[00:00:06]
A TXN.GOOD TO GO, Y'ALL GOOD? ALRIGHT,
[CALL TO ORDER]
WELL, GOOD MORNING.UM, I AM RYAN ALTER CHAIR OF THE CLIMATE WATER ENVIRONMENT AND PARKS COMMITTEE HERE ON APRIL THE FIRST AT NINE 30 AT 3 0 1 WEST SECOND STREET CITY HALL.
WE ARE IN THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ROOM.
UH, A QUORUM IS PRESENT AND SO WE WILL KICK OFF THE MEETING.
UH, OUR FIRST ITEM OF THE DAY IS APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM OUR PREVIOUS MEETING CHAIR.
[Public Communication: General]
FOR PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.I DIDN'T KNOW IF WE WERE GONNA DO THAT NOW OR WITH THE ITEM, SO.
WE'LL DO OUR PUBLIC SPEAKER NOW BEFORE WE GET TO THE ITEMS. GREAT.
WELCOME TO THE NEW COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT I HAVEN'T MET IN PERSON YET, ALTHOUGH I MET YOU AT ONE OF THE EVENTS.
I'M A LONG TIME ADVOCATE ON AIR QUALITY AND CLIMATE, AND THIS IS A PRESENTATION I GAVE TO THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE BACK IN 2023.
UH, WITH THE FRAMEWORK THAT WE HAVE NOW, THE AIR QUALITY PROGRAM AND THE AIR QUALITY PLAN REALLY IS THE GATEWAY TO CLIMATE BECAUSE THERE'S MANY SUBSTANTIAL AND TANGIBLE THINGS THAT, THAT HAS.
THIS IS A REGIONAL PLAN WITH CAP COG BEING THE, THE LEAD RATHER THAN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS A PARTICIPANT.
I STARTED MY ADVOCACY IN THE EARLY TO MID NINETIES, AND I WAS INVOLVED WITH THE CITY'S FIRST AIR QUALITY PLAN, WHICH WAS LAUNCHED IN 1995.
THREE OF MY RECOMMENDATIONS MADE IT INTO THE PLAN.
THERE WERE 10 RECOMMENDATIONS.
REGARDING THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, I'VE HAD CONTACT AND NOW REGULAR CONTACT WITH THAT TO ME, THERE, THERE ARE SOME GAPS IN IT.
UH, GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION REDUCTIONS ARE NOT INCLUDED FOR, FOR THE FOLLOWING.
ARIES DIESEL CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT, UH, LANDSCAPING EQUIPMENT.
NOW WE'RE DOING SOMETHING RELATED TO IT, BUT THE INITIAL PROGRAM FOR LANDSCAPING EQUIPMENT WAS ONE WHERE AUSTIN ENERGY WAS SIMPLY GIVING A REBATE AT THE POINT OF SALE.
WHEN SOMEONE BOUGHT THE EQUIPMENT, THEN THEY WOULD LEAVE THE STORE AND TO THEIR SURPRISE, SOMETIMES THEY WOULD GET A $30 REBATE OR DISCOUNT OFF OF AN ELECTRIC MODEL AND A $15 REBATE OFF OF A HANDHELD MODEL, WHICH COULD BE A LINE TRIM OR, OR LEAF BLOWER.
CAN YOU SCROLL DOWN A LITTLE BIT ON THAT SAME PAGE? IF NOT, THAT'S FINE.
SO I JUST WANTED TO SHARE THAT THERE'S
SOME OF US, UH, OFFER UP TO BE RESOURCES THAT CAN WORK WHEN I, IT'S SINCERE OFFER WHEN, WHEN SOMEONE'S BEEN BEEN ENGAGED FOR A WHILE.
I'M HAPPY TO MEET WITH THOSE THAT I HAVEN'T MET WITH ALREADY.
I'M IN CONTACT WITH COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTER STAFF ON A REGULAR BASIS TO TRY TO OFFER IDEAS AND SUGGESTIONS TO MOVE THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN FORWARD, AND ALSO TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE CONNECTING WITH THE REGIONAL AIR QUALITY PLAN THAT IS UP FOR RENEWABLE IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS.
THE CURRENT ONE WAS EXTENDED BY TWO YEARS, AND THIS PLAN IS ONE THAT UNFORTUNATELY HAS BEEN A BIT STATIC.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE STATE MANDATED MEASURES, THOSE ONES THERE HAVE HAVE NOT CHANGED.
THEY NEED TO STAY IN PLACE, BUT WE NEED TO REVIEW IT IN A MORE SYSTEMATIC WAY AS THERE'S SOME EMISSION REDUCTION OPPORTUNITIES THAT HAVEN'T BEEN REALIZED.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH MR. JOHNSON, FOR BEING HERE.
[1. Approve the minutes of the Climate, Water, Environment, and Parks Committee meeting of February 26, 2025.]
ONE, WHICH IS APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.CAN I GET A MOTION MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER DUCHEN? SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL, ANY OBJECTION OR ABSTENTION? NOPE.
UM, THE MINUTES ARE APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY.
NEXT WE WILL MOVE TO ITEM NUMBER TWO.
UM, AND ACTUALLY, YEAH, LET'S MOVE TO ITEM NUMBER TWO.
UH, I KNOW COUNCILOR ELLIS IS ABOUT TO BE HERE AND WOULD LIKE TO BE HERE FOR THIS ITEM.
[00:05:02]
GIVEN THAT, ACTUALLY I'M GONNA, IF[4. Briefing on recruitment, retention, and training of Austin Water staff.]
YOU'LL INDULGE ME CROWD HERE, I WOULD LIKE TO SKIP TO ITEM NUMBER FOUR, THE, UH, RECRUITMENT, RETENTION AND TRAINING OF AUSTIN WATER STAFF.SORRY TO GO OUT OF ORDER ON Y'ALL.
MY NAME IS SHAY ROLLS ROLSON AND I'M THE DIRECTOR OF AUSTIN WATER.
UH, I BECAME DIRECTOR IN JANUARY OF 2023 AT THE SAME, UH, TIME WHEN THE OFFICE OF THE CITY AUDITOR PUBLISHED AN EXTERNAL REVIEW OF AUSTIN WATER CONDUCTED BY UT'S CENTER FOR WATER IN THE ENVIRONMENT.
UM, THAT EXTERNAL REVIEW HAD A NUMBER OF RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE HAVE SINCE IMPLEMENTED, AND MANY OF THEM WERE AROUND, UH, THE TOPIC WE'RE GONNA TALK TO YOU ABOUT TODAY, RECRUITMENT, RETENTION, AND TRAINING.
UM, AND SO, UH, WE HAVE WORKED DILIGENTLY TO, UM, TO MAKE THESE IMPROVEMENTS, WHICH NOT ONLY MAKE AUSTIN, UH, WATER A BETTER PLACE TO WORK, UM, BUT HAVE THE ADDED BENEFIT OF, UH, REALLY SETTING THE STANDARD FOR, UM, THESE, UH, THIS TYPE OF WORK AND OUR ABILITY TO, UH, CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT FOR OUR EMPLOYEES WHERE THEY CAN, UM, MEET THEIR PROFESSIONAL GOALS AS WHILE THEY SERVE THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UH, SO I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO OUR ACTING ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF EMPLOYEE AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT ISRAEL CUSTODIAL.
OH, YOU NEED TO TURN THAT OVER.
HOW ARE Y'ALL TODAY? GREAT, HOW ARE YOU? ALL RIGHT, SO NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
SO THIS IS JUST OUR ORG CHART.
IT'S JUST KIND OF WHAT WE USE TO ILLUSTRATE THAT.
WE'RE A PRETTY COMPLEX ORGANIZATION.
WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, WATER QUALITY SCIENTISTS, UH, OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL, UH, CONSERVATION SPECIALIST, YOU NAME IT.
WE PROBABLY HAVE IT WORKING OVER AT AUSTIN WATER.
UH, WE'RE AN ORGANIZATION OF 1400 PLUS, AND WE'RE LOOKING TO FILL ABOUT 118 MORE POSITIONS THIS YEAR.
SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT HOW WE'RE DOING, KIND OF LIKE THE STANDARD KPI THE CITY USES IS YOUR VACANCY RATE, AND YOU CAN SEE HERE OUR VACANCY RATE BY FISCAL YEAR.
UH, A COUPLE OF THINGS OF NOTE HERE.
YOU CAN KIND OF SEE WHAT, UH, WHAT YOU HEAR ABOUT OR WHAT YOU HAVE HEARD ABOUT AS THE GREAT RESIGNATION YOU CAN SEE THERE.
UH, IN, UH, 2022, UH, YOU SAW THAT OUR VACANCY RATE KIND OF STARTED TO CLIMB, UH, THAT COINCIDES WITH THE GREAT RESIGNATION POST COVID.
PEOPLE STARTED TO KIND OF, UH, LEAVE THEIR JOBS LOOK FOR DIFFERENT OPPORTUNITIES AND CERTAINLY WE THAT WE'RE NOT UNIQUE IN HAVING EXPERIENCED THIS.
UM, BUT THE, THE BIG STORY HERE, OR THE BIG GOOD BIG HAPPY STORY IS THAT WE'RE NOW TO 8.3, UH, SEVEN VACANCY RATE, WHICH MEANS THAT FROM 2023, WE'VE ACTUALLY REDUCED OUR VACANCY RATE BY OVER 40%.
SO, PART OF MANAGING YOUR VACANCIES REALLY IS MAKING SURE THAT YOU ARE TIMELY POSTING YOUR JOBS AND YOU'RE HIRING FOLKS.
AND SO, UH, WHAT THIS CHART KIND OF ILLUSTRATES IS THAT WE'VE, WE'VE, WE'VE DONE THAT, RIGHT? SO, UM, 40% OF OUR, UH, JOBS ARE HIRED WITHIN THE FIRST THREE MONTHS, AND THEN THE SECOND, UM, THREE TO SIX MONTHS WE HIRED THE OTHER HALF.
WE DO HAVE LIKE ONE JOB THERE THAT IS OLDER THAN TWO YEARS.
BUT ACTUALLY WE HAVE A OFFER IN PLACE FOR THAT JOB.
WE DO HAVE SOME CHALLENGES WITH SOME OF OUR ELEC INDUSTRIAL ELECTRICIAN JOBS AND INC JOBS.
IT'S REALLY HARD TO GET, UM, THAT'S NOT UNIQUE TO THIS UTILITY, BUT WE HAVE AN OFFER IN PLACE FOR THAT ONE.
AND WE, WE FEEL LIKE IT'LL BE FILLED BY THE END OF THE MONTH THIS MONTH.
CAN I ASK YOU REAL QUICK, WERE Y'ALL IMPACTED OR COVERED IN THE LAST BUDGETS KIND OF SWEEP OF ANY POSITION TWO YEARS OLD? OR IS THAT ENTERPRISE FUNDS AS WELL? IT, IT DOES COVER ALL DEPARTMENTS, INCLUDING AUSTIN WATER.
WE HAVE NEVER LOST A POSITION DUE TO IT BEING OVER TWO YEARS BECAUSE WE REALLY FOCUS ON GETTING THOSE FILLED.
AS ISRAEL MENTIONED, THE ELECTRICIANS AND INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL TECHNICIANS ARE OUR HARDEST TO FILL POSITIONS.
UM, BUT WE ARE VERY FOCUSED ON GETTING THOSE OLDER VACANCIES FILLED.
AND WOULD YOU SAY THOSE ARE HARDEST TO FILL BECAUSE OF THE SALARY COMPETITIVENESS OR FOR SOME OTHER REASON? UH, I, I THINK THAT, UH, SALARY AND COMPETITIVENESS WITH INDUSTRY IS PART OF IT.
I ALSO THINK THAT IT'S A PRETTY UNIQUE SKILLSET.
UM, YOU CAN'T REALLY GO FROM BEING AN ELECTRICIAN, UH, BUILDING, UM, HIGH RISES IN AUSTIN TO WORKING ON, UH, LIFT STATIONS AND TREATMENT PLANTS AT AUSTIN WATER.
AND SO THERE'S A REAL TRAINING NEED THERE AS WELL.
AND THAT'S WHERE WE'RE REALLY FOCUSED IS HOW DO WE PROVIDE THAT TRAINING SO
[00:10:01]
THAT, UH, SO THAT SOMEONE CAN ACTUALLY BE COMPETITIVE FOR THOSE POSITIONS.UM, WE, OUR AVERAGE DATA FILL IS ABOUT 150, WHICH IS GOOD.
SO LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT POSITIONS FILLED VERSUS SEPARATIONS.
UM, WHAT THIS KIND OF SHOWS IS THAT WE'VE DONE A PRETTY ROBUST JOB YEAR AFTER YEAR OF FILLING OUR VACANCIES.
UH, BUT IT'S A LITTLE, IT'S A LITTLE BIT TRICKIER THAN THAT REALLY, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE MATH, YOU KNOW, YOU WOULD PROBABLY ASK, WELL, IF YOU ARE HIRING, UH, MORE THAN YOU'RE LOSING, WHY ARE YOU, WHY ARE YOU NOT AT ZERO VACANCIES? AND THE ANSWER TO THAT IS BECAUSE A, A THIRD OF THE POSITIONS THAT WE FILL ARE ACTUALLY INTERNAL PROMOTIONS, WHICH IS FANTASTIC FOR RETENTION, IT'S GOOD FOR THE ORGANIZATION, IS GOOD FOR THE EMPLOYEE.
HOWEVER, IT DOESN'T HELP OUR VACANCY RATE BECAUSE IT JUST MOVES IT FROM THE POSITION THAT WE FILL TO THE POSITION THAT FILLED IT, RIGHT? SO THAT'S KIND OF THE EXPLAINS THAT.
AND IT ALSO ILLUSTRATES THAT YOU REALLY CAN'T HIRE YOURSELF OUT OF A VACANCY ISSUE.
YOU HAVE TO ALSO HAVE, UH, A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO RETENTION IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO REDUCE YOUR VACANCY RATES OVERALL.
AND WE'RE GONNA EXAMINE THAT A LITTLE BIT IN THE NEXT SLIDE.
UH, SO THE NEXT SLIDE IS SEPARATIONS BY SOURCE.
YOU CAN SEE THAT BACK IN 2020, THAT WAS THE LAST YEAR THAT THE MAJOR REASON FOR SEPARATION WAS RETIREMENT.
AGAIN, THAT KIND OF COINCIDES WITH THAT GREAT RESIGNATION THAT WE TALKED ABOUT ON THE FIRST SLIDE.
UH, AND THEN YOU SEE THAT AFTER THAT THE VOLUNTARY RESIGNATION STARTS TO REALLY CREEP UP AND IT REALLY HAMMERED US IN 2022 AND 2023.
UM, BUT THIS IS ALSO A GOOD NEW SLIDE BECAUSE WHEN YOU SEE 2024, YOU SEE THAT WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO REDUCE, UM, OUR VOLUNTARY RESIGNATIONS BY 22%.
AND WE'VE ALSO ACTUALLY REDUCED THE TRANSFER TO OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS BY 36%.
AND WE'RE PRETTY MUCH ON TRACK THIS FY AS WELL.
WE HAD TO CLOSE OUT THE DATA FOR THE SLIDES AT THE END OF FEBRUARY, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE PRETTY MUCH ON TRACK.
AND SO THAT WAS A VERY SIGNIFICANT KIND OF STRATEGY THAT WE USED TO, UH, KIND OF REDUCE OUR VACANCY RATE OVERALL.
AND WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT LIKE THE HOLISTIC APPROACH TO RETENTION AS WE GO FORWARD.
THIS IS FISCAL YEAR, RIGHT? MM-HMM
SO JUST TO POINT OUT THAT THIS IS FISCAL YEAR DATA, SO OCTOBER TO SEPTEMBER.
SO TRAINING'S A REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT PART OF A HOLISTIC, UH, RETENTION STRATEGY.
UH, WE HAVE BUILT OUT AN OPERATIONAL TRAINING DIVISION THAT WE STOOD UP THIS YEAR.
UH, AND THAT OPERATIONAL TRAINING DIVISION IS GOING TO BE COMPRISED OF ONBOARDING TRAINING, UH, TECHNICAL JOB SKILLS TRAINING AND LICENSURE TRAINING.
THESE ARE TRAINING PROGRAMS THAT EXISTED IN THE UTILITY, BUT THEY WERE KIND OF LOCATED IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE UTILITY.
SO WE'RE KIND OF BRINGING THEM TOGETHER TO BE ABLE TO HAVE KIND OF MORE DEPTH AND TO BE ABLE TO KIND OF SHARE IN THE SKILLS.
AND THESE ARE ACTUALLY PICTURES OF OUR, OUR TRAINERS IN ACTION.
I WANNA TALK REALLY QUICK ABOUT THE ONBOARDING TRAINING, 'CAUSE IT'S KIND OF THE NEWER THING THAT WE, WE HAVE, THIS IS A DIRECT RESULT OF THE AFTER ACTION REPORT THAT WE HAD.
AND WHAT OUR ONBOARD TRAINING TRAINERS DO IS THEY HAVE WORK WITH OUR KM KTS, WHICH IS A KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT, KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER MODULES.
BASICALLY, THEY'RE JUST THE BEST PRACTICES AND THEY'RE THE SKILLS THAT OUR OPERATORS NEED AT THE WATER TREATMENT PLANTS, THE HANDS-ON SKILLS, UH, THAT THEY NEED IN ORDER TO BE SUCCESSFUL.
SO WE'VE TAKEN THOSE MODULES, TURNED THEM INTO, UH, TRAINING MODULES AND HAVE USED THAT TO ESTABLISH, UH, AN ONBOARDING TRAINING PROGRAM.
AND WE'RE ABOUT TWO YEARS INTO THIS NOW.
IT'S BEEN A VERY, VERY SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM.
IT HAS HELPED US RETAIN OPERATORS.
WE HAVE OVER A HUNDRED PERCENT GRADUATION RATE OF THE ONBOARDING, UH, TRAINING PROGRAM.
AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WANT TO EXPAND TO OTHER AREAS OF THE UTILITY.
THE TECHNICAL JOB SKILLS TRAINING IS SOMETHING THAT HAS EXISTED AT THE WATER UTILITY FOR OVER 20 YEARS.
THAT'S LIKE YOUR CONFINED SPACE, YOUR EXCAVATION TRAINING, YOUR WORKING AT HEIGHTS, YOUR RESPIRATORY WORK.
AND, UH, WE HAVE ALWAYS HAD A VERY ROBUST, UH, TRAINING CAPABILITY AT THE UTILITY.
AND THEN THE LICENSURE TRAINING, AS YOU MAY KNOW, IN ORDER TO TOUCH ANY ASPECT OF THE, UH, WATER SYSTEM YOU HAVE TO BE LICENSED, WHETHER THAT BE WATER TREATMENT, THE WASTEWATER SIDE, THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM, THE COLLECTION SYSTEM.
AND SO WE HAVE THE CAPABILITY IN-HOUSE TO PROVIDE THOSE LICENSURE SO OUR GUYS CAN MOVE UP IN LICENSURE AND THEY CAN RECERTIFY THOSE LICENSURE, UH, IN-HOUSE.
AND SO HOW THIS TIES INTO THE, UH, HOLISTIC APPROACH IS THAT WE KNOW THAT WE CAN RECRUIT PEOPLE, BUT NOW WE ALSO KNOW THAT WE CAN EFFECTIVELY ONBOARD 'EM.
WE CAN GIVE THEM THE TECHNICAL SKILLS THAT THEY NEED TO BE GOOD AT THEIR JOB AND WE CAN KEEP THEM LICENSURE, WHICH, UH, ALLOWS US TO BE ABLE TO RETAIN TOP TALENT.
SO THE LAST SLIDE I WANNA TALK ABOUT IS PROBABLY THE THING THAT WE'RE MOST EXCITED ABOUT, AND THAT IS THAT WHEN THINGS ARE GOOD, YOU KIND OF WANNA DOUBLE DOWN ON WHERE YOU ARE.
SO WE HAVE A GREAT VACANCY RATE RIGHT NOW, SO WE DON'T WANNA WAIT TILL WE HAVE A BAD ONE TO BE ABLE TO KIND OF LAUNCH SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
[00:15:01]
THIS IS A WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.THIS IS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TEXAS AWA, UH, AND THE SETH PROGRAM.
AND BASICALLY WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE IS WE ARE RECRUITING, UH, HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS WHO ARE FIXING TO GRADUATE AT LEAST 19 YEARS OLD AND YOUNG ADULTS WHO ARE NOT LOOKING FOR COLLEGE CAREERS TO COME WORK FOR US.
WELL, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A EIGHT WEEK PROGRAM WHERE WE'RE GOING TO PAY THEM TO COME IN AND, UH, WE, OUR TRAINERS ARE GOING TO GET THEM, UH, SPUN UP TO BE ABLE TO TEST FOR THEIR DEWATER LICENSE, WHICH IS THE ENTRY LEVEL WATER LICENSE THAT EVERYONE NEEDS.
AND WE'RE REALLY, REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS.
JUST TO GIVE YOU A PERSPECTIVE, WE WERE KIND OF PILOTING THIS, TRYING TO MAKE SURE WE COULD GET LIKE 20 KIDS AND WE'VE HAD OVER A HUNDRED APPLICATIONS FOR IT ALREADY.
AND SO WE'RE SUPER EXCITED ABOUT COME JUNE, GETTING THESE KIDS THROUGH AND, UM, KIND OF REALLY, REALLY SOLIDIFYING OUR STANDING AND INVESTING IN OUR FUTURE.
AND I'M OPEN FOR QUESTIONS IF YOU HAVE ANY.
ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? YES, COUNCILLOR DE UH, I AM JUST, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU FOR THE WORK HERE IN YOUR PRESENTATION.
I'M JUST CURIOUS, UM, WHEN YOU ARE HAVING RESIGNATIONS OR IS THERE KIND OF ANY, UH, GRANULARITY WITH THOSE RESIGNATIONS? I'M REFERRING TO THE SLIDE THAT SEPARATION BY SOURCE, UH, THAT WOULD GIVE US ANY CLUES ABOUT WHY PEOPLE ARE POTENTIALLY DEPARTING.
UH, SORT OF, SO THERE WERE LOTS OF DIFFERENT REASONS, REASONS WHY PEOPLE WERE RESIGNING AT THE TIME.
SOME OF IT WAS KIND OF THE UNCERTAINTY OVER LIKE THE, UH, THE TELEWORK THING, RIGHT? THAT WAS A, A, A BIG DEAL.
PEOPLE WERE LOOKING FOR, UM, REMOTE WORK.
I THINK NOW THAT WE'VE KIND OF STABILIZED OUR STANDING ON WHERE WE ARE, THAT THAT HAS CERTAINLY HELPED.
UM, A LOT OF THIS IS DRIVEN BY MONEY, UH, AS WELL, RIGHT? MONEY IS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR, BUT IT'S ALSO THAT WE HAVE TO KIND OF DO OUR PART TO, LIKE I'VE SAID, BE COMPREHENSIVE AND JUST TO MAKE, UM, WATER AS A DEPARTMENT A, A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE WANT TO BE AT AND WORK AND WHERE THEY CAN SEE ALL THE BENEFITS TOO.
AND I THINK THAT'S WHERE WE REALLY HAVE DONE THE HARDEST WORK, IS TO REALLY WORK ON OUR CULTURE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE, THAT WE PRODUCE HAPPY EMPLOYEES.
QUESTIONS? I GUESS I HAVE ONE QUESTION, AND THAT IS, YOU, YOU SHOWED KIND OF THE SYSTEM SYSTEMWIDE VACANCY WHEN WE HAD HAD PREVIOUS DISCUSSIONS, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS, ESPECIALLY AT ULRICH PARTICULAR CHALLENGE, SO I'M SURE YOU KNOW, THE QUESTION IS COMING.
WHAT IS THE VACANCY RATE AT ULRICH? AT ULRICH, WE HAVE ONE VACANCY.
VERY, VERY PROUD OF THAT AS YOU, THAT'S INCREDIBLE.
AS YOU, AS YOU MENTIONED, WE WERE AT 30% VACANCY AT OUR, UH, WATER TREATMENT PLANTS.
AND THAT IS, UM, THAT IS, WE ARE DOWN TO THE LEVEL THAT YOU WOULD EXPECT TO HAVE AT ANY GIVEN TIME.
YOU MIGHT HAVE HAVE ONE OR TWO VACANCIES.
UM, WE DO HAVE SIX VACANCIES AT DAVIS AND ONE AT HANCOCK'S.
UM, SO THERE'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S ALWAYS A, A WORK IN PROGRESS.
UM, BUT I WOULD SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, ISRAEL TALKED ABOUT THE TECHNICAL TRAINING PROGRAM THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING AT THE WATER TREATMENT PLANTS.
