* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:02] FEBRUARY 4TH, 2025. [CALL TO ORDER] 5:05 PM WE'RE HERE IN THE AUSTIN ENERGY HEADQUARTERS ASSEMBLY ROOM, UM, LOCATED AT 48 1 5 MUELLER BOULEVARD, AUSTIN, TEXAS. UM, IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE QUORUMS. I'M GONNA, UM, UH, TALLY UP OUR MEMBERS HERE TO BE SURE OF THAT. UM, AND WE DO HAVE SOME ATTENDING VIRTUALLY. I'M GONNA REMIND OUR MEMBERS WHO ARE ATTENDING VIRTUALLY. IT REALLY, REALLY IS A VITAL IMPORTANCE. IF YOU'RE ATTENDING VIRTUALLY THAT YOU DO EMAIL OUR STAFF LIAISON WHO FOR THIS MEETING WILL BE ANDRE. UM, PLEASE EMAIL HIM WITHIN IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY. I KNOW SOME OF YOU ALREADY HAVE, WHICH BIG THANKS FOR THAT. BUT PLEASE DO EMAIL HIM, UM, WITHIN FIVE MINUTES OF ME SAYING THIS SO THAT, UM, WE CAN BE SURE YOU'RE COUNTED TOWARD OUR QUORUM. WE WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR ATTENTION TO THAT. OKAY. UM, SO I'M GONNA TAKE, WITH THAT, I'M GONNA DO A ROLL CALL. IT LOOKS LIKE WE DO HAVE QUORUM HERE WITH EVERYONE. SO, UH, COMMISSIONER BUFFET. COMMISSIONER ORTIZ, YOU'RE HERE. THANK YOU. I SEE YOU. UH, RAISE YOUR HAND. COMMISSIONER ALVAREZ. I BELIEVE SHE'S EN ROUTE FROM WHAT I UNDERSTOOD. I'M CHAIR SUMMERS. I'M HERE. COMMISSIONER KAMAN. OKAY. COMMISSIONER SMITH. NO. COMMISSIONER WHEELER. YES. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER JACOBSON. UM, COMMISSIONER SCHUMACHER HERE. VICE CHAIR. BROOKS. BROOKS. SORRY. HERE. THANK YOU. I SEE YOU RAISED YOUR HAND ONLINE. AND COMMISSIONER BROWN HERE. THANK YOU SO MUCH. ALL RIGHT. I THINK WE'RE ALL HERE. ALL RIGHT. WITH THAT, WE'RE I ASK A QUESTION. WE HAVE, UM, EARLIER TODAY, SORRY, I EMAILED NATALIE. SO EARLIER TODAY I EMAILED NATALIE ABOUT NO CONFLICT OF INTEREST, BUT, BUT YOU'RE SAYING I, I NEED OH, I SEE ANDRE'S NAME. I WAS ASKING FOR ANDRE'S LAST NAME, BUT I SEE IT NOW. THANK YOU. YEAH, I'LL, I'LL, I'LL FORWARD THAT EMAIL TO ANDRE. YEAH, I THINK THAT'D BE GOOD. I'LL FORWARD THE EMAIL TO ANDRE. THANK YOU FOR DOING THAT. THANKS. WE APPRECIATE THAT. UM, SO, UM, WITH THAT, OUR FIRST ITEM [PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL ] IS ALWAYS, IS PUBLIC COMMUNICATION. SO THIS IS PUBLIC COMMUNICATION ON GENERAL ITEMS, NOT ITEMS THAT ARE ON THE AGENDA FOR, UH, DISCUSSION OR, UM, ACTION. SO IF THERE IS ANYONE HERE TO SPEAK ON AN ITEM THAT IS NOT ON THE AGENDA, PLEASE LET US KNOW. I DON'T THINK WE THOUGHT WE HAD ANYONE. ARE YOU SPEAKING ON AN AGENDA ITEM? NO. OKAY. ARE YOU READY FOR IT? YEAH, WE'RE READY FOR YOU. AND YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES. GOOD EVENING, COMMISSIONER MEMBERS. MY, MY NAME IS SCOTT JOHNSON, AND I DO NOT KNOW MANY OF YOU OR ANY OF YOU. I'M HERE TO TALK TODAY ABOUT DISTRACTED DRIVING. DISTRACTED DRIVING. THERE IS AN ORDINANCE THAT THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVED IN AUGUST OF 2014, AND IT WAS BEING IMPLEMENTED OR ENFORCED VERY WELL THROUGH THE 2019 THROUGH THE 20 TEENS RATHER UNTIL ABOUT 2019. AND NOW, UNFORTUNATELY, IT'S NOT BEING ENFORCED AS WELL AS WE'D LIKE IT BECAUSE OF STAFFING SHORTAGES. ONE THING TO KNOW IS THAT THE, THE ORDINANCE SAYS THAT WHILE YOU'RE DRIVING, YOU CAN GO HANDS FREE, YOU CAN GO WITH BLUETOOTH SET UP, OR YOU CAN DO SOMETHING ELSE THAT ALLOWS YOU TO SPEAK WITHOUT USING YOUR HANDS. BUT IF YOU TOUCH THE MOBILE PHONE OR ANY ELECTRONIC DEVICE WHILE YOU'RE DRIVING AT ALL, THEN THAT'S AGAINST THE LAW. WHAT WE KNOW IS THAT THIS PARTICULAR ACTION, DISTRACTED DRIVING, HAS BECOME THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE AND THE GREATEST SOURCE OF CRASHES, INJURIES AND FATALITIES MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE. AND SO THIS DOES FIT INTO THE VISION ZERO PROGRAM, BUT THIS PREDATES THE VISION ZERO PROGRAM, WHICH STARTED AT THE BEGINNING OF 2015. AND I'M A FOUNDING MEMBER OF THAT EFFORT, AND I'M STILL CONNECTED TO IT WOULD LIKE THIS GROUP TO ASK QUESTIONS WHEN VISION ZERO COMES ABOUT THIS, IF IT'S NOT GIVEN TO YOU ABOUT HOW MANY CITATIONS ARE WRITTEN IN A GIVEN PERIOD OF TIME IN 2018, THERE WERE 10,000 MORE THAN 10,000 CITATIONS WRITTEN. AND IN, IN RECENT YEARS, AND I'M NOT CRITICIZING A PD FOR THIS, IT'S A STAFFING ISSUE THAT RELATES TO ACTIONS TAKEN BY THE CITY COUNCIL AND FOR OTHER REASONS. BUT NOW THERE'S UPWARDS OF 150 ON A CALENDAR YEAR BASIS, AND WE CAN DO BETTER. LAST YEAR I ASKED FOR A PROCLAMATION IN ORDER TO, UH, COMMEMORATE THE 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY FOR THE DISTRACTED DRIVING ORDINANCE. I WAS GIVEN THE PROCLAMATION BECAUSE I, I LED THE EFFORT AND NO ONE ELSE WAS MOVING FORWARD ON THIS EFFORT AT A CITY LEVEL, COMMUNITY LEVEL OR A STAFF LEVEL. AND DURING THAT TIME, WE GOT A PD TO COME. THERE WAS CONFLICTS WITH TPW, [00:05:01] SO WE DIDN'T HAVE STAFF FROM THEM, BUT THEY'RE CERTAINLY AWARE OF IT AND INTERESTED IN IT. AND WE NEED TO REFOCUS ON THIS OPPORTUNITY THAT IS AWARENESS AND CREATIVE ENFORCEMENT. AND I'M WORKING TOWARDS THAT GOAL. I HOPE THIS GROUP WILL BE A COLLABORATIVE GROUP FOR ME AND FOR THE EFFORT. THE ITEM DID COME THROUGH UTC BACK IN THE 20 12, 20 13 TIMEFRAME BEFORE WHEN TO COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL. JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF THE SCOPE OF THIS. FROM A 2024 STUDY, DRIVERS INTERACTED WITH THEIR PHONES, MEANING TOUCHES THEM, TOUCHING THEM, NEARLY 58% OF THE TRIPS IN 2022, UP FROM 54% OF THE TRIPS. SO THAT MEANS EVEN THOUGH PEOPLE HAVE BLUETOOTH CAPABILITY, IF THEY HAVE A NEWER CAR, THEY MIGHT HAVE A HEADSET, WHATEVER ELSE, THEY'RE STILL IN LOVE WITH THEIR PHONES AND THAT'S BAD RELATED TO MAKING AUSTIN'S ROAD SAFER TO PROTECT OTHER VEHICLES, DRIVERS, CYCLISTS, WHICH I AM TODAY, WALKERS, PEOPLE PUSHING CARRIAGES WITH THEIR INFANTS, WITH THEIR CHILDREN AS WELL. SO I WOULD LOVE FOR THIS GROUP TO TAKE AN EVEN STRONGER INTEREST THAN YOU DO NOW. RAISE YOUR AWARENESS ON IT, AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. THANK YOU SO MUCH. YOU WELCOME. WERE THERE ANY QUESTIONS FOR OUR SPEAKER? I, I, I PERSONALLY WOULD, UH, DEFINITELY APPRECIATE SOME FURTHER, UH, COMMUNICATION OVER EMAIL. LIKE MY BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS EMAIL WOULD DEFINITELY LOVE TO CHAT WITH YOU OVER ON EMAIL OVER THAT. WE DO RECEIVE, AS YOU REFERENCED, UM, REGULAR UPDATES FROM VISION ZERO. SO THAT WOULD BE A GREAT, UH, WAY TO MESH, MESH THOSE FOR SURE. LIKE YOU MENTIONED. SO, UM, PLEASE DO, UM, AND IF YOU EMAIL ME IN THE LAST FEW DAYS, I MAY NOT HAVE SEEN IT, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, PLEASE FEEL FREE, FREE TO REACH OUT FOR EMAIL. THAT WOULD BE GREAT. I CAN, WOULD LOVE TO CONTINUE THAT CONVERSATION. THANK YOU FOR THAT. AND WHAT, WHAT THE CITY'S DOING TO IMPROVE INTERSECTION SAFETY IS CERTAINLY VALUABLE, BUT IN MY OPINION, WITHOUT HAVING THE DATA TO SHARE TO YOU, IF WE CAN BETTER ADDRESS DISTRACTED DRIVING, AGGRESSIVE DRIVING, WHICH THE TWO OBVIOUSLY CAN BE INTERRELATED AND DRUNK DRIVING, THAT, THAT COULD WELL HAVE AN IMPACT. THAT'S AS GREAT AS VISION ZEROS AND TREATMENTS ON INTERSECTIONS AND STREETS THAT ARE NOW NOT SAFE. GREAT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT, COMMISSIONERS, THAT TAKES US TO [1. Approve the minutes of the Urban Transportation Commission REGULAR MEETING on December 3, 2024. ] OUR, UH, FIRST ITEM. THIS IS ITEM NUMBER ONE ON THE AGENDA, UM, APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES. SO, UM, UH, FOR THOSE IN PERSON, UH, YOU DO HAVE IN YOUR PACKET THE, UH, DRAFT MINUTES FROM THE TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3RD, 2024 MEETING. AS A REMINDER, WE DID NOT MEET IN JANUARY. OUR MEETING WAS CANCELED. SO IT'S IN LIGHT OF, UM, THAT, UM, AND, UH, THOSE ON VIRTUALLY THIS WERE SENT OUT VIA EMAIL, SO YOU COULD REVIEW THEM THAT WAY. UM, DO I HAVE A MOTION REGARDING THE MINUTES? I'LL MOVE TO APPROVE THE MEETING MINUTES. GREAT. I WILL SECOND ANY DISCUSSION CORRECTIONS? ALL RIGHT. I'LL CALL FOR A VOTE ON THAT. ALL IN FAVOR OF, UH, APPROVING THE MINUTES. UM, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND OR SAY AYE. AYE, AYE. GREAT. THAT LOOKS LIKE IT'S EVERYONE. I ALSO DO WANNA NOTE THAT COMMISSIONER ALVAREZ AND COMMISSIONER CAVEMAN ARE ALSO NOW JOINING US AS WELL, SO, GREAT. ALL RIGHT. SO THAT TAKES US TO OUR FIRST ITEM, [2. Austin Light Rail Update] WHICH IS FOR DISCUSSION AND NOT ACTION. ITEM NUMBER TWO, UM, AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL UPDATE WITH PRESENTERS FROM THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP. THANK YOU. IT'S WHATEVER YOU ARE MOST COMFORTABLE WITH. I'M, I'M COMFORTABLE WITH. I DO YOU WANNA SOLVE? YES, I'M GONNA MOVE. OKAY, THAT'S FINE. YEAH, I SEE YOUR MICRO, THIS IS OUR FIRST TIME IN THIS SPACE. YEAH, WE DIDN'T MEAN TO KICK YOU OUT, . IT'S OKAY. ARE THESE ALREADY LIVE? I DON'T KNOW. CHRISTINE, CAN YOU HEAR ME? I DON'T THINK SO. I DON'T THINK YOU'RE ON. AM I ON NOW? YEAH. OKAY, GREAT. AND AM I, IS THIS ONE LIVE? I THINK SO. OKAY. YEAH. ALL RIGHT. WELL, WE CAN, UH, JUST INTRODUCE OURSELVES BRIEFLY. I'M LINDSAY WOOD WITH AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP. I'M DARREN LOZANO WITH AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP. UH, WITH US IS OUR COLLEAGUE, GIANNIS BANKS, WHO'S, UH, RUNNING THE POWERPOINT AND TAKING NOTES. ALL RIGHT. [00:10:16] DO YOU WANNA GIVE INTRODUCTION? OKAY. WHILE THAT'S GETTING PULLED UP, MAYBE WE CAN, UH, TALK ABOUT WHY WE'RE HERE TODAY. SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO BE IN THE, UM, PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR THE AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL UPDATE AND OUR DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT. AND JUST CONCLUDED A SERIES OF PUBLIC MEETINGS AND ARE NOW, UM, MEETING IN VARIOUS SPACES IN THE COMMUNITY TO CONTINUE TO GATHER THAT FEEDBACK ON THIS REALLY CRITICAL, UM, PIVOTAL MOMENT IN THE PROJECT SO THAT WE CAN HAVE COMMUNITY INPUT GUIDE WHERE WE GUIDE OR, UH, WHERE WE CARRY THE PROJECT GOING FORWARD INTO THE NEXT PHASES. ANY OTHER MAYBE JUST HIGHLIGHTS OF WHERE WE'RE AT IN THE PROCESS, DARREN? YEAH, I THINK THAT'S A GOOD INTRO AND AS WE GO THROUGH THE PRESENTATION, WE'LL TALK MORE ABOUT HOW WE'RE ADVANCING AND WHERE WE GO FROM HERE. UH, BUT WE REALLY WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE. WE'RE AT A VERY, UH, MAJOR MILESTONE IN THE PROJECT AND THE MESSAGE AS JAN, IF YOU CAN ADVANCE THIS SLIDE, UM, THE MESSAGE REALLY IS THAT AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL IS ADVANCING. UM, LEMME START BY GOING BACK JUST A LITTLE BIT. UM, IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP, AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP AS A LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY, THAT WAS FORMED SHORTLY AFTER THE PROPOSITION A VOTE. UM, AND WE ARE HERE IN OUR TASK, WE ARE TASKED WITH ADVANCING LIGHT RAIL. UM, AS THE SLIDE SHOWS HERE, WE HAVE SEVERAL NOTES REGARDING THE BENEFITS OF LIGHT RAIL. AND ONE THING TO KEEP IN MIND IS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE OF AUSTIN. YOU KNOW, THIS IS A PROJECT THAT'S GONNA TAKE SOME TIME TO PUT TOGETHER, BUT ANTICIPATING FUTURE, UH, POPULATION JOB GROWTH, AND HOW PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE, UM, USE MOBILITY THROUGHOUT THE AUSTIN AREA. UM, LIGHT RAIL CERTAINLY IS DIFFERENT THAN OTHER MODES. IN FACT, WE DON'T HAVE LIGHT RAIL IN AUSTIN. UM, WHEN WE HAD THESE SERIES OF PUBLIC MEETINGS, WE RECEIVED SEVERAL COMMENTS ABOUT, WELL, WE ALREADY HAVE LIGHT RAIL. THAT'S THE RED LINE. RED LINE IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN LIGHT RAIL. UM, YOU KNOW, RED LINE CERTAINLY SERVES A GREAT PURPOSE, IS A GREAT COMMUTER RAIL SERVICE. WHEREAS LIGHT RAIL REALLY IS INTENDED TO BE, OH, THANK YOU, IS INTENDED TO BE, UH, UH, FORM TRANSPORTATION WITHIN THE URBAN AREA. UM, THERE ARE MORE STOPS. UH, IT'S MORE FREQUENT. IT OPERATES WITHIN ITS OWN GUIDEWAY ALONG, UM, MOSTLY CITY STREETS. AND SO THAT'S A LITTLE BIT OF THE DIFFERENCE. AND YOU'VE BEEN TRAVELED AROUND OTHER, OTHER AREAS. WE HAVE EXAMPLES IN SEATTLE AND PHOENIX OF WHERE LIGHT RAIL ACTUALLY IS TODAY. ALRIGHT, TURNING BACK. SO AS I MENTIONED THIS PROJECT, OR AS LINDSAY MENTIONED, WE'RE IN THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT FOR AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL PHASE ONE. NOW THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE THIS PROJECT YOU SEE HERE WAS ACTUALLY ADOPTED IN JUNE OF 2023. UM, WE WORKED VERY HARD WITH THE COMMUNITY TO COME UP WITH A LIGHT RAIL, UM, PROJECT. UH, AND THIS WAS ADOPTED BO BY THE A TP BOARD, THE CAP METRO BOARD, AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN COUNCIL. AND REALLY WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE PHASE ONE PROJECT BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT'S IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT. BUT A COUPLE THINGS TO NOTE HERE. UM, ONE IS THE EIS IS ACTUALLY LOOKING AT PHASE ONE OF THE PROJECT SOLELY, AND THAT'S THE HIGHLIGHTED BY THE YELLOW LINES HERE THAT YOU SEE HERE. AND THE SECOND THING IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO NOTE IS AS WE WENT TO THE PUBLIC TRYING TO DEFINE WHAT OUR PROJECT SHOULD BE, WE SAID A LOT OF INPUT ABOUT EXPANDING TO OTHER AREAS OF THE CITY. AND THOSE WE REALLY WANTED TO CAPTURE, AND WE CALL THOSE AS OUR PRIORITY EXTENSIONS. THOSE PRIORITY EXTENSIONS IS ONE HEADING NORTH FROM 38TH STREET TO, UM, CRESTVIEW, AND THE OTHER ONE HEADING FROM OUR END OF LINE ALONG RIVERSIDE OUT TO THE AIRPORT. A COUPLE OF THINGS ON THIS PROJECT HERE. AND REALLY IMPORTANT FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT, WE HAVE DESIGN OPTION RECOMMENDATIONS IN THAT ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENT. AND SO AT THIS POINT IN TIME, WE'RE REALLY ASKING THE COMMUNITY TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK ON WHAT ARE RECOMMENDED IN THAT ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENT, THOSE DESIGN OPTIONS. AND I'LL TALK THROUGH 'EM AGAIN 'CAUSE IT'S PRETTY IMPORTANT TO NOTE. UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HEARD IN OUR ORIGINAL PROJECT LAST YEAR IS WE'D LIKE TO SEE MORE STATIONS IN DOWNTOWN. THERE WAS A BIT OF A GAP AS WE WENT ALONG, UH, GUADALUPE STREET. AND SO, UH, WILDRIDGE SQUARE, NEAR WILDER SQUARE IS WHERE WE HAVE A NEW STATION. UM, AS WE HEAD SOUTH, AS WE HEAD TOWARD THE RIVER. UM, CAESAR CHAVEZ, WE HAD A POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITY TO DO A JOINT DEVELOPMENT RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE, UM, CONVENTION [00:15:01] CENTER. UM, BUT AT THIS POINT IN TIME, IT SEEMS TO MAKE MORE SENSE TO KEEP IT ON THE RIGHT OF WAY. SO YOU SEE THAT 90 DEGREE BEND WHERE YOU SEE CAESAR CHAVEZ THERE. PART OF THE PROJECT WILL INCLUDE, UM, THE CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW LIGHT RAIL BRIDGE ACROSS LADY BIRD LAKE, UM, JUST SOUTH OF TRINITY STREET. AND THAT'S ALSO GOING TO INCLUDE A PEDESTRIAN BIKE, UH, FACILITY AS WELL. UM, AND AS WE CROSS OVER THE RIVER, UM, WE HAD AN OPTION TO REMAIN AT GRADE. AS WE CAME TO THE SOUTH SIDE, WE'RE ACTUALLY KEEP THE BRIDGE ELEVATED FOR A LONGER DISTANCE, AND WE REC, WE'RE RECOMMENDING THE LONGER, UM, ELEVATED STRUCTURE AS WE CROSS SOUTH OF THE RIVER ITSELF. A COUPLE OF OTHER DESIGN OPTIONS ARE REALLY A LONG RIVERSIDE. UM, ONE IS WHAT WE'RE CALLING THE, UH, GREENWAY, AND YOU'LL SEE THAT IN THE NEXT SLIDE, IS ONE OF THE RENDERINGS WE HAVE. UM, BUT WE SAW RIVERSIDE AS A REAL OPPORTUNITY TO ENHANCE, UH, THE BICYCLE PEDESTRIAN MOVEMENT IN SHADE. SO THAT WAS A RECOMMENDATION WE'RE CARRYING FORWARD. AND WE ALSO HEARD, UM, FOR THE MONTOPOLIS COMMUNITY ITSELF, AS PART OF OUR ORIGINAL PROJECT, WE LOOKED AT THE PRO, THE STATIONS WE HAD NEAR MONTOPOLIS, AND WE THOUGHT THERE COULD BE AN OPPORTUNITY TO ACTUALLY, UM, CONDENSE, UH, THE, THE STATIONS. BUT THE COMMUNITY REALLY WANTED THE MORE STATIONS IN MONTAO. SO WE DID KEEP THAT ADDITIONAL STATION. AS YOU CAN SEE THERE ON THE FAR EAST SIDE, IT'S, UM, JUST WEST OF MONTAO, THAT'S THE GROVE STATION. THERE'S A SIXTH ONE. WHAT AM I MISSING? TRAVIS HEIGHTS. OH, TRAVIS HEIGHTS. THE ORIGINAL, UH, PROJECT DID HAVE A STATION AT TRAVIS HEIGHTS, BUT A RECOMMENDATION AT THIS POINT IS TO ACTUALLY NOT HAVE A STATION AT TRAVERSE HEIGHTS. THERE WERE SEVERAL, UM, CONSIDERATIONS FOR THAT AREA, INCLUDING JUST SEVERAL TECHNICAL AND, UM, DESIGN CHALLENGES WE HAD BEING NEAR, UH, NORWOOD DOG PARK, UH, THE I 35 PROJECTS THAT'S GOING ON AS WELL. AND JUST THE, THE TOPOGRAPHY OF THAT LOCATION ITSELF. SO IT MADE SENSE TO RECOMMEND REMOVING THAT STATION AT THAT LOCATION. UM, ANOTHER FEATURE, AND THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT AS WELL, IS YOU CAN SEE, UH, JUST TO THE NORTHEAST OF YELLOW JACKET IS A, UH, PROPOSED OPERATIONS FACILITY BEING THIS IS A NEW FORM OF TRANSPORTATION. WE WILL NEED TO BUILD A CONSTRUCTIVE NEW OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE FACILITY. SO THAT'S EN ENCOMPASSED AS PART OF THIS PROJECT AS WELL. UM, OVERALL IT'S NEAR A 10 MILE SYSTEM WITH 15 STATIONS. SO THAT'S THE PROJECT THAT YOU'LL SEE IN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT. LINDSAY, I TURNED TO YOU. YES. AND AS PART OF OUR, UH, PUBLIC FEEDBACK PROCESS, OH, CAN I BORROW THE CLICKER? THANK YOU. UH, WE HAVE PUBLISHED A SET OF RENDERINGS THAT HELP TO VISUALIZE HOW PEOPLE CAN SEE THEMSELVES USING THE LIGHT RAIL AND ALSO HOW THE LIGHT RAIL WILL INTEGRATE INTO, UH, ITS SURROUNDING ENVIRONMENT IN AUSTIN AND REALLY BRING PEOPLE TO THESE ICONIC PLACES AND, AND HOW IT HELPS TO MOVE PEOPLE REALLY BY ALL MODES OF TRAVEL THROUGH HERE. THIS FIRST ONE SHOWS WHAT DARREN HIGHLIGHTED AS ONE OF OUR DESIGN OPTION RECOMMENDATIONS, WHICH IS TO HAVE CENTER RUNNING BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN FACILITIES IN A, UH, TREE SHADED ALIGNMENT NEXT TO THE LIGHT RAIL, AS OPPOSED TO HAVING THOSE ELEMENTS AT THE OUTSIDE EDGES OF THE CORRIDOR OR ALONG THE CURB WHERE YOU MIGHT TYPICALLY EXPECT TO SEE THEM. AND THIS RECOMMENDATION CAME OUT OF A LOT OF USER EXPERIENCE RESEARCH WHERE WE ASKED PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, WHAT WOULD MAKE YOU WANT TO USE THIS SYSTEM? WHAT, UH, FOR, FOR THOSE THAT USE THE TRANSIT ENVIRONMENT TODAY, WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES OF IT? AND WE HEARD A LOT ABOUT SHADE, UM, JUST OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN, HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO HAVE SHADE. AND WE ALSO HEARD HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO BRING PEOPLE TO THE LIGHT RAIL STATIONS IN A SAFE AND COMFORTABLE WAY. AND ALONG RIVERSIDE IN PARTICULAR, THERE ARE MANY DRIVEWAYS THAT INTERRUPT THE SIDEWALKS AND, AND BIKEWAYS ALONG THAT AREA. AND SO USING THIS UNIQUE PART OF THE CORRIDOR WHERE WE HAVE A WIDER RIGHT OF WAY TO CREATE A, AN UNINTERRUPTED AND SHADED CORRIDOR, UM, TO NOT ONLY BRING PEOPLE TO THE LIGHT RAIL STATIONS, BUT MOVE THEM MORE SAFELY AND COMFORTABLY THROUGH, UH, THE, THE NEIGHBORHOODS IN THIS AREA. AND THE NEXT, UH, SHOWS HERE AT PLEASANT VALLEY. SO ON THE, THE BOTTOM RIGHT OF YOUR SCREEN WOULD BE THE PLEASANT VALLEY STATION AREA, SO RIVERSIDE AND PLEASANT VALLEY. AND, AND THEN TO THE TOP OF THE SCREEN, YOU CAN SEE, UH, IT REALLY ILLUSTRATES THIS IDEA OF CONNECTIVITY THAT THE LIGHT RAIL IS BRINGING AND CREATING NEW, RELIABLE, UH, AND FREQUENT CONNECTIONS TO GET PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOODS, UH, TO, IN THIS CASE, YOU, YOU SEE DOWNTOWN HERE. AND I ALSO WANNA HIGHLIGHT THAT THIS NOTES A CRITICAL CHARACTERISTIC OF THE LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM, WHICH IS TO CONNECT TO THE OVERALL TRANSIT SYSTEM. AND YOU SEE SOME OF THOSE BUS CONNECTIONS HERE WHERE [00:20:01] YOU HAVE A NORTH SOUTH METRO RAPID, UH, OR BUS RAPID TRANSIT CONNECTION AND CREATING THOSE OPPORTUNITIES FOR TRANSFERS TO EXPAND THE REACH OF, OF LIGHT RAIL TO THE FULL NETWORK. AND MOVING ON TO THE NEXT, WE HAVE OUR STATION HERE AT UT, UH, RIGHT AT THE WEST MALL OR ON THE WEST SIDE OF CAMPUS. AND, UH, THIS IS THE SOUTH END OF LINE AT RIVERSIDE AND ALT WHARF. AND THE PURPOSE OF THESE RENDERINGS IS TO HELP US GUIDE HOW DESIGN MOVES FORWARD AND, UH, REALLY SERVE AS WE MOVE INTO FUTURE DESIGN STAGES, ESPECIALLY AS WE BRING ON OUR FINAL DESIGNER. IT, IT SERVES TO COMMUNICATE A SET OF PRINCIPLES AND, UH, USER EXPERIENCE IDEALS THAT WE WANT TO ACCOMPLISH WITH THE LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM. YOU GOT IT. ALRIGHT. SO, ONE THING THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO NOTE IS THAT WE ARE IN A FEDERAL PROCESS. UM, WE'RE WORKING WITH THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION TO SECURE JUST ABOUT HALF THE FUNDING FOR THIS PROJECT. AND AS YOU CAN SEE BY THE TIMELINE HERE, IT CERTAINLY IS A LENGTHY PROCESS, BUT WE HAVE ACCOMPLISHED SO MUCH AT THIS POINT IN TIME. UM, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, WE'RE IN THE PLANNING DESIGN AND PROJECT DEVELOPMENT, WHICH MEANS WE ARE WORKING THROUGH OUR ENVIRONMENTAL CLEARANCE. WE'RE ADVANCING DESIGN AND AS LINDSAY MENTIONED, THIS YEAR IS REALLY GONNA BE GEARING UP TO GET OUR, UH, FINAL DESIGNER ON BOARD AS WE LOOK AHEAD TO ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION. AS YOU CAN SEE THAT NEXT PHASE ENGINEERING IS ANTICIPATED TO START JUST NEXT YEAR WITH CONSTRUCTION IN 2027. AND WE HAVE, UH, FORECASTED OUT TO 2033 AS OUR OPENING YEAR OF SERVICE. SO WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT HERE IS REALLY JUST A HIGHLIGHT OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT ITSELF. YOU KNOW, WE'RE AT A GREAT POINT IN TIME. WE'RE EXCITED BECAUSE WE GET TO SHOW OUR WORK OVER THE LAST YEAR, PLUS WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THE DESIGN, REFINING IT, AND ALSO ASSESSING ALL THE VARIOUS POTENTIAL, UM, IMPACTS RELATED TO, TO THE ENVIRONMENT, UH, WITH AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT IS REQUIRED TO YOU TO LOOK AT. SO ANYTHING YOU CAN THINK OF REALLY IS INCLUDED IN THIS DOCUMENT. SO WE'RE AT A POINT WHERE WE'RE REALLY ASKING FOR FEEDBACK AND, AND JUST WANT TO REITERATE THAT IT'S IN CALLED DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT FOR A REASON. IT CERTAINLY IS DRAFT. SO WE'RE LOOKING FOR FEEDBACK ON EVERYTHING