* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:04] THE AUSTIN DOWNTOWN COMMISSION. [CALL TO ORDER] IT'S WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19TH, 2025, AND THE TIME IS 5:32 PM THE FIRST ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS TO CALL THE ORDER, UM, CALL ROLL. AND CHRISTIE, WOULD YOU MIND DOING THAT? NOT AT ALL. CHAIR ED ISHMAEL. HERE. KIMBERLY LEVINSON? HERE. PAT BTA? HERE. DAVID CARROLL. PRESENT. LIZ KOAL. NATHAN MCDANIEL. HERE. CHARLES VETO. PRESENT. NANCY P*****K? HERE. SONYA SCHIFFER? HERE. PHILLIP WILEY. HERE. LES HERE. KEVIN CHEN. GINA HOUSTON IS ARRIVING NOW. . AND JENNIFER FRANKLIN WILL BE HERE SHORTLY. SO WE HAVE A QUORUM. THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE AND OR BEING ONLINE. UM, THE NEXT ITEM WOULD BE PUBLIC COMMUNICATION, BUT AS I UNDERSTAND IT, CHRISTIE, NO GENERAL PUBLIC COMMUNICATION. WE HAVE A COUPLE OF SPEAKERS SIGNED UP ON ITEM TWO, WHICH WE'LL TAKE AT THE TOP OF THAT ITEM. OKAY. UH, MOVING ON. THE [1. Approve the minutes of the Downtown Commission Regular Called meeting on October 15, 2025.] NEXT ITEM OF BUSINESS IS THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES. I'M HOPING EVERYONE HAS HAD A CHANCE TO READ THOSE. DO I HAVE A MOTION TO ACCEPT? SO MOVED. I SECOND. SECOND. ALL RIGHT. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES. ALRIGHT, SO, UM, [2. Presentation regarding Staff’s response to Council Resolution 20241121-073 related to Bird-Friendly design by Leslie Lilly, Environmental Conservation Program Manager, Austin Watershed Protection. ] IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT WE DO HAVE PUBLIC COMMUNICATION REGARDING ITEM TWO UNDERSTAFFED BRIEFINGS. SO, CHRISTIE, WOULD YOU MIND LETTING US KNOW HE IS WANTING TO SPEAK TO US TODAY? UH, YES. UH, FIRST WE HAVE ERIC CLOUD IS SPEAKING REMOTELY. OKAY, WE'LL CHECK BACK ON ERIC. UM, AND WE HAVE LILY, I'M SORRY, LILY, I CAN'T READ YOUR LAST NAME. IT'S OKAY. PLEASE COME FORWARD AND YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES TO ADDRESS THE DICE. GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS. I'M LILY IC AND I'M HERE TO SPEAK IN FAVOR OF THE BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN RECOMMENDATIONS ON ITEM TWO. THEY ARE A REASONABLE AND ESSENTIAL SOLUTION FOR THE FUTURE OF AUSTIN. BIRD COLLISIONS WITH WINDOWS ARE A DEADLY THREAT TO BIRD POPULATIONS ACROSS THE NATION. WHEN A BIRD CRASHES INTO A WINDOW, THE RESULT IS INTERNAL BLEEDING AND BRAIN DAMAGE THAT KILLS THE BIRDS. 60% OF THE TIME, THIS TRAGIC LOSS OF LIFE WHEN REPEATED ACROSS BUILDINGS ACROSS NORTH AMERICA RESULTS IN A STAGGERING DESCRIPTION OF BIRD POPULATIONS AND THE BENEFITS THAT THEY PROVIDE. 1 BILLION BIRDS DIE FROM WINDOW COLLISIONS EVERY YEAR. I CAN PERSONALLY ATTEST THAT UNTREATED WINDOWS WILL OTHERWISE. A BEAUTIFUL ARCHITECTURAL FEATURE CAN COMMONLY AND EVEN ROUTINELY KILL BIRDS EVERY SINGLE YEAR. THE PAINTED BUNTINE AND COMMON YELLOW THROATS TO SPARROWS AND HUMMINGBIRDS THAT I'VE FOUND AS VICTIMS OF WINDOW COLLISIONS JUST ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS, ARE A TESTIMONY TO THE FACT THAT WINDOWS ARE INDISCRIMINATE AND IMPACTFUL KILLERS. THESE LOSSES ARE DETRIMENTAL NOT ONLY TO THE BIRDS THEMSELVES, BUT ALSO TO US WHO LOSE THE BENEFITS LIKE POLLINATION AND PEST CONTROL, WHICH THEY PROVIDE. LOSING BIRDS ALSO THREATENS THE OVERALL BENEFITS OF BIODIVERSITY, AS WELL AS THE ECOTOURISM REVENUE THAT CONTRIBUTES $279 BILLION TO THE US ECONOMY ANNUALLY. HOWEVER, THESE SERIOUS HARMS CAN BE AVOIDED BY MAKING GLASS VISIBLE TO BIRDS. THESE BIRD FRIENDLY STRATEGIES INCLUDE SPECIALLY DESIGNED GLASS AND STICKERS THAT CAN BE APPLIED TO UNTREATED GLASS. TO BE CLEAR, THIS ALSO INCORPORATES THE INTELLIGENT USE OF MATERIALS THAT CAN SERVE MULTIPLE PURPOSES. FOR EXAMPLE, BIRD FRIENDLY WI, EXCUSE ME, BIRD FRIENDLY WINDOWS CAN ALSO MEET ENERGY SAVING OR TEMPERATURE REGULATION GOALS. ADDITIONALLY, WINDOW TREATMENTS CAN BE TURNED INTO ART PIECES, PROVIDING AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ARCHITECTURAL EXPRESSION AND THE CREATIVE SPIRIT WE PRIDE OURSELVES ON WITH BIRD FRIENDLY SOLUTIONS. THE PLENTIFUL WINDOWS OF AUSTIN CAN BE BEAUTIFUL FOR HUMANS AND BIRDS. I WOULD LIKE TO ASK THAT YOU WHO HAVE A POWER AND RESPONSIBILITY IN SHAPING THE FUTURE OF AUSTIN STRONGLY CONSIDER SUPPORTING SUCH BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN MEASURES BY PLANNING FOR THEM