[00:00:02]
[CALL TO ORDER]
ORDER.IT IS OFFICIALLY 1:01 PM UM, SO LET'S SEE.
WE, UM, LET'S START OFF BY CALLING ROLL FIRST.
SAM, CAN YOU DO THE ROLL CALL FOR US? SURE.
AND IF YOU COULD SPEAK INTO THE MIC, PLEASE.
I BELIEVE SHE'LL BE JOINING US LATER.
UH, AS A REMINDER, PLEASE, UH, REMEMBER TO SIGN IN ON THE SIGN IN SHEET IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY.
UH, WITH THAT WE CAN MOVE INTO OUR FIRST OFFICIAL AGENDA ITEM, WHICH IS CITIZEN COMMUNICATIONS.
UM, I'M NOT SURE IF WE HAVE ANYBODY THAT SIGNED UP ONLINE OR IF THERE'S ANYBODY HERE THAT SIGNED IN FOR PUBLIC.
SO WITH THAT, UM, WE CAN CLOSE ITEM NUMBER TWO AND MOVE INTO, UH, STAFF BRIEFINGS, WHICH IS ITEM NUMBER THREE.
OH, YOU KNOW, UM, FOR NUMBER TWO, WE DO
[1. Approval of the minutes from the October 21, 2024, regular meeting.]
NEED TO MOVE INTO A NUMBER TWO, WHICH IS APPROVAL OF THE MEETING MINUTES FROM THE OCTOBER 21ST MEETING.UM, SO WE CAN WE GET A MOTION FOR THAT? SO MOVED.
AND THEN ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE.
AND THEN, LET'S SEE, LET'S MOVE INTO NOW STEP
[2. Staff briefing on “Bond 101.” Presented by Financial Services Department, Budget and Performance Manager, Steven Linett and Capital Delivery Services, Assistant Director, Marcus Hammer.]
BRIEFINGS FOR NUMBER THREE.UM, TODAY WE HAD, WE DO HAVE OUR, OUR BOND 1 0 1 PROGRAM, WHICH WE TALKED A BIT, UH, ABOUT, UH, AT OUR LAST MONTH'S MEETING.
UH, AND FOR THAT WE WILL HAVE STEVEN LYNETTE WITH THE FINANCE SERVICES DEPARTMENT KICK THAT OFF.
STEVEN, WE CAN KEEP THE CLICKER OVER TO YOU ALL.
SORRY, I CAN TAKE CARE OF IT FOR IF YOU WANT ME TO.
CAN YOU SHARE THE, I DUNNO WHERE YOU NEED TO POINT IT.
HEY, UM, MY NAME'S STEVEN LYNETTE.
I'M A BUDGET AND PERFORMANCE MANAGER WITH, UM, THE FINANCIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT.
AND I'M GONNA BE COVERING THE FIRST PART OF THIS PRESENTATION ON BOND PROGRAMS 1 0 1, KIND OF THE FINANCE ANGLE OF IT.
AND THEN, UM, ERIC AND MARCUS WILL BE COVERING THE, UM, CDS SIDE OF WHAT THE BF IS GONNA BE GOING INTO NEXT, SO I CAN ADVANCE WARDS.
SO STARTING FROM THE TOP, UM, GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS ARE BACKED BY THE PROPERTY TAXES OF THE CITY, THE ADV VALOREM RATE, AND THE FULL FAITH AND CREDIT OF THE CITY.
WE TYPICALLY HAVE THREE KINDS OF GENERAL OBLIGATION DEBT THAT WE USE HERE.
THE FIRST ONE, PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT BONDS IS WHAT WE'RE ALL HERE TO TALK ABOUT TODAY.
UM, THESE DO REQUIRE VOTER APPROVAL AND IT'S FOR LARGER CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS AND, UM, LAND AND OTHER LARGE PROJECTS LIKE THAT.
UM, TYPICALLY THESE CARRY A 20 YEAR TERM, SO WE'RE PAYING THESE OFF FOR ABOUT 20 YEARS.
UM, THE SECOND IS, THE SECOND TWO ARE NON VOTER APPROVED
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TYPES OF DEBT, UH, CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION.UM, SO THESE ARE ALSO 20 YEAR NOTES.
UM, AND THEY, THEREFORE REAL PROPERTY LAND AND OTHER LARGE PROJECTS, THEY HAVE A FEW MORE RESTRICTIONS ON THEM FROM THE STATE.
SO YOU CAN'T DO CERTAIN THINGS LIKE PUBLIC HEALTH PROJECTS ANYMORE WITH THIS.
UM, THE NEXT ONE IS CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS OR PPF COS.
AND THIS IS FOR SMALL, UM, SMALLER EQUIPMENT AND VEHICLES.
AND AGAIN, THOSE ARE NON VOTER APPROVED.
SORRY, CAN I ASK YOU A QUICK QUESTION? SURE.
LIKE WHERE WOULD TRASH TRUCKS, THEY FALL UNDER THIS.
UM, SO THEY WOULD BE SELF-SUPPORTED DEBT BY THE UTILITY RATES OR CASH? THEY CURRENTLY, THEY'RE CASH FUNDING MOST OF WHAT THEY DO.
UM, SO HERE'S SOME TYPICAL BOND PROJECTS.
UM, THERE ARE LARGER DRAINAGE PROJECTS.
SO FOR FLOOD CONTROL AND EROSION CONTROL, UM, LARGER CITY FACILITY PROJECTS.
SO EITHER A COMPLETELY NEW FACILITY OR MAJOR REHABILITATIONS, UM, HOUSING INFRASTRUCTURE, HOUSING PROGRAM, UH, AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROGRAMS ARE PART OF OUR GEO.
UM, OUR PIBS, UM, STREETS, SIDEWALKS, REGULAT RELATED ORDINANCES ARE COVERED BY THESE PARKS AND REC FACILITIES.
SO POOLS, REC CENTERS, UM, JUST PARK, LAND DEVELOPMENT, LAND ACQUISITION, UM, EMERGENCY RESPONSE.
SO FIRE STATIONS, EMS STATIONS, UM, POLICE STATIONS AND EVERYTHING ELSE THAT THEY DO, UM, WITH THE TRAINING FACILITIES.
UM, AND THEN LASTLY, LAND PURCHASES.
THE VEHICLES AND EQUIPMENT, THOSE ARE LARGE NUMBER OF VEHICLES REPLACED OR NEW VEHICLES PURCHASED EVERY YEAR.
BUT THOSE ARE DONE WITH NON-VOTER APPROVED DEBT.
'CAUSE THOSE ARE SEVEN YEAR NOTES AND THE PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT BONDS ARE 20 YEARS.
SO SIMILAR TO YOUR OWN VEHICLE KIND OF PURCHASE, YOU WOULDN'T WANNA PUT THAT ON A 20 YEAR PAYBACK PERIOD.
UM, SO HERE'S KIND OF LIKE THINGS THAT AREN'T INCLUDED.
SO ANYTHING THAT'S ROUTINE MAINTENANCE WE'RE NOT GONNA DO.
SO SMALL STREET REPAIRS, POTHOLE REPAIRS, UM, FOR PARKS, JUST GENERAL PARK MAINTENANCE, UM, FACILITY SERVICES, THINGS THAT YOU, YOU MIGHT DO.
UM, IF WE'RE OCCUPYING A LEASE SPACE, YOU WOULDN'T WANT TO DO MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS THERE PROBABLY 'CAUSE YOU'RE NOT GONNA BE IN THAT FACILITY FOR THAT 20 YEAR PERIOD.
UM, ALL KINDS OF OTHER THINGS LIKE EMPLOYEE SALARIES, IF IT'S JUST A GENERAL EMPLOYEE, UM, THEY'RE NOT GONNA BE CHARGED TO A BOND PROGRAM IF THERE ARE STAFF THAT ARE DIRECTLY WORKING ON THAT.
SO PROJECT MANAGERS, DESIGN TEAMS. IF THOSE ARE HAPPENING IN-HOUSE, IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE TO CHARGE THAT TO THE BOND PROGRAM.
UM, AND THEN LASTLY, WE JUST WANTED TO SAY MOST OF THESE UTILITIES, UM, AUSTIN ENERGY, AUSTIN WATER, MOST OF THOSE PROJECTS ARE NOT GOING TO COME THROUGH GENERAL OBLIGATION BOND PROGRAMS 'CAUSE THEY HAVE THEIR OWN UTILITY RATES AND ISSUE THEIR OWN DEBT, UM, OR CASH FUND THEIR PROJECTS.
SO WHY DO WE DO GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS? FOR ONE, THE BIG CONCEPT OF INTERGENERATIONAL EQUITY, UM, WHEN WE'RE BUILDING A NEW FACILITY, WE EXPECT TO BE THERE FOR DECADES.
SO IT'S APPROPRIATE FOR THAT COST TO BE BORN ACROSS MULTIPLE O OVER A PERIOD OF TIME.
SO OVER A 20 YEAR PERIOD, UM, PEOPLE 20 YEARS FROM NOW ARE ALSO PAYING FOR THE BENEFITS OF THAT FACILITY.
SO THAT'S AN APPROPRIATE USE OF DEBT.
UM, MOST OF OUR PROJECTS ARE NOT CASH FUNDED.
SOME OF THEM, THE LARGE UTILITIES HAVE MORE CASH FLOW TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
UM, BUT IN GENERAL, WE DON'T HAVE THAT AS A STANDARD PRACTICE IN THE CITY.
UM, AND LASTLY, BECAUSE MANY OF THE PLANS, LIKE IMAGINE AUSTIN SMALLER, UM, DEPARTMENT VISION PLANS OR ANYTHING ELSE IS REALLY A GENERATIONAL OUTLOOK.
UM, WE NEED SOME KIND OF FUNDING SOURCES THAT WILL BE ABLE TO FUND THOSE LARGER, UM, GENERATIONAL TYPES OF PROJECTS.
AND GEO BONDS ARE WHERE WE FILL THOSE IN.
SO WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THE 2026 BOND, AT LEAST FROM THE FINANCIAL SERVICES ANGLE, UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT WHAT RATED AGENCIES ARE SAYING.
UM, I'LL GO A LITTLE BIT MORE IN DEPTH ON THAT.
WE'RE LOOKING AT THE CITY'S CURRENT FINANCIAL CONDITION AND OUR FINANCIAL POLICIES.
WE HAVE A FEW SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO GENERAL OBLIGATION DEBT.
SO ONE OF WHICH IS WE SHOULDN'T HAVE MORE THAN TWO YEARS OF AUTHORIZED, BUT UNISSUED
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DEBT.SO BASICALLY TWO YEARS WORTH OF PROJECTS BEFORE WE DO ANOTHER BOND PROGRAM.
AND THEN THE SECOND, UM, IS WE SHOULD NOT GO OUT WITH PROPOSITIONS THAT TAKE LONGER THAN SIX YEARS TO COMPLETE.
SO, UM, THOSE ARE IN THE FINANCIAL POLICIES.
IN THE BACK OF THE BUDGET DOCUMENT.
WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT DEBT SERVICE REQUIREMENTS.
SO OUR EXISTING DEBT SERVICE, SO PAYING OFF ALL THE CURRENT BONDS FROM 20, UH, 2022 AND PRIOR.
UM, AND ALL THE NON-VOTER APPROVED DEBT AS WELL.
WE'RE LOOKING AT FUTURE DEBT ISSUANCES.
UM, SO THE CITY ISSUES ITS DEBT ON A REIMBURSEMENT BASIS IN GENERAL.
SO EVEN IF WE HAD THAT 2022 BOND PROGRAM FOR 350 MILLION IN THE HOUSING BONDS, WE'RE NOT ISSUING ALL THAT DEBT AT ONCE.
WE'RE ONLY ISSUING THAT AFTER THE FACT AS WE SPEND THOSE DOLLARS.
SO YOU'RE NOT PAYING INTEREST BEFORE.
UM, WE'RE ACTUALLY GETTING THE BENEFIT OF THOSE ASSETS.
UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT IMPACTS ON TAX RATES.
SO, UM, BECAUSE GEO DEBT COMES THROUGH THE INS PORTION OF THE TAX RATE, UM, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S LIKE THE POLITICAL WILL AND THE COMMUNITY WANTS OR IS WILLING TO ACCEPT A TAX INCREASE FROM BOND ISSUES.
UM, UH, THERE ARE A FEW OTHER KIND OF BENCHMARK INDICATORS.
WE LOOK AT, UH, DEBT SERVICES OF PERCENTAGE OF GENERAL GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURES, THE DEBT TO TOTAL ASSESSED VALUE OF THE CITY.
UM, SO THE FULL VALUE OF THE PROPERTY THAT THE CITY IS TAXING, UM, DEBT PER CAPITA, SO HOW MUCH PER PERSON, UM, WE HAVE OUT IN GEO DEBT.
AND THEN AGAIN, LOOKING AT THE BURDEN, DEBT BURDEN THROUGH THE IMPACTS ON TAX RATES.
NEXT UP WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE ON RATING CRITERIA.
SO CURRENTLY THROUGH THE THREE MAJOR MAJOR CREDIT RATING AGENCIES WE HAVE LIKE AAA FROM S, S AND P, AND THEN AA ONE AND AA PLUS FROM MOODY'S AND FITCH RESPECTIVELY.
SO IN GENERAL, WE HAVE VERY, VERY HIGH QUALITY DEBT AND WE WANNA KEEP IT THAT WAY TO KEEP OUR INTEREST RATES LOWER.
UM, SO THINGS THAT OUR RATING AGENCIES LOOKING AT IS THAT WE HAVE APPROPRIATE INSTITUTIONS.
UM, THEY'RE LOOKING AT GENERAL ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN THE CITY.
UM, MANAGEMENT FACTORS WITHIN THE CITY AND ASSORTMENT OF OTHER, UM, UH, CRITERIA THAT, UM, TH TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, UM, KEEPING UP A GOOD FINANCIAL CONDITION.
UM, IN THEIR MOST RECENT RATING CALLS.
UM, THE CITY'S DOING GENERALLY WELL AS WE COULD SEE WHAT THE RATINGS UP THERE.
UM, RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL, COMMERCIAL GROWTH IS STILL STRONG.
UM, WE SAW A LITTLE BIT OF A SLOWDOWN ON THE RESIDENTIAL SIDE, UM, GROWTH THIS YEAR.
BUT THOSE ARE STILL STRONG INDICATORS FOR THE CITY.
UM, WE HAVE A PRETTY STRONG RESERVES AND HAVE KEPT IN LINE WITH OUR RESERVE POLICIES IN GENERAL AND HAD BEEN INCREASING THEM IN RECENT YEARS.
UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT, UH, A FEW OTHERS WITH, UH, LOOKING AT LONG-TERM BURDENS OF THE CITY.
SO OUR OUTSTANDING DEBT, UM, PENSION PROGRAM HEALTH, UM, OTHER POST-EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS AND, UM, THE GROWTH OF, UH, OTHER DEBT OVER TIME.
THEN GONNA GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY ON OUR BOND PROGRAMS. SO SINCE 1998, UM, THE CITY HAS APPROVED, UH, A SERIES OF BOND PROGRAMS. THE BLUE BARS ON HERE ARE THE COMPREHENSIVE ONES THAT HAVE HIT, UH, KIND OF A LARGE SWATH OF DEPARTMENTS.
THE GREEN ONES ARE PROGRAM SPECIFIC.
SO 2020 10, UH, 2016 AND 2020 WERE ALL TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY FOCUSED.
AND 2022 WAS AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOCUSED.
UM, THOSE IN THE INTERIM IN 98, 2006, 2012 AND 2018, THOSE WERE KIND OF A GENERAL, UM, ACROSS THE BOARD BOND PROGRAM THAT COVERED MANY, UH, TYPES OF ASSETS.
AND YOU COULD SEE THE TWO, UM, RED HATCHED BARS.
THERE WERE THE TWO PACKAGES THAT HAVE FAILED OVER THE PAST, UM, 20 SOME YEARS.
IN 20 UH, 12, THERE WAS THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROPOSITION THAT FAILED.
AND THEN IN 2014 WE HAD THE RAIL PACKAGE THAT FAILED.
AND LOOKING AS A WHOLE, UM, VOTERS HAVE AUTHORIZED ABOUT THREE AND A HALF BILLION DOLLARS SINCE 2006.
YOU CAN SEE THE BREAKDOWN HERE ABOUT ALMOST HALF OF THAT HAS GONE TO MOBILITY AND TRANSPORTATION.
UM, 20% FOR HOUSING, ABOUT 10% FOR DRAINAGE AND WATERSHED FACILITIES AND PARKS.
UM, 4% FOR PUBLIC SAFETY, 7% FOR LIBRARIES, MUSEUM AND CULTURAL CENTERS, AND 1% FOR HEALTH.
SO AGAIN, THIS IS JUST LOOKING AT PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT BONDS.
IT'S NOT LOOKING AT OTHER SOURCES, BUT, UM, FROM THIS YOU COULD KIND OF SEE AND KIND OF WHAT YOU'D EXPECT WITH THE RECENT BOND, UM, PACKAGES THAT HAVE
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PASSED, WE HAD SPECIFIC ONES FOR TRANSPORTATION THAT PASSED IN 2016 AND 2020.WE HAD A HOUSING SPECIFIC ONE MOST RECENTLY IN 2022.
SO THOSE THAT HAVE HAD THOSE, UH, PROGRAM SPECIFIC PACKAGES ARE CARRYING MORE OF LIKE THE TOTAL PICTURE OF WHAT VOTERS HAVE APPROVED SINCE 2006.
AND THEN LASTLY, UM, LOOKING AT THE REMAINING AUTHORITY OUT THERE, WE'VE ABOUT 1.26 BILLION THAT'S BEEN UNSPENT.
UM, AND ABOUT 1.38 BILLION THAT HAS YET TO BE ISSUED IN GEO DEBT.
YOU COULD SEE ON THE TABLE BELOW HOW THAT'S SPLIT UP BY PROPOSITION.
SO, UH, ABOUT A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN HALF, THAT NUMBER IS STILL REMAINING IN MOBILITY AND TRANSPORTATION WITH ABOUT 689 MILLION.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING HAS ABOUT 348, WHICH IS ABOUT THE SIZE OF THEIR 2022 PROGRAM.
AND THEN IT GOES DOWN FROM THERE ALL THE, WITH HEALTH WITH THE LOWEST, UM, WITH 2 MILLION SINCE THEIR 2018 PROGRAM WAS EXCLUSIVELY FOR DOVE SPRINGS HEALTH CENTER.
THIS SLIDE CONFUSED ME A LITTLE BIT.
REMAINING AUTHORITY IS JUST LOOKING AT THE AMOUNT THAT WE HAVE NOT SPENT TO DATE.
SO OUT OF THAT THREE AND A HALF BILLION ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE, WE HAVE NOT PUT 1.26 BILLION OF THAT OUT THE DOOR.
GEO DEBT TO BE ISSUED IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT BECAUSE WE DON'T ISSUE, UM, UNTIL WE'VE ACTUALLY SPENT THE DOLLARS.
SO THERE'S USUALLY A LITTLE BIT OF A LAG TIME OF ABOUT ONE YEAR.
THE CITY HAS A LARGE ENOUGH CASH POOL THAT WE'RE ABLE TO CASH FUND THINGS FOR ABOUT A, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE BIT OF THE INTERIM UNTIL WE DO THAT REIMBURSEMENT THROUGH THE BOND ISSUANCE.
SO THAT'S WHY THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF A LAG IF YOU LOOK AT KIND OF THE LINES OVERLAID WITH EACH OTHER.
IT'S PRETTY MUCH EXACTLY ONE YEAR.
UM, WE'LL COVER THE NEGATIVE BALANCE THAT WE HAVE IN CASH.
SO YOU SPEND IT FIRST, THEN ISSUE YES.
AND ARE THESE EXPECTED TO BE SPENT IN LESS
UM, JUST FOR SOME CONTEXT, UH, LAST YEAR WE SPENT ABOUT $360 MILLION.
OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS WE'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT 4 50, 3 90 AND 2 27.
SO AT THE END OF THOSE NEXT THREE YEARS, IF WE MEET ALL OUR SPENDING PLANS WHILE ABOUT $200 MILLION LEFT, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, A PRETTY GOOD PORTION OF THAT SPENT.
UM, AND THEN YOU SAID EARLIER THAT YOU DON'T WANT TO GO TO WITH ANOTHER BOND UNLESS YOU'VE GOT LESS THAN WHAT, 2 BILLION, UH, TWO YEARS WORTH OR TWO YEARS? TWO YEARS WORTH.
SO, SO WE'LL DEFINITELY BE UNDER THAT THRESHOLD BY, BY THE END OF 26.
SO LOOKING AT THAT, IF WE'RE SAYING WE HAVE ABOUT 1.26 BILLION LEFT NOW, WE'RE SPENDING A LITTLE BIT OVER 400 MILLION A YEAR, AROUND 400 MILLION A YEAR IN ABOUT TWO YEARS, WE SHOULD BE THERE.
CAN YOU ELABORATE ON THAT A LITTLE? BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE THERE'S A LOT OF MONEY TO BE SPENT IN SOME AREAS, BUT THERE MIGHT BE NEEDS CAN YOU TURN ON YOUR MIC PLEASE? WE HAVE NO MONEY.
YEAH, IF WE COULD JUST TURN ON THE MIC, JUST ASKING IF YOU COULD ELABORATE ON THAT SINCE IT SEEMS THAT THERE MIGHT BE A LOT OF MONEY TO SPEND ON SOME THINGS, BUT NO MONEY IN OTHER AREAS.
SO EVEN IF YOU HAVE TWO YEARS OF MONEY, LIKE CAN YOU JUST TALK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE? YEAH, SO, UM, THE FINANCIAL POLICY IS JUST WRITTEN AS A WHOLE.
