[00:00:03]
[CALL TO ORDER ]
SEPTEMBER 8TH, UH, JUST A LITTLE PAST 6:40 PM I WOULD LIKE TO CALL THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE MUSIC COMMISSION TO ORDER.DO WE HAVE, UH, ANYBODY UNDER MUSICAL PERFORMANCE TODAY? OKAY, MOVING ON.
UM, I DON'T THINK WE HAVE ANY SIGNEES FOR, UH, PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.
HAS ANYONE SIGNED UP? OKAY, THANK YOU.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
TO MOTION TO MOVE THE APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM THE LAST MUSIC COMMISSION MEETING TO NEXT MONTH'S MEETING.UH, IF I COULD PLEASE HAVE A MOTION TOWARDS THAT, IF WE HAVE A MOTION FROM COMMISSIONER PRICE.
UM, ALL IN FAVOR? ALRIGHT, WE WOULD, UM, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND MOVE APPROVAL OF MINUTES, AND WE WOULD DO THAT FOR, UM, BOTH THE MONTHS OF AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER IN THE NEXT MEETING.
[2. Staff briefing on Live Music Fund collections by Kim McCarson, Program Manager, Music & Entertainment Division, Austin Arts, Culture, Music & Entertainment. ]
UH, WELL ACTUALLY, LET ME TAKE A MOMENT, UH, TO QUICKLY INTRODUCE, UH, COMMISSIONER, UH, CLARISSA CARDUS CARDUS.UM, UH, AND, UH, WELCOME, UH, THANK YOU FOR, UH, UH, THANK YOU FOR VOLUNTEERING TO YOUR TIME FOR, UH, THE MUSIC INDUSTRY AND THE MUSIC COMMUNITY HERE.
UH, IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SAY A FEW WORDS TO QUICKLY INTRODUCE YOURSELF, UH, AND THEN WE'LL GO FROM THERE.
BEEN A PROPONENT OF AUSTIN MUSIC FOR A WHILE, JUST ON MY OWN, AND STARTED LIFTING UP ARTISTS AND STARTED A PODCAST AND MUSIC PROMOTION AND MARKETING, AND SLOWLY SNOWBALLED INTO WHAT IT IS NOW.
AND SO JUST BUILDING ON TOP OF THAT WITH THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY AND HAPPY TO BE HERE AND SUPPORT.
AGAIN, WE'LL MOVE ON TO STAFF BRIEFINGS.
THE FIRST ITEM ON THE AGENDA HERE IS STAFF BRIEFING ON LIVE MUSIC, UH, FUN COLLECTIONS BY KIM MC CARSON, PROGRAM MANAGER, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION.
THERE GO KIM MACARON, UM, PROGRAM MANAGER, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION, AUSTIN ARTS CULTURE, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT OFFICE.
I'M GONNA GIVE YOU GUYS THE REPORT FOR THE HOT COLLECTIONS HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX COLLECTIONS FOR THE LIVE MUSIC FUND.
UM, SO AS YOU CAN SEE, UH, JULY WAS, UH, QUITE A BIT SMALLER THAN JULY LAST YEAR AT 21,687, UH, FOR JULY, 2025.
AND, UH, JULY, 2024 WAS 716,095.
SO, AS YOU CAN SEE, UM, LOOKING AT THAT SORT OF REDDISH BROWN BLOCK AT THE TOP OF THE CHART HERE, UM, THAT'S NOT WHERE THE CHART STOPS.
IT DOESN'T SHOW UP ON YOUR PRINTOUT VERY WELL, BUT IF YOU CAN TURN AND LOOK AT THE SCREEN, YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE'S ACTUALLY A LITTLE BAR THAT GOES ACROSS THERE.
AND THAT IS, UM, SHOWING YOU THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE, UH, TWO DIFFERENT MONTHS.
THAT'S, THERE'S ANOTHER MONTH ON TOP THAT'S USUALLY BIGGER, UH, UH, TO THE LEFT.
OKAY? SO, UM, THE, UH, THE LITTLE BOX IS, UH, AT THE TOP OF THE, THE SCREEN THERE IS COVERING IT UP.
IT'S AN 18% DIFFERENCE YEAR TO DATE.
SO THE YEAR TO DATE ENCUMBRANCES NUMBER IS 3,254,590.
UM, BUT THAT REPRESENTS, BECAUSE OF THIS, THE SUMMER REPRESENTS, UM, AN 18% LESS YEAR TO DATE.
SO THAT'S THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE FISCAL YEAR COMPARED TO 2024.
ANY, ANY QUESTIONS? AND I CAN'T ACCOUNT FOR THE DIFFERENCE.
JUST, I, I, THOSE NUMBERS ARE REPORTED TO ME, BUT I DON'T HAVE AN EXPLANATION FOR THOSE NUMBERS FOR YOU.
UH, COMMISSIONERS QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? ALRIGHT, THANK YOU.
[3. Staff briefing on FY23 Austin Live Music Fund final reports by Erica Shamaly, Division Manager, Music & Entertainment Division, Austin Arts, Culture, Music & Entertainment.]
ITEM IS STAFF BRIEFING ON FY 23 AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND.FINAL REPORTS BY ERICA SHAMLEY, DIVISION MANAGER, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION, A CME.
ERICA SHAMLEY, MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION MANAGER WITHIN AUSTIN.
[00:05:01]
MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT.UH, I JUST WANNA WELCOME YOU ALL HERE TO OUR BEAUTIFUL DOWNTOWN LIBRARY IN AUSTIN, TEXAS.
WE ALWAYS LOVE, UH, USING THIS FACILITY.
AS YOU MAY RECALL, THIS IS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2023, WHICH WAS OUR VERY FIRST LIVE MUSIC FUND GRANT PROGRAM FACILITATED THROUGH THE, UH, SELF-MADE PROGRAM AT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, WHICH WE HAD ISSUES WITH.
I DIDN'T INCLUDE THOSE SAME SLIDES I HAVE IN THE LAST COUPLE SLIDES ABOUT, YOU KNOW, JUST THE HISTORY.
UH, BUT JUST AS A QUICK PRIMER, THIS IS THE HISTORY OF 367 AWARDEES, UH, 41 $5,000 GRANTS, 326 $10,000 GRANTS.
THIS IS THE DATE THEY WERE EXECUTED, AND THEY WERE 12 MONTH TERMS FOR FUTURE SPECIFIC PROJECTS.
AND AS YOU MAY REMEMBER, THERE WAS A HOST OF REASONS WHY THIS LED TO ISSUES FOR OUR VERY FIRST COHORT OF AWARDEES, UH, RELATED TO JUST HOW THE INDUSTRY WORKS AND HOW OUR FIRST GRANT ROLLED OUT, WHICH WE'VE MADE LOTS OF UPDATES, UH, AS YOU KNOW, FOR FY FOR OUR FISCAL YEAR 24 PROGRAM.
SO, AS A QUICK, UH, UPDATE, AS FROM OUR LAST SLIDE, LOOKED EXACTLY LIKE THIS, WE'RE JUST UPDATING THE NUMBERS.
UM, AS OF TODAY IT WAS 41 REMAINING NON-COMPLIANT AWARDEES.
WE ARE NOW DOWN TO 34, UH, REMAINING, NON-COMPLIANT AWARDEES.
KIM HAS WORKED, UH, A LOT OF DUE DILIGENCE WITH EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM TO HELP THEM GET IN THEIR REPORTING SO THAT WE COULD GET THAT NUMBER INTO, UH, YOU KNOW, DOWN TO ZERO AS MUCH AS WE POSSIBLY CAN.
I THINK THOUGH, THAT THIS IS PROBABLY, WE'RE GETTING CLOSE TO THE END.
THE, THEIR CONTRACT EXTENSIONS ARE DONE AT THIS POINT, AND WE'VE MADE OUR LAST, OUR LAST DITCH.
YOU KNOW, PLEASE TO PLEASE GET IN YOUR REPORTING.
SO THAT LEAVES US AT 34 REMAINING NON-COMPLIANT AWARDEES 17 WHO SUBMITTED AN INTERIM REPORT AND GOT THEIR FIRST PAYMENT AND 17, UH, WHO SUBMITTED AN INCOMPLETE OR NO INTERIM REPORT.
UM, SO ACTUALLY THE FIRST 17 GOT THE FIRST AND SECOND PAYMENT, BUT NOT THE THIRD, AND THEN THE 17 GOT JUST THEIR FIRST PAYMENT AND NOT THE SECOND OR THE THIRD.
SO, UM, BUT WE MADE A LOT OF CHANGES BECAUSE BASED ON THAT, UH, SO THAT WE WOULDN'T HAVE THE ISSUES OF, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, REPORTING ON A PROJECT THAT IS FUNDED BY THESE GRANTS.
THEREFORE, WE DID NOT REQUIRE FUTURE PROJECTS.
IT WAS ON WHATEVER ELIGIBLE EXPENSE AS LONG AS IT WAS PROMOTED FAR AND WIDE.
AND SO WE ALSO HAD SMALLER GRANTS OR BIGGER GRANTS SO THAT WE COULD HAVE A SMALLER COHORT OF AWARDEES TO WORK WITH AND DO ALL OF THE DUE DILIGENCE AROUND, UH, ASSISTANCE.
AND SO THAT'S WHERE GREG GONZALEZ, OUR PROGRAM COORDINATOR FOR MUSIC, OUR, UH, PROGRAM MANAGER FOR ARTIST DEVELOPMENT CAME IN TO REALLY HELP WITH THEM ONE-ON-ONE.
AND SO HERE WE HAD 136 GRAND AWARDEES, AND THE NUMBERS THAT HAVE CHANGED ARE AT THE BOTTOM, WE HAVE 95 SECOND PAYMENTS PAID, AND THESE ARE TWO YEAR AGREEMENTS.
WE'RE HALFWAY THROUGH THE TERM, AND WE ALSO HAVE 41 FINAL PAYMENTS PAID OUT TO 136 TOTAL AWARDEES.
SO, MAKING PROGRESS EVERY TIME I REPORT TO YOU.
I MEAN, WE HAVE A GOOD NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE DONE WHAT THEY NEED TO DO FOR THEIR SECOND PAYMENT AND FOR THEIR FINAL PAYMENT.
THEY STILL HAVE JUST UNDER A YEAR NOW TO FINISH OUT THE SECOND YEAR TO DO THIS.
AND WE'RE ON A PRETTY GOOD CLIP OF GETTING THIS ALL DONE.
WE'RE ABOUT 30% THERE OF, UH, CLOSING OUT OUR 136 AWARDEES, AND WE GOT A LOT OF TIME LEFT.
ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU, KIM.
UM, IS THERE, UH, CAN YOU SPEAK INTO THE, CAN YOU HEAR ME FROM HERE? I CAN, YEAH.
DO I NEED TO PRESS IT AGAIN? OKAY.
UM, DO, DO PEOPLE WHO, UM, WOULD THE, THE AWARDEES THAT WERE NON-COMPLIANT, IS THERE A LIST THAT THEY GO ON THAT'S LIKE, HEY, IF YOU DO THIS AGAIN OR CORRECT, DO NOT LET YOU DO THIS AGAIN? YES.
SO THEY GO INTO OUR NONCOMPLIANT LIST, WHICH MEANS THEY ARE INELIGIBLE FOR CITY OF AUSTIN FUNDING.
WE'VE ALSO TALKED ABOUT WHAT IS THE RIGHT RECOURSE AT THIS POINT, BUT THIS IS A NEW THING AND I THINK DESERVES ADDITIONAL KIND OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND TALK WITH WHAT IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO.
IS IT JUST BANNING THEM FOR LIFE, BANNING THEM FOR FIVE YEARS? I THINK RIGHT NOW WE HAVE IT AT FIVE YEARS.
UM, BUT I, WE WOULD WELCOME YOUR FEEDBACK ON THIS BECAUSE IT'S SO NEW.
IS THIS SOMETHING THAT THEY'RE TOLD LIKE, HEY, THIS MAY BE SLIGHTLY INSIGNIFICANT NOW, BUT YOU'RE GOING INTO A NONCOMPLIANT AREA.
AND SO THE PREVIOUS PRESENTATION THAT WAS THIS PRESENTATION SHOWED THOSE APPEAL LETTERS.
[00:10:01]
ROUNDS OF CORRESPONDENCE THAT GO OUT FIRST BY EMAIL AND THEN BY CERTIFIED LETTER TO ALLOW TO LET THEM KNOW WHAT THE CONSEQUENCES ARE.SO THEY'VE BEEN, THIS PARTICULAR COHORT HAS BEEN WARNED FOR MONTHS AND MONTHS OF, UH, TO GET THEIR STUFF IN.
UH, COMMISSIONER PRICE TESTING.
THAT WE'RE GET RINGING THEM IN A LITTLE BIT MORE.
UH, IF YOU'RE ABLE TO PROVIDE JUST A LITTLE BIT OF AN IMPACT STUDY ON KIND OF, NOT THE PERSONAL REASONS, OF COURSE, BUT LIKE THE GENERALIZED REASONS THAT THESE FOLKS HAVE BEEN NONCOMPLIANT FOR SO LONG.
SO, UM, KIM HAS, WILL HAVE DATA ON EVERY, BECAUSE SHE'S NOT ONLY DONE THOSE LETTERS, THOSE OFFICIAL THINGS, SHE'S CALLED, SHE'S TEXTED, SHE'S DONE LOTS OF EMAILING.
AND SO WE CAN EVENTUALLY, SHE'S STARTING TO GLEAN THE REASONS WHY ON THIS PARTICULAR COHORT WITH THESE PARTICULAR GUIDELINES AND WHAT WE ASK THEM TO DO, AND WITH THE TOOL WE ASKED THEM TO USE OF WHY WE'VE HAD ISSUES.
AND SO WE WOULD BE ABLE TO GIVE YOU LIKE THE TOP THREE TO FOUR REASONS OF WHAT HAPPENED.
IN FACT, WE WERE ALREADY UNDERSTANDING WHAT THAT WAS BEFORE THE FISCAL YEAR 24 PROGRAM, WHICH WAS WHY YOU SAW A LOT OF CHANGES FOR THAT PROGRAM.
WE DON'T ANTICIPATE, WE ANTICIPATE THE SAME KIND OF GOOD, UH, YOU KNOW, FEEDBACK LIKE, UH, REPORTING THAT WE'RE GETTING FOR 24 FOR THIS NEXT CYCLE.
UM, YEAH, UH, WELL, FIRST OF ALL, I, I REALLY APPRECIATE THE EFFORT TO REACH OUT, UH, TO THE COMMUNITY.
I MEAN, SO MANY TIMES, YOU KNOW, UM, ERICA, KIM, GREG, UH, AND, UM, I, I APPRECIATE THE GRACE BECAUSE IT IS, IT IS A NEW GRANT IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND, UH, FOR, YOU KNOW, VARIOUS REASONS.
UH, WE, WHATEVER IT IS, WHY FOLKS ARE NOT ABLE TO COMPLETE THE REPORTS.
UM, I DO THINK THAT THE NATURE OF THE GRANT, UH, APPLICATION ITSELF AND WHAT WAS EXPECTED OUT OF IT IN THE FIRST ROUND WAS SO DIFFERENT FROM THE SUBSEQUENT GRANTS.
UM, THAT ITSELF SHOULD, UM, HOPEFULLY ADDRESS THIS KIND OF, UH, DISPARITY.
BUT ALSO, I MEAN, FOR THAT REASON, I ALSO FEEL LIKE THAT GRACE COULD BE EXTENDED TO WHERE WE ARE NOT PENALIZING PEOPLE FOR FIVE YEARS.
UH, THAT SEEMS PRETTY EXTREME TO ME.
UM, I WOULD RATHER NOT HAVE ANYTHING BECAUSE THE MONEY'S GETTING WRITTEN ANYWAY INTO THE POOL, OR, OR START WITH, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO SKIP ONE CYCLE AND, AND THEN COME BACK INTO IT AFTER THAT.
AND MAYBE AS WE MOVE FORWARD THROUGH THE YEARS, UH, WE COULD MAKE THAT CRITERIA MORE STRINGENT AS THE COMMUNITY GETS USED TO THESE GRANTS, UH, IS WHAT I WOULD HOPE WE CAN DO.
UM, BUT AGAIN, THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR MAKING, I MEAN, EVERY EFFORT YOU CAN TO REACH OUT, UH, TO THE COMMUNITY AND GET FOLKS COMPLIANCE, THAT'S KIND OF AN ABOVE AND BEYOND THING YOU ALL ARE DOING.
WELL, WE UNDERSTAND THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME FOR A LOT OF FOLKS A MAJOR LEARNING CURVE FOR OUR COMMUNITY, AND ESPECIALLY WITH THE, THE CURVE BALLS, WE THREW THEM BECAUSE OF THE TOOL.
SO THERE WERE, THERE WERE VERY, VERY REAL CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO WHY, YOU KNOW.
UH, THIS WAS NOT THE EASIEST THING, UH, FOR EVERYONE.
UH, SO IT, IT WOULD ALSO, I MEAN, KIND OF KIND OF DOVETAILING ON WHAT RAY WAS SAYING, IT WOULD, IT WOULD, I MEAN, JUST TO HAVE, I MEAN, THE IMPACT STUDY WOULD BE GREAT, BUT JUST TO KNOW LIKE WHAT, WHAT THEY WERE DOING WITH THE MONEY, LIKE WHY THEY WERE AWARDED THE MONEY IN THE FIRST PLACE, AND THEN WHAT THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO DO VERSUS WHAT THEY MAYBE DIDN'T DO OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT WOULD, I THINK KIND OF HELP, UM, YOU KNOW, STITCH TOGETHER SOME KIND OF SUCCESSES FOR, FOR NEXT TIME.
AND I, I MEAN, THE, AS, AS FAR AS THE WHOLE VENDOR, I MEAN, 'CAUSE ONCE YOU'RE A VENDOR WITH THE CITY, YOU HAVE TO LIKE, GO BY THE VENDOR'S RULES.
AND SO I THINK CHANGING THOSE THINGS UP MAY REQUIRE LIKE AN ORDINANCE OR SOMETHING, OR SOMETHING OF THE SORT.
SO, UH, I MEAN, WE COULD TALK ABOUT IT MORE.
I, I, I DON'T HAVE AN OPINION ON THAT PART OF IT EITHER WAY, BUT IT WOULD BE REALLY, REALLY HELPFUL.
LIKE IF THEY HAD SOME, I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY THESE WEREN'T JUST LIKE, WE'RE GONNA PUT ON A CONCERT AND DO A SHOW.
THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS A LITTLE BIT MORE INVOLVING, A LITTLE BIT MORE CREATIVE, AND IT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL TO KNOW WHAT THOSE PROJECTS WERE, UM, AND WHY THEY WERE GETTING HUNG UP AT THE TIME THAT THEY WERE GETTING HUNG UP.
UM, ANYTHING ELSE? OH, COMMISSIONER ENGLER, HOW YOU DOING? MM-HMM.
UM, THE PERSONS AND ORGANIZATIONS
[00:15:01]
THAT, UH, ARE NON-COMPLIANT, I JUST HAVE ONE QUESTION.UH, IS THAT GOING TO BE RELEASED AS, UH, PUBLIC INFORMATION? IT CAN, ANYTHING CAN BE REQUESTED THROUGH A PUBLIC INFORMATION REQUEST.
ANYTHING ELSE? COMMISSIONERS? MM-HMM
UH, I THINK JUST IN THE SAME, THE, IN THE SAME VAN OF THE NON-COMPLIANT, I THINK FIVE YEARS SEEMS EXCESSIVE TOO.
UM, AND, AND THIS IS JUST ME THINKING ABOUT IT FOR LIKE 30 SECONDS, SO IT MIGHT NOT BE, BUT MAYBE IT WOULD BE COOL TO THINK ABOUT IT AS A MUSIC COMMISSION AND GIVE A RECOMMENDATION WHAT WE THINK.
'CAUSE I THINK FIVE YEARS TOO MANY, ONE OR ZERO IS NOT ENOUGH.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL, ESPECIALLY IF YOU WERE TO COORDINATE WITH THE ARTS COMMISSION ABOUT WHAT WOULD A POLICY LOOK LIKE FOR EVERYBODY AROUND THE ACME FUNDING PROGRAMS. THAT COULD BE VERY, VERY HELPFUL.
SO THAT COULD BE A COOL RECOMMENDATION WE COULD DO AS A, AS A GROUP.
THAT IT? THANKS, MR.
[4. Staff briefing on Austin-Bergstrom Airport (AUS) live music performances/booking by Erica Shamaly, Division Manager, Music & Entertainment Division, Austin Arts, Culture, Music & Entertainment.]
IS, IT'S ALSO FROM, UM, ERICA'S STAFF BRIEFING ON AUSTIN, UH, AIRPORT LIVE MUSIC PERFORMANCES, BOOKING IKA SHAMALI, DIVISION MANAGER, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION.ACME SHOULD HAVE STAYED UP HERE.
ERICA SHAMLEY, MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION MANAGER IN ACME.
UM, THIS IS NOT OUR PRESENTATION.
I'M JUST GONNA GIVE YOU A QUICK UPDATE.
SO WE'VE BEEN MEETING REGULARLY WITH THE AIRPORT EVERY TWO WEEKS, AND IN CONSTANT CON UH, COMMUNICATION AROUND OUR MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING OF HOW WE'RE ALL GONNA WORK TOGETHER.
AND THEN THE MEMO GOING OUT TO STAFF ON BOTH THE AIRPORT AND TO ACME.
WE'RE, THERE'S A LOT OF COMPLICATED THINGS, ESPECIALLY WITH STAFFING AT THE AIRPORT WITH VERY SPECIFIC, UH, REQUIREMENTS AROUND THE AIRPORT.
SO IT'S JUST A SLOWER TRANSITION THAT WE'RE GETTING, GETTING THROUGH.
WE WILL BE POSTING THE MUSIC COORDINATOR POSITION LIKE VERY SHORTLY HERE.
LIKE, WE JUST HAVE TO GET THE MEMO OUT TO STAFF.
WE'RE GONNA DO THAT THIS WEEK.
WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH OUR HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENTS, BOTH WITH ACME AND WITH THE AIRPORT TO GET THE POSTING PREPARED.
IT'S A MORE COMPLICATED POSTING BECAUSE THEY ARE LOCATED AT THE AIRPORT.
THERE ARE OTHER REQUIREMENTS, UH, BECAUSE IT'S AN AIRPORT, THEY'RE FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS OF STAFFING THAT ANYONE WHO'S AT THAT FACILITY.
SO WE'RE GETTING ALL OF THOSE REQUIREMENTS IN PLACE FOR OUR POSTING, WHICH WILL GO OUT LIKE HERE, I WOULD SAY, IN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS.
AND THE NEXT WEEK, UM, WE'VE BEEN, YOU KNOW, DOING ACTUALLY LOTS OF HIRING WITHIN ACME.
SO THIS IS THE NEXT ONE IN THE QUEUE.
SO IN THE MEANTIME, GREG IS COPIED ON EVERYTHING, AS AM I WITH THE CURRENT STAFFER AT THE AIRPORT, COORDINATING THE MUSIC, UH, SCHEDULE AT ALL OF THE STAGES.
AND WE HAVE ALSO RECEIVED, AND THIS IS REALLY COOL, WE RECEIVED A DATABASE OF ALL MUSICIANS THAT HAVE PLAYED THE AIRPORT IN THE LAST HOW MANY YEARS? HOW 16,000 PEOPLE WAIT, 17,000 NAMES ON THIS DATABASE.
AND SO WE CANNOT WAIT TO GET OUR, WE'RE GONNA GET AN INTERN THIS SUMMER.
HE'S GONNA BE A DATA INTERN TO DIG INTO THIS DATA.
IT ACTUALLY HAS STAGES LISTED NEXT TO EACH NAME SO THAT WE CAN TELL A STORY.
IT'S GONNA BE A STORY OF AUSTIN MUSIC, OF WHO HAS ON THIS LIST.
UM, IT'S KIND OF JUST SHOCKING, AND IT'S JUST A TESTAMENT TO WHAT MICHAEL DID AT THE AIRPORT WITH BOOKING THESE MU THESE STAGES OVER THE LAST ALMOST 20 YEARS.
AND, UM, LOOKING FORWARD TO CONTINUING OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE AIRPORT TO GET THE MUSIC COORDINATOR HIRED, ASSIMILATED.
AND THEN AGAIN, GREG WILL BE MANAGING THAT PERSON, UH, YOU KNOW, FOR ANY KIND OF CHANGES THAT MAY COME TO THE INTAKE OF HOW DOES AN ARTIST, HOW DOES A MUSICIAN APPLY TO, TO DO, TO DO A PERFORMANCE AT THE AIRPORT? WE ARE, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW WE HAVE OUR PER PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNITY FORM THAT IS WITH THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
WE'RE TAKING THOSE QUESTIONS AND PUTTING THEM INTO A NEW APPLICATION THAT EVERYONE WILL USE THAT IS FOR ACME, SO THAT THEY CAN APPLY TO ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT OPPORTUNITIES ACROSS THE CITY.
AND SO WE'LL BE, YOU KNOW, ROPING AND LOOPING IN THE AIRPORT PROCESS INTO THAT.
UM, IT'S JUST A PROCESS BECAUSE THERE'S LOTS TO CONSIDER AS WE CREATE THIS NEW DEPARTMENT AND CREATING ALL OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR IT, INCLUDING THIS SUBMISSION FORM.
SO CURRENTLY IT'S STILL SITTING WITH EDD, THE PERFORMANCE
[00:20:01]
OPPORTUNITY FORM, STILL SITTING WITH A, WITH THE AIRPORT, WITH EMAILING THE STAFF, AND THERE'S EMAIL INFORMATION ON THEIR WEBSITE.UH, BUT WE'RE ALL IN COMMUNICATION WITH EACH OTHER AND COORDINATING TOWARDS THE COMPLETE TRANSITION INTO ACME.
AND THAT SHOULD HAPPEN, YOU KNOW, BY THE END OF THE YEAR.
YOU KNOW, DEFINITELY SOONER THAN THAT WITH THE MUSIC COORDINATOR, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF TRAINING, THERE'S A LOT OF PROCESS INVOLVED, AND A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, JUST FOR US CAPACITY THAT WE NEED TO STILL BRING ON, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S TECHNOLOGY, THE APPLICATION, IT'S JUST A PROCESS.
HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
QUESTIONS, UH, COMMENTS? COMMISSIONERS, COMMISSIONER, STR? YES.
UH, SO I, I OWE, UH, THIS MUSIC COMMISSION ACTUALLY AN APOLOGY.
WHEN I, UM, KIND OF TALKED ON THIS A LITTLE BIT BRIEFLY THERE WAS, I, I KIND OF MESSED UP AND I SAID THAT IT, WE, WE WANNA GET TO A BASELINE OF 20 TO 30 SHOWS.
I THINK IT WAS A MONTH, IS WHAT I SAID.
UM, AND SO SHELBY ACTUALLY SENT OUT A REPORT, UH, AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS MONTH THAT THERE WERE 90 ACTS AT THE AIRPORT IN JULY, 198 MUSICIANS.
UH, AUGUST WAS A, UM, I GUESS, I GUESS 105 SCHEDULE AND 202 MUSICIANS.
SO IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE GETTING, UM, BACK TO SOME SORT OF NORMALCY THERE, WHICH IS GREAT.
WE ARE BACK, WE ARE BACK TO WHAT THE BOOKING WAS PREVIOUSLY, AND THAT WAS, UH, YOU KNOW, A TEAM EFFORT.
