[00:00:05]
OFFICIAL QUORUM VIA THE, UH, ONLINE REPRESENTATION.
I'D LIKE TO, CAN YOU HEAR ME? I'M SORRY.
[CALL MEETING TO ORDER]
MEETING TO ORDER.IT IS, UH, WHAT TIME IS IT? UH, GOD, 6 0 1.
CONGRATULATIONS, COMMISSIONERS.
LOOKING OVER THE AGENDA, IF IT WOULD BE THE WILL OF THIS COMMISSION, I'D LIKE TO SEMI RE REDO THIS AGENDA TO MAKE IT A LITTLE, UH, SMOOTHER AND GET THE, UH, GET THE, UH, BUSY STUFF OUT OF THE WAY AND TAKE CARE OF THE EASY STUFF LATER.
UH, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, LET'S SEE.
MOVE AN ITEM NUMBER ONE, LEAVING ITEM NUMBER ONE OF THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES AS IS, BUT BRINGING UP ITEM SIX TO THE NUMBER TWO SPOT, PUTTING ITEM TWO DOWN TO THE THREE SPOT, BRINGING ITEM FIVE UP TO THE NUMBER FOUR, SPOT LOWERING.
ITEM THREE TO THE, UH, NUMBER FIVE SPOT.
ROUNDING OUT THE, UH, AGENDA THAT, UH, BE THE WILL.
IS THAT OKAY? COMMISSIONERS? YES.
I DON'T THINK ANYONE'S, ANYONE'S SIGNED UP TO SPEAK, IS THAT CORRECT? S UH, ONE PERSON ON FOUR.
OH, ON ITEM FOUR TO THE, THE ITEM.
WHAT, WHAT USED TO BE FOR, OKAY, WHAT
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
IS THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES HEARING.ANY DISCUSSION ON THOSE? I MOVE TO APPROVE.
I'M SORRY, MICHAEL, WAS IT? YES.
ANY DISCUSSION ON THIS HEARING? NO DISCUSSION.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, RAISE YOUR HANDS PLEASE.
MOVING ALONG, ITEM NUMBER SIX.
[6. Staff briefing regarding the Equity-Based Preservation Plan by Cara Bertron, Program Manager, Austin Planning Department, and Rocio Peña-Martinez, Preservation Plan Working Group member]
ITEM NUMBER SIX IS THE, UH, I GUESS STAFF BRIEFING ON THE EQUITY BASED PRESERVATION PLAN.WHO, WHO OF STAFF? YEAH, WHO WAS OH, SHE'S JOINED THERE.
IS KARA OWEN, I'M SORRY,
I THINK I'M JOINED HERE BY OCIO PENYA MARTINEZ.
UM, I DUNNO IF SHE'S NOT BEEN LED IN AS A PANELIST, OR SHE JUST HAS NOT JOINED YET.
UM, BUT, UM, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.
I'M HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE EQUITY BASED PRESERVATION PLAN.
UM, SHOULD I SHARE MY SCREEN OR DO Y'ALL, DOES STAFF WANT TO PUT UP THE, THE PRESENTATION STAFF IS A, THERE WE GO.
MY, I'M, I'M HAVING A LOT OF LAG HERE, SO I HOPE IT'S NOT COMING THROUGH TO Y'ALL.
UM, SO THIS IS A FOLLOW UP TO THE BRIEFING THAT I DID IN THE SPRING MM-HMM.
UM, NOW I'M CIRCLING BACK TO, UH, OFFER, OR WELL TO, UM, REPORT ON THE FINAL PLAN, UH, AND TO TALK ABOUT NEXT STEPS.
AND IF YOU WISH TO GIVE YOU AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL REGARDING ADOPTION OF THE PLAN, IT IS HEADED TO COUNCIL NEXT WEEK.
SO IF, IF THIS COMMISSION WOULD LIKE TO, TO MAKE A RECOMMENDATION, THIS IS THE, THIS WOULD BE THE, THE MEETING TO DO IT.
SO, AS YOU MAY REMEMBER, I'M GONNA, UM, SEE, I'M JUST GONNA TEXT WITH YOU.
[00:05:01]
SO, AS YOU MAY RECALL, THE UM, PLANNING PROCESS, UH, WAS REALLY COMMUNITY BASED, SO THAT THE PRESERVATION PLAN WAS DEVELOPED BY A 26 MEMBER COMMUNITY WORKING GROUP APPOINTED BY THE HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION.THEY HEARD FROM 275 OTHER COMMUNITY MEMBERS AS THEY WERE DEVELOPING THE DRAFT PLAN.
AND, UM, I KNOW IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE YOU'VE HEARD THIS, BUT YOU HAVE HEARD IT RELATIVELY RECENTLY.
SO I'M NOT GOING TO GO INTO THE DETAILS, BUT THIS, UH, PRESENTATION IS POSTED AS BACKUP, AND I'M HA HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
SO HERE'S THE VISION FOR THE PLAN.
HISTORIC PRESERVATION IN AUSTIN ACTIVELY ENGAGES COMMUNITIES IN PROTECTING AND SHARING IMPORTANT PLACES AND STORIES.
PRESERVATION USES THE PAST TO CREATE A SHARED SENSE OF BELONGING AND TO SHAPE AN EQUITABLE, INCLUSIVE, SUSTAINABLE, AND ECONOMICALLY VITAL FUTURE FOR ALL.
AND THIS VISION WAS BASED ON A COMMUNITY HERITAGE SURVEY VERY EARLY ON IN THE PLANNING PROCESS.
UM, REALLY COMES FROM THE COMMUNITY, AND I THINK IT'S, IT'S MUCH BIGGER THAN THE PRESERVATION PROGRAM AT THE CITY HAS, UH, A BIGGER ROLE THAN IT'S PLAYED IN THE PAST WITH MORE CONNECTIONS TO OTHER THINGS.
I, I THINK THAT'S REALLY EXCITING.
UM, SO THE PLAN HAS 107 RECOMMENDATIONS ARRAY UNDER 14 GOALS.
WROTE THROUGH ALL THE RECOMMENDATIONS OR EVEN ALL THE GOALS.
I'LL JUST, I'LL PAUSE HERE ONLY TO SAY THESE ARE REALLY BROAD.
UM, I WILL TALK THROUGH THREE THEMES, UM, THAT THE GOALS FALL INTO.
AND IF THE FOLLOWING SLIDES, IF THEY SEEM, UM, FAMILIAR TO YOU, IT'S PROBABLY BECAUSE THEY ARE, BECAUSE WHEN WE DID OUTREACH AROUND THE DRAFT PLAN, WHAT WE HEARD FROM, UH, COMMUNITY MEMBERS WAS THAT, THAT THE GOALS AND THE RECOMMENDATIONS MADE A LOT OF SENSE.
SO WE ADDED SOME, AND WE, WE ADJUSTED SOME, BUT, BUT THERE WEREN'T MAJOR CHANGES BETWEEN THE DRAFT AND THE FINAL PLAN.
SO, THE FIRST FIVE GOALS, UM, THEY ARE UNDER THIS WHAT WE PRESERVE THEME.
AND THE BIG IDEA HERE IS REALLY TO THINK BROADLY ABOUT WHAT WE PRESERVE.
SO TRYING TO, UM, BETTER TELL AUSTIN'S WHOLE AND COMPLEX HISTORY THROUGH OUR, UH, HISTORIC PROPERTIES, WORKING WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND INTERPRETING OUT WHAT, UM, WHY, WHY WE ARE PRESERVING PROPERTIES TO BETTER RECOGNIZE AND PROTECT CULTURAL HERITAGE AND ARCHEOLOGICAL RESOURCES, AND TO, TO CONNECT PRESERVATION TO OTHER IMPORTANT COMMUNITY PRIORITIES LIKE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AND DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION.
UM, NOT AS A, AND I PROBABLY SAID THIS IN THE SPRING, NOT AS, NOT AS A EA, NOT AS AN, NOT AS THE SOLUTION, BUT AS TOOLS THAT CAN HELP TO MEET THESE BROADER GOALS.
UH, THE NEXT THEME IS WHO PRESERVES.
AND THE BIG IDEA HERE IS REALLY TO INVITE, UH, MORE PEOPLE TO PARTICIPATE AND SUPPORT THEM IN THAT PARTICIPATION.
UM, WE'VE, WE STARTED TO ENGAGE NEW PARTNERS AND AUDIENCES WITH OUTREACH AROUND THE DRAFT PLAN IN A REALLY EXCITING WAY.
AND I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT IN A MINUTE.
UM, BUT, SO WE WANT TO KEEP DOING THAT, REALLY TO PROVIDE MORE RESOURCES AND MORE ACCESSIBLE RESOURCES TO PEOPLE AND REALLY SUPPORT PEOPLE WHO ARE DOING THE WORK IN A VARIETY OF WAYS.
UM, PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN, LIVE AND WORK IN PROPERTIES, YOU KNOW, THE, THE PROFESSIONALS WHO HELP US TO STEWARD OUR OLDER AND HISTORIC PROPERTIES, COMMISSIONERS AND CITY STAFF.
THE LAST THEME IS HOW WE PRESERVE, AND THIS IS, UH, REALLY THE NUTS AND BOLTS MM-HMM.
UM, SO WE WANT TO BE MORE, UH, UH, AT LEAST OF THE, THE PRESERVATION WORK THAT WE DO NOW.
SO WE WANT TO BE MORE STRATEGIC AND MORE EFFECTIVE.
SO MAKING SURE OUR DESIGNATION CRITERIA, UH, IS UP, UP TO MODERN STANDARDS.
UH, SUPPORT THE STEWARDS OF OUR HISTORIC PROPERTIES, MOSTLY PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS IN A WAY THAT'S EFFECTIVE AND EQUITABLE.
BE STRATEGIC WITH THE REVIEW WE'RE DOING, IMPROVE OUR ENFORCEMENT PROCESSES, AND IMPLEMENT THE PLAN COLLABORATIVELY.
AND THE NEXT SLIDE, WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
THERE ARE SOME SELECTIVE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE PARTICULARLY RELEVANT TO, UH, DISC COMMISSION.
UM, THESE ARE MOSTLY, BUT NOT ALL UNDER THE SUPPORT ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY GOALS.
SO, UM, TO BASICALLY HOW CAN WE MAKE IT EASIER TO, UH, RETAIN OLDER PROPERTIES AND TO REDUCE WASTE THAT'S GOING INTO THE, INTO OUR LANDFILLS.
UM, SO PART THAT CAN BE DONE BY SORT OF, UH, STREAMLINING THE PROCESS TO, TO RETAIN, UH, OLDER BUILDINGS, NOT, NOT BY ZONING EVERYTHING HISTORIC, NOT BY REQUIRING PEOPLE TO DO THAT, BUT MAKING IT EASIER FOR PEOPLE TO, TO MAKE THE DECISION TO RETAIN OLDER BUILDINGS AS THEY'RE ADDING MORE UNITS, YOU KNOW, AS THEY'RE DOING OTHER THINGS ON THE PROPERTY, UM, TO, TO INCENTIVIZE ALTERNATIVES TO DEMOLITION.
WE ARE WORKING WITH AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY ON, ON IDEAS AROUND THIS, MAKE IT EASIER TO RELOCATE BUILDINGS WITHIN AUSTIN.
UM, I KNOW THAT COUNCIL ABOUT A YEAR AGO, UH, PASSED A RESOLUTION TO, TO MAKE RELOCATION EASIER.
[00:10:01]
CONTINUING TO WORK ON THAT, UM, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH A RR AND, AND DSD, UH, ENCOURAGED DECONSTRUCTION, MATERIALS SALVAGE, UM, WHEN WE CAN'T PRESERVE A BUILDING IN PLACE OR RELOCATE IT, AND TO RAISE BROAD AWARENESS OF PRESERVATION BENEFITS.SO WE, WE THINK PRESERVATION IS ALIGNED IN MANY WAYS WITH ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AND LOW WASTE, AND WE WANT TO JUST, UM, MAKE THOSE CONNECTIONS BETTER FOR PEOPLE.
OKAY, SO NOW I'M GONNA SPEND A FEW SITES TALKING ABOUT COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT.
SO WE HAD A FOUR MONTH ENGAGEMENT WINDOW FROM FEBRUARY THROUGH MAY.
YOU CAN SEE HERE, I THINK 2,500 PEOPLE ENGAGED IS A VERY LOW COUNT.
THAT'S AT THE EVENTS WHERE WE COUNTED PEOPLE.
SO THERE WERE PLENTY OF, I NEVER COUNT, I PRESENTED TO MOST OF THE 49, UM, PRESENTATIONS YOU SEE THERE.
AND I DIDN'T ACTUALLY COUNT PEOPLE IN THE AUDIENCES.
SO I THINK, AGAIN, VERY CONSERVATIVE COUNT.
WE DID POPUPS AT COMMUNITY EVENTS AROUND THE CITY.
WE HAD SMALLER GROUP CONVERSATIONS.
UM, I THINK WHAT MADE OUR ENGAGEMENT PARTICULARLY SUCCESSFUL WAS, WAS MEANINGFUL AND SUBSTANTIAL PARTNERSHIPS WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
SO WE PAID NINE COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO ACT AS AMBASSADORS FOR THE PLAN, UM, ENGAGING THEIR NETWORKS ABOUT IT.
AND WE AWARDED MANY GRANTS TO FIVE COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, UM, TO, TO REACH OUT TO THEIR NETWORKS ABOUT THE PLAN.
AND WITH THOSE, UH, PROGRAMS, BOTH WERE PARTICULARLY AIMED AT REACHING HISTORICALLY MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES.
UM, I THINK WERE, WERE REALLY SUCCESSFUL.
WE DIDN'T ASK THEM TO SHILL FOR THE PLAN.
WE DIDN'T ASK, YOU KNOW, THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO SUPPORT THE PLAN WHOLEHEARTEDLY, BUT WE DID WANT THEM TO GET THE WORD OUT TO PEOPLE THAT, THAT THEY KNEW AND, AND WHO TRUSTED THEM, UM, TO HOPEFULLY GIVE FEEDBACK ON THE PLAN, WHATEVER THAT LOOKED LIKE.
UM, I THINK THAT THE NEXT ONE, UH, THIS IS WHO WE HEARD FROM IN THAT PROCESS.
SO, MOST PEOPLE GAVE FEEDBACK ON THE PLAN THROUGH A COMMUNITY SURVEY.
AND, AND HOPEFULLY MANY OF YOU TOOK THAT SURVEY, IT TOOK ABOUT FIVE MINUTES ON ONLINE, OR WE ALSO HAVE PAPER COPIES.
UM, AND JUST UNDER 2100 PEOPLE TOOK THAT, THAT SURVEY AND ANSWERED THESE QUESTIONS BELOW.
UM, WHEN WE COMPARE THE SHARE OF SURVEY RESPONDENTS TO PEOPLE IN AUSTIN, WE CAN SEE THAT A HIGHER PROPORTION OF PEOPLE OF COLOR, PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, AND PEOPLE WHO ARE PART OF THE LGBTQA PLUS COMMUNITIES RESPONDED TO THE SURVEY.
UM, AND IT'S LOWER PROPORTION, WHICH IS ALL REALLY EXCITING.
UM, A LOWER PROPORTION OF RENTERS, UM, RESPONDED NEARLY 30% IS, IT'S, IT'S STILL PRETTY GOOD FOR A CITY PROCESS, BUT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO WORK ON AS WE'RE IMPLEMENTING THE PLAN.
WE WANNA KEEP, KEEP ENGAGING COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND THINKING ABOUT WAYS TO, TO MOVE IN RENTERS.
UM, YOU CAN SEE ON THE BOTTOM RIGHT THAT PEOPLE FROM ACROSS AUSTIN PARTICIPATED IN THE PLANNING PROCESS, WHICH IS, IS EXCITING.
THIS IS, UM, HISTORICALLY PEOPLE FROM CENTRAL AND WEST AUSTIN HAVE BEEN REALLY INVOLVED, BUT WE WANTED THIS TO BE A PLAN FOR THE WHOLE CITY, AND I THINK PARTICIPATION REFLECTS THAT.
UM, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT, THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO PARTICIPATED ARE LONGTIME RESIDENTS.
UM, A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO'VE BEEN HERE HAVE BEEN HERE FOR A SHORTER TIME TOO, BUT WE HAD A LOT OF LONGTIME AUSTINITE SAYING THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT, AND THEY WANTED TO PARTICIPATE.
UM, WE ALSO GOT, AND THIS IS IN, OKAY, SO, UM, OH, SO IF YOU TOOK THE, THE SURVEY ONLINE, YOU'LL RECOGNIZE, YOU MAY RECOGNIZE THESE COMMUNITY PRIORITIES, WHICH ARE AGGREGATED VERSIONS OF THE PLAN'S 14 GOALS.
UM, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT, UH, I THINK THE QUICK TAKEAWAY FROM THIS SLIDE, THERE'S A LOT OF INFORMATION, BUT THE QUICK TAKEAWAY IS THAT PEOPLE SAID EVERYTHING, ALL OF THESE ARE REALLY IMPORTANT.
