* 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]
          WELCOME EVERYONE. 
          ARE WE READY TO START IN A MINUTE? ALL RIGHT. 
          THEY'VE GOT US ON CAMERA. 
          [CALL TO ORDER ]
WELCOME. 
          IT IS FEBRUARY 20TH, 2025, AND THIS IS THE MOBILITY COMMITTEE. 
          I'M GONNA CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER AT 1:05 PM AND WE ARE HERE AT CITY HALL. 
          UM, VICE CHAIR CADRE MIGHT BE ABLE TO JOIN US REMOTELY TODAY. 
          UM, BUT I AM JOINED ON THE DAIS BY NATASHA HARPER, MADISON VELA AND KRISTA LANE HERE TO, UM, TAKE ACTION ON OUR MOBILITY COMMITTEE. 
          UH, 
          [Public Communication: General ]
DO WE HAVE PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS? I THINK I SEE TWO PEOPLE HAVE SIGNED UP. 
          YES. 
          WE, UH, OUR FIRST, UH, SPEAKER IS, UH, PHILIP WILEY. 
          WELCOME. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND I THINK YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES. 
          YES, GO AHEAD. 
          UH, THANK YOU ALL FOR, UH, ALLOWING THE PUBLIC THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK. 
          UH, GREATLY APPRECIATED. 
          I'M HERE TO TALK A LITTLE BIT AGAIN ABOUT MOBILITY ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT. 
          UM, I HAVE THREE CHARTS THAT I PROMISED. 
          IT'LL BE QUICK. 
          UM, THIS IS A VIEW OF THE CAPITOL. 
          IT'S A VIEW OF THE CAPITOL FROM WHAT WE REFER TO IN THE DOWNTOWN PLAN AS THE JUDGES HILL DISTRICT. 
          UM, IT'S AN UNOBSTRUCTED, COMPLETE VIEW OF THE DOME, PARTIAL VIEW OF WHAT'S UNDERNEATH. 
          UM, ORIGINALLY WHEN I'VE BEEN DOING SOME RESEARCH, AND ORIGINALLY, UH, IN THE EARLY EIGHTIES WHEN, UM, THE CAPITAL VIEW CORRIDOR INITIATIVE WAS GOING FORWARD, WHICH WAS AT THE SAME TIME AS THE LDC, THEY WENT FORWARD TOGETHER. 
          UM, WHEN, WHEN THAT WORK WENT FORWARD, THERE WERE 60 DIFFERENT CORRIDORS, PROPOSED 30 MADE IT THROUGH THE PROCESS. 
          I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS ONE THAT DID NOT MAKE IT, BUT I CAN TELL YOU THIS IS, IN MY OPINION, AS A LONGTIME RESIDENT AROUND THERE, ONE OF THE BETTER ONES. 
          I'D SAY IT'S IN THE TOP HALF OF THE ONES THAT ACTUALLY MADE IT THROUGH THE CLIP LEVEL. 
          UM, IN FACT, IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT CHART, YOU WILL SEE THAT THERE ARE ACTUALLY NO CVCS ON PUBLIC LAND. 
          I'M, I'M SORRY, ON PRIVATE LAND NORTH OF 15TH STREET, OTHER THAN AS FAR AS I KNOW, UM, ONE THAT'S BEHIND THE CAMBRIDGE TOWER. 
          UH, AND THE CAMBRIDGE TOWER IN THE 1960S, UH, WAS UP ON, UH, MLK AND WAS THE TALLEST RESIDENTIAL BUILDING IN THE CITY. 
          UM, AND THEY, UH, THEY WERE FINE WITH THAT, BUT THERE WAS ANOTHER ONE THAT GOT A LITTLE BIT TOO CLOSE TO THE PEOPLE AT THE CAPITOL, AND THAT'S WHEN THE CVC WORK KICKED OFF. 
          UM, NEXT CHART, PLEASE. 
          UM, I, I ALMOST HAD AN EPIPHANY, AND THAT'S PART OF THE REASON WHY I'M HERE. 
          MAYBE I DID HAVE AN EPIPHANY. 
          UM, THE SENATE IN 1983, THESE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO WERE LEADING THE STATE OF TEXAS IN THE UPPER LEFT HAND CORNER AS A GENTLEMAN BY THE NAME OF WILLIAM HOBBY. 
          HE, UM, HE'S OWNED PROPERTY IN THE JUDGES HILL AREA SINCE 1975. 
          I THINK HE PROBABLY TOOK AN ACTIVE ROLE IN THIS DISCUSSION, WHICH YOU WOULD UNDERSTAND, KNOWING HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS MUCH BETTER THAN I DO. 
          THE THEME IN 1983, JUST AS IT IS TODAY, WAS EDUCATION, EDUCATION, EDUCATION. 
          AND BY THAT I MEAN NOT JUST MIDDLE SCHOOL, NOT JUST LOWER, BUT UP THROUGH THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS. 
          AND, UH, I THINK HE'S BEEN A HUGE ADVOCATE FOR, FOR, UH, UT. 
          AND BASICALLY, I LOOK AT THE CVC CHART AS AN ENABLEMENT TECHNOLOGY THAT ALLOWED UNO, THAT ALLOWED RAINY AND ALLOWED WHATEVER IT IS YOU DECIDE TO DO IN THE JUDGES HILL AREA. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME. 
          THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR THOUGHTS. 
          WE APPRECIATE IT. 
          CHAIR, CAN I ASK, UH, MR. WILEY A QUESTION? SURE. 
          UM, JUST REAL QUICK, IN GIVEN YOUR HISTORIC, UH, UH, INFORMATION AND CONTEXT, UH, DURING YOUR ALMOST EPIPHANY , UM, JUST CURIOUS TO KNOW IF, UM, DURING THE COURSE OF THAT DISCUSSION, THERE WAS ANY TALK ABOUT HOW COMMUNITY MEMBERS CONTRIBUTE INFORMATION, UM, TO THE PROCESS. 
          BRIEFLY, I'M JUST CURIOUS TO KNOW HISTORICALLY HOW THESE CONVERSATIONS TOOK SHAPE. 
          UH, IN ALL FAIRNESS, UH, UH, CHAIR ELLIS LAST, UH, SUGGESTED LAST TIME THAT I MIGHT WANNA WRITE SOME OF THIS DOWN. 
          I CERTAINLY WILL. 
          IT WOULD BE HELPFUL. 
          WRITE IT DOWN. 
          I'M IN, UH, WHAT I WOULD CALL RESEARCH STAGE RIGHT NOW. 
          THERE HAVE BEEN SOME PAPERS WRITTEN ON THIS IN THE PAST, BUT MY IMPRESSION IS THAT THE NEIGHBORHOODS WERE VERY ACTIVELY INVOLVED. 
          THE CITY WAS VERY ACTIVELY INVOLVED, AND THE STATE WAS VERY ACTIVELY INVOLVED. 
          AND THERE ARE SOME PAPERS, UH, INCLUDING IN THE ARCHIVES OF THE AUSTIN HISTORY CENTER MM-HMM . 
          THAT I'VE STARTED REFERENCING. 
          BUT 
          [00:05:01]
THANK YOU. 
          I APPRECIATE IT. 
          YEAH. 
          AND I, I APPRECIATE YOUR CONSISTENT PRESENCE AND DURING THE COURSE OF OUR GOVERNANCE AND MUNICIPAL PROCESSES, IT'S SUPER CRITICAL AND JUST SO REFRESHING TO SEE YOU ALWAYS AROUND. 
          OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS SCOTT JOHNSON. 
          WELCOME, MR. JOHNSON. 
          YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES. 
          GOOD AFTERNOON, UH, COMMITTEE MEMBERS. 
          MY NAME IS SCOTT JOHNSON. 
          I'M AN ADVOCATE TO TRY TO PREVENT DISTRACTED DRIVING. 
          AS SOME OF YOU KNOW, I TOOK A LEAD ROLE ON THIS IN THE 20 TEENS. 
          WHAT I WANNA BRING TO YOUR ATTENTION IS THAT DISTRACTED DRIVING IS A YEAR ROUND, UH, ISSUE THAT WE NEED TO BE ADDRESSING THROUGH AWARENESS, EDUCATION, AND ALSO TRYING TO FIND CREATIVE WAYS TO ENFORCE IT. 
          AS SOME OF YOU WHO ARE, I HAVEN'T SPOKEN TO ABOUT THIS TOPIC BEFORE, I'M NOT HERE TO CRITICIZE A PD FOR NOT ENFORCING THE ORDINANCE TO THE LEVELS THAT WE REACHED IN THE 20 TEENS IN 2017, THERE WERE 10,400 CITATIONS WRITTEN IN ONE YEAR. 
          IN, IN RECENT YEARS, IT'S DROPPED TO BELOW 250 CITATIONS PER YEAR. 
          SOMETHING THAT THE COUNCIL MEMBERS CAN DO THROUGH THEIR E-NEWSLETTERS, THROUGH MESSAGING WHEN THEY TALK ABOUT THIS ISSUE IN THE PUBLIC WITH CONSTITUENTS, IS THAT APRIL IS DISTRACTED DRIVING AWARENESS MONTH. 
          AND WE NEED TO MESSAGE THAT DURING APRIL AND AT OTHER TIMES OF YEAR, BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE DON'T KNOW IF THEY'VE COME FROM A PROGRESSIVE STATE IN NEW YORK OR CALIFORNIA. 
          IT WAS, IT'S A STATEWIDE BAN HERE. 
          IT'S ONLY CITY BY CITY. 
          SO WE NEED TO DO OUR BEST TO PREVENT CRASHES AND INJURIES AND FATALITIES. 
          DISTRACTED DRIVING NOW AND HAS BEEN THE LEADING CAUSE FOR CRASHES AND INJURIES. 
          IT GOES BEYOND AND ABOVE DRUNK DRIVING AND OTHER MEANS. 
          SO THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS ISSUE, AND I WANTED TO SHOW YOU AT LEAST PART OF A VIDEO. 
          PLEASE, PLEASE START IT NOW. 
          THAT'S CALLED DON'T BE A SCOTT. 
          IT'S ABOUT ME. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          SINCE THERE FOREVER, DUDE. 
          IT'S GONNA BE A FUN PARTY. 
          HECK YEAH. 
          ALL RIGHT, LET'S DO IT. 
          YOU GOT EVERYTHING, MAN. 
          I THINK SO. 
          OH WAIT, I DON'T KNOW WHERE I'M GOING. 
          WHAT ARE YOU DOING? HEY, YOU KNOW IT'S ILLEGAL TO USE YOUR CELL PHONE WHILE YOU'RE DRIVING. 
          REALLY? YOU'RE GONNA SKYPE RIGHT NOW? WHY NOT? HELLO, SCOTT. 
          HEY, WHAT'S UP? WAIT, ARE YOU DRIVING? UM, NO, I'M NOT DRIVING RIGHT NOW. 
          YES, HE IS DRIVING. 
          HEY, WE'RE HEADING TO THE PARTY, BUT, UM, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW THE ADDRESS. 
          GIMME THAT. 
          HEY, GIMME THAT. 
          HEY, MEMPHIS. 
          WAIT, GIMME, COME ON. 
          GIMME, COME ON. 
          OH, HEY, GOTTA GO. 
          SEE YOU SOON. 
          COME ON. 
          JEEZ. 
          YOU KNOW WHAT? I THINK THE ADDRESS IS ON THE FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE. 
          MY GOD. 
          WHERE'D YOU EVEN PULL THIS FROM? OUCH. 
          OH, COME ON. 
          DANG. 
          REALLY? YOU GONNA DO A LITTLE BIT OF GAMING WHILE YOU'RE DRIVING? IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE GONNA DO? COME ON, GIMME THAT, MAN. 
          YOU'RE RIGHT. 
          IT'S NO TIME FOR GAMES. 
          IT'S TIME FOR MUSIC. 
          I'M TALKING, COME ON. 
          LEMME DO. 
          OMG. 
          I THINK I GOT IT SAVED ON MY GPS SCOTT. 
          YOU CAN'T USE THAT EITHER. 
          WHILE WE'RE DRIVING, YOU GOTTA PULL OVER INTO THE NEXT PARKING LOT HERE. 
          WHAT? YEAH MAN. 
          WE'RE GONNA BE LATE THERE NOW. 
          TYPE IT DOWN. 
          TURN LEFT ONTO WEST RIVERSIDE. 
          DRIVE THERE. 
          YOU HAPPY? CAN WE GO NOW? MUCH HAPPIER. 
          SEE, HOW HARD WAS THAT? OKAY, YOU CAN STOP IT. 
          SO I REALIZE MY TIME'S UP. 
          THIS IS A TOOL THAT YOU CAN USE THE VISION ZERO PROGRAM AFTER THIS WAS DONE AND AFTER THE ORDINANCE WAS PASSED IN 2014, THEY PUT OUT ONE THAT'S, THAT'S 30 SECONDS. 
          SO YOU CAN USE THESE TO MESSAGE AND TRY TO FIND A WAY TO GO GO BEYOND JUST THE PEOPLE THAT YOU REPRESENT. 
          HOPEFULLY, THANK YOU. 
          WE CAN WORK TOGETHER AND, AND DO BETTER THAN WE'VE BEEN DOING NOW ON THE AWARENESS CAMPAIGN. 
          THANK YOU. 
          WE CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THAT. 
          AND IF YOU HAVEN'T SENT THAT INFORMATION TO OUR TEAMS, I'D LOVE TO INCLUDE IT IN A NEWSLETTER MOVING FORWARD AS WE APPROACH APRIL AND, AND HELP MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE KNOW HOW DANGEROUS IT IS TO DO THAT. 
          I WILL. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER SPEAKERS SIGNED UP, RAY? WE DO NOT. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          WE WILL NOW APPROVE THE MINUTES 
          [1. Approve the minutes of the Mobility Committee meeting of January 23, 2025. ]
OF THE MOBILITY COMMITTEE MEETING FROM JANUARY, 2020. 
          JANUARY 23RD. 
          2025. 
          DO I HAVE A MOTION FROM COUNCIL MEMBER HARBOR MADISON? SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER VELA. 
          ALL IN FAVOR ON THE DAAS, SAY AYE. 
          AYE. 
          UH, FOUR OF US IN ATTENDANCE APPROVE THAT ITEM. 
          UM, COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE WILL LIKELY NOT BE ABLE TO ATTEND. 
          HE'S DEALING WITH A FAMILY SITUATION AT THE MOMENT. 
          UM, THAT MOVES US 
          [2. Update from the Urban Transportation Commission (UTC) regarding actions from the February 4, 2025, meeting. ]
TO ITEM NUMBER TWO, UPDATE FROM THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION. 
          DO WE HAVE CHAIR SUSAN SUMMERS JOINING US? LOOKS LIKE SHE IS AVAILABLE ONLINE. 
          HELLO? CAN YOU HEAR ME? WE CAN. 
          WE CAN'T SEE YOU QUITE YET. 
          I DON'T OH, THERE WE GO. 
          THERE. 
          YOU'RE 
          [00:10:01]
OKAY. 
          GOOD. 
          PERFECT. 
          GO AHEAD. 
          EXCELLENT. 
          UM, THANK YOU, UH, CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, MEMBERS OF THE MOBILITY COMMITTEE. 
          IT'S A PLEASURE TO BE HERE WITH YOU TODAY TO DISCUSS, UM, THE, UH, HAPPENINGS FROM THE, UH, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4TH MEETING OF THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION. 
          SO, UM, UH, IF I GO THROUGH OUR AGENDA, UM, WE DID HAVE A DISCUSSION ITEM, AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL UPDATE, WHICH I THINK YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE PROBABLY A PRETTY SIMILAR ITEM ON YOUR AGENDA TODAY FOR REVIEW. 
          SO THAT WILL BE INTERESTING FOR YOU TO SEE AS WELL. 
          UM, I THINK UTC WILL PROBABLY COME BACK WITH, UM, A COMMENT AT OUR NEXT MEETING, WHICH IS, UM, MARCH 4TH. 
          AND THAT IS WITHIN THE COMMENT PERIOD FOR, UM, THE AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT. 
          I THINK THE DEADLINE FOR THAT IS MARCH 11TH. 
          SO WE HOPE TO HAVE A RECOMMENDATION FOR THAT P COMMENT PERIOD, UH, AT OUR MARCH MEETING. 
          AND THEN WE'LL ALSO, OF COURSE, SHARE WHAT WE DID WITH THAT, WITH YOU WHEN I SEE YOU NEXT. 
          UM, THE, UH, THEN WE HAD A RIGHT OF WAY VACATION ITEM. 
          THIS WAS REALLY, UH, I NORMALLY WOULD BARELY DISCUSS THIS WITH YOU, BUT I, I'VE NEVER SEEN US ACTUALLY OBJECT TO A RIGHT OF WAY VACATION PROPOSAL. 
          UM, THIS PROPOSAL DID COME TO US WITH GENERAL STAFF RECOMMENDATION FOR APPROVAL, BUT, UM, WHEN WE HEARD TESTIMONY OF THE APPLICANT AS WELL AS TESTIMONY OF SOME NEIGHBORS TO THE APPLICANT, UM, WE THOUGHT THERE WAS ENOUGH, UM, UNCERTAINTY ABOUT WHAT THE PUBLIC GOOD WAS IN THIS CASE, RIGHT? BECAUSE WHEN A RIGHT OF WAY VACATION IS, WE'RE GIVING UP A PUBLIC BENEFIT OF THE RIGHT OF WAY, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, FOR PRIVATE USE. 
          AND SO WE WERE VERY UNCERTAIN, UM, UH, THAT WHAT THE RIGHT PATHWAY WAS. 
          AND SO WE ACTUALLY MOVED TO OBJECT HERE. 
          UM, I DO THINK THAT PENDING A MEDIATION OR PLANNING BETWEEN THE TWO, THE APPLICANT AND THEIR NEIGHBOR, WE WOULD BE WILLING TO CERTAINLY LOOK AT A RIGHT OF WAY VACATION AGAIN IN THE FUTURE. 
          BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS IS IN CITY CODE AS A SPECIAL DUTY OF UTC. 
          A LOT OF OUR RIGHT OF WAY VACATIONS ARE VERY ROTE. 
          LIKE I I'M THINKING OF ONE WHERE WE LIKE VACATED AN UNUSED RIGHT OF WAY TO HELP CREATE A PLAZA SPACE AT THE MEXICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER. 
          LIKE, THAT'S OBVIOUSLY VERY OBVIOUS CASE FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD THERE, UM, TO BUILD UP OUR, UH, MAC. 
          BUT, UM, THIS ONE WAS A LITTLE, A LITTLE TOUGHER FOR US. 
          UH, HAVE NOT SEE, ACTUALLY HAVE NOT SEEN ANYTHING LIKE QUITE LIKE IT BEFORE IN MY UTC TIME. 
          SO YOU'LL SEE THAT PROBABLY WINDING ITS WAY THROUGH. 
