* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.
          [00:00:03]
          HAVE MY COMMISSIONERS THAT ARE JOINING US VIRTUALLY COME ONTO THE SCREEN. 
          WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED. 
          WONDERFUL. 
          THANK Y'ALL FOR BEING HERE. 
          UM, THIS IS THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE ARTS COMMISSION FOR NOVEMBER. 
          IT IS. 
          WHAT TIME IS IT? IT IS 6:06 PM WE'RE GONNA START WITH ROLL. 
          WE'LL START ONLINE. 
          COMMISSIONER SMBA. 
          COMMISSIONER HERE. 
          COMMISSIONER KEYS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND THEN IN THE ROOM WE HAVE COMMISSIONER HOUSTON PRESENT. 
          COMMISSIONER CHARLA. 
          YEAH. 
          COMMISSIONER MOCK HERE. 
          AND I AM COMMISSIONER ZISMAN. 
          UM, WE HAVE NO SPEAKERS FOR PUBLIC COMMUNICATION TODAY, SO WE'LL GO ON TO THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM 
          [APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
THE OCTOBER MEETING. 
          DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE? I STILL MOVE. 
          MOVE BY MOCK. 
          DO WE HAVE A SECOND MOTION TO APPROVE. 
          SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER. 
          SMALL BLOCK. 
          ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE MINUTES FOR OCTOBER. 
          AYE. 
          UNANIMOUS? I THINK. 
          YES. 
          OKAY, UNANIMOUS. 
          WONDERFUL. 
          UM, 
          [2. Discussion of Chair’s Report on Growth and Future Planning by Chair Zisman]
NEXT WE HAVE THE DISCUSSION. 
          THE CHAIRS REPORT, GROWTH AND FUTURE PLANNING BY CHAIR ZISMAN. 
          THAT IS ME. 
          GOOD EVENING. 
          MY NAME IS COMMISSIONER ZIMAN. 
          MY PRONOUNS ARE THEY THEM. 
          I AM THE PERSON OF COLOR AT THE FRONT OF THE ROOM WITH A SWEATER AND DARK BROWN HAIR. 
          I'M GONNA KEEP THIS BRIEF 'CAUSE WE HAVE A ABUNDANCE, AN ABUNDANCE OF PRESENTERS TODAY. 
          UM, BASICALLY AN UPDATE FROM OUR LAST MEETING IS THAT WE'VE HAD MANY CONVERSATIONS WITH COMMUNITY, WITH COMMUNITY LEADERS, WITH STAFF, UM, REGARDING THE, THIS WHOLE PROCESS OF THE CULTURAL ARTS FUNDING, REVISIONS, UPDATES AND FEEDBACK, UM, THAT WE'VE BEEN COLLECTING. 
          I THINK IT'S BEEN ALL VERY PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS AND, UM, THERE ARE MANY THINGS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE KEEPING IN MIND AS WE MOVE FORWARD TO THE NEXT ITERATION OF THESE PROGRAMS. UM, I DO LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING, UM, FROM THE GROUP A LITTLE BIT, UM, ABOUT AN UPDATE ON WHERE WE ARE AND THEN HEARING, UM, THE REPORT ON THE APPEALS PROCESS FOR THOSE THAT WERE ELIGIBLE. 
          UM, 
          [3. Report of the Art in Public Places Liaison concerning actions taking during the November 4th meeting of the Art in Public Places Panel by Commissioner Maldonado]
WITH THAT, LET'S GO AHEAD AND KEEP ON MOVING. 
          UM, THE REPORT OF THE ART AND PUBLIC PLACES, UH, FROM THE ART AND PUBLIC PLACES LIAISON CONCERNING ACTIONS TAKEN DURING THE NOVEMBER 4TH MEETING OF THE ART AND PUBLIC PLACES PANEL BY COMMISSIONER MALDONADO, WHO IS NOT PRESENT. 
          CAN I CLARIFY, UM, CUS MR. CASTILLO WAS MALDONADO PRESENT AT THAT MEETING? DID IT HAPPEN? I KNOW THERE WAS A CANCELLATION. 
          WE GOOD? YEAH. 
          WE'RE HERE. 
          UH, GOOD EVENING. 
          HI. 
          MC CASTILLO, UH, MANAGER OF ART AND PUBLIC PLACES PROGRAM. 
          YES. 
          COMMISSIONER MALDONADO WAS PRESENT AT THE A IPP PANEL MEETING, AND ALL THE AGENDA ITEMS THAT, THAT WERE DISCUSSED ARE BEING PRESENTED TONIGHT AS FINAL DESIGN ON, ON TONIGHT'S AGENDA FOR THE ARTS COMMISSION. 
          FANTASTIC. 
          JUST A REMINDER TO OUR COMMISSIONERS, ANYBODY THAT'S PRESENT AND AVAILABLE ON THOSE MONDAYS THAT WE HAVE, UH, A IPP MEETINGS, REALLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO AUDIT THAT PROCESS, NOT ONLY TO BECOME FAMILIAR WITH THEIR SUBJECT MATTER, BUT ALSO TO SORT OF, AGAIN, DESI ALL OF THESE BRANCHES OF OUR DEPARTMENT THAT WE WANNA MAKE SURE ARE WORKING SYMBIOTICALLY. 
          UM, WITH 
          [4. Update on actions taken at the October 16th Downtown Commission meeting by Commissioner Mok]
THAT, LET'S MOVE ON TO, UH, ITEM FOUR, UPDATE ON ACTIONS TAKEN ON THE OCTOBER 16TH DOWNTOWN COMMISSION MEETING BY COMMISSIONER MOCK. 
          UH, YES, UH, I REPORTED OUR LAST MEETING, UH, AT OUR LAST MEETING, SO THE NEXT DOWNTOWN, UH, COMMISSION MEETING WILL BE THIS COMING WEDNESDAY. 
          SO I'LL REPORT IT AT THE NEXT MEETING. 
          THANK YOU. 
          FANTASTIC. 
          [5. Presentation by Laura Esparza from Friends of the Dougherty on the Dougherty Arts Center Plan]
MOVING RIGHT ALONG. 
          UM, ITEM NUMBER FIVE IS A PRESENTATION BY LAURA ESPARZA FROM THE FRIENDS OF DOUGHERTY ON THE DOUGHERTY ARTS CENTER PLAN. 
          I KNOW LAURA'S JOINING US VIRTUALLY TODAY. 
          I, GOOD EVENING, COMMISSIONERS. 
          CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES, WE CAN. 
          THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE, LAURA. 
          ALRIGHT, THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          I AM, UH, SPEAKING TODAY ON BEHALF OF FRIENDS OF THE DOHERTY ART CENTER. 
          OUR, UH, CAMPAIGN, UM, BEGAN IN, UH, JULY TO, UM, BRING TO COUNCIL'S ATTENTION THAT WE REALLY NEED THEIR COMMITMENT, UM, TO FINISH THE DOHERTY ART CENTER AND A COMMITMENT TO PUT IT ON THE 2026 BOND. 
          AND SO I'LL QUICKLY GO THROUGH THESE SLIDES. 
          UM, NEXT SLIDE. 
          UM, SO FRIENDS OF THE D OR IS AN ALL VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATION THAT'S ABOUT 15 YEARS OLD, AND WE'VE BEEN COLLECTING SIGNATURES ON A PETITION ONLINE. 
          WE'RE NOW WELL OVER 500, PROBABLY NEARING 600 AT THIS POINT, ASKING FOR LETTERS TO CITY COUNCIL TO URGE THEM TO FINISH THE DAC. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE, UM, ISSUE, 
          [00:05:01]
THE DOHERTY ARTS CENTER IS, UH, NEARLY 80 YEARS OLD. 
          IT IS A TEMPORARY BUILDING, UH, THAT WAS A NAVAL RESERVE CENTER. 
          UM, AND IN THE EIGHTIES IT WAS DO, UH, DONATED TO THE CITY TO BECOME, UM, AN ART CENTER. 
          UM, IT, UH, EXPERIENCES, UM, MANY, MANY, UM, UH, ISSUES, UH, FREQUENT FLOODING. 
          UH, IT HAS FOUR HVAC UNITS AND 16 WINDOW UNITS THAT OFTEN BREAK DOWN. 
          THE PLUMBING IS DISINTEGRATING, THE ROOFS FAIL. 
          UH, IT HAS STRUCTURAL AND A DA ISSUES IN THE LAST SEVEN YEARS, OF WHICH THERE WERE 202,555 DAYS, THE DAC HAD 3,856 DAYS OF OPERATIONAL IMPACT BECAUSE OF THE CONDITION OF THE BUILDING, THAT MEANS THAT THERE WAS MORE THAN ONE, UM, ISSUE EVERY DAY THAT INTERRUPTS PROGRAMMING OR WHERE PROGRAMMING HAS TO BE. 
          UM, MOVED. 
          UM, NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO, PART HAS BEEN ATTENTIVE. 
          UH, WHEN I WORKED FOR THE DEPARTMENT, I WORKED ON A LOT OF THESE ISSUES. 
          UM, AND SINCE 2010, UM, THE PART HAS BEEN, UH, TAKING STEPS, UM, TO, UM, MANAGE THE ISSUE, UM, THAT WE COMPLETED A CONDITIONS ASSESSMENT. 
          UH, THERE WERE TWO BOMBS ACTUALLY. 
          UH, WE, UH, WENT THROUGH A VERY THOROUGH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, UM, PROCESS DURING COVID. 
          UM, WE COMPLETED A DESIGN. 
          WE TOOK THE DESIGN ALL THE WAY THROUGH, UM, CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS. 
          WE WERE GETTING READY TO PERMIT. 
          WHEN, UH, ACTING CITY MANAGER JUAN GARZA, REQUESTED THAT THE PROJECT BE ENTIRELY SHELVED IN FAVOR OF DESIGNING A NEW DESIGN WITH A NEW COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. 
          UH, WHICH ESSENTIALLY THROWS OUT $4.6 MILLION OF WORK TOWARD THE DESIGN THAT, UH, WAS COMPLETED. 
          UM, HE, HIS, UH, PROPOSAL BACK THEN WAS TO BUILD WHAT WE COULD BUILD, UH, FOR $20 MILLION, WHICH IS WHAT WE HAD REMAINING IN OUR BONDS. 
          AND THAT WOULD MEAN ELIMINATING THE THEATER PROGRAM IN THE GALLERIES. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO, UM, THE PROJECT CHA IN 2024, UM, THE PROJECT HAS JUST STALLED. 
          UM, COUNCIL HAD, UH, EXPANDED THE PROJECT SCOPE, UH, EVEN BEYOND WHAT WE ASKED FOR IN THE BOND. 
          UM, COVID-19 DOUBLED THE COST OF CONSTRUCTION. 
          UH, ALTERNATIVE FUNDING DIDN'T MATERIALIZE BECAUSE FUNDERS JUST DIDN'T HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THE PROJECT WITHOUT CLEAR CITY COMMITMENT. 
          THERE WERE SUPPLY CHAIN CHALLENGES. 
          UM, THE, UH, IN DECEMBER OF 2022, WE DID HAVE A COUNCIL RESOLUTION DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO COMPLETE THE PROJECT AS DESIGNED. 
          BUT THEN COUNCIL AND MAYOR SWITCHED OVER, AND OF COURSE, CITY MANAGER SWITCHED OVER AND THE NEW COUNCIL AND, UM, UH, NEW CITY MANAGER HAVE NOT ACTED UPON IT SINCE. 
          UM, AND INFLATION HAS REALLY GOTTEN THE BEST OF US WITH A PROJECT THAT WAS ONCE 28 MILLION WHEN WE WENT INTO THE BOND AND IS NOW OWE 50 OR 60 MILLION. 
          UM, SO THE PROJECT LOSES MONEY EVERY DAY BECAUSE OF ESCALATING CONSTRUCTION COSTS. 
          AND THERE IS NO, UM, WE HAVEN'T MOVED FORWARD YET ON, UM, A, UM, A DECISION ABOUT HOW WE, HOW WE, YOU KNOW, REPLACE THE DAC. 
          AND EVERY DAY THAT I WORKED FOR THE CITY, WE TALKED ABOUT THE IMMINENT CLOSURE OF THE DOHERTY ARTS CENTER, UM, BECAUSE THE BUILDING WAS JUST TOO BAD, IT STILL COULD HAPPEN. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO WHAT WE'RE REQUESTING OF COUNCIL IS A CLEAR COMMITMENT TO COMPLETE THE PROJECT AS DESIGNED, UH, BECAUSE THAT WAS THE PROJECT THAT THE PUBLIC HAD INPUT IN. 
          IT WAS THE PROJECT THAT ARTISTS FELT BEST SERVED, UM, THE NEEDS OF THE ARTS COMMUNITY. 
          UM, IT WAS A PROJECT THAT DAC STAFF FELT, YOU KNOW, REALLY MET ALL OF THE REQUIREMENTS. 
          UM, AND, UM, UH, THE PARKS DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN WORKING ON AN ALTERNATIVE PARKING SOLUTION, UM, TO GET RID OF THE UNDERGROUND PARKING GARAGE THAT WAS SO 
          [00:10:01]
EXPENSIVE AND ADDED ONTO THE PROJECT BY CITY COUNCIL. 
          UM, AND, UH, IT'S NECESSARY THAT THIS BE INCLUDED IN A 2026 BOND. 
          AND SO, UM, THE RESOLUTION THAT WE HAVE FORWARDED TO YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION, UM, ENCAPSULATES ALL OF THESE REQUESTS TO COUNSEL. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          IT'S NOT A RESOLUTION, IT'S A RECOMMENDATION. 
          SORRY. 
          SO, UM, WE'RE ASKING YOU TODAY TO PASS THIS RES I KEEP SAYING RESOLUTION, BUT IT REALLY IS A RECOMMENDATION. 
          SO SORRY. 
          AND TO SIGN OUR PETITION ONLINE@FRIENDSOFDOHERTY.COM. 
          UH, AND OF COURSE, TO WRITE OR CONTACT YOUR COUNCIL MEMBERS TO LET THEM KNOW THAT THIS CONTINUES TO BE A BURNING ISSUE IN THE ARTS COMMUNITY IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN COMMUNITY AT LARGE. 
          GIVEN THAT THE, THE, THE SITE STILL SERVES UPWARDS OF 60,000 PEOPLE A YEAR WITH, UH, LOW COST OR FREE ACCESS TO THE ARTS, UM, FOR EVERYBODY, UM, ON THE CALL TODAY, WE HAVE LUCKY LEMU, WHO IS THE, UM, THE CHAIR OF FRIENDS OF THE DOHERTY ARTS CENTER. 
          LUCKY, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAY SOMETHING? YES. 
          UH, HELLO EVERYBODY. 
          UH, AGAIN, MY NAME IS LUCKY LAMU, AND I'M, UH, THE PRESIDENT OF THE FRIENDS OF THE DOUGHERTY ARTS CENTER. 
          AND I'VE BEEN IN THAT SERVING IN THAT CAPACITY FOR OVER, I GUESS 12, 13 YEARS. 
          KEEPS RACKING UP, HAVEN'T COUNTED. 
          UM, LAURA, THANK YOU FOR GIVING THAT PRESENTATION AND, UH, UH, ARTS COMMISSION, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR, UM, UH, INVITING US TONIGHT AND, AND LETTING US BEING ABLE TO SPEAK. 
          YOU KNOW WHAT LAURA SAID, I THINK THAT WE'RE, JUST TO SUM UP WHAT'S HAPPENED IS THE, UM, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY BELIEVES IN THE DOHERTY ART ARTS CENTER AND THE PROJECT, IT'S GONE THROUGH THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS. 
          IT'S BEEN THROUGH, UM, COUNCIL MEETINGS WHERE BOND MONEY HAS ALREADY BEEN GIVEN. 
          AND, UH, IT, IT REALLY DID HIT A WALL, RIGHT? EVERYBODY BELIEVED IN THE PROJECT, HAD EXTENSIVE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS. 
          AND THEN, OF COURSE, I DON'T WANNA BLAME EVERYTHING ON THE PANDEMIC, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT CAME AND IT DOUBLED THE COSTS. 
          AND THEN COUNCIL CAME BACK AND, AND APPROVED IT, BUT ADDED A, UM, CHANGES, EXPANDED THE PROJECT SCOPE WITH AN UNFUNDED MANDATE FOR THE PARKING GARAGE. 
          SO THAT CHANGED THINGS. 
          AND THEN WHEN INTERIM CITY MANAGER GARZA HAD, UH, PUT A PAUSE ON THE PROJECT AND THEN DIRECTED CITY STAFF NOT TO PROCEED, THAT WAS, UM, IT'S BEEN LANGUISHING EVER SINCE. 
          AND SO NOW THAT DISCUSSION, WE'RE LUCKY THE BUILDING'S STILL OPEN, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, IT IT, IT'S SITTING THERE, RIGHT? AND THE WHOLE PROJECT THAT'S, THAT'S BEEN APPROVED, BOND MONEY'S BEEN ISSUED, UH, IT NEEDS TO MOVE FORWARD. 
          AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE ASKING, AND THAT'S PART OF THE REASON FOR THIS RECOMMENDATION, IS TO GET THIS PROJECT MOVING. 
          EVERYBODY BELIEVES IN THE DECK. 
          NOBODY'S SAYING DON'T DO IT. 
          NOPE. 
          THE SITE'S BEEN APPROVED. 
          COMMUNITY GET, LIKE I SAID, EVERYBODY LOVES IT, BUT IT'S STALLED AND WE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD. 
          SO NOT ONLY DID WERE WE SEEKING SUPPORT, UM, AGAIN, FROM THE, AND ON THE RECOMMENDATION, BUT ALSO THAT IT BE INCLUDED THAT THIS, UM, MATTER BE INCLUDED FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING IN THE 2026, UM, GENERAL BOND ELECTION. 
          AND, UH, AS LAURA DID SAY, UH, THAT I SAID, THE PROJECT STALLED AS THE, WE HAVE BEEN SPEAKING WITH PAR AND THERE IS PATH FORWARD, OBVIOUSLY TO KEEP THE DESIGN AS IS, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS ORIGINALLY DESIGNED WITH STUDIO EIGHT. 
          SO WE DO NOT, THERE'S NOT NECESSARY TO GO THROUGH THE ENTIRE REENGAGEMENT PROCESS AND DRAG THAT OUT AND HAVE ADDITIONAL EXPENSE. 
          SEVERAL MILLION DOLLARS WAS SPENT ON THE REQUIRED COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND APPROVAL PROCESS. 
          SO WE D DON'T NEED TO GO BACKWARDS , BUT WE ARE, WE NEED HELP MOVING FORWARD AS SOMEBODY TO PUSH THIS OVER THE FAIR SIDE SO WE CAN GET THE SHOVELS IN THE GROUND. 
          'CAUSE WE WERE SO CLOSE, WE WERE UP TO PERMITTING, AND IT'S BEEN A LONG LABOR OF LOVE. 
          I KNOW FOR ME, I'VE BEEN A VOLUNTEER HERE FOR 13 YEARS AND IT'S, IT'S DIFFICULT TO SEE IT LANGUISHING AND, UM, KNOWING THAT THE, THE REGULAR, THE OTHER DECK CAN CLOSE AT ANY TIME BECAUSE OF THE CONDITION OF THE BUILDING. 
          AND THERE'S BEEN, UM, SEVERAL MILLION DOLLARS PROVIDED JUST TO TRY TO PUT BANDAIDS ON THAT BUILDING TO KEEP IT OPERATING. 
          UM, IT'S A FANTASTIC RESOURCE. 
          SO THE VALUE OF THE DAC ISN'T A QUESTION, BUT WE DO ASK FOR SUPPORT OF THE RECOMMENDATION AND SUPPORT FOR IT TO BE, UM, THE FUNDING, THE ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR THE DAC TO COMPLETE THAT ON THE 2026 GENERAL BOND ELECTION. 
          AND THERE IS A PATH WHERE THE SHELL OF THE BUILDING CAN BE BUILT AND WE CAN STILL MOVE FORWARD BEFORE 2026. 
          BUT, UM, THEY NEED THE SUPPORT, UM, AUGMENTED FROM THE RESOLUTION THAT WAS THERE IN DECEMBER, 2022, NOT ASKING FOR ANYTHING NEW, JUST HONORING US IN COUNCIL AND WISHES TO HONOR THE RESOLUTION THAT WAS PASSED IN DECEMBER, 2022 TO MOVE THE DOHERTY FORWARD WITHOUT A REDUCTION IN THE SIZE OR THE SCOPE, THEATER, GALLERY, 
          [00:15:01]
SCHOOLS, ALL THAT NEEDS TO STAY IN THE PROJECT. 
          SO, UM, HUMBLY ASKING FOR YOUR SUPPORT, AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE HERE TONIGHT. 
          SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION. 
          THANK YOU BOTH FOR BEING HERE AND ELABORATING AND SORT OF TAKING US BACK IN TIME. 
          I REMEMBER LAURA GIVING THAT INITIAL PRESENTATION, UH, WITH THE, THE APPROVED PLANS FOR THE DECK AND HOW EXCITING THAT WAS AND HOW GORGEOUS THE CAMPUS WAS TO BE. 
          UH, SO THIS IS REALLY HEARTBREAKING TO HEAR THAT THERE'S JUST BEEN ENOUGH BUREAUCRACY TO REALLY SLOW THIS UP. 
          UM, I'M GONNA OPEN IT UP TO THE COMMISSION TO SEE IF WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS THAT WE WANNA ASK. 
          COMMISSIONER MOCK. 
          WELL, THANK YOU FOR, FOR THE PRESENTATION, BUT JUST REFRESH MY MEMORY. 
          SO THERE'S SOME BOND MONEY, UH, ASSIGN TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF THAT. 
          YES. 
          RIGHT. 
          AND THEN YOU HAVE SPENT SOME OF THOSE BOND MONEY FOR THE DESIGN WITH STUDIO EIGHT ALREADY, CORRECT? RIGHT. 
          AND THEN, SO NOW THE CONSTRUCTION COST HAS BASICALLY DOUBLE, CORRECT? RIGHT. 
          AND WITH YOUR RECOMMENDATION, YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT MAYBE HAVE A ALTERNATIVE OPTION FOR THE PARKING SO THAT IT WILL NOT BE UNDERGROUND, WILL NOT BE AS EXPENSIVE, RIGHT? CORRECT. 
          MM-HMM, . 
          SO, UM, I'M JUST WONDERING IF WE ARE GOING TO RECOMMEND A 2026 BOND, UM, PACKAGE FOR DECK. 
          SO HOW MUCH ARE YOU REQUESTING WITHOUT, I BELIEVE THE DEPARTMENT IS GOING TO REQUEST IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF ABOUT $30 MILLION UHHUH, WHICH IS STILL PRETTY MUCH WITHIN THE SCOPE OF, UH, WHAT HAD BEEN REQUESTED BEFORE. 
          THE LAST BOND FOR THE DAC WAS 25 MILLION. 
          MM-HMM. 
          . 
          YEAH. 
          UH, BUT THAT WAS IN 2018. 
          SO, YOU KNOW, INFLATION, WE, YOU KNOW, 30 MILLION IS, IS REASONABLE. 
          YEAH. 
          I HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION. 
          SO I KNOW D HAS, HAS, UH, MANY PROGRAMS, UH, THROUGHOUT THIS, YOU KNOW, ALL THESE YEARS. 
          SO IF, IF WE DON'T HAVE D WHERE WILL THOSE PROGRAMS BE HOUSED? THEY WILL BE ELIMINATED. 
          SO IT WILL NOT HAVING ALL THOSE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM, IF YOU DON'T HAVE, IT'LL BE GONE. 
          WOW. 
          THAT IS SIGNIFICANT. 
          THAT IS REALLY HARMFUL, I THINK, TO OUR CHILDREN BECAUSE THEY WILL BE MISSING OUT ON THOSE WONDERFUL EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM. 
          ONE MORE LAST QUESTIONS. 
          HOW MANY CHILDREN, UM, HAVE YOU SERVED, YOU KNOW, UH, IN ALL THOSE YEARS AND ANNUALLY YOU TALK ABOUT 60,000 PEOPLE. 
          ARE THOSE ALL CHILDREN OR JUST LIKE NO, NO, THEY DO MANY, MANY ADULT PROGRAMS UHHUH. 
          SO THEY DO, UH, STUDIO, UM, PROGRAMS IN, UM, VISUAL ARTS IN CLAY. 
          UM, THEY DO, UM, UH, ARTIST PROFESSIONAL TRAINING PROGRAMS. MM-HMM. 
          . 
          SO THEY ALSO DO PUBLIC PROGRAMMING. 
          SO THEY HAVE, UH, PUBLIC PROGRAMMING, UM, EVERY MONTH THAT'S FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. 
          THEY DO A COUPLE, UH, COUPLE OF FESTIVALS. 
          MM-HMM. 
          . 
          UM, AND THEN OF COURSE THEY, UH, ARE VERY BUSY WITH THE, UH, THE, UH, ARTIST ACCESS PROGRAM. 
          MM-HMM. 
          , THEY PROVIDE, UM, FREE ACCESS TO REHEARSAL SPACE. 
          MM-HMM. 
           IN THE BUILDING. 
          AND THEN LOW COST ACCESS TO PERFORMANCE SPACE FOR ARTISTS THAT QUALIFY FOR THE PROGRAM. 