SO WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT JUST THE ENTIRE PORTFOLIO OF WHAT WE HAVE OUT THERE NOW.
SO EVEN THOUGH YOU DO SEE, LIKE, HEALTH OBVIOUSLY ONLY HAS $2 MILLION HERE.
UM, THE LAST TWO BOND PROGRAMS FOR HEALTH, UM, 2012 WAS MONTOPOLIS RECREATION AND COMMUNITY CENTER.
2018 WAS DOVE SPRINGS HEALTH CENTER.
IT WAS BASICALLY THEY HAD TWO PROJECTS IN THE LAST TWO IN THE LAST DECADE PLUS.
UM, SO ONCE THAT DOVE SPRINGS HEALTH CENTER PROJECT IS TOTALLY DONE, I MEAN IT'S OPEN NOW.
SO, UM, THAT, THAT'S KIND OF IT FOR THEM THROUGH THE PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT BONDS, UM, THEY'RE OBVIOUSLY STILL DOING WORK.
UM, SO WE HAVE CERTAIN POLICIES ABOUT CAPITAL REHABILITATION THAT A PORTION OF THE GENERAL FUND DOLLARS OUT OF OUR OPERATING BUDGET IS TRANSFERRED TO CIP.
SO WE'RE LOOKING TO MAKE SURE SOME OF THESE PROGRAMS, HEALTH IS ONE OF THE BIG ONES THAT HAS KIND OF RUN OUT OF THIS DEBT SOURCE THAT WE'RE MAKING SURE WE'RE NOT SEEING THEIR BUILDINGS KIND OF DETERIORATE.
WE'RE GIVING THEM ADDITIONAL FUNDS TO DO ROOF REPLACEMENTS, HVAC REPLACEMENTS, KIND OF STANDARD SMALLER SCALE REPAIRS.
SO THE SPENDING IS LIKE A, A RUNOFF OF WHAT WAS SORT OF AUTHORIZED.
SO I THINK THE PREVIOUS SLIDE IS TOWARD, KIND OF SHOWS YOU THE ALLOCATIONS BY AREA.
TAKES PLACE SUBSEQUENTLY YEARS.
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THERE MAY BE PROJECTS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN FULLY EXPENDED.AND SO I I THINK SLIDE 11 IS REALLY IMPORTANT, SORT OF SEEING HOW THE BOND AUTHOR AUTHORIZATIONS, HOW THEY'VE BEEN PRIORITIZED BY AREA AS WELL.
SO I I THINK IT'S WOULD BE EXPECTED TO SEE THAT ON HERE.
UM, MOBILITY AND HOUSING IS THE TOP ONES HOUSING AT 350 MILLION APPROVED IN 2022.
SO BASICALLY WE'RE SAYING THEY'VE SPENT DOWN PRETTY MUCH ALL OF THEIR 2018 OR STARTING ON 22, IT DOESN'T FOLLOW EXACTLY THAT DOLLAR BY DOLLAR, BUT THEY'RE SPENDING THAT THREE 50 NOW THAT THEY JUST WERE AUTHORIZED WITH ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF AGO, OR TWO YEARS AGO, I GUESS NOW.
AND THEN MOBILITY AT 450 THAT WAS APPROVED IN 2020, UM, ALONG WITH THOSE 2018 AND 2016 WHERE THEY HAD FUNDING COME IN AS WELL.
BUT YOU'RE SAYING THE ENTIRE DEBT NEEDS TO BE LESS THAN TWO YEARS BEFORE NOT, IT'S NOT DONE BY YES, YES.
IT'S JUST GENERAL ACROSS THE BOARD TO MEET THE FINANCIAL POLICIES.
IS THAT LIKE, THAT'S JUST LIKE AN INTERNAL POLICY PREFERENCE THOUGH, RIGHT? LIKE THERE'S NOT LIKE A STATE LAW OR SOMETHING THAT DICTATES THAT.
SO THAT'S KIND OF THE FINANCIAL POLICIES.
UM, I MEAN OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE THEM FOR A REASON, WE WANT TO FOLLOW THEM.
UM, IF WE'RE NOT FOLLOWING THEM THEN THE CREDIT RATING AGENCIES START TO GET A LITTLE BIT UNEASY WITH WHAT WE'RE DOING.
SO IF WE HAVE A POLICY, WE'RE GOING TO IDEALLY FOLLOW IT.
UM, EVERY YEAR THERE'S SOME REVIEW, SOME FINANCIAL POLICIES GET CHANGED.
UM, SO IT'S, I I DON'T THINK, I'M NOT SURE WHEN THE LAST TIME THE DEBT ONES HAVE BEEN TOUCHED, BUT, UM, YOU'LL SEE RESERVE REQUIREMENTS FOR SOME UTILITIES OR CERTAIN KINDS OF FUNDS FOR AE OR ANY OF THESE OTHERS CHANGE, UM, CHANGE BY THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE KIND OF IN THE SPRINGTIME BEFORE THE BUDGET HAPPENS, PROPOSED BUDGET HAPPENS.
UM, BUT IN GENERAL, IT'S, IT'S NOT LIKE LAW, BUT IT IS OUR PRACTICE THEN WE SHOULD BE MEETING THAT.
I DON'T, I DON'T, IT SEEMS LIKE IT WOULD BE HARD TO SHOW, BUT I DUNNO IF THERE'S A WAY TO DO IT.
UM, I WAS THINKING ABOUT LIKE THE CITY SIDEWALK PROGRAM WHERE MOST OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS ARE FUNDED BY BONDS.
UM, AND THEY, I KNOW THAT THEY'RE ALMOST OUTTA MONEY, BUT THEN THERE, THERE ARE OTHER PROGRAMS THAT GET FUNDING THROUGH BONDS, BUT THEY ALSO HAVE OTHER SOURCES OF FUNDING.
SO I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO KIND OF BALANCE THAT BECAUSE EVEN I DON'T UNDERSTAND EXACTLY HOW THAT WORKS, BUT, YOU KNOW, SOME, SOME THINGS ARE GETTING FUNDING IN THE BUDGET AND OTHER PROGRAMS ARE, ARE ALMOST COMPLETELY DEPENDENT ON BONDS.
I THINK IF YOU LOOK UP AT THE SLIDES OR THIS ONE FOR EXAMPLE, UM, PRETTY MUCH WELL OF, FOR THESE GENERAL GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS.
SO KIND OF LIKE HEALTH, UM, HEALTH IS, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY 90 SOME PERCENT, UM, OF THEIR SPENDING, UM, IS BOND PROGRAM RELATED.
PARKS AND RECREATION IS PROBABLY CLOSER TO TWO THIRDS.
'CAUSE THEY HAVE PARKLAND DEDICATION FEES AND IF LIKE A FEW OTHER FUNDING SOURCES THEY USE.
UM, IT JUST KIND OF VARIES BY DEPARTMENT.
UM, TRANSPORTATION HAS A LOT OF GRANTS THAT WE'VE BEEN SEEING RECENTLY FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
SO, UM, YEAH, YOU, YOU DO KIND OF HAVE TO LOOK AS LIKE A WHOLE PICTURE IF WE'RE JUST LOOKING CITYWIDE.
UM, PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT BONDS IN GENERAL, IT'S A PRETTY MARGINAL PORTION OF THE FIVE YEAR PLAN.
WHEN YOU THINK OF AVIATION, THEY'RE NOT TOUCHING ANY OF THIS AND THEY HAVE THREE, THREE, $4 BILLION EXPANSION GOING ON RIGHT NOW.
CONVENTION CENTER AS IT'S $2 BILLION EXPANSION.
AND THAT'S NOT TOUCHING THIS AT ALL.
SO IT'S, IT REALLY IS KIND OF DEPARTMENT SPECIFIC WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE FUNDING.
SO ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING MM-HMM.
I, I, UM, WELL, YOU DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER IT NOW.
YEAH, I I, I I'M NOT AS, YEAH, I'M NOT SURE ABOUT THAT ONE.
UM, IS THERE A WAY TO FIND OUT THE LEVEL OF, AND I HOPE I'M SAYING THIS CORRECTLY, THE LEVEL OF VOTER APPROVAL FOR EACH OF THE BONDS THAT HAVE BEEN VOTED ON IN THE PAST? BECAUSE WHAT WE FOUND OUT THE LAST TIME THAT THIS GROUP ORGANIZED, UM,
[00:25:01]
A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE SUPPORTING FLOODING AND DRAINAGE MM-HMM.WHAT WE FOUND OUT IT WAS, THERE WAS A GREATER APPROVAL ON DRAINAGE FLOODING INFRASTRUCTURE THAN THERE WAS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
SO THAT TOLD ME THAT THE GREATER NEED IS IN ONE AREA THAN WHAT WE PERCEIVED WAS THE NEED.
SO I THINK IT SHOULD BE, LOOK, WE SHOULD BE RESPONSIVE TO THE COMMUNITIES AND I WOULD BE INTERESTED TO KNOW WHAT THE LEVEL OF VOTER APPROVAL WAS FOR EACH OF THOSE BONDS, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
WE CAN OF COURSE GET THE, UM, THE HISTORIC, YOU KNOW, VOTER DATA IN TERMS OF APPROVAL AND STUFF LIKE THAT ON THE PAST BONDS, BUT THAT'S ALSO GONNA BE PART OF THE COMMUNITY OUTREACH EFFORT THAT WE'RE GONNA BE GOING THROUGH IN TERMS OF TALKING ABOUT THE INDIVIDUAL PROPOSITIONS AND SERVING THE COMMUNITY IN TERMS OF THEIR APPETITE, UM, FROM A TOTAL DOLLAR SPEND VALUE, UM, THE IMPACTED TAXES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
BUT ALSO PRIORITIZATION OF, YOU KNOW, RANK ONE THROUGH 10, WHAT ARE YOUR, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE YOUR HIGHEST PRIORITIES AND THAT KIND OF THING.
SO THAT WILL BE UPCOMING AS A PART OF THE BOND EFFORT, GETTING THAT, UH, INPUT.
AND THANK YOU, UM, COM COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENTS.
I'M GONNA BE LOOKING AT THAT VERY CLOSELY BECAUSE IF WE AGREE TO MEET ONLY ON A MONDAY, YOU KNOW, AT THIS TIME, UM, THEN I KNOW WE'RE LEAVING OUT A HUGE GROUP OF THE COMMUNITY AND SO WE CAN LOOK AT THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, BUT IT LOOKS TO HOW THE QUALITY OF THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IS THAT ACTUALLY TELLS US WHAT WE'RE MEAN IF WE'RE RESPONDING TO THE COMMUNITY'S NEEDS.
SO IF I'LL, I'LL BE, YOU KNOW, CAREFULLY GAUGING THAT.
I'M NOT GONNA TOTALLY AGREE RIGHT NOW.
UN UNLESS WE DO IT QUALITATIVELY.
JUST TO BE CLEAR, THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EFFORT IS GONNA BE SEPARATE AND APART FROM THIS GROUP MEETING ON, YOU KNOW, WHENEVER WE DECIDE TO MEET, IT'S GONNA BE MEETING THE FOLKS, UH, WHERE THEY'RE AT, WHERE THEY CAN, UM, YOU KNOW, PROVIDE INPUT AND PROVIDE THOSE PRIORITIZATIONS.
AND THERE'S, AS YOU KNOW, A LOT THAT GOES INTO THAT, YOU KNOW, TIME OF DAY, DAY OF THE WEEK, ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF.
SO THAT WILL BE PART OF THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PLAN WHEN WE'RE DOING THAT.
I'M THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES.
I'M HERE WITH, UH, MARCUS HAMMER.
AND WE'RE GOING TO PRESENT A LITTLE BIT ON THE BOND ELECTION ADVISORY TASK FORCE AND OVERVIEW OF WHAT EXACTLY WE'RE DOING HERE TODAY, WHY OR FOR THIS GROUP, WHY WE'RE HERE.
AND, UH, TALK A A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ABOUT, UH, COUNCIL, UM, COUNCIL'S RESOLUTIONS AND WHERE WE COME FROM.
SO TO START OFF, UM, REALLY WHY ARE WE HERE? RIGHT? WE HAVE TWO COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS THAT ARE TO, UH, TO STAFF THE FIRST RESOLUTION DIRECT STAFF TO BRING FORTH A COMPREHENSIVE BOND PROGRAM WITH A CLIMATE PROPOSITION NO LATER THAN NOVEMBER OF 2026.
SO WHAT IS A COMPREHENSIVE, UH, BOND PROGRAM? RIGHT? AS STEVEN MENTIONED EARLIER, THESE PROJECTS ARE REALLY FROM ALL OF AREAS THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
YOU KNOW, IT'S PARKS, IT'S PUBLIC SAFETY, IT'S MOBILITY, HOUSING, DRAINAGE, LIBRARIES, MUSEUMS, CULTURAL CENTERS, PUBLIC HEALTH, ANIMAL SERVICES, AND YOU KNOW, MUCH MORE.
UM, AND JUST TO BE CLEAR THAT THE DIRECTION FROM COUNCIL WAS FOR THE COMPREHENSIVE BOND PACKAGE AND INCLUDING A CLIMATE, UH, PROPOSITION IN THAT BOND PACKAGE.
SO THE SECOND RESOLUTION WE HAVE UP HERE, AND IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THESE, UM, I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT.
WE'RE HAPPY TO SEND YOU ALL COPIES OF 'EM.
THEY'RE VERY INFORMATIVE IN TERMS OF SORT OF THE RULES OF THE ROAD OF, OF WHAT WE'RE DOING.
UM, SO THE SECOND RESOLUTION ESTABLISHES THIS GROUP HERE, SERVING AS AN ADVISORY ROLE TO PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PROJECTS AND POTENTIAL BOND FUNDING THAT WILL ADVANCE THE VISION OF THE CITYWIDE STRATEGIC PLANS AND THE VARIOUS OTHER PLANNING DOCUMENTS THAT WE HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, FROM THE CITY.
SO WE'RE HERE TO ENSURE THAT THE RECOMMENDED PROJECTS HAVE ADEQUATE FUNDING, UM, CONSIDER, UH, PROJECTS THAT ARE IDENTIFIED THROUGH THE PUBLIC PROCESS AND THE STAFF NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND PRIORITIZATION, AS WELL AS OBTAIN COMMUNITY INPUT AND PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR COUNCIL FOR THOSE BOND PROPOSITIONS.
QUESTION? YES, I THINK I READ THESE, BUT IT'S BEEN A WHILE.
DOES INCLUDING A CLIMATE BOND PROPOSITION MEAN THAT SOME UNDETERMINED PORTION OF THE WHOLE THING HAS TO BE IDENTIFIED AS A CLIMATE BOND PROPOSITION? OR DOES THAT MEAN IT'S ALL ABOUT CLIMATE? I I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW THAT'S A SUBSET OF THE YEP.
SO WHEN WE HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE BOND, RIGHT, YOU CAN HAVE, I'M NOT SAYING THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THIS, BUT IN THE HISTORICALLY RIGHT, WE'VE HAD THINGS LIKE MOBILITY AND DRAINAGE AND OTHER THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO ONE OF THE BOND PROPOSITIONS WOULD HAVE TO BE SURROUNDING CLIMATE PER COUNCIL'S DIRECTION AND COULD, IT COULD IMPLICATE A BUNCH OF OTHER, YOU KNOW YEAH.
WATER AND TREES AND ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT THINGS.
BUT IT WOULD BE PACKAGED AS A SINGLE PROPOSITION, CORRECT? YES.
AND JUST TO BE, AND WE DON'T KNOW.
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT PROPORTION OF THE WHOLE BOND THAT WOULD BE.
THAT'S PARTLY OUR, THAT'S WHY WE'RE HERE.
AND JUST TO BE CLEAR TOO, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THE PROJECTS THAT WE PUT FORTH COMPLY WITH ALL
[00:30:01]
OF THE CITY'S, UM, YOU KNOW, ADOPTED RULES AND REGULATIONS RELATED TO, YOU KNOW, ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND GREEN BUILDING AND ALL THOSE OTHER GREAT THINGS.WE'RE NOT PUTTING FORTH JUST A BUNCH OF PROJECTS WILLY-NILLY.
THE CLIMATE PROP IN ITSELF IS A STANDALONE FROM ALL THE OTHER, UM, YOU KNOW, COMPREHENSIVE BOND, UH, PROPOSITIONS THAT WOULD BE IN THERE.
UH, I WAS CURIOUS ABOUT THE NO LATER THAN NOVEMBER 20, 26 MM-HMM.
AND I WAS, IT, IT SEEMS LIKE THAT MIGHT BE KIND OF CONFUSING TO THE PUBLIC.
LIKE THERE'S AN ASSUMPTION THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT 2026 AND NOT 25 MM-HMM.
RIGHT? SO IT DOESN'T MENTION 2025 IN IT.
SO WE'RE, THERE'S A LOT OF REASONS THAT I'LL GET INTO, UH, LATER IN THE PRESENTATION TALKING ABOUT WHY WE THINK THAT THAT, UM, NOVEMBER OF 26, IT WOULD BE THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION TO MOVE FORWARD.
A LOT OF IT HAS TO DO WITH, AS STEVEN MENTIONED, THE, YOU KNOW, BOND SPEND DOWN AND THE FINANCIAL RULES THAT WE'RE OPERATING UNDER.
BUT THEN THERE'S ALSO SOME, UM, WE'RE TURNING THE PAGE A LITTLE BIT IN TERMS OF OUR BOND PLANNING EFFORT HERE AT THE CITY, AND WE'RE UNDERTAKING A NEW EFFORT, UM, THAT I'LL GET TO A LITTLE BIT FURTHER IN THE SLIDES, AND IF I DON'T ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS, THEN FEEL FREE TO COME BACK TO ME.
SO, UM, IN ADDITION TO THE, UM, UM, THE DETAILS THAT WE, WE, WE WE'RE EXPECTING TO UNFOLD, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A DETAILED TIMELINE, RIGHT? YES.
THAT SORT OF BACKS US INTO THIS DATE, THE CRITICAL MILESTONES AND JUNCTURES THAT WE HAVE TO COMPLETE AS A TASK FORCE, CORRECT? CORRECT.
CAN I ASK QUICK ONE TOO? UM, SO THEN WE'RE TO PROVIDE A REPORT BY, UH, JULY OF 2025.
IS THAT JUST AN INTERIM REPORT OR THAT'LL BE THE FINAL PRODUCT, EVEN THOUGH THE BALLOT, THE ELECTION WOULDN'T BE TILL A YEAR LATER.
YEP, THAT WOULD BE AN INTERIM REPORT IS WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT NOW.
AND LIKE I SAID, I'VE GOT A SCHEDULE SLIDE IN HERE THAT WE CAN LOOK THROUGH A LITTLE BIT WITH SOME MORE, SOME MORE DETAIL.
I JUST WANTED TO FOLLOW UP ON THE CLIMATE, UM, PROP QUESTION A LITTLE BIT.
SO ANYTHING WE PUT ON THE BALLOT HAS TO BE APPROVED BY THE AGS OFFICE, SO IT'S NOT REALLY AS SIMPLE.
PROBABLY IT'S JUST SAYING WE'RE GONNA HAVE A CLIMATE PROP.
IT MAY HAVE TO BE SPLIT UP ACROSS DIFFERENT CATEGORIES.
IT JUST REALLY DEPENDS, UM, ON WHAT THE AGS OFFICE ALLOWS.
BUT YES, THE INTENT IS TO HAVE CLIMATE RELATED PROJECTS INCLUDED FOR SURE.
I'M JUST WONDERING IF THIS BODY HAS A ROLE TO PLAY IN MAKING A RECOMMENDATION.
LIKE YOU SAID, STAFF RECOMMENDATION IS GONNA BE 2026.
IT SEEMS LIKE STAFF RECOMMENDATION COULD POTENTIALLY BE DIFFERENT FROM THIS BODY'S RECOMMENDATION WHEN IT COMES TO THE TIMING.
LIKE, IS THAT IT? IT COULD POTENTIALLY BE, YES.
SO ARE WE GONNA HAVE A PROCESS THAT ALLOWS FOR THAT POSSIBILITY IN TERMS OF MOVING THROUGH OUR WORK? SO IF WE WANNA HAVE SOME THINGS THAT WE RECOMMEND FOR 2025 FOR PROGRAMS THAT ARE RUNNING OUT OF MONEY THAT WE'RE AT A POINT BY JULY THAT WE CAN PUT THAT FORWARD, I THINK THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I, THAT WOULD NOT NECESSARILY BE THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION IN TERMS OF WHAT WE DO, BUT IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THIS BODY WANTS TO CONSIDER, WE CAN DEFINITELY WORK WITH Y'ALL ON THAT.
I'LL SAY I'M COMING INTO IT, YOU KNOW, WITH AN OPEN MIND.
I WANNA HEAR WHAT Y'ALL HAVE TO PRESENT AND I'VE, YOU KNOW, SEEN SOME, SOME THINGS TODAY, BUT I WOULD, I PERSONALLY WOULD APPRECIATE THAT AND, UM, WOULD LIKE TO HEAR WHAT OTHERS, YOU KNOW, THINK ABOUT THAT.
AND, UM, SPECIFICALLY, ESPECIALLY FOR PROJECTS THAT DON'T HAVE, YOU KNOW, I GET NOT POURING MORE MONEY IN WHERE THERE'S OR MORE BOND, UM, CAPACITY IN WHERE IT'S NOT NEEDED, BUT I'VE ALSO BEEN HEARING ABOUT AREAS WHERE IT IS NEEDED.
SO I, I WOULD APPRECIATE A PROCESS THAT ALLOWS FOR THAT.
SO, UM, JUST A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND.