ALL THESE GOALS ARE IMPORTANT.
UM, WHEN WE TRY TO GET A SENSE OF, OF PEOPLE'S PRIORITIES SAYING, WHAT SHOULD WE START WORKING ON FIRST? YOU KNOW, UH, PEOPLE SAID, A MAJORITY OF PEOPLE SAID, WE SHOULD, WE SHOULD KEEP PEOPLE IN BUSINESSES IN PLACE.
UH, 51%, ANOTHER 20% OF PEOPLE SAID, KEEP PLACES FEELING LIKE AUSTIN.
AND I THINK THAT IS A, AN ACCURATE REFLECTION OF, OF THE MAJOR, MAJOR ISSUES, UM, THAT THE CITY FACES RIGHT NOW.
UM, I'LL NOTE THAT 70, THAT, THAT ENCOURAGING ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY IS FOURTH ON THE LIST WITH 77.3.
UM, BUT YEAH, AGAIN, ALL OF THESE WERE REALLY WELL SUPPORTED.
UM, SO THE NEXT SLIDE TALKS ABOUT, UH, SPECIFIC COMMENTS THAT WE GOT ON THE DRAFT PLAN.
SO WE GOT SOME SPECIFIC STAKEHOLDER COMMENTS IN THE DRAFT PLAN.
UM, UH, SOME OF THOSE WERE ACTIONABLE CHANGES, MEANING THAT THEY'RE IN THE PURVIEW OF THE PLAN AND THAT, UM, ACTION WAS REQUESTED.
UM, AND ALSO THAT THEY'RE ALLOW ALLOWABLE, BUT ALLOWABLE BY CITY CODE.
UM, HALF OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE DRAFT PLAN WERE REVISED TO GET TO THE FINAL PLAN.
SO WE REALLY DID, OR THE WORKING GROUP THAT MADE THE DECISIONS REALLY DID PAY ATTENTION TO COMMUNITY FEEDBACK.
AND EIGHT NEW RECOMMENDATIONS WERE ADDED TO THE PLAN.
UM, YOU CAN SEE THEM HERE, UM, SUPPORT FOR STEWARDS OF HISTORIC CEMETERIES, ENERGY EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENTS FOR OLDER AND HISTORIC PROPERTIES, WHICH I THINK IS, UM, BUILDING, BUILDING MAINTENANCE, EDUCATION AND TRAINING FOR PROPERTY OWNERS AND TENANTS AND SUPPORT FOR HERITAGE TOURISM SITES.
SO THESE ARE, THESE ARE HUGE THINGS THAT WERE MISSED IN THE DRAFT, AND IT WAS GREAT THAT THE COMMUNITY
[00:15:01]
AND STAKE OTHER STAKEHOLDERS SAID, WAIT A MINUTE, WHAT ABOUT CUSTOMER? YEAH, OF COURSE.THE, THIS IS AN AT THE TIMELINE FOR THE PRESERVATION PLANNING PROCESS IN A NUTSHELL, THIS PLANNING PROCESS HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR THREE AND A HALF YEARS.
SO IT'S BEEN A, A LONG, LONG STRETCH.
I'M NOT GONNA TALK THROUGH, IT'S JUST BEEN, YOU CAN KIND OF SEE, SEE WHAT'S HAPPENED HERE.
UM, YEAH, IT'S BEEN A REALLY NEAT PROCESS WORKING WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS THROUGHOUT AS DECISION MAKERS.
I'LL MENTION THAT THE PLAN, UH, I SORT OF ALLUDED TO THIS, BUT THE, THE DRAFT PLAN WAS REVISED BY THE PRESERVATION PLAN WORKING GROUP AND THE PRESERVATION PLAN COMMITTEE OF THE LANDMARK COMMISSION THIS SUMMER.
SO IT CONTINUED WITH THIS COMMUNITY-BASED THEME, UH, TO GET TO THIS FINAL PLAN.
AND WE ARE, AS I MENTIONED, WE'RE HEADING TO COUNCIL FOR REVIEW AND HOPEFULLY ADOPTION OF THE PLAN, UH, NEXT THURSDAY.
SO WE'VE STARTED TO LAY THE GROUNDWORK FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN.
WE'LL START BY DOING WHAT WE CAN WITH THE RESOURCES WE HAVE AND ALSO, UM, LOOKING AT THE RESOURCES WE NEED FOR OTHER INITIATIVES.
UM, HOPEFULLY IN THE, UH, STARTING IN THE, THE 25, 26 FISCAL YEAR.
SO THIS UPCOMING BUDGET CYCLE, WE'RE WORKING IN A PUBLIC DASHBOARD TO TRACK THE PLAN'S PROGRESS.
ACTUALLY, WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN DASHBOARD AS A MODEL AND TALKING TO THOSE STAFF TO, TO REALLY FIGURE OUT HOW TO PRESENT A LOT OF INFORMATION IN A TRANSPARENT AND, UM, LEGIBLE WAY.
WE'LL KEEP WORKING WITH RELATED CITY DEPARTMENTS AND OTHER CITY PLANS, INCLUDING AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY STAFF, UM, ON IMPLEMENTATION AND CONTINUE TO THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND PARTNERSHIP BUILDING THAT HAVE REALLY BEEN AT THE HEART OF THIS PROCESS.
AND THEN I THINK THE NEXT SLIDE IS, THE LAST ONE IS THE WEBSITE.
IF YOU'LL, IF Y'ALL WANT TO VISIT AND SEE, UH, SEE THE PLAN ITSELF AGAIN OR, OR LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PLANNING PROCESS AND APPRECIATE YOUR ATTENTION.
UM, HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE, THE FINAL PLAN OR THE PLANNING PROCESS OR, UH, IF Y'ALL WOULD LIKE TO CONSIDER A RECOMMENDATION.
HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT.
AND THE, UH, PRESERVATION PLAN COMMITTEE FOR YOUR COMMITMENT TO THIS.
I MEAN, THIS IS VERY IMPRESSIVE.
IT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS DONE OVER THE COURSE OF TIME, AND CONGRATULATIONS ON COMING CLOSE TO THE FINISH LINE HERE.
AND HOPEFULLY WE'LL GET ACROSS THAT FINISH LINE.
[2. Discussion and action to recommend that Austin City Council adopt the Equity-Based Preservation Plan.]
THERE ANY QUESTIONS FOR, UH, FOR KARA? HERE WE GO.I'M SORRY, MICHAEL, IS THAT YES.
COMMISSIONER FROM DISTRICT ONE.
UM, KARA, IS THERE ANYTHING IN PARTICULAR WE SHOULD, IN, IN MAKING OUR RECOMMENDATION, IS THERE ANYTHING WE SHOULD KEEP IN MIND, PARTICULARLY IN HOW IT RELATES TO THE ZERO WASTE ADVISORY COMMISSION AND ITS PRESERVATION PLAN? WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT WE SHOULD KEEP IN MIND THE MOST? SURE.
SO I THINK THE, THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT I, THAT I HIGHLIGHTED AS PART OF THE PRESENTATION, I THINK THOSE ARE, I DIDN'T, I REALIZE I DIDN'T PUT THE, UM, ENERGY EFFICIENCY RECOMMENDATION ON THAT LIST, BUT I THINK THAT THERE ARE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS THERE.
THOSE ARE THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT KIND OF HIT THE ZERO WASTE NAIL ON THE HEAD.
UM, BUT I THINK THE WHOLE, I THINK OUR HOPE IS THAT THE BROADER PLAN ALSO SUPPORTS ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY JUST BY KEEPING MORE PLACES STANDING AND VALUED.
I, I THINK, UM, I, I THINK IT ALL RELATES GENERALLY TO, TO THE OVERARCHING GOALS.
BUT THERE ARE THOSE SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS LISTED IN THE PRESENTATION THAT I THINK, UM, MAYBE OF PARTICULAR INTEREST TO THIS COMMISSION.
AND IF YOU, IF YOU FEEL LIKE THERE ARE THINGS THAT YOU WANT TO HIGHLIGHT PARTICULARLY, UM, TO HEAR ABOUT THOSE, YOU MENTIONED DECONSTRUCTION AND MATERIAL SALVAGE.
IS THERE LIKE A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN IN PLACE? IS THAT WHO, UH, WOULD YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT? OR WOULD THAT BE SOMEONE ELSE INVOLVED ON THAT FRONT THAT, SO THE, THE FOLKS WHO WOULD HANDLE REAL PROGRESS ON THAT FRONT OR WITH AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY? CORRECT.
AND WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH A RR STAFF IS PART OF THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP, CITY STAFF FOR THE PLAN.
AND, UM, WE ACTUALLY HAVE, UH, A COUPLE OF MEETINGS SET UP WITH A RR STAFF IN THE NEXT, UH, COUPLE OF MONTHS.
WE'VE PREEMPTIVELY SET UP IMPLEMENTATION MEETINGS IN DECEMBER AND JANUARY TO TALK ABOUT NEXT STEPS.
UM, LOOK AT WHAT DATA IS ALREADY BEING COLLECTED, YOU KNOW, STUFF, DATA, METRICS THAT WE MAY BE ABLE TO, UM, PRACTICE PART OF PLAN PROGRESS IF THERE IS ADDITIONAL DATA THAT WE WANT.
AND, UM, LAYING OUT LOOKING AT A ROADMAP BASED ON WHAT A RR AND OTHER DEPARTMENTS ARE ALREADY DOING, WHAT THEIR PRIORITIES ARE, AND HOW WE CAN SUPPORT THEIR WORK, UM, AND VICE VERSA.
SO A LOT OF THAT IS STILL TBD, BUT I KNOW IT'S SOMETHING THAT, THAT A R HAS, HAS THOUGHT OF AND LOOKED INTO.
SO I THINK IT'S A MATTER OF KIND OF NAVIGATING IT AMONGST OTHER PRIORITIES.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
YEAH, KARA, THANK YOU FOR, UH, POINTING OUT THE, THE ITEMS THAT WE CAN SUPPORT YOU IN, I MEAN, WITH STAFF CAN, UH, SUPPORT AND AGAIN, WONDERFUL PRESENTATION.
[00:20:02]
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR, UH, KIRA HERE? WE, NO OTHER QUESTIONS.I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION MOVE TO RECOMMEND.
SO WE HAVE A MOTION BY AMANDA TO, UH, RECOMMEND SUPPORT OF THIS ITEM.
I SECOND BEYOND SECONDS THAT, UH, SUPPORT.
DO I HEAR ANY, UH, DISCUSSION ON THE, ON THE MOTION HEARING? NO DISCUSSION.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND.
KARA, THANK YOU AGAIN AND THE COMMITTEE FOR THE INCREDIBLE WORK AND THE PATIENCE TO SAY THE LEAST.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, COMMISSIONER.
AND THAT, UH, THE, UH, NEXT ITEM IS
[5. Staff briefing regarding the 2024 Austin Energy Green Building Program Overview by Heidi Kasper, Energy Efficiency Services Director, Austin Energy.]
ITEM NUMBER FIVE, WHICH IS THE STAFF BRIEF.AND REGARDING THE 2024 AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM OVERVIEW.
YEAH, GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.
UH, HEIDI CASPER, DIRECTOR OF GREEN BUILDING AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGY FOR AUSTIN ENERGY.
SO TONIGHT I'M JUST GONNA GIVE YOU AN OVERVIEW OF WHAT WE DO AT AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN BUILDING.
UM, THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON A WHILE, SO MM-HMM,
UM, SINCE THAT TIME, WE'VE BEEN UPDATING THE RATINGS, UH, CONSISTENTLY, AND WE'RE ON ABOUT A THREE YEAR CYCLE OF WHEN WE UPDATE OUR RATINGS AT THIS POINT.
OUR WORK ENCOMPASSES THREE BROAD AREAS, RATINGS, EDUCATION, OUTREACH, AND POLICIES AND CODES.
SO WE OFFER RATINGS FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION AND MAJOR RENOVATION ACROSS SINGLE FAMILY, MULTIFAMILY AND COMMERCIAL BUILDING SECTORS.
THE RATING SYSTEMS REWARDS SUSTAINABLE ABOVE CODE PRACTICES, UM, AND THEN WE USE THE EDUCATION AND OUTREACH TO BOTH DRIVE DEMAND FOR RATED BUILDINGS AND BUILD CAPACITY IN WORKFORCE.
SO WE EDUCATE BOTH GENERAL PUBLIC AND, UM, THOSE IN BUILDING DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION SO THAT THEY CAN DELIVER ON THE BUILDINGS.
AND THEN, UM, AS THE MARKET RECOGNIZES THOSE, UH, SUSTAINABILITY PRACTICES AND THEY BECOME, UH, MORE COMMONPLACE, THOSE GET ROLLED INTO, UH, POLICIES, ORDINANCES, AND CODES, AND THEN WE UPDATE AND RAISE THE BAR.
THE RATINGS SUPPORT A VARIETY OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN SUSTAINABILITY GOALS SUCH AS THOSE IN THE AUSTIN ENERGY RESOURCE GENERATION PLAN, CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, WATER FORWARD OF INTEREST TO THIS, UH, COMMISSION, THE ZERO WASTE PLAN, UM, CLIMATE.
UH, SO WE ALSO LOOK AT GOALS AND MEASURES THAT SUPPORT TRADITIONAL CONSERVATION, SO ENERGY EFFICIENCY, WATER EFFICIENCY, MATERIAL EFFICIENCY, AND THEN THOSE THAT ALSO SUPPORT QUALITY OF LIFE.
SO WE LOOK AT THINGS LIKE HEALTHY BUILDING MATERIALS AND OR EARTH QUALITY, UM, TRANSPORTATION, AND EVEN EQUITY ISSUES LIKE, UH, MAKING SURE THAT CONSTRUCTION WORKERS ARE PAID AND KEPT HEALTHY AND SAFE.
THE WAY OUR RATINGS ARE STRUCTURED, THERE IS A SET OF BASIC REQUIREMENTS.
IF ANY OF YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH LEAD RATING SYSTEMS, THESE WOULD BE AKIN TO THEIR PREREQUISITES PROJECTS THAT MEET ALL OF THOSE BASIC REQUIREMENTS.
EARN A ONE STAR RATING, AND THEN THERE'S A MENU OF POINTS.
UM, I BELIEVE THIS IS THE COMMERCIAL MENU OF POINTS.
THE, THE TOTAL POINTS YOU NEED TO EARN VARIES BASED ON THE RATING, UM, VERSION AND WHETHER IT'S SINGLE FAMILY RATING VERSUS MULTIFAMILY OR COMMERCIAL.
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THOSE POINTS ARE IN A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT CATEGORIES.
SO WE ADDRESS EVERYTHING FROM, UH, SUSTAINABLE SITE, UH, PREPARATION, HEALTH, ENERGY, WATER, EDUCATION, EQUITY, MATERIALS, AND RESOURCES.
UM, OUR RATINGS DO HAVE A VERY BROAD IMPACT.
UM, WE END UP WORKING WITH ABOUT 20 TO 30% OF THE NEW CONSTRUCTION IN AUSTIN.
UM, PARTICIPATION IS DRIVEN THROUGH A VARIETY OF CITY AGREEMENTS.
UH, THESE INCLUDE OUR PUD ZONING DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM, AND A LONGSTANDING, UH, COLLABORATION WITH HOUSING THAT EVERYTHING THAT'S PARTICIPATING IN SMART HOUSING MUST EARN A ONE STORE GREEN BUILDING RATING.
SO WE FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT AFFORDABLE HOUSING SHOULD BE NOT JUST CHEAP TO RENT, BUT CHEAP TO OPERATE AS WELL.
SO WE WANT YOUR UTILITY BILLS SLOW AS WELL.
[00:25:01]
IMPACT.SO WE STARTED REPORTING IMPACT BACK IN 2007.
AND SO THIS IS, UM, WHAT WE HAVE BEEN TRACKING SINCE THEN.
AND SO YOU CAN SEE, UH, WE, ONE OF THE METRICS THAT WE HAVE HISTORICALLY TRACKED HAS BEEN, UH, CONSTRUCTION, WASTE DIVERSION.
AND THEN, UM, SO OF INTEREST TO THIS COMMISSION, I THOUGHT I WOULD JUST HIGHLIGHT ARE
SO BACK IN THE EARLY TWO THOUSANDS, UM, THERE WERE VERY FEW ALTERNATIVES TO LANDFILL.
UM, SO OUR PROGRAM STARTED PUTTING CONSTRUCTION WASTE INTO THE RATING, WORKING WITH LOCAL CONTRACTORS, UM, TO, LIKE I SAID, WORK ON HAVING SERVICE AVAILABLE TO CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS AND DRIVING DEMAND FOR THAT SERVICE.
UM, RESULTING IN BACK IN 2015, AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY, UH, PASSED AN ORDINANCE MAKING THAT REQUIRED.
UM, CITYWIDE, WE CONTINUE TO COLLABORATE WITH, UH, AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY, UM, LOOKING AT HOW DO WE HELP THEM WITH COMPLIANCE WITH THE CODE EDUCATION AROUND THE CODE.
