[00:00:03]
UM, AND WE'LL START WITH THE, OUR ROLL CALL VOTE OR A ROLL CALL.
[CALL TO ORDER]
UH, WELCOME EVERYONE.CALLING TO ORDER THE, UH, COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING.
TODAY IS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9TH, 2024.
THE TIME IS 6:40 PM UH, WE ARE MEETING IN THE IN CITY HALL BOARDS OF COMMISSIONS ROOM, UH, HERE IN DOWNTOWN AUSTIN.
UH, SOME OF OUR COMMISSIONERS MIGHT BE JOINING, UH, VIA WEBEX LINK.
UH, IF MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WISH TO, UH, VIEW ON VIEW THE THE MEETING ONLINE, YOU CAN GO TO AUSTIN TEXAS.GOV UNDER THE A TXN WEBSITE.
UM, I WILL START WITH A ROLL CALL VOTE.
MY NAME IS STEVEN OPCA, REPRESENTING DISTRICT TWO, THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UH, JUST TO KEEP THINGS MOVING, I'LL GO AHEAD AND CALL ON COMMISSIONERS IN THE ORDER IN WHICH I SEE THEM.
UH, COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS, IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND GOING FIRST.
COMMISSIONER BRIAN WILLIAMS, DISTRICT ONE.
COMMISSIONER SUZANNE HERITAGE REPPING DISTRICT TWO, FOUR.
COMMISSIONER ANGA, DISTRICT NINE.
COMMISSIONER DESTA, REPRESENTING DISTRICT 10.
COMMISSIONER KU, UH, REPRESENTING DISTRICT SIX.
AND COMMISSIONER PENA VIA COMMISSIONER PENA VIA REPRESENTING THE MAYOR OF AUSTIN.
UM, WITH THAT WE'LL MOVE ON TO OUR FIRST AGENDA ITEM, PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.
UNFORTUNATELY, WE DO NOT HAVE ANY, UH, ANYONE SIGNED UP TO
[Additional Item]
SPEAK.UM, BUT BEFORE WE MOVE TO OUR FIRST AGENDA ITEM, WANTED TO GIVE DAN THE OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, MAKE A COUPLE OF GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS.
I JUST HAVE A COUPLE OF HOUSEKEEPING ITEMS, A REMINDER, UH, NEW THINGS FOR POSSIBLY OUR NEW COMMISSIONERS WHO HAVEN'T HEARD THIS YET.
BUT, UM, WE JUST WANTED TO REMIND YOU, UH, THAT THOSE CONFLICT OF INTEREST FORMS ARE, UH, MANDATORY FOR ANY MEETING.
UM, IT'S ATTACHED TO OUR OUTLOOK HOLD.
UM, AND IN ORDER TO HAVE YOUR, UH, YOUR ATTENDANCE AND YOUR VOTES COUNTED TONIGHT, WE NEED THOSE FORMS TO MAKE EVERYTHING OFFICIAL.
UM, ADDITIONALLY, UM, I JUST WANNA STRESS THE IMPORTANCE OF UPDATING YOUR, UH, ATTENDANCE RSVP ON THE MEETING CALENDAR HOLD THAT GIVES US AN ACCURATE HEADCOUNT AS TO WHO WILL BE PARTICIPATING IN THE MEETING THAT NIGHT.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, IT PREVENTS US FROM SITTING IN TRAFFIC FOR AN EXTRA 30 MINUTES TO GET INTO CITY HALL.
UM, SO IF, IF YOU GUYS COULD STAY ON TOP OF THAT, IT WOULD BE MOST APPRECIATED.
UM, AND MY FINAL UPDATE OR REMINDER IS TO JUST CHECK YOUR EMAIL FROM TIME TO TIME AND ENGAGE.
UM, WE SEND OUT MESSAGES, UH, THAT ARE OUTSIDE OF JUST REGULAR COMMISSION MEETINGS, WHETHER IT'S INVITATIONS TO CERTAIN EVENTS OR, UM, INVITATIONS TO CERTAIN WORKING GROUPS OR OTHER INFORMATION THAT CHAIR APAK HAS ASKED ME TO PASS ALONG.
UM, AND ALL OF THAT COMES IN BETWEEN EACH MEETING.
UH, SO IT, YEAH, WE'D REALLY APPRECIATE IF YOU COULD, UH, JUST CHECK YOUR EMAILS REGULARLY.
MAKE SURE TO GET THOSE, UH, CONFLICT OF INTEREST FORMS INTO ME BEFORE WE VOTE TONIGHT.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THOSE REMINDERS, DAN.
UM, WITH THAT WE'LL GO AHEAD AND MOVE INTO OUR AGENDA.
UM, IF NO ONE IS OPPOSED, I'M ACTUALLY GONNA TABLE OUR, UH, APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES, UH, AND RESPECT THE TIME OF OUR GUEST SPEAKERS.
I DON'T BELIEVE MICHAEL IS ON YET, UH, FROM AUTUMN HQ.
[3. Presentation on the Latinitas Inc STEAM & Digital Literacy programming (Gabriela Guardia Kane, Executive Director, Latinitas Inc.)]
SO GONNA SKIP STRAIGHT TO AGENDA ITEM THREE AND TURN IT OVER TO GABRIELA GUARDIA KANE, THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF LA HERE IN, UH, AT CITY HALL WITH US.UH, GABRIELA, WELCOME AND, UH, EXCITED TO HAVE YOU.
THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH Y'ALL.
UM, I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE MORE ABOUT LATINAS.
UM, WE ARE A LOCAL ORGANIZATION WITH THE MISSION TO EMPOWER ALL GIRLS TO INNOVATE THROUGH MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY.
WE HAVE A VISION TO BUILD A FUTURE WHERE LATINAS LEAD WITH CONFIDENCE.
AND I WANNA HIGHLIGHT HOW LATINAS HAS BEEN FORTUNATE TO LEVERAGE OUR GTOP S FUNDING.
THANK YOU TO THIS, THIS COMMISSION FOR MAKING THAT POSSIBLE.
UM, I'LL SHARE ABOUT SOME OF THE INITIATIVES WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO IMPLEMENT, ADVANCING OUR DIGITAL LITERACY PROGRAMS, TECHNOLOGY ACCESS AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY FOR THE COMMUNITIES THAT WE SERVE HERE IN AUSTIN.
UM, A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ABOUT LATINAS
[00:05:01]
AS AN ORGANIZATION WAS ORIGINALLY FOUNDED IN 2002.UM, THERE WERE A COUPLE OF GRADUATE STUDENTS WHO MET AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, AND THEY WERE FED UP WITH THE MISREPRESENTATION OF LATINAS AND MEDIA.
THE ORGANIZATION ORIGINALLY STARTED AS A MAGAZINE.
LATINAS MAGAZINE WAS A PLATFORM FOR LATINAS TO WRITE AND EXPRESS THEMSELVES TO HAVE ARTICLES BY AND FOR LATINAS.
SINCE THEN, WE'VE EXPANDED TO OFFER COMPREHENSIVE STEAM EDUCATION, DIGITAL LITERACY, AND CAREER EXPLORATION TO ENSURE THAT OUR STUDENTS ARE NOT ONLY TECH LITERATE, BUT ALSO PREPARED FOR THE CAREERS OF TOMORROW.
MOST OF THE STUDENTS WE SERVE ARE GIRLS AND GIRL IDENTIFYING STUDENTS NINE TO 14 YEARS OLD, AND THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS, MOST OF THEM RESIDE IN EAST, SOUTHEAST, AND NORTHEAST AUSTIN.
THE EASTERN CRESCENT, UM, THAT WE KNOW HAS A PREDOMINANTLY HISPANIC, UH, HAS HIGH HISPANIC POPULATION, HISTORICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED COMMUNITIES IN LOW INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS.
THROUGH OUR WORK, WE AIM TO CONNECT THESE COMMUNITIES TO AUSTIN'S BOOMING TECH ECONOMY AND FOSTER MEANINGFUL LONG-TERM ENGAGEMENT WITH TECHNOLOGY.
UM, I HIGHLIGHT HERE ARE KEY PILLARS IN ALL OF OUR PROGRAMMING.
IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH STEAM, WE PUT THE A IN STEM, MEANING ARTS.
UM, IT'S A CREATIVE APPROACH FOR STUDENTS TO HAVE A MORE EQUITABLE OPPORTUNITY TO UNDERSTAND STEM CONCEPTS.
DIGITAL EQUITY IS ALSO ONE OF OUR CORE PILLARS.
I'LL GO INTO THAT AS THAT IS VERY RELEVANT TO THIS COMMISSION, AS WELL AS CAREER EXPLORATION.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE OUR STUDENTS KNOW NOT ONLY THE CONCEPTS THEY NEED TO GRASP TO GRADUATE HIGH SCHOOL, BUT ALSO THE CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE TO THEM UPON GRADUATION AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY.
WE HOPE THESE STUDENTS UNDERSTAND, UM, ALL THE POSSIBILITIES THEY HAVE TO MAKE A MEANINGFUL IMPACT IN THEIR, THEIR ECONOMIC FUTURES.
A HIGHLIGHTS, AGAIN, STEAM EDUCATION'S CORE TO HOW WE EXECUTE OUR PROGRAMMING.
WE OFFER CREATIVE MEDIA TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT TO OUR STUDENTS.
YOU CAN SEE OUR STUDENTS HERE ARE GATHERED AT, ARE AT OUR CAMP CAMPAS OVER THE SUMMER.
WE OFFER FIVE WEEKS OF SUMMER CAMP AT OUR OFFICE LOCATED SPRINGDALE GENERAL ON THE EAST SIDE.
UM, AT THE CORE OF OUR STEAM EDUCATION IS DESIGN THINKING CURRICULUM.
WE WANT OUR STUDENTS TO HAVE CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS.
WE ALWAYS SAY WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE CAREERS OF THE FUTURE MAY BE, BUT IF THEY'RE CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVERS AND KNOW HOW TO HAVE HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN THINKING SKILLS, THEY'LL EXCEL IN MANY FIELDS.
THE STEAM EDUCATION APPROACH HAS A FRAMEWORK FOR THEM TO DEVELOP THEIR SKILLS, THEIR CREATIVITY, AND THEIR SELF-EXPRESSION, WHILE MAKING LIFELONG FRIENDSHIPS ALONG THE WAY.
OUR OTHER PILLAR, I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THIS EVENING, DIGITAL EQUITY.
WE BELIEVE THAT ALL OUR FAMILIES WE SERVE SHOULD HAVE ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE INTERNET DIGITAL DEVICES, AND THE SKILLS TO USE THEM EFFECTIVELY.
UM, WE'VE LEARNED THROUGH OUR PROGRAMS THAT MANY OF THE HOUSEHOLDS WE SERVE ORIGINALLY WERE SINGLE DEVICE HOUSEHOLDS.
A LOT OF OUR DIGITAL EQUITY INITIATIVES, UH, FLOURISHED OR WERE, UM, WERE REQUIRED TO BE, BECOME POSSIBLE BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC.
WE KNOW THAT STUDENTS HAD TO ENGAGE WITH SCHOOL VIRTUALLY.
AND SO WE NEEDED TO ENSURE THAT THESE STUDENTS HAD THEIR OWN DEVICES, UM, AND INTERNET TO CONTINUE THEIR SCHOOLING DURING THIS TIME.
AND SO THIS IS WHEN OUR, OUR DIGITAL EQUITY FOCUS WAS REALLY ENHANCED DURING THE PANDEMIC.
UM, AND WE'VE BEEN AFFORDED MANY OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH THE G TOPS INITIATIVES TO, UM, TO ENHANCE OUR DIGITAL EQUITY OVER THE YEARS.
AND SO I'LL EXPLAIN MORE ON HOW WE DO THAT.
IN OUR PROGRAMMING, WE HAVE, UH, TWO, LET'S SAY TWO GENERAL BUCKETS THAT OUR PROGRAMS LAND IN.
IT'S OUR YOUTH FLAGSHIP PROGRAMS. THIS WILL BE OUR AFTERSCHOOL CLUBS, OUR SUMMER CAMPS, OUR ONLINE CODING PROGRAMS, AND OUR CONFERENCES.
AND THEN WE HAVE OUR MULTI-GENERATIONAL PROGRAMS. THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO ENGAGE THE WHOLE FAMILY AND FOR US TO WORK DIRECTLY WITH, UH, PARENTS OF THE STUDENTS WE SERVE.
UM, AND I'LL EXPLAIN MORE ABOUT HOW WE ENGAGE THE WHOLE FAMILY THROUGH THESE INITIATIVES AS WELL.
THESE ARE OUR YOUTH FLAGSHIP PROGRAMS THAT ARE FUNDED BY G OS INITIATIVES, OUR AFTERSCHOOL CLUB, LATINAS, OUR SUMMER CAMP, AND OUR ONLINE COACH CHIKA PROGRAM.
UM, WE'VE BEEN REALLY GRATEFUL TO HAVE THESE PROGRAMS FUNDED, UH, BY THE GTOP S CORE, THE G OS MINI AND THE GT OS.
WE'VE BEEN VERY GRATEFUL TO HAVE ROBUST FUNDING FOR THESE INITIATIVES TO GET STUDENTS REALLY FAMILIAR, UM, WITH DIGITAL LITERACY YOUNG, SO THAT THEY CAN INCREASE THEIR USE OF TECHNOLOGY, THEIR EASE, EASE OF ACCESS TO INTERNET.
AND THROUGH THESE PROGRAMS, UH, WE FIND THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S BEEN, IT'S BEEN A, A CHALLENGE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET A LOT.
UM, EVEN A ISD INTERNET HAS BEEN A CHALLENGE WHEN EVEN WHEN WE'RE ON CAMPUS, RIGHT? AND SO SOME OF OUR INITIATIVES HAVE INCLUDED BRINGING HOTSPOTS.
UM, THE, THE GT OS AND MINI AND, YOU KNOW, MINI IN CAPACITY GRANTS, I THINK HAVE ALSO FUNDED US BEING ABLE TO BRING SOME OF THAT EQUIPMENT IN TO HELP US SUPPORT HAVING REALLY ROBUST, UH, INTERNET ACCESS AFTER SCHOOL.
UM, THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY WHERE OUR STUDENTS GET TO
[00:10:01]
LEARN ABOUT INTERNET SAFETY AS WELL.YOU KNOW, IN, IN ADDITION TO HOW TO CREATE, YOU KNOW, A FUN DESIGN PROJECT.
THEY'RE ALSO LEARNING ABOUT HOW TO BE SAFE ONLINE.
I THINK THAT'S REALLY AN IMPORTANT ASPECT OF THESE PROGRAMS. UM, OUR COACH CHIKA PROGRAM'S GONNA BE OUR MOST TECHNICAL PROGRAM FOR STUDENTS.
UM, STARTING AS YOUNG AS 12 YEARS OLD, ARE ENGAGING IN AN EIGHT WEEK COURSE ON SATURDAY MORNINGS.
EACH SATURDAY FOR THREE HOURS.
THEY'RE LEARNING THE FUNDAMENTALS OF CODING LANGUAGES.
THEY'RE BUILDING AN ABOUT ME WEBSITE, AND THEY'RE ALSO GETTING TO HEAR FROM MENTORS IN THE FIELD WHO ARE, UM, USING CODING IN THEIR CAREER.
SO THEY GET TO SEE WOMEN OR OTHER, UH, PERSONS OF COLOR WHO ARE WORKING IN, IN THE CODING INDUSTRY AND SEE HOW THEY LEVERAGE CODING AND, OR IT'S, IF IT'S ADJACENT TO THE ROLE, HOW THEY CAN LEVERAGE CODING FOR THEIR CAREERS.
UM, SO THAT'S A, THAT'S BEEN A PROGRAM THAT WE'VE HAD TO REALLY SCALE.
UM, THE STUDENTS WHO GRADUATE WANT MORE, UH, MORE ADVANCED.
SO WE CREATED COACH CHICA PLUS PLUS, UM, TO BUILD ON THAT CURRICULUM.
UH, WE'RE REALLY GRATEFUL THROUGH THESE INITIATIVES.
WE SERVE ABOUT 750 GIRLS A YEAR THROUGH THESE CORE YOUTH FLAGSHIP PROGRAMS. WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE GTOP S INITIATIVE, THIS IS PALES, AS I MENTIONED, OUR MULTI-GENERATIONAL PROGRAMMING IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO ENGAGE THE PARENTS OF OUR STUDENTS.
UM, THIS FLOURISHED DURING THE, UH, THE COVID ERA, BECAUSE WE REALIZED PARENTS REALLY NEEDED TO LEARN HOW TO SUPPORT THEIR STUDENTS IN THEIR LEARNING ONLINE.
SO WE CREATED A PLATFORM FOR PARENTS TO LEARN HOW TO CREATE AN EMAIL, UH, TO HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE STUDENT'S TEACHER HOW TO LOG IN TO THE STUDENT'S SCHOOL PORTAL AND CHECK THEIR GRADES.
UM, SO WE REALLY WANTED TO CREATE, UM, A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO SUPPORTING THE STUDENT SO THAT THE PARENT ENGAGEMENT CAN HELP SUPPORT THEM ALONG THE WAY.
UM, FOR MANY PARENTS, THIS IS THEIR FIRST TIME CREATING THEIR OWN EMAIL AND USING A, A DESKTOP DEVICE OR A LAPTOP, UH, THROUGH THE SUPPORT OF THE G OS INITIATIVE, UM, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DISTRIBUTE, UH, OVER 350 LAPTOPS IN THE LAST YEAR THROUGH THE GTOP S CONNECT INITIATIVE.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S REALLY, UM, A MOVING, IT'S REALLY A MOVING EXPERIENCE WHEN THE PARENTS GET THEIR FIRST, THEIR OWN DEVICE.
UM, WE HAD ONE WOMAN WHO SHARED A TESTIMONIAL AND SAID, UH, YOU KNOW, GOING THROUGH
AND NOW IT'S LIKE, I CAN SEE, UM, HAVING THIS ACCESS TO THIS, HAVING ACCESS TO THE INTERNET, AND KNOWING HOW TO USE IT, BEING ABLE TO CHECK HER STUDENTS' GRADES WAS, UH, LIFE-CHANGING.
AND, UM, I'M REALLY GRATEFUL THAT WE HAD THIS, THE OPPORTUNITY TO USE THE GTOP PS CONNECT FUNDING TO, UH, GROW THE ES.
THIS PROGRAM IS ABOUT SEVEN SCHOOL CAMPUSES.
WE MEET RIGHT ON THE SCHOOL CAMPUS.
SO WHEN THEY, THE PARENTS DROP OFF THE STUDENTS IN THE MORNING, THEY STAY IN THE CLASSROOM AND WORK WITH OUR PROGRAM LEADERS IN FUNDAMENTAL DIGITAL LITERACY, AS I MENTIONED, SETTING UP AN EMAIL, LEARNING HOW TO NAVIGATE THE INTERNET.
BUT AS THE PARENTS GO THROUGHOUT THE SEMESTER AND THE SCHOOL YEAR, THEY'RE READY FOR MORE ADVANCED CONTENT.
AND SO WE'VE BEEN GRATEFUL, UH, YOU KNOW, REALLY GRATEFUL TO WORK ON WHAT IS THE NEXT LEVEL OF DIGITAL LITERACY LOOK LIKE.
THAT'S, YOU KNOW, HOW TO BE SAFE FROM PHISHING SCAMS, HOW TO NAVIGATE ONLINE BANKING, ONLINE SHOPPING, UM, SETTING UP HEALTH APPOINTMENTS, TELADOC.
SO A NUMBER OF THINGS THAT PARENTS JUST REALLY NEED TO, ONE, SUPPORT THE FAMILY AND NAVIGATE, YOU KNOW, A DIGITAL WORLD.
UM, SO WE WERE REALLY GRATEFUL THROUGH THE, UM, THE CONNECT PROGRAM.
WE WERE ALSO ABLE TO SHARE ABOUT THE AFFORDABLE CONNECTIVITY PROGRAM, THE A CP FUNDING THAT WAS, UH, REALLY A GAME CHANGER FOR MANY OF THE FAMILIES WHO ENLISTED IN THAT FUNDING.
