[00:00:02]
[CALL TO ORDER]
IT IS 6:00 PM UH, THIS IS THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION ON JULY 2ND, 2025.
AND WE ARE AT 6 3 1 10 WILLAMINA DELCO DRIVE AND THE PERMITTING AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER.
UH, LET'S GET A LITTLE ROLL CALL AND I'LL LET THE COMMISSIONERS ONLINE GO FIRST.
WE JUST BARELY HAVE A QUORUM AND I BELIEVE WE HAVE SOME, UM,
[PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL]
PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.FIRST UP WE HAVE SAVANNAH LEE.
I AM HERE REPRESENTING EQUITY ACTION.
UM, WE WANTED TO BE HERE TODAY TO SHARE WITH YOU OUR COMMON GOALS REGARDING AUSTIN AND THE CLIMATE, UH, MOST CLOSELY TIED TOGETHER BY OUR, BY OUR COMMUNITY INVESTMENT BUDGET.
THIS IS OUR DREAM FOR WHAT CITY SPENDING THAT PRIORITIZES COMMUNITY LOOKS LIKE IN THE BUDGET.
THERE ARE SEVERAL CLIMATE RELATED COMPONENTS, MOST MARKEDLY FUNDING FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
THIS FUNDING WOULD ALLOW THE OFFICE OF CLIMATE ACTION AND RESILIENCE TO HIRE MORE STAFF, EXPAND OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT FOR SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVES, ENACT A SUSTAINABLE PURCHASE PURCHASING PLAN, WHICH WOULD ENSURE THAT THE CITY IS CHOOSING PURCHASING HABITS THAT REDUCE EMISSIONS, IMPLEMENT PRO CLIMATE, PRO-HEALTH FOOD, PARTS OF THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN THAT ADDRESS FOOD INSECURITY AND MINIMIZE FOOD WASTE, AND HELP REDUCE OVERALL WASTE BY THE CITY.
WE BELIEVE THAT THIS IS THE WAY FORWARD IN ACHIEVING NET ZERO BY 2030 AS OUTLINED IN THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
AND WE ASK FOR YOUR SUPPORT ON THE COMMUNITY INVESTMENT BUDGET.
THESE PARTS OF THE BUDGET ADDRESS NOT JUST CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES, BUT LONGSTANDING CONCERNS ABOUT HEALTH, FOOD INS, INSECURITY, AND COMMUNITY SUSTAINABILITY FOR AUSTINITES.
WE KNOW WE'RE JUST HERE DOING PUBLIC COMMENT AND THAT THERE'S NO ACTION TO BE HAD TODAY.
BUT AS INDIVIDUALS, WE VALUE YOUR INPUT ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNITY, AND WE ASK THAT YOU SHARE WITH THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT YOU WORK WITH ABOUT THIS WAY TO PROMOTE, TO PROMOTE CLIMATE EQUITY.
I APPRECIATE, UH, Y'ALL SERVICE HERE.
UM, I'M HERE TO UPDATE SOME, UH, TALKING POINTS FOR THE I 35, UM, DEVELOPMENT.
UH, AND IN PARTICULAR ITS IMPACTS ON EDWARD RENDON SENIOR PARK, UH, CITY OF AUSTIN PARKLAND.
UM, IF YOU COULD LOOK AT THIS SLIDE, UH, TO THE RIGHT OF I 35 IS A SQUARE, RECTANGULAR, UH, PIECE OF PROPERTY 0.6 ACRES.
UM, CITY OF AUSTIN OR UH, T UH, CONDEMNED THIS PROPERTY THROUGH TRAVIS COUNTY, UH, PROBATE COURT, UH, BACK IN FEBRUARY, UM, AND PUT IN SOME SORT OF LIKE ESCROW, UH, ACCOUNT, UH, $1.16 MILLION, UM, WHICH IS A ILLEGAL, UH, CONDEMNATION OF THIS PARKLAND.
IT HAS NOT GONE THROUGH SECTION SIX F, UH, WHICH THIS PARKLAND HAS PROTECTION THROUGH TEXAS PARK AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENTS.
UH, GRANT MANAGER AS A ASSERT, UM, AFFIRMED THAT I'M CORRECT IN THIS ASSERTION.
UM, AS WELL AS NATIONAL PARK SERVICES, UH, WHICH IS THE, THE LAND AND WATER CONSERVATION FUND PROTECTS THIS PROPERTY, UH, FROM ANYTHING OTHER THAN RECREATIONAL USE.
I HAVE CONSULTED WITH THE, UH, CITY ATTORNEY AND THEIR INTERPRETATION IS THAT IT IS BEING STILL USED FOR PUBLIC USE.
UM, MY PRIMARY CONCERN IS THAT, UH, I HAD A MEETING WITH TEXTILE LAST WEEK ABOUT HISTORIC INTERPRETATIONS.
UM, THERE ARE SIX HISTORIC PECAN TREES ON THIS PROPERTY THAT ARE PART OF A, UM, PECAN GROVE, UH, THAT'S MARKED BY A GRANITE, UH, MARKER.
UM, THAT WAS DONATED IN 1965, I BELIEVE.
[00:05:02]
AND, UH, HERE ARE THESE PECAN TREES THAT ARE BEING SLATED TO BE REMOVED.UM, IT IS PROPOSED THAT IT IS A CON, A TEMPORARY NON-CONFORMING USE OF SIX MONTHS OR LESS, UH, AND THAT IT IS JUST A CONSTRUCTION EASEMENT, BUT, UM, IT ALL PLANS LOOK LIKE THAT IS GONNA ALSO BE A PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE GOING THROUGH THERE.
UH, THAT PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE HAS NOT BEEN CONSTRUCTED YET.
UM, AND, UH, I WANT, I WANNA SURFACE SORT OF AN IDEA OF LIKE FEASIBILITY AND FEASIBLE ALTERNATIVES TO DO SOMETHING, UH, LIKE A BOARDWALK ALONG THE NORTH SHORE.
UM, TEXTILE HAS FLOATED TO, UH, THE TRA OR TO, UM, THE TRAIL CONSERVANCY TO GIVE SOMETHING LIKE AROUND THE TUNE OF $21 MILLION, UH, FOR A BOARDWALK BETWEEN, UM, SOUTH THE CONGRESS BRIDGE AND FIRST STREET BRIDGE.
UH, I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE UPDATES ON WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
UM, AS WELL AS I'D LIKE TO HAVE UPDATES FROM STAFF ON WHAT THE, UM, THE 21 FOOT DIAMETER STORMWATER TUNNEL THAT'S GOING BENEATH CAESAR CHAVEZ.
THEY'VE ALREADY BEGUN THE DROP TUNNEL, UH, UP AT 50 AT AIRPORT AND I 35.
AND THEY'RE GONNA DO A SECONDARY, UH, DROP TUNNEL OVER AT THE BANANA, UH, SPOT, WHICH IS LIKE WHERE 180 3 AND EVERYTHING CONFLUENCES A CROSSOVER.
UM, THERE'S NO PLANS FOR SECONDARY TREATMENT.
UH, AND UH, YEAH, I WOULD LIKE JUST MORE, MORE VISIBILITY ON THIS AND RE REQUESTING STAFF TO, UH, HAVE SOME COLLABORATION, UM, WITH TECH STOP.
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.
UM, NEXT, UM, DOES EVERYBODY HAVE TIME
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
TO LOOK OVER THE MINUTES FROM LAST MEETING, WHICH WAS ALL THE WAY BACK IN, UH, MAY I BELIEVE.AND DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE MINUTES? MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES SECOND.
SHOULD WE VOTE ON IT? YEAH, HAD TO VOTE ON THAT.
[2. Recommend approval of the Austin Water Capital Improvement Projects located in the Drinking Water Protection Zone for approval to include in the 5-year Capital spending plan as required by Financial Policy #8. ]
WE HAVE, UM, THE RECOMMENDED APPROVAL OF THE AUSTIN WATER CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT.AND IS IT TRUE THAT Y'ALL DO NOT HAVE A PRESENTATION? CAN I, CAN I ASK WHY Y'ALL DON'T HAVE A PRESENTATION? TURN THE MICROPHONE ON IN FRONT OF YOU.
UH, ACTUALLY IT'S A SEVEN PAGE MEMO AND WE PROVIDED TWO TABLES, UH, WITH THE DOCUMENTS TOGETHER.
SO IT'S JUST A VERY SIMPLE, UH, TABLES, JUST SIMPLE.
GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS AND EVERYONE, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO LET ME TO SIT HERE AND TO SPEAK WITH YOU TODAY.
I'M THE FINANCIAL MANAGER FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN IN AUSTIN WATER DEPARTMENT.
SO JOINING ME, UH, TONIGHT, UH, KEVIN GRENDON, OUR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF AUSTIN WATER, AND HE SIT THERE AND ALSO TINA ROMERO, OUR FINANCIAL DIVISION MANAGER AND OTHER TEAM MEMBERS SIT THERE TO SUPPORT, WILL ANSWER THE QUESTION YOU MAY HAVE LATER IF NEEDED.
SO TONIGHT WE WILL PRESENT A SEVEN PAGE MEMO FOR YOUR REVEAL, UH, REGARDING AUSTIN WATER FINANCIAL POLICY NUMBER EIGHT, WHICH PLAYS A KEY ROLE, UH, IN SUPPORT, UH, THE SUSTAINABILITY AND EFFICIENCY OF OUR WATER RESOURCES.
IN ALIGNMENT WITH THIS POLICY, AUSTIN WATER IS REQUIRED TO PRESENT THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS LOCATED IN THE DRINKING WATER PROTECT ZONE.
SO THOSE CAPITAL PROJECTS INCLUDE NEW WATER AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANS, CAPITAL EXPANSIONS, AND OTHER GROWTH RELATED IMPROVEMENTS.
UM, AS PART OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S BUDGET APPROVAL PROCESS, UM, AUSTIN WATER SUBMITS A FIVE YEAR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT, UH, PROJECTS SPENDING PLAN EACH YEAR.
SO THIS YEAR'S PLAN COVERS FY 2026 THROUGH FY 2030.
SO THE MEMO YOU RECEIVED INCLUDES A SUBSIDE OF CIP PROJECTS LOCATED WITHIN THE DRINKING WATER PROTECT ZONE.
THESE PROJECTS ARE NECESSARY TO SUPPORT
[00:10:01]
SERVICE NEEDS, MAINTAIN SYSTEM RELIABILITY, AND MEET AUSTIN WATER STANDARDS FOR OPERABILITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE.WE HAVE LISTED A TOTAL OF 15 PROJECTS IN TABLE ONE WITH A COMBINED FIVE YEAR SPENDING PLAN OF TOTAL $78 MILLION.
10 OF THESE PROJECTS A CARRY OVER FROM THE PREVIOUS IP CYCLE, WHILE FIVE PROJECTS ARE NEW TO THIS YEAR'S PLAN AND ARE MARKED WITH AN AS RISK.
ALSO IN TABLE A ONE WE HAVE INCLUDE PROJECTED SPENDING BEYOND THE FIVE YEAR PERIOD FOR REFERENCE A LOCATION MAP ON THE FINAL PAGE OF THE MEMO SHOWS WHERE EACH OF THE 15 PROJECTS IS SITUATED WITHIN THE DRINKING WATER PROTECT ZONE IN COMPLIANCE WITH AUSTIN WATER FINANCIAL POLICY NUMBER EIGHT.
WE ARE INFORMING YOU OF THESE PROJECTS AND WELCOME ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE ABOUT THE INDIVIDUAL ITEMS. THANK YOU.
AND, UM, LET'S START WITH COMMISSIONER QURESHI.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? UH, YEAH, I APPRECIATE THE, UH, THE DOCUMENT.
NO QUESTION OF THESE, UH, NO QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME.
SO JUST A CLARIFICATION, WE'RE BEING ASKED TO APPROVE THIS, UH, MEMO.
UM, I, TINA ROMERO WITH AUSTIN WATER, IT'S NOT ACTUALLY APPROVING THE MEMO, IT'S, UM, JUST AUSTIN WATER PRESENTING THESE PROJECTS, UM, TO THIS COMMISSION, UH, TO INFORM YOU WHICH ONES ARE WITHIN THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE.
UH, ELIZABETH FUNK WATERSHED, UM, I, HEATHER COOK HAD PUT IT AS AN ACTION ITEM TO VOTE ON.
THEN THEY MUST HAVE KEPT THAT ON THEN.
UH, SO, UM, I, I THINK WHAT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL TO ME AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO SEE IT IS JUST A MAP THAT IS EASILY IDENTIFYING WHERE THESE ARE GOING IN RELATION TO THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE.
IT IS PART OF IT, AH, IT IS DOWN THERE.
I DIDN'T MAKE IT TO PAGE SEVEN.
UM, THE MAP ON THE LAST PAGE, IT SHOWS, UM, ALL THE PROJECTS, THE 15 PROJECTS THAT FREEDOM MENTIONED.
ADDITIONALLY, THE ONES WITH THE RED ASTERISK ARE THE NEW ONES.
THE OTHER PROJECTS ARE CARRIED OVER FROM THE LAST, UH, FISCAL YEAR THAT THIS COMMISSION WOULD'VE SEEN.
UH, AND I, I, I GUESS JUST A QUESTION.
UM, IF I UNDERSTAND THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE, THAT'S PRIMARILY BARTON SPRINGS, UH, CREEK, IT'S AQUIFER, BUT WOULD THAT ALSO INCLUDE SOMETHING LIKE WILLIAMSON CREEK THAT IS AN ONION CREEK THAT DOES RECHARGE BARTON SPRINGS AS I UNDERSTAND.
SO I WILL TURN THAT QUESTION OVER TO, UM, OUR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, UH, KEVIN CRIDEN, AND, UM, JUST TO SAVE HIM SOME TIME,
SO OUR DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE IS REALLY THE, THE LAND DRAINING TO DRINKING WATER SUPPLY AND BARTON SPRINGS.
SO IT'S, UH, WATERSHEDS CONTRIBUTING TO LAKE TRAVIS, LAKE AUSTIN.
UM, ANYTHING IN THE BARTON SPRING ZONE EITHER CONTRIBUTING OR OVER THE AQUIFER, UH, THAT'S, THAT'S GENERALLY THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE.
SO PART OF WILLIAMSON THAT FLOWS THROUGH IS AND PART OF IT ISN'T.
SO THOSE RESTRICTIONS WOULD APPLY TO WHERE WILLIAMSON CREEK IS WITHIN THAT.
THANK YOU COMMISSIONER LOOKEY.
I GET A FEELING OF DEJA VU HERE.
HAVEN'T WE LOOKED AT THIS MAP, LIKE JUST RECENTLY? THIS IS, AM I JUST DREAMING THAT? OKAY.
WELL MAYBE IT'S ANOTHER COMMISSION I'M ON.
MAYBE YOU GUYS ARE MAKING THE ROUNDS.
DID Y'ALL GO TO THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION ALSO? YES, WE DID THAT.
WELL, ONE, ONE THAT I'M NOT DREAMING.