AND THEN WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS MOVING INTO THINGS LIKE LAMPS AND BATTERY RECYCLING.
UM, THE RECENT ORDINANCE WITH, UH, MULTIFAMILY ON, UH, COMPOSTING, MAKING SURE THAT NEW PROJECTS ARE AWARE OF THE ORDINANCE AND ARE SETTING THEMSELVES UP TO BE SUCCESSFUL WITH THAT.
UM, AND THEN LOOKING AT ISSUES, UH, LIKE CAROL WAS TALKING ABOUT, SALVAGE REUSE, UM, AND EVEN WITH NEW CONSTRUCTION, ENCOURAGING PROJECTS TO THINK ABOUT REUSE DOWN THE LINE.
SO DESIGNING FOR REUSE UPFRONT.
AND WITH THAT, I THINK I CAN TAKE QUESTIONS.
COMMISSIONERS ANY QUESTIONS FOR MS. CASPER? I THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I THINK IT'S QUITE INTERESTING.
ONE OF THE THINGS I AM CONCERNED ABOUT IS WHEN THEY, YOU KNOW, WE, WE PASS HOME ONE AND HOME TWO MM-HMM.
AND THE QUESTION IS, HOW DO WE DO ALL THAT WITH JUST LIKE MAYBE SOME OF THESE TWO LANE STREETS? HAS ANY THOUGHT BEEN PUT INTO COMING UP, UH, WITH A DIFFERENT WAY TO DO THIS? FOR INSTANCE, I KNOW IN SOME AREAS OF EUROPE, THEY HAVE A BUILDING AT THE END OF A BLOCK AND PEOPLE TAKE THE GARBAGE TO THAT BUILDING, AND THEN A BIG VAN COMES UP AND EMBASSIES IT FROM THE BUILDING.
NOW, WE, WE PROBABLY COULDN'T DO ANYTHING LIKE THAT HERE, BUT I DON'T KNOW.
I MEAN, YOU, WHEN YOU HAVE A MUL, A MULTIFAMILY BUILDING, AND WE WANNA DIVIDE UP INTO A RECYCLABLE, AND COMPOSTABLE HAS THOUGHT BEEN PUT INTO HOW TO CONSTRUCT A BUILDING TO MAKE IT EASIER TO DO THAT.
SO I WOULD SAY ON THE NEW CONSTRUCTION SIDE, YES, WE'RE NOT REAL PRESCRIPTIVE ABOUT HOW THEY ACHIEVE THAT, BUT ON NEW CONSTRUCTION, WE ARE TELLING THEM UPFRONT, YOU HAVE TO PROVIDE FOR THESE THINGS.
WE'RE POINTING OUT WITHIN THE ORDINANCE THAT THEY NEED TO BE EQUALLY CONVENIENT, UM, AND THE VOLUMES SO THAT THE DESIGNERS CAN THEN PLAN FOR THAT AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAVE THE TRASH AND RECYCLING ROOMS OR CHS ORGANIZED.
AND WE'RE LOOKING FOR THAT ON PLANS.
SO A NEW CONSTRUCTION, I WOULD SAY THAT THAT IS BEING CONSIDERED.
AND, UM, UPFRONT IT GETS A LOT HARDER WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A RETROFIT SITUATION.
AND UNFORTUNATELY, UM, STARTS GETTING OUTSIDE OF MY PERFUME
IT, YOU KNOW, KIND OF GREW YEAH.
JUST OUT OF, WITHOUT A WHOLE LOT OF FORWARD PLANNING.
BUT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THE CONTAINERS AND YOU DUMP THE CONTAINERS AND THEY TRYING TO GET DOWN THE STREET, AND THAT WHOLE PROCESS STUFF FALLS OUT OCCASIONALLY.
AND ONE OF MY JOBS ON WEDNESDAY MORNING, MM-HMM.
I WOULD SAY ON MOST MULTIFAMILY YOU HAVE, YOU ACTUALLY HAVE THE ADVANTAGE THAT THEY'RE NOT USUALLY USING CARTS.
UM, SO MOST OF THOSE ARE USING DUMPSTERS AND PRIVATE, UH, RECYCLING COLLARS, VALET SERVICE.
UM, WE HAVE EVEN SOME MULTI-FAMILY
[00:30:01]
PROPERTIES THAT RATHER THAN TRYING TO MANAGE THE, UH, RECYCLING AND TRASH ROOMS, UM, WITH INDIVIDUAL RESIDENTS GOING IN THERE, HAVE GONE TO VALET SYSTEMS. SO THEY PROVIDE THEM THE SMALL CARTS AND THEN THEY VALET.UM, BUT YEAH, I GUESS, I GUESS WHEN WE START GETTING INTO O UH, OPERATIONS OF BUILDINGS, BECAUSE OUR RATING SYSTEM ENDS, UH, WITH A CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY, UM, WE CAN TRY AND DO WHAT WE CAN TO GET PEOPLE SET UP FOR SUCCESS TO OWN AND OPERATE THE BUILDING, BUT IT'S, YEAH, IT'S GONNA HAVE TO BE, COME FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE TO SEE HOW THAT FOLLOWS FROM.
ANYTHING ELSE? ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? HEIDI? I'VE GOT A COUPLE OF QUICK ONES FOR YOU HERE.
YOU KNOW, THE SLIDE THAT, UH, ACTUALLY GIVES US THE RATINGS, UH, LET'S SEE.
THE COMMERCIAL SLIDE THAT'S GREATER THAN SEVEN STORIES ARE MULTIFAMILY, GREATER THAN SEVEN STORIES WOULD FALL UNDER COMMERCIAL RATING OR A COMMERCIAL BUILDING USE.
WOULD NEED TO PROVIDE THE, THE LEAD, UH, AND OR GREEN BUILDING.
SO DEPENDING ON YOUR CITY ORDINANCE.
UM, IT, THE RATING MIGHT APPLY TO ANY, ANY SCALE OF BUILDING.
WE HAVE A MULTIFAMILY SPECIFIC RATING THAT APPLIES TO BUILDINGS THAT ARE MULTIFAMILY USE BUILDINGS THAT ARE SOVEREIGN STORIES.
AND LESS, ONCE YOU GET TO SOMETHING TALLER THAN THAT, A HIGH-RISE MULTIFAMILY, WE HAVE THEM SWITCH OVER TO OUR COMMERCIAL RATING.
SO, SO ANYTHING UNDER SEVEN IS, IT'S A MULTI-FAMILY RATING, MULTI-FAMILY RATING.
AND ABOVE IS, AND THEN THERE WAS A OTHER, THE, I GUESS IT WAS A WASTE MANAGEMENT IMPACT SLIDE.
WHERE AND WHEN WAS THAT DONE? UM, THAT WAS PRE 2010, WHICH IS WHEN I STARTED WITH AUSTIN ENERGY
SO I, I'M NOT SURE EXACTLY WHEN, UM, BUT YEAH, SOMETIME IN THE, UH, TWO THOUSANDS IS WHEN THAT HAPPENED.
WELL, THAT'S NO LONGER AROUND.
NO, UNFORTUNATELY THEY'RE NOT.
SO AGAIN, I THINK THAT IS A TOPIC THAT WE REALLY NEED TO CONTINUE DISCUSSING.
I MEAN, AS A, AS A, UH, COMMISSION, AS A, AS A DEPARTMENT OF AUSTIN ENERGY WHO'S WANTING TO PROMOTE THIS AND CONTINUE THIS YEP.
UH, THERE'S A LOT OF, UH, A LOT OF CONFUSION AS TO WHERE THIS MATERIAL CAN BE TAKEN.
GREAT, GREAT OPPORTUNITIES, NEW CONSTRUCTION'S EASY.
AND IT'S JUST THE, IT'S THE, UH, DEMO STUFF THAT IS A NIGHTMARE.
AND THAT'S WHERE YOU HAVE TO EITHER A DECONSTRUCT AND OR, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE PROBABLY GONNA BE LANDFILLING MOST OF THAT MATERIAL.
UM, SOMETHING THAT WE'VE TRIED TO PARTNER WITH A R ON MM-HMM.
IS GETTING MORE, UM, RECYCLING FACILITIES TO BE THIRD PARTY CERTIFIED, UM, SO THAT THEY'RE OPENING THEIR BOOKS AND SHOWING THEIR DIVERSION RATES.
AND WE HAVE, WE HAVE, WE HAD A THIRD PARTY CERTIFIED, UH, PROCESSOR WHO, UM, UNFORTUNATELY IS NO LONGER OPERATING.
UM, WE'VE HEARD RUMOR THAT THERE MAY BE ANOTHER ONE, UM, COMING SOON.
UM, WE THINK THAT IS REALLY THE PATH FORWARD.
WE'VE MADE IT EASIER IN OUR RATING IF YOU CAN USE A THIRD PARTY PROCESSOR.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO INCENTIVIZE IT THERE.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO CREATE THE DEMAND FOR IT.
YOU KNOW, I HAVE A LOT OF OUR MEMBERS, I'M ON, ON THE, UH, US HISPANIC CONTRACTORS BOARD, AND, UH, A LOT OF THE MEMBERS ARE CONFUSED.
AND, AND ON TOP OF THAT, THE, UH, COST CHALLENGES YEP.
OF DIVERTING THIS MATERIAL IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT.
AND A LOT OF TIMES, A LOT OF TIMES THAT'S NOT PART OF THE ACTUAL PROPOSED COST THAT WAS SUBMITTED.
AND I, I KNOW WE'VE HAD THE CONVERSATION WITH, UH, A RR ABOUT, YOU KNOW, PERHAPS LOOKING FOR AN ALTERNATIVE SITE THAT A RR COULD BE A PARTICIPANT IN AND, AND PROVIDE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR THE, UH, FOR THE, UH, RESPECTIVE CONTRACTORS.
I MEAN, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, IDENTIFYING A SITE IS NOT EASY.
DEVELOPING THIS SITE AND MAKING IT WORK AS IS ANOTHER CHALLENGE ALTOGETHER.
[00:35:01]
BUT I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE PERHAPS SHOULD, UH, YEAH.CONSIDER SOONER THAN LATER, ESPECIALLY IF WE WANNA PROMOTE THIS AND CONTINUE TO GROW IT.
THAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING.
I MEAN, THERE'S A LOT OF CRANES OUT THERE RIGHT NOW, SO I'M GONNA, I THINK ONE OF THE OTHER CHALLENGES IS MAKING SURE THERE'S, UH, SECONDARY MARKETS FOR THE MATERIALS.
HE REMINDED ME WHEN YOU SAY THE CERTIFICATION WITH THE CIRCLE, ONE OF THOSE LITTLE SEGMENTS SAYS SITE MM-HMM.
UM, THEY ARE SIMILAR IN HOW THEY APPROACH THINGS.
UH, WE DEVELOP OUR OWN SPECIFIC TO AUSTIN AND SPECIFIC TO AUSTIN'S BASELINES IN TERMS OF WHAT OUR CODES AND GOALS ARE HERE.
UM, IN TERMS OF SITE THOUGH, WE ARE LOOKING AT THINGS LIKE WATER MANAGEMENT, STORM WATER RUNOFF, UM, HER COVER, UH, NATIVE LANDSCAPING.
A QUESTION FOR YOU REGARDING SITES AS WELL.
UH, RELATED TO SITES, IS THERE AN INCENTIVE IN YOUR RATING FOR SELECTING THINGS LIKE BROWNFIELD SITES YES.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? STAFF? I'M STAFF.
SO ANYWAY, HERE WE KNOW OTHER QUESTIONS.
HEIDI, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR TAKING TIME OUT TO, TO SHARE THIS WITH US.
WHO CAME UP WITH THAT? YEAH, EXACTLY.
[3. Discussion and action to amend the ZWAC By-laws to disband the sub-committees.]
WHICH IS THE, UH, ZAC BYLAWS, UH, SUBCOMMITTEE DISCUSSION.AND I THINK WE HAD TALKED, UH, WHAT WAS IT LAST, UH, MEETING? WAS IT LAST MEETING THAT, UH, WE DISCUSSED? PROBABLY DOING MORE WORKING GROUPS AS OPPOSED TO SUBCOMMITTEES AND A WORKING GROUP IS A LITTLE EASIER TO, UH, COORDINATE EFFORTS WITH.
AND IF, AGAIN, IF, IF THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE WANT TO START, START WORKING ON AND BEING A PART OF AS OPPOSED TO THE SUBCOMMITTEES, I WOULD LOVE FOR US TO ADDRESS THAT THIS EVENING AND, AND MAKE IT, UH, A MOVING FORWARD ITEM.
I, UM, I BELIEVE THAT WE, WHAT THE COMMISSION SHOULD DECIDE HOW IMPORTANT THE SUBCOMMITTEES ARE BECAUSE ACTUALLY, UM, IT, BECAUSE IF THEY'RE THAT IMPORTANT TO US, WE HAVE TO HAVE ENOUGH PEOPLE WHO WILL VOLUNTEER TO BE ON THEM AND THEN MAKE THE EFFORT TO MEET.
'CAUSE WE HAVE TO MEET FOUR TIMES A YEAR.
I MEAN, IT, AND IT HAS TO BE WORTH IT TO US BECAUSE IT'S ALSO TIME FROM THE, UM, THE STAFF.
BECAUSE WITH A COMMITTEE LIKE THAT, YOU HAVE TO HAVE STAFF SUPPORT.
SO I THINK WE REALLY HAVE TO DECIDE IF THAT'S REALLY WHAT WE WANNA DO.
AND THAT INCLUDES ARE THERE ENOUGH PEOPLE HERE TO MAKE THE COMMITMENT MM-HMM.
SO I THINK REALLY THAT'S THE BASIS OF IT.
UM, I THINK THE ISSUE IS NOT CREATING NEW SUBCOMMITTEES.
IT'S TAKING THESE SUBCOMMITTEES AND TURNING THEM INTO WORKING GROUPS.
SO AT THIS POINT, DO WE HAVE ANY CONCERNS? CORRECT.
OR IS KIND OF THE FLIP OF WHAT YOU JUST SAID, CRAIG, IS THAT WE WILL BE PULLING FOCUS FROM THE SUBCOMMITTEES IF WE CHANGE THEM INTO WORKING GROUPS.
IS THAT A CONCERN YOU HAVE OR ARE THERE OTHER CONCERNS FROM THE COMMISSION ABOUT MAKING THIS CHANGE REALLY ACROSS THE BOARD WITH OUR SUBCOMMITTEES? IS THAT CORRECT? CORRECT.
AND ACTUALLY, I, I, ONE OF THE COMMISSIONERS HAD SOME CONCERNS ABOUT THE SUPPORT THAT WOULD BE GIVEN THAT WOULD BE GIVEN VERSUS THE, UH, WORKING GROUP VERSUS THE, UH, SUBCOMMITTEE SUPPORT STAFF IS PART OF US WHEN IT'S A SUBCOMMITTEE WORKING GROUP.
WE'RE ON OUR OWN TRYING TO FIND SOLUTIONS AND, UH, AND TAKE ON IDEAS.
WELL, STAFF WOULD BE OPTIONAL.
IT'S, IT'S AT THEIR DISCRETION, I SUPPOSE.
THIS IS MY, UH, FIRST MEETING.
[00:40:01]
ANY HISTORY AROUND THIS.BUT I GUESS MY UNDERSTANDING IS WITH A WORKING GROUP, THE, THE GOAL WOULD BE TO, UH, DEVELOP RECOMMENDATIONS OR IDEAS, KIND OF A, A BRAINSTORMING SESSION FOR, TO PRESENT IDEAS TO COUNCIL, OR WHAT IS THE, THE GENERAL FOCUS OF THAT E EXACTLY.
I MEAN, THE, THE WORKING GROUP IS A, IS A GROUP THAT, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, WE HAVE THE WHAT, THE UNIVERSAL RECYCLING ORDINANCE WORKING GROUP.
AND THAT GROUP WOULD BE BASICALLY TASKED WITH OVERSIGHT OF THIS UNIVERSAL RECYCLING ORDINANCE.
WHEREAS WITH THE SUBCOMMITTEES THAT WE HAD, THE SUBCOMMITTEE ACTUALLY HELPED TO DEVELOP THE ORDINANCE ALONG WITH THE COMMUNITY.
AND, UH, AGAIN, STAFF WAS PART OF THIS.
UH, IT'S THE, UH, THE DIFFERENCE.
HOW WOULD YOU EXPLAIN A GOOD, UH, A GOOD COMPARISON WITH THE DIFFERENCE IN THESE TWO COMMITTEES IS SUBCOMMITTEES IS A LOT, IS A LOT MORE CITY STAFF AND OTHER, OR SUBCOMMITTEES HAVE STAFF ASSISTANTS AND WORKING GROUPS ESSENTIALLY DON'T.
IS THAT KIND OF THE BASIC DIFFERENCE? THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT IT IS.
WELL, THERE'S ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE, WHICH IS A WORKING GROUP CAN USE PEOPLE WHO AREN'T ON THE COMMISSION.