THAT'S IN THAT DOCUMENT. YOU KNOW, ALSO WANT TO NOTE THAT WE'VE WORKED REALLY CLOSELY WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN, ALSO WITH CAP METRO TO DEVELOP THIS DOCUMENT. AND WE DID THAT, UH, TO REALLY UNDERSTAND AND TO DOCUMENT, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THERE TODAY, WHAT ARE THE EXISTING CONDITIONS, UM, ALL COME TOGETHER IN TERMS OF ASSESSING WHAT THE POTENTIAL IMPACTS ARE, AND ALSO DEFINING, UM, WHAT THE POTENTIAL MITIGATION COULD BE. AND MITIGATION IS REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE WE ACTUALLY DOCUMENT HOW ARE WE GONNA ADDRESS SOME OF THE, UH, CHALLENGES THAT WE DOCUMENT AS, UH, THIS ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENT ITSELF. UM, I'LL TURN TO THE NEXT SLIDE. SO THERE ARE MANY WAYS YOU CAN COMMENT. UM, WE ACTUALLY RELEASED THE DOCUMENT TO THE PUBLIC ON, UM, JANUARY 10TH, AND WE'RE CLOSING THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD ON MARCH 11TH. UM, I DON'T WANT ANYBODY TO THINK THAT'S THE END OF ALL COMMENTS ON THIS PROJECT. WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE, UH, TO ADVANCE DESIGN IN EVERY STEP OF DESIGN AS WE ADVANCE THE DESIGN ITSELF. LOOK AT STATIONS LOOKING AT PEDESTRIAN CONNECTIONS, IT'S ALL GONNA BE PART OF A COMMUNITY, UH, CONVERSATION OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS. BUT FOR THIS POINT IN TIME FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT ITSELF, WE'RE ASKING FOR ALL COMMENTS BY MARCH 11TH. AND ALSO, PLEASE NOTE THAT EVERY SINGLE COMMENT WE RECEIVE WILL BE DOCUMENTED AND EVERY COMMENT WILL BE RESPONDED TO AS PART OF OUR FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT, UM, TARGETED TOWARD, UH, LATER END OF THIS YEAR. UM, SO WE HAVE, YOU HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU AND YOU HAVE A QR CODE WHERE YOU CAN GO TO OUR OPEN HOUSE, AND THAT'S PROBABLY THE BEST WAY TO GET A, UH, ONLINE INTERACTIVE FORM. WE CAN PROVIDE COMMENTS OR CERTAINLY YOU CAN CALL THE NUMBER. WE HAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS AND WE ALWAYS HAVE SOMEONE THAT WILL RESPOND, UM, BACK TO ANY TYPES OF INQUIRIES UNLESS LINDSAY, ANYTHING TO ADD, WE'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS? NO. AND WITH THAT, YEAH, WE'RE HAPPY TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS. OKAY, GREAT. I'M, I'M QUITE POSITIVE THERE'S GONNA BE SOME QUESTIONS FROM OUR COMMISSION. UM, I, UH, I'M GOING TO JUST LOOK AROUND AND SEE WHO MAY HAVE A QUESTION. COMMISSIONER SCHUMACHER. SO I, I HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS. MM-HMM . I'M SURE SOME OF THEM WILL BE ASKED BY FELLOW COMMISSIONER, SO I THINK I MIGHT DO, IS THIS ON? IT IS ON. OKAY. I'M GONNA MOVE IT CLOSER. UM, IF IT WORKS WITH THE CHAIR, I THINK I'M GONNA DO TWO QUESTIONS AT A TIME, THEN I'LL LET EVERYONE ELSE GET BACK OUT OR WE CAN MAKE IT ONE, IT WORKS FOR ME. OKAY, GREAT. SO, UM, FIRST THING I WANNA TALK ABOUT IS, UH, FIRST I THINK I WAS REALLY IMPRESSED IN A LOT OF PLACES AT HOW YOU GUYS HAVE, UH, INTEGRATED BIKE INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, NOT JUST ON THE STREETS WITH, UH, LIGHT RAIL, [00:25:01] BUT ALSO IN ADJOINING STREETS, RIGHT? TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS REALLY IS A, A MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION PROJECT. UM, I HAVE SLOWLY COME TO TERMS WITH THE IDEA OF MOVING THE THIRD STREET BIKE LANE TO FOURTH STREET. RIGHT? I UNDERSTAND WHY IT'S NECESSARY. UM, BUT I'M WONDERING IF WE CAN CONFIRM TODAY THAT WE WILL BUILD THE FOURTH STREET BIKE LANE BEFORE WE NEED TO TEAR OUT THE THIRD STREET BIKE LANE SINCE IT'S OUR ONLY EAST WEST BIKE CONNECTION REALLY WE HAVE IN DOWNTOWN. THAT IS OUR PLAN. AND IT IS ALSO DOCUMENTED IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENT. UH, YOU'D MAYBE HAVE TO DIG THROUGH THE 16,000 NUMBER . UM, BUT YES, IT IS ALSO DOCUMENTED THERE AS PART OF OUR, UM, POTENTIAL DRAFT MITIGATIONS AND THEN OUR MITIGATIONS BECOME FINAL WHEN WE PUBLISH THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT. OKAY. THAT'S FANTASTIC. I WILL DEFINITELY CONTROL F THROUGH THE DRAFT TO FIND THAT. UM, AND THEN THE OTHER QUESTION I HAD IS, UM, THE, THE DRAFT EIS CAN HAS MULTIPLE DESIGN OPTIONS, UM, THAT MAY OR MAY NOT BE INCLUDED. MY UNDERSTANDING WAS THE REASON WE COULDN'T, UH, DO THE PRIORITY EXTENSIONS IN THE EIS IS 'CAUSE THEY'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO INCLUDE THINGS THAT MAY NOT BE BILLED. SO WHY AREN'T WE INCLUDING THOSE PRIORITY EXTENSIONS AS DESIGN OPTIONS? DO YOU WANNA CLARIFY FROM A NEPA PERSPECTIVE? YEAH, I'LL START FROM THE NEPA SIDE OF THINGS. UM, SO WE'VE MADE A REALLY CONSCIOUS DECISION NOT TO INCLUDE THE PRIOR EXTENSIONS AT THIS POINT IN TIME. UM, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, CONNECTION TO CRESTVIEW AND CONNECTION TO AIRPORT PRESENT THEIR OWN CHALLENGES. AND SO WE DIDN'T WANT TO POTENTIALLY JEOPARDIZE THE PHASE ONE PROJECT FOR SOMETHING THAT WE WASN'T INCLUDED AS THE INITIAL BUILD. AND THAT BEING SAID, WE'VE SET OURSELVES UP IN A WAY WHERE WE CAN CERTAINLY PIVOT AND ADDRESS EITHER ONE OF THOSE EXTENSIONS FROM BOTH AN ENGINEERING STANDPOINT AND ENVIRONMENTAL STANDPOINT. SO WE COULD REALLY, UM, ACCELERATE THOSE EXTENSIONS, UM, AS NEEDED. UH, AND IF THIS, YEAH. OH, SORRY. GO AHEAD. AND WE'RE ACTUALLY CARRYING FORWARD, UM, SOME OF THE EARLY DESIGN NOW MM-HMM . SO THEY MAY NOT BE PART OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENT, BUT WE ARE WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE AIRPORT AND WITH TXDOT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PROVISIONING FOR THE AIRPORT EXTENSION, FOR EXAMPLE, BECAUSE WE HAVE ADJACENT PROJECTS WITH THE AIRPORT EXPANSION AND, AND TDOT'S FRONTAGE ROAD EXTENSION AND WHAT THEY'RE, UM, LOOKING AT FOR 180 3 AS WELL MM-HMM . AND SO WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE MOVING ELEMENTS OF IT FORWARD. IT'S JUST NOT PART OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT. IF I COULD JUST ASK ONE QUICK FOLLOW UP ON THAT. A, ASSUMING WE PUBLISHED THE DRAFT, THE, THE FINAL EIS PRIORITY EXTENSIONS ARE NOT INCLUDED, UM, A COUPLE YEARS DOWN THE LINE WE HAVE FUNDING TO EITHER GO TO CRESTVIEW OR TO GO TO THE AIRPORT. WOULD THAT THEN NECESSITATE A DIFFERENT EIS, CAN WE AMEND THIS EIS OR COULD WE EVEN DO LIKE AN ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT OR SOMETHING LOWER ON THAT NEPA SCALE? WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT RIGHT NOW, AND IN FACT, YES, IT WOULD BE A SEPARATE ENVIRONMENTAL CLEARANCE MM-HMM . IN TERMS OF SPECIFICALLY WHAT THAT WOULD BE. UM, WE'D HAVE TO WORK FOR THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION TO DEFINE THAT. UM, BUT IT WOULD CERTAINLY BE A SEPARATE, UM, ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESS AT THIS POINT IN TIME. OKAY. THANK YOU. I'LL YIELD TO MY FELLOW COMMISSIONERS, BUT IT WOULDN'T, IT, WHAT I'VE UNDERSTOOD IN THE PAST IS THAT IT MAY NOT BE AS LENGTHY A PROCESS FOR THE EXTENSIONS. LIKE, BECAUSE ONCE YOU'VE PUT THE PROJECT ON THE ROAD AND IT IT EXISTS AND NOW YOU'RE JUST EXTENDING IT, THE PROCESS IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN A BRAND NEW PROJECT WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. AM I CORRECT IN STATING THAT? THAT'S CORRECT. AND THAT'S TYPICALLY WHAT WE SEE FOR OTHER PROJECTS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY IS THEY START WITH THE INITIAL INVESTMENT AS A EIS AND THEN FROM THERE ON BECOMES ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENTS AS EXTENSIONS, UM, GO FORTH. SO MORE THAN LIKELY, WE'RE HOPING THAT THAT WOULD BE THE CASE FOR THE AIRPORT EXTENSION AS WELL. AND WE CONTINUE TO EXPLORE FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES TO ACCELERATE IT INTO THE PHASE ONE PROJECT AS WELL. YEAH. YES. AND, AND I'LL JUST SAY, I SAY THIS EVERY CHANCE I GET. I'M A, UM, I'M PRIVATE CITIZEN SO I CAN SAY THIS, BUT I THINK THE AIRPORT SHOULD PAY FOR THE EXTENSION. SO, UM, WE'RE GONNA MANIFEST THAT HAPPENING 'CAUSE I'M GONNA KEEP SAYING IT EVERY COMMISSION I GO TO. SO ANYWAY, UM, THAT'LL, THAT'S WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN. 'CAUSE I'M GONNA KEEP SAYING IT TILL IT HAPPENS . SO, UH, AND WE'RE GONNA GET THAT EXTENSION. I THINK SO. UM, ANYWAY, UH, OTHER QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSIONERS? YEAH, COMMISSIONER KAMAN. UM, JUST A QUICK QUESTION. THOSE, AND THIS IS MORE OF A DESIGN QUESTION, SO I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS THE APPROPRIATE VENUE, BUT YOU'RE HERE, SO I'M GONNA ASK YOU ANYWAY, UM, IS THAT IN ALL THE RENDERINGS AND YOU'RE TALKING A LOT ABOUT SHADE, YOU SEE A LOT OF THAT, IS THAT LIKE BUDGETED IN FOR SORT OF LIKE A STREET TREE OR LIKE SHADE ELEMENTS? AND ALSO, HAVE YOU GONE THROUGH ANY AMOUNT OF LIKE MAKING SURE THAT YOU'RE NOT GONNA GET CAUGHT UP IN LIKE UTILITY EASEMENTS AND STUFF FOR LIKE BEING ABLE TO PLANT THOSE IN THE RIGHT OF WAY? YES. UH, SO YES, WE CONSIDER, UH, TREES INCLUDING STREET TREES AS WELL AS, AS THOSE THAT YOU SAW ALONG THE, UM, WE AFFECTIONATELY CALL THE GREENWAY PORTION ALONG RIVERSIDE AS INFRASTRUCTURE ELEMENTS TO THE PROJECT. AND THEY REALLY BEING FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS THAT SERVE THE PURPOSE OF LIGHT RAIL AND BRINGING PEOPLE SAFELY AND COMFORTABLY TO THE LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM, UM, IN [00:30:01] TERMS OF, UH, DESIGNING AND PROVISIONING FOR THE SPACE FOR THOSE TREES. WE ALSO, THAT ACTUALLY IS ANOTHER REASON OF RECOMMENDING THOSE CENTER RUNNING FACILITIES ALONG RIVERSIDE. THERE ARE MANY OVERHEAD ELECTRIC LINES ON THE OUTER EDGES OF RIVERSIDE THAT LIMIT THE SPECIES AND THE SIZE OF TREES THAT CAN GROW THERE. UH, AND UNDERGROUND UTILITIES, PUTTING THEM IN THE MIDDLE CREATES MORE OF AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PLANTING TREES. BUT EVEN ON THE, THE REMAINDER OF THE ALIGNMENT WHERE WE DON'T HAVE RIGHT OF WAY WIDE ENOUGH TO HAVE THE CENTER RUNNING BIKE PED FACILITIES, WE ARE LOOKING AT STREET TREES WHEREVER POSSIBLE ALONG THE OUTER EDGES AND BASICALLY ALONG THE SIDEWALKS AS WELL. AWESOME. UM, I DO BELIEVE I SEE COMMISSIONER BROOKS HAS RAISED HIS HAND ONLINE. UH, YES. CAN, CAN PEOPLE HEAR ME? I'M NOT USED TO, UH, WE CAN HEAR YOU LOUD AND CLEAR. OKAY. UM, I JUST WANT TO POINT OUT THAT, WELL, I'VE BEEN TRYING TO LEARN ABOUT THE FDA PROCESS AND THE NEXT STAGE THE PROJECT CONNECT WILL ENTER INTO, AS FAR AS THE FDA PROCESS IS CONCERNED IS WHAT'S CALLED THE ENGINEERING STAGE. AND PART OF THE ENGINEERING STAGE IS TO NEGOTIATE A FULL FUNDING WHAT'S CALLED A FULL FUNDING AGREEMENT. AND THAT'S WHEN THE FDA COMMITS ITSELF TO THE AMOUNT OF FEDERAL MONEY THAT'S GOING TO BE SPENT ON THE PROJECT. IT'S ALSO THE PLACE WHERE THE TRANSIT AGENCY OR THE, THE PEOPLE WHO ARE DOING THE PROJECT COMMIT THEMSELVES TO LOCAL FUNDING. AND I CAN UNDERSTAND A BIT OF RELUCTANCE TO, UH, CARRY THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECT OR PROCESS TOO MUCH FURTHER BEYOND WHAT THEY KNOW THEY WILL HAVE FUNDS FOR AT THIS TIME. UM, BECAUSE IT, IT PROBABLY WON'T LOOK VERY GOOD IF THE, IF THEY ALL OF A SUDDEN GET TO THE FULL FUNDING AGREEMENT AND SAY, WELL, WE'RE ONLY GONNA BE ABLE TO DO A QUARTER OF THE LOCAL FUNDING THAT WAS EXPECTED AND THAT WE'D COUNTED ON TO DO ALL THESE EXTENSIONS. SO I THINK IT'S PROBABLY A SAFER PATH FOR THEM TO LIMIT THE AMOUNT OF, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL WORK THEY DO NOW TO WHAT THEY CAN ACTUALLY HAVE FUNDS COMMITTED FOR AND CAN BUILD. SO THAT'S ONE KIND KIND OF COMMENT. THE OTHER IS A QUESTION, UM, LADY BIRD JOHNSON WILDFLOWER CENTER HAS A GREAT DEAL OF INFLUENCE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN. UM, IS THERE ANY CONNECTION BETWEEN PROJECT, HAS PROJECT CONNECT, UH, WORKED OUT ANY RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LADYBIRD JOHNSON WILDFLOWER CENTER? UH, I CAN'T SPEAK FOR PROJECT CONNECT AS A WHOLE. WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE, THE LIGHT RAIL ELEMENTS OF THAT. UH, AND BEING THAT OUR ALIGNMENT IS IS NOT IN THE VICINITY THERE, WE, WE DON'T HAVE, THEY'RE NOT A STAKEHOLDER IN THAT REGARD. THAT SAID, UM, WE ACTUALLY HAPPEN TO HAVE STAFF THAT IS FORMER STAFF FROM THE LADY BIRD JOHNSON WILDFLOWER CENTER AND VERY FAMILIAR WITH THEIR, UM, DESIGN STANDARDS FOR, YOU KNOW, NATIVE PLANTINGS AND FUNCTIONAL LANDSCAPE ELEMENTS. SO WE DO HAVE SOME CONNECTIONS THERE. OTHER QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSIONERS FOR ME? OKAY. I DON'T KNOW IF I HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS. I FEEL LIKE I KNOW THIS PROJECT REALLY WELL, . UM, BUT, UM, I, I DO HAVE SOME COMMENTS, I GUESS, UM, AND SOME OF THOSE WE SORT OF TALKED ABOUT VERY QUICKLY IN TERMS OF SOME OF THE DESIGN CHOICES THAT WERE MADE. AND I JUST WANNA VALIDATE, UM, I MEAN, I'M CURIOUS TO LEARN MORE FROM THE COMMUNITY. UM, ESPECIALLY, YOU KNOW, I ALSO SERVE ON THE, UM, PROJECT CONNECT COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE. AND SO WE MAY HEAR FROM THE COMMUNITIES AND THINGS THERE, BUT MY INITIAL IMPRESSION ON THE DESIGN CHOICES IS THAT IT REALLY IS, UM, ALIGNING WITH, FOR THE MOST PART WHAT THE COMMUNITY ASKED FOR AND WHAT I WAS HOPING TO SEE. UM, I KNOW WE'VE TALKED QUITE A LOT ABOUT THE GREENWAY. I DO THINK THAT, UM, WE LEARNED THROUGH THE USER, UH, REALLY INNOVATIVE AND GREAT, UM, USER EXPERIENCE SURVEYS THAT WE DID THAT, UM, SHADE WAS A REALLY IMPORTANT VALUE FOR AUSTINITES EVEN COMPARED TO OTHER CITIES. AND UM, THAT'S SOMETHING I, I DON'T KNOW IF Y'ALL KNOW THIS, BUT UM, IN BEFORE THE ADOPTION OF THE VOTE IN SUMMER 2020, [00:35:01] I ACTUALLY LED A VERY SMALL COALITION OF PEOPLE, UM, TRYING TO INFLUENCE WHAT GOT ADOPTED. AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE SUGGESTED IN THAT WAS THAT, UM, THERE BE MONEY INCLUDED FOR SHADE. AND WE WERE TOLD THAT WAS A LITTLE CRAZY AND WE DIDN'T THINK IT WAS THAT CRAZY. UM, AND SO I THINK WE'VE BEEN VALIDATED THAT WE WEREN'T THAT CRAZY. SO, UM, ANYWAY, I I'M REALLY, REALLY HAPPY ABOUT THAT. IT JUST FILLS ME WITH JOY, HONESTLY. AND I ALSO THINK IT'S JUST SERVING, UM, A COMMUNITY THAT REALLY NEEDS CONNECTIVITY, THAT NEEDS, UM, SAFE ROUTES TO BIKE AND WALK TO USE TRANSIT. UM, I WAS JUST OVER ON RIVERSIDE FOR A CONCERT ON THURSDAY AND WE WENT OUT TO EAT AND THEN WE WENT TO THE CONCERT VENUE AND, UH, ONE OF THE PEOPLE THAT I WAS, UM, EATING WITH SAID, WELL, WE, I KNOW IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S NOT FAR, BUT PLEASE DON'T WALK BECAUSE IT'S SO DANGEROUS WITH THE CARS AND ALL THE THINGS. AND SO I WAS LIKE, WOW, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, I, NO ONE, THESE FOLKS DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THAT I HAVE AN INVOLVEMENT IN TRANSPORTATION. THESE ARE JUST PEOPLE THAT LIKE K-POP. SO, UM, . SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I WAS LIKE, WOW, THAT REALLY SHOWS US SOMETHING HERE AND, AND THE OPPORTUNITY WE HAVE TO TRANSFORM THIS AREA, UM, FOR A COMMUNITY THAT REALLY DESERVES THAT AND NEEDS THAT. SO I THINK IT'S VERY, VERY EXCITING CONCEPT. I THINK ALSO SOME OF THE STATION CHOICES, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF ADDING THE DOWNTOWN STATION, ADDITIONAL DOWNTOWN STATION, WE HEARD THAT QUITE A LOT IN THE EARLY FEEDBACK SESSIONS. UM, SO I THINK THAT WAS IMPORTANT. KEEPING, I MEAN, I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF, UM, PRIDE AND VALUE IN HAVING A MONOPOLOUS STATION LABELED AS SUCH, YOU KNOW, SO I THINK, UM, THERE'S A LOT OF GREAT THINGS. I ALSO, HONESTLY, I KNOW THAT THE QUESTION OF THE ELEVATED, SO FOR SOME OF Y'ALL WHO MAY NOT KNOW AS MUCH, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS COMING OVER THE RIVER, ONE SIDE OF THE RIVER IS KIND OF LIKE HIGHER ELEVATION. SO YOU EITHER HAVE TO LIKE, KIND OF HAVE A BRIDGE AND THEN GO, WHOA, YOU KIND OF SWOOP DOWN TO GET TO GROUND LEVEL, OR YOU HAVE THE OPTION TO CONTINUE ELEVATE IT FOR A TIME AND MORE GRADUALLY COME DOWN AND HAVE THE FIRST STATION SOUTH OF THE RIVER BE ELEVATED. AND SO THERE WERE VARIOUS TRADE-OFFS IN DESIGN CHOICES AND MAKING THAT DECISION. UM, AND WE, I TALKED THROUGH SOME OF THOSE WITH, WITH THE STAFF WHEN THAT WAS, UM, THE FIRST SET OF INPUT WAS GOING FORWARD. AND I ACTUALLY KIND OF, I, I KIND OF FELT THAT ELEVATE WAS MAYBE THE RIGHT CHOICE AND Y'ALL CHOSE THAT. SO I JUST THINK THAT Y'ALL ARE JUST, UH, FIRING A HUNDRED PERCENT BASICALLY ON THESE ELEMENTS. UM, YOU KNOW, LIKE MANY OTHERS. I DO FEEL, UM, I REALLY UNDERSTAND WHY IN THE, THE EIS PROCESS THAT IT, WE CAN'T REALLY INCLUDE THE PRIORITY EXTENSIONS. I THINK IT COULD POTENTIALLY MUDDLE OUR APPLICATION WITH THE, THE FED, THE FEDS. IT'S CONFUSING, UM, FOR ALL KINDS OF REASONS, BUT I AM CONFIDENT THAT STAFF, TO THE EXTENT THAT THEY CAN IS, IS PUSHING FORWARD SOME OF THE DESIGN ELEMENTS AND THAT, UM, I DO THINK THERE ARE POTENTIAL FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES, UH, UH, PARTICULARLY FOR THE AIRPORT SECTION AS I MENTIONED. SO I'M, I FEEL GOOD ABOUT THAT. I, I AM A BIG ADVOCATE FOR GETTING THE WHOLE PIECE AND ALSO GETTING THE WHOLE SUPER LONG TERM PIECE, LIKE GOING NORTH OF 180 3 TO RUNDBERG. I, I SAY THAT EVERY CHANCE I GET. UM, WE KNOW THAT WHEN WE WERE FIRST PLANNING THIS, THAT WAS, UM, ONE OF THE STATIONS, I THINK IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE THE NUMBER TWO STATION IN THE SYSTEM, WHICH IS PRETTY, UM, JUST REMARKABLE. UM, AND THOSE FOLKS ARE REAL TRANSIT USERS AND EXPERTS UP THERE. SO, UM, I THINK, UM, WE HAVE TO CONTINUE PUSHING ON THOSE ELEMENTS AS A COMMUNITY. I DON'T REALLY THINK THAT'S STAFF'S WORK, BUT I THINK THAT THOSE OF US WHO CARE ABOUT THOSE THINGS, WE REALLY JUST CANNOT STOP. WE, WE HAVE TO KEEP PUSHING FOR, UH, ADDITIONAL EXTENSIONS AND PLANNING, UM, TO GO FORWARD. SO I DO THINK THAT THOSE THINGS ARE IMPORTANT. I'M REALLY, REALLY HAPPY HONESTLY, WITH THIS. UM, I KNOW WE'RE NOT POSTED FOR ACTION, BUT, UM, I THINK I MIGHT HAVE SOME EMAILS FROM COMMISSIONERS HERE AND WHEN WE GET TO FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS WE MAY WANNA TALK ABOUT, BECAUSE OUR NEXT MEETING IS, UM, MARCH 4TH, ONE MONTH FROM TODAY. BUT THE, UM, COMMENT PERIOD DOES NOT CLOSE UNTIL MARCH 11TH. SO, UH, WITH THAT, IF WE DID WANNA PASS A RECOMMENDATION AT OUR NEXT MEETING BASED ON WHAT WE LEARNED TODAY, THAT I THINK WE WOULD HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY AND ALSO BE, HAVE THAT BE INCLUDED AS PART OF THE OFFICIAL, UH, DRAFT EIS PROCESS AS WELL. UM, I GUESS I DO HAVE ONE QUESTION AND THEN I'LL SHUT UP AND LET SOME OTHER FOLKS ASK QUESTIONS, BUT CAN YOU REMIND ME, I SHOULD KNOW THIS, WHEN IS IT ANTICIPATED ROUGHLY FOR THE FINAL EIS TO PUBLISH? UH, WE'RE SAYING BY THE END OF THIS YEAR, DECEMBER OF THIS YEAR. GREAT. I, I GUESS ONE THING I'LL SAY TO THAT IS AS WE'RE, WE ARE GOING THROUGH THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD, SO THAT'S ALL CONTINGENT BASED ON WHAT TYPES OF COMMENTS WE GET. UM, SO, BUT THAT'S OUR SCHEDULED DATE RIGHT NOW. GREAT. THANK YOU. UM, DO YOU, YOU SAID YOU HAD MORE COMMISSIONER SCHUMACHER, OTHER PEOPLE, COMMISSIONER ALVAREZ? YEAH. I DON'T HAVE A QUESTION. I I, I, I HATE TO REPEAT WHAT PEOPLE ALREADY SAY, SO I'M NOT GONNA REPEAT EVERYTHING THAT SHE JUST SAID. I JUST WANT TO SAY [00:40:01] THAT FOR SPEAKING FOR D THREE, THANK YOU FOR NOT REMOVING STATIONS AND FOR KEEPING LIKE THOSE VERY IMPORTANT STATIONS AND TO SEE THE SHADE AND TO SEE THE WALKABILITY IS SO EXCITING. 'CAUSE I KNOW FOR MYSELF AND MY KIDS, IT, IT IS HARD TO MOVE AROUND DOWN THERE. AND SO TO SEE THIS AND TO KNOW THAT IT'S COMING IN A VERY LONG TIME, BUT IT'S COMING, UM, IS HOPEFUL, RIGHT? AND IT GIVES THAT COMMUNITY THAT HOPE. AND SO I JUST WANNA KIND OF SHARE THAT AND SAY THANK YOU FOR NOT REMOVING IT, UM, AND TO REALLY SEE THE DESIGN ELEMENTS. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. OTHER COMMISSIONERS, COMMISSIONER SCHUMACHER, I'VE, I'VE GOT A GOOD NUMBER, GOOD NUMBER MORE. I MIGHT END UP EMAILING SOME OF THEM TO YOU, BUT, UM, I WANT TO DRILL DOWN ON UH, GU 'CAUSE THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME WE SAW THE DESIGN OPTIONS YOU CHOSE THERE. I, I SUPPOSE I SHOULD ALSO SAY, I THINK IT SAYS SOMETHING ABOUT THE JOB YOU GUYS DID THAT I REALLY HAVE NO COMMENTS ABOUT THE LIGHT RAIL DESIGN BECAUSE YOU GUYS KNOCKED OUTTA THE PARK THERE. EVERYTHING I HAVE IS ABOUT BUS, BIKE OR PEDESTRIAN ISSUES. RIGHT. UM, BUT SO RIGHT. WE CHOSE, UH, UH, TO MAKE WA YOU KNOW, EXCLUSIVE FOR PEDESTRIANS, BIKES, BUSES, AND, AND TRAINS, WHICH I THINK IS A GREAT DECISION. UM, BUT WE ALSO CHOSE TO HAVE A, A BUS IN A BIKE LANE. OH, NOT QUITE. OKAY. SO THE DESIGN ALLOWS FOR MULTIPLE OPERATING CONDITIONS, WHICH HAS NOT BEEN DECIDED AT THIS TIME. OKAY. SO WE ACTUALLY SHOW IT BOTH WAYS, UH, IN TERMS OF, YOU COULD HAVE THE BUSES AND BIKES SHARE THAT SPACE NEXT TO THE TRANSIT WAY, OR, UH, BUSES MAY BE ABLE TO SHARE THE LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT WAY AND HAVE, UH, A WIDER BIKE AND PEDESTRIAN FACILITY NEXT TO THE TRANSIT WAY. THE FOOTPRINT FOR BOTH IS THE SAME. UH, SO WE'RE NOT MAKING AN OPERATIONAL DECISION. UHHUH AT THIS TIME, NOR IS ONE NEEDED FOR THIS PHASE OF THE PROJECT THAT WE'RE IN. WE WELCOME FEEDBACK ON THE TOPIC THOUGH, BECAUSE IT DOES, UM, HELP INFORM LATER STAGES WHEN THOSE DECISIONS ARE GOING TO BE NEEDED. THAT'S A VERY HELPFUL CLARIFICATION. SO, SO THE DRAWINGS I SAW THAT HAD THE BUS IN THE BIKE THAT COULD BE CONVERTED TO, I SUPPOSE A BIKE LANE AND PROBABLY A WIDER SIDEWALK. YES. AND THEN YOU HAD BUSES RIDING IN, IN THE LIGHT RAIL GUIDEWAY. THAT'S RIGHT. AND, AND WE DO, UM, I SUPPOSE IN THE NARRATIVE, KIND OF EXPLAIN THOSE DIFFERENCES. OKAY. AND, UH, ARE, ARE NOT MAKING A RECOMMENDATION OR A DECISION ON THAT OPERATIONAL CONDITION AT THIS TIME. GOTCHA. OKAY. THAT MAKES SENSE. THE, THE QUESTION I DO WANT TO ASK IS IF WE GO THE BUS BIKE ROUTE, UM, NATO GUIDELINES SAYS YOU SHOULD LIMIT THOSE TO 15 OR LESS BUSES IN AN HOUR FOR SAFETY REASONS. RIGHT NOW WE'RE AT 35. OBVIOUSLY A LOT OF THOSE WILL PROBABLY GO AWAY OR GET REROUTED WHEN LIGHT RAIL COMES. UH, BUT 15 OF THOSE ARE JUST UT SHUTTLES, RIGHT. SO HAVE THERE BEEN CONVERSATIONS ABOUT WITH CAP METRO AND WHAT THEY ANTICIPATE THEIR CAPACITY NEEDS IS THERE, AND WOULD THE DECISION WE MAKE HERE LIMIT OUR ABILITY TO, UH, SERVE THE, THAT AREA WITH BUSES IN THE FUTURE? SO CAP METRO'S, LONG-TERM SERVICE PLANS ARE A KEY INPUT INTO THIS OPERATIONAL ISSUE. UH, CAP METRO IS WORKING IN PARALLEL WITH US MM-HMM . ON THEIR LONG TERM, UM, 2035 TRANS OR TRANSIT 2035 PLAN. AND NOW THAT THEY HAVE THE KIND OF BASELINE LIGHT RAIL ALIGNMENTS AND DESIGNS, THEY'RE WORKING TO REFINE HOW TO OPTIMIZE THE BUS RAIL CONNECTIONS AND WHAT THE UNDERLYING BUS, UH, NETWORK SHOULD LOOK LIKE. AND WE'LL BE COMING OUT WITH A, A PUBLIC PROCESS, I BELIEVE, IN THE SPRING. UM, BUT I, WE CAN FORWARD THOSE QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS TO OUR, OUR PARTNERS AT CAP METRO. OKAY. THAT'S HELPFUL. AND THEN, UM, I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT SOUTH CONGRESS AS WELL. MM-HMM . UH, I'M TRYING TO GO OFF MEMORY HERE, BUT AS I RECALL, I BELIEVE THE DESIGN SHOWS TWO VEHICLE LANES, GENERAL TRAVEL LANES IN EACH DIRECTION AND NO PARKING. UM, WHAT WAS THE RATIONALE BEHIND NOT HAVING STREET PARKING AND HAS THERE ANY BEEN SORT OF ANY ANALYSIS OR CONVERSATIONS WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN ON WHAT THAT WOULD DO TO THE SOUTH CONGRESS PARKING TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT DISTRICT? GREAT QUESTION. AND ONE OF THE, UM, TOP THINGS WE ARE HEARING RIGHT NOW, AT LEAST FROM THE OPEN HOUSES AND, AND AS WE'RE IN THE EARLY DAYS OF RECEIVING, RECEIVING COMMENTS, A LOT OF INTEREST IN WHAT THE STREET SECTION ULTIMATELY WILL LOOK LIKE ALONG SOUTH CONGRESS. SO YOU'RE CORRECT THAT, UH, IN THE DRAFT, EIS OUR PLANS SHOW TWO LANES IN EITHER DIRECTION WITH LEFT TURN LANES AT CERTAIN INTERSECTIONS MM-HMM . UH, AND, AND OBVIOUSLY THE LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT WAY CENTER RUNNING IN THE MIDDLE, THERE ARE ISOLATED LOCATIONS OF, UM, POTENTIAL ON STREET PARKING. WE CALL THEM FLEX ZONES SURE. IN THE DESIGN PLANS, BUT COULD BE USED FOR PARKING. UH, BUT IT'S NOT CONTINUOUS. AND, AND A, A NUMBER OF THOSE PARKING SPACES [00:45:01] JUST SIMPLY DON'T FIT WITH THE TWO LANE PLUS SOME LEFT TURN LANES AND THE LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT WAY. AND OF COURSE MAINTAINING, UH, BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN CONNECTIVITY THROUGH THE AIR UH, AREA. AND SO WE'RE SEEING THIS AS A REALLY IMPORTANT COMMUNITY CONVERSATION THAT WE NEED TO CONTINUE MM-HMM . UM, GOING PAST THIS PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD TO COME BACK AND, AND TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE FEEDBACK THAT WE RECEIVE AND WHAT POTENTIAL OPTIONS COULD BE THERE. SO WE, UM, WE LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING THIS FOR, UH, YOU KNOW, EVEN AFTER MARCH 11TH. YES. I ALSO WANNA TALK ABOUT THAT, UH, PIECE OF STREET THERE IS THAT, I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THE LIKE SORT OF DEFAULT IN THE CROSS SECTIONS THAT WE'RE COMING UP WITH. AND WE'RE LOOKING AT REMOVING SOME OF THOSE. AND IT SEEMS LIKE THE AMOUNT OF GENERAL TRAVEL LANES WAS THE PRIORITY IN DECIDING THIS CROSS SECTION. AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, AS A CITY WORKING TOWARDS MAKING A LOT OF DIFFERENT TRANSPORTATION MODES, LIKE A LITTLE BIT MORE FEASIBLE FOR EVERYONE TO TAKE AND EXPLORING DIFFERENT IDEAS TO GET PARKING MANAGEMENT UNDER CONTROL OF WHICH, YOU KNOW, THE PARKING, THE PTMD AT SOUTH CONGRESS HAS BEEN A MAJOR PART IN A HUGE SUCCESS. AND I, I DON'T KNOW, I I, MY COMMENT ON THIS, AND I JUST WANT TO START SAYING THIS NOW SO THAT I CAN CONTINUE SAYING THIS, IS THAT I, I THINK THAT IF ANYTHING IS GONNA GET SACRIFICED, IT PROBABLY SHOULD BE AVE A VEHICULAR TRAVEL LANE BECAUSE THERE'S A TRAIN ON IT. LIKE THAT'S GONNA BE CARRYING WAY LIKE IT, THERE'S A TRAIN, YOU KNOW, OH, THERE'S ALL THIS TRAFFIC. YEAH. BUT, YOU KNOW, I THINK THE TRAIN IS THE MAYBE MITIGATING FACTOR FOR TAKING OUT A TRAFFIC LANE AND A PRETTY EXPENSIVE AND WELL THOUGHT OUT AND GOOD ONE. UM, AND ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THAT, YOU KNOW, PART OF THE ALLOCATION OF RIGHT OF WAY TO CYCLISTS AND PEDESTRIAN COULD ALSO GET DOWNSIZED IN ONE OF THE MOST, YOU KNOW, HIGH PEDESTRIAN VOLUME AREAS OF TOWN. THAT'S MY COMMENT. GREAT FEEDBACK. AND, UH, IT TRULY IS VALUABLE AND WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO, WE'RE THINKING OF WHAT A PROCESS COULD LOOK LIKE RIGHT NOW TO COME BACK TO COMMUNITY AND TALK ABOUT THIS FEEDBACK AND WHAT WE'RE HEARING AND, UM, WHAT WE CAN DO TO ADDRESS THOSE CONCERNS. SO WE'RE, THIS IS NOT THE END OF THAT CONVERSATION AND, AND WE REALLY ARE, UM, I THINK EXCITED ABOUT ALL COMING TO THE TABLE TOGETHER TO ADDRESS MULTIPLE NEEDS IN THAT AREA. AND, AND IT'S SUCH A SPECIAL SPACE OF JUST EXTREME PEDESTRIAN OR EXTREME VOLUMES OF PEDESTRIAN ACTIVITY AND, UH, KIND OF ACTIVATION OF THAT AREA THAT WE KNOW IS REALLY CRITICAL TO PRESERVE. AND ONE MORE THING IS THAT I HOPE WE CAN GET, UM, AND I GOT SOME EMAILS IN MY, UM, I, I RECEIVED SOME EMAILS FROM C COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UM, FROM THE, IT'S WENDY, WHAT IS THE WENDY TODDS GROUP? THIS SR. SOUTH. DO YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT? UH, WHAT'S THE BIG NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION THERE? THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION OR THE BUSINESS ASSOCIATION? SR NEIGHBORHOOD CC, YES. THE SCC SOUTH SOUTH RIVER CITY. I THINK IT'S, YEAH. BASICALLY THEIR COMMON IS IS THAT, UH, THEY WANTED TO KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON AT SOUTH CONGRESS AND RIVERSIDE. IT'S ELEVATED, IT'S COMPLICATED. THERE'S NEW DEVELOPMENT HAPPENING THERE. AND SO THEY'RE JUST HOPING THAT SOME ADDITIONAL RENDERINGS CAN BE SEEN FOR EXACTLY HOW THAT'S GONNA LOOK AND FEEL. UM, SO THAT'S ANOTHER THING THAT I KNOW IS A MORE FEATURE MM-HMM . UH, AS YOU GET INTO FURTHER DESIGNS, THAT IS A COMPLICATED AREA, BUT THEY JUST WANT ME TO BRING IT UP TODAY THAT THEY WERE CURIOUS ABOUT HOW THAT WAS GONNA LOOK AND WHAT THAT TURN AND EVERYTHING LOOKED LIKE THERE. YEAH. THANK YOU. THAT DEFINITELY IS A FOCUS FOR ADVANCING THE DESIGN, UM, INTO THE NEXT STAGE. I GUESS I HAVE A FOLLOW UP KIND OF FACT FINDING QUESTION ABOUT THAT SAME AREA. SO, UM, I HAVE NOT DUG INTO ALL THE STREET VIEWS OF THAT AREA MYSELF YET. UM, DID YOU, 'CAUSE YOU MENTIONED LEFT TURNS, I ASSUME YOU'VE AT LEAST REDUCED THE LEFT TURN OPPORTUNITIES. SO ALL THE EXISTING LEFT TURNS THAT WE HAVE NOW PROBABLY ARE NOT GOING TO BE THERE. THAT IS CORRECT. OKAY, GOOD. UH, IT, IT'S LEFT TURNS AT CERTAIN INTERSECTIONS. YEAH. OKAY. PERFECT. THANK YOU. UH, COMMISSIONER SCHUMACHER, IF WE HAVE TIME, I HAVE TWO MORE QUESTIONS. I, I REALLY WANTED TO PRETTY MUCH GIVE THE COMMISSION AS MUCH TIME AS WE NEEDED ON THIS ONE, SO YES. LOVELY. UM, SO I, THERE ARE SO MANY WAYS IN WHICH IT IS SO NICE TO SEE YOUR GUYS' WORK AND SEE HOW HARD YOU'VE BEEN WORKING. AND THERE ARE SO MANY WAYS IN WHICH YOU GUYS ARE LIKE CLEARLY PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE AND GOING WAY OUTSIDE OF THE SCOPE OF JUST LIGHT RAIL TO MAKE SURE WE'RE, UH, MAKING THIS THE BEST PROJECT WE CAN. ONE THING I REALLY LIKED THAT YOU GUYS HAD IN THE S SCHEMATICS IS WE'RE ALREADY PLANNING FOR FUTURE PLATFORM EXTENSIONS. UM, BUT ONE QUESTION I HAD ON THAT IS, AND THIS IS SOMETHING WE'VE TALKED ABOUT EVER SINCE, [00:50:01] THE DECISION, YOU KNOW, NOT TO DO A, A TUNNEL THROUGH DOWNTOWN, SOME OF THOSE PLATFORM EXTENSIONS DOWNTOWN WILL EXTEND INTO EXISTING INTERSECTIONS. UM, I, I BELIEVE THE CORE TRANSPORTATION PLAN WAS ACTUALLY JUST RELEASED THIS MORNING OR YESTERDAY. UM, I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF SESSION SO I HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO READ IT. BUT I'M CURIOUS, WERE YOU GUYS HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM TO LET THEM KNOW? AND THEN DO WE NEED TO START PLANNING FOR LIKE, YOU KNOW, LIGHT RAIL PLATFORMS IN THE MIDDLE OF CERTAIN INTERSECTIONS NOW? HOW, HOW SHOULD THAT BE PLANNED NOW? OR IS THAT SOMETHING WE COME ACROSS LIKE 10, 15 YEARS FROM NOW WHEN WE NEED IT? UM, SO THE FIRST PART OF THE QUESTION IS ABSOLUTELY YES. THE, WE ARE COORDINATED WELL WITH THE ACT PLAN AND, UM, THOSE ARE, ARE COMPLIMENTARY OF EACH OTHER, NOT ONLY FOR THE PHASE ONE PROJECT, BUT ALSO FOR BEING ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE PLATFORM EXTENSIONS INTO THE FUTURE. UM, THE SECOND PART OF THE QUESTION OF KIND OF THE TIMING OF WHEN WE MIGHT NEED THOSE PLATFORM EXTENSIONS. SO OUR MODELING SHOWS THAT WE ARE, WE HAVE, UM, WELL OVER SUFFICIENT CAPACITY AT THE CURRENT PLATFORM LINKS IN PHASE ONE TO ACCOMMODATE RIDERSHIP LEVELS, NOT ONLY FOR THE PHASE ONE PROJECT, BUT ACTUALLY INCLUDING THE PRIORITY EXTENSIONS AS WELL. UH, YOU WOULD ONLY NEED THOSE LONGER PLATFORMS IF YOU START TO OPERATE. UM, THEY'RE CALLED THREE CAR CONSISTS MM-HMM . SO COUPLING THREE TRAINS TOGETHER AND THAT WOULD NOT BE NEEDED UNTIL AGAIN, WELL AFTER EVEN ANY OF THE EXTENSIONS THAT ARE CURRENTLY ENVISIONED. SO WE'RE MAKING SURE THAT WE ALLOW THE SPACE FOR THEM, UM, YOU KNOW, THINKING GENERATIONALLY BECAUSE IT HAS SUCH AN OPERATIONS IMPACT TO HAVE TO COME AND RETROFIT A SYSTEM TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT. BUT, UH, WE ARE WELL COVERED FOR NOT ONLY PHASE ONE, BUT ALSO THE EXTENSIONS. YEAH, THAT'S GREAT. UM, AND THEN MY LAST QUESTION, LAST TIME YOU WERE HERE, WE HAD A VERY LIVELY DISCUSSION ABOUT PARK AND RIDES. UM, AND IN THERE YOU TALKED ABOUT HOW, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE YOU KNOW, OUR TERMINUS ARE GONNA CHANGE ONCE WE BUILD OUT SOME OF THOSE PRIORITY EXTENSIONS, UM, SOME YOU, YOU GUYS WOULD SEEK TO USE, YOU KNOW, EXISTING PARKING INFRASTRUCTURE AND PARTNERSHIPS WHERE YOU COULD, UM, I WAS TRYING TO FIND THE NARRATIVE ABOUT THAT IN THE EIS I'M SURE IT'S IN THERE SOMEWHERE. UM, BUT I'M CURIOUS, CAN YOU WALK US THROUGH OF THE THREE PARK AND RIDES, WHICH WOULD ANY OF THEM REQUIRE NEW INFRASTRUCTURE? SURE. ARE WE USING EXISTING, ALL THAT? YEAH, SURE. I CAN GO AHEAD AND START. SO WHERE WE START FROM IS A VERY RIGOROUS PROCESS WORKING WITH THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION TO ESSENTIALLY MODEL WHAT THE DEMAND WILL BE. AND ONE OF THE THINGS WE SEE BECAUSE THEY'RE GONNA BE ENDS OF LINE, THAT'S ESSENTIALLY WHERE TRAVELERS ARE ABLE TO START AT THAT SYSTEM. AND WE SEE A WIDE RANGE OF HOW DO PEOPLE ACCESS TO THE SYSTEM. AND SOME OF IT'S THROUGH DRIVING, THROUGH WALKING THROUGH DROP-OFFS. AND WHAT WE SEE, AND IT'S PROBABLY NOT A SURPRISE, IS THERE'S A BIG DRAW FROM THE NORTH, NORTH, UH, NORTH OF CRESTVIEW. UM, SO IT'S A BIG DEMAND JUST FROM, AND AGAIN, IT'S, IT'S FUTURE AND EXISTING DEVELOPMENT. SO LOOKING AT THE FUTURE POPULATION, FUTURE EMPLOYMENT IS A BIG DRAW TO THAT AREA. SO RIGHT NOW THE PARK AND RIDE IS ESTIMATED TO, UH, REQUIRE UH, 300 SPACES. BUT ONE THING I WANNA NOTE IS 300 SPACES IS NOT OPENING DAY. 300 SPACES IS 20 YEARS AFTER OPERATION STARTS. AND SO IT'S UP TO REALLY, UM, UH, THE COMMUNITY TO DECIDE WHAT, WHAT DO WE WANT TO INVEST IN NOW? AND THERE'S TRADE-OFFS BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T PROVIDE PARKING AT THAT 38TH STREET END OF LINE, THEN YOU'RE GONNA HAVE PEOPLE PARKING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. SO IT WAS TRYING TO FIND A BALANCE ON WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY ABOUT WHAT MAKES SENSE THERE. WE DID TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENS BECAUSE IT IS AN INTERIM END OF LINE. IF YOU EXTEND A CREST, IF YOU GO FURTHER NORTH, THAT DEMAND DOES NOT DROP OFF, UM, SIGNIFICANTLY. WE WERE KIND OF SURPRISED INTERNALLY AT THAT OURSELVES. UM, BUT AGAIN, IT'S A, IT'S A MODEL THAT WE USE. IT'S, UM, IT'S VERY PRESCRIPTIVE AND THAT'S KIND OF WHAT THE OUTPUT'S SHOWING THERE. UM, IT'S ACCOMMODATE THAT KIND OF DEMAND. IF WE WERE TO GO WITH 300 SPACES, WE ARE PROPOSING TO LOOK AT, UH, CERTAIN PARCELS TO ACCOMMODATE THAT. UM, AND RIGHT NOW WE'RE SAYING IT'LL LIKELY BE A, A MULTI-STORY GARAGE. UM, BUT AGAIN, THAT'S SOMETHING WE WANT FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY, PARTICULARLY THOSE THAT WOULD BE MOST IMPACTED IN THAT COMMUNITY THEMSELVES. UM, AS WE GO DOWN TO ALT TURF, ALT TURF IS THE LOWEST DEMAND, UH, PARK AND RIDE AT A HUNDRED POTENTIAL, UH, DEMAND RIDERSHIP, UM, SPACES AND AGAIN, 20 YEARS OUT. AND THERE'S SEVERAL REASONS FOR THAT, BUT PROBABLY THE BIGGEST REASON IS 'CAUSE YOU'RE SO CLOSE TO DOWNTOWN ALREADY NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE ANTICIPATED TO, UM, PARK THERE JUST TO GO A FEW STATIONS TO GET TO THE DOWNTOWN AREA. UM, BUT THAT ONE, WE ARE LOOKING AT A POTENTIAL JOINT USE WITH EXISTING SURFACE PARKING 'CAUSE THERE IS QUITE A SURPLUS OF PARKING IN THAT LOCATE AREA TO BEGIN WITH. AND STRUCTURED. THERE'S AN EXISTING GARAGE OVER THERE AS WELL. MM-HMM . YEAH. AND THEN THE LAST ONE IS THAT YELLOW JACKET THAT'S IN THE EAST SIDE OF RIVERSIDE. AND THAT ONE'S UNIQUE BECAUSE THAT IS AN INTERIM END OF LINE. UM, AND THAT CERTAINLY [00:55:01] DOES HAVE A DRAW AND THAT'S, UM, PROJECTED AT 150, UM, PARKING SPACES. UM, AND THAT'S REALLY NOT CONSIDERED, UM, THE END OF LINE. 'CAUSE AGAIN, IF WE LOOK AT THE AIRPORT, THAT WOULD BE THE EXTENSION THAT TO THAT LOCATION. BUT WHAT MAKES THAT ONE UNIQUE THAT IT DOES HAVE SOME RIDERSHIP DEMAND IS THAT, UM, THE AIRPORT'S NOT YOUR TYPICAL END OF LINE. WE DON'T SEE PEOPLE DRIVING TO THE AIRPORT TO JUMP ONTO THE LIGHT RAIL . SO PARKING A, UH, YELLOW JACKET WOULD BE REQUIRED AT THAT LOCATION. UM, THAT ONE WE'RE LOOKING AT VACANT PARCEL USE TO ACTUALLY ACCOMMODATE, UH, THE PARKING IN THAT LOCATION AT A SURFACE SURFACE. LOT, LOT. YEP. AND I, I THINK OF THE THREE, YOU SAID THE ONE THAT WORRIES ME IS 38TH STREET, JUST SIMPLY BECAUSE WE HAVE AN EXISTING PARKING RIDE, ONE STATIONED UP IF WE CAN GET THERE AT THE TRIANGLE. SO DOES THAT MODELING STILL SAY THAT EVEN IF WE'RE ABLE TO THEN USE THAT, I THINK IT'S 150 SPACES AT THE TRIANGLE, THAT DEMAND IS STILL THERE FOR 300 AT 38TH AND A HALF STREET? UH, YES IT DOES BECAUSE IT, UH, IF THE MODEL SENSE THAT THAT LOCATION IS TOO FAR TO UTILIZE FOR THE PHASE ONE PROJECT, UM, IN, IN OTHER WORDS, PEOPLE AREN'T GONNA WALK FROM PARKING IN THE TRIANGLE TO 38TH STREET. NOW THERE ARE INDIVIDUALS THAT MAY JUMP ON A SCOOTER BIKE, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY MANY AROUND THIS TABLE. UH, BUT THE MODEL DOES NOT CAPTURE THAT. YES. UH, CALLING ON COMMISSIONER BROOKS. THANK YOU JU JUST AN ADDITIONAL COMMENT IS THAT IF YOU LOOK AT THE CURRENT IMPACT OF PARK AND RIDES ON THE 8 0 1 RIDERSHIP, FOUR OUT OF FIVE OF THE TOP, UH, STOPS ON THE 8 0 1 ARE HAVE PARK AND RIDES. THE ONLY ONE WHICH DOESN'T, SUSAN, IS RUTLAND AND LAMAR, THAT'S STILL A HIGH, I THINK IT'S NUMBER THREE, BUT IT DOESN'T HAVE A PARK AND RIDE. SO PARK AND RIDES ARE PRETTY IMPORTANT AND IF PEOPLE CAN'T GET TO THEM, THEY WON'T RIDE THE, THE TRANSIT OR THE RAIL SYSTEM. SO I'M, I DON'T LIKE THE IDEA OF PARK AND RIDES, BUT I THINK I HAVE TO GIVE IN AND, AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE INCLUDED IN THIS, IN AS AT LEAST BE CERTAIN LOCATIONS IN THE, IN THE SYSTEM NOT DOING SO WILL RESULT IN A BIG DROP IN RIDERSHIP. PROBABLY. I, I'M SORT OF GENERALLY VAGUELY IN AGREEMENT WITH WHAT YOU JUST SAID. I, I REALLY DON'T LOVE THE IDEA OF PARKING RIDES, PARTICULARLY IN URBAN WALKABLE AREAS. I HAVE, BUT I, YOU KNOW, I WORK AT UT AND I DO HAVE A NUMBER OF WORK COLLEAGUES WHO DRIVE AND PARK IN, UM, PARKING AT UT IS QUITE EXPENSIVE IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW, UM, FOR A STAFF PARKING PASS. AND SO I HAVE A NUMBER OF COLLEAGUES WHO ACTUALLY WILL, UH, DRIVE FROM NORTH AUSTIN AND PARK IN THE TRIANGLE GARAGE AND TAKE FOR THE LAST CONNECTIVITY TO CAMPUS WILL TAKE THE BUS, UM, BECAUSE THEY CAN AVOID THE PARKING PASS PRICE AT UT. UM, AND SO, UM, MULTIPLE, MULTIPLE COLLEAGUES I KNOW THAT DO THAT. SO I, I HAVE TALKING WITH THEM, I'VE BEGUN TO SEE WHY SOME PEOPLE, UM, DO KIND OF USE THAT KIND OF TRANSFER MODALITY TO, TO KIND OF DO THEIR LAST SMILE. UM, AND ONE OF MY COLLEAGUES EVEN A LOT OF TIMES WALKS IT FROM LIKE, I WORK RIGHT BY THE TOWER, AND HE'S LIKE, THAT SMILE LIKE MEDITATION OF THE DAY, LIKE WALKING TO THE TRIANGLE PARK AND RIDE IF THE WEATHER'S NICE. SO AS IT HAS BEEN THESE LAST FEW DAYS. SO, UM, YEAH, I DO THINK THERE IS A DEMAND. I DO REALLY FEEL IT'S IMPORTANT. LIKE I, A STRUCTURED PARKING GARAGE IS NOT REALLY A CHEAP DESIGN ELEMENT, ACTUALLY, RIGHT? SO LIKE, IF THERE'S WAYS WE CAN EXPLORE PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS WHERE, YOU KNOW, SHARED SPACE WITH A STRUCTURED GARAGE OR LIKE MIXED USE FOR THAT WITH A, WITH A PRIVATE DEVELOPMENT OR SOMETHING LIKE THOSE COULD BE OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE EXPLORE TO SORT OF REDUCE THE COST. AND THEN OF COURSE, SO MANY TIMES THERE'S GARAGES THAT ARE BUILT, WHICH ARE JUST LIKE FLAT WALLS TO THE STREET. I KNOW THAT Y'ALL WOULDN'T DO THAT, BUT I STILL HAVE TO SAY IT, RIGHT? LIKE, WE HAVE TO MAKE IT KIND OF THE URBAN DESIGN OF IT, NOT BE DETRIMENTAL TO EVERYTHING WE'RE KIND TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH AS WELL. SO I THINK THAT A LOT OF US WHO ARE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT TRANSIT HAVE MIXED FEELINGS ABOUT PARKING GARAGES AND PARKING RIDES. I DO KIND OF GET IT FOR THE REASONS YOU DESCRIBED AND COMMISSIONER BROOKS EX DESCRIBED, BUT I THINK GETTING THOSE RIGHT AND ALSO, UM, KEEPING THE BUDGET FOR THEM MANAGEABLE IS, IS SUPER IMPORTANT. SO, OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM COMMISSIONERS? ALL RIGHT, WELL, I THINK WE'RE DONE. I THINK WE'LL, WE'LL, WHEN WE GET TO FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, WE'LL TALK ABOUT WHETHER WE WANT TO PUT AN ITEM ON OUR AGENDA TO MAYBE DO A RECOMMENDATION AND BE POSTED FOR ACTION NEXT MONTH. BUT WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR TIME AND WORK. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. [01:00:01] AND JUST REAL QUICKLY, UM, YOU'VE ALL PROVIDED GREAT INSIGHT, GREAT INPUT. PLEASE DOCUMENT IT IN THE DRAFT DIS SO WE CAN ACTUALLY, BECAUSE WE REALLY TAKE THAT INPUT BACK TO WHAT THE NEXT, UH, ITERATION OF DESIGN WILL BE. SO THANK YOU AGAIN. AWESOME. THANK YOU. AND IF WE DO PASS A RECOMMENDATION, IS IT, IS IT EASY TO JUST EMAIL THAT TO INPUT, LIKE AT THE EMAIL, WHATEVER THE EMAIL WAS, I KNOW YOU GAVE IT TO US. YOU'RE RIGHT. CAN WE DO THAT THAT WAY? YES, THAT WORKS PERFECTLY. YEP. GREAT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. AND DARREN, I JUST GOT ACCESS TO THE STOPS FILES INPUT YESTERDAY, SO OH YEAH. GREAT. BE ABLE TO DO, HOPEFULLY BE ABLE TO DO, ANSWER SOME QUESTIONS ON MY OWN. AWESOME. THAT'S GREAT, RUBEN. ALL RIGHT, [3. Discussion and approval of a Right of Way Vacation for 1114 W 5th Street] EVERYONE, NOW WE DO MOVE INTO OUR DISCUSSION ACTION ITEMS THAT WE FIRST UP IS ITEM THREE. THIS IS DISCUSSION AND APPROVAL OF A RIGHT OF WAY VACATION FOR 1 1 1 4 WEST FIFTH STREET. WE DO HAVE PUBLIC SPEAKERS ON THIS ITEM SIGNED UP. SO, UM, AFTER TALKING TO OUR STAFF LIAISON, I AM GOING TO CALL THE PUBLIC SPEAKERS FIRST TO SPEAK, AND THEN WE WILL HAVE THE STAFF PRESENTATION. SO, UM, WE DO HAVE, UM, TWO SPEAKERS, UM, AND SO POTENTIAL THREE MINUTES EACH FOR YOU TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM. WELCOME. THANK YOU FOR COMING OUT TO SEE US TODAY. AND, UM, FIRST I'LL CALL, WELL, Y'ALL TELL ME IT'S, IT'S STEVEN GRIFFITH AND ELEANOR GRIFFITH. I EITHER, DO YOU HAVE A PREFERENCE? YEAH, . NO, THAT'S PERFECT. OKAY. IS IT, IS IT APPROPRIATE FOR US TO SIT HERE OR WOULD YOU RATHER BE ON THE HERE? WHATEVER YOU'RE COMFY WITH IS FINE FOR US. YEAH. GREAT. UM, WE ALSO, WE DID EMAIL A FEW SLIDES, BUT JUST FOR YOUR REFERENCE, WE PRINTED THEM OUT AS WELL. YEAH, EXACTLY. AND ARE Y'ALL GONNA SPEAK, LIKE SE EACH, EACH SPEAK OR, SO LET'S SPLIT IT UP. OKAY. YEAH, WE, WE TIMED IT FOR THREE MINUTES EACH. PERFECT. OKAY. Y'ALL ARE SO PREPARED. , WE TRIED . THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. SO, OF COURSE, THANK YOU GUYS FOR HAVING US. IT REALLY MA MEANS A LOT, UM, TO BE INCLUDED IN THE PROCESS. UM, UM, MY NAME IS STEVEN GRIFFITH, I THINK AS MENTIONED, AND WE WOULD LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THE QUESTION OF THE SAYER STREET VACATION. UM, AND SO IF YOU DON'T MIND, TAKE A LOOK AT SLIDE NUMBER ONE, . ABSOLUTELY. UM, ON PAGE ONE, UM, AND, UH, GO, GO AHEAD. SORRY. UM, AND MY NAME IS ELEANOR HOLSEY. RECENT NAME CHANGED. THIS IS MY DAD, SO , UM, YEAH, I MIGHT AS WELL GET STARTED. IN NOVEMBER OF 2023, THE GRIFFITH PARTNERSHIP OF THE SIX AND WALL STREET DEVELOPMENT PROJECT FILED TO DEMONSTRATE OUR INTENT TO REDEVELOP A 1.2 ACRE TRACT OF SIX LOTS ON THE EAST SIDE OF WALSH, STARTING ON SIXTH STREET. THIS MEANS THAT OUR PERMITTING REQUEST WAS ACTUALLY SUBMITTED 11 MONTHS PRIOR TO ANY VACATION APPLICATION OF ANCHOR EQUITIES. UM, PLEASE REFERENCE SLIDE TWO ON PAGE TWO. ON OCTOBER 7TH, 2024, ANCHOR EQUITY PRINCIPLE, JIMMY NASSOR FILED A RIGHT OF WAY APPLICATION TO VACATE A PORTION OF SAYER STREET, THEREBY COMPLETELY BLOCKING OUR ACCESS TO FIFTH STREET FROM THE REAR OF OUR PLAN DEVELOPMENT PROJECT. ANCHOR EQUITY STATED ON ITS APPLICATION, QUOTE, PURPOSE OF VACATION PRIVATIZED STREET. THIS SECTION IS ONLY USED BY CUSTOMERS OF THE SMALL RETAIL STORES. UNFORTUNATELY, THIS STATEMENT IGNORES THE FACT THAT MARK FRAY, OUR TENANT HAS TWO WAREHOUSES BEHIND THE OFFICES OF 5 0 3 AND 5 0 5 WALL STREET, AND THAT HE HAS BEEN MAKING USE OF SAYER STREET FOR OVER A DECADE. MR. FREY ACTUALLY REQUIRES SAYERS TO ALLOW LARGE TRACTOR TRAILERS TO REACH HIS PLACE OF BUSINESS. AS REFERENCED ON SLIDE THREE, PAGE TWO, THIS APPLICATION SHOWS THAT THE NEED OF THE OWNERS OF 5 0 3 AND 5 0 5 WALL STREET HAVE BEEN BLATANTLY IGNORED FROM THE BEGINNING OF THIS CONVERSATION ON JANUARY 28TH, 2025. SEE, SLIDE FOUR, TPW REAL ESTATE SERVICES AGENT CHRISTOPHER ERT STATED IN A MEMO TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION THAT THE PROPOSED VACATION TRACT WILL BE ADDED TO THE ABUTTING PARCEL. THE ABUT ABUTTING [01:05:01] PROPERTIES ARE OWNED BY ANCHOR EQUITIES, LTD. HOWEVER, WE HAVE A SURVEY ON PAGE THREE, SLIDE FIVE, SHOWING THAT 5 0 3 AND 5 0 5 WALL STREET ARE BOTH ABUTTING PROPERTIES AS SHOWN WELL AS SHOWN IN THE PICTURE. UM, THERE IS A GATE, IN FACT, ON 5 0 3 AND 5 0 5 PROPERTIES, WHICH CONTROLS ACCESS TO SAYERS. IF THE OWNERS OF 5 0 3 AND 5 0 5 WALL STREET WOULD NOT HAVE WANTED ACCESS, THEN THEY WOULD'VE BUILT A SOLID FENCE AT THIS JUNCTURE INSTEAD OF A GATE. ON JANUARY 27TH, 2025, CITY ATTORNEY JAMES KAMAYA SENT AN EMAIL TO RICHARD SUTTLE SAYING THAT IT IS HIS INTENTION TO ENSURE THAT THERE IS NO HARM TO THE 5 0 3 AND 5 0 5 WALL STREET LOTS DUE TO THE VACATION OF SAYER STREET. THIS IS SHOWN ON SLIDE SIX. UNFORTUNATELY, IF YOU VOTE TO GO ALONG WITH THE REQUEST OF ANCHOR EQUITIES TO VACATE SAYERS, THEN YOU WILL BE DOING A GREAT DEAL OF HARM. THIS IS NOT A QUESTION OF TWO SUBDIVISIONS OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, WHERE CLOSING A CITY STREET HAS NO CONSEQUENCES. THAT ARE NEGATIVE SAYERS LIES AT THE EDGE OF OUR RAPIDLY EXPANDING. DOWNTOWN AUSTIN 5 0 3 AND 5 0 5 ARE EXCLUSIVELY OWNED BY THE GRIFFITH FAMILY AND ARE PART OF A ROW OF SIX LOTS ALONG WALL STREET, WHICH ARE NOW BOUND TOGETHER IN A HUNDRED YEAR GROUND LEASE. AS REFERENCED AN ARTICLE IN THE, IN AN TWO WEEKS AGO ARTICLE BY THE AUSTIN AT THE AUSTIN BUS BUSINESS JOURNAL, SLIDE SEVEN ON AUGUST 1ST, 2025, THESE LOTS WILL BE DEVELOPED BY MANIFOLD INTO 168 UNIT MULTIFAMILY STRUCTURE WITH 21,000 SQUARE FEET OF RETAIL SPACE AND UNDERGROUND PARKING. ADDITIONALLY, IT WILL OFFER 25 UNI UNITS OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN AN AREA NEAR DOWNTOWN THAT CURRENTLY OFFERS NO AFFORDABLE HOUSING. SOME FURTHER EXAMPLES OF SAYERS VALUE INCLUDE ONE SAYERS HAS EXISTING SEWER CONNECTIONS, WHICH SIXTH AND WALSH COULD EASILY UTILIZE GIVEN THE LOWER ELEVATION OF SAYER STREET RELATIVE TO WALL STREET TWO, ELECTRICAL FOR SIXTH AND WALSH WILL MAKE USE OF SAYER STREET. THIS WILL KEEP UNSIGHTLY TRANSFORMERS AND WIRING OFF OF SIXTH STREET AND WALL STREET THREE LOADING FOR SIXTH AND WALSH WILL TAKE PLACE TO THE REAR AND WILL UTILIZE SAYER STREET. THIS WILL KEEP TRASH AND DUMPSTERS AWAY FROM ENHANCED PEDESTRIAN AREAS ALONG SIXTH AND WALSH STREET. SAYER STREET LIES A FULL STORY BELOW WALL STREET AND MAKES IT A PERFECT LEVEL FOR ACCESS TO UNDERGROUND PARKING. THIS IS WHAT BRAD SCHLOSSER HAS DONE WITH SAYERS AT HIS NEW DEVELOPMENT NEXT DOOR TO ANCHOR EQUITIES. AND THAT CAN BE SEEN IN THE PICTURE ON SLIDE EIGHT, PAGE FIVE. FINALLY, BACK IN 2022, WHEN WE BOUGHT 5 0 3 AND 5 0 5 WALSH, WE PAID A PREMIUM ASKING PRICE DUE TO THE UNIQUE EXISTENCE OF THIS REAR ACCESS TO FIFTH STREET THROUGH SAYER STREET. AND IT IS EXACTLY THE VALUE OF THIS ACCESS THAT JIMMY NA SEWER IS NOW TRYING TO TAKE AWAY FROM US. LET'S GET REAL. ANCHOR EQUITIES OWNS THE PROPERTY ALONG BOTH SIDES OF SAYER STREET, SO VACATING AND THEN SELLING SAYERS TO JIMMY NEUER WOULD CONNECT HIS PROPERTIES AND THEREBY DRAMATICALLY INCREASE ITS VALUE, BUT IT WOULD SIMULTANEOUSLY DECREASE THE VALUE OF OUR PROPERTIES AND THE VALUE THAT OUR DEVELOPMENT WILL BRING TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD AT SIXTH THEN WALL STREET. IF YOUR GOAL IS TRULY TO ENSURE THAT THERE IS NO HARM TO THE 5 0 3 AND 5 0 5 WALL STREET LOTS DUE TO THE VACATION OF SAYER STREET, THEN I IMPLORE YOU TO RECOMMEND AGAINST THE VACATION OF SAYER STREET. IT'S SIX MINUTES TIME AND, UH, WELCOME. ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE. YEAH, I THINK, YEAH, I THINK WE'RE AT TIME. ARE THERE QUESTIONS FOR OUR SPEAKERS? WE COULD ALSO, YEAH, WE COULD TAKE THE STAFF PRESENTATION AND IF YOU'RE WILLING TO STAY, THEN WE COULD VERY WELL HAVE MORE QUESTIONS FOR YOU LATER. THANK YOU. ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. HAPPY TO. THANK YOU. UM, LIKE TO CALL OUR, OUR STAFF PRESENTATION UP TO, UM, JO, IT LOOKS LIKE JOSEPH TINOS AND BETTY WYNN. IT'LL BE AND THE CLIENT REPRESENTATIVE. YEAH. FROM THE APPLICANT. [01:10:01] OKAY. YOU WANT JUST THE, YEAH, LET'S JUST HEAR FROM CITY STAFF PLEASE. THANKS. SURE. YEAH. AND COULD YOU ALSO REPEAT YOUR NAME FOR US? THANK YOU. YES. GOOD EVENING EVERYONE. UH, THE COMMITTEE. UM, I'M CHRISTOPHER BUER. I'M WITH THE, UH, LAND DEVELOPMENT AND ENGINEERING, UH, DIVISION AT THE TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT. I'M HERE TODAY TO, UH, PRESENT A STREET AND ALLEYWAY VACATION APPLICATION OF SAYER STREET, WHICH IS ABUTTING PROPERTIES 1114 WEST FIFTH STREET, AND 1134 SAYER STREET. SO ON THIS SLIDE YOU CAN SEE, UH, BIRD'S EYE VIEW, UH, THE ABUTTING PROPERTY, UH, AND THE OWNER IS ANCHOR EQUITIES, LTDA TEXAS LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, . THE VACATION AREA IS HIGHLIGHTED IN RED. THE NEXT SLIDE IS A SIMILAR, UH, POINT OF VIEW. UH, YOU CAN SEE BOTH PROPERTIES 1114 WEST FIFTH STREET, AND 1134 SARAH STREET, AND IS A PAVED, DEVELOPED RIGHT OF WAY. NEXT IS THE STREET AND ALLEY VIEW. THE LEFT HAND SIDE OF THE PHOTO IS THE 1134 SAYER STREET, AND THE RIGHT SIDE IS THE, UH, 1114 WEST FIFTH STREET. THE VACATION TRACK IS APPROXIMATELY 4,516 SQUARE FEET. ALL PROPERTY OWNERS WITHIN 300 FEET OF THE VACATION AREA WERE SENT PUBLIC NOTIFICATIONS ON DECEMBER THE FIFTH OF 2024. SOME OBJECTIONS HAVE BEEN RECEIVED. PLEASE SEE THAT PROVIDED DOCUMENTATION ALL AFFECTED. CITY DEPARTMENTS AND EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS HAVE REVIEWED AND RECOMMENDED APPROVAL OF THIS RIGHT OF WAY VACATION APPLICATION, WHICH IS SUBJECT TO THE CONDITIONS ON THE MASTER COMMENT REPORT SUBMITTED WITHIN THIS PRESENTATION. UH, IS THE CITY RETAINING ANY EASEMENTS? AND YES, THE CITY WILL RETAIN A DRAINAGE EASEMENT AND PUBLIC UTILITY EASEMENT OVER THE ENTIRE VACATION AREA. HOW DO YOU PLAN TO DEVELOP THE AREA TO BE VACATED? IT'S UNKNOWN AT THIS TIME HOW THE RIGHT OF WAY VACATION AREA WILL BE DEVELOPED. AND IS THERE A SITE PLAN AT THIS TIME? THERE ARE NO ACTIVE SITE PLANS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS RIGHT OF WAY VACATION. I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE REGARDING THE RIGHT OF VACATION PROCESS. ALSO, THE APPLICANT, MICHELLE SMITH, IS HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE REGARDING THE PROPERTY AND THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. SURE. UM, WITH IF COMMISSIONERS AGREE, I THINK WE SHOULD NOW HAVE THE APPLICANT UP TO MAYBE SHARE A LITTLE LIGHT ON, UM, THE PLANS OR WHY THEY MADE THIS REQUEST, IF WE COULD. THANK YOU. WE THINK THIS IS ON. YES. OKAY. UH, SO HELLO, I'M MICHELLE SMITH. GOOD EVENING. UM, I AM, UH, REPRESENTING ANCHOR EQUITIES. UH, SO I'M TECHNICALLY THE APPLICANT ON BEHALF OF THE PROPERTY OWNERS, UM, THAT ABUT SAYERS. UM, SO THE, THE, I CAN ANSWER YOUR, YOUR QUESTION AGAIN. THIS IS A 40 FOOT RIGHT OF WAY THAT DOESN'T HAVE ANY, UM, CENTER LINE. IT DOESN'T HAVE ANY CURB AND GUTTER. IT'S JUST KIND OF A, IT, IT GOT DEVELOPS AT SOME POINT, PROBABLY IN THE THIRTIES AND FORTIES. AND IT'S JUST KIND OF PRIMARILY, I SHOULD HAVE NOT SAID ONLY THAT, THAT WAS MY MISTAKE IN WRITING THE APPLICATION, BUT IT DOES PRIMARILY ONLY, UM, TO THE BENEFIT OF THE, THE TWO RETAIL CENTERS, THE 1134 AND THE 1114. UM, THE, IN THE EIGHTIES, THE, SO WHEN, WHEN, UH, SEAS WAS ORIGINALLY I WASN'T CALLED SEAS, BUT WHEN IT WAS REAL ORIGINALLY PLATTED, IT WENT FROM BAYLOR TO THE, THE DEAD END. SO IT, IT DIDN'T, IT WAS NEVER INTENDED TO CONNECT TO WALSH. UM, IT LOOKS A LITTLE, THE WAY THEY DEVELOPED THE PROPERTIES THAT FACE WALSH TO THE, TO ANYONE'S NAKED EYE, IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S, IT'S A STREET BECAUSE THEY JUST HAPPENED TO HAVE BUILT THE STRUCTURE 5 0 3 AND 5 0 5 ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CEMENT. UM, SO THE, [01:15:01] IN THE EIGHTIES, 1111 WEST SIXTH STREET CAME ALONG, THE DEVELOPERS OF 1111 WEST SIXTH STREET CAME ALONG AND ASKED THE CITY TO VACATE A SECTION OF SAYER STREET. SO NOW IF YOU LOOK AT IT, THERE'S A SECTION, A 40 FOOT SECTION OR A 40 FOOT WIDE SECTION THAT STILL CONNECTS TO BAYLOR. AND THEN THE DEVELOPERS THAT DID 1111, UH, WEST SIXTH STREET, HAD TO DEDICATE PRIVATE PROPERTY 50 FEET WIDE THAT COMES OFF OF FIFTH STREET AND THEN ELBOWS TO GO TO THE LEFT OF SARAH STREET. THAT IS NOT BEING REQUESTED TO BE VACATED. THAT IS, THAT WILL CONTINUE TO BE PUBLIC, UM, RIGHT OF WAY THAT STREET GOES COMPLETELY TO THE EMPLOYEE PARKING FOR 1111 WEST SIXTH STREET. UM, SO ANCHOR EQUITIES HAS THIS AREA BETWEEN THEIR TWO, YOU KNOW, THE TWO RETAIL CENTERS THAT IS, THAT THEY, THEY SIMPLY WANT TO HAVE IT AS A PRIVATE STREET AND MAINTAIN IT SO THAT IT TAKES THE BURDEN OFF OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN. UM, I, I CAN ANSWER QUESTIONS REGARDING THE, UH, PRIVATE ACCESS AND THE GATE THAT SAYS PRIVATE PROPERTY. DO NOT ENTER WHERE IT CONNECTS TO 5 0 3 AND 5 0 5. UM, WE HAVE BEEN IN CONTACT WITH WHOM WE THOUGHT WAS THE DEVELOPER'S COUNCIL, WHICH IS RICHARD SU. UM, THEY'RE THE ONES THAT HAD THAT ARM BURST. AND BROWN WAS THE ONE THAT HAD BROUGHT UP THEIR CONCERNS THAT THEY WOULD NOT, THAT THE TENANTS WOULD NOT HAVE ACCESS TO SARAH STREET. UM, WE HAVE, UM, SUGGESTED THAT WE GIVE A TEMPORARY ACCESS EASEMENT SO THAT THE, UM, FURNITURE, UH, TRUCKS CAN STILL GO TO 5 0 3 AND 5 0 5 AS LONG AS THAT TENANT IS THERE. UM, CLEARLY AS THE GENTLEMAN STATED, THERE IS A LARGE DEVELOPMENT COMING FORTH, AND SOONER, IT SOUNDS LIKE THAN LATER, THE GENTLEMAN THAT HAS THE FURNITURE STORES WILL NEED TO MOVE HIS STORES ELSEWHERE. UM, AT WHICH POINT THE TEMPORARY EXCESS EASEMENT WOULD, WOULD GO AWAY. ALRIGHT. I, I DEFINITELY HAVE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS, SO, OKAY. OBVIOUSLY, I MEAN, I'M ACTUALLY QUITE FAMILIAR WITH THIS, UM, LOCATION, UM, BECAUSE, UH, WELL LONG STORY, BUT, UM, I, I FEEL LIKE WE'RE SORT OF HERE BEING ASKED TO INVOLVE, IT'S, IT IS COMING TO US BECAUSE IT'S A CITY RIGHT AWAY. RIGHT. BUT IT'S SORT OF, I MEAN, I'M GONNA LEAD TO A QUESTION FOR YOU, MS. SMITH, BUT I, I MEAN, IT'S THE, THE ISSUE HERE IS THAT IT'S NOT JUST THE FURNITURE DELIVERY, RIGHT? SO THE, THE, UH, THE PUBLIC SPEAKERS, UH, SHARED WITH US THAT THEY'RE HOPING TO USE THIS, UH, RIGHT OF WAY POTENTIALLY, UM, IN THEIR, THE PLAN DEVELOPMENT THAT MAY GO ON THEIR PROPERTY. AND I PRESUME THAT ANCHOR, ANCHOR EQUITY, IS THAT CORRECT? YES, THAT'S CORRECT. UM, I PRESUME THAT THEY ALSO ARE HOPING TO USE THIS SAME RIGHT OF WAY FOR THEIR DEVELOPMENT. IS THAT CORRECT? I MEAN, THERE'S NO, WE SAW THERE'S NO SITE PLAN, BUT YEAH, THERE'S NO SITE PLAN. THEY DON'T HAVE AS, AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED, I HAVE, I HAVE NO REASON TO THINK THAT THEY ARE GOING TO DEVELOP THAT ANYTIME SOON. I DON'T KNOW IF SOON IS 10 YEARS OR 20 YEARS. SO WHY COME AND ASK? YEAH, I MEAN, I THINK WE CAN, WE CAN FIGURE, SORRY, I SHOULD HAVE DONE, WE CAN FIGURE THAT OUT AS REASONABLE HUMANS. SO, UH, GIVEN THE LOCATION, SO I MEAN, I, I I WILL SAY I KIND OF FEEL LIKE THIS IS, UM, ASKING US TO SORT OF GET INVOLVED IN A DISPUTE BETWEEN PROPERTY OWNERS OVER REALLY HIGH VALUE DEVELOPMENT SITES. AND, UM, IT'S NOT LIKE A LOT OF THE RIGHT OF WAY VACATIONS THAT WE HEAR HERE. SO I, I DEFINITELY HAVE SOME CONCERNS WITH RECOMMENDING APPROVAL HERE. I'LL BE INTERESTED TO SEE WHAT OTHER COMMISSIONERS MAY, MAY HAVE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS. I, SO I WOULD LOVE TO ASK SOME MORE QUESTIONS OF THE, UM, PROPERTY OWNERS FOR WALL STREET IF THEY HAVE A SECOND TO COME UP HERE. ALRIGHT. YOU WANNA SHARE? YEAH, WE CAN SHARE. ALRIGHT, COOL. SO I, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND YOUR ALL'S CONCERNS. SO AS I UNDERSTAND IT'S TWOFOLD, ONE IS THE CURRENT PROPERTY OWNERS ARE, OR THE CURRENT TENANTS I SHOULD SAY, USE THAT RIGHT OF WAY FOR FURNITURE DELIVERIES. YES. AND THE SECOND ONE IS YOU CURRENTLY, AND I WOULD LIKE, UH, IF YOU COULD CLARIFY WHERE IT IS IN THE PROCESS, BUT THERE IS A PROPOSAL FOR A DV 90 UNIT HERE ON THE CORNER. AND THEN HOW WOULD, HOW WOULD THAT DEVELOPMENT USE THIS RIGHT OF WAY? ARE YOU [01:20:01] GONNA, IS THAT HOW THE UNDERGROUND PARKING IS GONNA CONNECT OR WHAT, WHAT WOULD BE THE USE FOR THAT RIGHT OF WAY FOR THAT DEVELOPMENT? UM, YEAH. YEAH. SO I THINK YOUR MIC'S NOT ON, IS THIS, YEAH. OKAY, COOL. THANK YOU. YEAH. UM, EXACTLY THE, THE, THE RIGHT OF WAY OR, OR SAYERS, LET'S JUST CALL IT A STREET. 'CAUSE IT'S A CITY STREET, RIGHT? I MEAN, UM, AND OF COURSE WE HAD NO THOUGHTS IN OUR MIND THAT THE CITY STREET WOULD EVER BE VACATED, THAT THAT WASN'T IN OUR PLANS. UM, AND SO IN OUR, IN OUR SITE DEVELOPMENT PLAN, WE HAD EVERY REASON TO BELIEVE THAT WE COULD UTILIZE THE CITY STREET. AND SO THE SITE DEVELOPMENT PLAN VERY DEFINITELY SHOWS THAT, UH, WE WANT TO USE SAYERS IN ORDER TO GET TO OUR UNDERGROUND PARKING. UM, AND THERE'S, THERE'S AN EXAMPLE OF THAT, RIGHT? RIGHT. LIKE, YOU HAVE OUR PROPERTY, THEN ANCHOR EQUITIES, AND THEN THERE'S SCHLOSSER DEVELOPMENT, WHICH IS VERA BANK, THIS BIG WHITE, UM, KIND OF BRAND NEW BUILDING, UH, ALSO ON SIXTH, UM, USED TO BE A ID HEADQUARTERS. UM, BUT HE UTILIZES ALSO THE FACT THAT SAYERS IS, IS A FULL STORY LOWER THAN THE SURROUNDING PROPERTIES. IT'S KIND OF IN A HOLE. UM, AND THAT JUST DOVETAILS SO EASILY INTO UNDERGROUND PARKING. IT'S, IT'S REALLY VERY, VERY CONVENIENT, UM, FOR THAT PURPOSE. SO I THINK IF I CAN OPEN UP DISCUSSION, I, I CONSIDER WHEN WE HAVE THESE, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY'RE MORE CONTENTIOUS, FIRST QUESTION TO ASK IS, IS THERE A USE FOR THE RIGHT OF WAY? CURRENTLY? IT SEEMS THE ANSWER'S PRETTY CLEARLY. YES. YES. AND THEN THE SECOND THING I WOULD CONSIDER IS, WOULD THERE BE A PUBLIC BENEFIT TO REMOVING THE RIGHT OF WAY, WHICH THERE HAVE BEEN TIMES WHERE WE HAVE VOTED TO VACATE RIGHT OF WAY THAT IS ACTIVE, LIKE, AND BURN IT TO MAKE WAY FOR AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING COMPLEX. SO I THINK LIKE YOU GIVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO MICHELLE OR TO CITY STAFF TO EXPLAIN WHAT WOULD BE THE PUBLIC BENEFIT THAT WE'D BE GETTING FROM VACATING THIS RIGHT OF WAY. UH, I, THE NOT HAVING TO MAINTAIN IT IS A, A HUGE PUBLIC BENEFIT. UM, AND I, I GUESS I ALSO WOULD LIKE, AND I, I CLEARLY DON'T, I DO NOT WANT Y'ALL TO BE IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS, THIS, THIS, I DON'T THINK EITHER OF US ARE TRYING TO PUT Y'ALL IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS. UM, I, I DON'T BELIEVE THE GRIFFITHS ARE THE DEVELOPER. I BELIEVE THAT THEY HAVE, HAVE, ARE Y'ALL THE DEVELOPER OR IS TYLER GR UH, WE'VE ENTERED INTO A HUNDRED YEAR GROUND LEASE. UM, MANIFOLD IS OUR DEVELOPER. UM, UH, THE PRINCIPAL IS TYLER GROOMS. HE ALSO DEVELOPED RECENTLY, UH, JUST DOWN THE STREET, DOWN FIFTH STREET, CLOSE TO, UM, MOPAC. THERE'S, UH, IT'S 1608 WEST FIFTH STREET. IT'S, UH, FOUR STORY OFFICE BUILDING. UM, IT'S BEEN ONE OF THE FEW OFFICES THAT HAS BEEN BUILT IN THE UP OR DOWN THE FIFTH AND SIXTH STREET CORRIDOR IN A NUMBER OF YEARS. UM, AND THEN I GUESS I HAVE A EMAIL INTO TRANSPORTATION, AND I DON'T HAVE AN ANSWER YET, BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW TRANSPORTATION WOULD FEEL ABOUT A PARKING GARAGE, THE CURRENT PARKING GARAGE AND A PARKING GARAGE COMING OFF OF THE NEW DEVELOPMENT, CONSIDERING AGAIN, THAT IT'S ONLY A 40 FOOT RIGHT OF WAY. AND NOW YOU'VE GOT TRAFFIC FROM BOTH PARKING GARAGES TRYING TO ACCESS 40 FEET, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO PUT IN A CURB AND GUTTER AND A SIDEWALK, ET CETERA, TO MAKE IT A, YOU KNOW, PROPER ACTIVE STREET. SO IF THERE'S NO, I I DON'T KNOW OF ANY URGENCY TO DO THIS, WOULD IT MAKE SENSE TO LET THE SITE PLAN PROCESS PLAY OUT, SEE IF THAT DEVELOPMENT, YOU KNOW, IS APPROVED AND APPROVED TO USE THAT AS ACCESS TO THEIR PARKING GARAGE. AND THEN IF IT ISN'T, WE CAN HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT, YOU KNOW, TEMPORARY ACCESS FOR THE CURRENT TENANTS. BUT I, I GUESS WHY NOT LET THAT PROCESS PLAY OUT RATHER THAN GO STRAIGHT TO A RIGHT OF WAY VACATION RIGHT NOW? MM-HMM . MM-HMM . AGAIN, WE APPLIED IN OCTOBER, SO I, I, I THINK POSSIBLY I, I WOULD HAVE TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT EMAILS, BUT MAYBE TWO WEEKS AGO THIS, THIS CAME UP. UM, I DEFINITELY HAVE MESSAGES FROM EARLIER THAN TWO WEEKS AGO ABOUT THIS ITEM, LIKE BEFORE OUR JAN, BEFORE OUR JANUARY MEETING THAT GOT CANCELED. I HAD ITEMS ABOUT THIS. I, I'M WITH COMMISSIONER SCHUMACHER. I REALLY, I MEAN, A LOT OF THE RIGHT OF WAY VACATIONS THAT WE SEE ARE, ARE REALLY SLAM DUNKS. LIKE, WE HAD ONE WHERE WE VACATED SOME RIGHT OF WAY TO CREATE LIKE A PARK PLAZA FOR THE MEXICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER. AND LIKE, IT'S JUST LIKE SUCH A OBVIOUS PUBLIC BENEFIT TO SOMETHING LIKE THAT. UM, BUT THIS ONE, I MEAN, AND THERE'S DEFINITELY TIMES WHERE WE'VE VACATED THINGS AND THERE'S NO PROTEST AND IT'S PUTTING IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. WE ALSO SEE THE PUBLIC BENEFIT, BUT I, I'M NOT REALLY UNDERSTANDING, UM, OTHER THAN, YOU KNOW, [01:25:01] PROBABLY THE POTENTIAL FOR DEVELOPMENT VALUE DEVELOPABLE, DEVELOPABLE LAND AND VALUE HERE. I'M, I'M NOT UNDERSTANDING THAT. SO I AM SPEAKING FOR MYSELF. I'M CERTAINLY NOT READY TO RECOMMEND APPROVAL. UM, I, I MAY NEED TO RELY ON OUR CITY STAFF, UH, FOR GUIDANCE HERE, BECAUSE USUALLY WE HAVE RECOMMENDED APPROVAL OR, UM, UH, THAT'S USUALLY BEEN THE CASE. YOU KNOW, MAYBE WE MODIFIED SOME THINGS. THERE'S A FEW TIMES WHERE WE SAID CONSIDER THESE THINGS. UM, BUT WE'RE RECOMMENDING APPROVAL. I, I MEAN, I'M EVEN, I REALLY, I'M, I FEEL THAT YOUR, YOUR THING IS COMPELLING. LET THE SITE PLAN PROCESSES PLAY OUT. WE DON'T REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT'S PROPOSED ON THE SITE THAT'S MAKING THIS REQUEST, OR WHY, OR WHAT THE BENEFITS OF THAT DEVELOPMENT WOULD BE. I MEAN, I'M, I'M BORDERLINE OKAY, RECOMMENDING DENIAL, SO THAT I'M SPEAKING FOR MYSELF. WE'RE NOT TAKING A VOTE YET. NOW, I'M JUST TALKING THIS OUT ON, ON THE DAIS HERE. BUT, UM, I THINK THAT WE NEED TO FIND, UH, A, A WAY TO, FOR THE PARTIES TO DISCUSS MORE BECAUSE I, I DON'T, I DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE, UM, MAKING I, WELL, I DO FEEL COMFORTABLE MAKING THIS DECISION IF IT'S SAYING, NO, WE SHOULDN'T DO THIS, WHICH IS THE STATUS QUO. BUT I DON'T PERSON, AGAIN, ONLY FOR MYSELF. I DON'T KNOW HOW OTHER COMMISSIONERS ARE FEELING, BUT, UM, I DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE. UH, AND I WOULD NOT VOTE FOR APPROVAL TODAY. SO YES, COMMISSIONER KELEMAN. AND I ALSO JUST, I WANNA MAKE A BROADER POINT ABOUT JUST CLOSING DOWN ALLEYWAYS IN GENERAL, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU'RE TAKING SOME OF THAT, UM, LARGE TRAFFIC OFF OF STREETS TO DO DROP-OFFS AND STUFF LIKE THAT. AND I FEEL LIKE IT'S, YOU KNOW, CLOSING A, CLOSING A STREET FOR PUBLIC ACCESS IS A PRETTY BIG DEAL TO ME. AND I, WHETHER OR NOT WHAT THE REASONS FOR THIS ARE, I JUST DON'T, I DON'T SEE A COMPELLING REASON AT THIS POINT FROM A MORE, YOU KNOW, A BROADER PERSPECTIVE. AND THEN WITH THE CIRCUMSTANCES INCLUDED, I, I'M, I'M IN, I AGREE WITH OUR CHAIR. UM, YEAH, AND I THINK I'LL, I'LL ADD IN THERE. I WOULD LEAN TOWARDS, UH, DISAPPROVAL. I WOULD NOTE THAT IN THE, THE CITY, UM, CODE, IT SAYS THAT WE DO SPECIFICALLY NEED TO REGISTER OUR DISAPPROVAL, OR THAT IS TAKEN AS A SIGN OF APPROVAL. YEAH. SO I DON'T THINK A POSTPONEMENT IS SOMETHING WE CAN DO. I THINK YOU'RE RIGHT. I, I WOULD BE WILLING IF, IF SOMEBODY WANTED LANGUAGE ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, RECOMMEND DISAPPROVAL UNTIL THE SITE PLAN ON, UH, UM, SIXTH AND SAYERS IS FINALIZED, BUT I, I THINK I'M FAIRLY COMFORTABLE YEAH. DOING A, A MOTION TO DISAPPROVE AND THEN, UM, I, THERE'S NO REASON THIS CAN'T BE BROUGHT AGAIN IN A YEAR OR TWO WHEN THAT FINALLY PLAYS OUT. YEAH. AND JUST TO CHECK WITH STAFF, THERE WOULD BE NO IMPEDIMENT TO A FUTURE APPLICATION SHOULD SOMETHING NOT WORK OUT WITH THE SITE PLAN FOR THE OTHER, UH, GROUP. IS THAT CORRECT? THIS, THE, UH, THE INDIVIDUAL ANCHOR EQUITY OR THE FUTURE OWNER OF THIS SITE COULD APPLY AGAIN IN THE FUTURE? THAT IS CORRECT. YES. UH, UH, THAT THERE SHOULD BE NO, UH, ISSUE FOR THAT. THEY WOULD BE OUT THEIR CURRENT, UH, YEAH. DETRIMENTAL APPLICATION, APPLICATION AND ALL, ALL THE FUNDS TOWARDS THEIR CURRENT APPLICATION. UM, OUR, OUR TEAM, YOU KNOW, UH, HAD, HAD PROCESSED THIS AS A NORMAL RIGHT OF WAY VACATION, UM, BUT NOT ALL THE APPROVALS AND CONDITIONALS FROM THE APPROPRIATE DEPARTMENTS. YEAH. BUT, BUT IN FAIRNESS, IT, IT, IT HASN'T PLAYED, LIKE, IT'S CLEARLY NOT, THAT'S NOT THE CASE AS WE'VE DISCUSSED TODAY. CORRECT. BUT WE DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT ANY OF THIS UNTIL AFTER WE RECEIVED ALL CONDITIONAL APPROVALS. THIS, I'M, I'M SO SORRY. I JUST WANNA GIVE YOU A COUPLE DATES REAL QUICK. 