Dec 12, 2024 City Council Meetings

COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, UH, TO YOUR QUESTION, NOW, ITEM NUMBER 74 IS A PUBLIC HEARING.

AND SO IF THERE ARE PE AND, AND IT'S, IT IS NOT A POSTPONED PUBLIC HEARING, IT'S ONE OF THE ITEMS THAT WE WILL TAKE UP AS A PUBLIC HEARING TODAY.

SO IF THERE ARE PEOPLE HERE TO, TO SPEAK ON THAT, WE'LL GET AS WHEN WE GET TO THAT, WE WILL, WE'LL, WE'LL CALL THEM UP.

THANK YOU FOR THE CLARIFICATION, MAYOR.

SURE THING.

ALRIGHT.

WITH THAT, WE WILL NOW GO TO THE PEOPLE THAT ARE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON THE CONSENT AGENDA, AND I WILL TURN TO OUR CITY CLERK TO WALK US THROUGH THAT.

WE'LL START WITH ITEM THREE, ANTONIA ROMERO, FOLLOWED BY WILLIAM BUNCH, FOLLOWED BY MICHAEL CARGILL AND SANTIAGO.

UH, ONE, IF YOUR NAME HAS BEEN CALLED, UH, THE WAY WE TRY TO DO THIS IS WHEN YOUR NAME IS CALLED ON AN ITEM THAT YOU'RE GOING TO BE SPEAKING ON.

IF YOU'LL PLEASE COME DOWN FRONT THAT WAY WE'LL VISUALLY KNOW THAT YOU'RE HERE, AND IF THERE'S AN EMPTY MICROPHONE, P UH, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO TAKE THE MICROPHONE.

ARE ANY OF THE PEOPLE THAT WERE JUST CALLED HERE TO SPEAK ON ITEM NUMBER THREE? ALRIGHT, UH, MR. BUNCH IS, UH, SIGNED UP TO SPEAK, BUT WAIVES HIS RIGHT TO SPEAK.

NEXT SPEAKER WE HAVE IS CRAIG NAZER.

UH, SIGNED UP ON ITEM 14, FOLLOWED BY KABA WHITE WILLIAM BUNCH ONCE AGAIN, AND VICTOR REED.

ITEM NUMBER 14, IF YOUR NAME HAS BEEN CALLED, PLEASE COME FORWARD.

HELLO, AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL.

MY NAME IS CRAIG NASER AND I'M CURRENTLY A MEMBER OF THE ZERO WASTE ADVISORY COMMISSION.

AND I JUST HERE TO SAY, BECAUSE WE NEED IT, SOMETIMES THIS ITEM 14 IS A GREAT ITEM.

I HOPE IT PASSES, AND I JUST WANT EVERYONE TO KNOW THAT THIS WILL DO A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT TO REDUCE OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT, BECAUSE THIS ITEM, YOU CAN'T REALLY TELL BY READING IT VERY WELL.

BUT THIS WILL ALLOW ELECTRIFICATION OF THE FLEET AND PARTICULARLY GETTING HUGE, UH, $700,000 TRASH, UH, CARRIERS THAT ARE ENTIRELY ELECTRIC.

WE NEED A MORE CENTRAL RECHARGING PLACE.

SO THIS IS A GREAT ITEM.

I ALSO WANT TO JUST MENTION I DID NOT, UH, BECAUSE THE, THE DEVIL'S IN THE DETAILS, I DID NOT READ ONE ITEM 1 33 UNTIL EARLIER TODAY.

UH, ITEM 1 33 1, IT IS BASICALLY A REALLY GOOD ITEM.

UH, IT HAS ONE THING IN IT THAT I DISAGREE WITH, AND I COULD, WOULD LOVE TO TALK WITH YOU MORE.

I DO NOT THINK THE ZERO WASTE YOU, YOU'RE, YOU'RE REALLY NOT SUPPOSED TO BE, YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE ON THE ITEM THAT WE'VE CALLED YOU UP ON.

RIGHT.

BUT YOU, BUT, BUT IF YOU WANNA SAY GOOD JOB, THAT'S OKAY.

YEAH.

WELL, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S 90% GOOD JOB.

BUT, OKAY, YOU NOT TO FIND THE ZERO WASTE ADVISORY COMMISSION WITH THE RESOURCE RECOVERY COMMISSION.

WE HAVE WILLIAM BUNCH ON ITEM 14.

HE PASSES ITEM 19 AS WELL, MR. BUNCH.

HOW ABOUT 19? HE PASSES ON THAT AS WELL.

ALRIGHT, ITEM 23, MR. BUNCH.

HOW ABOUT 23? HE'S GONNA PASS ITEM 31.

HOW ABOUT 31? HE'S GONNA PASS ON THAT.

SUSAN SPATARO, DISTRICT EIGHT.

SUSAN SPATARO ON ITEM 33, FOLLOWED BY ALEXANDER STRANGER, ZENOBIA.

JOSEPH, IF YOUR NAME'S BEEN CALLED, IF YOU'RE IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS, PLEASE COME FORWARD.

AND I WANNA SPEAK ON BEHALF OF THE NEIGHBORHOODS THAT ARE BEING IMPACTED BY, BY THIS NAVIGATION CENTER.

AND I KNOW IT IS COMPLEX.

THIS IS NOT A SIMPLE ISSUE, BUT PEOPLE THERE, CHILDREN, RESIDENTS,

[00:15:01]

AND BUSINESSES ARE BEING OVERRUN AND SUBJECT TO DANGEROUS POSITIONS.

IT'S BECOME SO SAD THAT THE ATTORNEY GENERAL HAS HAD TO STEP FORWARD AND REPRESENT THIS NEIGHBORHOOD.

AND I JUST WANNA READ THE FIRST PARAGRAPH OF THAT, UH, PETITION TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF THE SITUATION THERE.

IN SOUTH AUSTIN, A ONCE PEACEFUL NEIGHBORHOOD HAS BEEN TRANSFORMED BY HOMELESS DRUG ADDICTS, CONVICTED CRIMINALS, AND REGISTERED SEX OFFENDERS.

THESE PEOPLE DO DRUGS INSIDE OF CHILDREN PUBLICLY FORNICATE NEXT TO AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, MENACE, RESIDENTS WITH MACHETES, URINATE, AND DEFECATE ON PUBLIC GROUNDS AND GENERALLY TERRORIZE THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITY.

IT WAS NOT ALWAYS THIS WAY.

ONE RESIDENT OF ALMOST 50 YEARS SAID HOW SHE USED TO LOVE THE NEIGHBORHOOD, BUT NOW IS NO LONGER COMFORTABLE EVEN WALKING IN IT.

AND IT IS SO DANGEROUS NOW THAT SHE IS NOT EVEN COMFORTABLE TAKING HER TRASH OUT TO THE CURB.

AND, AND WHEN I READ THAT, IT JUST MADE ME SO SAD BECAUSE THE TRUTH IS, THESE PEOPLE, THESE CHILDREN, THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, AND BUSINESSES ARE NOT LESS IMPORTANT THAN THE CLIENTS OF THE NAVIGATION CENTER.

AND I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE WORKING REALLY HARD ON THIS.

I DON'T WANNA SAY THEY'RE NOT, BUT SOMETHING NEW HAS TO HAPPEN, AND IT CAN'T BE AT THE PRICE OF THESE POOR PEOPLE.

JOCELYN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IS 200 FEET FROM THIS.

CHILDREN AT JOCELYN ARE SEEING OPEN AIR DRUG DEALING.

THEY'RE WALKING ON NEEDLES, AND THEY ACTUALLY SAW A GROUP HANDING OUT NEEDLES TO DR.

THIS IS NOT APPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN.

SO I, I KNOW THAT.

UM, COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTER'S WORKING ON THIS, UM, IS NEXT SPEAKERS ALEXANDER STRANGER ON ITEM 33, FOLLOWED BY ZENOBIA JOSEPH.

GOOD MORNING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.

I'M HERE SPEAKING IN SUPPORT OF ITEM 33, 37, AND 30 AND 38, BECAUSE WE NEED TO USE OUR VOICES BOTH IN THE STATE AND IN CONGRESS TO HELP THE UNHOUSED REFORM OUR HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY AND DISMANTLE OUR CULTURE OF WHITE SUPREMACY.

JORDAN NEELY WAS AN UNHOUSED, MICHAEL JACKSON IMPERSONATOR, WHO WAS BRUTALLY MURDERED BY WHITE NATIONALIST DANIEL PENNEY FOR THE CRIME OF BEING HOMELESS.

AND NOW THAT DONALD TRUMP GOT ELECTED PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND WAS NAMED PERSON OF THE YEAR, IT'S GOING TO BE OPEN SEASON ON THE UNHOUSED AND OPEN SEASON ON AFRICAN AMERICANS.

AND WHEN MY WIFE'S BOYFRIEND, ARMANDO, HEARD THE VERDICT, HE DEFECATED ON ME BECAUSE THIS IS SYNONYMOUS WITH WHAT WHITE MA, WITH WHAT WHITE MALES HAVE BEEN DOING TO THE BLACK COMMUNITY FOR CENTURIES.

I AM RECENTLY HOMELESS KIRK BECAUSE I LOST ALL OF MY MONEY INVESTING IN THE HAWK TO A COIN, AND MY WIFE, WHO SUFFERS FROM STAGE FIVE TESTICULAR CANCER, IS BEING DENIED COVERAGE FOR HER ENLARGED PROSTATE.

AND I HAVE TO TURN TRICKS UNDERNEATH THE CONGRESS BRIDGE SO THAT MY WIFE COULD GET THE ESSENTIAL LIFE-SAVING CARE THAT SHE NEEDS TO SURVIVE IN THE HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY.

IT'S RAN BY GREEDY BILLIONAIRES WHO PUT PROFITS OVER PEOPLE, AND THE ONLY THING MY WIFE AND I CAN DO IS WRITE LOVE LETTERS TO LUIGI MANGIONE BECAUSE HE IS A HERO, AND WE NEED UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY.

ALSO, IF YOU COULD PLEASE RECOMMEND FOR JOE BIDEN TO PARDON P DIDDY.

IT WOULD REALLY MEAN A LOT TO THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY BECAUSE P DIDDY WAS A BUSINESS MOGUL WHO HOSTED SEXUALLY INCLUSIVE PARTIES AT YOUR TIME IS EXPIRED.

AND DONALD TRUMP, YOUR TIME HAS EXPIRED.

HE'S WEAPONIZING THE NEXT SET OF SPEAKERS.

YOUR YOUR TIME IS UP 1950S.

CASIA, ARE YOU THERE? WE WILL TRY AGAIN IN A MOMENT.

IF YOUR NAME HAS BEEN CALLED, PLEASE MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE PODIUM.

OTHERWISE, WE'LL PROCEED WITH THE NEXT SET OF SPEAKERS.

UH, WE HAVE THE NOVIA JOSEPH ON ALSO ITEM, UH, 39 ALEXANDER STRANGER ON ITEM 39, FOLLOWED BY WILLIAM BUNCH.

MR. BUNCH, ARE YOU GONNA TALK ON 39? ALL RIGHT, HE'S NOT SPEAKING ON 39.

I'M GONNA MOVE OVER TO REMOTE SPEAKERS.

THEN.

WE HAVE CAIA PRINT ON ITEM 47.

[00:20:08]

WE HAVE JENNY GRAYSON ON ITEM 47.

NOAH ELIAS AND MONICA GUZMAN.

ARE ANY OF YOU HERE? I SAY, MR. GUZMAN, IF, IF YOU'RE HERE, PLEASE COME FORWARD.

SHE, MR. GUZMAN IS PASSING.

IS THERE ANYONE WHOSE NAME HAS BEEN CALLED THAT IS HERE AND WISHES TO SPEAK? ALL RIGHT, NEXT SPEAKER IS CARMEN JONNES, FOLLOWED BY ENOVIA JOSEPH ON ITEM 47.

IF YOUR NAME'S BEEN CALLED, PLEASE COME FORWARD.

I DON'T SEE EITHER ONE OF THEM.

NEXT SPEAKER IS WILLIAM BUNCH ON ITEM 51, MR. BUNCH.

ARE YOU TALKING ON 51? LOOKS LIKE HE'S PASSING SEVEN.

WELL, SHE'S GONE TO 51 NOW AFTER MR. BUNCH.

ON ITEM 51 IS SANTIAGO TAWAN.

IF YOUR NAME'S BEEN CALLED, PLEASE COME FORWARD.

THANK YOU, SIR.

JUST STATE YOUR NAME FOR THE RECORD.

SANTIAGO.

AND STATE YOUR LAST NAME, PLEASE.

Z ONE.

ARE YOU GONNA SPEAK? UH, ARE YOU SPEAKING OR ARE YOU JUST I'M HERE.

UM, YEAH, UH, I WAS JUST CHECKING WHICH ITEM WE WERE ON.

UM, 51.

51, CORRECT.

UH, SURE.

I THINK, UH, HAVE YOU COVERED, UH, 11? YES.

PART OF THE LAWSUIT, WHICH Y'ALL SHOULD HAVE JOINED THAT'S STILL PENDING, IS LOOKING AT THE AIR POLLUTION AND THE DIRECT HEALTH IMPACTS TO PEOPLE WHO ARE NEAR THIS ENORMOUS HIGHWAY PROJECT.

I HAD SIGNED UP TO SIGN UP FOR 11.

I THINK THE BORROWINGS REALLY RESPONSIBLE.

UM, 51, JUST IN GENERAL.

UH, FUNDAMENTALLY, I THINK THE PROJECT, UH, THE CUT AND CAP IS CONTINGENT ON REQUIRING A 25 FOOT DIAMETER TUNNEL BENEATH CESAR CHAVEZ TO GO INTO THE COLORADO RIVER.

I'M CONCERNED ABOUT DISSOLVED OXYGEN.

I'M CONCERNED ABOUT ANY FUNDING BEING ALLOCATED TO A DETENTION POND, TO WATERSHED PROTECTION TO ENSURE THAT THEY CAN, UM, MEET THE WATER QUALITY STANDARDS THAT ARE NECESSARY FOR TCEQ, INCLUDING, UH, NATIONWIDE PERMIT, UM, OUT, UH, SEVEN, WHICH IS AN OUTFALL, UH, INTO THE COLORADO RIVER, ENSURING THAT US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS, UH, IS AWARE OF WHAT I TEXTILE TENDS TO DO.

UM, I'M ALSO REALLY CONCERNED THAT THERE HAS BEEN INADEQUATE FUNDING TO LOOK AT THE BRIDGE, UM, RECONSTRUCTION OVER COLORADO RIVER, UM, IN PARTICULAR NATIONWIDE PERMIT, UM, 14, WHICH HAS TO DO WITH, UH, A 10TH OF AN ACRE, UM, DISTURBANCE OF, UH, WETLANDS, UM, THE WATERSHED OR THE HARPER'S BRANCH, UM, WATERSHED IS BEING DISRUPTED.

THERE'S NEARLY 300 ACRES OF, UH, RAINFALL THAT'LL HAVE TO BE COLLECTED, NOT INCLUDING THE INTERCEPTION OF THE WALNUT CREEK WATERSHED THAT WILL, UM, IT'S MASSIVE, MASSIVE, UH, MASSIVE PROBLEMS IN TERMS OF, UM, THANK YOU SIR.

ANAEROBIC QUALITY, THANK YOU MR. BUNCH.

IT IS, UH, BILL BUNCH, DISTRICT FIVE SPEAKING AS A TAXPAYER VOTER.

UM, I, UH, YOU KNOW, THE IDEA OF CAP AND STITCH, YOU KNOW, WE ALL LOVE THAT, BUT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A PHENOMENAL AMOUNT OF MONEY COMING OUT OF, UH, TAXPAYER DOLLARS, THE GENERAL REVENUE STREAM, UH, TO DO SOMETHING THAT FOR TEXDOT IS A ROUNDING ERROR ON I 35.

Y'ALL SHOULD HAVE DEMANDED THAT T.PAY FOR THIS.

UM, WE DON'T, WE'RE ALREADY PUMPING HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS INTO DOWNTOWN PARKLAND AND OPEN SPACE TO DO THAT AGAIN HERE.

AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, I THINK WE'RE APPROACHING A BILLION DOLLARS.

UH, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING ANNUAL MAINTENANCE ON THIS IS IN THE MANY MILLIONS OF DOLLARS A YEAR FOR, TO GET PEOPLE TO BE ON, YOU KNOW, A BIG CONCRETE SLAB OVER AN INTERSTATE FREEWAY.

UH, WHEN YOU REALLY THINK ABOUT IT, MAKES ALMOST NO SENSE.

UM,

[00:25:01]

AND TO BE THINKING, WE'RE GONNA SPEND HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS AND THEN MANY MILLIONS EVERY YEAR TO MAINTAIN SOMETHING THAT NOBODY'S GONNA WANT TO GO TO.

AND IF THEY KNEW ABOUT THE HEALTH IMPACTS, UH, THEY SHOULD NOT GO TO.

SO THI YOU KNOW, THIS LOOKS GOOD WHEN YOU DON'T REALLY THINK ABOUT IT, IT'S TIME TO STEP BACK.

UH, BE HONEST ABOUT THIS.

IF YOU WANT TO GO FORWARD, GO FORWARD LATER AFTER YOU DO YOUR OWN ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY.

BUT BETTER YET, SAVE THE MONEY, UH, AND JOIN THE LAWSUIT AGAINST TXDOT AGAINST THIS HORRIBLE PROJECT.

THANK YOU, MR. BUNCH.

WE ALSO HAVE YOU REGISTERED ON ITEM 52.

UH, YES.

52 IS YET MORE MONEY FOR CAPTAIN STITCH, UH, $45 MILLION OF CITY FUNDS AND ALSO SEEKING, UH, GRANT FROM THE FEDS TO COVER, UM, YOU KNOW, ANOTHER, UH, IT LOOKS LIKE A 60 MILLION ON TOP OF THAT.

UH, AGAIN, UH, I APPRECIATE THAT YOU'RE POSTING THESE AS SEPARATE ITEMS THAT IS REQUIRED BY THE LAW THAT'S APPROPRIATE, UH, AND LETTING PEOPLE SPEAK TO IT.

UH, MOST OF THE ISSUES DO OVERLAP WITH MY PREVIOUS COMMENTS.

UH, I JUST ADD THAT AGAIN, WE SHOULD BE ASKING, UH, DEMANDING THAT TDOT PAY FOR THIS AND THAT WE ASK THE FEDS FOR GRANTS TO HELP US WITH STUFF THAT WE REALLY NEED AND THAT IT'S A COMMUNITY PRIORITY.

UH, THIS IS NOT IT.

NEXT SPEAKER IS FELICITY MAXWELL ON ITEM 52, FOLLOWED BY SANTIAGO ZA, JUAN.

GOOD MORNING, FELICITY MAXWELL, DISTRICT FIVE RESIDENT OR A BOARD MEMBER.

UH, WE JUST WANNA SHARE OUR APPRECIATION FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN I FUTURES I, OUR FUTURE I 35 TEAM AND THE SUPPORT OF U-S-D-O-T THROUGH THE NEIGHBORHOOD ACCESS AND EQUITY PROGRAM GRANT FOR THE FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF THE CAESAR CHAVEZ TO FOURTH STREET CAP.

UM, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF THIS GRANT.

WE ALSO APPRECIATE THE ADDITIONAL TIME AFFORDED BY TXDOT TO FULLY CONSIDER HOW WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THE EXTENSIVE I 35 CAP AND CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM.

UM, AS WE ENGAGE IN THESE DISCUSSIONS REGARDING ADDITIONAL CO CONSTRUCTION IN THE SPRING, WE'D LIKE TO URGE CITY STAFF, COUNCIL MEMBERS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO WORK DILIGENTLY TO BUILD A CABIN STITCH PROGRAM THAT WORKS FOR CURRENT AND FUTURE CITY OF AUSTIN RESIDENTS AND THOSE MOST IMPACTED BY THIS CONSTRUCTION PROJECT.

WE LOOK FORWARD TO THIS PROCESS AND, AND THE ADDITIONAL WORK THAT WILL BE DONE IN, IN THE SPRING OF 2025.

DIRECTOR OF PARD HAS STEPPED BACK.

SANTIAGO ZWAN, ARE YOU GOING TO SPEAK? YEAH, I APPRECIATE YOU NOT INTERRUPTING ME, SIR.

UM, IT'S MY TIME TO SPEAK AND, UH, YEAH, I JUST WANTED TO READ THE ROOM REAL QUICK IF THAT WAS COOL.

YOU GUYS SEE WHO'S HERE AND SEE IF THERE'S ANY HIGHWAY MEN HERE TO, UM, JUST CHECKING MY BACK, YOU KNOW, UM, .

YEAH, SO, UH, CONTINUE WITH WHERE I WAS TRYING TO SPEAK EARLIER.

UM, IN PARTICULAR WITH REGARDS TO THE LACK OF FOCUS ON THE BRIDGE.

UM, SO BACK IN THE FIFTIES, UH, CITY COUNCIL PASSED, UM, THE EXPANSION OF EAST AVENUE UNDER AN EMERGENCY PROTOCOL THAT SUSPENDED THE CHARTER RULE AND THE REREADING OF, UM, OF THE, THE CONSTRUCTION OF EAST AVENUE US 81 IN A REGIONAL HIGHWAY, WHICH IS NOW KNOWN AS I 35, UM, PUSHED, PUSHED THROUGH.

UM, AT THE TIME THERE'S A LOT OF, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OCCURRING WITH THE, WITH, UH, AUSTIN SAND GRAVEL COMPANY, DREDGING THE COLORADO RIVER.

UM, AND THERE, THERE HAS STILL TO THIS DAY, BENEATH I 35, UH, THERE'S A LACK OF LIGHT PENETRATION.

THERE IS, UH, NO WETLAND THERE WHATSOEVER.

UM, JUST DISREGARD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT.

AND, UM, I'M CURIOUS WHY THIS COUNCIL IS NOT ASKING THOSE QUESTIONS, WHY THEY ARE NOT EMPOWERING WATERSHED TO ASK THOSE QUESTIONS.

WHY, UH, THE DIRECTOR OF WATERSHED HAS STEPPED BACK, WHY THE

[00:30:01]

UM, I'M, I'M CONCERNED THAT THIS COUNCIL AND IN PARTICULAR INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE PRESENT, UH, ARE STRONG ARMING THIS POLICY OR THIS PROPOSAL THROUGH, UM, SECTION SIX F OF THE LAND AND WATER CONSERVATION FUND REQUIRES THAT TXDOT IN THEIR EIS DECLARE A CONVERSION SITE FOR THE PARKLAND THAT IS BEING, UH, CONDEMNED BOTH ON THE WEST SIDE AND ON THE EAST SIDE.

THERE'S SUFFICIENT ENOUGH AREA IN THE RIGHT OF WAY AS EXISTING TO MEET THE DEMANDS OF, UH, TWO RO TWO NEW LANES NORTH AND SOUTH BETWEEN THE 54.

UH, THANK YOU, SIR.

YOUR TIME'S EXPIRED.

MOVING ON TO ITEM 60, WE HAVE MARIA SANCHEZ, FOLLOWED BY CARLOS PINON.

SO PRAXIS AND SHANE JOHNSON, ARE ANY OF YOU HERE DOESN'T APPEAR TO BE, WE HAVE BEIN HATCHER.

ON ITEM 64, WE HAVE JENNY GRAYSON, ITEM 65, MONICA GUZMAN, ITEM 65, MARIO, UH, MARIO CONTU, ITEM 65.

WILLIAM BUNCH YOUR NAME.

IF YOUR NAME'S BEEN CALLED, PLEASE MOVE FORWARD.

MR. BUNCH.

ARE YOU SPEAKING ON 65? PLEASE? GO AHEAD.

MS. GUZMAN, ARE YOU SPEAKING? MS. GUZMAN IS NOT SPEAKING, PLEASE.

YEAH, JUST IDENTIFY YOURSELF FOR THE RECORD, PLEASE.

UH, UH, GOOD MORNING.

MY NAME IS BARON HATCHER SPEAKING ON ITEM 64.

UM, I'M HERE TO REQUEST A FEW WAIVER FOR THE UPCOMING FUNDRAISER SHOW FOR THE AUSTIN ROUNDUP.

AN EVENT THAT BLENDS THE ARTS WITH ESSENTIAL SUPPORT FOR OUR QUEER RECOVERY COMMUNITY.

THE EVENTS MORE THAN A FUNDRAISER, THE ARTS HAVE A UNIQUE ABILITY TO HEAL AND CONNECT, AND THIS SHOW HARNESSES THAT POWER TO SUPPORT THOSE IN RECOVERY.

IT'S A BEACON OF HOPE, FOSTERING HEALING AND CONNECTION THROUGH THE POWER OF THE ARTS.

BY SUPPORTING THIS EVENT, YOU ARE DIRECTLY AIDING THOSE IN RECOVERY AND THE QUEER RECOVERY COMMUNITY AT A TIME WHEN OUR COMMUNITY FACES UNPRECEDENTED ATTACKS, UM, AND CONTINUED ALARMING NUMBERS OF OVERDOSES.

UM, THANK YOU FOR CONSIDERING THIS REQUEST TOGETHER, WE CAN MAKE ME MEANINGFUL IMPACT.

THANKS FOR BEING HERE, MR. BUNCH.

ARE YOU SPEAKING ON 65? HOW PASS HE'S PASSING.

MOVING TO A REMOTE SPEAKER.

FOR ITEM 65, WE HAVE ALEXANDRA ANDERSON.

HELLO, CAN YOU GUYS HEAR ME? YES.

HELLO? YEAH.

OKAY, GREAT.

UM, I HAVE A LIMITED TIME, SO I WANTED TO JUST SPEAK ON A DIFFERENT ITEM.

65, 66, UM, AND 90, WHICH I'M ALL LOOKING FOR COUNSEL TO SUPPORT.

