONAL DEGREE OR CERTIFICATE.
THE NUMBERS ARE SMALL, YOU KNOW, LIKE I SAID, OUR BIG THING IS RENT FOOD.
BUT OBVIOUSLY WE TRY TO HELP THOSE PEOPLE THAT DO COME IN AND QUALIFY FOR CASE MANAGEMENT TO, UH, OBTAIN SOME KIND OF CERTIFICATE OR DEGREE.
YOU KNOW, OUR SERVICE LOCATIONS, UH, DUFF SPRINGS COMING IN 2024.
UH, THERE'S ONION CREEK AND TURNER ROBERT FOR OUR MOBILE PANTRY.
AND THE REST ARE OUR NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS.
OUR CURRENT EXPANSION, UH, IS HOME DELIVERY PROGRAM.
OUR PROPOSED EXPANSIONS AS WE LOOK FORWARD IS OPENING DOVE SPRINGS AND EXPANDING INTO THAT AREA.
AND, UH, ALSO, UM, WE'RE HOPING TO PROPOSE A PUBLIC HEALTH CENTER IN THE RUNDBERG BREAKER AREA.
UH, IT'LL BE A KIND OF A BOND, UH, PROJECT, BUT IT WILL BE A 40,000 SQUARE FOOT MULTIPURPOSE FACILITY IN AN AREA THAT WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO GET IN FOR A WHILE.
JOHN DOESN'T QUITE GET TO THAT AREA AND YOU HAVE THAT, THOSE FREEWAYS KIND OF CUTTING IT OFF.
MORE TO COME ON THAT, THAT THAT'LL BE YEARS IN THE MAKING, BUT AT LEAST WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IT AND THEY'RE TRYING TO FIND THE FUNDING, UH, TO DO IT.
IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS WE'LL HAVE REALLY GOOD NEWS ABOUT A NEW NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER LIKE DOVE SPRINGS IN THE RUNDBERG BREAKER AREA.
OUR FUNDING ALLOCATION IN 2023, WE RECEIVED A LITTLE OVER $1.141 MILLION IN 2024.
SO FAR WE'VE RECEIVED A 1.129.
IT MIGHT GET UP TO CLOSE TO 1 1 4, 1, LIKE LAST YEAR.
[02:00:01]
SOMETIMES THERE'S REALLOCATED FUNDS NEAR THE END OF THE YEAR, BUT IT'S USUALLY PRETTY LEVEL PASS THROUGH FUNDING.UM, IN 2025, I PUT THE SAME AMOUNT.
'CAUSE THEY DON'T TELL US, THEY JUST SAY, WE'RE YOU, PROBABLY, IT'S LEVEL FUNDING, SO WE SHOULD GET THE SAME AMOUNT.
A LITTLE LESS, A LITTLE MORE, BUT DOESN'T DEVIATE VERY MUCH.
AND WHAT DOES THAT MONEY GO TO? IT GOES TO PERSONNEL.
SO THE PEOPLE THAT CAN, UH, THAT WE CAN PAY, THE PEOPLE THAT HELP, THE PEOPLE THAT NEED THE HELP, IT ONLY FUNDS A PART OF OUR PROGRAM.
SO TWO MANAGERS, SEVEN COMMUNITY WORKERS, AND FULL SOCIAL WORKERS.
THE REST OF OUR POSITIONS ARE GENERAL FUND.
UM, THANK YOU ON HELD FOR THAT MR. ANO, UM, COMMISSIONERS, UM, LET YOU ALL ASK QUESTIONS ON, ON THAT.
COMMISSIONER, COMMISSIONER, UH, LONGORIA.
SO THIS IS A, THIS IS A, A PROPOSED ACTION PLAN, RIGHT? YES.
IS IT, UM, SO I MEAN, I GUESS I'LL JUST SAY IT FRANKLY.
LIKE I, I WOULD BE WEARY OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS, LIKE BECOMING LIKE FOOD DISTRIBUTION CENTERS, YOU KNOW, UM, JUST MY RECOMMENDATION, I'M BIG ON LIKE THE SOCIAL SERVICES.
UM, THOUGH I THINK FOR, UH, THE PERSONNEL, UM, AT A CITY DEPARTMENT, UH, PERHAPS THEY COULD SPECIALIZE IN SOME OF THE OTHER SERVICES, LIKE YOU MENTIONED, SOME OF THE OTHER SOCIAL SERVICES.
UM, I'M JUST SAYING LIKE, UH, IN MY EXPERIENCE, SOMETHING LIKE FOOD DISTRIBUTION, IT MAY BE DELEGATED TO SOME, SOME LIKE ANOTHER PARTNER OR MAYBE LIKE LESS QUALIFIED INDIVIDUALS.
I, I WOULD SAY FROM LIKE A SER FROM LIKE A NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, CITY, NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER, THOSE STAFF MEMBERS, ESPECIALLY SINCE THERE'S SO FEW, BE VERY WELL-VERSED IN SOME OF THE OTHER INDICATORS, LIKE YOU MENTIONED.
LIKE THAT'S, THAT'S A GOOD POINT.
BUT THAT'S ONLY PART OF THE STAFF.
WE HAVE ABOUT 50 STAFF THAT PROVIDE ALL THESE OTHER SERVICES AS WELL.
I MEAN, FOOD IS JUST A BIG, A BIG NUMBER, RIGHT? SO IT'S MORE OF A VISUAL, LIKE, WOW, 50 SOMETHING THOUSAND PEOPLE.
BUT WE DO DO LIKE CASE MANAGEMENT, INFORMATION, REFERRAL, NURSING SERVICES, SOCIAL WORK SERVICES, CAR SEATS, FANS, UM, TAXES.
SO IT, IT IS MORE THAN JUST FOOD.
IT JUST SEEMS LIKE IT'S A LOT OF FOOD BECAUSE THAT'S SORT OF THE BIGGEST IMPACT AND THE MOST VISUAL DATA POINT.
UM, I MEAN, I I SEE HERE THAT GROWTH IS LIKE EXPONENTIAL, ALMOST DOUBLE MM-HMM.
UM, AND IT SEEMS LIKE, I MEAN, IT, IT SEEMS LIKE THESE NEIGHBORHOOD UM, CENTERS HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB OF MANAGING THAT NEED AND, AND, YOU KNOW YEAH.
FULFILLING THAT NEED, WHICH IS GREAT.
BUT I GUESS WHAT, JUST WHAT I'M SAYING, THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR SOME OF THESE OTHER SERVICES TO DEFINITELY BE LIKE, UH, RAMPED UP FOR SURE.
AND, UM, AS FAR AS LIKE, UH, FOR THE PLAN, THE LONG-TERM PLAN, FIVE YEARS OR WHATEVER, UM, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE LIKE MORE LIKE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AS FAR AS FAR AS LIKE THE, THE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICE CENTERS, LIKE INVITING PEOPLE TO THE, TO THE CENTERS.
MAYBE NOT JUST FOR LIKE, PICKING UP FOOD, BUT LIKE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES, WORKSHOPS, LIKE TRUE ENGAGEMENT, YOU KNOW, SO YEAH.
KIND OF THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX A LITTLE, BECAUSE IT'S BEEN MORE OF THE ROLE OF THE REC CENTERS IN THE HISTORY OF AUSTIN IN TERMS OF PROGRAMMING AND WORKSHOPS AND, YOU KNOW, FAMILY ACTIVITIES, KIDS, THE NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS WERE MOSTLY BUILT TO ADDRESS DISPARITIES AND BASIC NEEDS SERVICES, WHICH IN WHICH DOES NOT INCLUDE THAT BASIC NEEDS IS FOOD, HOUSING, HEAT MITIGATION, RIGHT.
SO I UNDERSTAND, AND THAT I DID DO THAT WHEN I WAS AT ROSEWOOD.
UH, WE BROUGHT ARTISTS TO DO, UH, COMMUNITY ART PROJECTS.
IF YOU GO BY ROSEWOOD, YOU WILL SEE THAT MOSAIC OUT FRONT BY KRISTA CHRISTIANSEN, ONE OF A LOCAL ARTIST.
UM, AND THEN WE DID THE INTERWOVEN PROJECT BY, UH, MELISSA KNIGHT, WHO'S A LOCAL ARTIST AS WELL.
SO I DIDN'T, WHEN I WAS THE MANAGER AT ROSEVILLE, WE DID INCORPORATE SOMETHING LIKE WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, BUT THE BANDWIDTH, IT'S CHALLENGING, UH, BECAUSE WE DO HAVE THE REC CENTERS FOR THAT SORT OF A BUT GOOD IDEAS.
I MEAN, YOU, YOU PLANTED THAT SEED AGAIN IN MY HEAD THAT WE CAN HAVE MORE, UM,
[02:05:01]
MORE COMMUNITY ART, COMMUNITY ARTISTS COMING AND DOING WORKSHOPS AND BRINGING THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER IN A REALLY NICE, SAFE, BEAUTIFUL SPACE.COMMISSIONER LONGORIA, COMMISSIONER BERTHA DELGADO.
UM, SO YEAH, GREAT PRESENTATION ON THE POVERTY CHART THAT YOU PROVIDE FOR 2022.
UM, ARE WE GOING TO GET A RECENT ONE, UM, AS WE APPROVE? I MEAN, I, I LOOKED AT THE NUMBERS AND I SAW THAT.
AND, AND THE MEXICAN DESCENT OF LA, HISPANIC AND LATINOS, WE WERE THE HIGHEST.
AND SO I, I'M CURIOUS TO SEE IF WE CAN, WE CAN GET A 2024, UM, YOU KNOW, DATA.
UH, SO I, I DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU GOT THAT OR WHERE, WHICH DATA THAT CAME FROM.
UM, BUT IF WE CAN, I WOULD LIKE TO REALLY SEE WHAT THE 2024 DATA LOOKS LIKE, UH, IF IT HAS BEEN CONDUCTED ALREADY.
UM, ANOTHER THING THAT I WANTED TO ASK IS, UM, HOW DID WE DETERMINE, UH, SELF-SUFFICIENCY FROM BREAKING BAR, YOU KNOW, BARRIERS FROM POVERTY TO, UM, GETTING OUT OF POVERTY, TO BEING SELF-SUFFICIENT? ARE WE KEEPING TRACK, UH, IS THAT IN THE REPORT THAT YOU GIVE US ON THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT REPORT, UH, THAT YOU GIVE US EVERY YEAR? OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT THE, THAT THE NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS ARE KEEPING TRACK INTERNAL? UM, AND THEN LIKE, I KNOW WE HAVE A GOAL, AND I KNOW ACCORDING TO THE LAST REPORT, UM, I THINK THE GOAL WAS A LITTLE BIT LOW.
I MEAN, THE NUMBERS WERE A LITTLE BIT LOW.
SO HOW ARE, ARE WE, ARE WE DOING WRAPAROUND SERVICES? HOW ARE WE KEEPING UP WITH THAT DATA OF, YOU KNOW, BREAKING POVERTY TO SELF-SUFFICIENT? THAT WAS SECOND QUESTION, SELF-SUFFICIENCY.