IT WAS, YOU KNOW, JUST A LOT OF TRANSITION THAT NEEDED TO TAKE PLACE THAT WE'RE COMING OUT OF.
AND SO WE HAVE A PROCESS TO CONTINUE FILLING EVERY SPOT AT EVERY STAGE EVERY MONDAY.
YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, THERE'S A SPECIFIC, YOU KNOW, OR IT COULD BE MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY.
UM, AND SO THEN WE'RE ALSO PLANNING FOR THE NEW STAGES, AS, YOU KNOW, IT DEVELOPS AS THE PLAN DEVELOPS.
SO THIS IS JUST PART ONE OF A REALLY WONDERFUL THING THAT WILL BE HAPPENING AT THE AIRPORT AS WE EXPAND INTO NEW SPACES INTO THE YEARS TO COME.
SO, YEAH, I JUST, UM, GREG AND ERIC, I JUST, UM, AND JUST THANK YOU ALL FOR THE HARD WORK.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER STRICKLAND.
UM, I THINK, UM, WHAT WAS IMPORTANT FOR ALL OF US WAS TO GET CLARITY AROUND, UH, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE DETAILS, UH, AS TO WHAT WAS GOING ON WITH THE TRANSITION.
AND, UH, THERE WERE CONCERNS AROUND, UH, SOME, UH, CANCELLATION OF GIGS AND WHATNOT.
AND SO I THINK, UM, UM, I, I, WE STILL APPRECIATE, UH, YOU KNOW, YOUR KIND OF INTEREST AND ATTENTION TO THIS ISSUE BECAUSE THIS HAS ALLOWED US TO DIG DEEPER AND ACTUALLY GET, GET TO, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE FACTS ARE.
SO, UM, I APPRECIATE YOUR CONCERN AROUND, UH, THE AIRPORT PROGRAMMING, UH, BROADLY.
AND, UH, ANY, ANYTHING ELSE, UH, COMMISSIONERS.
UH, WE WOULD LOVE TO KEEP GETTING, UH, UPDATES ON THIS FRONT, ESPECIALLY AS WE ARE MOVING THROUGH THE TRANSITION.
AND, UH, ALSO, UM, YOU KNOW, UM, HEARING ABOUT, UH, A NEW POSITION BEING OPEN FOR THIS, WE'D LOVE TO, UH, KIND OF STAY ABREAST OF, UH, PROGRESS.
HAPPY TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE MONTHLY.
MOVING ON TO DISCUSSION ITEMS.
[5. 2026 Bond Program following presentation by Eric Bailey, Deputy Director, Austin Capital Delivery Services.]
UH, WE HAVE 2026 BOND PROGRAM, FOLLOWING PRESENTATION BY ERIC BAILEY, DEPUTY DIRECTOR AUSTIN CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES.THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, UH, BEING HERE.
JUST TO, UH, JUST TO GIVE, UH, I THINK WE TALKED ABOUT THIS BRIEFLY LAST TIME, BUT, UH, THE, FOR THE 2026 BOND, THERE WAS, UM, UM, A REQUEST FROM, YOU KNOW, TO COMMUNITY TO PROVIDE, UM, INPUTS.
AND, UH, I THINK THAT DEADLINE HAS PASSED.
AND, UH, UM, AND WE HAVE HEARD SOME CONCERNS, UH, MR. BAILEY FROM THE COMMUNITY AROUND, YOU KNOW, MAYBE NOT BEING AWARE OF THAT DEADLINE, AND LOOKS LIKE YOU ALL HAVE, UH, OTHER, UM, YOU KNOW, WAYS OF, UH, THE COMMUNITY GETTING ENGAGED.
SO, UH, IT'S, IT'S GREAT TO HAVE YOU HERE AND HEAR FROM YOU DIRECTLY.
UH, ERIC BAILEY, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES.
BEFORE WE GET STARTED, THERE'S NO DEADLINE THAT HAS PASSED.
WE ARE STILL VERY MUCH IN THE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROCESS.
THERE'S SOME LINKS AT THE END OF THE PRESENTATION TO SHOW FOLKS WHERE THEY CAN PARTICIPATE AND SUBMIT IDEAS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO, UM, APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TONIGHT.
UM, WE'RE GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE OVERVIEW OF CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES REAL QUICK, WHAT IS A GENERAL OBLIGATION BOND PROGRAM? UM, WHAT WE'RE DOING DIFFERENTLY THIS TIME, UM, STAFF WORK THAT'S BEEN COMPLETED TO DATE, THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES, TECHNICAL CRITERIA, AND SCORING MATRICES, AND THEN SOME UPCOMING MILESTONES AND PROGRESS THAT WE'VE MADE TO DATE.
SO I'LL START WITH, UM, CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES.
A LOT OF PEOPLE ASK ME, WHAT THE HECK IS THAT? SO WE ARE
[00:25:01]
A, UH, CITY DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERS, ARCHITECTS, AND PROJECT MANAGERS, AS WELL AS INSPECTORS THAT WAS CREATED FOR THE EXPRESS PURPOSE OF REDUCING PROJECT DELIVERY TIMES FOR THE CITY'S CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.WE PARTNER WITH CONSULTANTS, CONTRACTORS, AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS TO DELIVER THESE ASSETS FOR THE CITY.
UH, CDS ROLE IN THE 2026 BOND PROGRAM IS TO CONVENE THE CITY'S DEPARTMENTS AND DEVELOP AN OVERALL DEPARTMENTAL NEEDS ASSESSMENT, GUIDE THE PROCESS TO ENSURE THAT PROJECTS ARE VETTED FOR SCOPE, SCHEDULE, AND BUDGET, AS WELL AS BO AND ELIGIBILITY AND COORDINATE PROJECTS ACROSS DEPARTMENTS TO ACHIEVE MULTIPLE BENEFITS.
UH, THIS PROCESS HAS BEEN UNDERWAY FOR OVER A YEAR NOW TO GATHER VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS TOGETHER IN DEVELOPING THE GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE AND NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
SO A, A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW ON GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS.
UM, TYPICAL GEO BOND PROJECTS INCLUDE, YOU KNOW, FLOOD AND EROSION CONTROL CITY FACILITIES, INCLUDING NEW REPLACEMENT AND REHABILITATIONS HOUSING, STREETS, PARKS, PUBLIC SAFETY, AND LAND PURCHASES.
UM, THERE ARE TYPES OF PROJECTS THAT ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR GENERAL OBLIGATION BOND FUNDING, UM, INCLUDING ROUTINE OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE WORK, IMPROVEMENTS TO LEASED SPACE CODE ENFORCEMENT, AND EMPLOYEE SALARIES.
UM, IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT AUSTIN ENERGY AND AUSTIN WATER ARE FUNDED THROUGH ENTERPRISE REVENUE BONDS RATHER THAN GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS, WHICH MEANS THAT EACH OF THOSE ENTITIES, UM, PROJECTS ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR THE 2026 GO BOND PROGRAM.
SO WHAT'S DIFFERENT FOR THE 2026 BOND PROGRAM FROM PREVIOUS PROGRAMS, UM, IN THE PAST? OOPS, I JUST TURNED OFF MY NOTES HERE.
UM, IN THE PAST, WE'VE PACKAGED PROJECTS, UM, BEFORE, UM, AT A HIGH LEVEL, UM, BEFORE THE BOND, UH, ELECTION.
AND WHAT HAS GONE ON FROM THERE IS WE'VE COME FORWARD WITH GENERAL CONCEPTS RATHER THAN FULLY BAKED IDEAS.
UM, IN TERMS OF, UH, THE TYPES OF PROJECTS THAT HAVE MOVED FORWARD, LET ME JUST LOG INTO THIS.
UM, AND THEN AFTER THE BOND PASSES, WE'VE UNDERTAKEN THE PRELIMINARY WORK TO DEVELOP THE SCOPE, SCHEDULE AND BUDGET, UM, TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE ACTUAL PROJECT NEEDS.
UM, IN THAT, IN THE PAST, THAT'S LED TO SITUATIONS WHERE, UM, WE HAVE A BOND PROPOSAL THAT INCLUDES LIKE A $5 MILLION LIBRARY.
IT ENDS UP THAT THAT INITIAL $5 MILLION ESTIMATE DIDN'T INCLUDE THINGS LIKE LAND ACQUISITION OR PROJECT MANAGEMENT FEES, OR, YOU KNOW, ARCHITECTURE FEES.
AND YOU END UP, AT THE END OF THE DAY THAT THAT $5 MILLION LIBRARY IS ACTUALLY GONNA COST $8 MILLION TO BUILD, WHICH THEN, YOU KNOW, ERODES TRUST WITH THE PUBLIC AS WELL AS HAVING, UM, EVERYONE HAS TO GO BACK AND ASK FOR MORE MONEY, AND IT OPENS A WHOLE BIG CAN OF WORMS. SO BASICALLY WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE IS MOVING, OH, IS THE LASER POINTER WORK? NO.
SO WE'RE MOVING THE BROWN BOX WHERE IT SAYS PROJECT PLANNING TO DEVELOP SCOPE, SCHEDULE, AND BUDGET.
WE'RE MOVING THAT TO BEFORE THE, UM, BOND ELECTION.
AND SO THAT WAY WE CAN FULLY VET, UM, THE PROJECTS AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY'VE INCLUDED EVERYTHING IN THERE.
SO WE'RE MOVING FORWARD WITH, UH, ACCURATE, UH, PROJECT DESCRIPTIONS AS WELL AS PROJECT COSTS.
SO, AS I PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED, UM, CDS HAS CONVENED CITY DEPARTMENTS TO DEVELOP A GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION CRITERIA TO PREPARE STAFF COUNCIL AND THE PUBLIC FOR THE 2026 BOND ELECTION.
THESE MEETINGS INCLUDE NINE DIRECTORS ROUND TABLES, 13 SPECIAL ACTION COMMITTEES, UH, 11 PRO PROGRAM MANAGEMENT TEAM MEETINGS, AS WELL AS 12 INTEGRATED BOND DEVELOPMENT TEAMS. AND THIS IS AN, WAS AN OPEN CALL FOR ALL DEPARTMENTS THAT HAVE GENERAL OBLIGATION BOND ELIGIBILITY.
SO THAT'S PARKS, THAT'S ACME, THAT'S TRANSPORTATION, PUBLIC WORKS, WATERSHED PROTECTION, UM, YOU KNOW, ON AND ON DOWN THE LIST.
SO SINCE MAY OF 2024, UM, WE PARTICIPATED IN OVER 40 MEETINGS, UM, WITH CITY STAFF.
THESE ARE INTERNAL MEETING MEETINGS ONLY TO DEVELOP, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT AS WELL AS THE, UM, EVALUATION CRITERIA.
THIS DOESN'T INCLUDE OTHER MEETINGS THAT WE'VE HAD THAT HAVE BEEN PUBLIC MEETINGS, SUCH AS THE, UM, BOND ELECTION ADVISORY TASK FORCE.
UM, I THINK IT'S AN IMPORTANT THING TO NOTE HERE THAT IN THE PROCESS THE INITIAL, UM, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT NEEDS ASSESSMENT WAS $10.4 BILLION.
UM, AS WE'VE GONE THROUGH AND EVALUATED THOSE PROJECTS FOR BOND ELIGIBILITY AND REALISTIC DELIVERY TIMEFRAMES, THAT HAS BEEN LOWERED TO $3.9 BILLION, WHICH IS A WHOLE LOT MORE THAN WHAT THE BOND IS GOING TO BE.
SO OUR NEXT STEP IS TO TAKE THAT FULL NEEDS ASSESSMENT LIST AND PRIORITIZE THOSE PROJECTS ACROSS THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
WE'RE WORKING WITH THE BOND ELECTION ADVISORY TASK FORCE TO DO THAT, AS WELL AS INTERNAL SCORING WITH, UM, CITY DEPARTMENTS.
SO, UM, AS A PART OF CONVENING THE DEPARTMENTS, UM, WE'VE WORKED TO DEVELOP GUIDING PRINCIPLES, TECHNICAL CRITERIA, AND SCORING MATRICES.
AND THESE ARE BASED ON THE CITY-WIDE STRATEGIC PLAN, AS WELL AS THE RELEVANT DEPARTMENT
[00:30:01]
SPECIFIC PLANNING DOCUMENTS.UM, FROM THERE, EACH ASSET OWNER DEPARTMENT DEVELOPED THEIR OWN TECHNICAL CRITERIA AND SCORING MATRIX BASED ON THEIR DEPARTMENTAL, UH, NEEDS AND EXPERTISE.
AND THEN THEY'VE COMPLETED WHAT'S CALLED A PROJECT CHARTER, WHICH IS BASICALLY A DOCUMENT THAT'S USED TO, UM, DRILL DOWN INTO THE DETAILS OF THE PROJECT TO EVALUATE THOSE PROJECTS FURTHER, AND THEN USE THOSE IN SCORING AND PRIORITIZING PROJECTS.
THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR THE 2026 BOND PROGRAM ARE ALL TAKEN FROM THE CITYWIDE STRATEGIC PLAN, AS OUTLINED HERE, INCLUDE EQUITY, AFFORDABILITY, INNOVATION, SUSTAINABILITY AND RESILIENCE, PROACTIVE PREVENTION AND CUSTOMER TRUST AND RELATIONSHIPS.
NOW, UM, DEPARTMENTS HAVE PRESENTED GUIDING PRINCIPLES, TECHNICAL CRITERIA, AND THE SCORING MATRICES TO BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.
UM, I'VE OUTLINED THE SCHEDULE HERE SHOWING MAJOR MILESTONES, INCLUDING THE BOND ELECTION ADVISORY TASK FORCE TO COUNCIL IN JUNE OF 2025, PRESENTATION OF THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT IN JULY, UM, AS WELL AS DEPARTMENTAL UPDATES TO BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS THROUGH THE SUMMER, WHERE WE'LL HAVE ADDITIONAL COMMUNITY OUTREACH ON THAT $3.9 BILLION LIST THROUGH THE FALL OF 2025, INCORPORATING, UH, COMMENTS THROUGH THE WINTER AND THEN ADDITIONAL ROUND OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT IN EARLY 2026, WHICH WILL BE THE REDUCED LIST THAT WOULD ACTUALLY BE, UM, MOVING FORWARD AS, AS PART OF A STAFF RECOMMENDATION AND BOND ELECTION TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL IN PREPARATION FOR COUNCIL TO CALL A BOND ELECTION IN THE SUMMER OF 2026.
SO, JUST AN IDEA OF MAGNITUDE HERE, THAT $3.4 BILLION NEEDS TO BE WHITTLED DOWN TO ABOUT 700 MILLION OR SO BASED ON THE REPORTS THAT WE'RE GETTING FROM, UM, THE CITY'S FINANCIAL STAFF.
SO THAT'S A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT, UM, EVALUATION OF PROJECTS THAT NEEDS TO TAKE PLACE.
UM, THE SCHEDULE HERE, UM, SHOWS THE BOND ELECTION TASK FORCE MEETING SCHEDULE ONGOING SINCE OCTOBER OF 2024.
WE'RE ROUNDING THE CORNER ON A YEAR OF MEETING WITH THE BTIF.
UM, THE INITIAL NEEDS ASSESSMENT WAS SENT TO COUNCIL IN JULY, AND AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, ADDITIONAL PUBLIC OUTREACH WILL BE HAPPENING THIS SUMMER AND INTO THE FALL, UM, STARTING IN 2026.
THE BTIF WILL MEET, UM, TWICE A MONTH AS THAT 4 BILLION NEEDS ASSESSMENT IS REDUCED DOWN TO THE 700 MILLION, APPROXIMATELY $700 MILLION BOND PACKAGE.
AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE HERE TOO, THAT EVERY PROJECT THAT'S PROPOSED AS A PART OF THE, UM, 2026 BOND ELECTION WILL MEET ALL, UM, YOU KNOW, COUNCIL, UM, DIRECTIVES WHEN IT COMES TO SUSTAINABILITY, AS WELL AS, UM, THE OTHER, UH, COUNCIL DIRECTIVES THAT HAVE BEEN POSTED TO ALL OF THE DEPARTMENTS AS WE GO THROUGH THE, THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS HERE.
SO, UM, AS WE MOVE FORWARD THROUGH THIS, I WILL SAY THAT THE BOND ELECTION TASK FORCE MEETINGS ARE ALL OPEN AND AVAILABLE.
UM, I'VE GOT TWO WEBSITES UP HERE, THE BOND DEVELOPMENT WEBSITE, AS WELL AS THE BOND ELECTION ADVISORY TASK FORCE WEBSITE.
SO FOR MORE INFORMATION ON SUBMITTING PROJECTS, LOOKING AT PROJECTS, UM, BOTH OF THOSE WEBSITES ARE A GREAT PLACE TO LOOK, UM, AS YOU GO THROUGH THAT.
AND WITH THAT, I'M SURE Y'ALL HAVE QUESTIONS, SO WE'LL OPEN IT UP FROM THERE.
THAT'S, UH, QUITE A BIT OF INFORMATION TO TAKE IN AND, UH, THANKS FOR COMING AND EDUCATING US HERE.
IT'S NOT THE FIRST TIME THAT I'VE GIVEN THAT SPIEL, SO THANK YOU SO MUCH.
UM, UH, I, I THINK, I THINK THAT WAS, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, ONE OF MY MAIN INTERESTS IN, UH, YOU KNOW, HAVING THIS PRESENTATION WAS ALSO IN THE COMMUNITY UNDERSTANDING AS TO WHAT DO THEY NEED TO, UH, AVAIL OF, UH, IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK AT THIS POINT, YOU KNOW, IF SOMEBODY FEELS LIKE THEY'VE MISSED OUT, YOU KNOW, THE, I THINK WHEN I TALKED ABOUT THE DEADLINE, UH, YOU, YOU KNOW, WHAT I'M REFERRING TO IS, IS I THINK THERE WAS AN ONLINE, UH, FORUM WHERE FEEDBACK COULD BE PROVIDED.
I UNDERSTAND THERE WAS A CERTAIN DEADLINE AROUND THAT PARTICULAR ITEM.
UM, AND, UH, JUST WANTED TO UNDERSTAND HOW, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITY COULD PROVIDE, UH, CONTINUED FEEDBACK.
AND IT LOOKS LIKE THESE TWO LINKS WOULD BE, UH, THE RIGHT PLACE TO GO TO, TO FURTHER ENGAGE.
AND SO THE THING, WHAT CLOSED, WE HAD AN INITIAL PUBLIC SURVEY THAT WAS BASICALLY AN AN IDEA.
YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAD A HUNDRED DOLLARS, WHAT WOULD YOU SPEND IT ON? THAT KIND OF THING.
TRANSPORTATION, MOBILITY, YOU KNOW, UM, FLOOD PREVENTION, UM, YOU KNOW, CULTURAL FACILITIES, THAT KIND OF THING.
SO WE HAVE THOSE INITIAL RESULTS.
WE DID A, WE HAD A PRETTY GOOD RESPONSE ON THAT AT 20, ALMOST 2000 RESPONDENTS.
UM, THE ONE ISSUE WITH THAT IS YOU DON'T NECESSARILY KNOW WHERE ALL THOSE RESPONDENTS ARE COMING FROM.
WE HAVE A HARD TIME KIND OF FIGURING THAT OUT.
SO THAT'S GONNA BE PART OF THE, THE PROCESS AS WE MOVE THROUGH.
UM, THE SUMMER, THE BOND ELECTION ADVISORY TASK FORCE IS SETTING UP, UH, TWO, UH, THREE ACTUALLY ADDITIONAL PUBLIC OUTREACH MEETINGS IN NOVEMBER.
UM, ONE VIRTUAL, TWO IN PERSON TO GATHER MORE DATA.
AND IT'S REALLY GONNA BE A LITTLE MORE FOCUSED ON THE, THE $4 BILLION LIST THAT CAME OUT IN TERMS OF THE CITYWIDE, UM, NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
THERE'S ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY ON THOSE WEBSITES IF YOU HAVE A GREAT IDEA FOR A PROJECT OR SOMETHING THAT YOU LIKE TO BE CONSIDERED AS A PART OF THE BOND, UH, THERE'S A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN SUBMIT THOSE IDEAS AS WELL.
[00:35:01]
YOU.THE, THE TASK FORCES, ARE THEY PRETTY BROAD BASED COVERING A WHOLE RANGE OF TOPICS? OR ARE THEY MORE DOMAIN SPECIFIC TASK FORCES THERE? WELL, IT'S ONE, IT'S ONE LARGE TASK FORCE THAT HAS SEVERAL WORKING GROUPS THAT AS, THAT IS ASSOCIATED WITH IT.
IT'S GOT A MOBILITY WORKING GROUP, UM, WATERSHED, UH, PARKS, UH, COMMUNITY AND FACILITIES I THINK ARE LUMPED TOGETHER.
THERE'S FOUR OR FIVE OTHERS THAT I DON'T HAVE AT THE TOP OF MY HEAD RIGHT NOW.
BUT AGAIN, ALSO ON THE BOND ELECTION TASK FORCE WEBSITE IS ALL THE SUBCOMMITTEES AS WELL AS WHEN THEY'RE MEETING AND WHEN FOLKS CAN PARTICIPATE IN THAT EFFORT AS WELL.
WOULD, UH, CULTURE LOTS AND MUSIC, IF THERE IS A SUBCOMMITTEE, UH, WHAT WOULD THAT FALL UNDER THERE? THERE'S A, THERE'S A FACILITIES SUBCOMMITTEE THAT TALKS ABOUT CULTURAL FACILITIES AS WELL AS OTHER CITY FACILITIES.
AND THE MEETING DATES AGAIN, LIKE I SAID, ARE LISTED ON THE, ON THE WEBSITE THERE.
QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? COMMISSIONER CASADA, THANK YOU FOR THAT.
UM, BROAD OVERVIEW OF, UM, OF THE BONDS HERE AND AUSTIN.
SO KIND OF RIFFING OFF, UM, WHAT NAGA VALLEY WAS GETTING AT, UM, SINCE YOU'RE SPEAKING TO THE MUSIC COMMISSION, OTHER THAN FACILITIES, IS THERE ANYTHING IN REGARDS TO THE MUSIC INDUSTRY OR CULTURAL ARTS INDUSTRIES OR FILM THAT YOU THINK WE SHOULD BE MINDFUL OF OR THAT YOU COULD CITE AS EXAMPLES CURRENTLY? YEAH, I, I MEAN, THE BEST FOLKS TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION WITH ARE ACTUALLY THE STAFF MEMBERS THAT ARE, UM, IN THE, IN ACME.
UM, WE ARE NOT, WE DON'T DECIDE ON WHAT PROJECTS MOVE FORWARD OR WHAT IS A GOOD PROJECT OR WHAT ISN'T A GOOD PROJECT.
OUR ROLE IS REALLY CONVENING THE GROUP TOGETHER TO SAY WHAT PROJECTS DO YOU HAVE, AND THEN EVALUATE THOSE AGAINST THE CRITERIA THAT WE'VE ESTABLISHED AS WELL AS SORT OF FULLY FLUSHING THEM OUT ABOUT WHAT THEY MEAN.
SO IN TERMS OF, UM, YOU KNOW, PROJECT IDEAS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, UM, I'D SAY DEFINITELY WORK THROUGH YOUR STAFF LIAISONS TO TALK THROUGH THAT AND WHAT, UM, THEY CAN HELP YOU THROUGH THAT PROCESS AND WE CAN GET THOSE PROJECTS IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING IN MIND.
UM, UH, I'M, UH, CIVIL ENGINEER BY TRADE, AND SO THE WORLD OF, OF ARTS IS, OTHER THAN BUILDING FACILITIES, IS, IS PRETTY FOREIGN TO ME, SO.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS, QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER STRICKLAND? OKAY.
THANK YOU, UH, SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
IT'S PRETTY, I THINK IT'S PRETTY SIMPLE.
UM, THE, HOW HAS THE, THE NOW TWO YEAR FORECASTED BUDGET KIND OF IMPACTED, LIKE HOW YOU ALL ARE, ARE DOING THINGS OR, I MEAN, I'M, I'M, I'M ASSUMING A LOT OF IT'S IN HERE.
I MEAN, THAT WE JUST KIND OF TALKED ABOUT, BUT IS THERE, UH, ANY KIND OF, UH, PROBLEMS OR WAS THERE ANY KIND OF LIKE DIFFERENT STRATEGIES YOU GUYS HAD TO GET CREATIVE WITH OR ANYTHING IN TERMS OF THE TWO YEAR FLEXING BUDGET? YEAH, SO THE, THE OPERATIONAL BUDGET IS SEPARATE FROM THE BOND.
UM, SO THE BOND IS BASED ON THE CITY'S, UH, BASICALLY CAPACITY TO RAISE REVENUE.
SO THERE HASN'T REALLY BEEN A BIG IMPACT BASED ON THAT.
OR ACTUALLY OUR CREDIT RATING ACTUALLY JUST WAS UPGRADED THE OTHER DAY FROM TO AAA, WHICH WAS GREAT.
UM, AND SO THERE IS DEFINITELY GONNA BE SOME DEBATE AS WE MOVE FORWARD IN THIS PROCESS OF WHAT A FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE NUMBER IS FOR THE TOTAL SORT OF PIE OF THE BOND.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE, WHEN WE CAME IN AT $700 MILLION, OUR, OUR FINANCIAL SERVICES STAFF, I KNOW THAT THERE WERE A LOT OF FOLKS ON COUNCIL AND ALL FOLKS IN THE PUBLIC THAT WANT A LARGER BOND PROGRAM, BUT THERE'S IMPACTS TO THE CITY'S CREDIT RATING IF WE DECIDE TO DO THAT.
UM, SO THE SHORT ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION IS THE BUDGET STUFF THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT NOW, SPECIFICALLY WITH THE TAX RATE ELECTION AND THINGS LIKE THAT, HASN'T HAD AN IMPACT ON THE TOTAL NUMBER FOR THE BOND.
THERE ARE TWO INDEPENDENT FUNDING SOURCES.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? THANK YOU.
DOES, UM, UH, ARE THE LINKS TO THE WEBSITE? WE'LL, WE WILL, I'LL REACH OUT IN CASE I CAN'T FIND THEM, BUT ARE THEY, THEY'RE IN THE, IN THE, IN THE PRINTOUT.
[6. Downtown Commission engagement following update by Anne-Charlotte Patterson Communications Director, District 10. ]
AGENDA ITEM.UNDER DISCUSSION ITEMS WE HAVE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION ENGAGEMENT FOLLOWING UPDATE BY ANN CHARLOTTE PATTERSON, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, D 10 N FOR THE NEW COMMISSIONERS.
UH, MS. PATTERSON SERVED AS THE VICE CHAIR FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS, AND BEFORE THAT SHE WAS THE CHAIR AT THE COMMISSION HERE.
UM, AND SHE RECENTLY STEPPED OUT OF THE COMMISSION, UH, JOINING D 10 AS THEIR, UH, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR.
SO I WAS RECENTLY, ABS TOLD ME TO TURN ON MY MIC.
[00:40:01]
I WAS ON MUSIC COMMISSION, I WAS THE APPOINTEE FOR MUSIC COMMISSION TO DOWNTOWN COMMISSION.UM, AND SO I WANTED TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT DOWNTOWN COMMISSION DOES AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT FOR MUSIC COMMISSION TO BE REPRESENTED THERE AND WHAT THE OPPORTUNITIES ARE.
SO, UM, WHAT DOWNTOWN COMMISSION DOES CAN BE VERY BROAD.
