Mar 21, 2025 Economic Opportunity Committee

UH, GOOD MORNING EVERYBODY, AND THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING, UH, CITIZEN COMMUNICATION TODAY.

AND, AND THANK YOU FOR THIS, UH, FORMING THIS COMMITTEE AND THIS INITIATIVE, UM, BY, BY PROFESSION.

I WORKED IN THE TECH INDUSTRY AND SPENT ABOUT HALF MY TIME DOING SOMETHING WE REFERRED TO AS BUSINESS PLANNING AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, UH, WHICH IS MORE LIKE WHAT YOU REFER TO AS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.

UM, I WANTED TO MAKE AN OBSERVATION THAT IN THE LAST THIS CENTURY AND IN THE LAST 30 TO 40 YEARS, THE MOST SUCCESSFUL CITY IN THE UNITED STATES IN TERMS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UH, AS FAR AS RECRUITING, UH, NEW AGE INDUSTRIES, WHICH SOME PEOPLE THINK OF AS TECH, HAS BEEN, UH, SEATTLE.

UM, AND SO I WANTED TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THEY'VE DONE RIGHT.

AND WE DON'T WANNA EMULATE ANYONE.

AUSTIN IS UNIQUE, AND WE WILL ALWAYS BE THAT WAY, AND THAT'S WHAT MAKES US SPECIAL.

BUT, UM, WE CAN LEARN FROM WHAT OTHERS HAVE DONE.

WELL, ONE THING THAT, UH, SEATTLE HAS DONE EXTREMELY WELL IS BECOME A COMPACT AND CONNECTED CITY.

UM, THEY HAVE ABOUT 300,000 JOBS DOWNTOWN, ABOUT 100,000 RESIDENTS.

ACTUALLY, IT'S MORE LIKE 105, BUT USING ROUND NUMBERS, IT'S ABOUT A THREE TO ONE RATIO.

AUSTIN HAS A RATIO OF MORE LIKE SEVEN TO ONE, UM, A HUNDRED THOUSAND JOBS, 15,000 RESIDENTS.

AND UNFORTUNATELY, A LOT OF THOSE, UM, RESIDENTS ARE NOT ACTUALLY PART OF THE WORKFORCE, UH, BECAUSE A LOT OF THE HOUSING THAT WE HAVE DOWNTOWN IS WHAT WE WOULD CATEGORIZE AS, UH, LUXURY HIGH END, UM, THAT ISN'T NECESSARILY OCCUPIED BY PEOPLE WHO ARE WORKING HERE.

SO, UM, I THINK THAT IN TERMS OF ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AND THE BIGGEST GAP THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW, UH, IT'S HOUSING, IT'S DOWNTOWN HOUSING, WE JUST DON'T HAVE ENOUGH FOR THE PEOPLE THAT ARE WORKING HERE NOW.

UM, I WANTED TO SHOW YOU THIS CHART BECAUSE IT, IT, IT SHOWS ONE OF THE CONSTRAINTS WE HAVE THAT SEATTLE DOESN'T IS, UM, WE HAVE THESE CAPITAL VIEW CORRIDORS, WHICH WE CAN, UH, LIVE WITH AND, AND WORK AROUND AND, AND SUCCEED.

UM, BUT WE NEED TO RECOGNIZE THAT THEY ARE A CONSTRAINT.

NOW, WHEN THEY WERE PUT IN AS A CONSTRAINT IN 1983, UM, IT DIDN'T SEEM TO AFFECT HOUSING BECAUSE THE BIGGEST, THE BIGGEST HOUSING BUILDING IN 1965 WHEN IT WAS OPENED, OR 64, WAS THE CAMBRIDGE TOWER.

AND I THINK OUR, THE, THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES THAT THAT'S THE CASE.

UM, THE FIRST BEDROOM.

THANK, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.

TO ITEM NUMBER ONE, WHICH IS THE APPROVAL OF THE 2025 CALENDAR YEAR.

THANK YOU, MR. WILEY.

UM, AND WITH THAT, WE'RE GONNA GO

[1. Discussion and possible action on approval of the meeting schedule for the 2025 calendar year.]

UH, DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE ITEM NUMBER ONE, UH, MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MEDICINE? DO WE HAVE A SECOND? UH, SECONDED BY THE, UH, JOSE VELAS, COUNCIL MEMBER JOSE VELASQUEZ.

UH, ALL IN FAVOR? AYE.

UH, AND IT PASSES FOUR OH.

UM, AND THEN NEXT STEP

[2. Update on Infrastructure Academy providing training and childcare support to connect local people to careers in construction and operations. [Tamara Atkinson, CEO - Workforce Solutions Capital Area Solutions].]

IS ITEM TWO, UH, WHICH IS A BRIEFING ON THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY.

AND FOR THAT, WE HAVE A PRESENTATION BY TAMARA ATKINSON, WHO'S THE CEO OF WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS CAPITAL AREA SOLUTIONS STAND.

OKAY, INTRODUCE ME.

AND COUNCIL MEMBERS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY.

THANK YOU SO MUCH, MAYOR VICE CHAIR CA, UH, MAYOR PRO TEM AND,

[00:05:01]

UH, IT'S VERY NICE TO BE BACK IN FRONT OF YOU, AND I AM HONORED TO BE YOUR FIRST SPEAKER AT YOUR FIRST COMMITTEE MEETING IN 10 YEARS.

I UNDERSTAND.

SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR HAVING ME.

UH, I AM SO EXCITED TO TALK TO YOU ALL ABOUT THE AUSTIN INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY.

UH, THIS IS AN INITIATIVE THAT IS REALLY FIRST OF A KIND FOR AUSTIN, UH, ONCE AGAIN, PUTTING AUSTIN ON THE MAP.

AND IT WOULDN'T BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT THIS COUNCIL'S SUPPORT.

SO, UH, I'M SO APPRECIATIVE AND EXCITED TO BE, UH, HERE WITH YOU TODAY.

I ALSO WANNA GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO THE AMAZING STAFF THAT YOU HAVE HERE AT THE CITY.

UH, BUT FOR THEM, THIS WOULD ALSO, UH, NOT BE POSSIBLE.

SO HATS OFF TO YOUR AMAZING STAFF.

SO I'M GONNA TAKE YOU THROUGH SOME SLIDES TODAY.

I ALSO HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.

UM, OUR AGENDA FOR TODAY IS I'D LIKE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT A LAUNCH EVENT THAT WE HAVE COMING UP THIS NEXT WEEK, AND MAKE SURE THAT YOU ALL ARE INVITED AND THE COMMUNITY KNOWS ABOUT IT.

I'D LIKE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT OUR SHORT AND MIDTERM PRIORITIES FOR THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY, AND ALSO SPEAK WITH YOU ABOUT OUR SERVICE DELIVERY MODEL.

SO LET ME JUST JUMP RIGHT IN HERE.

SO LET'S START WITH THE FUN NEWS AND THE TOP OF MIND NEWS RIGHT OFF THE BAT.

AND THAT IS THAT WE HAVE A LAUNCH EVENT COMING UP THIS NEXT WEEK, MARCH 26TH, 9:00 AM TO ONE 30.

IT IS OUR FIRST COMPREHENSIVE QUARTERLY, NO QUARTERLY.

WE ARE GOING TO BE DOING THIS QUARTERLY OUTREACH CAMPAIGN FOR JOB SEEKERS IN OUR COMMUNITY.

NOW, THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY IS AN INITIATIVE THAT YOU ALL HAVE BEEN HEARING ABOUT FOR OVER A YEAR.

UH, CLEARLY IT HAS BEEN IN MOTION, UM, AND TO THE BROADER COMMUNITY.

IT IS APPEARED THAT THIS INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY WORK, UH, IS, IS KIND OF BEHIND THE SCENES.

PEOPLE HAVE BEEN ASKING US, WHEN ARE WE GOING TO GET OUR HANDS IN IT? WHEN ARE WE GOING TO BE ABLE TO GET INVOLVED? AND SO THIS LAUNCH EVENT, UH, ON THE 26TH IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR COMMUNITY, FOR WORKERS, FOR STUDENTS, FOR JOB SEEKERS TO COME AND INTERACT DIRECTLY WITH MOBILITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE EMPLOYERS, OUR EDUCATOR, COMMUNITY TRAINING PROVIDERS, OTHER STAKEHOLDERS.

UH, WE ARE NEARLY AT CAPACITY IN TERMS OF TABLING, UH, AT OUR FACILITY, UH, WHICH IS EXCITED.

IT WILL BE HELD, UH, AT WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS CAPITAL AREA, OUR LOCATION OFF OF I 35 AT 9 0 0 1, NORTH I 35.

UH, SUITE ONE, ONE OH E.

ANY INFORMATION YOU WOULD NEED, UH, ANYONE IN THE COMMUNITY, UH, CAN ALSO SCAN THIS QR CODE.

BUT VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS.

UH, AND WE DO EXPECT, AGAIN THAT THIS IS THE FIRST OF QUARTERLY EVENTS THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE.

SO EXCITED, UH, TO BE, UH, HOST JUMP, UH, UH, KICKING THIS OFF NEXT WEEK.

I'M GOING TO JUMP FIRST.

I'M GONNA SKIP A FEW SLIDES, AND THEN I PROMISE I'LL COME BACK TO THEM.

I'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT, UH, HOW WE GOT HERE.

UM, HOPEFULLY FOR MANY OF YOU, THIS IS A REMINDER, BUT I THINK WE CAN'T SAY IT ENOUGH.

UH, REMIND OURSELVES HOW DID AUSTIN FIND OURSELVES FOCUSING ON BUILDING OUR FIRST EVER INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY? AND IT WAS REALLY WITH A RECOGNITION OF SO MUCH THAT WE HAVE GOING ON IN OUR COMMUNITY AROUND INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.

NOT ONLY DO WE HAVE FEDERAL INVESTMENTS IN INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS, BUT WE HAVE LOCAL INITIATIVES AROUND THE AIRPORT EXPANSION, AROUND I 35 AND OTHERS, AND I'LL TALK ABOUT THOSE IN A MINUTE.

BUT WHAT OUR COMMUNITY SAW, AND I WANNA GIVE YOU ALL AS COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, REAL BRAGGING AUTHORITY ON THIS IS AUSTIN SAW WHAT MOST OTHER COMMUNITIES DIDN'T SEE, WHICH IS WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO BUILD COMMUNITY WHILE WE BUILD THESE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.

AND I THINK THAT'S REALLY KEY BECAUSE WHAT WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE WERE WORKING TOWARD IS, OF COURSE, WE HAVE OUR EYE ON MAKING SURE THAT THERE IS SKILLED WORKERS, PEOPLE FROM OUR COMMUNITY WHO HAVE THE SKILLS TO BE ABLE TO COMPETE FOR AND GET THESE JOBS THAT ARE BEING CREATED.

BUT WE ALSO SAW IT AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO REDEFINE WHAT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT REALLY LOOKS LIKE.

HISTORICALLY, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT IS THE OTHER SIDE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.

BUT WE'VE ALWAYS SEEN, I THINK HISTORICALLY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS ABOUT COMPANIES LOCATING, RELOCATING, EXPANDING, DOING WELL, CREATING JOBS.

AND WE STILL WANT THAT AS A WORKFORCE AGENCY.

I KNOW WE STAND FOR THAT.

BUT MORE AND MORE, AND THROUGH THIS INITIATIVE, WE'RE SEEING AN OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY LOOK AT AND PROMOTE THE QUALITY OF THE JOBS THAT ARE BEING CREATED.

SO IT'S NOT JUST QUANTITY, IT'S QUALITY, QUALITY OF THE JOBS.

AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE AT THE END OF THE DAY, THAT AUSTINITES OUR NEIGHBORS, UM, OUR RESIDENTS, UM, OUR CHILDREN, OUR FAMILY MEMBERS, OUR COMMUNITY HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET THESE JOBS THAT CAN BUILD CAREER PATHWAYS.

[00:10:01]

SO I TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT WERE THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT PROMPTED US AS A COMMUNITY MORE THAN TWO YEARS AGO TO SAY, LET'S DO SOMETHING THAT NO OTHER COMMUNITY'S DOING.

WE SAW THAT WE HAD PROJECT CONNECT COMING ONLINE, SO THERE'S GOING TO BE VARIOUS STAGES, OF COURSE, OF THIS PROJECT AND THE OTHERS LISTED ON THIS SLIDE.

AND WE SAW, WELL, THERE'S GOING TO, IT'S GOING TO START WITH CONSTRUCTION.

WE'RE GOING TO NEED SKILLED WORKERS, AND THEN IT'S GOING TO MOVE INTO OPERATORS AND MANAGERS.

THAT'S TRUE.

WHETHER IT'S WITH PROJECT CONNECT, THE AIRPORT EXPANSION, I 35, AND EVEN TWO LARGE PRIVATE SECTOR EMPLOYERS, SAMSUNG AND TESLA.

BUT THOUGH THEY ARE ALSO DOING WORK THAT IS PULLING FROM, AND IF YOU WILL, COMPETING FROM THESE PUBLIC SECTOR PROJECTS.

BUT LET'S NOT FORGET TOO THAT OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT ALSO PASSED A BOND AND THAT THAT RELATES TO CONSTRUCTION.

AND THERE'S MYRIAD OTHER CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.

NEEDLESS TO SAY, THERE ARE, IS A DEMAND, A STRONG DEMAND FOR WORKERS OVER THE NEXT 20 YEARS.

SO LET'S TALK ABOUT WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MAIN CHALLENGES TO BEING ABLE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A COMMUNITY OF SKILLED WORKERS.

SO AUSTIN NEEDS 10,000 SKILLED WORKERS ANNUALLY TO MEET THESE INFRASTRUCTURE DEMANDS.

UH, THAT'S A HUGE NUMBER.

AND WHEN YOU PUT THAT IN THE CONTEXT OF OTHER INDUSTRY SECTORS THAT ARE DRIVING OUR ECONOMY, WE SEE THAT WE REALLY HAVE A CHALLENGE MAKING SURE THAT WE CAN'T HAVE ALL OF OUR INDIVIDUALS IN AUSTIN WHO WANT TO WORK, INCLUDING THOSE STUDENTS THAT ARE IN THIS, IN SCHOOLS AND CLASSROOMS. I MEAN, NOT TODAY BECAUSE IT'S SPRING BREAK, BUT NORMALLY IN SCHOOLS, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THEY SEE THEIR PATH, THEIR PATHWAY.

THESE MAJOR PROJECTS ARE GENERATING NEARLY 200,000 JOBS ACROSS KEY SECTORS.

SO IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, OF COURSE, THEY TALK ABOUT, UH, THE OTHER JOBS THAT ARE CREATED.

UH, AND WE KNOW THAT WITH THESE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS, IT'S GOING TO CREATE MORE AND MORE JOBS.

WE KNOW THAT IF THERE ARE WORKFORCE SHORTAGES, IT COULD DELAY INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.

IT COULD ALSO LEAD TO COST.

UH, THERE COULD BE COST IMPLICATIONS AND NO ONE WANTS THAT.

UH, WE ALSO HEARD, AND, UH, LEARNED THROUGH OUR YEARS WORTH OF FOCUS GROUPS AND RESEARCH, CHILDCARE AND TRANSPORTATION BARRIERS, LIMIT ACCESS TO TRAINING.

AND EVEN IN MANY CASES, ACCESS TO THE JOBS.

WE HEARD EMPLOYERS, JOB CREATORS TELLING US THAT ONE OF THEIR CHALLENGES IS TRANSPORTATION ASSISTANCE FOR TRANSPORTATION WORKERS.

SO THINK ABOUT THAT.

THE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE BUILDING OUT OUR ROADS, UH, AND BUILDING OUT OUR AIRPORT, HAVING DIFFICULTY GETTING TO THOSE SITES.

SO, UH, AND WE ALSO SAW THAT WOMEN ONLY REPRESENT 14% OF THE WORKPLACE, OUR WORKFORCE RATHER.

AND SO WE SAW, WOW, WE REALLY HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO BRIDGE A GENDER GAP AND TO HELP MORE WOMEN SEE AN OPPORTUNITY TO BUILD CAREER PATHWAYS IN THIS AREA.

SO WHAT HAS HAPPENED SINCE WE LAUNCHED THIS INITIATIVE ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO? WELL, FIRST OF ALL, WE GOT VERY ORGANIZED AND WE ENSURED THAT WE WERE VERY COLLABORATIVE.

SO WE HAD THREE STANDING GROUPS THAT WE SET UP.

THERE WAS A LEADERSHIP GROUP THAT WAS CO-CHAIRED BY MAYOR WATSON AND JUDGE BROWN.

SO THIS WAS A CITY COUNTY INITIATIVE TOGETHER.

WE WERE VERY PROUD OF THAT.

THERE WAS A DESIGN TEAM WORK THAT I WAS LEADING THAT WAS AROUND BRINGING TOGETHER SOME OF YOU AND MANY, MANY OTHERS IN THE COMMUNITY TO REALLY PUT OUR FINGERS INTO WHAT SHOULD THE ACTUAL INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY LOOK LIKE.

AND THEN LAST BUT NOT LEAST, THE SECTOR PARTNERSHIP.

I'M PROUD TO SAY THAT TO DATE, WE HAVE OVER 140 DIFFERENT AGENCIES THAT SHOW UP AND PARTICIPATE ON A QUARTERLY BASIS THROUGH THIS SECTOR PARTNERSHIP TO GIVE THEIR INPUT, UH, ON WHAT THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY SHOULD DO.

WHAT THAT TELLS US BY THEM VOTING WITH THEIR FEET AND CONTINUING TO SHOW UP, IS WE'VE REALLY HIT UPON SOMETHING AS A COMMUNITY.

AND WE'RE INVOLVING NOT JUST THE JOB CREATORS, AND NOT JUST THE TRAINERS, BUT THE COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS, THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS, UH, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ENTITIES.

SO LET ME TALK TO YOU A LITTLE BIT.

NOW, LET ME SHARE WITH YOU, 'CAUSE I KNOW SOMETIMES IT CAN BE CONFUSING.

AND I'M ALSO OFTEN ASKED, OKAY, TAMARA, IN A SOUND BITE, CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY IS? UH, PEOPLE HAVE ASKED ME, IS THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY A PHYSICAL LOCATION OR IS IT A CONCEPT? AND YOU KNOW WHAT MY ANSWER IS? YES, IT IS BOTH.

IT IS BOTH OF THOSE.

IT IS A PHYSICAL LOCATION IN THAT WE ARE PARTNERING CLOSELY WITH AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE, WHO IS ALLOWING US TO USE THEIR RIVERSIDE CAMPUS AS A TEMPORARY INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY HOME.

AND THANKS TO ACCS GENEROSITY, THEY WILL BE ALLOWING US AS A COMMUNITY LED BY A CC TO CREATE AUSTIN'S FIRST PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE, PERMANENT PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY IN SOUTHEAST AUSTIN,

[00:15:01]

ADJACENT TO THE AIRPORT.

SO, SO EXCITED ABOUT THAT.

BUT IF WE TALK ABOUT WHAT IS IT GOING TO DO, THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY IS A CAREER NAVIGATION MARKETPLACE.