          UM, AND SO THEY'RE VERY BUSY WITH HOUSING A LOT OF SMALL AUSTIN THEATERS. 
          OKAY. 
          SO MY OBSERVATION IS THIS, WITHOUT THAT, ALL THESE 60,000 PEOPLE WILL NOT HAVE SERVICES AND, BUT WITH THE NEW DECK, YOU PROBABLY, PROBABLY CAN INCREASE, UH, YOUR PROGRAMMING CAN PROBABLY SERVE MORE AND, AND, AND PROVIDE BETTER PROGRAMMING. 
          RIGHT. 
          SO, SO THE NEW DECK FEATURED TWO THEATERS, UHHUH  ONE THEATER. 
          OKAY. 
          SO IT FEATURED TWO THEATERS. 
          MM-HMM. 
          , UM, THE, UH, CHILDREN'S, UM, PROGRAM, UH, WAS LARGER. 
          UM, AND IT WAS ISOLATED FROM THE ADULT PROGRAM. 
          UM, THE FLOOR WITH THE ADULT PROGRAM DOUBLED THE SIZE OF THE PROGRAM SO WE COULD DOUBLE THE SIZE OF THE CERAMICS PROGRAM. 
          MM-HMM. 
          . 
          AND IT HAD A LOT MORE OPEN SPACE ON THE GROUND FLOOR FOR THOSE FESTIVALS AND PUBLIC PROGRAMS THAT WE HOST EVERY MONTH, UH, OR THAT THE DAC HOSTS EVERY MONTH. 
          UM, AND SO LOTS OF ROOM FOR, UM, 
          [00:20:01]
UH, PUBLIC PROGRAMMING. 
          IT ALSO INCREASED THE NUMBER OF GALLERIES TO FOUR. 
          YES. 
          SO I, I THINK IT IS A GOOD INVESTMENT FOR OUR GROWING CITY WITH OUR GROWING WEALTH. 
          SO, UH, I WILL WANT TO RECOMMEND THIS TO THE COUNCIL AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION, COMMISSIONERS. 
          ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER KEYS? SO I SAW THAT IN 2022, IT WAS PROPOSED TO BE AROUND 28.5 MILLION BASED ON THE, UH, PRESENTATION? NO, UH, AND, UH, OKAY. 
          SO IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE 28 MILLION IN 2018. 
          GOTCHA. 
          MM-HMM. 
          . 
          OKAY. 
          BUT NOW IT'S ESSENTIALLY WITH INFLATION, IT'S BETWEEN 50 AND 60 MILLION CORRECTED, CORRECT? MM-HMM, . 
          OKAY. 
          SO IF YOU'RE ONLY ASKING FOR 20, FOR 30 MILLION, WHAT WERE, WHAT WAS THE PLAN TO GET THE ADDITIONAL FUNDING WITH THE ACCOUNT OF INFLATION? WE HAVE, UH, FUNDING LEFT OVER FROM THE 2018 BOND, AND THE ONLY WAY THAT THAT FUNDING CAN BE SPENT IS ON A NEW DOHERTY ARTS CENTER BECAUSE IT'S A BOND. 
          GOTCHA. 
          AND SO WHAT IS THAT ADDITIONAL AMOUNT WITH THE 30 MILLION? MAYBE I MISSED THAT. 
          MY APOLOGIES. 
          20 MILLION MM-HMM. 
          . 
          OKAY. 
          GOTCHA. 
          PERFECT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THE ORIGINAL BOND MONIES WERE INITIAL, UH, I EARMARKED FOR THE DAIRY IN 2012, SO IT'S BEEN SUPPORTED BY COUNCIL SINCE 20. 
          IF YOU WANNA GO BACK IN HISTORY. 
          SO THE MATH IS, IT'S A GREAT QUESTION BECAUSE IT'S DIFFICULT TO KEEP TRACK OF. 
          YEAH. 
          THERE WERE TWO OTHER BONDS PRIOR TO, BUT SOME OF THOSE BONDS WERE USED FOR PLANNING AND SOME OF THEM WERE TO SHORE UP. 
          UM, BECAUSE THE, THE, THE ROOF HAS LITERALLY FALLEN IN TWO TIMES AT THE DOWDY YARD CENTER. 
          AND SO, AND THE CENTER WAS FLOODED ONCE AS WELL BECAUSE IT'S IN A FLOODPLAIN. 
          SO THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT FLOODING ONE TIME. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT CONTEXT. 
          THANKS COMMISSIONER HOUSTON, I HAVE A QUESTION. 
          EXCUSE ME ABOUT THE, THE WORDING IN THE RECOMMENDATION. 
          IT'S FORMATTED RIGHT NOW, LIKE A RESOLUTION. 
          UM, I FEEL LIKE IT NEEDS SOME DATA LIKE COMMISSIONER MOCK WAS ASKING ABOUT THAT SAYS HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE SERVED AND WHAT, WHAT TANGIBLY WILL BE LOST IF WE DON'T DO SOMETHING SOON. 
          AND THE FACT THAT WE'RE LOSING MONEY THE LONGER THAT WE WAIT, AND THEN WILL WE WANT TO MAKE THE RECOMMENDATION THAT IT BE PLACED IN THE NEXT APPROPRIATE BOND SO THAT WE'RE NOT SAYING THIS BOND, BUT THE NEXT APPROPRIATE BOND COMES UP, THEN THIS NEEDS TO BE IN IT SO THAT WE'RE NOT PIGEONHOLING THE REQUEST. 
          DOES THAT MAKE SENSE WHAT I'M SAYING? I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE BOND CALENDAR WOULD BE. 
          THE 2026 BOND MIGHT BE THE NEXT ONE THAT'S ELIGIBLE. 
          RIGHT. 
          BUT WHAT I'M SAYING IS RATHER THAN SAY THIS BOND MM-HMM. 
           SAY THE NEXT APPROPRIATE BOND IN CASE THERE'S ONE IN 2025, IF ONE HAPPENS IN 2025 OR IF SOMETHING HAPPENS IN 2026 AND THAT BOND DOESN'T ALLOW IT TO HAPPEN, THAT WE JUST, THAT WE'RE SAYING ANY AND EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO FUND EXACTLY. 
          MM-HMM. 
           YEAH. 
          DURING THE NEXT ELECTION. 
          EXACTLY. 
          AM I UNDERSTANDING THAT THERE, YOU GUYS HAVE WRITTEN A RECOMMENDATION ALREADY? YES. 
          WE SENT IT IN, IN THE BACKUP THAT, SO THAT'S YOU FOR, I, I'M, I GUESS I'M MORE TRYING TO DIFFERENTIATE. 
          DO YOU WANT US TO COMPOSE A SEPARATE RECOMMENDATION OR CAN WE BE IN SUPPORT OF Y'ALL'S? YOU CAN, UM, REMODEL THIS RECOMMENDATION. 
          IE YOU CAN CHANGE IT HOWEVER YOU SEE FIT. 
          SO THE RECOMMENDATION, UH, WAS SENT TO THE TOURISM COMMISSION. 
          UH, THEY MADE SOME CHANGES AS IT PERTAINED TO THEIR COMMISSION. 
          OKAY. 
          AND SO PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CHANGE IT. 
          WOULD IT BE BETTER TO HAVE A UNIFORM LIKE CONSENSUS ACROSS COMMISSIONS? I'M CURIOUS TO UNDERSTAND OR I, I'D BE CURIOUS TO SEE THE TOURISM COMMISSION'S VERSION. 
          'CAUSE IT, WHAT WE HAVE FOUND IS A UNITED VOICE TO COUNCIL TENDS TO BE A LOT MORE IMPACTFUL VERSUS US ASKING FOR SIMILAR THINGS, BUT GOING IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS. 
          AND SO I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE SUPPORTING THE DAC THE BEST WAY THAT WE CAN, UM, AND NOT NECESSARILY CHERRY PICK THE THINGS THAT WE WANNA SEE FOCUSED ON. 
          I, SO I JUST WANNA, WHATEVER'S GONNA BE THE MOST IMPACTFUL FOR YOU ALL IS WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO EXECUTE. 
          REALLY. 
          OH, THE ESSENTIAL CHANGE WAS THAT, UM, THEY FOCUSED ON THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO WERE TRAINED AT THE DAC WHO WOULD THEN PARTICIPATE IN THE, UM, ARTS ECOSYSTEM OR IN, UM, THE FILM INDUSTRY. 
          [00:25:01]
UM, OKAY. 
          AND SO THEY WERE KIND OF FOCUSED ON, UM, THE DACS CONTRIBUTION TO, UM, TOURISM, UH, IN THE WAY THAT THEY FACILITATE, UH, TRAINING FOR, UH, ARTISTS. 
          GOT IT. 
          I, I SEE. 
          SO IT'S REWRITTEN TO COME FROM THE TOURISM COMMISSION? YEAH. 
          ONE POINT. 
          GOT IT. 
          GOT IT. 
          PARTICULAR COMMISSIONER MACH, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? YEAH, I WAS JUST, THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH FOR THIS. 
          UM, AND OBVIOUSLY LIKE FULLY SUPPORTIVE. 
          I DID SOMETHING THAT YOU SAID ABOUT THE, UH, PURSUIT OF EXTERNAL OR, YOU KNOW, NON NON-CITY NON BOND FUNDS BEING INHIBITED BY THE LACK OF COMMITMENT BY THE CITY, WHICH MAKES COMPLETE SENSE, UM, THAT THAT WOULD BE THE CASE. 
          BUT IS DO YOU FEEL LIKE A COMMITMENT SOON WOULD OPEN UP PATHWAYS FOR THE PURSUIT OF OTHER SOURCES OF FUNDING? UM, I JUST FEEL LIKE THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO HIGHLIGHT AGAIN, THAT, YOU KNOW, THE INDECISION OR THE STALLING AT THE CITY LEVEL IS, IS HARMING THE PROJECT IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE. 
          AND I ALSO WONDERED IF THAT, IF SEEKING SUPPORT FOR THE PROJECT IS THE PURVIEW OF THE FRIENDS OF DAC OR IS THAT FULLY WITHIN THE PARKS TEAM'S PURVIEW OR SOMEONE ELSE? SO THE LAST, THERE'S SEVERAL QUESTIONS IN THERE. 
          UM, AND SO LET ME UNPACK THEM AND I'M NOT SURE THAT I UNDERSTOOD YOUR LAST QUESTION. 
          UH, WHAT WAS YOUR LAST, THE LAST IT'S, IT'S LIKE, ARE DOES THE, DO FRIENDS OF THE DAUGHTY SEEK EXTERNAL? LIKE DO YOU, DO YOU PURSUE OTHER SOURCES OF FUNDING ON BEHALF OF THE DAUGHTY? OR IS THAT, IS THAT REALLY WITHIN THE PURVIEW OF CITY STAFF EXCLUSIVELY? I LIKE DO YOU SEEK GRANTS ON BEHALF OF THE AUTHORITY OR, OR, YOU KNOW, KIND OF WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE WELL PART CANNOT FUNDRAISE PART STAFF. 
          UM, LIKE, UM, YOU KNOW, COMMISSIONERS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO FUNDRAISE. 
          UH, AND SO STAFF ARE NOT GOING TO BE FUNDRAISING FOR THIS. 
          AT ONE POINT IN TIME, WE HAD, UH, PROFFERED, UH, A CONTRACT TO THE FRIENDS OF THE DAC WHEN I WAS A STAFF PERSON. 
          AND LUCKY WAS, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, WITH FRIENDS OF THE D MM-HMM. 
          , UM, THEY HAD CONTACTED A, UM, A CAPITAL CAMPAIGN MM-HMM. 
          , UM, SPECIALIST. 
          UM, BUT IT, YOU KNOW, I THINK THE RECEPTION THAT WE GOT WAS THAT THIS WAS, UM, DUBIOUS. 
          UM, AND I CAN SPEAK TO THAT A LITTLE BIT, LAURA, WITH THE, WITH THE HISTORY, IF THAT, THAT'S HELPFUL. 
          MM-HMM. 
           THAT, YEAH, I WAS GONNA SAY THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE DID SEE THE FRIENDS OF THE D DID SEEK L CAPITAL CAMPAIGN CONSULTANT, UH, WHEN THE SHORTFALL BECAME APPARENT, BUT THE GAP IS TOO LARGE TO BE COVERED BY A CAPITAL CAMPAIGN. 
          MM-HMM. 
          . 
          AND THEN ONCE, UM, THE, THE CONTRACTOR, ONCE HE SAW THAT THE PROJECT WAS STALLED AND THAT THE GAP WAS SO LARGE, UM, THAT WAS, IT WAS LIKE A NON-STARTER, RIGHT? WE, A A, A PRIVATE ALL VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATION CANNOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR RAISING 20, $30 MILLION. 
          SO, UM, WE WISH WE COULD, RIGHT? SO, UM, THE IDEA IS, AND, AND ALL OF THE MONEY IT HAS TO BE READY FOR, FOR ASSETS, FOR CONSTRUCTION AND BEFORE YOU CAN GET THE PERMIT, RIGHT? AND TO HAVE SHOVEL, I SAY SHOVELS IN THE GROUND, UM, THAT HAS TO BE THERE. 
          AND THAT, THAT'S JUST OUTSIDE OF WHAT THE CAPITAL CAMPAIGN NOW CAN A CAPITAL CAMPAIGN ASSIST WITH WHEN THE, THE BUILDING IS BUILT. 
          AND FOR, TO GET, UM, ARTS PROGRAMMING, COMPUTERS, YOU KNOW, NICE ACCOUTREMENTS PLAYGROUNDS. 
          ABSOLUTELY. 
          BUT IT, IT CANNOT BE, UM, PART OF WHAT WE DO TO GET THE ACTUAL CONSTRUCTION PERMIT. 
          SO WE, WE DEFINITELY PURSUE THAT. 
          AND BOY, WE TRY, LAUREN, WE TRIED YEARS, UH, EVEN AFTER THE PANDEMIC. 
          IT'S LIKE, THIS JUST, YOU KNOW, WE WANTED TO HAPPEN. 
          THERE'S JUST NO WAY. 
          AND IT ISN'T, UM, IT JUST WASN'T EVEN FEASIBLE. 
          AND, AND, AND PROFESSIONAL CAMP CAPITAL CAMPAIGN FOLKS WOULDN'T EVEN, YOU KNOW, SAY THAT'S JUST TOO WIDE OF A GAP. 
          THAT'S NOT, THAT'S NOT FAIR FOR PRIVATE GROUP TO DO. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANKS. 
          I HOPE THAT ANSWERS THE QUESTIONS AND YEAH. 
          NO HOPE , WE, WE'VE BEEN, WE'VE BEEN TRYING, WE TRIED GET CREATIVE, WE TRIED ALL DIFFERENT WAYS AND THERE'S JUST, YOU JUST WANNA MOVE FORWARD FOR SURE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANKS FOR BEING SO PERSISTENT FOR SO LONG. 
          , WE'RE NOT GIVING UP. 
          RIGHT. 
          LAURA AND I ARE STICKING WITH IT, EVEN THOUGH IT'S BEEN, THAT'S, I WORKED ON THIS PROJECT FOR 17 YEARS AND I AM NEVER 
          [00:30:01]
GONNA STOP UNTIL IT'S BUILT. 
          AND I ALWAYS TELL THE STORY, MY SON WENT TO THE DAC IN THE PRESCHOOL, HE WAS THREE. 
          AND UH, I JUST, WE DROPPED HIM OFF AT COLLEGE IN, UH, IN AUGUST. 
          SO I'VE BEEN AT IT THAT LONG. 
          AND SO AS A BELIEVER THEN, AS SO TIME IS, TIME IS, IS MOVING ON. 
          SO, UM, THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT ON THIS COMMISSIONER HOUSTON, DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO ADD? I WANTED TO SAY THAT, UM, I DO RECOGNIZE THAT WE NEED TO BE ASKING FOR A SPECIFIC THING FROM COUNCIL, BUT I THINK IT WILL BE VERY BENEFICIAL FOR COUNCIL TO SEE HOW IT WILL AFFECT THE CULTURAL ECOSYSTEM OF THE COMMUNITY AND HAVE A DETRIMENTAL EFFECT ON TOURISM AND A DETRI EFFECTS EFFECT, EFFECT ON ARTS AND ANY OTHER COMMISSION THAT YOU ALL CAN GO TO. 
          AND THAT EACH RECOMMENDATION SAYS, THIS IS WHAT WE WILL LOSE IF WE DON'T TAKE ACTION. 
          BECAUSE THE CITY HAS A HISTORY OF DOING A SURVEY, FIGURING OUT WHAT THE COMMUNITY WANTS, AND THEN IT DISAPPEARS INTO THE ETHER AND WE NEVER HEAR ANYTHING ABOUT IT ONCE THE MAKEUP CHANGES. 
          SO I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE, FROM AS MANY DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS AS POSSIBLE, WE SAY THIS IS WHAT'S NEEDED AND THIS IS WHAT'S LOST IN THIS AREA. 
          THIS IS WHAT'S LOST IN THIS AREA, THIS IS WHAT'S LOST IN THIS AREA. 
          COMMISSIONER, THAT'S, NO, THAT'S A GREAT COMMENT BECAUSE THIS WHOLE PROJECT'S BEEN SITTING THERE ANOTHER SINCE THE RESOLUTION FOR TWO YEARS, THAT'S PEOPLE, IF WE'RE NOT SPEAKING ABOUT THE WHOLE PROJECT COULD BE LOST. 
          AND SO, TO YOUR POINT, COMMISSIONER HU STAT'S REALLY, UM, IT'S SOMETHING ELSE TO, TO SEE, UH, WHERE WE'RE AT AND WHAT CAN BE LOST. 
          AND, AND CERTAINLY I LOST THE COMMUNITY. 
          THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THE COMMUNITY REALLY DOES WANT THIS, SO THANK YOU. 
          YEAH. 
          UH, JUST A QUICK NOTE. 
          UM, SO, UH, ALONG WITH WHATEVER THE RECOMMENDATION IS, WHEN YOU SEND IT, UH, YOU KNOW, THE FINAL VERSION OF IT, YOU UH, I THINK THE CHAIR WOULD ALSO BE ABLE TO ADD, UM, DETAILS IN THE JUSTIFICATION ON TOP OF, UH, RIGHT. 
          SO, UH, SOME OF THE DATA, EVEN IF IT'S NOT DIRECTLY IN THE VERBIAGE OF THE RECOMMENDATION ITSELF, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO ADD IN THE JUSTIFICATION AND THAT SHOULD, UH, ALLOW FOR, YOU KNOW, ABSOLUTE ADDING MORE DETAILS. 
          YEAH. 
          THAT WAS GONNA BE MY, I'VE TWO PART QUESTION. 
          ONE, HAS THIS BEEN PRESENTED TO COUNCIL YET, OR IS THERE A PLAN TO TAKE THIS PRESENTATION TO COUNCIL? OR ARE YOU ABLE TO GET ON THEIR AGENDA AT ALL? WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO TALK WITH STAFF OF TWO COUNCIL MEMBERS ONLY. 
          UH, WE DID TAKE IT TO THE TOURISM COMMISSION WHO PASSED IT, AND SO IT WAS PRESENTED TO TOURISM. 
          WE DID TAKE IT TO THE PARKS DEPARTMENT, UH, THE PARKS, UM, BOARD, BOARD, BOARD PARKS, AND, UM, THEY ARE CONSIDERING IT AT THEIR NEXT MEETING. 
          OKAY. 
          YEAH. 
          UNFORTUNATELY THIS IS NOT UNDER ACTION ITEM, SO WE NEED TO, IT'S JUST UNDER PRESENTATIONS. 
          SO WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO DO, DO WE, OH, DO WE HAVE IT? OH, THERE IT IS. 
          11. 
          SORRY ABOUT IT. 
          I'M SCOOCHING ALONG. 
          UM, SO WE CAN SUPPORT IT TONIGHT. 
          WHAT WAS I SAY? OH, PRESS, WHAT PRESS HAVE YOU GUYS YIELDED ON THIS ITEM? ANYTHING, ANYBODY FROM THE MONITOR, ANYBODY FROM THE CHRONICLE HAS BEEN PICKED, PICKED UP? NO ONE RESPONDED. 
          WE SENT OUT A PRESS RELEASE AND WE DIDN'T GET A RESPONSE. 
          OKAY. 
          ALTHOUGH, ALTHOUGH INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, UM, KUT PICKED UP THE STORY WHEN WE, UH, TESTIFIED TO THE PARKS AND REC BOARD BECAUSE I, UM, I WAS AT, UH, WORK THE NEXT DAY AND PEOPLE TEXTED TEAMING ME SAYING, HEY, WE HEARD YOU ON KUT THIS MORNING. 
          SO, UM, THAT WAS PRESS THAT WE WEREN'T EXPECTING, BUT , SO PEOPLE CARE. 
          THAT WAS PICKED UP BY, I THOUGHT THAT WAS REALLY NEAT. 
          OKAY. 
          SO GREAT. 
          BUT WE COULD USE ALL THE SUPPORT WE COULD GET. 
          YEAH. 
          OKAY. 
          AND EVERYTHING THAT HAD BEEN IN THE PRESS IN THE PAST WAS VERY FAVORABLE FOR THE PROJECT. 
          MM-HMM. 
          . 
          MM-HMM. 
          . 
          YEAH. 
          I, YOU SURE? YEAH. 
          UH, UM, SORRY. 
          I MEAN, I, I DIDN'T HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO ACTUALLY READ THE RECOMMENDATION RECOMMENDATION, SO IF THERE'S MORE OF US, THEN IT WOULD BE GREAT IF WE CAN JUST GO THROUGH IT WHEN WE REACH THAT AGENDA ITEM. 
          AND, UH, DEFINITELY, UH, FROM MY END, SOMETHING I WOULD LIKE TO SUPPORT. 
          UM, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S AT SUCH A GREAT LOCATION TOO, SO ACCESSIBLE AND, UM, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, UH, JUST PERSONALLY, I MEAN, IT WAS I THINK ONE OF THE FIRST FEW PLACES THAT I PLAYED AT IN TOWN IN COLLABORATION WITH SOME OTHER ARTISTS. 
          UM, SO YEAH. 
          BUT, UH, IT WOULD BE GREAT IF WE COULD JUST RUN THROUGH IT. 
          IT'S PRETTY SHORT TOO. 
          YEAH. 
          AWESOME. 
          IF WE CAN PULL IT UP. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I CAN, I THINK I HAVE IT EVEN UP HERE IF YOU WANNA TAKE A PEEK. 
          THANK YOU. 
          OKAY. 
          SO THIS SOUNDS GOOD. 
          IT SOUNDS LIKE WE'VE GOT A, A CONCISE ACTION PLAN. 
          UM, AND IN REGARD TO THE RECOMMENDATION AS WELL AS BADGERING OUR COUNCIL AND OUR REPRESENTATIVES, UM, AND MAKING SURE, SINCE WE'RE A LITTLE SHORT TONIGHT, WE'RE DOWN AT COMMISSIONER, UM, IN TERMS OF VACANCIES AND THEN WE'RE MISSING A GOOD HANDFUL 
          [00:35:01]
OF OUR PEOPLE TODAY. 
          BUT, UM, WE HAVE ENOUGH FOR QUORUM SO WE CAN GET THIS APPROVED. 
          YES. 
          COMMISSIONER HOUSTON, WOULD IT BE HELPFUL FOR US TO TRY TO COORDINATE MEETINGS WITH OUR COUNCIL MEMBER FOR Y'ALL? WELL, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, THERE ARE MANY THAT WE JUST DIDN'T GET ANY RESPONSE FROM. 
          OKAY. 
          UH, BUT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO, UM, TALK WITH, UM, RYAN ALTER'S, UH, STAFF AND THE STAFF OF VANESSA, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES. 
          MM-HMM. 
          . 
          OKAY. 
          GREAT. 
          MM-HMM. 
          . 
          AND I THINK THIS IS SOMETHING WE CAN DEFINITELY ADD TO OUR AGENDAS AS WE HAVE MEETINGS WITH THE, UH, NEW CITY MANAGER. 
          'CAUSE WE ARE HAVING ONGOING CONVERSATIONS WITH HIM REGARDING HOLISTIC SUPPORT OF THE ARTS ECOSYSTEM, WHICH IS FALLING A BIT SHORT. 
          THAT'S, THAT'S FANTASTIC. 
          YES. 
          'CAUSE THE ENTIRE COUNCIL IS THAT RESOLUTION IN 2022 WAS UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED. 
          SO IT'S NOT LIKE, I THINK A LOT OF THE COMMISSIONERS TRUTHFULLY THINK THIS IS A DONE DEAL AND IT'S ON ITS WAY AND THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND IT. 
          IT'S STALLED LIKE THIS. 
          YEAH. 
          YOU MENTIONED THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT. 
          THERE WAS A MENTION OF THE 2012 BOND AS WELL. 
          WERE THERE FUNDS FROM THAT EARMARKED FOR THE DAC FOR JUST IMPROVEMENTS AND, YEAH. 
          IT WAS A SMALL BOND THOUGH. 
          IT WAS ONLY LIKE A COUPLE OF MILLION. 
          OKAY. 
          AND THOSE WERE A APPLIED AND USED? YES. 
          OKAY. 
          BUT THAT SHOWS A HISTORY OF INVESTMENT INITIAL FOR THE CONSTRUCTION, THE PROJECT. 