I MEAN, IT'S SORT OF UP TO THE COMMISSIONERS IN THE SAME WAY THAT IN MUSIC COMMISSION, UM, YOU KNOW, THE COMMISSIONERS CAN BRING ITEMS THAT ARE OF IMPORTANCE TO THEM.
SO I, I WON'T GO ON FOR TOO LONG ABOUT IT 'CAUSE I ALSO HAVE ANOTHER ITEM THAT I, UH, AM HERE FOR AND I'LL SPEND MORE TIME ON.
BUT, SO I JUST WANTED TO TELL LIKE, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT DOWNTOWN COMMISSION WORKS ON THAT ARE RELATIVE TO MUSIC COMMISSION.
SO SOME OF THAT IS PUBLIC SAFETY DOWNTOWN.
SO THEY'LL HEAR REPORTS ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, A PD STAFFING AND CRIME STATISTICS.
UM, AND ALSO THAT WAS THE FIRST PLACE THAT I, THAT I HAD A PRESENTATION ABOUT, UM, THE BARRICADES ON SIXTH STREET, WHICH WERE CERTAINLY RELATIVE TO THE, UM, YOU KNOW, SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS DOWN THERE.
THERE'S A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT AREA PLANNING ON DOWNTOWN COMMISSION.
SO THAT INCLUDES THINGS LIKE WATERLOO GREENWAY, UM, THE CONVENTION CENTER AREA AND WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN AT THE CONVENTION CENTER, UM, IN TERMS OF ADDITIONAL PLANNING.
SO THAT WAS ACTUALLY SOMETHING THAT, THAT I BROUGHT, UM, SOME DISCUSSION TO DOWNTOWN COMMISSION ABOUT THAT BECAUSE MUSIC COMMISSION IS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE VERY TIED IN WITH, UM, THE CONVENTION CENTER PARTLY BECAUSE OF HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAXES, BUT ALSO BECAUSE, UH, THAT'S A LARGE SPACE WITH POTENTIAL FOR PROMOTION OF MUSIC AND MUSIC RELATED SPACES.
UM, SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT, EVEN THOUGH THAT'S NOT TECHNICALLY DOWNTOWN LIKE THAT, THERE'S BEEN PRESENTATIONS ABOUT THAT AT THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION, UM, RED RIVER CULTURAL DISTRICT AND OTHER CULTURAL DISTRICTS.
UM, SO IN ALL OF THOSE SPACES, I THINK IT, IT'S IMPORTANT TO, UM, THERE'S OPPORTUNITIES TO CENTER MUSIC, ALSO CAP AND STITCH.
UM, SO A LOT OF THE DISCUSSION ABOUT CAPTAIN STITCH ON COUNCIL, FOR EXAMPLE, HAS REALLY BEEN ABOUT LIKE THE ECONOMICS OF IT AND, AND WHAT'S A, WHAT'S FEASIBLE, UH, FROM A FISCAL STANDPOINT, BUT FROM A DOWNTOWN COMMISSION STANDPOINT OR FROM MUSIC COMMISSION.
UM, NOW THAT, UH, THERE HAS BEEN SOME MONEY PUT IN PLACE FOR AT LEAST THE ROADWAY ELEMENTS.
SO IT LOOKS LIKE THAT PLANNING IS GONNA GO FORWARD.
LIKE WHAT ARE, WHAT IS THE POTENTIAL FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALLY MUSIC SPACES THERE, THERE'S ALSO, THERE WAS A PRESENTATION ABOUT A CONVERTING PART OF CONGRESS AVENUE INTO A PEDESTRIAN PLAZA.
SO THAT WOULD OFFER SOME PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNITIES AND, UM, THAT ALSO PRESENTS SOME DIFFERENT PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUES.
AND SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, AS A MUSIC COMMISSIONER PRESENT, UH, AT DOWNTOWN COMMISSION MEETINGS, YOU'RE ABLE TO GIVE THAT, THAT PERSPECTIVE, UM, SOME OF ANOTHER THING.
SO I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT SHORT TERM RENTALS IN A LITTLE BIT.
SO I WAS ABLE TO BRING SOME OF THAT DISCUSSION TO DOWNTOWN COMMISSION.
UM, DOWNTOWN COMMISSION DOESN'T ALWAYS REALLY THINK ABOUT HOUSING DOWNTOWN, BUT FOR EXAMPLE, IN PLANNING WATERLOO, THE WHOLE WATERLOO GREENWAY, THERE'S GONNA BE A LOT OF REDEVELOPMENT IN ALONG RED RIVER.
UM, AND SO THERE'S OPPORTUNITIES THERE FOR WORK LIVE SPACES, UM, WHICH COULD BE, YOU KNOW, IT COULD BE MUSIC CENTERED BUSINESSES WHERE THERE'S OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE FOLKS WHO OWN OR WORK AT THOSE BUSINESSES TO LIVE DOWNTOWN AFFORDABLY.
UM, SO ALSO WE, FROM A FUNDING STANDPOINT HERE ON COMMISSION, WE HAD, UM, DISCUSSIONS WITH THE RED RIVER CULTURAL DISTRICT AS THEY WERE TRYING TO HAVE, UM, THEY WERE PURSUING SOME FUNDING FOR THEIR DISTRICT THAT WOULD BE EQUITABLE TO OTHER DISTRICTS.
THAT WAS AN ITEM THAT I WAS ABLE TO BRING TO DOWNTOWN COMMISSION.
AND THERE WAS A DISCUSSION ABOUT THAT.
AND THEN DOWNTOWN COMMISSION ALSO SUPPORTED THAT, BUT EQUITABLE FUNDING FOR THE RED RIVER CULTURAL DISTRICT.
SO THAT WAS A BIG WIN FOR THAT, THAT DISTRICT.
'CAUSE THEY HAD BEEN PRETTY, UM, FEELING LIKE THEIR FINANCIAL STRAITS, UM, FOR THAT ORGANIZATION WERE, WERE TOUGH AT THAT TIME.
UM, SO THAT'S KIND OF A QUICK LITTLE PRIMMER ON WHY IT'S IMPORTANT TO, FOR THE MUSIC COMMISSION TO INTERFACE WITH DOWNTOWN COMMISSION.
I THINK IT CAN REALLY AMPLIFY THE VOICE OF MUSIC COMMISSION AND AMPLIFY YOUR POWER.
UM, SO IF THERE'S, IF Y'ALL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'LL TAKE THOSE.
AND CHARLOTTE, UM, QUESTIONS, COMMENTS FROM THE COMMISSION.
COMMISSIONER CARDENA, I JUST WANNA SAY AFTER EVERYTHING, IS THIS ON? YEAH.
[00:45:01]
UM, EVERYTHING THAT YOU BROUGHT UP FROM PUBLIC SAFETY AND YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT MUSIC, LIKE MAKING SPACES FOR MUSIC VENUES, WHEN THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, LIKE YOU SAID, IS I FEEL LIKE WE'RE GETTING THAT TAKEN AWAY BY MORE COMMERCIAL USE.SO THE FACT THAT YOU'RE MAKING THAT MORE OF A MUSIC CENTRIC AREA AND HAVING THAT IN MIND IS PRETTY AWESOME.
YEAH, I MEAN, I THINK ONE THING THAT'S IMPORTANT TO THINK ABOUT WITH DOWNTOWN, UM, I MEAN, OF COURSE WE HAVE MUSIC MUSICIANS AND, AND MUSIC VENUES THROUGHOUT THE CITY, AND THAT IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT.
BUT DOWNTOWN IS RAPIDLY EVOLVING, AND I THINK THERE'S ALWAYS GONNA BE A TENDENCY TOWARDS MORE OBVIOUS FORMS OF PROFITABILITY,
AND IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT, YOU KNOW, FOR OUR COMMISSION AND OTHER COMMISSIONS TO, TO, TO REMIND STAKEHOLDERS THAT, UM, THAT MUSIC DRIVES TOURISM, INVESTMENT IN MUSIC AND SPACES FOR MUSIC DOWNTOWN, YOU KNOW, ENHANCE QUALITY OF LIFE.
WE ATTRACT TALENT FOR OTHER COMPANIES HERE.
UM, SO IT'S, IT'S ALWAYS REALLY IMPORTANT, I THINK, TO RAISE THAT FLAG AS, UM, AS OUR CITY GROWS.
JOE, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? THANK YOU.
COMMISSIONER SILVA WAS OUR, UH, NEXT APPOINTEE.
I WILL OUR NOMINEE FOR, SHALL WE THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION? THAT'S RIGHT.
I'LL BE FOLLOWING IN CHARLOTTE ON THE COMMISSION.
AND SO I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT ITEM THAT YOU'RE GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT, WHICH IS A HOT COLLECTION MM-HMM
UM, BUT BEFORE THAT, I, I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS I WANTED TO STATE IS I'M GONNA BE ACTIVELY ENGAGING THE COMMISSIONERS ON THIS COMMISSION TO PROVIDE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW WE WANT TO APPROACH ISSUES THAT COME UP BEFORE THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION.
UM, OBVIOUSLY I DON'T WANNA BRING MY OWN PERSONAL OPINION AS REPRESENTATIVE OF THIS COMMISSION, SO I WILL TRY HARD TO DO JUST LIKE AUNT CHARLIE'S DOING, COME BACK REPORT FAIRLY FREQUENTLY ON ISSUES THAT COME UP, UM, AND THEN GATHER INPUT SO WE GET, UH, A COMMISSION WIDE SORT OF SUPPORT FOR ANY ISSUES THAT COME UP.
AND, UH, YOU ARE WELCOME TO ADD AN AGENDA ITEM, UH, A STANDING ITEM EVEN, UH, UH, ON, ON THIS FRONT.
SO, YEAH, I THINK PROCEDURALLY, IF IT'S A STANDING ITEM, YOU HAVE TO SAY, IF SHELBY WAS HERE, SHE WOULD REMIND US THAT, UH, I, I THINK YOU HAVE TO BE SPECIFIC ABOUT WHAT YOU MIGHT COVER EACH, EACH TIME, BUT I THINK THAT'S GREAT.
COULD BE SOMETHING LIKE AN UPDATE FROM THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION.
YOU'LL HAVE TO ASK MISS, MISS SHELBY ABOUT THAT.
SHE WILL GIVE YOU THE PROPER ANSWER.
UM, BUT, UH, AND I MEAN, IT IS IMPORTANT FOR THE COMMISSION OBVIOUSLY TO FOLLOW THOSE, THOSE REGULATIONS.
SO, UM, BUT YEAH, I MEAN, GOING FORWARD I DO THINK CONVENTION CENTER IS A, IS A HUGE QUESTION MARK BECAUSE, UM, A LOT OF THE, THERE IS GONNA BE SOME FLEXIBLE SPACE THAT'S, THAT'S PLANNED THERE, BUT IT HASN'T REALLY BEEN, UM, IT HA THE, LIKE, THE PROGRAMMING AND REALLY PLANNING FOR THAT HA HASN'T HAPPENED.
SO IT'S, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THERE HAVE BEEN LESSONS LEARNED IN OTHER CI CITY SPACES THAT, UM, WHEN YOU DON'T PLAN FOR SOME OF THE NEEDS OF CREATIVE BUSINESSES, THERE ARE LIKE CERTAIN CONSTRUCTION AND STRUCTURAL LOGISTICS TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THAT, LIKE IN GOING BACK AND RETROFITTING THOSE SPACES CAN BE REALLY COSTLY.
SO I THINK, UM, YEAH, THAT WAS, THAT'S A GREAT ONE
THANK YOU FOR ALL THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE FOR THE, UH, UH, THE MUSIC COMMISSION AND INDUSTRY THERE.
UH, YOU KNOW, REPRESENT REPRESENTING US ON THAT COMMISSION.
UH, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS BEFORE WE MOVE ON? OKAY.
[7. Short-Term Rentals (STR) HOT collections following update by Anne-Charlotte Patterson Communications Director, District 10.]
UH, SHORTTERM RENTALS HOT COLLECTIONS FOLLOWING UPDATE BY AN PATTERSON, AGAIN, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR D 10.I'M GONNA, WHILE THEY, UM, WHILE OUR, UH, AP OKAY, GREAT.
I'M GONNA JUST GRAB MY NOTEBOOK AND PAN IT IN CASE PEOPLE HAVE QUESTIONS AT THE END OF THIS.
SO SHORT TERM RENTALS, THE REASON THIS CONCERNS MUSIC COMMISSION IS, UM, TWO, TWO REASONS.
SO FIRST OF ALL, UH, HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAXES ARE ALSO COLLECTED FROM SHORT TERM RENTALS.
[00:50:01]
INTO THE LIVE MUSIC GRANT AND OTHER CULTURAL PROGRAM GRANTS.SO, UH, THAT'S OBVIOUSLY SIGNIFICANT.
AND THE OTHER REASON IS MUSICIANS LIVE HERE,
SO, UM, THAT'S WHY THIS WAS REALLY GERMANE TO MUSIC COMMISSION.
SO THE PROBLEM HAS BEEN THAT A REALLY, THE VAST MAJORITY OF SHORT-TERM RENTALS IN AUSTIN CURRENTLY ARE UNLICENSED.
AND, UM, PREVIOUSLY UNTIL THIS YEAR, UNLICENSED SHORT-TERM RENTALS WERE NOT REMITTING THE CITY PORTION OF THEIR HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAXES.
SO THEY WERE SENDING IT TO THE STATE, BUT NOT THE CITY BECAUSE TO SEND IN YOUR PROPERTY TAXES AS AN UNLICENSED STR WOULD FLAG YOU
SO IT DIDN'T REALLY BEHOOVE THE, THE OPERATORS TO BECOME LICENSED OR TO REMIT THOSE TAXES.
AND SO THROUGH COMMISSION WORK THROUGH THE TOURISM COMMISSION AND THE JOINT ARTS AND MUSIC LAND USE WORKING GROUP, UM, AND I WILL SAY TOURISM DID REALLY THE, THE HEAVY LIFT ON A LOT OF THIS.
BUT, UM, SOME, A COUPLE OF US FROM, UH, THE WORKING GROUP MET A LOT WITH THE, THE PERSON LEADING THAT EFFORT FROM TOURISM TO TRY TO HELP THINK OF WAYS THAT THE CITY COULD COLLECT THESE HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAXES AND LICENSE THE SDRS BECAUSE IT, AT ONE TIME IT WAS LOOKING A LITTLE BIT LIKE THE REGULATION JUST PART OF IT JUST WASN'T GONNA HAPPEN.
THE PLATFORMS WERE SOME REPRESENTATIVES OF, SOME OF THE PLATFORMS ARE SUGGESTING, YOU KNOW, HEY, WE COULD, WE COULD COLLECT THESE TAXES FOR YOU, BUT UM, MAYBE DON'T WORRY ABOUT LICENSING, UM, THESE, THESE UNLICENSED UNITS.
AND I JUST FELT LIKE THERE'S, THERE CAN, THERE'S SURELY A WAY TO DO BOTH OF THESE THINGS.
AND SO, UM, FEBRUARY OF THIS YEAR, THE CITY STAFF, AND I'M SURE THIS WAS AN EFFORT THAT STARTED, YOU KNOW, THE YEAR BEFORE, UH, WROTE UP REGULATIONS AND PRESENTED THEM TO CITY COUNCIL.
UM, AND OFF ALSO BEGAN AN EFFORT TO COLLECT HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAXES.
AND, UM, I MEAN IT WAS A CALCULATED OUT BY LIKE A MEMBER OF THE WORKING GROUP THAT IT WAS, YOU KNOW, LIKE MILLIONS BEING LOST EACH YEAR THAT FROM THESE UNCOLLECTED TAXES.
UM, CITY COUNCIL DID PASS AN ORDINANCE THIS YEAR AND AS OF APRIL 1ST THE PLATFORMS BEGAN AUTOMATICALLY COLLECTING HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAXES FROM THEIR AUSTIN SHORT TERM RENTALS AND REMITTING THAT TO THE CITY.
SO THAT'S BRINGING IN US A LOT MORE MONEY.
I WAS TRYING TO TRACK DOWN THE ACTUAL NUMBER, OR AT LEAST COMPARE HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX TAXES FROM LAST YEAR AND THIS YEAR.
AND I DID HAVE ONE REPRESENTATIVE OF A PLATFORM WHO GAVE ME A NUMBER AND THEY WERE REALLY CONFIDENT ABOUT THEIR NUMBER.
AND THEN ANOTHER REPRESENTATIVE SAID THAT THAT INFO'S NOT AVAILABLE
AND THEN SOME FOLKS AT THE CITY, INCLUDING KIM, WERE TRYING TO HELP ME TRACK THAT DOWN.
UH, BUT WHAT I LEARNED TODAY FROM, UM, SOMEONE ELSE IN COUNCIL MEMBER UCHIN OFFICE WHERE, WHERE I NOW WORK, ONE OF THE POLICY ANALYSTS WAS ALSO TRYING TO HELP ME, BUT THE BUDGET OFFICE IS GONNA, IS WORKING ON THOSE NUMBERS SO THAT THOSE WILL BE AVAILABLE THIS WEEK THAT I DON'T HAVE THEM TONIGHT.
UH, BUT OVERALL THAT IS REALLY GOOD NEWS AND IT SHOULD PROVIDE A, AN ADDITIONAL CASH INFUSION INTO THE LIVE MUSIC FUND, ANOTHER ARTS AND CULTURAL PROGRAMMING GRANTS.
SO, UM, IN ADDITION TO THAT, THERE'S A NUMBER OF NEW REGULATIONS THAT ARE BEING PROPOSED BY CITY STAFF TO HELP WITH THINGS LIKE, FIRST OF ALL, JUST LICENSING AND HOW TO, UM, CAPTURE THESE UNLICENSED AND BRING THEM INTO COMPLIANCE.
AND, UM, ALSO DEAL WITH SOME ISSUES LIKE, LIKE NOISE COMPLAINTS OR, UM, YOU KNOW, TRASH PICKUP LIKE SDRS TEND TO, SOMETIMES THEY CAN GENERATE LIKE MORE TRASH THAN A NORMAL HOUSEHOLD 'CAUSE THERE MIGHT BE A WHOLE LOT OF PEOPLE THERE FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.
AND, UM, CITY COUNCIL IS VOTING THIS WEEK ON THE NEW REGULATIONS THAT HOPEFULLY WILL GO INTO EFFECT ON OCTOBER 1ST.
[00:55:01]
A FEW OF THE, SOME OF THE KEY CHANGES OR, OR IMPORTANT THINGS THAT WILL BE COMING THROUGH THESE REGULATIONS.UM, SO, UH, OPERATORS HAVE TO DESIGNATE A LOCAL CONTACT, UM, SO THAT, THAT WE'LL BE AT THE RENTAL IN A COUPLE OF HOURS.
LIKE CURRENTLY THAT'S NOT, THAT'S NOT PART OF THE REGULATION.
AND, UM, THERE'S GONNA BE A MORE ROBUST PROCESS FOR COMPLAINTS, DEALING WITH COMPLAINTS AND, UM, THAT MAY LEAD TO FINES OR HOW CAUSING THE PROPERTIES TO BE DELISTED FROM THE PLATFORMS AND THE, THE, UM, THE CITY WILL WORK WITH THE PLATFORMS ON THAT.
SO ONE IMPORTANT DISCUSSION IN ALL OF THIS IS DENSITY CAPS OR, SO IT'S, THAT'S THE IDEA OF LIKE HOW, HOW TO MAKE IT, HOW TO HAVE A GOOD BALANCE OF SHORT TERM RENTALS IN NEIGHBORHOODS AND MULTIFAMILY PRO PROPERTIES SO THAT SHORT TERM RENTALS AREN'T TAKING AWAY FROM THE WORKFORCE HOUSING STOCK.
THESE ARE TWO, THE TWO MAIN RULES.
UM, SO AN INDIVIDUAL OWNER, UM, IN, IN A, THIS IS THE FIRST ONE IS IN MORE OF LIKE A, A SINGLE FAMILY NEIGHBORHOOD SITUATION.
SO IF IT'S A DISCREET UNITS, THERE ARE UNITS, UM, MUST BE AT LEAST A THOUSAND FEET APART.
BUT THAT'S, UM, THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT SHORT TERM RENTALS HAVE TO BE A THOUSAND FEET APART.
THAT MEANS THAT IF FOR ONE OWNER, THEIR OWN UNITS HAVE TO BE A THOUSAND FEET APART.
SO YOU COULD HAVE, YOU KNOW, 10 IN A ROW, BUT THEY WOULD ALL HAVE TO HAVE DIFFERENT OWNERS UNTIL YOU GOT TO THAT A THOUSAND FOOT BREAK POINT IN A SITE.
LIKE, UM, LIKE SAY A CON A CONDO COMPLEX.
SO FOUR OR MORE DWELLING UNITS, AN OPERATOR IS LIMITED TO 25% OF THE UNITS.
SO IF THERE'S FOUR UNITS, THAT'S ONE, THERE'S EIGHT UNITS, IT'S, THEY COULD HAVE TWO AND ET CETERA.
UM, AND BEFORE I GO INTO THIS SOME, SO SOME OF THE CHANGE, THERE HAVE BEEN SOME CHANGES THAT HAVE HAPPENED SINCE THIS WAS INITIALLY PRESENTED TO CITY COUNCIL IN FEBRUARY.
SO, UM, THE, THE STAFF IS, ONE OF THE PROBLEMS PRESENTED TO THEM IS JUST HOW TO FIND THESE UNLICENSED SDRS.
A LOT OF TIMES THEY'RE PRETTY, UM, I MEAN THE OPERATORS THAT AREN'T LICENSED, THEY TYPICALLY WILL DO THINGS LIKE NOT PUT A PICTURE OF THE HOUSE, FOR EXAMPLE, ON, ON AIRBNB OR ON THE VRBO PLATFORM BECAUSE THAT WAY, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN DROP THAT INTO AN IMAGE SEARCH AND FIND THE PROPERTY PRETTY EASILY.
UM, SO THE CITY STAFF IS, HAS TWO RFPS OPEN RIGHT NOW, OR NO, I'M SORRY.
THEY'VE CLOSED, THEY WERE OPEN EARLIER IN THE YEAR AND THEY'VE RECENTLY CLOSED TO IDENTIFY A THIRD PARTY THAT COULD PROVIDE DATA SCRAPING.
SO THAT WOULD JUST KIND OF GO OUT THERE AND LOOK, YOU KNOW, THROUGH THE INTERNET AND FIND, UH, THESE UNLICENSED STRS AND UM, THAT WAY THE CITY STAFF CAN, YOU KNOW, APPROACH THE OWNERS AND ENCOURAGE THEM TO BECOME LICENSED.
AND, UM, THAT I THINK IS GONNA BE TREMENDOUSLY HELPFUL IN THE BRINGING THINGS INTO COMPLIANCE BECAUSE AS STAFF IS EXPLAINING, LIKE THEY KIND OF HAVE WITH LIMITED STAFF, THEY CAN EITHER TRY TO NAIL DOWN NUISANCE COMPLAINTS OR THEY CAN TRY TO BE HUNTING DOWN UNLICENSED STRS, BUT THIS WAY THAT WILL HELP WITH PART OF THE PROBLEM AND, AND THEY'LL JUST HAVE A BETTER, THEY'LL HAVE A BETTER RECORD OF WHO OWNS THE ST AND UM, THEY'LL JUST BE ABLE TO DEAL WITH ALL KINDS OF ISSUES MORE QUICKLY.
UM, THERE HAVE BEEN, SO SOME THINGS THAT DID CHANGE SINCE THE FEBRUARY THAT ARE NOW GONNA BE PRESENTED, UM, TO COUNSEL.
UM, SO THE APPEALS PROCESS, SO IF, UM, AN OPERATOR IS FOUND TO BE OUT OF COMPLIANCE, UM, LIKE THERE'S NEW, A LOT OF NUISANCE COMPLAINTS, THERE'S TRASH COMPLAINTS, I MEAN THERE'S BEEN COMPLAINTS ABOUT CRIME AND EVERYTHING ELSE THAT CAN SOMETIMES GO WITH HAVING A BIG GROUP OF TOURISTS.
UM, INITIALLY THAT APP APPEALS PROCESS INVOLVED,
[01:00:01]
UH, THE BUILDING AND STANDARDS COMMISSION.SO THAT'S A COMMISSION LIKE THIS ONE THAT, UH, WOULD REVIEW THOSE COMPLAINTS.
BUT NOW THAT PROCESS HAS BEEN STREAMLINED AND IT'S GONNA JUST GO STRAIGHT TO THE DIRECTOR.
UM, WHILE AN APPEAL IS PENDING, OPERATORS CAN STILL HOST, UM, SO LET ME STEP BACK.
SO IF THEY'RE FOUND IN VIOLATION AND THEN THEY CAN MAKE AN APPEAL AND THEN THERE'S A PROCESS FOR THAT, THEY CAN STILL HONOR ANY BOOKINGS THAT THEY ACCEPTED BEFORE, UM, THEY RECITED FOR COMPLAINTS OR A POSSIBLE LICENSE RENEWAL.
SO, AND THOSE CAN GO UP TO BE, YOU KNOW, I MEAN THAT COULD BE FOR THE WHOLE LENGTH OF THE APPEAL.
THEY COULD STILL CONTINUE TO HOST GUESTS.
AND, UM, THE INTENT TO REVOKE PROCESS NOW HAS, UM, A, A COUPLE OF MORE STEPS THAT I THINK MAKE THE APPEALS PROCESS LONGER IN THE SENSE THAT THEY HAVE TO HAVE A CONFERENCE WITH THE DIRECTOR AND THEN THE DIRECTOR OF, OF THE, OF THE DEPARTMENT THAT HANDLES THIS, UH, HAS TO PUT FORTH THE COMPLIANCE PLAN.
SO THERE'S LIKE A LITTLE MORE DISCUSSION WITH THE DIRECTOR.
SO THESE ARE SOME CONCERNS FROM LOCAL FOLKS THAT, THAT I'M AWARE OF OR THAT HAVE BEEN BROUGHT TO ME DIRECTLY.
UM, SO THIS IS SORT OF THE, THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN, I THINK FROM WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT AT THE TOP OF THE PRESENTATION ABOUT HOT COLLECTIONS.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE GOOD NEWS.
THE BAD NEWS IS, UM, WE HAVE A LACK OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN AUSTIN
SO THERE'S A CONCERN ABOUT PROLIFERATION BEING SUCH THAT IT TENDS TO OCCUR IN AREAS, ESPECIALLY WHERE THERE'RE ALREADY PRONE TO GENTRIFICATION.
UM, WE'VE SEEN A LOT OF THAT ON THE EAST SIDE AND OTHER AREAS THAT ARE, IT'S JUST INEXPENSIVE TO SCOOP UP A HOUSE AND TURN IT INTO A SHORT TERM RENTAL.
AND ALSO THE HOUSES ARE CLOSER TOGETHER SO YOU COULD HAVE MORE SHORT TERM RENTALS IN A GIVEN AREA.
UM, AND SO THAT BRINGS ME TO MY NEXT POINT, THAT THE, THERE'S CONCERN THAT THE, THE DENSITY CAPS AS THEY ARE PRESCRIBED CURRENTLY IN THE REGULATION ARE NOT ROBUST ENOUGH TO PREVENT THIS PROLIFERATION.
UM, WE HAVE HAD THE ZONING REGULATION THAT WAS PASSED LAST YEAR THAT, UM, MIX LOT SIZES SMALLER SO THERE CAN BE MORE DEVELOPMENT IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
SO THAT I THINK IS, IS DRIVING AND INFILL DEVELOPMENT.
