[00:00:01]
I AM CALLING TO ORDER THE, UH, REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETING OF THE TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION.
TODAY IS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5TH, 2025.
THE TIME IS 6:59 PM UH, SOME MEMBERS OF OUR BOARD COMMISSION ARE PARTICIPATING VIA VIDEO CONFERENCE.
MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC CAN WATCH, UH, ALONG WITH US ON A TXN LIVE.
WE'LL START WITH OUR ROLL CALL VOTE, AND, UH, I'LL START WITH, UH, THE MEMBERS IN THE ROOM.
UH, AGAIN, MY NAME IS STEVEN APODACA AND I'M REPRESENTING DISTRICT TWO.
I'M A NEW COMMISSIONER, BIM COMBY.
IS YOUR, IS YOUR, IS YOUR MIC ON? HELLO.
HI, UH, I'M NEW COMMISSIONER BENJAMIN CUBY.
I'M REPRESENTING DISTRICT SEVEN.
UH, AND I'LL CALL ON THE COMMISSIONERS, UH, JUST TO KEEP THINGS MOVING.
HI, COMMISSIONER HERITAGE, REPRESENTING DISTRICT FOUR.
HI, UH, VICE CHAIR, UM, ALTA REPRESENTING DISTRICT THREE.
COMMISSIONER ANGA, DISTRICT NINE.
UH, COMMISSIONER RICE, COMMISSIONER RICE DISTRICT FIVE.
UH, WITH THAT, UH, WE'LL MOVE INTO OUR AGENDA AND, UH, I KNOW, UH, SOME, UH, GUEST SPEAKERS, UH, DO HAVE
SO I'M GOING TO SKIP US RIGHT TO, UM, AGENDA ITEM NUMBER
[3. Presentation on the status of the city’s participation and involvement in the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program challenge process (Khotan Harmon, Program Manager, City of Austin Economic Development Department)]
THREE, AND GO AHEAD AND TURN IT OVER TO KOAN HARMON KOAN, PLEASE.UM, I AM HERE BECAUSE OF THE REQUEST THAT YOU ALL HAD ABOUT UPDATES ON BEAT FUNDING, AND I DUNNO IF WE HAVE THE SLIDES.
DAN, IF WE COULD GET THOSE UP KINDLY.
UM, DAN STEPPED OUT OF THE ROOM.
UH, SO TONIGHT, UH, INSTEAD OF JUST GIVING A BEAT UPDATE, UH, WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND GIVE A BEAT AND AN NTIA UPDATE.
SO IT'S REALLY A FUNDING UPDATE FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
UM, I KNOW THERE WERE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING.
EVERYBODY'S WONDERING WHAT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING.
SO I'LL GIVE YOU THE UPDATES THAT I DO HAVE, UM, AND THEN I CAN ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS, ALTHOUGH I DON'T KNOW IF ANYONE CAN REALLY ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS AT THIS POINT.
UM, I, OH, IS THAT DAN OR IS JESSE GOING TO GET DAN? IS THAT WHAT'S HAPPENING? YEAH, JESSE'S GOING TO GET DAN.
UM, WHILE WE ARE WAITING, UH, WE DID GET AN EMAIL, WELL, ACTUALLY ALL COMMISSIONERS RECEIVED AN EMAIL FROM, UH, THE CLERK'S OFFICE JUST REMINDING US THAT, UM, EVERYONE NEEDS TO STAY ON CAMERA IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN QUORUM.
UM, SO WE DON'T WANNA RISK HAVING TO, UH, TO DROP THE, AT THE MEETING OR, UM, UH, ADJOURN EARLY.
UH, SO GIVEN THAT WE DO ONLY HAVE SIX, UH, MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION, UH, EVERYONE WILL NEED TO STAY ON CAMERA IN ORDER FOR US TO KEEP THE MEETING MOVING.
AND DAN SHOULD BE PULLING THAT UP MOMENTARILY.
UH, SO AS I WAS SAYING, THIS IS A BEAT AND NTIA UPDATE, A VERY QUICK UPDATE, UM, BUT BECAUSE OF, UH, YOUR REQUESTS, WE'RE HAPPY TO BE HERE AND GIVE A QUICK ANSWER.
UH, LET'S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
UM, JUST FOR THE SAKE OF LEVEL SETTING, LET ME JUST EXPLAIN VERY QUICKLY WHAT BEAT IS.
IT IS A BROADBAND EQUITY ACCESS AND DEPLOYMENT FUNDING.
IT IS A PROGRAM THAT IS 42 POINT $45 BILLION IN BROADBAND FUNDING TO ALL 50 STATES TO HELP EXPAND HIGH SPEED INTERNET ACCESS AND USE, MAINLY FOCUSED ON INFRASTRUCTURE
[00:05:01]
BUILD APP.TEXAS WAS ALLOCATED 3.3 BILLION, MOST OF ANY OF THE 50 STATES TO SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE, DEPLOYMENT, MAPPING, AND ADOPTION, INCLUDING PLANNING AND CAPACITY BUILDING.
TEXAS RESIDENTS ALSO VOTED IN 2023 TO GIVE THE BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT OFFICE AN ADDITIONAL $1.5 BILLION FOR BROADBAND EXPANSION IN TEXAS.
SO, IN EFFECT, TEXAS REALLY HAS $4.8 BILLION FOR AUSTIN.
TRAVIS COUNTY AFFORDABILITY REMAINS THE BIGGEST BARRIER TO CONNECTIVITY.
THAT MEANS, YOU KNOW, THERE COULD BE FIBER TO THE PREMISE, BUT IT'S HARD FOR PEOPLE TO CONNECT TO IT BECAUSE OF COST, NOT INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO WE'RE NOT EXPECTING FOR, UH, CENTRAL TEXAS TO RECEIVE MUCH OF THE BEAT FUNDING.
UH, JUST A FEW THINGS ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH BEAD.
WHITE HOUSE CIRCULATED A MEMO ON JANUARY 27TH THAT THEY INSTRUCTED ALL AGENCIES TO PAUSE ALL FEDERAL GRANT DISBURSEMENTS PENDING REVIEW OF THEIR IDEOLOGICAL ALIGNMENT WITH THE NEW ADMINISTRATION.
THIS CAUSED A LOT OF CONFUSION AND WE'RE NOT QUITE SURE WHAT IS HAPPENING.
THIS IS A TIME OF REALIGNMENT WITH THE PRIORITIES OF THE NEW ADMINISTRATION.
JUST TODAY, UH, COMMERCE SECRETARY HOWARD LUNIK, UH, SAID THAT THERE WILL BE A RIGOROUS REVIEW OF BEAD AND TECH NEUTRAL APPROACH TO THE FUNDING.
AND WHAT THAT REALLY MEANS, THAT SIGNALING THAT, UH, WITHIN BEAD THERE WAS A FIBER PREFERENCE, BUT NOW IT IS ALSO, UH, EXPECTED THAT SATELLITE TECHNOLOGIES WILL ALSO BE CONSIDERED.
SO THAT'S POSSIBLY WHAT THAT MEANS.
ADDITIONAL, UM, TEXAS SENATOR TED CRUZ HAS ISSUED A STATEMENT.
HE ACTUALLY ISSUED IT IN NOVEMBER THAT THERE WILL BE VERY BIG CHANGES FOR BEAT AHEAD.
I'VE PROVIDED SOME OF THE RESOURCES FOR Y'ALL.
UM, AND I KNOW DAN IS GOING TO BE SHARING THESE, UH, SLIDES WITH YOU.
IF YOU'D LIKE TO DIG INTO THIS FURTHER.
IF WE COULD GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
SO NTI IS THE NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION.
THEY, UM, SO THE FCC SETS UP THE POLICY AND NTIA DISPERSES THE FUNDS, AND, UM, THEY HAD SCHEDULED TWO ROUNDS OF FUNDING FOR THE DIGITAL EQUITY COMPETITIVE GRANT.
THEY ENDED UP MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MORE THAN $369 MILLION TO 41 ORGANIZATIONS NATIONALLY, ACCORDING TO THE NTIA.
THIS FUNDING COMES FROM $1.25 BILLION IN DIGITAL EQUITY COMPETITIVE GRANT PROGRAM, ONE OF THE THREE DIGITAL EQUITY ACT GRANT PROGRAMS CREATED BY THE BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE LAW.
AND THE LIST OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUNDING FOR THE COMPETITIVE GRANT ARE ON THEIR WEBSITE.
AND I PROVIDED A LINK FOR YOU, AUSTIN SUPPORTED THE APPLICATION OF A CENTRAL TEXAS PARTNERSHIP, AND THEY PUT IN $12 MILLION, UM, AND A REQUEST FOR $12 MILLION.
SO THERE'S GOING TO BE A MATCH.
THE RED JUST MEANS WE WEREN'T CERTAIN OF THE MATCH, BUT IT'S SOMETHING LIKE TWO TO ONE, NO STATUS UPDATE FROM NTIA AT THIS TIME ABOUT THIS GRANT OR HOW THEY'RE GONNA MOVE FORWARD.
ADDITIONALLY, WE JUST, UH, IF WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
YESTERDAY WE RECEIVED WORD FROM THE TEXAS BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT OFFICE, AND I'LL JUST READ THAT FIRST PARAGRAPH.
DUE TO ONGOING FEDERAL GOVERNMENT REALIGNMENT TO MEET THE PRIORITIES OF THE NEW ADMINISTRATION, THE BDO WILL PAUSE ALL GRANTS AND CONTRACTS RELATED TO THE STATE'S ALLOCATION OF THE FEDERAL STATE DIGITAL EQUITY CAPACITY GRANT PROGRAM.
SO THAT'S A VERY, VERY QUICK HIGH LEVEL OF FEEDBACK.
UM, AND CHAIR AKA I WILL STOP THERE TO SEE IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS.
I'M NOT SURE IF WE COULD ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS, BUT HAPPY TO ENTERTAIN THEM.
UH, I THINK THAT HIGH LEVEL, UH, SUMMARY ALONG WITH, UH, THE TIMELY UPDATES IS EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR.
UM, THE ONLY QUESTION I HAVE IS, UH, I KNOW THE CENTRAL TEXAS PARTNERS, UH, HAD WORKED TOGETHER, UH, TO DO THE, UH, THE APPLICATION.
IS THERE, UH, ARE THEY MEETING, IS THE CENTRAL TEXAS COALITION MEETING ON A REGULAR BASIS, ESPECIALLY THE LAST, UH, FEW DAYS WITH THIS NEWS? UH, I, THEY HAVE BEEN, THE COALITION IS PART OF DECA MM-HMM
AND I KNOW THAT DECA HAD A MEETING, UH, TODAY.
SO I'M GOING TO ASK JESSE, BECAUSE HE ATTENDS DECAS MEETINGS.
DE JESSE, WAS THERE ANY CONVERSATION AROUND THIS AT DECA? UH, I CAN STEP IN FOR JESSE.
[00:10:01]
DISCUSS THIS AT DECA TODAY, UM, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE COULD DEFINITELY SHOULD POTENTIALLY, UH, BRING UP TO THE GROUP.AND SO, UH, THEY HAVE NOT BEEN NOTIFIED CHAIR APODACA.
THEY WERE NOT NOTIFIED THE FIRST ROUND, UH, THE COALITION IN CENTRAL TEXAS.
THEY WERE NOT NOTIFIED THE SECOND ROUND, UH, WHAT THE STATUS WAS.
UH, AND AT THIS POINT, EVERYTHING IS IN HOLDING PATTERN.
SO I'M CERTAIN WHAT THE UPDATE STATUS UPDATE WILL BE AT THIS POINT, BUT WE WILL DEFINITELY LET THE COMMISSION KNOW AS SOON AS WE HEAR.
UH, I'LL OPEN IT UP TO THE REST OF THE COMMISSIONERS FOR ANY QUESTIONS THEY MIGHT HAVE.
I HAVE A ONE QUESTION AROUND, UM, UNDERSTANDING THAT THE BDO IS PAUSING ON THE DIGITAL EQUITY CAPACITY GRANT PENDING, UM, I GUESS REVIEW FROM A FEDERAL LEVEL FOR OTHER POTENTIAL GRANT.
DO YOU HAVE A SENSE FROM AT LEAST A FEDERAL LEVEL THAT OTHER POTENTIAL GRANTS MIGHT BE PAUSED AT THIS MOMENT? I'M JUST CURIOUS ABOUT, I KNOW THERE'S A, LIKE A PUBLIC WORKS GRANT THAT COULD POTENTIALLY BE USED SMALLER, BUT IT COULD POTENTIALLY BE USED TOWARDS THINGS LIKE INFRASTRUCTURE, AROUND BROADBAND.
I'M JUST CURIOUS IF, UM, HOW FAR THIS SORT OF PAUSING MIGHT GO.
IS IT JUST REALLY AFFECTING RIGHT NOW? ARE YOU SEEING IT JUST PRIMARILY AFFECTING OUR BEAD WORK? OR IS THERE MORE, UM, THE SENSE THAT YOU'RE GETTING IS THAT THIS IS KIND OF ACROSS THE BOARD, UM, RIGHT NOW FROM A A GRANTS LEVEL AT A FEDERAL PERSPECTIVE? WELL, VERY GOOD QUESTION.
UM, I WAS ON A NATIONAL CALL, UH, TODAY AND EVERY LOCALITY THAT WAS PRESENT NATIONALLY WAS SAYING THE SAME THING.
THAT THERE IS A LOT OF UNCERTAINTY, UH, AND LACK OF CLARITY OF HOW THINGS ARE GONNA MOVE FORWARD.
IT SEEMS LIKE THERE IS A WHOLE, UH, SCALE PAUSE ON EVERYTHING THAT HAS TO DO WITH FEDERAL GRANTS ON FROM ALL THE FEDERAL AGENCIES.
THAT IS OUR CURRENT UNDERSTANDING.
BUT THINGS COULD CHANGE TOMORROW MORNING.
I BELIEVE THERE IS A CALL WITH THE BDO, SO WE SHOULD HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE CLARITY ON WHAT EXACTLY THEY ARE PAUSING AND WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO CONTINUE WITH.
UM, AND WE DO HAVE A COMMENT IN THE, IN THE ROOM.
I'M THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND I JUST WANTED TO PROVIDE THE COMMISSION, UH, SOME OTHER INFORMATION RELATED TO HOW AS A CITY WE'RE MANAGING THE CONCERNS AROUND THE FEDERAL GRANTS.
SO WE'VE BEEN WORKING IN TANDEM WITH OUR, UM, INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS OFFICE, AND WE'VE INVENTORIED PROGRAMS ACROSS THE CITY THAT ARE FUNDED WITH FEDERAL GRANTS SO THAT WE ARE UNDERSTANDING HOW WE WOULD BE IMPACTED.
AT THIS TIME, WE HAVEN'T RECEIVED ANY OFFICIAL PAUSES, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF A COURSE, WITH THE IMPACT ON THE BEAD, UH, FUNDING MM-HMM
BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE MONITORING AND, UH, CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE AND IGRO ARE LEADING COMMUNICATIONS WITH OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS AND THE COMMUNITY.
UM, THERE WAS A SURVEY THAT WENT OUT TO MANY OF OUR HUD FUNDED PARTNERS ABOUT A WEEK AND A HALF AGO TO UNDERSTAND HOW THEY WOULD BE IMPACTED.
SO WE ARE ALL VERY MUCH ON ALERT MONITORING CLOSELY, AND, UM, IF THERE'S ANY INFORMATION THAT SPECIFICALLY AFFECTS THIS COMMISSION, WE'LL CERTAINLY CONTINUE TO KEEP YOU APPRISED.
THANK YOU FOR THAT AND APPRECIATE IT.
UH, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE REST OF THE COMMISSION? DOESN'T LOOK LIKE IT.
WELL, CERTAINLY OPPORTUNITY FOR, UH, INDIVIDUAL COMMISSIONERS IN OUR PERSONAL CAPACITY TO, UH, MAKE OUR VOICES HEARD AT THE US SENATE LEVEL.
UH, SO WITH THAT, WE WILL MOVE INTO, UH, TO CONTINUE OUR AGENDA ITEMS. AND, UH, WE'RE GONNA, I'M GONNA MOVE BACK US BACKWARDS
[2. Presentation on the Professional Development and EdExchange program (Madeleine Edwards, CEO, Austin Children’s Museum)]
TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER TWO.UH, WE HAVE SOME SPECIAL GUESTS TONIGHT IN THE ROOM.
UH, WE HAVE MADELINE EDWARDS AND HER TEAM FROM, UH, THE AUSTIN CHILDREN'S MUSEUM, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE THINKERY.
THANK Y'ALL SO MUCH FOR HAVING US.
I'M THE SENIOR GRANTS MANAGER AT THINKERY.
UM, DAN INVITED US TO COME TONIGHT JUST TO SHARE WITH Y'ALL A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR PROGRAM THAT WE CALL ED EXCHANGE, UH, WHICH IS FUNDED IN PART BY THE G OS GRANT.
UH, WE'VE BEEN VERY GRATEFUL TO BE RECIPIENTS OF, UM, VARIOUS CITY OF AUSTIN FUNDING, INCLUDING THE G OS GRANT, UM, OVER THE YEARS, UH, WHICH HAS MADE SOME REALLY INCREDIBLE WORK HAPPEN.
SO, UM, I WILL LET, UH, MY COLLEAGUES INTRODUCE THEMSELVES AND SHARE ABOUT THIS WONDERFUL PROGRAM THAT THEY RUN.
[00:15:01]
HELLO, I'M, UH, DEREK ODIS.UH, SO WE RUN, UM, ED EXCHANGE, WHICH IS A PROGRAM THAT'S PART OF OUR STEAM LEARNING INSTITUTE THERE AT THINKERY.
THE, UH, STEAM LEARNING INSTITUTE'S REALLY FOCUSED AROUND COMMUNITY GROWING, HELPING, UH, THE LOCAL AREA, ESPECIALLY TITLE ONE SCHOOLS.
SO THOSE THAT ARE MAYBE NOT THE STUDENTS DON'T GET A LOT OF THESE EXPERIENCES FIRSTHAND.
UH, CAN I GET TO THE NEXT SLIDE REAL QUICK? SO, SINCE THE 2014 2020 SCHOOL YEAR, WE'VE HELPED, UH, 253 EDUCATORS AND A BIT OVER 7,000 STUDENTS, UH, IN THE AREA.
UH, BRINGING THE TECHNOLOGY AND EXPERIENCE THAT WE HAVE OUT TO THE CLASSROOM AND TRYING TO HELP THE TEACHERS INCREASE THE, THEIR COMFORTABILITY USING TECH IN THE CLASSROOM AND USING THESE RESOURCES.
SO, JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT WE DO.
OUR PROGRAM IS BASED OFF OF A COUPLE OF WORKSHOPS WHERE WE WORK DIRECTLY WITH THE TEACHERS.
UM, IN THOSE WORKSHOPS, WE'RE SHOWING THEM THE TOOLS THAT WE USE AT THE THINKERY, SOME MORE TECH, SOME MORE EASY WAYS TO ACCESS THOSE, EVEN IF THEY CAN'T THROUGH THEIR SCHOOL SYSTEM.
BECAUSE ONE OF THE BIG ISSUES THAT WE RUN INTO IS A LOT OF THESE TEACHERS, UH, LIKE THEY'RE THE BARRIERS TO PURCHASING, ACQUIRING, OR EVEN JUST GETTING AN APP IN THEIR CLASSROOM IS SO HIGH THAT IT'S HARD FOR THEM TO FIND THE TIME TO BE COMFORTABLE THEMSELVES AND BE ABLE TO TEACH THOSE TO THE STUDENTS.
I WANNA ADD SOMETHING TO THAT AS WELL.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS I LOVE ABOUT OUR PROGRAM IS THAT NOT ONLY DO WE GIVE THEM ACCESS TO THESE TOOLS, BUT WE EMPOWER THEM TO BE CONFIDENT IN USING THEM.
SO WE REALLY STRESS THAT THIS IS A COLLABORATION.
SO WHILE WE MAY KNOW A LOT OF CONTENT, A LOT OF TIPS AND STRATEGIES, WE ALSO EMPHASIZE THAT THEY'RE THE EXPERTS OF THEIR CLASSROOMS AND TO BRING THAT EXPERIENCE TO THE TABLE 'CAUSE IT'S SO VITAL AND US TEACHING THESE THINGS TO THEIR STUDENTS.
SO ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT IT IS JUST THIS PARTNERSHIP AND THIS SHARING OF INFORMATION THAT WE DO.
AND AFTER WE HAVE THE MAIN WORKSHOP WHERE WE INTRODUCE A LOT OF THE TECHNOLOGY TO THEM, UM, WHETHER THEY'VE SEEN IT BEFORE OR NOT, THEN THEY SHARE WITH US THE TOPICS OR SUBJECTS THEY'RE GOING THROUGH IN THEIR CLASSROOM AND WHAT TECHNOLOGY THEY'D WANT TO INCORPORATE.
SO WE'RE GOING TO THEIR CLASSROOMS, BRINGING THIS TECHNOLOGY AND HELPING THEM MELD IT WITH THEIR CURRENT, UM, TOPICS OR WHATEVER THEY'RE TEACHING AT THE TIME, JUST TO HELP BUILD THAT.
THESE ARE TOOLS AND WHILE YES, IT DOES TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF BUILDUP FOR THE STUDENTS TO USE THEM, THEY CAN ENHANCE WHATEVER THE STUDENTS ARE LEARNING IN THAT CLASSROOM.
THOSE VISITS USUALLY ARE OVER THE COURSE OF EIGHT WEEKS, WE'VE BEEN DOING VISITS IN THE FALL AND THE SPRING AND THE FUTURE.
WE'RE LOOKING TO JUST DO VISITS IN THE FALL WITH MAYBE A LARGER GROUP, UM, AS WE TRY TO GROW.
AND, UM, REALLY OUR VISION RIGHT NOW IS JUST TO HELP, UH, GROW THIS PROGRAM SO THAT WAY WE ARE HELPING OUT IN THE FALL, BUT ALSO KEEPING UP WITH THEM IN THE SPRING, ADDING WORKSHOPS, ADDING MORE VIRTUAL VISITS WHERE WE CAN HELP INCREASE THAT EXCHANGE OF TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNITY AND JUST HELP THEM GROW AS EDUCATORS.
SO I'LL SHARE, UM, SO DEREK AND BECCA WORK WITH AROUND 15 EDUCATORS PER SEMESTER, UM, PRIMARILY AT TITLE ONE SCHOOLS ALL OVER, UM, THE AUSTIN AREA.
UM, WITH THIS PROGRAM IN PARTICULAR, INDIVIDUAL TEACHERS WHO ARE SEEKING THAT FURTHER DEVELOPMENT WITH THE TECH WILL WILL APPLY TO THIS PROGRAM AND SIGN UP KIND OF ON THEIR OWN TO PARTICIPATE.
UM, THINKERY HAS OTHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS WHERE WE PARTNER WITH ENTIRE DISTRICTS.
SO WE HAVE A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE ENTIRE DELL VALLEY ISD, UM, DISTRICT WORKING WITH ALL OF THEIR EARLY LEARNER EDUCATORS.
UM, ED EXCHANGE IS UNIQUE IN THAT IT PULLS TEACHERS FROM ALL OVER THE AREA.
I KNOW THAT Y'ALL GET A LOT OF LIBRARIANS WHO ARE LOOKING AT INTEGRATING THAT TECH INTO THE LIBRARY SPACE.
AND THEN THINK IS TEXAS, UH, EDUCATION ASSOCIATION ACCREDITED? SO TEACHERS ARE EARNING THEIR CPE CREDITS THROUGH THIS PROCESS.
AND THEN WE ALSO, THROUGH PARTIALLY THROUGH THE GRANT FUNDING, WE'RE ABLE TO PROVIDE THEM A STIPEND AT THE END OF THE PROGRAM OF $250.
SO THEN THEY, IF THERE'S A PIECE OF TECH THAT THEY'VE NOW LEARNED ABOUT AND PLAYED WITH, UH, WITH BECCA AND DEREK THAT THEY WANNA INTEGRATE IN THEIR CLASSROOM, THAT THEY'RE ABLE TO THEN PURCHASE THAT FOR THEIR ROOM.
UM, I KNOW SOMETIMES IF THE TEACHERS ARE AT THE SAME SCHOOL, THEY'VE LIKE POOLED THEIR STIPENDS TO DO SOMETHING BIGGER.