THIRD QUESTION WAS, UM, ON THE HOME DELIVERY, I HEARD YOU SAY HOME DELIVERY, UM, HAS THAT INCREASED AS FAR AS, UH, AND IS THAT THE PARTNERSHIP THAT WE HAVE WITH WHOLE FOODS, UH, ON THE HOME DELIVERY? SO THAT WAS A QUESTION.
UH, DID WE INCREASE NUMBERS ON THAT? UM, COMING OUT OF THE CENTER, UM, AND THE WARM HANDOFFS, UM, I LIKE THAT YOU SAY, SAY THAT, THAT IF WE CAN'T HELP THEM, THEN WE REFER 'EM OUT AND WE GIVE A WARM HANDOFF, NOT JUST TO, YOU KNOW, HEY, CALL THIS NUMBER, OR HEY, EMAIL THIS.
UM, SO ON THE WARM HANDOFFS, UH, DO WE AS A BOARD AND OUR COMMISSION ACTUALLY KNOW THOSE RESOURCES THAT Y ARE WARM HANDING OFF, JUST SO WE CAN KIND OF ALSO KNOW, UH, WHAT RESOURCES ARE OUT THERE TO DATE IN 2024? UM, SO WE KNOW IF THEY COME TO US, WE KNOW OUR NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS ARE NOT ABLE TO PROVIDE THIS, BUT WE CAN BE ABLE TO GIVE A WARM HANDOFF TO THEM.
ALRIGHT, LET ME SEE IF I REMEMBER
SO THERE'S A HOME DELIVERY QUESTION.
UM, WHAT WAS THAT QUESTION?
IT'S THE CENTRAL TEXAS FOOD BANK.
AND IT HAS INCREASED FROM THE BEGINNING, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE PRETTY EVEN LIKE OVER 2000 HOUSEHOLDS A MONTH.
SO IT'S PRETTY STABLE NOW BECAUSE BANDWIDTH, AGAIN AND STAFFING WITH AMAZON, WITH THE FOOD BANK.
AND SO THAT'S RESOURCES WORKING OUT GOOD.
RIGHT? IT'S WORKING OUT REALLY GOOD.
SELF-SUFFICIENCY IS DEFINED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
SO AGAIN, THAT'S THE 125% FEDERAL POVERTY INCOME GUIDELINES.
SO PEOPLE COMING IN UNDER THAT ARE ELIGIBLE AS SOON AS THEY MAKE ABOVE THAT, IT COULD BE 1 26, IT COULD BE 300%.
THEY'RE CONSIDERED SELF-SUFFICIENT.
BUT THEN THAT'S A VERY NARROW GOVERNMENT DEFINITION THAT YOU HAVE TO TAKE WITH A GRAIN OF SALT, I GUESS, BECAUSE IT REALLY, WHAT DOES SELF-SUFFICIENCY MEAN? WE COULD TALK FOR HOURS ABOUT THAT PHILOSOPHICALLY, IN REAL LIFE, IT MEANS BEING ABLE TO MEET YOUR BASIC NEEDS, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S FOOD, RENT, CHILDCARE, HEALTHCARE.
BUT THE DEFINITION FOR US AND OUR PROGRAM IS 125%, 126% AND ABOVE, COMING IN UNDER 1 25.
SO VERY DEEP, DEEP POVERTY AND BEING ABLE TO, US BEING ABLE TO HELP THEM WHEN THEY FIND THAT JOB THAT'S PAYING THEM ENOUGH THAT THEY'RE NOW AT 280% OR WHATEVER IT'S RIGHT, OR 150%.
[02:10:01]
SO AGAIN, VERY NARROW FOR OUR PURPOSES HERE.AND Y'ALL STAY WITH THEM FOR WHAT? AS LONG AS THEY NEED IT.
USUALLY PEOPLE AFTER TWO, THREE MONTHS, YOU KNOW, FOUR MONTHS, THEY'RE READY TO JUST SAY, OKAY, I'M, I'M, I'M GOOD.
UH, BUT WE CAN WORK WITH THEM FOR A YEAR BEFOREHAND.
'CAUSE SOME PEOPLE HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE TRAIN.
THEY MIGHT GET A JOB, LOSE THE JOB.
SO WE STICK WITH THEM AND WE HELP, LIKE WITH WARM HANDOFFS OR WITH FOOD PANTRY OR A CAR SEAT, OR A REFERRAL TO A CHILDCARE PROVIDER.
SO WE'RE THERE EVERY STEP OF THE WAY.
SO GIVE OR TAKE BETWEEN A FEW MONTHS TO A YEAR.
UM, AND THEN THE, THE DATA, THIS IS THE LATEST DATA FROM A CS IN THE CENSUS.
THIS IS THE 2022 IS THE LATEST.
TAKES A WHILE TO CATCH UP FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO PUBLISH THIS.
WELL, YOU'RE DOING A GREAT JOB.
AND, AND I LOVE THE SELF-SUFFICIENCY PROGRAM, AND I JUST WANNA SEE MORE PEOPLE OH, FOR SURE.
I AM GOING TO WRAP UP AND THEN WE'RE GOING, WE ARE IN
[6. Discussion and possible action on the proposed 2025 CSBG Budget and Community Action Plan (Angel Zambrano, Manager, Neighborhood Services Unit, Austin Public Health).]
ITEM NUMBER SIX, GUYS.I, I FAILED TO TRANSITION THAT AND, UM, SOON AS I ASKED, UH, COMMISSIONER ESTEBAN, DID YOU HAVE A DELGADO? DID YOU, OKAY.
UM, AS SOON AS I ASK MY FEW QUESTIONS THAT WE'RE GONNA HEAR FROM MS. JOSEPH, UM, AGAIN, UM, AND NUMBER, UM, SIX TO, UM, SHE HAS SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON THIS PARTICULAR AGENDA ITEM, UM, QUESTION ON HOW, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION AS ALWAYS.
UM, SO I'M NOW UNDERSTANDING, FORGIVE ME THAT OUR SERVICE LOCATIONS ARE DIFFERENT THAN OUR REC CENTERS, WHICH ARE DIFFERENT THAN OUR OUTREACH SITES, BUT IN SOME CASES THEY CAN BE THE SAME LOCATION.
IS THAT CORRECT? FOR SOME? SO MONTOPOLIS NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER IS CO-LOCATED WITH PART WITH REC, WITH THE REC CENTER.
SO THEY, THEY'RE A REC CENTER.
SO IT DEPENDS ON THE CENTER BLACKLAND, IT'S ITS OWN LITTLE CENTER.
BUT BLACKLAND, ROSEWOOD HAS WIC AND AUSTIN ENERGY.
SO AGAIN, IT JUST DEPENDS ON THE CENTER.
A FEW ARE CO-LOCATED, BUT THERE'S SORT OF DIFFERENT PURPOSES IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, DO YOU, UM, IN THE INTEREST OF TIME, I'LL MOVE QUICKLY.
UM, DO YOU FORESEE US LOSING ANY CITY, ANY SERVICE CENTERS, SERVICE LOCATIONS THAT ARE A LITTLE BIT MORE CENTRAL TO, UM, DOWNTOWN AREA DUE TO THE, UM, UH, OR EAST REALLY? MM-HMM.
AND THEY'RE NOT DOWNTOWN, UH, DUE TO THE CHANGES IN THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF INCOME IN THOSE AREAS, IT'S A POSSIBILITY AT SOME POINT.
BUT AS YOU SEE FROM MY DATA AND, UM, SORT OF THE HEAT MAP THAT I SHOWED YOU, UH, THAT ONE, THAT THERE'S STILL A LOT OF DEMAND.
THERE'S A LOT OF GENTRIFICATION.
THERE'S STILL A LOT OF FOLKS IN POVERTY AND WHO ARE STRUGGLING TO MEET THEIR BASIC NEEDS.
SO AT SOME POINT, I'M NOT, I THINK THAT MAY HAPPEN.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE THINKING.
RUNDBERG, YOU KNOW, KIND OF TRYING TO FIND FUNDING TO BUILD FURTHER OUT.
BUT FOR NOW, I THINK WE'RE, WE'RE SEEING THE, THE DEMAND, EVEN THOUGH IT'S GENTRIFICATION IS HAPPENING TOO.
UM, AND THEN THE LAST THING IS, WHERE DO WE FIND THE DATA OF THE NUMBER OF THOSE WHO TRANSITION TO SELF-SUFFICIENCY? I MEAN, I MEAN, HOW, HOW, HOW MANY, YEAH.
HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE WE SPEAKING OF? AND I'M ASKING THAT GENERALLY RIGHT NOW, UNLESS YOU HAVE IT, BUT THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING I WOULD BE INTERESTED IN.
SO FAR, WE HAVE 13 THIS YEAR OUT OF 43, SO 13.
WE WILL NOW HEAR FROM MS. JOSEPH ON THIS ITEM NUMBER SIX.
AND THIS IS REGARDING THE BUDGET.
AND WHEN MS. JOSEPH FINISHES WITH HER, UM, CONCERNS AND COMMENTS, UH, WE WILL, DO YOU NEED US TO TAKE A VOTE ON THIS? YES.
AND THEN WE WILL IN FACT, UM, UM, COME BACK TO, UM, CHAIR THE VOTE.
WE DIDN'T OFFICIALLY CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING, SO YOU CAN JUST SAY IT.
AND, UM, AND WE ARE IN ITEM NUMBER SIX THAT IS, UH,
[02:15:01]
A MIRROR, UH, IF NOT A TWIN OF THAT ITEM NUMBER FIVE.AND SO, UM, UH, THANK YOU FOR THAT, ED.
AND, UM, AND THANK YOU VICE CHAIR WHO ALSO WAS OVER HERE.
THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR MEMBERS.
I'M ENOVIA JOSEPH, I JUST WANTED TO CALL TO YOUR ATTENTION TO AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH DECEMBER, 2017 AUDIT REPORT.
AND IT SPECIFIES AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH INCLUDED THE CONSTRUCTION OF THREE NEW NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS, DOVE SPRINGS, COLONY PARK, AND RUNDBERG IN THE 20 17 20 18 BOND DEVELOPMENT LONG RANGE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM, STRATEGIC PLAN, AND WILL CONTINUE TO INCLUDE IN FUTURE PLANS.
IT GOES ON TO TELL YOU THAT IT WAS NOT FUNDED FOR THE NORTH AUSTIN AREA.
IT SAYS NORTH AUSTIN, BUT DID NOT MOVE FORWARD DUE TO UNCERTAINTY OF THE C-D-C-S-B-G FUNDING FOR 2018 AND BY BEYOND.
AND SO I JUST THINK IT'S DISINGENUOUS FOR YOU NOT TO HAVE THE CONTEXT TO RECOGNIZE THAT THAT AREA IS NEGLECTED AND TO KEEP KICKING THE CAN DOWN THE ROAD IS FRUSTRATING.
IF YOU GO TO RUNDBERG AND NORTH LAMAR TODAY, IF YOU LOOK AT THE HEB RUNDBERG SHELTER, YOU WON'T EVEN SEE A SCREEN THERE.
THEY PUT SUBSTANDARD SHELTERS IN THE AREA.