UM, I'LL SHARE HERE SOME STATISTICS.
YOU KNOW, WE WERE ABLE TO REACH 175, UH, FAMILY MEMBERS THROUGH THE A CP PROGRAM, UH, WITH THESE, WITH THESE DIGITAL PROGRAMS. AND IN, IN LEARNING, HELPING THEM LEARN ABOUT THEIR DIGITAL LITERACY.
UM, WE, WE, WHEN WE ASKED THEM ABOUT THE, YOU KNOW, THE NEED FOR ASSISTANCE WITH FREE INTERNET OR A MORE AFFORDABLE INTERNET, 62% OF OUR ATTENDEES SAID THAT THEY STRUGGLED WITH, UM, AFFORDING INTERNET.
AND SO THAT WAS, THAT WAS EYEOPENING TO US, AND, UM, REALLY WAS, YOU KNOW, ENCOURAGING US TO GET THEM, UH, SIGNED UP, ENROLLED IN THIS AFFORDABLE INTERNET PROGRAM.
UM, AND I'VE BEEN, I'VE BEEN GLAD TO HEAR FROM SOME OF THE PROVIDERS, THEY'VE BEEN ABLE TO CONTINUE HOLDING THOSE CLIENTS AT THAT RATE.
UM, DESPITE THE FUNDING FROM THE FEDERAL LEVEL, YOU KNOW, BEING DISCONTINUED OR NOT RENEWED.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE ASKED OUR CLIENTS IF THEY HAD SUFFICIENT, SUFFICIENT DEVICES, UM, FOR, YOU KNOW, DIGITAL DEVICES AT HOME, ONLY 43% SAID THEY FELT LIKE THEY HAD SUFFICIENT DIGITAL DEVICES.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, ALTHOUGH WE WERE ABLE TO GIVE A, WHAT WE THINK IS A GREAT AMOUNT OF, OF DEVICES THROUGH THIS PROGRAM, WE SEE THAT THE NEED IS STILL THERE TO DO MORE, RIGHT? SO, UM, REALLY GRATEFUL THROUGH THIS FUNDING THAT WE WERE ABLE TO REACH, UH, TO BE ABLE TO DISTRIBUTE 350 DEVICES THROUGH THIS PROGRAM.
SO, I MEAN, I, IT JUST, WE, WE CONTINUE TO DO OUR ADVOCACY AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL.
I WAS IN DC JUST A COUPLE WEEKS AGO, UH, TELLING OUR CONGRESSIONAL MEMBERS, YOU KNOW, IF YOU CAN BRING BACK THE A CP, THAT WOULD BE A GAME CHANGER TO
[00:15:01]
OUR COMMUNITIES HERE IN AUSTIN.UM, ANOTHER ONE OF OUR MULTI-GENERATIONAL PROGRAMS IS TECH FAMILIA.
THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY TO ENGAGE IN TECHNOLOGY.
WE USUALLY HOST THESE AT A LIBRARY OR A COMMUNITY CENTER WHERE THE FAMILY CAN GATHER.
UM, THEY'RE GONNA EXPERIENCE BILINGUAL WORKSHOPS, AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A FUN ENVIRONMENT WITH HAND HANDS-ON DIGITAL ACTIVITIES.
THEY MAY, UM, GET TO DO A 3D PRINTING PROJECT.
THEY MAY GET TO PLAY WITH DRONES, UH, PROGRAM ROBOTS, UM, TRY ON A VR HEADSET.
YOU KNOW, THINGS THAT, UM, FOR THEM ARE MAYBE VERY, VERY NEW TECHNOLOGY.
AND, UM, IT'S A REALLY FUN, UM, HOW DO YOU SAY, UH, FRIENDLY AND FORGIVING ENVIRONMENT FOR THEM TO EXP, YOU KNOW, EXPLORE THIS TECHNOLOGY.
UM, IT'S, IT'S REALLY A JOY, AND I THINK IT'S ONE OF THE, THE MORE POPULAR PROGRAMS, BECAUSE IT'S, UH, ESPECIALLY WHEN A PARENT AND A CHILD GET TO ENGAGE IN SOMETHING NEW TOGETHER.
UM, AND WE'VE BEEN REALLY GRATEFUL TO HAVE SUPPORT FROM THE GTOP S CORE AND GTOP S MINI TO SUPPORT THE TECH FAMILIA PROGRAM.
UM, WE'RE HOPING TO GET INTO, UH, MORE LIBRARIES THIS YEAR.
WE RENEWED OUR CONTRACT, SO WE'RE GRATEFUL THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO OFFER MORE OF THIS PROGRAMMING, UM, AND HAVE THE SUPPORT OF GTOP PS TO DO IT.
UM, SOMETHING ELSE THAT I'LL NOTE IS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, OUR EXTERNAL FACING SUPPORT THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO HAVE WITH OUR COMMUNITY, BUT GT OS HAS ALSO AFFORDED US AN OPPORTUNITY TO ENHANCE THE, UM, THE SKILLS OF OUR STAFF.
THROUGH THE GT OS CAPACITY PROJECT, WE WERE ABLE TO GET, UH, PROJECT MANAGEMENT CERTIFICATES FOR ALL OF OUR STAFF THROUGH THE GOOGLE CERTIFICATES INITIATIVE.
AND SO WE'VE BEEN REALLY GRATEFUL THAT WE'RE IMPROVING HOW WE OPERATE SO WE CAN OPERATE MORE EFFECTIVELY, EFFICIENTLY, IN OUR PROJECT MANAGEMENT INTERNALLY, SO THAT WE CAN BETTER SERVE, UM, OUR CLIENTS IN THE COMMUNITY WITH OUR, OUR DIGITAL EQUITY INITIATIVES.
UM, SO IT JUST GOES TO SHOW, YOU KNOW, WE'RE IMMENSELY GRATEFUL TO THE SPORT OF, OF THE COMMISSION AND THE GTOP PS INITIATIVES FOR ALLOWING US TO DO THIS GREAT WORK IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND, UM, I, I THINK YOU'LL SEE THAT DIGITAL EQUITY IS ONLY BECOMING MORE AND MORE, UM, RELEVANT IN OUR, IN OUR, IN OUR PROGRAM, IN OUR DAY TO DAY.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I DON'T THINK ANY OF OUR OTHER PROGRAMS OR INITIATIVES OR PILLARS WOULD BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT DIGITAL EQUITY BEING AT THE CORE.
AND SO, UM, IMMENSELY GRATEFUL FOR THE SUPPORT OF THE CITY BEING ABLE TO, UM, BEING ABLE TO SERVE THIS COMMUNITY.
THAT WAS A WONDERFUL PRESENTATION, GABBY.
REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THE AMAZING INFORMATION.
UH, IT'S INSPIRING TO HEAR ALL THE WORK BEING DONE.
UH, I DO HAVE A, A, A QUESTION OR TWO, AND THEN I'LL OPEN UP TO SOME OF THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS.
UH, YOU MENTIONED THAT YOU SERVE 750 GIRLS PER YEAR ON AVERAGE, AND THEN, UH, YOU PARTNER WITH, UH, WITH, UH, SEVERAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.
JUST CURIOUS, WHICH SCHOOLS DO YOU, UH, DOES LANITA PARTNER WITH? I COULD TELL YOU
AND, AND WHAT DO YOU NEED TO PARTNER WITH MORE
UM, SO WE ARE IN ABOUT 15 SCHOOLS IN AUSTIN.
UM, I CAN'T TELL YOU OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, BUT THEY ARE ON OUR WEBSITE, SO I CAN CHEAT AND LOOK AT THERE.
UM, BUT AS I MENTIONED, THEY'RE ALL MOSTLY ON THE EASTERN CRESCENT.
UH, WE'RE IN ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOLS.
IT'S 'CAUSE WE SERVED AT NINE TO 14.
SO WE DO BRIDGE THE LATER ELEMENTARY AGE.
UM, AND I WILL TELL YOU THAT OUR CLUBS ARE IN PALM RODRIGUEZ LINDER.
WE THEN PLEASANT BERTHA, SADLER AND DOBY HERE IN AUSTIN.
OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, THOSE ARE, OR OFF WHAT I WAS ABLE TO GRAB.
THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT WE, WE'VE BEEN SERVING REGULARLY.
YEAH, WE'LL TAKE A LOOK AT, UM, THOSE LOCATIONS AND THE WEBSITE AS WELL.
UM, I'LL OPEN UP TO THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS IF THEY HAVE QUESTIONS, COMMENTS AS WELL.
COMMISSIONER DESTA, I HAVE A SIMPLE QUESTION AND THAT IS, UH, HOW MANY OF YOUR QUOTE UNQUOTE GRADUATES COME BACK TO BECOME, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, INSTRUCTORS OR, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE IT, IT, IT HELPS TO HAVE IN-HOUSE, UH, MENTORSHIP, UH, FROM PEOPLE WHO'VE ALREADY BEEN THROUGH THE PROGRAM.
YOU KNOW, IT'S CARRYING ON THE TRADITION.
SO WHAT'S YOUR RECORD THERE? ABSOLUTELY.
THANK YOU COMMISSIONER FOR THE QUESTION.
UM, YOU KNOW, I'LL SAY WE DON'T HAVE STRONG, UH, DATA AND NUMBERS TO SHOW, TO SHOW HOW MANY RETURN, BUT WE DO HAVE GREAT ANECDOTES.
AND I KNOW THAT, UM, A LOT OF OUR STUDENTS, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY'RE SAD WHEN THEY QUOTE UNQUOTE AGE OUTTA THE PROGRAM AT 14.
AND SO THEY COME BACK AND RETURN AS VOLUNTEERS AND INTERNS, UM, WHILE THEY IN HIGH SCHOOL AND IN IN, IN COLLEGE.
UM, WE'RE LOOKING TO FORMALIZE OUR ALUMNI PROGRAM SO THAT WE CAN HAVE MORE DATA TO SHOW HOW THE RETURN OF STUDENTS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN ENGAGING.
BUT I KNOW JUST THIS UPCOMING, UH, THIS SATURDAY, WE'LL HAVE AN ALUMNI WHO'S COMING TO VOLUNTEER AT ONE OF OUR COMMUNITY FAIRS.
AND SO, UM, IT'S, IT'S REALLY A SPECIAL THING THAT WE GET TO BUILD COMMUNITY AND THAT, AS YOU SAID, UH, BUILD MENTORSHIP FOR THESE GIRLS TO INVEST BACK INTO THEIR, THEIR YOUNGER PEERS.
[00:20:01]
YOU KNOW, ALL THE BEST.IT'S A GREAT EMPOWERMENT PROGRAM.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? YES, COMMISSIONER HERITAGE.
UM, YES, JUST WANTED TO ECHO REALLY EXCITING AND LOVED, UM, HEARING THE STORIES, ESPECIALLY THE, THE KIND OF TWO GEN APPROACH WITH PARENTS AND, UM, YOUTH INVOLVED AS WELL IN THE COURSES THAT YOU'RE DOING.
I'M CURIOUS, SINCE IT, UM, SINCE A LOT OF THE STUDENTS WILL GRADUATE AT 14, I KNOW YOU TALKED ABOUT PARTNERSHIPS WITH LIBRARIES, PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE SCHOOLS.
DO YOU ALL HAVE PARTNERSHIPS WITH OTHER, LIKE-MINDED ORGANIZATIONS? I'M THINKING OF OTHER NONPROFITS AROUND KIND OF THE, THE CODING TO COLLEGE APPROACH.
AND SO KIND OF CURIOUS IF HOW YOU ALL SHEPHERD THEM AS THEY GRADUATE AND MOVE, GRADUATE YOUR PROGRAM, AND THEN MAYBE WANNA STILL STAY CONNECTED WITH THAT TYPE OF TEACHING TRAINING OPPORTUNITY TO, UM, I CAN TELL YOU I WISH I HAD THIS WHEN I WAS A A LITTLE GIRL.
AND, UM, SO I'M JUST CURIOUS WAYS, ESPECIALLY AS YOU GET INTO HIGH SCHOOL AND YOU CAN START TO GET INTO INTERNSHIPS.
SO WANTED TO BEND YOUR EAR ON THAT.
UM, WELL IN INTERNALLY WITHIN OUR PROGRAMMING, OUR CODE CHICA PROGRAM IS OPEN THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL.
SO THAT IS ONE WAY THAT STUDENTS CAN, UM, STAY INVOLVED IF THEY LIKE.
BUT, UM, DOES IN SCHOOL PROGRAMMING, UM, DOES CEASE RENT CURRENTLY AT 14.
BUT WE DO HAVE PARTNERSHIPS WITH ORGANIZATIONS, OMI MADRE, THEY OFFER, UM, COLLEGE READINESS.
SO, UM, THAT'S BEEN ONE OF OUR SISTER ORGANIZATIONS, WE SAY FOR SOME, FOR MANY YEARS NOW.
AND WE'RE ABLE TO KIND OF DO A HANDOFF AND LET THEM DO WHAT THEY DO BEST AND PREPARE THE GIRLS, UM, YOU KNOW, AFTER MIDDLE SCHOOL TO GET THEM READY FOR THEIR COLLEGE APPLICATIONS AND TOURING COLLEGE CAMPUSES.
AND SO REALLY GRATEFUL TO HAVE THAT PARTNERSHIP WITH GOMI MADRE.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE A PARTNERSHIP WITH E FOUR YOUTH.
UM, THEY OFFER, I WANNA SAY CREATIVE MEDIA PROJECTS AND OPPORTUNITY JOB OPPORTUNITIES FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS.
AND SO WE HAVE HAD, UM, STUDENTS WHO INTERN AND THEN FIND ROLES WORKING WITH E FOUR YOUTH.
AND SO THAT'S ALSO BEEN A GREAT PARTNER TO, UH, TO ENGAGE AT THE COLLEGE LEVEL THAT WE'RE ABLE TO REFER THEM TO.
UM, FINAL CALL FOR ANY OTHER QUESTIONS.
GABBY, I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU SO MUCH.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING TO, TO CITY HALL AND PRESENTING IN PERSON AND, UH, WE REALLY VALUE THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING, SO CAN'T WAIT TO TO HEAR MORE.
SO WITH THAT, UM, YOU GIVE US JUST A OTHER COMMISSIONERS CAN JUST GIVE US A MOMENT IN THE ROOM.
WE HAVE, UM, DO WE WANNA JUST SKIP TO THE NEXT AGENDA ITEM AND COME BACK? SKIP.
[4. Presentation on the Broadband Development Office’s request for information related to broadband infrastructure and digital opportunity needs in multidwelling units (Khotan Harmon, Program Manager, Community Technology Division – City of Austin)]
OKAY.WE'LL MOVE RIGHT ALONG TO OUR NEXT AGENDA ITEM, AGENDA ITEM FOR THE PRESENTATION OF THE BDOS REQUEST FOR INFORMATION RELATED TO, UH, BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE, DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY NEEDS, UH, KOAN HARMON, OUR, UH, LOVELY PROGRAM MANAGER, UM, FORMERLY TARA, NOW ECONOMIC ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OFFICE.
SO COACH ON, I WILL TURN IT OVER TO YOU.
UM, AND, UH, AT THE INVITATION OF CHAIR APODACA, THERE ARE JUST A FEW UPDATES FROM THE COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY STAFF.
IF WE COULD PLEASE GO TO THE NEXT, NEXT SLIDE.
SO WE ARE, SAME GROUP, NEW NAME, NEW HOME TRANSITION AS OF OCTOBER 1ST, 2024, TARA, THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS IS NOW COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY.
UH, WE HAVE MOVED FROM FINANCIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
SAME STAFF, SAME FOCUS, SAME SERVICE, SAME WORK, JUST A DIFFERENT DEPARTMENT.
AND WE WANTED TO FORMALLY INTRODUCE OURSELVES SINCE THAT TRANSITION TOOK PLACE ON OCTOBER 1ST.
UH, SO THE BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT OFFICE HAS RELEASED A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ON OCTOBER 1ST, AND IT'S RELATED TO THE BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE AND DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY NEEDS IN MULTI-DWELLING UNITS.
THEY BASICALLY WANT TO UNDERSTAND BETTER WHAT THE EXTENT AND THE ASSESSMENT OF THE MULTI-DWELLING UNITS IN TEXAS ARE AND WHAT THEIR NEEDS ARE.
UM, AND TO DESIGN A PROGRAM THAT WILL BEST ADDRESS THEIR BROADBAND NEEDS.
UH, NONPROFITS, INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS, COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS, HOUSING AUTHORITIES, PROPERTY MANAGERS, LOCAL
[00:25:01]
GOVERNMENTS AND OTHER ENTITIES ARE INVITED TO GIVE FEEDBACK.AND THERE'S THE LINK FOR IT, AND WE CAN ALSO PUT IT IN THE CHAT FOR Y'ALL.
AND BDO WILL ACCEPT RESPONSES UNTIL OCTOBER 22ND.
SO A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THIS IS.
UH, THE CHALLENGE AND THE PROBLEM IS ABOUT THE RECOGNITION OF CRITICAL EQUITABLE BROADBAND ACCESS EVERYWHERE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
SO THE, UH, THE CHALLENGE BEGAN WITH THE FCCS NATIONAL BROADBAND MAP THAT WE TALKED TO THIS COMMISSION ABOUT A COUPLE OF TIMES IN THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
UH, THEY ARE DISPLAYING WHERE INTERNET SERVICE IS AVAILABLE AND THEY ARE REPORTING AS REPORTED BY INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS.
SO THE ISPS ARE TELLING THE FCC, WE'RE PROVIDING INTERNET CONNECTION IN THESE LOCATIONS.
SO USERS, ANY OF US, CAN GET ON THE NATIONAL BROADBAND MAP AND SEARCH BY LOCATION OR SERVICE COVERAGE TO SEE IF WE ARE SERVED, IF WE'RE UNDERSERVED OR WE'RE NOT SERVED BY ISPS.
UH, THE PROBLEM IS THAT ISPS ARE REPORTING THAT MULTI-DWELLING UNITS, SO THINK ABOUT APARTMENT COMPLEXES AS ONE BROADBAND SERVICEABLE LOCATION OR BSL.
SO THEY'RE SAYING THAT WHOLE UNIT, WHETHER THERE'S ONE FAMILY LIVING THERE OR 50 FAMILIES LIVING, THERE IS JUST ONE UNIT.
AND REGARDLESS OF THE NUMBER OF UNITS AND PEOPLE IN THE BUILDING, UH, THEY ARE SAYING THAT.
SO THIS IS LEADING TO ERRONEOUS DATA OF INTERNET SERVICE NEED AND POTENTIALLY SIGNIFICANT UNDERCOUNTING OF ELIGIBLE LOCATIONS TO RECEIVE FUNDING TO BECOME, TO MOVE FROM UNDERSERVED TO SERVED OR UNSERVED TO UNDERSERVED TO SERVE.
AND SO WE ARE AT THE CITY WORKING WITH THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY AS WELL AS TRAVIS COUNTY TO TRY TO IDENTIFY THE EXTENT OF THE PROBLEM IN AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY, AND TO GATHER OUR COMMENTS FOR THE BDO AND WITH POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, FOR THEM.
SO WHAT ARE THE FUNDING SOLUTIONS AND WHAT ARE THE PROGRAMS TO CLOSE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE IN OUR COMMUNITY? NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
ANOTHER THING TO KEEP IN MIND IS THAT THE FCC HAS, IN MARCH OF 2024, THEY ADOPTED HIGHER INTERNET SPEED THRESHOLDS FOR BROADBAND.
SO THE SPEEDS USED TO BE 25 TO THREE, THEY HAVE NOW ACROSS THE BOARD, BEEN STANDARDIZED AT A HUNDRED, OVER 20 MEGABYTES PER SECOND.
SO WHAT THIS MEANS IS THAT THE LOCATIONS THAT WERE CLASSIFIED AS SERVED UNDER 25 3 THRESHOLD, UM, COULD NOW BE CLASSIFIED AS UNDERSERVED OR UNSERVED UNDER THE NEW THRESHOLD OF A HUNDRED OVER 20, WHICH WOULD THEN OPEN THE DOOR FOR OPPORTUNITIES FOR EXPANDING FUNDING AND SUPPORT TO THOSE LOCATIONS.
