[00:00:01]
[CALL TO ORDER]
THEN WE WILL GO AHEAD AND CALL TO ORDER THE FEBRUARY 7TH MEETING OF THE MAYOR'S COMMITTEE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.AND, UH, I, FIRST THING ON THE AGENDA IS WE HAVE PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS, AND I THINK WE DO HAVE A SPEAKER TODAY.
IF WE COULD JUST DO ROLL FIRST.
I'LL DO ROLL, AND THEN WE CAN MOVE TO THAT.
WE'RE GONNA DO, UH, ROLL CALL FIRST.
ELIZABETH MEYER WON'T BE HERE.
LISA, IS YOUR AUDIO WORKING? YES.
[PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL]
TO PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.UM, I ONLY RECENTLY LEARNED OF THIS GROUP AND I WANNA THANK Y'ALL IN ADVANCE FOR THE WORK YOU'RE DOING AND FOR YOUR TIME.
MY NAME IS MELANIE GRACE BABBITT.
I'M HERE TODAY AS A COMMUNITY MEMBER, AS A LICENSED CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKER AND AS A UNION MEMBER WITH THE UNITED WORKERS OF INTEGRAL CARE.
I'VE WORKED IN PUBLIC MENTAL HEALTH FOR THE LAST 10 YEARS.
THE LAST FIVE YEARS I'VE WORKED SPECIFICALLY IN PUBLIC MENTAL HEALTH, SERVING PEOPLE WHO HAVE INTELLECTUAL OR DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES, COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS IDD.
ALL OF MY WORK HAS BEEN IN THIS CITY.
UM, I'M HERE TODAY BECAUSE AS A PUBLIC MENTAL HEALTH WORKER, I AM IN DAILY STATE OF SHOCK AT HOW HIGH THE NEEDS OF PEOPLE WITH IDD AND MENTAL HEALTH ARE IN TRAVIS COUNTY COMPARED TO HOW LITTLE PEOPLE SEEM TO BE TALKING ABOUT HOW TO ADDRESS THEM.
FOR EXAMPLE, DID Y'ALL SEE THE NEWS ARTICLE THIS WEEK REPORTING THAT A GROUP HOME STAFF MEMBER PUNCHED ONE PERSON WITH IDD IN THE HOME AND SEVERELY BURNED ANOTHER PERSON WITH IDD IN THE HOME? WE HAVEN'T READ IT YET.
UM, KEYWORDS, KVU, DISABLED AND SEVERELY BURNED.
THE ARTICLE POINTED OUT THAT THE GROUP HOME STAFF ARE PAID $10 AND 60 CENTS AN HOUR, AND FURTHER IMPLIED THAT THE ONLY PEOPLE WILLING TO WORK FOR THAT RATE ARE PEOPLE WITH FEW OTHER RESOURCES, SUCH AS PEOPLE WHO ARE BEING RECRUITED FROM HOMELESS SHELTERS.
THE PEOPLE WITH IDD LIVING IN THESE HOMES, THEY'RE NOT JUST CHILDREN THAT NEED TO BE WATCHED.
THEY ARE EXTREMELY MARGINALIZED ADULTS WITH COMPLEX NEEDS WHO ARE OVERLOOKED AND DISCRIMINATED IN ALMOST EVERY ASPECT OF SOCIETY.
MOST HAVE LONG HISTORIES OF TRAUMA DUE TO THAT STIGMATIZATION, AS WELL AS HIGH LEVELS OF UNMET MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS AND PHYSICAL HEALTH NEEDS.
AND THERE'S NO WAY THAT 10 OR EVEN $12 AN HOUR IS GOING TO ATTRACT THE QUALITY OF APPLICANTS NEEDED TO CARE FOR THEM.
CURRENTLY IN THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION, ADVOCATES ARE ASKING THAT THE RATE BE RAISED TO $18 AN HOUR.
UM, HOWEVER, THE CURRENT LEGISLATIVE DRAFT HAS THAT AT ONLY $12 AN HOUR.
SO I'M HERE TODAY BECAUSE I JUST WANTED TO BRING THIS TO EVERYONE'S ATTENTION.
I WANT PEOPLE TO BE TALKING ABOUT IT.
IF THE LEGISLATORS CAN'T CHANGE SOMETHING AT A STATE LEVEL, IS THERE SOMETHING THAT CAN BE DONE AT A CITY LEVEL? I'M HERE TODAY ASKING THAT THE CITY MAKE IT A PRIORITY.
THAT ATTENDANCE AND GROUP HOME STAFF FOR PEOPLE WITH IDD WHO LIVE IN GROUP HOMES THAT ARE LICENSED BY THE STATE, PUT SOMETHING BETTER IN PLACE TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN A WORKFORCE.
AND Y'ALL, JUST BY VIRTUE OF BEING IN THIS COMMITTEE, ARE IN POSITIONS OF POWER AND CAN CHANGE THINGS.
AND I'M HERE ASKING THAT YOU PLEASE DO THAT.
PLEASE USE YOUR P POWER TO MAKE IT A PRIORITY TO LEARN MORE ABOUT PEOPLE WITH IDD AND MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS, AND HOW TO PRIORITIZE MAKING THE CITY A BETTER PLACE FOR THEM TO LIVE.
THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR COMMENT.
WE'LL DEFINITELY KEEP THAT IN MIND AND THINK ABOUT SETTING THAT FOR A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM.
CAN I ASK A, A QUESTION? YEAH.
ARE, ARE YOU GOING TO SPEAK TO THE LEGISLATURE ABOUT THIS? I AM.
[00:05:01]
BE DONE ON A CITY LEVEL.THE ONLY TIME I'VE HEARD OF ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEING DONE ON A CITY LEVEL IS WHEN THE, UH, CITY PURCHASED THE AUSTIN HILTON HOTEL DOWNTOWN.
THEY DID A WAGE STUDY TO DETERMINE WHAT EVERYBODY IN THE HOTEL, WHAT THE, WHAT THE WAGES WERE FOR EVERYBODY, UH, IN EVERY DEPARTMENT, WHAT THE GOING RATE WAS FOR EVERYTHING.
SO UNLESS IT'S, UM, LIKE A CITY PROPERTY, I DON'T KNOW, AND GROUP HOMES AREN'T, UM, I THINK IT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE BROUGHT TO PEOPLE'S ATTENTION, BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW WE CAN, UM, DO ANYTHING ABOUT PLACES THAT AREN'T CITY PROPERTIES.
BUT, UM, ABSOLUTELY GO GET IT AT THE STATE LEGISLATURE.
AND I'LL, UH, ECHO WHAT COMMISSIONER POWELL SAID, BUT OF COURSE, IT'S SOMETHING WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO RAISE AWARENESS ON, EVEN IF WE CAN'T ACTUALLY RAISE THE FUNDING OURSELVES.
UM, SO WE'LL, YOU KNOW, WE CAN DEFINITELY EXPLORE WAYS TO DO THAT EFFECTIVELY.
UH, AND I KNOW THERE'S THE, I THINK THE SESSION JUST STARTED, RIGHT? SO WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME BEFORE THAT'LL COME UP TO VOTE.
SO, UH, I THINK WE CAN TRY AND BRAINSTORM WAYS TO ADVANCE THAT.
UM, AND COMMISSIONERS ONLINE AND IN PERSON, SINCE THIS ISN'T A POSTED AGENDA ITEM, WE CAN CERTAINLY BRING IT UP, UH, DURING FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS AND DISCUSS IT AT A FUTURE MEETING, BUT IT'S JUST PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.
UM, AND ALSO FOR THOSE ONLINE, BECAUSE WE WERE JUST AT QUORUM, IF YOU COULD PLEASE JUST KEEP YOUR CAMERAS ON PER OUR LEGAL DEPARTMENT'S ADVICE.
CAN I LEAVE MY EMAIL ADDRESS FOR ANYBODY WHO WANTS IT? YOU CAN SHARE IT WITH ME.
MY EMAIL IS ON THE AGENDA, AND THEN I CAN SEND IT OUT IF YOU WANNA SHARE IT.
AND THEN I THINK THE, I'LL WAIT FOR CHRISTIE.
WE NEED TO APPROVE THE DECEMBER 13TH MINUTES.
CHRISTIE, ARE YOU READY FOR THIS ONE? THE APPROVAL? OKAY.
[1. Approve the minutes of the Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities regular meeting on December 13, 2024.]
WE'RE NEXT, UH, ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS APPROVING THE DECEMBER 13TH, 2024 MINUTES.AND CAN WE JUST GET, CAN WE JUST DO A VOTE OF IRON A JUST NEED A MOTION IN A SECOND.
AND THEN I MOTION, I MOTION I MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.
AND IF EVERYBODY WANTS TO JUST RAISE THEIR HANDS, THAT MAY BE EASIER.
COMMISSIONER POWELL, ARE YOU ONLINE? OKAY, GREAT.
AND COMMISSIONER SALAZAR, YOU RAISED YOUR HAND AS WELL.
SORRY, IT'S A LITTLE HARD TO SEE.
[2. Staff briefing regarding the City of Austin emergency language access plan from the Communications and Public Information Office and the Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management]
TO THE STAFF BRIEFING FROM THE COMMUNICATION AND PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE AND THE OFFICE OF HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR COMING BACK THIS TIME.
WE APPRECIATE IT AND LOOK FORWARD TO THE PRESENTATION.
I'M THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MANAGER FOR COMMUNICATION AND PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE.
AND, UH, WAS ASKED TO DESCRIBE WHAT I'M WEARING, SO I WEAR SOMETHING CUTE.
SO IT IS AN ORGANZA, UH, BLOUSE WITH BLACK POCKET DOTS.
I AM THE ACTING PUBLIC INFORMATION AND MARKETING PROGRAM MANAGER FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S OFFICE OF HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
I AM A WHITE MALE IN HIS EARLY FORTIES WITH DISHWATER BLONDE HAIR.
I WEAR BLACK EYEGLASSES AND I AM WEARING A GRAY SUIT WITH A LIGHT BLUE SHIRT, A BRIGHT GREEN TIE, AND I HAVE ON A SILVER WEDDING RING.
AND MY NAME IS DAVID EL CORDA.
I AM A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SPECIALIST WITH HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
UM, I FOCUS ON LANGUAGE ACCESS, UH, AT HESSAM.
UM, I AM A HISPANIC MALE, UH, LONG BROWN HAIR, UM, AND WEARING A BLACK HE POLO AND KHAKI PANTS.
[00:10:11]
OOPS.DO START SAYING THANK YOU FOR INVITING US, AND THEN I PASS IT TO YOU.
THANK YOU ALL AGAIN FOR, FOR HAVING US THIS EVENING.
AND TONIGHT WE'LL BE PRESENTING TO YOU ABOUT THE, UH, LANGUAGE ACCESS PLAN FOR CITYWIDE EMERGENCIES.
UH, A LITTLE BACKGROUND ON THIS, UM, THE CITY AUDITOR CONDUCTED TWO AUDITS, UM, ONE IN 2016 AND ANOTHER IN 2021, INVOLVING LANGUAGE ACCESS SERVICES PROVIDED BY THE CITY, WHICH CULMINATED IN A SPECIAL REPORT IN STAFF RESPONSE.
THE AUDITS FOUND THAT THE CITY MAY NOT BE MEETING THE NEEDS OF ALL NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING AUSTINITES BECAUSE WRITTEN POLICIES DID NOT ALIGN WITH ACTUAL PRACTICE.
ADDITIONALLY, THE AUDITOR FOUND THAT THE CITY DID NOT EFFECTIVELY COMMUNICATE WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS BEFORE AND DURING WINTER STORM YURI BACK IN 2021, ESPECIALLY IN LANGUAGES OTHER THAN ENGLISH.
BECAUSE OF THIS, THE LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY, AUSTINITES MAY NOT HAVE HAD THE SAME ACCESS TO IMPORTANT INFORMATION, AND MAY HAVE BEEN DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED BY THE STORM RESULTING FROM THAT.
UM, AND I WILL PASS THIS ALONG TO MARIA TO CONTINUE ON WITH OUR PRESENTATION.
THIS PRESENTATION IS TYPICALLY DONE BY UMA GARBA KUMA.
ARVA GARBA IS OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CONSULTANT, AND SHE MANAGE OUR LANGUAGE ACCESS PROGRAM.
SO I'M GONNA DO MY BEST JOB IN EXPLAINING HER, UH, SIDE OF THE PRESENTATION.
SO THERE ARE THREE DEFINITIONS THAT ARE REALLY IMPORTANT TO KEEP IN MIND, AND I SEE THOSE CONFUSED OFTEN.
UH, WE HAVE TRANSLATIONS, WHICH IS THE GREETING WORD.