UM, 65 IS DEALING WITH THE CITY MANAGER, UM, UH, APPROVING AND WORKING TOWARDS, UM, THE EXPLORING OPPORTUNITIES TO EXPAND THE FUTURE, UH, PUBLIC ACCESS TO THE COLORADO RIVER.

UM, 66 LOOKING FOR THE CITY MANAGER TO, UM, ALSO APPROVE RESOLUTIONS FOR THE CENTRAL TEXAS REGIONAL MOBILITY AUTHORITY TO REFINE THE PROPOSAL FOR THE MOPAC SOUTH.

AND THEN I'M SPECIFICALLY CALLING AS WELL, UM, FOR THE DESIGNATION OF 1500 EAST 12TH STREET.

SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF MY NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION AT MLK, UM, AS IT TO BE IDENTIFIED AS THE CITY OF AUSTIN HISTORICAL LANDMARK, UM, FOR DECADES, EAST AUSTIN HAS SEEN COUNTLESS DEMOLITIONS AND DISPLACEMENT OF HISTORIC BLACK AND BROWN COMMUNITIES, RACE AND GENERATIONS, THE STORIES AND PEOPLE THAT SHAPED OUR COMMUNITY.

15 EAST 12TH, UH, STREET HAS A LONG LINEAGE OF EAST AUSTIN HISTORIES FROM DAYS WHEN IT WAS DEALING WITH GERMAN, UM, IMMIGRANTS TO RECENTLY FINDING OUT THAT IT WAS A PLACE WHERE, UH, THE FRATERNITY, UH, ALPHA PHI ALPHA HAS MET.

I ASK THAT YOU TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT WHAT REMAINS OF EAST AUSTIN'S BLACK HISTORY.

NEXT SPEAKERS ARE FOR ITEM 66.

WE HAVE JENNY GRAYSON, FOLLOWED BY ADAM GREENFIELD AND MIRIAM SCHOFIELD.

ARE ANY, ANY OF YOU ALL HERE, YOUR NAME'S BEEN CALLED, PLEASE STAND UP SO WE'LL KNOW YOU'RE HERE AND COME FORWARD.

HAS YOUR NAME BEEN CALLED, MA'AM? YEAH.

FEEL FREE TO TAKE THE MICROPHONE ON.

MOPAC SOUTH, UM, EXPANSION.

EITHER WAY.

AYE.

GOOD MORNING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.

ADAM GREENFIELD HERE WITH RETHINK 35.

UH, I'M HERE TO SPEAK STRONGLY IN SUPPORT OF AGENDA ITEM 66, UH, ABOUT THE PROPOSED

[00:35:01]

I, OF COURSE DON'T NEED TO EXPLAIN THIS.

COUNCIL IS ALREADY WELL VERSED IN WHY A HIGHWAY EXPANSION IS NOT, UH, COMPLIANT WITH OUR CITY GOALS.

UH, BUT I'M HERE JUST TO COMPLIMENT THE COUNCIL ON THIS EXCELLENTLY WORDED, UH, RESOLUTION.

UH, I THINK, UH, JUST BEING EXPLICIT ABOUT THIS EXPANSION AND HOW OUR GOALS ARE NOT ALIGNED WITH THAT, I THINK IT'S VERY WELL PUT.

UM, AND ALSO, UH, STRESSING WORKING WITH C-T-R-M-A, UH, A LOT OF ADVOCATES FOR A LONG TIME HAVE BEEN VERY EXCITED ABOUT WORKING WITH THIS AGENCY.

UM, IT'S KIND OF AN UNTAPPED POTENTIAL IN OUR OPINION, AND I THINK THIS COUNCIL, UH, THIS, UH, RESOLUTION SPEAKS BEAUTIFULLY TO THAT.

SO I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT WHAT DOORS THIS MIGHT OPEN.

UM, AND I THINK THIS IS JUST A GREAT, UM, END OF YEAR, UM, NOTE TO END, UH, FOR, FOR MANY OF US, UM, IN THE TRANSPORTATION ADVOCACY FIELD.

SO THANK YOU SO MUCH.

THANK YOU FOR COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS FOR SPONSORING THIS, AND THANK YOU FOR THE COUNCIL FOR SUPPORTING THIS.

GOOD MORNING, MIRIAM SCHOFIELD, ALSO WITH RETHINK 35.

UM, FIRST, YES, I WANNA ECHO THE GRATITUDE FOR THIS RESOLUTION.

IT'S REALLY, REALLY WELL WORDED, THOUGHTFUL, AND, UM, VERY IMPACTFUL.

SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS.

UM, I DON'T THINK, UH, MANY OF YOU NEED CONVINCING THAT HIGHWAY EXPANSIONS IN OUR CITY IS A BAD IDEA.

UM, THEY MAKE THE CITY A WORSE PLACE TO LIVE.

THEY FLY IN THE FACE OF A DOZEN OR SO CITY GOALS AND PLANS.

UM, THEY HARM, THEY SPREAD DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS THAT'S HARMFUL FOR THE CITY, AND THAT'S ECONOMICALLY AND, UH, ENVIRONMENTALLY UNSUSTAINABLE.

IF THERE'S ONE IDEA THAT I REALLY WANNA UNDERSCORE IS THAT THESE PROJECTS ARE NOT JUST BAD, BUT REALLY BAD AND BAD ENOUGH TO PUT OUR FULL WEIGHT BEHIND.

AND THAT'S BECAUSE EVERY SINGLE HIGHWAY EXPANSION THAT WE DO, IT'S LIKE PRESSING A BUTTON THAT SPURS THIS NEGATIVE FEEDBACK LOOP THAT SPIRALS FOREVER.

AND BETH OSBORNE, DIRECTOR OF TRANSPORTATION FOR AMERICA IN A RECENT INTERVIEW, REALLY CAUTIONS US ALL AGAINST ACCEPTING HIGHWAY EXPANSIONS IN EXCHANGE FOR OTHER GOODIES, INCLUDING TRANSPORTATION RELATED GOODIES, BECAUSE SHE SAYS THE MATH DOESN'T WORK OUT.

AND I'LL END WITH JUST ONE REALLY CLEAR EXAMPLE OF THIS.

TAKE A LOOK AT THE PATTERNS IN BARCELONA AND MADRID.

ONE DIFFERENCE AT THAT TIME.

MADRID ALSO BUILT A BUNCH OF HIGHWAYS YEARS LATER.

LOOK TODAY AT THE RIDERSHIP LEVELS OF FOR TRANSIT, MADRID DOESN'T HOLD A CANDLE TO BARCELONA, AND THEY NEVER WILL BECAUSE THE IMPACTS OF THESE PROJECTS ARE LONG LASTING AND FAR REACHING.

SO I REALLY APPRECIATE THE CLARITY IN THIS RESOLUTION, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THE, UM, SUPPORT OF THIS COUNCIL FOR A BETTER TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM FOR AUSTIN AND CENTRAL TEXAS.

WE CAN ADD YEARS TO OUR LIVES BY INCREASING ACCESS TO WALKING BUSES AND BIKES, AND WE DON'T HAVE TO TAKE THEM AWAY BY BUILDING A CITY FOR CARS.

IF YOUR NAME'S BEEN CALLED ON THIS ITEM, PLEASE COME TO THE MICROPHONE.

OKAY, NEXT SET OF SPEAKERS WE HAVE ELIZABETH BURMELL, ISAAC MARTIN, SHAYNA GOLDSMITH, AND JACKSON GL GLUCK.

IF YOUR NAME'S BEEN CALLED AND THE MICROPHONE'S EMPTY, FEEL FREE TO TAKE IT.

IT'S ALL YOURS.

JUST STATE YOUR NAME FOR THE RECORD IS ALL WE ASK.

MY NAME IS ELIZABETH BURMELL.

GOOD MORNING, AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL.

UH, I'M A REGISTERED NURSE IN A BUSY ER IN THE AUSTIN AREA.

I LIVE IN DISTRICT FIVE.

I'M HERE SPEAKING IN FAVOR OF ITEM 66.

DECADES OF RESEARCH ON CITY PLANNING HAVE SHOWN THAT HIGHWAY EXPANSIONS LEAD TO MORE TRAFFIC AND MORE AIR POLLUTION.

THIS IS A PUBLIC HEALTH DISASTER.

A STUDY PUBLISHED IN FEBRUARY OF 2020 SHOWED THAT, UH, AIR POLLUTION CAUSED BY HUMAN ACTIVITIES IS RESPONSIBLE FOR 9 MILLION DEATHS WORLDWIDE.

EVERY YEAR.

SHORT TERM EXPOSURE TO POLLUTION CAN LEAD TO ASTHMA AND COPD EXACERBATIONS SO SEVERE THAT I CANNOT FIX THEM, AND THEY HAVE TO BE HOSPITALIZED.

LONG-TERM EXPOSURE INCREASES DEATH FROM ALL CAUSES.

THIS IS BECAUSE THE PARTICULATE MATTER RELEASED INTO THE AIR IS SO FINE THAT IT CAN BE ABSORBED INTO THE BLOODSTREAM AND INCREASES INFLAMMATION THROUGHOUT THE BODY.

THIS LEADS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF AND PREMATURE DEATH FROM STROKE, HEART ATTACK, ASTHMA, COPD, VARIOUS FORMS OF CANCER AND COMPLICATIONS FROM DIABETES.

PREGNANT WOMEN ARE AT RISK FOR MISCARRIAGE AND STILLBIRTH.

I AM SICK AND TIRED OF WATCHING MY PATIENTS SUFFER AND DIE, AND I AM TIRED OF WATCHING, WOULD-BE PARENTS GRIEVE.

[00:40:02]

WHAT YOU CHOOSE TODAY MATTERS FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND ATTENTION.

UM, JACKSON GLUCK, RESIDENT OF DISTRICT TWO IN AUSTIN, TEXAS.

I'M HERE TO SPEAK FOR, UH, AGAINST, UH, ANY HIGHWAY EXPANSION THAT WE HAVE, ESPECIALLY AS ONE ON 180 3 FOR REASONS THAT HAVE BEEN STATED BY OTHER, UH, BY OTHER MEMBERS OF, OF AUSTIN.

UM, JUST, UH, AS A, AS A USER OF PUBLIC TRANSIT IN AUSTIN, I I REALLY APPRECIATE BEING ABLE TO GET AROUND ON, ON, ON THE BUS AND ON ON MY BIKE.

AND, UH, EXPANDING HIGHWAYS FOR CAR USERS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT, THAT, UM, THAT, THAT ALIGNS WITH WITH MY PERSONAL GOALS.

UH, THANK YOU.

GOOD MORNING.

MY NAME IS SHA GOLDSMITH.

UM, I'M HERE TO THANK COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS CO-SPONSORS AND ALL OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS SUPPORTING ITEM 66.

I'M A RESIDENT OF DISTRICT EIGHT AND A VOLUNTEER WITH RETHINK 35, AND I LIVE CLOSE ENOUGH TO HEAR MOPAC TRAFFIC FROM MY LIVING ROOM.

I'M ALSO A DOCTORAL STUDENT IN THE COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL PLANNING PROGRAM AT UT AUSTIN, WHERE I RESEARCH URBAN TRANSPORTATION POLICY.

I'M HERE TO STATE MY OPPOSITION TO THE CT, TO THE PROJECT THAT C-T-R-M-A HAS PUT FORWARD PLANNING EVALUATION SPECIALISTS DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE PROCESS OF PLANNING PLANS THEMSELVES AND RESULTS.

A SOLID PROCESS WOULD ENTAIL ADEQUATE RESEARCH AND OUTREACH TO HELP OUR COMMUNITY MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS.

C-T-R-M-A HAS USED OUTDATED STUDIES REFUSE TO STUDY AIR QUALITY IMPACTS AND OVERLOOKED IMPORTANT DOWNSTREAM CONSEQUENCES LIKE THE SAFETY OF STUDENTS AND OTHERS WHO WALK AND BIKE AROUND AUSTIN HIGH SCHOOL.

A SOLID PLAN WOULD MAKE C TMAS NEXT STEPS CLEAR AND ITS ACTIONS PREDICTABLE.

YET THIS PLAN GIVES C-T-R-M-A WIDE LATITUDE REGARDING WHETHER AND HOW TO RESPOND TO THESE OPEN QUESTIONS ACCOUNT FOR UNCERTAINTIES AND MITIGATE ADVERSE IMPACTS.

AND FINALLY, SOLID RESULTS WOULD DELIVER OUTCOMES THAT ALIGN WITH OUR VISION FOR A BETTER AUSTIN.

BUT THIS PROJECT WILL DEGRADE AIR QUALITY AND WATER QUALITY AND TAKE A HUGE TOLL ON OUR HEALTH, OUR ENJOYMENT OF BARTON CREEK AND OUR POCKETBOOKS.

AND IT DOES SO IN THE NAME OF A SPECIOUS CLAIM TO PROVIDE A NEGLIGENT AMOUNT OF TIME, TIME, TRAVEL, TIME SAVINGS WITHOUT ACCOUNTING FOR INDUCED TRAVEL AND CONSTRUCTION RELATED DELAYS.

WALLY RECOGNIZED THAT THIS PROJECT MAY DECREASE TRAVEL TIME FOR CAT METRO VEHICLES AND TRANSIT RIDERS.

THE COSTS ARE TOO HIGH.

TO ECHO WHAT MIRIAM SAID A MOMENT AGO, WE CAN'T MAKE PROGRESS BY TAKING ONE STEP FORWARD AND THREE STEPS BACK.

THIS PLAN WILL MAKE LIFE A LOT WORSE FOR ME AND MY NEIGHBORS.

THANK YOU FOR HELPING TO PROTECT AUSTINITES FROM THIS DEVASTATING PROJECT.

NEXT SPEAKER WE HAVE ON ITEM 66 IS MONICA GUZMAN.

I, SHE PASSES BOBBY LEVINSKY, WILLIAM BUNCH, FELICITY MAXWELL, AND ZACH FADI.

GOOD MORNING, FULL CITY MAXWELL D FIVE RESIDENT AUSTIN HIGH SCHOOL PARENT.

THANK YOU TO COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS AND ALL OF THE CO-SPONSORS FOR THIS ITEM REGARDING THE MOPAC SOUTH, UH, PROJECT, PARTICULARLY FOCUSED ON ACHIEVING THE BEST OUTCOMES FOR THIS PROJECT.

WHILE WE UNDERSTAND THE NEED URGENT NEED TO ADDRESS CONGESTION IN SOUTH AUSTIN, WE HAVE REAL CONCERNS ABOUT THE PLANS AS CURRENTLY OUTLINED BY C-T-M-R-A, SPECIFICALLY THE IMPACT TO AUSTIN HIGH SCHOOL SITE AND ACCESS TO AND FROM THE SCHOOL BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER THIS PROJECT.

WE WOULD PARTICULARLY LIKE TO SEE AN EAST WEST TRAFFIC STUDY AND UNDERSTAND HOW PEC MOPAC SOUTH CONSTRUCTION WILL IMPACT LOCAL ROADWAYS AND TRAFFIC PATTERNS.

WE APPRECIATE AUSTIN ISCS ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT IN PAC SOUTH PROJECT AND LOOK FORWARD TO ONGOING ENGAGEMENT WITH C-T-M-R-A TO MAKE THE BEST VERSION OF THIS PROJECT FOR SOUTH AUSTIN, AND SPECIFICALLY THE AUSTIN HIGH COMMUNITY.

ITS STAFF, FAMILIES, AND OF COURSE ITS STUDENTS.

SPRINGS EDWARDS AQUIFER RECHARGE ZONE, UM, IT PUTS NEW PIERS AND, UH, PUTS A LOT OF NEW PAVEMENT AND EXCAVATION WITHIN OUR CREEKS.

COUNCIL MEMBERS, MY NAME IS BOBBY LAVINSKY.

I'M AN ATTORNEY WITH THE SAVE OUR SPRINGS ALLIANCE.

LET ME START BY THANKING COUNCIL MEMBERS ALLISON ALTER, LESLIE POOLE AND MCKENZIE KELLY FOR YEARS OF SERVICE AND HELP ON SO MANY ISSUES OVER THE YEARS.

EACH OF YOU WERE FRIENDS TO THE SAVE OUR SPRINGS ALLIANCE AT TIMES, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, YOU WERE OPEN TO DIALOGUE.

THIS RESOLUTION IS THE RESULT OF SUCH DIALOGUE.

UH, THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP ON THIS.

ITEM 66 IS A RESOLUTION THAT PROVIDES A RESPONSE TO THE RE TO THE PROPOSED MPEC EXPANSION.

UM, THE CURRENT PROPOSAL IS A FOUR LANE EXPANSION WITH ADDITIONAL AUXILIARY LANES.

WE COUNT UP TO SEVEN AT SOME LOCATIONS.

UH, LADY BIRD LAKE WOULD BE 13 LANES.

UM, WHILE THE MOPAC, WHILE MOPAC CERTAINLY NEEDS UPGRADES, IT DOESN'T NEED A LANE EXPANSION PROJECT OF THE SCALE, THE PROJECT WILL HAVE AN ENORMOUS ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT.

MORE LANES LEADS TO MORE CARS, MORE EMISSIONS, WORSENING AIR QUALITY IN OUR REGION, AND THE WATER QUALITY CONCERNS ARE EVEN WORSE.

UM, AS THIS PROJECT, UH, HIGHWAY EXPANSION TRAVERSES AN EIGHT MILE STRETCH OF THE BARTON

[00:45:01]

AND IT'S WITHIN A QUARTER MILE UPSTREAM OF BARTON SPRINGS.

UH, A LOT OF IS BEING TALKED ABOUT, ABOUT THE POST-CONSTRUCTION TREATMENT.

UM, WHILE WE DO NOT BELIEVE THAT THEY COULD REACH A HUNDRED PERCENT TSS, THAT DOESN'T SOLVE THE CONCERN.

A LOT OF THE POLLUTION HAPPENS DURING THE CONSTRUCTION.

A LOT OF THE SEDIMENTATION HAPPENS DURING CONSTRUCTION.

THAT'S A HUGE IMPACT TO THE AUSTIN BLIND AND THE BARTON SPRINGS SALAMANDERS.

SEDIMENTATION WILL, UM, THE, THE DIRT WILL GET INTO, INTO THE BARTON SPRINGS.

IT WILL DAMAGE THEIR GILLS.

IT'LL CAUSE THEIR SUFFOCATION.

IT, IT FILLS IN THE GAPS IN THE ROCKS THAT THEY NEED TO, UM, HIDE FROM PREDATORS AND THEIR SHELTER.

SO IT'S A HUGE IMPACT AND THEY'VE NOT EN ENGAGED WITH, UH, FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICES ON, UH, THE ENDANGERED SPECIES, UH, CONSULTATION.

NOR, UM, IS THIS A PROJECT THAT IT WILL, WILL LEAD TO, UM, NOT AN, UH, A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT FOR THOSE SPECIES.

I MEAN, THIS IS INCREDIBLY CLOSE.

IT'S, IT'S CLOSER THAN ANY OF THE OTHER PROJECTS THAT WE'VE SEEN IN, IN THE RECENT HISTORY.

UM, I'M AVAILABLE FOR COMMENT.

THANK MR COMMENTS, PLEASE.

UH, NEXT SPEAKER, PLEASE.

THANKS, MR. LEVINSKY.

I BELIEVE, UH, MR. VICTOR REED IS GONNA SPEAK ON ITEM 21, I THINK IS, CAN I START, MR. CARGILL? I THINK THERE'S A DIFFERENT SPEAKER.

IF YOUR NAME HAS BEEN CALLED, YOU CAN GO TO THE PODIUM.

ANY SPEAKER? UH, HOWDY.

COUNCIL MEMBER AND MAYOR.

UH, MY NAME IS ZACH FADI.

I'M A RESIDENT OF DISTRICT NINE AND PRESIDENT OF AURA.

UH, I COME TO SPEAK IN FAVOR OF ITEM 66.

UH, HIGHWAYS ARE PRIMARILY A TOOL FOR URBAN SPRAWL.

THEY MAKE OUR CITY AN OBJECTIVELY WORSE PLACE TO LIVE IN ORDER TO FACILITATE SUBSIDIZING PEOPLE TO MOVE OUTSIDE OF OUR CITY AND INTO SUBURBS, PLACES WHERE THEY'RE GOING TO SPEND THEIR, UH, TIME SITTING IN TRAFFIC AND MONEY ON GAS.

YOU'RE TAKING AWAY, UH, TAXABLE LAND IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

YOU'RE CREATING A BEAR MOBILITY TO LIVE AROUND.

IT MAKES PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION HARDER TO IMPLEMENT.

UM, IT GOES AGAINST IT, IT MAKES IT HARDER FOR US TO IMPLEMENT OUR, UH, TRANSIT GOALS, OUR CLIMATE GOALS, OUR POPULATION GROWTH GOALS THAT WE'VE OUTLINED IN, UM, SEVERAL DIFFERENT STUDIES.

I FORGET THE NAMES OF .

UH, THE BEST ARGUMENT FOR HIGHWAY EXPANSION IS THAT WE, UH, IF WE AS A CITY ARE GOING TO REFUSE TO HOUSE OUR POPULATION TO BUILD ENOUGH HOUSING, IF WE ARE GONNA SAY NO TO NEW NEIGHBORS, THEN THE BEST THING WE CAN DO IS FACILITATE THEM BEING ABLE TO COME INTO OUR CITY FOR OUR JOBS.

BUT I THINK THAT THE CITY AND THIS COUNCIL IS IN PLACE WHERE WE, WE ARE READY TO SAY YES TO MORE NEIGHBORS.

WE ARE WILLING TO SAY LIKE, WE CAN HOUSE OUR POPULATIONS HERE IN A SUSTAINABLE, UH, WAY.

THAT THE WAY THAT IS MORE SUSTAINABLE FOR THE CITY, THE ENVIRONMENT, AND FOR THE RESIDENTS THEMSELVES AND PROVIDE BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE.

UM, UH, YEAH, THAT'S WHAT I HAVE TO SAY.

AND MR. GONZALEZ, I THINK I MISSED YOU.

I THINK I, UH, GOT CONFUSED ON WHO WAS NEXT.

SO I THINK IT WAS THIS VICTOR GONZALEZ WAS NEXT.

UH, WE HAVE MR. VICTOR REED ON ITEM 21.

THAT'S WHO IT IS.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

APOLOGIZE.

YOU KNOW WHAT, THANK YOU.

THANK YOU FOR, UH, BEING THE CITY THAT WE ARE.

BUT, UH, IT'S UH, THREE HOUSING PROJECTS.

IT'S, UH, SPRINGDALE, IT'S UH, MESA MANOR AND BOOKER T AND IT'S FOR THE CLOSING OF GIVENS PARK.

YOU KNOW, GIVENS PARK IS GOING TO CLOSE FOR EIGHT MONTHS OR 10 MONTHS, BUT THE PEOPLE HAVEN'T BEEN TALKED TO.

AND AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE NEED TO BE TALKED TO.

HUH? IT IS WHAT IT IS.

YOU KNOW WHAT? I COME WITH YOU.

I COME TO YOU, HUH? THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO LET THE PEOPLE SPEAK ON THE PARK BEFORE YOU CLOSE IT.

BECAUSE , IT IS WHAT IT IS.

YOU KNOW.

UH, I HAVE A, A DAMN THING WITH THE PARK CLOSING.

THERE WAS A FAMILY THING AND THEY GOING TO CLOSE THE PARK FOR WHAT? WITHOUT THE CONVERSATION OF THE PEOPLE, HUH? IT IS WHAT IT IS.

BILL BUNCH.

ITEM 66 BACK ON MOPAC.

UM, ALSO WILL SAVE OUR SPRINGS ALLIANCE.

UH, WE DO SUPPORT THIS RESOLUTION, BUT, UH, IT'S RATHER DISAPPOINTING.

I HAVE TO ADMIT.

IT WON'T MEAN ANYTHING UNLESS YOU FOLLOW IT UP WITH MORE, UH, FORCEFUL

[00:50:01]

ACTION.

I'M DISAPPOINTED THAT THE SPONSORS DIDN'T LAY IT OUT WHAT IT IS AND EDUCATE THE PEOPLE ABOUT WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.

UH, AND SO I'LL TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF MY TIME TO DO THAT.

UNFORTUNATELY, UM, WE FOUGHT THIS PROJECT OFF BACK IN 2015 WHEN OUR TOLL ROAD AGENCY THAT'S UNRESPONSIVE TO OUR VOTERS, UH, TRIED TO BUILD, UM, ADDING FOUR LANES OF MOPAC TWO, UH, TOLL LANES FROM CAESAR CHAVEZ DOWN TO SLAUGHTER LANE.

UM, NOW IT'S BACK.

THEY'RE SAYING IT'S THE SAME THING, BUT IT'S NOT, IT'S WORSE.

UM, WE'RE NOT NOW TALKING ABOUT ADDING SIX TO EIGHT LANES, FOUR OF THEM TOLL TO EACH WAY, UM, FROM CAESAR CHAVEZ TO, UM, SLAUGHTER LANE DOWN THE CENTER LINE OF THE RECHARGE ZONE.

UM, AND WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SPECIFICALLY NOW IS 13 LANES TOTAL WOULD BE ON TOP OF AUSTIN HIGH SCHOOL ON TOP OF LADY BIRD LAKE, UH, ON TOP OF ZILKER PARK, UH, ON TOP OF THE BARTON CREEK GREEN BELT.

UM, THIS IS ENORMOUSLY OFFENSIVE.

UH, THE ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE CAN'T BE OVERSTATED.

UH, THE AIR QUALITY ISSUES THAT YOU HEARD ABOUT EARLIER, UH, I MEAN, WE'RE CONVERTING MOPAC INTO AN INTERSTATE 35 ON TOP OF AUSTIN HIGH SCHOOL WHERE STUDENTS NEED TO STUDY AND BREATHE AND NOT HAVE, UH, PULMONARY, UH, DISEASES.