UH, SO I GUESS THERE IS THAT CONCERN THAT SOME OF THAT WOULD ACTUALLY PRODUCE NOT AS MANY AFFORDABLE UNITS AS WE WOULD ALL HOPE, BUT IT WOULD POSSIBLY PRODUCE THAT, LIKE SOME OF THAT POTENTIAL AFFORDABLE HOUSING STOCK OR JUST THE HOUSING STOCK COULD, COULD ACTUALLY BE USED, UM, AS SHORT-TERM RENTALS RATHER THAN THE HOUSE AUSTINITES.
AND, UM, THAT THE THIRDLY, THAT THE REGULATION THAT'S IN PLACE IS NOT SUFFICIENT REALLY TO PROTECT THE NEIGHBORS FROM SOME OF THE NUISANCE ISSUES OR EVEN CRIME ISSUES.
UM, BECAUSE OF THE WAY THAT, AND I DO KNOW THAT ALL, ALL THREE OF THESE THINGS, I WILL SAY THAT IT, IT'S CL IT SEEMS CLEAR TO ME FROM READING THE REGULATION THAT THERE, THERE'S REALLY A STRONG EFFORT IN, IN THIS BY STAFF TO ADDRESS THESE CONCERNS.
BUT IT'S JUST A VERY, IT'S BEEN A DIFFICULT BALANCE AND UM, YOU KNOW, ON ONE SIDE YOU DO HAVE A, A BIG INDUSTRY AND, UM, THAT'S THE, THE APPEALS PROCESS MAY NOT BE ENOUGH TO, UM, FOR SOME NEIGHBORS TO STILL FEEL COMFORTABLE.
SO, YOU KNOW, JUST WHEN I WAS LISTENING TO CITIZEN TESTIMONY LAST YEAR, UM, OR EARLIER THIS YEAR, LIKE THERE WAS SOMEBODY THAT SAID, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS LIKE SOME REALLY VIOLENT CRIME, YOU KNOW, IN A SHORT-TERM RENTAL THAT WAS NEXT DOOR TO THEM OR ON THEIR STREET.
AND SO THE APPEALS PROCESS WHILE THAT WAS GOING ON, LIKE THEY, THAT WOULDN'T NECESSARILY, LIKE, THEY FELT LIKE, HA NOT NOT HAVING A WAY FOR LIKE A SHORT-TERM RENTAL TO BE SHUT DOWN IMMEDIATELY COULD BE A DANGER TO THEIR FAMILIES.
SO AGAIN, I'M NOT, I'M NOT GIVING AN OPINION ON THIS.
I'M, UM, BUT I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT TO
[01:05:01]
LOOK AT ALL SIDES OF THIS BECAUSE AGAIN, YOU KNOW, OUR MUSICIANS AND SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS, LIKE WE CAN BENEFIT FROM THE GRANT PROGRAMS AND, AND JUST THE, THE TOURIST ECONOMY THAT WE HAVE HERE IS, IS A MAJOR ECONOMIC FACTOR.BUT, UM, I HAVE TO BALANCE THAT WITH, YOU KNOW, QUALITY OF LIFE AND, AND HOUSING FOR OUR FOLKS IN THE MUSIC BUSINESS, LIKE VERY FEW OF WHOM ARE AFFLUENT.
SO I THINK THOSE ARE ALL THINGS TO, TO THINK ABOUT.
SO JUST WANTED TO GET THE MUSIC COMMISSION UP TO SPEED ON ALL OF THAT.
UM, SO AGAIN, COUNCIL WILL BE VOTING THIS WEEK.
SO THIS ISN'T A VOTING ITEM, SO THERE'S NOT REALLY AN OPPORTUNITY FOR MUSIC COMMISSION TO PUT FORTH ANY RECOMMENDATION.
HOWEVER, AS INDIVIDUALS, YOU'RE ALL FREE TO CONTACT YOUR COUNCIL MEMBER OR ALL OF MAR AND COUNCIL AND LET THEM KNOW WHAT YOU LIKE OR ARE CONCERNED ABOUT.
AND, UM, I KNOW THAT, SO I WORK, UM, I NOW WORK IN COUNCIL MEMBER OF UCHIN OFFICE.
I'M A, I'M COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR.
I'M NOT POLICY, BUT I'M VERY POLICY ADJACENT.
AND I KNOW FOR EXAMPLE, LIKE HIS OFFICE IS SUPER RESPONSIVE TO CONSTITUENTS FROM DISTRICT 10 AND REALLY THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
SO, YOU KNOW, REALLY RECEPTIVE TO, UM, YOU KNOW, THOUGHTFUL, THOUGHTFUL EMAIL OR PHONE CALL.
AND I'M SURE THAT'S TRUE OF THE OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS AS WELL.
SO IF ANYBODY'S GOT QUESTIONS, LET ME KNOW.
THANK YOU MS. PATTERSON SO MUCH.
UM, UM, I'M SO TONED BETWEEN WANTING TO MAXIMIZE HOT TAXES AND, UH,
UH, SO, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR CONCERN HERE IS MOSTLY AROUND HOT TAXES AND HOW THIS CAN BE LEVERAGED.
SO IT'S WONDERFUL TO SEE, UM, THE STEPS TAKEN IN THAT DIRECTION AND THANK YOU FOR ALL THE WORK THAT YOU HAVE DONE, UH, TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
AND, UH, UH, BUT OF COURSE, UH, BROADLY ALSO AS A CITIZEN, IT'S GOOD TO GET EDUCATED ON, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S GOING ON IN THIS SPACE.
UM, JUST HAVE A QUICK QUESTION AND THEN, UH, YOU YIELD TO THE, THE COMMISSION HERE.
UM, IS THERE ANY DIFFERENCE IN HOW THE LICENSING PROCESS HAPPENS FOR LIKE, YOU KNOW, CORPORATE SDR R OWNERS VERSUS, YOU KNOW, OR, OR FOLKS THAT OWN MULTIPLE SDR R SOURCES? UM, SOMEBODY, AN INDIVIDUAL THAT MIGHT DON'T WANNA DO? YEAH, I THINK THAT'S A REALLY GOOD QUESTION.
SO CURRENTLY, IN MY UNDERSTANDING, BUT I WILL TAKE THIS QUESTION BACK TO THE POLICY ANALYST IN OUR OFFICE.
IN MY UNDERSTANDING, THERE'S CURRENTLY NO DIFFERENTIATION.
SO, AND I THINK THE REASON THAT'S AN IMPORTANT QUESTION BECAUSE I THINK WE CAN ALL SEE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SOMEBODY WHO, AND, YOU KNOW, MAY LIVE HERE.
MAYBE THEY LIVE SOMEBODY ELSE SOMEWHERE ELSE, UM, BUT THEY HAVE MAYBE ONE OR TWO SHORT TERM RENTALS AND IT'S LIKE A LITTLE SIDE HUSTLE, A LITTLE INVESTMENT FOR THEM.
BUT THEY'RE BASICALLY AN INDIVIDUAL, THEY WANNA BE A REALLY GOOD NEIGHBOR, UM, AND, UH, VERSUS A LARGER ENTITY THAT, UM, DOESN'T HAVE THAT KIND OF PERSONAL INTERACTION OR CONNECTION TO THE CITY AND MIGHT OWN A LARGE NUMBER OF SHORT-TERM RENTALS FOR PROFIT.
AND SO THEY MIGHT BE MORE, THEY MIGHT BE LESS IN TUNE WITH THE CULTURE OF THE CITY OR SOME OF THE NEEDS OF THE CITY, LIKE AFFORDABLE HOUSING, FOR EXAMPLE.
SO, I MEAN, CURRENTLY THE LICENSING FEE IS THE SAME.
IT'S $800 AND IT'S GOOD FOR TWO YEARS.
UM, ALL THE REGULATIONS ARE APPLIED EQUALLY.
UM, BUT I THINK SIGNIFICANTLY THE DENSITY CAPS THAT I MENTIONED, LIKE THAT'S ALSO THE SAME.
SO I MEAN, I THINK OBVIOUSLY WE CAN SEE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SOMEBODY THAT, YOU KNOW, MAYBE RENTS OUT A ROOM IN THEIR HOUSE AND THEN MAYBE THEY ALSO, THEY, LET'S SAY THEY LIVE IN A CONDO COMPLEX AND AS AN INVESTMENT, THEY BOUGHT A SECOND CONDO THERE AND UM, THEY WANNA RENT THAT AS AN AIRBNB SOMETIMES TOO.
AND I THINK IT'S ALSO NOTABLE THAT A LOT OF THE UNLICENSED SDRS THAT ARE MORE BOOKLY OWNED, SUPPOSEDLY, AND I THINK IT'S DIFFICULT TO KIND OF FIGURE OUT, OBVIOUSLY THE STATISTICS ON THINGS THAT AREN'T IN THE LICENSED BUCKET, BUT A LOT OF THOSE ARE NOT RENTED ALL YEAR LONG.
LIKE THAT'S LIKE SOMEBODY RENTING THEIR HOUSE DURING ACL, UM, THAT THERE MAY BE LESS OF A CONCERN ABOUT SOMEBODY HAVING TWO UNITS IN THEIR OWN BUILDING THAT THEY LIVE IN PART OF THE TIME, VERSUS A CORPORATION THAT BUYS UP AS MANY UNITS, YOU KNOW, THAT GOES IN AND IS
[01:10:01]
LIKE, HEY, THEY'RE BUILDING A NEW, SOME NEW CONDOS THERE.I'M GONNA GO AND BUY UP AS MANY UNITS AS I CAN.
AND, UM, I MEAN, I'M, I'M NOT NOTHING AGAINST CAPITALISM, BUT I, I THINK THAT, THAT, LIKE, I WOULD THINK THAT THAT'S PROBABLY WHERE THAT, THAT QUESTION IS COMING FROM.
LIKE THAT'S THE CONCERN THAT MAYBE, UM, A DIFFERENT TIER OF FOR THE DENSITY CAPS COULD HELP ADDRESS THAT.
UH, COMMISSIONERS, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? COMMISSIONER S UM, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS A QUESTION FOR YOU AND CHARLOTTE OR FOR KIM, MAYBE, BUT I DO WANNA HAVE A, I DO HAVE A QUESTION.
SO I UNDERSTAND THE INFORMATION THAT WE GET ON A MONTHLY BASIS ABOUT THE, THE YEAR TO DATE HOT COLLECTIONS LIVE MUSIC FUND.
AND SO IS THIS SHOWING ALL THE HOT COLLECTIONS THAT WE, THAT THE CITY IS REMITTED EVERY MONTH FROM THE STATE? OR IS IT A PORTION OF IT, OR, THAT'S THE FIRST QUESTION.
AND THE SECOND QUESTION WOULD BE, WHEN DO WE EXPECT TO START SEEING SORT OF BIG INCREASES IN THE HOT COLLECTIONS ON A MONTHLY BASIS? THAT'S KIND OF ONE OF THE REASONS I WANTED TO PUT THAT YEAR TO DATE NUMBER SO THAT WE CAN COMPARE IT TO LAST YEAR, BUT RIGHT.
SO YOU SAID THAT THE BUDGET OFFICE WAS GONNA START CALCULATING THIS WEEK.
UM, AND SO THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY COULD START PUTTING IN PROBABLY THAT FIRST DISBURSEMENT INTO ALL OF THE FUNDS THAT WOULD BE FUNDED BY THIS, BUT IT HASN'T HAPPENED YET.
MY ASSUMPTION IS IN OUR NEXT MONTH, HOPEFULLY WE'LL SEE THAT REFLECTED.
CURRENTLY WHAT YOU SEE EVERY MONTH IN OUR COLLECTIONS IS WHAT'S COLLECTED BY THE HOTEL.
YOU KNOW, THE, THE CITY COLLECTS THAT, THE HOTEL REMITS AND THE HOTELS COULD REMIT THEM AT ANY TIME.
SO WE WILL OFTENTIMES HAVE, YOU KNOW, JUST LITTLE BITS OF WAVINESS ON THOSE COLLECTIONS.
'CAUSE IT'S JUST BASED ON WHEN THEY SEND IT IN, IT'S AN INDI IT'S AN INDIVIDUAL HOTEL.
AND SO IT CAN VARY BECAUSE OF THAT.
AND UM, AND SO THAT'S KIND OF WHAT YOU SEE IS THOSE MONTHLY REMITTANCES BACK TO THE, TO THE CITY THAT THEN IS REFLECTED IN OUR REPORTING.
AND REALLY YOU WILL SEE AT THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR A CALCULATION OF WHAT THE, YOU KNOW, IT WAS FOR THE PREVIOUS FISCAL YEAR ALL AT ONCE.
AND SO THIS, 'CAUSE RIGHT NOW IT TRICKLES IN, IT TRICKLES IN EVERY SINGLE DAY, 24 HOURS.
AND SO IT'S JUST, WE REPORT TO YOU WHAT'S HIT THE BANK, YOU KNOW, AT THAT TIME AND GETS REPORTED TO US.
SO THE NUMBER THAT WE SEE HERE, THIS IS THE TOTAL NUMBER OF HOT FUNDS THAT ARE COLLECTED AS THEY, AS THEY GET REMITTED.
AND IT'S THE PREVIOUS MONTH NUMBERS, RIGHT? IS, OR THIS IS JULY.
I THINK WE HAVE THIS UP TO JULY, I GUESS I THINK THE NUMBERS HERE ARE THROUGH JULY.
AND SO WE'RE ABOUT MUSIC FUND OR IS IT'S JUST LIVE MUSIC FUND.
AND SO THAT'S, THAT'S MY, MY QUESTION.
THE CULTURAL ARTS FUND HAS THIS EXACT SAME REPORT THAT'S JUST THE CULTURAL ARTS FUND, RIGHT? SO IS THERE ANY SOURCE THAT HAS THE TOTAL, LIKE OF ALL THE FUNDS TOGETHER? YEAH, THE FINANCE OFFICE SHOULD HAVE IT.
SO, UM, I THINK YEAH, THAT INFORMATION'S OUT THERE.
I THINK ONE THING THAT'S A LITTLE, SO WHY IT'S IMPORTANT TO LOOK SPECIFICALLY AT STR NUMBERS IF IT'S POSSIBLE TO, I'M HOPING THAT IT'S POSSIBLE FOR THE FINANCE PEOPLE TO SPLIT THAT OUT IS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, TOURISM OVERALL IS DOWN A BIT HERE IN, I MEAN, OTHER CITIES AS WELL, ESPECIALLY CITIES THAT HAVE A LOT OF INTERNATIONAL VISITORS, BUT JUST EVERYWHERE.
SO IT'S, IT WOULD BE HARD TO REALLY DIRECTLY SEE THE IMPACT OF WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE WHOLE PICTURE.
SO, BUT HOPEFULLY LIKE COMPARING SDR NUMBERS FROM LAST YEAR IN, IN QQ TWO COMPARED TO THE PREV 2024 WOULD, WOULD GIVE SOME INDICATION OF THE IMPACT.
SO IS THERE ANY IDEA OF HOW THIS WILL ADJUST THE PERCENTAGE ALLOCATED TO THE DIFFERENT PROGRAMS, CULTURAL ARTS, MUSIC? SO IT DOESN'T, IT SHOULDN'T IMPACT THE OVERALL PERCENTAGES.
SO THEY'RE UM, THEY'RE CUT LIKE EACH, YEAH, LIKE THERE'S A BUCKET OF FUNDS, LIKE THE 11 CENTS.
I THINK THE CITY, CITY COLLECTS 11 CENTS FOR EVERY DOLLAR.
AND I KNOW THERE IS ACTUALLY IN THE CITY'S BUDGET PRESENTATION, THERE WAS A BREAKDOWN OF THAT.
AND I'LL FIND IT AND I'LL SEND IT TO YOU.
LIKE WHAT, HOW MUCH GOES TO MUSIC COMMISSIONER PRESS? THANK YOU.
[01:15:02]
WELL THANK YOU.UM, AND CHARLOTTE SO MUCH FOR ALWAYS SPEAKING SO ELOQUENTLY AND HAVING SO MUCH FASCINATING INFORMATION.
I GUESS, YOU KNOW, DATA DOES SEEM SO PERTINENT AND, AND KEY WHEN I THINK OF THE CONVENTION CENTER, THE, THE ABSENCE OF THE CONVENTION CENTER, UM, DO PEOPLE WHO USUALLY STAY AT THE CONVENTION CENTER PROBABLY STAY AT HOTELS LIKE THE HOTEL BLOCK ROOMS OR IF HOTELS ARE GETTING, YOU KNOW, THE CONFERENCES, THEN THEY TOO ARE PROBABLY STAYING AT THE HOTELS IF THEY'RE HOSTING SOMETHING IN A BALLROOM.
SO THEN REALLY THE AIRBNBS, THE SHORT TERM RENTALS, THOSE PEOPLE, I'D BE SO CURIOUS AS TO THE DATA OF WHY THEY'RE COMING INTO AUSTIN AND IF THEY'RE WORKING, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE PROBABLY VERY MUCH ENJOYING THE CULTURAL ARTS IN, IN THAT SENSE OF TOURISM BECAUSE OFTENTIMES IT SEEMS HOTELS ARE, UM, WORK RELATED TOURISM MM-HMM
SO I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THE, YOU KNOW, THAT INFORMATION, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE ANALYZING IT IS JUST SO KEY.
DO YOU FEEL THAT, UM, THE AIRBNB AND VRBO AND WHATEVER ELSE IS OUT THERE AT THIS TIME, ARE THEY WILLING TO SHARE INFORMATION OR WHAT'S THAT PROCESS BEEN LIKE? YEAH, I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW THAT THEY WOULD HAVE INFORMATION ABOUT, UM, WHAT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE REASON FOR THE TRAVEL IN TERMS OF LIKE JUST IF WE'RE JUST LOOKING AT THE CONVENTION CENTER, IF PEOPLE ARE CONVENTION ATTENDEES OR NOT.
UM, BUT I DON'T KNOW, THEY PROBABLY HAVE THEIR WAYS.
SO I MEAN, THAT'S SOMETHING I COULD CERTAINLY ASK THE REPRESENTATIVES TO SEE IF THEY'VE, IF ANYTHING IT JUST SEEMS LIKE SOME KIND OF LEVERAGE OR WE NEED TO, YOU KNOW, THAT KNOWLEDGE AND EDUCATION IS POWER OF LIKE, WE NEED TO KNOW WHO'S COMING INTO OUR CITIES AND WHAT THEY'RE APPRECIATING.
BECAUSE IF ANYTHING, IT JUST AGAIN, BECOMES THIS ECONOMIC GENERATOR FOR THE INDUSTRY.
APPRO, LIKE THE DATA PROVES HOW THE, YOU KNOW, MUSIC AND CULTURAL ARTS, UM, INDUSTRIES ARE EXTREMELY RELEVANT AND AN ECONOMIC GENERATOR IN AUSTIN.
UM, SO I THINK THAT'S THE REASON THAT WE NEED TO FIND OUT ABOUT THE SDRS IN ADDITION TO TAXING THEM SO THEY'RE SUPPORTING THE ECOSYSTEM.
YEAH, I MEAN, I'LL, I'LL DEFINITELY ASK THE REPRESENTATIVES IF THEY HAVE ANY KIND OF DATA THAT, WHERE THEY HAVE A SENSE OF WHAT, WHAT THE REASON FOR TRAVEL IS.
BUT, UM, THE, THE WORKING GROUP THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER WHEN WE WORKED, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE WERE KINDA STUDYING THE CONVENTION CENTER, WE DID ASK IF THERE WAS ANY WAY FOR THAT TEAM TO PROVIDE PROJECTIONS AND COMPARISONS FOR WHAT THE IMPACT ON HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAXES, LIKE WHILE THE CONVENTION CENTER WAS OPERATIONAL UP UNTIL, UM, SPRING OF THIS YEAR.
AND THEN WHAT THEY PROJECTED FOR THE FOUR YEARS WHILE THERE, THERE WAS THE CLOSURE AND THEN WHAT, WHAT THE HOT COLLECTIONS WOULD BE LIKE AFTER IT REOPENED.
SO TO KIND OF COMPARE LIKE, WELL, DO WE HAVE A LOT FEWER PEOPLE COMING HERE WHEN IT'S CLOSED OR THE SAME, OR, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE I THINK THAT WOULD'VE BEEN, BUT I WAS VERY CURIOUS TO KNOW REALLY.
I MEAN, I THINK THAT'S YOUR SAME QUESTION, LIKE HOW, WHAT IS THE IMPACT ON TOURISM FROM, SPECIFICALLY FROM CONVENTIONS, BUT, UM, I DON'T, THAT DATA DIDN'T COME FORWARD WHILE I WAS STILL IN THE COMMISSION.
SO AS FAR AS I KNOW, THAT'S NOT AVAILABLE FROM SPECIFICALLY FROM THE CONVENTION CENTER.
UM, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? COMMISSIONER CARVALHO? UH, IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU.
HEY, I'LL JUST WANTED TO POINT SOMETHING TO YOUR, TO THE LAST, UH, PRESENTATION PIECE YOU HAD HERE THAT, UM, THE SENTENCE THAT CAUGHT ME WAS THAT SHORT TERM RENTALS REPLACE HOUSING, ESPECIALLY AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
UM, YEAH, I'M SURE THAT THAT IS SO TRUE IN SO MANY WAYS, BUT IS THERE A STUDY THAT WE'VE SEEN OR Y'ALL HAVE SEEN IN THE PERCENTAGE OF INCOME THAT THESE PEOPLE HAVE BY WORKING, UH, VERSUS WHAT THEIR, YOU KNOW, ANNUAL INCOME IS FROM SDRS AND COULD IT BE
[01:20:01]
THAT SHORT TERM RENTALS ACTUALLY MAKE AFFORDABLE HOUSING? YOU KNOW, COMPARED TO THE HIGH COST OF LIVING AND THE HIGH COST OF RENT AND JUST TO BE IN AUSTIN IS SO CRAZY RIGHT NOW THAT MM-HMMAS A PRETTY POOR MUSICIAN, IT'D BE PRETTY EASY TO MAYBE FIND YOUR FRIEND'S COUCH FOR THE WEEK OF SOUTH BY SO THAT YOU CAN AFFORD YOUR RENT FOR THE NEXT FEW MONTHS.
UM, YEAH, SO AS FAR AS I KNOW THERE ISN'T ANY DATA ABOUT THAT, BUT I THINK IT'S A, YOU KNOW, IT'S REALLY A FAIR POINT AND, AND I THINK THAT SPEAKS TO WHY, YOU KNOW, IT MIGHT BE, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD LOOK AT MAYBE THE LICENSE FEE IS LOWER, YOU KNOW, FOR SOMEBODY WHO'S ONLY OPERATING, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE OR THREE SD YOU KNOW, FEWER THAN FOUR.
THERE IS, SO I, THERE WAS A COURT CASE ABOUT, UM, REGARDING TYPE TWO AND TYPE ONE SDR, SO OWNER OCCUPIED VERSUS NON-OWNER OCCUPIED, AND THAT WAS DECLARED THAT THE CITY CAN'T DO THAT.
UM, BUT YEAH, I DON'T, I MEAN, I, SO I'M COMING HERE AS REALLY WITH THE INFORMATION THAT I HAVE AS A FORMER COMMISSIONER.
LIKE, I'M NOT REALLY HERE TO SPEAK FOR COUNCIL OR, AND I'M SPEAKING FOR, YOU KNOW, RESIDENTS THAT HAVE A APPROACHED ME, UM, SORT OF IN MY CAPACITY AS A CIVIC PERSON
SO I, I THINK THAT IT, YOU KNOW, IT COULD BE IDEAL TO HELP ENCOURAGE THE TYPE OF OPERATORS THAT YOU'RE DESCRIBING WITHOUT LIKE PERMISSION'S AVAILABLE SOMEWHERE.
I HAVEN'T, BUT I CAN, I CAN LOOK, I'LL WRITE IT IN MY LIST OF QUESTIONS AND SEE IF I CAN FIND IT.
'CAUSE YEAH, I THINK IT'D BE REALLY INTERESTING TO KNOW LIKE HOW MUCH, UM, I MEAN THIS IS A SIDE HUSTLE TOWN, YOU KNOW, AND IT'S, I GET IT, YOU KNOW, I'M ALL FOR IT.
I'M ALL, I'M THE SIDE HUSTLE QUEEN.
SO
SO, UM, I WOULD, IT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO SEE LIKE WHAT THAT'S LIKE FOR THE SORT OF AVERAGE AUSTIN SDR OPERATOR.
YOU KNOW, HOW THEY SUPPLEMENT THEIR INCOME AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE AND HOW OFTEN THEY RUN OUT THEIR PLACE.
AND, UM, YEAH, SO AGAIN, I'LL ASK THE REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE PLATFORMS IF THEY HAVE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT THAT.
'CAUSE I WOULD THINK THAT THEY WOULD HAVE AT LEAST SOME INFORMATION ABOUT LIKE, OKAY, THIS PERSON IS LOCAL, THIS PERSON ONLY RENTS THIS PLACE OUT LIKE IN OCTOBER, IN MARCH.
YOU KNOW, LIKE THAT WOULD GIVE YOU SOME INDICATION OF I THINK THE TYPE OF STR OPERATOR THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.
UH, ONE THING I DID WANNA MENTION, AND SO THIS WASN'T PART OF MY PRESENTATION, BUT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN, UM, DISCUSSED IN THE URBAN CORE LAND USE WORKING GROUP A LOT.
AND, UM, HEIDI SCH MALACH FROM ARTS COMMISSION, AND I HAVE DISCUSSED THIS A LOT AND WE'VE DISCUSSED IT WITH THE PLATFORMS, IS THE POSSIBILITY FOR, UM, AN ADD-ON FEE, LIKE A CULTURAL FEE THAT, UH, SOMEONE WHO RENTS AN STR IN AUSTIN COULD OPT INTO.
SO IT COULD BE A COUPLE OF BUCKS OR FIVE BUCKS, OR IT COULD BE A FLEX, YOU KNOW, A FLEXIBLE AMOUNT.
BUT, UM, IT BASICALLY COULD PROVIDE SOME ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR ARTS AND MUSIC.
AND IT WOULDN'T BE IN THE HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX BUCKET.
IT WOULD BE SEPARATE OF PHILANTHROPIC DONATION ESSENTIALLY FOR SOME FUNDING THAT COULD BE MANAGED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH, BUT OUTSIDE OF THE CITY.
AND THE REASON THAT IT'S SIGNIFICANT THAT IT WOULDN'T BE COUNTED AS A HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAXES IS THAT THE, THE HOT HAS A LOT OF REGULATION OR, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A, THERE'S A, THERE'S MORE, UM, A MORE SPECIFIC FRAMEWORK ABOUT HOW THAT MONEY CAN BE USED, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, BEING ON THIS COMMISSION YOU WOULD KNOW ABOUT LIKE THE APPLICABLE USES.
UM, BUT IT'S BASICALLY ALWAYS LIKE HEADS AND BEDS, YOU KNOW, DOES THIS EVENTUALLY IN SOME FASHION LIVE LEAD TO TOURISM, BUT, UM, A SEPARATE FEE AND, YOU KNOW, THAT GOES INTO SOME SEPARATE PHILANTHROPIC FUNDS.
COULD, UM, THERE COULD BE MORE LEEWAY AND IT WOULD JUST MAKE MORE, YOU KNOW, FUNDING AVAILABLE.
UM, BECAUSE AS WE KNOW, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE MORE APPLICANTS RELATED TO THESE PROGRAMS, LIKE FAR MORE THAN CAN BE FUNDED.
