[CALL TO ORDER ]
[00:00:04]
CALLING TO ORDER THE, UH, MAY 14TH MEETING OF THE TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION.
UH, I HAVE THE TIME AT 6:34 PM UM, WE ARE MEETING AT CITY HALL, THEN THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ROOM, UH, MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC, UM, OR HAVE THE OPTION TO, UH, WATCH OUR COMMISSION MEETINGS ON A TXN LIVE.
UM, WITH THAT, WE WILL GO AHEAD AND MOVE TO OUR ROLL CALL VOTE.
MY NAME IS STEVEN APODACA, AND I AM REPRESENTING DISTRICT TWO, THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
WE'LL START OFF WITH, UH, FOLKS IN THE ROOM, AND WE WILL GO TO MY LEFT.
I WAS APPOINTED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS.
THIS IS MY FIRST COMMISSION MEETING, SO I'M VERY EXCITED TO MEET ALL OF YOU, SEE ALL OF YOUR FRIENDLY, SEE ALL OF YOUR FRIENDLY FACES IN PERSON.
I'LL HAVE TO GET USED TO THE MICROPHONE,
ALL RIGHT, MAKE SURE I GOT THIS, TOO.
I AM REPRESENTING DISTRICT SIX, UM, FROM CRYSTAL LANE.
UM, THIS IS ALSO MY FIRST, UH, COMMISSION MEETING, SO HAPPY TO BE HERE.
UH, COMMISSIONER HERITAGE, REPRESENTING DISTRICT FOUR AND COMMISSIONER PVI REPRESENTING DISTRICT 10.
AND THEN WE'LL MOVE LINE, UH, VICE CHAIR, ATA, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO YOU.
COMMISSIONER ALTA, REPRESENTING DISTRICT THREE.
UH, COMMISSIONER COMBY REPRESENTING DISTRICT SEVEN.
AND I SEE COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS JUST CAME ON.
WE'LL GIVE HIM JUST A MOMENT TO GET HIS VIDEO SITUATED.
HELLO, LOW, UH, COMMISSIONER BRIAN WILLIAMS, REPRESENTING DISTRICT ONE.
SO WITH THAT, UM, WE HAVE A NUMBER OF, OF NEW COMMISSIONERS AND, AND A FULL HOUSE HERE.
SO THANK YOU ALL FOR, UH, BEING PROMPT AND, AND, UM, BEING, UH, PRESENT.
UH, WITH THAT WE'LL GO AHEAD AND MOVE TO THE FIRST AGENDA ITEM, PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.
GIVEN THAT WE HAVE NO ONE, UH, SIGNED UP, UH, I'LL GO AHEAD AND MOVE US
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
TO OUR, TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER ONE.AND THAT IS APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM OUR SPECIAL CALL MEETING ON APRIL 30TH.
I'LL GIVE EVERYONE JUST A FEW MINUTES TO DO A FINAL REVIEW OF THOSE MINUTES.
UM, AND THEN IF THERE ARE NO, UM, AMENDMENTS, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND, AND, UH, MOTION TO APPROVE.
SO JUST A QUICK REVIEW ON MY END.
UH, I'M NOT SEEING ANY, UM, ERRORS OR INCONSISTENCIES ON THOSE MINUTES.
SO THIS IS COMMISSIONER HERITAGE.
DO I HAVE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND IT.
UH, MOTION MADE BY COMMISSIONER HERITAGE INID BY, UH, VICE CHAIR ATA.
UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE MINUTES AS PRESENTED.
PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND AND SAY AYE.
ANYONE AGAINST ANY ABSTENTIONS? NOPE.
OH, AND I SEE THAT WE HAVE, UH, COMMISSIONER, UM, COM.
COMMISSIONER RICE, COMMISSIONER RICE ON THE LINE.
THREW ME OFF WHEN I SAW GIF ON THE
LOT ISSUES WITH THIS PHONE, BUT I'M HERE.
WELL, WITH THAT, UM, MOVING ON TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER TWO.
UH, UNFORTUNATELY CHRISTOPHER FROM, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY WAS NOT ABLE TO ATTEND TODAY, SO WE'LL GO AHEAD AND TABLE THAT ITEM, UM, UNTIL THE NEXT, UH, COMMISSION MEETING.
WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVING, UM, A PRESENTATION ON PANO AI ON, UM, UM, AS A, AN ITEM FOR OUR NEXT COMMISSION MEETING.
[3. Technology Commission annual work plan for 2026, planning, drafting and approval ]
WE'RE GONNA MOVE TO OUR MAJOR AGENDA ITEM SHOULD TAKE THE BULK OF THE TIME, AND THAT IS OUR WORK PLAN FOR THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR.[00:05:01]
SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED, UM, LAST YEAR'S, UM, UH, PLAN THAT THE COMMISSION, UH, WORKED ON AND, AND APPROVED.SO WE CAN CERTAINLY USE THAT AS A BASELINE.
UH, MY PLAN WAS ESSENTIALLY TO HAVE A WORKING SESSION.
WE BROUGHT IN COAN HARMON TO HELP FACILITATE THAT CONVERSATION.
UM, HAVE, UM, WORK THROUGH A A, A SET OF, OF QUESTIONS THAT WE HAVE.
AND THEN, UH, ONCE WE HAVE DEVELOPED THE CONTENT FOR THAT, UM, UH, TABLE THE ITEM AND THEN BRING IT UP AGAIN AT THE NEXT COMMISSION MEETING.
THAT WAY ALL COMMISSIONERS HAVE AT LEAST A MONTH, A FULL MONTH TO SIT WITH THE CONTENT.
AND THEN AT OUR NEXT COMMISSION MEETING, HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO OFFER ANY ADDITIONAL AMENDMENTS TO THAT.
UM, BUT JUST WANT TO OPEN IT UP TO THE REST OF THE COMMISSION.
HOW DOES THAT, HOW DOES THAT PLAN SOUND? THAT'S GREAT.
SO WITH THAT, UH, KOAN, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT TO KICK US OFF, UH, WITH JUST SORT OF SETTING THE AGENDA, AND THEN I CAN, UH, ONCE YOU DO THAT, I'M HAPPY TO, TO TAKE US THROUGH, UH, LAST YEAR'S, PROVIDE THEM CONTEXT AND THEN TURN IT BACK OVER TO YOU TO FACILITATE THE, UM, UH, THE CONVERSATION.
I WAS WONDERING, UH, CHAIR BOT, IF LIKE, STAFF INTRODUCTIONS, WE CAN'T HEAR.
UH, CHAIR POKA, WOULD YOU LIKE STAFF INTRODUCTIONS? YES, PLEASE.
I'M THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
SO WE'RE HERE AS AGAIN, A STAFF SUPPORT.
SO IT'S NICE TO MEET ALL OF YOU.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO SUPPORTING HIM.
I'VE NEVER BEEN ACCUSED OF BEING QUIET.
THAT'S FOR
UH, I WORK WITH ANNE ON STRATEGIC PLANNING, UH, FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
I HAVE BEEN PART OF THE COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY TEAM FOR A FEW YEARS, SO THESE GUYS, THEY WERE PART OF MY TEAM, I THINK, FOREVER, PART OF MY TEAM.
SO, UH, I'M VERY EXCITED TO BE HERE.
I KNOW THEY TAKE VERY GOOD CARE OF YOU ALL.
UM, I'M REALLY EXCITED THAT CHAIR ABCA REACHED OUT ABOUT, UH, YOUR STRATEGIC PLANNING.
THE WORK THAT YOU DO IS SO EXTREMELY IMPORTANT IN THE COMMUNITY TO ENSURE THAT EVERYONE HAS ACCESS TO RELIABLE, AFFORDABLE BROADBAND, AND THAT WE ARE VERY AWARE ABOUT HOW TECHNOLOGY AFFECTS THE COMMUNITY.
SO, AND HAS ANNE SAID, I JUST WOULD LIKE TO ECHO THAT THIS COMMISSION IS VERY DEAR TO ME PERSONALLY.
UM, I KNEW MANY OF YOUR PREDECESSORS AS WE WERE TALKING AND SOME OF YOU AS YOU HAVE BEEN SERVING.
I WAS ASKED TO GO THROUGH A SET OF QUESTIONS.
I'M GONNA TAKE SOME NOTES IF THAT'S OKAY WITH YOU.
AND I WILL OFFER THAT TO CHAIR APODACA AFTER YOU DO HAVE, UM, THEY WERE, UH, YOUR BYLAWS WERE ADOPTED NOT TOO LONG AGO, AND I KNOW YOU ALL HAVE GONE THROUGH THIS PROCESS A COUPLE OF TIMES.
AND CHAIR APODACA IS GONNA REVIEW LAST YEAR'S PROCESS, AND THEN I CAN SEE HOW I CAN BE OF SERVICE TO YOU THIS YEAR.
UM, CAN WE HAVE, UM, I, UM, AV MAKE ME A PRESENTER.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I'M, I'M PRESENTING, UM, FOR THOSE WHO ARE ONLINE, THANK YOU.
IF YOU CAN MAKE ME A PANELIST AGAIN.
UM, WHAT I'M SHARING NOW IS OUR ANNUAL REVIEW FROM LAST YEAR'S, UM, COMMISSION MEETING.
SO IT, IT'S REQUIRED BY THE CITY CLERK THAT, UH, EACH COMMISSION, UH, ANSWER A SET OF QUESTIONS.
UM, SO ESSENTIALLY THIS IS WHAT IS DUE IN JULY, I BELIEVE, IS THAT I'M GETTING A NOD IN THE ROOM.
UM, SO UPFRONT QUESTIONS ABOUT THE BOARD'S ACTIONS, UH, MUCH OF THAT IS SOURCED DIRECTLY FROM OUR BYLAWS AND, UH, FOR THOSE NEWER COMMISSIONERS, JUST TO GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT, WE ACTUALLY RECENTLY RE UH, REFRESHED OUR
[00:10:01]
BYLAWS.UM, SO WHAT YOU SEE HERE, WHAT'S, WHAT'S, UH, BEING PRESENTED MAY NOT NECESSARILY BE, UH, IN ACCORDANCE WITH WHAT'S, UH, WHAT'S ACTUALLY LIVE TODAY ON, UM, ON THE CITY OF AUSTIN WEBSITE.
SO JUST TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT.
UM, THE SECOND SECTION ARE ANY OF THE ACTIVITIES AND ENGAGEMENT.
UM, WE'VE PARTICIPATED IN G TOPS.
WE'VE HAD AI ADVISORY REPRESENTATION DIRECTLY TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, WE'VE, UH, HISTORICALLY WE'VE COORDINATED LISTENING SESSIONS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, YOU KNOW, WITH THAT, THAT'S, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'D LOVE TO GET STARTED.
UH, AGAIN, IF THERE ARE, UH, ACTIVE COMMISSIONERS THAT, THAT WOULD LIKE TO, UH, TO COORDINATE THOSE, THOSE EVENTS.
UM, AND THEN MOVING ON DOWN, WE ALSO HAVE, UH, THE LIST OF, OF BRIEFINGS, UH, THAT WERE, UH, PROVIDED TO US.
UH, AND THEN THE COMMISSION, COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO THIS YEAR WE'RE, I THINK WE'VE TOTALED, UH, SIX OR SEVEN DIFFERENT RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO, UH, ADDITION MORE THAN LAST YEAR.
UM, AND THEN THE KEY ITEM HERE ON ITEM NUMBER THREE, THE BOARD'S GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR THIS NEW CALENDAR YEAR.
SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE CHAIR CAN, CAN AUTHOR, UH, UH, A LOAN.
BUT GIVEN THAT, GIVEN THE WAY I LIKE TO WORK, I WANT TO ENSURE THAT EVERYONE'S HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE INPUT RECOMMENDATIONS TO OUR WORK PLAN FOR THE NEXT YEAR.
UM, SO THAT IS WHAT I WANTED TO WORK THROUGH WITH, WITH YOU ALL.
SO YOU ALL CAN SEE WHAT WE'VE DONE, UH, HISTORICALLY, AND AGAIN, OPEN TO INPUT AND FEEDBACK IS BREAK UP, UH, OUR WORK INTO THREE, UH, MAJOR TOPIC AREAS.
SO THE FIRST BEING DIGITAL INCLUSION, CIVIC ENGAGEMENT, AND STRATEGIC POLICY.
SO WE HAVE A BIT THERE AROUND, UH, G OS THAT'S OUR, UH, WORK AS A COMMISSION TO SUPPORT THE GRANT FOR TECHNOLOGY OPPORTUNITIES, UM, UH, FUND.
UM, SO YOU'LL HEAR IF YOU'RE A NEWER COMMISSIONER, UH, I'LL DEFINITELY CONNECT ONE-ON-ONE WITH YOU, BUT YOU WILL HEAR A LOT ABOUT THAT, UH, THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
UM, SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE'VE ALSO TARGETED, TARGETED FOR LAST YEAR IS, UH, SLATE STATE LEGISLATIVE, UM, AND LOCAL POLICY ADVOCACY.
SO WOULD LOVE TO, TO GET OTHER, UH, COMMISSIONERS', UH, PERSPECTIVES AROUND OPPORTUNITIES AROUND THAT ITEM.
UM, AND, UH, ENSURING THAT WE SUPPORT DECA THAT IS, UH, THE DIGITAL, UH, EMPOWERMENT COMMUNITY OF, OF AUSTIN.
ESSENTIALLY A, UH, A, UH, SUPPORT SYSTEM OF, OF VARIOUS ORGANIZATIONS FOCUSED ON DIGITAL EQUITY.
UM, COMMUNITY LISTENING SESSIONS ARE, ARE LISTED THERE AS WELL.
UH, THE SECOND MAJOR TOPIC AREA, TECHNOLOGY, INFRASTRUCTURE AND INNOVATION.
SO WE HAVE SOME CONTENT HERE AROUND, UM, POTENTIALLY, UH, ENGAGING WITH PUBLIC HEALTH, AUSTIN ENERGY SMART METERING, AUSTIN WATER SMART METERING, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.
SO WE DO HAVE A, A WORKING GROUP STOOD UP ON, ON THAT.
WE'LL GET A, AN UPDATE FROM COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS LATER.
AND THEN THE THIRD MAJOR BUCKET HERE, UH, KNOWLEDGE INFORMATION AND DATA STEWARDSHIP.
UM, ENSURING THAT WE'RE SUPPORTING THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO COMMUNICATE ANY CITY PROGRAMS AND, AND RESOURCES AROUND DIGITAL EQUITY, AFFORDABILITY, UM, ACCESS, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.
UH, CONTINUING TO MONITOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN WEBSITE UPDATES, UH, EARLIER THIS CALENDAR YEAR, THE PROJECT TEAM THAT IS WORKING ON, UH, THAT CITY OF AUSTIN WEBSITE REDESIGN, UH, ACTUALLY PROVIDED US A BRIEFING.
UM, SO IT'S SOMETHING WE'LL CERTAINLY WANT TO, UM, UH, TAP ON THEIR SHOULDER TO, TO DO A AGAIN.
UH, AND THEN, UM, THERE IS, WE ALSO HAD A CITYWIDE TECHNOLOGY PILOT AUDIT AND ASSESSMENT.
AND THEN, UH, JUST GENERALLY AROUND AUTONOM, AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES, DRONES, AND SMART CITY TECH, MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE STAYING CLOSE TO THAT, UM, ANY STATE OR LOCAL ORDINANCES THAT MIGHT, UH, IMPACT, UM, UH, THE AVERAGE CITIZENS EXPERIENCE.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE SUBMITTED LAST YEAR.
UM, YOU ALL HAVE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO, TO REVIEW THIS.
YOU KNOW, MAYBE YOU HAVE ADDITIONAL TOPICS, UH, IN THE BACK OF, BACK OF YOUR MINDS.
I IMAGINE SOME OF THESE WILL ALSO GET PULLED FORWARD.
UM, YOU KNOW, GIVEN THAT, UM, THIS IS A PART-TIME, UH, JOB FOR, FOR ALL OF US, UM, WE DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE THE BANDWIDTH TO TACKLE EVERY SINGLE ITEM HERE.
SO ALL OF THIS IS, IS ASPIRATIONAL.
AND, UM, WE WILL, UM, YOU KNOW, LIKE, LIKE ANY OTHER ORGANIZATION, WE'LL PRIORITIZE AS WE NEED TO.
BUT, UH, WANTED TO SET, UM, UH, JUST SOME
[00:15:01]
BASELINE FOR POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES AND AREAS TO ENGAGE IN, UM, FOR OUR NEXT YEAR.SO WITH THAT, UM, I'LL PAUSE FOR QUESTIONS IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO, NEEDS ANY CLARIFICATION OR HAS ANY QUESTIONS ON, ON THE ITEMS BEFORE I TURN IT OVER TO KATAN CHAIRMAN, AKA.
UH, SO I THINK YOU MENTIONED WORKING WITH AUSTIN ENERGY.
UM, I WORK IN THE SOLAR INDUSTRY, UM, AND I WAS WONDERING IF Y'ALL, IF YOU COULD PROVIDE SOME CLARIFICATION TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S NO, UH, CONFLICT OF INTEREST.
SO THE, UM, THE PRESENTATION, UH, THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO OCCUR TODAY AROUND PANO AI.
I KNOW THAT THE INDIVIDUAL, UM, I BELIEVE HE, HE IS STAFFED WITHIN AUSTIN INNER, HAPPENS TO BE STAFFED WITHIN AUSTIN ENERGY.
UM, SO THAT WOULD BE JUST LIKE ONE EXAMPLE IS ENSURING THAT THERE, IF THERE ARE ANY EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES, ANY, UH, TECHNOLOGY IMPLEMENTATIONS THAT WOULD IMPACT THE CITY OF AUSTIN THAT WOULD IMPACT, UM, THE CITIZENS' EXPERIENCE.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE HAVING BRIEFINGS ON THAT AND ENSURING THAT WE ARE PROVIDING, UM, A COMMUNITY CENTERED INPUT INTO THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.
UM, CERTAINLY IF, YOU KNOW, IF, IF YOU HAVE A, A CONFLICT OR, OR FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE A CONFLICT, YOU CAN WORK WITH OUR LIAISON TO, UH, INDICATE THAT BEFOREHAND.
AND THERE IS A PROCESS FOR, UM, FOR ENSURING THAT WE'RE COMPLIANT.
UM, I WAS RECENTLY TALKING WITH STAFF FROM, UH, MIKE SIEGEL'S OFFICE, AND HE SAID THERE WAS, UH, SOME EFFORT BEING LOOKED AT TO BASICALLY FIND IT EFFICIENCIES WITHIN THE CITY OF AUSTIN BY MAYBE CONSOLIDATING IT SUPPORT FOR DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS.
I JUST WONDERED IF THAT WAS WITHIN OUR PURVIEW TO LOOK AT WHAT EFFORTS ARE GOING ON FOR THAT.
UM, THAT'S CERTAINLY WITHIN OUR, WITHIN OUR PURVIEW.
UM, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN CERTAINLY ADD, UH, ONCE WE GET TO THE PORTION OF, OF PROVIDING INPUT.
UM, SO YEAH, LET'S, UM, LET'S MAKE SURE WE HAVE THAT, UM, AS AN ADDITION.
YEAH, I, I REALLY LIKE THE IDEA OF ADDING AN EFFICIENCY COMPONENT AND AN EVALUATION OF IN WHAT DEPARTMENTS AI HAS BEEN ADOPTED AND SURE.
WHAT, HOW HAS EFFICIENCY GROWN? AND I KNOW THE CITY OF HOUSTON JUST HAD A REPORT, UM, A LITTLE WHILE AGO SAYING THEY SAW MASSIVE LEAPS AND BOUNDS IN, YOU KNOW, EMPLOYEE TIME SAVINGS AND COST SAVINGS MM-HMM
UM, THROUGH, YOU KNOW, TECHNOLOGY PROCUREMENT AND DEPLOYMENT.
AND, UM, FOR HISTORICAL REFERENCE FOR, FOR THOSE NEWER COMMISSIONERS, WE HAVE HAD BRIEFINGS FROM OUR, UH, CHIEF INNOVATION OFFICER ON SOME OF THE PILOT INITIATIVES AROUND AI THAT ARE CURRENTLY UNDERWAY IN THE CITY.