SO BDO IS ESTIMATING THAT 20% OF TEXAS HOUSEHOLDS WHO RESIDE IN 2.5 MILLION MDUS.
SO BETWEEN FIVE AND A HALF TO 6 MILLION PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN APARTMENTS OR LOW INCOME HOUSING WOULD BE AFFECTED BY THIS NEW SPEED THRESHOLD CLASSIFICATION.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO IDENTIFY WHAT OF THAT NUMBER RESIDE IN TRAVIS COUNTY AND AUSTIN AND OR REALLY, UH, TRYING TO TARGET THAT NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
SO THE GOAL THAT THE BDO HAS WITH THIS RFI IS TO IDENTIFY BEST PRACTICES FOR EXPANDING BROADBAND EFFORTS AND DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY TO LOW INCOME MULTI-DWELLING UNITS, BECAUSE WE ALSO HAVE MULTI-DWELLING UNITS IN AREAS OF AUSTIN AND TEXAS THAT ARE NOT LOW INCOME.
SO THEY'RE TRYING TO PUT THE FOCUS ON THAT.
THEIR MAIN GOALS IS FOR US TO GIVE FEEDBACK, SO TO ASSIST THE OFFICE IN UNDERSTANDING WHERE AND WHAT THE EXTENT OF EXACT NEEDS ARE TO EXPAND BROADBAND ACCESS AND DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY FOR MDUS IN TEXAS.
THEY WANNA LEARN ABOUT IT MORE.
THEY WANT THEIR US TO HELP THEIR OFFICE BETTER UNDERSTAND ABOUT CONSTRUCTION COSTS, FINANCIAL CAPACITY REQUIRED TO EXPAND BROADBAND FOR MDUS AND REINFORCE THE OFFICE'S UNDERSTANDING OF VARYING PROGRAMMATIC PATHWAYS AND OPTIONS TO DEPLOY THIS.
AND WHO CAN RESPOND, AS I WAS SAYING EARLIER, SO MUNICIPALITIES, COUNTIES, POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS, NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS THAT SERVE MDUS PUBLIC HOUSING AUTHORITIES AND OTHER ENTITIES OF GOVERNMENT THAT WORK WITH MDUS, ISPS AND TEXAS RESIDING IN MDUS.
AND SO WE AT COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY ARE WORKING WITH INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO SUBMIT THE COMMENTS ON BEHALF
[00:30:01]
OF THE CITY TO BDO.UNFORTUNATELY, THE COMMISSION, UH, CANNOT AS A COMMISSION PROVIDE COMMENTS, BUT INDIVIDUALLY, COMMISSIONERS AS INDIVIDUALS, IF THEY FALL UNDER ANY OF THESE, MAY BE ABLE TO GIVE COMMENTS.
SO, UM, ONE MORE POINT BEFORE I END IS THAT YOU, AS YOU'VE NOTICED, THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT FINANCIAL CAPACITY REQUIRED TO SUPPORT MDU.
SO WHAT THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT IS, UH, BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE FUND, OR IT'S CALLED BIFF, BIF.
AND IN NOVEMBER OF 2023, TEXAS VOTERS, ACTUALLY THEY PASSED PROPOSITION EIGHT, IF YOU REMEMBER, WHICH CREATED THE BIFF TO IMPROVE BROADBAND ACCESS AND SERVICE IN THE STATE.
THERE'S A WHOLE LIST OF THINGS, AND IT'S AN INITIAL INVESTMENT OF $1.5 BILLION TO BE USED FOR THINGS LIKE EMERGENCY SERVICES, POLL REPLACEMENT MATCHING FUNDS FOR BEAD, AND THEN OTHER USES.
BUT IN THERE, THERE'S ALSO FUNDING THAT IS SET ASIDE FOR COMMUNITY ANCHOR INSTITUTIONS AND MULTI-DWELLING UNITS.
AND THE FUNDS WILL BE IN EFFECT FROM 2024 TO 2035.
SO HOPEFULLY THE FUNDING WILL COME FROM THAT, AND THAT'S WHERE THEY'RE GONNA START TO MAKE GRANTS BASED ON THE RESPONSES THAT THEY GET FROM TEXAS.
SO CHAIR APODACA, THAT IS MY BRIEF, UH, REPORT TO YOU ALL TONIGHT.
UM, UH, I DID HAVE A, A COUPLE QUESTIONS.
SO YOU'D MENTIONED THAT, UM, INDIVIDUALS CAN RESPOND TO, UH, THE FORM, CORRECT? YES.
UH, ESPECIALLY THOSE THAT LIVE IN MULTI-DWELLING UNITS, APARTMENTS, OR OTHER YES.
AND I, I AM CURIOUS IS, IS THE, THE CITY OR, UH, THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OFFICE DOING ANYTHING TO POTENTIALLY GET THE WORD OUT ABOUT THE, THE, THE FORM EITHER THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA, THROUGH COUNCIL MEMBER OFFICES, ANYTHING LIKE THAT? OR EVEN THROUGH DECA? YEAH.
OR THROUGH DECA? THROUGH DECA, DEFINITELY.
WE WERE HOPING TO, UH, PARTNER WITH THE COMMISSION TO GET THE WORD OUT THROUGH ALL OF THE OFFICES AND THE COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT HAVE APPOINTED Y'ALL.
THAT WOULD BE EXTREMELY HELPFUL TO US, AND I THINK MORE EFFECTIVE.
BUT WE CAN DEFINITELY PUT IT ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
UH, I KNOW THE, THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UM, FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM PAGES HAVE WIDE REACHES, SO, UM, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THAT'S, UH, THAT'S SOMETHING I WOULD PERHAPS RECOMMEND FOR YOU ALL TO, TO, TO, TO ADVOCATE FOR.
AND THEN, UH, IF, IF THERE ARE ANY SUMMARY, UM, MAYBE LIKE A ONE PAGER OR SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT MORE BRIEF THAT WE COULD FORWARD OUR, UH, OUR COUNCIL OFFICES, I'D BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO DO.
SO I KNOW, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES HAS A PRETTY ROBUST NEWSLETTER THAT SHE PUTS OUT.
UH, I BELIEVE IT'S BIWEEKLY, UH, WITH ALL SORTS OF GREAT INFORMATION.
SO I COULD SEE THIS, UH, FITTING NICELY IN THERE AS WELL.
THANK YOU FOR THAT RECOMMENDATION.
UM, SO I SEE COMMISSIONERS COMING ONLINE, UH, COMMISSIONER DES GUPTA, I'LL GIVE YOU THE FLOOR.
SO I THINK IT RELATES TO THE COMMENT THAT, UH, CHAIR AKA SAID ABOUT HOW WE, HOW DO WE ADVERTISE TO THESE ORGANIZATIONS THAT CAN, YOU KNOW, SPEAK ON BEHALF OF, YOU KNOW, OF THIS PARTICULAR, UH, ISSUE.
UM, SO IF YOU, I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT YOU SEND IT TO ALL THE COMMISSIONERS WITH THE REQUEST THAT THEY CONTACT THE COUNCIL MEMBERS TO INCLUDE THAT IN THEIR NEWSLETTER.
I THINK IT SHOULD GO OUT IN, IN EVERY, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER'S NEWSLETTERS.
UH, BUT THE QUESTION IS HOW DO PEOPLE, UH, FIND OUT ABOUT IT? YOU KNOW, WHAT IS YOUR, UH, AD CAMPAIGN TO LET THESE ORGANIZATIONS KNOW THAT THEY SHOULD BE SPEAKING UP? SURE.
UM, I THINK THE DECA, THE DIGITAL EMPOWERMENT COMMUNITY OF AUSTIN IS WORKING WITH THE MDUS.
UM, ALSO WE ARE ENGAGING HOUSING AUTHORITY OF CITY OF AUSTIN, WHICH HAS THE MAJORITY OF INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE LOW INCOME IN MDUS AND TRAVIS COUNTY.
SO IN TERMS OF OUR COMMENTS, THEY ARE LOOKING FOR COMMENTS THAT, UM, ARE COMING FROM GOVERNMENT AS WELL, AS WELL AS FROM ORGANIZATIONS IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO DECA, THE COMMISSIONERS THROUGH THE COUNCIL OFFICES, US WORKING WITH HOUSING AUTHORITY DIRECTLY, I THINK THAT SHOULD HELP.
AND, UH, COMMISSIONER HERITAGE, I, I SAW YOU CAME
[00:35:01]
ON CAMERA.DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION OR COMMENT? I, UH, PROBABLY A QUESTION.
I HAVE IT UP ON THE ESPD, BUT I HAVEN'T READ IT YET.
CURIOUS, UM, OF WHAT WE KNOW TO, IS IT, I'M CURIOUS IF, IF, IF, WITHOUT READING IT, IF IT'S ALSO, UH, GETS INTO ISSUES AROUND SOME OF THE BULK ARRANGEMENTS THAT FOLKS HAVE, ARE THERE? MM, VERY GOOD QUESTION, OR, YEAH.
UH, WE ARE GOING TO, WE'RE GONNA BE LOOKING AT WHAT HAPPENS IN THE BULK, UH, ARRANGEMENTS, AS YOU'RE SAYING, WITH SOME OF THE PROPERTY OWNERS AND MANAGERS.
SO WHAT THAT MEANS, WHAT COMMISSIONER HERITAGE IS REFERRING TO IS SOMETIMES WHEN ONE GOES TO RENT AN APARTMENT, THERE'S ALREADY A DEAL IN PLACE BY THEIR OFFICE FOR BULK PURCHASES OF INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS, RIGHT? SO THERE'S, THAT'S ONE ELEMENT OF IT.
THE OTHER IS THAT SOMETIMES THE OFFICES ACTUALLY PURCHASE ONE, UM, ONE ACCOUNT, AND THEN THEY SEND IT TO ALL OF THE UNITS, BUT THEN THEY HAVE TO BE PAID FOR.
SO THAT, IT'S A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT WAYS.
COMMISSIONER HERITAGE, WE'RE GONNA ACTUALLY BE LOOKING INTO THAT, BUT ALSO BEST PRACTICES OF WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH THE HOUSING AUTHORITY IN PARTICULAR.
AND THEN ALSO, UM, WE'RE THINKING ABOUT REACHING OUT TO THE, UM, THE APARTMENT ASSOCIATIONS AND JUST FIGURE OUT WHAT'S HAPPENING AROUND THAT AND WHAT ARE THE NEW DEALS THAT ARE BEING DONE.
EVERYBODY WANTS TO SAVE MONEY, BUT THERE'S ALSO THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT THAT IS THERE A, A DOMINANT ISP THAT IS, UM, GIVING A CERTAIN PRICE TO A CERTAIN GROUP AND COUNTING IT AS YES.
THAT'S A VERY INTERESTING POINT.
AND WE'RE GONNA BE LOOKING AT THAT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE REST OF THE COMMISSION? AND SO, CHAIR APODACA, THE COMMENTS WILL BE PART OF, UM, PUBLIC COMMENTS.
SO WE WILL ALSO SHARE, WE'LL BE ABLE TO SHARE A COPY WITH YOU ALL.
AND THANK YOU FOR THE TRANSPARENCY ON THAT.
UM, WELL APPRECIATE YOUR PRESENTATION AS ALWAYS.
UH, IT'S ALWAYS A PLEASURE TO HAVE YOU AND, UH, CAN'T WAIT TO SEE, UH, HOW THIS IS DRIVEN FORWARD.
UM, SO WITH THAT, UM, ARE WE OKAY TO MOVE ON TO AUTO HQ'S PRESENTATION? YES.
[2. Presentation on Austin Urban Technology Movement’s Awareness to Employment programing (Michael Ward Jr, President and CEO, AUTMHQ)]
SO WE'LL BE MOVING BACKWARDS TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER TWO.UH, OUR OTHER INVITED, UH, NON-PROFIT, UM, AUTUMN HQ WILL BE, UM, PRESENTING ON, UH, THEIR WORK, LEVERAGING THE GTOP S FUNDS.
MY NAME IS MICHAEL BROWN AND I AM STANDING IN FOR THE CEO MICHAEL WARD.
HE IS, UH, VERY MUCH UNDER THE WEATHER AND HE LET ME KNOW TODAY ABOUT FOUR O'CLOCK IF I WOULD STAND IN FOR HIM.
AND, UH, I CAME IN AND I DIDN'T REALIZE IT WAS SUCH A FORMAL PRESENTATION, SO, BUT I WILL DO MY BEST.
UM, I'VE BEEN WORKING FOR AUTO HQ FOR ABOUT THREE WEEKS, AND I AM THE SENIOR DIRECTOR OF WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.
UH, I'VE BEEN FRIENDS OF AUTO HQ FOR, SINCE THEY WERE CREATED IN 2016.
UH, MY BACKGROUND IS IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP, IN IN CAREER SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT.
I ACTUALLY OWNED A CAREER SCHOOL FOR 20 YEARS AND I SOLD IT TO GOODWILL IN 2019.
I HAD A VERY SUCCESSFUL CAREER SCHOOL, AND THEN ALSO I BUILT A CAREER SCHOOL FOR THE AUSTIN AREA URBAN LEAGUE ALSO.
AND SO I, UH, TALKED TO MICHAEL, KNEW HIS VISION, KNEW WHAT HE WANTED TO ACCOMPLISH, AND DECIDED TO START WORKING WITH THEM AND VERY EXCITED ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY, THE VISION AND THE RESOURCES THEY HAVE, AND USING MY ENTREPRENEUR SPEND TO HELP GROW IT AND HELP SERVE OUR COMMUNITY EVEN BETTER.
SO, UH, SO THIS IS HOW I DO THIS RIGHT HERE.
WELL, I JUST, I DON'T HAVE A FORMAL PRESENTATION, BUT MICHAEL ASKED TO SHOW SOME THINGS FROM OUR ANNUAL IMPACT REPORT THAT SHOULD COVER THINGS IN.
SO BASICALLY WHAT AUTUMN HQ, AUTUMN STANDS FOR AUSTIN URBAN TECHNOLOGY MOVEMENT.
BUT WHEN WE PUT IT IN LETTERS, WE ACTUALLY, THAT NAME WAS ALREADY TAKEN, SO WE HAVE TO PUT AUTUMN HQ.
SO AUTUMN HQ.ORG IS OUR WEBSITE.
UH, WE HAVE BEEN ADDING DIVERSITY TO THE TECH INDUSTRY SINCE 2016 BY BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN BLACK AND HISPANIC COMMUNITIES IN THE TECHNICAL SECTOR.
UH, WE, WE WANNA BUILD A DIVERSE TECHNOLOGY ECOSYSTEM FOR ALL.
UH, WE DO IT IN THREE DIFFERENT WAYS.
UM, THE, THE FIRST WAY IS, LET'S SEE, LET ME CHANGE THAT.
[00:40:01]
ALRIGHT, GO BACKWARDS.THE FIRST WAY IS DIGITAL EQUITY.
UH, THAT'S THE FOUNDATION COMPUTER SKILLS, LAPTOPS, INTERNET ACCESS AND DIGITAL LITERACY TRAINING, UH, FOR INDIVIDUALS.
AND WE HAVE SOME NUMBERS ON THAT.
UH, AND WHAT WE'VE NOTICED IS A LOT OF OUR, UH, UH, POPULATION THAT WE'VE BEEN TRAINING HAS BEEN SPANISH SPEAKING.
AND SO WE HAVE, UH, MADE OUR CLASSES A LITTLE BIT MORE EFFICIENT.
WE DO HAVE, WE DO, UH, CLASSES, BUT WE SPLIT 'EM, UH, BETWEEN THE SPANISH SPEAKING AND THE ENGLISH SPEAKING.
AND THAT HAS CAUSED AN INCREDIBLE INCREASE IN OUR CLASSES AND ALSO THE, UH, THE AMOUNT OF INFORMATION WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO COVER DURING THE PERIOD OF TIME.
UH, SO DIGITAL LITERACY IS BASICALLY MAKING SURE THAT THE STUDENTS, THEY GET A COMPUTER, UH, IF THEY NEED ACCESS TO THE INTERNET, WE MAKE SURE THEY GET ACCESS TO THE INTERNET, AND THEN WE TRAIN THEM ON BASIC SKILL SETS TO BE ABLE TO GET ONTO THE INTERNET, DO THEIR EMAILS, SEND EMAILS, LOOK FOR JOBS, SEARCH, UH, SEARCH, UH, WEBSITES, AND DO THOSE KIND OF THINGS.
AND THAT CLASS IS TYPICALLY, UH, ABOUT, UH, 20 HOURS LONG.
AND THEN WE ARE ALSO OFFERING SUPPORT FOR THOSE STUDENTS.
WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF BUILDING A LAB AT OUR FACILITY, AND WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF HAVING, UH, UH, FULL-TIME.
WE JUST HIRED A FULL-TIME SPANISH INSTRUCTOR TO OVERSEE THAT LAB AS WELL AS ME TO HELP STUDENTS WHO WANNA COME IN AND DO SOME EXTRA HOMEWORK OR EXTRA THINGS TO, TO PICK UP ON SOME OF THEIR LEARNING.
UH, WE ALSO DO TRAINING COHORTS, AND THAT'S OCCUPATIONAL TRAINING, UH, THAT'S GEARED TOWARD GETTING PEOPLE A SPECIFIC SKILL IN TECHNOLOGY TO FINDING THE, SOME JOBS.
AND I'LL SLIDE OVER HERE AND JUST READ YOU SOME OF OUR, UH, OCCUPATIONAL COHORTS.
WE DO AN ID, IT PROFESS, UH, SUPPORT PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATE.
WE DO COMP TTIA AND CYBERSECURITY PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATE.
WE DO A PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATE, UH, COMP TI NETWORK PLUS, UH, WE DO A COMP TI SECURITY PLUS WE ALSO DO AN ADVANCED MANUFACTURING PRODUCTION CLASS.
UH, A COMPTIA A PLUS A DATA SCIENCE PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATE, A UX DESIGN PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATE, IT AUTOMATION WITH PYTHON PROFESSIONAL.
WE HAVE A DATA ANALYTICS PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATE, AN AWS CLOUD TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATE.
AND ALSO WE DO HAVE A SOFTWARE DEVELOPER PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATE.
UM, SO WE DO TRAINING COHORTS.
WE'RE ACTUALLY REFINING THAT TO MAKE THAT MORE EFFICIENT FOR STUDENTS.
UH, WHAT WE HAVE NOTICED IS, UH, PEOPLE TO GO THROUGH THE DIGITAL LITERACY, UH, ARE DIFFERENT FROM THE PEOPLE WHO DO THE OCCUPATIONAL TRAINING.
THERE'S A KIND OF A GAP, AND WE'RE ACTUALLY WORKING ON SOME BRIDGES NOW TO BRIDGE THAT GAP, UH, UH, DOING SOME, UH, MORE ASSESSMENTS AND ALSO DOING A TRAINING BRIDGE TO TAKE PEOPLE FROM DIGITAL LITERACY TO BEING, UH, COMPETENT ENOUGH TO GO INTO THE OCCUPATIONAL TRAINING.
SO WE'RE WORKING ON THAT IN THE CURRICULUM FOR THAT RIGHT NOW.
AND IN ADDITION, DOING TO DOING THE OCCUPATIONAL TRAINING.
WE DO JOB PLACEMENT ASSISTANCE, ALSO HELPING PEOPLE FIND JOBS.
WE HAVE, UH, A A COUPLE PEOPLE IN PLACE, UH, UH, THAT WORK ON THAT.
AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE A VERY STRONG VOLUNTEER NETWORK, THEY CALL THAT SUPPORT US AND HAVE A LOT OF GREAT JOBS AND ALSO LOOK OUT FOR OUR STUDENTS IN THOSE AREAS, OUR CLIENTS IN THOSE AREAS.
SO 2 20 23, WE, WE ACTUALLY HAVE A TOTAL OF FIVE.
WE HAD A TOTAL OF 515 MITES ENROLLED.
UH, WE HAD 117 GO THROUGH DIGITAL EQUITY TRAINING.