THAT'S ONE OF THE COMMISSIONS LOOKS REALLY FAMILIAR GO TO MM-HMM
I ALREADY ASKED MY QUESTIONS BACK THEN.
UM, WITH REGARD TO THE, UM, DAVIS MEDIUM SERVICE WATER TRANSMISSION MAIN, UM, I JUST, I'M CURIOUS ABOUT THIS BECAUSE, UH, THE FACT THAT IT'S,
[00:15:01]
YOU KNOW, IT'S ON THE UPSTREAM UP, IT'S ON THE WHAT EASTERN SIDE OF, UH, LAKE AUSTIN DOES IT EXTEND BETWEEN MOPAC AND THE LAKE? SO, GOOD EVENING, COMMISSIONER KEVIN CRITTENDON, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AUSTIN WATER.LET ME LOOK AT MY MAP AND SEE IF I CAN HELP TRIANGULATE THAT FOR US.
SO YOU'RE SPECIFICALLY TALKING ABOUT, WELL, IT WAS VERY GO AHEAD.
YEAH, THERE'S A REASON WHY I ASK THIS ALSO, AND THAT'S BECAUSE I'VE NOTICED THAT JOHNSON CREEK, UM, HAS BEEN VERY POLLUTED LATELY.
AND I WONDERED IF THAT COULD BE BECAUSE OF, UM, UPSTREAM ACTIVITY.
JOHNSON CREEK RUNS PARALLEL TO MOPAC.
I DON'T HAVE ANY INDEPENDENT INFORMATION ABOUT THE WATER QUALITY ON JOHNSON CREEK.
AND I'LL ASK LIZ THE YEAH, SO OPINE.
UM, THERE ARE, YEAH, I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING SPECIFIC ABOUT JOHNSON CREEK.
UH, UPSTREAM CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES ARE A VERY COMMON SOURCE OF, UM, POLLUTION IN OUR, UH, WATERWAYS.
THEY CAN, YOU KNOW, SEDIMENT RUNS OFF AND CAN CAUSE CLOUDINESS AND, UM, THE SEDIMENT IS OF COURSE NOT GREAT FOR THE, THE LIFE IN THE, IN THE CREEK.
I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING SPECIFIC, UM, TO MY KNOWLEDGE, UH, ABOUT JOHNSON CREEK, BUT WE CAN, UM, I CAN PUT YOU IN TOUCH WITH OUR SPILLS RESPONSE FOLKS WHO WOULD, WHO WOULD KNOW IF, IF ANY SPILLS HAVE BEEN CALLED IN FOR JOHNSON CREEK RECENTLY.
WELL I WAS ACTUALLY GONNA BRING IT UP UNDER, UH, FUTURE ITEMS, BUT I'LL WAIT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THIS LATER.
UM, I GUESS SOME OF THESE, I GUESS, WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO TABLES? I MEAN, THEY, THEY LOOK SIMILAR, BUT THEY DON'T SEEM TO BE E SURE.
SO, UM, ON THE TWO TABLES, UH, TABLE ONE IS MORE LIKE A HIGH LEVEL SUMMARY.
IT DOESN'T GIVE THE DESCRIPTION OF THE SUB-PROJECTS.
UH, ADDITIONALLY, TABLE ONE DOES NOT INCLUDE, UH, THE SPENDING PLAN AFTER FISCAL YEAR 30.
AND, UM, IN TABLE A ONE WE'VE INCLUDED NOT ONLY THE FIVE YEAR SPINNING PLAN TO FY 30, BUT ALSO THE SPINNING PLANNED, UM, AFTER, UH, BEGINNING IN 31 INTO THE FUTURE TO GIVE THE TOTAL DOLLAR AMOUNT OF THE PROJECT.
AND WHICH ONE OF THESE 15 PROJECTS, WHICH ONES ARE CURRENTLY UNDER, UH, UNDERWAY NOW? FOR EXAMPLE, THE DAVIS, UH, THING, WHICH IS NUMBER ONE ON, UH, TABLE ONE SHOWS $0 IN 26.
SO I ASSUME YOU HAVEN'T STARTED IT, BUT I HAPPEN TO KNOW THAT, UH, SOMEWHERE.
NUMBER 14, THE SPICEWOOD SPRINGS ROAD, UH, THING IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION NOW 'CAUSE I DRIVE BY IT EVERY DAY, UH, WELL ALMOST EVERY DAY.
AND THE ONE ON 360 IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION NOW.
SO I KNOW THOSE ARE, ARE BEING WORKED ON.
SO SOME OF THESE ARE UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
WHICH ONES ARE, THESE HAVE NOT STARTED YET.
SO AGAIN, KEVIN CRI AND LOST SOME WATER.
UM, I DON'T HAVE THAT SPECIFIC INFORMATION IN FRONT OF ME.
I THINK GENERALLY SPEAKING, YOU COULD INTUIT FROM THE INFORMATION THAT YOU KNOW, THE ONES THAT AREN'T APPROVED.
SO THE NEW ONES THAT ARE ON THIS LIST THAT WEREN'T ON THE LIST, I, THOSE WOULDN'T HAVE STARTED.
SO THOSE FIVE SHOULD NOT BE UNDER CONSTRUCTION AS A GENERAL PERSPECTIVE.
UM, ANY OF THOSE ORIGINAL 10 ARE PROBABLY IN SOME LEVEL OF ENGINEERING OR CONSTRUCTION.
AND AGAIN, I DON'T HAVE THAT SPECIFIC INFORMATION ON THE CONSTRUCTION STATUS OF PRIOR APPROVED PROJECTS.
I'M SURE WE CAN MAKE THAT AVAILABLE IF YOU INTERESTED IN GETTING SOME MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE ACTUAL PROJECT STATUS.
SO, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, SOUTH AREA LIFT STATION IMPROVEMENTS, S BARTON CREEK PLAZA, AND I'M PICKING THAT AT RANDOM, NO REASON, UH, IT HAS $0.15 MILLION.
UH, IT'S A WASTEWATER, UH, ITEM.
UH, THAT'S NOT VERY MUCH MONEY.
SO ARE WE ASSUMING THAT'S AN IN, ARE WE LOOKING AT ENGINEERING FUNDING AT THAT POINT OR ARE WE ACTUALLY DIGGING, DIGGING THE HOLES IN THE GROUND THERE? UM, COULD, IF YOU COULD REFERENCE THAT PROJECT JUST BY THE
[00:20:01]
NUMBER AND THEN I CAN, IT'S NUMBER FOUR, HELP TO TRY TO CROSS REFERENCE IT ON TABLE ONE.SO FOUR, IT'S NUMBER FOUR ON TABLE ONE, NUMBER FOUR ON TABLE ONE.
YEAH, I MEAN, JUST FROM LOOKING AT THIS INFORMATION, IT'S NOT A VERY LARGE PROJECT OVERALL, SO I DON'T KNOW THAT WE COULD NOT, I, I WOULD FEEL COMFORTABLE RULING OUT THAT IT IS OR IS NOT UNDER CONSTRUCTION JUST BY LOOKING AT THIS INFORMATION.
UM, AGAIN, THAT'S A A FAIRLY SMALL, I MEAN, ON IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS PROJECT.
SO I GUESS, I GUESS WHAT I'M TRYING TO DISCERN IS WHICH ONES OF THESE ARE ACTUALLY DIGGING HOLES ON THE GROUND AND WHICH ONES ARE, ARE MORE IN THE PLANNING STAGE? TINA ROMERO, AUSTIN WATER.
UM, SO ONE THING THAT IS AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE IS THE CAPITAL PROJECTS EXPLORER, A WEBPAGE THAT THE CITY PROVIDES ON ALL PROJECTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
AND SO IT GIVES INFORMATION ON THAT PRO, UH, CAPITAL PROJECT EXPLORER WEBPAGE, UH, WHERE, UH, THE PROJECT IS OR, OR WHEN IT STARTED.
AND SO, UM, BUT SPEAKING TO THE DOLLAR AMOUNTS THAT YOU'RE SEEING HERE FOR THESE PROJECTS, IF YOU'RE SEEING PROJECTS, UM, IN YEARS ONE AND TWO OF THE FIVE YEAR PLAN THAT HAVE $0, THEN LIKELY THAT PROJECT HAS NOT STARTED.
BUT IF YOU'RE SEEING IN, UM, YEARS THREE, FOUR, AND $5 THAT START TO KICK IN, THEN THAT IS AN INDICATION THAT THE PROJECT AT SOME PHASE HAS STARTED.
AND USUALLY, UM, FOR THE PHASES THERE'S THE DESIGN AND ALL OF THE PLANNING BEFORE THEY GET INTO THE CONSTRUCTION PHASE, AND THEN THE DOLLARS WILL START TO TAPER OFF TOWARDS THE END OF THAT CONSTRUCTION PHASE.
CAN YOU PLEASE FORWARD OVER TO, UH, ELIZABETH THE, UH, LINK TO THAT, UH YES.
WEBSITE WE HAVE THAT IT'S, UH, SHE CAN DISTRIBUTE THAT OUT TO EVERYONE PLEASE.
UM, YEAH, THE, WE WE HAVE THAT WE CAN FORWARD IT TO YOU FOR FOLKS WATCHING AT HOME.
IT'S, UM, CAPITAL PROJECTS DOT AUSTIN TEXAS.GOV, BUT WE WILL FORWARD IT TO THE GREATER BODY AS WELL.
UM, I'M SURE YOU ALL SAW THE RECENT NEWS ARTICLE FROM KUT HIGHLIGHTING THE, OUR LEAKY PIPE PROBLEM IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, AND I THINK BY YOUR OWN AUDIT, IT WAS REPORTED THAT WE LOST 9.3 BILLION GALLONS OF WATER LAST YEAR.
AND I'M CURIOUS HOW, IF ANY OF THESE PROJECTS ARE GONNA HELP MITIGATE THAT ISSUE.
SO ON THIS PARTICULAR LIST, UM, THIS IS JUST A SNAPSHOT OF OUR OVERALL CAPITAL PLAN.
SO OUR CAPITAL PLAN PROPOSED FOR THIS TIMEFRAME OVERALL IS $2.7 BILLION.
UM, OF THAT, UM, THERE'S SUBSTANTIAL WATERLINE, UH, RENEWAL AND REPLACEMENT.
UM, SO I MEAN, I THINK THE, THE GENERAL ANSWER IS THAT'S ACCOMMODATED.
IT'S IN THE REMAINDER OF THE BALANCE OF THE PLAN.
UM, YOU KNOW, I WOULD SAY ANY OF THESE PROJECTS THAT ARE ON HERE THAT ARE LISTED AS TRANSMISSION LINE PROJECTS, YOU KNOW, IN, IN GENERAL WOULD, UM, GO TO, UH, CONTRIBUTE TO REDUCTION IN WATER LOSS.
THAT WAS A GOOD QUESTION THERE.
UM, OKAY, SO, UH, I DO HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS.
UM, I AM STILL A LITTLE HUNG UP ON THE FACT THERE'S NOT A PRESENTATION ON THIS, UM, BUT I WILL GET OVER IT.
SO, UM, ON THE, UM, ON THE MARSHALL TRACK, BOY, I SURE HAVE SOME QUESTIONS ON THAT BECAUSE THAT SERVICE IS LAS CREEK, IS THAT CORRECT? CORRECT.
AND IF I'M UNDERSTANDING, LAS CREEK LEFT THE ETJ, RIGHT? WHY ARE WE SERVICING THEM? WHY ARE WE DOING THAT? WHY ARE WE SPENDING $11 MILLION ON A COMMUNITY THAT LEFT THE ETJ? I'M, I'M NOT REALLY, I MEAN, DON'T BE WRONG.
I GREW UP IN A NEIGHBORHOOD CLOSE TO LAS CREEK AND IT'S A FINE PLACE, BUT I AM A LITTLE CONCERNED AS A TAXPAYER THAT WE'D BE SPENDING THAT MUCH, THEY'RE NO LONGER PART OF THE ETJ.
SO JUST SPECIFICALLY LAS CREEK DID IN FACT, UM, DE ANNEX FROM THE CITY.
UM, THEY ARE, HOWEVER, STILL IN AUSTIN WATER SERVICE AREA.
AND SO, UM, PART OF THAT DE ANNEXATION, UM, CONTINUES, UM, THAT AUSTIN WATER CONTINUES TO BE RESPONSIBLE TO PROVIDE WATER AND WASTE WATER UTILITY SERVICE IN LAS CREEK.
AND SO HOW, HELP ME UNDERSTAND, HOW DO THEY,
[00:25:01]
HOW DO THEY PAY FOR THAT? THEY PAY FOR THAT THROUGH WATER AND WASTEWATER UTILITY SERVICE RATES.SO THEY STILL PAY FOR THAT ON, ON THEIR ABSOLUTELY.
AND I WILL SAY THAT THIS, THAT PARTICULAR PROJECT, UM, PROVIDES ADDITIONAL SUPPORT TO OUR SYSTEM BEYOND JUST DIRECTLY SERVING THAT NEIGHBORHOOD.
THAT'S AN ELEVATED STORAGE TANK.
AND SO IT DOES PROVIDE RESILIENCY, UH, OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH SORT OF THE BROADER, UM, PRESSURE ZONE IN THAT AREA.
SO YEAH, IT JUST SEEMS LIKE A AWFUL LOT.
UM, THERE'S ANOTHER HATCH OUT AREA DOWN HERE THAT I, I CAN'T REALLY SEE.
UM, IT'S, IT'S UNDERNEATH THE SOUTH LAMAR BOULEVARD CORRIDOR.
WHAT IS THAT HATCHED AREA? COULDN'T QUITE FIGURE OUT WHAT THAT IS.
IT SAYS OUTSIDE IMPACT FEED JURISDICTION.
OH, MAYBE IT IS SUNSET VALLEY.
IT, I'M AGAIN, JUST INTUITING FROM THIS MAP.
IT, THOSE COULD BE, UM, LIKE AREAS THAT ARE LIKE WHOLESALE CUSTOMERS OR OTHER JURISDICTIONS.
Y'ALL DON'T KNOW WHERE THAT, OKAY.
BUT, BUT GENERALLY THAT TERMINOLOGY, OUR IMPACT FEE SERVICE BOUNDARY IS OUR SERVICE AREA.
AND SO THAT WOULD SUGGEST THAT THOSE TWO AREAS ARE NOT, IT'S A DONUT HOLE WOULD BE THE WAY TO DESCRIBE IT WITHIN OUR SERVICE AREA.
SO IT COULD BE, AGAIN, THE SERVICE AREA OF ANOTHER PROVIDER AND POSSIBLY A WHOLESALE CUSTOMER OF OURS.
I WOULD LIKE TO ASK FOR, UM, NEXT YEAR WHEN WE GET THIS REPORT THAT WE DO INCLUDE, UM, AND THIS IS GOING TO, UM, VICE CHAIR, UH, KRUGER'S QUESTION.
