Apr 30, 2025 Special Technology Commission

COMMISSIONER HERITAGE.

HI, THIS IS COMMISSIONER HERITAGE, REPRESENTING DISTRICT FOUR.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS, DISTRICT ONE.

AND COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS, IF YOU COULD COME ON CAMERA AND ANNOUNCE YOURSELF.

COMMISSIONER UNGA, DISTRICT NINE.

AND COMMISSIONER UNGA.

HAVE, UH, SOME GUEST SPEAKERS, UH, I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND SKIP US TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER FOUR.

SO WE HAVE A QUORUM.

UH, OUR FIRST AGENDA ITEM IS, UH, PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.

GIVEN THAT WE HAVE NO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC SIGNED UP, UH, I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND MOVE US FORWARD.

UM, GIVEN THAT WE DO

[4. Presentation on Austin Free Net’s public resource distribution strategy (Jasmin Vargas, Program Coordinator, Austin Free Net) ]

UH, THAT IS THE PRESENTATION ON AUSTIN FREE NET'S PUBLIC RESOURCE DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY.

AND WE HAVE A FRIEND ON THE COMMISSION ON OF THE COMMISSION ON THE LINE WITH US, JASMINE VARGAS FROM AUSTIN FREENET.

AND I WILL TURN IT OVER TO JASMINE NOW.

HI EVERYONE.

UM, I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND SHARE MY SCREEN HERE.

UM, HI EVERYONE.

MY NAME IS JASMINE VARGAS.

I AM THE INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR AUSTIN FREENET.

UM, CAN YOU GUYS HEAR ME OKAY? GOOD.

WE CAN HEAR YOU.

YOU GUYS SEE, SEE MY SCREEN? YES, WE CAN.

LANGUAGES, UM, DEPENDING ON IF WE HAVE THE VOLUNTEERS WHO SPEAK THOSE LANGUAGES.

UM, SO I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND TALK ABOUT AUSTIN FREENET JUST FOR A SECOND.

UH, WE'VE BEEN IN THE COMMUNITY FOR 30 YEARS.

UM, WE ARE COMMITTED TO CLOSING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE, UM, AND OUR MISSION IS TO EMPOWER INDIVIDUALS THROUGH TECHNOLOGY.

UM, I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND JUMP INTO THE DIFFERENT SERVICES THAT WE OFFER, AT LEAST THAT CORRELATES TO OUR DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY.

SO WE HAVE THE LEARN LEARN PROGRAM.

UM, THIS IS OPEN TO ANY ADULT 18 YEARS OR OLDER.

UM, AND THEN WE HELP, UM, CLIENTS GET ACCESS TO FREE COMPUTERS THAT THEY GET TO KEEP FROM THEMSELVES.

EVERY YEAR A CLIENT IS ABLE TO APPLY AGAIN.

UM, WE ALSO HAVE, UH, DIGITAL NAVIGATOR SESSIONS.

SO THESE ARE PRIVATE LESSONS, UM, THAT, UH, WE CAN HELP, UM, ANSWER ANY SORT OF QUESTIONS REGARDING HOW TO USE YOUR COMPUTER, TABLET, OR SMARTPHONE, OR ANY SORT OF DIGITAL GOAL.

SO THIS COULD BE APPLYING FOR A JOB.

THIS COULD BE, UM, FILLING OUT A FORM ONLINE, RESETTING YOUR PASSWORD.

UM, IT'S A WHOLE DEDICATED HOUR, UM, TO HELP INDIVIDUALS THAT WAY.

WE ALSO OFFER IN-PERSON WORKSHOPS.

SO THESE ARE HELD AT LIBRARIES, UH, SENIOR AND RESOURCE CENTERS, AND WE REALLY LISTEN TO STUDENTS OR PARTICIPANTS TAKING THE CLASS AND TAILOR OUR CURRICULUM TO WHAT WE THINK THEIR NEEDS ARE.

JUST A FEW MORE HERE.

WE ALSO OFFER VIRTUAL CLASSES.

UM, WE COVER MORE IN DETAIL, UH, FOUNDATIONAL TOPICS LIKE INTERNET SAFETY, INTRODUCTION TO AI, COMPUTER FUNDAMENTALS, UM, HERE AT OUR MAIN OFFICE AT THE DE WITTY CENTER LOCATED IN EAST AUSTIN, WE DO HAVE A PUBLIC COMPUTER LAB.

AND THAT IS NORMALLY STAFFED WITH VOLUNTEERS OR STAFF MEMBERS.

AND WE CAN ANSWER ANY SORT OF QUICK QUESTIONS THAT CLIENTS HAVE.

PEOPLE COME HERE A LOT TO APPLY FOR JOBS, UM, AND GET HELP BY PRINTING SOME ITEMS. AND WE ALSO HAVE, UH, BUS PASSES, UM, THAT CLIENTS CAN EARN BY DOING SELF CASE LEARNING IN OUR COMPUTER LABS.

AND EVERYTHING THAT I'VE JUST MENTIONED IS AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH AND IN OTHER

[00:05:01]

SO THE LEARN LEARN PROGRAM, UM, WHERE WE GIVE OUT THE FREE DEVICES, UM, WAS DESIGNED TO MAKE IT MORE CONVENIENT FOR PEOPLE TO GET DEVICES, UM, BUT THEN ALSO BE ABLE TO BE EDUCATED ON BASIC, UM, THINGS ON HOW TO USE IT RATHER THAN JUST GIVING THEM OUT.

UM, THIS PROGRAM WAS LAUNCHED IN FEBRUARY, 2022.

SO WE PARTNERED WITH THE CITY THROUGH THE COMMUNITY PC PROGRAM.

SO WE OBTAIN REFURBISHED DEVICES FROM THEM, UM, MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE IN GOOD WORKING ORDER, AND THEN, OR THEY MAKE, WE RECEIVE THEM, MAKE SURE THEY WORK WELL, UM, BEFORE THEY ARE DISTRIBUTED OUT TO OUR CLIENTS.

UM, SO THEN WE, UM, COORDINATE WITH THE CLIENTS, INVITE THEM IN AND PROVIDE, UH, BASIC TRAINING TO MAKE SURE THEY KNOW HOW TO TURN IT ON.

THEY KNOW HOW TO SCAN THEIR COMPUTER FOR ANY SORT OF VIRUSES, UM, KNOW ABOUT HOW TO DO SOFTWARE UPDATES, UH, THINGS OF THAT NATURE.

UM, AND THEN CONTINUE TO OFFER, UM, ADDITIONAL SUPPORT WHEN NEEDED, UM, THROUGH OUR PRIVATE LESSONS OR JUST COMING TO OUR MAIN OFFICE OR ATTENDING THE WORKSHOPS.

SO THE DIFFERENT WAYS HERE ARE THE TWO DIFFERENT PATHWAYS THAT PEOPLE CAN QUALIFY FOR THE DEVICE.

SO THE FIRST PATHWAY, UM, THE CLIENT COULD PROVIDE AN ID AND THEN JUST AN AWARD LETTER THROUGH ANY OF THESE STATE OR, UH, FEDERAL INCOME BASED PROGRAMS. AND THEY WOULD COME AND TAKE THE ORIENTATION WORKSHOP WHEN THEY COME TO PICK UP THE DEVICE.

THE OTHER OPTION FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO DON'T PARTICIPATE IN THESE PROGRAMS, UM, ARE THEY, WELL, THEY HAVE TO COMPLETE TWO LEARNING MODULES.

SO I'VE OUTLINED HERE THE DIFFERENT WAYS THAT INDIVIDUALS CAN GET CREDIT TO GET THE FREE DEVICE.

SO THEY COULD TAKE A COMBINATION OF WORKSHOPS, VIRTUAL CLASSES, SELF-PACED LEARNING, OR PRIVATE LESSONS.

UM, AND WE DESIGNED IT THIS WAY TO, UM, GET THE CLIENT THE FLEXIBILITY TO BE ABLE TO COME TO OUR CLASSES OR SERVICES, UM, WHENEVER THEY NEED, AND SPECIFICALLY TARGET WHAT SORT OF THINGS THEY, THEY WANT TO LEARN.

UM, HERE ARE JUST SOME MORE EXAMPLES OF DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WE OFFER IN OUR PRIVATE LESSONS.

UM, WE HAVE, UM, ASIDE FROM THIS, OUR STAFF MEMBERS ARE ABLE TO KIND OF HELP OUR CLIENTS COME UP WITH PLANS WITH WHAT SORT OF TOPICS THEY NEED TO FIGURE OUT.

SO SOME OF THEM COME IN SAYING, I WANNA LEARN HOW TO USE A COMPUTER.

WELL, THAT'S LIKE A REALLY BIG GOAL.

SO WE BREAK IT DOWN INTO, UM, DIFFERENT ACHIEVABLE GOALS THAT CAN BE COMPLETED IN EVERY HOUR.

UM, FOR EXAMPLE, LET'S FIRST CREATE AN EMAIL ACCOUNT, OR LET'S RESET YOUR PASSWORD SO YOU HAVE ACCESS TO IT.

UM, THEN LET'S INTRODUCE YOU TO CHAT GBT, OR LET'S WORK ON, UH, UPDATING YOUR RESUME, DIFFERENT THINGS LIKE THAT.

UM, SO IT CAN ALL BE TAILORED THAT WAY.

SO THESE ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF DEVICES THAT WE'VE OFFERED.

UM, SO WE'VE GIVEN OUT CHROMEBOOKS, MACBOOKS, WHEN WE DO RECEIVE, UH, DONATIONS FOR THOSE, THOSE TEND TO GO REALLY FAST.

UM, THIS DESKTOP COMPUTERS, WINDOWS, LAPTOPS, SMALL FORM FACTOR DEVICES THAT ARE WIFI COMPATIBLE.

AND ALL OF THESE COME WITH A ONE YEAR WARRANTY THROUGH THE COMMUNITY PC PROGRAM.

AND WE'VE ALSO PARTNERED WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS LIKE, UH, PCS FOR PEOPLE, UM, UM, PLANET, ROI, ET CETERA IN THE PAST.

UM, HERE'S SOME NUMBERS ON THE TOTALS OF DEVICES THAT WE'VE GIVEN OUT.

UM, SO LAST YEAR WE WERE ABLE TO GIVE UP, GIVE OUT 321 DEVICES TO THE COMMUNITY.

THIS YEAR SO FAR, WE'VE GIVEN OUT AROUND, UM, 93, AND WE'RE HOPING THAT NUMBER GOES UP A BIT MORE, BUT WE ARE PROJECTED TO AT LEAST REACH 230 DEVICES THIS YEAR.

SO SINCE THE PROGRAM HAS STARTED, WE'VE GIVEN OUT A TOTAL OF 698 DEVICES TO THE COMMUNITY.

UM, HERE WE CAN SEE, UM, LAST YEAR, AND WE'VE SEEN THIS TREND IN THE YEARS PRIOR, THE MAJORITY OF CLIENTS

[00:10:01]

WOULD LIKE, UM, TO RECEIVE LAPTOPS, UM, JUST BECAUSE THEY'RE PORTABLE.

UM, WE SOMETIMES HAVE HOMELESS CLIENTS, UM, AND THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO HAVE A WHOLE DESKTOP COMPUTER.

UM, SO LAPTOPS ARE THE MOST POPULAR.

AND THEN, UH, LAPTOPS OR CHROMEBOOKS, SOMETHING PORTABLE, SMALL FORM FACTORS, UM, AND ET CETERA.

SO, UM, OUR CLIENTS DEFINITELY HAVE SOME CHALLENGES.

UM, FOR SOME OF THEM, EVEN THOUGH THEY LIVE IN AUSTIN, IT'S SOMETIMES IT'S DIFFICULT OR, UM, WE HAVE SOME SENIOR CLIENTS WHO ARE SOMETIMES ANXIOUS THAT EVEN JUST DRIVE TO THE, UM, EAST SIDE JUST 'CAUSE THEY ASSOCIATE IT WITH DOWNTOWN AND TRAFFIC.

UM, SO, UM, FOR CERTAIN CLIENTS, WE, UM, ARE ABLE TO PROVIDE THEM LIFT CODES IF THEY DON'T HAVE ANY MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION TO GET TO OUR CENTER AND BACK TO THEIR HOME.

UM, ESPECIALLY IF THEY'RE GETTING A BIGGER DESKTOP COMPUTER.

UM, WE DON'T WANT THEM RIDING THE BUS FOR SOME OF THEM WHO ARE GETTING, UM, LAPTOPS.

WE DO OFFER BUS PASSES.

UM, AND ONE THING THAT WE DO, UM, FOR THE PLACES WHERE WE OFFER IN-PERSON WORKSHOPS, THERE ARE A LOT OF, UM, STUDENTS WHO ARE ELIGIBLE FOR THE FREE DEVICE.

WE GO AND, UM, DO THE DISTRIBUTIONS AT THOSE CENTERS.

THAT WAY THEY DON'T HAVE TO TRAVEL, UM, TO OUR OFFICES.

UM, SOME OF OUR CLIENTS, UM, OR A HANDFUL OF OUR CLIENTS SPEAK SPANISH.

SO WE'RE ABLE TO PROVIDE THE ORIENTATION IN BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH.

AND, UM, LIKE I MENTIONED EARLIER, WE OFFER ONGOING SUPPORT THROUGH THE DIGITAL NAVIGATOR SESSIONS.

SO THOSE ONE-ON-ONE LESSONS.

UM, SOMETIMES PEOPLE GET THE COMPUTERS AND THEN THEY DON'T KNOW, UM, HOW TO JUST PRESS ONE BUTTON TO LOG IN.

SO MAKING SURE WE'RE ALWAYS AVAILABLE FOR ANY SORT OF QUICK QUESTIONS OR, UM, FOR THEM TO COME TO OUR WORKSHOPS TO KEEP LEARNING MORE, UM, ABOUT TECHNOLOGY AND HOW TO USE THEIR DEVICES.