TODAY, YOU CAN ENSURE AN ECOLOGICALLY VIBRANT AND ETHICAL CITY FOR TOMORROW. FURTHERMORE, THIS ISN'T JUST A LOGICAL AND EFFECTIVE SOLUTION, BUT IT'S A CHANCE TO RESPONSIBLY STEWARD OUR VALUABLE BIO BIODIVERSITY FOR FUTURE AUSTINITES. I URGE YOU TO SUPPORT BIRD FRIENDLY CONSTRUCTION AND SUPPORT AN AUSTIN WHERE BOTH HUMANS AND BIRDS CAN THRIVE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. [00:05:01] VERY WELL PRESENTED. MOVING ON TO THE ITEM ITSELF PRESENTATION REGARDING STAFF'S RESPONSE TO COUNCIL RESOLUTION 20 24 11 21 DASH OH SEVEN THREE RELATED TO BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN BY LESLIE LILY, ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION PROGRAM MANAGER AUSTIN WATERSHED PROTECTION. WELCOME, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR. THANK YOU. AND GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS. UM, I'M LES LILY WITH WATERSHED PROTECTION, AND I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH YOU TONIGHT ABOUT BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN. SO, BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN AND THE RESPONSE THAT WE HAVE DEVELOPED IN RESPONSE TO COUNCIL RESOLUTION PAST LAST YEAR HAS BEEN DONE IN COLLABORATION WITH SEVERAL CITY DEPARTMENTS, INCLUDING THOSE LISTED HERE. IT IS A TOPIC THAT REALLY HITS A LOT OF THE OPERATIONS AND CONSIDERATIONS THAT OCCUR IN A LOT OF DEPARTMENTS ACROSS THE CITY. THIS IS THE RESOLUTION NUMBER THAT I WAS SPEAKING OF, UH, ALMOST ONE YEAR AGO TODAY. UH, A RESOLUTION WAS PASSED BY CITY COUNCIL DIRECTING STAFF TO DO, UH, FOUR THINGS RELATED TO BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN. ONE BEING, EXPLORING AN UPDATE TO OUR EXISTING LIGHTS OUT ORDINANCE, WHICH DIRECTS CITY BUILDINGS TO TURN OUT LIGHTS AND IMPLEMENT OTHER BEHAVIORAL STRATEGIES TO REDUCE LIGHT POLLUTION DURING PEAK MIGRATION. UH, ANOTHER THING IS STAFF WAS DIRECTED TO EXPLORE THE INTEGRATION OF BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN TECHNIQUES IN MID, UH, LOW, MID, AND HIGH RISE NEW CONSTRUCTION. ADDITIONALLY, CONSTRUCTING, UH, CONDUCTING A FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS WAS, WHICH WAS ACTUALLY QUITE INTERESTING, GETTING INPUT FROM BOTH STAKEHOLDERS ACROSS, UH, DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES AND COMMISSIONERS LIKE YOURSELVES. AND THEN LASTLY, UM, INCORPORATING ALL OF THAT INTO A REPORT WHICH, UH, WAS PROVIDED IN BACKUP. SO WHY IS, UH, BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN IMPORTANT IN AUSTIN? AUSTIN SITS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CENTRAL FLYWAY, WHICH IS A MIGRATORY PATH THAT BIRDS FLY THROUGH DURING THEIR MIGRATION, AND IT FUNNELS HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF BIRDS THROUGH CENTRAL TEXAS EVERY YEAR IN CENTRAL TEXAS AND IN AUSTIN, WITHIN 60 MILES OF OUR CITY LIMITS, YOU CAN SEE OVER 400 SPECIES OF BIRDS. SO WE HAVE QUITE A DIVERSITY THAT YOU HAVE ACCESS TO RIGHT HERE, AND IT IS QUITE A DESTINATION FOR BIRD WATCHERS. THIS PICTURE RIGHT HERE IS A PICTURE OF A GOLDEN SHAPED WARBLER, OUR CHARISMATIC SONGBIRD, WHICH PEOPLE TRAVEL FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD TO VISIT. LILY MENTIONED IN HER TESTIMONY, BUT THE, UH, REVENUE GENERATED FROM BIRDWATCHING AMOUNTS TO 279 BILLION NATIONWIDE. SO THAT MAKES UP MORE THAN $5 BILLION IN REVENUE GENERATED IN TEXAS ANNUALLY. SO THE PROBLEM IS THAT BIRDS DO NOT PERCEIVE GLASS. THEY, DUE TO THEIR UNIQUE PHYSIOLOGY, THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO EITHER PERCEIVE CLEAR GLASS AS, UH, A SURFACE THAT THEY CANNOT NAVIGATE PAST. AND THEY ALSO SEE THE REFLECTIONS ON GLASS, WHETHER IT'S HABITAT OR SKY AS NAVIGABLE SPACE. AND SO THEY COLLIDE WITH IT AND IT CAUSES, UH, DEATH OR INJURY THAT IS OFTEN DIFFICULT TO OVERCOME IF A BIRD SAY, FALLS ON THE GROUND AND THEN MAYBE IS PICKED UP BY A CAT OR OTHER WILDLIFE. SO THESE THINGS HAPPEN DURING THE DAYTIME, BUT IT IS EXACERBATED BY LIGHT POLLUTION. SO WE HAVE THE SURFACES THAT BIRDS CAN'T SEE, AND THEN THE LIGHT POLLUTION THAT IS CREATED AT NIGHT THAT ACTUALLY DRAWS MIGRATING AND RESONANT BIRDS INTO URBAN AND BUILT ENVIRONMENTS WHERE THEY'RE DISORIENTED AND THEN ARE MORE LIKELY TO COLLIDE WITH SURFACES THAT WILL RESULT IN DEATH OR INJURY. UM, AS LILY MENTIONED IN HER TESTIMONY, THE COLLISIONS ESTIMATE ABOUT 1 BILLION BIRDS, UH, DYING EVERY YEAR IN NORTH AMERICA DUE TO COLLISIONS WITH BUILDINGS. SO