          MM-HMM. 
          . 
          GOT IT. 
          YEAH. 
          OKAY. 
          GREAT. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE. 
          COMMISSIONERS. 
          ANY FINAL QUESTIONS FOR WHICH DISTRICT IS WORKING? I BELIEVE IT'S IN DISTRICT FIVE, BUT IT MIGHT BE TOUCHING VANESSA'S AS WELL. 
          IS IT IN FIVE? THE DAC? NO, IT'S NINE. 
          I THINK IT'S NINE. 
          OKAY. 
          AND THAT AND VANESSA'S TWO, SO THE SOUTH. 
          OKAY. 
          I ALWAYS GET MY NUMBERS MIXED UP. 
          SO THE NO ALTER IS FIVE. 
          SO WHO, WHO IS THE COUNCIL MEMBER FOR THAT DISTRICT? LET'S JUST ASK. 
          NINE IS ZOE. 
          I THOUGHT IT'S A, OKAY. 
          I BELIEVE IT'S THE QUAD. 
          YEAH, I'D ACTUALLY, WE'VE GOT A GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH THAT OFFICE BECAUSE, UM, THEY'VE SORT OF TAKEN UP A LOT OF THE WORKING FROM THE INSIDE, SORT OF THE ADVOCACY THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN FOR THE ARTS. 
          SO LET'S SEE IF WE CAN'T GET A MEETING WITH YOU GUYS, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE COULD DEFINITELY START WORKING ON RIGHT AWAY. 
          THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL. 
          GREAT. 
          THAT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL. 
          THANK YOU. 
          OKAY, SUPER. 
          THANK YOU GUYS. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          THANKS FOR BEING HERE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANKS FOR YOUR TIME. 
          OKAY. 
          I WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THAT COMMISSIONER GARZA HAS JOINED US FOR THE MEETING. 
          HE'S, ANYBODY WHO'S NOT ON CAMERA, UNFORTUNATELY IS NOT ON THE DAIS CONSIDERED. 
          OKAY. 
          SUPER. 
          SO COMMISSIONER GARZA IS HERE. 
          [6. Presentation by Allison Steger from Austin Public Library on the Austin Poet Laurate Program]
UM, WITH THAT WE'RE GONNA GO TO ITEM NUMBER SIX, PRESENTATION BY ALLISON STEGER FROM THE AUSTIN PUBLIC LIBRARY ON THE POET LAUREATE PROGRAM. 
          WELCOME ALLISON. 
          HI. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME. 
          MY NAME IS ALLISON STEGER. 
          I AM THE ACTING, UM, DIVISION MANAGER FOR THE CENTRAL LIBRARY AT THE AUSTIN PUBLIC LIBRARY. 
          AND I WANNA TALK TO YOU GUYS A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR POET LAUREATE PROGRAM, WHICH WE HAVE, UM, RECENTLY STARTED HERE AT THE LIBRARY. 
          HOW DO I JUST ? OKAY. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          UM, SO WE LAUNCHED OUR POET LAUREATE PROGRAM, UM, IN OCTOBER OF THIS YEAR. 
          AND WE ARE GOING TO NAME OUR FIRST POET LAUREATE IN APRIL, 2025. 
          THIS PERSON WILL SERVE A TWO YEAR TERM FROM 2025 THROUGH 2027. 
          THAT WILL BE AN OFFICIAL AMBASSADOR OF THE CITY'S LITERARY ARTS, CONNECTING OUR COMMUNITY THROUGH THE ART OF POETRY. 
          UM, AND THIS IS OUR POET LAUREATE COMMITTEE, UM, WHICH INCLUDES CHAIR SIMAN. 
          IT'S NICE TO ACTUALLY MEET YOU , SOMETHING WE'VE JUST EMAILED SO FAR. 
          UM, AND I JOINED THE CREW PRETTY LATE, UH, BECAUSE I JUST AM NEW TO THIS POSITION, SO I CANNOT TAKE CREDIT FOR ALL THE GOOD WORK THAT THEY HAVE DONE SO FAR. 
          UM, AND PARTICULARLY I WANNA SHOUT OUT MARIA ELENA ROA AND, UM, LEIA OSWALD, WHO ARE TWO ADULT SERVICES LIBRARIANS WITH A PL WHO REALLY MADE THIS HAPPEN. 
          UM, AND OUR GOAL IS TO PROMOTE POETRY LITERACY IN THE LITERARY ARTS, BUILD AWARENESS AND APPRECIATION OF POETRY, CELEBRATE POETRY, AND ADVANCE IT AS A MEANS OF COMMUNICATING AND UNDERSTANDING AUSTIN'S HISTORY AND CULTURE. 
          UM, UH, AND SO WE ARE ESTABLISHING THIS AMBASSADOR TO ADVANCE AUSTIN PUBLIC LIBRARY'S MISSION TO DISCOVER, LEARN, AND CREATE. 
          THEY'LL SERVE AS A MENTOR TO POETS IN THE COMMUNITY AND CREATE A PLATFORM FOR LOCAL POETS TO, UM, UH, PROMOTE THEIR WORK. 
          UM, SO THE COMMITTEE, UH, WHICH IS ACTIVE RIGHT NOW, UM, OUR SUBMISSIONS ARE OPEN. 
          THEY OPENED ON OCTOBER 1ST, THEY'LL CLOSE ON NOVEMBER 30TH. 
          UM, AND WE ARE FEELING PRETTY GOOD ABOUT WHERE WE'RE AT WITH OUR APPLICANTS. 
          UM, YEAH, IT'S, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY IT'S A FAIRLY, UM, IT'S A FAIRLY IN-DEPTH, UM, APPLICATION. 
          THIS IS, UH, REALLY A POSITION FOR SOMEONE WHO'S MAYBE MORE LIKE MID-CAREER. 
          SO UNSURPRISINGLY, 
          [00:40:01]
WE DID NOT GET A LOT THAT FIRST WEEK. 
          AND I STARTED TO GET A LITTLE NERVOUS, BUT WE WERE GETTING A LOT NOW AS WE GET CLOSER, 'CAUSE FOLKS HAVE CLEARLY BEEN PUTTING SOME TIME AND THOUGHT INTO THEM. 
          UM, AND SO THERE'S, THEY WILL SERVE, LIKE I SAID, A TWO YEAR TERM BEGINNING IN APRIL OF 2025. 
          UM, AND WE SEND OUT THE APPLICATIONS TO THE COMMITTEE PERIODICALLY AND THE COMMITTEE WILL MEET IN, UH, JANUARY TO DECIDE WHO GETS AN IN-PERSON INTERVIEW. 
          AND, UM, WE'LL HAVE THOSE INTERVIEWS IN FEBRUARY AND WE WILL RECOMMEND, UH, THE NEW POET LAUREATE IN MARCH AND THEY'LL BE INVESTED. 
          THE POET LAUREATE INVESTITURE CEREMONY WILL BE IN APRIL. 
          UM, AND THIS PERSON HAS TO BE 21 YEARS OLD, HAVE LIVED OR WORKED IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN FOR THREE YEARS AND CONTINUE TO LIVE OR WORK IN THE CITY THROUGHOUT THE APPOINTMENT. 
          UM, AND HAVE AT LEAST 10 PUBLISHED WORKS AND OR 10 PUBLIC PERFORMANCES OR SOME COMBINATION OF THOSE TWO. 
          UM, STRONG INTEREST IN SERVING THE CITY, CONDUCTING COMMUNITY OUTREACH, HAVE PUBLIC SPEAKING PERFORMING EXPERIENCE, BE AVAILABLE AT LEAST 10 HOURS A WEEK, INCLUDING FIVE HOURS A MONTH, WHICH WILL BE AT THE CENTRAL LIBRARY AND BE ABLE TO TRAVEL AROUND THE CITY OF AUSTIN. 
          UM, SO THEIR APPLICATION INCLUDES A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY, UH, RESUME OR CV. 
          UM, AND PARTICULARLY HIGHLIGHTING THEIR PUBLICATION AND AWARD HISTORY, THEIR EXPERIENCE TEACHING PUBLIC SPEAKING OR DOING PUBLIC PERFORMANCES. 
          A 300 WORD STATEMENT, WHY ABOUT WHY THEY SHOULD BE SELECTED. 
          UM, A STATEMENT OUTLINING THEIR IDEAS FOR WHAT THEY WOULD DO AS POET LAUREATE, SPECIFICALLY AIMING TO REALLY BRING ALL DIFFERENT PARTS OF AUSTIN IN. 
          AND THEN A 300 WORD DESCRIPTION OF HOW PAST PROJECTS HAVE ENGAGED CULTURALLY DIVERSE AUDIENCES AND HOW POETRY CAN AMPLIFY THOSE VOICES OF HISTORICALLY DISENFRANCHISED AUDIENCES. 
          THEY ALSO INCLUDE A WRITING SAMPLE AND A VIDEO OF THEM PERFORMING ONE OF THEIR POEMS. UM, AND THEN OUR GOAL FOR THEM IS, UH, DURING THEIR TERM THAT THEY WILL LEAD AT LEAST 10 UNIQUE PUBLIC READINGS OR WORKSHOPS A YEAR. 
          UM, FIVE AT SCHOOLS, FIVE IN COLLABORATION WITH OTHER LITERARY ORGANIZATIONS ACROSS TOWN. 
          THEY'LL DEVELOP SOME KIND OF SIGNATURE PROJECT. 
          UM, AND THAT WILL BE SOMETHING THEY PUT ON FOR THE TERM. 
          THEY'LL BE AVAILABLE TO BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, MEETINGS AND PUBLIC APPEARANCES AND COLLABORATE WITH A PL, UM, LIKE I SAID, TO DO THE SIGNIFICANT ONE, A SIGNIFICANT EVENT FOR PER YEAR. 
          UM, MAINTAIN HIGH STANDARDS OF CHARACTER AND PROFESSIONAL INTEGRITY AND WORK COLLABORATIVELY, COLLABORATIVELY, AND RESPECTFULLY. 
          WITH AUSTIN'S ENTIRE WRITING COMMUNITY, WE ARE AIMING TO GET ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE INVOLVED IN, IN POETRY, UM, TIMELINE. 
          SO LIKE I SAID, WE OPENED APPLICATIONS ON OCTOBER 1ST, THEY'LL CLOSE ON NOVEMBER 30TH. 
          UM, THEY'LL SERVE THIS TWO YEAR TERM. 
          UM, AND THEN WE'VE HAD A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT DOCUMENTS DO PEOPLE NEED TO PROVIDE TO VERIFY THEY'VE LIVED OR WORKED IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN. 
          WE ARE TAKING ALL KINDS OF THINGS. 
          WE ARE TAKING LIKE EMAILS FROM THE BAR WHERE YOU HOSTED BUS SLAM POETRY THAT SHOWS THAT YOU'VE DONE THAT IF YOU LIKE. 
          WE ARE, WE HAVE ACCEPTED A WIDE VARIETY OF THINGS 'CAUSE WE WANT TO BE AS GENEROUS AS POSSIBLE WITH THIS. 
          UM, AND WE ARE CONSIDERING SELF-CURATED AND SELF-PUBLISHED WORKS. 
          UM, PUBLIC PERFORMANCE, AGAIN, WE ARE DEFINING THIS VERY BROADLY. 
          UM, AND FOR THE VIDEO, UH, WE, SOME PEOPLE HAVE SUBMITTED VIDEOS THAT WERE TAKEN OF THEM AT PUBLIC READING. 
          SOME PEOPLE ARE JUST SUBMITTING A VIDEO OF THEMSELF READING IN THEIR HOME. 
          ONE PERSON SUBMITTED A TIKTOK VIDEO, UM, WHICH WORKS . 
          UH, AND THEN WE CAN SUBMIT THINGS IN OTHER THAN ENGLISH, BUT WE DO REQUIRE ENGLISH PROFICIENCY AS A PART OF THIS POSITION. 
          UM, AND THEN THIS IS SOME LINKS, UM, AND I CAN SHARE THIS WITH THE WHOLE COMMITTEE, UH, COMMISSION, UM, SOME LINKS TO EXAMPLES OF SIGNATURE PROJECTS FROM, UM, OTHER, UH, POET LAUREATES IN OTHER PLACES. 
          UM, WE HAD A KICKOFF EVENT BEFORE IN SEPTEMBER BEFORE THIS STARTED CALLED AUSTIN IS A POEM WHERE WE INVITED THE TEXAS POET LAUREATE AND THE POET LAUREATES OF DALLAS HOUSTON AND SAN ANTONIO, ALL OF WHOM WERE ABLE TO COME. 
          IT WAS GREAT. 
          WE HAD ABOUT 250 PEOPLE AT THE EVENT. 
          UM, AND THEY READ FOR US, UH, DIFFERENT POEMS AND TALKED ABOUT. 
          WE ALSO HAD MULTIPLE OTHER LOCAL POETS READ. 
          UM, IT WAS A REALLY GREAT EVENT AND IT REALLY HELPED ME SEE HOW AMAZING THIS CAN BE AND WHAT KIND OF CALIBER OF WORK WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO EXPECT, WHICH WAS PRETTY EXCITING. 
          UM, AND THEN ALSO THIS PERSON RECEIVES AN ANNUAL SALARY OF $25,000 AND A $10,000 ANNUAL BUDGET FOR THEIR PROGRAM EXPENSES. 
          SO, UM, THIS DOES COME WITH, UH, A STIPEND. 
          UM, AND THAT'S MY PRESENTATION. 
          IS THERE ANY QUESTIONS I CAN ANSWER? FANTASTIC. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COMMISSIONER MARK. 
          [00:45:01]
HI. 
          THANK YOU ALLISON. 
          UM, THIS IS A PRETTY QUICK TURNAROUND BECAUSE THE DEADLINE IS END OF THIS MONTH. 
          YES. 
          SO, WELL, WE'RE MEETING IN, SO THE DEADLINE, UM, PRETTY QUICK TURNAROUND FROM THE END OF IT TO CHOOSING THE PERSON. 
          YEAH, YEAH. 
          UM, WE, UH, A LOCAL POET NAMED KB BROOKINS IS REALLY THE PERSON WHO SPEARHEADED THIS. 
          THEY, UM, HAVE REALLY BEEN WORKING WITH THEIR COUNCIL MEMBER. 
          THE WAY THEY DESCRIBED IT AT, UM, THE AUSTIN AS A POEM EVENT IS THEY SAID BULLYING WORKS . 
          AND SO, UH, ONCE WE GOT THE GO AHEAD FOR THIS, WE WANTED TO GO AHEAD AND GET IT MOVING. 
          AND WE AIMED FOR APRIL BECAUSE THAT'S NATIONAL POETRY MONTHS. 
          WE WANNA UNVEIL OUR NEW POET LAUREATE IN NATIONAL POETRY. 
          RIGHT. 
          SO, SO DO YOU HAVE A LIST AS FAR AS OUTREACH CONCERNED? WHERE, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN REACHING OUT TO GET THE APPLICATION OUT THERE? UM, WE HAVE, I'M TRYING TO THINK OF WHAT THE NAME OF IT WAS. 
          ONE OF OUR, UM, WE, ONE OF OUR, UH, LIBRARIANS ATTENDED A ONE OF AUSTIN'S MOST POPULAR POETRY SLAMS THAT HAPPENS AT THE DRAFT HOUSE AT MUELLER. 
          I FORGET WHAT IT'S CALLED, BUT SHE WENT TO THAT AND PROMOTED IT. 
          WE'VE ALSO BEEN WORKING, THE TEXAS POET LAUREATE HAS BEEN PROMOTING THIS LEFT, RIGHT AND CENTER. 
          WE ARE VERY GRATEFUL TO AMANDA JOHNSON FOR HER, UM, HELP PROMOTING THIS. 
          ALL OF THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS, MANY OF WHOM ARE WORKING POETS HAVE BEEN PROMOTING THIS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES. 
          UM, KB AND I WENT ON THE LOCAL CBS MORNING SHOW WHEN OUR, UM, APPLICATIONS FIRST OPENED TO PROMOTE THIS. 
          YEAH. 
          YES. 
          WELL, WE ARE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS PROGRAM. 
          I REMEMBER THAT YOUNG MAN CAME TO OUR COMMISSION, YOU KNOW, AND, AND, AND, UH, WE SUPPORTED IT AND IT IS HAPPENING. 
          YEAH. 
          UM, SO, UH, I THINK IT IS EXCITING. 
          I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, WE REACH OUT TO MM-HMM. 
           AS MANY DIVERSE COMMUNITY AS POSSIBLE. 
          OH, WE ALSO, UM, THE PRINCE FOUNDATION PAID TO PUT AN AD IN THE, UM, TEXAS BOOK FESTIVAL, UH, CIRCULAR. 
          MM-HMM. 
          , THE, THE THING THEY GIVE YOU THAT TELLS YOU EVERYTHING THAT'S GOING ON THERE. 
          SO WE JUST HAD THAT THIS WEEKEND. 
          RIGHT, RIGHT, RIGHT. 
          YES. 
          I'M EXCITED ABOUT IT. 
          LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVE OUR FIRST POET ATE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          EXCITED. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER. 
          I WAS, I WAS GONNA ASK STAFF, WE HAD SOMEONE ELSE PRESENT ABOUT AUSTIN PO POET LAUREATE. 
          WHO WAS THAT? AND ARE THEY CONNECTED WITH THIS? THAT'S KB. 
          THAT'S KB. 
          THAT'S KB, OKAY. 
          KB MADE THIS HAPPEN. 
          SO KB IS A LOCAL POET WHO REALIZED THAT AUSTIN WAS THE BIGGEST CITY IN TEXAS THAT DIDN'T HAVE A POET LAUREATE AND REALLY MADE THIS HAPPEN. 
          YES. 
          SO HE'S INVOLVED WITH YES. 
          THE PUBLIC LIBRARY IS ONE OF THE, UM, IS ONE OF THE PANELISTS JUDGING THIS. 
          COOL. 
          YEAH. 
          THE TIMELINE KB REACHED OUT, KB IS A, UH, ELEVATE RECIPIENT AND, AND THEN BROUGHT TO OUR ATTENTION THIS DEFICIT IN TERMS OF POET REPRESENTATION. 
          AND WE WORKED SORT OF IN TANDEM AND POINTED THEM IN THE RIGHT DIRECTIONS AND I THINK THEY DID A REALLY AMAZING JOB YES. 
          OF, OF STICKING WITH IT AND SEEING IT THROUGH TO FRUITION. 
          AND SO YES, THEY ARE ON THE, UM, JUDGING PANEL FOR CHOOSING THIS PERSON. 
          GREAT. 
          COMMISSIONER KEYS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UM, THANK YOU FOR THIS PRESENTATION. 
          I THINK THIS IS A GREAT PROGRAM. 
          THIS IS MY FIRST TIME HEARING ABOUT IT. 
          UM, SO I GUESS I HAD SOME QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS AS FAR AS THE OUTREACH. 
          WHEN DID YOU BEGIN THE OUTREACH? UM, A LITTLE BIT BEFORE, WELL SIGN BEFORE THE APPLICATION PERIOD OPENED, BECAUSE WE STARTED PROMOTING THE KICKOFF EVENT. 
          AUSTIN IS A POEM, WHICH HAPPENED TOWARDS THE END OF SEPTEMBER. 
          I DON'T REMEMBER THE EXACT DATE. 
          UM, THEY WERE ALREADY PROMOTING IT WHEN I, I JOINED THIS POSITION AT THE END OF AUGUST, UM, WHICH IS WHEN I FIRST BECAME INVOLVED. 
          AND THEY WERE ALREADY PROMOTING IT BEFORE THAT . 
          SO I CAN'T SPEAK TO EXACTLY WHEN, BUT I KNOW BEFORE I GOT ON BOARD. 
          GOTCHA. 
          I, YEAH, I WOULD SAY, UM, I KIND OF ECHO SOME OF, UM, COMMISSIONER MOCK SENTIMENTS AND I THINK THIS IS A REALLY SHORT, UM, JUST APPLICATION, UM, CYCLE. 
          UM, I, I THINK IT'S FINE WITH APRIL AND EVERYTHING, BUT I THINK ONLY HAVING IT OPEN, UM, FOR WHAT LOOKS LIKE, I THINK ABOUT, UM, WAS IT OCTOBER 1ST? THEY OPEN, SO IT'S TWO MONTHS. 
          YEAH. 
          GOTCHA. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, BUT YES, UM, I, I THINK I'LL GET JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE INSIGHT AND DO SOME MORE RESEARCH, BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR REPRESENTING TODAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AS SOMEBODY WHO SAT IN ON THOSE CONVERSATIONS, IT WAS VERY INTENTIONAL, VERY THOUGHTFUL, AND VERY COMMITTED TO LOOKING AT INDUSTRY STANDARDS AND WHAT'S DONE COMPARABLY IN THAT GENRE, BOTH AT A NATIONAL AND LOCAL LEVEL. 
          TWO MONTHS IS A PRETTY BROAD APPLICATION, UM, WINDOW, I'D SAY. 
          HOW MANY APPLICATIONS DID YOU SAY YOU'VE RECEIVED THUS FAR? I WANNA SAY WE'VE RECEIVED 10 NOW. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, AND I KNOW FROM KB AND MIKE, WHO ARE TWO WORKING POETS WHO ARE ON THE JUDGING 
          [00:50:01]
COMMU, UH, PANEL THAT THEY BOTH KNOW MULTIPLE PEOPLE WHO ARE ACTIVELY STILL WORKING ON IT, UM, AND PLANNING TO SUBMIT. 
          WE HAVE DISCUSSED EXTENDING, AND WE STILL MIGHT, BUT LAST WEEK WE GOT FOUR. 
          SO I STOPPED FEELING QUITE SO NERVOUS. 
          AND WE KNOW FROM OTHER CITIES THAT IN THEIR FIRST YEAR, 20 WAS ABOUT THE MAX. 
          ANYBODY RECEIVED 20 APPLICATIONS IN THEIR FIRST YEAR AND THEN THEY, THEY WOULD SEE IT GO UP EVERY TIME. 
          THAT'S FANTASTIC. 
          AND SO YOU'RE RIGHT ON PAR. 
          WE'VE GOT 12 DAYS TILL THE APPLICATION CLOSES AND WE ARE SEEING THAT IT'S PICKING UP. 
          AND IF WE'RE, YOU KNOW, EXTENDING POETS TO ARTISTS, IT'S GONNA BE IN THE 11TH HOUR, YOU'LL PROBABLY GET A FEW MORE SUBMISSIONS. 
          . 
          WE ARE EXPECTING THAT, LIKE I SAID, WE HAVE DISCUSSED THE POSSIBILITY OF EXTENDING IT. 
          UM, BUT WE GOT LESS NERVOUS LAST WEEK AS WE GOT, I THINK FOUR OR FIVE LAST WEEK. 
          . 
          THAT'S GREAT. 
          COMMISSIONERS, ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS FOR OUR PRESENTER? IF I MAY? UH, JUST, JUST A QUICK COMMENT. 
          I, UH, JUST, JUST VERY THRILLED TO SEE THIS, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, CHAIR ALSO BECAUSE, UH, WE SAW IT KIND OF, YOU KNOW, TAKE LIFE HERE, UH, AND, AND KIND OF SEEING THE OUTCOME NOW. 
          AND, UH, I CAN ONLY SEE HOW IT'LL, IT CAN, YOU KNOW, BUILD, UH, IN THE FUTURE YEARS. 
          BUT JUST VERY THRILLED TO SAY THIS. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING IN. 
          THANK YOU. 
          LIKE I SAID, I CAN'T TAKE MUCH CREDIT. 
          I JOINED THIS LATE IN THE GAME, BUT I AM REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS PROJECT TOO. 
          PASS IT ALONG TO EVERYBODY THAT'S CONTRIBUTED. 
          UM, IT'S, YEAH, VERY EXCITING TO SEE IT COME. 
          YES. 
          COMMISSIONER. 
          SO, SO THE LINK TO THE APPLICATION IS ON THE AUSTIN PUBLIC LIBRARY SITE? YES. 
          UM, IT'S AUSTIN, UH, LIBRARY TO AUSTIN TEXT.GOV/POET. 
          I'M TRYING TO FIGURE IT'S POET OR POETRY. 
          IT'S, I BELIEVE IT'S POET . 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          YEAH. 
          AND AGAIN, OUR JOB AS COMMISSIONERS IS TO BE THE STEWARDS OF THIS INFORMATION. 
          SO CAPTURING IT, PROMOTING IT WITHIN YOUR NETWORKS, AMPLIFYING IT TO YOUR COMMUNITY. 
          THAT'S OUR JOB. 
          WE APPRECIATE THAT. 
          SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO SPREAD THE WORD. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          THANK YOU. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          I HOPE LAURA DIDN'T GO TOO FAR 'CAUSE SHE'S NEXT PRESENTATION BY LAURA ESPARZA ON THE INTRODUCTION OF A THREE ART ALLIANCE. 
          AUSTIN, WELCOME BACK. 
          BEEN TOO LONG. 
          HI . 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          UM, DID UM, YOU RECEIVE MY PRESENTATION? I BELIEVE AV IS WORKING ON PULLING IT UP RIGHT NOW. 
          BEAR WITH US ONE MOMENT, LAURA. 
          I'M SEEING SOME PUZZLED FACES. 