YOU CAN, UH, UH, THAT'S WHY I FIRST GOT STARTED ON, ON COMMISSION WORK AS I WENT TO A COMMISSION AND THEY FORMED A WORKING GROUP, AND THEY SAY, YOU WANNA BE ON THE WORKING GROUP? I SAID, WOW.
AND, AND THEN THE WORKING GROUP ONLY LASTS UNTIL IT MAKES IT RECOMMENDATIONS AND THEN IT DISAPPEARS.
UH, WHEREAS THE, THE, THE COMMITTEES, THE SUBCOMMITTEES ARE SUPPOSED TO MEET FOUR TIMES A YEAR.
I THINK THAT'S THE REQUIREMENT.
SO YEAH, THERE'S MORE, UH, TIME REQUIREMENT FROM BOTH STAFF AND THE COMMISSION ITSELF, COMMISSION MEMBERS WHO WERE ON THE, THESE SUBCOMMITTEES.
AND, UH, AGAIN, IT'S JUST WHAT DIRECTION DO WE WANT TO HEAD? WE'VE PRETTY MUCH HAVE IMPLEMENTED THE, UH, THE, UH, UNIVERSAL CY RECYCLING ORDINANCES.
I MEAN, THAT IS THE, UH, THAT WAS A BIG FOCUS FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, WHICH WE WERE WITH STAFF SUCCESSFUL IN GETTING THAT APPROVED AND, UH, MOVING FORWARD.
SO I, YEAH, I MEAN, I THINK WHEN IT COMES TO THE URO, UNLESS I'M MISTAKEN, THAT'S PROBABLY, I'M NOT SURE WE'RE GONNA GET A LOT OF PUSHBACK ON TURNING THAT INTO A POTENTIAL WORKING GROUP IF WE WANT TO.
BUT KATHY, AS YOUR HAND, YEAH.
I WANT TO, UH, SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THE SUBCOMMITTEES THAT, UM, WHEN WE, WHEN WE DID THE URO MEETINGS, UH, IT WAS VERY HELPFUL TO HAVE THE SUBCOMMITTEE BECAUSE WE WANTED SHAREHOLDERS TO BE THERE.
AND SO THE CITY STAFF TO HELP GET ALL THE, THE, UH, PUT THE PUBLICITY OUT TO GET THE SHAREHOLDER.
SO I THINK IN THE WORKING GROUP, YOU MISS THAT BEING ABLE TO GET THEIR FEEDBACK RIGHT.
AND FOR THEM TO GIVE THEM INFORMATION AS WELL.
DO YOU THINK THAT WE NEED TO CONTINUE THE URO SPECIFIC SUBCOMMITTEE, THOUGH? AT THIS POINT? YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M NOT SURE.
IT'S, IT'S BEEN VERY DIFFICULT TO KNOW WHAT TO DO ON THAT.
UH, RIGHT NOW WITH THE MULTI-FAMILY COMPOSTING, IT'S GOTTEN TO THE POINT WHERE, UH, IT'S BEEN IMPLEMENTED SINCE OCTOBER AND THERE'S NOT REALLY ANY DATA OUT THERE.
UM, SO THAT'S KIND OF AT A STANDSTILL AND HAS BEEN FOR A WHILE.
UH, I WOULD LOVE TO CONTINUE IT IF, IF, UH, IF WE HAD THE INTEREST IN THAT.
IS THERE ANYBODY WHO'S ACTUALLY ADDRESSING THE SUBCOMMITTEE ISSUES ON STAFF? OR QUESTION I SHOULD SAY? NO, I'M SORRY.
NO, NO, I, I MEAN, SIMPLE QUESTIONS HERE.
AND, AND IT'S LITERALLY, I MEAN, HERE WE DO HAVE A COUPLE OF CURRENT, UH, EXISTING SUBCOMMITTEES.
NOW THOSE PROGRAMS OB OBVIOUSLY THE, UH, MULTIFAMILY, UH, ROLLOUT OF, UH, COMPOST IS ON.
WE DON'T QUITE HAVE THE RESULTS YET.
IS THAT CORRECT? OF THE, UH, FIRST, UH, TALLIES.
IT'S JUST STARTING, WE'RE STARTING TO GET SOME NUMBERS IN RICHARD MCHA, DIRECTOR FROST RESOURCE RECOVERY.
IT JUST EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 1ST.
SO IT'S EARLY TO REALLY HAVE ANY INFORMATION FROM THAT PROGRAM AT THIS POINT.
SO TO YOUR POINT, KATHY, I MEAN, WOULD KEEPING A SUBCOMMITTEE IN PLACE UNTIL YOU'RE PERHAPS GETTING SOME OF THE, UH, SOME OF THE RESULTS IN THAT YOU CAN, UH,
[00:45:01]
ANALYZE, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT, IT SOUNDS LIKE THAT'S SOMETHING YOU ARE SEEKING AND WANTING TO DO? YES, I WOULD LIKE TO DO THAT.'CAUSE I THINK THERE NEEDS TO BE FOLLOW UP MM-HMM.
SO I, AGAIN HERE IT'S SIX AND ONE HALF DOZEN.
THE OTHER, I MEAN, WE'VE GOTTEN THE, THE HEAVY LIFTING DONE, WHICH WAS THE, UH, IMPLEMENTATION OF THESE TWO PROGRAMS. THEY'RE UP AND RUNNING.
DO WE, UH, TABLE THIS ITEM, BRING IT BACK PERHAPS NEXT QUARTER OR HALF? WELL, I, I SUPPOSE MY QUESTION WOULD BE OUTSIDE OF THE MULTIFAMILY COMPOST INITIATIVE THAT YOU MENTIONED, UH, THAT KATHY WAS MENTIONING, ARE THERE ANY OTHER SIGNIFICANT GOALS OR OBJECTIVES THAT WOULD REQUIRE THE CONTINUATION OF THE RESOURCES OF A SUBCOMMITTEE OR A WORKING GROUP? THE, UH, SUBCOMMITTEE YEAH, GO AHEAD.
THE SUBCOMMITTEE ACTUALLY HELPED TO PROVIDE THE IMPETUS FOR A LOT OF THESE PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY, CURRENTLY, UH, GIFTED WITH.
I MEAN THE, UH, URO AND THE, UH, BASIC, UH, UH, MULTIFAMILY COMPOSTING, THAT IS WHAT GOT US TO THIS POINT.
NOW THE QUESTION IS, DO WE NEED THESE GOING FORWARD? IS THE, IS THE, UH, IS THE CHALLENGE WE'RE FACING NOW, CAN WE SET A TIMELINE BASED ON THE SUCCESSES AND OR A REVIEW OF WHAT, UH, THE, THE CHALLENGES AND SUCCESSES ARE OF THIS, OF THESE ROLLOUTS? CAN WE DO THAT, KEEP THE SUBCOMMITTEES UNTIL SUCH TIME AS WE FIND THAT, UH, AGAIN, A WORKING GROUP CAN TAKE THE PLACE OF A SUBCOMMITTEE AND CONTINUE OVERSIGHT OF THIS.
IF I UNDERSTAND IT CORRECTLY, IF WE KEEP THE SUBCOMMITTEES, THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO MEET FOUR TIMES.
AND IF WE'RE NOT GOING TO DO THAT.
MY SUGGESTION WOULD BE THAT WE, AND HOW MANY DO WE HAVE? HOW MANY SUBCOMMITTEES DO WE HAVE? I THINK WE HAVE THREE.
AND WHAT ARE THEIR NAMES? CONSTRUCTION.
THE CONSTRUCTION CONSTRUCTION DEMOLITION DEMO.
MARKET ORGANICS MANAGEMENT, CONSTRUCTION DEMOLITION, AND THE UNIVERSAL RECYCLING ORDINANCE.
BECAUSE IF, IF WE DON'T HAVE THE INTEREST IN THE PEOPLE TO, TO DO THEM AT THE MOMENT, THEN I'D JUST BE MORE EFFICIENT.
I MEAN, WHAT I MEAN, WE'RE JUST NOT DOING WHAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING.
I ACTUALLY HAVE A COMMENT ABOUT THAT.
SO THE C AND DI THINK IS A LITTLE BIT, I THINK THAT'S WORTH A LITTLE BIT OF DISCUSSION IN THE SENSE THAT OBVIOUSLY IT STALLED OUT.
IT STALLED OUT BECAUSE THERE REALLY WASN'T PROGRESS BEING MADE AT THE TIME.
SO SHOULD THAT BE A REASON FOR US TO DISBAND THE SUBCOMMITTEE OR SHOULD WE MEET ONCE A QUARTER, EVEN IF IT'S KIND OF PERFUNCTORY AND SAY, HOW'S IT GOING? WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO TO GET THIS THING UNSTUCK? UM, AND HOW DOES STAFF FEEL ABOUT, LIKE, ARE WE GOING TO, ARE WE GONNA SPEND THE NEXT EIGHT QUARTERS JUST SAYING THE SAME THING AND OR DO WE FEEL LIKE THERE'S GONNA BE SOME PROGRESS IN TERMS OF, UM, WHETHER IT'S, UM, SOME TYPE OF OVERSIGHT THAT'S HAPPENING, UM, YOU KNOW, CHANGES IN SITES? YEAH.
LEMME JUST SAY THERE'S NOTHING THAT YOU'RE PROPOSING OR WANTING TO DO THAT A WORKING GROUP COULDN'T ACCOMPLISH IN LIEU OF A SUBCOMMITTEE.
UM, WE CAN STILL, UH, PROVIDE YOU WITH INFORMATION ON ROLLOUTS.
WE CAN PROVIDE ANNUAL REPORTS ON SPECIFIC PROGRAMS SO THAT INFORMATION'S STILL GONNA BE THERE AND STILL AVAILABLE.
AND, AND IF NEED BE, YOU KNOW, WE CAN STILL SOLICIT, UH, YOU KNOW, OUTSIDE GROUPS TO, TO COME TO THESE MEETINGS AND STUFF.
EVEN THOUGH THAT WOULDN'T NECESSARILY BE OUR ROLE, I THINK WE CAN STILL FACILITATE THAT IF, IF THAT'S WHAT IT WOULD TAKE TO, TO CHANGE IT.
'CAUSE IT IS STILL A LOT OF WORK ON BEHALF OF STAFF TO, TO ADMINISTER THESE PROGRAMS IF THEY'RE MEETING, I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, THE, THE GROUPS HAVE NOT BEEN IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE RULES SO THAT THERE REALLY HASN'T BEEN THAT MUCH OF A, A LIFT SINCE, UH, Y'ALL HAVE BEEN OUTTA COMPLIANCE THERE.
BUT, UM, LIKE I SAID, THERE'S NOTHING THAT CAN'T BE, UH, DONE WITH THE, IN THE WORKING GROUP FORMAT THAT COULD, UH, BE DONE BY THE SUBCOMMITTEE.
SO CAN I ASK SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE C AND D? DO YOU FEEL LIKE THERE'S GONNA BE MOTION MOVEMENT THERE THAT IT'S GONNA BE WORTH FOR US TO, TO HELP IN THAT AREA? YOU KNOW, I, I, I WILL DEFER BACK TO THE COMMISSION ON WHAT ACTIONS THAT THE COMMITTEE WANTS TO SEE.
SO, I MEAN, THERE'S, YOU KNOW, THE UNIVERSE IS OUT THERE AND WE'RE LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, HOW WE'RE GONNA, WHAT NEXT
[00:50:01]
STEPS THERE ARE IN THE C AND D WORLD.SO, UM, WHETHER THERE'S GONNA BE A MOVEMENT OR NOT, THAT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT'S REALLY FOR THE COMMISSION TO, TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS AND, AND WE CAN HAVE OUR INPUT ON THAT AS WELL.
SO I, I DON'T WANNA NECESSARILY DIRECT WHAT COMMITTEES YOU ALL SHOULD HAVE AND NOT HAVE.
I'M JUST, I GUESS I'M WONDERING IF THERE'S ACTIVITY HAPPENING WITHIN STAFF AT THIS POINT WHEN IT COMES TO C AND D OR IF THAT'S SOMETHING WE WOULD NEED TO SPUR AT THIS POINT.
IT, YOU KNOW, AT THE END OF THE DAY, THIS WOULD BE BROUGHT BACK TO THIS COMMISSION AND ANY DECISIONS THAT ARE MADE AND OR ANY FINDINGS THAT ARE MADE WOULD, WOULD COME TO THIS COMMISSION.
NOW WITH THE WORKING GROUP, WE WOULD STILL BE PART OF THIS DEVELOPMENT SECTION SUBCOMMITTEE.
WE WOULD BE DEVELOPING THIS, BUT WE WOULD HAVE STAFF'S SUPPORT AT EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THESE MEETINGS.
TO CRAIG'S POINT, HAVE WE, UH, HAVE WE MET, UH, FOUR TIMES A YEAR? NO.
SO WE ARE, UH, OUTTA COMPLIANCE WHEN IT COMES TO THE ACTUAL MEETING SCHEDULE.
CAN THAT CHANGE? OH, ABSOLUTELY.
I MEAN, WE CAN BEGIN TO, TO DO THIS ON A REGULAR BASIS.
IS THERE A NEED TO DO THIS? AND, UH, YOU KNOW, I DO SEE PROBABLY THE MOST CHALLENGING THING IN MY PERSONAL OPINION RIGHT NOW WOULD BE THE, UH, C AND D 'CAUSE THAT IS AN ITEM THAT WE'VE YET TO DEVELOP.
THERE IS, UH, A LOT OF NEED AND OPPORTUNITY OUT THERE FOR THAT COMPONENT.
THE, UH, URO AND THE MULTIFAMILY, UH, ROLLOUT.
COMPOST ROLLOUT, THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE DONE.
CAN WE KEEP OVERSIGHT ON THAT EVERY SINGLE MONTH? ABSOLUTELY.
I THINK THEY'RE IN THE, UH, DIRECTOR'S REPORT, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN.
AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE STAFF WOULD BE FINE TOO, IF IT, MAYBE SOME OF THE, UH, COMMITTEES REMAIN COMMITTEES AND OTHERS WENT TO WORK IN GROUPS.
AND, UH, WE, WE DO NEED TO REMEMBER TOO, THERE'S ALSO A REPORTING REQUIREMENT FOR COMPLIANCE.
THE REPORT, I BELIEVE WERE DUE IN JANUARY.
SO COMMISSIONERS, AND WE'RE JUST KICKING A CAN DOWN THE ROAD HERE AND, AND IT'S TIME TO PICK IT UP.
UH, SO I HAVE A, GREG ARE, ARE NOW A, A SUBCOMMITTEE, HAS TO HAVE THREE PEOPLE.
IS IT, IS IT THREE OR FOUR? IT'S THREE.
IT CAN'T HAVE A QUORUM, SO IT'S GOTTA BE THREE.
SO ARE THERE THREE PEOPLE HERE WHO WOULD LIKE TO BE ON THE CONSTRUCTION DEMOLITION? I THINK SO.
I MEAN, WE'VE ALREADY GOT TWO.
WHO ARE THE TWO? KATHY AND MYSELF.
I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S VITAL.
WELL THEN IF WE HAVE ENOUGH PEOPLE, WE SHOULD KEEP THAT ONE.
UH, AND WE SHOULD GO THROUGH THE OTHER ONES.
AND THAT'S A, THE THANK YOU, THANK YOU CRAIG, FOR, UH, GETTING THAT STARTED.
BUT, UH, YES, THE, UH, UNIVERSAL RECYCLING ORDINANCES.
I MEAN, THAT IS SOMETHING AGAIN, THAT'S ALREADY BEEN, UH, BEEN ACHIEVED.
CAN WE TAKE THAT TO THE WORKING GROUP LEVEL AND, OR JUST MONTHLY UPDATES? KATHY, WONDER.
KATHY, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? YES.
I, I WOULD LIKE TO KEEP THE URO SUBCOMMITTEE GOING.
THERE WAS ONLY TWO OF US NOW 'CAUSE UH, CABLE WAS ON IT AND SHE'S GONE NOW.
SO MICHAEL, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO JOIN US OR NOT.
MICHAEL IS NOW A MEMBER OF THE URO SUBCOMMITTEE.
SO YOU GOT THREE PEOPLE NOW? THAT'S THREE PEOPLE.
AND THE REQUIREMENT IS MEETING ON A QUARTERLY BASIS, SO, OKAY.
THE OTHER ITEM IS THE, UH, MULTIFAMILY COMPOST SUBCOMMITTEE.
NOW, WHO ARE THE MEMBERS ON THAT ONE CURRENTLY, ME AND KATHY ARE ON THAT.
AND WAS, GOD, I BET YOUR PAYCHECKS ARE VERY LARGE
SO WE'RE, WE'RE PROBABLY IN NEED OF ANOTHER MEMBER AND, OR AGAIN, WE CAN DISBAND THAT AND JUST GO TO A WORKING GROUP AND OR STAFF UPDATES ON A REGULAR BASIS.
WHAT DO Y'ALL THINK ABOUT THAT? LISTEN, LISTEN.