THE SOLUTIONS, THERE'S LOTS OF SOLUTIONS RELATED TO GLASS TREATMENTS, AND THEY, YOU KNOW, COME IN EVERYTHING FROM YOUR DIY SOLUTIONS, MOSTLY FOCUSED ON RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS, BUT THEN, UH, LOTS OF PRODUCTS THAT CAN BE PUT ONTO EXISTING GLASS, AND THEN SEVERAL DIFFERENT TYPES OF COMMERCIALLY PRODUCED GLASS THAT HAVE TREATMENTS BAKED INTO THE GLASS, WHETHER IT'S FRIT ETCHING, OR UV COATING THAT CAN BE APPLIED TO THE GLASS TO CREATE PATTERNS THAT BIRDS CAN PERCEIVE AND THUS REDUCE THE COLLISION WITH THE BUILDING. ADDITIONALLY, THERE'S LOTS OF DESIGN STRATEGIES THAT CAN BE INCORPORATED. SOME EXAMPLES OF GREAT DESIGN STRATEGIES THAT ARE NOT EVEN INTENDED FOR BIRD FRIENDLY, UH, DESIGN OR, UH, BUILDING COLLISION DETERRENTS ARE EXAMPLES OF, LIKE, OUR CENTRAL LIBRARY HAS LOTS OF EXCELLENT, YOU KNOW, METAL, UH, SCREENING AND DIFFERENT ELEMENTS. AND CITY HALL ALSO HAS LOTS OF GOOD EXAMPLES OF DESIGN STRATEGIES THAT ACTUALLY UNINTENTIONALLY REDUCE BIRD COLLISION, BUT ARE JUST, UH, BEAUTIFUL ARCHITECTURAL [00:10:01] E EXAMPLES OF BUILDINGS. SO ON TOP OF THE LIGHTING THERE, I MEAN, ON TOP OF THE GLASS AND THE FACADE TREATMENTS, IT'S IMPORTANT TO INCORPORATE LIGHTING. SO BOTH EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR LIGHTING, WHETHER IT'S, UH, REDUCING, UH, UPLIGHTING SHIELDING FIXTURES, HAVING LIGHTING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS, AND THEN ALSO HAVING WARMER LIGHT BULBS. SO, UH, BULBS THAT ARE IN THAT KIND OF RED ORANGE TEMPERATURE. THESE ARE NOT JUST BENEFICIAL TO BIRDS, BUT THOSE KIND OF, UH, REDUCTIONS IN LIGHT POLLUTION ARE BENEFICIAL TO HUMANS. BATS, INSECTS, EVERYTHING THAT EXISTS WITHIN, YOU KNOW, OUR BUILT ENVIRONMENT. ADDITIONALLY, INTERIOR, UH, STRATEGIES CAN BE IMPORTANT FOR REDUCING LIGHT POLLUTION, WHETHER IT'S PROGRAMMING AUTOMATIC CONTROLS, SO THAT LIGHTS TURN OFF, THAT'S ALSO GREAT OUTSIDE TOO, OR USING WINDOW TREATMENTS TO REDUCE THE TRESPASS OF LIGHT INTO THE ENVIRONMENT. AT NIGHT, WHEN WE WERE DOING THIS WORK, WE TALKED TO A LOT OF CITIES. SO THERE HAS BEEN, YOU KNOW, A FEW DECADES OF ORDINANCES THAT HAVE BEEN PASSED ACROSS NORTH AMERICA RELATED TO BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN. AND WE SPOKE TO SIX CITIES THAT HAVE VERY SUCCESSFUL ORDINANCES ON THEIR BOOKS ACCORDING TO THE AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY, WHO'S THE CENTRALIZED ORGAN, UH, ORGANIZATION THAT DOES LOTS OF, UH, CONSULTING ON ORDINANCE DEVELOPMENT AND HAS THE STANDARDS IN PLACE FOR MEASURING, UH, THE MATERIALS THAT WOULD GO ON THE FACADE OF A BUILDING. AND TWO OF THE CITIES THAT WE TALKED TO THAT I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT HERE ARE NEW YORK AND ARLINGTON COUNTY, VIRGINIA, NEW YORK CITY. IN 2021, THEY PASSED A RESOLUTION THAT UP TO 75 FEET OF ALL NEW CONSTRUCTION, THAT 90% OF THAT FACADE WOULD HAVE MATERIAL THAT REACHED A THREAT FACTOR OF 25. AND THAT THREAT FACTOR IS A THREAT FACTOR THAT GIVES INFORMATION ABOUT WHETHER A BIRD IS LIKELY TO, UH, HIT THAT MATERIAL. AND IT'S DONE USING, UH, A WIND TUNNEL TEST. AND THE, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THE MATERIALS THAT HAVE THESE THREAT FACTORS ASSIGNED TO THEM HAVE GONE THROUGH THIS TEST. UM, THERE'S MANY HUNDREDS OF MATERIALS THAT HAVE BEEN TESTED AND MANY MORE COMING ON THE MARKET OR, YOU KNOW, BEING TESTED EVERY SINGLE DAY. SO THEY HAVE THIS, UH, ORDINANCE IN PLACE, AND IT HAS BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL, AND THEY HAVE LOTS OF DOCUMENTED EVIDENCE OF THE APPLICATION OF THESE KIND OF STRATEGIES THAT SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE THE COLLISION OF, UH, BIRD COLLISIONS. THEY'VE GOT A VERY ROBUST MONITORING PROGRAM, AND SO A LOT OF THE BUILDINGS THAT THEY MONITOR SHOW A REDUCTION OF UP TO, YOU KNOW, 90% IN THE PERCENT OF COLLISIONS THAT ARE OCCURRING IN A YEAR. ARLINGTON COUNTY, VIRGINIA DOES SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT. THEY'RE THE ONLY, UH, CITY MUNICIPALITY IN THE, UH, IN THE COUNTRY THAT HAS A VOLUNTARY PROGRAM. SO LIKE A DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM, A GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM IN EXCHANGE, UH, FOR ALL OF THESE COMPLIANCE WITH GREEN, UH, STANDARDS, INCLUDING BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN. THEY HAVE A VERY EFFECTIVE, AND, UH, LOTS OF PEOPLE ARE VOLUNTARILY, YOU KNOW, COMPLYING WITH THIS IN EXCHANGE FOR DENSITY. AND THEIR PARTICULAR ORDINANCE, OR THEIR PARTICULAR PROGRAM HAS THEM REQUIRING THE FACADE OF A BUILDING FROM EIGHT TO 36 FEET HAVE A WEIGHTED AVERAGE THREAT FACTOR OF 15. SO THERE CAN BE ALL SORTS OF DIFFERENT THREAT FACTORS OF THE MATERIALS, AND THEY ALL COMBINED HAVE A WEIGHTED AVERAGE OF 15. UM, THEY HAVE SOME EXCEPTIONS. ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT ORDINANCES HAVE A UNIQUE FLAVOR THAT IS DISTINCT TO THE CITY THAT THEY HAVE BEEN APPROVED IN. SO WHAT DOES CURRENT, WHAT DOES BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN LOOK LIKE IN AUSTIN RIGHT NOW? WELL, THERE IS ALREADY CRITERIA WITHIN OUR GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM THAT DESCRIBES HOW YOU CAN COMPLY WITH BIRD COLLISION, DETERRENCE, AND LIGHT POLLUTION REDUCTION. THOSE ARE VOLUNTARY. UH, THOSE ARE NOT, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE CORE 10 REQUIREMENTS, BUT THEY CAN GO TOWARDS YOUR GREEN BUILDING RATING. ADDITIONALLY, WE DO HAVE OUR LIGHTS OUT RESOLUTION, WHICH WAS PASSED IN 2021, THAT REQUIRES CITY, UH, MANAGED BUILDINGS TO, UH, IMPLEMENT ALL SORTS OF STRATEGIES TO REDUCE LIGHT POLLUTION DURING PEAK MIGRATION, INCLUDING, UH, ADJUSTING CUSTODIAL SCHEDULES SO THAT LIGHTS AREN'T NECESSARILY ON AT NIGHT IN THE BUILDING, AND LIGHT IS TRESPASSING INTO THE ENVIRONMENT. SO THERE'S BOTH BEHAVIORAL AND, UH, STRUCTURAL THINGS THAT CAN BE INCORPORATED INTO A LIGHTING PLAN TO HELP REDUCE LIGHT POLLUTION. WE ALSO HAVE SEVERAL, UH, GLASS AND LIGHTING REQUIREMENTS IN OUR CITY CODE. IN SUB-CHAPTER E THERE'S LOTS OF REQUIREMENTS RELATED TO FACADE AND GLAZING. AND THEN THERE'S OTHER ZONING RELATED REQUIREMENTS FOR LIGHTING, WHETHER IT'S SHIELDING OR REFLECTIVITY OF GLASS. SO THERE'S ALREADY WITHIN OUR CODE, THESE KIND OF REGULATIONS THAT EXIST. WHEN WE [00:15:01] WERE LOOKING AT THE COST OF, UH, WHAT SOMETHING LIKE THIS WOULD LOOK LIKE. WE FIRST TURNED TO THE FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS OF THE OTHER CITIES THAT HAVE PASSED THEIR ORDINANCES. AND THESE THREE CITIES, MADISON, WISCONSIN, NEW YORK AND BERKELEY, ALL HAD FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS, ANALYSIS OR HAD REPORTED TO SOME EXTENT WHAT ESTIMATE THEY WERE GIVING AT THE TIME. SO, MADISON, WISCONSIN, THEY PASSED THEIR ORDINANCE ABOUT FIVE YEARS AGO, AND THEY ESTIMATED IT WOULD BE A TWO TO 3% INCREASE IN, IN THEIR PROJECT. NEW YORK ESTIMATED THAT THERE WOULD BE NO IMPACT, WHICH I THOUGHT WAS INTERESTING AND THAT SOUNDS GREAT. WE LOVE NOVA IMPACT. BERKELEY GAVE A MORE MAYBE MEASURED RESPONSE IN THEIR FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS, UH, INDICATING THAT THERE IS A LOT OF VARIABILITY. BUT IN THE WORK THAT WE DID TO, YOU KNOW, TRY AND BRING SOME SENSE TO THE TOPIC, WE TALKED TO A LOT OF MANUFACTURERS AND A LOT OF ARCHITECTS TO GET SOME NUMBERS ON WHAT TODAY'S PRICE IS. SO WHEN WE WERE FINDING NUMBERS OF LIKE PER SQUARE FOOT COSTS, WE CAME UP WITH THIS RELATED SPECIFICALLY TO THE COMMERCIAL, UH, PRODUCTS AVAILABLE ON THE MARKET. SO STANDARD NON CUSTOMIZED GLASS, 12 TO $15 A SQUARE FOOT FRITTED, YOU KNOW, MIGHT, MIGHT ADD $10, BUT COULD BE IN THE SAME RANGE AS CUSTOM, UH, AS NON-CUSTOM STANDARD GLASS EDGED GOES UP ANOTHER NOTCH AND THEN UV TREATED GLASS GOES UP A LITTLE BIT MORE. UM, THAT IS, WITH ALL OF THAT SAID THAT, UH, THERE GLASS WHEN IT'S SOLD IN BULK AND WHEN IT HAS TO BE TREATED IN BULK, YOU'RE NOT USING EVERY SQUARE FOOT. SO THERE'S A LOT OF OTHER CONSIDERATIONS THAT HAVE TO BE BROUGHT INTO THE CALCULATION. BUT WHEN I JUST DID A BACK OF THE NAPKIN CALCULATION OF WHAT IT WOULD COST TO SAY, TAKE A 10,000 SQUARE FOOT BUILDING, UH, THAT IS, YOU KNOW, THREE STORIES TALL, YOU HAVE 1200 SQUARE FEET OF FACADE AND PRETEND IT'S ALL GLASS, THAT GETS YOU TO ABOUT $12,000 OF TREATMENT ON TOP OF THE COST OF GLASS. UM, SO JUST TO KIND OF GIVE A RANGE OF WHAT THAT WOULD COST. SO THAT WOULD BE FOR THE, FOR THE ENTIRE BUILDING. JUST TRYING TO PUT TOGETHER SOME NUMBERS, ALTHOUGH IT IS DEFINITELY SPECIFIC FOR EACH BUILDING, IT'S UNIQUE. UM, WE TALKED TO AN ARCHITECT IN CHICAGO THAT GAVE US A RANGE OF ABOUT 0.2% TO 2%, UH, OF THE COST OF A PROJECT, UM, THAT HE'D BEEN WORKING ON. SO SOME VERY SMALL, SOME, YOU KNOW, MAYBE UP TO 2%. SO RESIDENTIAL GLASS IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT BECAUSE THERE'S NOT A LOT OF MATERIALS ON, UH, THE MARKET. AND REALLY RESIDENTIAL TREATMENTS COME DOWN TO