UM, THAT'S PRETTY MUCH IT.

IF YOU KNOW OF ANYONE WHO IS INTERESTED IN GETTING A DEVICE FROM US, THEY CAN VISIT OUR WEBSITE.

UM, THEY CAN CALL OUR MAIN LINE AND LEAVE A VOICEMAIL OR COME VISIT US IN PERSON AT THE DEITY JOB TRAINING EMPLOYMENT CENTER.

AND WE HAVE OUR ADDRESS LISTED THERE.

UM, THAT'S IT.

WORKING LINE THAT CAN RECEIVE A TEXT MESSAGE OR, UM, HOTSPOTS OR JUST SOME SORT OF DISCOUNT FOR INTRANET.

WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH, JASMINE.

I KNOW, UH, THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME THAT AUSTIN FREENET HAS PRESENTED TO THIS COMMISSION, AND WE CONTINUE TO, UH, JUST BE COM SUPER IMPRESSED WITH ALL OF THE GREAT WORK THAT, UH, AUSTIN FREENET CONTINUES TO DO FOR THE COMMUNITY.

UM, I GUESS MY, MY ONLY QUESTION TO YOU IS, UH, WHAT OTHER SUPPORT RESOURCES, UM, SPOTLIGHT, UH, COULD AUSTIN FREENET USE, UH, IN ORDER TO, TO CONTINUE TO AMPLIFY THE, THE MISSION AND AND VISION OF, OF THE ORGANIZATION? YEAH, SO WHAT I'VE NOTICED IS, UM, A LOT OF OUR CLIENTS, UM, HAVE, UM, SPECIFICALLY CLIENTS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS, UM, HAVE A DIFFICULT TIME GETTING, UH, SMARTPHONE DEVICES OR CELL PHONES.

UM, WE TRY TO HELP THEM APPLY THROUGH LIFELINE.

AND I BELIEVE, UH, ASSURANCE WIRELESS, IF I'M CORRECT, IS LIKE THE ONLY COMPANY WHO HAS BEEN ABLE, WHO THOSE, UM, CLIENTS HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GET DEVICES FROM.

UM, THE PROBLEM IS, RIGHT NOW, FOR A LOT OF THEM, THEY NEED TO CREATE EMAIL ACCOUNTS, BUT IN ORDER TO CREATE AN EMAIL ACCOUNT, YOU NEED A PHONE TO FOR TWO FACTOR AUTHENTICATION.

SO THAT'S KIND OF A BIT OF A BARRIER THAT WE'RE SEEING.

UM, JUST IF THERE'S A WAY IN THE FUTURE, UM, TO HELP, UM, GET CLIENTS, UM, THOSE SORTS OF SMARTPHONES.

BUT THEN ALSO, UM, WITH A CP ENDING, UM, ANY SORT OF PROGRAM THAT COULD HELP, UM, PAY OR GIVE A DISCOUNT FOR INTERNET ACCESS.

UM, WE, IN OUR PRIVATE LESSONS HELP CLIENTS RESEARCH, UM, DIFFERENT PLANS IF THEY ARE LOOKING FOR INTERNET PROVIDERS, UM, OR SHOW THEM HOW TO USE THEIR, UM, IF THEY HAVE A HOTSPOT PLAN ON THEIR PHONE TO GIVE INTERNET TO THE DEVICES THAT WE GIVE OUT.

UM, BUT I WOULD SAY YEAH, THOSE, THOSE ARE PROBABLY THE TWO THINGS THAT I SEE.

UM, CLIENTS ALWAYS KIND OF FOLLOW UP AND ASK IF WE HELP PEOPLE GET, UM, UH, SMARTPHONES OR REALLY JUST ANY

[00:15:01]

AND THEN, UM, SO SOMETHING YOU HAD MENTIONED, UH, JUST, UM, UH, SPOTLIGHTED IT FOR ME ARE THE, IS WHAT SPECIFIC DEVICES, UH, WOULD BE MOST USEFUL, UM, IS, UH, TO, TO BE DONATED TO AUSTIN FREENET? IS IT SMARTPHONES, IS IT TABLETS? IS IT COMPUTERS? WHAT, WHAT'S MOST IN NEED? UM, I THINK, UM, THE DIFFICULT, OR THE THING THAT WE'VE RUN INTO, I, WE HAVE RECEIVED, UM, SOME HOTSPOTS BEFORE, BUT, UM, I KNOW THAT MOST PROVIDERS AREN'T REALLY WILLING TO ADD SERVICE, UM, WITHOUT HAVING A, UM, THEY BASICALLY WANT YOU TO USE THEIR DEVICE IN ORDER TO HAVE A PLAN WITH THEM.

BUT REALLY ANY SORT OF, UM, WE DON'T HAVE A PROGRAM FOR YET, AND WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO IN THE FUTURE, BUT I WOULD SAY SMARTPHONES, UM, WE CAN RECEIVE DONATIONS OF THAT OR, OR JUST MORE COMPUTERS REALLY, UH, COMPUTER CHARGERS, UM, THAT SOMETIMES FLUCTUATES.

PEOPLE WILL GIVE THE DEVICES, BUT NOT LAPTOP CHARGERS.

UM, SO YEAH.

THANK YOU FOR THAT.

UM, I'LL OPEN IT UP TO REST TO THE REST OF THE COMMISSION MEMBERS, IF ANYONE HAS ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS FOR JASMINE, VICE CHAIR.

UH, I HAVE A QUESTION I WANTED TO ASK ABOUT HOW, UM, NUMBER ONE, I WANTED TO GO BACK AND CLARIFY.

YOU SAID ON THE HOTSPOT ISSUE, A LOT OF TIMES YOU MIGHT BE PROVIDED A HOTSPOT, BUT YOU MIGHT HAVE A PROVIDER WHO'S NOT WILLING, THAT HOTSPOT'S NOT COMPATIBLE WITH A DEVICE, IS WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? IS THAT WHAT IT YEAH.

THE ONLY ORGANIZATION THAT I PERSONALLY HAVE BEEN ABLE TO FIND, UM, IS PCS FOR PEOPLE.

I THINK IT'S ONE HOTSPOT'S AROUND $80 AND THEN, UH, A MONTH.

I THINK IT'S ONLY LIKE 15 IF THEY PAY LIKE MONTH TO MONTH.

UM, AND THEY HAVE PRETTY GOOD, UM, CUSTOMER SERVICE.

UM, SO WE'VE REACHED OUT OR HELPED CLIENTS REACH OUT TO OTHER ORGANIZATIONS AND WE JUST HAVEN'T RECEIVED A RESPONSE OR JUST AREN'T REALLY WILLING.

THAT'S HELPFUL.

UM, FRUSTRATING, BUT HELPFUL TO KNOW.

UM, AND THEN I GUESS MY OTHER QUESTION IS HOW DO FOLKS, CAN YOU SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT FOLKS, HOW FOLKS FIND OUT ABOUT YOU? AND YOU TALKED ABOUT THE DIFFERENT CENTERS THAT YOU WORK AT AND SENIOR CENTERS, PLACES WHERE YOU GO TO CLIENTS.

I JUST WOULD LOVE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT, UM, WHEN I THINK ABOUT THE CITY OF BOSTON, IT'S SO LARGE.

SO CAN YOU SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR OUTREACH STRATEGY? SURE.

SO, UM, JUST US BEING AT THE DEITY CENTER, UM, PEOPLE JUST COME TO THIS LOCATION.

THEY KNOW THAT IT'S A PLACE WHERE THEY CAN RECEIVE HELP.

UM, SO THEY'RE, UM, A LOT OF CLIENTS NORMALLY CAME IN TO RECEIVE HELP TO APPLY FOR CITY JOBS, AND THEN THEY WOULD JUST COME TO US AND LEARN ABOUT OUR PROGRAMS THAT WAY.

UM, WE ALSO HAVE SPECIFICALLY TARGETED WITH, UM, NONPROFITS THAT HELP UNDERSERVED, UH, COMMUNITIES LIKE THOSE WHO, THOSE, UM, AVAN SAY, UM, JUST DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS, MISMA.

AND WE TRY TO WORK WITH THEM TO OFFER SOMETIMES TAILORED, UM, DISTRIBUTIONS.

SO FOR EXAMPLE, THIS, UM, PAST WINTER, WE WERE ABLE TO GIVE OUT 48 DEVICES, UM, OR 48 CHROMEBOOKS TO .

SO WE KIND OF SEE WHAT THEIR, UM, BARRIERS ARE.

FOR EXAMPLE, A LOT OF THEM NORMALLY CAN ATTEND OUR CLASSES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

SO WE KIND OF WORK WITH THEM TO PROVIDE THE TRAINING AND THEN GET THE DEVICE.

SO REALLY COLLABORATING OR WORKING A LOT WITH DIFFERENT PARTNERS.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT.

UH, JASMINE, FOR YOUR QUESTIONS.

COMMISSIONER, HERITAGE, UH, I THINK WE HAD A QUESTION IN THE ROOM, VICE CHAIR.

UH, NO, NO FURTHER QUESTIONS.

JUST, UH, APPRECIATION.

THANKS JASMINE, FOR THE PRESENTATION AND FOR ALL THE WORK WITH, UM, THAT ORGANIZATION.

SOMETIMES CAN'T AFFORD TO PAY FOR A CELL PHONE.

ANY OTHER? YES, COMMISSIONER COMBI? YES.

I WAS JUST CURIOUS, UM, TALKING ABOUT LIKE THE BARRIERS TO GETTING INTERNET ACCESS.

HAVE, UM, THE CLIENTS BEEN HAVING ISSUES WITH LIKE, GETTING CELL PHONE COVERAGE AND LIKE HAVING THAT BE CONSISTENTLY AVAILABLE IN THE AREAS THEY'RE IN? SO, I MEAN, I WILL SAY THE MAJORITY OF, UM, CLIENTS WILL HAVE SOME SORT OF PLAN.

UM, AND THEY, IT'S NOT LIKE THEY DON'T HAVE SIGNAL.

IT'S MORE SO THERE'S, UM, UH, CERTAIN CLIENTS WHO

[00:20:01]

UM, AND THE OPTIONS OR THE PATHWAY TO GET THEM, UM, ONE OF THOSE DEVICES IS COMPLICATED, UM, THROUGH LIFELINE, FOR EXAMPLE.

UM, I HAVE PROBABLY SPENT LIKE A GOOD MONTH OR TWO JUST GOING BACK AND FORTH WITH LIKE, THE, UH, ONE OF THE COMPANIES OR ONE OF THE RIDERS AND HAVING THEM KIND OF CROSS WITH LIFELINE OR JUST NOT COMMUNICATING.

UM, SO THAT, THAT'S REALLY IT, IT'S NOT REALLY LIKE A SERVICE.

UM, SORRY, ONE MORE THING.

SOMETIMES THE QUALITY OF THE DEVICES, IF THEY DO GET ONE FROM THAT PROGRAM, UM, I HAVE HEARD A COUPLE CLIENTS MENTION THAT IT JUST FREEZES OR HEATS UP OR IT IS JUST 'CAUSE OF THE QUALITY OF THE, OF THE DEVICE, UM, JUST ISN'T DURABLE.

AND THOSE ARE CELL PHONES, SPECIFICALLY JASMINE PHONES? YES.

WELL, THANK YOU FOR, UM, FOR YOUR THOUGHTS AND, AND YOUR PERSPECTIVES ON THAT.

UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE CERTAINLY WANNA CONTINUE TO AMPLIFY THE, THE AMAZING WORK THAT Y'ALL ARE DOING, AND, UH, WE'LL COMMUNICATE WITH YOU OFFLINE ON ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES TO DO THAT.

UM, THANKS.

AND, UH, WE LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING YOU BACK, UH, MAYBE, MAYBE IN ANOTHER SIX TO EIGHT MONTHS TO HEAR ON, UM, UH, UPCOMING CHANGES TO, TO AUSTIN FREENET AND ALL THAT, AND HOW, HOW ALL THAT IS GOING.

I'D LOVE TO JOIN AGAIN.

ON TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER FIVE, AND THAT'S THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT UPDATE ON THEIR ANNUAL ACTION PLAN.

WELL, WITH THAT, UM, DO WE HAVE, UH, ROCIO FROM THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT ON, WE DO PERFECT WITH THAT.

AND APOLOGIES, COMMISSIONERS, I HAD NEGLECTED TO MENTION FOR AGENDA ITEM THREE.

UM, OUR GUEST SPEAKER, UH, WAS NOT ABLE TO MAKE IT.

SO WE WERE GOING TO TABLE THAT ITEM UNTIL OUR MAY COMMISSION MEETING, UH, WHEN WE'LL BRING CHRISTOPHER BACK TO PROVIDE A PRESENTATION ON PANO AI.

BUT WITH THAT, WE'LL MOVE

[5. Housing Department update on their annual Action Plan, their application to Housing and Urban Development’s formula grants and the potential impact on local communities (Rocio Peña-Martinez, Grants Program Manager, and Julie Smith, Engagement Specialist, Housing Department) ]

SO IF WE HAVE CIO, I WILL TURN IT OVER TO YOU.

GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.

I'M CIO PENYA MARTINEZ, GRANTS PROGRAM MANAGER WITH THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT.

UM, DAN, CAN I ASK IF I SHOULD SHARE MY SLIDES OR IF THAT IS DONE, UM, OVER AT HQ? YES, WE'RE GONNA SHARE IT HERE FROM OUR END.

UH, JUST LET THEM KNOW WHEN TO CLICK THROUGH.

UM, AND OUR A V GUY HERE ON, ON OUR END SHOULD BE ABLE TO MOVE US THROUGH.

