[CALL TO ORDER]
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MY NAME IS VANESSA FUENTES, MAYOR PRO TEM AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL MEMBER DISTRICT TWO.
AND I'M HERE CALLING TO ORDER OUR MEET COMMITTEE MEETING OF ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY.
IT IS 10:01 AM AND I'M JOINED HERE ON THE DAIS WITH COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL AND HARPER MADISON.
AND UNAVAILABLE TO JOIN US TODAY ARE COUNCIL MEMBER VELASQUEZ AND CHAIR CADRE.
FIRST ITEM IS PUBLIC COMMUNICATION CLERK.
DO WE HAVE ANYONE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK? NO, WE DO NOT.
[1. Approve the minutes of the July 18, 2025, Economic Opportunity Committee Meeting.]
IS WE WILL APPROVE THE MEETING MINUTES FROM JULY 18TH, 2025.MAY I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE ITEM ONE? MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL, SECONDED BY HARPER MADISON.
ANY OBJECTION TO APPROVING THE MEETING MINUTES? SEEING NONE, THOSE STAND APPROVED.
[2. Briefing update on Infrastructure Academy Workforce Development which provides training to connect local people to careers in construction and operations. [Anthony Segura, Interim Director - Economic Development Department].]
TWO, THIS IS A BRIEFING UPDATE ON THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.SO I'D LIKE TO WELCOME OUR, UH, INTERIM DIRECTOR OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, ANTHONY SEGURA, WHO ALSO IS JOINED WITH MEMBERS OF HIS TEAM FOR AN UPDATE ON THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY.
ANTHONY SEGURA, INTERIM DIRECTOR FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
I'M JOINED THIS MORNING AND HAVE THE PLEASURE OF INTRODUCING WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS, WHICH IS OUR MAJOR PARTNER FOR THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY, AND THEY WILL BE HELPING LEAD THE PRESENTATION THIS MORNING.
UM, I'M VERY EXCITED TO TALK ABOUT THE AUSTIN INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY.
UH, TODAY IS ACTUALLY MY FIRST DAY AT, STARTING AT NOON IS INTERIM CEO OF WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS,
I, I'VE BEEN WITH WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS FOR 25 YEARS, AND I'VE BEEN AT THE HEL, WELL, NOT AT THE HILL, BUT WITH THE START OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY.
AND I SO BELIEVE IN IT FOR OUR COMMUNITY, UM, BUT ALSO REALLY AS A MODEL FOR HOW WE DO WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, ONE THING I DID WANNA SHARE ALSO IS, UH, LAST WEEK I WAS AT THE AIRPORT AND IT WAS REALLY EXCITING TO SEE ON THE ECONOMY PARKING, WHICH IS WHERE LOCALS PARK, UM, THE BIG AUSTIN, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE SIGN.
SO WE REALLY ARE GETTING THE WORD OUT THERE, UM, ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITIES.
SO TODAY WE'RE GONNA GO OVER, UM, AN OVERVIEW OF THE, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY, OUR JOURNEY AND IMPACT, AND THEN LOOKING AHEAD IN COLLABORATION.
SO WHAT IS THE AUSTIN INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY? IT IS A LOCAL INITIATIVE, UH, THAT HELPS CONNECT PEOPLE TO TRAINING, UH, JOBS IN CONSTRUCTION, TRANSPORTATION, AND SKILLED TRADES.
WE WORK WITH PARTNERS IN GOVERNMENT EDUCATION, BUSINESS IN THE COMMUNITY TO HELP OUR LOCAL RESIDENTS ACCESS WELL PAYING JOBS THAT LEAD INTO FUTURE CAREERS, LONGSTANDING CAREERS TO HELP BUILD AUSTIN'S FUTURE.
AND WHAT WE DO, WE HELP EMPLOYERS FIND THE WORKERS THAT THEY NEED, CONNECT LOCAL PEOPLE TO LOCAL JOBS, SUPPORT PEOPLE IN BUILDING LONG-TERM CAREERS, AND WE REMOVE BARRIERS SUCH AS THE TRAINING COSTS, CHILDCARE, TRANSPORTATION, AND EVEN THOSE SUPPORTS THAT SOMEONE NEEDS WHEN THEY GET ON THE JOB, SUCH AS TOOLS OR SHOES.
WHEN I THINK OF THE AUSTIN INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY, I THINK OF IT AS A WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY.
IT, WE DON'T HAVE A PHYSICAL BUILDING YET, BUT IT TRULY IS AN ECOSYSTEM OF PARTNERS WORKING TOGETHER TO SUPPORT THE INDUSTRY.
SO, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, I LOVE THIS DIAGRAM BECAUSE IT SHOWS THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY AS THE INITIATIVE, THE STRATEGY, AND THEN WE HAVE WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS WHO SERVES TO, UH, CONVENE, COLLABORATE, AND AS THE HUB WHERE PEOPLE ENTER THE WORKFORCE ACADEMY.
AND THEN WE HAVE OUR EDUCATION AND TRAINING PARTNERS.
WE HAVE THEM WORKING TOGETHER TO DEVELOP, UH, CURRICULUM THAT MEETS INDUSTRY DEMAND AND ENSURING THAT THEIR COM CURRICULUM IS ALIGNED.
SO AN EMPLOYER CAN PULL FROM ANY TRAINING PROVIDER AND KNOW THAT THEY HAVE SOMEBODY WHO IS TRAINED AND READY TO WORK ON THE PROJECT.
IT'S ALSO COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS WHO ARE SHARING THE WORD AND REFERRING INDIVIDUALS TO WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS.
WE DO HAVE ACCESS TO THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE THROUGH OUR, UH, ONLINE DATABASE, BUT WE ALSO WANT COMMUNITY PARTNERS TO REFER PEOPLE SO THEY CAN LEARN ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITIES AND GOVERNMENT.
WE'RE WORKING WITH THE CITY AND THE COUNTY, UM, FOR EQUITABLE GROWTH AND SUSTAINABILITY GOALS AND INDUSTRY.
WE CAN'T DO ANYTHING WITHOUT INDUSTRY.
THAT'S OUR MAJOR PARTNER BECAUSE WE'RE LOOKING TO MEET THEIR NEEDS AS AUSTIN GROWS.
AND SO THE WHY, UM, AUSTIN HAS MANY MAJOR PROJECTS.
THESE ARE FIVE OF THEM, BUT THE, YOU KNOW, PROJECT
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CONNECT, THE AIRPORT EXPANSION, I 35, BUT THESE ARE IN ADDITION TO JUST AUSTIN GROWING, UM, AND ALL THE WORK THAT IS DONE THERE.BUT WHAT WE DO KNOW IS THAT AUSTIN NEEDS 10,000 SKILLED WORKERS TO FILL 193 JOBS.
AND CURRENTLY WE ARE ONLY GRADUATING 6,000 FROM OUR TRAINING COMMUNITY IN, IN AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY.
WE KNOW THAT, AGAIN, THESE PROJECTS ARE GONNA CREATE A LOT OF JOBS ACROSS KEY SECTORS, CREATING UNPRECEDENTED NEED TO ATTRACT NEW PEOPLE TO THESE CAREERS AND PATHWAYS.
WE KNOW CHILDCARE AND TRANSPORTATION ARE BARRIERS TO INDIVIDUALS GETTING INTO THESE JOBS OR GETTING INTO ANY JOBS, BUT IT CAN ALSO LIMIT PEOPLE'S ACCESS TO TRAINING.
AND WE ALSO KNOW THAT THERE'S A GENDER GAP.
WOMEN REPRESENT JUST 14% OF THE WORKFORCE IN THESE SKILLED TRADES.
AND, UM, OUR JOB IS TO CONNECT LOCAL PEOPLE TO LOCAL JOBS.
AND THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT WE HOPE TO DO WITH THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY.
AND SO HOW WILL WE DO THIS? HOW ARE WE TACKLING THESE CHALLENGES? AS I SHARED TRAINING ALIGNMENT, ENSURING THAT THE TRAINING PROVIDERS OFFER QUALITY, CONSISTENT TRAINING THAT MEETS THE NEEDS OF THE EMPLOYERS WRAPAROUND SERVICES THAT WE JUST DISCUSSED, AND PLACEMENT AND NAVIGATION.
I'M REALLY EXCITED THAT THE AUSTIN INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY AND THE MONEY THAT THE CITY GRACIOUSLY GAVE TO US HAS ALLOWED US TO TRULY TRANSFORM OUR SYSTEM PLACEMENT AND NAVIGATION.
WE AT WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS HAVE HAD 30 YEARS OF OFFERING TRAINING SCHOLARSHIPS TO, TO PEOPLE.
UM, BUT WHAT WE DIDN'T HAVE IS TRUE NAVIGATION.
AND THAT IS WHAT I'M SO EXCITED THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DELIVER WHERE SOMEBODY COMES INTO WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS AND WE CAN HELP THEM NOT JUST WITH THE TRAINING, BUT MEET THEM WHERE THEY ARE, LEARN ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE INTERESTED IN AND SHARE WITH THEM THE LABOR MARKET INFORMATION, THE OPPORTUNITIES, THE PATHWAY.
YOU CAN MOVE ALONG THE PATHWAY INTO THESE QUALITY, SELF-SUSTAINING JOBS.
AND SO I'M SO EXCITED THAT WE WERE ABLE TO HIRE FOUR, AND I THINK WE'RE GOING TO HAVE SIX NAVIGATORS THAT THEY DON'T HAVE A CASELOAD.
THEY'RE JUST TALKING TO PEOPLE AND SHARING THE, THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO THEM.
WE WANNA DEVELOP A RO A ROBUST PIPELINE OF PEOPLE.
SO WHEN EMPLOYERS SAY, I NEED A HUNDRED PEOPLE, WE HAVE THOSE PEOPLE READY, WHETHER IT BE IN OUR SYSTEM, UM, THAT ARE LOOKING FOR WORK OR THAT WE'VE TRAINED AND WE KNOW THEY'RE READY TO GO AND GOVERNANCE, WE'RE SETTING UP A GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE STRUCTURE RATHER, THAT REFLECTS STAKEHOLDER INPUT AND ENSURES ACCOUNTABILITY TO OUR FUNDERS IMPACT AND EVALUATION.
WE WANNA ENSURE THAT WE HAVE, UM, PROCESSES IN PLACE THAT WE CAN EVALUATE THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING BECAUSE WE DON'T JUST WANNA DO IT.
WE WANT TO SEE WHAT THE IMPACT IS, WHAT ARE THE WAGES, HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE GETTING INTO JOBS, AND THEN UPSKILLING A SENSE OF BELONGING.
A WE WANNA ESTABLISH A BRAND THAT FOSTERS INCREASED PARTICIPATION AND FUNDING WHILE INSTILLING A SENSE OF PRIDE AND BELONGING.
AND THIS IS OUR JOURNEY AND IMPACT.
WHEN WE FIRST SHARED THE UPDATES IN MARCH, OUR NEXT STEPS WAS FOCUSING ON THE LAUNCH OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY, THE CAREER FAIR, HIRING STAFF, DEVELOPING THE MARKETPLACE, AND CONNECTING JOB SEEKERS TO TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES.
AND SO WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THE AUSTIN INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY FOR A LONG TIME, BUT REALLY WE JUST LAUNCHED AT THE END OF MARCH IN 2025.
SO THIS IS JUST A ROADMAP OF WHERE WE'VE BEEN AND WHERE WE ARE NOW.
UH, IN 2023, UH, MAYOR WATSON AND JUDGE BROWN INITIATED THE, UM, THE IDEA OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY.
WE WERE ABLE TO SECURE FUNDING FROM CAP METRO AND A TP FOR A STUDY TO IDENTIFY WHAT THE NEEDS WERE OF THE COMMUNITY.
AND THEN THE CITY ACCOUNT COUNCIL APPROVED A RESOLUTION, UM, AND A CC HAS OFFERED SPACE WITH THEIR NEW, UH, CAMPUS THAT WILL BE BUILT BY THE AIRPORT.
AND THEN WE RECEIVED FUNDING FROM TEXAS MUTUAL AND GOOGLE TO BE ABLE TO HIRE A CONSULTANT TO HELP US REALLY PLAN OUT THE WORK.
SO WE HAD THAT ROADMAP OF WHAT IT IS WE WERE GOING TO DO.
AND THEN AGAIN, GRACIOUSLY THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVED 5 MILLION.
SO WE COULD ACTUALLY PUT THIS INTO ACTION, WHICH IS WHERE WE ARE NOW.
UH, IN MAY, IN MARCH, I'M SORRY, OF 2025, WE LAUNCHED THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY WITH AN EVENT.
AND WE HAD A JOB FAIR AFTER THE EVENT WHERE WE HAD INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE COMING IN FOR THE JOB FAIR, BUT WE ALSO HAD INDIVIDUALS THAT WERE PRE-SCREENED IN VETTED THAT WE SAID A NOD TO WILLY WONKA HAD THE GOLDEN TICKET, UM, AND THEY COULD COME IN AND CHOOSE ANY TRAINING THAT THEY WANTED BECAUSE WE KNEW THAT THEY WERE APPROVED AND THAT THEY COULD
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START ON THEIR CAREER PATH.AND THEN AS I SHARED, WE WERE HIRING, UM, AND ONBOARDING DEDICATED STAFF, OUR CAREER NAVIGATORS AND, UM, AND CAREER ADVISORS.
AND WE HIRED MEGAN FORTSON, OUR SENIOR, SENIOR SENIOR DIRECTOR OF SENIOR DIRECTOR OF, UH, MOBILITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE, WHO HAS BEEN KEY TO JUST TAKING THIS OFF FROM THERE.
AND THEN WE'RE ALSO, RIGHT NOW WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF DESIGNING A FRAMEWORK AND IMPLEMENTING OUR ADVISORY COUNCIL.
WE DID HAVE A LAUNCH OF OUR ADVISORY COUNCIL, AND WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO CONTINUE THAT.
SO AGAIN, WE'RE GETTING REAL INPUT FROM, FROM OUR STAKEHOLDERS AND EMPLOYERS.
AND THIS IS FROM MARCH THROUGH JUNE, A SNAPSHOT OF, OF WHAT WE'VE DONE.
WE'VE HAD 306 INDIVIDUALS THAT ATTENDED THE LAUNCH IN THE CAREER FOR FAIR.
28 EMPLOYERS AND 11 TRAINING PROVIDERS WERE THERE.
UH, IN JUNE, WE DID HAVE ANOTHER CAREER FAIR.
WE HAD 209 ATTEND, 21 EMPLOYERS AND FIVE TRAINING PROVIDERS.
TO DATE, WE'VE HAD A HUNDRED INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE MET WITH THAT CAREER NAVIGATOR WHO WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO HELP THEM, WHETHER IT BE THEY'RE READY TO GO DIRECTLY INTO EMPLOYMENT AND WE CAN SEND THEM TO OUR BUSINESS SERVICE CONSULTANTS, OR WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO AWARD 47 INDIVIDUALS WITH SCHOLARSHIPS FOR TRAINING.
AND WE HAVE 28 JOB SEEKERS WHO HAVE BEEN ABLE TO OBTAIN FULL-TIME EMPLOYMENT.
AND NINE OF THOSE WERE IN EARN AND LEARNS THAT THEN LED TO THE FULL-TIME EMPLOYMENT.
AND HERE WE JUST HAVE SOME OF OUR MEDIA WINS.
AND, YOU KNOW, THE AUSTIN INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY HAS BEEN IN THE NEWS AND, YOU KNOW, OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND A CC IS, UM, IT'S A BIG DEAL.
AND, AND THE COMMUNITY IS EXCITED TO LEARN MORE.
AND THIS IS JUST SOME OF OUR IMPACT, AGAIN, WITH SOME PICTURES.
UM, WE WORKED WITH LOCAL 2 86 UNION, THE PLUMBERS AND PIPE FITTERS UNION, AND THEY HAVE A COURSE CALLED MC THREE, WHICH WAS DEVELOPED WITH INDUSTRY PRIOR TO ALL OF THIS.
AND REALLY WHAT IT IS, IS AN ENTRY LEVEL, I THINK IT'S ABOUT TWO WEEKS, TWO TO THREE WEEKS PRE-APPRENTICE, TWO TO THREE WEEKS PRE-APPRENTICESHIP, UM, WHERE IT'S AN INTRODUCTION INTO THE TRADE.
SO, UH, STUDENTS GET INFORMATION ABOUT ALL OF THE TRADES, THEY KIND OF GET A TASTE OF ALL OF THEM.
AND THEN FROM THERE, THEY CAN GO DIRECTLY INTO ANY OF THE APPRENTICESHIPS OR THEY CAN GO DIRECTLY TO WORK.
AND WE WERE REALLY EXCITED TO PARTNER WITH DELL VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL.
AND SO WE WERE ABLE TO PARTNER WITH THEM AND, UM, PROVIDE TRAINING TO SENIORS IN THE LAST COUPLE WEEKS OF, OF SCHOOL, AND A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THEM HAD JOBS UPON GRADUATION.
UM, AND THEN WHAT WE WERE ALSO REALLY EXCITED ABOUT WAS A CC DEVELOPED WITH THE UNIONS THEIR VERSION OF AN MC THREE.
AND SO WE WERE ABLE TO FUND, THEY HAD THEIR FIRST COHORT IN JUNE, AND WE WERE ABLE TO FUND SIX OF THE SEVEN, UH, STUDENTS, AND WERE WAITING ON THE OUTCOMES, UM, TO SEE HOW MANY GOT JOBS.
AND, BUT IT WAS REALLY A, A NICE COORDINATION BETWEEN A CC, THE UNIONS AND WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS TO BE ABLE TO LAUNCH THAT.
AND THE OTHER ONES FOUNDATION, WE WERE ABLE TO FUND AN HVAC TRAINING.
THE OTHER ONES FOUNDATION WORKS WITH INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.
AND WE WERE ABLE TO FUND 10 OF THE 23 PARTICIPANTS, UM, IN, I THINK IT WAS A 16 WEEK TRAINING.
AND, UM, WE'RE WAITING ON OUTCOMES FOR THAT.
BUT AGAIN, FIRST OF ITS KIND, FIRST TRAINING THAT THE OTHER ONES FOUNDATION WAS ABLE TO HAVE ON THEIR SITE.
AND WE WERE JUST HAPPY TO BE A PART OF THAT.
AND, UM, I AM GOING TO LET MEGAN FORTSON TAKE OVER FOR HERE, BECAUSE NOW WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW, HOW WE'RE ACTUALLY OPERATIONALIZING, AND THEN WHAT OUR FUTURE STEPS ARE.
UM, SO LIKE YAYEL SAID, YOU KNOW, WE HAD THIS AMAZING RESEARCH THAT BACKED THIS DATA INFORMED, UM, INITIATIVE TO EVEN BE LAUNCHED, RIGHT? AND WITH YOUR SUPPORT, THEN WE HAD CIVIC SOUL DO OUR DESIGN.
AND I WAS ONBOARDED IN JUNE ALONG WITH THE CAREER NAVIGATORS, AND THEN WE WERE ALL READY TO SAY, HEY, LET'S TAKE THIS DESIGN TO THE NEXT STEP.
SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE REALLY FOCUSED ON, YOU KNOW, STREAMLINING, REFINING OUR INTERNAL SYSTEMS FOR TRACKING AND REPORTING, HOW WE SERVE OUR JOB SEEKERS, HOW WE WORK WITH ALL OF OUR STAKEHOLDERS.
YOU KNOW, TAKING THE TIME TO REALLY WORK CLOSELY AND CO-CREATE WITH OUR EXTERNAL PARTNERS ON HOW DO WE ALIGN ON OUTREACH AND TRAINING AND PLACEMENT.
HOW DO WE ENSURE THAT THE CAREER SEEKERS, THE JOB SEEKERS, HAVE A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE AND JOURNEY AS WE MEET THEM WHERE THEY ARE.
UM, AND ALSO WITH THAT WORKING HAND IN HAND WITH OUR EMPLOYER PARTNERS, WHAT IS THE TRUE DEMAND NEED, THE TIMING, THE CRITICAL ROLES THAT ARE HARD TO FILL, AND HOW DO WE COORDINATE WITH ALL, WITH ALL OF OUR
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AMAZING TRAINING PROVIDERS TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN? SO THERE'S SO MUCH AWESOME WORK ALREADY HAPPENING IN THIS SPACE, AND WE DON'T WANNA BE AN EXTRA COOK IN THE KITCHEN.WE WANNA WORK HAND IN HAND TO SUPPORT AND ENHANCE THAT WORK.