UM, ANY OF THE LEAK DETECTION, ANY OF THE, YOU KNOW, UM, SOLUTIONS THAT YOU'RE FINDING FOR THAT AS FAR AS, YOU KNOW, WHERE IS THAT IN THE BUDGET? I MEAN, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE VERY INTERESTED IN AS WELL AS THAT IMPACTS THE ENVIRONMENT AS WELL.
SO WE CAN CERTAINLY DO THAT TO THE ONES THAT ARE, UM, WITHIN THIS PROJECT.
BUT, UM, AS WE DON'T BRING OUR ENTIRE CIP TO THIS COMMISSION, IT IS JUST BY OUR FINANCIAL POLICY TO BRING THOSE PROJECTS WITHIN THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE.
SO IF THERE ARE ANY THAT ARE RELATED TO THESE PRO OR THE NEXT PROJECTS WE BRING TO YOU NEXT YEAR, WE CAN CERTAINLY DO THAT.
NO OTHER QUESTIONS? AND I THINK WE HAVE A MOTION.
JEN, COULD YOU MAYBE WRITE OR EXCUSE ME, CHAIR BRISTOL, COULD YOU MAYBE WRITE SOME LANGUAGE, UM, TO ADD TO OUR AMENDMENT REGARDING WHAT YOUR YES.
WHAT YOU JUST REQUESTED? YOU WANT ME TO DO IT ON THERE OR DO YOU WANT ME TO SURE.
[00:30:26]
OKAY.THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR PATIENCE.
UM, THIS IS ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION MOTION 2 0 2 5 0 7 0 2 0 0 2 ON JULY 2ND, 2025.
THE SUBJECT IS RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THE AUSTIN WATER CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS LOCATED IN THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE FOR APPROVAL TO INCLUDE IN THE FIVE YEAR CAPITAL SPENDING PLAN AS REQUIRED BY FINANCIAL POLICY NUMBER EIGHT WHERE, OH, EXCUSE ME.
WHEREAS THE CITY OF AUSTIN WATER UTILITY PRESENTED AND UPDATED THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION ON NEW AND EXISTING GROWTH RELATED CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM, CIP PROJECTS LOCATED IN THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE.
AND WHEREAS THE AUSTIN WATER UTILITY PROVIDES ADEQUATE DRINKING WATER AND RELIABLE SYSTEMS FOR CURRENT AND FUTURE CUSTOMERS, AND WHEREAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION REQUESTS THAT ON THE 2026 REPORT, IT SHOULD REFLECT ANY WATER LEAK DETECTION OR ABATEMENT TO LEAKS IN, IN THE DRINKING WATER ZONE.
THEREFORE, THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOMMENDS APPROVAL OF THE REQUEST FOR THE INCLUSION OF THE CIP PROJECTS AND AUSTIN WATER UTILITIES, FIVE YEAR CAPITAL SPENDING PROJECT, OR EXCUSE ME, CAPITAL SPENDING BUDGET.
ANY DISCUSSION COMMENTS? ANY? ALL IN FAVOR? GO AHEAD AND RAISE YOUR HAND.
SO WE HAVE 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, AND SIX.
COMMISSIONER BRIMER, WHAT'S YOUR VOTE? ABSTAIN.
[3. Presentation and discussion on the Rain to River Strategic Plan – Sari Albornoz, Planner Senior, Watershed Protection Department ]
WE HAVE ONE OF, UM, THE PROJECTS THAT HAS MY FAVORITE NAME.I DON'T KNOW WHY I LIKE THIS NAME SO MUCH, BUT IT'S RAINER RIVER.
AND I THINK Y'ALL DO HAVE A PRESENTATION FOR THIS.
UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING US.
MY NAME IS AARON WOOD, I'M THE PLANNING TEAM MANAGER AND THE LEAD FOR THE RANGER RIVER PROJECT, UH, HERE AT WATERSHED PROTECTION.
I'M GLAD TO HEAR YOU'RE A FAN OF THE NAME.
UH, THERE WAS A LOT OF DEBATE OVER IT.
'CAUSE AS Y'ALL ARE AWARE, WE, OUR WORK ENCAPSULATES A LOT OF, UH, DIFFERENT TOPICS FOR, YOU KNOW, FLOODING AND EROSION AND WATER QUALITY.
AND SO WE REALLY WANTED TO, UM, ENCAPSULATE THAT ALL IN THE NAME.
AND SO WE CHOSE RAIN TO RIVER BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, FROM THE MOMENT THAT HITS THE GROUND, THE RAIN HITS THE GROUND, IT'S WORKING ITS WAY THROUGH A NETWORK OF CREEKS AND STORM DRAINS DOWN ULTIMATELY TO THE RESERVOIRS IN THE RIVER.
UM, AND SO WE THOUGHT THAT WAS A WAY TO, TO CAPTURE THE ENTIRE WATERSHED AS PART OF, UH, THAT PLAN WITHOUT USING THE NAME WATER.
UH, BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT CAN BE, OH, OUR FRIENDS FROM AUSTIN WATER LEFT.
BUT IT CAN BE A LITTLE CONFUSING, UH, BETWEEN THE TWO DEPARTMENTS.
AND BEFORE WE GET STARTED, I JUST WANNA APOLOGIZE THAT I FORGOT TO ADD ERIN'S NAME TO THIS PRESENTATION, EVEN THOUGH SHE'S PRESENTING SOLES TO BE CONFUSING.
SO, YEAH, I'M GONNA GIVE THE INTRO AND THEN I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO SADIE.
UM, IF YOU WANTED TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF, UH, BRIEFLY.
UH, MY NAME IS ARI EL BRUNO, AND I AM, UM, A PLANNER SENIOR, A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT FOCUS PLANNER, UM, ON ERIN'S TEAM.
SO TODAY WE WANTED TO GIVE YOU GUYS AN UPDATE, UM, ON THE PROJECT.
WE'RE GONNA SHARE, UH, I'LL BE SHARING A QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE PROJECT GOALS AND THE TIMELINE.
UM, THEN WE'RE GONNA MOVE INTO THE ENGAGEMENT APPROACH.
WE'LL TELL YOU ABOUT, UH, THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THAT WE'VE DONE TO DATE, UM, AND WHAT WE'VE HEARD.
UM, AND THEN WE'LL SHARE ABOUT, UH, OUR CURRENT ENGAGEMENT EFFORT THAT WE JUST LAUNCHED, UH, THIS JUNE.
AND, UM, HOPEFULLY ASK FOR YOUR SUPPORT, UH, REACHING A BROAD AND DIVERSE ARRAY OF OUR AUSTIN RESIDENTS.
[00:35:01]
A LITTLE SLOW IN THE TECH TONIGHT.UM, ALRIGHT, SO WE LIKE THE NAME, WHAT IS RAIN RIVER? UM, IT'S OUR, UH, DEPARTMENT STRATEGIC PLAN.
UH, SO OUR, OUR TAGLINE HAS BEEN A STRATEGIC PLAN TO PROTECT AUSTIN'S CREEKS AND COMMUNITIES.
UM, SO IT'LL BE THE STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT.
UM, AS Y'ALL KNOW, WE'RE THE DRAINAGE UTILITY FOR THE CITY.
UM, AS I MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, OUR MISSION IS TO PROTECT LIVES, PROPERTY AND ENVIRONMENT BY REDUCING THE IMPACT OF FLOODING, EROSION, AND WATER POLLUTION.
SO WE DO THIS THROUGH, UM, A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT WAYS, UH, REGULATIONS OF WHICH Y'ALL INTERACT WITH A LOT, INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS, UM, AND A VARIETY OF PROGRAMS. SO WE HAVE AN EXISTING STRATEGIC PLAN, UH, THAT WAS ADOPTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL BACK IN 2001.
UH, SO IT HASN'T BEEN UPDATED, UM, IN ALMOST 25 YEARS.
UM, AND AS WE ALL KNOW, AUSTIN HAS CHANGED A LOT, UH, IN THE LAST 25 YEARS.
UH, SO IT'S LONG PAST DUE FOR AN UPDATE.
UH, SO THIS IS GONNA BE, YOU KNOW, A PRETTY COMPREHENSIVE OVERHAUL.
UM, SO THE STRATEGIC PLAN, WHAT DOES IT DO? IT'S THE FRAMEWORK FOR HOW OUR DEPARTMENT SETS PRIORITIES AND MAKES DECISIONS.
IT SETS KIND OF OUR ASPIRATIONAL GOALS, OUR OBJECTIVES, HOW WE MEASURE PROGRESS, UM, WHAT WE CONSIDER A WATERSHED PROBLEM, HOW WE PRIORITIZE THOSE, AND HOW WE SELECT, UH, THE SOLUTIONS THAT WE'RE CHOOSING TO IMPLEMENT.
UM, AND THEN FINALLY, IT'S A TOOL, UH, FOR COMMUNICATING WHAT OUR DEPARTMENT DOES WITH OUR STAFF, WITH CITY POLICY MAKERS, UM, AND WITH THE PUBLIC.
UH, IF YOU CHECKED OUT THE CURRENT STRATEGIC PLAN, IT'S OVER 400 PAGES AND IT'S HIGHLY TECHNICAL.
IT'S FULL OF A LOT OF FORMULAS, NOT A LOT OF PHOTOS.
UH, SO IT'S NOT REALLY CURRENTLY FUNCTIONING AS A GREAT COMMUNICATION TOOL FOR THE WORK AT THE DEPARTMENT.
SO WE HAVE THREE MAIN GOALS FOR THE STRATEGIC PLAN UPDATE.
UM, ONE, AS I MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, IT'S BEEN OVER 25 YEARS.
UM, AND SO IT'S BEEN, OR ALMOST 25 YEARS, IT'S BEEN ALMOST 25 YEARS SINCE WE'VE GONE TO THE COMMUNITY AND REALLY HAD, YOU KNOW, A DEEP CONVERSATION ABOUT THEIR GOALS AND VALUES AND PRIORITIES AROUND WATERSHED PROTECTION.
UH, SO WE REALLY WANT THIS UPDATED PLAN TO REFLECT THE COMMUNITY'S VISION AND VALUES.
UM, AND SO WE'VE PUT A LOT OF ENERGY INTO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, AND I'M REALLY EXCITED FOR SAD TO TELL YOU THAT WHOLE STORY HERE IN A SECOND.
UM, SO YEAH, REALLY WANTING TO, TO BUILD ON THE KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE OF THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY IN GUIDING HOW WE DO OUR WORK.
UM, SECOND, AS I MENTIONED, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT, YOU KNOW, IT'S BEEN OVER, IT'S BEEN ALMOST 25 YEARS.
THERE'S A LOT MISSING, UM, FROM THE CURRENT STRATEGIC PLAN.
IT DOESN'T TACKLE THINGS LIKE CLIMATE CHANGE OR RACIAL EQUITY, UM, OR, YOU KNOW, THE RAPID POPULATION GROWTH AND URBANIZATION OF THAT THE CITY IS FACING.
UH, SO WE REALLY WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THOSE CHALLENGES ARE ADDRESSED FRONT AND CENTER IN THE NEW PLAN.
UM, AND THEN THIRD, LIKE I MENTIONED, WE REALLY WANT THIS TO BE THAT COMMUNICATION TOOL.
WE WANT IT TO BE ACCESSIBLE AND INFORMATIVE TO A BROAD AUDIENCE.
UH, SO WE WANT SOMETHING THAT CAN BOTH REALLY GUIDE, YOU KNOW, THE, OUR DEPARTMENT'S OPERATIONS AND DAILY WORK FROM THE STAFF LEVEL.
BUT WE REALLY UNDERSTANDABLE AND INFORMATIVE TO THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE.
UH, WE'VE ALSO SET SOME REALLY CLEAR INTENTIONS FOR HOW WE WANNA APPROACH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
AND SADIE WILL DIVE MORE INTO THE STRATEGIES WE'RE USING FOR THAT.
UM, BUT REALLY FOCUSING ON RELATIONSHIPS.
SO NOT JUST KIND OF EXTRACTING INFORMATION WE NEED FROM PEOPLE AND MOVING ON.
WE REALLY WANNA BUILD LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIPS AND TRUST WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND LEADERS.
WE WANNA MAKE THIS AS EASY AND ENJOYABLE AS WE CAN FOR PEOPLE TO PARTICIPATE.
UM, THIS HAS ALSO LOOKED LIKE COMPENSATING PEOPLE FOR THEIR TIME, UH, MEETING PEOPLE WHERE THEY'RE AT.
SO GOING TO COMMUNITY EVENTS, INTERVIEWING PEOPLE IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS.
UH, AND THEN WE'RE USING AN ADAPTIVE PROCESS.
UH, SO WE'VE DEFINED OUR METRICS FOR SUCCESS AROUND ENGAGEMENT.
WE TRACK HOW WE'RE DOING, UM, ALONG THE WAY AND ADJUST OUR APPROACH AND MAKE, UH, CHANGES TO THE STRATEGIES THAT WE'RE INVESTING OUR TIME AND RESOURCES IN AS WE GO.
UM, BECAUSE WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE HEARING, UH, FROM A MIX OF AUSTIN RESIDENTS THAT REFLECTS THE FULL DIVERSITY OF OUR CITY.
SO AS PART OF THAT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EFFORT IN ACHIEVING THOSE GOALS, WE'RE MAKING A SPECIAL EFFORT TO ENGAGE WITH FOLKS WHO HAVE BEEN LEFT OUT OF PREVIOUS WATERSHED PLANNING PROCESSES.
UM, YOU KNOW, TYPICALLY IN THE PAST WHEN WE'VE DONE THINGS LIKE THAT, IT'S LOOKED LIKE PUB PUBLIC MEETINGS COME TO US.
THEY'RE OFTEN DURING WORKDAY HOURS, UM, AT CITY HALL.
AND SO FOR THIS PROCESS, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY WANTED TO SHAKE THINGS UP AND DO IT DIFFERENTLY.
UM, SO WE'RE, WE'RE ALSO PRIORITIZING REACHING, UM, SPECIFIC GROUPS OF STAKEHOLDERS.
AND BY PRIORITIZING MEAN, REALLY DEDICATING EXTRA TIME AND RESOURCES BEYOND KIND OF OUR TYPICAL ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES, UH, TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS AND HEAR THOSE VOICES.
UM, SO THOSE INCLUDE RESIDENTS, UH, WHO HAVE BEEN DENIED A FULL OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN PAST PLANNING
[00:40:01]
DECISION MAKING PROCESSES, UM, FOLKS WHO ARE MORE LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE NEGATIVE QUALITY OF LIFE OUTCOMES.SO THIS COULD BE, UM, COMMUNITIES OF COLOR, LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES, UH, PEOPLE SPEAKING LANGUAGES OTHER THAN ENGLISH, UM, DISABLED COMMUNITIES, THE UNHOUSED COMMUNITY, UM, AND MANY OTHERS.
UH, WE'RE ALSO REACHING OUT, UH, SPECIFICALLY TO RESIDENTS WITH AN INCREASED RISK OF EXPERIENCING NEGATIVE, UH, WATERSHED OUTCOMES.