AND I, I CREDIT THAT PROGRAM WITH OUR RETENTION AT THE WATER TREATMENT PLANTS THAT WE'RE, WE'RE ONBOARDING STAFF, WE'RE, WE'RE TRAINING THEM HOW TO DO THE JOBS IN A REAL, REALLY MEANINGFUL, METHODICAL WAY THAT GIVES THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE FEEDBACK THAT THEN IMPROVES THE TRAINING AND EVERYBODY CAN SEE WHAT THEY'RE PART OF, UH, THAT PROGRAM IS THEY CAN TRAIN NEW FOLKS THAT COME IN.
AND SO IT'S, IT'S JUST BEEN A REALLY, IT'S BEEN A GAME CHANGER FOR US JUST TO HAVE THAT, UM, THAT THAT FRAMEWORK.
UH, JUST ONE QUESTION ABOUT, UM, MAYBE POTENTIAL RECRUITMENT OF, UH, ELECTRICIANS WHO WORK IN THE CONSTRUCTION TRADES AND MIGHT WANNA WORK FOR AUSTIN WATER.
UM, DO YOU HAVE INTERNAL TRAINING PROGRAMS THAT MIGHT GIVE THEM THE ADDITIONAL SKILLS THEY NEED OR WOULD THAT HAPPEN OUT OF THE DEPARTMENT? SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING WITH, SO WHEN, WHEN SOMEONE COMES IN FOR AN ELECTRICIAN OR AN INSTRUMENTATION CONTROL, UM, TECHNICIAN VACANCY THAT WE HAVE A, A TEST THAT THEY TAKE A HURDLE HURDLE EXAM.
UM, AND IF THEY DON'T SCORE HIGH ENOUGH ON THAT EXAM, THEN THEY, THAT, THAT'S HOW THEY EARN AN INTERVIEW ESSENTIALLY, IS THROUGH THAT EXAM.
AND THAT'S A, THAT'S A PRETTY STANDARD, UM, PROCESS WITHIN THE CITY.
WHAT WE HAVE STARTED DOING IS IF THEY MAKE A MINIMUM SCORE, UM, WE'LL OFFER THEM A TEMPORARY POSITION.
AND SO WE'LL BRING THEM IN AS A TEMPORARY, WE'LL GIVE THEM SIX MONTHS TO GET ALL THEIR TRAINING DONE TO LEARN, AND THEN THEY CAN RETAKE THE TEST AND THEN THEY CAN INTERVIEW FOR A FULL-TIME POSITION.
SO THAT'S THE STRATEGY THAT WE'RE USING RIGHT NOW FOR THOSE HIGHLY TECHNICAL, UM, AND VERY UTILITY SPECIFIC JOBS, UM, IN ORDER TO TRY TO GROW THE, THE APPLICANT POOL.
ALRIGHT, WELL THANK Y'ALL VERY MUCH.
[2. Briefing on Comprehensive Climate Implementation Program and Climate Equity Plan Update.]
BACK NOW[00:20:01]
TO ITEM NUMBER TWO AND BRING UP THE OFFICE OF CLIMATE ACTION AND RESILIENCE.I JUST GOTTA SAY AT THE, AT THE OUTSET BRAND, I LOVE THE BOLO.
YOU DON'T, YOU DON'T SEE IT VERY OFTEN.
ALRIGHT, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO Y'ALL.
UH, I'M ZACH BAUMER, UH, THE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF CLIMATE ACTION RESILIENCE.
AND WE'RE HERE TODAY, UH, TO PRESENT ON THE COMPREHENSIVE CLIMATE IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAM.
UH, THIS IS A FOLLOW UP FROM A, UM, A COUNCIL IFC FROM JULY OF 2024.
AND THIS IS REALLY THE, THE NEXT STEP IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
UH, THAT PLAN WAS ADOPTED BY CITY COUNCIL IN 2021, AND WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ACROSS 15 PLUS DEPARTMENTS TO IMPLEMENT THAT PLAN OVER THE YEARS.
AND THIS IS REALLY THE NEXT STEP OF, UM, INCREASED DETAIL AND PRIORITIZATION AND SPECIFICITY TO REALLY MOVE THE BALL FORWARD AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE ON REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS THAT CAUSE CLIMATE CHANGE.
UH, SO I'M GONNA HAND IT OVER TO BRADEN.
HE'S GONNA GIVE THE FIRST HALF OF THE PRESENTATION AND THEN I'M GONNA PICK IT UP ABOUT HALFWAY THROUGH.
GOOD MORNING CHAIR, VICE CHAIR, COUNCIL MEMBERS, PLEASURE TO BE WITH YOU TODAY.
MY NAME IS BRADEN LATHAM JONES.
I'M THE CLIMATE PROGRAM MANAGER FOR THE OFFICE OF CLIMATE ACTION AND RESILIENCE HERE AT THE CITY.
UM, SO TODAY I'M GONNA GO INTO A BIT OF THE BACKGROUND AND, AND HOW WE'RE HERE, WHY WE'RE HERE TODAY, AND WHAT WE'RE HERE TO DISCUSS, UM, SPECIFIC, I'M GONNA DIVE IN DETAIL FOR WHAT THE PROGRAM IS THAT WE'RE PROPOSING, UH, AND BEGINNING IMPLEMENTATION ON AT PRESENT, AS WELL AS, UH, EXACTLY THE PROCESS WE WENT THROUGH TO PRIORITIZE ALL OF THE ACTIONS THAT ARE NOW PUBLIC AS OF TODAY.
UH, AND THEN I'LL HAND IT OVER TO DIRECTOR BAUMER FOR A MORE IN-DEPTH DISCUSSION ON EXACTLY THESE ACTIONS THAT WE'RE PUTTING FORWARD, AS WELL AS NEXT STEPS.
SO AS A BROAD OVERVIEW, UM, MOST CITIES, UH, ACROSS THE, ACROSS THE GLOBE HAVE A CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, WHICH IS SETS THEIR NET ZERO GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS GOAL.
OURS IS CALLED THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
IT WAS PASSED AND ADOPTED BY COUNCIL IN 2021.
OUR, OUR NET ZERO GOAL IS COMMUNITY WIDE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION REDUCTION TO NET ZERO BY 2040.
OUR ARE FIVE SECTIONS IN THE PLAN, SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS, TRANSPORTATION AND LAND USE, TRANSPORTATION, ELECTRIFICATION, FOOD AND PRODUCT CONSUMPTION AND NATURAL SYSTEMS. THERE ARE 17 GOALS AND 75 STRATEGIES THROUGHOUT.
I THINK THE IMPORTANT NOTE TO MAKE HERE IS THAT WE BELIEVE THIS PRODUCT, THE PROGRAM THAT WE'RE PUTTING FORWARD TODAY IS A DIRECT EXTENSION OF THIS CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
BEFORE I GO INTO THE CONTENT OF THIS SLIDE, I'LL JUST, UH, ADD ONTO THE CONTEXT DIRECTOR BOMBER SHARED, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, FEBRUARY OF LAST YEAR, COUNCIL PASSED A RESOLUTION DIRECTING CITY COU CITY STAFF TO PRODUCE AN UPDATE TO THE, UH, CLIMATE EQUITY DASHBOARD, WHICH WE HAVE DONE, AS WELL AS PRODUCE AN ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTMENT PLAN FOR CONSIDERATION OF, UH, HOW THE CITY CAN ACHIEVE ITS CLIMATE'S GOALS AND HOW IT CAN BE BEST INVESTED.
UM, IN MAY, WE PRODUCED THE ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTMENT PLAN AND RECEIVED, UH, GOOD FEEDBACK AND INPUT ON A REQUEST FOR MORE ANALYSIS AND IN-DEPTH PRIORITIZATION EXERCISE TO BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW, UH, THE COUNCIL AND THE CITY MANAGERS CAN, UM, MOVE SOME OF THESE ACTIONS FORWARD.
UH, AND SO IN JULY WHEN THIS RESOLUTION WAS PASSED, IT PRO IT, UH, REQUIRED TWO, UH, PRODUCTS FOR CITY STAFF TO BRING TO BACK TO COUNCIL.
ONE WITH THE ONE IS THE COMPREHENSIVE BOND PACKAGE.
UM, DIRECTOR BRAMER AND I ARE DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN THAT PROCESS.
IT'S BEING FACILITATED BY CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES, AS WELL AS A BROAD GROUP OF STAKEHOLDERS WITHIN THE CITY ORGANIZATION.
UH, THE SECOND OF WHICH IS A COMPREHENSIVE CLIMATE IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAM, WHICH IS THE SUBSTANCE OF OUR TOPIC TODAY.
SO A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE TIMELINE.
AFTER THAT RESOLUTION WAS PASSED IN AUGUST, OUR OFFICE BEGAN INTENSIVE RESEARCH AND EVALUATION.
WE HAD MULTIPLE CONVERSATIONS WITH, UH, OUR PEER CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY ON BEST PRACTICES WITH IMPLEMENTATION IN MIND OF OUR CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
UH, WE'D ALSO DID SOME REFLECTION AND EVALUATION ON HOW WE HAVE BEEN DOING AND HOW WE COULD BE DOING BETTER, WHAT AREAS WERE, UH, IDENTIFIED AS A POTENTIAL IMPROVEMENT.
UM, AND IN SEPTEMBER OR OCTOBER, WE DECIDED, WE, UH, STARTED A PROCESS OF PROJECT IDENTIFICATION WITH THE FOUNDATION BEING THE ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTMENT PLAN.
BUT AS THE, THE RESOLUTION DIRECTED, ALSO LOOKING AT OTHER EXISTING DEPARTMENTAL PLANS TO IDENTIFY ANY GAPS, ANY POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR INCLUSION, UM, WE PULLED FROM THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE AND THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS AS WELL.
AND WITH THAT, WE ENDED UP WITH A LIST OF SEVERAL HUNDRED POTENTIAL ACTIONS.
UH, SO THEN AFTER THAT WE WENT THROUGH A SCREENING PROCESS TO NAIL DOWN, WHICH FELT ACHIEVABLE IN A SHORTER TIMEFRAME AND WHICH REDUCED GREENHOUSE GASES.
UH, AND FROM THAT WE GOT ABOUT A HUNDRED LIST OF ABOUT A HUNDRED ACTIONS.
[00:25:01]
IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, WE BEGAN A MUCH MORE IN DEPTH ANALYSIS, INCLUDING THE PRIORITIZATION EXERCISE I'LL DESCRIBE IN DETAIL IN COMING SLIDES, UH, WHICH LED TO ABOUT A LIST OF 50 THAT WE BELIEVE WERE TRULY ACHIEVABLE WITHIN A SHORT TIMEFRAME AND REDUCED GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS.UM, FROM THERE IN JANUARY AND FEBRUARY, WE STARTED DIRECT DEPARTMENTAL ENGAGEMENT.
WE HOSTED, UH, A STAFF WORKSHOP OF ABOUT 60 OR SO ATTENDEES AND OVER 20 PLUS DEPARTMENTS REPRESENTED TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR INFORMATION WAS AS ACCURATE AS POSSIBLE AND THAT WE FELT CONFIDENT THAT THE LIST WAS ACHIEVABLE AND ALSO AMBITIOUS.
WE HAVE, WE HAD OTHER OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENGAGEMENT AND THEN ENGAGEMENT CONTINUED UP UNTIL LAST WEEK.
SO IT'S AN ONGOING CONVERSATION AS A CROSS DEPARTMENTAL EFFORT.
UH, IN FEBRUARY AND MARCH, WE BEGAN MUCH MORE OF THE DOTTING OF I'S AND CROSSING OF T'S ON OUR END, MAKING SURE THAT THE GREENHOUSE GAS ANALYSIS WAS, WE WERE CONFIDENT IN OUR NUMBERS, UH, AND ALSO COST ANALYSIS.
WE CONDUCTED A BROAD COMPREHENSIVE COST ANALYSIS WITH, UH, WITH THESE DEPARTMENTS ON THESE ACTIONS TO BETTER ARTICULATE EXACTLY WHAT IT WOULD COST TO IMPLEMENT.
UM, SO I THINK TO START AS A SUMMARY, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE CLIMATE, UH, COMPREHENSIVE CLIMATE IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAM, IT'S BEST TO VIEW THIS IN TWO MAIN BUCKETS OF WORK.
ONE IS A PROGRAMMATIC SIDE, STAFF SIDE ADJUSTMENT.
SO MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE DOING WHAT WE CAN AS STRATEGICALLY AS POSSIBLE, ALL TOWARDS THE GOAL OF SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CITY'S CLIMATE GOALS.
THE OTHER MAIN BUCKET OF WORK IS THIS TWO YEAR IMPLEMENTATION PLAN, WHICH IS NOW LIVE AS OF TODAY.
IT'S A PUBLIC FACING DOCUMENT WITH CLIMATE PROJECTS THAT ARE ACHIEVABLE WITHIN A TWO YEAR TIMEFRAME, UH, AND THAT WE BELIEVE WILL REDUCE THE GREENHOUSE GASES THAT WE NEED TO IN ORDER TO GET TO 2040 NET AND ZERO BY 2040.
BUT STARTING WITH THE PROGRAM, WE WANNA DESCRIBE A BIT OF THE ACTUAL DESIGN OF THIS PROGRAMMATIC ASPECT.
UM, IN THOSE CONVERSATIONS IN THE RESEARCH AND EVALUATION RESEARCH AND EVALUATION PHASE, WE IDENTIFIED ACROSS THE COUNTRY FOUR MAIN PRACTICES THAT ARE CONSIDERED BEST PRACTICES IN THE FIELD OF ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE AT THE LOCAL LEVEL.
THE FIRST IS DEPARTMENTAL ALIGNMENT.
THIS IS CONVENING AND COLLABORATING WITH DEPARTMENTS VERY INTENTIONALLY, UM, AND STRATEGICALLY FOCUSED ON IMPLEMENTATION.
AND FOR THAT WE'RE CREATING A WORKING GROUP THAT IS CROSS-DEPARTMENTAL AND WILL BE FOCUSED ON ACHIEVING THESE ACTIONS AS WELL AS ANYTHING ELSE RELATED TO CLIMATE.
THE SECOND IS CLEAR COMMUNICATION OF NEEDS, PRIORITIES AND OBSTACLES.
SO UNLIKE THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN, WHICH IS A PUBLIC FACING DOCUMENT, WE WILL BE WORKING WITH DEPARTMENTS TO IDENTIFY WHAT EXISTING WORK WITHIN A ONE YEAR PERIOD, UH, THAT DEPARTMENT IS WORKING ON THAT THAT ADDRESSES CLIMATE CHANGE.
UM, AND THESE WILL ALLOW US TO BETTER UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHAT THE DEPARTMENT NEEDS ARE, UH, WHERE AND HOW IT MATCHES WITH THEIR PRIORITIES AND THE PRIORITIES OF THE CITY, AS WELL AS IF THEY FACE ANY OBSTACLES WITH REGARD TO RESOURCES OR STAFF THAT WE CAN COMMUNICATE TO CITY COUNCIL AND OR CITY MANAGEMENT.
UH, THE THIRD IS INCREASING TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY.
SO, UM, MULTIPLE RESOLUTIONS HAVE PROVIDED, UH, REQUIREMENTS FOR US TO GIVE UPDATES TO THE COUNCIL, UH, ON PROGRESS TOWARDS OUR, OUR CLIMATE GOALS.
AND SO WE'RE GOING TO BE UPDATING OUR QUARTERLY BRIEFINGS.
THIS IS THE FIRST OF THE FOUR THIS YEAR, BUT WE'RE GONNA BE UPDATING THEM IN THE FORMAT AND WHAT INFORMATION WE PROVIDE.
IT'LL BE MUCH MORE FOCUSED ON THE IMPLEMENTATION, INCLUDING THIS PLAN, BUT ALSO SOME OF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THE WORK PLANS.
THE FOURTH OF THE QUARTERLY BRIEFINGS, THE LAST OF THE YEAR WILL BE A SORT OF REAR FACING REPORT CARD, IF YOU WILL, TO UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHERE WE WERE AT THE START OF THE YEAR, WHERE WE ARE AT PRESENT, AND HOW WE GOT THERE AND IF WE WERE ABLE TO ACHIEVE WHAT WE EXPECTED TO BY THAT PERIOD.
UH, THE FOURTH IS ACHIEVABLE SHORT-TERM MILESTONES TOWARDS LONG-TERM GOALS.
AND THIS IS WHERE THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FITS IN.
UM, IT SAYS BIANNUAL UP THERE BECAUSE OUR EXPECTATION IS THAT WE DO THIS EVERY TWO YEARS SO THAT WE HAVE A SNAPSHOT IN TIME TO UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHERE WE ARE GETTING TO.
UH, SO THIS FIRST ONE IS FROM 25 TO 27, UH, AND WE EXPECT IN THE BEGINNING OF 2027 TO PROVIDE ANOTHER ONE OF THESE, AN UPDATED VERSION, UH, POTENTIALLY REVISED OR, AND WITH ADDITIONS FOR 27 TO 29 AND SO ON.
THIS IS MORE ABOUT THE, UH, PROCESS ITSELF FOR PRIORITIZATION.
SO HOW WE ENDED UP FROM ONE, A LIST OF 100 TO ABOUT 46, WHICH IS OUR FINAL ACTION LIST, C 40, WHICH IS A GLOBAL NETWORK OF, UH, CITIES THAT WORK ON CLIMATE CHANGE HAS A TOOL THAT WAS USED BY A PEER CITY AND RECOMMENDED BY THEM CALLED ASAP OR ACTION.
IT ALLOWS US TO, UH, IDENTIFY PRIORITIES FOR THIS CITY IN OUR CONTEXT LOCALLY.
SO IT ALLOWS US TO ACTUALLY WEIGHT THE BENEFITS,
[00:30:01]
CO-BENEFITS, FEASIBILITY AND VIABILITY, AS WELL AS GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION REDUCTION.IMPORTANT TO NOTE HERE THAT WE DID FOCUS ON GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION POTENTIAL FOR EACH ACTION AS WELL AS, UH, CO-BENEFITS.
AND THE CO-BENEFITS HERE HAS, UH, PARTICULAR ANGLE ON EQUITY DURING THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN PROCESS.
THERE WAS AN EQUITY TOOL THAT WAS DEVELOPED.
ALL ASPECTS OF THE EQUITY TOOL WERE INCORPORATED.
THERE'S ABOUT 18 OR SO CO BENEFITS THAT WERE ANALYZED IN ADDITION TO THOSE, INCLUDING THINGS LIKE AIR AND WATER QUALITY, GREEN JOBS AND TRAINING, HOUSING AND SO ON, FEASIBILITY AND VIABILITY.
WERE ALSO ASSESSED FOR, UM, CITY AUTHORITY.
THAT IS, DOES THE CITY HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO IMPLEMENT OR IS IT MORE OF THE AUTHORITY OF THE STATE OR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT? UH, IS THERE COUNCIL PRECEDENT OR PRIORITY THAT WOULD ADD WEIGHT TO ANY GIVEN ACTION, UH, AND REGIONAL COLLABORATION? IS IT POSSIBLE, UH, IS IT ENCOURAGED AND SO ON.
SO WHAT WE HAVE TODAY, UH, AS OF THIS MORNING IS A LIVE WEBSITE, UH, THAT PRODUCED THIS 46 ACTIONS.
THEY ARE SPANNING ALL FIVE SECTIONS OF THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
AND BEFORE I TURN IT OVER TO DIRECTOR BRA MARAL, GO OVER A BIT OF WHAT THE CONTEXT IS SO THAT WHEN YOU DO TAKE A LOOK AT THE MORE IN-DEPTH DETAIL PROVIDED BY THE WEBSITE, UH, YOU KNOW, WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT.
AGAIN, WE FOCUS ON WHAT WAS ACHIEVABLE WITHIN A TWO YEAR TIMEFRAME.
UM, THE WEBSITE ITSELF IS HIGHLY INTERACTIVE.
IT'S AN ADDITION TO THE EXISTING, UH, EQUITY CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN DASHBOARD THAT NOW LIVES AS ANOTHER TAB ON THE TOP.
SO YOU CAN GO THERE AND IT'S HIGHLY FILTERABLE.
SO YOU CAN LOOK FOR EXACTLY WHAT PRIORITIES, EITHER YOU AS A COUNCIL, YOU AS A COMMITTEE OR THE COMMUNITY ITSELF, UH, WOULD WANNA PRIORITIZE.
UM, THERE ARE FOUR ACTION TYPES LISTED ON THIS, UH, PLAN THERE CATEGORIES ARE PROJECT, POLICY, PROGRAM, AND FOUNDATIONAL.
A PROJECT IS SOMETHING THAT'S SHORT TERM THAT CAN BE DONE, UH, WITHIN THE TWO YEAR PERIOD.
A POLICY IS SOMETHING THAT REQUIRES COUNCIL ACTION.
A PROGRAM IS SOMETHING THAT IS ONGOING.
SO IT EITHER STARTS, CHANGE ENDS OR CHANGES MEANINGFULLY WITHIN THE TWO YEAR TIMEFRAME.
AND A FOUNDATIONAL ACTION OF THERE ARE 10 OF THOSE IDENTIFIED.
THOSE WERE A CATEGORY THAT WE CREATED AFTER SOME ANALYSIS WHEN WE REALIZED THAT THERE WERE CERTAIN ACTIONS THAT WERE HIGHLY BENEFICIAL TO THE CITY, BUT THEY THEMSELVES ARE NOT QUANTIFIABLE IN TERMS OF EMISSION REDUCTION.
UH, AND WE DIDN'T WANNA DISCREDIT OR COUNT THOSE.
YOU CAN THINK OF THOSE AS THINGS LIKE STUDIES AUDITS, UH, PURCHASING OR IMPLEMENTING CERTAIN TECHNOLOGIES.
WE DID A GREENHOUSE GAS ANALYSIS OF POTENTIAL REDUCTION OVER A 15 YEAR PERIOD.
SO IF ALL OF THESE WERE IMPLEMENTED AND MAINTAINED OVER THE, UH, IN THE NEXT TWO YEARS, WHAT WOULD BE THE MAXIMUM BENEFIT OVER 15 YEARS? AGAIN, WE CON WE CONDUCTED A COMPREHENSIVE COST ANALYSIS OVER WHAT WOULD BE THE TWO YEAR COST THAT INCLUDES ONE TIME AND ONGOING.
UM, AND YOU SEE FUNDING STATUS AND TYPE AT THE BOTTOM THERE.
AND IT'S PART BECAUSE WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT Y'ALL HAD ENOUGH INFORMATION, NOT JUST TO KNOW THE DOLLAR AMOUNT, BUT ALSO WHAT POTENTIAL FUNDS THEY COULD BE PULLED FROM, WHETHER THAT'S GENERAL OR ENTERPRISE, WHICH WERE GO BOND ELIGIBLE.
WE DID A COST PER TON ANALYSIS OF GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCED.
AND THAT IS THE BEST WAY TO THINK OF THAT IS AN ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY TOOL.
SO IF YOU WERE TO REDUCE ONE METRIC TON, HOW MUCH IN ACTUAL DOLLARS WOULD THAT COST? AND THAT INCORPORATES, EXCUSE ME, THAT INCORPORATES THINGS LIKE SAVINGS AS WELL.
CODE BENEFITS, AGAIN, I EXPLAINED IN DETAIL, THAT WOULD BE A FILTER YOU COULD PUT ONTO THIS WEBSITE TO UNDERSTAND WHICH RANKED THE HIGHEST, WHICH SCORED THE HIGHEST IN TERMS OF CO-BENEFITS.
WE ALSO IDENTIFIED, UH, AND, AND POSTED DEPARTMENTAL LEADS, THOSE AS BEST AS TERMS OF WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF ANY GIVEN ACTION.
UM, AND THERE, IF, IF THIS IS ATTACHED AS BACKUP, AND THAT IS A LINK TO THE WEBSITE IF YOU CHOOSE TO GO THERE, YOU CAN ALSO GOOGLE THE AUSTIN CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN DASHBOARD AND THAT'LL COME UP THERE AS WELL.
UM, AND JUST BEFORE THE DIRECTOR DEPARTMENT GOES, I WOULD LIKE TO EMPHASIZE WE BELIEVE THIS IS A ROADMAP TO HIGHLY INFORMED DECISION MAKING FROM CITY LEADERSHIP.
UH, WE'RE EXCITED THAT WE GOT HERE THIS FAR AND FOR THE DIRECTION FROM COUNCIL TO DO SO.
UH, AND YOU KNOW, MANY THANKS TO OUR TEAM.
A LOT OF WORK WENT INTO THIS OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS.
OKAY, SO AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, WE NOW HAVE A LOT MORE INFORMATION AND OUR PENCIL IS, UH, MUCH SHARPER ON ALL OF THESE PROJECTS.