SO CAREER NAVIGATION MARKETPLACE THAT CONNECTS AUSTINITES TO CUSTOMIZE WORKFORCE PATHWAYS IN THE MOBILITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE SEC SECTOR.

THE SECOND LARGEST INDUSTRY IN OUR REGION, ADDING 10,000 JOBS ANNUALLY, UNLIKE TRADITIONAL TRAINING PROGRAMS, THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY IS REALLY GOING TO STAKE ITS CLAIM ON GUIDING JOB SEEKERS BEFORE THEY ENROLL IN TRAINING OR EMPLOYMENT, ENSURING THAT THEY MAKE INFORMED SUSTAINABLE CAREER CHOICES.

SO THIS WAS VERY THOUGHTFUL WHEN WE, OVER THE LAST YEAR, UH, DID RESEARCH WITH OUR PARTNER, CIVIC SOUL, AND REALLY BROUGHT TOGETHER THE LEARNINGS FROM ALL THE FOCUS GROUPS.

UH, THESE ON, ON YOUR SCREEN, THESE ARE THE SEVEN TENETS THAT THE COMMUNITY THAT EVERYONE INVOLVED SAID WE REALLY NEED TO MAKE SURE WE ACCOMPLISH IN THIS CAREER NAVIGATION MARKETPLACE.

THERE NEEDS TO BE TRAINING AND ALIGNMENT.

UM, WHEN WE DID OUR RESEARCH, WE KNOW IN OUR COMMUNITY THERE ARE TRAINING PROGRAMS FROM BOTH AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE DOING GREAT WORK, BUT THEY'RE NOT ALIGNED.

THEY'RE DIFFERENT LENGTHS, THEY'RE DIFFERENT STARTING TIMES.

OF COURSE, THEY RESULT IN DIFFERENT KINDS OF OUTCOMES.

UH, AND WHILE WE ARE NOT TRYING TO CREATE A ONE SIZE FITS ALL, WE DO THINK THAT THERE IS A LOT OF CONFUSION IN THE MARKET AND JOB SEEKERS, WORKERS ARE LIKE, WAIT A SECOND.

I KNOW I NEED THE SKILLS.

I'M INTERESTED IN THIS INDUSTRY.

WHERE DO I START? AND WHO DO I START WITH? WE WANNA MAKE THAT ALIGNMENT EASIER FOR OUR JOB SEEKERS, FOR OUR STUDENTS TO REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT THEIR OPTIONS ARE AND WHAT THEY GET FOR THEIR PRECIOUS INVESTMENT OF TIME AND THEIR RESOURCES.

WRAPAROUND SERVICES.

I'M GONNA COME BACK AND TALK MORE ABOUT CHILDCARE 'CAUSE I KNOW YOU ALL ARE INTERESTED IN THAT, BUT WE HEARD LOUD AND CLEAR WRAPAROUND SERVICES, CHILDCARE, OTHER SERVICES ARE REALLY NEEDED TO BE INCLUDED IN THIS ACADEMY TO ELIMINATE PARTICIPATION, BARRIERS, NAVIGATION, AND PLACEMENT.

I DESCRIBED THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY AS A CAREER NAVIGATION MARKETPLACE, BUT THAT IS REALLY BECAUSE WHAT WE WANNA DO IS WE WANNA FACILITATE THE MATCHING OF JOB SEEKERS WITH JOB CREATORS, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS.

WHEN WE DID OUR RESEARCH AND WE ASK, WE SURVEYED, UH, BOTH THE JOB CREATORS, THE EMPLOYERS, AS WELL AS THE STUDENTS AND WORKERS, LIKE, HOW DO YOU GUYS FIND EACH OTHER? WE CREATED THIS WORD CLOUD OF ALL THESE DIFFERENT WAYS THAT PEOPLE ARE WORD OF MOUTH.

I GO TO THE INTERNET, I CALL MY FRIEND, I TALK TO MY SCHOOL.

ALL THESE DIFFERENT WAYS, PEOPLE ARE FINDING OUT ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES.

AND WE REALIZED THAT IT JUST WAS NOT EFFICIENT.

AND WHEN WE ASK OUR SCHOOL DISTRICTS, HOW ARE YOU WORKING WITH EDUCATORS AND EMPLOYERS, THEY SAY, WELL, TO BE HONEST, WE LOVE HAVING AN EMPLOYER VOICE IN OUR SCHOOLS.

BUT THEY'RE SAYING, BUT DO YOU REALIZE WE'RE GETTING CONTACTED EVERY WEEK FROM DIFFERENT EMPLOYERS? AND WHEN THEY COME IN, THEY'RE TELLING DIFFERENT MESSAGES.

OUR STUDENTS GET SO CONFUSED ABOUT WHAT ARE THE OPPORTUNITIES? AND WE SAID, OKAY.

ONCE AGAIN, DON'T WANNA CREATE A ONE SIZE FITS ALL, BUT WE SURE THINK WE COULD HELP OUR SCHOOL DISTRICTS, UH, AND OUR STUDENTS REALLY UNDERSTAND BETTER HOW TO FIND THEIR OPPORTUNITIES.

AND ULTIMATELY, FOR THE INDIVIDUALS THAT ENROLL IN A SKILL BUILDING PROGRAM, WE WANNA MAKE THAT NAVIGATION TO JOB PLACEMENT A LOT EASIER.

RECRUITMENT, WE KNOW THAT RECRUITMENT HAS GOTTA BE A BIG PART OF THIS.

OUR JOB CREATORS HAVE SAID, AND THOSE PROJECT SPONSORS, THOSE WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ENSURING THAT THE AIRPORT GETS BUILT, UH, THAT THAT PROJECT CONNECT, UH, IS COMPLETED.

THEY TELL US WE REALLY NEED SOME HELP MAKING SURE WE CAN FIND, UM, UNDER, UH, INDIVIDUALS WHO PERHAPS ARE OVERLOOKED IN OUR COMMUNITY, WHO REALLY COULD BENEFIT AND FIND VALUE IN BUILDING CAREER PATHWAYS, UH, IN, IN THIS MO IN THIS INDUSTRY SECTOR.

SO RECRUITMENT'S A BIG PART OF IT.

AND ON THE BOTTOM ROW, YOU SEE, THIS IS HOW WE'RE GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE KEEPING OUR EYE ON WHAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT AS WE DO THIS WORK.

THERE'S GOTTA BE A GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE THAT IS SET UP TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ACCOUNTABLE FOR WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY.

WE'RE GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE EVALUATING AND REPORTING OUR IMPACT.

AND MOST OF ALL, AND THIS GOES BACK TO THIS NOTION OF CREATING BUILDING COMMUNITY, WHILE WE BUILD OUT OUR INFRASTRUCTURE, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE KEEPING AND, AND, AND ALLOWING A SENSE OF BELONGING FOR ALL AUSTINITES TO KNOW THAT WE WANT PEOPLE TO STAY HERE.

WE WANT PEOPLE TO THRIVE HERE.

WE WANT PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO, TO GROW THEIR, THEIR FAMILIES AND THEIR BUSINESSES HERE IN AUSTIN.

SO LET ME GO BACK FOR JUST A SECOND NOW, AND WELL, I'M SORRY.

LET ME GO TO THE NEXT ONE, WHICH IS OUR SERVICE DELIVERY MODEL.

SO THIS IS ANOTHER WAY OF LOOKING AT HOW WE WILL ORGANIZE THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY.

IT'LL

[00:20:01]

BE AROUND RECRUITMENT, UH, CUSTOMER CENTRIC NAVIGATION.

SO I'VE TALKED A LOT ABOUT HOW WE'RE GOING TO PERSONALIZE IT.

UH, I ALSO THINK THIS IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT I MENTIONED BEFORE THAT WE MAKES INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY DIFFERENT, IS THAT WE'RE GOING TO GUIDE THE JOB SEEKERS BEFORE THEY ENROLL.

UM, LET ME SHARE WITH YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT HAS HISTORICALLY BEEN DONE.

I'VE BEEN A WORKFORCE PROFESSIONAL FOR OVER 25 YEARS.

AND HISTORICALLY WHAT WE HAVE DONE IS WHEN A JOB SEEKER COMES TO US LOOKING FOR A TRAINING OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE THEY WANNA BUILD UP THEIR SKILLS, WE'LL TALK TO 'EM A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THEY WANT, AND THEN WE START SHOWING THEM TRAINING PROGRAMS. BUT WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW IS WE'VE REALIZED THAT SOMETIMES PEOPLE WOULD GET INTO A TRAINING PROGRAM AND THEN REALIZE, OH, WAIT A SECOND, I'M ON A CAREER PATHWAY TO BECOME A NURSE, BUT I DON'T REALLY LIKE BLOOD.

AND YET THEY'VE ALREADY INVESTED THEIR TIME, THEIR ENERGY, THEIR ENROLL, THEY'VE ENROLLED IN THAT PROGRAM AND WE'VE SPENT MONEY ON THEM.

SO WE THOUGHT, WELL, LET'S BACK UP AND LET'S MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE REALLY UNDERSTANDING THE WHOLE PERSON.

WHAT DO YOU NEED IN TERMS OF CHILDCARE? IS YOUR, IS YOUR HOUSING SITUATION STABILIZED? ARE YOU IN A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN FOCUS ON BUILDING YOUR EDUCATION? AND WHAT FORM DOES THAT NEED TO TAKE? LET ME GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT THAT MEANS.

THROUGH THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY, THERE WILL BE APPRENTICESHIP OPPORTUNITIES.

WHAT IS THE APPRENTICESHIP AND HOW DOES THAT DIFFER FROM WHAT PERHAPS ANOTHER TRAINING OPPORTUNITY IS? WITH OTHER TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES, THERE'S GOING TO BE A LEVEL OF DIDACTIC INSTRUCTION, CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION, HANDS-ON INSTRUCTION.

BUT A PERSON WON'T NECESSARILY BE EARNING A PAYCHECK WITH AN APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM, FOR EXAMPLE, AS ANOTHER OPTION.

INDIVIDUALS CAN EARN AND LEARN.

THEY CAN GET, GET INTO A PROGRAM WHEREBY THEY'RE BUILDING UP THEIR SKILLS AND EARNING A PAYCHECK.

SO, BUT ALL THAT STARTS WITH FIRST UNDERSTANDING WHERE A PERSON IS IN THEIR LIFE, WHAT THEY NEED, AND HOW DO WE BEST SUPPORT THEM.

SO I TALKED ABOUT THE TRAINING MARKETPLACE.

THAT'S ANOTHER PART OF THE DESIGN.

I TALKED ABOUT THE STATE-OF-THE-ART CAMPUS.

WE ARE SO EXCITED, UH, TO BE PARTNERING WITH AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE ON THAT.

AND I MENTIONED THE CONNECTION, UH, TO JOBS THROUGH THAT WORK.

SO ALL OF THAT IS REALLY EXCITING AND A PART OF HOW WE WILL CONTINUE TO ITERATE THIS.

AND I WANNA SHARE THAT THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY, AS WE LAUNCH IT STARTING NEXT WEEK ON MARCH 26TH, WE KNOW THAT IT WILL ITERATE.

WE KNOW THAT WE'RE A LEARNING ORGANIZATION AND WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO LISTEN TO OUR COMMUNITY.

AND AS I MENTIONED, THERE WILL BE AN EVALUATION PORTION, UH, BECAUSE WE BELIEVE THAT WE NEED TO LET THE DATA AND THE RESULTS AND WHAT OUR COMMUNITY'S TELLING US GUIDE HOW WE IMPLEMENT THIS INTO THE FUTURE.

SO LET ME BACK UP HERE.

I'M GONNA GO TO A FEW SLIDES THAT I SKIPPED OVER HERE.

SO LET ME TALK TO YOU ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW WITH THE INDUSTRY SECTOR PARTNERSHIP.

SO THE INDUSTRY SECTOR PARTNERSHIP, AS I MENTIONED, OVER 140 ENTITIES THAT ARE COMING TOGETHER QUARTERLY.

HERE IS WHAT THEY ARE FOCUSED ON NOW BECAUSE HERE ARE THEIR PRIORITIES.

SO HERE'S OUR COMMUNITY'S PRIORITIES.

IT FALLS IN THE FOUR BUCKETS I'VE TALKED ABOUT RECRUITMENT.

WE ARE SPENDING A LOT OF TIME AND ENERGY AND THE K THROUGH 12 SPACE, UH, AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

WHEN WE ASK OUR COMMUNITY, WHEN WE ASK OUR JOB CREATORS, WHEN WE ASK, UH, OUR WORKERS AND OUR TRAINING PROVIDERS, THEY SAY WE NEED TO GO FURTHER INTO THE EDUCATION SYSTEM AND NOT JUST WAIT UNTIL SOMEONE'S GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL.

WE NEED TO BE IN THE HIGH SCHOOLS.

WE NEED TO BE IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOLS.

WE REALLY NEED TO BE MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE COORDINATING THAT MESSAGE AND GETTING TO OUR STUDENTS.

BECAUSE MANY STUDENTS UNDERSTAND WHAT IT MEANS TO WORK IN HEALTHCARE.

SOME OF THEM ARE LEARNING WHAT IT MEANS TO WORK IN TECH, BUT INFRASTRUCTURE.

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO WORK IN MOBILITY? WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO WORK IN CONSTRUCTION OR SKILLED TRADES? SO WE KNOW THAT WE NEED TO, UH, DO A BETTER JOB AROUND THAT.

AND THAT INCLUDES BETTER RECRUITMENT.

I'VE TALKED ABOUT CUSTOMER-CENTRIC NAVIGATION, TALKED ABOUT HOW THAT'S GONNA BE A BIG PART OF WHAT WE DO.

OF NOTE.

AND THANKS TO THE GENEROSITY OF THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE CONTRACT WITH WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS FOR THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THESE CAREER ADVISORS AND NAVIGATORS.

THEY'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO EXACTLY WHAT I'VE SHARED WITH YOU.

THEY'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO MEET SOMEONE WHERE THEY ARE, HELP THEM UNDERSTAND WHAT THEIR NEEDS ARE, CONNECT THEM TO BOTH THE SUPPORT AND THEIR, THE RIGHT TRAINING PROGRAM FOR THEM FROM THE OPTIONS THAT THEY HAVE.

WE'RE GOING TO MAKE SURE, AND OUR, OUR PRIORITY GROUPS ARE WORKING ON REMOVING EMPLOYMENT BARRIERS, REALLY MAKING SURE THAT OUR EMPLOYERS AND OUR JOB SEEKERS HAVE THE TOOLS THAT THEY NEED.

AND I PROMISE I AM GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT CHILDCARE.

AND THEN WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT FUNDING.

WE KNOW THAT RIGHT NOW, WHILE THE CITY COUNCIL, WHILE YOU ALL HAVE SO GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED THE LAUNCH AND THE STARTUP OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY, WE KNOW THAT THE PRIVATE SECTOR ALSO SHOULD BE INVESTED IN THIS.

AND INTERESTINGLY, THE PRIVATE SECTOR IS STEPPING UP.

THEY ARE ASKING

[00:25:01]

US, HOW CAN WE BE INVOLVED? HOW CAN WE SUPPORT THIS? SO WE DON'T THINK THAT THAT'S GONNA BE A HARD ASK.

WE'RE JUST FORMULATING THE RIGHT TIME AND, AND WAY TO ASK THE PRIVATE SECTOR TO PARTICIPATE.

BUT THIS WILL BE A PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP ULTIMATELY AS WE GET GOING.

SO LET'S TALK ABOUT OUR NEXT STEPS LAUNCH EVENT.

I TALKED ABOUT THAT.

THAT'S NEXT WEEK.

MY TEAM IS BUSILY AT WORK EVERY DAY PLANNING FOR THAT.

UH, SUPER EXCITED ABOUT THAT.

UM, OUR GOAL IS AT LEAST A HUNDRED JOB SEEKERS, BUT WE HAVE CAPACITY FOR BETWEEN FOUR AND 500 JOB SEEKERS.

SO HELP US GET THE WORD OUT.

ANYONE WHO, UH, IS WATCHING THIS, UH, OR FOLLOWING THIS COMMITTEE MEETING, WOULD LOVE TO SHARE THE MESSAGE ABOUT THIS LAUNCH EVENT BECAUSE IT IS OPEN TO THE COMMUNITY.

UH, AND THAT THROUGH THE LAUNCH EVENT, WE WILL ALSO HAVE WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS STAFF.

WE'RE COMING OUT IN MASS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN BE THERE TO TALK TO PEOPLE, UH, TO SET UP APPOINTMENTS FOR THOSE, UH, INDIVIDUALIZED ASSESSMENTS.

WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF HIRING STAFF TO BE THOSE CAREER NAVIGATORS.

UH, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT IS, WE'VE HAD, UH, CAREER NAVIGATORS BEFORE, BUT THIS IS TAKING IT TO A NEW LEVEL AND WHAT WE WANNA DO SPECIFICALLY FOR THIS INDUSTRY SECTOR.

I'LL, I'LL ALSO NOTE THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE A SENIOR DIRECTOR OF INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY POSITION OPEN.

WE ARE HIRING, UH, I HEARD, UH, MY FRIEND FROM, UH, MY COLLEAGUE FROM TRAVIS COUNTY TALKING ABOUT HIRING.

WE ARE ALSO HIRING.

SO IF YOU ALL KNOW ANYONE THAT IS MOVED BY WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT TODAY AND WANTS TO GET INVOLVED, WE DO HAVE AN OPEN POSITION FOR A SENIOR DIRECTOR.

SO WE'RE FILLING THOSE POSITIONS.

WE'RE CREATING THAT MARKETPLACE WHERE INTEGRATED NAVIGATION FOR THE CAREER PATHWAYS IS ENABLED.

WE'RE SEAMLESSLY LINKING THOSE RESOURCES.

UH, AND WE ARE ENSURING THAT THE OPPORTUNITIES ALIGN WITH WHAT THE INDUSTRY NEEDS.

BECAUSE I'LL SHARE WITH YOU ONE OF THE MISTAKES THAT WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT WRIT LARGE CAN MAKE IF THEY'RE NOT CAREFUL, IS A TRAIN AND PRAY APPROACH.

AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS A TRAINING FOR JOBS THAT YOU HOPE ARE GONNA BE THERE BUT AREN'T REALLY THERE.

WE WANNA BE SURE THAT WE HAVE A TIGHT CONNECTION BETWEEN WHAT IS AVAILABLE AND WHEN AND WHAT TRAINING PROGRAMS WE'RE REALLY SUPPORTING PEOPLE TO GET INTO.

BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT OUR COMMUNITY, OUR JOB SEEKERS, OUR STUDENTS WANNA KNOW THAT IF THEY SPEND THEIR PRECIOUS TIME INVESTED IN A TRAINING PROGRAM, THAT THERE IS A REALLY GOOD JOB.

AND NOT JUST A JOB, BUT A CAREER PATHWAY WAITING FOR THEM ON THE OTHER SIDE.

SO, UH, TECHNOLOGY, ONE OF THE WAYS THAT WE WILL BE ENABLING THIS, UH, MARKETPLACE THAT I TALKED ABOUT, THIS CAREER NAVIGATION MARKETPLACE, IS THROUGH TECHNOLOGY THAT UNFORTUNATELY WILL NOT BE LAUNCHED NEXT WEEK.