UM, I DID TALK, AND, AND HEIDI HAS TALKED WITH THE PLATFORMS AS WELL.
[01:25:01]
THE PLATFORM REPRESENTATIVES LAST WEEK, ONE PLATFORM WAS PRETTY GUNG-HO ABOUT THE IDEA.THEY WERE LIKE, YEAH, SURE, WE CAN TOTALLY DO IT.
THE OTHER ONE HAD A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW IT WOULD WORK.
I THINK THE SECOND ANSWER IS REALLY THE RIGHT ONE.
'CAUSE I HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS TOO.
SO ACTUALLY, HONESTLY, THAT CAUTIOUS APPROACH, UM, I FOUND IT SORT OF REASSURING THAT THEY WERE LIKE, MAYBE, YOU KNOW, BUT HOW'S IT GONNA WORK? SO I THINK THERE, THERE WOULD BE A LOT TO BE DETERMINED, ESPECIALLY WHO WOULD BE THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THAT FUND.
AND I MEAN, AS Y'ALL KNOW, LIKE LIVE MUSIC FUND, LIKE, IT'S REALLY HARD TO DECIDE LIKE HOW THOSE FUNDS ARE GOING TO GET DISPERSED AND HOW AND WHY AND FOR WHAT PROJECTS.
AND, BUT THERE IS A POTENTIAL THERE THAT THE, THE PLATFORMS COULD COLLECT IT AND REMITTED IT TO THIS THIRD PARTY.
AND, UM, IT'S NOT A, YOU KNOW, I DON'T THINK IT WOULD BE A SUPER HEAVY LIFT, BUT IT'S NOT NOTHING FOR THE PLATFORMS. LIKE, THERE'S STILL A LOT OF LIKE REPROGRAMMING THAT WOULD HAVE TO HAPPEN AND ALL THESE THINGS.
SO TECH FROM THE TECHNOLOGICAL SIDE ALL THROUGH LIKE THE ETHICAL USES OF THE FUND AND, UM, ETHICAL MEANING LIKE FAIR, YOU KNOW, FAIR TO THE RIGHT PROJECTS AND, AND, UM, THE FUNDS ARE USED EQUITABLY.
LIKE THERE'S A LOT OF QUESTIONS, BUT I THINK, UM, IT'S CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT EVEN IF IT'S NOT A, IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT'S REALLY RUNNING THROUGH ACME THAT ACME SHOULD HAVE A, A ROLE IN THAT AND THAT THE COMMISSIONS SHOULD HAVE A ROLE IN THAT TOO.
SO THAT HOPEFULLY MIGHT BE SOMETHING THAT'S COMING YOUR WAY.
UM, AND CHARLOTTE, AND, UH, I, I THINK, UH, I THINK YOU WERE ALLUDING TO KIND OF THE OPPORTUNITY TO BUILD MORE REVENUE TOWARDS, UH, HOT TAXES AND, UH, FINDING OTHER SOURCES.
SO THIS KIND OF LEADS RIGHT INTO THAT WHERE, UH, IT, IT CREATES ANOTHER CHANNEL TO RAISE, UH, SOME MORE, UH, YOU KNOW, DOLLARS TOWARDS, UH, UH, THE FUNDS KIND OF OUTSIDE OF HOT TAXES.
AND, UH, UM, IT, IT DEFINITELY, I HOPE IS SOMETHING THAT WILL BE LOOKED INTO.
IT'S, IT'S, IT'S OPTIONAL FOR, UH, CONSUMERS.
SO I THINK, UM, IT, IT WOULD BE QUITE WORTHWHILE IN MY MIND TO EXPLORE THAT.
UM, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, UH, COMMISSIONERS BEFORE WE MOVE TO THE NEXT TOPIC? COMMISSIONER CASDA? WELL, I THINK THAT I ENDED UP TAKING ANN CHARLOTTE'S PLACE ON THE URBAN CORE LAND WORKING GROUP.
I'M STILL TECHNICALLY A PART OF IT.
YOU'RE STILL TECHNICALLY PART OF IT, BUT I JOINED IT.
SO YOU JOINED JOINED, WHICH IS GREAT.
AND I THINK, JOE, YOU WERE GETTING, WHAT'D YOU SAY, JOE COMMISSIONER JOINING THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION.
THANK YOU FOR THE CLARIFICATION.
UM, SO THAT THE, UM, WHAT YOU WERE JUST MENTIONING ABOUT AN ADDITIONAL FEE HAS COME UP AT OUR LAST WORKING GROUP MEETING, UM, AND TEASING THAT OUT A LITTLE BIT MORE.
SO WE'RE, UM, WRITING ALL THAT INFORMATION DOWN AND ASKING A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT IT AND SIMMERING ON IT, I THINK.
UM, SO WE PLAN ON MAKING IT A LITTLE MORE BITE SIZE OR JUST KIND OF MAKING AN OFFICIAL PRESENTATION ABOUT THAT AS SOON AS WE CAN WRAP OUR HEADS AROUND IT A LITTLE BIT MORE.
I THINK ANOTHER THING THAT KIND OF CAME UP WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, WHO WOULD HOLD THESE FUNDS, WHAT WOULD THESE FUNDS BE USED FOR, ALL THAT STUFF.
BUT ONE OF MY FIRST QUESTIONS WHEN I BECAME A COMMISSIONER, WHEN WE WERE LOOKING AT THE LIVE MUSIC FUND, UM, HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAXES WAS LIKE, ARE THEY INVESTED AT ALL? AND THEY'RE NOT INVESTED AT ALL, SO THEREFORE THERE'S NO, YOU KNOW, LIKE THEY'RE NOT IN THE STOCK MARKET OR ANY, THEY DON'T HAVE ANY KIND OF INTEREST.
AND SO IF THESE FUNDS, WOULD THEY, COULD THEY BE AVAILABLE TO BE INVESTED? SO THAT WAS KIND OF WHERE, LIKE, IS IT AN ENDOWMENT OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT? SOMETHING THAT CAN, UM, ACCRUE INTEREST.
YEAH, THAT'LL MAKE A GREAT PRESENTATION FOR A FUTURE, UM, COMMISSION MEETING FROM COMMISSIONER KISA.
AND YEAH, I WILL, I DID MISS THE LAST MEETING, BUT I'LL BE IN THE NEXT ONE.
AND IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU AND CHARLOTTE.
UM, MOVING ON TO THE NEXT AGENDA ITEM.
[8. ACME funding guidelines final draft update by Morgan Messick, Assistant Director, Austin Arts, Culture, Music & Entertainment.]
UM, ALSO, UH, QUICK TIME SHAKE.IT'S, UH, JUST PAST 8:10 PM HERE.
UM, AFME FUNDING GUIDELINES, FINAL DRAFT UPDATE BY MORGAN MESSICK, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, A
[01:30:01]
CME.UH, THIS IS THE OUTCOME OF, UH, A FEW, UH, MONTHS OF WORK HERE AS WELL AS, UH, YOU KNOW, COMING OUT OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THE MUSIC COMMISSION PROVIDED, UM, AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, THE ARTS RECOMMENDATIONS.
BUT, UM, MY, I'M ASSUMING THAT WE ARE GONNA FOCUS ON, UH, CSAP AS WELL AS, UH, THE LIVE MUSIC FUND GUIDELINES HERE TODAY.
UM, AND, UH, YEAH, I'LL, I'LL HAND IT OVER TO, UH, MORGAN HERE.
UM, I DO HAVE A PRESENTATION IF THEY COULD QUEUE IT UP.
I WILL WAIT FOR THAT TO BEGIN.
I SEE MY PRESENTATION QUEUED UP, SO I WILL GO AHEAD AND MOVE FORWARD.
UM, YES, I'M COMING BACK TO THE TABLE TO REDISCUSS THIS ISSUE AGAIN AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO KEEP PROVIDING UPDATES AS WE MOVE TOWARDS APPLICATION LAUNCH FOR OUR PROGRAMS THIS FALL.
SO TODAY WE ARE HERE TO PRESENT, UM, OUR FINAL FUNDING GUIDELINES AND WE ARE FOCUSING SPECIFICALLY ON CREATIVE SPACE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM AND THE LIVE MUSIC FUND.
BUT I'M HAPPY TO DISCUSS ANY OF THE PROGRAMS OR POLICIES OR PROCEDURES AS A WHOLE.
UM, THAT'S JUST WHAT OUR PRESENTATION FOCUSES ON HERE.
SO, UM, SOME OF THE MAJOR ENHANCEMENTS THAT WE, UM, WILL SEE THROUGHOUT OUR DOCUMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN BASED ON FEEDBACK, UM, IN TWO DIFFERENT CATEGORIES FOR GUIDELINES, YOU'LL SEE THAT WE'VE MOVED TO THE SINGLE GUIDELINE DOCUMENT, WHICH, UM, INCLUDES STANDARDIZED DEFINITIONS, FORMATTING, AND DEPARTMENT PROCESSES AND POLICIES.
THIS IS AN UPDATE FROM THE WAY WE USED TO OPERATE ALL OF OUR PROGRAMS WHEN THEY WERE ALL HOUSED UNDER ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
WE HAD, UM, A DIFFERENT SERIES OF GUIDELINES AND OFTENTIMES THE LANGUAGE WAS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT AND WE DIDN'T HAVE STANDARDIZED DEFINITIONS PER SE, EXCLUSIVELY ACROSS, ACROSS THOSE PROGRAMS. AND OF COURSE, UM, THEY WERE IN DIFFERENT FORMATS, THEY LOOKED DIFFERENT AND THEY WEREN'T VERY COHESIVE.
SO THIS HAS BEEN A BIG UPGRADE FOR US AS A UNIFIED DEPARTMENT.
ADDITIONALLY, WE HAVE MORE FUNDING LEVELS THAT ARE NOW AVAILABLE, UH, FOR INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS ACROSS ALL PROGRAMS. SO ANY PROGRAMS WHERE YOU SEE INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS, UM, THAT SHOULD APPLY TO MUSICIANS AS WELL.
AND SO WE WANTED TO CALL ATTENTION TO THAT.
THANK YOU FOR OUR USER EXPERIENCE.
WE HAVE, OH, SORRY, COULD YOU GO BACK ONE MORE SLIDE FOR OUR USER EXPERIENCE, WE HAD A NUMBER OF IMPROVEMENTS WE WANTED TO NOTE.
UM, NUMBER ONE BEING WE NOW HAVE ADOPTED AS A DEPARTMENT OF UNIVERSAL APPEALS PROCESS ACROSS ALL OF OUR ACME FUNDING PROGRAMS. WE HAD AN APPEALS PROCESS FOR SOME OF OUR PROGRAMS BEFORE AND NOW WE HAVE IMPROVED THAT AND PUT IT ACROSS ALL OF THE PROGRAMS AVAILABLE.
ADDITIONALLY, WE HAVE ESTABLISHED POLICIES ON DOUBLE DIPPING AND CONFLICT OF INTERESTS, UM, TO SHORE UP JUST OUR INTERNAL PROCESSES IN RESPONSE TO AUDIT CONCERNS THAT WERE RAISED EARLIER THIS YEAR.
AND ALSO TO JUST HELP US BETTER ADMINISTER THE FUNDS.
AND LASTLY, WE ARE WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS AT THE LONG CENTER TO HAVE A STACKED APPLICATION LAUNCH WHERE WE'LL HAVE ALL OF OUR APPLICANTS COME IN THROUGH A SINGLE INTAKE FORM INSTEAD OF HAVING, UH, DIFFERENT INTAKE PROCESSES FOR THE DIFFERENT PROGRAMS. UM, WE HAVE A LOT OF CROSSOVER OF APPLICANTS BETWEEN THIS PROGRAM, THE CULTURAL ARTS FUNDING PROGRAMS, AND OUR HERITAGE PRESERVATION GRANTS PROGRAM.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO CREATE A BETTER USER EXPERIENCE AND STREAMLINE THAT.
UM, THIS SLIDE IS A REPEAT FROM THE PRESENTATION LAST MONTH, SO WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE LEFT IT IN HERE FOR VISIBILITY.
AGAIN, UH, WE WILL BE MEASURING ALL OF OUR PROGRAM IMPACTS AGAINST THE CATEGORIES OF REACH AND ENGAGEMENT, PROMOTION, IMPACT, ACCESS, EXPRESSION, AND RESILIENCY.
UM, AND TO REPEAT WHAT I BRIEFLY TALKED ABOUT IN PREVIOUS MEETINGS, WE COLLECT INFORMATION THROUGH THE FINAL REPORTING PROCESS FOR ALL OF OUR GRANTEES ACROSS THE PROGRAMS. AND THESE ARE THE CATEGORIES WHERE WE COLLECT THAT DATA WITHIN.
AND WE REPORT THESE MEASURES UP THROUGH THE CITYWIDE STRATEGIC PLAN AND OTHER STRATEGIC PLANS THAT OUR DEPARTMENT HAS RESPONSIBILITIES WITHIN ACROSS THE CITY AS A WHOLE.
AGAIN, I BELIEVE WE SHARED THIS AT THE, UM, LAST MEETING,
[01:35:01]
BUT WE WANTED TO CALL ATTENTION TO IT AGAIN.WE HAVE CREATED A TOOL, UM, THAT IS AN APPLICANT ELIGIBILITY AT A GLANCE MATRIX SO THAT YOU CAN LOOK IN LEFT HAND COLUMN AND LOOK AT THE DIFFERENT APPLICANT CATEGORIES AND SEE WHERE YOU MIGHT IDENTIFY YOURSELF, WHETHER YOU'RE A 5 0 1 C3 NONPROFIT OR IF YOU'RE A FOR-PROFIT INDIVIDUAL ARTIST.
YOU CAN GO ACROSS THE SPECTRUM AND SEE WHICH VARIETY OF PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE THAT WE OFFER THAT YOU MIGHT BE ELIGIBLE FOR SO THAT YOU CAN COME TO OUR OFFICE HOURS, LEARN MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THOSE, OR WHEN YOU, UM, BEGIN YOUR INTAKE PROCESS INTO THE SYSTEM, EVEN CONSIDER APPLYING FOR MULTIPLE GRANTS THAT MAYBE YOU HADN'T CONSIDERED BEFORE.
CAN WE GO BACK ONE MORE? THANK YOU SO MUCH.
ALRIGHT, SO WE'RE GONNA DIVE RIGHT INTO THE DETAILS.
LOOKING AT THE AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND.
SO THIS APPLICATION, OF COURSE OPENS EVERY YEAR, AND OUR GRANT AGREEMENT TERMS VARY BETWEEN A 12 TO 24 MONTH, UM, GRANT AGREEMENT DEPENDING ON THE AWARD AMOUNT THAT YOU RECEIVE.
SO THE THREE DIFFERENT APPLICANT CATEGORIES ARE A PROFESSIONAL MUSICIAN, AN INDEPENDENT PROMOTER, WHO IS APPLYING AT A $20,000 AWARD LEVEL, WHICH IS FOR THE 24 MONTH TERM.
THAT'S A TWO YEAR GRANT CONTRACT.
THE NEXT APPLICANT LEVEL IS A PROFESSIONAL MUSICIAN, AN INDEPENDENT PROMOTER AGAIN, BUT APPLYING AT THE $5,000 LEVEL, WHICH IS AWARDED A 12 MONTH GRANT AGREEMENT TERM.
AND THEN LASTLY, A LIVE MUSIC VENUE THAT HAS AT LEAST A $60,000 OPERATING BUDGET FOR AN AWARD AMOUNT OF $70,000 OVER A 12 MONTH GRANT AGREEMENT TERM.
THE SHEIK FROM LOOK FAMILIAR FROM LAST MONTH AS WELL.
WE, UM, HAVE CONTINUED FORWARD WITH OUR SCORING CRITERIA, CATEGORIES OF MUSIC, INDUSTRY ACCOMPLISHMENTS, ARTIST DEVELOPMENT, AUSTIN MUSIC ECONOMY DEVELOPMENT, AND CULTURAL TOURISM, MARKETING AND OUTREACH.
AND EACH OF THESE CATEGORIES ARE NOW VALUED AT 25 POINTS, A PIECE FOR A TOTAL SCORE POSSIBLE OF A HUNDRED POINTS.
AND THIS IS FOR PROFESSIONAL MUSICIANS AND INDEPENDENT PROMOTERS.
THIS SLIDE SHOWS US THE SCORING CRITERIA FOR LIVE MUSIC VENUES, WHICH HAS, UM, AUSTIN MUSIC ECONOMY DEVELOPMENT, AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT, AND CULTURAL TOURISM, MARKETING AND OUTREACH.
AND ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE YOU CAN SEE THE POSSIBLE SCORES, UH, 40 POINTS FOR THE FIRST CATEGORY, 20 FOR THE SECOND, AND 40 FOR THE THIRD CATEGORY.
AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE BULLET POINTS, UM, I WON'T GO THROUGH THEM 'CAUSE THERE'S SO MANY OF THEM, BUT, UM, EACH BULLET POINT IS WHERE WE BUILD OUR QUESTIONS OUT OF QUESTIONS WILL BE AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE AS WELL WHEN WE LAUNCH ALL OF OUR FUNDING GUIDELINES.
UM, WE MAKE ALL THAT INFORMATION AVAILABLE WELL IN ADVANCE OF THE APPLICATIONS COMING OPEN SO FOLKS CAN START WORKING ON, UM, PREPARING FOR THOSE APPLICATIONS.
ALL RIGHT, SO THEN WE'RE GONNA DIVE INTO THE CREATIVE SPACE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
SO CREATIVE SPACE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, OR CSAP, AS MANY PEOPLE CALL IT, UM, IS GEARED TOWARDS NONPROFITS OR FOR-PROFIT CREATIVE SPACES THAT ARE, UH, LEASED SPACES.
SO FOR THESE SPACES, THEY MUST HAVE AT LEAST A $60,000 OPERATING BUDGET TO QUALIFY.
AND THE FOUR DIFFERENT GROUPS THAT, UM, WE ARE AWARDING TO ARE FOR LIVE MUSIC VENUES, PERFORMANCE VENUE SLASH THEATER, MUSEUM SLASH ART GALLERY, AND MULTI-USE.
AND WE HAVE DEFINITIONS AVAILABLE FOR ALL OF THOSE SO THAT FOLKS KNOW, UM, WHERE THEY MIGHT FIT IN WITHIN THERE.
AND THE AWARD AMOUNT WILL BE A FLAT $60,000 FOR ALL GRANT AWARDS AND IT WILL BE FOR A ONE YEAR TERM.
SO FOR THE SCORING, FOR THE SCORING CRITERIA FOR CREATIVE SPACE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, WE ARE SCORING IN THE CATEGORY OF COMPELLING NEED, URGENCY, CO-LOCATION, COMMUNITY BENEFIT, AND FIRST TIME AWARDEES.
UM, WHO CAN GET UP TO 10 POINTS FOR BEING FIRST TIME AWARDEES.
AND YOU CAN SEE THE SCORING POINTS ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE SLIDE HERE.
SO A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE APPLICANT ELIGIBILITY FOR CSEP ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS WILL HAVE CREATIVE SPACES THAT MEET THE DEFINITION OF ONE OF THOSE FOUR CATEGORIES THAT WE SHOWED BEFORE.
LIVE MUSIC, VENUE, PERFORMANCE, VENUE SLASH THEATER, MUSEUM SLASH ART GALLERY, OR A MULTI-USE SPACE.
AND I BELIEVE WE HAVE THE DEFINITIONS ON THE NEXT SLIDE, SO WE CAN GET TO THOSE IN A SECOND.
UM, THEY MUST PROVIDE EVIDENCE OF COMMERCIAL PROPERTY SITE CONTROL, INCLUDING AN EXISTING FULLY EXECUTED LEASE OR LEASE OFFER.
THEY, UH, ARE A COMMERCIAL PROPERTY
[01:40:01]
THAT IS IN THE AUSTIN OR ETJ.THEY'RE COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES ZONED APPROPRIATELY FOR THE INTENDED USE OF THE COMMERCIAL CREATIVE SPACE WHERE THEY, UM, ARE WELCOMING THE PUBLIC IN ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.
UM, SO THEY CANNOT BE CITY RUN OR OWNED STATE RUN OR OWNED FEDERALLY RUN OR OWNED FACILITIES.
THEY CANNOT OWN THEIR COMMERCIAL CREATIVE SPACE.
THEY CANNOT BE A FESTIVAL WITHOUT A PERMANENT SPACE.
THEY CANNOT BE AN OFFICE PRACTICE AND PRIVATE WORKSHOP.
THEY CANNOT BE A TEMPORARY SPACE.
UM, AND THEY CANNOT BE A NEW PREVIOUSLY UNOCCUPIED CREATIVE SPACE UNLESS THE APPLICANT WAS RECENTLY DISPLACED.
SO I WON'T READ THE ENTIRETY OF THESE DEFINITIONS.
THEY ARE AVAILABLE IN THE FIRST APPENDIX OF OUR GUIDELINES.
UM, AND THEY WILL BE, YOU KNOW, MARKETED PRETTY HEAVILY AS WE DO OUR WORKSHOPS AND OUR OPEN OFFICE HOURS AS WE WORK WITH PEOPLE TO FIND OUT WHERE THEY FIT INTO THESE PROGRAMS. BUT WE DO HAVE THESE DEFINITIONS FOR LIVE MUSIC VENUE, MULTI-USE MUSEUM, ART GALLERY, PERFORMING VENUE OR THEATER.
UM, AND SO WE JUST WANT TO CALL ATTENTION TO THOSE AS THEY WILL BE OUTLINED, UM, AND PART OF THE VETTING PROCESS AS WE WORK THROUGH THOSE PROGRAMS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
ALRIGHT, UM, BEFORE WE GET INTO THE NEXT STEPS, I DID WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE, UM, ESPECIALLY FOR C SAP AND THE LIVE MUSIC FUND, WE PRESENTED OUR FINAL GUIDELINES TO THE ARTS COMMISSION LAST MONTH AT THE END OF AUGUST AT OUR LAST MEETING.
AND THEY HAD A LOT OF CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK FOR US.
UM, SOME OF WHICH WE WERE ABLE TO EASILY TAKE AND INCORPORATE INTO THE FINAL, FINAL VERSION OF OUR GUIDELINES, PARTICULARLY WHERE IT PERTAINED TO LANGUAGE USE OR, UM, SOME, SOME SPECIFIC DETAILS RELATED TO THRIVE, ELEVATE, AND NEXUS.
UH, WE HAD SOME, SOME EASY WINS THAT WE COULD WORK WITH, UM, ON THOSE PROCESSES OR THE ACTUAL GUIDELINE WORK THAT WE WERE DOING.
THEY ALSO HAD SOME ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK ABOUT C SAP AND THE LIVE MUSIC FUND, WHICH, UM, WE DID NOT DIRECTLY COME IN AND CHANGE ANYTHING EXCEPT WE DID SHORE UP THE DEFINITIONS WE HAD IN OUR GUIDELINES WHERE IT REFERRED TO CREATIVE SPACES.
UM, BECAUSE CREATIVE SPACE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM IS A SPECIFIC PROGRAM AND WE ALSO FUND CREATIVE SPACES THROUGH OTHER PROGRAMS. SO WE DID WORK TO CLEAN UP THE DEFINITIONS TO MAKE THAT MORE CLEAR, UM, AND WHERE WE TALKED ABOUT THOSE IN THE GUIDELINES IN DIFFERENT PLACES.
SO I DID WANNA HIGHLIGHT THAT THERE WERE SOME PIECES OF FEEDBACK THAT WE DID NOT ADDRESS DIRECTLY, AND I JUST WANTED TO BRING THAT TO THE TABLE.
UM, I'M SURE SOME OF YOU HAVE HEARD, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU TUNE INTO THE ARTS COMMISSION, BUT I KNOW YOU'RE IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO THE TWO BIGGEST PIECES OF CHANGES THEY RECOMMENDED THAT YOU DON'T SEE REFLECTED HERE IS THEY WOULD LIKE TO HAVE FISCAL SPONSORSHIP AS AN OPTION.
UM, FOR THE AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND CURRENTLY IS NOT AN OPTION AND HAS NOT PREVIOUSLY BEEN AN OPTION.
AND ADDITIONALLY, THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE, UM, THE CREATIVE SPACE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM BE AVAILABLE FOR FOLKS WHO LEASE, OR SORRY, FOR FOLKS WHO OWN THEIR CREATIVE SPACES, NOT JUST FOR THOSE WHO ARE LEASING CREATIVE SPACE.
SO THOSE TWO PIECES OF FEEDBACK WE RECEIVED FROM ARTS COMMISSION ARE NOT CURRENTLY REFLECTED IN HERE.
WE DID REVIEW OUR FEEDBACK, UM, PRETTY CLOSELY AND WE DIDN'T RECEIVE ANY SPECIFIC FEEDBACK ADDRESSING THOSE TWO THINGS, BUT, UM, OUR COMMISSIONERS FELT REALLY STRONGLY THAT, UH, WE HAD A DUTY TO RECONSIDER IT.
AND SO WE ARE BRINGING THAT HERE FOR CONVERSATION AND, UM, SHOULD IT NOT PROVE SOMETHING THAT WE MAKE A CHANGE FOR THIS TIME, YOU KNOW, WE'RE COMMITTED TO ADDING THAT TO OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PIPELINE AS WE MOVE FORWARD FOR FUTURE YEARS OF EDITING OUR GUIDELINES FOR NOW THE CURRENT NEXT STEPS THAT WE HAVE.
UM, TODAY, SEPTEMBER 8TH, WE'RE PRESENTING THESE FINAL GUIDELINES TO YOU ALL, UM, MOVING FORWARD.
THE NEXT TANGIBLE DEADLINE DATE WE HAVE IS SEPTEMBER 19TH.
YOU'LL SEE US PRESENTING THESE FINAL GUIDELINES TO THE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY COMMITTEE.
THIS COMMITTEE IS A SUBCOMMITTEE OF CITY COUNCIL.
UM, I BELIEVE IT HAS FOUR DIFFERENT COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES ON THERE.
AND WE'VE BEEN THERE BEFORE TO PRESENT, AND THEY'VE ASKED FOR US TO COME BACK WITH OUR FINAL GUIDELINES TOWARDS THE END OF SEPTEMBER.
THIS IS A CHANGE FROM WHAT WE, UM, HAD MESSAGED PREVIOUSLY ABOUT THE DIRECTION FOR THE APPROVAL ON OUR GUIDELINES.
SO INSTEAD OF TAKING OUR GUIDELINES FORWARD TO THE COUNCIL FOR, UM, AS A REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION FORMALLY ON AN AGENDA, WE'LL BE ISSUING A MEMO TO THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL, SHARING THE BRIEFING ON THE CREATIVE RESET PROJECT AS A WHOLE, AS WELL AS SHARING OUR FINAL FUNDING GUIDELINES AND INFORMATION ABOUT OUR APP APPLICATION OPENING SOON.
UM, THIS WAS A PIVOT FROM OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM.
SINCE WE'LL BE PRESENTING TO THE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY COMMITTEE.
WE, UM, WILL ALREADY BE PRESENTING TO COUNCIL FOR THE SECOND TIME.
AND SO OUR GOAL WILL TO BE ABLE TO JUST MOVE THIS FORWARD AND NOT GET A FORMAL APPROVAL THROUGH THE RCA PROCESS, UM, BUT BE AVAILABLE
[01:45:01]
TO TAKE ANY FINAL FEEDBACK THAT THEY HAVE AT THAT TIME.THEN WE WILL MOVE FORWARD WITH OUR APPLICATION TIMELINE.