UM, IT SHOULD SHARE HERE IN A SECOND.

THEY'RE CALLED FORMULA GRANTS.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

SO COMMISSIONERS, I AM VISITING YOU ALL TODAY TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE UPDATE ON THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S APPLICATION TO HUD FEDERAL GRANTS.

UM, THIS INCLUDES SEVERAL, SEVERAL GRANTS AND, UM, WE'LL GIVE YOU BACKGROUND SO WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE.

BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, I'M HOPING TO COLLECT YOUR INPUT AND FEEDBACK ON HOW OUR APPLICATION TO THESE GRANTS MAY IMPACT THE COMMUNITIES THAT YOU SERVE OR YOUR AREAS OF EXPERTISE.

UH, YOUR FEEDBACK I THEN INCORPORATE INTO OUR APPLICATION, AND, UM, IDEALLY IT HELPS INFORM OUR PRIORITIES, UH, THAT GET IMPACTED BY THIS FUNDING IF WE RECEIVE IT.

OH, I SEE THAT YOU ARE SHARING A MEMO.

UM, I DO HAVE SOME SLIDES.

THAT MEMO IS JUST SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION IN CASE MISSIONERS, UM, WOULD, LIKE, DOES THIS LOOK LIKE THE PRESENTATION THAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR? UM, THAT IS SLIDES FROM THE PRESENTATION, BUT IT DOES NOT LOOK LIKE THE PRESENTATION ITSELF.

I CAN ALSO SHARE ON MY END IF THAT IS, UH, EASIER.

YEAH, WHY DON'T YOU GO AHEAD AND SHARE ON YOUR END.

DAN JUST STEPPED OUT, BUT HE DID MENTION THAT WE ONLY HAD THE MEMO, UH, ON OUR END.

AH, OKAY.

UM, APOLOGIES FOR THAT.

AND I THINK YOU SHOULD ALL BE SEEING OUR SLIDES NOW.

WE CAN, WE CAN SEE IT.

OKAY, GREAT.

THANK, YOU'ALL.

SO THIS, UH, IS CALLED THE ACTION PLAN, THIS PROCESS, THIS APPLICATION, UM, AS WELL AS MY PRESENTATION TO YOU ALL TODAY.

UH, SO WE, THE CITY OF BOSTON APPLY TO THIS COLLECTION OF GRANTS ANNUALLY.

AND ANNUALLY WE RECEIVE AN AVERAGE OF $14 MILLION.

ALL OF THAT FUNDING GOES TO VERY LOW TO MODERATE INCOME PROGRAMMING AT THE CITY, AND IT TOUCHES MANY DEPARTMENTS AT THE CITY,

[00:25:01]

UH, WHICH WE'LL GET INTO IN A LITTLE BIT.

UH, THE PLANNING AND APPLICATION ITSELF IS A FIVE YEAR LIFECYCLE FOR THIS, THIS GRANT.

MOST RECENTLY WE DID THE CONSOLIDATED PLANNING WHERE WE REALLY SET UP OUR BUDGET AND EXPECTATIONS FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS OF GRANT FUNDING.

CURRENTLY, WE'RE IN AN ACTION PLAN, SO IN ORDER TO RECEIVE OUR FUNDING FOR THIS YEAR, WE HAVE TO COMPLETE THIS ACTION PLAN, AND THAT INCLUDES YOUR COMMUNITY INPUT, UH, AS WELL AS PUBLIC COMMENT AND A, A PUBLICLY RELEASED REPORT AT THE END OF THE YEAR, AND THE EVENT THAT WE DO RECEIVE FUNDING ON HOW EXACTLY WE SPENT THOSE MONTHS.

SO HOPEFULLY SOME OF THAT SOUNDS FAMILIAR, UM, BECAUSE YOU WOULD'VE BEEN VISITED IN THE PAST BY SOMEONE ELSE FROM HOUSING.

THE FOUR GRANTS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE SPECIFICALLY ARE THE ONES YOU SEE ON THIS SLIDE.

SO THE, THE TWO BIG ONES AT THE TOP, CDBG AND HOME ARE A BULK OF FUNDING, AND BOTH OF THEM ARE INTENDED TO FUND, UM, HOUSING AND COMMUNITY AVAILABILITY, WHETHER THAT'S THE CREATION OF NEW AFFORDABLE UNITS OR THE PURCHASING OF FACILITIES, UM, PERHAPS PUBLIC SERVICES THAT HELP FOLKS STAY IN PLACE.

AND THE TWO GRANTS AT THE BOTTOM, UH, ALSO HAVE SPECIAL FOCUS.

HOPWA FOCUSES ON SERVICES FOR PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV, AIDS AND ESG FOCUSES ON SERVING PEOPLE WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED HOMELESSNESS OR ARE CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.

UH, THESE ARE THE, THE SLIDES I SHARED AHEAD OF TIME IN THAT, IN THAT PDF DOCUMENT, BECAUSE THEY'RE A LITTLE DENSE AND WE CAN ALWAYS REVISIT THEM, BUT THIS IS WHAT THE FUNDING BREAKDOWN LOOKS LIKE.

THIS IS THE REAL AMOUNTS WE RECEIVED AND SPENT FOR LAST FISCAL YEAR, AND I'M SHOWING IT TO YOU, UH, NOW BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT WE WOULD EXPECT TO RECEIVE FOR THE COMING FISCAL YEAR.

AND SO ALONG THE TOP, YOU SEE THE REAL AMOUNTS WE RECEIVED FROM HUD LAST YEAR FOR EACH OF THOSE FOUR GRANTS.

AND ON THE LEFT COLUMN ARE THE BROAD PRIORITY AREAS THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS IDENTIFIED IN OUR CONSOLIDATED PLAN.

AND THOSE AREAS WOULD BE, AGAIN, THE AREAS THAT WE WOULD BE LOOKING TO, TO FUND WITH THESE GRANTS.

UM, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TABLE ARE ALL THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS THAT END UP BEING FUNDED, UH, WITH THESE RESOURCES.

AND IF ANY IN PARTICULAR STAND OUT TO YOU, WE CAN TALK MORE ABOUT THEM.

UM, BUT I HAVE A LITTLE MORE DETAIL OF THOSE PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS ON THIS SLIDE.

SO AGAIN, THIS IS FROM OUR END OF YEAR REPORT LAST YEAR, AND THIS IS HOW MANY INDIVIDUALS OR HOUSEHOLDS WE ENDED UP SERVING WITH THE FUNDS WE RECEIVED LAST YEAR.

AND AT THE VERY END IS HOW MUCH WE ACTUALLY SPENT FOR EACH OF THESE PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS BY THE END OF FISCAL YEAR.

THE GOAL COLUMN AT, IN, UM, THE MIDDLE THERE IS WHAT WE ORIGINALLY APPLIED TO, AND THERE'S OFTEN A DISCREPANCY BETWEEN WHAT WE APPLY TO, UM, FROM HOW IN OUR ACTION PLAN AND THE FUNDS THAT WE RECEIVE.

SO THIS MAY, UH, BE DIFFERENT BASED ON HOW MANY, UH, HOW MUCH GRANT FUNDING WE ACTUALLY RECEIVED, UH, BUT ALSO FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS OFTEN CHANGE THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE THAT WE, WE CAN ACTUALLY QUALIFY TO RECEIVE THIS PROGRAMMING.

SO I, I HOPE THAT ALL MAKES SENSE.

AGAIN, WE CAN, WE CAN ALWAYS COME BACK TO THESE DENSER SLIDES.

CIA, WOULD YOU MIND, UM, TALKING THROUGH THE HOMELESS MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM BRIEFLY? YES.

UM, I DON'T BELIEVE ANYONE ELSE HAS JOINED ME ON THIS CALL TONIGHT, UH, FROM HSO, BUT FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, UM, WE HAVE BUDGETED A LARGER AMOUNT THAN THE 22,000 STATED HERE MAY, I THINK IT WAS 22,000 OVER A THREE YEAR PERIOD.

SO 22,000 EACH OF THOSE THREE YEARS.

I'D HAVE TO VERIFY THAT AND GET BACK TO YOU.

UM, BUT IT IS AN, AN INFORMATION SYSTEM THAT HSO IS HOPING TO IMPLEMENT TO CENTRALIZE, UM, INFORMATION FOR ALL OF THE DIFFERENT SERVICE PROVIDERS.

UH, I'VE HEARD THAT THERE'S LIKE A CITY RUN PORTAL, AND THEN THERE'S SOME PRIVATE PORTALS.

AND IT SOUNDS LIKE EVERYONE WHO IS ACTUALLY PROVIDING SERVICES, HOMELESSNESS SERVICES, WHO'S IN THAT CONTINUUM

[00:30:01]

OF CARE WORLD, UH, HAS TO GO TO MANY DIFFERENT PLACES IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT THE PEOPLE THEY SERVE ARE GETTING THE RESOURCES OR EVEN FINDING THE RESOURCES.

SO I BELIEVE THE INTENT FOR THIS FUNDING, UH, WAS TO CREATE SOME CENTRALIZED, UM, SYSTEM, UH, SOFTWARE.

AND I DON'T KNOW IF WE'RE CREATING THAT IN-HOUSE OR IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE RECEIVING EXTERNALLY.

UM, BUT YEAH, THAT'S THE INFORMATION I HAVE ON THE, THE INFORMATION SYSTEM.

YEAH, THA THAT'S WHY I SUSPECTED.

UM, YEAH, THANK YOU FOR PROVIDING THAT DETAIL.

UM, MAYBE WE CAN TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE AT THE END OF THE PRESENTATION, BUT WOULD LOVE, UH, A FUTURE PRESENTATION SPECIFICALLY ON THAT ITEM.

I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT OUR COMMISSION IN PARTICULAR COULD PROVIDE A LOT OF INPUT AND FEEDBACK ON.

HMM.

WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED ALSO AN EVERGREEN SURVEY.

UM, ON THE HUD GRANTS SIDE, I'M GONNA SHARE WITH YOU THE, THE VERY BRIEF DEMOGRAPHICS THAT WE CURRENTLY REPORT BACK TO HUD.

UM, WE ARE OF COURSE, LIMITED IN THE KINDS OF DEMOGRAPHICS.

WE, WE REPORT TO HUD AND REPORT PUBLICLY, UM, DUE TO PRIVACY ISSUES AND OTHER OTHER CONSIDERATIONS.

BUT ETH UH, RACE AND ETHNICITY IS ONE OF THE FEW DEMOGRAPHICS WE COLLECT AND REPORT BACK.

THIS IS WHAT THAT BREAKDOWN LOOKS LIKE FOR OUR GRANTS.

SO HERE'S THE OTHER TWO GRANTS AND THE BREAKDOWN OF, UH, RACE AND ETHNICITY SERVED.

AND THIS WAS OUT OF A TOTAL OF 1,856 HOUSEHOLDS, UH, SERVED LAST YEAR.

THE OTHER DEMOGRAPHIC I HAVE FOR YOU IS ON HOUSEHOLD INCOME, AND THIS IS FOR THE TWO BIG GRANTS, CDBG, AND HOME.

UM, THE TAKEAWAY HERE BEING THAT THE MAJORITY OF THE MAJORITY OF OUR FUNDS GOES TO EXTREMELY LOW INCOME HOUSEHOLDS, AND THAT MEANS BELOW 30%.

MFI.

JUST AS A REMINDER, THERE'S A TABLE AT THE BOTTOM THERE, UM, WITH THE MFI LIMITS FOR LAST YEAR, AS PART OF THIS HUD GRANTS APPLICATION PROCESS, WE, UM, ADJUST OUR MFI TABLES LOCALLY.

SO THAT'S PART OF THIS PROCESS AS WELL, AND SOMETHING THAT WE EXPECT TO CHANGE FOR THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR.

UM, SO WE'LL GET INTO THE FEEDBACK.

THAT WAS REALLY IT FOR THE BACKGROUND ON, ON THE GRANTS, UH, OUTSIDE OF THESE HUD GRANTS, JUST, UM, AS A REMINDER, WE DO HAVE OTHER FUNDING SOURCES.

UH, I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF CONCERN RIGHT NOW ABOUT THE AVAILABILITY OF FEDERAL GRANTS.

THESE ARE SOME OF THE OTHER FUNDING SOURCES THAT WE PAIR ALONG WITH OUR FEDERAL GRANTS FOR THE PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS THAT I'VE JUST SHOWN YOU.

AND, UH, AS PART OF OUR ANNUAL ACTION PLAN APPLICATION, WE COME TO COMMISSIONS, WE GO TO NONPROFITS, UH, OR EVEN GRANTEES, AND WE, WE DO THIS SORT OF UPDATE PRESENTATION AND WE COLLECT THEIR FEEDBACK.

THIS IS WHAT WE HEARD LAST YEAR FROM YOUR COMMISSION, AND, UM, I'LL LET YOU READ IT, BUT THE, THE HIGHLIGHT, UH, WAS ABOUT, UH, DIGITAL ACCESS ISSUES NOT BEING INCLUDED EXPLICITLY, UM, AS A NEED TO BE SERVED MORE BROADLY.

WE'VE HEARD, UM, FROM COMMISSIONS, FROM NONPROFITS, FROM EVERYONE WE'VE CONSULTED WITH LAST YEAR, THESE THREE BIG PAIN POINTS ARE OUR DATA AND IMPACT, UM, OUR TRANSPARENCY AS, AS A CITY AND THE OUTREACH THAT WE ARE ABLE TO DO, PARTICULARLY TO POPULATIONS WHO DON'T HAVE EASY ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION.

IN RESPONSE TO THAT, I'D, UM, LOVE TO TELL YOU VERY HAPPILY THAT WE DO HAVE A POLICY AND DATA TEAM AT THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT.

IT'S BRAND NEW.