          IF YOU HAVE IT AT YOUR FINGERTIPS, WOULD YOU MIND RESENDING IT TO EITHER ME OR STAFF? OKAY. 
          YEAH. 
          I, I DIDN'T UH, REALIZE I HAD BEEN PUT ON THE AGENDA FOR THIS ITEM. 
          UM, EVEN THOUGH I HAD REQUESTED IT A FEW MONTHS AGO, UH, I KNEW I WAS ON THE AGENDA FOR THE DAC ITEM. 
          AND SO, UM, TODAY I UM, DO YOU WANT WE CAN MOVE FORWARD AND COME BACK 'CAUSE UH, OUR NEXT PRESENTER IS READY AND THAT WOULD GIVE YOU, I DON'T WANT TO PUT YOU UNDER PRESSURE. 
          UH, WHO SHOULD I SEND THE UM, TO JESUS VELA. 
          TO JESUS. 
          OKAY. 
          YES. 
          I'LL SEND IT TO JESUS AGAIN. 
          EITHER JESUS. 
          THEY BOTH, IT'S LIKE ONE INBOX PROBABLY. 
          RIGHT? I'LL SEND IT OVER TO YOU. 
          GREAT. 
          NOW AND I'LL STICK AROUND. 
          I'LL DO A MEETING WHEN YOU GET TO ME. 
          FABULOUS. 
          WE'RE JUST GONNA GO ONE ITEM DOWN. 
          THANK YOU. 
          ALRIGHT, SO WE'LL BE BACK TO ITEM SEVEN FOR 
          [8. Presentation by Sara Vanderbeek, art consultant for Zilker Point (218 South Lamar Blvd Planned Unit Development [PUD])]
NOW, WE'RE GONNA GO TO ITEM EIGHT, PRESENTATION BY SARAH VANDERBEEK, ART CONSULTANT FOR ZILKER POINT. 
          THE TWO 18 SOUTH OF MAR BOULEVARD, PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT P WELCOME SARAH, THANKS FOR BEING HERE. 
          HI. 
          THANKS FOR HAVING ME EVERYONE. 
          THANKS FOR INVITING ME. 
          HI, ME AND CASTILLO. 
          AND, UM, I'M SUPER HAPPY TO BE HERE PRESENTING, UM, ABOUT THIS PROJECT THAT JUST TALK ABOUT THINGS TAKING A LONG TIME I'VE BEEN WORKING ON FOR A LONG TIME. 
          UM, SO HELLO, I'M SARAH VANDERBEEK. 
          I AM AN ARTIST THAT HAS BEEN BASED HERE IN AUSTIN FOR ABOUT 16 YEARS. 
          UM, I'M ALSO A CONSULTANT AND I'M THE FOUNDING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF DF, WHICH IS AN ARTIST RUN NON-PROFIT GALLERY. 
          UM, THAT RECENTLY RELOCATED TO THE ZILKER POINT DEVELOPMENT, WHICH IS ON SOUTH LAMAR RIGHT NEXT TO ZACH THEATER. 
          UM, SO MY CAREER IN THE ARTS SPANS OVER TWO DECADES AND IS SPLIT PRETTY EVENLY BETWEEN MY VISUAL ARTS PRACTICE AND MY CURATORIAL AND ARTS ADMINISTRATION PRACTICE. 
          AS AN ARTIST, MY WORK RANGES FROM PORTRAITURE TO LARGE SCALE FABRIC PAINTINGS AND INSTALLATIONS, OFTEN CENTERED AROUND THEMES OF MOTHERHOOD CARE, COMMUNITY, MENTAL HEALTH AND HEALING. 
          I LOVE BRIGHT COLORS, EMBRACING VULNERABILITY AS A COMMUNICATION TOOL TO CONNECT WITH OTHERS. 
          AS A CURATOR AND ARTS ADMINISTRATOR, I'VE 
          [00:55:01]
HELPED BUILD PRIVATE AND PUBLIC COLLECTIONS. 
          AND FROM 20 2009 TO 15, I WAS THE CO-FOUNDER, CO-CURATOR AND BUDGET MANAGER OF A HUGE PUBLIC ART COLLECTION, UM, IN SAN ANTONIO AT UNIVERSITY HEALTH. 
          ALONG WITH MY PARTNER ALLISON HAYES LANE AND LOCAL ARTS LEADERSHIP, WE BUILT THIS COLLECTION AND FACILITATED THE DISTRIBUTION OF OVER $7 MILLION TO OVER 400 TEXAS-BASED ARTISTS. 
          IN 2018, EXCUSE ME, MY PARTNER ERIC AND I STARTED A NEW INITIATIVE, A GALLERY IN OUR HOME GARAGE AND SURROUNDING GROUNDS. 
          WE NAMED OUR GALLERY DF, WHICH MEANS VILLAGE IN DUTCH AND GERMAN. 
          AND OUR MISSION IS TO BUILD A VILLAGE OF ARTISTS, ADVOCATES, AND INNOVATORS. 
          WE OPENED DF AS A RESPONSE TO MANY CLOSURES OF PROMINENT ART SPACES IN AUSTIN AND HOPED OUR SPACE COULD HELP RETAIN, SUPPORT, AND PROMOTE TEXAS BASED ARTISTS, BUILD COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS AND ADVOCATE FOR OUR COMMUNITY AND CAUSES WE CARE ABOUT. 
          WE IMMEDIATELY SAW THE COMMUNITY'S NEED FOR A SPACE LIKE DORF IN OUR QUIET NEIGHBORHOOD, COMMUNITY CENTRIC PROGRAMMING ADVOCACY EFFORTS. 
          IN THE FACILITATION OF CHALLENGING COVER CONVERSATIONS WERE DRIVING HIGH TURNOUTS, MEDIA ATTENTION AND ACCOLADES. 
          OUR EXHIBITIONS, PERFORMANCES AND PUBLIC CONVERSATIONS HAVE ADDRESSED CRITICAL ISSUES AND HIGHLIGHTED THE VOICES OF THE GLOBAL MAJORITY. 
          OUR 2021 EXHIBITION OWN IT DELVED INTO THEMES OF RAPE CULTURE, SURVIVOR JUSTICE AND HEALING, AND CONCLUDED WITH A COMMUNITY CONVERSATION FEATURING PROMINENT LOCAL AND STATE LEADERS, POLITICIANS AND SURVIVORS. 
          THE COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO DWARF WAS UPLIFTING AND LED US TO QUICKLY OUTGROWING OUR HOME GALLERY SPACE. 
          AND JUST IN TIME IN 2019, AN AMAZING OPPORTUNITY WAS PRESENTED TO US AS A CONSULTANT AND CURATOR. 
          I'VE WORKED WITH THE DEVELOPERS OF THE NEW MULTI-USE DEVELOPMENT ZILKER POINT FOR ALMOST A DECADE. 
          I FACILITATE, UH, THE SELECTION AND PLACEMENT OF PUBLIC ARTWORK FOR THEIR BUILDINGS FOR THIS BUILDING. 
          FORMER CITY COUNCIL MEMBER AND KITCHEN WAS REQUIRING AND COUNCIL, UM, WAS REQUIRING THE DEVELOPERS TO GIVE, IN ADDITION TO A PUBLIC SCULPTURE, A FREE SPACE FOR AN ART ORGANIZATION. 
          ZILKER POINT OWNERSHIP INVITED ME AND DORF TO PUT A PROPOSAL TOGETHER FOR HOW WE WOULD USE THE SPACE, UM, TO PRESENT TO CITY COUNCIL. 
          OUR PROPOSAL WAS STRONGLY SUPPORTED BY THE ZILKER POINT DEVELOPERS AND CITY STAFF. 
          FROM THERE, UH, WITH FURTHER SUPPORT FROM FORMER COUNCIL MEMBER AND KITCHEN, WE NEGOTIATED FOR A 1062 SQUARE FOOT GALLERY SPACE, A BUDGET FOR BUILD OUT BY ARCHITECTS, RUN A WORKSHOP WHO DESIGNED THE BUILDING AND WE SECURED AN UP TO 10 YEAR LEASE FOR JUST A DOLLAR PER YEAR. 
          IN ADDITION, DORF HELPED ENSURE THROUGH A NEW CITY ORDINANCE THAT THIS RENT-FREE SPACE WOULD BE PROTECTED IN PERPETUITY, CREATING A PERMANENT HOME FOR THE ARTS IN SOUTH AUSTIN. 
          THIS IS A LANDMARK AGREEMENT BETWEEN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ENTITIES AND THE FIRST OF ITS KIND IN AUSTIN. 
          AND WE HOPE THIS CAN BECOME A MODEL TO SUPPORT OTHER ARTS NONPROFITS AND NOT JUST ARTS NONPROFITS, BUT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ART TONIGHT. 
          , UM, THAT CITY COUNCIL ARTS COMMISSION AND CITY STAFF CAN USE TO ADVOCATE FOR OUR CREATIVE COMMUNITY. 
          UM, I WILL SAY THAT, UH, LARGE REASON THAT WE DECIDED WE AGREED TO MOVE TO THIS SPACE WAS THE PROMISE OF THE NEW DAC. 
          AND SO IT'S TIMELY THAT WE'RE SPEAKING ABOUT THIS TONIGHT. 
          UM, I SIGNED THE PETITION AND I'M ALSO A HUGE ADVOCATE FOR THAT PROGRAM PROJECT. 
          UM, I AM NOT JUST HERE TONIGHT TO TALK ABOUT DWARF, BUT ALSO TO TALK ABOUT A BEAUTIFUL ARTWORK COMMISSION THAT I WAS HONORED TO FACILITATE FOR ZILKER POINT. 
          IN ADDITION TO THE SPACE REQUIREMENT, THE SCHLOTZKY'S PUD REQUIRED COM, UH, THE COMMISSION OF A PERMANENT SCULPTURE ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC THAT WAS TO BE APPROVED BY THE AUSTIN ART AND PUBLIC PLACES MANAGER. 
          TO GET THE PROCESS STARTED, I ORGANIZED A STRONG SELECTION PANEL THAT INCLUDED TALENTED AND PRO PROLIFIC MEMBERS OF THE AUSTIN AND GREATER TEXAS ART ECOSYSTEM. 
          WE ADHERE TO A IPPS SELECTION CRITERIA AND ARTWORK GUIDELINE GUIDELINES THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS OF SELECTING THE ARTIST THROUGH THE INSTALLATION, THE COMMISSIONED ARTIST WAS SELECTED AFTER A STATEWIDE OPEN CALL ADVERTISED ON PUBLIC ARTIST.ORG AND GLASS TIRE AS WELL AS SOCIAL MEDIA. 
          UM, IT WAS ALSO, WE DID A LOT OF COMMUNITY OUTREACH, REACHED OUT TO A LOT OF THE ART ORGANIZATIONS IN TOWN AND DID A TON OF, UH, WORD OF MOUTH OUTREACH AS WELL. 
          WE RECEIVED APPROXIMATELY 50 APPLICATIONS AND SCORED THEM WITH A RUBRIC THAT WAS 
          [01:00:01]
CO-CREATED BY THE SELECTION PANEL. 
          AND TOGETHER WE SELECTED THREE FINALISTS TO PRESENT PROPOSALS TO THE PANEL. 
          EACH ARTIST OR ARTIST TEAM WAS COMPENSATED A THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR THEIR PROPOSAL AND THE FINALISTS RECEIVED THE $38,000 COMMISSION TO COMPLETE THE FABRICATION AND INSTALLATION OF THEIR WORK. 
          THOUGH WE HAD THREE STRONG PROPOSALS, DALLAS BASED PUBLIC ARTIST, JESSICA BELL'S CLEAR VISION AND CREATIVITY, WON US OVER WITH HER PROPOSAL FOR A KINETIC SCULPTURE TITLED WABO AFTER HER SON. 
          SHE WAS SELECTED BY A UNANIMOUS VOTE FROM THE PANEL. 
          IN THE MONTHS LEADING UP TO INSTALLATION, JESSICA KEPT US EXCITED AND UPDATED WITH REGULAR SNEAK PEEKS OF HER PROCESS AND FABRICATION IN HER DALLAS WAREHOUSE. 
          THIS IS HER WORK BEING INSTALLED, UM, IN ONE DAY BY HER AMAZING INSTALLATION TEAM. 
          AND HERE IS THE FINAL SCULPTURE OUTSIDE OF THE NEW DWARF GALLERY SPACE. 
          UM, THE ARTWORK IS EASILY ACCESSIBLE FOR PEDESTRIAN VIEWING AND ENJOYMENT FROM SOUTH LAMAR RIGHT OUTSIDE OF THE NEW DWARF GALLERY AND ADJACENT TO ZACK THEATER, ATTRACTING THOUSANDS OF VISITORS AND TOURISTS AN ANNUALLY I HAVE LOVED, UM, COMING TO VISIT WABO AT DIFFERENT TIMES OF THE DAY TO SEE HOW IT LOOKS, MOVES AND PROJECTS LIGHT DIFFERENTLY. 
          LOOKING NORTH, THE SCULPTURE SITS WITH AN UNOBSTRUCTED VIEW OF THE SKY, WHICH REFLECTS BEAUTIFULLY ON THE SEVEN STORY BUILDING WITH FLOOR TO FLOOR TO CEILING GLASS WINDOWS. 
          SO LAST MONTH, UH, DORF OFFICIALLY MOVED INTO OUR NEW SPACE AT ZILKER POINT AND WE QUICKLY MADE OURSELVES AT HOME. 
          WE INSTALLED OUR FIRST SHOW ENTITLED SOFT OPENING AND OPENED A WEEK LATER. 
          WE WELCOMED HUNDREDS OF VISITORS FROM AUSTIN AND BEYOND TO SEE THE SPACE, EXPERIENCE ART, AND SIT UNDER THE OUTSTRETCH BRANCHES OF JESSICA BELL'S WABO. 
          THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME TODAY. 
          AND, UM, YOU CAN FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM AND UM, OUR WEBSITE IS IS HERE. 
          AND THANK YOU AGAIN. 
          DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? I'M SURE THERE ARE MANY WAITING. 
          WE'RE GONNA GONNA WAIT TO GET OUR COMMISSIONERS BACK ON CAMERA HERE. 
          OKAY. 
          COMMISSIONERS, ANY QUESTIONS FOR SARAH? IT'S REALLY WONDERFUL PRESENTATION. 
          QUITE INSPIRING. 
          THANK YOU TO SEE SUCH A HUGE CONCEPT COME TO FRUITION. 
          UM, I UNDERSTANDING YOU RIGHT THAT COMMISSIONER KITCHEN, I'M SORRY. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN IS THE ONE THAT MANDATED FROM ZILKER POINT THAT THERE WOULD BE AN ARTS FACILITY OF SOME CAPACITY. 
          YES. 
          THAT THAT WAS A REQUIREMENT OF THEM ESTABLISHING THE YES, ABSOLUTELY. 
          IT WAS, THE LANGUAGE IN THE PUD WAS FREE. 
          FREE ART SPACE. 
          FREE ART SPACE. 
          AND SO IS THAT, THAT TE, IS THAT A TEMPLATE THAT WE CAN APPLY TO OTHER PUDS OR WAS IT PRETTY BESPOKE TO THAT SPECIFIC PUD? TO MY KNOWLEDGE, THIS IS THE FIRST REQUIREMENT OF THIS NATURE. 
          THE, THE ARTWORK REQUIREMENT IS, HAS BECOME, UM, UH, COMMON IN AUSTIN AND CITIES ELSEWHERE. 
          UM, BUT TO MY KNOWLEDGE, THIS FREE SPACE IS THE FIRST, THIS IS THE FIRST SUCCESSFUL TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED. 
          AND WHAT I AM DEFINITELY PLEAING IS THAT WE REUSE THIS TEXT AND, UM, IT SEEMS LIKE A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO PUT PRESSURE ON DEVELOPMENTS. 
          AND, UM, AND ALSO IT'S A, IT'S A KIND OF WIN-WIN SITUATION TO SUPPORT OUR COMMUNITY IN CHALLENGING TIMES. 
          ABSOLUTELY. 
          IT SEEMS LIKE A GOOD OVERLAY OVER ANY AND ALL OF THE DEVELOPMENT THAT'S HAPPENING RAPIDLY. 
          WE KNOW A LOT OF 12TH STREET, 11TH STREET HAS ALREADY BEEN PURCHASED, BUT FOR THEM TO ACTUALLY TAKE ACTION AND IS, AND TO CREATE A BUILDING THAT ACTUALLY SAVES AND CARVES OUT SPACE FOR CREATIVES, I THINK IS PRETTY INGENIOUS. 
          UM, AND MIGHT BE THAT SHRED OF HOPE, UM, THAT WE CAN LOOK TO. 
          COMMISSIONER SMOCK, YOU ASKED MY QUESTION. 
          WELL, FIRST CONGRATULATIONS ON JUST SO EXCITED FOR Y'ALL AND THE, AND THE GREAT WORK AND THE, THE NEW FUTURE. 
          UM, THANK YOU. 
          YEAH, I THINK IT'S GONNA BE, YOU ASKED MY QUESTION, SELENA, BUT IT WAS REALLY ABOUT, UM, LIKE WHAT STAGE IN THE PUD PROCESS WAS IT, LIKE BEFORE IT HITCHEN GOT THAT REQUIREMENT INTO THE, UH, LIKE SCOPE OF THE PROJECT BEFORE SELECTING A DEVELOPER. 
          IS THAT RIGHT? SO IS THAT CORRECT IN THE PROCESS? IT, IT SEEMS THAT IT WAS, I WAS BROUGHT IN IN 2019 AND I KNOW THAT'S ALSO WHEN THE BUILDING, IT 
          [01:05:01]
HADN'T GONE THROUGH COUNCIL. 
          UM, THE BUILDING GOT APPROVED BECAUSE OF THE OTHER THINGS THEY WERE DOING, INCLUDING THIS ART SPACE, 30%, UM, GREEN SPACE. 
          AND TO MY KNOWLEDGE, IT WAS WRITTEN IN FROM THE BEGINNING ABOUT WHAT IF THIS WASN'T GONNA BE SOMETHING ELSE. 
          IF IT WAS GONNA BE AN OFFICE BUILDING, THIS IS, THIS WAS GONNA BE REQUIRED. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I'M SURE WE'LL HAVE LIKE MANY OTHER FOLLOW UP DETAIL QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT, BUT THIS IS SUCH A GREAT MODEL AND CHEERS TO Y'ALL FOR, FOR SEEING IT THROUGH. 
          IT'S EXCITING. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I WILL ALSO NOTE THAT, UH, IT IS IN MY SHORT-ISH TERM TO-DO LIST TO, UM, DOCUMENT THIS PROCESS SO THAT THERE IS SOME SORT OF BLUEPRINT, UM, ON PAPER OF HOW THIS HAPPENED. 
          I WONDER IF WE COULD ROPE IN COMM, UM, FORMER COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN TO SORT OF ALSO CHAMPION THIS AS A WAY, YOU KNOW, ONCE WE HAVE THEIR DOCUMENTATION AND A PATH TO FOLLOW AND SOMETHING WE CAN HAND OFF TO OTHER ABSOLUTELY. 
          DEVELOPERS ARE EVEN MAKING IT JUST A, ACROSS THE BOARD REQUIREMENT FOR ALL NEW DEVELOPMENT AT THE COUNCIL LEVEL. 
          YEAH. 
          COMMISSIONER KEYS, DID YOU HAVE YOUR HAND UP? UM, YES. 
          SO ONE, I THINK THIS IS A, A GREAT, UM, JUST IDEA AND CONCEPT AND BY BY DAY I WORK AT THE CITY AND CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES. 
          SO WE ESSENTIALLY BUILD ALL OF THE PROJECTS AND MAINTAIN THESE. 
          AND SO I THINK THEY'RE GREAT QUESTIONS AS FAR AS LIKE WHERE IN THE PROCESS, THE DESIGN PROCESS AND THINGS, ARE THESE IMPLEMENTED OR EVEN IS THERE SPACE TO PROVIDE THAT FEEDBACK AND STUFF? SO I THINK THESE ARE GOOD QUESTIONS AND MAYBE I DON'T FULLY UNDERSTAND, BUT I WANTED TO, I DON'T KNOW IF I'M ASKING THE QUESTION CORRECTLY, BUT LIKE, WHAT IS THE PROFIT MODEL? LIKE, IF YOU'RE ONLY HAVING TO PAY ESSENTIALLY RENT FOR A DOLLAR PER YEAR, I UNDERSTAND ART SALES JUST BEING IN ART, IT IS, IT HAS PEAKS AND VALLEYS. 
          UM, AND SO HOW DOES THIS MODEL IMPACT THE LOCAL ECONOMY? LIKE, HOW ARE ARTISTS GETTING PAID? HOW ARE YOU, YOU KNOW, GETTING PAID? WHAT DOES THIS STRUCTURE LOOK LIKE IF WE ARE MAKING THIS, UM, SETTING THE PRECEDENTS, LIKE WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE BUILT OUT? HOW DOES THAT WORK? THOSE ARE AWESOME QUESTIONS. 
          UM, THANK YOU FOR ASKING THAT. 
          SO, UH, OUR MODEL, WE ARE A NONPROFIT AND THAT WAS A REQUIREMENT OF THIS SPACE THAT IT, IT, IT HAS TO BE FOR A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION. 
          UM, SO YES, OUR OVERHEAD, WE HAVE NO OVERHEAD, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE DON'T HAVE EXPENSES. 
          UM, WE ARE THE PROUD RECIPIENT FOR OUR SECOND YEAR IN A ROW OF AN ELEVATE GRANT THAT IS GONNA REALLY HELP US, UH, FOR THE, THROUGH THIS FIRST YEAR. 
          WE'RE ALSO SUPPORTED BY THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS, THE EMILY HALL TAIN FOUNDATION AND THE MIDAMERICA ARTS ALLIANCE. 
          SO WE'VE SPENT MUCH OF THE LAST FIVE YEARS BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS BOTH LOCALLY AND NATIONALLY, UM, TO SECURE FUNDING SO THAT WHEN WE ACTUALLY GET HERE, WE'RE NOT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, UH, SO, SO IT IS DEFINITELY NOT AS EASY AS LIKE WRITING THIS INTO THE PUD. 
          THERE'S A LOT OF WORK, A LOT OF GROUNDWORK. 
          BUT, UM, YEAH, OUR FUNDING MODEL IS, IS A, A LARGE PART OF OUR FUNDING IS GONNA COME FROM GRANTS AND PRIVATE, UM, SUPPORT AND INDIVIDUAL DONATIONS. 
          AND THEN ARTWORK SALES IS PROBABLY LOWER ON THAT LIST. 
          , UNFORTUNATELY IN AUSTIN, TOTALLY UNDERSTAND. 
          OH, HOWEVER, WE, WE DO PAY, UH, WE PAY EVERY ARTIST THAT WE WORK WITH BASED ON, UM, THE WAGE WORKING ARTISTS FOR THE GREATER ECONOMY HAS A GREAT MODEL. 
          UM, I THINK IT'S WAGE.ORG. 
          THEY HAVE A MINIMUM WAGE MODEL FOR ALL THINGS ARTS. 
          AND SO WE FOLLOW THEIR, UM, THEIR MINIMUM WAGE FOR PAYING ALL OF OUR ARTISTS. 
          SO EVERYBODY IS PAID. 
          YES. 
          UM, SO THANK YOU AGAIN. 
          'CAUSE THESE ARE GREAT DETAILS AND CONTEXT. 
          I'VE LIKE BEEN ON JUST SOME COMMITTEES AND TEAMS WHERE WE'VE EVEN HAD TO PUSH, LIKE WHEN THE ARTISTS CALL AND WHERE THEY'RE ASKING FOR WORDS OR ODS, WE ARE HAVING TO PUSH TO EVEN GET THEM PAID FOR THAT. 
          SO I THINK JUST EVEN HOW YOU MENTIONED THE SCULPTURE OUTSIDE AND PAYING, UM, FOR THAT DESIGN AND THINGS LIKE THAT, UM, I THINK THIS IS A GREAT MODEL. 
          SO THANK YOU AGAIN FOR ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS AND THANK Y'ALL FOR PUTTING THIS TOGETHER. 
          YEAH, THANK YOU. 
          WE ALL NEED TO BE PAYING ARTISTS OR ELSE WE CAN'T SURVIVE. 
          , AGREED. 
          RESOUNDINGLY, YOU'RE IN A ROOM, UH, WHERE YOU'RE PREACHING TO THE CHOIR. 
           COMMISSIONERS, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR SARAH? I JUST WANT TO CONGRATULATE YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND I'M JUST SO GLAD THAT, UM, OUR FORMER COUNCILWOMAN IS SO CREATIVE. 
          YOU KNOW, UM, THIS CERTAINLY, UH, CAN BE A MODEL TO FOLLOW FOR OTHER PART PROJECT, AND, UM, 
          [01:10:01]
I THINK THIS IS ONE WAY THAT WE CAN GET THE DEVELOPERS, YOU KNOW, TO, TO, UH, GIVE BACK TO OUR COMMUNITY A CREATIVE COMMUNITY. 
          AND THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU ALL. 
          FANTASTIC. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          IT'S PHENOMENAL NEWS. 
          I THINK, UH, COMMISSIONER SCHWABE AND I WANNA FOLLOW UP WITH YOU JUST TO HAVE A MORE GRANULAR CONVERSATION, BUT WE'LL CIRCLE BACK WITH THAT. 