          UM, MAYBE THE PARTIES CAN RESOLVE THAT BEFORE IT GETS TO COUNCIL. 
          BUT, UM, JUST LETTING YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT. 
          UM, AND YOU CAN WATCH OUR DISCUSSION, UM, IF YOU WANNA LEARN MORE. 
          UM, THEN THE, UH, OUR OTHER, UH, ACTION ITEM BESIDE THE RIGHT OF WAY VACATION WAS A DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATION RESPONDING TO CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION 20 24 1 2 1 2 DASH 1 3 3 ON THE REORGANIZATION OF CERTAIN BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, AND ASSOCIATE ENTITIES, AS I'M SURE THE PE THE MEMBERS OF THE MOBILITY COMMITTEE ARE, ARE PROBABLY VERY WELL AWARE. 
          UM, AND IT'S BEEN IN THE NEWS AS WELL THAT, UM, THERE HAS BEEN A RECOMMENDATION TO GREATLY CONSOLIDATE, UM, THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS. 
          AND SPECIFIC TO THE UTC, THERE WAS DISCUSSION OF RENAMING THE UTC TO THE URBAN MOBILITY COMMISSION. 
          AND, UM, THERE WAS ALSO DISCUSSION OF, UM, UM, MERGING IT WITH THE, THE BICYCLE ADVISORY COUNCIL AND THE PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COUNCIL. 
          AND IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE BICYCLE ADVISORY COUNCIL AND THE PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COUNCIL ARE QUITE DIFFERENT THAN A LOT OF THE OTHER BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS. 
          THEY DO RECEIVE STAFF SUPPORT, BUT THEY ARE NOT APPOINTED BY COUNCIL AND THEY'RE NOT SUBJECT TO TOMA. 
          SO THEY SORT OF LIVE IN A MORE IN BETWEEN SPACE THAN A COMMISSION LIKE THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION OR MANY OTHERS. 
          AND SO THERE WAS A, THE RECOMMENDATION HAD INITIALLY BEEN TO SAY, DON'T DO THIS. 
          AND WE HAD A REALLY, I MEAN, THE COMMISSIONERS WERE SORT OF ALL OVER THE PLACE. 
          I THINK WHAT I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SAY IS THAT THE UTC REALLY HONORS THE WORK OF THE BAC AND THE PAC. 
          WE THINK THAT THEY DO REALLY, REALLY GOOD WORK. 
          WE THINK THAT THEY'RE A REALLY GREAT RESOURCE FOR STAFF WHO WORK IN THE ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION AREAS. 
          HOWEVER, ULTIMATELY, AND AS I READ OUT THIS RECOMMENDATION, YOU'RE GONNA SEE WE DID NOT REALLY HAVE CONSENSUS ON THE UTC TO SAY, NO, DON'T DO THIS. 
          INSTEAD, THE RECOMMENDATION THAT WE'RE PROVIDING TO COUNCIL SORT OF HIGHLIGHTS THE WHY, LIKE, WHY WERE THESE CREATED IN THE FIRST PLACE WHEN WE ALREADY HAD UTC AND LIKE, GIVE SOME OF THE CONTEXT AND HONOR SOME OF THE WORK AND PROVIDE SOME IDEAS. 
          SO I'LL JUST KIND OF, I DON'T ALWAYS READ EVERYTHING OUT, BUT I THINK I WILL QUICKLY READ THIS OUT TO Y'ALL SO Y'ALL CAN GET SOME OF THIS CONTEXT. 
          [00:15:01]
SO THE RECOMMENDATION SAYS, WHEREAS CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION 20 24, 12 12 DASH 1 3 3 APPENDIX A PROPOSES MERGING THE BICYCLE ADVISORY COUNCIL, PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COUNCIL INTO THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION TO BE RENAMED THE URBAN MOBILITY COMMISSION. 
          AND WHEREAS THIS SAME RESOLUTION PURPORTS TO TAKE ACTION TO REDUCE REDUNDANCIES, INCREASE EFFICIENCY AMONG THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, TAX TASK FORCES, COUNCIL CORPORATIONS AND INTERGOVERNMENTAL BODIES. 
          AND WHEREAS THE BAC AND PAC ARE NOT, OR NOR HAVE THEY EVER SOUGHT TO BE A CITY OF AUSTIN BOARD COMMISSION TASK FORCE COUNCIL CORPORATION OR INTERGOVERNMENTAL BODY. 
          AND WHEREAS THE BAC AND PAC STATUS AS CITIZEN LED ASSOCIATED ENTITIES WOULD MAKE A MERGER WITH A SOVEREIGN COMMISSION LIKE THE UTC UNFEASIBLE AND WOULD LIKELY LEAD TO CONFLICTS WITH EXISTING CITY CODE AND STATE LAW. 
          I'LL PAUSE HERE AND SAY, I THINK THERE WAS CONFUSION. 
          LIKE SOME PEOPLE WERE THINKING, OH, THIS MEANS WE WOULD ADD, YOU KNOW, 20 PEOPLE FROM BAC AND 20 PEOPLE FROM PAC TO THE UTC AND HAVE IT BE A 50 PERSON BODY. 
          SO I THINK THERE WAS SOME CUTE CONFUSION ABOUT WHAT REALLY, IS THIS REALLY A MERGER OR IS IT REALLY JUST A CESSATION OF THE B-A-C-P-A-C AND MAYBE A LITTLE BIT OF A REORGANIZATION OF THE PURPOSE AND MISSION OF UTC. 
          UM, AND SO I'LL CONTINUE NOW, WHEREAS THE BAC AND PAC HAVE NOT SUFFERED FROM FREQUENT CANCELLATIONS OR LACK OF QUORUM, UM, AND ALL CANCELLATIONS SINCE 2020 HAVING BEEN EITHER TO ACCOMMODATE A JOINT B-A-C-P-A-C MEETING OR FOR AN OFFSITE VISIT WHERE NO ACTION WAS TAKEN. 
          AND WHEREAS BAC AND PAC DO NOT PLACE THE BOARD OF APPOINTING MEMBERS ON CITY COUNCIL AND REGULARLY HAVE OVER 50 APPLICATIONS FOR FEWER THAN A DOZEN POSITIONS, WHICH ARE THOROUGHLY AND ANONYMOUSLY REVIEWED BY SUBCOMMITTEE THAT MAKES RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE FULL MEMBERSHIP. 
          AND WHEREAS THE BAC AND PAC ARE HIGHLY EFFECTIVE ENGAGED ORGANIZATIONS, THE AUDITOR SPECIAL REPORT FINDING THAT BOARDS AND COMMISSIONED AVERAGE 7.5 RECOMMENDATIONS FROM 2021 TO 2022. 
          MEANWHILE, DURING THE SAME PERIOD, THE BAC PASSED 18 RECOMMENDATIONS AND THE PAC PASSED NINE, WHEREAS THE BAC AND PAC RECS SERVE UNIQUE FUNCTIONS THAT APPROVED HELPFUL FOR CITY COUNCIL STAFF FOR UTC AND FOR CITY COUNCIL, THERE'S A REFERENCE TO REC THERE. 
          AND WHEREAS THE CITIZEN LED NATURE OF BAC AND PAC ALLOWS THE BODIES TO FUNCTION AS AN IMPORTANT RESOURCE FOR FEEDBACK ON CITY STAFF FOR BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN INFRASTRUCTURE, LEANING ON MEMBERS LIVED EXPERIENCES USING BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN INFRASTRUCTURE ACROSS THE CITY. 
          AND WHEREAS THE UT STATUS IS A SOVEREIGN COMMISSION MAKES IT ILL SUITED TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK ON INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS AND DESIGNS WITH THE UTC, TAKING ON THE ROLE OF THE BAC AND PAC AND PROVIDING THAT FEEDBACK WOULD OVERBURDEN THE UTCS AGENDAS MEMBERS, STAFF LIAISONS, AND MONTHLY REPORTS TO MOBILITY COMMITTEE. 
          WHEREAS, AND WHEREAS CITY COUNCIL ACKNOWLEDGED THE BAC CITIZEN LED STRUCTURE AND RESOLUTION 20 13 0 9 26 DASH 80, CALLING THE BACA CITIZEN LED ORGANIZATION WITH THE CITY STAFF LIAISON. 
          SINCE THEN, UM, EVERY CITY OF AUSTIN BICYCLE PLAN HAS INCLUDED AN ACTION ITEM TO CONTINUE SUPPORTING THE BICYCLE ADVISORY COUNCIL. 
          AND WHEREAS CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION, UM, 20 13 0 9 26 DASH 80 ASKED CITY STAFF TO SUPPORT THE NEWLY FORMED PAC AND WORKED WITH THE UTC TO DEVELOP BYLAW CHANGES AND PROCESSES TO WORK WITH THE BAC AND PAC. 
          AND WHEREAS IN RESPONSE TO CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION, THE SAME ONE FROM 2013, THE UTC DISBANDED THE BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN COMMITTEE. 
          THIS USED TO BE A SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE UTC IN, IN FAVOR OF APPOINTING LIAISONS TO THE BOTH THE BAC AND PAC. 
          AND THE UTC DOES NOT WISH TO REESTABLISH THE COMMITTEE TO HANDLE THE WORKLOAD OF THE BAC AND PAC. 
          UM, NOW THEREFORE IT BE, IT RESOLVED. 
          THESE ARE WHAT WE GOT TO WAS THAT WE RECOMMEND YOU NOT RENAME US TO THE URBAN MOBILITY AS THE COMMISSION, AS THE NAME MAY LEAD RESIDENTS TO CONFUSE THE NEW URBAN MOBILITY COMMISSION WITH THE CITY COUNCIL MOBILITY COMMITTEE AND THE CENTRAL TEXAS REGIONAL MOBILITY AUTHORITY AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT THE UTC COMMITS TO WORKING WITH THE BAC AND PAC AND OR CITY STAFF TO IMPROVE COMMUNICATION, REDUCE IMPACTS ON STAFF TIME, AND BETTER DEFINE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE ORGANIZATIONS, INCLUDING BY SUBMITTING REVISED U-C-C-U-T-C BYLAWS TO THE CITY COUNCIL AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE BY THE COMMITTEE'S JULY 16TH, 2025 MEETING, AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THE UTC REQUEST, THE CITY MANAGER SUBMIT THIS RECOMMENDATION AND ANY BAC AND PAC RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE ISSUE TO THE CITY COUNCIL AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE AT THE COMMITTEE'S FEBRUARY 19TH, 2025 MEETING. 
          SO WE REALLY, WE DID THE INITIAL REC WAS TO SAY, DON'T DO THIS MERGER. 
          I THINK WHAT WE ENDED UP DOING, LIKE I, THERE WAS NOT, WE WERE NOT GONNA PASS THAT. 
          SO WE ENDED UP JUST, THIS IS VERY INFORMATIONAL AND YOU CAN KIND OF TELL WHERE IT WAS LEADING, AND THEN WE DON'T HAVE THAT LITTLE PUNCH OF LIKE, THE ACTUAL DON'T DO THIS. 
          WE JUST SORT OF SHOW SOME OF THE, THE POTENTIAL CHALLENGES. 
          I DO THINK THAT WE HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT THE NAME TRANSPORTATION VERSUS MOBILITY. 
          [00:20:01]
UM, YOU KNOW, TRANSPORTATION ACTUALLY MATCHES THE TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT, AND MAYBE YOU'RE GONNA RENAME THEM TOO. 
          I DON'T KNOW. 
          I THINK MOBILITY, ACTUALLY, SOMETIMES, THIS IS MY OPINION, IT CAN BE A LITTLE CONFUSING TO THE CITIZENS. 
          I, I GET THAT, LIKE, TRANSPORTATION OFTEN EQUALS CARS, BUT WHEN YOU TEACH SECOND GRADERS ABOUT TRANSPORTATION AND SOCIAL STUDIES, YOU DO INCLUDE WALKING AND BIKING IN ALL, ALL THE FORMS. I THINK SOMETIMES THE MOBILITY CONFUSES PEOPLE OR IT CONFUSES PEOPLE WITH OTHER ENTITIES, WHICH, YOU KNOW, I'M OPEN TO WHATEVER. 
          I DO THINK OUR NAME ALSO AS A SOVEREIGN COMMISSION. 
          IT MIGHT, IT MIGHT BE IN, I DON'T KNOW, IT MIGHT BE IN IT'S SOMEWHERE. 
          ANYWAY, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO LOOK AT HOW TO CHANGE IT. 
          BUT, UM, ANYWAY, WE JUST SORT OF SHOWED YOU SOME OF THE WORK, THE BAC AND PAC DO. 
          I, I THINK WE'RE, AND THE RECOMMENDATION KIND OF HIGHLIGHTS THIS, IF THE MERGER DOES GO THROUGH, I THINK THE UTC UM, RIGHT NOW IS, IS WORKING REALLY WELL. 
          WE'RE DOING A LOT OF WORK. 
          WE'RE DOING A LOT OF RECOMMENDATIONS NEARLY EVERY MEETING, MULTIPLE RECOMMENDATIONS. 
          UM, AND I THINK WE LOVE TO DO ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION. 
          I THINK THE QUESTION THAT WE HAVE IS THAT BAC AND PAC OFTEN GET REALLY INTO THE WEEDS ON SPECIFIC DESIGN IMPLEMENTATION FOR BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN PROJECTS IN A WAY THAT UTC HASN'T. 
          SO IF WE DO MERGE OR JUST END THE B-A-C-P-A-C, I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE A PROJECT FOR UTC TO FIGURE OUT HOW DO WE INCORPORATE THAT WORK? HOW DOES THAT WORK STILL HAPPEN? DO WE HAVE, DO WE REINSTITUTE A SUBCOMMITTEE ON THESE TOPICS? DO WE MAKE OUR MEETINGS LONGER? HOW DO WE ADJUST OUR WORKFLOW SO THAT WE CAN PROVIDE THAT KIND OF FEEDBACK? AND HOW CAN THE PEOPLE WHO ARE, YOU KNOW, USING THE FACILITIES, THE, THE THE BIKERS, THE PEDESTRIANS, UM, KNOW HOW TO COME TO US. 
          UM, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF ACTUALLY WHAT WE SEE IS PEOPLE JOIN THE B-A-C-P-A-C, THEY HAVE A LITTLE BIT LOWER BARRIER OF ENTRY. 
          UM, PEOPLE HEAR THAT THROUGH WORD OF MOUTH THROUGH THEIR FRIENDS, AND THEN A LOT OF TIMES THOSE PEOPLE END UP JOINING UTC. 
          THAT'S HOW THEY FIND OUT ABOUT UTC IS THEY JOIN B-A-C-P-A-C. 
          SO THIS IS NOT REALLY TO SAY, I THINK THERE WAS A LOT OF SUPPORT ON THE, UH, COMMISSION ALSO FOR SIMPLIFYING, UM, PROCESSES AND COMMISSIONS. 
          SO I THINK IT WAS, IT WAS A VERY MIXED AND FRUITFUL DISCUSSION, BUT I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE SOME OF THIS HISTORICAL CONTEXT AND POTENTIAL CHALLENGES HELPS THE COUNCIL MEMBERS IN THEIR DECISION MAKING. 
          SO THANKS FOR LISTENING TO ME AT LENGTH ON THAT. 
          I HOPE I PRESENTED THAT ADEQUATELY AND I'D CERTAINLY BE HAPPY TO TAKE QUESTIONS. 
          NO, I CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THAT. 
          I KNOW IT WAS BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION. 
          THERE WAS A PROPOSAL TO COMBINE THOSE, AND I HAD ASKED A COUPLE QUESTIONS THAT WE'RE STILL WAITING ON ANSWERS TO, WHICH IS, WHAT IS COUNCIL'S OVERSIGHT OF THE BAC AND THE PAC? UM, WE DON'T APPOINT PEOPLE NECESSARILY, AND SO THEY KIND OF OPERATE IN AN, AN AD HOC ENVIRONMENT AND CERTAINLY PROVIDE FANTASTIC FEEDBACK. 
          UM, I PERSONALLY THINK IT'S REALLY ADVANTAGEOUS FOR US TO BE ABLE TO HEAR FEEDBACK FROM FOLKS THAT ARE LOOKING AT THE PEDESTRIAN ENVIRONMENT AS WELL AS THE CYCLING ENVIRONMENT. 
          THERE'S A LOT OF OVERLAP WITH CYCLISTS AND, UH, THOSE WITH DISABILITIES WHO ARE OPERATING IN OUR PUBLIC SPACES AND LOOKING AT HOW FAST ARE PEOPLE MOVING, WHERE ARE SIDEWALKS MORE HELPFUL, WHERE ARE BIKE LANES MORE HELPFUL? AND TRYING TO NAVIGATE THOSE CONVERSATIONS ARE SOMETHING THAT I THINK ARE REALLY HELPFUL AS WE LOOK AT OUR GRID AND HOW WE CREATE CONNECTIVITY AND FILL IN GAPS IN THE NETWORK. 
          UM, SO I CERTAINLY SEE THE BENEFITS OF HAVING THE BAC AND THE PAC AND WAS KIND OF ASKING MY TEAM TO RESEARCH A LITTLE MORE ABOUT WHAT AUTHORITY DO WE HAVE TO TELL PEOPLE THEY CAN'T VOLUNTEER AND PROVIDE THEIR OWN RECOMMENDATIONS IN THEIR OWN CAPACITY. 
          AND SO I APPRECIATE THE UTC TAKING IN THAT FEEDBACK AND TRYING TO HELP US TRIAGE RECOMMENDATIONS AND LOOK AT THOSE CONVERSATIONS IN A WAY THAT IS MORE FORMALIZED. 
          I THINK THERE'S A BENEFIT TO HAVING ALL, ALL THREE, UM, ENTITIES OPERATING IN SIMILAR CAPACITIES WITH DIFFERENT FOCUSES. 
          YEAH. 
          AND IF YOU LOOK AT LIKE THE, HIS RECENT HISTORY, LIKE LAST FIVE TO SIX YEARS, YOU'LL SEE THAT CERTAIN THINGS COME THROUGH EACH BODY, UH, BIG POLICY THINGS. 
          AND OFTEN THERE'S SIMILAR WRECKS. 
          IN FACT, THERE'S BEEN TIMES WHERE UTC LOOKED AT A REC FOR B, A FROM BAC AND PAC AND EITHER JUST ENDORSED IT OR TOOK IT WITH A FEW ALTERATIONS AND MADE IT OUR REC. 
          BUT B, A, C AND PAC DEFINITELY GET FAR MORE INTO THE WEEDS ON PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION. 
          THEY'RE GETTING OUT SOMETIMES AND DOING RIDES OR WALKS AND LIKE EXPERIENCING IT ON THE GROUND TO LIKE PROVIDE THAT LEVEL OF FEEDBACK. 