AN EXAMPLE WILL BE TRANSLATED THE CURRENT, UH, PRESENTATION THAT WE HAVE ON THE SCREEN, AND I HAVE IT ON PAPER INTO A PARTICULAR LANGUAGE SUCH AS SPANISH PERHAPS, OR PHILIPPINE.
THEN WE HAVE INTERPRETATION, JUST LIKE OUR FRIENDS RIGHT HERE FROM COMMUNICATION BY HAND ARE DOING.
AND THAT WILL BE A VERBAL EXPRESSION OF LANGUAGE.
SO MANY TIMES YOU WILL SEE HOW COMMUNITY IN GENERAL TALK ABOUT TRANSLATION ON BOTH GREETING AND WHEN IT'S VERBAL, BUT IN REALITY IS TWO DIFFERENT CONCEPTS.
THE NEXT, UH, CONCEPT THAT I THINK OR DEFINITION IMPORTANT TO KEEP IN MIND IS THRESHOLD LANGUAGE.
THE THRESHOLD LANGUAGES ARE BASICALLY THE MORE COMMON LANGUAGES IN OUR CITY.
WE DO THAT RESEARCH EVERY TWO, THREE YEARS, AND WE COME WITH THAT LIST AND WE CREATE A LIST THAT IS CALLED TIER ONE AND TIER TWO, TIER ONE BEING THE MOST COMMON LANGUAGES, TIER TWO, THE NEXT GROUP OF LANGUAGES.
IN THOSE LANGUAGES, OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE A SPANISH, KOREAN, PHILIPPINE, AND I CAN'T REMEMBER ALL THE LANGUAGES AT THIS TIME.
I THINK FRENCH IS INCLUDED, BUT THAT'S HOW WE CLASSIFY THE LANGUAGES.
TIER ONE AND TIER TWO, WE COME WITH A LIST WITH A NUMBER OF MECHANISM, INCLUDING THE CENSUS, THE SCHOOL DISTRICT'S INFORMATION, AS WELL AS SEVERAL NONPROFITS THAT HELP US UNDERSTAND WHAT'S THE LANGUAGE IN THE CITY ACCORDING TO MIGRATION.
AND SO THAT'S HOW WE COME WITH A LIST OF THRESHOLD LANGUAGES.
IF ANYBODY'S CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT THEY ARE, I WILL BE HAPPY TO SHARE THAT WITH CHRISTIE, AND SHE'LL SEND THOSE TO YOU.
THE NEXT CONCEPT THAT IS IMPORTANT TO DISCUSS IS THE LIMIT ENGLISH PROFICIENCY.
L-E-P-L-E-P IS A DESIGNATION FROM THE FEDERAL LEVEL, BUT IF YOU LIKE TO THINK ABOUT IS PEOPLE THAT HAVE A HARD TIME SPEAKING, READING OR WRITING IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE.
IT COULD BE THAT THEIR PREFERENCE ALSO ANOTHER LANGUAGE.
IN MY CASE, MY PREFERENCE IS SPANISH AS OPPOSED TO ENGLISH.
AND THERE ARE MANY WORDS THAT I, QUITE FRANKLY, I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND IN ENGLISH, BUT THAT'S WHAT IS CALLED UNLIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY.
SO I'M GONNA READ THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT I SAID IT CORRECTLY.
IT ALSO INCLUDE PEOPLE WITH AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE.
SO IT SAYS, INDIVIDUALS WHO COMMUNICATE WITH
[00:15:01]
AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE ARE COVERED IN THIS DEFINITION, ALTHOUGH OTHER FEDERAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS SUCH AS THE AMERICAN WITH DISABILITY ACT APPLY AND SHOULD BE CONSIDERED SEPARATELY.SO JUST TO CLASSIFY THAT, WE ALSO INCLUDE SIGN LANGUAGE AS PART OF OUR THRESHOLD LANGUAGES.
WHAT WE WILL PRESENT AFTER THIS SLIDE IS THE PLAN IS THE, IS OUR FIRST PLAN.
WE KNOW THERE'S GONNA BE IMPROVEMENTS AS WE PUT IT INTO ACTION.
BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING I WANT YOU ALL TO KEEP IN MIND IS THAT THIS WAS A COLLABORATION EFFORT.
AND I WANNA MAKE, UM, PUBLIC LIKE AUSTIN ENERGY, AUSTIN WATER, AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, AS WELL AS MANY NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION AND INDIVIDUALS IN THE COMMUNITY, EITHER PROVIDED IDEAS AT THE BEGINNING OR AT ONE POINT ONLY WHEN THEY READ THE PLAN AND PROVIDED FEEDBACK.
SO IT MAKE US VERY PROUD TO TELL YOU THAT IT'S NOT OUR ONLY WORK, IT'S A COLLECTIVE WORK FROM COMMUNITY AND MANY DEPARTMENTS.
WE JUST HAPPEN TO BE THE ONES ASKED TO PRESENT TODAY.
BUT IT'S DEFINITELY A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT.
THE PLAN WILL ALWAYS RECEIVE IMPROVEMENTS.
AND IF YOU EVER HAVE IDEAS ON HOW TO MAKE IT BETTER, YOU CAN ALWAYS SEND INFORMATION TO CHRISTIE.
CHRISTIE WILL SEND IT TO US, AND AS SOON AS WE'RE READY FOR THE NEXT REITERATION, WE WILL CONSIDER THAT FEEDBACK.
NOW I'M GONNA PASS IT TO DAVID.
UH, AGAIN, MY NAME IS DAVID ALCOR.
I'M A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SPECIALIST WITH HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
AND I WILL GO OVER HOW, UH, LIKE WHAT WERE THE ACTIVITIES THAT THE WORKING GROUP, UH, ENGAGED IN.
UH, THE FIRST THING THAT THE WORKING GROUP DID WAS GATHER ALL THE RELEVANT, UH, DATA REGARDING THE EXISTING CITY SERVICES, UH, AND THE COMMUNITIES THAT THE CITY SERVES.
A REVIEW OF THE CURRENT EMERGENCY LANGUAGE ACCESS PROCESSES WITHIN THE CITY WAS ALSO REQUIRED TO SEE WHERE WE WERE STARTING FROM A REVIEW OF THE EMERGENCY LANGUAGE ACCESS PLANS FROM VARIOUS CITIES AROUND THE, THE COUNTRY OF COMPARABLE SIZE WAS ALSO IMPORTANT.
SO WE COULD LOOK AT WHAT OTHER CITIES WERE DOING WELL AND MODEL OUR PLAN OFF OF THOSE BEST ASPECTS OF THEIR PLAN.
UH, WE ALSO ENGAGED IN CONSULTATIONS WITH EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS FROM VARIOUS CITIES.
AND WE REVIEWED, UH, CONTRACTED LANGUAGE ACCESS SERVICES AND EXISTING EMERGENCY LANGUAGE ACCESS SERVICE PROCESSES, INCLUDING AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE TRANSLATIONS AND INTERPRETATION SERVICES.
AND THEN LASTLY, BUT CER CERTAINLY NOT LAST.
UH, LAST, BUT NOT CERTAINLY, NOT LEAST, SORRY, DEVELOPING THE, THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S LANGUAGE ACCESS PLAN FOR CITYWIDE EMERGENCIES.
UH, SO WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS PLAN? UH, THE, SORRY.
THE PURPOSE OF THIS PLAN IS TO ESTABLISH A CITYWIDE LANGUAGE ACCESS PROTOCOL TO PROMOTE MEANINGFUL ACCESS TO PROGRAMS, ACTIVITIES, SERVICES, AND INFORMATION BOTH END DURING THE PREPARATION, THE EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND THE RECOVERY PHASE IN AN ACTIVATION, UH, SPECIFICALLY FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY AND PEOPLE WHO HAVE COMMUNICATIONS NEEDS.
UH, AND WE INCLUDE THOSE WHO ARE DEAF, THOSE DEAF BLIND AND HARD OF HEARING.
UH, THE FUNCTION OF THE PLAN ESTABLISHES ROLES, RESPONSIBILITIES, AND GUIDELINES TO ENSURE THE DISSEMINATION OF ACCURATE AND TIMELY INFORMATION TO INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE HAVE LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY AND TO DEAF, DEAF BLIND AND HARD OF HEARING INDIVIDUALS.
SO THE, THE CITY UTILIZES AN IMPORTANT ASSESSMENT TABLE, UH, TO DETERMINE WHAT LANGUAGES TO TRANSLATE SPECIFIC TYPES OF INFORMATION.
UH, THE EXAMPLE PROVIDED ON THE SLIDE SHOWS SHOWS THAT EMERGENCY ALERTS ARE, HAVE A CRITICAL PRIORITY LEVEL.
THAT IS BECAUSE THEY OBVIOUSLY HAVE A DIRECT IMPACT ON LIFE AND SAFETY TO OUR COMMUNITY.
SO WE ARE GOING TO TRANSLATE THOSE INTO ALL OF THE PRIORITY OR THE THRESHOLD LANGUAGES, SORRY, THAT THE CITY HAS IDENTIFIED.
UH, AS YOU CAN SEE THAT COMPARED TO A COMMUNITY MEETING AND PRESENTATION, WE MIGHT HAVE ONLY SPANISH AND AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE PROVIDED, AND WE MIGHT HAVE ADDITIONAL LANGUAGES IF WE HAVE HAD INDICATIONS FROM THE COMMUNITY THAT THEY WOULD, UH, REQUIRE ADDITIONAL LANGUAGES.
SO IT IS BASED ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE INFORMATION, AND THAT'S
[00:20:01]
HOW WE DETERMINE WHICH LANGUAGE TO TRANSLATE INTO.UM, SO NOW I'M GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE TRANSLATION SERVICES DURING AN EMERGENCY.
SO ACCORDING TO THE CITY'S LANGUAGE ACCESS POLICY, EMERGENCY RESPONSE MESSAGES AND SERVICES ARE CONSIDERED CRITICAL, AS I MENTIONED.
AND WE UTILIZE QUALIFIED VENDORS TO TRANSLATE THESE MESSAGES AND DOCUMENTS INTO THE CITY'S THRESHOLD LANGUAGES.
UH, THE CITY ACKNOWLEDGES THAT DUE TO THE NATURE OF TRANSLATION SERVICES, THERE MIGHT EXIST A TIME GAP FROM WHEN ENGLISH MESSAGING GOES OUT AND WHEN OTHER LANGUAGE MESSAGING GOES OUT.
UM, WE DO EVERYTHING WE CAN AND MAKE EVERY REASONABLE EFFORT AND USE VARIOUS STRATEGIES TO, UH, ENSURE THAT THE TRANSLATED MESSAGES ARE DISSEMINATED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
AND HE SO MAINTAINS A BANK OF PRE-WRITTEN TRANSLATED EMERGENCY MESSAGES FOR THE MOST COMMON EMERGENCIES EXPERIENCED IN AUSTIN.
UH, FOR INSTANCE, WE ACTIVATE COLD WEATHER SHELTERS RELATIVELY FREQUENTLY DURING THE WINTER.
SO WE HAVE A LOT OF THAT MESSAGE ALREADY, PRET TRANSLATED IN ALL OF THE THRESHOLD LANGUAGES, SO WE CAN POST THESE ALERTS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
NOW I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT INTERPRETATION SERVICES DURING AN EMERGENCY.
THE CITY OF AUSTIN TAKES ALL REASONABLE STEPS TO ENSURE THAT INTERPRETATION SERVICES ARE PROVIDED AT PUBLIC MEETINGS, ANY PUBLIC PROMOTIONS, ANNOUNCEMENTS, OR PRESS CONFERENCES, BOTH IN-PERSON AND VIRTUAL HOTLINE SERVICES AND SERVICE CENTERS, UM, AND ANY OTHER IN-PERSON AND VIRTUAL ENGAGEMENTS WITH THE PUBLIC THAT INVOLVE EMERGENCY OFFICIALS AND THE PROVISION OF CITY SERVICES.
CONSIDERING THAT ACCESSIBLE COMMUNICATIONS NEEDS, POPULATIONS, AND USES OF AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE ARE AMONG THE MOST VULNERABLE PEOPLE IN EMERGENCY STRIKE, CPIO WORKS TO PROVIDE A SL SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETATION FOR ALL PRESS CONFERENCES RELATED TO A CRISIS DEPARTMENTS LIKELY TO BE ON THE FRONT LINES OF EMERGENCY RESPONSE.
SO THINK AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, AUSTIN WATER, AUSTIN ENERGY, EMS, THEY ALL HAVE THEIR OWN WRITTEN PROCEDURES REGARDING HOW TO HIRE OR SET UP THE SERVICES LISTED, UH, BELOW.
AND THOSE ARE IN PERSON AND VIRTUAL INTERPRETATION SERVICES OVER THE PHONE, INTERPRETATION SERVICES, AND SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETATION AT PUBLIC MEETINGS.