          THAT SOUNDS GREAT. 
          GREAT LOOKING FORWARD. 
          YAY. 
          THANK Y'ALL FOR LISTENING. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND KEEP US POSTED ON EVENTS. 
          FEEL FREE TO CC US AND WE'LL HELP AMPLIFY ALL THE OPPORTUNITIES COMING OUT OF DWARF. 
          ALRIGHT, LET'S 
          [7. Presentation by Laura Esparza on the Introduction to A3 (Art Alliance Austin)]
CIRCLE BACK TO LAURA. 
          DO WE, UH, STAFF, DO WE HAVE OUR PRESENTATION? WE'RE READY TO GO. 
          IT SHOULD BE ITEM 11. 
          THERE WE ARE. 
          ALRIGHT, TAKE TWO. 
          ALRIGHT, GREAT. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PATIENCE AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, COMMISSIONERS. 
          I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT TO YOU ABOUT, UM, A THREE, WHICH IS A NICKNAME ESSENTIALLY FOR ART ALLIANCE AUSTIN. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          MY NAME IS LAURA ESPARZA, AND MANY OF YOU MAY KNOW ME FROM WORKING WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, PARKS DEPARTMENT, WHERE I RAN, UM, THE, UH, MUSEUMS AND CULTURAL UM, CENTERS PROGRAM AND RAN, UM, UH, 1112, UM, FACILITIES, UM, IN AUSTIN, UM, FOR THE PARKS DEPARTMENT, UM, ARTS FACILITIES. 
          UM, I, UH, LAST MARCH, UM, CAME HEAD TO HEAD WITH THE NEW REALITY THAT WAS, UM, HAS BEEN CREATED BECAUSE OF THE TAX CAP IN THAT MY, UM, DIVISION HAD A 8%, UH, CUT IN, UM, BUDGET. 
          THAT MONEY WAS REALLOCATED, UH, TO OTHER PARTS OF THE PARKS DEPARTMENT, UM, AND WASN'T COMING BACK. 
          LOTS OF ARTISTS, UM, MUSICIANS AND PERFORMERS LOST THEIR GIGS. 
          WE HAD TO CANCEL ALL PROGRAMMING FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR. 
          UM, AND SO I FELT LIKE I, THIS WAS A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE MY RETIREMENT AND, UH, TO FOUND A THREE AS A LOCAL ARTS AGENCY DEVOTED TO, UH, RAISING FUNDS, UM, TO SUSTAINING AUSTIN'S ARTS ECOSYSTEM THROUGH TWO WAYS, RAISING FUNDS FOR ARTISTS, MUSICIANS AND PERFORMERS, AND THE CONTRACTORS WHO MAKE THEIR ART ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC FOR FREE. 
          AND THEN BECOMING A CATALYST FOR COMMUNITY CHANGE AND COLLABORATION WITH PARTNERS WHO ARE COMMITTED TO THE VALUE OF THE ARTS AND WORK TO SUSTAIN ITS ARTS ECOSYSTEM. 
          SO OUR, WHILE WE ARE, UM, RAISING ONE OF OUR ACTIVITIES IS RAISING MONEY FOR A HANDFUL OF, UM, UH, EVENTS, UM, THAT ARE BOTH WITHIN THE CITY AND, UM, OUTSIDE OF THE CITY. 
          UM, WE ARE ALSO, UH, CONCERNED ABOUT BECOMING A CATALYST FOR COMMUNITY CHANGE TO ENCOURAGE MORE INDIVIDUAL GIVING, UM, TO THE ARTS IN PARTICULAR. 
          UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          SO A LOCAL ARTS AGENCY, A A NONPROFIT LOCAL ARTS AGENCY, HASN'T EXISTED IN AUSTIN, REALLY. 
          I WORKED FOR ONE IN SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, UM, CALLED SILICON VALLEY. 
          CREATES, AND YOU CAN LOOK THAT UP. 
          UM, AND THEY'RE REALLY AN EXEMPLARY, UM, LOCAL ARTS AGENCY IN DOING WHAT LOCAL ARTS AGENCIES DO, WHICH IS TO PROMOTE, SUPPORT AND DEVELOP THE ARTS ON A LOCAL LEVEL. 
          UM, AMERICANS FOR THE ARTS IS THE LARGEST ONE. 
          THEY'RE A NATIONWIDE, UM, AGENCY FOR THAT WORKS WITH, UM, 4,000, YOU KNOW, 4,500 OF US ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND PROVIDES, UH, RESOURCES, UM, FOR THINKING ABOUT AND WORKING ON HOW WE SUSTAIN THE HEALTH AND VITALITY OF ARTS IN OUR COMMUNITY. 
          UM, SO WE'RE A PRETTY LARGE CITY TO NOT HAVE A LOCAL ARTS AGENCY LIKE THIS. 
          AND SO I FELT LIKE, UM, IT WAS TIME, UM, TO HAVE ONE THAT WAS A NONPROFIT, UM, BECAUSE GOVERNMENT CAN'T DO IT ALL. 
          UM, CULTURAL ARTS DIVISION IS A LOCAL ARTS AGENCY, BUT IT'S A GOVERNMENT ONE, AND THEY HAVE DIFFERENT ROLES, UM, AND THEY HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER AND THEY HAVE TO BE, UM, WORKING TOWARDS THE SAME GOAL OF SUSTAINING THE HEALTH AND VITALITY OF THE, UH, ARTS ECOSYSTEM. 
          UH, AND ANOTHER PIECE THAT'S MISSING A CIVIC INFRASTRUCTURE THAT'S MISSING IS A, A BUSINESS COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS, BUT THAT'S ANOTHER STORY. 
          SO, UH, WE'LL KEEP GOING. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          UM, AND SO THIS 
          [01:15:02]
SLIDE REALLY PERTAINS TO A LOT OF THE DISCUSSIONS THAT I HAVE WITH LOTS OF DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS, UH, ACROSS THE, THE CITY. 
          AND, YOU KNOW, THIS IS NOT GONNA HAPPEN IN A DAY. 
          I, I, YOU KNOW, IT'S OPENED. 
          IT IS, IT HAS BEEN BORN, BUT IT'S VERY CLEAR TO ME THAT THIS IS, UH, GONNA TAKE YEARS, UH, TO MOVE THE NEEDLE ON, UM, GATHERING, UH, SOME SUPPORT AND, UH, OF THE ARTS ACROSS AUSTIN, SUCH THAT IT WILL RESULT IN, UM, MORE PRIVATE FUNDING. 
          AUSTIN DOESN'T HAVE, UM, AN ARTS FOUNDATION, UM, AS WELL. 
          AND SO IT'S REALLY CHALLENGING TO RAISE MONEY HERE. 
          UM, IT REALLY BE, YOU KNOW, YOU REALLY BEGIN TO QUESTION WHETHER ANYBODY CARES ABOUT THE ARTS HERE, UM, WHEN YOU START TRYING TO RAISE MONEY. 
          UM, BUT THESE ARE SOME OF THE REASONS WHY I PRESENT. 
          UH, YOU KNOW, I PRESENT THIS INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC ABOUT WHY, UH, WE SUPPORT THE ARTS, WHY IT'S GOOD TO SUPPORT THE ARTS, MOREOVER, ARTS, UH, PROVIDE A SENSE OF CONNECTION, UH, IN OUR COMMUNITY, WHICH IS VERY IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO IT, UH, WE STARTED OUT AS THE TEXAS FINE ARTS ASSOCIATION IN ABOUT, OH GOSH, 1911. 
          AND I THINK ACTUALLY THIS IS, UH, I'VE GOTTEN SOME, UM, CLARIFICATION ON THIS, THAT THIS ISN'T, UH, DIRECTLY RELATED TO, UH, WHAT BECAME THE TEXAS FINE ARTS ASSOCIATION IN 1950. 
          BUT, UM, LAGUNA GLORIA MUSEUM HAD AN ARTS AND CRAFTS FESTIVAL THAT THEY THEN RENAMED FIESTA A LITTLE INAPPROPRIATELY BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T ACTUALLY ALLOW MEXICAN ARTISTS TO DISPLAY THEIR ARTWORK. 
          UH, WE'RE GONNA DO FIESTA AGAIN. 
          UH, BUT THIS TIME WE'RE CALLING IT FIESTA RECLAIMED FIESTA, UH, TO RECLAIM THE NAME OF THIS FESTIVAL, UM, THAT ONCE EXISTED AT LAGUNA GLORIA AND MAKE IT REAL, A REAL CELEBRATION OF THE DIVERSITY OF ARTS IN OUR COMMUNITY. 
          IT BECAME ART ALLIANCE AUSTIN IN 1989, AND THEY PRODUCED ART CITY AUSTIN UNTIL 2019 WHEN THEY BECAME DORMANT DUE TO THE PANDEMIC. 
          AND THIS IS A LOOK AT WHO WAS ON OUR BOARD RIGHT NOW. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          UM, SO, UM, WE CANNOT FUND, IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO FUND CITY PROGRAMS DIRECTLY. 
          WHEN YOU, UM, DONATE MONEY TO A CITY ENTITY, IT GOES INTO SOMETHING CALLED A TRUST IN AGENCY FUND. 
          AND, UM, OUR, UM, THE CITY'S FINANCIAL SYSTEM REQUIRES THAT THAT MONEY, UM, IS HELD, UH, IS NOT ACCESSIBLE UNTIL THE FOLLOWING FISCAL YEAR. 
          AND IT'S USUALLY IN JANUARY OF THE FOLLOWING FISCAL YEAR THAT MONEY WOULD BECOME AVAILABLE. 
          SO IF YOU GAVE MONEY TO DIRECTLY TO THE CITY RIGHT NOW FOR CULTURAL PROGRAMMING, UM, THEY WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO USE IT UNTIL JANUARY OF 2026. 
          AND THAT JUST REALLY ISN'T VERY USEFUL. 
          UM, SO WHAT, UM, A THREE CAN DO IS FUND ARTISTS, MUSICIANS, PERFORMERS, AND THEIR CONSULTANTS FOR, YOU KNOW, DIRECTLY. 
          AND THEN BY AGREEMENT WITH THE PARKS DEPARTMENT, UH, WE CAN, UH, DONATE THOSE PERFORMANCES, THOSE SERVICES, UH, TO THE CITY, TO THE PARKS DEPARTMENT, SO THAT THEY BECOME ACCESSIBLE, UH, TO THE PUBLIC FOR FREE. 
          UM, SO THE PARKS DEPARTMENT'S BEEN, BEEN VERY COOPERATIVE WITH THIS PLAN, UM, AS WE TRY AND SHORE UP, UM, WHAT WILL, YOU KNOW, INCREASINGLY BE A VERY CHALLENGING BUDGET, UM, FOR THE ARTS WITHIN THE CITY, UH, WITHIN THE PARKS DEPARTMENT, UH, SPECIFICALLY. 
          UM, AND IT'S VERY DIFFICULT FOR STAFF TO WRITE GRANTS, UH, BECAUSE THEY CANNOT WRITE A GRANT FOR ANYTHING LESS THAN $25,000. 
          AND IT DOES REQUIRE, UM, TWO ACTS OF CITY COUNCIL, UM, WHICH DOESN'T ALWAYS MATCH UP WITH THE FUNDER DEADLINES. 
          UM, THEY, UM, CITY STAFF CANNOT SOLICIT FUNDS FROM BUSINESSES OR SPONSORSHIPS. 
          UM, THEY'RE NOT, UH, ELIGIBLE 
          [01:20:01]
FOR HOT TAX. 
          UM, AND SO THIS LEAVES CITY FACILITIES IN A BIT OF A BIND WHEN IT COMES TO TRYING TO DELIVER ESSENTIAL SERVICES IN THE ARTS. 
          UM, AND IT BECOMES A LITTLE BIT OF A BIND TOO WHEN, UM, SOME OF THE, UM, THE PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE ROUTINELY WORKED WITH, LIKE THE SUMMER MUSICAL, ARE, UH, EXTRA CHALLENGED. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          AND SO, WHAT THIS ALL MA CAME TOGETHER AS IS THE FUND FOR FREE ART. 
          SO WHAT WE'RE, UH, FUNDING IS, UM, ORGANIZATIONS WITHIN THE PARKS DEPARTMENT OR OUTSIDE OF THE PARKS DEPARTMENT WHO, UM, OFFER THEIR SERVICES, UM, FOR FREE, UH, SO THAT WE HAVE PUBLICLY, UM, ACCESSIBLE ART. 
          UM, I FEEL LIKE IT'S A REAL ESSENTIAL PART OF AUSTIN'S IDENTITY. 
          IT'S PART OF WHAT MAKES US A CREATIVE CITY, UM, A VITAL CITY. 
          I THINK AS WE LOSE, UM, MORE ARTS ORGANIZATIONS, MORE EVENTS, UM, IT WILL DIMINISH OUR ATTRACTIVENESS, UM, TO, UM, NEWCOMERS, TO ARTISTS, CERTAINLY, UM, TO, UM, BUSINESSES WHO WANT TO RELOCATE HERE. 
          UM, THE ONES WHO WERE STARRED ARE THE, UH, PROGRAMS THAT ARE ENDANGERED NOW BECAUSE OF, UM, UH, A FUNDING CRISIS. 
          UH, NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO, UM, I AM THE SOLE, UH, EMPLOYEE. 
          WE HAVE, UH, THREE CONTRACTORS. 
          UM, I AM A VOLUNTEER. 
          UH, I AM, YOU KNOW, DOING THIS AS A STARTUP, UM, BECAUSE I BELIEVE IN IT. 
          'CAUSE I FEEL LIKE SOMEONE NEEDS TO OFFER A SHRED OF HOPE, UM, IN ALL THE, THE PERFECT STORM THAT WE'RE EXPERIENCING RIGHT NOW. 
          UM, AND SO I AM, UH, FUNDRAISING WITH THE HELP OF A GRANT WRITER, UM, THROUGH GRANTS, UM, FUNDRAISING EVENTS, DIRECT APPEAL, UH, FOR MAJOR GIFTS, CORPORATE, ALL THE USUAL THINGS, ALL ALL THE THINGS I CAN THINK OF. 
          UM, BUT FUNDRAISING IN AUSTIN IS REALLY DIFFICULT. 
          AND SO MANY CEOS OF ARTS ORGANIZATIONS, SMALL, MEDIUM AND LARGE, HAVE SAID IT'S VERY HARD, UM, TO SOLICIT, TO GET, UH, INDIVIDUAL DONATIONS OR MAJOR GIFTS. 
          THIS IS NOT A COMMUNITY THAT IS USED TO GIVING TO THE ARTS. 
          UM, AND WE DON'T, WE HAVEN'T HAD THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT HELPED, UM, LIKE A BUSINESS COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS OR A NONPROFIT, LOCAL ARTS AGENCY, THINGS LIKE THAT, OR FOUNDATIONS. 
          SO I REALLY HAVE, YOU KNOW, COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT IT'S REALLY ABOUT BUILDING PUBLIC WILL, UM, TO VALUE THE ARTS AND THAT THIS IS, UM, UH, A PROGRAM, UM, THAT HAS HAPPENED IN OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY, INCLUDING SAN JOSE, WHERE I LIVED. 
          UM, THAT, UM, IS, UH, A, IT, IT'S A PUBLIC RELATIONS, UM, TYPE OF CAMPAIGN THAT HELPS BUILD OR BRING TO LIGHT THE VALUE OF THE ARTS IN THE COMMUNITY. 
          IF YOU GO TO THE WEBSITE, UM, UH, CREATING CONNECTIONS, UM, IT, THERE ARE MANY, MANY CASE STUDIES OF HOW THIS IS DONE IN OTHER CITIES THAT, UH, WHERE IT'S MADE A DIFFERENCE. 
          THERE'S A, UM, AN ONGOING PROGRAM RIGHT NOW IN PORTLAND, OREGON. 
          UH, BUT IT'S BEEN DONE IN, IN BOSTON, UM, SAN JOSE, SEATTLE, A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CITIES. 
          AND I, I'M BEGINNING TO GATHER INFORMATION. 
          I TALKED TO THE CONSULTANT WHO PUT THIS PROGRAM TOGETHER. 
          I'M RAISING MONEY FOR IT. 
          SO IT'S SOMETHING THAT I HOPE WILL BE IN OUR FUTURE, UM, IN TERMS OF HAVING A LASTING IMPACT ON PUBLIC WILL TO HELP OUT WITH FUNDING THE ARTS. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO, UM, FUN FOR FREE ART INCLUDES THE, UH, TONES CONCERT, WHICH IS THE ONLY, UM, ASIAN MUSIC SERIES IN AUSTIN AT, UM, THE ASIAN AMERICAN RESOURCE CENTER. 
          UM, THIS IS PROM QUEEN AND, UH, TONES REALLY LAUNCHED, UH, HER 
          [01:25:01]
CAREER. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          UH, I'M RAISING MONEY FOR THE SUMMER MUSICAL, WHICH IS THE QUINTESSENTIAL AUSTIN EXPERIENCE. 
          UM, THEY'RE REALLY A VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATION AND, UM, STRUGGLING RIGHT NOW TO, UM, STAY IN BUSINESS AND I'M TRYING TO HELP THEM. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          I I'M HELPING OUT FUSE BOX WITH A NEW PROGRAM THAT THEY'RE DOING, UM, WITH JOSHUA BANBURY. 
          THEY'RE GOING TO DO FREE PERFORMANCES AROUND THE CITY AS THEY GET READY FOR A FUSE BOX PERFORMANCE. 
          UH, AND THEN THEY WILL TOUR, UH, THE SHOW NATIONALLY. 
          SO THIS IS A GREAT WAY FOR JOSHUA TO, UH, WHO'S A BLACK JAZZ, UH, QUEER MUSICIAN, UH, TO REALLY ESTABLISH A CAREER. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          UH, THE FUND FOR FREE. 
          UH, THE FUND FOR VISUAL ARTISTS IS, UM, A FUND THAT I AM TRYING TO BUILD, LIKE THE FRICK, UH, FOUNDATION, UH, TO ASSIST WITH, UM, INSTALLATION COSTS FOR INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          AM RAISING MONEY FOR THE SMALL BLACK MUSEUM RESIDENCY PROGRAM. 
          UM, AND IN, IN FACT, I'M HAVING A FUNDRAISER ON THURSDAY AT THE CARVER. 
          I RENTED THE CARVER TO DO A, UM, PARTY TO RAISE MONEY FOR THIS REALLY IMPORTANT RESIDENCY PROGRAM THAT LAUNCHES THE CAREERS OF THREE EMERGING AFRICAN AMERICAN, UM, VISUAL ARTISTS. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          AND I'M HELPING THE DOHERTY ARTS CENTER. 
          WE FUNDED A, A, A COUPLE OF, OF, OF WORKSHOPS, UH, BUT WE'RE HOPING TO FUND THE REST OF THEIR, UH, SERIES NEXT YEAR, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, TO PROVIDE, UH, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS FOR AUSTIN ARTISTS. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          AND, UH, SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK. 
          ANOTHER FREE, UM, UH, PUBLIC EVENT THAT, YOU KNOW, AS A BIG CITY. 
          WE SHOULD HAVE FREE SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          I'M ALSO RAISING MONEY FOR CAMINO'S TEAM LEADERSHIP PROGRAM. 
          UH, THIS IS A MURAL THAT THEY HELPED WITH. 
          AND, UM, THE FUNDING WILL, UM, BENEFIT THE ARTISTS WHO HELP WITH THE TEENS MURAL PROGRAM, A, UH, A VIDEO PROJECT, AND THEN THEIR ANNUAL BREAKING BARRIERS, TEEN MENTAL HEALTH CONFERENCE THAT THE TEEN TEENS PLAN AND DELIVER TO OTHER TEENS IN AUSTIN. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I AM ALWAYS LOOKING, I'M ALWAYS LOOKING FOR FUNDERS. 
          UH, IT'S BEEN VERY DIFFICULT, UM, SO FAR. 
          I AM A LITTLE DISCOURAGED, BUT I KNOW THAT WE NEED TO PERSIST BECAUSE THIS IS WHY WE'RE HERE. 
          UM, PLEASE TELL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT IT AND, UM, BECAUSE TELLING YOUR FRIENDS WILL HELP CHANGE PUBLIC WILL. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          AND THAT'S IT. 
          WE HAVE A FUNDRAISER ON THURSDAY NIGHT AT FROM SEVEN TO NINE, UM, TO RAISE MONEY FOR THE, UH, SMALL BLACK MUSEUM ARTIST RESIDENCY PROGRAM. 
          BE HAPPY TO TAKE QUESTIONS. 
          THANK YOU, LAURA, ESPECIALLY FOR DOUBLING UP TODAY. 
          COMMISSIONERS, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR LAURA? COMMISSIONER MOCK AND THEN COMMISSIONER HOUSTON. 
          MS. LAURA, YOU NEVER CEASE TO SURPRISE ME. 
           . 
          WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT HAVING THIS TYPE OF ORGANIZATION FOR I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY YEARS, YOU KNOW, AND THERE'S NO BETTER PERSON THAN YOU, YOU KNOW, TO TAKE UP THIS, THIS CHALLENGES, YOU KNOW, UM, BECAUSE OF YOUR GOODWILL, YOU KNOW, AND, AND YOUR GOODWILL SWEAT ALL THESE YEARS. 
          PEOPLE KNOW YOU. 
          BUT, UH, I'M, I'M JUST WONDERING, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE ARTISTS WHO ARE VERY RIPE BRAIN , AND, AND SO THEY DO NEED, UM, SERVICE SUCH AS, UM, UH, E THREE, YOU KNOW, TO, TO HELP MAKE THE CONNECTION BETWEEN, UH, THEIR SERVICE AND THE PEOPLE WHO NEED THEIR SERVICE. 
          YOU KNOW, AND WE HAVE ALL THESE BIG COMPANY COMING INTO TOWN. 
          I HOPE YOU WILL GO TO EACH ONE OF THEM, , AND SAID THAT YOU ARE GETTING ALL THIS BENEFIT, 
          [01:30:01]
YOU KNOW, FROM OUR GREAT CITY. 
          SO IT IS TIME TO REALLY GIVE BACK A LITTLE BIT, YOU KNOW, UM, IF YOU WANT, I CAN GO WITH YOU. 
          I, I'M NEVER ASHAMED TO ASK FOR MONEY, BUT, UH, BUT YEAH, THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          YOU KNOW, I, I, I I HOPE YOU, YOU FIND THIS, THIS CHALLENGE AS REWARDING, YOU KNOW, AS THE CHALLENGE. 
          AND CONGRATULATIONS AT THIS POINT. 
          YOU KNOW, IT'S AN UPHILL CLIMB RIGHT NOW. 
          UM, BUT I THINK, YOU KNOW, WITH PERSISTENCE AND PERHAPS WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE MAYOR'S OFFICE, UM, OR THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE MM-HMM, , WE MIGHT BEGIN TO, UH, CONSIDER, OR MAYBE THEY CAN HELP THINK ABOUT WAYS THAT NEW BUSINESSES MOVING INTO TOWN CAN ADOPT A NEW CULT, A NEW CULTURAL, UM, PROTOCOL. 
          MM-HMM. 
          , UH, TO SAY, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE DO HERE IS SUPPORT THE ARTS. 
          AND SO COME ON BOARD. 
          UH, SO I, I'M, I'VE BEEN WORK, I CAN'T SAY I'M WORKING WITH, I CONTACTED ALL OF THE CHAMBERS YET, UH, AND I AM TALKING TO THE CHAMBERS ABOUT HOW, UH, TO WORK TOGETHER. 
          UM, AND THERE IS SOME CONCERN, UH, IT'S GONNA TAKE A LITTLE MORE TIME. 
          WE'LL JUST MOVE THAT FORWARD. 
          SO, BIT BY BIT, WELL, THAT'S A SAYING. 
          IF IT IS, IF THIS IS EASY, THEN I'LL LET SOMEBODY ELSE TO DO IT. 
          SO, YEAH. 
          SO YOU ARE THE RIGHT PERSON FOR THIS DIFFICULT JOB, AND I'M WITH YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, COMMISSIONER HOUSTON, DID YOU HAVE A COMMENT? UM, I HAVE, UH, THREE THINGS. 
          FIRST OF ALL, CAN WE GET A COPY OF YOUR PRESENTATION? IT'LL IT BE, IT'LL BE, IT WASN'T IN THE BACKUP, BUT IT'LL BE ADDED TO OUR BACKUP. 
          OKAY. 
          AND THEN THE PUBLIC BACKUP AS WELL. 
          OKAY, GREAT. 
          SO PROBABLY BY 10:00 AM TOMORROW IS USUALLY THE TIMELINE FOR THAT STUFF. 
          OKAY, GREAT. 
          UM, WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN, UM, A THREE AND THINGS PEOPLE LIKE ART SPARK AND AUSTIN CREATIVE ALLIANCE? AUSTIN CREATIVE ALLIANCE DOES A SET OF, UM, SERVICES. 
          THEY'RE AN ART SERVICE ORGANIZATION. 
          UM, AND, UH, THEY'RE WORKING ON A SET OF SPECIFIC, UM, SERVICES TO THE INDUSTRY. 
          UM, BUT THEY'RE NOT REALLY, YOU KNOW, WORKING ON, UM, THE ARTS ECOSYSTEM, THE WAY THAT I'M WORKING ON IT. 