AND WE HAVE SOME DATES OUTLINED FOR YOU BELOW HERE.
SO SEPTEMBER TO OCTOBER, UM, WE WILL BE OPENING OUR SUBMITTABLE PROFILE, INTAKE FORM AND ELIGIBILITY FORM.
SO THESE ARE THE FORMS THAT WILL GET YOU INTO THE PIPELINE TO GET TO THE APPLICATION.
SO I HAVE A LITTLE, UH, PROCESS MAP HERE FOR YOU.
WE START WITH THE INTAKE FORM, AND THAT'S THE BASICS.
LIKE WHO ARE YOU? ARE YOU A CREATIVE BUSINESS? ARE YOU INDIVIDUAL ARTIST, YOU KNOW, JUST YOUR GENERAL, UM, DATA DEMOGRAPHIC ONBOARDING INFORMATION.
THEN, UH, YOU WILL BE MOVED ONTO THE ELIGIBILITY FORM STAGE WHERE YOU'LL BE ABLE TO PUT IN INFORMATION TO FIND OUT WHICH PROGRAMS YOU ARE IN FACT ELIGIBLE FOR.
AND THEN ONCE YOU'RE SORTED INTO THE ELIGIBILITY CATEGORIES, YOU WILL THEN GET ACCESS TO THE APPLICATIONS THAT YOU'RE ELIGIBLE FOR.
UM, OCTOBER 21ST IS THE DATE THAT WE PLAN FOR THAT THIRD BULLET, THE APPLICATION TO ACTUALLY OPEN.
SO, UM, WE ARE HOPING, YOU KNOW, FROM THE END OF SEPTEMBER UP TO OCTOBER 21ST, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GETTING PEOPLE IN THE DOOR AND THEY'RE DOING THE INTAKE PROCESS, MOVING THROUGH SOME OF THIS.
AND THEN ALSO ATTENDING WORKSHOPS, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE ACCESS TO THE QUESTIONS 'CAUSE THEY'LL ALL BE POSTED ONLINE.
THEY'LL BE ABLE TO WORK WITH OUR STAFF AND GET REALLY PREPARED FOR THAT OCTOBER 21 APPLICATION OPENING.
DECEMBER THE FIRST IS WHEN OUR ELIGIBILITY FORM WILL CLOSE, UM, DUE TO THE PROCESS FOR ELIGIBILITY FORMS, NEEDING SOME TIME TO SORT FOR THE APPLICATION OPENING, WE'RE CONSIDERING THAT OUR HARD DEADLINE.
SO YOU HAVE TO HAVE, UM, THE FIRST TWO STEPS DONE BY DECEMBER 1ST IN ORDER TO FINISH APPLYING FOR THE PROCESS, UH, COMPLETELY BECAUSE YOU'LL NEED TO BE SORTED, UM, AND HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO GET THROUGH THAT ENTIRE PROCESS, PROCESS.
AND THEN IN DECEMBER, THE APPLICATION WILL FORMALLY CLOSE.
LOOKING AHEAD, UM, IT'S OUR GOAL TO HAVE TO BE ABLE TO PLAN OUR LAUNCHES OUT, YOU KNOW, FAR ENOUGH IN ADVANCE THAT WE CAN PLAN STRATEGICALLY.
SO THIS IS OUR CURRENT, UH, PLANNED LAUNCH CALENDAR OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS.
SO, UM, OCTOBER 21ST THIS YEAR YOU WILL SEE ELEVATE AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND, CSAP AND HERITAGE PRESERVATION GRANT OPEN.
IN MARCH, YOU WILL OF 2026, YOU WILL SEE THE NEXUS PROGRAM OPEN, FOLLOWED BY A SUMMER LAUNCH OF ELEVATE THRIVE AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND AND HERITAGE PRESERVATION GRANT, FOLLOWED BY NEXUS, AGAIN, WHICH IS A, A TWICE A YEAR PROGRAM EVERY SIX MONTHS THAT OPENS.
UM, AND THEN AGAIN IN MARCH NEXUS JULY, THE ELEVATE AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND, CSAP HERITAGE, AND THEN AGAIN IN SEPTEMBER.
SO WE HAVE A COUPLE OF PROGRAMS THAT, UM, ARE EVERY OTHER YEAR AND THAT'S THRIVE AND CSAP.
SO THOSE TWO KIND OF SWITCH OFF WHEN WE DO THAT SUMMER LAUNCH.
ALRIGHT, THOSE ARE ALL MY SLIDES.
I AM HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU ALL HAVE.
UM, WE HAVE APPRECIATED YOUR PARTNERSHIP ON THIS JOURNEY, AND WE REALLY HOPE TO HAVE YOUR SUPPORT AS WE MOVE INTO THE APPLICATION PORTION OF THIS PROCESS.
UM, FIRST OF ALL, WELL, I MEAN, I JUST WANT TO GIVE HUGE KUDOS TO ACME TO DIRECT A MEANS TO CDO CANDACE COOPER TO ASSISTANT DIRECTOR MORGAN MESSICK TO OUR MUSIC MANAGER, MUSIC DIVISION MANAGER, ERICA SHAMLEY, HER TEAM.
UM, THIS HAS BEEN A TREMENDOUS EFFORT TO PULL FEEDBACK FROM SO MANY DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDERS AND PUT, COME TO THESE CONCLUSIONS.
UH, TODAY I WANNA THANK ALL THE COMMISSIONERS WHO HAVE ACTIVELY PARTICIPATED OVER MANY, MANY MONTHS, UH, IN, UH, PROVIDING RECOMMENDATIONS AND, UH, KEEPING AN EAR TO THE GROUND, UH, FOR COMMUNITY FEEDBACK AND, UH, PARTICIPATING IN THIS PROCESS.
I WANT TO DEEPLY THANK COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT HAVE, THROUGH VARIOUS FORUM PROVIDED FEEDBACK ON AN ONGOING BASIS AND INTO THIS PROCESS AS WELL.
THANK YOU ACME ALSO FOR KEEPING THE PROCESS TRANSPARENT AND, UH, BEING REALLY OPEN TO FEEDBACK.
UM, AND, AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT I REALLY FELL THROUGH THIS PROCESS ON HOW BROAD AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THE FEEDBACK, YOU KNOW, THE, THE BROAD, THE STAKEHOLDER BASE WAS, WHERE THE FEEDBACK CAME FROM AND, AND HOW OPEN THE DEPARTMENT WAS, EVEN IF THEY HAD TO GO THROUGH MULTIPLE ITERATIONS, WHICH CAN SOMETIMES BE FRUSTRATING.
[01:50:01]
CHANGING, YOU KNOW, THINGS ARE CHANGING OFTEN, BUT IT WAS ALL PART OF THE PROCESS.AND REALLY LISTENING TO THE COMMUNITY AND, AND TAKING THE FEEDBACK IN AND, AND TRYING TO COME UP WITH THE BEST VERSION OF, UH, THESE GUIDELINES AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
UM, I AM REALLY, UM, WHAT REALLY ALSO STANDS OUT TO ME IS HOW THIS IS SUCH A WONDERFUL COMBINATION OF, UH, COMMUNITY VALUES AND ALSO INDUSTRY STANDARDS.
BECAUSE THINGS THAT WE ASKED, UH, STRONGLY FOR, SUCH AS MUSIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS, MUSICIAN ACCOMPLISHMENTS, UM, ECONOMIC IMPACT, LOCAL ECONOMIC IMPACT, ARE WE, YOU KNOW, UH, GIVING BUSINESS TO LOCAL SPACES, TO LOCAL CREATIVES, TO LOCAL MUSIC INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS.
UM, WE DIDN'T, UH, PUT PENALTIES IN THAT WAS TAKEN OUT, WHICH WAS A STRONG FEEDBACK FROM THE MUSIC COMMISSION AND THE COMMUNITY TO NOT DO PENALTIES.
AND IN VIEW OF, UH, YOU KNOW, ALSO THE POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT WE ARE IN.
IT, IT JUST, JUST THE FACT THAT THESE GRANTS ARE STILL BROAD BASED AND INCLUSIVE TO WHERE I THINK IT'LL END UP SUPPORTING A PRETTY BROAD RANGE OF MUSICIANS IN GENRES THE WAY THEY HAVE BEEN DESIGNED, UM, AT THIS POINT, INCLUDING UNDERSERVED, UH, GENRES, ESPECIALLY IN OUR CITY.
SO AGAIN, I JUST WANNA GIVE KUDOS.
I I CAN, I SAW THIS WHOLE PROCESS PAN OUT, UH, PLAY OUT AND, UH, UH, THANK YOU, UH, TO AGAIN, UH, THE CITY STAFF, TO THE COMMISSION AND TO THE COMMUNITY FOR, UH, GETTING US TO THIS POINT.
THE SPLIT OF, UH, THE GRANTS BETWEEN 5,000 AND $20,000, I THINK ALSO REALLY CREATES, UH, UH, MORE BROAD ACCESS WHILE ALSO HAVING, UH, YOU KNOW, SOME MEANINGFUL IMPACT FOR THE INDIVIDUALS OR, OR ENTITIES THAT GET THE GRANTS.
UH, SO THANK YOU AGAIN FOR, UM, ALL THE WORK.
I HAVE, UH, MAYBE A FEW SPECIFIC LINE ITEMS INCLUDING, UH, THE ONE THAT, UH, UH, MORGAN BROUGHT UP FROM THE ARTS COMMUNITY.
BUT, UH, I'LL FIRST STEAL TO THE, UH, COMMISSION FOR FURTHER COMMENT OR QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU FOR TAKING TIME FOR THIS TODAY.
UM, SHOULD I ADDRESS MY QUESTION TO MORGAN OR ERICA, OR IT DOESN'T MATTER? MM-HMM
YOU CAN JUST ASK BROADLY AND IF I CAN'T TACKLE IT, I KNOW ERICA.
UM, AS FAR AS THE APPLICATION TIMELINE IS CONCERNED, UM, UH, I'M HAPPY TO SEE IN OCTOBER FOR, UH, AN APPLICATION WHO'S OPENING AND THEN THE ELIGIBILITY AND APPLICATION FORM DEADLINES.
UM, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA ON A TIMEFRAME FOR DISTRIBUTION? UH, AFTER OCTOBER? YEAH.
SO OUR, OUR HOPE IS THAT FUNDING CAN GO OUT FEBRUARY AND MARCH.
UM, SO WE, IT REALLY JUST DEPENDS ON THE VOLUME OF APPLICATIONS THAT WE RECEIVE.
SO WE ARE, WE'RE GE WE'RE ESTIMATING CONSERVATIVELY LIKE BY MARCH IS WHAT I'VE BEEN SAYING.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE HOPEFUL THAT PERHAPS WE COULD GET MONEY OUT THE DOOR IN FEBRUARY, BUT, UM, IT JUST DEPENDS.
AND OUR LAST ROUND OF LIVE MUSIC FUND, WE RECEIVED OVER A THOUSAND APPLICATIONS, AND THAT'S ONE OF FIVE PROGRAMS THAT'S LAUNCHING IN OCTOBER.
SO WE'RE, UM, WE'RE TRYING TO NOT OVER PROMISE, SO TENTATIVELY BY MARCH.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER, UM, STIPULATIONS OR RESIDUAL CONSEQUENCES THAT WOULD DELAY DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS ASIDE FROM THE AMOUNT OF A APPLICANTS? UM, SO, SO GETTING FOLKS UNDER CONTRACT, YOU KNOW, WE, WE GIVE THEM DEADLINES AND SOMETIMES WE DO HAVE DIFFICULTY CONNECTING WITH THEIR BANK ACCOUNT INITIALLY TO DO LIKE AN INITIAL DEPOSIT.
SO THERE, THERE CAN BE SOME TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES FOR INDIVIDUALS AS A WHOLE.
BUT GLOBALLY, NO, THERE, THERE ARE NO THINGS ON THE HORIZON THAT I PREDICT WOULD DELAY IT AS A WHOLE.
BUT WE, WE DO ALWAYS HAVE TECHNICAL ISSUES, YOU KNOW, WITH THE INDIVIDUALS HERE AND THERE.
UM, SOMETIMES DEPENDING ON SNAGS AND COMMUNICATION OR SNAGS WITH THEIR BANK, THINGS LIKE THAT.
YEAH, NO, I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND THAT.
UM, I THINK I WAS MORE, I APOLOGIZE MORE SPECIFICALLY.
UH, ANY CHANGES TOWARDS, UM, PROCESS OF APPROVAL, UH, AS FAR AS MEMO TO THE MAYOR COUNCIL? I SEE.
OR WHETHER IT IS A VOTE OR HOW MANY TIMES THAT NEEDS TO GO BACK AND FORTH TO FURTHER DELAY WHAT THE APPLICATION PROCESS AND DISTRIBUTION LOOKS LIKE.
UM, WE ANTICIPATE NO MORE MAJOR CHANGES.
UM, WE HAVE THE SUPPORT OF OUR, OUR LEADERSHIP AT THE CITY MANAGER LEVEL TO MOVE FORWARD ON THE TRACK THAT WE'VE BEEN PUT ON, UM, WHERE WE'RE ISSUING THIS MEMO WITH THESE FINAL PRESENTATIONS THAT WE'RE DOING STARTING WITH TODAY.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE WRAPPING UP OUR ROADSHOW, UM, AND THEY SHOULD BE FINAL, SOON AND AVAILABLE ONLINE.
I DON'T ANTICIPATE ANY OTHER HANGUPS.
UM, AND THEN THE LAST PART OF MY QUESTION IS, I UNDERSTAND, UH, THE PUSH
[01:55:01]
FOR OCTOBER FOR THE NEXT YEAR AND THEN ALSO AGAIN IN JULY WITH THE NEXT FIVE JUST TO KIND OF CATCH UP TO, TO CREATE A MUCH MORE, UM, REGULAR CONSISTENT, UH, UH, SCHEDULE OF EXPECTATION FOR WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.UM, AS FAR AS THAT TIMELINE IS CONCERNED, WHAT WOULD THE DISTRIBUTION LOOK LIKE? DOES THAT GO BACK TO WHAT WAS PREVIOUSLY AS FAR AS THE DISTRIBUTION DEADLINE FOR JULY? HAVE Y'ALL THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE? MM-HMM.
YEAH, WE'VE KICKED OFF CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THAT.
ERICA AND I WERE JUST DISCUSSING THAT TODAY.
SO, UM, THE WAY OUR MONEY WORKS, WE DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO FUNDING UNTIL A NEW FISCAL YEAR, WHICH IS OCTOBER 1ST, RIGHT? SO IF WE OPEN AN APPLICATION IN JULY, UM, WE CAN EXTEND THE, THE APPLICATION WINDOW.
SO IN YEARS PAST, WE'VE BEEN A LITTLE CRUNCHED ON OUR APPLICATION TIME, AND SO THE ACTUAL APPLICATION MIGHT ONLY BE OPEN FOUR OR SIX WEEKS, BUT IF WE OPEN IN JULY AND WE KNOW WE ACTUALLY WON'T HAVE FUNDING UNTIL OCTOBER, THAT'S WHEN THE MONEY IS RELEASED TO US, THAT GIVES US A LONGER RUNWAY TO KEEP THOSE APPLICATIONS OPEN.
UM, SO WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO SPEED UP WHEN MONEY WILL ACTUALLY GET OUT THE DOOR.
ERICA MIGHT ACTUALLY HAVE A BETTER IDEA OF THE TIMING IF, IF WE ARE READY TO GO, UM, LIKE OCTOBER ONE.
ERICA, DO YOU, DO YOU KNOW WHEN WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO DISTRIBUTE FUNDS? SO THE WAY THIS WORKS IS EVERY YEAR WITH THE LONG CENTER, WE HAVE AN AMENDMENT THAT ENCUMBERS, IT'S A VERY CITY WORD, THE BUDGET THAT WAS APPROVED BY COUNCIL DURING THE JUNE JULY PROCESS.
SO THOSE FUNDS BECOME AVAILABLE OCTOBER 1ST, BUT WE HAVE TO GET THE AMENDMENT SIGNED TO, UH, LIKE TO, YOU KNOW, FIGURE OUT HOW THOSE FUNDS ARE SPENT WITH A LONG CENTER, OUR THIRD PARTY WHO DISTRIBUTES IT FOR US.
AND SO, BUT WE'RE GONNA PREP THAT IN PLENTY OF TIME WHERE THE AMENDMENT GETS SIGNED AS SOON AS OCTOBER 1ST ROLLS AROUND, WE GET THE AMENDMENT FINALIZED, SIGNED, AND THEN WE'RE GOOD TO GO ON ALL THE OTHER PROCESSES TO GET FOLKS PAID.
SO WHAT WE ANTICIPATE, THIS IS A MUCH BETTER TIME OF YEAR FOR FOLKS.
JULY, AUGUST, KEEP THE APPLICATIONS OPEN, AND THEN IN SEPTEMBER THAT GIVES US THE PANEL PROCESS, ALL OF THE REVIEWS HAPPENING SEPTEMBER AND LET'S TRY TO GET THAT DONE BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS ARE DONE.
AND THEN BY THAT POINT, THE AMENDMENT'S DONE, WE CAN USE THE FUNDS AND WE CAN START ROLLING FUNDS OUT HOPEFULLY BY THE HOLIDAYS.
YOU KNOW, AND SO THIS IS A MUCH BETTER TIMING, NOT ONLY FOR OUR COMMUNITY TO BE ABLE TO FILL OUT THEIR APPLICATIONS JULY, AUGUST, UH, BUT ALSO TO GET OUR PANEL PROCESSES DONE IN A TIMELY MANNER.
WE'RE NOT PUTTING PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, OUT DURING THE HOLIDAY SEASON AND THEN WE CAN GET MONEY TO PEOPLE WHEN THEY REALLY, TRULY NEED IT BY THE END OF THE YEAR.
UM, MY LAST PART TO THAT QUESTION IS, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
UM, IS THAT, WILL THIS BE SOMETHING THAT'S, UM, PUBLIC AND A PART OF, UM, THE, UH, UM, APPLICATION PROCESS? WILL THERE BE A HARD DEADLINE FOR DISTRIBUTION OR IS IT MORE OF A, AS LONG AS EVERYTHING IS IN PLACE, WE HOPE THAT WE CAN GET IT TO YOU BY THIS DATE? IT'S ALWAYS, ONCE THE MONEY IS AVAILABLE TO US, IT'S UPON US TO GET ALL THE PROCESSES DONE IN ORDER TO GET THE MONEY OUT.
SO THERE ISN'T LIKE A REQUIREMENT THAT IT HAS TO BE SPENT IN A CERTAIN TIME.
IT'S BEEN APPROVED BY COUNCIL, IT'S BEEN ENCUMBERED BY THE BUDGET, BY OUR DEPARTMENTS.
THAT'S WHY WE ARE ABLE TO TAKE OUR 2025 FUNDS, WHICH WE HAVEN'T SPENT YET, COMBINE THEM WITH 2026.
WE STILL HAVE THAT FLEXIBILITY TO COMBINE THOSE, UH, SO THAT WE HAVE A BIGGER BUDGET, YOU KNOW, FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR AND NEXT.
'CAUSE WE'RE SPLITTING OUR 25 BUDGET OVER THE NEXT TWO FISCAL YEARS.
SO WE JUST, UM, IT'S AVAILABLE TO US.
WE JUST RUN DOWN THOSE BUDGETS UNTIL THEY'RE GONE AND GO TO THE NEXT ONE.
UM, AND THEN MY LAST PART, 'CAUSE I'M SURE A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS, I WAS JUST NOW NOTICING THAT, UM, WHILE, UH, ELEVATE C, SAP, THE, UM, A LMF AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION ARE DUE FOR OCTOBER, UH, I SEE THAT THRIVE ISN'T ADDED INTO THAT AND, AND DOESN'T BECOME AVAILABLE INTO JULY.
WAS THERE ANY SPECIFIC REASONING BEHIND THAT? I'M SURE THERE WAS.
THERE'S, IT'S A TWO YEAR PROGRAM AND WE ARE IN YEAR TWO RIGHT NOW.
OF THE LAST, SO JUST WITH THE SAME TIMEFRAME.
THIS IS LOVELY AND I APPRECIATE MORGAN, THE WORK, UH, KIMBERLY AND ERICA, UH, ESPECIALLY FOR LISTENING TO LAST MINUTE RECOMMENDATIONS.
UH, UM, IT'S VERY MUCH SO APPRECIATED.
UM, OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? GREAT.
UM, I WOULD, UM, I DEFINITELY WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE, UH, AT LEAST THE TWO OF THE MAIN POINTS THAT I HEARD COMING OUT OF THE ARTS COMMISSION.
UM, ONE WAS AROUND CSAP AND IT NOT BEING AVAILABLE TO OWNER OPERATED VENUES.
[02:00:01]
UH, AND THEN THE SECOND, UH, WAS AROUND THE LIVE MUSIC FUND ITSELF, WHERE WITHIN THE LIVE MUSIC FUND, THE CONCEPT OF HAVING AN OPTIONAL FISCAL SPONSOR THAT, UH, EXISTS ON THE ARTS SIDE, UH, DOESN'T EXIST HERE.UM, IT IS, UH, DEFINITELY SOMETHING I, I, I HEARD MORGAN SAY THAT IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE COULD INCLUDE IN SURVEYS.
MY UNDERSTANDING RIGHT NOW IS THERE'S NOT BEEN ANY SPECIFIC ASK FROM THE MUSIC COMMUNITY TO HAVE ANYTHING LIKE THIS AVAILABLE.
UH, BUT THE POINT THAT WAS ALSO BROUGHT UP WAS WOULD, IS IT BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE AWARENESS THAT SOMETHING LIKE THIS EXISTS? RIGHT.
SO I THINK THAT IS TO BE CONSIDERED.
UH, I FUNDAMENTALLY, UM, HAVE, UH, AN OPINION THAT THE COMMERCIAL MUSIC INDUSTRY IS DIFFERENT FROM THE CULTURAL ARTS.
THERE WAS, UH, HISTORICALLY REASONS WHY, UH, THERE WAS AN ASK TO BRING FUNDS SEPARATELY INTO THE COMMERCIAL MUSIC INDUSTRY.
UH, WE ARE NOT SET UP IN THE SAME WAY WITHIN THE ECOSYSTEM OR WITH THE SAME EXACT NEEDS.
UH, SO, AND I FEEL THAT THAT'S THE REASON IT HAS NOT PARTICULARLY COME UP WITHIN OUR INDUSTRY, UH, AND ASK FOR A FISCAL SPONSOR WITHIN THIS GRANTS.
BUT WE SHOULD DEFINITELY, UH, GET MORE COMMUNITY FEEDBACK ON THIS FRONT, UH, AS WE MAKE THEM AWARE THAT SOMETHING LIKE THIS COULD BE POSSIBLE.
UM, AND DEFINITELY, UH, LOOK AT IT, UH, IN THE FUTURE YEARS, UH, WOULD BE WHERE I STAND ON IT.
UH, AND ALSO IF WE COULD ADDRESS, UH, THE ISSUE AROUND THE OWNER OPERATOR, UM, ELIGIBILITY A BIT MORE, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
SO I'M HAPPY TO EXPLAIN WHY OWNED SPACES ARE PROHIBITED FROM THE CREATIVE SPACE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
THIS WAS ACTUALLY ORIGINAL DIRECTION FROM MAYOR AND COUNCIL BACK IN 20 17, 20 16.
WE FIRST STARTED THIS PROGRAM AS ASAP, WHICH WAS THE ARTS SPACE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
AND THEN FOR-PROFITS WERE ADDED TO CREATE THE CREATIVE SPACE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
THE POINT OF IT IS A, UH, GRANT THAT HELPS PEOPLE WHO ARE IMMEDIATELY, YOU KNOW, COULD LOSE THEIR SPACE AND WHO IS MORE LIKELY TO LOSE THEIR SPACE.
IF YOU OWN YOUR SPACE, YOU DON'T GET A NOTIFICATION THAT YOU NEED TO BE OUT IN 30 DAYS.
YOU ALSO CAN USE YOUR SPACE TO LEVERAGE FOR FINANCING AND OTHER FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE BECAUSE YOU OWN A MAJOR ASSET.
TO HAVE THEM COMPETE WITH LEASED SPACES THAT ARE MOST AT RISK.
THAT WAS THE INTENT OF COUNSEL, WAS TO PROVIDE A PROGRAM TO THOSE MOST AT RISK.
THAT'S WHY YOU SEE THE COMPELLING NEED AND THE URGENCY COMPONENTS OF THAT SCORING IS TO PROVIDE IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE TO PEOPLE WHO NEED IT MOST.
SO THIS GRANT CAN EITHER BE USED FOR, YOU KNOW, LEASEHOLD IMPROVEMENTS SO THAT YOU CAN GET MORE PEOPLE IN YOUR SPACE, SELL MORE TICKETS.
IT CAN BE USED FOR, UM, ALSO FOR IF YOU, YOU GET, IF, IF YOU DO HEAR FROM YOUR LANDLORD THAT YOU'VE GOT 30 DAYS TO GET OUT, THIS GRANT WILL PAY FOR MOVING EXPENSES, DEPOSITS, YOU CAN EVEN GET REIMBURSED.
YOU ARE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR THIS PROGRAM IF YOU'VE LOST YOUR SPACE RECENTLY TO, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE YOU STILL HAVE ALL OF THAT CAPACITY AND ASSETS AND YOU JUST ARE STILL LOOKING FOR A NEW SPACE.
THIS GRANT CAN HELP WITH THAT TOO, TO REQUIRE THAT SOMEONE WHO OWNS THEIR SPACE TO COMPETE WITH, UH, ANOTHER GROUP THAT IS MUCH DIFFERENT.
RISK LEVEL IS JUST NOT EQUITABLE.
AND IT WASN'T THE INTENT OF WHY COUNCIL ADDED MORE FUNDS TO THIS PROGRAM.
UM, QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, COMMISSIONERS, COMMISSIONER, ADA DAWNED ON ME A A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT QUESTION FROM THAT LAST ONE.
UM, ARE THERE ANY, UM, INTERNAL GOALS THAT WE OR YOU ALL HAVE IN TERMS OF THE NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS THAT WE WANT TO RECEIVE? AND THEN ALSO JUST WHAT DOES THE MARKETING PLAN LOOK LIKE? UM, YEAH, YEAH.
I WAS JUST GONNA SAY, UM, SO WE'RE STILL WORKING ON, SO WE DO ALWAYS SET, UM, KIND OF INTERNAL KPIS, LIKE WHAT DOES SUCCESS LOOK LIKE FOR THE ROLLOUT OF THESE GRANTS? UM, WE HAVE BEEN IN THE WEEDS ON A NUMBER, A NUMBER OF THINGS.
UM, AND UNFORTUNATELY WE DON'T HAVE A DATA STAFFER IN THIS VERSION OF OUR NEW DEPARTMENT, WHICH IS SOMETHING WE'RE USED TO HAVING.
SO WE'RE KIND OF HAVING TO DO A LOT OF THAT, UM, ALL THE LEGWORK BY OURSELVES.
SO WE HAVEN'T QUITE GOT THERE YET.
WE'RE TRYING TO GET THROUGH THE, THE APPROVAL PROCESS ON OUR GUIDELINES.
UM, SO THAT'S SOMETHING I THINK WE CAN REPORT BACK ON AT THE NEXT MEETING TO JUST KIND OF DAYLIGHT, LIKE, HERE'S WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR FOR SUCCESS.
AND AS FAR AS THE MARKETING ROLLOUT, WE THEN WORKING WITH, UM, CHIEF INTER, UM, INTERIM CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER, CANDACE COOPER.