WHO ARE WE? WHO IS CDS? UH, WE ARE ACTUALLY A RELATIVELY NEW DEPARTMENT WITH THE CITY CREATED IN, UH, 2023, UM, FROM THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.
SO WE ARE, UH, ENGINEERS, ARCHITECTS, PROJECT MANAGERS, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SPECIALISTS, UM, AND BASICALLY WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR, UM, MANAGEMENT OF THE CITY'S CIP PROGRAM.
RIGHT? SO, UM, WE DIRECTLY MANAGE OVER 500 ACTIVE PROJECTS REPRESENTING AN INVESTMENT OF $7 BILLION.
IN ADDITION, WE'RE INVOLVED IN, UH, PROJECT CONNECT, THE AIRPORT EXPANSION AS WELL AS THE CONVENTION CENTER.
SO WE ARE THE CITY'S, UM, UH, CENTRALIZED PROJECT MANAGEMENT, UH, HUB.
AND WE PROVIDE, LIKE I SAID, ENGINEERING, UH, ARCHITECTURE, PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND CONSTRUCTION INSPECTION.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WHY WERE, WE CREATED THE INTERIM CITY
[00:35:01]
MANAGER IN 2023 CREATED THIS DEPARTMENT, AS STEVEN SHOWED IN HIS PREVIOUS SLIDE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT OVER A BILLION DOLLARS IN OUTSTANDING CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT BOND FUNDING AUTHORITY, AND ONE OF THE PRIORITIES OF CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES IS EXPEDITING THE SPEND OF THIS MONEY.SO WE CAN BE SET UP IN A GOOD FINANCIAL POSITION FOR FUTURE BOND PROGRAMS TO BE ABLE TO MEET OUR OBLIGATIONS IN TERMS OF OUR FINANCIAL, UH, AND FIDUCIARY DUTIES TO THE CITY TO MAKE SURE THOSE BOND RATINGS STAY AS HIGH AS WE POSSIBLY CAN.
SO WE'RE PAYING AS LITTLE INTEREST AS AS POSSIBLE.
AND SO, UM, PART OF THIS IS, YOU KNOW, ALIGNING THOSE EXPENDITURES.
SO WE ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, DRAWING DOWN THE FUNDING THAT'S AVAILABLE IN TIME FOR A FUTURE BOND PROGRAM WHERE MORE FUNDING WILL BECOME, UH, AVAILABLE AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
SO HERE'S THE, UM, IMPROVED BOND DEVELOPMENT PROCESS SLIDE I WANNA TALK ABOUT.
SO HISTORICALLY, UM, AFTER A BOND PASSES, STAFF SPENDS ABOUT A YEAR, UM, ON PROJECT PLANNING AND OUTREACH TO MEET THE COMMUNITY NEEDS AND, AND PROJECT PRIORITIZATION.
SO FOR THIS BOND, WHAT WE'RE DOING IS TAKING THAT PLANNING PRIORITIZATION AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH, UM, AND MAKING THAT HAPPEN BEFORE THE BOND ELECTION SO THAT THE CITY AS A WHOLE, WE CAN DELIVER THE FULL SCOPE SCHEDULE AND BUDGET OF THE PROJECTS IN ORDER TO DELIVER THEM ON TIME AND FULLY SPEND THE BOND PROCEEDS, UH, WITHIN A SIX YEAR WINDOW.
SO WHAT WE DO IS WE'RE USING THE CITY STAFF EXPERTISE TO RECOMMEND PROJECTS WITH THE HIGHEST NEED ACCORDING TO THE RELEVANT, YOU KNOW, STRATEGIC PLANS.
SO I, TYING ALL OF THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY UNDERGOING WITH A SPECIFIC STRATEGIC PLAN AND HOW IT ALIGNS WITH THE CITY'S GOALS OVERALL.
AND THE OTHER THING, THE TRAP THAT WE'VE FALLEN INTO IN THE PAST IS THAT WE COME FORWARD TO A BOND AND A PROJECT ISN'T NECESSARILY FULLY BAKED IN TERMS OF THE FULL SCOPE SCHEDULE AND BUDGET.
SO WE END UP GOING FOR A BOND ELECTION AND LET'S SAY WE HAVE A $10 MILLION LIBRARY.
AND AS WE MOVE FORWARD, IT'S LIKE, OH WAIT, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR PROJECT COST ESTIMATE WAS OFF, IT'S REALLY $12 MILLION AND WE DIDN'T DO ESCALATION.
SO THE TIME YOU GET TO ACTUAL CONSTRUCTION OF THE PROJECT, YOUR $10 MILLION LIBRARY THAT THE VOTERS VOTED ON IS ACTUALLY GONNA BE A 15 OR $17 MILLION LIBRARY.
WE WANNA TAKE ALL THAT IN THE VERY BEGINNING, DO THAT PLANNING EFFORT, DO THAT OUTREACH EFFORT BEFORE IT ACTUALLY GOES TO BOND ELECTIONS.
SO THAT WAY WE'RE SAYING, HEY, THIS IS A $20 MILLION LIBRARY, WE'RE GONNA DELIVER IT IN SIX YEARS AND IT'S GONNA COST $20 MILLION.
UM, IS REALLY THE, THE PRIORITY.
AND IN, IN ADDITION, THIS APPROACH ALLOWS FOR, UM, PHASED IMPLEMENTATION OF LARGER PROJECTS.
FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU'RE BUILDING A NEW, UM, YOU KNOW, POLICE TRAINING FACILITY OR NEW POLICE HEADQUARTERS OR NEW, YOU KNOW, BIG LARGE SCALE FACILITY, YOU'RE PROBABLY NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO DELIVER THAT FULL PROJECT IN SIX YEARS.
SO WE'RE GONNA SAY, ALL RIGHT, IN THIS BOND PROGRAM, WE'RE GONNA FUND THE DESIGN PHASE OF THAT PROJECT AND WE'RE GONNA MOVE FORWARD AND WE'RE GONNA FINISH IT.
SO THAT WAY WHEN WE COME AROUND NEXT TIME IN ABOUT SIX YEARS FOR THE FUTURE BOND PROGRAM, WE CAN FUND THE CONSTRUCTION PHASE.
SO IT ALLOWS US TO IDENTIFY THOSE LARGER PROJECTS AND FUND THEM OVER MULTIPLE BOND PROGRAMS. UM, AND IT ALSO ALLOWS US TO IMMEDIATELY MOVE FORWARD INTO THE DESIGN, UH, PROCESS, RIGHT? WHEN THAT, UM, RIGHT WHEN THE BOND ELECTION HAS PASSED.
SO THAT WAY, UM, YOU KNOW, BY DECEMBER, JANUARY WE'RE ABLE TO GO TO COUNCIL WITH CONTRACT AWARDS FOR DESIGN CONSULTANTS AND FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME SMALLER CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS TO SAY, ALL RIGHT, WE'RE ALREADY STARTING TO SPEND THE BOND PROGRAM RIGHT AFTER THE ELECTION, UH, TOOK PLACE.
SO IN, IN A HIGH LEVEL, WE'RE, WE'RE BASICALLY TAKING THAT 12 TO 18 MONTHS THAT WE USE TO SORT OF SET UP THE PROJECTS AND GET THEM GOING, SHIFTING IT FROM AFTER THE BOND ELECTION TAKES PLACE TO, BEFORE THE BOND ELECTION TAKES PLACE, WHICH IN THE END IS GONNA SAVE US TIME, ALLOW US TO DRAW DOWN THE FUNDS QUICKER, UM, AND BE ABLE TO SET US UP FOR THE, YOU KNOW, ANY SUBSEQUENT BOND ELECTIONS.
CAN I ASK A SPECIFIC QUESTION ABOUT THAT? SURE.
SO ARE YOU SAYING THAT YOU'RE GONNA HAVE DESIGN FOR THAT $20 MILLION LIBRARY BEFORE WE GO TO A BOND ELECTION? THE FULL DESIGN WILL NOT BE COMPLETE, BUT WE WILL HAVE, UH, A HIGH LEVEL PRELIMINARY COST ESTIMATE AND SOME PRELIMINARY STUDIES DONE.
SO WE KNOW THAT IT IS A $20 MILLION LIBRARY AND IT'S NOT A $10 MILLION LIBRARY BASED ON PAST EXPERIENCE.
ABOUT
THAT INCREASE THAT $20 MILLION LIBRARY MM-HMM.
I THINK I KNOW THE PROJECT'S AN EXAMPLE
NO, AND THAT, AND THAT'S PART OF IT TOO, IS IT'S COMING FORTH AND WHEN WE COME FORWARD TO COUNCIL INTO THIS BODY AND OTHERS TO SAY, LOOK, THIS IS A $20 MILLION AND THIS IS THE SCOPE.
IF YOU ADD AN UNDERGROUND PARKING GARAGE, WELL THERE'S ANOTHER $10 MILLION THAT'S GONNA GO ON TOP OF IT.
WE CAN'T BUILD $30 MILLION OF INFRASTRUCTURE FOR $20 MILLION, CANNOT DO IT.
[00:40:01]
AND SO HAVING THOSE DISCUSSIONS AND SAYING, OKAY, WELL UNLESS, UM, UNLESS WE'RE GOING TO ALLOCATE THE RIGHT LEVEL OF FUNDING FOR THE PROJECT, MAYBE THIS PROJECT NEEDS TO SIT, OR MAYBE WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE, WHAT THE APPROPRIATE SCOPE IS.BUT JUST TACKING ON SCOPE AND SCOPE AND SCOPE AND NOT ADDING DOLLARS TO PAY FOR THAT, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO DO.
AND WE NEED TO, THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT CDS HAS, AND ONE OF OUR MORE CHALLENGING THINGS IS STANDING UP AND SAYING, WE CAN'T, WE CAN'T DO THAT.
I UNDERSTAND WE WANT TO GET THE MOST WE CAN FOR OUR MONEY, BUT YOU'RE ADDING TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN SCOPE AND ADDING $0 IN FUNDING, AND IT'S JUST YOU'RE PUTTING STAFF AND OUR CONTRACTORS AND DESIGNERS IN A REALLY CHALLENGING POSITION WHEN, WHEN WE THAT HAPPENS.
SO, AND, AND THE WORK BEFORE THE BOND ELECTION MM-HMM.
WE HAVE, THERE'S SOME OPERATING FUNDS.
THERE'S ALSO PART OF THE 20, UM, 25 BUDGET, UM, FINANCIAL SERVICES SET ASIDE ABOUT $1.3 MILLION TO FUND, UH, SOME OF THAT WORK.
SO, LIKE I SAID, IT'S GONNA BE RELATIVELY HIGH LEVEL, UM, YOU KNOW, PRELIMINARY COST ESTIMATES, BUT IT'S GONNA BE AT A HIGHER LEVEL THAN WE'VE EVER DONE IN THE PAST.
SO MY QUESTION IS, AND I HOPE I'M NOT GETTING TOO IN THE WEEDS, BUT SO YOU'RE SAYING THERE'S GONNA BE AN INITIAL RECOMMENDATION LIST THAT WILL BE STAFFED THIS BOARD COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, BEFORE YOU GO INTO MORE OF THE DETAILS, BECAUSE I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THIS INITIAL RECOMMENDATION LIST WHERE YOU'RE GONNA GET MORE INFORMATION FOR THE BOND PACKAGE, WHICH I'M ALL EXCITED ABOUT 'CAUSE OF PAST, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE HOW WE'RE MAKING SURE THE PUBLIC AND US ARE INCLUDED IN THAT.
SO STAFF'S WORKING ON A NEEDS ASSESSMENT RIGHT NOW.
SO EACH OF THE INDIVIDUAL DEPARTMENTS ARE SAYING, GOING THROUGH THEIR LIST BASED ON THEIR STRATEGIC PLANNING DOCUMENTS TO SAY, THIS IS OUR TOTAL LIST OF NEEDS, AND WE'RE GONNA GET INTO THIS IN, IN FUTURE MEETINGS WITH THIS GROUP TALKING ABOUT SCORING CRITERIA, HOW THOSE PROJECTS ARE EVALUATED AGAINST EACH OTHER.
AND THEN THAT'S GOING TO COME FORWARD TO THIS GROUP AND SAY, HERE'S THE STAFF NEEDS ASSESSMENT OF RANKED PROJECTS.
RIGHT? AND THEN WE'RE GONNA GO TO THE PUBLIC AND WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO SAY, ALL RIGHT, HERE'S THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION THROUGH A VERY ROBUST PUBLIC PROCESS, WHAT DOES THE PUBLIC THINK OF THESE PROJECTS? HOW, HOW DO THEY RANK UP? WHAT ARE THE PRIORITIZATIONS? AND THEN PART OF THE PIECE IN BETWEEN THERE IS GONNA BE, THERE'S, 'CAUSE THERE'S GONNA BE SOME TIME FROM THE, THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT TO THE PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT THROUGH TO THE FULL, YOU KNOW, BOND ELECTION, UM, SAYING BASICALLY DOING THOSE HIGH LEVEL PRELIMINARY REPORTS SAYING YES, THIS IS A REALISTIC COST ESTIMATE.
RIGHT NOW, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, YOU KNOW, IF, UM, TPW WANTS TO BUILD A NEW BRIDGE, RIGHT? AND THEY COME AND SAY, WELL, WE THINK IT'S $10 MILLION BASED ON, YOU KNOW, PAST DATA.
IT'S LIKE, WELL THAT'S, THAT'S FINE AND IT'S PROBABLY RELATIVELY CLOSE, BUT WE NEED TO DIG INTO THAT A LITTLE BIT, RIGHT? ARE THEY USING JUST THE TEXT DOT STANDARD BRIDGE NUMBERS VERSUS WHAT WOULD BE PROBABLY A MORE CUSTOM BRIDGE THAT WOULD NEED TO BE BUILT ON A CITY STREET? THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO TRYING TO ALIGN THOSE COST ESTIMATES AND SCHEDULES AND SCOPES TO WHAT'S A REALISTIC EXPECTATION FOR ACTUALLY DELIVERING THAT PROJECT.
AND THEN MY SECOND QUESTION REALLY QUICKLY, I MEAN, I THINK THIS GROUP IS PROBABLY IS ENGAGED AND MIGHT HAVE IDEAS OF I THAT MIGHT NOT, THE STAFF MIGHT NOT BE CONSIDERING.
IS THAT SOMETHING WE SHOULD BE PROVIDING? YOU KNOW, I SIT ON THE, I'M THE CHAIR OF THE MILLENNIUM BOARD.
AND SO I THINK THAT'S MY ONLY QUESTION ABOUT THINGS THAT WE'RE CONCERNED ABOUT IN OUR COMMUNITIES AND THINGS THAT WE HEAR FROM PEOPLE.
WHEN DO WE GET TO SHARE THAT IF THERE'S GONNA BE THIS INITIAL NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
AND SO THAT'S GONNA BE PART OF THE PUBLIC OUTREACH AND PUBLIC PROCESS IS ACTUALLY A CALL FOR PROJECTS FROM FOLKS, FROM COUNCIL OFFICES, FROM THE PUBLIC.
UM, NOW THAT BEING SAID, THE EXAMPLE I ALWAYS USE IS BUILDING A GONDOLA DOWN, YOU KNOW, SOUTH CONGRESS.
IT'S LIKE, WELL THAT'S FINE IF YOU WANNA PRESENT THAT, BUT THERE ARE GONNA BE SOME SCORING CRITERIA AND SOME THINGS LIKE STAFF HAD TO GO THROUGH.
YOU CAN'T JUST THROW A PROJECT AGAINST THE WALL AND WE'RE GONNA, YOU KNOW, TAKE IT IN FULL SERIOUSNESS AND EVALUATE IT.
SO, UM, BUT THERE WILL BE A, A ROBUST ENGAGEMENT PROCESS FOR FOLKS TO, TO SUBMIT PROJECTS TO US AS WELL.
SORRY, ON THE TIMELINE IT SAYS WE ARE HERE AND IT SAYS, WHICH IMPLIES THAT THIS NEEDS ASSESSMENT IS DONE.
I MEAN, WE'RE WAITING TO, FOR YOU TO GIVE THAT TO US, RIGHT? THE, THE STAFF NEEDS.
THE STAFF HAS, WELL, STAFF IS 98% DONE WITH THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
RIGHT? WE HAVE NOT PRESENTED THAT TO Y'ALL YET BECAUSE IT NEEDS TO BE VETTED BY US INTERNALLY TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL THE REQUIRED INFORMATION'S THERE.
SO WE'VE BEEN WORKING BEHIND THE SCENES FOR, YOU KNOW, SIX MONTHS NOW ON GATHERING THIS, KNOWING THAT THIS WAS COMING, RIGHT.
WORKING WITH STAFF TO SAY, HEY, WE'RE GONNA NEED YOUR NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
WE'RE GONNA NEED TO TALK ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, SCORING CRITERIA, HOW THESE PROJECTS ARE RANKED AND THAT KIND OF THING.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON.
WE HAVEN'T COMPLETED IT YET, BUT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WILL COME TO Y'ALL, UM, IN, IN FUTURE MEETINGS HERE.
AND WE CAN THE NEXT MEETING PERHAPS, I, I DON'T KNOW THAT IT'LL BE READY BY THE NEXT MEETING.
WELL, SO THE OTHER QUESTION IS ABOUT, IT SAYS SOMETHING ABOUT US REPORTING OUT IN MAY.
WHICH IS FOUR MONTHS BEFORE THE RESOLUTION REQUIRES A REPORT.
[00:45:01]
WONDERING HOW WE'RE, HOW WE'RE LOSING THOSE FOUR MONTHS? JUNE, JUNE ONE IS THE, UH, OF 25 IS THE INITIAL, UH, REPORT FROM THE VT IS WHEN THAT'S DUE TO COUNCIL.I THOUGHT IT WAS JULY ONE, SORRY.
JUNE 5TH IS THE, IS THE ACTUAL COUNCIL MEETING DATE OF 2025 WHEN IT'S DUE.
SO WE'LL GO AROUND THE TABLE HERE, UM, FOR THE SCORING CRITERIA.
AND, AND AS YOU'RE DEVELOPING THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT, GIVEN THE COUNCIL'S, UH, DIRECTIVE TO FOCUS ON CLIMATE, I WONDER IF THE STAFF COULD INCLUDE A EMISSIONS, UH, ESTIMATE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF ANY GIVEN PROJECT.
YOU KNOW, SO WE KNOW THE CARBON FOOTPRINT OF ALL THE THINGS THAT WE'RE CONSIDERING.
UH, OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY IS INVOLVED IN THE, IN THE GROUPS THAT WE'VE BEEN BEEN CONVENING, UM, AND INVOLVED IN THE SCORING CRITERIA AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO THERE, IT'S, LIKE I SAID, THE, THE SCORING CRITERIA AND HOW WE'RE GOING ABOUT DOING THAT IS GONNA BE A VERY LARGE MEETING.
ALL, ALL ON ITS OWN TALKING ABOUT THOSE, UH, CRITERIA AND, AND WHAT GOES INTO THAT.
UM, I DON'T RECALL MY, REMEMBER MY COLLEAGUES, UM, NAME, BUT I THINK IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL AS YOU GO THROUGH SLIDE, UM, 17 AND TALK ABOUT THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE BATF MM-HMM.
UM, CERTAINLY THERE'S AN OVERSIGHT BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE THAT HAS A RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION COMPONENTS AND MAYBE HIGH LEVEL ON WHAT THEIR ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION AND MAKING SURE THERE'S NO PROJECT SCOPE CREEP AND ALL THOSE DIFFERENT THINGS.
UM, I, THIS IS MY FIRST MEETING, SO I DID JUST WANNA INTRODUCE MYSELF AND I WAS ON THE 2018, UH, BOND ADVISORY TASK FORCE.
SO HAPPY TO TALK INDIVIDUALLY WITH ANYBODY WHO WANTS TO KNOW WHAT THAT WAS LIKE.
AND, UM, AND I, I'M RACHEL, UM, YEAH, I GUESS MY QUESTION WAS KIND OF SIMILAR, UH, AROUND THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PIECE OF THAT AND KIND OF, I GUESS IF WE COULD GO BACK TO THAT TIMELINE, I'M HOPING I, I THINK I'M HEARING THAT THAT'S PART OF OUR PROCESS AND I GUESS MAYBE TO YOUR OFFER THAT WAS PART OF Y'ALL'S PROCESS BEFORE, LIKE YOU DID THAT AS PART OF THE TASK FORCE OR I WAS JUST LOOKING ON THE WEBSITE AND SEEING COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
YEAH, I MEAN, AND YEAH, SO THE, AND HOW I WOULD CHARACTERIZE WHAT HAPPENED LAST TIME, AND I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S THE PLAN EXACTLY, BUT WE SPLIT UP INTO DIFFERENT GROUPS AND THERE WAS, WE WERE SETTING OUR OWN TIME THAT PEOPLE WERE ABLE TO COME IN AND GIVE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TO OUR SMALLER, UM, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW WHAT, WHAT THE STACK IS HERE, BUT WE HAD DIFFERENT, UM, COMMITTEES THAT WE EACH HAD THEIR OWN CHAIR AND THEY HAD THEIR OWN TIME THAT THEY WERE RECEIVING PUBLIC INFORMATION.
SO THERE WAS THAT COMMUNITY INPUT PROCESS.
AND THEN AFTER THE BOND PACKAGE WAS PUT TOGETHER, THEN IT WENT OUT TO THE PUBLIC.
AND THEN THERE WAS AN ENTIRE SEPARATE COMMUNITY INPUT PROCESS WHERE WE WERE GOING INTO OUR VARIOUS DISTRICTS AND HAVING PEOPLE COME IN AND LOOK AT WHAT THE PROPOSED PACKAGE WAS AND PEOPLE WERE GIVING FEEDBACK SPECIFICALLY ON THAT.