          AND I, YOU KNOW, I COMMUNICATE WITH THEM, I COMMUNICATE WITH EVERYBODY. 
          UM, BUT, UM, THEY AGREE THAT THEY'RE NOT GONNA DO THIS. 
          OKAY. 
          THE STUFF WE'RE DOING IS NOT THEIR, UH, IS NOT THEIR BAILIWICK. 
          AND WHAT WAS THE OTHER, OH, YOU WERE, I HAVEN'T GOTTEN TO, I HAVEN'T GOTTEN TO THE THIRD ONE YET, BUT WHAT, CAN YOU, CAN YOU GIVE ME EXAMPLES OF THE THINGS THAT ARE, THAT A CA AND ART SPARK DON'T DO THAT, THAT A THREE WILL DO? UM, I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT ART SPARK DOES. 
          ARTS SPARK WORKS WITH PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, ARTISTS WITH DISABILITIES AND BETTER VETERANS SPECIFICALLY. 
          RIGHT. 
          IT'S STILL THE SAME KIND OF YEAH. 
          SEEMS MORE SPECIFIC JUMP IN. 
          RIGHT? RIGHT. 
          THEY'RE NOT WORKING ON, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE QUESTIONS IN TERMS OF ARTS IN CIVIC, IN INFRASTRUCTURE THAT NEEDS TO BE PUT INTO PLACE TO SUPPORT, UM, A SELF-SUSTAINING ARTS COMMUNITY. 
          YOU KNOW? UM, WE'RE JUST NOT THERE YET. 
          MM-HMM. 
           AND IT, SO, I MEAN, THAT'S IN PART THE, I MEAN, THE, THE, THE DIFFICULTY IS THAT THERE IS NO SAFETY NET FOR THE ARTS IN AUSTIN RIGHT NOW. 
          THERE NEEDS TO BE, UM, AND THAT'S WHAT I DESPERATELY WANT TO HELP, UM, WITH, AND I NEED A LOT OF HELP. 
          UM, SO ART SPARK WORKS SPECIFICALLY, UM, UH, WITH, UH, PEOPLE WITH, UH, UH, SPECIAL ABILITIES. 
          AND THEY ARE, UM, THEY DO SOME, UH, PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT, BUT I THINK NOT IN THE SAME REALM. 
          UH, LET'S SEE IF I CAN REMEMBER WHAT A CA DOES. 
          THEY DO THE EQUITY, UM, CONTRACTS, AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO TELL ME SPECIFICALLY WHAT THEY DO. 
          I'M JUST INTERESTED IN WHAT THE DIFFERENCE, WHAT A THREE WILL BE DOING THAT, THAT THESE OTHER 
          [01:35:01]
ORGANIZATIONS DON'T DO, JUST IN AN EFFORT TO, TO GET A CLEARER PICTURE OF YEAH. 
          OF WHAT THAT WE'RE MORE FOCUSED ON, UH, SUSTAINING THE ARTS ECOSYSTEM THROUGH, UH, FUNDRAISING AND THROUGH, UM, DEVELOPING A CITYWIDE CAMPAIGN TO CHANGE THE CULTURE OF AUSTIN TO BECOME A MORE GIVING CULTURE. 
          AND SO THESE ARE TWO THINGS THAT THEY'RE NOT GOING TO DO. 
          OKAY. 
          THAT MAKES SENSE. 
          AND THEN, AND ALSO DOING FIESTA . 
          YES. 
          UM, AND ALSO IS IS ONE OF YOUR END GOALS TO CREATE SOME KIND OF UNIFIED ARTS FUND? YES. 
          OKAY. 
          . 
          YES. 
          YOU KNOW, AND THAT IS WHERE, UM, IF YOU LOOK AT, UH, ANOTHER LOCAL ARTS AGENCY, UH, IN SEATTLE CALLED FOUR CULTURE, IT'S THE NUMBER FOUR CULTURE, UM, THEY HAVE BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL WITH THAT, WITH PRIVATE FUNDRAISING OR PARTNERING WITH DIFFERENT, UH, GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES TO, UH, RE-GRANT. 
          AND THEN, UM, THE, UM, UH, ALSO I ENCOURAGE YOU TO TAKE A LOOK AT, UH, SILICON VALLEY CREATES THAT DOES THE SAME, UM, SET, SAME SET OF SIMILAR SET OF ACTIVITIES. 
          THEY ALL DO SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT. 
          UM, AND I THINK TECHNICALLY YOU COULD CALL, UM, THE, UH, AUSTIN CREATIVE ALLIANCE, A LOCAL ARTS AGENCY, BUT THEY DON'T CHOOSE TO. 
          OKAY. 
          AND, UH, THEY DON'T CHOOSE TO DO THE SAME THINGS THAT I'M TRYING TO DO. 
          OKAY. 
          UNDERSTOOD. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COMMISSIONERS IN THE VIRTUAL WORLD. 
          ANY QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONER KEYS? UM, NO QUESTIONS, BUT I JUST WANT TO SAY, I THINK THIS WAS A GREAT PRESENTATION AND I, YOU KNOW, TOTALLY GOT IT. 
          JUST HAVING WORKED FROM NON-PROFIT AND BEEN IN DIFFERENT LEVELS OF THE ARTS WORLD, I THINK THERE IS ALMOST LIKE THESE CEILINGS, AND IT'S LIKE CERTAIN ORGANIZATIONS WILL WORK WITH, WITH EMERGING ARTISTS, WHERE OTHER ONES ARE MORE ESTABLISHED ARTISTS, BUT THERE'S NEVER REALLY AN INFRASTRUCTURE THAT MOVES THEM THROUGH THE PIPELINE THAT KEEPS THOSE TOUCH POINTS, THAT HAS DIFFERENT, UM, AWARD AMOUNTS THAT JUST KIND OF HANDLES THEM ALONG THAT WAY. 
          SO I REALLY THINK THIS IS A GREAT WAY TO CREATE A LOCAL PIPELINE, A STRONG PIPELINE, AND JUST, UM, A HOLISTIC TYPE OF CONCEPT. 
          ALSO THINK, UM, IT, WHAT STOOD OUT TO ME WAS THAT THE VERY TYPES OF PROGRAMMING, SO POETRY, DIFFERENT TYPES OF, YOU KNOW, VISUAL ART, BUT ALSO DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE CITY, OFTENTIMES ORGANIZATIONS FOCUS ON JUST CERTAIN PARTS OF THE CITY WHERE I NOTICED SOME OF YOUR WORK OR ACTIVATIONS WOULD BE HAPPENING DOWNTOWN SOUTH AUSTIN, AS WELL AS EAST AUSTIN. 
          UM, WHICH IS A PLACE THAT'S HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED. 
          AND SO I THINK THIS IS A REALLY GOOD, LIKE, STAB AT A HOLISTIC CONCEPT, ONE OF THE BEST ONES I'VE SEEN IN THE CITY. 
          SO, HEAD TALK, I'LL KEEP YOU UPDATED, IT'S NOT GONNA BE DONE IN A DAY. 
          OH, ABSOLUTELY. 
          PLEASE KEEP US UPDATED. 
          THANK YOU. 
          WE'LL KEEP YOU UPDATED. 
          UM, YEAH. 
          AND VERY, VERY DELIBERATELY, I'M, I AM INTERESTED IN, UM, MAKING SURE THAT OUR BIG BUCKET OF FUNDING THAT WHERE WE CAN HOPEFULLY CAPTURE, UM, INDIVIDUAL OR MAJOR GIFTS OR, UH, EVEN CORPORATE FUNDING, THAT WE'RE ABLE TO DISTRIBUTE IT TO, UH, ALL CORNERS OF THE CITY. 
          WE'RE THE BIG BUCKET OF COLLECTION, WE HOPE, EXCEPT THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S VERY HARD. 
           COMMISSIONER CHAR, HELLO. 
          NO QUESTIONS. 
          I'VE, UH, I'VE KNOWN ABOUT THIS WORK FOR A MOMENT HERE. 
          AND, UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          FIRST OF ALL, THERE'S SO MANY CONVERSATIONS AROUND RAISING PRIVATE FUNDING, UH, FOR THE ARTS COMMUNITY AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THE CITY, WHAT, WHAT FUNDS NOT BEING SUFFICIENT. 
          SO, UM, IT'S JUST, UH, UH, I'M JUST GRATEFUL THAT YOU'RE TAKING ACTION, UH, ON THIS FRONT. 
          AND, UH, UH, IT'S EXCITING TO SEE THE, KIND OF THE DIVERSE PROJECTS THAT YOU'VE ALREADY PICKED. 
          KIND OF A BROAD RANGE OF PROJECTS THAT YOU'VE ALREADY PICKED. 
          UH, SO, AND, AND I THINK REALLY IT'S, IT'S, IT'S, UH, UH, UH, IT, IT'S, IT'S YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH THE CITY AND THE DEPTH OF EXPERIENCE YOU HAVE THERE. 
          AND IN THIS WORLD, I THINK IT'S GONNA BE SUCH AN ASSET, UH, TO THE COMMUNITY. 
          SO THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANKS SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE, LAURA. 
          WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT. 
          AND AGAIN, IT IS OUR JOB AS COMMUNITY AMPLIFIERS TO BE THE MOUTHPIECE FOR THIS 
          [01:40:01]
MOVEMENT, FOR THIS IDEA, FOR THESE EVENTS, THIS STEWARDSHIP. 
          SO IT'S ON US AS WELL AS COMMISSIONERS TO CONTINUE TO AMPLIFY VISIBILITY. 
          THANK YOU, LAURA, SO MUCH. 
          AND YOU'LL KEEP US UPDATED. 
          THANK YOU. 
          TAKE CARE. 
          OKAY, 
          [9. Staff briefing regarding an update on the Hotel Occupancy Tax by Laura Odegaard, Acting Cultural Arts Division Manager]
WITH THAT, WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO STAFF BRIEFINGS. 
          UM, NUMBER NINE, STAFF BRIEFING REGARDING AN UPDATE ON THE HOTEL OCCUPANCY OCCUPANCY TAX BY LAURA ODEGAARD, ACTING CULTURAL ARTS DIVISION MANAGER. 
          BUT NOT FOR LONG. 
          LAURA HAS BEEN, UM, AWARDED A FULBRIGHT SCHOLARSHIP, OR IS THAT CORRECT? I'M SORRY IF I'M FULBRIGHT, BUT SHE'S GOING TO CAMBODIA FOR 10 MONTHS, YOU GUYS, SO, AND HER LAST DAY IS DECEMBER 11TH, SO WE ACTUALLY WON'T SEE HER AGAIN. 
          UM, THAT PRESENTATION IS IN OUR BACKUP. 
          GO AHEAD AND CHECK IT OUT THERE, UM, IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY, BUT WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND MOVE 
          [10. Staff briefing on the Cultural Arts Funding Programs by Jesús Pantel, Cultural Funding Supervisor]
ON TO ITEM 10, STAFF BRIEFING ON THE CULTURAL ARTS FUNDING PROGRAMS BY JESUS PANTEL, CULTURAL FUNDING SUPERVISOR. 
          THANKS, JESUS. 
          THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS, AND THANK YOU TECH FOR, UH, BEING, UH, GOING WITH THE FLOW HERE. 
          MY NAME IS JESUS PATEL. 
          I AM THE CULTURAL FUNDING SUPERVISOR. 
          I AM THE CITY OF AUSTIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENTS CULTURAL ARTS DIVISION. 
          UM, MY PRONOUNS ARE HE, HIM, I HAVE LONG GRAY HAIR, UH, SALT AND PEPPER, BEARD, AND I'M WEARING A GREEN SHIRT. 
          UM, I WILL BE TALKING ABOUT THE, UH, CULTURAL ARTS FUNDING UPDATE TODAY. 
          AND, UM, FIRST THING I WILL, I WILL BE TALKING ABOUT OUR CONTRACTS AND PAYMENTS, AS WELL AS OUR GRANT FUNDED ACT ACTIVITIES. 
          UM, SO FIRST CONTRACTS AND PAYMENTS. 
          UM, SO SIMILAR TO WHAT I HAVE BEEN PRESENTING, UH, THESE PAST FEW MONTHS. 
          UM, YOU WANNA LOOK AT THE, UH, RED BOXES DOWN AT THE BOTTOM TO SEE SOME OF THESE HAVE CHANGED. 
          SOME OF THEM HAVE STAYED THE SAME, BUT BASICALLY ALL OF THE PAYMENTS THAT HAVE GONE THROUGH, UH, WE'RE JUST OVER HALFWAY THROUGH, UM, CLOSING OUT ALL OF THE FINAL REPORTS IN ELEVATE. 
          UM, WE STARTED CLOSING OUT, UM, THE, UH, NEXUS FINAL REPORTS. 
          I STILL HAVE A FEW STRAGGLERS, UH, FOR FY 23, UH, FALL WINTER. 
          UM, WE'RE GETTING OUR SPRING SUMMER, UH, CLOSED OUT. 
          UH, THOSE ACTIVITIES FOR SPRING SUMMER. 
          UM, UH, WE'RE OVER IN SEPTEMBER, SO WE SHOULD HAVE SOME, UH, FINAL REPORTS IN, UH, THAT WE DO AT THE END OF OCTOBER. 
          SO WE'RE, UH, GOING THROUGH THOSE, LOOKING AT THOSE, UM, FOR THRIVE. 
          UM, WE DON'T HAVE MANY, UH, FINAL REPORTS YET BECAUSE THOSE DO GO THROUGH THE END OF DECEMBER. 
          SO THOSE, MOST OF THOSE ARE STILL, UM, GOING THROUGH. 
          SO WE'RE NOT REALLY GONNA HAVE MANY UPDATES EVEN NEXT MONTH, UH, FOR, FOR THRIVE AS THEY'RE STILL, UH, GOING THROUGH THEIR ACTIVITIES. 
          UM, AND THEN ARTS EDUCATION RELIEF. 
          UM, AS I MENTIONED LAST MONTH, ALL OF THE FINAL REPORTS HAVE BEEN CLOSED OUT. 
          WE'RE JUST WAITING FOR PEOPLE TO INVOICE US. 
          LAST MONTH WE WERE WAITING FOR TWO PEOPLE. 
          UM, NOW IT'S ONE. 
          SO WE ARE MAKING, UH, PROGRESS ON THAT. 
          BUT EVERYTHING HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY CLOSED OUT, UM, IN THE ARTS ED, UM, UH, PROGRAM, UH, FOR THE GRANT FUNDED ACTIVITIES. 
          UM, THIS IS, UH, JUST THE VARIOUS ACTIVITIES FROM OUR VARIOUS, UH, UH, RECIPIENTS IN THE PROGRAMS, UH, HAPPENING RIGHT NOW FOR THRIVE. 
          WE HAVE, UH, LAVERA THE REPUBLIC SQUARE BY MEXICO MUSEUM FROM NOVEMBER 2ND THROUGH FOURTH, UM, UH, THROUGH 24TH, EXCUSE ME. 
          UH, THE AUSTIN POWWOW WILL BE COMING UP NOVEMBER 23RD BY GREAT PROMISE FOR AMERICAN INDIANS, UM, IMAGINE ART. 
          UM, THEIR STUDIO IS OPEN, UH, THROUGH DECEMBER 31ST, UM, ON THE WEEKDAYS, UH, I THINK ON THE WEEKEND AS WELL. 
          SO YOU CAN, UH, GO AND CHECK OUT THEIR STUDIO. 
          UH, SAME WITH PUERTO RICAN CULTURAL CENTER EVERY SATURDAY, UH, THEY'RE OPEN FOR THEIR CAFE URA IAD, UH, FOR ELEVATE, WE HAVE THE ICE CREAM SOCIAL COMING UP ON NOVEMBER 22ND BY HOST PUBLICATIONS. 
          UM, NOVEMBER 22ND THROUGH 24TH, OR DANCE COMPANY, WE'LL BE DOING RO UM, NOVEMBER 22ND THROUGH 24TH. 
          SO SAME TIME I TAKE YOUR PICK, UH, BEETHOVEN IS DOING THEIR ROOT BEETHOVEN FEATURING INVOKE. 
          WE HAVE LATIN FEST FROM FLORES MARKET DECEMBER 14TH THROUGH 15TH. 
          AND ALSO AT THAT SAME TIME PERIOD, LUXE A CELEBRATION OF LIGHT BY SOCO WOMEN'S CHORUS. 
          AND THEN FINALLY FOR NEXUS, UH, SOME OF THESE ARE A LITTLE BIT OLD IN A REPEAT FROM LAST MONTH, JUST BECAUSE WE ARE GETTING, UH, NEAR THE END OF OUR, UH, NEXUS ACTIVITIES. 
          UM, UM, RECENTLY WE HAD PAPA DON'S KNOCKDOWN DRAG OUT BIRTHDAY BASH AT AMERICA'S ACADEMY OF PRO WRESTLING. 
          WE HAVE THE OPERA AND OPERA AUSTIN FESTIVAL, UH, THAT, UM, RECENTLY HAPPENED, UM, WITH NATHAN FELIX AND KMFA CLASSICAL 89.5. 
          AND THEN COMING UP, UM, OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKENDS, IS AUSTIN A LENS THROUGH TIME BY RUDE BOY PICTURES AT EAST SIDE SILVER PRINCES. 
          AND THAT IS THE PRESENTATION ON THE CULTURAL FUNDING PROGRAMS. UM, I WILL BE BACK LATER TO, UM, GO OVER THE APPEALS RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THE APPEALS WORKING GROUP, UM, WILL GIVE A PRESENTATION ON. 
          BUT AS FAR AS, UH, PROGRAMS FOR THE CULTURAL ARTS FUNDING PROGRAM, THAT IS IT. 
          I'M OPEN TO ANSWER 
          [01:45:01]
ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU ALL MAY HAVE NOW, COMMISSIONERS. 
          ANY QUESTIONS FOR JESUS ABOUT CULTURAL FUNDING UPDATE? I'M GOOD AS WELL. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          LOTS OF THINK SO. 
          GOOD THINGS COMING UP. 
          OKAY, 
          [11. Discussion and possible action on recommendation to Council to Complete the Dougherty Arts Center Replacement Project by Laura Esparza from Friends of Dougherty]
WITH THAT, WE'RE ON TO ITEM 11, DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL TO COMPLETE THE DOUGHERTY ARTS CENTER REPLACEMENT PROJECT BY LAURA ESPARZA FROM FRIENDS OF THE DOUGHERTY. 
          FEELS LIKE WE HAD A PRETTY ROBUST CONVERSATION ABOUT THIS ALREADY. 
          I THINK WE'RE ALL IN AGREEMENT. 
          UM, DO WE HAVE A MOTION? UM, ARE WE GOING TO, UH, REVISE THE RECOMMENDATION A LITTLE BIT TO REFLECT ON THE ASK COMMISSIONS? UM, YOU KNOW, VANTAGE POINT? YEAH. 
          WELL, LET'S HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT IT. 
          I THINK THAT, UM, IT'S A PRETTY BRIEF RECOMMENDATION. 
          I HAVE ALREADY FORWARDED IT ALONG WITH THE PRESENTATION FROM TONIGHT TO OUR CONTACT AT D NINE. 
          UM, I THINK WE NEED TO ALL BE DOING A LOT OF THE SAME FOR OUR INDIVIDUAL COUNCIL MEMBERS. 
          MM-HMM. 
          , UM, I DON'T, OH, GO AHEAD. 
          COMMISSIONER SCHACH, UH, UM, I THINK COMMISSIONER HOUSTON, DIDN'T COMMISSIONER HOUSTON HAVE SOMETHING SPECIFIC TO ADD? I THINK SUPPORTING INFORMATION, RIGHT? NOT NECESSARILY EDITS TO THE RECOMMENDATION, BUT LIKE SUPPLEMENTAL DATA, RIGHT. 
          SPECIFICS. 
          OH, THAT WAS IT. 
          OKAY. 
          ABOUT WHAT WAS, WAS MISSING. 
          AND IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THE FORMAT IS NOT A RECOMMENDATION. 
          THE FORMAT IS A RESOLUTION. 
          MM-HMM. 
          SO IT NEEDS TO BE FORMATTED AS A RECOMMENDATION. 
          IT'S, YEAH. 
          ACTUALLY, UM, I THINK I'M COM I WAS ALSO CONFLATING RECOMMENDATION AND RESOLUTION. 
          UM, HOW DO WE WANT TO MOVE FORWARD? YEAH. 
          I FEEL LIKE TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE HERE. 
          I THINK QUICKLY, I THINK I'VE SEEN THE RECOMMENDATIONS KIND OF BEING WRITTEN BOTH WAYS. 
          I GUESS THE STAFF COULD ADVISE US ON IF EITHER IS ALLOWABLE, I THOUGHT EITHER WAS ALLOWABLE BECAUSE WE'VE DONE IT THIS WAY AS WELL. 
          AND EVEN STILL THE FACT THAT IT GOES FROM THE ARTS COMMISSION, IT IS A RECOMMENDATION. 
          CORRECT. 
          IT COULD BE A RECOMMENDATION FOR A RESOLUTION, BUT IT'S STILL, IT'S NOT GONNA BE A RESOLUTION UNTIL IT GETS IN FRONT OF THEM. 
          SO, MM-HMM. 
           DOES IT MATTER? STEPHANIE, INPUT ON THAT, PLEASE ADVISE. 
          OFFERS US TWO, UH, TEMPLATES TO USE. 
          AND THIS IS SIMILAR TO ONE TEMPLATE. 
          WILL YOU COME JUST BECAUSE OUR PEOPLE ONLINE CAN'T HEAR YOU. 
          HI, THIS , THE, UH, I JUST LOST MY TRAIN OF THOUGHT. 
          THE, THE TEMPLATE? YEAH. 
          THE, THE COURT'S, UH, SORRY. 
          THE, UH, CLERK'S OFFICE OFFERS US TWO TEMPLATES THAT WE CAN USE FOR RECOMMENDATIONS. 
          SO THIS DOES MATCH ONE OF THE TEMPLATES. 
          OKAY. 
          SO THIS IS WORKS JUST FINE. 
          AND AGAIN, THE TOURISM COMMITTEE HAS ALREADY, OUR COMMISSION HAS ALREADY PASSED THIS ALONG WITH THEIR MINOR EDITS. 
          UM, I THINK IF TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE AMPLIFY OR, OR CREATING A MORE ROBUST SUBMISSION WITH SUPPORTIVE DOCUMENTATION IS GONNA BE A LITTLE BIT MORE FLEXIBLE AS OPPOSED TO TRYING TO FORMAT STATISTICAL METRICS AND DATA INTO THIS, WHICH IS PRETTY NEAT AND READY TO GO. 
          THAT'S MY PERSONAL THOUGHT ABOUT THAT. 
          COMMISSIONER MITCHELL, DID YOU WANNA JUMP IN? UH, NO, NO, I'M, I'M GOOD. 
          SO WITH THIS, UM, WHATEVER WE HAVE IN HAND, IT HAS TO GO EXACTLY AS IS, RIGHT? BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT IS BEING VOTED ON AT THE COMMISSION. 
          SO WE CAN'T ADD A JUSTIFICATION LATER ON BECAUSE IF WE ADD SOMETHING LATER ON, THEN THAT, AGAIN, HAS TO COME IN FRONT OF THE COMMISSION, EVEN IF IT'S A JUSTIFICATION. 
          SO THAT WAS SOMETHING I LEARNED RECENTLY, THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS. 
          YES. 
          SO IF WE, IF WE SUPPORT THIS RECOMMENDATION AND PASS THIS ALONG TO COUNCIL, WE CANNOT PROVIDE SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION. 
          YEAH. 
          BECAUSE THAT SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION, UH, AND I THINK STAFF COULD CLARIFY, BUT MY UNDERSTANDING AT THE MUSIC COMMISSION OF LATE HAS BEEN THAT EVERY BIT HAS TO BE WRITTEN HERE. 
          OKAY. 
          REVIEWED AND THEN VOTED ON THOUGHTS . 
          SO IT'S BEEN, UH, IT, IT WASN'T ALWAYS LIKE THAT. 
          SO I DON'T KNOW IF SOMETHING CHANGED RECENTLY OR WHAT MM-HMM. 
          . 
          BUT THAT DID, I MEAN, I DID GO THROUGH ONE CYCLE OF THAT, SO, OKAY. 
          YEAH. 
          I HEAR YOU JUST, JUST PUTTING IT OUT THERE. 
          YEAH. 
          THOUGHTS COMMISSION. 
          I JUST, I JUST DON'T FEEL LIKE IT'S VERY STRONG. 
          I DON'T, IT, IT, IT, IT GIVES THE DETAILS OF, OF WHAT'S GOING ON. 
          MM-HMM. 
          . 
          BUT IT DOESN'T GIVE THE DATA ABOUT WHAT IS, WHAT IS ACTUALLY IN JEOPARDY. 
          RIGHT. 
          IT'S JUST GIVING A HISTORY OF WHAT HAS HAPPENED AND NOT WHY THERE'S SOMETHING IN JEOPARDY AND WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO FIX THAT THING. 
          YES. 
          BUT IS THAT, IS THAT APPROPRIATE FOR THIS FORMAT OR IS THAT A SORT OF THE LETTER OF INTENT OR, AND SORT OF THE, THE PADDING AROUND THIS? LIKE, WE ARE PUTTING THIS FORWARD BECAUSE OF ALL OF THIS, BUT THE RECOMMENDATION, I THINK, IS SUPPOSED TO 
          [01:50:01]
BE PRETTY POINTED. 