UM, AND THEN ALSO DEVELOPING OUR FIVE-YEAR BUSINESS PLAN WITH THE ADVISORY COUNCIL, STRATEGIC GUIDANCE.
SO HAVING THAT GOVERNANCE, HAVING THAT ACCOUNTABILITY, ANTHONY'S ON OUR ADVISORY COUNCIL.
UM, AND SO IT'S JUST AN AMAZING BOARD OF STAKEHOLDERS, INDUSTRY, GOVERNMENT, EDUCATION, THE COMMUNITY, ALL OF US COMING TOGETHER TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE A GREAT STRATEGIC PLAN TO BUILD THIS WORKFORCE AND THAT WE'RE HELD ACCOUNTABLE TO MAKE AN IMPACT.
UM, AND SO ALL OF THIS WORK IS REALLY DRIVING STEADY ENROLLMENT, SUPPORTING OUR OUTCOMES, AND REALLY LAYING THE FOUNDATION TO KEEP MAKING THAT IMPACT.
AND SO, LIKE WE SAID, THIS QUARTER WE'RE REALLY FOCUSED ON LAUNCHING THAT ADVISORY COUNCIL, REFINING INTERNAL SYSTEMS, DEEPENING OUR COLLABORATION WITH OUR PARTNERS TO REALLY CO-CREATE A SEAMLESS EXPERIENCE FOR THE JOB SEEKERS.
AND THEN DEFINITELY STRENGTHENING THAT COORDINATION WITH EMPLOYERS AND TRAINING PROVIDERS TO MAXIMIZE THE ROI ON BOTH SIDES, WE WANT EMPLOYERS TO GET CAREER READY, RELIABLE TALENT, AND WE WANT JOB SEEKERS TO GET THOSE JOBS.
SO MAKING SURE PLACEMENT IS ALWAYS NUMBER ONE.
UM, HAS WHERE'RE HELPING OUR JOB SEEKERS AND EMPLOYERS.
AND THEN NEXT QUARTER WE'RE REALLY FOCUSED ON FORMALIZING OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
HOW CAN WE ESTABLISH EVEN A DEEPER PARTNERSHIP? SO TALKING A LOT WITH ANNE AND ANTHONY ON, HEY, LET'S GET IN, IN TUNE WITH THE PUBLIC PROJECTS AND WHAT THAT DEMAND IS REALLY IN TUNE WITH WATER, ENERGY, TRANSPORTATION.
WHAT ARE THOSE MOBILITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE ROLES AT THE CITY THAT WE CAN REALLY HELP BUILD THAT PIPELINE, THAT CONTINUED PIPELINE TO FILL THOSE ROLES.
UM, AND THEN DEVELOPING THAT FIVE YEAR BUSINESS PLAN.
AND THEN Q1 FOR 2026 IS REALLY GONNA BE FOCUSED ON AND TENTATIVE ON A CC, WHERE THEY ARE.
BUT LET'S LAUNCH THIS FACILITY, THIS CO-LOCATION OPERATIONS.
UM, AND THEN WHAT DOES THAT TRAINING MARKETPLACE LOOK LIKE? THIS DIGITAL SPACE WHERE EVERYONE CAN COME TO THIS HUB OF INFORMATION, THIS FRONT DOOR THAT MAKES IT SUPER EASY TO CONNECT EMPLOYERS AND JOB SEEKERS.
AND SO WE'RE JUST REALLY EXCITED TO WORK WITH CITY OF AUSTIN AND ALL OF OUR STAKEHOLDERS TO JUST CONNECT, COLLABORATE, AND CREATE OPPORTUNITY.
UM, AND SO WITH THAT, WE REALLY SEE OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY IN HELPING OUR RESIDENTS ACCESS THESE AMAZING CAREERS.
AFFORD LIVING IN AUSTIN, UM, REACHING OUT, WORKING CLOSELY ON, HEY, WHO ARE OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS THAT, YOU KNOW, SERVE OUR UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES AND HOW WE CAN, UH, PROVIDE THEM WITH OPPORTUNITIES AND MEET THEM WHERE THEY ARE.
UM, STREAMLINING OUR COLLABORATION ACROSS AGENCIES, EMPLOYERS, EDUCATORS.
LIKE I SAID, WE DON'T WANNA BE AN EXTRA COOK IN THE KITCHEN.
WE WANNA SUPPORT, ENHANCE THIS WORK.
WE WANNA STREAMLINE WATCH OUT FOR DUPLICATION AND OVERLAP, AND THAT'S HOW WE'RE GONNA SCALE OUR REACH, ALL OF US WHEN WE PARTNER IN THAT COORDINATED WAY.
UM, AND THEN ALSO FILLING THOSE CRITICAL ROLES AND WATER, ENERGY AND TRANSPORTATION, WORKING ON THOSE CAREER PATHWAYS.
UM, AND JUST ALL, YOU KNOW, MAKING THAT OPPORTUNITY HERE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND ALSO BUILDING IT, BUT KEEPING TRUE TO THE UNIQUENESS OF IT.
AND, AND WHEN I THINK ABOUT ALL THIS WORK AND EVEN AS STEPPING IN AS INTERIM CEO, I THINK THAT AUSTIN HAS SO MUCH TO OFFER.
AND THESE ARE MY FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS, THE WHOLE COMMUNITY, AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY, THEY'RE MY FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS.
AND I WANT EVERYBODY TO BE ABLE TO ACHIEVE ECONOMIC PROSPERITY AND BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN ALL THAT IS HAPPENING IN AUSTIN.
AND SO REALLY THE AUSTIN INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY IS LAYING THE GROUND FOR THAT THROUGH EDUCATION, TRAINING, AND OPPORTUNITY.
AND WE WANTED TO, BEFORE WE TAKE QUESTIONS, WE WANTED TO REMIND EVERYBODY, UM, AND INVITE EVERYBODY TO THE WATER FORUM, WHICH IS OCTOBER 16TH FROM EIGHT TO 12, AND THERE'S INFORMATION HERE.
COLLEAGUES, FROM MY UNDERSTANDING, OUR CHAIR, COUNCILMAN ZO CADRE HAS JOINED US AND, UH, WILL BE, IS AVAILABLE ONLINE.
A FOR THE MESSY HAIR, BUT, UH, I HAD A CONSTITUENT WHO NEEDED, UH, A DIAPER CHANGE AND A BOTTLE FEEDING, SO THAT'S WHY LATE
SORRY FOR JOINING A LITTLE BIT LATE.
CHAIR CADRE AND COLLEAGUES, UH, JUST WANTED TO TAKE A QUICK BREAK HERE TO MAKE A MOTION TO RECONSIDER ITEM NUMBER ONE, WHICH WAS THE APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES FOR OUR JULY COMMITTEE MEETING.
AS SECONDED BY COUNCIL HARPER MADISON WOULD LIKE TO SHOW COUNCIL, UH, OUR CHAIR CADRE VOTING IN SUPPORT OF THE MEETING MINUTES, UH, WITHOUT OBJECTION.
I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA GO BACK OFF OF, OF MUTE AND VIDEO BECAUSE
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OF THE BABY, BUT, UH, I JUST WANNA THANK, UH, VICE CHAIR ENTENTES FOR FILLING IN AND BECOMING CHAIR ENTENTES TODAY.SO, AND I APPRECIATE EVERYONE ELSE FOR BEING ON
AND, UH, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION ON THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY.
WE'LL NOW STAND FOR QUESTIONS, COLLEAGUES, WHO'D LIKE TO KICK US OFF.
COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL, UH, THANK YOU MAYOR PROAM AND THANK YOU DIRECTOR SEUR AND THE FOLKS THAT WORK FOR SOLUTIONS, UH, FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UH, CONGRATS MS. LAWSON FOR YOUR NEW, UH, POSITION HERE.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN I CAME ON COUNCIL, I WAS EXCITED TO BE ADDED TO THE ADVISORY COUNCIL BY THE MAYOR AND, UH, REALLY ENJOYED WORKING WITH MS. ATKINSON.
SO LOOK FORWARD TO COLLABORATING THE DAYS AHEAD.
AND I THINK, LIKE A LOT OF FOLKS ON COUNCIL HAVE REALLY HIGH HOPES AND ASPIRATIONS FOR THIS CONCEPT TO, UM, KIND OF INTEGRATE ALL OF OUR JOB TRAINING AND WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS, UH, YOU KNOW, OBJECTIVES AS A COMMUNITY AND, YOU KNOW, FUNNEL A LOT OF GOOD STUFF THROUGH THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY, THROUGH A CC, AND HOPEFULLY GET A LOT OF GREAT OUTCOMES.
UM, I'LL JUST SAY THAT, UH, COUNCIL, IN OUR RECENT BUDGET, UH, WE DID, UM, ADD A BILLION DOLLARS FOR, FOR JOB TRAINING FOR FOLKS, UH, YOU KNOW, EXITING HOMELESSNESS AND EXITING, UH, JAIL.
AND, UH, WE'RE STILL FIGURING OUT EXACTLY HOW TO, YOU KNOW, FOCUS THOSE RESOURCES.
BUT TO ME, LIKE WHENEVER WE'RE TALKING ABOUT JOB TRAINING, IF WE COULD FIND AN ANGLE TO CONNECT THINGS TO THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY AND, AND PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES, I MEAN, UH, THAT ITEM WAS FOCUSED IN PARTICULAR ON FINDING TECH JOBS FOR FOLKS, BUT, UM, THERE'S A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES THERE.
UM, AND JUST ANOTHER KIND OF BIG PICTURE THOUGHT IS THAT, UM, WE'RE DOING A LOT OF WORK ON SOLAR POWER, POWER AS A CITY THROUGH AUSTIN ENERGY.
UH, WE HAVE AN ITEM THAT'S DEVELOPING QUICKLY ABOUT BUILDING, UH, SOLAR POWER ON CITY LANDS.
AND THAT IS A HUGE AREA OF, OF POTENTIAL, UM, ACTIVITY FOR THE WORKFORCE, UM, FOR THE, YOU KNOW, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY TO BASICALLY, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THROUGH THE MC THREE PROGRAM, TRAIN FOLKS ON HOW TO BE SOLAR PANEL INSTALLERS THROUGH THE ELECTRICAL WORKERS UNION, UH, GET PEOPLE TRAINED UP.
AND THEN TO BUILD, UH, LITERALLY THOUSANDS OF ACRES OF SOLAR PANELS IS WHAT WE'RE GONNA NEED TO LIVE UP TO OUR AUSTIN ENERGY GOALS.
AND SO, UM, I'M ALSO HOPEFUL THAT WE CAN FIGURE THAT OUT AS WELL, UH, IN THE DAYS AHEAD.
UM, WITH THAT, UH, MY TEAM, 'CAUSE WE ARE VERY MUCH OBSESSED WITH THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY.
WE'VE GOT A LOT OF GOOD QUESTIONS.
UH, AND WANTED TO START WITH, UM, UH, THE CHILDCARE AND TRANSPORTATION FUNDS MM-HMM
THAT ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, ALLOCATED TO THIS AND SOME OF THE KIND OF QUESTIONS WE HAVE.
AND FEEL FREE TO ANSWER THEM, UH, AS MUCH AS YOU CAN.
UH, BUT, YOU KNOW, CHILDCARE IN PARTICULAR, UH, PLAYS A VERY IMPORTANT ROLE RIGHT, IN MAKING THESE JOBS MORE ACCESSIBLE TO WOMEN.
UM, AND SO ANY, UH, EFFORTS YOU CAN SHARE TO TARGET OUTREACH TO WOMEN WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN THE BUILDING TRADES, WE'D LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT THAT.
AND ALSO, UM, DO WE OFFER CHILDCARE OR TRANSPORTATION FUND BENEFITS BEYOND THE PRE-APPRENTICESHIP TRAINING? UH, AS GRADUATES ENTER, YOU KNOW, EARN AS YOU LEARN, APPRENTICESHIPS WOULD LOVE TO HEAR MORE.
UM, FOR CHILDCARE, WE ARE TRACKING, OUR NAVIGATORS ARE, AS I SAID, THEY'RE TALKING TO PEOPLE, THEY'RE TRACKING THEIR CONVERSATIONS, AND WE ARE LOOKING AT HOW MANY PEOPLE WE ARE TALKING TO ABOUT CHILDCARE AND THEN HOW MANY ARE BEING REFERRED TO, TO OUR CHILDCARE PROVIDER BECAUSE THROUGH THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY THERE, NOBODY HAS TO GO ON THE WAIT LIST.
IT IS A DIRECT REFERRAL TO OUR CHILDCARE PROVIDER.
AND THEN THE PARENT CHOOSES A, A CHILDCARE PROVIDER.
UH, ONE AREA THAT I'M, UH, WOULD LIKE TO STRENGTHEN IS THERE IS AN MC THREE ISH CLASS RUN BY LONE STAR.
UM, AND THEY ARE WOMEN THAT STARTED THAT WORKED IN THE TRADES AND ACTUALLY STARTED A COMPANY TO OFFER TRAINING.
WHILE THEY DON'T FOCUS SOLELY ON WOMEN, I THINK IT'S A GREAT EXAMPLE OF WOMEN IN THE TRADES THAT CAN SHARE THEIR STORIES AND HOPEFULLY RECRUIT MORE WOMEN.
SO WE'RE LOOKING HOPEFULLY TO FUND A CLASS WITH THEM SOON.
UM, IN REGARDS TO TRANSPORTATION, ABSOLUTELY WE PROVIDE TRANSPORTATION ASSISTANCE THROUGH SOMEBODY'S FIRST PAYCHECK, EVEN BEYOND, IF SOMEBODY NEEDS IT BEYOND THEIR FIRST PAYCHECK, WE, WE CAN PROVIDE THAT.
WE INDIVIDUALIZE ALL OF OUR SERVICES, SO WE'RE, ONCE SOMEBODY GETS A JOB, WE'RE STILL WORKING WITH THEM TO ENSURE THAT THEY MAINTAIN THAT JOB, UM, AND WE CAN OFFER THEM THE SERVICES THAT THEY NEED.
JUST TO ADD, UM, WE ALSO HAVE A WOMEN'S SURVEY.
AND SO THIS IS REALLY TARGETING WOMEN WHO ARE WORKING IN THE TRADES.
WHAT ARE YOUR CHALLENGES? WHAT, WHAT ALSO ATTRACTED YOU TO THIS? WHAT, WHAT ARE THE GREAT THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING AND HOW CAN WE ATTRACT MORE WOMEN TO THE TRADES? UM, AND THEN WE HAVE ANOTHER SURVEY FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC, PUBLIC, HEY, WHY HAVE YOU NOT CONSIDERED THIS? WHAT WOULD MAKE YOU CONSIDER THIS INDUSTRY? UM, AND WE HAVE A PRIORITY, PRIORITY GROUP WITH, UM, STAKEHOLDERS FROM EMPLOYERS, GOVERNMENT, COMMUNITY, AND EDUCATION THAT ALSO COME TOGETHER AND ARE LOOKING AT TACKLING THIS.
HOW DO WE WORK TOGETHER TO GET MORE WOMEN, UM, IN THE TRADES? AND
[00:25:01]
I ALSO WANNA ADD, UM, ANN AND I HAVE HAD AMAZING CONVERSATIONS ABOUT SECOND CHANCE UN AND UNHOUSED INDIVIDUALS IN AUSTIN, AND HOW WE CAN REALLY HELP UPLIFT THEM AND EMPOWER THEM AND FIND OUT, MEET THEM WHERE THEY ARE, YOU KNOW, AND DO THE RESEARCH TO BE TRANSPARENT WITH THEM, HEY, WHAT ARE THE OPPORTUNITIES IN THE TRADES FOR YOU? BECAUSE THERE ARE SOME RESTRICTIONS, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS FOR PLUMBING AND ELECTRICIANS.IF YOU HAVE A CERTAIN BACKGROUND, YOU CANNOT GET THAT APPRENTICESHIP, BUT THERE ARE A MILLION OTHER PATHS.
SO WE WANNA TAKE THAT POSITIVE APPROACH OF, HEY, LOOK AT ALL THESE AMAZING OPPORTUNITIES, WE WANNA HELP YOU GET THERE.
AND THAT POPULATION IS IMPORTANT TO ME.
I SERVE AS CHAIR ON THE BOARD OF ON POINT REENTRY, UM, WHICH WORKS WITH INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE, WHO WERE JUSTICE INVOLVED, AND THEY WORK WITH EMPLOYERS AND THEY WORK WITH INDIVIDUALS.
THEY ALSO PROVIDE TRAINING TO ORGANIZATIONS AND STAFF WHO ARE WORKING THE FRONT LINE TO BE ABLE TO HELP INDIVIDUALS, UM, THAT ARE JUSTICE INVOLVED.
AND RIGHT NOW WE'RE IN A TIME OF NO WORKER LEFT BEHIND.
AND SO EVERYBODY HAS AN OPPORTUNITY.
SO WE CERTAINLY ARE DOING OUTREACH TO THAT, THAT COMMUNITY AS WELL.
UM, I'M LOOKING AT THE REST OF MY QUESTIONS.
SOME OF 'EM ARE PRETTY GRANULAR, BUT A LOT OF IT HAS TO DO WITH HOW ARE WE TRACKING, YOU KNOW, FOLKS COMING THROUGH THE MC THREE AS THEY GET INTO THE EARN AS YOU LEARN PROGRAMS, AND HOPEFULLY AUSTIN WATER, AUSTIN ENERGY, ET CETERA, HIRES THEM.
UM, SO WE'D LOVE TO SET UP SOME TIME TO TALK MORE OFFLINE, BUT ABSOLUTELY.
BUT THANKS AGAIN FOR BEING HERE.
AND I WANNA ADD ONE MORE THING TOO.
WE HAVE THE PRE-APPRENTICE MC THREE, BUT THERE'S TONS OF TRAININGS INVOLVED, RIGHT? LIKE, THERE'S APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS, ELECTRICIANS, PLUMBERS, HVAC, WE HAVE A WHOLE AMAZING CROSSWALK PATHWAYS THAT WE CREATED TO SHOW ALL THE MULTIPLE CAREERS IN CONSTRUCTION, TRANSPORTATION, UM, MO MOBILITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO JUST WANNA ALSO JUST CALL ATTENTION TO THAT.
IT'S, IT'S VAST THE OPPORTUNITIES.
I THINK, UH, YOU ACTUALLY ANSWERED ALL MY QUESTIONS, INCLUDING, UM, IN ADDITION TO JOINING MY COLLEAGUE AND CONGRATULATING YOU ON YOUR NEW POSITION, I, I THINK, UH, TAMARA AND I REALLY WERE ABLE TO HAVE THE KIND OF CONVERSATIONS THAT HELPED ME FIND THE LANGUAGE TO ARTICULATE MY CONCERNS, BUT ALSO RECOGNIZE THAT, UM, THE DOLLARS ALWAYS ARE WHAT COUNT.
AND SO I, A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT CAME TO MY ATTENTION AS WE WERE TALKING AND ONE THAT I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE TO POINT OUT 'CAUSE I WANT YOU TO KNOW WHAT MATTERS.
UM, SO I WAS GONNA GIVE MY, MY COLLEAGUE MIGUEL HERE A HARD TIME BECAUSE HE SAID PEOPLE COMING OUTTA JAIL.
BUT YOU SAID JUSTICE INVOLVED, THERE'S A DIFFERENCE IN WORDS MATTER.
AND GIVEN OUR CURRENT POLITICAL CLIMATE AND WHERE DOLLARS GET CUT AND SAVED AND OFFERED FOR SUPPORTS, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY HAVE TO BE CAREFUL WITH HOW WE USE WORDS.
AND SO I JUST WANTED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT.
UM, 'CAUSE NOT EVERYBODY DOES, AND WE HAVE PEOPLE IN POSITIONS THAT DON'T GET IT.
IT'S DIFFICULT FOR THEM TO GET TO A CERTAIN POPULATION OF PEOPLE.
UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS I RAN ON WHEN I WAS RUNNING, I WAS LIKE, LISTEN, IF YOU'VE EVER PAWNED ANYTHING, YOU CAN BE MY COUNCIL MEMBER
YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING? AND SO THERE'S CERTAIN, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT DIVERSITY OF LEADERSHIP AND DIVERSITY OF KNOWLEDGE BASE, THERE'S CERTAIN THINGS YOU REALLY NEED TO KNOW WHAT PEOPLE ARE UP AGAINST.
WE KNOW WHAT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU GO BY THE BOOK, THIS IS WHAT THE SYSTEM SAYS DOES.
