[00:00:02]
WE'LL BE GETTING STARTED HERE IN A COUPLE OF MINUTES AS SOON AS EVERYBODY CAN GET THEIR CAMERAS ON.
RELO, IF YOU CAN JUST SEND YOUR ATTENDANCE SHEET OR AN EMAIL STATING WHETHER YOU HAVE CONFLICTS.
OKAY, EVERYBODY, WE ARE GONNA GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED.
UM, WELCOME EVERYBODY TO THE NOVEMBER 4TH REGULAR CALL MEETING OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION.
UM, I WILL GET STARTED WITH CALLING ATTENDANCE.
UM, COMMISSIONER RUTAN PRESENT.
UM, COMMISSIONER HERMES MEYER.
COMMISSIONER ORR WILL NOT BE JOINING US.
COMMISSIONER CILO IS YOUR MICROPHONE WORKING.
COMMISSIONER SMITH? HE'S, MIKE DOES HAVE TO WORK IN ORDER TO COUNT FOR FORM.
SO IF I'M AWARE IF YOU WANT TO COMMISSIONER ANO, IS THAT BETTER? BETTER.
AND I BELIEVE COMMISSIONER SMITH IS ALSO HAVING I, COMMISSIONER HOLMES, IF YOU COULD JUST SEND ME YOUR ATTENDANCE FORM OR AN EMAIL STATING YOUR CONFLICTS.
I CAN HEAR THE OTHERS HERE JUST FINE.
I THINK THEY, WE CAN HEAR EACH OTHER.
I, THE
YEAH, I THINK WE HAVE TO BE GIVEN PRIVILEGES OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO BE, I CAN HEAR EVERYBODY ALL OF A SUDDEN.
SO COMMISSIONER SIERRA
THANK YOU EVERYONE WITH THAT, DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMUNICATION? NO, WE DO NOT.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
NEXT.UM, WE WILL MOVE ON TO THE APPROVAL OF MINUTES.
GIVE EVERYBODY A SECOND TO TAKE A LOOK, SEE IF THEY HAVE ANY CHANGES.
UM, I ALSO WANTED TO TAKE A SECOND.
YEAH, IF WE CAN MUTE THE KEYBOARD.
UM, UM, I ALSO JUST WANTED TO TAKE A SECOND, SINCE WE WERE LOOKING AT THE MINUTES FROM THE LAST MEETING, TO NOTE THAT THE PENDING QUESTIONS THAT WERE ANSWERED LAST MEETING ARE POSTED AS WELL TO THE OCTOBER 7TH MEETING.
THEIR ANSWERS TO, UM, THE QUESTIONS THAT, WELL, THEIR PENDING ANSWERS TO THE PUBLIC SAFETY QUARTERLY REPORT ARE UPDATE ON THE LICENSE PLATE READER PROGRAM.
WE HAD SOME TRAILING QUESTIONS THERE THAT WE'RE STILL WAITING ON ANSWERS FOR.
UM, THERE ARE SOME ANSWERS, UM, ON THE, THAT WE GOT ON THE UPDATE ON WILDFIRE READINESS BY THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT, UM, ON HOW THEY WORK WITH THE UNHOUSED COMMUNITY AND WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE PARTNERING WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS ON PREPARED MEALS.
AND THEN ALSO WE HAD REQUESTED, AS PART OF OUR TRAINING ACADEMY WORKING GROUP, UM, THE REPORTS FOR THE, UM, ACADEMIES.
AND SO THOSE HAVE BEEN POSTED, I BELIEVE THE ONE 48TH, THE ONE 51ST, AND THEN IN YOUR EMAIL, YOU SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN TODAY, EARLIER TODAY, THE 152ND REPORT.
UM, SO JUST WANTED TO TAKE NOTE OF THAT.
UM, AS FAR AS MINUTES, DO WE HAVE ANY
[00:05:01]
CHANGES? OKAY.CAN I GET A MOTION? I MOTION AND A SECOND? SECOND.
AND IF I CAN GET A SHOW OF HANDS TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 EVIDENCE UNANIMOUS.
UM, AND WITH THAT, WE WILL JUST GO AHEAD AND ACTUALLY, BEFORE WE GET STARTED, I JUST WANTED TO INTRODUCE OUR NEWEST COMMISSION MEMBER.
IT'S ENRIQUE DURAN, AND HE IS JOINING US FOR DISTRICT THREE.
IF YOU'D LIKE TO TAKE A SECOND TO JUST SAY HELLO AND INTRODUCE YOURSELF.
MY NAME IS ENRIQUE DURAN, UH, THE SECOND.
AND I'M, UH, JUST AN HONOR AND PRIVILEGE TO BE HERE, AND I'M GONNA SERVE THE COMMISSION TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITIES.
AND I'M A NA UH, I WASN'T BORN IN AUSTIN, BUT I'VE BEEN HERE SINCE 83, SO I THINK THAT GIVES ME SOME KIND OF BONAFIDE
BUT, UH, I'M JUST THRILLED TO BE HERE AND OKAY.
UH, JUST TO DO MY PART TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY AND YOU ALL.
[2. Public Safety Quarterly Report, Austin Fire Department, including an update on the October 2024 wildfire in East Austin.]
AND WITH THAT, I THINK WE WILL JUST DIVE IN AND GET STARTED WITH OUR PUBLIC SAFETY QUARTERLY REPORT.THIS TIME IT IS AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT, AND THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
I KNOW THERE'S A WILDFIRE GOING ON CURRENTLY, AND I'M ASSUMING THAT A LOT OF YOU GUYS ARE BUSY.
WE, WE DO HAVE A FEW RESOURCES OUT IN THE BASTROP AREA.
THE WEATHER'S BEEN PRETTY GOOD TODAY THOUGH, SO THE HUMIDITY S ABSOLUTELY HELPS.
SO, UM, YOU, IT'S, IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR WHEN IT GETS DRY AROUND HERE, THE, THE RAIN WILL HELP.
SO WE'RE, UH, KEEPING OUR FINGERS CROSSED FOR THE RAIN.
I'M TOM BOKEY, ASSISTANT CHIEF AUSTIN FIRE.
UM, I'M GONNA RUN THROUGH THE QUARTERLY REPORT AND I'LL START, IF YOU WANNA GO AHEAD AND CLICK THE NEXT ONE.
UM, ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS WE WANTED TO TALK ABOUT WAS AN UPDATE ON THE, ON THE FIRE FROM OCTOBER 10TH.
IT ENDED UP BEING AROUND 55 ACRES, AND THAT WAS, UH, IN, IN EAST AUSTIN AT TAVEN PARK.
UM, DRIER THAN NORMAL CONDITIONS, WHAT WE'VE HAD OVER THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S A PROBLEM WHEN IT'S HOT AND DRY ALL THE WAY INTO NOVEMBER.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE AREA HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN TREATED FOR WILDFIRES, SO THEY'D HAD PREVIOUS BURNS OUT IN THAT AREA, WHICH, YOU KNOW, ALLOWED US TO CONTROL THIS FIRE PRETTY, PRETTY EASILY.
UM, WE HAD MORE THAN 120 FIREFIGHTERS.
UH, WE HAD HELP FROM ESD 11, UH, ESD 12, UH, OUT IN MAINOR, IN, IN SOUTHEAST TRAVIS COUNTY.
SO THOSE GROUPS WERE VERY HELPFUL AS WELL.
UM, WE ENDED UP HAVING, LIKE I SAID, ABOUT 120 FIREFIGHTERS OUT THERE.
UM, WE WERE ABLE TO CONTAIN THE FIRE IN ABOUT THREE AND A HALF HOURS.
UH, NO STRUCTURES WERE DAMAGED, UH, NO EVACUATIONS WERE NEEDED.
UM, SO THE WORK THAT WE'D DONE THAT AREA PREVIOUSLY WAS, UH, WAS BENEFICIAL.
AND, YOU KNOW, THE, THE TRAINING THAT WE'VE CONTINUED TO DO OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS ALLOWED US TO, UH, BE PRETTY PROFICIENT IN, IN THESE SMALLER FIRES LIKE THIS.
SO, ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT? I KNOW THAT WAS A, A A POINT THAT, UH, FOLKS WANTED TO HEAR ABOUT.
UM, I JUST HAD A QUICK QUESTION.
THE REASON I WAS HOPING IS JUST, I KNOW THAT WE HAD BEEN TALKING ABOUT EAST AUSTIN AND WILDFIRE AND JUST IN TERMS OF WILDFIRE READINESS MM-HMM.
ARE THERE ANY OF THOSE WILD THOSE, I FORGET WHAT IT'S CALLED.
THE, THE WILDFIRE READY COMMUNITIES? I FORGET.
THERE'S A, THERE'S A SPECIFIC ACRONYM FOR IT.
FIREWISE, FIREWISE, FIREWISE, FIREWISE COMMUNITIES, FIRE WISE.
AND NOT IN, IN THIS EXACT AREA, BUT WE ARE, UH, MAKING A LOT OF INROADS AND I'LL, I'LL COVER THAT IN THE PRESENTATION A LITTLE BIT LATER ON THE WILDFIRE STUFF WHERE WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UH, YOU KNOW, THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING AT EAST AUSTIN NOW.
UH, SO IT LOOKS LIKE YOU HAD A COUPLE, UH, INTERAGENCY, UM, RESPONSES WITH ESD 11 ESD 12.
UM, FROM MY UNDERSTANDING, ESD 12 HAS A DIFFERENT SORT OF RESPONSE WHEN IT COMES TO STRUCTURE, RIGHT? WHEN, WHEN THEY'RE, YOU'RE RESPONDING TOGETHER.
SO, ESD TWO AND ESD 12 ARE NOT ON THE, EXACTLY THE SAME ON THE AUTO EIGHT AGREEMENTS WITH EVERYBODY ELSE, BUT ON WILDFIRE IN PARTICULAR, THERE'S A COUNTYWIDE AGREEMENT THAT THEY PARTICIPATE IN.
SO WILDFIRE, IT'S AN AREA WHERE THE ENTIRE COUNTY PARTICIPATES AND EVERYBODY WORKS TOGETHER, SO, OKAY.
SO THERE'S NOT EXACTLY A NECESSARILY A CHALLENGE WITH COORDINATION? NOT WITH THE, NOT WITH WILDFIRES.
SO THE, THE CHALLENGES ARE IN, IN OTHER AREAS WITH A COUPLE OF THE ESDS.
WE CAN GO ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, JUST AS WE GO THROUGH, I'LL, I'LL COVER SOME TOPICS THAT WE'VE HAD.
WE HAD SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT THE TEXT TO 9 1 1.
UM, THAT, THAT IS IN THE AREA CAP CALL GOOD PURCHASE THAT WE ARE USING IT, IT'S BEEN USED PRETTY SPARINGLY UP TO THIS POINT.
UM, I THINK WE MAYBE, YOU KNOW, 10 OR 10 OR SO CALLS A MONTH OR ARE COMING IN ON THE TEXT LINE.
UM, BUT IT, IT IS A TOOL THAT WE'RE USING AND WE WERE ASKED ABOUT AN UPDATE ON IT.
SO, UM, REALLY, IT, IT JUST HASN'T REALLY TAKEN OFF AND HASN'T BEEN HEAVILY USED.
SO WE WERE VERY FORTUNATE IN THAT WE WERE ABLE TO REOPEN STATION ONE DOWNTOWN AT THE END OF JULY.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S A MASSIVE IMPROVEMENT AND FOR US TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, THE UNITS BACK WHERE THEY NEED TO BE.
[00:10:01]
FEW MONTHS AFTER THAT, WE WERE ABLE TO OPEN UP STATION 22 ON RIVERSIDE.SO, UH, THE BIG AREAS OF TOWN, THIS AREA, ESPECIALLY THE DOWNTOWN AREA WHERE WE HAD, YOU KNOW, HAD COVER COVERAGE ISSUES BECAUSE OF, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE, UH, UNITS BEING DISPLACED.
UH, IT'S RESOLVED AT THIS POINT.
SO, UH, WE'RE VERY EXCITED THAT THAT STATION LOOKS GREAT, UH, AND THAT WE GOT ALL, ALL OF OUR FOLKS WORKING BACK IN, IN THE STATIONS WHERE THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE.
SO, STATION 54 IS CANYON CREEK STATION.
SO THAT ONE'S COMING, UH, COMING TO A COMPLETION.
WE'LL BE DONE HERE AT THE END BY THE END OF THE YEAR WITH A SET TO STAFF IT AND OPEN IT IN, IN EARLY 25.
AND, AND THAT ROUNDS OUT THE FIVE OF THE FIVE STATIONS THAT WE WERE PLANNING TO OPEN OVER THE FIVE YEARS.
AND SO THAT COMPLETES THIS PROJECT.
AND SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT, ABOUT THAT AND, AND THE GROWTH AND THE NEEDED STATIONS THAT WE HADN'T BUILT FOR YEARS, UH, COMING, COMING TO FRUITION AND BEING DONE.
AND SO OUR, OUR FACILITY IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS CONTINUE.
STATION EIGHT IS A COMPLETE REMODEL.
UH, WE'RE EXCITED THAT THAT ONE'S GONNA BE DONE IN DECEMBER.
AGAIN, THAT'S ONE OF THE BUSIEST STATIONS IN TOWN.
UH, STATION 23 ON, ON RUNDBERG, UH, IS STILL OUT OF THEIR STATION.
WE EXPECT THEM TO BE BACK IN THEIR STATION IN DECEMBER AS WELL.
THOSE TWO STATIONS BEING, UH, BEING IN TEMPORARY LOCATIONS IS, IS PROBLEMATIC 'CAUSE THOSE AREAS ARE SO, SO BUSY.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'LL BE NICE TO GET 'EM BACK IN THEIR STATIONS.
WE'RE STILL ABLE TO MAINTAIN COVERAGE IN THE AREAS AND EVERYTHING, BUT, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE LESS THAN COMFORTABLE.
STATION 23 IS IN A, IN A SMALL TRAILER AT A CITY FACILITY.
UM, AND SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE WORKING OUT OF THERE.
STATION EIGHT, UM, WE STILL HAVE ONE UNIT AT THAT LOCATION WORKING OUT OF A TRAILER.
AND THEN THE OTHER STATION IS, THEY'RE WORKING AT STATION 30 ON THE, UH, ON THE OTHER SIDE OF TOWN.
UH, WELL THE OTHER SIDE OF THEIR TERRITORY, UH, TO COVER THE REST OF IT.
SO STATION 47, WE EXPECT THAT ONE TO BE DONE IN APRIL.
UH, WE'RE DOING SOME MOLD REMEDIATION AT TWO OF THE STATIONS, 16 AND 18, AND THEN STATION 25, WHICH HAS BEEN DOWN FOR A WHILE, WHICH WAS A COMPLETE TEAR DOWN AND REBUILD WILL BE, WILL BE DONE, UH, HOPEFULLY THIS MONTH.
SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT 20 FIVES, UH, COMING BACK ONLINE, AUTOMATIC AID, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AUTOMATIC AID AND TALKING ABOUT HOW THINGS WORK WITH WILDFIRES.
AND SO, UM, IN TRAVIS COUNTY RIGHT NOW, WE DO HAVE THE AUTOMATIC AID WITH THE EMERGENCY SERVICE DISTRICTS.
AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT YOU GET THE CLOSEST UNIT.
SO IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT DEPARTMENT IT'S FROM, YOU GET THE CLOSEST UNIT.
AND SO, UM, WE'D LIKE TO CELEBRATE SOME OF THE SUCCESSES WE'VE HAD.
WE TALKED ABOUT EARLY THE OCTOBER 10TH FIRE AND THAT BEING A SUCCESS FOR AUTOMATIC AID.
THERE'S ALSO BEEN A COUPLE OTHER SMALLER FIRES.
UM, YOU CAN SEE THE PICTURE THERE WHERE WE HAD A, A GRASS FIRE THAT GOT INTO THE, THE FENCE LINE OF A NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, OUT IN ESD 11.
AND SO ANYTIME WE HAVE THE CLOSEST UNITS, UH, PLACES LIKE THAT, WHERE TIME IS REALLY CRITICAL, UH, IT'S, IT'S THE MOST EFFICIENT WAY TO DO THINGS.
AND SO WE'RE EXCITED THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ABLE TO CONTROL THAT FIRE.
AND THEN WE'RE EXCITED TO GET THE HELP THAT WE GOT, UH, ON OCTOBER 10TH AT THE BIGGER FIRE THERE OFF 9, 6 9.
SO, UH, WE LIKE TO CELEBRATE THE AUTOMATIC AGE.
WE THINK IT'S A GREAT THING FOR THE SYSTEMS OF AUSTIN.
WE THINK IT'S A, A, A GREAT THING FOR, FOR EVERYBODY THAT LIVES IN THE AREA.
SO WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
OVERDOSE RESPONSES, UM, OVERDOSE RESPONSES AND, AND OUR, OUR, OUR ADMINISTRATION IS DOWN.
AND SO WE THINK THAT OVERALL, THAT, THAT, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S BROUGHT THE NUMBERS DOWN IS THE AVAILABILITY OF NALOXONE EVERYWHERE NOW.
AND WE ALSO, UH, THINK THAT MAYBE IT'S JUST THINGS HAVE SLOWED DOWN A LITTLE BIT WITH THE OVERDOSES IN THIS AREA FOR RIGHT NOW.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE STILL TRACKING IT, KEEPING TRACK OF IT.
UM, I THINK, YOU KNOW, PD AND, AND EMS HAVE DONE A GOOD JOB WITH, WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE THAT THE NALOXONE IS EVERYWHERE AND THAT FOLKS HAVE ACCESS TO IT.
SO, UM, WE'RE EXCITED THAT THE NUMBERS ARE DOWN, HONESTLY.
UH, IT'S NOT, UH, UH, SOMETHING WE WANNA CELEBRATE, UH, YET, BUT OVERALL, THE NATIONAL TRENDS, UH, FEEL LIKE THEY'RE, THEY'RE DOWN A LITTLE BIT RIGHT NOW, UH, BUT WE'LL SEE HOW THINGS GO.
SO WE STILL, UH, WE'RE EXCITED TO HAVE IT, THE, THE MEDICATIONS AVAILABLE AND, UH, WE, UH, WE, WE REALLY, UH, YOU KNOW, HATE TO USE IT, BUT ARE GLAD TO HAVE IT.
AND THIS IS JUST A, THE NEXT SLIDE THAT'S JUST A, A, A KIND OF POINT DOT OF, OF WHERE THE OVERDOSES OCCURRED.
YOU CAN SEE THAT THEY'RE ALL OVER TOWN.
THERE'S NO, THERE'S NO CERTAIN LOCATION WHERE IT HAPPENS.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, IT, HAVING THE, THE MEDICATION AVAILABLE EVERYWHERE IS CRITICAL.
AND, UH, AND, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN SEE IN A LOT OF THESE CASES, THE, THE BLACK DOTS THERE ARE WHEN IT WAS, UH, ADMINISTERED PRIOR TO OUR ARRIVAL.
SO THOSE ARE ALL SUCCESS STORIES RUNNING INTO OUR INVESTIGATION SECTION.
WE STILL ARE TRENDING AT ABOUT TWICE THE NATIONAL AVERAGE ON CLOSING CASES.
SO OUR ARSON SECTION CONTINUES TO BE VERY SUCCESSFUL.
UM, THEY DO A GREAT JOB OF FOLLOWING UP ON ALL OF THE, ALL OF THE, UH, THE ARSON RELATED INCIDENTS IN THE CITY.