IT'S GONNA TAKE A LITTLE MORE TIME TO BUILD THAT OUT, BUT THAT IS A NEXT STEP FOCUS FOR THE REST OF 2025.

AND THAT WILL ALLOW FOR THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN JOBS THAT'LL BE POSTED IN THE MARKETPLACE, UH, TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES AND THE WORKERS AND STUDENTS TO ALL COME INTO THIS VIRTUAL SPACE.

BUT, BUT LET ME BE CLEAR, WE NEVER WANT TECHNOLOGY TO REPLACE THE ABILITY FOR A PERSON IN OUR COMMUNITY TO BE ABLE TO SIT DOWN EYEBALL TO EYEBALL OR ON THE PHONE OR ON A VIRTUAL MEETING WITH A REAL HUMAN THAT CAN HELP THEM AND EMPATHIZE AND UNDERSTAND THEIR SITUATION.

I'VE TALKED ABOUT GOVERNANCE AND THAT AND, AND COMMUNITY ALIGNMENT, MAKING SURE, UH, THAT WE ARE ALIGNED WITH THE COMMUNITY.

I WANNA SHARE WITH YOU, UH, SOME INFORMATION AND THAT.

AND THEN I WILL PIVOT NEXT TO THE CHILDCARE CONVERSATION.

UM, TWO WEEKS AGO, THE CHANCELLOR OF AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND I DEBUTED, UH, A UM, A MOONSHOT GOAL THAT WE HAVE THAT WE WANT TO INCORPORATE AS PART OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY.

UH, AND THAT IS THAT WE ARE WORKING TOWARD CREATING A UNIVERSAL APPLICATION FOR WORKERS.

RIGHT NOW, IF YOU WANNA GO TO AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE, YOU OF COURSE APPLY TO AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE.

IF YOU WANNA RECEIVE SERVICES FROM WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS, YOU CAN APPLY THROUGH WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS.

UM, AND WE WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE.

HOWEVER, AS THE LARGEST, UH, WORKFORCE EDUCATOR IN OUR COMMUNITY.

HOWEVER, THAT'S DIFFERENT APPLICATIONS, DIFFERENT PAPERWORK, DIFFERENT PROCESSES, UH, AND PEOPLE GET TIRED AND WORN DOWN BY ALL THOSE PROCESSES.

AND WE'VE HEARD THAT.

SO THE CHANCELLOR AND I HAVE MADE A COMMITMENT ON BEHALF OF OUR TWO SYSTEMS. WE ARE WORKING TOWARD A UNIVERSAL APPLICATION WHEREBY AN INDIVIDUAL BE, WILL BE ABLE TO, A WORKER, A NEIGHBOR, A STUDENT, WILL BE ABLE TO FILL OUT ONE APPLICATION.

AND BETWEEN A C, C AND WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS, WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO LOOK AT WHAT THEY'RE ELIGIBLE FOR AND WHAT THEIR BEST OPTIONS ARE AND MATCH THEM TO A NAVIGATOR WHO WILL HAVE ALL THAT INFORMATION.

SO THEY TELL THEIR STORY ONE TIME.

WE'RE SUPER EXCITED ABOUT THAT.

LET'S ALSO TALK ABOUT THE CONNECTIONS AND COMMUNITY ALIGNMENT TO CHILDCARE.

SO CHILDCARE, WE HEARD LOUD AND CLEAR FROM CITY COUNCIL

[00:30:01]

AND FROM OUR COMMUNITY.

CHILDCARE WAS A REALLY IMPORTANT PART OF THIS PROCESS.

SO LET ME SHARE WITH YOU HOW CHILDCARE IS GOING TO WORK IN THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY.

TRAINEES PARTICIPATING IN THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY WILL RECEIVE SIX MONTHS OF GUARANTEED CHILDCARE SCHOLARSHIPS FOR AS LONG AS FUNDS LAST.

SO INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE ASSESSED THROUGH THAT EVALUATION TO BE ABLE TO BENEFIT FROM WHAT WE'RE OFFERING WILL RECEIVE SIX IF THEY NEED CHILDCARE, SIX MONTHS GUARANTEED CHILDCARE AS LONG AS FUNDS LAST.

WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS WILL COVER 100% OF THE CARE AND PARENT SHARE OF COST FOR SIX MONTHS.

AT THE SIX MONTH MARK, WE WILL OUTREACH THE CUSTOMER, THE INDIVIDUAL, RECEIVE THE, THE, THE CAREGIVER TO REDETERMINE ELIGIBILITY TO SEE IF WE CAN TRANSITION THAT INDIVIDUAL TO OUR FEDERAL FUNDING, WHICH IS CALLED CCDF, FOR AN ADDITIONAL 12 MONTHS.

SO IN OTHER WORDS, WE'RE LOOKING AT THE CITY INVESTMENT AS THE ON-RAMP AND STABILIZER.

AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT HOW DO WE MOVE THAT PERSON TO FEDERAL FUNDING FOR CHILDCARE, WHICH IS CALLED CCDF ELIGIBILITY AND PRIORITY GROUPS FOR CARE.

WE'LL INCLUDE INDIVIDUALS ENROLLED IN AN INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY TRAINING PROGRAM.

THEY WILL NEED TO RESIDE IN TRAVIS COUNTY, CITY OF AUSTIN.

PRIORITY WILL BE GIVEN TO FAMILIES IN THE FOLLOWING GROUPS.

THOSE THAT ARE CURRENTLY AT OR BELOW 85% OF THE STATE MEDIAN INCOME.

AND THOSE FAMILIES RESIDING IN THE EASTERN CRESCENT AS DETERMINED BY ZIP CODES.

AND I HAVE A LIST OF THOSE ZIP CODES, BUT IT EQUATES TO THE EASTERN CRESCENT.

OUR CAREER CENTER NAVIGATORS THAT I MENTIONED WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR, UH, SCREENING FOR ELIGIBILITY AND PRIORITY AND REFERRING PARENTS TO A CHILD, TO OUR CHILDCARE CONTRACTOR FOR ENROLLMENT IN AN INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY FUNDED CHILDCARE.

UM, IF WE, BY FUNDING A HUNDRED PERCENT AND BASED ON ROUGHLY A THOUSAND DOLLARS A MONTH AVERAGE COST FOR SIX MONTHS, WE EXPECT INITIALLY WE'LL BE ABLE TO SERVE A HUNDRED KIDS.

SO WE KNOW THAT'S JUST A DROP IN THE BUDGET, UH, BUCKET RATHER IT'S JUST A START.

UM, BUT WE ARE ENCOURAGED BY GETTING IT STARTED.

AND AS WE HAVE MORE RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES TO LEVERAGE OTHER CHILDCARE RESOURCES, UH, WE EXPECT, UH, TO DO SO.

BUT WE FEEL LIKE THIS IS A STRONG START.

IT ALIGNS WITH OUR EXISTING SYSTEM, BUT IT ALLOWS US TO HAVE THAT ON-RAMP THAT WITHOUT, UH, THE GENEROSITY OF, UH, THE CITY WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO HAVE.

SO WITH THAT, I WILL CONCLUDE MY PRESENTATION AND SAY THANK YOU AND ASK IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS THAT I CAN ANSWER.

UH, THANK YOU FOR THAT PRESENTATION.

UM, I REALLY ENJOYED IT AND I THINK EVERYONE ELSE SAID, 'CAUSE I SAW SEVERAL HANDS GO UP, .

UH, SO BEFORE I GET TO ANY QUESTIONS I HAVE, I'M GONNA GIVE THE FLOOR TO COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON, THEN COUNCIL MEMBER JOSE VELASQUEZ, AND THEN, UH, VICE CHAIR, UH, FUENTES.

THANK YOU CHAIR.

UM, I APPRECIATE HOW HUMBLE YOU ARE AS YOU, UM, CHAIR THE INAUGURAL I BACK REDO OF, UH, UH, COMMITTEE.

I'M REALLY, REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO.

IT LITERALLY IS ONE OF MY POLICY PRIORITIES.

I CALL 'EM MY HIMSS HOUSING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AND MOBILITY.

UM, SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT AND I'M GLAD THAT YOU WERE ONE OF OUR FIRST PRESENTATIONS.

UM, AGAIN, YOU WERE BEING VERY HUMBLE.

UM, BUT I'VE BEEN SEEING YOUR NAME AROUND ON LINKEDIN AND STUFF.

I I HAVE BEEN WATCHING YOU WORK THIS LAST SIX YEARS TIRELESSLY TOWARDS OUR WORKFORCE EFFORTS.

AND SO HAVING YOU GIVE US THIS PRESENTATION IS REALLY IMPACTFUL 'CAUSE OF THE DATA AND THE INFORMATION, BUT ALSO BECAUSE OF THE PERSON DELIVERING IT.

COUNCIL, THAT'S FANTASTIC.

THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE LEARNED, UM, FROM BEING HERE IS HOW QUICKLY THINGS CAN FALL APART WITHOUT CONTINUITY AND STEWARDSHIP AND LEADERSHIP.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, YOU SAID YOU'VE BEEN IN THE FIELD FOR 25.

I HOPE YOU GOT A FEW MORE IN, YOU GOT A COUPLE MORE IN THE TANK, TIM.

I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE ANYTIME SOON.

AND THEN THE WRAPAROUND SERVICES, I, I MEAN, A PART OF THE, YOU KNOW, UM, SHOUT OUT IS THAT YOU, I WAS CHECKING OFF QUESTIONS AS YOU WERE GOING.

FANTASTIC.

I APPRECIATE IT.

I HAVE A BRAZILIAN QUESTIONS, BUT YOU AND I ARE COOL LIKE THAT.

SO I'LL BE IN COMMUNICATION ABOUT SOME OF THE FINER POINTS, BUT SOME THAT I'D LIKE TO ASK PUBLICLY JUST TO KIND OF DAYLIGHT FOR THE COMMITTEE AND MY COLLEAGUES, UM, AND THE COMMUNITY JUST AS POINTS OF CONCERN AND SOME BIG UPS.

LET'S START WITH THE BIG UPS.

SO I WENT TO VISIT, I DON'T KNOW IF Y'ALL REMEMBER OUR FORMER ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, CHRIS SHORTER.

UM, BUT I WENT TO VISIT HIM WHEN HE WAS WORKING IN BALTIMORE.

AND A PART OF THE VISIT WAS TO SEE HOW THE BAL BALTIMORE WORKFORCE EFFORT WAS WORKING.

AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I TRIED TO DUPLICATE UPON RETURN THAT I STILL HAVE BEEN PULLING MY HAIR ABOUT IS THE THING YOU JUST TOUCHED ON, THE LACK OF INTEGRATION.

AND THAT'S WHAT THEY WERE ABLE TO DO.

SO THIS UNIVERSAL APPLICATION IS ONE OF THOSE TYPES OF MECHANISMS THAT THEY DEPLOYED.

[00:35:01]

SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WAS SPECIFICALLY WAS GONNA ASK ABOUT WAS THE CAREER ADVISORS AND NAVIGATORS.

YOU KNOW, THAT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS WHERE I CONSISTENTLY WORK WITH IN MY PRIVATE CAPACITY AS A COMMUNITY ADVOCATE AND AS A POLICYMAKER, WORK WITH FOLKS FOR WHOM THEIR INTERACTIONS WITH THEM PEOPLE.

THAT'S ANY GOVERNMENTAL AGENCY, THAT'S ANYBODY WHO REPRESENTS LIKE AN OFFICIAL CAPACITY, THE WAY FOLKS INTERACT WITH THEM IS IN ITSELF A BARRIER.

AND SO I APPRECIATE THAT IN ACKNOWLEDGING BARRIERS AND, AND ACKNOWLEDGING MEETING PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE, THAT YOU'RE BEING SO DELIBERATE ABOUT THE CAREER ADVISOR COMPONENT.

IF YOU'VE NEVER PAWNED ANYTHING, YOU SHOULD PROBABLY NOT SIT ACROSS FROM SOMEBODY WHO HAS HAD TO AND ADVISE THEM ABOUT THEIR CAREER PATH AND CURRENT LIVING SITUATION 'CAUSE YOU JUST DON'T GET IT.

THEY'RE UNDERSTAFFED, UNDERPAID, OVERWORKED.

DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M SAYING? YES.

IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS WHERE, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES OUR CONSTITUENTS WILL COME TO US ABOUT THEIR, THEIR INTERACTION WITH CPS.

FOR EXAMPLE, A 22-YEAR-OLD CHILDLESS HUMAN SHOULD NOT BE THE PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR TAKING SOMEBODY'S KIDS OUT OF THEIR FAMILY HOME.

UM, BUT THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE LEFT WORKING WITH OVER AT THAT DEPARTMENT.

IT'S WILD.

BUT I APPRECIATE THAT YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY AND THE FLEXIBILITY TO BE DELIBERATE THERE BECAUSE IT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE ENTIRELY ABOUT SOMEBODY'S PATH FORWARD AND PERFORMANCE, INCLUDING THAT WRAPAROUND SERVICE.

YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE TO THE POINT WITH BALTIMORE, PART OF THEIR INTEGRATION WAS THEY WERE GETTING PEOPLE DENTAL CARE.

IF YOU'VE EVER HAD AN ABSCESS TOOTH, YOU KNOW, GO TO WORK, DARE YOU.

YOU KNOW? AND SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THEY WERE TAKING CARE OF WERE LIFE THINGS, BUT THEY WERE THINGS THAT WERE IN THE WAY.

AND SO ALONG THOSE LINES, SOME OF THE QUESTIONS I DID DID HAVE SPECIFICALLY ABOUT BARRIERS HAD TO DO WITH JUSTICE INVOLVEMENT, UM, WARRANTS DELINQUENT CHILD SUPPORT, UM, ANY SORT OF COURT AND OR JUSTICE INVOLVEMENT WHERE YOU, UM, RECONCILING IT IS A FINANCIAL HARDSHIP AND YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO DO IT.

IN WHICH CASE THAT WOULD BE A BARRIER TO PARTICIPATION FOR YOU.

IS THAT A THING THAT THERE'S SOME ROOM, UM, TO DISCUSS, UM, AS A PART OF THAT, UM, CAREER SEEKER SUPPORT? SO, UH, THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU FOR, I'D LOVE TO, UH, COMMENT ON SOME OF YOUR COMMENTS.

BUT FIRST LET ME CLARIFY.

UH, IF I UNDERSTAND YOUR QUESTION, ARE YOU ASKING WHETHER THROUGH THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY WE WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO PAY COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH BEING JUSTICE INVOLVED? IS QUESTION.

RIGHT? SO, YOU KNOW, SO FOR EXAMPLE, WE ARE PUTTING A LOT OF EMPHASIS ON CHILDCARE, WHICH WE SHOULD BY THE WAY.

AND I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT.

BUT WHAT IF THE BARRIER ISN'T CHILD RELATED? WHAT IF THE BARRIER IS JUSTICE RELATED AND OR DEBT, FRANKLY, ENTIRELY RELATED? YOU KNOW? SO FOR EXAMPLE, IF A PERSON IS HAVING UPON SOMETHING OR TAKEN OUT A 500% INTEREST PAYDAY LOAN TO GET TO SOUTHEAST AUSTIN, SPEAKING OF TRANSPORTATION PROBLEMS, THE IRONY OF OUR STUDENTS NEED TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO GET TO SOUTHEAST AUSTIN TO GET TO THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY IS GONNA BE AN IMPEDIMENT TO A LOT OF FOLKS.

BUT THAT'S SAID, THAT'S ANOTHER ADDITIONAL CONCERN QUESTION, ET CETERA.

BUT LET'S SAY THAT PERSON DOES THAT AND NOW THEY'RE IN THE HOLE FOR THAT.

YOU KNOW, JUST, I, I THINK SOME OF THE BARRIERS THAT FOLKS WHO DON'T EVEN HAVE KIDS ARE SO REAL, BUT THEY'RE FINANCIAL.

SO I JUST WONDER WHAT THOSE LOOK LIKE.

AND I'M NOT ASKING YOU TO ANSWER TODAY.

IT WAS SOMETHING THAT I WAS PUT AN ASTERISK AS A POINT OF CONSIDERATION FOR THINGS THAT WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE AT LEAST THOUGHT ABOUT MOVING FORWARD.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT QUESTION.

SO WE DO HAVE A POLICY CURRENTLY ON CRISIS ASSISTANCE MM-HMM .

THAT WILL ALLOW US TO MAKE ONE TIME PAYMENTS IN THE EVENT.

SOMEONE HAS A CAR THAT'S BROKEN DOWN AND IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE IN THEIR PROGRAM OR GET TO THEIR JOB, UH, THEY NEED THEIR CAR FIXED.

IF THEY GET A, HAVE AN EVICTION NOTICE AND THEY'RE GOING TO BE EVICTED, WE CAN HELP.

IT IS NOT, THIS CRISIS ASSISTANCE IS NOT MEANT TO BE AN ONGOING FUND, BUT IT IS MEANT TO BE THAT ONE TIME QUICK INTERVENTION.

WHAT I WILL HAVE TO CHECK ON AND GET BACK WITH, UH, YOU AND YOUR OFFICE ON, UH, IF I MAY, COUNCIL MEMBER, IS WHETHER WE CAN PAY FOR JUSTICE RELATED EXPENSES.

I'M NOT AS FAMILIAR WITH THAT.

I MEAN, WHAT YOU WOULD THINK IS A SMALL THING, BUT IT'S $80 TO REGISTER YOUR CAR.

IT HA HAVING PEOPLE IN MY LIFE WHO, WHO ARE PAYING FOR JUSTICE RELATED COSTS, UH, FOR, FOR IN THEIR SITUATIONS.

I'M AWARE OF THE COST, UH, AND THE BURDEN OF THAT.

THAT BEING SAID, LET ME CHECK OUR POLICY, UM, AND SEE WHAT DOES OUR POLICY SAY AND HOW MIGHT OUR POLICY BE AMENDED TO TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION.

SO I WOULD, IF I MAY, I CAN MAKE A NOTE OF THAT AND GET BACK WITH YOU IN YOUR OFFICE ON THAT.

AWESOME.

I APPRECIATE IT.

AND EVEN THAT CRISIS INTERVENTION IS IMPORTANT FOR,

[00:40:01]

IF YOU GOT A RIDE DIRTY TO GET TO THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY AND YOU GET PULLED OVER, NOW YOU GOT ANOTHER PROBLEM.

YES.

DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M SAYING? OF COURSE.

SO THAT $80 AT ONE TIME MIGHT SAVE YOU A BIG HEADACHE.

UM, SO, UH, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT I HAD WAS WHETHER OR NOT, UM, THERE COULD POTENTIALLY, AND THIS IS NOT A QUESTION ASTERISK CONSIDERATION.

UM, THERE'S A POTENTIAL TO DO SOMETHING SIMILAR IN THE AGRICULTURAL FIELD.

I THINK IT'S VERY MUCH NEEDED.

UM, AND CONSIDERING WE ALREADY HAVE THIS PARTNERSHIP WITH A CC, AND, YOU KNOW, JUST FROM A SCHOLAR'S PERSPECTIVE, I WASN'T ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE AGRICULTURAL PROGRAM THIS SEMESTER LIKE I WANTED TO.

'CAUSE THERE'S NO WAY FOR ME TO GET TO ELGIN TO GO TO A FARM.