UH, WHEN WE BROUGHT THE ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTMENT PLAN FORWARD, UH, LAST YEAR, REALLY THE KEY, A LOT OF THE QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION THAT I RECEIVED AND THE FEEDBACK I RECEIVED WAS THAT WE NEEDED TO UNDERSTAND BETTER PRIORITIZATION.
WHAT WAS THE BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK? AND IF THERE WERE LIMITED RESOURCES, WHAT WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO DO, UH, THAT WOULD GET US THE MOST EMISSION REDUCTIONS, UH, WOULD BE THE MOST COST EFFECTIVE.
AND, UM, ALSO CONSIDERING, UM, CO-BENEFITS JUST BECAUSE, UM, GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
[00:35:01]
IS NOT ALWAYS THE ONLY METRIC THAT YOU LOOK AT WHEN THE CITY IMPLEMENTS THINGS.UM, SO AS I GO THROUGH THESE NEXT SLIDES, I'M GONNA KIND OF EXPLAIN WHAT ALL THIS MEANS.
UM, AND YOU WILL SEE, UH, WHEN YOU GO TO THAT WEBSITE.
UM, THE GOOD THING ABOUT NOW HAVING ALL THIS INFORMATION ON EACH ONE OF THESE PROJECTS IS WE CAN SORT AND FILTER AND ORGANIZE AND LIST THINGS IN DIFFERENT ORDERS.
SO IF MOST EMISSION REDUCTIONS IS THE THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU'RE WORRIED ABOUT, YOU CAN ORDER THINGS THAT WAY.
IF COST EFFICIENCY IS MOST IMPORTANT, YOU CAN ORDER 'EM THAT WAY.
UM, SO YOU CAN LOOK AT THINGS IN LOTS OF DIFFERENT WAYS.
UM, AND THAT'S, I THINK, THE SORT OF EXCITING THING ABOUT THIS, THIS POINT THAT WE'RE AT RIGHT NOW.
OKAY, SO THESE NEXT FEW SLIDES, I'M NOT GONNA TELL THE STORY IN EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE PROJECTS, THIS, THAT WOULD BE A VERY LONG PRESENTATION.
UM, SO I'M JUST GONNA HIT ON SORT OF SIT IN SOME HIGHLIGHTS.
UH, THE FIRST TABLE HERE IS FOUNDATIONAL ACTIONS.
SO AS BRADEN, UH, SAID, THESE ARE ACTIONS THAT DON'T INDIVIDUALLY THEMSELVES REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS.
LIKE YOU DON'T ACTUALLY ACHIEVE A RESULT THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE IN THE ENVIRONMENT IF ONE OF THESE THINGS GETS IMPLEMENTED.
BUT THESE THINGS UNLOCK FUTURE EMISSION REDUCTIONS, RIGHT? SO AN EV COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT, YOU DO THAT, NEEDS ASSESSMENT, THEN YOU KNOW WHERE TO PLACE EV CHARGERS, THEN YOU CAN MAKE AN IMPACT DOWN THE ROAD.
UM, CITYWIDE GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN.
ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF YOU DO THE PLAN, UM, YOU SET PRIORITIES FOR GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE, THEN THAT SETS YOU UP TO TAKE MORE ACTION.
UM, SO THESE ACTIONS ON THESE FIRST TWO PAGES ARE LISTED FROM LOWEST COST TO HIGHEST COST.
UM, ANOTHER THING THAT YOU'RE GONNA SEE IN THIS FUNDING C FUNDING STATUS CATEGORY IS THINGS TAGGED AS GENERAL, WHICH MEANS GENERAL FUND, ENTERPRISE, ENTERPRISE FUND BOND OR GRANT.
UM, AND YOU'RE ALSO GONNA SEE UNFUNDED, PARTIALLY FUNDED, FULLY FUNDED.
UM, SO UNFUNDED THINGS ARE THINGS THAT ARE UNFUNDED AT THIS TIME.
UM, AS WE RELEASE THE FINAL ME, WE'RE GONNA RELEASE A MEMO IN THE FULL TABLES WITH ALL THE DETAIL ON THIS INFORMATION BY FRIDAY.
UH, WE HOPE TO HAVE, UH, MORE INFORMATION IN THAT MEMO BY FRIDAY WHEN WE SAY PARTIALLY FUNDED, EXACTLY WHAT FUND, WHAT PART IS PARTIALLY FUNDED, UM, AND HOW MUCH IS THAT.
UM, SO THAT WILL HELP, UM, MANAGEMENT, UM, AND POLICY MAKERS, UM, MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT, UM, HOW, WHAT THINGS GET FUNDED IN COMING YEARS.
UH, THESE ARE THE FINAL, UH, FOUR FOUNDATIONAL ACTIONS AS YOU CAN SEE HERE.
UH, EXPANDING SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT PROGRAM, UH, CREATING A CLIMATE REVOLVING FUND, UH, TO CAPTURE SAVINGS FOR PROJECTS IMPLEMENTED ON CITY BUILDINGS, UM, AND DOWN THE LINE.
OKAY, SO NOW THIS IS WHERE ALL OF THIS GETS EVEN MORE EXCITING BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT MORE DETAIL HERE.
SO THESE NEXT SLIDES ARE THE FIVE SECTIONS OF THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
SO THIS IS SEVEN OF 13 SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS.
THE NEXT SLIDE IS THE REMAINDER OF THE SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS ACTIONS.
THESE TABLES ARE ORDERED IN TERMS OF LOWEST COST PER TON TO HIGHEST COST PER TON.
SO AS BRI EXPLAINED FOR ALL THESE PROJECTS, WE CALCULATED WHAT'S THE TWO YEAR COST, WHAT ARE THE SAVINGS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT? SO YOU GET A NET COST.
THEN WE CALCULATED, AS YOU IMPLEMENT A PROJECT, IT REDUCES EMISSIONS OVER A 15 YEAR TIME PERIOD.
SO THEN WE DIVIDE THE NET COST BY THE AMOUNT OF EMISSIONS THAT WOULD BE REDUCED, AND YOU ESSENTIALLY GET THE ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY OF REDUCING, UM, OF REDUCING EMISSIONS.
UM, THIS ALSO HELPS JUST TO BE ABLE TO COMPARE PROJECTS.
UM, THE OTHER TWO REALLY IMPORTANT COLUMNS HERE ARE, SO YOU MIGHT THINK, UM, EFFICIENCY IS REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE THAT SHOWS YOU WHAT GETS YOU THE MOST BANG FROM THE BUCK.
BUT ALSO THE GREENHOUSE GAS COLUMN SHOWS YOU THE SCALE OF GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTIONS.
SO IF YOU SEE ALL FOUR, UM, ALL FOUR ARROWS FILLED OUT, THAT'S THE MOST THAT'S VERY HIGH.
UM, AND THEN IF YOU SEE JUST ONE THAT'S LOW, UH, AND THEN CO-BENEFITS, THAT'S THE SORT OF COMBINED ASAP SCORE THAT BRADEN MENTIONED, WHERE WE'RE TING UP ALL THESE DIFFERENT CO-BENEFITS OF HEALTH, WATER QUALITY, ALL OF THE AIR QUALITY, ALL THESE DIFFERENT THINGS.
AND SO IF THE LITTLE CIRCLE THERE IS FULLY FOLD OUT, THAT'S THE HIGHEST AMOUNT OF CO-BENEFITS.
UH, SO IN SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS, UM, THE NUMBER ONE ACTION WE HAVE HERE AT THE TOP, UM, THAT'S A PRIOR, THAT'S, UH, ONE OF THE TOP PRIORITIES AND THAT'S ACTUALLY A POLICY ACTION.
SO THAT'S TO REVISE THE CITY GREEN BUILDING POLICY.
THIS IS THE POLICY THAT APPLIES TO ALL CITY, UM, BUILDING AND CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS, UM, TO ENSURE THAT THOSE ARE MEETING LEAD STANDARDS AND GREAT BUILDING STANDARDS.
UM, AND AS YOU SEE ON DOWN THE LINE HERE, WE HAVE SOLAR PROJECTS ON CITY
[00:40:01]
FACILITIES ON, UM, ON A, THE A 12 LANDFILL, UM, ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS, PROJECTS RELATED TO AUSTIN ENERGY PROJECTS RELATED TO CITY FACILITIES.UM, SO VARYING SCALES OF EMISSION REDUCTIONS.
AND, UM, AS WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, THE PROJECTS EVEN GET, UH, MORE EXPENSIVE.
BUT AGAIN, THEY CONTINUE TO BE SORT OF COMPREHENSIVE OF ALL THE DIFFERENT AREAS THAT WE FOCUS ON IN THE SUSTAINABLE BUILDING SECTION OF THIS PLAN.
UM, LEMME GO TO THE NEXT SECTION.
UH, TRANSPORTATION AND LAND USE.
ALL THESE ACTIONS ARE ON THE SLIDE HERE.
UM, IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT ALL OF THE PROJECTS, UH, IN TRANSPORTATION AND LAND USE ARE LISTED AS FUNDED.
UH, THESE ARE FUNDED EITHER BY, UH, EPA GRANTS OR CURRENT BOND FUNDING, UH, FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS.
SO AFTER TWO YEARS, SOME OF THE FUNDING IN THESE AREAS WILL RUN OUT, BUT FOR NOW THEY'RE FUNDED.
UM, AND YOU CAN SEE VARYING COST HERE, HERE AS WE GET TO THE BOTTOM.
AND THIS IS, THIS IS A REALLY GOOD EXAMPLE OF HOW YOU THINK ABOUT THE COST PER TON NUMBERS.
IS THAT, UM, TDM OR TRANSPORTATION DEMAND MANAGEMENT PROGRAMMING THAT'S ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO GET OUTTA CARS, RIGHT? TO, TO SHARE VEHICLES OR GET OUT OF A CAR AND RIDE A BIKE OR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION.
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT'S VERY COST EFFICIENT, RIGHT? 31 30 $1 PER TON ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THINGS LIKE BIKEWAYS AND FIXING SIDEWALKS AND NEW SIDEWALKS.
UM, THOSE ARE MORE EXPENSIVE IN TERMS OF COST PER TON.
AND THAT'S JUST BECAUSE IF YOU BUILD A SIDEWALK, OF COURSE AS YOU CAN SEE, YOU GET LOTS OF CO-BENEFITS, IT'S GREAT, IT'S GREAT FOR SAFETY, UM, BUT YOU'RE NOT NECESSARILY GONNA DIRECTLY REDUCE EMISSIONS BECAUSE PEOPLE HAVE TO GET OUT OF THE CAR AND THEN ACTUALLY WALK SOMEWHERE, WHICH DOESN'T REDUCE AS MUCH EMISSIONS LIKE IN THE BIG PICTURE.
UH, THE NEXT SECTION HERE IS TRANSPORTATION ELECTRIFICATION.
SO THAT'S, UH, ELECTRIC VEHICLES AND ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING.
ACTUALLY THE MOST, UH, COST EFFECTIVE PROJECT THAT WE HAVE LISTED IN, IN ALL OF OUR ANALYSIS HERE IS CITY FLEET VEHICLE ELECTRIFICATION.
UM, FLEET HAS REALLY DETERMINED THAT EVERY TIME THAT WE BUY AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE, IT SAVES US MUCH MORE MONEY THAN IT THE ADDITIONAL COST TO PURCHASE IT.
UM, SO THAT'S ONE OF THE MOST COST EFFECTIVE WAYS THAT WE CAN REDUCE, REDUCE GNE GAS EMISSIONS.
AS YOU CAN SEE, THE OTHER ONES HERE ARE RELATED TO, UM, EV CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE FOR LMI CUSTOMERS AT CITY FACILITIES, AUSTIN ENERGY'S NETWORK, UM, AS WELL AS, UM, LOOKING AT R 99 RENEWABLE DIESEL FOR CITY VEHICLES.
UH, THE NEXT SECTION IS FOOD AND PRODUCT CONSUMPTION.
UH, THIS SECTION IS PRIMARILY FOCUSED ON THE PURCHASE AND USE OF THINGS LIKE FOOD AND PRODUCTS AND WASTE.
AND SO ALL THE PROJECTS HERE ARE RELATED TO, UH, REDUCING WASTE, ZERO WASTE, REUSE, FIX-IT CLINICS, UM, ALL GREAT PROJECTS.
THESE TEND TO BE HIGHER IN COST PER TON AND A LITTLE BIT LOWER IN GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION REDUCTIONS.
UM, THAT'S PRIMARILY JUST BECAUSE THE, UH, WHEN YOU REDUCE WASTE, YOU'RE ACTUALLY NOT REALLY REDUCING LIKE DIRECT LOCAL EMISSIONS.
YOU'RE REDUCING UPSTREAM EMISSIONS, WHICH END UP BEING A SMALLER AMOUNT.
UM, BUT THESE ARE STILL ALL REALLY IMPORTANT PROJECTS, UM, TO IMPLEMENT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU REDUCE WASTE, YOU, YOU CREATE SO MANY MORE CO-BENEFITS.
NATURAL SYSTEMS. UM, IN NATURAL SYSTEMS WE HAVE FOUR PROJECTS.
UH, REFOREST, FLOODPLAINS RESTORE, CURRENTLY OWN NATURAL AREAS, ACQUIRE LAND AND PROTECT OPEN SPACE.
UM, AND THEN EXPAND GREEN WORK WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS. AS YOU CAN SEE, THESE TEND TO BE HIGHER COST PER TON AS WELL, UH, AND HIGH DOLLAR AMOUNT.
UM, AND THAT'S JUST BECAUSE NATURAL SYSTEMS, UM, SEQUESTER CARBON AND PULL CO2 OUTTA THE ATMOSPHERE.
THEY JUST DO IT AT A SLOWER RATE.
UM, AND IT REALLY TAKES SCALE, UM, TO REDUCE LARGE EMISSIONS IN THE SECTOR.
OKAY, SO THE NEXT TWO SLIDES HERE, THESE ARE, UM, REALLY THE SUMMARY OF ALL OF THIS INFORMATION.
AND SO YOU CAN SEE THIS CHART HERE.
THIS IS THE TOTAL OF ALL 36 PROJECTS IN OUR TWO YEAR IMPLEMENTATION PLAN THAT WE LOOK TO IMPLEMENT IN THE NEXT TWO YEARS.
IF AND WHEN WE GET TO THE POINT THAT ALL THESE PROJECTS ARE IMPLEMENTED, WE WILL, UH, AVOID AND REDUCE 2.3 MILLION METRIC TONS BETWEEN NOW AND 2040.
SO THAT'S A, THAT'S A VERY SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT.
UM, THE CHART HERE, UM, HELPS WITH COMMUNICATING THE IMPACT AND THE COST EFFICIENCY AND BANG FOR BUCK FOR IMPLEMENTING THESE PROJECTS.
SO THE PROJECTS ARE, THIS IS 36 IN A ROW HERE.
THEY'RE LISTED, UH, THE X AXIS IS COST PER TON.
SO THE MOST EFFICIENT BEST BANG FOR BUCK PROJECTS ARE ON THE FAR LEFT.
THE ONES THAT ARE LEAST EFFICIENT
[00:45:01]
ARE ON THE FAR RIGHT.AND THAT'S JUST IN TERMS OF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION REDUCTIONS.
THAT'S NOT CO BENEFITS, THAT'S NOT ANOTHER BENEFITS THAT COME ALONG WITH THINGS.
UM, AND THEN THE Y AXIS IS THE SCALE OF REDUCTIONS, RIGHT? SO LARGER THE BAR MEANS THE BIGGER THE PROJECT, THE MORE EMISSIONS ARE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA REDUCE.
UM, SO WHAT THE WAY TO SORT OF READ THIS CHART IS WE'RE LOOKING TO ENSURE THAT THE LARGE BARS GET IMPLEMENTED AND WE PRIORITIZE THINGS THAT ARE TO THE LEFT FIRST.
UM, 'CAUSE THAT GETS US THE MOST BANG FOR THE BUCK.
SO WE HOPE TO, UM, IT WAS A WHOLE PROCESS TO CREATE THESE CHARTS, WORK WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS, GET THE RIGHT TOOLS ANALYSIS TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS.
UH, WE HAVE TWO WONDERFUL STAFF ON OUR TEAM THAT PUT IN A TON OF WORK TO MAKE THIS ANALYSIS POSSIBLE.
MANY OTHER CITIES HAVE TO PAY HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO CONSULTANTS TO DO THIS SORT OF THING.
UM, AND WE JUST HAVE FANTASTIC PEOPLE ON OUR TEAM THAT CAN DO THIS.
UM, SO NOW THAT WE'VE DONE THIS ONCE, WE HOPE TO REPLICATE THIS IN THE FUTURE AND CONTINUE TO USE THIS METHODOLOGY OF DETAILED COST, DETAILED GREENHOUSE GAS ANALYSIS AND CO-BENEFITS, AND THEN PUTTING THAT STORY TOGETHER TO TALK ABOUT WHAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING, UH, TO IMPLEMENT IN TERMS OF, UH, CLIMATE ACTION.
THIS IS ONE MORE TAKE AT THIS GRAPH.
THIS IS LIKE THE MOST CUTTING EDGE EXPERIMENTAL GRAPH.
UH, SO THIS GRAPH IS SAME INFORMATION FROM THE SLIDE BEFORE, BUT NOW WE'VE ADDED CO-BENEFITS.
SO NOW YOU'RE ACTUALLY LOOKING LIKE AT A 3D SORT OF CONGLOMERATION OF ALL OF THE DATA.
SO THINGS ON THE FAR LEFT ARE MOST ECONOMICALLY EFFICIENT ON THE, ON THE FAR RIGHT ARE LEAST.
UM, AND THEN THE Y AXIS ON THIS ONE IS FEWER B CO-BENEFITS AT THE BOTTOM TO MANY CO-BENEFITS AT TOP.
AND THEN THE SIZE OF THE CIRCLE IS THE SCALE OF THE GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTIONS.
SO YOU CAN SEE THAT, UM, I MEAN, A TREND THAT I SORT OF NOTICED IS THAT MANY TIMES THE PROJECTS THAT ARE MOST ECONOMICALLY EFFICIENT END UP CREATING LESS GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION REDUCTIONS.
UM, AND POTENTIALLY HAVING, UM, NO, MOST ECONOMICALLY EFFICIENT, SOMETIMES CREATING THE LEAST CO-BENEFITS.
BUT SOMETIMES PROJECTS THAT DON'T CREATE AS MANY GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION REDUCTIONS END UP CREATING MORE CO-BENEFITS.
BUT THAT'S IMPORTANT TO THE CITY BECAUSE CLIMATE CHANGE ISN'T THE ONLY PRIORITY THAT WE HAVE HERE.
UM, SO WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO WORK ON CHARTS LIKE THIS, COMMUNICATE PRIORITIZATION GOING FORWARD.
OKAY, SO TO WRAP IT UP, NEXT STEPS IN IMPLEMENTATION.
UH, WE FEEL REALLY FEEL LIKE WE HAVE SET UP, UM, A STRONG ORGANIZATIONAL PROCESS GOING FORWARD HERE.
UM, CONNECTION BETWEEN THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE, CLIMATE ENVIRONMENT LEADERSHIP TEAM, WHICH IS A EVERY OTHER MONTH GROUP OF DIRECTORS THAT I CONVENE ON ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE ISSUES.
AND WE GET TOGETHER AND TALK ABOUT PRIORITIES AND PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS AND INTERCONNECTION BETWEEN OF ALL OF OUR DEPARTMENTS WORKING ON THESE TOPICS.
AND THEN THIS CROSS DEPARTMENTAL CLIMATE ACTION TEAM.
SO THERE HAVE BEEN LOTS OF DIFFERENT DIVERSIONS, UM, VERSIONS OF CLIMATE ACTION TEAMS ACROSS THE CITY.
UM, WE USED TO HAVE THE INTERDEPARTMENTAL SUSTAINABLE WORKING GROUP.
WE'VE HAD A GROUP CALLED BEES.
UM, THESE GROUPS ARE GONNA BE CONSOLIDATED INTO THIS, UM, THIS CLIMATE ACTION TEAM, WHICH WILL BREAK OUT, UM, WITH WORKING GROUPS THAT ARE FOCUSED ON THE FIVE AREAS IN THE PLAN, AS WELL AS NEW AND EMERGING TOPICS TO MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE, UM, ON THE CUTTING EDGE OF, OF IMPLEMENTING.
UM, AS BRADEN SAID, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO COME BACK WITH QUARTERLY BRIEFINGS TO COUNCIL, AND NOW THAT WE'VE LAID OUT THESE PRIORITIES OF THESE 46 PROJECTS, IT'LL BE MUCH EASIER FOR US TO REPORT BACK ON SPECIFIC IMPLEMENTATION OF THOSE PROGRAMS, UM, SO WE CAN SHOW PROGRESS TOWARDS, TOWARDS THE SCHOOL.
I KNOW THAT WAS A TON OF INFORMATION, UM, AND THERE'S EVEN MORE INFORMATION IN THESE TABLES AND ON THE WEBSITE.
SO, UH, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO DIVE IN DEEPER IN, INTO ALL THE PROJECTS AND ALL THE DETAILS AND ASK QUESTIONS.
AND WE ARE MORE THAN HAPPY TO FOLLOW UP WITH, UM, ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS NOW OR IN THE COMING WEEKS ONCE YOU, ONCE YOU DIVE FURTHER INTO THIS.
I WILL FIRST SAY, UM, JUST HOW IMPRESSIVE THIS WORK IS, YOU KNOW, WAS GOING THROUGH IT AND REALLY JUST FINALLY FELT LIKE FOR THE FIRST TIME, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY HAD ALL THE INFORMATION THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT, RIGHT? WHAT KINDS OF PROJECTS DO WE NEED TO DO? WHAT KIND OF IMPACT ARE THEY GONNA HAVE? WHAT IS THE KIND OF, UH, SCALE AND COST AND WHERE CAN WE PAY FOR IT? AND, UM, SO THIS IS JUST REALLY, I'M, I'M SO IMPRESSED WITH THE WORK THAT Y'ALL HAVE DONE.
SO I WANNA PUT THAT OUT THERE.
FIRST AND FOREMOST, BEFORE WE GO TO QUESTIONS, I DO JUST WANT TO, UM, LAY ONE KIND OF FOUNDATION IN ALL THIS.
AND THAT IS, YOU KNOW, I LOOKED LAST NIGHT
[00:50:01]
AT THE DASHBOARD OF JUST THE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS, RIGHT? WHERE WE ARE VERSUS WHERE WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE.AND REALLY OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS, WE HAVE TRENDED PRETTY FLAT.
WE WERE DOING A REALLY GOOD JOB OF BRINGING EMISSIONS DOWN, BUT NOW, UM, WE'VE KIND OF PLATEAUED.
AND SO WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE, AND THIS IS 2023 DATA IS THE MOST RECENT DATA, BUT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE AT 8.6 MILLION, UH, METRIC TONS AS A CITY.
AND WE'RE AT 11.7, SO THAT'S 36% HIGHER THAN WHERE WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE.
AND THAT GAP CONTINUES TO GROW YEAR OVER YEAR.
UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, IF, IF WE WERE TO ACCOMPLISH THIS AND BRING US TWO POINT, I FORGET THE NUMBER, UH, 2.3 I THINK YOU SAID DOWN, YOU KNOW, THAT ALMOST GETS US THERE.
SO I SAY THAT JUST TO HIGHLIGHT THE URGENCY OF TAKING ACTION NOW.
WE CAN'T CONTINUE TO WAIT AND SAY TECHNOLOGY'S GONNA SAVE US AND THIS IS, UH, YOU KNOW, WE CAN JUST CONTINUE ACTING AS WE'VE BEEN ACTING AND NOTHING, NO HARM, NO FOUL.
SO, UM, I JUST KINDA WANNA PUT THAT OUT THERE BEFORE WE HAVE THIS CONVERSATION.
I IMAGINE THAT SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES HAVE QUESTIONS.
UM, SO I GUESS WITH THAT VICE CHAIR, YOU WANNA START? SURE.
I'LL KICK THIS OFF AND I'VE GOT A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT QUESTIONS ON DIFFERENT TOPICS, SO I APOLOGIZE FOR CAN TURN YOUR MIC ON.
CAN YOU TURN YOUR MIC ON? IS THIS ONE BETTER? HELLO.
ALL RIGHT, WELL YOU, UM, MY FIRST QUESTION IS GOING BE, WE'RE STILL SORTING OUT MICROPHONES,
WHAT KIND OF ADVICE CAN YOU GIVE US? I KNOW THAT THE LEGISLATURE IN THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS HAS LIMITED OUR ABILITY TO DEMAND THAT BUILDINGS BE BUILT OUT OF SPECIFIC MATERIALS.