THEY DO TONS OF INVESTIGATIONS.
IT'S A GROUP OF ONLY 11 FOLKS.
UM, THEY STAY REALLY BUSY AND DO AN AMAZING JOB.
YOU KNOW, YOU CAN SEE RIGHT THERE, WE'RE IN
[00:15:01]
THE 40%, OVER 40% ANNUALLY WHEN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE ON CLOSING ARSON CASES IS ONLY 22%.SO THAT GROUP CONTINUES TO, TO EXCEL AND DO REALLY WELL.
SO THE WILDFIRE DIVISION, SO SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT EARLIER, THE, THE, UH, STRUCTURE IGNITION ZONE EVALUATIONS, UH, ARE BEING CONDUCTED HEAVILY ON THE EAST SIDE.
NOW WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING WITH OUR COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN GROUP TO TRY TO GET MORE FIREWISE COMMUNITIES.
UM, WE HAVE DEVELOPED WHAT WE CALL THE EAST SIDE STRATEGY.
UH, WE'RE TRYING TO, WE'RE WORKING WITH THE HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATIONS, THE CIVIC MEETINGS, AND, AND TRYING TO DO AS MUCH OUTREACH AS WE CAN TO TRY TO MAKE MORE CONNECTIONS IN EAST SIDE.
TRADITIONALLY, THE, THE HIGH FIRE RISK ON THE WEST SIDE OF AUSTIN LED, YOU KNOW, NEIGHBORHOODS THERE TO, TO BE ENGAGED.
UH, AND NOW WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE THE, YOU KNOW, THE AWARENESS SPREAD CITYWIDE.
THE, THE BIG FIRE RISK ON THE WEST SIDE IS, IS SERIOUS, BUT THE GRASS FIRE RISKS ON THE EAST SIDE ARE, UH, ARE, UH, A LOT MORE LIKELY TO HAPPEN, RIGHT? WE KNOW THOSE HAPPEN EVERY YEAR.
WE HAVEN'T HAD ANY BIG FIRES IN THE WEST SIDE OF TOWN THE LAST COUPLE YEARS, BUT WE'VE HAD, UH, SEVERAL, UH, LARGE, UH, GRASS FIRES ON THE EAST SIDE OF TOWN.
THE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS TOOL IS, IS, UH, UP AND, AND UP AND STARTING TO ROLL OUT.
THE CITY'S STILL DOING A LOT OF, OF IMPORTING DATA INTO THAT SITUATIONAL AWARENESS TOOL.
UH, YOU KNOW, THAT WILL EVENTUALLY HELP WITH, UH, EVACUATIONS AND ALL OF THE THINGS, UH, NOTIFICATIONS AND ALL THOSE THINGS FOR, UH, FOR, UH, WILDFIRE EVENTS.
AND ALSO SITUATIONAL TOOL WILL ALSO WORK FOR, UH, FOR FLOODING AND OTHER EVENTS AS WELL.
SO, UM, IT'S, IT'S A REALLY GREAT TOOL.
AND AS WE GET THINGS LOADED AND, UH, AND IMPROVE THE CAPABILITY WITH, WITH GETTING DATA PUT INTO IT, UM, WE THINK IT'S GONNA BE A GREAT TOOL FOR, FOR, UH, FOR ALL THE FOLKS IN AUSTIN.
UM, WE ALSO HAD A PROFI PRESCRIBED FIRE, UH, PRACTITIONERS COURSE THAT WE RAN.
UH, THAT'S A, A GREAT WEEK LONG COURSE.
UM, PRESCRIBED FIRES IS A TOOL THAT'S USED SOMETIMES TO PREVENT AREAS FROM ACCUMULATING TOO MUCH, UH, TOO MUCH DEAD AND, UH, AND OLD GRASS AND THINGS LIKE THAT THAT, YOU KNOW, ADD FUEL LOAD WHEN WE DO HAVE A FIRE IN THE AREA.
UM, AND THERE WAS A WILDFIRE, UH, DISASTER DECLARATION BY THE STATE OF TEXAS, UH, A FEW WEEKS AGO.
I'M NOT CONFIDENT THAT THAT'S GONNA BE RENEWED.
I THINK THEY MAY LET IT EXPIRE WITH THE WEATHER BEING A LITTLE BETTER.
DOESN'T MEAN WE'RE OUT OF THE WOODS.
UH, WE'RE IN A, WHAT WE CALL MEDIUM RISK RIGHT NOW.
UM, WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT HIGH RISK RIGHT NOW, UH, BUT THE DROUGHT CONTINUES, AND UNLESS WE GET SIGNIFICANT RAIN, WE KNOW WHEN WE GET THOSE WINDY COLD FRONTS FROM THE NORTH THAT WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA BE IN, IN, YOU KNOW, IN SITUATIONS WHERE WE COULD HAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, OPPORTUNITIES FOR, FOR LARGER FIRES.
AND SO, GOING BACK TO THE FIRE MARSHAL'S OFFICE AND SPECIAL EVENTS, THE, THE QUARTER THAT ENDS, YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE SUMMER IS, IS ONE OF THE SLOWER QUARTERS FOR THEM.
UM, THEY STILL HAD A TON OF EVENTS THEY SPEND A LOT OF THE TIME, UH, IN, IN AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER, PREPARING FOR, FOR THE CRAZY OCTOBER THAT WE HAVE.
AND SO, UH, LUCKILY EVERYTHING WENT WELL OVERALL FOR OCTOBER WITH THE ACL AND, AND CO EVENTS AND ALL THOSE THINGS.
UH, THAT GROUP, UH, CONTINUES TO STAY REALLY BUSY.
AND I THINK THE, UH, THE WILLINGNESS OF THE CITY TO, TO, YOU KNOW, ADD A LOT OF RESOURCES TO SPECIAL EVENTS, UH, TO PROTECT THE CITIZENS AND, AND, AND PROTECT THE FOLKS THAT SHOW UP FOR THESE EVENTS, UH, IS, IS A BIG DEAL.
AND, UH, AND, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE, UH, VISITING AUSTIN.
IT'S IMPORTANT THAT, THAT THEY FEEL SAFE.
AND I THINK THE SPECIAL EVENTS GROUPS FROM ALL THE PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCIES DO A REALLY GREAT JOB AND MAKING SURE THAT, THAT THESE EVENTS RUN WELL AND RUN SAFELY.
THE COMPLIANCE ENGINE, SO THE COMPLIANCE ENGINE IS A TOOL THAT WE USE TO TRACK FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEMS. SO, UH, ALARM SYSTEMS, SPRINKLER SYSTEMS, UH, ALL THE DIFFERENT FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEMS THAT ARE IN BUILDINGS.
UM, WHAT THE COMPLIANCE ENGINE DOES IS IT, IT'S A VERIFICATION TOOL THAT VERIFIES THAT, THAT THESE BUILDINGS ARE, AND THE SYSTEMS ARE WHERE THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE, OR IF THEY'RE NOT THAT, UH, THAT WE'RE AWARE OF WHAT THE PROBLEMS ARE.
AND SO 85%, UH, 85, 80 6% IS AS HIGH AS WE'VE EVER BEEN WITH THIS TOOL.
UM, IT WAS, IT WAS REALLY ROCKING AND WE WERE DOING REALLY WELL GOING INTO COVID.
WE WERE IN JUST CONTINUING TO UPSWING.
AND THEN WHEN, WHEN COVID HIT, UM, YOU KNOW, THINGS KIND OF FELL OFF AGAIN.
YOU KNOW, IT'S REALLY HARD TO, TO, UH, GET BUILDING FOLKS TO HAVE COMPLIANCE WHEN NOBODY WANTED ANYBODY IN THEIR APARTMENT FOR AN INSPECTION, OR NOBODY WANTED TO BE IN A BUILDING FOR AN INSPECTION.
SO I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT NUMBER CREEP BACK UP, BACK ALL THE WAY UP TO 85%, UH, AFTER WE WORKED REALLY HARD IN 19 TO GET IT TO 70%.
SO, UH, IT'S A REALLY SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM THAT, UH, THAT ACTUALLY DOESN'T COST THE CITY ANY MONEY.
UM, IT'S, IT, IT'S A, A WAY FOR THE CITY TO ACTUALLY, WE ACTUALLY GENERATE JUST A SMALL AMOUNT OF REVENUE FROM IT TO PAY FOR THE STAFF
[00:20:01]
TO RUN IT.SO IT'S A, IT'S A GREAT TOOL AND, AND WE'RE GLAD TO HAVE IT.
OUR COMMUNITY OUTREACH GROUP CONTINUES TO, TO DO THEIR THING.
WE'RE GETTING OUT THERE AND GETTING SMOKE DETECTORS IN, UH, IN THE, IN THE FOURTH QUARTER WE DID 269, UH, COMMUNITY EVENTS.
SO, UH, OUR FIRE, OUR FIREFIGHTERS, AND OUR FIRE TRUCKS AND OUR, AND OUR COMMUNITY OUTREACH PERSONNEL ARE OUT THERE IN THE COMMUNITY AND, AND, UH, REACHING OUT TO FOLKS AND PROVIDING, UH, SMOKE ALARMS, PROVIDING HOME ASSESSMENTS AND PROVIDING ANYTHING THAT, THAT WE CAN TO HELP WITH, UH, FIRE SAFETY.
UH, WE, WE ALSO DO FIRE DRILLS AND ALL THE OTHER THINGS THAT GO ALONG WITH THAT.
SO THIS GROUP STAYS REALLY, REALLY, REALLY BUSY.
IT'S A SMALL TEAM OF ONLY FOUR PEOPLE.
UM, BUT THEY, THEY ENLIST A LOT OF HELP FROM THE OPERATIONS COMPANIES AS WELL, VACANCIES.
SO OUR VACANCIES, ACTUALLY, IT SAYS 67 SWORN VACANCIES.
WE ACTUALLY GRADUATED A CLASS ON FRIDAY, SO WE'RE ACTUALLY AT, UH, WE'RE ACTUALLY AT 51 VACANCIES RIGHT NOW.
SO, UM, WE INTEND TO START A CLASS AGAIN IN, IN JANUARY.
I'LL, I'LL FOLLOW UP WITH THAT.
BUT, UH, OUR RETIREMENT NUMBERS SEEM TO STAY.
THEY'RE, THEY'RE STEADY ABOUT WHAT WE'D EXPECT, UM, FOR, FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR.
WE ONLY HAVE EIGHT CIVILIAN VACANCIES IN THE, IN THE DEPARTMENT RIGHT NOW, WHICH IS, IS REALLY GOOD.
THAT PUTS US AT, YOU KNOW, AROUND 3% VACANCY RATE THERE.
SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT AS WELL.
UH, HIRING PROCESSES RIGHT NOW.
SO WE WE'RE RUNNING, WE HAVE A HIRING PROCESS THAT WE, UH, THAT WE RAN.
WE TOOK APPLICATIONS MARCH THROUGH APRIL.
WE HAD, UH, YOU KNOW, FOUR, ABOUT 1400 APPLICANTS.
WE HAD 660 SOME PEOPLE SHOW UP FOR OUR TEST.
UH, WE ENDED UP WITH 456 THAT PASSED THE EXAM.
AND SO WE'RE RUNNING THAT LIST RIGHT NOW.
AND SO WE'RE PROCESSING THOSE GROUPS RIGHT NOW.
UH, WE PROCESSED 120 AND THEN WE PROCESSED ANOTHER 180.
UM, AND SO WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA MOVE THROUGH, UH, 220 TO 300, UH, EARLY NEXT YEAR.
AND SO AS WE PROCESS THOSE, PROCESS THAT GROUP, WE'RE GONNA RUN THREE CADET CLASSES OFF OF THERE.
AND I'LL COVER IN A, IN ANOTHER SLIDE, KIND OF WHAT OUR CADET CLASS STUFF LOOKS LIKE COMING UP AND GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO 1 37 AND 1 38, UH, GRADUATED.
AND SO THOSE FOLKS ARE OUT IN OPERATIONS.
UH, 1 31, 1 38, ACTUALLY, THEIR FIRST SHIFT WAS, UH, WAS YESTERDAY.
SO THEY'RE OUT, OUT IN THE FIELD NOW.
WE GOT A, A CADET CLASS OF 48 SCHEDULED TO START JANUARY 13TH.
WE GOT A SECOND CLASS THAT WE'LL START 10 WEEKS LATER IN MARCH OF 48.
UM, SO WE THINK THAT'LL GET US REALLY CLOSE TO THE VACANCIES WE NEED.
AND THEN, UH, WE ANTICIPATE A THIRD CLASS, UH, IN, IN THE SUMMER THAT WE'LL RUN OFF OF THE SAME LIST AS WELL.
SO I DON'T KNOW THE EXACT NUMBER FOR THAT.
IT'LL BE SOMEWHERE, I WOULD GUESS SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 30 AND 48 AGAIN.
AND SO OUR RECRUITING STUFF, OUR RECRUITING'S KIND OF SLOW RIGHT NOW.
WE'RE CONTINUING TO DO THE THINGS WE DO WITH RECRUITING.
UM, BUT RIGHT NOW, THE, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT GONNA GIVE ANOTHER EXAM FOR ANOTHER YEAR.
SO WE'RE IN A, UH, JUST COLLECTING DATA, COLLECTING NAMES, UH, GETTING OUT IN THE COMMUNITY, DOING THOSE THINGS, UM, AND RUNNING PAST THE TORCH ACADEMY, WHICH IS, UH, YOU KNOW, WHAT I, I THINK HAS BECOME ONE OF OUR BEST, UH, TOOLS FOR, UH, FOR RECRUITING.
IT LETS FOLKS ACTUALLY KIND OF GET AN IDEA OF WHAT, WHAT GOES ON IN THE FIRE SERVICE.
IT GIVES 'EM SOME HANDS-ON TRAINING.
THEY COME DOWN, THEY VOLUNTEER, UH, SIX, SIX SATURDAYS IN A ROW.
AND SO, UM, WE RUN THAT GROUP THROUGH.
AND I THINK IT'S REALLY, IT'S, IT'S BEEN A REALLY GOOD TOOL FOR US, FOR FOLKS THAT ARE INTERESTED TO LET 'EM KNOW, LIKE, THIS IS WHAT IT REALLY IS, AND ARE YOU STILL INTERESTED? AND I THINK IT'S, IT'S A GREAT THING THAT, THAT WE'VE BEEN RUNNING, I THINK WE HAVE 41 PEOPLE IN THE CLASS THAT WE'RE RUNNING RIGHT NOW.
SO WE DO THOSE, UH, UH, WE WERE DOING 'EM ONCE A YEAR, NOW WE'RE GONNA DO 'EM TWICE A YEAR JUST TO, TO GET AS MANY FOLKS FROM THE COMMUNITY EXPOSED TO, TO THE, UH, TO THE FIRE SERVICE AS POSSIBLE.
AND ON TOP OF THAT, WE DO HAVE OUR EXPLORER POST.
UH, I'M EXCITED ABOUT THE EXPLORER POST WE HAVE RIGHT NOW.
WE HAVE A, A LOT OF REALLY GOOD KIDS AND, AND, UM, WE ACTUALLY, UH, WENT TO SAN ANTONIO LAST TWO WEEKENDS AGO FOR, FOR, UH, COMPETITION.
THEY WON SEVEN AWARDS, AND SO THEY WERE THE BEST ALL AROUND EXPLORER POSTS.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S A REALLY COOL WAY FOR US TO BRING YOUNG FOLKS IN AND GIVE 'EM, GIVE 'EM A TASTE OF WHAT THE FIRE SERVICE IS AND, AND, YOU KNOW, PROVIDE THEM WITH AN ACTIVITY THAT'S, UH, PRODUCTIVE FOR THEM AND, AND SOMETHING TO ADD TO THEIR RESUMES AS THEY, YOU KNOW, MOVE ON TO COLLEGE AND DO OTHER THINGS.
AND HOPEFULLY, UH, HOPEFULLY, UH, END UP IN THE FIRE SERVICE AT SOME POINT.
WE HAVE HAD ONE, WE, WE HAD SOMEBODY IN THE LAST CADET CLASS THAT ACTUALLY WAS AN EXPLORER, THEN DID PASS THE TORCH, AND THEN GOT HIRED.
SO THAT'S THE FIRST PERSON WE'VE EVER HAD THAT KIND OF TOUCHED ALL THREE BASES.
WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
AND WE, WE WE'RE DEFINITELY SEEING THE NUMBER OF FOLKS, UM, FROM PASS THE TORCH THAT ARE ACTUALLY GETTING IN THE DEPARTMENT.
I THINK WE HAD SIX IN THE LAST CLASS.
SO IT'S A, IT'S A COOL THING TO SEE, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT EXPOSURE, TURNING, TURNING INTO, YOU KNOW, UH, EMPLOYEES.
SO IT'S, IT'S A REALLY COOL THING FOR US.
AND THAT IS ALL I HAVE, UH, IN THE SLIDES, BUT I'M GLAD TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS IF WE CAN GET THE COMMISSIONERS BACK ON SCREEN.
[00:25:01]
ANYONE? I, I JUST HAVE ONE.COMMISSIONER,
HOW DOES THAT INTEGRATE IN WITH, UH, HIAM AND, AND THEIR NOTIFICATIONS? UH, I GUESS THIS ALSO GOES TO ALL THE AGENCIES TOO, LIKE FOR IF THERE WAS AN ACTIVE SHOOTER SITUATION OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
HOW'S THAT COORDINATION HAPPENING? IS THERE LIKE A JOINT INFORMATION CENTER THAT YOU KNOW, Y'ALL WORK THROUGH OR, OR WHERE'S THE RESPONSIBILITIES WITH HIIM VERSUS, UM, THE, UH, FIRST RESPONDER AGENCIES? SURE.
I'LL, I'LL TAKE THE FIRST CRACK AT IT, AND THEN IF ANYBODY ELSE HAS ANYTHING TO ADD.
SO, UM, F FOR US, UM, YOU KNOW, THE SITUATION, THE TOOL, THE NEW TOOL THAT WE'RE DOING IS, IS COMBINING THINGS.
HESS A IS, IS THE LEADER ON A LOT OF THESE THINGS, BUT, UM, WE ARE, WE ARE HELPING PUSH THINGS ALONG AND, AND ADDING OUR PERSPECTIVE TO THINGS.
AND SO THE, THERE ARE CURRENTLY SOME NOTIFICATION SYSTEMS, BUT ULTIMATELY HAVING THE, THE BIG NOTIFICATION SYSTEM THAT WORKS FOR EVERYBODY, FOR EVERYTHING IS, IS THE ULTIMATE GOAL.
WE'RE ALL WORKING TOGETHER TO, TO GET TO THAT POINT RIGHT NOW.
AND JUST TO ADD TO THAT, ALSO, IT DICTATES THE TYPE OF INCIDENT.
SO IF IT WOULD BE AN ACTIVE SHOOTER TYPE INCIDENT, OF COURSE, THE INVESTIGATIVE OR THE LEAD LAW ENFORCEMENT ENTITY HANDLING THAT INCIDENT WOULD BE THE ONE MAKING NOTIFICATIONS FOR A LAW ENFORCEMENT TYPE RESPONSE, TAEK TO WHAT CHIEF HENDERSON SAID, WEST HOPKINS, AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY EMS. CERTAINLY EACH RESPECTIVE AGENCY HAS THEIR OWN OVERWATCH OF THAT SHIFT.
AND THEY WOULD PASS UP EXECUTIVE NOTIFICATIONS UP FOR US.