UM, AND THEY ARE VERY MUCH LOOKING AT PAST FEEDBACK THAT WE'VE COLLECTED DURING THIS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT PROCESS.

UM, AS FAR AS TRANSPARENCY, OUR DEPARTMENT IN PARTICULAR HAS CREATED A HOUSING HUB, WHICH I CAN SHARE THE LINK TO, AS WELL AS A REPORT FROM LAST YEAR'S FEEDBACK.

AND WE'RE MAKING SURE ALL OF THAT IS AVAILABLE ONLINE, WHICH OF COURSE, UM, BEGS THE QUESTION OF WHO HAS ACCESS TO THINGS THAT ARE ONLINE.

UM, AND FINALLY,

[00:35:01]

SO I WILL COME TO, TO YOU THE COMMISSIONS.

UM, WE WILL HOST SPECIFIC LISTENING SESSIONS FOR THIS COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT, BUT WE ARE ALSO JUST MAKING SURE WE COLLECT FEEDBACK YEAR ROUND NOW AS OPPOSED TO JUST DURING THIS PARTICULAR ASSESSMENT.

AND THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY IT FROM ME.

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR, UM, YOUR QUESTIONS OR FEEDBACK.

I'M GONNA LEAVE UP THESE, UH, DENSER SLIDES IN CASE THAT'S HELPFUL.

UH, ROCIO FOR, UH, FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.

UM, AS FAR AS FEEDBACK, I THINK THE, THE SAME, UM, THOUGHTS THAT WE HAD PROVIDED LAST YEAR, I GUESS, UH, STAND AGAIN AND, UM, SORT OF FRAMING INTERNET ACCESS AS A UTILITY, UM, AND AS, AS, AS A NEED FOR THIS, FOR THIS, THIS POPULATION OF, OF INDIVIDUALS OF WOULD LOVE TO SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, CALLED OUT.

AND, UH, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN SPEAK TO A LITTLE BIT, LIKE, IS THAT, IS INTERNET ACCESS OR AFFORDABILITY, IS THAT INCLUDED AS, AS, AS SOME OF THE, THE SUPPORT THAT, UH, THE TARGET POPULATION RECEIVES? UH, OR IS THAT STILL SOMETHING THAT, UM, THAT IS IN NEED? AS FAR AS I KNOW, THAT IS NOT SOMETHING WE ADDRESS DIRECTLY WITH THESE GRANT FUNDS.

THERE IS NO, UH, PROJECT OR PROGRAM ON OUR, ON THIS CURRENT FISCAL YEAR'S BUDGET THAT PROVIDES INTERNET ACCESS AS A UTILITY.

UM, I DO KNOW THAT THROUGH THESE GRANTS, WE PARTNER VERY CLOSELY WITH THE HOUSING AUTHORITY, AND THEY HAVE A MECHANISM THROUGH WHICH THEY PROVIDE INTERNET ACCESS TO THEIR RESIDENTS.

UM, BUT THAT IS NOT BEING, I DON'T BELIEVE THAT IS BEING FUNDED DIRECTLY WITH THESE FUNDS.

THANKS FOR THAT, UM, FOR CALLING THAT OUT.

I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S AN IMPORTANT POINT AS WELL.

UM, AND THEN FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF, IF YOU COULD HELP US GET IN TOUCH WITH PERHAPS THE PROJECT TEAM THAT'S FOCUSED ON THE, UM, HOMELESS MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM, BUT WE'D LOVE TO INVITE, UH, WHOEVER'S IMPLEMENTING, UH, OR MANAGING THAT PROJECT TO REPORT OUT TO OUR COMMISSION AS WELL.

YEAH, I WILL DEFINITELY MAKE THAT CONNECTION.

UM, YES.

UM, I'LL OPEN IT UP TO THE REST OF THE COMMISSION.

ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS ON THE PRESENTATION? OKAY.

I, UM, I APOLOGIZE.

I DID FORGET TO EXPLAIN ON THIS PARTICULAR SLIDE, THE DIFFERENT COLORS YOU SEE ARE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS THAT MANAGE THIS FUNDING.

SO, UM, HOUSING MANAGES THE APPLICATION AND THE REPORTING AND USES SOME OF THE FUNDS, BUT HOMELESS STRATEGY OFFICE, AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ALSO USE ALL OF THESE FUNDS.

VICE CHAIR, ETTE, UH, ROCIO.

I'M JUST CURIOUS, HOW DOES THE TARGET POPULATION APPLY TO, TO GET THIS SUPPORT FROM YOUR ORGANIZATION? UH, SO EACH OF THESE PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS YOU'RE SEEING LISTED HERE MM-HMM .

ARE EITHER, UH, MANAGED DIRECTLY BY CITY STAFF IF IT'S IN, IN A DEPARTMENT MM-HMM .

UM, OR MORE COMMONLY WE CONTRACT OUT TO A LOCAL PROVIDER, USUALLY A NONPROFIT.

SO FOLKS WOULD RECEIVE SERVICES FROM THE PROVIDER DIRECTLY, UH, NORMALLY, AND THE PROVIDER DOES THE CHECKING OF, OF ELIGIBILITY FOR FEDERAL, UH, MONIES, USE REQUIREMENTS.

BUT THE, THE PERSON SEEKING SERVICES DOES NOT HAVE TO DO ANYTHING ADDITIONAL AS FAR AS I KNOW, UM, OTHER THAN MAKE CONTACT WITH THE PROVIDER AND THE, THE PROVIDER DOES THE CHECKING.

GOT IT.

INCLUDING THAT CONSOLIDATED PLAN.

AND ROCIO, AS FAR AS, UH, TAPPING INTO THOSE FEDERAL FUNDS, WHAT IS THE, THE TIMELINE? I KNOW YOU'RE, YOU'RE, THIS IS JUST ONE ACTIVITY THAT YOU DO, SO SOURCING INPUT, BUT WHAT'S THE OVERALL SORT OF LIKE, TIMING FROM APPLICATION TO, UM, AWARDING FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AT LEAST BASED ON PREVIOUS FISCAL YEARS? YES.

SO FOR THE LIFECYCLE IS TRULY FIVE YEARS,

[00:40:01]

BUT IN ORDER TO RECEIVE OUR DRAW DOWN ANNUALLY, WHICH HAPPENS ANNUALLY, OKAY.

THAT LOOKS LIKE AN EIGHT MONTH LONG APPLICATION PROCESS THAT INCLUDES THESE CONSULTATIONS WITH THE PUBLIC.

UM, IT INCLUDES SOME OTHER TIMELINE REQUIREMENTS THAT, THAT ARE QUITE LONG, UM, IMPOSED BY OUR, OUR FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS IN AUGUST IS WHEN WE OFFICIALLY SUBMIT EVERYTHING TO HUD.

AND NORMALLY WE HAVE HEARD SOMEWHERE SOMETIME IN THE SPRING, UH, THAT OUR FUNDS WILL BE AVAILABLE.

SO FAR THIS YEAR, WE HAVE NOT HEARD ANYTHING FROM HUD.

UM, AND I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S TO BE EXPECTED AND, AND WE'RE PROCEEDING WITH THE NORMAL TIMELINE.

SO WE ARE STILL EXPECTING TO SUBMIT THIS APPLICATION IN AUGUST.

WITH THAT, UH, WE, I'M GOING TO GO AHEAD AND MOVE US TO AGENDA ITEM SIX.

YEAH, YOU ANSWERED WHAT MY NEXT QUESTION WAS GONNA BE.

AND THAT'S, IF ANY, UH, HAS THERE BEEN ANY COMMUNICATION FROM HUD AT THIS POINT? AND IT SOUNDS LIKE NO, NOT, YEAH, THAT'S CORRECT.

THANK YOU FOR THAT.

UH, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM ANY OF THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS NOT SEEING ANYONE ONLINE? GREAT.

WELL, ROCIO, WE REALLY APPRECIATE HAVING YOU.

UM, WE LOOK FORWARD TO NEXT YEAR'S PRESENTATION, AND IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND HELPING US MAKE THOSE, UH, THOSE CONNECTIONS AND PERHAPS CONTINUING TO INCORPORATE OUR FEEDBACK, UH, INTO THESE READOUTS, WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT.

[6. Review and approval of GTOPs Core 2025 selected recipients ]

UM, I SEE WE HAVE JUST A QUORUM OF COMMISSIONERS WITH US.

SO UNFORTUNATELY, UH, WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO TAKE ACTION ON, UH, THIS ITEM OR AT LEAST FORMAL ACTION.

UM, BUT I DO WANNA TURN IT OVER TO DAN, UH, TO REPORT OUT ON, UM, THE, UH, THE GTOP S CORE 2025 SELECTED RECIPIENTS.

HE'S GONNA WALK US THROUGH, UM, GTOP OS CORE, HOW THE SELECTION PROCESS OCCURRED, AND, UH, NEXT STEPS FOR, UH, A SUB QUORUM OF OUR COMMISSION TO TAKE.

ALL RIGHTY.

THANK YOU COMMISSIONER OR CHAIR APODACA FOR THAT INTRODUCTION.

UM, YES.

UH, HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE GRANTFORD TECHNOLOGY OPPORTUNITIES PROGRAM YET AGAIN.

UM, BUT THIS TIME WE'VE REACHED A CONCLUSION TO THIS CYCLE, UM, AND, UH, WE WANNA JUST SHARE WITH YOU WHAT THAT PROCESS LOOKED LIKE, AND AS WELL AS JUST A, YOU KNOW, A BASIC, UH, UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT G OS DOES AND WHAT WE FUND, UH, JUST BECAUSE THERE ARE SOME NEW COMMISSIONERS ON THE, ON, ON THE, UH, COMMISSION.

SO I JUST WANT TO CATCH 'EM UP TO SPEED, MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE ENGAGED WITH THIS PROGRAM.

UH, BUT THE GRANT FOR TECHNOLOGY OPPORTUNITIES PROGRAM IS A, A GRANT THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, FACILITATES, UH, SPECIFICALLY ME AND JESSE RODRIGUEZ, YOUR LIAISONS.

UM, AND THIS PROGRAM WAS BUILT TO HELP, UH, SMALLER ORGANIZATIONS THAT DO DIGITAL INCLUSION WORK WITHIN THE AUSTIN AREA, UM, HELPING THEM KIND OF GET THAT GRASSROOTS FUNDING, UH, TO GET PROJECTS OFF THE GROUND, UH, OR JUST CONTINUE TO FUND SOME REALLY STELLAR PROGRAMS THAT THEY HAVE ALREADY BEEN, UH, WORKING ON.

UH, THE CORE MISSION OF THIS PROGRAM IS TO HAVE, UH, CLOSE THAT DIGITAL INEQUALITY GAP.

UM, THERE'S A LOT OF FOLKS IN THE AUSTIN AREA THAT AREN'T CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET.

UM, A LOT OF US TAKE FOR GRANTED OUR CONNECTION.

UH, SO, UH, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY HAS EQUAL ACCESS TO ALL PARTS OF, OF SOCIETY.

AND, YOU KNOW, EVERY DAY, UH, SOCIETY IS GETTING MORE AND MORE, UH, INVOLVED ONLINE, UH, BANKING, VOTING, UH, LOTS OF STUFF GOING ON ONLINE, MORE, MORE THAN IN REAL LIFE.

UM, SO WE JUST WANNA MAKE SURE NO ONE'S LEFT BEHIND.

AND THE THREE CORE WAYS THAT, UH, WE LOOK TO, UH, ADDRESS THAT THROUGH THIS GRANT IS BY SUPPORTING PROGRAMS THAT EITHER, UM, HELP WITH, UH, ACCESS TO DEVICES, SO DISTRIBUTING LIKE IPADS, COMPUTERS, UH, CELL PHONES, UH, ALSO FUNDING PROGRAMS THAT HELP, UH, TEACH SKILLS, UH, TECHNOLOGY SKILLS, UH, WHETHER THAT'S, UH, JUST LEARNING HOW TO SET UP AND USE A COMPUTER OR SOMETHING MORE ADVANCED LIKE, UH, AI QUERIES OR, OR LEARNING HOW TO USE MICROSOFT EXCEL.

UM, AND FINALLY, UH, ONE OF THE KEY, UH, UH, PROGRAMS THAT WE LIKE TO SUPPORT ALSO IS, UH, PROGRAMS THAT, UH, SUPPORT, UH, USAGE OF INTERNET.

UH, WHETHER THAT'S LIKE ESTABLISHING A COMPUTER LAB OR SIMPLY, UH, DISTRIBUTING, UH, MOBILE HOTSPOTS, UH, THINGS OF THAT NATURE.

UM, THOSE

[00:45:01]

ARE THE KIND OF PROGRAMS THAT WE TEND TO SEE IN GTOP S BUT IT'S NOT LIMITED TO THAT.

AND YOU'LL SEE IT, UH, WITH SOME OF OUR, UH, RECOMMENDED AWARDEES THIS YEAR.

UM, JUST TO GO OVER WHAT THAT PROCESS LOOKED LIKE THIS YEAR, UM, IT, IT WAS A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN OUR STANDARD, UH, PROCESS.

UM, SO OUR, UH, LETTER OF APPLICATION PHASE ACTUALLY OPENED ON NOVEMBER 15TH INSTEAD OF NOVEMBER 1ST THIS YEAR, UH, DUE TO US TRANSITIONING FROM OUR OLD MANAGEMENT OR GRANT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE TO A NEW PROGRAM CALLED WISE, IVE, UM, IT WENT PRETTY WELL.

UH, WE WERE WORKING ON A FIXED TIMELINE, BUT WE WERE ABLE TO GET IT OUT OF THE DOOR.

AND, UH, OUR APPLICANTS SEEMED TO ENJOY THIS PROGRAM A LOT MORE THAN THE FORMER, UH, PARTNER GRANTS SITE THAT WE USED TO RECEIVE APPLICATIONS ON.