'CAUSE I, I WANNA MAKE SURE THIS IS VERY CLEAR. WE GOT THE APPLICATION FOR THE RIGHT OF WAY VACATION ON SEPTEMBER 21ST, 2024. THE SITE PLAN WAS SUBMITTED, UH, FOR APPROVAL, UM, IT LOOKS LIKE ON, UH, IN NOVEMBER 4TH, 2024. WHOSE SITE PLAN, THE, THE SITE PLAN THAT'S BEING DEVELOPED ON WALL STREET, THE NEW, THE OWNER'S SITE PLAN THAT THEY'RE DOING WITH THE PARKING GARAGE. UH, SO WE, WE, WE GOT THE APPLICATION IN SEPTEMBER. WE, WE PURSUED IT AS A REGULAR VACATION. UH, YEAH, YOU'RE, YOU'VE GOTTA SLOW DOWN. I'M SORRY. YOU'RE NOT, IT'S NOT, YOU'RE CONFUSING US. OKAY. SORRY. WHO'S APPLICATION? THE APPLICATION FOR THE RIGHT OF WAY? VACATION LANDMARK FROM, FROM THE, FROM ANCHOR EQUITY FROM ANCHOR WAS SUBMITTED IN SEPTEMBER OF 24. OKAY. AND THEN THE SITE PLAN FOR THE NEW DEVELOPMENT THAT THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT WAS SUBMITTED FOR APPROVAL IN NOVEMBER. SO WHEN WE GOT THE APPLICATION, EVERYTHING LOOKED FINE AND WE WERE PROCEEDING JU JUST LIKE WE ORDINARILY DO NO PROBLEMS. SO IT WASN'T UNTIL WE SENT OUT THE PUBLIC NOTIFICATION AS PART OF OUR PROCESS, WE GOT DIRECTOR APPROVAL, WE GOT, YOU KNOW, WE WERE JUST PLUGGING ALONG. IT'S NOW IN THE APPRAISAL PROCESS, WE'RE GETTING THAT APPRAISAL DONE. WE SENT THAT PUBLIC NOTIFICATION OUT, AND THAT'S WHEN WE, THE FIRST WE HEARD, WAIT A MINUTE, WE OBJECT BECAUSE OF THIS. RIGHT. BUT OF COURSE, THE PUBLIC SHOULD HAVE AN APP OPPORTUNITY TO RESPOND [01:30:01] TO A PUBLIC NOTICE. I, I DON'T, WE ALWAYS DO. I DON'T FIND THAT COMPELLING. I MEAN, IT'S, I KNOW IT'S A MONTH. IT'S MORE OF A TIMELINE ISSUE. I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S CLEAR. THE TIMELINE ISSUE, THE REASON THAT IT'S PURSUANT AND IT'S GOTTEN THIS FAR IS BECAUSE WE, WE DIDN'T, UNTIL WE GET THE PUBLIC NOTIFICATION AND OBJECTION BACK, THEN WE GO, OH, OKAY, WELL LET'S START DISCUSSING. SO THAT'S, YEAH. YEAH. DOES THAT MAKES SENSE? I I'M JUST, CAN I ASK THE QUESTION? NO, YEAH. WHAT'S YOUR QUESTION? YEAH. DOES THE CURRENT SITE PLAN, THE ONE THAT WAS IN, THAT'S IN PLAY ON NOVEMBER 4TH, DOES IT SHOW TWO PARKING GARAGE EXITS AND ENTRANCES? YEAH, THE, THE, THE, IT'S A, IT'S A FORMAL SITE PLAN, AND IT'S DEFINITELY ADDRESSES, UM, UH, ALL THESE ISSUES THAT, THAT WE SPOKE ABOUT, INCLUDING, UM, TRASH. YEAH. YEAH. WE'VE GOT, WE'VE GOT THE, UM, THE PARKING GARAGE ACCESS AS LONG ALONG, UH, AS WELL AS THE LOADING ELECTRICITY, TRYING TO KEEP THE, UM, TRANSFORMERS OFF OF SIX AND OFF OF WALSH. UM, YEAH. SO THAT PEDESTRIANS DON'T HAVE TO LOOK AT THAT. I INCLUDED ALL OF OUR DATES IN A VISUAL REPRESENTATION ON THE RIGHT HAND, THE SLIDES AS WELL. I SAW THAT. IF YOU, IF YOU, IF YOU LOOK AT, UM, THERE'S, THERE'S A LARGER BUILDER BUILDING THE FIRST THREE LOTS IN THIS ROW CALLED, WE, WE CALL IT THE CONE BUILDING. IT'S, IT'S RIGHT AT THE CORNER OF SIXTH AND WALSH. AND, AND, AND THERE'S ALWAYS BEEN DUMPSTERS RIGHT THERE, LIKE TWO REALLY AT LEAST SOMETIMES THREE DUMPSTERS. AND IT'S UNSIGHTLY, IT'S NOT PRETTY. WE WANNA PUT 'EM ON THE OTHER SIDE. UM, BUT IN ORDER TO DO THAT, WE NEED TO HAVE ACCESS TO, TO CITY STREET CALLED SAYERS. AND THAT WAY THE PUBLIC DOESN'T HAVE TO LOOK AT THAT ANYMORE. OKAY. I THINK WE'RE STILL DISCUSSING. COMMISSIONER KAMAN, UM, I HAVE A QUESTION. DID YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH A REZONING FOR THIS PROPERTY ON WALSH, UH, BEFORE YOU SUBMITTED A SITE PLAN? UH, FOR REZONING? FOR, FOR WALSH? NO, BUT FOR THE, FOR THE SIXTH AND WALSH, THE, THE SIXTH MM-HMM . UM, YEAH, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE, UM, GOING THROUGH THE, THE DB 90, UM, OKAY. ROUTE. ALRIGHT. SO, I MEAN, AND WE'RE WORKING WITH O UM, GO AHEAD. GO AHEAD. AND WE'RE WORKING WITH O AWAY AS WELL. ANA. ANA, EXCUSE ME. OKAY. UM, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT THAT PROCESS IS ALSO PRETTY PUBLIC FACING WITH LOTS OF CHANCES FOR INPUT AND EVERYTHING THERE. AND IF THAT, IF THAT HAD HAP IF THAT HAS HAPPENED WITH YEAH, YEAH. WE, WE'VE BEEN, WE'VE BEEN TALKING WITH ANA AND, AND, UM, AND WE'VE BEEN, UH, NEGOTIATING WITH THEM. I, I HEAR FROM, AND IT HADN'T BEEN US DIRECTLY, IT'S BEEN TYLER GROOMS WITH MANIFOLD. AND WHAT WE'VE HEARD MOST RECENTLY IS THAT, UM, THEY'VE BEEN WANTING TO HAVE, UH, THE, THE ACTUAL BUILDING, UH, HAVE A, A VERY SIGNIFICANT OFFSET FROM THE, FROM THE CITY, FROM THE, FROM THE CURVE. AND WE'VE GONE, GONE ALONG WITH THAT. AND THEN THE OTHER THING IS THAT WHAT THEY WANTED TO HAVE IS, UH, YEAH, A LOWER, LOWER TOWARDS SIXTH STREET, AND THEN OFFSET THAT WITH A LITTLE HIGHER TOWARD FIFTH STREET, MORE OF A KIND OF A, SO THIS IS LIKE THE NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN, CONTACT TEAM KIND OF THING? YEAH. LIKE, WE'RE TAKING ACTIVE FEEDBACK FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE RESPECTING THEIR WISHES, ADDING AFFORDABLE HOUSING, MAKING SURE THAT LIKE, WE REALLY WANT THIS TO BE A VALUE ADD TO THAT AREA. MY DAD HAS HAD HIS OFFICE ON IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD FOR GOD, NO, MY GRANDPA STARTED THE COMPANY. SO WE'RE, WE LOVE THAT NEIGHBORHOOD AND WE REALLY THINK THAT'S WHY WE ENTERED INTO THIS WITH A 100 YEAR GROUND LEASE. WE REALLY THINK THAT THIS WILL BE PRETTY TIP TOP. YEAH. OUR OFFICE IS AT 12, AT OH SIX WEST SIXTH STREET, WHICH IS DIRECTLY CATTY CORNERS. RIGHT. RIGHT NEXT TO, UM, UM, TO CLARK'S RESTAURANT RIGHT THERE, JUST RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE, FROM THE DEVELOPMENT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. I JUST, I I, I JUST, I HAVE TO BE HONEST, I THINK COMMISSIONER SCHUMACHER IS RIGHT ABOUT THE, THE STATE OF CITY CODE AND I, I'M GONNA JUST MAKE A MOTION YEAH. AND MOVE THAT WE REC RECOMMEND NOT TO APPROVE THIS RIGHT OF WAY VACATION. AND, AND IF I CAN SUBSTITUTE, I'VE GOT THE CODE UP THERE. OKAY. GO AHEAD. IT USES THE, THE TERM OBJECT, AND I DON'T, IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE WE'VE OBJECTED. YEAH. SO I, I, MY SUBSTITUTE MOTION, I DON'T THINK WE'VE OBJECTED SINCE I'VE BEEN ON THIS BODY YET. YEAH. UH, MY SUBSTITUTE MOTION WOULD BE TO OBJECT TO THE RIGHT OF WAY VACATION FOR 1 1 1 4 WEST FIFTH STREET. OKAY. SO WE HAVE A MOTION, A SUBSTITUTE MOTION, AND WE NEED A SECOND FOR THAT. I'LL SECOND. OKAY. AND I THINK THE, THE ONLY THING I WOULD SAY IN TERMS OF DISCUSSION IS I THINK WE HAVE TO VOTE ON WHAT WE HAVE IN FRONT OF US. WHAT WE HAVE IN FRONT OF US. I, I DON'T HAVE A REASON TO APPROVE. SO IF THIS COMES BACK AND THESE CONCERNS CAN BE ALLEVIATED, I THINK ALL OF US WOULD BE OPEN TO WAIVING THAT OBJECTION. BUT BASED OFF OF WHAT WE SEE NOW, IT SEEMS LIKE A NO BRAINER TO OBJECT. YEAH. YEAH. WE NEED, WE NEED MORE ABOUT THE BENEFITS OF WHAT VACATING THIS RIGHT OF WAY WOULD BE, I THINK. IS THERE ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION AMONG COMMISSIONERS FOR THE, THE, UH, RECOMMENDATION ON THE TABLE? AND THAT WAS, [01:35:01] COULD YOU READ THAT TO US ONE MORE TIME? COMMISSIONER SCHUMACHER? YEAH. UM, SO IT'LL BE A MOTION TO OBJECT TO THE RIGHT OF WAY. V UH, WAIT, LET ME SEE. MOTION TO OBJECT TO THE RIGHT OF WAY. VACATION FOR 1 1 1 4 WEST FIFTH STREET. GREAT. THANK YOU. I'M GONNA CALL FOR A VOTE OF COMMISSIONERS, UNLESS THERE'S FURTHER DISCUSSION. OKAY. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THIS RECOMMENDATION, WHICH IS TO OBJECT. PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND OR SAY, AYE, IT APPEARS THAT IS UNANIMOUS OF THOSE I CAN'T SEE. COMMISSIONER BUFFET. ACTUALLY, COULD YOU LET US KNOW HOW YOU'RE VOTING? UH, SORRY, I'M GONNA ABSTAIN FROM THIS, AND I JUST ENTERED THE CONVERSATION FROM A WORK MEETING. GREAT. THANK YOU. OKAY. SO, UM, IT IS, UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, IN ATTENDANCE IN FAVOR, EXCEPT FOR COMMISSIONER BUFFET, WHO IS ABSTAINING. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THANKS. THANK YOU GUYS. THANK YOU. UM, THAT DOES BRING US [4. Discussion and recommendation responding to City Council Resolution 20241212-133 on the reorganization of certain Boards, Commissions & Associated Entities ] NOW TO ITEM FOUR OF OUR DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS. ITEM FOUR IS DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATION, RESPONDING TO THE CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION 20 24, 1 12, 12 DASH 1 33 ON THE REORGANIZATION OF CERTAIN BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, AND ASSOCIATED ENTITIES. UM, COMMISSIONER SCHUMACHER HAS WRITTEN THIS RECOMMENDATION, AND I, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO HIM, ESSENTIALLY, BUT, UM, I DID WANT TO, UM, JUST NOTE THAT BASICALLY THIS CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION, UM, IT HAS GENERATED SOME NEWS, SO YOU MAY HAVE SEEN THAT, BUT IT IS AROUND, UM, SIMPLIFYING AND REDUCING, SIMPLIFYING THE OPERATION AND REDUCING THE NUMBER OF CITY COMMISSIONS. UM, I ACTUALLY CAN'T RECALL HOW MANY CITY COMMISSIONS THERE ARE, BUT THERE'S A TON OF THEM. AND SO IT WAS SORT OF LOOKING AT POSSIBLE WAYS TO STREAMLINE THAT PROCESS AND THE WORK THAT STAFF DOES AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE. SO THAT'S SORT OF THE CONTEXT OF THIS. AND THEN I'LL TURN IT OVER TO COMMISSIONER SCHUMACHER TO TALK ABOUT IT A LITTLE BIT. YEAH. SO I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE DRAFT RECOMMENDATION, UH, TO GET STARTED. IS THERE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND. ALL RIGHTY. UM, SO THE, WAS THAT FROM COMMISSIONER BUFFO OR WHAT? COMMISSIONER WHEELER. UH, DIANA. DIANA WHEELER. OKAY. THANK YOU. SORRY, . SO, UH, THE CITY COUNCIL PROPOSED BACK IN DECEMBER MERGING THE BICYCLE ADVISORY COUNCIL AND PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COUNCIL WITH THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION AND RENAMING THAT TO THE URBAN MOBILITY COMMISSION. UH, THIS ALL STEMS FROM A, UH, CITY AUDITOR REPORT ON BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO. UM, AND REALLY WHAT IT, WHAT IT FOCUSED ON IS BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS THAT HAVE PROLONGED VACANCIES OR, OR FAIL TO MAKE QUORUM, FREQUENTLY CANCEL MEETINGS, PROVIDE RELATIVELY FEW RECOMMENDATIONS OR ARE REDUNDANT. UM, SO THEIR GOAL IS TO STREAMLINE COMMITTEES. THEY'VE ASKED FOR FEEDBACK BEFORE THE FEBRUARY, UH, AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING. SO THAT'S WHAT THIS RECOMMENDATION IS. UM, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT ALTHOUGH ASSOCIATED ENTITIES GOT TAGGED ONTO THE END OF THIS BY THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE, THE CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION DOESN'T SPEAK ABOUT ASSOCIATED ENTITIES AT ALL. AND I REALLY THINK THIS IDEA WAS MORE OF JUST AN OVERSIGHT AND NOT QUITE AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THE BAC AND PAC WERE. UM, AND I THINK THAT'S WHERE I KIND OF WANNA START. UH, THE BAC AND PAC ARE NOT BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS. THEY'RE NOT TASK FORCE. THEY'RE NOT CITY OF AUSTIN ENTITIES, AND THEY HAVE NEVER SOUGHT TO BE, UM, CITY OF AUSTIN ENTITIES. THEY ARE ASSOCIATED ENTITIES. THEY'RE ONE OF, YOU KNOW, 12 I THINK, ASSOCIATED ENTITIES. AND THAT MEANS THEY'RE A CITIZEN LED ORGANIZATION THAT RECEIVED SUPPORT FROM CITY STAFF. UH, THE BICYCLE ADVISORY COUNCIL HAS EXISTED SINCE THE 1990S. UM, IN 2007, THE CITY COUNCIL MADE THE DECISION TO ASSIGN STAFF LIAISONS, UH, TO THE BICYCLE ADVISORY COUNCIL, MAKING IT A, UH, ASSOCIATED ENTITY. UH, AND THEN THE CITY COUNCIL PASSED, UH, A RESOLUTION 2013, UH, APPOINTING A CITY LIAISON TO THE PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COUNCIL. UM, SO UNDERSTANDING THAT SETUP, I THINK IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT. AND THAT'S FOR THE FIRST REASON I THINK THIS CAN'T WORK. UH, AND THAT'S BECAUSE IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE TO MERGE THE PAC AND BAC WITH THE UTC. UH, FOR ONE, I THINK YOU CAN QUESTION WHETHER CITY COUNCIL ACTUALLY HAS THAT AUTHORITY TO TELL THE PAC AND THE BAC, UM, TO MERGE WITH A, A CITY OF AUSTIN ENTITY. UM, BUT TWO, YOU KNOW, BAC AND PAC MEMBERS ARE NOT, UM, ARE, ARE, ARE NOT, UH, APPOINTED BY CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS. THEY'RE NOT SUBJECT TO TOOMA, NOT SUBJECT TO OTHER CITY OF AUSTIN ORDINANCES. SO MERGING THOSE TWO GROUPS TOGETHER, FIRST WE WOULD HAVE LIKE 45 MEMBERS, BUT SECOND, JUST ON THE BASIS OF HOW THEY OPERATE, CAN'T REALLY WORK. UH, THE OTHER POINT I WANNA MAKE HERE IS THAT, UH, THE BAC AND PAC DO NOT STRUGGLE WITH THE ISSUES, UH, THAT THE CITY AUDITOR [01:40:01] NOTED FOR, UH, OTHER COMMISSIONS. UM, SO THE BAC AND PAC HAVE NOT SUFFERED FROM LACK OF QUORUM. UH, ALL CANCELLATIONS SINCE 2021 HAVE BEEN TO EITHER ACCOMMODATE A JOINT MEETING OR TO DO AN OFFSITE, UH, UH, VISIT WHERE NO ACTION WAS TAKEN. UM, THE BAC AND PAC DO NOT HAVE ISSUES WITH VACANCIES AND DON'T PUT, UH, THE BURDEN ON CITY COUNCIL OFFICES TO APPOINT, UH, UH, MEMBERS, UH, EVERY YEAR. THE BAC AND PAC RECEIVE ROUTINELY OVER 50 APPLICATIONS FOR USUALLY WHAT'S AROUND A DOZEN POSITIONS. THERE'S A SUBCOMMITTEE THAT THOROUGHLY RECOMMENDATIONS OR, UH, THOROUGHLY REVIEWS ALL OF THOSE APPLICATIONS. AND THEN TAKE, WE ALL TAKE A VOTE ON, UH, WHO THOSE, UH, NEW MEMBERS WILL BE. UM, AND THE VAC AND PAC ARE, I THINK, ARE HIGHLY EFFECTIVE BODIES. SO THAT CITY AUDITOR SPECIAL REPORT FOUND THAT IN 20 21, 20 22 BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS AVERAGED 7.5 RECOMMENDATIONS OVER THAT TWO YEAR PERIOD, UH, DURING THE SAME PERIOD THE BAC PASSED 18 AND THE PAC PASSED NINE. UM, SO THEY'RE NOT HAVING AN ISSUE FINDING WORK TO DO. THEY'RE NOT HAVING ISSUE MEETING, UH, AND THEY'RE NOT PUTTING THAT BURDEN ON CITY COUNCIL. UH, AND I WOULD ALSO ENCOURAGE YOU, UH, THE BAC WROTE A VERY GOOD RECOMMENDATION, UH, THAT HAS AN APPENDIX THAT LISTS KIND OF EVERYTHING THE BAC HAS DONE OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS THAT HAVE BEEN EITHER ENACTED BY CITY COUNCIL, BROUGHT UP BY US, OR ENACTED BY CITY STAFF. AND IT'S A MULTI-PAGE LIST. UM, AND THEN I THINK THE, THE BIGGEST POINT FOR US IS THAT WE CAN'T TAKE ON THE WORK OF THE PAC AND BAC BECAUSE WHAT THEY DO IS VERY DIFFERENT. UH, WE EXIST MAINLY AS A VEHICLE FOR CITY COUNCIL TO GIVE FEEDBACK TO CITY COUNCIL ON ORDINANCES AND IDEAS. UH, AND WE HAVE JURISDICTION OVER ALL OF TRANSPORTATION. THE BAC AND PAC REALLY EXIST AS A RESOURCE FOR STAFF. YOU KNOW, WHAT WE DO ON BICYCLE INFRASTRUCTURE AND PEDESTRIAN INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, IS VERY DIFFERENT. AND IT'S VERY NEW. YOU KNOW, I, I GIVE THE EXAMPLE OF, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE BUILDING A ROAD, THERE ARE PLENTY OF REGULATIONS FROM THE FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT ON EXACTLY THE SPECIFICATIONS. YOU SHOULD BUILD THAT ROAD FROM A MOTOR VEHICLE. UH, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO BIKE AND PEDESTRIAN INFRASTRUCTURE, THOSE DON'T EXIST. SO WE CONSTANTLY NEED TO BE GIVING FEEDBACK TO THE CITY ON WHAT'S WORKING, WHAT'S NOT, WHAT'S CREATING A SAFE ENVIRONMENT AND WHAT'S NOT. UM, I THINK THE BEST EXAMPLE OF THIS IS, YOU KNOW, ONE THING THE BAC HAS DONE A COUPLE OF TIMES IS RIDE AND REVIEW. SO, FOR EXAMPLE, THE BAC MET, UH, SIX OR SEVEN MONTHS AGO AND RODE UP AND DOWN THE NEW BIKE LANES ON AIRPORT BOULEVARD AND PRODUCED A SIX SEVEN PAGE RECOMMENDATION ON HOW WE CAN IMPROVE THEM. UH, DID THE SAME THING WITH NEIGHBORHOOD BIKEWAYS RECENTLY. UM, I LOVE ALL OF YOU. I DON'T THINK ANY OF US WANNA SPEND A SATURDAY RIDING OUR BICYCLES TOGETHER AND BRAINSTORMING INDIVIDUAL WAYS THAT WE CAN IMPROVE PROJECTS AROUND THE CITY OF AUSTIN. THAT'S JUST SIMPLY NOT THE ROLE OF THE UTC. AND I WOULD POINT OUT THAT PRIOR TO THE PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COUNCIL COMING INTO EXISTENCE IN 2013, THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION HAD A BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIANS COMMITTEE, UH, THAT MET TO DISCUSS THOSE ISSUES AND GIVE THAT FEEDBACK TO CITY STAFF. UH, AND THE UTC MADE THE DECISION TO DISBAND THAT COMMITTEE, UH, TO, IN INSTEAD LET THE BAC AND PAC FILL THAT ROLE. UM, AGAIN, I DON'T THINK THERE'S A INTEREST FROM THIS COMMISSION, UH, TO FILL OUR AGENDA ITEMS WITH THE AGENDA ITEMS OF THE BAC AND PAC OR TO ADD ON THAT EXTRA COMMITTEE AGAIN, TO TAKE ON THE WORK THAT WE'D BE MISSING FROM THE BAC AND THE PAC. SO THAT GETS US KIND OF DOWN TO THE, UH, BE IT RESOLVES. THE FIRST IS JUST, YOU KNOW, FOR THE WAREHOUSES LISTED ABOVE, WE RECOMMEND WE DON'T GO THROUGH WITH THE MERGER. UH, THE SECOND ONE IS, UH, UM, RECOMMENDING THAT WE DON'T GO THROUGH, IF THE NAME CHANGE TO THE URBAN MOBILITY COMMISSION, UM, OBVIOUSLY THIS ONE IS NOT AS BIG OF A DEAL, BUT I CONSTANTLY HEAR FROM, FROM FOLKS ON THE, UH, ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION THAT THEY ALWAYS GET CONFUSED WITH THE CITY COUNCIL ENERGY UTILITY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE. AND I THINK WE WOULD BE RUNNING INTO A SIMILAR CIRCUMSTANCE THAT IF WE'RE THE URBAN MOBIL OR IF WE'RE THE MOBILITY COMMISSION, THEN WE'RE GONNA GET CONFUSED WITH THE MOBILITY COMMITTEE. AND WE MIGHT EVEN BE CONFUSED WITH THE, UH, CTRA, THE CENTRAL TEXAS REGIONAL MOBILITY AUTHORITY. UM, I THINK PEOPLE ALREADY STRUGGLE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WE DO. UH, I THINK KEEPING THE NAME WE'VE HAD FOR, FOR DECADES WILL HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND WHAT WE DO. UH, AND THEN THE NEXT ONE TALKS ABOUT US, UH, COMMITTING TO UPDATE OUR BYLAWS, UH, TO IMPROVE COMMUNICATION WITH THE BAC AND PAC AND SUBMIT THOSE BYLAWS TO THE CITY COUNCIL AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE, UH, BY THEIR JULY 16TH MEETING. UH, AND HERE I WANT TO GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT. WHEN THE CITY COUNCIL PASSED THE, UH, RESOLUTION BACK IN 2013, UM, RECOGNIZING THE PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COUNCIL AND, AND ASSIGNING STAFF TO HELP THEM OUT, THEY ALSO HAD SOMETHING IN THERE ASKING THE CITY MANAGER TO WORK WITH THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION TO AMEND OUR BYLAWS TO FULFILL, UH, UH, IMPROVED COMMUNICATION WITH THE PAC AND THE BAC. UM, AND, YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANNA CRITICIZE THE UTC BACK IN 2013, BUT [01:45:01] WE KIND OF PHONE THAT IN. UH, WHERE IT IS IN OUR CURRENT BYLAWS IS UNDER WORKING GROUPS, AND IT'S THE LAST ITEM UNDER WORKING GROUPS. THE ONE ABOVE, IT SAYS, WORKING GROUPS ARE NOT REQUIRED TO POST THEIR MEETINGS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE. AND THEN IT GOES F PARTICIPATE IN AN IMPROVED COMMUNICATION WITH THE PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND THE BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE. UH, WE NAME THEM INCORRECTLY. AND ALSO IT JUST MAKES NO SENSE. WE CLEARLY JUST KIND OF ADDED THINGS IN. UM, THERE ARE A COUPLE OF OTHER THINGS WE PROBABLY NEED TO UPDATE WITH OUR BYLAWS. WE STILL REFERENCE AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT. UH, WE STILL HAVE OLD LANGUAGE IN THERE ABOUT, UM, UH, TAXI CABS WHEN WE'VE MOVED THEM TO AN OPERATING MODEL. UM, AND, AND A COUPLE OF OTHER THINGS THAT AREN'T REALLY HOW THE CITY GOVERNMENT WORKS ANYMORE. SO IT'S PROBABLY A WORTHWHILE EXERCISE. UH, BUT THE BAC AND PAC FOR THEIR PART ALSO WANT TO IMPROVE COMMUNICATION WITH THE UTC. UM, WE'RE LUCKY TO HAVE MEMBERS WHO ARE AND HAVE BEEN ON THE BAC AND PAC, BUT I, I CAN SAY, AND I'M SURE YOU KNOW, SUSAN AND RUBEN CAN FILL IN, UH, COMMUNICATION HASN'T ALWAYS BEEN GREAT. AND THE CURRENT PROCESS OF APPOINTING LIAISONS TO THE BAC AND PAC, YOU KNOW, WORKS WHEN WE ALREADY HAVE PEOPLE WHO ARE GOING TO BE THERE. UH, BUT OTHERWISE IT'S NOT ALWAYS, UH, THE BEST WAY FOR US TO COMMUNICATE. UH, AND THEN THE FINAL BE IT RESOLVED, UH, JUST ASKS US TO, UH, SUBMIT THIS ON TO THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE AS OUR, UH, OFFICIAL RESPONSE. SO THAT'S A LOT. UH, HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. I GUESS I'LL, UM, WELL, ONE THING I ABSOLUTELY AGREE WITH ACTUALLY IS THE URBAN MOBILITY COMMISSION. I THINK THAT THERE'S SORT OF LIKE, I DON'T DISLIKE THE WORD MOBILITY. I LIKE IT, AND I UNDERSTAND THE PLANNER REASONS WHY WE USE THE WORD MOBILITY INSTEAD OF TRANSPORTATION. BUT I, I, YOU KNOW, I HAVE A SECOND GRADER. WE TEACH FIRST AND SECOND GRADERS IN SOCIAL STUDIES WHAT TRANSPORTATION IS. YOU KNOW, SHE COMES HOME DOING HER TRANSPORTATION UNIT. LIKE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND TRANSPORTATION. WELL, I THINK WHEN YOU START CALLING THINGS, MOBILITY MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY DON'T ALWAYS ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND THAT. SO I REALLY DON'T REALLY FEEL THE NAME CHANGE IS WARRANTED. I THINK IT JUST IS GONNA SERVE TO CONFUSE PEOPLE, HONESTLY. SO I ABSOLUTELY AGREE WITH THAT PORTION. I WILL CONFESS, I LIKE, I DON'T KNOW FOR SURE IF I'M, I DON'T THINK I'M . I'LL BE LESS, I'LL BE MORE VAGUE. I'M, I'M UNSURE HOW, IF I'M GONNA VOTE FOR THIS BECAUSE I DO REALLY BELIEVE THAT OUR COMMISSION SYSTEM IS BECOME VERY COMPLICATED. MM-HMM . I BELIEVE IT'S BECOME VERY BURDENSOME TO STAFF. UM, I DO THINK THAT, UM, AT TIMES I HAVE WONDERED, I AGREE WITH YOU. I DON'T THINK THAT EVERYBODY ON UTC WANTS TO GO DO BIKE RIDES AND AIRPORT. LIKE, IF Y'ALL ARE WRONG, LET ME KNOW AND WE CAN START DOING THAT TOO. BUT, YOU KNOW, LIKE, I AGREE WITH YOUR POINTS THERE. SO I AGREE THAT LIKE CITIZEN LED GROUPS, THAT STAFF THAT WORK DIRECTLY IN ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION CAN LIAISE WITH, IS A BENEFIT TO STAFF TO HAVE THAT READY, READY TO HAND MONTHLY FEEDBACK OPPORTUNITY. BUT I ALSO THINK THAT FOR THE STAFF THAT MANAGE THE MEETINGS AND ASSIST Y'ALL, THAT IT IS BURDENSOME. IT, IT ALSO BECOMES THE, THE VENUES, THE LOCATIONS. AND I DO THINK, LIKE THE THING I GUESS I'M STRUGGLING WITH IS LIKE, THESE ARE ISSUES THAT I HOPE, YOU KNOW, THAT I VERY PASSIONATELY CARE ABOUT BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN. I FEEL THAT THERE SHOULD BE DEDICATED ATTENTION TO THEM. UM, BUT I ALSO THINK THAT IF WE'RE GOING TO SIMPLIFY THE BOARDS AND COMMISSION SYSTEM, THAT WE HAVE TO MAKE TOUGH CHOICES TO SIMPLIFY THAT. SO I GUESS THAT'S WHERE I AM A LITTLE BIT. I WONDER, I ALSO WONDER IN A POST, LIKE IN A WORLD WHERE IT'S NOT NECESSARILY BAC AND PAC WOULD CEASE TO EXIST, MAYBE THEY JUST CEASED TO RECEIVE SOME CITY RESOURCES IN TERMS OF STAFFING AND OR MEETING LOCATION OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. SO, I MEAN, I THINK THE PEOPLE THAT ARE ON THERE COULD CONTINUE TO HOLD MEETINGS AS A CITIZEN MEETING, I THINK 'CAUSE THEY DID BEFORE THEY WERE RECOGNIZED, IT SOUNDS LIKE. BUT, UM, I THINK LIKE ONE OF THE QUESTIONS WOULD BE WHAT IS THE LOSS FROM A POLICY PERSPECTIVE? AND I'VE WONDERED, I DON'T KNOW. I DON'T, I'M LIKE, I DON'T KNOW, LIKE IT COULD HAVE A DETRIMENTAL POLICY. I'VE WONDERED IF THAT WOULD MEAN THAT, THAT WE HAVE MORE OPPORTUNITY FOR DIRECT INPUT IN THIS BODY AND MAYBE THAT'S A GOOD THING BECAUSE WE ARE SUBJECT TO TOMA AND THAT, YOU KNOW, HOLDS US ACCOUNTABLE IN CERTAIN WAYS. SO I'VE WONDERED THAT. I AGREE THAT, YOU KNOW, WITH IT'S, WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THE VOLUME. LIKE OUR AGENDAS WE HAD WE'RE IN A PERIOD OF TIME IN COVID AND IMMEDIATELY POST COVID WHERE WE HAD VERY SHORT AGENDAS. AND, UM, WE'RE GETTING LONGER AGENDAS. NOW. I'M REALLY, I WANNA SAY TO Y'ALL TOO, AFTER DECEMBER, I'M REALLY COMMITTING TO TRY TO [01:50:01] KEEP OUR AGENDAS MOSTLY MANAGEABLE. MM-HMM . LIKE, I DON'T THINK DECEMBER WAS MANAGEABLE. I KNOW IT WAS GONNA BE LONG, BUT IT WENT WAY LONGER THAN I THOUGHT. SO I DON'T WANT TO HAVE MEETINGS LIKE THAT IN GENERAL. AND THAT WAS ALSO IN CONSIDERATION OF PARTLY WHY WE CANCELED JANUARY WHEN I THINK WE PROBABLY COULD HAVE MET IN JANUARY WITH SOME ITEMS. BUT, UM, UH, SO I DO THINK WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT OUR AGENDAS. SO I THINK THE QUESTION THAT I'M STRUGGLING WITH IS WHAT WOULD BE THE TRUE POLICY LOSS THERE FOR STAFF AND FOR THE CITY? AND I'M UNSURE, BUT I'M ALSO UNCERTAIN THAT I'M FULLY READY TO VOTE ON THIS. SO I'LL SEE IF ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS HAVE SOME INPUT. COMMISSIONER KAMAN, UM, I SERVED ON THE PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COUNCIL FOR TWO YEARS. AND, UM, THE REASON I STEPPED OFF WAS BECAUSE OF REDUNDANCY WITH WHAT I SAW IN THIS COUNCIL OR IN THIS COMMISSION IS THAT IT WAS THE NIGHT BEFORE AND VERY OFTEN I WOULD SEE THE SAME PRESENTATIONS TWO NIGHTS IN A ROW. AND I JUST THOUGHT THAT MAYBE IT WAS A NOT A GREAT USE OF MY TIME TO BE ON BOTH. UM, I THINK THERE IS SOME VALUE OF, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN APPLY FOR THE PAC AND IT'S CHOSEN BY CITIZEN, THEIR LEARNING CURVE IS A LITTLE SMALLER THAN THIS COMMISSION. UH, IT'S NOT AS INTENSE TO HAVE TO GO ASK YOUR COUNCIL MEMBER FOR AN APPOINTMENT. UM, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, UM, IT SOUNDS LIKE WE HAVE A PRETTY GREAT, UM, NONPROFIT ADVOCACY INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE CITY THAT OFTEN DOES, YOU KNOW, LEAD THINGS AND LIKE GO, LIKE HAS ACTIVITIES THAT ARE WALK AUDITS AND BIKE AUDITS AND STUFF LIKE THAT ON THE VARIOUS FACILITIES THROUGHOUT OUR CITY. SO I ALSO STRUGGLE TO, LET ME SEE HOW DIPLOMATICALLY I PUT IT. I'M NOT SURE IT WOULD BE AS BIG OF A LOSS AS THIS RESOLUTION NECESSARILY AS POINTING OUT, UM, I, I THINK THAT THE PAC AND BBAC MEMBERS FIND VALUE IN THEIR WORK THOUGH. YES. UM, ANOTHER THING THAT I WAS KIND OF HOPING TO LIKE START A DISCUSSION ABOUT AND MORE BROADLY ABOUT OUR FUNCTION AS A COMMISSION IS THAT I WOULD ACTUALLY KIND OF LIKE A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A, YOU KNOW, THIS IS COMPLETELY SEPARATE FROM THE CONVERSATION ABOUT THE COMBINATION. I WOULD LIKE A LITTLE BIT MORE EXPLICIT RESPONSIBILITY FOR TRANSPORTATION BOND OVERSIGHT IN THIS COMMISSION AND HAVING MAYBE SOME SORT OF, UM, AND YOU KNOW, WE, WE TALK IN OUR, UM, WE'D LIKE TO GET THOSE QUARTERLY UPDATES FROM CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES AND EVERYTHING. I THINK IT WOULD BE GREAT TO GET, YOU KNOW, BIANNUAL LIKE EVERY SIX MONTHS PROGRAM BY PROGRAM BOND SPENDING ACTIVITY. 