AND THEN FOR LARGER TYPE SCALE EVENTS, THEN WE'VE GOT FOLKS THAT ARE ASSIGNED TO THAT.
HESS A AS OUR DEPARTMENT LIAISON OR REPRESENTATIVE THAT WOULD BE KIND OF PUSHED INTO ACTION UP THERE.
AND THE OTHER THINGS LIKE THE REVERSE 9 1 1 AND THOSE THINGS TOO ARE ALL, ALL TOOLS THAT CURRENTLY EXIST, BUT THIS IS KIND OF THE NEXT LEVEL TOOL THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR.
DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER RUTAN A QUESTION ON THE, UH, WILDFIRES.
REALLY GLAD TO SEE THE EAST SIDE STRATEGY COMPONENT AND Y'ALL WORKING ON THAT.
UM, I THINK THAT MIGHT BE SOMETHING THAT'D BE HELPFUL TO GET A LITTLE MORE DETAIL IN TERMS OF THAT AT SOME POINT.
UM, ONE PARTICULAR QUESTION I HAVE IN THERE IS, YOU MENTIONED THE HOA MEETINGS.
WHAT ABOUT WORKING OUT TO RENTER DOMINATED COMMUNITIES, AS IS PROBABLY A LITTLE MORE COMMON OVER THERE, WHAT'S THE STRATEGY TO MAKE SURE IT'S NOT JUST THE HOMEOWNERS? I, I WOULD HAVE TO GET DETAILS FROM THAT GROUP TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE JOB THAT ABSOLUTELY.
BRING SOMETHING BACK FOR Y'ALL WITH THAT.
IF WE DON'T HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS, THANK YOU.
[3. Presentation regarding the new Public Safety Headquarters by Kimberly Olivares, Financial Services Department.]
UM, AND WE WILL MOVE ON TO WHAT COMES NEXT, WHICH IS OUR PRESENTATION REGARDING THE NEW PUBLIC SAFETY HEADQUARTERS.UM, KIMBERLY OLIVARES FROM THE FINANCIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT.
I'M KIM LAVAR, DEPUTY CFO FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, HAPPY TO COME BEFORE Y'ALL TODAY TO TALK, UH, ABOUT THE PUBLIC SAFETY HEADQUARTERS ACQUISITION.
THE COUNCIL RECENTLY APPROVED.
UM, SO TO GIVE YOU SOME BACKGROUND, UM, I THINK THIS PROB THIS GROUP IS PROBABLY WELL AWARE THAT, UH, THE CURRENT HEADQUARTERS FACILITIES FOR EACH OF THE DEPARTMENTS HAVE LONG EXCEEDED THEIR USEFUL LIFE.
UM, AND THEY ARE NOT GETTING ANY BETTER.
UH, AND PUBLIC ACCESS IS MINIMAL AT BEST ACROSS THE BOARD.
UM, SO PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS BEGAN REQUESTING A NEW HEADQUARTERS AT LEAST A DECADE AGO.
AND, UH, SO THIS HAS BEEN ON OUR RADAR FOR A VERY LONG TIME TRYING TO FIND A SOLUTION.
UM, SO LOOKING AT OTHER ACQUISITIONS, LOOKING AT CON, CONVERTING OTHER FACILITIES, UM, LOOKING AT, UH, JUST NEW BUILDS, WE'VE, ALL THE OPTIONS HAVE BEEN LOOKED AT, UM, BEFORE WE LANDED ON THIS ACQUISITION, UM, ONE OF THOSE OPTIONS THAT WE HAD LOOKED AT WAS, UH, REDOING WHAT YOU KNOW IS THE RUTHERFORD LANE CAMPUS.
UM, IT IS, UH, UP NEAR RUTHERFORD CAMERON AREA, CAMERON LANE AREA.
UM, WE HAD LOOKED AT THAT AS A POSSIBILITY, AS A POTENTIAL SOLUTION, BUT, UM, AND HAD BROUGHT THAT OUT PUBLICLY BACK IN 2022.
BUT ULTIMATELY WE WERE NOT GOING TO PURSUE THAT BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH WE OWNED THE LAND, WE WERE ESTIMATING BETWEEN 250, $300 MILLION MINIMUM TO, TO, TO DO THAT REDEVELOPMENT.
UM, SO IT WAS JUST NOT FEASIBLE FROM A COST PERSPECTIVE.
SO, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, UH, SOME EXAMPLES OF THE CURRENT CONDITIONS, UH, HERE WE HAVE TECHNO CENTER, WHICH SERVES AS HEADQUARTERS FOR A FD, BUT ALSO IS HOME FOR A VARIETY OF EMS AND, AND POLICE OPERATIONS.
THIS FACILITY IS JUST UNDER 104,000 SQUARE FEET.
[00:30:01]
UH, THAT'S A SIX 60UM, AND IT'S HAS A VERY FAULTY FOUNDATION.
THE BUILDING IS LITERALLY MOVING AROUND ON ITS FOUNDATION, UM, AND THE ISSUES IN THAT BUILDING, KIND OF THE LIST GOES ON AND ON AND ON FOR RBJ, WHICH IS THE EMS HEADQUARTERS, THIS WAS, IS JUST OVER 71,000 SQUARE FEET, WAS BUILT IN 1970, AND IT'S ACTUALLY A FORMER NURSING HOME, UM, NOT A OFFICE, UM, ADMINISTRATIVE FACILITY.
UM, THERE'S ISSUES WITH, UH, PAVEMENT IS FAILING.
THERE ARE A LOT OF INTERIOR, UM, KIND OF SURFACE LEVEL RENOVATIONS DONE.
UM, BUT THE GUTS OF THE BUILDING, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, ARE NOT OKAY.
SO, UH, WE ARE, THERE'S A, A NUMBER OF MAJORS, MECHANICAL SYSTEMS, DUCT WORK, FIRE PROTECTION, WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS THAT ARE, HAVE LONG SEEDED THEIR USEFUL LIFE.
AND, UH, SO WE, WE NEED TO REMOVE, MOVE THEM FROM THIS FACILITY AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN A PD HEADQUARTERS, JUST OVER 104,000 SQUARE FEET BUILT IN 1970 AS WELL.
UM, INCREDIBLY OVERCROWDED, UH, FUNCTIONALLY OBSOLETE.
THERE ARE ISSUES WITH, YOU'RE, YOU'RE LUCKY TO HAVE A SINGLE SET OF BATHROOMS WORKING REGULARLY ON ANY GIVEN DAY.
UM, THERE'S NOT ENOUGH PARKING.
THE PUBLIC ACCESS IS, IS IN JUST A, JUST A SLIVER.
THERE'S, THERE'S REALLY, IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT A WELCOMING, UM, SITUATION FOR, FOR THOSE THAT WORK THERE OR THOSE THAT ARE VISITING THERE.
SO AS WE WERE LOOKING AT, UM, AN OP OPTIONS FOR A NEW HEADQUARTERS, WE ACTUALLY, IN 2022, AS PART OF THAT RUTHERFORD LANE, UM, EFFORT, WE CONDUCTED A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT PROGRAMMING ANALYSIS.
UM, AND FROM THERE, WE'RE ABLE TO LOOK AT ALL THE EXISTING FACILITIES THAT, UM, THAT THE DEPARTMENTS ARE UTILIZING FOR HEADQUARTER TYPE OPERATIONS, UM, AS AND, AND VARIETY OF OTHERS THAT WOULD BE CONSOLIDATED.
WE ALSO DID EXTENSIVE INTERVIEWS WITH DEPARTMENT LEADERSHIP STAFF, UM, VARIOUS UNITS.
AND, UM, NEARLY 800 SURVEYS WERE RECEIVED FROM EXISTING STAFF TO BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW THEY WORK, UM, WHAT THEY'D LIKE TO SEE, UH, IN A NEW FACILITY.
BASED ON ALL OF THAT, ALL OF THAT ANALYSIS, WE WERE ABLE TO ARRIVE AT APPROXIMATELY 400,000 SQUARE FEET IS NECESSARY TO MEET THE NEEDS FOR TODAY AS WELL AS THE COMING 20 YEARS.
SO THE CITY HAS, UM, IS CONSTANTLY MONITORING THE REAL ESTATE MARKET FOR OPTIONS, UM, TO ADDRESS NOT ONLY THIS, THIS SITUATION, BUT ANY OF OUR FACILITY NEEDS.
UM, WE'RE, WE'RE CONSTANTLY LOOKING AT IF, UH, A NEW BUILD OR AN ACQUISITION OR WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE, WOULD BE THE BEST SOLUTION.
SO IN THIS CASE, WE DID COME UPON THIS, UH, THESE TWO FOUR STORY CLASS A OFFICE BUILDINGS LOCATED AT MOPAC AND BARTON SKYWAY, UM, WHILE THEY WERE BUILT IN 99 AND 2000 BASED ON THE PROPERTY CONDITION ASSESSMENT.
THE FUNCTIONAL AGE IS MORE LIKE 10 TO 15 YEARS OLD, SO VERY WELL MAINTAINED BUILDINGS.
UM, IT ALSO INCLUDES, UH, TWO FIVE LEVEL PARKING GARAGES AND SURFACE PARKING FOR JUST AROUND 1,550 SPACES.
UM, VERY CLOSE PROXIMITY TO CITY HALL BECAUSE OF ITS LOCATION AT BARTON SKYWAY AND MOPAC.
YOU HAVE, UM, EASY NORTH SOUTH ACCESS.
THERE'S ALSO A CAT METRO STOP DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF THE BUILDINGS, SO THAT HELPS WITH NOT ONLY EMPLOYEES, BUT ALSO VISITORS.
UM, AND THERE'S ALSO JUST SOME NICE AMENITIES AS PART OF THE BUILDING.
UM, HERE YOU'LL SEE SOME PHOTOGRAPHS.
SO HERE YOU'VE, UH, THE, IT'S, SOME FOLKS ARE SAYING IT'S FOUR BUILDINGS.
SO IT'S THE EACH, UM, THE GREEN ROOF BUILDING.
SO EACH BUILDING HAS, UH, TWO WINGS, SO THAT THERE'S THAT TOP BUILDING.
AND THEN THE SECOND BUILDING, UM, FURTHER SOUTH, SOME, JUST SOME VARIOUS VIEWS OF THE F FACILITIES.
UM, THE ONE ON THE LEFT IS THE ENTRANCE FROM THE PARKING GARAGE.
THE ONE ON THE RIGHT IS AN ENTRANCE FROM THE SURFACE LOT THAT'S FACES OUT OF MOPAC.
SO IT'S A REALLY INVITING, UM, UM, SITUATION AS SOON AS YOU WALK UP TO THE BUILDING.
UM, WHICH WE CANNOT SAY FOR OUR EXISTING FACILITIES.
UM, THERE'S REALLY NICE PUBLIC, UM, CONGREGATING TYPE OF SPACES ON THE FIRST FLOOR IN THE LOBBY AREAS, UM, THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO USE, UM, FOR, UM, OUR, OUR FUNCTIONS GOING FORWARD.
BUT WE WILL OBVIOUSLY DO, UM, QUITE A BIT OF, UH, ADJUSTMENTS IN THE BUILDING.
[00:35:01]
COURT.I HEARD THAT THERE'S ALREADY A, A COMPETITION AS TO WHO'S GONNA GET TO, TO BOOK THE VOLLEYBALL COURT FIRST
SO, UM, IT'S JUST, IT'S JUST SOME NICE FEATURES TO GIVE TO THESE EMPLOYEES THAT HAVE BEEN WORKING IN, UM, SUBSTANDARD FACILITIES FOR QUITE SOME TIME.
UM, SOME OF THE BENEFITS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR THIS ACQUISITION, FIRST AND FOREMOST, IT'S A NEW HEADQUARTERS FOR ALL OF OUR PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS TOGETHER.
UM, WE'RE NOT HAVING TO PICK WHO GETS A NEW HEADQUARTERS FIRST.
WE'RE ABLE TO GET THEM ALL INTO A NEW SPACE, UM, WHICH RESULTS IN INCREDIBLY IMPROVED WORKING CONDITIONS FOR OUR SWORN AND NON-SWORN PERSONNEL.
LIKE, UM, LIKE I NOTED FOR WITH THE, THE PROGRAM ANALYSIS THAT MEETS OUR CURRENT SPACE NEEDS AS WELL AS FUTURE GROWTH FOR THE NEXT 20 YEARS.
EASY ACCESS TO DOWNTOWN, MUCH IMPROVED PUBLIC ACCESS.
IT ALSO CREATES AN OPPORTUNITY FOR REALLY GREAT COLLABORATION AMONGST THE PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS ON A DAILY BASIS.
AND THEN ALSO IN THOSE EMERGENCY TYPES OF SITUATIONS, WE CAN ALSO MAKE A NUMBER OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS TO THE PROPERTY.
I KNOW THAT THERE HAS BEEN CONVERSATION AND CONCERN ABOUT THE LOCATION OF THIS PROPERTY BEING IN EDWARDS AQUIFER.
UM, WE, WE DUG INTO HOW THE BUILDING WAS, WAS BUILT IN THE FIRST PLACE, HOW IT, IT FOLLOWED TCEQ STANDARDS.
UM, BUT SO WE KNOW IT WAS HANDLED WELL FROM THE START.
AND NOW WITH CITY OWNERSHIP OF THIS BUILDING, WE CAN MAKE IMPROVEMENTS THAT FURTHER, UM, THE, THE EFFORTS OF JUST KIND OF, OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS, THE AREAS.
SO I, YOU LOOK AT THE ROOF, YOU LOOK AT THE TOP FLOORS OF THOSE PARKING GARAGES, AND IT JUST, IT SCREAMS FOR SOLAR.
UM, BUT WE CAN ALSO BE LOOKING AT THINGS LIKE RAIN, WATER CAPTURE AND GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE FOR, UM, UH, FOR RUNOFF AND THE SORT.
SO, UM, THINGS THAT WOULDN'T NECESSARILY BE REQUIRED BY A PRIVATE OWNER, WE CAN, WE CAN DO THAT NOW AS THE, THE CITY ONSET.
THIS ALSO GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO REPURPOSE OR MONETIZE SOME OF THESE OTHER PROPERTIES.
SO A PD HEADQUARTERS MUNI COURT IS, WAS NEXT DOOR.
SO WITH, WITH THE EXIT OF BOTH MUNI COURT AND A PD HEADQUARTERS, WE NOW HAVE A PRIME DOWNTOWN PROPERTY THAT WE CAN BE HAVING CONVERSATIONS ABOUT WHAT'S NEXT.
SIMILARLY, THE TECHNO CENTER SPACE, UM, IS AT 180 3 JUST SOUTH OF MLK, ANOTHER AREA THAT HAS JUST GROWN MASSIVELY.
I REMEMBER 20 PLUS YEARS AGO WHEN YOU JUST KEPT DRIVING AND DRIVING AND THERE WAS JUST YOU, YOU SAW NOTHING.
AND NOW IT'S JUST, IT'S, IT'S BLOWN UP OUT THERE.
SO, SO WE HAVE SOME REAL OPPORTUNITIES TO EITHER ADDRESS ORGANIZATIONALLY AS COMMUNITY NEEDS, UM, BUT ALSO PERHAPS CREATE SOME ONGOING REVENUE GENERATION, UM, TO HELP, UH, THE CITY AND SERVING, ITS SERVING THE COMMUNITY.
WE ALSO AVOID THE COST OF THE CONTINUED INVESTMENT IN THOSE EXISTING BUILDINGS.
THESE, AS YOU SAW FROM THOSE PHOTOGRAPHS, THOSE BUILDINGS ARE IN VERY ROUGH SHAPE, UM, JUST TO ADDRESS HEALTH AND SAFETY, UM, ISSUES IN THOSE BUILDINGS IS EXPENSIVE, LET ALONE MAKING IT A MUCH MORE RENOVATED, NICER SPACE.
SO BY SHIFTING AWAY FROM THOSE, THOSE BUILDINGS, AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO ACTUALLY ALLOCATE THE RESOURCES THAT WE WOULD HAVE BEEN PUTTING TOWARDS THOSE BUILDINGS TO OTHER NEEDS, AND THEN ALSO MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS NEW HEADQUARTERS.
SO WHEN COUNCIL TOOK ACTION ON THIS, ON THE 24TH, UH, THERE WAS ALSO DIRECTION SPECIFICALLY TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL PERSPECTIVE.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON ALTAR BROUGHT FORWARD, UM, DIRECTION FOR THE CITY MANAGER TO, UM, LOOK AT DOING SOLAR INSTALLATION, GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCE, ENERGY EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENTS, AND ALSO LOOK AT WHICH IMPROVEMENTS TO THE EXISTING CITY FACILITIES.
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN IN A, IN A A DOLLAR AMOUNT, AND HOW MUCH CAN WE THEN DEVOTE TO OTHER NEEDS AND FACILITIES THAT CAN PERHAPS, UM, ALSO SUPPORT SOME OF THOSE, UH, UH, GREEN TYPE OF IMPROVEMENTS.
SO FOR FINANCING IT, THE PURCHASE PRICE IS 107.6 MILLION.
THAT EQUALS OUT TO ABOUT $275 A SQUARE FOOT.
UM, AS WITH ANY OTHER PROPERTY ACQUISITION, UM, THAT THE CITY DOES, THEY'RE ALL SUBJECT TO APPRAISAL.
AND IN THIS CASE, UM, THAT WAS WHAT THE APPRAISAL, UH, CAME IN AT.
UM, AND COMPARISON PUR, LIKE WE'RE LOOKING TO, TO BUILD A NEW FACILITY AND ACQUIRE LAND, YOU'RE LOOKING AT ROUGHLY $600 A SQUARE FOOT IN TODAY'S MARKET.
UM, SO THIS IS LESS THAN HALF THAT COST.
UH, THEN WE ARE GOING TO NEED TO DO, UM, SOME RENOVATION TO THIS BUILDING.
UM, THIS HAS BEEN A, A RENTED OFFICE SPACE, SO THERE'S NUMEROUS OFFICE SUITES THROUGHOUT.
SO WE NEED TO LOOK AT HOW WE CONVERT THE SUITES TO BE BETTER CONNECTED FOR THE DEPARTMENT'S PURPOSES, BUT ALSO ADDRESS THINGS LIKE SECURITY, UM, ACCESS AND, UM, AND A VARIETY OF OTHER THINGS.
SO WE DO, WE INCLUDED FUNDING COUNCIL APPROVED TO, UH,
[00:40:01]
TO GIVE US THE ABILITY TO DO THAT DESIGN, UM, PROCESS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT KIND OF WINGING IT AND WE THINK IT'LL BE THIS MUCH.WE'D RATHER COME BACK WITH A MUCH FIRMER, UM, AND WELL-DEFINED NUMBER AND SCOPE.
UM, SO WE'LL DO THAT, UM, LATER THIS SPRING, SOMETIME SUMMER PROBABLY.
UM, BUT WE ALSO, BECAUSE OF THE PROPERTY CONDITION ASSESSMENT THAT WE DO AS PART OF THE DUE DILIGENCE PROCESS, THERE WERE SOME ITEMS THAT, UM, WERE IDENTIFIED THAT WE KNOW WE CAN START ADDRESSING NOW.
SO WE ARE NOT JUST, WE CAN CONTINUALLY MAKE PROGRESS ON THIS FACILITY, UM, IN ANTICIPATION OF DOING A, A FURTHER RENOVATION.