UM, SO WE'LL WANNA MAKE SURE TO, TO HAVE THAT DEPARTMENT BACK TO, TO BRIEF US ON HOW IT'S GOING.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR INITIAL THOUGHTS? OKAY.
JUST A QUICK QUESTION ON PROCESS AGAIN.
SO YOU'RE THINKING WE'LL WALK THROUGH THIS PROCESS TODAY, HAVE ABOUT A MONTH TO SIT ON ADDITIONAL, MAYBE PULL SOME THINGS THROUGH FOR THE NEXT YEAR, BUT THEN POTENTIALLY SIT ON, UM, SORT OF OUR DRAFT ONE, IF YOU WILL, AND THEN COME BACK, IS IT JUNE OR JULY THAT I KNOW JULY WE WANT THE REPORT, BUT IN OUR NEXT COMMISSION MEETING IN JUNE, ARE WE THINKING OUR NEXT COMMISSION MEETING IN JUNE, WE WOULD WANT TO, UM, FORMALLY ADOPT OUR WORK PLAN FOR THE YEAR.
SO WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO KOAN.
AND I HAVE ALREADY CAPTURED SOME OF YOUR PRIORITIES AROUND IT.
EFFICIENCIES WITHIN DEPARTMENTS AND IN WHAT DEPARTMENTS AI HAS BEEN ADOPTED.
EMPLOYEE TIME SAVINGS OR COST SAVINGS THROUGH TECHNOLOGY PROCUREMENT, I'VE CAPTURED THAT.
AND THEN ALSO YOU HAD A BRIEFING FROM THE INNOVATION OFFICE ON AI.
SO, UH, THERE IS A DESIRE FOR THAT.
COULD WE IDENTIFY YOUR PRIORITIES FOR THIS YEAR? IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE, BASED ON YOUR BYLAWS AND ALSO THE WORK THAT YOU DID LAST YEAR, AND IF THERE ARE ANY NEW COMMISSIONERS BASED ON YOUR INTERESTS, WHY YOU'RE SERVING ON THIS COMMISSION, I'D BE HAPPY TO CAPTURE IT FOR YOU.
UM, AS I WAS SAYING EARLIER, I THINK THAT JUST SINCE THERE'S SO MUCH ACTIVITY GOING ON IN TERMS OF NEW AI RESOLUTIONS AND THINGS GOING ON TEXAS LEGISLATION, SO, UM, MAYBE FOCUSING A BIT MORE ON THOSE NEW PIECES COMING OUT AND, UM, SPECIFICALLY I WAS THINKING ABOUT, FOR EXAMPLE, THIS RECENT COUNCIL RESOLUTION THAT WAS PASSED,
[00:20:01]
UM, WORKING CLOSER WITH, UM, THE STAKEHOLDERS MENTIONED IN THAT RESOLUTION, LABOR UNIONS, UM, MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE NOT, I THINK COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS SAID IN THE LAST MEETING, KIND OF DUPLICATING WORK THAT OTHER GROUPS MIGHT BE DUPLICATING, BUT ADDING TO IT.AND, UM, WHETHER THAT'S A UPDATE OR, YOU KNOW, ADDITIONAL RESEARCH OR SUPPLEMENTARY WORK THAT WE CAN CONTRIBUTE, I, I THINK THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
UM, AND THEN SOMETHING ELSE THAT IS A TREND THAT I'M SEEING MAYBE MORE RECENTLY THAT I DIDN'T SEE AS EXPLICITLY STATED, UM, LAST YEAR MIGHT BE AROUND AI LITERACY.
SO AI LITERACY FOR THE FOLKS THAT ARE USING AI, BUT THEN ALSO FOR DATA SUBJECTS, THE CITY, YOU KNOW, THE KIND OF STRATIFYING IT LIKE THAT.
THOSE ARE THE TWO MAIN THEMES I, I PICKED UP ON.
I THINK IT MAY BE HELPFUL TO MAYBE GO THROUGH WHAT WAS ON THE DOCKET LAST YEAR AS A BASELINE AND THEN MAYBE SEE WHAT'S NOT ON THERE THAT I THINK FOLKS HAVE AN INTEREST IN.
UM, 'CAUSE I'M READING THROUGH AND I THINK A LOT OF THAT IS COVERED AND SORT OF, IT LOOKS LIKE THAT IS THE WORK THAT Y'ALL HAVE BEEN DOING.
I THINK, UM, AI EMERGING TECHNOLOGY IS, YOU KNOW, WE CERTAINLY WANNA MAINTAIN, KEEP, KEEP THAT FOCUS IN WHATEVER FORM.
UM, I KNOW THAT THERE'S A MAJOR BILL WITHIN THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE THAT IS SUPPOSED TO PROVIDE, UH, A BIT MORE GUIDANCE, UH, FOR, UM, SIT FOR, UH, COMMUNITIES AT THE MUNICIPAL, AT THE MUNICIPAL LEVEL.
UM, SO WOULD BE REALLY INTERESTED TO, UH, TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE, UM, PROVIDING A LITTLE BIT, ENSURING THAT WE'RE PROVIDING OVERSIGHT INPUT, UM, COMMUNITY CENTERED THOUGHTS INTO WHATEVER SUBSEQUENT ACTION, UM, THE CITY TAKES AS, AS A RESULT OF THAT BILL BEING PASSED.
YEAH, I THINK THERE'S A COUPLE OF BILLS FLOATING AROUND IN THE LEGISLATURE THAT WOULD DEFINITELY HAVE A MUNICIPAL IMPACT.
I THINK THE OTHER THING TO BE SORT OF COGNIZANT AND AWARE OF IS IN THE BUDGET FEDERALLY, UM, THERE IS A LOCAL GOVERNMENT PREEMPTION FOR ANY LAW REGULATION AROUND AI MODELS, AI SYSTEMS OR AUTOMATED DECISION MAKING SYSTEMS DURING A 10 YEAR, FOR A 10 YEAR PERIOD.
UM, AND SO SHOULD THAT PASS IN THE FEDERAL BUDGET, I THINK THAT CHANGES THE SCOPE AND THE GOALS OF WHAT THE, THE SORTS OF ACTIVITY THAT THIS COMMISSION AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN CAN UNDERTAKE AS IT RELATES TO PROMULGATING RULES, UM, AROUND AI USE AT A MUNICIPAL LEVEL.
UM, AND SO I THINK IN TERMS OF LOOKING AT HOW THIS COMMISSION CAN ADVOCATE FOR OR ENGAGE WITH DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS IN THE CITY, UH, AS IT RELATES TO, YOU KNOW, EDUCATING MEMBERS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HERE'S THE RESOLUTION THE CITY OF AUSTIN DEVELOPED, HERE'S, YOU KNOW, ITS ETHICAL STANDARDS.
UM, I THINK AT STATE LEVEL WE WORKED PRETTY CLOSELY WITH ALL THE MUNICIPALITIES HEARING THE SORTS OF PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS THAT THEY UNDERTOOK AND SORT OF THE CODE OF ETHICS THAT THEY ADOPTED AS A BASELINE AS WE WORKED TO BUILD OUT WHAT THE STATE FRAMEWORK WAS GONNA BE.
UM, OBVIOUSLY SHOULD, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THOSE BILLS PASS, IT WILL BE INCUMBENT ON THE CITIES TO COME BACK AND PASS, UH, MORE PRESCRIPTIVE GUIDELINES ABOUT, YOU KNOW, SHOULD A HIGH RISK SYSTEM OR A HIGHLY SENSITIVE SYSTEM, YOU KNOW, DECIDE IF SOMEONE'S PRO, YOU KNOW, THE PROVISION OR DENIAL OF LIKE A CITY OF AUSTIN SERVICE.
THERE'LL BE ADDITIONAL CRITERIA THAT WILL BE SET FORTH THAT, YOU KNOW, CITY WILL HAVE TO ADOPT.
AND I THINK IT'D BE GOOD TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, THE EXPERTISE OF SOME OF THE FOLKS ON THIS COMMISSION AND SOME OF THE BACKGROUND AND INSIGHT.
COMMISSIONER EASTWOOD, CAN YOU, YOU REMIND ME WHEN, UH, THOSE LEGISLATURE ENDS? UH, BECAUSE I THINK THAT MIGHT GIVE US LIKE A MARKER OF WHEN JUNE, JUNE 2ND IS THE LAST DAY OF THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION, AND THEN THE VETO PERIOD ENDS, THERE'S A 30 DAY VETO PERIOD AFTER THAT.
AND SO NEXT OR TWO, ONE TO LIKE THREE WEEKS FROM NOW.
SO THE SECOND IS THE LAST DAY OF THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
BUT IT LOOKS LIKE ALL THE AI LEGISLATION IS ON TRACK TO PASS.
SO BY THE JULY AUGUST TIMEFRAME, UM, I THINK OUR COMMISSION WILL PROBABLY WANNA BE ENGAGING ON THOSE TOPICS 'CAUSE WE'LL HAVE CLARITY.
I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO DO A LEGISLATIVE ROUNDUP, IF YOU WILL, ON THOSE THINGS.
SO, UM, AND I THINK THAT COULD BE, I KNOW FOR INSTANCE, FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE TELEHEALTH SPACE, WHICH IS TANGENTIAL TO US, RIGHT? THEY DO A LEGISLATIVE ROUNDUP ON ALL E-HEALTH TELEHEALTH RELATED LEGISLATION, AI RELATED AS WELL.
AND SO NOT THAT DISSIMILAR, I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE POINTS THAT YOU BROUGHT UP WOULD BE WORTHWHILE THAT WE UNDERSTAND MAYBE COME THAT JUNE PERIOD MM-HMM
JUNE SESSION, MAYBE DELAY IT TO JULY, BUT YEAH.
UM, LET THINGS PERCOLATE A LITTLE BIT.
WE CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT ARE THE KEY THINGS AT A STATE LEVEL THAT ARE IMPACTING AND SORT OF WHAT ARE THE HIGH IMPACT BILLS THAT WOULD HAVE TO YOUR POINT OF DIRECT IMPACT ON THIS COMMISSION.
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NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS? SO YEP.IF I MAY, UM, WE CAN CERTAINLY ASK, UM, THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS TEAM AT THE RIGHT TIME TO COME HELP US UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT OR LIKE WHAT ARE THE BILLS THAT ARE AFFECTING THIS AREA OF WORK AND THE IMPACT TO THE CITY TO HELP INFORM THE COMMISSION AND THEIR WORK.
SO WE CAN CERTAINLY MAKE THAT REQUEST, UH, CHAIR ACO POINT OF INFORMATION.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS, UM, IN RESPONSE TO THE PREVIOUS COMMENT, UM, ABOUT THE INNER, UH, GOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS, IS THAT RELATIONSHIP THAT CAN BE PRESENT ON A SUBCOMMITTEE? THAT COULD BE, YES.
IT'S TAKEN POSSIBLY INTO CONSIDERATION FOR SOME FUTURE MEETINGS.
SO, CHAIR BUKA, THERE WAS A RECOMMENDATION TO GO THROUGH THE DOCUMENT FROM LAST YEAR TO IDENTIFY THE WORK THAT HAS BEEN DONE AND PERHAPS ALSO, UH, TO IDENTIFY WHAT HAS NOT HAPPENED AND WHAT YOU ALL WOULD LIKE TO PUT ON FOR THIS YEAR.
IS THIS SOMETHING THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO DO? IS WHAT WOULD PLEASE GIMME SOME GUIDANCE? YEAH, LET'S, LET'S GO THROUGH IT ONE BY ONE.
UM, DID YOU WANT TO WALK US THROUGH, THE FIRST ITEM IS GTOP.
S AND I KNOW, I KNOW YOU ARE
UM, I AM HAPPY TO TAKE NOTES IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO, AND I CAN FACILITATE, UH, SINCE YOU KNOW THE WORK SO WELL, HOWEVER YOU LIKE.
SO FIRST ITEM, UM, UNDER THE FIRST MAJOR BUCKET IS G PS.
THIS IS SOMETHING WE, WE CERTAINLY WANNA, UH, KEEP, UM, AS A PRIORITY.
UM, G TOPS IS, UM, IT, IT, THERE ARE A FEW DIFFERENT PATHWAYS.
WELL, ACTUALLY, JESSE, DAN, HOW ABOUT YOU? WHICH ONE OF YOU WANTS TO GIVE A HIGH LEVEL OF G OS? SURE, I WOULD BE HAPPY TO.
JESSE RODRIGUEZ, COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY DIVISION.
UM, G OS IS THE GRANT FOR TECHNOLOGY OPPORTUNITIES PROGRAM.
IT'S THE CITY'S EFFORT TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE FUNDING ORGANIZATIONS IN THE COMMUNITY THAT ARE ALREADY DOING DIGITAL EQUITY WORK.
UM, WE HAVE $400,000 AVAILABLE IN GENERAL FUNDS EACH YEAR TO SUPPORT THE GRANT.
AND THERE ARE THREE BRANCHES OF THE PROGRAM.
UH, THE LARGEST IS GTOP S CORE, AND THAT ONE IS FUNDED AT $315,000 PER YEAR.
IT'S OPEN TO ANY OTHERWISE ELIGIBLE NON-PROFIT SERVING AUSTIN RESIDENTS.
UM, AND THAT IS OUR LARGEST, UH, PATHWAY.
WE ARE CURRENTLY CONTRACTING WITH 12 ORGANIZATIONS FOR THE CURRENT ROUND OF FUNDING THROUGH THAT PROGRAM.
AND, UH, EACH INDIVIDUAL AWARD CAN BE UP TO $35,000.
UM, OUR NEXT LARGEST, UH, GRANT PATHWAY IS GTOP S MINI, AND THAT IS $60,000.
AND WE USUALLY FUND SIX ORGANIZATIONS AT $10,000 A PIECE THAT IS OPEN TO NONPROFITS DOING SMALL EQUITY, DIGITAL EQUITY PROJECTS IN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, UP TO $10,000 EACH.
UH, AND OUR SMALLEST PATHWAY IS GTOP S CAPACITY.
THAT IS A CAPACITY BUILDING GRANT.
IT IS NOT A SERVICE DELIVERY GRANT.
UM, AND THAT ONE FUNDS ORGANIZATION'S ABILITY TO, UM, PURCHASE DEVICES OR SOFTWARE OR HARDWARE, UM, OR STAFF TRAINING TO DO THE DIGITAL EQUITY WORK THAT, UH, WE FUND THROUGH THE OTHER PATHWAYS.
UM, SO THOSE ARE THE THREE OPTIONS THAT WE HAVE.
UM, AND HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY, UH, MORE QUESTIONS THAT Y'ALL HAVE ABOUT THOSE.
AND JUST REAL QUICK TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL CONTEXT TO THE NEWER COMMISSIONERS AND EXISTING, UM, COMMISSIONERS.
SO OUR COMMISSION IS UNIQUE, UH, IN THAT WE HAVE, UH, THE ABILITY TO, UH, PROVIDE IMPACT THROUGH THIS, UH, THIS GRANT, UM, DIRECT IMPACT TO THE COMMUNITY AND THE NONPROFITS THAT ARE, THAT ARE DOING THE WORK AND THE COMMUNITY.
SO, UM, THIS IS ENSHRINED IN NOT ONLY OUR BYLAWS, BUT IN CITY CODE.
SO PROVIDING REVIEWER, HAVING OVERSIGHT OVER REVIEWERS, UM, AND THEN, UH, APPROVING ANY FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS THAT, UM, CITY OF AUSTIN STAFF AROUND, UH, AWARDS.
BUT, UM, WITH THAT, YOU KNOW, BASED ON, I KNOW THERE ARE SEVERAL NEW COMMISSIONERS, BUT WANTED TO GET EVERYONE'S GENERAL THOUGHTS ABOUT, UM, CONTINUING TO ENSURE THAT THIS IS A PRIORITY.
ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT GTOP S BEFORE WE MOVE OFF OF THIS TOPIC? I,
[00:30:01]
I WAS JUST GONNA SAY, I THINK THIS ONE WILL BE ESPECIALLY INTERESTING IN LIGHT OF SOME OF THE RECENT, OH, SORRY, UM, GO AHEAD.UM, IN LIGHT OF THE RECENT DIGITAL EQUITY ANNOUNCEMENT AT A NATIONAL LEVEL.
SO I THINK THE ROLE THAT WILL PLAY ON THIS PARTICULAR PIECE, AND WHILE 400,000 MIGHT BE SMALL IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF NEED, IT'S LARGE IN TERMS OF ANY FORM OF IMPACT IN ABSENT.
SO, UM, YEAH, I, I APPRECIATE THE COMMISSION'S ROLE AS FAR AS THIS PIECE GOES WHEN WE MOVE FORWARD WITH UNDERSTANDING WHAT THAT MM-HMM
THAT, UH, PULLBACK OF DIGITAL EQUITY GRANT MEANS AT A FEDERAL LEVEL.
SO LAST YEAR, YEAH, SORRY, IF I MAY, THIS IS ANNE, JUST WANNA YES, ANNE.
UM, ONE THING THAT WE DEFINITELY ASK THE COMMISSION, UH, THE CHAIR IF, UM, IF WE, IF THE COMMISSION WOULD BE SUPPORTIVE OF WELCOMING LIKE A WORK SESSION ONCE WE GET THROUGH IN PLANNING FOR THE NEXT AWARD YEAR.
AGAIN, UNDERSTANDING WHAT, IF ANY, IMPACT FROM LEGISLATION AND HOW WE HAVE TO MAYBE PIVOT, BUT THEN ALSO JUST EVEN LOOKING, UM, I THINK IT'D BE A GREAT WAY TO FAMILIARIZE AND GET YOUR FEEDBACK AND, AND THE AWARD CATEGORIES AND, AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE SO YOU CAN LEARN KIND OF THE HISTORY.
SO WE'D CERTAINLY WELCOME A WORK SESSION.
ANOTHER ANOTHER NOTE IS THE, UM, ARTS AND CULTURE AND MUSIC, UH, NEW DEPARTMENT IS DOING A THOROUGH REVIEW, AGAIN, OF THEIR GRANT ADMINISTRATION.
AND I THINK THAT WOULD ALSO BE A GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO UNDERSTAND WHAT COMES OUT OF THAT WORK THAT WE CAN LEARN FROM AND MAYBE APPLY ALSO MM-HMM
SO HOW DO WE KEEP THE INHERENT, UM, FEATURES OF THE PROGRAM, BUT ALSO HOW DO WE MAYBE ADAPT TO THE CHALLENGES WITH TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT THE INTENT OF THE PROGRAM IS REACHING, PROVIDING INVESTMENT TO THESE PROGRAMS THAT PROVIDE ESSENTIAL SERVICES.
SO WE CERTAINLY WOULD WELCOME THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A WORK SESSION WITH THE COMMISSION AT A LATER DATE, UM, SEEING AFTER WE GET THROUGH PLEDGE SESSION AND THE, UM, OUTREACH THAT'S BEING DONE WITH THE ACME DEPARTMENT.
WASN'T THERE ALSO A PATHWAY AROUND ART, AN ART CONTEST,
UM, IT'S NOT, IT DOESN'T FALL UNDER OUR GTOP S PROGRAM, BUT IT IS A, UM, A PARALLEL COMPETITION THAT WE RUN, UH, AS WELL.
AND THAT, UH, FOR THAT COMPETITION, IT'S OPEN YEAR ROUND.
THE FIRST PLACE WINNER, IT, UH, WILL, WOULD RECEIVE $400.
THE SECOND PLACE WINNER WOULD RECEIVE $200, AND THE THIRD PLACE WINNER WOULD RECEIVE $100.
AND, AND THIS CONTEST IS OPEN TO KIDS 10 TO 18.
UM, SO JUST LOOKING AROUND THE ROOM AND ONLINE, I THINK WE HAVE CONSENSUS THAT WE'LL CONTINUE TO ADVOCATE FOR THE PROGRAM.
LOOKING FORWARD TO THOSE BRIEFINGS AROUND WHAT MODIFICATIONS TO GTOP S UM, WE WILL WANT TO PERHAPS INFLUENCE OR PROVIDE INPUT TO, UH, TO ENSURE THAT, UM, UH, WE ARE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO MAKE AN IMPACT TO THE COMMUNITY.
I CAUGHT THE ACTION ITEMS AND MAKE SURE IT'S IN THE NOTES.
UM, THE NEXT ITEM WAS THE STATE LEGISLATIVE TECH AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY ADVOCACY.