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT FLEXIBILITY WE DO HAVE AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO TRY TO ENCOURAGE MORE SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS? YEAH.
SO THE FIRST THING IS OUR, UM, THE STANDARDS THAT WE HAVE, RIGHT? SO THE FIRST THING WOULD BE THE ENERGY CODE, RIGHT? UH, THE CURRENT ENERGY CODE THAT WE HAVE AND THE ONE THAT'S ABOUT TO BE ADOPTED, SORT OF LET'S SETS UH, THE BASELINE EFFICIENCY FOR BUILDINGS.
UH, WHICH IS SUPER IMPORTANT BECAUSE OUR ENERGY CODE, UM, TENDS TO BE MORE AGGRESSIVE THAN THAN OTHERS.
AND SO WE HAVE SORT OF A STANDARD LEVEL OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY, UM, ALSO BUILT INTO THAT ENERGY CODE.
NOW ARE THINGS LOOKING AT, UM, ELECTRIFICATION OF BUILDINGS.
'CAUSE YOU CAN, IF YOU CAN ELECTRIFY A BUILDING AND, UM, IN A COST EFFECTIVE WAY, NOT ADD NATURAL GAS IN A BUILDING, UM, BECAUSE OF THE HIGH LEVEL OF RENEWABLE ENERGY THAT AUSTIN ENERGY OFFERS, WE CAN GET REALLY CLOSE TO ZERO CARBON BUILDINGS.
UM, THE NEXT MOST IMPORTANT THING IS, YOU KNOW, BEYOND THE ENERGY CODE, UM, THE CITY'S GREEN BUILDING POLICY AS WELL AS, UM, OUR UM, AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM APPLIES TO MANY DIFFERENT AREAS IN THE CITY THAT ARE BUILDING NEW BUILDINGS, RIGHT? SO ANYTIME THAT WE BUILD A BUILDING TO ANY STANDARD 2, 3, 4, 5 STARS OF AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN BUILDING OR ANY LEVEL OF LEAD CERTIFICATION, THAT'S GONNA GET US SOME MORE EMISSION REDUCTIONS, THAT'S GONNA BE A MORE HEALTHY, A BETTER PERFORMING BUILDING OVER TIME.
SO THAT'S REALLY THE, THE KEY WITH NEW BUILDINGS.
UM, AND AS FAR AS FOOD AND PRODUCT CONSUMPTION, I'VE BEEN HAVING SOME CONVERSATIONS WITH FOLKS ABOUT COMMUNITY GARDENS.
CAN YOU TALK TO ME ABOUT, UM, EXPANDED OPPORTUNITIES FOR COMMUNITY GARDENS? I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF FOLKS THAT WANNA BE ABLE TO GROW THEIR OWN FOOD AND SOME OF THESE GARDENS WILL ACTUALLY LET PEOPLE RENT SPACES.
UM, AND I THINK THAT'S HELPFUL FOR RENTERS WHO DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE A BACKYARD OR THEY MAY, UM, SWITCH APARTMENTS OR SWITCH HOMES THAT THEY'RE RENTING.
UM, IS COMMUNITY GARDENS PART OF THIS CONVERSATION AND DO WE HAVE OPPORTUNITIES THERE TO EXPAND? UM, SO YES.
COMMUNITY GARDENS ARE ABSOLUTELY SUPPORTED BY, UH, THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
THEY'RE ALSO SUPPORTED BY, UM, THE AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY FOOD PLAN.
UM, WE HAVE TWO STAFF HERE THAT ACTUALLY CONNECT AND WORK ON THE COMMUNITY GARDEN PROGRAM.
MAYBE THEY COULD GIVE MORE, UH, MORE DETAILS.
THEY'RE HERE FOR ANOTHER TOPIC, BUT YOU'RE IN THE ROOM.
SO WE HAVE, UH, WE HAVE OVER 26 COMMUNITY GARDENS CURRENTLY THAT ARE ACTIVE AND UM, AS YOU SAID, TAKE VACAN, YOU KNOW, VACANT PLOTS, PEOPLE CAN GO TO THOSE SPACES.
WE'RE ALSO IN A GOOD TRANSITION PLACE RIGHT NOW.
WE HAVE A VACANCY IN THAT ROLE AND SO WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT ARE OUR BEST NEXT STEPS WITH
[00:55:01]
THAT.HOW WE CAN CONNECT OUR COMMUNITY GARDENS TO SOME OF OUR FACILITIES IN A BETTER WAY TOO.
SO COULD WE EXPAND THEM AND INCLUDE THEM AS SOME OF THE PROGRAMMING AT OUR FACILITIES? AS WELL AS THAT INCREASES SOME OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE POTENTIALS THAT ARE THERE AS WELL.
UM, AS FAR AS PEOPLE JUST HAVING ACCESS TO THE ABILITY TO GROW THEIR OWN FOOD, THAT'S SUPER IMPORTANT.
UM, THERE IS A CONNECTION TO THE LAND THAT HAPPENS WHEN THAT HAPPENS THAT I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, AS A SOCIETY WE'VE GOTTEN FURTHER AND FURTHER FROM, SO THERE'S DEFINITELY BENEFITS THERE THAT MIGHT BE MORE OF THOSE CO-BENEFITS I WOULD THINK, POTENTIALLY THAN THE SPECIFIC CARBON REDUCTIONS ON THAT SPECIFICALLY.
UM, BUT IT'S ALSO ALLOWING PEOPLE WHO, UM, YOU KNOW, IN THEIR CULTURAL BACKGROUNDS, THEY'RE VERY, YOU KNOW, FOOD IS VERY IMPORTANT.
FOOD GROWING IS VERY IMPORTANT TO WHAT THEY BRING TO THE TABLE.
AND SO THERE'S BENEFITS AGAIN TO COMMUNITY AND CULTURE AS WELL AS THAT.
SO I THINK COMMUNITY GARDENS BRING A LOT OF BENEFITS.
UM, I DON'T NECESSARILY KNOW THAT IT'S SPECIFIC CARBON NUMBERS NECESSARILY, BUT THEN THERE'S ALSO THE OPPORTUNITY WHEN YOU LOOK AT SOME OF THOSE LARGER URBAN AGRICULTURE.
AND THAT'S WHERE I THINK YOU GET SOME OF THOSE LARGER, UM, MORE IMPACTFUL BENEFITS ASSOCIATED WITH CARBON REDUCTION THAT IS NOT NECESSARY, THAT IN ADDITION TO THE COMMUNITY SPACE THAT IT ALSO PROVIDES.
UM, AND MY LAST QUESTION FOR NOW, 'CAUSE I KNOW OTHER FOLKS PROBABLY HAVE SOME OF THEIR OWN, I'M CURIOUS ABOUT THE, UM, THE USE OF TDM, THE TRAVEL DEMAND MANAGEMENT.
'CAUSE FOR ME, GETTING PEOPLE OUT OF CARS AND HAVING ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS FOR THEIR COMMUTE OR RUNNING ERRANDS ALSO INCLUDES THINGS LIKE BETTER BIKEWAYS AND SIDEWALKS.
CAN YOU TALK TO ME ABOUT HOW MUCH OVERLAP THERE IS WITH TDM AND SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT ARE LISTED IN THIS PROGRAM? YEAH, I, I THINK IF YOU LOOK AT ALL EIGHT OF THOSE ACTIONS IN TRANSPORTATION AND LAND USE, THEY ALL CONNECT AND OVERLAP, RIGHT? YOU CAN, YOU CAN HAVE BY SHARE, YOU CAN HAVE A MOBILITY HUB, YOU CAN HAVE TRAILS AND BIKE QUIZ, BUT IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE PROGRAMMING TO EDUCATE PEOPLE, TO ENGAGE PEOPLE, TO TEACH PEOPLE, TO GET PEOPLE EXCITED ABOUT USING THOSE THINGS, YOU'RE NOT GONNA HAVE HIGH ADOPTION RATES.
SO I THINK ALL THOSE THINGS FIT TOGETHER, UM, IN A COHESIVE WAY.
AND THE, YOU KNOW, THE TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT IS REALLY FOCUSED ON THEIR GOALS FOR SAFETY.
UM, AND REDUCING TRAFFIC AND GETTING PEOPLE AROUND THE CITY REALLY ALIGNS WELL ALSO WITH REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND IMPROVING AIR QUALITY.
OKAY, SO ON THIS CHART, THE TDM IS MORE OF THE, THE HUMAN POWER TO HELP EXPAND PROGRAMS. YES.
AND THEN THE INDIVIDUALLY LISTED SIDEWALKS AND BIKEWAYS IS THE, THE MATERIAL THAT'S BEING POURED ON THE GROUND AND THE TRANSIT ENHANCEMENT, YOU KNOW, SHELTERS AND BUS STOPS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
I MAY, I MAY HAVE SOME LATER, BUT I KNOW I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE WITH QUESTIONS.
AND BRADEN, UH, I AGREE THIS IS REALLY CUTTING EDGE AND EXCITING STUFF YOU'RE DOING.
UM, AND SO THANKS TO YOUR OLD TEAM, UM, REALLY APPRECIATE HOW THIS PRESENTATION GETS ESSENTIALLY THESE DIFFERENT PROGRAMS SHOVEL READY, RIGHT? 'CAUSE THAT'S BEEN ONE OF THE CRITIQUES THAT SOMETIMES WE PASS VISION PLANS, BUT DON'T GET THINGS IN A CONCRETE AND DELIVERABLE WAY.
SO, UM, REALLY APPRECIATE THE WORK, ESPECIALLY AS WE CONFRONT A SERIES OF BOTH CAPITAL AND GENERAL FUND DECISIONS WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO MAKE.
UH, AND I'M GONNA, ONE OF MY QUESTIONS IN A COUPLE MINUTES IS ABOUT GETTING US READY TO MAKE THIS CAP ANDIT CAPITAL FUNDING DECISION NEXT MONTH, AND HOW THAT RELATES TO THE KIND OF CAPITAL NEEDS OF THIS PROGRAM.
UM, ALSO WANNA JUST COMPLIMENT Y'ALL ON THE, UH, CO-BENEFIT FRAMEWORK, UM, UH, IN KIND OF MOVEMENT WORK, WE CALL IT INTERSECTIONALITY, RIGHT? AND THE IDEA, UH, IT ALSO KIND OF TRANSLATES TO TRADITIONAL, UM, AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES WHERE YOU TRY TO DO MULTIPLE THINGS AT ONCE TO IMPROVE EFFICIENCY AND PRODUCTIVITY.
SO, UM, REALLY LIKE THE WAY YOU'RE DOING THIS, UH, JUST WANNA DO A SERIES OF QUESTIONS, ONE, ABOUT THE, UH, REVOLVING FUND FOR CLIMATE.
UM, I SAW YOUR PRESENTATION TO THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE IN PARTICULAR, HOW SAN ANTONIO STARTED THIS MAYBE 15 YEARS AGO, HAS FUNDED, I GUESS WITH MAYBE $12 MILLION OR $13 MILLION, HAS FUNDED HUNDREDS OF PROGRAMS IN THAT IS NOW GENERATING ADDITIONAL RETURNS THAT THEY'RE ABLE TO PUT BACK INTO NEW CLIMATE WORK.
UH, KIND OF, UH, INVEST A LITTLE BIT NOW AND GET A LOT LATER CONCEPT.
AND SO I WANTED TO ASK, UM, TWO THINGS.
ONE, WHAT INITIATIVES YOU THINK WOULD BE GOOD FOR A FUND, UM, YOU KNOW, BUDGET? AND THEN ALSO WHEN DO YOU THINK A, A PROGRAM LIKE THIS COULD BECOME SELF-SUSTAINING? OH, LET'S SEE.
SO, UH, CURRENTLY THE CITY HAS, UM, A DEFERRED MAINTENANCE FACILITIES FUND THAT THEY, THERE'S A CERTAIN POT OF MONEY THAT'S GENERATED EVERY YEAR, AND THEN BUILDING SERVICES AND OTHER DEPARTMENTS IMPLEMENT, YOU KNOW, UPGRADE, PROGRAM, UPGRADE PROJECTS TO FACILITIES.
UM, CURRENTLY THOSE PROJECTS COULD BE ANY PROJECTS, RIGHT? THAT COULD BE, IT COULD BE FIXING A ROOF, IT COULD BE FIXING A SIDEWALK.
IT COULD BE ANYTHING DEFERRED MAINTENANCE RELATED TO A,
[01:00:01]
TO, UM, AN EXISTING CITY BUILDING.UH, THE IDEA WITH A REVOLVING FUND, AND WE'VE BEEN HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH THE BUDGET OFFICE AND BUILDING SERVICES ABOUT THIS, HOW TO STAND THIS UP.
SO THE FOCUS WOULD BE TAKING, YOU KNOW, TAKING SOME AMOUNT OF THAT FUNDING THAT COMES EVERY YEAR, CARVING OUT THE PROJECTS THAT ARE ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROJECTS, SOLAR PROJECTS, PROJECTS THAT ACTUALLY CREATE AN ENERGY EFFICIENCY LIKE SAVINGS.
UM, AND THEN THE REAL WORK THAT ACTUALLY HAS TO HAPPEN IS JUST THE CALCULATION AND THE CAPTURE OF THOSE SAVINGS, AND THEN THE, THE BEHIND THE SCENES BUDGET WORK TO ACTUALLY PULL THAT MONEY OUT, SET IT ASIDE.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WE KNOW FROM OUR FRIENDS AT AUSTIN ENERGY FROM OTHER CITIES THAT ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROJECTS AND SOLAR PROJECTS PAY PAY BACK, RIGHT? UM, SO IT'S NOT REALLY A QUESTION OF LIKE, WOULD IT BE SUCCESSFUL OR WOULD IT BE SOLVENT? LIKE, RIGHT.
LIKE RIGHT NOW WHEN ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROJECTS ARE IMPLEMENTED, THE SAVINGS JUST GO BACK TO THE DEPARTMENT.
UM, AND THE SAVINGS ARE JUST SORT OF LIKE INTERNALIZED AND JUST CHURNED INTO THE DEPARTMENTAL BUDGET.
THIS JUST CREATES LIKE A SEPARATE ANGLE, I THINK, TO POTENTIALLY DRIVE MORE PROJECTS IN A MORE SPECIFIC FOCUS ON, UM, ON ACHIEVING THOSE RESULTS.
LET US KNOW HOW WE CAN SUPPORT IT.
UM, MOVING TO SOLAR, I NOTICED THAT, YOU KNOW, TWO OF THE MOST, I GUESS, PRODUCTIVE PROGRAM GOALS, UM, RELATE TO SOLAR.
UM, IS THERE A STUDY THAT WE COULD LOOK AT THAT WOULD, UH, SHOW US LIKE WHAT THE OPPORTUNITY IS THERE? YOU KNOW, HOW MANY MEGAWATTS WE COULD ADD, THINGS OF THAT NATURE? YEAH.
UH, CITY STAFF WORKED LAST FALL TO SORT OF DO A BACK OF THE NAPKIN ON, UH, WHICH FACILITIES DO WE, WHICH OF THE, YOU KNOW, HUNDREDS OF CITY FACILITIES DO WE HAVE THAT COULD ACCEPT SOLAR? WHAT WOULD THE SOLAR POTENTIAL BE? AND THEN WE DID THE MATH ON HOW MUCH SOLAR WOULD BE GENERATED, WHAT WOULD BE THE COST, THE PAYBACK, ALL THAT.
UM, IT WAS JUST A INFORMAL, LIKE BACK OF THE NAPKIN BY CITY EXPERTS.
UM, BUT WE COULD SHARE, WE COULD SHARE THOSE RESULTS WITH YOU.
'CAUSE, UH, AWESOME ENERGY SET A GOAL OF ADDING 250 MEGAWATTS LOCALLY OF SOLAR, SO IT'D BE GREAT TO KNOW HOW MUCH WE COULD GET FROM CITY LAND.
UM, AND THEN ALSO ON THE AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY, UH, SOLAR FACILITY, UM, THAT'S A REALLY EXCITING PROJECT.
UH, CAN Y'ALL UPDATE ON, ON HOW THAT'S GOING, GETTING THAT SET UP? UM, I, I WOULD HAVE TO GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT ONE.
I ACTUALLY DON'T HAVE THE, THE DETAILS ON THAT ONE.
NEXT TIME WE CAN GET BACK TO YOU.
AND THEN, UM, JUST ON THE GREEN WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, IS THERE A INTERSECTION THERE POTENTIALLY WITH THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY? I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE FOLLOWING THAT PROCESS.
UM, WE JUST LAUNCHED IT WITH AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND TRAVIS COUNTY A FEW DAYS AGO.
AND THE IDEA IS ESSENTIALLY TO CREATE, UH, A PIPELINE FOR, SAY, AUSTIN HIGH SCHOOL GRAD CAN GET INTO A UNION APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM AND THEN GET JOBS, YOU KNOW, BUILDING, UH, GREEN FACILITIES.
AND I JUST WANNA SEE IF YOU'RE PLUGGED INTO THAT WHOLE, UH, NETWORK OR IF NOT, IF, IF MAYBE WE CAN CONNECT YOU.
YES, WE ARE, WE ARE PLUGGED IN WITH, WITH THAT, I'VE ACTUALLY BEEN HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UM, ABOUT THE AC CC PROGRAM, ITS DIRECTION AND ITS SCOPE, AND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO CONNECT THE DOTS AND LIKE YOU SAID, FOCUS ON THAT PIPELINE OF TRAINING.
UM, SO CONVERSATIONS ARE HAPPENING RIGHT NOW AND WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING ON.
AND THEN, UM, JARED, WITH YOUR, UH, YEAH, UH, PERMISSION HERE, UM, JUST ONE LAST QUESTION RELATING TO, UM, MAYBE MAKING SOME OF THESE NUMBERS A LITTLE BIT MORE CONCRETE IN THE NEXT MONTH.
SO IN MID-MAY, COUNCIL'S GONNA BE ASKED WHETHER WE CAN AFFORD A MULTI A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLAR INVESTMENT IN CAP AND STITCH THAT WOULD THEORETICALLY PULL FROM THE SAME CAPITAL FUNDING STREAM THAT, THAT WE MIGHT NEED TO FUND SOME OF THESE PROJECTS.
AND SO IS THERE A WAY FOR, FOR, UM, THE OFFICE OF CLIMATE ACTION RESILIENCE TO PRESENT THE COUNCIL MAYBE BEFORE MAY, UH, ABOUT EVEN JUST LIKE A MEMO THAT WOULD HIGHLIGHT WHICH OF THESE FUNDING NEEDS WOULD, WOULD COME OUT OF THE GENERAL, UH, OBLIGATION BOND BUDGET? YES, WE CAN ABSOLUTELY DO THAT.
AND I THINK DIRECTOR MCHALE IS HERE TO HELP ANSWER YOUR, UH, SOLAR ON THE LANDFILL QUESTION.
UH, GOOD MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS.
RICHARD MCHALE, DIRECTOR OF FROST RESOURCE.
UH, GOOD MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS.
RICHARD MCHALE, DIRECTOR FOR AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY ON THE FM EIGHT 12 LANDFILL.
UH, WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH AUSTIN ENERGY, UM, ABOUT FOR THE PAST, UH, SIX MONTHS OR SO ON, ON WHAT A PROJECT OUT THERE WOULD LOOK LIKE.
WE'VE ALSO HAD A LOT OF INTEREST FROM THE PRIVATE SECTOR ON THE FACILITY OUT THERE, SO WE'RE STILL KIND OF WORKING ON WHAT THAT PROJECT MIGHT LOOK LIKE, BUT WE'RE DEFINITELY MOVING FORWARD AND EXCITED TO HOPEFULLY HAVE THAT, UH, WITHIN THIS TWO YEAR TIMEFRAME THAT, UH, ZACH HAS SENT OUT.
AND, AND IF I COULD, I, I JUST WANNA MENTION, WE'VE ALREADY WORKED ON SOME OF HIS OTHER PRIORITIES AND WE HAVE ONE OF OUR ELECTRIC TRASH TRUCKS, THE CITY'S FIRST, UH, ELECTRIC TRASH TRUCK PARKED
[01:05:01]
RIGHT OUTSIDE THIS WINDOW HERE.SO AFTER THIS, UH, COMMITTEE MEETING, TAKE A LOOK AT THAT.
SO WE'RE REALLY PROUD ABOUT THAT, AND IT'LL JUST BE THE FIRST OF MANY.
AND I'M JUST CURIOUS ABOUT, SORRY, CUSTOMER DUCH, IS THAT, UM, IS THAT GONNA BE FUNDED THROUGH THE TCQ FUNDS OR, UH, THIS ONE WAS OUT OF OUR OPERAT OUR CAPITAL FUND.
SO WE, WE FUNDED THAT ONE, UH, ON OUR OWN.
IT'S A, WE GOT A GOOD PRICE ON IT, SO, AND IT'LL HANDLE OUR DOWNTOWN ROUTES HERE, SO.
I'M, I'M BE CURIOUS IF WE COULD GET THEM TO, TO REIMBURSE IT.
'CAUSE I KNOW THEY'VE GOT THAT FUND FOR HEAVY DUTY VEHICLES THAT THE TRASH TRUCKS FIT WITHIN, SO YEAH.
AND WE'RE WORKING WITH FLEET MOBILITY SERVICES ON OUR, OUR KIND OF OUR WISHLIST OF WHAT WE'D LIKE FROM THEM AS WELL.
COUNCILLOR DUCH, I ASSUME YOU HAVE SOME QUESTIONS.
UH, FIRST THANKS SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR WORK AND THE PRESENTATION.
UH, MY QUESTIONS ARE MAINLY JUST REALLY ABOUT THE DATA.
I HAVEN'T A CHANCE TO LOOK AT THE, THE PUBLIC FACING DASHBOARD YOU GUYS HAVE SET UP TODAY OR LAUNCHED.
UM, SO HOPEFULLY ALL THE INFORMATION IS THERE AND MAYBE YOU CAN JUST GIMME VERY QUICK ANSWERS ON THAT.
UH, I WANNA START WITH THE CO BENEFIT SOUNDS LIKE THIS IS, AS YOU SAID, KIND OF CUTTING AGAINST TECHNOLOGY OR, UH, A NEW WAY OF TRYING TO DO SORT OF A RISK ASSESSMENT, UH, OR OPPORTUNITY ASSESSMENT.
IS THERE MORE DETAILS ABOUT WHAT THOSE SPECIFIC CO-BENEFITS LOOK LIKE FOR THESE DIFFERENT PROJECTS? ARE THERE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF CO-BENEFITS? CAN YOU KIND OF EXPAND A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE METHODOLOGY USED THERE TO COME UP WITH THIS CATEGORY AND HOW THAT WORKS AND IT, AND IF, OBVIOUSLY IF IT'S ONLINE, I JUST GO LOOK THERE, SO SAVE US SOME TIME.
NO, NO, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION, COUNCIL MEMBER.
SO, UH, ONE ANSWER IS YES, THE C 40 TOOL THAT WE ADOPTED FOR LOCAL PURPOSE IS AVAILABLE ON THEIR WEBSITE, SO YOU CAN SEE WHAT THE TEMPLATE IS.
AND SO WE, AGAIN, ADAPTED BASED ON OUR COMMUNITY'S PRIORITIES AND WHAT WE HEARD THROUGHOUT THE PLANNING PROCESS THAT LED TO THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, UH, AS WELL AS IN CONSULTATION WITH OUR, UH, OFFICE OF EQUITY AND, AND INCLUSION.
WE HAD SOME CONSULTATION WITH THEM AND CONVERSATION JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT IT, IT FELT RIGHT TO THEM AS WELL.
UM, AND I'M HAPPY TO ALSO SEND YOU AND THE REST OF THE MEMBERS, IF IT'S AN, IF IT'S AN INTEREST, THE ACTUAL, UH, CO BENEFIT CRITERIA THAT WE USED IN THAT SECTION.
AGAIN, THERE'S FEASIBILITY AND VIABILITY, WHICH IS A SEPARATE SECTION.
THAT'S WHY THOSE THREE WERE SEPARATED BECAUSE YOU HAVE, THE FIRST PART OF THE ASSESSMENT IS WHAT IS THE GREENHOUSE GAS BENEFIT POTENTIAL REDUCTION.
THEN YOU HAVE THE CORE BENEFITS SCORING, AND THEN YOU HAVE, UH, THE FEASIBILITY AND VIABILITY.
UM, AND HONESTLY ON THE, ON THE FEASIBILITY AND VIABILITY SLIDE, ALL OF THOSE ARE THE COMPLETE LIST OF FEASIBILITY AND VI VIABILITY QUESTIONS.
BUT I'M HAPPY TO SHARE WITH YOU THE, THE FULL LIST OF CRITERIA FOR CO-BENEFITS.