UM, Y'ALL NEED TO JOIN TRAVIS COUNTY AND DEMANDING THAT C-T-R-M-A END THIS CHARADE, THAT IT'S THE SAME THING FROM BACK THEN AND THEY'RE CONTINUING THE PROCESS FROM 2014 AND THAT THERE BE A FULL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT BASED ON CURRENT DATA.

UM, THANK YOU.

THANK YOU MR. BUNCH.

CURRENT, UH, SCIENCE.

THANK YOU, SIR.

HELLO, I'M ISAAC.

I'M A GRAD STUDENT.

WHAT'S YOUR LAST NAME, PLEASE? IT'S, UH, ISAAC MARTIN.

I BELIEVE HE, YEAH.

YEAH.

SO YEAH, I'M LIVING IN DISTRICT NINE.

I'M SPEAKING IN SUPPORT OF, UH, ITEM 66.

AND I JUST WANTED TO FIRST EXTEND MY THANKS TO THE COUNCIL MEMBER SUPPORTING THIS ITEM, AND IN PARTICULAR TO COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS FOR, UH, HER CONTINUED WORK ON INCREASING MOBILITY IN AUSTIN.

SO THERE ARE, UH, A MYRIAD OF REASONS TO OPPOSE THE ADDITION OF MORE LANES TO MOPAC.

IT WILL POLLUTE OUR AIR, IT'LL EXACERBATE THE HEALTH OF, OF, UH, THOSE LIVING NEAR THE HIGHWAY AND IT WILL WREAK HAVOC ON AN ALREADY FRAGILE ECO ECOSYSTEM, ET CETERA.

UH, SO HOWEVER, IN INSTEAD, I WISH TO HIGHLIGHT THE INTRODUCTION THAT THE INTRODUCTION TO MORE LANES TO MOPAC, IN ADDITION TO CAUSING A SLEW OF HARM THROUGH EXTERNALITIES, UH, FUNDAMENTALLY EXACERBATES THE PROBLEM IT PURPORTS TO SOLVE.

IT DOES NOT FACILITATE EFFICIENT TRANSPORTATION.

SO INDUCED DEMAND BY NOW IS A WELL UNDERSTOOD NETWORK PHENOMENON IN WHICH ADDING MORE CAPACITY TO A NETWORK SLOWS THE FLOW RATE.

AND INDEED TIMES GET LONGER ONE TO TWO YEARS AFTER ALMOST EVERY HIGHWAY EXPANSION IN THE US FOR WHICH DATA IS AVAILABLE.

WE SHOULD EXPECT THAT THIS EXPANSION WILL WORSEN COMMUTE TIMES, UH, AND NOT IMPROVE THEM.

NONETHELESS, THE ADDITION OF MORE LANES DOES, UH, DOES INCREASE THE CAPACITY OF THE ROAD.

SO WE SHOULD, WE SHOULD TALK ABOUT THAT.

SO THE MAXIMUM CAPACITY OF A SINGLE LANE IS OFTEN CITED TO BE 1800 CARS PER HOUR.

MEANING THAT IF I STAND AT WHAT SPOT ON THE HIGHWAY AND COUNT THE CARS AS THEY PASS, I EXPECT THE MAXIMUM NUMBER TO BE 1800.

UM, IN PRACTICE, HOWEVER, UH, BECAUSE OF LANE CHANGES, UM, MERGES AND HEAVEN FORBID CRASHES, THIS NUMBER IS UH, FAR, FAR SMALLER IN PRACTICE.

SO THIS IS, IT'S MUCH CLOSER TO 600 ADDITIONAL CARS PER HOUR, UH, WHEN A SECOND LANE IS ADDED AND THEN SUBSEQUENTLY IT'S FAR LESS THAN THAT FOR EACH ADDITIONAL LANE.

SO MOPAC EXPANSION WON'T SHORTEN INDIVIDUAL COMMUTE TIMES AND IT WILL ADD TRIVIALLY MORE CAPACITY TO AN ALREADY CONGESTED ROAD.

SO THE FOCUS SHOULD INSTEAD BE TO PROVIDE ALTERNATIVE MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION AND TO REFORM ZONING LAWS IN ORDER TO TAKE CARS OFF OF MOPAC.

AND THIS IS THE ONLY WAY TO REDUCE CONGESTION IN THE LONG RUN.

FEEL, UH, THANK YOU CASTLE, UH, AND MAYOR FOR TAKING TIME HERE AND SPEND, YOU KNOW, JUST LISTENING TO US.

UH, I'M ALSO GONNA SPEAK ON 66 BECAUSE I THINK IT'S TOTALLY GLO THE FACT THAT EVERYBODY HERE IS LISTENING.

UH, AND JUST SPEAKING ON, WE'RE NOT ADDING.

UH, SIR, CAN YOU CONFIRM WHAT IS YOUR NAME? JARED FIELD.

YEAH, I'M A RESIDENT HERE OF AUSTIN.

BEEN SO FOR ABOUT SEVEN YEARS.

I DO NOT SEE YOU ON THE, DID YOU REGISTER TO SPEAK SIR? I'M OVER HERE.

WAS YOUR NAME CALLED? UH, NO, BUT I, I AND THEN I'M SORRY, YOU, YOU'RE NOT IN A POSITION TO SPEAK.

WE, WE HAVE A PROCESS, SO I'M GONNA HAVE TO ASK YOU TO LEAVE THE MICROPHONE.

NO SIR.

UH, WE HAVE A PROCESS, SO YOU NEED TO LEAVE THE MICROPHONE.

I BELIEVE THAT CONCLUDES ALL OF THE IN-PERSON SPEAKERS FOR ITEM 66.

YOU NEED TO, YOU NEED TO GO ON.

APPRECIATE YOUR BEING HERE.

WE HAVE ONE REMOTE SPEAKER ON ITEM 66.

WE HAVE JOSEPH.

[00:55:02]

OTHERWISE, YOU'RE DISCONNECTED.

COUNSEL, I'M ZIA JOSEPH AND MAYOR, MAY I ASK A TECHNICAL QUESTION BEFORE I BEGIN? IT'S PART OF YOUR TIME, BUT PLEASE GO AHEAD.

NOT A PROBLEM.

I WAS REGISTERED FOR SEVERAL ITEMS AND I JUST WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT IT DISENFRANCHISES INDIVIDUALS WHO MAY USE THE LIBRARY PHONE NUMBER, WHO MAY ALSO USE GOODWILL'S PHONE BECAUSE YOU CANNOT RECEIVE PHONE CALLS FROM THOSE NUMBERS.

SO IT IS DISINGENUOUS FOR THE PERSON WHO IS ACTUALLY MANNING THE PHONES TO ACTUALLY DISCONNECT THE SPEAKERS.

YOU HAVE A WAY TO ACTUALLY LOOK AT THE CALLER ID.

YOU'VE CALLED PEOPLE BACK BEFORE AND SO I WOULD JUST ASK YOU TO RECOGNIZE THE NEED TO BE EQUITABLE AND TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE HAS AN OPPORTUNITY, ESPECIALLY OUR UNHOUSED INDIVIDUALS IN THE CITY TO CALL IN REMOTELY.

I JUST WANNA SAY SPECIFICALLY AS IT RELATES TO THIS PROJECT, CONNECT MOPAC SOUTH.

IT REFERENCES OPEN HOUSE NUMBER SIX, UH, CENTRAL TEXAS REGIONAL MOBILITY AUTHORITY.

AND I JUST WANNA REMIND PAGE ELLIS, THAT PROJECT CONNECT IS UNDERGIRDED BY CAPRI MAP.

THE JUNE 3RD, 2018 52 ROUTE CHANGES.

THE BUS RUNS EMPTY 2.9 BOARDINGS AN HOUR ON CONVICT HILL, AND SHE HAS BEEN SILENT, RESPECTFULLY MAYOR, THAT IS WHAT WHITE PRIVILEGE LOOKS LIKE.

2.9 BOARDINGS AN HOUR IN THE WATERSHED RESTRICTED AREA.

WHEN THEY WANTED TO PUT THE HOMELESS ON CONVICT HILL, THERE WAS OPPOSITION.

I AM OPPOSED TO THIS PROJECT BECAUSE IT REFERENCES PROJECT CONNECT AND SPECIFICALLY THE SYSTEM IS INEQUITABLE.

SO MY COMMENTS, AS THEY ALWAYS ARE, ARE IN THE CONTEXT OF TITLE VI OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964, WHICH PROHIBITS DISCRIMINATION BASED ON RACE, COLOR, OR NATIONAL ORIGIN.

BLACK PEOPLE IN NORTHEAST AUSTIN ARE STILL WAITING 60 MINUTES FOR THE BUS.

AND OUR UNHOUSED NEIGHBORS ARE THOSE WHO ARE FORMALLY UNHOUSED ON ROUTE 2 37 AT COMMUNITY FIRST VILLAGE.

WAIT 60 MINUTES IN WHEELCHAIRS, TWO HOURS WHEN A BUS ROUTE GETS CANCELED.

SO THE SYSTEM IS INEQUITABLE.

I WOULD ASK PAIGE EL TO STOP, BURY HER HEAD IN THE SAND AND RECOGNIZE THE NEED TO MAKE THE YOUR, YOUR EXPIRED.

WE HAVE ONE SPEAKER THAT WAS CALLED EARLIER, MICHAEL CARGILL ON ITEM EIGHT.

ARE YOU HERE? YES.

GOOD MORNING COUNSEL.

MAYOR MICHAEL CARGILL.

THERE WE GO.

THERE YOU ARE.

UM, OWNER OF CENTRAL TEXAS GUN WORK.

I'M TALKING ON ITEM EIGHT AND THE REASON I'M HERE IS BECAUSE, UM, I DON'T THINK YOU GUYS ARE AWARE THAT WE ACTUALLY HAVE A, A PROCEDURE FOR HANDLING WITH SUICIDES IN GUN STORES AND ALSO GUN RANGES.

SO I WANT TO GIVE YOU, UH, GUYS A LITTLE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, ABOUT WHAT WE DO.

UM, ALSO IT WOULD BE NICE WHEN WE'RE DISCUSSING FIREARMS, IF YOU ACTUALLY CAN INVITE SOMEONE FROM THE GUN COMMUNITY HERE TO DISCUSS IT WITH YOU.

UH, SO SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO, UM, AND BY THE WAY, WHEN A PERSON WALKS INTO A GUN STORE AND THEY'RE DEAD SET ON COMMITTING SUICIDE, IT'S ALREADY TOO LATE TO GIVE THEM A TELEPHONE NUMBER TO CALL.

UM, UNLESS YOU'RE GONNA PUT TELEPHONE NUMBERS ON THE OVERPASSES OF I 35, UH, SO THEY CAN CONTACT SOMEONE BEFORE THEY JUMP, I THINK THAT'S USELESS.

BUT WHAT WE DO DO IN THE GUN STORE IS WE WORK WITH FAMILY MEMBERS.

UM, THEY ACTUALLY CONTACT US.

WE COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER AS GUN OWNERS, GUN STORE OWNERS TO MAKE SURE THAT PERSON DOES NOT GET A FIREARM.

AND WE ALSO CONTACT LAW ENFORCEMENT SO THEY CAN BE ARRESTED AND ALSO GET SOME TYPE OF MENTAL ASSISTANCE.

WE ALSO HAVE A PROCEDURE WHERE IF YOU WALK INTO A GUN STORE OR A GUN RANGE, UM, IN THE AUSTIN AREA AND A PERSON WALKS IN BY THEMSELVES, YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO ACTUALLY SHOOT AT THE GUN RANGE IF YOU ARE JUST ALONE.

YOU HAVE TO COME THROUGH THE GUN RANGE WITH SOMEONE ELSE.

SO ONE PERSON WALKING IN BY THEMSELF, NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO RENT A GUN AND ACTUALLY SHOOT OR ATTEMPT TO COMMIT SUICIDE.

ALSO, WE HAVE A PROCEDURE IN THE GUN STORES WHERE WE HAVE A SYSTEM SET UP SO THAT IF A PERSON WALKS IN AND THEY'RE BUYING A FIREARM AND THEY'RE EXHIBITING SOME TYPE OF BEHAVIOR OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THERE'S ANY QUESTION ABOUT THAT, WE HAVE A SYSTEM WHERE WE LOG INTO AND CHECK THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS TO SEE IF THERE'S SOMETHING GOING ON WITH THIS INDIVIDUAL.

IF WE SEE SOMETHING, WE DETECT SOMETHING, THEN WE NOTIFY ALL THE OTHER GUN STORES AND WE DON'T SELL THAT PERSON A FIREARM.

LIKE I SAID BEFORE, BEFORE YOU DECIDE TO DISCUSS ANYTHING THAT HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH FIREARMS, IT REALLY BE NICE IF YOU GUYS COULD CONTACT SOMEONE IN A GUN COMMUNITY SO WE CAN EDUCATE YOU AND TELL YOU WHAT WE DO IN A GUN STORE.

AS ALWAYS, MORE GUNS EQUALS LESS CRIME GO OUT THEN BUY YOURSELF A GUN.

NEXT SPEAKER IS ON ITEM 57.

WE HAVE FELICITY MAXWELL.

SHE'S PASSING.

THEN THE NEXT SPEAKER WE HAVE IS A REMOTE SPEAKER ON ITEM ONE 30 ZENOBIA JOSEPH.

THANK YOU MAYOR COUNSEL, I'M ENOVIA JOSEPH.

MAYOR, I'M TOTALLY

[01:00:01]

CONFUSED.

I REALLY DON'T KNOW WHICH ITEMS YOU REALLY WANT ME TO SPEAK ON.

SOME PEOPLE HAVE BEEN SPEAKING OUT OF TURN BECAUSE THEY WERE CALLED PREVIOUSLY.

WE, WE, WE HAD ONE PERSON 39, I DON'T HAVE ONE 30 IN FRONT OF ME.

SO I JUST WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT AS IT RELATES TO THE LEGISLATIVE AGENDA, SPECIFICALLY THE FEDERAL LAW AND STATE LAW PROHIBIT YOU USING FE, THE GOVERNMENT, THE PUBLIC FUNDS FOR PROPAGANDA.

AND I JUST WANNA READ SPECIFICALLY, UM, SOME INFORMATION WHEN YOU LOBBIED FOR HOUSE AGAINST HOUSE BILL 3 8 9 9 THAT WAS RELATING TO THE ISSUANCE OF BONDS BY CERTAIN LOCAL GOVERNMENT CORPORATIONS.

AND YOU HAVE PROJECT CONNECT AGAIN IN THE LEGISLATIVE AGENDA AND SPECIFICALLY YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO USE THOSE FUNDS.

ARTICLE 13 TAX MATTERS DISSOLUTION SPECIFIES IN A ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION 5 0 1 C3 OF THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE OF 1986.

AND THIS IS AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP SHALL NOT DIRECT ANY OF ITS ACTIVITIES TO ATTEMPTING TO INFLUENCE LEGISLATION BY PROPAGANDA OR OTHERWISE.

SO I'M NOT REAL SURE WHY IT IS THAT YOU THINK THAT YOU CAN'T BE NEUTRAL ON THESE ITEMS WHEN THEY GO BEFORE THE LEGISLATURE.

PUBLIC LAW 1 1 16 DASH 9 3 100 16TH CONGRESS SPECIFIES, AND THIS IS THE APPROPRIATIONS ACT OF 2020 THAT YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO USE ANY FUNDS DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY INCLUDING BY PRIVATE CONTRACTOR FOR PUBLICLY PUBLIC PROPAGANDA OR PUBLICITY.

AND SO AGAIN, I'M REALLY NOT SURE HOW IT IS THAT YOU THINK IT'S OKAY TO USE OUR PUBLIC DOLLARS TO LOBBY AGAINST THOSE OF US WHO ARE IN OPPOSITION TO THIS INEQUITABLE LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM.

I WILL TRY TO FIND ONE 30 IF MY TIME DOESN'T ELAPSE, BUT IT IS PRETTY CONFUSING THE WAY YOU ARE RUNNING THIS MEETING TODAY.

THAT'S THE APA FUNDING FOR SHELTERS AND I'M IN OPPOSITION TO THAT BECAUSE YOU'RE WAREHOUSING THE NEGROES IN SOUTHEAST AUSTIN.

YOU SPENT OVER $20 MILLION AT THE ARCH AND $16 MILLION HERE.

THANK YOU MS. JOSEPH.

I WOULD ASK YOU TO BE TRANSPARENT ABOUT HOW MUCH THE APA FUNDS ARE REMAINING AND TO ALLOW THE COMMUNITY TO DECIDE HOW JOSEPH, HOW TO USE THAT MONEY.

MR. JOSEPH, WE ALSO HAVE YOU REGISTERED TO SPEAK ON ITEM 1 31, WHICH IS THE ITEM WE ARE ON NEXT.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SPEAK ON 1 31? SURE.

ITEM 1 31 IS THE MARSHALING YARD SPECIFICALLY.

AND I JUST WANTED TO STATE MY OPPOSITION TO THAT ITEM BECAUSE IF YOU PUT THE ARCH AS WELL AS THE MONEY THAT'S BEING ALLOCATED HERE AT $6,750,000 OVER $1 MILLION A MONTH FOR CONTEXT, I WANT YOU TO UNDERSTAND IT WAS $4.7 MILLION TO RUN THE METRO RAPID BETWEEN SAMSUNG AND APPLE THREE HEBS.

IF PEOPLE COULD GET TO THE JOBS, THEY MAY NOT NEED THE MARSHALING YARD TO BE OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND, THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO SUSTAIN THEMSELVES BECAUSE THEY'D BE ABLE TO GET TO WORK.

YOU ARE MAKING THEM DEPENDENT.

THIS IS NOT SUSTAINABLE.

$20 MILLION FOR THE ARCH TO APPEASE DOWNTOWN WHITE BUSINESS OWNERS IS NOT THE BEST USE OF FUNDING.

AND I WOULD JUST POINT YOU TO DAVID GRAY, SEPTEMBER 4TH, 2024 WHEN HE TOLD YOU THAT RAPID REHOUSING WAS NOT A GOOD STRATEGY, BUT YET YOU KEEP THROWING MONEY AT THE MARSHALING YARD, WHICH WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A SIX MONTH TEMPORARY STATE.

PEOPLE CAN'T GET TO WORK, MAYOR, NOT WITH THREE VANS.

SO PLEASE DON'T LISTEN TO THIS FALSE NARRATIVE THAT MR. GRAY IS TELLING YOU ABOUT THEM FEEDING THE PEOPLE AND GETTING THEM TO WORK.

I DON'T THINK YOU COULD GET TO WORK IF YOU HAD THREE VANS WITH 300 PEOPLE EACH DAY.

SO I'M NOT SURE HOW MUCH MONEY IS REMAINING FROM THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT, BUT I WOULD ASK YOU TO BE TRANSPARENT AND FOR THE FINANCIAL SERVICES STAFF TO ACTUALLY JUST TELL THE PUBLIC TRANSPARENTLY BECAUSE YOU KEEP FINDING THESE DOLLARS.

BUT YET THE PROBLEM REMAINS.

AND I WOULD ASK YOU TO PUT SOME OF THE HOMELESS PEOPLE IN WEST AUSTIN TOO BECAUSE THE BUSES RUN FREQUENTLY IN SOUTHEAST AND SOUTHWEST AUSTIN AND YOU'RE NOT AFFIRMATIVELY FURTHERING FAIR HOUSING, WHICH ALSO PER WHICH ALSO VIOLATES THE FAIR HOUSING ACT OF 1968.

AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'LL GLADLY ANSWER THEM AT THIS TIME, BUT THIS IS CONFUSING TRYING TO CALL INTO THESE MEETINGS.

WE HAVE, UH, NEXT SPEAKER IS ON ITEM 1 38, FELICITY MAXWELL.

HI, FELICITY MAXWELL, UH, DISTRICT FIVE RESIDENT OR A BOARD MEMBER.

WE WANTED TO SHARE OUR FULL SUPPORT FOR THIS ITEM BROUGHT BY FORWARD BY COUNCIL MEMBER VILLA AND APPRECIATE THE SUPPORT FOR THE FELLOW CO CO-SPONSORS.

UH, DIGITAL SIGNAGE AND WAYFINDING ARE CRITICAL TO IT.

ENHANCING THE TRANSIT EXPERIENCE FOR RIDER AND USERS AND SUCH SIGNAGE HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY ROLLED OUT IN CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

CREATING A NEW PROGRAM TO THOUGHTFULLY EXPAND DIGITAL SIGNAGE IN AUSTIN ALONG TRANSIT CORRIDORS IS A NATURAL NEXT STEP TO IMPROVING HOW COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND VISITORS INTERACT WITH OUR TRANSIT

[01:05:01]

AGENCIES LIKE CAP METRO.

WE APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT FOR THIS ITEM AND LOOK FORWARD TO ENGAGING IN THE COMMUNITY PROCESS.

THAT CONCLUDES ALL THE CONSENT SPEAKERS.

UM, MEMBERS, AS YOU'VE HEARD THAT, IT CONCLUDES ALL THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON THE CONSENT AGENDA.

AGAIN, THE ITEMS THAT HAVE BEEN PULLED ARE ITEMS 2 38 AND 57.

UM, I WILL, THE, THE PROCESS THAT, UH, I THINK WE OUGHT TO FOLLOW IS TAKE A, UH, GET A MOTION ON THE CONSENT AGENDA, UH, AND THEN WE'LL HAVE, UH, DISCUSSION AND ANY, UH, ACTIVITY RELATED TO THAT.

BUT ARE THERE ANY OTHER ITEMS THAT SOMEONE WOULD LIKE TO PULL FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA? ALRIGHT, IN THAT CASE, UH, I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION.

THE MOTION IS MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON ALTER.

UH, IT IS SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER CADRY TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS READ MEMBERS, I'LL NOW GO TO, UH, WE, WE WILL NOW HAVE DISCUSSION ON THE CONSENT AGENDA.

AND, UH, IS THERE ANYONE THAT WISHES TO BE RECOGNIZED FOR DISCUSSION? COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON ALTER.

GOOD, MOR.

GOOD MORNING.

UM, BEFORE I MAKE MY REMARKS, UM, I DID REQUEST ON THE MESSAGE BOARD TO BE ADDED AS A CO-SPONSOR FOR ITEM NUMBER 67 RELATED TO RALLY AUSTIN AND THE PDC AN ITEM FROM COUNCIL MEMBER VELA.

I DIDN'T HEAR THAT.

UM, THAT WE HAVE, IT WAS NOT A PART OF THE CONSENT, UH, PART OF THE CHANGES AND CORRECTIONS THAT I RECEIVED.

SO, UH, WITHOUT OBJECTION, COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON ALTER WILL BE SHOWN AS A CO-SPONSOR OF THOSE TWO ITEMS, AND I WOULD LIKE TO ADD, UH, $250 TOWARDS THE FEE WAIVER FOR ITEM 64 FOR THE ASTON ROUNDUP.

WITHOUT OBJECTION, WE'LL TAKE HER MONEY.

UM, SO THERE'S A LOT OF REALLY IMPORTANT AND BIG ITEMS ON THIS AGENDA, SOME OF WHICH WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT FOR A LONG TIME, LIKE THE NORTHEAST SERVICE CENTER.

THAT'S JUST ONE EXAMPLE.

UM, AND I WANNA SPEAK THOUGH BRIEFLY TO TWO ITEMS. UM, I'M REALLY GLAD TO SEE ITEM 17 ON THE AGENDA, WHICH INFLUENCED MY, MY COLLEAGUES' RESOLUTION EARLIER THIS YEAR TO ADD THE DIVERSITY AND CHAMBER DIVERSITY AND ETHNIC CHAMBER ALLIANCE, DECA SMALL BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY SUMMIT TO THE LIST OF CITY CO-SPONSORED EVENTS.

THIS ACTION DEMONSTRATES OUR CONTINUED COMMITMENT TO SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS, AND ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO MAY FACE SIGNIFICANT BARRIERS WHEN IT COMES TO EQUITY AND OPPORTUNITY.

I WANNA HIGHLIGHT HOW CRUCIAL THE WORK OF DECA IS TO OUR SMALL BUSINESS LANDSCAPE AND HOW DECA PLAYS A SIGNIFICANT ROLE ENSURING THIS LANDSCAPE WILL THRIVE AND REFLECT THE DIVERSITY OF OUR COMMUNITY IN THE COMING MONTH OR SO, COLLEAGUES, UM, DECA WILL RELEASE THE REGIONAL ECONOMIC EQUITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN OR THE REED PLAN, AND I WANNA INVITE EACH OF YOU TO SUPPORT ITS SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION IN THE YEARS TO COME.

SECOND, I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE A MOMENT TO HIGHLIGHT, UH, NUMBER 65.

THIS IS AN ITEM THAT I SPONSOR TO EXPLORE OPPORTUNITIES TO EXPAND FUTURE PUBLIC ACCESS TO THE COLORADO RIVER WATERFRONT, ESPECIALLY, UM, BELOW THE LONGHORN DAM.

THANK YOU TO MY CO-SPONSORS, COUNCIL MEMBERS, RYAN ALTER FUENTES AND VELASQUEZ EXPANDING PUBLIC ACCESS TO THE COLORADO RIVER THROUGH LAND ACQUISITION, PARKLAND DEDICATION AND TRAILS EASEMENTS IS A RECOMMENDATION FROM OUR PARKS, OUR FUTURE AUSTIN PARKS AND RECREATION LONG RANGE PLAN.

THE CITY OF AUSTIN ITSELF OWNS SEVERAL PROPERTIES ALONG THE COLORADO RIVER, AND THIS ITEM ALSO ASKS THE CITY TO PRIORITIZE ANALYSIS OF THOSE OPPORTUNITIES ON CITY OWNED LAND.

THIS IS PART OF A LARGER EFFORT AND OTHER ACTIONS THAT'LL BE COMING TO COUNCIL RELATED TO THE AREAS ALONG THE COLORADO RIVER THAT ARE DOWNSTREAM OF THE LONGHORN DAM.

AND I HOPE THAT THIS RESOLUTION HELPS TO CONTINUE THAT WORK.

