[00:00:01]
AHEAD AND GET STARTED.[CALL TO ORDER]
OUR REGULAR MEETING OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION MEETING.UM, WE WILL START WITH A ROLL CALL.
UM, COMMISSIONER RUTAN PRESENT.
COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT WILL NOT BE JOINING US TODAY.
UM, COMMISSIONER DURAN PRESENT.
DO NOT SEE IF WE CAN JUST KEEP A EYE OUT IN CASE SHE JOINS US IN THE NEXT 30 MINUTES.
SO WITH THAT, UM, DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMUNICATION TODAY? NO CHAIR.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
CAN JUST TAKE A QUICK LOOK AT THE MINUTES IN CASE ANYONE HAS, DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY CHANGES, MOVE OR COMMENTS? THANK YOU.AND CAN I JUST SEE A QUICK SHOW OF HANDS ON THE MINUTES? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
[2. Public Safety Quarterly Report, Austin Police Department]
MOVE ON.I THINK WE HAVE QUARTERLY REPORT WITH A PD UP.
SO GOOD AFTERNOON, COMMISSIONER.
I'M STAFF THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT AND I QUARTERLY REPORT.
SO WE'RE GONNA COVER PROJECTS AND INITIATIVES, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, RESPONSE TIME AND CALL VOLUMES, AND ALSO GIVE AN UPDATE ON OUR STAFFING.
SO STARTING WITH, ONE OF THE PROJECTS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON IS OUR DOWNTOWN SECTOR AND CHIEF DAVIS.
HER MISSION WAS TO HAVE A SAFETY PLAN INITIATIVE FOR THE DOWNTOWN CORRIDOR.
SHE HAS WORKED ON A PLAN TO OPEN UP SIXTH STREET ON THURSDAYS, FRIDAYS AND SATURDAYS.
IN ADDITION, ENHANCED SERVICE AND VISIBILITY FOR ALL OF THE DOWNTOWN AREA.
IN ADDITION, I'M GOING TO COVER SOME OF THE PRELIMINARY FINDINGS.
AND SO, STARTING WITH OUR SIXTH STREET, UH, PLAN, IN ORDER TO OPEN IT UP TO TRAFFIC, I APOLOGIZE.
I'M GONNA HAVE TO TURN AROUND BECAUSE MY SLIDES ARE NOT, DOESN'T HAVE ALL THE LANGUAGE UP THERE.
SO AS I MENTIONED, WE ARE GONNA OPEN UP TRAFFIC TO, UH, TO, UH, ALL LANES OF TRAFFIC BEING, I'M SORRY, PRIMARY LANES OF TRAFFIC BEING OPENED ON THURSDAY, FRIDAY TO SATURDAY.
TRADITIONALLY, IT HAD BEEN CLOSED THURSDAY, FRIDAY, SATURDAY.
WE HAD THEN MOVED TO JUST HAVING IT CLOSED ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY.
AND NOW WE ARE LOOKING TO HAVE IT OPEN OR REMAIN OPEN ON THE WEEKENDS.
UM, ONE THING THAT WE LEARNED IS THAT ONCE THE CONGESTION GETS TO A CERTAIN VOLUME, WE ARE THEN STILL CLOSING DOWN THE, THE STREETS PRIMARILY ON FRIDAY AND END SATURDAY.
ONCE THE, JUST THE VOLUME OF THE, THE PEOPLE AND THE NUMBER OF VEHICLES THERE, IT GETS TO THE POINT TO WHERE IT'S JUST BETTER THAT WE SHUT IT DOWN.
THERE ARE OCCASIONS THAT WE DO SHUT IT DOWN, SO IT'S NOT A STANDARD THAT IF IT IS OPEN, IT'S GOING TO REMAIN OPEN.
THERE ARE FACTORS AND VARIABLES THAT DICTATE US SHUTTING IT DOWN, EVEN THAT STILL REMAIN IN PLACE ON FRIDAYS AND SATURDAYS.
IN ADDITION, THIS IS AGAIN, FOR WESTBOUND TRAFFIC ONLY TO REMAIN OPEN SO THAT OUR SOUTHBOUND CROSSOVER STREETS ARE CLOSED AND THOSE REMAIN CLOSED.
IN ADDITION, WE HAVE FENCING THAT HAS BEEN INSTALLED TO HELP WIDEN THE PEDESTRIAN PATHWAY.
THEY ARE NOT MEANT TO BE LONG-TERM SOLUTIONS.
THESE ARE JUST TEMPORARY SOLUTIONS THAT WE'VE PUT IN PLACE IN ORDER TO WIDEN THE PATH THAT PEDESTRIANS HAVE IN ORDER TO TRAVERSE THE DOWNTOWN AREA, PRIMARILY ON SIXTH STREET.
IN ADDITION, WE HAVE DEVICES THAT WE HAVE PUT OUT THESE, UH, LITTLE CURB BALLARDS, I GUESS IF YOU WILL, UH, TO HELP WITH PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC.
THEY'RE VISUALLY ENHANCING IN ORDER FOR PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND THIS IS A PATHWAY FOR
[00:05:01]
PEDESTRIANS NOW, NOT NECESSARILY A PATHWAY FOR VEHICLES.IT ALSO PREVENTS VEHICLES FROM ENTERING THAT SAME SPACE.
IN ADDITION, THERE IS INCREASED TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT.
WE HAVE OUR, UM, DWI UNIT, ALTHOUGH THEY HAVE BEEN REALLOCATED FULL-TIME TO PATROL, WE DO HIRE THEM ON AN OVERTIME BASIS IN ORDER TO HAVE ENHANCED TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT ON THOSE WEEKENDS WHEN WE HAVE LEAVING THE STREETS OPEN.
AND THERE'S MORE LIKELY THAT, UM, THERE COULD BE A INTERACTION WHERE WE NEED TO QUICKLY STOP A VEHICLE AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
TYPICALLY, OUR OFFICERS THAT ARE DEPLOYED IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA ARE EITHER ON BIKES OR ON FOOT.
WE DO HAVE OUR MOUNTED PATROL, BUT IN ORDER TO DO TRAFFIC SAFETY INITIATIVES, WE HAVE ENHANCED, UH, DWI UNITS THAT ARE DOWNTOWN, UM, ON OVERTIME BASIS WHILE WE ARE GOING THROUGH THIS PILOT PROGRAM.
SO, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE ARE WORKING ON SPECIFICALLY TO THE ENHANCED SERVICE AND VISIBILITY IS THE DOWNTOWN RAPID RESPONSE TEAM.
I WILL CIRCLE BACK TO THAT ENHANCED OFFICER TRAINING, IMPROVE LIGHTING, ALLEYWAY SWEEPS, IMPROVE COMMUNITY AND BUSINESS ENGAGEMENT IN ADDITION TO INCREASED FOCUS ON VISIBILITY AND HOTSPOT POLICING.
SO STARTING WITH OUR DOWNTOWN RAPID RESPONSE TEAM, A GROUP OF DETECTIVES HAVE BEEN REALLOCATED.
SO, UH, ESSENTIALLY THEY WERE DISPERSED THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE CITY.
NOW THEY HAVE BEEN CONSOLIDATED TO OUR DOWNTOWN SERVICES AREA.
AND THE SPECIFIC REASON THEY HAVE BEEN REALLOCATED IS THROUGH A FOCUSED APPROACH TO DOING ANY KIND OF ENFORCEMENT TO HELP IMPROVE SAFETY IN THE DOWNTOWN CORRIDOR.
AND SO THOSE OFFICERS THAT HAVE BEEN REDEPLOYED, IT'S NOT JUST THEY CAME DOWN AND NOW THEY'RE ACTUALLY WORKING.
CHIEF DAVIS WANTED TO BE INTENTIONAL, MAKING SURE THEY HAVE THE EXPECTATIONS OF WHY THEY'RE GOING DOWN THERE, BUT THEN ENHANCED TRAINING WHILE THEY ARE DOWN THERE, AND THEN HAVING A CLEAR VISION OF WHAT THE EXPECTATIONS ARE.
AND SO THEY ARE GOING TO BE, I BELIEVE THEY START STARTED THIS WEEK, UM, DOWNTOWN, UH, FINISHING UP THEIR TRAINING AND THEY'RE BEING DEPLOYED.
AND SO WE SHOULD HAVE SOME OUTCOMES OR RESULTS NEXT TIME I PRESENT ON THE QUARTERLY REPORT.
AND SO, MENTAL HEALTH TRAINING, OF COURSE, THERE ARE SOME, UH, LAWS AND ORDINANCES THAT ARE SPECIFIC TO THE DOWNTOWN AREA THAT THEY NEEDED TO, TO LEARN.
UM, BUT THEN, LIKE I SAID, WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE COVERED CHIEF DAVIS'S EXPECTATION WHEN IT COMES TO IMPROVING SAFETY IN THE DOWNTOWN CORRIDOR.
SO, IMPROVED LIGHTING, LIKE WE STATED, UM, WORKING WITH, UH, STREET AND BRIDGE AND, UM, OUR PUBLIC SAFETY PARTNERS IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE DOING THINGS TO IMPROVE, UH, THE SAFETY AROUND THE DOWNTOWN AREA, NOT JUST THROUGH A LAW ENFORCEMENT COMPONENT, BUT ACTUALLY IMPROVING THE LIGHTING, IMPROVING WAYS TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR ENVIRONMENT IS AS SAFE AS, AS WE POSSIBLY CAN MAKE IT, IN ADDITION TO HAVING MORE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WITH THE BUSINESSES DOWNTOWN.
SO PART OF THE DART TEAM IS THAT THEY WILL BE GOING OUT AND MAKING CONTACT WITH THE INDIVIDUAL BUSINESS OWNERS AND MANAGERS AND HAVE A SENSE OF UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THEIR PRIMARY NEEDS ARE AND WHAT THE ISSUES THAT THEY HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING WITHIN THE COMMUNITY.
THEN THE EXPECTATION IS THAT THEY WILL COME BACK WITH THAT INFORMATION AND PUT TOGETHER A PLAN IN ORDER TO ADDRESS THOSE, THOSE ISSUES.
AND THEN WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE INCREASED FOCUS AND VISIBILITY ON HOTSPOT POLICING, THEY WILL BE PROVIDED WITH WEEKLY UPDATES ON OUTCOMES RELATED TO THE TACTICS THAT THEY'VE BEEN EMPLOYING.
AND THEN THEY ARE TO PIVOT OR ADJUST THEIR DEPLOYMENT STRATEGIES BASED ON WHAT THE DATA AND FEEDBACK FEEDBACK IS AND GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
AND SO JUST FROM THE TIME THAT WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED IT THROUGH OTHER MEANS RELATED TO SHUTTING DOWN, SIXTH STREET ARRESTS HAVE BEEN DOWN 40% ARE OFFICER USE OF FORCE.
THIS IS JUST IN THE SIXTH STREET AREA THAT I'M REFERENCING RIGHT NOW.
USE OF FORCE IS DOWN 32% AND OFFICER INJURIES ARE DOWN 57%.
AND WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
AND THE PILOT PROJECT GOALS APOLOGIZE.
WE TURN AROUND
AND THIS IS RELATED TO OUR DOWNTOWN MENTAL HEALTH PILOT PROGRAM.
AND SO AS I, UH, SPOKE TO ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE WHERE CHIEF B DAVIS WANTED TO MAKE SURE SHE WAS TAKING A HOLISTIC APPROACH, ONE CRITICAL COMPONENT OF THAT IS THOSE THAT ARE MENTAL, UH, FACING MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS, UH, IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA.
AND SO THIS IS PART OF THE PILOT PROGRAM WHEN WE HAVE OUR EMS TEAMMATES HERE THAT ARE INTEGRAL IN MAKING SURE THAT WE STAND UP THIS PILOT PROGRAM.
IT WAS ACTUALLY LED BY EMS AND THEY UNDERSTAND THAT THEY WANTED TO BRING US INTO THE FOLD AS FAR AS THAT SAFETY COMPONENT GOES AND HAVING A DUAL, UH, RESPONSE WHEN IT COMES TO MENTAL HEALTH.
SO RELATED TO MENTAL HEALTH CALLS, IT WILL BE TRAVIS COUNTY EMS AND A PD.
WE'LL BE WORKING TOGETHER AS A TEAM FOR ALL CALLS AND ALSO INTEGRAL CARE.
[00:10:01]
UM, AFTER THE, UM, AS STAFFING ALLOWS.OUR CURRENT PHASE IS THAT WE'RE DEVELOPING PROTOCOLS NOW.
I BELIEVE WE ARE QUICKLY WRAPPING THOSE UP.
I HAVE SEEN THE VINYL VERSION AND I THINK WE JUST NEED TO PRESS THE GREEN LIGHT ON THAT AFTER WE PUSH IT TO CHIEF RIT AND CHIEF DAVIS FOR FINAL APPROVAL.
IN ADDITION, WE'VE PARTICIPATED IN JOINT TRAINING AND THE DOWNTOWN SERVICES, UH, AREA ONLY FOR THE TIME BEING, BUT THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY THAT COULD BE EXPANDED TO JUST BEYOND THE DOWNTOWN DOWNTOWN AREA, UM, WITH THE CONCENTRATION OF THE PERSONS THAT ARE EXPERIENCING MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA.
THEN THE NATURAL CONCENTRATION OF ALREADY HAVING OUR FIRST RESPONDERS THERE.
IT, WE FELT IT FROM A EFFICIENCY AND A DEPLOYMENT STRATEGY.
IT JUST MADE SENSE TO START, START HERE.
AND THEN WE'RE GONNA BE INTENTIONAL ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE TRACKING OUR METRICS AND SO FOR USE OF FORCE, UM, THAT WE MIGHT, UH, ENCOUNTER WHILE WE'RE DOING THIS PILOT PROGRAM, IN ADDITION TO TRANSPORTS TO, UH, DIVERSION VERSUS THE JAIL, UM, VERSUS ALTERNATIVE DESTINATIONS IN ADDITION TO OTHER METRICS THAT, UH, CALLED FOR THE CITY MENTAL HEALTH RESOLUTION.
AND SO IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH THE RESOLUTION THAT RE RECENTLY PASSED, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE TRACKING OUR DATA AND METRICS SO WE CAN FOLLOW UP, UH, APPROPRIATELY TO THE RESOLUTION.
TRANSITIONING TO OUR WORKLOAD ANALYSIS THAT WE ARE CONDUCTING, UH, YOU MIGHT BE FAMILIAR WITH OUR PREVIOUS DEAR BARRY DUNN REPORT THAT WE COMPLETED.
ONE THING OR ONE OF THE PRIMARY THINGS THAT WE LEARNED OUT OF THE BARRY DUNN REPORT IS THAT WE NEEDED TO HAVE A MORE COMPREHENSIVE EVALUATION OF OUR OPERATIONS HOLISTICALLY.
UM, WE ARE FACING A STAFFING CRISIS STILL WHEN IT COMES TO OUR SWORN STAFFING.
WHEN IT COMES TO OUR PROFESSIONAL STAFFING.
WE ARE NOT QUITE IN THE SAME POSITION.
WE ONLY HAVE ABOUT A 9% VACANCY RATE.
BUT NONETHELESS, WE ARE STILL FACING A STAFFING CRISIS WHEN IT COMES TO OUR SWORN PERSONNEL.
AND SO WE WANTED TO BE INTENTIONAL WHEN WE ARE TRYING TO IMPLEMENT THE BARRY DUNN ORIGINAL REPORT THAT THEY DID.
WE FOUND OUT THAT THERE WERE GAPS THAT WE STILL DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION.
SO THEREFORE, UH, CHIEF DAVIS REQUESTED THAT WE DO ANOTHER WORKLOAD ANALYSIS TO DO AN EVALUATION ON HOW WE ARE DEPLOYING OUR RESOURCES NOW TO SEE IS THERE A BETTER WAY THAT WE CAN, WE CAN DO IT AND CAN THIS BE RESOURCED OUT POTENTIALLY BY HIRING CIVILIAN F FTES OR IS THERE A DIFFERENT WAY THAT WE CAN RESPOND TO CALLS FOR SERVICE HOLISTICALLY, THE INVESTIGATIVE PROCESS IN AND OF ITSELF.
ARE THERE ANY WAYS THAT WE CAN SHORTEN THE PROCESS FOR THE INVESTIGATIVE, UH, TO GO? OR ARE THERE OTHER CALLS FOR SERVICE THAT NEED TO BE FULL-TIME OUT RESOURCED? AND SO THAT'S PART OF WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH BARRY DUNN RIGHT NOW.
AND IT IS A, UH, TARGETED OPERATIONAL REVIEW AND WORKLOAD ANALYSIS FOR MOST OF THE CORE UNITS THAT ARE AT A PD.
TRANSITIONING TO THE NEXT SLIDE, JUST WANTED TO GO OVER SOME OF THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EVENTS THAT WE PARTICIPATED IN IN THIS PAST QUARTER.
WE HAD 20 EVENTS WHERE WE ENGAGED WITH YOUTH, UM, AT SCHOOLS FOR EDUCATION AND TARGETED EVENTS.