RESIDENCES APPLYING THIS TO THEIR OWN WINDOWS. AND THOSE DIY SOLUTIONS RANGE FROM 50 CENTS A SQUARE FEET TO $7. LIGHTING ON THE OTHER HAND, DOESN'T NECESSARILY HAVE A COST, UH, DIFFERENTIAL ASSOCIATED WITH IT, BUT IT'S MORE AN INFORMED DECISION MAKING PROCESS. UH, YOU KNOW, THOSE SOLUTIONS ARE AUTOMATIC LIGHT CONTROLS. I MEAN, IF YOU TURN OFF YOUR LIGHTS, YOU'RE DEFINITELY GONNA SAVE SOME MONEY. UH, SHIELDED LIGHT FIXTURES ARE, YOU KNOW, PLENTIFUL AND ALREADY MUCH IN USE. AND LIGHT AND BOLD TEMPERATURE IS JUST, AGAIN, A, AN INFORMED DECISION WHEN WE WERE CONSIDERING THE FEASIBILITY OF INCORPORATING A REQUIREMENT LIKE THIS RIGHT NOW. LIKE, WHAT HAPPENS IF AN, UH, DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION GOES TO OUR DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT TODAY? HOW WOULD IT GET REVIEWED? HOW WOULD THAT HAPPEN? OUR, WE WORKED WITH DSD PLAN, UH, BUILDING PLANS EXAMINERS TO DISCUSS WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE FOR THEM TO START INCORPORATING A, A REGULATION LIKE THIS. AND FOR ALL OF THEIR COMMERCIAL PLAN REVIEWS, THEY ALREADY LOOK AT FACADES AND GLAZING FOR PROJECTS OVER 10,000 SQUARE FEET. AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN BUILDING STAFF ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE CRITERIA AND CAN HELP TRAIN, UH, PLANS EXAMINERS, AND THAT THIS COULD BE SOMETHING THAT COULD BE INCORPORATED QUITE QUICKLY WITHOUT THEIR, UM, BEING A, A BIG BURDEN IN, IN INCORPORATING THIS REQUIREMENT. SO I WANTED TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE CO-BENEFITS OF BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN. UH, A A FIRM OUT OF NEW YORK DID THIS REALLY COOL BOX STUDY SHOWING ALL OF THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF GLASS TREATMENTS AND EACH ONE OF THE GLASS TREATMENTS, WHETHER IT'S FRITTED, UV COATED, HAVING SOME PHYSICAL THING IN FRONT, LIKE A, A SHADE STRUCTURE, OR JUST HAVING OPAQUE MATERIALS WITH YOUR, YOU KNOW, NOT A SOLID GLASS WALL. YOU'RE GONNA HAVE, UH, IMPROVEMENT IN ENERGY, UH, AND REDUCTION IN ENERGY USE IN THIS BOX MODEL. SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S DIFFICULT TO SCALE THAT UP TO THE ACTUAL BUILDING AND WHAT THE ACTUAL COST WOULD, OR WHAT THE ACTUAL, YOU KNOW, PROJECT SIZE REDUCTION IN ENERGY COSTS WOULD BE. BUT THIS IS A PRETTY COOL EXAMPLE. AND A LOT OF DIFFERENT BUILDINGS THAT HAVE INCORPORATED, UH, BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN HAVE BEEN ABLE TO REPORT, UH, REDUCTION IN ENERGY COSTS AND IMPROVEMENTS IN THEIR ENERGY EFFICIENCY. [00:20:01] SO ANOTHER CO BENEFIT IS SAFETY. UM, ONE CAN BE, YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAVE, UH, VEGETATION AROUND YOUR HOUSE, UH, THAT CAN CAUSE ISSUES WITH WILDFIRE. SO OUR WOOEY CODE DISCOURAGES VEGETATION IN THIS KIND OF DIS DEFENSIBLE SPACE AROUND BUILDINGS THAT ARE IN OUR WILDLAND URBAN INTERFACE. AND ALSO, IF YOU PULL VEGETATION AWAY AND YOU REDUCE THE, UH, REFLECTION OF VEGETATION IN A WINDOW, THIS, THIS ALONE IS NOT ENOUGH TO COMPLETELY DETER BIRD COLLISION. BUT WHEN DONE IN, UH, COLLABORATION WITH OTHER TREATMENTS, THE TREATMENTS HAD LAST CAN IMPROVE THE REDUCTION IN COLLISIONS. THEN ALSO ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, YOU CAN SEE THIS EXAMPLE OF SHIELDED LIGHT AND THE IMPACT THAT SHIELDED LIGHT CAN HAVE ON BEING ABLE TO PERCEIVE THE OBJECTS IN YOUR SURROUNDING AT NIGHT. SO THE TOP PICTURE SHOWS AN UNSHIELDED LIGHT AND AN INABILITY TO PERCEIVE ANYTHING IN THE BACKGROUND NEAR THE FENCE. AND ONCE THAT LIGHT IS SHIELDED, IT THEN ALLOWS THE EYE TO TRANSITION AND NOT HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, BE KIND OF BLASTED WITH THE LIGHT AND PERCEIVE FIGURES IN THE BACKGROUND. OTHER CO-BENEFITS INCLUDE, UM, CONSERVATION, BIODIVERSITY, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, ALL OF THE BIG IMPACTS THAT HA YOU KNOW, THAT PRO PROVIDING FOR MECHANISMS THAT REDUCE THE LOSS OF LIFE, LIKE SIGNIFICANT IMPACT TO BIRD POPULATIONS. YOU KNOW, THAT HAS A RIPPLE EFFECT ACROSS LOTS OF DIFFERENT SYSTEMS. AND THEN, YOU KNOW, IT'S IMPORTANT TO REITERATE THE AMOUNT OF REVENUE THAT'S GENERATED THROUGH ECOTOURISM, BIRDERS SPEND A LOT OF MONEY. SO, YOU KNOW, AND TEXAS IS A GREAT BIRDING LOCATION, AND AUSTIN HAS A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT COME HERE TO, TO BIRD. SO THAT'S A, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A BIG AND IMPORTANT ONE. SO