I'LL NOT BE HERE ON THE DIOCESE WHEN STAFF REPORTS BACK ON THIS ITEM NEXT YEAR, BUT I KNOW THAT THIS EFFORT WILL BE LEFT INCAPABLE HANDS.

COUNCIL MEMBER VELA, FOLLOWED BY COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON.

I JUST WANTED TO, UH, UH, BE ADDED AS A CO-SPONSOR TO, UH, ITEM, UH, NUMBER 66.

WITHOUT OBJECTION, COUNCIL MEMBER VALA WILL BE SHOWN AS A CO-SPONSOR OF ITEM NUMBER 66.

IN OUR RIGHT TO OWN FIREARMS, AS MANY OF YOU PROBABLY KNOW, BUT I DO BELIEVE THAT THIS ORDINANCE IS AN EXTRA STEP THAT WE CAN TAKE TO ENSURE THAT PEOPLE KNOW THAT THERE ARE OTHER OPTIONS THAN USING THOSE FIREARMS TO END THEIR LIVES.

COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, FOLLOWED BY COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON, EXCUSE ME.

AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS.

THANK YOU, MAYOR AND COLLEAGUES.

YOU KNOW, AS I SIT UP HERE AT MY LAST COUNCIL MEETING OF MY TERM, UM, I'M REMINDED AGAIN OF SOMETHING I TALKED ABOUT ON TUESDAY, WHICH IS THE SPEED OF GOVERNMENT.

AND ONE OF THE ITEMS HERE BEFORE US IS IN ORDINANCE.

IT'S ITEM NUMBER EIGHT, RELATED TO, UM, POSTING SIGNAGE FOR SUICIDE AWARENESS AT ARCHERY RANGES AND GUN RANGES.

AND THAT ITEM TOOK A YEAR TO COME BACK TO US, AND I WANT TO THANK STAFF FOR THEIR DILIGENT WORK ON THAT ITEM.

UM, I KNOW THAT OFTENTIMES, EVEN PROBABLY FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE HERE IN CHAMBERS, IT MAY FEEL LIKE GOVERNMENT IS REALLY SLOW, BUT IT'S, IT'S SLOW FOR A REASON.

AND IT IS A GREAT HONOR TO BE HERE IN MY LAST COUNCIL MEETING TO APPROVE THIS ORDINANCE WITH THE REST OF MY COLLEAGUES, TO BUTTON UP SOME OF THE GREAT WORK THAT WE DID OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS.

AND SO, I FIRMLY BELIEVE

[01:10:01]

AND SO I'M, I'M GRATEFUL THAT THAT WILL PASS TODAY, AND I APPRECIATE MY COLLEAGUES FOR THEIR SUPPORT ON THAT ITEM.

COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON, FOLLOWED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS, AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE.

THANK YOU MR. MAYOR.

I APPRECIATE IT.

UM, SPEAKING TO THE CONSENT AGENDA ON ITEM NUMBER 44, I AM PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT WE HAVE TWO NEW COMMUNITY MEMBERS JOINING THE RANKS OF OUR OVER 62 BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS WHERE COMMUNITY MEMBERS GET TO DIRECTLY IMPACT WHAT COUNCIL MEMBERS DO BY WAY OF THEM WEIGHING IN ON OUR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.

SO THANK YOU AND WELCOME.

UH, WE APPRECIATE YOUR SERVICE, CATALINA BERRY AND JODY MO SIKA.

UM, THE CDC IS CALLED THE ROSEWOOD COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.

THAT'S, UH, THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR THE MILLENNIUM YOUTH ENTERTAINMENT COMPLEX, WHICH MIGHT SOUND MORE FAMILIAR TO FOLKS.

ITEM NUMBER 61 IS A PART OF A SUITE OF CONSIDERATIONS, UM, REGARDING SUCCESSION PLANNING AND AN INITIATIVE THAT TEAM D ONE BROUGHT FORWARD EARLIER THIS YEAR.

UM, AS SOME OF MY OUTGOING COLLEAGUES CAN MOST ESPECIALLY ATTEST TO.

FOUR YEARS GOES BY FAST.

AND IF WHAT YOU'RE DOING AS A NEW MEMBER OF COUNCIL IS SPENDING YOUR FIRST COUPLE OF YEARS GETTING ACCLIMATED, FIGURING OUT WHAT IT IS THAT YOU NEED IN A STAFF, THEN OUR CONSTITUENTS LOSE THAT TWO YEARS, FRANKLY, UM, BY WAY OF HAVING AN EFFECTIVE COUNCIL MEMBER WHO'S READY ON DAY ONE.

UH, IT IS MY ABSOLUTE OPINION, AND BY WAY OF BEST PRACTICES THAT, UM, A CONCERTED EFFORT AND REAL STRATEGIC SUCCESSION PLANNING PROTOCOL CAN HELP TO GET COUNCIL MEMBERS READY FASTER.

UM, IF WE ARE DOING THIS RIGHT, THEN THIS BODY CONSISTS OF A DIVERSE GROUP OF FOLKS, UM, WITH DIVERSE LIVED EXPERIENCES, AND NOT EVERYBODY'S GONNA COME IN, YOU KNOW, HAVING PREPARED TO SERVE ON AN ELECTED BODY DAY ONE.

AND WE DON'T WANT THEM TO, FRANKLY, UM, THEY DON'T REPRESENT THE COMMUNITY IF THAT'S THE CASE.

THAT SAID, DISCONTINUING EDUCATION AND COLLEGE CREDIT FOR KNOWLEDGE ACQUIRED ITEM THAT WE'RE BRINGING FORWARD, UM, IS AN ATTEMPT TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT THE FOLKS COMING IN HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY BY WAY OF THE UNIQUE SET OF SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE THAT YOU ACQUIRE HERE IN THE COPPER BUILDING.

UM, AND SERVE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UM, IS MET WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO ADVANCE YOUR DEGREE OR, OR RECEIVE ONE FOR THE FIRST TIME.

UM, IN THEORY, A COUNCIL MEMBER CAN COME IN, YOU KNOW, ON DAY ONE AND, AND LEAVE THIS ROLE, UH, WITH A DEGREE OF SOME SORT, UM, WHICH I THINK IS BENEFICIAL TO THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE.

WE'RE VERY FORTUNATE THAT WE HAVE ONE OF THE NATION'S HBCU AND HOUSTON TILTON UNIVERSITY, AUSTIN'S OLDEST INSTITUTION FOR EDUCATION IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, ALSO ONE OF THE HIGHEST RANKING PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES, AND SO MANY MORE EDUCATIONAL PARTNERS WITHIN AUSTIN CITY LIMITS.

IT IS MY HOPE WITH THIS INITIATIVE THAT CITY LEADERS, CITY EMPLOYEES, MEMBERS OF OUR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ARE ENCOURAGED TO FURTHER THEIR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, UM, SO THAT WE NOT ONLY RETAIN OUR TALENTED WORKFORCE, BUT ALSO EMPOWER THEM, UH, BY EQUIPPING OUR, OUR STAFF, UM, AND COMMISSIONERS AND LEADERS WITH MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.

WE'RE SETTING UP OUR CITY FOR EVEN GREATER SUCCESS, UM, AROUND OUR EFFORTS TOWARDS INNOVATION AND LEADERSHIP CAPABILITIES.

SO, THANK YOU TO MY FELLOW SPONSORS AND OUR EDUCATION PARTNERS WHO HAVE WORKED WITH MY OFFICE AND THE CITY MANAGER TO MOVE THIS ITEM FORWARD.

AGAIN, THANK YOU MR. MAYOR, AND TO MY COLLEAGUES FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT AND EVERYBODY WHO'S WORKING TOWARDS, UH, REAL COMPREHENSIVE, UM, THOUGHTFUL APPROACHES TO SUCCESSION PLANNING.

I THINK IT'S, IT'S CRITICAL IN NATURE.

UM, SO THANK YOU.

THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER.

COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS, FOLLOWED BY COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE, AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER VELASQUEZ.

ON ITEM NUMBER 66, I WANNA EXTEND MY SINCERE APPRECIATION TO THE ADVOCATES FOR COMING OUT TODAY AND TO SPEAK IN SUPPORT OF THIS ITEM.

A NUMBER OF THEM PROVIDED REALLY HELPFUL FEEDBACK AND COMMENTS AS WE WORKED WITH OUR CO-SPONSORS TO, TO DRAFT THIS ITEM.

UH, THE SOUTH MOPAC PROJECT OVERLAPS MANY AREAS OF DISTRICT EIGHT THAT ARE PART OF THE PROJECT CONNECT SYSTEM, THE YBC TRAIL, VIOLET CROWN TRAIL, SOUTH AUSTIN TRAIL NETWORK, AND MANY SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL PROJECTS AND OTHER MULTIMODAL OPTIONS.

I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE LEVERAGE EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO SUPPORT OUR MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM.

UM, A LOT OF THESE PROJECTS HAVE BEEN SUPPORTED BY AUSTIN VOTERS AND ARE USED BY PEOPLE EVERY DAY IN SOUTHWEST AUSTIN.

THE RMA DOES HAVE SOURCES OF FUNDING AVAILABLE THAT I BELIEVE ARE MORE CREATIVE AND ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY THAN WHAT YOU TYPICALLY SEE FOR HIGHWAY PROJECTS.

THEY CARE A LOT ABOUT SHARED USE PATHWAYS AND HAVE BEEN REALLY RECEPTIVE TO TALKING TO ME IN MY OFFICE AND, UM, HEARING OUR FEEDBACK ALONG THE WAY

[01:15:01]

ON, ON THIS PROJECT.

UM, BUT WE DO NEED THEM TO BE MINDFUL OF THE IMPACTS OF INDUCING MORE TRAFFIC AND THESE SENSITIVE ENVIRONMENTAL AREAS.

UM, THERE, I KNOW A ISD, IT WAS MENTIONED BY ONE OF OUR SPEAKERS THAT THEY HAVE, UM, A VESTED INTEREST IN AS WELL IN TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT THE, THE SCHOOL TRAFFIC PATTERNS AND SOME OF THE OTHER MOBILITY ISSUES THAT HAPPEN WITH A ISD ARE GONNA BE FULLY ADDRESSED, UM, THROUGH THIS PROJECT.

AND SO I WANNA THANK EVERYONE FOR COMING OUT TODAY TO SPEAK IN SUPPORT.

I'M REALLY EXCITED THAT THIS RESOLUTION APPEARS THAT IT WILL PASS.

UM, AND I WANNA THANK MY CO-SPONSORS FOR THEIR INPUT AS WELL.

AND THAT'S RYAN ALTER.

ALLISON ALTER, ZOE CADRY, JOSE VELASQUEZ, AND NOW CHIEF VELA APPRECIATE YOU, UH, JUMPING IN AS CO-SPONSOR.

AND I ALSO WANTED TO ADD SOME OF THE FEE WAIVER DOLLARS.

I BELIEVE ITEM NUMBER 64 HAS ONLY $110 LEFT SINCE ALISON ALTER ADDED SOME FUNDS TO THAT FEE WAIVER.

SO I WOULD LIKE TO ADD IN THAT REMAINING AMOUNT, AND THEN I'LL JUST MATCH IT FOR ITEM 63.

I KNOW THEY HAVE MORE MONEY THEY NEED, UM, THAN WE HAVE TO CONTRIBUTE, BUT THAT $110 SHOULD HOPEFULLY HELP THEM A LITTLE BIT MORE.

UM, THAT'S ALL I'VE GOT, MAYOR.

GREAT, THANK YOU.

AND WITHOUT OBJECTION, UM, THE, THE MONEY WILL BE ADDED FROM COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS ON THOSE TWO ITEMS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

UH, COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE FOLLOWED BY COUNCIL MEMBER VELASQUEZ, AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTER.

UM, I JUST WANTED TO THANK, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON AND ITEM 61.

UH, I REMEMBER RIGHT WHEN I GOT ELECTED, UH, WE HAD A DISCUSSION IN ABOUT THIS CONCEPT, UH, THAT YOU BROUGHT UP.

UH, SO I, I APPRECIATE YOUR LEADERSHIP ON IT, AND I'D LIKE TO BE ADDED AS A, AS A CO-SPONSOR.

WITH THAT OBJECTION, COUNCIL MEMBER ERY WILL BE SHOWN AS A CO-SPONSOR OF ITEM NUMBER 61.

THAT'LL TAKE US TO COUNCIL MEMBER VELASQUEZ, FOLLOWED BY COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTER.

UH, THANK YOU, MAYOR.

SORRY, I WAS JUST GONNA SCREAM ON, I MEAN, 'CAUSE I KNOW THEY CAN HEAR ME EVEN WITHOUT MY MIC ON .

UH, UH, ON ITEM 63, I WANTED TO TAKE A QUICK SECOND TO EXPRESS MY APPRECIATION TO MY DEAR FRIEND CO UH, COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON, UH, FOR BRINGING THIS ITEM FORWARD AND BRINGING ME ON AS A CO-SPONSOR.

ORGANIZATIONS LIKE OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE, UM, SHOUT OUT TO MY OOLG FAMILY ARE INTEGRAL TO OUR COMMUNITY.

AND THE HA MICAH THAT WE'RE SPONSORING TODAY IS A LONGSTANDING EAST AUSTIN TRADITION, UH, THAT FOSTERS COMMUNITY, SPIRIT, CULTURAL HERITAGE, AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT.

UH, I KNOW WE SEE FEE WAIVERS LIKE THIS ALL THE TIME ON THIS DAIS EVERY UH, EVERY COUNCIL MEETING.

AND I'M THANKFUL THAT THE CITY HAS THAT.

WE HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO, UM, REDUCE FINANCIAL BURDENS ON LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS.

ANY CHANCE WE GET TO SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS THESE IS A BENEFIT TO OUR COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE.

AND I'M APPRECIATIVE FOR COUNCIL FOR THE THOUGHTFUL CONSIDERATION ON THESE MEASURES THAT STRENGTHENED COMMUNITY TIES.

ON ITEM 65, I WASN'T ABLE TO BE HERE AT CITY HALL ON TUESDAY, AS Y'ALL RECALL.

UH, THE CEDAR WAS BEATING ME UP A BIT.

UM, SO I JUST WANTED TO TAKE A MOMENT TO THANK MY COLLEAGUE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON ALTER, NOT ONLY FOR BRINGING THIS, UH, FORWARD, BUT FOR HER TIRELESS DEDICATION TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN, AND PARTICULARLY OUR OUTDOOR SPACES.

UM, I'M THANKFUL TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SUPPORT THIS RESOLUTION THAT SEEKS TO IMPROVE ACCESS FOR MORE AUSTINITES TO ENJOY, CELEBRATE, AND PROTECT OUR LOCAL NATURAL ENVIRONMENT.

AND FINALLY, UH, ITEM 67, I'D LIKE TO THANK THE OTHER JOSE ON THE DAAS COUNCIL MEMBER VELA AND HIS TEAM FOR BRINGING THIS ITEM FORWARD AND GIVING DISTRICT THREE THE OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO COLLABORATE AND SUPPORT IT.

I KNOW OUR COLLEAGUES AT RALLY AUSTIN HAVE BEEN WAITING A LONG TIME TO GET GOING ON THIS.

UM, AND THEY'RE VALUED PARTNERS AND DO AMAZING, AMAZING WORK.

WE ALL KNOW THAT, UH, THAT AFFORDABLE EXHIBITION PERFORMANCE AND WORKSPACE FOR ARTISTS IS INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT TO FIND, UH, AND KEEP AND HOLD ONTO.

SO I'M THANKFUL THAT WE'RE ABLE TO MOVE ON THIS AND OFFER AN OPPORTUNITY FOR, FOR THOSE NEEDS TO BE MET.

UH, I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING HOW OUR, UH, TALENTED LOCAL CREATIVES USE IT, UM, TO COME AND, AND ENRICH THE CULTURE HERE IN AUSTIN, TEXAS.

COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTER.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

I JUST ALSO WANTED TO BE ADDED AS A CO-SPONSOR TO ITEM 67.

COUNCIL MEMBER BAYLIS ITEM WITHOUT OBJECTION, COUNCILMAN RYAN ALT ALTER WILL BE ADDED AS A CO-SPONSOR OF ITEM NUMBER 67.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

UH, MEMBERS, THAT APPEARS TO BE ALL OF THE DISCUSSION ON THE CONSENT AGENDA.

UH, THE MOTION WAS MADE AND SECONDED.

LET ME ASK IF THERE'S ANYONE THAT WISHES TO BE SHOWN ABSTAINING FROM A VOTE ON AN ITEM ON THE CONSENT AGENDA.

IS THERE ANYONE WISHING TO SHOW RECUSING THEMSELVES FROM A VOTE ON ANY ITEM ON THE CONSENT AGENDA? YES.

I, I WAS WAITING TILL YOU GOT TO KNOW.

OH, OKAY.

I JUST SAW YOU HIT YOUR LIGHT.

SO, UM, UH, IT MAY BE THE LAST MEETING, BUT SHE'S STILL, IT'S FAST HITTING THAT LIGHT.

UH, AND SO, WE'LL, I'LL GO TO THE, TO THE NOSE.

I HAD CONSIDERED VOTING NO ON SEVERAL ITEMS ON THIS AGENDA, BUT AS IT'S MY LAST MEETING IN GOOD FAITH AND GOODWILL, I WILL BE VOTING YES ON EVERY ITEM.

OH, HO HO.

AN ITEM ON THE CONSENT AGENDA AS THE MOTION WAS MADE AND SECONDED.

IS THERE ANYONE WISHING TO BE SHOWN VOTING NO ON

[01:20:01]

THAT BEING THE CASE, UH, WITHOUT OBJECTION, THE CONSENT AGENDA IS ADOPTED.

MEMBERS, UH, I WILL, UH, WITHOUT OBJECTION, WE WILL RECESS THE MEETING OF THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL AT 11:21 AM UH, SO

[10:30 AM - Austin Housing Finance Corporation Meeting]

THAT WE CAN TAKE UP THE AUSTIN HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING.

I'LL CALL TO ORDER THE AUSTIN HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING FOR DECEMBER 12TH, 2024.

IT IS 11:21 AM WE ARE MEETING IN THE CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS OF AUSTIN CITY HALL AT 3 0 1 WEST SECOND STREET, AND WE HAVE ALL OF THE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, UH, MEMBERS.

WE HAVE 13 ITEMS ON THE AGENDA, AND I'LL LOOK TO THE STAFF, UH, FOR A PRESENTATION.

UH, GOOD MORNING, MR. PRESIDENT MADAM VICE PRESIDENT BOARD OF DIRECTORS.

MY NAME IS JAMES MAY, I'M THE HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT OFFICER.

HANG ON ONE SECOND, MR. MAY.

IF YOU'RE IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS, PLEASE HOLD DOWN YOUR CONVERSATIONS, UH, AND TAKE THOSE OUTSIDE IF YOU DON'T MIND.

THANK Y'ALL VERY MUCH.

FRANKLY, EVEN IF YOU DO MIND, PLEASE TAKE THEM OUTSIDE.

, UH, MR. MAY, IT'S ALL YOURS.

THANK YOU, SIR.

UH, IN YOUR AGENDA TODAY, YOU DO HAVE 13 ITEMS LISTED.

HOWEVER, I DO WANNA POINT OUT THAT ITEM TWO HAS BEEN WITHDRAWN AND ITEM EIGHT HAS BEEN POSTPONED UNTIL JANUARY 30TH.

WE WILL PROBABLY BRING BOTH OF THOSE FACTS SHORTLY.

WE JUST WANT A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME TO WORK ON 'EM.

ANYONE WISHING TO BE SHOWN RECUSING THEMSELVES FROM A VOTE ON THE CONSENT AGENDA? ANYONE WISHING TO BE SHOWN VOTING NO ON THE CONSENT AGENDA? MEMBERS WITHOUT FURTHER DISCUSSION, UH, WITHOUT OBJECTION, THE CONSENT AGENDA FOR THE AUSTIN HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION MAY, I'M SORRY.

TO REVIEW YOUR AGENDA TODAY, UH, WE HAVE YOUR, THE MINUTES FROM THE SEPTEMBER 26TH, OCTOBER 10TH, AND OCTOBER 24TH MEETINGS OF THE AUSTIN HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS.

WE ALSO HAVE, UH, THE EXECUTION, THE AUTHORIZATION OF A LOAN FROM THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROGRAM AGREEMENT TO OBTAIN $2 MILLION LOAN FROM THE FOR FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK OF DALLAS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT KNOWN AS THE R UH, LOCATED AT OR NEAR 34 35 PARKER LANE.

THIS ITEM HAS NO FISCAL IMPACT.

WE'RE JUST SIMPLY COLLECTING THE MONEY FROM FHLB AND THEN PUSHING IT BACK OUT TO THE RAWS.

UH, WE ALSO WOULD LIKE TO AUTHORIZE AN NET LOAN AGREEMENT, UH, WITH KAREN POINT MONTOPOLIS FOR AN AMOUNT OF $2 MILLION FOR A TOTAL LOAN AMOUNT, NOT TO EXCEED $8 MILLION FOR A MULTI-FAMILY RENTAL DEVELOPMENT KNOWN AS CARE POINT MONTOPOLIS LOCATED AT OR NEAR 10 13 MONTOPOLIS DRIVE.

WE WOULD LIKE TO AUTHORIZE A LOAN AGREEMENT WITH TEXAS CLAYTON, 2024 LTD, UH, NOT TO EXCEED $7,950,000 FOR A MULTIFAMILY RENTAL DEVELOPMENT, UH, KNOWN AS CAMERON HIGHLINE.

LOCATED AT OUR NEAR 1124 CLAYTON LANE.

WE'D LIKE TO AUTHORIZE A LOAN AGREEMENT WITH GUADALUPE NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, UH, FOR A LOAN NOT TO EXCEED 3,000,008 $83,400 FOR AN OWNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT KNOWN AS JOHNNY LIMON VILLAGE.

LOCATED AT 800 GARDNER ROAD.

WE'D LIKE TO GRANT IN FEE SIMPLE LOT TWO BLOCK A 900 GARDNER, UH, TO THE, UH, GUADALUPE NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, UH, FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF APPROXIMATELY 27 AFFORDABLE UNITS, OWNERSHIP UNITS.

AGAIN, ITEM NUMBER EIGHT HAS BEEN POSTPONED.

UH, ITEM NUMBER NINE, TO, UH, EXECUTE A LOAN AGREEMENT WITH 8 3 0 1 RIVERSTONE LP IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $720,000 FOR AN OWNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT KNOWN AS 8 3 0 1 RIVERSTONE LOCATED AT OR NEAR 8 3 0 1 RIVERSTONE DRIVE.

WE WOULD LIKE TO AMEND A LOAN AGREEMENT WITH, UH, CAPITAL A AT MENCHACA, UH, TO ADD AN ADDITIONAL $525,000 FOR A LOAN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $1,908,000 $480 FOR AN OWNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT KNOWN AS 7 3 3 1 MENCHACA TOWN HOMES LOCATED AT OR NEAR 7 3 3 1 MINKA ROAD.

UH, WE WOULD LIKE TO EXECUTE A LOAN AGREEMENT WITH AUSTIN HABITAT FOR HUMANITY IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $1.2 MILLION FOR AN OWNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT KNOWN AS PROSPECT HEIGHTS LOCATED NEAR 1142 POQUITO STREET.

WE'D LIKE TO EXECUTE A LOAN AGREEMENT, UH, WITH TEXAS STATE AFFORDABLE HOUSING CORPORATION, UH, IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $2 MILLION FOR AN OWNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT KNOWN AS MOON TOWER FLATS, LOCATED NEAR 1910 EAST MLK BOULEVARD.

AND FINALLY, WE'D LIKE TO EXECUTE A LOAN AGREEMENT WITH ASPIRE AT BIG AUSTIN LP, UH, IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $8,755,000 FOR A MULTIFAMILY RENTAL DEVELOPMENT TO BE KNOWN AS ASPIRE AT BIG AUSTIN, LOCATED AT OR NEAR 1000 EAST BREAKER LANE.

AND I OFFER ALL 11 OF THESE ITEMS ON CONSENT.

THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION MEMBERS.

IS THERE, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OF STAFF ON THESE 11 ITEMS? ALRIGHT, REMEMBER FOR THE MOTION THAT I'M GETTING YOU TO ASK FOR THAT, ITEM NUMBER TWO HAS BEEN WITHDRAWN AND ITEM NUMBER EIGHT HAS BEEN POSTPONED TO JANUARY 30TH, 2025.

IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS READ? COUNSEL, UH, BOARD MEMBER CADRE MAKES THE MOTION SECONDED BY BOARD MEMBER HARPER MADISON, UH, DISCUSSION ON THE CONSENT AGENDA IS READ.

IS THERE ANYONE WISHING TO ABSTAIN FROM ANY OF THE ITEMS ON THE CONSENT AGENDA?

[01:25:02]

WE DO HAVE, WE DO HAVE A FEW SPEAKERS.

OH, WELL THAT, THAT WORKS TOO.

LET'S GO TO THOSE .

ALRIGHT, SORRY ABOUT THAT.

NO, THAT'S FINE.

WE HAVE, IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE CHASE W RIGHT ON ITEM SIX.

CHASE WRIGHT.

AND THEN IT LOOKS LIKE WE ALSO HAVE IKA ARNOLD ON ITEM.

LET'S SEE.

NO, WE HAVE OPIA JOSEPH.

SO GIMME ONE MOMENT.

LET ME ALLOW HER TO SPEAK.

MS. JOSEPH.

THANK YOU MAYOR SLASH SORRY, CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES.

MY OPPOSITION IS TO ITEM 13.

THAT IS A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS PROJECT.

YOU'RE BEING ASKED TO FUND THE 8.75 MILLION TODAY.