SO I WANT TO, YOU KNOW, TALK TO FOLKS HERE WITHIN THE CITY TO SEE ABOUT GETTING A CCA FARM AND THE CITY LIMITS.

UM, BUT ALSO MORE IMPORTANTLY, JUST THINKING ABOUT A LOT OF WHAT'S GOING ON AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL REALLY STARTED TO SHAKE SOME OF MY AG FRIENDS, WHICH IS CONCERNING ME, WHICH IS GONNA LEAN A LOT ON MY POLICY IN THE DIRECTION OF FOOD SECURITY.

UM, SO THINKING ABOUT AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY, YOU KNOW, THE FUTURE OF FARMING DOESN'T LOOK LIKE STICKING SEEDS IN THE GROUND AND HOPING FOR THE BEST.

YOU KNOW, AND THIS IS ME TALKING AS A GARDENER, AS A FARMER, AS A HORTICULTURAL ENTHUSIAST, WE NEED TO START TALKING VERTICAL AND INDOOR AND FAST.

AND SO JUST THINKING ABOUT WHAT DOES A SIMILAR INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY, BUT AGRICULTURE ACADEMY, WHAT WOULD THAT LOOK LIKE? AND IF WE CAN ENGAGE IN THOSE CONVERSATIONS MOVING FORWARD, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.

UM, AND, AND IF YOU WANTED TO PUT AN ASTERISK, YOU COULD SAY CONVERSATIONS MOVING FORWARD WITH OUR PARTNERS OUT AT AUSTIN RODEO OR RODEO AUSTIN, UM, COULD BE A REAL GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT THEIR EXPANSION, RENOVATION, ET CETERA, OUT AT EXPO CENTER.

UM, OH, SO I THINK YOU TOUCHED ON THIS THOUGH, 'CAUSE I WROTE DOWN WHAT TRAINING AND ALIGNMENT CAN WE DO? BECAUSE YOU TALKED ABOUT TRAINING AND ALIGNMENT IN PRIMARY SECONDARY SCHOOL FROM A CURRICULUM PERSPECTIVE, BUT I THINK YOU ALREADY TOUCHED ON IT WHEN YOU SAID GET TO KIDS EARLIER.

AND IT REALLY MAKES ME THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW THERE ARE OTHER COUNTRIES THAT KIND OF TRACK KIDS STARTING IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, LIKE THEIR PROPENSITY FOR, AND YOU KNOW, SO THEY START TRACKING THEM AND ALIGN THEIR CURRICULUM AND ACADEMIC CAREER TO ALIGN WITH WHAT THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, LIKELY TO PURSUE AS A CAREER PATH.

I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT'S A TERRIBLE IDEA.

UM, THE PARTICIPATION BARRIERS, UM, OKAY, WE TALKED ABOUT INTEGRATION SEEKER SUPPORTS.

I LOVE THAT YOU SAID WHOLE PERSON.

'CAUSE IT'S SO CR IT REALLY IS.

IT, UM, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT MAY NOT BE A SOURCE OF POPULAR, UH, OPINION, BUT MUCH LIKE OUR DISCUSSIONS ON HOMELESSNESS AND THE LEVELS OF COMPLEXITY THERE, I THINK JOBLESSNESS, UM, POSSESSES SOME OF THOSE SIMILAR COMPLEXITIES.

UH, EXCEPT THAT WITH JOBLESSNESS THERE'S SOME DEGREE, WELL, NO, WITH BOTH, THERE'S SOME DEGREE OF SKIN IN THE GAME.

YOU KNOW, IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS WHERE WHEN I WORK WITH MY MENTORS AND THEY GIMME THE HARD NEWS, THE HARD NEWS IS YOU CAN'T HELP EVERYBODY AND YOU REALLY HAVE TO CHARGE FORWARD AND HELP AS MANY AS YOU CAN.

I'M JUST CURIOUS ABOUT LIKE SKIN IN THE GAME, UM, CALIBRATION FOR PARTICIPATION AND, YOU KNOW, I'LL SORT OF LEAVE IT THERE.

I THINK IT'S MAYBE OBVIOUS WHAT I'M SAYING.

I DON'T WANNA, I JUST WANNA MAKE CERTAIN THAT OUR INVESTMENTS ARE MAXIMIZED ON PEOPLE WHO ARE WILLING TO, TO MAKE THE SACRIFICES AND DO THE WORK TO MOVE FORWARD.

UM, I ALSO REALLY APPRECIATE THE ITERATIVE APPROACH AND THE EVALUATION YOU MADE MENTION OF THAT'S CRITICAL.

THAT FLEXIBILITY OF A LIVING PROGRAMMATIC EFFORT, I THINK IS, THAT'S EVERYTHING.

UM, YOU SAID FOUR TO 500 JOB SEEKERS COULD BE ACCOMMODATED IN THEORY.

WHAT COULD WE DO AS CITY OF AUSTIN WITH OUR WHOLE CPIO AND ALL THE RESOURCES WE HAVE AVAILABLE TO US TO GET 500 PEOPLE TO SHOW UP TO THIS EVENT AND GET JOBS? WHAT? AND, AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER THAT RIGHT NOW EITHER.

UM, WE, BUT LET'S WORK COLLECTIVELY, I THINK AS A BODY AND AS INDIVIDUAL OFFICES, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE FIND OUT AND GET THOSE JOBS.

UM, AND THEN I THINK THIS MIGHT BE THE LAST ONE.

UM, YOU SAID THERE'S GONNA BE ROOM TO TAKE CARE OF A HUNDRED KIDS UNTIL FUNDS RUN OUT, AND THAT'S WHEN MY EARS PERKED.

SO THAT'S CCDF, UM, UH, I'M LOOKING AT, IN MY HEAD A LIST OF ALL THE ACRONYMED EFFORTS THAT ARE GONNA BE AT RISK MOVING FORWARD POTENTIALLY FROM A, UM, UH, UH, FEDERAL PERSPECTIVE.

AND SO I LO I WANNA KEEP THE POSITIVE TONE, BUT I WANNA ASK YOU TO BE CANDID WITH US ABOUT YOUR CONCERNS ABOUT CCDF CONTINUING

[00:45:01]

IN THE FUTURE.

YEAH, THANK YOU.

UM, GREAT POINTS.

I'VE MADE A LOT OF NOTES.

I'LL, I'LL TRY TO BE, UH, SUCCINCT.

UH, SORRY.

YEAH, I HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS.

OH, NO, I, I LOVE IT.

SO, UH, LEMME START WITH THE LAST ONE FIRST.

UH, I DON'T HAVE A CRYSTAL BALL ABOUT FEDERAL FUNDING.

HOWEVER, IN THE CHANNELS THAT I FOLLOW, I AM NOT HEARING THAT, UH, THAT THAT CHILDCARE DOLLARS FROM A FEDERAL LEVEL, UM, ARE AT RISK.

THAT BEING SAID, UH, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY, BUT THAT IS NOT SOMETHING, UH, THAT WE ARE HEARING ABOUT.

WE ARE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN.

UH, WE ARE WATCHING CLOSELY WHAT HAPPENS AT THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR BECAUSE WE DO RECEIVE FUNDING FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR FOR OUR JOB TRAINING PROGRAMS. THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY IS NOT BUILT ON THE FOUNDATION OF THAT FEDERAL JOB TRAINING DOLLARS, BUT WE, UH, CLEARLY WERE GOING TO LEVERAGE IT.

SO YOU TALKED ABOUT MAKING SURE THE CITY'S DIFFERENT CONTEXT COUNCIL MEMBER, BUT YOU TALKED ABOUT THE CITY'S MONEY BEING LEVERAGED AGAINST OTHERS.

WE DO INTEND, EVERYTHING WE DO AT WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS IS ABOUT BRAIDING TOGETHER FUNDS THAT WE HAVE TO MAXIMIZE ALL OF THE FUNDING AND MAKE, MAKE YOUR FUNDING GO FURTHER.

SO I WILL CONTINUE TO STAY IN TOUCH WITH, UH, THIS COMMITTEE WITH CITY COUNCIL, UM, UH, AND WITH, UH, ANTHONY SITS ON OUR, OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS.

UH, AND SO I WILL OF COURSE KEEP MY BOARD INFORMED AS I HAVE INFORMATION, UH, TO, TO SHARE BACK WITH YOU FROM A FEDERAL LEVEL.

UH, GOING BACKWARDS IF I MAY.

A FEW THINGS.

UM, YOU TALKED ABOUT JOBLESS THE COMPLEXITY OF JOBLESSNESS HAVING SKIN IN THE GAME.

UM, UH, WE, WE UNDERSTAND THAT TWO POINTS I WOULD SAY ON THAT IS, ONE IS WE BELIEVE THAT THE JOB SEEKER STUDENTS BUY, UH, THEIR PART OF THEIR SKIN IN THE GAME, THEIR SKIN IN THE GAME, IS THEIR WILLINGNESS TO SPEND THEIR TIME COMMITTING TO, UH, UPGRADING THEIR SKILLS.

UH, THAT CAN BE A REAL RISK FOR SOMEONE WHO RIGHT NOW COULD GO GET A, AN HOURLY JOB AT A, A RESTAURANT OR FAST FOOD MAKING MONEY.

AND SO WE'RE ASKING THEM TO SPEND THEIR TIME AND LEARN A SKILL AND, AND GET IT.

SO THAT'S PART OF THEIR SKIN IN THE GAME.

UM, FROM OUR, FROM OUR OPINION, AND YOU ARE RIGHT, THAT THE REASON THAT WE HAVE REALLY FRONT LOADED THAT NAVIGATION AND THAT INDIVIDUALIZED ASSESSMENT IS WE DON'T WANT ANYONE TO COMMIT THEMSELVES TO A PROGRAM THAT IS NOT A GOOD MATCH FOR THEM.

AND WE ALSO, UH, WE HAVE CREATED VERY SMALL BUT MEANINGFUL SLIGHT, I HATE TO USE THE WORD BARRIERS, BUT LIKE WE, WHEN WE SET AN APPOINTMENT, AND IT CAN BE A VIRTUAL APPOINTMENT OR IT CAN BE A PHONE CALL, BUT WE WANNA SEE DO THEY SHOW UP FOR THAT? DO THEY SHOW UP ON TIME? MM-HMM .

HOW COMMITTED IS AN INDIVIDUAL, RIGHT? RIGHT.

SO IT'S ABOUT ARE YOU READY JOB STICKER FOR WHAT WE'RE, WHAT WE'RE GOING TO INVEST IN YOU FOR.

SO, SO THERE IS A PART OF THAT.

UM, IF I MAY, MOVING BACKWARDS ON A FEW ITEMS YOU TALKED ABOUT, UH, AND I HAD MENTIONED THE WORKING IN THE SCHOOLS.

TWO THINGS I FORGOT TO NOTE, BUT I'LL NOTE IS, UH, OF THE CAREER NAVIGATORS WE'RE HIRING FOR ONE OF THEM WILL BE SPECIFICALLY FOCUSED ON THE K THROUGH 12 SYSTEM.

SO WE WILL HAVE A PERSON WHO IS PART OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY WHO'S DEDICATED TO, UH, TO GOING INTO THE SCHOOLS AS OUR K THROUGH 12 NAVIGATOR.

AND ALSO WE, UH, ARE RUNNING THIS SUMMER, AND THIS IS OUR SIXTH SUMMER IN A ROW TO DO SO.

UH, IT'S CALLED A TEACHER EXTERNSHIP PROGRAM, WHERE WE TAKE TEACHERS FROM FIVE AREA SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND WE EMBED THEM WITH EMPLOYERS, UH, FOR A WEEK IN THE SUMMER.

WE PAY THEM, THEY ARE PROFESSIONALS.

WE COMPENSATE THEM FOR THEIR TIME.

THESE EDUCATORS, THESE TEACHERS, THESE CAREER COUNSELORS.

BUT WHAT THEY'RE DOING IN THE PROCESS COUNCIL MEMBER IS THEY ARE BEING EXPOSED TO THE INDUSTRY, UH, AND SPECIFIC COMPANIES AND THEY WRITE CURRICULA, TAKE IT BACK INTO THE CLASSROOM.

SO IT'S OUR WAY OF REACHING HUNDREDS BY REACHING A FEW DOZEN EDUCATORS.

SO I'LL JUST NOTE THAT AND I WILL STOP THERE 'CAUSE I, I KNOW THAT WE HAVE SOME OTHER QUESTIONS.

I APPRECIATE IT.

BUT I WOULD BE HAPPY, UH, TO FOLLOW UP WITH YOUR OFFICE.

UH, SO I HAVE SOME OTHER RESPONSES TO SOME OF THE OTHER COMMENTS, IF I MAY.

I APPRECIATE THAT.

AND WHEN WE FOLLOW UP, IT'LL JUST BE ABOUT CHILDCARE PRIMARILY.

LIKE, IS THERE, IF THE FAMILY HAS SIX KIDS OR A FAMILY HAS TWO KIDS, DO THEY GET THE SAME LEVEL OF CHILDCARE OR IS THERE A CAP ON THE AMOUNT OF KIDS? YOU KNOW, THAT KIND OF THING.

AND THEN IF ALL CHILDCARE FACILITY TYPES, MOST ESPECIALLY ARE IN-HOME CHILDCARE ELIGIBLE FOR COMPENSATION THROUGH CCDF, AND THOSE ARE THE KINDS OF THINGS I WANNA FOLLOW UP ON.

HAPPY TO FOLLOW UP.

THANK MUCH THANK YOU ON THAT.

APPRECIATE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

YOU NO, I APPRECIATE THE QUESTIONS.

UH, COUNCILOR HARPER VENISON, UM, I'M GONNA GO TO COUNCILL MEMBER VELAZQUEZ AND THEN CHAIR, VICE CHAIR EZ.

UM, THE EARN AND LEARN, UH, ASPECT OF IT, THE COLLABORATION WITH, AND, AND, AND LOOKING INTO WORKING WITH A-I-S-D-A LITTLE BIT, UH, A LITTLE BIT MORE, UH, SO THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE MOVING THOSE KIDS ALONG INTO THESE JOBS.

UM, I JUST, I, MINE IS JUST A COMMENT.

UM, UH, MS. ATKINSON, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR WORK ON THIS.

UH, I WANNA SAY FROM THE VERY BEGINNING, UH, ALL OF THIS HAS BEEN INTENTIONAL AND, AND WITH A FOCUS ON EQUITY FROM THE CHILDCARE THAT COUNCIL MEMBER OR PRO PU HAS PUSHED FOR TO TRANSPORTATION THE CAMPUS LOCATION,

[00:50:01]

I, THIS IS ONE OF THOSE, ONE OF THOSE PROGRAMS WHERE IT, RIGHT NOW WE'RE, WE ARE NOT SEEING WHAT THIS IS GOING TO BE, BUT I BELIEVE THIS IS A TRANSFORMATIONAL INVESTMENT IN OUR LOCAL WORKFORCE.

AND WE, WE'VE SAID IT IN OUR MEETING BEFORE, BUT IT, IT, WE'RE CREATING CAREERS, NOT JUST JOBS.

AND I THINK THAT IS THE BEAUTY OF, OF THIS PROGRAM.

UM, I I, I WANT TO THANK EVERYBODY THAT'S BEEN INVOLVED.

I, I, I HAVE, I'VE HAD THE BLESSING TO BE INVOLVED SINCE THE VERY BEGINNING AND, UH, AND BE PART OF THE LEADERSHIP.

AND I WANT TO THANK THE, UH, THE, THE MAYOR, UH, MS. ATKINSON AND JUDGE, JUDGE BROWN FOR THE LEVEL OF COLLABORATION HERE.

IT, IT, IT, IT CAN BE UN UNDERSTATED.

IT IS, IT IS PHENOMENAL TO SEE THIS COMING TO FRUITION.

AND, AND I'M JUST, I'M JUST SO PROUD THAT IT, THAT IT'S COMING TO AUSTIN.

THAT, THAT, UH, THAT OTHER CITIES WILL BE BITING OUR STYLE A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE THIS IS, THIS IS A TRANSFORMATIONAL INVESTMENT IN OUR WORKFORCE.

SO JUST, I JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR, ALL YOUR WORK ON THIS AND, AND THE, THE WAY THAT THIS HAS BEEN APPROACHED TO REMOVE AS MANY BARRIERS AS WE CAN FOR OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY.

NOT, WE'RE NOT BUSTING FOLKS IN, WE'RE NOT FLYING FOLKS IN FROM CALIFORNIA, NO SHADE TO CALIFORNIA, BUT THIS IS FOR AUSTIN, THIS IS FOR TRAVIS COUNTY, AND THIS IS FOR TEXAS.

SO I, I I, I REALLY, REALLY APPRECIATE EVERY, ALL THE WORK ON IT.

WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH.

WE WOULDN'T BE HERE WITHOUT YOUR LEADERSHIP AS WELL.

COUNCILMEMBER, UH, VICE CHAIR.

COUNCIL MEMBER.

THANK YOU FOR THOSE WORDS.

YES, THANK YOU.

AND JUST WANTED TO, UM, PICK UP THAT THREAD FROM COUNCIL MEMBER VELASQUEZ AND ALSO SHARE MY EXCITEMENT FOR THE LAUNCH OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY.

A LONG TIME COMING AND WHAT WILL BE A NATIONAL MODEL ON HOW TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WE NEED AS A COMMUNITY.

BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY IS THAT WE'RE ADDRESSING THE BARRIERS THAT OUR FAMILIES EXPERIENCE, BOTH WITH TRANSPORTATION AND CHILDCARE.

SO I THINK THAT IS WHAT IS MAKING THIS INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY SO UNIQUE, UM, WHY WHEN I TALK ABOUT IT, UH, WITH COLLEAGUES FROM ACROSS THE NATION, THEY ARE VERY INTERESTED IN WHAT WE'RE DOING.

UM, AND I ALSO JUST WANNA QUICKLY COMMENT ON THE APPROACH.

I LOVE THE THOUGHTFULNESS ON THE NAVIGATION SERVICES, ON THE ABILITY TO HAVE, UM, BOTH AN ONLINE MARKETPLACE, BUT A PHYSICAL LOCATION FOR FOLKS TO GO TO, ESPECIALLY IN SOUTHEAST AUSTIN, WHERE WE HAVE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE, ARE READY TO WORK AND WANNA WORK, BUT CAN'T GET CONNECTED.

SO HAVING THIS CENTRALLY LOCATED IN OUR AREA IS GONNA MAKE A DIFFERENCE 'CAUSE WE'RE, AGAIN, REDUCING SOME OF THOSE TRANSPORTATION BARRIERS.

LOVE THE EARN AND LEARN MODEL, AND OF COURSE, THE CHILDCARE.

SO THE QUESTION I HAVE IS, YOU KNOW, YOU LAID OUT THE, THE CONCEPT, THE IDEA HOW IT'S GONNA WORK.

AND SO I REALLY JUST WANNA UNDERSTAND HOW MANY INDIVIDUALS DO WE BELIEVE THAT WE'LL HAVE CONNECTED AND THE FIRST YEAR OF THIS ACADEMY, YOU KNOW, HOW MANY, LIKE, WHAT, WHAT ARE SOME TARGETS THAT WE'RE ANTICIPATING WITH THIS? YEAH.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

SO, UM, SO WITHIN THE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER AND YOU HAVE BEEN MAYOR PRO TEM.