NOW I GET TO TALK ABOUT OUR ACCESSIBLE HAZARD ALERT SYSTEM, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS AHAS.
UH, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I REALLY LIKE TO, UH, DISCUSS BECAUSE IT IS A PROJECT THAT, UM, ALLOWS US TO REACH EVEN MORE AUSTINITES IN AN EMERGENCY SITUATION.
AND, UH, UH, I WILL JUST GO AHEAD AND GO INTO SOME OF THE INFORMATION ABOUT IT AND EXPLAIN WHAT IT IS.
UM, THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS PARTNERED WITH A VENDOR, UH, DEF LINK TO PROVIDE EMERGENCY ALERTS IN AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE VIA THE ACCESSIBLE HAZARD ALERT SYSTEM.
THE SYSTEM IS DIRECTLY LINKED TO OUR ALERTS WEBPAGE, UM, AND INCLUDES ALL ALERTS AND VIDEOS THAT FEATURE SOMEONE SIGNING THE MESSAGE IN AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE.
AHAS ALSO POSTS THE TRANSCRIPTION OF THE VIDEO FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO UTILIZE SCREEN READERS, AND WE ARE ACTUALLY CURRENTLY WORKING ON, UH, PRODUCING ADDITIONAL EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS VIDEOS TO BE POSTED PERMANENTLY ON THE WEBSITE.
UH, SO DEAF AUSTINITES CAN BETTER LEARN HOW TO PREPARE THEIR HOMES FOR EMERGENCIES AHEAD OF TIME.
AND, UH, SOMETHING THAT WE'VE GOTTEN FEEDBACK FROM DEF LINK IS THAT OUR PAGE HAS ACTUALLY BEEN USED AS A MODEL FOR MANY OTHER CITIES, SPECIFICALLY ACROSS TEXAS, TO CREATE THEIR OWN ACCESSIBLE HAZARD ALERT SYSTEMS. SO IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE ACTUALLY A LITTLE BIT AHEAD OF THE CURB, UH, WHEN IT COMES TO OTHER CITIES OF COMPARABLE SIZES.
AND THEN NEXT, I WOULD LIKE TO TALK ABOUT HOW OUR LANGUAGE ACCESS PLAN ACTUALLY IMPROVES THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR AUSTINITES.
SO ONE, IT ALLOWS US TO BETTER PREPARE OUR COMMUNITIES FOR AN EMERGENCY.
UH, WE UTILIZE LANGUAGE ACCESS PLAN TO PROMOTE EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS.
UH, SO AUSTINITE ARE MORE PREPARED, UH, BOTH IN THEIR HOME AND WITHIN THEIR COMMUNITIES FOR WHATEVER EMERGENCY OR DISASTER MIGHT STRIKE.
IT ALSO ALLOWS US TO IMPROVE OUR CITY STAFF READINESS.
THIS PLAN IMPROVES THE CITY'S STAFF'S READINESS TO PROVIDE LANGUAGE ACCESS SERVICES BY CREATING A COMMON STANDARD FOR EMERGENCY LANGUAGE ACCESS SERVICES DURING AN EMERGENCY.
AND THEN LIFE SAFETY EMERGENCIES REQUIRE FAST AND RELIABLE COMMUNICATION TO KEEP OUR COMMUNITY AS SAFE AS POSSIBLE.
THIS PLAN ENSURES THAT AUSTINITE WITH LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY WILL RECEIVE THE SAME VITAL LIFE SAFETY INFORMATION
[00:25:01]
THAT ENGLISH SPEAKING MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY RECEIVE AS WELL.AND THEN I'M EXCITED TO TALK ABOUT HOW, UH, WE ARE IMPLEMENTING THIS LANGUAGE EXIT PLAN ALREADY, EVEN THOUGH IT IS RELATIVELY A NEW PLAN, UH, MONTHLY PREPAREDNESS, POPUPS AND ANNUAL FAIR.
SO HES A HOSTS MONTHLY PREPAREDNESS POPUP EVENTS ACROSS THE CITY, UH, DIFFERENT LIBRARIES.
UH, WE HAVE A EVENT IN EVERY CITY DISTRICT EVERY MONTH TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, UH, HITTING EVERY PART OF THE CITY AND COVERING THAT.
SO MAKE SURE THAT THESE EVENTS ARE ACCESSIBLE TO EVERYONE WITHIN OUR CITY.
THE NEIGHBORHOOD PREPAREDNESS GUIDE, THIS IS OUR PRIMARY PRINTED RESOURCE, AS WELL AS DIGITAL RESOURCE THAT WE SHARE WITH OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UH, FREE OF COST, AND IT GOES OVER HOW TO PREPARE YOUR HOME AND YOUR COMMUNITY FOR AN EMERGENCY AHEAD OF TIME.
UM, AND WE CURRENTLY HAVE IT OFFERED IN ENGLISH, SPANISH, SIMPLIFIED CHINESE AND VIETNAMESE.
AND WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING ON EXPANDING TO ARABIC AND KOREAN.
WE ALSO HAVE OUR READY TOGETHER PREPAREDNESS TRAININGS.
THESE ARE OUR MOST COMPREHENSIVE TRAININGS THAT WE OFFER TO THE PUBLIC.
UH, WE OFFER THEM ON A QUARTERLY BASIS, AND WE CURRENTLY OFFER THEM IN SPANISH AND AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE.
AND WE WILL UTILIZE ANY, WE WILL WE'LL TRANSLATE OR INTERPRET INTO ANY OTHER LANGUAGE AS REQUESTED BY THE PUBLIC.
AND THEN WE HAVE OUR FOUR STEPS TO PREPAREDNESS TRAININGS, WHICH IS JUST AN ABBREVIATED VERSION OF OUR READY TOGETHER TRAINING THAT WE GO TO COMMUNITY EVENTS, UH, ORGANIZATIONS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY, AND PRESENT THIS SHORTENED, UH, PRESENTATION TO ALLOW IT TO FIT INTO EXISTING AGENDAS, UH, AND ALLOW US TO GET TO SPREAD MORE PREPAREDNESS INFORMATION THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY.
AND THEN LAST, BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST, IS OUR ALERTS WEBPAGE.
UH, WE HAVE MENTIONED THIS IN THIS PRESENTATION EARLIER.
THIS IS OUR, THE CITY'S PRIMARY WEBPAGE FOR SHARING, UH, EMERGENCY ALERTS.
AND WE CURRENTLY HAVE THE EMERGENCY ALERTS TRANSLATED INTO 13 LANGUAGES, UH, INCLUDING SIGN LANGUAGE.
AND IF I MAY, THIS IS DAVID EKMAN SPEAKING NOW, UH, TO PROVIDE A LITTLE, UH, CLARIFICATION AND, AND EXPANSION, THE ALERTS WEBPAGE IS WWW.AUSTINTEXAS.GOV/ALERTS, AND THAT'S WHERE YOU CAN FIND, UM, THE ALERTS IN ENGLISH.
AND AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE IS A LINK IN THE OTHER LANGUAGES.
YOU CAN CLICK THAT LANGUAGE AND IT WILL TAKE YOU TO THE ALERTS IN THAT LANGUAGE.
AND, UM, THE MONTHLY PREPAREDNESS POPUPS, UM, WE DO ONE PER MONTH AND WE MOVE AROUND THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
SO WE MAKE SURE THAT WE HIT EACH CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT ONCE DURING THE YEAR.
SO WE DO THOSE 10 TIMES DURING THE YEAR.
WE TAKE OFF THE MONTH OF DECEMBER DUE TO THE HOLIDAYS, AND THEN IN SEPTEMBER, WE TAKE SEPTEMBER OFF.
AND THAT IS WHEN WE HAVE OUR BIG ANNUAL FAIR, BECAUSE SEPTEMBER IS NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS MONTH.
AND SO WE HAVE A LARGE FAIR, IT'S LIKE A, ONE OF OUR POPUPS ON A TWO TO THREE TIMES LARGER SCALE.
WE USUALLY GET SIX TO SEVEN VENDORS AT OUR MONTHLY POPUPS.
AND THE ANNUAL, UH, FAIR IN SEPTEMBER, WE HAD OVER TWO DOZEN VENDORS LAST YEAR.
AND THIS TIME WE WOULD OPEN IT TO ANY QUESTIONS THAT THE COMMISSION MAY HAVE.
YEAH, THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH.
IT WAS VERY COMPREHENSIVE AND APPRECIATE YOU ADDRESSING ACCESSIBILITY SPECIFICALLY.
SOMETIMES WE SEE PRESENTATIONS, THEY DON'T ACTUALLY, THEY JUST KIND OF GIVE US AN OVERVIEW AND DON'T GET INTO THE ACCESSIBILITY PIECES.
UM, I HAD ONE QUICK QUESTION TO START US OFF.
UH, SO I KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT SOME OF THIS COMING OUT OF, UH, WINTER STORM URI.
SO, AND, AND THIS MIGHT NOT BE QUITE WHAT YOU ALL ARE FOCUSING ON, BUT DO YOU HAVE, UH, A SENSE ABOUT HOW WELL WE'VE REACHED THE DEAF, UH, BLIND AND HARD OF HEARING COMMUNITIES DURING YURI? AND WHAT OF THE INITIATIVES THAT WE WERE HEARING ABOUT TODAY ARE NEW SINCE THEN? AND WHAT WERE KIND OF LIKE PRE-EXISTING? I DON'T HAVE ANY DATA ON HOW MANY IN THE DEAF COMMUNITY WERE REACHED DURING YURI.
THAT WAS PRIOR TO MY EMPLOYMENT WITH THE CITY, UM, AT THE TIME.
UM, BUT THE FEEDBACK RECEIVED WAS WHY THIS PLAN WAS, WAS NEEDED AND EXPANDED UPON, UM, THE MOST RECENT ACTIVATION WE HAD FOR THE, THE COLD SNAP.
AND THEN, UH, WINTER STORM ENZO, THE TWO RECENT EOC ACTIVATIONS WE'VE HAD WHEN WE HAD PRESS CONFERENCES ON, ON SITE IN THE EOC, THERE WAS A SL INTERPRETATION AVAILABLE FOR THOSE.
UM, AND WE HAVE A SL INTERPRETERS AVAILABLE
[00:30:01]
AT OUR MONTHLY POPUPS AND AT THE FAIR AND AT OUR, OUR READY TOGETHER TRAININGS THAT WE DO QUARTERLY AS WELL.SO WE'RE, THERE'S DEFINITELY BEEN AN, AN EFFORT AND, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE SERVICES ARE AVAILABLE AT ALL OF OUR EVENTS.
ARE ARE MOST OF THE, THE ACCESSIBILITY PIECES THAT YOU DISCUSSED TODAY, KIND OF NEWER PROGRAMS, OR ARE THEY SOMETHING THAT WE'VE JUST BEEN DOING LONG TERM? I THINK THAT WAS, UH, AGAIN, THIS IS DAVID ALCOR SPEAKING NOW.
UM, THOUGH A LOT OF THESE HAVE EXISTED FOR A LONG TIME WITHIN THE CITY, WHAT THIS PLAN AIMS TO DO IS CREATE A STANDARD.
SO THERE IS AN EXPECTATION, AND THIS IS A PUBLIC PLAN, SO THIS IS WHAT THE PUBLIC CAN EXPECT FROM THE CITY IN AN EMERGENCY SITUATION.
THAT WASN'T NECESSARILY THE CASE BEFORE THIS PLAN.
AND SIMILAR TO DAVID WHEATMAN, I ALSO, YURI WAS ALSO PRIOR TO MY, UH, EMPLOYMENT, I WAS WITH THE CITY, BUT NOT WITH THIS DEPARTMENT.
I DIDN'T EXPECT YOU ALL TO KNOW THAT.
JUST THOUGHT OF COURSE, THOUGHT YOU MIGHT
BUT I WILL SAY, WHEN IT COMES SPECIFICALLY TO THE DEAF COMMUNITY, UM, IN THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS SINCE I'VE BEEN WITH HESO, WE HAVE DEFINITELY MADE STRIDES CONNECTING WITH THE DEAF COMMUNITY HERE, NOT JUST THROUGH THE ACCESSIBLE HAZARDS ALERT SYSTEM, BUT WE HAVE ALSO MADE A DEDICATED EFFORT TO GO TO COMMUNITY EVENTS AND GO TO WHERE THE DEAF COMMUNITY IS.
AN EXAMPLE OF THAT WOULD BE THE TEXAS SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF.
WE WOULD GO TO THEIR HOMECOMING EVENT EVERY YEAR.
UH, SO ALLOWS US TO GET REALLY GOOD ONE-ON-ONE TIME WITH THE DEAF COMMUNITY AND SHARE INFORMATION ABOUT THE ACCESSIBLE, ACCESSIBLE HAZARD ALERT SYSTEM, UM, AND JUST SHARE MORE OF OUR RESOURCES, OUR RESOURCE GUIDE, OUR NEIGHBORHOOD PREPAREDNESS GUIDE.