[02:05:01]
BEEN BUILDING A MARKETING PLAN WITH HER.UM, WE ALSO DO NOT HAVE A FULL-TIME DEDICATED MARKETING STAFFER ON OUR STAFF.
UM, SO WE ARE WORKING THROUGH, YOU KNOW, COLLABORATING INTERNALLY TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
UM, AND WE'RE WITH OUR PARTNERS AT THE LONG CENTER TO AMPLIFY WHAT WE'RE DOING.
SO WE'RE BUILDING THE PLAN NOW.
ERICA AND HER TEAM HAVE BEEN WORKING ON WEBSITE PAGE UPDATES, UM, BECAUSE THAT'S, YOU KNOW, WHERE EVERYBODY WILL GENERALLY FIND INFORMATION.
SO WE'RE DOING OUR DIGITAL PRESENCE, AND THEN WE'RE GONNA BE ROLLING OUT ON SOCIAL, UM, AND BEYOND.
WE'RE LOOKING TO HIRE AN AD COMPANY TO HELP US DO SOME ADS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
BUT WE HAVEN'T, UM, SOLIDIFIED THAT TODAY.
YEAH, AND WHAT'S GREAT ABOUT THE WORK WE'VE DONE SO FAR IN THE LAST COUPLE YEARS IS THAT WE DO HAVE PRETTY GOOD TEMPLATES FOR, YOU KNOW, A MARKETING PLAN.
SO WE'RE TAKING LAST YEAR'S PLANS AND UPDATING THEM WITH, UM, CANDACE COOPER TO, YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE EXPANDING, UH, THE OPPORTUNITY ACROSS AUSTIN.
THAT'S ONE THING THAT I KNOW THAT OUR DIRECTOR AND, UM, OUR LEADERSHIP WOULD LIKE TO SEE, OF COURSE, IS ALWAYS A PERCENTAGE, UM, YOU KNOW, UPTICK IN THE NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS THAT ARE ELIGIBLE COMING INTO THE SYSTEM.
AND SO, OF COURSE, WE WANNA SEE THAT.
UNFORTUNATELY, WE STILL DON'T, WE, WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH FUNDS FOR EVERYBODY.
EVEN WITH COMBINING THE 25, THE 2025 AND 2026 FUNDS, IT'S NOT GONNA BE ENOUGH MONEY.
UM, AND SO THERE'S ALWAYS A LIST OF DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD.
THE MORE PEOPLE THAT COME INTO THE SYSTEM, THE MORE PEOPLE THAT ARE GONNA BE DISAPPOINTED THAT THEY DON'T GET FUNDED.
BUT IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE DO THAT BECAUSE WE NEED TO KNOW WHAT THE NEED IS IN AUSTIN.
UM, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE THE GOAL IS, IT'S NOT GONNA BE JUST HOT FUNDS.
THE GOAL IS TO START RAISING FUNDS ELSEWHERE TO START FILLING THE GAP THAT WE JUST CAN'T FILL WITH JUST HOS HOT FUNDS.
UM, I CHAIR COMMISSIONER STRICKLAND.
UM, THANK YOU CHAIRMAN CHARLIE.
UM, THE, I I'VE GOT MULTIPLE QUESTIONS, BUT, UH, I'LL START WITH, UH, THE, THE, NOT THE DEPARTMENT ORDER, I'M SORRY, BUT THE, THE AMENDMENT THAT THE FOR FOR THE, FOR THE BUDGET FOR THE NEW YEAR.
UM, CURRENTLY THE LONG CENTER IS COSTING US $1.8 MILLION FOR THE MANAGING OF, UM, ALL OF THE PROGRAMS THAT ARE, UM, THAT ACME IS NOW HANDLING.
IS THAT GO, IS THAT, UH, WILL THAT AMENDMENT INCUR LIKE AN INCREASE IN THEIR OPERATING COSTS FOR MANAGING THE FUNDS GOING FORWARD IN 26? OR IS THAT OKAY.
SO WHAT WE'RE FORTUNATE WITH IS THAT WE ARE COMBINING ALSO THOSE ADMINISTRATIVE FEES FROM 2025.
WITH THE 2026 ALLOCATIONS WE'LL HAVE.
SO THE APPLICATIONS WE'RE BUILDING RIGHT NOW ARE BEING BUILT WITH 20, 25 FUNDS.
AND WHAT'S GREAT ABOUT HAVING THESE NEW ACME GUIDELINES IS THAT THEY'RE IN PLACE FOR THREE YEARS.
SO ALL OF THE WORK WE'RE DOING NOW TO BUILD OUT THE INTAKE FORM TO THE ELIGIBILITY FORM, TO THE APPLICATION FORM FOR EACH PROGRAM WILL BE IN PLACE FOR THREE YEARS.
SO YOU'RE GONNA SEE A DRAMATIC DECREASE IN ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS AS FAR AS BUILDING OUT THE APPLICATIONS.
WHERE WE'LL SEE AN INCREASE IS THE FACT THAT WE'RE GONNA GET MORE APPLICANTS AND THE FACT THAT WE'RE GOING TO GET MORE AWARDEES.
'CAUSE WE DID COMBINE THE BUDGETS FROM LAST YEAR WITH THIS YEAR.
SO THAT MEANS MORE AWARDEES AND THERE WILL BE MORE ADMINISTRATIVE FEES ASSOCIATED WITH EACH AWARDEE, YOU KNOW, GETTING THEIR GRANT AGREEMENT IN PLACE, YOU KNOW, TESTING THEIR BANKING, GETTING THOSE PAYMENTS, UH, DONE AS WELL AS ALL OF THE REPORTING REQUIRED OF THE LONG CENTER TO REPORT ALL OF THIS DATA TO THE CITY.
SO I THINK WE WILL SEE A DECREASE, AND EVEN IF OUR, ONCE OUR GUIDELINES ARE UPDATED IN THREE YEARS, WE NOW HAVE THIS REALLY STABLE INTAKE PROCESS AND SYSTEM WHERE IT'S JUST A MATTER OF UPDATING QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.
IT WON'T BE A MATTER OF CREATING THIS MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURE OF CODE TO CREATE THE, THE ENTIRE PROCESS.
SO I THINK THE MOST EXPENSIVE PART OF THAT IS KIND OF BEHIND US MM-HMM
AND SO THIS NEXT AMENDMENT WILL BE THE REMAINING ADMIN FEES TO FINISH THE BUILD OUT, AND THEN TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE ADDITIONAL AWARDEES THAT WEREN'T TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT IN 2025.
AND, BUT IT WON'T BE AS HIGH AS LAST YEAR BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THAT WE'RE KIND OF SHARING THE COST ACROSS TWO FISCAL YEARS.
UM, AND SO I LOOK FORWARD TO KIND OF WHAT THE, YOU KNOW, ANALYZING HOW THE BUDGET LOOKS AS WE GO FORWARD INTO YEAR THREE OF, YOU KNOW, THE DECREASE IN THE ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS, AT LEAST ON THE, ON THE APPLICATION BUILD OUT TO.
UM, AND THEN WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE IN THE NEXT THREE YEARS, UH, WITH A MUCH BETTER PROCESS FOR ENGAGEMENT, UPDATING THESE GUIDELINES, YOU KNOW? 'CAUSE RIGHT NOW WHAT WE'RE ABLE TO DO IS, AS, UH, THE CHAIR SAID, YOU KNOW, START PUTTING ITEMS ON THE NEXT ENGAGEMENT, YOU KNOW, DOCKET OF WHAT
[02:10:01]
IT IS THAT WE WANNA TALK ABOUT FOR THE NEXT TIME.BUT KEEP IN MIND ANY OF THOSE CHANGES CAN'T HAPPEN UNTIL FISCAL YEAR 2028.
NEXT QUESTION IS, UH, CAN WE TALK MORE ABOUT THIS FISCAL SPONSORSHIP THING? IT'S, UH, INTERESTING TO SAY THE LEAST.
UM, CAN WE, IS IS THERE MORE EXPOSITION ON THAT OR, I'M HAPPY TO, FOR THE WAY IT'S USED ON THE ART SIDE.
UM, YOU KNOW, TYPICALLY FISCAL SPONSORSHIP IS A, UM, A CAPACITY BUILDING DEVICE FOR ORGANIZATIONS EVENTUALLY BECOMING NONPROFITS.
AND SO IT'S KIND OF AN IN-BETWEEN PHASE BETWEEN TO GET THERE.
SO YOU NOT MAYBE DON'T QUITE HAVE ALL THE CAPACITY YET, OR THE BANK ACCOUNT AND ALL THE THINGS REQUIRED BY THE IRS, BUT YOU ALMOST DO.
AND SO NOT ONLY IS IT, IT'S A CAPACITY BUILDING EXERCISE FOR THE SPONSORED PROJECT TO KIND OF GET THAT SUPPORT FROM A NONPROFIT.
AND THE GOAL HAS BEEN, WHEN IT COMES TO FISCAL SPONSORS TO HELP, UM, THESE APPLICANTS ON THE ROAD TO BECOMING A NONPROFIT WITH THE IRS.
THAT'S A VERY DIFFERENT KIND OF MINDSET THAN WHAT WE'RE USED TO IN THE COMMERCIAL INDUSTRY, WHICH IS IF YOU EARN COMPENSATION, AND THAT COULD BE IN THE FORM OF A GRANT.
I MEAN, THAT'S JUST LIKE OTHER COMPENSATION AS PART OF JUST THE REGULAR BUSINESS OF THE MUSIC INDUSTRY THAT'S TAKEN CARE OF, YOU KNOW, AT THE END OF THE YEAR WITH YOUR ACCOUNTANT BASED ON YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS AND ALL THE THINGS OF HOW YOU WANNA HANDLE THAT.
SO THIS IS, UM, A DIFFERENT WAY OF DOING IT THAT AN INDIVIDUAL ARTIST COULD DO THAT, WHERE THE NONPROFIT TAKES IN ALL THE FUNDS AND TAKES CARE OF ALL OF THAT.
AND THEN THE TAX IS, YOU KNOW, THE TAX ISSUE IS DEALT WITH BECAUSE IT'S A NONPROFIT TAKING IN THE FUNDS.
UM, BUT THE GOAL TRULY OF FISCAL SPONSORS IS TO GET PEOPLE ONTO THE ROAD OF THAT NONPROFIT, YOU KNOW, SUSTAINABILITY
AND SO IT'S, WE, WE HAD, I THINK MAYBE OUT OF THE ALMOST 3000, UH, PIECES OF FEEDBACK WE'VE RECEIVED OVER THE LAST, YOU KNOW, FEW MONTHS.
BUT IN COMBINATION WITH WHAT WE RECEIVED IN THE PAST, WE HAD ONE COMMENT IN FAVOR OF A FISCAL SPONSORSHIP ON THE MUSIC SIDE.
MY WORRY IS, IS THAT OUR COMMUNITY DOESN'T UNDERSTAND IT.
WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF NONPROFITS THAT CAN FACILITATE IT.
IT WOULD BE, I, I WORRY ABOUT IT REALLY HURTING FOLKS BECAUSE THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND IT.
AND, UM, AND SO I WOULD RATHER LIKE, WHAT, AND THIS WAS KIND OF WHY DID THE LIVE MUSIC FUND FORM? IT WAS TO FOCUS ON BUILDING THE MUSIC INDUSTRY IN AUSTIN MM-HMM
AND PART OF THAT IS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, CAPACITY BUILDING, AND HOW TO USE THESE FUNDS TO BUILD YOUR BUSINESS.
AND SO TO BRING IN A FISCAL SPONSOR COMPONENT TO THAT WORRIES ME, HONESTLY.
AND, AND IF I MAY ADD ON TO THAT TOO, I'LL, I'LL SAY, YOU KNOW, INDIVIDUALS MIGHT HAVE A NUMBER OF REASONS WHY THEY SELECT TO, TO CHOOSE A FISCAL SPONSORSHIP.
AND, AND I'LL SAY LIKE A POPULAR, UM, I, I FEEL LIKE A POPULAR OPINION OF WHY PEOPLE THINK THAT THIS IS A VALUE TO THE MUSIC COMMUNITY WOULD BE THAT IT'S, IT'S AN AGENT WHO IS USED TO FILING THE PAPERWORK, WHO CAN KIND OF HANDLE A LOT OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE BURDEN.
UM, OFTENTIMES A FISCAL SPONSOR WILL DO THIS WORK IN EXCHANGE FOR A CUT OF MONEY.
I THINK OUR FISCAL SPONSOR, LIKE BEST PRACTICES IS LIKE UP TO 10%.
THERE, THERE ARE ORGANIZATIONS IN THE COMMUNITY THAT DO THE SERVICE FOR FREE FOR SOME FOLKS.
UM, BUT GENERALLY IT'S LIKE A FEE FOR SERVICE, UH, MODEL.
SO THEY GET A SLICE OF, OF THE AWARD THAT YOU'RE RECEIVING.
UM, BUT PEOPLE HAVE A LOT OF DIFFERENT REASONS WHY THEY MIGHT CHOOSE TO DO IT.
I I DO THINK THERE IS SOME EDUCATION TO PUT OUT THERE FOR PEOPLE 'CAUSE TO NAGA VALLEY'S, UH, TO COMMISSIONER CHARLA'S POINT.
UM, IF, IF PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT IT, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S HARD TO MAKE AN INFORMED CHOICE.
AND FOR PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY LIKE TRO PERHAPS THEY DIDN'T BRING IT UP BECAUSE THEY WEREN'T EDUCATED ABOUT IT.
AND WE CAN CERTAINLY SPEND SOME TIME DOING THAT OVER THE NEXT COUPLE YEARS, UM, IF THAT'S A GOOD PLACE FOR US TO BE TOO.
UM, YES, I MEAN THE, THE, JUST ON THE FISCAL SPONSORSHIP THING ALONE, IT'S, I THINK THE PROBLEM IS FOR ONE, UM, I CAN, I MEAN, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR MESSAGE, YOU'RE, YOU'RE, YOU'RE, YOU'RE CORRECT IN THAT, I MEAN, THEY WOULD PROBABLY TAKE A FEE, YOU KNOW, FOR, FOR THOSE SERVICES.
BUT THEN, UM, IF IT'S, IF, IF THEY GET THE MONEY, IF, I MEAN, IF THE MONEY IS TRANSFERRED OVER TO THAT PERSON'S BANK ACCOUNT OR WHATEVER, THEN THEY'RE IMMEDIATELY TAXED ON IT.
AND SO THEY'RE JUST, YOU KNOW, OUT MONEY ON TOP OF BEING OUT ON MONEY, PAYING TAXES AND FEES ON INSTEAD OF JUST GETTING THE GRANT HANDLING IT THEMSELVES.
UH, THE OTHER THING THAT I DO, UM, AND THIS IS JUST FOR, UM, SOME, SOME, I DID SOME BATHROOM READING AND,
[02:15:01]
UH, THIS WAS AFTER THE VISITORS IMPACT TASK FORCE, THE VITB, AND THEN IT WAS BEFORE THE LIVE MUSIC FUND.THERE WAS CHAKA ACTUALLY, UM, WANTED THE MONEY TO GO TO A BLACK LIVE MUSIC FUND.
AND THEN THAT'S WHEN YOU PROBABLY REMEMBER THIS, EVERYBODY JUST LOST IT.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAPPENED, THIS IS, UM, ON, ON ON THE EQ AUSTIN SIDE OF THINGS, WHICH IS ONE OF THE PLAYERS IN TOWN, UM, FRANK RODRIGUEZ WAS ACTUALLY THE CHAIR OF THAT ORGANIZATION.
HE WAS ALSO WORKING FOR THE MAYOR'S OFFICE AT THE TIME.
AND HE HAD THE IDEA OF BASICALLY USING THAT MONEY FOR, THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE FOR THE LIVE MUSIC FUND, UH, TO, UH, START BASICALLY THE ALANA PLAN, UH, THE AFRICAN AMERICAN, LATINO AND ASIAN AMERICAN, UM, PLAN, NATIVE AMERICAN, ASIAN AMERICAN PLAN OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
AND BASICALLY, UH, EQS WAS GONNA BE A VEHICLE FOR THAT MONEY TO JUST KIND OF FILTER THROUGH, AND THEN IT WAS GONNA PASS THROUGH THE MAC AND THEN IT WAS GONNA TRICKLE DOWN TO THESE OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.
AND ATLER SHUT THAT DOWN LIKE RIGHT AWAY.
UM, SO I, I, I JUST, I THINK THAT WE NEED TO REALLY SERIOUSLY THINK ABOUT IF WE'RE GOING TO ALLOW FOR SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO HAPPEN, AND IF WE SHOULD, I'M KIND OF, I, I AGREE WITH ERICA ON THIS.
I THINK IT'S, UM, DANGEROUS TO, UH, TO, TO, TO, FOR, FOR, I, I JUST DON'T, I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD BE MESSING WITH THAT AT ALL.
UM, AND COMMISSIONER STRICTLY MAKES A GREAT POINT, IS THAT JUST BECAUSE IF IT PASSES THROUGH A NONPROFIT DOESN'T MEAN THAT WHEN IT COMES BACK TO THE ARTIST AS A CHECK FROM THE NONPROFIT, YOU STILL NEED TO TALK TO YOUR ACCOUNTANT ABOUT THE TAX LIABILITY.
SO WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE? AND IT ALSO DOESN'T REPRESENT THE CAPACITY BUILDING THAT COUNCIL WANTED TO SEE FOR OUR MUSIC COMMUNITY WITH THE LIVE MUSIC FUND, WHICH WAS BUSINESS BUILDING AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THE EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR INDUSTRY HERE IN AUSTIN.
UH, LAST QUESTION, AND, AND I'LL, AND I'LL TURN IT OVER.
I, I, THERE'S, UH, COMMISSIONER CARVALHO AND, AND CHAIRMAN CHARLA ARE, THEY'VE RECUSED THEMSELVES ON AGENDA ITEM NUMBER NINE, WHICH I GUESS WE'RE GONNA, I GUESS WE HAVE TO VOTE ON, ON THESE GUIDELINES.
I GUESS THE LAST TIME I MISSED THE LAST MEETING, BUT THE MEETING BEFORE THAT, WE WERE TALK, I HAD QUESTIONS ABOUT, UM, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AND I HAD QUESTIONS ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT COMMISSIONERS WERE ACTUALLY GOING TO BE ABLE TO APPLY FOR, UM, GRANTS.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE KIND OF BEEN UN DISCOVERING FOR MYSELF IS THAT, UH, I'M JUST LOOKING AT STATE STATUTES AND I'M LOOKING AT LOCAL, UH, MUNICIPAL CODE.
AND IT'S, IT'S NOT A VERY GRAY AREA.
THERE'S VERY, UM, STRICT GUIDELINES AROUND WHAT IT IS THAT WE CAN DO AS COMMISSIONERS IN TERMS OF APPLYING FOR GRANTS WHILE ALSO SERVING ON THE, ON, ON THE MUSIC COMMISSION OR ANY KIND OF COMMISSION FOR THAT MATTER.
UM, WHERE DID WE LAND ON THIS? BECAUSE IT, I MEAN, IT'S A 44 PAGE DOCUMENT, THERE HASN'T BEEN ANY MENTION OF IT.
UM, WHERE ARE WE AT WITH THAT? SO YOU, UM, SORRY, ERICA, I, I CAN TACKLE IT FIRST AND YES, PLEASE.
YOU CAN JUMP IN IF YOU WOULD LIKE.
UM, SO WE, WE HAVE REALLY BEEN IN A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS WITH, UM, THE CLERK'S OFFICE WHO DOES THE INITIAL ONBOARDING TRAINING, YOU KNOW, FOR EVERYBODY ON THE COMMISSIONS AS WELL AS STAFF LIAISONS.
WE'VE BEEN IN CONVERSATION WITH THE LAW DEPARTMENT AND THE ETHICS OFFICE.
UM, OUR, OUR PARTNERS AT THE ARTS COMMISSION, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALSO, WE'RE ALL GRAPPLING WITH THE SAME QUESTION.
UM, AND WHERE DOES IT LEAVE US? AND WHAT, WHAT IS CLEAR IS THAT YOU ARE, THERE IS NOTHING THAT RESTRICTS COMMISSIONERS FROM A APPLYING FOR THE PROGRAMS. UM, RIGHT.
YOU ARE WELCOME TO APPLY AND, AND WE WELCOME THAT.
UH, AS FAR AS TAKING A STANCE IN A WAY THAT HAS, UM, INFLUENCE OR THE PERCEPTION OF INFLUENCE, WHICH FOR US, THE QUESTION HAS COME UP.
LIKE, IF WE ARE SEEKING A RECOMMENDATION TO THE COUNCIL TO JUST SHOW, UM, A VOTE OF SUPPORT FROM THE COMMISSION, LIKE WE AS A MUSIC COMMISSION SUPPORT THESE GUIDELINES AND WE'RE PUSHING THIS FORWARD TO YOU, UM, WE HAVE LIKE DIRECTLY ASKED THE QUESTION LIKE, IS THAT A CONFLICT OF INTEREST FOR ANY COMMISSIONERS WHO POTENTIALLY WILL APPLY OR PERHAPS SIT, UM, IN A POSITION OF POWER ON THE BOARD FOR AN ORGANIZATION? THESE KIND OF QUESTIONS, AND I WISH IT WAS A MORE STRAIGHTFORWARD ANSWER.
UH, WE HAVE A LOT OF INFORMATION IN AN EMAIL THAT WE GOT FROM, UM, A COUPLE DIFFERENT LAWYERS, WHICH WE WOULD BE HAPPY TO FORWARD ALONG TO, UM, THE COMMISSIONER AS A WHOLE ON B, C, C, SO THAT WE DON'T, YOU KNOW, TO PREVENT THE WALKING QUORUM.
BUT ESSENTIALLY WHAT WE'VE HEARD IS LIKE, IT, IT IS, IT IS UP TO THE COMMISSIONERS TO DECIDE IF THEY
[02:20:01]
THINK IT IS A CONFLICT OF INTEREST, BUT IF YOU ARE APPLYING FOR THE FUNDS, LIKE GENERALLY IT AT LEAST PASSES THE THRESHOLD OF LIKE, THE PERCEPTION OF A CONFLICT AND YOU SHOULD JUST RECUSE YOURSELF TO STAY OUT OF IT.UM, BUT ULTIMATELY THE ADVICE WE WERE GIVEN IS LIKE, BUT WE SHOULDN'T TRY TO ADVISE YOU ON LIKE, IF WE THINK YOU'RE IN CONFLICT.
UH, BUT OUR LAWYERS DID SAY, OUR FRIENDS IN THE ETHICS OFFICE DID SAY, IF YOU AS A COMMISSIONER HAVE A SPECIFIC QUESTION, LIKE YOU CAN REACH OUT TO THEM DIRECTLY AND THEY'RE HAPPY TO TAKE A MEETING AND TALK LIKE WITH YOU ABOUT YOUR SPECIFIC SITUATION.
UM, SO I KNOW IT'S NOT LIKE A SUPER STRAIGHTFORWARD ANSWER OF LIKE, YES OR NO.
'CAUSE IT'S STILL FEELS REALLY MUDDY FOR US.
BUT I WOULD SAY THE ADVICE WE'VE BEEN GIVEN IS, IS GENERALLY TO ERR ON THE SIDE OF CAUTION.
UM, AND TO NOT LIKE, PUT YOURSELF IN A SITUATION TO LIKE VIOLATE THE PERCEPTION OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST.
BUT WE WILL ABSOLUTELY GET ALL THE INFORMATION KIND OF PACKAGED UP AND SENT OVER TO Y'ALL.
UM, 'CAUSE WE WERE ASKING REALLY DIRECT QUESTIONS AND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THE BEST WAY TO COMMUNICATE THIS BACK TO BOTH OF OUR COMMISSIONS.
SO SECTION TWO DASH SEVEN DASH SIX THREE SAYS, THE CITY OFFICIALS CAN PARTICIPATE IN A MATTER THAT WOULD AFFECT THEIR ECONOMIC INTEREST.
TEXAS CODE 1 71 SAYS, PUBLIC OFFICIAL WITH A SUBSTANTIAL INTEREST OF AN ENTITY MUST FILE AN AFFIDAVIT AND ABSTAIN, UM, FROM SAID, UM, INTEREST TWO DASH SEVEN DASH SIX FIVE SAYS THAT PUBLIC OFFICIALS HAVING FINANCIAL INTEREST, UH, AND A CONTEXT MUST, UM, UH, RECUSE THEMSELVES FROM, UM, PARTICIPATING IN THAT THING.
AND SO THE GRAY AREA IS WHAT HAPPENS, LIKE WHERE DOES, WHERE DOES THE RECUSAL PART HAPPEN? DOES IT HAPPEN AFTER YOU GET THE GRANT? DOES IT HAPPEN WHEN YOU'RE IN THE WORKING GROUP MAKING THE GUIDELINES THAT THEN YOU GO AND APPLY FOR, LIKE, WHERE DOES THE CONFLICT OF INTEREST LIE? AND, AND I, AND I'M ASKING THESE QUESTIONS AND I'M GENUINELY ASKING THESE QUESTIONS BECAUSE AS WE KNOW AT A FEDERAL AND AT A STATE LEVEL, WE ARE, UM, EXPERIENCING A FIRESTORM RIGHT NOW.
AND IT, I MEAN, IT'S THAT, I MEAN, I DON'T, I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT THE DECISION RESTS WITH THE COMMISSIONER AS TO WHETHER OR NOT HE OR SHE OR THEY BELIEVES THAT IT'S A CONFLICT OF INTEREST.
I BELIEVE THAT THE AUTHORITY, UM, RESTS WITH, UM, WITH Y'ALL.
AND, UM, I BELIEVE THAT IF YOU, UM, CONTINUE TO ALLOW FOR COMMISSIONERS TO RECEIVE GRANTS OR APPLY FOR GRANTS, THAT'S, UM, I JUST DON'T THINK THAT'S A VERY GOOD IDEA.
WE, WE CAN CERTAINLY PASS THAT FEEDBACK LONG.
UM, I JUST RECENTLY, UH, REDID MY LIAISON TRAINING, UM, AND THEY, THEY SPECIFICALLY ADVISED THAT STAFF ARE NOT ADVISORS IN ANY CAPACITY LIKE THAT.
WE, WE DON'T, WE SHOULDN'T PUT OURSELVES IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT.
UM, I, I THINK THAT IT'S A CHALLENGE BECAUSE WE ARE HERE AS A SUPPORT SYSTEM, BUT WE'RE NOT HERE TO BE ADVISORS OR THE EXPERTS, UM, ON TOMA OR ANY OF THE OTHER ROLES.
AND LIKE, WE EVEN ASKED A REALLY BASIC QUESTION TO OUR ETHICS LAWYER.
WE ASKED, YOU KNOW, WHERE DOES IT SPECIFICALLY SAY THAT COMMISSIONERS ARE CITY OFFICIALS? UM, I THINK THAT WAS THE PHRASE THAT YOU WERE READING AT THE TOP OF A FEW OF THOSE, UM, PARAGRAPHS, COMMISSIONER STRICKLAND.
AND SO WE, WE WERE LIKE, LIKE, WHERE CAN YOU SHOW US THAT? IT SAYS THAT? 'CAUSE WE'RE TRYING TO LIKE, YOU KNOW, JUST LIKE YOU'RE DOING, WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE READING IT AS WELL AS POSSIBLE AND INTERPRETING IT IN THE APPROPRIATE WAY.