          MY UNDERSTANDING WITH BAC IS THAT BAC ACTUALLY SOMEWHAT EXISTED BEFORE BECOMING AN ASSOCIATE ENTITY OF THE CITY AND RECEIVING STAFF SUPPORT. 
          SO THEY SORT OF OPERATE IT, I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY HOW THEY OPERATE IT, BUT THEY, THEY ACTUALLY AT SOME POINT WERE SORT OF AUTHORIZED WITH A STAFF SUPPORT PERSON. 
          AND THEN THE PAC WAS MORE CREATED IN 2013 ON THE MODEL OF THE BAC. 
          SO THEY ARE, UM, DEFINITELY IN THIS WEIRD MIDDLE GROUND AS ASSOCIATED ENTITIES AND RECEIVING STAFF SUPPORT. 
          I DON'T, I DON'T, I DON'T HONESTLY HAVE THE SOLUTION. 
          I KNOW THAT OBVIOUSLY WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT REDUCING COMMISSIONS DOWN TO A MINIMUM, THERE'S 
          [00:25:01]
GOING TO BE SOME PAIN AND SOMEONE'S GOING TO HAVE TO STOP SOME WORK THAT WAS BEING DONE IS GOING TO HAVE TO STOP. 
          I THINK WE CAN REALLY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT BAC AND PAC HAVE BEEN DOING REALLY FRUITFUL WORK, HAVE BEEN FUNCTIONING WELL, HAVE BEEN GENERALLY MEETING THEIR REQUIREMENTS. 
          UTC STANDS READY TO DO WHATEVER TO CONTINUE AS IS, IF YOU REORGANIZE THIS, WE'LL TRY TO FIGURE OUT WAYS TO MAKE SOME THAT THE WORK HAPPEN. 
          I DO THINK THERE'S A POTENTIALITY THAT SOME OF THE MOST TECHNICAL WORK MIGHT NOT BE APPROPRIATE FOR THE LARGE UTC BECAUSE WE'RE HAVING VERY, I MEAN, I WAS JUST TALKING TO OUR STAFF LEAD LIAISON AND WE'RE HAVING THREE HOUR MEETINGS RIGHT NOW, LIKE, TRY NOT TO BECOME THE PLANNING COMMISSION HERE. 
          RIGHT? SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK, UM, I THINK IT'S, UH, THERE'S A LOT OF WORK THAT NEEDS TO GET DONE AND FIGURING OUT HOW TO TAKE THE FEEDBACK ON THOSE VERY TECHNICAL IMPLEMENTATION THINGS, I THINK THAT WOULD BE THE CHALLENGE WITHOUT THE B-A-C-P-A-C, HOW TO FACILITATE THAT HAPPENING. 
          THERE'S NOTHING TO SAY B-A-C-P-A-C COULDN'T EXIST WITHOUT BEING AN ASSOCIATE ENTITY, BUT LIKE NO ONE REALLY KNOWS WHAT THAT MEANS. 
          LIKE THEY WOULDN'T HAVE THE STAFF SUPPORT, THEY PRESUMABLY WOULDN'T HAVE THE MEETING ROOMS. WOULD THEY JUST DISSOLVE? WHAT WOULD A MERGER REALLY MEAN IF YOU WERE BEING INTENTIONAL ABOUT A MERGER? GOTCHA. 
          VERSUS JUST DISSOLVING THEM AND SAYING, UTC, DO THE WORK NOW. 
          YEAH. 
          APPRECIATE THAT FEEDBACK. 
          WE'LL CERTAINLY BE TAKING THIS INTO CONSIDERATION AS WE LOOK AT SOME OF, SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE COMING THROUGH WITH OUR LOOK AT BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS AND THE, THE TIME THEY SERVE AND, UH, THE ISSUES THAT THEY TACKLE. 
          SO WE CERTAINLY APPRECIATE YOUR SERVICE AND THE REST OF THE UTC AND THE BAC AND THE PAC IN COVERING THESE ISSUES. 
          THEY'RE DEFINITELY HELPFUL TO COUNSEL AS WE WEIGH THESE OPTIONS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          FANTASTIC. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          [3. Federal mobility grants outlook and impacts on projects. ]
OUR FIRST ITEM THAT WE'RE GONNA GET A BRIEFING ON IS THE FEDERAL MOBILITY GRANTS OUTLOOK AND IMPACTS ON PROJECTS. 
          I BELIEVE WE HAVE OUR NEW INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATION OFFICER, CARRIE ROGERS, AS WELL AS OUR DIRECTOR OF TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS, RICHARD MENDOZA JOINING US TODAY. 
          WELCOME. 
          GOOD AFTERNOON. 
          THANK YOU CHAIR. 
          THANK YOU OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS. 
          RICHARD MENDOZA, DIRECTOR OF TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS, UH, DEPARTMENT. 
          AND I'M JOINED, UH, TODAY BY MS. CARRIE ROGERS, ENVIRON GOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS OFFICER. 
          AND, UH, TO GIVE YOU A FEDERAL MOBILITY GRANTS UPDATE, LOTS HAS BEEN HAPPENING IN THE LAST 30 DAYS REGARDING OUR FEDERAL GRANTS. 
          AND SO WE APPRECIATE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SIT DOWN AND TOUCH BASE WITH YOU ON THE STATUS OF OUR, UH, GRANTS SPECIFICALLY, UH, AS THEY APPLY TO, UH, TRANSPORTATION, PUBLIC WORKS, AND MOBILITY INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          SO WE'LL GO TO THE FIRST SLIDE AND, UM, I'M GONNA ASK MS. ROGERS TO COVER, UH, THE FIRST LEGISLATIVE TYPE ITEMS. THANK YOU, RICHARD. 
          IS THIS PICKING ME UP HERE? UM, GOOD AFTERNOON. 
          UH, THEY'RE VERY SENSITIVE, SO YES. 
          YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO HEAR YOURSELF, BUT OKAY. 
          WE ARE ABLE TO HEAR YOU. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          WELL, I'M A LOUD TALKER. 
          UM, CARRIE ROGERS. 
          I'M THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS OFFICER AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN. 
          UM, THIS IS MY INAUGURAL PRESENTATION IN A CITY COUNCIL SETTING, AND I APOLOGIZE, I AM NOT HERE WITH BETTER NEWS. 
          UM, UH, WHAT YOU HAVE ON THE SLIDE IN FRONT OF YOU IS A TIMELINE OF RECENT ACTIONS. 
          UH, WE'VE COMMUNICATED A NUMBER OF THESE ITEMS DIRECTLY WITH CITY COUNCIL AND OUR EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS, UM, BEGINNING WITH, UH, THE INCOMING PRESIDENT'S, UH, EXECUTIVE ORDER RELATING TO SPEND ACROSS THE BOARD. 
          UM, AND THEN A RESCISSION OF THAT PARTICULAR MEMO THAT WAS PAUSING GRANTS. 
          UM, IT ULTIMATELY LANDED IN THE COURTS AND, AND WE'VE SEEN A LOT OF OPINING FROM SCHOLARS ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT WHAT'S GOING ON IS, UM, IN OR OUTSIDE THE RULE OF LAW. 
          UM, FROM A GRANTS PERSPECTIVE, CITY STAFF IS CONTINUING TO, UM, REVIEW PENDING GRANT AGREEMENTS THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE, OR THOSE THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON. 
          UM, THERE IS SOME, YOU KNOW, LEGAL PRECEDENT TO GIVING CONGRESS AUTHORITY ON SPENDING, AND THAT'S WHERE YOU HAVE THE SCHOLARS COMING IN AND SAYING, UM, YOU KNOW, WHO'S ON FIRST TIER, UM, AWARDED AND EXEC, UM, EXECUTED GRANTS MAY BE ON STRONGER FOOTING BECAUSE, UM, THEIR LEGAL BINDING DOCUMENTS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN SIGNED OFF ON. 
          UM, REALLY WHERE WE SEE THE QUESTIONS COMING IN, UH, COMING FORWARD ARE RELATED TO THOSE PENDING GRANTS. 
          AND RICHARD WILL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT IN A MOMENT. 
          UM, ON A COUPLE OF SPECIFIC PROJECTS, UM, EXPECT IN SOME OF THESE CASES, FEDERAL AGENCIES WILL ATTEMPT TO, UH, COMPLY WITH THE ADMINISTRATION'S GOALS. 
          UM, AND IF YOU'LL GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU'LL SEE, UM, SPECIFICALLY HERE WE WANNA TALK ABOUT, UH, U-S-D-O-T AND THE RECENTLY APPOINTED NEW TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY, SEAN DUFFY. 
          UM, FOLLOWING THE, UM, EXECUTIVE ORDER FROM PRESIDENT TRUMP, UH, SECRETARY DUFFY HAD ISSUED AN ORDER TO U-S-D-O-T 
          [00:30:01]
TO BEGIN LOOKING AT, UM, ENSURING THAT ALL SPEND ACROSS THE DEPARTMENT IS COMPLIANT WITH THE PRESIDENT'S NEW EXECUTIVE ORDERS. 
          UH, WE COMMUNICATED SOMETHING, I BELIEVE TO COUNCIL ON FRIDAY WITH THESE GUIDELINES THAT SECRETARY DUFFY HAS SET IN PLACE ON HOW THE DEPARTMENT SHOULD BE MAKING DECISIONS REGARDING ITS FUNDING. 
          UM, AND YOU'LL SEE SOME, UH, SOME OF THE, YOU KNOW, I CALL UNFORTUNATE LANGUAGE THAT HAS BEEN ADVANCED EARLIER IN JANUARY FROM THE PRESIDENT'S OFFICE ABOUT WHAT THEY DEEMED TO BE APPROPRIATE SPEND. 
          AND SO WE'RE CONTINUING TO LOOK AT THOSE. 
          WE HAVE BEEN ASKED, WE HAVE A NUMBER OF FOLKS IN OUR OFFICE WHO, WHETHER IT'S TRANSPORTATION FOCUSED OR OTHER, UH, UM, RELATED TO OTHER GRANTS THAT ARE WORKING ON FEDERAL FUNDING, UM, PASS THROUGH FUNDING AT THE STATE LEVEL THAT COMES FROM DC. 
          AND WHAT WE HAVE ASKED STAFF TO DO IS TO CONTINUE PROCEEDING AS THEY WERE BEFORE, UNLESS SOMEONE CALLS YOU OR YOU GET A NOTICE THAT SAYS STOP ORDER, THAT YOU ARE TO CONTINUE OPERATING IN THAT FASHION. 
          UM, WE HAVE A COUPLE OF THOSE POTENTIALLY IMPACTED GRANTS HERE, UM, THAT WOULD BE SUBJECT TO THIS REVIEW THAT'S GOING ON WITH GRANTS AT U-S-D-O-T RIGHT NOW. 
          UM, WE CONTINUE TO FEEL VERY STRONGLY ABOUT THE MERITS OF THESE PROJECTS. 
          WE HAVE MADE OUR CASE, UH, EARLY AND OFTEN AND CONTINUE TO DO WITH OUR CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP ABOUT THE VALUE OF THESE PROJECTS, UM, AND OTHER GRANTS THAT COULD BE IMPACTED THROUGHOUT THE CITY. 
          SO, UM, SO THAT IS WHERE WE ARE TODAY. 
          CONTINUE AS YOU HAVE BEEN DOING, UM, AND WE WILL, UM, UH, CONTINUE TO HAVE LEGAL FOLKS WEIGH IN AND WE'RE WATCHING CLOSELY. 
          SO, UM, WITH THAT, I CAN ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS OR TURN IT BACK OVER TO RICHARD. 
          I THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. 
          DO WE HAVE QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE AT THIS POINT? COUNCIL MEMBER VELA. 
          SO THE THREE THAT YOU'RE LISTING HERE ARE AWARDED AND EXECUTED, BUT NOT RECEIVED. 
          DO YOU WANNA SPEAK TO THOSE, RICHARD? I CAN, YES. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER, WE'RE WATCHING THESE ESPECIALLY CLOSELY BECAUSE WHILE THEY HAVE BEEN AWARDED, THE AGREEMENTS HAVE NOT BEEN EXECUTED VERSUS WE'VE GOT ANOTHER MENU OF PROJECTS THAT HAVE GONE THROUGH THE, UH, AGREEMENT, UH, EXECUTED PHASE. 
          OKAY. 
          AND FOR EXAMPLE, ONE THAT, THAT I'M GLAD TO NOT SEE ON HERE WOULD BE THE, THE, THE WISHBONE, UH, UH, BRIDGE. 
          'CAUSE THAT WAS A FEDERALLY FUNDED, UH, GRANT, RIGHT? IT WAS. 
          AND THAT'S BEEN EXECUTED. 
          OKAY. 
          THAT'S BEEN EXECUTED, AND I'M ASSUMING THE MONEY HAS BEEN RECEIVED AS WELL. 
          WELL, AND LET, LET ME UM, SAY THIS TOO, THAT MOST FEDERAL, UH, GRANTS OR GRANTS IN GENERAL ARE REIMBURSEMENT BASED. 
          GOT IT. 
          AND SO WHEN YOU GET A HUNDRED, $2 MILLION GRANT, THEY DON'T SEND YOU A CHECK THE NEXT DAY. 
          IT IS BECAUSE JUST LIKE WE WOULD, YOU HIRE SOMEONE TO COME DO WORK AT YOUR HOUSE, YOU WANNA SEE THE WORK PERFORMED AND THEN YOU PAY THEM. 
          AND SO THAT'S WHY MOST GRANTS ARE REIMBURSEMENT BASED BASED, YEAH. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER, ACTUALLY, THE WISHBONE BRIDGE WAS A, UH, CONGRESSIONAL EARMARK. 
          OKAY. 
          AND THOSE ARE NOT AFFECTED BY THE EXECUTIVE ORDER. 
          THAT WORK IS CONTINUING FOR THAT PARTICULAR PROJECT. 
          AND I'M GONNA COVER THAT ON A SEPARATE SLIDE LATER IN THE PRESENTATION. 
          OKAY, GOT IT. 
          AND, AND, UH, AND GOOD TO KNOW THOUGH, ABOUT THE, UH, THE, AGAIN, JUST FROM A LEGAL POINT OF VIEW, UH, IF YOU'VE ACTUALLY POURED CONCRETE BASED ON AN AWARDED AND EXECUTED FEDERAL GRANT, THEN I THINK YOUR LEGAL CASE IS MUCH STRONGER TO ACTUALLY PULL DOWN THAT MONEY. 
          UH, OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          OKAY. 
          APPRECIATE THAT. 
          AND I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS A QUESTION AT THIS PHASE. 
          I KNOW THERE'S A COUPLE MORE SLIDES TO GET THROUGH, BUT, UM, UNDERSTANDING THAT REIMBURSEMENT PROCESS, UM, IT SEEMS LIKE SOME OF THESE PROJECTS MAY TAKE QUITE A BIT LONGER TO ACTUALLY FINISH THE PROJECTS. 
          AND SO THE CONVERSATION OVER ONE YEAR, THREE YEARS, FIVE YEARS, MAY CHANGE ALONG THE WAY. 
          AND SO IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WANNA ADD AT THAT POINT, OR JUST WHAT YOU'VE SAID STANDS, AND WE CAN MOVE ON TO THE OTHER SLIDES? I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON HAS A QUESTION AS WELL, BUT MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT REIMBURSEMENT MEANS WHEN IS IT FINISHED? AND, UM, WHAT ARE THE CONCERNS THERE? YEAH, TYPICALLY THERE IS A REGULAR CADENCE OF THE DRAWDOWN. 
          SO WHEN YOU SUBMIT YOUR GRANT AND IT'S AWARDED, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A SCHEDULE WITH IT. 
          YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE BUILDING A BRIDGE, YOU KNOW, DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, ET CETERA. 
          AND SO THAT'S PART OF THE GRANT AGREEMENT AND THE FUNDING REIMBURSEMENTS OUR BASED ON WHATEVER THAT TIMELINE IS. 
          AND SO IF IT'S EXPECTED TO BE A THREE YEAR PROJECT, THEN YOUR DRAW DOWNS MAY OCCUR ON A MONTHLY OR A QUARTERLY BASIS. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES. 
          IT JUST DEPENDS ON THE GRANT AGREEMENT ITSELF, ON THAT PARTICULAR PROJECT. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION, UH, BRIEF? I WAS JUST GONNA ASK AS A CONTINUATION OF COUNCIL MEMBER VELAS QUESTION, UM, UH, DIRECTOR MENDOZA, YOU, YOUR RESPONSE WAS, IT WAS A CONGRESSIONAL EARMARK. 
          DO WE HAVE A LIST OF THOSE? IS THAT, WHAT'S ON THAT SLIDE YOU WERE MAKING REFERENCE TO? 
          [00:35:01]
YES, WE DO. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I'VE GOT A LIST, THOSE OF THOSE, UH, LATER IN THE PRESENTATION. 
          AWESOME. 
          THANK YOU. 
          YES, THANK YOU, CHAIR, CONTINUE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          OKAY. 
          I DO WANNA MAKE ONE SLIGHT CORRECTION ON THAT PRIOR SLIDE. 
          THAT 1 0 2 IS A TYPO. 
          THAT SHOULD BE 1 0 5. 
          THAT'S THE NAE CAPTAIN STITCH UH, GRANT AWARD. 
          OKAY. 
          SO I'LL CONTINUE WITH JUST AN OVERVIEW OF THE SPECIFIC PROJECTS, UH, BEING MANAGED BY THE TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS, UH, DEPARTMENT. 
          UH, AT A HIGH LEVEL, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN FAIR, FAIRLY SUCCESSFUL THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS IN, IN LEVERAGING FEDERAL GRANT OPPORTUNITIES AND, AND BEING, HAVING SUCCESSFUL AWARDS TO THE TUNE OF A LITTLE OVER $230 MILLION. 
          UH, WE'VE DONE THIS, NOT ALONE. 
          WE'VE HAD STRONG SUPPORT IN OUR COMMUNITY AND WITH OUR, UH, COLLABORATIVE PARTNERS SUCH AS TEXDOT, CAP METRO AND CAMPO TO SECURE THESE GRANT AWARDS. 
          AND EXAMPLES OF THESE, UH, LARGE PROJECTS THAT WE ARE SUCCESSFUL IN APPLYING THIS FUNDING INCLUDE OUR CAPTAIN STITCH, UH, CAESAR CHAVEZ, THE FOURTH PROJECT, BRIDGE RECONSTRUCTION PROJECTS, URBAN TRAILS SAFE ROUTE, THE SCHOOL VISION ZERO SAFETY ENHANCEMENTS, AS WELL AS MOBILITY HUBS, WHICH ARE RELATED TO THE RECENT, UH, CARBON POLLUTION REDUCTION, UH, AND EQUITY GRANT. 
          DRILLING DOWN A LITTLE BIT FURTHER, THE DISCRETIONARY GRANTS AWARDED SINCE 2022. 
          ON THE NEXT SLIDE FROM MOST RECENT 2024, UH, INCLUDE THE CLIMATE POLLUTION REDUCTION GRANT. 