SO THERE WERE REALLY TWO SEPARATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR COMMUNITY IMPACT INPUT, WHETHER OR NOT IT WAS THE BEST WAY TO DO IT.
I'M, I, I'M NOT SURE, BUT IT WAS A LOT OF COMMUNITY INPUT.
SO, UM, WE, AND A LOT OF VARIOUS IDEAS FROM WHATEVER CENTER TO GONDOLAS AND ALL THAT.
WELL, I, I GUESS MY QUESTION THEN, UH, JUST IN TERMS OF THE TIMELINE IS, UM, IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE WAS SOME KIND OF WHAT I WOULD CALL INPUT AND THEN SOME FEEDBACK, YOU KNOW, INPUT BEING BEFORE, UH, THE PROPOSAL.
AND I THINK THAT WAS KIND OF MAYBE WHAT YOU WERE GETTING TO.
SO WHEN GL ANTICIPATE, OR WHEN ARE YOU PLANNING TO SCHEDULE THAT IN TERMS OF THE, THE COMMUNITY OUTREACH YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT? WELL, SPECIFICALLY YES.
COMMUNITY INPUT UHHUH BEFORE THINGS ARE FINALIZED.
SO THAT WOULD BE SEMI FINALIZED RIGHT NOW THAT'S TENTATIVELY SCHEDULED FOR THE SUMMER OF 2025.
UM, AND THE REASON BEHIND THAT, RIGHT, IS WE DIDN'T WANT TO GO, WE DON'T WANT TO GO, WHICH IS LIKE A BLANK SLATE, RIGHT? WE WANT TO GO WITH THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION.
AND THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION, JUST TO BE CLEAR, IS BASED ON THE EXISTING STRATEGIC PLANS, WHICH ALL HAD THEIR OWN LEVEL OF COMMUNITY INPUT THAT WENT INTO THEM AS WELL.
SO THIS IS NOT JUST STAFF IN, IN A ROOM SAYING, OH, I LIKE THIS PROJECT.
THIS IS BASED ON ALL THE PLANNING DOCUMENTS THAT WE'VE DEVELOPED OVER THE MANY, MANY YEARS.
AND PRIORITIZING THOSE PROJECTS AND THEN COMING FORTH WITH IT IS A VERY MUCH INITIAL RECOMMENDATION BASED ON THOSE PLANS FOR THEN INPUT FROM THE COMMUNITY Y'ALL, FROM, FROM EVERYONE ELSE.
UM, AND THAT ENGAGEMENT PROCESS, UM, WE ARE PLANNING ON DOING THE WORKING GROUP TYPE OF MODEL REALLY SURROUNDED AROUND EACH INDIVIDUAL PROPOSITION LIKELY IS GONNA BE THE, THE WAY WE'RE GONNA DO IT.
UM, AND THEN HAVING THAT, UM, INPUT, HAVING FOLKS BE ABLE TO COMMENT ON EXISTING PROJECTS AS WELL AS PROPOSE, UH, PROJECTS OF THEIR OWN, IF THEY SEE A NEED OR SEE SOMETHING THAT WE MISSED IN THE, IN THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION.
AND THAT WOULD HAPPEN MORE LIKE IN THE WINTER, SUMMER OF 25, THE, THE WORKING GROUPS THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT?
[00:50:01]
YES.SO AGAIN, THAT LIKE DOESN'T SEEM TO LEAVE OPEN THE DOOR FOR IF THERE ARE THINGS THAT WE WANT TO PUT UP FOR 2025.
THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF WORK AND A LOT OF OUTREACH TO MAKE SURE THAT THE, THE PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE ARE FULLY VETTED AS WELL AS VETTED BY, UM, YOU KNOW, THE TECHNICAL STAFF TO MAKE SURE IT'S TECHNICALLY FEASIBLE BUT THEN ALSO VETTED BY THE PUBLIC AND THAT THAT DOES TAKE TIME.
WELL, I WOULD SUGGEST IF WE WANNA LEAVE THE, THE DOOR OPEN FOR 2025, WE SHOULD DO SOME PUBLIC OUTREACH MUCH SOONER, LIKE IN THE WINTER, EARLY SPRING.
AND I'M ALL FOR HAVING MORE THAN LESS.
AND WITH THAT, I'M GONNA PASS IT OVER TO MARCUS TO FINISH OUT THE PRESENTATION.
AS WE WORK THROUGH THESE SLIDES THAT I WILL BE SPEAKING ABOUT, I FEEL LIKE WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN BRINGING 'EM UP, UH, THROUGHOUT THIS CONVERSATION BECAUSE MANY OF THESE SLIDES DO RELATE TO THE EXACT QUESTIONS THAT YOU WERE ASKING AS FAR AS LIKE PROCESSES AND METHODOLOGIES AND HOW WE'RE MOVING FORWARD WITH CERTAIN PRACTICES HERE.
SO, UM, WITH THAT, THIS IS THE SAME SLIDE THAT WE DID PRESENT AT THE OCTOBER 21ST MEETING, BUT REALLY, YOU KNOW, WE KIND OF TALKING THROUGH THE BTS ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES, UM, AND YOU KNOW, KEY, KEY SERVICE FACTORS, RIGHT? JUST SERVING IN AN ADVISORY ROLE, YOU KNOW, AND THE BIG PORTION OF THIS IS REALLY OBTAINING THE COMMUNITY INPUT.
THERE WILL BE A VERY ROBUST, UH, ROBUST, UH, COMMITTEE INPUT PROCESS THAT GOES THROUGH THIS.
UM, AND YOU ARE THE SPOKESPERSONS, UM, FOR YOUR COUNCIL DIS RESPECTIVE COUNCIL DISTRICTS.
UM, AND THEN ON TOP OF THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S REALLY THE TEAM'S OVERALL EFFORT HERE IS PRESENTING THAT PACKAGE.
THAT'S, THAT THAT'S GOING TO GO TO COUNCIL, WHICH WE'RE PROPOSING PROPOSING IN 20 20 26.
SO, UM, WE DO KNOW THAT WE HAVE 22 APPOINTEES, SO A FULL QUORUM AS WE VOTE ON CERTAIN THINGS IS TYPICALLY 12, RIGHT, THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE FOR OUR VOTES.
UM, BUT WE DO HAVE TWO APPOINTED BY THE MAYOR AND THEN WE HAVE TWO, UH, INDIVIDUAL APPOINTEES PER COUNCIL MEMBER.
UM, AND THEN OF COURSE, I THINK WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS LAST TIME IS THAT THERE'S NO REAL ACTION AFTER THIS IS ALL KIND OF OVER WITH.
THIS COMMITTEE JUST KIND OF DISSOLVE, DISSOLVES ON ITS OWN END, SO THERE'S NO, NO REAL SPECIAL ACTION ON THAT.
UM, BUT REALLY LET'S MOVE INTO THE SLIDES THAT I THINK WE'RE KIND OF MORE ENGAGING WITH THE MEMBERS.
THIS IS EXACTLY KIND OF WHERE EVERYBODY WAS TALKING ABOUT AND IT KIND OF ASKING, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT THAT GOES INTO, UM, PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND PROJECT SELECTION, UH, FROM A STAFF STANDPOINT.
YOU KNOW, IT'S REALLY A MULTI-CRITERIA DATA-DRIVEN, UM, PROCESS.
AND IF YOU KIND OF LOOK AT THE LITTLE MIDDLE CIRCLE RIGHT THERE, THAT'S REALLY THE KIND OF THE BOND PROGRAM.
AND OUTSIDE OF THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NOT ANY RANKING AS THESE KIND OF BUBBLES GO AROUND.
BUT YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT COUNCIL POLICY, YOU KNOW, THEIR OBJECTIVES, HOW THEY DRIVE CERTAIN THINGS THAT AS STAFF WE WORK TO IMPLEMENT.
SO WE REALLY HAVE TO TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION.
THERE'S LEVERAGING OPPORTUNITIES, OF COURSE FROM THE COUNTIES, FROM THE STATE GRANTS.
THERE'S A LOT OF MONEY THAT MAY BE SITTING OUT THERE KIND OF, UH, AVAILABLE FOR US.
AND THEN AGAIN, ERIC TALKED A LOT ABOUT THE PLANS, LIKE IMAGINE AUSTIN, UM, THE DEPARTMENT, STRATEGIC LONG RANGE PLANS THAT ARE OUT THERE.
WE HAVE A NUMBER OF PUBLIC ENDPOINT METHODOLOGIES FROM BOARDS TO COMMISSIONS, TASK FORCE HEARINGS HERE THAT WE WE'RE DOING TODAY.
UM, OUR DEPARTMENT ASSETS, YOU KNOW, MANAGEMENT PLANS, AND OF COURSE WE TALKED ABOUT THIS AS WELL, EVEN JUST CURRENT BOND PROJECTS, WHAT'S OUT THERE? IS THERE A PHASE TWO THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN? UM, PLANNING AROUND ALL THAT DIFFERENT WORK THAT'S HAPPENING OUT THERE.
SO, UM, NONE OF THIS IS KIND OF JUST ONE, YOU KNOW, STAFF PERSON KIND OF CREATING THIS IN A SILO, RIGHT? THIS IS TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK AND PROCESSES THAT HAPPENS OUTSIDE OF THIS THAT KIND OF DRIVES AND CREATES THIS, THIS PROJECT AND PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT.
UM, AND THEN IT'S LIKE WE KIND OF MOVE FORWARD, YOU KNOW, KINDA LIKE WHAT IS THE BOND DEVELOPMENT PROCESS? I MEAN, YOU HEARD ERIC TALK ABOUT FIRST AND FOREMOST THE FIRST THING WE HAVE TO DO IS HAVE THAT COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF PROJECTS THAT NEEDS ASSESSMENT, RIGHT? WHAT IS THE CITY'S INVENTORY? HOW MUCH CAPITAL NEED IS REALLY OUT THERE? AND THEN WE KIND OF TAKE THAT FROM A HIGHER LEVEL, RIGHT? THE NEXT REALLY THING IS HOW DO WE CREATE THAT METHODOLOGY TO RANK AND PRIORITIZE THESE PROJECTS AND KIND OF COME FORWARD, UM, WITH THIS LIST THAT WE CAN, WE CAN BRING TO THE B TIFF.
UM, AND THEN THE ULTIMATE GOAL THROUGH PUBLIC INPUT IN THAT PROCESS IS AS A B TIFF KIND OF REFINES THAT LIST, RIGHT? AND TAKES THAT BACK TO COUNCIL AND SAYS, HERE'S WHAT IS BEING PROPOSED TO YOU FOR, YOU KNOW, GOING TO THAT BOND ELECTION.
SO FROM A HIGH LEVEL, I MEAN, I THINK THIS IS KIND OF COVERING SOME OF THE, THE MATTERS THAT YOU GUYS WERE KIND OF REALLY KIND OF TRYING TO REFERENCE.
AND I THINK THIS KIND OF HELPS EVEN KIND OF SOLIDIFY THAT EVEN A LITTLE BIT MORE HERE.
WE KIND OF HAVE HOW THE BUCKET STARTS FROM THE, THE VERY, VERY TOP RIGHT, WHICH IS THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE FAR MORE NEEDS THAN THERE ARE DOLLARS THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO TAKE INTO THIS NEXT BOND PROGRAM.
THERE'S GONNA BE, UH, A LOT OF PROJECTS THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO FILTER THROUGH.
UM, SO RIGHT NOW, LIKE AS WE SAID FROM A JULY TO OCTOBER STANDPOINT, WE HAVE BEEN, YOU KNOW, REALLY SPENDING A LOT OF TIME TRYING TO WORK WITH THE ASSET OWNER DEPARTMENTS AND PULL THAT LIST TOGETHER SAYING, HEY, HOW MUCH NEED DO YOU REALLY HAVE? AND WHERE DO WE START TO LOOK AT THAT, THAT NEED? UM, WE ARE STILL REFINING THAT IT IS NOT A FINALIZED LIST, LIKE ERIC MENTIONED, WE'RE PROBABLY 95, 90 8% THERE.
WE'RE STILL TRYING TO COLLECT,
[00:55:01]
REFINE, GATHER, AND LOOK AT THAT.UM, AND THEN AS WE START TO MOVE INTO THAT STAFF RECOMMENDED LIST RIGHT FROM NOVEMBER TO APRIL, ONCE WE HAVE THAT, NOW WE HAVE TO START SORTING THROUGH THIS BECAUSE THAT'S JUST A GIANT LIST OF JUST PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS, RIGHT? SO HOW MANY OF 'EM ARE REALLY ELIGIBLE FOR GEO BOND FUNDING? YOU KNOW, HOW MANY OF 'EM ARE REALLY PROJECT READY THERE? THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO DO FROM A STAFF PERSPECTIVE TO REALLY KIND OF PULL THIS TOGETHER AND NOT JUST PUT A BIG PILE OF JUST STUFF IN FRONT OF THIS COMMITTEE.
UM, SO WE'LL BE WORKING THROUGH THAT OVER THE NEXT, YOU KNOW, FOUR TO FIVE MONTHS.
AND AS WE MENTIONED, TO REALLY GET OURSELVES READY FOR, UM, THE NEXT BOND ELECTION, WE HAVE TO HAVE A ROBUST, UH, OR WE WOULD RECOMMEND HAVING A ROBUST COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS, WHICH WOULD REALLY START IN MAY AND GO THROUGH JANUARY OF 2026.
UM, AND THEN FROM THAT STANDPOINT, B TIFF COLLECTS ALL THAT INFORMATION UP.
AND FROM THAT YOU START YOUR, YOUR HARD WORK, ERIC MENTIONED IN THE SUMMER OF 2025, THAT'S WHERE WE SEE A LOT OF THE WORK SESSIONS KIND OF STARTING TO TAKE PLACE WHERE YOU'RE ENGAGING WITH STAFF REALLY DONATING INTO THOSE DETAILS OF ALL OF THESE PROJECTS AND SEEING HOW THEY WERE CREATED AND FORMATTED AND KIND OF, YOU KNOW, PUTTING THOSE AT THE TOP OF YOUR LIST OF HOW THAT ALL PLAYS OUT.
MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE FULLY SCOPED, YOU KNOW, AND FOR, FOR FOREMOST, YOU KNOW, HAVE THE FULL BUDGET TIED TO 'EM AS WELL, RIGHT? WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE OUR, OUR PROJECTS AND OUR BUDGETS ALIGNED AND NOT HAVING, UM, PROJECTS THAT WERE KIND OF, YOU KNOW, MOVING MONEY FROM ONE TO THE OTHER.
AND THEN WE END UP WITH A, A BIG LIST OF PROJECTS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE JUST CAN'T COMPLETE WITHIN OUR SIX YEAR TIMEFRAME.
UM, AND THEN ULTIMATELY, YOU KNOW, WE GO TO, TO COUNCIL, UM, OR BT WE GO TO COUNCIL IN APRIL OF 2026 AND, AND WITH THE RECOMMENDED LIST OF PROJECTS TO MOVE FORWARD WITH.
UM, AND THEN THE ULTIMATE GOAL, UM, YOU KNOW, REALLY IS KIND OF HAVING THAT POSSIBLE VOTER APPROVAL IN THE NOVEMBER OF 2026 ELECTION.
SO FROM A PYRAMID STANDPOINT OF WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET TO, I THINK THIS HOPEFULLY WITH A LITTLE BIT OF TIMELINE FROM A HIGH LEVEL, HELPS BACK INTO SOME OF THAT CONVERSATION THAT KIND OF TOOK PLACE OVER THE LAST 10 MINUTES.
CAN I ASK A QUESTION? OH, HERE WE GO.
UM, LET ME SEE, LET'S START HERE.
OKAY, SO YOU MENTIONED THE ASSET OWNERS, BUT THERE ARE OTHER DEPARTMENTS THAT HAVE HAD GEO BONDS GO TO THEM IN THE PAST.
LIKE, UM, UH, THE CULTURAL TRUST ADVISORY COMMITTEE LOOKED AT GIVING MONEY TO THE HOLE IN THE WALL FOR, UM, THEIR IMPROVEMENTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO ARE YOU GETTING STUFF FROM THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT AND RALLY AUSTIN FOR EXAMPLE? YES, SIR.
WHERE, WHERE THEY WOULDN'T BE ASSET OWNERS, BUT THEY WOULD BE, THEY'RE NOT NECESSARILY ASSET OWNERS, BUT, UH, FINANCE SERVICES DEPARTMENT IS CARRYING THOSE PROJECTS FORWARD.
UM, FOR THOSE SPECIFICALLY, THOSE TWO THAT YOU HAD REFERENCED.
I, I THINK MAYBE MY AND MY CONFUSION IS ON THE TIMELINE IS YOU'RE SAYING WE HAVE TO HAVE A REPORT TO COUNSELOR NO LATER THAN JULY 1ST, 2025 ON SLIDE 14.
BUT THE TIMELINE BACK HERE LOOKS LIKE IT'S MORE LIKE JULY 1ST, 2026.
MIKE, CAN, CAN YOU EX HELP ME OUT HERE? WELL, SO WHAT WE'RE, WE WILL HAVE A, AND WE'LL KIND OF TOUCH ON THAT ON THE NEXT SLIDE.
I MEAN, WE CAN ACTUALLY JUMP ONTO THAT AND KIND OF ANSWER SOME OF THAT QUESTION, BUT REALLY WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS, IS HAVING A STATUS UPDATE TO COUNCIL, UM, THE FIRST ROUND WITH THE FINAL RECOMMENDATION GOING FROM THE BTF TO COUNCIL, THE, IN THE LATTER PART OF THE 2026.
SO, BUT HOW WOULD WE GO WITH THE STATUS UPDATE WHEN WE HAVEN'T EVEN, WE HAVEN'T EVEN, OR WE BARELY HAVE STARTED THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
SO THAT WOULD BE JUST AN INITIAL, THE, THE INITIAL LIST OF PROJECTS, RIGHT? SO WE'RE KIND OF GOING THERE WITH A STATUS UPDATE SAYING, HERE'S INITIAL LIST OF PROJECTS, AND WE WILL BE REFINING THAT AND GETTING COMMUNITY INPUT AS WE WORK THROUGH THAT OVER THE NEXT, YOU KNOW, SIX MONTHS, EIGHT MONTHS.
I'M STILL A LITTLE CONFUSED ON THAT THERE.
SO THAT, THAT INITIAL LIST IS A LIST THAT JUST US AND STAFF REFINED.
SO THE INITIAL LIST IS COMING FROM STAFF, RIGHT? RIGHT.
THE SECOND LIST WILL BE COMING THROUGH THE B TIFF.
SO, SO YOUR JULY 1ST DEADLINE HERE IS WE'RE JUST GONNA REGURGITATE WHAT STAFF GIVES US.
IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? THAT'LL, THAT WOULD BE THE FIRST UPDATE IS HERE'S BASICALLY WHAT STAFF HAS BEEN ABLE TO COMPILE, PULL OUT FROM ALL THE OTHER ASSET OWNER DEPARTMENTS OR, YOU KNOW, THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS.
RIGHT? AND THEN FROM THAT STANDPOINT, THAT'S WHERE THE B TIFF REALLY BECOMES ENGAGED, STARTS WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY, AND THAT'S WHERE OUR PUBLIC INPUT PROCESS REALLY STARTS TO KIND OF TRANSFORM AND TAKE PLACE THROUGH THAT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THERE.
SO, SO, AND, AND Y'ALL FORGIVE ME FOR HERE FOR A SECOND.
SO THERE'S NO WAY WE'RE, WE'D GO TO A 2025, WE HAVEN'T EVEN STARTED THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT BY THE TIME YOU START MOVING THROUGH THAT ELECTION CYCLE, IS THAT I, I THINK FROM, YOU'VE HEARD FROM BOTH STEVEN AND ERIC, THAT STAFF, CITY STAFF WOULD NOT RECOMMEND MOVING FORWARD WITH 2025.
[01:00:01]
THANK YOU.WELL, AND I WOULD SAY WHAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT HOW YOU ALL PLAN TO HAVE MORE INVESTIGATION INFORMATION THAN PREVIOUS, I FEEL LIKE PUTTING THAT IN WORDS THAT CAN BE SHARED WITH THE PUBLIC WOULD BE USEFUL FOR US AND THE COMMUNITIES THAT WE SERVE, THAT WE, I THINK IT SOUNDS NICE THOUGH.
I, I'M, I'M HOPEFUL, BUT I THINK PUTTING THAT IN REAL WORDS BEFORE MAY OF 2025 BEFORE EVEN, BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S WHAT SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE, WE KNOW THERE ARE PROJECTS THAT DON'T HAVE MONEY.
AND SO I DO THINK THERE WAS SOME DESIRE TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN IN 2025.
AND IF YOU'RE SAYING IT'S BECAUSE WE WANNA BE MORE PREPARED AND WE WANNA BE MORE PLANNED, AND WE WANT TO BE, TRY TO MITIGATE, UM, UH, WHAT'S THE WORD I'M LOOKING FOR? OVERWHELMED.
OR WHEN THINGS ESCALATION, IF WE WANNA REDUCE ESCALATION, ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF.
UM, I THINK THAT THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT MEANS.
AND IT'S NOT JUST SOME BIG BUBBLY IDEA ABOUT HOW WE'RE GONNA HAVE MORE DETAILS.
WELL, ONE SUGGESTION, NAME TAGS IN FRONT OF US WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL.
WE MADE A 'EM OUTTA THAT BEFORE MEETING STARTED.
SO I HAVE, I HAVE TWO QUESTIONS.