SO, UM, THAT 3 MILLION IS SOME OF THOSE INITIAL COSTS, BUT AGAIN, WE WILL COME BACK TO COUNCIL, UM, LATER FOR A REQUEST FOR THE FINDING FOR, TO DO THE FINISH OUT OF THE BUILDING TO MAKE SURE IT'S, IT'S SPECIFICALLY GONNA MEET THE NEEDS OF ALL OF OUR DEPARTMENTS.
SO, UM, WITH THAT, ANY QUESTIONS AND HAPPY TO ANSWER, DO WE HAVE QUESTIONS FROM ANYONE TO START? COMMISSIONER NEN, UM, I, I THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
UM, FOR THAT, THAT 3 MILLION YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT, THAT'S FOR INITIAL ASSESSMENT OR IS THAT, IS, IS THAT WHAT YOU WERE IT'S FOR? SO DURING THE, THE WHOLE NEGOTIATION ACQUISITION PROCESS, UM, THERE WAS, UM, WE DO A PROPERTY CONDITION ASSESSMENT FOR ANY OF OUR, ANY ACQUISITION THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT DOING.
AND SO BASED ON THAT, UM, THEY IDENTIFIED SOME THINGS RELATIVE TO THE ROOF, UM, SOME MECHANICAL THINGS LIKE ELEVATORS, UM, SOME, SOME OF THE LIGHTING, EXTERIOR LIGHTING INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO WE'LL BE ABLE TO, SO THAT 3 MILLION IS TO GO TOWARDS THOSE ITEMS THAT WERE IDENTIFIED DURING, THROUGH THAT PCA, BUT THEN THE DESIGN PROCESS WILL GIVE US THE, THE DETAILS AND THE COST ESTIMATE FOR THE MORE INTERIOR WORK.
UM, TO, TO MAKE IT, MAKE, MAKE THE BUILDING READY FOR, UM, THE PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS TO MOVE IN.
AND, AND, AND JUST THINKING WITH THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT MIND, RIGHT? IS, IS, YOU KNOW, WORST CASE SCENARIO.
UH, IS ANY OF THAT BEING CONSIDERED WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT VULNERABILITIES, AS YOU KNOW, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE ALL THREE AGENCIES, THE, YOU KNOW, THE TOP RAS OF ALL THREE AGENCIES HERE.
ARE THERE CONCERNS? 'CAUSE LOOKING AT AN OVERLAY OF THAT PROPERTY, UH, I KNOW THAT YOU SAID IT HAS ONE ACCESS POINT, BUT THE ONLY ACCESS OUTSIDE OF THAT ENTIRE AREA BECAUSE YOU'RE COVERED BY A CREEK LOOKS LIKE ONLY THROUGH MOPAC.
UM, SO LET'S SAY THAT AREA IS BLOCKED OFF IN SOME WAY.
UM, THAT, THAT SEEMS LIKE A, YOU KNOW, DEFINITELY A CONCERN OF EGRESS.
UM, SO I WAS WONDERING IF THERE, THERE WERE, WAS TALK OF, OF THOSE, THOSE CONCERNS AS WELL.
THERE'S BEEN INTERNAL CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE, THE SECURITY OF THE BUILDINGS AND, AND HOW WE MANAGE THAT.
SO IT'S NOT SOMETHING I CAN REALLY TALK ABOUT OKAY.
PUBLICLY, BUT, UM, BUT THAT IS ABSOLUTELY BEING ADDRESSED.
COMMISSIONER SIERRA
I, UM, YOU NOTED SEVERAL TIMES THAT THE NEW LOCATION IS GOING TO ENHANCE ACCESS.
UM, AND CLEARLY IT'S A VERY, IT'S A VERY NICE LOBBY.
UH, THERE'S PARKING STRUCTURES, IT IS DECIDEDLY NOT CENTRALLY LOCATED.
UM, I'M CURIOUS WHETHER, AND TO WHAT DEGREE THERE IS CONSIDERATION FOR HOW MOVEMENT OF THE FACILITIES OUTSIDE OF A MORE CENTRALIZED LOCATION IS GOING TO AFFECT THE ABILITY FOR CONSTITUENTS TO SAY, REACH THOSE FACILITIES.
JUST BALL PARKING IT, IT'S ABOUT AN HOUR AND A HALF BY BUS, JUST FROM MY HOME ADDRESS.
UM, 30 MINUTES OR SO FROM THE CITY HALL.
UH, AND RELATED TO THAT, UM, IS THERE ANY REASON TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT THE ABILITY FOR SERVICES TO BE COORDINATED AS A RESULT OF MOVING THE LOCATION OF THOSE FACILITIES AWAY FROM A MORE CENTRALIZED LOCATION? SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE LOCATIONS OF THE EXISTING HEADQUARTERS AND AND RELATED FACILITIES, UM, THEY'RE SPREAD OUT ALL OVER THE PLACE.
SO I MEAN, A PD IS OBVIOUSLY RIGHT DOWNTOWN.
UM, RBJ IS KIND OF OFF A LITTLE BIT OFF THE BEATEN PATH OVER ON WALLER STREET, UM, AND A FD IS DOWN AT TEXAN CENTER, SO THAT'S, UM, FAR, THAT'S OVER AT 180 3 AND, UH, MLK AREA.
SO THIS ACTUALLY MAKES THEM MORE CENTRALIZED, IN MY OPINION.
UM, NOW, LIKE IT IS, IT IS NOT DOWNTOWN.
UM, AND THAT, AND FOLKS, AND I KNOW THE DEPARTMENTS WOULD'VE LOVED TO HAVE HAD SOMETHING DOWNTOWN, BUT UM, THAT WAS NOT JUST SIMPLY NOT AN OPTION.
WE WERE NOT, WE HAVE FOR YEARS, WE HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR OPTIONS OF SOMETHING DOWNTOWN AND THERE WAS JUST NOT ANYTHING THAT WAS FEASIBLE COST-WISE.
UM, FOLKS HAVE TALKED ABOUT A LOT OF OFFICE VACANCY DOWNTOWN AND, AND THERE IS OFFICE VACANCY DOWNTOWN, BUT IT'S FOR LEASE AND, UM, NOT NECESSARILY
[00:45:01]
FOR PURCHASE.AND THEN ALSO THERE'S THE AMOUNT OF SQUARE FOOTAGE THAT WE'RE NEEDING.
UM, THERE, THERE ISN'T ANYTHING OF THAT, OF THAT SCALE AVAILABLE IN EVEN LIKE JUST ONE OR TWO FACILITIES COMBINED.
SO WE'RE ABLE TO ACHIEVE A LOT MORE OF OUR, UM, DESIRED SPECIFICATIONS FOR THESE BUILDINGS AT THIS LOCATION.
UM, THE, AND THEY ALSO JUST, THERE'S, THERE'S ACCESS FROM A SHEER GETTING THERE, BUT THERE'S ALSO ACCESS IN TERMS OF BEING ABLE TO COME AND INTERACT WITH THOSE DEPARTMENTS.
UM, RIGHT NOW, UM, GOING, GOING AND VISITING WITH A FD IS, I, I, I DON'T KNOW THAT THEY REALLY ENCOUNTER ANYONE THAT COMES TO VISIT THEM ALL THE WAY OUT THERE.
UM, UH, A PD HAS A VERY SMALL, UM, LOBBY FOR JUST FOLKS COMING IN TO REQUEST REPORTS.
THERE ARE NO SPACES FOR ENGAGING WITH THE COMMUNITY.
AND SO WITH THIS FACILITY, WE'LL BE ABLE TO ADDRESS THAT, CREATING THOSE SPACES WHERE THE COMMUNITY CAN COME AND BE WITH THE PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS TO, TO MEET WITH THEM, TO TALK WITH THEM, UM, AND GOING FORWARD, UM, AND JUST IN A VERY DIFFERENT SETTING THAN, THAN WE'VE HAD BEFORE.
THANK YOU FOR THE CLARIFICATION.
I JUST, I, I WILL NOTE THAT, UM, THERE ARE MANY CONSTITUENT PARTS OF THE COMMUNITY THAT MAKE UP AUSTIN AND UH, OH, ABSOLUTELY.
I, I CAN'T HELP BUT NOTICE THE LOCATION OF THIS PROPOSED OFFICE BUILDING, UH, SEEMS MUCH MORE PROXIMATE TO, TO PUT IT VERY BLUNTLY, SOME OF THE WEALTHIEST CONSTITUENCIES IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU CAN'T DECIDE WHERE REAL ESTATE IS AVAILABLE.
UM, IT DOESN'T SEEM ENTIRELY TRANSPARENT TO SAY THAT ALL PARTS OF THE COMMUNITY WILL HAVE ENHANCED ACCESS TO, UH, PARTICULARLY A PD IN THE CENTER OF THE CITY.
UM, BUT WE'RE JUST MOVING FROM ONE PERIPHERY TO ANOTHER.
EVEN THIS OTHER SECTIONS OF A FIRST RESPONSE, UH, SERVICES WITHIN THE CITY.
AND YOUR COMMENT ABOUT WHERE REAL ESTATE'S AVAILABLE, THAT IS, THAT'S ONE BEEN ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES, UM, FOR YEARS NOW, UM, THAT WE'VE NOT BEEN ABLE TO OVERCOME, IS JUST IS FINDING, UM, A LOCATION THAT'S AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE THAT MEETS THE VARIOUS SPECIFICATIONS.
THAT IS, IT'S AN INCREDIBLY CHALLENGING TASK.
UM, AND THIS WAS THE, THE BEST OPPORTUNITY THAT, THAT HAS COME UP IN QUITE SOME TIME.
UM, ALSO, UM, BASED ON ANALYSIS WE'RE GETTING FROM OUR REAL ESTATE ADVISOR, WE'RE AT KIND OF THE, THE BOTTOM OF THE DECLINE OF THE OFFICE MARKET IN TERMS OF PRICING BASED ON ALL THE, THE DATA THEY'RE, THEY'RE LOOKING AT.
UM, SO WE'VE ALSO BEEN WORKING TO TRY AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF A DOWN OFFICE MARKET TO BE ABLE TO MAKE ACQUISITIONS NOT ONLY FOR PUBLIC SAFETY HEADQUARTERS, BUT FOR A VARIETY OF OTHER CITY NEEDS AT A PRICE POINT WE NEVER WOULD'VE BEEN ABLE TO ACHIEVE PREVIOUSLY.
SO IN THAT CASE, WE'RE ABLE TO GET OUT OF LEASES, WE'RE ABLE TO, WHICH, UM, HAVE A SIGNIFICANT COST BURDEN ON OUR, THE OPERATING BUDGET.
AND WE'RE ALSO ABLE, AND THEN WE'RE ABLE TO OWN THESE SPACES AND THE COST OF OWNERSHIP IS GENERALLY LESS THAN THE COST OF, OF RENTING IT.
UM, SO WE'RE ABLE TO IDEALLY ACHIEVE A CERTAIN LEVEL OF COST SAVINGS FOR THE, FOR THE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE AS WELL WITH THESE ACQUISITIONS.
DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM ANYONE ELSE? UM, OH, GO AHEAD.
UM, WHAT'S GONNA BE THE PROCESS IN TERMS OF ANY PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT DISCUSSIONS AS YOU GO THROUGH THE DESIGN PROCESS, THINKING ABOUT ACCESSIBILITY AS YOU MENTIONED AND WHATNOT, AND THEN WHAT OPPORTUNITIES WOULD THERE BE FOR ANY OTHER CITY COMMISSIONS AND THE PUBLIC TO GET INVOLVED IN THAT PROCESS? SO WE HAVEN'T EVEN STARTED TO SCOPE, UM, THE DESIGN OR THE A DESIGN CONTRACT, UM, TO, TO GO OUT, UM, FOR PROPOSALS ON THAT.
SO WE'LL BE ABLE, WE'LL MAKE SURE TO INCLUDE IN THAT, IN THAT SCOPE OF WORK, UM, THE OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE, UM, WITH THE PUBLIC AND, AND COMMISSIONS ACCORDINGLY.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE STILL IN A SPACE THAT WE CAN, WE'LL, WE CAN ENSURE THAT IT TAKES PLACE.
UM, AND I HAD A FEW FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS.
UM, PIGGYBACKING ON THE COMMUNITY ACCESS SORT OF ISSUE, UM, ARE THERE PLANS WITH CAP METRO TO INCREASE BUS LINE ACCESSES, BUS LINES TO THAT LOCATION NEAR THAT LOCATION? I THINK THERE'S ONLY, THERE'S ONE BUS THAT GOES.
SO IS THERE ANY COORDINATION PLANNED WITH CAP METRO TO INCREASE ACCESS VIA BUS LINE FROM SOUTH AUSTIN, FROM SOUTHWEST AUSTIN? FROM MORE DIRECT LINES? FROM EAST AUSTIN? YEAH.
AND SO THOSE, THOSE ARE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE WILL CERTAINLY HAVE WITH CAP METRO TO SEE WHAT OPPORTUNITIES THERE MAY BE.
WE WEREN'T IN A POSITION DURING THE NEGOTIATION PHASE OF THINGS.
WE WEREN'T IN A POSITION TO HAVE TO START HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
UM, SO WE CAN ACTIVELY WORK WITH THEM ON, ON WHAT OPTIONS MAY, THERE
[00:50:01]
MAY BE.AND THEN ALSO, UM, JUST KIND OF CONTINUING ON THAT SAME STREAM.
I THINK IT WAS VERY EARLY ON WHEN I WAS ON THE COMMISSION, IT WAS SEVERAL YEARS AGO.
UM, WE HAD A MEETING, UM, WITH, I WANNA SAY IT WAS PEOPLE FROM BUILDING SERVICES.
AND WHEN AP NEW A PD HEADQUARTERS HAS BEEN ON THE MIND FOR, YOU SAID A DECADE, AND WE HAD A MEETING WHERE I REMEMBER, UM, THEY WERE TAKING INPUT FROM THE COMMUNITY ABOUT SORT OF DREAMING WHAT THIS SPACE COULD BE ABOUT, LIKE WHAT KIND OF COMMUNITY SERVICES, WHAT KIND OF COMMUNITY ACCESS, UM, OUTSIDE THAT THAT COULD SUPPORT A PD ON TOP OF EVERYTHING ELSE.
NOW WE'RE GONNA HAVE FIRE AND EMS, BUT THERE WERE COURT SERVICES AND I, I REMEMBER THERE WAS THIS LONG WISHLIST OF STUFF, UM, THAT THE COMMUNITY AND THIS COMMISSION AS A WHOLE ALSO SAID THAT THEY WOULD LOVE TO HAVE CO-LOCATED AT SOMETHING LIKE A NEW HQ.
ARE THERE PLANS FOR ANY OF THAT? IS IS, IS THAT PART OF IT OR IS THIS GOING TO BE OFFICE SPACE FOR, FOR THE DEPARTMENTS? SO THERE, WHEN WE DID THE INITIAL SPACE PLANNING ANALYSIS, UM, THE, THE THOUGHT OF CREATING THOSE PUBLIC ACCESS POINTS AND, AND, AND JUST HAVING SPACE AVAILABLE FOR MULTITUDE OF, OF USES MULTIPURPOSE SPACES AND THINGS, THAT WAS ABSOLUTELY PART OF, UM, THE ANALYSIS TO GIVE US A FLEXIBILITY TO KIND OF, TO PLACE CERTAIN SERVICES IN THERE.
UM, SO, BUT AS WE GO THROUGH THAT DESIGN PROCESS, THAT'S WHERE WITH, WITH AN ACTUAL SPECIFIC FACILITY, UM, IN, UM, AS OPPOSED TO A CONCEPT, WE'LL BE ABLE TO ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO START PLACING AND THINK AND SEEING THAT.
SO I'LL MAKE SURE THAT, THAT THOSE, THOSE COMPONENTS ARE, ARE PART, PART OF THE CONSIDERATION OF THE, THE FIRM TO BE SELECTED.
AND THEN MY, MY LAST QUESTION WAS JUST IN TERMS OF SERVICING DOWNTOWN, UM, 'CAUSE RIGHT NOW NEAR, NEAR A PD HEADQUARTERS IS WHERE THERE ARE A LOT OF VEHICLES PARKED.
IT'S HOW WE SERVICE FESTIVALS DOWNTOWN.
THERE ARE MOBILE COMMAND UNITS THAT ARE SET UP NEAR THERE.
WILL THERE BE ADDITIONAL EXPENSES REQUIRED DOWNTOWN TO CONTINUE OFFERING THAT LEVEL OF SERVICE? SO THE, THE DTAC OPERATION FOR A PD WOULD NOT BE PART OF THIS MOVE.
UM, BUT IT IS DEFINITELY A PRIORITY FOR US TO ADDRESS 'CAUSE THEIR FACILITY CONDITIONS ARE, ARE NO BETTER THAN IN THE MAIN HEADQUARTERS.
SO IT IS A PRIORITY FOR US TO ADDRESS THAT AS WELL AS THE, THE FIRE AND EMS STATIONS DOWNTOWN.
I ACTUALLY WAS HAVING SOME GREAT CONVERSATIONS WITH EMS LEADERSHIP THIS MORNING, UM, JUST ABOUT THAT.
SO, UM, I, I HAVE, WE HAVE PLANS, UM, TO DO A MORE COMPREHENSIVE FACILITY ASSESSMENT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE MEETING NEEDS ACROSS THE COMMUNITY, UM, BUT ALSO UTILIZING OR LEVERAGING OUR DOWNTOWN, UM, REAL ESTATE PORTFOLIO IN A WAY THAT CAN ADDRESS A MULTITUDE OF NEEDS, UM, PARTICULARLY FOR PUBLIC SAFETY, BUT FOR OTHER PURPOSES AS WELL.
UM, BECAUSE WE DO OWN A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF DOWNTOWN REAL ESTATE NOW THAT, UM, WE CAN, WE CAN USE IT EFFECTIVELY.
AND I, I THINK I ASKED THAT BECAUSE I KNOW THAT THERE, YOU KNOW, THAT THIS ACQUISITION IS IN PLACE AND THERE'S, IT WAS ALL ABOUT COST SAVING.
AND I'M JUST, I, I, SINCE I STARTED SEEING SOME OF THESE FIGURES, I'VE JUST BEEN WONDERING IF SOME OF THOSE COST SAVINGS ARE GONNA BE, YOU KNOW, NEGATED BY THE INCREASED SORT OF INVESTMENTS THAT ARE GONNA NEED TO BE MADE DOWNTOWN TO SORT OF REPLICATE, UM, AND IMPROVE.
WE'RE, WE'RE STILL GONNA HAVE THE, THE DOWNTOWN AND WE'RE STILL GONNA NEED TO CREATE A MORE CENTRALLY LOCATED, UM, HUB FOR, FOR EVERYONE.
AND SO DO YOU KNOW WHEN THERE MIGHT, WHEN YOU GUYS WILL KNOW WHAT SOME OF THOSE COSTS WILL LOOK LIKE AND WHEN THOSE IN A TIMELINE SORT OF WILL HAPPEN? YEAH, I DON'T HAVE A TIMELINE FOR THAT JUST YET.
I KNOW THAT IT, BUT THAT IS AN ABSOLUTE PRIORITY FOR US.
UM, AND I, I WOULDN'T SAY THAT, UM, THE SAVINGS FROM HEADQUARTERS OR IT WOULD NEGATE THOSE BECAUSE WE WOULD STILL, WHETHER WE WERE KEEPING IN THE SAME DILAPIDATED HEADQUARTERS SITUATIONS OR BUILDING A NEW HEADQUARTERS OR NOT, WE WOULD STILL NEED TO BE ADDRESSING THOSE DOWNTOWN OPERATIONAL NEEDS.