IN ADDITION, WE HAD SEVEN SE SAFETY FOCUS EVENTS FOR SAFETY IN THE COMMUNITY WITH SPECIFIC GROUPS.
IN ADDITION, WE HAD COMMUNITY AND CONNECT AND NEIGHBORHOOD MEETINGS, 15 OF THOSE WHERE WE ENGAGE WITH COMMUNITIES AND NEIGHBORHOODS TO DISCUSS SAFETY PLANS AND ALSO PARTICIPATED IN AN ARRAY OF COMMUNITY EVENTS ACROSS THE CITY.
IN ADDITION, WE ALSO ARE GONNA BE HOSTING THE 2025 WORLD LGBTQ I PLUS INTERNATIONAL POLICING PROFESSIONALS CONFERENCE, WHICH IS COMING UP IN AUGUST OF THIS YEAR.
IT'S AUGUST 5TH THROUGH THE EIGHTH TO ENGAGE WITH CRIMINAL PROFESSIONALS, UM, THAT ARE IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SECTOR, NOT JUST IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, BUT FROM AROUND THE WORLD IN ADDITION TO ADVOCATES, UM, UM, FROM AROUND THE WORLD.
AND WE CAN TRANSITION TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
AND THIS IS JUST A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE COMBINED P ZERO AND P ONES CALLS FOR SERVICE FOR THIS QUARTER IN A COMPARE AND CONTRAST OF LAST YEAR AND THE FIVE YEAR MEAN.
AND SO YOU'LL NOTICE, UH, TYPICALLY WHEN IT COMES TO THE COOLER MONTHS OF THE YEAR, OUR PRIORITY ZEROS AND PRIORITY ONES JUST HAVE A SLIGHT DECLINE.
AND SO THIS IS JUST OUR FIVE ME YEAR MEAN, AND IT SHOWS THAT, UM, THIS YEAR THERE'S JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE HIGHER INCREASE OR NOT AS DRAMATIC OF A DROP AS THE FIVE YEAR MEAN, BUT STILL THE CALLS FOR SERVICE JUST NATURALLY DECLINE OVER THE COOLER MONTHS OF THE YEAR.
GOING TO OUR NEXT SLIDE, THIS IS OUR RESPONSE TIMES WHEN IT COMES TO THE CALLS FOR SERVICE, THE PRIORITY CALLS THE P ZERO AND THE P ONES, AND JUST, UH, JUST SHOWING THAT, UM, OUR RESPONSE TIMES HAVE IMPROVED OVER THE YEARS.
[00:15:01]
OCTOBER, UM, LIKELY BECAUSE OF OUR STAFFING CRISIS OR STAFFING SHORTAGE THAT WE WERE IN, BUT NONETHELESS, AS UH, WE PROGRESSED THROUGH FEBRUARY, IT IS STARTING TO ALIGN WITH OUR FIVE YEAR MEAN.SPEAKING TO OUR STAFFING, UH, AS I MENTIONED OUR SWORN STAFFING, WE STILL ARE IN A STAFFING CRISIS.
SO RIGHT NOW WE ARE SITTING AT APPROXIMATELY 340 VACANCIES WITH OUR PROFESSIONAL STAFF.
WE ONLY HAVE A, UH, APPROXIMATELY A 10% NINE TO 10% VACANCY RATE.
AND THEN WITH OUR EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS, WE'VE DONE A PHENOMENAL JOB WITH, UM, IMPROVING ON OUR STAFFING THERE.
AND AS YOU'LL SEE, WE ONLY HAVE NINE VACANCIES OF THE 220 23 POSITIONS OUT AT OUR EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS.
SO THAT IS A DRAMATIC IMPROVEMENT TURNAROUND THAT WE HAD IN THE PAST YEAR AND A HALF.
TRANSITIONING TO THE NEXT SLIDE, JUST FOCUSING ON OUR SWORN VACANCY RATES.
YOU WILL SEE OVER THE PAST YEARS HOW THE VACANCY RATE HAS INCREASED.
THE GREEN LINE REPRESENTS FY 23, THE RED LINE REPRESENTS FY 24, AND THEN THE BLUE LINE REPRESENTS FY 25.
AND SO WHILE THEY WERE, WE HAD SOME GAINS AS COMPARED TO 2023, WE ARE STILL SITTING AT ABOUT A 19% VACANCY RATE WHEN IT COMES TO OUR SWORN PERSONNEL.
AND THEN TRANSITIONING TO THE NEXT SLIDE, THAT JUST SHOWS A REFLECTION OF THE VACANCY RATE ACROSS SECTORS.
AND SO YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SEE BASED ON OUR STAFFING ALLOCATION WHEN IT COMES TO OUR PATROL, THIS IS THE SLIDE THAT REPRESENTS OUR VACANCY RATE FOR EACH SECTOR, UM, IN THE CITY.
AND SO ON AVERAGE, YOU'LL SEE EACH SECTOR IS SITTING AT ABOUT A 25% VACANCY RATE FOR EACH SECTOR ACROSS THE CITY.
TRANSITIONING TO THE NEXT SLIDE, WANTED TO GIVE AN UPDATE WHERE WE ARE WITH OUR CADET CLASSES.
AND SO PART OF OUR, UH, RECENT GRADUATING CLASSES ARE THE ONE 51ST, THE ONE 52ND, AND THEN THE ONE 53RD.
THE ONE 53RD MOST RECENTLY GRADUATED WITH 29, AND THEY ACTUALLY STARTED ON THEIR FIRST DAYS OF PATROL SUNDAY.
SO THEY WERE AT THE ACADEMY DOING SOME, UH, INTERMEDIATE TRAINING.
SO ALTHOUGH THAT THEY HAD GRADUATED, THEY'D STILL STAYED BEHIND AT THE TRAINING ACADEMY IN ORDER TO DO SOME INTERMEDIATE TRAINING BEFORE THEY WERE RELEASED OUT TO THE STREETS.
SO THEY ACTUALLY JUST STARTED YESTERDAY ON, ON PATROL, SO EXCITED FOR THEM.
OUR CURRENT CLASS RIGHT NOW IS THE ONE 54TH, AND RIGHT NOW WE CURRENTLY HAVE 51 CADETS IN THAT CLASS, AND THAT CLASS, I BELIEVE IS SCHEDULED TO GRADUATE IN AUGUST.
AND THEN OUR NEXT CLASS WE ARE ACTUALLY HIRING FOR, WE HAVE ALREADY HAD ORIENTATION IS FOR THE ONE 55TH CADET CLASS.
AND SO MOVING ALONG AT A HEALTHY PACE, NOW THAT WE HAVE OUR, UH, CONTRACT IN PLACE, OUR APPLICATIONS HAVE GONE UP.
THEY'VE GONE UP TREMENDOUSLY, WHICH IS A GOOD THING.
BUT, UH, THEY'LL BE STARTING IN JUST A FEW, FEW WEEKS.
UH, ON MARCH 21ST, BECAUSE WE HAVE ALREADY CLOSED OUT THAT HIRING CYCLE FOR THE ONE 55TH CADET CLASS, WE HAVE NOW OPENED UP THE HIRING CYCLE FOR THE ONE 56TH CADET CLASS.
SO, LIKE I SAID, UH, MOVING ALONG AT A HEALTHY PACE, UM, WE ARE HOPING WITH THE CONTRACT IN PLACE, WE WILL YIELD MORE APPLICANTS THAT MAKE IT THROUGH THE ENTIRE VETTING PROCESS TO HAVE MORE CADETS IN CADET CLASS.
UM, WE WERE FINDING WHEN WE WERE OUT OF CONTRACT THAT THE NUMBER OF APPLICANTS JUST DIDN'T TRANSLATE INTO A MORE ROBUST POOL OF CANDIDATES THAT MADE IT ON TO BE HIRED AS CADETS, WHEREAS NOW WE ARE HOPING TO SEE THAT TREND IN IN PROOF.
AND LIKE I SAID, 1 56 STARTS, UM, NOVEMBER 8TH.
AND THEN GOING ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE, SOME OF THE ACADEMY HIGHLIGHTS SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO KROLL, WANTED TO REVIEW OR GIVE AN UPDATE TO THE COMMITTEE.
I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN ASKING FOR THAT.
UM, THAT WE DID HAVE OUR FIRST SESSION FOR THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COUNCIL, AND SO WE HAVE MOVED ONE STEP CLOSER INTO COMPLETING ALL THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE CROW RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE OUTSTANDING THAT WE HAD NOT STARTED YET.
SO THIS IS ANOTHER ONE THAT WE CAN MARK OFF THE LIST AS FAR AS WE'VE IMPLEMENTED IT.
THE PROFESSIONAL, UH, ADVISORY, UH, COMMITTEE IS ALSO PART OF THE CROW RECOMMENDATIONS, AND THEY ARE REVIEWING ON THEIR FOURTH COURSE NOW RIGHT NOW, WHICH IS PROFESSIONALISM AND ETHICS.
OUR ADVANCED EDUCATION UNIT, THE, UH, ADVANCED EDUCATION UNIT TRAINS THE ENTIRE DEPARTMENT.
SO JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THE NUMBER OF TRAINING HOURS THAT THE DEPARTMENT, UH, IS RECEIVING, NOT JUST OUR CADETS.
SO THESE ARE INCUMBENT OFFICERS WHO HAVE ALREADY BEEN WITH THE DEPARTMENT.
UM, 190 HOURS OF TRAINING, UH, JUST IN THE PAST MONTH.
AND I HAVE TO LOOK AT THE SLIDE AGAIN.
WHICH TRANSLATED INTO 2,171, UH, STUDENT HOURS.
AND THEN THE NEXT SLIDE AFTER THAT IS OUR TRAINING IN COMMUNITY.
[00:20:01]
LAST BULLET AFTER THAT IS OUR TRAINING IN COMMUNITY, UH, CONNECT PROGRAMS. SO 75 FIELD TRAINING OFFICERS FOR THE ONE 53RD CADET CLASS ARE AVAILABLE.AND SO WE HAVE BEEN INTENTIONAL ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT THE OFFICERS THAT ARE GONNA BE TRAINING THE OFFICERS HAVE THE APPROPRIATE TRAINING THAT THEY NEED IN ORDER TO PROVIDE THE, THE QUALITY AND CONSISTENT TRAINING THAT THEY'RE BEING PROVIDED AS CADETS.
THAT THAT THEN IS TRANSLATED AND CARRIED ON INTO THE FIELD TRAINING PROGRAM TRAINING, UH, OF OUR, THE OPO, THE OFFICE OF POLICE, UH, UH, REVIEW COMMISSION.
AND SO THAT IS A COMMISSION THAT CAME OUT OF THE PASSING OF THE CONTRACT.
AND SO THEY WILL START REVIEWING THOSE CRITICAL INCIDENTS THAT, UM, OFFICERS ARE, ARE INVOLVED IN.
AND THAT TRAINING IS BEING ORGANIZED THROUGH THE OFFICE OF POLICE OVERSIGHT.
WE, OF COURSE, TEACH, UH, CURRICULUM RELATED TO JUST THE OPERATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT, WHAT USE OF FORCE LOOKS LIKE, THAT TYPE OF THING, OUR POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.
BUT NONETHELESS, THAT'S BEING RUN THROUGH THE OFFICE OF POLICE OVERSIGHT.
AND THAT IS FOR THE COMMITTEE THAT IS GOING TO REVIEW CRITICAL INCIDENTS.
AND THEN, LIKE I SAID, THE HUNDRED 55TH CADET CLASS WILL BE STARTING THEIR FOUNDATIONS AND THEIR COMMUNITY, UH, CONNECT PROGRAM STARTING ON APRIL 21ST.
AND THEN THEIR ACTUAL FIRST DAY OF CADET CLASS HAPPENS TO BE ON MY ANNIVERSARY FOR MY, UH, CADET CLASS, WHICH IS MARCH 5TH.
SO THEY WILL START MARCH 5TH IN 2025.
AND SO I WILL OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS.
CASE IN COURT, THE, THE CONTRACT BUMP, I GUESS THE, THE, THE, UM, BUMP THAT YOU'RE SEEING WITH THE, THE AMOUNT OF CADETS BECAUSE OF THE CONTRACT, IS THAT MICROPHONE IS, IS THAT ATTRIBUTED TO THE, TO THE FACT THAT THERE WAS UNCERTAINTY PRIOR TO THE SIGNING OF THE CONTRACT, OR WERE THERE CERTAIN PROVISIONS IN THE CONTRACT THAT MADE THE JOB MORE, UM, DESIRABLE? I, I, I WOULD SAY IT'S PROBABLY A, A COMBINATION OF QUITE A FEW THINGS.
WHEN WE ARE OUT OF CONTRACT, IT LIMITS OUR ABILITY TO DO HIRING OTHER THAN FOR ONE CIVIL SERVICE EXAM.
AND YOU CAN ONLY HAVE ONE EXAM FOR ONE HIRING CYCLE, AND YOU CAN ONLY HAVE THAT EXAM ON ONE DAY.
SO IF YOU DO NOT SHOW UP ON THAT ONE DAY, YOU CANNOT EVEN MOVE, MOVE, UH, FORWARD IN THE, IN THE PROCESS.
AND YOU CAN UNDERSTAND JUST HOW LIFE GOES.
UM, PEOPLE POTENTIALLY MISS THEIR FLIGHTS, UM, MADE IT LATE TO THE, THE TESTING CENTER.
IF YOU MAKE IT LATE, ONCE THEY CLOSE THE DOORS, YOU CAN'T PARTICIPATE.
I JUST CAN'T BE THERE ON THIS DATE.
AND SO IF YOU ARE NOT THERE FOR THAT ONE TEST, FOR THAT HIRING CYCLE, YOU CANNOT MOVE ON IN THE, IN THE PROCESS AND YOU HAVE TO PASS THAT INITIAL TEST.
THERE IS NO, UM, BRINGING ON, UH, SOMEBODY BACK OR DOING A RETEST.
IF THEY FAIL, YOU HAVE TO PASS THAT ONE, ONE TEST.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, UH, TESTING CAN ONLY BE DONE IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.
SO IF THEY WANTED TO TEST FOR IT TO THAT CADET CLASS, THEY HAD TO COME TO THIS LOCATION IN ORDER TO TEST FOR IT.
WE COULDN'T DO ANY REMOTE TESTING FOR IT.
UM, AND WHEN YOU SPEAK TO STABILITY, OF COURSE, WHEN IT COMES TO HIRING SOMEBODY, WHEN YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO FORECAST OR PROJECT WHAT THEY WILL BE EARNING, WHAT THE INCENTIVES ARE, UM, REASONS TO COME TO OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT, WHEN WE CAN'T FORECAST WHAT THEY COULD BE EARNING OR WHAT, UH, INCENTIVES ARE GONNA BE AVAILABLE TO THEM, THEN IT, UH, IT'S DIFFICULT TO GET THEM TO, UH, JOIN A POLICE DEPARTMENT THAT WE CAN'T PROVIDE THEM THAT SECURITY AND THAT CERTAINTY, UH, MOVING FORWARD FOR, UM, A SPECIFIC AMOUNT OF, OF YEARS.
SO I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF FACTORS THAT GO, GO INTO THAT, BUT THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION.
UM, I'M GONNA ASK A QUICK FOLLOW UP QUESTION JUST ABOUT THE CADET CLASSES WITH REGARDS TO HAVE, WERE THE 154TH AND 155TH HIRING CYCLES STARTED POST-CONTRACT? NO.
SO ONLY THE 156TH THAT IS CORRECT, IS GONNA BE POST, POST-CONTRACT? THAT IS CORRECT, MM-HMM
UM, AND YOU'RE GONNA, ARE YOU ANTICIPATING A LARGER CLASS THAN THE 65 THAT HAVE YES, MA'AM.
DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I SEE COMMISSIONER SMITH IS, IS WITH US AS WELL.
COMMISSIONER RUTAN, I, A QUESTION ON THE SIXTH STREET PILOT, UM, I WAS VERY PLEASED TO SEE A DECREASE IN, UM, HARM TO OFFICERS AND SOME OF THOSE INSTANCE.
I'M CURIOUS ABOUT THE DECREASE IN ARRESTS, IF YOU THINK THAT IS JUST THE PROACTIVE PRESENCE VERSUS THINGS NOT PEOPLE NOT GETTING ARRESTED.
UM, WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE, IS DRIVING THAT DECREASED ARREST DETERRENCE VERSUS SOMETHING ELSE? I DON'T WANNA OVER SPECULATE, BUT I ANTICIPATE THAT HAVING THE THOROUGHFARES OPEN TO TRAFFIC, IT THEN HAS THE, UM,
[00:25:01]
PEDESTRIANS ON THE SIDEWALKS AND MOVING ALONG TO THEIR DESTINATION AS OPPOSED TO POTENTIALLY LINGERING IN A, IN A SPOT.IT DOESN'T ALLOW FOR THAT, UH, EXTENDED INTERACTION THAT COULD LEAD TO A, UH, VIOLENT, UH, INCIDENT THAT THEN CAUSES OFFICERS TO THEN HAVE TO RESPOND TO THE SCENE AND TAKE ACTION.