ONE IS, UM, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT, UM, SPECIFIC PROJECTS AND SPECIFIC BUDGETS, BUT A LOT OF WHAT WE'VE DONE WITH BONDS IN THE PAST HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN PROGRAMMATIC, LIKE SAY FOR US TO SCHOOLS.
PROGRAMMATIC STILL FITS IN THIS POT, THESE PO OKAY.
AND THEN MY OTHER QUESTION, JUST TO GO BACK TO THE 25 VERSUS 26, I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR US TO SEE WHAT PROGRAMS WILL BE OUT OF MONEY BEFORE WE CAN DO THIS BOND AND WHERE FUNDING IS AVAILABLE TO MAKE UP THAT DIFFERENCE.
IN THE MEANTIME, I THINK, I KNOW I WOULD BE A LITTLE BIT MORE COMFORTABLE IF I COULD, IF I COULD SEE THAT, UM, I WOULD HATE FOR SOME OF THESE PROGRAMS TO FALL APART.
UM, I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF HUMAN INFRASTRUCTURE THAT GOES INTO A LOT OF THESE PROGRAMS, AND IF THERE'S NO FUNDING FOR THAT AND WE LOSE THOSE GOOD PEOPLE AND THEN WE HAVE TO REBUILD THOSE PROGRAMS, THAT'S A REALLY HEAVY LIFT.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO UNDERSTAND WHERE THOSE PROGRAMS ARE AND WHERE WE COULD FIND OTHER SOURCES OF FUNDING.
SO LET ME WEIGH IN AND INTRODUCE MYSELF.
I'M ROBERT, GOOD ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, AND I THINK WE'RE ALL KIND OF DANCING AROUND THIS SUBJECT.
AND I THOUGHT I'D BE TRANSPARENT,
SO WHEN THIS WENT TO COUNCIL, THERE WAS A DEBATE OVER 25 AND 26 AND, YOU KNOW, THEY ALL DEBATED THAT AND IT WAS DIFFERENT SIDES, AND THEY LANDED ON THE RESOLUTIONS.
YOU SEE, THAT'S WHAT WE ARE DEALING WITH.
THE RESOLUTIONS YOU SEE, SAID NO LATER THAN 26.
AND THAT WAS KIND OF BASED ON STAFF GIVING.
WHAT WE DID TODAY IS WE'VE HAD SOME STRUGGLES PRODUCING BECAUSE OF THE WAY WE'VE RUN PREVIOUS BOND PROGRAMS AND THE COST ESCALATION.
SO WE SAID TO DO THIS RIGHT COMPREHENSIVELY, IT'D TAKE US 18 MONTHS.
COUNSEL COOK THAT IN, TOOK, TOOK THAT INTO ACCOUNT, BUT THEN SAID, BOY, WOULDN'T IT BE NICE FOR 25? BUT THEY DIDN'T LAND ON THAT.
THEY DIDN'T DIRECT US TO DO THAT.
THEY DIRECTED US TO HELP YOU GET TO THEM IN JUNE OF 25, BECAUSE JULY, THEY DON'T HAVE, THEY, THEY'RE ON BREAK.
SO WE'RE SAYING JUNE OF 25 FOR MORE OR LESS AN OFF RAMP.
IF THIS COMMITTEE SAYS, WE HEARD YOU COUNSEL, WE THINK YOU SHOULD DO SOMETHING IN 25, THIS COMMITTEE WILL HELP YOU DO THAT.
TO COME UP WITH IS THERE SOMETHING THAT YOU WANNA STRONGLY RECOMMEND FOR 25? WE'VE NOT BEEN GIVEN THAT DIRECTION, BUT YOU HAVE A STATUS REPORT.
WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE IS IT COULD BE WE'VE DEVELOPED WITH STAFF $8 BILLION WORTH OF NEED.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF WORK LEFT FOR US TO WORK TOGETHER TO GET TO A COMPREHENSIVE 26 ELECTION.
HOWEVER, THEN YOU MIGHT SAY, BUT HERE'S SOME THINGS WE THINK YOU COULD TAKE IN 25.
NOW I CAUTION YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT IF THEY'RE OUTTA MONEY, BUT YOU ALL NEED TO LOOK COMPREHENSIVELY.
SO ARE YOU WILLING TO FUND SOMETHING BEFORE YOU LOOK AT THE WHOLE SLATE? THEY GET MONEY FIRST BEFORE WE GET THE WHOLE NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND YOU DO SOME HEAVY LIFTING AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.
IT'S GONNA BE SOME HEAVY LIFTING.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DEALING WITH AS STAFF.
AND I WANTED TO JUST BE A LITTLE BIT MORE FRANK.
THESE GUYS HAVE BEEN, BECAUSE YOU, IF YOU LOOK BACK, YOU SAW THOSE DEBATES AND COUNCIL LANDED ON A LITTLE BIT OF A COMPROMISE.
WE HAVE NOT BEEN GIVEN DIRECTION OTHER THAN COME WITH SOMETHING BEFORE, NO LATER THAN 26, BUT WE WANNA REPORT IN JUNE OF 25.
SO THAT MIGHT HAVE EVEN MORE QUESTIONS AND MAYBE I CAN ANSWER THOSE.
UM, JUST THIS IS MORE PROCEDURAL.
SO FAR WE'VE GOTTEN AGENDAS THAT HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED BY STAFF THAT SET OUR, OUR WORK FOR THAT FOLLOWING MEETING.
IF WE'RE WANTING TO TALK ABOUT THINGS ON OUR OWN INITIATIVE, HOW DO WE IMPACT
[01:05:01]
THE AGENDA? YOU'RE GONNA VOTE ON OFFICERS TODAY, AND THEN WE WILL WORK WITH THOSE OFFICERS TO PREPARE AGENDA SO THE OFFICERS THEN HAVE THE SAY IN THE AGENDA.NOW, WE'RE ALWAYS GONNA HAVE, WE NEED TO GET THIS IN FRONT OF THE COMMITTEE, BUT, AND YOU ALL MIGHT SAY AT THE END OF ONE OF YOUR MEETINGS, EVERY MEETING, YOU MIGHT SAY, ARE THERE SOME FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? AND THEN YOU CAN ADD TO THAT AND WE WILL, WE'LL WORK WITH WHOEVER YOUR OFFICERS ARE TO HELP GET THAT ON, ON THE AGENDA.
SORRY FOR INTERRUPTING GUYS, BUT I, I COULDN'T SIT ON MY HAND BACK THERE ANYMORE.
TO SORT OF TIE INTO THAT, I'D LIKE TO KNOW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THESE THINGS THAT ARE RUNNING OUT OF MONEY AND WHAT THEY CAN DO IN THE MEANTIME.
THE CITY DOES A FINANCIAL FORECAST IN THE SPRING, WHICH DEALS WITH THE OPERATING BUDGET AND THE CAPITAL BUDGET, BUT PRIMARILY THE OPERATING BUDGET.
COULD WE INCORPORATE INTO THAT FINANCIAL FORECAST, WHICH WOULD INVOLVE FINANCIAL SERVICES, UM, TALKING ABOUT THE OP, WHAT THE OPERATING BUDGET IS GONNA BE ABLE TO DO FOR THOSE PROJECTS THAT ARE RUNNING OUTTA MONEY TO, TO THE CONCERN THAT THERE WOULD BE ORGANIZATIONS THAT WOULD FALL APART IF, IF THEY DIDN'T HAVE ONGOING FUNDING.
THAT IS, I I'M JUST TRYING TO THINK OF A WAY OF ADDRESSING YOUR CONCERN ABOUT HOW WE COULD GET SOME INFORMATION ABOUT HOW WE CAN KEEP THINGS GOING TO 2026.
WE CAN GET, AGAIN, WHATEVER YOU ALL NEED, WE'RE HERE TO HELP YOU.
YOU ARE TASKED WITH A HUGE, YOU'RE TASKED TO GIVE A RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL ON WHAT THESE BOND PROGRAMS SHOULD LOOK LIKE.
AND WE'RE HERE TO HELP YOU DO THAT WITH A LOT OF THESE GUYS HAVE BEEN WORKING FOR MONTHS, AS THEY'VE SAID, WE'LL BRING YOU THAT INFORMATION.
AND, AND BY THE WAY, I WANNA MAKE SURE YOU HEARD THIS IS WE'LL BRING YOU A RECOMMENDATION, BUT YOU MIGHT HEAR FROM THE PUBLIC AND SAY, YOU GUYS MISSED SOMETHING.
AND THAT'S PART OF WHAT THIS GROUP IS TO DO TOO, IS TO HEAR FROM THE PUBLIC AND SAY, YOU MISSED SOMETHING.
WE MAY SAY, IT STILL RANKS LOWER IN OUR PRIORITY, BUT YOU MAY SAY, THANK YOU FOR THAT AND WE'RE GONNA PUT IT ON OUR LIST THAT WE TAKE TO, THAT YOU ALL RECOMMENDED COUNCIL, WE WORK TOGETHER, BUT THIS IS COUNCIL APPOINTED YOU AND YOU'RE THE ONE THAT ARE GONNA GIVE A, A RECOMMENDATION TO, UH, COUNCIL.
WE WILL GIVE OUR STAFF RECOMMENDATION.
IT'S A QUICK PROCEDURAL QUESTION.
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT MAKING RECOMMENDATION TO THE CITY COUNCIL, I'M ASSUMING WE, WE WILL, UM, VOTE THROUGH MAJORITY AND NOT CONSENSUS CORRECT.
OR IN TERMS OF ADVANCING THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS? YES.
THIS WILL ACT LIKE ANY BOARD AND COMMISSION, SO IT'LL BE MAJORITY RULE.
ARE YOU, UM, WILL WE RECEIVE ANY INSIGHT AS TO YOUR PROCESS AND THE TECHNICAL SELECTION CRITERIA YOU MENTIONED PRIOR TO RECEIVING YOUR PRIORITY LIST AND IDEALLY PRIOR TO US CREATING OUR OWN SCORING CRITERIA, SO WE CAN SEE TO WHAT EXTENT THOSE ALIGN? MM-HMM.
I WOULD LIKE TO GO BACK TO SLIDE 15.
SO I'M INTERESTED IN KNOWING WHO THE PARTNERS ARE, WHO WERE THE CONSULTANTS, UM, CONTRACTING TEAMS, CITY ASSET OWNERS, COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
BECAUSE MANY TIMES I'M, I FIND OUT THAT THE COMMUNITY'S THE LAST TO KNOW AND THE, AND AN ITEM IS BEFORE COMMISSION OR CITY COUNCIL AND SO FORTH.
AND, AND PEOPLE WE'RE CONSTANTLY TOLD AS COMMUNITY MEMBERS, BUT WE REACHED OUT TO THE STAKEHOLDERS AND I'M ALWAYS CURIOUS TO KNOW WHO THE STAKEHOLDERS ARE BECAUSE CLEARLY ONE OF THOSE STAKEHOLDERS WAS NOT SOME OF US.
SO I'D BE CURIOUS TO KNOW WHAT HAS BEEN MISSING FROM, FROM THIS.
UM, AND THAT KIND OF GIVES ME AN IDEA AS TO WHAT KIND OF CHALLENGE I MAY HAVE IN THIS COMMITTEE.
YEAH, I THINK, YOU KNOW, GENERALLY WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, SO CONSULTANTS ARE DESIGN CONSULTANTS, ARCHITECTS, YOU KNOW, THAT KIND OF THING.
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, UM, CITY ASSET OWNERS ARE JUST LIKE, IT, IT, IT MENTIONS THERE, YOU KNOW, UH, AUSTIN WATER, TRANSPORTATION, PUBLIC WORKS, YOU KNOW, POLICE, FIRE, EMS COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT DEPENDS ON THE PROJECT.
SO LIKE, WITHOUT A SPECIFIC PROJECT, I DON'T KNOW WHO EXACTLY WE MISSED.
UH, WE'RE, WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT PERFECT, BUT YOU KNOW, WHAT WE LIKE TO DO IS, IS NOTIFY FOLKS AROUND THE PROJECT WHERE IT'S GONNA BE TAKING PLACE.
AND THERE'S VARIOUS WAYS WE DO THAT.
DOOR HANGERS, MAILERS, THAT KIND OF THING TO GET THE WORD OUT ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT, OPEN HOUSES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, HISTORICALLY, ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE NOT BEEN SUPER GREAT AT IS SCHEDULING THOSE MEETINGS AT TIMES WHEN PEOPLE CAN ACTUALLY ATTEND.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE DEFINITELY WORKING ON TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, UM, THAT THOSE MEETINGS ARE TAKING
[01:10:01]
PLACE WHEN WE THINK MOST PEOPLE CAN BE THERE.AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, ALLOWING FOLKS TO HAVE MORE THAN ONE OPPORTUNITY TO COME AND COMMENT ON PROJECTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WITHOUT A SPECIFIC PROJECT, I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY, BUT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE DEFINITELY WORKING ON AND, AND WORKING ON GETTING OUT THERE.
I IDEALLY, WHAT WE REALLY LIKE TO TARGET IS THE PEOPLE THAT ARE IMMEDIATELY SURROUNDING THE PROJECT THAT ARE GONNA BE MOST, UM, MOST DIRECTLY AFFECTED BY CONSTRUCTION, IS REALLY WHAT IT IS WHEN IT COMES TO BE.
SO, AND, AND JUST TO CLARIFY, THIS IS WHAT THESE GUYS DO TO IMPLEMENT, THIS IS WASN'T A SLIDE TO HOW WE WORK TOGETHER WITH YOU TO DEVELOP THE BOND PROGRAM.
THIS WAS JUST KIND OF INTRODUCING THEM TO WHO, WHAT THEY DO IN THEIR DAY JOB,
WAS THERE MORE PROCESS THAT WE WERE GONNA GO OVER, OR WAS THAT THE END OF THE WELL, WE HAVE THAT LAST SLIDE.
I'M NOT SURE IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT WE HAVEN'T REALLY TALKED ABOUT.
I MEAN, IT'S, UM, ESSENTIALLY AS WE'VE BEEN TALKING, YOU KNOW, STAFF HAS BEEN WORKING SINCE MAY AS CONVERSATIONS WITH THE ELECTED OFFICIALS HAVE KIND OF STARTED ABOUT WITH THE BOND PROGRAM.
UM, WE'VE REALLY BEEN RUNNING TWO THINGS IN PARALLEL THE CALL FOR PROJECTS AND THEN THE FRAMEWORK FOR THE, HOW THE BOND WAS GOING TO BE KIND OF ESTABLISHED.
SO, UM, AS WAS ASKED, WHAT WE ARE ARE KIND OF, KIND OF THINKING ABOUT LINING OUT IS THAT HERE IN THE SPRING THAT, UH, OF COURSE WE WOULD HAVE THE ASSET OWNER DEPARTMENTS COME AND EXPLAIN EXACTLY WHAT WAS REQUESTED, HOW WAS THAT FRAMEWORK ESTABLISHED, THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES, THE TECHNICAL CRITERIA, AND HOW THEIR SCORING MATRIX WERE PUT TOGETHER.
WE THINK THAT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR FEEDBACK, COLLABORATION, AND WORKING WITH THIS, UM, THIS GROUP AND KIND OF, UM, HAVING EVERYBODY KIND OF BE ON THE SAME PAGE WITH THAT METHODOLOGY.
THEN WE DID TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, JUST THE INITIAL STAFF RECOMMENDATION.
UM, AND THEN THE, THE REPORT THAT YOU GUYS WOULD BE DOING OUT TO MAYOR AND COUNCIL, UM, AGAIN, THE WORKING GROUPS THAT WOULD BE KIND OF TAKING PLACE IN SUMMER AND FALL WITH THE TOWN HALLS.
AND THEN, UM, JUST KIND OF GOING THROUGH SOME OF THE, THE, THE SEQUENTIAL ITEMS, RIGHT? TALKING ABOUT FUNDING, THE, THE, THE BOND FUNDING SCENARIOS FOR EACH OF THE PROPOSITIONS THAT KIND OF PLAY OUT AS Y'ALL ARE REC COMING TO RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, HAVING THAT FULL WORKING GROUP PRESENTATIONS BACK TO THE BTIF AND HAVING THOSE VOTES AND THEN HAVING THAT, THAT B TIF REPORT BACK TO COUNCIL IN APRIL WITH THE, IT SEEMS, UM, STRANGE TO ME THAT THE, WE WOULD BE, SO THE BIFF REPORTS TO MAYOR AND COUNCIL, THAT'S THAT JULY DATE.
SO YOU'RE, YOU'RE SUGGESTING WE WON'T BE SPLIT INTO WORKING GROUPS UNTIL AFTER JULY? CORRECT.
'CAUSE IT'S GONNA TAKE US A MOMENT JUST TO COME UP TO A STAFF RECOMMENDATION, RIGHT? SO IF WE GO BACK TO THE PYRAMID WHERE RIGHT NOW WE'RE IN THAT NEEDS ASSESSMENT, TRYING TO JUST REFINE THAT NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND THEN THAT SECOND PORTION RIGHT THERE IS WHERE WE'RE GONNA TRY TO LIKE, SORT THROUGH THAT GIANT BUCKET AND BRING YOU THE PROJECTS THAT ARE GOING TO BE READY REALLY FROM A CONSTRUCTION READY STANDPOINT, YOU KNOW? THAT'S RIGHT.
BUT WE'LL KNOW THE ARRAY OF TYPES OF PROJECTS THAT WE COULD START BE SPLITTING INTO WORKING GROUPS AND GETTING SMART ON, I MEAN THAT EACH WORKING GROUP MM-HMM.
SO I WOULD THINK WE WOULD BE GETTING INTO WORKING GROUPS WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS TO START LEARNING THE LEARNING ALL ABOUT THE, EACH ONE OF THOSE ASSET OWNER DEPARTMENTS.
THAT, THAT WILL HAPPEN THROUGH THESE REPORTS.
THEY'RE GONNA COME AND EXPLAIN EXACTLY WHAT THEIR, THEIR DEPARTMENTS ARE DOING, HOW THEY'RE DOING IT, UM, AND EXPLAIN THEIR GUIDING PRINCIPLES, THEIR TECHNICAL CRITERIA ON HOW THEY ACTUALLY PULLED THAT LIST OF PROJECTS TOGETHER.
AND SO IT, IT'S, IT'S GONNA, I I THINK LAST TIME WE BROKE INTO GROUPS AND DID THAT FROM OUR WORKING GROUP, NOT EVERYBODY HEARING EVERYTHING ALL THE TIME.
'CAUSE OTHERWISE THAT SOUNDS LIKE WE'LL BE JUST IN A LEARNING MODE FOR LIKE SIX MONTHS INSTEAD OF BEING ABLE TO WRAP OUR, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN, WE CAN DEFINITELY TALK ABOUT.
THE ONE THING YOU DON'T GET WITH THAT RIGHT, IS THAT EVERYONE THAT'S IN THE INDIVIDUAL WORKING GROUPS DOESN'T NECESSARILY KNOW THE FULL BREADTH MM-HMM.
RIGHT? AND SO THIS WAY, YOU KNOW, EVERYONE HERE HEARS THE SAME THING IN TERMS OF THE DIFFERENT PROJECTS THAT ARE PRESENTING BY PARKS AND, AND TPW AND MM-HMM.
WHEREAS IF YOU BREAK OFF INTO THE WORKING GROUPS AND HAVE THE INDIVIDUAL DEPARTMENTS PRESENT JUST TO THE GROUP, THERE'S NO CROSS, YOU KNOW, UH, COLLABORATION BETWEEN EVERYBODY TO WEIGH THE ENTIRE COMPREHENSIVE BOND PACKAGE TOGETHER.
SO WE CAN DO IT EITHER WAY, UM, AND HAPPY TO WORK WITH Y'ALL ON, ON HOW WE WANTED TO BE THAT UP AND MAKE IT HAPPEN.
CAN I SUGGEST YOU, YOU COULD DO SOME OF BOTH.
YOU COULD HAVE A PRESENTATION THAT WE ALL GET AND THAT'S LIKE AT OUR MONTHLY MEETING.
BUT THE WORKING GROUPS, YOU KNOW, LIKE RACHEL SAID, YOU'RE GOING TO NEED TO REALLY DIG INTO A LOT MORE DETAILS THAN WE PROBABLY HAVE TIME FOR AT THESE MEETINGS.
THAT'S WHERE THE WORKING GROUPS COULD BE USEFUL.
AND THEY COULD ALSO BE USEFUL IN JUMP STARTING THE PUBLIC INPUT, WHICH I THINK YOU'RE HEARING FROM A NUMBER OF US THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO DO THAT SOONER THAN THE SUMMER.
SO PUTTING THAT OUT THERE THAT IT COULD BE BOTH
[01:15:01]
OF THESE THINGS.ONE QUESTION, UM, YOU MENTIONED, UM, THERE'RE GONNA BE MORE PROJECTS THAN DOLLARS AVAILABLE, BUT I DIDN'T NOTICE ANYWHERE IN THE TIMELINE WHERE WE WERE GONNA TALK ABOUT THE DOLLARS AVAILABLE.
THE DOLLARS AVAILABLE ARE, IS A VERY INTERESTING QUESTION.
AND SO PART OF THAT DISCUSSION IS GONNA BE ALSO PART OF THE PUBLIC OUTREACH.
HOW MUCH OF A TAX INCREMENT ARE PEOPLE LOOKING TO, UM, YOU KNOW, APPROVE.
AND SO THERE'S, UM, A LOT OF INFORMATION OUT THERE AND A LOT OF, UM, STUFF TO BE DETERMINED IN TERMS OF WHAT THAT TOTAL IS GOING TO BE, AND THEN ALSO HOW THAT PIE IS GONNA BE SLICED UP.