I MEAN, I THINK IT'S GONNA BE A LITTLE WHILE
[00:55:01]
UNTIL WE GET ANY DATA.BUT EVEN THOUGH IT STARTED OCTOBER 1ST, WE HAVE THIS LONG ON-RAMP, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
I THINK THAT KIND OF, UH, DOES NOT SOUND LIKE THERE'S A PREPONDERANCE OF URGENCY AROUND THAT ONE.
SO MAYBE MOVE THAT TO A STAFF MEETING.
HEY, JASON
SO IT WAS, UH, JUST TO MAKE SURE I'M UNDERSTANDING, IT WAS WHEN WILL DATA BE AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST ACTUALLY RESULTS FOR, YEAH, SO WE'RE STARTING TO SEE THEM COME IN NOW, BUT WE'RE THINKING AFTER PROBABLY THIS, YOU KNOW, JANUARY IS, YOU KNOW, FEBRUARY IS WHEN IT OFFICIALLY ENDS AND WE, WE GET GOOD DATA USUALLY IN SPRING IS LIKE MM-HMM.
UM, BUT WE'RE HAPPY TO REPORT THAT INFORMATION, WHAT WE'VE GOT, UM, YOU KNOW, HERE TO THE COMMISSION AS PART OF BEING PART OF HIS WAC UPDATE IN THE MEANTIME AS WELL.
WELL DO YOU FEEL LIKE ON THAT ONE, DO YOU WANT TO MAINTAIN THE, THE REGULAR WORKING SESSIONS? I MEAN, I WOULD BE HAPPY TO.
IT SEEMS LIKE KATHY REALLY WANTS US TO MAINTAIN THAT COMMITTEE.
KATHY, IS THAT YES, THAT'S FINE.
AND MICHAEL, GUESS WHAT? YOU'RE ON ANOTHER COMMITTEE?
BUT, UH, BUT WE DO NEED ONE OTHER MEMBER.
IS THAT CORRECT? TO BE A PART OF THAT? I THINK WE ONLY NEED THREE.
I THINK WE HAVE TWO NOW, DON'T WE? ME AND KATHY.
SHE, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO DO IT.
MELISSA IS GOING TO BE DOING IT.
IT'S MELISSA AND YOU RIGHT NOW ON THIS COMMITTEE? ON THIS SUBCOMMITTEE AND MI AND MICHAEL? NO, THE, UH, WE, HE WAS FOR THE URO.
THIS IS THE MULTIFAMILY COMPOST.
I'LL JUMP IN ON THAT COMMITTEE.
AND THE, AND THE LAST ITEM IS THE, UH, C AND D.
SO I GUESS WE'RE GOING TO HANG OUT WITH OUR, UH, SUBCOMMITTEES.
RICHARD, I'M SORRY, JUST A CLARIFICATION.
THE LAST COMMITTEE, WHAT, WHAT WAS, WHAT WERE WE TALKING ABOUT THERE? I, I THOUGHT I HEARD MULTIFAMILY.
THERE IS NO MULTIFAMILY COM COMMITTEE.
WELL, I MEAN THE COMMITTEE, WELL MEAN THE ROLLOUT, THE, UH, THE UR THE, THE ROLLOUT OF THE, UH, ORGANIC RECYCLING PROGRAM.
SO THE, WHICH IS PART OF THE UR THROUGH THE, THE ORGANIC MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE.
SO WE'RE NOT CREATING A FOURTH COMMITTEE? NO.
NO, WE DON'T
SHOULDN'T WE ALSO MAKE SURE WE'VE DESIGNATED A CHAIR FOR EACH ONE OF THOSE COMMITTEES? I COMMISSIONERS ON THESE SUBCOMMITTEES.
DID YOU, DID YOU HAVE YOUR CHAIRS, KATHY? I THOUGHT YOU WERE, UH, CHAIRING THE YES, I HAVE BEEN CHAIRING IT.
AND YOU'RE CHAIRING C AND D? YEAH, LET'S DO IT THAT WAY.
COMMISSIONER GINA MCKINLEY, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR.
I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY THE ORGANICS MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE.
IT SOUNDED LIKE YOU ALL WERE TALKING ABOUT MULTIFAMILY COMPOSTING AS THE REQUIREMENT OF THE URO THAT IS HANDLED IN THE URO, CORRECT.
NOT THE ORGANICS MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE.
SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE YOU GUYS HAD THAT CLARITY CORRECT AS YOU'RE MAKING DECISIONS ABOUT COMMITTEES.
UM, AND ALSO IN TERMS OF A POINT WE'LL NEED TO POST CORRECT TO APPOINT MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEES.
YOU GUYS CAN TALK ABOUT IT NOW, BUT YOU'LL NEED TO POST AND TAKE FORMAL ACTION TO ESTABLISH THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS, CORRECT? I BELIEVE SO.
THERE ARE EXISTING COMMITTEE MEMBERS NOW, CORRECT? ON THE SECOND IF YOU HAVE VACANCIES THAT YOU NEED TO FILL, CORRECT? YES.
RIGHT? I DON'T HAVE THAT IN FRONT OF ME, BUT THERE SHOULD BE SOME MEMBERS AT LEAST.
BUT YOU LIKELY HAVE VACANCIES.
SO MICHAEL AND KAILYN, STAY TUNED.
SO I GUESS THE ITEM HERE, WE WILL TABLE.
AND AGAIN, PLEASE, PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS A COMMITMENT, THIS IS A COMMITMENT TO MEET AT LEAST FOUR TIMES A YEAR AND, UH, DISCUSS, OH, HOPEFULLY HAVE SOME VERY PRODUCTIVE DISCUSSIONS ON, ON HOW TO IMPROVE THE, UH, THE OVERALL, UH, RECYCLING
[01:00:01]
VERSION GOALS OF THIS COMMUNITY.SO, OH, TO FOLLOW UP ON WHAT GINA WAS SUPPOSED TO STICK AROUND AND SHE LEFT, UM, NO, I'M JUST KIDDING.
THE, UM, SO WE'VE GOT A POST FOR THESE ADDITIONAL, SO WHAT IS THIS, WHAT IS THE PROCESS? DO WE NEED TO DO THAT, PUT THAT ON THE AGENDA? OR DO WE EXACTLY.
BUT THAT, THAT, THAT IS A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM.
NEXT MONTH WE CAN, OR JANUARY.
SO MICHAEL CAITLYN, SANTA CLAUS IS COMING.
SO, UH, SO THAT I'M CLEAR, UM, I THINK THE SUBCOMMITTEE THAT I WAS INTERESTED IN IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN WHAT I THOUGHT IT WAS.
UM, CAN I GET CLARITY NOW ABOUT WHAT IS THE ROLE KIND OF RESPONSIBILITIES OF THAT SUBCOMMITTEE? OR IS THAT KIND OF LIKE A, LIKE A JANUARY MEETING TOPIC? NO, I MEAN, IF THERE'S, PLEASE, PLEASE SHARE THE, SHARE THE CHALLENGES, THE JOB, UH, COMMITMENT.
I MEAN THE ONE THAT I WAS ON WITH KATHY, I THINK IS THE OR SUBCOMMITTEE THAT DEALT WITH THE MULTIFAMILY, COMPOSTING AND NOT ORGANIC MATTER SUBCOMMITTEE.
SO YOU WOULD BE DEALING DIRECTLY AND, AND STAFF PLEASE DIRECTLY WITH THE, UH, ORGANIC COMPONENT.
IS THAT BECAUSE THAT'S PART OF THE URO? YEAH.
THE COMPOSTING THAT'S CORRECT.
SO THE THREE SUBCOMMITTEES, TWO ARE VERY SIMPLE.
ONE IS THE URO, THE OTHER IS THE C AND D, THE THIRD IS THE PROPER TITLE ON THAT ONE, ORGANICS MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE.
AND THAT DEALT WITH THE CURBSIDE COMPOSTING PROGRAM, WHICH HAS BEEN ROLLED COMMITTEE OUT CITYWIDE ORGANIC MANAGE.
AND, UH, WHO, WHO ARE THE CURRENT MEMBERS ON THAT, PLEASE? I DON'T THINK WE, I DUNNO.
NOW THERE IS, YOU KNOW, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE COULD DO IN JANUARY WHERE CORRECT.
WE GET, WE YOU LOOK ALL THAT UP AND THEN WE CAN CALL PEOPLE.
I ABSOLUTELY AGREE WITH YOU IN FACT THAT, UH, AGAIN, THIS IS BASICALLY DEVELOPING A WHOLE NEW SUBCOMMITTEE.
THE, UH, THE FACT THAT WE, THERE'S NO, YEAH, THERE'S, YEAH, I MEAN, THAT'S IT.
THE FACT, THE FACT THAT WE DON'T KNOW WHO'S ON IT AND OR WHAT IT DOES THAT IS, THAT IS PROBABLY A, MIGHT BE A SIGN A GOOD POINT THAT WE SHOULD DO AWAY WITH IT.
SO COMMISSIONERS, UH, TO THE, TO THE QUESTION HERE AS FAR AS SUBCOMMITTEES GO, IT LOOKS LIKE WE WANT TO KEEP THE URO AND WE WANT TO KEEP THE, UH, C AND D CORRECT AND MOVE FORWARD DISBAND ORGANICS MANAGEMENT.
IS THAT CORRECT? IT LOOKS LIKE THAT IS IT.
WE CAN TURN THAT INTO A WORKING GROUP PERHAPS.
AND IF WE EVER WANTED TO COME BACK, WE CAN WE REVISIT THIS? HOW ABOUT WE DISBAND IT AND WE CAN EVALUATE IF WE NEED A WORKING GROUP THAT THAT'LL WORK.
COMMISSIONERS, DO I HEAR, I SUPPORT EVERYTHING YOU JUST SAID.
I, I MAKE A MOTION THAT WE, UH, RECONSTITUTE THE URO AND THE CONSTRUCTION DECONSTRUCTION.
AND THAT WE DISBAND THE ORGANIC, ORGANIC MANAGEMENT.
AND IF WE NEED TO REVISIT THAT AGAIN, WE CAN ALWAYS MAKE A WORKING GROUP.
DO I HEAR A SECOND ON THAT? SECOND BEYOND SECONDS AND EVERYBODY ELSE, I THINK.
BUT, UH, HEARING NO FURTHER DISCUSSION ON THAT, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HANDS.
COMMISSIONERS IF YOU, IF YOU AGREE, I SHOULD SAY ANYBODY OPPOSED TO THAT.
ANY ABSTENTIONS HERE OR NONE? THANK YOU, COMMISSIONERS.
UH, NEXT ITEM HERE IS LITERALLY JUST A ITEM FOUR, WHICH
[4. Recommend authorizing execution of a contract for compost processing services with Employee-Owned Nursery Enterprises LTD d/b/a Organics By Gosh, for up to five years for a total contract amount not to exceed $11,800,000.]
IS A RECOMMENDATION AUTHORIZING A CONTINUED CONTRACT WITH ORGANICS BY GOSH AND, OH, I'M SORRY, ADAM, PLEASE.CHAIRMAN KUYA SAMUEL GILBERT, DIVISION MANAGER WITH AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY.
AND SO THIS IS OUR RECOMMENDATION FOR COUNCIL ACTION FOR THE PROCESS AND SERVICES FOR THE ORGANICS PROGRAM.
UH, IT WILL GO TO COUNCIL ON NOVEMBER 21ST OF THIS YEAR, AND IT IS TO AUTHORIZE EXECUTION OF THE CONTRACT FOR COMPOST PROCESSING SERVICES WITH EMPLOYEE OWNED NURSERY ENTERPRISES, UH, WHICH IS KNOWN AS, UH, ORGANICS BY GOSH.
[01:05:01]
FOR UP TO FIVE YEARS FOR, UH, AND NOT TO EXCEED $11.8 MILLION.AND AS YOU ALL KNOW THAT OVER THE COURSE OF THE FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF OUR ORGANICS PROGRAM, UH, WE'VE COLLECTED, UH, NEARLY, UH, 184,000 TONS OF FOOD WASTE AND OTHER COMPOSTABLE MATERIALS.
UH, JUST THIS PAST FISCAL YEAR AND FY 24, WE COLLECTED NEARLY 43,000 TONS OF, OF COMPOSTABLE MATERIALS.
AND SO THIS JUST CONTINUES TO PROGRESS US TOWARD OUR DIVERSION.
ALRIGHT, COMMISSIONERS, DO I HEAR ANY QUESTIONS CONCERNING THIS? YES, I HAVE.
UH, GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.
UH, THE CONTRACT BEFORE YOU, UH, IS FOR PROCESSING THE ORGANICS COLLECTED BY THE CITY FROM THE RESIDENTIAL ROUTES.
UM, TDS HAS BEEN IN THE ORGANICS COMPOSTING BUSINESS FOR 35 YEARS HERE IN AUSTIN.
UM, WE OPERATE FOUR PRODUCTION FACILITIES ACROSS CENTRAL TEXAS, AND MANY OF YOU HAVE VISITED OUR FACILITIES AND ARE AWARE THAT WE'RE QUALIFIED TO DO THIS WORK.
UM, TDS RESPONDED TO THIS SOLICITATION, UM, BUT WE WEREN'T CONSIDERED BECAUSE WE TOOK A FEW EXCEPTIONS TO THE TERMS OF THE BID.
NOW, THOSE EXCEPTIONS WERE ONE, WE CLARIFIED THAT THE CITY COULD REVIEW OUR FINANCIALS, BUT THEY COULDN'T MAKE COPIES.
IT'S A, THAT'S SOMETHING WE DO WITH ALL OF OUR CONTRACTS.
UM, WE STATED THAT THE CITY COULD USE THE LANDFILL FOR DEAD ANIMALS, BUT WE DID NOT WANT TO ACCEPT THEM AT OUR COMPOSTING FACILITY.
AND WE ALSO TOOK AN EXCEPTION CLARIFYING THAT WE WOULDN'T ASSUME LIABILITY FOR SPILLS THAT TOOK PLACE FROM CITY VEHICLES WHILE THE CITY, UM, WAS PICKING UP THE MATERIALS OFFSITE.
OF COURSE, WE WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MATERIAL AS SOON AS CUSTODY TRANSFERRED ON OUR SITE.
UM, WE THINK THESE ARE VERY REASONABLE EXCEPTIONS TO TAKE.
UM, NOW, SECTION 4.3 OF THE SOLICITATION INSTRUCTIONS SAYS THAT EXCEPTIONS MAY CAUSE THE CITY TO REJECT THE OFFER.
UM, THE CITY CAN CERTAINLY CHOOSE NOT TO REJECT IT.
UM, HOWEVER, THE CITY CHOSE TO REJECT OUR OFFER, UM, IN THIS DECISION.
THEY CAN MAKE THAT DECISION, BUT I WAS VERY SURPRISED THAT THEY DID IN THIS CASE.
UM, I WAS SURPRISED BECAUSE OF THE PRICING OFFERED TDS BID $27 AND 40 CENTS PER TON ORGANICS BY GOSH, BID $42 AND 26 CENTS PER TON.
ORGANICS, BY GOSH, CURRENT RATE IS JUST UNDER $20.
THEY'VE, THEY'VE OVER DOUBLED, UH, THEIR RATE IN THIS BID.
THAT'S A DIFFERENCE OF $891,600 A YEAR, OR $4,458,000 OVER THE LIFE OF THE CONTRACT.
I DON'T BELIEVE OUR VERY REASONABLE, REASONABLE EXCEPTIONS ARE WORTH $4.5 MILLION OF EXTRA COST TO THE RATE PAYERS IN THE CITY.
I THINK THAT A RR COULD FIND MANY BETTER USES FOR THAT MONEY.
UM, MY REQUEST IS SIMPLY THAT YOU RECOMMEND AWARD OF THE CONTRACT TO TDS OR AT A VERY MINIMUM, RECOMMEND THAT THE SOLICITATION BE REBID SO THAT THE, IN SUCH A MANNER THAT THE CITY CAN SELECT OUR OFFER.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.
I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
ANY QUESTIONS? YEAH, ACTUALLY, I HAD A QUESTION.
I I ACTUALLY HAD A QUESTION BEFORE ADAM CAME UP.
I HAD THE QUESTION ABOUT YEAH.
HOW DOES THIS COMPARE WITH, PREVIOUSLY ADAM ANSWERED FROM HIS PERSPECTIVE, UM, WHAT IT MM-HMM
CAN WE HEAR FROM STAFF HOW, HOW THIS COMPARES? AND THEN IN LIGHT OF ADAM'S COMMENTS, MAYBE YOU'VE GOT SOME COMMENTS OF YOUR OWN ABOUT HOW THE, HOW THE BIDS WERE EVALUATED.
UM, VICTORIA RIGGER, OUR FINANCE MANAGER ALSO HELPED WITH THE, THE COMPLIANCE SIDE OF IT.
SO, UH, ADAM DID RUN THROUGH THE COMPARISON.
SO IT WAS COMPETITIVELY SOLICITED.
UH, I MEAN, BUT THE BIGGEST, UH, WHAT WE WERE LOOKING FOR DIFFERENTLY IN THIS CONTRACT WAS WE WERE TRYING TO IDENTIFY TWO PROCESSORS IN, IN, IN, IN, UH, WITHIN OUR SERVICE AREA.