BUT I KNOW THAT GIVEN THESE CIRCUMSTANCES, SO I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.
CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU ALSO, MEGAN.
UM, I WANTED TO JUST RUN THROUGH A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT, UM, THAT CAUGHT MY ATTENTION.
SO, UH, DON'T BE EMBARRASSED SHARON, BUT SHARON IN OUR OFFICE, UH, DID SOMETHING REALLY COOL AND HELP TO ACKNOWLEDGE AND ADDRESS THAT SO MANY OF OUR STUDENT POPULATION ARE FOOD INSECURE.
AND JUST WITH SOME TENACITY AND HARD WORK, SHE WAS ABLE TO GET US TO DO SOME TWEAKS WITHOUT COUNCIL ACTION.
SOME TWEAKS THAT MADE IT SO WE'RE FEEDING SCHOLARS, STUDENTS OF ALL VARIETIES.
AND SO AS WE TALK ABOUT THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THOUGHT ABOUT WAS WANTING TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT PEOPLE IN TRAINING AT EVERY LEVEL, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THEY'RE STUDENTS AT AN ACCREDITED UNIVERSITY OR COLLEGE OR INFRASTRUCTURE STUDENTS OR WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS, EVERYBODY'S GOT TO EAT.
AND SO RECOGNIZING FOOD SECURITY AS A PART OF ONE OF THOSE THINGS WE NEED TO ADDRESS IN THOSE BASIC NEEDS CATEGORIES, UM, IS SOMETHING I'D LOVE FOR US TO VISIT IN THE FUTURE.
UM, AND THEN THE OTHER THING I WAS THINKING, UM, I LOVED THAT YOU SAID THE THING ABOUT STREAMLINING COLLABORATION.
SO I WENT FOR A WHOLE NOTHER REASON.
I DON'T KNOW IF Y'ALL REMEMBER OUR FORMER A CM SHORTER, CHRIS SHORTER WENT TO BALTIMORE FOR A PERIOD OF TIME.
SO I WENT TO VISIT AND CHECK OUT THEIR STRUCTURES.
AND I THINK I WAS TELLING DIRECTOR URA ABOUT THIS.
THEY HAVE THIS PROGRAM WHERE THE INTEGRATION OF THEIR WORKFORCE SYSTEM, IT LIKE OVERNIGHT REVOLUTIONIZED HOW THEY'RE ADDRESSING WORKFORCE BECAUSE IT WAS LIKE, YOU KNOW, WHETHER YOU'RE JUSTICE INVOLVED OR JUST COMING INTO A NEW GIG, WHATEVER THE THING WAS, THEY WERE READYING PEOPLE IN A WAY THAT FOLKS WEREN'T THINKING ABOUT.
SO LIKE THERE'S A, A LOCAL ORGANIZATION CALLED MEL, UM, THERE'S A LADY, LATRICE COOK, WHO RUNS AN ORGANIZATION CALLED MEJ.
[00:30:01]
IS THINKING ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT OTHER FOLKS AREN'T THINKING ABOUT.DO YOU NEED A DENTAL APPOINTMENT? HAVE YOU EVER TRIED TO GO TO WORK WITH AN ABSCESS TOOTH? YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING? LIKE, REALLY THINK ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE'S NEEDS ARE.
AND SO WHEN WE GET THAT GRANULAR, THAT'S HOW WE OFFER THE PATHWAY TO SUSTAIN SUCCESS.
UM, SOMETHING ELSE YOU SAID, UH, THAT I WANTED TO MAKE NOTE OF.
WHEN I SAY WORDS MATTER, YOU SAID THE CITY GAVE US MONEY.
CITY DIDN'T GIVE Y'ALL NOTHING.
HENNY, WE DIDN'T HAVE IT TO GIVE THE PEOPLE, THE PEOPLE, OUR GENERAL CITIZENRY, THEY MADE THAT INVESTMENT WITH THEIR TAX DOLLARS.
THEY DIDN'T GIVE Y'ALL NOTHING.
THEY'RE WATCHING AND THEY EXPECT, JUST LIKE, THEY MIGHT NOT YELL AT YOU LIKE THEY DO ME, BUT THEY EXPECT ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THEIR DOLLARS AND THEIR INVESTMENT.
WHAT THEY WANNA SEE IS THEIR NEIGHBORS BE OFFERED THE OPPORTUNITY FOR SUSTAINED PATHWAYS TO SUCCESS.
AND I WANNA MAKE SURE TO MENTION THIS AGENCY AND INDEPENDENCE.
PEOPLE DON'T WANNA BE GIVEN NOTHING, Y'ALL, AND YOU KEEP GIVING, THEN YOU CAN'T GIVE NO MORE.
AND NOW THEY'RE STUCK 'CAUSE THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO SUSTAIN THEMSELVES.
BEYOND RESILIENCE IS THE GOAL.
AND SO WE'RE NOT GIVEN NOTHING.
THAT GOT ME THINKING ABOUT THE TRANSPORTATION COMPONENT FOR A MOMENT.
I WANNA MAKE CERTAIN THAT WHEN WE MAKE INVESTMENTS IN TRANSPORTATION, THAT WE MAKE INVESTMENTS THAT MAKES SENSE.
SO IF PEOPLE THINK THERE'S A RIDE WAITING FOR THEM ALWAYS, AND THAT'S THE ONLY WAY I'M GONNA GO TO SCHOOL, THAT'S THE ONLY WAY I'M GOING TO WORK.
WELL THEN GUESS WHAT? YOU AIN'T GOT ENOUGH SKIN IN THE GAME, HOMIE.
SO SOMEBODY ELSE IS GONNA TAKE THE BUS OR THE E-BIKE OR THE WHATEVER THE THING IS.
AND SO I JUST WANNA MAKE CERTAIN THAT OUR INVESTMENTS IN TRANSPORTATION DON'T SET PEOPLE UP TO BE EXPECTING A RIDE.
HOW ARE YOU? ARE YOU INVESTED? HOW ARE YOU GONNA GET THERE? THESE ARE YOUR FOUR OPTIONS.
BUT I DON'T WANT US CODDLING PEOPLE WHEN IT COMES TO TRANSPORTATION.
SO THE PATH IS SUSTAINED AGENCY PEOPLE CAN DO IT BY THEMSELVES AND THEY NEED TO BE ABLE TO, OTHERWISE, THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER IS YOU'RE POURING MONEY INTO A FAILED INVESTMENT.
AND I WANT YOU TO THINK ABOUT IT LIKE THAT.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT LIVE AND BREATHING HUMAN BEINGS.
RIGHT? BUT THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER IS, THOSE DOLLARS HAVE TO BE ACCOUNTED FOR.
I DON'T CARE IF THEY GIVE YOU $3 OR 300, THE PEOPLE WHO COME UP WITH THE MONEY, THEY WANT YOU TO ACCOUNT FOR IT.
SO DURING THAT RECONCILIATION PROCESS, YOU HAVE TO SAY LIKE YOUR SLIDE SAID, THESE ARE OUR SUCCESS STORIES.
THIS IS THE DATA THAT DATA HAS TO SHOW THAT WE'RE MAKING THE MONEY BACK ON THE TRANSPORTATION INVESTMENT AS WELL.
WHICH GOT ME THINKING INSTEAD OF JUST GIVING PEOPLE RIDES, INSTEAD OF JUST GIVING BUS PASSES, THINGS LIKE E-BIKES.
SO THERE'S AN APARTMENT COMPLEX THAT I SIGNED UP, YOU KNOW, TO BE CONSIDERED FOR A UNIT AND THEY'RE A CAR FREE COMMUNITY, IN WHICH CASE IS A PART OF THEIR ENTRY PACKAGE.
UM, AND SO JUST THINKING, I WONDER IF WHILE WE'RE THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX, WE'RE A TECH CITY, I WONDER IF WE COULD PARTNER WITH SOME E-BIKE COMPANIES.
I WATCH HOW FREQUENTLY FOLKS IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD, I LIVE JUST ACROSS THE HIGHWAY.
I WATCH HOW FREQUENTLY PEOPLE USE MOBILITY DEVICES THAT NOBODY THOUGHT THEY'D BE THE ONES USING.
SO THERE'S SAFETY VESTS AND HARD HATS FLYING ACROSS 35 ON SCOOTERS BECAUSE THEY PARK IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD FOR FREE AND THEN COME TO WORK TO BUILD YOUR CITY DOWNTOWN.
BUT FOLKS GOTTA BE ABLE TO GET WHERE THEY GOTTA GO.
AND A FOLDABLE, COLLAPSIBLE E-BIKE RACK ON CONSTRUCTION SITES SOUNDS GOOD TO ME.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING ELSE I'D LIKE FOR US TO DISCUSS AND REALLY BRING IN COUNCIL MEMBER ELLISON, THE MOBILITY COMMITTEE AND YOU KNOW, SUSTAINED MOBILITY AND TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS.
AND THEN I'LL WRAP IT UP WITH THIS LAST THING.
UM, WHEN I WAS GOING OUT TO BE A FIREFIGHTER BACK, BACK IN THE DAY, UM, I, FIRST OF ALL, LET'S JUST SAY BIG UPS TO THE FIREFIGHTERS.
THAT JOB IS NOT FOR EVERYBODY.
AND I DISCOVERED THAT AND THE TRAINING PROCESS.
SO THANK Y'ALL FOR YOUR SERVICE.
UM, BUT A PART OF THAT PROCESS WAS WOMEN CAN DO ANYTHING MEN CAN DO.
HOWEVER, WE HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT BIOLOGICALLY BORN WOMEN MORE FREQUENTLY THAN NOT, OR PHYSIOLOGICALLY NOT BUILT THE SAME AS MEN.
SO TAKING AN X TO A CEILING AND RIPPING IT DOWN IS NOT HOW MY BODY WAS GENETICALLY BUILT.
I HAVE TO WORK TOWARDS HAVING THOSE STRENGTHS.
SO UPPER BODY STRENGTH, PULLUPS, BEING ABLE TO DO SOME OF THE MECHANICS THAT YOU NEED TO DO TO YOU AIN'T OPEN A CHAINSAW OR DO SOME OF THOSE THINGS.
THE LADIES IN THE CLASS WERE PERFECTLY CAPABLE.
WHAT THEY NEEDED WAS THE TRAINING.
SO THERE WAS A PROGRAM, THIS KINESIOLOGY PROGRAM CALLED FIRE STARTER.
AND THIS LADY KIM BECKWITH, I DON'T KNOW WHAT, THANK YOU KIM, FOR DRIVING ME HOME AFTER I HURT MY KNEE
THAT'S HOW I EXITED THE PROCESS BY THE WAY.
UM, AND SO KIM AND A TEAM OF FOLKS WERE HELPING WOMEN IN THE GYM OVER AT UT.
MAYBE WE COULD WORK WITH SOME OF OUR OTHER EDUCATIONAL PARTNERS AND CERTAIN A CC HAS ACCESS, UM, TO GET WOMEN READY FOR THOSE JOBS THAT REQUIRE STRENGTHS IN WAYS THAT WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY
[00:35:01]
BUILT FOR.UM, SPEAKING OF WORDS, MATTERING CHILDCARE IS NOT JUST FOR WOMEN, CHILDCARE IS FOR EVERYBODY.
AND I THINK, I THINK US FOLLOWING THAT NARRATIVE THAT CHILDCARE IS THE PATH TO ACCESS FOR EMPLOYMENT FOR WOMEN MEANS THAT WOMEN THAT'S SYNONYMOUS WITH MOM, WHICH MEANS HER JOB IS SUPPOSED TO DO THAT AND NOT THAT.
SO IT'S LIKE SHE'S DOING THIS INSTEAD OF, AND I, I REALLY WANT US TO BE ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN THIS PARADIGM SHIFT THAT RECOGNIZES CHILDCARE IS FOR EVERYBODY.
THE WHOLE FAMILY NEEDS THAT CHILDCARE.
YOU'RE NOT OFFERING MOM SOME RELIEF.
DAD'S NOT BABYSITTING, HE'S BEING A FATHER.
SO I WANT US TO ACTIVELY BE A PART OF CHANGING THAT NARRATIVE.
WOMEN IN THE WORKFORCE, MEN IN THE WORKFORCE, SAME, SAME CHILDCARE'S FOR EVERYBODY.
UM, AND THEN ONE LAST QUESTION ABOUT CHILDCARE.
AS A FIRE FAMILY, LIKE I WAS, ONE OF OUR CHALLENGES WAS FIREFIGHTERS WORK 24 ON 48 OFF.
SO OVERNIGHT AND OR, YOU KNOW, YOU'LL SEE A LOT OF OUR FIRE POPULATION, THEY DO WHAT THEY CALL PROJECTING, WHICH MEANS ON THEIR DAYS OFF, THESE PEOPLE ARE THE HARDEST WORKING PEOPLE IN TOWN, I PROMISE YOU.
SO ON THEIR DAYS OFF, THEY DO SIDE JOBS, YOU KNOW, AND SO I'M JUST THINKING UNIQUE CHILDCARE OPPORTUNITIES DROP IN OPPORTUNITIES, OVERNIGHT OPPORTUNITIES, WEEKEND OPPORTUNITIES, JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ALWAYS THINKING ABOUT THOSE UNIQUE CHILDCARE NEEDS.
WE, WE DO, UH, UNFORTUNATELY WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH IN OUR COMMUNITY, BUT I THINK WITH THE CHILDCARE AND OUT OF SCHOOL TIME, THE CCOS FROM THE COUNTY FUNDING THE, THE BILL, UM, I THINK THAT IS GOING TO MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO STABILIZE THE INDUSTRY YEAH.
AND ALLOW PROVIDERS TO OFFER THAT.
IT CERTAINLY IS NEEDED FOR WHETHER IT BE AN INFRASTRUCTURE OR HEALTHCARE MM-HMM
BECAUSE THEY WORK OVERNIGHT SHIFTS AS WELL, WHICH I APPRECIATE.
AND I THINK TO SOME DEGREE IT'S ALSO GONNA BE A MATTER OF LIKE BUILDING THOSE RESILIENT COMMUNITIES AND ENCOURAGING PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T REALIZE THAT YOU ALREADY GOT ALL THESE KIDS OVER HERE ANYWAY, GIRL, GO GET SOME TRAINING AND GET YOUR HOUSE TOGETHER.
AND YOU KNOW, LIKE ENCOURAGING OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE ALREADY READILY AVAILABLE IN COMMUNITIES.
I WAS JUST TELLING MAYOR PRO TIM THAT MY CHILDCARE PROVIDER COMING UP, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS LIKE,
BUT SHE WAS A BUILT-IN CHILDCARE PROVIDER FOR OUR COMMUNITY AND WHO KNEW, RIGHT.
AND SO I THINK EXPANDING ON THOSE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE ALREADY DOING IT IN THE COMMUNITY TO BE COMPENSATED AND TRAINED AND BE PROFESSIONAL IN THE SERVICES THAT THEY ALREADY PROVIDE TO OUR COMMUNITIES.
I JUST ALSO WANTED, THAT'S A GREAT TIME TO HIGHLIGHT, UM, THROUGH OUR SHARED WORK, BUT ALSO WITH THE HOMEGROWN IMPLEMENTATION PLAN AND DEVELOPING THE CONTINUE TO BUILD ON THE FAMILY AND FRIENDS NETWORK.
YOU NEED A DIVERSITY OF OPTIONS OF CARE.
AND THAT'S ANOTHER ONE OF OUR CHILDCARE INITIATIVE PRIORITIES THAT WE'RE VERY MUCH WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY ON.
DO YOU MIND GETTING WITH SHARON AND I ON THE FAMILY AND FRIENDS PROGRAM? I'D BE HAPPY TO.
AND I REALLY DO THINK I WAS, OH, I WAS TELLING YOU ABOUT THE BALTIMORE PROGRAM WHERE THEY DID THE STREAMLINING.
THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY DID.
THEY DID THESE, UM, YOU KNOW HOW SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE PROGRAMS THAT WILL OFFER YOU A SUBSIDY OF SOME SORT, BUT ONLY IF YOU TAKE THIS PARENTING CLASS.
SO THEN IT BECOMES THIS SORT OF ARBITRARY THING.
AND AS LONG AS YOU GO TO THE CLASS, YOU SIGN YOUR NAME, THEN YOU GET THE THING, IT'S A TRANSACTION.
IT'S NOT AN INVESTMENT IN YOUR FAMILY LONG TERM.
AND I, I JUST THINK ABOUT TO SOME DEGREE, IT'S LIKE WHEN YOU GIVE FOLKS A LEG UP, SO TO SPEAK, YOU KNOW, IT REALLY IS A SETUP.
IT, THERE'S NO OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP.
SO I LIKE THAT Y'ALL TALK ABOUT CAREERS AND PATHWAYS TO BUILDING CAREERS.
'CAUSE JOBS IS NOT WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR.
JOBS WILL GET YOU BY, BUT CAREERS GET YOU THROUGH.
I JUST WONDER IF THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THOSE.
UM, YOU DIDN'T CALL 'EM CASE MANAGERS.
WHAT DID YOU CALL 'EM? NAVIGATORS.
FOR THE NAVIGATORS TO ALSO BE ABLE TO BUILD IN SORT OF AN, AND THIS IS NOT INTENDED TO BE PATRONIZING.
IT'S THE WAY I SEE IT IN MY HEAD AND IT, IT HELPS FOR REFERENCE.
I HAVE A 33-YEAR-OLD CHILD, SO LIKE ADULTING, IT IS NOT INSTINCTIVE.
I'M TELLING YOU SOMETIMES YOU REALLY NEED LIKE A LITTLE EXTRA SUPPORT AND ADULTS DON'T LIKE TO ASK OTHER ADULTS FOR SUPPORT.
BUT IN A SITUATION LIKE THAT WHERE THEY'RE ALREADY LIKE, THIS EXCHANGE IS ALREADY COMFORTABLE AND, AND HAS THAT TRUST AND FOLKS ARE ALREADY KIND OF VULNERABLE, I THINK IT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO INTRODUCE SOME ADULTING 1 0 1 STUFF, FINANCIAL LITERACY STUFF.
AND YOU KNOW, THE MAINTENANCE OF, I, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT COMES TO MIND AND I REALLY WILL STOP IS THE INSISTENCE ON HOME OWNERSHIP BEING THE PATHWAY TO SUCCESS TO FINANCIAL.
LISTEN HERE, HENNY, UNLESS YOU HAVE THE KIND OF FINANCIAL RUNWAY THAT
[00:40:01]
CAN, THAT CAN SUSTAIN, THEN ACTUALLY THAT WAS JUST A SETUP.NOW YOU'RE IN FORECLOSURE, YOU TO MESS YOUR LITTLE CREDIT UP AND YOU KNOW, LIKE THERE ARE IMPLICATIONS, BUT UNLESS SOMEBODY'S TELLING YOU THE OTHER SIDE.
SO, YOU KNOW, THE BROADER COMMENTARY IS, YOU KNOW, BECOME A HOMEOWNER.
WHEREAS, YOU KNOW, SOME FOLKS WHO DON'T CARE ABOUT BEING LIKED WILL TELL YOU DO NOT DO IT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.
BUT TELLING FOLKS THAT KIND OF THING I THINK SOUNDS LIKE BAD NEWS.
IT'S JUST REALISTIC INFORMATION AND HAVING IT COME FROM SOMEBODY YOU TRUST IS VERY HELPFUL.
I THANK, APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.
THANK YOU FOR, FOR ALL OF YOU.
UH, I WILL ALSO TAKE MY QUESTIONS OFFLINE COLLEAGUES.
WE STILL HAVE THREE MORE BRIEFINGS TO GET TO THIS COMMITTEE HEARING.
UH, BUT I DO JUST WANNA HIGHLIGHT, I AM LOOKING FORWARD FOR THE INFORMATION AROUND THE, UH, ESTABLISHING THE CITY OF AUSTIN AS A, AS THE MAIN PARTNER.
I REALLY WANNA LOOK AT HOW ARE WE ENSURING THE INVESTMENTS THAT WE'RE MAKING THROUGH OUR CITY BUDGET, THAT 5 MILLION INVESTMENT AND THEN IT WAS ALSO BAKED INTO THE BASE BUDGET PROPOSAL THIS YEAR.
YOU KNOW, IF WE ARE GONNA BE MAINTAINING FUNDING FOR THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY, HOW CAN WE ENSURE THAT THESE FUNDS ARE GOING DIRECTLY TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT? SO PROJECT CONNECT CONVENTION CENTER AIRPORT EXPANSION.