YOU KNOW, WHEN WE COME FORWARD, AND LET'S SAY, I'M NOT SAYING THIS IS THE NUMBER, BUT LET'S SAY IT'S A BILLION DOLLARS, RIGHT? THEN THE QUESTION IS, WELL, OKAY, HOW MUCH OF THAT GOES TO PARKS, HOW MUCH IT GOES TO LIBRARIES AND CULTURAL FACILITIES? YOU KNOW, WHERE DOES IT GO IN THE PIE? SO THAT IS PART OF THIS GROUP AS WELL, TALKING ABOUT, UM, NUMBER ONE, WHAT THE VOTERS ARE GONNA APPROVE, AND NUMBER TWO, HOW THAT PIE IS GONNA BE SLICED UP.
AND THAT IS PART OF THE, THE OVERALL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS THAT'S GONNA BE MOVING FORWARD.
SO, ON THAT, ON THE NEXT SLIDE ON 20, COULD YOU POINT YOUR FINGERS OVER WHERE THAT DISCUSSION HAPPENS? WELL, THE, THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT THE WAY WE STRUCTURED IT RIGHT, IS THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE ALL OF THE PROJECTS RANKED WITH A DOLLAR VALUE.
SO AGAIN, LET'S SAY IT'S A A BILLION DOLLARS AND LET'S SAY TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS GETS A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS OF THAT, RIGHT? THEN WE JUST GO DOWN THE LINE AND LET'S SAY THE A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS CUTOFF IS AT PROJECT 12.
IT'S LIKE, WELL, THERE'S THE LINE.
EVERYTHING ABOVE THAT IS FUNDED, EVERYTHING BELOW IT ISN'T.
SO BY DOING IT THIS WAY, WITH THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND THE SCORING CRITERIA, WE'RE WE'RE ABLE TO ADVANCE THE PROCESS MUCH FURTHER WITHOUT DEF, WITHOUT HAVING AN ABSOLUTE NUMBER ON WHAT THE, UM, TOTAL BOND PROPOSITION, WHAT THE TOTAL APPETITE IS THERE.
ONCE WE KNOW WHAT THE NUMBER IS, AND WE KNOW HOW THE PIOUS LIVES, THERE'S A VERY CLEAR LINE IN THAT LIST SAYING, OKAY, THESE 10 PROJECTS ARE APPROVED, THESE 15 OTHERS ARE NOT.
AND THE SCORING IS INDEPENDENT OF THE DOLLARS THAT ARE AVAILABLE, WHICH IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE MOVE FORWARD AT WHEN WE'RE DOING THE INITIAL SCORING AND PROJECT EVALUATION WITH THIS METHODOLOGY IS BECAUSE I CAN TELL YOU RIGHT NOW, IT'S NOT, THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT IS EIGHT, $9 BILLION.
WE'RE NOT GOING OUT FOR $9 BILLION WORTH OF BONDS.
RIGHT? IT'S GONNA BE MORE THAN, YOU KNOW, A MILLION DOLLARS I IN BETWEEN THERE.
I HAVE A VAGUE IDEA OF WHAT IT MIGHT BE.
BUT WITHOUT THE PUBLIC OUTREACH, WE CAN'T COME TO YOU AND SAY, OH, WE'RE MOVING FORWARD WITH, YOU KNOW, A BILLION DOLLAR BOND PROGRAM.
WE DON'T KNOW IF THE PUBLIC SUPPORTS THAT YET.
A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE A LOT OF DIFFERENT INPUT ON THAT AND IN TERMS OF HOW THE PIE IS SLICED AS WELL.
SO BY DOING THIS, WE GET TO DO ALL THE PRE-WORK, RANK ALL THE PROJECTS, GET GOOD COSTS AND SCHEDULE FOR ALL THE PROJECTS.
AND THEN WHEN WE FIND OUT THE NUMBERS, WE CAN JUST SAY, ALL RIGHT, HERE'S THE LINE AND THEN WE'RE DONE.
BUT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ALL THE PRE-WORK ON $9 BILLION WORTH OF PROJECTS? NO, WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA LOOK, SO SO THERE'S A, THERE'S A, THERE'S A
SO PART OF THE NARROWING PROCESS IS GONNA BE PART OF THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION.
WE'RE GONNA BE LOOKING THROUGH AND LOOKING THROUGH THINGS LIKE, YOU KNOW, HISTORIC SPEND, RIGHT? LET'S SAY, YOU KNOW, WE WANT, WE WANT ALL THE DOLLARS TO BE SPENT WITHIN SIX YEARS AND LET'S SAY, YOU KNOW, PARKS SPENDS A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR.
SO IF PARKS COME FORWARD AND SAYS, WELL, WE'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, $3 BILLION IN NEED, IT'S LIKE, WELL, YOU'RE PROBABLY NOT GONNA GET THAT IN A REAL MORE REALISTIC NUMBER IS PROBABLY GONNA BE CLOSE TO 600 MILLION.
YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE THAT'S HISTORICALLY WHAT YOU SPENT.
AND WE COULD TALK ABOUT THOSE PROJECTS AROUND THE EDGES.
SO WE'RE NOT GONNA RANK, YOU KNOW, ALL 300 PROJECTS.
WE'RE GONNA SAY, ALL RIGHT, HERE'S REALLY WHERE THAT CUTOFF LINE IS FOR RANKING.
AND WE CAN ALWAYS COME BACK AND SAY, OKAY, WELL IT WAS MORE THAN WHAT WE THOUGHT AND WE NEED TO DO, YOU KNOW, RANKING ON THE NEXT 10 PROJECTS TO SEE WHERE THEY FIT IN LINE THERE.
SO WE CAN GET A LOT OF THE WORK DONE.
WITHOUT KNOWING THAT NUMBER, WE WON'T BE ABLE TO DO ALL OF IT, BUT WE'LL, WE CAN GET A PRETTY GOOD IDEA OF WHERE WE NEED TO BE AND WHAT THAT IS.
SO YOU'RE, WHAT YOU WILL DO IS, UH, PUT A LIMIT ON WHAT YOU'RE GONNA ASK DEPARTMENTS TO PRIORITIZE, CORRECT? YES.
AND NOT GIVE YOU A LIST OF EVERYTHING THEY WOULD LIKE TO HAVE.
THEY'VE ALREADY GIVEN US A LIST OF EVERYTHING THEY'D LIKE TO HAVE, BUT THAT'S THE NEXT STEP THAT WE'RE GOING THROUGH NOW IS THE SCORING AND PRIORITIZATION AND MAKING SURE THAT THAT SCORING IS CONSISTENT ACROSS THE DEPARTMENTS.
SO THOSE GET RANKED AND THEN WE GO OUT AND WE SAY, ALL RIGHT, WELL THERE'S, YOU KNOW, A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS FOR FIRE STATIONS AND PROJECTS ONE THROUGH FIVE ARE APPROVED.
UM, ALONG THOSE LINES, JUST IN FOLLOW UP, UM, I KNOW THAT YOU WE'RE GONNA GO THROUGH THE BOND
[01:20:01]
FUNDING SCENARIOS AT SOME POINT.UM, BUT IT WOULD BE NICE TO KNOW YOUR LAST, UH, TAX RATE CAPACITY ANALYSIS TO SEE, YOU KNOW, WHAT WOULD NO CHANGE IN THE TAX INCREASE, WHAT, UH, CAPACITY WE WOULD HAVE GOING IN, UM, AND TO KNOW, YOU KNOW, WE CAN START SORT OF PUTTING THE BACK OF OUR BRAINS WHERE WE SORT OF EXCEED.
WE KNOW THAT THE TAX RATE IS GONNA GO UP FROM SORT OF ANY POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION.
BUT IT WOULD NOTE, I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT THE, THE WIGGLE ROOM IS.
I THINK THE EASY ANSWER IS NO WIGGLE ROOM THIS TIME.
WE HAVE, UH, SELECTED 1.38 BILLION IN UN ISSSUED DEBT SO FAR.
SO WE EVEN HAVEN'T EVEN STARTED PAYING ON THAT.
WE HAVE ABOUT ONE AND A HALF BILLION OF OUTSTANDING PRINCIPLE, SO THERE'S NOT NOTHING.
ANY, ANY BOND PACKAGE WILL CREATE AN INCREASE.
I THINK GIVE LIKE ROUGH, I THINK GOING FORWARD WE COULD GIVE LIKE ROUGH PICTURE OF WHAT, LIKE A BILLION, BILLION AND A HALF, 2 BILLION OKAY.
CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT, UH, WHAT, HOW YOU PLAN TO GATHER COMMUNITY INPUT? I SEE TOWN HALLS ON HERE, BUT ARE THERE OTHER MEANS ONLINE SURVEYS, POLLING FOCUS GROUPS, OTHER THINGS? ALL, ALL OF THE ABOVE.
UH, WE'RE WORKING WITH OUR INTERNAL, UM, CITY, UM, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE AS WELL AS CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES, PIO TO FULLY DEVELOP WHAT THAT PUBLIC OUTREACH PROGRAM LOOKS LIKE.
AND IT'S GOING TO BE VERY ROBUST, SO.
WE'RE GONNA GET A COMPLETE LIST OF WHAT STAFF IS GOING TO BE RECOMMENDING, CORRECT? OR IS IT GONNA BE FILLED, FILTERED? IT'S GONNA BE A, A SCORED LIST OF THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT, I GUESS IS THE BEST WAY TO, THE LIST WILL BE COMPLETE.
SO THERE'S, RIGHT NOW THERE'S UM, I WANNA SAY, WHAT WAS IT, 9 BILLION IS THERE'S, WE, YEAH, WE HAVE A LIST OF $9 BILLION IN NEED, RIGHT? SO IT'S PROJECTS ONE THROUGH A THOUSAND, RIGHT? AND SO, UM, WHAT WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF NOW IS SCORING THOSE PROJECTS BASED ON A SET OF EVALUATION CRITERIA, WHICH WE'RE GONNA SHARE WITH Y'ALL IN TERMS OF HOW THE SCORING TOOK PLACE AND THINGS LIKE THAT FOR THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION.
BUT WE CAN GIVE YOU THE FULL LIST, THE FULL SCORING OF PROJECTS, ONE THROUGH 300 FOR EACH DEPARTMENT WITH THE SCORING CRITERIA, THE DIFFERENT EVALUATION POINTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
I'D LIKE TO BE GETTING THAT FULL LIST.
I WOULD PREFER FOR IT NOT TO BE FILTERED.
UM, BECAUSE THAT'S TELLING ME SOMEBODY IS SAYING WE NEED THIS.
AND, UM, THAT'S JUST MY PREFERENCE.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE WILL OF THE GROUP IS.
NOW THE ONE SLIGHT CAVEAT ON THAT, RIGHT? IF IS, IF A DEPARTMENT PRESENTS, YOU KNOW, $3 BILLION IN NEED AND THEY'VE ONLY HAD HISTORIC SPENDING OF A, OF A COUPLE HUNDRED MILLION A YEAR OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, WE'RE NOT GONNA SCORE ALL 300 PROJECTS.
WE'LL SCORE TILL WE GET TO WHERE WE THINK AND THEN WE'LL WE WILL INCLUDE THE ENTIRE LIST.
BUT SOME OF THEM MIGHT NOT BE FULLY EVALUATED AND FULLY SCORED.
'CAUSE IT'S, YOU KNOW, SO FAR DOWN THE LIST THAT THE LIKELIHOOD OF FUNDING IS PRETTY SLIM.
AND LIKE SOMETIMES IT'S IMPO, IT'S LIKE, LIKE SPEED BUMP AT THIS STREET.
LIKE YOU'RE, THE LIST IS THAT WE GOT LAST TIME WAS, YOU KNOW, 500 EXCEL SHEETS OF WORDS THAT WERE VERY HARD TO DECIPHER.
SO IT'S NOT LIKE THEY'RE NICELY NARRATED PROJECTS, JUST FROM MY EXPERIENCE.
SO IT IS USEFUL, USEFUL WHEN THEY ARE
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING ON OUR SIDE AT THIS TIME IS MAKING SURE YOU'RE NOT GETTING A 500 EXCEL SPREADSHEET THING.
SOMETHING THAT ACTUALLY MAKES SENSE AND SOMEONE CAN READ THAT'S NOT IN THAT DEPARTMENT.
SO THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON, IS FIGURING OUT HOW TO BEST PRESENT THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT SO IT MAKES SENSE TO Y'ALL.
SO YOU KNOW, WHAT THIS PROJECT IS AND, AND ALL THE OTHER RELEVANT CRITERIA THAT YOU NEED TO HAVE A LOOK AT IT.
I GUESS, I'M SORRY, THE ANGLE THAT I'M COMING FROM IS, THERE'S SOME AREAS THAT HAVE BEEN MAR HISTORICALLY MARGINALIZED AND CONTINUE TO BE MARGINALIZED JUST BECAUSE IT'LL COST TOO MUCH.
WELL, EACH TIME THEY GET PUSHED DOWN, IT GETS EVEN WORSE FOR THAT AREA.
SO IT'S LIKE, NO, NO, NO, WE NEED TO, AT SOME POINT WE NEED TO SAY SOME ARE HERE, OTHERS ARE HERE, NO ONE SHOULD GO DOWN.
BUT AT SOME POINT THESE GUYS HAVE TO GO UP AND SO, SORRY, HOLD UP.
WE NEED TO LET OTHERS CATCH UP SO THAT WE CAN, SO WE'RE LOOKING AT QUALITY OF LIFE ISSUES, PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUES, THOSE TYPE OF THINGS.
SO, AND I THINK THAT'LL BE GREAT TOO, BECAUSE WHAT WE WILL PRESENT WILL BE THE SCORING CRITERIA AND HOW EACH OF THOSE PROJECTS SCORED.
AND LET'S SAY, UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE CRITERIA WASN'T SCORED THE WAY THAT YOU THINK IT SHOULD BE SCORED, THAT'S A, A DISCUSSION THAT WE'RE MORE THAN HAPPY TO HAVE WITH THE DEPARTMENT AND BE LIKE, HEY, WHY, WHY IS THIS A SIX INSTEAD OF AN EIGHT? OR, YOU KNOW, WHY, WHY IS IT SCORED A CERTAIN WAY BASED ON CERTAIN CRITERIA? AND HAVE THE FOLKS, UM, YOU KNOW, THE STAFF, UH, EXPERTISE EXPLAIN WHY IT WAS SCORED A CERTAIN WAY.
AND IF, UM, YOU KNOW, Y'ALL DON'T AGREE, LET'S HAVE THAT CONVERSATION AND TALK ABOUT THE, THE NEEDS AND, AND EQUITY AND THAT KIND OF THING.
[01:25:02]
I JUST WANTED TO, SO YOU SAID THAT THERE'S NOTHING THAT'S BEING PAID, THERE'S NO DEBT THAT'S BEING PAID OFF THAT'S GONNA, THAT ANYTHING WE DO IS GOING TO RAISE THE TAXES.LIKE LAST TIME IT WAS, WE WERE, SOMETHING WAS CLEANING, LIKE FINISHING UP, AND SO WE WEREN'T, WE HAD A SPACE WE COULD WORK IN THAT WASN'T GOING TO RAISE TAXES.
I, I THINK THE LINE IS NOW, LIKE WE COULD TALK ABOUT LIKE THE FALLING OFF.
I THINK THE MESSAGE IS JUST ANYTHING YOU DO, ANY BOND TAX YOU DO WILL IMPACT TAXES.
AND IT'S, I'M NOT SURE IF IT'S LIKE REALLY A FAIR THING TO SAY.
KEEPING A CA TAX RATE CONSTANT IS REALLY A WAY TO BUILD A PACKAGE OFF OF, I THINK GOING FROM NEEDS AND DOWN FROM THERE MAKES MORE SENSE THAN GOING FROM HOW MUCH CAN WE AFFORD WITHOUT IMPACTING TAX RATE.
AND IN, IN OUR PAST EVALUATIONS THAT YOU MAY BE THINKING OF, WE WERE DOING BOND PROGRAMS ABOUT EVERY SIX YEARS.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE LIST, WE HAD A BIG APPETITE IN THIS COMMUNITY, 16, 18, 20.
AND SO WE JUST KEPT BUILDING THE DEBT WITHOUT HAVING A GROUP IN, IN ENGAGED IN IMPLEMENTING.
SO WE JUST, THE CAPACITY'S KIND OF GONE, WE OKAY.
A LOT OF DISCUSSION, A LOT OF WORK STILL TO COME FORTH, UH, THROUGH THE COM
BUT, BUT AGAIN, THAT'S WHY WE ALSO FEEL IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THE DEPARTMENTS ARE COMING HERE FEBRUARY THROUGH APRIL REALLY TO COME AND EXPLAIN, YOU KNOW, HOW THEY SET UP THAT CRITERIA AND EXPLAIN THAT TO A FULL B TIFF AND KIND OF HEAR THAT FEEDBACK, RIGHT? SO WE CAN, WE CAN HEAR THAT BEFORE REALLY THE WORKING GROUP START.
SO THAT'S WHAT STAFF IS REALLY RECOMMENDING AND WHY.
BUT, UM, WITH THAT, I THINK WE DO HAVE THE ONE LAST SLIDE, JUST KIND OF THE NEXT STEPS.
AND I KNOW THIS HAS KIND OF BEEN A TO TOPIC, UM, FROM THE LAST MEETING, BUT WE DO NEED TO, UM, KIND OF MOVE FORWARD WITH THE VOTE FOR OUR CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR.
WE CAN KIND OF TURN THAT, SO WE CAN TURN THIS MEETING OVER, UM, TO THE CHAIR AND THIS COMMITTEE, UH, STAFF WON'T HAVE TO RUN IT FULL TIME, RIGHT? WE WILL BE HERE AS MORE THE STAFF AUGMENTATION, LIKE WE HAVE DISCUSSED.
UM, WE DID AT THE LAST MEETING TALK ABOUT HAVING, UM, ALSO A VOTE FOR SCHEDULE.
AND UNFORTUNATELY RIGHT NOW THE CLERK'S OFFICE STILL HASN'T, UM, FINALIZED THE CALENDAR.
SO IT'S A CHALLENGE FOR, FOR US, YOU KNOW, UM, WITH THE, ALL THE BOARD'S COMMISSIONS THAT THEY'RE, THEY'RE GOING THROUGH TO TRY TO GET THOSE PUT IN PLACE.
UM, ONCE THEY KNOW THAT, THEN WE CAN KIND OF FIGURE OUT HOW WE'VE KIND OF FALL IN.
BUT AGAIN, AS WE REMINDED EVERYBODY LAST TIME, WE DO HAVE TO BE IN A, IN A, IN A SPACE WHERE WE CAN RECORD THROUGH AT NX, SO OUR A TXN.
BUT THAT'S KIND OF OUR BIG LIMITING CHALLENGE IS WHERE CAN WE FALL IN ONE OF THOSE WINDOWS AND WITHOUT THE, THAT BEING FINALIZED, WE'RE STILL KIND OF PENDING THAT.
SO WITH THAT, UM, I THINK THAT'S EVERYTHING THAT WE HAVE FROM A STAFF BRIEFING ON THE PRESENTATION AND WE CAN, UM, KIND OF MOVE FORWARD WITH THE CLOSING OF, OF THAT.
AND THAT WOULD TAKE US INTO, UM, OUR DISCUSSION AND ACTION
[3. Discussion and action on the selection of a Chair and Vice Chair.]
ITEMS, ITEM NUMBER FOUR.AND, UM, THAT IS OF COURSE THE DISCUSSION AND ACTION ON THE SELECTION OF THE CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR.
I'D JUST LIKE TO MAKE A POINT TO PEOPLE ABOUT ROBERT'S RULES OF ORDER NOMINATIONS.
CAN I ASK ONE MORE QUESTION BEFORE WE GO TO THAT? SO THE, THE UNIVERSE OF WHAT YOU THINK THE PROPOSITIONS MAY BE IS ALREADY, EVEN THOUGH YOU DON'T HAVE THE STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS YET, THE SORT OF BUCKETS THAT THEY ARE COMING IN FROM IS RELATIVELY ESTABLISHED, RIGHT? THE BUCKETS THAT THEY'RE COMING IN FROM, WE'RE STARTING TO UNDERSTAND THAT RIGHT NOW.
THEY'RE THE, THE TOP LEVEL ITEM OF LIKE TRANSPORTATION OR WHAT? YOU HAVE THAT LIST, SO, OKAY.
YEAH, WE WE'RE, YES, WE HAVE THOSE RIGHT NOW.
AND I THINK IT WAS MENTIONED, WE, WE KNOW RIGHT NOW THAT IT'S FALLING ROUGHLY BETWEEN EIGHT TO $9 BILLION.
SO I THINK THAT MIGHT BE HELPFUL JUST FOR US TO SEE THE UNIVERSE OF WHAT IS BEING COLLECTED INSTEAD OF WAITING UNTIL THE ITEMS, I MEAN, NOT THE DETAILS, WHICH, SO KNOW YOU SAID BEFORE YOU GOT A LIST OF FIVE, 500 EXCEL SHEETS AND NO, NO, TOO MUCH.
I JUST MEAN LIKE THE TOP, LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE OH, THE PROP.
WHERE THE PROPOSITIONS YOU THINK THE PROPOSITIONS MAY BE.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR US TO JUST START BEING ABLE TO FOCUS IN, IN TERMS OF THE LANGUAGE OR IN TERMS OF THE DOLLAR VALUE? JUST JUST THE LANGUAGE.
LIKE WATERSHED OR WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE THINK THE, JUST SO PEOPLE CAN START TO ORGANIZE THEIR MINDS AROUND WHAT WE'RE EVEN TALKING ABOUT HERE.
COULD WE POSSIBLY JUST GET THAT BY EMAIL AS OPPOSED TO WAITING? YEAH.