UM, APOLOGIES, YOU HAVE BEEN SUCH A, SUCH A SUPPORTER FROM THE BEGINNING AND REALLY BEEN SOMEONE I COULD TALK TO ABOUT THIS AND YOU'VE BEEN CONSISTENT ABOUT CHILDCARE, SO APPRECIATE THAT WE HEAR YOUR VOICE WHEN WE ARE, UH, WHEN WE ARE PLANNING AROUND CHILDCARE.

AND THAT'S A GREAT THING.

UM, I WOULD WOULD SAY THAT WITHIN, SO WITHIN THE FIRST YEAR STARTUP, UH, WITH THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY, WITH THE FUNDING, UH, FROM THE CITY IN PARTICULAR, WE KNOW THAT WE'VE, WE'RE INVESTING PRETTY HEAVILY IN GETTING SOME NAVIGATORS HIRED IN PUTTING TOGETHER THE DIGITAL MARKETPLACE FOR THIS.

UM, AND SO WE ARE EX WE ARE EXPECTING THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO PUT INTO TRAINING A MINIMUM OF A HUNDRED INDIVIDUALS INTO SPECIFIC TRAINING.

HOWEVER, IT IS MOST LIKELY TO BE FAR GREATER THAN THAT, PROBABLY THREE TO FOUR TIMES THAT COUNCIL MEMBER.

I CAN ALSO, UH, MAYOR PRO TEM, UH, I CAN ALSO SHARE WITH YOU THAT, UH, WE EXPECT TO SERVE BETWEEN FIVE AND 600 PEOPLE WITH OUR CAREER NAVIGATORS.

SO HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE ABLE TO RECEIVE SERVICES.

UH, AND, AND I WANNA SHARE THAT WHILE OUR CAREER NAVIGATORS WHO ARE, UH, TIED TO THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY, THEY WILL HAVE A LASER FOCUS ON SUPPORTING MOBILITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE EVENT THAT A PERSON, UH, IS NOT A GOOD FIT, ULTIMATELY FOR, UH, FOR MOBILITY OR INFRASTRUCTURE CAREER PATHWAYS, WE ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO NAVIGATE THEM TO ANOTHER, UH, AREA FOR SKILL TRAINING.

WE DON'T WANT ANYONE IN AUSTIN WHO WANTS TO BUILD THEIR SKILLS WORK IN AUSTIN, UH, TO NOT SEE THEMSELVES.

WE WANT EVERYONE TO FEEL CONNECTED, UH, IN THIS COMMUNITY.

THEREFORE, A NAVIGATOR MIGHT, UH, SHOW SOMEONE TO, UM, TO HEALTHCARE FOR EXAMPLE, OR ADVANCED MANUFACTURING.

UH, THERE ARE A LOT OF JOBS IN THAT SECTOR.

SO WE, HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE WILL RECEIVE SERVICES.

A MINIMUM OF A HUNDRED WILL RECEIVE CHILD JOB TRAINING.

A MINIMUM OF A HUNDRED

[00:55:01]

CHILDREN WILL RECEIVE CHILDCARE.

UM, BUT, UH, BUT I AM OF THE PHILOSOPHY WE'RE THE, UM, OF THE PHILOSOPHY THAT WE PROMISE LOW AND WE EXCEED EXPECTATIONS.

AND SO I'LL BE TRACKING THAT VERY, UH, CLOSELY.

AND I'LL ALSO SAY MAYOR PROAM, THAT WHERE WE SEE OPPORTUNITY TO BRAID FUNDING WITH OTHERS, WE WILL DO THAT SO THAT MORE PEOPLE GET SERVED.

LET ME GIVE YOU A VERY SPECIFIC EXAMPLE OF WHERE THAT COULD HAPPEN.

UM, AS, UH, WE ALL KNOW AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE HAS BEEN ABLE TO OFFER THEIR, UM, FREE TUITION, THEIR FREE, FREE COLLEGE FOR INDIVIDUALS GRADUATING FROM AREA HIGH SCHOOLS, UH, BECAUSE OF OUR CLOSE ALIGNMENT WITH A CC FOR EXAMPLE, IF ANY OF THOSE STUDENTS WHO CHOOSE FREE COLLEGE CHOOSE A PATHWAY THAT IS IN THE MOBILITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE SECTOR IN A PROGRAM SUPPORTED BY A CC, THEIR TUITION IS GOING TO BE PAID FOR UNDER THE A CC PROGRAM.

SO THEN WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS CAN COME IN AND PROVIDE THE WRAPAROUND SERVICES THAT THEN WOULD BE ABLE TO BRING THAT WHOLE SUPPORT TO THE INDIVIDUAL, TO THE STUDENT TO SEE THAT THEY'RE SUCCESSFUL.

BUT THE COST PER, UM, MAYBE LESS THAN IF WE PAID THE TUITION AND THE SUPPORT SERVICES, FOR EXAMPLE.

THAT'S RIGHT.

SO WE ARE ALL ABOUT, UM, WE ARE ALL ABOUT TRYING TO STRETCH OUR MONEY WHILE MAKING SURE THAT WE KEEP THE PERSON IN THE CENTER OF WHAT WE SERVE.

SO WE ARE, UM, VERY CONSERVATIVELY PLANNING FOR A MINIMUM OF A HUNDRED.

UM, BUT, BUT CHECK ME IN A YEAR AND I EXPECT TO BE ABLE TO GIVE YOU MUCH BIGGER NUMBERS.

OH, I LOVE THAT.

NO, THANK YOU.

AND I THINK THAT JUST REALLY UNDERSCORES THE TRANSFORMATION THAT WE'RE UNDERGOING IN OUR COMMUNITY AND THE PARTNERSHIP WITH A CC IS ABSOLUTELY KEY.

SO I, I APPRECIATE THE INSIGHT.

THANK YOU, VICE CHAIR.

UH, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR, ALL YOUR WORK ON, ON CHILDCARE.

UH, AND THANK YOU MS. ATKINSON FOR THE, UH, FOR THE PRESENTATION.

UM, I WAS GONNA ASK QUESTIONS, BUT MY COLLEAGUES TO BOTH, TO THE RIGHT, TO THE LEFT, AND, AND I THINK, I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER VELAS HAS KIND OF, UH, CHANNELED WHAT I, MY, MY, MY, MY THOUGHTS AS WELL.

UH, SO IF I HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, I WILL REACH OUT.

UH, BUT I SO APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE AND FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

IF I MAY MAKE ONE LAST SURE.

UH, MR. CHAIR.

UM, AND THAT IS, I ALSO FORGOT TO MENTION THIS JUST THIS WEEK, OR I'M SORRY, LAST WEEK WE HAD A VERY ENCOURAGING MEETING WITH AUSTIN ENERGY.

SO WE ARE WORKING CLOSELY WITH BOTH, UH, WATER AND ENERGY.

AND I WANNA THANK AGAIN, UH, YOUR STAFF FROM ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UH, AND EATON IN PARTICULAR, UH, MADE THIS CONNECTION HAPPEN.

WE MET WITH AUSTIN ENERGY UNDER, UH, A GRANT THAT THEY HAVE.

UH, AND WE WILL BE, UH, WORKING WITH THEM, MOST LIKELY.

UH, WE ARE IN NEGOTIATIONS WORKING WITH THEM, UH, TO EXPAND A WORKFORCE COMPONENT OF A, UM, SOLAR PROJECT THAT THEY HAVE.

SO, UH, SO, SO EXCITED THERE.

AND PLEASE KNOW, THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING AS WE CONTINUE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE AIRPORT, WITH, UH, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY, AUSTIN WATER, UH, WE KNOW THAT WE ARE IN SERVICE OF NOT JUST THE PRIVATE SECTOR, BUT THE PUBLIC SECTOR AND THE JOBS THAT ARE BEING CREATED.

SO, UH, THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING AND IF YOU'LL, UH, INVITE ME BACK IN A YEAR, I WILL, UH, BE MORE THAN EXCITED TO SHARE WITH YOU ALL THE GREAT SUCCESSES WE'RE HAVING.

WE'LL DEFINITELY DO THAT.

I'M SORRY, I HAD ONE LAST QUE QUESTION ISH.

BECAUSE I THINK IT'LL BE A FOLLOW UP SORT OF A THING.

THE OTHER THING THAT I WAS THINKING, SO, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE POLICY THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING THROUGH, I STILL KEEP COMING BACK TO IT DOESN'T MATTER.

SO IT'S LIKE, IT DOESN'T MATTER IF WE PRODUCE AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

'CAUSE PEOPLE DON'T MAKE ENOUGH MONEY.

IT DOESN'T MATTER IF PEOPLE MAKE ENOUGH MONEY BECAUSE THEY STILL BUY STUFF AT 24% INTEREST BECAUSE THEY DON'T KNOW HOW MONEY WORKS.

YOU KNOW? AND SO IT'S JUST LIKE AT EVERY TURN THERE'S, I COME BACK TO, BUT IT WOULDN'T MATTER.

SO IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU GET A $8 AN HOUR BURGER JOB ONCE YOU PAY FOR CHILDCARE AND TRANSPORTATION, YOU PAID TO GO TO WORK TODAY, YOU KNOW, YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE EVEN DONE IT.

SO IT'S LIKE, AT THE END OF IT, ALL THIS WORK WE'RE DOING TO SECURE, SUSTAINABLE, FULFILLING CAREERS, IT STILL COMES BACK TO PEOPLE WHO ARE UP TO THEIR EYEBALLS IN DEBT BECAUSE THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND MONEY.

UM, WHO WANT TO WORK WITH US.

UM, AND I PERSONALLY, DESPITE RESISTING THE URGE TO BECOME A CONSPIRACY THEORIST, I THINK 50 IS GONNA BE THE YEAR THAT I JUST TIP ON OVER.

UM, BECAUSE I THINK IT'S BY DESIGN THAT VERY FEW PEOPLE ACTUALLY KNOW HOW MONEY WORKS, ACTUALLY KNOW THE UTILITY OF MONEY.

UM, AND SO I WONDER IF THERE'S ANY ROOM IN THIS DISCUSSION TO REALLY MAKE IT A FULL CIRCLE, COMPLETE OPPORTUNITY FOR THE WHOLE HUMAN AND REALLY HAVE SOME ROBUST DISCUSSION ABOUT FINANCIAL LITERACY.

THANK YOU FOR THAT.

UH, ONE QUICK COMMENT ON THAT, AND THAT IS THAT WE, UH, DO HAVE SOME PARTNERSHIPS WITH SOME FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS IN THIS COMMUNITY THAT, UH, THAT THEY HAPPEN TO BE CREDIT UNIONS, VERY, UH, MINDED.

WE'VE ALSO TALKED TO OTHER, UH, FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS,

[01:00:02]

WE ARE BEING CAREFUL ABOUT THOSE, UH, THOSE, THOSE PARTNERSHIPS.

WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT OUR CUSTOMERS ARE, ARE OUR CLIENTS ARE, YOU KNOW, THAT THEY ARE GETTING SERVICES AND NOT A SALES JOB.

RIGHT.

UM, BUT I, WE, WE UNDERSTAND AND RECOGNIZE EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE SAYING ABOUT FINANCIAL LITERACY.

UM, IT'S SO CRITICAL.

I MEAN, DEBT CONSOLIDATION AND THE LIKE, EVEN, YOU KNOW, AND THIS IS A REAL ANECDOTE GOING THROUGH WITH A D ONE CONSTITUENT WHO WAS RUNNING OUT OF FOOD STAMPS EVERY SINGLE MONTH BY LIKE THE SECOND WEEK.

UM, YOU CAN'T HAVE FOUR KIDS IN A FINITE AMOUNT OF FOOD STAMPS AND RUN OUT BY THE END OF THE MONTH MM-HMM .

OR BEFORE THE END OF THE MONTH MM-HMM .

AND SO WHAT WE WERE DOING WAS LIKE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF AN ASSESSMENT OF WHAT ARE YOU BUYING? AND THEN LOOKING AT, YOU CAN'T HAVE FOUR KIDS AND BUY SINGLE SERVING THINGS IN MACARONI AND CHEESE.

THE ALTERNATIVE IS BATCH COOKING.

YOU NEED TO BUY THE BIG BAG OF ELBOW NOODLES, THING OF CHEESE, SOME MILK AND SOME BUTTER.

AND YOU CAN MAKE BATCHES OF THE MAC AND CHEESE FOR A FRACTION OF THE COST.

BUT NOBODY'S TALKING TO PEOPLE WHEN THEY HAND THEM THE LONE STAR CARD ABOUT THE PER UNIT ITEM COST ON THAT UPC CODE.

THAT MEANS SOMETHING.

THAT'S HOW MUCH YOU PAID FOR THAT THING JUST NOW.

BUT WE DON'T, WE'RE NOT TEACHING PEOPLE THOSE THINGS ABOUT LIFE SKILLS THAT REALLY JUST MAKE YOUR LIFE MANAGEABLE ABOUT SAVINGS, ABOUT, NOBODY TALKED TO ME ABOUT STANDARD AND POS LIKE THESE THINGS THAT I FRANKLY, ANECDOTALLY DIDN'T REALLY LEARN UNTIL LATER IN MY ADULT LIFE.

THAT'S SUCH A REGRETTABLE THING ABOUT MY FINANCIAL WELLBEING IN THE FUTURE.

SO EVEN IF I WERE TO ARRIVE AT A PLACE WHERE I HAD A GREAT CAREER, I HAVE ARRIVED AT A PLACE WHERE I HAVE A GREAT CAREER.

THE MISTAKES THAT I MADE EARLIER ON FINANCE, MISSTEPS RATHER THAT I MADE EARLIER ON.

IT'S JUST SO THE FINANCIAL LITERACY COMPONENT, IT AFFECTS EVERY SINGLE DECISION AND THE LONGEVITY OF YOUR DOLLAR.

IF YOU'RE MAKING MISTAKES JUST BY NOT KNOWING THAT'S A BAD DEAL.

MY GRANNY USED TO SAY, NOT ALL MONEY IS GOOD MONEY.

THAT'S A BAD DEAL.

THAT THING THAT THEY'RE OFFERING YOU, IT'S GONNA TAKE $500 OUTTA YOUR POCKET.

IT'S A SUBSCRIPTION YOU DON'T NEED.

IT'S A, YOU KNOW, BUT NOT UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT AND THE SYMBOLISM.

AND SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, LIKE WE SAY IN, IN THE COMMUNITY, I COME FROM, WHEN PEOPLE GET HOODRICH, THIS IS THE TIME FOR PEOPLE TO GET HOODRICH RIGHT NOW.

THEY'RE ABOUT TO GET THEIR TAX RETURNS.

IT'LL BE THE ONLY TIME THIS YEAR.

YOU GET FIVE TO $10,000 AT ONCE, THAT MONEY'S GONNA BE GONE SO FAST.

AND I MEAN, IT FRANKLY MAKES ME SAD TO SEE TAX SEASON COME BACK AROUND EVERY YEAR.

'CAUSE I KNOW WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN.

WE GOT LEMON LOTS THAT ARE DOING CARTWHEELS RIGHT NOW.

'CAUSE EVERYBODY'S ABOUT TO BLOW THEIR TAX RETURN ON A PIECE OF JUNK THAT'S GONNA FALL APART ON 'EM THAT THEY CAN'T GET INSPECTED, SO THEY CAN'T GET IT REGISTERED, AND NOW THEY'RE PULLED OVER AND NOW THEY'RE IN JAIL AGAIN.

MM.

AND THOSE, ALL, ALL THOSE THINGS HAVE DIRECT IMPACT AND IT ALL COMES BACK TO MONEY.

YEAH.

I WOULD NOT WANNA SAY THAT WE CAN SOLVE ALL OF THAT.

I NO, YOU SAY THAT, BUT TEACHING PEOPLE ABOUT MONEY CAN HELP THEM HELP THEMSELVES.

DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M SAYING? THERE'S SOME DEGREE OF PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY.

I EVENTUALLY REALIZED IT THAT YOU CAN'T JUST RIP UP YOUR MONEY AND GO WOO, AND EVERYTHING'S HILARIOUS.

BUT YOU DO THINK THERE'S INHERENTLY SOME OBLIGATION TO SET PEOPLE UP FOR SUCCESS.

SO, FOR EXAMPLE, WE TALK ABOUT HOME OWNERSHIP, BUT PERSONALLY I THINK HOME OWNERSHIP IS KIND OF A SETUP.

UNLESS YOU DON'T HAVE THE MONEY AND THE FINANCIAL RUNWAY FOR YOUR AC TO GO OUT FOR YOUR ROOF TO GET DAMAGED FOR SOME UNFORESEEABLE THING, YOU ARE GONNA BE LIKE ONE OF THE OTHER PEOPLE WITH YOUR HOUSE IN FORECLOSURE AND SOMEBODY BIDDING ON IT.

'CAUSE THE BANK BOUGHT IT BACK AND NOW YOU'RE IN DEBT.

FRANKLY, DON'T THINK ENOUGH PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT THE SETUP THAT HOME OWNERSHIP IS 53% OF OUR POPULATION ARE RENTERS.

WE SHOULD TALK MORE ABOUT RENTERS THAN HOME OWNERSHIP.

BUT I DIGRESS.

THAT SAID, I, I JUST THINK WE NEED TO, IF WE'RE GONNA DO IT, IT REALLY DOES NEED TO BE COMPLETE WRAPAROUND, WHICH INCLUDES, NOW THAT YOU'RE FINANCIALLY SUCCESSFUL, HOW ARE YOU GONNA SUSTAIN IT? HOW ARE YOU GONNA LEAVE SOMETHING FOR YOUR KIDS? HOW ARE YOU GONNA MAKE SURE THAT THEY DON'T HAVE TO SELL YOUR HOUSE ON THE EAST SIDE AND BECOME ONE OF THOSE FAMILIES? YOU UNDERSTAND? SURE.

APPRECIATE IT.

WE, AND PART OF THAT INITIAL ASSESSMENT THAT WE DO COUNCIL MEMBER IS, UH, LOOKING AT WHERE A PERSON IS AND HOW THEY'RE SPENDING THEIR MONEY.

WE HAVE 'EM PUT, PUT TOGETHER A BUDGET, UH, THAT THEY CAN SHOW US WHERE THEIR MONEY'S GOING.

AND THAT ALLOWS US TO ALSO MAKE SURE WE'RE CUSTOMIZING THE RIGHT SUPPORTS AND APPROACH TO THEM.

BUT WE'RE ALSO THROUGH THE NAVIGATION, CHECKING IN WITH THEM THROUGHOUT THEIR JOURNEY, INCLUDING WHEN THEY HAVE A JOB.

AND I'LL SAY WE PRIORITIZE HIRING FOR OUR NAVIGATION SERVICES AND OUR CASE MANAGERS, UH, INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE BEEN OUR CLIENTS OR WHO HAVE BEEN IN SIMILAR SITUATIONS.

SO, UH, TO YOUR EARLIER POINT ABOUT SOMEONE WHO MAY NOT HAVE EXPERIENCED IT, UH, WE WANT OUR COMMUNITY TO SEE PEOPLE WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED SIMILAR TO THEY HAVE SITTING NEXT TO THEM, HELPING THEM NOW

[01:05:01]

YOU CAN DO IT TOO.