UM, GIVEN THAT THIS IS CURRENTLY GOING THROUGH SESSION, I'M NOT SURE THAT THERE'LL BE, UM, MUCH ROOM TO, UH, POTENTIALLY ADVOCATE, UH, IN THE LEGISLATURE.
UM, I DON'T IMAGINE THAT THERE WOULD BE A SPECIAL CALL MEETING.
I THINK PARTICIPATING IN AGENCY RULE MAKING, UM, IS VALUABLE THOUGH.
UM, SO MAYBE COMING UP WITH WHAT, HOW THIS CITY CAN INVOLVE ITSELF IN THE RULE MAKING PROMULGATED BY DIR AS THEY, YOU KNOW, PUT FORTH THE CODE OF ETHICS FOR THE STATE AND FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND SET THAT MINIMUM STANDARD.
UM, SO I THINK INPUT IN THAT PROCESS, AND A LOT OF WORK HAPPENS IN THE INTERIM GOING THROUGH, LEADING UP TO A SESSION.
SO I THINK IT'S STILL MEANINGFUL TO ENGAGE IN THAT WAY.
SO, UM, I DUNNO, A GENERAL UPDATE IN TRACKING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THAT LEGISLATION.
I THINK ALSO AT A LOCAL LEVEL, UM, I THINK THE CITY COUNCIL WILL BE TAUGHT, TASKED WITH ADOPTING A RESOLUTION, ANOTHER RESOLUTION, UH, MAYBE THE ONE THAT PASSED WILL QUALIFY, UM, BUT THE CITY COUNCIL MAY BE TASKED WITH OR MANDATED TO ADOPT SAID RESOLUTION TO PROMULGATE A NEW SET OF STANDARDS.
AND I'M SURE EVERYONE HERE COULD BE INVOLVED IN, IN, IN THAT PROCESS AND MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS TO 'EM AS WELL.
[00:35:01]
KOAN, MAYBE WE HAVE TWO, MAYBE THAT GETS TURNED INTO TWO LINE ITEMS. OKAY.MAYBE IT'S THE STATE LEVEL RULE MAKING.
UM, AND THEN AT THE LOCAL LEVEL, UM, PROVIDING INPUT TO OUR CITY ORDINANCE, POLICIES, PROCEDURES, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.
I THINK THE BROAD, THE BROADBAND STUFF IS ALSO VALUABLE TO KEEP 'CAUSE MM-HMM
I THINK NTIA APPROVED THE BREAD PROPOSAL THAT TEXAS HAD, AND I DON'T KNOW IF CITY OF AUSTIN ETJ ENDED UP GETTING ANY OF THAT FUNDING.
UM, I, THEY PROBABLY DID NOT, BUT SO VALUABLE TO KEEP TRACK OF.
AND FOR BROADBAND, WE HAVE A VERY, UM, ROBUST RELATIONSHIP WITH THE, UH, BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT OFFICE AND WE'RE PART OF THOSE RULEMAKINGS.
UM, IT'S BEEN A, SO MOVING ON TO THE NEXT ITEM.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I HA ONE OF THE ITEMS I HAVEN'T ATTENDED IN A WHILE, I, IT'S BEEN SOMETIMES SINCE I'VE ATTENDED A DECA MEETING.
UM, I'M GONNA FLIP IT OVER TO JESSE AND OR DAN JUST TO GIVE A QUICK SUMMARY OF DECA AND ALL THE GREAT WORK THAT'S BEING DONE THERE.
UH, SO WE HA WE, THE CITY FACILITATES A GROUP OF NON-PROFITS IN THE COMMUNITY THAT ARE FOCUSED ON DIGITAL EQUITY.
IT'S CALLED THE DIGITAL EMPOWERMENT COMMUNITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE, I SAY NONPROFITS.
WE ALSO HAVE PARTICIPATION FROM, UM, SOME CORPORATIONS, UM, AND SOME RESEARCH ENTITIES, UH, AS WELL.
SO IT IS A DIVERSE GROUP, BUT IT'S MOSTLY NONPROFITS.
UM, WE MEET MONTHLY, UH, FOR THE PAST ALMOST A YEAR, WE'VE BEEN FOCUSED ON PULLING TOGETHER PRES PRESENTATIONS, UM, AND SPEAKERS, UM, THAT WE SOURCE FROM, UH, OUR PARTNER NETWORKS OR, UH, THE NDIA NATIONAL NETWORK OR LOCAL RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS TO, UM, UM, PRESENT ON THINGS THAT MIGHT BE INTERESTING TO THAT GROUP.
UM, FOR INSTANCE, OUR LAST SESSION WE HAD AMY ION FROM, UH, UH, WHO IS A HEALTHCARE, UH, A HEALTH CONSULTATION, A DIGITAL EQUITY HEALTH CONSULT CONSULTANT WHO SPOKE TO US ABOUT, UH, THE, THE, UM, THE WAYS THAT PATIENTS INTERACT WITH PATIENT PORTALS, UM, AND, AND THE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE THINGS THAT WE SHOULD BE THINKING ABOUT AS A DIGITAL EQUITY COMMUNITY AND IN TERMS OF MAKING SURE THAT FOLKS HAVE THE RESOURCES TO, UH, NAVIGATE THOSE PORTALS.
WE ALSO HEARD FROM METHODIST HEALTHCARE MINISTRIES, WHO DOES, UH, LOCAL WORK, UH, FUNDING, UH, UH, WORK AT THAT INTERSECTION OF HEALTHCARE AND DIGITAL E EQUITY.
NEXT MONTH WE WILL BE HEARING FROM, UH, UH, AMERICAN GATEWAYS TO, UH, HEAR ABOUT THE RESOURCES, UH, FOR IMMIGRANTS AND REFUGEES THAT ARE DIGITALLY LOCATED, AND, UH, WHAT WE CAN DO AS A COMMUNITY TO, UH, SHARE AND PROTECT THOSE, UH, THOSE, UH, PLACES OF ONLINE INFORMATION.
FOR INSTANCE, UM, WE'LL ALSO BE USING OUR JULY SESSION OR OUR JULY DECA SESSION TO GET COMMUNITY FEEDBACK ON, UH, A PLAN TO REFRESH THE 2014 DIGITAL INCLUSION STRATEGIC PLAN.
UM, AND SO THAT'LL BE A FIRST POINT OF COMMUNITY INPUT FOR US TO, UH, UH, START THE PROCESS OF HEARING WHAT THE COMMUNITY THINKS THE PRIORITY SHOULD BE AROUND DIGITAL EQUITY, UM, FOR HOWEVER LONG THAT, UH, NEXT STRATEGIC PLAN WILL TAKE US.
SO FOR DECA, UM, WOULD LOVE TO HAVE OTHER COMMISSION MEMBERS, UH, REPRESENT, UH, THE COMMISSION, UM, ON THAT BODY.
HOW, WHAT, WHAT ARE THE MEETING DATES AGAIN FOR THAT, JESSE? WE MEET EVERY MONTH, THE FIRST WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH.
AND SO OUR, OUR NEXT MEETING, UH, LET'S SEE, OUR NEXT MEETING IS SCHEDULED TO HAPPEN ON JUNE 4TH.
AND MOST OF OUR MEETINGS ARE JUST ONLINE TEAMS BASED MEETINGS.
ALTHOUGH THE JULY SESSION WILL BE IN PERSON, UH, AND WE'RE CURRENTLY SCOUTING LOCATIONS, IT'LL LIKELY BE AT A FOUNDATION COMMUNITY SITE.
SO WHAT DO COMMISSION MEMBERS THINK ABOUT CONTINUING TO, UM, UM, OR POTENTIALLY INCREASE OUR ENGAGEMENT WITH, UH, WITH DECA? I'M FOR THAT.
I'M ALSO INTERESTED IF, IF YOU NEED ANOTHER COMMISSION MEMBER.
[00:40:01]
WELCOME AS MANY COMMISSIONERS TO PARTICIPATE AS, AS WE CAN.AND IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, IF MULTIPLE COMMISSIONERS ARE INTERESTED, JUST LET US KNOW SO THAT WE CAN TRACK QUORUM ISSUES.
AS LONG AS IT'S, UH, SUB QUORUM, WE'RE FINE.
SO I DON'T SUSPECT THAT'LL BE A PROBLEM.
BUT IF ANY COMMISSIONER WOULD LIKE TO HELP IN, UH, OR TO JOIN THE PLANNING COM, UH, GROUP FOR THAT.
UH, FOR, FOR DECA, WE ALSO HAVE ANYBODY WHO'S INTERESTED IN, UH, UM, HELPING US TO PLAN THE MEETINGS.
UM, WE WOULD ACCEPT, UH, ANY SUPPORT THAT Y'ALL WOULD LIKE TO OFFER FOR THAT, UH, SIDE OF THINGS AS WELL.
SOUNDS LIKE COMMISSIONER FROCK MIGHT BE INTERESTED.
WELL, LOOKING FORWARD TO CONTINUING TO, UM, INCREASE OUR ENGAGEMENT WITH THAT BODY.
UH, THE NEXT ITEM WAS COMMUNITY LISTENING SESSIONS.
UM, WE HAVEN'T DONE ANY IN A WHILE, IN A WHILE, BUT, UM, UNDER THE PREVIOUS CHAIR'S LEADERSHIP, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, UH, THEY WERE ACTUALLY REALLY GOOD AT COORDINATING, UH, WITH PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS AS WELL AS, UH, PARTNERING WITH OTHER COMMISSIONS.
HISTORICALLY, WE HAVE PARTNERED WITH THE LIBRARY COMMISSION AND THE ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT COMMISSION AS WELL AS, UH, OR, UH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION AS WELL AS A FEW OTHERS.
BUT THOSE ARE THE TWO THAT, UM, ARE RINGING A BELL, UM, IMMEDIATELY.
UM, SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE COULD POTENTIALLY SET AS A GOAL.
AND IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED IN POTENTIALLY, UM, COORDINATING THAT EFFORT, UM, WOULD LOVE TO OPEN IT UP.
AKA, I'M, I'M, UM, HAPPY TO, TO LEAD THAT EFFORT.
UM, I ALSO DID JUST GET AN EMAIL AND I WAS, UM, TEXTING WITH, UM, MY COUNCILMAN TODAY.
UH, I'M GONNA MEET WITH SOME OF HIS TEAM ON MAY 26TH.
IT LOOKS LIKE THEY WANTED TO HOST, UH, A DIGITAL EQUITY TOWN HALL.
UH, I'M NOT SURE OF SPECIFICS, BUT IN, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH, UM, DISTRICT TWO AS WELL.
SO EITHER WAY I CAN FOLLOW UP ON THAT IMMEDIATE NEED, BUT ALSO TAKE THE LEAD ON, UH, THE COMMUNITY, UM, LISTENING NEEDS AS WELL.
UM, I THINK THERE'S PROBABLY OTHER COMMISSIONERS IN THE ROOM THAT WOULD LOVE TO PARTNER, UM, ON THAT AS WELL.
UM, SO YEAH, HAPPY FOR YOU TO, FOR YOU TO TAKE THE LEAD.
UM, AND THEN, UH, IF OTHER COMMISSIONERS WANT TO ENGAGE, UM, RECOMMEND PERHAPS SENDING OUT AN EMAIL THROUGH DAN, UM, TO SOLICIT, UH, COMMISSIONER ENGAGEMENT, JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T HAVE A WALKING QUORUM.
AND JUST FOR ADDITIONAL, SO UP TO FIVE COMMISSIONERS, WOULD WE BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE? SO Y'ALL KNOW, KAAN, I HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU AS FAR AS, UM, THIS IDEA OF OUR LISTENING SESSIONS AND THEN OUR NEXT LARGE BUCKET OF TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE AND INNOVATION.
UM, I KNOW WE HAD FOLKS PRESENT TRAVIS COUNTY BROADBAND NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
WHAT WAS THAT IN MARCH? I THINK THAT WAS, AND ONE THING THAT'S THAT AS I WAS LOOKING AT THIS, THAT CAME TO MIND, THERE'S OBVIOUSLY WHAT'S HAPPENING FEDERAL LEVEL WITH BEAD AUSTIN IS A LITTLE BIT OF A CHALLENGING PLACE FOR THAT.
ARE WE SERVED, OR NOT QUOTES, BUT I'M CURIOUS FROM A SELF LIKE COVER MOBILITY COVERAGE MM-HMM
I KNOW THERE ARE CERTAIN COMMUNITIES ACROSS TOWN THAT SETTING BROADBAND ASIDE FROM A MOBILITY, YOU KNOW, IF THIS IS MY ONLY FORM OF ACCESS MM-HMM
UM, IS DOES THE CITY PARTICIPATE OR HAS THE CITY PARTICIPATED IN LISTENING SESSIONS AROUND MOBILITY COVERAGE IN THE PAST, JUST FOR SOME CONTEXT? 'CAUSE THAT I THINK WOULD BE SOMEWHAT INTERESTING TO GATHER, UM, THAT'LL VARY BY PLAN OR CARRIER, BUT I DO THINK THAT MIGHT BE AN INTERESTING THING TO GATHER FROM, YOU KNOW, WHERE MIGHT THERE BE, UH, SOME AREAS OF, UM, MAYBE LACK OF COVERAGE THAT WE CAN SORT OF, WHAT'S THE WORD I'M LOOKING FOR, UM, KINDA SYNTHESIZE ALL THAT INFORMATION AND SEE WHERE THERE MIGHT BE SOME COVERAGE ISSUES FROM A MOBILITY LENS.
I THINK AS PART OF THE STUDY THAT WE DID WITH SAN DAVIS FOUNDATION AND TRAVIS COUNTY, UM, THERE WERE LISTENING SESSIONS WITH VARIOUS GROUPS AND POPULATIONS AROUND THEIR CONNECTIVITY.
AND ONE OF THE ISSUES THAT AROSE WAS MOBILITY AND USING MOBILE PHONES.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, THE FRIENDS IN THE COMMUNITY WHO ARE EXPERIENCING, UM, HOUSING CHALLENGES OR HOMELESSNESS, WHERE DO THEY CHARGE THEIR PHONE? WHERE DO THEY GET, UH, SERVICE THE FRIENDS IN THE COMMUNITY WHO MIGHT BE JUSTICE IMPACTED?
[00:45:01]
HOW DO THEY HAVE ACCESS TO IT AND HOW DO THEY CONNECT? AND BECAUSE THAT'S VERY, VERY IMPORTANT FOR THEM.SO THERE IS SOME REALLY GREAT LEARNING THAT IS COMING OUT OF THAT REPORT THAT I HOPE JESSE WILL BE SHARING WITH YOU.
UM, AND SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE TO THE COMMUNITY, TO THE STAKEHOLDERS, THAT REPORT HAS BEEN SHARED WITH THE DECA COMMUNITY AND OTHER SAN DAVIS FOUNDATION HAS SENT IT OUT.
TRAVIS COUNTY IS ALSO SENDING IT OUT.
I KNOW THE CITY'S ALSO MAKING SURE THAT THAT GETS INTO THE COMMUNITY.
I WOULD, UH, MY RECOMMENDATION IF THERE, IF I'M ALLOWED TO MAKE A RECOMMENDATION, IS TO HAVE A PRESENTATION, WHICH I KNOW YOU'VE HAD THAT, BUT ON THIS SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS AND HOW THIS COMMISSION WOULD LIKE TO SUPPORT THE WORK THAT WAS UNEARTHED IN TERMS OF WHAT THE REAL NEEDS ARE.
I HOPE THAT ADDRESSES YOUR QUESTION.
AND IN TERMS OF COVERAGE ITSELF, IT'S A VERY CHALLENGING THING TO IDENTIFY WHERE IS COVERAGE, UM, WORKING WITH INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS AND MOBILE PROVIDERS.
HOWEVER, WE CAN TRIANGULATE THE DATA AND SEE WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATUS, WHAT ARE THE CURRENT CONNECTIVITY AND SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT HAVE ARISEN.
NOW ALSO, PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT THAT REPORT IS A SNAPSHOT OF A TIME.
SO IT SHOULD HELP INFORM SOME OF OUR UNDERSTANDING, BUT THEN HOPEFULLY THERE'LL BE, UM, OTHER WAYS TO GATHER MORE DATA.
JESSE, DO YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS TO ADD? SURE.
UM, SO WE, WE DID A CO-AUTHOR THAT REPORT, UH, OUR GROUP CO-AUTHORED THE REPORT WITH TRAVIS COUNTY.
UM, WE WERE, UM, PARTNERS IN THE RESEARCH.
UM, AND WE'RE HAPPY TO SIT IN ON ANY WORKING GROUPS OR TO, YOU KNOW, IF Y'ALL WANTED TO HAVE ANY FOCUS CONVERSATIONS ON THE REPORT DEEP DIVES.
IF THERE'S SOMETHING THAT INTERESTS Y'ALL, WE'RE MORE THAN HAPPY TO SIT IN ON THOSE AND, UH, YOU KNOW, ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
JUST FROM A VERY HIGH LEVEL, UH, THERE'S SOME, SOME, UH, UH, GUIDEPOSTS AROUND HOW THE RESEARCH HAPPENED.
UM, IT'S THE, THE RESEARCH THAT HAPPENED WAS NOT A RANDOM SAMPLE.
IT, WE SPECIFICALLY SURVEYED THE, UH, THE PORTIONS OF THE POPULATION THAT WE THOUGHT WERE THE HIGHEST NEEDS PORTIONS OF THE POPULATION.
SO THIS IS NOT A RANDOM SAMPLE.
THIS IS WHAT'S, WHAT WE WOULD CALL A PURPOSIVE SAMPLE.
UH, IT WAS INTENTIONALLY SKEWED, UH, TO THE LOW INCOME PORTIONS, UH, AND HIGH HIGHEST NEEDS PORTIONS OF THE COMMUNITY.
UM, AND EVEN SO WHAT WE FOUND THAT N EXCESS OF 95% OF THE RESPONDENTS, UH, HAD A CELL PHONE.
AND SO CELL PHONE CONNECTIVITY IS VERY HIGH IN THE AUSTIN AREA.
THAT DOESN'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT, UH, WHERE COVERAGE EXISTS IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND THAT'S A VERY HARD THING FOR US TO KNOW.
UM, OFTEN, UH, UH, THE ISPS HAVE THAT AS PROPRIETARY DATA.
THEY DON'T WANNA SHARE IT FOR COM COMPETITIVE REASONS.
UM, BUT WE, PART OF THIS STUDY DID INVOLVE HAVING FOCUS GROUPS AND, AND JUST TALKING WITH FOLKS, UH, IN THE COMMUNITY ABOUT THESE TOPICS.
UM, WE HEARD, UH, THAT THERE'S LOTS OF FOLKS WHO RELY ON THEIR, THEIR PHONE COVERAGE AND OFTEN EXPERIENCE, UH, YOU KNOW, GAPS IN COVERAGE.
THERE'S A SECTION IN THE REPORT WHERE WE TALK ABOUT, UH, CELL PHONE OR, UH, SMARTPHONE DEPENDENCE.
UH, SMART SMARTPHONE DEPENDENCE IS THE SITUATION WHERE SOMEBODY'S ONLY CONNECTION TO THE INTERNET IS THROUGH THEIR SMARTPHONE.
UM, AND, UH, WHILE IT'S GOOD THAT THEY HAVE A CONNECTION, IT MEANS THAT IF THEY'RE RELIANT ON THAT CONNECTION, IF THEIR PHONE DIES, IF THEY HAVE A BAD BATTERY, IF THEIR PHONE BREAKS, UM, IF THEY GET ON A BUS AND THE WIFI ISN'T TURNED ON, UH, IF THEY ENTER A BUILDING WITH A METAL ROOF, UH, YOU KNOW, FOR WHATEVER REASON, IF THEIR SERVICES DISRUPTED, THAT MEANS THEY'RE LEFT WITHOUT THEIR LIFELINE.
UM, AND SO A LOT OF FOLKS EXPERIE, UH, HAVE EXPERIENCED THAT IN THE COMMUNITY, UM, AND RELAYED THOSE CONCERNS TO US.
UM, SO I, I HOPE THAT ADDS A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT.
YOU KNOW, IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY ANSWER THE QUESTION OF WHO HAS CONNECTIVITY, WHERE WE KNOW THAT THE DEVICE SIDE, UH, MOST PEOPLE HAVE DEVICES, UH, QUALITY OF DEVICES IS A DIFFERENT QUESTION.