          YOU CAN SEE THE REMAINING GRANTS ALL THE WAY BACK TO 2022. 
          THE ONES I'VE HIGHLIGHTED HERE IN YELLOW ARE THOSE ONES THAT I, WE HAD ON A PREVIOUS SLIDE AS BEING ESPECIALLY, UH, PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE SINCE WE'VE NOT EXECUTED THE, UH, UH, THE FUNDING AGREEMENT. 
          THAT FUNDING AGREEMENT IN MANY CASES IS READY TO, IN NOW IS JUST PENDING THE COMPLETION OF THAT EXECUTIVE ORDER 90 DAY REVIEW. 
          UM, THE OTHER PROJECTS, WHILE THERE'S NOT BEEN ANY STOP ORDERS ISSUED, UH, WE ARE BEING VERY DELIBERATE AS WE PROGRESS THE CLIMATE POLLUTION REDUCTION. 
          GRANT WORK IS CONTINUING ON THAT WE'VE NOT APPLIED FOR, IT'S ACTUALLY A DRAWDOWN GRANT. 
          IT'S NOT A REIMBURSEMENT GRANT. 
          UH, BUT RIGHT NOW, THE FIRST YEAR OF THAT PROJECT IS PRIMARILY PLANNING WITH OUR INTERAGENCY PARTNERS. 
          UM, IF I MOVE DOWN TO THE RECONNECTING COMMUNITIES PILOT RELATED TO THE CAP AND STITCH, UH, WE HAVE SUBMITTED ONE INVOICE FOR REIMBURSEMENT ON THAT, AND WE'RE CONTINUING WORK. 
          UH, WE'VE NOT BEEN ISSUED A STOP ORDER ON THAT PROJECT, BUT WE ARE PROCEEDING CAUTIOUSLY UNDERSTANDING THAT THERE IS RISK THAT WE MAY NOT GET THAT REIMBURSEMENT GOING FORWARD. 
          DISCRETIONARY, UH, PENDING DISCRETIONARY GRANTS. 
          SO WE'VE NOT STOPPED APPLYING FOR GRANTS DURING THIS EXECUTIVE ORDER. 
          THERE HAVE BEEN NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES ISSUED. 
          UH, AN EXAMPLE OF THAT, OF COURSE, IS THE BILL GRANT THAT WE RECENTLY, UH, APPLIED FOR THE, UH, BERKS FROM SPUR URBAN TRAIL PROJECT. 
          UH, THAT ENTITY IN REVIEW IS THE U-S-D-O-T. 
          UH, THERE'S ALSO, UH, WORKING WITH CAMPO, WE'RE PROCEEDING WITH APPLICATIONS OR THEY'RE BEING REVIEWED, UH, FOR AWARD BY CAMPO, AS WELL AS U-S-D-O-T-F-H-W-A ON LOW CARBON TRANSPORTATION MATERIALS GRANT. 
          THIS IS SPECIFICALLY THE SUSTAINABILITY, LOW CARBON CONTACT, UH, CONTENT CONCRETE, UH, FOR SUSTAINABLE MATERIAL BUILDING MATERIALS. 
          SO WE'RE CONTINUING TO PURSUE GRANT OPPORTUNITIES, EVEN THOUGH, UH, WE'RE IN THIS CURRENT STATE OF REVIEW. 
          AND THEN FINALLY, THE LIST OF, UH, CONGRESSIONAL EARMARKS THAT WE HAVE ENJOYED, UH, VAST SUPPORT FROM OUR LOCAL CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION, NAMELY REPRESENTATIVES, CASAR AND DOGGETT. 
          UH, YOU CAN SEE THOSE GRANT AWARDS AND THE RELATED, UH, CORRESPONDING PROJECTS HERE. 
          WE'RE CONTINUING WORK ON, ON MANY OF THESE PROJECTS, INCLUDING ADVANCING THE FUNDING AGREEMENTS THROUGH TDOT. 
          THESE HAVE NOT BEEN AFFECTED BY THE EXECUTIVE ORDER, AND OUR WORK CONTINUES, UH, TO FULFILL THESE, UH, PROJECTS. 
          UM, AS YOU MENTIONED BEFORE, WISHBONE BRIDGE, NEAR LONGHORN DAM, THAT CONSTRUCTION IS, IS UNDERWAY. 
          UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WE'LL, WE'RE GONNA GET TO CELEBRATE THAT ONE HERE NOT TOO LONG FROM NOW. 
          SO, NEXT STEPS AGAIN IS, YOU KNOW, ALMOST ON A DAILY BASIS, UH, MYSELF AND OUR TEAM WORKING WITH IGRO ARE MONITORING COMMUNICATIONS OUT OF DC ON STATUS OF THOSE 
          [00:40:01]
REVIEWS. 
          UH, SO WE'LL BE ONGOING MONITORING THOSE EXECUTIVE ORDERS. 
          IF WE NEED TO PIVOT ON THE FLY, ON EXECUTING ON SOME PROJECTS, WE WILL BE ADAPTIVE IN TERMS OF OUR PLANNING FOR COMPLETING THESE PROJECTS. 
          UH, MANY OF THESE PROJECTS, YOU KNOW, IN, UH, INVOLVE COLLABORATIVE INTERAGENCY PARTNERS LIKE THE CARBON POLLUTION REDUCTION GRANT. 
          WE'RE IN CONSTANT COMMUNICATION WITH CAP METRO AND WITH OUR T-C-R-M-A, UH, AND CONTINUING THAT PLANNING WORK FOR, THAT'S A FIVE YEAR, UH, PROGRAM. 
          AND THEN WE'LL BE SHARING THOSE UPDATES ON A CONTINUED BASIS WITH THE COMMITTEE AND, AND THE REST OF COUNCIL, AS WE KNOW YOU WILL KNOW. 
          DOES THAT COMPLETES, UH, OUR UPDATE ON FEDERAL GRANTS AND THE IMPACTS OF THE RECENT, UH, EXECUTIVE ORDERS? AND WE'RE HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. 
          ALSO, HAVE MEMBERS OF MY PROJECT TEAM IF, UH, YOU HAVE MORE DETAILED DEEP DIVE QUESTIONS ON PROJECTS. 
          FANTASTIC. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I HAVE A QUESTION FROM COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON. 
          HE THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          UM, UH, I COULDN'T HELP BUT NOTICE THAT, UM, UH, DURING OR WITH THE TWO SIDES THAT MADE REFERENCE TO CAPTAIN STITCH 12, 11TH AND 12TH, SUITE STREET, CAPTAIN STITCH AREN'T MENTIONED. 
          NOT IN THE VULNERABLE PROJECTS, NOT IN THE EARMARKED CORRECT PROJECTS. 
          NOT IN THE GRANT PROJECT. 
          THEY'RE NOT MENTIONED AT ALL. 
          NO, MA'AM. 
          WE DON'T HAVE A GRANT APPLICATION EITHER PENDING OR AWARDED FOR THAT SECTION OF CAP AND STITCH. 
          IT'S NOT TO SAY THAT WE ARE NOT PLANNING TO APPLY AS THOSE GRANT OPPORTUNITIES BECOME MORE, UH, UH, PUBLISHED. 
          UH, RIGHT NOW, THE ONLY APPLICATION THAT WE HAVE IS THE CAESAR CHAVEZ TO FOURTH. 
          UH, WE DO HAVE A 11TH AND 12TH IN OUR CAPTAIN STITCH PROGRAMMING. 
          AND AS YOU KNOW, UH, WE OWE TDOT AND ANSWER ON, UH, A FUNDING COMMITMENT. 
          AND FROM OUR WORK SESSION LAST FALL, 11TH AND 12TH IS INCLUDED ON THAT. 
          AND FUNDING FOR THAT SECTION TO INCLUDE THE OTHER POTENTIAL LOCATIONS, UH, INCLUDE EVERYTHING ON THE TABLE TO INCLUDE NEW GRANT OPPORTUNITIES. 
          YOU KNOW, I'M CERTAINLY NOT AN ALARMIST, UM, BUT I'M A REALIST. 
          AND SO I'M JUST THINKING THROUGH HOW TO CONSIDER POTENTIAL IMPLICATIONS AND HAVE SOME PLANS BE THROUGH G . 
          SO IF WE'RE ALREADY LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, A RELATIVELY SUBSTANTIAL LIST OF VULNERABLE PROJECTS, UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS I LIKE TO TELL MY CONSTITUENTS IS I'M NOT A POLITICIAN. 
          I JUST WORK IN POLITICS. 
          UM, BECAUSE POLITICIANS WILL LIE TO YOU. 
          AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I FEEL VERY PROUD ABOUT IN TERMS OF MY ENGAGEMENT WITH THE COMMUNITY THAT I REPRESENT, IS THAT I TELL THEM THE TRUTH AND I OFFER THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE PREPARATION ACCORDINGLY. 
          UM, SO I'D LIKE TO BE ABLE TO, WITHOUT CATASTROPHIZING THE POTENTIAL, I'D LIKE TO BE ABLE TO GIVE THEM SOME REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS ABOUT WHAT OUR SUBMISSION OF A GRANT APPLICATION MIGHT BE RECEIVED LIKE. 
          UM, AND I'M CERTAINLY NOT ASKING YOU TO FORECAST THE FUTURE, BUT I WOULD VERY MUCH APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE THE MOST ACCURATE DATA THAT I HAVE IN FRONT OF ME TODAY BASED ON THE EXPERTS AND THEIR INTERPRETATION OF THE RISK. 
          AND SO I'M SORT OF ASKING FOR SOME GUIDANCE AS TO HOW TO TALK TO DISTRICT ONE RESIDENTS ABOUT POTENTIAL CAP AND STITCH. 
          AND ONE OF THE REASONS I ASK FOR, NO OTHER REASON, I FEEL VERY STRONGLY ABOUT THE POTENTIAL FOR ECONOMIC REDEVELOPMENT WITH 11TH AND 12TH STREET. 
          I MEAN, I, I LIVED IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. 
          I, I SERVED THE NEIGHBORHOOD. 
          I'VE WORKED IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD FOR THE BETTER PART OF A DECADE. 
          AND JUST RECOGNIZING HOW MUCH IN THE WAY OF PEDESTRIAN FRIENDLY ACCESS WOULD OPEN UP AND HOW COMMERCE WOULD SHIFT EXPONENTIALLY. 
          AND MOST, ESPECIALLY ON 12TH STREET, WHERE THERE'S TUMBLEWEEDS BLOWING DOWN THE BLOCK RIGHT NOW, THERE'S NOTHING THAT OPENS UNTIL SIX O'CLOCK. 
          AND EVEN THEN IT'S ONE RESTAURANT AND ONE BAR. 
          SO YOU HAVE A WHOLE CITY BLOCK, YOU KNOW, THE FORMER EPICENTER OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL HERITAGE DISTRICT THAT'S SITTING THERE COMPLETELY DEAD ALL DAY AND MOST OF THE NIGHT. 
          UM, THIS WILL CHANGE EVERYTHING REALLY OPENING UP ACCESS EAST WEST ACCESS. 
          UM, BUT I DON'T WANNA BE HYPING PEOPLE UP ABOUT THE POTENTIAL AND GET THEM EXCITED ABOUT THE POTENTIAL AND GET THEM MOVING IN THE DIRECTION OF SUPPORT OF CAPTAINS STITCH, GIVEN THAT THERE ARE SOME FOLKS WHO ARE, UM, NOT SOLD ON IT AND THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, GIVEN THEIR VERSION OF WHAT CAP STITCH WOULD POTENTIALLY LOOK LIKE AND THE COST BENEFIT OF THE EXPENSE. 
          AND I'M GIVEN MINE, UM, WHICH IS IMPORTANT. 
          EVERYBODY SHOULD HAVE ACCESS TO ALL THE INFORMATION AND DATA AVAILABLE, BUT I WANNA MAKE CERTAIN THAT MINE IS ACCURATE, FACTUAL, AND IS GIVING PEOPLE THE OPPORTUNITY TO RECOGNIZE WHAT THE RISKS ARE. 
          YES, MA'AM. 
          AND, AND YOU CAN SHARE WITH THE COMMUNITY THAT, UH, WE ARE 
          [00:45:01]
ACTIVELY MONITORING, UM, ANY POTENTIAL NEW GRANT OPPORTUNITIES. 
          THEY CAN COME FROM A MULTITUDE OF DIFFERENT PROGRAMS WITH DIFFERENT OBJECTIVES AND DIFFERENT CRITERIA. 
          WE, UH, DEFINITELY WOULD BE LOOKING, UH, FOR A GRANT OPPORTUNITY WHERE THAT PARTICULAR CAPTAIN DISH LOCATION WOULD BE MOST COMPETITIVE. 
          AND, UM, A COUPLE YEARS AGO, OUR DEPARTMENT HIRED A, A FULL-TIME GRANTS ADMINISTRATOR TO HELP US BE ON THE WATCH WORKING TOGETHER WITH IGRO, SO WE DON'T MISS ANY GRANT OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARISE. 
          SOMETIMES THEY COME ON NOTICE WITH A VERY SHORT TURNAROUND TIME TO, TO SCRAP TOGETHER THE APPLICATION MM-HMM . 
          AND SUBMIT. 
          BUT, UH, WE'RE ON CONTINUAL WATCH FOR, FOR THOSE OPPORTUNITIES AND WILL REMAIN. 
          MAY I SAY SOMETHING? YEAH. 
          UM, THANK YOU RICHARD. 
          AND, AND THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER. 
          AND I, I APPRECIATE YOUR WORDS AND KNOW RICHARD CAN SPEAK TO THE MERITS OF THE PROJECT ITSELF. 
          UM, I TOO AM NOT AN ALARMIST, BUT I WOULD NOT BE DOING MY JOB IF I DID NOT MAKE IT VERY CLEAR THAT THIS IS A VERY DIFFERENT TIME IN TERMS OF FUNDING AVAILABILITY FOR PROJECTS. 
          AND WHEREAS WE, UM, SAW A NUMBER OF YEARS WITH THE INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT AND JOBS ACT, UM, THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT, YOU KNOW, A NUMBER OF VERY POSITIVE PRO PROGRAMS FOR COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY THAT HELPED FILL THOSE LARGE GAPS. 
          BECAUSE CITIES ALONE, UM, COUNTIES ALONE, LOCAL GOVERNMENT ALONE CANNOT MEET ALL THE MOBILITY NEEDS OF A COMMUNITY. 
          RIGHT? RIGHT. 
          UM, AND SO THAT'S WHY WE TRY AND GET OUR TAX DOLLARS RETURNED IN THE FORM OF A GRANT, UM, LARGE GRANTS TO HELP GET THESE BIG, UH, SIGNATURE PROJECTS OVER THE GOAL LINE. 
          UM, BUT I DO THINK IT'S FAIR TO SAY, AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT LEADERSHIP UNDERSTANDS IT'S GOING TO BE A VERY DIFFERENT TIME AND ALL THE SUPPORT AND THE PIECES AND FOLKS MAY BE LINED UP FOR ANY ONE PARTICULAR PROJECT, BUT THOSE TYPES OF, UH, LARGE GRANTS MAY BE OUT OF REACH FOR US FOR SOME TIME. 
          UM, NOT SPECIFICALLY JUST OUR COMMUNITY, BUT BY WAY OF WHAT WE ARE SEEING COME OUT OF WASHINGTON RIGHT NOW, UM, NOT JUST ON TRANSPORTATION, BUT HOUSING, PUBLIC HEALTH, ALL OF THOSE THINGS. 
          SO, UM, SO I APPRECIATE WHAT YOU'RE SAYING AND WANT IT TO BE VERY, UM, DIRECT AND CLEAR BACK FOR YOUR CONSTITUENTS. 
          I APPRECIATE THAT VERY MUCH. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I HAD A QUICK QUESTION. 
          UM, YOU HAD MENTIONED SOME OF THESE GRANTS BEING REIMBURSEMENT BASED. 
          WE ALL KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS. 
          WE SPEND THE MONEY AND THEN WE GET REIMBURSED LATER FOR THE WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE. 
          UM, AND THEN THERE WAS A MENTION OF A DRAW DOWN GRANT, WHICH I'M ASSUMING MEANS THEY DRAW DOWN FROM THEIR FEDERAL DOLLARS AND PUT THOSE IN OUR BANK ACCOUNT BEFORE WE BUILD THE PROJECT. 
          CAN YOU CLARIFY THAT OR TELL ME IF THERE'S A THIRD OR MORE DIFFERENT TYPES OF FUNDING FOR THESE PROJECTS? GO AHEAD. 
          I WAS JUST GONNA SAY IF IT WAS DIRECTED AT ME, CHAIRWOMAN, UM, THE, THE DRAWDOWN IS THE REIMBURSEMENT. 
          SO WHEN YOU, UM, HAVE YOUR GRANT AGREEMENT, THERE'S, AND I'M OVERSIMPLIFYING, BUT YOU KNOW, THERE'S A PORTAL, ET CETERA. 
          AND SO YOU'RE GOING WHATEVER THE GRANT AGREEMENT SAYS, IN THIS CASE, WE'LL SAY MONTHLY. 
          SO YOU'RE MONTHLY GOING AND LOGGING IN AND YOU'RE UPLOADING YOUR INVOICES AND YOUR, YOU KNOW, COMPLIANCE REPORTING THAT YOU'VE DONE THIS, THIS, AND THIS, AND YOU'RE ABLE TO THEN DRAW DOWN THE FUNDS OR, OR, YOU KNOW, REIMBURSE BACK YOURSELF FOR THOSE, THOSE PARTICULAR EXPENSES. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, BUT I KNOW RICHARD MENTIONED SOMETHING WHERE YOU HAD AN ADVANCED FUNDING AGREEMENT RELATED, AND IT WASN'T REIMBURSEMENT BASED. 
          YEP. 
          IT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT. 
          THE CLIMATE POLLUTION REDUCTION GRANT IS ACTUALLY ADMINISTERED BY THE EPA, NOT THE U-S-D-O-T. 
          SO THE RULES ARE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT, AND WE'RE ABLE TO DRAW DOWN FUNDS IN A MORE EXPEDIENT MANNER THAN SAY, UH, A QUARTERLY OR MONTHLY OR ANNUALLY A FA WITH THE U-S-D-O-T. 
          OKAY. 
          SO DOES THAT MEAN WE WE GET THE MONEY UP FRONT OR DOES THAT JUST MEAN THERE'S A DIFFERENT PAY SCHEDULE? I DON'T KNOW THE DETAILS OF THOSE, BUT I CAN DEFINITELY GET THAT TO YOU. 
          OKAY. 
          I KNOW WE'RE GETTING INTO NITTY GRITTY HERE. 
          UM, AND THEN THERE WAS MENTION OF, OF THE REIMBURSEMENT STYLE VERSUS EARMARKS. 