UM, SO WE'RE GONNA GO UP TO

[3. Childcare Initiative from Travis County - Prop A approved by voters to fund a multi-pronged approach to reduce the burden of child care costs. [Korey Darling, Travis County].]

ITEM NUMBER THREE.

THIS IS A BRIEFING ON PROP A, A CHILDCARE INITIATIVE FROM TRAVIS COUNTY APPROVED BY VOTERS TO FUND A MULTIPRO PROLONGED APPROACH TO REDUCE THE BURDEN OF CHILDCARE COST.

UH, FOR THAT WE HAVE COREY DARLING FROM TRAVIS COUNTY.

UH, AND I JUST WANNA REMIND, UH, THE TEAM UP HERE.

WE HAVE 53 MINUTES, WE HAVE THREE ADAMS LEFT.

UH, SO WE'RE GONNA BE AS EFFICIENT AND TIMELY AS POSSIBLE TO END RIGHT ON TIME.

UH, THANK YOU.

ALLIANCE THAT WILL MATCH PUBLIC FUNDS TO THE EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS IN ORDER TO REDUCE EMPLOYEE CHILDCARE CALS.

UH, GOOD MORNING, CHAIR MAYOR, PRO TEM AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.

I'M COREY DARLING.

I'M THE RESEARCH AND PLANNING DIVISION DIRECTOR AT TRAVIS COUNTY HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES.

AND MY TEAM IS THE TEAM WORKING TO IMPLEMENT THE VOTER APPROVED CHILDCARE AND OUT-OF-SCHOOL TIME FUND UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF OUR COUNTY EXECUTIVE PILAR SANCHEZ.

AND I'M HAPPY TO BE HERE TODAY TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE.

UM, SO THIS SLIDE PROVIDES SOME BACKGROUND THAT I KNOW YOU'RE AWARE OF.

ON NOVEMBER 5TH, 2024, TRAVIS COUNTY VOTERS APPROVED A TAX RATE INCREASE THAT WILL GENERATE APPROXIMATELY $75 MILLION ANNUALLY.

UM, AND THIS SLIDE MIRRORS THE BALLOT LANGUAGE FOR THE VOTER APPROVED FUND, WHICH WILL PROVIDE CHILDCARE AND OUTOF SCHOOL TIME SERVICES.

AND THESE CHILDCARE SERVICES WILL SUPPORT, UM, SOME OF THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT TAMARA WAS TALKING ABOUT, UM, FOR PARENTS TO GO TO WORK, SCHOOL, OR JOB TRAINING.

AND THE FUND WILL ALSO STRENGTHEN THE CHILDCARE AND OUTOF SCHOOL TIME SYSTEMS BY PROVIDING TRAINING AND ALSO OTHER SUPPORTS FOR CHILDCARE AND OUTTA SCHOOL TIME PROVIDERS.

UM, AS WE'VE GONE OUT AND DONE SOME UPDATES ON, ON THE STATUS OF WHERE WE ARE IN IMPLEMENTING THIS FUND, UM, TO THE COMMUNITY AND TO DIFFERENT, UM, ELECTED OFFICIALS AND OTHER GROUPS, WE REALLY WANTED TO TAKE SOME TIME TO KIND OF RECOGNIZE, UM, AND CELEBRATE HOW WE GOT HERE, AS WELL AS WHERE WE'RE GOING.

AND SO FIRST, UM, I REALLY WANNA RECOGNIZE THE COLLECTIVE WORK THAT'S TAKEN PLACE IN OUR COMMUNITY TO CREATE THIS DEDICATED FUND FOR CHILDCARE AND OUTTA SCHOOL TIME SERVICES.

THIS INITIATIVE CERTAINLY BUILDS ON THE WORK OF PROVIDERS, LEADERS, AND ADVOCATES IN EARLY CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH SERVICES WHO'VE WORKED FOR MANY, MANY YEARS TO CREATE THIS GREATER ACCESS TO CARE IN OUR COMMUNITY.

UH, THE REALIZATION OF THIS FUND REALLY INVOLVED RESEARCH ADVOCACY AND COMMUNITY INPUT GATHERING BY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS LIKE SUCCESS BY SIX COALITION AND THE ANDY RODDICK FOUNDATION, AS WELL AS THE, UH, CHILDREN'S FUNDING PROJECT WORK GROUP, WHICH I KNOW SEVERAL MEMBERS OF Y'ALL AS WELL AS OTHERS.

UH, CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS WERE INSTRUMENTAL IN THE WORK IN THAT WORK OF THAT CHILDREN'S FUNDING PROJECT WORK GROUP LEADING UP TO THE PASSAGE OF THE BALLOT MEASURE.

ANOTHER THING WE RECOGNIZE AS STEWARDS OF THESE FUNDS AT TRAVIS COUNTY IS THAT THERE IS A VERY BIG NEED RIGHT THERE, RIGHT OUT THERE IN THE COMMUNITY AS WE SPEAK FOR THESE CHILDCARE AND OUTTA SCHOOL TIME SERVICES.

AND WE ARE WORKING, UM, TO MOVE QUICKLY TO PUT THESE SERVICES IN PLACE, WHILE ALSO KNOWING THAT WE NEED TO BE INTENTIONAL.

ONE THING THAT'S REALLY EXCITING IS THAT THIS IS ACTUALLY THE FIRST COUNTY VOTER APPROVED CHILDCARE FUND IN THE STATE.

THERE IS A CITY APPROVED FUND FOR PRE-K IN SAN ANTONIO.

UM, BUT WE WILL BE THE FIRST TO BUILD A COUNTY SYSTEM.

AND, UM, AS WE DO THAT, WE'RE WORKING TO LEARN FROM THE MORE THAN 50 VOTER APPROVED FUNDS ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND LEARNING HOW OTHER FOLKS HAVE DONE, HAVE WORKED TO IMPLEMENT SIMILAR PROGRAMMING AND, AND REALLY WANTING TO BUILD ON WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM THEM.

WHILE WE DO INTEND TO MOVE QUICKLY, IT WILL ALSO TAKE US SOME TIME, UH, TO BUILD THE NEEDED SYSTEMS, PROCEDURES, AND PROCESSES TO IMPLEMENT THOSE SERVICES.

WE ARE IN, UM, PROCESS OF DOING THAT, AND I'LL TALK SOME MORE ABOUT THAT THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE PRESENTATION.

ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS WE ARE FOCUSED ON IS COMMUNITY INPUT TO ENSURE THAT THE SYSTEM WE CREATE REFLECTS AND IS RESPONSIVE TO COM COMMUNITY NEEDS.

AND I'LL ALSO PROVIDE A LITTLE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THAT.

THIS SLIDE SHOWS THE FOUR STRATEGIES THAT WERE DEVELOPED AS PART OF THE PROPOSAL FOR THE VOTER APPROVED FUND.

AND THESE WILL ALSO SERVE AS THE BASELINE FOR EXPANDED CHILDCARE AND OUT-OF-SCHOOL TIME PROGRAMMING IN TRAVIS COUNTY.

THE FIRST STRATEGY IS REALLY THE LARGEST ONE, WHICH IS TO EXPAND SPOT SLOTS FOR CHILDCARE, FOR INFANTS AND TODDLERS, AS WELL AS EXPANDING, UH, AFTERSCHOOL AND SUMMER PROGRAMMING.

THE SECOND STRATEGY RELATES TO INCREASING TO, UH, NON-TRADITIONAL HOURS CARE DURING EARLY MORNING EVENINGS AND WEEKENDS.

STRATEGY THREE RELATES TO FURTHER STRENGTHENING, STRENGTHENING THE QUALITY AND CAPACITY OF CHILDCARE AND OUT-OF-SCHOOL TIME SY SYSTEMS BY OFFERING THINGS LIKE ENTREPRENEURIAL SUPPORT AND BUSINESS SUPPORT TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES AND EDUCATION PATHWAYS FOR CHILDCARE AND OUT-OF-SCHOOL TIME PROFESSIONALS.

AND THEN FINALLY, THE FOURTH STRATEGY IS OF BUILDING A BUSINESS GOVERNMENT

[01:10:01]

AND ACROSS ALL FOUR OF THESE STRATEGIES, THERE'S ALSO A FOCUS ON PAYING PROVIDERS RATES THAT DO REFLECT THE COST OF PROVIDING QUALITY CARE, WHICH WE KNOW IN AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY IS THE MOST EXPENSIVE IN THE STATE.

IN THE NEXT SEVERAL SLIDES, I'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THE STEPS THAT TRAVIS COUNTY WILL TAKE TO WORK TOGETHER WITH THE COMMUNITY IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT THIS NEW FUND.

UM, THIS TRANSITION PLAN COVERS THE WORK WE'VE BEEN FOCUSED ON SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THIS YEAR AND WILL CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS.

SO THE FIRST IS HIRING.

UM, WE ARE ACTIVELY IN THE PROCESS OF HIRING STAFF AT THE COUNTY SO THAT WE HAVE THE RESOURCES NEEDED TO ADMINISTER THE PROGRAM.

UM, THE LEAD WORK, UH, THE, THE LEAD STAFF PERSON UNDER THIS WORK WILL BE THIS A STRATEGIC ADVISOR FOR CHILDCARE AND OUTTA SCHOOL TIME.

AND WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF INTERVIEWING FOR THAT POSITION RIGHT NOW.

UM, THE OTHER STAFF WILL BE HIRING, INCLUDE OTHER PROGRAM STAFF AT A HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES TO PLAN THE PROGRAM AND SUPPORT ONGOING COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.

AND WE'LL ALSO BE HIRING OTHER STAFF ACROSS THE COUNTY TO ENSURE CHECKS AND BALANCES IN THE COUNTY AUDITOR'S OFFICE, IN OUR PURCHASING DEPARTMENT, IN OUR HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES FINANCE TEAM, AND ALSO IN THE COUNTY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.

THE SECOND AREA OF FOCUS IN OUR TRANSITION PLAN IS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.

UM, WE HAVE SEVERAL PROCESSES UNDERWAY TO SHARE AN UPDATE WITH THE COMMUNITY AND TO GATHER INSIGHT AND FEEDBACK.

WE DID LAUNCH A SURVEY THIS WEEK AND WE ARE WORKING TO DISTRIBUTE THAT.

UM, IT'S AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH, AND WE CERTAINLY WELCOME AND APPRECIATE FEEDBACK FROM ALL COMMUNITY MEMBERS.

AND WE ESPECIALLY WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN AND YOUTH.

OUR TEAM HAS ALSO BEEN ATTENDING REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETINGS WITH GROUPS OF CHILDCARE AND OUTTA SCHOOL TIME ORGANIZATIONS, UM, TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE, UPDATE AND COLLECT INPUT.

THESE ARE GROUPS LIKE SUCCESS BY SIX AND LEARN ALL THE TIME AND, AND OTHER GROUPS THAT, UM, OF PROVIDERS THAT PROVIDE CHILDCARE AND OUTTA SCHOOL TIME SERVICES.

FINALLY, WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF HOLDING THREE COMMUNITY LISTENING SESSIONS AND ONE ONLINE ZOOM SESSION.

UH, OUR NEXT, OUR NEXT UPCOMING SESSION IS SATURDAY, MARCH 29TH AT 10:30 AM AT THE CARVER LIBRARY.

AND LINKS TO THE DATES AND TIMES FOR ALL OF THE SESSIONS CAN BE FOUND ON THE BANNER ON THE TRAVIS COUNTY HOMEPAGE AT WWW.TRAVISCOUNTYTX.GOV.

I ALSO WANTED TO TAKE A MOMENT TO APPRECIATE THE PARTNERSHIP WITH, UH, THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UM, ESPECIALLY FORMER MEMBER, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON ALTER, WHO DID MAKE SOME RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO SUPPORT TRANSLATION SERVICES AND ALSO FOOD AT THESE COMMUNITY INPUT EVENTS.

SO I WANTED TO, UM, THANK, SAY THANK YOU FOR THAT.

AND THEN OUR FINAL, UM, UH, SORRY.

UH, SECOND TO LAST IS A COMMUNITY ADVISORY COUNCIL.

UM, WE'RE PLANNING FOR A COMMUNITY ADVISORY COUNCIL TO INCORPORATE COMMUNITY VOICE AND EXPERIENCE INTO THE ONGOING PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE VOTER APPROVED FUND.

THE COUNCIL WILL BE COMPOSED OF CHILDCARE AND OUT-OF-SCHOOL TIME STAKEHOLDERS, INCLUDING PARENTS, PROVIDERS, AND KEY STAKEHOLDER ORGANIZATIONS.

RIGHT NOW WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF RESEARCHING WHAT SIMILAR COMMUNITY ADVISORY COUNCILS LOOK LIKE HERE IN AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY AS WELL ACROSS THE COUNTRY WHERE OTHER COMMUNITIES ARE, UH, ADMINISTRATING, ADMINISTERING THESE CHILDCARE, UM, VOTER APPROVED FUNDS.

UM, WE DO PLAN TO BRING A PROPOSAL TO THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT, UH, THIS LATER THIS YEAR.

AND THEN AFTER THAT, THE APPLICATION PROCESS WILL HAPPEN IN LATE SPRING OR EARLY SUMMER.

AND THEN OUR FINAL FOCUS RIGHT NOW IS AROUND SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS.

UM, TRAVIS COUNTY WON'T BE PROVIDING THESE SERVICES DIRECTLY, BUT INSTEAD WE'LL BE CONTRACTING WITH ORGANIZATIONS WHO CAN TAKE ON THE DAY-TO-DAY ADMINISTRATION AND OPERATIONS.

AND SO WE DO NEED TO GO THROUGH A MULTI-STEP PROCUREMENT PROCESS TO CONTRACT WITH OUTSIDE AGENCIES, WHICH CAN TAKE PROBABLY SIMILAR TO, UM, OTHER GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS MORE THAN A YEAR, ESPECIALLY THROUGH THE PLANT COMPLEX PLANNING THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN WITH THIS PARTICULAR PROGRAM THROUGH CONTRACT EXECUTION.

SO IN THE MEANTIME, WE DO KNOW THAT THERE'S ALREADY A NEED FOR SERVICES.

THERE'S ALSO THE MONEY AVAILABLE FOR THEM.

SO WHAT WE ARE DOING IS WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF WORKING WITH SOME ORGANIZATIONS THAT THE COUNTY ALREADY HAS CONTRACTS WITH TO PROVIDE CHILDCARE AND OUT-OF-SCHOOL TIME SERVICES.

AND WE'RE WORKING WITH THOSE ORGANIZATIONS TO EXPLORE EXPANDING THOSE CURRENT CONTRACTS SO THAT WE CAN PUT SOME SERVICES ON THE GROUND MORE QUICKLY AND HAVE SERVICES IN PLACE FOR FAMILIES WHO NEED CHILDCARE AND OUT-OF-SCHOOL TIME SERVICES.

SO THE COMMUNITY INPUT PROCESS I DESCRIBED

[01:15:01]

IS A CRITICAL INITIAL STEP BEFORE WE MOVE INTO OUR, OUR PROCUREMENT PROCESS.

AND THAT INPUT CAN HELP INFORM THE PLANNING FOR THEIR PROCUREMENT PROCESS.

ONCE THAT'S COMPLETED.

THIS SPRING THOUGH, WE WILL MOVE INTO THE PROCESS TO PLAN AND PROCURE THE ONGOING SERVICES.

UM, AND THAT PROCESS WILL FOLLOW THE PROCESS SHOWN.

ON THIS SLIDE.

WE WILL BE USING THE FOUR STRATEGIES THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER THAT WERE PROPOSED BY THE COMMUNITY AS THE BASELINE.

AND WE'LL BE REFINING THOSE STRATEGIES AS WE LEARN FROM OTHER COMMUNITIES, AS WE ANALYZE OUR COMMUNITY INPUT AND AS WE CONSIDER ANY COUNTY SPECIFIC, UM, IMPLEMENTATION GUIDELINES.

WE'LL BE, UM, GOING TO COMMISSIONER'S COURT, UM, TO SEEK APPROVAL OF ANY POLICIES.

AND THEN FOLLOWING THAT WILL BE DEVELOPING SCOPES OF WORK, UM, THAT DESCRIBE THE SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE PRO PROGRAMS AND SERVICES THAT THE COUNTY WISHES PER TO PROCURE.

WE'LL THEN WORK WITH OUR PURCHASING OFFICE TO RELEASE SOLICITATIONS, EVALUATE PROPOSALS, SELECT CONTRACTORS, AND THEN NEGOTIATE, UH, NEW CONTRACTS IN ADDITION TO PROCURING THE SPORT SERVICES ACROSS THOSE FOUR STRATEGIES.

WE'LL ALSO PROCURE A THIRD PARTY EVALUATOR TO EVALUATE SERVICES AND IMPACT.

AND THEN IN TERMS OF THE TIMELINE, WE WILL BE WORKING THROUGH A STAGGERED, UH, OR PHASED APPROACH FOR OUR TIMELINE.

WE EXPECT THAT THE FIRST, UM, SOLICITATION WILL BE RELEASED IN THE FALL OF THIS YEAR.

AND, AND THEN, UM, THE FIRST SERVICES WILL BEGIN IN 2026 AND KIND OF IN A STAGGERED APPROACH THROUGHOUT 2026.

AND THEN THIS SLIDE, WE JUST, I SUMMARIZED THE TIMELINE, UM, THAT I'VE SPOKEN ABOUT IN THE PREVIOUS SLIDES.

SO NOW THROUGH APRIL, WE ARE REALLY FOCUSED ON COMMUNITY INPUT GATHERING.

WE'LL BE WORKING IN, UM, APRIL AND MAY TO REVIEW AND ANALYZE THAT INPUT.

WE'LL BE RECRUITING FOR OUR COMMUNITY ADVISORY COUNCIL LATER THIS SPRING OR AN EARLY SUMMER.

WE DO PLAN SORT OF A LARGER PRESENTATION, UM, TO THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT DURING THE SUMMER OF 2025, WHERE WE CAN PROVIDE AN, UH, SUMMARY OF THE INPUT FINDINGS AND SEEK APPROVAL OF ANY PROGRAM POLICIES PRIOR TO BEGINNING TO PLAN FOR OUR SOLICITATIONS.

SORT OF PARALLEL TO THAT, WE ARE WORKING THROUGH, UM, EXPANDING OUR, SOME CURRENT CONTRACTS, AS I MENTIONED.

AND, AND, AND, UH, HOPE TO HAVE THE FIRST OF THOSE IN PLACE BY SUMMER OF 2025.

WE'LL BEGIN RELEASING SOLICITATIONS IN THE FALL AND THEN HAVE A TARGET TO HAVE CONTRACTS FOR ALL OF THE SERVICES UNDER ALL FOUR STRATEGIES IN PLACE BY THE END OF NEXT YEAR.

THAT, UH, CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.

I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

UH, FIRST QUESTION FOR THE VICE CHAIR FUENTES.

AND I'LL JUST LIMIT IT TO ONE QUESTION 'CAUSE I KNOW WE HAVE, UH, ANOTHER BRIEFING AND AN UPDATE.

UM, BUT JUST THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE AND PROVIDING AN UPDATE ON BEHALF OF TRAVIS COUNTY.