FOLKS WHO HAVE BEEN IMPACTED IN THE PAST BY SOME OF OUR MAJOR FLOODS.
UM, AS WELL AS EROSION AND WATER POLLUTION.
UM, AND THEN PARTNERING WITH ORGANIZATIONS, UH, THAT WORK ON THE ISSUES, UM, THAT ARE AT THE HEART OF WHAT WE'RE DOING.
SO THINGS RELATED TO THE ENVIRONMENT, COMMUNITY HEALTH, UM, AND PUBLIC SAFETY.
THAT PHOTO IS ONE OF OUR COMMUNITY AMBASSADORS, UM, DOING, UH, INTERVIEWS OUT IN THE COMMUNITY AND SADIA WILL TELL YOU MORE ABOUT THAT PROGRAM IN A SECOND.
ALRIGHT, SO WE ARE, UM, IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS PROCESS.
UH, WE COMPLETED, UM, KIND OF THE MOST ROBUST AND EXTENSIVE PHASE OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, UM, OVER 2022 TO 2023.
UH, SO WE'LL LEARN MORE ABOUT THAT IN A MOMENT.
UM, A DECISION WAS MADE DURING THAT PROCESS, UH, TO BRING ON A TEAM OF CONSULTANTS, UH, TO HELP WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PLAN.
UH, SO WE HAVE A TEAM NOW LED BY, UH, JODEN MACKLA IN PARTNERSHIP WITH MEN COLLABORATIVE MEASURE IN GEOS SYNTECH, UH, THAT'S HELPING, UH, SUPPORT AND DEVELOP THE PLAN, UH, THROUGH A REMAINDER OF WAYS.
UM, WITH THAT PARTNERSHIP, WE'VE LAUNCHED A COMMUNITY ACTIVATION GROUP, UH, WHICH IS MADE UP OF DIFFERENT COMMUNITY LEADERS WITH RELEVANT SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE, UM, WHO HELP REPRESENT THOSE PRIORITY STAKEHOLDER GROUPS, UH, AND SADIE, I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE HERE.
UM, AND THEN, LIKE I MENTIONED, WE JUST LAUNCHED OUR SECOND PHASE OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, SO THAT'S A, OH, THERE AN ARROW.
SO WE JUST LAUNCHED, UH, JUNE 18TH, OUR SECOND PHASE OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THAT WILL GO THROUGH MID-SEPTEMBER.
UM, AND THEN WE'LL DO A FINAL PHASE, UH, WHEN WE RELEASE THE DRAFT PLAN THIS WINTER.
UH, SO THE GOAL IS TO, UH, BRING THE PLAN FORWARD BOTH TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION AND THEN ULTIMATELY TO ADOPTION BY CITY COUNCIL, UM, IN THE SPRING OF NEXT YEAR.
UH, SO DURING PHASE ONE, UH, WE ASKED, WE REALLY FOCUSED ON WHAT PEOPLE WANTED TO SEE FROM WATERSHED PROTECTION.
UM, SO LEARNING ABOUT PEOPLE'S VISION, VALUES, EXPERIENCES AROUND AUSTIN'S, UH, WATERWAYS AND THE WORK OF OUR DEPARTMENT.
UM, SO WE'RE GOING BACK NOW IN PHASE TWO AND REALLY ASKING FOR INPUT ABOUT HOW, UH, WE SHOULD PRIORITIZE THINGS.
UM, AS I'M SURE OUR FINANCE FOLKS MADE CLEAR WHEN THEY WERE HERE DOING THE BUDGET FORECAST EARLIER THIS YEAR.
UM, YOU KNOW, OUR DEPART THE, WELL, THE ENTIRE CITY'S FACING A BUDGET SHORTFALL.
SO WE REALLY HAVE TO MAKE, UH, SOME, SOME TOUGH CHOICES AND TRADE OFFS AROUND WHERE WE INVEST BEST, INVEST OUR TIME, STAFF AND RESOURCES.
UM, SO THAT'S, UH, WHAT WE'RE OUT ASKING PEOPLE TO HELP US WITH RIGHT NOW.
UM, AND THEN AS I MENTIONED IN PHASE THREE, UH, WE'LL GO BACK OUT WITH THE FINAL PLAN.
AND WITH THAT, GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO OUR, UH, BRILLIANCE AND AMAZING COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT LEAD TO TELL YOU ALL ABOUT, UH, THE WORK, UH, THAT HER AND OUR TEAM HAVE BEEN DOING.
UM, SO, OKAY, AS ERIN MENTIONED, UM, NOW I WANNA TAKE YOU ON A DEEPER DIVE INTO THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS, UM, THAT WE'VE CARRIED OUT SO FAR.
UM, SO FIRST I'LL TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT PHASE ONE, UM, WHICH TOOK PLACE BETWEEN THE SPRING OF 2022 AND THE FALL OF 2023.
UM, SO HERE YOU'LL SEE A RUNDOWN OF THE STRATEGIES THAT WE USE DURING PHASE ONE, UM, TO GATHER INPUT AND INVITE PEOPLE TO ENGAGE WITH US.
UM, SO SOME OF THESE, UM, IN THE BROAD ENGAGEMENT COLUMN, WE USED TO CAST A BROAD NET.
UM, SO YOU'LL SEE WE HAD A WEBSITE THAT WE LAUNCHED.
IT'S STILL THERE, YOU CAN STILL VISIT IT.
UM, WE DID A BIG WEB SURVEY, UM, WHICH INCLUDED A MAP COMPONENT.
UM, THAT'S THE COMMUNITY VISION SURVEY THAT WAS OPEN FOR ABOUT ONE YEAR.
UM, WE PROMOTED THAT SURVEY VIA YARD SIGNS AT A LOT OF COMMUNITY GATHERING SPACES LIKE RECREATION CENTERS, TRAIL HEADS, POOLS, UM, AND THEN WE PROMOTED IT ALSO WITH A LOT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ADS AND RADIO ADS.
UM, WE ALSO DID A STATISTICALLY VALID SURVEY.
WE WORKED WITH ETC, UM, A CONSULTANT.
UM, AND THEY SELECTED A RANDOM SAMPLE OF PEOPLE TO MAIL THE SURVEY TO AND ENSURE A DEMOGRAPHICALLY REPRESENTATIVE, UM, SAMPLE.
UM, AND SO, UM, BETWEEN, WITH, WITH ALL THOSE SURVEY RESPONSES PUT TOGETHER, WE RECEIVED, UM, CLOSE TO 3000 RESPONSES TOTAL.
UM, THE FOCUSED ENGAGEMENT THAT WE DID, UM, INCLUDED A SET OF FOCUS GROUPS.
UM, FIVE OF THEM WE DID IN COLLABORATION WITH MEASURE, WHICH IS A BLACK WOMAN OWNED EQUITY FOCUSED DATA ANALYSIS CONSULTANT.
UM, WE ALSO LED 11 ADDITIONAL ONES, UM, WITH OUR STAFF FACILITATING.
UM, AND WE DID THOSE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH A VARIETY OF, UM, ORGANIZATIONS THAT WORK WITH
[00:45:01]
SPECIFIC POPULATIONS THAT FALL INTO OUR PRIORITY STAKEHOLDER GROUPS.UM, WE ALSO DID A COMMUNITY AMBASSADOR PROGRAM.
UM, SO WE BROUGHT ON, UM, 10 COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO FELL INTO THOSE PRIORITY STAKEHOLDER GROUPS, ESPECIALLY THAT THAT FIRST UNDERSERVED PRIORITY STAKEHOLDER GROUP.
UM, AND ASKED THEM TO, UM, GATHER DATA FROM PEOPLE IN THEIR COMMUNITY NETWORKS THROUGH ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEWS.
UM, AND THEN THEY, UM, SHARED THOSE NOTES WITH US AND WE WERE ABLE TO USE THAT AS DATA.
UM, WE ALSO DID KIND OF A PARALLEL EFFORT, UM, WITH ORGANIZATIONS.
SO WE GAVE $5,000 MINI GRANTS TO SIX, UH, KIND OF GRASSROOTS LEVEL PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS, UM, WHO GATHERED INPUT, UM, SOME OF THEM VIA ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEWS, SOME VIA, UM, LIKE THEIR OWN WEB SURVEYS, SOME VIA CONVERSATIONS AT, UM, AT FESTIVALS.
UM, THEY, WE KIND OF LEFT IT TO THEM TO ENGAGE WITH PEOPLE AND GATHER DATA IN THE WAY THAT WOULD KIND OF SUIT THEIR CONSTITUENCIES BEST.
UM, AND THEN WE ALSO, UM, DID SOME KIND OF SPECIFIC PROMOTION OF THE, UM, THE COMMUNITY VISION SURVEY.
SO WE MAILED, UM, MORE THAN 90,000 POSTCARDS TO ADDRESSES IN HIGH FLOOD RISK AREAS, UM, ASKING PEOPLE TO TAKE THE SURVEY.
AND WE DID GET A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF RESPONSES.
I'M NOT STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT, BUT I JUST LIKE A GOOD BULK OF RESPONSES FROM THAT EFFORT.
UM, WE ALSO WERE AT MORE THAN 60 COMMUNITY EVENTS, UM, IN KIND OF STRATEGIC AREAS OF THE CITY, UM, TO PROMOTE THE SURVEY.
UM, WE ALSO HAD LOTS OF ONE-ON-ONE MEETINGS WITH COMMUNITY LEADERS TO START TO BUILD AND STRENGTHEN EXISTING RELATIONSHIPS.
UM, AND THEN WE ALSO DID, UM, A COUPLE OF SURVEYS WITH AUSTIN HOMELESS ADVISORY COMMITTEE, UM, ONE IN 2021 ACTUALLY BEFORE THE, UM, ENGAGEMENT PROCESS TECHNICALLY STARTED.
AND THEN ONE IN 2023 ASKING FOR INPUT THAT WAS REAL SPECIFIC, UM, ABOUT THINGS LIKE HOW CAN WE PROTECT PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS FROM ELEVATED FLOOD RISK THAT THEY FACE, UM, BASED ON WHERE FOLKS ARE CAMPING OR SPENDING TIME A LOT.
SO, UM, HERE ARE A FEW PICTURES FROM THAT EFFORT.
UM, ON THE UPPER LEFT, YOU'LL SEE, UM, MOST OF OUR COMMUNITY AMBASSADOR COHORT DURING ONE OF THE GATHERINGS THAT WE HAD, UM, THAT WE, UH, PULLED THEM TOGETHER A COUPLE TIMES SO THAT THEY COULD EX EXCHANGE, UM, KIND OF NOTES ON WHAT WAS GOING WELL, WHAT THEIR CHALLENGES WERE, AND TROUBLESHOOT TOGETHER, AND ALSO KIND OF BUILD A SENSE OF COMRADERY.
UM, BELOW THAT, UM, A FEW OF THE, THE AMBASSADORS, ACTUALLY THREE OF THEM, UM, WERE ABLE TO PRESENT TO THE RAINER RIVER STEERING COMMITTEE, UM, WHICH INCLUDES, UM, DECISION MAKERS ON WATERSHED STAFF.
AND THEY'RE KIND OF THE, UM, THE ENTITY THAT'S, THAT'S LEADING THEIR INTROVERT PROCESS.
UM, ONE THING THAT WE HEARD, SO FOR OUR AMBASSADOR PROGRAM, WE LEARNED A LOT FROM THE CL, UH, COMMUNITY CLIMATE AMBASSADOR EFFORT.
UM, THAT OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY AT THE TIME, UH, LED.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY TOLD US WAS, UM, THAT THEIR AMBASSADORS HAD WISHED THEY HAD MORE LIKE FACE TIME WITH DECISION MAKERS, UM, AT THE CITY.
SO WE REALLY TRIED TO MAKE AS MUCH SPACE AS WE COULD FOR THAT.
UM, AND THIS WAS KIND OF THE MAIN WAY THAT WE WERE ABLE TO, TO FACILITATE THAT, WAS BY HAVING THE PRESENT, THE, UM, AMBASSADORS PRESENT THEIR FINDINGS DIRECTLY TO THE STEERING COMMITTEE.
THAT'S, UM, ME AND, UM, JUAN, UH, RODRIGUEZ MORA FROM DEL VALLEY COMMUNITY COALITION, WHICH IS ONE OF THE PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS, UM, TABLING TOGETHER AT, UM, THE, WHERE THE CESAR CHAVEZ MARCH, UM, DURING THAT FIRST ENGAGEMENT PERIOD.
UM, ON THE RIGHT UPPER CORNER IS A FOCUS GROUP THAT WE DID IN COLLABORATION WITH FOUNDATION COMMUNITIES AT ONE OF THEIR, UM, APARTMENT COMPLEXES THAT HAS A LOT OF SINGLE RESIDENT OCCUPANCY UNITS.
SO IT WAS A LOT OF FOLKS WHO HAD EXPERIENCED HOMELESSNESS OR, UM, WHO, UM, HAD DIFFERENT KINDS OF DISABILITIES.
I MEAN, IT WAS INTERESTING, YEAH, GATHERING INPUT FROM THEM.
AND THEN, UM, ON THE ONE BELOW THAT, THAT IS, UM, A SESSION THAT, UH, STAFF AND, UM, VOLUNTEERS FROM QUEER UTOPIA, WHICH WAS ANOTHER PARTNER ORGANIZATION HAD WHERE WE PUT TOGETHER BACKPACKS WITH SUPPLIES THAT OPIA TOLD US THAT FOLKS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS WOULD FIND USEFUL.
AND THEN WE WERE ABLE TO, UM, SO WATERSHED FUNDED THOSE AND THEN QUEER UTOPIA WAS ABLE TO TAKE THEM TO ENCAMPMENTS, UM, WHERE THEY DISTRIBUTED THEM TO WHOEVER WANTED THEM.
AND THEN ANYBODY THAT WANTED TO PARTICIPATE IN AN INTERVIEW, UM, WAS ABLE TO, AND KETOPIA DID THESE AWESOME, UM, FILMED INTERVIEWS.
UM, SO, UM, SO YEAH, IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN TAKING A DEEP DIVE INTO WHAT WE LEARNED DURING PHASE ONE OF ENGAGEMENT, UM, YOU CAN VISIT RANGER RIVER ATX.COM AND GO TO THE WHAT WE'VE HEARD TAB.
UM, THERE YOU'LL SEE, UM, LINKS TO THESE REPORTS.
UM, WE HAVE A COMMUNITY AMBASSADOR REPORT, UM, CALLED AMPLIFYING DIVERSE VOICES.
WE HAVE IT IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH, UM, ALTHOUGH I HAVEN'T ACTUALLY UPLOADED
[00:50:01]
THE SPANISH VERSION.SO IF YOU'D LIKE THAT, JUST EMAIL ME AND I'LL BE HAPPY TO SHARE IT SOON.
UM, AND THEN LISTENING IN, COLLABORATION IS A PARTNER ORGANIZATION REPORT.
THAT ONE IS JUST ONLINE, UM, WHICH WE WANTED TO DO PRIMARILY BECAUSE OF THOSE OPIA INTERVIEWS 'CAUSE YOU'RE ACTUALLY ABLE TO SEE CLIPS OF THEM, UM, ON THERE.