'CAUSE I KNOW THAT THEY KEEP THAT DATA AND THEY REVIEW IT QUARTERLY. AND I THINK, I THINK THAT SORT OF THING COULD BE REALLY AN INTERESTING AND, YOU KNOW, APPROPRIATE FUNCTION OF THIS COMMISSION. SO IF, IF I CAN ADD A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT. SO I THINK THAT THE THINGS, UM, FOLKS WERE SAYING, UM, FIRST ON, ON THE STAFF RESOURCES TIME, I THINK THAT'S DEFINITELY A GREAT POINT. UM, AND I THINK IT, IT'S IMPORTANT TO POINT OUT THE, THE BAC AND PAC ONE BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS. UM, AND TWO, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THEY REALIZE THIS ISSUE, UH, DO A LOT OF THINGS TO LIMIT IMPACT ON STAFF. SO, UH, ONE THING IN PARTICULAR IS, UH, THE BAC AND PAC DO THEIR OWN MINUTES. SO THAT'S NOT ON, UH, THE STAFF TO GO BACK AND WATCH THE MEETING AND FIGURE EVERYTHING OUT. UM, WE ALSO, UH, MET JOINTLY FOR HALF OF THE MEETINGS THIS YEAR. RIGHT. SO THAT SIGNIFICANTLY CUTS DOWN ON STAFF TIME. ANYTIME WE CAN MEET JOINTLY, WE DO, UM, WE ALSO DON'T HAVE TO BE IN AN A TXN ROOM, UH, SO THAT, OH, THAT WE'RE NOT TAKING AWAY SPACE FOR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS. WE USUALLY JUST FIND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE ARE LITERALLY IN LIKE A BACK CLOSET OF CITY HALL FOR A LITTLE WHILE. UM, OTHER THINGS ARE, YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T HAVE TO BROADCAST THE MEETING, WE DON'T HAVE TO RECORD THE MEETING. RIGHT. THAT'S OTHER THINGS THAT, THAT STAFF RESOURCES GO INTO, UH, THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO. AND, AND I THINK WITH RESPECT TO THE STAFF WHO ARE THERE, I, I THINK IF YOU ASKED ANY OF THEM, THEY WOULD SAY THEY FIND VALUE IN COMING. UH, BECAUSE THE REALITY IS THEY DON'T HAVE TO COME. RIGHT. AND OF COURSE, OUR STAFF LIAISON, UH, NATALIE HAS TO COME. RIGHT. BUT, YOU KNOW, AND, AND I I AM SURE IF SHE WAS HERE TODAY, SHE WOULD, UH, TALK ABOUT HOW MUCH FUN SHE HAS AT THE BAC AND PAC. RIGHT. UM, BUT THOSE, THOSE, UH, STAFF MEMBERS, I THINK LEGITIMATELY FIND VALUE, UH, IN COMING AND GETTING THAT FEEDBACK. UM, AS IT RELATES TO THE UTC TAKING A MORE ACTIVE ROLE, I, I DON'T THINK THE BAC OR PAC EVER PRECLUDE, UH, THE UTC FROM TAKING ACTION ON BIKE AND PEDESTRIAN INFRASTRUCTURE. IN FACT, I THINK IF ANYTHING, IT'S THE OPPOSITE WHERE WE SEE THE PAC AND BAC UH, PUT OUT A RECOMMENDATION AND WE DECIDE TO FOLLOW UP ON THAT. RIGHT. THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF INSTANCES, LIKE, YOU KNOW, BIKE LANE BLOCKAGE IS [01:55:01] PROBABLY A GOOD EXAMPLE WHERE THERE'S GREAT COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE TWO COUNCILS. UH, AND THAT MOMENTUM KIND OF BUILT ON EACH OTHER. UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN THIS WAS FIRST PROPOSED, I WENT BACK TO WHEN, UM, CHRIS RILEY AND HIS STAFF WERE LAYING OUT, UM, YOU KNOW, TH THIS PROPOSED CHANGE TO THE UTC BACK IN 2012. AND ONE OF THE THINGS THEY SAID THEN, UH, AS THE UTC WAS THEY, THEY EXPRESSED THAT CONCERN. UH, AND EVEN BACK THEN, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A CLEAR DELINEATION OF, YOU KNOW, THE CITY COUNCIL IS NOT LOOKING FOR THE UTC TO BE GIVING VERY SPECIFIC FEEDBACK TO CITY STAFF. RIGHT. THE CITY COUNCIL IS LOOKING FOR THE UTC TO GIVE FEEDBACK TO CITY COUNCIL AND TO THE EXTENT THAT BI BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN ISSUES RISE, UH, TO THE EXTENT THAT THEY CAN BE ON OUR AGENDA, UH, THEN WE OF COURSE ACT ON THEM. BUT I THINK THAT'S ALSO SOMETHING WE SHOULD CONSIDER. I MEAN, WE'RE ALREADY TALKING ABOUT A BOTTLENECK OF RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE COMING. I'VE GOT A COUPLE IN THE CHAMBER THAT, YOU KNOW, I'M READY TO BRING, BUT WE JUST NEED TO FIND ROOM. SO, YOU KNOW, AS MUCH AS WE MAY SAY, YOU KNOW, OH, WE WOULD LOVE TO TAKE ON, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE WORK THAT THE PAC AND BAC ARE DOING, UH, WE SIMPLY DO NOT HAVE THE TIME ON OUR AGENDAS, OR IT WOULD REQUIRE US, YOU KNOW, CREATING A SEPARATE COMMITTEE, WHICH WOULD THEN JUST LEAD US BACK TO THE SAME REDUNDANCY PROBLEM. UM, AND I, I WILL SAY, I, I, I DO AGREE WITH DANIEL THAT IN, IN RECENT YEARS, THERE HAS BEEN REDUNDANCY BETWEEN THE PAC AND BAC AND THE UTC. UH, I I'VE GOTTEN THAT TOO. IT'S THE SAME PRESENTATION AT B-A-C-U-T-C. UM, WHAT I SAY IS, ONE, THERE ISN'T REDUNDANCY IN RECOMMENDATIONS NECESSARILY, RIGHT. THE P THE BAC BRINGS THEIR OWN INFORMATION. UH, AND WHAT I'D SAY TWO IS THAT'S A, HAVING, HAVING BEEN ON FOR FIVE YEARS RIGHT NOW, THAT'S A RELATIVELY RECENT PHENOMENON THAT DIDN'T USE TO BE THE PROBLEM. AND I DON'T WANNA POINT FINGERS ANYWHERE, BUT I THINK WE'VE EXPERIENCED AT THE UTC THAT IT'S DIFFICULT TO GET STAFF PRESENTATIONS JUST IN GENERAL NOW. AND SO I THINK THAT'S WHY THAT PROBLEM HAS EXISTED IN THE LAST COUPLE YEARS. 'CAUSE THERE JUST AREN'T THAT MANY TRANSPORTATION PRESENTATIONS THAT CAN GO OUT THERE. AND SO, YOU KNOW, THE THREE PRESENTATIONS THAT ARE GOING OUT THERE THAT MONTH GO TO ALL THREE. I, I THINK IN AN IDEAL WORLD, WE WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, OPENING UP CITY STAFF TO COME, UH, TO BOTH THE UTC AND THE PAC AND BAC MORE. AND I THINK YOU WOULD SEE THAT NATURAL SEPARATION START TO DELINEATE ITSELF. UM, AND THEN WITH RESPECT TO THE POINT ON NONPROFITS, WE DEFINITELY HAVE A GREAT NONPROFIT INFRASTRUCTURE, BUT THE CITY STAFF CAN'T NECESSARILY RELY ON NONPROFITS THE SAME WAY THEY CAN, UH, THE BAC AND PAC, RIGHT? IF THEY PICK ONE, YOU KNOW, UH, ORGANIZATION TO DO A RIDE ALONG WITH, RIGHT? THEN THEY HAVE TO INVITE EVERY SINGLE OTHER ONE, RIGHT? THEY CAN'T BE SEEN TO BE PICKING FAVORITES AMONG NONPROFITS. AND THERE ARE ALSO LEGAL RESTRICTIONS ON HOW MUCH CITY STAFF CAN INTERACT WITH OUTSIDE GROUPS. EVEN THOUGH THE BAC AND PAC ARE NOT CITY OF AUSTIN ENTITIES, THAT STATUS HAS ASSOCIATED ENTITIES THAT THE CITY COUNCIL HAS GIVEN THEM, GIVES CITY STAFF THE ABILITY TO COME TO THE BAC AND PAC WITH PERMISSION TO SOLICIT FEEDBACK AND DO EVENTS WITH THEM IN A WAY THAT IT WOULD BE DIFFICULT TO DO THEM WITH A NONPROFIT. I THINK THAT ADDRESSED MOST OF THE THINGS. I MEAN, I'M KIND OF CONFLICTED TOO, BECAUSE LIKE WHEN YOU MEET JOINTLY, THAT KIND OF ACTUALLY ARGUES FOR THE FACT YOU COULD SEE THAT AS WE'RE USING STAFF'S TIME EFFICIENTLY, OR YOU COULD SEE THAT AS THERE'S NOT A NEED FOR BOTH THESE BODIES TO EXIST. AND I AGREE WITH YOU THAT STAFF, IT'S BEEN DIFFICULT IN RECENT YEARS TO GET STAFF OUT TO PRESENT. UM, I THINK, YOU KNOW, GIVING STAFF A LOT OF GRACE, LIKE WE HAVE FAMILIES, IT'S THE EVENING, YOU KNOW, COMING BEFORE A A GROUP LIKE US COULD BE STRESSFUL. LIKE, THERE'S LOTS OF REASONS WHY I THINK WE'RE EXPERIENCING THAT. PEOPLE ARE PRIORITIZING THEIR TIME IN A DIFFERENT WAY SINCE COVID. BUT I ALSO THINK IF, IF IT WAS A LITTLE BIT LESS, LIKE THE FACT THAT THEY'RE NOT DIFFERENTIATED, LIKE I FEEL LIKE, OH YEAH, IT WOULD BE A BETTER USE OF STAFF'S TIME TO FOCUS ON THE UTC AS THEIR PERHAPS AS THEIR PRIMARY PLACE TO PRESENT. I REALLY WANNA EMPHASIZE THAT PARTICULARLY SO AT THE BAC AND THE RECOMMENDATIONS. THEY'RE DOING A LOT OF WORK AND IT'S REALLY GOOD WORK. SO I, I DO HAVE SOME LEVEL OF CONFLICT HERE, BUT I'M, I'M NOT, I'M JUST NOT TOTALLY SURE. I'M, I'M STILL NOT TOTALLY SURE I'M READY TO VOTE FOR IT. I, UM, COMMISSIONER ALVAREZ, DO YOU HAVE SOME? YEAH, YEAH. WELL, I, I WAS JUST GONNA, UM, I'M LIKE, THERE'S SO MUCH, SO LIKE, EVERY TIME SOMEBODY'S TALKING, I'M LIKE, I JUST WANNA JUMP IN AND SAY SOMETHING. UM, SO I GUESS FOR ME, A LOT OF THIS KIND OF JUST REVOLVES AROUND THE EFFICIENCY, RIGHT? AND SO IT'S, I REALLY STRUGGLE WITH STAFF TIME BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IT WAS JUST LIKE, TO YOUR POINT, WE JUST HEARD THIS YESTERDAY, AND THEY'RE HAVING TO TAKE THAT EXTRA TIME TO LIKE, GIVE THOSE PRESENTATIONS. AND SO IT'S NOT JUST THE LIAISON, IT'S THE PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY COME AND PRESENT. SO IT'S THOSE ADDITIONAL STAFF MEMBERS THAT I'M ALSO THINKING OF. UM, AND I WILL SAY, NOT NECESSARILY JUST FOR THE NONPROFIT, BUT FOR ME, IT'S WHY COULDN'T THESE PEOPLE [02:00:01] STILL CONTINUE TO DO THE WORK AND COME LIKE IN, IN TERMS OF COALITION, RIGHT? IN TERMS OF COMING TOGETHER AND COME TO THE UTC AND SAY, HEY, WE WANNA BRING THIS UP, RIGHT? WE WANNA TALK MORE ABOUT THIS. UM, AND AS A BODY, WE COULD COME AND SAY, YES, YOU KNOW, I AGREE, WE SHOULD TALK MORE ABOUT X, Y, Z. UM, THE OTHER THING TOO, AND I'M TRYING TO LIKE GO BACK AND I, I SHOULD HAVE JUST WRITTEN EVERYTHING DOWN WHEN YOU GUYS WERE TALKING. UM, AND I, LIKE I SAID, I ALSO DON'T WANNA MINIMIZE, BUT COULD THIS ALSO BE, WHEN WE LOOK AT POTENTIAL MERGE, UM, ARE WE LOOKING AT WHAT IS OUR, WHAT IS OUR PURPOSE, RIGHT? WHAT IS THE UTC MISSION? MAYBE THAT'S SOMETHING THAT AS A MERGER COMES TOGETHER. UM, AND I'M SORRY, I'M TALKING LIKE HR TERMS, BUT LIKE , I'M LIKE, SORRY, I'M LIKE THIS IN MY WORLD. BUT AS, AS A MERGER COMES TOGETHER, WE COULD REALLY LOOK AND SAY, OKAY, WHAT FROM THE PACK HAVE THEY DONE? DO THEY FOCUS ON THAT WE COULD BRING IN AND FOCUS ON A LITTLE BIT MORE? WHAT FROM THE PAC HAVE THEY DONE THAT THEY WANT TO DO THEIR VISION THAT WE COULD BRING IN WHAT IS, YOU KNOW, REALLY LOOKING AT THE WHOLE PART? UM, AND SO, YEAH, I WOULD AGREE. I DON'T LIKE THE WORD MOB MOBILITY AS MUCH AS TRANSPORTATION. UM, BUT WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT TRANSPORTATION, PEOPLE TEND TO THINK CARS, RIGHT? UM, AND SO IT'S A MIND SHIFT FOR PEOPLE TO THINK IT'S ABOUT MOVING PEOPLE IN GENERAL AND HOW DO WE DO THAT? AND SO IS THERE A, YOU KNOW, MARKETING OF, OF, HEY, THIS UTC IS ABOUT THIS AND THIS IS WHAT WE'RE ABOUT, AND INCLUDING ALL OF THAT. UM, YEAH, I, I JUST REALLY STRUGGLE JUST OF, YOU KNOW, IF, IF WE'RE, I THINK WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME MISSION AND ULTIMATELY, AND SO IT'S, WHY NOT JUST COME TOGETHER? AND IT'S NOT TO SAY THAT THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE ON THE PACK OR THE BACK OR BACKPACK, UM, COULDN'T APPLY FOR, FOR THESE, RIGHT? AND MAYBE THAT'S SOMETHING THAT CITY COUNCIL WILL COME AND SAY, YOU KNOW, MAYBE NONE OF US ARE GONNA BE HERE. MAYBE THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THEY, NO, REALLY, I'M LIKE, MAYBE THAT'S SOMETHING THAT CITY COUNCIL LOOKS AT AND SAYS, YOU KNOW WHAT, MAYBE WE NEED TO RE-LOOK AT WHO SITS ON THE UTC AND MAYBE WE DO WANNA INCLUDE MORE PEOPLE WITH A DIFFERENT LIVED EXPERIENCE, YOU KNOW, OR X, Y, Z. AND THAT APPLICATION LOOKS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT FROM WHEN WE APPLY FOR COMMISSIONS AND WHAT THAT, AND OF COURSE, THAT'S, YOU KNOW, FORWARD THINKING, BUT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT CITY COUNCIL SHOULD PROBABLY TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION TOO, IS JUST BECAUSE WE'RE HERE NOW DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE'RE GONNA BE HERE TOMORROW, RIGHT? UM, BECAUSE WITH THAT CHANGE COULD, COULD MEAN SOMETHING DIFFERENT. SO, UM, YEAH, I DON'T KNOW. I'M KIND OF JUST RAMBLING OFF STUFF, TRYING TO THINK ABOUT WHAT EVERYONE KIND OF SAID. UM, BUT YEAH, I, I, THAT'S KIND OF WHERE I'M AT. WELL, AND I JUST WANT TO CLARIFY HERE THAT I, I REALLY DON'T THINK A MERGER IS LEGALLY POSSIBLE. AND I THINK MERGER REALLY HERE IS A EUPHEMISM, RIGHT? THE CITY IS GONNA DO AWAY WITH THE BAC AND PAC, WE'RE GONNA PICK UP THE SLACK. SO, YOU KNOW, UNLESS WE'RE SOMEHOW GONNA HAVE 40 PEOPLE COMING AROUND THE SIDE WHO ALL ARE GONNA GET COUNSEL, YOU KNOW, UH, APPOINTED, UM, IT, IT WILL LOOK LIKE REMOVING THEM. UH, AND, YOU KNOW, TO THE EXTENT OF IF THE BAC AND PAC CONTINUE AS A GROUP NOT ASSOCIATED WITH THE CITY, WHAT THAT DOES IS IT CHANGES IT FROM A POLICY ORGANIZATION TO AN ADVOCACY ORGANIZATION, RIGHT? AS SOON AS THE CITY NO LONGER IS SUPPORTING THE BAC AND PAC, AS SOON AS IT IS NOT A PLACE WHERE, UM, CITY STAFF CAN COME TO, TO GET, YOU KNOW, UH, ADVICE ON A, A CERTAIN DESIGN, THEN THEY ARE JUST ONE OF ANOTHER ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS. THEY'RE THE SAME AS SAFE STREETS AUSTIN, THEY'RE THE SAME AS, YOU KNOW, MOBILITY, RIGHT? THEY'RE, THEY JUST BECOME ONE IN A NUMBER. UH, AND I THINK IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO THINK ABOUT IN STAFF'S TIME, UM, I, I MEAN, I CAN THINK OF PROBABLY 50 PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE HAD SOME HAND IN MOLDING IN THE BAC, UH, OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS. AND IN A LOT OF CIRCUMSTANCES, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S A BIKE SPECIFIC PROJECT, CITY STAFF ARE REALLY JUST COMING TO THE BAC TO GET FEEDBACK. AND, YOU KNOW, THEY'LL HAVE AN ONLINE OPEN FORUM FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND MAYBE THEY'LL GO TO A NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION MEETING. UM, AND OBVIOUSLY TPW DOES GREAT OUTREACH, BUT IN TERMS OF BIKE SPECIFIC OUTREACH, IT'S REALLY JUST THE BAC. SO THEN WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE IF STAFF HAVE TO SOLICIT THAT IN A PLACE WHERE THEY CAN'T JUST GO TO IT ONCE A MONTH? YOU KNOW, WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE IF THEY HAVE TO CONSTANTLY BE SEEKING OUT TECHNICAL FEEDBACK ON BIKE PROJECTS? I THINK THAT'S A DIFFERENT STRAIN ON CITY RESOURCES. THEY ALREADY DO, LIKE A LOT OF GROUPS, LIKE I KNOW A LOT OF VARIOUS GROUPS MEET, YOU KNOW, PRETTY REGULARLY WITH CITY STAFF TO DEVELOP SPECIFIC PROJECTS THAT ARE WITHIN THEIR SCOPE AS AN ORG. I MEAN, LIKE, PRETTY SURE DAA HAD LIKE, HAD SO MANY MEETINGS ABOUT THE CONGRESS AVENUE PROJECT, OF COURSE, AND THEY REPRESENT, THAT WAS A, BUT THEY REPRESENT THE INTEREST OF DOWNTOWN. LIKE, YOU KNOW, ONE THING I REALLY LIKED WAS THE, THE 2014 [02:05:01] BIKE PLAN DESCRIBED, UH, THE BAC AS, UH, A NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION FOR BIKES. AND I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF WHAT IT IS AS A RESOURCE FOR CITY STAFF, RIGHT? YOU GO TO A NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION, GET NEIGHBORHOOD SPECIFIC FEEDBACK, YOU GO TO THE BICYCLE ADVISORY COUNCIL TO GET BICYCLE SPECIFIC FEEDBACK. BUT NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS AREN'T SUPPORTED. I MEAN, CITY STAFF GOES TO THEM, BUT THEY'RE NOT ASSOCIATED ENTITIES. LIKE THEY DON'T HAVE STAFF SUPPORT. I MEAN, NO, BUT THERE ARE PLENTY OF OTHER WAYS THAT WE HAVE BUILT INTO CITY CODE THAT THEY HAVE A HEIGHTENED STATUS, RIGHT? YOU HAVE NEIGHBORHOOD POSTPONEMENTS AT A PLANNING COMMISSION, YOU KNOW, EVERY WEEK. YEAH. BUT THAT'S LIKE USUALLY NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING CONTACT TEAMS, WHICH, WELL, ANYWAY, MORE COMPLICATED. I THINK YOU COULD DRAW AN, I THINK THAT IS SOMEWHAT ANALOGOUS, RIGHT? YOU KNOW, YOU GO TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING CONTACT TEAM TO GET FEEDBACK ON THIS SPECIFIC THING THAT'S HAPPENING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. YOU GO TO THE BICYCLE ADVISORY COUNCIL TO GET FEEDBACK ON THIS SPECIFIC BICYCLE THING. OKAY. I'D LIKE TO MAKE SURE IF OTHER COMMISSIONERS THAT HAVEN'T HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK HAVE QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, UM, DISCUSSION. DO, DO YOU FIND THAT, YOU KNOW, I AM, I'M, I'M SENSING LIKE A LITTLE, IF UTC WANTS TO DO SOME, WE WANT MORE REGULAR REPORTING, WE WANT SOME BOND OVERSIGHT FUNCTIONALITY AS WELL, AND THEN WE WANNA ADD IN THESE OTHER TWO, LIKE THAT SEEMS TO, AND WE WERE ALSO MANAGING MEETING TIMES, THAT SEEMS TO GET A LITTLE SPRAWLING. IS THERE LIKE A WAY TO KIND OF HEAD THIS? WOULD THERE BE BETTER TO KIND OF, UM, IS THERE A SYNERGY BETWEEN LIKE, UH, PACK AND BACK THAT WOULD BE SMART, YOU KNOW, AND HEADING THIS SOFT AND MAYBE THAT THERE'S A FURTHER DELINEATION TO, TO KIND OF LIKE SUPPORT, LIKE, HEY, WE KNOW THAT SOMETHING'S COMING, BUT WE THINK THAT THIS WOULD BE BEST BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE SEE SOME, SOME AREAS OF OVERSIGHT TO BE BETTER FOR US. OR IS, IS THERE, IS THERE MOVEMENT TO LIKE KIND OF HEAD OFF INSTEAD OF FOLDING EVERYTHING INTO THIS COMMISSION? I THINK THE BAC AND PAC REALLY WANT TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS IF THE UTC IS WILLING TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM. I, I THINK THE BAC AND PAC ALSO HAVE CERTAINLY ASKED TO MOVE BACK A, AGAIN, I THINK WHAT DANIEL WAS TALKING ABOUT IN TERMS OF THE REDUNDANCY, IT IS AGAIN, A RELATIVELY RECENTLY NEW PHENOMENON. AND I THINK THE, UM, BAC WOULD ENJOY KIND OF GETTING BACK TO BICYCLE SPECIFIC STUFF MORE OFTEN, UH, IN THAT BROADER CITY POLICY. AND I THINK, UM, AS IT RELATES TO DELINEATING THOSE ROLES, I, I THINK THE BAC WOULD ALSO NEVER REALLY WANT TO SAY THAT SOMETHING IS EXCLUSIVELY THEIR DOMAIN AND NOT THE UTCS DOMAIN. I THINK THE BAC ALWAYS WANTS TO BE ALSO A RESOURCE FOR THE UTC. SO I THINK IT'S PERFECTLY FINE IF THE BAC GIVES THEIR OPINION ON SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, THE UTC TAKES A LOOK AT IT. SOMETIMES WE'LL SAY, THAT'S GREAT. AND SOMETIMES WE'LL SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT, THAT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT ISSUE AND WE NEED TO ELEVATE THAT TO THE CITY COUNCIL. YEAH. AND I MEAN, ONE OF THE THINGS I'VE, I'VE OFTEN WANTED TO EMPHASIZE TO FOLKS TOO WITH THE UTC IS THE UTC IS ALL TRANSPORTATION OR ALL MOBILITY, WHATEVER WORD WE WANNA USE. UM, AND, AND SO THAT WE WOULD NEVER WANT TO, I MEAN, WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF, WE DO A LOT OF THINGS WHERE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT LARGE PLANNING THAT INVOLVES HEAVILY BIKES AND PEDESTRIANS. WE DON'T DO AS MUCH WHERE WE'RE LOOKING AT A SPECIFIC IMPLEMENTATION. OCCASIONALLY WE DO, AND WE HAVE THAT, RIGHT? LIKE UTC HAS THE RIGHT TO VIEW IT ALL BECAUSE LIKE, WE ARE THE SOVEREIGN COMMISSION DEALING WITH THIS MATTER. SO, UM, THERE'S NOTHING THAT WOULD EVER PREVENT US TAKING A REALLY HIGHLY SPECIFIC BICYCLE IMPLEMENTATION MM-HMM . EVEN NOW. WE JUST GENERALLY DON'T. BUT I THINK WHEN SPENCER'S SORT OF COMMUNICATING A LITTLE BIT IS THAT BAC HAS MOVED AWAY FROM THAT SOMEWHAT TOO, AND SEEING A LOT MORE HIGH LEVEL POLICY ISSUES, LIKE THE SAME PRESENTATIONS WE GET. UM, I DON'T KNOW IF WE REALLY ANSWERED YOUR QUESTION, BUT YEAH, JUST IT, IT SEEMS, YOU KNOW, LIKE I I, I SEE VALUE FOR, YOU KNOW, FOR THE, THE WORLD OF PEOPLE THAT I INTERACT WITH ARE NOT QUITE AS AVID AND LIKE CONNECTED WITH THE CITY AS OTHER FOLKS, BUT LIKE A LOT OF THESE ISSUES THAT WE COVER, UH, TOUCH THEIR LIVES. THIS IS WHY LIKE, UH, YOU KNOW, LIKE BEING HERE AND BEING PART OF THE CONVERSATION, SO, BUT WE ARE IN A WORLD OF LIKE CONSTRAINED AND LIMITED RESOURCES, SO SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE, YOU KNOW, LIKE, IT'S LIKE YOU CAN'T, IT SEEMS REDUNDANT TO HAVE TWO ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE HAVING THESE BIG BROAD TRANSPORTATION SPECIFIC, UM, PURVIEW. AND I DUNNO, IT JUST SEEMS LIKE THERE'S A SMARTER, YOU KNOW, WE CAN KIND OF, OKAY, SO YEAH, I'M LOOKING AT OUR TIME. I, UM, DO WANNA, IF ANY COMMISSIONERS ONLINE WANNA HAVE A CHANCE, I, ONE, ONE QUESTION THAT I HAVE FOR COMMISSIONER SCHUMACHER IS THE TIMELINESS OF THIS IN TERMS OF ACTION, FUTURE ACTION. SO LIKE IF WE TOOK A [02:10:01] VOTE AND IT DIDN'T PASS, OR WE POSTPONED IT, LIKE WHAT, WHAT HA THERE'S SOMETHING HAPPENING LATER IN FEBRUARY. CAN YOU REMIND ME OF WHAT THAT IS? THE CITY MANAGER ASKED THE, OR SORRY, THE RESOLUTION ASKED THE CITY MANAGER TO SOLICIT FEEDBACKS FROM BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, UM, AND RE PROVIDE THAT FEEDBACK BACK TO THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE ON FEBRUARY 19TH. OKAY. SO, YOU KNOW, WE COULD STILL MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL AFTER THAT. 