UM, AND IN 2025, WE ARE CELEBRATING 10 YEARS OF THIS PROGRAM, UM, WHICH REALLY WAS THE ROOT OF THINKERS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, WHICH HAS NOW EXPANDED TO PARTNER WITH, UH, FIVE DIFFERENT DISTRICTS IN CENTRAL TEXAS, UM, AND, UM, HAS BEEN ABLE TO IMPACT MANY, MANY EDUCATORS.
[00:20:01]
UH, THANK YOU FOR THE WORK THAT Y'ALL DO IN THIS COMMISSION.
UM, AND YEAH, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS WE COULD ANSWER AROUND THE PROGRAM?
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, UH, THAT PRESENTATION AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE WORK THAT YOU ALL ARE DOING, UH, DIRECTLY IN THE COMMUNITY.
UH, REMIND ME WHAT GRADES YOU ALL SUPPORT.
SO PRIMARILY ANYWHERE FROM PRE-K, THREE TO FIFTH GRADE.
WE GET A RANGE CURRENTLY, OUR COHORTS MM-HMM
UH, BUT IT CAN BE VERY, DEPENDS ON WHO SIGNS UP.
AND JUST TO REMIND, UM, AND FOR THE BENEFIT OF SOME OF OUR NEWER COMMISSIONERS, UM, THIS WHOLE YEAR WE'VE BEEN MAKING AN EFFORT TO INVITE SOME OF OUR G OS RECIPIENTS.
UH, SO TONIGHT'S IS, UM, UH, THE THINKERY, UH, TO, TO SHOWCASE SOME OF THE WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING.
UM, BUT ALSO REMIND US, UH, WHAT GTOP S UM, AWARDS HAVE YOU ALL RECEIVED IN THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS? YEAH.
PRIMARILY IT HAS BEEN FOR ED EXCHANGE IN THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS MM-HMM
AND I BELIEVE AT ONE TIME I AM MANY YEARS AGO THAT G OS FUNDED OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE SAFE PROGRAM MM-HMM
BUT REALLY LARGELY IT'S BEEN, IT'S BEEN AT, AT EXCHANGE FOR MANY YEARS AND IT'S BEEN VERY RELIABLE FUNDING AND, UM, VERY, AND JUST EVEN OPPORTUNITIES LIKE THIS FOR US TO SHARE MORE ABOUT THE PROGRAM.
UM, OR THERE WAS A CELEBRATION WITH ALL THE AWARDEES WHEN WE WERE AWARDED IT THIS PAST YEAR.
AND JUST THESE OPPORTUNITIES FOR VISIBILITY OF THE PROGRAM IS WONDERFUL.
YEAH, THAT'S, THAT'S WONDERFUL.
UH, I'LL OPEN IT UP TO REST OF THE COMMISSION IF, UH, ANYONE HAS QUESTIONS.
UM, COMMISSIONER, NOT JUST A COMMENT JUST TO SAY CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR 10 YEARS FOR THIS PROGRAM.
I WAS CURIOUS, WHAT BITS OF TECHNOLOGY ARE THE TEACHERS REALLY FINDING USEFUL IN THEIR CLASSROOMS? SO A LOT OF THE, ESPECIALLY THE MORE RECENT YEARS, THERE'S BEEN A PUSH FOR CODING.
SO WE'VE USED APPS LIKE SCRATCH AND SCRATCH JUNIOR THAT ARE FUNDED FROM MIT, UH, BUT, BUT FREE AND AVAILABLE TO SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO HELP WITH YOUNGER STUDENTS, GET MORE CONFIDENT WITH CODING AND THAT CODING MINDSET.
UM, WE'VE RECENTLY HAD A BIG PUSH FOR, UM, USING MICRO BITS, WHICH IS, IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH ARDUINOS, LIKE LITTLE MICROCONTROLLERS.
UM, BUT THEY MAKE A LOT OF THE CODING AND SMALL PARTS AND USING SENSORS LIKE BUILT IN.
SO IT'S MUCH MORE APPROACHABLE FOR THE YOUNGER KIDS.
AND THE CODING'S ALSO BLOCK CODING.
SO JUST OUR MAIN PUSH IS TO GET THAT MINDSET OF HOW TO CODE THE ENGINEERING OR SCIENTIFIC MINDSET FOR EITHER FIXING A PROBLEM OR FINDING A SOLUTION TO A PROBLEM AS ANSWERING A QUESTION AND TO GET THEM INTERESTED IN THE TECHNOLOGY THROUGH THAT.
CAN I ASK THAT SOMETHING? YEAH.
SO I WORK PRIMARILY WITH A LOT OF OUR YOUNGER AGE GROUP AND A LOT OF TEACHERS REALLY WANT TO FOCUS ON CODING.
SO THIS IS THE FIRST YEAR THAT WE'VE CODED WITH THREE YEAR OLDS, AND THEY ACTUALLY DID REALLY WELL.
UM, A LOT OF PUSH FOR CIRCUITRY, UM, BECAUSE THAT IS SOMETHING THEY ARE GOING TO LEARN AT A CERTAIN POINT.
JUST GETTING THEM STARTED ON THAT AT A VERY YOUNG AGE.
SO I'VE HAD A LOT OF TEACHERS WANT TO PLAY WITH ROBOTS.
WHAT ARE ACCESSIBLE IN TERMS OF THAT? WHAT CAN THEY BUY? WHAT CAN THEY BRING INTO THEIR CLASSROOM, AND HOW CAN THEY USE THOSE TOOLS TO MAKE LEARNING FUN? UM, WE HAVE SOMETHING, UH, CALLED OZOBOTS WHERE IT'S A LOT OF TRACING AND THE LITTLE, LITTLE ROBOT FOLLOWS THAT.
AND SO THEY LOVE THAT FOR PRACTICING THEIR LETTERS BECAUSE YOU DRAW IT AND THEN YOU PUT THE ROBOT ON IT.
SO IT'S THINGS LIKE THAT WHERE THEY GET TO PLAY WITH ALL OF THESE THINGS AT OUR WORKSHOPS, WE GET TO TELL 'EM WHAT THEY CAN BUY WITH THEIR STIPEND, AND THEN WHEN WE GO VISIT THEIR CLASSROOMS, THEY GET TO ACTUALLY USE IT AND IMPLEMENT IT, GET COMFORTABLE WITH IT.
BY THE TIME WE LEAVE, THEY SHOULD HAVE THE SKILLS AND THE EMPOWERMENT TO DO THIS ON THEIR OWN AND HAVE THE TOOL TO BUY.
AND IT HELPS OUT A LOT BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF FEAR WITH BUYING EQUIPMENT FOR A CLASSROOM.
LIKE, OH, I'M GONNA SPEND ALL THIS MONEY, IS IT WORTHWHILE? SO OUR PROGRAM HELPS TO BRIDGE THAT SORT OF LIKE, HEY, YOU CAN SEE, DOES THIS WORK FOR YOU IN YOUR CLASSROOM BEFORE YOU EVEN GO OUT AND BUY IT.
WELL, WE APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT YOU ALL ARE DOING TO IMPACT THE COMMUNITY.
I HEAR THE ENERGY AND THE PASSION AND, UH, A'S VOICES.
SO, UH, YEAH, PLEASE CONTINUE TO APPLY FOR THE GTOP S FUNDING.
CONTINUE TO, UM, UH, INVITE YOU BACK, UH, MAYBE NEXT YEAR TO TALK ABOUT THE WORK THAT YOU ALL DO ARE DOING AND, UH, WOULD ENCOURAGE ANY OF THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS TO TAKE A TOUR OF, UH, THE, UM, THE FACILITY THAT YOU ALL HAVE AS WELL.
I'VE, I'VE BEEN THERE WITH MY LITTLE ONE MYSELF.
UM, DAN MARTINEZ HAS MY CONTACT INFORMATION AND TRULY, GENUINELY, IF ANYONE ON THE, ON THE COMMISSION IS INTERESTED IN A TOUR OF OUR SPACE HERE IN MUELLER, LEARNING MORE ABOUT OUR PROGRAMS. UM, OR WE ALSO JUST OPENED A, A SHARED SPACE
[00:25:01]
IN DELL VALLEY, ISD ON THEIR CENTRAL CAMPUS AS A, UH, BUILT INTO THEIR CENTRAL CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER.UM, SO IF ANYONE IS EVER INTERESTED IN A TOUR OR JUST LEARNING MORE, UM, PLEASE, UH, REACH OUT TO DAN AND, UH, AND ASK FOR MY CONTACT INFORMATION.
CAN I SAY SOMETHING ELSE? SHAMELESS PLUGIN.
IF YOU GUYS HAVE ANY EDUCATORS IN YOUR LIVES THAT ARE K UH, THROUGH FIFTH AND WOULD LIKE TO LOOK INTO OUR PROGRAM, BY ALL MEANS, UM, WHEN DO WE ACCEPT APPLICATIONS FOR THE NEXT? THEY SHOULD BE OPENING UP IN APRIL.
IF YOU HAVE ANY K THROUGH FIVE EDUCATORS THAT ARE INTERESTED IN THE PROGRAM, IT IS FREE TO APPLY.
WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING TO WORK WITH MORE SCHOOLS.
PLEASE GO AHEAD AND CHECK US OUT.
OKAY, WELL THAT WAS A WONDERFUL PRESENTATION.
UH, WITH THAT, I'M JUST GONNA LOOK AT STAFF TO DIRECT ME THE BEST, UH, PATH FORWARD.
SHOULD, ARE WE OKAY TO MOVE TO AGENDA ITEM FIVE? LET'S GO AHEAD AND CALL THE G TOPS ITEM NEXT.
WELL, I WILL MOVE US TO AGENDA ITEM FOUR, THE G TOPS ITEM.
SO I WILL TURN IT OVER TO DAN.
UM, I CAN GO AHEAD AND TURN ON MY CAMERA SINCE I'M ON THE CALL HERE.
UM, SO I DON'T HAVE ANY ACTUAL SLIDES TO SHARE, JUST SOME INFORMATION AND SPEAKING FROM THE HEART TODAY, UM, I'M HAPPY TO SHARE THAT WE HAVE RECEIVED 23 APPLICATIONS FOR GTOP S CORE THIS YEAR.
UM, WHICH HONESTLY, UM, PATTING MYSELF ON THE BACK, ME AND JESSE, AND AS WELL AS THE COMMISSION, UM, IS A PRETTY GOOD NUMBER.
UM, IT'S ACTUALLY AN INCREASE BY ABOUT I FOUR OR TWO FROM LAST YEAR.
UM, BUT AN INCREASE IS ALWAYS GOOD.
MORE COMPETITION MEANS, UH, A BETTER, UH, APPLICANT POOL.
IT'S MORE DIVERSE AND OUR REVIEW PANEL WILL HAVE A LOT MORE, UH, DECISION MAKING AND WIGGLE ROOM TO MAKE.
SO, UH, VERY EXCITED FOR THE NUMBER OF CANDIDATES WE HAVE THIS YEAR.
IT'S STILL A MANAGEABLE AMOUNT.
UM, WE RECEIVED APPLICATIONS FROM THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, WE HAVE TEXAS FOLK LIFE RESOURCES BUILDING PROMISE, USA, AE AUSTIN, UH, E FOUR YOUTH BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY LENDERS OF TEXAS, THE JUNTOS LEARNING CENTER, ART SPARK, TEXAS, UH, AUSTIN GROUPS FOR THE ELDERLY NON PEREL INSTITUTE, UH, AUSTIN URBAN TECHNOLOGY MOVEMENT, CENA LAS AMERICA FOUNDATION, COMMUNITIES INC.
CREATIVE ACTION, AUSTIN CHILDREN'S MUSEUM, THE ARC OF THE CAPITAL AREA DRESSED FOR SUCCESS.
AUSTIN COMP DOT COMPASS, ROSE PUBLIC SCHOOLS, GOODWILL, L ONE, SAMANO EPISCOPAL MISSION, UH, ART CURATORIAL INC.
AND CHANGING EXPECTATIONS AND AUSTIN SPEECH LABS.
UM, SO A GREAT COHORT TO HAVE SOME VERY FAMILIAR FACES IN THERE, AS WELL AS A HANDFUL OF NEW ONES.
UH, THIS YEAR WE ACTUALLY RECEIVED, UH, FIVE APPLICATIONS FROM ORGANIZATIONS WHO HADN'T APPLIED TO G OS CORE BEFORE.
UH, SOME OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS HAVE APPLIED FOR OTHER GTOP S PATHWAYS, LIKE MINI AND CAPACITY, UM, BUT ALWAYS EXCITED TO SEE THEM KIND OF GROW OUT OF THAT AND MOVE INTO THE NEXT TIER OF G OS FUNDING, UM, AND, AND BE COMPETITIVE IN THAT WAY.
IT JUST, IT SHOWS US THAT THEY'VE, THEY'VE GROWN SINCE WE FIRST MET THEM, AS WELL AS, UH, UH, THEY'RE BECOMING MORE AMBITIOUS AND THEIR PROGRAMS ARE GETTING LARGER.
SO ALWAYS EXCITED TO SEE SOMEONE USHERED FROM MANY CAPACITY TO CORE OR JUST BE OUTRIGHT NEW.
UM, IT IS A 22%, UH, NEW APPLICANT POOL, SO, UM, THAT IS EXCITING.
IT'S ONE OUT OF FIVE APPLICATIONS.
UM, AND THEN I JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT A FEW PROJECTS THAT WE GOT, UM, THIS ROUND.
UH, OH, UH, NEVERMIND, UH,
UM, A A FEW RETURNING PROGRAMS. UM, SOME OF OUR, UH, PREVIOUS, UM, ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE'VE WORKED WITH IN, UH, PAST GTOP CYCLES, THEY'LL JUST BE CONTINUING THEIR, UH, UH, SOME OF THEIR PROGRAMMING SUCH AS, UH, THE THINKERY OR AUSTIN CHILDREN'S MUSEUM.
THEY'RE GONNA CONTINUE THE ED EXCHANGE PROGRAM, UM, LOOKING FOR FUNDING FOR ANOTHER YEAR.
UM, BUT YEAH, THAT'S ABOUT ALL THE INFORMATION I HAVE.
WE'LL BE BACK IN, I BELIEVE, UH, THE APRIL MEETING.
WE SHOULD HAVE A FINAL DECISION FROM OUR REVIEW PANEL.
UM, AND WE'LL ASK THAT THE COMMISSION APPROVE AND, UH, FINALIZE THE, THE FINANCIAL BREAKDOWN OF THE FINAL GTOP S RECIPIENTS.
UM, SO, UH, LOTS COMING DOWN THE PIPELINE.
UH, WE ARE ON TRACK MOVING SMOOTHLY.
UH, WE HAD A COUPLE OF HICCUPS DUE TO THE WISE HIVE SYSTEM, UM, THAT WE WERE ABLE TO SORT OF MITIGATE AND, AND GET PAST.
UM, UH, SO FAR EVERYTHING LOOKS LIKE IT'S WORKING SMOOTHLY FOR OUR REVIEW PANEL.
UM, AND THEY'RE ABOUT TO MOVE INTO THE, UH, THEY'RE, THEY'RE GETTING CLOSE ABOUT A WEEK AND A HALF OUT FROM FINISHING THE FIRST ROUND OF, OF PHASE ONE SCORING, UM, SO ON TRACK.
[00:30:01]
HOPE TO HAVE A STRONG UPDATE IN APRIL.UH, ANYBODY HAVE QUESTIONS? THANKS SO MUCH FOR THAT, DAN.
UM, YEAH, THE, I, I WAS ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ONBOARDING FOR THE REVIEWERS.
EVERYONE SEEMED PASSIONATE, EXCITED, A LOT OF REALLY SMART PEOPLE.
UM, SO WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO RECEIVING THEIR FEEDBACK, UM, AND RANKINGS ON THE, UH, THE APPLICATIONS.
UH, ANY QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSIONERS ON GTOP S CORE? OKAY.
WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT PRESENTATION, DAN.
LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT APRIL MEETING.
UH, SO WITH THAT, I WILL MOVE US TO
[5. Presentation on the City of Austin and Travis County’s collaborative Digital Needs Assessment (Chloe Munn, Reyda Taylor from Travis County and Jesse Rodriguez from City of Austin) ]
AGENDA ITEM FIVE.UH, WE HAVE SOME HONORED GUESTS, UH,
UM, SO I WILL TURN IT OVER TO JESSE, RITA AND CHLOE TO, UH, PRESENT THEIR WORK ON THE DIGITAL NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
CHAIR APODACA JESSE RODRIGUEZ WITH THE, UH, WORKFORCE AND CHILD CARE DIVISION OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
UM, AND I'M HERE WITH MY COMPATRIOTS AT TRAVIS COUNTY, CHLOE MOON AND RITA TAYLOR.
UM, AND TOGETHER THE, THE THREE OF US, UH, LED A, UH, DIGITAL EQUITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT, UM, THE REPORT OF WHICH WE HAVE RECENTLY PUBLISHED IN THE, THE PAST COUPLE OF WEEKS.
UM, AND WE ARE HERE TO, UH, DELIVER, UH, AN UPDATE AND AN OVERVIEW OF THAT REPORT TO THE COMMISSION.
UH, THIS HAS BEEN A PROJECT THAT HAS BEEN A LONG TIME IN PROGRESS, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN.
WE STARTED THIS AS AN IDEA IN 2022, UH, AND IN 2023 IS WHEN THE ACTUAL RESEARCH WAS TAKING PLACE, WHICH IS WHY THE, THE REPORT ITSELF IS CALLED THE 2023 DIGITAL EQUITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
UM, AND IT TOOK US MOST OF 2024 TO COME THROUGH WITH THE FULL, UH, AND FINAL REPORT, WHICH WE HAVE RECENTLY PUBLISHED.
UM, SO WE'RE VERY EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO, UH, SHARE WITH YOU ALL TODAY.
UM, I'M GONNA, UH, BRIEFLY INTRODUCE THE TEAM.
UH, SO, UH, AGAIN, WE HAVE CHLOE MOON AND RITA TAYLOR FROM, FROM TRAVIS COUNTY.
UM, AND, UH, IF YOU GUYS WANTED TO INTRODUCE YOURSELVES INDIVIDUALLY, UM, AND THEN WE'LL LEAD OFF WITH, UH, CHLOE, UH, IN THE PRESENTATION.
I'M HONORED THAT WE'RE HONORED GUESTS.
UM, THIS IS MY FIRST TIME PRESENTING AND ATTENDING A COMMISSION MEETING, SO THANKS FOR HAVING US.
WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO BE HERE.
AS JESSE MENTIONED, MY NAME IS CHLOE MOON AND I'M A PROGRAM MANAGER IN TECHNOLOGY AND OPERATIONS AT TRAVIS COUNTY.
I AM A STRATEGIC ADVISOR AT TRAVIS COUNTY AND INNOVATIVE JUSTICE AND PROGRAM ANALYSIS DEPARTMENT.
AND I GOT TO BE IN TECH AND OPS TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT THIS PROJECT.
WELL, THANKS Y'ALL AGAIN FOR HAVING US.
UM, WE'RE HERE TO KIND OF SHARE, AS JESSE MENTIONED, THE STUDY THAT WE CONDUCTED TOGETHER.
SO WITH SUPPORT, UM, WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
DAVID'S FOUNDATION, THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY, WE CONDUCTED A NEEDS ASSESSMENT TO BETTER UNDERSTAND OUR COMMUNITY'S NEEDS, BARRIERS AND ASSETS TO DIGITAL ACCESS.
SO DIGITAL ACCESS, MEANING THINGS LIKE ACCESS TO THE INTERNET, ACCESS TO DIGITAL DEVICES, AND HAVING DIGITAL SKILLS.
THE STUDY PRIORITIZED LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES, COMMUNITIES OF COLOR, AND OTHER COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE BEEN HISTORICALLY AND SYSTEMICALLY MARGINALIZED.
THE STUDY'S GOAL WAS ALSO TO IDENTIFY RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOW TO INCREASE DIGITAL ACCESS FOR ALL.
SO THANKS AGAIN FOR INVITING US TO ATTEND TODAY'S MEETING SO WE CAN SHARE ABOUT MORE ABOUT WHAT WE DID AND WHAT WE LEARNED.
BEFORE WE GET INTO THE DATA, UM, REALLY QUICKLY WANTED TO KIND OF ZOOM OUT AND TALK ABOUT DIGITAL EQUITY.
PEOPLE NEED THREE THINGS TO USE THE INTERNET.
SO THE ABILITY TO GET ONLINE, WHETHER THAT'S THROUGH FIBER, CELLULAR, SATELLITE.
NEXT, YOU NEED A DIGITAL DEVICE LIKE THE LAPTOPS THAT WE'RE USING TO JOIN THIS MEETING.
UM, AND ALSO THE DIGITAL SKILLS FOR, TO HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE ON KNOWING HOW TO USE THAT DIGITAL DEVICE AND HOW TO USE THE INTERNET.
AND SO DIGITAL EQUITY MEANS THAT NO MATTER WHERE SOMEONE LIVES OR THEIR IDENTITY, LIKE THEIR RACE OR THEIR AGE OR THEIR INCOME, THOSE THINGS SHOULD NOT BE PREDICTORS IF THEY HAVE ACCESS TO THOSE THINGS.
AND SO DIGITAL EQUITY IS WHEN ALL INDIVIDUALS AND COMMUNITIES HAVE THOSE THREE THINGS TO FULLY PARTICIPATE IN SOCIETY, ECONOMY, AND DEMOCRACY.
ZOOMING OUT JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE, IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO POINT OUT THAT THERE'S THESE SORT OF LARGER FORCES THAT INFLUENCE OUR ABILITY TO HAVE ACCESS TO THOSE THINGS.
SO, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY, POLITICALLY WE'RE KIND OF KNOWN AS SILICON HILLS BECAUSE OF THE GROWING, CONSTANT GROWING HUB OF, OF TECH CITIES, RIGHT? SO MORE COMPANIES MEANS MORE JOBS, MEANS
[00:35:01]
MORE PEOPLE.AND WE'VE SEEN A SIGNIFICANT POPULATION GROWTH AND ARE CONSISTENTLY SORT OF RANKED AS THE FASTEST GROWING ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING AREAS IN THE COUNTRY.
AND SO THAT'S MEANT HOUSING SHORTAGES AND A RISING COST OF LIVING.
AND THAT'S SORT OF MEANT THAT PEOPLE ARE GETTING PUSHED OUT INTO THE, OUT OF THE URBAN CORE, INTO AREAS THAT DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE THE STRONG INFRASTRUCTURE THAT PUTS A STRAIN ON OTHER TYPES OF INFRASTRUCTURE LIKE OUR ELECTRIC GRID.
UM, AS A COMMUNITY, WE FACED A NUMBER OF DISASTERS THAT HAVE EX, UH, RESULTED IN EXTENDED POWER OUTAGES, BOIL WATER NOTICES.
SO THOSE ARE ALL SORT OF THINGS TO KIND OF THINK ABOUT.
TRAVIS COUNTY AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS ABOUT OUR AREA IS THE TOPOGRAPHY.
ON THE EAST SIDE, WE HAVE SORT OF THE FLAT GRASSLANDS, AND OVER ON THE WEST SIDE WE HAVE THE BEAUTIFUL HILL COUNTRY WITH THE ROLLING HILLS, BUT THAT'S PRIMARILY MADE UP, MADE OUT OF LIMESTONE.
AND ALL THAT VARIETY AND TOPOGRAPHY INFLUENCES THE WAY THAT INFRASTRUCTURE IS BUILT.
TECHNOLOGY, IT'S CONSTANTLY CHANGING.
AND SO OUR SYSTEMS ARE HAVING TO KEEP UP WITH THE GROWTH AND DEMAND AND THE GROWTH OF ADOPTION.
SO THERE'S ALL THESE SORT OF LIKE FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE OUR ABILITY TO HAVE AFFORDABLE, RELIABLE, HIGH-SPEED INTERNET DEVICES AND SKILLS AND ALL THINGS FOR US TO KIND OF KEEP IN MIND AS WE DIVE DEEPER INTO THE STUDY AND WHAT WE LEARNED.
UM, THERE'S A SORT OF ASSUMPTION THAT TRAVIS COUNTY IS CONNECTED, BUT DATA'S ACTUALLY SHOWING US THAT THAT'S NOT ALWAYS THE CASE.
ON THE SCREEN, YOU'LL SEE A MAP THAT USES DATA FROM THE AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY'S, FIVE YEAR ESTIMATES.