AND, UH, REAL QUICK, UH, WE'VE HAD A COUPLE PEOPLE JOIN IN LATE, SO I JUST WANT TO GET THEIR NAMES DOWN FOR THE RECORD.
UH, SO WHEN I CALL YOUR NAME, COULD YOU JUST SAY PRESENT, UH, AND TURN YOUR CAMERAS ON? UM, D WE SMITH PRESENT.
[01:30:01]
YEAH.AND I KNOW THAT IT WAS MENTIONED PER ROBERT'S RULES, WE DON'T NEED A SECOND, BUT, UM, PER ALSO PER ROBERT'S RULES, YOU ARE ALLOWED TO NOMINATE EITHER YOURSELF OR YOU CAN NOMINATE, UM, AN APPOINTEE THAT'S, YOU KNOW, SITTING IN THE ROOM WITH YOU.
UM, AND THEN FROM THAT POINT, UM, SO WE'LL LET'S, WE'RE GONNA START WITH THE CHAIR AND THEN WE'LL MOVE TO THE VICE CHAIR POSITION.
UM, BUT WHAT WE WOULD HAVE KIND OF FROM A PROCESS STANDPOINT IS, OF COURSE WE DO NOMINATIONS FOR THE CHAIR.
UM, THERE'LL BE A MOMENT TO KIND OF EITHER SELF-ADVOCATE OR THE ION PORTION.
UM, THEN THERE'LL BE OPEN DISCUSSION AND THEN WE'LL, WE'LL BE ABLE TO TAKE A, A VOTE OR HAVE A VOTE ON IT.
SO WITH THAT, UM, THIS IS WHERE SOME OF THE WORK STARTS TO BEGIN.
WE CAN TURN IT OVER TO THE, THE TASK FORCE AND, UH, LET THE NOMINATION START.
WHO'S GONNA BE BRAVE AND GO FIRST HERE, JUST AS A POINT OF ORDER.
DO WE NEED, UM, JUST A MAJORITY OF THOSE PRESENT TO VOTE IN FAVOR OF OUR CHAIR? OR IS IT A MAJORITY OF ALL OF THE SPOTS ON THE COMMISSION, ON THE TASK FORCE? UM, SO WE HAVE 22 MEMBERS, WE WOULD NEED THE MAJORITY OF THE VOTE OF THAT.
SO I THINK 12 WOULD BE THE, THE KEY VOTE THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR.
AND IF WE HAVE A NUMBER OF CANDIDATES AND THOSE CANDIDATES SPLIT THE VOTES SO THAT THERE IS NOW 12 FOR ANY INDIVIDUAL, UM, WE DO RANK CHOICE.
WHAT'S THE, WHAT'S THE PROCESS?
YEAH, THAT'S A, I I THINK THAT'S A CONVERSATION.
WE, YEAH, THAT'S A CONVERSATION WE'LL KIND OF HAVE TO KEEP GOING WITH RIGHT HERE.
IT'S LIKE HOW DO WE, HOW DO WE GET TO THAT WHERE WE CAN HOPE? AND I'M NOT SURE IF THAT'S WHERE WE'RE GONNA LAND WITH THIS, BUT, UH, THAT'S WHERE THE CONVERSATIONS NEEDS TO START HAPPENING AND, AND START TRYING TO RULE OUT EXACTLY THOSE THINGS.
YOU CAN DECLINE
WELL, I, I'D LIKE TO NOMINATE MARY HAGER, UM, FOR CHAIR.
UH, MARY HAS AMPLE EXPERIENCE RUNNING MEETINGS LIKE THESE ON BOTH THE CORPORATE AND NONPROFIT SIDE, AND SHE'S A LAWYER, SO SHE'LL KEEP US ON THE STRAIGHT AND NARROW AND MAKE SURE OUR PROCESS DOESN'T, UM, ENTANGLE US.
SO THIS IS WHERE I CAMPAIGN NO, I'M KIDDING.
UM, JUST TO INTRODUCE MYSELF TO THOSE WHO MAYBE DIDN'T MEET ME LAST TIME, MARY HAGER, I HAVE BEEN A PRACTICING ATTORNEY IN AUSTIN SINCE 2001.
MY PRACTICE IS COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE, BUT I ALSO DO A FAIR AMOUNT OF PUBLIC, PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS IN HIGHER EDUCATION AS WELL AS THE GREEN SPACE.
SO I WAS ALSO A STAFF MEMBER AT THE WATERLOO GREENWAY CONSERVANCY AS THE CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER.
RAN BOARD MEETINGS, RAN THE FINANCE COMMITTEE, UNDERSTAND FROM A STAFF PERSPECTIVE THE SUPPORT REQUIRED FOR THE BOARD AND FROM A BOARD WHAT THE STAFF NEEDS, WHICH I THINK IS HELPFUL.
UM, NUMBER ONE CRITERIA AS A LISTENER.
AND, UM, I THINK MY JOB IS TO HELP US GET FROM POINT A TO POINT B, WHICH AFTER OUR DISCUSSION TODAY IS, IS GONNA BE TRICKY GIVEN THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF, UM, DIFFERENT VIEWPOINTS.
AND, UH, I THINK, UM, I COME FROM A BACKGROUND OF LISTENING TO THOSE VIEWPOINTS AND HELPING US KEEP CHARGE AND MARCHING FORWARD, COLLABORATING HOPEFULLY TO GET A PRODUCT WE'RE ALL REALLY PROUD OF, TO RECOMMEND TO COUNCIL.
UM, I'D LIKE TO NOMINATE MYSELF, NICOLE CONLEY FOR CHAIR, UM, UH, TO PROVIDE, UM, AN OPTION FOR THE, MY COLLEAGUES TO CONSIDER.
I WORKED IN SCHOOL FINANCE FOR A LOT, A NUMBER OF YEARS.
I WAS APPOINTED BY THE SPEAKER, FORMER SPEAKER JOE STRAUSS TO READ, UM, REVAMPED SCHOOL FINANCES.
AND SO I WAS, UM, PART OF THE TEAM THAT SHEPHERDED IN HB THREE AS WELL AS, UM, I ACTUALLY DEVELOPED THE FIRST FMP AND ADVANCED THE FIRST BILLION DOLLAR BOND ELECTION TO REALLY GO THROUGH CENTRAL TEXAS.
AND I AM ENORMOUSLY, UM, INTRINSICALLY TIED IN WITH THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY, THE BROAD AUSTIN COMMUNITY, HAVING SERVED 130 SCHOOLS AND CAMPUSES ACROSS THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY.
I THINK I'VE PROBABLY MET WITH ALMOST EVERY CIVIC GROUP AT SOME POINT, UM, TO REALLY UNDERSTAND AND ASCERTAIN THOSE NEEDS.
UM, BUT CERTAINLY, UM, MY BACKGROUND IN TERMS OF FINANCE AND UNDERSTANDING DEBT BONDING CAPACITY AND IMPLEMENTING BOND PROGRAMS AS WELL AS DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING THEM.
I'VE SERVED ON BOTH NONPROFIT AS WELL AS PROFIT BOARDS.
UM, I JUST FINISHED UP MY VICE CHAIRMANSHIP AT THE AUSTIN GREATER AUSTIN CHAMBER.
SO I THINK FROM A TECHNICAL PERSPECTIVE, I CAN CERTAINLY OFFER, UM, SIMILAR SUPPORT, UM, AS MS MY COLLEAGUE, MS. HAGER.
AND I DON'T, YOU KNOW, NOT TO UNDERMINE HER CANDIDACY, UM, BUT CERTAINLY TO PRESENT AN OPTION FOR THE COMMITTEE TO CONSIDER.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO NOMINATE NOT MYSELF AND WITH ALL DUE RESPECT TO THESE LOVELY WOMEN WHO I, UM,
[01:35:01]
I WOULD LIKE TO NOMINATE, UM, GARY MERRITT.GARY IS UNFORTUNATELY NOT HERE.
UM, HE IS OUT OF THE COUNTRY, PERHAPS IN AN AFRICAN COUNTRY.
IS THAT RIGHT? YEAH, WITHOUT INTERNET OR CELL PHONE, WHICH WE PROBABLY WOULD ALL LOVE TO BE IN HIS POSITION.
SO, UM, I HAVE WORKED WITH GARY THROUGH AUSTIN OUTSIDE AND BEEN AND BEEN VERY IMPRESSED.
HE'S CURRENTLY THE CEO OF THE GREAT SPRINGS PROJECT.
UM, I THINK TO, TO DO HIM A THE JUST SERVICE, I WOULD LIKE TO JUST READ PART OF HIS BIO THAT THAT'S ON THAT, UM, WEBSITE, SO I DON'T GET ANYTHING WRONG.
UM, HE'S A FORMER AL COUNTY JUDGE, A AL COUNTY, UH, ATTORNEY AND A CORPORATE COUNSEL.
HIS LEGAL EXPERIENCE INCLUDES REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS, REAL ESTATE, FINANCE, WATER RIGHTS, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, AND CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS.
HE'S BOARD CERTIFIED IN FARM AND RANCH REAL ESTATE LAW IS A LIFE FELLOW OF THE TEXAS BAR FOUNDATION AND HOLDS DEGREES FROM RICE UNIVERSITY AND THE UT SCHOOL OF LAW AFTER A STINT AS A CORPORATE AND REAL ESTATE ATTORNEY IN HOUSTON.
AND TEAM COUNSEL FOR THE HOUSTON ROCKETS SOUNDS KINDA INTERESTING.
UM, GARY RETURNED TO THE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY TO PRACTICE LAW AND ENGAGE IN PUBLIC SERVICE IN HIS RURAL HOMETOWN OF LAKEY.
UM, GARY SERVED AS BOARD CHAIRMAN FOR THE HILL COUNTRY ALLIANCE, THE MIDDLE RIO GRANDE DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL AND THE SOUTHWEST AREA REGIONAL TRANSIT DISTRICT.
UM, PRIOR TO JOINING THE GREAT SPRINGS PROJECT, GARY SERVED AS GENERAL COUNSEL AND LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR OF THE TEXAS ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES, WHICH REPRESENTS ALL 254 COUNTIES IN TEXAS WITH OVER 2,500 ELECTED OFFICIALS.
UM, HE'S AN AVID RIVER GUIDE AND MOUNTAIN CLIMBER.
HE CARES DEEPLY ABOUT TEXAS AND THE HILL COUNTRY, UM, AND CONSERVING OUR NATURAL RESOURCES FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.
HE HAS TWO CHILDREN, LUKE AND SARAH.
SO, UM, UH, QUICK PROCEDURAL QUESTION, DAVE, MAYBE YOU KNOW THIS.
DON'T WE MAKE A NOMINATION? WE HAVE TO VOTE ON THAT NOMINATION.
NO, IT'S, AND THEN WE MOVE TO ANOTHER NOMINATION.
NO, WHEN SOMEBODY MOVES TO CLOSE NOMINATIONS, AND THAT CAN BE SECONDED AND THEN WE MOVE ON TO VOTING.
BUT WE HAVEN'T DECIDED ABOUT WHETHER DOING A SECRET BALLOT OR HAND RAISING OR WHAT.
I THINK A GREAT, SO IN PREVIOUS, IT'S JUST BEEN SORT OF AN OPEN DISCUSSION, RIGHT? NO SECRET BALLOTS, JUST KIND OF THE OPEN VOTE.
BUT AGAIN, THIS COMMITTEE ALSO HAS 22 MEMBERS, WHICH IS QUITE A BIT LARGER THAN SOME OF THE PREVIOUS ONES, SO THERE ARE MORE NOMINATIONS IN THIS PROCESS, SO MORE TO CONSIDER.
UM, AS FAR AS LIKE HOW WE WANT TO YOUR, YOUR CONVERSATIONS ON HOW YOU NARROW IT DOWN.
SO IT SOUNDS LIKE RIGHT NOW WE HAVE THREE NOMINATIONS.
UM, NOT SURE IF THAT'S IT FROM THE TASK FORCE OR IF THERE'S ANYBODY ELSE THAT STILL WAITING TO I'LL, I'LL MOVE THAT NOMINATIONS BE CLOSED SECOND.
AND YOU CAN SAY, DOES ANYBODY OBJECT? DOES ANYBODY OBJECT? YES.
SO RIGHT NOW WE HAVE THREE NOMINATIONS, UM, AND THEN WE CAN START, UH, JUST WITH OPEN VOTES AGAIN.
UH, FROM A VOTING PERSPECTIVE, FROM WHAT WE UNDERSTAND, WE DO HAVE TO HAVE A QUORUM THAT VOTES TO APPROVE THIS POSITION.
SO, UM, THAT WOULD MEAN 12, UM, YAYS.
UM, AND TO, TO KIND OF GET THERE SO WE CAN START, UM, WITH THE FIRST NOMINEE.
UH, MARY HAGER, YOU WE'RE JUST VOTING RIGHT NOW.
OH, I WAS GONNA ASK, SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE DOING THE VOTE.
I'M, I'M NOT SURE IF WE CAN SEE YOU ONLINE.
CAN YOU, I I I JUST WANTED, IF, IF IT'D BE POSSIBLE TO HEAR A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT, UM, SINCE THE PUBLIC INPUT PROCESS IS GONNA, IS USUALLY THE TOUGHEST PART, IF YOU COULD MAYBE GIVE ME A SENTENCE ON IF YOU HAVE EXPERIENCE DOING THAT KIND OF THING AND WHAT, HOW YOU JUST HOW IN TERMS, ESPECIALLY IN TERMS OF WORKING WITH THE CITY, WHO WILL BE RUNNING IT? I GUESS I'LL START.
UM, MY EXPERIENCE WITH THAT WOULD BE THE WATERLOO GREENWAY CONSERVANCY.
WE HAD EXTENSIVE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ON WHAT THE PUBLIC WANTED TO SEE IN THE PARKS THAT WERE BEING DEVELOPED.
AND, UM, SO I, I WAS IN CHARGE OF THE OPERATIONS, AND SO MAKING SURE OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MANAGER, YOU KNOW, DID ADEQUATE, DIDN'T REACH OUT TO THE, YOU KNOW, AS FAR AND WIDE AS HE COULD POSSIBLY GET.
UM, SO YEAH, THAT'S MY EXPERIENCE.
UM, I WOULD HAVE TO SAY THAT I'VE HAD SUBSTANTIAL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EXPERIENCE HAVING SORT OF PASSIVE FIRST BILLION DOLLAR BOND FOR THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
I'VE WORKED FOR 12 YEARS AS A CFO.
EVERYTHING WE DO AS THE SCHOOL DISTRICT IS PUBLICLY, UM, DISCUSSED.
AND, AND, YOU KNOW, WE ALWAYS SORT OF GO TO OUR COMMUNITIES TO SORT
[01:40:01]
OF GET ASCERTAINED THE NEEDS AND RESPONSE, YOU KNOW, OUR RESPONSIVENESS TO, TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE SERVING THE NEEDS OF OUR COMMUNITIES AND FAMILIES.I'VE BEEN WORKING IN SCHOOL FINANCE FOR NEARLY 30 YEARS, STARTING OUT IN NEW YORK CITY, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, DC PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
WE HAD EXTENSIVE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENTS AROUND THE BUDGET DEFICITS AND CRISIS.
AND THAT HAS BEEN MY, MY ENTIRE LIFE, MY CLAIM OF FAME OF ALL OF MY 30 YEARS IN WORKING IN SCHOOL FINANCE.
IT'S ALWAYS A, UH, DECISIONS THAT ARE VERY MUCH STEEPED IN COMMUNITY BASED DECISIONS.
I KNOW HOW TO BALANCE OUT THE COMMUNITY NEEDS.
I KNOW WHERE THE COMMUNITY HAS BEEN HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED AND WHERE THOSE PAIN POINTS ARE.
UM, I ALSO KNOW HOW TO COALESCE AROUND SORT OF BALANCING OUT IDEAS.
UM, I THINK THAT I'M A, AS A MOM, AS SOMEONE THAT LIVES IN THE COMMUNITY, PLAYS TAXES IN THE COMMUNITIES, UM, I DO UNDERSTAND THE FINANCIAL IMPACT.
I HAVE MET WITH SEVERAL TAXPAYERS WHO CAN'T AFFORD TO PAY THEIR PROPERTY TAX BILLS, UNLIKE PROBABLY MANY OF MY COLLEAGUES WHO, UM, EVEN WHO EVEN IMPLEMENT, UM, MAJOR PROGRAMS. I'VE WORKED WITH THE CITY.
UM, I REPRESENT THE CITY ON VARIOUS BOARDS.
AND SO, UM, I DO KNOW THE VARIOUS ENTITIES, HOW THEY WORK, HOW THEY HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER TO COLLABORATE, TO ORDER TO IMPLEMENT PROJECTS SUCCESSFULLY.
I KNOW HOW TO IMPLEMENT PROJECTS, BUT I ALSO KNOW HOW TO BALANCE OUT THE FINANCE CONSIDERATIONS AS WELL AS THE COMMUNITY PRIORITIZATION OF NEEDS.
AND I'VE BEEN IN OUR COMMUNITIES, I WAS IN OUR SCHOOLS EVERY DAY WHEN I WAS IN THIS DISTRICT, AND SO I, I FEEL LIKE I HAVE A GOOD SENSE AS TO, UM, THE COMMUNITIES, THE NEEDS, THE, THE, THE VOCALISTS SPOKESPERSONS FROM THOSE COMMUNITIES, THOSE THAT HAVE BEEN HISTORICALLY MARGINALIZED, THOSE WHO HAVE HAD MORE VOICE THAN THEY PROBABLY SHOULD IN, IN THE PROCESSES.
UM, BUT CERTAINLY I WILL YIELD TO THE, TO THE, THE NEEDS AND SORT OF THE WANTS OF THIS COMMIT COMMISSION.
BUT CERTAINLY I FEEL LIKE I CAN SERVE YOU WELL.
WELL, CLEARLY I'M NOT GARY, BUT I WILL TRY TO
UM, I THINK, YOU KNOW, GIVEN THE LIST OF EXPERIENCE, AND I FEEL CERTAIN THAT HE'S HAD PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE, I WILL SAY AS THE CEO OF THE GREAT SPRINGS PROJECT, WHICH IS THE, THE TRAIL TO CONNECT THE, THE CAPITAL TO THE ALAMO, BASICALLY.
UM, I KNOW, UM, I'VE SEEN THEM DOING REALLY GREAT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WITH THAT PROJECT, AND I KNOW THAT THEY'RE DEALING WITH, YOU KNOW, MULTIPLE LANDOWNERS AND ALONG THE WAY AND MULTIPLE JURISDICTIONS, YOU KNOW, IT'S DIFFERENT CITIES, DIFFERENT COUNTIES, UM, AND DIFFERENT POPULATIONS ALONG THE WAY.
SO, UM, I THINK THAT'S ABOUT ALL I COULD SPEAK TO.
AND I CAN SHARE IN GARY'S WORK TOO.
HE'S DONE A LOT OF WORK WITHIN COMMUNITY, WITHIN THOSE SPECIFIED PROJECTS AND REALLY HARNESSING SOME OF THEIR, YOU KNOW, NEEDS AND WANTS.
AND SO I KNOW THAT HE'S BEEN ON THE PATH TOWARDS REALLY ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY THROUGH HIS VARIOUS PROFESSIONAL AND ENDEAR ENDEAVORS.
CAN I, UH, WE HAVE THREE, UH, CANDIDATES.
I WONDER IF A GOOD PROCESS MIGHT BE WE DO A FIRST BALLOT AND THEN, UM, THE TOP TWO VOTE GETTERS.
I, I HAVE NO IDEA HOW THIS IS GONNA GO, BUT IF THERE ARE TWO TOP VOTE GETTERS, THEN WE HAVE A SECOND BALLOT BASED ON THOSE TWO.
WOULD THAT MAKE SENSE OR, OKAY.
HOW DO WE PROCEED WITH MOVING FORWARD WITH THAT VOTE? I MEAN, CAN I ALSO, UH, NOMINATE DAVE TO MANAGE THE ELECTION
UM, BUT FROM THAT STANDPOINT, RIGHT? IT'S TYPICALLY, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE WE ARE SUCH A LARGE GROUP, USUALLY WE HAVE A MUCH FROM SMALLER GROUP.
AND THERE'S, YOU KNOW, AS YOU WORK WITH STAFF, A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T NECESSARILY WANT THAT TASK OR THAT ORDER, RIGHT? THERE'S A LOT OF WORK THAT'S GONNA COME IN THIS, A LOT OF COORDINATION, COMMUNICATION, BUT WE'RE IN A UNIQUE SITUATION IN THIS SCENARIO WHERE WE HAVE A MUCH LARGER, UM, TASK FORCE.
SO, UM, I THINK THAT, UH, WE CAN JUST GO THROUGH, WE CAN HAVE THE MOST VOTES FOR EACH ONE HAND RAISED, RIGHT? AND WE CAN JUST TALLY THE VOTES FOR EACH ONE.
I'M NOT SURE EXACTLY HOW WE, WE NARROW THIS DOWN.
WE DON'T HAVE ANYBODY RIGHT NOW THAT WANTS TO STEP DOWN FROM THIS NOMINATION, RIGHT? SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO NARROW THIS DOWN TO FROM THREE TO TWO TO BEGIN WITH.
YEAH, I THINK WE JUST GOT A PROPOSAL TO DO THAT, RIGHT? YEP.
WE'LL VOTE, THEN WE'LL VOTE AGAIN.
SO, UH, WE CAN START AGAIN WHERE WE WERE AT.
AND THEN SAMUEL, ARE YOU CATCHING THE ONES ONLINE? I SEE 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 HANDS RAISED.
AND THEN LET'S MOVE SECOND TO WITH NICOLE.