THIS IS AN INCREDIBLE INITIATIVE THAT VOTERS IN OUR COUNTY PASSED AND REALLY SHOWS THE INVESTMENT THAT WE HAVE IN ADDRESSING OUR CHILDCARE NEEDS, KNOWING THAT MONEY IS ALREADY GETTING ALLOCATED TO THE CHILDCARE, UH, FUND, THE CHILDCARE FUND.

WE WANNA ENSURE THAT, UM, THAT FOLKS KNOW WHAT THE COUNTY IS DOING AND HOW Y'ALL ARE ALLOCATING.

AND THE, THE BEST PART OF IT IS HOW, UM, WE'RE SUPPORTING FAMILIES IN THE SHORT TERM.

AND SO I'M THRILLED TO SEE THAT Y'ALL CONSIDERING EXPANDING EXISTING CONTRACTS.

CAN YOU GIVE US AN IDEA OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT DOES THAT PART LOOK LIKE? IS IT LIKE 30% OF THE FUND IS GONNA GO TOWARDS THIS PHASE FOR THIS YEAR SO WE CAN HAVE IT OUT, OR WE'RE GONNA TRY TO EXPAND SLOTS BY A HUNDRED SLOTS, YOU KNOW, ANY IDEA OF WHAT THIS NEAR TERM INVESTMENT LOOKS LIKE? UM, SO WHAT WE ARE LOOKING AT DOING IS LOOKING AT THE FUNDS THAT WE HAVE FOR THIS YEAR FOR FISCAL YEAR 25, UM, AND PUTTING THEM IN PLACE OVER SEVERAL YEARS, KIND OF DURING THIS TRANSITION PHASE.

SO THAT'S ONE NOTE THAT I'LL MAKE.

SO SOME OF THESE FUNDS, WE CAN START IN 2025, BUT SO WE HAVE A TRANSITION PERIOD.

SOME OF THOSE CURRENT CONTRACTS THAT WE HAVE, WE'LL LOOK AT EXPANDING THEM OVER 2026 AND 2027.

WHILE WE'RE ALSO DOING THE PROCUREMENT AS FAR AS THE NUMBERS, WE REALLY ARE STILL, UM, I, I, UM, WANNA PROVIDE A GOOD NUMBER.

WE'RE STILL IN THE, UM, KIND OF NEGOTIATION PHASE WITH OUR CURRENT CONTRACTORS, SO I WONDER IF I CAN PROVIDE AN UPDATE VIA EMAIL OR MAYBE COME BACK TO THE NEXT MEETING.

I THINK WE WILL REALLY HAVE A MUCH, MUCH BETTER SENSE OF KIND OF THOSE NUMBERS, UM, IN A COUPLE MONTHS.

GOOD DEAL.

NO, I, I, I UNDERSTAND AND, AND I, UM, WANNA ENCOURAGE OUR COMMUNITY TO ATTEND THOSE COMMUNITY LISTENING SESSIONS.

THAT'S AN INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY FOR FOLKS TO HAVE A SAY ON THE NEW SOLICITATIONS THAT WILL GO OUT TO THE COMMUNITY, BOTH FOR CHILDCARE AND THE AFTERSCHOOL, UM, PROGRAMS. AND SO, UM, TO THE EXTENT THAT WE CAN BE HELPFUL HERE AT THE CITY, YOU KNOW, PLEASE COUNT ON, UH, OUR SUPPORT.

THANK YOU, MA.

MAYOR PROAM.

[01:20:01]

GREAT, THANK YOU.

UM, MY ONLY QUESTION, IT'S REALLY BRIEF, IS IF YOU, I KNOW, I UNDERSTAND THERE'S AN EVENT ON THE 29TH AT THE CARVER.

IF, IF YOU GUYS HAVE ANY FLYERS, IF YOU COULD SHARE IT WITH OUR OFFICES SO WE COULD KIND OF PUSH IT OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.

I APPRECIATE THAT.

I CAN DEFINITELY, UM, EMAIL THAT OUT TO DISTRIBUTED.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

WELL THANK YOU FOR THAT.

AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.

YEAH, I DON'T THINK WE HAD ANY OTHER QUESTIONS.

YEAH, GREAT.

IS A BRIEFING ON ORGANIZATIONAL AND OPERATIONAL UPDATES ON THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT AND OFFICE OF ARTS CULTURE, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT.

UM, SO WITH THAT WE'RE GONNA MOVE UP TO ITEM NUMBER FOUR, WHICH

[4. Organizational and operational updates on the Economic Development Department and Office of Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment. [Angela Means, Director- Office of Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment; Anthony Segura, Interim Director- Economic Development Department].]

AND WE WILL HAVE THAT BRIEFING GIVEN TO US BY DIRECTOR MEANS AND INTERIM DIRECTOR SEGURA.

UH, WELCOME.

WELCOME.

THAT'S CHILDCARE, COMMUNITY TECH,

MY NAME IS ANGELA MEANS I'M THE NEWLY NAMED DIRECTOR OF THE INAUGURAL OFFICE OF ARTS CULTURE, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT.

AND IT TRULY IS A PLEASURE TO BE HERE TODAY.

IT'S ESPECIALLY ON YOUR FIRST MEETING, UH, OF THIS COMMITTEE.

IT TRULY IS A PLEASURE.

I'M ALSO HERE WITH INTERIM DIRECTOR, UH, ANTHONY RA.

AND WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOU IS ALL OF THE EXCITING DEVELOPMENTS THAT WE HAVE TO ENHANCE AUSTIN'S VIBRANT ARTS, CULTURE, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT LANDSCAPE.

YOU ALL KNOW.

EFFECTIVE FEBRUARY 24TH, WHICH IS ALMOST ONE MONTH TODAY, THIS OFFICE WAS ESTABLISHED.

THIS REALLY TRULY IS A MARK IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

WE ALL HAVE CELEBRATED AUSTIN'S CULTURE AND ART AND MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT FOR YEARS.

WE'VE CALLED OURSELVES THE LIVE MUSIC CAPITAL OF THE WORLD.

AND THIS MOVE, UH, TO FORMALIZE AN OFFICE WHERE WE BRING TALENTED STAFF TOGETHER TO REALLY FOCUS AND PRIORITIZE ARTS, CULTURE, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT, UH, FOR AUSTIN, TEXAS, MAKING US A VIBRANT PLACE THAT IS KNOWN GLOBALLY.

I'D LIKE TO SPEAK TO YOU ABOUT HOW ACME BENEFITS OUR COMMUNITY.

THE WORK WE DO HERE WILL SHAPE AUSTIN'S FUTURE.

IT'LL ENHANCE ITS IDENTITY AND REINFORCE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES AS BOTH IN ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL DRIVERS.

WE PROVIDE CENTRALIZED SUPPORT FOR THE CREATIVES AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS.

WE WILL ENHANCE ECONOMIC GROWTH, TOURISM, AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT.

WE WILL FOSTER COLLABORATION BETWEEN ARTISTS, CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS, AND LOCAL BUSINESSES.

WE WILL CREATE INCLUSIVE, ACCESSIBLE SPACES FOR RESIDENTS TO EXPERIENCE ARTS AND CULTURE ALL OVER AUSTIN, TEXAS.

WE WILL ALSO STRENGTHEN AUSTIN'S IDENTITY AS A GLOBAL DESTINATION FOR CREATIVITY.

WE WERE FORMED BY BRINGING TOGETHER CITY EMPLOYEES FROM FIVE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS THAT HAVE HISTORICALLY SUPPORTED ARTS CULTURE, CREATING A MORE OF A UNIFIED, MORE EFFECTIVE DEPARTMENT.

THESE INCLUDE THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, THE CULTURAL ARTS, ARTS AND PUBLIC PLACES, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT AREAS FOR PARKS AND RECREATION.

WE BROUGHT OVER OUR MUSEUM AND CULTURAL PROGRAMMINGS, UH, THE HERITAGE TOURISM PARTIAL, UH, SPECIAL EVENTS TEAM FOR DEVELOPMENT SERVICES.

WE BROUGHT OVER THE AUSTIN CENTER FOR EVENTS, THE MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT SERVICES FROM OUR AUSTIN PUBLIC LIBRARY.

WE BROUGHT OVER OUR AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE AND CULTURAL FACILITY.

AND FROM AVIATION, WE WILL WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH OUR MUSIC AND ART TEAM.

HERE IS A FUNCTIONAL ORGANIZATIONAL CHART FOR THE NEW OFFICE.

YOU WILL SEE THREE AREAS AT THIS TIME.

UH, WE HAVE THE ARTS, FUNDING, MUSIC AND EVENTS THAT INCLUDES OUR CULTURAL ARTS, OUR AUSTIN, OUR ARTS IN PUBLIC PLACES, OUR HERITAGE TOURISM, THE AIRPORT TEAM, THE MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT SERVICES, AND BOTH THE AUSTIN CENTER FOR EVENTS, AS WELL AS THE PARD SPECIAL EVENTS.

UNDERNEATH OUR CULTURAL EDUCATION AND PROGRAMS, YOU'LL SEE OUR, UH, FACILITIES, OUR AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL AND HERITAGE FACILITY.

WE HAVE OUR ASIAN AMERICAN RESOURCE CENTER, OUR MS BARTOS, MEXICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER, OUR GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER MUSEUM, GENEALOGY AND CULTURAL CENTER.

WE HAVE OUR DOHERTY ARTS CENTER.

WE HAVE OUR MUSEUMS, O HENRY, SUSANNA DICKINSON, ELIZABETH NAY, OLD BAKERY IN EMPORIUM.

WE ALSO HAVE OUR ZILKER HILLSIDE THEATER.

AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE, OF COURSE, ALL OF OUR ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT FUNCTIONS FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.

WHAT WHAT YOU WILL SEE HERE, THEY WILL CONTINUE WITH THEIR WORKFORCE, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND STRATEGY.

[01:25:01]

COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY, YOUTH INITIATIVES, WORKFORCE, STRATEGIC PLANNING.

YOU'LL SEE SMALL BUSINESS, GLOBAL BUSINESS, THEIR AUSTIN CIVIL, UH, CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORP DAY LABOR.

AND THEN THEIR ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTIONS FOR PARKS AND RECREATION STILL HAVE QUITE A BIT.

THEY HAVE THEIR PARK PLANNING AND ACQUISITION TEAMS, UH, PARK DEVELOPMENT, UH, ALL OF THEIR ASSET MANAGEMENT FOR, THEY STILL HAVE CEMETERY OPERATIONS, AQUATICS, GOLF PARKS, SPECIAL EVENTS, UH, FOR THEIR PARKS.

WE HAVE OUR COMMUNITY RECREATION TEAMS, ATHLETICS, AQUATICS, URBAN FORESTRY, LAND MANAGEMENT, AND THEN THEIR SUPPORT FUNCTIONS AS WELL, QUITE A BIT STILL UNDER OUR PARKS TEAM.

WE HAVE RECEIVED SO MUCH SUPPORT, IF YOU CAN IMAGINE FROM OUTSIDE OF THE CITY AS WELL AS INSIDE OF THE CITY.

OUR COMMUNITY IS VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS OPPORTUNITY FOR AUSTIN.

AND WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO IS, YOU KNOW, TAKE ALL OF THAT EXCITEMENT AND WORK WELL TOGETHER AS WE MOVE THROUGH 2025.

OUR GOALS, OF COURSE, TO STREAMLINE OUR OPERATIONS.

AS WE ARE BRINGING FIVE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS TOGETHER, UH, WE WANNA ENSURE THAT WE ARE BEING MORE EFFICIENT, BRINGING ALL OF OUR TALENT TOGETHER, AND UTILIZING THE SYNERGY THAT THAT BRINGS.

WE WILL ALSO IMPLEMENT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS, WHICH IS VERY IMPORTANT, UH, THAT WE SPEAK WITH ALL MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY.

THE LAST TIME WE ALL SAT, UH, ONE OF THE LAST TIMES WHERE WE SAT AS A COMMUNITY TO TALK ABOUT WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE IN THE WAY OF OUR ARTS, CULTURE, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT.

IT'S BEEN OVER A DECADE, SO WE WANT TO CHECK BACK IN WITH OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UH, TO SEE WHERE THEY WOULD LIKE FOR OUR FOCUS TO BE.

AUSTIN HAS CHANGED QUITE A BIT SINCE 2008.

AND SO WE WANT TO, UH, DOUBLE CHECK TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE MEETING THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY OF TODAY.

WE WILL BE LOOKING AT OUR CULTURAL ARTS AND LIVE MUSIC GRANT PROGRAM GUIDELINES.

WE WANT TO ENSURE THAT THEY ARE ACCESSIBLE, TRANSPARENT, AND IMPACTFUL.

WE WILL WORK TO INCREASE ACCESS TO PROGRAMMING BY REDUCING FINANCIAL, GEOGRAPHIC AND INFORMATIONAL BARRIERS.

UH, THIS IS IMPROVING ACCESS FOR ALL OF AUSTINITES, AND WE WILL ESTABLISH NEW COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIPS WITH VARIOUS SECTORS.

THIS INCLUDES OUR PRIVATE ENTITIES, NONPROFITS, EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, AND THE CREATIVE COMMUNITY, AND JUST INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE INTERESTED.

WE WILL BE WORKING WITH YOU ALL.

I'VE RECEIVED A LOT OF QUESTION, UH, SURROUNDING OUR FUNDING, AND SO I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE.

WE WILL BEGIN EXPLORING AND LEVERAGING FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR THIS OFFICE.

UH, WE ARE GOING TO EXPLORE VARIOUS GRANTS, SPONSORSHIPS, PRIVATE SECTOR, UH, PARTNERSHIPS AND OTHER INITIATIVES.

AND SO MORE TO COME AS WE BEGIN TO LOOK ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO SEE WHAT OTHER ENTITIES ARE DOING AND HOW THEY ARE FUNDING THIS MOST IMPORTANT SPACE.

THE TIMELINE TO FULLY INTEGRATE, WE'VE BROKEN THIS INTO PHASES, UH, ONE, TWO, AND THREE.

WE ARE CURRENTLY, UH, .

WE'RE RUNNING FAST.

WE'RE, WE'RE CURRENTLY IN PHASE ONE AND TWO.

UM, THE PHASE ONE IS PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT.

AND THAT'S WHEN WE ARE PLANNING OUT, UH, OUR VISION, OUR MISSION, OUR GOALS, WORKING WITH OUR COMMUNITY, OUR PHASE TWO, WHERE WE WILL BEGIN TO LAUNCH THOSE PROGRAMS, ESTABLISHING A COMMUNITY PRE, UH, PRESENCE.

AND THEN PHASE THREE IS TO GROWTH AND, AND EXPAND OUR OFFICE.

ACME IS REALLY COMMITTED TO BUILD, BUILDING A COLLABORATIVE, VIBRANT CITY.

THE WORK THAT WE DO WILL SYMBOLIZE THE COLLABORATIVE SPIRIT OF OUR COMMUNITY.

BY WORKING TOGETHER, WE WILL CONTINUE TO CELEBRATE AND SHOWCASE THE TALENTS AND TRADITIONS THAT MAKE AUSTIN A UNIQUE AND EXCITING PLACE TO LIVE AND VISIT.

WE ARE COMMITTED TO ENSURING THAT ARTS AND CULTURE CONTINUE TO THRIVE FOR BOTH RESIDENTS AND VISITORS BUILDING ON AUSTIN'S CULTURAL LANDSCAPE.

AND WITH THAT, THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.

I'M AVAILABLE FOR QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU, DIRECTOR MEANS, AND THANKS FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP ON ALL THIS EXCITING STUFF.

UH, COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON, FOR THE FIRST QUESTION.

I'LL START WITH THE ONE THAT'S NOT DOOM AND GLOOM.

, YOU SAID THAT WITH HESITATION.

I KNOW YOU'RE TRYING TO FINISH YOUR FIRST ME NOW.

I'LL BE SURE.

I PROMISE.

UH, THIS IS ANOTHER ONE.

I KNOW THAT SOUNDS SO COMPLIMENTARY TODAY.

BUT YEAH, I GOT OUT OF BED FOR THESE TWO BRIEFINGS TODAY.

UM, THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY AND THIS ONE, THIS ONE.

I'M SO EXCITED.

UM, SO I ONLY HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS.

I KNOW YOU'RE JUST GETTING STARTED.

LIKE YOU SAID, YOU'RE, YOU'RE IN PHASES ONE AND TWO AT THE SAME TIME, SO I'M NOT GONNA ASK YOU A LOT OF STUFF.

UM, THERE WERE TWO THINGS THAT YOU SAID THAT PIQUED MY INTEREST AND UM, GAVE ME SOME QUESTIONS.

UM,

[01:30:02]

UM, SO , SO WITH, UM, THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS, KIM, CAN YOU SEND US ALL SOME INFORMATION? YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO IT HERE, WE'RE SHORT ON TIME, BUT COULD YOU SEND US ALL SOME INFORMATION ABOUT SPECIFICALLY WHAT THOSE PROGRAMS LOOK LIKE? IT MIGHT BE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY.

SO AS WE'RE DOING EXPANSION AND DEVELOPMENT AT THE CARVER AT GIVENS, WE'RE ALSO DOING IT AT THE DORIS MILLER AUDITORIUM AND, UM, THE BRECK CENTER THERE.

AND SO IT'S JUST LIKE, OH, AS ALL THESE THINGS ARE HAPPENING, UM, AND I KNOW SOMEBODY JUST REACHED OUT TO US ABOUT, UM, OSA CATALINA ACTUALLY REACHED US, US ABOUT SOMETHING ABOUT OSA.

IT'S JUST LIKE, YOU KNOW, AS TAMARA WAS TALKING, A PART OF WHY I WAS GETTING SO HYPED IS 'CAUSE SHE WAS TALKING ABOUT TRUE INTEGRATION.

I SOMETIMES FEEL LIKE A CRAZY PERSON UP HERE.

I'M LIKE, WHY DO THESE THINGS WORK TOGETHER? BUT IT JUST MAKES SO MUCH SENSE.

AND SO I REALLY APPRECIATE, UM, THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE WHAT PROGRAMMATIC EFFORTS Y'ALL ARE BRINGING FORWARD.

BECAUSE I DO STILL SOMEHOW, UM, DESPITE HIS BEST EFFORTS, TC DIDN'T FIX EVERYTHING IN HIS FIRST WEEK.

UH, SO MY HOPE IS THAT WE'RE ON THE PATH TO CLEARER LINES OF COMMUNICATION AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

I'M STILL JUST BEFUDDLED BY LIKE HOW INFREQUENTLY WE ALL ARE COMMUNICATING WITH ONE ANOTHER.

AND I HEAR, YOU KNOW, THROUGH VARIOUS CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE DUPLICATIVE EFFORTS THAT WE PARTICIPATE IN.

SO, UM, ALL THAT TO SAY, THE ONE REAL ACTUAL QUESTION THAT I HAVE IS ABOUT, SO JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO CLEARLY DELINEATE RESPONSIBILITY.

SO FOR EXAMPLE, THE MILLENNIUM YOUTH ENTERTAINMENT COMPLEX IS CONSIDERED A PART ASSET.

YES.

BUT IT HAS CONCESSIONS.

IT HAS A THEATER, IT HAS RENTAL SPACE.

IT CAN, THE PAR OR THE MILLENNIUM YOUTH ENTERTAINMENT COMPLEX.