THE DARKER SHADES OF BLUE REPRESENT HIGHER PERCENTAGES OF HA OF TRAVIS COUNTY HOUSEHOLDS WITHOUT AN INTERNET SUBSCRIPTION.
WHAT YOU MAY NOTICE IN THIS GRAPH IS THAT THERE'S HIGHER PERCENTAGES OF HOUSEHOLDS WITHOUT AN INTERNET SUBSCRIPTION TO THE EAST SIDE OF I 35 COMPARED TO THE WEST SIDE.
SO YOU CAN REALLY CLEARLY SEE THAT DIVIDE AND HOW THAT'S SHOWING UP IN INTERNET ACCESS.
SO WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN? WE CONDUCTED A STUDY TO BETTER UNDERSTAND WHY THERE'S THOSE GAPS BETWEEN THOSE THAT DO AND DO NOT HAVE DIGITAL ACCESS.
WHAT ARE THEIR BARRIERS? WHAT ARE THEIR CHALLENGES AND WHAT ARE WAYS THAT WE CAN HELP? SO THE STUDY CAME INTO THREE PHASES.
IN PHASE ONE, WE CONDUCTED AN IN-PERSON SURVEY.
UM, WE WORKED REALLY CLOSELY WITH TRAVIS COUNTY CONSTABLE MORALES'S OUTREACH TEAM.
UM, THE SURVEY WAS CONDUCTED IN VERBALLY IN ENGLISH AND IN SPANISH.
AND WE ALSO PRIORITIZED, UH, GEOGRAPHIC AREAS WHERE INTERNET ACCESS CHALLENGES WERE HIGHER ACCORDING TO VARIOUS DIFFERENT NATIONAL AND LOCAL DATA THAT SUCH AS THE MAP THAT WE JUST SHARED WITH YOU.
UM, WE ALSO CONDUCTED A SERIES OF ADVISORY WORKSHOPS WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO GIVE INPUT ON THE DESIGN OF THE STUDY.
IN PHASE TWO, WE CONVENED A WORKING GROUP OF LOCAL NONPROFITS.
WE HAD ABOUT 19 LOCAL NONPROFITS THAT PARTICIPATED AND THEY ADVISED US ON THE CONSTRUCTION AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF WHAT WE'RE CALLING COMMUNITY CIRCLES, ALSO KNOWN AS, UM, FOCUS GROUPS.
UM, AND THEN WE CONDUCTED THOSE FOCUS GROUPS WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
AND THEN WE ALSO HAD COMMUNITY DATA SHARING AND FEEDBACK SESSIONS WHERE WE WENT BACK INTO THE COMMUNITY TO KIND OF SHARE THE INSIGHTS AND THE DATA THAT CAME OUT OF THE STUDY AND TO SEEK SOLUTIONS.
AND IN THE FINAL PHASE, WE RELEASED A REPORT ABOUT THAT STUDY.
UM, I WANNA GIVE A SPECIFIC SHOUT OUT TO STEVEN APODACA AND NEHEMIAH PITTS BOTH PARTICIPATED, GAVE INPUT, CONSULTED AND SUPPORTED AT DIFFERENT STAGES THROUGHOUT THE STUDY.
THIS WAS A MASSIVE, HUGE TEAM EFFORT AND WE REALLY APPRECIATE THE COLLABORATION, UM, WITH THE COMMISSION AS WELL.
SO, UM, THAT'S KIND OF, UM, A BROAD OVERVIEW OF HOW WE DID IT AND WHAT WE DID.
UM, ONE THING TO ALSO KNOW IS IN THESE DIFFERENT VARIETY OF DATA COLLECTION ACTIVITIES, KNOWING WE WANTED TO WORK WITH, UM, AND REACH COMMUNITIES THAT LIKELY HAD DIG HIGHER DIGITAL NEEDS, WE ALSO GAVE RESOURCE PACKETS, UM, WHICH IS HIGHLIGHTED IN THE NEXT SLIDES.
SO THESE RESOURCE PACKET HAD LISTS OF ORGANIZATIONS AND RESOURCES THAT PROVIDED KEY DIGITAL RESOURCES, JUST SUCH AS FREE OR DISCOUNTED DEVICES, COMPUTER LABS, DIGITAL SKILLS TRAINING, ET CETERA.
WHEN WE WERE OUT IN COMMUNITY, UM, TRYING TO BETTER UNDERSTAND PEOPLE'S CHALLENGES, WE ALSO WANTED TO, IN THOSE CONVERSATIONS, PROVIDE THE RESOURCES THAT CAN HELP THEM WITH THAT SPECIFIC CHALLENGE.
SO THAT'S A BROAD OVERVIEW OF WHAT AND HOW WE DID IT.
AND THEN I'LL PASS IT OVER TO RITA WHO WILL GO THROUGH WHAT WE LEARNED.
YEAH, SO WE'RE GONNA REALLY QUICKLY JUST RUN THROUGH SOME OF THE TOP INSIGHTS THAT WE OBSERVED AND LEARNED ABOUT THROUGH THESE DIFFERENT RESEARCH STRATEGIES AND METHODOLOGIES.
AND THEN JESSE'S GONNA, UM, WRAP US WITH ALL THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND KIND OF WHAT'S NEXT APPROACH TO, TO BASED ON WHAT WE'VE LEARNED.
SO AS CHLOE MENTIONED, WE SHARED RESOURCES AS WE WENT IN ADDITION TO COLLECTING DATA BECAUSE, UM, THIS WAS A VERY PARTICIPATORY APPROACH.
[00:40:01]
AND WE ALSO KNOW THAT DATA IS OFTEN COLLECTED, UM, IN A WAY THAT CAN NOT BE USEFUL TO FOLKS.SO WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THIS PROJECT WAS, UM, UH, ENGAGED AND PARTICIPATORY AND SHARING BACK WHAT WE ALREADY KNEW AS FAR AS RESOURCES ARE CONCERNED.
SO AS FAR AS TOP CHALLENGES THAT WE LEARNED, AS CHLOE MENTIONED, WE DID, UH, COMMUNITY CIRCLES OR FOCUS GROUPS.
WE DID A SURVEY AND THEN WE DID THOSE FOLLOW UP DATA CONVENINGS AS FAR AS THE CIRCLES ARE CONCERNED.
SO THESE ARE THE QUALITATIVE CONVERSATIONS WE WOULD HAVE.
UM, COST AND AFFORDABILITY WAS THE TOP ISSUE THAT WE HEARD ACROSS ALL OF THE CONVERSATIONS.
AND, UM, JUST AS A QUICK, UH, REFERENCE, THESE CONVERSATIONS WERE CO-DESIGNED WITH THOSE NONPROFIT COMMUNITY PARTNERS AS WELL.
AND THEY HELPED US, UM, HOST THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
SO THE POPULATIONS WE WERE TRYING TO REACH WERE SERVED BY THOSE ORGANIZATIONS, UM, WHICH WERE OFTEN POPULATIONS THAT ARE HISTORICALLY AND SYSTEMICALLY MARGINALIZED.
AND SO COST AND AFFORDABILITY, TOP ISSUE ACROSS THE CONVERSATIONS, DIGITAL SKILLS WAS ALSO A TOP ISSUE THAT CAME UP, UM, OVER AND OVER.
EVERYTHING FROM FOLKS, UM, NOT BEING ABLE TO, OR, OR WANTING TO KNOW MORE ABOUT HOW TO NAVIGATE CERTAIN TYPES OF DEVICES.
UM, CERTAIN TYPES OF WEBSITES, CERTAIN TYPES OF TOOLS TO HELP THEM, UH, USE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY, NOT JUST THE INTERNET, BUT MAYBE PAY FOR SOMETHING OR ACCOMPLISH CERTAIN TASKS.
HAVING THE DIGITAL SKILLS TO DO THAT.
UH, WE HEARD A LOT ABOUT INTERNET SERVICE PROBLEMS, EVERYTHING FROM FOLKS HAVING TO NAVIGATE, UM, NOT BEING ABLE TO USE A DEVICE, A MOBILE DEVICE IN A CERTAIN AREA, OR NOT BE, MAYBE IT'S THEIR HOME.
THEY CAN ACCESS INTERNET THROUGH, UM, THE BROADBAND, THE LOCAL INTERNET THROUGH THEIR, THEIR HOME, BUT NOT NECESSARILY ON THE GO.
WE ALSO HEARD CHALLENGES AROUND, UM, FOLKS HAVING TO DEAL WITH DIFFERENT TYPES OF, UM, BUNDLING OF DEVICES AND NOT HAVING AS HIGH A SPEED AS THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE PAYING FOR ALL KINDS OF THINGS WHEN IT COMES TO SERVICE PROBLEMS IN THE WAY THEY INTERPRETED IT.
WE ALSO HEARD A LOT ABOUT ACCESSIBILITY.
SO CHALLENGES AROUND, UM, NOT NECESSARILY JUST THE USE OF A DEVICE, BEING ABLE TO USE AND HAVE THOSE DIGITAL SKILLS, BUT ALSO BEING ABLE TO USE A TOOL BASED ON DIFFERENT TYPES OF CHALLENGES.
MAYBE IT'S EYESIGHT CHALLENGES OR IT'S UM, UH, DEXTERITY CHALLENGES, BEING ABLE TO SWIPE AND USE DIFFERENT THINGS ON A DEVICE, UM, OR TECHNOLOGY IN DEVICES AND NOT BEING, UM, ACCESSIBLE.
FOR INSTANCE, BEING ABLE TO BE TRANSLATED INTO, UM, A DIFFERENT TYPE OF LANGUAGE PERHAPS EVEN THOUGH LANGUAGE DID COME UP LATER IN A DIFFERENT WAY.
BUT ACCESSIBILITY IN MULTIPLE FORMATS.
WE ALSO HEARD ABOUT DEVICE ISSUES BROADLY.
THAT DIDN'T COME UP QUITE AS MUCH IN OUR SURVEY, BUT IN OUR FOCUS GROUP CONVERSATIONS THAT CAME UP A LOT.
UM, SOME OF THOSE THINGS HAVE TO DO WITH, UM, NOT HAVING BATTERIES THAT CAN LAST VERY LONG, OR HAVING A DEVICE THAT'S OLDER OR DOESN'T PICK UP SIGNALS VERY WELL, OR, UM, HAVING TO HAVE MULTIPLE DI DEVICES TO PULL THINGS OFF.
WE ALSO HEARD ABOUT, UM, CHALLENGES AROUND, UM, ACCESS TO BEING ABLE TO GET INTERNET SERVICE IN ADDITION TO COST AND AFFORDABILITY AND HAVING DEVICES TO DO THAT.
WE ALSO HEARD ABOUT KIND OF STRUCTURAL SYSTEMIC CHALLENGES TO BEING ABLE TO ACCESS THE INTERNET, SUCH AS HAVING CERTAIN TYPES OF DOCUMENTATION THAT CARRIERS WANT.
UM, HAVING A CREDIT HISTORY, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS COULD REALLY INFLUENCE WHETHER OR NOT SOMEONE COULD GET INTERNET SUBSCRIPTION.
WE ALSO HEARD A LOT ABOUT SECURITY AND SAFETY CONCERNS.
THIS FALLS A LOT INTO KIND OF THE CONSUMER PROTECTION AREA.
WE HEARD A LOT OF FOLKS DESCRIBING, UM, UH, STORIES OF HAVING MONEY STOLEN OR HAVING IDENTITY STOLEN OR HAVING PEOPLE THEY LOVED HURT ON THE INTERNET, UM, FOR LOTS OF DIFFERENT REASONS.
AND THAT SECURITY AND FEAR WAS A REALLY BIG PIECE OF WHAT WE HEARD.
UM, ESPECIALLY BEING REPRESENTATIVES OF GOVERNMENT, THAT CAME UP A LOT.
WE ALSO HEARD, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, THINGS ABOUT LANGUAGE.
SO LANGUAGE VERY SPECIFICALLY.
A LOT OF WEBSITES ARE BUILT IN ENGLISH.
THEY MAY NOT BE, UM, TRANSLATED INTO MULTIPLE LANGUAGES OR, AND THE TOOLS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO DO KIND OF AUTOMATED TRANSLATION AREN'T ALWAYS AS USEFUL OR ACCURATE.
IN ADDITION TO ACTUALLY ACCESSING THE INTERNET, THERE'S LANGUAGE CHALLENGES AROUND SUPPORT SERVICES THAT MIGHT BE PROVIDED.
UM, WHETHER IT'S A MANUAL OF SOME SORT TO USE A DEVICE, BUT ALSO, UH, SUPPORT SERVICES WHEN SOMEONE CALLS TO GET SUPPORT, TRYING TO GET A TECH SUPPORT PERSON OR SIGN UP FOR A SERVICE.
UM, THERE ARE LOTS OF LANGUAGE BARRIERS AND LANGUAGE BARRIERS WHEN IT COMES TO SKILLS DEVELOPMENT AS WELL.
SO TRYING TO BUILD DIGITAL SKILLS, UM, THAT CAN BE HARD TO DO WHEN THE TRAININGS ARE NOT PROVIDED IN YOUR LANGUAGE.
UH, FINALLY WE ALSO HEARD A LOT ABOUT PUBLIC ACCESS.
SOMETHING THAT CAME UP A LOT IN OUR FOCUS GROUPS THAT DID NOT COME UP IN OUR SURVEY IS TRANSPORTATION.
TRANSPORTATION IS A BIG BARRIER TO ACCESSING THE INTERNET.
FOR SOME FOLKS, THEY MAY HAVE TO SPEND AN HOUR
[00:45:01]
ON A BUS TO GET TO A PLACE THAT HAS PUBLIC INTERNET, LIKE A LIBRARY, THOSE HOURS MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE.WE ALSO HEARD ABOUT A PAYWALLS.
SO, AND PAYWALLS NOT JUST LIKE HAVING TO PAY TO ACCESS THE INTERNET, BUT ALSO PAY TO PURCHASE A COFFEE TO BE ABLE TO USE THE INTERNET AND GET A PASSWORD AT A, AT A CAFE.
OR WE HEARD A LOT ABOUT CHARGING, UM, DEVICES THAT PEOPLE CAN HAVE A REALLY DIFFICULT TIME OUT ON THE GO FINDING A WAY TO CHARGE A DEVICE WITHOUT HAVING TO PAY FOR IT BECAUSE A LOT OF CAFES AND STORES ARE BLOCKING THEIR OUTLETS AS A WAY TO, UM, UH, KIND OF PREVENT FOLKS FROM STAYING VERY LONG.
WE ALSO HEARD A LOT OF NEED AROUND, UM, RESOURCES, BUT SPECIFICALLY JUST BEING AWARE OF RESOURCES.
SO WHEN WE'D HAND OUT THAT RESOURCE GUIDE, WE HEARD A LOT OF FOLKS SAY, OH MY GOSH, THIS IS WHAT I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR.
SO JUST BEING AWARE OF WHAT IS AVAILABLE, UM, IS DEFINITELY A CHALLENGE FOR FOLKS.
ALRIGHT, YOU CAN GO TO THAT NEXT SLIDE.
SO FROM THE SURVEY, THINKING ABOUT ALL THOSE CHALLENGES WE HEARD IN THOSE CONVERSATIONS, WE ALSO GOT A LOT OF RECOMMENDATIONS FROM FOLKS.
UM, IT'S WHAT CAN BE ADDRESSED TO HELP SUPPORT, UM, AND IMPROVE INTERNET ACCESS IN TRAVIS COUNTY AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN? UM, AFFORDABILITY BEING THE TOP THING.
AND AGAIN, THAT CAME UP AS THE TOP ISSUE IN THE FOCUS GROUPS.
IT CAME UP AS THE TOP RECOMMENDATION IN THE SURVEY AS WELL.
IN ADDITION TO IMPROVING SERVICE AND IMPROVING SERVICE PROVIDERS, UM, INTERACTIONS AND SUPPORTS AND ACCESSIBILITY.
UM, YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO AGAIN, PRICE WAS A HUGE ISSUE.
SO WE HEARD, WE, IN OUR SURVEY, WE SPLIT IT BY FOLKS WHO HAD INTERNET AT HOME AND FOLKS WHO DID NOT HAVE INTERNET AT HOME.
AND THEN WE LOOKED AT THE DATA AND WERE ABLE TO COMPARE THEM.
AND FOR FOLKS WHO DID NOT HAVE INTERNET AT HOME, THE VAST MAJORITY, 69% OUT OF THE 200 PLUS RESPONDENTS FOR THAT, THAT PARTICULAR CATEGORY IDENTIFIED THAT PRICE WAS THEIR BIGGEST BARRIER TO HAVING INTERNET AT HOME.
WE HEARD COST PRICE, SIMILAR THINGS POPPING UP OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
AND THEN JUST TO REALLY RECAP SOME OF THE SOLUTIONS WE HEARD, BECAUSE AGAIN, WE TOOK THE DATA BACK TO FOLKS, WE ALSO ASKED FOLKS IN THE FOCUS GROUPS, WE ALSO ASKED FOLKS IN SURVEYS WHAT KINDS OF RECOMMENDATIONS OR SOLUTIONS THEY HAVE FOR A LOT OF THESE CHALLENGES.
ONE, FOCUS ON DIGITAL SKILLS, SUPPORT TRAINING.
IMPROVING THOSE COULD REALLY HELP PEOPLE, NOT ONLY THE FOLKS WHO UM, MIGHT BE WANTING OR NEEDING TO IMPROVE DIGITAL SKILLS, BUT ALSO FOLKS WHO SUPPORT THOSE WHO ARE TRYING TO IMPROVE DIGITAL SKILLS.
WE HEARD A LOT ABOUT PEOPLE HAVING LOVED ONES OR UM, UH, SUPPORTING SOMEONE BEING A KEY PARTNER IN HELPING SOMEONE BUILD DIGITAL SKILLS.
WE ALSO HEARD A LOT ABOUT INCREASING ACCESS TO AVAILABILITY, UM, OF FREE OR DISCOUNTED DEVICES.
DEVICES CAME UP A LOT, BUT NOT JUST DEVICES THAT ARE COMPLETELY REFURBISHED AND MAY NOT WORK VERY LONG.
WE HEARD, UM, ABOUT A NEED FOR FREE PUBLIC ACCESS TO THE INTERNET.
AND THIS INCLUDED RECOMMENDATIONS AND IDEAS AROUND CREATING, UM, PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE CHARGING STATIONS FOR DEVICES.
'CAUSE A LOT OF FOLKS ARE ON THE GO, WHICH WE'LL TALK ABOUT IN A BIT WITH THEIR INTERNET.
WE ALSO HEARD ABOUT IMPROVING THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND INCREASING CHOICE AROUND THE INTERNET PROVIDERS.
SO THE ISP INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER, UM, WE DEFINITELY HEARD A LOT ABOUT THE NEED TO IMPROVE ACCESSIBILITY ON WEBSITES, ESPECIALLY GOVERNMENT WEBSITES TO IMPROVE ACCESSIBILITY ON ON DEVICES.
WE HEARD A LOT ABOUT IMPROVING, UM, TECH SUPPORT RESOURCES, WHETHER IN A LANGUAGE SOMEONE MAY COMMUNICATE IN, UM, OR PROVIDING BETTER HOURS.
WE HEARD A LOT OF FOLKS DESCRIBE CHALLENGES AROUND JUST CONSTANTLY BEING REROUTED AND REROUTED AND REROUTED OVER AND OVER AGAIN TO SOMEONE ELSE WHO COULD TRY TO SOLVE THEIR TECH CHALLENGE AND THAT THEY DIDN'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT, UM, OR MONEY.
AND THERE WAS A LOT OF LOSS INVOLVED IN HAVING TO GO THROUGH TECH SUPPORT STRATEGIES.
WE ALSO HEARD A LOT ABOUT THE NEED TO BUILD MORE COORDINATION BETWEEN THE SOCIAL SERVICES SET SPACE WHEN YOU PROVIDE IN-PERSON SERVICES AND IN THE DIGITAL SPACE THAT THAT'S CONNECTED TO.
SO WHETHER IT'S A SOCIAL WORKER WHO HAS, UM, UH, A CASELOAD WHERE THEY'RE SENDING FOLKS TO A FORM ONLINE AND THAT FORM ISN'T NECESSARILY ACCESSIBLE TO EVERYONE OR A, UM, GOVERNMENT WEBSITE THAT ISN'T ACCESSIBLE, BUT THEN PEOPLE ARE TOLD TO GO PAY FOR A SERVICE THERE WHEN THEY MAY NOT BE COMFORTABLE DOING THAT.
UM, OR THE INFORMATION ONLINE VERSUS WHAT SOMEONE'S TOLD IN PERSON NOT BEING ACCURATE.
SO THERE ARE LOTS OF DIFFERENT WAYS IN WHICH THERE WAS THIS DISCONNECT BETWEEN THE IN-PERSON HUMAN EXPERIENCE AND THE DIGITAL EXPERIENCE SOMEONE HAD ON THE SAME KIND OF USER CONTINUUM OF EXPERIENCING A PRODUCT OR SERVICE.
AND THEN FINALLY, WE HEARD A LOT ABOUT IMPROVING, UM, CONSUMER PROTECTION WHEN IT COMES TO BEING ONLINE, UM, BOTH WITH DEVICES AND OF COURSE WHEN ACTUALLY NAVIGATING THE INTERNET.
AND THAT COMES IN LOTS OF DIFFERENT FORMS. ALRIGHT, SO FROM THOSE THINGS, WE HEARD A LOT ABOUT A LOT OF THINGS, BUT THAT WHEN WE TRIED TO WHITTLE ALL THIS DOWN AS TO THE, THE, WHAT ARE THE TOP THINGS COMING UP FOR US AS
[00:50:01]
A PROJECT TEAM.THE FIRST BEING AROUND DIGITAL SKILLS.
SO APPROXIMATELY OF OF ALL THE SURVEY RESPONDENTS, YOU CAN MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UH, THERE WERE AGAIN AROUND 1400 RESPONDENTS.
AND OF THOSE RESPONDENTS, 59% INDICATED THAT THEY WOULD BE INTERESTED IN BASIC TECHNOLOGY SKILLS TRAINING FOR THEMSELVES OR SOMEONE IN THEIR HOUSEHOLD.
WE ACTUALLY, UM, SET THIS QUESTION UP VERY INTENTIONALLY, UH, BASED ON KIND OF PILOTING RESPONSES WE GOT.
BUT THIS IS NOT JUST FOR THEMSELVES.
IT CAN BE FOR SOMEONE IN THEIR HOUSEHOLD.
THERE WERE THREE OPTIONS IN THIS SURVEY.
YES, I'M INTERESTED AND I'D BE WILLING TO PAY FOR IT.
AND YES, I'M INTERESTED, BUT ONLY IF IT WERE FREE.
ONLY SEVEN OF THE ALMOST 1400 RESPONDENTS INDICATED THAT THEY WOULD BE WILLING TO PAY FOR THIS BASIC SKILLS TRAINING.
THAT'S NOT A LOT OF FOLKS OUT OF THAT.
AND THEN IF YOU BREAK THAT DATA OUT BY, UM, INDIVIDUAL ANNUAL INCOME OR ANNUAL EARNINGS I SHOULD SAY, YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE IS A PRETTY BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE HIGHER INCOMING OR INCOME EARNING GROUPS AND INDIVIDUALS AND THE LOWER INDIVIDUAL EARNING GROUPS.
SO YOU SEE THAT A VERY STRONG MAJORITY, 88% OF FOLKS WHO MAKE LESS THAN $25,000 WERE INTERESTED, BUT ONLY IF IT'S FREE VERSUS 17% WERE INTERESTED WHO MADE MORE THAN A HUNDRED THOUSAND AND THE SAME FOR 75,000 IT UP.
SO WHEN YOU GET TO AROUND THAT, BETWEEN 35 TO 50,000, YOU START TO SEE THE MAJORITY BEING INTERESTED IN, IN THAT TRAINING FOR THEMSELVES OR SOMEONE IN THEIR HOUSEHOLD, WHICH IS A REALLY BIG INDICATOR WHEN IT COMES TO THINKING ABOUT A MARKET AND OPPORTUNITY.
AND WE DID HEAR OVER AND OVER QUALITATIVELY IN THE FOCUS GROUPS THAT DIGITAL SKILLS WERE A TOP TOP NEED.