IT DOES, UH, MAKE OUR OPERATIONS MORE EFFICIENT TO HAVE TWO VERSUS, UH, UH, HAUL INTO A SINGLE OPERATOR.
UH, AND WE ALSO ADDED A COUPLE DIFFERENT MATERIALS TO THIS WASTE, UH, OR TO THIS COMPOSTING THAN WE HAD IN THE COUPLE YEARS PAST.
WE, UH, WE LOOKED FOR THOSE OPPORTUNITIES WITH EVERY SOLICITATION, AND ACTUALLY AT THE ANNIVERSARY DATE OF THIS CONTRACT, UH, WE, WE TALK TO THE VENDOR TO SEE WHAT, WHAT MIGHT BE AN OPTION.
SO CUSTOMERS, UH, ASK US RANDOM QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT MIGHT BE ACCEPTABLE WITHIN THE WASTE STREAM OR IN THE COMPOST STREAM.
[01:10:01]
WE'RE OFTENTIMES ABLE TO ADD THOSE MATERIALS IN.UH, WE'VE HAD SOME UNUSUAL REQUESTS INCLUDING EAR WAX, WHICH WAS SOMETHING THAT, UH, WE DIDN'T EXPECT TO RECEIVE, BUT, UH, IT WAS, UH, WE FOUND OUT, YOU KNOW, I GUESS IT IS TECHNICALLY COMPOSTABLE IF YOU'VE GOT THAT MUCH OF IT, BUT, UH, THANK GOODNESS.
WELL, WHAT WORKED? UH, BUT THE, OBVIOUSLY THE, THE BIG ONES THAT WE WERE SEEING WERE, UH, I BELIEVE WAS DRYER LINT AND, UH, COTTON BALLS.
SO WE WERE ABLE TO ADD THOSE INTO THE SOLICITATION THIS TIME AROUND.
UH, WE DID HAVE SOME, UH, EXCEPTIONS TO THE, TO THE CONTRACT THAT WERE TAKEN, UH, BY ONE OF THE VENDORS OR ONE OF THE SOLICITORS.
AND, UH, THOSE ARE STANDARD TERMS AND CONDITIONS FROM, UH, THE CITY OF AUSTIN CONTRACT.
THEY ARE RELATED OR FROM THE CITY OF, UH, OF AUSTIN CONTRACT.
AND THEY ARE, UH, FROM THE, UH, SOME COME, SOME OF 'EM I BELIEVE ARE, UH, RELATED DIRECTLY TO THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE.
UH, SO I, I'LL HAVE, UH, VICTORIA COME AND SPEAK, UH, MORE IF YOU HAVE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS ON THOSE.
SO IF YOU, YOU WANTED A CONTRACTOR THAT HAD TWO DIFFERENT SITES AND I'M, I'M ASSUMING THAT'S BECAUSE IT SAVES YOU TRANSPORTATION COSTS? THAT'S CORRECT.
IT DEFINITELY MAKES OUR OPERATION MORE EFFICIENT.
SO WE WOULD BE ABLE TO SEND MAYBE NORTH ROUTES TO ONE VENDOR AND THEN THEN SOUTHERN ROUTES TO ANOTHER VENDOR.
UM, AND THEN I HAVE A QUESTION ON, I, WHEN I READ THIS, COTTON BALLS ARE CO COTTON BALLS SEEM LIKE THEY SHOULD BE TOTALLY COMPOSTABLE.
WAS THERE SOME REASON THEY'RE, THEY WEREN'T CONSIDERED THAT? UH, I'M NOT SURE FOR WHEN THIS, UH, CONTRACT WAS OR WHEN WE FIRST LAUNCHED THE PROGRAM, WHY IT WASN'T INCLUDED, BUT IT WAS DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT WE REALIZED WAS A GAP AND WE ADDRESSED IT.
'CAUSE I, I GET INTO DETAIL, YOU KNOW, THE, THE Q-TIPS, YOU KNOW, THEY MAKE THOSE WITH COTTON AND THE BAR IS NOT PLASTIC.
SOME THEY MAKE WITH PLASTIC, SOME THEY MAKE WITH A PAPER.
WHICH PAPER, WHICH I ASSUME IS COMPOSTABLE.
BUT THIS, I THINK THIS SORT OF MATTERS OVER THE WHOLE CITY BECAUSE I MEAN, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF THESE THINGS.
UM, THE OTHER QUESTION IS DRYER LINT.
UM, IT SEEMS TO ME, I MEAN, I LOOK AT WHAT I'M WEARING.
UH, THERE'S A LOT OF, OF SYNTHETIC MATERIALS PEOPLE PUT IN THE DRYER AND THE DRYER LINT CONTAINS A LOT OF SYNTHETIC MATERIAL.
AND 'CAUSE I'VE NEVER PUT THAT IN THE COMPOSTING FOR THAT REASON.
THAT'S MICROPLASTIC ESSENTIALLY SOME OF IT.
AND SO IF YOU PUT IT IN THE COMPOSTING AND YOU CALL YOURSELF ORGANICS, BY GOSH, THAT'S KINDA LIKE, I DON'T KNOW, THAT'S LIKE A LITTLE, I'M JUST, IS THAT OKAY TO PUT DRYER LINT IN THE COMPOST FROM WHAT WE HEARD FROM THE VENDOR? YES.
SO THE, UH, THE FEEDBACK FROM THEM WAS THAT IT'S JUST NOT SUCH A GREAT VOLUME THAT IT'S ACTUALLY A PROBLEM.
HOW ABOUT THE RESIDUE FROM A VACUUM SWEEPER? DEPENDS ON WHAT YOU'RE VACUUMER MM.
CAT HERE FROM LIKE YOUR HOUSEHOLD SWEEPERS IS WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.
'CAUSE I THINK AND HAD TALKED TO, THAT'S, THAT'S SOMETHING I DON'T, I'M NOT SURE, I'D HAVE TO CHECK IT OUT RI RICHARD ABOUT THIS.
'CAUSE I MEAN, WE HAVE A, WE HAVE A REALLY GROWING PROBLEM WITH MICROPLASTIC AND WE DON'T KNOW WHAT IT DOES.
AND THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, IT'S SNOWING MICROPLASTIC AT THE TOP OF MOUNT EVEREST NOW.
LITTLE TINY PIECES OF MICROPLASTIC.
AND MY QUESTION IS, I MEAN, THEN YOU HEAR SOMETHING ORGANICS BY GOSH AND YOU HEAR COMPOSTING, IF WE ARE PUTTING MICROPLASTICS IN OUR COMPOST, UM, IT PERSONALLY, I WOULD RATHER WORK WITH, WITH SOMEONE WHO UNDERSTANDS THAT AND ISN'T GONNA CALL IT ORGANIC.
HOW DEEP DO YOU DRILL DOWN ON WHAT IS COMPOSTABLE AND WHAT ISN'T, I GUESS, AND HOW DOES THAT MATTER WITH THE CONTRACT? SO AGAIN, WE'VE, WE'VE GONE THROUGH OUR CORRECT.
OUR, I'M SORRY, WHAT? NO, NO, I'M AGREEING WITH YOU.
AND SO YEAH, WE'VE GONE THROUGH OUR LIST, UH, AND, AND WORKED WITH THE CONTRACTOR TO SAY, ARE THESE ACCEPTABLE WITHIN YOUR, YOUR, WITHIN YOUR FACILITY? AND, AND THEY TELL US YES OR NO.
SO THAT, SO SO YOU GO BY WITH WHETHER THEY TELL YOU YES OR NO, THEY CAN TAKE IT.
SO YOU DON'T MAKE AN EVALUATION ON YOUR OWN SAYING, THIS IS MICROPLASTIC, WE DON'T WANT YOU TO COMPOST IT IN THIS SITUATION? NO, I, I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, OKAY, I, WE, WE, IF WE GET AN A REQUEST MAYBE WHERE THERE'S A SITUATION, UH, WHERE A CUSTOMER COULD, UH, BE PUTTING MORE PLASTICS IN THE WASTE STREAM, FOR EXAMPLE, Q-TIPS, THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT THEY WEREN'T WILLING
[01:15:01]
TO ACCEPT BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT THE BAR, SOME OF, SOME OF THOSE ARE TYPICALLY PLASTIC PLASTICS.AND NOT ALL, UH, AND SO THEY DIDN'T WANT THOSE WITHIN THE SYSTEM.
BUT AGAIN, COMING BACK TO THE DRYER LINT BEING, UH, SOMETHING THEY WEREN'T CONCERNED ABOUT DUE TO THE VOLUME OF IT, THEY DIDN'T SEE THAT AS A LARGE AMOUNT OF MATERIAL COMING INTO THE FACILITY.
YOU, YOU DID ANSWER MY QUESTION, SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
YEAH, I GUESS, CAN WE VERIFY THE, UM, THE ECONOMIC SIDE OF THIS? IN OTHER WORDS? YEAH.
ARE WE SEEING A SIGNIFICANT RATE INCREASE IN TERMS OF OUR COST AND, AND FROM THE A RR RATE INCREASE? CORRECT.
IS NO, NOT THE RATE TO THE CONSUMER, BUT HOW MUCH WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO PAY AS A CITY FOR THIS, ACCORDING TO THE NEW CONTRACT COMPARED TO OUR PREVIOUS CONTRACT, YES.
THERE IS A, A SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE FROM, UH, THE CURRENT SOLICITATION TO, UH, WHAT WILL BE THE NEWLY AWARDED CONTRACT.
AND YOU MENTIONED THE NORTH AND SOUTH, THE, THE FACT THAT THERE WERE TWO FACILITIES, IS WAS PART OF THE REASON THAT YOU MENTIONED THAT DUE TO THE FACT THAT THAT WAS ONLY AVAILABLE FROM ONE OF THE VENDORS? UH, I'M SORRY, ASK THAT AGAIN.
UH, WHEN YOU MENTIONED THAT, DID, IS THAT A CRITERIA THAT ELIMINATED ONE OF THE NO, IT WAS, IT WAS JUST A PREFERENCE.
IT WASN'T, UH, IT WASN'T A REQUIREMENT.
UM, SO I GUESS IS IT, IS WHAT IS THE, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW IF WE NEED TO REALLY GET INTO THE DETAILS NECESSARILY IN THIS, I DON'T WANT TO SECOND GUESS HERE, BUT IT, I GUESS THE QUESTION HAS BEEN RAISED THAT, DID WE MAKE REASONABLE, ARE, ARE YOU SAYING THAT THE, UM, THE CRITERIA FROM A CITY PERSPECTIVE WOULD NOT ALLOW US TO OR DID NOT FAVOR TD S'S BID? IS THAT THE DEAL? SO BASED ON THEIR, UH, I GUESS THEIR, UH, EXCEPTIONS THAT THEY TOOK TO THE CONTRACT CORRECT.
DID NOT ALLOW THE CITY TO AWARD THE CONTRACT TO THAT VENDOR.
SO THAT'S A AND THAT'S NOT, THAT'S NOT A DISQUALIFICATION, THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT A RR, UH, SO A RR WAS ABLE, COULD HAVE, COULD AND EXERCISE DID DECIDE TO EXERCISE THAT RIGHT.
TO DECLINE TO ACCEPT NO, THAT'S, THAT'S NOT A DECISION MADE AT A RR THAT'S THE DECISION MADE AT OUR CORPORATE PURCHASING OFFICE.
THAT'S, UH, HANDLED BY, BY THAT TEAM.
WELL THEN THAT'S NOT YOUR DEPARTMENT
SO WE HAVE A PROCUREMENT COME IN TO, TO GIVE A DISCUSSION ON THAT BECAUSE THAT SEEMS LIKE SUCH A TREMENDOUS COST INCREASE FOR WHAT I UNDERSTAND TO BE DEFINITELY SOME FLEXIBILITY ON NORTH AND SOUTH ROOTS, WHICH I THINK IS A BONUS, BUT, UM, WOULD LIKE TO UNDERSTAND THE REASONING, UH, PROCUREMENT SIDE OF THINGS.
THAT'S SOMETHING THEY'RE NOT HERE THIS EVENING TO SPEAK TO THAT.
BUT, SORRY, JUST TO CLARIFY IT, YOU GUYS WANTED THERE TO BE NORTH AND SOUTH LOCATIONS.
THAT ISN'T WHAT YOU'RE GETTING WITH THIS CONTRACTOR? THAT'S CORRECT.
IT WAS A, IT WAS A PREFERENCE.
RIGHT, BUT NOT A BUT IT DOESN'T EXIST.
OH, THAT, SO THERE ISN'T A NORTH AND SOUTH WITH NOT YET.
DID I, THEY'RE TWO DIFFERENT VENDORS.
SO ONE, ONE HAS A FACILITY SOUTH, ONE HAS A FACILITY NORTHEAST.
SO, SO, AND MUCH LIKE WE DO OUR CURRENT RECYCLING, SINGLE STREAM RECYCLING CONTRACTS, ONE HEADS TO ONE VENDOR, THE OTHER, A DIFFERENT VENDOR, IS THAT EVEN REMOTELY AN OPTION OR IS IT, IS IT AN EFFICIENT, UH, THOUGHT PROCESS TO, TO CONSIDER SOMETHING LIKE THAT? STAFF? I MEAN, JUST OUTTA CURIOSITY, I THINK THAT THAT WOULD'VE HAD BEEN OUR PREFERENCE IS TO, TO HAVE TWO VENDORS.
SO, BUT WE UNDERSTAND THAT THERE WAS ONLY ONE RESPONSIVE VENDOR FOR BETTER.
SO AGAIN, THIS IS BASICALLY THE PURCHASING OFFICE SLASH AUDITOR WHO STATED THAT, UH, SINCE THEY WERE NOT WILLING TO, AND I HATE TO USE THE WORD ABIDE BY THE, UH, REQUIREMENTS IN SUBMITTING A, A, UH, PROPOSAL, THAT THAT WOULD BE THROWN OUT, ELIMINATED, NOT, UH, CONSIDERED.
IS THAT CORRECT? THAT'S, IT'S A CORPORATE PURCHASING DECISION, SO OKAY.
THE, THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS HAVE TO BE ACCEPTED.
IS ADAM FROM TDS STILL HERE? YES, HE IS.
UM, WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE SINCE I'M, I'M NOT PRESENT, I CAN'T SEE IF HE'S ABLE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS.
WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE, SO, UH, IS THERE A PARTICULAR REASON THAT, SO MY UNDERSTANDING HERE IS THAT THERE WAS ONE THING THAT KIND OF
[01:20:01]
HELD YOUR BID UP PARTICULARLY, AND THAT WAS THAT YOU WERE NOT WILLING TO MAKE A COPY OF THE CONTRACT.IS THAT CORRECT? NO, UM, THEIR FINANCIAL, THE, THE PRIMARY, UH, EXCEPTION WE TOOK, WHICH WE'VE TAKEN TO EVERY SINGLE, UH, SOLICITATION WE'VE EVER RESPONDED TO.
UM, AND JUST FOR YOUR INFORMATION, TEXAS DISPOSAL SYSTEMS, WE ARE THE CITY'S CONTRACTOR FOR LANDFILL DISPOSAL.
WE'RE UNDER A 30 YEAR CONTRACT.
EVERY BIT OF TRASH THAT GETS COLLECTED BY THE CITY'S DEPARTMENT COMES TO OUR FACILITY.
UM, AND UH, TO OVER 40% OF THE CITY'S RECYCLABLES COMES TO OUR MURPH.
WE HAVE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CONTRACTS WITH THE CITY.
SO WE ARE A ESTABLISHED VENDOR.
UM, WE ARE NOT WILLING TO MAKE OUR FINANCIALS PUBLIC.
THERE, THERE IS A PROVISION IN THE CONTRACT THAT GIVES THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE AND THE STAFF THE RIGHT TO DEMAND PRODUCTION OF YOUR AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND ALL SORTS OF FINANCIAL RECORDS ROUTINELY.
WE SAY, AND WE OFFER, WE SAY YOU MAY COME TO OUR OFFICES AND REVIEW THEM FOR PURPOSES OF, UH, CREDIT WORTHINESS VERIFICATION.
HOWEVER, ONCE THE CITY TAKES POSSESSION OF THOSE, THEY BECOME PUBLIC INFORMATION.
WE'RE A PRIVATELY HELD COMPANY AND AN INCREDIBLY COMPETITIVE INDUSTRY.
AND, UM, THERE ARE MANY PUB LARGE PUBLICLY TRADED CORPORATIONS IN THIS INDUSTRY THAT WOULD, UM, USE THAT INFORMATION TO OUR DETRIMENT.
SO WE HAVE A ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY ON MAKING THAT TYPE OF INFORMATION PUBLIC.
AND, UM, I'LL REITERATE THAT THE CITY DOES NOT HAVE TO DISQUALIFY A BID FOR EXCEPTIONS.
AND THEN CERTAINLY THEY CAN DO THAT.
I DON'T THINK IT'S PRUDENT IN THIS SITUATION.
AND I'LL JUST MAKE ONE MORE POINT.