IT HAS, UH, CREATED STRUCTURE, I GUESS, IF YOU WILL, FOR THE PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC WHERE YOU KIND OF HAVE TO MOVE ALONG.
YOU CAN'T JUST STAND THERE AND BE, BE STA STAGNANT.
AND THAT, WHICH, WHICH MAKES SENSE AND IS FANTASTIC MM-HMM
UM, IF THAT CONTINUES, IS THERE A COUNTERBALANCING MEASURE IN TERMS OF LIKE ANY TRACKING REPORTED CRIMES THAT MAY NOT HAVE ARRESTED? JUST MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT MISSING ANYTHING THAT GOES REPORTED THE NEXT DAY OR LATER ON.
I WILL HAVE TO FOLLOW UP, UH, WITH YOU ON THAT.
AS FAR AS YOU ARE ASKING, FOLLOWING THE NEXT DAY, WHETHER OR NOT DATA THAT IS POTENTIALLY NOT CAPTURED ON THE DAY OF IS THEN INSERTED AND EVALUATED TO SEE WHETHER OR NOT THERE WAS IMPACTS ON THE PREVIOUS DAY? YEAH, I GUESS MY QUESTION WOULD BE IF WE'RE NOT MAKING ARRESTS, IS THAT BECAUSE CRIMINAL ACTIVITY IS NOT HAPPENING OR ARE WE MISSING SOMETHING THAT I SEE IS THEN GONNA BE CAPTURED IN SOME LATER REPORTING DATA THAT WE'RE JUST NOT ABLE TO ABLE TO ARREST HIM AT THE MOMENT? OKAY.
I'M CHECKING ONLINE TO SEE IF WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS BEFORE I HOP TO MY SHORT LIST.
UM, SO I'LL PIGGY AGAIN, PIGGYBACK ON SIXTH STREET STUFF.
UM, HOW, HOW FAR IS THE RADIUS OF THE SIXTH STREET ENHANCED SERVICE SORT OF THAT YOU'RE DOING? IS IT JUST SIXTH STREET AND THE ALLEYS OF SIXTH STREET? JUST BECAUSE THE, THE, THE ACTIVITY DOWNTOWN AND A LOT OF THE ALTERCATIONS THAT SORT OF HAPPEN EXTEND BEYOND SIXTH STREET, OBVIOUSLY THEY'LL, YOU KNOW, THEY'LL, THEY'LL GO ALL THE WAY TO EIGHTH AND BRAZOS AND MM-HMM
UM, THE INCIDENT THAT HAPPENED A COUPLE WEEKS AGO, DEFINITELY MOVED IN THAT DIRECTION.
HOW FAR ARE THESE, LIKE LIGHTING IMPROVEMENT SORT OF MEASURES AND, UM, ALLEYWAY SWEEPS AND JUST KIND OF DIFFERENT SORT OF PRESENCE IN ENHANCED TRAINING PRESENCE? HOW FAR FROM THE SIXTH STREET RADIUS ARE YOU GUYS GOING? MM-HMM
AND IT'LL HELP IF WE HAVE A VISUAL.
SO IF YOU CAN GO TO SLIDE NUMBER THREE, SIR.
YOU CAN SEE THE EXPANDED AREA THAT THE DOWNTOWN RAPID RESPONSE TEAM WILL BE IMPLEMENTING THOSE SAME, SAME MEASURES.
AND SO YOU'LL SEE THAT IT GOES TO MOPAC, IT ALSO INCORPORATES EVERYTHING, UH, ALONG THE RIVER ON THE NORTH CURB LINE.
THEN ALL THE WAY UP TO 15TH, I'M SORRY, THAT IS NOT 15TH.
AND THEN OFF TO THE EAST SIDE, IT'S I 35.
AND SO IT'S A EXTENSIVE AREA, BUT LIKE I SAID, THERE HAS BEEN, UH, OFFICERS REALLOCATED TO BE CONCENTRATED TO MAKE SURE WE ARE ADEQUATELY ADDRESSING THOSE SAME INITIATIVES IN THE SAME GEOGRAPHIC AREA, NOT JUST IN THE BLUE SQUARE, WHICH WE TRADITIONALLY, UH, SEE AS THE SIXTH STREET CORRIDOR.
UM, AND THEN A FOLLOW UP QUESTION ON THE WORKLOAD ANALYSIS, THE BARRY DUNN REPORT, WHICH WE'VE BEEN WAITING ON FOR FOREVER, IS THIS A NEW EXTENSION OF THIS, THE ORIGINAL BARRY DUNN REPORT THAT YOU GUYS WERE WORKING ON PREVIOUSLY? OR IS THIS THE SAME REPORT? NO, THIS IS A DIFFERENT REPORT.
AND MY APOLOGIES, THE BARRY, THE FIRST BARRY DONE REPORT HAS BEEN COMPLETED AND RELEASED.
DID WE GET THAT? I'M TRYING TO, I WAS LOOKING THROUGH MY STUFF AND I DON'T KNOW THAT WE GOT THE BARRY DONE.
REPORT IT WENT OUT ON, UH, A MEMO, MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMO, BUT I'LL, I'LL MAKE SURE I, I SHARE IT WITH THE, WITH THE GROUP AS SOON AS I LEAVE HERE.
UM, AND THEN DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? YEAH, GO FOR IT.
UM, ALSO EXCITED TO HEAR ABOUT THE DOWNTOWN MENTAL HEALTH PILOT PROGRAM MM-HMM
UM, I'M ASSUMING THAT IN THE LISTING OF TRACKING METRICS, INCLUDING ALTERNATIVE DESTINATIONS, THAT Y'ALL ARE GONNA BE SPECIFICALLY INCLUDING THE SOBERING CENTER AS ONE OF THOSE, I KNOW THAT WASN'T THE COUNCIL RESOLUTION.
DO YOU KNOW IF THAT'S GONNA BE GETTING TRACKED AS WELL FROM Y'ALL'S DATA? TYPICALLY, IF THERE'S A MENTAL HEALTH COMPONENT, IT, THEY DO NOT GET TRANS.
THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT TYPICALLY GOES TO THE SOBERING CENTER.
THE SOBERING CENTER IS SOLELY FOR INTOX.
UH, UNLESS I'M NOT UNDERSTANDING YOUR QUESTION, THERE'S SOMETIMES AN AN OVERLAP THERE.
AND I KNOW IN THE COUNCIL RESOLUTION, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY WERE LOOKING AT WAS HOW MANY CALLS WOULD END UP GETTING SENT EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT VERSUS, UM, JAIL VERSUS SOBERING CENTER WHEN THERE'S AN OVERLAP WITH SOME OF THE, UM, SUBSTANCE USE AS WELL WITH
[00:30:01]
THE MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS.AND I ANTICIPATE WE WOULD BE TRACKING ALL THE OUTCOMES RELATED TO THOSE MENTAL HEALTH CALLS FOR SERVICE, REGARDLESS IF THERE IS A FOLLOW ON MENTAL HEALTH COMPONENT OR, OR NOT.
I KNOW CHIEF HOPKINS, DID YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD TO? YEAH, I WAS GONNA SAY, UM, WE DO HAVE ASSISTANT CHIEF WHITE, WE DO TRACK THOSE PATIENTS THAT DO GO TO THE SOBRIETY CENTER, AND SO WE'LL BE ABLE TO KIND OF PARSE OUT THAT INFORMATION BETWEEN WHAT WAS A MENTAL HEALTH AND THEN WHAT WE DISPOSITIONED OVER TO THAT CENTER.
UM, AND MY, MY LAST FOLLOW UP QUESTION IS JUST WITH REGARDS, AND I THINK WE CAN HAVE A FOLLOW UP AGENDA ITEM ON THIS, UM, IF NECESSARY, BUT, UM, JUST ASKING ABOUT IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT AND A PD, UM, GIVEN THE EXPANDED SORT OF USE, I THINK I FORWARDED YOU THE ARTICLE AND I, I'LL MAKE, I'LL SEND IT TO CHRISTIE SO THAT EVERYBODY ELSE CAN GET IT IF I HADN'T ALREADY.
JUST ABOUT HOW HOUSTON IS NOW USING, UM, IS CAP ICE WARRANTS ARE NOW BEING POPULATED INTO THE SYSTEM THAT POLICE ENFORCE LAW ENFORCEMENT ACCESSES WHEN THEY'RE IN THEIR COMPUTERS.
UM, AND HOW THOSE ARE GONNA BE USED BY A PD AND HOW THOSE ARE, I, I KNOW THAT THERE'S BEEN A, WE'RE NOT EN ENFORCING IMMIGRATION TO THIS POINT, BUT I WANTED TO KNOW WHETHER OR NOT THAT IS SHIFTING WITH THE WAY THE ICE IS NOW USING, INCORPORATING THEIR WARRANTS INTO THE SYSTEM.
SO THERE HAS BEEN AN INTRODUCTION OF ADDITIONAL ICE WARRANTS INTO THE SYSTEM.
HOWEVER, OUR PROCESS HAS NOT, HAS NOT CHANGED.
AND WITH THAT, WE WILL MOVE ON TO OUR NEXT, I HAD ONE, SORRY.
UH, SORRY, I, I DIDN'T SEEK NO WORRIES.
UH, JUST GOING BACK TO THE SOBERING CENTER, DO WE HAVE ANY DATA SPECIFICALLY ON DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE SENT TO THE SOBERING CENTER VERSUS WHO IS CI AND RELEASED VERSUS WHO IS GOING TO JAIL? W WE, WE WOULD HAVE OUR OWN DATA, BUT UNDERSTAND THERE ARE OTHER ENTITIES THAT COULD BE TRANSPORTING TO THE SOBERING CENTER.
AND SO IF YOU'RE WANTING SOBERING CENTER HOLISTICALLY OR OVERALL, THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT I THINK IT WOULD BE BEST IF THEY PROVIDED, PROVIDED THAT.
WHEN YOU FOLLOW UP WITH US NEXT TIME, CAN I HAVE Y'ALL'S SPECIFIC DEMOGRAPHICS? OKAY.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER SMITH.
UM, I'M GONNA GIVE ONE MORE GLANCE AROUND.
[3. 2026 Bond Development Update. Presentation by Eric Bailey, Assistant Director, Capital Delivery Services, Marcus Hammer, Assistant Director, Capital Delivery Services, Robin Henderson, Chief of Staff, Austin Police Department, Wesley Hopkins, Chief of Staff, Austin/Travis County Emergency Medical Services Department, and Rob Vires, Chief of Staff, Austin Fire Department]
MOVE ON TO OUR NEXT ITEM, WHICH IS THE 2026 BOND DEVELOPMENT UPDATE.I BELIEVE THERE ARE SEVERAL PARTIES, UM, HERE TO HELP UPDATE US.
IF YOU GUYS CAN JUST COME AND INTRODUCE YOURSELVES.
UM, AND I THINK YOU GUYS HAVE ALREADY WORKED OUT WE'LL, WE'LL BE HEARING, UM, UM, FROM CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES, AND THEN WE'LL ALSO BE HEARING FROM THE DEPARTMENTS.
I'M THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR WITH, UH, CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES, AND I'M JOINED HERE TODAY WITH, UH, ERIC BAILEY, THE, UH, DEPUTY DIRECTOR WITH CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES.
SO TODAY WE'RE GONNA REALLY KIND OF GO THROUGH THIS PRESENTATION.
AND WHAT WE WANNA TALK ABOUT TODAY IS THE FRAMEWORK THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING THROUGH, UM, FOR THE 2026 BOND PROGRAM.
SO, UM, IF YOU CAN KIND OF JUST SEE QUICKLY, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE QUICK AGENDA ITEMS THAT WE'RE GONNA TALK, TALK QUICKLY ABOUT WILL BE JUST CDS IN GENERAL, WHO WE ARE.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT OUR GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS AND WHAT IS A PROGRAM RELATED TO THOSE, THOSE TYPES OF PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS, UH, THE IMPROVED BOND DEVELOPMENT PROCESS THAT, UH, CDS IS LOOKING AT.
AND AS WE'RE MOVING FORWARD THROUGH THIS PROCESS, UM, SOME OF THE STAFF WORK COMPLETED TO DATE, UH, GUIDING PRINCIPLES, TECHNICAL CRITERIA, SCORING MATRICES THAT THE DEPARTMENTS HAVE BEEN, UH, DILIGENTLY WORKING ON OVER THE LAST REALLY, YOU KNOW, 10 MONTHS.
UM, AND THEN SOME PROGRESS, YOU KNOW, KEY MILESTONES KIND OF MOVING FORWARD AS WE'RE KIND OF WORKING THROUGH THIS PROCESS.
UM, SO JUST FROM A HIGH LEVEL, RIGHT, CDS, UM, BROKE OFF FROM PUBLIC WORKS GROUP SEVERAL YEARS AGO.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR GOAL IS REALLY, UM, FOCUSING ON REDUCING THE PROJECT DELIVERY TIMEFRAMES THAT, UM, HAVE TRADITIONALLY BEEN SEEN IN THE PAST.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE A GROUP OF, OR, UH, YOU KNOW, A DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERS, ARCHITECTS, PROJECT MANAGERS, PROGRAM MANAGERS, UM, KIND OF REALLY FOCUSED, UM, ON THAT, ON GETTING THESE PROJECTS CONSTRUCTED AND, AND DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTED AND PUT OUT ON IN A TIMELY MANNER.
UM, SO SOME OF OUR KEY PARTNERS, OF COURSE, THE CONSULTANTS, THE CONTRACTING TEAMS, SOME OF THE CITY ASSET OWNER DEPARTMENTS, UM, AS WE WORK THROUGH THESE DIFFERENT PROGRAMS, UM, AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS OF COURSE, AS WE, AS WE, YOU
[00:35:01]
KNOW, GO THROUGH DESIGN PROCESSES.UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, OUR OVERARCHING GOAL IS REALLY KIND OF FOCUSING ON THAT ONE CITY ONE TEAM, ONE APPROACH TO, UM, REALLY EFFICIENTLY MANAGE AND DELIVER QUALITY PUBLIC PROJECTS.
UM, AND WE AS A DEPARTMENT HAVE OVER 500 ACTIVE PROJECTS REPRESENTING, YOU KNOW, OVER $7 BILLION IN INVESTMENT.
SO IT'S A HUGE PROFILE OF PROJECTS.
UM, BUT IN, THAT'S IN ADDITION, YOU KNOW, WE STILL HAVE, YOU KNOW, 5 BILLION IN PROJECT CONNECT, 5 BILLION AT THE AIRPORT EXPANSION, AND 2 BILLION WITH THE CONVENTION CENTER.
SO A HUGE PROFILE OF PROJECTS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO REALLY PUSH AND KEEP MOVING FORWARD.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS AND, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THIS PROGRAM PROGRAM REALLY SURROUNDED BY? YOU KNOW, WHEN WE LOOK AT GEO BONDS, WE'RE REALLY TALKING ABOUT LARGE SCALE FLOOD AND EROSION CONTROL IMPROVEMENTS, YOU KNOW, UH, THE REPLACEMENT OF NEW FACILITIES, REHAB OF EXISTING FACILITIES.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UM, REALLY LIKE STREET THROW AFFAIR, LIKE BIG, BIG IMPROVEMENT SIDEWALKS, TRAFFIC SIGNALS, YOU KNOW, ROAD WIDENING PROJECTS, UH, PARKS AND RECREATION FACILITIES, UM, OF COURSE, EMERGENCY RESPONSE.
WE'RE LOOKING AT FIRE, YOU KNOW, EMS, UM, AND POLICE FACILITIES.
AND IN ADDITION TO THAT, YOU KNOW, ALSO AS THE LAND PURCHASE OR PROCUREMENT TO, YOU KNOW, BUILD INFRASTRUCTURE ON.
SO, UM, BUT FROM THAT STANDPOINT, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT REALLY ISN'T A GEO BOND IS WHAT WE WOULD CONSIDER LIKE OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF, OF DIFFERENT, UM, PROGRAMS, RIGHT? SO WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT POTHOLES, WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT MINOR STREET REPAIR, YOU KNOW, OR LANDSCAPING.
UM, JUST GENERAL MAINTENANCE IN GENERAL, RIGHT? UH, IT DOESN'T ALSO INCLUDE LIKE THE IMPROVEMENTS FOR SHORT TERM LEASE SPACE CODE ENFORCEMENT INITIATIVES LIKE TRASH PICKUP OR, YOU KNOW, MOWING LAWNS, UH, JUST IN ALL, YOU KNOW, LIKE MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES LIKE THAT.
OF COURSE, THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE, UM, EMPLOYEE SALARIES, UH, AS PART OF THIS WORK.
SO, UH, THAT WOULD ALSO INCLUDE POLICE OR FIRE.