I HAVE A MEETING WITH THE CONSTRUCTION TRAINING PROGRAM NEXT WEEK AND ANNA AND I HAVE A LOT OF GREAT PLANS.
OKAY, COLLEAGUES, WE'RE GONNA MOVE
[3. Briefing update on the Digital Kiosk program intended to provide digital, interactive wayfinding devices on City public rights-of-way. [Anthony Segura, Interim Director - Economic Development Department].]
ON TO ITEM NUMBER THREE.THIS IS AN UPDATE ON THE DIGITAL KIOSK PROGRAM.
WE ALSO HAVE A PRESENTATION ON THIS ITEM.
INTERIM DIRECTOR ANTHONY SEGURA WILL KICK US OFF WITH THIS BRIEFING.
ANTHONY SEGURA, INTERIM DIRECTOR FOR THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
IT'S MY PLEASURE TO PROVIDE YOU A BRIEF HIGH OVERVIEW OF THE INTERACTIVE DIGITAL KIOSKS, UH, PROJECT THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON THROUGH THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
SO MY AGENDA THIS MORNING WILL BE ON JUST TO PROVIDE YOU A HIGH OVERVIEW OF THE PROGRAM OVER, UH, GOALS.
UH, THE OVERVIEW ITSELF, THE FINANCIAL, CIVIC BENEFITS ADVERTISING, CONTACT REGULATIONS ARE, ARE ACTUAL USAGE OF, UH, THE KIOSK WITH OTHER CITIES THAT USE THIS CURRENT TECHNOLOGY CODE AMENDMENT CHANGES NEEDED.
AND THEN FINALLY, IMPLEMENTATION ROADMAP AND NEXT STEPS.
FIRST AND FOREMOST, WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO DO HERE WITH A DIGITAL KIOSK AND, AND WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO ACHIEVE? SO BASICALLY WE'RE LOOKING AT DEPLOYING A NETWORK OF INTERACTIVE DIGITAL KIOSK IN HIGH PEDESTRIAN AREAS IN THE DOWNTON CORE AREA.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, TO PROMOTE LOCAL BUSINESSES, ARTS CULTURE, AND CIVIC RESOURCES AT NO COST TO THE CITY.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, WE'RE SUPPORTING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY THROUGH DISCOVERY, NAVIGATION AND MOBILE HANDOFF.
WE'RE GONNA LEVERAGE CITY FACING AD INVENTORY FOR PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS AND CITY COMMUNICATIONS.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, THERE'S GONNA BE INCLUSIVE AND ACCESSIBLE TO ALL FOR THE USAGE OF OUR DIGITAL KIOSK.
NOW, WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT HERE? NOW, HERE'S A MARKUP OF THE HARDWARE SPECIFICATIONS ON WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.
IT'S ROUGHLY ABOUT EIGHT FEET TALL.
WEIGHS ABOUT 830 SOME ODD POUNDS.
SO IT'S NOT SOMETHING WHERE AN INDIVIDUAL CAN COME AND JUST PUSH IT OVER.
IT IS HARDWIRED INTO THE SYSTEM TO ENSURE THAT IT IS A SAFE, UH, ENVIRONMENT FOR ANYBODY TO USE.
UH, AND SO REALLY THE INTENT WAS HOW BIG ARE THESE THINGS? WHAT KIND OF CIVIC BENEFITS AND FINANCIALS ARE WE LOOKING AT IF WE ARE IMPLEMENTING THE KIOSK IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA? FIRST AND FOREMOST, AS I HAD MENTIONED, THERE'S NO STARTUP COST TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
WE'RE WORKING RIGHT NOW ON FINALIZING A CONTRACT WITH A VENDOR AND WE'RE WORKING ON A REVENUE COST SHARING MODEL FROM ADVERTISING, WHICH IS HOW THIS IS PAID FOR.
THE VENDOR THEMSELVES ARE THE ONES THAT DO ALL THE SOLICITATIONS.
THEY'RE THE ONES WHO LOOK AT DOING ALL THE, UH, OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF THE, OF THE KIOSKS THEMSELVES.
AND WE'RE FIRST LOOKING AT AN INITIAL DEPLOYMENT OF 50 DIGITAL KIOSKS.
TO START OFF WITH, SOME OF THE CIVIC BENEFITS THAT I MENTIONED INCLUDE PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS, COMMUNITY CAMPAIGNS, SMALL BUSINESS PROMOTIONS, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, ANY UNSOLD ADVERTISING TIME WILL BE PROVIDED TO THE CITY AT NO COST.
SOME OF THE THINGS THAT ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO US IN ENSURING THAT WE GET EVERYBODY'S APPROVAL ON THIS ARE ADVERTISING CONTACT REGULATIONS.
WE WANNA MAINTAIN THAT ADVERTISING WILL NOT HAVE ANYTHING REGARDING ILLEGAL, FALSE AND MISLEADING CONTACT TOBACCO, DRUGS, FIREARM OR ADULT ENTERTAINMENT.
AND I WILL COME BACK TO THE WORD ALCOHOL BECAUSE I GOTTA GIVE YOU A CAVEAT TO THAT.
THERE WILL BE NO POLITICAL OR ISSUE BASED OR RELIGIOUS ADS, NO VIOLENT, OFFENSIVE, OBSCENE MATERIAL, NO LOTTERY GAMBLING OR UNSAFE CONTACT AND SO FORTH.
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, NO ADS CONFLICTING WITH CITY POLICIES OR INTERESTS.
[00:45:01]
TO THE ISSUE ABOUT ALCOHOL.WE'RE WORKING WITH OUR VENDOR TO ENSURE THAT NO ADVERTISING WILL BE DISPLAYED WITHIN 500 FEET OF ANY SCHOOL, COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY, LIBRARIES, MUSEUM, RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS, YOUTH CENTERS, CEMETERIES, YOUTH ORGANIZATIONS, DAYCARE CENTERS, CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS, GOVERNMENT OFFICE, CITY PARKS, PLAYGROUNDS, UH, HOSPITALS, MEDICAL CLINICS, AND SENIOR, UH, ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES, AS WELL AS SUBSTANCE ABUSE CENTERS OR TREATMENT PROGRAMS. WE WANNA ENSURE THAT THESE ARE GOING TO BE UTILIZED, UH, FOR EVERYBODY TO USE, BUT ENSURE THAT WE HAVE STRICT GUIDELINES FOR CONTENT REGULATION.
SO WHO HAS THESE KIOSKS RIGHT NOW? YOU'D BE SURPRISED IF YOU IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW THAT THEY'RE ALREADY LIVE IN DIFFERENT CITIES IN THE TEXAS ALREADY, SUCH AS ARLINGTON, HOUSTON, SAN ANTONIO, AND SURPRISINGLY AUSTIN, TEXAS ALREADY HAS THEM.
THEY'RE CURRENTLY AT THE DOMAIN.
AND SO THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY AS WE'RE LOOKING FOR AWARDING AND LAUNCHING SOON.
DALLAS IS GONNA BE COMING ON LINE SOON AS WELL AS OUR INTENT TO PUT KIOSKS IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA FOR AUSTIN.
WHAT'S IT GONNA TAKE FOR US TO BE ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD? THERE WILL BE A REQUIREMENT FOR CODE AMENDMENT CHANGES TO BE CONDUCTED, AND IT WOULD REQUIRE US TO AMEND CHAPTER 25 DASH 10, WHICH IS A SIGN REGULATION.
THESE AMENDMENTS ARE NECESSARY TO ALLOW KIOSKS TO INCLUDE OFF-PREMISE ADVERTISING WITHOUT ANY OF THE CHANGES.
WE'RE NOT ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS PROGRAM.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, AS THE CITY CODE INDICATES, TRANSPORTATION OF PUBLIC WORKS WILL STILL BE THE OVERSEER OF SITTING, SPACING, IMAGE SPEED, AND LIGHTING.
ONCE EVERYTHING IS APPROVED FOR THAT, WHAT ARE THE IMPLEMENTATION ROADMAPS AND NEXT STEPS? FIRST AND FOREMOST, WE ARE IN THE FINAL STAGES OF CONTRACTING WITH THE VENDOR.
UH, AND SO WE'RE MOVING FORWARD.
UH, WE DID AN RFP BACK IN MAY AND JUST SELECTED AN INDIVIDUAL COMPANY.
WE RECOGNIZE THAT IT'S GOING TO REQUIRE US, ESPECIALLY WITH CODE RE UH, MODIFICATIONS AND AMENDMENTS TO GO TO THE CODE IN ORDINANCE JOINT COMMITTEE THAT'S IN OCTOBER, AS WELL AS THE PLANNING COMMISSION IN OCTOBER AND CONTINUE ON WITH OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND CITIZEN AND PARTNER ENGAGEMENT.
WE'VE ALREADY BEEN WORKING WITH THE, THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE ON THESE KIOSKS.
WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS OPPORTUNITY TO BE PRESENTED FORWARD.
WE'VE MET WITH OUR DECK OF CHAMBERS AS WELL.
AND SO IT IS NOW A CONTINUATION OF HOW DO WE INCLUDE MORE CITIZEN ENGAGEMENTS ON PLACEMENT, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING TO, TO ACHIEVE AND GETTING CITIZEN FEEDBACK.
WHAT I FAILED TO MENTION IS THE NEXT STEPS AFTER THIS IS LITERALLY TO HAVE INDIVIDUALIZED MEETINGS WITH EACH OF YOUR COUNCIL OFFICES TO DO A THOROUGH PRESENTATION ON WHAT THE KIOSK WILL DO INDIVIDUALLY, THE BENEFITS.
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, AS I'VE HEARD YOU SAY EARLIER, COUNCIL MEMBER, WHAT IS THE RETURN ON THE INVESTMENT? HOW ARE THESE REALLY GONNA MAKE THE CITY BETTER? SO AS WE MOVE FORWARD, WE'LL BE WE'LL, WE'LL SCHEDULE THOSE APPOINTMENTS WITH EACH ONE OF YOUR COUNCIL OFFICES.
WE HAVE SCHEDULED TENTATIVELY NOW CITY COUNCIL PUBLIC HEARING FOR CODE AMENDMENT CHANGES SCHEDULED TENTATIVELY FOR NOVEMBER OF 2025.
AND THEN WE CAN FULLY EXPECT TO SEE THESE SOMETIME IN THE FALL AND SUMMER OF 2026 AFTER WE'VE DONE FINAL KIOSK PLACEMENT, DONE ALL THE PERMITTING APPROVAL AND UTILITY DROPS THAT WE WORK WITH, OUR COMP WITH THE INTERNAL DEPARTMENTS AS WELL.
AND SO THIS IS AN EXTENSIVE PROCESS TO ENSURE THAT WE GET IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME.
WITH THAT, I'LL OPEN IT FOR QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS PLEASE.
DIRECTOR SEGURA, I BELIEVE OUR CHAIR, COUNCILOR CADRY HAS A FEW QUESTIONS TO KICK US OFF.
UH, THANK YOU VICE CHAIR, AKIN CHAIR.
UM, I HAVE, UH, A FEW QUESTIONS.
UM, A FEW YEARS BACK, MYSELF AND, UH, MAYOR PRO TENT, WERE AT A, A NATIONAL LEAGUE, UH, NATIONAL LEAGUE OF CITIES, UH, EVENT.
AND THEY HAD A, A BIG EXHIBIT AND THEY HAD, YOU KNOW, UH, YOU KNOW, KIOSK, YOU KNOW, CONCEPTS LIKE THIS.
AND ONE THING THAT I FOUND INTERESTING IS THAT THEY HAD, UH, AT LEAST THE COMPANY THAT WAS THERE, LIKE NAVIGATION SUPPORT FOR UNHOUSED FOLKS.
UM, YOU KNOW, IF, IF IT WAS TOO COLD OR TOO HOT, YOU KNOW, WHERE TO GO FOR A COOLING SHELTER OR A WARMING SHELTER, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT THIS WOULD HAVE? AND ANOTHER THING THAT THOSE SHOWED WAS IF THERE WAS, YOU KNOW, GOD FORBID AN EMERGENCY, YOU COULD PRESS A BUTTON AND IT WOULD, YOU KNOW, IT WOULD CONTACT, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, WHOEVER YOU MIGHT NEED.
AND THEN, SORRY, THE LAST THING THAT THOSE ALSO HAD, AND I'M JUST, I'M JUST, I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER WHAT THAT HAD AND SEEING IF THIS IS SOMETHING THAT THESE WOULD HAVE, IS THAT THE CITY WOULD BE ABLE TO PUT IN, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S CITY JOBS OR CITY RESOURCES OR, YOU KNOW, CITY EVENTS GOING ON, THE CITY COULD USE IT TO ADVERTISE, YOU KNOW, X, Y, Z THINGS.
[00:50:01]
THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION, UH, CHAIR, UM, CADRE, AND TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, THE ANSWER IS YES TO ALL THREE OF THOSE.AND SO WE DO HAVE ACCESS TO BEING ABLE TO ADVERTISE CITY BUSINESS, UH, AND WE'LL HAVE THE ABILITY OF HAVING A BUTTON ON THERE TO PRESS FOR EMERGENCIES.
UM, THE JOBS, UH, PORTION THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT WILL BE A PART OF OUR, OUR PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS THAT WE'RE ALLOWED AT TIME FOR THIS AS A PART OF THE ADVERTISING COMPONENT.
SO TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, IN SHORT, YES, WE HAVE ACCESS TO ALL OF THAT.
AND THEN I KNOW ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT YOU HAD MENTIONED AT, AT THE TOP OF YOUR PRESENTATION AS IT PERTAINED TO THE KIOSKS IS THAT THEY, THEY WOULDN'T BE USED FOR, FOR POLITICAL, UH, I GUESS ADVERTISEMENTS OR, OR CAMPAIGNS.
BUT FOR EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, THE CONVENTION CENTER EXPANSION, UM, LET'S SAY IN A DECADE OR, OR, YOU KNOW, I KNOW X AMOUNT OF TIME, UH, THE DNC OR THE RNC ARE LIKE, YOU KNOW WHAT, WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA COME TO AUSTIN.
UM, THOSE ARE POLITICAL ENTITIES.
WOULD THEY BE, WOULD, WOULD, WOULD A POLITICAL CONVENTION BE ABLE TO PUT UP AN ADVERTISEMENT ON THOSE KIOSK OR IS THAT, OR OR WOULD THAT BE UNDER THE UMBRELLA OF, OF I GUESS CAMPAIGNING AND, AND CAMPAIGN ADVERTISEMENTS? I, I, I THINK IF IT'S AN ADVERTISEMENT, AND I'LL VERIFY THIS, UH, WITH OUR VENDOR, BUT I, I BELIEVE THAT THE, THE POLITICAL ADVERTISING IS WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT RUN FOR RUNNING FOR MAYOR OR COUNCIL MEMBER'S OFFICE.
OF SOME SORTS AS OPPOSED TO ADVERTISING AN EVENT WHERE PEOPLE ARE COMING, UH, TO A LOCATION I THINK ARE TWO SEPARATE ENTITIES THAT WE'D BE TALKING ABOUT.
BUT I WILL VERIFY AND GET BACK TO YOU IF I MAY.
AND, AND OBVIOUSLY AND ONCE, AND I, I APOLOGIZE IF THIS WAS ALREADY SAID, IF IT'S, IF IT'S, IF IT'S IN, IN, UM, A QUESTIONABLE GROUP HAVING AN EVENT, IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT THE KIOSK WOULD, WOULD HAVE.
WE HAVE THE ABILITY, UH, IF THEY WERE TO HAVE, LET'S SAY HYPOTHETICALLY PUT IN AN ADVERTISEMENT THAT WE HAVE, UH, ISSUE WITH, WE'D CONTACT THEM DIRECTLY AND BEEN ASSURED THAT THEY WOULD BE REMOVED IMMEDIATELY.
WE KNOW THAT WE ARE IN AN ERA OF REALLY TIGHT BUDGETS FOR OUR CITY.
YOU MENTIONED THAT THIS WOULD BE A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF NEW REVENUE FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
ABOUT HOW MUCH CAN WE EXPECT OR ANTICIPATE IN REVENUE? I'D LOVE TO GIVE YOU A NUMBER, BUT WE REALLY DON'T KNOW YET UNTIL WE GET THE ADVERTISING AND GET A FULL YEAR UNDER OUR BELT.
I MEAN, WE HAVE ESTIMATES THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THEM, BUT IF I MAY, ONCE WE COMPLETE THE FINALIZATION OF THE AGREEMENT, I'LL GET BACK IN TOUCH WITH YOU.
FROM MY UNDERSTANDING, IT WOULD BE AT LEAST SIX FIGURES.
UM, AND THANK YOU DIRECTOR SEK.
A COUPLE QUESTIONS ALONG THE LINES OF, UM, THE IMPACT ON THE RIGHT OF WAY, AND THEN I ALSO HAVE A KIND OF A DATA PRIVACY QUESTION.
UM, UH, MY OFFICE HAS HEARD FROM GROUPS, UH, REPRESENTING FOLKS WHO ARE MOBILITY IMPAIRED, MAYBE VISUALLY IMPAIRED, UH, CONCERNED ABOUT, UH, PLACING THESE DEVICES KIND OF IN THE RIGHT OF WAY AND IT MIGHT IMPACT THEIR ABILITY TO GET AROUND.
UH, HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT THAT AND, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE KIND OF, UH, KEEP THAT IN CONSIDERATION? ABSOLUTELY.
COUNCIL MEMBER, THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION.
AND SO, UM, AS A PART OF MY ONE-ON-ONES WITH INDIVIDUAL COUNCIL OFFICES, I HAVE AN EXTENSIVE PRESENTATION THAT PROVIDES ALL THE BENEFITS, TALKS ABOUT A DA COMPLIANCE AS WELL.
SO I WILL ADDRESS ALL OF THAT WITH YOU.
AND THEN A RELATED QUESTION, UH, MORE ENVIRONMENTAL, UM, WOULD THIS HAVE ANY IMPACT ON OUR STREET TREES AT THIS TIME? NO.
AND THEN THE, UH, DATA PRIVACY QUESTION RELATED TO, UM, I GUESS THE STANDARD PACKAGE INCLUDES, UH, CAMERAS, UM, FOR SOME SORT OF PHOTO BOOTH APPLICATION.
AND SO DO WE HAVE INFORMATION ABOUT, UH, WHEN THOSE CAMERAS WILL BE ON, UH, WHO CAN ACCESS WHAT THEY RECORD? AND UH, IS IT POSSIBLE TO HAVE THE KIOSKS WITHOUT THE CAMERAS? I WILL ASK AND GET BACK TO YOU IF I MAY.
COUNT, UH, COUNCILOR HARPER MADISON.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UH, I'VE, UH, HAD THE OPPORTUNITY OVER THE YEARS TO BE A, A PART OF THE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE EVOLUTION OF THIS BECOMING A POSSIBILITY IN OUR CITY.
UM, I'M HAPPY TO SEE THAT WE ARE, UH, WE'RE TAKING EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO GENERATE REVENUE FOR THIS CITY.
UM, LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING SOME ANSWERS TO SOME OF THOSE QUESTIONS THAT YOU ASKED ABOUT MOBILITY AND, AND A DA COMPLIANCE.
UM, I GUESS THE ONE QUESTION I, I HAD THAT WE HAVEN'T AN, THAT I HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT, IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY, UM, SO LET'S SAY FOR EXAMPLE, LET'S SAY AUSTIN FC SAID, I'LL GIVE YOU A BAZILLION DOLLARS AND NO OTHER UH, FC TEAM CAN ADVERTISE HERE.
IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ORGANIZATIONS OR INDUSTRIES TO KIND OF MONOPOLIZE THE KIOSK? SO ONLY THIS, ONLY THIS BURGER JOINT ONLY, YOU KNOW, LIKE WITH THE UT CENTER ONLY, UH, THE LONGHORNS CAN PLAY THERE KIND OF A THING, NOT THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION COUNCIL MEMBER.
NOT THAT I'M AWARE OF IN TERMS OF MONOPOLIZING,
[00:55:01]
BUT BE ADVISED WITH 50 DIFFERENT KIOSKS THAT DO ALSO HAVE TAILORED ADVERTISING TO THOSE BLOCKS THAT THEY'RE ADVERTISING.YOU MAY HAVE THE LOCAL BUSINESS THAT'S IN THAT AREA THAT'S ONLY IN THAT KIOSK.
'CAUSE THAT'S ALL THAT THEY WANT IT TO BE IN.