WE HAD 133 GO THROUGH OCCUPATIONAL TRAINING AND, UM, FOR JOB PLACEMENTS OVERALL.
SO SOME, MOST OF THEM WENT THROUGH EITHER DIGITAL EQUITY OR TECHNICAL OCCUPATIONAL TRAINING, BUT SOME OF THEM DIDN'T NEED THAT.
AND JUST WENT THROUGH OUR PROCESS, OUR CONNECTIONS OR NETWORK.
SO OVERALL WE PLACED 265 MITES.
THAT'S, UH, THE SLIDE I JUST SHOWED AND TALKED TO.
UM, THE NEXT SLIDE IS WE, OVERALL, WE AWARDED 185, UH, TECHNICAL CERTIFICATES.
UH, AND FOR THE DIGITAL EQUITY SUCCESS RATE, WE HAVE A HUNDRED PERCENT.
I ASKED THAT QUESTION RIGHT BEFORE WE GOT IN HERE.
HOW CAN YOU HAVE A HUNDRED PERCENT? UH, THAT DEFINITION OF THAT IS, UH, THE STUDENTS OR THE CLIENTS RECEIVE THEIR DEVICE AND HAD INTERNET CONNECTIONS.
AND SO I DON'T KNOW THE PERCENTAGE THAT FINISHED THE CLASS, BUT I, UH, AND FINISHED THE CLASS WITH PROFICIENCY IN THAT AREA.
BUT I'M, I'M THINKING THAT'S AROUND 90%.
[00:45:01]
THAT IS WHAT I'VE SEEN IN MY EXPERIENCE BEING THERE.AND THEN A HUNDRED PERCENT JOB SUCCESS RATE.
AGAIN, UH, THAT'S A STRONG NUMBER.
UM, I'M RELATIVELY NEW, BUT THAT, UH, AS I WAS TALKING TO THE COO, THAT IS STUDENTS WHO HAVE ACTUALLY GONE THROUGH OUR COMPLETE PROCESS.
SO THERE ARE STILL SOME STUDENTS IN THE PROCESS AND WE DIDN'T COMPLETE, UH, CONSIDER THAT.
BUT THE STUDENTS HAVE FOLLOWED OUR PROCESS FROM START TO FINISH AND COMPLETED SUCCESSFULLY.
WE HAVE A HUNDRED PERCENT SUCCESS RATE THERE.
BUT I, I'M GONNA SKIP SOME, SOME OF THESE SLIDES HERE AND GO TO THIS SLIDE.
UM, OF OUR MITES, WE HAVE ABOUT 47% ARE, UH, BLACK.
17% IN 2023 ARE HISPANIC, 11% WHITE, 6% ASIAN, AND 15% PREFER NOT TO ANSWER.
I I THINK THAT NUMBER IS PROBABLY GOING UP ON THE HISPANIC END IS WHAT I'M NOTICING SINCE I'VE BEEN THERE, UH, FROM THE DIGITAL LITERACY STANDPOINT.
SO, UM, AND THEN THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE AGE, IF, IF YOU CAN SEE THIS SLIDE, UH, THE AGE, UH, WE DO TRAIN SOME 18 TO 25 YEAR OLDS.
THAT'S ABOUT 13%, UH, 26 TO 35, THAT IS ABOUT 28%.
ONLY ABOUT 2% IS 60 PLUS AND PREFER NOT, THE ANSWER IS 30%.
UH, AND I, WE CAN TELL KIND OF HOW THEY ARE ANYWAY.
UH, ABOUT 40% HAVE DECLARED THEMSELVES AS MALE
AND MITES STARTING, MITES STARTING INCOME LEVEL.
UH, SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE BOTTOM, THE MITES STARTING INCOME LEVEL IN THE PROGRAM WAS APPROXIMATELY 19,720 ANNUALLY.
UM, AFTER THEY'VE CONNECTED TO, UH, AUTUMN HQ'S SERVICES AND LEVERAGED OUR SERVICES AND COMPLETED SUCCESSFULLY, THEIR INCOMES HAD GONE UP TO OVER 50,000.
SO BASICALLY AN AVERAGE INCREASE OF WAGES PER MITE THAT'S COMPLETED, OUR PROGRAM SUCCESSFULLY IS ABOUT $30,000 ANNUALLY.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S VERY POSITIVE.
UH, UH, AGAIN, I THINK THE, THE, IF YOU LOOK AT THE WHITE, SO MOST OF OUR MITES START MAKING LESS THAN 30,000.
AND, UH, WE DO HAVE SOME THAT ARE A LITTLE BIT IN THE HIGHER LEVELS, BUT MOST OF 'EM START AT, I GUESS THAT IS CONSIDERED THE POVERTY LEVEL HERE IN AUSTIN.
AND, UM, OF ADDITIONAL DEMOGRAPHICS, 27% OF OUR ITEM MIGHTS RECEIVE GOVERNMENT BENEFITS.
8% REPORTED THEMSELVES BEING DISABLED.
WE HAD, UH, 97 VETERANS ENGAGED OF THE 500.
OF THE 500, UH, 53% OF THEM DO NOT HAVE A, UH, THIS IS PROBABLY DO NOT HAVE A COLLEGE DEGREE.
UH, I THINK PROBABLY A HIGHER PERCENTAGE DO HAVE A HIGHER DEGREE, BUT IT SAYS DO NOT HAVE A DEGREE.
SO I CAN'T REALLY ANSWER THAT QUESTION.
UH, BUT I THINK IT'S A COLLEGE DEGREE AND 67% OF 'EM THAT COME INTO, UH, BECOMING AN MITE ARE SEEKING EMPLOYMENT.
SO THAT'S, UH, THAT'S ALL I WANTED TO SUMMARIZE TODAY.
THAT'S SIGNIFICANT TO THIS GROUP.
BUT, UH, UH, AGAIN, THIS IS A HIGHER LEVEL AND I, I'M NOT ABLE TO ANSWER A LOT OF DETAILED QUESTIONS, BUT MICHAEL WANTED ME TO BE HERE AND JUST SAY THANK YOU FOR ALL THE SUPPORT, AND WE'RE DOING THE BEST WE CAN, AND WE'RE MAKING SOME REALLY GREAT INCREASES AND SOME THINGS THAT YOU'RE, CAN SEE EVEN BETTER THINGS FROM US AT AUTUMN HQ.
UM, IF YOU, IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND, WE DO HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS.
UM, MAYBE FOR A FUTURE PRESENTATION, I'D BE INTERESTED TO HEAR MORE.
YOU MENTIONED THE, UM, THE STARTING SALARY.
UM, I'D BE INTERESTED TO HEAR DATA ON CAREER PROGRESSION AND SALARY.
UM, UH, AS, AS INDIVIDUALS GET A LITTLE MORE STABLE IN THE WORKFORCE, THOSE MIGHT BE GOOD DATA POINTS TO, TO ADVERTISE AS WELL FOR YOUR FUTURE.
MAYBE, UH, LOOK AT SIX MONTHS.
MAYBE LOOK AT A YEAR, THEN TWO TO FIVE YEARS AFTERWARDS.
I THINK THAT THAT WOULD BE WONDERFUL.
AND THEN, UH, I WAS ALSO CURIOUS WHAT OTHER, WHAT CORP YOU MENTIONED THAT YOU HAVE, UM, UH, COMPANIES THAT YOU PARTNER WITH, WITH WHAT CORPORATE PARTNERSHIP DO YOU, DO YOU HAVE? UH, I DON'T KNOW ALL THOSE, BUT WE
[00:50:01]
DO HAVE, I DO KNOW WE HAVE, UH, CORPORATE PARTNERSHIPS WITH GOOGLE.UM, WE HAVE IT WITH IBM, UH, WE HAVE IT WITH, LET'S SEE, NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS.
UM, AND SOME OF THIS IS NEW, SO I APOLOGIZE.
LET ME SEE IF I CAN PULL THAT UP FOR YOU REAL QUICK.
UH, LET'S SEE IF I HAVE IT HERE.
UM, THERE'S A, WE HAVE A, A, A, A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF PARTNER.
WE HAVE A PARTNERSHIP WITH PCC, UH, WHICH IS THE HOSPITAL NETWORK.
WE HAVE A PARTNERSHIP WITH HAKA.
UH, ALSO, UM, AND A LOT OF, UH, WE HAVE A PARTNERSHIP WITH, UH, WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS CAPITAL AREA.
WE HAVE A PARTNERSHIP WITH, UH, ALSO THE STATE OF TEXAS, UM, AND FOR THE OCCUPATIONAL TRAINING.
AND WE'RE ACTUALLY WORKING ON, UH, MAKING AUTUMN HQ AN OFFICIAL STATE OF TEXAS CAREER SCHOOL.
SO WE, I, THAT'S WHAT THEY BROUGHT ME IN FOR.
THAT'S WHY MY EXPERTISE IS, SO, WE HAVE SOME MORE PARTNERSHIPS.
I CAN'T THINK OF THEM ALL, BUT WE HAVE SOME PRETTY, UH, POWERFUL PARTNERSHIPS ALREADY.
AND THEN WE HAVE SUCH A STRONG VOLUNTEER NETWORK.
SO, I, I'M SORRY, I'M, I'M LIMITED.
I JUST DON'T HAVE THAT IN FRONT OF ME.
YEAH, NO, THAT, THAT'S, THAT'S WONDERFUL.
AND, UM, YEAH, THAT'S, IT'S, IT'S SO GREAT TO HEAR.
AND IT'S, IT'S AMAZING TO HEAR, UM, WHAT AUTUMN HQ, UH, IS DOING WITH, UH, SOME OF THE GTOP S FUNDS THAT THEY'VE BEEN AWARDED.
UH, I SEE THAT WE HAVE AT LEAST ONE COMMISSIONER ONLINE.
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT PRESENTATION.
SO THE QUESTION IS, UH, UH, IT INDUSTRY, I SPENT 44 YEARS IN IT, AND IT IS A INDUSTRY WHERE YOU HAVE TO HAVE LIFELONG LEARNING, YOU KNOW, COMMITMENT.
YOU FALL BEHIND VERY, VERY QUICKLY UNLESS YOU KEEP UP WITH TECHNOLOGY AS IT EVOLVES.
SO, IN YOUR SYSTEM, DO YOU HAVE A CLOSED LOOP SYSTEM WHERE YOU WORK WITH THESE PARTNER COMPANIES, WHERE THESE GRADUATES THAT YOU CREATE THAT FIND THESE JOBS IN THESE COMPANIES, COME BACK FOR IMPROVING THEIR SKILLS OVER TIME? OR DO YOU EXPECT THE EMPLOYERS TO TAKE CARE OF THEM? IT'S JUST A ONE WAY PATH.
UH, WE, WE ACTUALLY ARE, AND I APPRECIATE THE QUESTION, AND IT SHOWS A LOT OF VISION.
UM, WE ACTUALLY HAVE A PARTNERSHIP WITH RA AND WE HAVE HUNDREDS, HUNDREDS OF CLASSES.
SO WHAT WE'RE DESIGNING A PROGRAM IS FOR THE PEOPLE WHO TAKE OCCUPATIONAL TRAINING, UH, THERE'S ONE CAREER PATH THAT THEY'VE DECIDED ON.
BUT ONCE THEY FINISH THAT CAREER PATH AND THEY HELP US SATISFY OUR REQUIREMENTS, WE'LL ACTUALLY GIVE THEM OPEN ACCESS, COMPLIMENTARY TO ALL THE OTHER CLASSES THAT WE HAVE.
SO THEY CAN CONTINUE WHILE THEY'RE WORKING, ADVANCING THEMSELVES, INVEST IN THEIR CAREER AFTER THEY'VE GONE THROUGH US AND GRADUATED AND SEEN SUCCESS.
WE JUST HAVE TO KEEP 'EM DISCIPLINED BECAUSE WE HAVE SO MANY CLASSES.
WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY, UH, FULFILL OUR REQUIREMENTS FIRST BEFORE WE GIVE THEM FREE REIGN.
BUT WE ARE, WE'RE, I, I LOOKED ON THE SYSTEM THE OTHER DAY AND, UH, ONE OF THE STUDENTS HAD TAKEN 35 OF OUR PATHWAYS, AND SO HE WAS JUST GOING BUCK WILDED.
SO WE DO HAVE A, UH, I CONSIDER A CLOSED LOOSE SYSTEM, AND THEN WE HAVE A LOT OF MITES.
LIKE JUST THE OTHER DAY, I, I, UH, WE STARTED SOME TRAINING AND WE HAD AN MITE VOLUNTEER TO BE A SPANISH SPEAKING PERSON, INTERPRETER FOR US IN OUR DIGITAL LITERACY CLASS.
WELL, AFTER I, HE SAT THROUGH MY CLASS ONE OR TWO DAYS, I WENT TO MICHAEL AND SAYS, WE NEED TO HIRE HIM.
AND SO WE JUST HIRED HIM FULL-TIME AS OUR INSTRUCTOR AND ALSO OUR OCCU, OUR OCCUPATIONAL TRAINING TUTOR TOO.
SO THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF SUCCESS STORIES LIKE THAT.
PEOPLE WHO HAVE MITES WHO WE'VE SEEN TALENT IN, AND WE BROUGHT 'EM BACK TO WORKFORCE, FULL-TIME TO HELP AND SERVE THE COMMUNITY IN THAT WAY.
SO I HOPE THAT ANSWERS THE QUESTION.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE REST OF THE COMMISSION? OKAY.
WELL, THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN, MICHAEL.
UH, YOU WERE PULLED INTO THIS LAST MINUTE, BUT AMAZING PRESENTATION AND, UH, IT'S REALLY INSPIRING TO HEAR BOTH FROM YOU AND FROM GABRIELA ON THE WORK THAT YOU ALL ARE DOING IN, IN THE COMMUNITY.
WELL, THANK YOU FOR HAVING US.
SO, UH, WITH THAT, UH, WE CAN GO AHEAD AND PROCEED IN OUR AGENDA.
[00:55:02]
I NOTICED THAT THERE IS, UH, ITEMS FIVE AND EIGHT ARE ACTUALLY DUPLICATES.SO I'M GONNA JUST GO AHEAD AND SKIP ITEM FIVE AND MOVE ON TO OUR DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS. UM,
[6. Approval of Grant for Technology Opportunities Program Updates for FY25]
SO WITH THAT, WE WILL GO TO THE, UH, ITEM SIX, THE APPROVAL OF THE GRANT FOR TECHNOLOGY OPPORTUNITY PROGRAM UPDATES FOR FISCAL YEAR 25.UH, DAN, ARE YOU TAKING THIS ONE? GREAT.
UM, JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU TO OUR SPEAKERS WHO'RE ON THEIR WAY OUT.
UM, BUT I'LL JUMP RIGHT INTO IT, UM, ONCE I SEE THE DOCUMENT IS BEING SHARED.
UM, BUT JUST TO GIVE A LITTLE BACKGROUND ABOUT, UH, WHAT THIS ITEM IS.
UM, SO, UH, I FEEL LIKE I'VE MENTIONED THIS AT EVERY MEETING I'VE SPOKEN AT, BUT, UM, OUR, YOUR LIAISONS, ME, DAN MARTINEZ AND JESSE RODRIGUEZ, UH, OUTSIDE OF OUR COMMISSION WORK, UH, WE OVERSEE THE GRANT FOR TECHNOLOGY OPPORTUNITIES PROGRAM, WHICH IS A GRANT THAT IS BASED AROUND, UH, ASSISTING DIFFERENT GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATIONS WITHIN THE AUSTIN AREA, UH, GET, UH, ESTABLISHED AND PROVIDE ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR PROGRAMMING THEY HAVE, UH, SURROUNDING DIGITAL EQUITY.
UM, AND USUALLY THAT INVOLVES GETTING DEVICES IN THE HANDS OF PEOPLE, LOW AC OR LOW COST INTERNET ACCESS OR, UH, SKILLS TRAINING TO USE THESE, UH, DEVICES IN DIFFERENT SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE AND PREPARE THEMSELVES FOR THE WORKFORCE OR JUST, UH, SEEK OUT A CREATIVE ENDEAVOR.
UH, THERE'S LOTS OF AVENUES THAT DIGITAL EQUITY CAN GO DOWN.
UM, AND THIS PROGRAM HELPS FUND, UH, ALL THOSE CREATIVE IDEAS.
BUT, UM, THIS IS A LONGSTANDING PROGRAM.
UM, AND SO WITH ANYTHING THAT HAS BEEN AROUND THIS LONG, THERE'S ALWAYS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT.
AND, UH, WE GET TOGETHER EVERY YEAR AND WE FORM AN ACTION PLAN FOR CHANGES TO THIS PROGRAM.
UM, USUALLY ENHANCEMENTS, UM, AND WE COLLECT, UH, DATA FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE OUR REVIEW PANELISTS WHENEVER, UH, WE ARE AWARDING THESE, UM, OUR SUBMITTERS, THOSE WHO ARE LOOKING TO RECEIVE FUNDING, UM, THE COMMISSION WHO IS VERY INVOLVED IN THIS PROCESS, UM, AS WELL AS JUST GENERAL COMMENTS OR IDEAS THAT ME AND JESSE COME UP WITH THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
UM, SO THIS DOCUMENT IS AN AMALGAMATION OF LIKE, UH, ALL OF THE, THE WORK THAT WE USE FOR, UH, THE, UH, 2024 FINANCIAL YEAR, UM, AND ALL THE WORK THAT WE EXPECT TO HAVE IN 2025.
SO, UH, I'LL JUMP OVER TO PAGE THREE AND, UH, I'LL GO INTO THESE.
UM, I'M NOT GONNA GET FULLY DETAILED, BUT I DO WANNA, UH, PROVIDE ADDITIONAL CONTEXT FOR EACH ITEM.
UM, SOME OF THE CONTEXT IS ISN'T INCLUDED, UH, WITH THE ACTUAL, UH, PLAN ITEMS. SO I JUST WANNA GIVE A LITTLE BACKGROUND FOR EACH OF THEM.
UM, FOR THIS FIRST SECTION, UH, ENHANCEMENTS AND EDITS TO OUR GTOP S GUIDANCE MATERIAL.
UM, WE JUST, UH, HAD A FEW, UH, WE, EVERY YEAR WE RECEIVE COM.
WE RECEIVE COMMENTS ON THIS GUIDANCE MATERIAL, AND, UH, WE'RE ALWAYS TRYING TO MAKE IT AS SUBSTANTIAL AS WE CAN TO INCLUDE AS MANY FAQS OR, UH, ANY INFORMATION THAT WE THINK IS PERTINENT.
UM, THIS YEAR WE HAD TWO, UH, LARGER CHANGES.
UH, THE FIRST ONE IS CLARIFICATION OF MISCELLANEOUS UPLOAD.
UM, AND, UH, WE SEE THAT A LOT OF OUR APPLICANTS ARE ALWAYS, UH, STRESSING THE NARRATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THEIR APPLICATION AND FEEL THAT THEY CAN, UH, THEY DON'T HAVE AN ACTUAL QUESTION ON THE GTOP S CORE APPLICATION THAT REFLECTS, UH, NARRATIVE ANECDOTES, LETTERS OF SUPPORT, UM, AND OTHER MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS. UM, AND, UH, ME AND JESSE HAVE DECIDED OR THOUGHT THAT THE MISCELLANEOUS UPLOAD SECTION OF OUR APPLICATION COVERED THAT.
UM, BUT, UH, APPARENTLY, UH, OUR APPLICANTS AREN'T AS AWARE OF THAT SECTION OF THE APPLICATION.
SO WE JUST WANNA PROVIDE SOME LANGUAGE THAT EMPHASIZES THAT THAT'S WHAT THAT UPLOAD FIELD IS FOR.
THIS NEXT ONE, GT OS PARTIAL AWARD CLARIFICATION.
UM, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BEEN PRACTICING, UM, PROBABLY FOR THE FULL LENGTH OF G TOPS.
UM, BUT WE RAN INTO AN ISSUE THIS YEAR WHEN, UH, AWARDING, UH, G OS CAPACITY, I BELIEVE, UH, WHERE SOMEONE WHO WAS AWARDED THE APPLICATION, THEIR BUDGET WAS NOT IN LINE WITH THE, UH, LIMITS OF WHAT THE MONEY COULD BE USED FOR.