THEIR BOARD CAN RAISE MONEY.

THEY HAVE TO GET OUTSIDE LEGAL COUNSEL.

I JUST FE IT'S ALWAYS FELT MORE LIKE EDD TO ME THAN PARD.

AND SO WITH THIS TRANSITION, I'M CURIOUS ABOUT ASSETS LIKE THAT.

THERE ARE A FEW OTHERS THAT I HAVE MM-HMM .

ASSETS LIKE THAT.

UM, WHEN YOU DID THE, THE BREAKOUT OF WHO'S GETTING WHAT WILL THE MILLENNIUM STAY IN PART IN THAT SORT OF ASSET, EVEN THOUGH THEY HAVE EVENT RENTAL AND OTHER LIKE MONEY STUFF THAT I'M JUST TRYING TO, I WANNA GET A CLEARER PICTURE OF WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE MOVING FORWARD.

'CAUSE IN MY PERSONAL OPINION, I THINK SOME OF IT FOR D ONE ASSETS IS JUST NOT WORKING.

THERE'S SOME LEVEL OF COMPLICATION AND IT'S BY WAY OF, UM, STRUCTURE.

ABSOLUTELY.

AND WE HAVE HAD SOME INTERNAL CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE MILLENNIUM YOUTH ENTERTAINMENT CENTER.

OH, REALLY? THEY CURRENTLY IT IS STILL WITHIN THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENTS PORTFOLIO.

UM, I IMAGINE THERE WILL BE OTHER FACILITIES SUCH AS THE MILLENNIUM AND OTHERS.

I CAN THINK OF TWO OTHERS THAT, UM, SO CAN I, THAT WILL PROBABLY MOVE OVER, UH, TO THE OFFICE, UH, AT A MOST LIKELY AT A LATER TIME.

I THINK THEY HAVE A LOT OF STUFF TO FOCUS ON, AND HAVING AN INTERNAL PAID RESOURCE THAT MANAGES OUR ASSETS.

BUT WE ARE DEFINITELY INTERESTED IN TAKING ANOTHER LOOK AT THAT FACILITY, UM, FOR AUSTIN, TEXAS.

AND IT MORE, IT'S MORE OF AN ENTERTAINMENT FACILITY AT THIS TIME.

THE GOAL, I SHOULD SAY THE CURRENT MODEL.

AND, AND SO WE DEFINITELY NEED TO TAKE ANOTHER LOOK, BUT IT'S, RIGHT NOW IT, IF YOU, YOU KNOW, THE BOXES, IT'S UNDER PARKS AND RECREATION, I THINK.

I THINK THAT BOARD THAT'S BEEN WORKING SO HARD.

SO JUST DURING THE COURSE OF THIS SIX YEARS, I KNOW THERE WAS A BOARD THAT, UM, THAT WAS BEFORE THEM THAT WORKED SUPER HARD TOO.

BUT THIS BOARD HAS BEEN WORKING SO HARD TO MAKE SENSE OF WHAT TO DO WITH THIS ASSET THAT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE FOR THE COMMUNITY AND FOR FOLKS WATCHING WHO DON'T KNOW.

WHEN THE MILLENNIUM CAME TO THE COMMUNITY IN 96, IT WAS THE DIRECT RESULT OF US RESPONDING TO TWO DIFFERENT MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY, YOUTH, MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY BEING IN SHELTER TO DEATH.

AND THE COMMUNITY GOT TOGETHER AND DEMANDED THAT WE HAD A PLACE FOR KIDS TO GO AND BE SAFE AND EXPERIENCE A HIGH QUALITY OF LIFE, EVEN IF THEY DID LIVE IN THE PROJECTS.

UM, SO ALL THAT TO SAY, I, I KNOW THAT THEY'RE GONNA APPRECIATE HAVING A REAL LIAISON.

YOU KNOW, DESPITE OUR EFFORTS TO KIND OF TRIAGE IT AND PARS EFFORTS TO TREAT IT, IT'S BIGGER THAN, YOU KNOW, THE ONE PART PERSON OR THE ONE DISTRICT, ONE OFFICE.

IT'S AN ASSET, A TRUE ASSET TO THE COMMUNITY.

I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE EVER BEEN THERE AT NIGHT.

OH, I'VE BEEN THERE SOMETIMES.

PERFECT.

BEAUTIFUL DOWNTOWN SKYLINE VIEWS BEAUTIFUL, RIGHT IN THE HEART OF CENTRAL EAST AUSTIN.

AND IT'S JUST KIND OF SITTING THERE MORE DAYS THAN NOT.

AND SO I REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO THAT.

AND THEN THE OTHER THING I WANTED TO ASK YOU ABOUT HAD TO DO WITH, AS WE DO THAT DELINEATION BETWEEN, UM, DEPARTMENTS, I THINK IT WILL CHANGE SOME OF THE PURVIEW.

SO LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, I CAN THINK OFFHAND THAT WILL CHANGE THE BYLAWS FOR THE AFRICAN AMERICAN RESOURCE ADVISORY COMMISSION AND IT'LL TAKE, YOU KNOW, THAT ASSET MANAGEMENT YES.

COMPONENT, WHICH I THINK IS GOOD.

[01:35:01]

AND, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE I THINK IN THEIR BYLAWS, THEY ADDRESS THAT ASSET, THE CARVER AND THEN ENTERTAINMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR BLACKS IN AUSTIN.

AND EMPLOYEE, LIKE, THEY, THEIR, THEIR PURVIEW BY WAY OF THEIR BYLAWS IS TOO BROAD, IN MY OPINION.

SO I'D BE CURIOUS TO KNOW WHAT ALL, UM, AS WE WERE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION THE OTHER DAY ABOUT THE COMMISSIONS, YOU KNOW, UPDATING BYLAWS AND, UM, MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS, ET CETERA, I THINK IT WOULD BE A GOOD TIME AS THEY'RE REFRESHING THEIR BYLAWS TO CONSIDER WHAT'S JUST NOT ON THEIR PLATE ANYMORE BY WAY OF IT HAVING BEEN DIVERTED, UM, TO OUR MAY OFFICE.

UH, ARE THERE, AND, UH, VICE CHAIR FUENTES.

YES.

THIS IS AN EXCITING UPDATE.

I'M SO THRILLED TO SEE OUR CITY FINALLY CREATE A DEPARTMENT FOR THIS VERY IMPORTANT PART OF OUR CITY.

I MEAN, TRULY, WHEN WE THINK ABOUT WHAT MAKES AUSTIN SO SPECIAL, IT'S OUR CULTURE, IT'S OUR ARTS, IT'S OUR MUSIC, IT'S OUR ENTERTAINMENT.

UH, SO TO FINALLY SEE IT'S GETTING ITS DUE, I JUST WANNA, UM, THANK YOU AND THANK, UH, CITY MANAGER BROAD NEXT FOR HIS LEADERSHIP ON THIS ISSUE.

IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME COMING AND I KNOW IT'S GONNA GO A LONG WAY TO OUR COMMUNITY KNOWING THAT YOU'RE WORKING ON A, AN UPDATE TO THE STRATEGIC PLAN, COMPREHENSIVE UPDATES TO THE STRATEGIC PLAN, UM, AND THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS. BUT REAL QUICKLY, I WOULD BE REMISS IF I DIDN'T BRING UP THE ART AND PUBLIC PLACES PROGRAM THAT HAS BEEN, UH, AN AREA OF FOCUS FOR THIS COUNCIL AND ONE THAT WE, WE DEFINITELY WANT TO DO AN ASSESSMENT ON.

SO, ANY, ANY THOUGHTS YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE ABOUT THE PROGRAM? ABSOLUTELY.

UH, WE SENT A MEMO OUT THAT PROBABLY WAS YESTERDAY, UM, REALLY HIGHLIGHTING THAT WE ARE GOING TO TAKE ANOTHER LOOK AT OUR A IPP PROGRAM.

IT'S A FABULOUS PROGRAM THAT AUSTIN HAS MOST DEFINITELY.

IT PUTS BEAUTIFUL ART ALL THROUGHOUT OUR CITY.

AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR, THAT WE ARE STRUCTURED IN OUR, YOU KNOW, HOW WE HAVE OUR POLICIES AND GUIDELINES REALLY REPRESENTS OUR AUSTIN COMMUNITY.

SO IT'S COMMITMENT THAT WE HAVE AS WE'RE LOOKING AT ALL OF OUR PROGRAMS ACROSS ALL OF THE AREAS.

A IPP WILL BE ONE AS WELL.

UH, WE'VE HEARD A LOT OF FEEDBACK.

WE'VE SPOKEN WITH MANY, MANY ARTISTS OVER THE LAST WEEK OR SO, REALLY TRYING TO UNDERSTAND, UH, THEIR TRUE NEEDS.

YOU KNOW, WE, THE, THE CITY DOES A REALLY GOOD JOB REACHING OUT TO THE COMMUNITY, BUT WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY WITHIN OUR OFFICE TO REALLY BE FOCUSED, UH, EFFORTS ZEROING IN ON THE CHALLENGES THAT OUR ARTISTS HAVE AND FACE.

UH, WE WANT THEM TO BE SUCCESSFUL HERE.

YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE ARE WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITIES WITH OUR MAJOR PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE VIA THE CONVENTION CENTER AIRPORT OF THE OTHERS THAT ARE COMING ONLINE, UH, WITH OUR BONDS.

WE WANT OUR LOCAL ARTISTS TO REALLY THRIVE AS WELL.

AND SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE TAKE ANOTHER LOOK AT THE, THAT PROGRAM.

VERY GOOD.

THANK YOU AND WELCOME TO THIS NEW ROLE.

UH, COUNCILOR VELA, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? NO QUESTIONS.

I GOT TWO QUESTIONS.

UM, APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.

UM, MY TWO QUESTIONS, AND MY FIRST QUESTION WAS, IF THERE'S A TIMELINE THAT WE CAN EXPECT THE REEVALUATION OF CULTURAL ARTS AND LIVE MUSIC GRANT, UH, PROGRAM YES.

THAT WILL, WE ARE WORKING ON THAT FOR A COMPLETION OF I'M SAYING THE SUMMER.

YEAH.

MOST LIKELY THE END.

WE WANT TO ENSURE THAT OUR ARTISTS ARE NOT DISRUPTIVE, UH, OR DISRUPTED, UH, BECAUSE THEY NEED THE FUNDING MM-HMM .

AND SO WE ARE TAKING THAT TIME INTERNALLY TO TAKE A LOOK AT THOSE, UH, GRANTS.

SO IT WILL BE THIS SUMMER.

OH, WONDERFUL.

AND THEN, UH, MY SECOND QUESTION, AND I UNDERSTAND THERE MIGHT HAVE TO BE A FOLLOW UP IF YOU, IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE, THE DATA IN FRONT OF YOU.

UH, BUT YOU KNOW, I, I THOUGHT IT WAS GREAT TO HEAR THAT WE'RE EXPLORING VARYING STREAMS OF FUNDING SOURCES.

DO WE HAVE A CURRENT STATUS OF OUR FUNDING STREAMS AND WHAT, IF ANY, PROJECTION CAN WE EXPECT TO INCREASE OUR FUNDS BY LEVERAGING ANY NEW OPPORTUNITIES? WE WILL BE EXPLORING THOSE.

WE'RE WORKING ON RESEARCHING THAT AS OF RIGHT NOW.

AND SO I DO NOT HAVE AN UPDATED TIMELINE OF WHAT, UH, YOU CAN EXPECT, BUT IT IS OF MOST, UH, IMPORTANCE FOR US.

UM, THERE'S A LOT OF NEED IN OUR COMMUNITY AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE HAVING MORE OF AN IMPACT IN, IN HAVING OTHERS ACCESS OUR FUNDS.

SO, UH, MORE TO COME.

UM, AND THEN, SORRY, JUST A QUICK FOLLOW UP TO THAT.

DO, IS THERE GONNA BE AN EFFORT TO REVISE OUR PRIVATE FUNDING DONATION PROCESS? OH, ABSOLUTELY.

OKAY, GREAT.

WELL THAT'S GREAT TO HEAR.

UM, WELL I THINK THAT IS IT FROM US.

SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE, FOR THE PRESENTATION.

ON OUR LAST ITEM OF THE DAY, WHICH IS ITEM NUMBER FIVE, A BRIEFING ON THE DAMPEN STRATEGIC INITIATIVE MEMO RELATED TO THE MAYOR'S RESOLUTION PASSED BY COUNCIL IN FEBRUARY OF THIS YEAR.

UH, AND NOW

[5. Downtown Strategic Initiative Memo related to Resolution No. 20250213-031. [Jon Fortune, Deputy City Manager- City Manager’s Office].]

UH, AND WITH THAT PRESENTATION, WE'LL HAVE THE DEPUTY CITY MANAGER, UH, JOHN FORTUNE.

[01:40:01]

GOOD AFTERNOON.

IS 1141 GOOD MORNING OR AFTERNOON? I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS.

SO, UM, COUNCIL MEMBERS, COMMITTEE MEMBERS, I APPRECIATE THE CHANCE TO TALK TO YOU JUST FOR A FEW MINUTES.

AS YOU KNOW, THIS IS REALLY JUST A BRIEFING MEMO.

I'M HERE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS, BUT JUST SINCE I AM HERE AT THE PODIUM, I'LL JUST LET YOU KNOW, UM, BRIEFLY THAT THIS IS KIND OF THE FIRST STEP FOR US IN RESPONSE TO THE COUNCIL'S MEMO, OR EXCUSE ME, RESOLUTION THAT THEY APPROVED IN FEBRUARY TO HAVE A MORE CONCENTRATED FOCUS ON SOME STRATEGIC PLANNING STRATEGIC OPERATIONS IN THE CITY'S DOWNTOWN, UM, AREA.

AND SO, UM, WITH THE CITY MANAGER IS, IS PROPOSING, IS THE CREATION OF A DOWNTOWN STRATEGY OFFICE THAT WILL REALLY HELP US, UM, COORDINATE SOME OF THE PLANNING EFFORTS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN THE DOWNTOWN CORRIDOR COORDINATION OF OPERATIONS.

AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, THERE'S A LOT OF CITY, UH, CITY DEPARTMENTS THAT HAVE DIFFERENT RESPONSIBILITIES FOR PROVIDING SERVICES DOWNTOWN.

UM, SOMETIMES, UM, WE CAN BE, I THINK, MORE EFFICIENT IF WE'RE COORDINATING WHAT WE DO AND HOW WE DO THAT.

UM, ALSO HAVING A MORE CENTRALIZED WAY IN WHICH WE CAN REPORT THE ACTIVITIES THAT ARE HAPPENING STRATEGICALLY AS IT RELATES TO SERVICES OR PROGRAMS DOWNTOWN.

AND SO THAT, UM, IS THE PRIMARY FOCUS AND PRINCIPLE INTENT BEHIND CREATING THE OFFICE OF, UH, UH, DOWNTOWN STRATEGIC OFFICE.

WHAT WE ENVISION IS A CREATING ONE TO THREE, UM, STAFF MEMBER TEAM THAT WOULD, UM, BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS COORDINATION AS, AS, UM, THEY, THEY WOULD TAKE THE KIND OF THE PRINCIPAL PLANNING, UM, ROLE FOR BRINGING TOGETHER A TASK FORCE OF CITY DEPARTMENTS AND POTENTIALLY SOME EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA TO BE ABLE TO, TO UNIFY THESE EFFORTS IN A MUCH MORE STRATEGIC AND, UM, CONSISTENT WAY GOING FORWARD.

UM, WE NEED TO IDENTIFY THE RESOURCES FOR THOSE POSITIONS.

WE'RE CURRENTLY LOOKING TO SEE WHAT AVAILABLE RESOURCES WE MAY HAVE NOW.

IF NOT, THEN WE WOULD BE PROPOSING CREATING THOSE POSITIONS AS WE GO THROUGH THE BUDGET PROCESSES PROCESS THIS SUMMER.

UM, I DO BELIEVE THAT, UM, WE, WE COULD BE IN A PLACE, I'M OPTIMISTIC THAT WE'D BE IN A PLACE TO HAVE THIS NEW OFFICE STOOD UP BY THE END OF THIS FISCAL YEAR.

SO, UM, I'M HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE.

THIS IS REALLY JUST THE START OF THIS PROCESS AND I'M EXCITED THAT THE COUNCIL HAD THE VISION TO, TO HELP SUGGEST THAT WE DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS AND WE'RE, WE'RE READY TO GET IT, UM, GOING FORWARD.

SO I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.

TO, FOR MY COLLEAGUES IF WE HAD ANY FUTURE ITEMS, UH, IF FOLKS WANNA DISCUSS FOR THE NEXT, UH, MEETING, UH, COUNCILOR VESQUEZ.

UH, COLLEAGUES, ANY QUESTIONS? UM, I HAVE THE ONE QUESTION I GUESS FOR THIS, FOR THIS, UH, PRESENTATION.

UM, WHO WILL THIS OFFICE AND TASK FORCE REPORT TO? THAT'S STILL PART OF THE EVALUATION PROCESS THAT THAT CITY MANAGER AND I ARE HAVING A DISCUSSION ABOUT.

WE HAVEN'T QUITE LANDED ON THAT JUST YET.

UM, SO FOR NOW I'M TAKING THE LEAD ROLE AND JUST HELPING US GET THINGS, UM, ORGANIZED AND STRUCTURED.

BUT AT SOME POINT WE'LL HAVE TO MAKE THAT FINAL DETERMINATION.

UM, AND WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT OR ACTUALLY AHEAD OF SCHEDULE? UH, UH, WELL WE ARE DONE WITH OUR ITEMS FOR TODAY, BUT I WANTED TO OPEN UP THE FLOOR

[Future Items]

NO, I DON'T HAVE ANY FUTURE ITEMS. I JUST WANTED TO CONGRATULATE MICHAEL BAN CHAIRING HIS FIRST, UH, COMMITTEE MEETING.

GOOD JOB.

AND GOT US OUTTA HERE EARLY.

WAS NOT MY INTENTION, BUT YEAH.

I'LL TAKE IT.

UM, COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON.

DON'T SPEAK TOO SOON.

NAH, I PLAYED, UM, I DID HAVE A COUPLE THINGS FOR FUTURE CONSIDERATION.

UM, UH, SOMETHING THAT MY OFFICE AND I HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT AND I LOOK FORWARD TO, I KNOW, UM, THAT D TWO WORKED ON AN AI, UM, RESOLUTION, BUT I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT BOTH PERSONALLY AND PROFESSIONALLY AS OF LATE AI PROOF WORKFORCE IS WHAT I'M CALLING IT.

UM, WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT A COMPUTER OR TECHNOLOGY OR A CODE CAN NEVER DO, AND ARE WE INVESTING WHAT WE NEED TO IN THAT? UM, AND THEN I MADE MY POINT TO TAMARA WHEN SHE WAS HERE ABOUT AGRICULTURAL WORKFORCE.

I REALLY WANNA HAVE THAT DISCUSSION.

UM, AND THEN, MM, I THINK THAT'S IT FOR NOW.

UM, NO ADDITIONAL TOPICS TO SUGGEST AT THIS TIME, BUT JUST ALSO WANTED TO SAY WELL DONE.

THIS WAS AN INCREDIBLE MEETING.

THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN.