Mar 19, 2025 Environmental Commission

OF A GEOLOGIC FORMATION THAT HAS COLLAPSED FROM IDENTICAL REASONS IN NEARBY AREAS, UH, THE NEARBY AREAS.

AND I'M GONNA TRY TO GO REALLY FAST HERE.

UH, THIS IS A PICTURE OF, UH, THE CONCEPTUAL, UH, SITE PLAN.

UH, YOU'LL NOTE THAT THE PROJECT IS PREDOMINANTLY 90 FEET TALL, ALTHOUGH THERE ARE OTHER SIZES IN THERE.

UM, BUT THE IMPORTANT PICTURES HERE ARE THE TWO BOTTOM ONES.

UH, THEY SHOW IN THE GRAY, UH, A PARKING GARAGE, WHICH IS PROPOSED TO BE THREE LEVELS.

THEY ALSO SHOW THE SLOPE OF THE NATURAL LAND, WHICH YOU WILL SEE, UH, INTERSECTS, UH, THE PARKING GARAGE AT THE TOE OF THE SLOPE

[00:05:01]

AND THE NEXT SLIDE.

THAT'S A CARTOON THAT SHOWS HOW THESE THINGS TEND TO COLLAPSE.

IT WAS CREATED BY PROFESSOR PETER FLAW, UH, GEOLOGIST WITH UT AND FORMER PRESIDENT OF UT WAY BACK IN 1970.

IT, IT SHOWS HOW, UH, YOU CUT AWAY THE SLOPE AND IT STARTS TO SLOUGH AND IT CONTINUES TO SLOUGH, AND IT CONTINUES TO SLOUGH.

IF YOU LIVE ON THE TOP OF THE BLUFF LIKE I DO, AND LIKE MY NEIGHBORS DO, YOU REALLY DON'T WANT THIS TO HAPPEN.

UH, NEXT SLIDE.

SO, DOES THE CITY REGULATE THIS AT ALL? YES, IT ATTEMPTS TO, UH, IT REQUIRES A 150 FOOT BUFFER FROM ANY CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURE.

UH, THIS SLIDE, UH, SHOWS THE LOCATION OF THE CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURE, WHICH IS THE BLACK LINE, AND IT'S CONCEDED THAT IT'S THERE.

UH, I'LL TELL YOU A COUPLE OF REASONS.

ONE, UH, A CONSULTANT WE HAD, UH, PHIL BULLOCK, A LOCAL GEOLOGIST, WENT OUT AND TOOK, UH, CITY STAFF FROM THE, UH, WATERSHED DEVELOPMENT, UH, DIVISION, LINDSEY OW, AND MIKE HIRES, AND THEY ALL CONCURRED.

THAT'S THE LOCATION OF THE CEF.

WE SUBSEQUENTLY HAVE RETAINED, UH, TWO OTHER EXPERTS BECAUSE THE ISSUE SEEMS TO US IS, UH, THE STABILITY OF THE BUILDING THAT'S GONNA BE BUILT AND THE STABILITY OF THE HILLSIDE.

SO WE'VE HIRED, UM, BOB GILBERT, WHO IS THE, UH, DEAN OF UT'S SOIL MECHANICS AND GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING SCHOOL, AND BOB BAKU, WHO IS, WHO HAS THE SAME POSITION AT GEORGIA TECH.

AND WE'VE HAD THEM COME OUT AND LOOK AT IT.

AND ALL THOSE FOLKS AGREE THAT IT'S THERE.

OKAY, NOW, SO YOU START AT THE, THAT LINE, AND YOU GO 150 FEET AS REQUIRED BY THE REGULATIONS, AND YOU SEE IT INTERSECTS THE BUILDING.

NOTABLY, IF YOU'RE GONNA BUILD THE THREE LEVEL PARKING ARRIVES, THAT'S A BIG HOLE.

YOU MAKE THAT BIG HOLE AT THE TOE AT THIS SLOPE AND WHAT CAN HAPPEN.

THIS IS JUST A, A SIGN THAT THESE GUYS SAY THIS SLANTING TREES IS AN INDICATION THAT, THAT IT IS, UH, A CEF, UH, THE LOCATION IN NEXT SLIDE.

I'M SORRY.

UH, DOWN AT THE BOTTOM IS THE PROPOSED PROJECT THAT WE'RE CONCERNED ABOUT.

UP AT THE TOP, THERE ARE TWO OTHER MARKS.

ONE IS WOOLDRIDGE DRIVE, AND THE OTHER IS POPLAR STREET.

THE WOOLDRIDGE DRIVE, ONE IS PROBABLY THE ONE YOU MAY KNOW, IS PEACE PARK.

UH, THE CITY HAS ENDED UP IN A LONG LAWSUIT OVER THAT.

I SUSPECT THE POPLAR STREET WILL TURN INTO THAT AS WELL.

UH, POPLAR STREET, UH, THEY'RE IN THE IDENTICAL FORMATION THAT IS DOWN AT THE BOTTOM BY MY HOUSE.

UH, AND YOU COULD SEE THE QUICK PICTURES ON EITHER SIDE, AND THEN TO SHOW YOU A LITTLE MORE CLOSEUP.

UH, ON, ON THIS IS THE WOODRIDGE FAILURE.

IF YOU'VE EVER WALKED DOWN PEACE PARK AND LOOKED AT THE, UH, JUST GOT ON THE TRAIL, YOU RUN INTO THIS, UH, IT WAS NOT LIKE THAT WHEN THAT GUY BOUGHT HIS HOUSE OR BUILT HIS HOUSE.

UM, IT'S PRETTY JAGGED AND IT'S GONE DOWN.

AND THE LAST PICTURE OF THE PUBLIC STREET FAILURE, SAME INCIDENT.

YOU CAN SEE HOW THE BUILDING HAS COLLAPSED AS WELL.

UM, AND YOU CAN ASK ME QUESTIONS, ALTHOUGH I DON'T THINK YOU DO.

I REALLY WISH IF ANYBODY WOULD LIKE TO ASK ME QUESTIONS, I'D LOVE TO BE ON YOUR AGENDA, UH, TODAY OR NEXT TIME.

CAN YOU MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE HIS CONTACT INFORMATION WITH THIS? THANK YOU.

I WOULD LIKE TO SAY SOMETHING SAID.

SO WHAT'S, WHAT'S YOUR ASK? WELL, MY ASK IS THAT YOU AS AN ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION ADVISE THE PLANNING COMMISSION IF YOU THINK THIS IS A, AN ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN THAT NEEDS TO BE UNDERSTOOD.

BECAUSE, UH, HERE'S THE INTERESTING PART.

A CITY HAS NO HYDRO, NO, NO GEOTECH,

[00:10:01]

GEOTECHNIC ENGINEERS.

THE APPLICANT'S GONNA HAVE A GEOTECHNIC GEOTECHNIC ENGINEER THAT SAYS, UH, THERE'S PLENTY OF DESIGN MONEY HERE.

I'M GONNA DESIGN SOMETHING THAT WORKS, AND I'M GONNA HAVE THE TWO DEANS THAT ARE GONNA SAY, NO, THAT'S REALLY NOT POSSIBLE HERE.

AND THE CITY DOESN'T HAVE ANYBODY TO REFEREE THAT.

MAYBE THAT'S YOU.

THANK WE APPRECIATE IT.

UNLESS THERE'S ANY OTHER PUBLIC, LIKE, TO TAKE A MOMENT FOR THE OTHER NEW COMMISSIONER ON THE D IF YOU WANNA INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND DO A POSTER ROLL CALL.

HI EVERYONE.

SO GLAD TO BE HERE TONIGHT.

MY NAME IS ASHIKA GANGLY, APPOINTED BY COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, CRYSTAL LANE.

UM, AND HAPPY TO BE HERE.

ON OUR AGENDA IS JUST THE APPROVAL OF MINUTES, UM, POSTED ONLINE.

WELCOME.

OKAY, I THINK THE NEXT THING

[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]

I'M SURE YOU ALL HAVE READ THEM THOROUGHLY.

UM, SO APPROVAL OF THE MINUTE ME MINUTES OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING ON MARCH 5TH, 2025.

I'LL MOVE APPROVAL SECOND.

RECOMMENDATION OF PREVIOUS CHAIR PERRY BEDFORD FOR HIS SERVICE ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION.

UH, ALL IN FAVOR? HANDS.

THEN WE'VE GOT RECOMME

[2. Recognition of Perry Bedford for his service on the Environmental Commission – Liz Johnston, Interim Environmental Officer, Watershed Protection Department]

GONNA BE EMOTIONAL HERE.

ALRIGHT.

WE WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO THANK PERRY FOR HIS DEDICATED SERVICE TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION SINCE 2019.

UH, HE JUMPED INTO LEADERSHIP AS THE VICE CHAIR IN MAY, 2020, AND THEN BECAME CHAIR IN 2024.

PERRY HAS REMAINED COMMITTED AND ENGAGED THROUGHOUT HIS TIME ON THE COMMISSION AND LED THE COMMISSION WITH KINDNESS AND RESPECT.

WE TRULY APPRECIATE HIS TIME, EXPERTISE, AND PASSION FOR PROTECTING OUR COMMUNITY'S NATURAL RESOURCES AND RECOGNITION OF HIS SIX YEARS OF SERVICE ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION.

WE WOULD LIKE TO PRESENT PERRY BEDFORD WITH OUR TRADITIONAL, UH, WATERSHED PROTECTION WALKING STICK.

I JUST HAD A FEW WORDS, NOT LIKE AN OSCAR SPEECH OR ANYTHING, BUT , BUT I HAD TO TYPE IT OUT SO I COULD MAKE SURE I WOULDN'T MESS UP ANYTHING.

UM, FIRST I'D LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU TO THE MAYORS ADLER AND WATSON FOR TRUSTING ME TO SERVE AS A APPOINTEE AND ALLOWING ME FIVE AND A HALF YEARS OF SERVICE ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION.

AND, UM, IT'S BEEN A GOOD, IT'S BEEN GOOD TO SERVE AS A COMMISSIONER AND AS AN OFFICER OF THE COMMISSION AND HELP WHERE I COULD IN MY HOMETOWN OF AUSTIN BEING A NATIVE.

I'VE SEEN, I'VE SEEN IT CHANGE SO MUCH, AND I'M THANKFUL THAT I WAS ABLE TO AFFECT SOME POSITIVE CHANGE, AS WELL AS LEARN FROM THE PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY ABOUT THINGS THAT I WAS NOT YET EXPOSED TO.

AND PROCESSES AND AREAS WHERE WORK STILL NEEDS TO BE DONE.

THANK YOU TO THE PUBLIC FOR COMING TO THE MEETING, SENDING THE EMAILS, BRINGING YOUR TESTIMONIES TO THE COMMISSION.

WITHOUT YOUR VOICES, WORK CANNOT BE DONE.

PLEASE KEEP COMING AND SPEAKING UP.

THANK YOU TO THE CITY STAFF FOR ALL THAT YOU DO, TO BRING US UP TO SPEED, AND HELPING US TO FACILITATE A SAFE SPACE, TO INITIATE CONVERSATIONS AND ADVOCATE CHANGE AND ACTIONS FOR THE PUBLIC.

AND THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS, UH, FOR BRINGING YOUR KNOWLEDGE, ENERGY, AND PASSION TO THE MEETINGS AND WORKING TOGETHER TO FORM RECOMMENDATIONS AND OFFER IDEAS TO HELP THE PEOPLE AND CITY, UH, WORK TOGETHER.

WE HAVE SO MANY DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES AND INTERESTS, AND IT'S BEAUTIFUL TO SEE US WORKING TOGETHER TO AFFECT POSITIVE CHANGE WHERE WE CAN.

DIVERSITY IS BEAUTIFUL, AND IT'S NOT A BAD THING.

NO MATTER WHAT SOME PE PEOPLE IN POWER MAY PROCLAIM, KEEP COMING TO THE TABLE WITH ALL OF YOUR PERSPECTIVES, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING THE FUTURE WORK YOU ALL DO TOGETHER.

TAKE CARE, Y'ALL.

AND, UH, WHEN THOSE INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS OF DOUBT, CROSS YOUR MIND AND DOING THE WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE, RAISE UP YOUR STAFF , AND IN THE WISE WORDS OF GANDALF, THE GRAY, SAY, YOU SHALL NOT PASS.

THANKS GUYS.

WE MISS YOU ALREADY.

PERRY .

AND I LOVE THAT YOU CAME IN YOUR SIGNATURE BOOTS.

IT COULDN'T BE ANY OTHER WAY.

AND YEAH, THE WHOLE, WHOLE, I LOVE IT.

JOB OF MODERATING DISCUSSION AND WELCOMING ALL DIFFERENT VIEWPOINTS AT THE TABLE.

CAN I JUST SAY THANK YOU ALSO ON THE RECORD? THANK YOU FOR YOUR, YOUR EVENNESS AND CURIOSITY.

I THINK YOUR DEMEANOR WAS EXACTLY WHAT WE NEEDED IN A CHAIR, AND, UM, I JUST THINK YOU DID A GREAT

[00:15:01]

AND YEAH, I'M REALLY SAD THAT YOU'RE LEAVING US AND KNOW THAT YOU'LL GO ON TO OTHER EXCITING THINGS.

SO THANKS FOR YOUR SERVICE.

ANY OTHER WORDS WE WANNA SHARE BEFORE WE LET HIM LEAVE? I JUST WANNA SAY AMEN, .

YEAH, I'D LOVE TO.

UH, OH, MY BAD COMMISSIONER, BRISTOL.

I'D JUST LOVE TO SAY, UH, ECHO THE GANDALF QUOTE FOR SURE.

, I WISH I KNEW MORE.

LORD, THE RINGS QUOTES TO THROW OUT , BUT UNFORTUNATELY I DON'T.

SO, UM, COMMISSIONER PERRY, YOU'RE STILL GONNA BE COMMISSIONER PERRY TO ME, AND, UM, I HAVE LOVED SERVING WITH YOU.

UM, YOU KNOW, YOU KEEP ME LAUGHING ON SOME OF THOSE REALLY LONG NIGHTS.

UH, YOU SEEM TO BE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, READ MY MIND, UM, AND, AND TEXT ME, UH, SOMETHING THAT I'M THINKING ABOUT, ABOUT FIVE SECONDS BEFORE, UH, I'M REACHING OUT TO TEXT YOU.

I'M DEFINITELY GONNA MISS THAT .

UM, AND, YOU KNOW, UM, I, I WANNA PUT YOUR WALKING STICK IMMEDIATELY TO USE.

UM, AND, UM, I'M SORRY THAT I CAN'T BE HERE, UH, YOU KNOW, TO GIVE YOU A HUG TODAY, BUT, UH, I HAVE A COLD, AND SO I DEFINITELY DON'T WANNA PASS THAT TO YOU OR ANYBODY ELSE.

BUT, UM, UH, UPON, UH, BEING WELL, NEXT WEEK, UH, I VOTE THAT WE GO AND WALK, UM, AT WALL CREEK, UH, WALNUT CREEK HERE, AND, UM, AND PUT THAT LITTLE WALKING STICK TO USE.

I ALSO HAVE A LITTLE, UM, POLLINATOR GIFT FOR YOU, BECAUSE YOU ARE OUR POLLINATOR CAPTAIN.

SECRETARY BRISTOL .

ANY OTHER NOMINATIONS FOR POLLINATOR CAPTAIN AND NEXT MEETING.

PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION REGARDING GUIDING PRINCIPLES AND SCORING CRITERIA FOR THE 2026 BOND TESTING.

ALL RIGHT, I'LL KEEP US MOVING.

UM, NEXT, WE'VE GOT

[3. Presentation and discussion regarding guiding principles and scoring criteria for the 2026 Bond – Pam Kearfott, Managing Engineer, and Kelly Gagnon, Planner Principal, Watershed Protection Department]

GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.

HI, I HAVE SOME NOTES GETTING SITUATED.

MY NAME IS KELLY GAGNAN.

I AM THE, A PRINCIPAL PLANNER AT THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT, JOINED BY MY COLLEAGUE PAM ETT, WHO IS A MANAGING MANAGING ENGINEER AT WATERSHED TO THE FAR LEFT.

UM, AND WE ARE HERE TODAY PRESENTING THOSE GUIDING PRINCIPLES AND TECHNICAL CRITERIA FOR THE THE 2026 BOND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.

THE PURPOSE OF TODAY'S PRESENTATION IS TO INTRODUCE Y'ALL, THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION TO THE 2026 BOND PROGRAM, SPECIFICALLY AS IT RELATES TO THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT'S CRITERIA THAT WE WILL, ARE PROPOSING TO MOVE FORWARD TO EVALUATE OUR PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS.

UM, AND WE WANNA SET YOU UP FOR A POTENTIAL DISCUSSION AND ANY FEEDBACK THAT YOU, UM, WOULD, WOULD BE WILLING TO GIVE TODAY.

UM, I ALSO WANNA KNOW, I WAS DELIGHTED TO REMEMBER THAT COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN IS ALSO ON THAT 2026 BOND ELECTION ADVISORY TASK FORCE, WHICH IS THE ADVISORY BODY THAT WILL BE MAKING THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, TO CITY COUNCIL REGARDING A, A BOND PACKAGE TO MOVE FORWARD BEFORE OR IN 2026.

UH, SO WHILE I KNOW YOU ARE VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE PROCESS, I DID, UH, I, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME OUR DEPARTMENT HAS, YOU KNOW, COME OUT FROM BEHIND THE SCENES TO SHARE WHAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON.

SO WE'RE EXCITED TO BE HERE TODAY.

BECAUSE AS THAT LIST IS BEING FINALIZED, THESE ARE THE CRITERIA THAT WILL BE THEN APPLIED TO THAT LIST.

UM, OKAY, SO WHAT WILL WE BE DOING TODAY? I HAVE FOUR KINDA SECTIONS, UH, REALLY TRYING TO GIVE CONTEXT TO THE OVERALL PROCESS AND THE NEXT STEPS TO INFORM YOUR FEEDBACK ON THOSE CRITERIA.

UM, SO WE WILL INTRODUCE YOU TO THE DEPARTMENT, UH, GIVE A QUICK OVERVIEW OF HOW WE HAVE PARTICIPATED IN BOND PROGRAMS IN THE PAST.

UM, WE WILL THEN TALK THROUGH A, A SNAPSHOT OF THAT 2026 BOND PROCESS, LOOKING MAINLY AT THE SCHEDULE AND NEXT STEPS.

YOU CAN SEE WHERE THESE CRITERIA FIT IN.

UM, AND THEN I'LL GO INTO OUR DEPARTMENT'S TECHNICAL CRITERIA.

AGAIN, THAT'S SORT OF THE, THE EMPHASIS IS GONNA BE ON THAT ONE, BUT I DO SPEND SOME TIME, UH, LAYING THE, THE GROUNDWORK.

UM, I DO WANNA NOTE THAT WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN EXPLICIT GUIDANCE FROM THE LEAD DEPARTMENT ON THIS EFFORT, WHICH IS CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES, OR CDS WHO'VE BEEN INTERACTING MOSTLY WITH THE, THE TASK FORCE TO NOT PROVIDE EXAMPLES OR SPECIFICALLY NAMED PROJECTS OR PROGRAMS. SO THAT'S WHY I'M NOT, I WON'T BE SHARING THOSE TONIGHT JUST BECAUSE THEY'RE STILL UNDER EVALUATION BY SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS IN OUR DEPARTMENT, AND, YOU KNOW, OUR LEGAL COUNSEL, UH, ALL THE EXPERTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY TO ENSURE THAT WHAT WE BRING FORWARD ARE ACTUALLY ELIGIBLE FOR THE BONDS.

AND I'LL, I'LL BE ABLE TO SPEAK MORE TO THAT AS WELL.

BUT I JUST WANTED TO EXPLAIN WHY WE'RE ONLY TALKING ABOUT THE CRITERIA.

UM, BUT CDS, AND WE WANTED TO BRING THESE CRITERIA FORWARD TO Y'ALL,

[00:20:01]

SO YOU CAN HELP, YOU KNOW, JUST SO YOU, YOU CAN HELP US SELECT AND SORT THOSE PROJECTS WHEN THEY'RE READY.

SO, WATERSHED 1 0 1, UH, WE ARE THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT.

WE ARE ALSO KNOWN AS THE CITY'S DRAINAGE UTILITY.

WE WERE ESTABLISHED IN 1991 WITH THE GOAL OF MANAGING, UH, THE CITY'S CREEKS, OUR DRAINAGE SYSTEMS AND WATER QUALITY PROGRAMS. 10 YEARS LATER, IN 2001, WE DEFINED, UH, THE DEPARTMENT'S MISSION, WHICH I WILL READ ALOUD BECAUSE IT IS SO GOOD, UH, TO PROTECT THE LIVES, PROPERTY, AND ENVIRONMENT OF OUR COMMUNITY BY REDUCING THE IMPACTS OF FLOODING, EROSION, AND WATER POLLUTION.

SO THAT IS OUR CHARGE AND THE WORK WE DO AS AN ORGANIZATION.

SO, HOW DO WE FUND THIS WORK? UM, THANKFULLY, MY COLLEAGUES, COLLEAGUES HERE TO MY RIGHT, YOUR LEFT WILL BE PRESENTING A MORE DETAILED OVERVIEW OF OUR, OUR BUDGET.

UM, AND SO, UH, YOU KNOW, I'LL BE ABLE TO DEFER ANY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS RELATED TO FUNDING TO THEM, UH, IF, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.

UM, BUT WHAT, THE REASON I WANNA SHOW THIS IS THAT WHAT WE DO AND WHAT WE'RE ABLE TO DO IS LARGELY DRIVEN BY HOW WE ARE FUNDED.

UM, SO, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, WE CATEGORIZE OUR WORK GENERALLY IN TWO SECTIONS.

AND AGAIN, UM, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, ANUPA GARRI, AND PAM WILL BE ABLE TO SPEAK TO THIS MORE.

BUT WE HAVE OUR OPERATIONS, YOU KNOW, OUR PROGRAMMING, OUR STAFF, UH, AND THEN OUR CAPITAL PROGRAM, WHICH ARE THOSE LARGER INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.

UM, AND SO WHAT I WANNA, I GUESS THE TAKEAWAY OF THIS SLIDE TODAY IS THAT THE MAJORITY, YOU KNOW, WE ARE, UH, AN ENTERPRISE, UM, DEPARTMENT.

SO WE DO HAVE THE DRAINAGE CHARGE LARGELY FUNDS OUR WORK, BUT WE DO RELY ON OTHER SOURCES, PARTICULARLY IN OUR CAPITAL PROGRAM, TO, TO FUND THOSE LARGE INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE HAVE IDENTIFIED TO ADVANCE THAT MISSION THAT I SHARED.

UM, AND SO ONE OF THOSE SOURCES IS GEO BONDS.

I REALIZED I DIDN'T DEFINE THAT FOR Y'ALL.

SO, GEO BONDS ARE GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS.

THOSE ARE THE BONDS THAT GO OUT TO THE VOTERS FOR APPROVAL.

UM, AND SO THAT'S WHAT I'M SPECIFICALLY SPEAKING TO TODAY, NEXT.

SO HOW DO WE DECIDE WHERE TO SPEND THOSE RESOURCES, THOSE FUNDS, IN ADDITION TO OUR, OUR STAFF, UM, CAPACITY AND BANDWIDTH? I MENTIONED OUR MISSION THAT WAS DEFINED IN 2001, AND THAT WAS WHEN OUR DEPARTMENT ESTABLISHED OUR FIRST, UH, STRATEGIC PLAN CALLED THE WATERSHED MASTER PLAN AT THE TIME.

UM, SO IT WAS ADOPTED IN 2001, UH, BY, UH, Y'ALL AT THE, THE ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD AT THE TIME.

AND OUR CITY, UH, COUNCIL, IT WAS LAST UPDATED IN 2016.

UH, IT WAS MORE OF A TECHNICAL REWRITE.

AND I DO WANNA MENTION, AND I'LL, I'LL SPEAK TO THIS A LITTLE LATER, THAT, UM, WE ARE CURRENTLY UNDERGOING A LARGE REWRITE, UM, OF THAT, OF THAT STRATEGIC PLAN.

SO WE ARE UNDERGOING A STRATEGIC PLAN UPDATE, BUT THIS STILL STANDS, UH, IT'S A STRONG FOUNDATION FOR OUR WORK.

UH, IT'S OUR LONG RANGE PLAN FOR OUR DEPARTMENT.

IT SETS OUR MISSION, IT'S SETS OUR GOALS AND PRIORITIES.

WE TALK ABOUT IT AS OUR COMMITMENT TO THE COMMUNITY, UM, AGAIN, APPROVED BY OUR POLICY MAKERS.

UM, AND, YOU KNOW, I'LL SAY IT'S WHAT WE DO AND HOW WE DO IT.

UM, WE'VE ESTABLISHED THE POLICY I HAVE HERE AT THE TOP OF THE SLIDE, WORST PROBLEMS. FIRST, IT'S A LITTLE LONGER.

IT'S LIKE THE WORST WATERSHED PROBLEMS ARE CONSIDERED FIRST FOR SOLUTION AND, UM, DEVELOPMENT.

UM, AND TO DO THAT, UH, WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT WHAT A, WHAT A PROBLEM IS, UM, AND WHAT IS WORST.

SO PART OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN IS DEVELOPING OUR PRIORITIZATION, UM, YOU KNOW, DATA SETS, OUR PROBLEM SCORE METHODOLOGIES, WHICH I'LL REFER TO LATER IN THOSE CRITERIA.

UM, BUT THOSE ARE ABLE TO COMPARE, LIKE PROBLEMS, UH, TO, TO DETERMINE THE, THE RISK ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROBLEMS. AND, AND WE CAN DETERMINE, UH, WHAT ARE THE MOST SEVERE, UM, OH, AND YOU KNOW, THE LAST SLIDE, UH, AND I COULD SPEND A WHOLE PRESENTATION TALKING ABOUT, ABOUT THE STRATEGIC PLAN, BUT I WILL SPARE YOU.

IT DOES SET, UH, 12 RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, MANY OF WHICH WE'RE ACTUALLY IMPLEMENTING TODAY.

BUT I'LL HIGHLIGHT TWO.

UM, THE FIFTH IS THAT WE USE OUR STRATEGIC PLAN TO INFORM OUR BUDGET.

SO AGAIN, WHAT WE'RE DOING TONIGHT.

AND THE LAST ONE IS NEW IN 2016, WHICH IS TO IMPLEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE FLOOD MITIGATION TASK FORCE.

THAT WAS AN ADVISORY BODY PUT TOGETHER DUE TO THE CATASTROPHIC FLOODS OF THAT DECADE.

AND ONE OF THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS WAS TO SEEK ADDITIONAL FUNDING SOURCES IN ADDITION TO THE DRAINAGE CHARGE, BECAUSE THE AMOUNT OF WORK TO DO THE, THE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS THAT WERE NEEDED WERE MORE EXPENSIVE THAN THE CAPACITY THAT WE HAD AS A CHARGE.

SO I WANTED TO NOTE THOSE TWO AGAIN, SPECIFICALLY STRATEGIC PLAN RECOMMENDATIONS.

NEED WE KNOW ABOUT THAT IS ONLY OUR CRITICAL AND OUR HIGH PRIORITY NEEDS.

SO, UM, HOW DO WE FIGURE OUT HOW MUCH WE NEED? UH, AND SO WE TALK ABOUT NEEDS ASSESSMENT.

UM, I'M REALLY PROUD TO STAND HERE AND SAY THAT I, THAT WE HAVE ACCOMPLISHED A LOT AS A DEPARTMENT OVER THE LAST 20 PLUS YEARS.

THIS, THIS STRATEGIC PLAN HAS ENABLED US TO DO A LOT.

BUT AS Y'ALL KNOW, MORE THAN MANY PEOPLE, UM, WE STILL HAVE A LOT TO DO WITH OUR CHANGING CLIMATE, UH, OUR AGING INFRASTRUCTURE.

OUR PROBLEMS ARE ACTUALLY INCREASING.

UM, WE STILL HAVE OVER $2 BILLION IN CRITICAL NEEDS.

AND I SAY THAT BECAUSE THAT IS NOT EVERY SINGLE

[00:25:01]

UM, NEXT.

UM, SO WHILE, WHILE PROJECTS AND INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS ARE ONE WAY WE ADDRESS THESE PROBLEMS, UH, OUR STRATEGIC PLAN TALKS ABOUT THAT, YOU KNOW, OUR THREE LEGGED STOOL OF WE DO PROJECTS IN-HOUSE AND CAPITAL.

WE HAVE PROGRAMS, IT'S OUR OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE MONITORING.

UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE RESEARCH, THE, UH, UH, EVERYTHING WE DO EDUCATION THAT THANKFULLY THEY'LL, THEY'LL SPEAK MORE TO THAT TODAY.

AND OUR REGULATIONS, THE WAY WE ARE ABLE TO AFFECT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE CODE AND CRITERIA IN OUR, IN OUR DEVELOPMENT.

UM, SO, UH, WE ARE ABLE TO USE THE, THE PROBLEMS. WE, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I SAID THAT THAT WORST PROBLEMS FIRST, AND THEN WE START TO, TO FIGURE OUT WHAT IS THE BEST TYPE OF SOLUTION, UH, FOR THAT PROBLEM.

NEXT, UM, I FORGOT I ANIMATED THIS.

UH, WE, IF YOU, IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH OUR STRATEGIC PLAN, YOU MAY HAVE HEARD THE TERM TOP 20.

IT'S ACTUALLY OUR WORST 20 IN OUR CAPITAL PLANNING PROCESS THAT HAPPENS EVERY YEAR.

AGAIN, YOU'LL BE HEARING ABOUT IT IN A MINUTE.

UM, WE PRIORITIZE, AGAIN, THOSE HIGHEST RANKED PROJECTS.

WE TALK ABOUT OUR TOP 20, AND THOSE ARE WHAT ARE PRIORITIZED FOR CAPITAL PLANNING.

WE LOOK FOR INTEGRATION, UM, AND COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT PROBLEMS. UM, BUT AGAIN, WE'RE REALLY FOCUSED ON WHAT ARE THE WORST AND MOST SEVERE PROBLEMS. SO, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THAT'LL COME UP IN THE CRITERIA.

UM, SO THIS IS A LITTLE BIT OF A SIDE NOTE, BUT AS A PLANNER, I COULDN'T RESIST.

UH, I, YOU KNOW, I MENTIONED THAT WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF A MAJOR STRATEGIC PLAN UPDATE.

UM, WE HAVE LEARNED A LOT.

YOU KNOW, WE'VE DONE A LOT, BUT WE'VE ALSO LEARNED A LOT SINCE 2001, EVEN SINCE 2016.

WE HAVE BETTER DATA.

WE HAVE BETTER AND NEW TECHNOLOGY.

WE HAVE MORE EXPERIENCE.

WE KNOW WHICH PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS HAVE WORKED AND WHAT HAVEN'T, BUT, AND WE HAVE THESE INCREASING CHALLENGES, CLIMATE, RACIAL AND SOCIAL INEQUITIES DEVELOPMENT, OUR INCREASING POPULATION.

UM, AND WE HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF OUR, OUR RESOURCES, BOTH AS AN ORGANIZATION AND IN OUR COMMUNITY.

SO, AGAIN, WHILE WE STILL STAND ON THIS CURRENT STRATEGIC PLAN, AND YOU, AND YOU'LL SEE THAT IN THESE CRITERIA, WE ARE ACTIVELY WORKING WITH OUR COMMUNITY AND WITHIN OUR DEPARTMENT TO EVALUATE WHAT IS OUR COMMITMENT TO THE COMMUNITY? ARE THERE OTHER SOLUTIONS? IF WE'RE NOT ABLE TO JUST FUND ALL THIS, THE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS FAST ENOUGH OR BIG ENOUGH, HOW CAN WE EXPAND OUR TOOL BELL AND GET REPRESENTATIVE INPUT FROM OUR COMMUNITY TO, TO MAKE THOSE DECISIONS? SO, MY NOTES FOR Y'ALL TODAY, MY TEAM WILL BE RETURNING TO Y'ALL, UM, AS AN ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION, UH, WITH MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THAT PROCESS AND HOW YOU, WE WANT AND HOPE YOU CAN BE INVOLVED.

WHAT IS KEY FOR Y'ALL TODAY IS THAT WE WILL BE ALIGNING THE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE 2026 BOND PROGRAM, UM, WITH OUR RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE STRATEGIC PLAN.

AGAIN, IT'S ONGOING.

UM, WE HOPE TO HAVE A FINAL PLAN IN SPRING OF 2026, WHICH WILL ACTUALLY COME BEFORE ANY BOND ELECTION WOULD COME, IF, IF WE STAY ON THAT SCHEDULE.

SO WE WANNA ENSURE THAT ANYTHING THAT COMES FORWARD WOULD BE IN ALIGNMENT WITH OUR UPDATED GOALS AND VISION.

SO, AGAIN, WE'RE INCORPORATING AS WE GO.

WE KNOW THERE WILL BE ADDITIONAL COMMUNITY INPUT, BUT WE JUST WANNA ADD THAT NOTE, UM, THAT WE WANNA ENSURE THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS, UH, REMAINS, YOU KNOW, UM, ADAPTIVE TO THAT.

UM, AND, AND SO LASTLY, I'LL ENCOURAGE Y'ALL AND ANYONE WATCHING AT, UH, ONLINE TO VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR MORE INFORMATION RANGE RIVER ATX.COM.

OKAY, BACK TO OUR SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING.

UH, SO WATERSHED 1 0 1, THE OVERVIEW, REALLY THE TWO TAKEAWAYS.

OUR DEPARTMENT HAS MADE A LOT OF PROGRESS, BUT WE STILL HAVE A MASSIVE NEED, UH, TO MEET OUR GOALS AND OUR MISSION.

AND WHILE WE ARE AN ENTERPRISE DEPARTMENT WITH A, WITH A DRAINAGE CHARGE, UM, AND OTHER INCOME BONDS HAVE BEEN A FUNDING TOOL TO HELP US WORK TOWARDS OUR LARGE CAPITAL GOALS.

UM, NEXT SLIDE.

UM, OKAY, SO THIS IS JUST QUICKLY A QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE TWO PROGRAMS THAT WE'VE PARTICIPATED IN TO DATE.

UH, NEXT, THIS WILL BE A REALLY BRIEF HISTORY OF HOW WE'VE USED BOND FUNDS IN THE PAST, JUST THE TYPES OF PROGRAMS WE'VE BEEN INVOLVED WITH, TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF THAT.

UM, 'CAUSE THAT WILL THEN DISCUSS, YOU KNOW, OUR, IT'LL INFORM THE CRITERIA.

UM, THIS IS ANOTHER PRESENTATION IN ITSELF.

AND IF, YOU KNOW, I IMAGINE THIS PROCESS WILL BE SIMILAR TO THE 2018 PROCESS, WHERE WE WILL COME WITH MORE INFORMATION TO THE WORKING GROUPS AND THE, AND THE TASK FORCE.

BUT SIMPLY WHAT WE WANTED TO SHARE TODAY IS THAT SINCE 2001, AGAIN, THAT ADOPTION OF OUR STRATEGIC PLAN, WE'VE PARTICIPATED IN SEVERAL GEO BOND, UM, PROGRAMS AND THE TWO, UH, OR PACKAGES PROPOSITIONS.

THE TWO, UH, GENERAL CATEGORIES THAT WE'VE BEEN INVOLVED WITH ARE OPEN SPACE ACQUISITION, AND THEN OUR DRAINAGE OR STORM WATER, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE, CIP.

UM, THE OTHER THING JUST TO POINT OUT ON THIS SLIDE IS TO NOTE THAT WHILE, YOU KNOW, SIGNIFICANT, WELL, I SHOULDN'T SAY ANY WORDS, BUT THAT WHILE, YOU KNOW, IT'S SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF FUNDING, IT IS, UM, YOU KNOW, NOT IT, IT'S MUCH SMALLER THAN OUR OVERALL NEED.

AND AGAIN, JUST UNDERSCORING THE NEED FOR AN APPROVED, UH, AND COMMUNITY DRIVEN PRIORITIZATION CRITERIA, BECAUSE WE AREN'T GONNA BE ABLE TO FUND ALL OF OUR NEEDS.

UM, BUT WE HOPE TO MAKE PROGRESS, UM, AND ALL WE DO.

SO, NEXT SLIDE.

[00:30:02]

THIS IS LANGUAGE FROM THE 2018 PROPOSITION D.

SO THE OPEN SPACE TO DATE, WE HAVE PARTICIPATED AS PART OF THE WATER QUALITY PROTECTION LAND PROGRAM.

UM, THIS IS, UH, THIS IS LAND ACQUISITION FOCUSED ON THE BARTON SPRINGS SEGMENT OF THE EDWARDS AQUIFER.

SO IT'S PROPERTIES IN AUSTIN, SOUTHERN WATERSHEDS THAT FEED THE EDWARDS AQUIFER, BARTON SPRINGS, THE COLORADO, COLORADO RIVER.

ONE NOTE IS THAT WE CANNOT USE OUR DRAINAGE CHARGE ON, ON LAND ACQUISITION.

SO BONDS HAVE BEEN THE ONLY FUNDING SOURCE FOR THIS PROGRAM.

WE'RE REALLY PROUD THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO PERMANENTLY PROTECT, UH, OVER 35,000 ACRES.

WE ARE WORKING TOWARDS A GOAL OF A HUNDRED THOUSAND ACRES.

SO STILL WORK TO BE DONE, BUT A LOT ACCOMPLISHED.

UM, BUT SOMETHING ELSE TO NOTE THAT SECOND BULLET, AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE PARTICIPATED ON THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY, UM, COMMITTEE, UH, WE ARE INCLUDING LAND ACQUISITION AS IN A NEW WAY THIS YEAR, WHERE IT'S LIKE A MORE COLLABORATIVE CITYWIDE PROGRAM, UH, THAT WE IDENTIFIED AS PART OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTMENT PLAN, UH, EFFORT IN 2024, WHERE WE WERE TASKED TO LOOK AT WAYS THE CITY COULD WORK TOWARDS OUR CLIMATE EQUITY GOALS AND OUR OTHER STRATEGIC PLANNING GOALS IN A NEW WAY.

UM, AND LAND ACQUISITION IS, YOU KNOW, IT'S AN INTERESTING PROGRAM.

IT'S OPPORTUNITY BASED.

AND WHILE, YOU KNOW, EACH DEPARTMENT HAS UNIQUE NEEDS, LOOKING FOR WAYS TO, TO, TO FIND, IF WE FIND AN OPPORTUNITY, CAN WE, UM, COLLABORATE AND FIGURE OUT WHAT'S THE BEST USE CAN, CAN, IF, IF WE'RE HEARING THAT WE NEED TO PRESERVE WATER QUALITY AND QUANTITY, BUT WE ALSO WANNA INCREASE ACCESS, IS THERE A WAY THAT PARKS AND WATERSHED CAN COLLABORATE OR TRAIL, YOU KNOW, JUST ENSURING THERE'S A, THERE'S A WAY.

SO TODAY I WILL NOT BE SPEAKING ABOUT CRITERIA RELATED SPECIFICALLY TO LAND, BECAUSE IT WILL BE COMING FORWARD THROUGH A SEPARATE COLLABORATIVE PROCESS, UM, THAT CURRENTLY IS BEING STEWARDED BY, UH, THE OFFICE OF CLIMATE AND RESILIENCE, FORMERLY OFF SUSTAINABILITY.

BUT WE ARE PARTICIPATING WITH THAT TO CARRY THIS WORK ONWARD, UM, IN ADDITION TO OUR OTHER NEEDS AGAIN, UH, IN THE CLIMATE, IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTMENT PLAN, INCLUDING EASTERN WATERSHED FLOODPLAIN RESTORATION, AND OTHER NEEDS THAT, THAT WE'VE LEARNED ABOUT SINCE, UM, BEGINNING THIS PROGRAM.

SO THEN THE SECOND PROGRAM, AND WHAT WE'LL BE FOCUSING ON TODAY ARE THOSE DRAINAGE BONDS.

SO OUR DRAINAGE AND STORMWATER PROJECTS.

UM, AND THESE ARE PROJECTS, UH, THAT REDUCE FLOOD EROSION RISKS.

THESE INCLUDE STORM DRAIN INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, IMPROVEMENTS, STREAM BACKED STABILIZATIONS, LOW WATER CROSSING IMPROVEMENTS, ANUP PEN WILL WILL SHOW YOU SOME MORE EXAMPLES OF ONGOING PROJECTS.

UM, WHAT'S PRETTY EXCITING, YOU KNOW, WE, UH, I THINK SINCE, UH, WELL, I'LL, I'LL TALK ABOUT THIS A LITTLE LATER, BUT WE HAVE USED, UH, WE HAVE FUNDED 52 PROJECTS.

UM, AND WHAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT HERE IS TO NOTE THAT, OH, YEAH, 52 STORMWATER PROJECTS THAT, UM, ONE THING THAT IS, UH, COOL ABOUT THE DRAINAGE BOND FUNDS IS WE CAN ALSO USE OUR, OUR DRAINAGE CHARGE.

SO THE BONDS REALLY LEVERAGE EXISTING FUNDING.

SO WE'RE ABLE TO USE, UH, AVAILABLE FUNDS TOWARDS, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING REPORT OR THE DESIGN AND BONDS CAN GET THINGS CLOSER TO THE FINISH LINE.

ANUPA AND PAM WILL SPEAK MORE TO THE TRENDS RELATED TO THOSE, BECAUSE ACTUALLY OUR CIP THE TRANSFER FROM THE CHARGE IS DECREASING OVER TIME.

SO, UM, WE DO NEED TO FIND MORE, MORE FUNDING SOURCES TO, TO, UM, INCREASE THAT GAP OR, OR AGAIN, UM, ACCELERATE THE, THE PROGRAMMING.

UM, YEAH, NEXT SLIDE.

AND THEN WE JUST WANNA SPEAK TO HOW ARE WE DOING WITH THE 2018 BONDS? HAVE YOU SPENT YOUR MONEY AND WE'RE CLOSE? UM, SO WE, WERE ACTUALLY, WHILE WE STILL HAVE ABOUT $30 MILLION TO SPEND, WE ARE ON TRACK TO SPEND THAT MONEY BY 2026, WHICH WORKS VERY WELL.

UH, IF THERE WERE TO BE A, A BOND PROGRAM THAT WE WERE PART OF.

UM, AND, UH, LET'S SEE.

SO YEAH, WE HAD ABOUT 184 MILLION TOTAL.

WE HAVE SPENT ALMOST EVERYTHING FOR THE OPEN SPACE.

WE HAVE ABOUT 300,000 THAT WILL BE USED ON CONTRACTUALS AND CLOSING UP THE, YOU KNOW, THE, UM, THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE.

WE PROTECTED ABOUT 6,800 ACRES OF OPEN SPACE AND DRAINAGE.

WE'RE WORKING ON ABOUT 29 PROJECTS TODAY.

SO, UM, THE TAKEAWAY IS THAT WE ARE GOOD AT SPENDING OUR BOND FUNDS ON TIME.

SO THE MORE THAT COMMISSIONERS CAN, CAN WEIGH IN ON THAT, AND WHAT THOSE COLLABORATIVE CITYWIDE GOALS ARE, UM, IS, IS REALLY MEANINGFUL FOR US.

SO, JUST IN, IN, UH, SUMMARY THAT, UH, BONDS HAVE BEEN IN A SIGNIFICANT AND EFFECTIVE FUNDING SOURCE FOR WATERSHED, UM, WHERE WE'RE ABLE TO LEVERAGE OUR, OUR DRAINAGE CHARGE, AND, UH, IT IS THE SOLE SOURCE FOR OUR LAND ACQUISITION.

SOMETHING THAT IS NOT EXACTLY ON THE SLIDE, BUT I HAD MENTIONED THAT ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTMENT PLAN EFFORT AND THE, THE CITYWIDE LAND EFFORT.

AND I JUST WANNA, I GUESS, ENCOURAGE YOU ALL AS A COMMISSION, WHILE STAFF GENUINELY AND WHOLEHEARTEDLY WANT TO COLLABORATE ACROSS DEPARTMENTS, IT IS REALLY CHALLENGING WHEN WE ARE BRINGING FORWARD INDIVIDUAL NEEDS AND USING OUR, YOU KNOW, CONSIDERING OUR, WHAT IS OUR SCOPE, OUR RESPONSIBILITY, AND OUR FUNDING SOURCES.

[00:35:01]

SO, UH, WE ARE EXCITED ABOUT THAT OPPORTUNITY.

UH, BUT I JUST WANTED TO ADD THAT NEXT SLIDE.

SO WE MADE IT THROUGH THE FIRST TWO.

WE ARE NOW GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE 2026 BOND DEVELOPMENT PROCESS AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES.

I'LL TAKE YOU THROUGH JUST THAT OVERARCHING RESOLUTION FOR THE TASK FORCE, UH, THE GUIDANCE WE'VE RECEIVED FROM THE LEAD DEPARTMENT, THE SCHEDULE, AND THEN THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES.

AND I'M REALIZING I ANIMATED THIS.

SO IF YOU COULD CLICK THREE TIMES, UM, .

SO THIS IS THE COUNCIL RESOLUTION LANGUAGE FOR THE 2026 BETA.

AND THE REASON I BRING THIS UP IS THAT WHEN YOU KNOW A RESOLUTION COMES UP OR WE SPEAK TO A BOND PACKAGE, WE LOOK AT WHETHER OR NOT OUR DEPARTMENT WOULD BE PARTICIPATING AND SEEING CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS LAND ACQUISITION AND DRAINAGE AND FLOOD MITIGATION POINT HERE IS THIS, THAT, UM, IT IS SOMETHING THAT, UH, WE ARE A PART OF.

UH, NEXT SLIDE.

SO, UH, THIS IS THE, THE GUIDANCE WE'VE RECEIVED FROM CDS.

SO WHEN WE ARE CONSIDERING A BOND PACKAGE, THE QUESTION IS, WELL, WHAT TYPES OF PROJECTS WOULD BE ELIGIBLE? AND LIKE I SAID, WE'RE STILL UNDERSTANDING MORE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE SPECIFIC ELIGIBILITY, BUT THE GUIDANCE THAT WE HAVE, UH, LEARNED TO DATE.

AND THAT IS GUIDING OUR NEEDS ASSESSMENT.

AND, YOU KNOW, THE BEHIND THE SCENES, UH, AND ULTIMATELY WE WILL INFORM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE LIST OF PROJECTS THAT THESE CRITERIA ARE USED, UH, UPON.

UM, FIRST IS TIMELINE.

SO THE PROJECTS OR PROGRAMS NEED TO BE IMPLEMENTED WITHIN A SIX YEAR TIMEFRAME.

I GUESS THAT'S A STANDARD BOND TIMEFRAME, BUT SO, UH, FROM JANUARY, 2027 TILL THROUGH FY 32, WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO SPEND THAT MONEY.

UH, SO THAT'S A LOT WITH PROJECT DELIVERY AND SCHEDULE.

THE SECOND PART, KIND OF TWO PARTS IS THAT THE, WHAT WE SPEND THE MONEY ON NEEDS TO RESULT IN A PUBLIC ASSET.

THIS IS DIFFERENT THAN PREVIOUS YEARS WHERE WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO SPEND THOSE FUNDS ON SOMETHING THAT WILL EVENTUALLY RESULT IN AN ASSET.

SO IT COULD BE A PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING REPORT OR DESIGN THAT EVEN IF THE FUNDS AREN'T GOING TO RESULT IN THE ASSET, EVENTUALLY WE WILL THIS YEAR, THE GUIDANCE IS WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WHAT THE FUNDS, THE BY, BY 2032, THAT ASSET IS, IS IN THE GROUND.

SECOND PART OF THAT IS THAT BECAUSE BONDS, THESE BONDS ARE PAID OVER A PERIOD OF 20 YEARS, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, AND THE DEBT IS BEING REPAID, THAT THESE, THE ASSET NEEDS TO BE, UH, STILL FUNCTIONING AND BENEFITING THE RATE PAYERS WHO ARE PAYING FOR IT IN 20 YEARS.

SO SOMETHING THAT CAN BE DONE WITHIN SIX YEARS, UM, RESULTS IN AN ASSET AND THAT ASSET WILL ENDURE FOR 20 YEARS.

AND THEN LASTLY, TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE ABLE TO INTEGRATE THOSE, UH, 2024 ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTMENT PLAN RECOMMENDATIONS WHEREVER POSSIBLE.

UM, AND THEN WE HAVE THE NEW GUIDANCE FROM THE TASK FORCE THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE HAVE BEEN CONSIDERING A 2025 SCHEDULE, WE ARE NOW FOCUSED ON A 2026 ELECTION, UM, UNLESS SOMETHING UNEXPECTED CHANGES.

SO THIS IS A SLIDE FROM CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES, JUST GIVING Y'ALL A SNAP SNAPSHOT OF THE PROCESS THAT GETS US TO, IF THERE WERE TO BE A, A COUNCIL, UM, RECOMMENDED A BOND ELECTION.

SO WE HAVE DECEMBER 20, 24, TOP LEFT, ALL THE WAY TO AUGUST OF 2026.

CLICK PLEASE.

AND IT SHOWS WHERE WE ARE HERE IN MARCH OF 2025.

UM, SO THIS IS WHERE ALL OF THE DEPARTMENTS WHO ARE PARTICIPATING ARE PRESENTING THE TECHNICAL CRITERIA TO OUR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS FOR INPUT BEFORE WE THEN GO TO THE, THE TASK FORCE.

UM, SO AGAIN, WE GO, WE'RE COMING TO YOU FIRST FOR FEEDBACK, THEN WE ARE SCHEDULED TO GO TO THE TASK FORCE IN MAY.

THEN, YOU KNOW, WE'LL BE FINALIZING OUR PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS. WE'LL APPLY THOSE CRITERIA TO THEN HAVE A PRELIMINARY RANKED LIST OF PROGRAM PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS THAT CAN GO AND FEED INTO THE COMMUNITY INPUT.

UM, I GUESS THAT'S THROUGH JULY AND INTO THE FALL.

SO AGAIN, THAT'S WHERE WE ARE.

SO ALL OF THE DEPARTMENTS PARTICIPATING TOOK THOSE GUIDING PRINCIPLES FROM THE STRATEGIC PLAN AND THEN DEVELOPED GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR THE BOND.

AND THAT LEADS US TO THE FINAL PART, UH, BEFORE WE GET INTO THE FUN STUFF, UM, THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES, WHICH IS THE BASIS FOR THE CRITERIA THAT WE'LL BE USING, UH, FOR YOU TO CONSIDER.

SO, UM, OUR CITY MANAGER, UH, PUBLISHED A CITYWIDE STRATEGIC PLAN, UH, THAT BUILDS ON THE WORK OF THE STRATEGIC DIRECTION OR SD 23.