1000 EAST BREAKER LANE THAT IN DISTRICT ONE, DISAPPOINTED WITH NATASHA HARPER MADISON.

THIS IS ACTUALLY CREATING A GHETTO 368 UNITS ON ROUTE 3 92 FOR CONTEXT, JANUARY 9TH, 2017.

COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER WAS SWORN IN, AND THIS IS WHEN I TESTIFIED AT CAPITOL METRO, AND SHE DID TOO.

I TESTIFIED BECAUSE THEY WERE TRYING TO GET RID OF ROUTE 3 92.

THAT ROUTE HAS BEEN SAVED, BUT THE FREQUENCY IS NOT THERE.

IT'S ON A 40 MINUTE, 45 MINUTE HEADWAY.

AND WHEN THE BUS GETS CANCELED, PEOPLE ARE SITTING THERE WAITING OVER AN HOUR FOR THE BUS TRYING TO GET TO WORK.

I WANNA REMIND, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER THAT SHE ACTUALLY CHAMPIONED THE EQUITY PLAN, BUT SHE'S SILENT WHEN IT COMES TO RAISING THE LAND.

THIS IS DENSE FORESTRY AND ALL THE TREES ARE BEING KNOCKED DOWN.

SO YOU'RE CREATING SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH.

AN EQUITY PLAN IS NOT JUST FOR WEST AUSTIN.

YOU SHOULD SPEAK OUT WHEN THERE'S SOMETHING GOING ON IN EAST AUSTIN TOO.

SPECIFICALLY, I WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THE HOSTILE ARCHITECTURE, THE DEFENSIVE DESIGN THAT WE HAVE THERE IN THE EAST SIDE OF 35 REIFYING, THE 1928 CITY PLAN.

THERE ARE NO SHELTERS.

IF YOU CONTINUE ON ROUTE 3 92, YOU'LL RECOGNIZE RIGHT THERE AT THE INTERSECTION OF THIS DEVELOPMENT, OUR SENIOR CITIZENS AT COLLINWOOD LOST THEIR BUS SERVICE IN 2018.

AND THOSE THAT RBJ ENJOYED TWO BUS ROUTES 3 22 AND THEY HAVE A MONDAY BUS 4 93 TOO.

I WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE WHEN YOU CONTINUE ON ROUTE 3 92 INTO THE NEIGHBORHOOD, THERE ARE THREE SCHOOLS IN THIS AREA AT YEAGER AND TECH RIDGE BOULEVARD, OVER 2000 UNITS AND NO BUS STOP SHELTER.

AND REALLY THERE.

THANK YOU MS. JOSEPH CHARTER.

YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO FUND IT.

IT ESSENTIALLY WOULD SUPPORT LEGISLATION

THAT CONCLUDES ALL THE SPEAKERS MEMBERS.

THAT CONCLUDES ALL THE SPEAKERS THAT WERE SIGNED UP ON THE CONSENT AGENDA.

I'VE PREVIOUSLY ASKED IF THERE WERE ANY ABSTENTIONS, RECUSALS OR NO VOTES, AND IF THERE WAS ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION, THERE BEING NO FURTHER DISCUSSION WITHOUT OBJECTION.

THE CONSENT AGENDA FOR THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING OF THE AUSTIN HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION IS ADOPTED.

MEMBERS WITHOUT OBJECTION, WE WILL ADJOURN THE MEETING OF THE AUSTIN HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR DECEMBER 12TH, 2024 AT 11:29 AM I'LL NOW CALL BACK TO ORDER THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL MEETING, WHICH WAS IN RECESS SO THAT WE COULD CONDUCT THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING OF THE AUSTIN HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION.

WE WILL NOW GO TO THE POOLED ITEMS THAT WERE PULLED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA.

UM, MEMBERS, IT'S 1130.

WE HAVE A 12 O'CLOCK TIME CERTAIN OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.

SO, UM, WITHOUT OBJECTION, WHAT WHAT I WOULD SUGGEST WE DO IS WE TAKE UP ITEMS 38 AND 57 AND THEN TAKE UP ITEM NUMBER TWO SO THAT WE CAN HAVE A CONCENTRATED, UH, WORK ON THE, UH, THE GENERATION PLAN AND NOT BREAK IT UP, YOU KNOW, BY OVER AN HOUR.

SO WITH THAT, I WILL CALL

[38. Approve a resolution adopting the City’s State Legislative Agenda for the 89th Texas Legislative Session. Funding: This item has no fiscal impact.]

UP ITEM NUMBER 38.

UM, I'M, I'M GOING TO RECOGNIZE COUNCIL MEMBER VELA AND COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE, COUNCIL MEMBER VELA FIRST, AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE, BECAUSE THEY'RE THE ONES THAT PULLED THE ITEM.

WHAT I'LL DO IS, AS SOON AS THEY'VE MADE COMMENTS ABOUT THE POOLING OF THE ITEM IS THEN SEEK AN AMENDMENT ON THE ITEM.

I'M SORRY, SEEK A MOTION TO APPROVE THE ITEM.

AND THEN I ANTICIPATE THAT THERE WILL BE AN OFFER OF AN AMENDMENT.

SO, COUNCIL MEMBER VELA.

UH, THANK YOU, MAYOR.

I JUST WANTED TO, UH, DAYLIGHT THIS, UH, AMENDMENT.

[01:30:01]

THAT WOULD ADD A RIDER MEMBER TO THE, UH, CAPITOL METRO BOARD.

IT'S, UH, DISCUSSIONS THAT WE'VE BEEN HAVING, UH, AT CAPITOL METRO.

UH, I DO THINK THAT WE NEED A LITTLE MORE PROCESS ON THIS AND, UH, MORE DISCUSSION WITH, UH, CAPITAL METRO, BUT I JUST WANTED TO LET FOLKS KNOW THAT, THAT THIS IS, UH, UNDER DISCUSSION AND I DO HOPE TO ADD A, UH, A WRITER MEMBER IN SOME CAPACITY TO THE BOARD TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THAT IN PERSON KIND OF STREET EXPERIENCE, UH, ABLE TO ADVISE US AS WE MAKE, UH, POLICY DECISIONS ON THE BOARD.

UH, LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING ON THIS OVER THE NEXT, UH, MONTH OR SO.

UH, BUT I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND PULL THE AMENDMENT FOR NOW.

COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE, DO YOU WISH TO SPEAK NOW OR WAIT TILL YOU OFFER YOUR AMENDMENT? UH, I'LL WAIT UNTIL I AFFIRM.

IN THAT CASE, COUNCIL VELA, UH, CAN I RECOGNIZE YOU WITH YOUR COMMENTS AND HAVING PULLED THE ITEM TO MAKE THE MOTION TO APPROVE ITEM NUMBER 38, COUNCIL MEMBER VELA, WILL YOU MAKE THE MOTION TO APPROVE ITEM NUMBER 38.

SO MOVED.

UH, MOTION HAS BEEN MADE.

IS THERE A SECOND TO THE MOTION? SECOND BY COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS.

UH, WE DO HAVE SPEAKERS ON THIS ITEM.

SO WHAT I'M GONNA DO IS NOW ASK FOR THE CLERK TO CALL UP THE SPEAKERS ON ITEM NUMBER 38.

AND THEN WE WILL GO TO ANY PROPOSED AMENDMENTS, UH, BY COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE.

WE HAVE TWO SPEAKERS, ALEXANDER STRANGER AND WILLIAM BUNCH.

ARE EITHER OF YOU HERE, MR. BUNCH? ARE YOU GONNA SPEAK MR. BUNCH? ARE YOU COMING FORWARD? OKAY.

COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR YOUR SERVICE.

BILL BUNCH, UH, DISTRICT FIVE.

UM, I, I MOSTLY SUPPORT YOUR, UH, STATE LEGISLATIVE AGENDA, UM, ESPECIALLY OF COURSE, UM, YOUR, UH, REPEATED STATEMENTS HERE TO DEFEND OUR LOCAL HOME RULE CONTROL, UH, ESPECIALLY IN PROTECTING OUR ENVIRONMENT, OUR WATER, UH, OUR WILDLIFE, UH, MANAGING LAND USE, AND TRANSPORTATION.

UM, I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THOUGH, AND PERHAPS OBJECT TO ONE STATEMENT.

THIS IS, UH, AT THE TOP OF YOUR SECTION ON TAX REFORM AND DEBT ISSUANCE.

UM, AND IT BASICALLY CALLS FOR PROTECTING YOUR AUTHORITY AS LOCAL OFFICIALS FOR MANAGING REVENUE, REVENUE EXPANSION, AND, UH, EXPENDITURES.

UM, Y'ALL HAVE GOTTEN WAY TOO, UH, LIBERAL WITH APPROVING MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF DEBT WITHOUT VOTER APPROVAL.

UM, I RECOGNIZE THAT THERE ARE ARGUMENTS, UH, AND SOME OF THEM ARE GOOD.

THAT STATE LAW NOW LETS YOU IGNORE OUR CITY CHARTER.

THAT, UH, THAT CITY CHARTER REQUIRES YOU TO PUT DEBT FINANCING OF LARGE PROJECTS ON THE BALLOT FOR VOTERS TO CONSIDER AND APPROVE.

UM, AND EVEN THOUGH YOU MIGHT ARGUE, AND THE STATE LAW LAW MIGHT ALLOW YOU, UH, TO NOT DO THAT, YOU REALLY SHOULD, AS A MATTER OF GOOD PUBLIC POLICY, UM, THE INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF DEBT YOU'RE PILING UP FOR PROJECTS THAT WE DON'T NEED THAT ARE EVEN HARMFUL OR THAT WE DON'T NEED RIGHT NOW.

AND I'LL JUST HIGHLIGHT ONE, YOUR $1.1 BILLION APPROVAL FOR EXPANDING THE WALNUT TREAT WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT THAT DOES NOT NEED TO BE APPROVED ANYTIME SOON AND SHOULD GO TO THE VOTERS.

THANK YOU, MR. BUNCH.

MAYOR, ALL SPEAKERS HAVE BEEN CALLED FOR THIS ITEM MEMBERS.

THOSE ARE ALL THE SPEAKERS ON ITEM NUMBER 38.

WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND ON ITEM NUMBER 38.

THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES COUNCIL MEMBER, CADRE MEMBERS, YOU HAVE A YELLOW SHEET IN FRONT OF YOU, WHICH IS A, UH, PROPOSED MOTION TO AMEND ITEM NUMBER 38.

AND I RECOGNIZE COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE TO DISCUSS, UH, AND MOVE APPROVAL OF HIS AMENDMENT.

PROVIDE GREATER TRANSPARENCY INTO UNFUNDED MANDATES PASSED BY THE STATE AND PROTECTIONS AGAINST EXTREME HEAT FOR WORKERS AND TENANTS RESPECTIVELY.

UH, TO, TO PREPARE TO ADOPT OUR CITY'S STATE LEGISLATIVE AGENDA, OUR OFFICE REVIEWED THE BILLS PRE-FILED BY MEMBERS OF OUR LOCAL DELEGATION TO FIND LEGISLATION THAT ALIGNS WITH OUR VALUES THAT WEREN'T ALREADY COVERED BY THE AGENDA.

AND I WAS HAPPY TO SEE THAT MANY OF OUR PRIORITIES ALREADY ALIGNED.

UH, BUT WE IDENTIFIED THREE GOOD BILLS THAT FELL OUTSIDE OF THE SCOPE OF THE CURRENT AGENDA.

UH, AND THOSE WERE SENATE BILL 73 BY SENATOR JUDITH ZINI, HOUSE BILL 4 46 BY REPRESENTATIVE LULU FLORES AND HOUSE BILL 10 99, UH, BY MY STATE REP, UH, UH, REPRESENTATIVE CHERYL COLE.

UH, THESE BILLS

[01:35:01]

UH, AND THIS AMENDMENT MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN NOW ADVOCATE FOR THESE ISSUES TO, UH, THE STATE CAPITAL.

AND I JUST WANTED TO THANK CARRIE AND HER TEAM, UH, RICK AND ALLISON, WHO WERE ON A CALL WITH US VERY LATE LAST NIGHT.

UH, SO I APPRECIATE Y'ALL'S, UH, INSIGHT.

AND WITH THAT, I MOVE TO MOVE, UH, WHAT I THINK IS A GREAT AMENDMENT.

, UH, WELL THAT PROBABLY GETS A DEBATE NOW.

UM, NO COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE MOVES APPROVAL OF THE MOTION TO AMEND ITEM NUMBER 38 CADRE MOTION TO AMEND.

IT'S SECONDED BY THE MAYOR PRO TEM.

IS THERE DISCUSSION ON THE MOTION TO AMEND DISCUSSION ON THE MOTION TO AMEND WITHOUT OBJECTION.

UH, CADRE.

MOTION TO AMEND ITEM NUMBER 38 IS ADOPTED.

THAT WILL TAKE US BACK TO THE MAIN MOTION, WHICH IS ITEM NUMBER 38 AS AMENDED, UH, BY THE CADRE AMENDMENT.

IS THERE DISCUSSION ON ITEM NUMBER 38 AS AMENDED WITHOUT OBJECTION? ITEM NUMBER 38 AS AMENDED IS ADOPTED.

UM, THAT WILL TAKE

[57. Approve a resolution authorizing the submittal of potential transportation projects as candidates for the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization Transportation Alternative Set-Aside and Carbon Reduction Program Call for Projects. Funding: This item has no fiscal impact.]

US NOW TO ITEM NUMBER 57.

AND I'LL RECOGNIZE COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS AS THE PERSON WHO PULLED ITEM NUMBER 57 TO DISCUSS ITEM NUMBER 57.

AND WE WILL TREAT THAT THE SAME WAY.

IF THERE'S A, IF THERE'S A MOTION TO AMEND, WE WILL TAKE A MO GET A MAIN MOTION, AND THEN WE'LL GO TO A MOTION TO AMEND.

COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS.

NOT, WHAT THAT DOES IS IF WE'RE SUCCESSFULLY ABLE TO, UH, SUPPLEMENT FUNDING FOR THOSE AREAS, THAT FREES UP FUNDING FOR THE REST OF THE CITY.

THERE'S NO MOTION TO AMEND.

I JUST WANTED TO HAVE A BRIEF DIALOGUE WITH SOMEONE FROM TRANSPORTATION.

I DUNNO IF THAT'S DIRECTOR MENDOZA OR ANOTHER.

I SEE DIRECTOR MENDOZA COMING UP.

YEP.

HE'S MOVING, BUT HE'S IN CONGESTION.

WE HAVE A FULL AUDIENCE TODAY GETTING, HE'S GETTING PAST THE CONGESTION.

I JUST WANTED TO BRIEFLY DISCUSS THE, UM, THERE IS A REVISED MEMO THAT WE ALL RECEIVED.

UM, I JUST WANTED TO BRIEFLY TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE, UH, DOLLARS THAT WE'RE HOPING TO BRING DOWN FROM CAMPO.

AND CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THESE, THE, THE RED LINES THAT ARE PUT ON THIS ONE? THE COUPLE OF PROJECTS THAT WERE ADDED TO THE MEMO, THE JOHNNY MORRIS AND THE OAK HILL MENCHACA ADDITIONS.

YES, MA'AM.

AND SO, UM, RICHARD MENDOZA, DIRECTOR OF TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS.

AND, UH, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT THIS GRANT, UH, APPLICATION WITH CAMPO.

SO THIS IS THE, UH, TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES, UM, TASSA GRANT CALL, AS WELL AS THE NEW PROGRAM CARBON REDUCTION.

AND INITIALLY WHEN WE EVALUATED THE SCORING CRITERIA THAT CAMPO PUT FORTH, WE PUT TOGETHER WHAT WE FELT WOULD BE THE STRONGEST HIGHEST SCORING PROJECTS.

AND THIS YEAR THEY CHANGED THE CRITERIA SOMEWHAT, AND THEY WERE GIVEN HIGHER PRIORITY TO EITHER DESIGN OR CONSTRUCTION.

IN TERMS OF THE DESIGN PROJECTS, UH, THEY ARE LOOKING FOR PROJECTS THAT HAVE BEEN VETTED THROUGH, UM, A VALIDITY PROCESS TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE CONSTRUCTABLE.

UH, IN THE PAST THEY'VE AWARDED, UH, PROJECTS THAT HAVE THEN ENCOUNTERED, UH, ISSUES OUT IN THE FIELD AND HAVE TAKEN A LONG TIME TO IMPLEMENT.

SO THEY'RE LOOKING TO MOVE THE DOLLARS A LOT QUICKER.

UH, IN CONSTRUCTION, OF COURSE, YOU'RE LOOKING FOR SHOVEL READY, UH, PROJECTS.

THIS PROGRAM REGIONWIDE, IS ABOUT 68 MILLION.

SO THERE'S NOT A GREAT NUMBER OF, UH, FUNDS AVAILABLE ACROSS THE PARTICIPATING AGENCIES.

UH, BUT WE FELT THAT A 20 MILLION NUMBER WAS A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SIZE OF AUSTIN AND A FAIR CONTRIBUTOR.

INITIALLY, UH, WE PUT TOGETHER A PROPOSED LIST OF PROJECTS, UH, UH, AROUND THE SIGNAL PRIORITIZATION FOR THE BUS, RAPID TRANSIT ROUTES THAT HAVE, ARE FURTHER ALONG IN DESIGN AND, UM, UH, I GUESS, UH, SCOPING.

AND, UH, THOSE WERE THE, UH, I BELIEVE THE, THE, THE, THE DECKER, UH, BUS RAPID TRANSIT ROUTE, AS WELL AS THE ONE DOWN, UH, PLEASANT VALLEY.

UH, THE BUS RAPID TRANSIT ROUTES THAT ARE PLANNED FOR SOUTH MANCHACA OUT TO OAK HILL Y ARE A LITTLE BIT BEHIND IN DEVELOPMENT.

UH, HOWEVER, UH, WHEN WE RE-LOOKED AT THAT AND THEN DISCUSSING, UH, WITH MY TECHNICAL STAFF, I FELT THAT WE COULD HAVE THEM IN A GOOD PLACE, UH, TO BE COMPETITIVE.

SO THE RED LINES UNDERNEATH THE SIGNAL PRIORITIZATION AND TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENTS ARE GOING TO CAPTURE THE MANCHACA AND OAK HILL, UH, PLAN BUS RAPID TRANSIT ROUTES IN TERMS OF THE SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL.

THERE'S ALSO ADDITIONAL CRITERIA IN THERE THAT SCORES HIGHER FOR, UH, AREAS WITHIN THE CITY THAT ARE, UH, HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED WITH THE EQUITY COMPONENT.

MM-HMM .

AND SO FOR THAT, UH, REASON THE PROPOSED SET OF PROJECTS WE HAVE PRIMARILY IN THE EASTERN CRESCENT OF THE CITY, UM, BUT THAT DOES

[01:40:01]

AND THE MATCHING FUNDS WILL COME FROM PRIOR, UH, BONDS.

UH, IN DISCUSSIONS WITH THE BARBARA JORDAN SCHOOL, UH, I UNDERSTOOD THAT THERE WAS ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR SAFE ROUTES IMPROVEMENTS BEYOND JUST WHAT WE ORIGINALLY PRESENTED AS SIDEWALKS.

UH, WE'RE ALSO GONNA BE PARTNERING WITH AUSTIN WATER ON A WATERLINE REPLACEMENT ON JOHNNY MORRIS, AND WE CAN TAKE THAT OPPORTUNITY TO IMPROVE THE ROADWAY AND PUT MUCH NEEDED SIDEWALK INFRASTRUCTURE THERE.

UH, THE MISSING PARTS OF THAT WERE A PHB AND CROSSWALK IMPROVEMENT, WHICH WOULD BE PERFECT CANDIDATES FOR THIS TYPE OF FUNDING.

AND FOR THAT REASON, I, UH, AMENDED THE MEMO TO MAKE SURE WE CAPTURE THOSE SCOPE ITEMS AS PART OF THE BARBARA JORDAN SAFE ROSS SCHOOL PROJECT.

I, I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.

I KNOW IN PARTICULAR WITH THE OAK HILL RAPID LINE, THERE IS HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION CURRENTLY HAPPENING, AND SO OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF DIALOGUE AROUND WHEN IS THE APPROPRIATE TIME TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE, UM, SOME OF THOSE FINER DETAILS AND SCHEMATICS AND UNDERSTANDING OF HOW, UM, OF RAPID LINE AND A HIGHWAY EXPANSION PROJECT CAN, YOU KNOW, HOW DO THEY WORK TOGETHER? HOW DO THEY CONFLICT WITH EACH OTHER AT DIFFERENT TIMES? UM, I DO THINK THE TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVE SETASIDE PROGRAM AND CARBON REDUCTION PROGRAM ARE, UM, THEY'RE EXTREMELY USEFUL.

UM, AS WE'VE HEARD FROM A NUMBER OF SPEAKERS TODAY, IT'S HOW, HOW MANY DOLLARS DOES THE CITY HAVE TO ALLOCATE FOR TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS AND HOW CAN WE BEST LEVERAGE DOLLARS THAT ARE COMING IN FROM THE STATE AND FEDERAL LEVEL FOR THESE DIFFERENT PROGRAMS? UM, AND I THINK THE TRANSPORTATION ADMINISTRATION, AS IT'S BEEN OPERATING FOR THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS, HAVE BEEN REALLY CREATIVE WITH THINGS LIKE VISION ZERO AND SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

SO, UM, I KNOW I'VE ALWAYS ADVOCATED TRYING TO PULL THOSE DOLLARS DOWN AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE SO THAT WE CAN STRETCH, STRETCH OUR TAX DOLLARS FURTHER AND FURTHER EVERY YEAR TO BEST SERVE OUR COMMUNITY.

AND SO I, I APPRECIATE THESE BEING ADDED IN AND JUST WANTED TO KINDA HAVE THAT UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THAT PROCESS WORKS AND, AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

I KNOW, UM, I DIDN'T SPECIFICALLY ASK ABOUT JOHNNY MORRIS, BUT I THINK IT HAD TRIGGERED SOMETHING IN ANOTHER PROJECT THAT MIGHT BE AVAILABLE.

AND SO I JUST APPRECIATE, UM, Y'ALL BEING CREATIVE AND TRYING TO BRING THOSE DOLLARS DOWN FOR US.

COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES.

UM, DIRECTOR MENDOZA, SO JUST TO BE CLEAR, ON THE GRANT APPLICATION SUBMISSION, YOU TALKED ABOUT SOME OF THE RAPID LINES THAT ARE GONNA BE INCLUDED, INCLUDING, UH, RAPID LINE 800, OUR PLEASANT VALLEY LINE, WHICH IS A, A BRAND NEW LINE, UH, OR WILL HAVE ENHANCEMENTS THAT OPENS UP NEXT YEAR.

ARE THOSE, UH, IMPROVEMENTS INCLUDED IN AND PRIORITIZED? LIKE WILL WE HAVE THOSE FULLY FUNDED WITH THE SIGNAL AND THE, UH, THE CAMERA ENHANCEMENTS? SO THIS FUNDING WILL PROVIDE, UH, SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING TO PROVIDE, WE'RE WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH A TP OR WITH CAP METRO TO AFFECT THE, UH, TRANSIT PRIORITIZATION WITHIN OUR SIGNAL NETWORK, AND THEN TIE THAT INTO OUR, OUR MOBILITY, UH, MANAGEMENT CENTER.

SO WITH THIS FUNDING, THAT'LL HELP MOVE THAT, UH, FURTHER ALONG TO COMPLETION.

BUT WE'RE ENSURING THAT, THAT THESE RAPID LINES ARE ALREADY IN PROGRESS.

THEY'RE GONNA HAVE THE FULL ENHANCEMENTS, PRIORITIZE AND INCLUDED, AND THEN IF THERE'S ADDITIONAL FUNDS AVAILABLE, THEN WE BRING IN THE OAK HILL MACHACA LINE.

IS THAT RIGHT? SO I EXPECT THAT RIGHT NOW, THE FUNDING THAT WE'RE GONNA REQUEST IS, UH, IS A PRELIMINARY, UH, ESTIMATE.

AND AS WE, OUR TECHNICAL STAFF EVALUATE EACH ONE OF THESE SPECIFIC INTERSECTIONS MM-HMM .

WE'LL HAVE AVAILABLE FUNDING BETWEEN THAT AND OUR MATCH TO MEET THESE, ALL THESE CORRIDORS LISTED ON THE APPLICATION.

SO IF I'M UNDERSTANDING THIS CORRECTLY, ALL THREE METRO RAPID LINES WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE GRANT APPLICATION.

THAT IS TRUE TO THE MPO.

UH, WE'RE NOT CER CLEAR OR CERTAIN TO THE EXTENT THAT THESE DOLLARS WILL BE UTILIZED TO FUND.

AND MY, MY PARTICULAR INTEREST IN THIS IS THE PLEASANT VALLEY LINE CONNECTING OUR EAST SIDE COMMUNITIES THAT IT'S NOT, WE DON'T KNOW IF THAT'LL BE FULLY COVERED.

WE EXPECT THAT IT WILL COUNCIL MEMBER WITH THIS GRANT FUNDING, AND WE ALSO HAVE PRIOR BOND FUNDING FOR INTERSECTION, UH, IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE'RE PARTNERING WITH CAP METRO ON.

SO THAT WE CAN AFFECT THE NEEDED IMPROVEMENTS FOR ALL THREE CORRIDORS.

BUT THERE, WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE, UH, THE ENGINEERING AND COST ESTIMATES.

EACH INTERSECTION IS UNIQUE AND IT'S NEAT.

SO OUR, UH, ARTERIAL MANAGEMENT DESIGN ENGINEERS WILL BE WORKING CLOSELY WITH, CLOSELY WITH CAT METRO AS WE SCOPE THESE OUT AND GET THESE ITEMS OUT TO BID.

MM-HMM .

AND, UH, WE'RE, WE, WE'RE FAIRLY CONFIDENT IN THE COMPETITIVENESS OF THIS GRANT, UH, ASK

[01:45:01]

MM-HMM .

YEAH, I MEAN, SINCE THIS LINE, THE PLEASANT VALLEY LINE IS SLATED TO OPEN NEXT YEAR, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO GET AN UPDATE ON THE STATUS OF, OF THOSE SAFETY ENHANCEMENTS ALONG THE ROUTE.

I IMAGINE THAT'S FURTHER ALONG AND TOTALLY UNDERSTAND, ESTIMATING A GRANT APPLICATION TO INCLUDE OTHER, UH, RAPID LINES THAT ARE UPCOMING AND IN THE MIX AND PART OF OUR COMMUNITY INVESTMENTS.

I WOULD JUST WANNA ENSURE THAT AS WE, UM, SUBMIT THESE APPLICATIONS THAT WE'RE PRIORITIZING THE INVESTMENTS THAT ARE COMING ONLINE IN THE NEAR TERM.

LIKE TO DO IS GO TO ITEM NUMBER 72.

AND YOU'LL ALSO NOTICE IN THE UPDATED MEMO THAT I ADJUSTED THE GRANT APPLICATION AMOUNT AND, AND I INCREASED THAT, EXPECTING THAT, UH, INCORPORATING THE OAK HILL AND MENCHACA MIGHT BRING ADDITIONAL COSTS TO THE PROGRAM SO THAT WE CAN ENSURE THAT THE, UM, THE EXISTING ONES IN PLEASANT VALLEY AND OUT TO, UM, UH, NORTHEAST AUSTIN ARE PRESERVED.

THANK, THANK YOU, SIR.

UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS MOVES APPROVAL OF ITEM NUMBER 57.

IT'S SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE.

UM, IS THERE ANYONE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON ITEM NUMBER 57? THERE'S NOT MAYOR.

THERE'S NO ONE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON ITEM NUMBER 57.

IS THERE ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION WITH REGARD TO ITEM NUMBER 57 THEN? WITHOUT OBJECTION, ITEM NUMBER 57 IS APPROVED WITH COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON, TEMPORARILY OFF THE DAIS MEMBERS WITH YOUR, UH, INDULGENCE.

I'M GOING TO GO TO A COUPLE OF OTHER ITEMS, UH, THAT WE CAN TAKE UP HOPEFULLY IN, IN A, A RAPID FASHION, AND THEN GET TO OUR 12 O'CLOCK TIME CERTAIN.

WHAT I WOULD

[72. Approve a resolution authorizing the filing of eminent domain proceedings and payment to acquire the property interests needed for the Loop 360 Overlook Project for the public use of providing public parking, and acquiring a sidewalk, trail, and recreational easement for the Parks and Recreation Department’s trail expansion, requiring the acquisition of approximately 1.110 acres (48,347 square feet) of fee simple property and approximately 0.3648 acres (15,889 square feet) of sidewalk, trail, and recreational easement, being out of and a portion of the James Jett Survey No. 1, Abstract No. 437, Travis County, Texas, being a portion of Lot 3, Hidden Valley Phase “A”, a subdivision of record in Book 84, Pages 117D-118A, Plat Records, Travis County, Texas, currently appraised at $167,186 subject to an increase in value based on updated appraisal(s) or a Special Commissioner’s award. The owner of the needed property is 360 Overlook, LLC. The property is located at 5379 West Courtyard Drive, Austin, Texas 78730. The general route of the project is along the west side of North Capital of Texas Highway between Lake Austin and Courtyard Drive. Funding: Funding is available in the Capital Budgets of the Transportation and Public Works Department and the Parks and Recreation Department.]

ITEM NUMBER 72 IS AN IMMINENT DOMAIN ITEM.

AND I LET, LET ME FIRST ASK, IS THERE ANYONE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON ITEM NUMBER 72? THERE IS NOT MAYOR.

UM, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER, ARE YOU GOING TO MAKE A MOTION? COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON ALTER, YOU'RE RECOGNIZED FOR A MOTION.

I MOVE APPROVAL.

COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON ALTER MOVES APPROVAL.

IS THERE A SECOND? SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER AVELA, OR DO YOU WISH TO SPEAK COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER? YEAH, JUST REAL QUICKLY.

ALRIGHT.

UM, SO I'M REALLY EXCITED THAT THIS ITEM IS ON OUR AGENDA.

UM, FOR MY LAST MEETING.

UM, THIS IS AN EMINENT DOMAIN, UM, CASE THAT IS NEAR THE PENNY BACKER BRIDGE AND THE OVERLOOK, UM, THERE IS REALLY AN IMPORTANT ACQUISITION FOR SAFETY IN DISTRICT 10.

UM, THE PENNY BACKER BRIDGE SERVES AS AN ICONIC SYMBOL OF CENTRAL TEXAS.

THE SCENIC OVERLOOK AT THE BRIDGE IS VERY POPULAR.

YOU'VE ALL BEEN THERE, BUT PARKING AND ACCESS TO THIS AREA PRESENTS SOME SAFETY CONCERNS.

WITH THE RENOVATIONS OF 360, IT'S EVEN GOING TO BE MORE OF A PROBLEM.

AND SO THIS ACQUISITION IS ALLOWING US TO PROVIDE SAFE ACCESS TO THE PENNY BACKER BRIDGE OVERLOOK, AND IT WILL ALSO ALLOW TDOT TO BUILD A LARGE AND SAFE PARKING ZONE.

IT WILL SECURE AN EASEMENT FOR SIDEWALK TRAIL AND RECREATIONAL USE THAT WILL EXPAND THE OVERLOOKED AREA, UM, GIVEN SOME PRIOR, UM, WORK THAT WE HAVE DONE IN THE AREA.

AND SO I'M VERY EXCITED THAT, UM, THIS PROCESS WILL BE MOVING FORWARD.

UM, AND I HOPE THAT EVERYTHING GOES SMOOTHLY SO THAT OUR COMMUNITY CAN CONTINUE TO ENJOY THAT FAVORITE SPOT THAT EVERYONE HAS.

68, AND I'LL RECOGNIZE THE CHAIR OF THE HOUSING AND PLANNING COMMITTEE TO MAKE A MOTION.

COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, MEMBERS, WHEN COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER AND COUNCIL MEMBER VELA MOVED AND SECONDED THE MOTION ON ITEM NUMBER 72, UH, THE MOTION THEY MADE WAS, SINCE THIS IS A NON-CONSENT CONDEMNATION ITEM, IS THEY MADE A MOTION TO THE EFFECT THAT THE CITY COUNCIL OF AUSTIN AUTHORIZES THE USE OF THE POWER OF IMMINENT DOMAIN TO ACQUIRE THE PROPERTY SET FORTH IN THE DES THE MATTER DESCRIBED IN THE AGENDA FOR THIS MEETING, FOR THE PUBLIC USE THAT WAS DESCRIBED THEREIN.

I KNOW THAT EVERYBODY HEARD THAT, AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT OUR RECORD REFLECTS THAT, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER.

I WILL LOOK TO YOU AND SEE IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT YOU WANNA CHANGE ABOUT YOUR MOTION.

HOW ABOUT YOU? COUNCIL MEMBER VELA? ALRIGHT, THAT IS THE MOTION AND I'VE READ IT INTO THE RECORD.

IS THERE ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION ON THE MOTION WITHOUT OBJECTION? ITEM NUMBER 72 IS ADOPTED.

PURSUANT TO THE MOTION THAT I JUST READ INTO THE RECORD MEMBERS, I'M GOING TO GO TO ITEM NUMBER

[68. Approve a resolution initiating rezoning for the development known as Whisper Valley planned unit development, comprised of 2,066 acres, more or less, and generally located east of FM 973 and approximately 782 feet north of the intersection of FM 969 and Taylor Lane to amend conditions of zoning, including exemption from or waiver of fees, alternative funding methods, modifications of City regulations, and acquisition of property.]

UH, WITH REGARD TO ITEM NUMBER 68, THIS IS, WE'RE TAKING UP A COUPLE OF THE ITEMS FROM COUNCIL COMMITTEES, AND I'LL TAKE THANK MR. MAYOR.

I JUST HAD TO GET ORIENT OUT.

NO, I GET IT.

I, I, I'M, I'M, I'M MOVING AROUND AND I UNDERSTAND THAT, SO NO PROBLEM.

UH, FOR THE, SO THE PEOPLE CAN BE PREPARED.

UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON ALTER.

I'LL BE COMING TO ITEM 69.

NEXT, ITEM NUMBER 68.

UH, COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON.

DISTRICT ONE, UM, MOVING EAST UP TOWARDS MAINOR ROAD COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON MOVES APPROVAL OF ITEM NUMBER 68.

THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR.

I MOVE THAT WE INITIATE REZONING FOR, UH, WHISPER VALLEY.

UM, FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW, IT'S, UH, IT'S IN DISTRICT ONE.

IT'S SORT OF THE, ON THE FURTHEST SIDE OF

[01:50:01]

IT IS SECOND BY THE MAYOR PRO TIM, UH, IS THERE ANYONE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? NO, MA'AM.

UM, IS THERE ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION WITH REGARD TO ITEM NUMBER 68? WITHOUT OBJECTION, ITEM NUMBER 68 IS ADOPTED.

[69. Approve a resolution re-appointing Dr. Kelly Crook to the City of Austin Employees Retirement System board of trustees, place 3.]

ITEM NUMBER 60, THE CHAIR CALLS UP ITEM NUMBER 69 AND RECOGNIZES THE CHAIR OF THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE.

COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON ALTER FOR A MOTION ON ITEM NUMBER 69, I, UH, MOVE APPROVAL OF ITEM 69, WHICH REAPPOINTS DR. KELLY CROOK TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM, BOARD OF TRUSTEES PLACE THREE MEMBERS.

YOU'VE HEARD THE MOTION.

IS THERE A SECOND? IS SECONDED BY THE MAYOR PRO TIM, IS THERE ANYONE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON ITEM NUMBER 69? NO, MA'AM.

THERE BEING NO ONE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON ITEM 69.

I'LL ASK IS THERE ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION WITH REGARD TO ITEM NUMBER 69? THERE BEING NONE WITHOUT OBJECTION.

ITEM NUMBER 69 IS APPROVED MEMBERS.

I'M GOING TO GO

[78. Conduct a public hearing and consider an ordinance authorizing the exchange of extraterritorial jurisdiction (“ETJ”) with the City of Manor, releasing approximately 13.8 acres from the City of Austin’s ETJ to the City of Manor’s ETJ and approximately 6.6 acres will be released from the City of Manor’s ETJ to the City of Austin’s ETJ. CETJ-2023-0001. Funding: This item has no fiscal impact.]

TO ITEM NUMBER 78, WHICH IS A PUBLIC HEARING.

UH, AND I'LL, WITHOUT OBJECTION, WE WILL OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING ON ITEM NUMBER 78.

I'LL ASK THE CLERK, IS THERE ANYONE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON ITEM NUMBER 78? THERE IS NOT MEMBERS, THERE'S NO ONE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON ITEM NUMBER 78.

I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE ITEM NUMBER 78.

IT'S MADE BY THE MAYOR PRO TIM.

IS THERE A SECOND ON ITEM NUMBER 78 WITH REGARD MADE? UH, THE SECOND IS MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON, IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION ON ITEM NUMBER 78? WITHOUT OBJECTION, ITEM NUMBER 78 IS ADOPTED.

WE WILL NOW GO TO ITEM NUMBER

[79. Conduct a public hearing and consider an ordinance granting additional floor-to-area ratio entitlements to the 400 West 14th Street project at 400, 400 1/2, 408, and 412 West 14th Street and 1403 San Antonio Street in accordance with the Downtown Density Bonus Program under City Code Section 25-2-586(B)(6). Funding: This item will have no fiscal impact.]

70, ITEM NUMBER 79.

WITHOUT OBJECTION, WE WILL OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING ON ITEM NUMBER 79.

THE PUBLIC HEARING IS OPEN.

UH, IS THERE ANYONE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON ITEM NUMBER 79? NO MA'AM.

THERE'S NOT, THERE'S NO ONE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON ITEM NUMBER 79.

WITHOUT OBJECTION, WE WILL CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING.

THE PUBLIC HEARING IS CLOSED.

IS THERE A MOTION ON ITEM NUMBER 79? WITH REGARD TO APPROVAL OF THE ORDINANCE? THE MAYOR PRO TEM MOVES APPROVAL OF THE ORDINANCE ON ITEM NUMBER 79.

IT'S SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS.

IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION WITHOUT OBJECTION? ITEM NUMBER 79 IS ADOPTED

[139. Conduct a public hearing and consider an ordinance to authorize the negotiation and execution of a Land Development Standards Agreement with Hays Consolidated Independent School District to establish the applicable City land development regulations to its school buildings; and waiving certain development fees related to City review and cost for the rezoning case for property locally known as the west side of South Turnersville, approximately 1,435 linear feet south of its intersection with Turnersville road and North Turnersville Road (Rinard Creek and Plum Creek Watersheds). Funding: This item is projected to result in unrealized revenue in the amount of $20,212 in the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Planning Department General Fund Operating Budget, $340 in the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Fire Department General Fund Operating Budget, $296 in the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Parks and Recreation Department General Fund Operating Budget, $3,950 in the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Transportation and Public Works Department Transportation Fund Operating Budget, $966 in the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Planning Department Planning Technology Fund Operating Budget, and $2,223 in the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Development Services Department Development Services Fund Operating Budget.]

MEMBERS.

WE WILL NOW GO TO ITEM NUMBER 1 39.

UH, THAT'S A PUBLIC HEARING WITHOUT OBJECTION.

WE WILL OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING ON ITEM NUMBER 1 39.

THE PUBLIC HEARING IS NOW OPEN.

UH, MADAM CLERK, IS THERE ANYONE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK AT THIS PUBLIC HEARING? NO, MA'AM.

THERE IS NO ONE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON THAT PUBLIC HEARING ON ITEM NUMBER 1 39.

SO WITHOUT OBJECTION, WE'LL CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING.

THE PUBLIC HEARING IS NOW CLOSED.

AND I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO AUTHORIZE THE ORDINANCE.

UH, COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTER MOVES APPROVAL.

IT IS SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES.

IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION WITH REGARD TO NI ITEM NUMBER 1 39? UH, WITHOUT, UH, OBJECTION.

ITEM NUMBER 1 39 IS APPROVED.

I'M GONNA GO BACK TO ITEM NUMBER

[76. Conduct a public hearing and consider an ordinance approving the landowner’s request for inclusion of approximately seven acres located on both Menchaca Road and Old Manchaca Road and owned by MRBP, Ltd. in the City’s extraterritorial jurisdiction. CETJ-2024-0002. Funding: This item has no fiscal impact.]

76.

UH, ITEM NUMBER 76 IS A PUBLIC HEARING WITHOUT OBJECTION, WE WILL OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING ON ITEM NUMBER 76.

THE PUBLIC HEARING IS NOW OPEN, AND I'LL TURN TO THE CITY CLERK, UH, FOR ANYONE THAT HAS SIGNED UP ON ITEM NUMBER 76.

WE DO HAVE ONE SPEAKER, SUSAN HARRIS.

MS. HARRIS, IF YOU PLEASE COME FORWARD.

WELCOME.

THANK YOU, MAYOR COUNSEL.

I'M SUSAN HARRIS.

I'M THE PROPERTY OWNER THAT IS THE SUBJECT OF THIS CASE.

THIS PROPERTY WAS INCLUDED IN A 96 ACRE AREA IN A PETITION BY OTHERS, UH, CALLING, ASKING THE CITY TO CALL AN ELECTION FOR THE REMOVAL OF THAT 96 ACRES FROM THE ETJ.

OUR PROPERTY WAS INCLUDED WITHOUT NOTICE TO US WITHOUT OUR CONSENT AND ENTIRELY AGAINST OUR WISHES.

AND AFTER A STEEP LEARNING CURVE AND MUCH, UH, STRATEGIZING, WE DECIDED THAT UNDER SENATE BILL 2038, UH, WHICH IS THE BILL THAT'S HARMING US IN THIS CASE, WE WOULD USE THAT TO PROTECT OURSELVES.

AND WE PETITIONED THE CITY TO RELEASE OUR PROPERTY VOLUNTARILY FROM THE E TJ.

SO THAT FOLLOWING THE ELECTION, WHICH YOU APPROVED BECAUSE YOU HAD NO CHOICE, UM, THAT WE WOULD ASK THE CITY TO REJOIN US INTO THE ETJ.

THAT'S THE MOTION THAT'S BEFORE YOU TODAY.

AND I, UM, WITH YOUR AFFIRMATIVE ACTION TO REJOIN THIS PROPERTY TO THE ETJ, WE WILL BE RESTORED TO THE STATUS THAT WE HAD PRIOR TO THE ELECTION, UH, WHICH WAS CALLED BY FOLKS WHO HAVE NO INTEREST, FINANCIAL OR OTHERWISE IN OUR PROPERTY.

ARE ALL THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK AT THE PUBLIC HEARING ON ITEM NUMBER 76.

THANK YOU MEMBERS.

UM, THOSE

[01:55:01]

SO WITHOUT OBJECTION, WE WILL CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING ON ITEM NUMBER 76.

THAT PUBLIC HEARING IS NOW CLOSED.

THE MAYOR PRO TIM MOVES APPROVAL OF ITEM NUMBER 76 AS REQUESTED BY THE ONE SPEAKER.

IS THERE A SECOND? SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTER, UM, DISCUSSION? YES.

COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES.

I JUST WANNA THANK THE RESIDENT FOR, UM, COMING TO US TO SHARE A LITTLE BIT MORE CONTEXT ABOUT THIS ITEM AND JUST WANNA UNDERSCORE THE, THE IMPACTS OF THAT LEGISLATION AND WHAT IT'S HAD ON COMMUNITIES ACROSS OUR STATE.

AND THIS IS, IT'S UNFORTUNATE THAT YOU HAD TO UNDERTAKE SUCH A PROCESS, UH, TO GET RE ANNEXED INTO THE CITY'S ETJ AND THAT YOU HAD TO GO THROUGH THIS.

AND SO I JUST WANNA APPRECIATE YOUR, YOUR TIME AND, UH, YOUR INTEREST AND JUST REALLY PUT A SPOTLIGHT ON THIS HARMFUL LEGISLATION.

UM, FURTHER DISCUSSION.

COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES, WITHOUT OBJECTION.

ITEM NUMBER 76 IS APPROVED.

UM, MEMBERS, I'M GOING

[74. Conduct a public hearing and consider an ordinance amending City Code Title 25 (Land Development) to require the installation of safety barriers at the pedestrian entrances of medical facilities with nearby vehicular traffic; and waiving the requirement in City Code Section 25-1-502 (Amendment Review) for Planning Commission review of Land Development Code amendments. Funding: This item has no fiscal impact.]

TO TAKE US BACK TO ITEM NUMBER 74.

THIS IS ALSO A PUBLIC HEARING.

UH, WITHOUT OBJECTION, WE WILL CLO OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING ON ITEM NUMBER 74.

THE PUBLIC HEARING IS OPEN, AND I WILL TURN TO THE CITY CLERK, UH, FOR PEOPLE THAT HAVE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK.

WE HAVE ONE SPEAKER, SHARON BLYTHE.

I'M SHARON BLYTHE.

I'M A, I'M A RESIDENT OF DISTRICT SIX.

UM, THIS IS REGARDING, UM, PROTECTING PEOPLE THAT ARE VISITING EMERGENCY ROOMS AND HOSPITALS IN TEXAS FROM PEOPLE, UM, MISTAKENLY HITTING THE ACCELERATOR AND NOT THE BRAKE AND CRASHING THROUGH EMERGENCY ROOMS AND HURTING AND KILLING PEOPLE, UH, UH, WITH, UM, JUST AN ACCIDENT.

THIS IS TO PROTECT, UH, THE RESIDENTS AS WELL AS THE EMPLOYEES OF THE HOSPITAL.

AND, UH, THERE IS NO REASON FOR THIS NOT TO PASS BECAUSE IT'S A PROTECTION OF THE PUBLIC, UH, FOR, UH, PEOPLE JUST, UH, SICK PEOPLE THAT GO INTO THE EMERGENCY ROOM THAT MAY HIT THE ACCELERATOR INSTEAD OF, INSTEAD OF THE, UH, BREAK.

SO I APPRECIATE YOUR CONSIDERATION IN PASSING THE SERGEANT ITEM.

SORRY.

UH, THOSE ARE ALL THE SPEAKERS, MAYOR MEMBERS.

THERE ARE NO FURTHER SPEAKERS FOR THIS PUBLIC HEARING ON ITEM NUMBER 74.

UH, WITHOUT OBJECTION, WE'LL CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING ON ITEM NUMBER 74.

THE PUBLIC HEARING IS NOW CLOSED.

I'M GOING TO RECOGNIZE, UH, CA IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING.

I'M GONNA RECOGNIZE COUNCILOR MEMBER KELLY.

ACTUALLY, I, I'LL RECOGNIZE COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE FOR A MOTION.

UM, AND THEN RECOGNIZE COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY.

AND IF ANYBODY ELSE, PLEASE LET ME KNOW THAT YOU WISH TO SPEAK.

COUNCIL MEMBER CORY.

THAT, UM, WE'RE AT A PLACE WHERE THE PLANNING COMMISSION DID NOT HAVE TO MAKE A RECOMMENDATION ON THIS ITEM.

UH, THANK YOU MAYOR.

UH, AND I WANNA THANK COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY IN HER OFFICE FOR THEIR WORK ON THIS ITEM.

UM, BUT BECAUSE, UH, THE ITEM HADN'T HAD A CHANCE TO GO TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION, AND I KNOW THEY WANTED TO WEIGH IN AFTER, AFTER TALKING TO SOME FOLKS, UH, AND THERE WERE STILL SOME QUESTIONS REMAINING ABOUT HOW IT APPLIES TO DIFFERENT FACILITIES.

UM, I, I, I REALLY WANNA MAKE SURE WE GET THE BEST POSSIBLE POLICY WITH JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME.

UH, SO, YOU KNOW, WITH THE, WITH THE INTENT AND, AND THE HARD WORK THAT WAS PUT IN IS, IS IS FULLY REALIZED.

SO I'M, I'M PUSHING TO POSTPONE THIS, THIS ITEM, THE MOTION IS MADE TO POSTPONE THE ITEM.

DO YOU HAVE A DATE? UH, LET'S SAY JANUARY 30TH? YEAH.

THE MOTION IS TO POSTPONE ITEM NUMBER 74 UNTIL JANUARY 30TH.

IT'S SECONDED BY THE MAYOR PRO TEM DISCUSSION COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY? YEAH.

UM, YOU KNOW, THE POSTPONEMENT REQUEST COMES AS A SURPRISE TO ME.

UM, THIS ITEM PASSED UNANIMOUSLY OUT OF A RESULT OF THE WORK THAT MYSELF AND MY CO-SPONSORS DID, UM, SEVERAL MONTHS AGO FOLLOWING THAT HORRIFIC CRASH AT A LOCAL HOSPITAL.

AND, UM, I JUST, I, I FULLY UNDERSTAND AND APPRECIATE THAT THE PLANNING COMMISSION HAD QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS AND WANTED TO FULLY, UM, SETTLE THIS OUT.

BUT WHAT I WOULD SAY TO THAT IS THAT THE, THE, THE ITEM ITSELF WAS NARROW IN SCOPE SPECIFICALLY TO ADDRESS THIS CONCERN.

I FELT AT THE TIME, AND AS MY CO-SPONSORS DID, UM, THAT IF WE HAD BROADEN THE SCOPE OF THIS POLICY BEFORE WE BROUGHT IT TO COUNCIL TO PASS, BEFORE AN ORDINANCE WAS BROUGHT BACK, THAT IT WOULD BE LESS LIKELY TO PASS BECAUSE IT WOULD IMPACT, UM, IT COULD POTENTIALLY IMPACT SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS AND THEY MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO BEAR THE COST OF INSTALLING THESE CRASH TESTED SAFETY BALLARDS.

I FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT THE ACTION THAT WE TAKE TODAY, UM, IN IF WE WERE TO PASS THIS ITEM, WOULD HELP FUTURE HOSPITAL BUILDS AND ENSURE THE SAFETY OF OUR COMMUNITY.

I ALSO FEEL DEEPLY

[02:00:01]

AND IF IT WERE UP TO THE WILL OF THE NEXT COUNCIL, THEN THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO EXPLORE OPTIONS TO EXPAND THIS IF THEY THOUGHT IT WAS NECESSARY.

BUT WE HAVE IN FRONT OF US TODAY AN ORDINANCE BASED ON A POLICY THAT THIS ENTIRE CURRENT DAES PASSED, AND I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT COME TO FRUITION TO TODAY.

COUNCIL MEMBER FURTHER DISCUSSION WITH REGARD TO THE MOTION ON ITEM NUMBER 74.

AND FOR CLARITY PURPOSES, THE MOTION IS TO POSTPONE THE ITEM, UH, FOR CONSIDERATION UNTIL JANUARY 30TH, 2025.

COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON ALTER.

YES, I HAD A QUESTION FOR COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE ABOUT THE SCOPE OF WHAT THE CONCERNS ARE, IF IT'S BROADENING IT TO APPLY TO MORE PLACES OR IF IT'S A CONCERN ABOUT HOW IT IS DRAFTED.

UM, I, I GUESS BOTH.

UM, SO I JUST WANTED TO KIND OF GET A LOT OF THESE QUESTIONS ANSWERED AND HOPEFULLY IN THE NEXT MONTH PLUS WE WOULD BE ABLE TO DO THAT.

SO IS IT, I MEAN, BECAUSE THERE'S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHETHER IT'S, YOU KNOW, WE THINK THIS IS SUCH A GOOD IDEA, WE WANNA EXPAND IT TO MORE PLACES, OR WE HAVE PROBLEMS WITH THAT.