BEST PRACTICES AND STAFF CONSIDERATIONS, THESE ARE THINGS THAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR YOUR FEEDBACK TONIGHT ON. UM, I PUT TOGETHER THESE GENERAL BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ACROSS, YOU KNOW, ALL THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SOLUTIONS THAT GO INTO ACHIEVING, UH, BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN AND NEW CONSTRUCTION. AND THAT INCLUDES GLASS TREATMENT, LIGHTING SOLUTIONS, AND BEHAVIORAL PRACTICES. SO ONE OF THE BIG THINGS IS THAT THE AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY HAS THIS RULE, IT'S CALLED THE HUNDRED A HUNDRED, A HUNDRED RULE, THAT A HUNDRED PERCENT OF NEW CONSTRUCTION UP TO A HUNDRED FEET AND A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THAT FACADE IN THAT RANGE HAS A THREAT FACTOR OF 30 OR LESS AS LIKE, AS EFFECTIVE AS AN EFFECTIVE ORDINANCE. THEY RECOMMEND THAT THAT IS THE MINIMUM THAT IS DONE FOR, UM, AN ORDINANCE. UH, IN TERMS OF LIGHTING SOLUTIONS THERE, I'VE MENTIONED ALL OF THE ONES THAT I'VE, YOU KNOW, THAT WE'RE OUR BEST PRACTICES, SHIELDED LIGHTING FIXTURES, EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR LIGHTING ON TIMERS, ET CETERA. AND THEN BEHAVIORAL PRACTICES. SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE ALREADY HAVE INCORPORATED IN OUR LIGHTS, APP, LIGHTS OUT ORDINANCE. SO WHEN WE, UH, ARE BRINGING THIS FORWARD AS A RECOMMENDATION IN RESPONSE TO THIS, UH, COUNCIL RESOLUTION, THE THINGS THAT WE ARE PUTTING TOGETHER IN OUR RECOMMENDATION INCLUDE A PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO OUR LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE, AND WHERE WE HAVE LANDED BASED ON OUR FEASIBILITY STUDY AND BASED ON OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE IMPACT TO, YOU KNOW, SO MANY BIRD POPULATIONS. AND THE THREAT FACTOR IS WHAT WE'RE STARTING WITH IS A COMMERCIAL AND MULTI-FAMILY BUILDINGS EXCEEDING 10,000 SQUARE FEET WOULD BE REQUIRED TO MEET BIRD SAFE DESIGN PERFORMANCE STANDARDS AS MEASURED BY THREAT FACTOR RATING OF 20 OR LESS FOR ALL BUILDING SURFACES UP TO A HUNDRED FEET. AND THE REASON THAT WE WERE, YOU KNOW, TARGETING AND LOOKING AT 20, UH, THREAT FACTOR OF 20 IS BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT THERE'S INCREASING AMOUNT OF RESEARCH THAT'S COMING OUT, SHOWING THAT HUMMINGBIRDS ARE, UH, PROPORTIONATELY AFFECTED BY BIRD COLLISION, AND THOSE BEING AN IMPORTANT POLLINATOR SPECIES IN OUR ECOSYSTEM THAT WE WANTED TO CONSIDER MAYBE A THREAT FACTOR THAT WOULD POTENTIALLY, UH, PROVIDE MORE PROTECTION FOR THEM. UH, BUT, AND THEN ADDITIONALLY IMPLEMENTING, UH, DARK SKY LIGHTING REQUIREMENTS ON NEW CONSTRUCTION AND A POTENTIAL WAIVER OPTION FOR DEEPLY AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS. NOW, THIS IS NOT DRAFT LANGUAGE, THIS IS JUST KIND OF BROADLY WHAT THE RECOMMENDATION, UM, IS BEING CONSIDERED TO, TO MOVE, UH, FORWARD IN OUR RESPONSE. ADDITIONALLY, AUSTIN ENERGY SCREEN BUILDING PROGRAM, WE ARE WANTING TO COORDINATE WITH THE UPDATE TO THE GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM, WHICH IS PLANNED TO MOVE FORWARD IN 2030. THE GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM EXTENDS, WELL, YOU KNOW, BEYOND COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS ONLY. SO WE'RE NOT AT THIS STAGE WHERE WE NECESSARILY HAVE A SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATION ON THAT OR THE [00:25:01] GREEN BUILDING POLICY, WHAT WE WOULD RECOMMEND, BUT WE WANT IT TO BE A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT IN THE UPDATE OF THOSE, UH, CRITERIA. AND THEN LASTLY, BECAUSE THERE'S NOT CURRENTLY RIGHT NOW ANY RESIDENTIAL, LIKE COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE PRODUCTS THAT WE HAVE A BIG COORDINATED RESIDENTIAL EDUCATION CAMPAIGN, UM, WORKING WITH THE ANIMAL, AUSTIN ANIMAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT AND THE ANIMAL PROTECTION OFFICERS ON PROVIDING INFORMATION TO RESIDENTS AND MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE KNOW THAT THEY CAN IMPLEMENT THESE, UH, SOLUTIONS IN THEIR HOME FOR PRETTY COST EFFECTIVE, YOU KNOW, PRETTY COST EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS. UM, SO AS OF NOW WE'VE GONE TO ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION, ANIMAL ADVISORY, COMMISSION JOINT SUSTAINABILITY DESIGN, AND WE ACTUALLY WENT TO PLANNING, UH, LAST THURSDAY. I DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE TO UPDATE THAT. AND WE ARE NOW, UM, TALKING TO, TO Y'ALL JUST SOME INFORMATION ABOUT SOME FEEDBACK THAT WE'VE HEARD ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION AND, AND ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMISSION IS VERY, IS POSITIVELY IN SUPPORT OF THIS, BUT WITH A CONSIDERATION FOR MAYBE ALL CITY BUILDINGS. YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE HEARD BACK, UM, SOME FEEDBACK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, INCREASING THE, THE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM WAS SOMETHING THAT WE HEARD BACK. DESIGN COMMISSION HAD A LOT OF INPUT ON, YOU KNOW, HOW AFFORDABILITY GETS BAKED INTO SOMETHING LIKE THIS. UM, WE'RE REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT HAVING SOME DATA THAT REALLY DRIVES THE DECISION MAKING AND, UM, BUT OTHERWISE HAD A LOT OF POSITIVE SUPPORT. SIMILARLY, UH, PLANNING COMMISSION HAD SOME COMMENTS ON THE INCORPORATION OF DATA IN, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS GOING FORWARD. AND THAT RESIDENTIAL REQUIREMENTS WOULD BE A REALLY IMPORTANT THING TO CONSIDER. SINCE, YOU KNOW, OUR CITY IS MADE UP OF MOSTLY LOW RISE RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURES. WE'VE GOT LIKE 800,000 LOW RISE BUILDINGS, 8,000, 18,000 MID-RISE, AND LIKE A COUPLE HUNDRED HIGH-RISE. UM, SO THERE IS SOME INTEREST IN, IN, IN EMPHASIZING THE RESIDENTIAL COMPONENT. AND WITH THAT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME. APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT THIS ISSUE WITH YOU ALL AND HERE FOR ANY QUESTIONS OR ANY FEEDBACK THAT YOU HAVE. THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR THE COMMISSION? AGAIN, VERY INFORMATIVE. YES. I GUESS THIS IS COMMISSIONER WILEY. MAYBE A QUESTION, MAYBE A, A COMMENT. UM, I THINK WE'RE ALL, WE COULD ALL EXPECT TO SEE A LOT MORE FOCUS ON AFFORDABILITY COMING UP AND WHAT WE CAN DO, WHERE LIVING IN A SINGLE FAMILY HOME IS A PRIVILEGE AND IT'S VERY, YEAH. UH, LIVING IN A SINGLE FAMILY HOME, UH, WE, WE NEED TO START THINKING ABOUT THAT IS, IS A PRIVILEGE. AND, UM, IT DOESN'T, IT ISN'T INTUITIVE TO ME WHY WE WOULD WANNA TAX MULTI-FAMILY BUILDINGS IN A HIGHER WAY THAN WE ARE SINGLE FAMILY, BECAUSE THE SINGLE FAMILY, BY DEFINITION ARE LESS, UM, SENSITIVE TO THE AFFORDABILITY ISSUES, OTHERWISE THEY WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO AFFORD TO HAVE A SINGLE FAMILY HOME. SO I, I GUESS I'M NOT SURE HOW, HOW WE GOT TO TRYING TO PUT THIS ON TALL BUILDINGS, ESPECIALLY IN DOWNTOWN AND NOT ON THE OTHER ONES. I'M NOT QUESTIONING YEAH. THE, THE, THE VALUE OF PROTECTING BIRDS OR NO, THAT, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. RIGHT NOW, IT'S JUST A MATTER OF, UH, PRODUCT AVAILABILITY. UM, NOT THAT THERE ISN'T AN INTEREST IN HAVING THESE SAME THINGS IN PLACE FOR RESIDENTIAL SINGLE FAMILY HOMES, JUST THAT THERE IS NOT AVAILABLE PRODUCTS CURRENTLY ON THE MARKET. UM, I WILL SAY THAT THERE IS A VERY EFFECTIVE BIRD COLLISION DETERRENT AND COST NEUTRAL TREATMENT, WHICH IS INSECT SCREENS. THOSE ARE SOMETHING THAT WE'VE HEARD SOME FEEDBACK ON THAT INSECT SCREENS ARE VERY GOOD AT DETERRENT BIRD COLLISIONS, AND TYPICALLY A PART OF A LOT OF WINDOW TREATMENTS FOR SINGLE FAMILY AND, AND MULTIFAMILY WINDOWS. SO, YOU KNOW, WE ARE TRYING TO THREAD THE NEEDLE ON THAT, GIVEN THAT THE, THERE'S SOME, UH, SOME LIMITS IN THE PRODUCTS THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE TO REQUIRE FOR RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENTS, BUT IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE DON'T WANT TO HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE, ULTIMATELY. OKAY. YEAH, I, I, I THINK I WOULD AGREE WITH THE PEOPLE THAT WOULD LIKE TO SEE A LOT MORE DATA. YEAH. THANK YOU COMMISSIONER HAROLD. THANK YOU CHAIR. I, I DID HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO, TO REVIEW THIS PROJECT ON THE DESIGN COMMISSION AND PROVIDE FEEDBACK, BUT I JUST [00:30:01] WANT TO RE REITERATE ONE OF MY COMMENTS THERE. AND THAT'S TO PIGGYBACK ON COMMISSIONER WILEY'S COMMENT, UM, THAT I STRONGLY BELIEVE THERE NEEDS TO BE AN EXEMPTION FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS. AND I SAY EXEMPTION NOT WAIVER, BECAUSE A WAIVER IS STILL PERMITTING PROCESS THAT CAN BE DENIED VERSUS AN EXEMPTION MEANS YOU'RE GOOD TO GO. MUCH LIKE THE EXEMPTION IN THE WATER REUSE ORDINANCE MM-HMM . UH, THAT EXISTS