IT'S A SHORT TERM IMPLEMENTATION AND PERFORMANCE MEASURE DOCUMENT, UH, THAT ACCOMPANIES OUR ANNUAL BUDGET, UH, THAT WHAT WORKS TOWARDS OUR LONG RANGE VISION.

SO, UM, I COULD DO A WHOLE OTHER PRESENTATION ON THAT, BUT IT WAS RELEASED IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET, AND IT INCLUDES THE STRATEGIC ANCHORS THAT, AGAIN, WERE ALSO IN SD 23.

UM, SO I'LL, I'LL GO THROUGH THIS, I PROMISE ON WITH BIGGER TEXT.

UH, BUT THOSE ARE EQUITY, AFFORDABILITY, INNOVATION, SUSTAINABILITY AND RESILIENCY, PROACTIVE PREVENTION, AND THEN COMMUNITY TRUST AND RELATIONSHIPS.

AND THEN WHAT WE DID, UH, THE, THE SEE THE CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES AND OUR INTEGRATED BOND MANAGEMENT TEAM.

[00:40:01]

AND AS A, AS A PLANNER, I GET VERY EXCITED TO SEE PLANNING CONCEPTS IN ACTION.

THEY TRULY SAID, OKAY, HOW WOULD WE EMBED EQUITY AFFORDABILITY INTO THIS BOND PACKAGE? YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE VARIOUS WAYS TO DO THOSE THINGS.

AND SO WE HAVE DEFINED THOSE SIX ANCHORS AND, AND THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR THE BOND PACKAGE.

SO BASICALLY SAYING, ALL OF THE DEPARTMENTS ARE GONNA COME FORWARD WITH OUR OWN NEEDS.

WE SHOULD BE WORKING TOWARDS THESE THINGS AS A CITY, AND HOW CAN WE ENSURE THAT THIS BOND PACKAGE IS, IS DOING THESE THINGS NOW, BECAUSE EVERYONE'S NEEDS ARE SO DIFFERENT, THEY'VE ASKED EACH DEPARTMENT TO THEN CREATE THEIR OWN CRITERIA BASED ON THESE GUIDING PRINCIPLES.

SO THAT'S WHY YOU WILL SEE THAT OURS ARE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT, BUT AGAIN, BASED ON THESE, UH, CITYWIDE ESTABLISHED PRINCIPLES, UM, OH, SOMETHING ELSE I'LL SAY, UH, THAT, AND I'LL PROBABLY SAY THIS THROUGHOUT, YOU KNOW, STRATEGIC ANCHORS, I DON'T KNOW HOW FAMILIAR Y'ALL ARE WITH THIS, THE STRATEGIC PLAN, BUT WHEN WE THINK ABOUT ANCHORS, WE THINK OF THEM AS LIKE THE, THE VALUES ARE THE, HOW YOU DO YOUR WORK.

SO IDEALLY, EVERYTHING WE DO IS WORKING TOWARDS THOSE THINGS.

UM, AND SOME OF THEM OVERLAP AND ARE RELATED, UH, BUT, SO IT'S BEEN EXCITING TO APPLY THESE, THESE WHAT PEOPLE CALL AS CONCEPTS INTO ACTIONABLE ITEMS. SO, MOVING ON.

OH, ANOTHER NOTE, .

UM, AGAIN, JUST EMPHASIZING THAT THESE, UH, THESE CRITERIA APPLY ONLY TO THE DRAINAGE OR STORMWATER RESILIENCE PROJECT.

AND AGAIN, THAT, THAT LAND ACQUISITION WILL, UM, BE COMING FORWARD SEPARATELY.

I REALLY WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WAS CLEAR.

AND THEN LASTLY, THIS PROBABLY WOULD'VE BEEN BETTER AS A GRAPHIC, BUT I REALLY WANTED TO SHARE, JUST TO BE VERY CLEAR ABOUT HOW THIS IS KIND OF THE FOURTH FILTER THAT THESE PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS WILL GO TOWARD TOO.

YOU KNOW, WE START WITH, YOU KNOW, THOSE THAT WILL GO THROUGH OUR PROCESSES WITH OUR STRATEGIC PLANNING, UM, YOU KNOW, AND THEN WE'LL, WE'LL FIGURE OUT WHAT IS ELIGIBLE AND WHAT CAN MEET THE TIMEFRAME.

BUT EACH OF THESE PROJECTS, IF THEY'RE ABLE TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE 2026 FUNDING, THEY HAVE BEEN IN THE WORKS FOR SOME TIME, UH, LIKELY.

UH, SO THEY'VE GONE THROUGH OUR PROCESSES OF ENGAGEMENT, OUR INTERNAL PRIORITIZATION.

SO THESE CRITERIA ARE ADDING AN ADDITIONAL LEVEL OF PRIORITIZATION OF OUR MANY PROJECTS THAT ARE IN THE HOPPER.

LIKE, WHAT, WHAT SHOULD GET TO THE FINISH LINE WITH ADDITIONAL FUNDING? AND IN FACT, IT MAY DECIDE WHAT PROJECTS ACTUALLY GET DONE OR, OR NOT.

THIS IS WAY TOO SMALL ON PURPOSE, A VISUAL IMPRESSION OF COMPLEXITY AS MY FORMER BOSS, MATT HOLLAND, WE SAY.

UM, SO JUST SOME OVERARCHING NOTES.

SO WE, UM, WE DEVELOPED A SCORE FOR EACH OF THE SIX GUIDING PRINCIPLES, TOTALING A HUNDRED POTENTIAL POINTS PER PROJECT.

ALL DEPARTMENTS HAVE BEEN ASKED TO DO THE A HUNDRED POINT, UM, TOTAL.

SO WE WATERSHED HAVE DEVELOPED OUR OWN DEFINITION OR SCORE BASED ON THOSE, THE GUIDE, THE OVERARCHING CITYWIDE CRITERIA, AND OUR OWN PORTFOLIO.

OUR SPECIFIC GOALS AS WATERSHED ARE TO ENSURE THE SCORES ARE COMPARABLE BETWEEN PROJECT TYPES.

'CAUSE WE DO HAVE, YOU KNOW, WHILE THEY ARE DRAINAGE PROJECTS, WE HAVE VERY DIFFERENT PROJECT TYPES, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S A, UH, AGAIN, A LOW WATER CROSSING, UH, STREAM BANK STABILIZATION, AND WE WANNA BE ABLE TO COMPARE APPLES TO ORANGES.

UM, IN THAT WAY.

WE WANNA MAKE SURE IT'S REPLICABLE IN CASE THERE ARE NEW PROJECTS THAT COME FORWARD, OR PROGRAMS THROUGH THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND THE TASK FORCE SO THAT WE CAN THEN INSERT IT INTO THAT SYSTEM.

AND WE WANNA BALANCE THE SIMPLICITY AND CLARITY SO PEOPLE UNDERSTAND IT, BUT ALSO MAKING SURE IT'S, IT'S, IT'S MEANINGFUL THAT WE'RE REALLY MEANINGFULLY GUIDING OR INCORPORATING THESE, THESE GUIDING PRINCIPLES INTO THE PRIORITIES.

SO SOME DEPARTMENTS WEIGHT THESE, UM, THESE PRINCIPLES EVENLY 'CAUSE THEY'RE ALL IMPORTANT.

WE ACTUALLY, WE ENDED UP WITH DIFFERENT WEIGHTS FOR DIFFERENT CRITERIA BASED ON OUR PORTFOLIO, OUR STRATEGIC PLANNING GOALS.

AND BECAUSE A LOT OF THESE ACTUALLY OVERLAP.

SO IN SOME CASES, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE CRITERIA IS INCLUDING POINTS FOR THE OTHERS.

AND THAT'S WHY YOU'LL SEE, YOU'LL SEE THAT DISPARITY.

SO WE'RE NOT MEANING TO SAY THAT INNOVATION, SUSTAINABILITY AND RESILIENCY ARE NOT IMPORTANT TO US, THEY ABSOLUTELY ARE.

BUT YOU'LL SEE AS WE GO THROUGH THEM WHY WE'VE RANKED SOME, UH, MORE THAN OTHERS.

AND AGAIN, THIS IS SPECIFICALLY APPLYING TO THE, THIS, THE 2026 BOND PROGRAM.

AND SO WE ARE DEEPLY AWARE OF ANY LIMITATION OF THE MANY LIMITATIONS WHEN WE OR OTHER ORGANIZATIONS USE GEOGRAPHIC DATA SETS, ESPECIALLY BIG CENSUS TRACKS, TO EMBED EQUITY.

SHOULD WE GET INTO THE CRITERIA? UM, IT'S ONLY 8:00 PM JUST KIDDING.

OKAY, NEXT SLIDE.

OKAY, SO THE FIRST, MY FAVORITE IS EQUITY.

UM, SO AS DEFINED BY OUR CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES, AND COLLECTIVELY, WE WANT TO PRIORITIZE BOND PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS THAT IMPROVE QUALITY OF LIFE OUTCOMES FOR ALL RESIDENTS, ELIMINATE RACIAL DISPARITIES AND MITIGATE UNINTENDED CONSES CONSEQUENCES IN PLANS AND IMPLEMENTATION.

UM, A DEFINITION OR A, A A TERM THAT WE'VE LEARNED FROM THE EQUITY OFFICE IS THAT EQUITY ISN'T JUST WHAT YOU DO, BUT HOW YOU DO IT.

UM,

[00:45:01]

UM, LIKE TO USE THAT ALONE TO EMBED EQUITY INTO OUR UNDERSTANDING OF SOCIAL IMPACT OR OUR WORK.

UM, SO I DO WANNA EMPHASIZE THAT THE, A LOT OF THE WORK THAT OUR DEPARTMENT IS WORKING ON NOW IS, IS UNDERSTANDING THAT AND TRYING TO EMBED HOW WE CAN WORK TOWARDS EQUITY WITHIN OUR OTHER, WITHIN A, THE CRITERION DEFINITIONS THAT YOU'LL SEE THAT ARE OUTSIDE OF THIS, UM, THIS SCORE.

UM, BUT OUR STRATEGIC PLANNING EFFORTS AND HOW WE CAN ACCOUNT FOR UNINTENDED IMPACTS, UM, AND, AND UNDERSTANDING, UH, THE OUTCOMES, ESPECIALLY RELATED TO FLOODING, EROSION, WATER POLLUTION, OUR MISSION, UM, LOOKING AT WHAT ARE THE DATA SETS OUT THERE THAT CAN HELP US ADVANCE, UM, EQUITY AND SPECIFICALLY RACIAL EQUITY IN OUR CITY.

SO THAT BEING SAID, FOR THESE CRITERIA IN THIS SPECIFIC SCORE, WE ARE ATTEMPTING A GEOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS, UM, THAT'S BASED ON A VERY IMP IMPRESSIVE 'CAUSE I DIDN'T DO IT.

UM, PRINCIPLE COMPONENT ANALYSIS THAT SOME OF OUR DATA RESEARCHERS HAVE WORKED ON TRYING TO GET AT WHAT DATA ARE AVAILABLE THAT CAN LOOK AT SOCIAL IMPACT, SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO OUR WORK.

UM, SO LOOKING AT, AGAIN, UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES AND HOW DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES WOULD BE IMPACTED BY, UM, THE SAME TECHNICAL RISK.

SO FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAVE A GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF ENVIRONMENTAL RISK.

WE HAVE GREAT, WE HAVE REALLY GOOD DATA AROUND HOW DEEP IS THE, THE FLOOD, UH, WOULD A FLOOD BE IN YOUR HOUSE? HOW OFTEN DOES A ROAD FLOOD? UM, HOW LIKELY IS A CREEK BANK TO, TO FALL IN THE, INTO THE CREEK? UM, HOW CLEAN ARE OUR WATER BODIES? BUT WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE CAN ADD THAT COMPONENT OF SOCIAL EQUITY.

HOW DIFFICULT IS IT FOR SOMEONE TO RECOVER, AND HOW CAN WE EMBED THAT INTO, IN, INTO WHAT WE'RE WORKING TOWARDS.

SO FOR THIS, AND I COULD GO INTO MORE DETAIL IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, BUT FOR NOW, I'LL JUST SHARE THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED FOUR DATA SETS, UM, THAT USE VARIABLES THAT IDENTIFY SOCIAL INDICATORS THAT WHERE WE, A COMMUNITY MAY NEED ADDITIONAL RESOURCES TO MEET THE SAME OUTCOMES, UM, RELATED TO OUR MISSION.

SO THOSE INCLUDE, UM, THE SOCIAL VULNERABILITY INDEX CREATED BY THE, THE, UM, CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL.

WE ADDED AN ADDITIONAL, AND THAT'S THE OVERALL THEME.

UM, WE ALSO ADDED THE RACE LANGUAGE THEME FROM THE SOCIAL VULNERABILITY VULNER VULNERABILITY INDEX, BECAUSE WE WANTED TO ACKNOWLEDGE AND, AND INTENTIONALLY INCLUDE, UM, YOU KNOW, ELIMINATING RACIAL DISPARITIES, UH, INTO THIS, THE RISK OF DISPLACEMENT, UM, AND EXPOSURE TO EXISTING ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS.

UM, SO THAT WOULD BE PARTICULATE MATTER, PROXIMITY TO SUPERFUND SITES OR AIR TOXICITY.

SOME HAVE SAID ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, BUT THE, THE, YOU KNOW, ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARD EXPOSURE.

SO IF SOMETHING HAS A HIGH RATING, IT GETS 15 POINTS.

UM, AND THEN IT'S GRADUATED DOWN TO THAT NEXT SLIDE.

AFFORDABILITY.

UM, I GUESS I'LL SAY THIS FOR EVERYTHING, THIS IS COMPLEX TO EVALUATE, UM, YOU KNOW, TO EVALUATE THE ECONOMIC AND AFFORDABILITY IMPACTS OF OUR PROJECTS ON INDIVIDUALS, ESPECIALLY LARGE INFRASTRUCTURE.

YOU KNOW, IN THE PREVIOUS, UH, SCORE, WE TALK ABOUT RISK OF DISPLACEMENT.

WE'VE HAD MANY CONVERSATIONS WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHERE SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, IF, IF WE'RE ABLE TO COMPLETE A PROJECT BEFORE SOMEONE IS DISPLACED FOR OTHER REASONS, IT MIGHT HELP THEM STAY LONGER.

ON THE COUNTER SIDE OF THAT, ARE WE CONTRIBUTING TO GENTRIFICATION WITH LARGE INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS IN A NEIGHBORHOOD? IT IS EXTREMELY COMPLEX.

UM, SO WE ARE INVESTIGATING THAT INTO A LOT OF THE, YOU KNOW, THE OTHER WORK.

BUT FOR THIS SPECIFIC PURPOSE AND APPLICATION, UM, AND BECAUSE WE COULDN'T CONSISTENTLY APPLY THOSE CONSIDERATIONS TO OUR PROJECTS, WE PROPOSED TO SCORE THE PROJECTS BASED ON BASICALLY AFFORDABILITY TO THE CITY, WHICH WILL THEN ULTIMATELY BE AFFORDABILITY TO THE RATE PAYER BY CONSIDERING THE COST SAVINGS FROM PARTNERSHIPS OR EXTERNAL FUNDING.

SO IF A PARTNERSHIP, IF A PROJECT IS PARTNERING WITH ANOTHER DEPARTMENT FOR A DIG ONCE OPPORTUNITY, OR IS LEVERAGING EXTERNAL FUNDING, REDUCING THE USE OF, OF CITY FUNDING, AGAIN, THAT'S SORT OF MORE BANG FOR THE BUCK, UM, THAT WE WOULD GIVE IT 15 POINTS.

UM, AGAIN, FOR THIS SUBSET OF OUR WORK, WE'RE, WE'RE THINKING THIS IS EXPLICITLY ABOUT COST TO THE CITY AND ULTIMATELY THE RIGHT PAYERS THINKING THAT IF WE CAN ACCOMPLISH MORE PROJECTS AND MORE BENEFITS FOR LESS MONEY, UM, THAT, THAT WOULD BE A GOOD OUTCOME FOR, FOR A BOND, UH, PROPOSAL.

OF THE REQUIREMENTS AND THE TIME CONSIDERATIONS OF THE BOND.

INNOVATION, THIS IS ONE.

OKAY, I'M SORRY.

I SHOULD HAVE READ THIS FOR AFFORDABILITY PROJECTS, WORK TO DEEPLY UNDERSTAND THE CHALLENGES AND NEEDS OF USERS, AND CREATE NEW EVIDENCE-BASED SOLUTIONS TO SOLVE THEM.

AS WE WERE GOING THROUGH THESE CRITERIA, WE REALIZED INNOVATION IS ACTUALLY EMBEDDED IN SOME OF THE OTHER SCORES, BUT WE WANTED TO ADD SPACE FOR WHEN THERE WERE, UH, IF PROJECT WAS INCLUDING SOMETHING NOTABLY INNOVATIVE AND NOT RELATED TO THE OTHER PRINCIPLES, WE WANTED TO, YOU KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, REQUIRING THAT EXTRA EFFORT.

WE WANTED TO GIVE MORE POINTS.

SOME OF THE EXAMPLES WOULD BE A NEW, A NEW TECHNOLOGY OR A NEW WAY OF COLLABORATING.

UM, SOMETHING YOU'LL SEE WE ADDED, YOU KNOW, INNOVATIVE, BUT TRUSTED, UM, UH, IN THE LANGUAGE BECAUSE

[00:50:01]

I WOULD SAY OUR OTHER PROGRAMMING, OUR IN-HOUSE PROJECTS, OUR PROGRAMS ARE MORE SUITABLE IN MANY WAYS FOR A LOT OF INNOVATION OR PILOTING NEW IDEAS.

BUT YEAH, WE'RE OPEN TO LEARNING TOGETHER AND THAT, AND THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE PROPOSED.

THIS ONE IS A BIG ONE.

UH, WE DEFINITELY THINK SUSTAINABILITY AND RESILIENCY ARE DISTINCT.

UM, BUT FOR THIS, UH, FOR, YOU KNOW, UH, AND PRESERVATION OF THE, UH, THE FORMAT HERE AND BECAUSE MANY OF THE, THE POINTS THAT COULD BE RELATED TO THESE ARE IN THE NEXT, UH, GUIDING PRINCIPLE, PROACTIVE PREVENTION.

THE WAY WE DEFINE SUSTAINABILITY FOR THIS BOND PROGRAM IS PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS THAT INCLUDE EFFORT TO ACHIEVE NET ZERO COMMUNITY-WIDE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS.

SO REDUCING CARBON FOOTPRINT.

UM, THE WAY WE ARE PROPOSING TO DO THAT IN THIS IS IF A PROJECT IS SPECIFICALLY WORKING TOWARDS, UM, SUSTAINABILITY RATINGS SUCH AS ENVISION OR THE SITE'S INITIATIVE, AND WE'LL GET FIVE POINTS.

THE OTHER SUSTAINABILITY, UM, YOU KNOW, WATERSHED WORKS TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY IN A LOT OF WAYS, YOU KNOW, WITH WE, UM, UH, I, I'M LOSING MY MIND, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, WITH, WITH, UH, THE WORK WE DO.

BUT THAT IS INCLUDED IN THE NEXT CRITERIA.

UH, RESILIENCY, SAME THING.

THIS IS, AGAIN, RESILIENCY, MASSIVELY ESSENTIAL OR, OR, YOU KNOW, PART OF OUR MISSION, UH, TO ENSURE PEOPLE ARE RESILIENT AND CAN RECOVER FROM, UM, YOU KNOW, FLOOD EROSION AND WATER POLLUTION EVENTS.

UM, BUT FOR THIS SECTION, WE WANTED TO GIVE POINTS TO PROJECTS THAT ARE BENEFITING COMMUNITY MEMBERS WITH WORSE COMMUNITY HEALTH STATUS.

SO THIS IS NEW FOR US.

THIS IS A LITTLE INNOVATIVE.

UM, THE IDEA BEING THAT THE PROJECT WOULD CONTRIBUTE TO OVERALL ENVIRONMENTAL RESILIENCE IN THE COMMUNITY WHERE RESEARCH SHOWS THAT, UH, PEOPLE HAVE MORE DIFFICULT, MORE DIFFICULTY RECOVERING FROM THE SHOCKS AND STRESSORS RELATED TO CLIMATE CHANGE.

SO THIS IS ANO ANOTHER GEOGRAPHIC, UH, DATA EXAMPLE WHERE IF THE AREA HAS A, A HIGH COMMUNITY HEALTH RISK, UH, INDEX SCORE, IT WOULD GET THE FIVE POINTS.

SO AGAIN, THE REASON THOSE ARE LOW, EVEN THOUGH WE IMMENSELY INCORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY AND RESILIENCY INTO OUR WORK, IS BECAUSE THIS SECTION, PROACTIVE PREVENTION INCLUDES A LOT OF, OF THOSE CONSIDERATIONS, UM, AND THE OUTCOMES RELATED TO OUR WORK.

SO, UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT PROJECTS THAT IMPROVE CONDITION OR FUNCTION OF ASSETS, ADDRESS SERVICE GAPS, AND IMPROVE, IMPROVE PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY.

AND THIS IS WHERE WE'RE BRINGING IN THAT STRATEGIC PLAN PROBLEM SCORE.

UM, SO WE WANNA APPLY THE PRIORITIZATION FROM OUR STRATEGIC PLAN, GIVING THE MOST POINTS TO PROJECTS THAT WOULD SOLVE CRITICAL OR HIGH SEVERITY PROBLEM, UH, AREAS AS IDENTIFIED IN OUR STRATEGIC PLAN WITH THE HIGHEST SCORE BEING 40 AND THEN GRADUATED DOWN BASED ON THOSE SEVERITY RANKS.

THE TOP 20, LIKE I MENTIONED BEFORE, UM, THIS IS ALSO IN ALIGNMENT WITH PREVIOUS BOND PACKAGES WHERE WE, AGAIN, WE WANNA PUT EMPHASIS ON THOSE STRATEGIC PLAN PRIORITIES TO GUIDE OUR GO BOND PROPOSALS AND THE INVESTMENTS AS WE, AS WE HAVE COMMITTED TO IN THE PLAN.

UM, AND AGAIN, I WANNA EMPHASIZE HOW THIS SCORE REALLY DOES EMBODY A LOT OF THE OTHER PRINCIPLES THAT ARE, ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, IN THIS SCORING INDEX.

UH, NEXT SLIDE.

THIS IS THE LAST ONE I PROMISE Y'ALL.

UM, OKAY.

CUSTOMER TRUST AND RELATIONSHIPS BASED ON THE COMMUNITY TRUST AND RELATIONSHIPS.

STRATEGIC ANCHOR, AGAIN, LIKE AFFORDABILITY, LIKE EQUITY, THIS IS A SPECIFIC DEFINITION FOR THE 2026 BOND.

UM, WE ALSO ACKNOWLEDGE THERE WILL BE ONGOING COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN THE, IN THE BOND PROCESS, BUT WE ARE PROPOSING TO PRIORITIZE PROJECTS THAT CAN'T.

OKAY? SO THE, THE DEFINITION IS INTENTIONALLY INCORPORATE ENGAGEMENT INTO PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS, CREATES OPPORTUNITIES TO INCREASE TRUST WITH THE COMMUNITY, PROVIDE TRANSPARENCY, AND DELIVER ON COMMUNITY EXPECTATIONS.

AND IN OUR SCORING, WE ARE PROPOSING TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT TRANSPARENCY AND COMMUNITY EXPECTATION PART.

WE'RE HEARING LOUD AND CLEAR THROUGH OUR ENGAGEMENT TO DATE THAT OFTEN TRUST IS BUILT ON JUST DOING WHAT YOU SAY YOU'LL DO.

UM, AND WE WANNA ENSURE THAT WE'RE PROPOSING PROJECTS THAT WE CAN COMPLETE.

UM, SO AGAIN, WE ACKNOWLEDGE THAT COMMUNITY TRUST AND RELATIONSHIPS EXTEND WELL BEYOND JUST SCHEDULE OR FEASIBILITY IN TERMS OF INPUT, COLLABORATION, CO-CREATION, CO STEWARDSHIP, ALL GOALS THAT WE ARE WORKING TOWARDS AS AN ORGANIZATION.

UM, AND WE WILL BE EMBEDDING INTO OUR RAINER RIVER AND ONGOING WORK.

UM, BUT FOR NOW, FOR THIS SPECIFICALLY, WE WANTED TO FOCUS ON THAT IMPLEMENTAL IMPLEMENTABILITY OF CONSTRUCTION BY FY 32.

SO, UM, TAKEAWAYS, UH, THAT, THAT THESE, AGAIN, THESE CRITERIA WILL BE APPLIED TO A SUBSET OF OUR, OUR BOND ELIGIBLE PROJECTS, UM, THAT HAVE GONE THROUGH OUR STANDARD ENGAGEMENT AND OUR PRIORITIZATION.

UM, BUT SO WE WERE LOOKING FOR WAYS TO, UH, PRIORITIZE WHAT, WHAT WOULD MAKE THE MOST SENSE TO BRING FORWARD INTO THE PRIORITIZE FOR

[00:55:01]

A BOND.

UM, AGAIN, THAT REMINDER THAT WE'LL BE PARTICIPATING IN THOSE OTHER COLLABORATIVE PROGRAMS, UH, INCLUDING OPEN SPACE.

UM, AND THEN THIS ISN'T A BULLET ON THAT SLIDE, BUT YOU KNOW, TO Y'ALL SPECIFICALLY AS ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSIONERS, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE MORE PROBLEMS THAN FUNDING.