UM, SO IN, IN REALITY WITH THIS ACQUISITION, BECAUSE WE'RE ABLE TO DO IT AT SUCH A LOWER COST THAN IF WE WERE TO BUILD NEW, IT ACTUALLY GIVES US A GREATER ABILITY TO, TO BETTER ADDRESS, UM, THE DOWNTOWN OPERATIONAL NEEDS, UM, FOR, FOR ALL THE DEPARTMENTS.
UM, AND, AND AGAIN, BY REMOVING A PD HEADQUARTERS FROM DOWNTOWN, WE HAVE THAT PROPERTY AND NOW WE HAVE, WE HAVE OPTIONS REALLY WITH THIS ACQUISITION, IT, IT WAS KIND OF A TIPPING POINT IN CREATING OPTIONS FOR
[00:55:01]
US, FOR THE ORGANIZ FOR THE CITY, UM, FROM A REAL ESTATE PERSPECTIVE THAT WE WOULD NOT HAVE HAD OTHERWISE.UM, SO IT, IT KIND OF JUST OPENED UP, UM, THE, UH, OPENED UP A BOX OF JUST, OF US BEING ABLE TO ACHIEVE THINGS IN A, IN A MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE WAY FOR A LOT OF, UM, ORGANIZATIONAL FACILITY NEEDS.
COMMISSIONER SMITH, GREAT SEGUE FOR ME.
'CAUSE I ACTUALLY HAD A QUESTION ABOUT THE BUSES, THE BUS LINES AS WELL.
CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT CURRENT BUS LINES THERE ARE NEAR THE FACILITY AND HOW FAR THE NEAR STOP IS ON THOSE LINES? SAY, I'M SORRY.
THE, THE BUS LINES FOR THE, THE FACILITY WE ARE PURCHASING OR FOR THE CURRENT HEADQUARTERS FOR THIS FACILITY YOU'RE PURCHASING THAT'S GOING TO SERVE ALL THE, I I DON'T REMEMBER THE BUS LINES RIGHT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
AND DO WE KNOW HOW FAR THE NEAREST STOP IS FROM THAT BUS LINE TO THE HEADQUARTER? THE, THE NEW LOCATION? I, I DON'T HAVE THAT INFORMATION.
NO, I DO KNOW THAT IT'S LIKE UNDER FIVE MINUTE WALK OR SO, I BELIEVE IS WHAT IT IS, BUT IT'S, IT'S A THREE TO FIVE MINUTE WALK.
OH, YOU'RE SAYING LIKE PHYSICALLY HOW, UH, LIKE, OKAY, I'M SORRY.
I THOUGHT YOU WERE SAYING LIKE ONE OF THE NEXT STOP FOR BUS LINE 30.
YEAH, NO, IT IS, IS LITERALLY RIGHT AT THE CORNER OF MOPAC AND BARTON SKYWAY AND THE BUILDINGS ARE RIGHT AT THE CORNER OF MOPAC AND BARTON SKYWAY.
SO YOU JUST, YOU'RE WALKING ACROSS THE, THE SMALL SURFACE LOT ON THE FRONT OF THE BUILDING TO, TO WALK IN THE FRONT DOOR.
HAVE YOU, HAVE YOU HAD ANY ADVISEMENT FROM THOSE THAT MAY HAVE BE DIFFERENTLY ABLE ON THEIR ABILITY TO GET FROM THAT STOP TO LOCATION? LIKE WHAT THAT EXPERIENCE IS LIKE? NO.
WAIT, SO WHAT, WHAT DO THE SIDEWALKS LOOK LIKE? IS THERE A CRACK? YOU KNOW, THINGS LIKE THAT.
WELL, THERE'S, THERE'S INCREDIBLY WIDE SIDEWALKS BECAUSE THERE'S A, THERE'S A HIKE AND BIKE CONNECTION ALONG MOPAC THERE THAT, UM, GOES THE LENGTH OF A MOPAC.
SO THERE'S VERY WIDE, UM, SIDEWALKS THERE.
UM, AND THEN, I MEAN, THE SURFACE LOTS ARE ACTUALLY IN REALLY GOOD CONDITION, BUT IF ANY, ANY ADJUSTMENTS THAT WE NEED TO MAKE TO MAKE ENSURE THAT, UM, THERE IS IS FULL A DA ACCESS WILL, WE CAN ABSOLUTELY WILL THAT WOULD BE PART OF THAT DESIGN PROCESS.
SO IT IS YOUR PLAN TO FIGURE THAT OUT DURING THE DESIGN PROCESS? YEAH.
DURING THAT, DURING THAT DESIGN PHASE, WE'D BE LOOKING AT ALL ASPECTS, EXTERIOR AND, AND INTERIOR TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT ONLY MEETING THE NEEDS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS, BUT WE'RE ALSO, WE'RE, WE'RE BEING RESPONSIVE OF ALL CODES, ORDINANCES, UM, AND, AND THE SORT.
UM, SO WE, WE, WE HAD TO CHECK THOSE ALL OFF.
UM, BEFORE WE, UM, AS WE, AS WE MOVE INTO THE, THE RENOVATION PHASE TEN FOUR.
ONE LAST QUESTION, JUST ONE LAST QUESTION.
CAN YOU CLARIFY SOME OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS OVER THERE? UH, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THERE, THERE'S, UH, A RECHARGE ZONE OVER THERE, AND I, I SEE THAT YOU HAD TALKED ABOUT DOING SOME, UM, UPDATES FOR THE, FOR, UH, REGARDING ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S NECESSARILY ADDRESSING SOME OF THOSE.
CAN YOU ELABORATE ON THAT? SO THERE'S, IT, IT'S, IT'S THE EDWARD AQUIFER RECHARGE ZONE.
UM, AND I MEAN, THESE BUILDINGS ALREADY EXIST AND THE, THE USE OF THEM IS CURRENTLY OFFICE AND IT WILL STILL BE OFFICE.
SO THERE'S NOT A CHANGE IN USE.
UH, WE DID DO AN ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT OF THE PROPERTY AS PART OF OUR STANDARD DUE DILIGENCE, AND THERE WAS, THERE WERE NO CONCERNS RAISED, BUT WE KNOW JUST AS A STEWARD OF THESE FACILITIES AS THE CITY OF BOSTON, IT, UM, WE SHOULD BE MAKING IMPROVEMENTS TO, JUST TO, TO FURTHER THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF THE BUILDING.
SO IF WE CAN ADD SOLAR IN THERE, UM, RAINWATER CAPTURE, THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT'S JUST, THOSE ARE JUST ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS THAT ARE, ARE GOOD TO DO ON, ON ANY FACILITY.
UM, SO THAT, WE'LL DO THE SAME HERE.
JUST FOLLOWING UP WITH THAT, UH, REAL QUICK.
SO THERE, THERE'S NOTHING NECESSARILY BEING DONE IN TERMS OF INFRASTRUCTURE TO PROTECT THOSE RECHARGE ZONES.
THEY'RE MORE SO TO IMPROVE THE VIS, UH, EFFICIENCY OF THE BUILDINGS.
UH, ASK, CAN YOU REPEAT THE QUESTION AGAIN? SO, SO WHAT I GUESS I'M ASKING IS, IS I THINK ONE OF THE CONCERNS IS IT IS UNDER A RECHARGE ZONE.
THOSE BUILDINGS ARE THERE, BUT NONE OF THE CONSIDERATIONS ARE NECESSARILY TOWARDS, UM, THE CONCERNS WITH, WITH WATER QUALITY OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
WITH, 'CAUSE I, I, I GUESS WHAT I'M ASKING IS, UM, THE IMPROVEMENTS YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS, THEY'RE TOO, THE BUILDINGS FOR EFFICIENCY OF THE BUILDINGS NOT NECESSARILY RELATED TO THE, THE, UH, EDWARD AQUIFER RECHARGE ZONE.
NO, I MEAN, IF YOU'RE DOING RAINWATER COLLECTION, IF YOU'RE DOING GREAT INFRASTRUCTURE THAT'S HELPING WITH THE, UM, FOR TREATMENT OF RUNOFF
[01:00:01]
AND THINGS LIKE THAT, SO THAT ABSOLUTELY DOES IMPROVE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS OF, IN THE AQUIFER AREA.UM, AND NOT JUST THE BUILDING ITSELF.
SO WE'RE, WE'LL, WE'D BE LOOKING AT ALL, UH, ALL OPPORTUNITIES TO, TO IMPROVE NOT ONLY THE SITE SPECIFIC WITH, BUT HOW THAT MIGHT BE ABLE TO EXPAND FURTHER.
BUT WHEN IT COMES TO THE OVERALL EDWARDS AQUIFER AND, AND HOW THAT'S BEING PROTECTED, THAT'S A, THAT'S A MUCH BIGGER CONVERSATION.
UM, IT INVOLVES LIKE OUR WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT AND THE SWORD WHO DOES FANTASTIC WORK ACROSS THE CITY.
UM, SO, UM, IT'S, SO WE WILL DO EVERYTHING WE CAN WITHIN OUR FOOTPRINT, UM, AND HELP THAT EXTEND AS FAR AS IT, IT CAN.
UM, BUT WE KNOW, ALSO KNOW THAT THIS BUILDING CAN'T BE THE SOLUTION TO ALL THINGS IN THE, IN THE AQUIFER.
UM, I KNOW THAT YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THIS FOR A REALLY LONG TIME.
UM, I KNOW THAT THE, THE HEADQUARTERS IN MOVING THEM HAS BEEN ON, HAS BEEN A SOURCE OF, HAS BEEN A SORE SPOT FOR A REALLY LONG TIME.
I AM HAPPY FOR THE PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS HAVING BETTER FACILITIES IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
UM, BUT, UM, I APPRECIATE YOU COMING OUT MOSTLY BECAUSE I KNOW THAT THERE WASN'T MUCH, UM, PUBLIC DISCUSSION OR PUBLIC INPUT AHEAD OF THE VOTE.
AND SO, UM, SOME TRANSPARENCY NOW IS AT LEAST APPRECIATED.
[4. Presentation regarding the Death Notification Process within Victim Services by Kachina Clark, Austin Police Department.]
I THINK OUR NEXT PRESENTATION, HI THERE IS, UM, REGARDING THE DEATH NOTIFICATION PROCESS, AND WE HAVE VICTIM SERVICES HERE TO TALK US THROUGH SOME OF THAT.AND I JUST WANTED TO PREFACE WITH, UM, THIS ITEM CAME, UM, FROM, THIS WAS CO-SPONSORED BY COMMISSIONER NGUYEN AND I, UM, WE HAD BOTH HAD SOME, UM, INTERACTIONS WITH, UM, COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UM, THAT HAD TO INTERACT WITH THE DEATH NOTIFICATION PROCESS AND EXPRESS SOME FRUSTRATIONS.
AND SO WE JUST THOUGHT IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO ONE, HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THIS PROCESS WORKS LIKE, AND THEN JUST KIND OF TALK THROUGH WHATEVER POTENTIAL INJECTION OF ADDITIONAL EMPATHY THERE MIGHT BE
I AM THE DIVISION MANAGER OVER VICTIM SERVICES AND EMPLOYEE WELLNESS AT THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT.
AND CONNIE GERHARD IS WITH ME HERE TODAY.
SHE'S GONNA DO THE BULK OF THE PRESENTATION BECAUSE, UM, SHE, WELL, SHE'S A, YOU COULD INTRODUCE YOURSELF, BUT, SORRY, I CAN'T, SHE'S A MANAGER OVER OUR EMPLOYEE WELLNESS, BUT WAS WITH VICTIM SERVICES FOR MANY, MANY YEARS, WAS ON OUR CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM.
THEN A SUPERVISOR OF OUR CRISIS TEAM COUNSELORS AND HAS DONE HUNDREDS OF DEAF NOTIFICATIONS AND IS VERY, UM, FAMILIAR WITH THE, THE PROCESS.
SO GIVE YOU, UH, JUST A LITTLE BIT OF AN OVERVIEW.
SO IF YOU WANNA MOVE THROUGH THE SLIDES.
SORRY, I DIDN'T BRING, I SHOULD HAVE BROUGHT MY WELL, I CAN DO IT.
SO WE, UH, THE TRAVIS COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINER'S OFFICE, THEY ARE THE GROUP THAT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR DETERMINING, UM, CAUSE AND MANNER OF DEATH.
UM, THEY, WHICH IS IF IT'S SUDDEN, UNEXPECTED, VIOLENT, SUSPICIOUS, SUSPICIOUS OR UNNATURAL DEATHS THAT OCCUR IN TRAVIS COUNTY.
SO IT'S THEIR ROLE, VICTIM SERVICES, UM, AT THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT.
WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR AS LONG AS I'VE BEEN HERE, SO 26 YEARS PLUS, WE, UH, PARTNER WITH THE MEDICAL EXAMINER'S OFFICE TO MAKE THE NOTIFICATION TO THE LEGAL NEXT OF KEN.
UM, AND WE DO THIS FOR THEM BECAUSE ONE, WE'RE MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS, SO WE TAKE AN OFFICER WITH US, BUT DELIVERING, UM, SOMETHING PRETTY REALLY HARD TO HEAR.
UM, HAVING A MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL THAT WOULD SUPPORT AND GUIDE FOLKS HELPING PROCESS, IT HAS BEEN, UM, IT'S, IT'S HELPFUL I THINK.
UM, WE, UM, ARE ALSO 24 7, SO WE HAVE STAFF AVAILABLE 24 7.
UH, WE HAVE, UH, FOLKS IN THE OFFICE THAT MAY DO DEATH NOTIFICATIONS, BUT WE HAVE A CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM.
COUNSELORS WE'RE MOBILE AND WORK WITH PATROL OFFICERS, AND THEY'RE ABLE TO, UM, MAKE NOTIFICATIONS ALL HOURS OF THE DAY AND NIGHT.
SO, UM, WHO IS CONSIDERED CONSIDERED THE LEGAL NEXT TO KEN IN TEXAS SO THAT THE MEDICAL EXAMINER'S OFFICE, THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING SURE THE NEXT TO KEN IS NOTIFIED.
AND LIKE I SAID, THEY DO THAT THROUGH MOSTLY THROUGH A PD VICTIM SERVICES, UM, ORDER OF NOTIFICATIONS.
SO WE HAVE TO, IF THERE IS A SPOUSE THAT IS THE PERSON THAT IS THE LEGAL NEXT TO KEN, WE HAVE TO NOTIFY THEM FIRST.
NEXT WOULD BE AN ADULT CHILD, UM, OR ADULT CHILDREN, PARENTS, AND THEN ADULT SIBLINGS.
AND THEN JUST NOTE ON THIS, THAT, AND THIS IS GOOD FOR FOLKS TO KNOW BECAUSE THIS COMES UP, THE EMERGENCY CONTACT THAT IS LISTED ON A DRIVER'S LICENSE IS NOT AUTOMATICALLY CONTACTED ON A PD CASES.
[01:05:01]
SERVICES MAY BE REQUESTED ASSIST WITH NOTIFYING NEXT TO KEN IN THE FOLLOWING SITUATION.SO DEATHS THAT, DEATHS THAT OCCUR IN AUSTIN, THAT INCLUDES PARTS OF WILLIAMSON COUNTY, HAYES COUNTY, BUT PRIMARILY TRAVIS COUNTY.
SO DEATHS THAT ARE, UH, AT A HOME OR IN THE COMMUNITY HOSPITAL DEATHS, UM, WE WILL RESPOND TO A HOSPITAL AND PROVIDE NOTIFICATION THERE, ALTHOUGH THERE ARE HOSPITAL SOCIAL WORKERS THERE.
SO THEY GENERALLY TAKE, UM, THE LEAD IN IN THOSE SITUATIONS.
UM, BUT WE MAY BE RESPONDING IF OFFICERS ARE ALSO RESPONDING, IF THERE'S LIKE A COLLISION OR SOME TYPE OF ACCIDENT, HOSPICE DEATHS.
UM, AND THAT'S, WE'RE OFTEN CALLED BY EMS FOR THOSE, UM, THOUGH THAT'S ONLY 9 1 1 IS CALLED AND POLICE RESPOND, WE WILL GO AND PROVIDE SUPPORT THERE.
UH, BUT IN THOSE SITUATIONS, HOS THE HOSPICE NURSE NURSES GENERALLY, UM, TAKING OVER THEIR SOCIAL WORKER IS, AND THEN WE GET REQUESTS FROM OTHER AGENCIES FOR OUT OF OFFICE CASES OR OUT OF, UM, TOWN KANSAS WHEN THE NEXT ATTEND IS BELIEVED TO RESIDE IN AUSTIN.
BUT THE INCIDENT THAT THE DEATH MAY HAVE OCCURRED IN ANOTHER DEATH LEVEL, MAY HAVE OCCURRED IN ANOTHER AREA.
THEY WILL REACH OUT, UM, TO US.
UM, THEY'LL COMMUNICATE IN A CONFIDENTIAL MANNER WITH OUR COMMUNICATIONS.
THEY REACH OUT TO ONE OF OUR COUNSELORS AND THEN WE WILL GO, UM, TO THE HOME, UM, AND PROVIDE THAT NOTIFICATION THERE.
AND SO SPECIFICALLY HOW THE NOTIFICATION IS INITIATED THERE? OH, I'M SORRY.
UM, SO SPECIFICALLY HOW, HOW VICTIM SERVICES BECOMES AWARE OF IT.
UM, IT CAN BE ANY NUMBER OF WAYS.
SO THE TRAVIS COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINER'S OFFICE MAY PAGE US VIA OUR COMMUNICATIONS.
SO OUR COUNSELORS STILL CARRY PAGERS.
UM, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE YOUNGER, THESE ARE THESE LITTLE DEVICES,
UM, WE HAVE SOME NEW STAFF WHO ARE LIKE, WHAT IS THIS? WHAT IS THIS THING? WE DUNNO WHAT THIS THING IS.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE OUR, UM, OUR DISPATCH MAY MAKE THE REQUEST TO US IF THE, IF THE REQUEST COMES FROM ANOTHER JURISDICTION VIA TELETYPE, IS EVERYBODY HERE FAMILIAR WITH WHAT TELETYPE IS? IT'S BASICALLY A SECURE WAY THAT A DEPARTMENT CAN COMMUNICATE WITH ANOTHER DEPARTMENT.
SO THAT, AND THAT JUST HELPS US SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE SOMEBODY, A RANDOM PERSON CALLING INTO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT SAYING, HEY, GO TO THIS ADDRESS AND TELL THIS PERSON THAT SOMEBODY DIED, UM, JUST IN CASE THERE WAS ANY MAL INTENT THERE.
SO IT COMES TO US THROUGH A SECURE, UH, MANNER.
UH, WE HAVE DETECTIVES, SO, UM, IT MIGHT BE A DETECTIVE FOR A HOMICIDE OR A VEHICULAR HOMICIDE, COLD CASE OR SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS.
AND THEY MAY CONTACT US DIRECTLY, UH, BECAUSE THERE ARE CERTAIN CASES WHERE THE POLICE DEPARTMENT MAY REQUEST FROM THE SH THE MEDICAL EXAMINER'S OFFICE THAT THE NO INFORMATION BE RELEASED BECAUSE OF IT'S BEING INVESTIGATED.
AND SO THERE OUR DETECTIVE MAY SAY, OKAY, WE'RE READY NOW FOR, TO GO AND TRY TO MAKE THAT NOTIFICATION.