HOW GOOD OF A MARKETING PLOY THOUGH, WOULD IT BE IF MY BUSINESS WAS AROUND THE BLOCK AND I ADVERTISED IN FRONT OF YOUR BUSINESS AND MONOPOLIZED AND YOU NEVER ADVERTISED ON THIS KIOSK? YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M SAYING? I'M JUST CURIOUS WHAT THE PARAMETERS LOOK LIKE WITH, AND, AND THAT WAS KIND OF ACTUALLY WHERE I WAS HEADED WAS LIKE FROM A COMPETITIVE PERSPECTIVE COULD SOMEBODY WITH MORE RESOURCES OUTBID A SMALLER BUSINESS, AND THEN WE'D START HAVING DIFFERENT CONVERSATIONS.
BUT JUST WANTED TO PUT THAT ON YOUR RADAR, IS SOMETHING I'M CURIOUS ABOUT MOVING FORWARD.
I'LL, I'LL RETURN THAT, UH, INFORMATION TO YOU.
I LIKE, OH, I THINK IT'LL PROBABLY BE AN ONGOING THING TO YOUR POINT ABOUT LIKE WATCHING TO SEE THE DATA ROLL IN.
WE'LL SEE WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE, BUT I'M JUST SAYING, HMM.
THAT'LL BE SOMETHING I'M, I'M WATCHING FOR.
WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER
[4. Briefing on the Financial Empowerment Center Model: Review of Citywide Service Assessment. [Dr. Lindsey Wilson – Director of the Office of Equity and Inclusion].]
FOUR.THIS IS A BRIEFING ON THE FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT CENTER MODEL.
COLLEAGUES FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
IT'S GONNA BE LED BY DR. LINDSAY WILSON, DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF EQUITY AND INCLUSION.
WELL, GOOD MORNING AND THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO BRIEF YOU IN RESPONSE TO A CALL TO EXAMINE THE FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT MODELS AND REVIEW OUR CITYWIDE SERVICES, UH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR.
ANTHONY AND I HAVE BEEN ACTIVELY EXPLORING FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT CENTER MODELS ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THEIR STRUCTURE EFFECTIVENESS AND WHAT'S WORKING WELL IN DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES.
WE ALSO HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE A DEEPER DIVE INTO SOME OF OUR CURRENT SERVICES THAT WE OFFER HERE WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND SO ON SLIDE TWO, IT'S REALLY A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF OUR TIME TOGETHER.
WE'LL START BY LOOKING AT THE VARIOUS FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT CENTER MODELS, THEIR CORE SERVICES AND REQUIREMENTS, AND THEN WE'LL HIGHLIGHT A FEW PEER CITY EXAMPLES WE EXPLORED ENCLOSED WITH A LOOK AT OUR OWN CURRENT LANDSCAPE ENDING WITH SOME CONSIDERATIONS.
SO THE MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION, WHAT ARE FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT CENTERS? FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT CENTERS OR FECS PROVIDE PROFESSIONAL ONE-ON-ONE FINANCIAL CONSULTING OR COUNSELING AS A FREE PUBLIC SERVICE PUBLIC WITH A GOAL TO SUPPORT RESIDENTS IN ADDRESSING FINANCIAL CHALLENGES, MANAGE MONEY EFFECTIVELY, AND PLANNING FOR A MORE SECURE FUTURE ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE APPROXIMATELY THREE DOZEN LOCAL GOVERNMENTS WHO HAVE LAUNCHED CENTERS COLLECTIVELY DEPLOYING OVER 150 TRAINED COUNSELORS.
THESE PROFESSIONALS SUPPORT CLIENTS WITH A RANGE OF GOALS SUCH AS IMPROVING CREDIT, NEGOTIATING DEBT, BUILDING SAVINGS, OPENING AFFORDABLE BANK ACCOUNTS, OR EVEN PLANNING FOR LONG-TERM FINANCIAL STABILITY.
THIS NATIONAL INITIATIVE IS SUPPORTED BY THE CITIES FOR FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT FUND, OR CFE FUND IN PARTNERSHIP WITH BLOOMBERG AND OTHERS.
AND THROUGH PROGRAMS LIKE THE FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT ACADEMY, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS RECEIVE SUPPORT IN THE DEVELOPMENT LAUNCH AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SERVICES.
SO ON SLIDE FOUR, IT HIGHLIGHTS THE REQUIREMENTS FOR A CITY TO LAUNCH A FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT CENTER.
ONE OF THE FIRST STIPULATIONS IS YOU HAVE TO HAVE OVER 50,000 RESIDENTS.
THERE'S THREE MAIN STEPS FOLLOWING ONE, REGISTER FOR THE CITY'S FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT FUNDS, PUBLIC PLATFORM.
TWO, CHOOSE A SERVICE DELIVERY MODEL THAT FITS LOCAL NEEDS, OUR LOCAL NEEDS, AND WE'LL TALK A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THAT IN A MINUTE.
AND THREE, COMPLETE TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION PROCESS TO ENSURE QUALITY AND CONSISTENCY.
ONCE THOSE THREE STEPS ARE COMPLETED, THE FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT CENTER MODEL MOVES INTO IMPLEMENTATION, AND AT THIS STAGE, CLIENTS RECEIVE STRUCTURED ONE-ON-ONE COACHING, FOCUS ON AREAS OF PERSONAL FINANCIAL LITERACY THAT COULD BE CATEGORIZED IN FOUR DIFFERENT AREAS.
ONE, BAKING ACCESS, CREDIT IMPROVEMENT, DEBT MANAGEMENT, AND SAVINGS AND BUDGETING.
SO LET'S TAKE A MOMENT TO FOCUS ON THE TWO MAIN SERVICE
[01:00:01]
DELIVERY MODELS USED IN FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT CENTER PROGRAMS. ONE IS THE IN-HOUSE MODEL AND THE SEC.THE SECOND IS THE CONTRACTOR MODEL.
EACH APPROACH COMES WITH ITS OWN SETS OF ADVANTAGES AND CHA CHALLENGES.
AND THE RIGHT FIT OFTEN DEPENDS ON THE CITY'S INTERNAL CAPACITY PARTNERSHIPS AND STRATEGIC GOALS.
AND SO ON THIS SLIDE, IT HIGHLIGHTS WHEN THINKING ABOUT AN IN-HOUSE MODEL, CITIES OFTEN HIRE STAFF SUCH AS HUD CERTIFIED COUNSELORS OR SOCIAL WORKERS, FORMER BANKERS TO DELIVER THE SERVICES.
AND SOME OF THE PROS OF AN IN-HOUSE MODEL WOULD BE GREATER OVERSIGHT AND CONSISTENCY.
WHILE THE CONS ARE HIGHER OPERATIONAL COSTS, SUCH AS SALARIES, TRAININGS, AND THEN HAVING TO BUILD OUT THE INFRASTRUCTURE.
AS WE THINK ABOUT THE CONTRACTOR MODEL, UH, CITIES IDENTIFY AND CONTRACT WITH NONPROFIT SERVICES WHO ARE OFTEN ALREADY ENGAGED IN THIS WORK.
AND SO, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE IT, IT HAS A LOWER UPFRONT INVESTMENT.
UM, BUT QUALITY CONTROL AND SUSTAINABILITY ARE TWO THINGS THAT WE FOUND TO BE CHALLENGES DURING OUR REVIEW.
UH, WE FOUND THAT 35 CITIES, AGAIN, ACROSS THE COUNTRY, ARE CURRENTLY RECOGNIZED BY THE CFE FUND AS PARTNERING OR PARTICIPATING IN THE FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT CENTER MODEL.
AND WHILE WE NOTICED SEVERAL INTERESTING TRENDS, WE WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THREE SPECIFIC CITIES.
TODAY, DALLAS, HOUSTON AND SHREVEPORT DALLAS IDENTIFIED FOUR SEPARATE LOCATIONS FOR RESIDENTS TO CONNECT WITH SERVICES.
HOUSTON HAS IDENTIFIED THREE SEPARATE FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT CENTERS, STRATEGICALLY LOCATED IN AREAS THAT MEET THEIR RESIDENTS WHO HAVE THE GREATEST NEED.
SHREVEPORT REOPENED THEIR CENTER IN 2022, BUT HAVE BEGUN, BEGAN THEIR WORK IN 2015, IN WHICH DURING COVID-19, THEIR COUNSELORS OFFERED THE SERVICES.
VIRTUALLY SOME OF THE BROADER OBSERVATIONS FROM OUR SCAN WAS FOUR CITIES IN CALIFORNIA ALL APPEARED TO USE THE IN-HOUSE MODEL THROUGH GOVERNMENT AGENCIES ALONG WITH UTAH, ARIZONA, UH, NEW MEXICO, BOTH NORTH AND SOUTH CAROLINA.
THE CONTRACTOR MODEL WAS MORE COMMON IN STATES SUCH AS COLORADO THAT HAD THREE SEPARATE CITIES WHO USE CONTRACTORS.
AND HERE IN TEXAS WE HAVE FOUR CITIES, HOUSTON, DALLAS, AND SAN ANTONIO, WHO ARE USING CONTRACTOR MODEL WHILE WACO OPERATES AN IN-HOUSE FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT CENTER MODEL.
SO WITHIN OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE QUITE A BIT OF DIFFERENT SERVICES AND WE FOUND THAT THERE ARE NO CURRENT ACTIVE PROGRAMS PROVIDING INDIVIDUALIZED PERSONAL FINANCIAL, OOH, LET ME TRY THAT AGAIN.
INDIVIDUALIZED PERSONAL FINANCIAL COACHING OR LITERACY EDUCATION THAT WOULD MEET THE FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT CENTER STANDARDS.
SO WE MADE THE DECISION TO GO AHEAD AND LOOK CITYWIDE AT SOME OF OUR OTHER PROGRAMS. AND WHILE SLIDE NINE HIGHLIGHTS A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT PROGRAMS, WE WON'T DIVE DEEP INTO THOSE PROGRAMS. BUT ONE OF THE COMMON THINGS THAT WE NOTICED WAS THE ABSENCE OF STRUCTURED FINANCIAL COACHING COMPONENT IN THESE OFFERINGS.
AND THIS IS NOT TO SAY THAT THAT'S A BAD THING, RIGHT? 'CAUSE EACH OF THESE PROGRAMS, IN FACT DO WHAT THEY'RE SOUGHT OUT TO DO.
FROM A PEOPLE CENTERED PERSPECTIVE, WE NEED TO THINK FINANCIAL COACHING CAN OFFER BOTH REAL BENEFITS BUT ALSO POTENTIAL BURDENS FOR RESIDENTS WITH LIMITED TIME AND RESOURCES.
IT MAY FEEL LIKE ANOTHER HURDLE.
HOWEVER, FOR OTHERS, ESPECIALLY THOSE SEEKING MORE STRUCTURED AND LONGER TERM SUPPORT COACHING, THIS COULD BE A VITAL TOOL.
THE KEY IS REALLY UNDERSTANDING THE APPROACH THAT WILL MEET OUR RESIDENTS.
SO IN CLOSING, UM, WHILE THIS SLIDE SAYS OCTOBER, 2024, WE, UM, IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THE ENROLLMENT FORM FOR 2025, THE DEADLINE FOR THAT WAS SEPTEMBER 20 OR SEPTEMBER 12TH, 2025.
AND THE NEXT FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT ACADEMY IS SET TO BEGIN IN OCTOBER, 2025.
THE ACADEMY IS A 15 MONTH, UH, PROGRAM THAT HAS TWO PHASES.
[01:05:01]
THE FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT MODEL TO THE CITY AND HELP ASSESS OUR LOCAL FEASIBILITY.THE SECOND MO, THE SECOND PHASE, PROVIDES IN-DEPTH TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND INCLUDES A $20,000 PLANNING GRANT TO SUPPORT DELIVERABLES UPON COMPLETION OF THE TWO-PART PHASE PARTNERS ARE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR A $150,000 MATCHING FUND, UH, TO SUPPORT WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION.
AND WITH THAT BEING SAID, I AM HAPPY TO TURN IT BACK OVER TO YOU CHAIR FOR QUESTIONS.
I THINK I'LL MAKE IT EASY AND I'LL JUST HAVE YOU PICK UP WHERE YOU LEFT OFF.
EXPLAIN THAT TO ME ONE MORE TIME.
SO ONE OF MY QUESTIONS WAS, I'M LOOKING THROUGH THE SLIDES.
YOU SEE THERE'S SOME LACK OF CONTINUITY WITH THE CLASS AND THEN ANOTHER CLASS FOLLOWING IMMEDIATELY AFTER.
BUT I THINK A PART OF WHAT YOU JUST SAID WITH THE FACT THAT IT'S A 15 MONTH PROGRAMMATIC EFFORT EXPLAINS WHY IT'S NOT LIKE A STRAIGHT 12 MONTH, 25 STRAIGHT.
YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M SAYING? SO WITH, WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE WITH THE START OF THE NEXT COHORT? SO CLEARLY IT'S ANNUAL ISH, CORRECT.
UM, AND SO IT IS ANNUAL ISH
SO WE WILL BE LOOKING AT 2026.
AND THEN THAT FIRST PHASE OF, OF THE 15 MONTH PROGRAM REALLY WALKS US THROUGH THE FEASIBILITY.
RATHER WE HAVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE.
DO WE WANNA STAND UP A CONTRACT, UH, OR DO WE WANT TO DO IN-HOUSE WHERE WE WOULD ACTUALLY BUILD OUT THE INFRASTRUCTURE, HAVE THE STAFF, UM, PROVIDE THE SERVICES IN-HOUSE? SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT SOME OF THOSE MODELS, WE SEEN, UM, ONE OF THE CITIES WE LOOKED AT HAD FOUR SEPARATE COUNSELORS WITHIN THEIR CITY, AND THEN A PROGRAM MANAGER WHO OVERSEEING THE FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT CENTER.
UM, AND THAT WOULD BE THE FIRST PART, RIGHT? OF THE PHASE.
AND THEN THE SECOND PART OF THE, THE 15 MONTH IS TO START TO ACTUALLY WORK TOWARDS THAT IMPLEMENTATION.
WELL, THAT ACTUALLY ANSWERS BOTH OF MY QUESTIONS.
'CAUSE THE SECOND QUESTION WAS ALONG THOSE LINES, BUT I THINK TO SOME DEGREE IT'S EXPLORATORY STILL.
AND SO AS WE'RE MAKING THOSE DETERMIN, I'M, I'M DEEPLY CURIOUS, COMMITTED, AND INTERESTED IN SEEING, THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I'M ALWAYS TALKING ABOUT.
AND I APPRECIATE THAT YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT, YOU KNOW, OFFERING MORE CLASSES DOESN'T MEAN PEOPLE GOT MORE TIME TO TAKE 'EM OR WHAT TO DO WITH THAT INFORMATION.
FRANKLY, I'LL BE HONEST, AS A COUNCIL PERSON, I'M EXPECTED TO KNOW THINGS THAT I DON'T HAVE ANY SUBJECT.
I'M NOT A TRANSIT INFRASTRUCTURE ENGINEER.
BUT I DO GET THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE ACCESS TO SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS AND TAKE THE DOWNLOAD.
BUT NOT EVERYBODY'S GOT TIME FOR THE DOWNLOAD.
IN WHICH CASE, I THINK KEEPING IT, UM, APPROPRIATE TO THE INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING THE INFORMATION WHERE THEY ARE, YOU KNOW, AND HOW MUCH INFORMATION THEY WANT AND OR NEED IS IMPORTANT.
BUT I ALSO DO BELIEVE THERE ALWAYS JUST HAVE TO BE SOMETHING IN THE WAY OF PROTOCOLS AROUND SKIN IN THE GAME.
I'LL SAY IT EVERY, I MEAN, IF A PERSON'S NOT INVESTED, IT DOESN'T SUSTAIN THE EFFORT DOESN'T SUSTAIN.
IN WHICH CASE, IN THE END, IF THEY DO ALL RIGHT FOR TWO YEARS, BUT THEN FLOUNDER FOR 10, DID YOU WIN? YOU KNOW, AND THE WIN IS THE PERSON'S, YOU KNOW, QUALITY OF LIFE IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.
IN THE END, I REALLY DON'T THINK WE GET, LIKE, WE GOTTA TALK HARD TALK TO US AND THEM, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES ARE LIMITED.
THE NEED IS GREAT, THE RESOURCES ARE LIMITED, AND WE REALLY HAVE TO MAKE SMART CHOICES WITH THE APPLICATION OF THEM.
THAT GOT ME THINKING ABOUT ONE THING THAT I'M GONNA, UH, HIT YOU UP ABOUT OFFLINE.
UM, BUT IT SOUNDS TO ME AS THOUGH THE, UM, THE IN-HOUSE MODEL I'M CURIOUS ABOUT.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HEARD RECENTLY, WE HAVE ONE OF OUR CONSTITUENTS WHOSE, UM, TESTIMONY WAS VERY MUCH AKIN TO WHAT MY OFFICE AND I HAVE BEEN TALKING TO THE MANAGER'S OFFICE ABOUT, WHICH IS WHY, WHY DO WE HIRE SO MANY CONSULTANTS? WHY DON'T WE OPERATE FROM WITHIN THE STRUCTURE MORE FREQUENTLY? WE HAVE SO MANY EXPERTS.
AND SO I, I HAVE A QUESTION BASED ON THIS IN-HOUSE FEASIBILITY, UM, PROGRESSION.
I THINK YOU PROBABLY DON'T HAVE AN NONE, NONE OF US HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION YET, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO FOLLOW UP ON THAT.
SIEGEL, ANY QUESTIONS? UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
I GREATLY APPRECIATE HOW YOU WALKED US THROUGH WHAT OTHER CITIES HAVE AS THEIR MODELS, AS WELL AS TALKING US THROUGH, UM, ADJACENT PROGRAMMING WITHIN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
THAT'S SUPER HELPFUL CONTEXT FOR US TO HAVE.
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE NEEDED FROM CITY COUNCIL AT THIS POINT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE CITY EXPLORING THIS AND BE AND PARTICIPATING IN NEXT YEAR'S ACADEMY? TRYING TO LOOK TO MY COLLEAGUE TOO, TO MAKE SURE THAT I DON'T MISS ANYTHING.
UM, AND SO AT THIS POINT, I DON'T BELIEVE THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE NEEDED FOR US TO START TO PREP FOR THE APPLICATION FOR NEXT YEAR.
UM, AGAIN, ONCE WE START TO EXPLORE, IF WE WANT TO DO EITHER IN-HOUSE OR, UM, HIRE A CONSULTANT OR WORK WITH A COMMUNITY PARTNER, WE WILL NEED TO BE THINKING ABOUT THE RESOURCES, UM, TO
[01:10:01]
NOT ONLY TO STAND IT UP, BUT THE LONGEVITY OF IT REALLY.RIGHT? AND SO, UM, TO THAT EARLIER POINT, A 15 MONTH INVESTMENT IS WHAT THE CITY WOULD BE OFFERING BECAUSE WE HAVE TO ONE, GO THROUGH THIS PROGRAM.
AND SO, UM, THE CONSIDERATION OF HOW WE CAN MAINTAIN, UH, THIS WORK GOING FORWARD.
UH, AN EXAMPLE WOULD BE WE KNOW THAT, UM, IN THE CITY OF DALLAS WHEN WE SPOKE WITH THEM, UM, WHILE THE PROGRAM HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL, IT IS ON PAUSE BECAUSE REALIGNMENT OF FUNDING AND SO, AND HOW MUCH DOES THE CITY OF DALLAS SPEND ON THEIR FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT CENTER? I WILL HAVE TO GRAB THAT INFORMATION AND I CAN GET BACK TO YOU.
I'M SUPER SUPPORTIVE OF THE CITY EXPLORING THIS OFFICIALLY INFORMALLY SUBMITTING THAT APPLICATION.
I THINK IT'S GOOD INFORMATION FOR US TO HAVE.
UM, COLLEAGUES, JUST AS A REMINDER, IN THE BUDGET THAT WE ADOPTED A FEW WEEKS AGO, WE DID INCLUDE SOME FUNDING FOR FINANCIAL LITERACY FOR OLDER ADULTS, UM, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH A, A LOCAL NONPROFIT, A CONTRACTOR TO DELIVER THOSE SERVICES.
SO THERE ARE WAYS THAT THE CITY IS EXPLORING THIS AS A, A SERVICE FOR OUR RESIDENTS.
SO THIS IS, I THINK, IN GREAT ALIGNMENT.