AND IF I WERE TO LOOK ONLINE ON THE DASHBOARD, AND I LOOKED AT, I'M JUST GONNA PICK A LINE ITEM HERE.
THE PASSIVE HOUSE INCENTIVES, WOULD I BE ABLE TO LOOK AT WHAT SPECIFIC OR AT LEAST CATEGORIES OF CO-BENEFITS THAT WOULD BE CHECKED OFF UNDER THAT PARTICULAR ITEM? WELL, THE SCORE, SO KIND OF, BUT NOT IN THE SPECIFIC DETAIL.
I THINK YOU'RE LOOKING FOR, SO THE, THE SCORING LED TO A NUMBER WHICH WAS PRODUCED BY BOTH A POSITIVE IN SOME CASES AND A NEGATIVE IN SOME CASES FOR ALL ACTIONS.
SO IF IT, UH, IF IT WAS AN ACTION THAT WAS ASSESSED FOR PHYSICAL HEALTH AND IT DIDN'T IMPROVE PHYSICAL HEALTH DIRECTLY, UM, THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT ENDED UP WITH A NEUTRAL SCORING.
BUT IF IT DID SOMETHING POSITIVE FOR PHYSICAL HEALTH, THEN IT WAS OBVIOUSLY YOU SCORED HIGHER.
UM, SO THE SCORING ITSELF, THE CATEGORIES HAVE BEEN DEFINED AS FEW, SOME, AND MANY.
UM, AND THE DETAILS FOR THAT IS FEW IS BETWEEN ZERO POINTS AND EIGHT POINTS.
SOME IS NINE TO 16, AND MANY IS 17 TO 24.
AND THAT'S A, THAT'S A, THAT'S A, A PERFECT MIX OF ALL OF THE ASPECTS IN THIS ANALYSIS OF ALL THE DIFFERENT CODE BENEFITS.
SO I CAN GIVE YOU THE SPECIFIC DETAILS ON THAT ITEM IF THAT'S OF INTEREST.
UH, BUT IT'S ALL MIXED TOGETHER BECAUSE THAT'S, THAT'S SORT OF HOW THE TOOL FUNCTIONS.
NO, THAT WOULD BE VALUABLE IF YOU GOT SOME INFORMATION.
IN THE COURSE OF THE OTHER CITIES LOOKING AT THIS AND DEVELOPING THIS NEW METHODOLOGY, WERE THEY ABLE TO QUANTIFY THOSE CO-BENEFITS? LIKE YOU TALKED ABOUT PHYSICAL HEALTH, THERE'S THE WAY TO PUT A NUMBER ON THAT TO FACTOR INTO, UM, HOW WE APPROACH THESE.
SO THE, THE TOOL, UM, ALLOWS YOU TO ALSO DEFINE WHAT THAT MEANS AND HOW IT CAN BE QUANTIFIED.
SO WE DID OUR BEST TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERY DEFINITION OF EACH CO-BENEFIT CRITERIA WAS AS QUANTIFIABLE AS POSSIBLE.
ALL OF US, UH, DID A FIRST PASS SEPARATELY AS INDIVIDUALS, AND THEN WE DID A PANEL REVIEW PROCESS AS A TEAM JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DID ACTUALLY FEEL CONFIDENT ABOUT THE NUMBERS THAT WE WERE INPUTTING.
UH, ONE LAST QUESTION, WHICH IS ABOUT, AND I THINK PERHAPS, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL WAS GETTING TO THIS SAME THING.
IS THERE MORE GRANULARITY, SOME OF THESE THINGS ARE PARTIALLY FUNDED YES, YES.
[01:10:01]
THE DASHBOARD, DOES IT SORT OF GIVE US MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE EXTENT TO WHICH THINGS ARE PARTIALLY FUNDED OR WHAT THE UNFUNDED PORTIONS MIGHT BE? YEAH, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.UM, WE DO HAVE A FUNDING STATUS COLUMN THAT HAS A LOT MORE DETAIL ABOUT WHAT KIND OF POTENTIAL FUNDING SOURCES OR FINANCING WOULD BE AVAILABLE FOR EACH ACTION, INCLUDING ITS ELIGIBILITY FOR GEO BONDS AND THE LIKE.
AND IF THERE'S GRANT FUNDING, HOW, WHAT THE STATUS IS OF THAT GRANT FUNDING, UH, IF IT'S FEDERAL.
UM, BUT ON THE PARTIAL NOTE, I THINK THAT'S AN AREA WHERE WE WILL ADD MORE INFORMATION AS IT COMES AVAILABLE.
WE'RE DOING SOME, AGAIN, ENGAGEMENT CONTINUES WITH OUR DEPARTMENTAL COLLEAGUES, AND SO WE'RE DOING SOME FOLLOW UP JUST TO MAKE SURE WE GET THAT RIGHT.
AND THEN THE TWO YEAR COST THAT YOU'VE GOT LISTED OUT THERE, IS THAT JUST THE COST FOR IMPLEMENTING THAT PIECE WITHIN A TWO YEAR TIMEFRAME? CORRECT.
AND THERE'S COST BEYOND THE TWO YEAR TIMEFRAME? IN SOME CASES, YES.
IF THERE'S ONGOING FUNDING IDENTIFIED, THAT'S MOSTLY WITH THE PROGRAM, UH, CATEGORY, THE ACTION TYPE OF PROGRAM, BECAUSE THAT INCURS AN ONGOING COST IF IT'S SUSTAINED.
UH, BUT THE, THE TOTAL COST IS, IS A, A SUMMARY OF THE GROSS TOTAL.
SO IT'S ONGOING AND ONE TIME, UM, IN A TWO YEAR TIMEFRAME.
AND THIS GOES, I THINK IT'S SPECIFICALLY STATED ON THE WEBSITE, BUT ALL OF THE COST ANALYSIS IS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.
IF THERE'S FURTHER DETAILS WARRANTED, YOU HAVE IT INCURS CURIOSITIES OF EXACTLY HOW WE GOT THAT AMOUNT, UM, WE'RE HAPPY TO PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION TOO.
SO IF I GO ON THE DASHBOARD, IT'LL GIVE ME SOME MORE INDICATION ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THOSE COSTS EXTEND BEYOND THE TWO YEAR PERIOD OR WHETHER THEY'RE OM INVOLVED OR WHATEVER THAT LOOKS LIKE.
AND THEN BEYOND THAT, THERE'S ADDITIONAL LEVEL THAT WE CAN REQUEST EXACTLY.
UM, I WANNA PICK UP, UH, FOR A MINUTE ON THE COUPLE OF QUESTIONS COUNCILOR SIEGEL IS ASKING, WE'VE BEEN WORKING A LOT TOGETHER AS WELL WITH THE BUILDING SERVICES ON THIS SOLAR QUESTION AS A BIG PRIORITY, UH, FOR MY OFFICE WHEN, WHEN WE FIRST STARTED THIS CONVERSATION, RIGHT, WHAT ARE THE THINGS WE CAN DO THAT WE HAVE CONTROL OVER WHERE WE'RE NOT DEPENDENT ON EITHER THE PUBLIC OR SOME OTHER ENTITY, WE CAN DO IT.
AND THE AMOUNT OF ENERGY WE ARE USING AS A CITY REALLY STOOD OUT.
WE ARE THE SECOND LARGEST ENERGY USER AS AN ENTITY BEHIND SAMSUNG IN THE, IN AUSTIN ENERGY'S TERRITORY.
SO WE HAVE A, A HUGE OPPORTUNITY TO LOWER OR OFFSET THAT USAGE.
UM, AND SO I, I REALLY, UH, AM VERY INTERESTED IN PUSHING FORWARD THIS YEAR, BEING ABLE TO MAXIMIZE THE SOLAR ON OUR CITY FACILITIES AND UTILIZE THOSE SAVINGS FOR OTHER PROJECTS SO THAT WE'RE BEING REALLY SMART ABOUT OUR INVESTMENTS.
UM, I WILL SAY WITH MY AUSTIN WATER FRIENDS IN THE ROOM, THEY ARE THE, THE NUMBER ONE USER, AND RIGHTFULLY SO, NOT, NOT CALLING THEM OUT IN A BAD WAY.
THEY OPERATE PUMPS 24 7, CLEAN A BUNCH OF WATER THAT WE NEED.
SO I CAN'T WAIT TO LOOK AT OPPORTUNITIES WHERE MAYBE THERE ARE, UM, FIELDS OR, OR AREAS WHERE WE COULD HELP OFFSET SOME OF THAT ENERGY USAGE.
UH, BECAUSE WE'RE GONNA ALWAYS NEED TO TREAT WATER AND IT ALWAYS HAS TO MOVE AROUND THE CITY.
UH, AND SO HOW WE CAN BEST LOOK AT OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN THOSE SPACES, BECAUSE OFTENTIMES IT REQUIRES A LOT OF OPEN SPACE TO, TO OPERATE.
AND WHERE CAN WE START PUTTING SOME OF THOSE, UM, THOSE SOLAR PANELS AND MAYBE IT HELPS OFFSET RATES, MAYBE IT GOES TO THE REVOLVING FUND, RIGHT? WE CAN FIGURE OUT THE BEST WAY TO DO IT, BUT IN THE LONG TERM, IT'S ALWAYS A WINNER.
UM, AND I THINK ESPECIALLY WITH THE OPEN QUESTIONS ABOUT SOME OF THE TAX CREDITS THAT MAY OR MAY NOT CONTINUE TO BE AVAILABLE, WE NEED TO ACT JUDICIOUSLY AND EXPEDITIOUSLY BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS.
I ALSO, UM, WANT TO, YOU KNOW, REALLY LOOKING AT THE SUSTAINABILITY, THE SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS CATEGORY, ONCE AGAIN, KIND OF HIGHLIGHT THAT SOME OF THESE ARE BUILDING NEW THINGS, BUT THEY'RE BUILDING THINGS THAT WE CONTROL, RIGHT? SOLAR ON OUR FACILITIES OR, OR WHATNOT.
BUT A LOT OF IT IS ALSO JUST TAKING WHAT'S ALREADY OUT THERE AND MAKING IT BETTER, MORE EFFICIENT, RIGHT? WE DON'T HAVE TO REINVENT THE WHEEL HERE.
WE ARE TAKING HOMES THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, VERY OLD, OFTEN IN LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES AND THAT HAVE NO ATTIC INSULATION, GET THEM ATTIC, YOU KNOW, THEIR ATTICS INSULATED, AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THEIR ENERGY BILLS
[01:15:01]
GO DOWN, WHICH IS GREAT FOR THEM.BUT OUR ENERGY USAGE GOES DOWN GREAT FOR US, UH, THAT THERE ARE SO MANY OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE HAVE AS A COMMUNITY TO JUST DO WHAT WE'RE ALREADY DOING BETTER.
AND WE DON'T HAVE TO TELL SOMEBODY TO TURN THEIR THERMOSTAT UP OR DOWN, WHICH EVERYONE LOVES TO BE TOLD TO DO, RIGHT? THEY CAN JUST DO IT MORE EFFICIENTLY.
UH, AND SO I WILL CERTAINLY WANT TO, UM, EXPLORE MORE HOW WE CAN REALLY MAXIMIZE ON THOSE KINDS OF THINGS WHERE WE JUST, LIKE I SAID, DO IT BETTER.
UM, THE LAST KIND OF AREA I REALLY WANT TO, UM, FOCUS ON AND I'M, I'M SO EXCITED TO HEAR ABOUT THE ELECTRIC TRASH VEHICLE HERE.
I'VE BEEN, UH, WANTING TO SEE US BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
I DO HAVE A QUESTION FOR DIRECTOR MCHALE IF, IF HE MIGHT REAPPEAR, UM, THE BIGGEST OBSTACLE WE'VE HAD FOR ELECTRIC TRASH TRUCK IMPLEMENTATION AS, UH, I KNOW YOU ARE AWARE 'CAUSE YOU'VE IDENTIFIED IT IS THE TRANSFER STATION, RIGHT? WE CAN'T HAVE ELECTRICAL, VE ELECTRIC VEHICLES DRIVING ALL THE WAY OUT TO THE DUMP AND BACK AND BACK.
WHERE ARE WE ON THE TRANSFER STATION? WHAT'S THE TIMELINE, UH, FOR IMPLEMENTING THAT? YEAH, SO WE, UH, OUR CONSULTANT, UH, RECENTLY FINISHED UP A REPORT ABOUT THE SIGHTING AND FEASIBILITY OF A, OF THE TRANSFER STATION.
AND IT'S, IT WAS A POSITIVE THAT IT'S, IT'S A DIRECTION WE NEED TO GO.
UM, IT BASICALLY PUTS THE LOCATION PRIORITIES UP NORTH, UH, NORTH AUSTIN, UH, CLOSER TO OUR JOHNNY MORRIS FACILITY.
SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE KIND OF LOOKING FOR PROPERTY KIND OF IN NORTH NORTHEAST AUSTIN, UH, FOR A FACILITY.
WE'VE, UH, TALKED WITH SEVERAL LANDOWNERS AND, AND WE'VE, UH, HAD, UH, ENGAGED REAL ESTATE IN THIS PROCESS AS WELL.
SO WE'RE JUST TRYING TO, TO FIND THE PROPERTY, BUT, UH, WE'RE READY TO GO.
AND, AND LET'S JUST SAY, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU FOUND THAT PROPERTY TOMORROW.
WHAT'S THE TIMELINE KIND OF TO ACTUAL OPENING A FACILITY LIKE THAT? HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE? YEAH, SO, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE REAL ESTATE PROCESS IN ITSELF WILL BE PROBABLY ABOUT A YEAR TO BEFORE CLOSING.
UM, BUT THEN, UH, JUST THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, WHETHER WE GO THROUGH THE, THE CITY PROCESS OR THROUGH THE, UH, PUBLIC FACILITY CORPORATION, UM, YOU'LL BE PROBABLY LOOKING AT ANOTHER, UH, THREE, THREE TO FOUR YEARS ON TOP OF THAT WITH DESIGN AND EVERYTHING.
UM, BUT, UM, IT, IT MAY TIME OUT WELL BECAUSE OUR LANDFILL CONTRACT, OUR 30 YEAR LANDFILL CONTRACT IS UP IN 2030.
SO THINGS MAY ALIGN PRETTY WELL THERE.
WELL, AND THAT'S PART OF THE, KNOW, THE BROADER VEHICLE ELECTRIFICATION ITEM THAT Y'ALL, AND AMAZINGLY WITH A NEGATIVE NUMBER ON IT.
RIGHT? THE ONLY THING WITH A NEGATIVE NUMBER ON HERE IDENTIFIED, UM, WE HAD, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WERE NOT HERE LAST YEAR ON THE AUDIT FINANCE COMMITTEE, WE HAD A PRESENTATION FROM FLEET AND MYSELF AND COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON ALTER, ASKED THE QUESTION OF THEM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE IN THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, A GOAL FOR 40% OF VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED TO BE ELECTRIFIED, AND THAT'S NOT AS A CITY ENTITY, THAT'S AS A CITY FOR ALL THE VEHICLES DRIVEN.
UM, AND SO WE ASKED THE QUESTION, WHAT IS ARE, ARE WE GONNA MEET THAT GOAL FOR OUR OWN VEHICLES? UH, SHORT ANSWER, NO.
AND WE RIGHT NOW ARE IN THE TWO TO 3% RANGE OF VEHICLE A A VEHICLE, MILES DRIVEN BEING ELECTRIFIED.
AND, AND THEY PRESENTED KIND OF TWO, TWO CHARTS, KIND OF OUR CURRENT PATH AND THEN WHAT WE WOULD HAVE TO DO TO GET THERE BY 2030 FOR THAT TO HIT THAT 40% NUMBER.
AND SO I THINK THIS, I UNDERSCORES, I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR, UM, THIS HOLISTIC ANALYSIS, BUT PUN INTENDED, I'M READY TO HIT THE ACCELERATOR ON GETTING OUR FLEET ELECTRIFIED.
THERE ARE A LOT OF REASONS, A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, WELL, MAYBE THIS OR THAT OR, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE IN THE, LET'S FIND A YES DEPARTMENT NOW, NOT TELL ME WHY IT CAN'T BE DONE.
AND SO I WILL CERTAINLY BE PRESSING FORWARD ON, AT A MINIMUM, ANYTHING THAT ISN'T A LIGHT DUTY OR BELOW, BUT HOW WE CAN IDENTIFY FOR OUR HEAVY DUTY VEHICLES, THE OPPORTUNITIES AND GET THOSE ORDERS, YOU KNOW, IDENTIFIED AND, AND THAT PLANNED OUT.
BECAUSE WE CAN'T ASK THE PUBLIC TO DO SOMETHING WE CAN'T EVEN DO OURSELVES.
WE'VE GOTTA BE A LEADER AND WE'VE GOT TO THINK DIFFERENTLY.
YOU KNOW, DENTON HAS AN ELECTRIC FIRETRUCK, LET'S EXPLORE THAT.
UH, THERE THERE ARE SO MANY OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE JUST DON'T THINK ABOUT OR, OR IT'S NOT AS EASY, SO WE
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DON'T DO IT.BUT IT'S, IT'S, IT'S TIME TO NOT JUST THINK SMALL ANYMORE.
SO, UH, I I WILL, I WILL LEAVE IT THERE.
I COULD TALK ABOUT THIS FOR HOURS AND HOURS, BUT I WOULDN'T DO THAT TO ANYBODY HERE EXCEPT WHEN I'M SURE WE'LL MEET AGAIN AND I'LL DO IT TOO PRIVATELY.
UM, SO, OH, ACTUALLY, I'M SORRY, I HAD ONE LAST THING.
THE LAND ACQUISITION, THE A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS THAT YOU'VE IDENTIFIED, IS THAT INCLUSIVE? YOU HAVE A PARTIAL THERE.
IS THAT INCLUSIVE OF THE $50 MILLION THAT WE PASSED AS A BODY LAST YEAR? UH, YES, I BELIEVE SO.
AND WHEN MIGHT WE SEE SOME, AND I KNOW BECAUSE IT'S LAND ACQUISITION, YOU GUYS CAN'T JUST COME UP HERE AND SAY, HERE'S A MAP OF THE THINGS WE WANT.
AND BECAUSE MAGICALLY THOSE PRICES MIGHT JUST GO UP,
UM, STAFF ARE KNEE DEEP IN THE ANALYSIS AND THAT, THAT ACQUISITION PROCESS RIGHT NOW, I THINK WE COULD PROBABLY FOLLOW UP ONE ON ONE-ON-ONE WITH YOU.
AND WE ARE TRYING TO MOVE AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN AND TRYING TO SPEND THAT INITIAL, UM, AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDING IN THIS FISCAL YEAR.
SO, UM, WE'RE MOVING AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN.
WELL, I'M ASSUMING, YOU KNOW, THAT'S 50 MILLION, I ASSUME THERE'S PROBABLY A FEW MILLION HERE AND THERE FROM SOME OF THE OLD GEO BONDS FOR SOME LAND.
SO IF YOU COULD HELP US IDENTIFY THE GAP GOING INTO THIS BUDGET, UM, THAT WOULD BE ALSO VERY HELPFUL, UH, AS WELL.
SO NOW I, AS A, AS ADVERTISED, I'M GONNA STOP ASKING YOU QUESTIONS ANY MORE OVER HERE.
I NEVER WANNA CUT ANYBODY OFF FROM QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? NO, I'M HAPPY TO HAVE MORE CONVERSATIONS OFFLINE 'CAUSE I'M GETTING ALL SORTS OF GOOD IDEAS UP HERE AND I JUST
I WAS POKING AROUND ALL THE LINKS YESTERDAY TOO, AND JUST EXCELLENT WORK WHERE Y'ALL, Y'ALL HAVE DONE GREAT WORK.
[3. Briefing on overview of safety efforts at City parks.]
WE'RE GONNA TAKE A HARD LEFT TURN TO ITEM NUMBER THREE, PARKS SECURITY.I SERVE AS THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR PARKS AND RECREATION AND I HAVE SOME COLLEAGUES WITH ME.
I HAVE AMANDA ROSS, DIVISION MANAGER FOR NATURAL RESOURCES AND OUR ASSISTANT CHIEF, UH, ROGERS.
AND, UM, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO THE EXPERTS TO FILL, FILL YOU IN ON PARK SAFETY.
UM, I AM THE DIVISION MANAGER OVER NATURAL RESOURCES, WHICH INCLUDES OUR PARK RANGER UNIT.
SO I'M GONNA PROVIDE JUST A LITTLE BIT OF A HISTORY OF KIND OF PARK SAFETY, UM, AND THEN KIND OF WHAT THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITY ARE WITHIN THE PARKS DEPARTMENT, UM, AND THEN HOW OUR PARK RANGERS SUPPORT OUR, UM, PARTNERS WITH THE AUSTIN, UH, POLICE DEPARTMENT.
AND THEN JUST HOW THAT PARTNERSHIP KIND OF WORKS BEFORE I TURN IT OVER TO A PD, UM, WHO IS, UM, HAS THE LEAD WITHIN THE CITY FOR PUBLIC SAFETY TO GO INTO THOSE DETAILS THAT THEY HAVE AS WELL.
SO TO START YOU GUYS OFF, UH, JUST THINGS YOU ALREADY KNOW, BUT JUST TO PUT INTO PERSPECTIVE, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT PUBLIC SAFETY IN PARKS, WE HAVE MORE THAN 20,000 ACRES OF GREEN SPACE ON PARK AND WITHIN PARKS, THERE'S OVER 300 PARKS DISTRIBUTED THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
IN ADDITION, THERE'S A VARIETY OF TYPES OF PARKS.
SO THOSE ARE NATURE PRESERVES THAT HAVE VARIETY OF TRAILS, THAT HAVE A TON OF VEGETATION IN THEM TO OUR MORE, UH, METRO PARKS THAT ARE LARGE AND HAVE SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF VISITATION, UH, TO OUR NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS, WHICH ARE SMALLER BUT MIGHT HAVE MORE DOG OFF LEASH CONCERNS.
SO JUST TO KIND OF GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF PERSPECTIVE, VARIETY OF PARKS SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE CITY WITH A VARIETY OF PUBLIC SAFETY CHALLENGES, UM, AND SOME HISTORY FOR YOU ALL.
UM, JUST SO YOU KNOW, THAT, UH, THE FIRST PARK RANGERS WERE ACTUALLY EMPLOYED IN THE LATE SIXTIES BY THE PARKS DEPARTMENT.
UM, BY 1970 THERE WERE 10 OF THEM AND THEY WERE ALL COMMISSIONED POLICE OFFICERS.
AND SO THAT EVENTUALLY EVOLVED INTO, UM, IN 2008 THERE WAS A CONSOLIDATION OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND
[01:25:01]
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT WITHIN THE CITY.SO THOSE PARK RANGERS AT THE TIME BECAME PARK POLICE AND THEY REPORTED DIRECTLY WITHIN THAT PUBLIC SAFETY REALM, WHICH IS OUR AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT.
UM, AND THEN IN 2008, IN ADDITION TO THAT, UH, THERE WAS THE CREATION OF OUR CURRENT DAY PARK RANGERS.
AND REALLY, UH, THE GUIDANCE IN THAT ORDINANCE SPECIFICALLY HAD A FAIRLY LARGE WELCOME, EDUCATIONAL KIND OF EYES AND EARS, UH, PRESENCE WITHIN OUR PARK SYSTEM THAT ARE NON-COMMISSIONED POLICE OFFICERS.
AND THEN IN 2020, UH, THE PARK POLICE WERE ABSORBED TO MEET OTHER NEEDS WITHIN THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT AND WE CONTINUE OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT TO THIS DAY.
SO PARK RANGERS, UM, JUST TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THEIR ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES ARE, WHAT THEY CAN AND CAN'T DO, AND A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THEIR KIND OF DAY LOOKS LIKE.
YOU'LL OFTEN SEE THEM ON BIKES, UM, ON OUR TRAILS.
UM, THEY'RE, UM, HIKING IN OUR TRAILS.
THEY'RE DEFINITELY A PRESENCE WITHIN THE PARK SYSTEM.
THERE'S ONLY 24 OF THEM, UM, BUT THEY DO WORK, UM, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
UM, WE DO HAVE SHIFTS SO THAT THE MAJORITY ARE WORKING A WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY SHIFT.
WE SEE THAT OUR THURSDAY, FRIDAY AND SATURDAY ARE KIND OF OUR BUSIER TIMES IN THE PARKS.
UM, THEY ARE PROVIDING A UNIFORM PRESENCE WITHIN OUR PARKS.