I THINK IT'S THE APPLICATION OF THE PLACES THAT IT WOULD, IT WOULD, IT WOULD BE BROUGHT INTO AND MAKING SURE THAT THERE'S NOT ANY, UM, UH, UNINTENDED, YOU KNOW, OR EFFECTS.

UM, I'M NOT GONNA SUPPORT THE POSTPONEMENT IN THIS CASE BECAUSE I THINK THIS WAS NARROWLY WRITTEN TO, TO APPLY.

UM, AND THAT THERE ARE CHALLENGES IF YOU APPLY THIS MORE BROADLY, UM, THAT ARE GONNA REQUIRE A LOT MORE, UM, ENGAGEMENT AND WORK THAN WAS INTENDED.

AND, AND THIS IS A, A NEED THAT WE HAVE FOR THE MANY FACILITIES THAT ARE BEING BUILT RIGHT NOW.

COUNCIL MEMBER FURTHER DISCUSSION? YES.

COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, I'LL LET YOU.

I, I JUST AGAIN, WANNA REITERATE I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO WATCH THE PLANNING COMMISSION.

I THINK THAT THEY BRING UP VERY SALIENT POINTS, BUT AGAIN, UM, IF, IF THEIR INTENTION IS TO BROADEN THIS, THAT IS A SEPARATE DISCUSSION THAT IS NOT GERMANE, IN MY OPINION, TO THE ACTION THAT THIS BODY TOOK IN ENSURING THAT THIS ORDINANCE WOULD COME BACK.

AND I WOULD ENCOURAGE THIS BODY IF IN THE FUTURE THEY FEEL THAT THERE IS A NEED FOR A BROADENING OF THE SCOPE OF THE ORDINANCE THAT'S BEFORE US TODAY.

THAT IS, UH, A VALIANT EFFORT.

AND I WOULD ENCOURAGE THAT WHILE I'M WATCHING FROM HOME ON MY COUCH EATING POPCORN.

BUT, UH, RIGHT NOW, TODAY, WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO AFFECT, UH, A VERY SERIOUS CHANGE TO OUR HOSPITALS AND EMERGENCY ROOMS WHERE THERE ARE INDIVIDUALS WHO EXPERIENCE MEDICAL CRISES.

AND I THINK THAT IT WOULD BE AN ABSOLUTE TRAVESTY FOR US NOT TO VOTE TODAY IN FAVOR OF THIS ITEM AND TO POSTPONE IT AND KICK IT DOWN THE ROAD FURTHER WHERE IN THE NEXT 30 DAYS OR SO WHEN THIS IS BROUGHT BACK UP, UM, BECAUSE OF A LACK OF EFFORT, WE COULD EXPERIENCE ANOTHER HORRIBLE TRAGEDY.

SO I WOULD ENCOURAGE MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES TODAY TO VOTE IN AGAINST THE POSTPONEMENT AND IN FAVOR OF, UH, PASSING THIS BEFORE US TODAY.

AND I WANT TO ALSO APPRECIATE THE WORK OF OUR GREAT PROFESSIONAL CITY STAFF THAT WENT OUT AND DID A LOT OF, UM, OUTREACH TO THE HOSPITALS THAT WOULD BE AFFECTED BY THIS POTENTIALLY IN THE FUTURE.

I WANT TO THANK THE COMMUNITY FOR THEIR INPUT, AND I WANT TO THANK THE BERNARD FAMILY FOR THEIR COURAGE TO SPEAK UP AND TO TALK ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCE, WHICH IS WHY IN PART, I BROUGHT THIS FORWARD TO PREVENT FURTHER TRAGEDY.

APPLICATIONS AND EXPANSIONS OF, OF THIS TYPE OF PROGRAM ALONG THE WAY.

COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE RIGHT NOW, YOU TO CLOSE ON THE MOTION? YEAH.

UM, JUST KIND OF WANT TO, YOU KNOW, ONCE AGAIN, THANK UH, COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY ON, ON THE ITEM.

UH, BUT I, I, I THINK FOR ME AND, AND SOME FOLKS I'VE TALKED TO, I, I THINK IT'S ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WHAT IT NECESSARILY MEANS FOR RENOVATIONS AND REBUILDS.

UM, WE KNOW WHAT IT MEANS FOR, FOR, FOR, FOR, FOR, YOU KNOW, THE, THE CURRENT STRUCTURES, BUT NOT, UH, RENOVATIONS FOR REBUILDS.

AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK NOT HAVING HAD THE CHANCE TO TALK TO HOSPITAL SYSTEMS AND STANDALONE SERVICE SYSTEMS ABOUT HOW IT WOULD IMPACT THEIR FEASIBILITY OF ENTRANCE DURING EMERGENCIES ARE, ARE MY CONCERNS.

UM, AND THANK YOU.

I'VE RECOGNIZED HIM TO CLOSE, UM, WITH THAT, OH, I'M SORRY.

COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS, I DIDN'T REALIZE YOU WANTED TO SPEAK.

I'M SORRY.

I JUST, UM, APPRECIATE THE DIALOGUE AND I THINK THAT THERE COULD BE SOME BENEFIT IN MOVING FORWARD WITH THIS TODAY.

UM, UNDERSTANDING THE PLANNING COMMISSION MAY HAVE SOME REALLY, REALLY GREAT INPUT ABOUT DIFFERENT APPLICATIONS AND OTHER SORTS OF CRITERIA THAT ARE GONNA BE IMPORTANT TO THIS CONVERSATION.

UM, BUT I THINK THAT WITH THIS ONE BEING SO NARROWLY TAILORED, I, I THINK THERE'S NO REASON WHY WE CAN'T MOVE FORWARD TODAY, BUT ALSO LET THE PLANNING COMMISSION FIGURE OUT IF THERE NEEDS TO BE OTHER

[02:05:01]

WITH THAT, THERE BEING NO FURTHER DISCUSSION.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION TO POSTPONE TO JANUARY 30TH, 2025.

RAISE YOUR HAND.

ALL THOSE OPPOSED, RAISE YOUR HAND.

THEY'RE BEING SEVEN OPPOSED, UH, IN THE REMAINDER.

VOTING IN FAVOR, UH, THEN THE MOTION TO POSTPONE FAILS THOSE VOTING NO.

FOR THE RECORD ARE KELLY, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS.

KELLY ALISON ALTER, COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS HARPER, MADISON VELA, RYAN ALTER, AND THE MAYOR.

DID I GET THAT CORRECT? ALRIGHT, SO THE MOTION FAILS.

I'LL RECOGNIZE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY FOR, UH, ANY ADDITIONAL MOTION ON ITEM 74, I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO PASS.

ITEM 74, MOTION HAS BEEN MADE TO ADOPT ITEM NUMBER 74.

IS THERE A SECOND? SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON ALTER.

IS THERE FURTHER DISCUSSION ON ITEM NUMBER 74? I'M GONNA SAY IT WITHOUT OBJECTION.

ITEM NUMBER 74 IS ADOPTED, BUT IF SOMEONE WISHES TO BE SHOWN VOTING NO, PLEASE LET ME KNOW WITHOUT OBJECTION.

ITEM NUMBER 74 IS ADOPTED MEMBERS THAT WILL

[12:00 PM - Public Communication: General]

TAKE US NOW TO OUR 12 O'CLOCK TIME CERTAIN, WHICH IS OUR PUBLIC COMMUNICATION FOR THOSE, UH, IN THE PUBLIC THAT ARE WATCHING WHAT'S GOING ON AND TRYING TO COORDINATE YOUR TIME.

AND FOR THE COUNCIL, THE, THE WAY I SEE THIS GOING IS IT'S, IT'S ABOUT, IT'S 1208.

UH, THIS USUALLY TAKES ABOUT 30 MINUTES OF THIS TIME CERTAIN, SO I I I WOULD SAY 1240 IS WHAT TIME WE SHOULD FINISH THIS.

AT THAT POINT WE WILL RECESS SO THAT WE CAN HAVE, UH, LIVE MUSIC.

UH, I WOULD ANTICIPATE THAT WHAT WE WOULD DO IS WE WOULD COME BACK AT AROUND, WE WOULD RECESS UNTIL AROUND ONE 15.

WE WILL COME BACK AT ONE 15.

AT WHICH POINT, UH, MY RECOMMENDATION WOULD BE TO TAKE UP ITEM NUMBER TWO, WHICH IS THE GENERATION PLAN.

SO FOR THOSE THAT ARE TRYING TO COORDINATE YOUR TIME, THAT'S WHAT WHAT I WOULD SUGGEST WE GO FORWARD.

UM, WITH THAT, WE WILL NOW GO TO OUR 12 O'CLOCK TIME CERTAIN, FOR THOSE OF Y'ALL THAT HAVE SIGNED UP TO BE SPEAKERS ON THE 12 O'CLOCK TIME, CERTAIN YOU KNOW, WHAT ORDER YOUR NAME IS LISTED.

SO I WOULD PLEASE ASK THAT YOU COME AHEAD AND GET WHERE YOU'RE IN A POSITION TO GIVE YOUR, UH, PUBLIC COMMENT.

HOWEVER, THE CITY CLERK WILL CALL YOUR NAME OUT, UH, IN ORDER AND ASK YOU TO COME FORWARD AND YOU WILL HAVE, UH, THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE PUBLIC, PUBLIC COMMENT.

UH, RABBI, YOU'RE FIRST, SO IF YOU WANNA MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE PODIUM, I'LL THEN TURN TO THE CITY CLERK AND ASK HER TO START CALLING NAMES.

IF YOU'RE IN THE CHAMBERS, IF YOU'RE IN THE CHAMBERS AND YOU'RE NOT STANDING WHERE THE RABBI IS STANDING, HE SHOULDN'T BE TALKING.

SO RABBI, IT'S YOUR TURN TO TALK.

GOOD AFTERNOON.

UH, I'M HERE THIS AFTERNOON TO THANK YOU, PARTICULARLY THOSE WHO WILL BE SHORTLY LEAVING THIS COUNCIL FOR YOUR STEADFAST REFUSAL TO CONSIDER A CEASEFIRE RESOLUTION.

DESPITE MONTHS OF TREMENDOUS PRESSURE AND SOMETIMES EVEN PROFANE INVECTIVE, THE MEMBERS OF THIS COUNCIL HAVE BEEN REPEATEDLY AND LOUDLY ACCUSED OF BEING COMPLICIT AND GENOCIDE AND TO BEING INDIFFERENT TO THE SUFFERING OF INNOCENT PALESTINIAN WOMEN AND CHILDREN BECAUSE OF YOUR REFUSAL TO TAKE UP SUCH A RESOLUTION.

THE TRUTH IS THAT I AM VERY CERTAIN ALL OF YOU, AS WELL AS THE OTHER FOLKS THAT I KNOW OF IN THE JEWISH COMMUNITY, SHARE THE DESIRE FOR THE CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES AND ARE PAINED BY THE SUFFERING AND DESTRUCTION IN ISRAEL IN GAZA AND LEBANON OVER THESE PAST 14 MONTHS.

OUR COMMUNITY'S CONCERN ABOUT A CEASEFIRE RESOLUTION, HOWEVER, HAS BEEN THAT THE OBJECTIVE OF THOSE WHO HAVE PRESSED FOR SUCH A RESOLUTION IN THIS CHAMBER EXTENDS BEYOND A MERE DESIRE FOR CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES.

RATHER, THIS HAS BEEN A SUSTAINED EFFORT TO CAST BLAME ON ISRAEL AS THE SOLE PERPETRATOR OF VIOLENCE AND TO UTILIZE SUCH A RESOLUTION AS A STEPPING STONE TO ENLISTING AUSTIN AMONG THOSE CITIES WHO REJECT LEGITIMACY OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL AS A JEWISH STATE, AND TO MAKE AUSTIN A PLACE THAT IS HOSTILE TO ZIONIST AND ZIONISM.

AS I'VE LISTENED OVER THESE PAST FEW MONTHS, WHAT IS MOST STRIKING AND PUZZLING TO ME IS THAT

[02:10:01]

RARELY, IF EVER, IS THE IMMEDIATE CAUSE OF THE CURRENT CONFLICT ADDRESS HAMAS' MURDER OF OVER 1200 ISRAELIS ON OCTOBER 7TH, THE CAPTURE OF MILITARY AND CIVILIAN HOSTAGES, INCLUDING AMERICANS.

LIKEWISE, FEW WORDS OF CRITICISM HAVE BEEN UTTERED OVER HAMAS', CYNICAL AND COWARDLY STRATEGY OF PLACING MILITARY INSTALLATIONS BELOW MOSQUES SCHOOLS, HOSPITALS, AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS, OR THAT HAMAS, AS WELL AS THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT, HAVE BEEN RESISTING EFFORTS FOR A CEASEFIRE AS A SUPPORTER OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL.

MY PRIMARY CONCERN LIES WITH THE SAFE RETURN OF THE REMAINING HOSTAGES AND THE SECURITY OF THE STATE.

NONETHELESS, I AM PAINED BY THE SUFFERING OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE AND HAVE DEEP CONCERNS ABOUT HOW THIS WAR HAS BEEN CONDUCTED AND THE HEAVY TOLL IS TAKEN ON BOTH PALESTINIANS AND ISRAELIS SINCE THE OUTBREAK OF THIS WAR.

I WOULD HAVE HOPED THAT INSTEAD OF EXPRESSIONS OF ANGER, BLAME, AND INVECTIVE, WE MIGHT HAVE COME TO A COMMONPLACE OF RECOGNITION OF MUTUAL PAIN AND ANXIETY TO MOURN THAN TO HOPE.

THE BOOK OF GENESIS TELLS US THAT WHEN OUR COMMON ANCESTOR ABRAHAM DIED, THAT BOTH OF HIS SONS, ISHMAEL AND ISAAC CAME TOGETHER AS BROTHERS TO BURY AND MOURN THEIR FATHER.

THE SAME OCCURRED BETWEEN JACOB AND ESAU WHEN ISAAC DIED.

MY HOPE IS THAT WE MIGHT FOLLOW THEIR EXAMPLE, THANK YOU, AND WORK TOWARDS A JUSTICE OF PURE FUTURE.

APPRECIATE YOUR BEING HERE.

NEXT SPEAKER IS SHARON VAIN.

HELLO, I'M SHARON VAIN AND I KNOW MANY OF YOU FROM ASSORTED ADVOCACY EFFORTS, BUT TODAY I'M HERE TO SPEAK SOLELY FOR MYSELF AND MY FAMILY.

IT'S A FAMILY THAT INCLUDES HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS, A FAMILY THAT HAS WORKED IN MULTIPLE PROGRESSIVE SPACES FOR LASTING PEACE IN ISRAEL AND PALESTINE, AND A FAMILY THAT IS EAGER FOR A DEAL TO BRING ALL HOSTAGES HOME, PARTICULARLY OUR FAMILY MEMBER ODED LEITZ 84.

YOU HAVE SEEN DEEP ANGER, PAIN AND FEAR HERE FUELED BY A PROPOSED CEASEFIRE RESOLUTION.

IT IS CLEAR, AND I APPRECIATE IT, THAT REGARDLESS OF YOUR PERSONAL STANCES, THE CURRENT COUNCIL WILL NOT BRING FORTH A RESOLUTION.

I SPEAK NOW TO THE NEXT ITERATION OF COUNCIL WITH ITS NEWLY ELECTED MEMBERS.

I HOPE THAT 2025 WILL NO LONGER SEE DISCUSSION IN THIS CHAMBER AROUND A RESOLUTION, PARTICULARLY SINCE GOOD FAITH EFFORTS TO REACH A COMPROMISE HAVE FAILED.

AT THE SAME TIME, WE MUST RECOGNIZE THIS RESOLUTION'S RIPPLE EFFECTS THE LOUDEST, MOST, MOST UNCOMPROMISING VOICES SUPPORTING A RESOLUTION OR ALSO ADVOCATING ACROSS THE CITY FOR AN UNCOMPROMISING LITMUS TEST FOR CIVIC PARTICIPATION.

WE SEE THE PUSH FOR AUSTIN TO STOP ANY INVESTMENT IN ISRAEL.

WE SEE THE PUSH FOR SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST TO DROP SPONSORS.

WE SEE THE PUSH FOR AUSTIN PRIDE TO USE BDS CRITERIA TO SCREEN SPONSORS, WHICH EFFECTIVELY PROHIBITS AREA SYNAGOGUES FROM CONTINUING THEIR LONGTIME SPONSORSHIPS.

WE SEE THE PUSH FOR ISRAELI BUS OR FOR AUSTIN BUSINESSES TO PULL ISRAELI PRODUCTS AND DISPLAY POSTERS THAT DE-LEGITIMIZE ISRAEL.

WE SEE THE PUSH TO DROP OUR LOCAL A DL OFFICE FROM THE CITY'S ANTI HATE CAMPAIGN AND REMOVE THE NO PLACE FOR HATE PROGRAM FROM CITY SCHOOLS.

WE SEE THE GRAFFITI TARGETING UT'S JEWISH STUDENT CENTER AUSTINITES, WHO MERELY BELIEVE IN AUSTIN IN ISRAEL'S RIGHT TO EXIST, CANNOT BE ERASED AND EXCLUDED FROM CIVIC LIFE.

AND THERE IS DEEP REPAIR WORK TO BE DONE THAT I HOPE REMAINS POSSIBLE.

NEXT SPEAKER IS ARI HOFFMAN, AND I BELIEVE ARI HOFFMAN, I BELIEVE ACTUALLY MAYOR, THAT SPEAKER NOTIFIED US THIS MORNING.

THEY'RE NOT GONNA BE SPEAKING TODAY.

OKAY, NEXT SPEAKER IS A REMOTE SPEAKER, MICHAEL BAR BARTLE ME.

ONE MOMENT.

THAT IS MY NAME.

THAT IS THE CORRECT PRONUNCIATION.

AND WIDESPREAD ILLEGAL DUMPING, CREATING UNSAFE CONDITIONS FOR NEARBY NEIGHBORHOODS.

UM, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.

I WANNA SPEAK ABOUT THE SOUTH ZONE DEVELOPMENT ON DIPMAR ROAD NEAR MY NEIGHBORHOOD, AND I WENT OUT AND, UH, GOT SIGNATURES FROM 55 RESIDENTS IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD.

SPECIFICALLY SPEAKING TO THE ISSUES HERE, UH, MANY MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY HAVE EXPRESSED CONCERNS ABOUT THIS ABANDONED DEVELOPMENT.

AND SINCE CONSTRUCTION HALTED WELL OVER A YEAR AGO, IT'S BECOME A SITE OF VANDALISM

[02:15:01]

THERE'S EVIDENCE OF HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS BEING DUMPED THERE AS WELL AS SPENT AND LIVE BULLET CASINGS ON THE SITE.

MULTIPLE STORIES HAVE BEEN WRITTEN AND REPORTED ON ABOUT THIS DEVELOPMENT, AND THE DISREPAIR HAS FALLEN UNDER OVER THE PAST SIX TO EIGHT MONTHS.

MANY OF US HAVE CONTACTED CODE COMPLIANCE 3 1 1 AUSTIN PD SEEKING A RESOLUTION, BUT WE'VE BEEN TOLD THE SITE CAN ONLY MEDIATE THE SITE.

THE CITY CAN ONLY MEDIATE A FINE TO THE DEVELOPER, AND WHILE WE'VE BEEN TOLD THERE'S A SALE IN THE WORK, WE HAVE TO DO MORE BECAUSE THAT SALE COULD TAKE MONTHS BEFORE THIS SITE IS ACTUALLY SECURED.

WE'VE BEEN TOLD THEY HAVE ATTEMPTED TO ADD CAMERAS TO AFFORD, AVOID FURTHER DUMPING AND VANDALISM AND PREVENT THE POSSIBILITY OF SQUATTERS IN THE, IN THE ABANDONED HOMES.

BUT EVEN STILL, THE CAMERAS HAVE SEEMED TO HAVE BEEN TAKEN OFFLINE OR THEY'VE BEEN DESTROYED OR THEY'VE BEEN VANDALIZED THEMSELVES BY THIS CONTINUING TO DUMP AND VANDALIZE.

WE'VE DONE A FEW CLEANINGS HERE AND THERE, BUT IT HASN'T STOPPED THE PROBLEM THAT CONTINUES TO HAPPEN AND THOSE SPENT A LIVE BULLET CASINGS I MENTIONED WERE FOUND AS RECENTLY AS LAST WEEK.

SO WHILE THESE FINES HAVEN'T SEEMED TO CHANGE ANYTHING, THE CAMERAS HAVEN'T SEEMED TO CHANGE ANYTHING.

AT SOME POINT WE HAVE TO REVISIT THE DEFINITION OF INSANITY AND ASK WHY DO WE KEEP DOING THE SAME THING AND EXPECT A DIFFERENT RESULT? AT MINIMUM, WE WOULD REQUEST A REGULAR PATROL OF THIS DEVELOPMENT TO PREVENT THIS FURTHER DUMPING REGULARLY SCHEDULED TREAT CLEANUP, LOCKING THE ACTUAL SITE TO KEEP, TO KEEP PEOPLE FROM DUMPING ON THE SITE CAMERAS WITH MAINTENANCE AND REPLACEMENTS DONE ON A REGULAR BASIS AND A FAST TRACK OF THE UPDATED SITE PLAN THAT WOULD ALLOW THE DEVELOPER WHO DID GO INTO BANKRUPTCY TO ALLOW THAT SALE AND DEMOLITION OF THE CURRENT PROJECT.

SO NEW DEVELOPMENT CAN TAKE PLACE.

THIS DEVELOPMENT IS ONE MILE FROM AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.

IT IS LESS THAN ONE MILE FROM A LOCAL CITY PARK, AND THE CONTINUED DUMPING ON THIS SITE IS A DANGER TO RESIDENTS IN THIS AREA, AND WE NEED TO DO MORE TO SECURE IT.

AND PAPA PLAZA ARE NOT JUST SHARED SOLUTIONS.

NEXT SPEAKER IS RICHARD VICTOR, FOLLOWED BY JOSEPH REYNA AND PAUL ROBBINS.

IF YOUR NAME'S BEEN CALLED, PLEASE COME FORWARD AND PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME FOR THE RECORD.

JOSEPH RENA.

GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR WATSON AND COUNCIL, COUNCIL MEMBERS.

MY NAME IS JOSEPH RENA.

I COME BEFORE YOU TODAY AS AN ADVOCATE AS A STUDENT AT AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND AS SOMEONE WHO HAS FACED THE SHARP EDGE OF DISPLACEMENT.

BUT I'M HERE ALSO AS A BELIEVER IN THE RESILIENCE OF THIS CITY AND THE CREATIVITY OF ITS PEOPLE, AND IN THE POWER OF BOLD IDEAS TO TURN CHALLENGES INTO OPPORTUNITIES.

TODAY I SHARE WITH YOU TWO INITIATIVES, ZEN BOX AND POPUP PLAZA.

THESE ARE NOT JUST PROJECTS, THEY ARE BLUEPRINTS FOR A CITY THAT LIFTS UP ITS PEOPLE AND UNLOCKS THE POTENTIAL OF EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD, EVERY CORNER, AND EVERY FORGOTTEN PLACE.

ZEN BOX IS A FOUNDATION FOR HOPE.

IMAGINE LOSING EVERYTHING, NOT JUST YOUR HOME, BUT THE STABILITY AND SAFETY IT PROVIDES FOR TOO MANY AUSTINITES.

THIS ISN'T JUST HYPOTHETICAL, IT'S THEIR REALITY.

ZEN BOX IS A JAPANESE CAPSULE HOTEL DESIGNED BY A WORLD RENOWNED ARCHITECTURAL FIRM, AND THIS IS A CHANCE TO REWRITE THAT STORY FOR $300 A MONTH, THAT'S $10 A DAY.

IF YOU CAN IMAGINE A ONE HOUR OF WORK.

ZEN BOX OFFERS MORE THAN JUST A ROOF OVER SOMEONE'S HEAD.

IT'S A LIFELINE FOR VETERANS REBUILDING THEIR LIVES, SURVIVORS OF ABUSE, SEEKING SAFETY, STUDENTS PURSUING DREAMS THAT THEY THOUGHT WERE OUT OF REACH.

IT'S A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE CAN TAKE THEIR FIRST STEPS BACK TOWARDS STABILITY AND DIGNITY.

THIS IS ABOUT MORE THAN SHELTER.

IT BRINGS SERVICES, MENTAL HEALTH CARE, JOB TRAINING, ADDICTION, RECOVERY DIRECTLY TO ITS RESIDENTS.

IT'S INSPIRED BY FINLAND'S HOUSING FIRST MODEL, A PROVEN SYSTEM THAT REDUCES HOMELESSNESS AND RESTORES DIGNITY.

ZEN BOX IS A PROMISE THAT NO ONE IN AUSTIN SHOULD BE LEFT BEHIND, BUT WITH YOUR PARTNERSHIP, WE CAN HOUSE HUNDREDS IN THIS PILOT PHASE, SETTING THE FOUNDATION FOR A SCALABLE, SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION THAT TRANSFORMS LIVES AND STRENGTHENS OUR CITY POPUP PLAZA.

IMAGINE THE CORNERS OF AUSTIN THAT COULD HAVE BEEN THE SMALL BUSINESSES THAT DIDN'T OPEN THE JOBS THAT WERE NEVER CREATED IN THE COMMUNITIES THAT STAYED STAGNANT, ALL BECAUSE OF OUTDATED PERMITTING SYSTEMS AND UNNECESSARY DELAYS.

POPUP PLAZAS OUR ANSWER, AND AT ITS CORE TO DIGITAL PERMITT SYSTEM THAT CLEARS THE RED TAPE, ENABLING SMALL BUSINESSES AND DEVELOPERS TO THRIVE.

BUT AT ITS CORE, IT'S MORE THAN JUST EFFICIENCY.

PAPA PLAZA TRANSFORMS UNDERUTILIZED SPACES INTO VIBRANT HUBS OF CULTURE AND COMMERCE.