[5. Briefing on the Creative Reset and Fiscal Year 2026 Grant Funding Guidelines and Process for Thrive, Elevate, Nexus, Live Music Fund, Creative Space Assistance Program, and Heritage Preservation grants. [Angela Means, Director of Arts Culture Music and Entertainment].]
OKAY, WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO OUR SECOND TO LAST BRIEFING ITEM.THIS IS ITEM NUMBER FIVE, A BRIEFING ON THE CREATIVE RESET AND FISCAL YEAR 2026 GRANT FUNDING GUIDELINES.
WE WILL HAVE THE DIRECTOR OF ARTS CULTURE, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR ANGELA MEETS.
MY NAME IS ANGELA MEANS I'M THE DIRECTOR OF THE ARTS CULTURE, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT DEPARTMENT.
I'M ALSO HERE JOINED WITH OUR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, MS. MORGAN MESSICK, AS WELL AS CANDACE COOPER, OUR INTERIM CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER.
I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU FOR HAVING US BACK HERE.
WE'RE VERY EXCITED TO PRESENT TO YOU WHERE WE ARE WITH OUR, UH, CREATIVE RESET, OUR CULTURAL FUNDING.
WHEN WE FIRST CAME BEFORE YOU EARLIER THIS YEAR, TO MARK THE LAUNCH OF THIS DEPARTMENT, WE SPOKE ABOUT THE CRITICAL ROLE THE CREATIVE SECTOR PLAYS IN SHAPING AUSTIN'S IDENTITY.
WE TALKED ABOUT HOW ARTS, CULTURE, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT ARE NOT SIMPLY FEATURES OF CITY LIFE, BUT REALLY IT'S ESSENTIAL TO AUSTIN.
IT'S WHAT MAKES AUSTIN AUSTIN.
SINCE THAT TIME, OUR TEAM HAS BEEN FOCUSED ON TURNING VISION INTO ACTION.
TODAY'S PRESENTATION IS A FOLLOW UP ON A SIGNIFICANT MILESTONE.
WE ARE HERE TO SHARE THE UPDATED AND ENHANCED FUNDING GUIDELINES THAT HAVE BEEN WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON OVER THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS.
THIS HAS BEEN DEVELOPED AS PART OF OUR DEPARTMENT'S FIRST MAJOR INITIATIVE, WHICH I SAID EARLIER, THE CREATIVE RESET.
THESE NEW GUIDELINES ARE GROUNDED IN WHAT WE HEARD FROM ACROSS THE CITY, ARTISTS, ORGANIZATIONS, BUSINESSES AND RESIDENTS.
THEY REFLECT A COMMITMENT TO IMPROVING ACCESS TO FUNDING, SIMPLIFYING AND STREAMLINING THE APPLICATION PROCESS, PROVIDING GREATER TRANSPARENCY AND OFFERING FLEXIBLE TOOLS THAT SUPPORT CREATIVES AT EVERY STAGE OF THEIR WORK.
THIS IS MORE THAN JUST A SET OF REVISIONS, IT'S A RETHINKING OF HOW WE SERVE OUR CREATIVE COMMUNITIES, HOW WE REMOVE BARRIERS, PROVIDE SUPPORT, AND BUILD STRONGER CONNECTIONS BETWEEN CULTURE AND CIVIC LIFE.
OVER THE NEXT FEW MINUTES, WE WILL WALK YOU THROUGH WHAT WE HEARD FROM THE COMMUNITY, THE MAJOR ENHANCEMENTS TO OUR FUNDING GUIDELINES, AND HOW THESE UPDATES ARE BEING IMPLEMENTED TO SUPPORT A MORE VIBRANT, CONNECTED, AND SUSTAINABLE CREATIVE LANDSCAPE.
ON BEHALF OF THE ENTIRE ACME TEAM, I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP, YOUR ONGOING, YOUR ONGOING SUPPORT, AND YOUR PARTNERSHIP IN BUILDING A FUTURE WHERE CREATIVITY CONTRIBUTES TO EVERY CORNER OF AUSTIN.
I ALSO WANNA TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO THANK OUR ARTS COMMISSION, OUR MUSIC COMMISSION, AND I PERSONALLY WANT TO THANK THE ACME STAFF ALONG WITH THE ENTIRE AUSTIN COMMUNITY WHO PARTICIPATED IN THIS PROCESS.
WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO TURN IT OVER TO MORGAN AND CANDACE.
GOOD MORNING AND HAPPY FRIDAY CHAIR AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
MY NAME IS CANDACE COOPER AND I AM THE INTERIM CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER FOR ACME.
AND SO I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF SHARING WITH YOU WHAT WE DID AT A GLANCE.
AND SO AS YOU SEE HERE ON THE SLIDES, UM, PHASE ONE OF THE CREATIVE RESET WAS ABOUT RESPONDING QUICKLY TO COMMUNITY NEEDS AND ALSO LAYING A STRONG FOUNDATION.
THIS SLIDE REPRESENTS KEY HIGHLIGHTS IN TERMS OF HOW WE ANSWERED THE CALL.
[01:15:01]
PROCESS IN DIRECT RESPONSE TO COMMUNITIES DEMAND FOR CHANGE.EVERY STEP WAS SHAPED BY COMM, BY FEEDBACK FROM ARTISTS, ORGANIZATIONS, AND RESIDENTS.
TRUST AND TRANSPARENCY WAS AT THE CENTER, THE THE LEAD OF HOW WE ENTERED THIS PROCESS.
WE KEPT COMMUNICATION OPEN TO BUILD CONFIDENCE THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS.
WE LEARNED THE ART OF THE PIVOT
WHEN CHALLENGES AROSE, WE ADJUSTED QUICKLY TO STAY ON TRACK OF COMMUNITY NEEDS.
AND AS A RESULT OF WHAT WE DID, WE ENHANCED OUR FUNDING GUIDELINES BY DI BY INPUT DIRECTLY SHAPED FROM WHAT WE HEARD.
IN SHORT, WE BUILT THE PLANE WHILE WE FLEW IT.
OR AT ACME, WHAT WE LIKE TO SAY IS WE PAINTED THE MURAL WHILE THE GALLERY WAS ALREADY OPEN.
OUR SUCCESS IN PHASE ONE CAME FROM THE POWER OF ENGAGEMENT MEETING PEOPLE WHERE THEY WERE, WE'RE JUST NOT A SAYING.
WE ENSURED THAT ALL VOICES WERE HEARD, AND AS A RESULT, THIS WAS NOT A CHECKBOX CHECKBOX PROCESS.
IT WAS ABOUT REAL COLLABORATION WITH AUSTIN'S CREATIVE COMMUNITY.
ENGAGEMENT IS WHAT GAVE LEGITIMACY TO THE GUIDELINES.
WE'RE NOW PUTTING FORWARD THIS MORNING.
SLIDE THREE TALKS ABOUT OUR APPROACH THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS.
WE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH YOU ALL, UM, A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO, BUT WE ALSO MET AND WE TALKED WITH YOU ALL AT THE, DURING THE COUNCIL WORK SESSION.
AND DURING THE WORK SESSION, WE TALKED ABOUT WHAT WE HEARD.
WELL, TODAY WE WANNA TALK ABOUT OUR APPROACH AND HOW WE ARRIVED AT THAT COMMUNITY FEEDBACK.
IT WAS A SIX PART ITERATED FEEDBACK CYCLE.
THE ENGAGEMENT WAS NOT JUST A ONE-TIME PROCESS FOR INPUT, IT WAS SIX STEPS THAT WE TOOK THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS THAT STARTED WITH HISTORICAL DATA, MULTIPLE PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS THROUGH FOR OUR COMMISSIONERS.
AND THEN WE ALSO CRE THIS PROCESS BY GOING BACK AND FORTH TO THE PUBLIC.
THOSE AND CHANNELS INCLUDED SURVEYS, FOCUS GROUPS, CITYWIDE SESSIONS, AND COMMUNITY LED FEED EVENTS.
BUT I WANNA BE CLEAR, MOST OF OUR FEEDBACK WAS ON ONE-ON-ONE SESSIONS, WE MET PEOPLE EXACTLY WHERE THEY WERE RESIDENTS, CO-WROTE PIECES OF THE GUIDELINES.
AND WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS THEY ACTUALLY SUBMITTED WORD FOR WORD.
THIS IS WHAT WE BELIEVE THIS LINE SHOULD SAY.
WE EXTENDED TIMELINES AND WE ADJUSTED TO HONOR COMMUNITY REQUESTS FOR MORE TIME.
AND THEN WE USED AI PLUS HUMAN ANALYSIS IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT WE REVIEWED ALL OF THE CON ALL OF THE INFORMATION AND THAT NO CONTEXT WAS LOST AS A RESULT.
AND I WANNA SAY THIS PROUDLY, WITHIN LESS THAN 90 DAYS, OUR TEAM REVIEWED 11,801 COMMENTS.
AS A BRAND NEW DEPARTMENT, THIS ENGAGEMENT MODEL SHOWS THAT WHAT'S POSSIBLE WHEN COMMUNITY, TECHNOLOGY AND STAFF ALL WORK TOGETHER, IT ENSURES THE POLICIES WE IMPLEMENT TRULY REFLECT AUSTIN.
AND SO ON THIS SLIDE, THERE IS A LINK AND ALSO A QR CODE TO GO IF YOU CHOOSE TO DO A DEEPER ANALYSIS INTO THOSE 11,801 COMMENTS.
UM, I WANNA AT THIS TIME GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH AND, UM, SPECIFICALLY CHRISTOPHER COLLINS WHO ASI PARTNERED WITH US AND ASSISTED US WITH CREATING THE ANALYSIS OF ALL OF THE DATA THAT WE COLLECTED.
IN CLOSING PHASE ONE WAS, HAS SHOWN US THAT WHEN WE ENGAGE AUTHENTICALLY, ADAPT WHEN NEEDED AND KEEP OPPORTUNITY AND ACCESS AT THE CENTER, WE CAN CREATE FUNDING PROGRAMS THAT REFLECT THE DIVERSITY AND ITY OF OUR CITY.
THE CREATIVE RESET IS MORE THAN A PROCEDURAL SHIFT.
IT IS A NEW WAY OF WORKING WITH OUR COMMUNITY.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT AND WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO NOW ANNOUNCING THOSE FUNDING GUIDELINES.
BUT PRIOR TO DOING THAT, I'D LIKE TO TURN IT OVER TO ACME'S ASSISTANT DIRECTOR MORGAN, WHO WILL WALK YOU THROUGH OUR FUNDING
[01:20:01]
GUIDELINES.GOOD MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS, MAYOR PRO TEM.
UM, CANDACE COOPER WALKED US THROUGH HOW WE COLLECTED THE FEEDBACK AND I'M HAPPY TO LEAD US THROUGH HOW WE TOOK THAT FEEDBACK INTO ACTION BY CREATING AN ENHANCED VERSION OF ACME'S FUNDING PROGRAMS. WE TOOK A UNIQUE APPROACH, AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE WERE, UM, MANY ASSORTED DIVISIONS FROM FIVE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS.
THEY BECAME ONE SINGLE DEPARTMENT THIS YEAR.
AND SO WE, UH, HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO STREAMLINE BOTH THE LANGUAGE THAT WE USE ACROSS OUR PROGRAMS, AS WELL AS THE WAY THAT WE PRESENT THAT AS A UNIFIED FRONT.
WE KNOW WE ARE ONE CITY, ONE VOICE, AND OUR DEPARTMENT IS REALLY TAKING THAT INTO CONSIDERATION AS WE COME FORWARD WITH THIS PACKAGE OF FUNDING PROGRAMS FOR CREATIVES AT LARGE IN THE CITY.
SO THAT HAS TAKEN THE SHAPE OF A SINGLE SET OF FUNDING PROGRAM GUIDELINES, WHEREAS WE USED TO HAVE SIX DIFFERENT FUNDING PROGRAM GUIDELINES, SIX DIFFERENT PDFS, SIX DIFFERENT DOCUMENTS USING, UM, YOU KNOW, VERSIONS OF THE SAME LANGUAGE AND VERSIONS OF THE SAME DEFINITIONS ACROSS THE CITY.
SO WE'RE HAPPY TO HAVE THAT INTO ONE STREAMLINED DOCUMENT NOW THAT HAS ONE SINGLE SET OF APPENDICES SHARING, ONE SINGLE SET OF DEFINITIONS AS WELL AS POLICIES GUIDING ALL OF THESE PROGRAMS, WHICH HAS REALLY BEEN AN ENHANCEMENT FOR OUR COMMUNITY AND FOR OUR STAFF AND FOR OUR BRAND NEW DEPARTMENT AS A WHOLE.
SO WHENEVER WE DO COME FORWARD AND PUBLISH THOSE GUIDELINES, UM, FORMALLY AFTER THIS PRESENTATION AND AFTER WE MOVE FORWARD AND COMPLETELY FINALIZE THIS, THERE WILL BE TWO DOCUMENTS, A DOCUMENT CALLED WHAT'S NEW THAT KIND OF OUTLINES WHAT WE'RE GONNA SHARE TODAY.
THE HIGH LEVEL LOOK AT WHAT IS NEW ACROSS THE BOARD, AS WELL AS THE FORMAL DOCUMENT THAT IS ALL OF THE GUIDELINES GUIDING ALL OF OUR PROGRAMS, WHICH IS A MUCH LONGER PDF.
UM, SO WE'RE TRYING TO BREAK IT DOWN INTO DIGESTIBLE PIECES FOR OUR COMMUNITY USING, UM, A HIGH LEVEL EXECUTIVE SUMMARY WITH OUR WHAT'S NEW DOCUMENT AS WELL AS INDIVIDUAL, UH, PIECES OF INFORMATION THAT WE'LL HAVE THAT ARE WEB-BASED.
ALL OF THESE DOCUMENTS WILL BE COMPLIMENTED BY THE WORKSHOPS, UM, THE OFFICE HOURS, AND ALL OF THE OTHER DIRECT ONE-ON-ONE TOUCH POINTS THAT OUR STAFF WILL CONTINUE HAVING WITH THE CREATIVE COMMUNITY OVER THE COMING MONTHS.
ALRIGHT, SO WHAT'S NEW GENERALLY, SOME OF THE FUNDING GUIDELINE AND APPLICATION ENHANCEMENTS THAT YOU WILL SEE ARE, UM, OF COURSE BASED IN THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS WITH WHICH CANDICE SHARED ABOUT.
THEY HAVE BEEN INFORMED BY OUR FEEDBACK LOOP WITH THE COMMISSIONS.
THEY HAVE BEEN INFORMED BY OUR FEEDBACK LOOP, UH, WITH OUR INCREDIBLY, INCREDIBLY COMPETENT, UM, STAFF THAT WE HAVE WORKED WITH TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN, AS WELL AS THE PUBLIC INPUT WHERE WE HAVE SHARED OUT PROGRESS ALONG THE WAY AND HAVE RESULTED IN THIS UPDATED APPLICATION PROCESS.
SO IT'S NOT JUST THE GUIDELINES THAT WE'RE ENHANCING, WE'RE ENHANCING THE USER EXPERIENCE OF APPLYING FOR THE PROGRAMS NOW THAT WE'RE UNDER ONE UMBRELLA.
SO SOME OF THOSE MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE STRENGTHEN UMPS, UH, TO PREVENT ISSUES THAT WE'VE HAD IN OUR DEPARTMENT OR, UH, DIVISIONS OVER TIME, SUCH AS DOUBLE DIPPING IN FUNDS, UM, WHICH IS NOT ALLOWED BY ORDINANCE FOR LIVE MUSIC FUND AND THE CULTURAL ARTS FUND.
SO WE'VE JUST STRENGTHENED THE WAY THAT WE ADMINISTER THAT AND THE WAY THAT WE PUT CHECKS AND BALANCES IN PLACE AND DOCUMENTED HOW WE WILL DO THAT MOVING FORWARD.
WE HAVE CREATED A UNIVERSAL APPEALS PROCESS FOR ALL OF OUR GRANT PROGRAMS. SOME OF OUR PROGRAMS ALLOWED FOR THIS.
IF YOU, UM, WERE NOT RECEIVING AN AWARD AT THE END OF THE APPLICATION PROCESS, SOME PROGRAMS ALLOWED YOU TO APPEAL THAT DECISION.
AND NOW ALL OF OUR PROGRAMS HAVE ADOPTED THE SAME APPEALS PROCESS, ALLOWING EVERYBODY THE OPPORTUNITY TO SAY, PLEASE HAVE A SECOND LOOK.
ADDITIONALLY, WE HAVE UPDATED OUR PANEL PROCESS FOR THE PROGRAMS THAT USE A PANEL.
UM, ALL OF OUR PROGRAMS THAT ADMINISTER HIGHER LEVEL DOLLARS OF FUNDING, ADMINISTER A PANEL PROCESS, UH, USING SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS IN OUR COMMUNITY AND THOSE IN CENTRAL TEXAS TO REVIEW THE APPLICATIONS OBJECTIVELY AND TO DECIDE IF THE PROJECTS ARE FALLING IN LINE WITH THE OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAM.
SO WE HAVE SHARED THAT PROCESS UP BASED ON FEEDBACK AND ARE HOPING TO HAVE, UM, A REALLY GOOD PROCESS THIS FALL WHEN WE ROLL THAT OUT.
ADDITIONALLY, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE AS A DEPARTMENT IS, AGAIN, TRYING TO CREATE A HIGH LEVEL LOOK AT THE WAYS THAT OUR CREATIVE COMMUNITY MIGHT FIT IN WITH THESE FUNDING PROGRAMS. ONE OF THE ASSETS WE'VE CREATED IS WHAT WE'RE CALLING ELIGIBILITY AT A GLANCE.
SO YOU CAN SEE IN THE LEFT HAND COLUMN OVER HERE FOR THE APPLICANT CATEGORY.
WE OFFER PROGRAMS FOR A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CREATIVE, UM, BUSINESSES AND INDIVIDUALS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND THAT CAN GET REALLY CONFUSING WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE SUITE OF PROGRAMS. SO IN AN EFFORT TO STREAMLINE LIKE WHERE YOU MIGHT FIT IN, WE'VE CREATED THIS CHART TO HELP PEOPLE SEE IF I AM, FOR EXAMPLE, A 5 0 1 C3 ARTS NONPROFIT, WHAT AM I EVEN ELIGIBLE FOR AT THE TOP, JUST SO THEY KNOW WHERE TO
[01:25:01]
FOCUS THEIR ENERGY AND WHERE TO ASK QUESTIONS BETTER WHEN THEY'RE APPROACHING OUR STAFF.UM, SO WE'RE ABLE TO USE THIS AS A HIGH LEVEL TOOL.
AND THEN OF COURSE, OUR STAFF ARE HAPPY TO WALK FOLKS THROUGH ONE-ON-ONE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S THE BEST FIT FOR THEM AS THEY LOOK AT THESE OPPORTUNITIES.
NOW, GONNA WALK YOU THROUGH EACH INDIVIDUAL PROGRAM, JUST SHARING THE HIGH LEVEL INFORMATION AND NOTABLE ENHANCEMENTS FOR EACH OF THOSE PROGRAMS. AND OF COURSE, WE'RE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ABOUT INDIVIDUAL PROGRAMS OR THE OVERALL GRANTS AS A WHOLE AT THE END.
SO THE NEXUS GRANT IS OUR MOST ENTRY LEVEL OPPORTUNITY, AND THIS IS, UM, A 12 MONTH GRANT AGREEMENT TERM, WHICH WE ARE OFFERING TO TWO DIFFERENT APPLICANT CATEGORIES.
THIS PROGRAM IS BOTH FOR INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS OR ARTS GROUPS WITH A MINIMUM THRESHOLD OF ONE YEAR OF EXPERIENCE.
THE AWARD AMOUNTS ARE AVAILABLE FOR $5,000 OR $10,000 AND WILL BE AWARDED BASED ON SCORE.
SO THE TOP SCORING HALF OF INDIVIDUALS WILL RECEIVE $10,000.
THE BOTTOM SCORING HALF WILL RECEIVE $5,000.
SO SOME OF THE NOTABLE ENHANCEMENTS FOR THIS PROGRAM, UM, WE ARE CONTINUING TO FOCUS MORE HEAVILY ON INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS AND ARTS GROUPS CREATING TWO FUNDING STREAMS FOR THIS PARTICULAR CATEGORY.
ADDITIONALLY, WE HAVE UPPED OUR AWARD OPTIONS.
PREVIOUSLY, THIS GRANT ONLY OFFERED $5,000 REWARDS AND NOW WE HAVE TWO FUNDING LEVELS AVAILABLE FOR FOLKS BASED ON FEEDBACK.