UM, THEY ARE TALKING TO PEOPLE, SO IF THERE IS SOMEBODY WITH A DOG OFF LEASH, THEY'RE GOING UP TO THEM AND HAVING A CONVERSATION ABOUT WHAT THE IMPACTS OF THAT ARE OR WHERE THEY CAN GO TO OFF LEASH AREAS.
THEY'RE DOING IT IN A WAY THAT IS A FRIENDLY, WELCOMING SPACE AND TRYING TO PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION TO PEOPLE AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN THEY'RE ALSO TRYING TO HELP PEOPLE.
A LOT OF TIMES IT'S SIMPLE QUESTIONS, WHERE'S THE BATHROOM? WHERE'S, WHERE CAN I GO HIKE HERE? THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO THEY'RE ALSO JUST AMBASSADORS TO THE PUBLIC AND THEY PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION AND THEY RESPOND TO A VARIETY OF NEEDS, WHETHER IT BE, UM, THERE'S VEHICLES HERE AND WE NEED TO GET, UM, MORE TICKETING DONE FOR PARKING IN THIS AREA, OR THEY'RE PROVIDING, UM, EYES AND EARS, WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE AREA, HELPING TO PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION TO OUR PARTNERS AT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AS WELL.
UH, AND JUST TO CLARIFY, THEY DO NOT CARRY FIREARMS. THEY ARE NOT COMMISSIONED, BUT THEY DO HAVE THE ABILITY TO CARRY PEPPER SPRAY AND THEY, UH, PARTNER WITH OUR AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT, UH, TO GO THROUGH TRAINING FOR THEM TO HAVE THAT ABILITY TO, IT IS OPTIONAL FOR STAFF THOUGH THEY'RE NOT REQUIRED.
AND THEN EXACTLY KIND OF WHAT DOES PUBLIC PARK RANGERS AND PUBLIC SAFETY SUPPORT LOOK LIKE WITHIN THE PARKS DEPARTMENT? TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND, UM, THERE IS SOMETHING CALLED CRIME PREVENTION THROUGH ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN.
AND IT'S ACTUALLY SUPER IMPORTANT TO MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN PUBLIC SAFETY IN A SPACE.
AND SO, UH, NOT ONLY OUR PARK RANGERS, BUT OUR WHOLE ENTIRE DEPARTMENT CAN HELP WITH, YOU KNOW, VEGETATION, UH, MAKING SURE THERE'S CLEAR LINES OF SIGHT, MAKING SURE THERE'S ADDITIONAL SIGNAGE WHERE IT NEEDS TO BE COMMUNICATING THROUGH THAT SIGNAGE, THE RULES SETTING AND ESTABLISHING BOUNDARIES AND BARRIERS SO THAT THERE AREN'T CARS DRIVING THROUGHOUT, THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT, UH, FALLS WITHIN KIND OF OUR ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY WITHIN THE PARKS DEPARTMENT.
IN ADDITION, UH, WE HAVE THAT VOLUNTARY COMPLIANCE WITH OUR PARK RANGERS, WHICH IS THAT SHARED, HEY, CAN WE HAVE THIS ACTION BECAUSE OF THIS IS WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THIS SPACE.
WE ALSO DO FOCUSED PROGRAMMING.
SO IF WE HAVE AN AREA OF CONCERN, WE'LL DO A DIRECTED PATROL OR FOCUSED PROGRAMMING WITH OUR PARK RANGERS.
SO THAT COULD BE, AGAIN, DOGS OFF LEASH.
THAT MEANS WE'RE GONNA HAVE MORE PEOPLE.
UM, WE'LL DO BARK RANGERS, WE'LL DO SOME VOLUNTARY, VOLUNTARY, UM, ACTIVITIES IN THAT SPACE.
UM, WE'LL DO POP-UP EVENTS TO HELP SHARE WHAT THOSE CONCERNS ARE IN THAT SPACE.
WE'LL DO DIRECTED PATROLS, THINGS LIKE THAT WHERE WE'RE JUST PROVIDING A MORE HEAVY PRESENCE IN THAT SPACE TO HELP SHARE THOSE INFORMATION, THAT INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THAT SPACE.
UM, OUR PARK RANGERS ARE ALSO ABLE TO PROVIDE PARKING TICKETS.
SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE DO A LOT OF.
UM, AND IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE PARTNER WITH, UH, PUBLIC WORKS AND TRANSPORTATION FOR ADDITIONAL PARKING, UM, TICKET VIOLATIONS AS WELL.
WE ALSO CAN TOW WITHIN OUR SPACES AS WELL.
SO THAT'S ALSO SOMETHING THAT CAN HELP CONTRIBUTE TO OUR PUBLIC SAFETY, UM, THAT IS WITHIN THE PARKS DEPARTMENT'S ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY.
UM, WE ALSO WORK AND HAVE JOINT EFFORTS WITH OUR PARK, UH, RANGERS AND OUR, OUR, OUR POLICE.
AND THAT CAN BE BASICALLY SHARING OF INFORMATION.
WE'RE GOING OUT TO THE SPACE, THIS IS WHAT WE'RE SEEING, CAN WE BRAINSTORM HOW WE CAN HELP AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THAT SPACE.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF PARTNERSHIP THAT HAPPENS IN THOSE SPACES TO HELP PROBLEM SOLVE ON THOSE SPECIFIC NEEDS.
AND THEN LAST, AND THIS IS A BIG ONE FOR US WITHIN THE, UH, PARKS DEPARTMENT, AND THIS IS THANKS TO, UM, SUPPORT FROM THE AUSTIN PARKS FOUNDATION AS WE ARE CURRENTLY COMPLETING A SAFETY AUDIT OF ALL PARKS.
SO WE BROKE THEM INTO THOSE DIFFERENT TYPES AND WE HAVE AN AUDITOR COMING IN AND SAYING, THESE ARE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP IMPROVE SAFETY WITHIN THE PARKS DEPARTMENT.
UM, AND SO WE DO EXPECT A COMPLETION OF THAT IN THE NEXT COUPLE MONTHS, AND THE ABILITY TO ROLL THAT OUT AND SHARE
[01:30:01]
NOT ONLY, UM, WHAT THOSE THINGS THAT WE CAN DO ARE HOW MUCH THEY COST, AND THEN ALSO, HOPEFULLY, EVENTUALLY A PHASED IMPLEMENTATION PLAN AS TO HOW WE CAN WORK TOWARDS IMPROVING PUBLIC SAFETY THAT ARE WITHIN THOSE KIND OF ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITY OF THE PARKS DEPARTMENT.AND LASTLY, I'M GONNA GO INTO A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR PARTNERSHIP BEFORE I TURN IT OVER TO THE, UH, TO OUR CHIEF OVER HERE.
UM, WHICH IS THAT WE HAVE REGULAR COMMUNICATION.
WE HAVE AN AGREEMENT WITH THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT THAT SAYS THAT WE'RE GOING TO REGULARLY COMMUNICATE, UM, THAT COMMUNICATION ISN'T JUST WITH OUR PARK RANGERS.
WE HAVE AQUATICS AT THE TABLE, WE HAVE OUR COMMUNITY REC STAFF AT THE TABLE.
IT'S A VARIETY OF STAFF THAT ARE SHARING THEIR CONCERNS, WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THOSE SPACES, AND KIND OF WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS AT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT TO HELP US FIGURE OUT THE BEST APPROACHES AND SOLUTIONS, THINGS THAT WE CAN DO IN OUR WORLD AND THINGS THAT THEY CAN SUPPORT WITHIN THE PUBLIC SAFETY REALM AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN I'M GONNA GIVE YOU A QUICK EXAMPLE OF BURGLARY VEHICLES, WHICH I THINK WE'LL HEAR EVEN MORE ABOUT HERE IN A SECOND AS TO SOME OF THOSE PARTNERSHIPS.
SO, UM, LET'S MOUNT BONNE, UH, ST.
ED'S PARK, UH, BULL CREEK, UH, MAYFIELD, THOSE WERE ALL SUBSTANTIALLY, LARGELY HIT AREAS FOR BURGLARY VEHICLES.
AND SO WE, YOU KNOW, WORKED WITH OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT, TALKED ABOUT PLACES WHERE WE COULD PUT ADDITIONAL SIGNAGE INCLUDING TAKE LOCK, HIDE, UM, SIGNAGE TO HELP COMMUNICATE TO PEOPLE THAT THIS MIGHT BE A CONCERN.
UM, SHARING, PUTTING OUT CARDS ON PEOPLE'S CARDS, UH, CARDS TO HELP SHARE THAT INFORMATION.
WE ALSO ADDED SECURITY CAMERAS.
SO THIS IS SOMETHING WE'VE DONE THE PAST TWO SUMMERS WHERE WE HAVE, UM, ADDED INCREASED SECURITY CAMERAS THAT ARE LIVE, WHICH WE ALSO PROVIDE ACCESS TO OUR PARTNERS AT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT SO THAT THEY CAN GO IN, UH, THE VIDEO IS GOOD FOR 60 DAYS, SO WHEN THEY GET A CONCERN, THEY CAN ALSO GO IN AND, AND LOOK AT THAT EXACT TIME AND GET THE DATA DETAILS THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE OF WHAT HAPPENED IN THAT SPACE.
AND THEY HAVE THAT DATA AS WELL.
AND WE ALSO HAVE ACCESS TO THOSE AS WELL.
AND SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE REALLY HELPFUL FOR THAT.
WE HAVE ABOUT $250,000 FOR THAT ANNUALLY, AND I'M HAPPY TO SAY THAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO GO UP THIS WEEK, UH, FOR KIND OF OUR BUSY SUMMER SEASON AT FIVE LOCATIONS.
UM, AND THOSE ARE BASED ON RECOMMENDATION.
THOSE LOCATIONS ARE BASED ON RECOMMENDATIONS FROM OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT.
WE HAD A BUDGET ITEM FOR TWO CAMERAS THROUGH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
ARE THOSE PART OF THE FIVE OR ARE THOSE SEPARATE FROM THE FIVE? THEY'RE SEPARATE FROM THE FIVE.
AND THEN, UM, I THINK THAT'S KIND OF, LET ME SEE, JUST FOLLOW MYSELF UP.
UM, JUST THAT WE BASICALLY WORK WITH THEM ON THAT AND THEN THE SECURITY CAMERAS ARE GOING BACK UP THIS YEAR.
AND THEN THANKS TO A PD WE'VE HAD A LOT OF WORK DONE IN THAT AREA AND HOPEFULLY WE'LL SEE A REDUCTION IN THAT BURGLARY VEHICLES AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH IT AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN JUST GONNA TURN IT OVER TO A PD WITH THAT, I THINK SHE SAID EVERYTHING I HAVE TO SAY.
WE TALK ABOUT, UH, UH, THE GREAT COLLABORATION THAT WE HAVE.
UH, OBVIOUSLY OUR, OUR BIGGEST ISSUE IS GOING TO BE, UH, THOSE, THOSE VEHICLE BURGLARIES WHEN IT COMES TO CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS, UH, SILK OR PARK REPUBLIC, SQUARE PARK, GIBBS PARK, THOSE ARE OUR, OUR TOP THREE PARKS.
I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE HOW SAFE THE PARKS ARE CONSIDERING THERE'S 355 PARKS IN THE CITY AND 90% OF OUR ISSUES OCCUR WITHIN THREE TO FOUR PARKS.
AND WHEN IT COMES TO CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS, THE NUMBER ONE ISSUE IS GOING TO BE DISTURBANCES, SIMPLE ASSAULTS, UH, THINGS OF, OF THAT NATURE.
THIS, THIS IS OUR, THIS IS OUR BIGGEST PROPERTY CRIME ISSUE, HANDS DOWN ACROSS THE CITY.
90% OCCUR IN 16 OF THOSE 355 PARKS WITH THE BIGGEST, UM, LOCATIONS THAT WE SEE, UH, AS WE'VE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT, BULL CREEK, MOUNT BONNE, ST.
I THINK THE KEY HERE, THIS IS WHERE THE PEOPLE ARE, THIS IS WHERE THE VEHICLES ARE, THIS IS WHERE THE LARGER PARKING LOTS ARE.
AND BECAUSE OF THE DESIGN, THE WAY THAT SOME OF THOSE PARKS ARE, ARE SITUATED, UM, IT'S NOT UNCOMMON TO SEE CARS STREAM DOWN, UM, 360 DOWN, DOWN BULL CREEK ITSELF AND, AND AREAS, UH, THAT LEND THEIR SELF TO, TO PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC.
I WILL SAY THAT WE HAVE, WE HAVE CONSTANTLY, UH, WORKING WITH OUR DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES, UH, DOING OUTREACH, OUTREACH, OUTREACH, UH, WORKING WITH THE PARK RANGERS.
WE HAVE A GREAT RELATIONSHIP WITH PARK STAFF TO CONTINUE TO KEEP THE SIGNAGE FRESH, TO KEEP THE SIGNAGE OUT, TO KEEP THAT MESSAGING FRESH AND OUT.
IT, IT DOESN'T REALLY DO ANYTHING IF IT JUST SITS THERE AND, AND NOBODY'S TALKING ABOUT IT.
BUT HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH PARK PATRONS AS THEY COME IN DOING THE DIFFERENT OUTREACH PROGRAMS WITH PARKS, EVERY TIME THAT THEY HAVE SOMETHING, BE ABLE TO SEND
[01:35:01]
DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES TO TALK TO THE PARK PATRONS, UH, TRAIL FOUNDATION, THOSE GROUPS THAT, THAT WE HAVE ANY AND EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO GET OUT IN FRONT, WE'RE GONNA GET OUT THERE TO SHARE THAT MESSAGE BECAUSE THIS IS THE, THIS IS THE BIGGEST COMPLAINT THAT OUR, OUR COMMUNITY HAS WHEN IT COMES TO THE PARKS IS, IS THE VEHICLE BURGLARIES OUR, OUR EFFORTS TO PREVENT AND REDUCE CRIME IN THE PARKS.IT, IT STARTS WITH THE PARK RANGERS.
YES, WE, WE DID HAVE, UH, ROBUST, UH, POLICE PRESENCE WITHIN THE PARKS PRIOR TO TO 2020.
WE WANT TO GET BACK TO THAT SAME PLACE THAT WE WERE BEFORE.
I THINK EVERYBODY SEES, SEES THAT BENEFIT.
UM, FROM A COMMUNITY OUTREACH PERSPECTIVE, UH, FROM A TRUST PERSPECTIVE, JUST BEING ABLE TO SEE OFFICERS IN A PLACE OTHER THAN JUST STANDARD CALLS FOR SERVICE, I THINK THAT'S CRITICAL FOR US AS AN, AS AN AGENCY AND AS A, AS A CITY AND, AND AS A CITY LEADERSHIP, UH, WORKING WITH THE PARK RANGERS, HAVING A POLICE OFFICER IS IMPORTANT.
BUT HAVING PARK RANGERS THERE IS CRITICAL AS WELL.
JUST HAVING A BODY WITHIN THOSE PARKING SPACES.
SOMEBODY TO BE SEEN, SOMEBODY TO BE JUST A VISIBLE DETERRENCE.
SO OUR, OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE PARK RANGERS AND WITH PARKS IS CRITICAL.
DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES, THERE'S NO QUESTION.
I MEAN, THE COUNCIL IS, IS WELL AWARE OF, OF THE FORCE MULTIPLIER AND THE IMPACT THAT DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES MAKE ACROSS THIS ENTIRE COMMUNITY.
THEY, THEY ARE MANY TIMES THE, THE GATEWAY OR THE PATHWAY, THE, THE SHUFFLER OF, OF PROBLEMS AND GETTING PEOPLE TO THE RIGHT PLACES.
WE DEFINITELY WANNA SEE AN INCREASE IN THOSE NUMBER OF DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES BACK TO THE LEVELS THAT WE WERE BEFORE, BEFORE 2020.
WE'RE WORKING ON GETTING THAT WAY.
IT'S JUST, IT'S, IT'S TAKING US TIME TO GET BACK THERE.
MOUNTED PATROL, WE ARE, WE'RE DOING SOME THINGS DIFFERENT WITH MOUNTED.
I WANT TO SEE AN INCREASE AND WE'RE GOING TO SEE AN INCREASE IN THE USE OF MOUNTED IN SOMEPLACE OTHER THAN JUST THE DOWNTOWN AREA, UH, ESPECIALLY ALONG THE TRAIL SYSTEM.
ZILKER, THOSE PLACES THAT ARE MORE CLOSELY RELATED TO DOWNTOWN, THEY ARE AN AMAZING, UH, GROUP OF AMBASSADORS FOR THE CITY.
THERE ARE THINGS THAT PEOPLE REALLY LOVE TO SEE, BUT AGAIN, IT GOES BACK TO THAT VISIBLE PRESENCE AS A DETERRENT FOR CRIME WITHIN THOSE AREAS.
UH, STATION PATROL VEHICLES, OFTENTIMES WE WILL HAVE VEHICLES IN DIFFERENT SPOTS.
UH, JUST AGAIN FOR THAT, FOR THAT VISIBLE DETERRENT.
'CAUSE OTHER TIMES WE DO HAVE PEOPLE THERE, BUT WHEN WE ALSO HAVE OFFICERS WRITING REPORTS, WHEN THEY DO HAVE TIME THAT THEY CAN JUST BE SITTING SOMEWHERE WRITING THOSE REPORTS, WE WANT TO BE VERY FOCUSED AND TARGETED ON WHERE WE HAVE THEM.
AND THERE'S NO BETTER PLACE THAN IN THE PARKING.
LOTS OF THE PARKS, IN THE PARKING, LOTS OF SOME OF OUR OTHER BUSINESSES.
UH, THE DOMAIN PLACES THAT WE DO SEE VEHICLE BURGLARIES BEING AN ISSUE.
UH, I DO HAVE SOME SPECIALIZED TEAMS THAT ARE WORKING, UH, OPERATIONS TO COMBAT THAT.
UH, PART OF THAT IS ALSO, UM, A COMMUNICATIONS PIECE AND AN OUTREACH TO THE COUNTY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.
UH, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, UH, WE'RE GETTING PROSECUTIONS THAT WE'RE ALSO, WE'RE, WE'RE CREATING A LEVEL OF DETERRENCE FOR THOSE PEOPLE THAT ARE PREYING UPON, UH, THOSE OF OUR PATRONS THAT ARE GOING TO THE PARKS.
AND, AND UTILIZING THOSE, UH, TECHNOLOGY'S A KEY.
WE JUST TALKED ABOUT THE, THE INCREASED USE OF, OF CAMERAS, UH, WHETHER THAT'S THROUGH THE HALO SYSTEM AND BEING ABLE, UH, WITH NEW AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES, BEING ABLE TO, TO TIE IN THAT, THAT CAMERA USE TO BE ABLE TO DISPATCH OFFICERS TO BE ABLE TO USE THOSE SPECIALIZED ENFORCEMENT TEAMS WHEN WE'RE DOING, UH, STING OPERATIONS AND TARGETING, UH, THOSE PEOPLE IN THOSE AREAS.
AND CRIME PREVENTION, THREAT, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN.
WE, WE'VE TALKED BEFORE ABOUT HOW WE SET UP THOSE PARKS, THE LIGHTING, THE SIGNS, UH, THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
SO ALL OF THOSE ARE CRITICAL AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
AND THEY, THEY'RE, THERE'S SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO BECAUSE WE'VE GOT A GREAT RELATIONSHIP, UH, WITH PARKS.
OUR, OUR NUMBER ONE CAMPAIGN HAS BEEN AND, AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE, UH, TAKE IT, LOCK IT, HIDE IT.
WE'VE, WE'VE CONTINUED TO, TO PUSH THIS OUT.
IT'S, IT'S CATCHY, IT'S EASY TO REMEMBER AND IT'S, UH, IT IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE TOOL.
JUST NOT LEAVING YOUR PURSE, YOUR PHONE, YOUR WALLET, YOUR KEYS, THINGS OF THAT NATURE IN YOUR CAR.
UM, YOU, WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU REMOVE THAT, YOU REMOVE A GOOD AMOUNT OF THE, OF THE VICTIMIZATION THAT WE, THAT WE SEE.
SO WE WILL ALWAYS CONTINUE, UH, TO DO THAT.
UH, THIS IS, UH, THIS JUST HIGHLIGHTS, UH, WHAT WE'VE RECENTLY DONE.
UH, AGAIN, WE'RE, WE'RE LIMITED WITH OUR STAFF.
I USED TO HAVE EIGHT TEAMS THAT DID THIS TYPE OF WORK AND NOW I'M DOWN TO, TO TWO TEAMS. UH, I REALLY WANT TO GET BACK TO, TO WHERE I WAS AND I, I KNOW IT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU CONSTANTLY HEAR THAT WE WANNA GET BACK TO, TO WHERE WE WERE IN TERMS OF NUMBERS.
[01:40:01]
BUT, UM, WE'VE IDENTIFIED ORGANIZED GROUPS THAT ARE ACTUALLY PREYING UPON THE CITIZENS WHO ARE GOING TO OUR PARKS.UH, WE ARE TARGETING THOSE SPECIFIC GROUPS, WE'RE TARGETING THOSE SPECIFIC LOCATIONS.
UM, AND WE ARE WORKING WITH THE PROSECUTORS, UH, TO DO THAT.
AND IT DOESN'T JUST MEAN THAT WE'RE ARRESTING PEOPLE FOR VEHICLE BURGLARIES.
IF PEOPLE ARE STEALING PEOPLE'S WALLETS AND PURSES AND CREDIT CARDS AND DEBIT CARDS AND ARE USING THOSE, WE ARE FOLLOWING UP WITH OUR FINANCIAL CRIMES UNIT.
WE ARE TRYING TO PULL ALL OF THE LEVERS AND BE AS CREATIVE AS POSSIBLE AS WE USE THOSE ENFORCEMENT STRATEGIES TO MAKE THE BIGGEST IMPACT FOR DETERRENTS THAT WE CAN.
AND WE REALLY TRY TO MAKE A PUBLIC OUTREACH THROUGH OUR PIO AND HIGHLIGHT THESE OPERATIONS AND THESE ARRESTS BECAUSE EVERY TIME THAT I PREVENT SOMEONE FROM DOING IT, IT'S EVEN MORE EFFECTIVE THAN IF, IF WE WERE ACTUALLY OUT THERE MAKING ARRESTS.
SO THAT THAT PUBLIC, UH, FACING PIECE AND GOING OUT THERE AND REALLY TALKING ABOUT OUR SUCCESSES IN THIS SPACE IS REALLY CRITICAL.
ALRIGHT, ANY QUESTIONS? ALRIGHT, I GUESS I'M STEALING FIRST ROUND OF QUESTIONS FROM EVERYBODY.
UM, I REALLY APPRECIATE THE SLIDE ON THE ARRESTS THAT WERE RECENTLY MADE.
UM, AND PART OF THE REASON THAT I THINK THIS VEHICULAR VEHICULAR BURGLARY EFFORT IS SO IMPORTANT IS THAT I REMEMBER THERE WAS AN A A PD REPORT FROM 2018 THAT SAID A STOLEN GUN IS FOUR TIMES MORE LIKELY TO BE STOLEN FROM YOUR CAR THAN FROM YOUR HOUSE.
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT, UM, THESE PARTICULAR ARRESTS OR ANY DETAILS ABOUT WHAT THEY WERE GOING AFTER? WAS IT GUNS, WAS IT OTHER THINGS THAT ARE LESS HARMFUL TO THE COMMUNITY AND MORE OF A PERSONAL THEFT ISSUE? OR CAN YOU SPEAK TO THAT TODAY THE PARKS, WE SEE MORE OF A PERSONAL THEFT ISSUE.
IT'S THE TAKING OF PURSES, WALLETS, THINGS THAT YOU, YOU WOULD THINK OF PEOPLE TYPICALLY LEAVING, UH, BEHIND, UH, CASH CELL PHONE CHARGERS, UH, THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
I'M, I'M NOT SEEING AS MANY, UM, THEFTS OF, OF FIREARMS COMING OUT OF, OF THOSE LOCATIONS AS I DO AT SOME OTHER PLACES.
'CAUSE I KNOW THERE ARE SOME FOLKS THAT, UM, THAT DO CHOOSE TO HAVE WEAPONS WITH THEM AND SOMETIMES THEY'RE IN SITUATIONS WHERE THEY MAY NOT WANNA LEAVE IT IN THEIR CAR, BUT THEY HAVE TO FOR ONE REASON OR ANOTHER.
AND SO, UM, I'M LEARNING MORE ABOUT THAT CONVERSATION AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO MAKE SURE THAT THESE PUBLIC SPACES ARE SAFE FOR PEOPLE.