SO I JUST NEEDED TO HAVE YOU RECOGNIZE THAT, UM, AS IT RELATES SPECIFICALLY TO THE OUTREACH THAT'S DONE, OR THE PEOPLE WHO ARE ACTUALLY QUALIFIED FOR RENTAL ASSISTANCE.
YOU'VE HEARD ME SAY THIS BEFORE, BUT IT IS NOT WRITTEN ANYWHERE THAT YOU HAVE TO BE A MOTHER WITH A CHILD OR THAT YOU HAVE TO BE A SENIOR OR SOMEBODY THAT'S DISABLED.
SO A WARM HANDOFF DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU KEEP CALLING, CALLING, CALLING.
AND THEN ONCE YOU GET ON THE LINE, THEY TELL YOU CALL AUNT BERTHA OR WHATEVER OTHER PROGRAM.
AND SO IT JUST NEEDS TO BE TRANSPARENT.
IF THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE LIMITED AMOUNT OF DOLLARS, THEY'RE ONLY SERVING THE DISABLED, THE, THE MOTHERS WITH THE CHILDREN AND THEY HAVE A SET CRITERIA, THEN THEY NEED TO TELL THE PUBLIC THAT IS DISINGENUOUS.
LET PEOPLE GO ON TO SOMEPLACE ELSE.
JUST POST IT ON THE WEBSITE WHO YOU'RE SERVING.
AND SO I JUST AM A BIT FRUSTRATED WHEN IT COMES TO THE MONEY FOR HUD.
I WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THAT, UM, COMMISSIONER S AND I WERE GOING TO GET TOGETHER.
BUT FOR THE STRATEGIC PLAN, WHICH IS NOT ON THE AGENDA ANYMORE, THERE WASN'T EVEN ANY INPUT FROM THIS COMMISSION, WHICH WAS SUPPOSED TO INFORM THE FY 24 20, UH, NINE STRATEGIC PLAN.
SO, UH, COUNCIL VOTED ON THAT JULY 18TH OF THIS YEAR WHEN THEY CAME BACK FROM THEIR BREAK.
SO I'M FEEL LIKE WE'RE JUST SPINNING OUR WILLS AND WE'RE CHECKING THE BOX BECAUSE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SAYS YOU HAVE TO HAVE THIS PUBLIC HEARING AND YOU HAVE TO DO THESE THINGS.
BUT IF THE INTENT IS TO GET THE PUBLIC INPUT AND THEN INFORM THE DECISIONS THAT COUNCIL MAKES, AND FOR YOU GUYS TO GIVE INPUT ABOUT WHAT THE POOR PEOPLE NEED, THEN SOMETHING'S FLAWED WITH THAT PROCESS IF THEY'VE ALREADY APPROVED THE UNILATERAL DECISIONS OF STAFF.
AND SO, I JUST WOULD SAY THAT I CAN GO ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE 2012, THE IMAGINE AUSTIN PLAN, AND IT TELLS YOU ABOUT SHELTERS.
AND BY THE WAY, THE CITY CHARTER SECTION FIVE ALSO HAS MASS TRANSIT.
AND THE CITY IS SUPPOSED TO FUND THAT TOO.
SO FOR ANYBODY WHO THINKS IT'S A CAP METRO THING, THEY CAN ALWAYS FIND A WAY TO GET INTERLOCAL AGREEMENTS DONE WHEN THEY WANT SOMETHING ELSE.
AND I WOULD JUST SAY THAT WE NEED TO RECOGNIZE THAT MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE, REALLY TO HELP THE POOR.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'LL GO LET AND ANSWER THEM AT THIS TIME.
THANK YOU MS. JOSEPH FOR THAT.
AND, UM, YOU'RE WELCOME, AMANDA.
IT DID, UM, BREAK MY, WELL, I WANNA SAY, I DON'T WANNA BE DRAMATIC, BUT I WAS DISAPPOINTED THAT, UM, WE WEREN'T ABLE TO MEET, UM, UH, IN TIME TO WEIGH IN ON, ON THAT.
THAT WAS IN FACT, UM, A, A TRUE DISAPPOINTMENT AND, UH, A DERELICTION OF, OF WHAT WE ARE HERE FOR.
SO, UH, WE SHARE THAT FRUSTRATION.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS ON THAT.
UM, ON HILL, WOULD YOU TELL US, UM, WHAT IT IS YOU NEED US TO DO IN REFERENCE TO, ARE WE ACCEPTING, UH, VOTING ON YOUR BUDGET PROPOSAL, YOUR PROPOSED BUDGET? UH, YES.
WE NEED TO VOTE ON THE BUDGET.
THE CAP IS PART OF THE BACKUP, BUT THAT'S MORE IN THE, THE WEEDS IN TERMS OF THE, UH, PERFORMANCE AND SERVICES.
BUT THE STATE WANTS YOU TO VOTE ON THE BUDGET.
UM, DO I HAVE A MOTION THAT WE MOVE FORWARD AND, UM, UM, TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE VOTING OF THE, ON THE BUDGET THAT WE ARE SCHEDULED TO DO? WE HAVE THE 2025 CSBG BUDGET AND COMMUNITY ACTION PLAN THAT HAS BEEN PRESENTED BY THE MANAGER OF THE
[02:20:01]
NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES UNIT, MR. ANHILL, UM, ZAMBRANO, AND, UM, PART OF THE AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH.AND AT THIS TIME, COMMISSIONERS, UM, I'M READY TO ENTERTAIN A MOTION THAT WE MOVE FORWARD WITH VOTING.
I, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO MOVE THE MOTION TO MOVE FORWARD.
AND THANK YOU COMMISSIONER E ALISE CHAIR.
WOULD I BE ALLOWED TO MAKE A MARK REMARK AFTER WE VOTE? UM, UM, YES, BUT NOT ON THIS ITEM, BUT YOU CAN, WE CAN GRAB YOU.
NOW THAT WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND, UM, COMMISSIONERS, THOSE OF YOU ALL ARE IN FAVOR OF MOVING FORTH AND, UH, ACCEPTING THE 2025 CSBG BUDGET AND COMMUNITY ACTION PLAN AS PRESENTED.
UM, PLEASE, UM, RAISE YOUR HAND AND, AND ACKNOWLEDGE.
AND, UH, FOR THE RECORD, I AM ABSTAINING.
UM, ITEM NUMBER SIX IS FULLY CLOSED
[7. Discussion and possible action on the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) 2025-2029 Strategic Plan, (Angel Zambrano, Neighborhood Services Unit, Austin Public Health).]
TO ITEM NUMBER SEVEN.UM, WE ALSO HAVE THE SAME, UM, WONDERFUL MANAGER OF COMMU OF NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES UNIT ON HILL ZAMBRANO IS HERE TO DISCUSS THE, UM, COMMUNITY SERVICES BLOCK GRANT, CSBG, OUR STRATEGIC PLAN FOR 2025 THROUGH 2029.
THIS IS ITEM NUMBER SEVEN ON OUR AGENDA.
I KNOW YOU DON'T HAVE IT IN FRONT OF YOU.
AND IT'S A LOT OF WORDS FOR THE FIRST FEW PAGES.
WE DON'T HAVE TO GO THROUGH IT ALL THE BY WORD.
UH, AGAIN, I WANT TO, I DO WANNA CLARIFY THIS STRATEGIC PLAN IS FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES UNIT.
I KNOW PEOPLE HAVE TALKED ABOUT LIKE, UH, IMAGINE AUSTIN AND HEALTHY AUSTIN AND THE, THE COUNCIL APPROVED STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE CITY.
I SEE THAT AS LIKE A 30,000 FOOT LEVEL STRATEGIC PLAN.
THIS IS MORE A BOOTS ON THE GROUND PLAN THAT FOCUSES ON OUR STAFF AND OUR CLIENTS AND OUR UNIT.
SO THE FIRST PAGE, I'LL JUST READ THE LITTLE BIT AT THE BOTTOM.
UH, TO DEVELOP THIS PLAN, WE HAD A COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT SURVEYS DONE.
WE HAD KEY INFORMANT INTERVIEWS.
LIKE I SAID, I THINK FOUR OF YOU PARTICIPATED IN THOSE.
UH, WE HAVE NSU STAFF AND NSU LEADERSHIP.
UM, LET'S GO TO PAGE NUMBER TWO WOULD BE HIT ON THE PURPOSE.
TDHCA, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY AFFAIRS STRATEGIC PLAN GUIDE CITE SEVERAL KEY FACTORS THAT HAVE SERVED AS OUR PURPOSE FOR OUR STRATEGIC PLANNING EFFORTS TO MEET THE CSPG PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.
UH, DEMONSTRATE PARTICIPATION OF LOW INCOME INDIVIDUALS IN THESE, UH, SERVICES.
YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE LEVERAGE OUR RESOURCES, THE $1.1 MILLION THAT WE RECEIVE, AND TO IMPROVE EFFECTIVENESS AND EFFICIENCY THROUGH AGREED UPON STRATEGIES AND GOALS.
THE MANDATES REDUCE POVERTY, REVITALIZE LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES, KIND OF LIKE WHAT WE TALKED AT OUR RETREAT, UM, OR A MEETING A FEW MONTHS AGO TO PROVIDE, UH, CASE MANAGEMENT SERVICES TRANSITION 43 CLIENTS OUTTA POVERTY.
SO THAT GETS MORE SPECIFIC, BUT IN GENERAL IS TO HELP FOLKS, UM, WITH MEET THEIR BASIC NEEDS.
CITY OF AUSTIN, I WON'T GO OVER THIS AS SORT OF THE, UH, CORE VALUES ARE PRIDE.
YOU CAN READ THOSE ON YOUR OWN TIME.
IT JUST HAS TO BE PART OF OUR PLAN.
AGAIN, TDHA DICTATES WHAT GOES IN THIS PLAN UNTIL WE GET TO THE ACTUAL GOALS.
AND WE'LL GET TO THE FIVE GOALS THAT WE CAME UP WITH IN A MINUTE.
SO PAGE NUMBER THREE HAS OUR, THE CITY VALUES.
UH, THE VISION OF THE AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT, THE MISSION, THOSE ARE PROBABLY GOOD TO READ 'CAUSE I THINK IT KIND OF GROUNDS US IN WHAT WE DO AT A PH.
OUR VISION IS THAT EVERYONE WILL HAVE AN OPTIMAL QUALITY OF LIFE, HEALTH, AND WELLBEING, FREE FROM RACISM, POVERTY, AND OPPRESSION.
AND OUR MISSION IS TO PREVENT DISEASE, PROMOTE HEALTH, AND PROTECT THE WELLBEING OF ALL.
[02:25:01]
WE DID CONDUCT A KIND OF SWOT ANALYSIS AND CAME UP WITH, UH, SOME OF THE MOST COMMON STRENGTHS THAT WERE IDENTIFIED THROUGH THE CNA AND OUR SURVEYS.SO FOOD ACCESS PROGRAM SEEMS TO BE A STRENGTH FOR OUR, OUR UNIT, UH, CONNECTIONS TO COMMUNITY PARTNERS.
I JUST HIGHLIGHTED A FEW AND PASSIONATE STAFF WITH DIVERSE SKILLS.
'CAUSE IT TAKES PASSIONATE STAFF.
UH, AND WE HAVE A, A PRETTY LONG TURNOVER.