SO THE NEXT BIG THING THAT WE, WE WANNA TALK ABOUT AS FAR AS TOP INSIGHTS ARE CONCERNED, AND WE KINDA ALLUDED TO THIS EARLIER, IS THAT AS WE HEARD OF THE FOCUS GROUPS OVER AND OVER AGAIN, EVERYONE HAS A PHONE THESE DAYS, BUT NOT EVERYONE CAN USE THAT DEVICE.
NOT EVERY DEVICE WORKS FULLY WELL.
AND IN THE SURVEY WE DEFINITELY FOUND THAT THE VAST MAJORITY OF OUR SURVEY RESPONDENTS DID ACCESS THE INTERNET OUTSIDE OF THE HOME THROUGH MOBILE DATA.
99% OF THOSE WHO HAD INTERNET AT HOME ACCESSED IT OUTSIDE THE HOME THROUGH MOBILE DATA.
91% OF THOSE WHO DID NOT HAVE INTERNET AT HOME STILL ACCESSED THE INTERNET OUTSIDE OF THE HOME WITH MOBILE DATA.
NOW WE DON'T NECESSARILY KNOW WHAT THE QUALITY OF THAT IS LIKE, BUT IN OUR FOCUS GROUPS WE'RE ABLE TO DIG INTO SOME OF THOSE EXPERIENCES AND IT'S LOW FOR MANY PEOPLE.
WHAT WE HEARD A LOT ABOUT WAS THE, UM, NEED TO USE A PHONE TO DO ALL SORTS OF THINGS, A MOBILE DEVICE AND HAVING MOBILE INTERNET AND QUALITY MOBILE INTERNET, WHETHER IT'S TO MAKE AN EMERGENCY PHONE CALL, TO BE ABLE TO PAY FOR A BUS TICKET, TO BE ABLE TO CHECK AN ACCOUNT WHEN TALKING WITH, UM, UH, SOMEONE IN PERSON WHETHER AND BE ABLE TO GET VITAL INFORMATION THAT'S IMMEDIATE, IMMEDIATELY NEEDED FOR WHATEVER THAT MIGHT BE.
UM, THERE WERE SO MANY KIND OF IMMEDIATE, URGENT NEEDS THAT FOLKS HAD ON THE GO WITH MOBILE DEVICES AND IT KIND OF BECAME CLEAR THAT IT WASN'T JUST, UM, THAT AS WE ALWAYS TALK ABOUT OR OFTEN TALK ABOUT, WHICH IS A COMPUTER SHOULD THRIVE, IT'S MOBILE TO SURVIVE.
AND SO WE HEARD A LOT ABOUT THAT DEEP NEED FOR MOBILE INTERNET AND MOBILE DEVICES THAT ARE QUALITY AND WORKING ON A, ON A SERVICE THAT'S USEFUL AND THAT IS VITAL FOR FOLKS SURVIVAL.
THE NEXT THING IS WE HEARD A LOT ABOUT AS FAR AS BARRIERS TO MOBILE.
INTERNET IS UNRELIABLE SERVICE.
SO EVEN IF SOMEONE HAS A DEVICE THAT'S FUNCTIONAL OR WORKING OR IS CHARGED, LOTS OF FOLKS DESCRIBED HAVING POOR SERVICE QUALITY WHILE ON THE GO.
AND THAT'S FOR FOLKS WHO HAVE INTERNET AT HOME AND FOLKS WHO DO NOT HAVE IT AT HOME.
THAT WAS THE BIGGEST, UM, DISRUPTION REASON FOR DISRUPTION OF THEIR MOBILE INTERNET.
FOR THOSE WHO DID NOT HAVE INTERNET AT HOME, AGAIN, BEING EXPENSIVE, TOO EXPENSIVE CAME UP AS ONE OF THE TOP BARRIERS OR CHALLENGES.
UM, WE ALSO HEARD A LOT ABOUT POWER OUTAGES AND WEATHER EVENTS AND WE DID ALSO JUST POINT OUT, UM, CONDUCTED THE SURVEY NOT LONG AFTER SOME SIGNIFICANT WEATHER EVENTS IN AUSTIN, BUT WE DID HEAR A LOT ABOUT THE CHALLENGES AROUND THAT GEOGRAPHICALLY AS WELL.
WE HEARD SOME PEOPLE DESCRIBE THAT THEY HAVE TO KEEP MULTIPLE DEVICES JUST TO KEEP THEIR BUSINESSES GOING BECAUSE THE GEOGRAPHY AND ACCESS TO INTERNET IS JUST SO UNRELIABLE.
AND THEN, UM, SOME OF THE OTHER REALLY KEY THINGS THAT WE LEARNED, UM, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE HAD OUR QUALITATIVE CONVERSATIONS AND FOCUS GROUPS AND THE DATA FOLLOW UPS ARE THINKING ABOUT.
SO IF SOMEONE NEEDS HELP, IF SOMEONE NEEDS RESOURCES, WHERE DO THEY GO TO GET IT? SO YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO WE HEARD FOLKS SAY THEY GO ONLINE.
THAT WAS ONE OF THE TOP RESPONSES.
IF YOU HAVE CHALLENGES WITH THE INTERNET, WHAT DO YOU DO? GO ONLINE, TRY TO SOLVE IT YOURSELF.
[00:55:01]
GOOGLE IT, YOU LOOK IN THE AETNA APP, RESOURCES A MANUAL OR YOU GO TO YOUTUBE.UM, ONE OF THE KEY THINGS THOUGH THAT WE ALSO HEARD THAT KIND OF CREATES A SPECIAL CHALLENGE TO THIS IS YOU'VE ALREADY GOTTA HAVE DIGITAL SKILLS TO BE ABLE TO SOLVE THAT PROBLEM USING ONLINE STRATEGIES.
A LOT OF PEOPLE DESCRIBED BEING OVERWHELMED, NOT HAVING REDUNDANCY IN THEIR DEVICES.
SO MAYBE THEY ONLY HAVE A MOBILE DEVICE, THEIR INTERNET GOES DOWN, THEY CAN'T SOLVE THEIR PROBLEM.
UM, IF THEY ONLY HAVE A, UH, CONNECTION TO ETHERNET AND THAT GOES DOWN OR THEIR DEVICE BREAKS, THEY DON'T HAVE A SECOND DEVICE TO CONNECT WITH, THEY'RE STUCK.
WE ALSO HEARD A LOT OF FOLKS DESCRIBE TURNING TO SOCIAL CAPITAL.
SO TRUSTED PEOPLE IN THEIR LIVES, WHETHER IT'S A PERSON THEY LIKE, A LOVED ONE, A FAMILY MEMBER, UM, OR A SOCIAL WORKER OR UM, A CASE WORKER OR AN ORGANIZATION THAT THEY TRUST.
HOWEVER, ANOTHER BIG CHALLENGE TO THIS THAT WE ALSO HEARD IS THOSE PEOPLE, THOSE TRUSTED INDIVIDUALS AREN'T ALWAYS AVAILABLE.
IT MAY NOT BE PHYSICALLY NEARBY FOR THOSE WHO NEED TO TAKE A DEVICE OR GO PHYSICALLY SOMEWHERE.
UM, TECH SUPPORT NEEDS SUPPORT TOO SOMETIMES, ESPECIALLY THOSE FAMILY MEMBERS AND SUPPORTS THAT ARE HELPING PEOPLE.
UM, AND THEN WE ALSO HEARD A LOT ABOUT LIKE WE, I TURNED TO SOMEONE WHO MAY BE TECH SAVVY, DOESN'T MEAN THEY NECESSARILY HAVE DIGITAL SAFETY IN MIND AS THEY'RE TRYING TO NAVIGATE SUPPORTS FOR ME IN MY BANK ACCOUNT OR MY HEALTHCARE RECORDS OR WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE.
WE ALSO HEARD A LOT ABOUT TRANSPORTATION WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT THIS KIND OF CHALLENGE AND SOURCE IS THAT PEOPLE CAN'T GET TO THAT SUPPORT A LIBRARY, UM, THEIR, THEIR FAMILY MEMBER, WHOEVER IT MIGHT BE.
SPEAKING OF LIBRARY, WE DID HEAR PEOPLE TALK ABOUT GOING TO PUBLIC RESOURCES SUCH AS THE LIBRARY PLUSES, RETAIL STORES, GROCERY STORES, THINGS LIKE THAT.
AGAIN, TRANSPORTATION IS A BIG BARRIER FOR THAT.
ALSO, LIMITED NUMBERS OF OF COMPUTERS IN THOSE SITES.
UH, LIMITED HOURS AND LIMITED LOCATIONS, HOURS THAT MAY NOT BE CONDUCIVE TO SOMEONE'S WORK SCHEDULE OR ABILITY TO GET A RIDE.
WE ALSO HEARD A LOT ABOUT THAT CHALLENGE AROUND HAVING TO PURCHASE SOMETHING AT RETAIL SITES IN ORDER TO ACCESS THE INTERNET OR CHARGE A DEVICE.
AND OF COURSE THERE'S FEARS AROUND BEING IN A PUBLIC SPACE USING THE INTERNET FOR LOTS OF REASONS.
UM, BUT SECURITY IS A BIG CHALLENGE OR A BIG CONCERN FOR FOLKS.
AND OF COURSE, CHARGING DEVICES BEING BLOCKED.
WE ALSO HEARD A LOT ABOUT TURNING TO, UM, FORMAL OR INFORMAL, UH, IT SUPPORTS, BUT A NUMBER OF PEOPLE DESCRIBED TURNING TO THEIR, THE IT SUPPORTS AND THEIR JOBS.
OF COURSE THAT ALSO MEANS YOU'VE GOTTA HAVE A JOB THAT HAS IT SUPPORT.
THOSE ARE KEY FACTORS IN KIND OF SEPARATING OUT WHAT ACCESS YOU HAVE.
AS FAR AS RESOURCES CONCERNED, WE HEARD FOLKS DESCRIBING DIFFERENT STRATEGIES TO BE ABLE TO EVEN DO PERSONAL THINGS, TRYING TO GET SUPPORT FROM THEIR EMPLOYMENT IT SUPPORT.
LASTLY, WE ALSO HEARD PEOPLE DESCRIBE TURNING TO CUSTOMER, CUSTOMER SUPPORT SOURCES SUCH AS THEIR INTERNET SERVICE, SERVICE PROVIDER'S, CUSTOMER SUPPORT OR SUPPORT NUMBER THEY GET THROUGH THEIR DEVICE, OR, UM, A WARRANTY WE HEARD OVER AND OVER AGAIN CHALLENGES AROUND HAVING TIME TO GO THROUGH THAT PROCESS BECAUSE OF BEING REROUTED TO DIFFERENT SUPPORTS, LANGUAGE BARRIERS AND THOSE SUPPORTS.
UM, UH, UPSELLING FEELING LIKE TURNING TO TECH SUPPORT MEANS THEY'RE GONNA BE SOLD SOMETHING THAT THEY CAN'T AFFORD OR THEY CAN'T TRUST.
UM, ALSO PEOPLE HAVING DATA LIMITS.
THEY HAVE LIMITS ON THEIR DATA.
THEY CAN'T CALL TECH SUPPORT OR THEY DON'T FEEL LIKE THEY CAN CALL TECH SUPPORT AND USE UP THAT DATA.
THEY WON'T WANNA GO IN PERSON BUT THEN ARE TOLD TO GO ONLINE AND THEY MAY NOT HAVE THE DIGITAL SKILLS OR COMFORT TO USE THE ONLINE SUPPORT SERVICES.
SO EVEN GETTING HELP FOR DIGITAL CHALLENGES AND INTERNET ACCESS CHALLENGES REQUIRES A HOST OF PRIVILEGES THAT ALREADY MUST EXIST IN ORDER FOR SOMEONE TO BE ABLE TO FULLY USE THOSE RESOURCES AND THOSE HELP SOURCES.
SO THAT WAS ONE OF THE KEY THINGS THAT KIND OF LED US TO THE NEXT INSIGHT, WHICH IS THERE'S A LOT OF UNCOORDINATED EXCLUSION.
IT'S NOT THAT THERE IS AN ENTITY OUT THERE THAT'S SAYING, THESE FOLKS CAN HAVE INTERNET.
THESE FOLKS CAN HAVE INTERNET.
THESE FOLKS CAN'T HAVE INTERNET.
THERE'S NOT A SINGLE CONTROL ON THE INTERNET.
THERE'S NOT A SINGLE CONTROL ON TOOLS AND RESOURCES.
HOWEVER, IN OUR ECONOMY, THERE ARE MULTIPLE WAYS IN WHICH PEOPLE ARE BEING EXCLUDED FROM INTERNET ACCESS.
THAT'S COMPOUNDING THAT ACCESS CHALLENGE.
WHETHER IT'S SOMEONE TRYING TO GET ACCESS ON AN APP BY GETTING INTERNET SERVICE AND CHARGING A DEVICE AND NOT HAVING THE MONEY TO PAY FOR THAT, OR NOT HAVING THE DATA PLAN TO BE ABLE TO DOWNLOAD A PDF THAT'S CRITICAL FOR THEIR KID TO DEAL WITH SCHOOL OR TO SIGN A PIECE OF PAPER TO GET ACCESS TO SOME OTHER RESOURCE.
INTERNET ACCESS ITSELF IS BEING USED TO EXCLUDE, BUT NOT IN A COORDINATED WAY NECESSARILY.
SO, LIKE THERE MAY BE PEOPLE WHO ARE INTENTIONALLY EXCLUDED FROM DIFFERENT ASPECTS OR DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE MARKETS OR THINGS LIKE THAT, BUT THE EXCLUSION AS A SYSTEMS LEVEL PROCESS IS UNCOORDINATED, BUT COMPOUNDING.
SO WE LEARNED A LOT IN THESE CONVERSATIONS AND IN THE SURVEY WORK.
UM, AND THAT HAS LED US TO A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT IDEAS, BOTH FROM THE, ALL THE CONVERSATIONS WE HAD, THE SURVEYS WE HAD, AND THEN BRAINSTORMING AND TAKING THAT DATA BACK TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO HELP CO INTERPRET AND BRAINSTORM TOGETHER ABOUT
[01:00:01]
WHAT COULD BE NEXT.AND OF COURSE, JESSE'S BEEN LEADING A LOT OF THAT WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND THE DECA COMMUNITY AND WITH, WITH Y'ALL CTTC.
UM, AND SO I DON'T KNOW IF THESE ARE, UH, APPROPRIATELY PLACED IN THE SLIDE DECK, BUT, UH, WE DID WANT TO HAVE A WAY FOR EVERYBODY TO ACCESS THE, UH, FULL REPORT.
UM, UH, SO FEEL FREE TO, UH, NAB IT WITH YOUR, UH, CAMERA IF YOU NEED TO AT THE MOMENT.
UM, BUT OTHERWISE, THIS REPORT WILL BE, OR THIS, UH, UH, THIS PRESENTATION WILL BE SHARED, SO, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU'LL HAVE ACCESS TO IT.
WE DO HAVE A NUMBER OF RECOMMENDATIONS THAT CAME UP FROM, UH, THE FINDINGS, UH, THAT RITA AND CHLOE HAVE JUST GONE OVER.
AND SO I'LL, I'LL ROLL THROUGH EACH OF THESE FAIRLY QUICKLY.
EACH OF THESE ARE A LITTLE BIT MORE IN DEPTH IN THE FULL REPORT.
UM, BUT, UM, I THINK, UH, IT'S IMPORTANT TO, TO AT LEAST GIVE A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF THE THINGS THAT CAME UP IN OUR ANALYSIS OF THE FINDINGS.
UM, THE FIRST RECOMMENDATION IS, UH, OR, OR RATHER, WE DIVIDED THE RECOMMENDATIONS INTO, UH, VARIOUS BUCKETS.
OUR FIRST BUCKET IS HOW MIGHT WE SUPPORT ALL POPULATIONS IN ACCESSING AFFORDABLE, RELIABLE, HIGH SPEED INTERNET? UM, AND OUR FIRST RECOMMENDATION ON THAT TOPIC IS TO PROVIDE TARGETED SUPPORT TO POPULATIONS THAT HAVE HIGHER DIGITAL BARRIERS.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE LOOKED AT IN THE ANALYSIS OR IN THE RESEARCH IS, UH, TRYING TO IDENTIFY WHICH POPULATIONS HAD PARTICULARLY HIGH BARRIERS TO ACCESSING THE INTERNET.
UM, WE DO GO OVER THOSE IN THE FINDING THOSE FINDINGS.
THOSE ARE IMMIGRANTS AND REFUGEES, INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES, INDIVIDUALS WITH LOW LITERACY LEVELS, JUSTICE IMPACTED INDIVIDUALS, UH, LOW INCOME INDIVIDUALS, OLDER ADULTS, PEOPLE WITH LANGUAGE BARRIERS, RACIAL OR ETHNIC MINORITIES, RURAL RESIDENTS, UNEMPLOYED INDIVIDUALS, UNHOUSED INDIVIDUALS AND VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILIES.
AND EACH OF THOSE POPULATIONS HAS UNIQUE BARRIERS TO ACCESSING THE INTERNET.
UM, AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE RECOMMEND IS, UH, TO HAVE, UH, VISUAL INCLUSION STRATEGIES THAT ARE SPECIFIC TO EACH OF THOSE POPULATIONS, UM, AND TO EXPLORE DIVERSE METHODS TO INCREASE, UM, UH, THEIR ACCESS, THE ABILITY OF EACH OF THOSE POPULATIONS TO ACCESS DIGITAL RESOURCES.
OUR NEXT RECOMMENDATION IS TO IDENTIFY AND SUPPORT STRATEGIES TO MAKE SURE ALL CONSUMERS KNOW THAT WHAT LOW COST INTERNET OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE, AND HOW TO COMPARE AND SIGN UP FOR PLANS.
UM, WHEN WE STARTED THIS RESEARCH, THE AFFORDABLE CONNECTIVITY PROGRAM WAS STILL IN, IN, UH, IT WAS STILL ACTIVE AND STILL FUNDED.
UM, THAT WAS IN, UH, FIRST OF ITS KIND, UH, FEDERAL SUBSIDY FOR INTERNET SERVICE, UH, UH, MONTH FOR IT'S A MONTHLY SUBSIDY FOR YOUR IN INTERNET BILL.
UM, UNFORTUNATELY IN 2023, THAT WAS NOT REFUNDED.
UH, AND SO THAT PROGRAM HAS, UH, HAD EXPIRED BY THE TIME WE WERE GENERATING RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, BUT THAT THE LOSS OF THAT FEDERAL ASSISTANCE, UH, JUST MAKES IT ALL THE MORE IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO NAVIGATE THE COMPLEX ENVIRONMENT OF DIFFERENT INTERNET PLANS AND WHICH ONES HAVE LOW COST INTERNET OPTIONS AVAILABLE.
UM, AND SO WE RECOMMEND THAT, UH, THOSE TOOLS BE SHARED, UM, AND, AND, UH, UH, IF NEEDED, EXPANDED SO THAT PEOPLE CAN, UH, EASILY COMPARE THE OPTIONS THAT THEY HAVE WHEN IT COMES TO LOW COST INTERNET OPTIONS.
OUR NEXT RECOMMENDATION IS TO INCREASE AVAILABILITY, ACCESSIBILITY, AND AWARENESS OF FREE PUBLIC ACCESS INTERNET OPTIONS.
UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT MY GROUP DOES AT THE CITY IS WE MANAGE A NUMBER OF COMPUTER LABS THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY.
UM, ALTHOUGH MOST OF THEM HAD SHUT DOWN DURING COVID, UM, WE WE'RE RE EXPANDING IN INTO THE COMMUNITY NOW.
UM, I THINK THAT THAT'S, UH, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S IMPORTANT, UH, ACCORDING TO THE RESEARCH, IS TO HAVE GEOGRAPHICALLY DISPERSED ACCESS POINTS IN THE COMMUNITY, UH, FOR FOLKS THAT DON'T HAVE CONNECTIVITY BUILT IN, UH, EITHER AT HOME OR ON ON, UH, YOU KNOW, ON THE GO.
EVEN THOUGH, AS RITA MENTIONED, MOST PEOPLE DO HAVE SMARTPHONES.
UM, BUT THERE'S MANY PARTICULAR POPULATIONS I'M THINKING IN PARTICULAR ABOUT LIKE THE, UH, UH, HOMELESS POPULATION THAT MAY NOT HAVE A PLACE TO ACCESS, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, INTERNET OR, OR, UH, DEVICES IN THEIR HOME WHERE HAVING PUBLIC ACCESS LOCATIONS IS, IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT TO THEM.
BEING ABLE TO ACCESS THOSE RESOURCES, UM, AND HAVING THOSE GEOGRAPHICALLY DISPERSED IS VERY IMPORTANT.
UM, OUR NEXT RECOMMENDATION IS TO SUPPORT MOBILE CONNECTIVITY.
UM, AGAIN, THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE POPULATION HAS, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, A SMARTPHONE AND USES, UH, OR ACCESSES THE INTERNET ON THE GO.
UM, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE
[01:05:01]
HEARD IN THE COMMUNITY CIRCLES IN, IN THE SURVEY IS THAT CONNECTIVITY IN PLACES LIKE, UH, BUS STATIONS OR ON THE BUS MIGHT BE SPOTTY.UM, AND THAT'S WHERE SOME FOLKS RELY ON, UH, ACCESS FOR CRITICAL, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, COMMUNICATIONS, GETTING WORK DONE ON THE GO, UM, YOU KNOW, PLANNING, UH, FOR WHERE YOU'RE GOING, UM, THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO, HAVING, UM, HAVING, UH, UH, ROBUST ACCESS OPTIONS WHILE YOU'RE OUT ON THE MOVE, UM, IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT.
UM, OUR NEXT RECOMMENDATION IS TO ADVOCATE FOR THE ACCESSIBILITY OF SERVICES, PROGRAMS, AND INFORMATION ONLINE, ESPECIALLY ON MOBILE.
AGAIN, BECAUSE OF, UH, MOST FOLKS HAVING ACCESS, UH, ON THEIR PHONES AND, UH, RESEARCH SHOWING THAT PEOPLE, UH, ACCESS INTERNET RESOURCES IN A MOBILE FIRST FASHION.
UH, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE DESIGN SERVICES WITH, UH, ACCESSIBILITY ON A MOBILE PLATFORM AS, UH, UH, SOMETHING THAT IS PRIMARILY IMPORTANT.
SO, UH, THINKING OF OUR GOVERNMENTAL WEBSITES, UH, IF WE HAVE SERVICES THAT ARE BEING DEPLOYED TO THE COMMUNITY, MAKING SURE THAT THOSE ARE ACCESSIBLE ON A MOBILE PLATFORM.
OUR NEXT BUCKET OF ITEMS IS AROUND, UH, LOW COST DEVICES.
HOW MIGHT WE PROMOTE AND MAINTAIN THE COMMUNITY'S ACCESS TO QUALITY LOW COST DEVICES? UH, AND THERE'S TWO PRIMARY RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE HAVE IN THIS SPACE.
THE FIRST IS TO IDENTIFY, SUPPORT, AND PROMOTE SOURCES OF FLOW COST DEVICES.
UM, THERE'S MANY OF THESE THAT EXIST IN THE COMMUNITY.
UH, YOU KNOW, MY, MY GROUP AT THE CITY HAS, UH, RUNS THE COMMUNITY PC PROGRAM, WHICH IS A EFFORT BY THE CITY TO REFURBISH AND MAKE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC LOW COST DEVICES, BUT THERE'S MANY OTHER ORGANIZATIONS AS WELL THAT ARE IN THIS SPACE, SUCH ASOP, UM, HUMAN IT, UM, AND PCS FOR PEOPLE.
UM, BUT, UH, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY UBIQUITOUSLY KNOWN, UH, WHO THOSE ORGANIZATIONS ARE AND HOW TO ACCESS THESE LOW COST DEVICES.
SO, UH, I THINK THAT THERE'S DEFINITELY A ROOM FOR US TO, TO IMPROVE AND WORK ON THE AVAILABILITY AND ACCESSIBILITY OF THOSE, UH, EXISTING RESOURCES.
UH, OUR NEXT RECOMMENDATION IN THIS BUCKET IS TO INCREASE THE AVAILABILITY, AWARENESS, AND AFFORDABILITY, UM, OF, UH, RE HAVING ACCESS TO REPAIRING DEVICES, UH, OR RECEIVING TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT.