UM, SO INSTEAD OF, UH, ADDING, UH, AS MUCH GUIDANCE AS WE, WE COULD PROBABLY FILL UP 10 PAGES ON THINGS YOU CAN'T USE THE MONEY FOR.
UM, SO INSTEAD WE JUST WANT TO ADD A MORE CLARIFICATION THAT, UH, GTOP STAFF RESERVES A RIGHT TO MAKE JUST A PARTIAL AWARD IF AN APPLICATION IS CHOSEN TO, UH, MOVE FORWARD FOR THIS NEXT PORTION, UM, IT'S RE REGARDING THE ACTUAL, UH, GTOP S APPLICATION, UM, AND THE AWARDING PROCESS.
UM, SO WHENEVER PEOPLE APPLY OR, UH, WE GO THROUGH CONTRACTING, UM, THAT'S WHAT THESE CHANGES WILL COVER.
UM, THE FIRST ONE IS IMPLEMENTING GT OS APPLICATION OFFICE HOURS.
[01:00:01]
UM, OFTENTIMES, UH, WE FEEL THAT OUR, UH, APPLICATION SOFTWARE CAN BE A LITTLE TECHNICALLY CONFUSING OR SOMETIMES THE LANGUAGE CAN BE CONFUSING, UM, ON THE QUESTIONS.UM, THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT COME UP AND WE'RE, UH, CONSTANTLY FIELDING QUESTIONS VIA EMAIL, DURING, UH, APPLICATION WINDOWS.
UM, AND IN ORDER TO HELP MITIGATE THIS AND ALSO PROVIDE A LOT MORE HANDS-ON SUPPORT, UM, AND BE A LOT MORE INVOLVED IN ASSISTANCE, UM, JESSE AND I WILL OPEN UP HOURS, UH, MONTHLY, UM, DURING APPLICATION WINDOWS MONTHLY OR MORE DEPENDING ON THE NEED, UM, SO THAT WE CAN MEET WITH OUR APPLYING, UH, ORGANIZATIONS AND HELP THEM OUT IN WHATEVER WAY WE CAN.
UM, THAT'LL PROBABLY TAKE PLACE, UM, DURING THE NOVEMBER 20, 24.
ALL THROUGHOUT, UM, ALMOST TILL THE END OF SUMMER.
AND THE NEXT PART OF THAT IS CONTRACT KICKOFF MEETINGS.
UM, THIS IS JUST SOMETHING, AGAIN, WE WANT TO, UH, MITIGATE THE AMOUNT OF BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN CONTRACTORS.
YOU KNOW, THINGS GET LOST IN THE CRACKS WHENEVER, UH, WE'RE GOING BACK AND FORTH VIA EMAIL.
UM, SO IN ORDER TO HELP STREAMLINE THE ACTUAL CONTRACTING PROCESS FOR THOSE ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE AWARDED GTOP S FUNDS, UH, WILL ACTUALLY GO, UH, ARRIVE AT THEIR SITE, MEET WITH THE PERSON WHO'S GOING TO BE MANAGING THE GRANT, UM, DOCUMENTS OR, UH, COLLECTING THE REPORTING DATA OR WHO FILLED OUT THE APPLICATION.
AND, UH, WE'LL SIT DOWN WITH THEM, UH, IRON OUT ALL THE THINGS THAT IN THE BOILERPLATE CONTRACT, UM, THE INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS, UM, ALL THE BIG PICTURE STUFF THAT WAY THAT, UH, ALL THE LITTLE DETAILS ARE THE ONLY THINGS THAT, UH, ARE GOING ON VIA EMAIL.
UM, THIS NEXT ONE, UM, THIS NEXT ONE HAS A LOT OF BACKGROUND, UM, AND, UH, IT'S DUE TO, UM, UH, UPTICK IN UNDER UNDERPERFORMANCE WITH OUR GTOP S CONTRACTORS.
UM, THERE'S A LOT OF REASONS THAT THIS COULD HAPPEN.
IT COULD STILL BE LIKE RESIDUAL EFFECTS FROM THE PANDEMIC.
UM, IT COULD BE DUE TO LOW ENGAGEMENT BECAUSE OF, UH, ONE REASON OR ANOTHER.
UM, BUT, UH, WE HAVE BEEN SEEING, UH, LOT MORE UNDERPERFORMANCE IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
UM, AND IN ORDER TO HELP FIGHT THIS, UM, JESSE AND I ARE GOING TO DESIGN A, A PERFORMANCE TRACKING TOOL THAT SETS A LOWER LIMIT OF WHAT, WHAT PERFORMANCE IS ACCEPTABLE, UM, AND THEN, UH, IN ORDER TO HELP RECTIFY THAT PERFORMANCE, UM, WE'RE GONNA STEP IN AND TRY TO IMPLEMENT SOME PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES TO HELP GET, GET THINGS BACK ON TRACK.
UM, AND IF THAT DOESN'T WORK, UM, THEN WE'LL EX EXERCISE A COUPLE OF RIGHTS THAT ARE, UH, UNDERLINED IN THE, UH, THE BOILER PLATE CONTRACT.
UM, AND THAT MIGHT GO AS FAR AS, UH, PUTTING A ORGANIZATION ON A G OS TIMEOUT, UM, UNTIL WE FEEL THAT THEY ARE IN A PLACE TO WHERE THEY CAN, UH, MAINTAIN THE REPORTING REQUIREMENTS OF THIS GRANT.
THIS NEXT ONE, UH, MIDTERM PRESENTATIONS.
UH, THIS WILL BE A COMPLETELY OPTIONAL PART OF THE, UH, POST AWARD PROCESS.
UM, WE, UH, WANT TO TIE OUR A A LOT OF THE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT, UH, JESSE AND I DO, UH, TOGETHER A LOT MORE.
AND THAT INCLUDES, UM, BOTH G TOPS AND THIS THING CALLED DECA, WHICH IS THE DIGITAL EMPOWERMENT COMMUNITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, THIS IS A GROUP OF NONPROFITS, UH, WITHIN AUSTIN IN THE SURROUNDING AREA, UH, SURROUNDING AREA THAT, UH, FOCUS ON DIGITAL EQUITY EFFORTS.
UM, AND THIS GROUP MEETS MONTHLY TO DISCUSS DIFFERENT EFFORTS OR DIFFERENT, UH, IDEAS, DIFFERENT PLANS, UM, RECENTLY APPLIED FOR A LARGE SCALE, UH, FEDERAL GRANT.
UM, BUT, UH, WE WANNA BRING G OS, UM, PRESENT OR G OS ORGANIZATIONS INTO THE FOLD AND HAVE THEM PRESENT, KIND OF LIKE YOU JUST SAW TODAY FOR THE CTTC.
UM, WE WE'RE GONNA IMPLEMENT THAT INTO OUR DECA MEETINGS.
AGAIN, THIS IS COMPLETELY OPTIONAL, BUT JUST SOMETHING THAT WE WANNA WORK ON.
THIS NEXT ITEM OF ADDITION TO THE GTOP S MINI APPLICATION.
UM, WE WANT TO ADD A OPTION FOR CO GRANTEES OR SUB-RECIPIENT APPLICATIONS, UM, AND GTOP S MINI.
UM, WE, WE STILL NEED TO LOOK FOR PROPER APPROVAL OF THIS AND EXPLORE, UM, ANY REQUIREMENTS OR LIKE LEGAL LIMITS.
BUT, UM, G OS CORE CURRENTLY, IF YOU ARE AWARE, G OS CORE, THERE IS AN OPTION TO HAVE A SUB-GRANTEE.
SO THE SUB-GRANTEE WOULD BE SOMEONE THAT THE APPLYING ENTITY PARTNERS WITH IN ORDER TO FULFILL THE PROGRAMMING NEEDS.
UM, AND SINCE GTOP S MINI IS OUR MEDIUM SIZED GRANT, UM, IT'S 10,000 ISH DOLLARS.
WE FEEL THAT THIS SAME PRACTICE COULD BE IMPLEMENTED INTO GTOP S MINI, BUT WE'RE GONNA EXPLORE EVERYTHING AROUND THAT AND SEE IF, UH, WE ARE ACTUALLY ABLE TO DO IT FROM A, BOTH A LEGAL STANDPOINT AS WELL AS PRACTICAL.
UM, ITEM FOUR, TRANSITION INTO THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
UH, THIS IS OUR LARGEST ITEM, I WILL SAY, AND IT'S GONNA TAKE THE LARGEST AMOUNT OF OUR, UH, BANDWIDTH.
[01:05:01]
CURRENTLY, UH, THE COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY TEAM IS TRANSITIONING FROM FINANCIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT TO THE, UH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.UM, AND WE'RE, UH, IN THE MIDST OF DOING A LARGE, UH, STRUCTURAL OVERHAUL, WHICH, UH, YOU'LL SEE IN ITEM ONE.
UM, SO OUR APPLYING SOFTWARE RIGHT NOW IS ADMINISTERED BY AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, BUT WE MANAGE THE CONTRACTS.
IT'S, IT'S, IT'S A LITTLE DISJOINTED, UM, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO, UH, GATHER THAT ALL TOGETHER AND WORK UNDER EDDS, UH, APPLICATION SOFTWARE CALLED WISE HVE.
UM, SO JUST MOVING ALL OF THAT DATA AS WELL AS ALL THE QUESTIONS AND REBUILDING THOSE, UH, APPLICATION FORMS, UM, AND WHATNOT.
IT'S GONNA TAKE A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF EFFORT.
UH, IT'S GONNA BE A BIG PUSH TO WORK ON THIS THROUGHOUT JANUARY, AND, UH, WE HOPE TO HAVE IT COMPLETED IN FEBRUARY.
UM, SO, AND AS A, A SUB ITEM TO THAT, AS YOU CAN SEE UNDER IT, UH, ITEM ONE A, UM, BECAUSE OF THAT, THIS GOES BACK TO OUR GUIDANCE MATERIAL, WHICH I WAS MENTIONING EARLIER.
UM, IT'LL BE NEED NEEDED TO BE UPDATED.
TO MENTION WISE, IVE, INSTEAD OF PARTNER GRANTS, AND BECAUSE THIS DOCUMENT IS SO VERY TIED TO THE EXISTENCE OF PARTNER GRANTS, IT'S ALMOST GONNA BE LIKE A REWRITING OF THAT INITIAL DOCUMENT, UM, SINCE, UH, THEY, THEY'RE SO INTERTWINED.
UM, SO WE WILL HAVE TO UPDATE OUR GUIDANCE MATERIAL AS WELL AS THE ACTUAL APPLICATION SOFTWARE.
I DON'T, UH, JUST TO ADD ONE ONE BIT OF DETAIL ON OUR TRANSITION INTO WISE HIVE, UH, TO CLARIFY THE TIMELINE A LITTLE BIT.
UM, SO ANY NEW APPLICATION PROCESS, UH, STARTING AT OCTOBER ONE, UH, IS GONNA HAPPEN IN WISE HIVE.
UH, SO ANYTHING NEW, UH, INCLUDING THE NEXT ROUND OF G TOPS THAT WILL BE HANDLED FULLY IN WISE HIVE.
UM, THE TRANSITION THAT WE'LL HAVE TO WORK THROUGH IS ANY CONTRACTS THAT ARE IN PROGRESS.
UH, WE WANT TO MAKE A TRANS TRANSITION, UM, IN, IN THE MONTH OF JANUARY, LIKELY WE'RE, WE'RE HAVING TO COORDINATE AROUND SPECIFIC CONTRACT TIMELINE DELIVERABLES.
UH, SO CLAIMS USUALLY COME IN ON JANUARY 15TH.
UM, AND SO, UH, I THINK WE'LL PROBABLY WAIT FOR AFTER THAT ROUND OF, UH, CLAIMS IS PROCESSED, AND THEN MAKE A FULL TRANSITION, UH, OVER TO THE WISE HIVE SYSTEM.
THERE ARE SOME ITEMS THAT MAY REMAIN IN PARTNER GRANTS, UH, SUCH AS THE CLOSEOUT REPORTING AND THE, THE FINAL STATUS REPORTING.
UM, THAT'S STILL BEING, UH, KIND OF FIGURED OUT, UM, BUT THE MAJORITY OF, UH, THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE TRANSITION WE'RE TARGETING, UH, TO HAPPEN BOTH IMMEDIATELY AND BY JANUARY.
SO, JUST A LITTLE BIT OF CLARITY THERE.
CAN WE ASK QUESTIONS ALONG THE WAY? OH, COURSE.
I JUST DON'T WANT TO SAVE IT TO THE END.
UM, SO ON THAT, DO RECIPIENTS NEED TO GO INTO PARTNER GRANTS AND, AND DO THEIR, UH, THEIR REPORTING OR ANYTHING? OR IS THAT JUST FOR YOU ALL IN EDD? SO BOTH OF THE SYSTEMS PARTNER GRANTS AND WISE HIVE DO REQUIRE INTERACTION FROM OUR VENDORS.
UM, BUT THERE IS GONNA BE A, UH, THERE'S GONNA NEED TO BE A PROCESS OF, UM, ORIENTING AND TRAINING THE VENDORS THAT ARE CURRENTLY ENGAGED IN THE SYSTEM, UH, UH, IN PARTNER GRANTS OVER TO THE WISE HVE SYSTEM.
SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE ON THE, ON THE MAP THERE IS TRAINING DOCUMENTATION THAT IS AVAILABLE, UM, ALREADY.
UM, I KNOW THAT THERE ARE VIDEOS THAT ARE IN PRODUCTION.
I DO, I DON'T KNOW IF THOSE VIDEOS ARE GONNA BE AVAILABLE FOR THIS FIRST COHORT.
IT, IT'S VERY MUCH IN PROGRESS, UM, BECAUSE THE WISE HIVE, UH, ADOPTION IS, UH, IT, IT, THIS IS Y TYPE IS A NEW SYSTEM FOR EDD.
THAT, THAT'S JUST STARTING, UM, TO BE UTILIZED IN OCTOBER.
IT'S NEW, OR IT'S NEW FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT AS A WHOLE.
UM, AND IT'S CERTAINLY NEW FOR, UH, OUR C COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY GROUP, UM, AS WELL.
UM, SO I, I HOPE THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION.
I WAS GONNA ASK ABOUT TRAINING, UH, NEXT.
AND, UH, YOU ALLUDED TO HAVING OFFICE HOURS FOR, UH, FOR THE G OS PROGRAM.
MIGHT BE, MIGHT MAKE SENSE TO HAVE GTOP, UH, OFFICE HOURS FOR, UM, WHEN THE TRANSITION OCCURS AS WELL.
ONE IS IN THE PREVIOUS SLIDE ABOUT THE MONITORING.
I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT IN THE PROCESS OF MONITORING, THESE ARE SMALL ENTERPRISES THAT WE DON'T, YOU KNOW, BECOME SO HEAVY THAT IN BUREAUCRACY, THAT, THAT THEY SPEND MORE TIME IN RESPONDING TO THE MONITORING THAN IN THE ACTUAL CONTENT OF THE WORK.
[01:10:01]
BALANCE, AND PARTICULARLY FOR SMALL ORGANIZATIONS, IT'S A CRITICAL BALANCE.SO I WOULD LIKE TO WARN, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, JESSE AND DAN, THAT AS YOU GO FORWARD, THAT YOU DON'T BECOME TOO HEAVY HANDED.
UH, THANK YOU FOR THE, THAT'S MY FIRST POINT.
I AM DEEPLY CONCERNED ABOUT THIS CON, YOU KNOW, THE, THE TRANSFER TO EDD AND THE CONVERSION TO A DIFFERENT SYSTEM.
I WANNA EMPHASIZE THAT I WORKED FOR A CO COMPANY THAT WAS SEVERAL TIMES BIGGER THAN THE CITY OF AUSTIN IN THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES.
AND WE WOULD'VE BEEN SHOT IF WE HAD DIFFERENT SUBSYSTEMS BY ORGANIZATION.
THIS IS UNREAL TO ME THAT YOU'RE MOVING TO ANOTHER, ANOTHER SUBSYSTEM.
THIS WOULD BE AN UNDERLYING COMMON SU SUBSYSTEM THAT IS SO STANDARD ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION THAT IT IS SEAMLESS AS THE ORGANIZATION MOVES FROM ONE DIVISION TO ANOTHER, THAT IT DOESN'T HAVE TO MAKE THIS KIND OF CHANGES.
THIS IS VERY UPSETTING TO ME THAT WE ARE SPENDING TAXPAYER DOLLARS TO DO THIS.
AND I'M GLAD THIS IS BEING RECORDED BECAUSE I WANT TO MAKE SURE THIS IS RECORDED.
AND I'M GONNA SEND A NOTE TO ALISON ALTER AND EXPRESS MY DEEP CONCERN ABOUT IT.
I'VE WORKED FOR LARGE ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAD SEAMLESS TRANSFERS BETWEEN ALL, YOU KNOW, DIVISIONS.
I'M SORRY, I, THIS IS VERY UPSETTING TO ME.
AND THANK, THANK YOU FOR THE COMMENTS.
UM, UH, COMMISSIONER DESTA, SO YOU HAD TWO ITEMS, UH, THAT YOU, UH, WERE ASKING ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION WAS ONE.
UM, AND, UH, I, YEAH, WE, DAN AND I TAKE A POINT THE TRANSITION TO EDD, SORRY.
MY, MY CONCERN IS THE AMOUNT OF CHANGE YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH TO MOVE TO THIS NEW SUBSYSTEM AS YOU TRANSITION TO EDD.
UM, I WANNA RESPOND TO THE, THE FIRST ITEM FIRST.
UM, AND, UH, YEAH, DAN, DAN AND I ARE VERY SENSITIVE TO THE NEEDS OF, OF THE VENDORS.
UM, THE, THE ITEMS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO SOLVE FOR ARE THAT, UH, UH, WE'VE SEEN THAT THE, THERE HAVE BEEN DELAYS IN REPORTING, SO LIKE REPORTS NOT BEING SUBMITTED AT ALL.
UH, THAT'S WHEN IT'S, UH, THE MOST CONCERNING.
AND SO, UH, THERE'S A NUMBER OF THINGS THAT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT TO, TO MAKE IT EASIER.
OUR INTENT IS TO MAKE IT EASIER ON, ON THE PROCESS OF THE VENDORS.
UM, AND, BUT PART OF THAT IS CLEARER COMMUNICATION WITH, WITH THE VENDORS, AND MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE AWARE OF, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE, WHAT THE DEADLINES ARE THAT WE'RE SENDING OUT REMINDERS THAT THEY, THEY GET INFORMATION IN ON TIME.
UM, AND, AND OUR INTENT IS NOT TO BE ONEROUS, BUT IT IS TO BE CLEAR THAT THESE ARE CONTRACTUAL REQUIREMENTS.
SO I, I DO APPRECIATE, UH, YOU KNOW, I APPRECIATE YOUR, YOUR FEEDBACK, AND WE WILL DEFINITELY PROCEED WITH CAUTION
AND, UH, I DON'T, I DON'T THINK, UH, ON THE SECOND PART, UH, THERE'S, THERE'S INFORMATION THAT I, I JUST CAN'T SPEAK TO.
UM, I KNOW THAT THERE, UH, THERE IS A, UH, THERE WAS A CONVERSATION BETWEEN DEPARTMENTS, UM, UH, REGARDING THE, THE WISE HIVE SYSTEM.
UM, AND, AND I THINK THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE WERE, UH, JUST DECISIONS BY THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS TO, UH, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, REGARDING THE, THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE SYSTEM THAT WERE, UH, NEEDED FOR EDD VERSUS AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH.
UM, I WASN'T INVOLVED, SO I CAN'T REALLY, UH, ANSWER YOUR QUESTION TOO DEEPLY.
BUT, UM, I KNOW THAT WE HAVE, UH, FOLKS, UH, AT EDD WATCHING.
UH, SO, UH, I'M SURE YOUR CONCERN IS, IS NOTED.
THANKS, THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR FEEDBACK.
LET ME ADD A FOLLOW ON COMMENT.