AND SOMETIMES IN THOSE CASES, THE DETECTIVE WILL ACTUALLY WANT TO GO WITH US.
AND THAT MAY EVEN BE BECAUSE THAT THERE MAY BE AN INVESTIGATIVE COMPONENT TO THAT TOO.
UM, AND THE OTHER THING THAT HAPPENS IS SOMEBODY MIGHT CALL IN AND REQUEST A, A WELFARE CHECK ON A FRIEND, UH, OR A FAMILY MEMBER AND POLICE GO THERE AND DISCOVER THAT THE THERE IS A DECEASED PERSON AT THAT LOCATION.
EVEN IF THE PERSON WHO CALLED IN THE WELFARE CHECK IS NOT THE LEGAL NEXT OF KIN, BUT THEY'RE CALLING OUR DISPATCH AND WANTING TO KNOW THE OUTCOME OF THAT, WE ARE GOING TO CALL THEM BACK AND SHARE THAT INFORMATION, EVEN THOUGH THAT IS NOT THE DIRECT NEXT OF KIN.
AND THERE, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, I MEAN, THERE ARE A FEW DIFFERENT REASONS FOR THAT.
WE DO LET THEM KNOW AT THAT TIME THAT WE CANNOT TELL THEM THAT THIS IS DEFINITELY THAT PERSON, UM, BECAUSE THAT IDENTIFICATION PROCESS HASN'T HAPPENED.
BUT IF, IF THEY TOLD US TO GO TO THIS ADDRESS AND IT WAS SECURED, AND YOU KNOW, IT IS MOST LIKELY THAT PERSON.
AND THEN WE ALSO TRY TO TALK TO THEM ABOUT WHO MIGHT BE THE NEXT OF KIN IF THEY KNOW AND TRY TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE NOTIFICATION.
AND THEN, OH, A LOT OF TIMES WHAT HAPPENS IS THAT VICTIM SERVICES WILL BE RESPONDING DIRECTLY TO THE SCENE WHERE THE DEATH HAS OCCURRED.
AND THAT MAY BE BECAUSE THERE ARE SOME FAMILY MEMBERS THERE OR THERE MAY BE WITNESSES THERE.
UM, THIS HAS HAPPENED MANY TIMES, ESPECIALLY ON, UH, TRAFFIC FATALITIES WHERE WE GET CALLED THERE TO WORK WITH THE PERSON WHO MAYBE WAS DRIVING THE CAR OR WITNESSES WHO OBSERVED IT.
AND IN THOSE CASES, WE REALLY TRY HARD TO FIND OUT WHO THE PERSON IS FROM THE DETECTIVE OR THE MEDICAL EXAMINER AND REALLY TRY TO SAY, HEY, WE WANT TO, WE WANT TO TRY AND MOVE ON THIS TO, TO NOTIFY BECAUSE IF THE MEDIA
[01:10:01]
IS THERE, OR IF ANYBODY IS SENDING OUT SOCIAL MEDIA, LIKE EMS MIGHT SAY, HEY, WE RESPONDED AND MM-HMMWE WANT TO TRY TO GET TO THOSE, THOSE FAMILY MEMBERS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
UM, BUT OBVIOUSLY IT'S NOT ALWAYS COMPLETELY POSSIBLE TO KNOW WHO THE PERSON IS WHO PASSED AWAY.
WHERE AM I? THIS COUNCIL CONSIDERATION HERE.
OH, NO, I'M TURNING MY PAGES TOO QUICKLY.
UM, SO WHENEVER I DO MAKE A NOTIFICATION, IF I CALL THE MEDICAL EXAMINER AND THEY ARE TELLING ME, I WANT YOU TO GO NOTIFY THIS, THIS PERSON, AND THEY'RE USING A SYSTEM, SOME, YOU KNOW, MAYBE PEOPLE FIND HER ACCURATE OR SOME OF THESE DIFFERENT SYSTEMS TO FIGURE OUT WHO THE NEXT OF KIN IS, IT'S MANY TIMES THAT THEY'RE LIKE, OKAY, I WANT YOU TO KNOW THIS PERSON NAMED SUSAN VASQUEZ.
THIS IS A PHONE NUMBER WE HAVE FOR HER, AND THIS IS A POSSIBLE ADDRESS, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE RELATION IS.
SO THERE ARE MANY TIMES WHEN I'M MAKING CONTACT WITH SOMEONE WHO HAS NO RELATION TO THE DECEDENT AT ALL.
SO WHEN I MAKE THAT NOTIFICATION, I AM ALWAYS GONNA START WITH, I'M, I'M HERE TO TALK WITH YOU ABOUT SOMEONE WHO MAY BE A FAMILY MEMBER OF YOURS.
UM, AND THEN TRY TO FIGURE OUT IF THAT IS IN FACT THE PERSON.
SO I WANNA KNOW THEIR DATE OF BIRTH, I WANNA KNOW HOW THEY WERE IDENTIFIED.
UM, WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, HAD SITUATIONS WHERE PEOPLE MAY HAVE ONLY BEEN IDENTIFIED BY THEIR IDENTIFICATION THAT WAS ON THEM AND IT WAS STOLEN BY THE PERSON WHO DIED.
AND SO THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT OBVIOUSLY CAN LEAD TO MIS MISS NOTIFICATIONS.
UM, AND THEN WE ALSO WILL, UH, I ALSO WANT TO KNOW, I WILL ASK THE MEDICAL EXAMINER WHAT I CAN SHARE WITH THE PERSON THAT I'M NOTIFYING, UM, IF IT'S NOT A DEATH THAT I'M FAMILIAR WITH, IF THEY'RE NOTIFYING, ASKING ME TO MAKE THE NOTIFICATION.
AND I ALSO WANNA ASK IF THERE ARE ANY DISTINGUISHING FEATURES.
UM, I HAD ONE SITUATION ONE TIME WHERE THE DECEDENT WAS MISSING A LIMB, AND I DIDN'T KNOW THAT AHEAD OF TIME.
AND WHEN I WENT TO DO THE NOTIFICATION, THE FAMILY MEMBER WAS REALLY IN A STATE OF DISBELIEF AND SAID, DOES THIS PERSON HAVE THIS LIMB? YOU KNOW, IT WAS MISSING THIS LIMB.
AND I CALLED THE EM ME'S OFFICE AND THEY ALWAYS ANSWER.
AND THEY WERE ABLE TO TELL ME RIGHT AWAY THAT YES, IT WAS THAT SAME PERSON.
BUT THAT WAS A LESSON TO ME OF LIKE, LET ME MAKE SURE I ASK THESE QUESTIONS SO THAT WHEN I GET THERE I CAN PROVIDE THE MOST INFORMATION.
UM, SOME OF THE CONSIDERATIONS WE DO AIM TO NOTIFY IN PERSON WHENEVER POSSIBLE, THAT HAS BECOME INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT.
UM, IN PART BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IT, THERE WAS A TIME LONG AGO WHEN WE ONLY HAD PHONES WITH ANSWERING MACHINES, AND WE DID NOT HAVE CELL PHONES.
UM, AND WE DIDN'T HAVE RING DOORBELLS.
BUT NOW, UM, IF I, IF I GO TO SOMEBODY'S HOME AND THEY'RE AT WORK, THEY MAY END UP KNOWING THAT I WAS THERE EITHER THROUGH THE RING DOORBELL OR THROUGH THE, YOU KNOW, UM, UH, THE NEIGHBOR MAY CONTACT THEM.
AND EVERYBODY'S REALLY EASY TO, UH, TO REACH THESE DAYS.
UM, SO WE DO AIM TO NOTIFY IN PERSON WHEN POSSIBLE, BUT SOMETIMES WE CONSIDER ALL THE CIRCUMSTANCES AND WE MAY DECIDE THAT IT IS BETTER TO MAKE A PHONE CALL.
AND SO WE WILL DO THAT AT TIMES AN OFFICER DOES ACCOMPANY US.
UM, AND THAT IS FOR OUR OWN SAFETY, UH, BECAUSE WE, WE DO WEAR A UNIFORM, BUT WE AREN'T, IT'S NOT AS EASILY IDENTIFIABLE AS A POLICE UNIFORM.
AND, UM, AND ALSO WE WANT THEM TO KNOW THAT IT ISN'T A HOAX BECAUSE WHEN SOMEBODY HEARS THAT A SOMEBODY CLOSE TO THEM HAS DIED, IT IS NOT UNUSUAL AT ALL FOR SOMEBODY TO SAY, THIS CAN'T BE REAL.
AND SO HAVING A, A UNIFORMED POLICE OFFICER WITH US REALLY, REALLY MAKES A DIFFERENCE.
UM, AGAIN, THE, YEAH, IF THERE'S A SECURITY CAMERA OR ANYTHING, UM, IF WE DO HAVE TO MAKE THE NOTIFICATION IN PERSON, WE DO TRY TO CONSIDER ARE THEY ON THE ROAD? ARE THEY DRIVING? DO THEY HAVE ANYONE WITH THEM? UM, IT IS NOT UNCOMMON OR TO CALL SOMEONE TO NOTIFY THEM AND HAVE THEM SCREAM AND HANG UP THE PHONE.
RIGHT? AND SO YOU WANT TO, UH, DO AS MUCH AS YOU CAN TO ASSESS WHERE THEY ARE, IF THEY'RE ALONE, YOU KNOW? UM, AND IF IT IS, OF COURSE, THE END OF A SHIFT, BECAUSE WE WORK 10 HOUR SHIFTS, IF I'M TRYING TO MAKE A NOTIFICATION AT, YOU KNOW, AND MY SHIFT'S OVER IN AN HOUR AND I'M TRYING TO DO A PHONE NOTIFICATION AND I CALL AND NOBODY ANSWERS, I'M NOT GONNA LEAVE A MESSAGE TO HAVE THEM CALL THE CITY CELL PHONE THAT I'M ON BACK.
I'M JUST GONNA ASK SOMEBODY ELSE TO TRY AGAIN LATER.
[01:15:01]
UM, NEXT SLIDE.SO IN WILLIAMSON OR HAYES COUNTY, UM, IT IS NOT THE TRA, THE TRAVIS COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINER'S OFFICE ISN'T AUTOMATICALLY, UH, INVOLVED.
THEY DO RESPOND AND ASSIST 43 OTHER COUNTIES.
BUT INITIALLY, IF I GO TO A, A DEATH THAT'S IN WILLIAMSON COUNTY, IT'S GOING TO BE THE JUSTICE OF THE PEACE THAT RESPONDS.
AND THEY RELY, THEY DO NOT MAKE NOTIFICATIONS.
THEY RELY ON A PD TO MAKE THOSE NOTIFICATIONS.
UM, AND THEN OBVIOUSLY WITH SUSPICIOUS DEATHS, UM, WE HAVE TO CONFIRM WITH THE DETECTIVE BEFORE WE'RE NOTIFYING.
AND WE DO OCCASIONALLY HAVE SITUATIONS WHERE, YOU KNOW, AN AN, UH, AN OFFICER MAY GET TO A SCENE, THEY'RE WORKING A, A DEATH, AND THEY WILL SORT OF PREEMPTIVELY CONTACT US AND ASK US TO MAKE NOTIFICATION AND TRY TO FIND NEXT OF KIN.
AND THAT IS THEM BEING REALLY THOUGHTFUL ABOUT WANTING TO DO IT IN A TIMELY MANNER.
BUT WE ALSO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE PERMISSIONS, THAT WE HAVE THE PERSON POSITIVELY IDENTIFIED OR CLOSELY, WE REALLY THINK IT'S THIS PERSON.
AND, AND IF WE DON'T KNOW FOR SURE THAT IT'S THAT PERSON, WE'RE GONNA MAKE IT CLEAR THAT THIS IS A TENTATIVE IDENTIFICATION TO THE PERSON THAT WE'RE NOTIFYING.
UH, AND THE NEXT SLIDE, A FEW OF THE THINGS THAT CAN, UH, CAUSE A DELAY.
ONE IS, YOU KNOW, IF, IF THE PERSON CAN'T BE IDENTIFIED RIGHT AWAY, UM, AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE REALLY STRUGGLE WITH, I'D SAY THE MOST, UH, IS THAT WE MAY HAVE A REALLY GOOD IDEA THAT THIS IS PROBABLY THE PERSON, IT'S THEIR CAR, YOU KNOW, THEY WERE DRIVING IT OR WHATEVER.
BUT IF, YOU KNOW, IF WE CAN'T GET THAT POSITIVE IDENTIFICATION, WE DON'T WANT TO CAUSE UNNECESSARY HARM TO SOMEONE BY NOTIFYING THEM IF AND THEN HAVE IT BE WRONG.
INABILITY TO IDENTIFY OR MAKE CONTACT WITH NEXT OF KIN THAT'S QUITE FREQUENT.
TWO, THERE ARE TWO LEGAL NEXT OF KIN, LIKE A, A, A CHILD WHO HAS TWO PARENTS, BUT THEY ARE MAYBE SEPARATED.
AND WE HAVE HAD SITUATIONS WHERE WE HAVE LITERALLY SENT TWO COUNSELORS AT THE SAME TIME TO THE DIFFERENT LOCATIONS OF THE PARENTS, SO THEY COULD BE NOTIFIED AT THE SAME TIME.
BUT THAT IS REALLY, REALLY HARD TO COORDINATE AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE GONNA BE THERE.
UM, AND THEN THE AVAILABILITY OF OUR PERSONNEL.
WE ARE, WE ARE WELL STAFFED AND WE DO THE BEST THAT WE CAN TO GET ON THESE VERY QUICKLY RECOGNIZING THAT IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.
UM, BUT WE ALL OUR STAFF ARE ALSO RESPONDING TO ALL THE OTHER CALLS IN THE CITY OF THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON.
AND SO, UM, WE MAKE IT A PRIORITY AS MUCH AS WE CAN, BUT IF WE ARE ALL ON OTHER HIGH PRIORITY CALLS, IT, THERE MAY BE A DELAY MAKES YEAH.
THOSE, IF IT'S DURING THE WEEK, DURING THE DAY, WE CAN PULL SOMEBODY FROM THE OFFICE.
WE HAVE COUNSELORS ASSIGNED TO ALL THE INVESTIGATIVE UNITS.
BUT IF IT'S AFTER HOURS OF THE WEEKEND, UM, IT'S, WE RELY ON OUR, WE'RE DEPENDING ON OUR CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM TO MAKE THE NOTIFICATION, OR WE COULD POTENTIALLY CALL SOMEONE IN FROM, FROM HOME.
BUT THEY, YEAH, THERE'S 16 OF THEM TOTAL, BUT THEY'RE COVERING THE CITY 24 HOURS A DAY, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
SO SOMETIMES THEY'RE NOT AVAILABLE.
AND I WAS JUST GONNA ADD, UM, WHEN WE MAKE THE NOTIFICATION, THE COUNSELOR'S ALSO AVAILABLE TO, WE REMAIN THERE OFTEN TO PROVIDE SUPPORT, GET THEM CONNECTED WITH THEIR NATURAL SUPPORTS, UM, YOU KNOW, MAY ASSIST WITH, IF, IF, UH, THEY NEED TO REACH OUT TO THE FUNERAL HOME, WE CAN ASSIST WITH THAT PROCESS AS WELL.
AND WE GIVE THEM INFORMATION ABOUT OTHER RESOURCES.
IF IT'S, IF THERE'S AN INVESTIGATION INVOLVED, WE WILL, THE CASE WILL GET ASSIGNED TO ONE OF OUR INVESTIGATIVE, UH, INVESTIGATION SUPPORT COUNSELORS, AND THEY WILL FOLLOW UP WITH THEM THROUGHOUT THE INVESTIGATIVE PROCESS.
DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, MR. NEN? I'M ASSUMING YEAH.
UM, I, I JUST HAVE A QUESTION IN TERMS OF, YOU TALK ABOUT TRA TRAFFIC FATALITIES.
SO IF SOMEONE'S BEING TRANSPORTED TO THE HOSPITAL AT THAT POINT, THE DEATH NOTIFICATION IS NOW, UM, BECAUSE THEY HAVEN'T NECESSARILY, THE FATALITY HASN'T HAPPENED YET.
RIGHT? THAT IS, THAT NOTIFICATION IS ON THE HOSPITAL.
A REALLY GOOD QUESTION BECAUSE THE, SO WE DO WORK CLOSELY WITH THE HOSPITALS AND THE HOSPITAL SOCIAL WORKERS, AND IF SOMEBODY IS TRANSPORTED, SOMETIMES WE AS VICTIM SERVICES ARE REQUESTED TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL, IT'S, BUT NOT ALWAYS.
OR WE MIGHT STILL BE DEALING WITH THE SCENE THE HOSPITAL SOCIAL WORKER IS, BUT TYPICALLY IS GONNA BE RESPONSIBLE FOR IDENTIFYING LOCATING NEXT OF KIN.
AND, UM, MY HUSBAND ACTUALLY WORKS AS SOCIAL WORKER AT DEL SETON.
[01:20:01]
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HE, HE SEES IS THAT THERE, THE CHALLENGE IS IT'S REALLY DIFFERENT WITH DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS.SO IF YOU ARE DEALING WITH A, UM, LIKE A, A, A TRAFFIC FATALITY THAT OCCURS OUTSIDE OF AUSTIN AND THAT DPS RESPONDS TO, AND BECAUSE THEY ARE SO LIMITED, LIKE THEY'RE, THEY MIGHT BE THREE HOURS AWAY AND THE PERSON GETS AIRLIFTED TO DELL, IT TAKES A LONG TIME TO FIGURE OUT WHO THE NEXT OF KIN IS AND TO MAKE THAT NOTIFICATION.
AND SO, AND THAT, AND A LOT OF TIMES THEY MAY BE TRYING TO GET A HOLD OF FAMILY JUST TO HAVE THEM COME TO THE HOSPITAL WHILE THE PERSON IS STILL, IS STILL THERE AT THE HOSPITAL.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, HASN'T PASSED YET.
SO A LOT OF TIMES THAT IS GOING TO BE THE HOSPITAL SOCIAL WORKER.
UM, BUT I WOULD SAY I COULDN'T GIVE YOU A PERCENTAGE, BUT IT DEFINITELY, WE DEFINITELY SHARE THAT RESPONSIBILITY.
SO IS, ARE, ARE THERE SOME CHALLENGES SOMETIMES WITH MAKING SURE THAT THAT COMMUNICATION OR THAT DEATH NOTIFICATION COMES THROUGH IN, UH, THE MOST, YOU KNOW, APPROPRIATE TIME? UM, AND DO YOU HAVE ANY RECOMMENDATIONS OF IF THERE IS THOSE CHALLENGES, IF THERE'S A WAY TO IMPROVE THAT? YEAH, LET'S SEE.
AND I'M TRYING TO THINK ABOUT SOME OF THE DIFFERENT, SOME OF THE DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES I'VE HAD WITH IT.
UM, I THINK, WELL, I, GOSH, YOU KNOW, IT WOULD ALMOST BE, I'D ALMOST SAY SOME OF THOSE CHALLENGES MAY COME AT THE HOSPITAL.
SO BEING ABLE TO, UM, TO GET THE INFORMATION THEY NEED, LIKE, UH, SO DPS LIKE IF YOU OPT IN, YOU CAN GET YOUR, AN EMERGENCY CONTACT LISTED ON YOUR, UM, DRIVER'S LICENSE AND BEING AND, AND DI THINK DPS DOES SAY WHEN YOU GET THAT, IT SAYS THIS MIGHT PERSON MIGHT BE CONTACTED IN THE EVENT OF YOUR DEATH, EVEN THOUGH THAT'S NOT WHAT'S USED HERE.