PLACES WHERE NEIGHBORHOODS COME ALIVE, WHERE LOCAL BUSINESSES FLOURISH, AND WHERE FORGOTTEN CORNERS BECOME THE BEATING HEART OF OUR CITY.

IT'S ABOUT UNLOCKING THE POTENTIAL OF AUSTIN, NOT JUST FOR A SELECT FEW, BUT FOR EVERYONE.

AUSTIN STANDS AT A CROSSROADS EVERY DAY.

WE WAIT, ANOTHER FAMILY LOSES THEIR HOME, ANOTHER BUSINESS GIVES UP ON THE CITY.

ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY SLIPS THROUGH OUR FINGERS, BUT WE HAVE THE TOOLS TO CHANGE THAT.

THE TECHNOLOGY'S HERE NOW TO CREATE A CITY WHERE NO ONE'S JUST LEFT BEHIND.

WHERE INNOVATION MEETS COMPASSION AND WHERE PROGRESS IS A SHARED JOURNEY.

ZEN BOX

[02:20:01]

THEY'RE THE NEXT STEPS TOWARDS THE CITY THAT LIVES UP TO ITS PROMISE.

WHAT WE'RE ASKING FOR IS A PIT TO ENSURE LONG-TERM AFFORDABILITY AND SUSTAINABILITY FOR ZEN BOX TO PILOT POPUP PLAZA'S, PERMIT PILOT, A TARGETED EMPLOYMENT ZONE, AND A PRO HOUSING GRANT.

I'LL SEND EMAILS AND FOLLOW UP WITH YOU ALL.

I APPRECIATE IT.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

APPRECIATE YOU DOING THAT.

MR. ROBBINS.

THE SPEAKER IS MR. PAUL ROBBINS, FOLLOWED BY STEPHANIE SERRANO.

GOOD AFTERNOON COUNSEL.

UH, MOST OF THIS WILL BE ABOUT THE AUSTIN ENERGY GENERATION PLAN.

I AM THE VICE CHAIR OF THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION.

AT OUR LAST MEETING, WE PASSED A 13 POINT RESOLUTION.

UH, MANY OF THESE POINTS, UH, ARE ABOUT, UH, ARE ABOUT INDIVIDUAL TECHNOLOGIES AND PROGRAMS RATHER THAN ABOUT LOCAL, UH, HIGH LEVEL GOALS.

UH, I AM ASKING COUNSEL TO TAKE THESE UP AT THEIR NEXT MEETING, EARL, UH, AT, AT ONE OF THEIR NEXT MEETINGS EARLIER THIS EARLY IN THE NEXT YEAR.

UM, THESE INCLUDE AMENDMENTS TO THE ENERGY CODE PILOT PROGRAMS FOR VIRTUAL POWER PLANTS, A STUDY OF WAYS TO LOWER THE COST OF ROOFTOP SOLAR AND CREATION OR EXPANSION OF CONSERVATION BASED ELECTRIC RATES.

I WILL GIVE ONE EXAMPLE.

AUSTIN CURRENTLY HAS ABOUT 10 MEGAWATTS OF STORAGE BATTERIES IN HOMES, AND THE UTILITY COULD TIE THESE TOGETHER AS A VIRTUAL POWER PLANT TO LOWER PEAK DEMAND.

SOUNDS SIMPLE, BUT THERE IS NO PROGRAM TO DO THIS, UH, AND THERE'S NO PLAN TO IMPLEMENT SUCH A PROGRAM.

AND IF COUNCIL WERE TO COME BACK AND SAY, THIS PROGRAM NEEDS TO BE SET, SET UP BY X DATE, IT WOULD HELP YOUR LOW CARBON GOALS.

UH, LOW CARBON GOALS NEED PROGRAMS TO ACHIEVE THEM.

UH, SO AGAIN, PLEASE BRING THIS UP EARLIER NEXT YEAR.

FINALLY, ON A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SUBJECT, A NON-SEQUITUR.

I'M ASKING AUSTIN ENERGY TO ABANDON THE X TWITTER PLATFORM.

THERE IS NO PLACE FOR A CITY DEPARTMENT TO ASSOCIATE ITSELF WITH AN ANTISOCIAL, UH, MEDIA OUTLET THAT SEEMS TO CHAMPION HATE SPEECH.

UM, THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION.

THANK YOU, MR. ROBS.

GOOD AFTERNOON.

MY NAME IS STEPHANIE SERRANO.

I'M A MOTHER OF TWO.

I'M A FIREFIGHTER.

I'M AN INSTRUCTOR FOR THE, UH, FOR THE FIRE ACADEMY.

AM BA AM BASTROP.

AND I WAS FORMALLY A CITY OF AUSTIN LIFEGUARD ON APRIL UH, TWO, UH, 2023, I REPORTED TO, UH, TO A CITY OF AUSTIN SUPERVISOR, WHO I RECENTLY FOUND OUT WAS UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR BEING SEXUALLY INAPPROPRIATE WITH, UM, A FEMALE LIFEGUARD THAT I WANTED TO MAKE A FORMAL COMPLAINT AGAINST A SENIOR GUARD FOR INAPPROPRIATE SEXUAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CHILD, UH, WITH A LIFEGUARD, UM, FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

AND THAT I ALSO CONTACTED THE POLICE.

I WAS TOLD BY THE SUPERVISOR NOT TO WORRY AND TO PICK UP AS MANY SHIFTS AS I NEEDED.

A FEW HOURS AFTER I WAS TOLD BY THIS, UH, BY THE SAME SUPERVISOR THAT I WAS BEING REMOVED FROM THE SCHEDULE AND I WAS BEING INVESTIGATED WHILE THE PERSON I MADE A COMPLAINT ABOUT STAYED ON, STAYED ON, AND IS STILL CURRENTLY WORKING.

UM, ABOUT A MONTH LATE, UH, UH, ABOUT A MONTH LATER, I WAS CALLED BY THE SUPERVISOR ADVISOR THAT, UM, I WOULD NO LONGER BE WORKING.

I WAS TOLD I WAS ISOLATED FROM MY FRIENDS AND MY COWORKERS AND TOLD THAT, AND TOLD THAT I WAS NOT ALLOWED TO SPEAK TO ANYBODY FOR ALMOST A MONTH.

AND THEY HAD ALREADY MADE THE DECISION THAT SAME DAY.

UM, ACCORDING TO EMAILS THAT I HAD HAD RECENTLY ONLY SEEN TOO MANY YOUNG WOMEN HAVE REPORTED SEXUAL ALLEGATIONS AGAINST SUPERVISORS AND GUARDS WHO HAVE BEEN THERE FOR A LONG TIME.

YET THE ONLY ONES WHO ARE PUNISHED ARE THE WOMEN AND WOMEN GUARDS

[02:25:01]

THAT BRING UP THESE ALLEGATIONS.

WE NEED TO DO BETTER.

WE NEED TO PROTECT, PROTECT THESE YOUNG PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY SINCE WE HAVE 15 YEAR OLDS THAT ARE THERE, THERE THAT ARE AROUND THESE PEOPLE.

WE NEED TO STOP REWARDING THESE PEOPLE, UH, PEOPLE WHO GET REPORTED ON.

WE NEED BETTER POLICY POLICIES, UM, IF WE'RE WILLING TO HAVE UNDERAGED, UH, YOUNG ADULTS TO WORK FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

FURTHERMORE, WE NEED TO STOP THE RETALIATION AGAINST THOSE WHO MAKE FORMAL COMPLAINTS AGAINST OTHERS.

NEXT SPEAKER IS JOE WISEMAN, FOLLOWED BY SCOTT COBB.

HELLO, MY NAME IS JOE WISEMAN.

I'M A FORMER LIFEGUARD FOR THE CITY OF BOSTON.

I'M ALSO A FORMER FIREFIGHTER.

I'M A 38-YEAR-OLD FEMALE.

I HAVE COME HERE TO HELP BRING ATTENTION TO ISSUES WITHIN THE CITY OF AUSTIN AQUATICS DIVISION.

THERE ARE PATTERNS OF MISOGYNY.

THERE ARE A LOT OF YOUNG FEMALE GUARDS WHO ARE BEING EXPLOITED WHO DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT AND ADVOCACY THEY NEED TO BE ABLE TO SPEAK UP FOR THEMSELVES TO HAVE A SAFE AND HEALTHY WORK ENVIRONMENT.

UH, I'M HOPING TO BRING THIS TO THE ATTENTION OF EVERYONE HERE ON THE CITY COUNCIL, INCLUDING THE CITY MANAGER.

WE HAVE TRIED GOING UP THE ENTIRE CHAIN OF COMMAND THROUGH THE CITY OF AUSTIN AQUATICS DIVISION.

THERE IS A PATTERN OF REPORTS GETTING, INSTEAD OF BEING HANDLED BY UPPER MANAGEMENT, THEY REALLY JUST GET BUMPED DOWN TO THE LOWER MANAGEMENT THAT ARE ACTUALLY PART OF THE PROBLEM.

UM, HR DOESN'T REALLY SEEM TO HAVE ANY INTEREST IN PROTECTING THE GUARDS, REALLY JUST PROTECTING THE CITY FROM ANY LEGAL LIABILITY, I IMAGINE, AND THIS IS VERY DISHEARTENING, UM, AS A MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN, I HATE SEEING MY FELLOW COWORKERS AND FEMALE EMPLOYEES BE ABLE TO BE EXPLOITED NOT BEING TAKEN SERIOUSLY WHEN WE HAVE THINGS SUCH AS PREDATORS AT OUR POOLS, WHEN WE HAVE PREDATORS WITHIN THE WORKFORCE.

UM, AND THERE IS A STRONG PATTERN OF FEMALE EMPLOYEES BEING REMOVED FROM THE SCHEDULE AND THEN REPRIMANDED ON.

I MEAN, EVEN THINGS, UH, SUCH AS I HAD A COWORKER WHO HAD BEEN THREATENED TO BE WRITTEN UP MULTIPLE TIMES SO THAT SHE WOULD LOSE HER JOB IF SHE CONTINUED TO SPEAK UP ABOUT THE ISSUES THAT SHE WAS EXPERIENCING WITH A MANAGER DIRECTLY ABOVE HER.

WE HAVE, WE ARE ALL TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES AS LIFEGUARDS.

WE HAVE VERY LIMITED RESOURCES FOR WHAT WE CAN DO TO HELP PROTECT OURSELVES AND TO, AND, AND, AND THAT'S COMING FROM ME AS A 38-YEAR-OLD WHO'S BEEN AROUND FOR A LITTLE WHILE.

A LOT OF THESE KIDS ARE VERY YOUNG.

THEY'RE VERY YOUNG.

THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO SPEAK UP FOR THEMSELVES.

THEY DON'T KNOW WHEN IT'S APPROPRIATE TO SPEAK UP FOR THEMSELVES.

THEY DON'T HAVE A LOT OF SUPPORT.

AND THEY'RE BEING TOLD IN OUR TRAININGS THAT WE CAN DO THINGS SUCH AS GO TO ANYONE WITHIN THE CHAIN OF COMMAND.

I CAN TELL YOU THAT THAT CHAIN OF COMMAND IS VERY CORRUPT AND THERE ARE VERY INADEQUATE RESOURCES THERE TO HELP SUPPORT A LOT OF THE YOUNG GUARDS.

I DON'T WANNA EXCLUDE MALES WHO MAY HAVE ISSUES, BUT IN PARTICULAR I SEE A LOT OF EXPLOITATION OF THE YOUNG FEMALE GUARDS, AND THERE'S A VERY PREDATORY SYSTEM GOING ON WITHIN THIS DIVISION THAT NEEDS TO BE SERIOUSLY ADDRESSED BY SOME ADULTS WHO UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE AND THAT IT'S NOT APPROPRIATE TO HAVE THAT IN ANYWHERE IN OUR CITY WORKFORCE, BUT ESPECIALLY IT'S SUCH A VULNERABLE DEMOGRAPHIC.

COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON ALTER.

MR. COBB, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COME FORWARD, BUT I WON'T RECOGNIZE COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER.

WE CAN GET SOMETHING ONLINE WHERE WE CAN REALLY CREATE SOME SORT OF SAFETY ACTION PLAN.

AND, AND COUNCIL MEMBER, AND I MAY BE SAYING THE SAME THING, BUT, UM, I WOULD ASK THE CITY MANAGER IF YOU COULD PLEASE HAVE YOUR STAFF.

I KNOW THAT A CM HAYDEN HOWARD, WHO'S OVER PARKS IS IN THE AUDIENCE, UM, TO SPEAK TO THE THREE FOLKS, INCLUDING MR. COBB, WHO HAS COME, OR SOMEBODY OR MS. MEANS.

UM, YOU KNOW, THIS HAS BEEN AN ISSUE THAT MR. COBBS HAS BROUGHT TO OUR ATTENTION SEVERAL TIMES, AND I HAD HOPED THAT IN THE PREVIOUS RESPONSES THAT WE WERE GOING TO BE GETTING, UM, TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS AND ADDRESS IT.

AND I JUST WOULD ASK THAT YOU, YOU MAKE SURE THAT YOUR STAFF ARE TAKING THESE ACCUSATIONS SERIOUSLY IN THAT WE CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE OUR LIFEGUARDS AS A FORMER FEMALE LIFEGUARD, FORMER LIFEGUARD, I'M STILL FEMALE.

UM, I WOULD, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST REALLY LIKE TO UNDERSCORE THAT IT IS A POTENTIALLY PRECARIOUS POSITION FOR THESE YOUNG WOMEN AND, UM, WE NEED TO DO BETTER.

REIS.

I, I AGREE WITH ALL OF THOSE POINTS AND I KNOW I'VE, I'VE SPOKEN WITH LEADERSHIP WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT AND WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, AND SO MAYBE

[02:30:01]

UM, I'VE ALSO BEEN INFORMED THAT THERE ARE MAY BE SOME, UM, INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR BY GUESTS AT THE POOL AS WELL, AND I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO PROVIDE A SAFE ENVIRONMENT FOR OUR, OUR LIFEGUARDS AND, AND OTHER STAFF.

THANK YOU BOTH.

MR. COBB.

HELLO, MY NAME IS SCOTT COBB.

I'VE WORKED AS A LIFEGUARD SINCE 2011.

I'VE SEEN A LOT OF THINGS.

I'VE SEEN A LOT OF ISSUES NOT ADDRESSED.

UM, WE MET WITH DANIEL PUCCIO, THE PART HR, I GUESS DIRECTOR IN JANUARY TOLD ME ABOUT FOUR DIFFERENT CASES.

FOUR MEN AROUND OVER 30, 35 INVOLVED WITH INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR.

THOSE FOUR MEN ARE STILL WORKING.

UM, SOME OF THE CASES WERE NEVER INVESTIGATED.

STEPHANIE WENT TO HER SUPERVISOR.

WE FOUND OUT THROUGH A PUBLIC INFORMATION REQUEST.

SHE WAS, THAT SUPERVISOR HAD HER FIRE THAT VERY SAME DAY.

I SEEN THE EMAILS THAT HE SENT TO HIS SUPERVISOR.

TURNS OUT TWO LIFEGUARDS WERE MENTIONED IN A COMPLAINT ABOUT THAT SUPERVISOR THAT HE WAS REQUESTING SEXUAL FAVORS FROM THOSE TWO LIFEGUARDS.

HE WAS NEVER INVESTIGATED.

I SEEN THE INVESTIGATION.

THEY CLAIM WE COULDN'T FIND THE PEOPLE THAT WERE MENTIONED IN THE DATABASE OF FORMER OR EMPLOYEES OR FORMER EMPLOYEES, EVEN THOUGH I KNEW IMMEDIATELY WHO IT WAS, THEY DID NOT INTERVIEW ANYBODY.

ZERO.

THAT IS NOT THE FIRST TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED.

IT IS A PROBLEM WITH HOW POWERED HR AND HOW MAIN HRD HANDLES INVESTIGATIONS.

THEY DO NOT INTERVIEW ANYBODY.

SOMEONE CAME TO ME AND SAID, TOLD ME ABOUT A CASE SOMEONE, UH, SUPERVISOR OR SOME LEVEL HAD, UH, SEX ON THE DESK AT DEEP EDDIE WASN'T INVESTIGATED.

THEY PARENT HR SAID, WE DON'T INVESTIGATE STORIES, INNUENDO REPORTS, EVEN THOUGH THEY GAVE THEM THE NAMES OF WHO, WHO THEY COULD INTERVIEW IN ORDER TO FIND OUT WHETHER THAT WAS TRUE OR NOT.

I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S TRUE OR NOT.

I DO KNOW IF YOU DON'T INVESTIGATE, PEOPLE ARE IN DANGER.

I REALLY FEEL AFRAID FOR THE 15, 16 YEAR OLDS COME COMING IN THE SUMMER.

WE'RE TIRED OF WAITING FOR SOMETHING TO BE DONE.

PUBLIC EMPLOYEES CANNOT GO ON STRIKE.

THERE'S NO LAW THAT SAYS WE CANNOT GO TO THE MEDIA.

WE CANNOT GO TO THE PARENTS.

WE CANNOT GO TO THE PROSPECTIVE EMPLOYEES, THE 15, THE PARENTS WITH 15, 16, 17 YEAR OLDS AND SAY, BE AFRAID.

DO NOT WORK.

HERE YOU ARE.

CHILDREN ARE IN DANGER.

WE WILL DO THAT AND WE WILL AFFECT THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO APPLY TO BE LIFEGUARDS, WHETHER IT'S ENOUGH TO CLOSE DOWN SOME POOLS.

UNTIL 1:15 PM IT IS 12:36 PM

WE WILL SEE.

WE APPRECIATE YOUR BEING HERE, MAYOR.

THOSE ARE ALL THE SPEAKERS, UH, MEMBERS, THOSE ARE ALL THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON OUR 12 O'CLOCK TIME CERTAIN PUBLIC COMMUNICATION SO THAT PEOPLE WILL KNOW THE ORDER OF BUSINESS.

WE ARE GETTING READY TO RECESS FOR LIVE MUSIC AND I HOPE PEOPLE WILL STAY.

UH, FOR OUR LIVE MUSIC.

WE WILL RECESS UNTIL ONE 15 IS WHAT I SAID EARLIER.

SO WE'LL GO AHEAD AND USE ONE 15 AS THE TIME THAT WE WILL COME BACK.

AT THAT TIME, WE WILL TAKE UP ITEM NUMBER 64, WHICH IS TO RECONSIDER ITEM NUMBER 64 BECAUSE THERE WAS A MISTAKE IN THE, THE NAMES OF THE SPONSORS ON THAT ITEM.

SO ALL WE NEED TO DO IS RECONSIDER THAT.

ALLOW ME TO READ INTO THE RECORD THE ACTUAL NAMES OF THE SPONSORS, AND THEN SO THAT OUGHT TO PASS.

UH, WE OUGHT TO BE ABLE TO PASS THAT PRETTY QUICKLY.

AND THEN WE WILL TAKE UP ITEM NUMBER TWO, WHICH IS THE AUSTIN ENERGY GENERATION PLAN.

AND AFTER THAT, WE WILL GO TO THE TPI ITEMS, WHICH ARE ITEMS 86, 75 AND 87.

AND FOR THOSE WONDERING WHY I WOULD DO IT IN THAT ORDER, I DO KNOW THE, I DO KNOW THAT 75 COMES BEFORE 86, BUT 86 HAS TO BE TAKEN UP, TAKEN UP PRIOR TO 75.

THEN WE WILL HAVE THE PUBLIC HEARING ON 75, AND THEN WE WILL TAKE UP ITEM NUMBER 87.

MY PLAN WOULD BE THEN TO GO TO THE NON-CONSENT ITEMS TO MORE ITEMS FROM AUDIT AND FINANCE, THE REMAINING PUBLIC HEARINGS, AND THEN WE WOULD GO TO THE ZONING ITEMS WITHOUT OBJECTION.

THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL IS IN RECESS

[02:35:01]

[Live Music]

I'M EXCITED TODAY.

WE HAVE A GREAT, UH, GREAT BAND TO PLAY FOR US.

I'M JOINED BY COUNCIL MEMBER NATASHA HARPER MADISON, SO THAT I CAN INTRODUCE URBAN HEAT, UH, AUSTIN.

OF COURSE, EVERYBODY KNOWS AUSTIN IS KNOWN AS THE LIVE MUSIC CAPITAL OF THE WORLD.

AND I WOULD VENTURE TO SAY THAT URBAN HEAT IS ONE OF OUR GREATEST EXPORTS.

THE BAND FORMED ONLY FIVE YEARS AGO AS WHEN, WHEN IT WAS THE BRAINCHILD OF SINGER AND MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST.

JONATHAN HORSEMAN HAS QUICKLY BECOME ONE OF KNOWN FOR THEIR VERY FIERY LIVE SHOWS AND INFECTIOUS DARK WAVE ANTHEMS THAT HARKEN BACK TO THE EIGHTIES WITH A MODERN SENSIBILITY POWERED BY THE MAGNETIC HORSEMAN'S, MELODIC BARITONE VOCALS AND THE PUMMELING RHYTHM SECTION OF KEVIN KNOCKIN AND PAXIL FOLEY.

URBAN HEAT HAD WON OVER OVER FANS SHOW BY SHOW, BY SHOW APPEARANCES AT MAJOR CALIFORNIA FESTIVALS LIKE CRUEL WORLD AND DARKER WAVES SAW URBAN HEAT PLAY TO THEIR BIGGEST AUDIENCES YET AND THEIR SET POINTED OUT AS ONE OF THE BEST OF THE DAY.

RIGHT HERE AT HOME.

URBAN HEAT HAS LONG BEEN THE TALK OF SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST AND GRACED THE STAGE OF THE AUSTIN CITY LIMITS FESTIVAL.

NOW WITH THE TOWER, WE SEE THE BAND AT THEIR ABSOLUTE PEAK.

SONGS LIKE THE ARENA READY SEVEN SAFE PLACES, AND THE INTRICATELY STEADY TAKE IT TO YOUR GRAVE, SHOW THE BAND'S SONIC VERSATILITY.

THE LATTER, WHICH BEST EXEMPLIFIES THE MAJORITY OF THE RECORD, IS ABOUT FEELINGS OF UNWORTHINESS AND FEARS OF SELF SABOTAGE, INTROSPECTIVE DOTS, HORSEMAN'S LYRICS, DRIVING HOME ITS POWER AND RELATABILITY WITH A HEADLINING SHOW AT LOS ANGELES'S, FAMED EL RAY THEATER, A NORTH AMERICAN TOUR, A FALL EUROPEAN TOUR WITH MOHE DOMA THAT'S ALREADY UNDER THEIR BELT.

URBAN HEAT IS READY TO SHOW THE WORLD THAT ANYONE WHO HAS SEEN THEM ALREADY, WHAT WHAT ANYONE IS THAT HAS SEEN THEM ALREADY REALLY KNOWS THEY'RE A BAND THAT IS GOING TO DOMINATE THE AIRWAVES FOR YEARS TO COME TOGETHER WITH COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I INTRODUCED TO YOU URBAN HEAT, BUT SAVE, TRANSFORM TO AN IDEA, SACRIFICE YOUR MASTERS, BUT NOT THE THRILL.

TRANSFORM TO AN IDEA, JUST AN IDEA, AN IDEA.

YOU CANNOT KILL AN YOU CANNOT KILL SOMEONE TO,

[02:40:12]

TO GIVE YOU LADIES AND GENTLEMEN URBAN HEAT.

WOO.

WHAT I WANT TO DO NOW IS ASK, ASK ALL THREE OF YOU TO COME UP HERE, BE WITH US FOR A SECOND.

WHY DON'T YOU STEP UP HERE? YOUR MICROPHONE'S TOO HIGH FOR ME.

I GOT ONE SET UP HERE.

, Y'ALL COME UP HERE.

WHY DON'T YOU HOLD THAT? AND, AND I'M, WE'RE AGAIN, I'M JOINED BY COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON.

I WANT TO READ THIS PROCLAMATION, BE IT KNOWN THAT WHEREAS THE CITY OF AUSTIN, TEXAS IS BLESSED WITH MANY CREATIVE MUSICIANS WHOSE TALENT EXTENDS TO VIRTUALLY EVERY MUSICAL GENRE.

AND WHEREAS OUR MUSIC SCENE THRIVES BECAUSE AUSTIN AUDIENCES SUPPORT GOOD MUSIC THAT'S PRODUCED BY LEGENDS, OUR LOCAL FAVORITES AND NEWCOMERS ALIKE, AND WE ARE PLEASED TO SHOWCASE AND SUPPORT OUR LOCAL ARTISTS.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, KIRK WATSON, ON BEHALF OF THE ENTIRE CITY COUNCIL AS MAYOR OF THE LIVE MUSIC CAPITAL OF THE WORLD, AUSTIN, TEXAS, DO HEREBY PROCLAIM DECEMBER 12TH, 2024 AS URBAN HEAT DAY IN AUSTIN.

WOO, APPRECIATE YOU ALL, THANK VERY MUCH.

TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW WE CAN FOLLOW YOU, UH, ON SOCIAL MEDIA, HOW WE CAN HEAR YOU, WHERE WE MIGHT GO TO SEE YOU.

YEAH, YEAH.

UM, HI, YOU DON'T HAVE TO LEAN OVER.

WE ARE, UH, IT'S URBAN HEAT BAND WOULD BE ALL THE SOCIALS, INSTAGRAM, TIKTOK, ALL THOSE THINGS.

IT'S AT URBAN HEAT BAND.

UH, IF YOU WANT TO CASH APP US, THAT'S DOLLAR SIGN, URBAN HEAT BAND.

UH, WE'RE PLAYING TONIGHT AT EUM.

AND, UH, AND THEN, UH, YOU'LL HAVE TO CATCH US NEXT YEAR BECAUSE WE, UH, NEED TO SLEEP URBAN HEAT.

THANK Y'ALL.

THAT WAS GREAT.

REALLY APPRECIATE YOU.

THE CITY COUNCIL WILL BE IN RECESS UNTIL ONE 15.

THANKS EVERYBODY.