WE DON'T HAVE GOOD INFORMATION ON THAT.
UM, BUT THE, THE CONNECTIVITY SIDE, UM, UH, IS, IS A CHALLENGE.
FOR INSTANCE, WE, WE HAD, UH, ONE MEMBER OF THE COMMUNITY TALK ABOUT NEEDING TO HAVE, UH, UH, UH, A DIFFERENT, TWO DIFFERENT CELL PHONES, UH, ONE ON ONE NETWORK AND ANOTHER ON ANOTHER NETWORK BECAUSE THEIR BUSINESS WAS MOVING AROUND IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND SO THEY WERE VERY, UH, DEPENDENT ON HAVING CONNECTIVITY AT EVERY POINT IN TIME.
AND THAT THEIR, THEIR EXPERIENCE OF CONNECTIVITY WAS THAT IT WASN'T RELIABLE ON JUST ONE NETWORK.
SO THAT'S JUST AN ANECDOTE TO OFFER SOME COLOR TO THE, THE COMMENTARY.
[00:50:01]
THIS COMMISSION IS ALWAYS WELCOME TO HAVE A LISTENING SESSION WITH PROVIDERS IN THE COMMUNITY.YEAH, THAT'S WHAT I WAS GONNA SUGGEST AND TO, IS THAT WHAT YOU WERE GONNA YEAH.
AND TO BE ABLE TO ASK, UH, ON BEHALF OF THE COMMUNITY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE AROUND CONNECTIVITY, WE'RE ALL SERVING THE SAME PEOPLE.
UH, AND SO IT WOULD BE WONDERFUL TO HEAR HOW COLLABORATIVE, UH, EVERYONE IS AROUND SERVICE IN THE COMMUNITY.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, I KNOW HISTORICALLY WE HAVE HAD T-MOBILE AND WE'VE, I BELIEVE WE'VE HAD GOOGLE, UH, FORMALLY PRESENT TO OUR COMMISSION.
SO GIVE TESTIMONY ON, ON SOME OF THESE BROAD TOPICS AS WELL.
UM, THOSE ARE THINGS THAT WE COULD PLAN FOR FUTURE COMMISSION MEETINGS, UH, OR AT THE WORKING GROUP LEVEL AS WELL.
AND, UM, I GUESS ALONG WITH THAT, IF ANY OF THE COMMISSIONERS DO HAVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH ANY OF THE ISPS, UM, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO, TO FACILITATE THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
BUT COMMISSIONER HERITAGE IS THAT, IS ADDING SOME OF THOSE ITEMS TO THE WORK PLAN, SORT OF, DOES THAT MEET THE NEED? I THINK SO.
AND I, IT, IT'S FUNNY, I, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M MY OWN SAMPLE, RIGHT? I LIVE IN CENTRAL TEXAS, CENTRAL AUSTIN, AND IF I'M NOT ON WIFI CALLING, I CAN'T CONNECT OUT, RIGHT? THERE'S NOT THE SMALL CELL AROUND ME TO, TO BOUNCE OFF THE TOWER.
SO I THINK THAT'S, IF I'M MY END OF ONE, I'M JUST KIND OF CURIOUS WHAT OTHER FOLKS WHERE THIS MIGHT APPLY.
AND I KNOW THERE'S OTHER CITIES THAT HAVE DONE SPECIFIC MOBILITY COVERAGE SURVEYS, NOT NECESSARILY ON DEVICE, BUT ON ACTUAL FELT COVERAGE.
AND SO I THINK HEARING FROM PROVIDERS WOULD BE A REALLY INTERESTING CONVERSATION TO ADD SOME COLOR TO THAT.
YEAH, I HAVE, UM, CONNECTIONS TO T-MOBILE, UH, AT AND T AND TO GOOGLE.
SO I'M HAPPY TO, UM, SOLICIT THOSE JUST TO SEE IF WE CAN GET, UH, REPORTING OR READOUTS FROM THEM.
YEAH, IF YOU WANNA START WORKING ON THOSE CONNECTIONS, VICE CHAIR MM-HMM
UM, WE COULD EVEN TAKE IT UP AT THE WORKING GROUP LEVEL IF THEY'RE NOT SURE, YOU KNOW, COMFORTABLE, UM, DOING IT PUBLICLY FIRST, AND THEN THAT'S GOOD.
UH, PERHAPS WE CAN INVITE THEM TO, UM, FORMALLY TESTIFY AT A COMMISSION MEETING.
ANOTHER ITEM ADDED TO, UH, OUR WORK PLAN.
SO WITH THAT, UH, WE'LL MOVE TO THE NEXT MAJOR BUCKET.
WELL, I GUESS, LET ME PAUSE UNDER THAT BROAD TOPIC AREA, DIGITAL INCLUSION, CIVIC ENGAGEMENT, STRAT STRATEGIC POLICY.
DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY OTHER ITEMS THEY'D LIKE TO ADD? I GUESS NET NEW ITEMS, NOT HEARING ANYTHING.
UM, CAN I JUST ASK A QUESTION? UM, IN TERMS OF THE PUBLIC BEING INFORMED OF LIKE, LEGISLATIVE CHANGES AND THESE NEW, UH, RESOLUTIONS PASSING, IS THERE ANYONE WHO WOULD UNDERSTAND HOW, UH, I GUESS HOW OBVIOUS THAT IS AT THIS POINT? AND IS THERE MORE THAT WE COULD DO TO JUST MAKE THOSE DECISIONS CLEARER TO THE PUBLIC ABOUT WHAT'S PASSING AND WHAT'S IN PROGRESS? AND ALL OF THAT I THINK WOULD BE USEFUL.
SO I'M NOT SURE IF, IF SOMEONE IN HERE CAN, CAN HELP ANSWER THAT QUESTION ABOUT HOW THE STATE OF THINGS AS IS.
BUT MAYBE THAT'S A, A PLACE TO KIND OF FOCUS SOME ATTENTION IN TERMS OF JUST UNDERSTANDING WHAT'S PASSING.
AND I CAN TAKE THE FIRST PART OF, THEN I ASK JESSE TO SPEAK ABOUT WHAT THE PARAMETERS ARE FOR THE COMMISSION'S ENGAGEMENT AND ADVOCACY.
SO THIS COMMISSION HAS CONSISTENTLY REQUESTED TO HAVE, UH, LEGISLATIVE AND FUNDING REPORTS.
AND EVERY QUARTER, UH, THE PREVIOUS TARA GROUP, NOW A COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY GROUP COMES AND MAKES A PRESENTATION ON WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE LEGISLATION AS WELL AS, UH, WHAT IS HAPPENING IN TERMS OF FUNDING.
BUT IN TERMS OF SHARING THE INFORMATION, WE CAN CERTAINLY SHARE THAT WITH YOU.
BUT I WANNA ASK JESSE WHAT THE PARAMETERS ARE FOR THE COMMISSION WHEN IT COMES TO ADVOCACY.
SO, UH, I'LL SAY THAT THE, MY UNDERSTANDING, I, I'M NOT, MIGHT NOT BE, HAVE ALL OF THE INFORMATION, BUT MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT, UM, THERE ARE LIMITATIONS ON LOBBYING ACTIVITY.
UM, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT YOU CAN'T, UH, STAY INFORMED OF WHAT'S HAPPENING, UM, AND SHARING INFORMATION, UH, THAT IS SHARED HERE.
CAN I JUST CLARIFY, UM, I WAS MOSTLY TALKING ABOUT HOW THE PUBLIC UNDERSTANDS THESE THINGS.
SO IS THERE A GROUP THAT WILL SAY, HEY, TO THE CITIZENS OF AUSTIN, THIS IS WHAT'S GOING ON? IS IT ON THE
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SITE CURRENTLY? IS IT LIKE, I'M JUST CURIOUS HOW THAT MESSAGING IT GOES THROUGH LESS SO ABOUT THE COMMISSIONER'S, LIKE DIRECT INVOLVEMENT AND UNDERSTANDING MORE SO JUST HOW DOES, HOW IS IT BROADCAST TO THE PEOPLE? YEAH, I THINK WE CAN CERTAINLY, UM, CLARIFY WITH OUR, OUR CORPORATE, UH, PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT OFFICE, UH, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE, THE OFTEN REFERRED TO ACRONYM CPIO.UM, YEAH, WE CAN CERTAINLY REQUEST LIKE, ASK FOR THAT INFORMATION AND, UM, GET BACK WITH EVERYONE.
UM, WE CAN PROBABLY DO THAT RELATIVELY QUICKLY SO THAT EVERYONE'S AWARE HOW WE'RE, SO HOW LEGISLATIVE ITEMS ARE BEING COMMUNICATED WITH THE PUBLIC FOR OPPORTUNITIES.
YEAH, BUT I THINK YOU BRING UP A GOOD POINT.
I THINK WE SHOULD JUST, UM, AS WE'RE, UM, STARTING TO ENGAGE WITH THESE COMMUNITY, UH, LISTENING SESSIONS, LIKE I THINK WE JUST NEED TO PROVIDE MORE STRUCTURE, UH, COMMISSIONER HERITAGE AS YOU BROUGHT UP COVERAGE, YOU KNOW, JUST FIGURING OUT WHAT THE COVERAGE, WHETHER THAT'S INTERNET OR MOBILITY, AND THEN TWO, UH, COMMUNICATION FROM THE LEGISLATIVE DECISIONS ON, ON WHAT IMPACTS THEM, WHAT THEY NEED TO KNOW.
UH, BUT, UH, AND THEN AS YOU, UH, NOTED EARLIER, WE CAN DEFINITELY LEVERAGE THAT REPORT.
UM, DAN AND JESSE WILL, WILL KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR THAT.
BUT EITHER WAY, UH, IT'S A BROAD TOPIC, RIGHT? COMMUNITY LISTENING SESSIONS AND IT'S JUST LIKE, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT IS OUR OBJECTIVE? WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO DO? WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO, UM, GET OUT OF IT? UH, NOT JUST US, BUT, YOU KNOW, UH, TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY AS WELL WOULD BE BENEFICIAL JUST TO PROVIDE SOME STRUCTURE TO IT.
I THINK IT WOULD BE GOOD TO HAVE MORE ENUMERATED POINTS OF WHAT EXACTLY WE'D WANT OPEN STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS ON.
UM, I THINK THAT LIKE HAVING A SUBSECTION ON LIKE ISP AND LIKE MOBILE CONNECTIVITY COVERAGE IN THE CITY, BUT IF THERE'S MORE IDEAS AROUND THAT, I THINK IT'D BE GOOD TO ENUMERATE THOSE ON A LIST.
UM, YEAH, ONE THOUGHT ON THE COMMUNITY LISTING SESSIONS, WHAT, SO WHAT WE'VE DONE HISTORICALLY IS FOR EACH COMMUNITY LISTENING SESSION FOCUS ON A PARTICULAR STAKEHOLDER GROUP.
SO, UM, THERE WAS ONE FOCUSED ON, UH, THE ELDERLY POPULATION.
THERE WAS ONE FOCUSED ON, UM, PREDOMINANTLY HISPANIC POPULATION.
I THINK THERE WAS ONE FOCUSED ON THE BLACK POPULATION WITHIN AUSTIN.
SO, UH, THAT MIGHT BE ONE IDEA.
I THINK SOMETHING AROUND FRAUD AND ABUSE WOULD BE BENEFICIAL.
I THINK WE'VE SEEN A MASSIVE UPTICK IN CRYPTOCURRENCY SCAMS, UM, IN CRYPTO AT M SCAMS, UH, ACROSS THE ENTIRE STATE.
UM, WE HAD ONE CONSTITUENT LOSE LIKE $60,000 AND SHE, LIKE, IT IS A, WAS A MEDICAL DOCTOR AND LIKE FELL FOR THE SCAM.
UM, AND SO I THINK HAVING SOME SORT OF LIKE, HOW CAN THE CITY DO EDUCATION AROUND FRAUD ABUSE? I THINK AI MAKES IT A LOT MORE DANGEROUS.
I THINK, I DUNNO HOW MANY OF YOU WOULD GET THOSE TOLLWAY TEXTS.
UM, BUT I THINK THINGS AROUND, UH, YOU KNOW, WHAT DO, WHAT ARE PEOPLE GETTING AND WHAT ARE, LIKE, HOW ARE THESE THINGS EVOLVING AND WHAT IS BEING DONE TO EDUCATE PEOPLE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE NEWEST SCAM OR THE NEWEST FRAUD OR ABUSE CASE.
SO LET'S PLAN TO, I THINK WE HAVE A NUMBER OF POTENTIAL OP TOPICS FOR THE COMMUNITY LISTENING SESSIONS.
SO FOCUS ON SPECIFIC POPULATIONS, EVEN LIKE SOME TOPIC AREAS THAT WE WOULD WANT TO HEAR FROM AND EVEN OFFER GUIDANCE AND WARNINGS ABOUT.
UM, ANOTHER THING THAT WE'VE DONE IS, UH, PROVIDE TABLING FOR, UH, SOME OF OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS AS WELL.
UM, SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE COULD, UM, DO.
UM, BEFORE WE MOVE ON FROM THE DIGITAL INCLUSION SECTION, I WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE COVERED THE A CP SUN SETTING MM-HMM
AND IDENTIFYING PROGRAMS. WAS THERE MORE TO KIND OF DIG IN THERE, MAKE SURE THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE FOCUSED ON? YEAH, SO AT THE TIME WE
UM, IT'S BEEN COMPLETELY SUNSET, ESSENTIALLY, NO CHANCE OF IT BEING RENEWED.
UM, HAVE THERE BEEN OTHER PROGRAMS IDENTIFIED TO FILL THAT GAP? TO FILL THE GAP? I THINK IT WOULD BE MORE PROVIDER TO PROVIDER LEVEL.
A LOT OF PROVIDERS, THERE ARE CERTAIN STATES THAT ARE PUBLISHING AFFORDABILITY LAWS.
CALIFORNIA HAS ONE, NEW YORK HAS ONE.
SOME OF THOSE ARE UP AT, UH, AT COURT LEVEL AND COMING DOWN.
BUT, UM, I THINK THAT WOULD BE ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FROM A PROVIDER LISTENING SESSION TO SAY MM-HMM
TELL US ABOUT YOUR AFFORDABILITY PLAN.
UM, YEAH, AND WHILE IT'S NOT THIS COMMISSION'S EFFORT TO PROMOTE ONE PROVIDER OVER ANOTHER, IF WE CAN AGNOSTICALLY ELEVATE THAT INFORMATION TO THE RIGHT STAKEHOLDERS THAT ARE DOING DIGITAL NAVIGATION OR OUR COMPANIES THAT WE REPRESENT THAT SUPPORT, THAT PERHAPS, UM, THAT COULD BE A,
[01:00:01]
A WAY THAT WE AT LEAST KIND OF COLLECT, SYNTHESIZE AND IF WE CAN DISSEMINATE AFFORDABILITY PLAN INFORMATION.I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND MOVE US ON, UM, TO THE TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE AND INNOVATION, UM, BUCKET.
UM, WHAT WE HAD, UH, FROM YEARS PAST, UH, WAS, UH, THE FIRST ITEM WAS AROUND PUBLIC HEALTH.
AND, UH, THIS WAS SPECIFICALLY AROUND THE COVID EXPERIENCE, UM, AND CENTERING ON, UH, AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH.
UM, SO THE QUESTION WAS ASKED, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT HAS A PH LEARNED FROM, UM, FROM, FROM THE PANDEMIC? HOW CAN, UH, A PH PERHAPS BE MORE INTELLIGENT? AND HOW CAN CITY OF AUSTIN HELP? I DON'T HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS.
MAYBE, MAYBE THESE ARE SOME TOPICS THAT WE COULD HAVE, UH, SOMEONE FROM, FROM A PH, UM, BUT IF ANY OF THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS HAVE WORKED WITH, UH, PUBLIC HEALTH ORGANIZATIONS OR, UH, WITH A PH SPECIFICALLY IN THE PAST, UH, OPEN TO, UH, UM, ON ANY INPUT FOR THIS BROAD TOPIC I SAID ON, UM, I, I THINK IT WOULD BE INTERESTING, MAYBE NOT A PH PER SE, BUT IF WE'RE THINKING THROUGH, UM, THE INTERSECTION OF PUBLIC HEALTH OR HEALTH, UH, HEALTH AND WELLBEING AND ACCESS TO COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY, I DO THINK HAVING POTENTIAL PRESENTATION FROM, UH, NORA, NORA COX FROM THE EHEALTH, TEXAS EHEALTH ALLIANCE MM-HMM
AND GIVEN WHO SHE REPRESENTS AND WHAT SHE REPRESENTS, IT WOULD BE AN INTERESTING PERSPECTIVE TO BRING IN WHAT ARE HER, UH, MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS EXPERIENCE UNIT HEARING ON THE GROUND AS WELL RELATED TO ACCESS.
SO, UM, SHE'LL, SHE'LL REPRESENT AN INTERESTING PERSPECTIVE.
SO THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY PUBLIC HEALTH CITY OF AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, BUT THAT MIGHT BE A, AN INTERESTING DECK INTO THAT.
I THINK, I THINK THE TELEHEALTH CONVERSATION WOULD BE REALLY INTERESTING.
I THINK AT A STATE LEVEL, YOU ALWAYS HEAR ABOUT TELEHEALTH BENEFITING RURAL COMMUNITIES AND IT BEING A RURAL, LIKE WHEN WE UPDATE THESE TELEHEALTH STATUTES AND MAKE THEM MORE BROAD AND APPLICABLE, IT'S BECAUSE THERE'S A LACK OF PHYSICIAN ACCESS IN, YOU KNOW, EAST TEXAS, WEST TEXAS.
UM, IT'D BE INTERESTING TO KNOW WHAT THE GAPS ARE IN AUSTIN AS IT RELATES TO LIKE TELEHEALTH COVERAGE OR PHYSICIAN COVERAGE.
AND DOES TELEHEALTH SERVE, YOU KNOW, AN URBAN DEVELOPED POPULATION AND IN WHAT WAY? 'CAUSE I THINK THAT HELPS INFORM OTHER DECISIONS THAT COME LATER DOWN THE LINE ON, YOU KNOW, TELEHEALTH FUNDING.
UM, I KNOW LIKE MY INSURANCE PLAN, IF I GO TO TELE A TELEHEALTH VISIT, IT'S FREE, BUT, SO, AND I'M SURE THAT'S THE CASE FOR, YOU KNOW, MOST FOLKS, BUT LIKE HOW, WHAT IS THE ACCESSIBILITY TO, TO TELEHEALTH AND IS IT FILLING A, A NEED GAP IN, IN AUSTIN? AND THERE IS WITHIN THE REPORT THAT JESSE WILL FORWARD TO YOU.
THERE IS ALSO THE CONCERN, UH, WHEN IT COMES TO TELEHEALTH FOR THE ELDERLY OLDER POPULATION AND ACCESS.
SO DO THEY HAVE ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE, RELIABLE BROADBAND? DO THEY HAVE THE APPROPRIATE DEVICES THAT THEY HAVE BEEN TRAINED ON? DO THEY HAVE IT SUPPORT? YOU CAN'T JUST TRAIN ONCE AND THAT WILL BE IT.
AND THEN WHAT KIND OF ACCOMPANIMENT DO THEY NEED? SO THAT IS, UH, JUST ONE POPULATION, ONE PART OF OUR POPULATION.
IT HAS A LOT OF NUANCE TO THE COMPLEXITY OF WHAT IT ACTUALLY PUBLIC HEALTH AND TELEHEALTH MEANS FOR CERTAIN POPULATIONS.
SO I THINK WE HAVE SOME THING, SOME TOPICS TO PERHAPS CENTER US AROUND PUBLIC HEALTH.
WE EVEN HAVE SOME, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS FOR GUEST, UH, SPEAKERS.
SO, UM, YEAH, LET'S, LET'S CERTAINLY GO AHEAD AND ADD THOSE ITEMS TO THE WORK PLAN.
UM, AND THEN THOSE OF US AT THE COMMISSION LEVEL CAN PERHAPS WORK OUR RELATIONSHIPS AND, UH, CENTER ON A POTENTIAL DATE TO HAVE THOSE FOLKS.