UM, AND THEN OUTSIDE OF THAT AS WELL, YOU KNOW, SPECIAL REVENUE GROUPS LIKE THE AUSTIN ENERGY OR AUSTIN WATER, THEY'RE ALSO NOT PART OF THE, UM, UH, BOND, GEO BOND PROGRAM.
THEY'RE FUNDED THROUGH SPECIAL REVENUE BONDS.
SO, UM, FROM THAT STANDPOINT, THAT'S REALLY KINDA WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
AND THEN AS WE MOVED INTO OUR IMPROVED BOND PROCESS, YOU KNOW, WE'VE REALLY BEEN TAKING A LOOK AT THIS AND, UM, I'LL JUST JUST KIND OF JUMP DOWN TO THE TWO LONG, UM, BOXES THERE THAT KIND OF TALK ABOUT HOW WE'VE DONE BONDS IN THE PAST.
AND REALLY WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING AND WHAT WE ARE DOING NOW IN THIS BOND CYCLE IS WE'RE TAKING THAT MAROON BOX AND WE'RE RESHIFTING IT.
SO, UH, PREVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, WE KIND OF GET PROJECT PROPOSALS, WE GO OUT FOR, YOU KNOW, SOLICITATION FOR SERVICES, AND THEN KIND OF REALLY TAKE A LONG, YOU KNOW, UP TO YEAR, TWO YEARS KIND OF GOING THROUGH THIS PROJECT PLANNING EFFORT AND KIND OF HOW DO WE DEVELOP THE SCOPE, THE SCHEDULE, AND THE BUDGET FOR EACH OF THESE PROJECTS.
WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW IS IN, IS KIND OF RESHIFTING ALL THIS WORK AND HOW WE'RE LOOKING AT, UH, DELIVERING THIS BOND PROGRAM.
SO WE'VE ACTUALLY BEEN GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS OF, YOU KNOW, PULL, WORKING WITH ALL THE CAPITAL DELIVERY, UH, DEPARTMENTS AND TRYING TO SAY HOW MUCH CAPITAL INVESTMENT NEED IS THERE OUT THERE, WHICH IS THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
AND GOING THROUGH THAT PROJECT EVALUATION AND SAYING, WELL, HOW MUCH IS THIS ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, GEO BOND ELIGIBLE? WHICH WE WERE KINDA LOOKING AT BEFORE, YOU KNOW, WHAT CAN REALLY BE CONSTRUCTED IN A SIX YEAR TIMELINE? KINDA ASKING A LOT OF THOSE QUESTIONS AND THEN MOVING INTO THAT PROJECT PLANNING PHASE, UM, ON THE FRONT END OF THIS INSTEAD OF ON THE BACK END.
SO IT'S GONNA REDUCE THAT TIME OF ONCE WE GO TO THE VOTERS AND IF WE GET APPROVAL AND BEING ABLE TO SHIFT THAT TWO YEARS TO THIS FRONT SIDE.
SO WE'RE RUNNING A LOT OF THESE, THESE, UM, EFFORTS CONCURRENTLY, UM, INSTEAD OF HAVING ON, ON THE BACK END.
SO OVERALL, UM, GOALS OF THAT OF COURSE, THEN IS TOO, IS THAT WE MOVE THROUGH THAT APPROVAL PROCESS, IS THAT WE NOT ONLY CAN, UM, HAVE DESIGN START IMMEDIATELY, BUT WE CAN MOVE INTO CONSTRUCTION FOR SOME OF THESE PROJECTS THAT MAY BE ALREADY ALREADY COMPLETED WITH THE DESIGN PROCESS.
SO AGAIN, ANOTHER WIN FOR THIS, UH, KIND OF SHIFTING HOW WE'RE LOOKING AT MOVING FORWARD WITH THIS, UH, BOND PROGRAM PROCESS.
UM, NOW TO DATE, I DON'T WANNA STEAL TOO MUCH OF THE THUNDER BECAUSE I KNOW FIREPLACE AND EMS, THEY'RE THE DEPARTMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN DOING A LOT OF THIS WORK.
AND REALLY FOR THIS SLIDE, I JUST WANNA HIGHLIGHT THE AMOUNT OF WORK THAT'S BEEN TAKING PLACE REALLY SINCE, UH, YOU KNOW, MAY OF LAST YEAR.
SO WE'RE ALMOST A YEAR INTO THIS, THIS, YOU KNOW, KIND OF FRAMEWORK AND PROCESS.
SO, BUT YOU KNOW, WE, WE STARTED ENGAGING WITH THE DIRECTOR LEVEL BACK IN MAY AND KIND OF RAN ALL THE WAY UP INTO JANUARY.
SO, YOU KNOW, SIX MONTHS, YOU KNOW, PLUS OR MINUS OF REALLY KIND OF JUST TALKING WITH THE, THE DIRECTORS, GETTING THEIR STAFF ENGAGED, TALKING EXACTLY WHAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT WAS HOW DO WE, YOU KNOW, UH, DEVELOP A, A BOND PROGRAM MORE EFFICIENTLY, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT WE CAN DELIVER IN SIX YEARS.
UM, AND THEN OUTSIDE OF THAT, YOU KNOW, WE STARTED WORKING WITH WHAT WE CALL THE SPECIAL ACTION COMMITTEE, UM, IN JULY, SHORTLY AFTER KIND OF STARTING TO BUILD THIS TEAM WHERE THEY WERE WORKING ON THE FRAMEWORK, WHICH THEY'LL TALK A LOT ABOUT TODAY, UM, REALLY FROM JULY TO DECEMBER.
AND AS PART OF THAT PROCESS, WE ACTUALLY ADOPTED, YOU KNOW, THE CITYWIDE STRATEGIC PLAN ANCHORS AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES, UM, AS PART OF THAT CONVERSATION.
AND WE DEVELOPED BOND SPECIFIC DEFINITIONS FOR EACH ONE OF THE CSP ANCHORS.
UM, AND THEN WE ALSO DEVELOPED TECHNICAL CRITERIA AND SCORING MATRICES
[00:40:01]
THAT WILL HELP, YOU KNOW, GUIDE THE PROJECT SELECTION, UM, HOW THEY PRIORITIZE THOSE PROJECTS THAT DO GO INTO THE THE 26 BOND PROGRAM.UM, AND THEN OUTSIDE OF THAT RUNNING CONCURRENTLY, LIKE WE WERE TALKING ABOUT FROM LINEAR PERSPECTIVE, WE ACTUALLY CALL, HAD THE, THE CALL FOR PROJECTS, UM, REALLY KIND OF START BACK IN AUGUST SO THEY COULD START KIND OF PULLING THAT NEEDS ASSESSMENT TOGETHER, THAT FIRST BIG NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
UM, AND IN LOOKING AT THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS A HUGE LIST OF PROJECTS, RIGHT? IT WAS OVER $10 BILLION IN NEEDS THAT CAME IN FROM ALL THE DIFFERENT CAPITAL, YOU KNOW, ASSET MANAGER DEPARTMENTS FROM ACROSS THE CITY.
UM, AND, UM, KIND OF BEEN TAKING THOSE PROJECTS LISTS AND COMPLETING KIND OF SOME OF THEIR PROJECT CHARTERS, WHICH WERE ANSWERING A LOT MORE OF KIND OF LIKE THESE SCOPE QUESTIONS AND WHAT'S GONNA BE INCORPORATED INTO THESE, THESE PROJECTS AND COLLABORATING, UH, ESSENTIALLY ON WHAT THESE, UH, PROJECTS OR PROGRAMS ARE GONNA LOOK LIKE.
UM, SO WE SORT OF FINISHED UP A BIG PART, PART OF THIS EFFORT, REALLY KIND OF LIKE AT THE END OF THE NEW YEAR, AND WE KIND OF SAID, OKAY, THIS BIG GROUP HAS KIND OF COMPLETED WITH THIS EFFORT, BUT WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO MEET ON A MONTHLY BASIS.
SO WE'VE HAD ACTUALLY ADDITIONAL MEETINGS, SEVEN ADDITIONAL MEETINGS SINCE THAT POINT WHERE WE'VE BEEN, UM, KIND OF MEETING AS A COLLECTIVE GROUP TOGETHER.
WE ROLLED ALL THESE GROUPS UP INTO ONE, AND WE'VE BEEN KIND OF MEETING AND TALKING ABOUT HOW DO WE START TO REDUCE, UM, THAT NEEDS ASSESSMENT LIST AND THEN KIND OF REFINING THE TECHNICAL CRITERIA, THE SCORING MATRICES, AND JUST THE PROJECT CHARTERS.
HOW DO WE COORDINATE AND START TO COLLABORATE TOGETHER ON SOME OF THESE? 'CAUSE THERE MAY BE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THAT AS WE MOVE THROUGH THIS BOND PROCESS.
SO THE WHOLE POINT OF ALL THIS IS REALLY, REALLY THIS, THE, THE GREEN BULLET BULLET AT THE END IS THAT THERE'S BEEN A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK.
CDS HAS CONVENED MORE THAN 40 MEETINGS WITH ALL THESE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS OUTSIDE OF EM, JUST FIRE POLICE AND EMS TO TALK ABOUT THIS, THIS FRAMEWORK THAT THEY'LL PRESENT AND TALK A LOT TO YOU ABOUT TODAY.
SO, UM, I KNOW THEY'RE EXCITED TO SHARE THIS INFORMATION AND, AND HEAR YOUR FEEDBACK.
UM, BUT WE CAN KIND OF JUMP INTO THIS, AND I'LL TRY TO GO KIND OF QUICK THROUGH THIS, BECAUSE THIS IS REALLY KIND OF GETTING INTO THEIR SIDE OF IT.
BUT THIS WAS JUST SORT OF SOME BACKGROUND AND SOME OF THE, THE HIGHLIGHTS OF KIND OF WHAT WE KIND OF WORKED THROUGH.
BUT, YOU KNOW, THEY REALLY USED, UM, THE, THE CITYWIDE STRATEGIC PLAN.
SO AS A HIGHER LEVEL, AS WE MET WITH, YOU KNOW, ALMOST 20 PLUS DEPARTMENTS, AS WE HAD THESE CONVERSATIONS AND STARTED TALKING ABOUT, WELL, HOW SHOULD WE LET THESE GUIDING, WHAT SHOULD BE OUR OVERARCHING GUIDING PRINCIPLES? WE STARTED TO REALIZE THAT, HEY, THE CITY JUST ADOPTED THE CITYWIDE STRATEGIC PLAN THAT HAS EXACTLY WHAT WE HAD ON OUR LIST.
SO IT WAS A PERFECT FRAMEWORK TO ADOPT, WHICH THE CITY HAD ADOPTED PREVIOUSLY THROUGH COUNCIL.
UM, AND THEN SOME OF THE OTHER GROUND RULES WAS JUST THAT EACH OF THE ASSET OWNER DEPARTMENTS DEVELOPS THEIR OWN TECHNICAL CRITERIA, THEIR OWN SCORING MATRICES BASED OFF OF THEIR OWN DEPARTMENTAL NEEDS, THEIR CONCERNS, AND ESPECIALLY THEIR EXPERTISE, RIGHT? THEY'RE, THEY'RE DOING THIS ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS.
UM, AND THEN OUTSIDE OF THAT, YOU KNOW, THE DEPARTMENTS ARE GONNA SCORE THEIR NEEDS INVENTORY WITH A MAXIMUM 100 POINT SCORE, AND THEY'LL TALK A LOT ABOUT THAT TODAY, UM, AS THEY GO THROUGH THEIR PRESENTATIONS.
AND THEN THAT WE'RE ALSO USING PROJECT CHARTERS DURING THE SCORING EVALUATION PROCESS TO KIND OF FURTHER ADVANCE AND, AND PRIORITIZE THESE PROJECTS FOR THEIR, FOR CONSIDERATION.
SO, UM, THIS, THIS KIND OF JUST IS THE HIGH LEVEL OF EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE SPECIFICALLY TALKING ABOUT, WHICH WAS IN THE CITYWIDE STRATEGIC PLAN.
SO THIS WAS THE FRAMEWORK THAT WAS ADOPTED.
EQUITY, UH, IS A GUIDING PRINCIPLE, OF COURSE, WITH AFFORDABILITY, INNOVATION, SUSTAINABILITY, RESILIENCY, PROACTIVE PREVENTION, AND THE CUSTOMER TRUST AND RELATIONSHIPS.
THAT WAS, UH, A FRAMEWORK THAT WAS ALREADY SITTING THERE THAT COUNCIL HAD PREVIOUSLY ADOPTED, AND WE, WE KIND OF JUST USE UTILIZE AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN JUST FOR, YOU KNOW, PROGRESS TO DATE, I THINK THESE ARE SOME GREAT KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS THAT HAVE HAPPENED OVER THE LAST YEAR AND KIND OF WHERE WE'RE LOOKING TO KIND OF GO INTO TODAY.
BUT, YOU KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT ESTABLISHING THAT, YOU KNOW, INTERNAL GOVERNANCE TEAMS AND KIND OF WHERE WE'VE GONE THROUGH.
UM, WE INTEGRATED THE CALL FOR PROJECTS AND CREATED OUR PROJECT CHARTERS TO WORK WITH ALL OF THE DIFFERENT CITY DEPARTMENTS.
UM, WE'VE ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, CREATED THE GUIDING PRINCIPLE TECHNICAL CRITERIA AND SCORING MATRICES THAT'LL BE PRESENTED TODAY.
UM, AND THEN OF COURSE WE HAVE, UM, THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT THAT WE'RE KIND OF CONTINUING TO WORK THROUGH.
SO WITH THAT, WE'RE KIND OF WITH THAT LAST CHECK MARK TODAY WHERE WE'RE KIND OF GOING THROUGH AND PRESENTING THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES, TECHNICAL CRITERIA, UM, AND KIND OF A PARALLEL EFFORT.
SO DEPARTMENTS ARE GOING THROUGH, UH, UH, A PROCESS OF PRESENTING THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS AS THEY ADVANCE AND MOVE FORWARD TO PRESENTING, UH, TO THE BTF OF BOND ELECTION ADVISORY TASK FORCE, UM, THROUGH THIS, THIS SUMMER TIMEFRAME AS WELL.
AND THEN OUTSIDE OF THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE REALLY KIND OF GEARING UP TO GIVE OUR, OUR UPDATE TO MAYOR AND COUNCIL IN JUNE OF WHAT THE BOND FRAMEWORK LOOKS LIKE, AND, UM, KIND OF HAVING, UH, I GUESS THE BIGGER OVERARCHING WORKING GROUPS KIND OF TAKE PLACE WHERE WE GET INTO THE DETAILS OF THE, THE, THE PROGRAMS, PROJECTS, AND THESE SAME TECHNICAL CRITERIA, YOU KNOW, FOR THE NEXT YEAR, KIND OF FROM A MARCH TO MARCH TIMEFRAME.
UM, AND THEN WE'LL GO INTO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
WE'LL TALK, YOU KNOW, WE'LL GET A LOT OF COMMUNITY FEEDBACK THROUGH THIS PROCESS, UM, AND ALSO DISCUSS SOME OF THE BOND FUNDING SCENARIOS IN 2025.
WHAT DOES THAT ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE, UM, WHEN WE PUT THESE PROJECTS TO, UM,
[00:45:01]
THE, THE FUNDS THAT COULD BE ALLOCATED TO THIS PRO UH, THIS PROGRAM.UM, AND THEN OUTSIDE OF THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'LL COME BACK AND WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE THE DE THE DEPARTMENTS COME BACK TO ALL THE COM BOARD AND COMMISSIONS AND REPRESENT, UM, WHAT THOSE PROJECTS WOULD BE LOOKING LIKE FROM JANUARY THROUGH APRIL OF 2026 WITH, UH, THE BTEF REPORTING OUT TO THE FULL MAYOR AND COUNCIL AGAIN IN 26, MAY OF 2026.
UM, AND THEN OF COURSE, COUNCIL MUST CALL FOR A BOND ELECTION IN JULY OR AUGUST BEFORE WE GO TO THE VOTERS IN NOVEMBER OF 2026.
AND WITH THAT, THAT IS ALL THE SLIDES THAT CDS HAS.
UM, BUT WE'RE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME.
DO WE HAVE QUESTIONS RIGHT NOW OR DO WE WANNA HEAR FROM THE DEPARTMENTS? AND THEN MAYBE CIRCLE BACK TO QUESTIONS.
CAN YOU GUYS STICK AROUND? YES, ABSOLUTELY.
AND YOU GUYS CAN GO IN WHATEVER ORDER YOU WANT.
HE'S GONNA BE PRESENTING ON OUR, UH, BOND.
GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR RAMIREZ, JEFF GREENWALT, ASSISTANT CHIEF OF THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT.
SOME OF THE INFORMATION IN OUR POWERPOINT IS GONNA BE A LITTLE REPETITIVE TO WHAT YOU JUST HEARD, SO I'M GONNA GO THROUGH SOME OF IT A LITTLE QUICKLY, UH, JUST TO SAVE EVERYBODY TIME.
BUT, UH, WE WANTED TO GIVE A, A LITTLE BIT OF AN OVERVIEW AND FRAMEWORK IN TERMS OF WHAT THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT'S ROLE IS IN THIS PROCESS.