          IT'S NOT NECESSARILY A, A, UM, WHAT AM I TRYING TO SAY? IT'S NOT WHERE YOU'RE BEING, YOU'RE LOBBYING FOR YOUR DECISION. 
          THIS IS THE RECOMMENDATION OF WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE, AND THEN THE JUSTIFICATION AND THE REASONING IS THE CONVERSATION THAT HAPPENS DIRECTLY WITH COUNSEL, OR PLEASE. 
          I THINK, UH, YES. 
          I THINK COMMISSIONER HOUSTON, YOU ARE, YOU ARE REFERRING TO THE VERA AND YOU FEEL LIKE THE VERA HAS TO BE, THERE'S GOTTA BE MORE IN THERE, BASICALLY. 
          NO, I JUST BASICALLY VERY PROVIDE MORE DATA AROUND WHAT IS IN JEOPARDY. 
          WE COULD USE THE VERA TO DO THAT. 
          RIGHT. 
          AND ALL I, ALL I'M SAYING IS IT'S JUST LACKING. 
          LIKE IT'S STRONGER. 
          YEAH. 
          IT'S, IT'S LACKING A WHY? IT'S, IT'S SAYING IT'S GIVING FACTS. 
          MM-HMM. 
          . 
          YEAH. 
          BUT IT'S LACKING A WHY THE PURPOSE COUNCIL NEEDS TO DO SOMETHING. 
          YEAH. 
          SO IT COULD BE PART OF THE RA RIGHT. 
          WHEREAS THERE IS MM-HMM. 
          I MEAN, IF THIS HAPPENS, THIS IS THE CONSEQUENCE OF IT. 
          UM, SO, UH, MY QUESTION IS, UH, SINCE, SINCE WE HAVE FOLKS, I MEAN, IS ARE, ARE THERE JUST TWO OR THREE BULLET POINTS THAT WE HAD ALREADY THAT WERE ALREADY PRESENTED THAT NEED TO GET ADDED? BECAUSE WE COULD VERBALLY ADD THOSE, UH, IF, IF, IF WE HAVE, UH, SOME SUPPORT ON THE DATA AGAIN FROM, UM, WE HAVE THE PRESENTATION AND BACKUP THE, OR THE PRESENTATION. 
          YEAH. 
          AND WE COULD, WE COULD TAKE, TAKE SOME TIME AND ACTUALLY JUST DISCUSS THAT, ADD TWO OR THREE OR TWO LINE ITEMS, WHATEVER, UH, YOU KNOW, MAKES SENSE AND STILL TAKE A VOTE ON IT AS LONG AS IT'S GETTING DISCUSSED HERE AND DIDN'T IN REAL TIME. 
          YEAH. 
          ARE THERE, AND, AND YOU CAN ALWAYS, UH, IS THERE CONSENSUS ON THAT? GET THE RIGHT WORDAGE LATER ON AND, YOU KNOW YEAH. 
          AS LONG AS IT'S SAME THING. 
          AND SO SAY VERBALLY WHAT WE WANNA ADD, AND THEN YES, YOU COULD. 
          I, I JUST WANT, AS A ARTS COMMISSION, UH, TWO POINTS THAT ARE VERY IMPORTANT, THE MISSING OF D WILL BE DETRIMENTAL TO ALL THE, THE PROGRAM TO ALL THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN SERVED BY ALL THOSE PROGRAMS AT D NUMBER ONE. 
          NUMBER TWO IS WITH THIS INVESTMENT, WE CAN DO SO MUCH MORE, YOU KNOW, FOR OUR GROWING, UH, POPULATION, FOR OUR CHILDREN. 
          SO, UM, SO THE ARGUMENTS IS THERE'S ONLY GOOD THINGS TO HAVE THAT MM-HMM. 
          , YOU KNOW, AND SO I THINK FROM OUR, UM, ROLE AS ARTS COMMISSIONERS, I THINK THOSE TWO POINTS ARE IMPORTANT TO STRESS. 
          OKAY. 
          IF, IF IT'S OKAY FOR ME TO ADD SOMETHING ABOUT MAYBE THE WORDS LOOKING AT EXPANDING CAPACITY, CAN YOU TALK ABOUT ADDING THE ABILITY TO PROVIDE MORE SERVICES? YES. 
          YES. 
          MAYBE THAT'S THE, THE LANGUAGE OF EXPANDING, EXPANDING CAPACITY WITHOUT DECK THAT WILL BE, YOU KNOW, DETRIMENTAL TO ALL THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN SERVING THIS PAST SO MANY YEARS BY BEING A LARGER, I'M TRYING TO HELP FIND THE WORDING FOR, YOU KNOW, WORDSMITH DATA, MAYBE BY FINDING THE, UM, BY, BY SUPPORTING THE D YOU'RE EXPANDING THE, UM, REACH AND CAPACITY TO PROVIDE ARTS, EDUCATION AND PROGRAMMING, BECAUSE IT DOES PROVIDE TO ALL 10 IN ALL COUNCIL DISTRICTS, BUT YOU'LL BE ABLE TO DELIVER ADDITIONAL, UM, INCREASED CAPACITY AND SERVICES. 
          SO THAT MIGHT BE SOME OF THE WORDING AROUND THAT. 
          AND, AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, I THINK THE RESOLUTION IN 2022 WAS THERE ABOUT, UM, SUPPORT THAT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE DAC WITHOUT A REDUCTION IN SIZE OR SCOPE, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT RESOLUTION, EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE JUST SPEAKING A RECOMMENDATION NOW TO MOVE FORWARD, WAS PRETTY, UM, STRAIGHTFORWARD, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF MOVE IT FORWARD. 
          AND THAT IS VERY MUCH AN ASK NOW IS TO MOVE IT FORWARD. 
          BUT I THINK THAT THE, UM, PARTS THAT LAURA HAD ADDED IN AND THIS RECOMMENDATION WERE HELPFUL ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHERE IT WAS STALLED, UM, BEFORE AND WHY. 
          SO I JUST WANTED TO ADD THOSE WORDS ABOUT CAPACITY TO MAYBE HELP YOU ALL, AND IF YOU'RE TRYING TO ADD SOME OTHER LANGUAGE TO IT, TO, TO GET IT OVER THE FINISH LINE TOO. 
          YEAH. 
          AND I, I, I APPRECIATE Y'ALL CONSIDERING IT. 
          I'M HESITANT TO, TO RUSH IT IN THIS MOMENT IF THE IDEA IS TO BE THOUGHTFUL. 
          SO WHY DON'T WE DO THIS? IF COMMISSIONERS CAN SUBMIT VIA EMAIL TO ME WHICH POINTS THEY FEEL ARE MOST IMPACTFUL FROM THE DECK WITHIN A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME, LET'S SAY BY NEXT MONDAY, THEN WE CAN REVIEW AND CIRCULATE IT AND, AND SUBMIT IT. 
          YEAH. 
          I THINK THE AGREEMENT IS TO SUPPORT THE RECOMMENDATION. 
          I DON'T KNOW THAT THE FINE TUNE EDITS NEED TO BE EXACT IN 
          [01:55:01]
THIS MOMENT. 
          AND IT, IT MAY JUST BE THE, A ADDITION OF, OF ONE MORE. 
          WHEREAS THAT SAYS, IF WE DO NOT MOVE FORWARD IN A TIMELY MANNER, THE CITY LOSES AND HOWEVER X MANY, UH, STUDENT PROGRAMS, ADULT PROGRAMS, THOUSAND SERVED, HOW MANY SERVED? MM-HMM. 
           DA, BECAUSE WE WON'T BE ABLE TO AFFORD TO BUILD IT BECAUSE THE PRICES ARE JUST GONNA KEEP GOING UP AND THEN BE IT RESOLVED THAT IT GOES ON THE NEXT APPROPRIATE BOND MEASURE. 
          RIGHT. 
          SO I THINK GO AHEAD, . 
          YEAH, I JUST, UH, SO I THINK, YEAH, I MEAN, UM, THIS, AND MY APOLOGIES AGAIN BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE THE RESOLUTION, THE RECOMMENDATION IN FRONT OF ME, BUT ONE IS, UM, YEAH, EITHER, EITHER WE STATED, UM, AS AN IMPACT OR IF, IF IT FITS WITH THE REST OF THE, WHEREAS BASICALLY JUST CALL OUT THE NUMBER THAT'S BEING REACHED TODAY AND WHAT THE EXPANDED PROGRAM WOULD DO IN ONE OF THE ES MM-HMM. 
          , RIGHT? IT'S THE 60,000 NUMBER AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE GROWTH WOULD DO. 
          MM-HMM. 
           IT WOULD EXPAND TO, YOU KNOW, OR EITHER JUST EXPAND IF YOU HAVE A NUMBER, PUT THE DATA THERE. 
          THAT'S ONE. 
          UM, AND I THINK, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF ANYTHING ABOUT, UH, THE INFLATED COST OF THE BUILD AS WE DELAY THIS MORE AND MORE HAS BEEN WRITTEN IN ANYWHERE. 
          UM, SO I THINK THAT COULD BE CALLED OUT IN ONE OF THE S AS TO WHAT IS THE DELAY, YOU KNOW, CAUSING IN TERMS OF, UH, YOU KNOW, INFLATIONARY IMPACT BASICALLY ON THE BUILD. 
          OKAY. 
          AND IT'S ONLY INCREASING OUR COST, I THINK BEYOND THAT, I MEAN, CAN, DID WE HAVE ANYTHING, UH, OTHER THAN THAT, THAT WAS, UH, THAT NEEDED TO BE CALLED OUT? I MEAN, ANYBODY FROM THE COMMISSION OR MM-HMM. 
          , UH, FROM, FROM THE PRESENTERS, OR WOULD THAT BE SATISFACTORY? IS THAT WORK? OKAY, SO VERBALLY WE'RE SAYING SIMPLE IS GOOD. 
          WE WILL ADD SIMPLE IS GOOD. 
          THE DEFICIT OR THE, THE POTENTIAL LOSS OF SERVICE AND THE METRICS OF THAT SERVICE. 
          AND THEN THE COST, THE INCREASING COST OF DELAYING THE PROJECT. 
          SHOULD WE TALK ABOUT THE LOSS? OR SHOULD WE TALK ABOUT WHAT IS, ITS, HOW, WHAT IS THE NUMBER OF CONSTITUTE IT'S SERVING TODAY? AND, UH, HOW IT'LL EXPAND WITH THE, WITH THE EXPANSION, WITH THE, WITH THE BUILD, YOU KNOW, GLASS HALF FULL, GLASS HALF EMPTY, RIGHT. 
          DEPENDING ON WHATEVER THE LANGUAGE IS. 
          EITHER WAY, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE REST OF IT, WHATEVER FITS, RIGHT? BUT IT'S MAKING THE SAME POINT ESSENTIALLY THAT IT'S SERVING X NUMBER OF FOLKS, IT'S GONNA EXPAND ONCE WE, UH, THAT NUMBER'S GONNA GROW. 
          YEAH. 
          AND THEN THE SECOND ONE WAS, UH, JUST HOW, UH, THE COST OF BUILDING YEAH. 
          AS WE DELAY THIS MORE AND MORE, IT'LL ONLY COST US MORE. 
          YEAH. 
          OKAY. 
          YEAH. 
          I THINK THAT WORKS WELL. 
          SO IT'S TWO WHEREAS IS, I THINK I'M SEEING A WAY TO MARRY THOSE TWO, STATING THE CURRENT SER STATING THE POTENTIAL SERVICE TO BE SERVED AND THEN STATING THE CURRENT AND THEN THE POTENTIAL, RIGHT. 
          EXACTLY. 
          SORRY, COMPOUNDING THE LOSS, BECAUSE WE'RE SAYING THIS IS HOW MANY SERVE TO BE SERVING THIS MANY MORE WITHOUT THIS, ALL OF THIS GOES AWAY. 
          YEAH. 
          OKAY. 
          AND I THINK, I THINK ONE, ONE STANDALONE, WHEREAS THAT ACKNOWLEDGES WHAT A KEY COMPONENT OF AUSTIN'S CULTURAL LANDSCAPE THIS IS MM-HMM. 
          . 
          AND THAT IT'S, IT CAN'T CONTINUE IN ITS CURRENT STATE FOR MUCH LONGER. 
          SO WE'RE GONNA LOSE IT IF WE WAIT, IF WE WAIT. 
          LOT OF SENSE. 
          YES. 
          SO IF I MAY, MM-HMM. 
          , PLEASE. 
          THREE TOTAL, RIGHT? THAT'S WHAT I'VE GOT HERE. 
          YES. 
          ONE, ONE WAS WHAT COMMISSIONER HOUSTON JUST SAID. 
          THE SECOND ONE WAS, UH, UM, THE CONSTITUENTS, THE NUMBER OF CONSTITUENTS IT'S SERVING TODAY, AND THE POTENTIAL GROWTH, HOW THAT WOULD EXPAND WITH THE, WITH THE GROWTH. 
          THE THIRD ONE IS HOW, UH, DUE TO INFLATION, UH, THE, THE COST IS JUST KEEPS RUNNING UP AS, AS WE DELAY THIS MORE. 
          SO THREE POINTS. 
          GREAT. 
          AND EVERYTHING ELSE STAYS AS IS SOME, RIGHT? I THINK SO. 
          OKAY. 
          OKAY. 
          SO WITH THOSE AMENDMENTS TO THE RECOMMENDATION, ARE WE IN AGREEMENT? I WILL MOVE TO, UM, SUPPORT THE RECOMMENDATION. 
          ONE SECOND. 
          GREAT. 
          SO MOVE BY COMMISSIONER MOCK, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER CHARLA. 
          ALL IN FAVOR OF SUPPORTING THE RECOMMENDATION FROM THE DECK, UNANIMOUS. 
          AYE. 
          YEAH. 
          GREAT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. 
          LUCKY. 
          THANK. 
          THANK YOU. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, 
          [Items 12 - 16]
DO WE POTENTIALLY HAVE A MOTION FOR THE NEXT FEW ITEMS? 12 TO 16 ON THE RECORD? UH, MAY I RECOMMEND THE, THE ITEM 12 TO 16 BE VOTED TOGETHER ON CONSENT? ON CONSENT, 
          [02:00:01]
SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER GARZA. 
          ALL IN FAVOR OF, UH, PASSING 12 THROUGH 16 ACTION ITEMS ON CONSENT. 
          A IPP, AYE. 
          UNANIMOUS, I BELIEVE. 
          COMMISSIONER HOUSTON. 
          YEAH. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I WAS REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO A PRESENTATION FROM SUE, BUT I THINK, UM, IT'S GETTING LATE AND I KNOW WE'RE ABOUT TO LOSE A COMMISSIONER TO BEDTIME. 
          [17. Discussion and possible action from Appeals Working Group Recommendations]
OKAY. 
          UH, 17. 
          DISCUSSION OF POSSIBLE ACTION ON APPEALS WORKING GROUP RECOMMENDATIONS WITH JESUS PENTAL. 
          GOOD EVENING AGAIN, COMMISSIONERS. 
          I WAS, UH, THE STAFF MEMBER ON THE WORKING GROUP, NOT A VOTING MEMBER, BUT I WILL, UH, GIVE A A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ON HOW THE APPEALS PROCESS WORKED, UM, AND THEN LET THE, UH, WORKING GROUP MEMBERS ADD ANYTHING IN IF, UH, THEY WOULD LIKE TO. 
          AGAIN, MY NAME IS PANTEL. 
          I AM THE CULTURAL FUNDING SUPERVISOR IN THE CULTURAL ARTS DIVISION. 
          UM, SO THE APPEALS PROCESS, UM, THESE FIRST FEW SLIDES ARE JUST GONNA BE A REMINDER OF, UH, WHAT WE HAD LAST MONTH WHEN WE WERE, UH, FORMING THE APPEALS, UH, WORKING GROUP. 
          UM, SO JUST A REMINDER THAT THE APPEALS PROCESS WAS APPROVED AT THE JUNE 29TH, 2022 ARTS COMMISSION MEETING. 
          UM, AND THERE ARE ONLY TWO ITEMS THAT ARE ELIGIBLE FOR APPEAL. 
          IT HAS TO BE EITHER A REVIEW PANELIST OR A STAFF ERROR IN ORDER TO BE APPEALABLE, OR THERE HAS TO BE A CONFLICT OF INTEREST. 
          AND REGARDLESS OF WHICH OF THOSE TWO ITEMS IT IS, A LINK MUST BE SHOWN BETWEEN EITHER THAT REVIEW OR STAFF, UM, ERROR, A REVIEW PANELIST OR STAFF ERROR, OR THE CONFLICT OF INTEREST. 
          THERE MUST BE SOME KIND OF LINK SHOWN BETWEEN THAT AND A LOWER SCORE OR A NEGATIVE, UH, COMMENT. 
          UM, WHAT IS NOT APPEALABLE ARE THE SUBJECTIVE OPINIONS OF THE REVIEW PANELISTS. 
          THE SCORES THAT ARE ASSIGNED BY THE REVIEW PANELISTS ARE THEMSELVES, UM, IN AND OF THEMSELVES, NOT APPEALABLE. 
          THE AWARD AMOUNT IN AND OF ITSELF IS NOT APPEALABLE, AND ISSUES OF ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES OR POLICY ARE ALSO NOT APPEALABLE. 
          SO THE WAY THE APPEALS PROCESS, UH, WORKED IS APPEALS FORMS, UH, WERE DUE BY OCTOBER 4TH, 2024. 
          THAT WAS WITHIN 10 BUSINESS DAYS OF THE AWARD OR REJECTION LETTERS BEING, UH, RECEIVED BY THE RECIPIENTS. 
          UH, STAFF REVIEWED THE APPLICATIONS, UM, OCTOBER 7TH THROUGH 18TH 22. 
          APPEALS WERE SUBMITTED WITH FOUR FOUND ELIGIBLE, UH, WHEN REVIEWING STAFF WAS ONLY LOOKING TO SEE IF THE APPEALS REQUEST ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS WERE MET, NOT WHETHER THERE WAS SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE TO OVERTURN THE PANEL DECISION. 
          THAT WAS UP TO THE APPEALS WORKING GROUP, AND THEN YOU ALL AS THE FULL ARTS COMMISSION, UH, TONIGHT TO SEE IF THOSE APPEALS, UH, SHOULD INDEED, UM, BE HONORED. 
          UM, SO IN THE APPEALS RECOMMENDATION, AGAIN, FOUR WERE FOUND TO BE ELIGIBLE. 
          OF THOSE FOUR, THREE OF THE APPEALS WERE UPHELD, UH, BUT ONLY TWO SCORED HIGH ENOUGH, UM, TO RECEIVE FUNDING. 
          UM, WITH THE APPEALS, UH, CHANGES, UH, MADE, THAT WAS CANDACE RUSK DOING BUSINESS AS FATHOM OF WOMEN IN WATER AS WELL AS GROUNDWORK MUSIC PROJECT. 
          UM, AND SO THE WAY, UM, A SUCCESSFULLY APPEALED SCORE CAN BE CHANGED, THERE WERE TWO OPTIONS AND WE, UM, THEY APPEALS WORKING GROUP, UH, BASICALLY COPIED WHAT WAS, UH, THEY DID LAST YEAR, WHICH WAS THEY TOOK THE HIRE OF EITHER CHANGING A SPECIFIC APPEALED RUBRIC ITEM, UM, AND SO CHANGE THAT. 
          IF IT WAS AGAIN, UH, STAFF OR PANELIST REVIEW ERROR OR CONFLICT OF INTEREST ON THAT PARTICULAR RUBRIC ITEM, UH, CHANGE THE SCORE TO A HIGHER SCORE. 
          UM, OR YOU CAN DROP ALL OF THAT, UH, PANELIST SCORES, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THE SCORES FOR ALL OF THE RUBRIC ITEMS THAT THEY SCORED, AND JUST AVERAGE THE REMAINING SCORES TOGETHER. 
          UH, THE, UM, AND WHICHEVER RESULTS IN THE HIGHER SCORE, UM, THE SCORE STILL NEEDS TO BE HIGH ENOUGH TO RECEIVE FUNDING. 
          SO THAT'S WHY ONLY TWO OUT OF THE THREE THAT WERE, EVEN THOUGH THREE OF 'EM WERE FOUND TO BE, UM, TECHNICALLY, UH, CORRECT IN, UM, THAT THEY WERE A SUCCESSFUL APPEAL. 
          ONLY TWO OF THOSE, UM, WITH THE APPEAL CHANGES BEING MADE, RESULTED IN A HIGH ENOUGH SCORE. 
          UM, BOTH OF THE SUCCESSFUL APPEALS WERE FROM DROPPING ALL OF THE PANELIST SCORES, NOT FROM CHANGING JUST, UH, ONE OR TWO SPECIFIC APPEALED RUBRIC ITEMS. UM, AND THEN WITH THAT, THERE ARE FOUR FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN DETERMINING A SUCCESSFUL APPEAL AWARD AMOUNT. 
          UM, THOSE ARE, UM, SO IT IS SUCCESSFUL. 
          WHAT SHOULD YOU FUND IT AT? ONE, AT A LEVEL COMMENSURATE WITH OTHER SIMILAR GRANTS. 
          UM, TWO AT A SPECIAL LEVEL BASED ON CITY PRIORITIES. 
          THREE AT A REDUCED LEVEL BASED UPON THE CURRENT STATUS OF THE ACTIVITY, OR FOUR AT AN ADJUSTED LEVEL BASED ON FUNDS AVAILABLE. 
          [02:05:01]
AND THESE FOUR CONSIDERATIONS ARE OUTLINED, UM, IN THE APPEALS PROCESS THAT THE APPEALS WORKING GROUP LOOKED AT. 
          AND THAT IS IN THE ADJUSTED PROGRAMS. UM, DETAILS, UH, DOCUMENT THAT THE APPELLANTS, UH, WE'RE USING. 
          SO WITH THE, UM, UM, SCORES, UH, FOR CANDACE RUSK, SHE APPLIED IN ELEVATE, UH, FOR INDIVIDUALS AND CREATIVE BUSINESSES. 
          UM, WITH THE SUCCESSFUL APPEAL, HER SCORE CHANGED FROM A 75.5 TO AN 83.67, WHICH AGAIN, IS HIGH ENOUGH TO RECEIVE FUNDING AS THE LOWEST SCORING ELEVATE FOR INDIVIDUALS IN CREATIVE BUSINESSES. 
          UM, APPLICATION, UH, TO RECEIVE FUNDING WAS AN 81. 
          AGAIN, HER SCORE CHANGED TO AN 83.67, UM, SIMILAR SCORING FOR ELEVATE FOR INDIVIDUALS CREATIVE BUSINESSES. 
          UM, SO IN THE 81 TO 87.3 SCORE RANGE ALL RECEIVED A $15,000 AWARD. 
          SO IF YOU WANTED TO GO WITH THAT FIRST, UM, YOU KNOW, BEING COMMENSURATE WITH OTHER GRANTS, UH, THAT MAY BE SOMETHING TO CONSIDER. 
          UH, FOR GROUNDWORK MUSIC PROJECT, THEY APPLIED IN THRIVE ELEVATE. 
          UM, THEIR APPEALING SCORE DID NOT CHANGE THEIR THRIVE SCORE HIGH ENOUGH, UM, TO RECEIVE FUNDING. 
          UM, BUT THEY, IT DID CHANGE THEIR SCORE HIGH ENOUGH TO RECEIVE FUNDING AND ELEVATE FOR NONPROFITS. 
          SO IT CHANGED THEIR SCORE FROM, UH, 71 TO AN 84 FOR ELEVATE FOR NONPROFITS. 
          UH, THE MINIMUM ELEVATE FOR NONPROFIT SCORE TO RECEIVE FUNDING WAS A 72.2. 
          UH, THIS PUTS THEM KIND OF IN THE MID RANGE FROM AN 81.75 TO 87 ALL APPLICANTS IN THE, THAT RECEIVE FUNDING AND ELEVATE FOR NONPROFITS, UM, IN THAT SCORE LEVEL, UH, RECEIVED A $60,000 AWARD. 
          UH, WE DO HAVE ENOUGH HOT FUNDS TO COVER THE $75,000, SO THE 15,000 FOR CANDACE AND THE 60,000 FOR GROUNDWORK. 
          UM, THERE ARE ENOUGH HOT FUNDS AVAILABLE TO, UH, FUND THOSE, UM, AT THAT COMMENSURATE LEVEL. 
          UM, AND THAT IS MY BACKGROUND AND PRESENTATION. 
          I WILL OPEN IT UP TO, UM, UH, CHAIR SIMAN AND VICE CHAIR MACH AND COMMISSIONER MOCK, IF THEY HAVE ANYTHING THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO ADD SINCE THEY WERE THE ARTS COMMISSIONERS ON THE WORKING GROUP. 
          I'M VERY HAPPY ABOUT THE RESULT. 
          I'M VERY HAPPY FOR THIS TWO ORGANIZATION, AND I DO THINK THAT THEY DESERVE TO BE FUNDED. 
          I AGREED IT WAS A VERY THOUGHTFUL PROCESS, UM, THAT WE ALL WENT INTO AND HOPING FOR, UM, HAPPY APPLICANTS . 