          UM, AND SO EARMARKS ARE ONES THAT ARE ALREADY ASSIGNED PER CONGRESS, BUDGETARY ADOPTION, AND THERE ARE OTHERS THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DOES HAVE DISCRETION OVER WHETHER OR NOT THEY REIMBURSE. 
          IS THAT CORRECT? UM, SO THE COMMUNITY PROJECT FUNDING REQUEST, WHICH IS, UM, UH, KNOWN AS EARMARKS HISTORICALLY, HAVE BEEN REFERRED TO AS EARMARKS. 
          SO THOSE ARE, THAT THOSE ARE DISCRETIONARY SPEND DOLLARS. 
          AND IT IS A PROCESS THAT WENT AWAY A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO, I WANNA SAY, UH, DURING THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION AT THE START OF THAT, AND THEN WAS PUT BACK IN PLACE IN FISCAL YEAR 22. 
          AND SO EACH CONGRESSIONAL MEMBER AND THE RULES CHANGE SLIGHTLY EVERY YEAR. 
          UM, BUT EACH CONGRESSIONAL MEMBER CAN SUBMIT A NUMBER OF PROJECTS, UH, YOU KNOW, HOWEVER MUCH A NUMBER OF PROJECTS TO THE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE FOR THEIR CONSIDERATION. 
          AND, AND 
          [00:50:01]
SO WE'LL SAY CONGRESSMAN SMITH, HE CAN SUBMIT UP TO 15 PROJECTS. 
          USUALLY THOSE DISCRETIONARY PROJECTS ARE NO MORE THAN, YOU KNOW, A MILLION, IT MIGHT BE, YOU KNOW, $500,000 FOR SOME HELICOPTER, YOU KNOW, SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY, SOMETHING LIKE THAT, UM, FOR A PD. 
          UM, BUT SO THEY GET A CAP. 
          BUT UNDERSTAND CONGRESSMAN SMITH IS ALSO GETTING REQUESTS FROM THE COUNTY, FROM THE CITIES WITHIN THEIR DISTRICT. 
          AND SO THAT'S WHY THE CONGRESSIONAL MEMBER, YOU KNOW, HAS SOME DECISION MAKING IN WHAT THEY THEN FORWARD TO APPROPRIATIONS. 
          AND SO ONCE THE APPROPRIATIONS BILL HAS PASSED, UM, THOSE ARE THEN, YOU KNOW, AWARDED, IN THIS CASE, CITY OF AUSTIN. 
          WHAT I WILL TELL YOU IN THOSE, UM, FOR THOSE EARMARKS IS WHAT IS, THEN WHAT THEN HAPPENS IS A GRANT PROGRAM IS ESTABLISHED FOR THAT PROJECT. 
          SO IT, YOU DO A GRANT FUNDING AGREEMENT, YOU'RE HAVING TO SUBMIT COMPLIANCE REPORTING AND INVOICES, ET CETERA, TO DRAW DOWN FROM IT. 
          SO, SO ONCE IT'S AWARDED, IT BECOMES LIKE A GRANT, UM, FOR THAT SPECIFIC PROJECT. 
          OKAY. 
          THAT MAKES SENSE. 
          I APPRECIATE THAT CLARITY, AND I KNOW WE'LL PROBABLY COVER THIS STYLE OF CONVERSATION OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS AND MONTHS. 
          UM, BUT DEFINITELY WANNA EXPRESS MY APPRECIATION TO OUR, OUR CONGRESSMAN FOR GOING TO BAT FOR US AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL AND MAKING SURE THAT WE CAN DO THIS. 
          AND FOR THE GRANT RIDERS, I KNOW TPW HAS HAD GREAT SUCCESS WITH APPLYING FOR GRANTS. 
          AND NOW, UM, CARRIE ROGERS APPRECIATE YOU JOINING US TODAY FOR THIS. 
          BUT YOU'VE TALKED ABOUT THE NEED FOR US TO BE ABLE TO MONITOR OUR GRANTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY AND TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF A CENTRALIZED LOCATION WHERE WE KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH OUR GRANT DOLLARS AND ANY MONEY THAT WE CAN GET FROM STATE OR FEDERAL ASSISTANCE, UM, OBVIOUSLY HELPS OUR TAX DOLLARS GO FURTHER FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN. 
          SO WE GREATLY APPRECIATE THE INFORMATION YOU'VE PRESENTED TODAY. 
          ARE THERE ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO ANOTHER TOPIC? IT DOES NOT APPEAR, SO THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          THANK. 
          THE NEXT ITEM ON OUR 
          [4. Project Connect Austin Light Rail status update. ]
AGENDA IS GOING TO BE PROJECT CONNECT AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL STATUS UPDATE. 
          WE'VE GOT SOME GREAT FOLKS FROM A TP JOINING US TODAY TO GIVE US AN UPDATE. 
          THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT IS OPEN AND AVAILABLE FOR COMMENTS. 
          SO THEY'VE BROUGHT A HANDFUL OF GREAT FOLKS TO COME AND EDUCATE US ON WHERE WE'RE AT AND WHERE WE'RE GOING. 
          YOU MIGHT NEED TO PUSH THE, THE BUTTON. 
          OKAY. 
          THERE WE GO. 
          GOOD AFTERNOON. 
          UH, CHAIR ELLI AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING US. 
          UH, ALL THREE OF US ARE FROM AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP. 
          UH, MY NAME'S JENNIFER PINE, I'M EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT FOR PLANNING COMMUNITY AND FEDERAL PROGRAMS. UH, AND WE ALSO HAVE LINDSAY WOOD, WHO IS EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION, AND LISA STORR, WHO IS VICE PRESIDENT FOR ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN DESIGN. 
          UM, I WILL START, IF WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. 
          OH, I, SO SORRY, I HAVE A CLICKER. 
          UM, SO SINCE THE NEW YEAR STARTED, WE HAVE BEEN OUT AND ABOUT PROVIDING AN UPDATE ON THE AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL PROJECT, UH, AS A NEW TRANSPORTATION OPTION THAT WOULD KEEP AUSTIN MOVING AS IT CONTINUES TO GROW AND MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE ARE WELL CONNECTED WITH JOBS AND OTHER IMPORTANT DESTINATIONS. 
          UH, CERTAINLY IMPROVED MOBILITY IS GONNA BE A KEY BENEFIT OF THE NEW LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM, UH, WHETHER THAT'S CONGESTION RELIEF, UM, AND JUST GETTING MORE PEOPLE THROUGHPUT IN THE STREETS THAT WE ALREADY HAVE. 
          AS I THINK YOU ALREADY KNOW, UH, THE LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM WOULD BE ELECTRIC VEHICLES, UM, MOSTLY IN STREET IN OUR EXISTING RIGHTS OF WAY, UH, AND WOULD PROVIDE FREQUENT SERVICE EVERY FIVE TO 10 MINUTES FOR MOST OF THE DAY. 
          SO THE INPUT, SORRY, THE UPDATE THAT WE'VE BEEN PROVIDING, UM, IS ADDITIONAL DESIGN WORK THAT HAS, UH, WE'VE COMPLETED SINCE THE LAST TIME. 
          UH, WE WERE HOSTING A SET OF PUBLIC MEETINGS AND THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT. 
          UH, SO I'LL JUST START WITH A LITTLE BIT OF THE, THE PROJECT UPDATE, UH, BY SAYING YOU MAY RECALL ABOUT A YEAR AGO, UH, WE WERE HOSTING MEETINGS AND, UH, LETTING PEOPLE KNOW THE STUDIES WE WERE ABOUT TO EMBARK ON AND GETTING THEIR INPUT ON A VARIETY OF THINGS, INCLUDING A SET OF DESIGN OPTIONS. 
          SO NOW, UH, WE'VE BEEN STUDYING IT OVER THE PAST YEAR AND ARE COMING BACK WITH RECOMMENDATIONS ON THOSE OPTIONS. 
          UM, SO SOME, I'LL JUST BRIEFLY MENTION SOME OF THOSE KEY RECOMMENDATIONS. 
          UM, UH, SEVERAL OF THEM INCLUDE STATIONS, INCLUDING WE ARE RECOMMENDING THE ADDITION OF A NEW STATION DOWNTOWN NEAR WILDRIDGE SQUARE. 
          UM, WE'RE AFFIRMING A STATION LOCATION NEAR THE CONVENTION CENTER. 
          UM, WE HA TOOK A LOOK AT SOME OF THE STATIONS ALONG EAST RIVERSIDE AND HAVE RECOMMENDED, UM, A FEW INCLUDING AT GROVE AND MONTOPOLIS. 
          UM, AND WE ARE RECOMMENDING TO OMIT THE TRAVIS HEIGHTS STATION, WHICH HAD BEEN CON CONTEMPLATED PREVIOUSLY. 
          UH, IN ADDITION, UH, WE ARE LOOKING AT AN ELEVATED STATION AT WATERFRONT AND WE ARE ALSO PROPOSING A CONCEPT ALONG EAST RIVERSIDE, UH, THAT WE'RE CALLING A GREENWAY CONCEPT. 
          UH, I'M 
          [00:55:01]
GONNA PASS IT OVER TO LISA TO, UH, SPEAK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THESE PROJECT ELEMENTS. 
          JUST CHECKING THAT YOU ALL CAN STILL HEAR ME. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, YEAH, SO AS JEN MENTIONED, ONE OF THE RECOMMENDED OPTIONS WOULD INTRODUCE PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE PATHWAYS INBOARD ALONG THE GUIDEWAY IN THE MEDIAN OF EAST RIVERSIDE DRIVE. 
          THIS WOULD STRETCH FOR SORT OF ALL FIVE STATIONS THAT ARE EAST OF 35 HERE FROM LAKESHORE BOULEVARD ALL THE WAY TO YELLOW JACKET, AND WOULD ESSENTIALLY PROVIDE FOLKS AN ADDITIONAL HIKE AND BIKE OR, OR PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE PATHWAY IN THE CENTER OF THE TRAFFIC LANES, UH, TO CONNECT MORE QUICKLY AND EASILY WITH THE LIGHT RAIL ITSELF, AND ALSO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL SAFE MOBILITY OPTIONS ALONG THAT STRETCH. 
          IN ADDITION, AS YOU CAN SEE, UH, WE THINK THAT THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR FAR MORE, UH, SHADE TREES IN THIS AREA BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF OVERHEAD OR UNDERGROUND UTILITY, UH, CONFLICTS AND DRIVEWAYS THAT INTERSECT THIS WHOLE SECTION. 
          UM, AND LET ME GO, THERE'S ANOTHER VIEW OF IT. 
          THIS IS TAKEN SORT OF FROM A, I DON'T KNOW, BALLOON SHOT AT, UH, PLEASANT VALLEY AND EAST RIVERSIDE DRIVE LOOKING TOWARD DOWNTOWN THERE. 
          UM, WE DID A LOT OF RESEARCH INTO THE USER EXPERIENCE AND WHAT WOULD DRIVE PEOPLE TO TAKE LIGHT RAIL AS A NEW CHOICE IN AUSTIN INSTEAD OF OTHER OPTIONS FOR MOBILITY WITHIN THE SYSTEM. 
          AND ONE OF THOSE OPTIONS WAS, OR ONE OF THOSE FINDINGS WAS REALLY TO TRY AND MAKE THE CONNECTIONS AS EASY AS POSSIBLE AND TO HAVE THAT CHOICE BE AS EVIDENT AS POSSIBLE. 
          ANOTHER LOCATION WHERE WE HAVE A MORE PEDESTRIAN ORIENTED STATION AREA IS AT UT. 
          SO THIS IS ALONG THE DRAG WHERE WE ARE, UH, LIMITING THOSE, THOSE MOBILITY, UH, CHOICES HERE TO LIGHT RAIL, BUS, BIKE OR PEDESTRIAN, UM, ACCESS. 
          SO THERE WON'T BE ANY VEHICULAR TRAFFIC ALONG THIS STRETCH OF THE ALIGNMENT. 
          AND THEN THE LAST CONCEPTUAL VISUALIZATION THAT WE'LL SHOW YOU IS AT THE SOUTHERN END OF LINE FOR THIS PHASE ONE ALIGNMENT. 
          THIS IS AT UL TORF AND SOUTH CONGRESS THAT INTRODUCES THIS, YOU KNOW, PLAZA CONDITION, UM, END OF LINE AMENITIES THAT YOU COULD FIND AS YOU GO SHOPPING AS WELL. 
          AND I'M GONNA PASS IT OVER TO LINDSAY TO, UH, TALK ABOUT THE TIMELINE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, SO I WANNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHERE WE ARE AT IN TIME, UH, ON THE PROJECT, INCLUDING THE FEDERAL PROCESS THAT WE ARE ADVANCING WITHIN. 
          WE HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED INTO AND ARE CURRENTLY WITHIN A PROJECT PHASE CALLED PROJECT DEVELOPMENT, WHICH INCLUDES THE PRELIMINARY DESIGN AND THIS ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW, UH, THAT WE'RE, WE'RE OUT TALKING TO OUR COMMUNITY ABOUT TODAY AND GETTING FEEDBACK ON BOTH OF THOSE ELEMENTS, THE DESIGN AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS. 
          AND AS WE LOOK TOWARD COMPLETING THAT PHASE OF WORK, WE'RE ALREADY PREPARING FOR THE NEXT PHASE, WHICH IS TO ENTER INTO ENGINEERING OR FINAL DESIGN, UH, FOLLOWED BY CONSTRUCTION IN ORDER TO BE PREPARED FOR BEING ABLE TO QUICKLY MOVE FROM ONE PHASE INTO THE NEXT. 
          WE ARE STARTING A PROCESS THIS YEAR TO BEGIN THE PROCUREMENT AND SOLICITATION OF OUR FINAL DESIGNERS AND CONTRACTORS. 
          AND WE'LL BE TAKING THIS THIS NEXT YEAR, UM, TO BE ABLE TO BRING THEM ON BOARD SO THAT AS WE COMPLETE THIS ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESS, WE CAN SEAMLESSLY AND QUICKLY MOVE IMMEDIATELY INTO THAT NEXT PHASE OF WORK IN EARLY 2026. 
          UM, SO WE HAVE RELEASED A DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT. 
          IT IS ON ATP'S WEBSITE. 
          UM, IT IS AVAILABLE FOR A 60 DAY, UH, PUBLIC REVIEW AND COMMENT PERIOD. 
          UM, THAT KICKED OFF ON JANUARY 10TH AND WILL CONCLUDE ON MARCH 11TH. 
          UM, SO THIS, THE EIS LOOKS AT A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT TOPICS CONSIDERING HOW LIGHT RAIL WOULD FIT INTO THE COMMUNITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SURROUNDINGS, BOTH DURING CONSTRUCTION AND LONG TERM DURING OPERATIONS. 
          SO WE'RE ENCOURAGING EVERYBODY TO GO TAKE A LOOK. 
          UM, THERE'S A LOT OF MATERIAL ON OUR WEBSITE, UH, AND PROVIDE FEEDBACK. 
          UH, DURING THIS PERIOD, ALL THE COMMENTS THAT WE RECEIVED DURING THE 60 DAY PERIOD WE WILL, UH, REVIEW AND RESPOND TO IN THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT THAT WE ARE ANTICIPATING LATER THIS YEAR. 
          SO WE ARE A LITTLE MORE THAN HALFWAY THROUGH THE 60 DAY PERIOD, SO WE'VE GOTTEN QUITE A BIT OF FEEDBACK SO FAR. 
          UH, WE'VE HOSTED FOUR PUBLIC MEETINGS. 
          UM, WE'VE ALSO, YOU KNOW, DONE PRESENTATIONS LIKE THIS AT A NUMBER OF THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOOD GROUPS AND ORGANIZATIONS. 
          UM, AND AS THOSE REQUESTS COME IN, WE WILL ALWAYS GO OUT AND SPEAK TO FOLKS, UM, TO COMMENT ON THE EIS, UM, AND THE DESIGN. 
          IT'S AS ASSOCIATED WITH, UM, PEOPLE CAN 
          [01:00:01]
GO ONTO THE WEBSITE. 
          ALL OF THE INFORMATION THAT WAS, UM, AT THE PUBLIC MEETINGS IS VIEWABLE, UM, ON THE WEBSITE AS WELL. 
          UM, THEY CAN ALSO CALL OR EMAIL, UM, OR SEND VIA REGULAR MAIL. 
          UM, SO FAR, UM, AT THE PUBLIC MEETINGS, WE HAD OVER 600 ATTENDEES. 
          UM, AND WE'VE HAD IN-PERSON ENGAGEMENT WITH OVER 2,500 PEOPLE. 
          UM, AND THAT COULD INCLUDE, THEY ATTENDED A PUBLIC MEETING, THEY ATTENDED ANOTHER PRESENTATION. 
          UH, WE GO OUT TO BUS STOPS, UM, AND DO PERSON TO PERSON OUTREACH THERE TO LET FOLKS KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON AND HOW THEY CAN LEARN MORE. 
          UM, AS THE COMMENTS ARE COMING IN, UH, WE HAVE OVER 600 COMMENTS SUBMITTALS SO FAR, AND WE CERTAINLY EXPECT TO CONTINUE TO RECEIVE THEM FOR THE NEXT MONTH OR SO. 
          UH, SO WITH THAT, THAT CONCLUDES THE PRESENTATION WE PUT TOGETHER, BUT WE'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. 
          DO WE HAVE QUESTIONS FROM COMMITTEE MEMBERS? YOU GOTTA HAVE SOME QUESTIONS. 
          , IT'S, THANK, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS. 
          UH, UH, AGAIN, IT'S GREAT TO, TO THE, THE DETAIL, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT THE DETAIL AND LOOKING AT THE POSSIBILITIES. 
          IT'S, IT'S REALLY VERY, UH, EXCITING. 
          UH, JUST A A A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS. 
          AND, AND THE FIRST ONE WOULD BE ON THE, UM, THE, THE PARKING RIDE FACILITIES, THE PROPOSED PARKING RIDE FACILITIES. 
          THAT'S THE END OF THE LINE. 
          UM, I, UH, I, I KNOW THERE'S SOME DISCUSSION RIGHT NOW ABOUT THOSE. 
          AND AGAIN, I MEAN, MY, MY, I I DEFINITELY DO NOT WANT THOSE TO BE THE END OF THE LINE, YOU KNOW, AND SO THERE'S A KIND OF A QUESTION OF WHAT A ROLE IS THOSE GONNA PLAY? UH, HOW MUCH DO WE WANT TO INVEST IN A, A PARKING RIDE FACILITY THAT MAY OR MAY NOT BE NEEDED IN, YOU KNOW, A DECADE, YOU KNOW, PLUS HOPEFULLY WILL NOT BE NEEDED. 
          HOPEFULLY THAT WON'T BE THE END OF THE LINE. 