UM, FOR THE NEXT ITEM, I WOULD MODIFY THIS ITEM SLIGHTLY JUST TO, TO AUSTIN ENERGY AS OPPOSED TO FOCUSING ON THE SMART METERING BECAUSE I KNOW THAT THE, UM, THE ITEM THAT, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY WAS SUPPOSED TO PROVIDE, UM, INFORMATION ON, ON PANO AI WOULD POTENTIALLY BE COVERED UNDER THAT AS WELL.
SO, UM, I WOULD JUST MAKE THAT AUSTIN ENERGY GENERALLY COTON, AND THEN PERHAPS WE CAN THINK THROUGH LIKE A FEW DIFFERENT TOPIC AREAS.
I THINK SOME OF THEM ARE, ARE, ARE, ARE COVERED HERE.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, PERHAPS WHAT IS AUSTIN ENERGY DOING, UH, AROUND INCLEMENT WEATHER SITUATIONS, YOU KNOW, HEARING FROM THEM ON THOSE, ON THE ACTION PLANS, WHETHER IT'S HEAT OR, UH, EXTREME COLD, UM, BEING MORE INTELLIGENT ABOUT DELIVERING, UH, RELIABLE SERVICES.
I KNOW IN THE PAST THERE HAVE BEEN BROWNOUTS,
[01:05:01]
UM, SO WHAT IS BEING DONE TO, TO RESOLVE THOSE LOCALLY? UM, BUT, AND THEN WE, WE TALKED ABOUT THE, THE PANO AI, WHICH I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVING A PRESENTATION ON HOPEFULLY NEXT MONTH.UM, BUT WANTED TO, TO OPEN IT UP TO THE REST OF THE COMMISSION MEMBERS.
ANYTHING AROUND AUSTIN, ANY OTHER SUBTOPICS I SHOULD SAY AROUND AUSTIN ENERGY THAT WE SHOULD, UH, LOOK TO, UM, TAKE ACTION AROUND? OR MAYBE I'VE COVERED IT ALL.
WOULD A PRESENTATION BY THE, UM, GOD, I'M GONNA FORGET THEIR NAME, BUT THE COMMISSION THAT WORKS WITH THEM, SOMEONE CAN HELP ME FILL IN THE BLANK.
UM, IT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY RELEVANT TOPICS WITHOUT KNOWING IT.
IF WE COULD HAVE A REPRESENTATION, LIKE A REPRESENTATIVE FROM THAT COMMISSION COME AND PRESENT, THAT MIGHT BE PRIORITY AREAS THAT THEY'RE DISCUSSING.
YEAH, THAT, THAT'S A GOOD POINT.
UM, THERE IS A COMMISSION SPECIFICALLY FOCUSED ON THAT.
UM, SO WE DON'T HAVE TO DECIDE TONIGHT, BUT MAYBE WE CAN DESIGNATE A SINGLE COMMISSIONER TO TAKE POINT WITH ENGAGING, UH, WITH THAT COMMISSION AND INVITING THEM OVER, AND WE COULD DO THE SAME THING, VICE VERSA.
SO MAYBE WE CAN ADD THAT TO THE, TO THE ACTION PLAN KOAN.
UM, NEXT ITEM, UH, AUSTIN WATER.
UM, AGAIN, I WOULD BROADEN THIS TOPIC TO NOT JUST SMART METERING, BUT JUST AUSTIN WATER GENERALLY.
UM, I KNOW THAT WHERE I LIVE, THEY'VE UPDATED THE, THE METER, UM, TO NOTIFY ME IF THERE'S A LEAK OR, UM, LARGE AMOUNT OF WATER BEING USED.
UM, BUT WANT TO OPEN IT UP TO THE REST OF THE COMMISSION TO SEE IF ANYONE HAS ANY OTHER IDEAS AROUND, UH, WATER USAGE OR, OR WASTEWATER.
I KNOW THERE IS A WASTEWATER COMMISSION.
PERHAPS WE COULD DO THE SAME THING AND ENGAGE WITH THEM AS WELL.
WHAT DO OTHER COMMISSIONERS THINK ABOUT THAT? UM, I LIKE THE IDEA OF HEARING FROM OTHER COMMISSIONS AND KIND OF PARTNERING ACROSS LINES.
LET'S PLAN TO ADD THAT TO THE, TO OUR PLAN AS WELL.
THE FINAL, ADAM, WE'D KIND OF COVERED IT TO SOME DEGREE, AND, YOU KNOW, THIS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, IT CERTAINLY FALLS INTO MULTIPLE, UM, BROAD BUCKETS.
UM, AND I THINK WE HAVE SUCCESSFULLY ENGAGED AS A COMMISSION AS WELL AS OUR INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY AROUND THIS, UH, THIS TOPIC.
SO, UH, I THINK IT WOULD, YOU KNOW, JUST BE A CONTINUATION OF, UH, ENGAGING WITH THE INNOVATION OFFICE TO UNDERSTAND, UH, WHAT ARE THE PILOT PROGRAMS CURRENTLY UNDERWAY? UM, WHAT ANY SUCCESS, ANY FAILURES FOR THOSE, UM, WITHIN THE, THE CITY WE'VE ALREADY, UM, ENGAGED BOTH AS A COMMISSION AS WELL AS, UH, SOME OF US IN, IN OUR INDIVIDUAL CAPACITIES, UH, AT THE, UH, CITY COUNCIL LEVEL TO ADVOCATE FOR, FOR RESOLUTIONS AND GUIDANCE TO, UH, THE CITY MANAGER TO IMPLEMENT, UH, SOME THINGS.
SO, UM, CONTINUING TO, TO MONITOR, UM, THAT, AND THEN I KNOW THERE IS A, UM, A, AN UPSKILLING OR LEARNING INITIATIVE THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS ENGAGED, UH, WITH ON THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS.
I'M NOT SURE IF, DOES ANY, DOES STAFF HERE HAVE THE LATEST ON THAT EFFORT AT ALL? IS IT ON ART ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, OR JUST IN GENERAL LEARNING? I THOUGHT IT WAS UPSKILL.
THE EFFORT WAS AROUND UPSKILLING CITY EMPLOYEES ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOPIC AREAS.
AND I THOUGHT THAT THERE WAS A, UM, SOME COLLABORATION BEING DONE WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS FOR THE, FOR UT TO DEVELOP THE CURRICULUM AND, UM, CONTENT FOR THE CITY.
PERHAPS WE CAN CHECK WITH, UM, DANIEL COLADA WHO PROVIDED THE AI UPDATE WAS A FEW MONTHS BACK, CORRECT, YEAH.
YEAH, SO I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S PROBABLY A DIFFERENT BULLET POINT THAN, UM, UNDERSTANDING AI TOOLS IN THE CITY.
AND THEN WHAT'S BEING DONE ON UPSKILLING CITY EMPLOYEES AROUND AI.
UM, WHAT ELSE AROUND AI CERTAINLY WANT TO HEAR
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FROM OTHER COMMISSIONERS ON THE UPSKILLING CONVERSATION.I THINK IT'D BE COOL TO HEAR FROM A CC ABOUT THEIR COLLABORATION, COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS.
UM, UH, SO I THINK THAT WOULD BE VALUABLE AS IT RELATES TO THE UPSKILLING CONVERSATION.
UM, I THINK WE TALKED ABOUT THE EFFICIENCIES STUFF.
I THINK EFFICIENCIES CAN GO UNDER THIS BUCKET.
UM, THE RULES AND ETHICS, I THINK UPDATING THOSE, MAKING SURE, YOU KNOW, INPUT IS PROVIDED TO THE CITY BASED ON NEW FEDERAL AND STATE GUIDELINES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, I THINK IT WOULD BE BENEFICIAL.
AND I THINK WHAT WE SAW IN THE AI WORK GROUP AT THE STATE LEVEL WAS BEST PRACTICES FROM DIFFERENT CITIES AND MUNICIPALITIES.
UM, I THINK WHEN ANYTIME THE SILOS OF COMMUNICATION ARE BROKEN DOWN, I THINK PEOPLE GAIN A LOT FROM THAT.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, MAYBE WHAT IS THE CITY OF HOUSTON DOING IN THIS SPACE THAT IS COOL AND UNIQUE AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN COULD EMULATE, LIKE THE, THE WILDFIRE STUFF THAT CITY OF AUSTIN WAS DOING WAS REALLY NEAT.
TXDOT DOES, IS DOING SOME REALLY NEAT TRAFFIC MONITORING INCIDENT RESPONSE STUFF.
UM, SO I THINK WHAT I, WHETHER THAT GOES UNDER THE LIKE LISTENING SECTION OR UNDER THIS, OR UNDER AI, I THINK YOU CAN GO UNDER BOTH.
BUT, UM, HAVING, TRYING TO COORDINATE OR HEAR FROM, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE THE BEST PRACTICES THAT HOUSTON HAS, HAS LEARNED IN ITS AI DEPLOYMENT AT A CITY LEVEL OR REGULATIONS.
THIS IS WHAT SAN ANTONIO HAS DONE, AND THE, AND SORT OF WHAT CAN THE CITY OF AUSTIN DO TO EMULATE THOSE SUCCESSES THAT SORT OF WE'VE SEEN ELSEWHERE.
I THINK THAT'D BE COOL, UM, TO ECHO THAT.
UM, I WAS CURIOUS IF HAS THIS GROUP ENGAGED WITH CITIES LIKE INTERNATIONALLY AS WELL? LIKE HELSINKI HAS AN AI REGISTRY ONLINE SORT OF PROGRAM THAT'S INTERESTING.
WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO, YOU KNOW, LEARN IN THAT WAY AS WELL, SPECIFICALLY IN EUROPE WHERE THEY MIGHT BE MORE ALREADY ADVANCED IN SOME WAYS BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO FOLLOW THE EU AI ACT AND THEY'VE GOT A LOT MORE DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, UM, THEY HAVE, THEY'RE MOVING AT A DIFFERENT SPEED, I GUESS.
BUT IN ANY CASE, THERE'S INTERESTING OPEN DATA PROGRAMS AND EXPERIENCES THAT OTHER CITIES HAVE, UM, PUSH THROUGH.
SO TO YOUR POINT, WELL, I, I THINK AUSTIN ALSO HAS A UNIQUE, LIKE THE STARTUP AND TECH ECOSYSTEM THAT EXISTS HERE, I THINK IS UNIQUE IN OUR, AND OUR ABILITY TO HIGHLIGHT THE WORK OF SOME OF THESE UP AND COMING ORGANIZATIONS.
LIKE I, WE, IN SOME OF THE HOMELESS WORK THAT WE'VE DONE AT A, IN SORT OF STAKEHOLDER ROUND TABLES, THERE'S LIKE AN AI OR A COMPANY THAT HAS BUILT, OR A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION THAT HAS BUILT AN AI SYSTEM TO MONITOR, YOU KNOW, HOMELESS POPULATIONS AND TRACK WHERE THOSE NEEDS ARE.
AND I, I THINK WE, AUSTIN IS IN A UNIQUE POSITION TO SORT OF IDENTIFY EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES AND SAY, YOU KNOW, THESE WOULD BE INTERESTING ORGANIZATIONS TO PARTNER WITH TO GROW OUT OR TO PROMOTE OR TO SEE HOW WE CAN INCORPORATE SOME OF THE GOOD WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING AT A CITY LEVEL, OR, OR, OR THINGS LIKE, DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? MM-HMM
SO TO, SORRY, JUST TO CLARIFY, YOU'RE SAYING THAT, THAT THERE IS LIKE EXAMPLES OF, UM, AI REGISTRIES AND OPEN DATA PROJECTS IN WITHIN AUSTIN, OR, YEAH.
WELL, I THINK THERE'S, UM, THERE'S SOME ORGAN, THERE'S LIKE SOME NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE DOING REALLY INTERESTING WORK AS IT RELATES TO LIKE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND, UM, JUST TECHNOLOGY USE CASES.
AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, I'M GONNA CREATE A STARTUP THAT, YOU KNOW, TRACKS, YOU KNOW, THE BUS SYSTEM, THIS IS A POOR EXAMPLE, BUT GENERALLY, AND LIKE, HOW CAN, I GUESS WE LOOK AT THOSE ORGANIZATIONS AND SAY LIKE, THEY ARE DOING MEANINGFUL WORK IN THIS SPACE.
I THINK THERE WOULD BE A BENEFIT FROM, YOU KNOW, HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH THEM AND SEEING HOW THAT WORKS AND WHETHER OR NOT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN ELEVATE THAT AND BE LIKE, THIS IS A GREAT MODEL THAT LIKE THE CITY OF AUSTIN SHOULD ADOPT OR DEPLOY OR OUR SISTER CITY IN THE UK, WHICH IS MANCHESTER.
OH, THAT SOUNDS GOOD, MANCHESTER UNITED.
UM, BUT, OR I COULD BE TOTALLY WRONG, I DON'T KNOW.
BUT TO YOUR POINT ABOUT INTERNATIONAL CITIES, I THINK SHARING BEST PRACTICES IS ALWAYS REALLY UNIQUE.
SO WHAT WE'RE HEARING, UH, AROUND AI IS THE QUESTION IS, IS IT A TOY OR A TOOL RIGHT NOW? AND SO THAT IS A QUESTION THAT THERE'S A LOT OF DISCUSSION AROUND.
AND THEN IF IT IS A TOOL, IT IS SEEKING PROJECTS FOR, UH, FIGURING OUT HOW THESE TOOLS ACTUALLY WORK IN THE COMMUNITY AND YOUR COMMISSION IS ONE WHERE IT CAN MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT HOW THIS EMERGING TECHNOLOGY POTENTIALLY CAN AFFECT THE COMMUNITY.
AND THEN THE OTHER IS AROUND REGULATION.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE WAYS THAT AI, AS AN EMERGING TECHNOLOGY NEEDS TO BE REGULATED? SO ETHICS IS
[01:15:01]
PART OF THAT, UM, AS WELL AS CITY OF AUSTIN IS ACTUALLY TAKING VERY PROACTIVE STANCE ON IT.BUT THOSE ARE SOME OF THE CONVERSATIONS THAT ARE ALSO WE'RE HEARING ABOUT IN TERMS OF DOES THE COMMUNITY TRUST AI? IS THAT SOMETHING THAT, WHAT, WHAT KIND OF INFORMATION CAN COME TO THIS COMMISSION AND HOW CAN IT THEN, WHAT IS THE ACTIONS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO TAKE ON IT WITHOUT I INFORMATION HEARING? HEARING FROM LIKE HR AND I THINK BACK OFFICE FUNCTION USE CASES ARE I THINK SOME OF THE MOST INTERESTING AS IT RELATES TO LIKE EFFICIENCIES, BECAUSE THOSE ARE GENERALLY LOW RISK.
YOU'RE NOT, IT'S NOT GONNA RESULT IN, YOU KNOW, THE DENIAL OF A GOVERNMENT SERVICE TO SOMEONE, BUT IT COULD SAVE, YOU KNOW, X AMOUNT OF, YOU KNOW, DOLLARS AND, YOU KNOW, REDUCE THE TIME.
I THINK FROM SOME OF THE STATE AGENCIES WE HEARD FROM, THEY TOOK LIKE ONBOARDING FROM, YOU KNOW, A WEEK'S WORTH OF PAPERWORK PROCESSING DOWN TO A COUPLE SECONDS.
UM, I THINK FOR PROCUREMENT, UM, PERMITTING IS A REALLY GOOD EXAMPLE.
IF, YOU KNOW SOMEONE'S APPLYING TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN FOR LIKE A BUILDING PERMIT FOR SOMETHING, WHAT COMPONENTS OF THAT PROCESS CAN BE AUTOMATED SO THEY'RE NOT WAITING FOR A PERSON TO SHOOT THEM AN EMAIL BACK AND RESPOND TO THEM FOR A WEEK.
UM, LIKE ARE THOSE THINGS THAT CAN BE AUTOMATED TO, TO MAKE THE CITY MORE RESPONSIVE TO THE, THE FOLKS HERE? YEAH.
SO I'M, I HAVE A, A COUPLE COMMENTS ABOUT WHAT I'VE HEARD SO FAR.
AGAIN, FOR SOME OF THE NEWER FOLKS, UM, COMMISSIONER BRIAN WILLIAMS FROM DISTRICT ONE, UH, MYSELF AND CHAIR ACA STARTED SOME EFFORTS IN THE DIRECTION OF RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CITY COUNCIL SURROUNDING MANY OF THE AI CONCERNS THAT HAVE BEEN DISCUSSED HERE AND SEVERAL OTHERS THAT HAVE NOT.
UM, I JUST WANNA WEIGH INTO, UH, THE CONVERSATION.
SOME OF THE THINGS THAT HAVE COME UP OVER THAT CONVERSATION AND OTHERS I HAD.
UM, ONE IS AROUND THE FACT THAT CITIZENS, AS OF RIGHT NOW, DO NOT TRUST AI.
IT IS VERY LOUD AND CLEAR FROM THE NONPROFITS AS WELL AS FROM CITIZENS THAT THEY DON'T YET HAVE A CLEAR TRUST AND UNDERSTANDING OF HOW AI WILL IMPACT THEM.
AND THEY DON'T HAVE A CLEAR SENSE OF WHAT AI WILL BE MAKING DECISIONS ABOUT AND HOW IT WILL BE MAKING THOSE DECISIONS.
SO AS A RESULT, UM, A RECURRING THEME THAT SEEMS TO BE, UH, COMMON IS THE NEED AND WANT FOR SOME FORM OF HUMAN RECOURSE.
UM, IF AI DOES SOMETHING, MAKES A DECISION, IMPACTS THE DECISION, OR PROVIDES SOME FORM OF INFORMATION OR DIRECTION, UH, IT'S PRETTY CLEAR FROM MULTIPLE STAKEHOLDERS THAT THEY WANT TO BE ABLE TO APPEAL THAT, TO UNDERSTAND THAT, TO HAVE SOME HUMAN INTERACTION WITH THAT, UM, IN GENERAL.
UH, SO THAT'S ONE OBSERVATION.
ANOTHER WAS AROUND, UH, REALLY A COMMENT TO ONE OF THE, UH, LADIES WHO MADE A COMMENT EARLIER SURROUNDING, UH, EUROPEAN, UM, PROGRESS IN THE AI SPACE DUE TO EU LAWS AND THEIR SPEED AT WHICH THEY MAKE WITH LEGISLATION OR WHAT HAVE YOU.
UM, AND ENTERTAINING SOMEONE FROM THOSE SPACES THAT MAY HAVE AN ADVANCE APPLICATION OF AI IN A MUNICIPAL SPACE.
UM, I'LL SAY FIRST, YES, WIDE OPEN TO HAVING ANY CONVERSATION WITH SOMEONE THAT CAN HELP US DO THE BEST THING FOR AUSTIN.
AND SECOND, WE'VE HAD SOME LISTENING SESSIONS ALREADY WHERE CHAIR APODACA WAS PRESENT.
WE HAD INDIVIDUALS FROM THE AI ALLIANCE HERE IN AUSTIN, INDIVIDUALS FROM OUTSIDE OF AUSTIN, UH, WHO'VE WEIGHED IN FROM THEIR PERSPECTIVE OF AI.
SO I SAY ALL OF THESE THINGS TO SAY AS WE ARE CONSIDERING HOW TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS AND THE STATE IS PASSING ITS LAWS AND OTHER CITIES ARE DOING INNOVATIVE THINGS, WE WANNA WEIGH THOSE THINGS WITH WHAT WE'VE BEEN FINDING IN THE COMMUNITY SO FAR.
UM, AND TRYING TO BALANCE WHAT'S HAPPENING IN TEXAS BECAUSE THERE'S MOVEMENT IN MULTIPLE WAYS.
SO JUST WANTED TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I HEARD AND WEIGH IN JUST A BIT.
YEAH, THANK YOU COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS FOR PROVIDING, UM, THAT CONTEXT.
UM, YEAH, AND WE DO HAVE THE, THE AI WORKING GROUP, SO WE WANNA CONTINUE TO, TO KEEP THAT MOVING, ESPECIALLY AFTER THE SESSION IS OVER WITH.
UM, TO TAKE US BACK TO THE, UM, THE WORK PLAN, WHAT I'M HEARING IS, UH, PERHAPS, UH, SOME WAY TO, TO BREAK, UH, AT LEAST MY INITIAL THOUGHTS ON HOW TO BREAK THIS UP KOAN.
SO WHAT I'M HEARING IS AI INTERNALLY TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
SO WHAT ARE THE USE CASES, WHAT ARE THE POLICIES, WHETHER THE REGULATIONS IN PLACE, SOME OF THAT WAS PASSED AT AT A RECENT, UM, COUNCIL MEETING.