UM, AND THEN MEASURE HAS, UM, A REPORT THAT SUMMARIZES THE FINDINGS FROM THE FIVE FOCUS GROUPS THAT THEY FACILITATED.
UM, AND THEN THEY ALSO HAVE THIS, UM, TIMELINE OF, UM, WATERSHED RELATED COMMUNITY INEQUITIES.
THAT'S LIKE A, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY PRODUCE FOR CLIENTS IS LIKE HISTORICAL TIMELINES THAT KIND OF HIGHLIGHT DIFFERENT INEQUITIES IN COMMUNITIES.
UM, SO YEAH, UM, AS ERIN MENTIONED EARLIER, WE'VE ALSO CONVENED A COMMUNITY ACTIVATION GROUP.
UM, WE CONVENED THEM AND THEY'VE DONE SOME OF THEIR WORK KIND OF BETWEEN THE OFFICIAL ENGAGEMENT PHASES.
UM, THEY ARE A, UM, A DIVERSE GROUP OF FOLKS WITH SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE.
UM, AND THEIR ROLE, UM, IS REALLY TO TAKE A KIND OF DEEPER DIVE HELPING US, UM, DEVELOP THE PLAN.
SO, UM, THEY, UM, HAVE HELPED US KIND OF SYNTHESIZE SOME OF THE DATA THAT CAME IN THROUGH PHASE ONE, KIND OF VALIDATE SOME OF IT.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT OUR, UM, CONSULTANT HAS DONE FOR US IS TO SYNTHESIZE ALL THAT DATA THAT CAME IN INTO 10 COMMUNITY PRIORITIES THAT I'LL BE PRESENTING TO YOU IN A MOMENT.
UM, THE COMMUNITY ACTIVATION GROUP HELPED KIND OF BASED ON THEIR OWN EXPERIENCE AND WHAT THEY KNEW ABOUT THE PERSPECTIVES OF THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS THEY REPRESENT, UM, AND SERVE.
THEY WERE ABLE TO TELL US, LIKE, DO THESE SOUND RIGHT? LIKE, GIVE US YOUR, YOU KNOW, GUT CHECK ON THESE PRIORITIES, OR ARE WE ON THE RIGHT TRACK? UM, AND THEN THEY ALSO PUT THEM IN PRIORITY ORDER.
UM, SO I'LL BE PRESENTING THEM TO YOU IN THAT PRIORITY ORDER THAT THE COMMUNITY ACTIVATION GROUP, UM, VOTED ON OR, OR CAME TO A CONSENSUS ON.
UM, THEY ARE ENGAGED FOR ONE YEAR PERIOD.
UM, THEY CAME ON OCTOBER OF 2024, AND THEY'RE WITH US UNTIL OCTOBER OF 2025.
UM, AND BESIDES DOING THAT, UM, THAT KIND OF DATA VETTING AND PRIORITIZATION WORK THAT I JUST MENTIONED, THEY ALSO HAVE HELPED US IN WAYS LIKE, UM, HELPING US COME UP WITH A VISION STATEMENT FOR THE PLAN.
UM, AND I THINK CRUCIALLY, UM, THEY'VE BEEN, THEY DID A COMMUNITY ASSET MAPPING EXERCISE WHERE THEY HELPED US IDENTIFY ENTITIES AND EFFORTS THAT ALREADY EXIST IN THE COMMUNITY THAT WE COULD ALIGN OURSELVES WITH IN IMPLEMENTATION.
SO ONE THING THAT WE'VE REALLY BEEN FOCUSING ON IS KIND OF GETTING OURSELVES READY ONCE THE PLAN IS ADOPTED TO HIT THE GROUND RUNNING.
UM, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THE PLAN HAS BEEN KIND OF A LONG TIME COMING AND WE REALLY WANNA BE ABLE TO, UM, GET MOVING WITH WHAT THE COMMUNITY IS TELLING US THAT THEY WANT US TO DO, UM, ONCE WE CAN.
AND THEN ONE LAST THING ABOUT THE CAG, UM, IS THAT MEASURE, UM, WHICH IS ONE OF THE, UM, FOUR PARTNER TEAM OF CONSULTANTS, UM, UNDER JORDAN MACKLA.
THEY ARE FACILITATING THIS PARTICULAR EFFORT.
ALRIGHT, SO HERE ARE THE COMMUNITY PRIORITIES.
UM, THESE ALL HAVE ACTIONS UNDER THEM THAT I'M NOT GONNA PRESENT JUST FOR TIME, TIME REASONS, UM, BUT I WILL PRESENT THE PRIORITIES.
UM, SO THE FIRST ONE IS, UH, EQUITY AND INCLUSION.
UM, THE CAG RATED THIS ONE TOP PRIORITY.
UM, SO, UM, THE KIND OF SUMMARY IS ENSURE HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES HAVE EQUITABLE ACCESS TO RESOURCES AND DECISION MAKING PROCESSES.
UM, THE SECOND ONE IS, UH, FLOOD MITIGATION AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS.
SO, UH, PROTECT LIVES AND PROPERTY BY ADDRESSING FLOODING AND EROSION PROACTIVELY.
UM, THE KEG DID GIVE US FEEDBACK THAT THIS ACTUALLY SHOULD BE TWO SEPARATE PRIORITIES, UM, WHICH WE AGREED WITH.
THE THIRD ONE IS CLIMATE RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY.
SO INTEGRATE CLIMATE ADAPTATION STRATEGIES TO ADDRESS DROUGHT, EXTREME HEAT AND HABITAT LOSS.
OH, OOPS, SORRY, THE ANIMATION GOT MESSED UP.
JUST SHOW 'EM TO YOU ALL AT ONCE.
SO, UM, THE FOURTH ONE IS NATURAL RESOURCE PROTECTION AND RESTORATION.
UM, SO PRESERVE, RESTORE, AND ENHANCE AUSTIN'S CREEKS, LAKES, AND NATURAL SPACES.
FIFTH ONE IS, UM, TRUST AND COLLABORATION.
SO BUILD TRUST, UM, THROUGH TRANSPARENCY, ACTIVE LISTENING AND COMMUNITY, UH, CENTERED INITIATIVES.
UM, THEN ACCESSIBILITY AND PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT.
SO ENSURE NATURAL SPACES ARE SAFE, INVITING AND ACCESSIBLE FOR ALL RESIDENTS.
AND THIS ONE, THE ANIMATION WILL BE MESSED UP TOO.
UM, SEVEN, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH BALANCE, URBAN GROWTH WITH ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY.
UM, THEN NEXT COMES, UM, SUPPORT FOR UNHOUSED AND VULNERABLE POPULATIONS.
PROVIDE RESOURCES AND SAFETY FOR UNHOUSED INDIVIDUALS WHILE ADDRESSING SYSTEMIC ISSUES.
UM, AND THEN EDUCATION AND YOUTH ENGAGEMENT.
FOSTER A CULTURE OF COMMUNITY OF, SORRY, OF ENVIRONMENTAL
[00:55:01]
STEWARDSHIP AND RESILIENCE AMONG RESIDENTS.AND THEN FINALLY, UM, NUMBER 10, INNOVATION AND LEADERSHIP.
UH, POSITION AUSTIN AS A MODEL CITY FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP AND PROG PROGRESSIVE PRACTICES.
ALL RIGHT, SO ONE THING I ALSO WANTED TO MENTION IS, UM, THAT IT'S BEEN A BIG PRIORITY FOR US NOT TO SIT ON ALL THIS DATA UNTIL RANGE RIVER IS ADOPTED.
UM, ONE OF THE KIND OF CONVERSATIONS WE HAD WITH DEPARTMENT LEADERSHIP AS WE WERE PROPOSING KIND OF A LONGER TIMELINE FOR THE PLANNING PROCESS WAS, YOU KNOW, THERE WERE LIKE, WE DON'T, WE DON'T WANNA WAIT YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS TO HAVE A NEW STRATEGIC PLAN.
SO WE, WE REALLY WERE TRYING TO FIND A BALANCE BETWEEN, UM, MOVING FORWARD, BUT GIVING THE ENGAGEMENT THE TIME THAT IT NEEDED TO REALLY DO A ROBUST JOB.
SO WHAT WE SETTLED ON IS LIKE, LET'S TAKE ACTION ALONG THE WAY WHEREVER WE CAN.
UM, SO A COUPLE OF THINGS WE'VE DONE, UM, ARE WE ADDED MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES, UM, TO OUR FLOOD SAFETY, UM, WEBSITE.
UM, THAT WAS A RECOMMENDATION BY ONE OF OUR COMMUNITY AMBASSADORS, UM, WHO, UH, LIVES IN DOVE SPRINGS AND HAS SEEN A LOT OF TRAUMA, UM, THAT'S HAPPENED, UH, FROM THE HALLOWEEN FLOODS IN HER COMMUNITY.
UM, WE ALSO ADDED FLOOD SAFETY SIGNAGE TO CREEKS AND DRAINAGE CHANNELS TO SUPPORT FLOOD SAFETY FOR UNHOUSED, UH, AUSTINITES.
UM, AND THAT WAS BASED ON, UM, INPUT THAT WE GOT FROM QUEER TOPIA, BUT ALSO THE AUSTIN HOMELESS ADVISORY, UM, COMMITTEE.
AND, UM, AND VIA OTHER MEANS TOO.
UM, WE ENCOURAGED AUSTIN PUBLIC LIBRARY TO EXPLORE VITAL DOCUMENT STORAGE FOR UNHOUSED AUSTINITES.
UM, AND THEY'RE PILOTING THAT AT THE RAAS BRANCH LIBRARY.
UM, THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS INPUT FROM QUEER TOPIA.
UM, THEY SAID, YOU, YOU HAVE THIS DISPERSED ENTITY THAT'S, YOU KNOW, STORING BOOKS.
WHY CAN'T THEY STORE VITAL DOCUMENTS FOR PEOPLE? UM, EVERY TIME IT RAINS, PEOPLE ARE HAVING TO START OVER BECAUSE THEIR STUFF GETS WET.
UM, AND THEN WE ALSO KIND OF REALIZED THAT WE ARE ACTUALLY ALREADY DOING A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT THE COMMUNITY IS ASKING US TO DO, UM, BUT WE REALLY NEED HELP PRIORITIZING.
UM, AND SO THAT IS WHERE THIS CURRENT ENGAGEMENT EFFORT COMES IN.
UM, SO THE CURRENT ENGAGEMENT EFFORT, UH, WHICH, UM, ERIN PRESENTED TO YOU EARLIER AS PHASE TWO.
UM, WE LAUNCHED IT, UH, A COUPLE WEEKS AGO ON JUNE 18TH, AND IT'S RUNNING UNTIL SEPTEMBER 15TH.
UM, AND THE KIND OF CORE OF IT IS A SURVEY.
UM, AND IN THAT SURVEY WE'RE ASKING THE QUESTION WITH LIMITED RESOURCES, PLEASE HELP US PRIORITIZE WHAT WE SHOULD DO, HOW WE SHOULD DO OUR WORK.
UM, OUR GOAL IS TO REACH ALL AUSTINITES WITH A, WITH A SPECIAL EFFORT, UM, TO HEAR FROM PRIORITY STAKEHOLDERS, THOSE PRIORITY STAKEHOLDER GROUPS THAT WE MENTIONED EARLIER.
UM, AND BESIDES THE, UH, THE WEB-BASED SURVEY, UM, WE ALSO ARE DOING A FEW FOCUS GROUPS.
UM, ONE NOTE IS THAT THE COMMUNITY ACTIVATION GROUP ACTUALLY DID HELP US, UH, VET, UM, THE SURVEY.
AND THEY, THEY BETA TESTED IT FOR US, SO WE WANTED TO GIVE IT A LITTLE PREVIEW OF THE SURVEY.
UM, WE'RE HOPING YOU ALL WILL TAKE IT.
UM,
UM, AND A COUPLE OF, UH, EXAMPLE QUESTIONS ARE, UM, SOME SOLUTIONS MAKE A BIG IMPACT, BUT REACH FEWER PEOPLE WHILE OTHERS HELP MORE PEOPLE IN SMALLER WAYS.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO INVEST IN BOTH, BUT WE NEED YOUR INPUT ON WHICH APPROACH SHOULD TAKE PRIORITY AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
UM, WHEN WE HAVE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN TWO OPTIONS, WHICH DO YOU THINK WE SHOULD PRIORITIZE? SO WE'RE ASKING PEOPLE, SHOULD WE SPREAD OUT OUR RESOURCES? SHOULD WE FOCUS OUR RESOURCES ON BIG PROJECTS? UM, ANOTHER QUESTION IS, WHICH, IF ANY OF THE FOLLOWING ADDITIONAL COMMUNITY OUTCOMES SHOULD WE PRIORITIZE WHEN PLANNING OUR LONG-TERM SOLUTIONS IN THE FACE OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND POPULATION GROWTH? PLEASE SELECT UP TO THREE AND THERE'S LIKE ABOUT SEVEN ON THERE.
UM, AND THEN WE ALL DO OUR PART TO PROTECT THE QUA WATER QUALITY OF AUSTIN'S, CREEKS, LAKES, RIVERS, AND SPRINGS.
WHICH OF THESE ACTIONS DO YOU THINK IS MOST IMPORTANT FOR THE COMMUNITY TO HELP KEEP OUR WATERWAYS HEALTHY? UM, PLEASE CHOOSE ONE.
AND THAT BRINGS ME TO ARE ASKS, SO NUMBER ONE, WE WOULD ABSOLUTELY LOVE YOUR HELP GETTING THE SURVEY OUT TO YOUR NETWORKS THIS SUMMER.
UM, WE REALLY WANNA GET AS MANY, UM, AS MANY PEOPLE AND AS MANY DIFFERENT KINDS OF PEOPLE TO ANSWER AS WE CAN.
UM, AND THEN ALSO, UM, WE WOULD LOVE IT IF YOU COULD TELL US ABOUT YOUR EVENTS, IF THERE ARE ANY ORGANIZATIONS YOU KNOW ABOUT OR CONNECTED TO, UM, THAT ARE HAVING EVENTS OUT IN THE COMMUNITY THAT YOU THINK WE SHOULD BE AT.
UM, WE ARE OUT THERE, WE'RE TABLING, WE'RE FILLING UP OUR CALENDAR, UM, AND UM, REALLY TRYING TO GET THE WORD OUT AND AS, AS WE TALKED ABOUT EARLIER, MEET PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE, UM, THIS SUMMER.
ANY QUESTIONS? I, THANKS Y'ALL.
[01:00:01]
START WITH, UM, COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN QUESTIONS.WELL, YOU KNOW, ANOTHER PARTNER THAT YOU MIGHT, UH, TALK TO WOULD BE LCRA.
UM, YOU KNOW, THEY DO A LOT OF COMMUNITY OUTREACH ALSO AND UM, YOU KNOW, THEY'VE GOT A LOT OF INFORMATION THAT MAYBE YOU GUYS COULD USE TOO FOR SHARING.