SO IT'S, WE HAVE BEEN AS WE'VE REALLY TRIED AND MAKE THAT EFFORT, UH, TO REACH THE DEAF COMMUNITY WHERE THEY ARE.
THE FIRST IS, WHAT HAPPENED ABOUT A MONTH OR SO AGO WITH THE FIRES? A LITTLE BIT BEFORE THAT? UM, I DON'T THINK, I GUESS THE GOVERNMENT DIDN'T FIND IT WORTHWHILE HAVING AN INTERPRETER PRESENT ON THE TV SCREEN.
CERTAINLY NOT IN CLOSE ENOUGH PROXIMITY TO SEE WHAT WAS HAPPENING, WHAT WAS BEING TALKED ABOUT.
UM, AND THAT AFFECTED DEAF PEOPLE NATIONWIDE.
AND THERE WAS A LOT OF OUTCRY ABOUT THAT.
ONCE THE FIRES HAPPENED AND THE, THE OUTCRY REACHED PEOPLE, THEY STARTED PROVIDING MORE.
UM, I HOPE AUSTIN CONSIDERS WITH THAT SORT OF A, CONTINUES WITH THAT APPROACH.
UM, SECONDLY, UH, THERE ARE TWO DIFFERENT TYPES.
THERE'S A DEAF BLIND CATEGORY OF PEOPLE, AND THEN THERE WOULD BE A BLIND DEAF CATEGORY.
SO FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE DEAF AND BLIND, UM, OR WHO ARE LEGALLY BLIND, MEANING THAT THEY HAVE A CERTAIN SCOPE OF VISION OR CERTAIN COLOR PERCEPTION OR DEPTH OF FIELD OR WHATEVER, THOSE ARE THE TYPES THAT USING A SO WOULD BE APPROPRIATE FOR.
AND THEN THERE ARE THE WHO, WHO THOSE WHO CAN ALSO USE BRAILLE TO READ, UM, THOSE THAT ARE ACTUALLY, UH, BLIND, TO THE EXTENT THAT THEY CANNOT SEE SOMETHING BUT ARE ALSO DEAF, THEY WOULD USE, UH, WHO ALSO USE BRAILLE.
I THINK IT WOULD BE MORE WORTHWHILE IN INVESTIGATING HOW DEAF-BLIND PEOPLE ACCESS LANGUAGE OR HAZARD SYSTEMS. UM, OBVIOUSLY LIKE THERE'S, I I'VE TEXTED ABOUT TWO OR THREE PEOPLE TO ELICIT SOME FEEDBACK.
UM, SOME OF THOSE PEOPLE THAT ARE DEAF AND BLIND COMMUNICATE IN THEIR OWN COMMUNITY WITH EACH OTHER AND HAVE GIVEN ME SOME FEEDBACK.
UM, HOW CAN THEY REACH OUT TO YOU ALL, OR HOW CAN YOU ALL REACH OUT TO THEM? I CAN MAYBE BE LIKE, THE CONTACT POINT BE BETWEEN THOSE COMMUNITIES TO, TO MAYBE LINK YOU ALL TOGETHER.
THAT WOULD BE, UH, MY SECOND QUESTION.
UM, YOU CAN COMMUNICATE WITH ANY OF US, UH, UMA GARS EMAIL, AND DAVID'S EMAIL IS AT THE END OF THE PRESENTATION.
AND THEN YOU CAN ALSO SEND THAT INFORMATION TO CHRISTIE AND SHE CAN CONNECT WITH US.
I WILL BE DELIGHTED FOR COFFEE AND GETTING TO KNOW MORE ABOUT HOW WE CAN DO A BETTER JOB.
AND I'M, I'M SURE DAVID AND DAVID WILL BE DELIGHTED TO DO THE SAME.
UM, AND THE THIRD THING IS ESCAPING ME.
UM, BUT AS YOU SAID, A LITTLE COFFEE CLUTCH OR SOMETHING WOULD BE A GREAT WAY TO, YOU KNOW, FOR THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN SOUTH AUSTIN.
UM, SOME IN THE EAST THERE, ALSO SOME UP IN THE NORTH.
I MEAN, WE CAN GO TO THEM INSTEAD OF HAVING LIKE ONE CENTRAL LOCATION SUCH AS TEXAS SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF, BUT MAYBE LITTLE TOWN HALL, LIKE EVENTS WHERE PEOPLE CAN, CAN COME TOGETHER.
UM, IF WE CAN PLAN SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THAT WOULD BE GOOD.
OH, I AM, I'M VERY HAPPY FOR THE RECOMMENDATION.
AND ALSO, THE THIRD THING JUST CAME BACK TO ME.
SO MY EXPERIENCE WITH THE HAZARD SYSTEMS, I DO RECEIVE EMAILS WITH THE HAZARDS WITH LENGTHY TEXT EXPLANATIONS.
AND THEN ALSO THE A SL SIGNED DIRECTIONS, THEY DO TEND TO BE A BIT DIFFERENT, THOUGH, I WOULD SAY SOME OF THE SIGNED
[00:35:01]
PRESENTATIONS ARE LACKING IN AS MUCH DETAIL AS THE ENGLISH TRANSCRIPTIONS GIVE.UM, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT WAS YOUR INTENTION, BUT IF WE COULD PROVIDE FULL EQUIVALENCE, THAT MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT BETTER IF IT'S THE, THE FULL ENGLISH TEXT IS REPRESENTED IN SIGN LANGUAGE GOING FORWARD.
AND, UH, FOR CLARIFICATION, ARE YOU REFERRING TO THE ACCESSIBLE HAZARD ALERT SYSTEM SPECIFICALLY? 'CAUSE I CAN, I WOULD LOVE TO DISCUSS THAT WITH DEF LINK, OUR VENDOR OR TO A DIFFERENT SYSTEM.
YEAH, WE WILL TAKE THAT FEEDBACK, UH, TO DEF LINK AND LET THEM KNOW THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE MORE OF A DIRECT, UH, TRANSLATION INTERPRETATION.
I THINK COMMISSIONER CHEN HAS A QUESTION.
UM, AT OUR LAST, UH, JOINT INCLUSION COMMITTEE MEETING, WE FORMED A, AN EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS WORKING GROUP.
AND, UH, OUR, OUR LIAISON IS ALEJANDRA MORELOS FROM THE EQUITY OFFICE.
SO, UM, WE HAVE JUST FORMED, AND WE HAVE NOT CONVENED YET, BUT, UM, ONE OF THE OTHER, UM, CONTACTS WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE, UH, WAS KIND OF, WE'D LIKE SOME KIND OF EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS INTERCOMMUNICATION BETWEEN, UM, TRAVIS COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT IN CITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, BECAUSE THEY CONTROL A LOT OF THE RESOURCES THAT WE NEED IN, IN THESE SITUATIONS.
AND ESPECIALLY, UM, LIKE IN THE CASE OF WINTER STORM URI, THEY HAVE, UH, DONE A LOT OF, UM, I TOWN HALL STYLE MEETINGS WHERE THEY SAID, IF YOU HAVE AN ESPECIALLY VULNERABLE PERSON, LIKE THEY NEED TO HAVE, UM, UM, ELECTRICITY TO LIGHT THEIR DIALYSIS MACHINE OR SOMETHING, THEN YOU WOULD ACTUALLY CONTACT THEM SO THAT THEY COULD DISPATCH.
SO, UM, WE'D LOVE TO HAVE THAT INFORMATION, EVEN IF IT'S NOT CITY OF AUSTIN RESOURCES ONLY.
UM, BECAUSE A MEMBER OF TRAVIS COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SAID THAT ONCE A, AN EMERGENCY THRESHOLD IS REACHED, THEN THEY COULD, THERE CAN BE INTERDEPARTMENTAL, UM, THERE INFORMATION SHARING.
BUT UNTIL THAT POINT, IT, IT ACTUALLY IS VERY INEFFICIENT BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY THEN YOU'RE ALREADY IN, UM, DISASTER MODE, AND THEN BY THE TIME YOU'RE ABLE TO SHARE INFORMATION.
SO THERE'S CREATING, UM, BRIDGE SYSTEMS, THAT'S ONE OF THE, UH, GOALS OF THE EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS WORKING GROUP.
SO, UM, THIS COMMUNICATION PIECE IS VITAL AND I'M, I'M HOPING THAT, UM, WE CAN MEET WITH YOU IN THE FUTURE AS, AS THESE, UH, ISSUES ARE, UM, THE TOP PRIORITIES ARE KIND OF ADDRESSED, AND THEN WE CAN ACTUALLY FORM THE, WHAT THE PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS WILL BE AROUND IT.
THAT'S EXCITING TO HEAR THAT Y'ALL HAVE STARTED TO FORM A, AN EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS COMMITTEE, UH, OR SUBCOMMITTEE.
UM, AS FAR AS YOU, YOU MENTIONED LIKE, UH, PEOPLE WHO MIGHT BE ON DIALYSIS OR HAVE, YOU KNOW, VULNERABLE MEDICAL NEEDS DURING AN EMERGENCY.
UM, ONE THING THAT WE DO TRY TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO, TO DO IS TO SIGN UP FOR STEER.
IT'S A STATE LEVEL, UM, REGISTRATION RUN BY TDO, THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
AND THAT IS A, A REGISTRY OF PEOPLE WHO NEED SPECIAL ASSISTANCE IN, IN AN EMERGENCY.
AND YOU, AND ALSO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE IF YOU, UH, IF YOUR ELECTRICITY PROVIDER IS AUSTIN ENERGY TO GO TO THEIR WEBSITE AND, UH, SIGN UP FOR THEIR, UM, I THINK THEY, THEY CALL IT THEIR MEDICALLY VULNERABLE LIST.
AND SO THEN THAT WAY YOU CAN GET ON THEIR LIST SO THEY CAN, IF POWER OUTAGES OCCUR, THEY CAN TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT THEIR POWER DOESN'T GO OUT, IF POSSIBLE, IF THEY CAN, UH, OR GET THEM ASSISTANCE AS QUICK AS POSSIBLE.
YES, WE'RE, WHERE WE'RE FINDING THE PROBLEM IS, UM, THIS IS STATE LEVEL OR COUNTY LEVEL INFORMATION THAT IS NOT RELEASED WHEN, YOU KNOW, MOST PEOPLE ARE GOING TO CALL 9 1 1 AND IF THEY LIVE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, THAT INFORMATION AT THE STATE LEVEL OR AT THE COUNTY LEVEL IS NOT SHARED UNTIL THERE'S A CERTAIN EMERGENCY THRESHOLD THAT IS REACHED.
BUT THE SYSTEMS DON'T TALK TO ONE ANOTHER.
SO THAT IS, THAT IS A CORE, UH, IS ISSUE AT HAND.
THANK YOU FOR THAT, THAT FEEDBACK.
I'LL TAKE THAT TO OUR LEADERSHIP AS WELL.
[00:40:01]
MORE QUESTIONS FOR THE TEAM HERE? ALRIGHT.THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOU ALL COMING OUT AND PRESENTING TO US AND ANSWERING ALL THE QUESTIONS.
UH, REALLY APPRECIATE IT AND I KNOW YOU ALL HAD TO COME OUT BEFORE.
SO, UH,
[3. Discussion of the Equity Office’s Undoing Institutional Racism Training, including the feasibility of attendance and accessibility considerations.]
GONNA MOVE ON TO DISCUSSION ITEMS, AND I THINK THE ITEM NUMBER THREE IS, UM, COMMISSIONER YANG'S ITEM DISCUSSION OF THE EQUITY OFFICES ON DOING INSTITUTIONAL RA RACISM TRAINING, INCLUDING THE FEASIBILITY OF ATTENDANCE AND ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS.I JUST WANTED TO LET THE GROUP KNOW I HAVE A SEVEN O'CLOCK HARD STOP.
ANGELICA, ARE YOU ONLINE? OH, YES.
AT FIRST I COULDN'T UNMUTE MYSELF.
I CAN HEAR MYSELF A LITTLE BIT.
UM, MY NAME'S ANGELICA, BENTON MOLINA, THERE'S LIKE FEEDBACK.
IS THERE A WAY TO, IS THERE A WAY NOT TO HEAR MYSELF? UH, YEAH, WE'RE WORKING ON IT, I THINK.
UH, THE AV STAFF HAS SUGGESTED PERHAPS HEADPHONES WOULD HELP, OR IF THOSE WHO ARE ONLINE WANT TO MUTE THEMSELVES, JUST WHILE ANGELICA IS PRESENTING, THAT MAY HELP AS WELL.
LET'S, IS THAT BETTER? I CAN STILL HEAR MYSELF.
YEAH, IT'S, IT'S JUST, UM, I'LL WORK ON IT.