UM, AS I SAID, IN 2024, THE COUNCIL SET FORTH THE RESOLUTION, UM, TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE, UH, THE BOND PROCESS AND ESTABLISH THE, UH, RESOLUTION TO, FOR THE, THE BOND ELECTION ADVISORY TASK FORCE, THE V TIFF AS WELL.
UH, WE HAVE BEEN PARTICIPATING IN THE MEETINGS TO SET FORTH THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES AND THE TECHNICAL CRITERIA, WHICH WE'LL GO THROUGH.
WANTED TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT WE'VE USED THESE BONDS FOR IN THE PAST.
UM, BEFORE I GET STARTED ON THIS SLIDE, I WILL, I WILL SAY THAT THE 2016 AT THE DATE AT THE BOTTOM IS SUPPOSED TO BE 2012.
GENERALLY SPEAKING, WHAT WE USE THE BOND MONEY FOR IS GONNA BE LAND ACQUISITION OR PROPERTY, UH, PURCHASES OR IMPROVEMENTS, UM, WHICH WE USUALLY DON'T HAVE FUNDS FOR IN OUR NORMAL BUDGET.
UM, WE HAVE JUST A NOMINAL AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT WAS LEFT OVER FROM THE 2006 AND 12 BONDS, UH, THAT WE'RE USING FOR PROPERTY IMPROVEMENT AT OUR MOUNTED PATROL, UH, FACILITY.
EVERYTHING ELSE HAS BEEN SPENT, AND WE DID NOT RECEIVE ANY FUNDING IN THE 2008, UH, GEO BOND.
SO WE HAVE THE TIMELINE, UH, THAT CDS, UH, SUPPLIED TO US.
WE HIGHLIGHTED WHERE WE ARE IN THE PROCESS.
IT'S PRETTY EARLY ON IN THE PROCESS.
WE WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THAT BECAUSE WE'RE HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE FRAMEWORK, BUT WE'RE NOT REALLY, UH, QUITE ABLE TO TALK ABOUT THE SPECIFIC PROJECTS YET.
WE PLAN ON DOING SOME COMMUNITY INPUT SESSIONS AND REALLY GETTING TOGETHER WITH OUR STAKEHOLDERS TO FIND OUT WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO THEM.
BEFORE WE CAN TALK ON SOME OF THOSE ITEMS, UH, WE'RE HERE TO PRESENT TO OUR VARIOUS BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.
ALL DEPARTMENTS IN THE CITY ARE DOING EXACTLY THAT.
WE'LL BE TALKING WITH THE BTIF IN A FEW MONTHS AND THEN OPENING IT UP TO THE COMMUNITY, UH, THROUGHOUT THE SUMMERTIME FOR INPUT PUT, AS HE SAID, THE, UH, CITYWIDE STRATEGIC PLANS WE USE AS ANCHORS FOR OUR SCORING METRICS.
IT DOES TIE INTO OUR FIVE YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN FOCUS AREAS AS WELL.
UM, WE PUT EQUITY AND, UM, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AS OUR HIGHEST SCORING CRITERIA.
YOU CAN SEE THE EQUITY, UH, SCORING MATRIX HERE.
I'M NOT GONNA READ EVERY SINGLE SLIDE.
UM, BUT EACH OF THESE ARE WEIGHTED, WEIGHTED EQUALLY AT FIVE EACH FOR A TOTAL OF 20% OF OUR TOTAL AFFORDABILITY AT 15%.
INNOVATION, TECHNICAL CRITERIA, 15% SUSTAINABILITY AND RESILIENCY AT 15%, PROACTIVE PREVENTION AT 15%.
AND THEN THE COMMUNITY TRUST AND RELATIONSHIPS, LIKE I SAID, AT 20%.
I FEEL LIKE THEY WENT BY REALLY QUICK, BUT THEY COVERED A LOT OF THE THINGS I WAS GONNA SAY, AND I DIDN'T WANNA BE REPETITIVE, SO I APOLOGIZE.
I'LL BE HERE FOR QUESTIONS IF THERE ARE ANY AT THE END.
SO JUST BEFORE WE KEEP GOING, WE ARE NOT AT A POINT WHERE WE ARE GOING TO BE REVIEWING ANY POTENTIAL PROJECTS OR POTENTIAL INVESTMENTS.
WE ARE SIMPLY GOING OVER CRITERIA.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE PROCESS TODAY.
AND JUST FOR, UM, COMMISSIONERS, THIS IS, THIS IS A, A, A MEETING THAT'S MANDATED BY THE PROCESS, A PART OF THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS.
SO THAT'S WHY EVERYBODY'S HERE.
AND NOW FOR AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY EMS, I'LL BRING UP ASSISTANT CHIEF STEVE WHITE TO TALK ABOUT OUR CRITERIA AND RUBRIC FOR THIS BOND.
STEVEN WHITE, ASSISTANT CHIEF AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY EMS. AND, UH, I'M EXCITED TO PRESENT KIND OF HOW WE DEVELOPED OUR SCORING CRITERIA.
UH, IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT THAT ALL THE CITY DEPARTMENTS WERE KIND OF WORKING OFF OF THE SAME PAGE, SO THAT WHEN YOU CAME BACK WITH YOUR SCORING CRITERIA, YOU COULD KIND OF COMPARE SOMEWHAT APPLES TO APPLES.
[00:50:01]
THAT EVERYONE WAS SCORING THEIR PROJECTS, KIND OF, UH, USING THE SAME RULES.SO OUR, UH, CRITERIA LOOKS VERY MUCH LIKE WHAT YOU SAW WITH A PD AND WHAT YOU'RE PROBABLY VERY MUCH GONNA SEE WITH A FD, AS WELL.
UH, UH, WE STARTED WITH, UM, THIS FRAMEWORK WHERE, UH, WE KIND OF CAME UP WITH OUR ANCHORS AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES.
I WENT AHEAD AND ADDED SOME EXAMPLES OF WHAT THOSE GUIDING PRINCIPLES WOULD BE.
UM, WE, UH, KIND OF CONSOLIDATED DOWN INTO FIVE ANCHORS, WHICH WAS EQUITY AND INCLUSIVE DESIGN, INNOVATION, SUSTAINABLE AND RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE.
UH, THE THINGS TO CONSIDER, UH, FOR THIS, UH, TECHNICAL CRITERIA WOULD BE LIKE, CAN, CAN YOU HAVE A FACILITY THAT WOULD BE RESISTANT TO WILDFIRES, DROUGHTS, FLOODS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, WE, UH, ONE OF THE PEARLS WE TOOK AWAY FROM THIS, UH, DURING COVID WAS IF YOU'RE GOING TO BUILD A FACILITY, BUILD IT A FACILITY THAT YOU CAN CLEAN AND DISINFECT, UH, EASILY, LOTS OF HARD SURFACES.
UH, THAT'S JUST ONE OF THE TECHNICAL CRITERIA THAT CAN GO IN INTO THIS SCORING MATRIX.
UH, AND THEN COMMUNITY CENTERED FACILITY AND DESIGN.
UH, OUTSIDE OF THE PROJECT SCORING MATRIX, UH, WE ALSO HAVE, UH, A RUBRIC THAT WE'VE DEVELOPED ON, UH, WHAT OUR ASSET PLACEMENT SHOULD BE.
UH, WE HAVE MORE OPTIONS NOW THAN JUST AN AMBULANCE.
WE HAVE COMMUNITY HEALTH PARAMEDICS, WE HAVE TACTICAL SPECIAL OPERATIONS.
UM, AND SO WITH EACH ONE OF OUR PROPOSED PROJECTS, WE PUT IT THROUGH A SCORING MATRIX THAT ACTUALLY TOOK A LOOK AT HOW WOULD THAT, UH, ASSET, UH, APPLY TO THE MATRIX IN WHATEVER PROBLEM THAT WE WERE TRYING TO SOLVE.
THE RE APOLOGIES, ARE THEY REFERENCING SOMETHING ON THE SCREEN? THOSE OF US VIRTUALLY ARE STILL SEEING THE THANK YOU FROM A PD.
AH, THANK YOU FOR LETTING US KNOW.
THANK YOU FOR LETTING US KNOW.
UH, WE NOW HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO A PREDICTIVE ANALYSIS WHERE WE CAN, UH, VIRTUALLY PLUG IN ONE OF THESE RESOURCES INTO A SPECIFIC AREA, UH, ON A MAP, AND THEN RUN, UH, A PREDICTIVE ANALYSIS TO SEE HOW IT WOULD AFFECT THE ENTIRE SYSTEM.
SO BY APPLYING THE DIFFERENT ASSETS INTO THIS RUBRIC, WE'RE ACTUALLY ABLE TO SEE NOT JUST WHAT A PLACEMENT OF PERHAPS MAYBE A BUILDING PROJECT, BUT THEN THE ASSET THAT ALSO GOES INTO THAT BUILDING PROJECT.
UH, WE'RE THEN ABLE TO WEIGHT, UH, THIS TECHNICAL CRITERIA, I'LL GET TO THE END WHERE, UH, WE MULTIPLY THOSE SCORES BY EITHER SIX OR FOUR TO REACH A HUNDRED.
AND SO WE HAVE ACTUALLY TWO SCORES.
ONE WOULD BE THE ORIGINAL SCORE ON THE FIVE ANCHORS, AND THEN THIS ASSET PLACEMENT SCORE, WHICH WOULD, UH, BOTH, BOTH OF THOSE ARE A HUNDRED.
SO YOU HAVE TWO SCORES EQUALING A HUNDRED EACH.
QUESTIONS RIGHT NOW FOR EMS, I THINK LET'S GET THROUGH FI THE, THE ASSETS THAT ACCOMPANY ANY PHYSICAL CONSTRUCTION THAT YOU GUYS WILL BE DOING THAT WILL BE INCLUDED WITHIN THE GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS.
SO ANY ASSETS THAT ARE REQUIRED TO SUPPORT ANY ADDITIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE BUILDS ARE GONNA HAVE TO GO INTO BUDGET ASKS IN THE FUTURE.
BUT, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY WE HAVE SOME ASSETS CURRENTLY THAT, THAT DO NOT HAVE HOMES, AND SO TH THIS WILL CORRECT THAT.
AND TOLE COMPLETE THE COLLECTOR SET.
WE'LL HAVE CHIEF SMITH BRING UP THE, THE, THE CONCLUSION FOR THIS, FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT ASSISTANT CHIEF THA SMITH, UH, OVER OUR FACILITIES, UH, DIVISION, YOU'VE HEARD PRETTY MUCH THE SAME THING THAT WE'RE GOING TO PRESENT, UM, AS FAR AS THE COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE DEPARTMENTS AND, AND LOOKING AT, UH, WHAT EACH DEPARTMENT LOOKED AT AND THEN COLLABORATING TOGETHER.
SO SAME GUIDING PRINCIPLES, UH, WITH EVERYONE ELSE.
WE LOOKED AT SEVERAL THINGS AND ALLOTTED THE, THE 20% TO OUR EQUITY.
AND, AND WE LOOKED AT REALLY HOW THAT, UH, WITH THE SVI REPORT, HOW THAT ACTUALLY IMPACTS THE COMMUNITY, UH, THAT WE SERVE AND, AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE BEING EQUITABLE IN OUR DISTRIBUTION ACROSS THE CITY TO, TO SERVE THOSE AREAS.
UM, AND AGAIN, NO NEED TO READ ALL THIS TO YOU.
[00:55:01]
THE OTHER TWO DEPARTMENTS.UM, BUT AS FAR AS OUR SCORING, UH, 2010 AND THEN THE 20 10 0 AGAIN, UH, ON HOW WE DID OUR RUBRIC AND OUR SCORING FOR THE EQUITY, UH, AFFORDABILITY AS WELL, AGAIN, OUR, OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES ON THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO LOOK AT NOT ONLY HOW WE SERVE THE COMMUNITY, BUT OUR FACILITIES MUCH THE SAME AS EMS. WE ALSO LOOK AT OUR EMPLOYEES AND HOW EQUITABLE OUR, UM, BUILDINGS ARE FOR OUR EMPLOYEES AS FAR AS, UH, GENDER AND BATHROOMS AND SLEEPING FACILITIES, BECAUSE WE DO USE OUR FACILITIES 24 7.
IT'S A, YOU KNOW, IT'S A HOME, UH, A THIRD OF THE TIME FOR OUR MEMBERS.
SO WE LOOK AT IT FROM THE COMMUNITY STANDPOINT AS WELL AS THAT OF OUR, OUR MEMBERS.
THERE'S THE RUBRIC FOR THE AFFORDABILITY, UH, THE INNOVATION, LOOKING AT WHAT WE CAN PUT INTO THESE FACILITIES AS FAR AS ADDITIONAL TRAINING AREAS AND THAT SORT OF THING.
SO WE DON'T HAVE TO GO ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE CITY FOR TRAINING.
UH, SUSTAINABILITY, AGAIN, UH, YOU HEARD MUCH THE SAME THING THAT THESE FACILITIES NEED TO SERVICE FOR AT LEAST 50 YEARS.
WE'RE STILL OPERATING OUT OF FACILITIES THAT HAVE BEEN IN PLACE FOR OVER A HUNDRED YEARS.
UM, SO WHEN WE LOOK AT THE STATE SUSTAINABILITY, WE CERTAINLY WANT TO BUILD SOMETHING THAT'S GONNA LAST.
AND RESILIENCY, AGAIN, NOT GONNA, NOT GONNA, IN THE INTEREST OF TIME, WE DON'T NEED TO READ ALL THE SLIDES.
UH, THEN THE PROACTIVE PREVENTION AGAIN, UM, WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE SERVING THE, THE NEEDS OF THE CITY WITH OUR STANDARD OF COVERAGE.
WE KNOW OUR, OUR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ANALYTICS SECTION HAS DONE A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK, UH, SO THAT WE KNOW WHAT AREAS OF TOWN WHERE WE'RE NOT MEETING OUR STANDARD OF COVERAGE.
SO THAT PLAYS A BIG PART INTO THE PLACEMENT OF NEW FACILITIES AND INFILL FACILITIES, UH, SO THAT WE CAN MEET OUR STANDARD OF COVERAGE.
AND JUST MORE ON THE, THE MAXIMUM OF POINTS THERE THAT WERE ALLOTTED, YOU CAN SEE THE AREAS OF TOWN, UH, WITH THE DENSITY, UH, THAT WE NEED TO MEET AS, AS THE CITY GROWS AND DENSIFIES, AND THAT WE HAVEN'T BUILT THOSE INFILL STATIONS, THAT WE CAN ADDRESS THOSE NEEDS, UH, FOR DENSITY WITHIN THE CITY.
AND THEN OF COURSE, OBVIOUSLY THE CUSTOMER TRUST AND RELATIONSHIPS, UM, BUILDING THAT WITH THE CITY.
UM, AND THEN AGAIN, HAVING THOSE RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO, UH, MEET THOSE DEMANDS WITH THE DENSITY AND OUR STANDARD OF COVERAGE BECOMES IMPORTANT.
AND THEN WHAT, YOU KNOW, THERE IS OUR STANDARD OF COVERAGE, YOU CAN SEE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TWO DIFFERENT YEARS.
HOW, BECAUSE OF DENSITY, UM, BECAUSE OF CALL VOLUME, OUR STANDARD TO COVERAGE, WE'RE, WE'RE NOT ABLE TO MEET OUR EIGHT MINUTE RESPONSE RESPONSE, UH, STANDARD COVERAGE IN MANY PARTS OF THE CITY.
THAT JUST CONTINUES TO GET WORSE AS THE DENSITY IN THE CALL VOLUME INCREASE.
SO, UH, PART OF OUR RUBRIC THEN ADDRESSES THAT STANDARD OF COVERAGE WHERE WE KNOW WE NEED TO BUILD ADDITIONAL FACILITIES TO MEET THOSE RESPONSE GOALS.
AND JUST SOME SLIDES THERE ON THE, ON THE GROWTH AND HOW THE CALL VOLUME CONTINUES TO INCREASE EVERY YEAR, AND, UH, AGAIN, HOW WE ALLOTTED THOSE POINTS, UM, BASED ON THE CUSTOMER TRUST AND THE RUBRIC FOR THAT WITH THE POINT ASSIGNMENT.
AND, UH, THAT'S WHERE WE ARE WITH, UH, DEVELOPING OUR, OUR MATRICES TO, TO MEET THE GOALS OF THE CITY AND, AND WHAT'S BEEN OUTLINED.
UM, COMMISSIONERS, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? I KNOW THAT THIS IS A LOT OF INFORMATION, UM, AND I'M NOT SURE HOW, UM, HOW QUICKLY WE CAN ABSORB IT FOR, UM, DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY.
COMMISSIONER RUTAN, JUST IN TERMS OF PROCESS OR IS EACH DEPARTMENT, ARE THESE RUBRICS SET AND HAVE BEEN APPROVED AND OR ARE THERE STILL SOME REVISION PROCESS GONNA BE HAPPENING BASED ON FEEDBACK? YEAH.