UM, THIS CON THE EXISTING CONTRACT GOES, UM, INTO FEBRUARY SOMETIME.
THE EXISTING CONTRACT ALSO HAS A 120 DAY HOLDOVER.
SO THE CONTRACT CAN BE UTILIZED BY THE, BY A RR UNTIL JUNE 21ST, 2025.
IF YOU WOULD, UM, IF IT WAS THE, THE DESIRE OF THE COMMISSION, YOU COULD REQUEST FOR CORPORATE PURCHASING TO COME TO THE NEXT MEETING AND GIVE AN EXPLANATION WHY THE, WHAT I BELIEVE ARE REASONABLE EXCEPTIONS TAKEN ON OUR BID ARE WORTH AN ADDITIONAL FOUR AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS OVER THE LIFE OF THE CONTRACT.
NOW, ARE THESE SAME PROVISIONS PART OF THE OTHER TWO CONTRACTS YOU HAVE? NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT.
ARE YOU SAYING THAT THEY TAKE, IN OTHER WORDS, CORRECT.
WERE YOU ASKED THE SAME QUESTION? THE OTHER, THE CITY DOESN'T HAVE THE RIGHT TO TAKE OUR FINANCIALS IN ANY CONTRACT WE HAVE.
SO AGAIN, THE, THE OTHER TWO CONTRACTS THAT YOU HAVE, WE HAVE MULTIPLE CONTRACTS MORE THAN THAT.
LET'S, LET'S, LET'S TAKE THE, UH, RECYCLING CONTRACT FOR EXAMPLE.
WAS THAT, UH, BASED, THAT WAS NEGOTIATED PURSUANT TO AN RFP? SO IT'S DIFFERENT CORRECT.
UM, BUT NO, THEY'RE, UH, THE, THE LANGUAGE IN THE RECYCLING CONTRACT IS SIMILAR TO THAT WHICH WE PROPOSED TO BE INCLUDED IN THIS CONTRACT.
AND THE LANDFILL CONTRACT, SAME RFP, IT WAS BACK IN THE LATE NINETIES.
DO YOU TAKE COTTON BALLS TO COMPOST? COTTON BALLS ARE ABSOLUTELY, UM, COMPOSTABLE.
I HAVEN'T DONE A SCIENTIFIC OR AN ANALYSIS OF DRYER LT, BUT I CAN TELL, AND I WOULD, MY, MY INSTINCT TELLS ME THAT IT'S MOSTLY COTTON BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT LINS UP.
THE, THE SYNTHETIC FIBERS THAT WE WEAR ARE SO POPULAR BECAUSE THEY'RE DURABLE.
UM, SO I WOULD, I WOULD IMAGINE THAT WITHIN DRYER LT, THE AMOUNT THAT WAS SYNTHETIC WOULD BE DI MINIMUS.
AND I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT THE AMOUNT OF DRYER LT IN THE STREAM OF COMPOSTABLES, WHICH INCLUDES ALL THE YARD WASTE AND FOOD WASTE AND EVERYTHING WOULD BE VANISHINGLY SMALL.
UM, AND SO IN ANY COMPOSTING FACILITY, YOU WILL HAVE A DI MINIMUS AMOUNT OF, OF NON-ORGANIC MATERIAL THERE.
IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE CAN CONTROL A HUNDRED PERCENT FOR.
I'VE HEARD IT'S SO TO, TO SAY THAT BECAUSE THERE WAS A DI MINIMUS AMOUNT OF POLYESTER IN A, IN DRYER LENGTH THAT GOT INTO THE COMPOST THAT WE SHOULDN'T, UH, CLAIM OUR PRODUCT
[01:25:01]
WAS ORGANIC.AND I HAVE ONE OTHER QUESTION.
'CAUSE YOU MENTIONED IT ABOUT DEAD ANIMALS.
AND SO YOU, IT, IT SEEMS TO ME LIKE DEAD ANIMALS WOULD BE COMPOSTABLE IF YOU COMPOST THE DINNER.
BUT WHEN YOU GET A BUNCH OF, THEY'RE, THEY'RE DIFFICULT TO MANAGE.
UM, AT A, YOU, YOU, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S A FAIRLY GRUESOME PRO PROCESS TO GRIND UP A DEAD ANIMAL.
UM, THERE'S NO QUESTION WE'VE DONE IT AND WE DO IT TO SOME EXTENT, HOWEVER, UM, WITHIN THE CONTRACT AND WE COULD BE OPEN TO POTENTIALLY NEGOTIATING WITH THE CITY REGARDING THAT.
HOWEVER, THE CITY RESERVED THE RIGHT IN THERE.
WE RESERVED THE RIGHT TO ADD DEBT, DEAD ANIMALS TO THE COMPOSTABLE STREAM.
WE DIDN'T, UH, WANNA AGREE TO THAT UPFRONT TO WHERE THE CITY COULD DELIVER ALL THEIR DEAD ANIMALS TO THE COMPOSTING FACILITY.
SO WE SAID CO-LOCATED LANDFILL.
UM, 'CAUSE THEN I, I HAVE A QUESTION FOR THE CITY, HOW MANY DEAD ANIMALS? THEY ESTIMATE? 50 TONS.
THE BIG SAYS 50 TONS OF DEAD ANIMALS.
YEAH, THAT'S BECAUSE, 'CAUSE I, I, I, I MEAN I WAS ON THE ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMISSION AND I KNOW THERE IS A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE OF DEAD ANIMALS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR ANSWERS.
WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO ARRANGE THE PROCUREMENT DIVISION TO MAYBE COME TO THE JANUARY MEETING AND LIKE GIVE US SOME CONTEXT ON WHY THEY MADE THE DECISION THAT THEY DID? HI, VICTORIA RIEGER, FINANCE DIVISION MANAGER FOR AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY.
JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY, UH, SOMETHING THAT ADAM MENTIONED REGARDING THE HOLDOVER.
WE ARE CURRENTLY EXERCISING THE 120 DAY HOLDOVER.
SO THE CONTRACT EXPIRATION WITH, UH, ORGANICS BY GOSH INCLUDES 120 DAY HOLDOVER.
ANY ADDITIONAL HOLDOVER WOULD REQUIRE, UM, WE, WE'D HAVE TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT THE CONTRACT TO SEE MM-HMM.
AND TWO, THE VENDOR WOULD OBVIOUSLY HAVE TO AGREE TO THAT HOLDOVER.
UM, SO I WANTED TO CLARIFY THAT PIECE.
BUT THE OTHER THING THAT I WANTED TO MENTION, UM, IS WHILE WE DON'T KNOW THE DEPARTMENT, UH, DOESN'T KNOW THE REASONING BEHIND, UH, THE DECISIONS MADE BY CORPORATE PURCHASING WITH REGARD TO, UH, WHEN THEY DEEM CERTAIN OFFERS NON-RESPONSIVE IN THIS CASE, UH, YOU KNOW, I'M JUST NOW HEARING IT TONIGHT.
UM, THE, UH, EXCEPTIONS TAKEN TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND TO THE SCOPE OF WORK, UM, WERE WHAT DROVE THE DECISION.
UM, AND REALLY, UM, YOU, WHEN YOU'RE DOING THESE SOLICITATIONS, YOU WANNA LEVEL PLAYING FIELD.
MM-HMM,
SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE THAT PART CLEAR.
UM, BUT TO ANSWER THE OTHER QUESTION ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHETHER OR NOT PROCUREMENT COULD COME BEFORE YOU, I'M SURE THEY'D BE HAPPY TO.
UM, AND, AND CERTAINLY WE CAN INSTEAD EXTEND THAT INVITATION TO THEM.
BUT JUST WANTED TO MAKE YOU ALL AWARE OF VICTORIA.
DOES THE HOLDOVER EXPIRE? I BELIEVE IT IS FEBRUARY.
YOU'VE CLARIFIED A FEW THINGS FOR US.
DON'T GO FAR, PLEASE, VICTORIA.
COMMISSIONERS, THIS, THIS IS A DISCUSSION ACTION ITEM.
THIS IS SCHEDULED TO GO TO COUNSEL ON NEXT THURSDAY.
IS THAT CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT.
SO, AND WOULD WE, IS IT, OUR OPTION REALLY IS TO RECOMMEND TO COUNSEL THAT THEY WAIT UNTIL WE HEAR OR BACK FROM MM-HMM,
WE CAN ACTUALLY ASK THE, UH, PROCUREMENT DEPARTMENT TO PRESENT TO US IN OUR, AT OUR JANUARY MEETING.
AND THEN IT BASED, NOW THE HOLDOVER IS THROUGH FEBRUARY.
AND AT THAT POINT, AT THAT POINT, THE HOLDOVER IS THE ADDITIONAL HOLD HOLDOVER IS NEGOTIATED, RIGHT? YEAH.
SO I BELIEVE IT'S, UH, MID-FEBRUARY THAT THE ONE 20 ENDS 120 DAY HOLDOVER IS SO THAT'S GONNA BE NEGOTIATED TO? CORRECT.
I I, I WOULD SUGGEST THAT I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH
[01:30:01]
INFORMATION TO MAKE A A, A GOOD OPINION ON THIS.UM, WE NEED 50 TONS OF DEAD ANIMALS COMPOSED.
I MEAN, I GET THAT, I THINK, BUT ALSO I'M NOT SURE HOW MUCH MONEY IS SAVED, YOU KNOW, WITH, UH, TRUCKING THE STUFF AROUND COMPARED TO HOW MUCH MORE THE CONTRACT COSTS.
I MEAN, SO I, I CAN'T MAKE, I COULDN'T MAKE A GOOD DECISION ON THE SITE, SO I WOULD HAVE TO ABSTAIN IF WE ARE GOING TO APPROVE IT.
'CAUSE I JUST DON'T KNOW ENOUGH.
SO, I MEAN, WE COULD ALSO, I MEAN, DEFER THE ITEM UNTIL FURTHER INFORMATION IS PROVIDED.
I MEAN, THAT'S ONE OPTION HERE.
SO I MEAN, WHAT ARE WE DOING DEFERRING THE REC THE RECOMMENDATION TO APPROVE.
BUT I MEAN, IT'S GONNA GO TO COUNCIL ANYWAY AT THIS POINT, RIGHT? IT'S SCHEDULED TO GO TO COUNCIL NOW IT WOULD GO WITHOUT US, IT WOULD GO WITHOUT OUR APPROVAL.
SO NOW I, OR WE COULD SAY WE TAKE EXCEPTION BECAUSE WE FEEL LIKE WE, WE NEED FURTHER CLARIFICATION ON SOME OF THE, UH, SOME OF THE, SOME OF THE ITEMS HERE.
I, YOU KNOW, HERE I THE $4 MILLION INCREASE, THAT'S, THAT'S SIGNIFICANT.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, THE CITY HAS A NEED FOR SOME OF THE ADDITIONAL ITEMS THAT ARE BEING ASKED.
SO IT'S KIND OF A DOUBLE EDGED SWORD HERE.
I MEAN, BUT THAT ALSO SOUNDS LIKE THEY'RE NOT EVEN GETTING WHAT THEY WANT EITHER.
I MEAN, YOUR PREFERENCE IS THAT YOU HAVE A NORTH AND A SOUTH LOCATION, SO YOU GUYS AREN'T GETTING THAT IN THIS AND YOU ARE WANTING TWO VENDORS.
YOU'RE NOT GETTING THAT IN THIS.
SO I'M KIND OF CONFUSED WHY, YOU KNOW, THE DIRECTION WENT THAT IT, THAT IT DID.
LIKE IF THE PERSON WHO'S MAKING THE PURCHASING DECISION DOESN'T HAVE THE NECESSARY BACKGROUND FROM YOU GUYS, IF THEY'RE IGNORING IT, THEY WORK WITH US ON THE SOLICITATION.
SO WE GIVE THEM ALL THE BACKGROUND INFORMATION.
SO, SO WE KNOW ONE SITE IS IN CREEDMORE, THE ORGANICS BY GOSH SITE.
IS THAT STILL THE, UH, LOCATION OUTSIDE OF, UH, ON THE WAY TO BASTROP? IS THAT THAT'S CORRECT.
SO BASICALLY YOU'RE LOOKING AT A EAST LOCATION IN A SOUTH LOCATION.
AND WHAT'S, WHAT'S YOUR OPINION STAFF, I GUESS CORRECT ON, ON THIS? WOULD YOU, I MEAN, HOW WOULD YOU FEEL IF, IF WE WERE TO SAY WE RECOMMEND TO COUNCIL THAT WE LOOK AT THE, AT THIS AGAIN AND CONSIDER, UM, YOU KNOW, BASED ON THE ECONOMICS OF IT, TRYING TO COME UP WITH A, A BETTER RESOLUTION HERE.
WHETHER IT'S SPLITTING IT OR LOOKING AT IT, YOU KNOW, A DIFFERENT VENDOR, HOW DO YOU FEEL? DO YOU FEEL LIKE, WELL, MM-HMM,
SO ACTUALLY THAT'S FRUSTRATING TO US.
OR DO YOU FEEL LIKE YEAH, WE COULD PROBABLY WORK THAT OUT AND WITH THE AMOUNT OF SAVING THAT IT, IT INCLUDES, THAT COULD ACTUALLY BE PRETTY WORTHWHILE.
SO WE WOULD SUPPORT THE COMMISSION IN SAYING, LET'S HAVE A LOOK AT THIS AGAIN.
WHAT DO YOU, DO YOU HAVE AN OPINION ABOUT THIS? I MEAN, WE DID WRITE IN OUR PREFERENCES INTO THE CONTRACT THAT WE WERE HOPING FOR TWO VENDORS, UHHUH.
SO I MEAN, I, I CAN'T SPEAK TO CORPORATE AS TO WHAT THEIR DECISIONS WERE FOR, UH, THE EXCEPTIONS.
SO, I MEAN, I MEAN, WOULD IT BE NICE TO HAVE TWO? YES, WE, WE AGREE, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, I, I FOLLOW THE LEAD ON OUR CORPORATE, CORPORATE PURCHASING TO, WOULD THAT BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE EXCEPTIONS THEY TOOK IN TERMS OF THE ABILITY TO FULFILL, FOR INSTANCE, THE DEAD ANIMAL COMPOSTING AND THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT WERE THE NON-PRO PROCUREMENT EXCEPTIONS THAT THEY TOOK? I THINK THAT'S A BETTER QUESTION FOR CORPORATE PURCHASING FOR, I'M SORRY.
I THINK THAT'S A BETTER QUESTION FOR, FOR CORPORATE PURCHASING.
A QUESTION FOR CORPORATE PURCHASING.
SO, AND I TALK TO HIM, BUT I'M SAYING THE NON CORP PURCHASING, IN OTHER WORDS, THERE WERE SOME REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE A RR RELATED OH, OKAY.
I MEAN, THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT'S, UH, I MEAN IT, WHEN WE RIDE IN, YOU KNOW, THE CITY HAS A, I CAN'T REMEMBER EXACT LANGUAGE, BUT IT, WHEN WE GET TO THAT POINT WHERE WE WANTED TO TAKE DEAD ANIMALS, IT'S NOT SOMETHING WHERE WE WOULD JUST SHOW UP ONE DAY WITH A LOAD OF ANIMALS AND BE LIKE, HERE YOU GO.
MM-HMM,
THEY WOULD INVOLVE A DISCUSSION TO SAY, HEY, WE'RE READY TO DO THIS.
WHAT'S YOUR LEAD TIME? WHAT'S YOUR RAMP UP PERIOD? MM-HMM,
SO WE GIVE THEM, IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A PARTNERSHIP.
SO WE WOULD WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S SUCCESSFUL.
SO, BUT I GUESS WHAT I'M TRYING TO GET AT IS, IF WE WERE TO GET PURCHASING TO SAY, HEY, FROM A CONTRACT PERSPECTIVE, WE CAN HANDLE THIS, DO YOU FEEL FROM AN A RR PERSPECTIVE REQUIRED? OKAY.
YOU'D FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH THE OTHER PROVISIONS THAT WERE, THAT WERE TAKEN EXCEPTION TO BY TDS.
SO IN TERMS OF, UH, SO THE DEAD ANIMALS WAS A, A PREFERENCE, NOT, NOT A REQUIREMENT.
SO, AND THE OTHER, UH, SCOPE OF WORK ITEM RELATED
[01:35:01]
A RR INVOLVES SPILLS.SO SPILLS THAT HAPPEN OFFSITE ARR IS GOING TO HANDLE, IT WAS A SPILL ON, ON THE SITE THAT THAT WOULD BE THE VENDOR'S RESPONSIBILITY.
SO IN WHICH CASE, IN WHICH CASE, IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE'S ALMOST NOT A MISUNDERSTANDING NECESSARILY, BUT IT JUST, THIS IS SMALL STUFF THAT PROBABLY COULD WORK OUT, BE WORKED OUT.
SO THE PRIMARY ISSUE HERE IS WITH THE PROCUREMENT, WITH THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.
SO THAT, THAT HELPS CLARIFY FOR ME.
ANY OTHER, ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONERS? NO.