UM, MY NAME'S ANGELICA BEN MOLINA WITH THE EQUITY OFFICE.
I AM A BLACK PUERTO RICAN WOMAN, UM, KIND OF, I DON'T KNOW, CARAMEL SKIN LONG DREADLOCKS, AND I'M WEARING A, A BROWN SWEATER AND I'M IN MY FORTIES.
UM, YEAH, SO I, I WANTED TO JUST GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF, UM, KIND OF HISTORY, BACKSTORY OF THE EQUITY OFFICE, UM, AND THEN, UH, A LITTLE AROUND OUR ACCESSIBILITY OF, OF THE WORKSHOP.
UM, AND THEN OPEN IT UP FOR ANY KIND OF DISCUSSION.
SO THE EQUITY OFFICE WAS, UM, CREATED NOT OUT OF THE BENE BENEVOLENCE OF THE, UH, RIGHT.
THE CITY YOU CAN HEAR BROUGHT BACK.
NOT OUT AS BENEVOLENCE OF THE, OF THE CITY COUNCIL, OF THE CITY, BUT OUT OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZING, UM, THAT WOULD'VE BEEN HAPPENING IN AUSTIN FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
AND THE UNDOING RACISM WORKSHOP, UM, PRECEDES EVEN THE, IN, IN TERMS OF IT HAPPENING HERE IN TEXAS PRECEDES THE EQUITY OFFICE, UM, BEING CREATED.
UH, SO FOLKS LIKE JAMES, UH, UH, JOYCE JAMES, UM, BROUGHT THE PEOPLE'S INSTITUTE FOR SURVIVAL AND BEYOND WHEN SHE WAS WORKING AT CPS
[00:45:01]
TO HELP IN TERMS OF KINDA A, A BASELINE SHARED ANALYSIS AND DEFINITION, UM, FOR THE WORK THAT SHE WAS DOING, UH, INSIDE A SYSTEM, UM, THAT WE REALLY SEE HAD AN IMPACT FOR THE FIRST TIME.UM, AND SO FOLKS UNDER, UH, UMBRELLA ORGANIZATION OF COMMUNITY OF COLOR UNITED, UM, SUCH AS MAANA, UH, VIBRANT WOMAN AND ICE
SO BRIAN OAKS, WHO WAS OUR FIRST CHIEF EQUITY OFFICER, WAS HIRED, UH, IN OCTOBER OF 2016.
UM, AND REALLY WAS REALLY INTENT ON MAKING SURE THAT COMMUNITY HAD, UM, A VOICE IN CREATING THIS EQUITY ASSESSMENT TOOL.
UH, WITH OVER 900 HOURS OF VOLUNTEER TIME, UH, THE EQUITY ASSESSMENT TOOL WAS CREATED, UM, AND, AND FOLKS CREATED THIS WITHOUT ANY KIND OF COMPENSATION.
UM, AT THE TIME, THE EQUITY OFFICE DIDN'T HAVE A BUDGET, AND SO FOLKS REALLY PUT IN WORK, UM, RIGHT, WITHOUT, WITHOUT BEING COMPENSATED AT THE TIME.
YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT, NEXT SLIDE.
UM, AND THAT, THAT'S KIND OF WHAT I JUST SAID, RIGHT? AND YOU COULD GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, OUR DEFINITION OF EQUITY THAT WE USE HERE AT THE EQUITY OFFICE, UM, LEADS WITH A, WITH, WITH RACE.
UM, BECAUSE RACE, AS WE KNOW, IS, UH, IT'S A NUMBER ONE PREDICTOR, RIGHT? OF A PERSON'S QUALITY OF LIFE OUTCOMES IN OUR COMMUNITIES.
AND WE REALLY LOOK AT THE MAKING SURE THAT WE DEFINE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EQUALITY AND EQUITY.
UM, SO THAT VERY INTENT, UM, MAKING SURE THAT, UM, WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT GIVING EVERYBODY KIND OF THE SAME, UM, IN TERMS OF RESOURCES, BUT THAT SOME FOLKS MAY NEED, RIGHT? DIFFERENT RESOURCES OR, OR MORE, UM, THAN OTHER, THAN OTHER, UH, COMMUNITIES.
UM, AND THE CITY ALSO RECOGNIZES THAT RACE IS THE PRIMARY DETERMINANT, RIGHT? SOCIAL EQUITY, UM, AND THEREFORE, THAT'S HOW WE, WE KIND OF GET OUR JOURNEY.
UM, AND THIS REALLY SPEAKS TO, UH, INTERSECTIONALITY, RIGHT? SO RACE ON TOP OF ANY OTHER SOCIAL IDENTITY THAT'S OPPRESSED, UM, IN OUR, IN OUR SOCIETY, REALLY HAS A, A EXPONENTIAL IMPACT.
SO IF WE'RE THINKING ABOUT FOLKS WITH DISABILITIES, YOU ADD RACE TO THAT, RIGHT? THE OUTCOMES ARE WORSE FOR, FOR FOLKS WHO ARE BLACK AND INDIGENOUS.
UM, AND THAT'S WHY WE, WE LEAD WITH RACE.
IT'S NOT TO IGNORE OR DISMISS, UM, DIS DISABILITIES OR, UH, THE L-G-B-T-Q-I-A COMMUNITY, UM, BUT IT, IT BECOMES MORE INCLUSIVE OF, OF EVERYONE.
UM, AND REALLY UNDERSTANDING THAT IF WE FOCUS ON THE FOLKS WHO ARE THE, THE MOST MARGINALIZED, THE FOLKS WHO ARE, UM, REALLY FEELING THE IMPACT, UM, UH, UH, IN OUR COMMUNITIES THE MOST, THEN EVERYBODY ELSE GETS LIFTED UP.
UM, SO YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
OUR FRAMEWORK HERE AT THE OFFICE, UM, FOR EQUITY IS THREEFOLD, AND WE BORROW THIS FROM THE GOVERNMENT ALLIANCE ON RACE AND EQUITY.
UM, MY, MY WHEELHOUSE IS MOSTLY THE NORMALIZING, UM, WHICH IS WHERE WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THE UNDER UNDO RACISM WORKSHOP, UH, REALLY FALLS UNDER THAT PART OF THE FRAMEWORK WHERE WE REALLY LOOK AT, UH, UM, WANTING TO HAVE A SHARED ANALYSIS AND DEFINITION SO THAT WHEN WE WORK ON, UM, OUR EQUITY ASSESSMENT, WHEN WE WORK ON DIFFERENT, UH, PROGRAMS, WHEN WE WORK WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS, THERE'S AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WE MEAN WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT RACISM, UM, THAT IT'S NOT, UH, AN INDIVIDUAL EXERCISE, BUT THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SYSTEMICALLY, UM, AND HOW RACE PREJUDICE PLUS POWER RIGHT, EQUALS RACISM.
UM, AND REALLY UNDERSTANDING WHAT POWER MEANS IN TERMS OF THAT DEFINITION.
UM, AND THEN THERE'S THE OTHER TWO COMPONENTS
[00:50:01]
OF ORGANIZING, OPERATIONALIZING, UH, ORGANIZING WHERE WE, WE, WE TALK ABOUT REALLY HAVING A, A INTERNAL EXTERNAL STRATEGY, UM, SO THAT IT'S NOT THAT WE AS THE CITY ARE MAKING, UH, DECISIONS ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS TO THE FOLKS WHO ARE MOST IMPACTED IN OUR COMMUNITY, BUT THAT, UM, THERE'S A, A CONVERSATION AND RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RIGHT, THE CITY AND, AND, UM, FOLKS IN COMMUNITY.AND THEN OPERATIONALIZING REALLY THE, UH, EQUITY ASSESSMENT TOOL AND HOW, UH, THAT TOOL, UM, ALONG WITH DATA IS USED TO REALLY, UM, HIGHLIGHT THE INEQUITIES THAT ARE HAPPENING WITHIN OUR CITY DEPARTMENTS, UM, SO THAT WE CAN CREATE PLANS, RIGHT, UM, TO REALLY, UH, CHANGE AND TRANSFORM WHAT'S GOING ON WITHIN OUR DEPARTMENTS, UM, AND OUR CITY AS A WHOLE TO REALLY DRIVE DIFFERENT RESULTS.
UM, AND, AND, AND ALSO, UM,
UM, THIS, UH, HAS, WE HAVE CREATED AN EQUITY, UM, UH, FROM OUR FRAMEWORK.
WE HAVE CREATED AN EQUITY NETWORK THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
UH, SO DURING THE SUMMER OF 2020, UH, WE REALLY SAW A PUSH, RIGHT? UM, IN TERMS OF THE IMPORTANCE, UH, OF HAVING A, A RACIAL EQUITY LENS, UM, WITHIN THE, THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
AND SO AT, AS OF RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE 13 DEPARTMENTS THAT HAVE, UM, EQUITY STAFF, UM, AND THE DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE, THAT ARE HIGHLIGHTED HERE.
AND THEN OTHER DEPARTMENTS ALSO HAVE COMMITTEES, UM, OF, OF FOLKS WHO, UM, WITHOUT A SPECIFIC STAFF PERSON, UM, IS REALLY, UH, LOOKING AT USING A, UH, RACIAL EQUITY LENS, UM, IN THEIR DEPARTMENT.
YOU COULD GO TO THE NE RIGHT NOW WE HAVE ABOUT 44 PEOPLE WHO COME TO OUR MONTHLY EQUITY, UM, NETWORK MEETINGS.
AND THE NEXT, WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE TRAINING AND WORKSHOP.
THIS IS JUST PICTURES OF, UM, SOME OF OUR WORKSHOPS THAT WE HAVE GOING ON.
SO WE DO MOSTLY A MONTHLY UNDER RACISM WORKSHOP.
UM, WE HAVE, UH, LATINATE, AND THAT, THAT'S KIND OF OUR BASELINE WORKSHOP, AND IT'S FOUNDATIONAL FOR OUR, UM, WORK, REALLY KIND OF LOOKING AT, UM, A CLASS AND, AND, AND RACE ANALYSIS, UM, SPECIFICALLY FOCUSED ON, RIGHT, HOW DO WE, UH, ORGANIZE, UH, WITHIN OUR SPACES, UM, TO RECREATE RACIAL EQUITY, UM, AND TO UND UNDO RACISM.
AND THEN WE HAVE A LATIN A CHALLENGE, WHICH IS, UH, A WORKSHOP THAT KIND OF BUILDS ON THAT AND LOOKS AT HOW WE CAN WORK, UM, COLLABORATIVELY, RIGHT? AMONGST, UH, UH, RACIAL GROUPS, RIGHT? SO REALLY HIGHLIGHTING SOME OF THE, THE TENSIONS THAT HAVE HAPPENED BETWEEN, UM, DIFFERENT RACIAL GROUPS SO THAT WE CAN UNDERSTAND THAT WE HAVE A SHARED HISTORY, UM, THAT HELPS AND, AND THAT HELPS US TO BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE HAVE A LOT MORE IN COMMON THAN WE DO HAVE, UM, UH, UH, DIFFERENT, UH, WE'VE DONE A, UH, CALL TO MEN WORKSHOP TO REALLY LOOKING AT HOW ALSO GENDER PLAYS INTO, UM, UH, SYS SYSTEMIC RACISM.
UM, AND WE ALSO HAVE DONE UNDO RACISM WORKSHOPS IN SPANISH AND, UM, AND ALSO HOLD TWO IN THE SUMMER FOR, FOR YOUNG FOLKS, FOR YOUTH, UH, AGES 16 TO 25.
YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT OH, OH.
AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE OUR EQUITY 1 0 1, WHICH, UM, IS OUR INTERNAL WORKSHOP, UM, THAT IS, UH, REQUESTED FROM DEPARTMENTS, UM, SPECIFICALLY IF THEY'RE DOING RIGHT, IF THEY HAVE FOLKS IN THEIR DEPARTMENTS WHO ARE DOING WORK AROUND, UH, RACIAL EQUITY, WHICH WE HIGHLIGHT, UM, AND GIVE AN EXTENSIVE SOME OF THE, SOME OF THE BEGINNING PART OF THE PRESENTATION THAT I SHARED WITH YOU ALL.
UM, BUT ALSO GIVE A, A BIT OF AN EXTENSIVE, UM, OUTLINE OF, UH, RACIALIZED HISTORY OF AUSTIN.
[00:55:01]
UM, AND THE UNDER RACISM WORKSHOP THAT WE HOLD MOSTLY ON A MONTHLY BASIS, UM, WE DO AT A, A, A PLACE CALLED WILDFLOWER, UM, WHICH IS A MORE OF A, A COMMUNITY SPACE.AND, UM, SO JUST THINKING ABOUT THE, KIND OF THE ACCESSIBILITY THERE, UM, DOES HAVE WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE, IT'S ON KIND OF THE GROUND, UH, FLOOR.