UM, BUT THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM FOR INTERPRETATION, WHICH IS WHY, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES YOU'LL SEE CITY COUNSELORS, UM, RECUSE THEMSELVES FROM THINGS THAT THEY MIGHT EVEN HAVE QUITE A BIT OF SPACE FROM, BUT THEY'RE LIKE, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT SO SURE, SO I'M JUST NOT GONNA PARTAKE IN THIS CONVERSATION.
AND THAT'S ANOTHER REASON WHY, UM, COMMISSIONERS ARE WELCOME TO REACH OUT TO THE LAW OFFICE, UM, AS PART OF YOUR ROLE.
YOU HAVE ACCESS TO THEM, UM, TO JUST MAKE SURE THINGS ARE GOOD.
BUT I I WILL DEFINITELY PASS YOUR, YOUR FEEDBACK ALONG TO THE CLERK'S OFFICE AND THE LAW OFFICE.
'CAUSE WE, WE HAVE ALSO HAD TROUBLE GETTING THEM TO THE TABLE TO KIND OF COME GIVE A PRESENTATION OR MAKE THEIRSELVES AVAILABLE IN A PUBLIC FORUM FOR QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.
UM, THAT'S A CHALLENGE FOR THEM TO COME AND, AND HELP US WITH.
YEAH, I THINK WHAT THEY'LL DO IS PROVIDE YOU WITH INFORMATION AND EACH PERSON'S GONNA HAVE TO DECIDE FOR THEMSELVES BECAUSE AS THE, YOU KNOW, EVEN OUR, OUR LAW DEPARTMENT, YOU KNOW, THE LAW DEPARTMENT'S CLIENT IS THE, IS CITY COUNCIL TECHNICALLY AND THE MAYOR.
AND SO THEY'RE NOT GOING TO GIVE YOU ADVICE.
THEY CAN'T, UM, THE CLERK'S OFFICE WILL GIVE YOU THE MATERIALS, YOUR TRAINING MATERIALS AND JUST, AND WE'LL, WE'LL PASS THAT ALONG
[02:25:01]
AGAIN.AND SO YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO DECIDE, EACH PERSON WILL HAVE TO DECIDE ON THEIR OWN.
BUT AS MORGAN SAID, GREAT ADVICE IS ERR ON THE SIDE OF CAUTION, JUST SO YOU KNOW, TO MAKE YOUR OWN DECISIONS ABOUT THAT.
BUT WE WILL ASK THAT KEY QUESTION AROUND WHO CAN APPLY.
I THINK THAT'S A VERY GOOD BASIC QUESTION.
I DON'T THINK WE'VE HAD AN ISSUE WITH THAT IN THE PAST WITH COMMISSIONERS APPLYING, OBVIOUSLY FOR BOTH ARTS AND MUSIC COMMISSION REGARDLESS, EXCEPT WHEN THERE WAS A, UH, AN ACTUAL APPROVAL PROCESS IN THE ARTS COMMISSION THAT WAS REQUIRED BY COUNCIL THAT NO LONGER IS IN PLACE.
BUT THAT WAS 'CAUSE IT WAS COUNCIL DIRECTED.
THE, IN ANY, IN ALL THE PUBLIC FEEDBACK AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WORK THAT YOU ALL HAVE DONE, IS THAT ACME HAS DONE, WERE THESE CONSTITUENTS THE PUBLIC EDUCATED ON THE FACT THAT COMMISSIONERS WERE ABLE TO WRITE UP GUIDELINES, COLLABORATE WITH CITY STAFF, AND THEN APPLY FOR THE GRANTS AND POSSIBLY GET THEM, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU ALL DISCUSSED WITH THE PUBLIC? WELL, THE COMMISSIONERS, LIKE THE REST OF OUR COMMUNITY PROVIDED FEEDBACK AS A WORKING GROUP.
STAFF WROTE THE GUIDELINES BASED ON THE FEEDBACK RECEIVED BOTH FROM THE WORKING GROUPS AND FROM COMMUNITY AT LARGE.
AND SO IT'S STILL OUR PREROGATIVE OF WHAT IS IN THE GUIDELINES AND WHAT ISN'T.
AGAIN, NO APPROVAL PROCESS, UM, FROM EITHER COMMISSION ON WHAT ACTUALLY IS IN THE GUIDELINES OR WHAT A QUESTION IS.
WE CAN TAKE FEEDBACK FROM YOU, JUST LIKE WE CAN TAKE FEEDBACK FROM LIKE NEARLY 2,800 OTHER FOLKS THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT PIECE IS OF FEEDBACK THAT WE RECEIVED.
SO I CAN UNDERSTAND WHY IT'S STILL, IT'S CONFUSING AND MUDDY AS MORGAN SAID.
UM, BUT STAFF, ULTIMATELY, WE WROTE THOSE GUIDELINES BASED ON ALL THE FEEDBACK WE RECEIVED AS WELL AS THE QUESTIONS AND THE ANSWERS AND WHO AND HOW THEY'RE SCORED.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, YOU GUYS HAVEN'T SEEN, YOU KNOW, HOW THINGS ARE SCORED, YOU KNOW, WHAT POINTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE BANK OF QUESTIONS.
UM, BUT WE DON'T, YOU KNOW, YOU GUYS DID NOT WRITE THE GUIDELINES? WE DID, BUT TO ANSWER THE QUESTION, NO, IT DIDN'T COME UP AS A SPECIFIC, UM, LIKE THAT WASN'T SOMETHING YEAH, WE WERE PRESENTING ABOUT LIKE, THE ROLE OF COMMISSION AND, UM, I DIDN'T PERSONALLY GET ANY DIRECT QUESTIONS FOR IT AND I CAN'T RE RECALL READING ANY SPECIFIC FEEDBACK ABOUT THE ROLE OF THE COMMISSION PLAYS.
UM, JUST, UM, TO TOUCH UPON THAT, DEFINITELY, UM, I DON'T WANNA EXPRESS OPINION AS MUCH AS WHAT ALL I'VE KIND OF SHARED.
SOME OF THE THINGS I'VE KIND OF HEARD OVER TIME ABOUT THIS.
UH, DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT I'VE INQUIRED INTO, UH, SEVERAL TIMES IN VARIOUS FORMS. UM, WHEN I FIRST JOINED THE COMMISSION, I VERY CLEARLY REMEMBER IT BEING SHARED WITHIN THE COMMISSION AND ALSO UPON INQUIRY THAT IT WAS OKAY FOR COMMISSIONERS TO APPLY.
AND I KNOW THAT SEVERAL COMMISSIONERS HAD APPLIED, UH, OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT MAKING A DECISION ON THIS, THEIR SPECIFIC APPLICATION.
SO THAT WAS WHAT WAS, UH, PROVIDED AS AN, UH, A REASONING FOR WHY, UM, IT WAS FAIR FOR COMMISSIONERS TO APPLY.
UM, DEFINITELY I ALSO AM CONCERNED ABOUT THE PERCEPTION OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST, UH, WHICH IS WHY I'VE MADE INQUIRIES SEVERAL TIMES.
AND, UH, IT, IT SEEMS TO ALWAYS COME DOWN TO INDIVIDUAL JUDGMENT.
UH, FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE FIRST YEAR, I MADE A DECISION PERSONALLY NOT TO APPLY EVEN THOUGH THERE WAS NO SUCH RESTRICTION PRESENTED.
SO BASICALLY I'M NOT SEEING A HARD LINE ANYWHERE, WHICH I VERY CLEARLY ASKED AT THE ARTS COMMISSION TOO, IS IF THERE IS A HARD LINE THAT WILL SAY, IF YOU PARTICIPATE HERE, YOU CANNOT APPLY.
THAT DID HAPPEN WHEN ACME WAS INITIALLY GOING TO DO A WORKING GROUP THAT WAS GOING TO WRITE ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE LINE ITEM QUESTIONS.
RIGHT? AND WHEN THIS CONCERN CAME UP LARGELY, UM, BASICALLY THE DECISION WAS MADE NOT TO CONTINUE WITH THAT WORKING GROUP AT THAT POINT, RIGHT? SO, UM, SOMEWHERE I DON'T THINK ANYBODY IS GONNA CLEARLY JUST STRAIGHT UP ANSWER THE QUESTION AS TO WHERE THAT HARD LINE IS.
UM, MY PERSONAL REASON FOR RECUSAL HERE IS BECAUSE IT'S A RECOMMENDATION ON THE FINAL ACTUAL GUIDELINES AND QUESTIONS THAT ARE GOING OUT, UH, AS PART OF THIS APPLICATION.
BUT AGAIN, THAT'S A PERSONAL JUDGMENT CALL, RIGHT? SO I DON'T, I'VE NOT IN ALL THESE CONVERSATIONS, UH, SO FAR HERE OR AT THE ARTS COMMISSION OR ANY DIRECT QUESTIONS I MIGHT HAVE ASKED FOLKS THAT, UH, GOTTEN A CLEAR ANSWER.
IT VERY MUCH IS AROUND WHAT WE SIGNED UP FOR AND TO MAKE A JUDGMENT CALL AROUND HOW WE SEE IT BASICALLY,
[02:30:01]
IS WHAT I'VE SEEN.UH, THE, ONE OF THE CONCERNS THAT WAS EXPRESSED AROUND, UH, ESPECIALLY IF YOU LOOK AT THE ARTS COMMISSION, THERE ARE, UH, NONPROFIT ENTITIES, DIRECTORS, NONPROFIT, UH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS, ET ET CETERA SITTING THERE.
AND, UH, THERE IS DEFINITELY CONCERN WITHIN THE ARTS AND MUSIC COMMISSION THAT YOU WOULD LOSE THE INDUSTRY EXPERTISE IF YOU KIND OF CREATE A HARD LINE AROUND SOMETHING LIKE THIS WHERE YOU WON'T HAVE ENOUGH FOLKS FROM THE INDUSTRY PROVIDING FEEDBACK INTO WHAT IS SO CRUCIAL AND COMING THROUGH LIVED EXPERIENCE IN THE INDUSTRY.
SO THESE ARE JUST SOME OF THE THINGS I'VE HEARD I DOES AT THIS POINT.
UM, WHAT, FROM WHAT I'VE GATHERED SO FAR JUST COMES DOWN TO A, A JUDGMENT CALL ON WHAT INDIVIDUAL COMMISSIONERS WANT TO DO.
UM, MOVING ON, I I JUST, UH, WE CAN COME BACK TO THE TOPIC IF ANY OF THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS WOULD LIKE TO.
UM, I OBVIOUSLY HAVE DEEP DIVED INTO THESE, UH, THE CRITERIA THAT'S BEEN BUILT AND THE QUESTIONS.
UM, THIS JUST ONE QUICK THING I WANTED TO POINT OUT.
UNDER CULTURAL TOURISM MARKETING AND OUTREACH AROUND THE LINE ITEM WITH ADVERTISERS AND PROMOTES ACTIVITIES AND PUBLICATIONS AND OTHER INITIATIVES SERVING COMMUNITIES WHO SPEAK ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE, UM, I UNDERSTAND THE SPIRIT COMPLETELY BEHIND, UH, THIS LINE ITEM.
I UNDERSTAND THE INTENT, IF IT'S THE INTENT TO REACH DIVERSE COMMUNITIES AND KIND OF BROADLY REACH TO A LOT OF COMMUNITIES THROUGH, UH, AUSTIN'S DIVERSE COMMUNITIES THROUGH THIS.
I THINK I WOULD REALLY LOVE TO SEE SOMETHING THAT SAYS ITS ETHNIC COMMUNITIES, INCLUDING COMMUNITIES THAT SPEAK ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE OR SOMETHING THAT REALLY BROADLY COVERS, UH, THE DIVERSE COMMUNITIES.
I THINK WHEN YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE, SPEAK ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE, IT NARROWS THE, UH, BENEFIT OF GETTING POINTS HERE TO, YOU KNOW, ONE OR TWO VERY SPECIFIC COMMUNITIES.
I THINK THERE ARE, UM, OTHER COMMUNITIES, UM, THAT ARE IN THE MINORITIES AND INTERSECTIONALITIES.
I THINK IF WE CAN JUST BROADEN THAT STATEMENT A BIT, UM, IT WOULD BE, IT WOULD, I THINK, SERVE OUR COMMUNITY PRETTY WELL.
UM, BUT I DO, AGAIN, UNDERSTAND THE SPIRIT.
I APPRECIATE THE SPIRIT BEHIND THAT, UH, QUESTION.
I WOULD LIKE TO YIELD, UH, TO OTHER COMMISSIONERS FOR ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS AT THIS POINT.
UM, I'M JUST LOOKING UP TO SEE IF COMMISSIONER AGUILAR HAS ANYTHING, UH, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? OKAY, THANK YOU.
UM, AS WE CONCLUDE ON THIS PROCESS, REALLY, AND, UH, THESE FUNDS START GETTING ROLLED OUT, UH, I, I, AGAIN WANT TO REALLY APPRECIATE THE WORK.
UM, ERICA MORGAN, UM, DIRECTOR MEANS, AND, UH, UH, CANDACE COOPER AND OTHERS HAVE DONE ON THESE GRANTS.
UH, APPRECIATE THE INPUT AND THE FEEDBACK AND THE CONTINUOUS ENGAGEMENT FROM THE COMMUNITY.
APPRECIATE ALL THE WORK THAT THIS COMMISSION HAS PUT IN.
I THINK IT BECOMES VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE CONTINUE FOCUSING ON EQUAL AND INCLUSIVE ACCESS TO THESE FUNDS, UH, IN THE UPCOMING YEARS THAT WE, UH, CONTINUE SUPPORTING THIS PROCESS BY SHARING ACCURATE INFORMATION WITH THE COMMUNITY.
AND, UH, ALSO AS A COMMISSION THAT WE PROVIDE FEEDBACK, UH, IN A MANNER THAT IS DATA DRIVEN AS WE SEE THE OUTCOMES FROM, UH, THIS YEAR'S, UH, ROLLOUT AND, UH, BASE OUR FEEDBACK, UH, BOTH, UH, I THINK QUALITATIVELY IN WHAT WE ARE HEARING FROM THE COMMUNITY, AND ALSO LOOKING AT, UH, THE DATA THAT WE GET OUT OF, UH, THE RESULTS OF THESE, UH, ROLLOUTS HERE.
BUT AGAIN, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH.
AND I, WE ALSO WOULD LIKE TO THANK EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU FOR YOUR HOURS OF VOLUNTEER SERVICE TO THIS COMMISSION AND TO THIS PURPOSE.
WE COULDN'T DO IT WITHOUT YOU AND WITH ALL OF THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT PARTICIPATED IN OUR, UM, IN OUR ENGAGEMENT, IT'S THESE GUIDELINES, YES, STAFF, UH, PINNED THEM, BUT IT WAS BASED ON ALL OF THE FEEDBACK WE RECEIVED FROM YOU, YOUR WORKING GROUPS AND FROM THE COMMUNITY.
AND WE'RE VERY PROUD OF THIS, THIS, UH, OF WHAT WAS PRODUCED AS A COMMUNITY AND WITH US BEING PART OF THAT.
AND SO, THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING HOW THIS ROLLS OUT.
[9. Discussion and possible action on recommendation of the updated ACME funding guidelines.]
AGENDA ITEM.IT IS DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ITEM ACTION ON RECOMMENDATION OF THE UPDATED ACME FUNDING GUIDELINES.
UM, SO JUST TO GET A QUICK FEED, UH, BACKGROUND ON THIS, I'VE
[02:35:01]
KIND OF SEEN THE, UM, THIS IDEA OF, UH, COUNCIL APPROVING THESE GUIDELINES, UH, A LITTLE BIT OF A BACK AND FORTH AROUND THAT.MY LATEST UNDERSTANDING IS THAT, UM, IT IS GOING TO BE A MEMO THAT IS GOING TO BE SHARED WITH COUNSEL.
IT'S NOT, UH, A REQUEST FOR APPROVAL ON THIS FRONT.
SO I'M NOT, UM, COMPLETELY SURE ON HOW NECESSARY THIS AGENDA ITEM WAS, BUT BECAUSE IT WAS IN THERE, I DIDN'T WANT TO TAKE IT OUT, UM, OF THE AGENDA EVEN AFTER LEARNING THAT COUNCIL IS GETTING A MEMO AT THIS POINT.
UH, AND IT'S NOT A REQUEST FOR APPROVAL FROM THEM.
UH, SO I LEFT THE ITEM ON THERE.
UM, AGAIN, WE HAVE HEARD, UM, YOU KNOW, THE PAST DISCUSSION HERE AROUND, UH, CONFLICT OF INTEREST.
UH, SO PLEASE MAKE YOUR INDIVIDUAL JUDGMENT ON, UM, YOUR NEEDS TO APPLY FOR THE GRANT AND HOW YOU WOULD WANT TO PROCEED FORWARD, UH, WITH THAT.
UM, IF ANYBODY WOULD LIKE TO MOTION TO APPROVE THE UPDATED ACME FUNDING GUIDELINES FROM THE MUSIC COMMISSION, UH, PLEASE DO THAT AT THIS POINT, OR, OR I COULD ALSO OPEN THIS UP FOR FURTHER COMMENT AND DISCUSSION.
BEFORE WE DO THAT, COMMISSIONER ENGLAND, UM, IS IT POSSIBLE TO MAKE A MOTION TO, UH, DISMISS THIS VOTE OR ACTION? I FRANKLY FEEL LIKE IT'S REDUNDANT SINCE THERE IS NO ACTUAL APPROVAL FROM CITY COUNCIL.
WE'VE ALREADY MADE OUR RECOMMENDATIONS AND THE MEMO IS GOING TO BE SENT, SO I DON'T SEE A NEED FOR A VOTE WHATSOEVER.
I THINK YOU RECUSE, I I CAN RECUSE MYSELF, BUT I'M SAYING IT.
CAN WE ACTUALLY MAKE A MOTION TO JUST TAKE IT COMPLETELY OFF THE AGENDA? I THINK YOU CAN.
UH, KIM, IS THERE ANY ADVICE TO THE CONTRARY? NOPE.
AND, UH, I THINK THE QUESTION WAS, CAN YOU MAKE A MOTION TO, UM, ELIMINATE THIS ITEM? AND YOU, YOU CAN MAKE A MOTION TO SKIP THIS ITEM AND GO ON, UH, NAGO VALLEY.
CAN I PROPOSE TO THE CHAIR THAT, UH, WHAT IS IT FOR A FIRST MOTION TO DISMISS ON THIS AGENDA ITEM? MM-HMM
WE HAVE A MOTION FROM, UH, COMMISSIONER ENGLAND TO, UH, REMOVE THE AGENDA.
ITEM NUMBER NINE FROM, UH, TODAY'S MEETING.
DO WE HAVE A SECOND? SECOND? COULD WE HAVE A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER CARVALHO? ALL IN FAVOR? UH, COMMISSIONER STRICKLAND, HOW DO YOU VOTE? NO.
COMMISSIONER STRICKLAND VOTES? NO.
AND, UH, WE HAVE, UH, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 VOTES IN, UH, FAVOR.
AND, UH, ONE, UH, OPPOSED, UH, THE MOTION IS APPROVED.
[10. Approval of Emmett Beliveau’s nomination to the Rally Austin Board of Directors, Theresa Alvarez, CEO & President, Rally Austin.]
ITEM.WE HAVE APPROVAL OF EMMETT BE'S NOMINATION TO THE RALLY AUSTIN BOARD OF DIRECTORS, UH, THEREA ALVAREZ, CEO, AND PRESIDENT OF, UH, RALLY AUSTIN IS AVAILABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
UH, THEREA, DID YOU HAVE ANY INITIAL COMMENTS OR, UH, DID WE WANT TO JUST GO AHEAD AND MOTION FOR THIS? I WOULD YIELD TO YOU FOR A MOMENT.
UM, I THINK IF SHE, UH, COMES ON, WE CAN, UM, UH, GO AHEAD AND YIELD TO HER.
BUT, UM, AMIT BEVO FOR THE NEW COMMISSIONERS HAS SERVED AS, UH, THE REPRESENTATIVE FOR MUSIC, UH, ON RALLY AUSTIN, UH, WHAT WAS, UH, EARLIER KNOWN AS, UH, A EDC.
AND, UM, SO THE MUSIC COMMISSION, UH, USUALLY VOTES ON THAT APPOINTMENT.
AND SO HE'S UP FOR, UH, UH, RENOMINATION TO RALLY AUSTIN.
AND I WOULD LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND MOTION TO APPROVE EMMETT BEVO, UH, NOMINATION OR APPOINTMENT TO RALLY AUSTIN BOARD OF DIRECTORS, UH, FROM MUSIC, UM, UH, FOR ANOTHER YEAR AT THIS POINT.
UH, DO I HAVE A SECOND? WE HAVE A SECOND FROM, UH, VICE CHAIR, UH, CARVALHO.
ALL IN FAVOR? THE MOTION IS UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED.
[11. Approval of recommendation for performance rights organizations and transparency in licensing revenue distribution practices following presentation by Secretary Strickland.]
ITEM UNDER DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ITEMS, APPROVAL OF RECOMMENDATION FOR PERFORMANCE RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS AND TRANSPARENCY IN LICENSING REVENUE DISTRIBUTION PRACTICES, FOLLOWING PRESENTATION BY SECRETARY STRICKLAND.[02:40:01]
SO I, THE, UM, GENTLEMAN THAT I WAS SUPPOSED TO SPEAK WITH, I HAVE NOT GOTTEN IN TOUCH WITH HIM YET.HE'S MY, LITERALLY MY LAST CONTACT.
I'VE SPOKEN TO LIKE FIVE PEOPLE, AND THIS IS THE LAST ONE.
SO I, I EMAILED SHELBY, ASKED HER TO TAKE IT OFF AND PLAN IT TO NEXT, UM, MONTH, BUT SHE'S ALSO OUT.
SO, UM, I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENS AT THE, UH, AT THIS POINT IN THE DISCUSSION, POSSIBLE ACTION PROCESS.
'CAUSE I KNOW THE CITY CLERK GETS PRETTY P****D WHEN WE JUST DON'T DO ANYTHING WHEN THERE'S SOMETHING ON THE AGENDA WHEN IT SAYS WE'RE SUPPOSED TO DO SOMETHING.
BUT IF WE COULD JUST MAKE IT TILL NEXT MONTH, THAT'D BE GREAT.
UH, KIM, DO WE HAVE TO DO ANOTHER MOTION TO DISMISS THIS IF WE DON'T TAKE, TAKE THE ACTION OR ARE WE GOOD TO GO? YEAH, YOU CAN, YOU CAN, UM, MOVE IT TO FUTURE ITEMS. OKAY.
AND, AND JUST, YOU KNOW, MOTION TO MOVE IT TO FUTURE ITEMS AND, AND DO IT THAT WAY.
UM, I WOULD MOTION TO MOVE AGENDA ITEM NUMBER 11 TO COMMISSIONER STRICKLAND.
ARE YOU LOOKING TO MOVE THIS TO NEXT MONTH? SURE.
MOTION IS UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
ITEMS, UM, I'LL CHECK WITH SHELBY IF WE STILL HAVE A MUSICAL PERFORMANCE NEXT MONTH, BUT WE'LL LEAVE IT THERE.PUBLIC COMMUNICATION, APPROVAL OF MINUTES FOR AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER.
UH, WE HAVE, UH, UPDATE ON LIVE MUSIC FUND COLLECTIONS.
WE HAVE, UM, UPDATE ON THE FINAL REPORTS BY SHAMLEY.
WE'LL RETAIN THAT STAFF BRIEFING ON, UH, LIVE MUSIC PERFORMANCES AT THE AIRPORT.
WE'LL RETAIN THAT UNDER DISCUSSION ITEMS. UM, I THINK WE CAN ALSO, OF COURSE, UH, UNDERSTAFF BRIEFINGS LEAVE, UH, ANOTHER UPDATE ON ACME FUNDING, UH, PROGRESS, UH, ON THE APPLICATIONS ON THE APPLICATION PROCESS OR THE ROLLOUT BY MORGAN MESSICK OR, UM, ERICA.
UM, I THINK WE CAN MOVE THAT UNDER STAFF BRIEFINGS FOR NEXT MONTH.
COMMISSIONER SILVA, WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADD AN ITEM FOR DOWNTOWN COMMISSION? OH, SURE.
I CAN ADD, UM, AN, UH, UPDATE FOR THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION, BUT I WAS ALSO GONNA SUGGEST JUST, OR FIND OUT HOW WE ARE GOING TO PROVIDE INPUT TO STAFF REGARDING THE CONTRACTS THAT WERE NOT IN COMPLIANCE.
WHETHER WE WANT TO HAVE A DISCUSSION NEXT MONTH TO SORT OF BE ABLE TO PROVIDE STAFF SOME KIND OF GUIDELINES OR, YEAH, I GUESS THAT'S MY QUESTION.
I THINK WE CAN ADD A DISCUSSION ITEM, UM, UNLESS, AND, AND YOU CAN CHANGE IT TO AN ACTION ITEM IF WE KIND OF COME TO ANY CONCLUSIONS AROUND IT.
OH, SORRY, ERICA, PLEASE GO AHEAD.
YOU COULD DO A JOINT WORKING GROUP WITH THE ARTS COMMISSION SO THAT YOU ALIGN WHATEVER YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS ARE TO ACME.
WE HAVEN'T HAD A WORKING GROUP IN A WHILE, SO YOU COULD HAVE ANOTHER WORKING GROUP AS A SUGGESTION.
UM, COMMISSIONER STRICKLAND, WERE YOU GONNA SAY SOMETHING? I, I MEAN, YEAH, I GUESS.
I MEAN, I, WE COULD JUST, I MEAN, WE COULD JUST TALK, YOU KNOW, WE COULD JUST TALK.
I MEAN, WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE TIGHT BETWEEN THE TWO COMMISSIONS.
AND, AND I THINK THEN WE CAN JUST, LET'S JUST GO AHEAD AND ADD A DISCUSSION ITEM FOR NEXT MONTH, SINCE WE HAVE NOT DIRECTLY, I MEAN, WE HAVE BEEN, WE HAVE HAD THE TOPIC, BUT UH, WE'VE NOT HAD A BROAD DISCUSSION AROUND IT.
SO I COULD JUST GO AHEAD AND ADD AN ITEM, UH, TO DISCUSS THE LIVE MUSIC, UH, UH, FINAL REPORTS, LMF, FINAL REPORTS TO THE AGENDA FOR NEXT MONTH.
ADD AN UPDATE FROM, UH, THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION.
IF, IF, IF THAT PANS OUT, UM, AND YOU HAVE AN UPDATE AT THAT POINT, WE COULD GET THAT ADDED.
UM, ALSO, COMMISSIONER STRICKLAND'S ITEM, UH, BACK UNDER DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ITEMS FOR APPROVAL OF RECOMMENDATION ON THE, THE PRO ITEM.
UM, ANYTHING ELSE? COMMISSIONERS? UH, YOU CAN ALWAYS SEND AN AGENDA ITEM OUT, GET A SECOND AND WE WILL, WE CAN GET THAT ADDED TO THE AGENDA AT A LATER POINT.
LET ME MOTION TO APPROVE ALL OF THE ABOVE.
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. DO I HAVE A SECOND? SECOND.
[02:45:01]
I HAVE A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER STRICKLAND.UM, I JUST REALIZED, UH, THAT DOESN'T NEED A COMPLETE VOTE BECAUSE MOMENT.
YOU CAN ADD ITEMS TO THE AGENDA.
I'LL TAKE A, A MOTION TO ADJOURN FROM, UH, COMMISSIONER ENGLAND AND A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER STRICKLAND.