HAVE YOU TALKED TO LCRA ABOUT THIS OR ANYBODY THERE? SO, YEAH, I ACTUALLY, UM, WAS ABLE TO PRESENT AT THE LCRA WATER QUALITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE, UM, ABOUT A YEAR AGO.
WALKED THROUGH OUR PHASE ONE ENGAGEMENT, UM, CONNECTING WITH, UH, PRIMARILY LISA BENTON OVER THERE.
UM, AND SO YEAH, THAT, BUT THAT'S A GREAT RECOMMENDATION FOR US TO CIRCLE BACK WITH THEM, UM, AND GET THEIR HELP ON THE PHASE TWO SURVEY.
THEY WERE REALLY GREAT IN HELPING US DO THE FINAL PUSH ON PHASE ONE.
AND I'LL SAY TOO, THAT I REALLY LIKED THE IDEA ABOUT WORKING WITH, UM, AUSTIN PUBLIC LIBRARY ABOUT HOLDING ONTO THE DOCUMENTS FROM PERSONS WHO ARE LIVING OUT OUTSIDE OF HOMES.
UM, HAVE YOU GOT ANY FEEDBACK ABOUT THAT? ACTUALLY, NO, I NEED TO CHECK IN ABOUT THAT BECAUSE, UM, THERE WAS KIND OF A LONG PERIOD WHERE THEY WERE WORKING THROUGH THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS AND LIKE THAT WAS GOING ON UNDERGOING RENOVATIONS AND A LOT OF KIND OF CHECK-INS BY EMAIL OVER MANY MONTHS.
UM, AND THE LATEST I HEARD WAS THAT IT WAS GONNA LAUNCH IN APRIL
SO I NEED TO CIRCLE BACK AND, AND ASK LIKE, HOW'S IT GOING? IT LAUNCHED, RIGHT? BECAUSE I, I, I SHOULD GIVE YOU THAT CAVEAT.
LIKE THEY SAID IT WAS GONNA LAUNCH, BUT I ACTUALLY HAVEN'T LIKE, TALKED TO THEM SINCE IT WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE LAUNCHED.
UM, SO IF IT HASN'T LAUNCHED, I GAVE YOU THAT CAVEAT.
UM, BUT HOPEFULLY, UM, IT'S GOING WELL AND WE CAN REPORT BACK.
I WAS GONNA ADD TO THAT AS WELL.
UM, WATERSHED STAFF HAVE BEEN ABLE TO PURCHASE A LARGE NUMBER OF, UH, WATERPROOF DOCUMENT PROTECTORS AND THAT THEY'VE BEEN DISTRIBUTING BOTH, UH, FOR OUR FOLKS THAT ARE GOING OUT TO ENCAMPMENTS AND MEETING WITH THE IN-HOUSE COMMUNITY, BUT ALSO AT, UM, EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS EVENTS FOR FOLKS TO HAVE THAT ARE IN AREAS OF HIGH FLOOD RISK.
JUST BECAUSE, UM, THIS IS MY FIRST TIME IN PRESENTING TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION IS THE BEST WAY TO GET INFORMATION BACK TO YOU TO SEND IT TO ELIZABETH.
I'LL, I'LL CHECK ON THE TERESA'S, UM, STATUS AND I'LL, I'LL SEND IT TO ELIZABETH SO YOU GUYS HAVE THAT INFORMATION.
THAT WAS AN EXCELLENT REPORT AND I APPRECIATE THE WORK YOU'RE DOING THERE.
IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S, UH, VERY THOROUGH.
UM, AND I WILL BE HAPPY TO PASS ALONG YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION TO ORGANIZATIONS THAT I'M ASSOCIATED WITH SO YOU CAN SPREAD THE WORD, UH, A LITTLE BIT MORE WIDELY THAN, UH, YOU KNOW, SO YOU CAN BE A LITTLE MORE EFFECTIVE AT WHAT YOU'RE WORKING ON.
UH, BUT I DO NOT HAVE ANY QUESTIONS RIGHT NOW, BUT THANKS A LOT.
I CERTAINLY APPRECIATE YOUR TIME.
HEY, Y'ALL APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.
UH, YEAH, AND I'LL FOLLOW UP OFFLINE, UH, SORRY YOU HAD YOUR EMAIL ON THERE WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, ORGANIZATIONS TO POSSIBLY, OR EVENTS TO POSSIBLY GO TO.
YEAH, WE'LL JUST ECHO, UH, WHAT I HEARD.
UH, GOOD INFORMATION THAT I HOPE TO SHARE AND DUNNO IF I HAVE A QUESTION OR MAYBE, UH, JUST A, A STORY RECENTLY WAS, UM, PRESENTING MY WORK WITH, UM, WE DAIN ELEMENTARY THERE IN DOVE SPRINGS.
AND, UH, FOLKS WERE REALLY EXCITED TO GO DOWN TO THE CREEK AFTERWARDS.
YOU KNOW, WILLIAMSON CREEK BACKS UP BEHIND IT, BUT THEY DIDN'T FEEL SAFE.
UH, SO THEY WERE LIKE, WE CAN'T GO BACK THERE 'CAUSE OF X REASONS.
AND I WAS JUST CURIOUS, UM, HAVE Y'ALL HEARD A LOT OF THAT OR DO YOU HAVE A MESSAGE FOR WORKING WITH SCHOOLS IN PARTICULAR TO, UM, SPEND MORE TIME BY THE CREEKS? THAT'S INTERESTING.
I WONDER DO WE, DO WE HAVE EARTH CAMP, BUT WOULD YOU KNOW? YEAH, I THINK FOR THAT SPECIFIC EXAMPLE, WE'LL DEFINITELY REACH OUT YEAH.
UM, BUT I THINK YEAH, MORE GLOBALLY WE'VE HEARD A LOT ABOUT ACCESSIBILITY, UM, THROUGH PHASE ONE OF ENGAGEMENT AND FOLKS SAYING LIKE EITHER THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHERE THE CREEKS WERE AROUND THEM OR IF IT WAS LIKE, DIDN'T FEEL COMFORTABLE GOING DOWN THERE, DIDN'T FEEL WELCOME, KIND OF FELT LIKE THEY WERE TRESPASSING.
UM, AND SO REALLY, YOU KNOW, WANTING TO FIND WAYS THROUGH RANGE RIVER, UM, TO MAKE ALL OUR, YOU KNOW, WATERWAYS AND WATER RESOURCES IN AUSTIN FEEL MORE WELCOMING AND INVITING TO FOLKS.
YEAH, I KNOW IT'S A DELICATE BALANCE.
THE, THE SPECIFIC REASON THEY GAVE WERE FOLKS EXPERIENCING HOMELESS, UH, THERE AND, YOU KNOW, THEY FEEL SAFE TO BE THERE.
UM, AND, BUT WE DON'T, SO WE DON'T NECESSARILY PUSH THEM OUT.
UM, SO IT'S JUST A, A, A DELICATE BALANCE.
SO I DON'T KNOW, IT'S PROBABLY NOT JUST WATERSHED DEALING WITH THAT IN PARKS AND, UH, JUST A DELICATE ISSUE COMPLEX.
BUT THANK Y'ALL FOR YOUR WORK.
UM, TO SEE Y'ALL DOING THIS WORK.
I THINK MAYBE YOU CAME BY THE WINDSOR
[01:05:01]
PARK NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION NOW LAST YEAR OR SO, THIS LOOKS REALLY FAMILIAR.UM, BUT I WAS HOPING, UM, THAT YOU WOULD DO MORE OUTREACH IN, IN THAT REGARD.
MAYBE THE AUSTIN NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL WOULD BE A GOOD GROUP TO, UM, PRESENT AND THEN YOU COULD HIT A BUNCH, BUNCH OF NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS ALL AT ONCE TO, UH, SPREAD OUT THE, THE, THE, THE SURVEY IS WHAT I THINK YOU'RE REALLY TRYING TO GET YOUR RESPONSE ON.
I'M GOING TO SHARE THAT WITH OUR, WITH OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR NEWSLETTER.
UM, UH, I WAS CURIOUS ABOUT HOW YOU IDENTIFIED STAKEHOLDERS, THE PRIORITY STAKEHOLDERS.
SO WHEN WE WERE PUTTING TOGETHER THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PLAN BEFORE WE LAUNCHED THE FIRST PHASE, UM, WE PULLED TOGETHER ACTUALLY AN, I DIDN'T MENTION THIS, BUT AN INTERNAL GROUP OF STAFF, UM, AT WATERSHED WHO HAD EITHER DONE ENGAGEMENT WORK OR WHO HAD DONE EQUITY FOCUSED WORK.
UM, AND THEY HELPED BUILD THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PLAN.
UM, PART OF THAT WAS IDENTIFYING THE, THE PRIORITY STAKEHOLDER GROUPS.
UM, WE KIND OF KNEW AT THE OUTSET THAT WE WANTED TO PUT SPECIAL EFFORT INTO REACHING FOLKS WHO MAY HAVE BARRIERS TO PARTICIPATION OR WHOSE VOICES MAY HAVE NOT BEEN, YOU KNOW, HEARD OR PART OF, UM, A LOT OF CITY PLANNING PROCESSES.
UM, WE ALSO KNEW THAT WE, WE, LIKE, WE HAD SOME IDEAS.
WE KNEW WE WANTED TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE REACHING PEOPLE WHO HAD BEEN REALLY IMPACTED BY FLOODS.
SO IT WAS, I GUESS THE WAY THAT WE IDENTIFIED THOSE GROUPS WAS THROUGH A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS WITH, UM, WATERSHED STAFF WHO WERE KIND OF INFORMED AND INTERESTED IN THOSE TOPICS.
AND THEN ONCE WE HAD, UM, DRAFTED OUR LIST OF PRIORITY STAKEHOLDERS, UM, ERIN, HELP ME WITH MY TIMING.
IS THAT, IS THAT THE TIME THAT WE TOOK? I KNOW WE WENT AND PRESENTED TO THE EQUITY ACTION, UM, EQUITY ACTION TEAM, THE E UM, WHICH IS THAT COMMUNITY GROUP THAT IS MANAGED BY THE EQUITY OFFICE.
UM, WE, I THINK WE HAD ALREADY, YEAH, WE HAD, WE HAD ALREADY PUT TOGETHER THE LIST OF THE PRIORITY STAKEHOLDER GROUPS AT THAT TIME, BUT WE KIND OF PRESENTED OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT APPROACH, LIKE OUR DRAFT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT APPROACH TO THAT GROUP AND ASKED THEM FOR THEIR INPUT.
UM, SO THEY GIVE US SOME POINTERS, UM, TO HELP KIND OF REFINE WHAT WE HAD.
UM, YEAH, AND I'LL JUST ADD, YEAH, THE SAUDI WORKING WITH, UH, THAT INTERNAL ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY TEAM AND THEN WITH THE EQUITY ACTION TEAM, UM, PUT TOGETHER A LIST OF OVER 120 DIFFERENT COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, UH, THE INTERACTED WITH THOSE DIFFERENT PRIORITY GROUPS, AND THEN STARTED PROACTIVELY REACHING OUT TO THOSE GROUPS AHEAD OF WHEN WE LAUNCHED ENGAGEMENT, UM, TO START BUILDING THOSE RELATIONSHIPS, UH, FIND MEETINGS TO GO PRESENT AT.
I THINK WE ALSO WENT TO A NUMBER OF THE QUALITY OF LIFE COMMISSIONS.
UM, SO REALLY TRYING TO, TO MAKE SURE WE WERE CASTING AS WIDE OF NET AS POSSIBLE FOR THOSE DIFFERENT NETWORKS.
AND WE'VE CONTINUED TO, TO BUILD THAT AS WE GO.
YEAH, AND I GUESS ONE, ONE POINT THAT I WANNA MAKE SURE WE MAKE CLEAR IS THAT, UM, WE ALSO WANNA HEAR FROM ALL AUSTINITES.
SO IT'S NOT THAT WE ONLY WANNA HEAR FROM THOSE GROUPS.
UM, WE JUST KNOW THAT IF WE DON'T MAKE A SPECIAL EFFORT TO HEAR FROM, ESPECIALLY THAT FIRST UNDERSERVED GROUP, THEN WE MAY JUST MISS THEM.
UM, EVEN WITH ALL OF OUR SPECIAL EFFORTS, WE STILL HEAR KIND OF OUR, OUR SURVEY RESPONSES, SO SKEW, LIKE WHO USUALLY FILLS OUT SURVEYS.
UM, SO WE KNEW, WE JUST KNOW THAT WE HAVE TO PUT, PUT THAT EXTRA EFFORT IN TO MEET PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE.
A LOT OF PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, HAVE JUSTIFIABLE DISTRUST OF GOVERNMENT, UM, JUST TO KIND OF OVERCOME SOME OF THOSE BARRIERS.
UM, AND THEN I GUESS ALSO WHEN I DON'T WANNA OVERLOOK THE FACT THAT WE ALSO WERE REALLY, IT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT TO US TO HAVE INFORMED, LIKE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS AT THE TABLE.
UM, LIKE ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE INVESTED IN, IN THIS WORK.
I MEAN, GROUPS LIKE OBVIOUSLY THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION IS KIND OF A STATUS ABOVE, BUT, UM, BUT YOU KNOW, FOLKS WHO HAVE THAT EXPERTISE, WE, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE CONSULTING WITH WITH Y'ALL AS WELL.
SO THAT'S OUR THIRD PRIORITY STAKEHOLDER GROUP THREE, THE COMMUNITY EXPERTS THAT, THAT BRINGS ME TO, UH, COMMUNITY PRIORITY THREE.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, THE CLIMATE RESILIENCE, I WAS VERY CURIOUS.
I'M ON THE, UH, I'M THE CHAIR OF THE CLIMATE COMMITTEE AND MY NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION, AND, UM, WE ARE WORKING ON EFFORTS OURSELVES TO, TO DO THINGS IN OUR OWN, IN OUR OWN BACKYARD.
AND I WAS WONDERING WHAT THIS MEANS BY CLIMATE RESILIENCE WITH WHAT Y'ALL ARE DOING? SUCH A GOOD QUESTION.
I MEAN, YEAH, IT'S
I'D SAY, YOU KNOW, ON, ON ONE END DEALING WITH THE IMPACTS OF EXTREME HEAT AND DROUGHT AND KNOWING THAT, YOU KNOW, HAVING KIND OF ROBUST GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE TO CREATE PLACES WHERE PEOPLE CAN GATHER AND CONNECT AND COOL OFF AND BE SHADED, YOU KNOW, IS, IS A PRIORITY FROM LIKE A REPAIR AND RESTORATION EFFORT AND ACCESSIBLE WATERWAYS.
ON THE FLOODING SIDE, WE KNOW WE'RE GONNA HAVE A LOT MORE EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS.
WE'LL CONTINUE TO SEE MORE OF IT.