THERE IS, UM, UH, A DA PARKING, UM, AND ALSO THE BATHROOM IS A DA ACCESSIBLE.
UM, ALSO MAKE SURE TO, IN TERMS OF CHECKING IN WITH FOLKS PRIOR TO THE WORKSHOP, ASK ABOUT ANY KIND OF, UM, ACCESSIBILITY NEEDS THAT FOLKS MIGHT HAVE.
UM, AND WITH THE USE WORKSHOPS STARTED, UH, PROVIDING MANIPULATIVES, UM, AND THEN REALIZED THAT IT WAS A GOOD THING ALSO FOR ALL OF THE WORKSHOPS.
SO WE DO HAVE, UM, MANIPULATIVES AND FIDGET TOYS, UM, PROVIDED FOR THE, FOR, FOR EACH OF THE WORKSHOPS.
UM, WE ALSO MAKE SURE TO LET FOLKS KNOW THAT THEY'RE NOT CONFINED TO THEIR, WHAT ARE MANIPULATIVES? UM, THOSE ARE LIKE THE LITTLE, THE TOYS WHERE, UM, THE, THE POPS, UM, THEY HAVE THINGS THAT YOU CAN MOVE AROUND AND KIND OF, YOU KNOW, PLAY WITH TO HELP YOU FOCUS MORE.
OH, EVEN LIKE FIDGET SPINNERS? YEAH, LIKE FIDGET SPINNERS, LIKE THE POP THINGIES.
THE ONES THAT YOU TWIST AROUND.
UM, ALSO PAPER AND, AND PEN IF PEOPLE WANTED TO, TO DRAW.
UM, YEAH, WE LET PEOPLE KNOW THAT THEY'RE NOT CONFINED TO THEIR SEATS, YOU KNOW, COULD STAND UP AND MOVE AROUND, UM, OR KIND OF LISTEN TO THE, 'CAUSE I THOUGHT YOU, I THOUGHT YOU WERE SAYING THERE, THERE WAS MANIPULATIVE TO LOVE.
UM, AND WE ALSO HAVE LIKE CUSHIONS PEOPLE COULD SIT ON, RIGHT.
IF PEOPLE NEED TO SIT ON THE FLOOR OR USE THE CUSHION FOR THE SEAT.
I HAVE, UH, LYMPHEDEMA IN MY RIGHT LEG, SO I ALWAYS MAKE SURE TO, RIGHT, I CAN ELEVATE MY LEG AND MAKE SPACE FOR THAT.
UM, WOULD THAT BE AT THE WILD FLOWER CHURCH? YES.
UM, THEY'VE BEEN AN EXCELLENT COMMUNITY PARTNER WITH US.
UM, AND, AND I HAVE BEEN WONDERFUL THROUGHOUT THE YEARS IN, IN HELPING US TO FIND A SPACE THAT'S KIND OF OUTSIDE OF THE CITY, UM, SPACES WHERE IT'S, IT'S KI IT'S EASIER TO PARK.
UM, THERE'S A BUS STOP, UM, AND, AND IT'S STILL SOMEWHAT ON THE EAST SIDE,
UM, WE SIT IN A CIRCLE DURING THE WORKSHOPS, SO IT MAKES HEARING A LITTLE BIT EASIER, UM, BECAUSE WE'RE ALL FACING EACH OTHER.
UM, AND ME AND A COWORKER WHO IS, UM, PART OF HEARING HAVE TALKED ABOUT HOW WE COULD POSSIBLY DO THIS WORKSHOP FOR THE DEAF COMMUNITY.
UM, IT IS A TWO AND A HALF DAY WORKSHOP, SO KIND OF, AND I, AND I WOULD LOVE TO RIGHT, HEAR FROM YOU ALL HOW WE COULD DO THAT, UM, IN TERMS OF HAVING SOMEBODY, UH, INTERPRET.
UM, BECAUSE IT IS A LONG, IT'S KIND OF A LONG TIME TO, TO, SO WE NEEDED VARIOUS PEOPLE, UM, AND I WOULD LOVE TO ROLL THAT IN MAYBE THIS YEAR, LATER ON IN THE YEAR AND SEE HOW THAT COULD WORK.
UM, WE HAVE, WE'VE HAD PEOPLE IN THE WORKSHOP WHO HAVE COGNITIVE DISABILITIES AND DIFFERENCES, UM, RIGHT.
FOLKS WHO ARE ON THE SPECTRUM.
UM, ALSO, WE, LIKE I SAID BEFORE, PROVIDED IT IN SPANISH AND THINKING ABOUT LANGUAGE ACCESSIBILITY, WE'VE ALSO TALKED ABOUT POSSIBLY DOING IT IN VIETNAMESE, BUT IT'S KIND OF THE SAME THING THAT WE DON'T HAVE ANY, THE TRAINERS FROM THE ORGANIZATION WHO MIGHT SPEAK VIETNAMESE.
SO WE WOULD HAVE TO SEE HOW TO INTERPRET OVER TWO AND A HALF DAYS, WHICH IS, UH, QUITE A BIT OF TIME.
UM, AND THE WAY THAT WE, WE, UH, GET PEOPLE INTO THE ROOM IS THROUGH RELATIONSHIP BUILDING.
SO IT'S REALLY WORKING WITH, UM, OUTSIDE ORGANIZATIONS, RIGHT? AND THE FOLKS THAT THEY ARE WORKING WITH, UM, TO HAVE FOLKS
[01:00:01]
ATTEND THE WORKSHOP.UM, AND AS OF RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE OVER ABOUT 210, UH, UH, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE, UM, ATTENDED THE WORKSHOP, UM, AND MOST AND HAVE USED ANALYSIS FOR THEIR ORGANIZING FOR THE WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING IN THEIR ORGANIZATION.
UM, AND WE'VE HAD, I BELIEVE MOST CITY DEPARTMENTS AT SOME POINT SEND FOLKS TO THE WORKSHOPS WITH PAR, UM, A PH, AND, AND WATERSHED BEING THE DEPARTMENTS THAT HAVE SENT THE MOST, UM, EMPLOYEES.
UM, AND WE'RE ALSO ADDRESSING ACCESSIBILITY ACROSS ALL OF OUR PROGRAMMING.
SO THIS IS, LIKE I SAID, THIS IS KIND OF MY WHEELHOUSE WITH THE, WITH THE, UH, WORKSHOPS IN TERMS OF OUR NORMALIZING PART OF OUR FRAMEWORK.
UM, BUT WE HAVE OTHER, OTHER PARTS OF OUR, LIKE OUR EQUITY ACTION TEAM MEETING, UM, WHICH, UH, I THINK SOMETIMES WE'VE HAD INTERPRETATION, BUT WITH SOME OF OUR, UH, IMMIGRANT RIGHTS PROGRAMMING, WE HAVE DEFINITELY HAD SPANISH, UM, UH, INTERPRETATION.
UH, AND FOR OUR EQUITY FORUM, WE, WE'VE HAD, WE'VE HAD A SIGN SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETATION FOR, FOR THE FORUM.
SO WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TRYING TO WORK ON MAKING IT MORE ACCESSIBLE FOR EVERYONE.
UM, AND AT THIS POINT, I WOULD LOVE ANY, YOU KNOW, ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS YEAH.
HOW DID THIS GROUP DIFFER FROM THE, FROM THE DIVERSITY AND THE INCLUSION GROUP, THE, UM, THE DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION GROUP? FROM WHERE, FROM THE CITY? HOW DOES THAT DIFFER FROM THIS GROUP? I THINK FOR THE, I THINK IT'S THE SAME WITH THE, WHERE THE EQUITY PREVIOUSLY, THE EQUITY OFFICE, AND NOW IT'S BEING, UH, OUR NAME HAS BEEN CHANGED TO THE OFFICE OF EQUITY AND INCLUSION, SO I THINK IT MIGHT BE THE SAME FOLKS.
UM, IF, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, HEY, EVERYONE, I THINK WE HAVE ONE MORE PRESENTATION TO GET THROUGH, SO I'M AFRAID WE'RE, WE SHOULD PROBABLY CUT OFF QUESTIONS EARLY.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT PRESENT.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT PRESENTATION.
AND IF YOU HAVE ANY, ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS, YOU KNOW, CHRISTIE CAN DIRECT THEM TO ME.
UM, AND I, I WOULD LOVE FOR ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, UM, SO THAT I CAN, UH, UM, UH, COMMUNICATE WITH YOU ALL.
WE APPRECIATE YOU COMING OUT TODAY.
[4. Discussion of bringing awareness to 2025 disability events in the Austin area. ]
ARIANO, I THINK YOU HAD THE NEXT DISCUSSION ITEM FOR DISCUSSION OF BRINGING AWARENESS TO 2025 DISABILITY EVENTS IN AUSTIN AREA.SO I'M VERY EXCITED TO BRING THESE UP FOR US IN OUR WORK TOGETHER WITH DISABILITIES AND THE DIFFERENT EVENTS THAT ARE HOSTED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, MAYBE ONE OR TWO.
UM, I HAVE SHARED A LIST OF DIFFERENT EVENTS.
I'VE, I'VE SHOT THAT OUT TO ALL OF YOU.
HOPEFULLY YOU ALL CAN READ THAT AT YOUR LEISURE.
UM, BUT YEAH, I SEE MAYBE FOUR GOOD ONES.
LET'S SEE, THERE'S A MAY 15TH, THE GLOBAL ACCESSIBILITY AWARENESS DAY.
THEN IN JULY 26TH, THERE IS THE A DA, UH, ANNIVERSARY.
OCTOBER IS THE ENTIRE MONTH, NATIONAL DISABILITY AND EMPLOYMENT AWARENESS MONTH.
AND THEN ON DECEMBER 3RD IS THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES.
I THINK THAT THOSE WOULD PROBABLY BE PRETTY GOOD DAYS, OR AT LEAST VERY GOOD TOPICS TO HOST SOME SORT OF, YOU KNOW, EXPOSURE EVENT FOR THE COMMUNITY.
DID ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY.
I THINK WE CAN PROBABLY GET THROUGH MAYBE ONE MORE ITEM BEFORE WE RUN OUT OF TIME HERE.
I KNOW, UH, COMMISSIONER SALAZAR HAS A HARD STOP AT SEVEN.
[5. Discussion of scooters impeding the walkways on sidewalks.]
I THINK THE, THE NEXT ITEM WAS WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE DISCUSSING THE SCOOTERS AND WALKWAYS.UM, IT TALKED ABOUT HAVING, UH, LIME MICRO MOBILITY HERE TO GIVE US A, A BRIEF DISCUSSION ABOUT SOME EFFORTS THAT THEY HAD BEEN UNDERTAKING TO, UH, HELP KEEP SIDEWALKS CLEAR.
AND SO I THINK THEY'RE GONNA TALK TO US FOR A FEW MINUTES HERE.
I AM A, UH, CHINESE AMERICAN MALE IN MY EARLY THIRTIES.
UH, SLIGHTLY GRAYING, BUT NOT TOO MUCH, UM,
[01:05:01]
AND HOPEFULLY IT'LL STAY THAT WAY.UH, FIRST AND FOREMOST, I WANT TO, UH, THANK YOU ALL FOR ALLOWING US THE, THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK ALONG WITH ME, OUR, UH, OUR SENIOR OPERATIONS MANAGER FOR THIS, UH, CENTRAL SOUTH AREA FOR LYME, CHRIS BETTERTON, AS WELL AS OUR OPERATIONS COORDINATOR FOR AUSTIN, KEISHA CABRERA.
I'LL GO AHEAD AND SHARE MY SCREEN HERE.
AND FOR THE SAKE OF TIME COMMISSIONERS, I WILL, UH, QUICKLY GO THROUGH, UH, UH, OUR CONTENT TODAY.
BUT OF COURSE, IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS, UH, I WILL HAVE NO PROBLEM STOPPING TO, UH, ADDRESS THOSE.
SO, THE TOPIC OF DISCUSSION TODAY IS, UH, LYME'S, UH, COMMITMENT TO INCLUSIVE MICRO MOBILITY IN AUSTIN.
AGAIN, UH, WE APPRECIATE THE MAYOR'S COMMITTEE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES FOR ALLOWING US TO HAVE THIS TIME.
UH, REALLY QUICK, I WANT EVERYONE TO MEET YOUR LOCAL LYME AUSTIN TEAM.
WE ARE ALL, UH, BASED IN AUSTIN, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF CAROL AND TUNI, WHO IS BASED OUT OF FLORIDA.
HOWEVER, SHE IS OUR GOVERNMENT RELATIONS, UH, UH, REPRESENTATIVE, AND WORKS VERY CLOSELY ALONGSIDE OF OUR LOCAL TEAM.
THAT INCLUDES, UH, MYSELF, KEISHA, AS WELL AS CHRIS.