LIKE IF, IF WE DON'T HAVE ANYBODY ELSE AND WE HAVE THAT INFORMATION, ABSOLUTELY WE WOULD USE IT.
BUT WE'RE GONNA TRY TO GO WITH THAT NEXT OF KIN WHO'S ON THERE.
I DO THINK WHAT'S HARD, AND I DID GO THROUGH THIS FAIRLY RECENTLY, IS THAT THE ABILITY TO SHARE THAT INFORMATION WITH HOSPITAL PERSONNEL IS INCONSISTENT.
AND THE REASON IT'S INCONSISTENT, UM, IS, IS NOT ENTIRELY KNOWN TO ME, BUT IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE, IT'S, IT'S, YOU GUYS MAY KNOW IT'S LIKE, IT'S A DOCUMENT THAT DPS HAS CONTROL OVER.
SO IT'S NOT LIKE IF THE HOSPITAL WERE TO ASK A PD HEY, TELL US WHO THE EMERGENCY CONTACT IS ON THIS PERSON'S LICENSE, I DON'T KNOW THAT THEY CAN SHARE THAT INFORMATION.
SO THAT INFORMATION IS PROVIDED WHEN SOMEBODY COMPLETES THEIR DRIVER'S LICENSE APPLI APPLICATION.
AND SO I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT'S INFORMATION THAT WE'D BE ABLE TO, TO SHARE AT THAT RIGHT.
BUT I CAN DEFINITELY WRITE THAT ONE DOWN.
WE'LL, WE'LL CIRCLE BACK WITH THE GROUP AT THE NEXT MEETING.
IF YOU COULD FOLLOW UP ON THAT.
'CAUSE THAT WAS THE ONE THING THAT STRUCK ME.
I'M LIKE, I JUST DID DRIVER'S LICENSE RENEWAL, UM, AND NEXT WE UPDATED NEXT OF KIN INFORMATION ON THERE SO THAT IT WAS CURRENT.
AND SO IF THAT'S IS, IS THERE A LEGAL REASON WHY THAT'S, IS IT JUST LIKE A PRIVACY THING? LIKE I'D, I'D LIKE TO BETTER UNDERSTAND WHY THE PERSON THAT WE DESIGNATE SPECIFICALLY FOR THAT PURPOSE, THAT THE INSTITUTIONS THAT NEED TO DELIVER THIS NEWS DON'T, DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO IT.
SO I DON'T LIKE IF THERE'S A LAW THAT, YEAH, I, SO, AND I'VE DEF I'VE EXPLORED IT A LITTLE BIT, BUT NOT WITH ACTUAL DEATHS.
UM, SOMETIMES THE HOSPITAL WILL REACH OUT AND IT'S, A LOT OF TIMES IT'LL BE THE SOCIAL WORKER WILL REACH OUT TO US AT VICTIM SERVICES AND SAY, HEY, WE HAVE THIS PERSON HERE WHO IS INCAPACITATED IN SOME WAY.
CAN YOU PROVIDE US WITH THEIR, UM, THE, THE EMERGENCY PERSON ON THERE? MM-HMM.
AND THEY, IT'S, IT'S ALL, IT'S FOR A GOOD REASON.
BUT THAT INFORMATION IS, UM, IT'S NOT HIPAA PROTECTED, BUT IT'S PROTECTED.
LIKE IT'S, IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE GUARDED.
AND SO, UM, I I, I HAD ONE SITUATION ONCE WHERE I WENT AHEAD AND CALLED OUR DISPATCH.
I SORT OF, I STAFFED IT WITH THEM.
THEY SAID, WE CAME TO THE AGREEMENT THAT THEY WOULD GIVE ME THE NAME OF THE NEXT KIN BECAUSE I WORK WITHIN LAW ENFORCEMENT OR THE EMERGENCY CONTACT.
I THEN CALLED THAT PERSON AND WAS ABLE TO LET THEM KNOW THAT THIS REQUEST CAME.
[01:25:01]
BUT WE DID NOT GIVE THE NAME AND NUMBER TO THE PEOPLE AT THE HOSPITAL.'CAUSE WE WANTED TO KEEP PROTECTING IT.
BUT THAT WAS JUST KIND OF HOW WE GOT AROUND IT ON THAT ONE SITUATION.
IT PROBABLY, IT NEEDS SOME MORE SUSSING OUT TO KIND OF FIGURE OUT, BECAUSE THAT COULD BE A USEFUL, A USEFUL TOOL.
AND I THINK IT'S DP S'S INFORMATION, NOT APD, SO THAT COMPLICATES IT.
SO IT'S CONSIDERED CJS INFORMATION, CRIMINAL JUSTICE INFORMATION SYSTEM.
AND SO THE ONLY WAY TO ACCESS IT IS TO PHYSICALLY RUN SOMEBODY'S DRIVER'S LICENSE.
AND IN ORDER TO RUN SOMEBODY'S DRIVER'S LICENSE, YOU HAVE TO BE APPROVED TO ACCESS THE, THE SYSTEM.
AND THEN THE PERSON WHO'S RECEIVING THE INFORMATION HAS TO BE AN APPROVED RECEIVER OF THE INFORMATION.
SO IT'S CGIS PROTECTIVE, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY RELATED TO, TO HIPAA.
AND IT IS OWNED BY THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY IN THEIR SYSTEM ITSELF.
THAT IS NOT SOMETHING THAT EVEN RESIDES IN THE APD SYSTEM.
WE HAVE TO ACCESS DPSS RECORDS MM-HMM.
SO THEY COULD, LIKE CONNIE SAID, THEY CAN CAN REACH OUT TO US AND WE CAN, AND WE CAN POSSIBLY GET THAT INFORMATION, BUT WE WOULD THEN HAVE TO MAKE, WE WOULD BE THE ONES MAKING THE CONTACT.
AND, AND I JUST ADD FOR CLARIFICATION, WHEN, WHEN SOMEBODY COMES TO THE HOSPITAL AS SOMEBODY WHO HAS DONE THIS MANY TIMES, THE PHYSICIAN IS TYPICALLY THE ONE WHO ACTUALLY SPEAKS WITH THE FAMILY WHEN THEY DIE AT THE HOSPITAL WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF SOCIAL WORKERS OR, OR CHAPLAIN.
SO IT'S A DIFFERENT PROCESS, UM, BECAUSE THERE'S BEEN SOME CARE THAT HAS TO BE EXPLAINED AND, AND AND INVOLVED IN THAT.
I THINK IT'S A VERY DIFFERENT THAN I THINK WHAT PEOPLE ARE ENVISIONING WITH WHAT YOU ALL DOING.
IF THE PERSON RECEIVED MEDICAL CARE AND HONESTLY, EVEN ON A SCENE WHERE EMS HAS RESPONDED, THE EMS COMMANDER WILL BE THERE AS WELL.
UM, AND SOMETIMES THEY MAKE THE NOTIFICATION AND ARE ABLE TO EXPLAIN ALL THE THINGS THAT WERE DONE.
SO ABSOLUTELY SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT IF THE PERSON RECEIVED MEDICAL CARE.
SO
CAN I ASK A QUESTION FOR, IS IT TWO CO-SPONSORS? UM, WHAT WERE SOME OF THE CONCERNS THAT WERE EXPRESSED BY COMMUNITY MEMBERS? UM, BECAUSE I THINK THIS IS A, THIS IS A FANTASTIC OVERVIEW OF THE PROCESS.
I FEEL LIKE I DON'T UNDERSTAND SORT OF WHERE THE POTENTIAL CONCERNS ARE AND GAPS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT.
SO I WAS GONNA HAVE A QUESTION TO THAT EFFECT.
AND IT IS WHEN, SO THE INSTANCE THAT I CAME ACROSS WAS IN, I WAS IN A PARKING LOT OF A POLICE STATION AND SOMEONE WAS COMING TO LOOK FOR INFORMATION ON THEIR DECEASED RELATIVE, AND THEY WENT INTO THE POLICE STATION.
AND THE REASON I WANTED IS LIKE, WHAT SORT OF TRAINING DOES ANY, IS IS THERE ANYONE AT A POLICE STATION, BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT WOULD BE A NATURAL SORT OF PLACE TO GO INQUIRE.
UM, WHAT TRAINING IS AVAILABLE TO THE PEOPLE THAT RECEIVE, UM, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITY MEMBERS AT THE POLICE STATION TO DELIVER THAT KIND OF INFORMATION, TO RECEIVE THAT KIND OF INFORMATION TO DIRECT.
ARE THEY GIVEN ANY TRAINING? I GUESS THAT'S MY QUESTION.
I WAS JUST GONNA SAY THEY'RE NOT, THEY WILL OFTENTIMES CALL FOR VICTIMS, FOR VICTIMS SERVICE FOR VICTIM SERVICES TO RESPOND.
AND WE HAVE VICTIM SERVICES THAT ARE, HAVE OFFICE DESIGNATED IN EACH OF OUR POLICE STATIONS.
AND SO THAT'S THE STANDARD PROCESS FOR ANY OF OUR SWORN PERSONNEL OR OFFICERS.
IF SOMEBODY IS COMING IN TO WHERE THAT SUPPORTIVE ENTITY NEEDS TO BE THERE, THEY ARE REQUIRED TO CONTACT VICTIM SERVICES AND HAVE VICTIM SERVICES WITH THEM TO HELP, HELP TALK AND WORK THROUGH THAT PROCESS.
UM, SO IN, IN THIS, IN, IN THE INSTANCE THAT I WITNESSED, UM, THEY WERE NOT, I'M, AS I, I DON'T KNOW IF THEY WERE IN A DIRECT REL, I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND EXACTLY, BUT THEY WERE, THEY WERE A RELATIVE OF SOME SORT, MAYBE NOT NEXT OF KIN.
AND SO THEY WEREN'T GIVEN INFORMATION.
AND SO THEY, THEY LEFT AND THEN THEY WERE IN THE PARKING LOT SCRAMBLING TO MAKE PHONE CALLS AND FIGURE OUT WHAT, AND SO THEY WERE JUST KIND OF TOLD THAT THEY COULDN'T BE HELPED AND THEY WERE TURNED AWAY, WHICH, YOU KNOW, WHICH STATION IT WAS.
IT WAS THE SOUTH STATION, SOUTH SUB, YEAH.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT COMES UP A LOT AT OUR SUBSTATIONS IS THAT, AND I'M NOT AS FAMILIAR WITH WHAT'S GOING ON AT THE SOUTH, BUT I KNOW AT THE NORTH WE DON'T REALLY HAVE ANYBODY RIGHT THERE, THERE IS A PHONE THEY CAN PICK UP AND CALL.
I, WHEN I USED TO GO OUTTA THE NORTH SUBSTATION, AND I WOULD SOMETIMES, IF I WAS WAITING
[01:30:01]
TO GET A CALL, I MIGHT SIT OUT FRONT AND I WOULD BE APPROACHED BY A LOT OF PEOPLE ASKING ALL SORTS OF QUESTIONS, HOW TO PAY A TICKET AND THINGS LIKE THAT.UM, YOU KNOW, IT WOULD BE FANTASTIC IF WE HAD SOMEBODY WHO ACTUALLY COULD BE AT EVERY SINGLE SUBSTATION, BECAUSE I DO THINK THAT PEOPLE DO THINK, OH, I CAN JUST GO TO THE SUBSTATION AND I CAN GET SOME HELP.
AND IT'S NOT THAT THEY CAN'T, BUT IT'S KIND OF HARD TO ACCESS SOMEONE AT THAT MOMENT.
AND, UM, OR SOMETIMES YOU GET SOMEBODY WHO'S, WHO'S MAYBE LEAVING, YOU KNOW, TO GO HOME AND THEY DON'T EVEN HAVE, UM, THE, THE CAPACITY AT THAT TIME TO, TO LOCATE SOMEONE.
BUT IT, IT REALLY, IT REALLY IS IDEAL.
IF, IF, IF WE CAN, IF WE CAN GET SOMEONE TO RESPOND, EVEN IF IT'S VICTIM SERVICES, HEY, CAN YOU CHECK WITH THIS PERSON WHO'S MM-HMM.
SO I'M SORRY THAT THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN.
'CAUSE THE OTHER ISSUES, OF COURSE, LANGUAGE, THEY WERE SPANISH SPEAKERS.
THAT, THAT HAPPENS A LOT AS WELL.
AND WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, WE DO HAVE SOME, WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF SPANISH SPEAKING COUNSELORS.
WE HAVE MORE SPANISH SPEAKING OFFICERS.
WE DO HAVE A NEW DEVICE, UM, THAT WE CAN USE INTERPRETATION, INTERPRETATION DEVICE.
UM, THAT, THAT CAN BE HELPFUL.
BUT YEAH, THAT DOES, THAT HAPPENS A LOT WHERE PEOPLE SHOW UP.
WE'VE, WE HAVE QUITE A FEW SPANISH SPEAKING COUNSELORS IN OUR INVESTIGATIVE UNITS.
BUT NOT QUITE AS MANY ON OUR CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM.
BUT I THINK WE COULD PROBABLY GET, POTENTIALLY SEND SOMETHING OUT JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL STAFF ARE AWARE THAT, UM, IF SOMEBODY WALKS IN AND IS NEEDING SUPPORT OF ANY KIND, THEY SHOULD REACH OUT TO VICTIM SERVICES.
THAT, THAT TRANSLATION, UH, TRANSLATION TOOL.
YOU'RE, YOU MENTIONED, UH, KIND OF LIT UP MY EARS A LITTLE BIT.
SO IS THAT REAL TIME? THAT IT'S REAL TIME.
YEAH, IT'S, IT'S, UH, WE'VE GOT TRACY MORRIS HERE WHO'S THE VICTIM SERVICES MANAGER, AND THEN LAURA TORRES WHO'S OVER, UH, SUPERVISOR OF OUR CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM.
AND I THINK, UH, YEAH, SO THEY, WE, WE WERE ABLE TO PURCHASE FIVE WITH GRANT FUNDS.
IT'S REAL TIME, IT'S VERY INTERESTING DEVICE.
YOU CAN EITHER HAVE THAT'S AWESOME EAR EARPIECE OR JUST HAVE THE DEVICE IN FRONT SPEAK AND IT'LL, THERE'S MICROPHONE ON IT, SO, AND A LOT, AND I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY LANGUAGES THERE.
YEAH, MULTIPLE LANGUAGES IF YOU CAN COMMUNICATE 50 50, YEAH.
I I THINK THAT'S PRETTY SUFFICIENT.
SO WE'LL, WE CAN REPORT BACK ON HOW THAT WE HAVEN'T, WE JUST KIND OF PUT THEM INTO USE.
I'D BE HAPPY TO TEST IT OUT WITH YOU SOMEDAY.
SO I THINK IN MY CASE, UM, JUST, UM, TO ANSWER, UH, COMMISSIONER TON'S, UH, QUESTION AS WELL AS, UM, UM, FOR, FOR ME, IT WAS EXACTLY THAT AS IS TRAFFIC NOTIFICATION AND, UM, YOU KNOW, COLLABORATION WITH, WITH HOSPITALS AND, AND HOW TO, HOW TO IDENTIFY NEXT A KIN.
UM, AND I THINK THAT THAT WAS KIND OF THE, THE CHALLENGE.
AND I, I ALSO WANT TO GIVE CREDIT TO VICTIM SERVICES TO, YOU KNOW, FROM MY FEED, FROM THE FEEDBACK I GOT, YOU KNOW, Y'ALL WERE VERY EMPATHETIC AND, AND REALLY HELPFUL IN THE PROCESS OF NAVIGATING IT.
IT WAS JUST, I, I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, THESE, WHEN THESE THINGS HAPPEN, THEY'RE VERY CONFUSING.
THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS GOING ON.
I THINK THE, THE FRUSTRATION WAS REALLY MORE SO FEELING AS THOUGH, YOU KNOW, THAT NOTIFICATION HAPPENED LATER THAN IT SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED.
UM, BECAUSE, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS WAS A DIRECT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN, YOU KNOW, UM, A, A MOTHER AND A SON, SO MM-HMM.
UM, SO THAT, THAT'S, THAT'S THE MOST CHALLENGING THING I THINK WHEN IT COMES TO, UH, FIGURING OUT THAT, AND THAT MAKES SENSE IN TERMS OF THE DRIVER'S LICENSE AND, AND THOSE, UH, THOSE, THOSE CHALLENGES.
BUT I'M WONDERING IF THERE, THERE ARE OTHER THINGS THAT WE CAN DISCUSS AND CHIEF, YOU SAID YOU WOULD LOOK INTO IT, BUT, UH, OF WAYS THAT WE CAN CONSIDER, YOU KNOW, HAVING A BETTER SYSTEM FOR NEXT OF KIN NOTIFICATION IF WE CAN'T GET IT FROM THE DRIVER'S LICENSE.
JUST FOR SOME AMOUNT OF CONVERSATION OF ROBUSTNESS ABOUT, ABOUT THIS TOPIC.
WHEN I WAS IN COLLEGE, THERE WAS A, AN A TRAFFIC FATALITY WITH FOUR STUDENTS, AND THERE WERE, TWO OF THEM WERE AIRLIFTED TH TWO AND A STAFF MEMBER WERE DECEASED ON SCENE, AND THEY SWAPPED ID, THEY TOOK THE CLOSEST IDS TO THE BODIES, BOTH BLONDE-HAIRED GIRLS, AND THEY BURIED THE WRONG ONE.
THEY DID A FUNERAL FOR THE WRONG PERSON.
AND SO I THINK THE IMPORTANCE OF RECOGNIZING BOTH OF THOSE OPTIONS, IT'S REALLY BAD TO SIT IN THE HOTEL OR IN THE HOSPITAL AND NOT BE GIVEN THE NOTIFICATION.
OR WHAT HAPPENS FOR US A LOT OF TIMES IS WE'RE ON SCENE AND WE ARE SITTING THERE FOR THREE HOURS AND WE HAVE A FAMILY MEMBER ON SCENE.
AND YOU'RE HAVING TO, TO SAY, I JUST CAN'T VERIFY YET.
I JUST CAN'T, THAT'S EXCRUCIATING.
BUT WHAT IS ALSO EQUALLY AS BAD IS THIS POTENTIAL THAT WE HAVE MISIDENTIFIED AND THEN MISREPRESENTED TO A FAMILY WHOSE, WHOSE LOVED ONE IS ACTUALLY DECEASED.
AND SO I THINK THE PROCESS MAY
[01:35:01]
NEVER BE REALLY, REALLY WELL IRONED OUT.AND IT'S REALLY HARD, AND I KNOW WE, WE CAN ALL SPEAK TO HOW MUCH HARDER IT'S BECOME WITH SOCIAL MEDIA BECAUSE WE'RE, WE'RE RACING AGAINST A CLOCK THAT JUST KEEPS GETTING SMALLER.
UM, AND SO I DON'T WANNA IN, IN ANY WAY CREATE AMBIGU AMBIGUITY ON WHO, HOW WE WANT TO DISSEMINATE INFORMATION MOVING FORWARD.
BUT I THINK THERE, IT, IT IS WORTH MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE DOING IT RIGHT, NOT ONLY DOING IT AS FAST AS POSSIBLE, BUT I KNOW BOTH THINGS ARE AT PLAY.
AND I THINK THE, THE LAST ONE IS JUST, UM, JUST WITH REGARDS TO OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTINGS AND WHAT SORT OF THINGS ARE DONE DIFFERENTLY IN THOSE SITUATIONS.