AND JUST, AGAIN, MAKING THAT POINT THAT AS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION, WE NEED YOUR HELP TO, UH, BETTER UNDERSTAND WHERE AND HOW THE COMMUNITY WANTS US TO INVEST OUR LIMITED RESOURCES, HOW TO MAKE THESE DECISIONS FOR ANY BOND AND OUR FUNDING, UM, IN GENERAL.

UM, SO NEXT SLIDE.

THAT'S IT, .

UM, I WILL WELCOME ANY FEEDBACK OR QUESTIONS OR DISCUSSION, UH, AND I APPRECIATE Y'ALL'S ATTENTION AND PATIENCE AS I MADE IT THROUGH THOSE SLIDES.

CHAIR, UH, AS A MEMBER OF THE BOND ELECTION ADVISORY TASK FORCE, CAN I ADD A COUPLE POINTS? MM-HMM .

PLEASE DO.

SO FIRST OFF, UH, THE CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICE FOLKS TOLD US THAT THERE'S ABOUT 10 BILLION WITH A B DOLLARS OF NEEDS, BUT THEY DID SUGGEST THAT WE THINK ABOUT A $600 MILLION BOND PACKAGE.

NOW, THAT'S SMALL.

A ISD WENT OUT FOR A $1 BILLION, UH, BOND PACKAGE.

AND A COUPLE YEARS AGO, OR MAYBE THAT WAS A YEAR AGO, I FORGET.

BUT THE POINT IS THAT I, I THINK WE ALL HAVE EX EXPECTATIONS THAT THE NUMBER WILL BE LARGER THAN 600 MILLION.

BUT THE POINT IS THAT THAT 10 BILLION INCLUDES NOT JUST CAPITAL, BUT COULD ALSO BE SOME O AND OP OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE.

AND WE HAVE TO BE VERY SPECIFIC ABOUT THE GENERAL OBLIGATION.

BONDS WILL ADDRESS CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS, NOT OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE.

UM, SO ANYWAY, THE, WE HEARD ABOUT 2 BILLION NEED HERE, BUT THERE'S OTHER DEPARTMENTS THAT ALSO HAVE NUMBERS IN THE BILLIONS, BUT IT'S, NO, IT'S NOT GONNA BE, UH, WE'RE GONNA BE SOMEPLACE IN THE 1 BILLION AREA FOR THE BOND ELECTION IN 2026.

THANK YOU FOR THAT ADDITION.

CAN WE OPEN UP FOR QUESTIONS STARTING WITH OUR, UH, SECRETARY REMOTE? UM, THANK YOU FOR THAT VERY, UM, THOROUGH REPORT.

AND, UM, SO I DO HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS.

UM, AND, UM, FIRST I, I WANT TO, UM, RECOGNIZE COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN, UM, AND SAY THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE, UM, ON THIS, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, ON THIS TASK, IT'S A BIG ONE, AND I DEFINITELY HEAR YOU THAT THE NEEDS ARE DEFINITELY WAY OUTWEIGHING WHAT WE COULD POSSIBLY, UM, UH, PUT IN THIS ALL LISTED IN THE, IN THE BOND PACKAGE.

SO, UM, I SERVED ON THE TRAVIS COUNTY, UH, BOND ADVISORY BOARD, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, AND I KNOW YOU, YOU'VE GOT A LOT TO DEAL WITH, UM, IN THE MIX.

ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT I HAVE IS YOU ARE SAYING THAT, UM, EVERYTHING HAS TO RESULT IN AN ASSET.

DO YOU CONSIDER CONSERVATION EASEMENTS ASSETS, OR IS THAT, UM, A NON-PUBLIC ASSET? YES.

UM, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT LAND, UH, THAT IS PRESERVED IN PERPETUITY PROVIDES AN ONGOING BENEFIT, UH, THAT, AND THAT IS AN ASSET.

SO THAT COULD BE USED FOR CONSERVATION EASEMENTS, UH, AS WELL AS FEE SIMPLE PURCHASES.

ORGANIZATIONAL, INTER AGENCY, UH, YEP.

AND IN THE PAST, UH, ACTUALLY THE, THE, UM, WORK WE'VE DONE TO DATE IS A COMBINATION OF CONSERVATION EASEMENTS AND FEE SIMPLE.

UM, AND WE CONSIDER THE BENEFITS EQUIVALENT IN TERMS OF THE PERMANENT PROTECTION.

OKAY, GREAT.

UM, AND THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, 70,000 ACRES, UH, TO MEET THE A HUNDRED THOUSAND ACRE GOAL, I, THAT'S A BIG LIFT.

UM, BUT I DO HOPE THAT, THAT Y'ALL ARE VERY CAREFULLY LOOKING AT WHAT LANDS TRAVIS COUNTY IS ALSO, UM, SETTING ASIDE AND WITHIN THE, YOU KNOW, UM, THAT CONNECTS UP WITH THE CITY, UM, ESPECIALLY AS IT CONNECTS UP WITH, UH, PARKLAND AND, UM, ALONG THE EASTERN, UH, CREEK WATERSHEDS.

UM, YOU KNOW, WE OFTEN TALK ABOUT THE, THE WESTERN, UM, WATERSHEDS AND THE AQUIFERS, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK AS, AS WE'RE SEEING, UM, ESPECIALLY FOR THAT RESILIENCY IN OUR EASTERN QUADRANT, UM, THE NEED TO, TO BETTER PROTECT THOSE.

IS THAT, IS THAT KIND OF WHAT'S BEING CONSIDERED THERE? YES, AND ACTUALLY WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING ON, UM, THAT, THAT COLLABORATIVE CRITERIA, UH, INTERNALLY GETTING THAT, YOU KNOW, THE DEPARTMENTS TOGETHER, BUILDING ON THAT ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTMENT PLAN, UM, TRAVIS COUNT, WE'VE, WE'VE, WE'RE COLLABORATING WITH TRAVIS COUNTY.

WE DEFINITELY SEE THAT THE BEST SUCCESS WILL BE IN INTERDEPARTMENTAL, UH, INTER

[01:00:01]

PARTNERSHIPS.

SO ABSOLUTELY, WE'VE BEEN, WE'VE BEEN IN, UM, COORDINATING WITH TRAVIS COUNTY IN ADDITION TO OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.

APPRECIATE THAT.

AND THEN, UM, I, I TRAVEL AROUND THE STATE A LOT, UM, AND FOR SOME REASON I'M OBSESSED WITH LOOKING AT, UM, CULVERTS AND, UM, AND DRAINAGE AND, UM, AND OVER THE PAST, YOU KNOW, FOUR YEARS, UM, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF, UH, MAINTENANCE OF, OF THOSE, UM, CULVERT, DRAINAGE, BRIDGES, ALL PART OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, BILL, BUT IT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE AUSTIN REALLY, REALLY GOT MUCH OF THAT.

CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND A LITTLE BIT OF, OF, OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE BILL AND WHAT WE DID GET OUT OF IT AND, AND WHAT THAT COVERED SPECIFICALLY TO DRAINAGE? I, UM, I CAN'T SPEAK TO THAT, BUT I CAN ABSOLUTELY LOOK INTO IT.

WE HAVE, UH, AN EXPERT IN EXTERNAL FUNDING WHO COULD HELP PROVIDE SOME, UH, BACKGROUND ON WHAT HAS BEEN ELIGIBLE AND WHAT WOULD, UM, YEAH, ANY, IF WE WERE ABLE TO RECEIVE ANY OF THOSE FUNDS.

I WILL SAY WE DO, UM, YEAH, CULVERT REPAIRS A PART OF OUR OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE.

UM, SO WE DO, UH, FUND AND, AND IMPLEMENT THOSE PROJECTS, UH, WITH OUR EXISTING RESOURCES.

BUT I CAN'T SPEAK TO THE NEED OR THE, THE CAPACITY.

AGAIN, THAT'S, UM, I HAVE THAT IN THE OPERATIONS CATEGORY, SO OUTSIDE OF CIP, SO I, BUT WE CAN FOLLOW UP WITH THAT INFORMATION.

ABSOLUTELY.

OKAY, GREAT.

NO FURTHER QUESTIONS.

THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR, YOUR, YOUR THOROUGHNESS AND, AND THANK YOU COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN FOR YOUR SERVICE.

HEY, Y'ALL, UH, APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.

UH, MY ALLERGIES ARE NOT LETTING ME BE GREAT RIGHT NOW, SO I'LL KEEP IT SUPER BRIEF.

UH, SO YOU MENTIONED FOR THE INTEGRATED BOND DEVELOPMENT, UH, GUIDANCE, UH, THAT YOU'RE NOW UNABLE TO, UH, USE THE BOT MONEY TO PAY FOR STUFF THAT DOESN'T NECESSARILY RESULT IN LIKE AN IMMEDIATE ASSET.

UH, AND YOU MENTIONED, SO PRELIMINARY STUDIES IS SOMETHING THAT MIGHT BE AFFECTED BY IT.

SO HOW DO WE PLAN TO PAY FOR THESE STUDIES AT THE BOTTOM? MONEY WON'T COVER FOR IT OR WON'T PAY FOR IT.

ARE WE GOING TO USE LIKE THE DRAINAGE COVERAGE FEE TO PAY FOR THE STUDIES AND USE THE BOND MONEY TO PAY FOR THE ASSETS? WHERE EXACTLY IS THE GAME PLAN HERE? I, I THINK THAT'S THE IDEA THAT WE COULD, AND AGAIN, THAT INTERPRETATION IS STILL UNDER CONFIRMATION.

UM, BUT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IF THAT IS THE GUIDANCE, WE'RE ABLE TO, UM, IDENTIFY THE PROJECTS THAT CAN RESULT IN THE ASSET, UM, THAT WE WOULD NEED TO USE OTHER INCOME SOURCES, UM, TO DO THOSE THINGS.

SO WHETHER IT'S THE DRAINAGE CHARGE OR THE, OR THE OTHER FEES THAT ANUPA AND, UH, PAM CAN SPEAK BETTER TO, THAT WOULD COULD BE AN IDEA.

DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? YEP.

PACKAGE, WE'RE ALSO, WE HAVE AN ONGOING CIP PORTFOLIO THAT WE'RE MANAGING, AND WE HAVE TO MAKE DECISIONS EVERY DAY.

APPRECIATE IT.

MM-HMM .

HELLO? UH, A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS FOR YOU, BUT FIRST, JUST THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

AS YOU MENTIONED, UH, FIRST TIME YOU WERE PRESENTING SOMETHING LIKE THIS IN FRONT OF THE COMMISSION, LIKE WE GET A LITTLE PEER INTO YOUR BUSINESS, INTO YOUR, UH, BEHIND THE SCENES AND, AND, AND, UH, VERY, VERY GOOD PLAN.

UM, I'M A PLANNER MYSELF, AND SO I WAS EXCITED TO SEE YOUR MATRIX AND DON'T WANNA, UH, DI AGAIN DIVE INTO THE DETAILS, BUT YOU DID MENTION YOU'RE ASKING FOR OUR, FOR OUR HELP SUPPORT AND, AND HOW TO MEET THE COMMUNITY'S NEEDS.

UM, AND SO CAN THE, DOES THE COMMUNITY HAVE A GOOD UNDERSTANDING, CAN THEY PROPOSE A PARTICULAR PROJECT OR A, UH, LAND ACQUISITION, UM, IDEA? SO DID Y'ALL ARE THE FIRST PEOPLE TO HAVE SEEN THESE CRITERIA? AND AGAIN, THE, THE LIST OF POTENTIAL OR ELIGIBLE PROJECTS HAVE NOT BEEN RELEASED AS I'LL SAY EXCITINGLY, UM, BUT WILL BE SOON.

UH, THE WAY IT HAS WORKED IN THE PAST IN LIKE THE 2018 PROCESS, UH, FOLKS WERE ABLE TO COME TO THE WORKING GROUPS.

SO IF THEY HAD SPECIFIC FEEDBACK ON THE, THE BOND AND WHAT THEY WANTED THE TASK FORCE TO CONSIDER EITHER SPECIFIC PROJECTS OR SPECIFIC TYPES OF PROJECTS OR NEED, THEY CAN COME TO THAT TASK FORCE AT THEIR MEETINGS.

THEY CAN SEND INFORMATION TO THEIR, UM, THEIR, UH, TASK FORCE MEMBER, OR THEY CAN COME TO THOSE WORKING GROUPS THAT ARE A, A MORE, UM, INFORMAL SETTING TO, TO, TO SHARE THAT.

I MEAN, THERE'S STILL THE, THE, THE RULES OF ORDER, BUT THE, UM, THEY CAN PROVIDE THAT INPUT.

THEN, UH, SO THERE WILL, AND THE CITY IS SPONSORING AND, AND LEADING A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EFFORT.

THEY'RE DEVELOPING A, A, UM, A ROBUST COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PLAN THAT WILL BE REFINED BY THE TASK FORCE THAT WILL SEEK INPUT ON THOSE, THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT LIST.

SO THERE WILL BE THAT OPPORTUNITY SPECIFICALLY, UM, IN ADDITION, AND WHAT I WILL TOTALLY NOT SPEND TOO MUCH TIME ON, BUT IS THAT WE ARE SEEKING INPUT FROM Y'ALL, FROM YOUR CONSTITUENTS FOR WHAT Y'ALL FEEL LIKE ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT AND TO HELP US FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE THESE DECISIONS, NOT JUST FOR BONDS, BUT, YOU KNOW, AS, AS WE ARE DEVELOPING THIS BOND

[01:05:01]

AND YOU'LL FIND, YOU'LL SEE MORE ABOUT WHICH PROJECTS WE CAN EVEN MOVE TO DESIGN OR TO PER WITH OUR LIMITED FUNDING.

AND SO TO HELP US, YOU KNOW, AS WE REVISE OUR STRATEGIC PLANNING AND OUR ASSET MANAGEMENT PRIORITIES, WHAT ARE THE MOST CRITICAL PROBLEMS? UM, AND SO HOW WE CAN START MOVING THE NEEDLE OR, OR, OR SETTING PROJECTS UP TO BE ELIGIBLE EVEN FOR THE NEXT BOND PROGRAM, IF THERE WERE TO BE ONE, I REMAIN NEUTRAL.

UM, SO DOES THAT HELP, OR DID THAT PROVIDE, UH, A, A LITTLE BIT.

SO IT SOUNDS LIKE THE PROJECTS ARE PARTICULARLY ALREADY SPOKEN FOR OR IDENTIFIED.

THE TOP 20 ARE COMING.

THERE'S NOT NECESSARILY A, UM, YOUR, A CALL OUT FOR PROJECTS OR NEEDS AND, AND COMMUNITIES THAT, THAT ASSESSMENT'S BEEN DONE.

SO WE HAVE, WE WILL BE BRINGING FORWARD THE PROJECTS THAT WE KNOW OF BASED ON OUR PROBLEM SCORE CRITERIA, THE INPUT WE RECEIVE FROM COMMUNITY MEMBERS THROUGH OUR STANDARD CHANNELS, AND EVEN, YOU KNOW, AND THEY CONTINUE TO EXPAND.

THANKFULLY, I, THERE WILL BE OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE TO, UM, TO RECOMMEND PROJECTS.

AND IF THEY'RE NEW, THE QUESTION WILL BE CAN WE HUSTLE ON THEM OR FUND THEM TO GET THEM TO THAT, THE FINISH LINE TO BE ELIGIBLE, I THINK WILL BE THE BIGGEST QUESTION.

UM, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.

WHEREVER POSSIBLE, NOT TO COUNT ON A SEPARATE PROCESS.

THAT, THAT, THAT'S HELPFUL.

UM, WHAT MIGHT'VE HELPED ME, I'M NEW ON THE COMMISSION, RELATIVELY NEW.

I KNOW WE HAVE SOME OTHER NEW MEMBERS HERE, BUT, UH, IT IS JUST THAT YOU COULDN'T TALK ABOUT SPECIFIC PROJECTS, BUT JUST A GENERAL OVERVIEW OF WHAT TYPES OF PROJECTS THAT, THAT ARE CONSIDERED.

'CAUSE I WAS PARTICULARLY IN INTERESTED IN THE OVERLAP BETWEEN PARKS AND WATERSHED PROJECTS, AND I KNOW YOU SAID SOMETIME THERE'S A HARD LINE, BUT LOOKING AT THE MATRIX, I COULDN'T TELL IF THAT WAS AN ADDED BENEFIT, IF THERE WAS SOME SORT OF PUBLIC USE OR PARK USE TO THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND, AND WE CONSIDERED THAT.

UM, AND IN, AND, AND THAT IS IN THE, THE AFFORDABILITY, THE DIG ONCE OPPORTUNITY, SO THE PARTNERSHIP, SO SEVERAL OF THE PROJECTS ON OUR EXISTING LIST DO MEET THOSE CRITERIA BECAUSE THEY ARE A SHARED BENEFIT WITH, FOR EXAMPLE, A PARK OR, UM, YOU KNOW, A WATER LINE THAT IS BROKEN.

SO THERE ARE, UM, IN THAT WAY THAT HAS BEEN BROUGHT FORWARD.

UH, AND IN TERMS OF EXAMPLES, YOU WILL GET TO SEE A BUNCH, THANKFULLY, AFTER I FINISH BLABBING, UM, OF, OF THE TYPES OF PROJECTS THAT ARE MOVING FORWARD.

BUT THAT IS EXCELLENT INPUT AND, UM, YEAH.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE FOR THAT COMPREHENSIVE PRESENTATION, AND I KNOW ALL THE WORK THAT WENT, WENT INTO IT LEADING UP TO IT.

UM, I'M JUST WANTING TO UNDERSTAND A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE PROCESS.

SO LOOKING AT SLIDE 16, SO ONE OF THE GUIDELINES THAT SAYS IS PROPOSALS SHOULD INTEGRATE 2024 ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTMENT PLAN RECOMMENDATIONS WERE POSSIBLE.

UM, SO IS THE BOND ADVISORY TASK FORCE ONLY ENTERTAINING BOND ITEMS RELATED TO THE ENVIRONMENT? BECAUSE, OKAY, SO THIS, THESE ARE GUIDELINES THAT THE WATERSHED DEPARTMENT IS USING, OR MAYBE HELP ME UNDERSTAND.

YEAH, NO, VERY GOOD QUESTION.

SO I THINK THE REASON THAT'S IN HERE, AND FOR ANYONE ON THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE, THERE HAVE BEEN MULTIPLE EFFORTS RELATED TO BOND PROPOSALS MOVING FORWARD IN 2024.

IT CAME FORWARD, I THINK FROM COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER A GROUP OF COUNCIL MEMBERS TO SAY, HOW CAN WE, UH, MAKE PROGRESS TOWARDS OUR CLIMATE EQUITY GOALS AND ASK STAFF TO LOOK AT, OKAY, IF WE WERE TO GET A BOND THIS YEAR, 2024, UH, WHAT COULD WE DO? AND WE WENT THROUGH A PROCESS OF LOOKING AT DIFFERENT WAYS WE COULD COLLABORATE EXISTING, UH, NEEDS AND STRATEGIES THAT WE COULD, YOU KNOW, FUND AND, AND BONDS WERE ONE, UH, TOOL IN THAT IT, SO WE IDENTIFIED AND WE COULD SHARE THAT INFORMATION WITH Y'ALL, BUT THERE WERE DIFFERENT STRATEGIES IN THE PROPOSALS AND BONDS BEING A PART OF THAT BECAUSE OF TIMING, IT WAS DEFERRED TO, UH, YOU KNOW, 2025.

MEANWHILE, OUR CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES AND IN, IN GENERAL AS A CITY, WE HAVE A REGULAR ROTATING, YOU KNOW, UM, BOND PROGRAM OR, YOU KNOW, IN, IN DEVELOPING, UM, WHEN WE NEED A LARGE INFRASTRUCTURE BOND BASED ON, BASED ON OUR NEEDS AND THINGS THAT I DON'T KNOW AS MUCH ABOUT.

UM, SO WE KNEW THERE WAS THIS 2026 BOND PACKAGE IN THE BACKGROUND THAT WAS SLIGHTLY, THAT WAS SEPARATE FROM ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTMENT PLAN, BUT RELATED, YOU KNOW, MANY OF THE DEPARTMENTS HAVE NEEDS THAT ARE RELATED TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTMENT PLAN BECAUSE IT'S A, YOU KNOW, REALLY ANYTHING RELATED TO, TO CLIMATE AND RESILIENCE.

UM, BUT THERE ARE ALSO OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS THAT ARE SEPARATE, LIKE YOU, YOU'RE SAYING.

SO THIS WAS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL DEPARTMENTS TO BRING FORWARD THEIR ASSET INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS AND TO BE ABLE TO THEN ALSO IDENTIFY WHICH OF THOSE ARE IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTMENT PLAN, BECAUSE WE'RE NOT GONNA SEE, WE'RE NOT SEEING AT THIS 0.2 SEPARATE INITIATIVES THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY AFTER DECIDING NOT TO GO FORWARD IN 2024, THAT THE WE'RE NOT HAVING A SEPARATE SPECIFIC CLIMATE BOND, UM, HAS BEEN THE GUIDANCE AT THIS POINT.

AND SO ANYTHING THAT WOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR BOND FUNDING THAT WAS RECOMMENDED IN THAT ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTMENT PLAN TO EMBED THAT INTO OUR 2026 BOND PROPOSALS

[01:10:01]

AGAIN, JUST EMPHASIZING THAT THAT'S A SUBSET OF THAT ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTMENT PLAN, BUT THAT VENN DIAGRAM, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.

YEAH, I JUST WANTED CONFIRMATION 'CAUSE I'VE CERTAINLY HEARD OTHER GROUPS, YOU KNOW, VYING FOR OTHER THINGS FOR THE BONDS.

SO I, I, THAT CLARIFICATION IS HELPFUL.

AND I AM CURIOUS THINKING HISTORICALLY IN MY LIMITED UNDERSTANDING, PREVIOUS BONDS HAVE BEEN A COMPILATION OF A VARIETY OF PROJECTS.

BUT, AND THIS MIGHT BE A QUESTION FOR COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN, BUT I'M CURIOUS WHAT'S RESONATING THIS YEAR WITH THE TASK FORCE, IF THERE IS KIND OF A GUIDING CENTRAL NARRATIVE OR IF THERE ARE WAYS FOR ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT GROUPS TO, YOU KNOW, EARMARK SMALL CHUNKS FOR EACH OTHER OR FOR THEMSELVES RATHER.

I, I, I'LL MENTION THAT WE'VE SET UP WORK GROUPS AND THERE'S VERY SPECIFICALLY A DRAINAGE WORK GROUP THAT WILL DEAL WITH SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT WE HEARD HERE.

THERE'S AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING WORK GROUP, THERE'S A, UM, CULTURAL ASSETS WORK GROUP, OR NOT CULTURAL ASSETS, SO I'LL TAKE THAT BACK.

FACILITIES AND ENTITIES IS WHAT IT'S CALLED.

AND THEN THERE'S A, UM, WHAT AM I LEAVING OUT? AFFORDABLE HOUSING, DRAINAGE, PARKLAND AND OPEN SPACE.

PARKS AND OPEN SPACE.

AND THEN, UM, TRANSPORTATION.

OH, TRANSPORTATION.

SUPPORT THEIR INDIVIDUAL CAUSES.

SO THAT WOULD INCLUDE SIDEWALKS AND WIDER STREETS OR TRAILS, WHATEVER.

UM, AND THAT, BUT THERE'S ALSO A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WORK GROUP, WHICH IS WORKING ON HOW TO GET INPUT FROM THE COMMUNITY.

THAT WAS VERY IMPRESSIVE THAT YOU COULD RATTLE THAT OFF FROM MEMORY.

UM, THANK YOU.

STUMBLING OVER IT.

UM, HOW MANY FOLKS ARE ON THE TASK FORCE? THERE ARE TWO, UM, FOR EACH COUNCIL MEMBER.

JUST THINKING ABOUT PROCESS 'CAUSE IT'S FEELING A LITTLE BIT LIKE A MINI, YOU KNOW, BUDGET CYCLE WHERE EVERYONE GETS TO YEAH.

BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.

THANKS COMMISSIONER BRIER.

LET'S SEE, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR YOURSELF? UM, ? UM, NO, I DON'T THINK I HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.

I NEVER, I'M SPEAKING ONE QUESTION.

UH, NO, I'M, THAT'S YOU, YOU OBVIOUSLY DON'T REALLY KNOW EACH OTHER, KNOW HOW, I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT WAS COMEDY YOU WERE DOING THERE.

UH, SO YOU'RE INFORMING US OF WHAT'S GOING ON OR YOU'RE ASKING FOR INPUT.

WE'VE RECEIVED DIFFERENT GUIDANCE.

I'M ASKING FOR INPUT.

WE'RE PROTECTED FROM BEING DEVELOPED, UH, THROUGH EITHER PARTIAL ACQUISITIONS OR EASEMENTS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

I APPRECIATE YOUR, UH, DETAILED PRESENTATION AND, UH, I'VE ENJOYED GOING THROUGH YOUR, UH, YOUR SLIDES.

UM, SO I HAVE JUST SOME THINGS THAT I'M GONNA TOSS OUT THAT ARE FOR YOU TO CONSIDER.

UH, CAMPO IS PLANNING TO EXPAND SIX 20, UH, TO SIX LANES FROM 180 3 ALL THE WAY FOREVER.

UH, I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU'RE CONSIDERING BUYING ANY OF THE LAND OUT THERE TO PROTECT THE EDWARDS AQUIFER THAT JUST, IT IS A SUGGESTION.

I'M NOT EXPECTING YOU TO WAX PHILOSOPHICALLY ON THAT.