SO WE HEARD IN THE COMMUNITY CIRCLES AGAIN, UM, A LOT OF THE TIME WHEN PEOPLE HAVE DEVICES, UH, THEY ARE BROKEN, UH, OR THEY HAVE MALWARE THAT THEY CAN'T GET RID OF, OR, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY'VE LOST THE CHARGING, UH, CABLE AND THE BATTERY'S DEAD, YOU KNOW, VARIOUS, UH, TECHNOLOGY CHALLENGES, UM, THAT REQUIRE VARIOUS LEVELS OF TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT.
UM, AND GETTING TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT CAN BE VERY EXPENSIVE IF YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR IT.
UM, AND SO WE RECOMMEND THAT THE, UH, THAT, THAT BE EXPLORED AS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR HOW CAN WE INCREASE ACCESSIBILITY TO, UM, UH, TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT OR DEVICE REPAIR OPTIONS.
AND THAT COULD LOOK LIKE MANY DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WE, WE THROW OUT SOME EXAMPLES IN THE, IN THE REPORT OF, IT COULD BE AS SIMPLE AS FIX IT CLINICS, WHICH WE'VE, UH, TRIALED IN THE PAST YEAR AT THE CITY, UH, WHICH IS, UM, UH, BASICALLY A GATHERING WHERE YOU HAVE FOLKS COME WITH THEIR BROKEN DEVICES, AND THEN YOU HAVE A TECHNOLOGY PERSON PRESENT TO BE ABLE TO HELP WITH SOME BASIC TROUBLESHOOTING.
UH, OR IT COULD BE THAT SAME EVENT IN A MORE, UM, UH, UH, EDUCATIONAL WITH A MORE EDUCATIONAL BEND OF NOT NECESSARILY LIVE TROUBLESHOOTING, BUT AN EDUCATIONAL, HOW DO YOU DO BASIC TROUBLESHOOTING, UH, CLASS, OR IT COULD BE, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, MANY, MANY OTHER DIFFERENT IDEAS.
BUT THE, I, UH, THE CORE IDEA IS THAT PEOPLE NEED WORKING DEVICES.
UH, OUR NEXT BUCKET OF ITEMS IS HOW MIGHT WE IMPROVE THE COMMUNITY'S ACCESS TO FREE DIGITAL SKILLS TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES? AND THE FIRST RECOMMENDATION THAT WE HAD UNDER THAT BUCKET IS TO TEACH COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHAT THEY WANT TO KNOW.
UM, ONE OF THE, UH, WE HAVE A, A SECTION OF THE REPORT THAT IS DEDICATED TO THIS IN TERMS OF, WE HEARD A LOT ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN, UH, AND IT'S, IT'S PROBABLY TOO MUCH FOR ME TO ENCAPSULATE NOW, BUT, UH, PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN LEARNING A, A LOT OF THINGS, BUT VERY SPECIFIC THINGS.
AND SO IT, IT BEHOOVES US TO USE THIS INFORMATION FROM THIS RESEARCH TO DEVELOP CURRICULA, UH, THAT PEOPLE WILL BE INTERESTED IN AND ENGAGED WITH.
UM, AND, AND SO I THINK THAT WE CAN USE THIS RESOURCE TO BUILD, UH, INTERESTING, UH, CLASSES FOR THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO BENEFIT FROM.
UM, OUR NEXT RECOMMENDATION IS TO PROVIDE DIGITAL SKILLS TRAINING IN DIVERSE WAYS, UH, THAT MEET DIFFERENT LEARNING STYLES, CONTEXT AND SCHEDULES.
UM, AND THIS CAME UP QUITE A LOT.
THERE'S NO ONE SIZE FITS ALL, UH, BEST WAY TO DELIVER DIGITAL LITERACY TRAINING AND DIFFERENT, UH, DIFFERENT THINGS WILL WORK FOR DIFFERENT PEOPLE.
[01:10:01]
FOLKS THAT A MORNING CLASS AFTER THEY HAD DROPPED OFF THEIR KIDS AT SCHOOL WAS THE PRIME TIME THAT THEY HAD, UH, AN OPPORTUNITY TO ENGAGE IN, IN SKILLS TRAINING LIKE THIS.UM, WE HAD HEARD FROM OTHER FOLKS THAT DURING, ANYTIME DURING THE DAY WAS OUT OF THE QUESTION BECAUSE THAT'S WHEN THEY'RE WORKING, UH, AND THEY WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO GET TO IT UNTIL AFTER HOURS.
UH, LIKEWISE, WE HAD FOLKS SAY, UH, THE WEEKEND IS THE BEST TIME BECAUSE THAT'S WHEN WE HAVE THE MOST, UH, YOU KNOW, FREE TIME.
AND THEN WE HAD OTHER FOLKS SAY, THE WEEKENDS ARE RIGHT OUT, BECAUSE THAT'S WHEN WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE GET ALL OF THE MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS DONE.
UH, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S THE WORST TIME TO, TO PUT A CLASS.
UM, SO DIFFERENT THINGS WILL WORK FOR DIFFERENT PEOPLES, AND IT'S INCUMBENT UPON ANYBODY THAT'S INTERESTED IN DOING DIGITAL SKILLS TRAINING TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S DIVERSIFIED, THAT THERE'S, UH, DIFFERENT OPTIONS AVAILABLE, UM, FOR DIFFERENT, UH, DIFFERENT FOLKS.
WE, UH, THE LAST, I BELIEVE THE LAST BUCKET OF RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE HAVE IS HOW MIGHT WE ADVOCATE FOR CONSUMER'S RIGHTS ON ISSUES RELATING TO DIGITAL EQUITY? UM, AND OUR FIRST RECOMMENDATION IS TO SUPPORT PEOPLE'S OWNERSHIP OF THEIR OWN DATA AS A DEFAULT.
UM, WE HEARD, UH, WE HEARD ALMOST NONSTOP FOR, UH, FROM, FROM FOLKS, UH, THAT THEY FEEL LIKE THEY HAVE TO GIVE UP THEIR INFORMATION EVERY TIME THEY'RE SIGNING UP FOR A SERVICE.
UH, YOU KNOW, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU GO BUY SOMETHING AT THE STORE, YOU HAVE TO SIGN UP FOR THEIR REWARDS PROGRAM.
YOU HAVE TO GIVE THEM YOUR, UH, YOUR PHONE NUMBER AND YOUR EMAIL ACCOUNT, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, AND, AND ONCE YOU DO, YOU'RE INEVITABLY HIT WITH A LOT OF MARKETING AND SPAM EMAIL CALLS, UH, THAT YOU DON'T WANT.
AND, UH, SOMETIMES IT'S HARD TO DIFFERENTIATE, UH, THOSE SPAM CALLS FROM, UH, SCAMS. UH, AND SO THERE'S A LOT OF, UH, CONCERN ABOUT HOW THEY HAVE TO GIVE AWAY THEIR DATA TO ACCESS THINGS THAT THEY NEED, UM, AND THEN THEY DON'T HAVE ANY CONTROL OVER HOW THAT DATA IS USED ON THE OTHER SIDE.
UM, OUR NEXT RECOMMENDATION IS TO PROVIDE THE PUBLIC WITH INFORMATION ON ANTI-SPAM LAWS.
UH, I KIND OF TOUCHED ON THAT IN THE PREVIOUS ITEM, BUT THERE ARE ANTI-SPAM LAWS ON THE BOOKS, UM, AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL.
UM, AND THERE ARE SOME STEPS THAT YOU CAN TAKE, LIKE SIGNING UP FOR THE NO CALL LIST, UH, THAT YOU CAN DO.
UM, AND I THINK THAT, UH, SO ONE OF OUR RECOMMENDATIONS IS TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE ARE AWARE OF WHAT THE CURRENT LAWS ARE AND WHAT THE OPTIONS ARE AS IT COMES TO LIMITING OR EXPOSURE, UH, TO SPAM, IN ADDITION TO, UH, SEPARATELY ADVOCATING FOR, UH, YOU KNOW, MORE WORK TO BE DONE ON, ON THAT FRONT.
UM, AND OUR LAST RECOMMENDATION IS TO SUPPORT THE DECISION MAKING AUTONOMY OF TENANTS WHEN IT COMES TO THEIR DECISIONS ABOUT INTERNET AND TECHNOLOGY.
UM, WE HEARD STORIES OF, UM, FOLKS THAT EITHER DIDN'T HAVE AN OPTION, UH, WITH THEIR LANDLORD TO NOT HAVE INTERNET.
SO IN OTHER WORDS, SOME LANDLORDS HAVE, UM, UH, THEY HAVE GROUP PLANS, AND YOUR INTERNET COST IS BASICALLY BAKED INTO YOUR RENT, AND EVERYBODY HAS TO, YOU KNOW, SIGN ONTO THE SAME PLAN.
UM, UH, SO THAT'S ONE, ONE EXAMPLE.
AND THEN ANOTHER, UH, FOLKS ARE CONCERNED THAT THEIR OPTIONS ARE BEING LIMITED BY THE LANDLORDS WITH WHO THE LANDLORDS ALLOW, WHICH ISPS, THE LANDLORDS ALLOW TO PROVIDE INTERNET SERVICE ON THEIR, UH, ON THEIR PROPERTIES.
UH, THERE ARE REGULATIONS THAT THE FEDERAL LEVEL FROM THE FCC, UH, THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION THAT REGULATE, UH, WHAT IS AND IS NOT OKAY, AS IT RELATES TO AGREEMENTS BETWEEN LANDLORDS AND TENANTS, OR, SORRY, UH, THE AGREEMENTS BETWEEN LANDLORDS AND INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS.
UM, SO THERE ARE GUIDEPOSTS AROUND THAT.
UM, WE HEARD SOME STORIES THAT ARE, UH, YOU KNOW, UNFORTUNATELY INSIDE THE BOUNDS OF CURRENT LAW.
AND THEN WE HEARD OTHER STORIES THAT SOUNDED LIKE THEY WEREN'T INSIDE THE BOUNDS OF CURRENT LAW.
UH, AND SO MAKING SURE THAT, UH, THE COMMUNITY KNOWS WHAT THE CURRENT RULES AND REGULATIONS ARE, UH, AND HOW THEY CAN REPORT OR COMPLAIN ABOUT VIOLATIONS, UM, IS SOMETHING THAT'LL BE VERY IMPORTANT, UH, SO THAT, UH, TENANTS HAVE THEIR, UH, RIGHTS RESPECTED AS IT RELATES TO CHOICE OF, UH, INTERNET SERVICES.
SO THAT, THAT WAS OUR LAST RECOMMENDATION.
UH, AND THERE'S EVEN MORE IN THE REPORT.
IT'S, UH, OVER 90, UH, 90 PAGES OF, OF INFORMATION.
UH, WE PROBABLY ONLY TOUCHED THE SURFACE ON, ON THE DETAILS HERE, BUT, UM, WE'RE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU ALL MIGHT HAVE AT THIS TIME.
THANK YOU, CHLOE, FOR ALL OF THAT AMAZING WORK, THE WONDERFUL PRESENTATION.
UM, UH, I GUESS
[01:15:01]
ASKING QUESTIONS, UH, GOING THROUGH THE RECOMMENDATIONS SOLUTIONING.UM, SO I'LL TRY TO KEEP IT BRIEF.
UH, I KNOW A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS THAT ARE TOP OF MIND FOR ME IS, UH, IS THERE A PLAN TO DO SOME SORT OF A ROAD SHOW OR PUBLIC INFORMATION SESSION ON THE FINDINGS OF THIS REPORT? BECAUSE THERE'S SO MUCH HERE.
UM, IT, IT SEEMS LIKE IT, IT WOULD MAKE SENSE, YOU KNOW, TO, TO ENSURE THAT NOT ONLY THE, THE THE PUBLIC IS CONSUMING IT, BUT ALSO OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS, UH, ADVOCATES THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY.
SO WANTED TO SEE IF THERE'S SOME SORT OF COMMUNICATIONS OR AWARENESS PLAN AROUND THAT.
YEAH, I CAN THROW OUT A, AN INITIAL RESPONSE AND, AND CHLOE AND RITA, IF I MISS ANYTHING, FEEL FREE TO, UH, TO HOP IN HERE,
SO WE'VE SHARED THE REPORT ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
UM, WE'RE WORKING WITH ONE OF THE, UH, WITH OUR PRIMARY, UH, FUNDER ST.
DAVID'S FOUNDATION, UM, ON A, UM, UH, UH, UH, PRESS RELEASE, UM, AND SUBSEQUENT MARKETING STRATEGY.
UM, SO I THINK THAT THERE, THERE IS GOING TO BE, UH, MARKETING, UH, UP, YOU KNOW, OF THIS REPORT.
THERE'S GONNA BE MANY OPPORTUNITIES FOR, YOU KNOW, MORE THAN WHAT WE'VE PLANNED FOR SURE.
UH, AND LASTLY, I'M, I WOULD SAY THAT THIS IS, UH, WHILE THIS IS A MILESTONE, THIS IS A LARGE MILESTONE.
I DON'T THINK THAT THIS IS THE END OF, OF THE PROCESS BY ANY MEANS.
UM, SO, UH, IT'S AT LEAST THE INTENT OF THE CITY TO USE THIS REPORT AND THE INFORMATION IN THE REPORT TO REFRESH THE 2014 DIGITAL INCLUSION STRATEGIC PLAN, WHICH IS STILL ACTIVE AND, AND STILL VALUABLE.
BUT, YOU KNOW, BEING PASSED IN 2014, IT'S IN, IN NEED OF A REFRESH.
AND THIS, THE INFORMATION IN THIS REPORT WILL BE A PRIME, UH, SOURCE FOR US TO, TO DO THAT.
UM, I THINK THAT THERE WILL, UH, WE HAVEN'T, WE HAVEN'T PLANNED IT YET, BUT THERE WILL BE, THERE WILL NEED TO BE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AROUND THAT REFRESH PROCESS.
AND I, I TALKED ABOUT THIS EARLIER TODAY ON THE DIGITAL EMPOWERMENT COMMUNITY OF AUSTIN CALL, WHICH IS OUR COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE FOR DIGITAL EQUITY, UH, INTERESTED ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, AND SO I'M STARTING TO COLLECT IDEAS FROM COMMUNITY MEMBERS NOW ON HOW THEY WOULD LIKE TO INPUT INTO THAT REFRESH OF THE, THE STRATEGIC PLAN.
UM, SO THERE'S A LOT OF SPACE HERE, BUT I'M CERTAINLY, UH, INTERESTED IN IF THE COMMISSION HAS ANY, UH, REQUESTS OR OPINIONS ON, UH, THINGS THAT WE SHOULD DO IN TERMS OF MARKETING AND NEXT STEPS.
UM, JUST OFFHAND, I THINK SHARING IT WITH CERTAINLY OUR, OUR PUBLIC OFFICIALS, MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE AWARE OF IT.
I KNOW THIS IS SOMETHING I'M GONNA SHARE WITH MY COUNCIL MEMBER'S OFFICE, MAKE SURE IT MAKES IT IN TO HER, UM, HER MONTHLY NEWSLETTER AS WELL, WANT TO, UH, SHOWCASE THAT.
AND THEN, UH, NOT SURE IF, IF THERE'S A PLAN FOR THE, UM, UH, TO ENGAGE WITH THE, THE LOCAL MEDIA EVEN.
UM, I COULD SEE, YOU KNOW, UH, LOCAL NEWSPAPERS EVEN, UM, UH, LOCAL CHANNELS POTENTIALLY, UH, THIS BEING OF INTEREST, DOING A STORY, UM, ON THIS AS WELL.
THANK YOU FOR THAT, FOR THAT FEEDBACK CHAIR.
UM, I'LL SHARE THAT WE DID DO A MEDIA RELEASE, UH, JOINT MEDIA RELEASE WITH THE COUNTY, AND, UM, THE COUNCIL COMMITTEE HAS FORMED A NEW ECONOMIC COUNCIL COMMITTEE, UM, THAT'S SUPPOSED TO BE STARTING LATER THIS MONTH.
AND SO WE'LL BE WORKING AS A DEPARTMENT VERY CLOSELY.
SO I THINK THAT'S ALSO MAYBE AN OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE IT AS A POTENTIAL BRIEFING TO THE COMMITTEE TO MAKE THEM AWARE.
AGAIN, IT'S ABOUT HALF OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS OR JUST UNDER HALF, BUT IT'S A GREAT FORUM THAT WE'RE GOING TO LEVERAGE TO KEEP THEM APPRISED OF INITIATIVES, ALSO SOLICIT THEIR FEEDBACK THAT DOESN'T HAVE TO GO BEFORE THE FULL DI.
SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT HAVING THIS OPPORTUNITY WITH THE NEW ECONOMIC COUNCIL COMMITTEE.
SO WE'LL CERTAINLY PUT THIS ON, UH, A FUTURE ITEM AND KEEP YOU AND THE COMMISSION APPRISED.
UM, BUT WE, WE BELIEVE THAT, THAT, THAT MIGHT BE A WELCOME TOPIC.
UM, AND THEN THINKING ABOUT NEXT STEPS, SO YOU HAD, YOU ALLUDED TO IT, THIS ISN'T THE END.
UM, UH, YOU KNOW, AS WE THINK ABOUT, UH, HOW WE SORT OF PUSH FORWARD, REVISIT SOME OF THESE TOPIC AREAS, I KNOW, UH, YOU, YOU MENTIONED DURING YOUR, UM, YOUR PRESENTATION THAT THE EFFECT OF THE A CP, UM, UH, BEING NOT FUNDED ANY LONGER, UH, IS SOMETHING THAT WE, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE EFFECTS ARE GONNA BE, BUT WE'RE GONNA FIND OUT PRETTY SOON.
UM, SO IS THERE A PLAN TO DO, UH, AN ITER AN ITERATION OF THIS EXERCISE EVERY, PERHAPS FEW YEARS? OR ARE WE NOT THERE YET? THAT'S AN EXCELLENT QUESTION.
SO THE GUIDELINES PASSED, UH, I,
[01:20:01]
IT WAS, I'M NOT SURE ON THE PRECISE DATE, BUT I THINK IT WAS IN 2012 OR SOMEWHERE AROUND THERE.UM, THIS COMMISSION HAD, UH, PASSED A RECOMMENDATION THAT A RESIDENTIAL TECHNOLOGY STUDY TAKE PLACE EVERY THREE YEARS.
UM, THIS IS AN ITERATION OF THAT MM-HMM
UH, AND SO, UH, IT, IT, IT IS OUR PLAN AND PRACTICE TO ATTEMPT TO COME UP WITH A, A, A NEW RESEARCH INITIATIVE EVERY THREE YEARS.
UM, ONE OF THE, UH, THERE'S A NUMBER OF, UH, UH, SURROUNDING ITEMS TO THAT, BECAUSE IT'S NOT AN ANNUAL PROCESS.
EVERY TIME IT HAPPENS, WE HAVE TO, UH, SOURCE FUNDING, UM, FOR, FOR THAT TO HAPPEN.
AND SO YOU'LL SEE, LIKE OVER THE HISTORY OF THE, THE RESEARCH, THERE HAVE BEEN GAPS IN, UH, BETWEEN RESEARCH PERIODS THAT WERE LONGER THAN THREE YEARS MM-HMM
UM, UH, SOMETHING ELSE THAT I'LL SAY IS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON, UH, WE, WE DO HAVE SOME PLANS TO HAVE MORE LIVE DATA FOR THE REGION.
UM, UH, THINGS LIKE MAPPING THE, UH, SOME OF THE DATA IN THIS REPORT, LIKE THE, UM, UH, AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY QUESTIONS RELATING TO, UH, HOME INTERNET ACCESS, HAVING THAT INFORMATION MAPPED, UH, AND, UH, AND AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC IN A LIVE FASHION AS SOON AS THE DATA COMES OUT.
UM, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT ONCE WE CREATE IT, IT WILL BE LOW MAINTENANCE AND, AND CAN BE AN ONGOING, UH, PLACE FOR US TO HAVE INFORMATION AND DATA POINTS ABOUT DIGITAL EQUITY IN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, SO I THINK THAT, UH, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, THERE'S, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE THINKING ABOUT IT IN TWO WAYS.
THERE'S THINGS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO AND BUILD INTO AN ANNUAL KIND OF ONGOING, UH, AVAILABILITY OF DATA MM-HMM
UM, AND THEN WE ARE STILL COMMITTED TO, UH, AN EVERY, YOU KNOW, THIRD YEAR RESEARCH PROCESS, BUT THERE'S, THERE'S JUST CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.
AND THAT EVERY THIRD YEAR WOULD ESSENTIALLY START, SO IT'S 25, SO THE GOAL BE WOULD BE TO TRY AND PUT ANOTHER STUDY OUT IN 28.
UM, YEAH, I THINK THAT WAS, SO THIS REPORT, UH, I GUESS THERE'S QUESTIONS ABOUT
WHICH DATE DO WE COUNT FROM? YEAH.
UH, THIS, THE, THE RESEARCH FOR THIS REPORT HAPPENED IN 2023.
UM, AND SO I WOULD SAY, UH, PROBABLY 2026 MM-HMM
OR, OR 2027 IS WHEN WE WOULD WANT THE RESEARCH GATHERING TO, TO BE HAPPENING FOR THE NEXT ROUND.
ALTHOUGH THE REPORT WOULDN'T COME OUT IF, IF IT'S SIMILAR TO THIS ONE UNTIL A YEAR AFTER THAT.
UH, I'LL OPEN IT UP TO REST OF THE COMMISSION IF ANYONE HAS QUESTIONS.
I THINK ONE COMMENT, IT'S INTERESTING TO SEE SOME OF THE INITIAL DATA YOU WERE SHOWING, UM, HOW WE'RE NOT SURPRISED IN SOME WAYS WE'VE HEARD RIGHT ABOUT THAT EASTERN CRESCENT SIDE.
UM, AND SO JUST SEEING HOW MUCH OF THAT LINES UP, I'D BE CURIOUS AS WE THINK ABOUT NEXT STEPS AND SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS, THINKING ABOUT LIKE, WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE TO, I, I'D BE CURIOUS IF THERE'S MORE OPPORTUNITY ON THE, UM, THERE WAS THAT ONE PAGE AROUND THE DIGITAL DIVIDE INDEX, AND SO JUST UNDERSTANDING TODAY WHERE SOME OF THOSE CURRENT CLASSES ARE HELD, PROGRAMS ARE HELD, TRANSPORTATION, I THOUGHT THAT WAS A GREAT CALL OUT TO SAY LIKE, HERE'S A BARRIER HERE.
UM, OVERLAYING THAT ON TOP OF THIS DIGITAL DIVIDE INDEX AND SEEING SORT OF BASED ON WHERE THE NEED IS HIGH, WHERE ARE WE SEEING THE DISTRIBUTION OF RESOURCES FROM A, UM, TRANSPORTATION BURDEN PERSPECTIVE AS WELL.
SO JUST, UH, SOMETHING THAT WAS COMING TO MIND AS YOU WERE TALKING.
YEAH, AND I THINK TO THAT POINT, LIKE THERE'S SOMETHING THAT IS VERY INTERESTING ABOUT THAT POINT OF THE RESOURCES FOR DIGITAL SUPPORTS NOT BEING PHYSICALLY NEAR, UM, SOMEONE OR ACCESSIBLE TO SOMEONE.
IT ACTUALLY CAN CREATE, IT CAN MAKE INTERNET ACCESS MORE INEFFICIENT AND COST A PERSON MORE MONEY OR TIME TO ACCOMPLISH SOMETHING THAN IT WOULD FOR SOME, LIKE, THE POINT IS TO MAKE SOMETHING MORE EFFICIENT WITH DIGITAL ACCESS.
WE ACTUALLY MIGHT BE MAKING THINGS HARDER FOR SOME PEOPLE, LIKE THEIR EFFORT TO ACCOMPLISH THE SAME THING, MAYBE MORE BURDENSOME BECAUSE THEY'RE REQUIRED TO USE THE INTERNET AND DON'T, AND HAVE A FURTHER DRIVE OR POORER QUALITY OR WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE, BEING ABLE TO ACCESS IT.
SO IT'S THE, THE LEVELS OF THE INEQUITY PIECE THERE.
UM, AND THE COMPOUNDING EFFECT OF THAT, AND THE COST BURDEN ON SOMEONE, UM, FOR NOT HAVING ACCESS TO BEGIN WITH.
UM, THIS IS HARKENING BACK TO A BUNCH OF FOCUS GROUPS SEVERAL YEARS AGO THAT MEASURE DID.
AND ONE OF THE KEY THINGS WE HEARD WAS, I HAVE TO, THE IRONY IS TO ACCESS THE INTERNET, I ALREADY HAVE TO KNOW HOW TO USE THE INTERNET.