UM, ARE FOLKS STILL USING THE I REPORT SYSTEM OR ARE THEY ABLE NOW TO CALL A PD AND FILE A NON-EMERGENCY REPORT WITH AN OFFICER? WE'RE, WE'RE DOING BOTH, BOTH THE I REPORT AND THEN CALLING 3 1 1 AND, AND WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING TO, TO SPEED UP AND SIMPLIFY THE PROCESS AND REALLY MAKE IT, UH, MORE STREAMLINED AND, AND EASIER FOR PEOPLE TO MAKE THOSE REPORTS.
AND THEN I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION ABOUT, UM, THE SECURITY CAMERAS.
I KNOW THAT THE 360 TRAILHEAD TO THE GREEN BELT OFF OF MOPAC, UM, IT'S TECHNICALLY TXDOT RIGHT OF WAY, SO I KNOW THERE'S COLLABORATION HAPPENING IN THAT AREA.
UM, BUT CAN YOU TALK TO ME ABOUT, UM, ANY ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT IN THAT AREA IF IT'S SLOWED DOWN? I KNOW WE WERE GETTING CALLS LAST YEAR ALL THE TIME ABOUT FOLKS BEING IN THAT AREA AND BREAKING INTO CARS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
CAN YOU TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ANY INCREASED ENFORCEMENT IN THAT AREA? I CAN SHARE THAT IT IS ONE OF OUR LOCATIONS FOR OUR CAMERAS THIS YEAR, SO IT SHOULD BE UP HOPEFULLY TODAY OR TOMORROW.
UM, BECAUSE BASED ON A PD DATA, IT DOES CONTINUE TO BE A CONCERN AND WAS ONE OF THE AREAS THAT THEY HIGHLIGHTED FOR US, UM, AS FAR AS CAMERAS GO.
SO I CAN TELL YOU THAT FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE, UM, EVEN BEING TEXT OUT RIGHT AWAY, WE'RE ABLE TO PUT THE CAMERA IN THAT LOCATION AND KIND OF FOCUS ON THAT PARKING, UH, FOR THE, THE GAINES CREEK ENTRANCE.
UM, AND THEN MY LAST QUESTION WILL BE ABOUT THE, THE LIMESTONE BARRIERS.
I KNOW WE HAD A CONVERSATION LAST YEAR BECAUSE WHEN IT WOULD RAIN AND THE GRASS WOULD GET SOGGY, PEOPLE WOULD GO MUDDING.
UM, AND ONE TIME IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED ON A CHILDREN'S SOCCER FIELD AND AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, THE FAMILIES AND THE CHILDREN WERE VERY DISAPPOINTED THAT THEY WEREN'T ABLE TO USE THOSE FIELDS, UM, IN THE CAPACITY THAT THEY, UH, TYPICALLY HAD.
CAN YOU TELL ME IF YOU'RE SEEING ANY OF THOSE ISSUES STILL TO THIS DAY OR IF THERE'S AN INCREASED NEED FOR THE LIMESTONE BARRIERS? I APPRECIATE THAT THEY ARE, UH, LESS CONCRETE AND LESS INVASIVE SINCE THEY ARE A NATURAL MATERIAL AND THEY COULD BE PICKED UP AND MOVED AROUND.
BUT CAN YOU TELL ME IF YOU HAVE ENOUGH OF THOSE OR IF THERE ARE STILL SITUATIONS WHERE WE NEED TO INCREASE THOSE BARRIERS? SO IT'S INTERESTING BECAUSE THERE'S ONE IN ER THAT ONE OF THE PARK RANGERS CONSIDERS HIS ROCK LIKE SYNTHESIS, I CAN'T SAY THAT WORD PROPERLY, BUT HE LIKE MOVES IT BACK EVERY DAY, RIGHT? AND SO WHILE BOULDERS ARE HELPFUL, UM, THEY DO GET MOVED.
IT'S ALWAYS IMPRESSIVE WHAT SOMEBODY CAN DO.
[01:45:01]
AUDIT, I THINK THAT'S ONE THING THAT IT TALKS A LOT ABOUT IS ESTABLISHING A BOUNDARY AND WHERE WE NEED TO ESTABLISH THOSE BOUNDARIES, WHETHER IT BE PARKING LOTS, UM, AND DIFFERENT AREAS, UM, KIND OF WITHIN THE SAFETY AUDIT THEY KIND OF IDENTIFY PRIORITIZATIONS FOR SOME OF THOSE.SO I DO SEE US NEEDING TO ESTABLISH BOUNDARIES, WHETHER THAT BE A LIMESTONE BOULDER OR, UM, YOU KNOW, A NICER FENCE OR WHATEVER THOSE OPTIONS ARE, BOLLARDS, CABLES, THINGS LIKE THAT.
I DO SEE THAT THAT, THAT AS WELL AS THE MAINTENANCE OF THOSE ITEMS IS SOMETHING THAT WE AS A DEPARTMENT WILL CONTINUE TO, TO NEED IN A VARIETY OF LOCATIONS.
UM, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT CIRCLE C IS ACTUALLY, UM, THAT LIMESTONE BOULDER AND THE GATE THERE IS DOING WELL AND THAT THEY HAVEN'T HAD AS MANY CONCERNS IN THAT AREA AS A RESULT OF THAT.
UM, THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY TRUE IN ALL PARKS, BUT IT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT WE'RE AWARE THAT PARTICULARLY WITH THAT SAFETY AUDIT IS POINTING TOWARDS THE NEED TO ESTABLISH THAT BOUNDARY IN CERTAIN LOCATIONS SO THAT YOU'RE REDUCING THE USE OF VEHICLES IN PLACES WHERE THEY, THEY SHOULDN'T BE.
WELL, LET ME KNOW IF I CAN BE HELPFUL AT ALL AS YOU, UH, CONTINUE ON THAT PATHWAY.
UM, I'VE NOTICED OVER THE YEARS THAT SOMETIMES WHEN THERE ISN'T AN AVAILABLE PARKING SPOT, SOMETIMES PEOPLE WILL GO INTO AREAS AND PARK ON TREE ROOTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND SO I KNOW WE'VE HAD THAT CONVERSATION IN THE PAST AND JUST IF THERE'S ANYTHING I CAN DO TO BE HELPFUL AND TRYING TO, UH, KEEP FOLKS WHERE THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE AND HELP PRESERVE THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT FOR EVERYONE, UM, I CERTAINLY WANNA HELP THAT.
AND THEN MY LAST QUESTION WILL BE SOMETHING THAT WASN'T MENTIONED IN THIS AND THAT IS THE CONVERSATION AROUND TRAIL SPEED LIMITS.
I KNOW THERE'S BEEN SOME ISSUES, ESPECIALLY ON TOWN LIKE TRAIL OF FOLKS GOING VERY FAST AND ESPECIALLY WHERE YOU SEE FAMILIES WALKING TOGETHER ON THE WEEKEND.
THERE MAY NOT BE, THAT MAY NOT BE APPROPRIATE AND PEOPLE COULD GET HURT.
IS THAT A CONVERSATION YOU'RE STILL PURSUING OR WHERE ARE WE ON UM, HELPING TO ENFORCE HOW FAST PEOPLE ARE MOVING ON THE TRAILS? LIKE YEAH, PEOPLE FEEDBACK THROUGH THERE? I'VE SEEN IT SO IN CODE THERE IS, SORRY, UH, THE IN CODE THERE IS, THERE IS AN ESTABLISHMENT OF, UH, YOU KNOW, PARK ROADS AS WELL AS TRAILS, UM, SPEED LIMITS.
I THINK ENFORCEMENT IS WHERE YOU GET, IT'S A LITTLE TRICKY.
IT'S A LITTLE HARD TO ENFORCE SOME OF THOSE THINGS BECAUSE THEY ARE ON TRAIL.
IT'S, UM, IT'S HARD FOR THAT SITUATION.
SO I DON'T KNOW THAT WE HAVE ANY SPECIFIC, UM, EXAMPLES OF HOW TO ADDRESS THAT OTHER THAN WHAT WE'VE DONE BEFORE IS ALSO JUST SHARING PEOPLE'S SPEED.
WE'VE BORROWED THE LITTLE SIGNAGE AND WE'VE HAD IT OUT AT THE, UH, UM, AT THE LADY BIRD LAKE HIKE AND BIKE TRAIL SO THAT SOMEBODY KNOWS HOW FAST THEY'RE GOING.
'CAUSE I THINK SOME PEOPLE JUST AREN'T EVEN AWARE OF HOW FAST THEY'RE GOING AND THE SAFETY CONCERN THEY CREATE WITH THAT.
BUT I THINK SOME OF IT IS EDUCATION.
SO JUST INCREASING SIGNAGE THAT HAS AN ESTABLISHMENT OF THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHETHER THAT BE 15 MILES PER HOUR OR IF IT'S AN URBAN TRAIL, THERE'S A VARIETY OF HIGHER SPEEDS ESTABLISHED THROUGH THOSE URBAN TRAILS.
AND SO TRYING TO WORK ON THAT.
UM, BUT REALLY RIGHT NOW WE'RE USING AN EDUCATIONAL APPROACH MORE THAN ANYTHING.
I HAD A FRIEND WHO TOLD ME THAT WHEN SHE WAS ON THE LADY BIRD LAKE HIKE AND BIKE TRAIL, SHE TRIED TO GET, SHE WAS WALKING AND TRIED TO GET IT TO GO FAST.
UM, SO THAT THE LITTLE, THE LITTLE THING COULD TELL HER HOW FAST SHE WAS GOING
BUT I DO THINK, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE ON THOSE BIKES, PARTICULARLY ON A, A DOWNHILL SECTION, THEY CAN GET PRETTY FAST AND IT, IT'S A CROWD.
THOSE ARE CROWDED TRAILS OFTEN AND THAT CAN BE DIFFICULT FOR US.
UM, BUT I DON'T KNOW THAT WE HAVE ANY OTHER, UM, SPECIFIC THOUGHTS ON THAT.
I DON'T KNOW IF A PD HAS ANY ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THAT.
NO, I I THINK THAT THAT'S JUST MORE OF A, OF AN EDUCATION AND, AND COMPLIANCE, UH, THROUGH, THROUGH EDUCATION.
I, I THINK THE, THE SPEED TRAILERS WERE ALWAYS WILLING TO, TO LOAN THOSE OUT AND, AND MAKE, UH, THAT AVAILABLE.
'CAUSE I, I JUST DON'T KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE ON, ON DIFFERENT MOUNTAIN BIKES AND THINGS THAT REALLY KNOW HOW FAST THEY'RE, THEY'RE GOING SOMETIMES.
SO INCREASED SIGNAGE AND, AND JUST, UH, SOME TYPE OF EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH.
I'VE SEEN SOME FOLKS GO SUPER FAST.
IT'S NOT YOUR RECREATIONAL CYCLISTS THAT ARE JUST, YOU KNOW, WATCHING THE TREES GO BY.
IT'S FOLKS THAT ARE TRYING TO GET WHERE THEY'RE GOING VERY QUICKLY.
AND ESPECIALLY WHERE YOU SEE PINCH POINTS ON THE TRAIL.
I ALWAYS WORRY THEY'RE GONNA CLOBBER SOMEONE AND IT'S GONNA BECOME A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION VERY QUICKLY.
UM, I'LL LEAVE IT THERE FOR NOW 'CAUSE I KNOW OTHERS HAVE QUESTIONS TOO.
UH, FIRST THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE UPDATE AND THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING IN THIS SPACE.
UM, UH, MY QUESTIONS ARE KIND OF ALL OF THE MAPS, SO I'M GONNA NEED PROBABLY ALL OF Y'ALL TO HELP ME WITH VARIOUS THINGS VERY SIMPLY.
YOU MENTIONED THE SAFETY AUDIT WITH THE PARKS FOUNDATION.
WHEN CAN WE EXPECT THAT, WHAT'S THE TIMELINE? UM, JUNE OF THIS YEAR.
SO WE'RE WORKING THROUGH SOME OF THE FINAL, UH, VERSIONS AND DRAFTS RIGHT NOW.
AND, UM, OUR GOAL IS TO, IF EVERYTHING WORKS OUT, UH, PRESENT THAT TO THE PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD IN JUNE.
AND THE CAMERAS THAT YOU MENTIONED ALSO THAT ARE GOING UP AS SOON AS IT SOUNDS LIKE TODAY, UH, THIS IS MY IGNORANCE, BUT CAN THOSE, CAN THE, CAN THE FOOTAGE THAT YOU HAVE THAT'S BEING STORED SOUNDS LIKE FOR 60 DAYS, CAN THAT BE USED AS EVIDENCE OR IN CONJUNCTION WITH A PD IF THEY
[01:50:01]
DISCOVER SOMETHING AND WE COULD GO BACK AND LOOK AT YOUR CAMERAS TO FIND THAT A HUNDRED PERCENT.AND THEN A PD IS GIVEN ACCESS TO THAT SO THEY CAN LOG IN THEMSELVES AND DO THE RESEARCH AND SAVE IT AND THEN USE IT IN THEIR CASES.
AND THEY HAVE, THEY HAVE USED IT FOR THAT PURPOSE AND IT'S FOR OPERATIONAL COSTS THAT WE JUST DON'T HAVE THOSE YEAR ROUND.
ANY, ANY ESTIMATE OR GUESS ON WHAT IT WOULD TAKE TO PUT THOSE YEAR ROUND? OR IS THERE JUST NOT ENOUGH PRIME HAPPENING IN THE OFF SEASON TO JUSTIFY THAT? IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF BOTH.
AND SO, UM, I THINK IT'LL BE INTERESTING.
I THINK A PD HAS DONE A LOT OF WORK IN THIS, IN THIS SPACE IN THE LAST, UM, IN THE LAST YEAR TO GET US TO WHERE WE ARE.
AND SO IT'LL BE INTERESTING TO SEE IF THOSE, WHAT THAT DATA DOES THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER.
UM, WE CAN ALSO MOVE THEM AROUND.
WE ONLY HAVE THEM AT FIVE LOCATIONS.
IT'S ABOUT $250,000 FOR ABOUT SIX MONTHS AT THOSE THAT FIVE LOCATIONS, JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA.
UM, THEY'RE ALSO REALLY HELPFUL AND IT'S AMAZING THE INFORMATION THAT THEY CAN PROVIDE, BUT THEY'RE ALSO, UM, KIND OF A REACTIVE APPROACH, RIGHT? SO THEY'RE NOT NECESSARILY AS PROACTIVE AND SO IT'S GONNA TAKE BOTH THOSE PROACTIVE AND REACTIVE APPROACHES TO IT.
NO, AND I CAN APPRECIATE ALL THE WORK YOU'RE DOING ON STED AND THE OTHER THINGS TO MAKE SURE AND THE SIGNAGE, UH, TO COVER THAT END OF IT.
UM, I KNOW THAT R AND R END, WE DO GET A LOT OF FOLKS THAT ARE STRUGGLING WITH SOME OF THE CRIME.
WE'VE GOT EVEN SOME VOLUNTEERS THAT, UH, PATROL JUST TO PICK UP THE WALLETS AND CLEAN OUT THE, YOU KNOW, THE GLASS AND STUFF THAT'S AT MOUNT PINDELL AND SOME OF THE OTHER PARKS THAT WE'VE GOT IN OUR DISTRICT, WHICH YOU'VE IDENTIFIED IN THE REPORT.
SO I'M JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IF THERE IS, AND IT SOUNDS LIKE THE COST WOULD BE ESSENTIALLY TO DOUBLE THE BUDGET IF, UH, TO HAVE THOSE IN THE OFF SEASON, LET'S CALL IT, FOR WHEN THERE MIGHT BE LESS ACTIVITY, BUT THERE STILL MIGHT BE SOME USE, UH, FOR EVIDENCE OR, UM, OR BEING ABLE TO IDENTIFY PEOPLE FOR POLICE PURPOSES OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UH, SO NEXT QUESTION IS, YOU TOUCHED ON THE DISTRICT REPS.
UH, ANY THOUGHTS ON A TIMELINE FOR WHEN WE CAN START TO INCREASE THOSE UP OR IS THAT CONDITIONAL BASED ON, UM, SIMPLY RECRUITING? WHERE DO THEY SORT OF STACK UP AS FAR AS PRIORITIES FOR STAFFING? UH, THAT'S GONNA BE COMPLETELY TIED TO STAFFING AND HIRING NUMBERS.
UM, IT'S, IT'S TAKES US EIGHT MONTHS TO GET A CADET THROUGH THROUGH THE TRAINING ACADEMY, AND THEN IT TAKES ANOTHER FOUR MONTHS OF FIELD TRAINING BEFORE WE CAN GET THEM OUT THERE ON PATROL.
AND THEN, THEN WE WOULD BE ABLE TO, AT THAT POINT, TAKE A BODY FROM PATROL AND THEN MOVE TO THE DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES, MOVE TO PARKS, MOVE TO ANY OF THE OTHER SPECIALIZED UNITS THAT WE, THAT WE ONCE HAD.
SO IT'S, UM, IT'S PURELY ON, ON RECRUITMENT, RETENTION, AND HIRING.
AND THEN TO JUMP TO TECHNOLOGY, YOU MENTIONED, UH, HALO AND A LPR, BUT I CAN'T IMAGINE HALO BEING SUPER USEFUL AT SOME OF THE PARKS IN MY DISTRICT.
UH, SO I'M WONDERING, I KNOW YOU AND I HAVE TALKED ABOUT FLOCK AND SOME OTHER TOOLS.
ANY OTHER TOOLS THAT COME TO MIND YOU CAN THINK OF THAT MIGHT BE VALUABLE IN THIS SPACE OR THIS CONTEXT? I, I THINK WE, I THINK WE'RE AWARE OF THE TOOLS THAT ARE, THAT ARE OUT THERE.
IT'S, IT, IT COMES DOWN TO, TO A BUDGET ISSUE, UH, IN TERMS OF BEING ABLE TO PROCURE THE SYSTEMS. UH, WHEN, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT HALO, IT, IT WOULD BE THE, THE FOLKS IN HALO THAT WE WOULD GIVE ACCESS TO, TO THE PARK CAMERAS.
SO IT'S NOT NECESSARILY TIED INTO THAT, THAT ACTUAL SYSTEM THERE.
BUT THAT'S WHERE WE DO HAVE THE OPERATORS THAT ARE WORKING 24 7 THAT HAVE THE ABILITY TO WATCH THAT VIDEO TO BE IN CONTACT WITH THE PARK RANGERS OR PARK STAFF THAT ARE MONITORING AND GIVE US A HEADS UP.
IT'S ALSO THE STAFF THAT WE WOULD UTILIZE IF WE WERE DOING SOME SORT OF A TARGETED ENFORCEMENT ACTION TO BE ABLE TO MONITOR THOSE AND, AND CALL OUT, UH, INDIVIDUALS THAT THEY SEE FOR, UH, FOR TARGETED ENFORCEMENT.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S COME UP, UM, BECAUSE I KNOW THIS HAS COME UP WITH BAKER SECTOR AND COMMANDER SMITH AND IN OUR JANUARY MEETING HE TALKED ABOUT THAT BAKED CARS HAVE BEEN, IT SOUNDS LIKE, SOMEWHAT SUCCESSFUL AT DETERRING SOME OF THE CRIMINAL ACTIVITY AT THE PARKS.
AND IT SOUNDS LIKE THE ONLY LIMITATION THERE IS JUST THE QUANTITY OF BAKE CARS THAT THEY HAVE.
IT SOUNDS LIKE IN SOME CASES WHEN THEY'RE DEPLOYING THE CARS, THEY'RE ABLE TO MAKE SOME PARK SAFER THAN OTHERS BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE MOVING TO CAR TO PARKS THAT DON'T HAVE BAKED CARS.
ANY THOUGHTS ON BEING ABLE TO DEPLOY MORE BAKED CARS? AND, UH, I THINK THERE'S A RELATED QUESTION THAT I REALLY WANNA ASK THAT'S TIED TO ALL THE QUESTIONS I'VE BEEN WORKING THROUGH, WHICH IS IF WE HAD TO FIGURE OUT WHERE OUR, UH, BEST EFFICIENCY HERE IS, WHETHER IT'S DRS OR CAMERAS OR BAY CARS, WHATEVER THE SOLUTION IS, DO Y'ALL HAVE ANY INDICATION OF WHAT THAT IS OR ANY DATA SURROUNDING THAT? I, I THINK AS WE, AS WE EMPLOY A STRATEGY, WE DO LOOK AT THE DATA TO SEE WHAT IS EFFECTIVE.
WE WANNA REALLY TAKE A HOLISTIC APPROACH.
[01:55:02]
SOLVE A PROBLEM AT MOUNT ELLE BY PUSHING IT JUST DOWN THE STREET.AND I THINK THAT THAT'S WHERE THAT COLLABORATION WITH THE COUNTY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, I THINK THAT'S WHERE THAT FOCUS, TARGETING, IDENTIFICATION OF THOSE PEOPLE, UH, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT 90% OF THE CRIMES ARE OCCURRING IN FIVE OF THE 355 PARKS, WELL 90% OF THOSE CRIMES ARE BEING COMMITTED BY A VERY SMALL GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT THEY DO.
SO, UH, WORKING, UH, IN AN INTELLIGENT FASHION WITH THE DATA TO IDENTIFY WHO THOSE INDIVIDUALS ARE, TARGET THOSE INDIVIDUALS, AND NOT JUST SIMPLY DETER THEM TO A SPOT THAT WE'RE NOT AT, BUT DETER THEM FROM THAT BY YOU NEVER KNOW WHERE WE'RE GOING TO BE.
AND THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE BEAUTY OF THE CAMERAS, THE BAIT VEHICLES, THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
THEY'RE JUST BOTH LIMITED RESOURCES, UM, ALONG WITH THE PERSONNEL.
SO, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE NOT LIMITED BY OUR, OUR CREATIVITY, BUT BY OUR ACTUAL RESOURCES TO, TO TARGET 355 DIFFERENT PARKS IN ADDITION TO ALL OF THE OTHER AREAS WITHIN YOUR COMMUNITIES AND DISTRICTS THAT ARE ASKING FOR THAT TYPE OF TARGETED, UH, UH, ENFORCEMENT AS WELL.
I WILL, UH, FOLLOW UP INDEPENDENTLY ON THIS SINCE I'M SURE OTHERS HAVE QUESTIONS.
COUNCILOR SIEGEL, YOU HAVE QUESTIONS? I HAVE, UH, JUST A COUPLE QUICK ONES.
THE TWO CAMERAS THAT I HAD ASKED HER ABOUT THAT WE IN THE BUDGET, UM, ALLOCATED, THEY WERE ASSET FORFEITURE FUNDS, SO THEY WERE WITHIN, UH, APDS CONTROL.
DO YOU HAVE ANY UPDATE ON THOSE FOR THE PARKS? I DON'T KNOW WHERE WE, I DON'T KNOW WHERE WE ENDED UP IN TERMS OF, OF THAT.
IF WE, I DON'T KNOW WHERE WE USED THE, THOSE ASSET FORFEITURE DOLLARS, IF IT WAS SPECIFICALLY FOR THAT.
I, I DO REMEMBER THAT, THAT THERE WAS A CONVERSATION GOING, BUT I DON'T KNOW SPECIFICALLY WHERE WE ENDED UP SETTLING ON THOSE TWO CAMERAS.
WELL, IF AND, AND WORKED CLOSELY WITH, UH, COUNCILOR ELLIS ON THIS JUST TO, YOU KNOW, WE WERE REALLY, ZILKER WAS ONE OF THE BIG CONCERNS FOR US, BUT JUST LOOKING AT THE HIGH CRIME PARKS AND FIGURING OUT HOW WE COULD BETTER, UH, EQUIP Y'ALL TO DO THAT, IF YOU COULD JUST FOLLOW UP, UH, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
SECONDLY, I WAS WONDERING A, A MUCH LOWER COST OPTION, UM, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING JUST LIKE TRAIL CAMS OR LIKE, HAVE WE THOUGHT ABOUT JUST PUTTING THOSE KIND OF OUT AND ABOUT? YEAH, SO WE'VE USED GAME CAMERAS BEFORE.
AND SO, UM, THE QUALITY OF THE IMAGE SOMETIMES IS, IS DIFFICULT, RIGHT? YOU'RE PUTTING IT ON A TREE AND YOU'RE USING THAT FOR INFORMATION.
IT IS SOMETHING WE USE, UH, IT'S A FAIR AMOUNT OF EFFORT TO GO BACK THROUGH THAT DATA.
YOU HAVE TO GO GET A USB AND PUT IT.
IT'S JUST NOT THE EASIEST FORM OF THAT.
AND I DID GET A TEXT MESSAGE THAT I MISSPOKE ON THE ESTIMATE, SO I, I'M GONNA SAY THAT IT'S ACTUALLY 12,250 FOR FIVE MONTHS, OR SORRY FOR ONE MONTH FOR FIVE CAMERAS.
I'LL PROVIDE THAT IN WRITING TO YOU GUYS.