IF YOU COULD PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND FOR OR VOTE FOR NICOLE.
AND THEN THE LAST APPOINTEE'S NAME WAS, OR NOMINATION WAS
[01:45:01]
GARY.WE HAVE FIVE, RIGHT? SO PROCESS AMMO NATION, THAT PUTS GARY AND MARY INTO THE SECOND RUNNING.
SO WE CAN START WITH MARY, UH, FOR THIS FIRST VOTE, SO PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND FOR A YES, A YAY FOR 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.
THAT'S QUORUM, BUT SECOND FOR, FOR GARY, JUST TO MAKE IT OFFICIAL.
MARY HAGAR, CONGRATULATIONS HER.
UM, SO CAN WE GET A MOTION FOR THE CHAIR OR ARE WE ALL VOTED? IS WE GONNA CONSIDER THAT? OKAY.
WE'RE GONNA PROVE IT THAT WAY.
OKAY, SO SECOND NOW WOULD BE WHO'S GONNA BE WORKING OF COURSE WITH THE CHAIR, RIGHT? SO WE HAVE, UM, THE VICE CHAIR POSITION.
UM, LET'S GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS AGAIN.
SO NOMINATIONS FOR THE VICE CHAIR.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO NOMINATE MYSELF, UM, FOR VICE CHAIR.
UM, I HELPED FACILITATE THE BOND COMMITTEE FOR THE A ISD BOND.
THAT AND HELPED FACILITATE AND DISCUSS THE PRIORITIZATION FOR THE BOND THAT PASSED LAST NOVEMBER.
SO I HAVE A LOT OF KNOWLEDGE IN UNDERSTANDING HOW TO PRIORITIZE AND THINKING ABOUT, UM, THAT I ALSO PROFESSIONALLY WORK IN COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
I WORK, I HAVE DONE THAT FOR THE LAST 13 YEARS.
UM, I KNOW A LOT ABOUT, UM, POP-UP MEETINGS, GOING WHERE PEOPLE ARE.
I'M A LAWYER BY EDUCATION, SO I DO UNDERSTAND SOME OF THE NITTY GRITTY AND SOME OF THAT I HAVE SERVED ON A CITY BOARDS.
AND THEN MY FREE TIME, I ALSO DO GRANT WRITING, SO I UNDERSTAND MONEY AND FUNDING AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
SO, UM, I THINK THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
UM, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, UM, MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES, I THINK SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE ARE ALREADY TALKING ABOUT ARE SUPER IMPORTANT TO ME AS WELL.
I, UH, I SHOW UP AS A BLACK WOMAN OBVIOUSLY.
UM, AND SO I THINK THAT'S ALSO A KEY COMPONENT.
SO I ALSO THINK THAT IT'S IMPORTANT.
ONE THING THAT I REALLY DO WELL, I'LL JUST SAY I'M REALLY GOOD AT LEADING FROM BEHIND, SO I KNOW HOW TO SUPPORT, UM, THE CHAIR, UM, AND NOT TRY TO TAKE OVER.
I THINK THAT'S ACTUALLY REALLY IMPORTANT IN A VICE CHAIR.
AND SO I THINK, UM, I HAVE A LOT OF EXPERIENCE IN SUPPORTING LEADERS IN EVERYTHING THAT I'VE, I'VE DONE.
AND SO I THINK THAT'S, UH, SUPER IMPORTANT WHEN TALKING ABOUT THE VICE CHAIR AND BEING ALSO ABLE TO STEP UP IF I HAVE TO, HOPEFULLY NOT MARY, SHOW UP TO EVERYTHING
AND JUST FOR OFFICIAL PURPOSES, CAN YOU STATE YOUR FULL NAME? OH, FRANCIS LEE JORDAN.
I'D LIKE TO NOW MAKE GARY MERRIT FOR VICE CHAIR AS WELL.
I THINK I FAILED TO MENTION, UM, THAT GARY WAS ALSO PART OF THE TRAVIS COUNTY BOND, UM, CITIZEN ADVISORY TASK FORCE, WHATEVER THE EXACT NAME WAS OF LAST YEAR.
SO HE DOES HAVE A LOT OF EXPERIENCE WITH A, WITH A BOND, UM, TASK FORCE.
I WOULD NOMINATE NICOLE IF SHE WAS INTERESTED IN, IN THAT.
I WOULD THINK IT WOULD BE A GREAT PARTNERSHIP.
IF SHE'S WILLING, I WOULD, I KNOW WE'RE NOT, YOU DON'T NEED A SECOND NOMINATION, BUT I WOULD ALSO, UM, OR VOICE MY SUPPORT FOR NICOLE.
IT SOUNDS LIKE GIVEN YOUR VAST EXPERIENCE IN WORKING IN BONDS AND FINANCE, THAT DOES SEEM LIKE A INCREDIBLE, UH, COMPLIMENT, UH, TO MARY'S EXPERTISE.
UM, AND SO I THINK THAT WOULD BE A DREAM TEAM THERE.
MAKE SURE YOU YEAH, I, I WOULD RATHER CHAIR A WORKING GROUP.
ALRIGHT, I, I'LL MOVE NOMINATIONS BE CLOSED.
YOU GUYS LIKE GROUPS OF THREES HERE FOR THE MOST
UH, SO WE'LL LET'S GO THROUGH THIS.
SO SAY, DOES ANYBODY OBJECT? OH YEAH.
SO NOW LET'S, UH, LET'S GO THROUGH THIS.
SO, UM, LET'S START WITH FRANCIS.
[01:50:01]
HAND FOR YES.UM, SECOND NOMINATION WAS GARY.
ANY FOR GARY? PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND.
AND THEN FINAL, UH, NOMINATION WAS NICOLE.
SO OUR CHAIR, OH, LEMME PUT TWO AGAIN.
OKAY, SO WE'RE GOING ROUND TWO.
SO CAN WE, SORRY, CAN WE PAUSE? DO YOU, DO YOU WANNA BE VICE CHAIR
SO FROM THIS STANDPOINT THEN WE'LL REDO THEIR HANDS.
UH, FIRST NOMINATION NOW IS FRANCIS, LET'S START ONLINE.
SO 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.
AND THEN FOR THE SECOND NOMINATION, IT WAS NICOLE.
WHAT, THE QUESTION EARLIER WAS, IS THE MAJORITY OF FORUM OR IS THE MAJORITY OF IT HERE? BECAUSE THAT'S NOT FOUR.
DO WE HAVE POSTED BYLAWS? WE DO NOT HAVE POSTED BYLAWS FOR THE TASK FORCE BECAUSE, OKAY.
'CAUSE THIS QUESTION, I MEAN THE DIFFERENT BYLAWS SAY DIFFERENT THINGS FOR COMMISSION USE, BUT MAJORITY ON ON CITY, ON CITY BOARDS.
IT'S THE, IT'S THE QUORUM OF THE NUMBER OF MEMBERS.
A NUMBER, NOT THE NUMBER OF MEMBERS, BUT THE NUMBER OF POSITIONS.
BUT SOME VOTES DON'T REQUIRE A QUORUM.
THEY REQUIRE A MAJORITY OF PRESENT VOTE.
BUT THEY MIGHT NOT REQUIRE THE THRESHOLD FOR, UM, PREVAILING ON A VOTE IS NOT NECESSARILY A QUORUM FOR ALL.
SO BARBARA WAS JUST CLARIFYING, WE NEED A QUORUM OF MEMBERS.
SO OF THE 22, WE WOULD NEED TO COME TO CONSENSUS ON THE 20.
HEY, I'M, I'M NOT, I'VE GOT A MAJORITY.
CAN WE? YES, YOU DO WANT THE MAJORITY OF THE COMMISSION, BUT I THINK WE HAVE TO VOTE TO HAVE 12.
WE HAVE TO VOTE TO MAKE IT OFFICIAL.
BUT SO ARE YOU STEPPING DOWN THEN NICOLE? OR, UH, I MEAN I'M NOT STEPPING DOWN.
SHE HAS THE MAJORITY OF THE VOTES AND SO WOULDN'T THAT PER LOOK? Y'ALL FIGURE IT OUT.
WE HAVE STILL HAVE TO VOTE ON AS A I NEVER TURNED DOWN.
I MEAN, I NEVER BACK AWAY FROM, UH, A CONTEST.
WELL, I THINK WE'RE IN, I THINK WE'RE IN A SITUATION WHERE WE HAVE TO VOTE.
CAN WE, CAN SOMEONE NOMINATE FRANCIS AS CHAIR AND WE VOTE ON THAT? OR WE VICE VOTE? VICE CHAIR.
WELL, YOU STILL NEED 12, BUT WE NEED 12 VOTES FOR THE NOMINATION.
SO WE JUST NEED TO REVO REVO FEW VOTE I RENOMINATE FRANCIS AS VICE CHAIR.
YEAH, I MEAN, SO REALLY ESSENTIALLY WHAT WE HAVE TO DO IS WE JUST HAVE TO GET TO THE CONSENSUS OF 12 COMING TO THE VICE CHAIR.
SO YEAH, WE CAN JUST BASICALLY, WE CAN GO THROUGH ANOTHER PORTION IF THERE'S OTHER QUESTIONS FROM A DISCUSSION STANDPOINT, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR THIS, FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO ADVOCATE IF THERE'S OTHER QUESTIONS FROM LIKE, TO WHAT WE DID EARLIER TO HELP SEPARATE THE CANDIDATES, UM, MAYBE THAT'S, THAT'S A PROCESS.
UM, MY EXPERIENCE AND THE THINGS THAT I'LL BRING WOULD BE USEFUL REGARDLESS OF WHETHER I'M VICE CHAIR OR NOT.
BUT I DO THINK THERE IS SOMETHING TO BE SAID ABOUT THE BOND KNOWLEDGE THAT NICOLE HAS.
SO I FEEL LIKE IF WE REVOTE, I'M NOT SAYING THAT YOU ALL DON'T HAVE TO VOTE FOR ME, BUT I THINK I'M ALL THE THINGS THAT I'M HAVE EXPERIENCED, I ALSO CAN DO THOSE NOT AS VICE CHAIR.
BUT I DO THINK AS WE GET TO THE NITTY GRITTY OF ACTUALLY VOTING FOR THE BOND AND UNDERSTANDING THE MONEY AND THE PRIORITIZATION, I DO THINK THAT YOUR EXPERTISE ACTUALLY WOULD BE PROBABLY REALLY USEFUL.
SO I'LL JUST GET ON YOU ALL'S NERVES IN THESE MEETINGS.
SO IF I HAD TO, IF I, IF YOU ASK ME MY OPINION ABOUT OVERALL WHAT I THINK IS THE MOST IMPORTANT, SO THAT'S, IF I MAY, I WOULD HOPE THAT WHOEVER IS CHEERING AND VICE CHAIR IS NOT IMPOSING THEIR, UM, THEIR VIEW,
[01:55:01]
THEIR WILL ON THE GROUP.RIGHT? IT'S ABOUT HEARING THE GROUP.
AND I SAY THIS, I'M, I'M CHAIRING A COMMISSION RIGHT NOW.
LIKE YOU HEAR THE GROUP, WHAT DO WE WANT TO BRING ONTO AN AGENDA? HOW DO WE WANNA DO OUR WORK? RIGHT? AND THEN MAKE SURE THE AGENDA AND THE SCHEDULE REFLECTS THAT AND THEN RUN THE MEETINGS EFFICIENTLY.
SO WHOEVER IT IS, I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S THE JOB.
NOT TO, YOU KNOW, Y'ALL ARE BRINGING DIFFERENT THINGS, RIGHT? YOU GOT BOND EXPERTISE AND I SEE YOU HAVE A LOT OF COMMUNITY KIND OF ENGAGEMENT SORT OF EXPERTISE, WHICH I LIKE.
HOPEFULLY IT'S THE GROUP THAT IS REALLY DECIDING.
I'M GONNA VOTE ONE MORE ROUND.
SO A RAISE OF HANDS FOR FRANCIS.
YOU COULDN'T TELL IF CHARLES WAS RAISING OR JUST CHECKING HIS POCKET.
CHECKING HIS 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11.
1 3, 1 MORE PERSON WILLING TO CHANGE VOTE THE SPIRIT OF DEMOCRATIC CONSENSUS.
I'M WELL, I'M JUST, I'M JUST LOOKING AROUND THE ROOM LIKE, HAS ANYBODY ELSE CHANGED? DID GET BOTH.
I'M JUST SAYING, IS ANYBODY ELSE CHANGING THEIR VOTE THAT DIDN'T HAVE THEIR HAND UP? DID YOU GET BOTH ONLINE? YES.
SO WE HAD TWO ONLINE AND AROUND THE ROOM.
AND NOW LET'S GO AROUND THE ROOM AGAIN, BUT THAT WAS 12.
AND FOR NICOLE JUST TO HAVE THE COUNT OFFICIAL.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THE COUNT FOR ME.
SO FROM THAT STANDPOINT, UM, FRANCIS WAS A NOMINATION.
SO WE DO HAVE, UM, MARY AS CHAIR, FRANCIS AS VICE CHAIR.
GET TO BE DOING A LOT OF, UH, WORK WITH, UH, CITY STAFF.
SO WE, WE LOOK FORWARD TO THAT.
UM, AND WITH THAT, I WILL ACTUALLY TURN THE MEETING OVER TO OUR NEW CHAIR TO ADJOURN TO, TO, TO UH, DISCUSS.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, BUT YES, MA'AM TO, TO ADJOURN.UH, ANYTHING, ANY OPEN BUSINESS, ANYBODY WANNA SAY BEFORE WE, WE DO NOT HAVE A MEETING IN DECEMBER, IS THAT CORRECT? THAT LOOK LIKE THE SCHEDULE DID NOT HAVE A MEETING IN DECEMBER.
STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION IS RIGHT.
SO OUR NEXT MEETING WOULD, WOULD FALL LIKE DECEMBER 16TH, RIGHT? AS EVERYBODY'S TRYING TO KIND OF TAKE OFF FOR HOLIDAY BREAK.
SO WE FEEL LIKE IT WOULD BE LIKE CONSISTENT WITH THE OTHER BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.
JUST CANCEL THAT WHEN GIVE US A CHANCE TO KIND OF COME BACK AND PUT OUR, OUR MINDS TOGETHER.
UM, WHAT WE WOULD PROPOSE THOUGH IS THAT WE MEET THAT SECOND MONDAY IN JANUARY, BECAUSE RIGHT NOW THAT'S KIND OF LOOKING LIKE WHERE WE COULD KIND OF PENCIL THINGS OUT.
SO IT WOULD BE STILL HERE ONE TO THREE O'CLOCK FOR THE SECOND MONDAY.
AND I DON'T HAVE THE DATE OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
DO WE WANT TO DISCUSS HAVING A MEETING IN DECEMBER? I DO.
I FEEL LIKE THERE'S A LOT OF WORK TO BE DONE AND A LITTLE BIT OF URGENCY.
SO I WOULD BE INTERESTED IN THE GROUP'S THOUGHT ON DECEMBER 16TH.
WE CANNOT ACT ON ANYTHING BECAUSE IT'S, IF IT'S NOT POSTED ON THE AGENDA, WE AREN'T PROHIBITED FROM TAKING ANY ACTION.
SO JUST FYII KNOW, BUT WE CAN STILL LET MENTION A FUTURE ITEM UNLESS IT'S UNDERSTOOD.
WE'RE GONNA GET OURSELVES IN TROUBLE.
THE FIRST MEETING WE HAVE, RIGHT? I MEAN, I THINK WE CAN ALL COME TO AGREE THAT YOU KNOW WHAT OUR NEXT MEETING WOULD BE, BUT NOT NECESSARILY A VOTE, RIGHT? WE'RE JUST AGREEING AS A, A GROUP THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS MAKES SENSE, BUT AGAIN, WE FEEL THAT THERE WOULD BE CHALLENGES OF GETTING A FULL GROUP OR QUORUM IN DECEMBER.
UM, AGAIN, BUT THAT'S CONVERSATION WITH THE CHAIR.
IF WE ARE GONNA MEET THE DEADLINE TO POST FOR THAT MEETING, CAN WE VOTE TO HAVE A MEETING THAT DAY? I MEAN, I, I'M, I'M, I'M TRYING TO BE SENSITIVE TO THE PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING WHETHER WE HAVE A MEETING OR NOT AS CHAIR, YOU DON'T NEED A VOTE TO CALL, SET THE DATE.
I WANTED BE SURE THAT THERE'S ENOUGH PEOPLE HERE FOR ME THAT TO MAKE SENSE.
WHO'S GONNA BE HERE DECEMBER 16TH? WHO'S RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BE HERE? DECEMBER 16TH.
OKAY, SO AN IDEA WHO, WHO ISN'T GONNA BE HERE? WE'RE HAPPY TO HAVE A MEETING ON DECEMBER 16TH THEN I THINK THINK WE SHOULD HAVE A MEETING DECEMBER 16TH.
UM, AND JUST FOR THE AGENDA ITEMS, I, IT WOULD BE NICE TO SEE THOSE, UM, I DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE CALLING THEM.
ANYTHING ELSE WE WANNA DO? DECEMBER 16TH.
DO WE HAVE THE, UM, COULD THERE BE ANY LIGHT DISCUSSION AROUND THE START TIME FOR THIS MEETING?
[02:00:01]
OH YEAH.RIGHT, RIGHT NOW WE ARE LOCKED INTO THIS TIME, SO WE'RE WORKING ON WITH THE CLERK'S OFFICE ON FINDING OTHER OPTIONS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO PRESENT TO Y'ALL.
BUT BECAUSE OF THE FACILITIES REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MEETING, WE HAVE TO HAVE THE CAMERAS AND THE MICROPHONES AND ALL THE OTHER KIND OF STUFF.
UM, AND THE CLERK'S OFFICE IS SETTING THE SCHEDULE FOR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS AND COUNCIL, COUNCIL MEETING DATES HAVE BEEN SET, BUT THE OTHER BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS HAVE NOT.
SO AS A PART OF THAT, UM, WE WILL KNOW PROBABLY IN DEC IN DECEMBER WHEN WE COME TO Y'ALL, UM, SOME AVAILABLE DATES FOR FUTURE MEETINGS.
UM, THE PROBLEM THAT WE HAVE WITH THIS DAY BEING THE THIRD MONDAY IS THERE'S A LOT OF HOLIDAYS IN THE SPRING THAT FALL ON THE THIRD MONDAY.
SO YOU GET, UH, PRESIDENT'S DAY AND I THINK MLK DAY AND A COUPLE OTHERS THAT ARE IN THERE AS WELL.
SO, UM, FOR THE TIME, FOR DECEMBER, WE ARE SET ON THIS DATE AND THIS TIME FROM A SCHEDULING STANDPOINT, MOVING FORWARD IN THE FUTURE, WE CAN LOOK AT DIFFERENT TIMES THAT ARE AVAILABLE.
WE CAN GIVE YOU ALL SOME OPTIONS.
HAVE YOU LOOKED AT THE AUSTIN ENERGY SHEFA ROOM? 'CAUSE THAT IS ALSO, I'M SORRY, THE WHAT? THE SHEFA ROOM AT AUSTIN ENERGY HEADQUARTERS ALSO HAS ALL THOSE CAPABILITIES.
UM, A TXN HAS SAID THEY PREFER NOT, BUT, UM, IT'S A DIFFERENT SET.
IT'S A DIFFERENT SYSTEM, BUT I CAN LOOK INTO IT.
ALL I KNOW IS THAT WE DO GET OUR MEETINGS THERE RECORDED.
I KNOW THAT, BUT WE CAN, WE CAN COME WITH SOME OP SOME MEETING DAY OPTIONS FOR DECEMBER SIX, FOR AFTER DECEMBER 16TH, BUT DECEMBER 16TH WE WILL HAVE TO BE HERE.
SO THE AGENDA WOULD BE THE, THE BUCKETS DISCUSSION.
WITH THAT CAN, CAN, OH, I ALSO HAD A REQUEST FOR AN AGENDA ITEM.
CAN WE AT LEAST HAVE DISCUSSION? DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION FOR CREATING WORKING GROUPS? MAYBE WE DECIDE NOT TO DO THAT, BUT JUST SO WE HAVE THE FREEDOM TO DO THAT IF WE WANT.
OTHER COMMISSIONS HAVE A PROCESS FOR ADDING AGENDA ITEMS IN THE INTERIM BETWEEN MEETINGS.
I FORGET, IT'S SOMETHING LIKE HAVING TWO PEOPLE EMAIL THE CHAIR OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
DO WE HAVE ANYTHING LIKE THAT IN OUR GUIDING DOCUMENTS OR IS THERE ANY, UH, IS THERE ANY PROCESS FOR ADDING STUFF TO THE AGENDA BETWEEN MEETINGS? SO TYPICALLY YOU JUST WORK WITH THE CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR TO SET THAT, AND THEN THEY WOULD WORK WITH CITY STAFF TO HELP FINAL.
WE WOULD WORK TOGETHER TO FINALIZE IT.
I MIGHT ALSO REQUEST, WE HAVE SOME GUIDANCE ON OUR GUIDING DOCUMENTS SO THAT WE UNDERSTAND QUORUM AND MAJORITY IF WE HAVE BYLAWS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UM, FROM WHAT WE UNDERSTAND, YEAH.
THERE'S NO BYLAWS FOR JUST THE, BECAUSE IT, IT'S CREATED, WE'RE DOING A WORK EFFORT AND THEN IT JUST DISSOLVES.
SO WE'RE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN A, A FORMAL BOARD OR COMMISSION.
ANY OTHER ITEMS FOR THE AGENDA IN DECEMBER? HEARING NONE.
YEAH, YOU CAN DO THAT SECOND? YEAH.