UM, BUT THROUGH THE LETTER OF, OF LETTER OF INTEREST PHASE, UH, WE, WE RECEIVED 34 TOTAL, UH, LETTERS OF INTERESTS, UH, LOIS FOR SHORT.

UM, AND FROM THOSE 34, UH, JESSE AND I MAKE SURE THAT, UH, WE VET THEM FOR, UH, JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE IN LINES WITH THE, THE NEEDS OF, UH, G DETOX AS WELL AS, UH, COMMUNITY NEEDS AND MAKING SURE THEY'RE IN LINE WITH ALL THE OTHER REQUIREMENTS THAT THEY NEED TO MEET BEFORE, UH, MOVING ONTO TO THE APPLICATION PHASE.

SO OUT OF THOSE 34, UM, SOME WERE, UH, FILTERED OUT, BUT, AND SOME JUST DIDN'T FULLY SUBMIT, UH, BUT WE HAD A TOTAL OF 24 OR 25 FULL APPLICATIONS.

UM, AND THOSE ARE THE APPLICATIONS THAT THE, UH, REVIEW PANELIST, UH, TOOK A LOOK AT.

UM, AS IT SAYS IN THE MEMO, WE STARTED WITH NINE, UH, REVIEW PANELISTS.

UM, AND THREE HAD TO DROP OUT FOR, UH, UNDISCLOSED REASONS.

UM, IT THAT'S USUAL, UH, OR THAT'S WHAT NORMALLY HAPPENS.

WE HAVE DROPOUTS.

IT'S, IT'S A LONG REVIEW PROCESS, SO EMERGENCIES COME UP OR PEOPLE JUST CAN'T MEET THE, THE TIME COMMITMENTS.

UM, BUT I STILL WILL SAY IT WAS A REALLY GOOD GROUP THIS YEAR.

UH, IT WAS REALLY PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATION, UH, WHEN WE DID HAVE OUR FINAL DELIBERATION.

UH, BUT YEAH, THREE HAD A DROPOUT, AND SO WE HAD SIX REMAINING REVIEWERS.

AND OUT OF THOSE 25 APPLICATIONS, UH, THEY SELECTED 12 TO, UH, MOVE INTO THE AWARDING PROCESS.

UM, AND, AND THESE APPLICATIONS ARE SCORED BASED ON THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA, UM, ALIGNMENT WITH GT OS GOALS, UM, THEIR IMPACT TO THEIR COMMUNITY, UH, THEIR SUCCESS AND FEASIBILITY OF THE PROGRAM THAT THEY'RE, UH, SUGGESTING AND, UH, BUDGET AND FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY.

UM, SO THOSE ARE THE MAIN FOUR BUCKETS ON WHICH, UH, APPLICATIONS ARE SCORED.

UM, BUT YES, AND ONCE THE SCORES ARE RECEIVED, UH, JESSE AND I ENTER THOSE SCORES INTO A SCORING ALGORITHM, UH, THAT WE HAVE SET UP, AND THAT TURNS THE NUMERICAL SCORES INTO FINANCIAL ALLOCATIONS FOR EACH PROGRAM.

SO, UH, NOT EVERY REQUEST IS GOING TO BE, UH, FUNDED AT THE FULL AMOUNT.

UH, IT'S BASED ON WHAT THIS SCORING ALGORITHM DESIGNATES THEIR SCORE IS EQUAL TO IN TERMS OF, UH, FINANCES.

UM, AND SO THE ONLY, UH, HURDLE THAT WE HAD A, UH, KIND OF GET PASSED ON THAT WAS THAT THE, THE ALGORITHM ISN'T PERFECT, AND SOMETIMES IT CAN'T ACCOUNT FOR SMALLER REQUESTS.

UM, NORMALLY MOST GT OS APPLICANTS REQUEST THE FULL $35,000.

UH, BUT THIS YEAR WE HAD SOMEONE WHO JUST, UH, REQUESTED A SMALLER AMOUNT SOMEWHERE IN THE BALLPARK OF LIKE 25,000.

UM, SO WE HAD TO MAKE SURE THAT THE ALGORITHM ACCOUNTED FOR THAT, AND, UH, WE ADJUSTED IT MANUALLY TO MAKE SURE THAT THEIR SCORE WAS, UH, THEIR FUNDING PERCENTAGE WAS STILL IN LINE WITH THEIR SCORES.

UM, SO, UM, BELOW, UH, ON THE MEMO, YOU'LL SEE ALL THE PARAMETERS IN WHICH THAT THE ALGORITHM IS BASED AROUND, UM, THESE, UH, SIX, UH, RULES ARE WHAT WE TRY TO ADHERE TO WHENEVER WE ARE, UH, DOING THE FINANCIAL DISTRIBUTION.

UM, SO YES, WE, WE HAD 12 ORGANIZATIONS THIS YEAR.

UM, THE, UH, USUALLY WE FUND 10.

LAST YEAR THE COMMISSION CHOSE TO FUND 12, AND THIS YEAR WE'RE THINKING ABOUT PROPOSING FUNDING 11.

BUT BECAUSE THE TWO BOTTOM ORGANIZATIONS HAD THE, UH, THE EXACT SAME SCORE, UH, IT'S ONLY FAIR TO FUND THEM BOTH.

UM, SO YEAH, THOSE ARE ALL LIKE THE HURDLES WE HAD TO GO THROUGH.

UM, SO NOW TO THE FINAL LIST.

UM, HEY, DAN, REALLY QUICKLY, CAN WE HAVE, UM, THE MEMO, UH, SHARED ON SCREEN JUST SO THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS CAN FOLLOW ALONG? UH, YES, I BELIEVE I SHARED IT.

LET ME, LEMME DOUBLE CHECK.

YEAH, THANK YOU.

AND CAN YOU GO TO PAGE TWO? YES.

THE BLUE BOX.

ALL RIGHT.

IT SHOULD BE UP IN A SECOND.

SO THESE ARE THE SELECTED AWARDEES.

UM, AND THERE ARE AN ORDER OF, UH, SCORES.

UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, THE TOP TWO, UH, SCORED THE EXACT SAME SCORE AND THE BOTTOM TWO DID AS WELL.

UM, JUST A COINCIDENCE, THAT'S NOT, THAT DOESN'T NORMALLY HAPPEN.

UH, BUT, UH, AS YOU CAN SEE, UH, YOU KNOW, SINCE THEY HAD THE SAME REQUEST, USUALLY THE FUNDING COMES OUT TO THE SAME AMOUNT AS WELL AS THE PERCENT AWARDED.

[00:50:01]

UM, SO FOR THE PROGRAMS OR THE ORGANIZATIONS THIS YEAR, UH, WE HAVE ARTS PART TEXAS, WHO IS A PREVIOUS AWARDEE AND, UH, UH, PREVIOUS APPLICANT, UH, TEXAS FOLK LIFE RESOURCES, UH, ALSO A PREVIOUS AWARDEE, AUSTIN SPEECH LABS, UH, PREVIOUS AWARDEE VIETNAMESE AMERICAN COMMUNITY OF AUSTIN, TEXAS.

THIS WAS A FIRST TIME APPLICANT AND FIRST TIME AWARDEE, UH, FOUNDATION COMMUNITIES INC.

UM, ALSO AND S LAS AMERICA'S ARC OF THE CAPITAL AREA.

ALL WE'VE SPONSORED IN THE PAST, UM, AUSTIN CHILDREN'S MUSEUM, UH, THEY SPOKE ACTUALLY, UH, AT THE TWO MEETINGS AGO, I WANNA SAY MAYBE THE MARCH MEETING.

UH, BUT THEY WERE ALSO CHOSEN, UH, COMP DO, UH, THEY, I THINK COMP DOT AND BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY LENDERS OF TEXAS.

IT WAS BOTH OF THEIR FIRST TIMES APPLYING, AND THEY WERE BOTH, UH, RECEIVED THE AWARD.

UM, COMP UDOT WAS THE ORGANIZATION THAT I REFERRED TO EARLIER THAT HAD A SMALLER REQUEST.

AS YOU CAN SEE, THEY, UH, ONLY REQUESTED 24,000, UH, OUT OF THE, UH, FULL 35,000 THAT THEY COULD HAVE.

UM, SO IT CAUSED SOME ERRORS IN, IN THE SCORING ALGORITHM, BUT WE WERE ABLE TO ADJUST FOR IT, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT THEIR, UH, PERCENT AWARDED WAS IN LINE, UH, WITH THEIR SCORES.

AND THEN WE HAVE CHANGING EXPECTATIONS CORP AND NON PEREL INSTITUTE, UH, BOTH PREVIOUS AWARDEE.

UM, SO THESE ARE OUR 12 SELECTED AWARDEES, AND WE RECOMMEND TO THE COMMISSION, UM, THAT, UH, WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THESE 12 AT THE, UH, SUGGESTED AWARD AMOUNTS.

UM, AND YEAH, WE'RE OPEN TO DISCUSSION AT THE, DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMISSION MEMBERS? UH, YOU KNOW, DAN DID A REALLY GOOD JOB OF, UM, LAYING OUT SORT OF THE, THE PROCESS, UM, AND, UH, THE RECRUITMENT OF, OF REVIEWERS FROM THE COMMUNITY.

UM, AND, YOU KNOW, SPEAKING FOR MYSELF, OH, I, I PARTICIPATED AS EX OFFICIO CHAIR, SO A NON-VOTING MEMBER, UH, OF THAT BODY.

AND TO SEE THE, UH, THE DEPTH WITH WHICH PEOPLE REALLY DOVE IN INTO THESE APPLICATIONS WAS, WAS AMAZING.

SO, UM, REALLY APPRECIATE THE MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC THAT VOLUNTEERED THEIR TIME, AND ALSO TOOK OFF A FULL DAY ON THAT FRIDAY, UH, ALONG WITH MYSELF TO, TO HAVE THAT, UM, THAT REALLY IN-DEPTH DISCUSSION ABOUT ALL OF THE, UM, ALL OF THE APPLICATIONS WAS, UH, WAS REALLY INSPIRING.

UH, I WANT TO OPEN IT UP TO THE REST OF THE COMMISSION MEMBERS TO SEE IF THERE WERE ANY QUESTIONS ON THESE.

YEAH, I HAVE, UH, ONE QUESTION ABOUT THE FUNDING FOR THE, THE, UH, ORGANIZATION THAT REQUESTED THE LEASE.

YEAH, GO AHEAD.

UM, WHEN I LOOKED AT THE, THE NUMBERS THAT WERE RECEIVED BY EVERYONE, IT SEEMS LIKE THAT ORGANIZATION COULD HAVE BEEN COMPLETELY FUNDED BASED ON THE REQUEST.

'CAUSE EVERY OTHER ORGANIZATION GOT ABOUT THAT AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT THEY REQUESTED.

BUT IT SEEMS LIKE BECAUSE THEY ASKED FOR LESS, THEY MAY HAVE RECEIVED LESS, BUT HAD THEY BEEN, UH, HAD THE SCORE BEEN COMMENSURATE WITH THE FUNDING AMOUNT IN SOME WAY, I THINK THEY COULD HAVE BEEN FULLY FUNDED.

AND IT'S, UM, TO ALSO HAVE A TIE BREAKER WHERE THE TIE BREAKER IS, UH, FULLY FUNDED, BUT AT A LOWER SCORE.

IT SEEMS LIKE, UM, I DON'T KNOW, IT FEELS LIKE, UM, I'M JUST KIND OF CURIOUS 'CAUSE THAT STUCK OUT TO ME JUST A LITTLE BIT.

UM, HOW DID THAT, UH, TURN INTO THE OUTCOME? HOW DID THEY GET TO A PLACE WHERE THEY RECEIVED, YOU KNOW, WHERE THEY REQUESTED AN AMOUNT THAT WAS AWARDED PRETTY FREQUENTLY, BUT FOR SOME REASON OR ANOTHER, UH, THEY RECEIVED A BITLOCK? YEAH, EXCELLENT QUESTION.

THIS IS JESSE RODRIGUEZ, PROGRAM MANAGER FOR THE, UH, COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY DIVISION.

UM, THE WAY THAT OUR ALGORITHM WORKS IS THAT IT WILL PROPORTIONALLY AWARD THE FUNDING, UH, ACCORDING TO THE DIFFERENCES IN SCORES.

UM, AND SO, UH, WE THEORETICALLY, IF WE WEREN'T PUTTING THE NUMBERS THROUGH THE ALGORITHM, LIKE YOU SAY, WE COULD HAVE FUNDED THEM AT THE, UH, YOU KNOW, THEIR FULL REQUEST, BUT THEN IF THE, IT'S NOT SHOWING NOW, BUT THE COLUMN ON THE RIGHT, UH, THAT SHOWS THE, THE, UH, PERCENT OF THE REQUEST THAT WAS AWARDED, YOU'D HAVE AN ORGANIZATION CLOSER TO THE BOTTOM OF THE LIST THAT WAS AT CLOSE TO A HUNDRED PERCENT, WHEREAS ORGANIZATIONS AT THE TOP WOULD BE DOWN AT 85% OF THEIR REQUEST.

UH, AND SO, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT, THAT'S WHY WE PUT THE NUMBERS INTO THE ALGORITHM, UH, TO GIVE IT THAT PROPORTIONAL, DECLINING, UH, YOU KNOW, PERCENT OF THEIR REQUEST.

AND IF, IF I CAN ADD TO THAT, UM, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT ACTUALLY CAME UP WHEN WE WERE DOING THE, THE FINAL SCORING.

UM, WE WERE TRYING TO DECIDE WHAT WAS EQUITABLE, AND WE DECIDED THE MOST FAIR THING TO DO WAS JUST STICK WITH OUR STANDARD PROCEDURE.