          UH, ANY, UH, UH, THOUGHTS ON THAT? AND THEN THE OTHER THING, AND, AND AGAIN, I DON'T KNOW IF WE'RE, UH, IN THIS LEVEL OF DETAIL, BUT IS THERE ANY SENSE OF WHAT THE, UH, PARK AND RIDE STATION, THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THOSE, UH, UH, PARK AND RIDE, UH, STATIONS, UH, AS WELL? SO MAYBE I CAN START WITH THAT. 
          UM, SO YES, WE, UM, OUR PRELIMINARY DESIGN DOES INCLUDE PARKING FACILITIES AT EACH END OF THE LINE. 
          SO AT 38TH STREET OVER AT YELLOW JACKET AND DOWN, UH, AT SOUTH CONGRESS NEAR OLTORF, VARIOUS SIZES OF PARKING FACILITIES. 
          AND HOW WE'VE ESTIMATED THE CAPACITY OF THOSE FACILITIES, UM, IS THROUGH A MODELING EXERCISE THAT WE HAVE CONDUCTED USING KINDA FTA SANCTIONS AND REALLY ACTUALLY FTA DEVELOPED MODELING SOFTWARE. 
          SO, UM, TO YOUR QUESTION ABOUT THESE ARE TEMPORARY ENDS OF LINE, BECAUSE WE AGREE THIS IS OUR FIRST PHASE OF LIGHT RAIL, AND WE ARE LOOKING AS WE DESIGN THIS PHASE TO ALWAYS BE THINKING ABOUT HOW IS IT EXPANDABLE AND HOW ARE WE MAKING THE RIGHT DECISIONS NOW, UM, TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO EXPAND IT. 
          SO IN THE CASE OF SIZING THE PARK AND RIDES, THAT IS PART OF THE CONSIDERATION. 
          UM, WHEN WE ARE, WE'RE ESTIMATING THE CAPACITY THAT WE ARE DESIGNING FOR, UM, WE HAVE HEARD QUITE A BIT OF FEEDBACK, UM, ON SOME OF THOSE LOCATIONS THAT WE'RE TAKING IN RIGHT NOW. 
          UM, AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO LOOK AT THOSE LOCATIONS, YOU KNOW, BASED ON THAT FEEDBACK. 
          UM, AS WE GO OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS, UH, I'LL TURN OVER TO ON THE COST. 
          UH, I WANNA HIGHLIGHT THAT EACH OF THE THREE END OF LINE PARK AND RIDE, UM, SCENARIOS ARE, ARE DIFFERENT FROM EACH OTHER. 
          SO AT 38TH STREET, LOOKING AT POTENTIALLY A STRUCTURED GARAGE, UH, AT THE SOUTH IN THAT BEING THE NORTH END OF LINE FOR PHASE ONE, THE SOUTH END OF LINE FOR THIS FIRST PHASE NEAR , LOOKING AT SOME LEASE OPPORTUNITIES AND SOME EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          UH, SO THAT HAS A, A VERY DIFFERENT SORT OF COST THAN BUILDING SOMETHING NEW, BUT REALLY HAVING THE OPPORTUNITY TO CAPITALIZE ON EXISTING, UH, CAPACITY IN THAT AREA. 
          AND THEN AT THE EAST END OF LINE, NEAR THE YELLOW JACKET STATION, LOOKING AT A SURFACE LOT. 
          UH, SO THOSE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF STEP UP IN COST CATEGORY. 
          UH, I DON'T HAVE THE EXACT NUMBERS FOR, FOR I, ANY OF THOSE, UH, OFFHAND, BUT WE'D BE HAPPY TO FOLLOW UP WITH THAT DETAIL. 
          YEAH. 
          AND, UM, AND I DISCUSSED THIS WITH, WITH, UH, THE CAPITAL METRO AS WELL, BECAUSE MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THEY HAVE A PARKING RIDE FACILITY AT THE TRIANGLE, UH, THAT, THAT THEY HAVE A CERTAIN NUMBER OF, UH, SPOTS RESERVED IN THERE FOR PARK AND RIDE. 
          AND AGAIN, MY UNDERSTANDING OF IT IS THAT IT'S A VERY LIGHTLY USED, UH, PARK AND RIDE. 
          I MEAN, AND MY SENSE WOULD BE JUST 'CAUSE IT'S JUST TOO CLOSE, YOU KNOW, IF, IF YOU'RE GONNA DRIVE THAT FAR, YOU MIGHT AS WELL, YOU KNOW, DRIVE THE, THE, THE WHOLE WAY, AGAIN, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST OR, YOU KNOW, MAJOR KIND OF EVENTS WHERE, UH, IT CAN BECOME VERY DIFFICULT TO, TO, TO DRIVE AND TO, TO PARK. 
          UM, BUT, UH, ANYWAY, I JUST WANTED TO KIND OF THROW THAT OUT THERE IN, IN MY 
          [01:05:01]
SENSE, HONESTLY, IF THAT, THAT 51ST STREET KIND OF TRIANGLE PARKING RIDE WOULD BE PERFECT. 
          I KNOW WE'RE, WE'RE GETTING A LITTLE SHORTER THERE, BUT, UH, UH, ANOTHER QUESTION ON THE, UM, THE REPUBLIC SQUARE, THAT, THAT, THAT THIRD IN COLORADO, UM, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW, REPUBLIC SQUARE, I THINK IS THE NUMBER ONE, UH, STOP IN THE, THE SYSTEM FOR CAPITAL METRO. 
          UH, AND THE, THERE WERE, I GUESS INITIAL SENSE WAS THAT THERE WOULD BE A STOP KIND OF AT REPUBLIC SQUARE. 
          I KNOW Y'ALL HAD MOVED IT JUST A FEW BLOCKS AWAY THERE, JUST EAST OF, OF, OF REPUBLIC SQUARE. 
          CAN YOU KIND OF JUST TALK ME THROUGH THAT A LITTLE BIT? WHAT IS THE THINKING IN, IN, IN NOT HAVING IT ACTUALLY ON, AT REPUBLIC SQUARE AND, AND MOVING IT JUST, UH, UH, A WAYS, UH, UH, EAST OF REPUBLIC SQUARE? YES. 
          UH, IT, IT'S DUE TO THE TECHNICAL, UM, SPACE CONSTRAINTS BOTH IN THE WIDTH OF THE RIGHT OF WAY THERE AND ALSO THE VERTICAL GRADE OR THE SLOPE OF THE ROADWAY AT THAT LOCATION. 
          SO WHERE WE'RE COMING IN, UH, AND THE GEOMETRY OF THE RAIL ALIGNMENT. 
          SO WE'RE COMING IN ON A, A CURVE AND THE STATION NEEDS TO BE FLAT AND STRAIGHT. 
          AND SO THAT ALREADY STARTS TO PUSH THAT STATION A LITTLE FURTHER, UH, NORTH OF THAT TURN FROM THIRD AND GUADALUPE. 
          AND WHERE IT STARTS TO PUSH IT TO, TO BE ON THE STRAIGHT PORTION OF THE ALIGNMENT IS TO STEEP FOR A STATION. 
          AND SO WE WOULD HAVE TO THINK ABOUT WALLS AND HOW TO REGRADE THE ENTIRE AREA THAT ACTUALLY STARTS TO SPREAD ALL THE WAY OUT INTO THE SURROUNDING PROPERTIES AND THEIR, UM, SORT OF DOORWAY THRESHOLDS TO MAINTAIN ACCESSIBILITY AND, AND A DA STANDARDS ALL THROUGHOUT THAT AREA, AS WELL AS HAVING THE STATION, UH, IT'S WIDER WHERE WE HAVE THE STATION PLATFORMS THERE AND WOULD RESULT IN VERY, VERY CONSTRAINED, UH, SIDEWALKS ON EITHER SIDE THAT WOULD BE SUBSTANDARD, UM, AND, AND FAR BELOW WHAT'S EVEN THERE TODAY IN ORDER TO FIT ALL OF THE VARIOUS ELEMENTS IN THAT LOCATION. 
          HMM. 
          SO THE COM, THE COMBINATION OF THE TURN FROM THIRD STREET RIGHT IN FRONT OF REPUBLIC SQUARE MM-HMM . 
          WITH THE ELEVATION CHANGES AND YES. 
          AND, AND DIFFERENT THINGS REALLY COMPLICATE, UH, A STATION PHYSICALLY AT THE REPUBLIC SQUARE. 
          CORRECT. 
          I, I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT. 
          HONESTLY, THAT'S THE BEST EXPLANATION I'VE, I'VE HEARD, UH, AND, AND THAT, THAT'S, UH, AND, UM, I THINK THAT'S ALL THE QUESTIONS THAT I'VE, UH, GOT. 
          BUT AGAIN, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE, IT'S FANTASTIC. 
          I KNOW THERE'S A COUPLE EXTRA SLIDES THAT ARE AT THE BACK. 
          UM, SOME OF THEM ARE, GO INTO GREAT DETAIL ABOUT SPECIFIC STOP LOCATIONS THAT MIGHT BE ANALYZED. 
          UM, BUT I'M MORE INTERESTED IF YOU COULD RUN THROUGH QUICKLY WHAT THE TOPICS ARE IN THE DEIS, LIKE NOISE ENVIRONMENT, ENDANGERED SPECIES, SOME OF THOSE ISSUES. 
          I KNOW WE COMMONLY GET, UM, ASKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT. 
          UM, SO COULD YOU, SINCE YOU'RE GOING THROUGH THAT EIS PROCESS, COULD YOU TALK TO US ABOUT WHAT ALL IS INCLUDED IN THAT? YES, I'D BE HAPPY TO. 
          UM, SO THE ES IT DOES IN, IT ADDRESSES NATURAL ENVIRONMENT, HUMAN ENVIRONMENT, KIND OF SOCIOCULTURAL ENVIRONMENT. 
          SO AMONG THE RESOURCES THAT ARE, ARE STUDIED IN THAT DOCUMENT INCLUDE, UM, ON THE NATURAL RESOURCE, UH, SIDE, LOOKING AT WATER RESOURCES, LOOKING AT AIR QUALITY, UM, LOOKING AT SOIL RESOURCES AND ASSESSING KIND OF THE NATURE OF THE CHANGE IF LIGHT RAIL IS INTRODUCED. 
          UM, LIKE ONE EXAMPLE WOULD BE ON THE AIR QUALITY SIDE MODELING, UM, CHANGES IN EMISSIONS GENERALLY RELATED TO THE CHANGE IN VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED AS PEOPLE CHOOSE DIFFERENT MODES OF TRAVEL. 
          UM, BUT THE, THE EIS ALSO LOOKS AT NEIGHBORHOODS, IT LOOKS AT COMMUNITIES, UH, IT LOOKS AT WHAT THE CURRENT STATE OF LAND USE PLANS ARE. 
          UM, AND WOULD THIS PROJECT BE CONSISTENT WITH THOSE? UM, IT LOOKS AT HISTORIC RESOURCES, UM, BY INVENTORYING, UM, EXISTING HISTORIC RESOURCES ALONG THE CORRIDOR AND ASSESSING WHETHER THERE WOULD BE IMPACTS TO THOSE. 
          UH, IT DOES LOOK AT NOISE AND VIBRATION AND IT MODELS NOISE. 
          IT, UH, WE'VE GONE OUT AND TAKEN, UH, MEASUREMENT OF THE EXISTING CONDITIONS WITH REGARD TO NOISE AND MODELED WHAT CHANGES WOULD THERE BE, UH, AND WHO WOULD EXPERIENCE THEM. 
          UM, SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE KEY KIND OF RESOURCE TOPICS THAT ARE COVERED IN THE EIS. 
          I APPRECIATE THAT. 
          AND I KNOW WHEN A LOT OF FOLKS GET STARTED ON THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTS, THEY GO THROUGH THAT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT PROCESS. 
          WAS THAT SOMETHING THAT Y'ALL HAD GONE THROUGH INITIALLY AND SAID THERE WILL BE IMPACTS BECAUSE OF THE SCALE OF THE PROJECT? UM, OR DID YOU JUST, CAN YOU TALK ME THROUGH HOW IT MM-HMM . 
          WHETHER YOU DID THE EA AND GOT TO EIS OR WHETHER YOU JUST SAID, WE KNOW THERE'S IMPACTS, WE KNOW WHAT THEY ARE, LET'S 
          [01:10:01]
JUST DO EIS. 
          SO YOU'RE RIGHT THAT UNDER NEPA THERE ARE DIFFERENT, UH, CLASSES OF ACTION. 
          UM, AND WE, UH, COMPLETED AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT, WHICH IS THE MOST RIGOROUS OF THEM, UM, IN ASSESSING WHAT THE NATURE OF THE IMPACTS MIGHT BE. 
          A DIFFERENT CLASS OF ACTION IS AN ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT, UM, WHICH, UM, IN OUR CASE, THE FTA, UM, WOULD'VE BEEN THE DECIDER ON WHETHER WE DO AN EIS OR AN EA. 
          UM, BUT IN EA IT'S A VERY SIMILAR KIND OF ANALYSIS. 
          UM, UH, ONE THING I WOULD SAY IT'S MAYBE A, A FINER PROCESS POINT, BUT THE CONCLUSION OF THAT IS THAT YOU HAVE FOUND THERE'S NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT. 
          AND WITH AN EIS WHAT YOU WOULD DO FOR A MORE COMPLICATED PROJECT THAN THIS, THERE'S, IT'S AN REALIZATION THAT THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT IMPACTS GOING ON AND DIFFERENT MITIGATION COMMITMENTS THAT, UM, IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE TO TALK ABOUT IN THIS, UH, PROCESS AS WELL. 
          I APPRECIATE THAT. 
          I KNOW I ALWAYS ASK PEOPLE, I SAY IF THEY'RE GONNA DO AN EIS THEY HAVE TO KNOW WHAT THEY'RE MITIGATING FOR. 
          AND THAT'S THE BIG QUESTION THAT I THINK ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENTS DO GIVE PEOPLE. 
          I'VE JUST ALWAYS BEEN CURIOUS THAT SOME SEEM TO LAUNCH STRAIGHT INTO ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT AND SOME STAY AT THE, THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT LEVEL. 
          UM, PROBABLY BECAUSE THEY'RE AIMING TO GET A FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT. 
          AND IF THEY CAN PROVE THAT AND BUILD THAT INTO THE REPORT, UM, THEY KNOW WHAT KIND OF PROJECT THEY NEED TO BUILD, BUT SOME JUST SEEM TO BE ON SUCH A GRAND SCALE THAT THERE'S NO WAY IT COULDN'T HAVE IMPACTS. 
          AND SO I'M, I'M CURIOUS ABOUT HOW, HOW THOSE CONVERSATIONS HAVE PLAYED OUT. 
          SO THANK YOU FOR THAT INFORMATION. 
          UM, I ALSO WANTED TO DAYLIGHT ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS DEIS AS JUST THE LIGHT RAIL PORTION, BUT I ALWAYS WANNA REMIND FOLKS THAT THERE ARE OTHER METRO RAPID LINES PLANNED INTO PROJECT CONNECT. 
          SO THE, THE PROPERTY TAX DOLLARS THAT ARE BEING ALLOCATED TO THE PROJECT INCLUDE NOT ONLY MACAL PLAYSTATION, WHICH IS WHERE OUR SOCCER STATION IS, A SOCCER STADIUM IS, UM, BUT ALSO THAT THERE'S TWO NEW METRO RAPIDS ON THE EAST AND NORTH SIDE OF TOWN THAT HAVE JUST BEGUN OPERATION RECENTLY. 
          AND SO THEY'RE, THEY'VE ALREADY GONE THROUGH THEIR PROCESSES TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE METRO RAPID LINES ARE DONE. 
          SO EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE A FANTASTIC TEAM WORKING ON LIGHT RAIL, IT DOESN'T MEAN THERE'S NOT OTHER FANTASTIC TEAMS THAT ARE ALREADY OPERATING THOSE METRO RAPIDS AND TRYING TO GET THOSE INTO GREATER FREQUENCY, UM, AND LOOKING AT THE PARK AND RIDES. 
          SO I KNOW IN MY COMMENTS ON THE SOUTH MOPAC PROJECT, WHICH IS BEING HANDLED BY C-T-R-M-A, WE SPECIFICALLY ASKED FOR THEM TO LOOK AT HOW THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO INCORPORATE, UM, A PARK AND RIDE AS PART OF PROJECT CONNECT INTO THOSE PLANS. 
          AND SO JUST BECAUSE WE SEE EXCITING SHINY TRAINS ON THE HORIZON DOESN'T MEAN THERE'S NOT A LOT OF OTHER GOOD WORK HAPPENING WITH OUR COMMUNITY AND WITH THE FOLKS THAT PLAN THESE, UM, TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENTS ACROSS TOWN. 
          SO THOSE METRO RAPIDS ARE LIVE, WHICH IS VERY EXCITING. 
          UM, I HAVE FELLOW BOARD MEMBER TITO VELA HERE WITH ME ON CAT METRO, AND SO WE'VE BEEN FOLLOWING THOSE CONVERSATIONS CLOSELY OVER THE YEARS. 
          UM, ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE ON THE DEIS BACK TO COUNCIL MEMBER VELA? ONE MORE ON THE, AND I CANNOT REMEMBER WHERE I SAW THIS, BUT THERE WAS THE, AT LEAST THE POSSIBILITY OR I GUESS A PROPOSAL FOR A STATION, UH, WHERE THE HOBBY BUILDING IS BASICALLY INCORPORATING A STATION INTO THE HOBBY BUILDING, WHICH THE HOBBY BUILDING IS ESSENTIALLY ACROSS THE STREET FROM REPUBLIC SQUARE OR LIKE, YOU KNOW, UH, WHAT WOULD THAT LOOK LIKE? UH, IN OTHER WORDS, WOULD THAT BE A GOOD SPOT FOR, UH, THE, THE, THE REPUBLIC SQUARE THAT, YOU KNOW, STATION THERE IN THAT AREA? AND, AND WITH THAT, UH, AGAIN, I KNOW THAT'S THE STATE BUILDING THAT THE STATE PROPERTY, OBVIOUSLY WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO HAVE THEIR, UH, UH, AGREEMENT AND, AND, AND CONSENT. 
          BUT, UH, ASSUMING THAT IT, THE PROPERTY GETS REDEVELOPED, WHICH AGAIN, THEY'RE ACTIVELY WORKING ON RIGHT NOW, WOULD THERE BE ANY REASON FOR A PROPERTY OWNER, A PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNER, YOU KNOW, PROFIT MAXIMIZING PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNER TO NOT WANT A RAIL STATION, YOU KNOW, RIGHT AT THE BOTTOM OF, 'CAUSE THAT WOULD ALSO, AND I'M SORRY, I KNOW I'M THROWING A LOT OUT THERE, BUT THAT WOULD BE ONE OF THE TOP STATIONS IN TERMS OF, UH, THE, THE BOARDINGS. 