I ALREADY HAVE TO HAVE ACCESS IN ORDER TO LEARN HOW TO USE IT.
[01:25:01]
IS, IS PRETTY AMAZING AT HOW MUCH WE'RE IMPOSING AND MAKING IT HARDER FOR PEOPLE TO ACCOMPLISH THE SAME THINGS THEY USED TO ACCOMPLISH BECAUSE WE'RE ADDING A DIGITAL REQUIREMENT.AND THAT'S NOT TO SAY WE SHOULDN'T ADD A DIGITAL REQUIREMENT, BUT WE'RE REDUCING THE ACCESS TO THAT AS WELL BY REDUCING PHONE ACCESS, REDUCING CHARGING, ALL LIKE DIGITAL, LIKE CHARGING YOUR DEVICES.
ALL KINDS OF THINGS ARE MAKING IT EVEN HARDER TO NOT HAVE GOOD SOLID ACCESS ALREADY.
UH, WHAT ARE THE, JUST, WHAT ARE A FEW EXAMPLES OF THAT, OF LIKE A MANUAL TASK OR PROCESS THAT CITIZENS ARE DOING TODAY? ADDING IN THE DIGITAL COMPONENT BECAUSE OF THE LEARNING PIECE, AS YOU MENTIONED, MAKES IT HARDER, AT LEAST INITIALLY? WELL, I THINK THERE'S A COUPLE OF GOOD EXAMPLES.
ONE IS WE HEARD FROM A NUMBER OF PEOPLE, THEY JUST WANTED TO GO TALK TO SOMEONE IN PERSON TO GET DIGITAL SUPPORTS, TECH SUPPORT.
THEY DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO SIGN UP FOR SOMETHING, SO THEY WENT TO THE STORE AND ASKED, AND THEY SAID, OH, YOU HAVE TO GO ONLINE.
SO THEY MAY NOT HAVE HAD THOSE SKILLS, THE TOOLS, THE ABILITY, THE DATA, WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE.
WE ALSO HEARD, UM, CHLOE, JESSE, SOMETHING THAT'S COMING UP FOR ME IS, UH, WE HEARD A LOT OF FOLKS DESCRIBE CHALLENGES NAVIGATING THE MULTIPLE PORTALS THAT ONE HAS TO NAVIGATE FOR HEALTHCARE NOW MM-HMM
AND OR THE BANK OR WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE.
AND NOT BEING ABLE TO CALL SOMEONE AT A CLINIC AND SAY, HEY, I NEED ACCESS TO THIS, OR CAN YOU TELL ME THIS? LIKE, OH, YOU HAVE TO GO ONLINE, GO TO YOUR PORTAL.
AND SO PEOPLE MIGHT NOT HAVE THE 20 OR SO PASSWORDS THAT THEY NEED TO HAVE THE COMFORT OF NAVIGATING ALL OF THOSE PORTALS, UM, KNOWING WHICH ONE TO USE AT DIFFERENT TIMES FOR DIFFERENT THINGS, UH, AND GOING TO A DOCTOR'S OFFICE OR ANOTHER PLACE AND ASKING FOR SUPPORTS AND NOT BEING ABLE TO GET THAT DIGITAL SUPPORT AND STILL HAVING TO GO ONLINE TO GET ALL OF THEIR INFORMATION SO THEY WILL NOT HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE BECAUSE THEY CAN'T ACCESS IT.
UM, NOT BEING ABLE, LIKE, IT COSTS MORE TO, UH, IF SOMEONE DOESN'T HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO BANKING ONLINE AND IS COMFORTABLE WITH THAT, THEY HAVE TO GO TO THE BANK FOR IT, BUT THE BANK MAY SAY, OH, ALL OF THAT'S ON YOUR ACCOUNT, WE CAN'T HELP YOU.
OR THEY'VE CLOSED THE LOCAL, LIKE, IN-PERSON OPTIONS, REDUCED HOURS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, BEING ABLE TO, UH, FIND OUT IF YOU'VE GOTTEN ACCESS TO HOUSING, SOMETHING LIKE THAT CAN BE REALLY CHALLENGING.
UM, WE ALSO HEARD ABOUT FOLKS WHO, UM, THEY'RE NOW, LIKE IF THEY'RE ON PROBATION, UM, OR PAROLE, THEIR PAROLE OFFICER REQUIRING THAT THEY BE DIGITAL, SO THEY HAVE ZOOM CALLS, AND A PERSON USED TO BE ABLE TO GO IN PERSON TO SHOW THAT THEY'RE FOLLOWING THE REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE BEING GIVEN THEM.
UM, BUT NOW THEY HAVE TO DO IT DIGITALLY, BUT THEY MAY LIVE IN A PLACE WHERE THEY CAN'T GET GOOD ACCESS.
AND SO THEN THEY HAVE TO TRAVEL IN SOMEWHERE TO GET ONLINE, SIT IN A PARKING LOT, PAY FOR, UM, ACCESS SOMEWHERE, AND HAVE A POTENTIALLY VERY SENSITIVE CONVERSATION.
WE HEARD ABOUT THIS WITH MEDICAL AND JOB INTERVIEWS AND ALL KINDS OF THINGS AS WELL.
UM, IT TAKES EXTRA TIME TO GO TO A LIBRARY.
THEY HAVE TO TAKE MORE TIME OFF WORK.
THEY HAVE TO, UM, PHYSICALLY GO TO A PLACE.
THEY MAY NOT HAVE THE, THEY MAY PHYSICALLY NOT HAVE THE ACCESSIBILITY TO BE ABLE TO WALK SOMEWHERE.
UM, BUT THEY STILL HAVE TO DO THAT BECAUSE THE BUS DOESN'T RUN TO THE LIBRARY IN THE HOURS THEY NEED.
SO IT TAKES MORE TIME FOR THEM TO ACCOMPLISH THAT TASK BECAUSE IT HAS A NEW DIGITAL REQUIREMENT.
ANY OTHER EXAMPLES, CHLOE AND JESSE, THAT YOU CAN THINK OF? YEAH, I THINK I, I AGREE WITH ALL OF THOSE, THOSE EXAMPLES.
AND I GUESS I WOULD JUST FRAME, FRAME THIS, UH, UH, FROM A, A THOUGHT EXPERIMENT, UH, WAY.
THINK ABOUT ANY TIME WHERE IN THE PAST, UH, IT WOULD'VE BEEN HELPFUL OR CONVENIENT FOR YOU TO TALK TO A PERSON MM-HMM
IN, YOU KNOW, FACE TO FACE IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW, YOU KNOW, IF YOU WEREN'T CONFIDENT IN WHAT YOU WERE DOING, IF THAT SERVICE, WHATEVER IT WAS, WAS TRANSITIONED TO A DIGITAL SERVICE, UH, WHERE YOU'RE JUST KIND OF EXPECTED TO KNOW HOW TO NAVIGATE IT, THAT'S WHERE A LOT OF THOSE CHALLENGES CAN ARISE.
AND IT'S NOT NECESSARILY, LIKE RITA SAID, THAT HAVING A DIGITAL OPTION IS BAD OR DIGITIZING A PROCESS IS BAD.
IT JUST MAKES IT ALL THE MORE IMPORTANT THAT, UH, WE HAVE, WE, THAT WE THINK WE, WE WE'RE THOUGHTFUL ABOUT THE WAY THAT WE'RE DOING IT AND PROVIDING, YOU KNOW, UH, UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO, TO DEVICES, INTERNET AND TRAINING AND PEOPLE TO HELP NAVIGATE THOSE RESOURCES.
UH, AS, AS YOU KNOW, THOSE ISSUES ARISE, PEOPLE CAN MISS OUT ON KEY COMMUNICATIONS TOO.
UM, LIKE THEY MIGHT HAVE GOTTEN INFORMATION VERBALLY TO GO TO A PLACE PHYSICALLY, AND THEN IT'S MADE INTO A DIGITAL EVENT.
AND EVEN THOUGH THEY MIGHT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO MAKE TIME TO GO FIND A, A SOURCE TO BE ABLE TO GET ONLINE NOW,
[01:30:01]
THEY, UM, MISS WHATEVER THAT OPPORTUNITY IS, WHETHER IT'S TRAINING, UM, A CALL WITH SOMEONE THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO HAVE A CALL WITH FOR WHATEVER REASON.UM, AND THAT CAN HAVE HUGE RAMIFICATIONS TOO.
AND, AND RITA DID MENTION THIS ALREADY, BUT JUST TO EXPAND ON IT A LITTLE BIT MORE, UM, ONE OF THE POPULATIONS THAT HAS HIGH DIGITAL BARRIERS THAT WE MENTIONED WAS JUSTICE IMPACTED POPULATIONS.
SO PEOPLE COMING OUTTA THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM, UM, AND, UH, IT, WHAT WE'VE, WHAT WE HEARD FROM THAT GROUP, AND WE HAD A FOCUS GROUP WITH CRIM, UH, WITH, UH, UH, JUSTICE IMPACTED INDIVIDUALS, UM, IS THAT SOME FOLKS HAVE BEEN IN THE SYSTEM FOR A LONG TIME, UH, AND THEY'RE COMING OUT INTO A, A, A TECHNICAL LANDSCAPE THAT'S ENTIRELY DIFFERENT.
UM, BUT THEN THEY HAVE DIGITAL REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE PLACED ON THEM.
LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO, UH, YOU KNOW, MEET WITH YOUR CASE WORKER DIGITALLY OR YOU HAVE TO PAY YOUR FEES ONLINE.
UM, AND, AND THEY OFTEN, THEY DON'T, THERE'S NOT A LOT OF HANDOFF TO, YOU KNOW, AN ENVIRONMENT AND A, A PLACE WHERE YOU DON'T HAVE ANY DIGITAL, UH, SKILLS AND DIGITAL SKILLS TRAINING TO WHERE YOU HAVE A LOT OF REALLY CRITICAL, UH, DIGITAL RESPONSIBILITIES.
UM, AND SO THAT THERE'S A GAP THERE THAT HAPPENS IN THE MIDDLE, UH, YOU KNOW, WITH THAT CAN BE IMPACTFUL, VERY IMPACTFUL FOR PEOPLE THAT CAN'T NAVIGATE THAT GAP.
AND TO COMPOUND THAT IS WHEN YOU'RE COMING HOME, AND WE HEARD THIS A LOT FROM FOLKS, IS YOU'RE NOT, YOU DON'T, YOU, THERE'S A SOLID CHANCE YOU DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO THE DOCUMENTATION THAT THOSE, IF YOU HAD A JOB TO PAY FOR INTERNET SERVICE, THERE'S A SOLID CHANCE THAT, UM, THE DOCUMENTS THAT ARE REQUIRED TO GET THAT SERVICE, LIKE AN ID, UM, LIKE A STATE ISSUED ID, THE ONES THE STATE SYSTEM PROVIDES, UH, TO PEOPLE WHO'VE BEEN, UM, RECENTLY INCARCERATED AND COMING HOME, UH, SERVICE PROVIDER, INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS WON'T ACCEPT THEM.
SO YOU CAN HAVE A CREDIT HISTORY, YOU CAN HAVE A BIRTH CERTIFICATE, YOU CAN HAVE WHATEVER THOSE DOCUMENTS ARE, BUT YOU DON'T HAVE AN ID THAT THE, THAT SERVICE PROVIDER WILL ACCEPT.
SO IT JUST ADDS TO THE LAYERS OF LACK OF DIGITAL ACCESS, BUT THE EXPECTATION AND REQUIREMENT IS OF THAT.
WE ALSO HEARD ABOUT, UM, REQUIREMENTS NOW FOR, UM, UH, APPLYING FOR VARIOUS TYPES OF, UM, UH, COURT SUPPORTS AND IMMIGRATION SUPPORTS BEING REQUIRED TO BE ONLINE NOW, AND REMINDERS GOING OUT DIGITALLY, AND ARE THOSE FOLKS RECEIVING THEM IF IT'S A DIGITAL REQUIREMENT? WELL, THANK YOU, UM, SO MUCH FOR THOSE EXAMPLES THAT REALLY BROUGHT IT TO LIFE.
UM, I'LL, WE DO NEED TO MOVE ON IN, ON TO OUR, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS, BUT I'LL JUST GIVE ANOTHER 30 SECONDS FOR ANY FINAL QUESTIONS FROM ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS.
I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR DOING THIS WORK.
IT'S REALLY HARD WORK AND I REALLY COMMEND YOUR EFFORTS, SO THANK YOU AND KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.
AND, UM, JUST KNOW WHAT
BECAUSE AS A COMMISSION, WE CERTAINLY WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE INPUT.
WELL, THANKS AGAIN, RITA, CHLOE, UM, TO BOTH OF YOU.
UM, YOU'RE VERY MUCH FRIENDS OF THE COMMISSION, SO WE HOPE TO HAVE YOU BACK, UH, VERY SOON.
UM, WELL, LET'S GO AHEAD AND MOVE INTO OUR BUDGET
[6. Review and approval of recommendation for maintaining Funding for the Grant for Technology Opportunities Program (GTOPs) in the FY26 Budget ]
RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, JUST TO GIVE A LITTLE.SO, UH, WE'LL MOVE INTO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER SIX, UH, BUT JUST TO GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT, UH, CAN YOU SHARE IT, DAN? YEAH.
DAN'S GONNA GO AHEAD AND SHARE IT.
UM, AND COMMISSIONER RICE, WE WILL NEED YOU TO COME ON CAMERA HERE SHORTLY.
UH, BUT JUST TO GIVE A LITTLE, I SORRY TO INTERRUPT.
UM, BUT TO GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF RECOMMENDATION, UH, OR, UM, GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT TO THIS, UH, WE, A MESSAGE CAME FROM THE CLERK'S OFFICE INDICATING THAT, UH, WE HAD A, UH, DEADLINE OF MARCH 31ST TO SUBMIT BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE CITY.
UNFORTUNATELY, THAT'S, UH, THE TIME PERIOD THAT WE HAVE
SO I WENT AHEAD AND TOOK THE ACTION TO DRAFT THE INITIAL SET OF RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO THERE ARE FIVE IN TOTAL, UM,
[01:35:01]
SOME OF WHICH ARE ACTUALLY SOURCED FROM, UH, A SUBSET OF RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE, UH, THE STUDY THAT WAS JUST PRESENTED.SO, WHICH IS WHY I, I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT PIECE WAS, UH, WAS COMPLETED.
UM, BUT WITH THAT, I'LL LOOK AT STAFF.
IS THERE ANYTHING, ANY OTHER CONTEXT, UM, WORTH NOTING AROUND THE RECOMMENDATION PROCESS? YES.
UM, SO OUR PROCESS, UH, CURRENTLY IS WE'RE WORKING WITH THE BUDGET OFFICE, UH, TO LOOK AT OUR SERVICES, TO LOOK AT, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH THE ORG CHANGES, NOT ONLY FROM LAST ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES FROM LAST YEAR AND BRINGING THE TEAM OVER.
UM, SO WE ARE WORKING WITH THE BUDGET OFFICE.
WE HAVEN'T ARRIVED AT ANY, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ENHANCEMENTS, BUT WE WOULD HAVE TO FOLLOW KIND OF OUR STAFF PROCESS.
BUT I UNDERSTAND THE TIMELINE THAT YOU HAVE.
WE'RE CERTAINLY WILLING TO PROVIDE ANY DATA TO HELP INFORM YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS, BUT WE WOULD HAVE TO, UM, WORK THROUGH OUR BUDGETARY PROCESS BEFORE WE CAN PROVIDE ANY RECOMMENDATIONS OR SUPPORT.
SO, UM, WITH THAT, UH, WE'LL POP UP THE FIRST ONE.
IT LOOKS LIKE, UH, DAN ALREADY HAS IT.
UM, IT'S ALREADY PRESENTING IT.
SO THIS IS, UH, THE REQUEST TO MAINTAIN FUNDING CURRENT FUNDING LEVELS FOR THE GTOP S PROGRAM.
SO IT'S CURRENTLY FUNDED AT 400 K, I BELIEVE.
UM, AND THIS WAS ALSO SOURCED FROM A PREVIOUS RECOMMENDATION, I BELIEVE IT WAS LAST FISCAL YEAR.
UM, SO ESSENTIALLY, UH, I, I DID CHANGE SOME OF THE WHEREAS STATEMENTS.
UM, BUT ESSENTIALLY THE, THE RECOMMENDATION AFTER NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, UM, IS FOR CITY COUNCIL TO CONTIN CONTINUE TO ALLOCATE $400,000 IN THE FY 26 BUDGET, UM, WHICH WOULD MAINTAIN THE CURRENT FUNDING LEVELS.
UM, SO WANTED TO OPEN THAT UP FOR DISCUSSION, UH, TO THE REST OF THE COMMISSION AND MAYBE STAFF AS WELL.
YEAH, WE ARE NOT RECOMMENDING ANY CHANGES TO THE, AGAIN, WE'RE STILL WORKING THROUGH ANY ENHANCEMENTS, BUT, UH, WE UNDERSTAND THE FUNDING COMMITMENT OF 400,000 FROM THE PAST FEW YEARS.
AND SO WE ANTICIPATE THAT BEING IN OUR BUDGET UNLESS DIRECTION FROM CITY MANAGER OR BUDGETS CHANGE, BUT WE ARE IN SUPPORT OF THAT.
UM, I KNOW WITH POTENTIAL, UH, FUNDING, UM, ISSUES PERHAPS COMING DOWN THE PIPE, WE WANT TO, CERTAINLY, THE TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION WANTS TO, UH, EMPHASIZE AND VOICE OUR CONTINUED SUPPORT FOR THE GTOP S PROGRAM.
UM, ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS HAVE, UM, THOUGHTS, UM, OR EVEN AMENDMENTS TO THE, UH, RECOMMENDATION AS IT'S BEING PRESENTED? UH, WE'RE CURRENTLY NOT ON THIS RECOMMENDATION, BUT I SEE THAT IT'S A GT OS HARDWARE FUND, THE ONE THAT'S THE RECOMMENDATION FOR FUNDING AND AFFORDABLE DEVICE DISTRIBUTION AND REPAIR PROGRAM.
SO I'M JUST WONDERING IF THAT WOULD ALSO BECOME A PART OF GTOP S YEAH, I THINK THAT WOULD BE THE VISION AND THAT THE REASON I WANT TO KEEP THAT ONE SEPARATE IS JUST BE, JUST BECAUSE, UM, WANTED TO, TO SEPARATE THAT OUT FROM THE CURRENT FUNDING.
SO THAT WOULD BE OVER IN ADDITION TO JUST GO AHEAD, COMMISSIONER HERITAGE.
SORRY, JUST TO CLARIFY THAT, THAT WAS A, I'M GLAD YOU ASKED THAT QUESTION 'CAUSE I THINK THAT WAS A, A FOLLOW UP QUESTION I HAD ON THE OTHER GTOP S DEVICE FUND, UM, TO, FOR MY BENEFIT AND CLARIFICATION THAT 400,000 WOULD NOT BE TO FUND THIS PROPOSED G CHOPS DEVICE FUND.
THIS WOULD BE TO MAINTAIN FOR OUR EXISTING PROGRAM.
IS THAT CORRECT? IS THAT WHAT YOU JUST SAID? YEAH, THAT'S, THAT'S CORRECT.
UM, I WILL SAY, AND MAYBE DAN AND JESSE CAN HOP IN HERE, UM, THE DIFFERENT PATHWAYS FOR GT TOPS, UM, HAS CHANGED IN THE PAST.
UM, AND MAY THERE IS A POSSIBILITY, UH, COULD MORPH A LITTLE BIT.
JESSE OR DAN, DID YOU ALL WANT TO SPEAK TO THAT? LET'S SEE.
SO THE OVERARCHING GTOP S FUNDING IS 400,000, AND WE'VE DIVIDED THAT IN DIFFERENT WAYS OVER THE YEARS.
UM, CURRENTLY WE HAVE THREE P PATHWAYS, UH,
[01:40:01]
GTOP, S CORE, GTOP, S MINI, AND GTOP S CAPACITY.UM, UH, CORE HAS 315,000, UH, MINI HAS 60,000 AND CAPACITY HAS 25,000 IF MEMORY SERVES.
UM, WE'VE CHANGED THAT ALLOCATION MANY TIMES IN THE PAST, UH, AND, AND WE'VE PILOTED DIFFERENT PROGRAMS LIKE GT OS, UH, CONNECT, WHICH WAS SUPPORTING THE FEDERAL AFFORDABLE CONNECTIVITY PROGRAM, WHICH HAD TO BE RETIRED ONCE THAT FEDERAL PROGRAM WAS NOT FUNDED.
UM, SO WE DEFINITELY HAVE FLEXIBILITY TO REORGANIZE AND REARRANGE INSIDE OF THE 400,000 HOW WE WOULD LIKE TO ALLOCATE THAT.
UM, BUT YES, ANY, ANY DISCUSSION OF, UH, LIKE A, A NEW PATHWAY WOULD BE SOMETHING SEPARATE OR ABOVE AND BEYOND I, I THINK WHAT THE CURRENT ALLOCATION LOOKS LIKE.
THANK YOU FOR THAT, JESSE, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THAT? OKAY.
AND IF COMMISSIONER RICE COULD COME ON CAMERA, WE'LL JUST GIVE HIM A MOMENT.
CAN YOU KINDA SEE ME? NO, I'LL SAY YES.
I SEE THE LIGHT IN THE BACKGROUND, SO I TRUST THAT YOU'RE THERE.
UM, OKAY, SO WITH THAT, I MEAN, WE'VE, WE'VE HAD DISCUSSION ON, UH, ON THIS.
IT, I, I, I'M SENSING THAT EVERYONE'S GENERALLY SUPPORTIVE, SO I'LL, UH, ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO, UH, TO MOVE FORWARD WITH, WITH APPROVING ITEM SIX.
UH, ANY DIS ANY FINAL DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM? NOPE.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, UH, IF EVERYONE COME OFF OF MUTE.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF, UH, PASSING THE RECOMMENDATION TO MAINTAIN GTOP S FUNDING IN THE FY 26 BUDGET AS PRESENTED.
PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND, SAY AYE.
ANY ABSTENTIONS? ANYONE OPPOSED? OKAY.
WE ARE UNANIMOUS IN OUR PASSING OF, UM, THE FY BUDGET FOR GTOP S WE'LL GO AHEAD AND MOVE TO ITEM
[7. Review and approval of recommendation for funding an affordable device distribution & repair program in the FY26 Budget ]
SEVEN.UM, SO I'M GLAD THAT WE GOT INTO IT, UH, A LITTLE BIT, UM, ON THE LAST ITEM AS WELL.
SO THIS ONE WAS FOCUSED ON, UH, AFFORDABLE DEVICE DISTRIBUTION AND A REPAIR PROGRAM.
THIS WAS SOURCED DIRECTLY FROM ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS PRESENTED IN, UH, THE, UM, THE DIGITAL NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
UH, AND I PURPOSEFULLY DID NOT INCLUDE A DOLLAR AMOUNT, UM, ONLY A RECOMMENDATION THAT THIS BE, UH, LOOKED INTO AND, UH, PROPOSED, UH, BECAUSE IT WAS PART OF THE, UM, THE, UH, THE PRESENTATION THAT DAN, UH, JESSE AND RITA AND CHLOE GAVE.
UM, SO I'M OPEN, UH, TO, UH, TO MAKING AMENDMENTS TO THIS, UH, BUT I'LL OPEN IT UP TO REST OF THE COMMISSION FOR DISCUSSION.
SO COMMISSIONER DE GUPTA DID SEND THROUGH, UM, SOME LANGUAGE.
HE UNFORTUNATELY HAD, UH, TECH ISSUES, BUT, UM, SINCE, UH, HE IS NOT ABLE TO ATTEND, I WILL, UH, GO AHEAD AND OFFER THE AMENDMENTS THAT HE, UH, SENT ON HIS BEHALF.
UM, SO COMMISSIONER GUPTA'S RECOMMENDATION IS THAT THERE BE A MINIMUM FUNDING AMOUNT OF 20 5K, UH, FOR THIS ITEM.
AND ALSO, UH, WHEREAS STATEMENT THAT READS, UH, STANDING UP A PUBLIC, PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP IN ORDER TO DRIVE, UH, SOME OF THIS FUNDING.
ANY DISCUSSION ON THAT? WANT TO GET A SENSE OF HOW OTHER COMMISSIONERS ARE FEELING? I LIKE THAT IDEA OF THE PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP SIDE, ESPECIALLY IF WE'RE GOING TO BE DEALING WITH EFFECTS OR FEDERAL FUNDING.