UM, WE UNDERSTOOD THAT, THAT THIS WOULD WOULD'VE BEEN AN OUTLIER, AND THERE WERE SEVERAL OUTLIERS THAT WERE PLAYING AGAINST EACH OTHER, SUCH AS THE, THE TIE AT THE VERY BOTTOM ALSO FACTORED INTO THE, THE FINANCIAL ALLOCATION.

UM, SO

[00:55:01]

YEAH, WE WERE JUST TRYING TO REMAIN AS CONSISTENT AS POSSIBLE WITH OUR USUAL PRACTICES.

UM, SO THAT'S KIND OF HOW THAT BROKE OUT.

BUT, UH, THERE HAS BEEN SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, CHANGES TO THE FINANCIAL AWARDING OR THE ALGORITHM AND, AND ONE ADDITION.

UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE TRY AND DO WHEN SETTING THE, UM, THE REWARD AWARD RECOMMENDATIONS IS WE TRY AND INTERVENE AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE WITH THE, UH, THE SCORING, UH, THE, THE, THE, THE AWARD RECOMMENDATION THAT THE ALGORITHM WOULD SUGGEST.

SO AS LONG AS WE VET THE ALGORITHM, UH, APPROPRIATELY, WE DON'T WANT TO TAMPER WITH IT AS MUCH AS WE CAN.

UM, UH, DAN MENTIONED IT, BUT, UM, BECAUSE OF THE WAY THAT THE ALGORITHM WORKS, UH, ORGANIZATIONS THAT REQUEST LESS, UH, THEY'RE PERCENT AWARDED, UH, DOESN'T QUITE STAY IN LINE WITH THE REST OF, OF THE AWARD RECOMMENDED RECOMMENDATION LIST.

UM, UNADJUSTED, IT WOULD HAVE RESULTED IN, UH, OUR, OUR, OUR NORMAL PROCESS WOULD HAVE RESULTED IN, UM, AN AWARD REQUEST OR OUR AWARD RECOMMENDATION OF 11.

UH, AND I THINK WE WENT WITH 12, CORRECT.

UM, BUT THE CHALLENGE WITH THAT IS THAT THE 11TH AND 12TH ORGANIZATIONS HAD THE SAME SCORE.

AND SO WE, WE HAD TO, UH, FUND 12 RATHER THAN 11.

UM, AND WE MADE THAT MANUAL ADJUSTMENT TO, UH, MAKE SURE THAT THE, THE PROPORTION, THE, THE FUNDING RECOMMENDATION WAS PROPORTIONAL.

AND, AND ONE OTHER THOUGHT ON THE NUMBER OF ORGANIZATIONS, AND THIS IS, I KNOW, UH, DAN AND JESSE CONTINUALLY REVISIT THIS AND ASK THE, UH, COMMISSION FOR INPUT ON A YEARLY BASIS, BUT, UH, I KNOW LAST YEAR, AND IN PREVIOUS ITERATIONS OF THIS, THE, UH, DIRECTION FROM OUR COMMISSION WAS TO FUND THE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF ORGANIZATIONS POSSIBLE.

SO, UM, IN THIS CASE, YOU KNOW, KEEPING THE FLOOR AT 70%, UM, AND THEN, UH, MAXIMIZING THE, THE NUMBER OF FUNDS.

SO, UH, I KNOW THE, THE, I KNOW YOU HAD ALLUDED TO COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS, UH, WE COULD'VE POTENTIALLY FULLY FUNDED A, A SMALLER NUMBER OF, UM, OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS, UM, AND OPEN TO HAVING THAT CONVERSATION, THAT DIALOGUE IN THE FUTURE.

UM, BUT AT LEAST LIKE MY INITIAL GUT FEELING, UM, GOING INTO THIS YEAR AND THEN, YOU KNOW, IN SUBSEQUENT YEARS, IS THAT, UM, THE, THE DIRECTION TO SORT OF MAXIMIZE THE IMPACT WITH A NUMBER OF ORGANIZATIONS AND THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY, UM, TO, TO MAXIMIZE THAT PAYOFF.

ANY OTHER THOUGHTS OR QUESTIONS DOESN'T LOOK LIKE IT.

SO, UM, ONE, ONE QUESTION.

SORRY.

COMMISSIONER COMBY.

JUST UNDERSTANDING THE AWARD PROCESS, IF, YOU KNOW, YOU MAKE THIS RECOMMENDATION AND IT, IT GOES THROUGH, WHAT IS THE TIMING FOR GROUPS GETTING THE MONEY AND, YOU KNOW, IS IT A ONETIME SUM OR OVER THE COURSE OF THE YEAR, OR, YEAH, GREAT QUESTION.

THIS, THE, UH, THE PROCESS WOULD BE, UM, WE WOULD IMMEDIATELY START CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE RECOMMENDED 12, UH, AWARDEES OVER, UH, THE NEXT, UM, TWO MONTHS.

AND SO THE CONTRACT START DATE WOULD BE JULY 1ST.

UM, AND THAT WOULD ALSO BE WHEN THE ORGANIZATIONS WOULD HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SUBMIT THEIR FIRST, UH, PREPAYMENT INVOICE, UM, TO RECEIVE THE FIRST HALF OF THE AWARD.

USUALLY THOSE COME IN BY JULY 15TH, AND THE AWARDS WILL, WOULD REACH THEIR BANK ACCOUNTS BY THE END OF JULY.

UM, AND THAT WOULD BE FOR THE FIRST HALF OF THEIR AWARDS.

UM, THEY DO HAVE A MID, UH, MIDTERM, UH, STATUS REPORT IN WHICH THEY REPORT ON HOW THEIR PROGRAM IS GOING.

UM, AND THAT'S PAIRED WITH THE SECOND CLAIM, UH, THAT THEY CAN MAKE, UH, THAT WOULD COME AROUND TO JA, UH, THE MONTH OF JANUARY.

AND SO JANUARY 15TH IS WHEN THAT SECOND HALF OF FUNDING WOULD BE RELEASED, UH, ASSUMING THAT THE, UH, YOU KNOW, THE ORGANIZATION HAD BEEN SUCCESSFUL SO FAR, UM, ON THEIR STATUS REPORTING.

HAVE A PLAN, UH, A BACKUP PLAN, UH, FOR, UH, HOW WE, HOW A SUB QUORUM OF THE COMMISSION CAN STILL PROVIDE INPUT AND REFLECT THAT COMMUNITY, UM, INVOLVEMENT IN THESE, IN THE AWARDS.

SO, AND, AND IN REFERENCE TO THAT, COMMISSIONER COMBY, SO I HAD HOPED TO HAVE, UH, SEVEN COMMISSIONERS, UH, ON TODAY.

UH, SO THERE IS ONE COMMISSIONER THAT, UM, IS RECUSING THEMSELVES BECAUSE, UH, OF THEIR STATUS ON ONE OF THE APPLYING ORGANIZATIONS FOR GTOP S SO UNFORTUNATELY, EVEN IF HYPOTHETICALLY ALL OF, UH, ALL OF THE REMAINING COMMISSIONERS WERE TO VOTE IN FAVOR OF, UH, AWARDING THESE ORGANIZATIONS, THE, THE REQUEST, IT STILL WOULDN'T PASS BECAUSE, UH, IT WOULD ONLY RESULT IN FIVE.

SO, UH, DAN, JESSE, I KNOW THEY

[01:00:01]

SO I'LL TURN IT OVER TO JESSE.

ABSOLUTELY.

AND SO WE, WE DEFINITELY WANNA KEEP THE COMMISSION AS ENGAGED AS WE CAN.

UH, WE DO FACE SOME PROGRAMMATIC, YOU KNOW, DEADLINES.

THE CONTRACT START DATE HAS TO BE JULY 1ST.

UM, AND, UH, SO WE'RE, WE'RE ON A SHORT TIMELINE TO BE ABLE TO, UM, MANAGE THE CONTRACT NEGOTIATION PROCESS, WHICH DOES USUALLY TAKE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE FULL TWO MONTHS OR SO.

UM, BECAUSE WE HAVE TO SECURE INSURANCE COVERAGES, WE HAVE TO NEGOTIATE BUDGETS AND NEGOTIATE PERFORMANCE MEASURES, UM, WITH EACH CONTRACTOR.

UM, SO WHAT THE PROCESS WOULD LOOK LIKE IS WE CAN HAVE ANY TYPE OF DISCUSSION HERE AT THIS MEETING.

UH, YOU KNOW, WITH ALL OF THE COMMISSIONERS THAT ARE, UH, PRESENT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE CAN DISCUSS THINGS EVEN IF WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH, UH, UH, MEMBERS PRESENT TO VOTE, UH, BY QUORUM.

IF THERE ARE FOLLOW UPS THAT ARE REQUIRED, WE'RE HAPPY TO SCHEDULE A MEETING WITH ANYBODY WHO'S INTERESTED FOR EARLY NEXT WEEK, UM, WITH THE COMMISSION, WE WOULD JUST HAVE TO KEEP THAT CONVERSATION AT A SUB QUORUM LEVEL, UM, FOR, UM, WALKING QUORUM REASONS.

UM, BUT WE'RE HAPPY TO ENGAGE IN, UH, IN A SECOND CONVERSATION OFFLINE IF THERE'S A NEED FOR ONE, OR IF THE COMMISSION FEELS LIKE THE CONVERSATION IS SUFFICIENT, UH, HERE WE CAN ALSO PROCEED.

BUT EITHER WAY, UH, JUST PROGRAMMATICALLY, UH, WE, WE DO NEED TO START WITH THE CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS, UM, BY MID NEXT WEEK.

UNDERSTOOD.

UM, JUST IN THE SPIRIT OF, UH, MAINTAINING CONSISTENCY, I KNOW WE'VE DONE THIS IN PREVIOUS YEARS, SO WE'VE HAD A SUB QUORUM OF COMMISSIONERS ENGAGE WITH YOU ALL AND GO THROUGH IN JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL AND HAVE THOSE, UH, HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE VETTING OF CONVERSATION.

SO I DEFINITELY WANNA BE INVOLVED IN THAT.

UM, HAPPY TO HAVE OTHER COMMISSIONERS INVOLVED AS WELL.

UM, SO IF WE CAN PLAN ON, UH, MYSELF, UH, VICE CHAIR, ARE YOU INTERESTED IN BEING YES.

PART OF THAT? I'LL, OKAY.

UH, ANYONE ELSE ONLINE INTERESTED IN MEETING, UH, EARLY NEXT WEEK? UH, WE'LL FIND, WE'LL FIND A TIME OFFLINE AND PARTICIPATING IN THAT CONVERSATION.

I CAN DO THAT IF YOU WANNA ADD ME TO THE GROUP.

COMMISSIONER COMBI, ARE YOU INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING IN THAT? I AM, BUT NEXT WEEK IS VERY BUSY, SO NO WORRIES.

WE'LL TAKE IT.

UM, LAST OPPORTUNITY, UH, COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS, WOULD YOU LIKE TO, SAME CIRCUMSTANCE.

SO TWO MONTH TURNAROUND BETWEEN, UH, SUBMISSION AND, UH, AWARD, UH, AS OPPOSED TO CORE, WHICH IS LIKE FOUR COMPLETE MONTHS.

IT'S THE TIMING.

NO WORRIES.

WELL, THE THREE OF US WILL PLAN ON, ON TAKING IT AND, UM, YEAH, WE'LL REPORT BACK IF THERE IS ANYTHING ELSE TO REPORT.

UM, BUT ALONG WITH THAT, UM, ANY OTHER, ANY UPDATES ON FUTURE ITERATIONS OF GT OS THAT EITHER OF YOU WANNA PREVIEW FOR US NOW? UM, SO ACTUALLY WE HAVE A COUPLE OF OTHER MICRO GRANTS THAT HAVE OPENED UP AS OF, UM, THEY'RE, THEY'RE OPEN YEAR ROUND, BUT THE FORMAL SUBMISSION WINDOW STARTS TOMORROW.

UM, SO IF ANYBODY WANTED TO GET A JUMPSTART THAT'S WATCHING THIS, YOU CAN FEEL FREE TO APPLY.

BUT, UM, THEY'RE GTOP S MINI AND GTOP S CAPACITY.

UM, THESE ARE, UH, CONSIDERABLY SMALLER THAN GTOP S CORE, UM, BUT NOT TOO MUCH SMALLER.

I'D SAY G TOPS MINI IS STILL, UH, VERY MUCH WORTH THE EFFORT, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THE LOWER BARRIER OF ENTRY, UM, FOR BOTH OF THESE GRANTS.

UM, GT OS MINI AWARDS, $10,000, AND THE APPLICATION TAKES ANYWHERE BETWEEN TWO TO THREE HOURS TO COMPLETE.

UM, AND FOR GT OS CAPACITY, UM, THIS ISN'T A CLIENT SERVING GRANT, IT'S, UH, SPECIFICALLY BILLED TO BUILD OUT THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE ORGANIZATION OR OTHER, UH, EMPLOYEE BANDWIDTH.

UM, SO THE FUNDS CAN GO TO ANYTHING LIKE, UH, STAFF COMPUTERS, UM, ATTENDING WORKSHOPS FOR STAFF, UM, THINGS OF THAT NATURE, BUT NOT DIRECTLY CLIENT SERVING.

UH, BUT THOSE AWARDS ARE, UH, ANYWHERE BETWEEN $150 TO 2,500.

UM, AND THE, THE SAME DOESN'T APPLY FOR THOSE AWARDS.

UM, THERE ISN'T A, A SCORE ALLOCATION BASED OFF, OR A, A FINANCIAL ALLOCATION BASED ON THE SCORE.

UM, USUALLY WE TEND TO JUST GIVE THE FULL AMOUNT, UH, IF THEY ARE IN THE TOP, UH, SIX OF THE AWARDEES FOR MANY AND TOP 10 FOR CAPACITY.