SO THAT SPEAKS PEAKS VOLUMES FOR, UH, THE KIND OF WORK THAT WE DO AND THE KIND OF STAFF WE HAVE.
WEAKNESSES, I HIGHLIGHT ONE, LIMITED FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.
THAT'S ALWAYS REALLY LIMITING.
HOUSING MIGHT GET 300 MILLION, BUT IS IT ENOUGH, YOU KNOW, TO BUILD ALL THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING WE NEED? NO, WE GET $1 MILLION.
IS IT ENOUGH TO, UH, PROVIDE ALL THE BASIC NEEDS PEOPLE NEED? NO.
SO IT IS A WEAKNESS IN SOME WAYS, UH, FOR US.
THERE'S FOUR OTHERS HERE, UH, THAT HAVE TO DO MORE WITH TECHNOLOGY.
AND, UM, AND IMPROVING OUR WEBSITE, WHICH WE ARE WORKING ON.
SOME OPPORTUNITIES THAT WERE IDENTIFIED, UH, FOR THE PLAN.
THAT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, GOOD DATA.
UH, BUT THE ONE I HIGHLIGHTED, UH, THAT STUCK OUT TO ME WAS STAFF WELLNESS ACTIVITIES.
AGAIN, WE REALLY NEED TO FOCUS ON KEEPING OUR STAFF HEALTHY AND EVERYBODY'S GOING THROUGH A LOT.
UH, SO WE WANNA, ONE OF OUR GOALS, AS YOU WILL SEE LATER, FOCUS IS ON THAT COMPONENT.
IT COULD BE LIKE A FAMILY LEVEL GOAL, AN AGENCY LEVEL GOAL.
UM, WE ARE NOT, WE'RE NOT JUST HERE TO HELP OUR CLIENTS.
THERE'S FLEXIBILITY TO HELP OUR STAFF TOO.
AND HOW DO WE DO THAT, UH, IN A WAY THAT'S SUCCESSFUL.
AND SOME OF THE THREATS THAT WE, UH, SAW OVER AND OVER AGAIN WITH LACK OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE.
I MEAN, OUR SPEAKER TALKED ABOUT THAT.
UM, WE DON'T GET NEARLY ENOUGH FUNDS.
AND ALSO THAT FEDERAL FUNDING, DEPENDING ON THE, UH, ADMINISTRATION, DEPENDING ON HOW THAT GOES.
YOU KNOW, LIKE I MENTIONED AT OUR MEETING A FEW MONTHS AGO, EVERY PRESIDENT HAS WANTED TO CUT THIS PROGRAM FOR THE LAST 20 YEARS.
LONG, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF, UM, OUR SOURCE, UH, THE KEY STRATEGIC ISSUES IDENTIFIED.
THEY'RE ALL AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE AND PAGE NUMBER FIVE.
BUT I THINK I'LL JUMP INTO THE GOALS THEMSELVES, UM, BECAUSE THAT'LL GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF WHAT WE WILL BE WORKING ON, THE FIVE GOALS THAT WERE IDENTIFIED FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.
AND YOU SHOULD HAVE THAT AS A SEPARATE BACKUP.
IT IT, IT'S ITEM SEVEN, THE SECOND ITEM SEVEN.
SO JUST, YES, IT'S GONNA BE VERY SMALL ON YOUR SCREEN.
PROVIDE RENT AND UTILITY ASSISTANCE TO 1000 LOW INCOME RESIDENTS OF AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY PER YEAR.
SO WE'RE GOING REALLY FOCUS ON OUR HOUSING GOAL.
YOU WANT SEE IT A HUNDRED PERCENT OF OUR CLIENTS ASSISTED WILL WITH RENT WILL MAINTAIN HOUSING FOR 30 DAYS.
WE DON'T HAVE MUCH CONTROL AFTER THAT.
THE LANDLORD, AL HAS, HAS TO AGREE TO NOT EVICT FOR 30 DAYS.
BUT IF THAT PERSON, AGAIN NEEDS RENT THE FOLLOWING MONTH, WE HAVE NO ABILITY TO CONTROL THAT.
BUT WE DO HAVE THE ABILITY TO KEEP THEM HOUSED FOR AT LEAST 30 DAYS AFTER THEY GET OUR RENT ASSISTANCE AT THE BOTTOM OF THAT FIRST GOAL.
WE WANT TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS WE ASSIST.
THAT DEPENDS ON THE FUNDING AS WELL.
BUT WE'RE HOPEFUL THAT WE CAN ADVOCATE FOR MORE FUNDING AND BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
THERE MIGHT BE MORE ERA THREE FUNDS, I DON'T KNOW, SOME KIND OF BLESSING FROM OUTSIDE OUR CONTROL.
SO A THOUSAND THE FIRST YEAR, 1100, 1213, AND 1400.
SO EVERY YEAR, BE ABLE TO ASSIST MORE PEOPLE IN AVOIDING EVICTION.
SO THE OBJECTIVE IS PREVENTING DISPLACEMENT OF NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER CLIENTS FROM AUSTIN OR TRAVIS COUNTY.
AND THE STRATEGY IS TO OF EFFICIENTLY PROCESS FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE AND ADVOCATE FOR ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FUNDING TO ASSIST LOW INCOME INDIVIDUALS.
I THINK YOU RECOMMENDED THE COUNCIL.
YOU KNOW, UH, I KINDA GIVE SOME FEEDBACK TO THE VICE CHAIR LEAS AND, UH, COMMISSIONER ACHILLES.
SO YOU KIND OF DRAFTED SOME SOMETHING TO, TO PROMOTE, UM, US GETTING MORE FUNDING.
[02:30:02]
WE'RE ADDRESSING, UH, THE, THE NEED, WHICH WAS NUMBER THREE IN THE COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT EMPLOYMENT.SO THAT ONE IS HELPING PEOPLE ENROLL IN SELF-SUFFICIENCY CASE MANAGEMENT, AND THEN HELPING THEM TRANSITION OUTTA POVERTY.
LIKE I MENTIONED BEFORE, IT COULD BE FAMILY AGENCY.
THE GOAL IS THAT LOW INCOME INDIVIDUALS OBTAIN OR MAINTAIN EMPLOYMENT, BETTER PAYING OR LIVING WAGE JOBS AND OR JOB WITH BENEFITS.
AND AGAIN, THAT TIES INTO OUR, UM, GAP AND OUR ADDRESSING THE GAP BEFORE THAT PEOPLE EITHER CAN, CAN IMPROVE THEIR WAGES OR THEIR BENEFITS.
UM, THE OBJECTIVE THAT THROUGH THE PROVISION OF CASE MANAGEMENT, THE LOW INCOME PERSONS THAT WE LINK LOW INCOME PERSONS TO EMPLOYMENT EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES, REDUCE BARRIERS AND THE STABILITY WHICH HELP WILL HELP THEM WITH SELF-SUFFICIENCY.
AGAIN, GETTING ABOVE THAT 125, IF YOU LOOK AT THE VERY BOTTOM, IT SHOWS YOU YEAR BY YEAR, UM, INCREMENTAL INCREASES IN HELPING THOSE FOLKS.
IT'S A SMALL PROGRAM, BUT WE ARE TRYING TO GET MORE AND MORE PEOPLE TO, UH, TO GET THROUGH THE PROGRAM AND, AND OBTAIN JOBS OR BETTER JOBS.
MOST OF THE PEOPLE COME UNEMPLOYED, BUT SOME DO COME UNDEREMPLOYED.
AND WE KEEP OUR OUTCOME AT 43 'CAUSE THAT'S THE STATE'S GOAL.
SO THAT'S, UH, CONSISTENT ACROSS, UH, THE YEARS.
NOW WE GO TO GOAL NUMBER THREE, WHICH ADDRESSES THE COMMUNITY NEEDS.
AND THIS IS GONNA BE NEW FOR US.
THIS, UM, WE'RE GONNA BECOME PART OF THE COMMUNITY PARTNER PROGRAM, UH, THROUGH THE HHSC.
SO WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO HELP PEOPLE WITH, UH, APPLY FOR SNAP BENEFITS AND OTHER BENEFITS THAT THEY MIGHT BE, UH, ELIGIBLE FOR.
THE FOOD BANK DOES A LOT OF THAT NOW AND, AND THAT'S ONE OF THE MAIN AGENCIES THAT DOES A LOT OF THAT.
UM, BUT WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF, UH, SIGNING AN MOU FOR, TO BE PART OF THE COMMUNITY PARTNER PROGRAM.
SO WHAT THAT MEANS, WE WANNA ASSIST CLIENTS WITH ACCESS TO SNAP BENEFITS OR INFORMATION ABOUT SNAP AND OTHER BENEFITS.
UM, WE ARE STARTING JUST BARELY GETTING THE MOU SIGNED AND THEN WE WILL TRAIN STAFF.
AND OVER THE YEARS WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO START HELPING JUST A FEW MORE PEOPLE.
UM, SO I THINK COMMISSIONER LONG GOYA SPOKE ABOUT KIND OF MOVING AWAY FROM JUST FOOD AND, AND RENT AND OTHER SERVICES.
THIS IS ONE THING THAT WE ARE GONNA BE, THAT KIND OF SPEAKS TO THAT IN SOME WAY.
SOMETHING NEW THAT IS VERY NEEDED.
A LOT OF FOLKS COME IN AND THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO APPLY FOR THESE BENEFITS.
UM, WE WILL BE COMMUNITY NAVIGATORS FOR THIS PROGRAM.
GOAL NUMBER FOUR, IT'S AN AGENCY LEVEL GOAL.
SO THIS IS THE ONE, UM, THAT'S GONNA FOCUS ON STAFF RETENTION.
SO WE, OUR GOAL IS THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER WILL PROMOTE WELLNESS AND EMPLOYEE RETENTION ACTIVITIES.
THE OBJECTIVE IS TO INCREASE KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES OF ALL STAFF WORKING AT THE NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS AS IT RELATES, I THINK, TO, TO WELLBEING AND HEALTH.
UM, AND THE STRATEGY IS THAT THE EMPLOYEE RETENTION AND WELLNESS PROMOTION TASK FORCE, WHICH WE'LL CREATE, WILL PLAN, ORGANIZE AND IMPLEMENT TRAINING AND ACTIVITIES.
WE DID SOME OF THIS IN THE PAST IN TERMS OF HAVING TRAININGS FOR, UH, MINDFULNESS AND STRESS REDUCTION TRAUMA-INFORMED CARE.
WE WANNA BRING THAT MORE, UM, OFFICIALLY INTO THE, UH, THE, THE, THE UNIT AT THE BOTTOM.
IT'LL SHOW YOU YEAR BY YEAR WHAT WE WANT TO DO AND HOW MUCH WE WANT TO INCREASE PARTICIPATION IN STAFF.
IT'S PRETTY TOUGH TO GET STAFF TO PARTICIPATE IN THESE THINGS EVEN THOUGH WE ALL KNOW WE NEED IT.
SOMETIMES PEOPLE ARE EITHER BUSY OR MAYBE RELUCTANT OR DON'T FEEL LIKE, LIKE THEY WANT TO PARTICIPATE, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO GET, START WITH 30% AND THEN MOVE UP TO 60% BY THE LAST YEAR.