SO AS A PART OF THE, I MEAN, THIS IS REALLY THE KEY OF WHERE, YOU KNOW, CDS HAS COME, BECOME INVOLVED IN THIS, IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PROCESS IS STANDARDIZED ACROSS A LOT OF THE DEPARTMENTS TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE'S KIND OF STARTS AT THE SAME PIECE.
AND THEN ONCE WE GO OUT WITH THE PUBLIC INTERACTION AND THE PUBLIC OUTREACH AND INPUT, THAT'S WHEN, UM, WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO GET SOME OF THAT FEEDBACK IN TERMS OF, OH, I, I THINK THIS, YOU KNOW, SCORING SHOULD BE 25 INSTEAD OF 30 AND, AND THAT KIND OF THING.
AND BE ABLE TO ADJUST THOSE AS WE NEED TO BEFORE WE COME WITH SORT OF THE FINAL STAFF RECOMMENDATION.
UM, AND AGAIN, EVEN WHEN WE COME WITH THAT RECOMMENDATION, THAT'LL COME BEFORE ALL THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS WHERE Y'ALL WILL BE ABLE TO PROVIDE INPUT, YOU KNOW, THROUGHOUT THE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROCESS THROUGH THE SUMMER.
BUT THEN ALSO WHEN WE COME BACK TO ALL THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, BE ABLE TO REVIEW THOSE AND THE SCORING CRITERIA, WHAT WAS USED THERE AND THE PROJECT LIST AND HOW THOSE, UM, YOU KNOW, RANK OUT BASED ON THE SCORING, BUT THE SCORING CRITERIA IS PRESENTED.
SO A FT PRESENTED THEIRS, IS THAT
[01:00:01]
SET AND DONE, OR IS THERE ANY, IS THAT GONNA BE MODIFIED IN THE NEXT MONTH OR TWO PRIOR TO, TO THAT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT? NO, THAT'S SET BASED ON THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION OF WHAT, UM, THE, THE EXPERTS IN THE ROOM THOUGHT, THE, THE, THE WAY THOSE SHOULD BE SCORED.UM, IT MAY BE TOO LATE THEN, BUT I WOULD SAY JUST SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT LOOKING, AND IT MAY JUST BE FROM THE PRESENTATIONS, BECAUSE I KNOW WE HAVE LIMITED TIME, BUT LOOKING AT AFDS, IT FELT AND SEEMED MUCH MORE OBJECTIVE, FOR EXAMPLE, REFERENCING SBI REFERENCING GROWTH AND MORE CONCRETE NUMBERS YOU COULD GO TO AS OPPOSED TO, WELL, I THINK THE, THE TALKING ABOUT EQUITY WAS USED FOR SOME OF THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS.
I DIDN'T SEE AS MUCH OF LIKE A ABILITY TO LINK, LIKE, OKAY, THIS IS AN AREA WE KNOW, THIS PARTICULAR CENSUS TRACK, THIS PARTICULAR AREA HAS A LOW SBI.
AND I THINK THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE BENEFICIAL IF IT'S POSSIBLE TO INCORPORATE SOME MORE OBJECTIVE ONES, RATHER THAN JUST SAYING IT INCREASES EQUITY, BUT BEING ABLE TO ACTUALLY GO AND SEE LIKE, OKAY, THIS, THIS PROJECT IS TIED TO A LITTLE MORE DATA METRICS.
SO IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE COULD STILL DO, I THINK THAT WOULD BE BENEFICIAL.
IS THERE A QUE DO YOU THINK THERE'S A QUESTION THAT WE CAN, UM, SO I GUESS THE QUESTION TO A PD AND EMS IS WE GOT VERY HIGH LEVEL SORT OF, I MEAN, I SAW SOME OF THAT IN SOME OF EMSS BREAKDOWN, BUT WE GOT VERY HIGH LEVEL SORT OF DESCRIPTIONS OF WHAT QUALIFIES THAT E AS EQUITY.
ALL OF THESE SAME SORTS OF MAPS ARE, ARE HEAT MAPS THAT WE LOOK AT CONSTANTLY AND THE, YOU KNOW, RESPONSE TIMES WHERE ALL OF THOSE THINGS THAT ARE S ARE THOSE THINGS ALSO BEING WEIGHED IN YOUR CRITERIA MORE SPECIFICALLY, I GUESS? YES.
SO FOR EMS, WE CERTAINLY ARE USING PREDICTIVE MODELING AND SOME OF THE SOFTWARE THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE, INCLUDING HISTORICAL CALL VOLUME TO DO THAT AS WELL.
WELL, THIS WAS, YOU KNOW, MEANT TO BE A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF COURSE, BUT WE, WE HAVE INCLUDED THAT, YES, FIGURED, OKAY.
AND THEN CAN YOU JUST ONE MORE TIME CLARIFY WHAT COMES NEXT? I KNOW THAT THERE WAS A BIG LONG SLIDE, BUT, SO BASICALLY YOU GUYS ARE DOING THIS PART OF THE PROCESS, UM, AND THEN COMES COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WHERE YOU'LL BE REVIEWING THESE CRITERIA AND PROJECTS OR CRITERIA AND THEN PROJECTS UNDER A SEPARATE BUCKET.
SO REALLY WHAT WE'RE DOING TODAY IS WE'RE, WE'RE BRIEFING ALL THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ON THE CRITERIA AND JUST KIND OF, UH, HEARING INPUT.
SO JUST LIKE THIS, SO EVERYBODY'S AWARE OF HOW THEY WERE CREATED AND TAKING OF COURSE, THE INPUT TO, TO, IF WE NEED TO REVISE OR MODEL ANYTHING BEFORE WE START TO GO BACK AND USE THAT TO PRIORITIZE THOSE PROJECTS MOVING FORWARD.
SO WHAT WE'RE, WHAT WE'RE REALLY PUSHING FORWARD FOR THE NEXT, YOU KNOW, UNTIL THROUGH JUNE, IS BRIEFING THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS AND SIMULTANEOUSLY RUN IN PARALLEL BRIEFING THE, THE BOND ELECTION ADVISORY TASK FORCE ON THESE SAME, UM, TOPICS.
SO, UM, THIS, OF COURSE, WE WANNA BE HERE FIRST TO, TO HEAR INPUT AND THEN GO INTO THE BTF, UM, FOR THAT.
SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE HERE TODAY.
BUT OUR, OUR NEXT BIG GOAL IS GOING, UM, TO PROVIDE, HAVE THE BTF PROVIDED, UH, AN UPDATE ON THIS BOND FRAMEWORK TO MAYOR CITY COUNCIL, UH, IN, IN, IN JUNE.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S OUR NEXT BIG GOAL IS JUST KIND OF GET ALL THIS KIND OF PUT TOGETHER AND PACKAGED SO THAT THAT CAN HAPPEN.
SORRY TO, TO ADD TO WHAT MARCUS IS SAYING AS WELL.
UM, YOU KNOW, FROM THE CALL FOR PROJECTS, WHAT WE'RE DOING IS ALSO EVALUATING THOSE PROJECTS FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, ELIGIBILITY UNDER THE GENERAL OBLIGATION BOND.
WE GOT, I THINK OUR FIRST INITIAL CALL WAS SOMEHOW SOMEWHERE IN THE ORDER OF 650 PROJECTS FOR ABOUT $10 BILLION.
WE OBVIOUSLY DON'T HAVE, UH, THAT MUCH, UH, FUNDS AND WE HAD TO GET, WE STAFF IS IN THE PROCESS OF WORKING WITH DEPARTMENTS TO, UM, ENACT PROJECT CHARTERS.
IS THIS A PROJECT THAT'S DELIVERABLE IN THE SIX YEAR KIND OF TIMEFRAME? IS THIS PROJECT BOND ELIGIBLE? SO, UM, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, IT'S A LOT OF WORK WHITTLING DOWN THAT LIST BASED ON ACTUAL ELIGIBILITY AND THEN ALSO DEVELOPING THE KIND OF DOCUMENTATION THAT WE NEED BEHIND THE SCENES TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, SCOPE, SCHEDULE AND BUDGET IS REALISTIC BEFORE WE TAKE THOSE PROJECTS OUT FOR PUBLIC INPUT.
UM, IT'S ONE OF THE PITFALLS THAT WE'VE RUN INTO IN THE PAST ON OUR BOND ELECTION PROGRAMS, UM, NOT NECESSARILY FOR THIS GROUP, BUT AMONGST SOME OF OUR OTHER, UM, GENERAL OBLIGATION BOND, UH, DEPARTMENTS, IS THAT WE'VE COME FORWARD WITH WHAT WAS AN OPTIMISTIC, UM, UH, PLAN FOR WHAT A PROJECT COULD BE, BOTH IN TERMS OF COST AND SCHEDULE.
AND THEN AS WE GET INTO THE FULL ACTUAL PROJECT DEVELOPMENT, YOU KNOW, THE, UH, THE BUDGET DOUBLES AND THE PROJECT TAKES TWICE AS LONG AND IT JUST ERODES THAT TRUST WITH THE PUBLIC.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE, WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO DO ON THE STAFF SIDE.
AGAIN, WE'RE RUNNING IN PARALLEL HERE WHERE WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING WITH THE DEPARTMENTS TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE PROJECTS THAT WE'RE COMING FORWARD WITH ARE REALISTIC AND WE'VE GOT REALISTIC NUMBERS AND, AND SCHEDULES AND THINGS BEFORE THAT LIST GETS RELEASED AND GETS OUT THERE.
[01:05:01]
SO THERE IS A LIST OF PROJECTS THAT LIVES SOMEWHERE.RIGHT NOW, IT IS JUST NOT YET BEEN VETTED BY THIS CRITERIA.
'CAUSE I THINK THE, THE PART THAT I'VE HAD A HARD TIME RECONCILING WITH THIS PROCESS IS AT WHICH POINT WE WILL GET TO SEE PROJECTS THAT ARE BEING SUGGESTED MM-HMM
AND SO THAT'LL BE THIS SUMMER, THROUGH THE SUMMER AND INTO THE FALL, WE'LL COME BACK WITH Y'ALL.
UM, FOR THE SORT OF THE OFFICIAL MEETING.
BUT, UM, WE'RE PLANNING THE, THE SCHEDULE RIGHT NOW CALLS FOR, UM, THAT VETTED LIST 'CAUSE RIGHT.
WE DON'T WANT TO PUT PROJECTS OUT THERE THAT ARE NOT, YOU KNOW, UH, ELIGIBLE FOR BOND FUNDING.
UM, THAT'LL BE IN, YOU KNOW, THE JULY TIMEFRAME WHEN THAT, UM, WILL BE READY.
UM, AND THEN, LIKE I SAID, WE'LL, WE'LL UNDERTAKE OUR PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT AND OUTREACH THROUGH THE SUMMER, AND THEN THAT'S WHEN GROUPS SUCH AS Y'ALL CAN BECOME MORE INVOLVED IN, IN PROVIDING COMMENTS.
AND THEN OBVIOUSLY WE'LL COME BACK TO Y'ALL, UM, WHEN WE GATHER ALL THAT PUBLIC INPUT AND SAY, HEY, HERE'S WHAT THE STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION IS, HERE'S WHAT THE PUBLIC SAID ABOUT IT, AND HERE'S THE SORT OF A, UH, ADJUSTED, UM, RECOMMENDATION TO THE VARIOUS BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.
DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? YEAH, GO AHEAD.
IS THERE A TOP LINE DOLLAR AMOUNT THAT THEN WE'RE GONNA, Y'ALL ARE GONNA BE SCORING THE NUMBER OF PROJECTS UP TO THAT POINT? OR WHAT'S THE PROCESS FOR THAT? YEAH, SO THAT'S GONNA BE, UM, A COMBINED PROCESS ACROSS A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT CITY DEPARTMENTS, INCLUDING CITY COUNCIL.
UM, THERE'S GONNA BE A NUMBER THAT THE FINANCE FOLKS ARE GONNA RECOMMEND IN TERMS OF, UM, WHAT THAT TOP LINE DOLLAR VALUE IS.
AND THEN THERE'S DISCUSSION OF LIKE, OKAY, WELL THEN YEAH, WE HAVE THAT TOP LINE DOLLAR VALUE, AND THEN HOW DOES THAT PIE GET SLICED BASED ON THE VARIOUS DIFFERENT PROJECTS? SO, UM, RIGHT NOW, UM, WE DON'T HAVE THAT NUMBER.
UM, THE, UM, FINANCIAL SERVICES OFFICE CAME OUT WITH A MEMO IS ACTUALLY RELATED TO CAP AND STITCH, BUT THEY PUT OUT THEIR $600 MILLION.
UM, YOU KNOW, SO THAT'S KIND OF WHERE WE'RE OPERATING IN THAT SORT OF, UM, AREA, UM, IN TERMS OF WHAT THE RECOMMENDATION HAS BEEN.
BUT THEY'RE WORKING ON FINALIZING IT, IT TIES IN WITH THE BUDGET, IT TIES IN WITH A LOT OF OTHER THINGS THAT ARE OUT THERE.
UM, BUT THAT'S GONNA BE PART OF THE DISCUSSION AS WE MOVE FORWARD, IS WHAT IS THE, WHAT IS THAT TOTAL PIE, AND THEN HOW DOES IT GET SLICED? OKAY.
UM, I'LL JUST, UH, ONE LAST THING THAT I'LL SAY IS I'M SURE IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING, AND I'M ASSUMING THAT IT'S ALREADY PART OF IT, BUT JUST MAKING SURE THAT ALL THESE FACILITIES ARE ACCESSIBLE, UM, PHYSICALLY ACCESSIBLE, UM, NOT JUST FOR STAFF, BUT FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
I KNOW A LOT OF THESE STAFFS, THESE FACILITIES DON'T ALWAYS NECESSARILY HAVE PUBLIC ACCESS, BUT IF AND WHEN IT'S NEEDED, IF AND WHEN, UM, THE, THE USE OF THE SPACE NEEDS TO BE PIVOTED, UM, OR EXPANDED, IT WOULD BE REALLY GREAT IF THESE WERE ACCESSIBLE, NOT JUST, AND I'M NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBILITY, BUT, UM, WITH REFERENCE TO, UM, TRANSIT, UM, AND, AND WALKING DISTANCES.
UM, AND UNLESS I SEE ANY MORE HANDS, WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON.
[4. Biannual Wildfire Readiness Update, Austin Fire Department.]
IS WE HAVE OUR WILDFIRE READINESS UPDATE.WE'VE GOT, UH, DIVISION CHIEF CARRIE STEWART, THEY'LL PROVIDE THE UPDATE HERE FOR WILDFIRE READINESS.
UM, SO THIS IS, UH, OUR BIANNUAL UPDATE THAT WE DO FOR WILDFIRE PREPAREDNESS.
AND WE'LL START WITH, UM, JUST AN OVERVIEW OF WHAT WE'RE GONNA COVER, THE NUMBER OF LOCAL CWPP THAT WE'VE COMPLETED AND IMPLEMENTED THE NUMBER OF LOCAL C WPPS THAT WE'VE STARTED, BUT NOT COMPLETED.
AND JUST TO REVIEW, CWPP IS A COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN, AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT LOCAL WITH THESE FIRST TWO.
WE DO HAVE AN OVERARCHING CWPP FOR AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY THAT WILL BE UPDATED THIS YEAR.
THE PERCENTAGE OF HIGH RISK WWE AREAS WHERE WE HAVE POTENTIAL LOCAL CWPP PLANNING, THE NUMBER OF PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS AND HOME ASSESSMENTS THAT WE'VE PROVIDED IN THE LAST SIX MONTHS, THE NUMBER, SIZE AND TYPE AND LOCATION OF FUEL MITIGATION ACTIVITIES THAT HAVE BEEN CONDUCTED WITH OUR LAND OWNING PARTNERS IN THE CITY, AND THE NUMBER OF TRAINING HOURS RECEIVED AND CONDUCTED.
SO THE NUMBER OF LOCAL CWPP COMPLETED AND IMPLEMENTED IS 24.
SO WE'RE HOLDING STEADY AT THAT NUMBER.
[01:10:01]
WE HAVE OUR FIREWISE COMMUNITIES, WHEN THEY APPLY FOR FIREWISE STATUS, WE DO A RISK ASSESSMENT FOR THAT COMMUNITY, GIVING THEM IDEAS, IMPLEMENTABLE ITEMS THAT THEY CAN DO IN THEIR COMMUNITY OR THAT AREA FOR WILDFIRE MITIGATION.AND THEN PART OF THE LOCAL CWPP IS HOW MUCH THEY HAVE IMPLEMENTED OF THAT RISK ASSESSMENT.
THE NOBLER OF LOCAL CWPP STARTED, BUT NOT COMPLETED IS 22.
SO WE HELP FACILITATE AND SUPPORT THESE EFFORTS WITH OUR COMMUNITIES.