UH, THEN ALSO, UH, THE FLOODING AT ONION CREEK CONTINUES TO BE A PROBLEM AND IT COULD BE ADDRESSED BY ADDITIONAL LAND PURCHASE, YOU KNOW, HOUSING PUR PURCHASES OUT THERE TO, UH, MITIGATE THE FLOODING OF PEOPLE THAT LIVE ADJACENT TO IT RIGHT NOW, BUT ALSO OTHER STEPS YOU COULD TAKE TO, UH, YOU KNOW, BUTCHER THE SHORELINE OR WHATEVER YOU GUYS DO FOR THAT, THAT PARTICULAR THING.

UM, OUT OFF OF, UH, BULL CREEK, THERE'S A PIECE OF PROPERTY THAT IS AT LEAST OUT WHERE THAT IS, IS, UH, CALLED HORSE THIEF RANCH.

ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH A LOT OF HORSE THIEFS USED TO BE OUT THERE? UH, IT'S PRIVATELY OWNED, BUT IT'S ALONG BULL CREEK AND WATERSHED, UH, HAS, I BELIEVE THEY HAVE SOME LAND OUT THERE.

UH, STIS, UH, I THINK IT'S CALLED THEIN TRACK, BUT, UH, I BELIEVE THAT, UH, WATERSHED HAS PURCHASED SOME LAND OUT THERE BEFORE TO PROTECT, UH, YOU KNOW, THE WATER THAT FLOWS INTO, YOU KNOW, THE WATERSHED THAT FLOWS INTO, UH, BULL CREEK.

AND THAT'S ANOTHER PIECE OF PROPERTY THAT IS SCHEDULED TO BE WELL SCHEDULED.

THE WRONG WORD IS HIGHLY LIKELY TO BE DEVELOPED INTO HIGH DENSITY HOUSING OVER THE NEXT FIVE OR 10 YEARS.

AND IT WOULD BE NICE THAT

[01:15:01]

AND, UH, THE CARRIZO WILCOX AQUIFER IN EASTERN TRAVIS COUNTY IS, UH, IN DANGER OF BEING POLLUTED THROUGH OVERDEVELOPMENT IN THAT PARTICULAR AREA.

AND THAT COULD USE SOME PROTECTION AS WELL THROUGH LAND ACQUISITION AND OTHER STEPS OUT THERE.

SO THOSE ARE MY OFFERINGS OF IDEAS THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD FUND YOUR $10 BILLION WITH.

I APPRECIATE THAT, AND I WILL PASS THAT ALONG TO OUR, THE LAND ACQUISITION TEAM YEAH.

TO SEE IF THEY'RE AWARE.

THANK MA'AM.

UM, IT STRUCK ME THAT THERE WAS AN AFFORDABILITY QUOTIENT IN THERE AND I WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW, HOW IT APPLIED.

AND I'M, I'M, I'M REALIZING NOW THAT MAYBE THE, THAT THE PART OF THIS PROGRAM IS NOT GONNA BE COMING BEFORE US HERE IN ENVIRONMENTAL, BUT, UH, UH, UH, IF YOU HAD ANY IDEA WHAT KIND OF AFFORDABILITY PROJECTS WERE ACTUALLY BEING CONSIDERED, JUST TO CLARIFY, DO YOU MEAN SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING OR, I GUESS SO THAT'S WHAT I WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT.

UM, SO I, THERE IS, RIGHT, WE HAVE A WORK GROUP FOR THAT.

WHEN SHE TALKED ABOUT AFFORDABILITY, SHE MEANT PROJECTS THAT WE COULD REDUCE THE COST BY EITHER BRINGING IN OTHER SOURCES OF FUNDING, UH, WORKING WITH THE COUNTY, WORKING WITH, USING THE DRAINAGE UTILITY FEE TO, WITH THE, WITH THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT MONEY.

UM, THAT WOULD, THAT'S THE SENSE OF AFFORDABILITY THAT I HEARD.

YEAH, THANK YOU.

BOTH THE, YEAH, SO WE HAVE THE GUT, YOU KNOW, THE ASK, UM, AND, AND AS WE WORK ON, AS A DEPARTMENT AS WELL, BUT TO FORMALIZE, HOW DO WE EMBED AFFORDABILITY INTO OUR PROJECTS, ACKNOWLEDGING THAT, YOU KNOW, TYPICALLY, LIKE I JUST DID, UH, AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS ARE MOST READILY ASSOCIATED WITH AFFORDABILITY, BUT THAT ALL DEPARTMENTS AND ALL OF OUR WORK AS A CITY IMPACTS THE AFFORDABILITY OF, OF TWO RESIDENTS AND PEOPLE LIVING IN AUSTIN.

SO, UM, THAT YEAH, SORT OF THAT TWO-PARTER.

SO FOR US, UH, OUR PROPOSAL IS EXACTLY WHAT, UH, COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN SAID.

DOES THAT HELP? OR IS THAT OKAY? YES, OF COURSE.

UH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.

IT WAS ACTUALLY VERY ILLUMINATING AND I LIKE COLOR CODED SPREADSHEETS, UM, TO GAIN A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF, UM, HOW THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS ARE GOING GOING ABOUT THIS.

SO I THINK WE'VE ALL KIND OF BEEN WAITING TO SEE HOW THESE WOULD BE COMING TOGETHER, THE TECHNICAL CRITERIA SPECIFICALLY.

UM, SO ESPECIALLY, UH, DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE OPERATING WITH GENERAL FUNDS.

UH, I REMEMBER THE COMMUNITY ACTUALLY HAD POINTED OUT TO ME THE BOTTOM OF SLIDE SIX WHERE IT WAS THE, THE TOP 20 CIP PROJECTS AND I HADN'T NOTICED IT.

SO, UH, THANK YOU FOR ANIMATING IT AND POINTING IT OUT TO US.

UM, I HAVE READ THE 400 AND WHATEVER PAGES OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S A SUMMARY OF THOSE 20 THAT MAYBE COULD BE CIRCULATED TO US OR, UM, I JUST, 'CAUSE I DON'T REALLY REMEMBER IT BEING FRAMED THAT WAY PREVIOUSLY.

YOU MEAN TO BE ABLE TO SHARE WITH YOU OUR CURRENT TOP 20? YES, ABSOLUTELY.

SO, OKAY.

MAYBE THIS IS TOO MUCH BEHIND THE CURTAIN.

WE HAVE A, A PUBLIC FACING VIEWER THAT SHARES THAT INFORMATION IS NOT UP TO DATE WITH THE LATEST INFORMATION, BUT WE CAN EASILY GET THAT TO YOU.

AND THIS WILL REMIND ME TO EXPEDITE THE UPDATE TO THAT VIEWER SO THAT I CAN MORE READILY DO, UH, RESPOND TO THIS IN THE FUTURE.

BUT WE CAN GET THAT TO YOU BECAUSE IT INFORMED ACTUALLY WHAT YOU'LL BE SEEING, UH, NEXT.

UH, I THINK THAT'S HELPFUL HERE AND IN A LOT OF OUR, OUR WORK.

UM, SO I GUESS THEN, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT THAT IS THE 20, OR IF Y'ALL ARE, ARE DISCUSSING OTHER ONES THAT WEREN'T IN THAT STRATEGIC PLAN, BUT WHEN DO THOSE POTENTIAL ELIGIBLE PROJECTS GET MORE FORMALLY ANNOUNCED THAT HAVE BEEN VETTED THROUGH THIS? MY, THE, THE DATE IN MY BRAIN IS JULY.

UM, SO WE'VE ALREADY SENT THEM ALONG TO CDS.

THEY'RE LOOKING AGAIN AT THAT ELIGIBILITY AND, UM, ACTUALLY ALSO LOOKING FOR COLLABORATION BETWEEN DEPARTMENTS.

SO ACTUALLY, UM, UH, WHEN THE COMMISSIONER TALK SPOKE TO ABOUT SIX 20, IT REMINDED ME THAT THERE, THEY WILL BE DOING SOME ANALYSES.

YOU KNOW, WE'VE ALL MAPPED OUR PROJECTS, OUR MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS LOOKING IN, IN MULTIPLE AREAS AND LOOKING FOR, YOU KNOW, THAT TYPE OF SYNERGY.

UM, SO MY UNDERSTANDING IS AS SOON AS JULY, I KNOW THE, THE TASK FORCE HAS BEEN ASKING FOR IT, UM, SINCE LAST YEAR.

UH, AND WE REALLY ARE WORKING ON IT AND WE JUST WANNA ENSURE THAT WE'RE NOT PUTTING ANYTHING OUT TO THE PUBLIC THAT CANNOT APPLY.

UM, SO THAT BALANCE, BUT IT SHOULD BE SOON.

HAVING ADDITIONAL FUNDS IN A BUDGET PER SE, TO PUSH SOME OF THESE A LITTLE BIT FURTHER DOWN THE PIPELINE? ALWAYS , BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, THE ISSUES THAT IT WOULD BE THE EXPENSE AT THIS POINT OF OTHER PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS.

THAT'S HELPFUL.

I MEAN, I'M CURIOUS TOO, JUST FROM THE, YOU KNOW, IN THE CUSTOMER TRUST AND RELATIONSHIPS PRINCIPLE, LIKE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT CONCERNS ME ABOUT WATERSHED SPECIFIC PROJECTS IS THEY MIGHT NOT HAVE HAD FUNDS SECURED IN THEIR BUDGET TO GET THINGS TO THE DESIGN PHASE.

AND SO IF THOSE ARE NO LONGER ARE NOT EVEN ELIGIBLE BECAUSE THEY HAVEN'T GOTTEN TO THAT POINT, EVEN IF THEY'VE BEEN IDENTIFIED IN THE STRATEGIC PLAN, IS THERE ANY BENEFIT IN

[01:20:01]

SO WE HAVE PRIORITIZED THOSE WITHIN OUR EXISTING BUDGET, BUT WHAT YOU SPEAK TO IS, IS, UM, FUNDAMENTAL AND AN ISSUE THAT WE WANT TO ADDRESS.

SO, YOU KNOW, IF WE KNEW.

DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? DID I SAY IT DOES TOO MUCH AND TOO LITTLE.

YEAH, THAT'S A HARD BALANCE.

NO .

RIGHT.

UM, AND THEN I'M JUST CURIOUS, FROM AN ELIGIBILITY STANDPOINT, THAT'S GOTTA BE KIND OF A HARD FILTER TO BE GOING THROUGH, IS BEING ABLE TO VET THAT.

UH, DOES THAT ELIGIBILITY, IS THAT ACROSS ALL DEPARTMENTS? SO EVERYTHING EITHER HAS TO BE IN A DESIGN PHASE OR, YOU KNOW, BE ABLE TO BE DONE BY 2030, WHATEVER THAT DATE WAS? YEAH, THE, THE, YES, THE, UH, GUIDELINES FROM CDS APPLY TO ALL DEPARTMENTS AS FAR AS WE KNOW.

UM, AND AGAIN, WE'LL KNOW MORE IF IT DEPENDS ON THE TYPE OF PROJECT OR LIKE YOU SAID, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE A LAND ASSET OR CONSERVATION EASEMENT, YOU KNOW, SO WE'RE LEARNING ABOUT WHAT AN ASSET IS.

GOT IT.

UH, AND THEN LASTLY, ON THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SIDE.

'CAUSE I'M SURE WE'LL ALL START GETTING FOLKS THAT HAVE THOUGHTS ON WHAT COULD BE PUT INTO THIS.

UM, WHEN DOES THE ACTUAL HOLISTIC PLAN GET ANNOUNCED SO THAT WE CAN HELP, UM, FOLKS WITHIN OUR DISTRICTS UNDERSTAND THAT AND HAVE THEIR VOICES HEARD? MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THE PLAN IS BEING PRESENTED TO THE TASK FORCE THIS MONTH.

UM, AND SO THAT YOU SHOULD KNOW MORE ABOUT THAT SCHEDULE, UH, AND HOW AND WHEN TO GET INVOLVED.

I DON'T KNOW IF, IF COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN CAN SPEAK TO THE, UH, THIS THE WORKING GROUPS AND WHEN THOSE INITIATE, BUT ALSO, YEAH, THE WORK, THE WORKING GROUPS WERE ESTABLISHED AND THE FIRST MEETINGS ARE BEING HELD THIS MONTH.

LIKE, UH, THE TWO THAT I'M ON HAVE NOT MET YET.

ONE'S ON THURSDAY AND ONE'S NEXT WEEK.

SO, UM, WE HAVE, WE'RE REALLY JUST GETTING STARTED, BUT AGAIN, UM, THE PUBLIC IS INVITED TO OUR MEETINGS.

WE MEET ON THE FOURTH MONDAY AT, UH, TWO O'CLOCK IN CITY HALL.

UM, OUR MEETINGS ARE RECORDED AND I GUESS BROADCAST ON CHANNEL SIX I, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVEN'T, OUR, OUR, WE'RE STILL YEAR AND A HALF AWAY FROM, UM, YOU KNOW, THE FINAL DECISION ABOUT WHAT WILL BE IN THE NOVEMBER 20, 26 BOND ELECTION.

AND SO THERE'S PLENTY OF TIME.

AND MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT PLAN WILL BE A ROBUST ENGAGEMENT PLAN WITH, WITH MULTIPLE, WITH PUBLIC INPUT, A SURVEY, UH, DIFFERENT VARIOUS TOWN HALLS AND, AND EVEN BETTER TYPES OF EVENTS.

I'M CLEARLY NOT A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SPECIALIST, BUT THANKFULLY THERE ARE VERY GOOD ONES WHO ARE IN CHARGE.

WE ESTIMATED THAT WOULD PROBABLY BE ROUGHLY BETWEEN 2000 AND AND 2,500 ACRES.

DID WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR I HAVE ONE MORE COMMENT.

UM, FIRST OF ALL, YOU'RE DOING A GREAT JOB AT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, SO, UM, I APPRECIATE COMMISSIONER BREMER'S QUESTION ABOUT ARE YOU HERE TO INFORM OR, OR GET FEEDBACK? AND IT SOUNDS LIKE BOTH, BUT HAVING THE, THE CLARITY THAT YOU DO WANT SOME INPUT NOW.

UM, LOOKING AT THE HISTORICAL, UM, MONEY THAT'S GONE TOWARDS OPEN SPACE ACQUISITION VERSUS DRAINAGE AND STORMWATER PROJECTS, IT LOOKS LIKE DRAINAGE AND STORMWATER WATER PROJECTS HAVE RECEIVED MORE OVER THE YEARS.

AND I MEAN, THIS TASK OF TRYING TO PRIORITIZE ALL OF THESE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS, WHICH ARE ALL SO IMPORTANT, YOU KNOW, AND HAVE A $10 BILLION NEED, AND THEN WE HAVE A $600 MILLION ASK.

I MEAN, THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE.

SO IT'S, IT'S ALL IMPORTANT, BUT JUST SPEAKING FOR MYSELF AND, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT I'M CLOSE TO, I WOULD SAY OPEN SPACE ACQUISITION WOULD RISE TO THE TOP FOR ME.

I JUST THINK, UM, IT'S GONNA BE HARDER AND HARDER FOR THE CITY TO SECURE LAND OVER THE YEARS.

AND WHETHER THAT LAND GOES TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING OR PARK LAND OR, YOU KNOW, CONSERVATION EASEMENTS OR CULTURAL CENTERS, I JUST THINK THAT THAT SHOULD, SHOULD RISE TO THE TOP.

AND AGAIN, IT'S SO HARD BECAUSE STORMWATER IS ALSO INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT, BUT I'LL JUST ADD MY 2 CENTS NOW, THAT, THAT, I BELIEVE BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF RELATIVE HISTORIC FUNDING AND THE INCREASED DEVELOPMENT IN AUSTIN, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT NOW FOR THE CITY TO SECURE AS MUCH LAND AS IT CAN FOR THE PUBLIC.

GOOD FOR YEARS TO COME.

THANK YOU FOR SHARING THAT.

AND THERE IS A, A MASSIVE STORMWATER IMPACT AND BENEFIT IN WITH LAND ACQUISITION IN SOME AREAS.

COMMISSIONER BRISTOL, ANYBODY ELSE? ALL RIGHT.

I, I JUST, UM, REAL QUICK, I WANNA ADD, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE WERE LOOKING AT THE COUNTY COUNTY BOND PACKAGE, WHICH OF COURSE WAS COMING IN RIGHT AT THE HEIGHT OF THE MARKET THERE, AND THINGS HAVE COOLED OFF, UM, YOU KNOW, SINCE THEN A LITTLE BIT ON, ON PRICE, BUT I THINK WE ESTIMATED, UM, SO THAT BOND PACKAGE WAS 200 MILLION FOR LAND ACQUISITION AND, UM, WE,

[01:25:01]

SO JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF KIND OF, UM, THE, THE SCOPE OF LAND, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT CAN, CAN BE PURCHASED, UM, AGAIN, FINDING, FINDING ENOUGH TRACKS AND, AND BIGGER TRACKS, UM, FOR WATERSHED PROTECTION AND, UM, AND PARKLAND AND OPEN SPACES AND, YOU KNOW, UM, ALL THE THINGS THAT WE JUST RATTLED OFF, YOU KNOW, IS, IS HARDER AND HARDER.

SO, YOU KNOW, UM, LOOKING AT US ON THE CITY SCALE, NOT HAVING TO HAVE THAT TASK OF, OF, UM, OF LARGE TRACKS, WHICH WAS THE COUNTY'S GOAL.

UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THE CITY CAN FOCUS ON SOME SMALLER TRACKS, UM, THAT STILL REALLY ADD VALUE TO, UM, ESPECIALLY THINKING ABOUT WATERSHED PROTECTION.

UM, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, ALONG THE, THE, THE GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE OF OUR CREEKS.

UM, SO YEAH, I MEAN, THEY'RE, THEY'RE OUT THERE AND I THINK WE'RE AT A BETTER POSITION, UM, PRICE-WISE, UM, TO MAKE SOME OF THOSE ACQUISITIONS.

UM, THANK YOU FOR THAT.

I ALSO, UM, JUST, I'M GONNA BOLDLY ADD IN.

SO ANOTHER TYPE OF LAND ASSET THAT WE PERFORM AS, UH, UM, YOU KNOW, AN ORGANIZATION AND ACTUALLY IN OUR DRAINAGE BONDS ARE OUR FLOOD, UH, BUYOUTS.

AND, YOU KNOW, WE TALK A LOT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE A LOT OF, UM, CONSIDERATIONS IN TERMS OF AFFORDABILITY AND, AND, UM, IMPACT.

BUT, YOU KNOW, WITH THE CHANGING CLIMATE AND, AND WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, UM, UH, WHAT IS IT MANAGED RETREAT THAT ONE OF THE PROGRAMS THAT, WELL, I'M NOT SUPPOSED TO TAKE, THAT WE ARE, ARE BRINGING FORWARD IN OUR, IN OUR CURRENT BUDGET, IS, UH, A, A PROGRAM RELATED TO, TO THOSE BIOS.

SO JUST UNDER, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT LAND COMES IN MANY WAYS IN ADDITION TO THE WAYS YOU'VE, YOU'VE SPOKEN TO.

UM, AND SO I REALLY APPRECIATE Y'ALL, UH, SEEING THAT VALUE.

AND THEY'RE WHISPERING, SO I'M NERVOUS.

UM, SO WE CAN MOVE ON.

THEY DON'T LOOK ANGRY.

I GUESS JUST FROM A, A FEEDBACK STANDPOINT, I THINK WHAT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL IN THE FUTURE TOO IS, AND YOU DID DID THIS HERE, BUT I WANNA MAKE SURE IT'S INTEGRATED INTO THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, IF NOT JUST HOW THINGS ARE BEING SCORED AND WEIGHTED AND PRIORITIZED, BUT WHAT IS DISQUALIFYING? UH, 'CAUSE I FEEL LIKE THERE'S GONNA BE A LOT OF THINGS THAT PROBABLY WITHIN THAT TIMELINE, AND SOME OF THESE THINGS JUST WOULD BE A NON-STARTER.

SO JUST KNOWING THAT FROM THE BEGINNING WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL.

ALL RIGHT, UP NEXT IN DISCUSSION

[4. Presentation on Watershed Protection Department's Fiscal Year 2025 Budget, Programs, and Projects Overview and approve recommendations for their FY26 budget — Anupa Gharpurey, Financial Manager, and Pam Kearfott, Managing Engineer, Watershed Protection Department]

AND ACTION ITEMS. WE HAVE PRESENTATION ON OH, MY CONTINUING YES.

PRESENTATION ON, UH, WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT'S, FISCAL YEAR 2025, BUDGET PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS OVERVIEW AND APPROVAL OF RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE 2026 BUDGET.

GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.

MY NAME IS ANUPA GARRE.

I AM THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OVER BUSINESS ENTERPRISES, AND I'M HERE WITH MY COLLEAGUE PAM KER.

UH, SHE'S MANAGING ENGINEER AT PROJECT DESIGN AND DELIVERY.

UH, WE ARE HERE TODAY TO TALK ABOUT THE FISCAL YEAR 25.

THAT IS THE CURRENT YEAR, ONGOING YEAR BUDGET, THE PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS IT FUNDS.

UM, AS WE ARE STARTING TO PREPARE OUR FISCAL YEAR 26 AND 27 BUDGETS, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, THE CITY MANAGER AND, UM, THE BUDGET OFFICE LIKES TO DO IS TO ASK BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS TO PROVIDE THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ANY, ANY OF THE PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS THAT WE WANT TO CONSIDER IN, IN THE BUDGETS.

THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTING THAT IS MARCH 20, MARCH 31ST, AND I BELIEVE YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED AN EMAIL ABOUT IT, AND I BELIEVE ELIZABETH SENT A REMINDER AS WELL.

IT'S ONE FORM THAT YOU HAVE TO FILL OUT.

IT GOES STRAIGHT TO THE BUDGET OFFICE, AND THEN THEY SEND OUT TO THE DEPARTMENTS WITH, UM, UM, REQUESTS FOR CONSIDERING THOSE ITEMS, WHETHER OR NOT WE CAN FUND THEM.

SO JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT IF YOU HAVE ANY INPUT, AND THEN PLEASE INCLUDE, UH, YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS.

AND MY, OUR HOPE IS THAT TODAY WE PRESENT WHAT IS OUR BUDGET OVERVIEW, LIKE HIGH LEVEL BUDGET, SO THAT YOU CAN LOOK AT THAT AND MAKE THAT DETERMINATION WHETHER OR NOT YOU WANT TO ADD SOMETHING.

IN ANOTHER, IN COMING YEARS, 27 AND 28, YOU'LL SEE MORE, UM, BROKEN DOWN MORE.

SO I WILL BRIEFLY TALK ABOUT, I HAVE A VERY SMALL PART.

I THINK KELLY COVERED A LOT OF THE STUFF THAT I HAVE TO TALK ABOUT, SO I'LL JUST BREEZE THROUGH A FEW OF MY SLIDES.

BUT, UM, ESSENTIALLY WANTED TO INTRODUCE YOU TO THE MISSION AND THE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE.

WE JUST RECENTLY WENT THROUGH A REORG AND WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE LET YOU KNOW WHAT THAT REORG LOOKS LIKE.

UH, IT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT FROM THE FINANCIAL ORGANIZATION.

UM, SO RIGHT NOW, THE FINANCIAL STRUCTURE, IF YOU LOOK IT IN THE BUDGET BOOK, IT LOOKS A, IT HAS MORE, UH, LESS NUMBER OF, UM, LINE ITEMS OR BRANCHES, WHEREAS

[01:30:01]

BUT RIGHT NOW IT'S, BUT WE WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW ABOUT THE DIFFERENCES.

ALSO WANTED TO TELL YOU WHAT ARE THE PROGRAMMATIC ACTIVITIES THAT THESE, THIS BUDGET FUNDS.

AND THEN I'LL TURN IT OVER TO PAM AND SHE WILL TALK ABOUT THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM AND THE PROJECT'S, HIGHLIGHTS AND RESOURCES.

SO THIS SLIDE, I THINK, UM, KELLY ALREADY COVERED IT.

UM, YOU KNOW, WATERSHED PROTECTION WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1991, UH, WITH THE CHARGE OF, WITH THE GOAL TO MAINTAIN THE CITY'S, UH, CREEK DRAINED SYSTEMS AND WATER QUALITY PROGRAMS. AND OUR MISSION IS TO PROTECT THE LIVES, PROPERTY AND ENVIRONMENT OF OUR COMMUNITY BY REDUCING THE IMPACT OF FLOODS, EROSION, AND WATER POLLUTION.

AGAIN, AS SHE MENTIONED, THE PRIMARY SOURCE OF OUR FUNDING IS THE DRAINAGE UTILITY CHARGE, WHICH IS ON YOUR UTILITY BILLS THAT YOU SEE.

OVER 94% OF OUR FUNDING FOR OPERATIONS COMES FROM DRAINAGE UTILITY CHARGE, AND SOME OF THAT GOES TOWARDS CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS. THE OTHER SOURCES ARE DEVELOPMENT FEES, UM, INTEREST INCOME ON OUR BALANCES.

WE DO HAVE SOME GRANTS AS WELL.

AND FOR CAPITAL PROJECTS, AGAIN, UM, GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS.

SO THIS IS OUR ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE.

WE JUST WENT THROUGH A REORG.

I, I KNOW IT'S KIND OF HARD TO SEE, UM, BUT, UH, WE HAVE BROKEN UP ONE OF OUR SUPPORT, UH, SERVICES AREAS AND, UH, PART OF OUR PLANNING, UH, MONITORING AND COMPLIANCE AREAS INTO DIFFERENT BRANCHES.