          UH, SO BOTH FROM A, A TECHNICAL DESIGN STANDPOINT AND AN OPERATIONAL ONE, THERE'S A LOT OF EXCITING OPPORTUNITIES THAT COULD EXIST, NOT ONLY WHERE YOU ARE SPEAKING ABOUT AT, AT THE CORNER FROM THIRD TO GUADALUPE, BUT ALSO THE SORT OF MIRRORED CONDITION OF THAT ON THE OTHER SIDE, WHERE WE TURN FROM THIRD STREET TO TRINITY AND, UH, COULD CONSIDER A, A REALLY SIMILAR KIND OF ON THE DIAGONAL, BASICALLY, 
          [01:15:01]
UM, INTEGRATED STATION INTO, UH, REDEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES AT BOTH OF THOSE LOCATIONS. 
          UH, AND, AND THERE REALLY ARE A LOT OF BENEFITS THAT COULD COME WITH THOSE, BOTH FROM A PUBLIC BENEFIT AND A, A PRIVATE BENEFIT AS WELL FROM A PROCESS STANDPOINT. 
          HOWEVER, UH, WE ARE IN A FEDERAL PROCESS AND WE CANNOT MOVE FORWARD WITH, UH, PROPOSING THOSE AS THE RECOMMENDED STATION LOCATIONS UNTIL, UH, THERE, THERE APPEARS TO BE THE ABILITY TO REACH SOME SORT OF AGREEMENT WITH, WITH THOSE DEVELOPMENTS. 
          AND SIMILARLY, WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THE TIMING OF THOSE AGREEMENTS WITH OUR ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW PROCESS, WHICH YOU, YOU MIGHT, IF YOU WANNA CLARIFY ANYTHING THERE. 
          SO WE KIND OF HAVE TO GET THROUGH ENVIRONMENTAL TO THEN REACH AGREEMENTS BECAUSE PROPERTY ACQUISITION CAN'T STOP OR START, SORRY, UNTIL WE COMPLETE THE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW. 
          UH, AND, AND THEN CAN GO THROUGH SOME OF THAT AND TO JUST TO, TO, UH, TRY TO, UH, MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND IT THEN, IN OTHER WORDS, EVEN IF WE'RE GOING THROUGH THE DRAFT DIS PROCESS AND WE ACTUALLY HAVE AN, AN, AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT THAT IS APPROVED AND AND FILED AND AND WHATNOT, WOULD THERE STILL BE THE OPPORTUNITY TO AMEND THAT? AND, AND AGAIN, THOSE DETAILS, LIKE, YOU KNOW WHAT, YOU KNOW WHAT, WE'RE ACTUALLY GONNA MOVE THE STATION JUST A BIT FROM WHERE WE TOLD YOU. 
          SO THE EIS AND THE NEPA PROCESS IS DURING A FAIRLY EARLY STAGE OF PROJECT DEVELOPMENT, AND IT'S JUST THE NATURE OF IT. 
          SO AS LINDSAY WAS SAYING, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE'D BE OPEN TO ANY OF THOSE KINDS OF OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE THE SITUATION. 
          FOR EXAMPLE, IF THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH A DEVELOPER AND SOMETHING THAT'S GONNA BE MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL, WE WOULD CERTAINLY PURSUE THAT. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          APPRECIATE IT. 
          ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS TODAY? UH, NOT A QUESTION. 
          I DID WANNA TO THANK YOU GUYS FOR THE PRESENTATION TO, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER VELAS POINT. 
          IT'S ALWAYS VERY HELPFUL WHEN THE PRESENTATION IS THOUGHTFUL AND INFORMATIVE AND FRANKLY CANDID, UM, HAVING CANDID INFORMATION IS VERY HELPFUL FOR US. 
          SO THANK YOU GUYS FOR THE PRESENTATION. 
          THANK WE APPRECIATE IT. 
          AND ONE LAST TIME, THE CLOSING DATE FOR COMMENT ON THE DEIS IS MARCH 11TH? YES. 
          OKAY. 
          AND THEN YOU CAN VISIT THE A TP WEBSITE TO FIND INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO COMMENT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANKS FOR BEING HERE TODAY. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          OUR NEXT ITEM IS 
          [5. Mobility project planning process from initial concept through construction. ]
NUMBER FIVE, MOBILITY PROJECT PLANNING PROCESS FROM INITIAL CONCEPT THROUGH CONSTRUCTION. 
          I'M EXCITED ABOUT THIS ONE. 
          I KNOW THERE'S BEEN QUESTIONS THAT WE'VE HAD AS SOME OF US COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE BEEN THROUGH MANY DIFFERENT BOND INITIATION PROCESSES AND TRYING TO UNDERSTAND BETTER HOW DO WE, HOW DO WE PLAN FOR THE FUTURE? HOW DO WE MAKE SURE WE CAN DELIVER PROJECTS AND WHAT ALL GOES INTO IT? WE HAVE COLE KITTEN JOINING US. 
          . 
          GOOD AFTERNOON CHAIR, UH, COMMITTEE MEMBERS. 
          UH, MY NAME IS COLE KITTEN, DIVISION MANAGER OVER OUR SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT DIVISION IN TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS. 
          THIS IS A BRIEF PRESENTATION, SO HOPEFULLY IT CAN PLANT A SEED AND, AND WE'LL COME BACK AND, AND WE'LL, WE'LL WATCH IT GROW. 
          UM, BUT THIS PRESENTATION IS ABOUT IDENTIFYING AND PRIORITIZING MAJOR CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENTS, SO ALSO KNOWN AS OUR, OUR CORRIDOR MOBILITY PLANNING, BUT ALSO MORE FORMALLY CALLED CAPITAL PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING, BECAUSE IT IS A COMPLEX PROCESS. 
          SO, UM, WHAT I'LL COVER IS SOME BACKGROUND AND HISTORY ON OUR MAJOR CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENT PROCESS, HOW WE GOT TO WHERE WE ARE TODAY, AND THEN WHERE WE ARE GOING, UM, IN THE FUTURE. 
          AND SO THIS ISN'T AN EXHAUSTIVE HISTORY OF OUR CORRIDOR PLANNING PROCESS, BUT IT, IT'S, IT STARTS REALLY WHERE WE'RE ALL KIND OF FAMILIAR WITH AND WHAT WE'RE SEEING GET CONSTRUCTED TODAY, WHICH WAS ABOUT 2009, UM, WITH AN EARLY ITERATION OF THE AUSTIN STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN, UM, THAT WAS BEING DEVELOPED KIND OF CONCURRENT WITH IMAGINE AUSTIN. 
          AND SO THIS, THIS PROCESS, UM, IN 2009 WAS CALLED A PROJECT PRIORITIZATION PROCESS. 
          AND IT IDENTIFIED, UM, STRATEGIC CORRIDORS FOR INVESTMENT. 
          AND THEN IN 2010 AND 2012, THERE WERE, UM, TRANSPORTATION MOBILITY BONDS THAT ACTUALLY FUNDED, UM, THE DEVELOPMENT OF THOSE CORRIDOR MOBILITY REPORTS, UH, THAT WERE CALLED THE CORRIDOR DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. 
          AND FOLLOWING THAT, IN 2012, UM, COUNCIL ADOPTED IMAGINE AUSTIN COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, WHICH ALSO IDENTIFIED, UM, 
          [01:20:01]
ACT ACTIVITY CORRIDORS. 
          AND THEN IN 2014, COUNCIL ADOPTED THE COMP COMPLETE STREETS POLICY. 
          SO WE STARTED TO SEE A LOT OF MOMENTUM TOWARDS ATTENTION TO MULTIMODAL, UH, CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENTS. 
          IN 2016 IS WHEN WE STARTED TO REALIZE, UM, SOME OF THOSE PLANS WITH, UH, ACTUAL CONSTRUCTION DOLLARS, UM, BEING FUNDED WITH THE 2016, UH, MOBILITY BOND AND THAT FUNDED CONSTRUCTION AS WELL AS, UH, UH, FUNDING FOR ADDITIONAL PLANS FOR, FOR MAJOR CORRIDORS, AS WELL AS THE REGIONAL MOBILITY BONDS AND LOCAL MOBILITY BONDS. 
          UM, AND, AND DURING THIS TIME, THE CORRIDOR PROGRAM OFFICE WAS CREATED AND, AND THE CORRIDOR CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM, UM, WAS CREATED TO, TO DELIVER THOSE CORRIDOR MOBILITY, UM, PLANS. 
          IN 2019, COUNCIL ADOPTED THE A SMP, UM, WHICH ALSO HAD RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE CORRIDOR MOBILITY IMPROVEMENTS. 
          IN 2020, WE HAD ANOTHER TRANSPORTATION MOBILITY BOND THAT, THAT FUNDED ADDITIONAL SUBSTANDARD STREETS, UM, FOR CONSTRUCTION AS WELL AS FOR, UM, ENGINEERING AS WELL AS MAJOR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS. 
          AND THEN IN 2023, UM, THE DELIVERY OF THE CORRIDOR CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM WAS MOVED TO THE CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES DEPARTMENT AND THE CORRIDOR MOBILITY PLANNING ASPECT, UM, MOVED UNDER TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS UNDER THIS, UH, THIS TERM CALLED CAPITAL PLANNING AND CAPITAL PROGRAMMING. 
          SO THEN SINCE THEN, CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES HAS, HAS CONTINUED, UM, TO DELIVER THOSE ORIGINAL STRATEGIC CORRIDORS AND MORE. 
          AND SO WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE LAID OUT OVER TIME IS THAT WE, WE STARTED IN 2010 WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF THOSE STRATEGIC CORRIDORS, UH, THE 2016 BOND FUNDED CONSTRUCTION, UM, OF, OF, OF THOSE CORRIDORS. 
          BUT WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CORRIDOR CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM, WE, WE IDENTIFIED MORE THAN A BILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF INVESTMENT, AND WE ONLY HAD, UM, 400 MILLION TO ALLOCATE TOWARDS CONSTRUCTION. 
          SO, UM, MOVING FORWARD, WE'VE SINCE BEEN IN THE DESIGN PHASE AND IN THAT, IN THAT CONSTRUCTION PHASE. 
          AND, AND THAT'S WHERE WE CONTINUE TODAY. 
          SO WHERE WE'RE GOING NOW IS, UM, TAKING ALL THAT'S BEEN DONE SINCE THEN, OR IN THE PAST, STARTING WITH 2010, WE'VE, WE'VE DEVELOPED A, A LARGE QUEUE OF PROJECTS IN OUR PROJECT PIPELINE. 
          AND SO, UM, WHERE WE'RE AT IS, IS MANAGING THAT PROJECT PIPELINE. 
          WE WANNA SEE ALL THESE PROJECTS THROUGH TO COMPLETION, BUT WE ALSO WANNA IDENTIFY NEW PROJECTS AND PRIORITIZE THOSE AND ADVANCE THEM THROUGH THE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS AS WELL. 
          SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS WE HAVE TO HAVE A MORE FORMAL PROCESS OF CAPITAL PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING WITHIN TPW TO, TO DEVELOP AN ANNUAL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN THAT, UH, WE'LL USE TO MONITOR THE PROJECT STATUS, UH, MONITOR, UH, THE PRIORITY OF PROJECTS, IDENTIFY FUNDING, UM, TO ADVANCE THOSE PROJECTS, AND THEN INITIATE NEW PROJECTS INTO THE PIPELINE. 
          SO THE PROJECTS, UM, THAT WE, WE HAVE AND THAT WE, UM, CONTINUE TO IDENTIFY COME FROM OUR AUSTIN STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN, BUT THEY ALSO COME FROM OUR INDIVIDUAL MODAL PLANS, UM, SUCH AS THE BICYCLE PLAN AND, AND SIDEWALKS CROSSING SHARED STREETS, UM, PLANS. 
          AND THEN WE'RE ALSO DEVELOPING SMALL AREA MOBILITY PLANS, UM, WHICH WE, WE CURRENTLY HAVE, UH, PUBLIC, THE AUSTIN COURT TRANSPORTATION PLAN FOR DOWNTOWN. 
          AND ALL OF THESE NEEDS AND PROJECTS ARE IDENTIFIED. 
          SOME OF THEM, UM, GO OFF TO BE SMALLER CAPITAL PROJECTS OR PROGRAMMATIC. 
          UM, AND THEN MANY OF THEM HAVE TO BE PUT INTO THIS CITYWIDE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN, UH, FOR PRIORITIZATION. 
          SO THIS IS ANOTHER, UH, WAY TO VIEW THE PROJECT, UM, DEVELOPMENT, UM, PROCESS OVER TIME. 
          UM, AS I SHOWED PREVIOUSLY, UH, A PROJECT STARTS, UH, MANY TIMES, MORE THAN 10 YEARS IN ADVANCE OF IT GOING TO CONSTRUCTION. 
          SO WHAT WE HAVE ARE OUR MAJOR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS IDENTIFIED IN THE A SMP, AND THEY'RE IN VARIOUS STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT AT ANY GIVEN POINT IN TIME. 
          AND SO OUR GOAL IS TO DEVELOP AS MANY PLANS AS IS FEASIBLE, UM, TO IMPLEMENT, UM, OVER TIME AND ADVANCE THEM TO 
          [01:25:01]
THE NEXT STAGE OF THE PROCESS EVERY TIME THERE'S A NEW FUNDING OPPORTUNITY. 
          SO THIS LOOKS LIKE, UH, UH, A CONCEPTUAL PROJECT THAT'S BEEN IDENTIFIED. 
          IF WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO DELIVER IT 10 YEARS FROM NOW, WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO KNOW, UM, UH, AND FUND THE EARLY, UH, ENGINEERING PHASE OF IT. 
          AND THEN FROM THERE, IT MOVES ON TO THE NEXT PHASE WITH, WITH DESIGN AND, AND READY FOR CONSTRUCTION. 
          SO THIS, THIS, UM, WE'LL SEE MORE OF AS WE ADVANCE INTO OUR, OUR BOND DEVELOPMENT CONVERSATIONS. 
          BUT WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS HOW WE, UM, PRIORITIZE THESE MAJOR CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS. 
          AND RIGHT NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, WHAT VALUES, WHAT TECHNICAL CRITERIA REPRESENT OUR, UM, CITYWIDE STRATEGIC PLAN, ANCHORS OF EQUITY, AFFORDABILITY, INNOVATION, SUSTAINABILITY AND RESILIENCY, PROACTIVE PREVENTION AND COMMUNITY TRUST AND RELATIONSHIPS. 
          BUT WE ALSO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, UM, KIND OF CROSSWALK THAT TO OUR, UH, UH, A SMP GUIDING PRINCIPLES AS WELL. 
          AND FORTUNATELY, A LOT OF THEM OVERLAP AND ALIGN. 
          SO IN SUMMARY, UM, THIS, THIS CAPITAL PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING PROCESS IS, IS INTENDED TO BE DYNAMIC, UM, IN NATURE, BUT, UH, WHAT IT REQUIRES IS, IS FOR US TO ESTABLISH A CONSISTENT, UM, APPROACH, UH, TO, TO DEVELOPING THOSE PROJECTS OVER TIME. 
          SO DEVELOPING A, A IMPLEMENTATION PLAN THAT LOOKS OUT 10 YEARS AND BEYOND, MUCH LIKE TXDOT DOES WITH THEIR 10 YEAR UNIFIED TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM. 
          AND, AND, UM, AND UPDATE THAT, MONITOR IT EVERY YEAR. 
          AND SO WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE IS, UM, MONITORING THE PROJECTS AND THEIR PROCESS IN THE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT, UM, OR THEIR PROGRESS IN THE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, UM, MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE ADVANCING, UM, MAKING SURE THAT THE FUNDING IS AVAILABLE FOR THEM TO ADVANCE, UM, INTO THE NEXT PHASE, AS WELL AS MONITORING TO ENSURE THAT THESE PROJECTS ARE STILL PRIORITIES TO MOVE, MOVE FORWARD COMPARED TO OTHER CITYWIDE NEEDS, UM, AND OUR OWN FUNDING AVAILABILITY FORECASTS. 
          AND THEN, UH, ALONG THE WAY, IDENTIFYING NEW PROJECTS, UH, NEW PRIORITIES TO, TO ENTER INTO THE PIPELINE. 
          AND THAT'S IT. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          DO WE HAVE QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS? LET'S START WITH COUNCIL MEMBER LANE. 
          SO, UM, MIKE, I'M GETTING THERE. 
          OKAY. 
          SO , I'M TRYING TO GET MY ARMS AROUND THIS FAIRLY COMPLEX, UH, LANDSCAPE WITH TRANSPORTATION. 
          AND ONE OF THE THINGS I, I'M REALLY APPRECIATING ALL OF THESE PRESENTATIONS TO HELP WITH THAT. 
          ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I NOTICED IN THIS PRESENTATION, IF WE STARTED OFF LOOKING AT THE 2012 MAJOR CORRIDOR PLAN, AND THEN WE WENT FROM TWO THOU TO 2016, AND WE HAVE LONG-TERM PLANNING THAT ORIGINATE EMANATES OUT OF ALL OF THAT. 
          BUT WHAT I NOTICED HAPPENED BETWEEN 2012 AND 2016 IS WE ELIMINATED DISTRICT SIX FROM THE IMAGE, FROM THE MAP AT ALL. 
          AND THAT IS REALLY QUITE CONCERNING TO ME. 
          UM, ONE OF THE BIG NEEDS THAT I SEE IN OUR DISTRICT SIX IS IN NORTH AND NORTHWESTERN SUBURBS. 
          UM, ONE OF THE BIG CONCERNS THAT I SEE AROUND TRANSPORTATION IN GENERAL, UM, IS HOW ARE WE CONNECTING THESE OUTLYING PARTS OF OUR CITY TO THESE, THIS MORE CENTRAL INFRASTRUCTURE? AND THAT BECOMES ONLY AS WE SHRINK OUR RAIL AND SPREAD IT OUT OVER TIME, IT ONLY BECOMES MORE IMPORTANT THAT WE HAVE PLANS TO CONNECT THESE OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY. 
          UM, SO I AM REALLY INTERESTED IN THE CORRIDOR PLANNING AND NOT, AND EVEN BACK IN 2012, YOU KNOW, WE'RE BASICALLY LOOKING AT HIGHWAYS OUT THERE, UH, LARGELY TEXTILE ROADWAYS. 
          UM, I'M REALLY INTERESTED IN HOW WE'RE DOING THE PLANNING, BUT I ALSO JUST WANNA ELEVATE THE HOW ARE WE PLANNING FOR DISTRICT SIX ? AND I DON'T, I DON'T, YES. 
          WHATEVER YOU WANNA OFFER ME, . 
          YEAH, I CAN GIVE SOME FEEDBACK ON THAT. 
          MM-HMM . 
          AND IT'S, IT'S IMPORTANT TO TO POINT OUT, UM, THE 2016 MOBILITY BOND, UH, DIFFERENTIATED BETWEEN REGIONAL MOBILITY, CORRIDOR MOBILITY AND LOCAL MOBILITY. 