UM, WHEN AN, LIKE, ARE THERE ADDITIONAL STEPS THAT HA THAT ARE TAKEN BY POLICE, BY INVESTIGATORS, BY VICTIM SERVICES BEFORE A NOTIFICATION CAN HAPPEN? SIMILAR STEPS, SAME SORT OF STEPS WE TAKE IN A HOMICIDE CASE.
SO WE'RE CONSULTING THOUGH WITH OUR SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT INVESTIGATORS.
UM, BUT WE ARE, WE'RE VERY, WE'RE MOVING VERY QUICKLY ON THOSE AS WELL.
AND SO IDENTIFYING NEXT TO KEN AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE AND THEN NOTIFYING AS SOON AS WE GET, GENERALLY IT'S GETTING THE, GETTING APPROVAL FROM OUR SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT, THE, THE, THE DETECTIVES THAT ARE INVESTIGATING THOSE CASES.
UM, AND WE'RE USUALLY THE ONE OF THOSE DETECTIVES WILL GO WITH US TO, TO MAKE THAT NOTIFICATION.
I DON'T KNOW YOUR EXPERIENCE ANY, THERE'S NOT A NO, EVEN, I, I AM THINKING OF ONE WHERE THE, THE NEXT OF KIN WAS OUT OF TOWN, WHICH I'M SURE HAPPENS MORE THAN THE ONE I'M REMEMBERING.
BUT THEY SENT, SO THEY SENT LAW ENFORCEMENT FROM THAT JURISDICTION THERE TO NOTIFY AND A LOT OF JURISDICTIONS DON'T HAVE A VICTIM SERVICES, SO IT'S, IT'S JUST THE OFFICERS WHO ARE GOING TO MAKE THE NOTIFICATION.
AND UM, BUT THEN THEY HAD ME, UH, SPEAK WITH THE FAMILY BY PHONE, UH, AND UM, AFTERWARDS.
AND YOU WERE, WHEN YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THE MOTHER SON SCENARIO, WE REALLY ARE EXTRA ALERT WHEN IT IS A PARENT CHILD RELATIONSHIP.
I MEAN, WE STILL WANNA DO THINGS, UM, ACCURATELY, BUT WE REALLY THINK ABOUT THAT.
I ALSO TAKE SPECIAL NOTE, IF THE PERSON WHO DIED IS AN OLDER PERSON AND THEY SAY WE'RE GOING TO BE NOTIFYING THEIR PARENT, I'M LIKE, OKAY, I'M GONNA BE NOTIFYING SOMEBODY WHO'S SIGNIFICANTLY OLDER.
I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT I'M DOING THAT, YOU KNOW, THOUGHTFULLY AS FAR AS WHERE THEY MIGHT BE AND HOPEFULLY BEING ABLE TO DO THAT IN PERSON.
SO YEAH, THOSE ARE SOME OF THE, THE, THE NUANCES.
WELL, UM, JUST CHECKING ONLINE ONE MORE TIME TO SEE IF I MISSED ANYBODY, BUT THANK YOU.
AND, UM, WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET THROUGH THE REST OF OUR MEETING HERE FAIRLY QUICKLY.
[5. Approve a Public Safety Commissioner to serve on the Downtown Commission as a nonvoting member per City Code 2-1-140-C.]
NEXT UP IS WE HAVE, UM, TO APPROVE A PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSIONER TO SERVE ON THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION AS A NON-VOTING MEMBER.UM, THIS IS A POSITION THAT'S BEEN ON THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW.
UM, AND, UM, AS IT, AS IT SAYS IN THE ITEM, THIS IS A NON-VOTING MEMBER, BUT THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION HAS IN THEIR BYLAWS, UM, UH, THE ABILITY TO HAVE SOMEONE FROM VARIOUS COMMISSIONS.
THEY HAVE PEOPLE FROM THE ARTS COMMISSION, FROM THE DESIGN COMMISSION, UM, PUBLIC SAFETY, UM, THE HISTORIC COMMISSION.
UM, THERE'S SEVERAL DIFFERENT COMMISSIONERS ON THERE THAT ARE NON-VOTING.
UM, AND THEY JUST LIKE HAVING INPUT FROM ALL THESE AND ALL THESE SORT OF VOICES AT THE TABLE.
UM, FOR ANY OF YOU THAT SPEND TIME DOWNTOWN OR THAT ARE INTERESTED IN DOWNTOWN AS FAR AS WHAT GOES ON SAFETY WISE, UM, THERE'S ALL THE DOWNTOWN SORT OF SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS.
UM, THEY GET BRIEFINGS ON THE SAFER SIXTH STREET INITIATIVE AND A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN GOING ON THERE, UM, THEY FREQUENTLY ALSO HEAR FROM ALL THE PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS, UM, AT THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION.
SO IT IS HELPFUL HAVING SOMEBODY THERE FROM THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION.
UM, AND WE NEED TO APPOINT SOMEONE NEW.
SO, AND HER
AND SO IS THERE ANYBODY VAGUELY INTERESTED THAT CAN SPARE THE TIME? UM, OKAY.
WE'LL JUST KEEP TRYING EVERY MONTH UNTIL WE GET SOMEBODY THAT'S
[01:40:01]
UP FOR VOLUNTEERING.UM, I'M HOPING THAT BY NEXT MONTH MAYBE WE HAVE A COUPLE MORE PEOPLE.
IF ANYBODY HAS QUESTIONS ABOUT THE, UM, ABOUT THE COMMISSION AND HOW IT WORKS AND THE LEAST BIT INTERESTED, YOU CAN REACH OUT TO ME INDIVIDUALLY.
I, I SERVED ON THE COMMISSION AT ONE POINT COMMISSIONER HOLMES AS WELL, UM, SERVED ON THE COMMISSION.
SO, UM, WE'LL PUT THIS ON THE CALENDAR FOR NEXT MONTH.
[6. Update from the Training Academy Working Group on the training academy cadet class audit reports received.]
UM, AS FAR AS WORKING GROUP UPDATES, UM, WE HAVE THE TRAINING ACADEMY WORKING GROUP, UM, YOU SHOULD HAVE ALL RECEIVED IN YOUR EMAIL AND IT SHOULD BE IN BACKUP, UM, THE TRAINING ACADEMY CADET CLASS AUDIT REPORTS, UM, THAT WE RECEIVED.UM, I, AND SO I HAD A FEW FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS THAT I HAD ON THOSE.
AND, AND PRIMARILY IT IS THAT THEY'RE VERY MUCH IN PRESENTATION FORM.
THEY'RE NOT NECESSARILY, UM, REPORTS THAT SORT OF TRACK PROGRESS ON ALL OF THE INTERNAL AUDIT PROTOCOL GUIDELINES.
UM, AND DON'T GIVE UPDATED STATUSES ON ALL, I FORGET WHAT ALL THE DIFFERENT, UM, THE, THE IN ALIGNMENT, THE COMPLETE, LIKE ALL THOSE IN, IN ALIGNMENT, PROGRESSIVE ADHERENCE WORK IN PROGRESS.
IT DOESN'T REALLY GIVE US A SENSE OF WHERE ALL OF THOSE VARIOUS AUDIT PROTOCOL GUIDELINES THAT THE ACADEMY'S SUPPOSED TO BE TRACKING ARE.
UM, THEY'RE VERY MUCH, THEY'RE VERY HIGH LEVEL HIGHLIGHTS.
YOU KNOW, THEY'RE HIGHLIGHTS AND THESE ARE THE THINGS WE WANNA TALK ABOUT.
SO CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THAT'S BEING TRACKED IN SOME WAY? NO, ABSOLUTELY.
AND WE CAN DEFINITELY PROVIDE THAT IN A MORE GRANULAR LEVEL.
BASICALLY JUST PROVIDE THE, THE SAME UPDATE THAT WAS GIVEN WHEN WE DID PUT IN PROGRESS, UH, MOSTLY COMPLETE, UM, ONGOING FOR EACH CADET CLASS, IF THAT WOULD BE MORE, MORE HELPFUL.
WE WERE TRYING TO GET NOT TOO FAR DOWN ON ME JUST BECAUSE THERE'S SO MANY DIFFERENT RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE ARE REQUIRED TO BE REPORTING OR KEEPING TRACK OF AND, AND IMPLEMENTING.
AND SO WE WERE TRYING TO KEEP IT HIGH LEVEL AS OPPOSED TO GOING GRANULAR AND INTO UPDATING THAT, THAT INDIVIDUAL EXCEL SHEET THAT HAS THE VARIOUS DIMENSIONS THAT ARE, THAT ARE ON THERE.
BUT, BUT HAPPY TO PROVIDE THAT IF, IF THAT WOULD BE THE FORMAT THAT YOU WOULD PREFER.
I MEAN, I'LL, I'LL TURN TO THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS THAT ARE ON THE, ON THE WORKING GROUP, BUT I WOULD SAY THAT YES, THAT MORE GRANULAR SORT OF PROGRESS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S DIFFICULT TO ASSESS MOVEMENT.
UM, AND WHERE THINGS, WHERE IF ANY OF THESE THINGS ARE STALLING RIGHT, IF PROGRESS ON ANY OF THESE INDIVIDUAL PROTOCOL GUIDELINES IS STALLING.
SO I THINK THAT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL.
IF I MAY PROPOSE, WOULD A MORE STRUCTURED REPORT OUT MAY BE ADDED INTO OUR QUARTERLY REPORT OR SOMETHING? BECAUSE IN THE STANDARD PROCESS THAT WE DO NOW, IF WE'RE REPORTING OUT JUST ON THE CADET CLASS IN AND OF ITSELF, THERE MAY BE VARIATIONS OR CHANGES THAT ARE GOING ON THAT YOU JUST DON'T NECESSARILY SEE BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT GETTING THE NEXT REPORT UNTIL THE NEXT CLASS GRADUATES.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? SO TO MAKE IT MORE FREQUENT TO WHERE YOU CAN SEE THAT MOVEMENT MM-HMM.
I THINK YES AND YES, UM, IN PROGRESS ALONG THE WAY WOULD BE HELPFUL.
UM, TRACKING FROM CADET CLASS TO CADET CLASS I THINK WOULD BE HELPFUL.
UM, DO YOU GUYS WANNA CHIME IN? DO YOU HAVE ANY, AND I THINK WE CAN, WE CAN HAVE ANOTHER, ANOTHER MEETING WITH THE, WITH THE TRAINING ACADEMY STAFF WHERE WE CAN ALL JOIN AND PERHAPS TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT JUST, UM, JUST THE, THE PROJECT TRACKING SORT OF PROGRESS THAT YOU GUYS ARE UNDERGOING SO THAT WE CAN FORMULATE OUR RECOMMENDATION.
DO YOU GUYS HAVE ANYTHING ELSE? COMMISSIONER CILO, YOU ARE ON MUTE SIR, IF YOU CAN START AGAIN.
UH, SO TO BUILD ON ON THE PRIOR SUGGESTION, I THINK WHAT'S CURRENTLY MISSING FROM THE REPORTS IS A SENSE OF WHAT WAS SET OUT TO BE DONE AND THEN WHAT WAS DONE IN THE COURSE OF A GIVEN ACADEMY CLASS.
SO ESSENTIALLY PERCENT COMPLETE FOR A GIVEN ACADEMY IN TERMS OF A, B, AND C.
WE WANTED TO ACCOMPLISH, WE COMPLETED A AND B AND WE DID 50% OF C AS AN EXAMPLE.
CURRENTLY IT'S A LONG LIST OF THINGS THAT WERE DONE AND IT'S NOT CLEAR IF THOSE ARE NEW THINGS, OLD THINGS, THINGS THAT WERE DONE BETTER THAN THE LAST ACADEMY CLASS.
THINGS WE WANNA IMPROVE ON IN THE NEXT ONE.
[01:45:01]
TO SET SOME SENSE OF WHAT WE WANT TO RECORD BETWEEN CLASSES, ACROSS REPORTS.AND SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT I BELIEVE WE CAN CONTINUE TO WORK ON IN COLLABORATION WITH THE A PD ACADEMY AS PART OF THE WORKING GROUP.
SO SOMETHING THAT IS AN ONGOING UPDATE, BUT THEN ALSO A COMPARE AND CONTRAST AS TO WHERE WE ARE WITH PREVIOUS CLASSES AND THEN WHERE WE ENDED ON ANOTHER CLASS, BUT THEN ALSO IDENTIFYING THOSE ITEMS THAT ARE STILL IN PROGRESS.
SO WE CAN JUST TRACK CHANGE OVER TIME ALONG SOME CONSISTENT METRICS AS OPPOSED TO THE, THE CURRENTLY AD HOC PROCESS OF PICKING VARIOUS THINGS TO REPORT PER ACADEMY CLASS.
WE CAN TRACK CONSISTENTLY ACROSS TIME, ACROSS ALL DIMENSIONS.
AND I THINK JUST TRYING TO HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A TRANSPARENT AND ONGOING DISCUSSION, EXCUSE ME, ABOUT WHAT'S BEING DONE AND ACTIVELY WORKED ON.
UM, I THINK AS FAR AS NEXT, NEXT STEPS FOR US, WE'LL WORK WITH, UM, COMMISSIONER WITH, UM, CHIEF HENDERSON AND THE ACADEMY WORKING GROUP, THE ACADEMY WORKING GROUP TO JUST HASH OUT QUESTIONS AND EVERYTHING AND WE'LL HOPEFULLY BE ABLE TO PULL A RECOMMENDATION TOGETHER IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS.
[7. Update from the Collective Sex Crimes Response Model (CSCRM) Working Group on planned next steps for aggregated sexual assault case data reporting.]
OKAY.AND THEN AS FAR AS THE NEXT WORKING GROUP UPDATE, WE HAVE, UM, FROM THE COLLECTIVE SEX CRIMES RESPONSE MODEL WORKING GROUP.
UM, IF YOU GUYS CAN REMEMBER, WE HAD TALKED ABOUT THE AGGREGATED SEXUAL ASSAULT CASE DATA, UM, THAT THE C-S-C-R-M HAD REQUESTED THAT WE START HAVING PRESENTED ON A REGULAR BASIS, POTENTIALLY EVEN QUARTERLY.
UM, WHAT WE'VE DONE SINCE LAST MONTH IS MET WITH ALL THREE OF THE AGENCY'S A PD, UM, THE TRAVIS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE AND ALSO SAFE ABOUT THE DATA SETS THAT THEY'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR.
AND I THINK OUR NEXT STEP IS GOING TO BE TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN USE OUR PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION MEETINGS TO GO OVER THAT DATA.
IT'S A LOT OF DATA, UM, THAT WE WOULD BE COVERING.
AND SO JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT IS DIGESTIBLE, WHAT IS USEFUL, WHAT NEEDS TO GO INTO BACKUP, AND THEN HAVING POTENTIALLY SOME DISCUSSIONS ABOUT, UM, WHERE THIS DATA CAN LIVE ON AN ONGOING BASIS THAT IS A LITTLE BIT MORE ACCESSIBLE.
EVERYBODY HAS THEIR DATA THAT'S POSTED IN VARIOUS LOCATIONS AND I THINK IT'S, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THE REASON FOR THIS ITEM TO SOME EXTENT IS TO CREATE A LITTLE BIT BETTER SENSE OF THE, THE INTAKE TO A PROSECUTION AND JUST SEEING IF IT'S BE HOW, HOW THAT CAN BE TRACKED FROM BEGINNING TO END.
AND I DON'T KNOW THAT THERE'S A VERY STRAIGHTFORWARD WAY TO DO THAT QUITE YET.
SO I THINK THOSE ARE SOME OF THE DISCUSSIONS WE'LL BE HAVING ABOUT HOW AND WHERE THAT STUFF LIVES.
SO THAT'S WHERE WE ARE WITH THAT AND HOPEFULLY WE'LL HAVE AN UPDATE FOR YOU GUYS BY NEXT MONTH, IF NOT AN AGENDA ITEM.
SO, UM, AND I THINK, UM, THAT IS IT FOR OUR AGENDA.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
HAVE ANY FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS THAT WE'D LIKE TO DISCUSS OR PUT ON THE RECORD? GET SECONDS FOR? UM, COMMISSIONER HERMES MEYER DID REACH OUT TO ME ABOUT, AND I'M, I'M GONNA HAVE TO FOLLOW UP WITH HIM WITH SOME MORE QUESTIONS, BUT FOR A DISCUSSION ON CHILD SAFETY ZONES.UM, AND SO I'LL FOLLOW UP WITH HIM TO FIND OUT A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT THAT ENTAILS EXACTLY.
UM, AND WHO, WHO HE'D LIKE TO HAVE JOIN.
UM, WE WILL BE, UM, NEXT MONTH HEARING FROM THE OFFICE OF VIOLENCE PREVENTION THAT'S ON THE DOCKET FOR NEXT MONTH.
WE'LL ALSO BE TALKING TO, TALKING ABOUT, UM, OFFICER WELLNESS INITIATIVES WITH VICTIM SERVICES AGAIN, UM, TO HEAR A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT, WE'LL HAVE EMS BACK.
AND I, I HAVE SEVERAL OTHER THINGS ON OUR LONG LIST THAT WE ARE STILL WORKING ON SCHEDULING, BUT DO WE HAVE ANYTHING ELSE ALSO, UM, JUST TO KIND OF PLANT A BIT OF A SEED, UM, FOR
[01:50:01]
NEXT MONTH, FOR NEXT YEAR, UM, IS IF WE WANT TO SORT OF THINK THROUGH ANY THEMES, UM, SORT OF LARGER BUCKETS, UM, THAT WE'D LIKE TO SORT OF TAKE ON OVER THE NEXT YEAR, THE NEXT COUPLE OF QUARTERS, WE CAN DO IT A QUARTER AT A TIME JUST TO GIVE SOME OF IT, IT MIGHT HELP GIVE SOME OF OUR QUARTERLY REPORTS A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A FOCUS, UM, OR HELP US, UM, TARGET DIFFERENT PARTNER AGENCIES A LITTLE BIT MORE EFFECTIVELY IF WE TRY TO GO AT IT THEMATICALLY.UM, SO JUST SOMETHING THAT YOU GUYS CAN THINK ABOUT A LITTLE BIT AND YOU CAN REACH OUT VIA EMAIL OR WE CAN TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT IT NEXT MONTH FOR, UH, CAN YOU REPEAT HERE ABOUT THE CHILD SAFETY ZONES? IS, IS THAT A DISCUSSION FOR A WORKING GROUP OR FOR A TOPIC? UM, IT'S FOR AN AGENDA ITEM.
UM, UH, JUST TO ADD TO THAT, UM, AGENDA ITEM, I'D ALSO LIKE TO, UH, INCLUDE ON THAT, UM, UH, THE CLASSIFICATIONS OF SEX OFFENDERS, SO THE DIFFERENT TIERS.
UM, AND WHEN THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT CHILD SAFETY ZONES, IS IT ALL SEX OFFENDERS? UM, 'CAUSE THERE'S VARIOUS TIERS TO, UH, TO SEX OFFENDERS THAT, UM, CAN LIMIT CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS THAT MAY NEED TO ACCESS THOSE AREAS.
UM, IF, IF, IF THEY'RE NOT, IF THAT'S NOT DISCUSSED.
WELL IF NOBODY HAS ANYTHING ELSE, THANK YOU EVERYBODY FOR BEING HERE.
UM, EVERYBODY ENJOY YOUR EXTRA FIVE MINUTES OF YOUR EVENING.