SO CONTINUING TO, UH, ENGAGE WITH DANIEL OR PERHAPS OTHERS THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
AND THEN THE OTHER THING I'M HEARING IS PERHAPS EXTERNAL ENGAGEMENT WITH OTHER CITIES, UH, WITH OTHER STATES, UH, PERHAPS EVEN INTERNATIONALLY, UH, EITHER, UH, FORMING A STUDY GROUP OR PERHAPS THIS COULD BE ROLLED INTO THE, TO THE AI, UH, WORK GROUP, A STUDY GROUP, OR EVEN HAVING SOME GUEST PRESENTERS, UM, AROUND THOSE AREAS.
UM, DID I ARTICULATE ALL OF THAT? UM, UH,
[01:20:01]
WELL, IS IS THAT SORT OF LIKE THE BROAD STROKES ON WHAT EVERYONE WAS, WAS SORT OF THINKING WITHOUT DOUBLE CLICKING TOO MUCH.I THINK BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO THE NEXT CATEGORY, I THINK AN AN E WOULD BE, OR SURROUNDING SORT OF CYBERSECURITY, UM, AN INCIDENT RESPONSE WOULD BE INTERESTING, UM, GIVEN SORT OF THE POTENTIAL FOR PRETTY IMPACTFUL STATE POLICY SURROUNDING THE CREATION OF LIKE A CYBER COMMAND, UM, AND ITS INVOLVEMENT WITH LOCAL GOVERNMENT ENTITIES.
UM, I THINK IT'D BE CURIOUS TO KNOW SORT OF WHERE THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS AT AND CYBER INCIDENT RESPONSE PREPAREDNESS, UM, THOSE SORTS OF THINGS.
AND I THINK THAT ALSO FALLS INTO SOME OF THOSE SCAM FRAUD AWARENESS CAMPAIGN TYPE RECOMMENDATIONS AND, AND THOUGHTS TOO, KIND OF ALL FITS IN IN THAT LOOP.
LIKE WHAT IS THE CENTRAL TEXAS REGIONAL MOBILITY AUTHORITY DOING TO SAY LIKE, HEY, BY THE WAY, THAT TEXT YOU GOT FROM US, IT WASN'T FROM US.
UM, I THINK THOSE SORTS OF THINGS WOULD BE VALUABLE TO HEAR ABOUT.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE A GREAT CALENDAR EVENT FOR OCTOBER SESSION FOR NATIONAL CYBERSECURITY AWARENESS MONTH, AND WE CAN HAVE THE WHOLE SESSION BE THEMED AROUND THAT SO AND BEYOND.
I THINK ONE THING THAT, UM, I KNOW IT'S, IT'S TANGENTIAL TO THE RESOLUTION THAT WAS COMING OUT FROM THE CITY, BUT ONE THOUGHT I HAD TOO IS INFRASTRUCTURE TO SUPPORT A LOT OF THESE THINGS.
I THINK THERE WAS PART OF THE, THE RESOLUTION, SO WE TALKED ABOUT WATER, WE TALKED ABOUT ENERGY, SO IT'S JUST A QUESTION I WOULD HAVE AROUND, UM, SPECIFICALLY AUSTIN ENERGY.
I WOULD BE CURIOUS ABOUT, UM, HEARING FROM THEM AROUND WHAT THEY'RE, I KNOW THERE'S A, UM, SOME PILOTS IN WEST TEXAS ON THINGS, SO IT WOULD BE INTERESTING JUST TO THINK THROUGH THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE.
ANYONE ELSE ONLINE BEFORE WE MOVE OFF THE TOPIC? OKAY.
I'LL GO AHEAD AND MOVE US FORWARD.
UM, SO THE NEXT MAJOR BUCKET WAS THE KNOWLEDGE, INFORMATION AND DATA STEWARDSHIP.
FIRST ITEM UNDER HERE WAS, UM, CONTINUING TO SUPPORT THE CITY OF AUSTIN, COMMUNICATING IN E CITY PROGRAMS, RESOURCES TO UNDERSERVED AREAS AND COMMUNITIES.
UH, JUST A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT ON THIS.
I KNOW THAT THE, UM, UH, THE EDD GROUP HAD AUTHORED, UH, A DOCUMENT AND HAD SOME RESOURCES AROUND, UH, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS.
UH, SO ESSENTIALLY LIKE A COLLECTION OF A DATABASE OF, UM, OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT COULD PROVIDE SUPPORT, UH, FROM, UM, DIGITAL EQUITY LENS.
I'M WONDERING IF THAT'S STILL ONGOING, CONTINUING TO BE MAINTAINED, UM, OR EVEN WHAT'S THE PLAN TO, TO SORT OF CONTINUE TO PROVIDE THAT TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS? YES.
WE DID COMPILE A LIST OF DIGITAL RESOURCES AS A PRODUCT OF THE, THE PARTNERSHIP WITH TRAVIS COUNTY.
AND THAT WAS, IT WAS ACTUALLY COMPILED IN 2023.
UM, IT MAY HAVE BEEN UPDATED, UH, IN 2024 TOWARDS THE TAIL END OF ACTIVITIES.
UM, IT HASN'T BEEN UPDATED SINCE THEN.
UM, WE HAVE SOME IDEAS, UH, IN PLAY ABOUT HOW WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO KEEP AND MAINTAIN, UH, THAT TYPE OF A LIST.
UM, THAT WAS AN ITEM IN THE 2014 DIGITAL INCLUSION STRATEGIC PLAN.
AND WE'VE HAD MANY ITERATIONS OF IT.
UH, OF, UH, YOU KNOW, A MAINTAINED RESOURCE LIST.
BUT, UH, IT INEVITABLY FALLS INTO, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, DISREPAIR AND, UH, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT'S ACTIVELY MONITORED, THEN IT QUICKLY BECOMES OUT OF DATE.
UM, SO I THINK THAT THERE'S IDEAS, UH, FOR WAYS THAT WE CAN KEEP IT UP TO DATE, BUT WE, WE NEED TO HAVE DISCUSSIONS INTERNALLY ABOUT, UH, HOW WE CAN DO THAT.
JESSE, I HAVE A QUESTION ON THAT.
IS THAT, WHEN YOU SAY RESOURCES, ARE YOU REFERRING TO PROGRAMMATIC RESOURCES THAT ARE CLIENT, LIKE DIGITAL EQUITY CLASSES? I'M CURIOUS, RATHER THAN THE CITY SPENDING TIME AND EFFORT IN CREATING NET NEW LISTS IS TO ACTUALLY GO TO ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE ALREADY DOING THIS WORK AND MAYBE ADDING TO, SO I KNOW UNITED WAVE GREATER AUSTIN HAS THEIR 2 1 1 PROGRAM.
IT'S PROBABLY THE STATE'S 2 1 1 PROGRAM, RIGHT.
THEY MAINTAIN A DATABASE OF 20,000 OR SO RESOURCES.
UM, WE HAVE A COMMISSIONER HERE WHO
[01:25:01]
REPRESENTS, UH, AN ORGANIZATION THAT MAINTAINS A NATIONAL DATABASE OF FREE REDUCED COST SERVICES ACROSS THE US.AND SO I THINK MAYBE FOCUSING ON HOW CAN WE PARTNER WITH FOLKS THAT ARE DOING THIS TO ENSURE THAT INFORMATION REMAINS UP TO DATE.
SO IT'S NOT AS, AND THERE MIGHT BE OPPORTUNITIES TO PULL THAT LIST AUTOMATICALLY FROM FOLKS AS WELL.
SO, UH, FODDER FOR THOUGHT ON THAT.
AND WE ALSO HAVE, UH, CONNECT A TX IS A ORGANIZATION THAT DOES DO A LOT OF THIS AGGREGATION SAME GROUP.
UNITED WAY IS ON CONNECT, ATX IS ON FIND HELP, SO, YEAH.
AND SO IT, THEY, UH, WHAT WE DON'T HAVE IS A GOOD CONNECT POINT TO CONNECT A TX.
UM, UH, SO, SO IF Y'ALL HAVE CONNECTIONS THERE, UM, THAT WOULD BE WONDERFUL AND, AND WE'D BE HAPPY TO REACH OUT TO THEM AND, UH, NOT HAVE TO REINVENT THE WHEEL.
BUT YEAH, WE, SO WE DO HAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, AN OBJECTIVE TO, UM, HAVE A SOLUTION WHERE WE CAN SHARE WHAT WORK IS HAPPENING IN THE COMMUNITY AND WHAT SERVICES ARE AVAILABLE TO FOLKS.
UM, BUT IF WE WERE TO RELY ON A PREEXISTING RESOURCE, THAT WOULD PROBABLY BE THE MOST RELIABLE, UH, WAY THAT WE COULD DO THAT.
YEAH, I THINK CONNECT A TX WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL AND THEY CAN EVEN TRY TO DO ANY SORT OF HIGHLIGHTING OF THESE DIFFERENT DIGITAL EQUITY RESOURCES.
IT WOULD BE RELEVANT FOR WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WITH OUR LISTENING SESSIONS, AND CERTAINLY COVERED OR SPECIAL, SPECIAL POPULATIONS AS WELL.
SO AS THE CITY THINKS TO DO MORE DATA AND UNDERSTANDING AROUND WHAT'S THE NEEDS OF THIS POPULATION AS IT RELATES TO DIGITAL EQUITY, COULD BE ANOTHER IN ADDITION TO, UH, A DATABASE OF ALL THIS STUFF COULD BE ANOTHER TOOL TO USE FOR NEEDS ASSESSMENT AS WELL.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANTED TO ADD ANYTHING FROM FIND HELP? UM, NO.
I MEAN, YOU SAID PROBABLY MOST OF IT THERE, BUT YEAH.
FIND HELP BASICALLY PARTNERS WITH CONNECT A TX, UM, AND SAME THING, BOTH HAVE LIST OF RESOURCES, UM, AND INTERNAL PEOPLE WHO KEEP THOSE LISTS UP TO DATE.
SO HAPPY TO SHARE MORE ON EITHER, I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE A CONNECT FOR CONNECT A TX, WE'LL GET YOU, YEAH.
SO LET'S CERTAINLY PLAN TO ADD THAT ITEM TO THE WORK PLAN.
UM, I DON'T EVEN THINK WE, WE WILL NEED TO FORM A WORKING GROUP.
IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE ARE A COUPLE COMMISSIONERS THAT CAN GAUGE DIRECTLY AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WE'D LOVE TO, UM, ENGAGE WITH EDD ON LIKE, THE OVERALL STRATEGY TO PERHAPS TAKE SOME OF THE TACTICAL WORK OFF Y'S PLATE.
UM, ANYTHING ELSE UNDER THIS TOPIC? CONTINUING TO, UH, PROVIDE RESOURCES TO UNDERSERVED AREAS AND COMMUNITIES.
I THINK YOU ALL HEARD ME SAY THIS THE PAST TWO SESSIONS, BUT I DO THINK CONTINUING TO, UM, ONCE WE KNOW OUR NEW GT OS AWARDEES WOULD BE INTERESTING TO DO THE CROSSWALK AGAIN WITH THE TRAVIS COUNTY BROADBAND NEEDS REPORT.
SO WE'RE SAYING HERE ARE AWARDED GRANTS AND HERE'S HOW IT'S DIRECTLY ALIGNED TO ADDRESSING NEEDS THAT WE'RE SEEING IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO IT'S A BIT OF A, IS THERE EVER LIKE A POST-GRANT ISSUANT LIKE, IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF LIKE WHAT THE MONEY WENT TO, HOW IT WAS LIKE UTILIZED, LIKE THIS IS WHAT THE GOOD THAT WE DID WAS DONE WITH? IS IS THAT DONE? YEAH, GREAT QUESTION.
WE DO PUBLISH AN ANNUAL REPORT AFTER EACH CYCLE, AND IT DOES HAVE SUMMARY INFORMATION, UH, ABOUT, UM, THE PROJECT, THE, UH, SUCCESSES AND CHALLENGES OF THE PROJECT, AND THE FINAL REPORTING OF THEIR PERFORMANCE MEASURES.
UH, SO AS A PART OF CONTRACTING WITH EACH ORGANIZATION, WE HA WE SET, WE DO SET PERFORMANCE MEASURES FOR EACH ONE, UH, AND WE DO PUBLISH THE RESULTS, UH, FOR ALL OF THOSE.
SO, SO THAT'S WHAT IS PUBLISHED, BUT WE'RE CERTAINLY OPEN TO FEEDBACK ON IF THERE'S ADDITIONAL ANALYSIS THAT THE, THAT YOU ALL WOULD BE INTERESTED IN, WE'RE MORE THAN HAPPY TO, UM, CONSIDER THAT FOR OUR NEXT, UH, ITERATIONS.
AND IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE ALSO INVITE, WE INVITE THE GT OS AWARDEES TO OUR COMMISSION MEETINGS TO REPORT OUT, UM, ON THE WONDERFUL WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING AND HOW THEY USE THE MONEY.
SO, UM, THAT I JUST, YEAH, I THINK THE IMPACT ASSESSMENTS ARE VALUABLE IF WE'RE GONNA KEEP ADVOCATING FOR THE, FOR THE FUNDING FOR SURE.
WHICH IS ONE OF THE ITEMS OF LIKE, HEY, WE DID THIS, BUT HERE'S ALL THE GOOD IT DID.
AND THE, THE IMPACT IT HAD, I THINK IS, IS VALUABLE TO HAVE.
I THINK YOU HAVE TO BE CAREFUL HOW MUCH WE ASK FROM A REPORTING STANDPOINT TOO.
'CAUSE IF YOU THINK ABOUT $30,000 IN A GRANT, YEAH, IT CAN BECOME MORE CUMBERSOME FOR MONITORING AND REPORTING THAN IT IS TO ADMINISTERING THE GRANT CAN BE MORE CUMBERSOME
[01:30:01]
THAN JUST DELIVERING ON IT.THAT WOULD BE ONE MINDFUL APPROACH I WOULD HAVE AROUND IT.
I THINK WE COULD CERTAINLY, UM, INCORPORATE THAT AS PART OF A WORK SESSION, RIGHT? NOT ONLY LIKE THE FRAMEWORK FOR THE GRANT AWARDS, BUT WHAT THE COMMISSION WOULD LIKE TO SEE AS PART OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT OR OUTCOMES.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK THE LAST TWO OR THREE BUDGET RECOMMENDATION CYCLES, WE'VE ALWAYS, UH, ADVOCATED TO EITHER INCREASE OR MAINTAIN FUNDING FOR GTOP PS.
SO HAVING THOSE DATA POINTS IN OUR RESOLUTION, UH, I THINK WOULD JUST ADD SOME IMPACT.
AND THEN SEPARATE FROM THAT, I KNOW THAT, UM, ONCE THAT RESOLUTION, UH, ONCE THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE PASSED, I ALWAYS ENGAGE WITH MY COMMISSION, UH, MY COUNCIL MEMBER AND THEIR OFFICE.
UM, SO JUST BEING ABLE TO SORT OF TELL THAT STORY AND HAVING THOSE SUCCESSES, UM, SORT OF LAID OUT, I THINK, UM, JUST FURTHER SOLIDIFIES, UM, OUR RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND CAN I ADD ONE MORE THING? MM-HMM
UM, I DID ALSO WANNA PLUG THAT EVERY YEAR FOR GTOP S WE DO HAVE A CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT PROCESS THAT WE ENGAGE THE COMMISSIONERS ON.
UH, IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT ALREADY, UH, I THINK WE HAVE SENT IT, WE, WE'VE SENT OUT THE, THE SURVEY ALREADY, BUT WE DO HAVE A SURVEY, UM, WHERE WE COLLECT FEEDBACK FROM YOU ALL AND ANYBODY THAT HAS INTERACTED WITH THE GTOP S UH, PROGRAM.
UH, AND WE ASK FOR RECOMMENDATIONS ON, UH, YOU KNOW, HOW WE SHOULD MAKE CHANGES TO IT IN THE FUTURE.
UM, WE WILL, UH, SINCE WE HAVE A LOT OF NEW COMMISSIONERS, WE'LL RESEND THAT, UH, SURVEY TO YOU ALL JUST SO THAT YOU HAVE IT.
UM, AND, UH, UH, WE, WE DEFINITELY ARE OPEN TO FEEDBACK ON THAT PROGRAM AND HOW IT CAN BE BEST DELIVERED.
UH, FOR INSTANCE, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE CONSIDERING, UH, THERE, THERE'S MANY LEVERS THAT WE CAN PULL TO CHANGE WHAT THE GTOP S GRANT LOOKS LIKE.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT FOR, FOR, FOR MANY REASONS, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT IS EITHER EXTENDING THE CURRENT, UH, GRANTS TO A TWO YEAR GRANT, UH, FROM THE CURRENT ONE YEAR GRANT, OR DOUBLING THE SIZE OF THE GRANT AND CUTTING THE NUMBER OF AWARDS IN HALF.
UH, SO COMMISSIONER HERITAGE, YOU MENTIONED THAT, YOU KNOW, $35,000 IS NOT A LOT OF MONEY.
UM, AND SO WE HAVE TO ASK THE QUESTION, IS IT DOING WHAT WE WOULD LIKE FOR IT TO ACCOMPLISH? UM, AND, AND WHAT ARE THE WAYS THAT WE CAN CHANGE THE STRUCTURE OF THE PROGRAM TO MAKE SURE THAT IT IS, IS, UH, A VALUE, A POSITIVE VALUE PROPOSITION FOR VERY SMALL NONPROFITS THAT ARE DOING THIS WORK? UM, AND SO, UH, YOU KNOW, AS YOU ALL THINK ABOUT, UH, HOW THIS GRANT CAN BE MOST IMPACTFUL TO THE COMMUNITY, WE CAN THINK BIG IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, UH, IS $35,000, THE RIGHT CEILING IS ONE YEAR OF FUNDING THE RIGHT, UH, AMOUNT OF YEARS, UH, YOU KNOW, TO FUND.
SO, UH, I JUST WANT TO KEEP THAT IN Y'ALL'S MIND THAT WE, WE CAN CHANGE THE PARAMETERS OF WHAT THE GRANT LOOKS LIKE IN A VERY SIGNIFICANT WAY.
UM, WE, WE RIGHT NOW HAVE THREE BRANCHES, BUT WE'VE EXPERIMENTED WITH OTHER BRANCHES IN THE PAST.
UH, SO WE USED TO HAVE A, A GTOP S COLLABORATIVE BRANCH THAT WE EXPERIMENTED WITH FOR, UH, A YEAR OR TWO.
UM, AND, UH, WE MIGHT HAVE HAD ONE OR TWO OTHER EXPERIMENTAL PATHWAYS SO WE CAN BE CREATIVE AND FLEXIBLE, UM, WITH, WITH THE PROGRAM.
SO ANYWAY, I JUST WANTED TO PLUG THAT THERE, THERE ARE GONNA BE WORK, WE'LL SHARE THAT SURVEY, UM, FOR YOU ALL TO SHARE ANY THOUGHTS OR FEEDBACK OR IDEATION THAT Y'ALL WOULD LIKE TO SHARE.
UM, AND WE'RE ALSO OPEN TO HAVING SIDE CONVERSATIONS OR WORKING GROUPS IF, IF Y'ALL WOULD LIKE TO DIVE DEEPER.
HEY, JESSE, JUST CURIOUS, UH, HAVE YOU HEARD FROM THE AWARDEES THAT ONE YEAR IS JUST LIKE NOT ENOUGH TIME AND THEY WOULD PREFER TWO YEARS? OR, OR WAS THAT JUST AN IDEA? LIKE INTERNALLY? JUST, JUST CURIOUS IF YOU'VE GOTTEN FEEDBACK.
WE HAVEN'T HEARD, UM, WE HAVEN'T HEARD FEEDBACK ON ONE YEAR VERSUS TWO.
UM, PROACTIVELY WHEN I BROUGHT IT UP TO, UH, SOMEBODY IN THE PAST COUPLE MONTHS, AND I FORGET WHO IT WAS, UM, THEY DID SAY THAT THAT WOULD OFFER MORE STABILITY SO THAT THEY COULD COUNT YEAR OVER YEAR ON, ON, ON FUNDING AND IT WOULD ALLOW THEM TO BUILD OUT MORE SUSTAINABLE, UH, YOU KNOW, PROGRAMMING.