SO WE DO SEE OUR DIRECTOR THERE, JORGE MORALES.

AND THEN UNDER HIM WE HAVE THE BUSINESS ENTERPRISES DIVISION, UM, WHICH HAS FINANCE, IT MANAGEMENT, WATERSHED, EDUCATION, EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING.

WE HAVE ALSO OFFICE OF EMPLOYEE RESOURCES THAT HAS THE HUMAN RESOURCES, ADMINISTRATIVE, UM, DIVISION, SAFETY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, AND, UM, DEPARTMENT EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT.

WE ALSO HAVE WORK, THEY ALSO DO FLEETS AND FLEET AND, UH, FACILITIES MANAGEMENT.

WE ALSO HAVE THE STRATEGY AND PLANNING OFFICE, UH, THAT HAS PLANNING GEOSPATIAL ANALYSIS, DATA, UH, SCIENCE AND DECISION SUPPORT, EQUITY OFFICE, AND, UH, OFFICE OF PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT.

AND THEN WE RECENTLY HIRED OUR DEPUTY DIRECTOR, UH, WHO IS GOING TO OVERSEE THE FOUR CORE OPERATIONS, UH, AREAS OF OUR DEPARTMENT.

UM, SO PROJECT DESIGN AND DELIVERY, UM, MODELING, MONITORING AND COMPLIANCE OPERATIONS, AND THEN ENVIRONMENTAL OFFICER OR ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND RESEARCH.

IT'S PLANNING, MONITORING, COMPLIANCE.

FINANCIALLY, HOWEVER, WE ARE BROKEN INTO FOUR CORE BRANCHES.

SO THREE, SO THREE ARE THE OP, UH, OPERATIONS SIDE.

SO PROJECT DESIGN AND DELIVERY.

I SHOULD CORRECT THE COUPLE OF NAMES.

IT'S NOT MONITORING, MODELING AND COMPLIANCE.

SO PLANNING IS SITTING IN THEIR, UH, FIELD OPERATIONS.

AND THEN BUSINESS ENTERPRISES SHOULD REALLY READ SUPPORT SERVICES, UH, WHICH INCLUDES OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR, THE OFFICE OF EMPLOYEE RESOURCES ARE ALL ENCOMPASSES IN THAT.

SO FINANCIALLY, WE ARE STRUCTURED UNDER FOUR BUCKETS, AND THAT'S HOW WE ARE FUNDED.

UH, TOTAL NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES FOR WATERSHED PROTECTION ARE 442.5.

THIS FISCAL YEAR, WE DID NOT HAVE ANY NEW HIRES.

NEW, NO NEW FDS.

WE DID NOT REQUEST ANY, JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT.

SO THIS IS CONTINUING FROM FISCAL YEAR 24.

SO GOING INTO THE NUMBERS NOW, UH, FISCAL YEAR 2025, THAT IS CURRENT YEAR'S BUDGET IS TOTAL $122.4 MILLION.

THE BIGGEST PIECE HERE IS THE FIELD OPERATIONS DIVISION.

AGAIN, 173 EMPLOYEES.

THE BIGGEST PIECE, UM, APPROXIMATELY 26% OF OUR BUDGET THAT WE ALSO TRANSFER TO OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM THIS YEAR, WE ARE INTENDING TO TRANSFER 26.5.

UM, AND THEN PAM WILL TALK ABOUT WHAT IT'S GOING TO LOOK LIKE IN A LITTLE BIT IN THE, UH, WHAT THE TREND IS.

UM, AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE OTHER TRANSFERS.

AND JUST TO LET YOU KNOW, WE PAY FOR ALL OF THE INTERN SERVICES THAT OTHER DEPARTMENTS PROVIDE TO US.

SO FINANCIAL SERVICES, BUILDING SERVICES, AUDITOR'S, OFFICE LAW, THINGS LIKE THAT.

SO WE HAVE TO PAY FUND FOR THAT.

COMMUNICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT, AND THAT COMES TO ABOUT 23.7.

SO IT'S A PRETTY HEFTY PRICE, UH, COST THAT TO US.

UM, AND FOR THE OPERATIONS AREAS, IF YOU LOOK, PLANNING, UH, FIELD OPERATIONS IS THE BIGGEST ONE, AS I MENTIONED.

AND THEN WE HAVE THE PLANNING, MONITORING, COMPLIANCE.

UM, UH, WE HAVE SUPPORT SERVICES AT 17.3, WHICH INCLUDES THE OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR, AND THEN THE PROJECT DESIGN AND DELIVERY IS $8.4 MILLION.

SO, UH, AGAIN, UH, THIS IS A FAMILIAR SLIDE.

[01:35:01]

YOU, I THINK YOU ALREADY SAW THIS.

UH, SO OPERATIONS ARE PRIMARILY FUNDED BY DRAINAGE UTILITY CHARGE.

UH, IT IS A NEW PRO.

IT IS A CHARGE THAT WE CAL, UH, WE IMPLEMENTED IN FISCAL YEAR 2026, UM, 2016, I'M SORRY, 2016.

UM, SO IT WENT INTO EFFECT ON OCTOBER 1ST, 2015.

AND THIS IS BASED ON THE AMOUNT AND PERCENT OF IMPERVIOUS COVER ON EACH PARCEL.

UH, REGARDLESS OF LAND USE, IT'S CALCULATED JUST THE SAME WAY ACROSS THE BOARD.

UM, AND THIS IS SOME A LITTLE BIT UNIQUE, UH, FOR AUSTIN.

THE OTHER FEE, OTHER FEES ARE SITE PLANS, SUBDIVISIONS, UM, DEVELOPMENT FEES THAT COME TO US.

AND, UM, THEN OF COURSE WE HAVE INTEREST INCOME, UH, FOR CAPITAL PROJECTS.

THERE'S CASH TRANSFER FROM OPERATIONS.

THERE IS GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS GRANT, UM, GRANTS, UM, TIFF OR TAX INSTRUMENT FINANCING, AND THEN RSMP AND US USCF PAYMENTS THAT KELLY ALSO MENTIONED ABOUT NEXT SLIDE.

SO, UH, JUST LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS BROADLY, UH, FOR FISCAL YEAR 25, UH, OUR SOURCES AND USERS OF FUNDS.

UM, SO AS YOU CAN SEE, DRAINAGE UTILITY CHARGES, UH, WAS 113 MILLION THIS YEAR.

WE ACTUALLY RAISED OUR RATES IN FISCAL YEAR 2025.

UM, AND WE HAD NOT RAISED OUR RATES SINCE 2016 WHEN THIS WENT INTO EFFECT UNTIL 2024.

24 WAS THE FIRST YEAR WHERE WE RAISED OUR RATES.

AND THEN, UH, IF YOU LOOK AT THE BOTTOM LINE, OUR, OUR REVENUE SOURCES ARE NOT MEETING OUR TOTAL COSTS THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW AND THE NEEDS WE HAVE.

SO WE HAVE TO RAISE OUR RATES IN ORDER TO MEET THAT.

UM, AND WE WILL HAVE TO, UH, WE HAVE BEEN, UH, WE HAD TO ACTUALLY RAISE, UH, BY 9.9%, UH, WHICH WAS A DIRECTIVE FROM OUR A CM AS WELL, UM, TO KEEP IT UNDER 10%.

UM, AND SO THAT COMES TO ABOUT, UH, A DOLLAR 21 FOR A TYPICAL HOME WITH 3,100, UH, SQUARE FOOT AND 37% OF IMPERVIOUS COVER.

THAT WAS THE INCREASE DOLLAR 21 PER MONTH.

UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, THE OTHER AREAS DEVELOPMENT, UH, FEES AND INTEREST INCOME ARE SMALLER AMOUNTS.

TOTAL REVENUE WAS 119.6, APPROXIMATELY 120 MILLION.

UH, IF YOU LOOK AT THE USES OF FUNDS, OUR BIGGEST COST IS OUR PERSONNEL COST, UM, 51.2 MILLION FOR 442 EMPLOYEES.

UH, WE ALSO HAVE TRANSFERS AS I TALKED ABOUT.

SO IF YOU ADD THE TRANSFERS TO OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND OUR PERSONNEL COST, THAT IS APPROXIMATELY 60% OF OUR BUDGET, WHICH IS, UM, SO THE ROOM TO ACTUALLY MAKE ANY CHANGES IS, IS VERY, VERY SMALL.

UM, SO TOTAL, UH, BUDGET, 122 POINT 0.4 MILLION.

SO SOME OF THE ACTIVITIES THAT WE DO, I HAVE A WHOLE LIST OF, UH, DIFFERENT PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE, BUT I WILL JUST HIGHLIGHT, UM, NEXT SLIDE.

UM, SO OBVIOUSLY DRAINAGE INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE IS VERY KEY.

SO STORM DRAIN, UH, REHAB, STORM DRAIN CLEANING, UM, SOME OF THE SMALL PROJECTS THAT WE DO BY, WITH PEELED OPERATIONS, WE HAVE TO MAINTAIN OUR CREEKS.

UM, AND SO TRASH AND DEBRIS REMOVAL IS IMPORTANT.

LAND MANAGEMENT AND POND MAINTENANCE AND PONDS INSPECTIONS ARE ALSO PART OF IT.

UH, WE ALSO DO POLLUTION PREVENTION AND SPILLS, RESPONSE FLOODPLAIN MODELING AND DEVELOPMENT REVIEW, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND PLANNING WITH CODE AND CRITERIA.

UH, AND THEN ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH, PARTICULARLY FOR WATER QUALITY.

AND THEN DATA ANALYSIS.

UH, ALL OF THOSE ACTIVITIES ARE FUNDED BY, UH, OUR BUDGET NEXT.

AND THEN STORM EVENT MONITORING, ATX FLOODS, UH, DOT COM, YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH IT.

WE ROAD CLOSURES THAT WE HAVE TO DO, WE DO REPLENISHING OF CREEK BEDS AND THEN COMMUNITY EDUCATION.

WE ALSO HAVE A ROBUST, UH, YOUTH EDUCATION PROGRAM TO TEACH THE KIDS OF IMPORTANCE OF, UM, MANAGING OUR WATER RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION.

AND SO WITH THAT, I WILL, I BELIEVE THAT'S THE END OF MY PART.

UM, NEXT SLIDE.

SO I'LL TURN IT OVER TO PAM AND SHE CAN TALK ABOUT THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.

GOOD EVENING, COMMISSIONERS.

MY NAME IS PAM CUR.

I'M A MANAGING ENGINEER IN OUR PROJECT DESIGN AND DELIVERY BRANCH OF THE DEPARTMENT.

SO KELLY STARTED US OFF REALLY WELL WITH WATERSHED 1 0 1, UM, ANUPA ADDED TO IT, ADDED IN SOME BUDGET INFORMATION.

I'M GONNA CONTINUE WITH THAT THEME.

UM, WE'RE GONNA DO CIP 1 0 1.

OF THE CURRENT PORTFOLIO.

SO I'M GONNA START WITH BROAD OVERVIEW OF WHAT OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM IS AND ISN'T.

UM, I WILL THEN GIVE YOU KIND OF A QUICK SNAPSHOT

[01:40:01]

UM, OUR PORTFOLIO IS VERY, VERY LARGE, UM, AND VERY BROAD.

UM, WE WOULD BE HERE UNTIL TOMORROW IF I TRIED TO TALK ABOUT EVERYTHING IN THE PORTFOLIO.

SO I WILL NOT BORE YOU WITH ALL OF IT.

UM, BUT I WILL MOVE INTO, UM, HIGHLIGHTING SIX PROJECTS THAT WE ARE PARTICULARLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS YEAR BECAUSE OF THE PHASE THAT THEY'RE IN OR THE MILESTONES THAT THEY'RE SET TO ACHIEVE THIS YEAR.

SO, AS MANY OF YOU DO OR DON'T KNOW, UM, A CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM, UM, IS WHAT, UM, ENTITIES LIKE US USE TO BUILD AND IMPROVE OUR ASSETS.

UM, AS, AS KELLY MENTIONED, WE ARE THE DRAINAGE UTILITY.

WE ARE THE STORMWATER UTILITY FOR THE CITY.

SO WE HAVE STORM DRAIN NETWORKS ALL OVER THE CITY.

WE HAVE CHANNEL NETWORKS, WE HAVE PONDS, UH, WE HAVE OUR, OUR OPEN SPACES.

UM, WE USE OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM TO PROTECT OUR ASSETS, TO PROTECT HOMES FROM FLOODING, TO PROTECT CREEKS FROM ERODING, TO IMPROVE THE WATER QUALITY IN OUR STREAMS, ET CETERA.

WHAT MAKES CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN NORMAL PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES THAT WE FIND OUT OF OPERATING IS THE SCALE OF THE COMPLEXITY AND THE TIMELINE OF THEM.

NORMALLY, OUR CIP PROJECTS ARE MULTI-YEAR, UH, TAKE MULTI MULTIPLE YEARS TO IMPLEMENT, UM, ON THE ORDER PROBABLY FROM AVERAGE OF NINE YEARS, BEGINNING TO END IMPLEMENT A CIP PROJECT.

UM, THEY COST, YOU KNOW, ANYWHERE FROM A COUPLE OF MILLION DOLLARS UP TO HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS, WHICH IS WHERE THAT $2 BILLION UNFUNDED NEED COMES FROM FOR US.

UM, AND THEY'RE OFTEN LINKED, BECAUSE THERE ARE MULTIPLE YEARS, IT'S HARDER FOR US TO FUND THEM OUT OF AN OPERATING BUDGET THAT ROLLS OVER EVERY YEAR.

WE NEED A MORE CONSISTENT FUNDING SOURCE, FUNDING STREAM THAT WE CAN PLAN FOR IN FUTURE YEARS.

SO WE DO FIVE YEAR CIP PLANNING, SO WE'RE NOT JUST LOOKING AT THIS YEAR, BUT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS WITH THE FUNDING THAT WE KNOW WE HAVE GETTING TRANSFERRED TO US FROM THAT DRAINAGE CHARGE, POTENTIAL BOND FUNDING COMING IN, OTHER REVENUE SOURCES, EXTERNAL FUNDING, WHAT CAN WE AFFORD, WHAT CAN WE GET DONE WITH THAT FUNDING? NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

SO, I'M NOT GONNA SPEND A LOT OF TIME ON THIS BECAUSE KELLY DID A REALLY, A REALLY GOOD JOB OF TALKING ABOUT OUR EXISTING STRATEGIC PLAN.

UM, BUT IT IS OUR, OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR EVERYTHING THAT'S IN OUR PORTFOLIO RIGHT NOW.

UM, THE EXISTING STRATEGIC PLAN LAYS OUT METHODOLOGIES FOR OUR PRIMARY MISSIONS, WHETHER IT'S FLOOD RISK REDUCTION, EROSION CONTROL, OR, UH, POLLUTION PREVENTION LAYS OUT CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES FOR US TO BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY WHERE THOSE WORST PROBLEMS ARE AND BEGIN LOOKING AT WHAT THE POTENTIAL REMEDIES TO THOSE PROBLEMS ARE.

UM, WE TRY TO MAXIMIZE, LIKE OUR INTEGRATION OPPORTUNITIES, WHETHER THAT'S WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS OBVIOUSLY, BUT EVEN WITHIN OUR OWN DEPARTMENT.

UM, AND SO WE MIGHT HAVE A TOP 20 PROBLEM AREA THAT'S DRIVEN BY OUR LOCAL FLOOD MISSION.

SO IT'S A, AN INADEQUATE STORM DRAIN SYSTEM, AND IT'S CAUSING LOCALIZED FLOODING IN A NEIGHBORHOOD.

BUT WE KNOW THAT THAT STORM DRAIN SYSTEM WOULD OUTFALL INTO A CREEK WHERE THERE'S ALSO SOME EROSION HAPPENING.

WELL, OUR EROSION MISSION AND OUR LOCAL FLOOD MISSION WOULD TEAM UP AND THEY WOULD WORK ON THE PROJECT TOGETHER.

SO WE'RE TRYING TO MAXIMIZE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES TO INTEGRATE OUR MISSIONS, DIG ONCE, UM, AND PROVIDE THE MAXIMUM BENEFIT TO THE COMMUNITY THAT WE CAN.

UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

UM, AND AS KELLY ALSO MENTIONED, WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF WORKING ON A NEW STRATEGIC PLAN.

UM, WHILE THE EXISTING ONE HAS, UH, BEEN GREAT FOR US AND IT'S ALLOWED US TO ACCOMPLISH A LOT OF REALLY GREAT THINGS, WE KNOW THAT IT'S, IT'S LACKING IN SOME AREAS.

AND SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED FOR THIS EFFORT TO BOTH, UM, IMPROVE THE BREADTH AND THE DEPTH OF THE PLAN, UM, AND HAVE IT ALLOW, ALLOW IT TO HELP INFORM US IN AS WE MOVE FORWARD IN THE FUTURE.

BEFORE I GO TOO MUCH INTO THE EXISTING PORTFOLIO, I DID WANNA TOUCH ON, UM, KIND OF THE 'CAUSE OF THE TIE INTO THE FUNDING PART OF THIS AND THE, THE NEED FOR THE BOND AND PAST BOND CYCLES, ET CETERA.

UM, AS APA MENTIONED THIS IN FY 25, THERE WAS, IT WAS INTENDED TO BE A TRANSFER OF THAT DRAINAGE UTILITY REVENUE TO CIP OF 26 AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS.

UH, WE HAVE BEEN TOLD IN OUR FIVE YEAR PLANNING PROCESS TO PLAN FOR THAT NUMBER TO DROP TO $20 MILLION EVERY YEAR IN PERPETUITY.

UM, SO OUT OF THAT $20 MILLION, WE'RE FUNDING EVERYTHING THAT YOU'RE GONNA SEE SUMMARIZED IN THESE NEXT COUPLE OF SLIDES.

UM, WE ARE FUNDING THE PROJECTS THAT AREN'T BOND ELIGIBLE BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT RESULTING IN AN ASSET PERHAPS.

UH, WE'RE FUNDING POTENTIALLY THOSE EARLIER PHASES OF PROJECTS, THE PRELIMINARY, THE DESIGN PHASES OF PROJECTS SO THAT THEY CAN BE BOND ELIGIBLE TO, TO PRODUCE AN ASSET.

UM, AND THERE'S ALSO SEVERAL OTHER PROGRAMS AND, AND TYPES OF CIP PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE THAT OTHERWISE AREN'T BOND ELIGIBLE THAT WE WOULD CONTINUE TO FUND WITH THAT DUFF TRANSFER.

[01:45:01]

PLUS, LEVERAGING EXTERNAL FUNDING WHEREVER POSSIBLE FROM LOCAL, STATE, FEDERAL PARTNERS.

UM, AND LEVERAGING THE FUNDING THAT WE'RE, THAT WE PULL IN THAT ARE DEVELOPER RELATED, UM, WHETHER IT'S DETENTION OR WATER QUALITY RELATED DEVELOPER FEES, UH, WE TRY TO MAXIMIZE OUR USE OF THOSE AS WELL.

SO NOW WE GET TO LOOK AT FUND MAPS AND GRAPHS, WHICH IS A LOT MORE BETTER THAN BULLETS ON A SLIDE.

UM, THIS MAP REPRESENTS A PORTION OF OUR EXISTING CIP PORTFOLIO.

THESE ARE THE PROJECTS THAT WE'RE ABLE TO MAP BECAUSE THEY HAVE A DISCREET LOCATION.

UM, THERE ARE THINGS THAT YOU'RE GONNA, YOU'LL SEE ON SOME OF THE FUTURE SLIDES ABOUT FLOODPLAIN STUDIES.

THINGS THAT ARE MORE, UM, CITYWIDE IN NATURE AREN'T RESULTING IN AN ASSET THAT WE CAN PUT ON A MAP.

SO THIS MAP IS JUST REPRESENTING THE ONES THAT WE CAN MAP.

UM, AND IT'S SHOWING, UH, BETWEEN ORANGE AND GREEN ALL THE PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE IN CONSTRUCTION RIGHT NOW.

WE'RE WRAPPING UP CONSTRUCTION, MAYBE THE CONSTRUCTION'S DONE, WE'RE JUST TYING UP LOOSE ENDS ON A CONTRACT AND WE'RE READY TO, UH, PUT IT IN THE BOOKS.

UH, AND THEN ALL OF THE PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE IN THE WORKS, THEY'RE SOMEWHERE IN THEIR EVALUATION PHASE, THEIR PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING PHASE, THEIR DESIGN PERMITTING PHASES, ET CETERA.

UM, INTENDED JUST TO SHOW THE REPRESENTATION THAT WE, WE DO HAVE PROBLEMS ALL OVER THE CITY THAT WE'RE TRYING TO ADDRESS ALL AT ONCE.

UM, NOT ALL OF THESE PROJECTS ARE DELIVERED BY THE PROJECT DESIGN AND DELIVERY BRANCH, BUT A FAIR NUMBER OF THEM ARE, AND WE ARE A PRETTY SMALL BRANCH OF THE DEPARTMENT.

SO I JUST WANTED TO TAKE A MOMENT AND GIVE KUDOS TO, UM, ALL THE ENGINEERS AND PROJECT MANAGERS IN, IN PROJECT DESIGN AND DELIVERY AND ACROSS THE DEPARTMENT.

'CAUSE IT IS A, A BIG PORTFOLIO TO CARRY FORWARD, UM, AND EVERYBODY'S DOING REALLY GOOD WORK.

SO THE PREVIOUS SLIDE SHOWED THE MAPABLE PROJECTS, BUT IF WE TAKE A STEP BACK AND LOOK AT THE CURRENT PORTFOLIO, WE HAVE 112 PROJECTS THAT ARE ACTIVE RIGHT NOW IN OUR PORTFOLIO.

AS I SAID, MOST CIPS TAKE MULTIPLE YEARS TO IMPLEMENT.

SO NEXT YEAR THERE MIGHT BE 110, THERE MIGHT BE A HUNDRED, IT'LL BE A LOT OF THE SAME PROJECTS.

THEY'RE NOT ALL GONNA GET DONE THIS YEAR.

UM, BUT THEY'RE ALL IN DIFFERENT PHASES AND THEY'RE ALL DIFFERENT TYPES OF PROJECTS.

SO THIS, THIS PIE CHART IS SHOWING A ROUGH BREAKDOWN OF WHAT'S DRIVING EACH ONE OF THESE PROJECTS.

UM, SO YOU SEE OUR PRIMARY MISSIONS REPRESENTED.

YOU SEE THE FLOOD IS REDUCTION AREAS, YOU SEE THE EROSION, UH, THE STREAM RESTORATION PROGRAM.

YOU SEE THE WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS LIKE OUR CORE MISSIONS TO THE DEPARTMENT, BUT YOU'D ALSO SEE, UM, A GOOD NUMBER OF PROJECTS THAT ARE THOSE PLANS AND STUDIES.

SO THE FLOOD PLAIN STUDIES, UM, THE ACTUAL STRATEGIC PLAN THAT WE'RE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW IS A CIP PROJECT BECAUSE WE HAVE AN OUTSIDE CONSULTANT HELPING US WITH IT.

UM, SO THAT'S REPRESENTED UP THERE.

UM, WE, WE DO EARMARK, UM, A GOOD BIT OF MONEY FROM OUR CIP BUDGET TO THE VEHICLES AND EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES THAT WE NEED FOR OUR OWN STAFF AND TO MAINTAIN OUR INFRASTRUCTURE.

UM, AND THEN THERE'S ALSO A SECTION UP THERE THAT I HAVE LABELED AS PARTNERSHIPS.

SO THESE ARE, UM, WHETHER IT'S A, A PARTNERSHIP WITH A DEVELOPER TO IMPROVE, LEVERAGE THEIR FUNDING TO HELP IMPROVE SOME OF OUR SYSTEM, UM, A PARTNERSHIP WITH ANOTHER DEPARTMENT, PARTICULARLY AUSTIN WATER.

UM, SINCE YOU KNOW, THE STORM RATE SYSTEM AND THE WASTEWATER LINES ARE THE TWO LARGEST PIPES IN THE GROUND, UM, IT'S, IT'S IN, IN BOTH OF OUR BEST INTERESTS.

IF WE WORK TOGETHER ANYTIME, ONE OF US NEEDS TO DIG UP A STREET THAT WE BOTH GET IN THERE AND TAKE CARE OF IT.

UM, AND SO WE TRY TO LEVERAGE FUNDING HOWEVER WE CAN.

UM, AND THOSE ARE ALL REPRESENTED AS PARTNERSHIP PROJECTS.

SO SAME NUMBER, SAME UNIVERSE OF PORTFOLIO.

JUST CUTTING IT A DIFFERENT WAY, UH, TO SHOW YOU, UH, A SNAPSHOT OF CURRENT PHASE OF PROJECTS.

UM, SO THE VAST MAJORITY OF THEM ARE IN WHAT WE CONSIDER TO BE A PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING DESIGN PERMITTING PHASE OR GETTING READY FOR CONSTRUCTION.

UM, WE HAVE A COUPLE THAT ARE ACTUALLY OUT FOR BID RIGHT NOW, UH, LOOKING FOR OUR, OUR CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTORS.

UM, AND THEN ANOTHER GOOD CHUNK OF THEM ARE PROJECTS THAT ARE EITHER IN CONSTRUCTION, THEY'RE ACTIVELY BEING BUILT, UM, OR IMPLEMENTATION, WHICH MEANS, LIKE FOR A STUDY LIKE THE STRATEGIC PLAN, CIP, IT IS AN IMPLEMENTATION PHASE RIGHT NOW BECAUSE WE HAVE A CONSULTANT ON BOARD WORKING WITH US.