UH, AND AGAIN, WE ARE ALL LOCAL AND BASED IN AUSTIN VERY QUICKLY, AT A HIGH LEVEL, UH, JUST WANTED TO COME GO OVER A COUPLE OF, UH, DIFFERENT NUMBERS THAT LYME, UH, WAS ABLE TO ACHIEVE IN AUSTIN.
OVER THE LAST CALENDAR YEAR OF 2024.
UH, WE WERE ABLE TO ACHIEVE 12.8 MILLION LIFETIME TRIPS, 12 MIL, UH, 12.1 MILLION MILES TRAVELED, AS WELL AS 2.5 MILLION RIDERS, 3.1 MILLION CAR TRIPS AVOIDED, AS WELL AS 200,000, UH, WARNINGS ISSUED BASED UPON IMPROPER PARKING.
UH, NEXT I JUST WANNA GO THROUGH OUR COMMITMENT TO SAFETY AND ACCESSIBILITY.
SO, AUSTIN'S, UH, LIME'S SAFETY RECORD IN AUSTIN HAS BEEN INCREDIBLE.
UH, WE'VE, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO ACHIEVE VIRTUALLY A 99.9% INCIDENT FREE TRIPS.
UH, THAT'S EVEN DURING PEAK SEASON, WHERE THE VAST MAJORITY OF OUR, UH, LINE TRIPS END SAFELY.
FUNNY ENOUGH, WE'RE ABOUT TO ENTER THAT SEASON RIGHT NOW, WE'RE GEARING UP, BUT FOR, UH, SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST, UH, AS WELL AS THE, THE EVENTS, UH, COMING IN OUR SPRING SEASON, UH, WE'VE ALSO IMPLEMENTED COMPREHENSIVE SAFETY MEASURE MEASURES, WHICH I, I AM VERY MUCH LOOKING FORWARD TO GO OVER IN THE LATER HALF OF THIS SLIDE THAT RANGE FROM, UH, PROACTIVE TOOLS, STRATEGIES, UH, ET CETERA, TO MAINTAIN THOSE HIGH SAFETY STANDARDS.
AND AGAIN, UH, AN INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENT FOR ALL AUSTIN CITIZENS.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, OUR CONTINUOUS DEDICATION TO CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.
UH, WE WANT TO CONTINUOUSLY, UH, REFINE OUR SAFETY MEASURES AND INITIATIVES.
UH, WE, WE DO USE REAL TIME DATA, AS WELL AS LOCALIZED CHANGE, UH, WITHIN OUR AUSTIN MARKET TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF, UH, THE LOCAL AUSTINITES OF ALL KINDS.
UH, WE, WE DO THIS THROUGH A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT STRATEGIES.
UH, ONE IS COMMUNICATION STRATEGY, UH, AND, AND WE USE A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT TOOLS HERE.
UH, ADAPTIVE MESSAGING, UH, WOULD BE FIRST OF MIND, WHERE ESSENTIALLY WE WANT TO COMMUNICATE TO OUR, UH, RIDER AS WELL AS, UH, UH, PEDESTRIANS, UM, SAFE AND, UH, UH, ADAPTIVE MESSAGING THAT AGAIN, UH, IS BASED UPON THEIR EXPERIENCE LEVEL AND ENSURES THAT THEY HAVE, UH, THE RELEVANT GUIDANCE, GUIDANCE AT EVERY STEP OF THEIR JOURNEY.
I EITHER RIDE ON A LIME SCOOTER OR DEVICE, UH, TO THE LEFT, YOU'LL SEE, UH, TWO DIFFERENT SCREENSHOTS.
THESE WERE ACTUALLY TAKEN FROM MY PHONE EARLIER VIA OUR LYME APP.
UH, WE HAVE A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT, UH, UH, TOOLS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO OUR RIDERS IN THE COMMUNITY, UH, WHERE THEY CAN GO AND SEEK INFORMATION FROM OUR SAFETY CENTER, AS WELL AS REPORT ANY BUGS OR, UM, UH, ISSUES THAT THEY HAVE VIA THE APP.
AND THAT'S JUST ONE WAY, UH, OF A MULTI-CHANNEL REINFORCEMENT THAT WE USE.
UM, AGAIN, WE ENGAGE THE LOCAL AUSTINITES AND, AND, AND WRITERS EVERYWHERE, LIERS, EVERYWHERE, UH, VIA MEDIA, SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGNS, UH, AND, AND JUST HAVING A PRESENCE WITHIN THE COMMUNITY.
UH, THIRDLY, AGAIN, THOSE LOCALIZED ADJUSTMENTS.
UH, WE TAKE RIDER AND COMMUNITY FEEDBACK EXTREMELY SERIOUSLY.
WE WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN, AS WELL AS THE, UH, THE, THE CAMPUS OF, OF UT AUSTIN.
UM, AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE MAKE CHANGES BASED UPON OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS' FEEDBACK IN REAL TIME.
UH, A LOT OF THOSE GO TOWARDS THINGS SUCH AS, UH, UH, ROBUST A DA ACCESSIBLE PARKING COMPLIANCE MESSAGING, UM, AGAIN, UH, RIDER EDUCATION, UH, PARKING, AS WELL AS MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE CLEANING UP OUR STREETS AND KEEPING THEM TIDY.
UM, JUST IN 2024, WE SPENT OVER 5 MILLION, UH, ENSURING THAT, AGAIN, OUR STREETS ARE AS SAFE AS POSSIBLE.
UH, WALKWAYS ARE CLEAR OF CLUTTER.
UM, AND THEN AGAIN, A DA RAMPS ARE ACCESSIBLE TO ALL.
NEXT, I WANNA TALK ABOUT BRIEFLY THE, UH, COMMITMENTS AND INITIATIVES THAT WE ARE, UH, UH, WORKING ON AT LYME ALL THE TIME, UH, TO, AGAIN, CONTINUE TO ITERATE ON, UH, THOSE COMMITMENTS THAT WE'VE MADE.
WE HOST THE FIRST RIDE ACADEMY, AS WELL AS GIVE FREE HELMETS OUT, UH, DURING EVENTS TO ENSURE THAT ALL RIDERS HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO, TO AGAIN,
[01:10:01]
LEARN, EDUCATE THEMSELVES ON PROPER RIDING, UH, COMPLIANCE WITH THE CITY.AND THEN OF COURSE, SAFETY JUST GENERALLY ON THE ROAD.
UM, AGAIN, WE ALSO HAVE AN EDUCATION MODE WITHIN THE APP.
ONE OF THOSE TOOLS THAT WE USE VIA, VIA TECHNOLOGY TO, UH, RESTRICT VEHICLE SPEEDS FOR NEW RIDERS UNTIL THEY LEARN THOSE SAFE RIDING HABITS NEXT.
AND, AND ONE OF MY FAVORITES IS THE ROUND OF CLOCK SUPPORT, UH, THAT WE PROVIDE AT LYME TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE COMPLIANT WITH THE CITY AS WELL AS STATE REGULATIONS.
THAT IS, UH, A 24 7 CUSTOMER SUPPORT TEAM, UH, THAT IS AT, AT ALL TIMES AVAILABLE, UH, VIA OUR ONE 800 NUMBER TO HELP OUR RIDERS, UH, AND ENSURE THAT THEIR SAFETY AND, UH, AND NEEDS ARE MET.
WE ALSO HAVE A DEDICATED FOOT PATROL TEAM THAT WE INVEST HEAVILY INTO EVERY YEAR, UH, TO ENSURE THAT, UH, OUR, OUR VEHICLES ARE, ARE COMPLIANT WITHIN PARKING, THAT THEY'RE REBALANCED, THAT THEY'RE, AGAIN, STREET TIDINESS AT THE TOP OF MIND, UH, AS WELL AS CLEAR OF, OF, AGAIN, A DA AND, UM, AND, UH, UH, STREETS.
THIRDLY, WE WILL HAVE OUR 3 1 1, UH, INTEGRATION WITHIN THE 3 1 1 APP FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN, WHERE ANY COMMUNITY MEMBER CAN GO TO AND SUBMIT A REQUEST, WHICH IS THEN ACTIONED BY THAT FOOT PATROL TEAM.
UH, WE HAVE A COMMITMENT WITH THE CITY TO, TO ADDRESS ALL SERVICE REQUESTS MADE TO US, UH, WITHIN TWO HOURS.
BUT A DA, UH, AND, AND AGAIN, UM, ACCESSIBILITY ARE HIGH PRIORITY REQUESTS THAT WE'RE REQUIRED TO ACTION WITHIN AN HOUR.
I'M VERY HAPPY TO SAY THAT, UH, WITHIN 2024, CONTINUING INTO 2025, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO MEET AND EXCEED, UM, THOSE 3 1 1 GOALS ON THE RIGHT SIDE.
AND, AND WHAT I PERSONALLY THINK IS THE MOST EXCITING OF THE, OF THE PRESENTATION IS, UH, OUR LEVERAGING OF AI AND TECHNOLOGY AND THE CONTINUATION OF TECHNOLOGY TO BETTER OUR COMMUNITIES.
UH, SOME OF THE INITIATIVES THAT WE'RE WORKING ON IS AN AI POWERED END OF TRIP PARKING REVIEW, AND I HAVE A GREAT PICTURE OF IT LATER IN THE, UH, IN THE SLIDES.
BUT ESSENTIALLY TECHNOLOGY, UH, THAT IS, THAT IS AGAIN, GOVERNED BY AI THAT ESSENTIALLY, UH, REVIEWS EVERY END TRIP THAT HAPPENS WHEN A RIDER GETS OFF AND ENDS THEIR TRIP ON A LINE TO ENSURE THAT THEY'RE PARKING PROPERLY AND OUT OF THE BREEZEWAYS, OUT OF THE, OUT OF THE WALKWAYS CLEAR OF A DA.
UH, ADDITIONALLY, WE ALSO HAVE STARTED INSTITUTING BRAILLE LABELS ON OUR, UH, DEVICES, WHICH ESSENTIALLY THOSE THAT ARE VISUALLY IMPAIRED ARE ABLE TO WALK, TOUCH THE BRAILLE AND DETERMINE, HEY, THIS IS THE NUMBER I CAN CALL, OR THE WEBSITE I CAN GO TO OR HAVE SOMEONE CALL TO THEN REMOVE THAT DEVICE FROM THEIR, FROM THEIR AREAS.
UH, AGAIN, THAT NUMBER IS ONE 800 LINES.
UH, THIRDLY, SMART GEOFENCING GEOFENCING FOR THOSE THAT MAY NOT BE FAMILIAR WITH THE IDEA IS ESSENTIALLY USING, UH, GEOGRAPHICAL POINTS THROUGH OUR APP AND OUR SOFTWARE TO EVENTUALLY TO ESSENTIALLY BLOCK OFF CERTAIN AREAS, UH, FROM RIDERS TO BE ABLE TO ACCESS AS WELL AS DEVICES BEING ABLE TO GO INTO.
WE LARGELY USE GEO-FENCING DURING EVENTS, UH, SUCH AS SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST, UH, AS WELL AS AREAS WHERE WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THAT SAFETY IS A TOP CONCERN AND THAT ACCESSIBILITY IS THERE.
UH, LASTLY, INVESTMENT INTO SAFETY AND PARKING COMPLIANCE.
UH, VIA OUR APP, I'VE SPOKEN ABOUT A COUPLE OF THE TOOLS THAT WE USE.
UM, AGAIN, MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE SAFETY ALERTS, UH, ROBOT BUS, PARKING EDUCATION, UH, UH, PINS WITHIN OUR APP AS WELL AS COMPLIANCE TOOLS ALL GO INTO THE INVESTMENT THAT WE POUR INTO, UH, SAFETY AND ACCESSIBILITY WITHIN AUSTIN.
AND THEN TO WRAP UP, I JUST WANNA TALK ABOUT INNOVATIVE TECH, UH, FOR INCLUSIVE MOBILITY.
SOME OF THE REALLY EXCITING THINGS THAT WE HAVE COMING OUT.
UH, I'M VERY EXCITED FOR THIS ONE, UH, AND, AND WOULD LOVE TO GIVE YOU A HARD DATE OF WHEN WE WILL GET THESE OUT, BUT I DO NOT HAVE, WE DON'T HAVE QUITE HAVE THAT YET.
UM, BUT I CAN SAY THAT WE'RE WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO TRANSITION ALL OF OUR EXISTING BIKE PERMITS AND ROLL OUT LIME GLIDERS IS REALLY THE NEXT GENERATION OF MOBILITY OPTION.
UM, NOW YOUR QUESTION MAY BE YOUR LIME GLIDERS, RIGHT? VERSUS A TRADITIONAL BIKE.
UH, THE ACCESSIBILITY, THEY'RE PEDAL FREE.