IF THIS NEW SUBSYSTEM IS GOING TO BE STANDARDIZED ACROSS THE CITY, I WITHDRAW MY COMMENT BECAUSE WE HAVE TO MOVE FORWARD.
SO A NEW SUBSYSTEM THAT STANDARDIZES ACROSS THE CITY AND MAKES US MORE EFFICIENT AS A CITY IN OUR, IN, IN OUR SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY, THEN I'M ALL FOR IT.
BUT IF EACH DIVISION HAS A DIFFERENT SUBSYSTEM, THAT'S WHAT I'M COMPLAINING ABOUT.
AND, UH, UNFORTUNATELY I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION TO ANSWER THAT, BUT, UM, YEAH, WE CAN, WE CAN, UH, WORK WITH OUR, OUR LEADERSHIP AS, UH, AS WE NEED TO.
AND, AND CERTAINLY YOUR, YOUR FEEDBACK IS APPRECIATED.
AND COMMISSIONER DES GUPTA MIGHT BE A GOOD, UH, ITEM FOR, UM, A SUBSET OF US TO INVESTIGATE FURTHER IN A WORKING GROUP YES.
FORUM AND PERHAPS MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE CITY.
YES, I FULLY AGREE WITH YOU, AND I WOULD BE HONORED TO BE PART
[01:15:01]
OF THAT WORKING GROUP, BECAUSE I'VE DEVELOPED SOME VERY MAJOR SOFTWARE SYSTEMS. UH, YOU KNOW, I WORKED FOR IBM AS, YOU KNOW, AND I, MY SOFTWARE WAS USED THROUGHOUT THE COMPANY, ACROSS THE WORLD, AND I'VE NEVER SEEN A SITUATION LIKE THIS WHERE I HAD TO GO ACROSS THE SUBSYSTEMS. YEP.LET'S, UH, LET'S PLAN TO, TO TAKE IT UP.
I THINK DAN STILL, I THINK DAN STILL HAD, UH, SOME ITEMS, UH, LEFT ON THE DOCUMENT.
SO TO GO BACK INTO THIS, UH, TRANSITION INTO THE ECONOMIC, UH, DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, UM, ONE OF THE BIGGER, UH, THINGS THAT WE WANT TO, UH, PUT MORE EFFORT INTO THIS YEAR, UM, IS OUR REVIEW PANELIST, MARKETING OUTREACH.
UM, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THIS GOES FOR G OS MARKETING ACROSS THE BOARD, BUT SPECIFICALLY REVIEW PANELIST, MARKETING, OUTREACH, UM, JUST, UH, I'LL, I'LL GO INTO THIS IN THE NEXT SECTION, BUT, UH, THERE HAVE BEEN SOME, UH, ROAD BUMPS, UH, UH, PULLING TOGETHER PANELS, UH, OVER THE LAST YEAR, UM, UH, MORE SO THAN THE YEAR PRIOR.
UM, SO, UH, WE AT LEAST WANT TO UTILIZE OUR, OUR, OUR NEW MARKETING TEAM, THE PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE FOR EDD, UM, TO HELP, UH, RECRUIT, UH, NEW REVIEWERS, SOME MORE ENGAGE REVIEWERS, UM, UH, PEOPLE WHO, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, WON'T DROP OUT HALFWAY THROUGH THE PROCESS.
UM, AND THAT IS GONNA GO ACROSS, UH, LOTS OF DIFFERENT WAYS.
TOOLS WE HAVE HAD ACCESS TO BEFORE, UH, SUCH AS, UH, SOCIAL MEDIA, UM, HOPEFULLY THE, UH, EDD NEWSLETTER.
UM, SOME FLYERS IN PUBLIC SPACES, UM, LIKE SOME OF THE COMPUTER LABS THAT WE HELP OPERATE OR OTHER METHODS.
AND THAT GOES FOR ALL G OS PATHWAYS THAT DO HAVE THIS BUILT-IN REVIEW PANEL ASPECT.
UM, AND ON TOP OF THAT, UM, PER REQUEST OF THE COMMISSION, UM, WE ARE GONNA WORK WITH THAT SAME EDD MARKETING TEAM, THE PIO, UM, TO, UH, DESIGN A MARKETING, UH, ONE PAGE OR A REVIEW PANELIST, ONE PAGER, WHICH DETAILS THE TIMELINES, THE REQUIREMENTS, UM, AS WELL AS ANY OTHER PERTINENT INFORMATION, UH, TO SHARE WITH YOU GUYS, THE COMMISSION.
UM, AND HOPEFULLY YOU GUYS CAN SHARE WITHIN YOUR NETWORKS AS WELL AS, UH, YOUR, UH, DESIGNATED COUNCIL MEMBER'S OFFICE.
UM, AND I'LL JUMP INTO THIS LAST SECTION.
UM, SO ENHANCEMENTS TO THE GTOP S REVIEW PROCESS.
I TEASED THIS IN THE ITEM BEFORE.
UM, BUT YEAH, WE'VE HAD SOME TROUBLE OVER THE LAST YEAR, YEAR AND A HALF WITH OUR REVIEW PANELS.
UM, LOTS OF MIDWAY DROPOUTS, UM, LOTS OF LAST MINUTE RECUSALS.
UM, AND I, I SAY A LOT, BUT IT'LL BE LIKE ONE OR TWO PER PANEL.
UH, BUT WHEN THESE PANELS ARE BUILT UP OF, UM, YOU KNOW, THREE TO EIGHT PEOPLE, EIGHT BEING THE MOST I'VE EVER SEEN, UM, TWO DROPOUTS CAN BE A LOT.
AND, UH, AND, YOU KNOW, THE MORE REVIEWS THAT WE HAVE, UH, THE MORE INFORMED AND, UH, BALANCED, WE FEEL THAT, UH, THE, THE FINAL DECISION IS.
UM, SO WE ALWAYS WANNA HAVE MORE REVIEWERS THAN NOT.
UM, SO JESSE AND I ARE GOING TO BE LOOKING INTO DIFFERENT WAYS TO, UH, HELP THIS RECRUITMENT PROCESS, UM, AND MAKE THESE, UH, PANELS A LOT MORE STABLE.
UM, WE, UH, WANT TO LOOK AT INVESTIGATING DIFFERENT, UH, MEASURES, UH, THAT WE COULD, UH, IMPLEMENT.
UM, AND THAT GOES OUTSIDE OF MARKETING, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, THOROUGHLY VETTING THESE CANDIDATES.
UM, WE ALREADY DO LIKE AN INITIAL VETTING PROCESS, UH, BUT PERHAPS LIKE A CONVERSATION AND INTERVIEW PROCESS OF SOME SORT IS ALSO NEEDED.
UM, WE'RE GONNA EXPLORE OUR OPTIONS, UM, BUT WE HOPE TO HAVE THAT READY, UH, BY THE NEXT REVIEW PANEL CYCLE.
AND THIS LAST ONE, UH, REGARDS IS IN REGARDS TO G OS CORE.
UM, WE SAW THAT, UM, WITH THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF CURRENT NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS IN DIGITAL EQUITY, UM, WE SAW THAT, UM, THE, THERE WERE DIFFERENT NEEDS THAT WERE BEING MET.
UM, AND SO BONUS POINTS, UH, BEFORE FOR GTOP S CORE, UM, ONE OF THE CATEGORIES WAS, UM, HAVING, UH, IF THE NONPROFIT WHO WAS APPLYING, UH, IF THEIR PROGRAMMING WOULD HAVE A FOCUS ON A PRIORITY POPULATION, THEN THEY WOULD BE AWARDED, UM, FIVE EXTRA ADDITIONAL BONUS POINTS.
UM, BUT WE SEE THAT, UH, ALL OF ALL THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT APPLIED MOST, IF NOT ALL, UM, DO TARGET THESE PRIORITY POPULATIONS.
UM, SO IT, IT CAME OUT TO WHERE NO ONE WAS GETTING BONUS POINTS BECAUSE EVERYONE WAS GETTING THEM.
UM, SO WE DEFINITELY WANNA THINK OF NEW WAYS TO HELP ENCOURAGE, UH, ORGANIZATIONS, UH, TO APPLY THAT.
UH, WE THINK OTHERWISE, UM, WOULDN'T HAVE THE, UH, OR WE JUST WANT TO, UH, UH, STRENGTHEN THE, THE PARTICULAR ORGANIZATIONS THAT, UH, WE BELIEVE COULD BENEFIT FROM HAVING DIFFERENT BONUS POINT CATEGORIES.
[01:20:01]
WE WANTED TO STRESS DIFFERENT, UM, PRIORITIES FOR GTOP S UM, SO TWO OF THE NEW BONUS POINT CATEGORIES, UH, WOULD BE, UM, UH, ADDITIONAL BONUS POINTS FOR, UH, APPLICATIONS, UH, WHO HAVE NEVER, UH, RECEIVED G OS FUNDS IN THE PAST, OR HAVE NEVER APPLIED FOR G OS FUNDS IN THE PAST.UM, AS WELL AS IF THESE, UH, ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS ARE ALIGNED WITH THE, UH, DIGITAL EMPOWERMENT COMMUNITY OF CENTRAL TEXAS'S, UM, NTIA DIGITAL CAPACITY GRANT PROPOSAL.
UM, THIS ONE IS STILL TENTATIVE.
UM, UM, SO THE DIGITAL EMPOWERMENT COMMUNITY OF CENTRAL TEXAS WAS THE GRANT THAT I MENTIONED THAT DECA APPLIED FOR.
UM, THIS WOULD JUST BE THE D-E-C-C-T WOULD BE THE NEW NAME FOR THIS GROUP.
UH, THIS SMALLER GROUP OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT WOULD HELP, UH, MANAGE THIS, UH, THESE GRANT FUNDS IF, IF WE ARE AWARDED THEM.
UM, WE STILL HAVE YET TO SEE WHEN, UH, IF THE, IF WE'LL RECEIVE THOSE FUNDS.
UM, BUT IF WE DO, UM, WE WANT TO HELP ROPE SOME OF THOSE, UH, APPLYING ORGANIZATIONS FOR GTOP S UM, INTO THIS, UM, EFFORT, UM, WHICH WE HOPE CAN BE A, A, A ONE OF THE LARGER EFFORTS IN TERMS OF DIGITAL EQUITY ACROSS THE CITY.
UM, AND THAT'S IT FOR CHANGES.
UM, I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR, UH, GO OVER ANY OF THESE IN MORE DETAIL.
DAN, UH, ONE QUESTION OR, OR COMMENT ON, UH, ON MY SIDE, I, I KNOW THE, THE REVIEWER, UH, PIECE HAS BEEN, UM, AT LEAST FROM MY TIME ON THE COMMISSION, SOMETHING I'VE OBSERVED, I FROM, FROM MY STANDPOINT, IS HAPPENING MORE SO EITHER REVIEWERS, UM, DIFFICULTY RECRUITING REVIEWERS OR REVIEWERS DROPPING OUT.
I KNOW I'VE HAD TO, TO JUMP IN AND BE A BACKUP REVIEWER, AND MEMBERS OF DECA HAVE HAD TO DO THE SAME AS WELL.
YOU HAD MENTIONED THAT, UH, HAVING, UH, POTENTIALLY HAVING A MORE ROBUST, UM, QUOTE UNQUOTE INTERVIEW PROCESS.
UH, SO IF THERE'S ANYTHING, I DON'T KNOW WHETHER IT'S APPROPRIATE FOR OR NOT, IT'S NOT, IT'S CERTAINLY NOT COVERED IN OUR, OUR DUTIES AS PART OF THE COMMISSION.
BUT IF THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO ASSIST WITH, UH, THOSE INTERVIEWS AS COMMISSIONERS, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'D BE HAPPY TO, TO SUPPORT THE GT OS PROGRAM IN THAT WAY.
UM, I KNOW THE TWO OF YOU, AS WELL AS KOAN HAVE A LOT ON YOUR PLATE BETWEEN TRANSITIONING TO A NEW SYSTEM, MANAGING THE GRANT PROCESS, SO WE CAN TAKE AT LEAST ONE TASK OFF OF, UM, OF Y'ALL'S PLATE AND SUPPORT THE PROGRAM IN THAT WAY.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'D BE HAPPY TO, TO LOOK INTO.
SO, UH, YOU DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER TONIGHT, BUT, YOU KNOW, MAYBE WORK WITH KOAN AND THE REST OF EDD TO SEE IF THAT'S POTENTIAL, POTENTIALLY ANOTHER AVENUE FOR US TO SUPPORT.
YOU, YOU, YOU GO FIRST AND I'LL ADD, OKAY.
UM, I THINK THAT THAT'S A WONDERFUL SUGGESTION.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE COMMISSION ALREADY, UH, HELPS APPROVE, UH, REVIEWERS FOR G TOPS CORE.
UM, SO THAT'S ALREADY A PART OF THE PROCESS.
BUT, UH, I THINK IF WE WERE GO, GOING TO GO DOWN LIKE A PHONE INTERVIEW, UH, OR A TEAMS INTERVIEW, UH, ROUTE, UM, THAT'D BE A GREAT PLACE FOR THE COMMISSION TO PLUG IN.
AND, AND TO ADD A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL, UM, ONE OF THE, UH, VERY POSITIVE THINGS ABOUT THE TRANSITION INTO THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT IS THAT THERE, UH, THE DEPARTMENT AS A WHOLE HANDLES MANY OTHER GRANT PATHWAYS.
UH, AND THEY ALREADY HAVE, UH, FORMS, UH, THAT ARE, THAT THEY UTILIZE FOR RECRUITING, UH, UH, UH, VOLUNTEERS TO, UH, BE REVIEWERS, REVIEWERS.
UM, THEY HAVE GUIDANCE SET UP FOR REVIEWERS ALREADY.
UM, AND THEY HAVE A WHOLE PIO TEAM THAT IS ALREADY ACTIVELY ENGAGED, UM, ON TRYING TO GET, YOU KNOW, TO RECRUIT FOR THAT.
UM, SO I THINK THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO PLUG INTO ALREADY EXISTING STRUCTURES THAT EEDD HAS, UM, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'LL, IT'LL HELP WITH OUR RECRUITMENT GOING FORWARD.
SO I JUST WANTED TO THROW THAT OUT THERE.
AND THEN, UM, ONE HIGH LEVEL QUESTION, UH, REMIND ME WAS THE, THE 400,000 GTOP S UH, BUDGET, WAS THAT RENEWED OR WAS IT EXPANDED FOR THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR? I CAN'T REMEMBER.
UH, WE STILL HAVE A $400,000 PER YEAR BUDGET FOR GTOP.
UM, LOOKING AT THE REST OF THE COMMISSION, UH, IT LOOKS LIKE COMMISSIONER HERITAGE CAME ON.
DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION OR COMMENT? I THINK IT WOULD BE, AND FORGIVE ME, I THINK I'M, I'M ALSO STILL CATCHING UP ON THE GTOP PROGRAM AT LARGE, BUT I THINK IT WOULD BE REALLY USEFUL TO UNDERSTAND COMMITMENTS, TIME COMMITMENTS, AS WE START TO THINK THROUGH REVIEWER OUTREACH.
SO, UM, WHETHER WE OURSELVES WANNA SERVE AND THEN ALSO OTHER OTHERWISE.
SO I KNOW, DAN, MAYBE I CAN CONNECT WITH YOU IF YOU CAN FORWARD THAT ALONG AGAIN, UM, JUST TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE, TO TRY AND HELP CURB SOME OF THE ATTRITION.
[01:25:01]
I THINK WE CAN WALK IN WITH IT.UM, AND THEN STEVEN, I KNOW YOU OBVIOUSLY SERVED AND TALKED ABOUT IT, I THINK LAST MEETING AS WELL.
SO, UM, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR ME AS I THINK ABOUT MY OWN INTEREST AND THEN ALSO CONVEYING OTHERS FOR REVIEWER RECRUITMENT.
DAN, DO YOU WANT TO GIVE JUST A QUICK, UH, MENTION OF, UH, 'CAUSE I KNOW THE COMMITMENT VARIES BY PATHWAY, SO DO YOU JUST WANNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, LIKE, WHAT THAT STANDARD COMMUNICATION LOOKS LIKE WHEN SOMEONE WANTS TO BE A REVIEWER? FOR SURE.
UM, AND, UH, FUNNY THAT YOU MENTIONED IT, I WAS ACTUALLY BUILDING OUT THIS TIMELINE TODAY FOR ANOTHER PERSON WHO ALSO JUST OFFHANDEDLY MENTIONED IT.
UM, BUT THE TIME COMMITMENT, IT, IT VARIES FROM PATHWAY TO PATHWAY.
UM, I, I THINK G TOPS CORE IS OUR HEAVIEST, UH, LIFT.
BUT, UH, BY ALL MEANS, I, I THINK IT'S ACTUALLY THE MOST FUN OF THE REVIEW PROCESSES, JUST 'CAUSE YOU GET PRETTY INVOLVED AND IT'S LIKE YOU'RE A DETECTIVE.
UM, BUT, UH, IT, IT'S SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 10 TO 20 HOURS OF ACTUAL WORK.
UM, IT'S ABOUT 400 PAGES OF READING.
UM, BUT, UH, ONCE YOU GET INTO A GROOVE OF IT, THINGS GET PRETTY FAST AND, AND YOU BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND, UH, WHAT IT IS THAT G TOPS PROGRAM, UH, REALLY EMPHASIZES WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR, WHAT OUR STANDARDS ARE.
UM, BUT YEAH, AT 10 TO 20 HOURS OVER, UH, A MONTH AND A HALF-ISH, IT, IT'S MORE LIKE A MONTH AND A WEEK RIGHT NOW.
UM, AND, UH, IT, IT ALL WOULD HAPPEN BETWEEN, UM, MARCH AND MID-APRIL.
UM, SO IT'S A TIGHT TURNAROUND.
THERE'S ALSO A EIGHT HOUR MEETING THAT HAPPENS HERE AT CITY HALL WHERE, UM, WE HAVE A FINAL DELIBERATION, UM, AND WE INVITE ALL THE REVIEW PANELISTS TO COME IN.
UM, WE FEED THEM, AND THEN WE JUST TALK ABOUT ALL THE APPLICATIONS THAT YEAR, UM, AND JUST TRY TO GET A GENERAL CONSENSUS TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE'S IN ALIGNMENT WITH WHATEVER, UH, PROJECTS DO GET FUNDED THAT YEAR.
UM, IN TOTAL, I'D SAY IT'S ABOUT 30 HOURS OF WORK WITH THAT EIGHT HOUR WORKDAY, UM, INCLUDED.
UM, BUT FOR OUR OTHER PATHWAYS, UM, AND, AND WE HAVE JUST AS MUCH TROUBLE WITH REVIEWERS ON THESE AS WE DO WITH THE LARGE ONE.
UM, BUT FOR GT OS MINI AND G OS CAPACITY, UM, IT'S A LOT LIGHTER OF A WORKLOAD.
UM, PROBABLY THE, THE APPLICATION DOCUMENTS DON'T COME IN AT OVER A HUNDRED PAGES COLLECTIVELY.
UM, AND I'D SAY FOR MINI IT IN BETWEEN THE MONTHS OF LIKE MAY AND JUNE, IT'LL BE A WHOLE MONTH, UH, A WHOLE MONTH OF REVIEW, BUT IT'S, UH, 10 TO 20 HOURS OF WORK.
UM, AS OPPOSED TO THE, THE, UH, OR I'M SORRY, THAT'S EXACTLY THE NUMBER I SAID EARLIER.
UM, SO IT, IT SHAVES DOWN BY PATHWAY A LITTLE MORE.
UM, AND, AND THIS ONE HAS A LOT LESS LIMITS.
THERE'S NO ACTUAL IN-PERSON MEETING.
UM, UH, WE ONLY HAVE A, UH, UH, A, ANOTHER DELIBERATION SESSION, BUT BECAUSE THE APPLICATIONS ARE SO MUCH LIGHTER, UM, WE USUALLY WRAP THAT UP IN ABOUT TWO TO THREE HOURS.
IT, IT'S PRETTY, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S NOT TOO EXTENSIVE.