LIKE I THINK THERE'S A WAY THAT WE CAN, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE PER SE, BUT IF WE HAVE THE LANGUAGE IN THERE, AT LEAST IT, IT LEAVES THE SPACE TO EXPLORE THAT FURTHER.
[01:45:05]
I WAS WONDERING, UM, IF IT MIGHT BE, I MEAN, JUST THINKING ABOUT THE, THE REPAIR PROGRAM ASPECT OF IT, WOULD IT BE GOOD TO INDICATE THAT IT'S A BENEFIT FOR OUR LOCAL WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AS WELL, REDUCING THE AMOUNT OF E-WASTE THAT WE PRODUCE? YEAH, I LIKE THAT DEDUCTION OF E WASTE.SO I'M HEARING TWO AMENDMENTS TO THIS ITEM.
UM, I WILL JUST GO AHEAD AND READ THE ENTIRETY AND THEN THE AMENDMENTS INTO THE RECORD.
UM, SO WHEREAS ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE FUNCTIONING DIGITAL SERVICES IS ESSENTIAL FOR PARTICIPATION, EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT, HEALTHCARE, AND GOVERNMENT SERVICES, WHEREAS TRAVIS COUNTY, CITY OF AUSTIN, BROADBAND DIGITAL EQUITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT FOUND AT LOWER INCOME THRESHOLDS, OLDER ADULTS AND INDIVIDUALS DIS WITH DISABILITIES FACE SIGNIFICANT BARRIERS TO OBTAINING AND MAINTAINING DIGITAL DEVICES.
AND WHEREAS PLANNED UPSELL, HIGH REPAIR COST AND LACK OF AFFORDABLE DEVICE OPTIONS DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECT UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES.
AND WHEREAS EXPANDING ACCESS TO LOW COST OR REFURBISHED DEVICES AND REPAIR SERVICES WOULD ENABLE MORE AUSTIN RESIDENTS TO PARTICIPATE FULLY IN DIGITAL ECONOMY.
AND WHEREAS CREATING A DIG A DEDICATED OS HARDWARE FUND WOULD ALLOW FOR TARGETED GRANTS SUPPORTING DEVICE DISTRIBUTION, REPAIR PROGRAMS OF PARTNERSHIPS AND LOCAL NONPROFIT LIBRARIES AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS.
AND THIS IS A, SO THIS NEXT PIECE WILL BE THE AMENDMENTS.
AND WHEREAS, UH, THIS WOULD RESULT IN A REDUCTION OF E-WASTE GOOD AND, UH, ADDITIONAL AMENDMENT, AND WHEREAS, UM, A PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP COULD BE USED TO DRIVE TOTAL, UH, FUNDING.
NOW, THEREFORE, IT BE RESOLVED THAT THE COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THAT THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL ALLOCATE A MINIMUM FUNDING AMOUNT OF 25,000.
THAT'S THE AMENDED PART TO THE FY 26 BUDGET, TO ESTABLISH A OS HARDWARE FUND ENSURING THAT ALL RESIDENTS HAVE ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE DEVICES AND REPAIR SERVICES, THEREBY CLOSING DIGITAL DIVIDE IN AUSTIN.
JUST HAVE A SMALL RECOMMENDATION.
UM, THE G OS OBVIOUSLY, OR THE, THE COMMISSION KNOWS G OS STANDS FOR THE GRANT FOR TECHNOLOGY OPPORTUNITIES PROGRAM.
UM, AND SO IF YOU ALL ENVISION THIS AS A GRANT, UH, THEN I THINK WE CAN, YOU KNOW, KEEP IT, UH, AS IS.
BUT IF YOU WANT THERE TO BE FLEXIBILITY IN TERMS OF WHAT THE, UH, SOLUTION WOULD LOOK LIKE, UM, TAKING IT OUT OF THE GTOP SPACE, I THINK WOULD ALLOW FOR, LIKE YOU SAID, A PRI PUBLIC PRIVATE, UH, CONTRACT, UH MM-HMM
WHICH WE COULDN'T REALLY HANDLE INSIDE OF THE GTOP SPACE.
UM, SO WOULD THE AMENDMENT THERE SIMPLY TO BE, TO STRIKE WHERE IT SAYS GT TOPS, UH, YES.
TO, TO JUST NOT USE G TOPS
YEAH, I THINK, UH, I THINK IF YOU'RE BRINGING FORWARD A RECOMMENDATION FOR, UH, BUDGETARY SUPPORT FOR STAFF TO EXPLORE A PPP THAT PROVIDES THIS SERVICE, YOU COULD SUBMIT THAT, AND AGAIN, WE'LL RECEIVE WHILE THESE TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION DURING THE BUDGETARY PROCESS.
ANY OTHER CHANGES TO THE RECOMMENDATION ITSELF? UM, FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE? ANN? I THINK, UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THE PROGRAM THAT WE REFURBISH THE ASSETS, AND I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE TRYING TO WORK WITH OUR TEAM ON.
SO I DO WELCOME A CONVERSATION WITH THE COMMISSION IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
IT'S CERTAINLY A RESOURCE WE WANNA CONTINUE TO LEVERAGE.
UM, AND I THINK THE STRENGTH OF HAVING THIS TEAM NOW IN OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SERVICE PORTFOLIO IS THAT WE GET TO OUTREACH TO MORE NONPROFITS, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT OF VENDORS, CHILDCARE PROVIDERS, TO SEE HOW, ESPECIALLY WE'RE TARGETING THOSE FAMILIES THAT WE SAW IN THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT THAT NEED THAT ACCESS AND THAT TRAINING.
SO I THINK THERE'S AMPLE OPPORTUNITY NOW WITH HOW WE'RE POSITIONED.
SO I'M EXCITED TO JUST CONTINUE TO WORK WITH ALL MY TEAMS, BUT I DO THINK THERE'S AMPLE OPPORTUNITY THAT WE CAN FIND A WAY TO FURTHER LEVERAGE THIS.
UM, BUT WE WILL RECEIVE THAT RECOMMENDATION FROM THE COMMISSION, AND THEN AGAIN, WE'LL GO THROUGH THE BUDGETARY PROCESS TO SEE.
BUT I DO THINK HOWEVER THE BUDGET MAY FALL, THERE ARE, I THINK THERE'S STILL JUST SO MUCH OPPORTUNITY THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN HAVE THESE DEVICES ACCESSIBLE TO OUR LOW-INCOME FAMILIES, AND THEN FURTHERMORE, CONNECT THEM WITH THE DIGITAL SKILLS TRAINING THAT WE PROVIDE THROUGH OUR CONTRACT.
SO I READ THE AMEND THE AMENDMENTS,
[01:50:01]
UH, INTO THE RECORD.UH, WE'LL, WE WILL ALSO STRIKE WHERE IT SAYS GTOP S UM, SO WITH THOSE AMENDMENTS, UH, PRETTY SOLIDIFIED IS, UH, I'LL, I'LL, UH, ACCEPT A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE, UH, RECOMMENDATION AS DISCUSSED.
COMMISSIONER HERITAGE, I MAKE A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE RECOMMENDATIONS AS DISCUSSED, INCLUDING THE AMENDMENTS.
IS THERE A SECOND? I SECOND IT.
UH, MOTION PUT FORWARD BY COMMISSIONER HERITAGE, SECONDED BY, UH, VICE CHAIR ATA.
UM, IF ALL COMMISSIONERS COULD COME ON CAMERA, PLEASE.
COMMISSIONER RICE, I CAN JUST MAKE OUT YOUR SILHOUETTE.
UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF, UM, ACCEPTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS AS DISCUSSED, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND, SAY AYE.
WE ARE UNANIMOUS IN OUR, UH, RECOMMENDATION.
WITH THAT, I'LL GO AHEAD AND MOVE US TO AGENDA ITEM
[8. Review and approval of recommendation for expanding public internet access in the FY26 budget]
EIGHT, AND THAT IS THE RECOMMENDATION FOR EXPANDING PUBLIC INTERNET ACCESS IN THE FY 26 BUDGET.UM, THIS ONE WAS ALSO SOURCED FROM SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS PUT FORWARD IN THE DIGITAL NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
UM, THANK YOU JAN, FOR SHOWING THAT.
I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND SKIP THE WHEREAS STATEMENTS AND JUST MOVE ON DOWN TO THE, UM, TO THE MEAT OF IT.
AND THAT SAID, THE TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION RECOMMENDS AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL ALLOCATE FUNDING FROM THE FY 26 BUDGET TO EXPAND AND ENHANCE PUBLIC INTERNET ACCESS ACROSS THE CITY, ENSURING EQUITABLE DIGITAL ACCESS FOR ALL RESIDENTS IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS.
PUBLIC INTERNET ACCESS POINTS WITH AFTER HOUR AND WEEKEND HOURS OF OPERATIONS, PUBLIC COMPUTER LABS THAT SHOULD BE EQUIPPED WITH ROBUST FEATURES LIKE WEBCAMS, PRIVATE SPACES FOR COMMUNITY FOR PRIVATE COMMUNICATIONS LIKE TELEHEALTH VISITS AND DEVICE CHARGING STATIONS.
ALSO ALLUDED TO IN THE RECOMMENDATION.
AND THEN EMERGENCY RESPONSE LOCATIONS THAT SHOULD HAVE RESIL RESILIENT INTERNET PHONE CONNECTIVITY AND CHARGING STATIONS.
UM, OPEN TO DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM.
YEAH, SO, UM, WHAT I WAS INITIALLY ENVISIONING WERE THE RESILIENCE HUBS OR THE EMERGENCY SHELTERS DURING, UM, COLD OR EVEN HEAT FREEZES.
SO ENSURING THOSE HAVE, UM, AMPLE INTERNET AND PHONE CONNECTIVITY FOR THE USERS.
OUT OF JUST, UM, AGAIN, TRYING TO UNDERSTAND, UM, THE REQUEST.
IS THERE A THRESHOLD OR JESSE, WAS THERE ANY SPECIFIC IN THE REPORT THAT KIND OF GIVING US A BASELINE, I GUESS JUST TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE COMMISSION WOULD, YOU KNOW, WHAT WOULD BE KIND OF A SIGN OF THIS INVESTMENT OR THIS PROGRESS MM-HMM
JUST FOR STAFF SO WE CAN UNDERSTAND AS WE'RE WORKING THROUGH OUR PROGRAMMING AND SO FORTH, JUST TO HELP KIND OF QUANTIFY WHAT THAT IMPACT WOULD LOOK LIKE FOR THE COMMISSION.
UM, WOULD LOVE TO GET INPUT FROM THE REST OF THE COMMISSIONERS.
I DON'T THINK THERE WERE ANY DOLLAR AMOUNTS OUTLINED IN THE RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, YEAH, WOULD LOVE TO JUST GO AROUND AND GET INPUT FROM ANY COMMISSIONER.
MAY I JUST, JESSE, WAS THERE ANY BASELINE DATA TO KIND OF TELL US, UM, I KNOW THERE WAS MAPPING ABOUT WHERE THE INFRASTRUCTURE, BUT WAS THERE BASELINE DATA AND THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT TO HELP KIND OF SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH THE COMMISSION TO UNDERSTAND WHAT, WHERE'S THE GAP? WE KNOW THAT THE EASTERN CRESCENT PRIMARILY EXPERIENCES THIS CHALLENGE, BUT IS THERE ANYTHING TO HELP US KIND OF GAUGE A BASELINE? SO THERE WASN'T ANY, UH, NO DOLLARS, UH, WERE MENTIONED IN THE RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, THE RECOMMENDATIONS WERE DRAFTED IN A WAY THAT THEY WEREN'T DIRECTED AT ANY SPECIFIC ENTITY OR AGENCY.
UM, BUT THERE WAS, THERE WAS, UH, A MEASURE OR A RECOMMENDATION THAT Y'ALL HEARD EARLIER THAT, UH, PUBLIC ACCESS LOCATIONS NEEDED TO BE OR SHOULD BE, UH, UBIQUITOUS
[01:55:01]
AND EASILY ACCESSIBLE GEOGRAPHICALLY AROUND THE COMMUNITY.UM, UH, I DON'T HAVE ANY BUDGET ESTIMATES.
UH, WHAT I CAN SAY IS THAT THE CURRENT CONTRACT THAT WE HAVE TO DELIVER DIGITAL LITERACY TRAINING SERVICES, UM, CURRENTLY ONLY PROVIDES, UH, TRAINING DURING BUSINESS HOURS, UM, AT, UH, AND SO, UH, LIKELY ANY, UH, YOU KNOW, WEEKEND OR AFTER HOURS, UH, AVAILABILITY WOULD, WOULD TAKE THE FORM OF AN ADDITIONAL PERSON, UH, THAT WOULD BE ABLE TO CYCLE, YOU KNOW, THROUGH THE COMMUNITY IN, IN THOSE HOURS.
UH, BECAUSE CURRENT STAFF JUST DOESN'T HAVE, UH, THAT CAPACITY, UH, FOR, FOR OUR CONTRACTOR.
SO AN ADDITIONAL FTE? YEAH, I WOULD SAY, UH, UH, THAT WOULD BE A MINIMUM SOLUTION, UH, FROM MY LENS.
SO LET'S SAY SALARY PLUS BENEFITS, LET'S SAY 60,000 A YEAR FOR AN FTE.
I THINK WE'D HAVE TO RELY ON THE COMMISSION'S RECOMMENDATION THAT WE CAN LOOK AT.
UM, YEAH, IF YOU CAN UNDERSTAND IF IT DOES IN POSITION.
I KNOW I'M JUST KIND OF, I'M JUST LIKE, YEAH.
AND I THINK EVEN UNDERSTANDING IF MAYBE ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE TASKS TO ASSESS KIND OF A BASELINE WOULD BE MM-HMM.
EVEN UNDERSTANDING WHAT DOES OUR PUBLIC ACCESS POINTS LOOK LIKE, INCLUDING NOT ONLY LOCATION, BUT AVAILABILITY TO BE ABLE TO INFORM THIS INFORMATION, UM, TO PROVIDE THIS INFORMATION FOR THE COMMISSION TO UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, UM, SOMETHING TO HELP DEFINE AND SET EXPECTATIONS AS WE, LIKE.
HOW DO WE MEASURE PROGRESS IF WE'RE NOT REALLY SURE WHERE WE'RE STARTING AND WE KNOW THERE'S A NEED, BUT, SO, UM, AGAIN, UM, WE WELCOME THE COMMISSION'S RECOMMENDATION.
WE CERTAINLY WILL, UH, BRING THIS, UM, TO SURFACE SURE.
FOR DURING OUR, OUR BUDGET REVIEW.
UM, BUT ALSO AS WE ARE DOING THE WORK, AND THIS IS A PRIORITY TO OUR DEPARTMENT.
UM, JUST TRYING TO SEE IF THE COMMISSION HAS ANY OTHER PARTICULAR INPUT AS FAR AS WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE.
YEAH, WE WILL DO THE BEST THROUGH THE RECOMMENDATIONS.
I THINK THAT WAS ONE OF THE CALL-OUTS I INITIALLY HAD WAS WHERE ARE THE PUBLIC SPACES TODAY? UM, SO THAT BASELINE DATA PIECE WOULD BE HELPFUL AND SOMEWHAT RELATED TO THE PRESENTATION.
I, YOU KNOW, I THINK UBIQUITOUS COVERAGE IS USEFUL, I THINK TARGETED COVERAGE TO SUPPORT, UM, SOME OF THESE HARDER HIT AND AREAS.
SO I'M, I'M CURIOUS IF THERE'S A WAY TO MAYBE ADD OR FOLD IN SOME LANGUAGE ABOUT ALIGNING THAT, UM, ALIGNING NEW PUBLIC INTERNET ACCESS POINTS OR COMPUTER LABS IN AREAS THAT, UM, FITTER ARE ALIGNED WITH THE DIGITAL DIVIDE INDEX.
I THINK THAT ARE, THAT'S CALLED OUT IN THE REPORT.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO USE THAT EXISTING DATA TO SAY HOW CAN WE EXPAND ACCESS IN THESE AREAS? UM, GIVEN THAT TRANSPORTATION BURDEN WAS ONE THING THAT WAS CALLED OUT AS WELL.
UM, DID YOU WANT TO MAKE THAT AMENDMENT TO SOME OF THE LANGUAGE HERE? I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
I THINK IT'S, UM, EXPANSION OR, OR, UM, ADDITIONAL PUBLIC INTERNET ACCESS POINTS.
UM, AND LET'S SEE, ADDITIONAL PUBLIC INTERNET, LIKE EXPANDING PUBLIC INTERNET ACCESS SHOULD BE INFORMED OR ALIGNED WITH, UM, COMMUNITY NEED AS DEFINED BY DIGITAL DIVIDE INDEX AND OTHER RELEVANT DATA SOURCES.
THAT WOULD BE A BULLET POINT THERE.
UM, AND THEN COMING OFF OF ANNE'S COMMENTS, UM, I THINK YOUR RECOMMENDATION WAS, UH, TO I COMING OFF YOUR COMMENTS, I THINK, UH, CHANGING SOME OF THE LANGUAGE A BIT TO FOCUS MORE ON RESEARCH AND UNDERSTANDING WHAT, WHAT THE NEED IS AS OPPOSED TO, UM, UH, JUST FUNDING.
SO LEMME WORDSMITH IT AS WELL.
[02:00:01]
TO ALLOCATE EXPLORATION OF FUNDING WITH THE, SO STARTING FROM THE NOW, THEREFORE BE RESOLVED.THE TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THAT THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL ALLOCATE FUNDING AND EXPLORATION AND PARTNERSHIP WITH THE EDD, UH, TO EXPAND AND ENHANCE PUBLIC INTERNET ACCESS ACROSS THE CITY, ENSURING EQUITABLE DIGITAL ACCESS FOR ALL RESIDENTS IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS, BULLET POINTS AS PRESENTED.
AND THEN COMMISSIONER HERITAGE, IF YOU COULD RESTATE YOUR AMENDMENT.
OH, I HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT I SAID.
UM,
IT'S ONLINE, CORRECT? THEY ARE.
AND I KNOW DAN IS GONNA GO BACK AND REVIEW IT.
BUT, UH, JUST TO BE COMPREHENSIVE AND TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ALL KNOW WHAT WE'RE VOTING ON, UH, BEST PRACTICE IS TO READ THE ITEM ALONG WITH THE AMENDMENTS AND THEN VOTE ON IT.
UM, EXPANSION OF PUBLIC INTERNET ACCESS POINTS SHOULD BE ALIGNED ACCORDING TO DIGITAL DIVIDE INDEX AND OTHER RELATED DATA SOURCES.
SO, UM, THOSE I, THOSE AMENDMENTS ALONG WITH COMMISSIONER HERITAGES WOULD, UM, BE WHAT WE'RE VOTING ON NOW, CAN WE ALSO ADD IN THE FOURTH, WHEREAS MOBLEY CHALLENGED MM-HMM
WHERE IT SAYS INVESTMENT IN PUBLIC WIFI INFRASTRUCTURE WOULD PARTICULARLY BENEFIT LOWER INCOME RESIDENTS.
SOMETHING THAT SERVES, YOU KNOW, JUST I'M THINKING MORE SO LIKE EXPANDED A DA SERVICES, LIKE FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE MOBILELY CHALLENGED, IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN ADD OR INCLUDE THEM IN THAT.
SO HOW ABOUT THIS, UH, INVESTMENT? YEAH.
INVESTMENT IN PUBLIC WIFI INFRASTRUCTURE WOULD PARTICULAR PARTICULARLY BENEFIT LOWER INCOME RESIDENTS, UNHOUSED INDIVIDUALS, UH, COMM COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO ARE, UH, A DA, UM, AND COMMUNITIES WITH LIMITED BROADBAND OPTIONS.
WOULD THAT MEET THE NEED THERE? COMMISSIONER ANGA? YES.
ANY OTHER UPDATES TO THIS ITEM FOLKS WOULD LIKE TO MAKE? OKAY.
WE MADE SOME, UH, IMPROVEMENTS, SO I APPRECIATE Y'ALL, UM, CHIMING IN AND, AND PROVIDING YOUR INPUTS STAFF AS WELL.
UH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED GUIDANCE.
UM, SO WE'LL HAVE ALL COMMISSIONERS GO AHEAD AND COME ON CAMERA SO WE CAN MOVE FORWARD.
COMMISSIONERS RICE AND VICE CHAIR
UH, SO ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF, UH, PASSING THE RECOMMENDATION TO EXPAND PUBLIC INTERNET ACCESS WITH THE ADDITIONAL WAREHOUSE STATEMENT, ALONG WITH, UM, THE CHANGES IN EXPLORATION OF FUNDING AND THE NEW, UH, BULLET POINT THAT COMMISSIONER HERITAGE OFFERED.
UM, I WILL, I'LL, I'LL, I'LL HAVE A MOTION TO PASS IT AS, UM, AS DISCUSSED I MOVE.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE.
ANY ABSTENTIONS? NO ONE IS AGAINST.
[9. Review and approval of recommendation for increased funding for Digital Skills training in the FY26 Budget ]
TO ITEM NINE AND THAT IS INCREASED FUNDING FOR DIGITAL SKILLS TRAINING.SO THIS ONE WAS, UM, NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH AI UPSKILLING FOR AUSTIN EMPLOYEES.
THIS ONE WAS DIGITAL SKILLS TRAINING FOR THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE.
UM, I'LL GIVE JAN A MOMENT JUST TO PRESENT THAT.
[02:05:08]
SO THIS ONE, JUST TO GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND, THIS WAS SOURCED FROM A SUBSET OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, THAT WERE PRESENTED IN THE DIGITAL NEEDS ASSESSMENT AS WELL.AND I'M GONNA JUST GO AHEAD AND SKIP RIGHT TO THE BOTTOM THERE.
UH, THE TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THAT THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL ALLOCATE FUNDING IN THE FY 26 BUDGET TO EXPAND DIGITAL SKILLS TRAINING PROGRAMS, ENSURING FREE AND ACCESSIBLE TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES FOR AUSTIN RESIDENTS WHO FACE THE GREATEST BARRIERS TO DIGITAL LITERACY.
UM, KNOWING THAT STAFF WOULD PROBABLY LIKE A LITTLE BIT MORE, A LITTLE, SOME ADDITIONAL CLARIFICATION, UM, MAYBE A GOOD WAY TO BROACH THE SUBJECT.
DO WE HAVE ANY DATA, DAN AND JESSE, ON, UH, WHAT THE ALLOCATION FOR THESE TYPES OF PROGRAMS IS TODAY? EITHER THROUGH GT OS OR OTHER MEANS? YES.
SO WE HAVE, WE DO HAVE A DEDICATED CONTRACT WITH AUSTIN FREENET TO PROVIDE DIGITAL SKILLS TRAINING.
UM, AND THAT'S, THAT'S CURRENTLY $300,000 PER YEAR.
I LIKE HOW, YOU KNOW THAT RIGHT OFF THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD.
UM, WE'RE COMING UP ON THE END OF THE FIRST YEAR AND WE HAVE TWO RENEWALS.
SO WE, WE HAVE PLENTY OF TIME ON THE CONTRACT.
IT'S FOR AN INITIAL THREE YEAR PERIOD AND THERE'S TWO OPTIONAL THREE YEAR EXTENSIONS.
SO THERE'S NINE YEARS POSSIBLE ON THE CONTRACT.
SO INCREASING, WE MAY WOULD HAVE TO CONSULT WITH PROCUREMENT TOO.
ABOUT POTENTIALLY HAVING TO DO ANOTHER SOLICITATION.
BUT WE ARE FUNDED AT 300,000 A YEAR RIGHT NOW.
AND AGAIN, UM, WE ANTICIPATE THAT BEING IN THE BUDGET NEXT YEAR, WE ARE NOT PROPOSING ANY CHANGES TO THAT MM-HMM
SO, UH, YEAH, WE, IF THE COMMISSION HAS A RECOMMENDATION FOR CONSIDERATION, HELPING TO QUANTIFY WHAT THAT WOULD BE, WOULD BE HELPFUL SURE.
FOR STAFF TO UNDERSTAND AS WE GO THROUGH THE BUDGET PROCESS.