UM, AND SO WHEN WE'VE TALKED ABOUT RESILIENCE, WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE SHIFT FROM JUST MITIGATING FLOOD IMPACTS TO,
[01:10:01]
TO ADAPTING AND HOW DO WE LOOK AT THINGS LIKE FLOOD PROOFING AND STRUCTURE RAISING AND, UM, THOSE KINDS OF LIKE PROGRAMMATIC SOLUTIONS.UH, THE INSURANCE SUBSIDIES THAT, UM, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES, UH, HELP SPONSORS ARE REALLY, UH, TRYING TO LOOK AT SOME DIFFERENT WAYS THAT WE CAN HELP PEOPLE ADAPT.
UM, AS WE KNOW THE CLIMATE'S GETTING MORE EXTREME.
CAN I RECOMMEND YOU START PLANTING TREES? OH, ABSOLUTELY.
THAT'S WHAT WE FOUND IS THE THING THAT HELPS PEOPLE THE MOST, ESPECIALLY SINCE, UH, THIS HEAT ISLAND EFFECT THAT'S OCCURRING IN EAST AUSTIN IS SO DRAMATICALLY INCREASING.
UH, THAT, UH, I MEAN, IF YOU'RE GONNA HAVE ANY RESILIENCE, I THINK THAT'S THE NUMBER ONE WAY TO DO IT.
VICE CHAIR RUGER, THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE.
UM, AND FOR YOUR PRESENTATION, DO THESE, UH, STRATEGIC PLANS GET UPDATED ON ANY KIND OF, UH, DESIGNATED TIMELINE OR HOW IS THAT DECISION MADE FOR DOING A NEW ONE? THAT IS SUCH A GREAT QUESTION, UH, THAT I FAILED TO TOUCH ON IN THAT, THAT FIRST, UH, LITTLE INTRO.
UM, SO YEAH, WHEN I SAY IT'S BEEN ALMOST 25 YEARS, LIKE THAT'S, THAT'S NOT WHAT OUR BEST PRACTICE SHOULD BE GOING FORWARD, UH,
SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, SO WE, WE ADOPTED THAT PLAN IN 2001, AND THEN IT'S NOT THAT THAT PLAN SET UNCHANGED, UM, ON A SHELF FOR 25 YEARS, BUT WE WERE DOING INTERNAL MORE TECHNICAL UPDATES.
AND SO AS WE WERE, UM, REFINING OUR PRIORITIZATION METHODOLOGY AND FORMULAS, WE WERE ADDING THAT AS WE HAD KIND OF CROSSED RECOMMENDATIONS OFF THE LIST, OR WERE INCLUDING NEW EFFORTS, UM, LIKE CODE NEXT OR THE FLOOD LITIGATION TASK FORCE.
SO WE WERE DOING THAT PERIODICALLY AS WE WENT ALONG, BUT WE WEREN'T GOING BACK OUT AND DOING THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TO GO ALONG WITH IT, WHICH WAS KIND OF THE, THE MAJOR SHORTFALL, UM, OF THAT PROCESS.
WE ALSO, BECAUSE THE OBJECTIVES AND GOALS AND THE CURRENT PLAN AREN'T REALLY TIME BOUND, UM, IT WAS JUST KIND OF LIKE, MAKE SURE NO ONE'S FLOODING AND THAT ALL OF THE CREEKS ARE BEAUTIFUL AND GOOD AND FLOWING.
UM, AND SO WE WEREN'T ABLE TO REALLY LIKE SHOW MEASURABLE PROGRESS IN HOW WE WERE MEETING THOSE OBJECTIVES AND LOOK AT A WAY THAT WE COULD KIND OF SHIFT AND ADAPT AND CONTINUE TO GROW, UM, AS WE UPDATE THE PLAN.
SO THE NEW PLAN, UH, RANGER RIVER WILL HAVE, UM, THAT FRAMEWORK LAID OUT WITHIN THE PLAN OF OUR COMMITMENT TO HOW OFTEN WE'LL BE UPDATING IT SIMILAR TO HOW THE WATER FORWARD PLAN DOES.
UM, I I IMAGINE IT'LL PROBABLY BE A FIVE YEAR, UM, TIMEFRAME, BUT WE WANT TO WORK WITH THE COMMUNITY ACTIVATION GROUP, UH, TO TALK ABOUT WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, HOW OFTEN WE'RE GOING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY, AND AGAIN, BUILDING THOSE RELATIONSHIPS IN THE INTERIM SO THAT IT'S NOT LIKE WE'LL SEE EVERYBODY IN FIVE YEARS, BUT THAT WE'RE REPORTING OUT ON OUR PROGRESS AND CHECKING IN WITH FOLKS AND, UH, BEING ADAPTIVE AS WE GO.
SO IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU ALL ARE WORKING OUT WHAT KIND OF TIMELINE MIGHT WORK AND TO, TO WHAT EXTENT, UM, ARE YOU IMAGINING RIGHT NOW DOING THE SAME KIND OF COMPREHENSIVE, UH, YOU KNOW, VERY LARGE, UH, EFFORT, YOU KNOW, EVERY FIVE YEARS? OR ARE YOU THINKING, YOU KNOW, ONE REALLY CONCENTRATED EFFORT RIGHT NOW AND THEN SMALLER ONES CHECKING IN AND I'M JUST, I'M WONDERING BECAUSE YES, I THINK IT'S GOOD TO BE CONSTANTLY THINKING AND REVISING AND WE ARE IN A CHANGING CLIMATE AND A CHANGING WORLD CHANGING POLITICAL SITUATION.
LIKE ALL THESE THINGS NEED CONSTANT UPDATES.
I THINK, AND YOU ALL KNOW THIS TOO, I'M SURE TO, TO STAY NIMBLE.
LIKE I APPRECIATE THAT THERE ARE INTERNAL CONVERSATIONS HAPPENING AND I KNOW HOW EXPENSIVE AND HOW TIME CONSUMING IT IS TO DO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ON THIS SCALE.
SO WHILE I WANT IT, I'M ALSO WANTING TO DO IT ON A TIMEFRAME THAT MAKES SENSE FOR Y'ALL TO ACTUALLY DO THE WORK BECAUSE A LOT OF THESE THINGS CAN'T EVEN BE ACCOMPLISHED IN FIVE YEARS AND, UH, YOU KNOW, FUNDING CYCLES ARE DELAYED.
AND SO HOW ARE YOU ALL HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS WHEN THINKING ABOUT TIMING AND THE LEVEL OF ENGAGEMENT? SO YEAH, FOR ME, LIKE I'M THINKING WITH IT BEING 25 YEARS, IT'S KINDA LIKE IF YOU DIDN'T CLEAN YOUR HOUSE FOR 25 YEARS, THEN
UM, AND SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE'VE SEEN THAT AND IT'S A REALLY HEAVY LIFT AND GOING OUT AND, YOU KNOW, IN A LOT OF COMMUNITIES BUILDING TRUST FROM KIND OF SQUARE ONE, UM, AND KNOWING THAT THERE'S, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF DISTRUST AND A LOT OF, UM, KIND OF A HISTORY OF FATIGUE OF INACTION, I THINK IS WHAT ONE OF OUR AMBASSADORS CALLED IT.
UM, AND SO I, I THINK GOING FORWARD THAT WILL MAKE IT, YOU KNOW, WE STILL WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE DOING A ROBUST AND INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EFFORT AS WE'RE WORKING TO UPDATE THE PLAN, BUT THAT AS WE'RE BUILDING THOSE RELATIONSHIPS AND MAINTAINING THEM, WE'RE NOT HAVING TO GO BACK OUT AND DO TWO YEARS OF REALLY INTENSIVE ON THE GROUND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THAT WE HAVE A NETWORK THAT'S EASIER TO TAP INTO.
[01:15:01]
IS THAT, I THINK SO, YEAH.WELL, I'M EXCITED TO SEE THE RESULTS OF THIS.
I HAVE THIS SURVEY PULLED UP RIGHT NOW ON MY COMPUTER, SO I WILL BE A PARTICIPANT
THEN, UM, I MEAN, I'M SURE I COULD SEND AN EMAIL, BUT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, I THOUGHT OF SOME COMMUNITY EVENTS SINCE YOU ASKED.
I'M LIKE, LET ME, LET ME LET YOU KNOW.
UM, SO THE FESTIVAL, BEACH FOOD FOREST IS A COMMUNITY IN DOWNTOWN EAST AUSTIN AREA, AND THEY HAVE THEIR SECOND, OR THEY HAVE A WORKDAY, EXCUSE ME, EVERY SECOND SATURDAY OF THE MONTH FROM NINE TO 12:00 PM THAT HAS AT LEAST 50 PEOPLE, UM, WHO SHOW UP.
SO IT LOOKS LIKE YOU ALL HAVE ALREADY THOUGHT ABOUT THAT, THAT IT'S ON LIST LIST ON YOUR LIST.
UM, ALSO DEL DEL VA ON AUGUST 23RD ON YOUR LIST.
WE HAVE, WE HAVE BEEN OUTSIDE IN THE PAST.
I THINK IT WAS LIKE 10,000 PLUS DOLLARS TO TABLE.
UH, SO YEAH, WHY WE DID SOME KIND OF MORE JUST LIKE STANDING OUTSIDE, I DON'T UNDERSTAND FROM PEOPLE WALKING ACROSS TO THE BRIDGE, BUT YEAH, WE DIDN'T, WE HAVEN'T HISTORICALLY BEEN IN BLUES ON THE GREEN, WHAT COST AND MAYBE THAT, BUT IT WAS A YEAH, WE SHOULD, WE COULD CHECK.
WE CAN DOUBLE CHECK BECAUSE THIS IS LIKE, BECAUSE THE FOOD FOREST AND DELVAL WOULD BOTH BE OUTSIDE ALSO.
BUT YOU MEAN JUST TO, TO TABLE, TO HAVE A TABLE THERE, YOU HAVE TO PAY TO OH, IN MOST EVENTS WE, WE PAID A TABLE, BUT IT'S USUALLY, YOU KNOW, KIND OF $20, $50.
GIVEN THAT IT'S A PUBLIC PARK.
ALL RIGHT, WE WILL DOUBLE CHECK THAT.
I'M EXCITED TO SEE THE RESULTS.
THANK YOU FOR THOSE SUGGESTIONS.
UM, YEAH, THANKS A LOT FOR, FOR ALL OF THIS.
AND I'M, UH, HAVING JUST EDITED A, A BOOK THAT WAS, UM, 300 SOMETHING PAGES.
I'M HAPPY THAT I'M NOT EDITING YOUR DOCUMENT, WHICH SOUNDS WAY, WAY, WAY, WAY MORE COMPLICATED.
UM, UH, ON THE SURVEY I DID START TAKING IT, UM, A LITTLE BIT WHILE WE WERE HERE AND, UM, I DIDN'T GET ALL THE WAY THROUGH IT, BUT DOES IT AT SOME POINT CAPTURE THE ZIP CODE AND DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION? IS THAT AT THE END? YEAH.
'CAUSE I DIDN'T ASK IT UP FRONT.
UM, AND THEN, UM, WHAT WAS THE RATIONALE BETWEEN IF YOU PICK, LIKE YOU PICK YOUR JOURNEY OF HOW YOU'RE GONNA GO INTO THIS SURVEY AND ONE IS, UM, DO YOU WANT LIKE SHORT TERM OR SMALLER PIECES AND THEN THE OTHER ONE'S KIND OF LIKE, DO YOU WANT LARGE SCALE STUFF? SO WHAT WAS THE KIND OF RATIONALE ON THAT? GOOD QUESTION.
IT WAS MAINLY A, A RECOMMENDATION FROM OUR CONSULTANT AND JUST THE WAY THAT THEY WERE BRINGING IN THAT QUANTITATIVE DATA AND SETTING IT UP FOR ANALYSIS, I THINK THEY, BECAUSE WE'RE LOOKING AT SOME HARD TRADE OFFS, THEY REALLY WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE WERE BEING KIND OF FORCED TO MAKE MORE OF A CHOICE.
WE ORIGINALLY HAD LIKE AN A THIRD OPTION THAT WAS LIKE, I WANT A MIX OF BOTH.
AND, UM, AND SO WE ACKNOWLEDGED THAT IN THE, IN THE TEXT THAT SHE READ, YOU KNOW, THAT WILL LIKELY END UP BEING A MIXTURE OF BOTH, BUT WANTING FOR PEOPLE TO KIND OF CHOOSE A PATH AND GO DOWN IT SO THAT WE COULD, UM, PULL THAT DATA INTO HELPING US MAKE THOSE TRADE OFFS AND DEVELOP THE DECISION MAKING FRAMEWORK.
AND TO BE CLEAR, ACTUALLY THIS IS, I HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU.
UM, IT ONLY LEADS YOU DOWN THAT CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE FOR LIKE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
IT'S NOT THAT THE WHOLE REST OF THE SURVEY IS DEPENDENT ON THAT.
DOES IT SEEM LIKE THE REST OF THE SURVEY IS DEPENDENT ON THAT FIRST CHOICE? 'CAUSE THAT'S ACTUALLY INTERESTING FEEDBACK.
UH, YEAH, I MEAN I DID, I DID FEEL LIKE IT, YOU KNOW, LIKE ALL THOSE THINGS WERE GONNA BE THEN PERTAINING TO THAT.
I WONDER IF WE SHOULD CLARIFY THAT.
YEAH, IT'S JUST THE FIRST QUESTION.
IT'LL EITHER TAKE YOU TO LIKE ONE A OR ONE B GOTCHA.
AND THEN ALL OF THE REST OF THE SURVEY IS THE SAME.
MAYBE, MAYBE SOMETHING ON THERE KIND OF THING.
SO MY NEXT QUESTION HERE IS, UM, YOU SAID PHASE THREE, YOU'RE LOOKING FOR THE COMMUNITY EXPERTS.
UM, I FEEL LIKE PEOPLE ON THIS COMMISSION WOULD FALL INTO THAT.
DO WE NEED TO FORM A WORKING GROUP? IS THERE A WORKING GROUP THAT WE CAN BE A PART OF? HOW DO, HOW DO WE PARTICIPATE AT THAT LEVEL? THAT'S, I, I'M TRYING TO, LOOKING AT, UH, LISTEN, ELIZABETH ABOUT, I'VE, I'VE DEFINITELY WORKED WITH AN ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION WORKING GROUP, BUT IT'S BEEN ABOUT A DECADE.
SO JUST WHAT SORT OF THE STANDARD PROCESS IS ON SETTING THAT UP? UM, YEAH, I MEAN, UM, WORKING GROUPS CAN BE ESTABLISHED, UM, WITH A, A LESS THAN A QUORUM.
UM, THEY AREN'T REQUIRED TO HAVE STAFF INVOLVEMENT, BUT I THINK IF IN THIS CASE WE PROBABLY WOULD WANT TO BE INVOLVED IN SOME CASE, UM, JUST TO HELP ANSWER QUESTIONS.
SO IT, IT IS SOMETHING THAT, THAT CAN BE DONE.