UM, AND LIKE I SAID, BOTH OF THEM RELATIVELY EASY TO COMPLETE.

G OS CAPACITY IS MUCH EASIER THAN EVEN MANY, AND THEY'RE BOTH, UH, REMARKABLY, UH, EASIER TO, UH, SUBMIT THAN, UH, GTOP S CORE.

UM, THE TURNAROUND ON THOSE IS A LOT SHORTER TOO.

UH, WE ANTICIPATE HAVING THE AWARD ANNOUNCEMENT AT, ON JUNE 30TH FOR AN AWARD DISTRIBUTION ON JULY 31ST.

[01:05:02]

AND HAS THERE BEEN A COMMUNICATIONS, UH, PLANNING AND EXECUTION, UH, TO THE PUBLIC AND YEAH.

FOR THOSE OPPORTUNITIES? YEAH, SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE COORDINATING WITH OUR MARKETING TEAM, THE, THE PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE.

UM, WELL THE SAME, WE'RE PROBABLY PLANNING ON DOING THE SAME THING WE DID FOR CORE, UM, JUST, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, BLASTING THAT OUT TO, UH, THE PUBLIC, UM, VIA THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS, THEIR, UH, NEWSLETTER, AS WELL AS AN EMAIL BLAST.

UM, WITH INTERNALLY THOUGH WE'VE SHARED IT WITH ALL OF OUR CONTACTS.

UM, I HAVE A, A LARGE CONTACT LIST OF PEOPLE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN GTOP S HAVE APPLIED FOR G TOPS IN THE PAST, UM, AS WELL AS OUR, OUR, OUR DIGITAL EQUITY COMMUNITY OF AUSTIN, RIGHT.

EMPOWERMENT, UH, DIGITAL EMPOWERMENT COMMUNITY OF AUSTIN.

UM, WE PLAN ON SHARING IT WITH THAT GROUP AS WELL, WHICH ARE ALL STAKEHOLDERS IN THE DIGITAL EQUITY SPACE, UH, WITHIN THE TRAVIS COUNTY AREA.

UM, BUT YEAH, UM, WE SAW SOME REALLY GOOD ENGAGEMENT FOR GTOP S CORE, UH, BASED OFF THIS YEAR'S, UH, MARKETING PUSH.

SO WE HOPE TO DO THE SAME THING AND ACCOMPLISH THE SAME FOR GTOP S MANY INCAPACITY FOR THIS CYCLE.

AND IF YOU COULD MAKE SURE TO SEND ALL THE COMMISSIONERS THAT INFORMATION AS WELL TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, WE ARE ENGAGING OUR NETWORKS AND OUR RESPECTIVE COUNCIL OFFICES.

AND ONE ADDITIONAL ITEM, UH, AS ALWAYS, UH, WE INVITE, UH, A MEMBER OF THE COMMISSION TO SIT ON THE VOTING PANELS, UM, FOR BOTH OF THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.

UM, WE, YOU KNOW, WOULD EXPECT OR WE WOULD INVITE ONE MEMBER OF THE COMMISSION TO SERVE ON THE PANEL AS A VOTING MEMBER ON THE PANEL.

YEAH, THAT'S A GREAT POINT.

UM, I KNOW LAST TIME, UM, I DID IT, BUT I'M OPEN TO, UH, HAVING OTHER COMMISSIONERS PARTICIPATE AND ENGAGE.

SO IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT ANY OF THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS ARE INTERESTED IN DOING, UM, DEFINITELY KEEP THAT IN MIND.

WELL, I THINK WE HAVE NEXT STEPS.

UH, WE HAVE A SUB, UH, GROUP OR SUB QUORUM OF THE COMMISSION.

UM, SO WE'LL, WE'LL IRON OUT A DATE NEXT WEEK TO, UH, ENGAGE.

BUT, UH, THANK YOU DAN AND JESSE AND, UH, THE EDD OFFICE ON ALL OF YOUR WORK WITH MANAGING THIS GRANT.

THAT, UH, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND MOVE TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER SEVEN, UH, OFFICER ELECTIONS, UH, DISCUSSION AND APPROVAL OF THE CHAIR POSITION.

SO WITH

[7. Officer elections, discussion and approval of chair position ]

UM, SO I HAD ASKED, UH, VICE CHAIR, UH, TO PLEASE, UH, COME ON SITE TODAY BECAUSE I WAS INTERESTED IN, UH, RAISING MY HAND ONCE AGAIN FOR THE CHAIRMANSHIP.

THE CHAIRMANSHIP, AND I DIDN'T THINK IT WAS APPROPRIATE, UH, FOR ME TO RUN THE ELECTION.

SO, WITH THAT, I'M GONNA PASS THE BATON OVER TO, UH, VICE CHAIR, UH, ALTA TO, UH, RUN THIS AGENDA ITEM.

SURE.

NOT A PROBLEM.

HI, ALL.

UM, SO WE'LL NOW PROCEED WITH OFFICER ELECTIONS.

WE'RE GONNA BE FOLLOWING ROBERT'S RULES OF ORDERS JUST TO ENSURE A FAIR AND ORDERLY PROCESS.

UM, RIGHT NOW WE'RE GONNA MOVE FORWARD WITH THE POSITION UP FOR ELECTION FOR CHAIR.

UM, NOMINATIONS ARE NOW OPEN FOR, FOR THIS POSITION.

UH, THIS IS, UH, BRIAN WILLIAMS, DISTRICT ONE, I NOMINATE, UH, CURRENT CHAIRMAN APODACA.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS. AND THIS IS COMMISSIONER HERITAGE.

I SECOND THAT NOMINATION.

COMMISSIONER HERITAGE.

THE CITY MANAGER AND OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS AROUND ACTIONS RELATED TO AI AND OTHER EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES.

CHAIR APODACA, DO YOU ACCEPT THE NOMINATION? I ACCEPT THE NOMINATIONS.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

UH, COMMISSIONER'S HERITAGE IN WILLIAMS. PERFECT.

ARE THERE ANY FURTHER NOMINATIONS FOR THIS POSITION? PERFECT.

WE'LL PROCEED WITH THE DISCUSSION.

WE'LL, UH, ALLOW CHAIR ABCA ONE MINUTE TO ADDRESS THE COMMISSION.

WELL, THANK YOU BOTH FOR, UH, FOR NOMINATING ME.

UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN I CAME ON, UH, A LITTLE UNDER A YEAR AGO, UH, IT WAS BECAUSE OUR FORMER CHAIR, UH, TERMED OUT.

SO THIS HAS CERTAINLY BEEN A LEARNING EXPERIENCE FOR ME.

UM, BUT THE PAST YEAR, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST REFLECTING, UH, I'VE, UH, SORT OF LED THE WAY ON SIGNIFICANT REVISIONS TO OUR BYLAWS, BRINGING THOSE INTO ALIGNMENT WITH THE WORK THAT WE, UH, ARE ACTUALLY DOING ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS.

AUTHORED A NUMBER OF RECOMMENDATIONS TO, FOR COUNCIL TO CONSIDER, UH, ATTENDED IN-PERSON CITY OF AUSTIN CONFERENCES AND EVENTS TO EFFECTIVELY REPRESENT THE COMMISSION.

UM, I'VE WORKED DIRECTLY WITH, UH, MY CITY COUNCIL MEMBER TO AUTHOR TWO RESOLUTIONS DIRECTING

[01:10:01]

AND JUST LOOKING FORWARD TO, UH, CONTINUING TO, TO MAKE AN IMPACT IN, UH, MY ROLE AT THE COMMISSION.

SO THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR TRUST IN ME.

AWESOME.

I NOW DECLARE THE NOMINATIONS CLOSED.

UM, WE, WE WILL NOW PROCEED WITH THE MOTION TO, TO ELECT CHAIR APODACA AS THE NEW CHAIR.

IS THERE A SECOND? I SECOND.

ALL, UM, ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE.

ALL IN FAVOR OF CHAIR ABCA BECOMING OUR NEW CHAIR .

UM, PLEASE SAY AYE.

ANY NAYS? WE HAVE TO HAVE COMMISSIONER ANGA, COME ON.

OH, UH, COMMISSIONER ANGA, PLEASE COME ON CAMERA FOR THE, THE VOTING PROCESS.

COMMISSIONER ANGA, ARE YOU, UH, WITH US? COMMISSIONER ONGA, CAN YOU PLEASE TURN ON YOUR CAMERA? UNFORTUNATELY, IF WE DON'T GET HER BACK IN A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME, WE'LL HAVE TO MM-HMM .

POSTPONE.

WE'LL HAVE TO END THE MEETING.

WE'RE JUST GONNA GIVE IT A MOMENT.

WE'RE REACHING OUT TO COMMISSIONER ONGA.

COMMISSIONER ONGA, IF YOU'RE THERE, CAN YOU PLEASE TURN ON YOUR CAMERA? HI THERE.

RIGHT IN THE NICK OF TIME.

HI, COMMISSIONER ONGA? YES.

UH, COMMISSIONER ANGA, WE WERE IN THE PROCESS OF ELECTING CHAIR APODACA TO, UM, UH, THE, THE NEW CHAIR POSITION AS WELL.

UH, WE ARE JUST IN THE VOTING PROCESS.

SO ALL IN FAVOR OF, UM, CHAIR APODACA REMAINING THE POSITION.

PLEASE SAY AYE.

I WILL, UH, I'LL TAKE BACK

NO NAYS OR ABSTENTIONS? PERFECT.

SO I DECLARE CHAIR ACA, OUR, OUR NEW, UH, CHAIR FOR THIS POSITION.

[8. Officer elections, discussion and approval of vice chair position]

[01:15:01]

THE CHAIR BATON.

UM, SO, UM, MOVE US ON TO AGENDA ITEM EIGHT.

AND THAT IS, UH, CONTINUING OUR OFFICER ELECTIONS FOR THE VICE CHAIR POSITION.

SO, UH, I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND, AND CONTINUE TO READ THE, THE SCRIPT THAT WE HAD, UM, ALIGNED ON.

SO WE'LL BEGIN, UM, WITH POSITION OF, UH, VICE CHAIR AND, UH, NOMINATIONS ARE NOW OPEN FOR, UM, FOR THAT ROLE.

I'LL GO AHEAD AND, UH, NOMINATE RENOMINATE, VICE CHAIR, ATA, WHO'S DONE AN AMAZING JOB AS, UH, VICE CHAIR FOR THE PAST YEAR.

I, I THINK YOU'VE BEEN VICE CHAIR OVER A YEAR.

ANY OTHER NOMINATIONS? THE NOMINATION, COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS SECONDED THE NOMINATION.

ANY OTHER NOMINATIONS, VICE CHAIR DO THAT? DO YOU ACCEPT THE NOMINATION? I DO.

FINAL CALL.

ARE THERE ANY, ANY OTHER NOMINATIONS FOR VICE CHAIR? OKAY.

WE'LL, UH, GO AHEAD AND PROCEED TO DISCUSSION THEN.

UH, VICE CHAIR, WE'D LOVE FOR YOU TO, YEAH, PERFECT.

TALK TO US.

SOUNDS GOOD.

WELL, THANK YOU ALL, UH, FOR THE NOMINATION.

I LOOK FORWARD TO, TO SERVING IN THIS CAPACITY.

AGAIN, I TOO HAVE LEARNED A LOT, UH, FOLLOWING, UH, CHAIR A'S LEAD.

UH, I BELIEVE IN THE POTENTIAL THAT THIS COMMISSION HAS IMPACTING OUR COMMUNITY AND, AND LOVE TO HEAR ALL OF THE PRESENTATIONS AND ALL OF THE ACCESS THAT, THAT WE HAVE TO, UM, A LOT OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS DOING THE GOOD WORK THAT OUR COMMUNITY NEEDS.

SO I LOOK FORWARD TO, UM, CONTINUING TO SERVE IN THIS CAPACITY.

SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER COMBI.

WITH THAT, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND PROCEED TO THE ELECTION.

UM, THERE IS A MOTION ON THE TABLE TO ELECT, UH, VICE CHAIR ATA AS VICE CHAIR.

IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND.

WE'LL NOW PROCEED TO THE ELECTION.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE STATE AYE.

A ANY ABSTENTIONS? ANY NAYS? OKAY.

WELL, WITH, UM, SIX, UH, UH, YOU ARE NOW, UH, YOU ARE NOW THE VICE CHAIR ONCE AGAIN.

SO THANK YOU, VICE CHAIR FOR YOUR SERVICE.

THANK YOU, .

TO, UM, AGENDA ITEM NUMBER NINE.

WELL, WITH THAT, UH, WE WILL MOVE

[9. Public Surveillance working group updates regarding further interviews with stakeholders and subsequent action items ]

THAT'S THE PUBLIC SURVEILLANCE WORKING GROUP.

UH, CHAIRED BY, UH, COMMISSIONER PENA VIA COMMISSIONER PENA.

VIA IS NOT, UH, AN ATTENDANCE, UM, HIGH LEVEL UPDATE, UM, FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, WE'RE CONTINUING TO MEET WITH, UH, WITH STAKEHOLDERS.

UH, I KNOW THAT, UH, KEITH HAS, UH, SEVERAL OTHER, UM, MEETINGS LINED UP OVER THE COMING, UH, MONTH OR SO.

UM, SO WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO, UH, MAKING, UH, SOME SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS TO, UM, TO THE FULL COMMISSION, UH, HERE WITHIN THE NEXT QUARTER.

MOVING TO

[10. Artificial Intelligence Working Group updates on next steps on strategic direction and timing of next meeting ]

AGENDA ITEM 10, I'LL GO AHEAD AND, UM, HAND THAT OFF TO, UH, THE WORKING GROUPS CHAIR.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS, WOULD YOU LIKE TO UPDATE US? YES.

SO, FOR THE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE RELATED, UH, EFFORT WITH THE WORKER WORKING GROUP, UM, THERE ARE SEVERAL THINGS THAT CAME UP DURING OUR MEETING A COUPLE MONTHS BACK, UH, THAT ARE NOW RELEVANT TO THE WORKING GROUPS NEXT STEPS.

ONE IS HOUSE BILL 1709, UH, THE BILL THAT HAS BEEN INTRODUCED IN OUR CURRENT LEGISLATIVE SESSION, SINCE THIS IS A LEGISLATIVE SESSION YEAR, UM, IT HAS NOT MOVED FAR WITHIN LEGISLATIVE SESSION, WHICH, UM, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO INTERPRET QUITE YET.

BUT THAT BILL PASSING, IF IT DOES PASS, WOULD BE A FRAMEWORK AND A SERIES OF GUARDRAILS THAT WOULD, UH, DEMONSTRATE HOW WE WOULD BE ABLE TO ENGAGE WITH, UH, WHAT IS CALLED HIGH RISK AI, RIGHT? AI THAT MAKES DECISIONS THAT IMPACTS PEOPLE'S LIVES IN SOME WAY.

UM, THAT GUIDANCE IN TANDEM WITH THE EFFORT THAT HAS OCCURRED LAST OCTOBER OF LAST YEAR IN THE CITY, UH, BOTH SEEM TO PROVIDE A SERIES OF GUARDRAILS THAT CAN GUIDE ON HOW OUR WORKING GROUP WOULD, UH, RECOMMEND, RIGHT? 'CAUSE WE'LL HAVE A SENSE OF WHAT IS.

UM, WE WON'T BE WORKING IN A VACUUM, RIGHT? WE'LL HAVE SOME GUARDRAILS AND BORDERS AND THINGS THAT THE

[01:20:01]

STATE AND THE CITY HAVE ALREADY KIND OF AGREED THAT THIS IS WHAT AI NEEDS TO LOOK LIKE.

SO WE DON'T WANNA DO TWO THINGS.

WE DON'T WANNA REINVENT THE WHEEL AND TRY TO MAKE, UH, GUARDRAILS THAT THE STATE OR THE CITY ARE ALREADY WORKING ON.

AND TWO, WE DON'T WANT TO COLOR OUTSIDE OF THE LINES AND CREATE SOME FORM OF RECOMMENDATION THAT IS OUTSIDE OF THE PARADIGMS THAT HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED BY THE STATE OF THE CITY.

SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR THE WORKING GROUP? THAT MEANS THAT, UH, OUR NEXT CONVERSATION, WHICH SHOULD HAPPEN SOMETIME BETWEEN NOW AND THE MEETING NEXT MONTH, UM, WILL INCLUDE, UH, HB 1709, UH, REGARDLESS OF ITS STATUS WITHIN THE CURRENT, UH, AI POLICY THAT EXISTS IN THE CITY.

UH, SO THAT'S WHERE THE, THE, UH, WORKING GROUP IS NOW.

MY GOAL IS TO MEET AGAIN SOMETIME IN THE NEXT MONTH, UH, WITH THESE POTENTIAL GUARDRAILS IN PLACE TO GUIDE US ON WHAT OUR RECOMMENDATIONS NEED TO BE, IF ANY.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT UPDATE, UH, COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS. AND, UH, YEAH, I, I CONCUR.

UM, LOOKING FORWARD TO, UH, HAVING SOME STATE LEVEL GUIDANCE.

UM, AND THEN THAT'LL HELP US SORT OF REDIRECT OUR EFFORTS, UM, TANGENTIALLY RELATED, UM, TO THIS WORKING GROUP AS WELL.

UH, WANTED TO, UH, CALL, I WANT TO, TO MAKE THE COMMISSION AWARE THAT, UM, CITY COUNCIL DID PASS AN ADDITIONAL RESOLUTION RELATED TO ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR THE CITY AT THE LAST CITY COUNCIL MEETING.

UM, WE CAN SEND OUT A FORMAL EMAIL ON THAT, BUT I DID PROVIDE SOME INPUT TO, UH, MAYOR PRO TIM FUENTES ORIGINAL, UH, DRAFTING OF THAT AS WELL.

AND THEN, UM, AS I'M SURE ALL OF YOU SAW, UH, HAD DAN SEND OUT AN EMAIL WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE, UH, PUBLIC INPUT, UM, WHICH I, UH, I WAS ABLE TO CALL IN AND SPEAK IN SUPPORT OF.

SO, UH, WANTED TO, TO REEMPHASIZE AT THAT PAST, AT THE LOCAL LEVEL AS WELL.

UM, SO THAT'LL CERTAINLY BE, UM, ONE INPUT INTO, UH, THE DIRECTION OUR WORKING GROUP TAKES.

THERE'S NO OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS.

I'LL GO AHEAD AND MOVE US FORWARD TO, UH, FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. UM, AH, THANKS FOR THE REMINDER.

ACTUALLY GOING TO MOVE US BACKWARDS IN OUR AGENDA.

UH,

[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]

SKIPPING ALL THE WAY BACK TO, UH, AGENDA ITEM ONE.

AND THAT'S, UH, APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION FROM FEBRUARY 12TH.

I KNOW IT WAS SOME TIME AGO.

UM, HOPEFULLY FOLKS, UM, REVIEWED THE MINUTES FOR ACCURACY.

UM, 'CAUSE I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND MOVE US ALONG AND, UH, MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS PRESENTED.

HOPING THERE'S A SECOND.

I SECOND.

THANK YOU, VICE CHAIR, ATA.

UM, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND CALL IT TO A VOTE IF COMMISSIONER ANGA CAN COME ON CAMERA.

THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER ANGA.

UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE MINUTES FROM THE FEBRUARY 12TH MEETING AS PRESENTED.

PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND, SAY AYE.

ANY NAYS? ANY ABSTENTIONS? OKAY.

WE HAVE THAT ONE APPROVED.

UM, AND THEN MOVING ALONG TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER TWO, AND THAT'S APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM, UM, THE MEETING ON MARCH 5TH, 2025.

UH, KEEP US MOVING.

I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND MAKE THAT MOTION MYSELF, HOPING THERE'S A SECOND.

COMMISSIONER, HERITAGE, I SECOND SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER HERITAGE.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE MINUTES FROM MARCH 5TH AS PRESENTED.

PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND, SAY AYE.

UH, MOVE FORWARD TO FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. UM, SO THERE WAS THE ONE ITEM THAT I CALLED OUT DURING ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE PRESENTATIONS, UH, RELATED TO, UM, THE, UM, HOMELESS, UH, TECHNOLOGY SOLUTION TO, TO BUCKET OR CONSOLIDATE ALL OF THE, UM, UH, SERVICES TOGETHER.

A ANY ABSTENTIONS? ANY NAYS? OKAY.

WE ARE APPROVED NOW.

WE'LL,

[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ]

SO, UH, DAN, IF YOU COULD HELP WITH, UH, REACHING OUT TO ROCIO AND MAKING SURE THAT WE FOLLOW UP ON THAT AND GET A BRIEFING AT A FUTURE COMMISSION MEETING, UM, AT LEAST IN THE NEXT, UH, FEW MONTHS.

I THINK THAT'LL BE REALLY HELPFUL.

BUT ALSO WANTED TO OPEN IT UP TO THE REST OF, UH, COMMISSION MEMBERS TO SEE IF ANYONE HAD ANY, ANY ITEMS THEY WOULD LIKE TO PLACE ON A FUTURE AGENDA.

[01:25:13]

DAN HAS AN ITEM HE'D LIKE TO PLACE ON THE FUTURE AGENDA.

UH, JUST, UH, UPDATING Y'ALL ON WHAT'S ON THE SCHEDULE FOR THE UPCOMING MONTH.

UH, ACCORDING TO THE SCHEDULE WE APPROVED BACK IN, UH, NOVEMBER, UH, BUT, UH, MAY IS HISTORICALLY THE WORK RETREAT MONTH, UH, MEETING, UM, I DON'T BELIEVE WE MADE THAT MEETING LAST YEAR DUE TO, UH, QUORUM CHALLENGES.

I, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY.

UM, BUT, UH, HISTORICALLY THE, THIS MEETING IS MEANT TO, UH, UH, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, JESSE, IT'S MEANT TO LIKE FOCUS WHAT THE, THE COMMISSION IS GOING TO BE WORKING ON OVER THE NEXT YEAR.

UM, SO THAT, THAT'S A POTENTIAL ITEM AS WELL AS THE, UH, PANO AI WILDFIRE TRACKING SYSTEM IS SCHEDULED.

OKAY, THAT'S GREAT.

ONE YEAR WE HAD INDIVIDUALS FROM THE CITY COME AND HELP US AND HELP AND, AND FACILITATED A CONVERSATION FOR OUR GOALS MM-HMM .

FOR THE YEAR.

IS THERE ANY WAY THAT WE CAN GET THAT, THOSE INDIVIDUALS BACK? YEAH, OF COURSE.

I, I'LL HAVE TO DOUBLE CHECK.

UM, I, I KNOW THEY'RE IN THEIR OWN GROUP NOW, RIGHT? THEY HAVE LIKE A SPECIFIC PLANNING GROUP.

SO THE COMMISSION HAS REACHED OUT TO VARIOUS PARTS OF THE CITY IN THE PAST.

UM, MANY YEARS AGO WE HAD THE INNOVATION OFFICE, UH, FACILITATE A WORK PLAN, AN ANNUAL WORK PLAN.

UM, MORE RECENTLY WE'VE HAD THE, UH, FINANCIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT, UM, PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT TEAM, UH, THAT, UH, AND STRATEGIC PLANNING TEAM HELP, UH, FACILITATE THAT DISCUSSION.

NOW, AT THE TIME, DAN AND I WERE BOTH PART OF FINANCIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT MM-HMM .

AND HAD EASIER ACCESS TO THAT GROUP.

UM, BUT WE'RE MORE THAN HAPPY TO MAKE A REQUEST IF THE COMMISSION WOULD LIKE US TO DO THAT.

IF, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE, UM, KNOWING THAT SINCE WE HAD THIS SPECIAL CALLED SESSION, AND THAT WOULD BE IN LIKE OUR NEXT MEETING WOULD BE MID-MAY, DOES IT HAVE TO FALL WITHIN THAT MAY SCHEDULE, DAN? OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE COULD, I WANNA BE MINDFUL OF SUMMER, BUT I ALSO WANNA BE MINDFUL OF HAVING THE TIME FOR ALL OF US TO DO OUR HOMEWORK COMING TO THAT MEETING TOO IN ADVANCE.

SO DOES IT HAVE TO HAPPEN IN MAY OR CAN IT HAPPEN LATER, I GUESS IS MY QUESTION.

THAT'S A VERY GOOD POINT, AND I HEAR YOU ON THAT.

UM, SINCE WE ONLY HAVE TWO WEEKS AHEAD OF THIS UPCOMING MEETING, UM, IT, IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY HAVE TO HAPPEN IN MAY.

AND IT ALSO MIGHT HELP WITH THE COORDINATION OF, OF BRINGING IN THAT PLANNING TEAM, UH, TO ASSIST IN THE, THE, THE PLANNING FOR THE YEAR.

UM, SO, UH, I, I'D SAY IT'S UP TO THE COMMISSION.

UM, BUT IT, IT ABSOLUTELY DOESN'T HAVE TO HAPPEN IN MAY.

THERE, THERE'S NO STRICT REQUIREMENT FROM, UH, THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE OR THIS, THE CITY AS A WHOLE THAT REQUIRES THERE TO BE A WORK RETREAT, UH, IN MAY.

I, I THINK IT'S JUST THE PRECEDENT AND THAT WE STUCK WITH IT.

BUT FROM A TIMING PERSPECTIVE, WE DO WANNA HAVE HAD THAT MEETING BECAUSE THAT'S INPUT TO OUR, UM, THE DOCUMENT THAT WE OWE THE CLERK'S OFFICE.

I'M BLANKING ON THE NAME OF THAT TIME.

THE ANNUAL REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION THAT IS DUE AT THE END OF JULY.

SO IF WE WANTED TO PUSH THIS WORK RETREAT TO UH, JUNE, I THINK IT STILL LINES UP AND WORKS.

SO LET'S PROPOSE, LET ME PROPOSE THIS.

IF YOU COULD REACH OUT TO, UH, THOSE INDIVIDUALS AND PROVIDE THEM WITH THE DATES FOR MAY AND JUNE AND SEE WHAT WORKS BETTER FOR THEM, UM, THEN WE CAN PLAN ACCORDINGLY.

UM, HOW DOES THAT SOUND COMMISSIONER HERITAGE? I THINK THAT SOUNDS FINE.

AND I GUESS LIKE INTERIM WISE, Y'ALL REMIND ME AS FAR AS OFFICIAL PROCESS, IF, IF NEITHER OF THOSE TIMES WORKED BUT LATER IN MAY WORKED, WE CAN ALSO JUST PUSH IT OUT A FEW WEEKS TOO.

UM, NO, UH, THE SPECIAL CALLED MEETINGS JUST, UH, THEY ARE, YOU GET ONE FOR EVERY THREE MONTH QUARTER AND THE QUARTERS ARE KIND OF OFFSET IN A WAY YOU WOULDN'T EXPECT.

SO RIGHT NOW WE ARE IN THE FORMAL SECOND QUARTER OF THE YEAR, WHICH IS MARCH, APRIL, MAY.

UM, SO, AND WE ALREADY HIT A SPECIAL CALL MEETING WITHIN THIS QUARTER, SO WE COULDN'T HAVE ANOTHER YEAH.

SPECIAL CALL MEETING UNTIL JUNE OR AFTER, BUT OKAY.

NO WORRIES THEN.

I THINK THAT MAKES SENSE.