SO THIS MIGHT BE NEIGHBORHOODS OR COMMUNITIES WHO HAVE EXPRESSED INTEREST IN BECOMING FIREWISE, BUT HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO, FOR WHATEVER REASON, TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP TO COMPLETE THAT FIREWISE APPLICATION.
THE PERCENTAGE OF HIGH RISK WWE AREAS WHERE WE HAVE IDENTIFIED POTENTIAL LOCAL CWPP PLANNING AND WE'RE STILL ONGOING IS AT 49%.
SO OF THE 14% OF AUSTIN'S CLASSIFIED AS HIGH RISK FOR WILDFIRE EVENTS, 51% IS COVERED BY A LOCAL CWPP, AND 49% ARE STILL AREAS OF OPPORTUNITY FOR US.
THE NUMBER OF PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS AND HOME ASSESSMENTS THAT WE'VE PROVIDED IN THE PAST SIX MONTHS, WE'VE DONE 46 PRESENTATIONS AND EVENTS.
SO THAT MIGHT INCLUDE THE HESS I POPUPS, THE COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS POPUPS THAT THEY DO.
THOSE MIGHT BE HOA PRESENTATIONS, COMMUNITY PRESENTATIONS.
AND WE'VE ALSO DONE 197 HOME ASSESSMENTS SO FAR.
SO TO COMPARE THAT WITH CALENDAR YEAR 24, THAT HOME ASSESSMENT, WE CALL IT A STRUCTURE IGNITION ZONE EVALUATION OR A SIZE THAT'S A FREE SERVICE THAT WE OFFER FROM THE WILDFIRE DIVISION TO COME OUT TO YOUR HOME, DO A WALK AROUND WITH THE HOMEOWNER OR THE STRUCTURE OWNER, GIVE THEM IMPLEMENTABLE ITEMS THAT THEY CAN DO TO HARDEN THEIR HOME OR THEIR STRUCTURE AGAINST WILDFIRE.
THINGS LIKE MAKE SURE THEIR GUTTERS ARE CLEANED, MAKE SURE THEY HAVE ALL VENT OPENINGS COVERED, UH, DECKS ARE IN GOOD REPAIR, THAT KIND OF THING.
WE HAD 147 OF THOSE COMPLETED IN CALENDAR YEAR 24.
WE'VE HAD OVER 500 REQUESTS FOR THOSE THIS YEAR SINCE THE MIDDLE OF JANUARY WHEN THE LA FIRES HAPPENED.
SO WE'VE HAD A, A REALLY STRONG OUTPOURING AND OUTREACH FOR THOSE ASSESSMENTS, AND WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO LEVERAGE SOME OF OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO HELP US WITH THOSE AS WELL.
SO WE HAVE COMPLETED 197 OF THOSE, AND WE'RE CURRENTLY SCHEDULING INTO JUNE FOR THOSE ASSESSMENTS.
SO A REALLY GOOD RESPONSE AND OUTREACH FROM THE COMMUNITY TO HAVE THOSE ASSESSMENTS PROVIDED.
NUMBER, TYPE AND SIZE OF FUEL MITIGATION ACTIVITIES.
WE'VE PARTICIPATED IN 23 PRESCRIBED FIRES AT OVER 2000 ACRES BY ASSISTING OUR PARTNER AGENCIES.
SO THIS MIGHT BE PARD AUSTIN WATER UTILITY, UH, US FISH AND WILDLIFE.
SO THESE ARE IN ADDITION TO THE LAND MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES THAT THESE BURNS WILL ACCOMPLISH FOR OUR LAND MANAGERS.
THEY ARE TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AS WELL, IN PARTICULAR OUR WILDFIRE BATTALION.
SO WE GET TO GO OBSERVE WILDFIRE BEHAVIOR IN A LOCAL ENVIRONMENT AND IN A CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT.
SO PARTICIPATING IN, IN 23 PRESCRIBED FIRES OVER SIX MONTHS, WE'VE HAD A REALLY GOOD OPPORTUNITY THE PAST, UH, TO HELP WITH THOSE FIRES OVER THE PAST SIX MONTHS, AND THEN TRAINING HOURS RECEIVED AND CONDUCTED IN THE PAST SIX MONTHS, WE'VE RECEIVED 40 TRAINING HOURS AND PROVIDED OVER CLOSE TO 6,000 TRAINING HOURS TO OUR DEPARTMENT.
SO THE PRIMARY TWO CLASSES THAT WE'RE DOING ARE PRESCRIBED FIRE PRACTITIONER COURSE, AND IT'S ALSO A FIRING OPERATIONS COURSE, AND WE'RE DOING AN ENGINE OPERATOR COURSE THAT IS PRIMARILY, AGAIN, WITH OUR WILDFIRE BATTALION.
YOU MIGHT HEAR IT CALLED BATTALION FIVE.
SO CLOSE TO 6,000 HOURS THAT WE'VE DONE OVER THOSE TWO CLASSES.
IN ADDITION TO OTHER, OTHER SMALLER EFFORTS AS WELL, OUR WILDFIRE BATTALION WAS RECENTLY EXPANDED TO EIGHT STATIONS THAT BRACKET THE CITY JUST FOR RESPONSE.
SO IT'S EIGHT STATIONS AND 10 FRONTLINE APPARATUS, AND THERE ARE BRUSH TRUCKS AT EACH OF THOSE STATIONS AS WELL.
AND ASIDE FROM THAT, I CAN REVISIT ANY OF THOSE OR ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
DO WE HAVE, UM, COMMISSIONER DURAN GOING TO THE HOME ASSESSMENT, UH, COMPONENT? I HAVE A TWO PART QUESTION.
WHERE ARE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR A HOME ASSESSMENT, AND IS THERE A MAX AMOUNT THAT YOU ALL CAN DO? YOU SAID YOU HAVE ABOUT 500 REQUESTED.
AND YOU DID LIKE 146? UH, WE'VE DONE CLOSE TO 200 SO FAR.
UM, THERE'S NO, UH, WE WILL TAKE AS MANY REQUESTS AS WE CAN GET, AND THERE'S NO, WHAT WAS THE FIRST PART OF YOUR QUESTION? IF THERE'S A, WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS? YOU JUST ASKED FOR IT, THAT'S THE ONLY REQUIREMENT FOR IT.
SO WE HAVE MULTIPLE WAYS THAT FOLKS CAN SIGN UP FOR THAT AS WELL.
WE HAVE OUR WILDFIRE HUB, ATX WILDFIRE HUB.COM.
WE HAVE A QR CODE THAT FOLKS CAN SCAN TO SIGN UP FOR THAT THEY CAN CALL 3 1 1 TO RECEIVE ONE OF THOSE,
[01:15:01]
OR THEY CAN EITHER CALL OR EMAIL THE WILDFIRE DIVISION TO SIGN UP FOR ONE OF THOSE AS WELL.UM, ARE ANY OF THOSE HOME ASSESSMENTS, UM, BEING LEVERAGED IN THE, WE, WE'VE HAD RECURRING CONVERSATIONS ABOUT, I THINK IT'S DISTRICT THREE AND DISTRICT ONE, AND JUST THE, THE, THE, THE, THE LOW LEVEL OF FIREWISE COMMUNITIES THAT WE HAVE IN DISTRICT THREE AND DISTRICT ONE.
ARE ANY OF THOSE HOME ASSESSMENTS BEING LEVERAGED TO POTENTIALLY GROW THOSE FIREWISE COMMUNITIES? AND ARE THOSE IN DISTRICT THREE AND DISTRICT ONE? UH, WELL, IF WE WENT BACK TO THE, THAT MAP, IT KIND OF SHOWS, GIVES YOU AN IDEA OF WHERE THOSE HAVE BEEN ACROSS THE CITY.
WE ARE LOOKING WAYS TO ENGAGE MORE OF THE CITY AND THE EASTERN CRESCENT A LITTLE BIT MORE.
UM, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO GO BACK, UH, THE ONE WITH ALL THE DOTS, RED AND BLUE DOT THAT ONE.
SO WE ARE, WE HAVE SEEN QUITE A BIT MORE INTEREST, UM, ACROSS THE CITY, BUT IN PARTICULAR THE EASTERN CRESCENT, WE ARE STILL A LITTLE BIT HEAVY ON THE WESTERN SIDE OF THE CITY.
UH, BUT WORKING WITH GAVA, WITH AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, WITH SSIM FOR SOME OF THEIR POPUPS, UM, BEING ABLE TO ATTEND MULTIPLE DIFFERENT TYPES OF EVENTS ACROSS THE CITY THAT ARE, ARE HOSTED IN DIFFERENT COUNCIL DISTRICTS, THAT'S HELPING US GET MORE, MORE REQUESTS FROM THE CITY AT LARGE.
SO THAT'S SOME OF THE PRIMARY WAYS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO KIND OF BREAK INTO SOME OF THE COMMUNITIES THAT AREN'T QUITE AS ORGANIZED OR HAVE AN HOA OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
ALSO, WE'RE ALSO DOING, UM, UH, NEWSLETTERS EVERY MONTH TO OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS AND PROVIDING THEM WITH STATISTICS BY HOW MANY REQUESTS WE'VE HAD BY COUNCIL DISTRICT, HOPING THAT THAT WILL GENERATE, UM, SOME INTEREST FROM OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS TO GET THE WORD OUT TO THEIR CONSTITUENTS IF THEY NOTICE THAT THEIR NUMBERS ARE A LITTLE BIT LOW.
A LITTLE FRIENDLY COMPETITION TO HELP YES.
DRIVE THAT TO GO A LITTLE FURTHER FOR US.
AND I, I GUESS IT'S JUST, UH, YOU KNOW, THE FIREWISE COMMUNITIES ARE, THEY'RE USED TO, TO HELP, RIGHT.
UM, AND TO HELP CREATE AWARENESS AROUND FIRE SAFETY.
AND I GUESS I'M JUST TRYING TO SEE IF, I'M TRYING TO ASK IF THERE'S A DIFFERENT WAYS TO ASSESS WHETHER OR NOT ABSOLUTELY.
AND YOU GUYS HAVE HAD ENOUGH SATURATION IN A COMMUNITY TO POSSIBLY DEEM THEM FIREWISE OR PARTIALLY FIREWISE.
LIKE, IS THERE SOMETHING ELSE WE CAN DO? BECAUSE I DON'T, WE'RE, WE'RE NOT MAKING THE NUMBERS KEEP STAYING THE SAME, YOU KNOW, IN DISTRICT, IN DISTRICT THREE, DISTRICT ONE, I SEE A FEW MORE OF THESE ASSESSMENTS, BUT IT'S THE, THE FIREWISE COMMUNITIES ARE NOT MOVING.
AND SO FIREWISE IS NOT NECESSARILY THE END ALL BE ALL RIGHT MM-HMM
BECAUSE IT TAKES SOMEONE TO ORGANIZE THAT AND KEEP IT GOING AND MAKE SURE YOU'RE REPORTING EVERY YEAR AND DOING ALL THE STEPS COLLECTIVELY.
SO THAT'S WHY WE HAVE THE STATISTIC OF THE ONES THAT ARE MORE ENGAGED, BUT JUST HAVEN'T FINALIZED THE FIREWISE BECAUSE THAT NUMBER IS IMPORTANT AS WELL.
SO EVEN IF WE DON'T GET THE, THE FIREWISE DESIGNATION IN A COMMUNITY OR AN AREA, WE STILL, IF WE CAN GET ONE HOME TO REQUEST AN ASSESSMENT AND THEY GET THEIR NEIGHBORS TO REQUEST AN ASSESSMENT, MAYBE THE WHOLE STREET, WE'LL TAKE THAT.
LIKE IF THEY DON'T HAVE TO BECOME FIREWISE.
UM, AND SO WE RECOGNIZE THAT NOT EVERY COMMUNITY IS GOING TO WANT A FIREWISE DESIGNATION OR HAVE THE ORGANIZATION TO BE ABLE TO SUSTAIN THAT AS WELL.
DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I CAN'T SEE EVERYBODY ONLINE, SO I CAN'T SEE IF THEY'RE RAISING THEIR HANDS.
UM, I DON'T WANNA MISS ANYBODY.
AND IF YOU HAVE COMMUNITY LEADERS WHO WOULD BE INTERESTED IN WORKING WITH US TO KIND OF REACH OUT TO THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS, WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE THOSE CONTACTS AND BE ABLE TO, TO MAKE INROADS WITH THOSE COMMUNITIES THAT WE, THAT WE MAYBE HAVEN'T BROACHED AS AS MUCH AS WE COULD.
COMMISSIONER N YEAH, I JUST WANTED TO ASK, UM, I KNOW YOU SAID YOU WERE, UM, SENDING OUT SOME OF THOSE REPORTS, UH, AS A FRIENDLY COMPETITION.
IS IT POSSIBLE FOR YOU TO SEND, SEND SOME OF THAT OUR WAY AS WELL? ABSOLUTELY.
UM, SO THAT WE CAN IDENTIFY SOME OF THOSE COMMUNITY PARTNERS TO SUPPORT YOU? YES, WE CAN.
UH, I ASSUME THERE'S GONNA BE SOME PRETTY SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WITH THE NEW DESIGNATIONS THAT ARE BEING PLANNED IN TERMS OF HIGHER RISK FOR FIRES THAT COME IN THE LAST MONTH.
UM, I, I'M ASSUMING THERE'S GONNA BE SOME PRETTY SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO THESE MAPS AND OPPORTUNITY AREAS THAT WILL CODE MAPS.
IS THAT EUROPEAN? I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T QUITE UNDERSTAND THE QUESTION.
AND THERE'S DISCUSSION BEFORE COUNCIL ABOUT HAVING A MUCH HIGHER PORTION OF THE CITY AS DESIGNATED A HIGHER RISK FOR WILD FOR WILDFIRE.
THAT'S THE, THE EY CODE, RIGHT.
IS GONNA HAVE THE MAPS WITH A, B, AND C ZONES TO IT.
AND THE, THE C ZONE IS THE ONE THAT I THINK HAS DRAWN THE MOST ATTENTION.
IT'S THE ONE THAT'S FURTHEST AWAY FROM THE, UH, THE VEGETATION TO, TO SAY IN A WAY,
[01:20:01]
DUE TO THE FACT THAT EMBERS CAN TRAVEL, RIGHT? WHENEVER THERE'S A FIRE AND THE WIND BLOWS, UH, THE EMBERS CAN GO MILES DOWN.IT'S, UH, THE, THE C ZONE THOUGH ALSO DOESN'T HAVE AS RESTRICTIVE OF NEEDS.
IT'S THINGS LIKE CLEANING OUT THE GUTTERS AND HAVING MESH OVER THE, YOUR SOFFIT BENDS AND STUFF LIKE THAT TO, TO HELP MAKE SURE THAT THAT HOUSE IS, IS AS PROTECTED AS POSSIBLE.
IS THAT GONNA CHANGE MUCH LIKE I'M LOOKING AT THE SLIDE THREE, FOR EXAMPLE, WITH THE PERCENTAGE OF HIGH RISK AREAS WHERE THERE'S NEEDS THAT ARE IDENTIFIED.
UM, IS THAT GONNA CHANGE MUCH IN TERMS OF WHERE THERE'S NEED BUT HASN'T BEEN ABLE TO GET? UM, HAVE THOSE MET YET? NEED AS FAR AS, AS WHAT, UM, I'M LOOKING AT ON SLIDE FIVE THREE.
AND I THINK ANOTHER WAY TO LOOK AT THE, THE RISK AND THE WY MAPS CHANGING IS THAT THE, THE RISK KIND OF IS WHAT IT IS, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
AS WE GROW IN THE DENSITY, THAT DOES CREATE SOME NUANCES AND CHANGES WITH THE MAP.
WE'RE EXPANDING THE COVERAGE FOR THAT WIE CODE.
RATHER THAN THE RISK HAS JUST ENCROACHED SO MUCH IN OTHER PLACES.
SO, SO THOSE HIGH RISK AREAS ARE NOT GONNA CHANGE.
IT'S JUST HOW IT GETS APPROACHED.
UM, WE LOOK FORWARD TO GETTING, UM, THE, THE, THE COMMUNICATION ABOUT THE FRIENDLY COMPETITION AND THE AREAS.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
I THINK WE ARE ALL ENGAGED IN THE COMMUNITY WITH, WE HAVE DIFFERENT AREAS THAT WE CAN POTENTIALLY LEVERAGE.
IF WE CAN HELP IN THAT WAY AND WE CAN START SENDING ALL THE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER AS WELL.
IF WE DON'T HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, WE WILL GET TO OUR NEXT AGENDA ITEM.
[5. Presentation on the SIMLAB trailer, Austin/Travis County Emergency Medical Services Department]
UM, A PRESENTATION ON THE SIM LAB TRAILER, WHICH IS SITTING OUTSIDE.UM, WE'RE GONNA GET TO CHECK THAT OUT, UM, AFTER THIS.
SO, UM, I WILL LET YOU GET TO IT.
IF I CAN PLEASE, UH, INTRODUCE ASSISTANT CHIEF HEATHER PHILLIPS.