UH, WHEN WE DID THIS IN THE PAST, A LITTLE MORE PRN, UH, WE WERE ABLE TO REALLY ENGAGE PEOPLE AND THEY REALLY ENJOYED IT.
BUT NOW WE'RE SEEING IT AS SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE PART OF A STRATEGIC PLAN IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN COMPETENT, HEALTHY STAFF TO PROVIDE THESE VERY CHALLENGING SERVICES IN THESE VERY CHALLENGING TIMES.
AND THEN THE LAST GOAL NUMBER FIVE, HAS TO DO WITH, UM, KIND OF ADDRESSING OUR INFRASTRUCTURE.
OUR IT NEEDS, YOU KNOW, HOW WE CAN BE, WE CAN DO BETTER.
THE CITY IS MOVING ACTUALLY TOWARD A NEW PLATFORM.
IT'S A HUGE LIFT, BUT, UH, WE'RE GONNA BE PART OF THAT TOO.
SO IT'S GONNA BE A NEW LOOK TO THE WHOLE WAY YOU CAN NAVIGATE HOW YOU DON'T HAVE TO LOOK THROUGH A THOUSAND LINKS TO GET TO US OR TO GET TO AUSTIN WATER OR WHATEVER.
[02:35:01]
EXCITED ABOUT THAT.SO WE HAVE FAMILY AND THEN A COUPLE AGENCY LEVEL GOALS.
SO THE GOAL IS THAT NSU WILL HAVE ACCESS AN ACCESSIBLE, INFORMATIVE WEBSITE AND SOME SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE.
WE HAVE A REALLY GOOD PIO NOW AND THEY'VE BEEN KIND OF SLOWLY GETTING US ALL UP TO SPEED ON HOW WE DO THAT AND DO IT SUCCESSFULLY THROUGH OUR INSTAGRAM AND FACEBOOK AND, UH, SOCIAL MEDIA.
UM, THE OBJECTIVE IS THAT CLIENTS WILL BE ABLE TO ACCESS CURRENT INFORMATION ABOUT NSU PROGRAMS AND EVENTS IN OUR WEBSITE.
AND THE STRATEGY IS THAT WE WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN EFFORTS TO REDESIGN THE COA WEBSITE.
AND WE'VE ALREADY MET WITH THEM A FEW TIMES.
SO IT KIND OF GOOD TIMING FOR THIS.
UM, AND THEN THE BOTTOM SHOWS YOU THE YEAR BY YEAR INCREMENTAL CHANGES THAT WILL COME FROM THAT.
UM, THESE ARE PRETTY MUCH, THEY'RE NOT, THIS ONE DOESN'T SHOW IMPROVEMENT.
IT JUST SHOWS SORT OF MAINTAINING AND DEVELOPING CON CONTINUALLY IMPROVING, CONTINUALLY DEVELOPING CONTENT SO THAT OUR CLIENTS ARE VERY, UH, AWARE OF WHAT WE DO, WHETHER IT'S OUR CALENDARS OR EVENTS.
UM, WE'RE USING A LOT OF THOSE QR CODES NOW.
SOME VERY EASY TO USE AND VERY FAST.
AND OH, THAT'S WHEN THE HUB IS AT MONTOPOLIS.
SO WE WANNA DO MORE OF THAT ON OUR WEBSITE AND IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS.
SO I KIND OF SPED THROUGH THEM.
BUT THOSE ARE THE FIVE GOALS THAT ARE, THAT CAME OUTTA THE STRATEGIC PLAN.
AND AGAIN, THIS IS FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES UNIT.
IT'S NOT GONNA SOLVE THE HOUSING ISSUES IN AUSTIN OR FOOD INSECURITY, BUT THIS IS SOMETHING WE CAN ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING ABOUT ON THE GROUND.
UM, INFORMATION REGARDING THE, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES UNIT, UH, SPECIFICALLY, UM, THE, UM, STRATEGIC PLAN IS WHAT I WANNA SAY, THE STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES, UH, UNIT.
AND WE ARE ON ITEM, THIS IS ITEM NUMBER SEVEN, UM, BEFORE WE TAKE QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONERS.
UM, AND I DO WANT TO HEAR, UM, GIVE MS. JOSEPH A OPPORTUNITY SHE ALSO SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON, UM, THIS LAST ITEM.
THIS IS OUR LAST ITEM, UM, FOR THE EVENING.
UM, AND WE WILL, UM, ENTERTAIN OUR QUESTIONS, UH, FOLLOWING MS. JOSEPH'S UM, STATEMENTS AND WE WILL BE, UM, TAKEN ACTION AS NEEDED.
UM, ON THIS ITEM, UH, COMMISSIONERS, DO YOU ALL HAVE ANY UH, UM, I'M SORRY MS. JOSEPH? MY MY MISTAKE.
UH, WE RECOGNIZE YOU ON ITEM NUMBER SEVEN, PLEASE YOUR CONCERNS.
THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR MEMBERS.
I WILL SPEAK SPECIFICALLY TO THE STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES UNIT.
I, UH, SPECIFICALLY DON'T SEE ANYTHING AS IT RELATES TO THE EVICTION PREVENTION THAT WOULD HAVE THE LAWYERS INVOLVED.
I CAN TELL YOU FROM MY OWN EXPERIENCE THAT WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN IS THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE LAWYERS THAT ACTUALLY STAFF THE DOCKET IN JP COURT.
I WOULD SAY THAT THEY COULD PARTNER AND THAT COULD BE A PART OF WHAT THEY ACTUALLY HAVE IN THE PLAN.
UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S PROBLEMATIC IS IF YOU DO GO FORTH WITH AN APPEAL, YOU THEN NEED TO PERFECT THE APPEAL WITHIN FIVE DAYS OF LOSING THE JUDGMENT IN JP COURT.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS I THINK THAT'S, UH, PROBLEMATIC WITH THE WAY THAT THEY DO THEIR OUTREACH HERE WITH EVICTION IS THAT THEY DON'T PAY THE TENANT DIRECTLY.
AND SO THAT IS A BARRIER INTERNALLY THAT THEY COULD FIX BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO PAY THE RENT INTO THE COURT REGISTRY, WHICH MEANS THEY DON'T TAKE THE THIRD PARTY CHECK, WHICH THEN MEANS YOU'RE TELLING THAT TENANT THAT THEY NEED TO JUST MOVE ON.
AND AS IT RELATES SPECIFICALLY TO HOUSING, I JUST HAVE TO SAY COLONY PARK, AND I KNOW THIS IS OUTSIDE OF THEIR SCOPE, BUT IT IS DISINGENUOUS FOR COUNSEL TO MAKE BLACK PEOPLE THINK THAT SOMETHING IS COMING SOON.
THOSE UNITS ARE FOR WORKFORCE HOUSING THAT IS NOT SERVING THE POOR.
AND USUALLY WORKFORCE HOUSING IN AUSTIN IS SPECIFICALLY 80% AREA MEDIAN INCOME, WHICH IS APPROXIMATELY $65,000.
THAT'S 380 UNITS OUTTA 600 OUT OF THE WHOLE 3000 THAT WILL BE DEVELOPED FOR WORKFORCE HOUSING.
THAT MEANS THAT YOU KEEP SAYING THEY'RE BEING PUSHED OUT.
NO, THEY'RE ZONED OUT BY DESIGN.
AND SO I JUST HAD TO SAY THAT.
AND FOR THE PEOPLE ON RIVERSIDE, I JUST HAVE TO REITERATE THAT OCTOBER 17TH, 2019 IS WHEN COUNCIL REZONED RIVERSIDE 1,308 UNITS.
AND THEN, UH, OCTOBER 23RD, THAT'S WHEN HEATHER WAY ACTUALLY SAID IT DIDN'T HAVE TO BE THAT WAY.
SO THAT'S THE UPROOTED ONE OF THE CO-AUTHORS, I JUST NEED TO SAY THAT OUT LOUD BECAUSE NOW THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT THE TOKYO CENTER AND ALL OF THAT.
AND THAT'S NICE, BUT YOU'RE JUST REPLACING WHAT YOU TOOK AWAY.
[02:40:01]
AND SO IF WE REALLY WANNA HELP POOR PEOPLE, THEN WE NEED TO LOOK AT THE ZONING.WE NEED TO SEE AN OVERLAY OF THE MAP WHERE THEY ACTUALLY HAVE THE LOW INCOME HOUSING.
AND THEN WE NEED TO LOOK AT THE RAIL LINES TO SEE THAT IT'S 80% AREA MEDIAN INCOME.
SO I KNOW THAT'S A LITTLE TANGENTIAL.
IT'S NOT NECESSARILY WITHIN THE UNIT THAT THEY CAN ACTUALLY CONTROL THIS, BUT THEY CAN ADVOCATE OR AT LEAST MAKE IT KNOWN.
YOU CAN'T GET TO SELF-SUFFICIENCY IF YOU'RE LIMITED IN WHERE YOUR JOBS ARE.
IT SAYS THE MISSION IS FOR, TO PREVENT DISEASE, PROMOTE HEALTH AND PROTECT THE WELLBEING OF ALL.
AND THEN IT TALKS ABOUT BEING FREE FROM RACISM.
SO POVERTY AND OPPRESSION, TITLE SIX OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT, THE 1964 PROHIBITS DISCRIMINATION BASED ON RACE, COLOR, AND NATIONAL ORIGIN.
I WANT YOU TO REMEMBER THE PEOPLE ON ROUTE 2 37, THE POOREST OF THE POOR, YOU HAVE TO HAVE A DISABILITY TO LIVE IN COMMUNITY FIRST VILLAGE.
AND THEY WAIT TWO HOURS IN THEIR WHEELCHAIRS FOR THE BUS WHEN THEY CUT ONE OF THE ROUTES.
SO IT FRUSTRATES ME TO LISTEN TO THESE DISCUSSIONS ABOUT HELPING THE POOR AND THEN GET TO SELF-SUFFICIENCY AND PULL YOURSELF UP BY THE BOOTSTRAPS.
YOU NEED TO GET PEOPLE TO JOBS AND THEY NEED RELIABLE TRANSPORTATION JUST LIKE SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL AUSTIN WHITES.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'LL GLADLY ANSWER THEM AT THIS TIME.
AND THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO BE SO EXTENSIVE.
UM, THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS, YOU COME ON.
UM, THANK YOU FOR THE, FOR THE PRESENTATION AND I KNOW WE'VE ALL BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS PLAN AND, AND PREPPING FOR IT FOR A WHILE.
UM, AND THE EXTENT TO WHICH THIS ISN'T A DISCUSSION FOR TODAY, LET ME KNOW, BUT I WANTED TO TALK, I HAD A COUPLE QUESTIONS ON THE GOALS.
UM, SO THE, THE SHORTER QUESTION IS ON THE FINAL GOAL ABOUT THE WEBSITE.
I UNDERSTAND IT'S PROBABLY OUTSIDE YOUR CONTROL SINCE IT'S A LARGER, BUT I JUST, I JUST WANTED TO FLAG, I WOULD BE, UM, INTERESTED IF PART OF THAT PROCESS IS UNDERSTANDING USER FEEDBACK BEFORE AND THEN AFTER.