WE RECEIVED THAT SOME PROJECTS COST A LITTLE BIT MORE AND THEY NEED A LITTLE BIT OF EXTRA FUNDS, SO NOW IT'S FIVE OR 10,000.
ADDITIONALLY, WE, UM, OF COURSE, HAVE IMPLEMENTED OUR ELIGIBLE APPEALS PROCESS FOR THIS PROGRAM.
THE NEXT LEVEL FOR CULTURAL FUNDING IS OUR ELEVATE GRANT, WHICH IS ALSO A 12 MONTH, UH, GRANT CONTRACT.
WE ARE NOW AWARDING THIS IN FOUR DIFFERENT APPLICANT CATEGORIES.
SO THE FOLKS WHO ARE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY ARE THE 5 0 1 C3 ARTS NONPROFITS, THE STATE OF TEXAS NONPROFITS AS WELL AS ARTS GROUPS.
AND THEN LASTLY, INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS.
YOU CAN SEE ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE HERE, OUR AWARDS GO FROM 30,000 UP, UM, UP TO $80,000.
SO WE HAVE A WIDE SPECTRUM OF AWARD FUNDING AVAILABLE HERE.
SO SOME OF THE NOTABLE ENHANCEMENTS THIS YEAR, WE ARE HAPPY TO ROLL OUT THE OPPORTUNITY FOR SIMILAR APPLICANTS TO COMPETE AGAINST SIMILAR APPLICANTS TOGETHER.
SO YOU CAN SEE HERE WE ARE GROUPING FOLKS BASED ON THEIR OPERATING BUDGET.
AND THIS WAS DIRECTLY BASED ON FEEDBACK WE RECEIVED FROM, UM, FOR EXAMPLE, ORGANIZATIONS WHO SAID, ME, I'M A SMALL ORGANIZATION WHO ONLY HAS A $50,000 OPERATING BUDGET.
IT DOESN'T REALLY SEEM FAIR TO COMPETE WITH OTHER FOLKS WHO HAVE A BUDGET OF $500,000.
SO WE CREATED THIS, UM, KIND OF BREAKAGE AND HOW THOSE AWARDS ARE DISTRIBUTED SO THAT PEOPLE COULD BE COMPARED AGAINST OTHER ORGANIZATIONS DOING SIMILAR WORK.
ADDITIONALLY, WE HAVE LARGER AWARD SIZE RANGES FOR INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS.
LIKE I MENTIONED FOR THE NEXUS GRANT IN PREVIOUS YEARS.
UM, THERE WAS JUST $5,000 THERE.
WE CREATED A SECOND LEVEL OF 10.
AND THEN IN THIS PROGRAM, INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS ARE ALSO ELIGIBLE FOR UP TO $30,000.
SO THAT GIVES INDIVIDUALS A NICE RANGE OF OPPORTUNITY.
AND LASTLY, WE HAVE UPDATED THE PANEL PROCESS THAT GUIDES THIS PROGRAM.
UM, AS I PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED, THE PANELS ARE REVIEWING THE APPLICATIONS AND PANELISTS ARE BEING RECRUITED CURRENTLY.
AND WE BUILD PANELS MADE UP OF INDUSTRY EXPERTS TO HELP OVERSEE THOSE DIFFERENT, UH, CREATIVE PANELS THAT WE'LL HAVE AND OUR STAFF PARTICIPATES IN THOSE AS WELL TO MANAGE IT.
OUR NEXT GRANT FOR CREATIVE FUNDING IS THRIVE GRANT.
THIS IS OUR TOP LEVEL FUNDING FOR THE, UM, CULTURAL FUNDING SIDE OF THE HOUSE.
SO THIS GRANT IS EXCLUSIVELY FOR 5 0 1 C3 NONPROFITS, BUT WE'VE CREATED, UM, SOME SPACE BETWEEN NONPROFITS THAT OPERATE A CREATIVE SPACE, SO A PHYSICAL SPACE IN THE COMMUNITY WHERE THEY DO THEIR ART VERSUS 5 0 1 C3 NONPROFITS WHO DON'T HAVE THE OVERHEAD OF A CREATIVE SPACE TO TRY TO CREATE SOME PARITY IN THAT FUNDING AS WELL.
AGAIN, COMPETING, UH, TOGETHER WITH ORGANIZATIONS WHO HAVE A SIMILAR BUDGET AND OPERATING EXPECTATIONS AS YOU DO.
SO THOSE APPLICANTS COMPETING TOGETHER IS A NOTABLE ENHANCEMENT AS WELL AS WE HAVE MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR AWARDEES FROM PREVIOUS CYCLES TO CONTINUE TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THESE AWARDS WITH NO RESTRICTIONS.
PREVIOUSLY, UM, WE HAD A CLAUSE THAT SAID IF YOU RECEIVED THE THRIVE GRANT FOR TWO YEARS, YOU HAD TO KIND OF TAKE A BREAK BEFORE YOU WOULD BE ELIGIBLE AGAIN, A ONE YEAR BREAK.
WE REMOVED THAT BARRIER TO ENSURE CON CONTINUITY FOR FOLKS WHO RECEIVE FUNDING TO CONTINUE TO BE ABLE OPERATING, AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO EVALUATE THAT OVER THE YEARS, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE PROVIDING FOR THE COMMUNITY WHAT IS BEST FOR THEM.
AND LASTLY, THE UPDATED PANEL PROCESS APPLIES TO THIS PROGRAM AS WELL.
SO WE'RE HAPPY TO SEE THAT ROLLING OUT.
MOVING FORWARD TO THE PROGRAMS WHO ARE OVERSEEN
[01:30:01]
BY OUR MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION, THE FIRST ONE THAT WE WILL LOOK AT IS THE CREATIVE SPACE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.SO THIS PROGRAM IS A 12 MONTH GRANT AGREEMENT TERM, AND THE GOAL OF THIS PROGRAM IS IN THE NAME IT IS TO SUPPORT CREATIVE SPACES IN OUR COMMUNITY.
SO THE, UM, APPLICANTS AND ORGANIZATIONS WITH ELIGIBLE CREATIVE SPACES WHO CAN RECEIVE UP TO $60,000 INCLUDE LIVE MUSIC VENUES, PERFORMANCE VENUES OR THEATERS, MUSEUMS OR ART GALLERIES OR MULTI-USE SPACES.
AND IN OUR GUIDELINES, WE HAVE THE DEFINITION LINED OUT FOR ALL OF THESE SO THAT IT'S VERY CLEAR IF THIS PROGRAM IS FOR YOU.
I ALSO WANNA NOTE THAT THIS PROGRAM IS FOR CREATIVE SPACES THAT ARE LEASING THE SPACE THAT THEY OCCUPY.
SOME OF THE ENHANCEMENTS THAT YOU WILL SEE IN THIS PROGRAM INCLUDE A FLAT AWARD AMOUNT OF $60,000.
FORMALLY WE HAD A SLIDING SCALE AWARD AMOUNT.
UM, SO SOME FOLKS WERE GETTING A VERY LOW INVESTMENT OF $5,000 ALL THE WAY UP TO HIGHER END TOP INVESTMENT.
SO OFFERING A FLAT AWARD AMOUNT WILL MAKE IT EASIER FOR PEOPLE TO PLAN THEIR NEXT YEAR ON HOW THEY CAN BEST USE THIS IN THEIR CREATIVE SPACE.
ADDITIONALLY, WE UPDATED THAT CREATIVE SPACE DEFINITION AND USE DEFINITION, UM, WHICH AGAIN IS THE FOUR OUTLINED DIFFERENT CREATIVE SPACE TYPES THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT.
UM, MAKING THAT CLEAR FOR PEOPLE IS IF THEIR CREATIVE SPACE APPLIES TO THIS PROGRAM.
THE NEXT PROGRAM WE HAVE IS AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND.
UM, THIS IS A FIRST OF ITS KIND GRANT PROGRAM, UM, IN THE WORLD.
WE ARE VERY PROUD OF THIS PROGRAM.
WE GET CALLS FROM PEOPLE ALL AROUND THE WORLD MODELING NEW GRANT PROGRAMS AFTER WHAT WE ARE DOING.
SO WE'RE REALLY PROUD OF WHAT WE'VE DONE HERE.
AND SO THIS YEAR WE WERE ABLE TO AGAIN, CREATE SOME ENHANCEMENTS.
SO THE APPLICANTS WHO ARE ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND INCLUDE PROFESSIONAL MUSICIANS AND INDEPENDENT PROMOTERS IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND SO WE OFFER TO THEM GRANTS OF EITHER $5,000 WITH A 12 MONTH AGREEMENT TERM OR $20,000 WITH A 24 MONTH AGREEMENT TERM.
AND REALLY WHAT THAT MEANS IS IF YOU GET THE HIGHER LEVEL, YOU HAVE TWO YEARS TO SPEND THAT DOWN INSTEAD OF HAVING TO SPEND IT WITHIN 12 MONTHS.
AND THEN LASTLY, LIVE MUSIC VENUES WHO HAVE AT LEAST A $60,000 OPERATING BUDGET ARE ELIGIBLE FOR AN AWARD OF $70,000 FOR A 12 MONTH GRANT.
AGREEMENT TERM, $60,000 IS KIND OF THE THRESHOLD, UH, FOR OPERATING BUDGETS THAT WE ARE AWARDING IN.
AND SO THIS IS A CHANGE AS WELL TO ALIGN THE OPERATING BUDGETS FOR THIS PROGRAM WITH OUR CULTURAL FUNDING.
SO AGAIN, SOME OF THOSE ENHANCEMENTS INCLUDE UPDATED AWARD AMOUNTS THAT WERE INFORMED BY THE FEEDBACK WE RECEIVED, UPDATED SCORING CRITERIA, UM, INFORMED BY THE FEEDBACK WE RECEIVED, AND OF COURSE AN UPDATED PANEL PROCESS FOR HOW WE ADMINISTER THIS PROGRAM.
HERITAGE PRESERVATION GRANT IS OUR LAST PROGRAM THAT WE WILL TALK ABOUT TODAY.
AND SO THIS PROGRAM AWARDS IN TWO SEPARATE CATEGORIES.
THE PROJECT TYPES THAT ARE ELIGIBLE INCLUDE HERITAGE EVENTS, WHICH CAN BE LOCAL, STATE, OR NATIONALLY DESIGNATED HISTORIC LOCATIONS THAT APPLY, UM, HISTORIC, UH, HERITAGE EVENTS THAT ARE ELIGIBLE PROPERTIES PURSUING A DESIGNATION OR HISTORIC LOCATION WITH NO DESIGNATION AS WELL AS CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS.
AND SO THE AWARDS FOR THIS, OH NO, WE DON'T WANNA END THE WEBINAR.
THE AWARD AMOUNTS FOR THIS
SO PREVIOUSLY THIS WAS SPECIFICALLY, UM, GEARED MORE TOWARDS CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS.
SO WE'RE REALLY HAPPY TO CREATE AN AVENUE FOR HERITAGE EVENTS TO GIVE VOICE TO COMMUNITIES TO PRESERVE THEIR HERITAGE IN THAT WAY.
ADDITIONALLY, YOU'LL SEE HISTORIC INTERIOR FLOORING REPAIRS AND MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL UPGRADES ARE NOW AVAILABLE, UM, USES FOR THE FUNDS, KIND OF EXPANDING ON HOW YOU CAN USE THOSE FUNDS TO PRESERVE YOUR HISTORIC CREATIVE SPACE IN THE COMMUNITY.
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW WE PLAN TO ROLL THESE OUT.
SO WE'RE VERY EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE OCTOBER 21ST IS WHEN THE APPLICATION WILL OPEN FOR THE FOLLOWING PROGRAMS. ELEVATE GRANT, AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND, CREATIVE SPACE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, AND THE HERITAGE PRESERVATION GRANTS, ALL FOUR OF THOSE WILL OPEN AND THOSE, UM, ARE PLANNED TO HAVE FUNDING DISTRIBUTED IN THE EARLY PART OF NEXT YEAR FOR THOSE WHO RECEIVE AWARDS.
THEN WE WILL OPEN OUR NEXUS PROGRAM IN MARCH OF 2026, FOLLOWED BY A SUMMER LAUNCH OF ELEVATE THRIVE AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND AND HISTORIC, UM, HERITAGE PRESERVATION GRANT.
SO THE THRIVE GRANT IS A TWO YEAR PROGRAM.
IT ONLY OPENS EVERY OTHER YEAR,
[01:35:01]
SO THAT'S WHY YOU DON'T SEE IT OPENING THIS FALL, BUT IT WILL OPEN NEXT YEAR.AND THEN AGAIN FOLLOWED BY NEXUS AS OUR BUFFER GRANT.
MARCH, WE START BACK OVER WITH WHAT WE PREDICT WILL BE OUR REGULAR CADENCE OF EVENTS BECAUSE WE ARE TRYING TO GET ON A REGULAR LAUNCH CALENDAR SINCE WE'RE A NEW UM, DEPARTMENT.
SO STARTING IN MARCH OF 2027, WE'LL HAVE A REGULAR CADENCE NEXUS FOLLOWED BY OUR STACKED GRANT LAUNCHES, WHICH AGAIN WILL BE ELEVATE LIVE MUSIC FUND, CREATIVE SPACE, AND HERITAGE PRESERVATION.
AND THEN WE'LL BE BOOK ENDED IN SEPTEMBER BY NEXUS.
SO MARCH, JULY AND SEPTEMBER WILL BE OUR ANNUAL CADENCE OF APPLICATIONS OPENING.
THANK YOU FOR HAVING US TODAY.
WE'RE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE WORK WE'VE DONE AND THE PROGRAMS. THANK YOU COLLEAGUES WHO WOULD LIKE TO KICK US OFF.
UM, I ONLY HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS THIS TIME.
UH, THE APPEALS PROCESS, JUST CURIOUS IF THAT'S GONNA HAVE ANY FINANCIAL OR TIMING IMPACT.
SO LIKE LET'S SAY FOR EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, THE PERSON GOES THROUGH THE APPEALS PROCESS, THEIR, THEIR, UM, CONSIDERATION IS RECONSIDERED AND THEN, YOU KNOW, DOES THAT HAVE ANY SUBSEQUENT TIME OR LIKE DOLLAR IMPACT? SO LET'S SAY SOMEBODY GOES THROUGH THE PROCESS, DOES IT NEED TO APPEAL? ARE THEIR DOLLARS NOW COMPROMISED BY WAY OF THE OTHER PERSON'S? YES.
WE, UM, WE HAVE CONSIDERED THIS AS WELL.
SO WE'RE KEEPING A PORTION OF OUR BUDGET AS A RESERVE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE SAVING IN A BUCKET DEDICATED FOR APPEALS FOR OUR PROGRAMS ACROSS THE BOARD, ANTICIPATING, UM, THAT THEY MIGHT, THERE MIGHT POTENTIALLY BE SOME SUCCESSFUL APPEALS.
UM, WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS WITH SOME OF OUR PROGRAMS, SO WE'RE JUST MODELING WHAT WE'VE DONE BEFORE ACROSS ALL THE PROGRAMS, HAVING THAT RESERVE BUCKET.
AND THEN AS FAR AS TIMING, OUR GOAL IS TO BUILD THE TIMING OF APPEALS INTO THE DISTRIBUTION PROCESS.
SO APPEALS SHOULD HAPPEN BEFORE ALL, ALL FINAL AWARDS ARE DISTRIBUTED.
SO OUR GOAL IS TO GET ALL THE MONEY OUT THE DOOR AT THE SAME TIME.
SO APPEALS WILL HAPPEN AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR BEFORE DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS SO THAT THEY'RE NOT KIND OF LAGGING BEHIND EVERYONE ELSE WHO'S GETTING MONEY.
I I THINK, I GUESS WHAT I WAS HOPING WAS THAT THE APPEALS PROCESS DID IMPEDE ON THE EFFICIENCY OF THE PRIMARY PROCESS.
AND IT SHOULDN'T, UM, IT SHOULD HAPPEN KIND OF IN TANDEM BECAUSE WHEN THE AWARD ANNOUNCEMENTS GO OUT FOR PEOPLE WHO DID RECEIVE AWARDS, THOSE WHO DO NOT RECEIVE AWARDS WILL ALSO BE GETTING COMMUNICATION AND THERE WILL BE INSTRUCTIONS ON IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO APPEAL.
THERE'S A CERTAIN TIMEFRAME WE CONVENE THE GROUP WHO REVIEWS THE APPEALS.
UM, AND IT SHOULDN'T TAKE AWAY TOO MUCH TIME FROM THE PROCESS.
IT SHOULDN'T, HOWEVER,
AND SO JUST REALLY THINKING THROUGH WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, RIGHT? I'M JUST THINKING ABOUT THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF THIS.
SO YOU REVIEW, THEN YOU GOTTA RE-REVIEW, THEN YOU GOT A ROOM FULL OF MATT AS HELL ARTISTS WHO ARE DEMANDING THAT YOU RE-REVIEW 'CAUSE YOU RE-REVIEWED SO AND SO'S AND THEN THEY DID.
AND THEN, AND THEN AND INEVITABLY YOUR CAPACITY GETS TESTED TO WHERE THE RE-REVIEW IS WHERE YOU'RE REALLY GONNA HURT.
SO IT SHOULD, IF EVERYTHING WENT ACCORDING TO PLAN BY WAY OF THE PROCESS THAT YOU LAID OUT.
BUT IT AIN'T GONNA GO LIKE THAT.
AND SO I, I'M SORRY, DON'T LET ME SPEAK I ON YET.
IT'S GONNA SPEAK GOOD THINGS INTO EXISTENCE.
IT'S GONNA GO BEAUTIFULLY AS PLANNED
BUT IF THERE SHOULD BE SOME NEED FOR ADDITIONAL SUPPORTS, I JUST WANNA MAKE CERTAIN THAT ON THE FRONT END THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS, I, I DO THINK IT'S APPROPRIATE TO BUILD AN ADDITIONAL APPEAL OPPORTUNITY, BUT I ALSO THINK IT'S APPROPRIATE TO PLAN FOR THAT RAINY DAY.
SO JUST LIKE WITH THOSE ADDITIONAL DOLLARS PEOPLE CAPACITY IS WHERE, YOU KNOW, LIKE YOU SAID, Y'ALL WERE STRONG AND MIGHTY IN 11,000 COMMENTS.
BUT YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT FROM A SUSTAINABILITY PERSPECTIVE, LIKE YOU SAID, Y'ALL ARE JUST GETTING STARTED.
YOU CAN'T BURN OUT ANYTIME SOON.
SO YOU REALLY CAN'T, WE CAN'T BE SETTING Y'ALL UP WITH, WITH THINGS THAT YOU KNOW ARE GONNA POTENTIALLY INUNDATE YOUR SMALL STAFF AND THEN REALLY TEST YOUR CAPACITY.
SO JUST SAYING, LET'S BE THINKING ABOUT WAYS WHERE WE CAN OFFER SOME SUPPORTS MOVING FORWARD.
SHOULD YOU EVER FIND YOURSELF, SO LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, THE APPEALS PROCESS THAT HAPPENED IN JANUARY, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, IN COMPARISON TO THE REST OF YOUR ANNUAL SCHEDULE, THAT'S AN ANOMALY PERIOD.
SO OUR BUDGET PERIOD FOR EXAMPLE, WE'RE DOING MORE THEN THAN WE E SO MAYBE THE ADJUSTMENT WOULD JUST BE DURING THIS ADDITIONAL PERIOD OF CONSIDERATION WE COULD OFFER Y'ALL SOME ADDITIONAL SUPPORT.
IS SOMETHING I'M, I'M WANTING THINK ABOUT MOVING FORWARD.
I I DO WANNA SHARE, OH, IT WAS A PIN.
I DO WANNA SHARE, UM, OUR POLICY.
UM, WE, I HEAR YOU AND WE'LL DEFINITELY PLAN AHEAD FOR THAT.
I DO WANNA SHARE THAT OUR POLICY IS REALLY SPECIFIC ON THE GROUNDS FOR APPEAL.
YOU CAN APPEAL BASED ON A CERTAIN NUMBER OF CRITERIA.
LIKE IF YOU, UM, THINK THAT THE PANELISTS HAD A CONFLICT OF INTEREST OR LIKE A OTHER NUMBER OF THINGS, THERE'S A FEW ITEMS WHERE YOU'RE ELIGIBLE TO APPEAL, THAT'S HELPFUL.
WE HAVE A WORKING GROUP THAT REVIEWS THAT AND SAYS, YES, THAT DOES QUALIFY FOR ONE OF THESE, OR NO, YOU'RE JUST MAD BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T GET THE MONEY BECAUSE YOUR SCORE WASN'T HIGH ENOUGH.