'CAUSE I DON'T THINK COUNCIL, I DON'T KNOW, IT MIGHT BE BEFORE THAT. I DON'T THINK THERE'S A DATE FOR COUNCIL ACTION YET, BUT, UM, WE WOULD BE MISSING THE WINDOW FOR THAT COMMITTEE THING. GOT IT. THAT'S FOR MOBILITY CITY COUNCIL'S MOBILITY COMMITTEE? NO, IT'S FOR THE AUDEN FINANCE COMMITTEE, SINCE THEY'RE THE ONES THAT HAVE THE, UH, JURISDICTION OVER BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS. GOT IT. OKAY. THANK YOU. UM, AND IF I CAN TOUCH ON, YOU KNOW, YOU SAID WE HAVE JURISDICTION OVER ALL OF TRANSPORTATION, UM, BUT ACTUALLY WE DON'T, RIGHT? UH, WE DON'T HAVE JURISDICTION OVER AVIATION. RIGHT. THAT GOES TO THE AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION. THAT GOOD POINT. THANK YOU, . WHICH I, I THINK THAT IS OKAY WITH THAT. YOU KNOW, THAT IS SOMETHING TO CONSIDER IS IMAGINE WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THE CITY COUNCIL, UH, JUST DELETED THE AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION SAID, YOU'RE MERGED WITH THE UTC. THINK ABOUT THE WORKLOAD THAT WOULD NOW BE UNDER OURS, THINKING ABOUT THE PEOPLE THAT WOULD BE EMAILING YOU TO GET RECOMMENDATIONS ONTO THE AGENDA BECAUSE THE AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION CAN'T DO THEM ANYMORE. THAT WILL HAPPEN WITH BAC AND PAC THINGS. THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS WE KEEP OFF OF THE UT C'S AGENDA THAT THE UT C DOES NOT WANT. UM, AND THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, I WOULD ALSO SAY THAT IF YOU LOOK AT OTHER AREAS, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE LIKE TWO DOZEN HOUSING AND PLANNING, UH, COMMISSIONS, RIGHT? AND WE REALLY HAVE THREE, FOUR TRANSPORTATION ONES IS NOT AS REDUNDANT AS OTHER ONES. AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT KIND OF CAUGHT THE PAC AND BAC OFF GUARD IS BECAUSE IF TPW CAME TO THE BAC AND PAC AND SAID, THIS IS TOO BIG OF A DRAIN ON STAFF'S TIME, WE NEED TO FIND A WAY TO REORGANIZE, WE WOULD ABSOLUTELY WORK WITH THEM AND FIGURE OUT A WAY TO MAKE IT WORK. RIGHT? BUT TO OUR KNOWLEDGE, THERE HASN'T BEEN ANYONE FROM TPW THAT SAID THAT THE CITY AUDITOR'S REPORT THAT STARTED THIS WHOLE THING DID NOT MENTION THE PAC OR BAC. NOBODY AT CITY COUNCIL TALKS SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE PAC OR BAC. SO IT DOESN'T SEEM TO ME LIKE THERE'S ANYONE OUT THERE WHO WOULD BE HELPED BY, YOU KNOW, STOPPING CITY SUPPORT OF THE, THE PAC AND BAC. WELL, IT'S BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO BE THERE, RIGHT? I MEAN, I WILL TELL YOU, WE, IT'S NOT LIKE, IT'S NOT LIKE WE GIVE THEM AN OPTION RIGHT NOW TO SAY, HEY, WHAT DO YOU THINK? IT'S BASICALLY YOU HAVE TO BE THERE AND YOU HAVE TO PRESENT IT IS, I THINK IT IS VERY DIFFERENT WHEN YOU ARE AN ASSOCIATED ENTITY. I COULD GIVE YOU A WHOLE LIST OF PRESENTATIONS WE'VE REQUESTED THAT WE'VE NEVER GOTTEN, RIGHT. BECAUSE THERE ARE PLENTY OF TIMES WHEN CITY COUNCIL WILL SAY SPECIFICALLY, WE WANT TO HEAR THE UTCS OPINION ON THIS. UH, AND THAT I DON'T THINK HAS EVER HAPPENED FOR THE BICYCLE OR PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COUNCILS. 'CAUSE THEY'RE NOT A, UH, SO EVEN MORE REASON TO HAVE THE UTC AND INCLUDE BAC AND PAC LIKE ITEMS AND KIND OF MORE FOLDED WITHIN US EVEN MORE REASON FOR THAT. RIGHT. I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THERE'S, BECAUSE BECAUSE WE, BECAUSE NOW WE, WE MIGHT BE MORE LIKELY TO BE LISTENED TO PERHAPS. RIGHT? I MEAN, COME ON GUYS. WE ARE AT SEVEN 18 AND WE HAVE A, WE HAVE FOUR, THREE ACTUAL ITEMS ON THIS AGENDA. WE ARE NOT GOING TO HAVE THE TIME TO PICK UP WHAT THE BAC AND PAC DO. WE'LL BE CUTTING THE AMOUNT OF, OF BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN WORK THAT IS DONE AT, YOU KNOW, THE LEVEL OF BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, AND ASSOCIATED ENTITIES EASILY IN HALF AND PROBABLY BY TWO THIRDS. 'CAUSE WE JUST SIMPLY DO NOT HAVE THE TIME. THERE ARE THINGS THAT WILL HIT THE CUTTING ROOM FLOOR. THERE'S NO WAY THIS ELEVATES BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN ISSUES. JUST LIKE IF YOU ELIMINATED THE AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION, IT WOULD OF COURSE DAMPEN THE AMOUNT OF ATTENTION THERE IS ON AVIATION ISSUES. MAY I INTERJECT, PLEASE? SURE. HEY EVERYBODY. SORRY, I AM OFF CAMERA. I AM NOT TAKING THIS CALL FROM HOME. CAN YOU HEAR ME ALL RIGHT? YES. OKAY. UM, I AM AFRAID I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING SUBSTANTIALLY OF VALUE TO ADD. I JUST WANTED TO, UH, I GUESS CONTRIBUTE TO THE DISCUSSION. UM, I AM A, UH, I AM A MEMBER OF BOTH THE BAC AND THE UTC, AND I'M A MEMBER OF THE UTC THANK YOU TO COMMISSIONER SCHUMACHER, RECOGNIZING THAT THERE WAS A VACANCY IN MY DISTRICT, UM, AND THAT I LIVED IN THAT DISTRICT. SO I AM GRATEFUL TO MY EXPERIENCE ON THE BAC FOR MAKING ME AWARE THAT ALL THESE THINGS EXIST. I DON'T KNOW, I DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT COMMISSIONS AND ALL THAT. I, I LEARNED ABOUT THE BAC THROUGH LIKE AN EMAIL NEWSLETTER APPLIED TO IT THROUGH A GOOGLE FORM. UM, AND NOW I'M HERE. SO, UM, I'VE BEEN GRATEFUL FOR BOTH OF THESE OPPORTUNITIES TO INCREASE MY ABILITY TO BE CIVICALLY ENGAGED [02:15:01] IN A WAY THAT I HAVE FOUND DIFFICULT TO ACCESS. UM, SINCE MOVING TO AUSTIN SIX YEARS AGO, MY PRIOR LIFE IN BOSTON WAS LIKE VERY MUCH IN THE CIVIC SPHERE, AND I'M IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR NOW. SO, UM, THIS HAS BEEN A WONDERFUL WAY TO STAY ENGAGED. THAT SAID, UM, I THINK I'M ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE LIKE COMMISSIONER KAMAN WHERE I, THE, IN MY, I'VE BEEN ON THE BAC FOR A LITTLE OVER A YEAR AND ON THE UTC FOR A LITTLE UNDER A YEAR. AND, UM, IF YOU ASKED ME TO LIKE, MAKE A VENN DIAGRAM OF THE BAC AND THE UTC OF LIKE, WHAT'S DIFFERENT ABOUT WHAT WE WORK ON, I'M NOT SURE I COULD PARTIALLY, 'CAUSE THERE'S JUST SO MUCH THAT IT'S HARD TO KEEP UP WITH ON IN EITHER GROUP, UM, AT TIMES. UM, BUT I THINK ALL OF THIS POINTS TO MAYBE I, I AGREE WITH THE POINTS ALREADY MADE ABOUT TRANSPORTATION OVER MOBILITY. I THINK THAT'S AN IMPORTANT LANGUAGE DIFFERENCE. BUT I THINK IT ALL SPEAKS TO SORT OF A LARGER ISSUE OF UNDERSTANDING PURPOSE OF EACH OF THESE GROUPS. UM, AND WHAT OUR, WHAT IS EXPECTED OF US AND WHAT, WHAT WE CAN BE DOING MORE OR LESS OF. UM, IT DOES FEEL LIKE THE CITY STAFF VALUE THE FEEDBACK FROM THE BAC AND THE PAC IN WAYS THAT HAVE BEEN VERY SPECIFIC THAT, LIKE MR. SCHUMACHER HAS POINTED OUT WOULD OTHERWISE BE DIFFICULT TO SOLICIT. UM, AND AT THE SAME TIME, UM, I, I'M NOT FRANKLY CLEAR ON, UH, THE, I GUESS LIKE DIVISION OF RESPONSIBILITY OR WHO, WHO WE ANSWER TO. SO I THINK COMMISSIONER SCHUMACHER IS CORRECT IN THAT THE CITY DOESN'T ACTUALLY HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO MERCH THE BAC AND THE PAC WITH THE UTC. UM, BUT REGARDLESS, SO I, I GUESS ALL THAT TO SAY I'M NOT, I'M, I FEEL VERY MUCH, YOU KNOW, UH, IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS MATTER WHERE I, YOU KNOW, KIND OF LIKE CHAIR SUMMER SAID, LIKE, I COULD GO EITHER WAY. 'CAUSE I CAN SEE THE PROS AND CONS OF BOTH SIDES. I WOULD LIKE TO PROPOSE A BETTER ALTERNATIVE IN HOW WE FURTHER DEFINE THE ACTIONS OR ENGAGEMENT OF THE UTC SO THAT WE CAN BE MORE EFFECTIVE AND PERHAPS MORE DEEPLY CONSIDER THE NUANCES OF TRANSPORTATION, NOT JUST BEING CARS, BUT INCLUDING, YOU KNOW, PEDESTRIANS, BICYCLE RIDERS, E-BIKE RIDERS, UH, RAIL RIDERS, BUS RIDERS, ALL THE WAYS THAT PEOPLE GET AROUND OUR CITY. UM, I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR, UH, LIKELY AT THIS POINT A MARKETING PERSPECTIVE AS A MARKETER. UM, I THINK THERE'S POOR MARKETING FOR ALL THESE THINGS, SO I DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT THE PURPOSES FOR ANY OF THEM. UM, BUT I'M NOT SURE THAT THE, THE PROPOSALS WE HAVE ON THE TABLE MAKE ANY SENSE FOR ANYBODY. SO, UM, AGAIN, I APOLOGIZE. I DON'T FEEL LIKE, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S CONSTRUCTIVE OR HELPFUL. UM, I JUST WANTED TO ADD THAT I, I HAVE EXPERIENCED SOME OF THIS REDUNDANCY, UM, PARTICULARLY THE, UH, THE COMMITMENT I HAVE MADE FOR MY TUESDAY NIGHTS IN BEING A PART OF BOTH OF THESE GROUPS. UM, AND IF I THINK OF SOMETHING MORE PRODUCTIVE, I WILL CERTAINLY BRING IT. BUT I HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THIS SINCE I'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT IT WITH PROBLEM SOON, AND I HAVEN'T REALLY COME UP WITH ANYTHING. SO THAT IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY, AND I'M OPEN TO ANSWERING QUESTIONS IF ANYONE ASK ME. THANK, THANK YOU. UM, AND I WILL SAY TOO, LIKE THE SCOPE OF URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION IS DEFINED IN CITY CODE. LIKE IF YOU GO TO OUR WEBSITE ON THE CITY WEBSITE, IT'S, IT DESCRIBES ALL THE THINGS THAT WE ARE AUTHORIZED TO DO AS PER CITY CODE. AND SO THEN OUR BYLAWS KIND OF ITERATE OUR OPERATIONS, BUT OUR SCOPE IS EXTREMELY BROAD. I, I DON'T KNOW IF I WOULD IT, DO YOU WANT ME TO READ THAT? WOULD THAT BE HELPFUL? I THINK WE CAN ALL JUST GO TO THE WEBSITE AND READ THAT, BUT IT'S A VERY, VERY BROAD SCOPE FOR UTC IN TERMS OF TRANSPORTATION MATTERS. UM, I DON'T WANT TO PREVENT ANYONE FROM DISCUSSING, BUT I ALSO THINK THAT IT MAY JUST BE TIME TO CALL FOR A VOTE ON THIS MATTER. UM, DOES ANYONE HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION OR POINTS THAT YEAH, I THINK THE TWO THINGS I WOULD SAY, UM, IN REGARDS TO WHAT HEATHER SAID, AND, AND I'M SURE SHE CAN ATTEST FROM THE BAC MEETING LAST MONTH, THE BAC WOULD AGREE ABOUT THE REDUNDANCY, ESPECIALLY AS IT RELATES TO THE PRESENTATIONS. AND I THINK THE BAC AND PAC WOULD TOTALLY BE ON BOARD WITH BETTER DELINEATING TO ESPECIALLY PROTECT STAFF'S TIME. UH, WHAT SHOULD GO TO THE BAC AND WHAT SHOULD GO TO THE UTC AND THE FEW THINGS THAT SHOULD GO IN BETWEEN. UM, I THINK IT IS WORTH POINTING OUT THAT THE BAC AND PAC ARE GOING TO COMB OVER THINGS WITH A [02:20:01] FINER LENS THAN WE ARE. YOU KNOW, THEY GOT THE SAME A TP UPDATE AS US, BUT THE CONVERSATION WAS ENTIRELY ABOUT, YOU KNOW, GUAD AND RIVERSIDE AND THE VERY REAL, UH, BICYCLE, UM, UH, CONSTRAINTS IN THE AREAS, RIGHT? SO WE MAY BE GETTING THE SAME PRESENTATIONS, BUT THE CONVERSATION IS GOING IN A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT DIRECTION. AND I, I, I DO THINK HEATHER BRINGS UP A REALLY GOOD POINT, WHICH I THINK IS KIND OF LIKE THE UNQUANTIFIABLE THING ABOUT THE BAC AND PAC IS THAT TO BE ON THIS COMMISSION, YOU NEED SOME LEVEL OF EXPERTISE ON TRANSPORTATION. YOU DON'T NEED THAT FOR THE BAC OR PAC. THE BAC IS A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO RIDE THEIR BIKES EVERY DAY AND EXPERIENCE THIS INFRASTRUCTURE DAY IN AND DAY OUT AND HAVE THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ABOUT IT. AND BEING ABLE TO ENTER THIS WORLD THROUGH THE BAC IS A WAY TO SHAPE FUTURE LEADERS. IF YOU LOOK AT THE PEOPLE WHO ARE, WHO ARE LEADING, YOU KNOW, US ON TRANSPORTATION, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE LIKE HAYDEN BLACK WALKER, UM, JAKE CROSSLEY, ADAM GREENFIELD, TOM WALL, ALL OF THOSE PEOPLE CAME THROUGH THE BAC AND PAC. SO I THINK THAT'S ANOTHER UNQUANTIFIABLE THING, IS THE LEADERS WE WILL LOSE BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE THE INTRODUCTION TO TRANSPORTATION POLICY THAT THE BAC AND PAC PROVIDE. I, AND I, I HOPE YOU KNOW, I'M, I AM REALLY APPRECIATIVE OF SO MUCH OF WHAT YOU'RE SAYING. UM, ARE THERE ANY COMMISSIONERS THAT HAVE OTHER FEEDBACK? I THINK I WOULD LIKE TO JUST CALL FOR A VOTE ON THIS MATTER. WELL, AND IF WE COULD JUST DISCUSS IT WON ONLY IF LIKE THE THREE OF YOU ARE ALL VOTING NO, THEN WE ALREADY KNOW WE DON'T HAVE THE NUMBERS, AND WE MIGHT AS WELL POSTPONE IT UNTIL NEXT MONTH. WHY I YOU SAY WE VOTE? I MEAN THAT'S, WELL, I THINK, YEAH, I MEAN, I THINK WELL TALK, TALK TO ME ABOUT LIKE, IF WE POST, IF WE KNOW, IF WE'VE COUNTED VOTES AND WE KNOW WE'RE THIS IS GONNA GO NOT, NOT PASS, WHAT WOULD BE THE STRATEGY TO POSTPONE ONE MORE MONTH? WELL, AND I GUESS THE QUESTION TO YOU ALL WOULD BE, IS THERE A VERSION OF THIS RECOMMENDATION THAT YOU COULD SUPPORT? OR IS IT SIMPLY ANYTHING PRESERVING THE B OR CBAC AND PAC IN SOME WAY WOULD NOT GET YOUR SUPPORT? I DON'T FEEL STRONGLY ENOUGH ABOUT IT EITHER WAY TO WANT TO SUPPORT SOMETHING THAT HAS A STRONG OPINION ON WHETHER THEY ARE OR, OR NOT MERGED. BUT I WOULD, I WOULD NOT BE INTERESTED IN PUSHING A RESOLUTION THAT SAYS, YES, GUNGHO MERGE IT, BUT I ALSO FEEL LIKE I'M NOT, I DON'T FEEL STRONGLY ENOUGH THE OTHER WAY EITHER TO LIKE SUPPORT A FORMAL RESOLUTION REGARDLESS. YEAH. AND, AND BECAUSE OF ALL THE PEOPLE THAT I VALUE ON THE BAC AND PAC AND ALL, MANY OF THE THINGS YOU SAID, LIKE, I WOULDN'T REALLY WANNA PASS A RESOLUTION THAT SAID MERGE THESE IMMEDIATELY WITH ALL HASTE KILL THE BAC AND PAC, THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, DOING SOMETHING HORRIBLE. LIKE, THIS IS CERTAINLY NOT HOW I FEEL ABOUT THEM. I, I THINK YOU KNOW THAT, SO, BUT I'M KIND OF IN THE MIDDLE. LIKE I DON'T, I'M JUST NOT REALLY STRONGLY FEELING LIKE I'M, LIKE, I FEEL THAT THERE COULD BE OPPORTUNITIES IF THERE'S A MERGER, AND I THINK YOU'RE RIGHT, IT MAY NOT REALLY BE A MERGER, BUT A, I DON'T WANNA SAY DISSOLUTION, LET'S SAY LACK OF REMOVAL OF CITY REMOVAL OF CITY STAFF SUPPORT REMOVAL, CITY SUPPORT OR RECOGNITION FOR THE BODIES WHICH MIGHT BE TANTAMOUNT TO A DISSOLUTION. I MEAN, I THINK I START TO THINK, WELL, WHAT WOULD BE THE OPPORTUNITIES ON UTC? I THINK WE HAVE A AGENDA PROBLEM THAT WE HAVE TO THINK THROUGH, NO DOUBT. UM, BUT, UM, I, I, I SEE THERE COULD BE OPPORTUNITIES, POSSIBLE OPPORTUNITIES WITH THAT FOR THIS BODY. AND I, I REALLY HAVE LONG WANTED TO SAY LIKE, I JUST THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT THIS BODY DOES HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS AS WE DO ON PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE MATTERS. SO, I MEAN, I THINK I'M, I'M OKAY WITH EITHER POSTPONING THIS FOR MARCH, BUT IT'S, IT FEELS UNCERTAIN TO ME THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE A DIFFERENT, SO I'M GONNA MAKE A MOTION TO INDEFINITELY POSTPONE THE RECOMMENDATION. 'CAUSE I DON'T WANT, IT SOUNDS LIKE NOBODY, OH, SORRY, GO AHEAD. THERE'S, SORRY, I, I, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS MAKES SENSE, BUT I WONDER COULD WE, UH, AMEND THE RECOMMENDATION RATHER THAN SUGGEST THAT THEY, UM, THAT THEY DON'T MERGE. BUT, UH, I DO AGREE WITH THE PART ABOUT DON'T RENAME IT THE URBAN MOBILITY COMMISSION 'CAUSE THAT JUST FEELS LIKE LAZY. UM, BUT CAN WE AMEND THIS TO SAY THAT WE RECOMME OR THAT WE CAN, WE SOMEHOW ASK THE CITY TO EVALUATE THE VALIDITY OF THE SUGGESTION THAT THESE THINGS MERGE? BECAUSE SPENCER, YOU SEEM TO FEEL STRONGLY AND HAVE SOME FACTUAL BASIS THAT THE CITY COUNCIL OR THE CITY ITSELF DOES [02:25:01] NOT HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO DICTATE WHAT THE BAC OR THE PAC DOES. AND I HAVE NOT READ THE FINE PRINT OF THE CODES, I CONFESS. UM, BUT IF THAT MAY BUZZ SOME TIME TO COME BACK TO A DISCUSSION ABOUT, YOU KNOW, MAYBE HOW WE BETTER DEFINE OUR SCOPE, UM, BECAUSE I DO THINK THAT IS BROAD, COULD THAT SERVE TO, YOU KNOW, KNOW, KEEP THIS MATTER OPEN WITHOUT NECESSARILY KILLING IT OR NOT KILLING IT? WELL, I, I MEAN THAT'S KIND OF WHAT I INTENDED FOR THIS RECORD. POLITICALLY IMMOBILE , OH, SORRY, I CUT YOU OFF THERE. OBJECTION. THAT'S OKAY. I WAS JUST LAUGHING. IF WE, AT A VERY, LIKE, POLITICAL, YOU DO NOTHING, I MEAN, THAT'S, AND MAYBE IT'LL GET BETTER. THAT'S REALLY WHAT I WAS INTENDING WITH THAT. THIRD BE IT RESOLVED, IS THAT WE CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION AND BETTER DELINEATE THE RULES, RIGHT? I THINK IF WE, IF THE CITY COUNCIL GO AHEAD AND MAKES A DECISION IN FEBRUARY AND MARCH, THEN THE CONVERSATION IS OVER, RIGHT? I THINK THE THIRD BE IT RESOLVED, LIKE , YOU KNOW, I GUESS WHAT I'M SAYING IS A, A VOTE TO CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION IS A VOTE TO SAY, CITY COUNCIL, PLEASE DON'T DO THIS. RIGHT? BECAUSE WELL, BUT I THINK WE COULD CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION IF THEY DO STILL DO IT. I, I, I WOULDN'T THINK THAT THE CONVERSATION STOPS HERE. I MEAN, I, I DO NOT, LIKE, I WOULD HOPE THAT IT WOULDN'T, LIKE, I HOPE WHATEVER WERE TO COME FROM THAT WE WOULD STILL WELCOME. LIKE LOOKING AT, AND TO YOUR POINT, LIKE LOOKING AT THE OPERATIONS, LIKE LOOKING AT BYLAWS, LIKE REALLY THINKING THROUGH, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS ON OUR AGENDA, HOW, YOU KNOW, AND THEN, AND PUTTING LIMITS ON US, RIGHT? LIKE SOMETIMES I THINK THAT'S WHY I DON'T, I WON'T REPEAT SOMETIMES. AND I'M LIKE, YES, I AGREE, BUT I'M LIKE, WELL, I'M NOT GONNA REPEAT THE SAME THING BECAUSE YOU JUST SAID IT, RIGHT? OR X, Y, Z. AND SO I THINK WE CAN BE MORE EFFICIENT IN OUR MEETINGS AND WE COULD BE MORE EFFICIENT IN, IF STAFF IS GONNA COME TALK TO US ABOUT A PARTICULAR ITEM, WHAT IS OUR ACTION ON THAT? LIKE, WHY DO WE NEED THEM TO COME? IS IT JUST BECAUSE WE WANT TO HEAR, OR IS IT BECAUSE WE REALLY WANNA THINK THROUGH WHAT THAT IMPACT'S GONNA HAPPEN ON OUR CITY AND OUR COMMUNITIES? AND SO I THINK I, I DON'T THINK THE CONVERSATION DOES LIKE, STOP HERE BECAUSE OF THIS. I JUST DON'T THINK IF, I PERSONALLY DON'T WANT TO SAY, LET'S MOVE THIS TO MARCH, BECAUSE THEN THAT'S JUST A MARCH ISSUE, RIGHT? THEN WE'RE JUST KIND OF KICKING IT DOWN THE CAN. AND AT THIS POINT I THINK WE, WE SHOULD VOTE ON THIS. SEE WHAT MAY COME. 'CAUSE WHO KNOWS, CITY COUNCIL COULD MAKE A DIFFERENT DECISION, RIGHT? LIKE THEY COULD COME BACK AND SAY NO OR WHATEVER. I DON'T SEE A SCENARIO WHERE THE CITY COUNCIL VOTES TO GO AHEAD WITH THE CURRENT PLAN AND THEN WE SAY, ACTUALLY WE WOULD LIKE TO BRING BACK THE PAC OR BAC IN THIS WAY. AND THEN WE GO THROUGH THE PROCESS OF GETTING ANOTHER COUNCIL ITEM TO, NO, THAT'S A MULTI PROCESS. NO, I'M NOT SAYING BRING THEM BACK LIKE AS AN ENTITY. I'M SAYING BRING THE IDEAS, THE TOPICS, THE CONVERSATIONS TO EMBED WITHIN THE UTCA LITTLE BIT MORE. THAT'S WHAT I THINK. I MEAN, I, I MEAN IF IT DOES END UP GETTING DIS DISSOLVED, THEN I THINK THE FIRST THING I'M GONNA BRING IS A BYLAW AMENDMENT FOR US TO RECREATE THE BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN COMMITTEE. 'CAUSE I DON'T SEE A WAY FOR US TO HANDLE THE WORKLOAD WITHOUT THAT. BUT, UM, THERE'S ALSO, LIKE THEY MAKE, THE COMMITTEES ARE SUBJECT TO TOMA. THEY ARE, YEAH. AND WE'D HAVE TO GET APPROVED BY AUDIT AND FINANCE. COULD, YEAH. CAN I MAKE A MOTION TO AMEND THIS RESOLUTION TO JUST REMOVE THE FIRST NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED AND GO FORTH WITH THE OTHER, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED. I WOULD SUPPORT THAT. YEAH. SO, SO IF I UNDERSTOOD YOU COMMISSIONER BUFFET, YOU WANNA YES. STRIKE EVERYTHING EXCEPT FOR THE SECOND, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, WHICH WOULD JUST THEN BE THE, BE THE BE IT RESOLVED. OH, I MISHEARD THAT. I THOUGHT NO, MAYBE I MISUNDERSTOOD. JUST THE FIRST ONE. WHAT I'M, STRIKE THE FIRST, WHAT I MEANT WAS TO STRIKE QUOTE, NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE UTC FOR THE REASONS LISTED ABOVE, RECOMMENDS THAT CITY COUNCIL NOT MERGE THE PAC AND THE PAC WITH THE UTC. JUST STRIKE THAT PHRASE. AND WHERE IT SAYS IN THE NEXT ONE, WHERE IT SAYS, BE IT FOR THE RESOLVED THAT THE UTC RECOMMENDS THE CITY COUNCIL NOT RENAME, MAKE THAT THE FIRST, NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED AND THEN CONTINUE WITH THE 1, 2, 3 PARAGRAPHS THAT CO THAT FINISHED THE WHOLE THING. I'LL SECOND THAT QUESTION, SO JUST STRIKE OUT THAT QUESTION. OKAY, SO I THINK I GOT THAT. I'M GONNA REPEAT IT BACK. SO BASICALLY WE'RE JUST STRIKING THE FIRST, NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED AND THEN THE NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED WOULD THEN APPEAR BEFORE THE UTC RECOMMENDS CITY COUNCIL NOT RENAME UTC. YES. AND UM, SO IT'S REMOVING A RECOMMENDATION NOT TO MERGE, BUT IT'S SORT OF PROVIDING INFORMATION AND CONTEXT ON WHY BAC AND PAC EXIST, WHAT THEY DO, HOW IT MAY BE DIFFERENT THAN WHAT UTC DOES, AND THAT WE'RE COMMITTED TO [02:30:01] THINKING THROUGH, MAKE IT EASIER ON EVERYONE YEAH. WHAT WE DO GOING FORWARD. BUT EVERYTHING ELSE ON THE OTHER FURTHER BE IT RESOLVES, IT TALKS ABOUT THE PACK BACKPACK AND WORKING WITH THE, THE ENTITIES, LIKE OFFICIAL ENTITIES. BUT THAT OF COURSE BECOMES WE REMOVE THAT, CAN'T I? JUST, IT'S JUST, IT'S ICKY. IT'S LIKE, IT'S JUST TOO MUCH. LIKE I THINK IF, IF WE'RE GONNA REMOVE THAT, YOU HAVE TO REALLY LOOK AT THOSE OTHER ONES BECAUSE THE LANGUAGE OF THAT IS LOOKING AT THE PACK IN THE BACK AS, AS ORGANIZATIONS, AS WHAT THEY DO, WHAT THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS ARE. SO IF WE REMOVE THAT, IT JUST DOESN'T, IT'S, BUT IF THE CITY, THE CITY COUNCIL'S GONNA MAKE THEIR DECISION BEFORE WE HAVE TO DO ANYTHING, THIS COMMITS US TO, SO IF THE CITY COUNCIL MAKES THE DECISION IN MARCH TO STOP RECOGNIZING THE BAC AND PAC, THAT'S THE END OF IT, RIGHT? THEN THIS IS A MOOT POINT, RIGHT? LET'S, IN THE EVENT, LET'S JUST VOTE ON THE ACTUAL RE RESOLUTION THEN. LIKE, WHY ARE WE TRYING TO AMEND SOMETHING IF, BECAUSE I THINK THIS WOULD, I THINK, I, I THINK IN FAIRNESS THAT COMMISSIONER BUFFET, I THINK THIS WOULD REALLY ACCURATELY PORTRAY PROBABLY FROM WHAT I'M HEARING, WHERE THIS COMMISSION IS WHERE WE SEE THE VALUE IN THE BAC AND PAC, BUT WE'RE NOT WILLING TO SAY ONE WAY OR THE OTHER IF THE CITY COUNCIL SHOULD KEEP THEM OR IF THE CITY COUNCIL SHOULD REMAIN. BUT I THINK SOME OF US ARE, WELL, LET'S TAKE A VOTE ON THIS MOTION. SO, WELL, ON WHICH MOTION TO STRIKE THE, THE FIRST BEING RESOLVED? YEAH, WE HAVE, SO, SO THROUGH THE RULES OF ORDER. SO WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND TO STRIKE THAT, BE IT RESOLVED. AND SO WE WOULD VOTE TO AMEND THE BASE IF YOU DON'T AGREE WITH THAT AMENDMENT AND WOULD RATHER TAKE IT ON THE ORIGINAL. WE'LL SEE HOW THAT VOTE PLAYS OUT, AND THEN WE'LL VOTE ON IT. IF THE AMENDMENT PASSES, THEN WE VOTE ON THE ENTIRE THING AS AMENDED, OR IF THE AMENDMENT DOESN'T PASS, UM, THEN WE WE'RE BACK TO THE ORIGINAL VERSION AND TAKING AN UPPER DOWN VOTE ON THAT. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? YES. SO I MEAN, I, I DON'T KNOW. SOMETIMES WE KNOW HOW THINGS WILL PLAY OUT AND SOMETIMES WE DON'T. I DON'T, I DON'T, YOU KNOW, SO I, SO WE, UH, HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND. UM, I DO THINK THAT I, I THINK I WONDER IF ON THE ONE WHERE IT'S FURTHER RESOLVED, UTC COMMITS TO WORKING WITH BAC AND OR CITY STAFF BECAUSE THAT KIND OF LEAVES OPEN THE POSSIBILITY THAT IF B-A-B-A-C AND PAC CONTINUE TO EXIST, WE WORK WITH THEM IF THEY DON'T CONTINUE TO EXIST. WE WORK WITH CITY STAFF TO DISCUSS WHAT BAP AND PAC USED TO DO WITH CITY STAFF. DOES THAT, I'M FINE WITH THAT AS AN AMENDMENT. OKAY. SO I'LL, I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO AMEND THAT, BE IT RESOLVED. SO IT WILL SAY NOW BE IT FOR THE RESOLVED, THE UTC COMMITS TO WORKING WITH THE BAC AND SUSAN. SUSAN, I'M SORRY, THIS IS AN AMENDMENT TO THE AMENDMENT. NO, IT'S A SECOND AMENDMENT. OH, WE HAVEN'T VOTED ON, VOTED ON THE FIRST AMENDMENT. I THOUGHT YOU WERE, I'M SORRY. LET'S, LET'S, LET'S DO THE FIRST AMENDMENT. OKAY. OKAY. THE FIRST AMENDMENT IS SIM SIMPLY TO STRIKE THE FIRST, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED. AND I GUESS ALSO PUT THE, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, MOVE THAT DOWN. SO IF YOU'RE IN FAVOR OF THAT AMENDMENT, PLEASE VOTE YES RIGHT NOW. AYE, RAISE YOUR HAND OR, YES, THAT WAS HEATHER. THIS WAS HEATHER, YEAH. OKAY. CAN YOU MAKE SURE, CAN YOU READ OUT WHICH ONE I'M VOTING FOR OR AGAINST? READ OUT THOSE WHO ARE VOTING FOR NO, NO, NO. READ OUT THE AMENDMENT. OH, OH, YES. UM, THIS MOTION IS AMENDMENT TO STRIKE THE FIRST, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED. NOW THAT, WHICH I'LL READ NOW, NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE UTC FOR THE REASONS LISTED ABOVE, RECOMMENDS THE CITY COUNCIL NOT MERGE THE BAC AND PAC WITH THE UTC. SO WE'RE STRIKING THAT CLAUSE WITH THAT JUST EDIT, WE WOULD PUT THE, THE NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED IN FRONT OF THE SECOND PIECE, WHICH SAID, WHICH SAID, NOW THERE BE, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, UTC RECOMMENDS THE CITY COUNCIL NOT RENAME THE UTC. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? THAT'S JUST A TEXT EDIT. SO THAT'S THE, THE SUBSTANTIVE THING IS STRIKING THE FIRST, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED. SO WE'RE TAKING A VOTE ON THAT. I'LL GIVE PEOPLE TIME TO THINK ABOUT THAT. BUT ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THAT AMENDMENT. OKAY. AND HEATHER, YOU WERE YES. EARLIER. ARE YOU STILL? YES. YES. OKAY. AND THEN THOSE OPPOSED, WE HAVE TWO OPPOSED. SO THAT, THAT DOES AMEND THE RECOMMENDATION, PROPOSED RECOMMENDATION, AND THEN I'LL MAKE MY RECOMMENDATION, WHICH IS REALLY SORT OF A CLARIFICATION DEPENDING ON THE ACTION THAT CITY COUNCIL WOULD CHOOSE TO TAKE. SO THIS IS ON WHAT'S WAS THE THIRD, BUT NOW THE SECOND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED OR WHAT I GUESS WAS THE SECOND, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED. NOW THE FIRST, UH, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT THE UTC COMMITS TO WORKING WITH THE BAC AND PAC TO IMPROVE COMMUNICATION, REDUCE IMPACTS AND SO ON, THAT WOULD NOW READ THE UTC COMMITS TO WORKING WITH THE [02:35:01] BA, C AND PAC AND OR CITY STAFF TO IMPROVE COMMUNICATION, REDUCE IMPACTS ON STAFF TIME BETTER TO FIND THE RELATIONSHIP. MM-HMM . I'LL SECOND THAT. THANK YOU. OKAY, LET'S VOTE ON THAT UNLESS THERE'S DISCUSSION, WHICH I KIND OF DOUBT. SO ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THAT, UM, UH, AMENDMENT? YES. AGAIN. OKAY. AND, UH, THOSE OPPOSED, WE, OKAY, TWO COMMISSIONER BROOKS, HOW ARE YOU VOTING? YOU VOTED FOUR. YOU VOTED, YOU VOTED FOUR. OKAY, SO AGAIN, THAT'S TWO, TWO OPPOSED. COMMISSIONER ORTIZ AND COMMISSIONER ALVAREZ AND EVERYONE ELSE PRESENT VOTING IN FAVOR OF THAT AMENDMENT. SO UNLESS THERE'S FURTHER MOTIONS TO AMEND THIS, THAT TAKES US BACK TO THE OVERALL RECOMMENDATION AS AMENDED. I'LL JUST SAY I'M ACTUALLY VERY HAPPY WITH THIS COMPROMISE. I, I THINK THE RECOMMENDATION NOW READS WHAT IS HONESTLY THE OPINION OF THIS BODY. AND I, I HONESTLY KIND OF SURPRISED WE CAME TO THIS COMPROMISE. GO. YEAH, I THINK IT, I DON'T KNOW IF IT DOES PERSONALLY, TO BE HONEST. I, I FEEL LIKE THIS AMENDMENT IS, THESE AMENDMENTS ARE, UM, A WAY TO NOT FULLY SAY ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT IT, AND SO I THINK REALLY IT'S, I I, I DON'T KNOW. I'M STILL, I WILL TELL THIS LIKE I'M STILL GONNA VOTE OPPOSING EVEN WITH THE AMENDMENTS, MAINLY BECAUSE IT STILL DOES NOT GET TO WHAT IS LIKE, WHAT IS THE END RESULT? WHAT IS OUR TRUE RECOMMENDATION, UM, KIND OF MOVING FORWARD. SO I, I JUST WANNA, I APPRECIATE THAT. IT'S DEFINITELY JUST KIND OF LIKE A, IT'S LIKE, OH, THAT WAS A GOOD PLAY. UM, BUT YOU KNOW, REALLY WHAT IS LIKE, YEAH, I WAS LIKE A HAIL MARY. I'M REALLY APPRECIATIVE OF THAT. I WILL SAY, I DO THINK WHAT I LIKE ABOUT IT IS IT PROVIDES A LOT OF HISTORICAL CONTEXT TO THE CITY COUNCIL AND, AND COMMITTEE OF CITY COUNCIL, THE AUDIT AND FINANCE SO THAT THEY CAN, YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE A, IT'S A GREAT JOB TO COMMISSIONER SCHUMACHER AND REALLY GIVING A DEEP DIVE VERY QUICKLY ON THE HISTORY AND REASONING RATIONALE BEHIND WHY THESE WERE CREATED AND THE WORK THAT THEY DO. AND SO I THINK THAT THAT COULD BE HELPFUL TO THE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS. AND, UM, SO I AGREE IT'S, IT'S NOT, MAYBE THERE'S NOT A LOT OF SUBSTANCE IN THE RECOMMENDATION, BUT I'M OKAY WITH FORWARDING IT SORT OF AS INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES. SO PERSONALLY, SO, UM, I GUESS I'LL, I'LL CALL FOR A VOTE ON THAT, RIGHT? OH WAIT, UM, I, I WAS BABBLING SO MUCH THAT I THINK THAT SOMETHING I SAID MIGHT HAVE GOTTEN LOST. I AM INTERESTED IN MAYBE A LITTLE BIT MORE BOND OVERSIGHT AND I WAS WONDERING AND WANT TO TAKE A TEMPERATURE TO SEE IF THIS IS WORTH DOING ANYTHING ABOUT. HOW DO WE FEEL TO, TO BE HONEST, I THINK WE NEED TO BRING A RECOMMENDATION IN MARCH. 'CAUSE CITY COUNCIL IS CURRENTLY CONSIDERING MOVING THE BOND ADVISORY TASK FORCE'S RESPONSIBILITY TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION. SO IF WE WANT THAT, I THINK WE NEED TO STICK OUR HAND OUT IN MARCH AND SAY, YEAH, I THINK WE SHOULD. I THINK THAT'S NOT POST-IT. SO I THINK WE SHOULD TALK ABOUT IT IN FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. OKAY, THERE WE GO. OKAY. UM, SO, UM, ALRIGHT. I WOULD LIKE TO CALL FOR A VOTE ON THIS AS AMENDED. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND OR SAY A, WAS THERE A SECOND TO MOVE TO THAT? OH, YES, BECAUSE WE HAD TO DO, WE HAD TO HAVE A SECOND TO TAKE IT UP. OKAY, GOT IT. YEP. UM, SO I'M COUNTING THE VOTES. UH, YES. OKAY. HEATHER'S? YES. RUBEN'S? YES. UM, DANIEL'S? YES. YES. OKAY. UM, SO, AND THEN THOSE OPPOSED COMMISSIONER ORTIZ AND, UH, COMMISSIONER ALVAREZ. SO THAT DOES PASS, UH, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 TO TWO IF I CAN COUNT. DID I COUNT RIGHT? YEAH. OKAY. UM, YEAH, THANKS GUYS. UM, IRONICALLY SOMETIMES WHEN WE HAVE DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS, I FEEL EVEN BETTER BECAUSE IT GIVES ME CONFIDENCE IN THE CIVIC FUTURE OF OUR SOCIETY, WHICH I THINK IS REALLY NEEDED RIGHT NOW. SO I'M REALLY APPRECIATIVE OF Y'ALL BEING HERE WITH ME TODAY. UM, LET US GO THROUGH OUR COMMITTEE UPDATES. I WILL NOTICE, UM, WE'RE POST-IT FOR UPDATES PRETTY MUCH FROM THE MOST RECENT ROUND OF MEETINGS. I DO WANNA RECOGNIZE THAT WE, UM, DID NOT MEET IN JANUARY, BUT WE'RE NOT POSTED TO REPORT ON OTHER MEETINGS, SO WE CAN ONLY REPORT ON THE MEETINGS THAT ARE POSTED. SO, UM, I WILL START WITH THAT. SO, UM, ITEM NUMBER FIVE, [5. Update from Commissioner Schumacher from the Downtown Commission regarding actions taken at the January 15, 2025 meeting] UPDATE FROM COMMISSIONER SCHUMACHER ON THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION REGARDING ACTIONS TAKEN AT THEIR JANUARY 15TH, 2025 MEETING. SO, UM, ONE ACTION ITEM THAT IS, UM, DEFINITELY RELEVANT. WELL, FIRST I WOULD SAY, UM, PRESENTATIONS ON WATERLOO GREENWAY AND EAST SIXTH STREET CLOSURES THAT I THINK WOULD BE RELEVANT TO FOLKS. UM, BUT THERE'S [02:40:01] ALSO A RECOMMENDATION ABOUT SAFETY BARRICADES AND, UH, PEDESTRIAN INFRASTRUCTURE. I THINK YOU COULD SAY HARDENING PEDESTRIAN INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, THAT I THINK FOLKS WOULD CERTAINLY FIND INTERESTING. GREAT, THANK YOU. ITEM SIX, UPDATE [6. Update from Commissioner Wheeler from the Joint Sustainability Commission regarding actions taken at the January 22, 2025 meeting ] FROM COMMISSIONER WHEELER ON THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION REGARDING ACTIONS TAKEN AT THE JANUARY 22ND, 2025 MEETING. SHE LEFT. SHE LEFT. OKAY. SO WE'RE GONNA SKIP THAT. UM, ITEM NUMBER [7. Update from Commissioner Schumacher from the Bicycle Advisory Council regarding actions taken at the January 21, 2025 meeting] SEVEN, UPDATE FROM COMMISSIONER SCHUMACHER FROM THE BICYCLE ADVISORY COUNCIL REGARDING ACTIONS TAKEN AT THE JANUARY 21ST, UH, 2025 MEETING. THE BICYCLE ADVISORY COUNCIL, UH, PASSED A RECOMMENDATION ABOUT THE REORGANIZATION OF CERTAIN BOARDS, UH, COMMISSIONS AND ASSOCIATED ENTITIES AND RECEIVED A NOT AT ALL REDUNDANT UPDATE FROM EGP ON PROJECT CONNECT . THANK YOU. UM, ITEM NUMBER EIGHT, UPDATE [8. Update from Commissioner Kavelman from the Pedestrian Advisory Council regarding actions taken at the February 3, 2025 meeting] FROM COMMISSIONER VALMAN FROM THE PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COUNCIL REGARDING ACTIONS TAKEN AT THE FEBRUARY 3RD, 2025 MEETING. UM, THE PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COUNCIL HAD A BRIEFING FROM A TP ON LIGHT RAIL AND A RESOLUTION ABOUT THE MERGER OF THE VARIOUS BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS. UM, GREAT, THANK YOU. UM, SO THEN ITEM NUMBER [9. Update from Chair Somers from the City Council Mobility Committee regarding actions taken at the January 23, 2025 meeting] NINE IS UPDATE FROM CHAIR SUMMERS. THAT'S ME REGARDING THE, UM, CITY COUNCIL MOBILITY COMMITTEE REGARDING ACTIONS TAKEN AT THE JANUARY 23RD, 2025 MEETING. SO I DID GO AND REPORT ON OUR DECEMBER MEETING WHERE WE DID, UM, YOU KNOW, IN DECEMBER WE PASSED, UM, THE RESOLUTION, UM, OH GOSH, AROUND, UM, WELL, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE DID IN DECEMBER, HOPEFULLY . YEAH, I'M LIKE, SO LIKE, UM, ON THE RECOMMENDATION ON THE CONGRESS AVENUE URBAN DESIGN INITIATIVE AND ALSO THE FACT THAT WE FORWARDED OUR RE UM, OUR OLDER RECOMMENDATION TO CAMPO. I ACTUALLY NEED TO FOLLOW UP, I'LL SHARE WITH Y'ALL. I WANNA FOLLOW UP AND ACTUALLY SEND THAT RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL. I DON'T KNOW THAT THEY'VE BEEN SENT THAT, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO GET THAT IN THEIR HANDS SO THAT THEY SEE THAT EVEN THOUGH IT'S AN OLD RECOMMENDATION, PROBABLY A LOT OF THEM HAVEN'T SEEN IT OR FORGOT IT OR WEREN'T ELECTED AT THAT TIME OR WHATEVER. OH, YES. WEREN'T ELECTED AT THAT TIME. YEAH. SO I THINK, UM, IT WOULD BE GREAT TO GET THAT TO THEM AND JUST LET THEM KNOW, HEY, THIS IS WHAT, THIS IS AN OLDER RECOMMENDATION, BUT WE DID SUBMIT THAT AS OFFICIAL COMMENT FOR CAMPO, UM, 2050. UM, UH, I DID NOT STAY FOR THE MOBILITY COMMITTEE, SO THIS IS ONE THING WITH THE TIMING OF THE MOBILITY COMMITTEE, IT'S LIKE SMACK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WORKDAY, SO I DON'T ALWAYS GET TO STAY AND LISTEN TO ALL THEIR AGENDAS. SO I NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB OF LIKE PREPARING MYSELF FOR THIS, UM, WITH THEM. BUT LOOKING AT THEIR MEETING, UM, THEY DID HAVE, UM, CONGRESS AVENUE URBAN DESIGN AND THEY HAD LIVING STREETS PROGRAM UPDATES, THE BOND CORRIDOR CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM UPDATES, UM, AND OTHER, UM, ONGOING MOBILITY, UH, PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS IN THE CENTRAL TEXAS REGION. SO, UM, A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE'VE ALSO SEEN RECENTLY. UM, , SPEAKING OF REDUNDANCY. OKAY. THEN NUMBER 10, UPDATE FROM [10. Update from Chair Somers from the Community Advisory Committee for Austin Transit Partnership Board regarding actions taken at the January 9, 2025 meeting] ME REGARDING THE, UM, UH, UH, CHAIR SUMMERS FROM THE, UH, COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP BOARD REGARDING ACTIONS TAKEN AT OUR JANUARY 9TH, 2025 MEETING. SO, UM, ON THAT AGENDA, UM, WE, UM, HEARD THE AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL AND D-E-I-D-E DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT BACKGROUND. THAT WAS JUST, UM, DAYS, LIKE TWO DAYS BEFORE THE DEIS PUBLISHED. SO WE DIDN'T GET INTO THE WEEDS ON THAT, BUT WE HEARD A LITTLE, A MUCH MORE DETAILED, UH, INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT THE DEIS IS AND THE FINAL E-I-E-I-S AND LIKE THE ENTIRE FEDERAL PERMITTING APPROVAL PROCESS. SO IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN GETTING SOME BACKGROUND OF THAT, THAT COULD BE INTERESTING. WE ALSO HEARD ABOUT CHANGES TO CAP METRO'S FAIR PAYMENT SYSTEM, UM, WHICH WAS REALLY, REALLY INTERESTING JUST FROM LIKE A LOGISTICS, I JUST WAS EXTRAORDINARY, LIKE REALIZING HOW COMPLICATED THE FAIR PAYMENT SYSTEM IS AND SOME OF THE CHANGES THAT THEY'RE GONNA HOPEFULLY MAKE TO STREAMLINE AND MAKE IT SIMPLER FOR EVERYONE. SO IF YOU RIDE THE BUS, I DEFINITELY RECOMMEND CHECKING THAT OUT. UM, OKAY, SO THAT DOES [FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS] BRING US TO FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. I DON'T THINK, DID WE HAVE IN HERE A GRID OF THE FUTURE ITEMS? I'M GONNA LOOK TO STAFF HERE. UM, SOMETIMES WE HAVE LIKE A SHEET WITH SOME OF PROPOSED FUTURE ITEMS. I, HERE'S WHAT I KNOW WE, WE NEED TO DO, AND SOME OF Y'ALL ARE GONNA HAVE TO HELP ME FOR MARCH. SO WE HAVE, I WE'RE GONNA HAVE AN ITEM ON I 35. DO YOU WANNA, WE TALKED ABOUT THAT. DO YOU WANNA SPEAK TO WHAT THAT IS A LITTLE BIT MORE? YEAH, I THINK THERE'S SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT, AS WE, THE CITY COUNCIL MAKES A DECISION AROUND CAPS, UM, TRYING TO INTEGRATE THE DESIGN OF THOSE FRONTAGE ROADS AND TRYING [02:45:01] TO MAKE THEM AS PEDESTRIAN HOSPITABLE AS POSSIBLE, UM, INTO THOSE DESIGNS. YEAH. IS ESSENTIALLY WHAT THAT RECOMMENDATION. YEAH. SO IT'S SORT OF LIKE A DESIGN ISSUE RELATING TO I 35. SO WE'RE GONNA TAKE THAT UP. IS THAT A PRESENTATION FOR THEM OR A RESOLUTION FROM US? IT'S A RESOLUTION FROM US, BUT THERE'S A, A COMMUNITY GROUP THAT'S SORT OF HELPING THAT HAS SORT OF HAS A PROPOSAL THAT THEY WOULD LIKE US TO CONSIDER IN A SENSE. OKAY. UM, I ALSO, I DUNNO THAT THIS'LL BE MARCH. UM, I, Y'ALL MAY KNOW THAT MOPAC IS ALSO COMING UP FOR SOME, UM, OH YEAH. IMPROVEMENTS, EXPANSION. SO, UM, WE ARE GONNA, I, I HAVE ON THE LIST FOR US TO, UH, TALK ABOUT THAT AT SOME POINT IN THE SPRING. UM, WE ALSO HAVE, UM, A LIVING STREETS UPDATE I THINK IS ON THE AGENDA FOR MARCH. BARRING, UM, OTHER THINGS COMING UP. UM, SPENCER, I FEEL LIKE THERE WAS SOMETHING THAT YOU HAD CORE TRANSPORTATION, AUSTIN CORE TRANSPORTATION I WAS ABOUT TO SAY THAT WAS JUST RELEASED, SO I'D ASSUME, I'M SURE THAT'S, I'M SURE THEY'RE ALREADY WORKING ON COMING HERE. IT'S ON THE PRESENTATION THAT THEY'RE COMING TO US. YEAH, AND I'M, I THINK WE SHOULD HAVE TIME. DOES STAFF KNOW WHEN CORE TRANSPORTATION PLAN IS GOING TO COUNCIL OFF THE TOP OF THEIR HEADS? IT'S ON, UM, I CAN LOOK THIS UP IF YOU COULD LOOK THAT FOR US. UM, BUT WE ALSO MAY HAVE A INITIAL RECOMMENDATION FROM THE BOND WORKING GROUP, BOND WORKING GROUP, AND WE ALSO SPEAKING OF OUR AGENDAS, UM, WE ALSO, I THINK WE MAY WANNA COME BACK FOR A BRIEF RECOMMENDATION, UM, ON, UH, BASED ON WHAT WE HEARD ON THE FOR, TO BE INCLUDED IN THE DRAFT EIS, UM, UH, FOR PROJECT CONNECT AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL. IF THERE IS A SUB QUORUM WORKING ON THAT, I WOULD DEFINITELY LIKE TO BE PART OF THAT. OKAY. I THINK WE CAN, UM, DEFINITELY THINK ABOUT THAT. UM, I'M INTERESTED IN THAT. YOU'RE INTERESTED IN THAT. IS ANYONE ELSE INTERESTED IN JUST LIKE TALKING US THROUGH THE, THE LIGHT RAIL RECOMMENDATION, RUBEN? MAYBE I, I WON'T BE ON THE COMMISSION AT THAT TIME, BUT I THINK YOU CAN STEP OUTSIDE COMMISSION MEMBERS AND CERTAINLY WE CAN DO THAT UL AND I WOULD BE HAPPY TO HELP. YEAH, I, AND I'M GONNA MAKE ONE, ONE, UH, ACTUALLY ANNOUNCEMENT AROUND THAT TOO. SO THAT'S A LOT OF STUFF. WAS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT'S LIKE MARCH, APRIL STUFF. AGAIN, I'VE GOT STUFF IN THE CHAMBER, BUT I'M GONNA KEEP IT THERE. OKAY. SINCE WE'RE GETTING STUFF. YEAH, YEAH. OKAY. IS THERE, DOES THAT ALL HAVE TO BE ON? NO, I DON'T THINK, FOR EXAMPLE, MOPAC I DON'T THINK WILL BE MARCH, BUT I JUST WANTED TO LET Y'ALL KNOW THAT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT'S ARISEN TO MY ATTENTION RECENTLY. SO I THINK THE 35 NEEDS TO BE IN MARCH, PROBABLY AUSTIN COURT TRANSPORTATION PLAN. IT'S GONNA COME FROM STAFF. THE, ANY LIGHT RAIL WRECK DOES NEED TO BE IN STAFF AND BOND AND THEN MAYBE LIVING STREETS. I DON'T KNOW, THAT COULD BE POSTPONED. I THINK THAT STAFF MEMBER IS PRETTY, PRETTY WILLING TO COME TO US ON A FLEXIBLE BASIS FROM MY UNDERSTANDING. SO I THINK WE CAN FIGURE IT OUT. UM, HOW MANY MEMBER, HOW MANY VOTING MEMBERS WILL YOU ACTUALLY, ARE YOU LIKELY TO HAVE? WELL, I, THIS IS WHAT I WANNA REMIND EVERYONE OF. SO I KNOW THAT FOLKS, SO I, I'M GONNA TRY TO SAY THIS VERY, WITH RESPECT FOR THE SERVICE OF OUR MEMBERS AND UNDERSTANDING THAT EVERYBODY'S IN A DIFFERENT PLACE WITH THEIR SERVICE. SO, UM, FIRST OF ALL, IF YOU ARE A COUNCIL MEMBER THAT WAS REELECTED AND YOU'RE DUE TO BE REAPPOINTED AND YOU WOULD LIKE TO CONTINUE SERVING, I WOULD LIKE TO REMIND YOU THAT YOU SHOULD LET YOUR COUNCIL MEMBER, YOUR APPOINTER KNOW, AND ALSO YOU WILL NEED TO SUBMIT A NEW APPLICATION TO REAPPLY FOR YOUR ROLE IN THE, WHAT IS IT CALLED? GRANT GRAN SYSTEM. SO MAKE SURE YOU'RE DOING THAT. I, MY CITY COUNCIL MEMBER ACTUALLY EMAILED ME, UH, HIS STAFF, I SHOULD SAY, EMAILED ME TODAY TO REMIND ME OF THAT. SO VERY IMPORTANT IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO CONTINUE YOUR SERVICE TO DO THAT. AND IT IS POSSIBLE. I, I PERSONALLY WAS APPOINTED BY ONE COUNCIL MEMBER. AN ELECTION HAPPENED AND THE SAME COUNCIL MEMBER APPOINTED ME. SO THAT MIGHT BE A POSSIBILITY DEPENDING ON THE SCENARIO. SO, UM, THAT SAID, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO KNOW. SO OUR TERMS, UM, ON URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION GENERALLY, I'M GONNA GET REALLY SPECIFIC ON THIS AND MAKE SURE I GET IT RIGHT. THEY DO END, I BELIEVE IT'S LIKE AT THE END OF, UM, UH, FEBRUARY. SO IT'S FEBRUARY 28TH. HOWEVER, IN THE LAW, THERE IS, I BELIEVE A FULL 90 DAY GRACE PERIOD THAT ALLOWS YOU TO CONTINUE SERVING UNTIL YOUR REPLACEMENT IS APPOINTED. AND SO WHAT THIS MEANS IS THAT IF, AND THAT MEANS THAT PERSON HAS TO BE APPOINTED AT A CITY COUNCIL MEETING, YOUR, AND ALSO HAS TO COMPLETE THE REQUIRED TRAINING ABOUT TOMA, WHICH THAT OFTEN THEY HAVE TO DO THAT WITHIN A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME AFTER THEY'RE APPOINTED. BUT IT'S CERTAINLY LIKE, NOT LIKE THEY GET APPOINTED AND THEN THE NEXT WEEK THEY'RE DOING THAT TRAINING. THEY'RE KIND OF GIVEN A LIST OF TRAINING DAYS AND THEN THEY CAN CHOOSE. SO A LOT OF TIMES WE DON'T HAVE THE NEW REPLACEMENT, UM, UH, PEOPLE IN UNTIL [02:50:01] MAY. SO A REMINDER THAT IF YOU ARE WILLING, AND I'M SAYING IF THAT, UM, UH, TO, TO SERVE WITHIN THAT 90 DAY GRACE PERIOD, YOU WOULD BE NOTIFIED WHEN YOUR REPLACEMENT IS READY TO GO FOR THE NEXT MEETING AND THEN YOU WOULD BE RELIEVED OF YOUR SERVICE. WE ALL ARE APPRECIATIVE OF THAT BECAUSE IT WILL CREATE QUORUM PROBLEMS IF PEOPLE COULD POTENTIALLY CREATE QUORUM PROBLEMS, I SHOULD SAY, IF PEOPLE CEASE ATTENDING. AT THE SAME TIME, IF YOU, WITH YOUR TIME AND NEEDS THAT YOU HAVE, DO NEED TO CEASE ATTENDING, I, WE DO UNDERSTAND THAT IT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL IF YOU WOULD EMAIL MYSELF, NATALIE, AND ANDRE, SO THAT WE'RE AWARE OF THAT WHEN WE ARE, UH, THINKING ABOUT QUORUM ISSUES. AND I KNOW AT LEAST ONE OF YOU ALREADY HAS. SO I WOULD LIKE TO RECOGNIZE YOU, COMMISSIONER ORTIZ, YOU'VE, UM, YOU ARE NOT REAPPLYING FOR APPLYING FOR REAPPOINTMENT AND YOU SAID THAT THIS WILL BE YOUR LAST MEETING. SO WE DO WANNA THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SERVICE AND THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND JUST THANK YOU TO EVERYONE. IT'S BEEN AN HONOR JUST SERVING ALONGSIDE ALL OF YOU. I'VE LEARNED A LOT. I THINK SOMETHING THAT WAS SAID TODAY, UH, THERE IS A BIG LEARNING CURVE IN SERVING ON THE UTC THAT IS VERY TRUE. AND JUST WANNA SAY THANK OPPOSITE. IT'S, IT'S BEEN A REALLY GREAT EXPERIENCE. BUT YES, TODAY IS MY LAST MEETING, SO THANK YOU. YEAH. AND I KNOW WE'LL SEE YOU AROUND. SO, SO FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO JUST, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE, IF YOU KNOW THAT YOU'RE NOT RETURNING, UM, PLEASE TAKE IT INTO CONSIDERATION OF THAT GRACE PERIOD. AND WHEN YOU'RE RELIEVED YOU, I THINK YOU'LL BE TOLD, LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE NEW PERSON WILL BE NOTIFIED THAT WHEN THE CLERK HAS CLEARED THEM FOR SERVICE, LIKE MAKE SURE THEY MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF SERVICE AND THAT THEY'VE DONE THE TRAINING, THEN THEY CONTACT THE STAFF LIAISON TO LET THEM KNOW. SO I DON'T THINK THERE'LL BE ANY UNCERTAINTY AROUND THAT FOR YOU. BUT IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, I'M SURE YOU CAN EMAIL AGAIN MYSELF AND ANDRE RIGHT NOW MAINLY. BUT, UM, YOU CAN ALWAYS COPY NATALIE, I'M SURE TOO. SHE'S JUST BUSY WITH OTHER THINGS RIGHT NOW. OKAY. UM, ALL RIGHT. SO ARE THERE ANY OTHER FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? YES. JUST TO ADD REAL QUICKLY, JIM DALE, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS, UM, MARCH 4TH, THE ACT PLAN WILL COME TO UTC MARCH 11TH, THERE'LL BE PLANNING COMMISSION. MARCH 21ST IS MOBILITY COMMITTEE, AND THEN AFTER THAT IT'S UNDECIDED OF WHEN IT WILL GO BACK TO COUNSEL. SO, BUT THAT WOULD BE THE NEXT STEP. SO NOT KNOWING NECESSARILY IF WE NEED TO HAVE A RECOMMENDATION READY IN MARCH OR IN APRIL. LIKE, BECAUSE SOMETIMES LIKE IT'S NOT THE CASE THAT WE, LIKE, WE HEAR SOMETHING, BUT WE, THAT'S, THAT'S PART OF OUR STRUGGLE TOO, IS LIKE SOMETIMES WE'RE NOT READY TO GO WITH A RECOMMENDATION. WE NEED TO HEAR ABOUT IT FIRST AND STEW ON IT A BIT. MM-HMM . BUT WE CAN SUSS THAT OUT A LITTLE BIT MORE BEFORE THAT MEETING AND BE READY IF WE NEED TO BE. I THINK WE'RE DOING BETTER ABOUT BEING READY FASTER, SO, 'CAUSE WE'RE AWESOME. ALL RIGHT. UM, DOES THAT MEAN WE PUT LIKE POSSIBLE ACTION ON IT? YEAH. OKAY. YEAH. AND POSSIBLE ACTION IS JUST THAT YOU CAN ALWAYS NOT TAKE AN ACTION. IT JUST MEANS YOU'RE ALLOWED TO TAKE AN ACTION. RIGHT. UM, WE'RE NOT . SO, UM, ALL RIGHT. WELL WITH THAT WE HAVE GOTTEN THROUGH OUR AGENDA. REALLY APPRECIATE EVERYONE'S TIME TODAY. AND IF I SEE NO OBJECTION, THEN I'LL ADJOURN THIS MEETING AT 7:58 PM WHAT'S THAT? ARE WE. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.