          AND SO THE CORRIDOR MOBILITY PROGRAM REALLY DID FOCUS ON THOSE, THOSE CORRIDORS SHOWN IN THAT MAP. 
          AND THEN ON THE NEXT SLIDE IS WHERE YOU SEE WHERE WE ARE MOVING FORWARD, WHICH IS KIND OF A 
          [01:30:01]
MORE COMPREHENSIVE, EVEN THOUGH IT MAY BE ZOOMED IN AND CUT OUT SOME DISTRICT SIX, IT IS A MORE COMPREHENSIVE, UM, INVENTORY OF OUR MAJOR CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENTS. 
          AND SO THERE, THERE SHOULD BE, UM, LESS DIFFERENTIATION BETWEEN THE IDEA OF WHAT'S CONSIDERED REGIONAL MOBILITY VERSUS CORRIDOR MOBILITY. 
          AND, AND THESE ARE ALL, THESE ARE ALL IN THAT MAP CONSIDERED CORRIDOR MOBILITY PROJECTS. 
          AND JUST, AND OF ONE NOTE FROM 2016, THERE WERE OTHER PROJECTS, UM, ANDERSON MILL, UH, WAS ONE OF THEM THAT WAS FUNDED THROUGH THE REGIONAL MOBILITY PROGRAM. 
          SO IT'S KIND OF DEALT WITH DIFFERENTLY. 
          UM, BUT THE OTHER IDEA IS THAT WITH THIS IMPLEMENTATION PLAN, IT'S KIND OF AGNOSTIC OF WHAT THE FUNDING SOURCES ARE, AND IT'S A COMPREHENSIVE INVENTORY OF WHAT OUR PROJECTS ARE, WHAT THEIR PRIORITY IS, AND WHERE THEY ARE IN THAT PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          MM-HMM . 
          I'LL GO FIND THE ELECTRONICS AND ZOOM OUT . 
          I WAS JUST NOTICING THAT EVERY SUCCESSIVE MAP AFTER THAT DIDN'T SHOW DISTRICT SIX, SO I HEAR YOU. 
          YEAH. 
          , I HEAR YOU. 
          JUST TODAY THERE'S A COUPLE MAPS WE'RE MISSING ON AS WELL. 
          YEAH. 
          UM, I, I CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THAT. 
          AND I KNOW, UM, THERE'S A LOT OF WORK TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, MANAGE, LIKE WHAT'S THE COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS, HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE SERVED, WHAT IS THE DENSITY OF POPULATION? AND OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, A THOUSAND FEET OF SIDEWALK GETS YOU MORE IN DOWNTOWN THAN A THOUSAND FEET OF SIDEWALK IN ONE OF MY NEIGHBORHOODS. 
          UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE HAD TO ADDRESS AND LOOK AT VERY COMPREHENSIVELY IS THE FACT THAT A LOT OF THE NEIGHBORHOODS IN MY DISTRICT WERE KIND OF BUILT ON THEIR OWN PLAN, AND THEN THEY ANNEXED INTO THE CITY, AND THEN THE CITY'S ON THE HOOK FOR ALL OF THE OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE OF FIXING THE ROADS, BUILDING THE STORMWATER DRAINAGE, FIGURING OUT HOW TO MAP SIDEWALKS. 
          AND THAT IS A, A COSTLY AND TIMELY TASK THAT, UM, THAT WE HAVE GONE THROUGH. 
          AND I'M SURE YOU'RE GOING THROUGH IT AS WELL. 
          UM, SO WE'RE, WE'RE HAPPY TO SHARE ANY TIPS AND TRICKS WE POSSIBLY CAN AND, AND HOW THINGS ARE GOING WITH US. 
          AND STAFF'S ALWAYS HELPFUL TO KIND OF HELP MAKE SURE THAT THOSE, THOSE MAPPINGS ARE AVAILABLE. 
          BUT THAT'S, THAT'S WHY YOU'RE HERE. 
          THAT'S, UH, THAT'S, THAT'S THE VOICE THAT YOU LEND TO THIS CONVERSATION AND HELPING MAKE SURE THAT THAT, UH, DISTRICT SIX IS NOT OUT OF THE CONVERSATION AND TRYING TO FILL THESE GAPS. 
          'CAUSE THE NETWORK DOESN'T WORK EXACTLY WHERE THE GAP STARTS. 
          IT GETS YOU ONLY SO FAR, AND THEN IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT'S BEYOND IT, EVEN AS GOOD AS IT MAY BE IN SOME OF THE NEIGHBORHOODS TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE CAN TAP INTO THE BUS SYSTEM AND, AND, AND OTHER SORTS OF INFRASTRUCTURE THAT IS DE DESPERATELY NEEDED IN THE OUTSKIRTS OF TOWN AS A MEMBER OF VELA. 
          UH, ONE QUESTION, BECAUSE ONE OF THE ISSUES THAT HAVE COME UP WITH THE NORTH LAMAR, UH, CORRIDOR IN PARTICULAR HAS BEEN THE, UH, THE, UH, NON TRANSPORTATION ISSUES THAT HAVE ADDED SUBSTANTIAL COST TO THE CORRIDOR. 
          HOW ARE Y'ALL TRYING TO INCORPORATE THAT INTO, BECAUSE I MEAN, WE CAN PLAN FOR THE, THE CORRIDOR, BUT FOR EXAMPLE, WE CAN'T REDO THE SURFACE UNTIL WE'VE, YOU KNOW, INVESTED SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF MONEY INTO THE, THE DRAINAGE UNDERNEATH. 
          HOW DOES THAT WORK INTO THE PLANNING? RIGHT. 
          SO I THINK WHAT WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE'RE ACCOUNTING FOR ARE ALL OF THE PROJECT COSTS. 
          UM, I THINK WE'VE GOT A LOT OF LESSONS LEARNED OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS ABOUT EXPECTATIONS, UM, UH, FROM, UH, PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, UM, COSTING PROJECTS BEFORE THEY'VE BEEN ENGINEERED, AND THEN FUNDING THEM AND TO FIND OUT THAT YOU'VE, YOU'VE SIGNIFICANTLY UNDERFUNDED YOUR PROJECT. 
          SO MOVING FORWARD, THAT'S, UH, UH, KIND OF A KEY GOAL IS TO ENSURE WE'RE, WE'RE ACCOUNTING FOR THOSE COSTS EARLY ON. 
          UM, SO WE DON'T, WE DON'T, UM, WE KNOW OUR RISKS, UH, WELL IN ADVANCE. 
          I ALSO SEE UPA BARUA COMING BEHIND YOU. 
          WELCOME, UH, THANK YOU CHAIR AND THANK YOU OUR COMMITTEE MEMBERS. 
          SO I THINK WHAT COLE IS TRYING TO SAY IS NOW THE APPROACH THAT WE ARE TAKING IS THAT WE NEED TO TAKE THE PLAN TO A CERTAIN ENGINEERING LEVEL BEFORE WE GET INTO THE FINAL COST ESTIMATE. 
          SO WE NEED TO DO A LOT OF DETAILS ENGINEERING TO DO A MORE ACCURATE COST ESTIMATE BEFORE WE TAKE THAT TO CONSTRUCTION. 
          I THINK THAT IS ONE OF THE LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE PREVIOUS 15, 20 YEARS OF, UH, MOBILITY PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION. 
          GOT IT. 
          AND, AND AGAIN, I GUESS THAT'S NOT WHAT WE DID IN THAT KIND OF 20 16, 20 18, UH, TIMEFRAME. 
          WE, WE HAD MORE OF A, A GUESSTIMATE ON THE, ON THE AMOUNT. 
          AND THEN WE'RE TRYING TO, UH, KIND OF FIT THAT INTO THE, THE A MUCH LARGER, UH, PROJECT. 
          WE HAD DONE A PLANNING LEVEL COST ESTIMATE BASED ON THE PLANS AND AVAILABLE INFORMATION AT THAT POINT. 
          BUT FROM NOW ON, LEARNING FROM THAT EXPERIENCE, WE ARE DOING A LOT OF DETAILED ENGINEERING DESIGN FOR THE COST ESTIMATE. 
          SO 
          [01:35:01]
THAT IS THE LESSONS LEARNED FOR US MOVING FORWARD. 
          GOT IT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, COLIN. 
          YEAH, AND I KNOW SINCE SOME OF THOSE 2012 AND 2016 PLANS WERE ADOPTED, UM, WE HAD LOOKED AT ATLAS 14, WHICH WAS KIND OF THE FEDERAL INITIATIVE TO UPDATE OUR FLOODPLAIN MAPS. 
          AND SO UNDERSTANDING THAT THOSE HAVE CHANGED VERY DRASTICALLY SINCE NATASHA HARBOR, MADISON AND I HAVE BEEN ON THIS DAIS AND TRYING TO WORK THROUGH THAT. 
          UM, WE'VE OBVIOUSLY SEEN HIGHER LEVELS OF FLOOD CONCERNS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. 
          AND SO, UM, I DON'T KNOW THAT THERE'S ANY WAY A 2012 OR 2016 PLAN COULD HAVE ADDRESSED WHAT ATLAS 14 HELD FOR US. 
          BUT I WILL SAY I KNOW SOME FOLKS THAT WORK IN THE USGS AND THEY SAID, WE WANNA KNOW WHAT AUSTIN IS DOING TO ADOPT THOSE MAPS BECAUSE THERE WERE OTHER CITIES FOLLOWING OUR LEAD AND TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HOW OUR PLANNERS WERE WORKING THOSE INTO OUR MAPPING. 
          UM, SO I KNOW THAT THAT EFFORT HAS BEEN VERY DILIGENT AND VERY, VERY MINDFUL ABOUT HOW, HOW TO INCORPORATE HIGHER LEVELS OF FLOODPLAIN ISSUES. 
          BUT, UM, TRYING TO MAKE OUR VOTER APPROVED BOND DOLLARS FOR TRANSPORTATION ACCOMMODATE EVERYTHING NOW THAT NEEDS TO BE PLANNED IN THERE AS WE GET INTO SCHEMATIC LEVEL, UM, HAS BEEN VERY DIFFICULT. 
          BUT I THINK THAT FLOODPLAIN ISSUES ARE SOMETHING THAT AS WE LOOK AT THIS CLIMATE BOND THAT IS BEING PROPOSED WITH THE, THE NEW TASK FORCE THAT CERTAINLY NEED TO BE ADDRESSED. 
          AND I WOULD CERTAINLY SUPPORT MORE, UH, ISSUES WITH LOCALIZED FLOODING AND, AND DIFFERENT SORTS OF CREEK ISSUES, UM, AND MOBILITY ISSUES THAT ARE DEALING WITH THE CHANGING FLOODPLAINS IN AUSTIN. 
          ANY MORE QUESTIONS FOR, FOR MR. KITTEN? I DON'T THINK SO. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION. 
          THANK YOU. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          THE NEXT ITEM 
          [6. Report by the Austin Transportation and Public Works Department related to ongoing mobility programs and projects in the Central Texas region, including construction and service updates. ]
IS GOING TO TAKE US TO NUMBER SIX, REPORT BY AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT RELATED TO ONGOING MOBILITY PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS IN THE CENTRAL TEXAS REGION, INCLUDING CONSTRUCTION AND SERVICE UPDATES. 
          THAT IS A MOUTHFUL TO SAY WHAT USED TO BE OUR A CM REPORT ON ALL THE GOOD THINGS HAPPENING IN THE DEPARTMENT OR DEPARTMENTS. 
          THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER. 
          IT REALLY IS JUST A MOBILITY REPORT AND MAYBE WE CAN REPHRASE THAT AGENDA ITEM GOING FORWARD. 
          UH, RICHARD MENDOZA, AGAIN, DIRECTOR TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS. 
          SO WE HAVE A COPY OF THIS MONTH'S REPORT. 
          I'M JUST GONNA HIT ON A COUPLE HIGHLIGHTS. 
          IT BEGINS WITH, UH, A REPORT THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY ROLLING OUT THE AUSTIN CORE TRANSPORTATION PLAN SEEKING STAKEHOLDER INPUT. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, THIS IS OUR, UM, ONE OF OUR SMALL AREA MOBILITY PLANS FOR THE DOWNTOWN AREA. 
          AND IT'S, UH, THE LONG-TERM VISION FOR ENHANCING OUR TRANSPORTATION MOBILITY OPTIONS, ESPECIALLY IN LIGHT OF, OF THE MAJOR CHANGES THAT ARE COMING OUR WAY DOWNTOWN. 
          YOU KNOW, NOTWITHSTANDING THE I 35 POSSIBLE CAP AND STITCH, BUT ALSO PROJECT CONNECT AND CONVENTION CENTER EXPANSION. 
          UH, ALL OF THOSE MAJOR PROJECTS HAVE BEARING AND INPUT INTO THE MAKEUP OF THIS, UH, ACT PLAN GOING FORWARD. 
          AND SO, UH, WE EXPECT WE'LL BE BRINGING THAT, UH, TO COUNCIL FOR KIT, UH, CONSIDERATION AND ADOPTING INTO THE A SMP LATER THE SPRING. 
          UM, I HAVE A HAPPY REPORT HERE. 
          UH, YOU KNOW, THE TPW IS A MEMBER OF THE TEXAS CHAPTER OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC WORKS ASSOCIATION, AND, UH, THEY RECENTLY CONCLUDED THEIR ANNUAL WORKSHOP CONFERENCE IN COLLEGE STATION AND FOR THE FIRST TIME, AND THEY HOLD AN ANNUAL EQUIPMENT RODEO CONTEST AND, AND AWARD EQUIPMENT OPERATORS FROM AROUND THE STATE WITH RECOGNITION A NICE FANCY BELT BUCKLE. 
          AND THEN, UH, WE SEND THEM UP TO THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE, WHICH THIS YEAR WILL BE IN CHICAGO TO COMPETE IN THE NATIONAL EQUIPMENT OF RODEO. 
          AND OUR OWN, UM, SUNNY RIOJAS FROM STREET AND BRIDGE OPERATIONS TOOK HOME THIRD PLACE OUT OF 135, UH, COMPETITORS. 
          SO WE WERE VERY, UH, PROUD OF OUR SONNY'S, UH, FINE YOUNG GENTLEMAN, OBVIOUSLY A SKILLED EQUIPMENT OPERATOR. 
          SO WE SENT THE BEST OF OUR BEST UP THERE TO COLLEGE STATION AND BROUGHT HOME SOME HARDWARE. 
          UM, WE HAVE SOME QUICK PROJECT UPDATES. 
          UM, I'LL RUN THROUGH A COUPLE OF THESE. 
          VISION ZERO INTERSECTION SOUTH FIRST AND STANE, ALSO MCKINNEY FALLS PARKWAY LANE REDUCTION SLAUGHTER LANE CORRIDOR IS STILL PROGRESSING. 
          SO A LOT OF PAST MOBILITY BOND MONEY IS AT WORK. 
          AND THEN FINALLY, A LOT OF EXCITING STUFF HAPPENING AT OUR AUSTIN AIRPORT. 
          THEY RECORDED IN 2024, THEIR SECOND BUSIEST, UH, YEAR EVER. 
          THAT'S, UH, QUITE A REBOUND FROM, UH, POST PANDEMIC. 
          BUT I THINK EVEN MORE IMPRESSIVE IS THAT THEIR AIRPORTS CONCESSIONS AND ENTERTAINMENTS HAVE ALSO BEEN FLOURISHING TO THE TUNE OF SERVING OVER 1.1 MILLION TACOS. 
          AND SO, UM, TAKE THAT SAN ANTONIO. 
          AND THAT IS OUR, UH, MY REPORT FOR THE MONTH. 
          AS SOMEONE WHO GREW UP IN SAN ANTONIO, I HAVE VERY MIXED 
          [01:40:01]
FEELINGS ABOUT TACOS. 
          UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH TO OUR, OUR PUBLIC SERVICE WORKERS THAT HAVE BEEN DOING GREAT WORK. 
          UM, A NUMBER OF US. 
          WERE ALSO HAPPY TO JOIN ON THE GROUNDBREAKING FOR THE BERGSTROM SPUR WHERE WE GOT TO, TO BE WITH CITY STAFF AND WITH CONGRESSMAN LLOYD DOGGETT, AND CERTAINLY APPRECIATE HIS, UM, ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL FOR SOME OF OUR URBAN TRAILS. 
          HE'S A BIG FAN AND A GREAT ADVOCATE FOR US AT, AT THE LOCAL LEVEL. 
          UM, SO THANK YOU FOR THOSE UPDATES, DIRECTOR. 
          AND ON THAT NOTE, ARE THERE ANY OTHER 
          [7. Identify items to discuss at future meetings. ]
ITEMS WE WANNA REQUEST AS FUTURE TOPICS? WE HAVE A VERY LONG LAUNDRY LIST OF FANTASTIC THINGS TO TALK ABOUT. 
          UM, SIXTH STREET PILOT, AUSTIN CORE TRANSPORTATION CLIMATE POLLUTION REDUCTION GRANT IS, UH, COMING DOWN THE PIPELINE FOR MARCH. 
          WE UNDERSTAND WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK GOING ON. 
          UM, THERE WILL BE A FULL COUNCIL WORK SESSION REGARDING I 35 CAP AND STITCH COMING UP SHORTLY, UH, NO LATER THAN THE END OF MARCH, HOPEFULLY. 
          SO WE LOOK FORWARD TO THAT HAPPENING SOONER RATHER THAN LATER WOULD BE GREAT. 
          SO WE HAVE THE INFORMATION THAT WE NEED TO MAKE A REALLY GOOD, UM, DECISION ON THOSE ISSUES. 
          APRIL 17TH IS AN A SMP, THAT IS OUR STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN, SIX YEAR STATUS REPORT. 
          AND THEN IN MAY IT IS BIKE MONTH. 
          SO WE WILL BE AIMING TO DO AN UPDATE ON CITY LEAP MICRO MOBILITY AND THE CAMPO REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION PLAN UPDATE. 
          AND THEN ON IN JULY, WE WILL COVER THE TOPICS AROUND MAILING PARKING, CITATIONS, SOMETHING THAT COUNCIL MEMBER VELA AND I WORKED CLOSELY ON, UM, OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF COUNCIL MEETINGS TO, TO LOOK AT SOME OF THOSE POTENTIAL CONCERNS AND UNDERSTAND HOW TO MITIGATE FOR THOSE. 
          BUT WE HAVE ANOTHER LONG LAUNDRY LIST OF I 35 AIR QUALITY ISSUES, TRAIL GAPS, THINGS OF THAT NATURE. 
          BUT ANYTHING ELSE Y'ALL WANT TO ADDRESS AT THIS TIME, WE CAN ADD TO THE LIST. 
          LOOKS, LOOKS LIKE THERE ARE NONE COMING FROM THE DAIS RIGHT NOW. 
          SO ON THAT NOTE, WE WILL END THIS MEETING EARLY. 
          IT IS 2:47 PM THANK YOU ALL FOR JOINING US TODAY.
* 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.