AND ALSO THE PROJECTS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT FOR GTOP S MINI, UM, ARE A LOT LESS, UM, BROAD AND, UH, OR AND DETAILED AS THE ONES FOR CORE, UM, THAT GTOP S MINI PROJECTS ARE USUALLY, UH, FUNDING A PROGRAM THAT IS ALREADY EXISTING FOR THE MOST PART, UM, VERSUS GETTING SOMETHING OFF THE GROUND.
UM, AND THEN FOR CAPACITY, IT'S A LOT, LOT LIGHTER.
I'D SAY SOMEWHERE BETWEEN, UM, ALSO 10 TO 15 HOURS OF WORK, UM, ACROSS A MONTH.
UM, AND THAT HAPPENS BE THE IN BETWEEN JUNE TO JULY.
UM, AND THE DOCUMENT, THE, THE DOC APPLICATION DOCUMENTS ARE, ARE WAY LESS FOR THIS ONE, UH, SINCE IT'S UP TO $2,500 OF FUNDING.
UM, AND IT CAN ONLY FUND A CAPACITY BUILDING ITEM, SUCH AS, UH, YOU KNOW, BUYING LAPTOPS FOR STAFF OR, UH, GETTING INTERNET ACCESS FOR STAFF.
UM, UH, IT'S A, IT'S A LOT LIGHTER OF A WORKLOAD.
UM, AND JUST ONE ADDITION, UH, WE HAVE, UH, WE HAVE A WHOLE REVIEWER ORIENTATION DOCUMENT THAT WE CAN SHARE.
WE'RE WORKING ON A ONE PAGER FOR RECRUITING, UH, VOLUNTEER PANELISTS.
AND, AND SO BOTH OF THOSE ARE THINGS THAT WE'RE WILLING TO SHARE.
AND OF COURSE, WE'RE ALWAYS WILLING TO MEET WITH YOU ALL.
UH, YOU KNOW, ON THE SIDE IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN VOLUNTEERING OR PARTICIPATING IN THE PATHWAY, WE WE'RE MORE THAN HAPPY TO HAVE ONE-ON-ONE SIDE CONVERSATIONS, UM, TO HELP ORIENT YOU TO THE PROGRAM.
AND, UM, IF YOU WANT TO TAKE A PEEK AT WHAT, LIKE, PAST, UH, APPLICATION MATERIALS LOOK LIKE, UH, I'D BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO SHARE, UH, WHAT, UH, GTOP S 2024 FOR CORE, WHAT ALL THE DOCUMENTS THAT WERE IN THAT, JUST TO KIND OF GAUGE IF, IF IT'S WITHIN YOUR BANDWIDTH.
[01:30:02]
YEAH.UM, AND THEN JUST ONE LAST, UH, POINT ON THAT.
SO, JUST WANT TO REEMPHASIZE, UH, THE OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL COMMISSIONERS TO PARTICIPATE IN, UH, BEING REVIEWERS.
UM, I THINK I'VE BEEN A REVIEWER FOR THE PAST THREE GT OS PATHWAYS, UM, YOU KNOW, WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SEE OTHER COMMISSIONERS STEP UP.
UH, THE MOST RECENT ONE THAT DAN SENT OUT PRETTY RECENTLY WAS THE ART PANEL.
I WAS ACTUALLY HOPING OTHER, UH, OTHER COMMISSIONERS WOULD VOLUNTEER TO DO THAT.
IT WAS AN EASY ONE, AND IT WAS REALLY FUN TO LOOK AT THE, THE ART THAT THE, THESE YOUNG PEOPLE PUT TOGETHER.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, HIGHLY, HIGHLY ENCOURAGE, UH, OTHER FOLKS TO RAISE THEIR, THEIR HAND AND, UH, BE REVIEWERS FOR THESE UPCOMING PATHWAYS.
UM, AND THANK YOU TO COMMISSIONERS APODACA AND COMMISSIONERS WILLIAM, FOR PARTICIPATING ON, ON, UH, REVIEW PANELS THIS YEAR.
DO WE NEED TO TAKE ACTION ON THIS? OH, YES.
OH, UH, WE'RE LOOKING FOR AN APPROVAL.
UM, SO GIVEN, UM, I, I KNOW THAT THERE WERE SOME CONCERNS ABOUT THE, THE TRANSITION TO THE GRANT, UM, UH, TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM, FROM MY STANDPOINT, I MEAN, THAT DECISION'S ALREADY BEEN MADE BY EDD, I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO AS A COMMISSION TO IMPACT IT AT THIS POINT.
MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THE, THE TRANSITION TO THE NEW PROGRAM IS ALREADY UNDERWAY.
UM, BUT I AGREE WITH, WITH COMMISSIONER SUPTA.
UM, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'LL TAKE UP AT THE WORKING GROUP LEVEL, NOT ONLY FOR, UH, GRANT MANAGEMENT, BUT PERHAPS FOR OTHER TECHNOLOGIES AS WELL.
UM, ONE THING I WOULD JUST ENCOURAGE YOU ALL IS TO, UH, ENSURE THAT, UM, YOU ALL HAVE A, A ROBUST CHANGE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM IN PLACE FOR THIS.
MAKING SURE THAT, UH, THE STAKEHOLDERS ARE, UH, FULLY AWARE OF THROUGH COMMUNICATIONS TRAINING, UM, MAKING SURE THAT THERE'S EVEN MAYBE EVEN SOME ADOPTION METRICS AS WELL.
UM, BUT WITH THAT, UH, I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ANY OTHER, UH, ANY OTHER DISCUSSION THAT COMMISSIONERS WANNA CHIME IN BEFORE WE MOVE IT TO A VOTE, NOT SAYING ANYTHING.
UH, WE WILL NEED TO HAVE ALL COMMISSIONERS COME ON CAMERA.
WE'LL JUST GIVE COMMISSIONERS WILLIAMS AND KU ANOTHER MOMENT HERE.
UH, ALL THOSE COMMISSIONERS IN FAVOR OF ADOPTING THE, UH, G OS, UM, UH, UPDATE, UH, PROGRAM UPDATE MEMO FOR FY 25 AS PRESENTED, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND AND SAY, AYE.
ANY ABSTENTIONS, ANYONE AGAINST? OKAY.
WE'VE PASSED THAT ITEM UNANIMOUSLY.
THANK YOU ALL, AND, UH, DEFINITELY KEEP US UPDATED ON ANY OPPORTUNITIES TO SUPPORT, UM, THE GTOP S PROGRAM.
UH, THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS, AND, UM, YEAH, WE'RE HAPPY TO FOLLOW UP, UH, UH, UH, ON THE, UH, CONCERNS THAT WERE RAISED.
[7. Discussion and approval of working group focused on Artificial Intelligence]
UM, SO MOVING RIGHT ALONG HERE, UM, TO AGENDA ITEM SEVEN.SO, DISCUSSION AND APPROVAL OF THE WORKING GROUP FOCUSED ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.
SO WE DID HAVE TWO GUEST SPEAKERS LAST TIME WE MET, EMPHASIZING THE NEED FOR, UM, THE, THE CITY TO, TO HAVE A GREATER FOCUS ON, UH, ALL THINGS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, WHETHER IT'S, UH, ETHICAL USE OF AI, UH, AROUND DATA, AROUND RACIAL BIAS.
UH, I THINK, UH, ONE TOPIC EVEN MENTIONED WAS AROUND AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES.
UM, ONE OF THE ITEMS THAT WE HAD COMMITTED TO WAS STANDING UP A, UH, WORKING GROUP FOCUSED ON THIS TOPIC SPECIFICALLY.
UM, SO WANTED TO, UH, TO TEST THE WATERS HERE WITH THE, THE COMMISSION, AND, UH, SEE WHO ALL MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN, UH, BEING A PART OF THIS, UH, WORKING GROUP.
SO I'LL OPEN IT UP TO DISCUSSION NOW.
JUST WANTED TO INQUIRE ABOUT THE TIME COMMITMENT.
UM, SO HISTORICALLY, UH, THESE WORKING GROUPS, UH, HAVE BEEN, UH, AN AN ADDITIONAL HOUR TO TWO HOURS OF, UH, MEETING AND, UH, OFFLINE WORK IN BETWEEN COMMISSION MEETINGS.
[01:35:01]
EXPECT TO, TO BUDGET AROUND THAT MUCH, MAYBE A LITTLE, MAYBE SLIGHTLY MORE AS WE, UH, GET IT UP AND RUNNING.BUT ON AN ONGOING BASIS, I WOULD EXPECT THAT MUCH.
UM, THE OTHER THING I'LL BE LOOKING FOR IS, UH, PERHAPS SOMEONE TO, UH, TO LEAD THIS WORKING GROUP, UH, OUTSIDE OF, OF MYSELF.
SO, UH, THIS INDIVIDUAL WOULD, UH, BE RESPONSIBLE FOR, UM, REPORTING OUT TO THE COMMISSION AT EACH COMMISSION MEETING, UH, SCHEDULING THE MEETINGS, UM, AND THEN, UH, PRESENTING ANY, UH, POTENTIAL RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE FULL COMMISSION AS WELL.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR, OR QUESTIONS ON THIS ITEM? NO, BUT, UH, I'M, I'M INTERESTED IN, UM, PARTICIPATING.
ANYONE ELSE INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING? COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS? YES.
UH, BRIAN WILLIAMS. I'M INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING.
WELL, WITH THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD TO, UH, TO STAND UP A WORKING GROUP.
IT, WE JUST REQUIRE A SIMPLE VOTE OF THE, UM, THE COMMISSION.
UM, SO I'LL, UM, IF, IF, UH, ANYONE IS INTERESTED IN MAKING THAT MOTION, I WILL OPEN IT UP.
I MOVE TO ADOPT, UH, THIS, UH, WORKING GROUP.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF FORMING A WORKING GROUP FOCUS SPECIFICALLY ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND AND SAY AYE.
ANY ABSTENTIONS? ANYONE AGAINST? OKAY.
UH, SO COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS AND KU, UM, ARE EITHER OF YOU, UH, INTERESTED IN, UH, LEADING THIS EFFORT? UM, I THINK THAT THE FIRST ACTION ITEM WOULD BE STANDING UP A MEETING.
UM, I DEFINITELY COULD, UH, I PROBABLY OFFLINE GET WITH, UH, EITHER YOURSELF OR, UM, DAN AND SEE ABOUT DOING IT, UM, PROPERLY, BUT YEAH.
YEAH, THIS IS, UM, UH, IT, IT'S AN INFORMAL PROCESS.
UH, AND SINCE THERE'S JUST THREE OF US, YOU KNOW, I'M HAPPY TO HAVE BOTH YOU AND COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS CO CO-CHAIR, UM, THE EFFORT, UM, IF, IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU'D BE OPEN TO AS WELL.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS. OKAY, GREAT.
AND IT, SINCE IT'LL JUST BE A FEW OF US, I THINK IT'LL BE A MANAGEABLE NUMBER.
UM, SO WITH THAT SAID, YOU KNOW, WE CAN HAVE UP TO FIVE COMMISSIONERS ON, UH, ANY WORKING GROUP, JUST AS LONG AS WE DON'T HIT A QUORUM.
UM, SO IF ANY OF, UH, THE REST OF YOU, UH, DECIDE AFTER THE MEETING THAT YOU WANT TO BE A PART OF IT, JUST SEND A MESSAGE TO, UH, BOTH COMMISSIONERS, KU AND WILLIAMS. UH, AND IN THE MEANTIME, UM, YOU KNOW, HAPPY TO, FOR ONE OR, OR BOTH.
SO, COMMISSIONER ROKU, SINCE YOU SPOKE UP FIRST, YOU WOULDN'T MIND JUST PROPOSING A MEETING TIME.
UM, AND THEN WE CAN, UH, PLAN TO DIVIDE RESPONSIBILITIES, UH, BETWEEN THE, THE TWO OR OR THREE OF US, UH, WHEN WE MEET.
HOW DOES THAT SOUND? OH, YEAH.
UM, IF, IF WEEKENDS ARE FLEXIBLE FOR EVERYBODY, THAT'S FINE.
IF NOT, WE COULD, I GUESS, GET LIKE A GOOD WEEKDAY AFTER HOUR TIME.
YEAH, MONDAYS AND FRIDAYS ARE THE BEST FOR ME, UM, IN THE LATE AFTERNOON.
WHAT ABOUT YOU, COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS? UH, TO BE PERFECTLY HONEST WITH YOU, I, I HAVE A, A PERSON WHO HELPS ME WITH MY CALENDAR.
SO MY, MY SCHEDULE IS, IS ABSOLUTELY INSANE.
UM, BUT I, I WILL SAY THAT, UH, THE WEEK IS EASIER THAN THE WEEKENDS.
HOW ABOUT THIS, COMMISSIONER WA JACK, HOW ABOUT, UM, YOU, YOU, UH, PROPOSED A FEW TIMES VIA EMAIL, UM, AND THEN, UH, COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS AND I WILL RESPOND AND WE'LL DECIDE ON A DATE.
HOW'S THAT SOUND? SOUNDS GREAT.
AND I, AND I KNOW THERE WERE OTHER COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT WERE INTERESTED IN BEING INVOLVED, SO, UH, DURING THAT FIRST MEETING, LET'S ALSO, UM, PUT OUR BRAINS TOGETHER ABOUT HOW TO, UH, PULL THEM IN AS WELL.
EXCITED ABOUT THAT, THAT ITEM.
[8. Review and approval of the revised bylaws following input from the City Clerk’s Office]
UM, MOVING ON TO ITEM EIGHT, REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF THE REVIEW OF THE REVISED BYLAWS FOLLOWING INPUT FROM THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE.SO, UH, DAN SENT OUT A NOTE YESTERDAY, UM, WITH THE LINE ITEMS, UH, LINE ITEM RESPONSES, UH, FROM THE CLERK, CITY CLERK'S OFFICE ON EACH OF OUR, UH, PROPOSED CHANGES.
UM, THE GOOD NEWS IS THE MORE SUBSTANTIVE CHANGES,
[01:40:01]
UH, THEY DON'T HAVE OPINIONS ON.AND, UH, I DID MEET, UH, WITH MY DISTRICT TWO, UH, POLICY LEAD, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES DOES SIT IN THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE, WHICH, UH, THESE CHANGES WOULD NEED TO GO THROUGH.
UM, AND THEY WERE FULLY, UH, SUPPORTIVE OF THOSE CHANGES.
UH, THE BAD NEWS IS A SUBSET OF THE CHANGES THAT WE RECOMMENDED, UH, STAFF ACTUALLY RECOMMENDED NOT, UH, PROCEEDING WITH THOSE.
AND, UH, QUITE HONESTLY, UH, I DON'T REALLY WANT TO FIGHT IT ANY FURTHER.
UM, BUT WE CAN GO THROUGH EACH OF THOSE ITEMS NOW.
UM, DOES, DO, DO, UH, DO THEY HAVE THE, THE, THE RED LINED VERSION OF THE, OF THE BYLAWS? I JUST WANNA TO POP THESE ITEMS UP 'CAUSE WE NEED TO READ IT INTO THE RECORD, UM, AS WE, UM, BEFORE WE TAKE A VOTE AND THEN HAVE QUICK DISCUSSION ON IT.
AND, UH, DAN DID SEND, UH, AN EXCEL SPREADSHEET WITH EACH OF THE, THE ITEMS AS WELL AS THE LINE, THE RED LINED VERSION, IF YOU ALL WANT TO POP IT UP ON YOUR END CHAIR.
COMMISSIONER SUPTA GOT A QUESTION.
THE ITEMS THAT THE, THAT THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE, UH, TOOK ISSUE WITH, THAT WE ARE GOING TO PUNT ON.
DO THEY IN ANY WAY AFFECT THE CHANGES THAT WE ARE WILLING TO GO FORWARD WITH? UH, NO.
CLAR, THEY WERE CLARIFICATIONS.
WE CAN GO THROUGH THOSE NOW, SO THEY'RE INDEPENDENT.
AND YEAH, THAT'S A, THAT'S ANOTHER REASON I JUST WANTED TO PUT IT, PUT IT TO BED.
UH, SO WE'RE PRESENTING, UH, NOW.
SO, UM, AND REMEMBER, THE, THESE ARE ITEMS THAT THE COMMISSION, UH, PREVIOUSLY PASSED.
SO THE NEW, UH, VOTE WOULD BE ON A SUBSET OF THE ITEMS, BUT I WANT TO GO THROUGH IT AND READ IT THROUGH THE RECORD.
SO, UH, CHANGES HERE, UH, CER SO CERTAINLY AS, AS PRESENTED AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE HERE, CHANGE OF THE NAME OF THE COMMISSION.
SO WE, WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING IS CHANGING, UH, OUR COMMISSION NAME TO SIMPLY THE TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION.
UH, THIS WOULD, UH, GO A LONG WAY TO MAKING US A BIT MORE APPROACHABLE, UM, AS WELL AS, UH, BROAD IN OUR, OUR SCOPE.
UM, SO THAT'S THE FIRST MAJOR CHANGE THERE.
AND AGAIN, THE, UH, THE POLICY LEAD IN THE DISTRICT TWO OFFICE WAS FULLY SUPPORTIVE OF THIS ITEM.
UM, THE SECOND CHANGE AS WE MOVE DOWN, SO AGAIN, CHANGING THE NAME OF THE COMMISSION, BUT THE PURPOSE AND DUTIES SECTION.
SO WE'VE ADDED SOME ITEMS. AND AGAIN, THESE ARE ITEMS THAT WE'VE HISTORICALLY HAVE, HAVE EVOLVED TO, TO BE DOING.
FRANKLY, ALL WE'RE DOING IS, UM, UM, MAKING THEM, UH, PERMANENT HERE.
SO ADDING DIGITAL EQUITY ISSUES, BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT AND ACCESS, DIGITAL SKILLS, INTERNET AFFORDABILITY, AND ACCESSIBILITY.
UM, YOU HEARD, UH, THE NONPROFITS TODAY TALK ABOUT REALLY EACH OF THESE ITEMS. SO I, I THINK THAT IT MAKES SENSE TO, UH, TO ADD THEM AS WELL AS WE MOVE DOWN JUST SOME MINOR CORRECTIONS HERE AROUND TELEVISION CONTRACTS.
UM, AND AGAIN, ITEM TWO THERE, UH, THE IDENTIFICATION, IDENTIFICATION OF COMMUNITY CABLE TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INTERNET BROADBAND, ACCESS DEVICES, AND OTHER TECHNOLOGY NEEDS AND RESOURCES.
AND IN ITEM THREE, COINCIDENTALLY ENOUGH, UM, HOLDING HEARINGS ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND OTHER EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES.
CHAIR, COULD YOU SCROLL UP, PLEASE? OH, GOOD.
UM, MINOR CHANGE, UH, AT THE BOTTOM OF PAGE ONE THERE AROUND, UM, COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY, INCLUDING THE INTERNET.
AND THEN IF WE MOVE ON TO PAGE TWO, UM, ITEM ONE, PROMOTING PUBLIC AWARENESS USE VIEWERSHIP OF ACCESS TELEVISION PROGRAMMING, AND OTHER COMMUNITY MEDIA.
ITEM TWO, WE ADDED, UH, CONTENT AROUND ENABLING, ENHANCING PUBLIC AWARENESS OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY AND COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY ISSUES.
AND THEN ITEM THREE, COLLECTING COMMUNITY INPUT VIA OPEN SESSIONS AS AND WHEN NEEDED TO ADDRESS TOPICS RELEVANT TO THIS COMMISSION.
SO IF WE SCROLL DOWN A LITTLE BIT MORE HERE, UM, THIS SECTION IS ALL ABOUT GTOP S
[01:45:01]
UH, AND BY THE WAY, EVERYTHING THAT I'VE READ HERE, UH, CITY STAFF IS, IS SUPPORTIVE OF AS WELL.UM, SO THIS NEW SECTION COVERS GT OS, UH, AROUND ADVISING CITY STAFF ON THE SELECTION AND APPROVAL OF VOLUNTEER GRANT REVIEW.
PANELISTS TO EVALUATE AND SCORE THE GT OS APPLICATIONS.