'CAUSE IDEALLY LIKE THE EASE OF IT BASED ON, ON METRICS FROM USERS WOULD SHOW, UM, WOULD BE ABLE TO, TO DOCUMENT THAT THE REDESIGN.
I'M NOT SUGGESTING THAT AS A GOAL IN HERE.
I'M JUST HOPING THAT PART OF THAT PROCESS INVOLVES SOME BEFORE AND AFTER METRICS.
UM, BUT THEN THE, THE GOAL I WANTED TO TALK MORE WITH YOU ABOUT DO WE, SO ON THE HOUSING GOAL, UM, HAS THIS BEEN A GOAL BEFORE AND IS, SO IS THERE A BENCHMARK? UM, THE GOAL IS A HUNDRED PERCENT.
HAVE YOU, IS THAT A, A TRACKING MEASURE YOU HAVE BEFORE? DOES IT, HAS IT HISTORICALLY BEEN A HUNDRED PERCENT OF CLIENTS ASSISTED MAINTAIN HOUSING FOR 30 DAYS WITH THE RUN ASSISTANCE? YES.
SO IT SOUNDS LIKE FOR THIS PARTICULAR POPULATION, THEY'RE ABLE TO, BECAUSE I KNOW MR. JOSEPH SPOKE TO, TO AN IMPORTANT CONCERN, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE WHOEVER YOU'RE PROVIDING SUPPORT TO, THEY ARE STILL STAYING IN FOR 30 DAYS.
UM, SO MY OTHER QUESTION, AND I'M NOT, SO I, I GIVE GRANTS FOR A LIVING, RIGHT? SO I KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO COME UP WITH METRICS, UM, AND, AND TO TRACK IT.
SO I AM NOT, I DON'T KNOW THAT I'M PROPO, I'M NOT TRYING TO THROW A WRENCH IN THINGS AND PROPOSE A DIFFERENCE IN THE GOAL FOR THE GRANT ITSELF.
BUT I, I WONDER IF THERE'S ROOM OR IF IT MAKES SENSE AND WHEN WE'RE IN YOUR TRACKING AND IN OUR CONVERSATIONS, UM, TO LOOK BEYOND THE 30 DAYS, I KNOW THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE CONTROL OVER AND I WOULDN'T TRY TO DO MORE IN A GRANT, BUT TO BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW SERVICES ARE COMING TOGETHER.
UM, LIKE DO YOU KNOW, ARE FOLKS STILL HOUSED THREE MONTHS LATER, SIX MONTHS LATER? ARE THEY ACCESSING OTHER SERVICES? I ASSUME YOU ARE TRACKING TO WHAT EXTENT THEY ARE.
SO JUST 'CAUSE THE, I THE, THE LOGIC MODEL IS THAT IF THESE INPUTS GO AND, AND WE'RE ABLE TO SUPPORT THEM THAN THEY ACTUALLY ARE STAYING IN THE HOUSES.
SO I'M JUST CURIOUS ABOUT TO WHAT EXTENT THAT BROADER DATA IS SOMETHING WE'RE UNDERSTANDING.
UM, MORE JUST BECAUSE ALSO 'CAUSE IF THEY'RE NOT RIGHT, LIKE IF IT'S ONLY WORKING FOR 30 DAYS AND NOT THAT 30 DAYS ISN'T IMPORTANT TO KEEP SOMEONE HOUSED, I DON'T MEAN THAT.
UM, BUT IF IT'S ONLY 30 DAYS, RIGHT? AND THEN DAY 31 WE'RE LOSING THEM, UM, OR THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE LOSING HOUSING.
LIKE WHAT THEN DOES THAT MEAN FOR HOW, FOR CHANGES IN SUPPORTS? SO I JUST, I WAS CURIOUS IF THAT'S DATA WE CAN TALK ABOUT HERE, IF THAT MAKES SENSE OR IF YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT IT.
UM, DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? COMMISSIONERS ON, ON HILL? NO.
LIKE IN TERMS OF LIKE, WOW, I WONDER WHERE PEOPLE ARE IN A YEAR, RIGHT? OR IN SIX
[02:45:01]
MONTHS, YOU KNOW, I USED TO WORK MORE IN WORK IN VOC REHAB AS WELL AND WE GO, HUH, WE HELPED THEM GET THIS JOB.VETERANS, I WORKED WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS, BUT WE WOULDN'T TRACK A YEAR LATER.
ARE THEY STILL EMPLOYED? ARE THEY NOT EMPLOYED? AND WE NEVER REALLY WERE ABLE TO DO THAT.
SO HERE IT'S, I'M GLAD YOU BROUGHT IT UP 'CAUSE IT'S SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT.
I MEAN, IT WOULDN'T BE PART OF THIS PLAN, BUT IT DEFINITELY IS SOMETHING THAT I'VE THOUGHT ABOUT.
BECAUSE THEN WE CAN ANSWER, OH YEAH.
80% OF THE FOLKS WE HELP WITH RENT ASSISTANCE ARE STILL HOUSED A YEAR LATER OR SIX MONTHS OR, OR THREE MONTHS, WHATEVER.
WE, IT WOULD JUST REQUIRE COME, COME UP WITH A PROCESS, RIGHT? LIKE WE PUT IT INTO OUR PLAN, WE WILL CALL 30 DAYS OUT 90 DAYS.
RIGHT? SO YEAH, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
'CAUSE I DON'T KNOW, I WOULD GUESS, YEAH, I MEAN I CAN'T EVEN GUESS HALF OF 'EM.
'CAUSE I'VE THOUGHT ABOUT IT MANY TIMES, RIGHT? LIKE, WOW, WHAT'S, ARE WE JUST USING? IS IT A BANDAID? AND THEN THEY'RE STILL END UP EVICTED OR NOT POSSIBLY, BUT YEAH.
AND SO THEN WHAT, HOW DO WE THINK ABOUT THE BANDAID? YEAH, GOOD QUESTION.
HEY, AN, UM, UH, YEAH, THANK YOU FOR THESE GOALS.
UM, I GUESS, UM, I WILL USE YOUR MONTHLY REPORT AS LIKE A BENCHMARK.
UM, I, I GUESS MY, MY FIRST REACTION IS THAT THE GOALS ARE A LITTLE LIKE MODEST.
UM, I GUESS BASED OFF OF THE INFORMATION THAT YOU PROVIDE US MONTHLY, UM, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO MEET THAT FIRST YEAR GOAL, LIKE EASILY.
AND, AND SOME OF THESE, YOU KNOW, I'LL STOP YOU RIGHT THERE WITHOUT BEING RUDE.
BUT THE REASON WE MET THAT GOAL IS BECAUSE WE HAD A COVID FUNDING AND ERA FUNDING THAT'S GONE AWAY.
SO WE'RE BACK TO OUR 775,000 A YEAR.
SO WE'RE VERY, OUR FUNDING HAS SHRUNKEN QUITE A BIT.
I MEAN, FOR BEFORE THIS, EVEN WITH CARES ACT, WE GOT A FEW MILLION DOLLARS JUST FOR RENT.
SO AGAIN, THAT'S WHY IT MIGHT SEEM LIKE, WOW, YOU GUYS ARE DOING SO GREAT.
BUT THIS YEAR WE HAD ERA FUNDING THANKS TO THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT, BUT THAT'S GONE.
SO AGAIN, HAVE TO PROJECT BACK TO WHAT OUR ORIGINAL FUNDING IS SINCE IT'S ALWAYS THE SAME, UNLESS COUNCIL AT SOME POINT DECIDES TO GIVE US MORE FUNDS INSTEAD OF OTHER AGENCIES OR COMMUNITY AGENCIES, WE'RE KIND OF LIMITED.
I GUESS I'M A LITTLE CONFUSED WITH THE FUNDING, BUT I GUESS THAT'S A DIFFERENT CONVERSATION.
WELL, WE CAN FOLLOW IT UP, WE CAN PLAN TO COME BACK TO IT FOR SURE.
UM, BUT UM, YEAH, I, I GUESS, I GUESS THE, THE GOAL THAT REALLY STUCK OUT TO ME WAS, UM, UH, THE LAST ONE, LIKE, UM, COMMISSIONER KEES MENTIONED THE, THE SOCIAL MEDIA.
UH, IT, IT'D BE NICE TO HAVE SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT MORE LIKE MEASURABLE.
AND THEN, YEAH, AND THEN, AND THEN ON THE FOURTH GOAL, WELL NO, ON THE THIRD GOAL, YES.
UH, ASSISTING CLIENTS WITH ACCESS TO SNAP.
UM, I SEE HERE ON, UH, 2025 YEAR ONE ASSISTING 50 PEOPLE WITH SNAP.
OH MY GOD, DUDE, I WISH WE COULD ADD LIKE A ZERO TO THAT, UH, UH, TO THAT NUMBER, YOU KNOW, 500 PEOPLE OR THE NEXT YEAR, 750 PEOPLE OR A
BUT AGAIN, IN TERMS OF THE NUMBER OF THE BANDWIDTH THAT WE HAVE, IT'S HARD TO EXPLAIN THAT TO ANYONE.
'CAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE, HEY, WE COULD JUST BE A SNAP MACHINE
MOST OF THE TIME WHEN WE TRIED IT BEFORE KIND OF PILOTED, PEOPLE GOT VERY FRUSTRATED RIGHT? AFTER LIKE 20 MINUTES AND BE LIKE, I GOTTA FINISH THIS AT HOME.
WE CAN'T TRACK IF THEY EVER FINISHED IT.
RIGHT? SO THERE'S THINGS, WHEN YOU REALLY GET TO THE NITTY GRITTY OF IT, WE'RE NOT TRYING TO LIKE SET LOW GOALS TO SHINE.
WE'RE JUST BEING REALISTIC AND WE HAVE STAFF WHO ARE ON THE GROUND KNOWING THESE FACTORS THAT CAN AFFECT THIS.
SO WE MIGHT NOT EVEN BE ABLE TO GET 50 'CAUSE WE JUST GOT THE MOU THROUGH LEGAL FOR THE FIRST YEAR, SO WE MIGHT COME BACK WITH ZERO.
WE MIGHT NOT START THIS PROGRAM TILL NEXT YEAR.
SO AGAIN, THERE'S THINGS THAT YOU DON'T KNOW, BUT IT, IT'S, IT'S A GOOD POINT.
'CAUSE IT KEEPS US HONEST, YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE, YEAH, THIS IS WHAT WE DO AND WHY WE HAVE THESE NUMBERS AND, AND YEAH, I GUESS THE, THE LAST COMMENT, LIKE I SAID, LIKE YOU SAID, AS FAR AS LIKE GOAL SETTING, UM, IF, IF, IF I WERE TO SEE THE GOALS AND LIKE THE METRICS THAT YOU'RE PROVIDING ON A DAILY BASIS, I'M BE LIKE, I'M
[02:50:01]
JUST DOING GREAT.UM, NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES CENTER'S DOING GREAT.
THEY DON'T NEED ANY MORE MONEY.
YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING? SO LIKE, IF YOU, IF YOU PERHAPS SET A GOAL THAT'S WI OUTSIDE OF YOUR REACH, PERHAPS IT WILL CREATE A NEED.
YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING? SO, AND IT'S A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD, RIGHT? IT'S A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD WITH THE CITY OR WITH ANY AGENCY.
YOU KNOW, YOU SET YOUR GOAL TOO HIGH AND THEN THEY COME BACK.
WHY DIDN'T YOU MEET YOUR GOAL? I HEAR YOU.
YOU HAVE TO WRITE A 10 PAGE, UH, JUSTIFICATION WHY YOU DIDN'T MEET IT.
LIKE EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD IN AUSTIN SHOULD BE A LIVABLE COMMUNITY, RIGHT? WITHIN FIVE MILES OF A GROCERY STORE.
THE GOAL'S A HUNDRED PERCENT, THEY'RE NEVER GONNA MEET THAT GOAL.
IT MIGHT EVEN BE, IT MIGHT BE 10% AT THE END OF FIVE YEARS WE'VE HAD THOSE DISCUSSIONS, RIGHT? DO YOU SET THE GOAL AT 20%? AND THEN PEOPLE GO, WHY ARE YOU SETTING IT SO LOW? IT SHOULD BE A HUNDRED PERCENT.
EVERYBODY SHOULD HAVE ACCESS TO FOOD, TRANSPORTATION.
IT'S, I'M GLAD YOU BRING THAT UP.
IT'S A TOUGH CONVERSATION TO HAVE.
AND, UH, WE CAME UP WITH THE MOST REALISTIC GOALS AS WELL, SO THAT WE CAN IMPACT AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE.
AND IF WE GET EXTRA FUNDING, WE HAVE THE CAPACITY TO SCALE UP LIKE WE DID WITH CARES AND, UH, ERA.
SO VERY GOOD QUESTIONS AND THANK YOU.
I HAVE A QUESTION FOR MS. JOSEPH.
IS SHE STILL, UM, IN THE CHAMBER STEPPED OUT? NO, NO, THAT'S, UH, COMMISSIONER ESTEBAN UHHUH.
JOSEPH STEPPED OH, FOR MS. JOSEPH.
HOPEFULLY SHE'LL BE BACK BEFORE, UM, BEFORE, BEFORE A MOMENT.
AND LET'S SEE, DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY OTHER, UM, COMMENTS, QUESTIONS? OKAY.
IS, UM, MS. JACKMAN, IS IT POSSIBLE, WOULD YOU CHECK TO SEE IF MS. JOSEPH IS RIGHT? IF SHE IS JUST NEARBY SO THAT UM, SHE SHE IS, SHE TOLD ME SHE'S GONNA BE RIGHT HERE.
NO, SHE TOLD ME SHE'S GONNA STEP OUT AND BE RIGHT OUT HERE THOUGH.
BECAUSE I WOULD LIKE FOR HIM TO BE ABLE TO ASK.
AND THEN WE, UM, WE WILL BE READY TO, UM, WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA LOSE QUORUM IN A MINUTE, I THINK.
WE, WE, WE, ABOUT ALL OF US ABOUT TO GET OUT.
WE HAVE ENOUGH TO VOTE RIGHT NOW.
AND SO WOULD WE BE ABLE TO HAVE THE CONVERS UH, DISCUSSION, ANY OTHER DISCUSSION AFTER THAT? BUT THE VOTING ACTUALLY, WELL, SHE'S, SHE'S HERE.
MS. JOSEPH, WE HAD A, A QUESTION FOR YOU.
UH, COMMISSIONER ESTEBAN, UH, DELGADO.
THANK YOU, MR. THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, UM, SHARING YOUR, UM, YOUR LIVED EXPERIENCE AND ALSO YOUR, YOUR TESTIMONY WITH US.
YOU KNOW, TODAY AS WE, YOU KNOW, HEARD MORE ABOUT THE, UM, STRATEGIC PLAN AND KIND OF THE ACTION ITEMS THAT WE WANNA KIND OF TAKE UP AND STEWARD OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS AND YEARS, I, YOU KNOW, ONE THING THAT I WANTED TO GET MAYBE A LITTLE CLARIFICATION FROM YOU ON IS AS WE LOOK TOWARDS, YOU KNOW, THIS, UM, THE STRATEGIC PLAN AND, UM, AS WE THINK ABOUT RIGHT, THE, THE COMMENTS THAT YOU LEFT US WITH TODAY, ARE THERE TWO OR THREE KIND OF SPECIFIC THINGS THAT YOU'D KIND OF HOPE TO SEE FROM EITHER COUNCIL OR FROM FROM THIS COMMITTEE AS WE KIND OF MOVE FORWARD WITH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE ADOPTION OF THAT PLAN? I, AND THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION, COMMISSIONER.
THE ONE THING THAT, BECAUSE HOUSING RISES TO THE TOP OFTENTIMES AND IT'S IN YOUR PLAN TODAY.
I WOULD JUST SAY, I'VE MENTIONED IT BEFORE.
MARK MELTON ACTUALLY IS THE LAWYER IN THE DALLAS AREA THAT HAS AN AWESOME PROGRAM.
HE STAFFS THE DOCKET IN EVICTION COURT AND WINS 96% OF THE CASES.
AND BECAUSE WE HAVE THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HERE, WE DON'T JUST NEED TO RELY ON THEM TO GIVE US DATA TO TELL US ABOUT THE DISMAL OUTCOMES WE HAVE.
IF WE COULD, MAYBE THIS COMMISSION COULD CHAMPION GETTING THE LAW STUDENTS, BECAUSE THEY DO HAVE CLINICS AT CERTAIN TIMES OF THE YEAR.
AND IF YOU'RE WORKING IN CONJUNCTION WITH SOME ONE OF THE PROFESSORS THERE, THEN YOU CAN MAYBE FIGURE OUT WHEN THE STUDENTS ARE AVAILABLE AND THEY CAN DO A PILOT TO STAFF THE DOCKET.
UM, THE SECOND THING I WOULD SAY SPECIFICALLY IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT CERTAIN GROUPS IS THAT PAGE ELLIS COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS IS FOCUSED ON VETERANS.
AND AGAIN, THEY DO HAVE VETERAN CLINICS AND THAT IS NICE, BUT OFTENTIMES THEY DON'T HAVE A HOUSING
[02:55:02]
ATTORNEY THERE.SO WE DON'T NEED ANOTHER STUDY.
ANOTHER ASSESSMENT, THEY HAD ONE IN 2019, OVER 500 PEOPLE TOOK THAT SURVEY.
WHAT WE NEED IS A STAFF ATTORNEY, UH, AN ATTORNEY WHO CAN ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS.
SO AGAIN, IF YOU WANNA DELVE INTO, YOU KNOW, THAT'LL BE NUMBER TWO.
BUT REALLY THE BIGGEST THING, I BELIEVE THE SOCIAL DETERMINANT OF HEALTH THAT CONNECTS ALL OF THESE DOTS IS TRANSPORTATION.
I MEAN, YOU REALLY DO NEED COUNSEL TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT IT'S AN EQUITABLE, AND THE WAY THAT YOU DO THAT IS BECAUSE THEY GOT A MILLION DOLLARS FOR THE AREA ON IN GEORGIA TO DO A PILOT WITH JAIL TO JOBS.
SO YOU HAVE EVIDENCE, THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN ACTUALLY RECEIVED THAT MONEY FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE, UH, FOUNDATION IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION WITH THE CITY.
SO THEY HAVE DATA THAT SHOWS IT WAS A TRANSIT DESERT.
AND I THINK THIS COMMISSION COULD CHAMPION THAT AND TO JUST RECOGNIZE THAT THERE ARE SIMPLE SOLUTIONS IN THE COLONY PARK AREA.
FOR EXAMPLE, THAT BUS STARTS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD AT LIKE 7:34 AM YOU CAN'T GET TO ANOTHER JOB UNLESS IT'S DOWN THE STREET BECAUSE THEN YOU HAVE TO TRANSFER.
BUT ROUTE 3 37 ACTUALLY COULD DEADHEAD, IT COULD ACTUALLY TERMINATE RIGHT THERE AT COMMUNITY FIRST VILLAGE.
AND THAT WAS A SOLUTION FROM A GENTLEMAN WHO WORKS DOWN OFF OF BURNETT ROAD AT THE DOLLAR TREE.
HE WALKS THE MILE TO LOYOLA, OVER LOYOLA AND DECKER.
BUT THIS COMMISSION COULD ACTUALLY SAY, HERE'S SOME SOLUTIONS THAT DON'T COST ANY MONEY.
CAN YOU JUST MAKE THE BUS STOP? YOU DON'T HAVE TO USE ALL THE FANCY LANGUAGE, BUT IT'S TERMINATE.
YOU CAN JUST MAKE THE BUS STOP OVER AT THE LITTLE COMMUNITY FIRST VILLAGE.
AND THAT WILL SERVE THE PEOPLE WHO ARE DISABLED.
AND THEN IT, THEY WON'T BECAUSE THEY CAN'T WALK A MILE.
AND THEN LASTLY, I WOULD JUST SAY WITH THE FOOD, THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, I'VE ASKED BEFORE FOR A LIST, BUT WITH FOOD SPECIFICALLY, YOU NEED A COAL AND A HOT LIST.
AND I WOULD SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS COMMISSION COULD CHAMPION THAT MICROWAVE SOLUTION THAT I HAVE.
PEOPLE ARE THERE AND THAT'S NOT EVEN EXPENSIVE.
UM, SO THOSE ARE A FEW OF THE MAIN THINGS THAT COME TO MIND.
BUT THE ONE THING I ASKED FOR WHEN I FIRST CAME BEFORE THIS COMMISSION WITH YOU, MADAM CHAIR, WAS A LIST.
AND SO IN IMMEDIATE TIME, AND I'LL JUST CLOSE WITH MY OWN STORY.
I DIDN'T KNOW WHO TO CALL WHEN I GOT THE 24 HOUR NOTICE TO VACATE, BECAUSE STATE LAW SAYS YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO GET THREE DAYS, BUT WHEN YOU'RE DEALING WITH A LANDLORD, AND MINE WAS AN EVICTION FOR THE GARAGE.
IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH NOT PAYING THE RENT.
E IS A E UH, YOU KNOW, BUT MY POINT IS LIKE, WHO DO, WHO DO YOU CALL? AND SO WE NEED TRANSPARENCY.
WE NEED THAT LIST THAT I REQUESTED WHEN I FIRST CAME BEFORE THIS COMMISSION.
THERE NEEDS TO BE A PROVIDER THAT YOU CAN CALL IN IF YOU GOT 24 HOURS TO MOVE, BECAUSE OTHERWISE I'LL JUST HAVE YOU GO HOME AND THINK ABOUT THIS.
IT'S LIKE LEAVING YOUR HOME OPEN AND TELLING YOUR NEIGHBORS, COME ON BY AND PICK UP WHATEVER YOU'D LIKE.
YOU CAN HAVE MY WASHER, MY DRYER, YOU CAN HAVE MY ANTIQUES.
YOU CAN HAVE MY CLOTHES, YOU CAN HAVE MY LINEN.
YOU CAN HAVE MY POTS AND PANS.
JUST TAKE WHATEVER YOU LIKE AND GO ON YOUR MERRY WAY.