UM, SO YOU, I MEAN, I THINK WE COULD DEFINITELY GIVE UPDATES ALONG THE WAY AND THAT KIND OF THING, SIMILAR TO HOW, UM, AND KIND OF THINKING ABOUT LIKE WHAT WOULD THAT TIMEFRAME BE FOR THAT LEVEL OF ENGAGEMENT,
[01:20:02]
I GUESS.I THINK YOU WERE INTERPRETING, UM, MAYBE, MAYBE CONFUSING PHASE THREE WITH PRIORITY GROUP THREE.
SO THE PHASE THREE IS JUST OUR NEXT PHASE OF ENGAGEMENT WHERE WE'LL ESSENTIALLY BE ASKING FOR INPUT ON THE DRAFT PLAN MM-HMM
BUT THE PRIORITY GROUP THREE PERSISTS FOR THE WHOLE ENGAGEMENT PROCESS, AND THAT'S THE KIND OF PEOPLE WITH SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE.
SO AS FAR AS TIMEFRAME, I THINK IT COULD BE, WELL, I MEAN, YEAH, WE COULD EITHER KIND OF STRETCH IT OUT AND DO PERIODIC UPDATES OF WHAT WE LEARNED THROUGH PHASE TWO AND, UM, YOU KNOW, HOW WHAT WE'RE DEVELOPING OVER THE FALL.
UM, OR IT COULD BE SOMETHING MORE FOCUSED AROUND WHEN WE HAVE THE DRAFT DOCUMENT WALKING THROUGH THAT WORKING GROUP IN MORE DETAIL OF THE SPECIFIC SECTIONS AND THE RECOMMENDATIONS BEING MADE, UM, SO THAT THAT WORKING GROUP IS KIND OF PRIMED AND UP TO SPEED WHEN IT COMES TO THE FULL COMMISSION FOR A RECOMMENDATION.
UM, YEAH, I MEAN, I THINK WE JUST WANNA BE, YOU KNOW, UTILIZE OUR TIME AND OUR, YOU KNOW, UM, UH, EFFORT HERE THAT'S GONNA BE MOST USEFUL FOR YOU AND THE ULTIMATE OUTCOME OF THIS DOCUMENT.
SO, UM, AND THE PLAN, UM, SO I'M, I'M OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS ON HOW, YOU KNOW, WE THINK WE GET THERE, LIZ, IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING.
UM, CERTAINLY, I MEAN, IT, IT COULD BE, UH, MAYBE A FUTURE, A DISCUSSION ITEM IF, YOU KNOW, IF, IF THERE ARE, UM, ENOUGH FOLKS ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION WHO WOULD LIKE TO FORM A WORKING GROUP OR IF YOU WOULD PREFER TO HAVE IT COME BACK.
UM, I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, UH, MAYBE SEVEN PEOPLE HERE, THERE MAY BE OTHERS, UM, WHO AREN'T HERE OR PRESENT THIS EVENING WHO WOULD, UH, BE INTERESTED IN, UM, EITHER HAVING MORE UP SMALLER UPDATES TO THE ENTIRE BODY OR, UH, MORE IN DEPTH UPDATES TO THE WORKING GROUP.
IT'S, UM, I THINK IT'S REALLY UP TO, TO Y'ALL HOW YOU WOULD PREFER TO ENGAGE.
LET ME THINK ABOUT THAT UNLESS SOMEBODY ELSE HAS A BETTER IDEA.
UM, AND THEN, UH, FIRST OFF, AND I, YOU KNOW, I ALSO JUST WANNA SAY I LOVE IT THAT Y'ALL HAVE ASKED US TO SHARE THIS, YOU KNOW, AND, AND GET THINGS OUT.
SOMETIMES PRESENTATIONS, THEY SEEM LIKE THEY'RE JUST CLOSED AND FOR HERE AND, YOU KNOW, SO FOR US TO BE ABLE TO ENGAGE OUR NEIGHBORHOODS AND OUR, YOU KNOW, UM, OUR COMMUNITIES, I REALLY HOPE EVERYBODY, YOU KNOW, UM, GOES FORWARD AND DOES THAT.
I LIVE IN A BUFFER NEIGHBORHOOD THAT'S A LONG, UM, WALNUT CREEK, YOU KNOW, SO WE'RE KIND OF CONSTANTLY, UM, LOOKING AT WATER ISSUES AND THAT KIND OF THING.
SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, THOSE BUFFER NEIGHBORHOODS THAT ARE ALONG ALL THOSE CREEK SYSTEMS IS REALLY A GOOD WAY TO THINK ABOUT STRATEGICALLY, YOU KNOW, WHO ARE THOSE REALLY INVESTED, UM, NEIGHBORHOODS IN THAT.
UM, AND YEAH, I MEAN, THAT'S, THAT'S ALL I GOT.
AGAIN, I THINK Y'ALL ARE DOING GREAT WORK AND, UM, I REALLY APPRECIATE, UM, CLEANING HOUSE AFTER 25 YEARS.
UM, ONE OTHER THING THAT PROMPTED IN MY, UH, MIND THAT WE CAN SHARE, UH, WITH E WITH ELIZABETH DE SENDI IS WE HAVE A SOCIAL MEDIA KIT THAT JUST HAS SORT OF BLURBS, IF YOU WANNA PUT 'EM ON FACEBOOK OR NEWSLETTERS, THAT JUST MAKES IT EASIER TO SORT OF LIKE COPY PASTE AND, UH, GET THE WORD OUT THAT WAY.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM AROUND? NO, I JUST WANNA SAY, YEAH, I REALLY WANT SOME BLURBS TO, TO SHARE.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
UM, OTHER THING IS FEATURE AGENDA ITEMS, AND I THINK WE JUST KIND OF DISCUSSED ONE, BUT ANYBODY HAVE ANY OTHER FEATURE AGENDA ITEMS? I DO.COMMISSIONER SULLIVAN, JUMP IN.
WELL, TWO YEARS AGO, UM, I ASKED A QUESTION ABOUT, UM, ARTIFICIAL TURF BEING USED ON LAWNS.
AND, UM, RECENTLY I SAW A TELEVISION AD PROMOTING THAT, AND I THOUGHT, WAIT A MINUTE, THIS IS GETTING OUT OF HAND BECAUSE IT'S INCREASING IMPERVIOUS COVER IN AREAS WHERE IT SHOULD ONLY BE 45%.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION, UH, TALK ABOUT THIS AND MAYBE HEAR FROM, UM, PEOPLE WHO MIGHT BE ADVOCATES FOR IT OR PEOPLE WHO ARE CONCERNED ABOUT IT.
I DID TALK TO ONE OF MY NEIGHBORS WHO LIVES NEXT DOOR TO ONE OF THESE, AND HE TOLD ME THAT THE CITY WAS ACTUALLY DOING SOMETHING TO DIVERT THE STORM WATER NOW BECAUSE OF A LARGE LAWN THAT'S ARTIFICIAL TURF.
SO, UM, SO I THINK THAT IT IS A CONCERN.
UM, SO THAT, THAT IS A TOPIC THAT
[01:25:01]
MY TEAM HAS BEEN LOOKING AT PRETTY EXTENSIVELY.UM, THERE'VE BEEN A NUMBER OF ARTIFICIAL TURF PROJECTS THAT HAVE GONE THROUGH RECENTLY RELATED TO, UM, ESPECIALLY THE A ISD BOND PROJECTS.
SO WE'VE REALLY, WE'VE REALLY LOOKED AT IT AND KIND OF HAVE A PRETTY GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THE ISSUES ARE AND, UM, WE CAN HAPPY TO BE, UH, PRESENT SOME OF THE, UM, INFORMATION THAT WE'VE, UH, GATHERED OVER THE, UH, OVER THE LAST COUPLE YEARS.
I ALSO HAVE A THOUGHT MAYBE YOU ALL CAN BRAINSTORM WITH ME TO, UM, MAKE IT MORE PRECISE, BUT I WOULD LOVE AN UPDATE FROM AUSTIN ENERGY, MAYBE AUSTIN WATER, BUT IN THE WAKE OF THE MOST RECENT MICROBURST STORM THAT HAPPENED, I WANT TO JUST KIND OF A HOLISTIC OVERVIEW OF HOW DID IT IMPACT THE CITY ENVIRONMENTALLY AND WHAT ARE WE DOING MOVING FORWARD TO CONTINUE TO INCREASE OUR CLIMATE RESILIENCE IN THAT ASPECT.
WAS THERE A SECOND ON THAT? I MISSED IT, I THINK CHRIS.
UM, I DO BELIEVE THERE WILL BE, UM, WE'LL HAVE TO CONFIRM ON THIS, BUT I DO BELIEVE THERE WILL BE AN AFTER ACTION REPORT COMPILED, WHICH, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, HAS BEEN LED BY OUR HOMELAND SECURITY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT GROUP, UM, WHICH GENERALLY HAS INPUT FROM VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS.
THAT IS A REPORT THAT IS COMPILED, UM, WHEN, UM, EMERGENCY ACTIVATION HAS, YOU KNOW, BEEN, UM, TRIGGERED.
SO I, I BELIEVE THERE WILL BE ONE WE CAN LOOK INTO THAT.
I'M NOT ENTIRELY SURE WHAT THE TIMELINE WILL BE THOUGH.
THE DEPARTMENT OF HES A HOMELAND SECURITY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR KIND OF GATHERING, UM, INPUT FROM VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS AND COMPILING A REPORT.
AND THAT'S A FEDERAL DEPARTMENT? OR THAT'S A CITY DEPARTMENT? THAT'S A CITY.
WHENEVER THEY HAVE THAT REPORT READY.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
YEAH, I THINK ALSO IF YOU COULD GIVE US LIKE A ROUGH TIMEFRAME OF WHEN THEY THINK THE REPORT WOULD BE READY, THAT WOULD BE SUPER USEFUL.
SO WE CAN HAVE PEOPLE HARASS Y'ALL AND THEM ABOUT IT, YOU KNOW.
WE'LL CONFIRM THAT IT IS, I'M NOT MAKING IT UP FIRST AS WELL.
UM, I WANNA TALK ABOUT, UM, AND I DON'T KNOW KIND OF WHERE THIS INFORMATION LIVES OR LIES, BUT, UM, I'VE BEEN THINKING A LOT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A LOT OF INFILL TYPE CONSTRUCTION AND WHICH MEANS THAT THEY'RE TEARING DOWN BUILDINGS AND TEARING DOWN PARKING LOTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, BUT HOW DO WE RECYCLE A LOT OF THAT MATERIAL, UM, TO BE BETTER STEWARDS OF THAT? SO RECYCLING, CONCRETE REBAR, YOU KNOW, ALL THE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT COME OUT OF, OUT OF THAT, BUT ESPECIALLY CONCRETE.
UH, ELIZABETH FUNK WATERSHED, I, YOU MADE THIS REQUEST AT THE LAST MEETING AS WELL, AND I ACTUALLY WAS ON A CALL THIS MORNING WITH AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY TO KIND OF, THEY WANTED A LITTLE BIT MORE DIRECTION ON WHAT YOU WANTED TO HEAR FROM, SO MAYBE YOU CAN SEND, HE'S GONNA, THE PLAN IS THEY'RE GONNA GIVE ME AN EMAIL SYNOPSIS OF THEIR ORDINANCE ON RECYCLING ON CONSTRUCTION, UH, SITES AND SEE IF THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR.
UM, AND THEN MAYBE WE CAN FOLLOW UP WITH THAT TO KIND OF HONE IN MORE ON WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR.
UM, BUT I'VE GOT CONTACTS AND WORKING ON IT.
YEAH, I FELT LIKE I WAS PRETTY VAGUE ON THE LAST ONE TOO.
SO, UM, BUT SPECIFICALLY CONCRETE I THINK IS WHERE I'LL GO WITH THAT.
I MEAN, A CASE, A CASEON STUDY COULD BE THE CONVENTION CENTER.
UM, JUST AS A REMINDER, AT OUR NEXT MEETING WE HAVE OUR, IT'S OUR ANNUAL RETREAT, AND I KNOW THAT COMMISSIONER K, HE LOVES THAT WORD SO MUCH.
UM,
I KNOW, I THINK THE FIRST YEAR I JOINED I THOUGHT WE WERE GONNA HANG OUT IN LIKE A PARK OR, SO I THOUGHT IT WAS LIKE A, WHEN THE CLASSROOM GOES OUTSIDE OR WHATEVER, IT'S NOT LIKE THE YEAH, WE DON'T DO THAT
UM, BUT IT, BUT IT IS, AND HOPEFULLY EVERYBODY WILL BE THERE.
UM, ELIZABETH, DO YOU WANNA GIVE US A LITTLE BIT OF BREAKDOWN OF THAT DAY? SURE.
UH, WE WILL HAVE DINNER FOR YOU ALL AND, UM, WE'VE GOT TWO PRESENTATIONS PLANNED.
I'M NEED TO GIVE ONE ON ROBERT'S RULES, JUST A REAL QUICK PRIMER ON THAT.
UM, AND WE'VE GOT ANOTHER KIND OF REHASH OF A PRESENTATION LISTED LAST YEAR ON, UM, DIFFERENT CASES Y'ALL SEE AND SOME CONDITIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.
WHAT'S LEGAL, WHAT LEGAL CAN BE LEGALLY ENFORCED, AND DA DA DA.
UM, AND THEN THERE WILL BE TIME FOR YOU ALL TO PRESENT, UH, KIND OF DISCUSS
[01:30:01]
GOALS FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR.THE CLERK'S OFFICE DOES THE ANNUAL REPORTS FOR COMMISSIONS JUNE, I GUESS JULY TO JUNE.
SO YOU ALL WILL GET TO DISCUSS WHAT GOALS YOU HAVE FOR THE NEXT YEAR, AND THAT'LL BE INCLUDED IN THE ANNUAL REPORT THAT CHAIR BRISTOL WILL PUT TOGETHER.
AND THAT IS DUE AT THE VERY END OF JULY.
AND I DID WRITE DOWN ONE OTHER, UM, UH, ACTION ITEM.
UM, I THINK WE'VE ASKED WHERE IT BEFORE, AND I DON'T REMEMBER WHERE THIS STANDS, BUT, UM, GETTING SOME SORT OF UPDATE, UM, FROM TDOT.
UM, AS FAR AS THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT FOR CROSSING THE RIVER, I THINK WE TALKED ABOUT IT BEFORE, BUT I I DON'T THINK IT HAD GONE ANYWHERE.
UH, WE CAN REACH OUT TO OUR, UH, THE PROJECT COORDINATOR WHO, UM, IS THE LIAISON, OFFICIAL LIAISON WITH TECH ON THAT, THAT, UM, PROJECT TO SEE IF THEY HAVE ANY SPECIFIC INFORMATION.
I, I DO DOUBT THAT WE'LL GET ANYONE FROM TECH DOC TO ATTEND, BUT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET SOME DOCUMENTS TO SEND OUT TO Y'ALL.
I WOULD ALSO INVITE, UM, OUR, UM, PUBLIC SPEAKER THAT WAS HERE EARLIER TO SHARE YOUR DOCUMENT THAT YOU HAD EARLIER.