WE JUST DISCUSSED SOME OF THIS APPOINT THE COMMISSION MEMBERS TO SERVE AS NON-VOTING CHAIRS, EX OFFICIO CHAIR OF GRANT REVIEW PANELS AS NEEDED TO PROVIDE GUIDANCE AND LEADERSHIP TO REVIEW PANELISTS AND TO SUPPORT THE PROCESS OF G OS PROTESTS.
ITEM THREE, APPOINT COMMISSION MEMBERS TO SERVE AS VOTING REVIEW PANELS WHEN NEEDED.
AND FINALLY, ITEM FOUR, ADVISE STAFF ON THE FINAL ALLOCATION OF GTOP S AWARDS.
SO THAT ENDS THE, UH, THE RE THE NEW REDLINED VERSION OF, UH, THE ITEMS THAT WE, THAT WE, UM, ARE RECOMMENDING.
UM, I'LL JUST TALK HIGH LEVEL ABOUT SOME OF THE, UH, ITEMS THAT CITY STAFF DID NOT RECOMMEND, JUST SO WE HAVE A REFERENCE.
SO WE DID MAKE A RECOMMENDATION, UH, FOR ANY COMMISSION MEMBERS, ANY COMMISSION MEMBERS, UH, VACATING THEIR OFFICE TO ALSO, UH, LET THEIR COUNCIL MEMBER OFFICE KNOW.
UH, THE CITY CLERK TOOK ISSUE WITH THIS BECAUSE IT DEVIATES FROM, UH, THE STANDARD BYLAW LANGUAGE.
UM, I THINK AS A PRACTICE, THIS, UH, THIS SHOULD BE, UH, APPARENT.
UM, BUT IF IT, IF THEY'RE GONNA TAKE ISSUE WITH, UH, DEVIATING FROM THE STANDARD LANGUAGE, I'M, UM, I'M, I, I DON'T HAVE AN ISSUE.
UM, THE OTHER IS, UM, AROUND COMMISSIONERS ATTENDING CEREMONIAL FUNCTIONS, PROVIDED A QUORUM IS NOT REACHED.
WE JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY AND INVITE, UH, AND ENCOURAGE ALL OTHER COMMISSIONERS TO ATTEND CEREMONIAL EVENTS.
UM, AGAIN, THIS DEVIATES FROM THE STANDARD BYLAW LANGUAGE, BUT, UM, AS COMMON PRACTICE, WANNA MAKE SURE THAT ALL COMMISSIONERS ARE ENCOURAGED, UH, TO ATTEND, UM, UH, CEREMONIAL FUNCTIONS BY PRACTICE.
UM, AND THEN A FEW OTHER, UH, EDITS THAT WE'RE PROPOSING THAT WE WILL NOT TAKE UP, UM, INCLUDES, UH, UH, ITEMS RELATED TO, UH, CREATING A COMMITTEE, WHICH WE HAVE NOT DONE YET.
WE'VE ONLY FORMED WORKING GROUPS, AND IT'S BECAUSE COMMITTEES, UH, NEED TO FOLLOW THE SAME TOMA RULES AS WE ARE FOLLOWING DURING THIS CURRENT, UH, MEETING.
SO IT WOULD NEED TO HAVE, IT WOULD NEED TO BE RECORDED, AND WE'D HAVE CITY STAFF SUPPORT.
UM, SO THERE WAS AN ATTEMPT TO CLARIFY THERE, BUT AGAIN, IT, UM, UH, CLASHES AGAINST THE STANDARD BYLAW LANGUAGE.
AND THEN THE LAST ITEM THAT WE HAD RECOMMENDED THAT WE WILL NOT TAKE UP IS THAT WAS ALSO RELATED TO COMMITTEES AND WORKING GROUPS.
UM, SIGNING A, UH, CONFLICT OF INTEREST FORM.
AGAIN, WE READY DO THAT BY PRACTICE.
UM, SO THERE SHOULDN'T BE AN ISSUE THERE.
SO, UH, I GUESS JUST TO SUMMARIZE, THE, THE, THE SUBSTANTIVE CHANGES AROUND EXPANDING OUR SCOPE OF PURPOSE AND DUTIES AROUND DIGITAL EQUITY, UH, DIGITAL SKILLS, AFFORDABILITY, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AND G OS, UH, ARE THE MAIN CHANGES THAT WE WANT TO SEE, AS WELL AS THE, THE CHANGE OF THE NAME TO OUR COMMISSION.
UM, SO HOPE THAT, UH, WE HAVE, UH, CONSENSUS AND SUPPORT FROM THE REST OF THE COMMISSION TO PASS THESE CHANGES.
UM, ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS FROM COMMISSIONERS FROM, YES, COMMISSIONER GUPTA.
SO, UM, DO WE NEED TO PASS A NEW MOTION ACCEPTING THE UPDATED, UH, UH, BYLAWS WITH THE CHANGES THAT THE CITY HAS AGREED TO, AND THOSE THAT THEY HAVE NOT? WE DO.
SO IF THERE'S NO DISCUSSION, BUT I WANT TO MAKE SURE I LEAVE TIME FOR THAT.
BUT IF THERE'S NO, NO DISCUSSION, I'LL ACCEPT A MOTION TO, UM, REVISE THE BYLAWS AS PRESENTED IN THE ATTACHMENT THAT DAN SENT OUT.
I MOVE THAT WE ERUPT THE NEW BYLAWS.
I'LL JUST GIVE COMMISSIONERS ANGA AND WILLIAMS A MOMENT TO COME ON.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF, UH, PASSING OUR REVISED BYLAWS.
UH, AS, UM, READ INTO THE RECORD AND PRESENTED, PLEASE SAY, AYE.
[01:50:01]
ABSTENTIONS? ANYONE AGAINST? OKAY.WE ARE UNANIMOUS IN OUR SUPPORT OF THE NEW BYLAWS.
THANK YOU ALL FOR, UH, YOUR PATIENCE, UNDERSTANDING, AND, UM,
I LOOK FORWARD TO, UM, UH, TO WORKING WITH, UH, THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE, AS WELL AS THE CLERK'S OFFICE TO, UM, REVISED OUR BYLAWS.
[9. Update from the public surveillance working group]
UM, WE'LL MOVE RIGHT ALONG TO AGENDA ITEM NINE.UH, I WANNA SEE IF COMMISSIONER PENA VIA IS AVAILABLE.
UM, SO I WILL, UM, WE, WE MET TWICE ON, UH, THIS WORKING GROUP COMMISSIONER PINA VIA MYSELF AND COMMISSIONER HERITAGE.
UH, WE AGREED, UH, COMMISSIONER PINA VIA WOULD, UH, BE THE LEAD FOR THIS WORKING GROUP.
SO I WILL TURN IT OVER TO YOU, UH, TO GIVE A QUICK SUMMARY AND UPDATE ON, UM, WHAT WE HAVE, UH, BEEN WORKING ON.
THANKS FOR, THANKS FOR SHARING THAT.
UH, YEAH, AS YOU MENTIONED, UH, THE NEWLY, THE NEWLY, UH, FORMED PUBLIC SURVEILLANCE, UH, WORKING GROUP HELP IS IT'S, UH, FIRST MEETING LAST WEEK.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO BRAINSTORM ON SOME POTENTIAL FOCUS AREAS WITHIN THE PUBLIC SURVEILLANCE, UH,
UH, A KEY, A KEY ACTION ITEM FOR, FROM THAT SESSION, UH, WAS TO ENGAGE WITH, UH, LOCAL STAKEHOLDERS.
UH, AND WE ACTUALLY HAD A REALLY PRODUCTIVE MEETING WITH, UH, DR.
STROBER, I'M SURE, LIKE, UH, THAT NAME RINGS A BELL.
SHE, UH, PREVIOUSLY PRESENTED TO THE COMMISSION, I THINK BACK IN JULY.
AND DURING THAT, DURING OUR MEETING THIS MONDAY, ACTUALLY, UH, SHE, SHE PROVIDED SOME VALUABLE INSIGHTS AND RESOURCES THAT WILL DEFINITELY HELP US REFINE THE SCOPE AND IDENTIFY SPECIFIC, UH, TOPICS FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION.
AND, UM, YEAH, AS, AS WE MOVE FORWARD LIKE THIS, UH, WHATEVER WE DECIDE, THOSE ARE TOPICS, UH, THAT, THAT WE WILL, OR, OR THOSE ARE AREAS THAT WE'LL POTENTIALLY, UH, RECOMMEND FOR, FOR THE CITY COUNCIL AS WELL.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT TO ELABORATE ANY, UH, FOR THE CLARIFICATION, UH, CHAIRMAN, AKA, OR, UM, NO, I THOUGHT THAT THAT WAS A, THAT WAS A GREAT, UM, SUMMARY.
UH, SO YEAH, I MEAN, WE'VE BEEN GETTING ORGANIZED MEETING WITH SOME INITIAL STAKEHOLDERS.
THERE'S A FEW MORE ON OUR, UH, ON OUR LIST.
UM, BUT I, I THINK, UM, AS A NEXT STEP, YOU KNOW, WE WILL PROBABLY START CREATING A, A, A TIMELINE OF, OF WHEN WE WANT TO MAKE, UM, A RE A RECOMMENDATION AROUND THIS AREA ONCE WE'VE GATHERED A BIT MORE, UH, BIT MORE DATA ON THE MATTER.
COMMISSIONER, HERITAGE, DID YOU HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL ITEMS YOU WANTED TO ADD? NOTHING ADDITIONAL.
I THINK IT, IT WAS A FASCINATING CONVERSATION WITH DR.
STROGER AND JUST THINKING THROUGH THE DIFFERENT, UM, SCOPE OF LIKE PUBLIC SURVEILLANCE AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
AND I, IT WAS INTERESTING SINCE I HAD A FOLLOWING CONVERSATION ON TUESDAY UNRELATED, UH, TO OUR, OUR WORK GROUP MEETING.
BUT THAT GOT INTO VERY SIMILAR CONVERSATION TOPIC.
AND SO, UM, I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WOULD BE REALLY INTERESTING AS WE START TO DIG IN IS WHEN WE THINK ABOUT PUBLIC SURVEILLANCE, WHAT IS THAT SCOPE FROM A, YOU KNOW, AND USING ONE OF THE EXAMPLES THAT DR.
STR GAVE AROUND, UM, SMART STREET, UH, SMART CITY STREETLIGHT, SENSORS ARE SOMETHING WHERE IT'S A NODE IS CROSSING THE STREET VERSUS, YOU KNOW, ON ONE EX, ON ONE EXTREME END, UH, NON-IDENTIFIABLE, RELATIVELY LOW RISK TO, OH, SUZANNE HERITAGE IS CROSSING THE STREET.
SO I THINK IT WAS JUST SOME, AN INTERESTING WAY FOR US TO START TO FRAME THESE DISCUSSIONS AROUND WHAT IS THE SCOPE OF PUBLIC SURVEILLANCE? WHAT IS THE SCOPE OF RISK ASSOCIATED TO THAT PUBLIC SURVEILLANCE? UM, SO, UH, GOOD CONVERSATION.
LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING IN THE WORK GROUP.
AND, UH, WHAT YOU JUST SAID TRIGGERED SOMETHING FOR, FOR ME, DR.
STROGER ALSO, UH, HAD SOME GREAT RECOMMENDATIONS OF, UM, I GUESS LEADING PRACTICES AND OTHER MUNICIPALITIES THAT WE MAY WANNA TAKE A LOOK AT.
UM, SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE FOLLOWING UP ON AS WELL.
I THINK IT'S OREGON AGAIN, I TOOK A NOTE.
UM, A CITY IN OREGON, PORTLAND, I, I BELIEVE, YEAH.
SO, UM, POTENTIALLY AN AN AREA TO, FOR US TO GAIN INSPIRATION FOR ANY RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE PUT
[01:55:01]
FORWARD.UM, SO WE'VE FINISHED AGENDA ITEM NINE.
[1. Approve the minutes of the Community Technology and Telecommunications Commission meeting on September 11th, 2024.]
TO AGENDA ITEM ONE, WHICH WE SKIPPED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MEETING TO, UH, TO RESPECT THE TIME OF OUR, UH, GUEST SPEAKERS.UH, SO WE'LL NEED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM OUR COMMISSION MEETING ON SEPTEMBER 11TH.
UM, SO EVERYONE SHOULD, UH, SHOULD HAVE HAD THOSE IN THEIR, UH, ATTACHMENTS.
UM, SO I'LL GIVE EVERYONE JUST A MOMENT TO DO A FINAL REVIEW.
UM, BUT IF THERE'S NO EDITS, I'LL UH, ACCEPT A MOTION TO APPROVE THOSE AS PRESENTED.
THIS IS COMMISSIONER HERITAGE.
I MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE MINUTES FOR SEPTEMBER MEETING.
SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER DESTA, IF YOU COULD ALL COME ONLINE PLEASE.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF, UH, APPROVING THE MINUTES AS PRESENTED, UH, FROM OUR SEPTEMBER 11TH MEETING, PLEASE SAY, AYE.
ANY ABSTENTIONS? ANYONE AGAINST? OKAY.
THANK YOU, UH, DAN FOR, UH, DOING A GREAT JOB CAPTURING THE MINUTES.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
UH, SO WITH THAT, WE'LL MOVE TO OUR SECOND TO LAST AGENDA ITEM, UH, FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. UH, I HEARD IT MENTIONED THAT, UH, WE MAY WANNA INFORM A WORKING GROUP, UH, TO INVESTIGATE, UH, TECHNOLOGIES THAT MIGHT BE DUPLICATIVE IN NATURE.UM, SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN CERTAINLY TAKE UP, UH, NEXT TIME.
UM, COMMISSIONER DE GUPTA, UH, I'D, I'D LOVE TO HAVE JUST AN OFFLINE ONE-ON-ONE CONVERSATION WITH YOU TO, TO START, UH, TO KICKSTART THAT, UH, MM-HMM.
BUT THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN CERTAINLY ADD TO NOVEMBER'S MEETING.
UM, AND COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS, DID YOU HAVE, UH, SOME SUGGESTIONS? UH, YOU, YOU AND I TEXTED BRIEFLY? MM-HMM.
I DON'T, PER SE, MY, MY SUGGESTIONS WERE REALLY AROUND THE, THE AI MM-HMM.
BEYOND THAT, I DON'T, I DON'T THINK I HAVE ANY OTHER ADDITIONAL ITEMS. I, I DID HAVE A POTENTIAL SPEAKER THAT COULD MAKE SENSE FOR THE AI YEAH.
UH, CONVERSATION, UM, SOME SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS.
BUT SINCE WE NOW HAVE A WORKING GROUP, I THINK YOU, I MIGHT WANNA BRING THAT TO THE WORKING GROUP TO SEE IF THE OTHERS MAY SEE THE SAME AS WHAT I SEE.
'CAUSE I'M SURE, UM, THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS ALSO HAVE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS IN THEIR, THEIR NETWORKS THAT COULD CONTRIBUTE TO OUR WORK HERE.
SO I'D LIKE TO, TO HOLD ON FOR JUST A BIT AND, UH, RUN IT BY MY FELLOW COMMISSIONERS.
YEAH, THAT SOUNDS LIKE, UH, A GREAT NEXT STEP.
UH, YEAH, LET'S TAKE UP IN THE WORKING GROUP AND THEN, UM, IF IT MAKES SENSE, WE'LL, UH, WE'LL GET THEM SCHEDULED, UM, TO PRESENT TO THE FULL COMMISSION.
ANY OTHER, UH, FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? UH, WE'VE GOT ONE, UH, NEXT MONTH.
WE GOT TO MAKE SURE TO, UH, CREATE A SCHEDULE FOR NEXT YEAR CTTC MEETINGS, UM, AS WELL AS APPROVE THAT SCHEDULE.
UM, IF WE CAN'T GET THAT SCHEDULE APPROVED BY THE END OF NOVEMBER, THEN WE'LL LOSE THE HOLDS THAT WE HAVE, UH, FOR THIS ROOM, SPECIFICALLY THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ROOM.
UM, SO IT JUST MAKES, UH, PLANNING AND, UH, OR PLANNING CTTC MEETINGS A LOT MORE DIFFICULT WHEN WE DON'T HAVE A SET LOCATION.
UM, SO, UH, IF, IF POSSIBLE, PLEASE, UH, UPDATE YOUR ATTENDANCE ON THE, UH, THE RSVP, ON THE OUTLOOK HOLD AHEAD OF NOVEMBER, SO WE KNOW IF WE NEED TO SCHEDULE A SPECIAL CALL MEETING OR NOT.
SO, I, I GUESS JUST TO REEMPHASIZE THE POINT, IF WE DO NOT MAKE QUORUM AT OUR NOVEMBER MEETING, IT'S GONNA BE REALLY DIFFICULT TO, UH, TO, TO PLAN OUR SCHEDULE FOR THE NEXT YEAR.
SO, UH, REALLY NEED EACH ONE OF YOU, UH, TO, IF AT ALL POSSIBLE, TRY AND COMMIT TO OUR NOVEMBER 13TH MEETING SO WE CAN GET THAT PASSED.
YEAH, DAN, UH, I'D LIKE TO PLUG ONE MORE THING WHILE WE'RE AT THE END HERE.
UM, ON FRIDAY, UH, AUSTIN FREENET WILL BE HOSTING THE TECH FOR ALL,
[02:00:01]
UH, FESTIVAL, WHICH IS A DIGITAL INCLUSION WEEK, UM, EVENT THAT'S USED TO CAP OFF THE ENTIRE WEEK.UM, DIGITAL INCLUSION WEEK IS, UH, FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW, IS JUST AN ANNUAL WEEK LONG CELEBRATION BETWEEN ALL DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS WHO DO DIGITAL EQUITY WORK.
UM, AND JUST, UH, REALLY FOCUSING ON THAT WEEK AND GETTING PEOPLE ENGAGED.
UM, THIS IS THE BIGGEST EVENT THAT WE HELP WITH.
UM, AND, UH, OUR, AND WHILE OUR, UH, SUPPORT WAS A LITTLE LIMITED THIS YEAR, UH, WE WILL, I WILL STILL BE IN ATTENDANCE.
UM, AND IT'S A WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY TO MEET ALL THE OTHER ORGANIZATIONS THAT, UM, YOUR LIAISONS AND THIS COMMISSION WORKS CLOSELY WITH.
UM, I BELIEVE, UM, AUTUMN WILL BE THERE, WHO SPOKE TODAY.
UM, SO THAT'S JUST ONE EXAMPLE.
UM, THE EVENT WILL BE, UH, HELD AT THE DEWITTE CAMPUS, UM, WHICH, UM, WE'D LOVE TO GIVE YOU A TOUR OF, UH, COMMISSIONERS.
UM, IT'S WHERE ME AND JESSE WORK OUT OF SOMETIMES, AND WE HAVE A LOT OF CONNECTION TO THAT BUILDING AS WELL.
UM, BUT YEAH, IT'LL BE THIS FRIDAY, THREE TO SEVEN, AND I'LL SEND THAT INVITE OVER TO ALL OF YOU, UH, AFTER THIS MEETING.
UM, AND IF YOU'D LIKE TO ATTEND, JUST UH, LET ME KNOW SO WE DON'T HAVE A WALK IN QUORUM.
I KNOW I'LL PLAN TO ATTEND PROBABLY EARLIER IN THE DAY.
I'M NOT GONNA STAY THE ENTIRE TIME, BUT, UH, I'LL PROBABLY TRY TO MAKE IT FROM LIKE THREE TO FOUR, THREE TO FIVE.
UM, SO HOPEFULLY IF, UH, OTHER COMMISSIONERS WANT TO ATTEND, WE CAN STAGGER, STAGGER IT, UM, BUT HIGHLY ENCOURAGE OTHER COMMISSIONERS TO ATTEND.
UM, IF NOT TODAY, TOMORROW, ANY OTHER FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS FOLKS WANTED TO PUT ON THE DOCKET FOR A FUTURE MEETING, NOT SEEING ANYTHING.
UH, SO WE WILL MOVE TO OUR FINAL AGENDA ITEM, ADJOURNMENT, WHOEVER IS MOST READY TO ADJOURN AND, UH, GET TO BED.
I MOVE
SECOND SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS. SOUNDS GREAT.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF, UH, ADJOURNMENT.