AND IT WAS LIKE, YOU KNOW, IT'S A VERY COMPETITIVE PROGRAM
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SO A LOT OF PEOPLE WILL NOT RECEIVE FUNDING.SO WE'RE VERY FAMILIAR WITH THOSE MAD PEOPLE THAT YOU MENTIONED.
UM, AND OUR GOAL IS TO HAVE A REALLY STRONG POLICY THAT HELPS GUIDE THAT AND EXPEDITE IT.
BUT I TOTALLY HEAR YOU AND WE'LL ABSOLUTELY CONSIDER HOW WE CAN MANAGE OUR STAFF BANDWIDTH DURING THAT.
AND WITH THE LASTLY, I'VE ALREADY ACKNOWLEDGED THE HERCULEAN EFFORT, YOU KNOW, BRAVO.
'CAUSE YOU KNOW, THIS WORK IS GONNA REQUIRE THAT MUCH IN TERMS OF DIVERSITY AND CONTRIBUTION OF PEOPLE'S, YOU KNOW, OPINIONS.
IT'S MY HOPE TO SEE IN MY TIME HERE AND WITH THESE SYSTEMS, IT'S MY EXPERIENCE THAT THE RECIPIENTS ARE ALL THE SAME PEOPLE.
IT IS VERY MUCH MY HOPE THAT WE GET, WE START TO SEE A NEW OR A MORE DIVERSE CANDIDATE POOL.
ALL THE SAME PEOPLE IN ADDITION TO SOME OTHER FOLKS TOO.
THANK YOU ALL FOR THE PRESENTATION.
NO, AND JUST TO PICK UP ALONG THAT LINE, COUNCILOR HARPER MADISON, HOW, HOW ARE WE ENSURING THAT WE ARE BRINGING NEW ARTISTS AND GROUPS AND ORGANIZATIONS IN? ARE WE, UM, YOU KNOW, IN THE PAST, I KNOW WE, UM, THE CITY INVESTED IN NAV COMMUNITY NAVIGATORS.
I DON'T KNOW HOW EFFECTIVE OR SUCCESSFUL THAT HAS BEEN, BUT I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT THE MUSEUM OF HUMAN ACHIEVEMENT, THAT ORGANIZATION DOES SOME REALLY GREAT WORK IN BRINGING TOGETHER AND HOLDING A SPACE FOR ARTISTS TO COME TOGETHER AND WALKING THEM THROUGH THE APPLICATION PROCESS.
HOW DO WE, HOW ARE WE INVESTING IN REALLY SCALING UP THE CAPACITY OF OUR COMMUNITY? SO, THANK YOU MAYOR PRO FOR THAT QUESTION.
I HAVE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY, PERSONALLY, WE'VE MET WITH, UH, ZACH OVER AT MOHAI AND, UH, JUST HONESTLY MET WITH HIM A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO JUST TO SPEAK ABOUT THE COMMUNITY NAVIGATORS PROGRAM.
WE BELIEVE THAT UTILIZING COMMUNITY TO HELP US AGAIN AS PARTNERS THROUGH THIS PROCESS IS AMAZING.
SO WE WILL BE EXPLORING OPPORTUNITIES FOR WHAT THE COMMUNITY, THE COMMUNITY NAVIGATOR, AS YOU KNOW, IS A PILOT PROGRAM BASED ON THAT GRANT FUNDING.
BUT WE WILL CERTAINLY BE LOOKING AT OPPORTUNITIES MOVING FORWARD TO UTILIZE COMMUNITY NAVIGATORS IN THE FUTURE TO SEE WHAT THAT WILL LOOK LIKE.
BUT TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, IN TERMS OF HOW WE GOING TO DO THINGS A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY TO MEET SOME FOLKS, WE'VE BEEN REALLY LOOKING AT HOW WE'VE DONE IT IN THE PAST.
AND SO WE DO WANNA ENHANCE THAT PROCESS AS WELL.
AND SO WE'RE LOOKING AT UTILIZING COMMUNITY INFLUENCERS AND SO WE ARE LOOKING AT THAT PROCESS AND OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, THE TRADITIONAL MARKETING, BUT WHAT WE REALLY LIKE TO HAVE IS, IS LITERALLY BOOTS ON THE GROUND MM-HMM
UM, GOING INTO THE COMMUNITY CENTERS, UM, THE REC CENTERS GOING TO WHERE PEOPLE TRULY ARE, UH, THE CHURCHES, UH, THE LARO MATS.
SO WE ARE EXPLORING OPPORTUNITIES FOR POSTERS AND FLYERS AND TO TRULY GO TO WHERE THE FOLKS ARE, EVEN IF WE HAVE TO SOMETIMES GO IN THE NIGHTCLUBS.
SO IT PROBABLY WON'T BE ME, BUT WE ARE REALLY LOOKING AT WAYS AND WE'VE BEEN MEETING WEEKLY AND REALLY RESEARCHING AND LOOKING AT WAYS TO DO THINGS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY.
I KNOW THAT TIKTOK IS NOT A PLACE WHERE THE CITY TYPICALLY ADVERTISE, BUT, BUT HONESTLY THAT IS A HUGE PLACE WHERE WE NEED TO BE.
AND SO WE'VE IDENTIFIED INFLUENCERS THAT WE CERTAINLY WANT TO PARTNER WITH AND JUST KIND OF LOOKING AT DOING THINGS MORE GRASSROOTS AND, AND HOW WE CAN, CAN REACH PEOPLE IN THE WAYS THAT THEY'RE ALREADY THERE.
AND SO WE, WE ARE, WE'RE DOING THAT.
AND SO WE'RE HOPING, UM, WHAT OUR FEARLESS DIRECTOR HERE HAS SAID IS THAT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT PRIOR TO THAT OCTOBER 21ST DEADLINE, THAT THE COMMUNITY KNOWS IT'S COMING, THEY'RE PREPARED FOR IT, AND THAT WE ARE BRINGING IN NEW INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE NEVER HEARD OF THESE FUNDING PROGRAMS BEFORE.
I'LL, I'LL ALSO JUMP ON AND SHARE.
UM, THE COMMUNITY NAVIGATORS PROGRAM WAS INCREDIBLY SUCCESSFUL AND IT WAS UNFORTUNATELY AN ARPA FUNDED PROGRAM, WHICH IS WHY YOU DON'T SEE IT, UM, EXISTING TODAY.
IT WAS REALLY A GREAT PROGRAM AND WE'RE LOOKING AT WAYS TO EXPLORE TO REVAMP THAT WITH DIFFERENT FUNDING.
AND THEN AS FAR AS THE CREATIVE SPACE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, THIS IS ONLY FOR ORGANIZATIONS, VENUES THAT LEASE SPACE, IS THAT CORRECT? THAT IS CORRECT, YES.
HOW ARE WE HELPING THOSE ORGANIZATIONS AND ENTITIES THAT OWN THEIR PROPERTY, THAT OWN THE SPACE THAT ARE LOOKING TO EXPAND, THAT ARE AN IMPORTANT PART OF OUR ECOSYSTEM? HOW DO WE HELP THOSE INDIVIDUALS AND YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.
SO THE PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE THAT ARE A REALLY GOOD FIT FOR THOSE FOLKS WILL EITHER BE IN THE HERITAGE PRESERVATION GRANT IF YOUR VENUE, UM, OR YOUR SPACE HAS THAT HISTORIC DESIGNATION OR THAT'S SOMETHING YOU'RE EXPLORING, WE DO HAVE A GREAT NUMBER OF CREATIVE SPACES WHO QUALIFY FOR THAT.
AND THOSE WHO HAVE PARTAKEN IN THAT GRANT FUND, THAT'S AN AVENUE.
AND THEN A REALLY POPULAR ONE IS THE THRIVE GRANT BECAUSE IT'S KIND OF OPERATIONAL SUPPORT.
AND SO WE HAVE A LOT OF CREATIVE SPACES, UM, UTILIZING THAT FUND MUSEUM OF HUMAN ACHIEVEMENT.
FOR EXAMPLE, SOMEBODY YOU'VE ALREADY MENTIONED IS A THRIVE RECIPIENT.
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FOLKS WHO OWN THEIR CREATIVE SPACES USING THAT.AND THEN WE ALL KNOW THAT THE FUNDING THAT WE USE, HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX IS LIMITED.
AND SO AS A DEPARTMENT, WE'RE LOOKING AT THOSE GAPS THAT STILL EXIST THESE OTHER PLACES OR PEOPLE, ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE NEEDS BEYOND THESE PROGRAMS. AND WE'RE LOOKING AT WAYS TO PLUG THOSE GAPS WITH LIKE FUTURE FUNDRAISING OR FUTURE PROGRAM NEEDS AND TRYING TO DIRECT OUR ENERGY INTO THAT.
AND SO WE'LL BE LOOKING AT, UH, WHEN WE ENTER OUR STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS OVER THIS FALL PERIOD LOOKING FORWARD ON HOW TO BETTER SERVE THEM IN THE FUTURE AS WELL.
AND I'M VERY THRILLED WITH THE UPDATES TO THE THRIVE GRANT.
I THINK THAT IS IN ALIGNMENT TO THE FEEDBACK I WAS HEARING FROM THE COMMUNITY AS WELL.
SO PLEASED TO SEE THAT ON THE LIVE MUSIC FUND VENUE, THE LIVE MUSIC VENUE FUND.
HOW ARE WE DEFINING LIVE MUSIC VENUES? OH, GREAT QUESTION.
WE HAVE UM, WE HAVE DEFINITIONS LIKE I MENTIONED IN OUR APPENDICES.
I DON'T HAVE IT PULLED UP RIGHT NOW, BUT I WOULD BE HAPPY TO EMAIL OVER, UM, SOME OF THE DEFINITIONS FOR YOU TO DIRECTLY HAVE ACCESS TO SO YOU CAN SEE HOW WE'RE DEFINING THAT.
YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY I THINK THERE HAVE BEEN SOME CONCERNS ABOUT ENGAGEMENT AROUND OUR LIVE MUSIC VENUES.
CAN YOU SPEAK TO THE TYPE OF ENGAGEMENT THAT WAS CONDUCTED TO INCLUDE? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.
SO WE HAVE A REALLY CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH MANY OF THE VENUES IN THE COMMUNITY AND WITH ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THE RED RIVER CULTURAL DISTRICT WHO OVERSEE, YOU KNOW, A CHUNK OF VENUES THAT EXIST IN THE DOWNTOWN CORRIDOR.
SO WE INVITED THOSE PEOPLE TO THE TABLE FOR FOCUS GROUPS SPECIFIC TO LIVE MUSIC VENUES.
UM, RED RIVER CULTURAL DISTRICT, AS I UNDERSTAND, HOSTED SOME OF THEIR OWN KIND OF FOCUS GROUPS WITH THEIR COMMUNITY AND PROVIDED THAT FEEDBACK BOTH IN MEETINGS TO, TO THE FOLKS RIGHT HERE IN FRONT OF YOU, UM, THROUGH EMAIL AND THROUGH OTHER MEANS CONVERSATIONS THAT WE'VE HAD.
A LOT OF THAT FEEDBACK WAS INCORPORATED INTO OUR GUIDELINES AS WE DID THE ITERATIVE PROCESS.
AND ADDITIONALLY, WE WENT OUTSIDE OF THE DOWNTOWN CORRIDOR, RIGHT.
WE HAVE MUSIC VENUES IN EVERY DISTRICT OF OUR COMMUNITY.
AND SO WE REACHED OUT TO THEM AND WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT VENUES, UM, THAT MIGHT BE NON-TRADITIONAL VENUES WHERE, YOU KNOW, OTHER PEOPLE MIGHT BE FREQUENTING MORE BECAUSE WE KNOW THERE ARE, UM, TRANSPORTATION BARRIERS FOR FOLKS COMING FROM A DISTRICT UP NORTH TO DOWNTOWN TO ENJOY THINGS IN RED RIVER.
SO WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE'RE ENGAGING WITH THOSE FOLKS.
AND THEN OUR MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION HAS ALSO HOSTED LAST YEAR A LIVE MUSIC VENUE SUMMIT, UM, WHICH THEY HOSTED OVER HERE AT ACL LIVE.
AND SO WE INVITED OWNERS, UM, PEOPLE WHO WORK IN LIVE MUSIC VENUES TO COME AND JUST HAVE KIND OF AN OPEN FORUM ABOUT CHALLENGES THEY'RE FACING SO THAT WE COULD BETTER GET AN UNDERSTANDING, UH, TO ADDRESS THAT IN THE ELIGIBLE WAY THAT THEY CAN USE OUR FUNDS.
SO WE HAD A PRETTY GOOD, UM, DISPERSION OF FOLKS NOT JUST FOCUSING ON DOWNTOWN, BUT FOCUSING ACROSS THE CITY.
AND THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION THAT THE RED RIVER CULTURAL DISTRICT WAS INCLUDED IN THE ENGAGEMENT AND DID PARTICIPATE AND THAT FEEDBACK WAS, UH, IS REPRESENTED IN THESE GUIDELINES THAT ARE PROPOSED.
SO, AND I ALSO WANNA, LIKE, AS CANDACE MENTIONED, WE RECEIVED A TON OF FEEDBACK, 11,000 PLUS COMMENTS PLUS ALL OF THE ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES.
UM, SO WE ARE HAPPY TO SEE FOLKS SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS REFLECTED, AND WE ALSO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT LIKE NOT EVERYTHING THAT WAS ASKED FOR IS REPRESENTED IN THE FINAL VERSION, BUT YES, THEY WERE HEARD AND WE CONSIDER THEM VERY GOOD PARTNERS AND WE'RE HAPPY TO KEEP THOSE CONVERSATIONS GOING WITH THEM.
YOU KNOW, THESE ARE, YOU LAID OUT THE TIMELINE, UM, FOR THE PROGRAMMATIC CHANGES TO THE DIFFERENT GRANT PROGRAMS. UM, ANY ANY ADDITIONAL ACTION NEEDED FROM COUNCIL AT THIS POINT ON THE LAUNCH AND CHANGES? NO, WE DO NOT NEED ANY ADDITIONAL ACTION, BUT WE DO REALLY THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND YOUR FEEDBACK THAT WE'VE HEARD OVER THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS.
[6. Summer Youth Initiatives Report Out memo dated September 12, 2025. [Anthony Segura, Interim Director - Economic Development Department].]
THAT NOW MOVES US TO OUR LAST AGENDA ITEM.THIS IS ITEM NUMBER SIX, WHICH IS A BRIEFING BY MEMORANDUM.
THIS QUESTION, THIS ITEM IS IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS ON THE SUMMER YOUTH INITIATIVES REPORT MEMO THAT WAS ISSUED ON SEPTEMBER 12TH, 2025.
WE HAVE DIRECTOR SEGURA WITH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT WHO IS AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS ON THE SUMMER YOUTH EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM.
THIS IS AN IMPORTANT PROGRAM FOR THE CITY AND IS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE COUNTY AND WE'VE DONE A NUMBER OF CHANGES TO THE PROGRAM, INCLUDING RAISING THE WAGE HERE RECENTLY, I THINK IN THE LAST YEAR OR TWO, UM, I HAD HEARD SOME FEEDBACK, UH, ON A COUPLE THINGS THAT WE ACTUALLY REDUCED THE NUMBER OF POSITIONS, UH, FUNDED BY THE CITY.
IS THAT RIGHT? UH, ANN EATON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, WE DID NOT REDUCE THE NUMBER OF POSITIONS.
THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS THAT WE WERE ABLE TO ASSIST WAS BASED UPON THE AMOUNT THAT WE HAD AVAILABLE.
UM, THERE WAS A SLIGHT REDUCTION IN THE AMOUNT THAT CAME OVER FROM ONE OF THE DONORS, BUT WE DID NOT REDUCE
[01:50:01]
THE BUDGET.WE JUST HAD TO MAXIMIZE THE NUMBER THAT WE COULD REACH WITH WHAT WE HAD.
WE DIDN'T REDUCE THE CITY PORTION OF THE BUDGET.
BUT THE ONLY THING THAT WAS REDUCED AS WELL, UM, MAYOR PRO TEM WAS FROM SEVEN WEEKS TO SIX WEEKS.
BUT PARTICIPATION LEVEL WAS DOWN BECAUSE OF A PRIVATE DONATION INTO THE PROGRAM.
WE, WE STILL HAD OVER, UH, ALMOST 200 STUDENTS, SO NO, IT WASN'T, IT WASN'T DONE.
THERE WAS SOME NATURAL ATTRITION THROUGH SOME STUDENTS WHO HAD ACCEPTED BUT THEN ENDED UP NOT BEING ABLE TO ATTEND.
BUT WE DID OFFER 200 INTERNS THE OPPORTUNITY.
AND I THINK IT WOULD BE GREAT.
I, I GET THE SENSE FROM FEEDBACK I'M GETTING FROM CONSTITUENTS WHO ARE VERY INVOLVED IN THIS PROGRAM, THAT THERE WOULD LIKE TO BE SOME ALIGNMENT BETWEEN THE, THE CITY COUNTY FUNDED SUMMER YOUTH EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM, AS WELL AS THE A ISD INTERNSHIP PROGRAM THAT THEY HAVE THAT IS FUNDED BY THE CHAMBERS.
AND THEN THERE'S A THIRD KIND OF YOUTH INTERNSHIP PROGRAM THAT I THINK IS OVERSEEN BY, UM, DR.
AND SO IF WE HAVE THREE INTERNSHIP PROGRAMS FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN OUR COMMUNITY, IS THERE A WAY THAT WE CAN ALIGN, UH, RESOURCES SO THAT WE'RE REALLY MAXIMIZING THE PARTICIPATION? IN OTHER WORDS, GETTING, YOU KNOW, INTERNSHIPS AVAILABLE NOT ONLY WITHIN THE CITY AND THE COUNTY, BUT ALSO AT CENTRAL HEALTH, BUT ALSO AT AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE, YOU KNOW, BRINGING OTHER PUBLIC SECTOR INSTITUTIONS ALONG BOARD.
UH, YES, MAYOR PATAM, THAT IS PART OF THE WORK THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING NOW IN THE OFF SEASON.
AND BECAUSE THERE WAS A SEPARATION OF THE PROGRAM THAT IS ADMINISTERED BY DR.
EUGENE IS THE SUMMER INTERNSHIP AND IT IS DIFFERENT FROM THE TRAVIS COUNTY ONE.
AND AGAIN, AS OUR FIRST SUMMER GOING THROUGH THAT, WE LEARNED A LOT OF THINGS, BUT WE CERTAINLY WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ALIGNING RESOURCES TO MAXIMIZE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE YOUTH IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND SO PART OF OUR WORK IN THIS OFF SEASON IS STEPPING BACK, WORKING WITH PUBLIC HEALTH AND ALSO UNDERSTANDING THE CHAMBERS PROGRAM SO THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT WE, IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY ALSO FOR US TO CROSS MESSAGE AND CROSS COLLABORATE VERSUS BEING VERY CONFUSING FOR THE YOUTH IN OUR COMMUNITY WHO DON'T KNOW WHERE TO GO.
SO YES MA'AM, WE ARE DEFINITELY INTENTIONALLY TRYING TO STRATEGICALLY DO THAT WORK IN THIS OFF SEASON.
[7. Identify items to discuss at future meetings.]
UH, NEXT ON OUR AGENDA IS DISCUSSION ON FUTURE ITEMS. ANY COMMENTS OR FEEDBACK FOR AGENDA ITEMS? YES, COUNCILOR HARPER MADISON.SO, UM, MY STAFF AND I HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO RUN SOME THINGS PAST ED BENINO ABOUT OUR CONSTITUENTS BEING ABLE TO, UM, MORE UTILIZE THEIR ASSET, WHICH IS THEIR HOME, THEIR FRONT YARD, UM, AND THEY'RE CALLED FRONT YARD BUSINESSES.
AND SO WE HAVE STARTED TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION WITH OUR CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER AND HE'S INTO IT.
AND IF YOU CAN GET ED VINO INTO IT, I SAY YOU KEEP GOING,
SO I'D LIKE VERY MUCH FOR US TO HAVE A PRESENTATION ABOUT FRONT YARD BUSINESSES AS AN ITEM FOR FUTURE CONSIDERATION.
SEEING NO FURTHER BUSINESS BEFORE OUR ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY COMMITTEE, I WILL ADJOURN OUR COMMITTEE MEETING AT 11:54 AM THANK Y'ALL SO MUCH.