          UM, BUT, UH, I FEEL REALLY GOOD ABOUT THE PROCESS, AND THOUGH WE WEREN'T ABLE TO, UM, SIDE WITH ALL APPELLANTS, I DO FEEL LIKE IT WAS A VERY PRODUCTIVE MEETING. 
          THEY WERE ABLE TO BE PRESENT FOR THE ASSESSMENT, AND, UH, I THINK WE'VE LEARNED A LOT IN TERMS OF HOW TO APPLY THE THINGS THAT WE TOOK NOTE OF FOR NEXT YEAR. 
          SO ALL CONTRIBUTING TO THE PROCESS. 
          OKAY. 
          ANY QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONERS? THEY'VE BEEN, THEY'VE BEEN NOTIFIED. 
          THEY WERE PRESENT FOR THE MEETING. 
          OKAY. 
          SO, BUT THE DECISION ABOUT THE FUNDING WAS MADE IN THE MEETING AND THEY WERE NOTIFIED, NOT THE FUNDING, NOT THE FUNDING AMOUNT. 
          UM, I WANTED TO NOT BE RUSHED AND, YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE THAT I LOOKED, WHICH IS GOOD, BECAUSE I LOOKED AT SOME NUMBERS AND REALIZED I WAS LOOKING AT SOME THAT WERE INCORRECT. 
          SO IT DID TAKE ME A WHILE. 
          SO, UM, THE FOUR THAT WERE, UH, SUCCESSFUL, THEY WERE IN THE APPEALS MEETING, AND SO THEY WERE NOTIFIED. 
          UH, THE OTHER 18 WERE NOT NOTIFIED THAT THEY WERE NOT SUCCESSFUL. 
          JUST, YOU KNOW, SOME OF 'EM HAVE REACHED OUT. 
          WE'VE TOLD THEM THAT THE APPEALS PROCESS IS, UH, WORKING ITS WAY THROUGH. 
          UH, THE PLAN IS, UM, UH, WHATEVER YOUR RECOMMENDATION IS THAT YOU MAKE TONIGHT, I WILL HOPEFULLY BE SENDING, UM, EMAILS OUT, UH, TOMORROW. 
          SO THAT'S OUR WRITTEN WAY OF SENDING OUT THE APPEALS REQUESTS, BOTH TO THE, UM, 17 OR 18 THAT WERE NOT SUCCESSFULLY APPEALED, AS WELL AS THE, I GUESS THE TWO WITH THE CHANGE SCORE AND THEN THE TWO THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, ARE SUCCESSFUL OR NOT, BUT NOT RECEIVING A SCORE. 
          SO LETTERS GOING OUT TOMORROW IS, IS THE PLAN. 
          SO I, I, I WOULD LIKE TO MOVE, UM, TO ACCEPT THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE STAFF. 
          SO STAFF IS NOT MAKING ANY RECOMMENDATIONS. 
          I'M GIVING YOU WHAT THE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE. 
          SO THE WORKING, THE WORKING GROUP, THE RECOMMENDATIONS, THE WORKING GROUP'S RECOMMENDATIONS ARE THAT THOSE TWO ARE ELIGIBLE. 
          THERE IS NO AWARD AMOUNT. 
          UH, SO, SO IT'S FOR CONSIDERATIONS. 
          THERE ARE ENOUGH, UH, HOT FUNDS IF YOU WANTED TO FUND THEM, UM, AT THE 15 AND THE $60,000 LEVEL. 
          I'M ASSUMING THAT'S WHAT YOU WANNA DO, BUT I DON'T WANNA SPEAK FOR YOU. 
          THERE ARE ENOUGH FUNDS TO DO THAT. 
          IF YOU WANNA FUND 'EM AT A DIFFERENT LEVEL, LET ME KNOW THAT OR Y'ALL VOTE ON THAT, AND THEN LET US KNOW AS WELL. 
          I, I, I, I AM OKAY WITH THAT. 
          YES. 
          SO, UH, I THINK IT, IT IS GOOD THAT WE, UM, 
          [02:10:01]
AWARD THEM WITH 15 AND 60,000 SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER SCHACH. 
          HMM. 
          ALL IN, OH, COMMISSIONER MONTREAL. 
          COMMISSIONER GAR. 
          OH, COMMISSIONER GAR. 
          DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION OR WERE YOU SECONDING? GO FOR IT. 
          YEAH. 
          . 
          THANK YOU. 
          OKAY. 
          GO. 
          GO AHEAD. 
          COMMISSIONER GARZA, WE LOST HIM. 
          THERE WE GO. 
          YEAH. 
          AM I ON? YEAH. 
          YES, YOU'RE HERE. 
          I JUST, I WANT TO, UH, THANK THE APPLICANTS FOR TAKING THEIR TIME TO APPEAL THEIR APPLICATIONS. 
          UH, QUITE OFTEN A LOT OF OUR APPLICANTS JUST ASSUME THAT, UH, OUR PANELISTS AND EVERYONE HAS DONE THEIR, THEIR JOB TO THEIR, TO THEIR UTMOST, BUT SOMETIMES THINGS DO SLIP THROUGH THE CRACKS. 
          I WISH WE COULD GIVE YOU AN EXTRA THOUSAND DOLLARS BECAUSE YOU WENT THROUGH THE TIME TO GO THROUGH THE APPEAL, TO GO THROUGH THE PROCESS AND MAKE THOSE CHANGES. 
          BECAUSE I KNOW WHEN YOU GUYS MAKE A MISTAKE, WE ZERO YOUR FUNDING. 
          BUT WHEN WE MAKE A MISTAKE, NOT ONLY DO I THINK WE SHOULD FUND YOU EQUAL TO THE OTHER PEOPLE THAT YOU ARE ALSO BEING FUNDED BY, BUT PERHAPS, YOU KNOW, AS A LITTLE NUDGE TO OUR, OUR PANELISTS, INTO OUR STAFF MEMBERS OR WHATNOT, TO, LET'S MAKE SURE WE GET THIS RIGHT. 
          AND I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE YOU BOTH, NOT ONLY THE 15,000 AND THE 30,000 OR WHATEVER IT IS, BUT AN EXTRA THOUSAND DOLLARS ON EACH ONE OF THOSE FOR YOUR SUCCESSFUL AT FIRST FOR BRINGING THESE THINGS TO OUR ATTENTION INTO MAKING SURE THAT OTHER APPLICANTS WILL ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT, HEY, IF THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOUR APPLICATION AND YOU FEEL THAT YOU'RE JUSTIFIED TO MAKE AN APPEAL, PLEASE MAKE THAT APPEAL. 
          WE NEED TO MAKE THAT APPEAL AS WELL TO OUR, OUR, TO OUR CONTRACTORS TO COME OUT AND LET US KNOW WHEN WE DO WRONG. 
          UH, WE HOLD YOU ACCOUNTABLE. 
          YOU NEED TO HOLD US ACCOUNTABLE AS WELL. 
          SO I RECOMMEND NOT ONLY THAT THEY GET THEIR COMMENCEMENT FUNDING, BUT A LITTLE NUDGE EXTRA, A THOUSAND DOLLARS EXTRA EACH, I THINK WOULD BE FANTASTIC. 
          THANK YOU. 
          DO WE HAVE ENOUGH MONEY? 2000 MORE? I DO NOT KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION. 
          I THINK IF I KNOW WE HAVE 75,000, THAT'S ALL I KNOW. 
          I THINK IT'S A, I THINK IT'S A DANGEROUS PRECEDENT TO, TO SET THAT WE REWARD PEOPLE FOR FOLLOWING THE PROCESS IN PLACE. 
          UM, THE PROCESS EXISTS BECAUSE WE'RE ALL HUMAN AND MISTAKES GET MADE. 
          SO WE PUT THE PROCESS IN PLACE AND UNDERSTAND THAT IT'S A BURDEN TO COME FORWARD AND SAY THERE WAS A MISTAKE MADE. 
          BUT I DON'T THINK IT SENDS THE RIGHT MESSAGE TO SAY, WE'RE GONNA MONETARILY COMPENSATE YOU BECAUSE OF A MISTAKE THAT WE MADE. 
          COMPLETELY CONCUR WITH THAT. 
          COMMISSIONER RELL, WAS ANYTHING YOU WANTED TO ADD? UM, NO, I JUST, UM, UM, FINDING THE WAY, BUT I THINK, UM, UM, IF, IF THAT WE DON'T KNOW THE DOLLAR AMOUNT, IF IT'S AVAILABLE, IF IT DELAYS THE VOTE, I THINK I WOULD RATHER NOT HOLD BACK THE 60 K RIGHT NOW AND GO AHEAD AND DO THE VOTE OR THE 15 K, UH, IF THAT'S OKAY. 
          YEAH. 
          BUT YEAH, I MEAN, I, I, I, I KIND OF DO SEE THE POINT, BUT IT'S, YEAH. 
          LET'S, I WOULD PREFER TO TAKE THE VOTE ON, ON THE CURRENT AMOUNTS. 
          OKAY. 
          ANYBODY ELSE? OKAY. 
          SO WE HAVE MOCKS MOTION TO APPROVE THE 60 AND $15,000 FOR THOSE AWARDS. 
          APPEALED, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER GARZA. 
          ALL IN FAVOR OF THAT DECISION? AYE. 
          UNANIMOUS. 
          GREAT. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS. 
          WITH THAT, WE'RE MOVING ON TO WORKING GROUP UPDATES, UM, UPDATE FROM THE JOINT ARTS AND MUSIC COMMISSION WORKING GROUP WITH ON URBAN CORE ISSUES WITH COMMISSIONER GRAY MALDONADO AND ALBACH CHAIR. 
          DO WE HAVE YOU FOR FIVE MORE MINUTES, COMMISSIONER ALBACH FOR A QUICK UPDATE? I DO, BUT WE DON'T HAVE ANY UPDATES 'CAUSE THAT OUR, THAT WORKING GROUP HAS NOT MET SINCE OUR LAST UPDATE. 
          OKAY. 
          WELL THEN THAT'S, IT DIDN'T EVEN NEED FIVE MINUTES. 
          THANK YOU. 
          NEXT 
          [19. Update from the Community Feedback on most recent release of the Cultural Funding Programs Working Group with Commissioner’s Kracheni, Maldonado, Gray, Houston, Medicharla (chair)]
IS UPDATE FROM THE COMMUNITY FEEDBACK ON MOST RECENT RELEASE OF THE CULTURAL FUNDING PROGRAMS WORKING GROUP WITH COMMISSIONERS, CHENEY, MALDONADO, GRAY HOUSTON, AND CHARLA CHAIR. 
          IT'S AN UPDATE FROM THE COMMUNITY FEEDBACK. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, WELL, THE WORKING GROUP, JUST A VERY QUICK UPDATE. 
          WE JUST MET ONCE, UM, UM, MYSELF, UH, COMMISSIONER MALDONADO AND COMMISSIONER, UH, CHENEY TO GET STARTED. 
          UM, AND, UM, I THINK, UM, THE IMMEDIATE NEXT STEP IS, UM, ALSO JUST TO, UM, INFORM THE COMMISSION. 
          UM, I REQUESTED, UM, COMMISSIONER 
          [02:15:01]
CASADA AND COMMISSIONER, UH, AND, UH, PATTERSON, UH, FROM MUSIC TO BE A PART OF THIS GROUP SO THEY CAN, UM, WE ARE NOT GONNA ADDRESS THE, THE LIVE MUSIC FUND, JUST SO THAT THEY CAN, UH, KIND OF ALSO CONTRIBUTE TO WHEREVER THE INTERSECTIONS ARE FOR MUSIC AND THE ARTS GRANTS. 
          SO, AND OF COURSE, BOTH, BOTH OF THEM INDIVIDUALLY ARE ALSO FROM THE DANCE COMMUNITY AND FROM, HAVE A LOT OF EXPERIENCE IN FILM. 
          SO, BUT TO JUST START TO ADD ON TO THAT, I THINK WE, SO THAT'S LIKE ABOUT SEVEN COMMISSIONERS, QUOTE UNQUOTE. 
          I MEAN, YEAH. 
          AND, BUT IT WOULD BE GREAT IF WE CAN GET FIVE, SIX MORE FOLKS, UH, TO JOIN, UH, THIS WORKING GROUP FROM THE COMMUNITY. 
          SO JUST MY QUICK REQUEST WOULD BE TO, UH, COMMISSIONERS, UH, TO JUST SEND SOME RECOMMENDATIONS. 
          NOT GUARANTEED THAT THEY WILL MAKE THE GROUP NECESSARILY, BUT PLEASE, IF, IF YOU COULD JUST TAKE SOME TIME IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS TO SEND SOME RECOMMENDATIONS. 
          SO FOLKS WHO CAN, UM, UM, UH, THIS IS NOT A SCIENCE, BUT BROADLY SPEAK TO, UM, UH, TO THE COMMUNITY OR TO CERTAIN DISCIPLINES, WHATEVER THE STRONG SUITE IS. 
          UH, I, I THINK WE COLLECTIVELY, IN THE NEXT TIME WE MEET QUICKLY IN THE NEXT WEEK, WE CAN, UH, WE CAN JUST, YOU KNOW, NARROW DOWN THAT LIST AND FORM THAT WORKING GROUP. 
          AFTER THAT, WE ARE LOOKING TO HAVE, UH, BASICALLY ALTERNATE WEEK MEETINGS, UM, THROUGH REST OF DECEMBER AND, AND JANUARY AND, UH, YOU KNOW, COME BACK WITH, UH, UH, SOME DETAILS. 
          YEAH. 
          THANK YOU. 
          FANTASTIC QUESTION. 
          ARE THERE THERE ANY CRITERIA OR, OR, UM, UH, QUALIFICATIONS, GUIDELINES, QUALIFICATIONS, THAT'S THE WORD I'M LOOKING FOR. 
          QUALIFICATIONS FOR PEOPLE, MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY. 
          'CAUSE I GOT A WHOLE LIST. 
          . 
          YEAH. 
          I MEAN, WHICH IS WHY, WHICH IS WHY, I MEAN, IT IS, THIS IS A CONVERSATION. 
          IT'S A DIALOGUE, RIGHT? AND SO FOLKS WHO, UH, HAVE BEEN PAYING ATTENTION TO THE FUNDS, PEOPLE WHO HAVE PROVIDED FEEDBACK, PEOPLE WHO HAVE HAD SEEN VERY POSITIVE OUTCOMES, PEOPLE WHO HAVE CONCERNS WITH IT, ANY, ANY, ANYBODY WHO CAN COME AND PROVIDE LIKE A DIVERSE PERSPECTIVE ON, ON THE FUNDS AS THEY STAND TODAY, AND THE OUTCOMES AS THEY STAND TODAY. 
          UH, WHICH IS WHY I WAS SAYING YES, WE PROBABLY, IF WE HAVE 20 RECOMMENDATIONS, THEN WE AS A WORKING GROUP CAN NARROW, UH, THE, UH, YOU KNOW, IT DOWN TO, YOU KNOW, OKAY, LET'S, LET'S GO WITH THIS, FIVE OR SIX PEOPLE. 
          IT'S GONNA BE DONE IN GOOD FAITH. 
          SO, YOU KNOW, I WOULD JUST, UH, REQUEST PATIENTS FROM EVERYBODY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I MIGHT SUGGEST WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF NAMES, THE QUALIFICATIONS, RIGHT? WHO, WHAT INDUSTRY ARE THEY WITH THE GENRE? OH, I AGREE. 
          I AGREE. 
          YEAH. 
          AND THEN ALSO I, I DO THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO HAVE PEOPLE THAT HAVE ENGAGED IN THIS PROCESS. 
          YES. 
          AND NOT JUST SPECTATED. 
          SO, OR LIKE, I HEARD THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE THAT I, I THINK PEOPLE THAT HAVE ACTUALLY YES. 
          OPENED UP THE PLATFORM, SUBMITTED AN APPLICATION, MAYBE EVEN JUST BEGAN AND THEY COULD HAVE GOTTEN OVERWHELMED AND NOT FINISHED. 
          RIGHT? I THINK THAT FEEDBACK'S IMPORTANT, BUT WE WANT PEOPLE THAT HAVE SOME WORKING EXPERIENCE WITH THIS PROCESS TO BE PROVIDING CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK AND NOT, IT JUST TO BE A, A PILE ON OF COMPLAINTS. 
          LIKE, WE'RE LOOKING FOR CONSTRUCTIVE INFORMATION THAT WE CAN, THAT THE WORKING GROUP CAN, AND THEN TURN OVER TO STAFF AND TO IMPACT THE PROGRAMS. RIGHT? THANK SOMEONE WHO HAS SOME EXPERIENCE, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT HAS GONE THROUGH THE PROCESS, EITHER IN PAIN OR ENJOY. 
          SO TO, TO MIX. 
          COMMISSIONER GARZA, ARE YOU PRESENT? WE ARE WITHOUT QUORUM. 
          IF YOU'RE NOT ON CAMERA, UH, COMMISSIONER MACH IS PUTTING HER YOUNG PERSON TO BED, SO SHE'S ALREADY OFF THE DAIS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          WE JUST CAN'T CONTINUE UNLESS YOU'RE NOT ON SCREEN. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UM, OKAY. 
          SORRY TO INTERRUPT. 
          YEAH, NO, NO, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S ALL GOOD. 
          IT'S ALL GOOD CONVERSATION, RIGHT? SO, I MEAN, REALLY, I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH SEVEN FOLKS HERE, MAYBE ADDING ANYWHERE FROM FIVE TO SEVEN MORE FOLKS TO THE GROUP, I THINK THAT'S PRETTY SUBSTANTIVE. 
          UM, AND THEN, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHY, UM, AGAIN, IT'S NOT A SCIENCE, BUT ANYBODY WHO CAN BE BROADLY REPRESENTATIVE IN SOME WAYS OR WHO HAS SPENT TIME ON THIS PROCESS OR GONE THROUGH THE PROCESS, UH, AND, AND KIND OF HAS PROVIDED FEEDBACK, I THINK ANY COMBINATION OF THAT, WE ALL ARE IN THE COMMUNITY. 
          UH, I THINK WE CAN, UH, WE CAN BE, UH, WISE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW WE, HOW WE DO THIS. 
          LOVE IT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          IT'S GREAT. 
          THANK YOU GUYS. 
          GREAT IDEA. 
          OKAY. 
          [20. Update from the Cultural Funding Appeals Working Group with Commissioner’s Zisman, Schmalbach, Maldonado, Mok, Garza]
UPDATE FROM CULTURAL FUNDING APPEALS WORKING GROUP WITH COMMISSIONERS ALDO AND GARZA. 
          MALDONADO AND GARZA ARE NOT ON THIS WORKING GROUP, THOUGH, THAT SHOULD BE EDITED. 
          UM, GARZA STEPPED DOWN, UM, LAST WEEK. 
          SO JUST THE THREE OF US. 
          UM, WE HAD A ROBUST PRESENTATION FROM STAFF. 
          WE, UM, HAD GOOD CONVERSATION IN, UH, IN ADVANCE. 
          WE HAD TWO MEETINGS, ONE PREPARATION MEETING, AND THEN ONE, UH, MEETING WITH OUR APPELLANTS. 
          UM, IT WENT VERY SMOOTHLY. 
          I FEEL LIKE WE WERE PRETTY MUCH IN STEP WITH ONE ANOTHER AS WE MOVED THROUGH EACH APPLICATION. 
          WE'VE TRIED TO FOLLOW THE, UH, FORMATTING OF THE ACTUAL PANELS PROCESS. 
          MM-HMM. 
          . 
          SO WE HAD A LEAD AND THEN A SEPARATE CON OR A FOLLOW UP CONVERSATION BETWEEN COMMISSIONERS 
          [02:20:01]
AS NEEDED. 
          MM-HMM. 
          . 
          UM, ANYTHING YOU WANNA ADD? COMMISSIONER? I, I JUST LEARNED A LOT IN THE PROCESS AND THANK YOU FOR THE STAFF'S. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, UM, HOW SHOULD I SAY IT? COACHING? YES. 
          YEAH. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I'M FEELING REALLY GOOD THAT WE'RE GETTING THIS PROCESS, UH, MORE AND MORE LOCKED IN. 
          SO EACH YEAR WE'RE HOPING TO PUT, SO, SO WITH THE, THE THINGS THAT WE FIGURED OUT FROM THIS YEAR, WE WANT TO PUT TOGETHER A MANUAL FOR FUTURE COMMISSIONERS WHO WILL BE ON THE APPEALS WORKING GROUP. 
          SO IT'S JUST A REALLY TIGHT RUNNING SHIP. 
          WE KNOW EXACTLY HOW WE WANT TO REVIEW CONTENT. 
          UM, AND, AND JUST REALLY BECOMING MORE FLUENT WITH THAT WORLD BECAUSE IT IS A WHOLE SEPARATE, IT WAS LIKE 42 ATTACHMENTS THAT WE HAD TO REVIEW. 
          SO IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A PRETTY BIG LIFT. 
          UM, YEAH. 
          AND THEN, UH, UH, MOVING ON TO, OR I GUESS, DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE WORKING GROUP BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO I'M 22. 
          DOES IT NEED TO SUNSET? OH, YES IT DOES. 
          SO LET'S MOVE TO SUNSET, THIS GROUP. 
          THANK YOU, GINA. 
          I'M LIKE, HOW WE NEED TO KEEP GOING. 
          MY BRAIN IS QUICKLY FIZZLING OUT TONIGHT. 
          I THINK IT STARTED HALFWAY HERE TO BEGIN WITH. 
          UM, SO WE CAN GO AHEAD AND SUNSET THAT. 
          WE'LL NEED A REPORT FOR YOU, RIGHT? DOES THIS COUNT AS A WORKING GROUP THAT'S GONNA NEED TO SUBMIT, UH, DOCUMENTATION OF, I THINK, SORRY. 
          DON'T APOLOGIZE. 
          JUST JOIN US. 
          I THINK THIS IS FINE. 
          JUST, UH, THE RECOMMENDATION THAT YOU'RE MAKING, UM, CAN COUNT AS A REPORT BECAUSE YOU'RE RECOMMENDING THAT YOU KNOW, SO AND SO SUCCESSFUL APPEAL BE AWARDED AT, YOU KNOW, X AND Y AMOUNT. 
          AND I'LL SEND THOSE LETTERS OUT. 
          SO I THINK, UM, THIS CAN SUNSET AND I THINK THE WORKING GROUP'S, UH, JOB IS DONE. 
          I'M ELATED. 
          THANK YOU. 
          MM-HMM, . 
          NEXT WE HAVE ITEM 22, UPDATE FROM THE ART AND PUBLIC PLACES. 
          DI ASCENSION JURY WITH COMMISSIONER GRAY. 
          COMMISSIONER GRAY COULD NOT BE HERE. 
          SHE IS DOING SOME INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL, BUT SHE HAS LET ME KNOW THAT THE MEETING FOR THIS WORKING GROUP WILL NOT TAKE PLACE UNTIL FRIDAY. 
          SO THERE IS NO UPDATE FOR THAT WORKING GROUP. 
          OKAY. 
          [FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
UM, AND WITH THAT WE HAVE FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, WHICH BASED ON THIS AGENDA, I DON'T THINK WE HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD. 
          ANY FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? COMMISSIONER GARZA, COMMISSIONER KEYS, ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE IN THIS MOMENT? YOU ALSO CAN ADD THINGS AT ANY TIME. 
          I'M HAPPY TO SECOND TO ANY ITEM. 
          YOU CAN PARTNER WITH ANOTHER COMMISSIONER. 
          UM, I KNOW IT'S NOT ON HERE, BUT ANY ITEMS FOR INFORMATION? WE JUST HAD THE AUSTIN STUDIO TOUR. 
          I HOPE EVERYBODY DID THAT. 
          IS THERE ANYTHING COMING UP IN OUR COMMUNITIES THAT WE WANT TO AMPLIFY BESIDES THE FANTASTIC PROGRAMMING FROM OUR CULTURAL CONTRACTORS THAT WAS REVIEWED? COMMISSIONER GARZA, PLEASE DON'T FORGET THE POWWOW THIS WEEKEND. 
          AWESOME. 
          POWWOW. 
          IT'S ON MY CALENDAR. 
          ANYBODY ELSE? I'M DOING A SHAMELESS PLUG FOR GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST AT PIONEER FARMS. AW, CHRISTMAS TALES AND THE WEATHER'S GETTING CHILLY. 
          SO THERE'S CIDER. 
          I LOVE IT. 
          , LISTEN, WE HAVE A FEW PERKS HERE. 
           SELF-PROMOTION IS NOT A BAD THING. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          NUTCRACKERS, ALL THE NUTCRACKERS. 
          SO MANY VERSIONS OF THE NUTCRACKER. 
          ALRIGHT, WITH THAT, IT IS 8 29. 
          THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED. 
          THANK YOU EVERYBODY. 
          I MOVED TO ADJOURN. 
          OH YEAH, WE ARE MOVED. 
          WE DON'T HAVE TO DO THAT. 
          RIGHT? THAT WAS WHAT I WAS TOLD IS THAT YOU CAN JUST GAVEL IT. 
          DONE. 
          REALLY POINT OF PRIVILEGE. 
          I WANNA BE WITH YOU. 
          LIFE HAS ALWAYS BEEN DAY, IT SEEMS. I WANNA MAKE YOU DESIRE.
* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.