AND THAT IS WHAT IT'S LIKE WHEN YOU WALK HOME AND YOU SEE EVERYTHING THAT YOU OWN OUT.
AND PEOPLE ARE JUST GOING THROUGH IT LIKE IT'S A
BUT I JUST NEED, YOU NEED, NEED TO UNDERSTAND, AND I DON'T WANT SYMPATHY.
WHAT I WANT IS FOR THE SYSTEM TO BE FIXED IN THE POLICIES TO IMPROVE.
BECAUSE IF IT HAPPENED TO ME AND I'M AS ENGAGED AS I AM, SELF-HELP EVICTION TACTICS CAN HAPPEN TO OTHER PEOPLE.
AND SO WE JUST NEED TO RECOGNIZE WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE POOR, YOU HAVE LANDLORDS THAT ARE NOT ACTING IN GOOD FAITH.
AND MINE TURNED THE LIGHTS OFF EVEN THOUGH IT WAS IN GOOD STANDING WITH AUSTIN ENERGY.
SO THEN YOU NEED SOMEBODY TO ADVOCATE, AND THAT PERSON YOU NEED TO ADVOCATE IS REALLY A LAWYER.
OKAY? AND THAT IS THE MAIN THING THAT IS MISSING FROM THIS EQUATION.
THE MONEY GOES TO TRLA, TEXAS RIO GRANDE LEGAL AID.
IT GOES TO VOLUNTEER LEGAL SERVICES.
BUT REALLY I BELONG IN AUSTIN.
TENANT STABILIZATION SHOULD REALLY BE, I BELONG IN AUSTIN RELOCATION, BECAUSE YOU DON'T, YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO EITHER STAY WITH THE CASE IF YOU HAVE A LAWYER OR YOU'RE LITERALLY FORCED TO JUST MOVE BECAUSE YOU, YOU'RE FIGHTING BY YOURSELF.
UM, THANK YOU FOR MOVING FOR THAT.
UM, UH, YOUR POINTS ARE ALWAYS WELL, UM, UM, ARTICULATED.
AND I, I REALLY DO APPRECIATE THAT OUR HOUR IS, UH, LATE AND WE'RE ABOUT YES MA'AM.
WE DO HAVE TO VOTE, UM, IN THE NEXT TWO MINUTES SO THAT WE DON'T LOSE QUORUM ON ANGEL.
DO, I'M GONNA JUST SAY THIS AND I WILL, UM, WRAP UP WITH WHAT WE HAVE.
I APPRECIATE THE PASSION OF THE STAFF AND THE CONCERN FOR YOUR WELLNESS.
WE DO APPRECIATE THAT WHEN YOU RECOGNIZE THAT THE FACT THAT YOU ALL ARE ADVOCATING
[03:00:01]
AND HAVING TO NAVIGATE FOR THE, THE FUNDING LANDMINES, WE ALSO RECOGNIZE THAT I DO WANT TO HIGHLIGHT, UH, ALMOST ECHOING WHAT MS. JOSEPH SAID.I'M NOT GONNA READ ALL OF 'EM, BUT IT'S TO REDUCE POVERTY, TO REVITALIZE LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES, TO EMPOWER LOW INCOME FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS BECOME SELF-SUFFICIENT TO PROVIDE CASE MANAGEMENT FOR OUR CLIENTS.
ONLY 43, UH, COMMISSIONER LONGORIA, UH, OUT OF POVERTY EACH YEAR.
AND I, UH, DO STRONGLY ECHO ON GOAL NUMBER ONE.
LET'S CONSIDER THOSE ATTORNEYS.
IF GOAL NUMBER ONE IS ABOUT EVICTION.
IF WE DO THE, THE ATTORNEYS, I DO BELIEVE THAT WOULD HELP.
UH, AND UM, IN GOAL NUMBER FIVE, WE TALK ABOUT THIS NEW PLATFORM.
ARE THERE GONNA BE QR CODES SO THAT INDIVIDUALS DON'T HAVE TO GO THROUGH, UM, MASSIVE KEYBOARDING, UH, TO ACCESS IT? IF IT IS SOMETHING THEY CAN JUST PUT THEIR PHONE UP TO IT AND THEN THE, IT JUST POPS UP.
THAT'LL BE SOMETHING THAT I THINK WOULD BE GREAT.
AND LASTLY, WHO IS THIS MOU WITH? UM, UH, ON HELL, WHO, WHO ARE WE MOU WITH? HEALTH AND SERVICES? IT'S HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES.
SO IT'S BETWEEN NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES AND HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES.
I JUST WANTED, I DIDN'T KNOW IF IT WAS SOME ORGANIZATION, SO, ALRIGHT THEN.
WITH THAT BEING SAID, COMMISSIONERS, DO I THANK YOU FOR THAT, UH, ON YOUR PRESENTATION AND EVERYONE FOR STAND, DO I HAVE A MOTION? COMMISSIONER TOVER, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO, UM, FOR US TO PROCEED WITH OUR, UH, COMMUNITY SERVICES BLOCK GRANT, OUR CS UM, BG 2025, TWO TH THE 2029, WHICH IS A FIVE YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN.
UH, DO I HAVE A MOTION THAT WE PROCEED WITH A VOTE FOR THAT MADAM CHAIR? YES.
CAN I MAKE A QUICK COMMENT AND, UH, JUST REGARDING, UH, MS. JOSEPH'S, UM, UH, COMMENTS AND JUST AS A FOLLOW UP FOR THE RECORD, YES, SORRY TO, I KNOW I COGNIZE, BUT I JUST WANTED TO, WE ARE GONNA BE BRIEF 'CAUSE WE'RE ABOUT TO LEAVE CORN, BUT, SO COME ON, YOU GOT THE FLOOR? YES.
I JUST WANTED TO SAY I, I APPRECIATE MS. JOSEPH'S COMMENTS AND I KNOW I DO APPRECIATE HER TOO.
UM, HOPING TO LET HER KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, I TOOK NOTE OF THE THREE FOUR, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS THAT, THAT SHE MADE FOR US OF SOLUTIONS BASED ACTION ITEMS THAT WE CAN DO.
AND, UM, JUST WANTED TO, TO LET HER HER KNOW THAT I'LL, I'LL FOLLOW UP WITH YOU MADAM CHAIR, ABOUT HOW WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO MM-HMM,
BUT I JUST WANTED TO THANK HER AGAIN FOR THAT.
AND THEN WE, WE DO APPRECIATE THAT.
THANK YOU COMMISSIONER DELGADO FOR, UM, MAKING SURE THAT SHE IS APPRECIATED AS WELL.
COMMISSIONER TOLLIVER, YOU WERE ABOUT TO SPEAK MADAM CHAIRMAN, I MOVE THAT, UH, MY NOT, I MOVE THAT WE CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT IN ALL OF THEIR WAYS THAT THEY'RE TRYING TO MAKE IT BETTER.
DO WE HAVE A SECOND FOR THE, UM, ACTION FOR OUR STRATEGIC PLAN? HAPPY TO SECOND THAT.
ALRIGHT, THANK YOU COMMISSIONER DELGADO.
UM, WITH THAT BEING SAID, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR THIS TIME? I'M VOTING.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
ANY FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? I KNOW THAT WE, UM, ITEM NUMBER EIGHT AND NINE WILL BE BUMPED, UM, UH, FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS.UM, AND, UM, THE HOUR IS LATE AND, UM, WE DO HAVE, DO YOU WANNA DO SOMETHING WITH THIS? THAT'S JUST FOR JUST THAT ONE.
THAT'S GONNA BE A FUTURE ITEM.
SAY WHAT? MAY I EXPLAIN THIS ONE? OH, UH, BRIEFLY, YEAH.
MM-HMM,
UH, SO FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, I WOULD LIKE TO, UM, MS. UH, MANDY DAMO, UM, SHE PROPOSED THAT SHE CAN COME AND TALK ABOUT THE EQUITY, ANTI DISPLACEMENT OVERLAY, UH, FEASIBILITY.
UM, SHE ACTUALLY EMAILED US AND SAID THAT SHE CAN COME.
UH, SO IF WE CAN PUT THAT IN THE AGENDA FOR SEPTEMBER, OKAY, THAT'D BE FINE.
UH, ED, DID YOU MAKE A, I SEE MS. JACKMAN COMING UP.
AND SHE DID RESPOND VIA EMAIL, RIGHT? I REMEMBER SHE DID SEND IT.
AND JUST TO GET, I, I JUST DON'T WANT TO DISCOURAGE YOUR, I DID SEE THE EMAIL.
WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF CONTRACTING WITH A FIRM NOW THAT IS IN THE PROCESS.
SO SEPTEMBER I BELIEVE WE'LL BE A BIT TOO EARLY.
AND I APOLOGIZE, ED REMINDED ME, I KEEP COMING UP AND FORGETTING TO MENTION MY NAME, NEFERTITI JACKMAN WITH THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT.
[03:05:01]
WILL SAY THE GOAL IS TO ENGAGE WITH THIS COMMISSION, UH, ONCE A CONSULTANT IS ON BOARD.UM, WHERE ARE WE TO GET AS, AS, UH, THIS COMMISSION, I'M SORRY, BEING ONE OF THE STAKEHOLDERS, BUT I BELIEVE IT WOULD PROBABLY, I, I JUST DON'T WANT, THAT'S NOT, IT'S NOT GONNA, IT WOULD BE TOO EARLY.
I'M SO SORRY FOR THE SEPTEMBER AGENDA, BUT I WILL HAVE, UM, DIRECTOR, INTERIM DIRECTOR DE MAYO FOLLOW UP.
A DATE FOR, UH, FOR THE PRESENTATION? SHE SAID EITHER SEPTEMBER OR OCTOBER.
WELL, I, BUT I CAN REACH OUT TO HER AND CLARIFY.
UM, BUT YES, WE ARE JUST IN THE PROCESS OF CONSULTING, UH, SECURING THE CONSULTANT.
I'M SORRY, I, I'LL CON I'LL CONFIRM WITH MANDY AND FIND OUT AND, AND WE'LL GET BACK WITH HIM.
UM, MISS, UM, JACKMAN, I DO WANT TO ECHO JUST ON BEHALF OF THE COMMISSION AND I DO BELIEVE THAT EVERYBODY DID, BUT JUST FOR THE RECORD, WE DON'T WANT ANY, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR US TO MISS ANYTHING.
AND BECAUSE WHAT TENDS TO HAPPEN IS WE GET PUSHBACK.
PUSHBACK, YOU KNOW, AND I UNDERSTAND IF, IF IT'S TOO SOON, IT'S TOO SOON.
BUT IT'S GONNA BE REALLY IMPORTANT THAT IT NOT EVER BE TOO SOON.
AND THEN GUESS WHAT? IT'S TOO LATE.
SO THAT'S GONNA BE NOT ACCEPTABLE THIS TIME.
OKAY? SO WE'RE, WE'LL BE LOOKING FORWARD TO IT AND MAKING SURE THAT WE DO CONNECT.
SO, AND THANK YOU FOR STEPPING UP.
UH, WITH THAT BEING SAID, WE ARE, WHAT'S MY TIME? UH, I'VE CLOSED MY TIME.