SO THOSE ARE ALL THE, THE, THE WORK IS HAPPENING IN THAT BLUE PIECE OF THE PIE.

T THE BREADTH AND DEPTH OF THE WORK THAT WE DO.

SO NOW I WANNA SPEND A LITTLE BIT OF TIME HIGHLIGHTING SIX PROJECTS.

UM, SIX OF THE 112.

UM, YOU'LL THANK ME .

UM, THESE SIX, I MEAN, THEY ALL HAVE VERY, VERY EXCITING MILESTONES HAPPENING THIS YEAR, WHICH IS WHY I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THEM.

UH, BUT THEY'RE ALSO SCATTERED AROUND TOWN.

UM, AND THEY'RE ALSO DIFFERENT IN TYPE, WHAT TYPE OF PROJECT THEY ARE, JUST TO GIVE YOU ALL A BETTER IDEA AND FLAVOR OF THE

[01:50:01]

SO THE FIRST PROJECT IS, UH, WHAT WE REFER TO AS THE BRASSY WOOD PROJECT.

UM, THIS IS, UM, IT'S IN DISTRICT TWO, UM, BOTTOM PART OF WILLIAMSON CREEK WATERSHED, THE DOVE SPRINGS NEIGHBORHOOD.

WE ARE IN CONSTRUCTION ON THE FIRST PHASE OF THIS PROJECT, WHICH IS A STORM DRAIN, UM, IMPROVEMENT PROJECT TO ALLEVIATE LOCALIZED FLOODING IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD.

UH, WE ARE REALLY EXCITED TO BE IN CONSTRUCTION ON THIS.

IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME COMING.

UM, AND WE HAVE MORE PHASES COMING.

WE HAVE A SECOND DESIGN, A SECOND PHASE THAT IS, WE'RE WRAPPING UP DESIGN ON.

WE'RE HOPING TO GO TO BID ON IT LATER THIS FALL.

UH, CONSTRUCTION OF THIS FIRST PHASE SHOULD BE DONE, UH, CLOSE TO THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR.

UM, AND THIS IS A PROJECT JUST SINCE WE'VE BEEN TALKING A LOT ABOUT FUNDING TYPES.

UM, TONIGHT, THIS IS A PROJECT THAT WE ARE FUNDING THROUGH A COMBINATION OF OUR DRAINAGE UTILITY FUND, UM, THE 2018 BOND PACKAGE, AS WELL AS WHAT WE CALL RSS AND P, WHICH IS A DETENTION, UH, A DEVELOPER RELATED FEE.

UM, A DEVELOPER FEE RELATED TO DETENTION THAT WE ARE ABLE TO THEN USE ON FLOOD MITIGATION AND DRAINAGE PROJECTS IN THAT, IN THOSE SAME WATERSHEDS.

SO SAME WATERSHED, BUT IF WE GO FROM THE BOTTOM OF WILLIAMSON, UH, CLOSER TO, TO THE TOP OF WILLIAMSON, UM, OVER INTO SOUTHWEST AUSTIN DISTRICT, KIND OF SPANNING DISTRICTS EIGHT AND 10, I BELIEVE WE HAVE TWO WATER QUALITY PONDS, ONE PROJECT, UM, DICK NICHOLS AND BECKETT MEADOW WATER QUALITY POND IMPROVEMENTS.

UM, THESE IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO IN CONSTRUCTION RIGHT NOW AND SHOULD BE DONE, UH, BY THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR, WHICH WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT.

UM, IN ONE ONE OF THESE PONDS, I KNOW IT'S FULL REPLACEMENT OF THE LINER IN THE POND.

THE OTHER POND IS A COMPLETE REDESIGN RECONSTRUCTION IN ORDER TO IMPROVE THE EFFICIENCY AND FUNCTIONALITY OF IT.

UM, THIS IS A PROJECT THAT WE ARE FUNDING SOLELY WITH OUR DRAINAGE FUND.

UM, IT IS ONE OF THE SMALLER, ON THE SMALLER END OF A CIP, SO WE WERE ABLE TO HANDLE IT WITH OUR DRAINAGE FEE.

UM, TRANSFER TO CIP NEXT SLIDE.

SO HERE'S ONE OF THOSE NOT MAPPABLE PROJECTS, UM, BUT I WANTED TO SPEND A LITTLE BIT OF TIME ON IT.

UM, IT'S OUR FLOODPLAIN STUDIES.

SO AS, AS, AS MANY OF YOU PROBABLY KNOW, WE HAVE BEEN, UH, WORKING ON UPDATING ALL OF THE FLOODPLAIN STUDIES CITYWIDE, UH, TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT UPDATED RAINFALL DATA THAT WAS PRODUCED BY NOAH AS PART OF THEIR ALICE 14 STUDY.

UM, IT IT'S JUST EXTENDING THE PERIOD OF RECORD OF RAINFALL DATA THAT WE HAVE THAT TIES INTO THE STATISTICS AND THE HYDROLOGY AND HOW ALL THE FLOODPLAINS MODELS WORK.

UM, AND SO IT'S BEEN A REALLY HEAVY LIFT, UM, FOR OUR FLOODPLAIN GROUP TO, UH, BRING ON CONSULTANTS WHO CAN PARTNER WITH US TO DELIVER ALL THESE FLOODPLAIN STUDIES.

UM, WE HAVE IT BECAUSE WE CAN'T, WE BROKE IT UP INTO STUDY AREAS SO THAT THEY COULD HAPPEN CONCURRENTLY.

UH, STUDY AREAS ONE AND TWO ARE KIND OF THE BOTTOM LEFT.

UM, LIKE ONION WILLIAMSON AREAS, THE BOTTOM LEFT OF YOUR MAP.

UM, THOSE ARE ON THE, THE EARLIEST SCHEDULE.

WE'RE EXPECTING TO HAVE PRELIMINARY FLOODPLAIN MAPS READY FOR COMMUNITY REVIEW, UM, I THINK IN EARLY 2026, WHICH IS EXCITING.

UM, AND THEN THE REST OF THE STUDY AREAS, UM, ARE ABOUT A YEAR, SIX MONTHS TO A YEAR BEHIND THAT SCHEDULE.

UM, SO THEY WOULD BE LOOKING, WE'D BE LOOKING TO DO A RELEASE OF PRELIMINARY FLOODPLAIN MAPS FOR THOSE STUDY AREAS LATE 2026, EARLY 2027.

UM, I WILL, I DON'T HAVE IT LINKED UP HERE, BUT WE DO HAVE A, A FORWARD FACING, UH, WEBSITE THAT WHERE, WHERE ANYBODY, THE COMMUNITY CAN GO IN AND CHECK ON THE PROGRESS OF THESE STUDIES AND LEARN MORE ABOUT THEM.

UM, BUT THIS IS DEFINITELY ONE THAT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AT A, AT A FUTURE MILESTONE WILL BE VERY, VERY IMPORTANT AS WE ROLL THESE MAPS OUT TO THE COMMUNITY TO, TO GET THEIR FEEDBACK AND INPUT ON THEM.

CIP THAT IS IN CONSTRUCTION, UH, WRAPPING UP LATER THIS YEAR.

I, SO MOVING BACK OVER INTO EAST AUSTIN, UM, AND THIS IS A, A REALLY GOOD EXAMPLE OF, UM, AN EROSION CONTROL PROJECT, WHAT WE CALL STREAM RESTORATION.

UM, THIS IS THE LARGEST EROSION CONTROL PROJECT THAT WE HAVE DONE AS A DEPARTMENT, AS THIS IS THE ROY G. GUERRERO CHANNEL STABILIZATION PROJECT.

PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT IS TO, UM, HALT AND ADDRESS AND PREVENT, UM, THE EROSION THAT'S, THAT'S BEEN COMPLETELY UNRAVELING THIS ALTERED CHANNEL, UM, THAT'S BEEN IN PLACE FOR MANY, MANY YEARS.

THE, THE, UH, DELINEATION OF THE CHANNEL WAS CHANGED, UM, ON PURPOSE MANY, MANY YEARS AGO.

AND UNFORTUNATELY WHEN IT WAS THAT NEW CHANNEL WAS CONSTRUCTED, IT WASN'T PROPERLY TAKEN ALL THE WAY TO THE RIVER.

UM, AND SO IT HASN'T BEEN A STABLE CHANNEL.

AND SO IT IS DOING WHAT IT WANTS TO DO, AND IT IS UNRAVELING AND IT IS CONTINUING TO ERODE, ERODING THE PARK LAND.

AND IF LEFT UNATTENDED, IT WOULD CONTINUE TO MARCH UPSTREAM, UM, AND THREATEN MORE BUILDINGS AND AS, AS WELL AS ROADWAYS.

SO WE HAVE A MASSIVE

[01:55:01]

UM, TO PROPERLY ADDRESS IT, RECONSTRUCT THAT CHANNEL, PUT THE PROPER GRADE CONTROLS INTO IT, UM, BECAUSE IT IS A PARK, IT'S, IT'S A PARK AREA AS WELL.

A NEW PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE OVER THE CHANNEL, UM, THAT IS ELEVATED ABOVE THE FLOODPLAIN.

UM, JUST REALLY A REALLY IMPRESSIVE, REALLY EXCITING PROJECT, UM, THAT HAS BEEN, UH, THAT STAFF HAVE BEEN WORKING REALLY, REALLY HARD TO GET ACCOMPLISHED.

UM, THIS, THIS PROJECT HIT I THINK ALL OF OUR, PRETTY MUCH ALL OF OUR FUNDING SOURCES.

UM, A LARGE CHUNK OF IT IS OUR DRAINAGE UTILITY FUND.

UH, WE ALSO USE 2018 BOND FUNDING ON THIS.

UH, WE'VE BEEN PARTNERING WITH THE PARKS DEPARTMENT 'CAUSE IT IS A, IT IS A PARKLAND, SO THEY'VE, THEY'VE CONTRIBUTED SOME OF THE FUNDING AS WELL.

AND THIS IS ALSO ONE THAT WE WERE ABLE TO LEVERAGE EXTERNAL FUNDING FROM FEMA TO HELP US WITH.

UM, SO REALLY PROUD OF THIS ONE AND THAT PROJECT TEAM.

SO THIS, UH, THIS NEXT ONE IS, SO IT'S NOT, I MEAN, IT IS A CREEK FLOOD, UM, ISSUE, BUT IT'S, IT'S, IT'S REPRESENTING THE FACT THAT WE, WE USE OUR CIP PROGRAM TO ADDRESS, UM, IMPROVEMENTS AND UPGRADE UPGRADES TO OPERATIONAL NEEDS ON OUR EXISTING ASSETS.

UH, SO THIS IS A PROJECT RELATED TO THE WALLER CREEK TUNNEL, WHICH I KNOW MANY OF YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH.

UM, AND THIS PROJECT IS SPECIFICALLY TO, UM, INSTALL, UH, WHAT WE CALL, UH, WET WELL MECHANICAL SCREENS ON THE TWO WET WELLS THAT, THAT ARE IN THE TUNNEL, UM, IS IN, IN, IN IN DOLLAR VALUE.

IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT A HUGE HUGE CIP FORCE, BUT IT'S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT FOR, UH, THE LONG TERM, UH, VIABILITY OF THE TUNNEL ASSET.

UM, AS WELL AS FOR SAFETY OF STAFF WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR, FOR MAINTAINING THE TUNNEL, UM, AND FOR, AND JUST THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THESE SCREENS TO KEEP DEBRIS, UM, OUT OF THE TUNNEL, WHICH ALLOWS IT TO OPERATE AS IT WAS DESIGNED TO OPERATE.

UM, SO THIS, THIS PROJECT IS ALSO IN CONSTRUCTION RIGHT NOW.

UM, EXPECTING TO WRAP UP LATER THIS YEAR.

AND THIS WAS ENTIRELY, UH, A DRAINAGE FEE FUNDED CIP.

AGAIN, THE ONES THAT ARE SMALLER AND MAGNITUDE ARE EASIER FOR US TO ABSORB OUT OF THE DUFF TRANSFER.

NEXT SLIDE, SIXTH AND FINAL PROJECT TO HIGHLIGHT FOR YOU TONIGHT.

UM, THIS IS UP IN NORTHWEST AUSTIN, UH, BULL CREEK WATERSHED.

UH, THIS IS THE OLD LAND PASSES DAM MODERNIZATION PROJECT.

UM, SO WE HAVE THROUGHOUT THE CITY A COUPLE DOZEN PLUS, UH, DETENTION PONDS THAT BECAUSE OF THE SIZE OF THE EMBANKMENT ON THEM, UM, ARE DEFINED AND THEREFORE REGULATED BY THE TCQ AS DAMS. UM, NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH THINGS LIKE MANSFIELD DAM, TOM MILLER DAM.

WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT DAMS THAT BIG.

UM, BUT THEY ARE, THEY DO MEET THE STATE'S CRITERIA, UH, FOR BEING A DAM, WHICH MEANS THAT WE ARE REQUIRED TO ENSURE THAT THEY ARE STRUCTURALLY SOUND, UM, THAT THEY ARE, UM, GOING TO HOLD UP IN LARGE STORM EVENTS, SHOULD THEY BREACH.

UM, SHOULD SOMETHING HAPPEN, WE KNOW THAT THERE'S ROADWAYS OR, OR BUILDINGS DOWNSTREAM OF THEM.

WE NEED TO HAVE PLANS IN PLACE AND, AND, AND IMPLEMENT PROJECTS TO, UH, DECREASE THE LIKELIHOOD OF IMPACTS HAPPENING.

SO THIS IS ONE OF THOSE PROJECTS.

THIS WAS A DAM THAT WAS SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACTED, UM, DURING TROPICAL STORM HERMINE, UM, COMPROMISED THE STRUCTURE.

SO WE IMPLEMENTED A CIP, UM, TO REDESIGN PARTS OF IT, UM, STABILIZE THE DAM ITSELF, PROVIDE OVER TOPPING PROTECTION FOR IT, GIVE US BETTER ACTUAL ACCESS TO THE DAM.

RIGHT NOW IT'S IN A VERY, UH, BRUSHY FORESTED AREA.

IT'S HARD FOR OUR CREWS TO GET TO IT, TO INSPECT IT AND MAINTAIN IT.

SO WE'RE PROVIDING A NEW ACCESS DRIVE TO IT.

UM, AND IT'S ALSO PROVIDING RATTING SOME WATER QUALITY BENEFITS TO IT.

SO IT'S AN EXAMPLE OF, UM, AN INTEGRATED PROJECT WHERE IT'S A FLOOD CONTROL POND, BUT WE'RE ADDING A WATER QUALITY BENEFITS TO IT AS WELL.

UH, THIS PROJECT IS ALSO IN CONSTRUCTION.

UM, EXPECTED TO BE IN CONSTRUCTION THROUGH THE REST OF 2025.

WE SHOULD HAVE COMPLETION END OF THIS CALENDAR YEAR, EARLY 2026.

UM, AND THIS IS ANOTHER ONE THAT KIND OF HITS ALL OF OUR FUNDING SOURCES.

UH, THERE'S DRAINAGE UTILITY FEE ON IT.

THERE'S 2018 BOND FUNDING.

THERE'S THAT RSMP FUND ON IT.

UM, WE ARE PARTNERING WITH THE PARKS DEPARTMENT AND WITH AUSTIN WATER ON THIS ONE AS WELL.

SO WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF FUNDING COMING FROM THEM AS WELL.

UM, SO A GOOD EXAMPLE OF HOW WE ARE CONSTANTLY TRYING TO LEVERAGE FUNDING WHEREVER WE CAN TO, UH, MEET MULTIPLE OBJECTIVES.

ACTUALLY HAVE A COUPLE OF RESOURCES.

UH, BEFORE WE OPEN IT UP TO Q AND A, I JUST WANTED TO LEAVE YOU WITH A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT RESOURCES.

UM, SHOULD YOU OR ANY OF YOUR CONSTITUENTS WISH TO LEARN MORE, UM, ABOUT EXISTING PROJECTS? SO THIS ONE IS SPECIFIC TO WATERSHED.

UM, WE

[02:00:01]

I'VE LINKED ONE OF THEM HERE.

UM, AND IT'S JUST, IT'S, WE HAVE, UH, PROJECT INFORMATION PAGES UP ON WATERSHED'S WEBSITE.

UM, SO ANYBODY'S WELCOME TO GO LOOK AT THEM, LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PROJECTS.

UM, THE PROJECT TEAMS WILL FREQUENTLY POST UPDATES THERE AS THERE'S, AS WE'RE APPROACHING DESIGN MILESTONES.

UM, IF THEY'RE LOOKING TO PLAN A A PUBLIC MEETING, A LOT OF THAT INFORMATION WOULD BE THERE.

THE OTHER ONE THAT'S NOT LINKED HERE, UM, IS THE ONE THAT KELLY MENTIONED THAT WE DO HAVE, UM, SOME FORWARD FACING, UH, WEB MAPS AND TOOLS WHERE ANYBODY CAN GO IN AND LOOK AT WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE OUR TOP, WHERE, WHERE ARE THE TOP TWENTIES AROUND THE CITY, UM, WHERE, WHERE DO WE HAVE PROJECTS GOING ON.

UM, THAT WOULD BE ONE THAT AS SOON AS IT'S, UM, UPDATED AND READY FOR PRIME TIME, AGAIN, WE'RE HAPPY TO GET THAT LINK BACK OUT TO EVERYBODY AS WELL.

AND THE OTHER RESOURCE THAT'S AVAILABLE IS NOT SPECIFIC TO WATERSHED, UM, BUT IT IS A CITYWIDE RESOURCE.

IT'S CALLED CAPITAL PROJECTS EXPLORER.

UM, IT'S ANOTHER, IT'S A WEB MAP THAT'S AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC WHERE YOU CAN GO IN AND YOU CAN FILTER IT BY PROJECT TYPE.

UM, AND YOU CAN, I THINK ALSO FILTER IT BY DISTRICT.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN SEEING A LIST OF EVERYTHING GOING ON IN YOUR DISTRICT, THIS IS A REALLY GOOD PLACE TO DO IT.

UM, I THINK THEIR MAPPING FEATURE ONLY DOES THINGS THAT ARE IN CONSTRUCTION OR ARE SET TO GO INTO CONSTRUCTION WITHIN THE NEXT SIX MONTHS.

UM, AND TO GET TO, TO GET TO THE WATERSHED ONES, IF YOU, ON THE LEFT SIDE UNDER THE, THE, THE WATER DROP FOR WATER, IF YOU CLICK ON IT, THEN YOU'LL BE ABLE TO CLICK ON THE, UH, UMBRELLA, WHICH INDICATES THE STORMWATER PART.

UH, NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH AUSTIN WATERS PROJECTS, WHICH ARE ALSO IN THAT WATER CATEGORY.

SO ANOTHER RESOURCE AVAILABLE TO YOU AND YOUR CONSTITUENTS.

UM, THE THIRD RESOURCE, OF COURSE, IS US AS STAFF.

UM, IF THERE'S EVER QUESTIONS, PLEASE DON'T HESITATE TO ASK.

UH, I THINK THAT IS THE ONE LAST SLIDE OR NEXT SLIDE, I THINK.

UH, SO WITH THAT, WE WILL END IT THERE.

UM, AND I'M AVAILABLE FOR QUESTIONS AND NPAS AVAILABLE.

I'M SURE KELLY WOULD BE WILLING TO PITCH IN, UH, IF, IF IT, IF IT'S BOND RELATED AS WELL.

UH, APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.

THAT WAS VERY HELPFUL.

UH, I GUESS LET'S OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS.

LET'S GO AROUND THE HORN AND THEN WE'LL GO TO SECRETARY BRISTOL.

I, NO QUESTIONS FOR ME AT THIS TIME.

APPRECIATE.

OH, THERE WE GO.

ALRIGHT.

NOTHING GREATER THAN THE SOUND OF MY OWN VOICE.

UH, I HAVE NO QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME.

THANKS, UH, SAM, NO QUESTIONS FOR ME, BUT YOU DID ANSWER SOME OF MY PREVIOUS QUESTIONS WITH THAT, SO IT WAS HELPFUL TO SEE.

THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION AND FOR INCLUDING THOSE LINKS AT THE END.

I JUST WAS ABLE TO CLICK ON ONE OF THEM AND EXPLAIN A PROJECT THAT'S BEEN GOING ON IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD WITH A LOT OF ACCURACY.

SO I THINK THAT'S REALLY HELPFUL FOR THE PUBLIC TO HAVE.

UM, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.

IT'S SUPER INFORMATIVE.

I HAD ONE QUESTION.

YOU MENTIONED MOST OF THE CURRENT CIS ARE CURRENTLY IN THE PRELIMINARY AND DESIGN STAGE AND WAS JUST WONDERING IF THERE'S A REASON WHY IT'S MOST, MOST OF THE PROJECTS ARE IN THAT STAGE, UM, AND IF Y'ALL HAVE TIMELINES FOR GETTING THOSE INTO THE CONSTRUCTION PHASE.

YES, IT'S A GREAT QUESTION.

UM, WHEN WE THINK ABOUT KIND OF WORST PROBLEMS FIRST, RIGHT? SO WE, WE HAVE A REALLY GOOD IDEA OF WHERE THOSE WORST PROBLEMS ARE AND A GENERAL SENSE OF WHAT TYPE OF PROJECT IT MIGHT TAKE TO ADDRESS THAT PROBLEM.

UM, THE PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING PHASE, OR SOMETIMES WE CALL IT THE ALTERNATIVES EVALUATION PHASE, UM, IS REALLY WHERE WE FINE TUNE CA, YOU KNOW, NOT, NOT JUST WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO, FIX IT, BUT CAN WE DO SOMETHING TO FIX THIS MM-HMM .

UM, SO THERE ARE SOME PROJECTS THAT DON'T MOVE OUT OF A PRELIMINARY PHASE.

LIKE MAYBE, MAYBE IT'S DETERMINED THAT IT'S JUST, IT'S, IT'S JUST NOT A WISE DECISION ON BEHALF OF THE RATE PAYERS TO SPEND HOWEVER MUCH MONEY ON A SPECIFIC PROBLEM.

UM, AND SOMETIMES IT TAKES SEVERAL, NOT ITERATIONS, BUT IT TAKES A LOT OF WORK IN THAT PRELIMINARY PHASE TO THINK ABOUT IF IT'S A FLOODING PROBLEM OR ARE WE GONNA TRY TO ADDRESS IT AT LIKE A 10 YEAR FLOOD LEVEL OR A HUNDRED YEAR FLOOD LEVEL.

SO THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT PERMUTATIONS THAT HAPPEN IN THAT PHASE, WHICH SOME, SOMETIMES IT CAN TAKE A WHILE.

UM, AND LIKE I SAID, NOT ALL OF THEM WILL MOVE FORWARD MAYBE.

UM, OKAY.

THERE'S ALSO THE PRELIMINARY DESIGN PHASES ARE ALSO THE CHEAPER PHASES .

THAT LIKE, IF IT'S A PROJECT THAT'S ALREADY IN DESIGN, IF IT'S FINISHING ITS DESIGN IN PERMITTING NOW AND CAN BE WHAT WE CALL SHOVEL READY MM-HMM .

UM, AND SO IT'S EASIER FOR US TO FUND MORE OF THOSE.

UM, CONSTRUCTION IS WHERE WE START RUNNING INTO A, A BIG JAM.

'CAUSE CONSTRUCTION IS EXPENSIVE AND LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE THAT WE'RE ALL EXPERIENCING AROUND THE CITY, OUR CONSTRUCTION, OUR BIDS ARE GOING WAY HIGH RIGHT NOW.

UM, BUT IT DOES TIE INTO KIND OF THAT, UM, IN OUR BOND PLANNING, RIGHT? SO WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT BO PROJECTS THAT CAN COMPLETE CONSTRUCTION BY THE END OF FY 32 AND MM-HMM .

LIKE, SO WE'RE LOOKING AT PROJECTS LIKE WITHIN THAT PRELIMINARY DESIGN PIECE OF THE PIE

[02:05:01]

IN JANUARY OF 2027, THAT'S A REALLY GOOD CANDIDATE FOR US FOR A BOND.

RIGHT.

IT'S A VERY LOW RISK THAT WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO SPEND THAT MONEY ON THAT PROJECT.

WHEREAS PROJECTS THAT ARE MAYBE IN PRELIMINARY PHASE RIGHT NOW, MAYBE THEY DO OR THEY DON'T HAVE THEIR DESIGN FUNDING SECURED IN THE FIVE YEAR PLAN.

MAYBE THEY COULD BE DONE WITH DESIGN BY JANUARY OF 2030.

MAYBE THEY COULD BUILD IT BY 2032, BUT IT'S A LITTLE RISKIER.

UM, BUT YES, BACKING UP TO YOUR, YOUR ACTUAL QUESTION, WE DO HAVE, EACH PROJECT HAS ITS OWN TIMELINE.

UM, SOME PROJECTS ARE A LOT MORE STRAIGHTFORWARD MM-HMM .

UM, AND SO THAT, SO THEY MIGHT BE IN PRELIMINARY FOR A YEAR AND THEY MOVE STRAIGHT TO DESIGN.

OTHER PROJECTS MIGHT SIT IN A PRELIMINARY ALTERNATIVES PHASE FOR A FEW YEARS BEFORE THEY MOVE INTO DESIGN, BUT EACH PROJECT SHOULD HAVE A DELIVERY PLAN THAT MAPS OUT A ROUGH SCHEDULE THAT'S CONTINGENT UPON FUNDING.