AND SO WE DID GET THAT KIND OF ONE-OFF FEEDBACK, BUT WE HAVEN'T REALLY CIRCULATED THAT IDEA TO GET ENOUGH FEEDBACK ON IT.
WE ALMOST EVERY YEAR HERE ABOUT $35,000 BEING VERY LIMITED IN WHAT IT CAN DO.
UM, AND SO I, I DO THINK THAT WE HEAR A LOT ABOUT THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, BUT, BUT WE ALSO HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND THAT WE HAVE A TOTAL BUDGET RIGHT NOW OF $400,000 PER YEAR.
[01:35:01]
UM, WE'RE MAKING 12 AWARDS THIS YEAR AND WE RECEIVE 25 APPLICATIONS.UH, SO, SO WE HAVE TWICE AS MANY APPLICATION APP APPLICANTS, UH, AS WE DO FUNDING SLOTS, UM, EVEN AT THE CURRENT FUNDING LEVEL.
SO THE, THE GRANT IS IN A HEALTHY SPOT, INTEREST IS VERY HEALTHY, UM, AND WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO FUND ALL OF THE PROGRAMS THAT ARE COMPETING FOR THE FUNDING.
UM, AND THERE'S MANY VERY WORTHY APPLICATIONS THAT ARE NOT FUNDED EVERY YEAR BECAUSE WE JUST DON'T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO SPREAD.
SO, UH, A LOT OF CONSIDERATIONS THERE, BUT, UM, THOSE ARE THE TYPES OF THINGS THAT WE THINK ABOUT WHEN WE THINK ABOUT CHANGING THE STRUCTURE.
JESSE, ANY OTHER FINAL THOUGHTS ON THIS TOPIC BEFORE WE MOVE OFF OF IT? CAN WE MAKE THAT AN ITEM ON THE LIST EVALUATING LIKE THE GRANT STRUCTURE AND WHETHER TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF AWARDEES AND EXPAND THE, THE IMPACT? YEAH, I THINK THAT WAS, IS THAT GONNA BE PART OF THE WORKING SESSION FOR G OS? OKAY.
IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL, IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL, UH, FOR JESSE TO DO A QUICK HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF WHAT THIS COMMISSION ACTUALLY HAS DONE WITH GT OS AND HOW EFFECTIVE THAT HAS BEEN WHENEVER YOU DECIDE TO LOOK AT THAT.
UH, BECAUSE I THINK THIS COMMISSION WAS ABLE TO INCREASE THE FUNDING, RIGHT.
YEAH, WE'LL MAKE SURE TO CARVE OUT TIME MAYBE AT THE NEXT SESSION OR, UH, MAYBE I'LL INVITE YOU ALL TO ONBOARDING SESSION WITH SOME OF THE NEWER COMMISSIONERS.
I'M GONNA MOVE US TO THE NEXT ITEM, UH, MONITORING OF CITY OF AUSTIN WEBSITE UPDATES.
UM, I CAN'T REMEMBER WHEN IT WAS, I GUESS IT MUST HAVE BEEN JANUARY THAT THE PROJECT TEAM, UH, CAME AND PRESENTED ON THEIR PROGRESS TO REFRESH NOT ONLY THE INTERNAL FACING ASSETS, THE CITY OF AUSTIN, BUT EXTERNALLY FACING AS WELL.
UM, SO IT, IT MAY BE TIME TO GO AHEAD AND, AND INVITE THEM BACK.
I THINK IT'S BEEN, UH, A GOOD NUMBER OF MONTHS AT THIS POINT.
UM, SO, UH, I, I THINK ALL COMMISSIONERS WOULD, WOULD PROBABLY AGREE THIS IS SOMETHING WE WANT TO KEEP A PULSE ON, OFFER INPUT ON.
UH, I THINK EVEN DURING THE COMMISSION MEETING, UH, I ASKED IF THERE WAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO POTENTIALLY BE BETA TESTERS OF THE REFRESHED WEBSITE.
UH, SO IF THAT'S SOMETHING WE COULD, UM, IF DAN, IF, IF YOU COULD REACH OUT TO THE FOLKS, THE, THE PROJECT TEAM LEADING THAT TO INVITE THEM BACK TO HEAR ABOUT THEIR PROGRESS, WOULD LOVE TO MOVE THAT FORWARD.
ANY ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON CITY OF AUSTIN WEBSITE? UM, IS THE PROJECT TEAM JUST CITY OF AUSTIN EMPLOYEES? IS THAT WHO YOU'RE REFERRING TO? YEAH, THEY'RE INTERNAL CITY OF AUSTIN EMPLOYEES.
I DUNNO, SOME FOLKS MIGHT BE CONTRACTORS, BUT OKAY.
THE, THE PEOPLE WHO PRESENTED WERE CITY OF AUSTIN.
I'M EXCITED ABOUT BETA TESTING.
I WORK IN TECH, SO IT GETS ME EXCITED.
UM, THE NEXT ITEM, THE CITYWIDE US.
WELL, CHAIRMAN, I HAVE A A QUICK COMMENT.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS. GO AHEAD.
I TOO AM A TECH NERD THAT'S EXCITED ABOUT THINGS LIKE THIS.
UM, THE WAY IT'S WRITTEN HERE IS PRETTY BROAD AND THERE ARE OTHER STAKEHOLDERS WITHIN THE CITY THAT ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE WEBSITE.
I'M ASSUMING QUITE A FEW OF THOSE STAKEHOLDERS.
UM, IS THERE A SENSE OF WHAT ARE LINES ARE WITH REGARD TO WHERE THE COMMISSION SHOULD KIND OF DABBLE AND RECOMMEND AND WHERE WE SHOULD STRIKE? OR IS THAT SOMETHING FOR US TO DETERMINE? I WAS JUST KIND OF CURIOUS TO SEE WHERE THE LINES WORK.
YEAH, THAT, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
AND TO YOUR POINT, AND I THINK, I SEEM TO REMEMBER THE PROJECT TEAM AND I WAS EMPATHIZING WITH THEM WHEN THEY GAVE THEIR PRESENTATION.
THEY HAVE A LOT OF STAKEHOLDERS, BOTH INTERNALLY, EXTERNALLY, MULTIPLE COMMISSIONS, AND NOT TO MENTION THE COMMUNITY AS WELL.
UM, BUT GIVEN THAT WE ARE THE TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION AND, UM, IN OUR BYLAWS WE COVER COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY, TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES, UH, THE PERFORMANCE OF THOSE SERVICES, UM, I THINK THAT CERTAINLY FALLS INTO OUR SCOPE.
ANY OTHER FINAL THOUGHTS? OKAY.
UM, THE NEXT ITEM, THE CITYWIDE TECHNOLOGY PILOT AUDIT AND ASSESSMENT.
I THINK THAT WAS RELATED TO THE AI, UM, PILOT, IF I'M REMEMBERING CORRECTLY.
[01:40:01]
SO I THINK THAT THIS WAS ALREADY COVERED, UM, EARLIER IN OUR CONVERSATION, SO THERE MAY NOT BE A NEED TO INCLUDE THIS.UM, AND THEN THE FINAL ITEM, UM, ITEM AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES, DRONES, SMART CITY TECH.
UM, I THINK WE'VE ALL SEEN THE WAYMO VEHICLES FLYING AROUND.
UM,
OH NO, THAT IS CERTAINLY UNFORTUNATE.
UM, YEAH, SO I THINK IT'S, IT'S CONTINUING TO, UM, TO KEEP A PULSE ON WHAT WE CAN DO AS A, UH, MUNICIPALITY TO ENSURE THAT THERE ARE SOME, UM, POTENTIALLY SOME REGULATIONS IN PLACE.
I KNOW A LOT OF THAT IS SUPERSEDED BY THE STATE.
UM, BUT PERHAPS OTHER COMMISSIONERS MIGHT BE ABLE TO GUIDE US ON MAYBE ACTIONS WE COULD TAKE.
UM, I DON'T DO A LOT OF AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE POLICY, SO I DON'T KNOW THAT I CAN SUPER SPEAK WELL TO IT.
UH, THERE IS SOME REALLY COOL STUFF HAPPENING AROUND ADVANCED AIR MOBILITY, UM, THAT I DON'T THINK THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS BEEN SUPER INVOLVED IN, BUT HOUSTON IS MORE SO INVOLVED IN 'CAUSE GIVEN THE, THE SPRAWL.
UM, AND SO THINK LIKE AUTONOMOUS AIR TAXIS, WHICH SEEMS LIKE THIS VERY HAREBRAINED THING, BUT, UH, I THINK LAND HAS ALREADY BEEN, UM, PURCHASED, ACQUIRED.
THEY'RE BUILDING OUT THE HELIPORT OR THE VERTI PORTS NOW FOR IT.
UM, BUT I THINK HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS WOULD BE KIND OF COOL TO SEE, YOU KNOW, IS THE CITY OF AUSTIN READY FOR A NEXT WAVE OF TECHNOLOGY? ESPECIALLY 'CAUSE I THINK MOST MUNICIPALITIES ARE IN A PLANNING PHASE SURROUNDING OUR, LIKE A AM TECHNOLOGY AND IT'S NOT HERE YET.
AND SO MAYBE WE THINK ABOUT IT BEFORE IT JUST KIND OF ARRIVES AND GETS, GETS DUMPED ON US.
I THINK IT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO HAVE, UM, I KNOW I'VE MENTIONED THIS PROBABLY IN OUR OTHER WORK GROUP, BUT, UH, SOME OF THE CONSULTANTS THAT ARE SUPPORTING CITIES AROUND SMART CITY TECH IOT IMPLEMENTATION COME AND PRESENT.
UM, OR EVEN I'M THINKING OF, UM, YOU KNOW, HER AND HER NAME IS ESCAPING ME IN SAN ANTONIO OFFICE OF INNOVATION.
I WANNA SAY RACHEL, BUT THAT'S NOT RIGHT.
UM, WE KNOW WHO SHE IS AND, UM, BUT I THINK THERE'S SOME INTERESTING, YOU KNOW, THE PRESENTATION, THE PANEL THAT THEY GAVE AT THE DECA EVENT DECEMBER OF 23, I THINK WAS REALLY INTERESTING AS FAR AS, AS YOU IMPLEMENT NEW TOOLS, RESOURCES, WHAT TYPES OF, UM, DATA GOVERNANCE RELATED TO THAT, WHO OWNS THE INFORMATION AND ALL OF THAT.
SO I THINK THERE'S, THAT MIGHT BE AN INTERESTING THING TO LEARN FROM, BRING IN DIFFERENT, UM, FOLKS THAT ARE SUPPORTING COMMUNITY-WIDE MM-HMM
SO WITH ONE, YOU KNOW, BRIEFING, WE CAN KIND OF GET A BROAD SWEEP OF WHAT ARE CITIES, COMMUNITIES DOING ACROSS THE US TO YOUR POINT EARLIER, LEARNING FROM OTHER COMMUNITIES AND THEN, UM, MAYBE ANY GUARDRAILS AROUND THAT.
IT COULD BE SPECIFIC TO CERTAIN IMPLEMENTATION, WHETHER IT'S AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES OR OTHER TYPES OF SMART CITY TECH NEEDS.
AND I, AND YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY TRYING TO GET AHEAD OF, UH, THE TECHNOLOGIES, UM, AS YOU ALLUDED TO.
THE SCOOTERS JUST APPEARED ONE DAY.
AND AKA ONE GROUP THAT I'M NOT SURE HAS MADE A PRESENTATION TO THIS COMMISSION IS THE MILITARY, UM MM-HMM
SO IT MIGHT BE INTERESTING JUST THE WORK THAT THERE, IT'S BEING DONE, UH, WITH UT AND OTHERS, AND ALSO HAVING, UH, THE HEADQUARTERS OF SOME OF THE MILITARY HERE MIGHT BE AN INTERESTING CONVERSATION AROUND INNOVATION AND DUAL USE TECHNOLOGY, DUAL USE MM-HMM
ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO AUTONOMOUS ADVANCED AIR MOBILITY.
SO I THINK SOME OF THE CONVERSATIONS AROUND TECHNOLOGY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND WHAT POLICIES HAVE MADE AUSTIN, YOU KNOW, WHY IS ARMY FUTURES HERE? WHY IS, YOU KNOW, AIR FORCE AF WHY IS AF WORKS HERE? UM, HOW CAN WE SUPPORT THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF, OF THOSE EMERGING TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRIES HERE IN THE CITY? UM, I THINK WOULD ALSO BE KIND OF BENEFICIAL FOR US TO EXPLORE AND HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
AND PERHAPS ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR CROSS COMMISSION PRESENTATION AS WELL WITH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OR, UM, POTENTIALLY SO, OR TOURISM AND NOT TOURISM COMMISSION.
[01:45:01]
BUT IN THAT VEIN, I THINK THAT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO YOUR POINT.ARE THERE ANY OTHER NET NEW ADDITIONAL TOPICS? I KNOW THIS IS PRETTY COMPREHENSIVE IN NATURE, BUT WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, UM, WE'RE TAKING THE REST OF ALL COMMISSIONERS', UM, INTERESTS AND, UM, THOUGHTS INTO ACCOUNT.
ONE QUESTION THAT I WOULD HAVE IS, WHAT ARE YOUR WORKING GROUPS MM-HMM
DO THEY REMAIN THE SAME? YEAH, GREAT QUESTION.
UM, SO WE HAVE TWO WORKING GROUPS CURRENTLY.
ONE FOCUSED ON PUBLIC SURVEILLANCE AND ANOTHER FOCUSED ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.
UM, SO WHAT I WOULD SUGGEST IS, UM, PERHAPS NEXT TIME AFTER, YOU KNOW, IN, IN PARALLEL WITH ADOPTING OUR, UM, OUR WORK PLAN, WE ALSO STAND UP, UM, HOWEVER, HOWEVER MANY WORK GROUPS FOCUSED ON WHATEVER TOPIC AREAS IS THERE.
JESSE, IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN SHARE ABOUT WORKING GROUPS IN TERMS OF THE PARAMETERS OR DAN? YES.
UH, YEAH, THE ONLY, LIKE, MAJOR PARAMETER WOULD HAVE TO BE THAT, UM, EACH OF THOSE WOULD NEED TO BE ON THE AGENDA BEFORE THEY ARE EVEN CONSIDERED OR APPROVED.
UM, SO WE WOULD NEED ADVANCE NOTICE.
UM, SO, UH, I'D SAY TAKE WORKING GROUPS INTO CONSIDERATION DURING THIS MONTH LONG STRETCH, UM, AND THEN WE CAN JUMP FROM THERE.
AND EACH WORKING GROUP, WE, WE'VE GOTTEN A LOT OF PUSHBACK FROM THE CLERK'S OFFICE ON THE WAY THAT WE HANDLE WORK WORKING GROUPS.
UM, AND SO THE, THE CLERK'S OFFICE HAS VERY PARTICULAR RULES ABOUT WHAT CONSTITUTES A WORKING GROUP AND, AND HOW IT SHOULD BE HANDLED.
UM, AND, UH, THE, THE SPARKNOTES VERSION IS, UM, LIKE DAN MENTIONED, IT HAS TO BE POSTED ON THE AGENDA.
UH, THERE HAS TO BE AN ITEM, UH, FROM THE, A VOTE FROM THE COMMISSION THAT ESTABLISHES THE WORKING GROUP.
UM, THERE SHOULD BE PARAMETERS AROUND, UH, SPECIFICITY.
UH, SO IT CAN'T BE LIKE A BUCKET.
IT HAS TO BE A SPECIFIC, UH, TASK OR ORIENTED GROUP.
UH, AND THERE HAS TO BE, UH, A, A CONCLUSION TO IT.
UH, AND SO, UH, EACH WORKING GROUP, UH, IT MUST COME BACK TO THE COMMISSION WITH A DELIVERABLE THAT THEY REPORT OUT ON.
UH, AND WHEN THEY REPORT OUT ON, UH, WHEN THEY PROVIDE THAT FINAL DELIVERABLE, THE WORKING GROUP WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY DISSOLVED.
UM, AND ALSO WE CAN'T PUT WORKING GROUPS ON EVERY AGENDA.
UH, WE ONLY PUT THEM ON THE AGENDA IF THEY HAVE A SPECIFIC UPDATE FOR, FOR THE LARGER GROUP.
SO JUST SOME SOME TECHNICAL THINGS.
JESSE, WHAT ABOUT QUORUM? UH, SO EACH WORKING GROUP CAN ONLY BE A, A SUB QUORUM OF COMMISSIONERS, MEANING THE MAXIMUM, UH, IS FIVE MEMBERS FOR EACH WORKING GROUP.
IS THERE A MINIMUM? THERE IS NO MINIMUM
SO, SO I THINK WE HAVE ALL OF OUR UNIVERSE OF PRIORITIES THAT WE WANT TO TACKLE FOR THE NEXT YEAR.
I'M SURE WE'LL GET TO ALL OF THEM.
UM, NO, THAT'S, THAT'S AMBITIOUS.
BUT WE, WE HAVE A LONG LIST TO, TO WORK THROUGH.
AND, UM, YEAH, I THINK MAYBE THE, SO DID YOU WANT TO GUIDE US THROUGH THE REST OF THE QUESTIONS? HOW, HOW DID YOU WANT TO SURE.
THIS WAS A VERY COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH.
I WAS LOOKING TO SEE IF THERE IS ANYTHING THAT'S OUTSTANDING.
UM, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE ABOUT THE PROCESS.
CAN ANYTHING BE ADDED TO, AND THIS COULD BE EDITED AT YOUR NEXT MEETING.
SO I WILL SEND THE MINUTES TO YOU CHAIR, AKA, OR TO THE LIAISONS AND THEY WILL GET IT TO YOU.
AND THEN IF THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE YOU NEED, I HAVE SOME NOTES I'M HAPPY TO SHARE.
UM, IN TERMS OF NEXT STEPS, I'M JUST CURIOUS TO KNOW, UM, WHO WILL CARRY OUT THESE PRIORITIES,
I WOULD BE REMISS IF I DIDN'T ASK THAT.
UM, AND WHAT EXACTLY IS YOUR PLAN FOR 20, 25, 26, I THINK TO DELINEATE THAT?
[01:50:01]
YEAH.UM, SO FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, I COULD CERTAINLY SEE US, UH, STANDING.
DO WE HAVE TO HAVE THE WORKING GROUP PROPOSALS ON THE AGENDA, PROPOSED NEW WORKING GROUPS ON THE AGENDA FOR THE NEXT MEETING.
UM, IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY HAVE TO BE THE NEXT MEETING.
THEY CAN BE STOOD UP AT ANY ANYTIME OTHER FEATURE MEETING.
BUT, UM, IF YOU WANNA HIT THE GROUND RUNNING, UM, YOU HAVE A FEW THAT YOU'RE CERTAIN WILL, UH, MOVE FORWARD.
UH, WE CAN GO AHEAD AND PUT THOSE ON THE NEXT, UH, AGENDA.
UM, BUT I IMAGINE YOU NEED SOME TIME TO FIGURE THAT OUT.
SO OFFHAND, YOU KNOW, I WOULD SUGGEST WE MAINTAIN THE AI WORKING GROUP AND PROBABLY KEEP THE, UM, I KNOW KEITH ISN'T ON TONIGHT, BUT KEEP THE PUBLIC SURVEILLANCE WORKING GROUP GOING.
WE'VE MADE SOME HEADWAY ON THAT WITH, UM, DOING STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS.
BUT ONE OFFHAND I COULD SEE US STANDING UP IS, IS PROBABLY A WORKING GROUP FOCUSED ON COMMUNITY LISTENING SESSIONS.
UM, SO HAVING A UP TO FIVE COMMISSIONERS FOCUSED JUST ON THAT, UM, STOOD UP BY OR READY FOR A VOTE NEXT TIME.
UM, BUT WANTED TO GET OTHER COMMISSIONERS' THOUGHTS AS WELL.
WE HAVE UNTIL NEXT MEETING TO ADD OR MODIFY THAT LIST.
WHAT DO Y'ALL THINK? WHAT WOULD THE DELIVER, WHAT WOULD THE DELIVERABLE FOR THAT LOOK LIKE? I THINK IF WE CAN MORE CLEARLY MM-HMM
DICTATE WHAT SPECIFICALLY UNDER THE COMMUNITY LISTENING YEAH.