ANY OF THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS HAVE, PLEASE, I'M JUST CURIOUS WITH AUSTIN FREENET, ARE THEY CURRENTLY ABLE TO DO GEOGRAPHICALLY DIVERSE OR LANGUAGE DIVERSE TRAININGS? IS THERE LIKE A NEED FOR A CONTRACTOR TO EXPAND OUR REACH? UM, THEIR CURRENT MODEL IS THAT THERE'S A, A NUMBER OF SITES THAT I DON'T HAVE MEMORIZED OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD UNFORTUNATELY, BUT THEY HAVE A NUMBER OF SITES THAT THEY ROTATE THROUGH AROUND THE COMMUNITY MM-HMM
UM, AND THEY, THEY DO, UH, UH, BASICALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, ONCE A MONTH OR BIWEEKLY TRAININGS AT VARIOUS LOCATIONS AROUND THE COMMUNITY.
UM, SO THAT, THAT'S WHAT THE CURRENT SOLUTION IS.
SO I THINK AT THE VERY LEAST, MAINTAINING 300,000 PER YEAR, BUT, UM, I COULD BE CONVINCED TO PROVIDE A HIGHER NUMBER.
I WANNA SEE WHAT THE REST OF THE COMMISSIONERS THINK OR EVEN INCREASING IT, BECAUSE I'M LOOKING BACK AT THE RECOMMENDATION FOR THE FUNDING OF AFFORDABLE DEVICES DISTRIBUTION, AND I'M ALSO LOOKING AT THE DIGITAL SKILLS TRAINING.
I AM THINKING THERE SHOULD BE SOME TYPE OF, BECAUSE IT'S ONE THING FOR PEOPLE TO GO TO THESE TRAININGS, THEY'RE LEARNING HOW TO USE THESE DEVICES, BUT IF THEY CAN'T TAKE THESE DEVICES BACK HOME AND USE THEM IN THEIR DAY TO DAY, I'M JUST, I'M THINKING SHOULDN'T THERE BE LIKE SOME TYPE OF, I KNOW WE REMOVED THE AFFORDABLE DEVICE DISTRIBUTION FROM THE GT OS HARDWARE FUND JUST A FEW MOMENTS AGO, BUT I'M THINKING SHOULD THAT BE A PART OF THE DIGITAL SKILLS TRAINING? WHEREAS LIKE THE, WE SHOULD HAVE A BUDGET FOR THAT IN THE DIGITAL SKILLS TRAINING AS WELL, LIKE PROVIDING PEOPLE WITH DEVICES EITHER DURING THE TRAINING OR AFTER THE TRAINING.
AND JUST DOING LIKE A QUICK RESEARCH, LIKE FOR SMALL SCALE PROGRAMS. I JUST DID A QUICK GOOGLE SEARCH CHAT, GBT SEARCH AND THE, UM, I HAD SEEN ON CITY LEVELS FOR A SMALL SCALE PROGRAM, LIKE 150,000.
THIS IS JUST FOR DEVICES, UM, IN TERM, BECAUSE I MEAN, DEVICES ARE LIKE, LIKE THEY COST A LOT, LIKE A THOUSAND OR THEREABOUTS, SO LIKE A HUNDRED TO 300 DEVICES, UM, SERVING ABOVE LIKE A HUNDRED TO 300 DEVICES.
AND THEN WE'RE THINKING LIKE ADMINISTRATIVE TECHNICAL SUPPORTS.
[02:10:01]
RECOMMENDING WE ADD 150,000 TO AS, THAT'S JUST FOR DEVICES IN MY OPINION.UM, AND THEN PROBABLY ADDING THAT, 'CAUSE IT'S FREE NETS.
FREE NETS IS CURRENTLY SEPARATE FROM WHAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING FOR THE DIGITAL SKILLS TRAINING, CORRECT? MM-HMM
THAT'S LIKE A SEPARATE PROGRAM? NO, IT, IT, IT WOULD BE THE 300,000.
AND I, AND I ALSO THINK AUSTIN FREEA DOES DEVICE DONATIONS AS WELL.
DAN OR JESSE, DO YOU WANNA SPEAK TO THAT? UH, YES.
SO OUR CURRENT CONTRACT WITH AUSTIN FREENET DOES ALSO INCLUDE, UM, A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN AUSTIN FREENET AND OUR COMMUNITY PC PROGRAM.
UH, SO AUSTIN FREENET DOES WORK WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR TO RECEIVE PRIVATE SECTOR DEVICE DONATIONS, WHICH THEY PASS ALONG TO THE COMMUNITY PC PROGRAM INVENTORY.
AND THEY ALSO RECEIVE DEVICES THAT ARE, UH, READY FOR DISTRIBUTION TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS FROM OUR INVENTORY FROM THE COMMUNITY PC PROGRAM INVENTORY.
DO WE HAVE AN IDEA OF HOW MANY, UM, LIKE DEVICES ARE GIVEN OR HOW MANY PEOPLE THEY SERVE THROUGH THAT DONATION PROGRAM AND THE TRAINING AS WELL? IT'S CURRENTLY, YEAH, IT'S CURRENTLY VERY SMALL SCALE.
UH, AUSTIN FREE NETS PROGRAM HAS A PROGRAM, UH, THEY'RE, PART OF THE PROGRAM IS CALLED THE LEARN AND EARNED PROGRAM.
AND SO THEY, UH, WHAT THEY DO IS THEY OFFER DIGITAL SKILLS TRAINING.
UM, AND ONCE THE, UH, FOLKS ACHIEVE, UH, ENOUGH HOURS OF DIGITAL SKILLS TRAINING, THEY QUALIFY FOR A FREE DEVICE.
UH, AND SO THAT, THAT'S THE PROGRAM THAT, UH, AUSTIN FREENET RUNS.
I DON'T HAVE ON HAND, UH, HOW MANY PEOPLE THEY SERVE ANNUALLY, BUT IT'S RELATIVELY SMALL.
I THINK WE'RE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UH, IN THE REALM OF A HUNDRED DEVICES PER YEAR.
UM, LIKEWISE THE COMMUNITY PC PROGRAM, UH, HAS A TOTAL CURRENT INVENTORY OF ABOUT 3000 DEVICES.
UH, AND WE AVERAGE ABOUT, UH, THREE THOU, UH, UH, 1000 DISTRIBUTIONS PER YEAR.
UM, AND SO ALSO US RELATIVELY IN, IN THIS SCOPE OF THE POPULATION, A A SMALL PROGRAM AS WELL.
UM, SO IT MIGHT BE WORTH ADDING SOME TYPE OF LANGUAGE THAT JUST SAYS LIKE DEVICE DISTRIBUTION IN THIS DIGITAL SKILLS TRAINING, BUT I'M NOT SURE, MAYBE YOU CAN HELP ME WITH THAT.
UM, YEAH, I'M NOT SURE WHERE THAT WOULD GO, BUT IT SHOULD GO IN THERE SOMEWHERE.
SO LEMME GIVE IT A SHOT NOW, THEREFORE IT BE, BE RESOLVED THAT THE TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THAT THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL ALLOCATE ADDITIONAL FUNDING IN THE AMOUNT OF 450,000 PER YEAR IN THE FY 26 BUDGET FOR EXPANDING DIGITAL SKILLS, TRAINING PROGRAMS, DEVICE DISTRIBUTIONS, AND ENSURING THAT FREE AND ACCESSIBLE TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES FOR AUSTIN RESIDENTS WHO FACE THE GREATEST BARRIERS TO DIGITAL LITERACY.
SO THAT WOULD BE AN INCREASE OF ONE 50.
AND I'M MORE INTERESTED IN HOW WE CAN REACH THE ACTUAL COMMUNITIES BECAUSE I THINK IT'S, WE, WE UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S A DIGITAL DIVIDE, WHICH IS WHY WE EXIST AND WHY WE'RE DOING THIS WORK.
I THINK I'M MORE INTERESTED IN HOW WE CAN REACH THE COMMUNITIES THAT ACTUALLY NEED THIS, UM, AND SERVICING THEM.
WHEN WE GET TO FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, LET'S, UH, PLAN TO DISCUSS, UH, INVITING, UH, JESS ROSS BACK, UM, AT A FUTURE MEETING.
SHE'S THE, UM, THE, UM, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF AUSTIN FREENET, AND SHE CAN TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE STRATEGIES THEY USE.
UM, I THINK WE'RE MOVING ALONG.
ANY OTHER AMENDMENTS FOLKS WOULD LIKE TO MAKE TO THIS.
UM, SO ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, OR I, I WILL, I'LL, UH, ACCEPT A MOTION TO, UM, ACCEPT THE RECOMMENDATION FOR THE DIGITAL SKILLS TRAINING AS DISCUSSED.
IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND? I CAN.
SECOND COMMISSIONER, HERITAGE COMMISSIONER KUBY BEAT YOU TO IT.
JUST GONNA WAIT FOR COMMISSIONER RICE TO COME BACK ON CAMERA SO WE CAN HAVE OUR VOTE.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF ACCEPTING
[02:15:01]
THE RECOMMENDATION, UH, WITH THE AMENDMENTS AS IT AS DISCUSSED, PLEASE SAY AYE.ANY ABSTENTIONS? ANYONE AGAINST? OKAY.
WE'RE UNANIMOUS WITH THE AMENDMENTS.
UM, ONE MORE MOVING ALONG TO AGENDA ITEM.
[10. Review and Approval of recommendation for continued funding for AI upskilling for City of Austin employees in the FY26 Budget]
10THIS ONE IS THE RECOMMENDATION FOR CONTINUED FUNDING AROUND AI UPSKILLING FOR CITY OF AUSTIN EMPLOYEES IN THE FFY 26 BUDGET.
UM, SO A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ON THIS, UH, UH, PREVIOUS MEETING, UH, THE CHIEF INNOVATION OFFICER FOR THE CITY, DANIEL COLTA, UH, TALKED ABOUT THE EFFORT TO ENSURE CITY OF AUSTIN EMPLOYEES ARE UPSKILLED IN AI, UM, ENSURING THAT THEY'RE USING IT PROPERLY, ENSURING THAT, UM, UH, CITY EMPLOYEES ARE, UH, ABLE TO PROVIDE EXPLAINABILITY FOR THEIR WORK WHEN USING AI.
UM, HE ALSO TALKED ABOUT A ROBUST, UH, POLICY THAT THE CITY HAS ADOPTED AS WELL.
UM, THIS PAST FISCAL YEAR, UH, MY COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, PROVIDED A BUDGET AMENDMENT IN THE AMOUNT OF SONY 5,000.
UH, NOT SURE IF THAT WAS ACTUALLY CARRIED FORWARD, BUT IN ANY CASE, THEY DID FIND THE FUNDS, UH, TO KICKSTART THIS EFFORT.
AND I KNOW THAT UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS IS ALSO HELPING TO DEVELOP THE CURRICULUM AROUND, UM, UH, AI UPSKILLING FOR THE CITY.
UM, SO IT MAKES SENSE THAT IF, IF THAT FUNDING, UH, WHETHER IT MET THE 75, UH, K THRESHOLD OR NOT, WOULD NEED TO BE EXTENDED INTO, UM, SUBSEQUENT YEARS IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT THE, THE REST OF THE CITY EMPLOYEES, UM, HAVE THE BENEFIT OF, UM, OF THIS EDUCATION.
UM, AND IT IT'LL PROBABLY NEED TO BE REVISITED AND UPDATED FROM TIME TO TIME AS WELL.
UM, SO I DO HAVE SOME AMENDMENTS TO THIS.
UH, I DID BRIEFLY SPEAK WITH, UH, OR TEXT WITH, WITH DANIEL, UM, TO ENSURE THAT HE WAS, UH, IN SUPPORT OF THIS.
SO I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND READ SKIP DOWN TO THE, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED.
THE TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THE CITY OF AUSTIN COUNCIL ALLOCATE, UH, CONTINUED FUNDING IN THE AMOUNT OF $75,000 IN THE FY 26 BUDGET TO SUSTAIN AND EXPAND AI UPSKILLING INITIATIVES FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN EMPLOYEES, UM, AS WELL AS, UH, IN THE AREA OF DATA LITERACY AND PRACTICE ENSURING THAT THE REMAIN PROFICIENT IN EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES AND ENHANCED PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY.
SO AGAIN, THAT 75,000 WOULD BE IN LINE, UM, WITH THE REQUEST MADE FROM, UM, MY COUNCIL MEMBERS.
SO THERE, THERE IS SOME PRECEDENCE FOR THAT.
SO AT LEAST ON THIS ONE WE HAVE, UM, SOME, UM, A REFERENCE POINT.
DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING ANN? NO, I'M GLAD TO HEAR THAT YOU'VE ENGAGED DANIEL ADA 'CAUSE THAT'S WHO CAME TO MIND AFTER THE LAST MEETING WHERE HE GAVE AN UPDATE.
SO GLAD TO HEAR THAT HE IS AWARE OF THE REQUEST THAT HE IS.
ANY, UM, THOUGHTS OR EVEN ADDITIONAL AMENDMENTS THAT OTHER COMMISSIONERS WOULD LIKE TO MAKE TO THIS, THIS ONE NOT HEARING ANY? UH, I'LL GO AHEAD AND MOVE US FORWARD.
UM, I'LL OPEN, I'LL OPEN A MOTION TO, UM, TO ACCEPT US WITH THE AMENDMENTS.
LOOKS LIKE COMMISSIONER ANGA RAISED YOUR HAND.
I'LL ASSUME YOU'RE MAKING A MOTION.
UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF, UH, PASSING THE RECOMMENDATION FOR AI UPSKILLING FOR CITY OF AUSTIN EMPLOYEES WITH THE AMENDMENTS THAT I JUST READ, PLEASE SAY AYE.
ANY AB EXTENSIONS? ANYONE OPPOSED? OKAY.
WE'RE UNANIMOUS IN OUR PASSING.
WELL, WE DID IT, Y'ALL, WE PASSED FIVE BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS.
I I DON'T THINK THAT IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE, UM, ON OUR AGENDA UNTIL
[02:20:01]
APRIL, I WANT TO SAY.UM, SO UNFORTUNATELY WE HAD TO GET THROUGH IT FASTER THAN EXPECTED, BUT I THINK WE DID IT AND I THINK WE MADE SOME REALLY GOOD RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE CITY.
UM, YEAH, WE'LL BE IN TOUCH, UM, ON THE PROCESS.
ACTUALLY, DAN DOES THE, ISN'T THERE A LIKE WEBSITE OR A, UM, LIKE AN OVERVIEW OF THE BUDGET PROCESS AND HOW IT PROGRESSES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR? I SEEM TO REMEMBER THAT.
I BELIEVE THAT WAS ACTUALLY SET UP BY A RECOMMENDATION FROM THIS COMMISSION.
I BELIEVE, UH, COMMISSIONER SUP'S RECOMMENDATION.
SO, UH, I'LL HAVE TO SOURCE THAT AND THEN WE CAN SHARE IT WITH THE COMMISSION AND, UM, MAKE SURE IT'S STILL BEING, UH, KEPT UP WITH AND, AND WE CAN TRACK THESE RECOMMENDATIONS AS WELL.
YEAH, THAT, AND THEN IF THERE'S LIKE AN OVERVIEW OF LIKE THE TIMELINE, I THINK SOME OF THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN, I JUST SAW THAT IN THE TRAINING FOR THE NEW COMMISSIONER MEMBERS.
YEAH, DAN, IF YOU COULD, UH, HELP TRACK THAT DOWN AND THEN SEND IT TO THE REST OF THE COMMISSIONERS, I THINK IT'D BE GOOD JUST FOR US TO LIKE, HAVE A PULSE ON LIKE HOW THIS PROGRESSES THROUGH THE, THROUGH THE YEAR, UM, SO THAT WE CAN ADVOCATE FOR SOME OF THESE WITH OUR INDIVIDUAL COUNCIL MEMBERS AT THE RIGHT TIME.
THERE SHOULD BE A BUDGET CALENDAR.
UM, AND I KNOW WITH TC, UM, HE IS, UM, HAS STARTED TOWN HALLS.
I THINK TONIGHT WAS ACTUALLY THE SECOND ONE.
THERE'S LIKE FIVE OR SIX MORE, SO WE CAN CERTAINLY MAKE SURE TO SHARE THAT INFORMATION WITH THE COMMISSION.
UM, IT, UM, WE HAVE, UH, CARLOS, OUR PUBLIC INFORMATION MANAGER ON, ON THERE SO WE CAN MAKE SURE TO DISTRIBUTE ANYTHING.
I KNOW THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF OUTREACH TO THE PUBLIC ABOUT THE TOWN HALLS, AND THEN WE CAN TRY AND SEE IF WE CAN OBTAIN THE, THE BUDGET CALENDAR SO YOU'RE AWARE OF PERFECT.
THE MILESTONES AS WE MOVE THROUGH THE BUDGET PROCESS.
YEAH, I THINK THAT'S WHAT WOULD BE ABSOLUTELY MOST VALUABLE.
UM, SO WITH THAT, I'M GONNA DRIVE US TOWARDS THE END.
UM, I'M AWARE OF THE TIME HERE AND, UH, WE ALL HAVE FAMILIES WE WANNA GET BACK TO.
SO, UH, WORKING GROUP UPDATES,
[11. Public Surveillance working group updates regarding further meetings with surveillance stakeholders ]
UH, ITEM 11, UH, ON THE PUBLIC SURVEILLANCE.UM, WE DON'T HAVE OUR CHAIR HERE, UH, BUT, UH, COMMISSIONER HERITAGE AND I ARE, UH, WORKING WITH COMMISSIONER PE VIA TO, UH, CONTINUE TO SCHEDULE STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS SO THAT WE CAN MAKE INFORMED RECOMMENDATIONS.
COMMISSIONER HERITAGE, JUST WANNA GIVE YOU A MOMENT TO ADD ANY ADDITIONAL DETAIL YOU'D LIKE TO AS WELL.
I THINK THAT WE'RE TRYING TO WRAP UP A FEW MORE STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS AND THEN SYNTHESIZE THAT INFORMATION, UM, AND PUT FORWARD EITHER RESOLUTION OR SOMETHING.
SO, UM, YEAH, WE WILL KEEP FOLKS POSTED AT THE NEXT COMMISSION MEETING.
AND, UH, I KNOW, UH, VICE CHAIR ATTA EXPRESS INTEREST IN, UH, HELPING TO SUPPORT THAT EFFORT.
SO WE'LL MAKE SURE YOU'RE ON THE, UH, THE MEETING FOR THE NEXT TIME WE MEET KARINA.
[12. Artificial Intelligence Working Group updates surrounding development of recommendation post stakeholder engagement ]
ITEM 12, THE, UH, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE WORKING GROUP.UM, OUR CHAIR IS ALSO NOT, UH, AN ATTENDANCE TODAY, SO I'LL GIVE A QUICK UPDATE.
UM, SO WE'RE CONTINUING TO, UM, REVIEW THE POLICY, UH, THE CITY OF AUSTIN POLICY AROUND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AND THEN WORK WITH, UH, A COUPLE OF EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS TO, UH, TO COMPLETE THAT REVIEW AND SEE WHAT, UH, ADDITIONAL ITEMS, UH, WE COULD PERHAPS, UH, RECOMMEND.
UM, AS PART OF THAT, IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE THERE'S ANY RECOMMENDATIONS ON THAT OR ANY, UH, QUESTIONS ON THAT.
SO I'LL MOVE US FORWARD TO FUTURE
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ]
AGENDA ITEMS. UM, I KNOW WE HAVE THE ITEM WITH INVITING JESS ROSS BACK TO GIVE AN OVERVIEW SPECIFICALLY ON, UH, HOW SHE'S ENGAGING WITH THE PUBLIC, BUT ALSO WANTED TO OPEN IT TO THE REST OF THE COMMISSION.IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO PROPOSE A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM FOR OUR APRIL MEETING OR BEYOND, WE'VE, I'LL PASS IT.
I'LL PASS IT TO DAN WHO, UH, HAS AN ITEM FOR US.
UH, SO AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, UH, WE WILL HAVE A GTOP S UPDATE READY FOR YOU ALL IN APRIL, UM, AS WELL AS THE ELECTION OF OFFICERS.
UH, SHOULD, UH, THAT PROCESS IS GOING TO BEGIN APRIL 1ST.
UM, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANNA SPEAK MORE ON IT CHAIR ACA.
UM, SO AS CHAIR I'LL RUN THE ELECTION, BUT TYPICALLY, UM, WE ONLY HAVE, SO OUR COMMISSION ONLY HAS TWO O2 OFFICERS, CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR.
[02:25:01]
WE WILL HAVE ELECTIONS AT THE APRIL MEETING.UH, SO IF YOU WANNA RUN FOR CHAIR OR VICE CHAIR, I GUESS BE THINKING ABOUT THAT, UH, YOU CAN PROPOSE A NOMINATION.
WHAT'S THE, IS THERE, CAN YOU PROPOSE A NOMINEE THROUGH EMAIL OR DOES IT HAVE TO BE AT THE, AT THE MEETING, JESSE OR DAN? DO EITHER OF YOU KNOW, UH, GENERALLY IT WOULD, ALL, ALL OF THE ACTIVITY AROUND THE ELECTION WOULD HAPPEN UNDER THAT ITEM.
AND SO ONCE THE ITEM'S CALLED, WE WOULD START THE, UH, THE PROCESS TO, FOR THE COMMISSIONERS TO NOMINATE, UH, FOLKS FOR EACH POSITION, AND THEN WE WOULD GO THROUGH A VOTING PROCESS.
SO, UH, WE'LL HAVE AN AGENDA ITEM TO ELECT THE CHAIR AND ELECT AND AN AGENDA ITEM TO ELECT THE VICE CHAIR.
UM, SO IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING RUNNING FOR CHAIR, UH, JUST, UH, BE AWARE THAT YOU WILL HAVE TO BE ON SITE.
UH, IT'S WHEN AN IMPORTANT CALL OUT, UH, IN ORDER TO CONDUCT THE MEETING.
AND THEN, UH, ESSENTIALLY THE VICE CHAIR WOULD BACK THE, THE CHAIR UP.
UM, SO JUST A COUPLE CALL OUTS THERE.
AND THEN FOR OUR APRIL MEETING, WE'RE ALSO, WE'LL ALSO HAVE THE G TOPS, UM, OVERVIEW AND HOW ALL THAT PANNED OUT.
WELL, UM, UNLESS ANYONE HAS ANY OPPOSITION, I'M GOING TO OH, YES, PLEASE.
WE DIDN'T DO THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.
DO WE NEED, OH, THANK YOU FOR THAT.
I'M GONNA BACK US UP TO AGENDA
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES ]
ITEM NUMBER ONE TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM THE, OUR FEBRUARY 12TH MEETING.UM, THANK YOU COMMISSIONER GUMBY.
UM, I'LL GIVE EVERYONE 30 SECONDS TO TAKE A FINAL LOOK AT THE MINUTES, AND THEN I'LL, UM, ACCEPT A MOTION TO APPROVE AS PRESENTED.
UH, I WOULD LIKE TO CALL OUT SOME EDITS ON THE MINUTES.
UH, JUST THAT ON THE FIRST ITEM, THE DATE IS INCORRECT.
I PROMISE THIS IS THE LAST TIME I MAKE THAT SAME MISTAKE.
UM, AND THEN I JUST WANTED TO NOTE A GRAMMATICAL ERROR ON ITEM EIGHT'S RECAP.
THAT LAST SENTENCE JUST HAS IT, IT STARTS KIND OF CHOPPY.
UM, I WOULD JUST CHANGE THE WORD.
THIS WAS TO THE, ON THE VERY LAST SENTENCE WHERE IT SAYS THIS GROUP'S WORKING, THIS WORKING GROUP'S EFFORTS HAVE BEEN COMPLETED AND THE GROUP IS SUB SUBSEQUENTLY CLOSED.
YEAH, JUST THERE'S AN EXTRA WAS IN THERE.
SO YOU'LL DELETE THAT FIRST WAS, OKAY.
UH, I'M GOOD TO, UH, PASS THIS WITH THE AMENDMENTS.
I'LL GO AHEAD AND MAKE A MOTION TO, UH, TO PASS THIS AS DISCUSSED.
UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF PASSING THE MINUTES AS DISCUSSED.
SO UNFORTUNATELY, UH, WE'LL HAVE TO PUSH THIS TO THE NEXT, UH, MEETING.
AND, UH, UNFORTUNATELY WE DO HAVE TO ADJOURN.
SO THANK YOU ALL, UH, FOR, UH, YOUR EFFORT, ESPECIALLY ON THE BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND WE WILL TALK AGAIN NEXT MONTH.