UM, REALLY APPRECIATED THE PRESENTATION.

IT WAS SUPER COOL AND INTERESTING TO HEAR ABOUT ALL THE BIG PROJECTS Y'ALL ARE WORKING ON.

AND THEN JUST WANTED TO ALSO SAY, ANUPA MENTIONED IN YOUR PROGRAMMATIC ACTIVITIES, THE YOUTH EDUCATION, AND I USED TO BE AN AUSTIN ISD FIFTH GRADE TEACHER AND HAD AMAZING, WONDERFUL FOLKS FROM WATERSHED COME TO MY CLASSROOM EVERY YEAR.

AND THE WORK THAT Y'ALL DID, MY STUDENTS WERE TOTALLY JAZZED AND FIRED UP ABOUT THE PRESENTATIONS AND THE HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES.

SO WANTED TO JUST SAY, KEEP THAT UP.

THANK YOU FOR THAT.

OF COURSE.

SO ONE POINT, UH, YOU MENTIONED THE FIVE YEAR CIP, UM, YEARS AGO I WAS ON THE BOND OVERSIGHT, UH, COM COMMITTEE BEFORE IT BECAME THE BOND OVERSIGHT COMMISSION.

ALL THE DEPARTMENTS HAD FIVE YEAR CIPS DO.

IS THAT STILL ONE PLAN THAT THE CITY PUTS OUT EVERY YEAR? UH, BUT, BUT I, BUT I BELIEVE IT'S BROKEN UP BY DEPARTMENT.

SO I THINK EACH, EACH DEPARTMENT THAT DOES A FIVE YEAR CIP PLAN, IT IS REPRESENTED IN THEIR RESPECTIVE DEPARTMENT'S BUDGET DOCUMENTS.

I'M NOT AWARE THAT, I'M NOT AWARE THAT THE CITY HAS A SEPARATE COMPREHENSIVE FIVE YEAR CIP PLAN.

UM, BUT IT'S, OURS WILL BE REFERENC.

I I HAVE COPIES FROM THE, FROM THE EARLY NINETIES THAT WERE 1 1 5 YEAR CIP PLAN FOR THE ENTIRE CITY.

I AM NOT AWARE THAT THE CITY IS STILL DOING THAT.

REALLY.

BUT WE CAN CHECK.

UM, NO, NO, IT'S OKAY.

I WAS AT REALLY CURIOSITY.

YEAH, I'M REALLY, YEAH, NO, I DON'T KNOW THAT I'VE SEEN THOSE.

UM, BUT WE DEFINITELY DO IT AT, AT A DEPARTMENT LEVEL.

UM, AND I KNOW THAT EVERY OTHER DEPARTMENT THAT HAS CIPS, THEY'RE ALSO DOING IT AS WELL.

RIGHT.

NO, THAT WAS MY ONLY QUESTION.

IT WAS VERY INTERESTING.

I HAVE JUST SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT THE BUDGET REALLY, UH, AND WHETHER THESE THINGS ARE COVERED.

IT, THE RAINER RIVER PROJECT, IS THAT FULLY FUNDED RIGHT NOW? THE STRAT THE, THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEW STRATEGIC PLAN IS FUNDED IN OUR, IN OUR, IT IS CURRENTLY FUNDED.

IT'S UNDER CONTRACT WITH A, WITH A CONSULTANT.

UM, AND THEY'RE ON A SCHEDULE TO HAVE THAT COMPLETED BY ABOUT THIS TIME NEXT YEAR.

AND, YOU KNOW, RESIDENTS SAYING, HEY, COME TAKE A LOOK AT THIS.

ALRIGHT.

UM, NOW I SENT SOME PICTURES TO THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION PRIOR TO MEETING A LOT OF BRUSH THAT HAS FALLEN ALONG SOME OF THE BULL CREEK TRIBUTARIES AND BULL CREEK ITSELF.

AND I'M NOT SURE IF THIS IS FALLS INTO WATERSHEDS BAILIWICK CLEANUP OR IF THIS A PARKS DEAL IS WHO, WHO HANDLES ALL THAT? IT'S USUALLY US.

UM, AND ANY KIND OF 3 1 1 THAT COMES IN, IF THERE'S ANY QUESTION, LIKE WE WOULD WORK IT OUT BETWEEN DEPARTMENTS, BUT USUALLY IF IT'S IN, UH, THE WATERWAY ITSELF, UH, WATERSHED WOULD, WOULD GO ASSESS, UM, AND TAKE CARE OF IT.

BUT IF IT'S ADJACENT TO OR IF IT'S ADJACENT TO, UM, BUT IN PARKLAND IT WOULD, IT WOULD BE A PARKS MAINTENANCE ISSUE.

UM, NOW FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS THAT WE'VE HAD, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT WATERSHED DOES, UH, CREEK BANK REPAIR MM-HMM .

IS THAT CORRECT? SO HOW MUCH OF YOUR FUNDING IS GOING TO BE TOWARDS REPAIRING CREEK BANKS AND ARE THERE SPECIFIC CREEK BANKS YOU'RE FOCUSING ON? OR IS THIS JUST, YOU KNOW, AS THEY COME UP? OR HOW, HOW ARE YOU MANAGING THAT PROCESS? SURE.

I CAN GIVE YOU, UM, A REAL HIGH LEVEL, UM, AND IF I GET INTO TROUBLE, UM, SOMEBODY WILL CORRECT ME OR I WILL FOLLOW UP WITH YOU WITH MORE INFORMATION.

UM, BUT SO CREEK BANK, CREEK BANK WORK IS JUST, WE, WE REFER TO IT AS EROSION.

RIGHT? IT'S, IT'S THE BANKS ARE ERODING AND THEY NEED TO BE REPAIRED.

UM, WE IDENTIFY THOSE, IT'S, IT'S LAID OUT IN OUR EXISTING STRATEGIC PLAN, OUR METHODOLOGY FOR IDENTIFYING WHERE THOSE ISSUES ARE, UM, WHICH IS ALSO SUPPLEMENTED BY, UH, CITIZEN CALLS

[02:10:01]

THIS DOESN'T LOOK RIGHT.

OR, UH, THESE, THIS CREEK IS BEHIND MY HOUSE AND THE BANK JUST SLOUGHED OFF.

UM, SO OUR, OUR STAFF WILL GO OUT AND ASSESS THE SEVERITY, THE COMPLEXITY OF WHAT'S HAPPENING.

UM, AND IT KIND OF GETS SORTED INTO DIFFERENT BUCKETS.

RIGHT? SO ONE OF THOSE BUCKETS IS THAT CIP BUCKET.

SO THE REALLY BAD EROSION, UH, THE ROY GUERRERO ONE IS THE WORST OF THEM THAT WE'VE EVER SEEN, BUT, YOU KNOW, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THAT BAD.

BUT THE LARGER, THE MORE COMPLEX EROSION, THOSE WOULD GO INTO OUR CIP BUCKET, UM, ALONG WITH THE FLOOD RISK REDUCTION PROJECTS, THE WATER QUALITY PROJECTS, ET CETERA.

AND THERE'S NO SET AMOUNT OF THAT CIP TRANSFER THAT GOES TO EACH MISSION.

IT'S JUST WHAT'S READY AT, IN ANY GIVEN YEAR AND WHAT THE HIGHEST PRIORITIES AS A DEPARTMENT ARE.

UM, THE NET OTHER BUCKETS THAT IT WOULD GO INTO ARE MORE WHAT WE CALL IN-HOUSE.

UM, SO OUR OWN ENGINEERS, IF IT'S A SMALLER, UM, QUICKER SOLUTION, OUR OWN ENGINEERS WOULD GO IN, DESIGN A SOLUTION, AND THEN EITHER WORK WITH OUR OWN CREWS, OUR OWN OPERATIONS CREWS, OR ONE OF OUR IDIQ CONTRACTORS TO GO IMPLEMENT, UH, TO GO BUILD THOSE PROJECTS.

A LOT OF THAT GETS FUNDED OUT OF OUR OPERATING BUDGET.

UM, AND SO WHEN YOU SEE PROJECT DESIGN AND DELIVERY, A LOT OF THE ENGINEERS WHO WORK ON EROSION PROJECTS ARE COVERED INTO PROJECT DESIGN AND DELIVERY IN THAT PORTION OF OUR OPERATING BUDGET.

AND THEN WE RELY ON OUR OPERATIONS CREWS.

WE HAVE SPECIFIC CREWS DEDICATED TO EROSION REPAIRS AND OPEN CHANNEL REPAIRS.

SO THEIR FUNDING COMES, UM, AS THE PERSONNEL FUNDING THERE AND THEN OUT, OUT OF OPERATING ANY, UH, MATERIAL PURCHASES THAT WE NEED TO MAKE, UH, WHETHER THAT BE LIMESTONE BLOCKS, WHATEVER.

AND NOW, UH, WE'VE, THIS HAS BEEN ADDRESSED IN VARIOUS MEANINGS BEFORE, UNDER A DIFFERENT CONTEXT, BUT BARTON CREEK SEEMS TO HAVE A PRETTY SEVERE PROBLEM PERIODICALLY.

IS THAT SOMETHING THAT, UH, PARKS IS HANDLING OR WHO'S BARTON? UH, THE BARTON SPRINGS POOL? WELL, BARTON CREEK, WELL, SO WE'VE GOT, I MEAN, BARTON CREEK IS HUGE.

UM, THERE ARE A COUPLE OF EROSION PROJECTS THAT ARE HAPPENING, UH, RIGHT NOW ALONG BARTON CREEK.

WE HAVE SOME FLOOD RISK REDUCTION PROJECTS THAT ARE HAPPENING ALONG BARTON CREEK.

UM, I THINK IT JUST DEPENDS, LIKE IF THERE'S A SPECIFIC AREA OF BARTON CREEK THAT YOU'RE THINKING OF.

UM, WELL, I HAVEN'T BEEN OUT THERE OKAY.

LIKE IN THE PAST THREE DAYS, BUT HISTORICALLY THERE'S BEEN A, YOU KNOW, A CONTINUING PROBLEM OUT THERE MM-HMM .

THERE DUE TO HEAVY TRAFFIC, FOOT TRAFFIC OF, OF VISITORS AND EVERYTHING.

YEP.

AND IT'S BEEN KIND OF AN ONGOING PROBLEM.

AND SO I'M JUST ASKING THAT'S A GREAT, IN A GENERAL SENSE, I'M NOT SAYING, GEE, TODAY I WAS OUT THERE.

NO, I UNDERSTAND.

THERE'S THIS BIG PROBLEM.

AND WE ACTUALLY DO HAVE A PROJECT IN CONSTRUCTION RIGHT NOW THAT WE ARE PARTNERING WITH THE PARKS DEPARTMENT ON, WHICH IS KIND OF AT THE BOTTOM PART OF THE BARTON CREEK WATERSHED ADDRESSING, UM, EROSION AND BANK STABILITY, UM, THERE, BECAUSE THAT IS, AS YOU SAID, IT IS A, A PERSISTENT PROBLEM.

MM-HMM .

AND, UM, THERE WERE SOME RETENTION PONDS THAT WERE GOING INTO REED PARK.

ARE THOSE FUNDED? UM, I DON'T BELIEVE THE CONSTRUCTION IS FUNDED AT THIS TIME.

I WOULD HAVE TO DOUBLE CHECK.

UM, WE'RE IN THE MIDST OF TYING UP THE LOOSE ENDS ON OUR NEXT, THE NEXT ITERATION OF OUR FIVE-YEAR PLAN.

UM, BUT LAST I CHECKED, I DON'T THINK THE CONSTRUCTION OF THAT IS FUNDED.

I KNOW THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF COMMUNITY INPUT, UM, AND KIND OF GOING BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD TO THINK ABOUT SOME THINGS.

UM, SO I CAN, I CAN, I CAN FIND OUT AND WE CAN FOLLOW UP.

A ROAD IS A TRANSPORTATION, UM, ASSET.

I WAS, YOU KNOW, JUST, UH, PEOPLE HAD ASKED ME ABOUT IT NOW JUST YEP.

UM, I HAVE, UH, TWO QUESTIONS.

ONE, REGARDING, UM, IF I HAVE A MEMBER OF OUR NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION ASK ABOUT A CERTAIN EROSION ISSUE, UM, DO I TELL THEM, UH, DIAL 3 1 1 AND ASK FOR WATERSHED PROTECTION? YES.

EROSION DEPARTMENT, IT SOUNDS INSINCERE WHEN WE SAY THAT, BUT IT TRULY IS THE BEST WAY TO GET SOMETHING IN FRONT OF US.

'CAUSE IT GETS IT LOGGED IN OUR SYSTEM.

IT GETS A SERVICE REQUEST NUMBER ASSIGNED TO IT, WHICH THEN CREATES SOME ACCOUNTABILITY FOR US.

UH, WHETHER IT'S THE PHONE CALL TO THREE ONE ONE, THERE'S A REALLY HANDY APP, UH, FOR 3 1 1 NOW, UM, THAT THE COMMUNITY CAN USE TO, UM, FILE AN INQUIRY OR A COMPLAINT.

UM, AND THERE'S SOME, LIKE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S SOME FREEFORM FIELDS WHERE THEY CAN WRITE IN WHAT THEY WANT, BUT THERE'S ALSO SOME LIKE DROPDOWN MENUS WHERE IT HELPS GET IT IN FRONT OF WATERSHED IF IT'S A DRAINAGE ISSUE OR AN EROSION ISSUE.

AND TO CLARIFY, Y'ALL ARE BASICALLY IN CHARGE OF ANY CREEK, ANY RUNOFF BRIDGES OVER CREEKS.

IS THAT ALSO, UH, THE WATER THAT FLOWS UNDER THE BRIDGE? YES.

THE BRIDGE ITSELF IS A, TRANSPORTATION IS

[02:15:01]

UH, BUT WE DO DO LOW WATER CROSSING IMPROVEMENTS OR SOMETIMES WE HAVE LOW LIKE ROADWAYS THAT CROSS VERY LOW, UM, OVER A CREEK.

AND SO WE WILL, IF IT'S, IF IT'S OVERTOP, REALLY WE WILL GO ADDRESS THAT.

UM, BUT IT'S, IT'S EVERYWHERE.

LIKE WHEN THE, WHEN THE RAIN FALLS, ONCE IT HITS THE GROUND EVERYWHERE THAT IT TOUCHES EVERYWHERE THAT IT GOES UNTIL IT GETS TO THE RIVER, THAT'S OUR DOMAIN.

SO IF YOU WERE INVOLVED IN LIKE, RIPARIAN VERSIONS OF CREEKS YES.

YEP.

THAT'S, Y'ALL ARE DOING THAT AS WELL? YES.

BRILLIANT.

I, I REALLY NEEDED A BRIDGE BILL, BUT I GUESS I GOTTA HAVE A DIFFERENT COMMISSION TO BE ON .

YOU NEED TO GET APPOINTED TO A DIFFERENT COMMISSION.

NO, I'M SURE IT'S COMING.

YEAH, THERE YOU GO.

UH, SECRETARY BRISTOL, I, UM, I, I, SURPRISINGLY, I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, BUT I DO WANNA JUST SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH I APPRECIATE Y'ALL, UH, HAVING ALL THESE, YOU KNOW, SHOVEL READY PROJECTS AND DOING ALL THE PLANNING AND NOT LIVING BY THE TYRANNY OF URGENCY.

UM, YOU KNOW, IT, IT'S REALLY, UM, IT'S REALLY GREAT TO SEE HOW MUCH, YOU KNOW, Y'ALL, Y'ALL ARE VERY THOROUGH IN, UM, IN, IN YOUR SCOPE AND, AND WHAT YOU'RE WORKING ON.

SO I REALLY JUST SUPER APPRECIATE IT.

UH, AND I'LL ECHO THAT AS WELL.

I THINK JUST THE, HOW PROACTIVE YOU ALL HAVE BEEN BY YOUR CHARGE, OF COURSE, BUT IN, IN GETTING A LOT OF THESE PROJECTS READY FOR OPPORTUNITIES THAT YOU KNOW, ARE COMING UP IS GREAT.

UH, I'M CURIOUS WITH THE ROJI GUERRERO STABILIZATION PROJECT, ARE THERE, YOU KNOW, WITH, YOU KNOW, HOW IT WAS SORT OF COBBLED TOGETHER FROM A COUPLE DIFFERENT FUNDING SOURCES.

IS THERE FEASIBILITY OF FUNDS LIKE THE FEMA HAZARD MITIGATION GRANT AWARDED FOR THAT PROJECT THAT COULD BE USED FOR ELIGIBILITY FOR SOME OF THE BOND PROJECTS? YES.

UM, AND WITHIN OUR, WITHIN OUR CRITERIA FOR THE BONDS WITHIN THAT AFFORDABILITY SECTION.

UM, SO IN ADDITION TO LIKE PARTNERSHIPS WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS, LIKE KIND OF THAT DIG ONCE OPPORTUNITY, WE ALSO WANTED TO ACKNOWLEDGE PROJECTS THAT HAVE, LIKE, THAT HAVE EXTERNAL FUNDING, UM, IN THE WORKS OR SECURED, SO LIKE ADDITIONAL WAYS TO PROVIDE MORE AFFORDABILITY TO OUR OWN RATE PAYERS.

UM, BUT YEAH, THERE ARE, UM, BOTH STATE AND FEDERAL FUNDING PROGRAMS THAT WE CAN SOMETIMES, DEPENDING ON THE PROJECT, DEPENDING ON HOW COMPETITIVE A CERTAIN CYCLE IS, UM, THAT WE'RE ABLE TO APPLY FOR TO AT LEAST OFFSET SOME OF OUR COSTS, UM, REMAINS TO BE SEEN, OF COURSE, MOVING FORWARD, UM, WITH CHANGES AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL, UM, WHAT THOSE FUNDING STREAMS MIGHT LOOK LIKE FOR US.

BUT, UH, WE ARE GOING AFTER EVERYTHING THAT MAKES SENSE TO GO AFTER GET IT.

APPRECIATE IT.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? GREAT.

I GUESS MOTION TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING.

IS THAT WHAT I'M SUPPOSED TO BE DOING NEXT? I DON'T HAVE TO DO THAT.

I'M NOT GONNA DO THAT.

I'M GONNA SKIP THAT MOTION TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING.

SECOND.

ALL IN FAVOR.

THANK Y'ALL FOR HUMORING ME.

UP NEXT WE HAVE DISCUSSION.

WELL DO, WE DO, DO WE NEED A MOTION ON THIS ONE? OH, RIGHT.

WE MIGHT HAVE, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT WE WANT TO APPROVE FOR THIS.

I THINK SECRETARY BRISTOL HAS SOMETHING WRITTEN UP FOR THAT.

YEAH, YEAH.

THANKS.

UH, I DID TAKE THE TIME TO WRITE THIS, SO I THINK I'LL READ IT.

UM, UH, AND I, I REACHED OUT TO COUPLE ALL ASKING IF, UH, YOU HAD AMENDMENTS OR ANYTHING, RECOMMENDATIONS ON HERE.

I DIDN'T REALLY HEAR ANY EXCEPT FOR, UM, ONE FROM, UM, UH, VICE CHAIR, UH, FER.

SO HERE WE ARE, UH, MARCH 19TH, 2025, WATERSHED, UH, PROTECTION DEPARTMENT, FY 25 26, BUDGET PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS.

UH, WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION WAS PRESENTED THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT'S, UM, WPD FISCAL YEAR 2025 BUDGET.

AND WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION UNDERSTANDS THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT, WPD ANNUAL FISCAL FORECAST IS STILL BEING PREPARED.

AND THE, UH, THE FINAL PANEL WILL BE PROVIDED TO COUNCIL IN THE NEAR FUTURE.

AND THEREFORE, THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION SUPPORTS THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT'S BUDGET PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS AS PRESENTED TO THE COMMISSION WITH THE FOLLOWING RECOMMENDATIONS.

AND THE RECOMMENDATION IS INVEST IN DESIGN DEVELOPMENT FOR PRIORITY IDENTIFIED DRAINAGE AND STORMWATER PROJECTS THAT MIGHT BE ELIGIBLE, UH, FOR A FUTURE BOND PACKAGE.

I, AND THAT'S ALL.

I'LL SECOND DISCUSSION OR ADDITIONS.

ARE WE READY TO VOTE? WOW, YOU GUYS ARE MAKING THIS A LITTLE LAZY ON ME.

ALL RIGHT, WELL, YEAH, DON'T YOU YOU DON'T GET OUTTA THIS.

UH, ALL IN FAVOR?

[02:20:04]

THAT IS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 IN FAVOR.

AND NONE OPPOSED, NONE ABSTAINING.

MOTION PASSES.

AND RECOMMENDATION ON BUDGET PRIORITIES FROM THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE.

OKAY, NOW NEXT.

THANK YOU ALL AS WELL.

UH, DISCUSSION

[5. Discussion and recommendation on budget priorities from the Joint Sustainability Committee – Harris Qureshi and Perry Bedford, Environmental Commissioners ]

UH, YEAH, I WAS GONNA SEE IF WE COULD KICK THIS TO THE NEXT MEETING AS THE JSC IS STILL GETTING THEIR STUFF TOGETHER AND FINALIZING AND CONDENSING SORT OF THE STUFF SO THAT IT'S NOT LIKE SEVEN BAJILLION PAGES THAT'S BEING PRESENTED.

SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE WORD FROM THE BIRDS.

I SECOND IT NOT BEING SOME BAJILLION PAGES.

, CAN I THIRD? YEAH.

DO WE NEED TO VOTE ALL IN FAVOR OR DO WE JUST, I'M GONNA GO WITH YES.

VOTE TO POSTPONE.

SAY, YOU CAN SIMPLIFY IT BY I SAY, DOES ANYONE OBJECT TO, UH, POSTPONEMENT? OKAY.

DOES ANYBODY OBJECT TO THE POSTPONEMENT? DO WE HAVE A DATE FOR THE POSTPONEMENT? UH, I THINK IT WOULD BE THE NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING, WHICH I THINK IS APRIL 2ND.

APRIL 2ND.

DOES ANYBODY OBJECT TO POSTPONING THAT TO APRIL 2ND? FANTASTIC.

NOT A BAJILLION PAGES.

UH, FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS.

[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]

COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN.

OKAY, SO, UM, I'M YOUR APPOINTEE TO THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT ADVISORY BOARD.

, AND I LEARNED AT THE MEETING ON MONDAY NIGHT THAT ALL OF OUR TERMS ENDED ON FEBRUARY 28TH, BUT WE HAVE A 60 DAY GRACE PERIOD, SO IF YOU WANT AN ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSIONER TO SERVE ON IT, UM, WE COULD MAKE THAT SELECTION AT OUR NEXT MEETING.

THAT MAKES SENSE.

AND I, BECAUSE WE'RE DOING OFFICER ELECTIONS AT THE NEXT MEETING TOO, RIGHT? YEAH.

UH, ELIZABETH BUNK WATERSHED.

WE WILL HAVE OFFICER ELECTIONS AT THE NEXT MEETING AS WELL AS WE'LL DISCUSS COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP.

THERE'S THAT.

UM, THERE'S ALSO THE ALTERNATE TO JSC.

IT'S ALSO OPEN AND URBAN FORESTRY COMMITTEE.

UM, I'LL INCLUDE A NICE LITTLE SUMMARY OF ALL THE COMMITTEES IN YOUR NEXT EMAIL.

I WAS JUST, JUST GONNA ADD THE URBAN FORESTRY THING.

WE NEED FOUR MEMBERS.

THERE'S OF US LEFT, TWO PEOPLE BEING, UH, YOU KNOW, MOVING ON.

SO IF ANY OF THE NEW PEOPLE, NEW PEOPLE, NOT THAT I'M LOOKING AT YOU OR ANYTHING, UH, WOULD LIKE TO JOIN THE URBAN FORESTRY COMMITTEE.

I KNOW WE HAVE, UH, A COUPLE OF NEW PEOPLE, OTHER NEW PEOPLE ARE OUT RIGHT NOW.

WE ARE, UH, LOOKING FOR TWO OR THREE NEW PEOPLE, BE ON THE URBAN FORESTRY COMMITTEE.

WE MEET, UH, ON A QUARTERLY BASIS, TYPICALLY DURING THE DAY FOR ABOUT AN HOUR.

AND, UH, GENERALLY TRY TO MEET MIDDAY, 10 TO 11 TO ONE, OR, YOU KNOW, SOMEWHERE AROUND IN THAT PERIOD OF TIME, UH, IS WHEN WE MEET AND WE JUST TRY TO GET A DAY THAT IS ACCOMMODATING TO EVERYONE.

I'M THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS TO BE PHYSICALLY PRESENT BECAUSE I'VE BEEN THE CHAIR.

EVERYONE ELSE CAN DIAL IN FROM WHEREVER THEY HAPPEN TO BE.

AND, UH, SO THAT'S JUST REALLY KIND OF WHAT IT IS.

IF YOU'RE INTERESTED.

UH, MY PHONE NUMBER'S POSTED.

MARIA IS ALSO A MEMBER.

UH, AND SO YOU CAN GET IN CONTACT WITH HER AS WELL IF YOU WANNA LEARN ABOUT, UH, ABOUT THAT.

BUT WE DO NEED AT LEAST TWO, AND I THINK YOU SAID THREE IS BETTER.

SHE SAYS THREE IS BETTER, BUT THAT HAS TO DO WITH RUMS AND OTHER EXCITING STUFF, BUT THAT'S ABOUT IT.

ANYTHING ELSE? ALL RIGHT.

UH, 8 26.

ARE WE ADJOURNED OR DID I SKIP A STEP? .