THIS IS A DISCUSSION ACTION ITEM.
SO I'D LIKE TO MAKE A PROPOSAL THAT WE TELL COUNSEL BASED ON THE WAY THAT PROCUREMENT ANALYZED THIS, THAT WE WOULD LIKE THEM TO REPORT BACK TO US IN JANUARY AND INSTEAD OF APPROVING THIS RIGHT NOW, SO DEFER THE ITEM UNTIL FURTHER INFORMATION IS PROVIDED BY PROCUREMENT.
WE SUGGEST THAT COUNSEL DEFER, RIGHT? CORRECT.
I MEAN, BUT WE'RE GOING TO PRESENT THAT IN A, IN A MOTION HERE.
IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE MOVING? WELL, JUST A SECOND, PLEASE.
THAT'S A BIT OF A GAMBLE, ISN'T IT? WHAT IF THEY CONT, WHAT IF THEY DECIDE TO VOTE ON IT ANYWAY? LIKE IF, IF WE TAKE A VOTE TODAY, I'M NOT VOTING FOR IT AND I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH OUR VOTE MATTERS ANYWAY.
NO, BUT WHAT, I MEAN, WHAT MORE COULD WE DO, KATHY? YEAH, CORRECT.
I MEAN, IT'S GOING, IT'S SCHEDULED TO GO TO COUNCIL NEXT THURSDAY.
SO YOUR VOICE WOULD BE HEARD HERE.
WHETHER THEY LISTEN TO IT IS A DIFFERENT ISSUE ALTOGETHER.
UH, UH, ONE OPTION WE COULD DO IF WE, WE WE'RE UNSURE ABOUT WHETHER THE COUNCIL HAS LISTENED TO US OR NOT, IT'S JUST VOTE NOT TO PROVE THE CONTRACT AT THE MOMENT.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE OUR REASONS AND IF THEY'RE INTERESTED, WE CAN TELL THEM WE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION.
WELL, THAT'S BASICALLY WHAT, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING TO.
BUT I THINK THAT WOULD BE VERY STRAIGHTFORWARD.
JUST SAY WE DON'T APPROVE THE CONTRACT.
WE DON'T APPROVE, WE, WE DON'T APPROVE THE CONTRACT AS PRESENTED.
BUT WE WANT FURTHER INFORMATION OR, AND OR CLARIFICATION TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE AGREEMENT.
I MEAN, SO DOES ANYONE DISAGREE WITH THAT SUGGESTION OR DO WE WANT TO DISCUSS FURTHER? YEAH, I'M OKAY WITH, I THINK WE'RE ALL IN AGREEMENT WITH FURTHER DISCUSSION BEING NECESSARY.
SO, ALTHOUGH, SO AGAIN, THE QUESTION, THE QUESTION THAT WE HAVE HERE IS TO APPROVE A CONTRACT WITH ORGANICS BY, GOSH.
SO TO ANSWER THE QUESTION, WE NEED A MOTION.
I MAKE A MOTION THAT WE DO NOT APPROVE THE CONTRACT UNTIL FURTHER DISCUSSION.
DO I HEAR A SECOND? WAS THERE A COMMENT? I'LL SECOND THAT.
ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION ON THIS HEARING? NO, I MEAN, DO, WELL WAIT, WAIT, UH, WHAT IS IT AGAIN? WE, WE'LL NOT TELL ME WHAT WE DO NOT APPROVE THIS CONTRACT UNTIL WE'VE HAD THE OPTION FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION ON IT.
WELL, IS IT DISCUSSION OR INFORMATION? THAT'S INFORMATION.
INFORMATION UNTIL WE'VE GOTTEN MORE INFORMATION TO MAKE A DECISION.
SO COULD WE, LET'S BE MORE, WE ALSO PUT IN THERE THAT YOU'RE COMFORTABLE WITH THAT.
WE'RE REQUESTING FURTHER INFORMATION REGARDING THIS CONTRACT FROM PURCHASING.
AND I WOULD SAY, SO FIRST LET'S USE THE WORD AUTHORIZATION, SINCE THAT'S WHAT IT'S ASKING FOR.
AND THEN DUE TO, WE COULD SAY REGARDING THE PRICING DUE TO THE SIGNIFICANT PRICE INCREASE AND YOU KNOW, MORE INFORMATION ABOUT WHY THE SECOND VENDOR WAS, UH, REJECTED.
DO WE NEED, DO, DO YOU YOU HAVE THAT, DO WE HAVE THAT WRITTEN DOWN SOMEWHERE? YOU WANNA WORD BY TAKING THE, TAKING THE NOTES.
SO HERE, SO THE MOTION, THE MOTION.
AND AGAIN, CRAIG, YOU HAVE TO PROVIDE A FRIENDLY YES.
THIS IS, WE'RE WE'RE FRIENDLY AMENDMENT.
WHEN CITY COUNCIL GETS THIS ITEM, THIS ACTION ITEM, DO THEY GET IT IN THE FORMAT THAT WE RECEIVED IT OR DO THEY GET A REDUCED ACTION ITEM? YOU KNOW, THAT IS A GOOD QUESTION.
I THINK THEY RECEIVE IT IN THE SAME
[01:40:01]
PART, SAME FORMAT.IS THAT CORRECT, RICHARD? STAFF? YEAH.
I THINK IT'S THE SAME SOLICITATION DOCUMENT.
WE ARE CURRENTLY WORDSMITH IN THIS.
OH, I MEAN, HERE'S MY FIRST SHOT AT IT.
WE DO NOT AUTHORIZE THIS OR WE DO NOT AUTHORIZE THIS CONTRACT PENDING MORE INFORMATION RE REGARDING THE SIGNIFICANT COST INCREASE AND REJECTING OF THE SECOND VENDOR'S LOWER BID.
HOW TO, TELL ME HOW TO FIX THAT? YOU, YOU KNOW, I, I KIND OF WANT TO ADD IN THE FACT THAT, UH, IT WASN'T JUST THE, THE PRICING, IT WAS THE VENDORS.
EXCEPTIONS TO SOME OF THE CONTRACTS.
AND, UH, HAVING SAID THAT, AND, AND THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR THAT INFORMATION FROM THE PURCHASING ITSELF.
THAT'S WHERE WE, I THINK A RR HAS GIVEN US ALL THE INFORMATION WE ASKED FOR.
WE DO NOT AUTHORIZE THIS CONTRACT PENDING MORE INFORMATION REGARDING THE SIGNIFICANT COST INCREASE AND REJECTION OF THE SECOND VENDOR'S LOWER BID DUE TO A PURCHASING RELATED EXCEPTION.
I THINK IT'S A, IT'S A, WAS THAT, YEAH, THAT'S GOOD.
SO DO YOU ACCEPT THE UH, I ACCEPT THAT AS THE MOTION.
CRAIG ACCEPTS THE AMENDED, UH, MOTION.
DO I HEAR ANY FURTHER DISCUSSIONS ON THIS? NO.
MICHAEL, DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION? MICHAEL? MICHAEL? OKAY.
SO HEARING OR SEEING NO, UH, FURTHER DISCUSSIONS OR QUESTIONS, PLEASE, PLEASE.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE, UH, OF THE MOTION AS WRITTEN.
ANYBODY OPPOSED TO IT? ANY ABSTENTIONS? UNANIMOUS.
[7. Staff briefing on the status of Austin Resource Recovery Operational and Administrative projects as well as public outreach efforts by Richard McHale, Director of Austin Resource Recovery.]
LAST ITEM OF BUSINESS IS THE, UH, I GUESS WHAT WE USED TO CALL THE DIRECTOR'S REPORT, STAFF BRIEFINGS.RICHARD MCHALE, DIRECTOR, OFFICER, RESOURCE RECOVERY.
I WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME COMMISSIONER, UH, JOHAN TO THE, TO THE ZERO WASTE ADVISORY COMMISSION.
IT'S GOOD TO HAVE ANOTHER, UH, COMMISSIONER ON BOARD AND HELPS US TO, TO MAKE QUORUM.
AND I ALSO LET ME GIVE, UH, KUDOS TO THIS COMMISSION.
THIS IS, UH, EVERYONE IS HERE THAT, UH, FOR EVERY FIELD POSITION.
SO, UH, IT'S GOOD TO SEE EVERYONE HERE IN ATTENDANCE AND, UH, PARTICIPATING IN THE PROCESS HERE.
SO, SO, UH, COMMISSIONER, WELCOME.
AND, UH, IF THERE'S ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO, UH, TO HELP YOU OUT, UH, FEEL FREE TO CONTACT US.
UM, LET ME JUST GO AHEAD AND, UH, JUST, THERE'S A FEW THINGS ON THE, THE DIRECTOR'S REPORT.
UM, THERE'S SOME INFORMATION ABOUT OUR ON-DEMAND PROGRAM, WHICH WE'RE ABOUT TO ROLL OUT HERE IN JANUARY OF 2025.
UM, THAT'S GONNA BE FOR BRUSH, UH, BULK AND FOR OUR HOUSEHOLD HAZARD WASTE.
SO REALLY LOOKING TO, UM, GET THAT PROGRAM UP AND GOING.
THERE'S A LOT OF EXCITEMENT IN THE COMMUNITY ABOUT THAT.
UM, UH, WE DEFINITELY SEE SOME, UH, BENEFITS TO DOING, UH, DOING THAT PROGRAM.
UM, IMPROVING CUSTOMER SERVICE SO THEY CAN REALLY, UH, GET RID OF MATERIALS WHEN IT'S, UH, CONVENIENT FOR THEM TO DO SO.
UM, IT'LL HELP US OUT WITH, UM, UH, REDUCTION OUR FUEL USE.
WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE TO DRIVE UP AND DOWN EVERY OTHER, EVERY STREET.
UH, EVERY TIME WE DO A ROUTE, WE'LL BE ABLE TO GO POINT TO POINT, UH, ROUTING ON THAT.
SO, AND AS, UH, AS A RESULT, UH, I LOVE THAT.
HAVE A LOWER, UH, CARBON FOOTPRINT AS WELL.
SO, UM, LOOKING AT ALSO INCREASED DIVERSION.
UH, AND THIS WILL HELP OUT TOO AS WE KIND OF, UH, MOVE TOWARDS GETTING OUR, OUR FURNITURE MARKET, UH, EVENTUALLY, UH, SET UP AND HOW WE CAN WORK TO GET FURNITURE OFF THOSE ROUTES WHERE BEFORE THAT MATERIAL MAY HAVE BEEN LANDFILL.
SO GIVE SOME, SOME GREAT OPPORTUNITIES FOR DIVERSION THERE AND, UM, FOR
[01:45:01]
EQUITABLE SERVICE DELIVERY.YOU KNOW, A LOT OF FOLKS THAT JUST CAN'T MAKE IT TO OUR FACILITY.
SO THIS WOULD GIVE US AN OPPORTUNITY TO GO OUT TO THEM AND TO MEET THEM ON THEIR, ON THEIR GROUND AND, UH, TO TAKE CARE OF THOSE THINGS.
AND I JUST WANT, UH, LAST THING I'LL KIND OF WRAP UP IS WITH, UM, I HAVE HAD SOME CONVERSATIONS WITH MOST OF YOU, UM, ABOUT WHAT YOU'D LIKE TO SEE IN, UH, IN FUTURE MEETINGS.
SO, UM, WE'RE GONNA START WORKING ON THAT.
UM, PROBABLY GOING TO HERE IN THE NEXT MEETING OR TWO.
WE'LL PROBABLY DO A DEEP DIVE INTO THE TABLES THAT WE HAVE IN THE DIRECTOR REPORT TO REALLY, REALLY GET SOME, DIG DEEP INTO SOME OF THOSE CATEGORIES AND WHAT'S, WHAT'S REALLY HAPPENING THERE.
AND LOOK AT THOSE NUMBERS AND THE TRENDS AND WHY THEY'RE HAPPENING THERE.
JUST TO KIND OF GIVE YOU SOME, UH, MORE BACKGROUND TO HELP YOU MAKE INFORMED, UH, QUESTIONS, UH, TO STAFF ABOUT, UH, WHAT YOU'RE SEEING IN THERE.
UM, ANOTHER MEETING WE WILL GO AHEAD AND SET UP WILL BE SOMETHING WHERE WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND TALK ABOUT THE DIVERSION RATE AND WHERE WE ARE AND WHY WE'RE AT WHERE WE'RE AT.
I MEAN, WE TALK, UH, WE TALK ABOUT OUR GOAL A LOT, BUT WE, YOU KNOW, UNLESS THERE'S A STORM BOOSTING US UP TO 63% DIVERSION, WE DON'T TALK ABOUT IT TOO MUCH.
SO LET'S, UH, LET'S TALK ABOUT THAT ISSUE AND WHY IT'S, UH, WHY IT IS WHERE IT'S AT AND, AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO HELP MOVE THAT ALONG AND, AND, AND OTHER MEASUREMENTS.
SO, UM, AND WITH THAT, I WILL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.
ANY QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONERS FOR DIRECTOR MCHALE.
YOU KNOW, I WILL SAY RICHARD, THANK YOU PERSONALLY THANK YOU AND STAFF FOR, FOR REACHING OUT.
I MEAN, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO, I MEAN, TO, TO KEEP THAT WONDERFUL LINE OF COMMUNICATION OPEN.
AND, AND THAT WAS A, A WONDERFUL GIFT TO US TO, TO AT LEAST REACH OUT AND, UH, TALK ABOUT ISSUES AND CHALLENGES.
WELL, A LOT OF GOOD FEEDBACK THAT I GOT.
YEAH, PEOPLE WANT A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION ON SOME OF THE, OF THE RCAS AS KIND OF AS WE KIND OF SAW TONIGHT.
DID, THERE'S LITTLE, SOME, UH, ANSWERED THINGS.
SO, UH, WE'RE GONNA DO A LITTLE BIT OF THAT AND KIND OF GET A LITTLE BACKGROUND OF WHAT, WHAT CHANGED IN THE CONTRACTS THAT WE'RE DOING NOW AND, AND WHY WE NEED THE SOLICITATIONS AND WHY WE'RE DOING THE, THESE CONTRACTS IN THE FIRST PLACE.
SO DO A LITTLE BIT MORE ON THAT.
UM, AND JUST KIND OF ADDRESSING OTHER ISSUES THAT, UH, THAT KIND OF A LITTLE BIT MORE EDUCATION ON OUR PART TO THE COMMISSION, JUST TO KIND OF GIVE YOU MORE INFORMATION SO YOU CAN HAVE SOME, UM, SOME MORE, UH, INFORMED FEEDBACK TO US.
UM, SO WE FIGURE SOMETIMES WE DON'T GET YOU ENOUGH OF THE INFORMATION, KIND OF DEEP DIVES.
WE GIVE YOU KINDA THAT SURFACE LEVEL STUFF.
AND THEN WE JUST KIND OF GET SOMETIMES SOME SURFACE LEVEL, UH, FEEDBACK BACK AND WE REALLY WANT A LITTLE BIT MORE IN DEPTH INFORMATION.
SO, UM, HOPEFULLY WE CAN DO THAT.
AND WE'LL HAVE A, WHAT I'LL TRY TO DO IS HAVE A CALENDAR FOR THE YEAR, MAYBE HAVE KIND OF, FOR EVERY MONTH WE'LL HAVE A SPECIFIC TOPIC THAT WE CAN KIND OF JUST TALK AND SPEND A LITTLE TIME ON, DO A LITTLE DEEPER DIVE THAN WE, UH, TYPICALLY DO, UM, IN ADDITION TO OUR REGULAR BUSINESS.
SO HOPEFULLY THAT WILL HELP US KIND OF SPUR SOME CONVERSATION AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS, QUESTIONS? THANK YOU.
THANK YOU STAFF FOR EVERYTHING, THE PATIENCE IN PARTICULAR, BUT, UH, UH, THE LAST ITEM IS
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. I WOULD LIKE TO, AND ON A TENTATIVE BASIS INCLUDE THE, UH, THE ORGANICS, UH, CONTRACT AND HOPEFULLY, UH, GET A PRESENTATION FROM PURCHASING ON THIS AND MAYBE SOME REVISIONS TO, TO THE ACTUAL RFP OR IFP, I GUESS IS WHAT IT IS.SO, AND THEN, AND THEN THE CHANGES TO THE SUBCOMMITTEES.
UM, NOMINATING THE ADDITIONAL MEMBERS.
ALRIGHT, ANY OTHER AGENDA THOUGHTS? IF YOU GIVE ONE OR TWO LATER ON, PLEASE, PLEASE GIVE A SHOUT AND WE'LL GET THIS ON THERE.
COMMISSIONERS, I WILL NOW OFFICIALLY ENTERTAIN A MOTION FOR ADJOURNMENT AND I'M SURE I MOVE THAT WE ADJOURN.
DO I HEAR A SECOND ON THAT? SECONDED, MICHAEL.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, RAISE YOUR HAND AND SAY THANK YOU AND GOOD NIGHT,
THANKS FOR BEING HERE, MELISSA.
OH MY GOD, KATHY, YOU GUYS HAVE A WONDERFUL EVENING.