UM, AND THEN JUST ALSO SO YOU'RE AWARE, UM, WHAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW IS UNDER, UH, A CERTIFICATE OF EXEMPTION.
SO WE BASICALLY HAVE ASKED FOR APPROVAL BECAUSE OF, UH, SAFETY AND SECURITY NEEDS TO DO THIS, BUT WE ARE GOING OUT FOR A MASTER AGREEMENT AND THAT WILL COME BACK TO, UH, COUNCIL, HOPEFULLY THIS SUMMER FOR APPROVAL SO THAT WE'RE ABLE TO MORE QUICKLY DEPLOY AND HAVE THE ADDITIONAL, IF THERE ARE ADDITIONAL DOLLARS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, OR WE'RE ABLE TO FIND THAT, THAT WE COULD, UM, DIRECT THEM TO DIFFERENT LOCATIONS A LITTLE EASIER TOO.
AND WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT SIGNAGE, I'M CURIOUS YOUR THOUGHTS ON, YOU KNOW, A REALLY LOW COST OPTION, JUST PUTTING A BUNCH OF SIGNS OUT THAT SAY THIS AREA IS UNDER VIDEO SURVEILLANCE.
UM, BUT IT MAKES PEOPLE THINK TWICE, SO ANY THAT'S NEVER A BAD IDEA.
YOU KNOW, IT, IT, IT GOES WITH, IT GOES WITH ALL THE OTHER TARGETED ENFORCEMENT STRATEGIES.
UH, THE KEY IS TO, THE KEY IS TO MOVE THEM AROUND, RIGHT? THE KEY IS TO MAKE PEOPLE WONDER WHAT'S GOING ON.
AND IF, IF SOMEBODY HAS TO THINK TWICE, THEY, THEY WEIGH THE RISK VERSUS REWARD.
AND IF YOU'RE GONNA BE CAPTURED ON VIDEO OR YOU'RE GOING TO, IT'S WHY WE DON'T KEEP, MAKE CAR PROGRAMS SECRET BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A TOOL TO KEEP PEOPLE FROM ACTUALLY DOING WHAT WE DON'T WANT THEM TO DO.
SO, YEAH, IT'S A DEFINITE BENEFIT.
ALRIGHT, WELL I APPRECIATE Y'ALL VERY MUCH, UH, IT'S BEEN VERY HELPFUL AND CERTAINLY LOOK FORWARD IF THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES OR, YOU KNOW, YOU NEED OUR HELP WITH ANY OF THIS, PLEASE, YOU KNOW WHERE TO FIND US.
UH, SO COMMITTEE MEMBERS, THAT BRINGS US TO TIME.
THERE ARE TWO MEMOS THAT WE HAVE POSTED AS, UM, IF ANYONE HERE HAS ANY QUESTIONS, THOSE ARE ITEMS FIVE AND SIX.
UH, ONE IS ABOUT THE FOOD PLAN AND THE OTHER ABOUT, UH, FEDERAL GRANT RECEIPTS.
[02:00:01]
KNOW THE INDIVIDUALS FOR THOSE MEMOS ARE HERE, SO IF WE WANNA CALL 'EM BOTH UP AND LIKE GIVE THEM THREE MINUTES JUST TO, IS THAT FINE? UH, DON'T WANNA, I WANNA MAKE SURE CARRIE GETS HER MOMENT IN THE SPOTLIGHT.AND, AND JUST IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS, I HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS ON FIVE.
WELL, I'LL CALL FIVE AND SIX UP AT THE SAME TIME.
SO THE, UH, MEMO ABOUT THE COMPREHENSIVE FOOD PLAN AS WELL AS THE ITEM NUMBER SIX, THE MEMO ON FEDERAL GRANTS, AND, UH, IF YOU TWO COULD, UH, WELL I WILL GIVE YOU LIKE TWO MINUTES EACH, JUST A QUICK OVERVIEW AND THEN WE'LL HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS AND GET EVERYBODY OUTTA HERE SO YOU CAN GO SEE THAT COOL.
I'LL START WITH NUMBER FIVE, SO I'LL TURN IT
[5. Staff Response to Resolution No. 20241010-026 - Comprehensive Austin/Travis County Food Plan memo dated March 13, 2025]
OVER TO YOU.UM, CHAIR, VICE CHAIR, UM, COMMITTEE.
I'M THE FOOD POLICY MANAGER WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S CLIMATE ACTION AND RESILIENCE OFFICE.
AND TO GIVE A QUICK SUMMARY OF THE RECENT MEMO THAT WE SENT OUT REGARDING THE AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY FOOD PLAN, UM, DELIGHTED TO SAY AFTER ABOUT THREE MONTHS OF WORK, UM, WE WERE ABLE TO ASSESS, UH, SOME GOOD PROGRESS MADE, BOTH INTERNALLY IN CITY DEPARTMENTS AND ACROSS THE COMMUNITY.
UM, ROUGHLY 60% OF THE STRATEGIES IN THE FOOD PLAN ARE ALREADY ACTUALLY BEING IMPLEMENTED.
UM, NONE HAVE BEEN COMPLETED WORTH NOTING.
UM, BUT MANY, UH, STRATEGIES HAVE BEEN STARTED.
WE'VE ALSO BEEN ABLE TO IDENTIFY THROUGH, UH, SURVEYS WITH INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL ORGANIZATIONS, UM, DEPARTMENTS THAT ABOUT 60, 62% OF THE STRATEGIES DO REQUIRE ADDITIONAL RESOURCES TO EITHER GET STARTED OR CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD.
UM, SO SHOULDN'T COME AS ANY SURPRISE, BUT, UM, NINE GOALS, 61 STRATEGIES.
SOME CITY LED, SOME COUNTY LED, SOME COMMUNITY LED, SOME PRIVATE SECTOR LED.
UM, BUT WE'RE REALLY EXCITED THAT, UM, SOME GOOD THINGS HAVE HAPPENED.
IN THE MEMO WE PROVIDED APPENDIX A, WHICH INCLUDES JUST A QUICK HIGHLIGHT OF ROUGHLY 10 OF THE STRATEGIES THAT ARE ALREADY MOVING FORWARD.
UM, SOME CITY LED STRATEGIES, SOME EXTERNAL, LIKE THE CENTRAL TEXAS FOOD BANKS WORK ON A PILOT FOOD HUB TO, UH, GET SMALL AND, UH, MEDIUM SIZED FARM PRODUCTS INTO LOCAL SCHOOLS.
DELIGHTED THAT THAT WORK IS ALREADY MOVING FORWARD.
THEY'VE BEEN PARTNERING WITH USDA FUNDS, UM, AND ORGANIZATIONS TO GET THAT WORK DONE.
UM, AND THEN APPENDIX B UM, IS A LIST OF ABOUT 15 STRATEGIES THAT HAVE EITHER BEEN STARTED OR, UM, NEED SUPPORT TO GET STARTED.
UM, ALL OF THOSE NEED RESOURCES, SO SIGNIFICANT, UM, WORK IS READY TO BE DONE IN A SIMILAR WAY TO THE, UM, THE CLIMATE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN THAT YOU JUST HEARD.
WE IDENTIFIED THROUGH THE CREATION OF A RUBRIC, UM, ESSENTIALLY SHOVEL READY PROJECTS THAT WE THINK WOULD HAVE A BIG IMPACT.
UM, WORKED WITH STAKEHOLDERS TO IDENTIFY WHAT KIND OF RESOURCES WERE NEEDED, PRESENTED THOSE IN APPENDIX B IN TERMS OF PROJECT READY TO START OR ALREADY MOVING FORWARD, BUT NEEDS RESOURCES.
UM, WE ARE LOOKING AT, UM, YOU KNOW, SUPPORT FROM CITY, UM, LOOKING AT POTENTIAL BOND FUNDING, UM, BUT ALSO LOOKING AT PRIVATE PHILANTHROPY.
WE REALLY WANNA, UM, TRY TO LEVERAGE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, UM, THE GREAT WORK THAT'S ALREADY BEING DONE WITH ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FROM ACROSS THE COMMUNITY.
AND, UM, JUST DELIGHTED TO SAY THAT, UH, THERE'S A LOT OF ENTHUSIASM ABOUT THIS WORK.
UM, WE'RE JUST SCRATCHING THE SURFACE.
UM, BUT DELIGHTED TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS AND HAVE ANY, UH, FOLLOW UP WITH Y'ALL AFTER.
AND, UM, BEFORE WE GO TO DIRECTOR LANG, I KNOW YOU HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE PLANT, SO THANK YOU CHAIR.
UM, I GUESS, YEAH, TWO QUESTIONS.
ONE, UM, IN TERMS OF OUR CAPACITY TO GROW, UH, FOOD ON PUBLIC LAND, IF YOU COULD COMMENT ON, YOU KNOW, WHAT NEXT STEPS, UH, MIGHT BE USEFUL TO IMPROVE OUR CAPACITY TO DO THAT, AND ALSO MAYBE TO, YOU KNOW, UM, UTILIZE THIS CO-BENEFIT APPROACH THAT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, USING FOR THE EQUITY PLAN OVERALL THAT, YOU KNOW, MAYBE WE COULD DO WATER QUALITY AND GROWING FOOD ON, ON PUBLIC LAND, THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
SO, UM, YEAH, WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS TO IMPROVE THOSE PROGRAMS? YEAH, THANKS SO MUCH.
UM, COMMUNITY AGRICULTURE IS THE TERM THAT WE USE, UM, AND IT'S AN UMBRELLA TERM THAT INCLUDES EVERYTHING, SORT OF THE SPECTRUM OF FOOD PRODUCTION, COMMUNITY GARDENS, FOOD FORESTS, SCHOOL GARDENS, URBAN FARMS FOR-PROFIT AND NON-PROFIT PERI-URBAN FARMS, UM, FOOD PRODUCTION ON PUBLIC SPACE.
UM, THERE IS A TREMENDOUS POTENTIAL.
WE ARE DEVELOPING SOME ASSET MAPS, UM, THAT SHOULD BE AVAILABLE SOON THAT SHOW WHERE THOSE COMMUNITY GARDENS, SCHOOL GARDENS, URBAN FARMS, FOOD FORESTS ARE WHERE PUBLIC LAND IS LOCATED, WHERE PRIME FARMLAND IS LOCATED.
UM, SORT OF STACKING FUNCTIONS, IF YOU WILL.
UM, THAT INFORMATION SHOULD BE AVAILABLE VERY SOON.
UM, WE HAVE A INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY TO MOVE THE CONVERSATION FORWARD.
[02:05:01]
I THINK WE'RE PRETTY FAR BEHIND WHEN WE DO A COMPARISON TO OTHER COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE REALLY BEEN WORKING ON THIS ISSUE IN EARNEST FOR YEARS.UM, WE HAVE VERY FEW URBAN FARMS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, WE'RE LOSING FARMLAND AS YOU KNOW, IN AN UNPRECEDENTED RATE, AND IT'S RATHER DIFFICULT TO GROW FOOD IN AUSTIN AND CENTRAL TEXAS FOR A LOT OF VARIOUS REASONS.
UM, THE ASSET MAPS WILL BE THE FIRST STEP INSTEAD OF IDENTIFYING WHERE ARE WE, UM, WHERE COULD WE BE PUBLIC LAND PRESENTS AN INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY.
WE ARE WORKING WITH, UM, IN OUR, OUR FRIENDS AT WATERSHED PROTECTION AND AT PARKS AND REC, IDENTIFYING WHERE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES ARE, WHAT THE BARRIERS ARE.
I AM TREMENDOUSLY EXCITED ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONTINUE TO PUSH ON FARMING IN PLACES LIKE, UM, YOU KNOW, FORMER BUYOUT FLOODPLAIN PROPERTIES, COMPLICATED, UM, VERY COMPLICATED.
UM, WE NEED TO BE VERY THOUGHTFUL ABOUT THAT APPROACH.
UH, BUT IT PRESENTS A TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITY.
UM, SO AGAIN, THE ASSET MAPS WILL BE THE FIRST STEP, UM, FOLLOWING THROUGH WITH ADDITIONAL RESOURCES IN TERMS OF, UH, BOTH STAFFING TIME AND, UM, POTENTIAL PROJECT SUPPORT.
UM, LASTLY, UM, YOU ALL HAVE HEARD ME TALK ABOUT THIS BEFORE, BUT UH, WE HAVE A PARK HERE IN AUSTIN THAT'S BEEN IDENTIFIED AS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR COMMUNITY AGRICULTURE, THE JOHN TRINO PARK, UH, MASTER PLAN.
UM, WE ARE WORKING CLOSELY WITH OUR FRIENDS AT PARKS AND REC TO, UH, REALLY LOOK AT WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS IF FUNDING WAS AVAILABLE.
WE'RE ACTUALLY WORKING WITH A GROUP OF STUDENTS FROM UT'S LBJ SCHOOL.
UH, THEY'LL BE PROVIDING A, UM, A SHORT REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION SHORTLY.
SO WITHIN THE NEXT MONTH OR TWO, WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO BOTH POINT TO THE ASSET MAPS AND, UM, BRING BACK SOME ADDITIONAL DETAILS.
WELL, CUSTOMER DE THANKS SO MUCH FOR, UH, THE MEMO AND BEING ABLE TO ANSWER SOME QUESTIONS FOR US.
I HAVE TWO VERY QUICK QUESTIONS.
ONE IS I'M JUST CURIOUS, AND THIS IS AGAIN, PROBABLY MY LACK OF EXPERIENCE HERE, BUT WHAT CAN YOU EXPAND ON THE SORT OF STRUCTURE AND STAFFING YOU HAVE IN PLACE TO IMPLEMENT THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND THE, THE, THE IDEAS THAT YOU'VE GOT LAID OUT IN THE MEMO? YEAH, THANKS SO MUCH AND GREAT QUESTION.
UM, THERE IS NO DEPARTMENT OF FOOD.
UM, THERE'S NO DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL, AT THE STATE LEVEL, AT ANY LOCAL LEVEL.
UM, AND, UM, THERE'S A LOT OF REASONS FOR THAT.
MOST PEOPLE EAT THREE TIMES A DAY.
UM, BUT FOOD HAS UPSTREAM AND DOWNSTREAM IMPACTS.
I PER WOULD PREFER THAT WE STOP USING THE TERM FOOD, UM, AND MOVE TO SOMETHING MORE SPECIFIC.
THAT'S WHY WE TALK ABOUT FOOD SYSTEMS OR FOOD POLICY.
UM, SO WE ARE WORKING INTERDEPARTMENTALLY AND HAVE BEEN FOR YEARS.
UM, I THINK THAT THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO FORMALIZE SOME OF THAT WORK.
WE'RE LOOKING AT, AGAIN, THE CLIMATE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN, UM, AS A PRETTY INTERESTING MODEL FOR FORMALIZING, UM, AND, AND CREATING SOME ACCOUNTABILITY FOR HOW WE AS, UH, A CITY ORGANIZATION MOVE FORWARD AND, AND GET THINGS MOVED TO THE NEXT LEVEL.
SO WE'LL BE EXPLORING OPPORTUNITIES TO DO SOMETHING SIMILAR.
UM, THE CHALLENGE FOR US IS WE ARE JUST ONE, AS THE CITY ORGANIZATION, JUST ONE PART OF THE CONVERSATION.
THERE'S 12 CITY, 15 CITY DEPARTMENTS THAT WORK DIRECTLY ON FOOD SYSTEM ISSUES, BUT TRAVIS COUNTY ALSO HAS 10, 12 DEPARTMENTS AND OFFICES, AND THEN THERE'S NONPROFITS AND FOR-PROFITS AND ACADEMICS AND THEN COMMUNITY GROUPS AND INDIVIDUALS.
UM, TO ANSWER THE VERY SPECIFIC QUESTION, WE THINK THAT HAVING THE AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY FOOD POLICY BOARD IS A FANTASTIC PART OF THE CONVERSATION, BUT NEEDS TO BE COMPLIMENTED BY A, PROBABLY A MORE FORMAL WORKING GROUP.
WE'VE HAD INFORMAL WORKING GROUPS FOR YEARS AROUND FOOD ACCESS, FOOD PRODUCTION, ET CETERA, BUT WE'LL BE EXPLORING HOW TO, UM, MOVE THAT INTO POTENTIALLY A MORE FORMAL STRUCTURE IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
SO WE CAN LOOK FOR SOME RECOMMENDATIONS THEN FROM, UH, FROM YOU ABOUT HOW THAT MIGHT WORK.
YEAH, WE COULD BRING THIS FORWARD TO YOU.
AND THEN THE LAST QUESTION IS, AND YOU TOUCHED ON THIS A MOMENT AGO.
UM, ANY THOUGHTS ON STRENGTH THOSE CITY AND COUNTY COLLABORATIONS THAT CURRENTLY EXIST? YEAH, I THINK, UM, WE HAVE BEEN OVERWHELMINGLY EXCITED ABOUT THE, THE FORMALIZING OF RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE CITY AND COUNTY THROUGH THE LENS OF THE FOOD SYSTEM.
I WOULD SAY THE AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY FOOD PLAN'S.
UM, MOST TANGIBLE, IMMEDIATE, UH, WIN WAS VERY GOOD WORKING RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN CITY AND COUNTY STAFF.
IN MANY WAYS, COUNTY STAFF THAT DIDN'T NECESSARILY EVEN REALIZE THAT THEY WERE WORKING WITHIN THE FOOD SYSTEM, THEY WOULDN'T HAVE USED THAT TERM.
UM, BUT THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE FOOD PLAN, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO REALLY CREATE STRONG UNDERSTANDINGS, EDUCATION AND CROSS RELATIONSHIPS.
UM, WE ARE WORKING ON IT IN A, UH, A, A CONTRACT RIGHT NOW WITH TRAVIS COUNTY TO MOVE ONE OF THE STRATEGIES FORWARD.
WE'LL BE BRINGING INFORMATION TO YOU AT CITY COUNCIL ABOUT THAT, HOPEFULLY IN THE NEXT MONTH.
SO LOOK FOR, UM, SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT FORMALIZING OUR RELATIONSHIP, UH, WITH TRAVIS COUNTY TO IMPLEMENT THE FOOD PLAN.
[02:10:01]
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.[6. City of Austin Federal Grant Receipts for Fiscal Years 2020-21 through 2024-25 memo dated March 11, 2025]
LANG, TELL US ABOUT OUR MONEY,UH, CARRIE LANG, DIRECTOR OF BUDGET AND ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE.
UM, ON MARCH 11TH, I UH, FORWARDED A, OR SENT A MEMO ABOUT OUR FEDERAL GRANTS AND, AND THE STATUS OF THE GRANTS THAT WE RECEIVED.
WE LOOKED AT GRANTS BEGINNING AT FISCAL YEAR 21 THROUGH OUR CURRENT FISCAL YEAR BECAUSE SEVERAL OF THESE GRANTS ARE MULTI, MULTI-YEAR GRANTS AS WELL AS THE SINGLE YEAR GRANTS THAT WE HAVE.
UM, AND IN THIS, IN THIS MEMO, WE TALK THROUGH OUR OPERATING GRANTS AND THE IMPACTS THAT WE ARE ANTICIPATING OR, OR THE STATUS OF THE GRANTS THAT WE HAVE.
UM, TO DATE, WE HAVEN'T RECEIVED ANY ADDITIONAL, UM, CHANGES ON OPERATING GRANTS.
WE ARE WORKING CLOSELY WITH, UM, THE STATE, UH, DSHS, UM, BECAUSE WE ARE, WE HAVE RECEIVED SOME INFORMATION THAT SOME OF THE COVID RELATED GRANTS MAY BE ENDING SOONER THAN SEPTEMBER.
BUT OUR REGULAR ONGOING GRANTS THAT WE'VE RECEIVED OVER SEVERAL YEARS, WE STILL HAVEN'T RECEIVED ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM THOSE FEDERAL GRANTS.
AFTER, UM, THE, UH, THE, UM, CONTINUATION OF THOSE GRANTS IN FEBRUARY, WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT OUR, UH, CAPITAL PROJECTS, GRANTS AND, UM, CAPITAL GRANTS RELATED TO SEVERAL PROJECTS ACROSS THE CITY.
AND TO DATE, WE, WE STILL, UM, SEE THOSE GRANTS HAVING THE FUNDING THAT WAS ORIGINALLY PROVIDED.
SO THERE AREN'T ANY ADDITIONAL CHANGES IN THOSE GRANTS AS WELL.
UM, BUT THERE ARE SEVERAL OF THE DEPARTMENTS HERE ON THE CAPITAL GRANTS IN PARTICULAR TO TALK THROUGH IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING THOSE GRANTS.
AND I'M, I'LL LEAD US OFF HERE.
THE AUSTIN ENERGY, THAT 31 MILLION FOR THIS YEAR, IS THAT SOLAR FOR ALL GRANT? THAT'S THE, I BELIEVE SO.
I'M ALMOST CERTAIN THAT IT IS.
AND THAT IS, YOU ASKED THE ONE THAT I DIDN'T GET ALL THE DETAILS ON, BUT I I'M ALMOST CERTAIN THAT'S, I, THAT NUMBER SOUNDS VERY SOLAR FOR ALL.
UM, THE, ON THE CAPITAL SIDE FOR THE PARKS AND REC THERE IS IS SEVEN, JUST OVER 7 MILLION, UH, 2.8 REMAINING.
ARE THOSE, UM, WHAT ARE THOSE, ARE THOSE FLEXIBLE OR WE HAVE PROJECTS IDENTIFIED.
DO YOU HAVE ANY KIND OF, AND I DON'T NEED REALLY SUPER, I SEE SOMEONE STANDING UP MAYBE TO YES.
PHONE A FRIEND HERE, COME ON IN.
THOSE GRANTS DO HAVE PROJECTS IDENTIFIED.
UM, AND I WILL ALLOW MY COLLEAGUE TO GIVE YOU DETAILS.
HI RACHEL MORRIS, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM MANAGER IN PARKS AND REC.
AND WE DO HAVE, UM, SOME FEDERAL GRANTS THROUGH THE OR WE HAVE TWO THROUGH THE OR LAP.
UM, ONE IS 4 MILLION FOR OUR WALTER E. LONG PROJECT AND THE OTHER IS 3.1254, UM, FOR OUR ONTOP POOL REPLACEMENT.
AND AS WE UNDERSTAND, WE HAVE NO INDICATION THAT THERE'S ANY, UM, THAT THOSE GRANTS ARE IN JEOPARDY IN ANY WAY.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE I THINK 1.5 IN TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE, UH, OUTDOOR GRANTS.
AND, UM, AND THOSE ARE ALSO, WE ARE BEING TOLD NOT IN JEOPARDY AT THIS TIME.
AND MY LAST QUESTION, UM, EITHER FOR YOU OR FOR WATERSHED, JUST ON THE CAPITAL SIDE THERE FOR, THERE'S $29 MILLION, 16.8 REMAINING.
UM, ARE THOSE ONCE AGAIN PROJECTS THAT ARE KIND OF IDENTIFIED AND UNDERWAY AND DO WE HAVE ANY CONCERN ABOUT ANY OF THOSE? I SEE DIRECTOR WALLACE, I'LL START.
OH, HERE'S THE PERFECT PERSON TO ANSWER.
I WILL, I WILL START AND SAY THAT THEY ARE PROJECTS THAT ARE UNDERWAY.
UM, EVERYTHING FROM, UH, RE STUDIES OF FLOODPLAINS TO, UM, SOME, UH, CONSTRUCTION AND UH, FOR WATERLOO GREENWAY AND THEN THE BUTTERMILK CREEK WATER QUALITY, UH, GRANTS.
THERE, THERE ARE A COUPLE THERE.
AND THEN JORGE CAN GIVE THE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
JORGE MORALES, DIRECTOR OF THE WATERSHED DEPARTMENT, D THE ONLY ONES THAT ARE IMPACTED ARE THE YEAR MARKS, UH, THAT WERE IDENTIFIED AND I THINK SENT OUT ANOTHER.
THOSE ARE THE ONLY, ALL THE OTHER ONES ARE INACTION AND HAVEN'T BEEN IMPACTED.
ANY QUESTIONS COUNCILOR ROSS? A VERY QUICK ONE IS THE CLIMATE POLLUTION REDUCTION GRANT ONE, IS THAT FROZEN RIGHT NOW ON HOLD? NO.
SORRY FOR RUNNING OVER A LITTLE BIT HERE.
UM, ITEM NUMBER SEVEN IS, YOU KNOW, FUTURE TOPICS.
IF YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS, FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT.
AND WITH THAT, UH, IT IS 10 11 46.
I WILL ADJOURN OUR MEETING OF THE CLIMATE WATER ENVIRONMENT AND PARKS COMMITTEE.
[02:15:21]
AND I.