LIKE WHAT SUBCATEGORY A IS WHAT SUBCATEGORY B IS.
I THINK YOU STAND UP A WORKING GROUP FOR THAT.
AND THEN THAT WAY THERE'S SOME DELIVERABLE OF LIKE, HEY, WE MET WITH ALL THESE STAKEHOLDERS AND HERE'S WHAT THEY TOLD US.
AND THEN THERE'S AN END PRODUCT TO THAT STAKEHOLDER MEETING, OR, YEAH.
SO THAT SPECIFIC ONE I THINK WOULD BE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT FROM SOME OF THE OTHER WORKING GROUPS, WHICH ESSENTIALLY THE DELIVERABLE IS TO DELIVER TO THE COMMISSION A REPORT AND POTENTIAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR US TO THEN VOTE ON AS A FOOL, UM, UH, COMMISSION, AND THEN SEND THAT, WHICH GETS SENT TO COUNCIL.
SO, BUT FOR THAT, THE PUBLIC LISTENING WORK GROUP, I THINK THE DELIVERABLE WOULD BE EXECUTING ON THOSE COMMIS COMMUNITY LISTENING SESSIONS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, SO A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT ACTION.
UM, BUT CERTAINLY, UH, ONCE THE, UH, PUBLIC LISTING SESSION OR SESSIONS COMPLETED, THERE'D BE A REPORT TO THE COMMISSION, AND THEN WE COULD POTENTIALLY MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS BASED ON THAT.
SO IN A WAY, THIS PUBLIC LISTENING SESSION WORK GROUP WOULD LARGELY BE CALENDARING OUT AND KIND OF SAYING, THIS IS THE TOP, THESE ARE THE SUBTOPICS, THIS IS WHEN WE INTEND TO DELIVER MM-HMM
UM, AND SO IN TERMS OF SCHEDULING AND CLOSING OUT AT THAT POINT, THEN IT WOULD BE EITHER, IF I'M HEARING YOU CORRECTLY, EITHER WE DELIVER THOSE, I MEAN, THAT COULD BE A YEAR LONG WORK GROUP EFFECTIVELY, IS WHAT I'M HEARING BASED ON HOW YOU DESCRIBED IT.
ABSO WELL, I'LL LET DAN AND JESSE CHIME IN ON THAT.
THERE'S PROBABLY MORE THAT WE WANNA TALK ABOUT, UH, AND TALK THROUGH OFFLINE, UM, ON THIS TOPIC.
UM, THERE'S A LOT OF HISTORY BEHIND THE COMMISSION DOING, UH, UH, TOWN HALL, UH, AND TOWN HALLS AND LISTENING SESSIONS.
UM, AND THE, THE LAST TIME THAT THE COMMISSION WAS ENGAGED IN THESE, UH, TOWN HALLS, I THINK THE CLERK'S OFFICE GOT INVOLVED IN, IN THAT, UH, IT'S A VERY UNIQUE ACTIVITY THAT OTHER COMMISSIONS DON'T DO.
UM, NOW I I ALSO KNOW THAT THERE'S, UM, THERE'S A DESIRE FOR US TO TAKE ON FOR STAFF TO TAKE ON, UH, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND LISTENING SESSIONS, UM, THAT WE COULD PARTNER WITH THE COMMISSION ON THE CHALLENGES, UH, UH, IS BASICALLY RESOURCES, UH, AND, AND THE ABILITY TO, UM, TO DO THAT.
UM, IT IS SOMETHING THAT'S ON OUR, UH, OUR, WE HOPE TO DO LIST, UM, MAYBE OVER THE SUMMER, UH, AROUND THE TIME THAT WE'RE DOING THE STRATEGIC PLAN, THE, THE DIGITAL INCLUSION STRATEGIC PLAN WORK.
UM, BUT ANYWAY, I, LONG STORY SHORT, I THINK, UH, THAT WE MIGHT WANNA TOUCH BASE OFFLINE, UM, ABOUT, UH, TOWN HALLS AND LISTENING SESSIONS MM-HMM
YEAH, LET'S CERTAINLY DO THAT.
UM, IF IT MAKES SENSE, LET'S ADD IT TO THE NEXT, UH, MONTH'S AGENDA ITEM.
[01:55:01]
BUT JUST LIKE WANT TO GET A SENSE OF WHO POTENTIALLY WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN, UM, PARTICIPATING AND OR LEADING THAT WORKING GROUP, ASSUMING WE HA WE STAND IT UP.'CAUSE I WOULD WANT TO PULL THOSE INDIVIDUALS INTO THE CONVERSA INTO THE PRE-CONVERSATION WITH JESSE.
I THINK VICE CHAIR YOU HAD EXPRESSED, MAYBE I'M NOT, I'M NOT VOLUNTEERING YOU, BUT I THINK YOU EXPRESSED SOME INTEREST AROUND THE LISTENING SESSION, SO I'M THROWING THAT OUT, BUT I, I PERSONALLY NEED TO METABOLIZE A LITTLE BIT MORE.
BEFORE I SAY YES, I WANNA LEAD.
SO, UM, I'M HAPPY TO SIT IN ON A CONVERSATION FIRST BEFORE SAYING THIS IS, DO WE OR DON'T WE NEED A WORKING GROUP SESSION.
I THINK FOR ME ON THIS ONE, I WOULD WANNA THINK ABOUT IT A LITTLE BIT MORE AHEAD OF OKAY.
SO LET'S THE THREE OF US PLAN TO CONNECT, OR FOUR OF US, WHOEVER, UH, PLAN TO CONNECT, UM, OFFLINE.
AND THEN, UM, YEAH, WE'LL TALK ABOUT IT.
IF IT MAKES SENSE, WE'LL ADD IT TO THE NEXT MONTH'S AGENDA ITEM.
UM, AND I THINK THAT BRINGS US RIGHT INTO
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ]
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. UM, SO WE'LL HAVE THAT ONE POTENTIALLY WE'LL SYNC OFFLINE.UM, WE'LL ALSO HAVE, UM, THE, UH, DRAFT, UH, WORK PLAN, WHICH, UH, COMMISSIONERS WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE ADDITIONAL AMENDMENTS TO.
BUT WE'LL HAVE, WE'LL PLAN TO HAVE A FINAL VOTE ON THAT AT THE, OUR NEXT, UH, MEETING.
UH, WE'LL PLAN TO HAVE OUR PRESENTATION ON PANO AI, AND THEN WE WILL, AT THAT TIME, WE'LL ALSO REVISIT OUR WORKING GROUPS.
I THINK BETWEEN NOW AND THEN, UH, WE MAY HAVE ONE ADDITIONAL WORKING GROUP, BUT IF ANY OF THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS HAVE A DESIRE TO, UH, STAND UP, UH, ANOTHER WORKING GROUP PERHAPS ON A TOPIC THAT WE DIDN'T DISCUSS, UM, CHAT, SHOOT ME, SHOOT DAN AN EMAIL.
AND, UH, LET'S ADD IT TO THE, UH, AGENDA TO HAVE A DISCUSSION ON, UM, ANY OTHER FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. IS THERE ANYTHING STANDARD THAT WE NEED TO COVER OFF ON? UH, THE ONLY THING WE HAVE LISTED FOR THE JUNE 11TH MEETING IS THAT THE ANNUAL, UH, THE ANNUAL REPORT WILL BE DUE ON JULY 31ST, SO, YEAH.
SO, UM, I'LL, UH, THE VICE CHAIR AND I WILL TAKE THE LEAD ON AUTHORING THE OTHER SECTIONS OF THE REPORT.
SO ESSENTIALLY WHAT WE DID THIS PAST YEAR, UM, SHOULD BE A PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD EXERCISE.
AND THEN, UH, WE'LL HAVE THE JUNE MEETING, WE'LL APPROVE OUR, OUR WORK PLAN, AND THEN WHATEVER WE APPROVE, WE'LL GET, UM, ADDED TO THAT REPORT, WHICH WILL BE DUE IN JULY.
SO IT SHOULD GIVE US PLENTY OF TIME, EVEN IF FOR SOME REASON WE DON'T MAKE QUORUM, THAT GIVES US A TWO MONTH BUFFER.
COMMISSIONER, JUST A QUESTION, SINCE I HAVE TO MISS THE NEXT MEETING, IF I HAVE A PROPOSED AMENDMENT OR ANOTHER IDEA, OR I CAN JOIN A DIFFERENT WORKING GROUP, UM, IS THAT POSSIBLE TO DO THAT ONLINE WITH, WITH YOU OR WITH THE LIAISON OR MAKE AN AMENDMENT PROPOSAL AND NOT BE AT THE ACTUAL MEETING OR, YEAH, JUST SEND, UM, WHAT WHATEVER INPUT YOU HAVE TO MYSELF AND DAN, UM, AND WE WILL ADD IT.
UM, YOU KNOW, IF, IF YOU HAVE TO MISS A MEETING, IT'S FINE.
AND, UH, WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT YOUR INPUT MAKES IT INTO THE FINAL, UH, CONTENT.
BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE WE'LL BE SENDING AROUND NOTES AND DISCUSSIONS FROM TODAY TO THEN REVIEW AND ADD FEEDBACK ON.
I, I WONDER TOO IF, UM, IF IT WOULD BE HELPFUL AS WE LIKE, THINK THROUGH PROSPECTIVELY NEXT YEAR AS WELL, CALENDARING NOW, I MEAN, I THINK AS WE DO, IF THERE'S ANY SORT OF PRESCRIP, PRESCRIPTIVE CALENDARING WE CAN DO IN ADDITION TO THE AD HOC AGENDA SETTING, I WONDER IF THAT MIGHT CREATE SOME PREDICTABILITY FOR BOTH THE PUBLIC AND OURSELVES AROUND WHO WE MIGHT WANT TO HEAR FROM DURING CERTAIN TIMES.
YOU TALKED ABOUT CYBERSEC AS AN EXAMPLE, SO CURIOUS IF THAT COULD BE ANOTHER ITEM.
I THINK THE EXERCISE OF SCHEDULING IT OUT WILL ALSO BE HELPFUL IN BEING LIKE, MAYBE WE'RE DOING TOO MUCH
UM, AND I THINK THE EXERCISE OF CALENDARING OUT'S A REALLY GOOD IDEA.
WE DO HAVE THAT AS A STANDARD AGENDA ITEM.
IS THAT SET FOR OUR JULY MEETING? WHEN IS THAT? UM, IT USUALLY TAKES PLACE AT THE OCTOBER MEETING.
YEAH, SO AT THE OCTOBER MEETING IS WHEN WE MAKE OUR, UH, SCHEDULE FOR THE NEXT YEAR.
SO, UH, TYPICALLY WE ONLY HAVE 11
[02:00:01]
MEETINGS PER YEAR, SO WE'LL SELECT A MONTH WHERE WE TAKE OFF.AND THEN ALONG WITH THAT, IF THERE ARE STANDARD AGENDA ITEMS, SO FOR EXAMPLE, THE PLANNING MEETING, WHICH WE DID TONIGHT, OR, UH, ITEMS RELATED TO G TOPS OR ANY OTHER, UH, ITEMS, WE'LL, WE'LL, UH, MAKE SURE THAT THOSE ARE, ARE CAPTURED.
UM, YEAH, SO WE'LL DO IT, UM, WE'LL DO IT IN OCTOBER.
UH, BUT ALONG WITH THAT, IF, UH, I KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT HAVING POTENTIALLY SOME GUEST SPEAKERS, SO IF THERE ARE ANY, UH, OPPORTUNITIES TO, UH, ENGAGE WITH THOSE FOLKS EARLY, UH, YOU KNOW, A MONTH TO TWO MONTHS NOTICE, I THINK THAT WOULD BE IDEAL TO MAKE SURE WE ADDED TO THE AGENDA.
UH, I JUST WANTED TO NOTE THAT THE OCTOBER CALENDAR IS, UM, UH, THE, THE PURPOSE OF THAT IS TO DISCUSS THE DATES THAT THE COMMISSION IS GONNA BE MEETING, UM, AND JUST TO REVISIT THE, UM, THE ITEMS THAT ARE PLANNED FOR, FOR EVERY YEAR, ESSENTIALLY.
UM, BUT IF THE COMMISSION WOULD LIKE TO PUT SPECIFIC TOPICS ON SPECIFIC DAYS, UH, YOU KNOW, AT ANY TIME THAT IS SOMETHING THAT Y'ALL CAN CHOOSE TO DO.
UM, YOU CAN DO IT AT ANY MEETING, YOU CAN DO IT IN YOUR ANNUAL REPORT IF YOU SO CHOSE TO, TO PUT A, YOU KNOW, A PLAN, UH, SCHEDULED PLAN IN THAT, UH, THAT WOULD BE AN OPTION.
BUT Y'ALL DO HAVE FLEXIBILITY TO, TO DO THAT.
THANKS FOR THAT CLARIFICATION.
AND, UM, IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PUT AN AGENDA ITEM ON, UM, ON NEXT MONTH'S OR FUTURE MONTHS MEETING, UM, I THINK THE, SO CERTAINLY I HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO, TO ADD THOSE, UH, JUST WORK WITH ME.
BUT IN ADDITION TO THAT, YOU ONLY NEED ONE OTHER COMMISSIONER TO SPONSOR YOUR AGENDA ITEM.
SO ESSENTIALLY YOU WOULD JUST SEND AN EMAIL TO DAN, UH, TO GET THAT COMPLETED.
BUT AGAIN, I'M E FOR, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE NEW COMMISSIONERS, I'M EASY TO WORK WITH.
UM, JUST LET'S CHAT IF YOU HAVE A SPECIFIC ITEM YOU WANNA ADD TO THE, TO A FUTURE AGENDA.
WELL, WITH THAT, UNLESS ANYONE EL FINAL CALL FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, UM, ANY FINAL ANNOUNCEMENTS, DAN, JESSE, ON ANYTHING? NO.
DO WE KNOW WHEN THE FULL GTOP S LIST, FORGIVE ME WHEN THAT WILL BE ANNOUNCED, OR IS THAT ALREADY ANNOUNCED? I, I FORGET.
UH, YEAH, SO, UH, JUST TO KIND OF PUT A, UH, CLOSE THAT OUT.
UM, YEAH, I GUESS WE DID, UH, SAY THAT WE'RE GONNA TAKE THAT OFFLINE AND THEN BRING IT UP AT THIS MEETING.
UM, BUT BASICALLY WHAT HAP OR WHAT WE DISCUSSED AT THAT, UH, AGENDA ITEM, UM, MOST OF THAT PASSED WITHOUT MANY MAJOR EDITS.
UM, I THINK THE FINALIST COMES DOWN TO THOSE 12 ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE SHOWED AT THE PREVIOUS MEETINGS, UM, INCLUDING ARTS PARK, TEXAS, AUSTIN CHILDREN'S MUSEUM, OR THE THINKERY AUSTIN SPEECH LABS, CHANGING EXPECTATIONS SEEN IN LESS AMERICA'S COMP.FOUNDATION COMMUNITIES, ARC OF THE CAPITAL AREA BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY LENDERS OF TEXAS NON PEREL INSTITUTE, TEXAS, UH, FOLKLIFE RESOURCES INC.
AND THE VIETNAMESE AMERICAN COMMUNITY OF AUSTIN, TEXAS.
UM, SO IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE FULL DEMO OR THE FULL MEMO THAT, UH, WE SHARED, UM, IT SHOULD BE UP ON THE COMMISSION'S BACKUP WEBSITE.
UM, AND IF NOT, I CAN JUST EMAIL IT TO YOU DIRECTLY.
AND, UH, WHEN IS THE CEREMONY WITH THE AWARDEES? DO YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT THAT? YEAH, WE'VE PUT IN A REQUEST FOR THAT.
UM, I HAVE YET TO HEAR BACK FROM OUR, UH, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER.
UM, BUT USUALLY THAT TAKES PLACE AFTER THE JULY 1ST START DATE.
UM, ALTHOUGH WE'RE A LITTLE MORE FLEXIBLE ON THAT, UM, JUST DEPENDING ON, UH, WEATHER AND SCHEDULING.
UM, SO IT, IT WILL MOST LIKELY HAPPEN, UM, THAT SECOND WEEK OF JULY.
UM, AND COMMISSIONERS ARE WELCOME TO JOIN US FOR THAT MEETING, IF ANYTHING YOU'RE ENCOURAGED.
UM, AND WE WOULD JUST WANT TO CONFIRM, UH, THAT WE DON'T HAVE A WALKING QUORUM BEFORE THAT SESSION.
UH, BUT AS SOON AS I DO HAVE THAT INFORMATION ON HAND, UH, I'LL FORWARD IT TO THE ENTIRE COMMISSION.
OH, AND ONE OTHER ITEM THAT I JUST THOUGHT OF.
SO APPLICATIONS FOR THE OTHER TWO GTOP S PATHWAYS.
I KNOW YOU SENT OUT A COMMUNICATION ON THAT.
UM, DO YOU WANNA BRIEFLY TALK ABOUT THAT AND THEN, UM, SEND THE INFORMATION TO THE NEWER, NEWER COMMISSIONERS? RIGHT, YES.
UM, ALONG WITH GTOP S CORE, OUR LARGEST PATHWAY, WE HAVE GTOP, S MINI AND GTOP S CAPACITY, UM, TWO, UH, SMALLER PATHWAYS, UH, SMALL BUT MIGHTY.
UM, UH, ONE HAS A $10,000 REWARD FOR, UH, SIX ORGANIZATIONS.
ANOTHER ONE HAS A 150 TO $2,500 AWARD FOR UP TO 10 ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, AND THE APPLICATIONS FOR THAT ONE ARE GONNA CLOSE
[02:05:01]
AT THE END OF THIS MONTH, UH, MAY 30TH.UM, AND, UH, WE HOPE TO HAVE THE ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THOSE, UH, ON JUNE 30TH.
UM, SO IT, IT'S A PRETTY TURNAROUND.
UM, BUT, UH, IT, IT'S A SMALLER, UH, APPLICATION.
UM, SO, UH, YOU KNOW, IT TENDS TO MOVE A LOT FASTER, UM, AND IT'S AN EASIER PROCESS.
UM, BUT WE ARE LOOKING FOR REVIEW PANELISTS.
UM, I THINK THIS IS AN EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY TO KIND OF GET BOOTS ON THE GROUND AND, UH, UNDERSTAND THE WORK THAT, UH, YOUR STAFF SUPPORT, UH, KIND OF OPERATES IN EVERY DAY, UH, WHEN IT COMES TO DIGITAL INCLUSION, DIGITAL EQUITY WORK.
UM, AND HONESTLY, IT'S A PRETTY LIGHT LIFT, I'D SAY IT REALLY ONLY TAKES ABOUT 10 HOURS OF YOUR WEEK.
UM, COMMISSIONER CUBY HAS, UH, GRACIOUSLY AGREED TO BE ON THE GTOP S MINI, UH, PANEL.
UM, SO WE'RE JUST LOOKING FOR ONE MORE PANELISTS FOR G TOPS CAPACITY.
UM, AND THAT'S THE SMALLEST OF THE PATHWAYS.
SO IF YOU CAN SPARE SEVEN TO 10 HOURS, UH, OVER THE MONTH OF JUNE, UH, PLEASE, UH, REACH OUT AND WE'D LOVE TO, UH, HAVE YOU ASSIST.
YEAH, I'M INTERESTED IF YOU CAN PUT MY NAME DOWN.
UM, SO DAN'S GONNA SEND THE COMMUNICATION ON THAT TO THE NEWER COMMISSIONERS.
AND I KNOW ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE ASKED MY COUNCIL OFFICE TO DO, MY COUNCIL OFFICE HAS A, A NEWSLETTER.
SO RECRUITING, ANY, ANY APPLICANTS, I'VE ASKED THEM TO INCLUDE THAT, THE INFORMATION FOR HOW TO APPLY AS WELL AS, UM, UH, JUST GENERAL INFORMATION ON THE, THE OPPORTUNITY IN THEIR NEWSLETTER.
SO ENCOURAGE THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS TO WORK DIRECTLY WITH YOUR COUNCIL OFFICES, UH, ON THAT OPPORTUNITY AS WELL.
I KNOW SOME, I KNOW PROBABLY EVERY OTHER COUNCIL MEMBER HAS, UH, NEWSLETTERS THAT THEY SEND OUT.
UM, BUT WITH THAT, UH, I THINK THAT WAS THE LAST ITEM.
SO THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING ON SITE, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.