THEY'RE ALSO LOW PROFILE AND VERY EASY TO RIDE.
WE'VE SEEN A VERY STRONG UPTICK IN, UH, ELDERLY, UH, DEMOGRAPHIC AS WELL AS WOMEN THAT REALLY ENJOY THE LIME GLIDER DUE TO, AGAIN, THAT LOWER PROFILE AND EASE OF ACCESSIBILITY AND GETTING ON ONE AND JUST BEING ABLE TO RIDE TWO OR THREE, EVEN 10 MILES DOWN THE ROAD.
AGAIN, THEY'RE ALSO SAFER AND COMPLIANT.
THEY'RE SMALL FORM FACTOR FITS VERY MUCH MORE, UH, CITY FRIENDLY WITH A CITY LIKE AUSTIN THAT'S BEAUTIFUL, RIGHT? AND HAS MANY WALKWAYS.
UM, AGAIN, IT'S ABOUT A SOLID, UH, UH, IT'S, IT'S SLIGHTLY BIGGER THAN A REGULAR SCOOTER.
SO MUCH SMALLER THAN A REGULAR BIKE.
UH, AND AGAIN, JUST THE INCLUSI, UH, INCLUSIVITY AND ADAPTABILITY, UH, FOR THOSE PEOPLE THAT, UH, MAY HAVE SPECIAL NEEDS OR THE ELDERLY, UH, WHO JUST MAY, YOU KNOW, REALLY BE AVERSE TO A REGULAR BIKE.
WE'VE SEEN THEM REALLY GRAVITATE TOWARDS THE LIME GLATTER.
UH, AGAIN, ALL THIS IS REALLY JUST TO BUILD A MORE EFFICIENT FUTURE.
[01:15:01]
GONNA CONTINUE TO WORK CLOSELY WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, AS WELL AS ALL, UH, STAKEHOLDERS AND IN THAT COMMON GOAL.AND THEN LAST BUT NOT LEAST AS FAR AS THE TECHNOLOGY GOES, WE JUST WANNA TALK ABOUT REAL QUICK TOUCH ON SOME OF OUR MORE, UH, HARDWARE THAT'S COMING OUT.
ONE WOULD BE OUR PARKING PRECISION BEACONS.
I HAVE A PICTURE HERE ON, UH, SOUTH CONGRESS.
SOME OF YOU MAY NOTICE, UH, THE JW MARRIOTT ACROSS THE STREET ON THE PHOTO.
UH, THESE BEACONS, UH, WE'RE VERY EXCITED FOR, UH, AND WHEN WE'RE, WE'RE PILOTING 'EM RIGHT, RIGHT NOW IN SELECT MARKETS.
BUT ESSENTIALLY THEY WILL ELIMINATE OUR GPS DRIFT ISSUE THAT HAS PLAGUED US FOR A LONG TIME.
UH, THEY USE BLUE TECHNO TECH BLUETOOTH TECHNOLOGY, WHICH ESSENTIALLY HONES IN ON ONE LOCALIZED AREA MAKING PARKING A BREEZE FOR A LOT OF RIDERS.
UH, IT'S ALSO ACCESSIBLE FOR, FOR RIDERS THAT MAY HAVE, UH, HEARING DISABILITIES.
IT GIVES INSTEAD OF VISUAL, UH, VISUAL CUE THAT TURNS BLUE ON THE ACTUAL SCOOTER WHEN IN, IN A COMPLIANT AREA.
UH, AND THEN THE ONE I'M MOST EXCITED ABOUT IS OUR AI POWERED PARKING VERIFICATION.
UH, AND SO, AGAIN, THIS IS THE PICTURE THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER IN THIS, IN THE DECK, UH, ONCE YOU DO COMPLETE YOUR RIDE, THE AI IS GOING TO ASK YOU TO, UH, ESSENTIALLY REVIEW AND VERIFY YOUR PARKING.
AND SO ONCE YOU CLICK ON THE CHECK MY PARKING BUTTON THERE, OUR AI SYSTEM GOES IN AND CAN TELL IF A SCOOTER IS IN A COMPLIANT AREA, IE AWAY FROM A DA ASIDE FROM A RAMP, YOU KNOW, IN A CLEAR AREA WHERE THERE'S PLENTY OF WALKING SPACE.
UH, I THINK OF UT CAMPUS WHERE OUR GOAL IS TO MAKE SURE THAT TWO, UH, TWO SIDE BY SIDE WHEELCHAIRS CAN GO BY ONE OF OUR SCOOTERS WITHOUT TOUCHING ONE.
SO, UH, AI POWERED VERIFICATION HAS REALLY, REALLY GONE A LONG WAY IN HELPING US WITH THAT.
AND THEN TO WRAP UP, THANK YOU SO MUCH, UH, FOR AGAIN THE TIME.
UH, WE WANNA THANK YOU TO YOUR COMMITMENT TO INNOVATION ACCESSIBILITY, AND WE INVITE YOU TO STAY CONNECTED WITH US.
UH, WE VALUE ALL THE FEEDBACK AND WELCOME OPPORTUNITIES TO COLLABORATE.
UH, I'VE LISTED CHRIS KEISHA AND MYSELF'S EMAIL HERE.
FEEL FREE PLEASE TO REACH OUT TO US AT ANY POINT IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, FEEDBACK, OR, UH, WANNA JUST DISCUSS PARTNERSHIPS OR ANYTHING ELSE.
UH, AND SO AGAIN, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.
UH, WE VERY MUCH APPRECIATE WORKING WITH YOU.
SO YOU HAVE A LOT OF REALLY GREAT SYSTEMS THAT WORK FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE LAW ABIDING.
WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN ONE OF YOUR SCOOTERS GETS JAIL BROKEN AND ENDS UP WHERE IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE? DO YOU GUYS HAVE A SYSTEM FOR GOING TO COLLECT, TO GO TO COLLECT THESE SCOOTERS WHEN THEY END UP IN OUR GREEN BELT IN OUR LAKES, OR JUST ON THE SIDEWALKS? UM, 'CAUSE I KNOW THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE, UM, ARE TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED LIKE YOU ARE, AND THEY CAN BREAK THESE SYSTEMS. I MEAN, I APPRECIATE THAT WHAT YOU'RE DOING IS, UM, LIKE REALLY SMART AND IF YOU'RE LAW ABIDING, THESE SYSTEMS WORK REALLY WELL.
BUT WE HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THIS CITY THAT AREN'T.
AND WHAT WE'RE DEALING WITH IS THAT WE'RE DEALING WITH PEOPLE WHO, WHO DON'T CARE ENOUGH TO EVEN PARK THEM.
SO, I MEAN, I APPRECIATE THAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE DOING A LOT FOR USER EDUCATION, AND THAT WORKS REALLY GREAT WHEN YOU HAVE A FUNCTIONING SOCIETY, BUT WE DON'T SEEM TO HAVE A FUNCTIONING SOCIETY THAT CAN, CAN USE A BORROW A SCOOTER SYSTEM.
SO IT'S LIKE, I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF YOUR, YOUR PRODUCT SHOULD BE AVAILABLE IN OUR MARKETPLACE.
I, I DON'T THINK WE'RE MATURE ENOUGH FOR IT, HONESTLY.
JENNIFER, THANK YOU FOR YOUR QUESTION.
UH, AND, AND TO YOUR POINT, RIGHT? UM, TOTALLY UNDERSTAND.
AND WHEN WE, WITH SOMETHING THAT WE CONSTANTLY LOOK TO WORK ON AT LYME RIGHT NOW, TO DIRECTLY ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, WE HAVE TWO DIFFERENT TEAMS. UH, WE'RE KIND OF TACKLING THE PROBLEM FROM TWO DIFFERENT WAYS.
AND WHEN WE'RE, AGAIN, CONTINUOUSLY THINKING ABOUT IT, UH, WE HAVE TWO DIFFERENT TEAMS THAT ARE REALLY LEVERAGED TO GO OUT AND TAKE CARE OF THOSE, UH, AREAS LIKE THE GREEN BELT, THE WATERWAYS, RIGHT? UH, WE HAVE AN IN-HOUSE TEAM CALLED OPERATIONAL SPECIALISTS THAT GO OUT EVERY SINGLE DAY.
THEY HAVE, THEY'RE ROTATED ON A SHIFT, UH, AND WE GO AFTER HIGH PRIORITY TASKS WITH THEM.
SO THINK OF THE SCOOTER THAT'S, UH, WAY FURTHER SOUTH THAN IT NEEDS TO BE ONE WAY UP IN ROUND ROCK, BEYOND OUR, OUR YEAH.
BUT IT'S LIKE LITHIUM BATTERIES THAT ARE LIKE IN THE WATERWAYS WHEN THEY'RE LIKE SUBMERGED IN TOWN LAKE.
THEY ARE LITHIUM, UH, THEY ARE RATED, UH, TO, TO SAFETY STANDARDS TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S NO LEAKAGE WITH WITHIN THE WATERWAYS.
UM, CHRIS, IF YOU WANNA ADD ANYTHING TO THAT AS WELL, CHRIS HAS BEEN WITH THE COMPANY FOR ABOUT SIX YEARS.
FOR HOW LONG? FOR HOW LONG CAN THEY BE SUBMERGED IN A WATERWAY? YEAH, SO THESE ARE IP 65 PROOF, UH, WA UH, BATTERIES.
AND SO WHAT HAPPENS IS WHENEVER THESE ARE SUBMERGED, UH, THEY STILL DISCHARGE, SO THEY'LL SLOWLY TRICKLE DOWN, BUT THEY WON'T, UH, EXPLODE OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
WHAT WE DO IS, I WASN'T WORRIED ABOUT 'EM EXPLODING.
UH, THEY WON'T EVEN CATCH FIRE.
SO WHAT HAPPENS IS WHENEVER THESE BATTERIES, THAT CASING THAT THEY'RE IN IS VERY PROTECTIVE, AND WHENEVER WE FIND THESE WATER LOGGED VEHICLES, WE ACTUALLY BRING THEM BACK TO OUR WAREHOUSE AND THEY GO THROUGH AN END OF LIFE OR RECYCLING PROCESS WHERE
[01:20:01]
EVERYTHING IS THEN RECYCLED SAFELY.SO AFTER THEY'VE BEEN IN THE WATER, YOU CAN'T REUSE THAT LITHIUM BATTERY.
SO IT, YOU CAN'T TELL ME THAT THAT'S NOT LEACHING INTO OUR WATERWAYS.
WHY IS IT UNUSABLE AGAIN AFTER IT'S BEEN IN THE WATERWAY? 'CAUSE AT THAT POINT, OH, THE CELLS ARE, ARE FULL, THE CELLS HAVE BEEN COMPROMISED AND THE BATTERY, I NEED TO, I HAVE A SEVEN O'CLOCK HARD STOP.
I WAS WAITING FOR THEM TO FINISH THE PRESENTATION BEFORE I LEFT BECAUSE WE WILL BE AT A QUORUM.
SO IF WE CAN LET 'EM FINISH THE PRESENTATION, THEN, THEN WE CAN END THE MEETING AND OH, I THOUGHT, I THOUGHT THE PRESENTATION WAS OVER.
THAT'S WHY I WAS ASKING QUESTIONS.
UH, AND SO IF, IF ANYONE NEEDS TO LEAVE, UH, THAT'S THE CONCLUSION OF OURS AND WE'RE HAPPY TO TAKE QUESTIONS POSTED, MAYBE WE CAN, MAYBE WE CAN COLLECT QUESTIONS AND SEND THEM OVER TO THE LYME TEAM AND THEN THEY CAN ANSWER THEM.
I WOULD, YEAH, I WOULD LOVE TO.
UM, YEAH, NO, IT'S JUST, WE'RE, WE'RE NOT, UM, WE HAVE NOT REACHED A, A POINT WHERE WE CAN GET THESE OUT OF THE SIDEWALK FOR PEOPLE WHO USE ASSISTIVE DEVICES LIKE A WHEELCHAIR OR A CANE TO HELP THEM SEE.
SO THAT, THAT WAS OUR MAIN CONCERN.
AND ALL OF, ALL OF YOUR TECHNOLOGY HAS NOT HELPED US GET THERE YET.
BUT I APPRECIATE YOU GUYS COMING.
CHRISTY, CAN WE PUSH THE LAST TWO ITEMS TO THE NEXT MEETING? DO WE NEED TO VOTE ON THAT? SURE.
I THINK IN THAT CASE, WE'LL PROBABLY NEED TO JUST GO AHEAD AND CLOSE IT SINCE MR. SINCE, UH, COMMISSIONER SALAZAR HAS TO GO, BUT, UM, SO WE'LL GO AHEAD AND ADJOURN THIS MEETING IF I CAN GET A MOTION FOR THAT.
THE, THIS MEETING, UH, OF THE MAYOR'S COMMITTEE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IS ADJOURNED.