SO WHEN I SIT UP HERE AND I TALK ABOUT THE NUMBER OF ACADEMIES WE RUN, THE VACANCIES WE FEEL, THE INTERNAL PARAMEDIC PROGRAM, UH, EVEN THE MENTAL HEALTH FOR OUR RESPONDERS AND HOW THEY WORK WITH THE WELLNESS CENTER, THAT IS ALL ASSISTANT CHIEF HEATHER PHILLIPS SHOP, AND THAT IS ALL OF HER STAFF SITTING BACK THERE.
UM, AND INCLUDING CHIEF WHITE'S STAFF WHO CAME TO WORK WITH BRIEF.
NOW, SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO DO THAT AFTER.
SO, UH, WITH THAT, I WILL JUST TURN IT OVER TO ASSISTANT CHIEF HEATHER PHILLIPS, WHO JUST DOES AN AMAZING JOB.
AND I'M HAPPY FOR YOU TO SEE, UH, JUST THIS PRESENTATION AND SOME OF THE WORK THAT SHE'S DONE WITH HER STAFF.
THANK YOU FOR HAVING US TODAY.
UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, WE HAVE OUR BEAUTIFUL SIM LAB SITTING OUTSIDE.
WE'RE EXCITED TO, UH, DISPLAY THAT FOR YOU GUYS.
UM, I KNOW THAT CHIEF HOPKINS HAS ALREADY DONE A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF OUR SIMULATION LAB, BOTH FIXED AND THE MOBILE, UM, THE TRAILER ITSELF.
WHEN WE GOT THE MONEY FROM THE COUNCIL INITIATIVE FOR THIS, UM, IMMERSIVE TRAINING LAB FACILITY, IT WAS ORIGINALLY PLANNED TO BE TWO FIXED CLASSROOMS, OR TWO FIXED SIM LABS.
UM, WE STARTED LOOKING AT WHERE WE WERE GOING TO PUT THIS AND QUICKLY DECIDED THAT IT WAS NOT GOING TO BE CONDUCIVE, UH, TO TRAINING 700 SWORN PERSONNEL TO BRING EVERYBODY OVER TO THE EAST SIDE OF AUSTIN TO OUR EDUCATION, UH, CENTER.
SO WE STARTED SPEAKING WITH ECHO HEALTH, WHO IS, UH, THE VENDOR FOR THIS SIMULATION LAB.
AND WE DECIDED TO TAKE A LEAP OF FAITH AND GO WITH TWO TRAILERS INSTEAD.
WE FELT LIKE THIS WOULD BE MORE VIABLE TO BE ABLE TO GET OUT INTO NOT ONLY OUR COMMUNITY, BUT GET TO ALL SIDES OF THE COUNTY, CITY TO TRAIN OUR STAFF, TO TRAIN BYSTANDERS, WHATEVER WE MAY NEED.
UM, JOINT TRAINING WITH OUR, OUR PUBLIC SAFETY PARTNERS.
SO THIS IS ACTUALLY THE FIRST TRAILER THAT ECHO HEALTH IS EVER BUILT IN THE UNITED STATES.
SO WE'RE VERY PROUD TO HAVE IT HERE, UM, TO SHOW YOU GUYS TODAY.
UM, JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT IMMERSIVE SIMULATION TRAINING.
IF YOU HAVE KIDS, YOU KNOW THAT EVERYTHING IS ABOUT VIRTUAL REALITY.
UH, THAT GOES TRUE TOO FOR TRAINING.
SO IT'S ALL ABOUT THE CENTURIES.
WE WANNA HIT 'EM VISUALLY, TACTICAL, AUDITORY, AND OLFACTORY.
SO OUR FIXED LAB DOES HAVE THE SMELLS THAT WE CAN INFUSE INTO THE ROOM.
I DON'T THINK WE'VE DONE THAT YET.
UM, BUT, BUT, BUT THAT IS COMING.
CAN WE NOT TRY THAT TODAY?
BUT, UH, BUT WE, WE HAVEN'T BITTEN OFF THAT, THAT SMELL YET.
WE'RE, WE'RE ALL KIND OF, KIND OF SCARED OF THOSE JUST FOR MINUTE.
[01:25:01]
UH, WE HAVE ALREADY STARTED, UM, USING THE FIX LAB.UM, WE USE IT WITH OUR INITIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS, OUR CRITICAL CARE.
YOU CAN SEE CONTINUING EDUCATION, UM, AND REALLY FOCUSING ON THOSE, UH, HIGH STRESS, LOW FREQUENCY TRAININGS IS WHAT WE'RE GONNA BE USING THIS FOR.
UM, 30 13 AND A HALF FEET TALL, 13 AND A HALF FEET TALL.
UM, THERE I AM AS A, JUST A REFERENCE THERE ON THAT PICTURE.
YOU CAN SEE, UH, SHE'S, SHE'S, UH, SHE'S PRETTY BIG.
OUR SECOND TRAILER IS IN PRODUCTION RIGHT NOW.
UM, THEY'RE MAKING A FEW CHANGES THAT WE, UM, WE'RE WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE VENDOR.
SO THAT ONE HAS NOT BEEN DELIVERED YET.
UM, THE MOBILE SIM LAB, WE WILL BE ABLE TO PARK IT AT PSTC FOR OUR NEW HIRE ACADEMIES.
IT'LL BE OVER THERE ONCE WE START THAT NEW ACADEMY IN JULY.
UM, SUPER EXCITED ABOUT THE ON-DUTY AMBULANCE TRAINING.
AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, IT'S VERY LABOR INTENSIVE TO GET 700 PEOPLE THROUGH ONE BUILDING.
WE DO THAT TYPICALLY OFF DUTY WHEN THEY'RE COMING IN FOR THEIR CONTINUING EDUCATION.
THIS IS GOING TO, WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO DEPLOY THE EDUCATION TEAM OUT.
WE'LL BE ABLE TO DO IT BY DISTRICT, WORK WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENTS.
THEY'LL BE ABLE TO TRAIN WITH THE PEOPLE THAT THEY ACTUALLY RUN THOSE CALLS WITH.
SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT, ABOUT THE ON-DUTY TRAINING.
UM, WE ALSO, WITH COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND EDUCATION, THIS IS GONNA BE AN AMAZING, UM, HANDS-ON CPR, BYSTANDER, CPR, STOP THE BLEED.
UH, WHEN WE GO OUT TO THE COMMUNITY FOR EVENTS, WE'LL BE ABLE TO UTILIZE HIS TRAILER AS WELL TO, TO TRAIN.
JUST SOME FUN FACTS FOR YOU GUYS.
UM, SO FAR WE HAVE 316 LAB HOURS.
WE'VE TRAINED WITH TWO OTHER AGENCIES SO FAR.
UM, AND WE DID GET OUR HIGH FIDELITY MANNEQUINS.
THEY ARE VERY HUMAN-LIKE, UM, CAN BE, UH, SECOND LOOK WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU WALK IN AND YOU SEE 'EM HERE IN A LITTLE BIT, THEY, THEY DO LOOK LIKE SOMEBODY SITTING THERE ABOUT 120 HOURS WITH THOSE NEW MANNEQUINS.
AND WE'VE USED 'EM NOW FOR TWO CE SEMESTERS.
AND AGAIN, THOSE ARE THE FIXED LAB THAT WE, WE USE THOSE FOR.
UM, AGAIN, JUST FUTURE TRAINING.
WE'RE, WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO, TO GET THIS GOING FOR OUR ADVANCED PRACTICE PARAMEDICS, UM, AND OUR INTERNAL PARAMEDIC PROGRAM.
DO Y'ALL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? NOPE.
WE WOULD LIKE TO INVITE Y'ALL OUT.
UM, WE DO HAVE, WHETHER Y'ALL WANT TO TRY TO DO A BREATHE NOW OR A HANDS-ON CPR, IF YOU JUST WANT TO TAKE A TOUR OF THE LAB, WE WOULD, UM, CERTAINLY INVITE YOU OUT AND COME SEE WHAT WE GOT.
I'M GONNA CHECK WITH EVERYBODY ONLINE TO SEE IF WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
UM, BEFORE WE HEAD OUT, I ACTUALLY HAVE A QUE JUST 'CAUSE WE HAD THIS ON THE, ON THE TAIL END OF THAT BOND ADVISORY, UM, MEETING THAT WE JUST HAD EXP AN EXPENSE LIKE THIS WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO GO INTO THE BOND.
IS IT, DOES THIS COUNT AS AN ASSET OR IS THIS COUNT AS A, THIS COUNTS AS AN ASSET AND I BELIEVE IT ACTUALLY COUNTS AS A VEHICLE.
SO THIS WOULD NOT BE UNDER THE CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION.
I DON'T BELIEVE THIS WOULD FALL UNDER THAT CATEGORY.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? YEAH, JUST 'CAUSE I'M A STICKLER FOR SPELLING IS THE WAY MANNEQUINS WAS SPELLED THERE TRADEMARKED
SO CERTAINLY THE, DEPENDING ON THE VENDOR THAT YOU BUY, THEY HAVE, THAT'S A, THAT'S A TRADEMARK.
THOSE ARE CERTAIN TYPE OF MANNEQUIN THAT WE BOUGHT.
UM, DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ONLINE? OKAY.
AND BEFORE WE ALL, UM, CHAIR OH YEAH, GO AHEAD.
I'M, I'M, I'M SUPER BUMMED THAT I CAN'T BE THERE.
UM, BUT I, I'M GLAD TO HEAR THAT THAT SIMULATION TOOL IS BEING USED.
SO FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, YOU'RE SAYING IT'S MOSTLY TO TRAIN, UM, TO TRAIN, UH, EMPLOYEES, UH, AND, AND MEDICS.
UM, IS THERE A POSSIBILITY OF UTILIZING SOME OF THIS EQUIPMENT TO HELP SUPPORT, UH, LET'S SAY, UM, INCREASING THE AMOUNT OF CPR UH, CERTIFIED INDIVIDUALS IN EAST AUSTIN, UH, WHERE THERE'S A HIGHER FA FATALITY RATE, UH, DUE TO CARDIAC ARREST? I, I'D LOVE TO SEE HOW THAT'S UTILIZED.
UM, IN A COMMUNITY SETTING, YES.
THAT WOULD BE OUR COMMUNITY RELATIONS TEAM AND UBER ABSOLUTELY.
BE A TOOL THAT WE WOULD USE FOR THE COMMUNITY.
[01:30:01]
YEAH.AND I MIGHT JUST ADD WHEN, IF YOU WERE HEAR IT AND YOU CAN GO INSIDE THE TRAILER, THERE'S ACTUALLY AN ENTIRE TAKE 10 CPR, YOU KNOW, PROGRAM SIMULATION THAT THEY RUN THAT SETS IT UP LESS LIKE A SIMULATION TRAINING AND MORE LIKE A CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT TO INCLUDE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SO THAT IF, YOU KNOW, GENERAL COMMUNITY EDUCATION HAD QUESTIONS, THEY CAN INTERFACE INTERACTIVELY.
UM, BEFORE WE ADJOURN, I JUST WANTED TO CHECK IN.
WE HAVE ONE MORE ITEM AND IT IS OKAY.
UM, I WAS LIKE, WHAT'S FIVE 30? WE'RE DONE.
WELL, AND FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS AS WELL.
[6. Conduct officer elections for the Chair and Vice Chair]
IS JUST CONDUCTING OFFICER ELECTIONS FOR THE CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR.I AM JUST GONNA SAY FOR THE RECORD THAT IT IS IN OUR BYLAWS THAT THIS ELECTION HAPPENS IN APRIL.
IT ALWAYS FEELS LIKE IT'S NOT THE RIGHT TIME TO HAVE THIS ELECTION BECAUSE IT IS RIGHT ON THE HEELS OF NEW MEMBERS THAT HAVE NOT YET BEEN ONBOARDED IN PREVIOUS YEARS.
WE USUALLY HAVE THIS ELECTION AT SOMETIMES SOME OF OUR NEW MEMBERS FIRST MEETING.
WE HAVE NEW MEMBERS THAT HAVE NOT YET BEEN ONBOARDED, UM, OR THAT HAVE NOT COMPLETED THEIR ONBOARDING, THAT HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO JOIN US FOR OUR MEETINGS YET.
UM, WE, WE HAVE TO HAVE THIS ELECTION TODAY BY BYLAWS, BUT WHEN WE HAVE SOME FUTURE DISCUSSIONS, I WOULD REALLY LIKE US TO CONSIDER EITHER REMOVING THE, THE TIME, CERTAIN SORT OF ELEMENT FROM OUR ELECTIONS OR CONSIDERING BUMPING IT INTO THE FUTURE.
BECAUSE I DON'T FEEL LIKE THERE ARE ENOUGH OF US HERE TO MAKE GOOD DECISIONS ABOUT CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR.
UM, WE JUST END UP KIND OF MOVING FORWARD WITH WHATEVER
UM, SO WITH THAT, WE ARE HAVING OFFICER ELECTIONS.
UM, IS THERE ANYBODY INTERESTED IN EITHER VICE CHAIR OR CHAIR BEYOND THE CURRENT VICE CHAIR AND CHAIR? DON'T EVERYBODY RUN OVER EACH OTHER?
UM, WITH THAT, I THINK, UM, I WILL JUST, UM, IF WE DON'T HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL INTEREST, UM, I WILL JUST PUT A MOTION ON THE FLOOR TO CONTINUE WITH OUR CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR AS IS, UNLESS TIMOTHY HAS A, UNLESS COMMISSIONER RUTAN HAS AN OBJECTION, I I CAN MAKE IT.
JUST SO YOU DON'T,
AND THEN DO WE HAVE SECOND? SECOND? UM, DO YOU HAVE ANY OBJECTIONS? OKAY.
SHOWS OF HANDS TO KEEP AS IS WITH ME AS CHAIR AND COMMISSIONER RUAN AS VICE CHAIR? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 YESES.
UM,
UM, AUSTIN WILL NOT BE HOME FOR ME SHORTLY AFTER THAT.
UM, SO I WOULD REALLY LIKE, UM, TO START INVITING.
UM, AND I WILL BE MORE PROACTIVE ABOUT THIS, ABOUT INVITING SOME OF YOU TO JOIN SOME OF OUR PLANNING MEETINGS SO THAT IN THE FUTURE WE COULD POTENTIALLY HAVE SOME OTHER PEOPLE THAT ARE INTERESTED IN COMING ON BOARD AS CHAIR OR VICE CHAIR.
UM, SO THAT AS, UM, COMMISSIONER RUTAN AND I ROLL OFF EVENTUALLY THERE'S PEOPLE THAT FEEL READY AND, UM, AND INTERESTED.
UM, SO I'M GONNA, I'M JUST WARNING YOU THAT I'M GONNA START INVITING EVERYBODY TO MEETINGS,
UM, AND WITH THAT WE HAVE FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. UM, WE HAVE, I DON'T HAVE THE AGENDA IN FRONT OF ME.
I HAVE CLOSED MY COMPUTER FOR THE DAY OFFICIALLY.
UM, WE WILL BE TALKING, UM, WITH THE OPO AGAIN, I BELIEVE THEY WILL HAVE THEIR ANNUAL REPORT READY, UM, AND RELEASED HERE SHORTLY.
SO WE'LL BE TALKING TO THEM ABOUT THAT IN MAY.
UM, WE WILL ALSO BE REVISITING OUR SEXUAL ASSAULT DATA WITH THE COLLECTIVE SEX CRIMES RESPONSE MODEL GROUP.
UM, WE ARE GONNA HAVE A BRIEF DISCUSSION ON BYLAWS, UM, AND A POTENTIAL WORKING GROUP FORMED SO THAT WE CAN TALK ABOUT BYLAWS.
UM, THAT WILL BE SO THAT WE CAN TALK ABOUT NOT JUST OUR BYLAWS, BUT JUST WHAT WE WANT OUR MEMBERSHIP TO LOOK LIKE.
UM, IT'S JUST AN OPPORTUNITY TO KIND OF TALK THROUGH WHETHER OR NOT WE FEEL LIKE WE HAVE PEOPLE MISSING THAT WE WANNA HAVE INCLUDED IN OUR DISCUSSIONS, UM, AND CHANGE THE, POTENTIALLY CHANGE THE PURVIEW OF WHO GETS
[01:35:01]
TO SIT AT THE TABLE WITH US EVERY MONTH.SO JUST AN OPPORTUNITY TO KIND OF TALK THROUGH SOME OF THAT.
UM, AND WITH THAT, DO WE HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL ITEMS THAT WE'D LIKE TO ADD TO OUR RUNNING LIST? OKAY.
FEEL FREE TO, UM, REACH OUT TO COMMISSIONER RUTAN, COMM TO ME, UM, TO CHRISTIE WITH ANY AGENDA ITEM IDEAS THAT YOU MAY HAVE AND WE CAN CIRCULATE VIA EMAIL TO GET SECONDS.
UM, AND WITH THAT, EVERYBODY, ENJOY THE REST OF YOUR APRIL AS MUCH AS IS POSSIBLE AND WE WILL SEE YOU IN MAY.