TODAY. UH, AND I I SAY THAT, AND I THINK I MENTIONED TO YOU THE HARDSHIPS THAT AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS ARE FEELING TODAY, JUST IN THE LAST FEW WEEKS SINCE, SINCE THIS WAS PRESENTED AT DESIGN COMMISSION, I KNOW OF THREE AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS THAT HAVE BEEN SHELVED BECAUSE OF CONSTRUCTION COST. AND I JUST REALLY WORRY ABOUT PUTTING MORE BARRIERS IN FRONT OF THESE PROJECTS 'CAUSE WE NEED THAT HOUSING TO BE BUILT. YEAH. UM, BASED ON THAT FEEDBACK, WE DID GO TALK TO THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT TO JUST, YOU KNOW, DISCUSS FEASIBILITY OF INCORPORATING THIS KIND OF EXEMPTION. AND I THINK WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE THAT THAT IS A REALLY GOOD IDEA THAT WE DO WANT IT TO BE IN THE ACTUAL CODE LANGUAGE AND NOT A WAIVER. SO THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT UP AGAIN, UM, BECAUSE WE, WE THINK THAT IS A REALLY GOOD IDEA AND WANT IT TO BE, UM, A PART OF THE FUTURE RECOMMENDATION THAT, THAT WE ULTIMATELY BRING FORWARD BASED ON LIKE ALL OF THE FEEDBACK THAT WE'VE GOTTEN. SO I, I APPRECIATE YOU. THAT'S GREAT TO HEAR THAT. THANK YOU. YEAH. OTHER QUESTIONS? JUST A QUICK ONE. UM, WHEN YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THE NUMBER OF BIRTH STRIKES PER YEAR NATIONWIDE AND STUFF, DO YOU HAVE ANY, UH, INFORMATION ON THAT IN THIS AREA IN CENTRAL TEXAS? SO THERE HAVE BEEN, UM, YOU KNOW, SEVERAL, UM, NOT HEAVILY INVESTED IN STUDIES. SO MONITORING CAN BE A VERY LABOR INTENSIVE. UM, ALL OF THE VERY SUCCESSFUL MONITORING PROGRAMS REQUIRE A LOT OF OVERSIGHT AND A LOT OF CONTRIBUTIONS WE HAVE BEEN DISCUSSING WITH UT AND ST. EDWARDS, UM, OPPORTUNITIES TO COLLABORATE TO GET MORE POINTED DATA, UM, BECAUSE WE REALIZE THAT THE MONITORING PROGRAM DOES REQUIRE, YOU KNOW, PARTNERSHIP AND A LOT OF, UM, CONTRIBUTION TO GET REALLY RELIABLE DATA. SO THERE HASN'T BEEN A CENTRAL TEXAS, LIKE A REALLY DEFINED, UH, EFFORT IN CENTRAL TEXAS, BUT WE WE'RE TRYING TO RALLY SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO HAPPEN. SO YEAH, I THINK ALL OF US HERE WOULD JUST LOVE TO SEE MORE DATA ON A WHOLE HOST OF STUFF AND NOT JUST YOUR PROJECT. . YES, MR. MCDANIEL? I DO, I DO WANT TO JUST SAY THAT, UM, IT IS WELL KNOWN THAT THERE ARE MASS LIKE COLLISION EVENTS. OH, I KNOW. YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT A PROBLEM THAT IS, UH, NOT HAPPENING BECAUSE THE DATA DOESN'T EXIST. NO, I, I DON'T DOUBT THAT I'M FORTUNATE THAT THE BUILDING THAT I LIVE IN IS A LEAD SILVER THAT HAS UV IN THIS STUFF. SO YEAH, WE DON'T HAVE TOO MUCH OF A PROBLEM, BUT WE'VE SEEN OTHER BUILDINGS DOWNTOWN THAT HAVE WORSE OF A PROBLEM. YEAH. AND I THINK EVERYBODY IS PROBABLY FAMILIAR WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF EITHER SITTING IN YOUR HOME OR SITTING IN YOUR OFFICE AND HEARING A VERY FAMILIAR, LIKE THUD OF, YOU KNOW, A BIRD HITTING THE WINDOW. UM, AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT EVERYBODY'S FAMILIAR WITH HAVING EXPERIENCED, SO WE DO WANT TO HAVE THAT DATA TOO SIMPLY JUST TO UNDERSTAND HOW ANY CHANGES ARE IMPROVING THE SITUATION FOR ANY INDIVIDUAL BUILDING. SO. UNDERSTOOD. YEP. COMMISSIONER MCDANIEL, UH, THANK YOU CHAIRMAN, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. UH, KIND OF SIMILAR QUESTION IN LINE WITH THE DATA. I WAS READING THE RESOLUTION HERE AND IT SAYS THAT BIRDWATCHING BRINGS MORE THAN 1.8 BILLION TO THE STATE'S ECONOMY ANNUALLY. AND I WAS WONDERING IF WE HAD A MORE FOCUSED NUMBER FOR AUSTIN AND CENTRAL TEXAS SO WE DON'T HAVE A MORE FOCUSED NUMBER. SO A, A LOT OF THIS INFORMATION, US FISH AND WILDLIFE DID A REALLY BROAD NATIONAL STUDY ON THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF, UH, ECO, UH, BIRDWATCHING AND BIRD TOURISM. AND SO THEY DIDN'T DISTILL IT TILL LIKE COUNTY, IT WAS MOSTLY STATEWIDE. UM, SO WE DON'T HAVE ANY DATA ON JUST CENTRAL TEXAS, UH, BUT IT'S AT THE STATE LEVEL. OKAY, THANK YOU. I HAVE A QUESTION. SO, UM, IS IT ANTICIPATED THAT YOU WILL BE COMING BACK WITH A WRITTEN RECOMMENDATION? I HOPE SO. ANY IDEA AT THE TIMEFRAME? UM, SO THIS, UH, YOU KNOW, RECOMMENDATION THAT WE ARE GOING TO BRING FORWARD TO CITY COUNCIL BASED ON THE FEEDBACK THAT WE'VE RECEIVED FROM THE COMMISSIONS, UH, FROM Y'ALL [00:35:01] WILL THEN PUT IT IN THE HANDS OF CITY COUNCIL TO DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT A CODE AMENDMENT SHOULD BE INITIATED. AND AT THAT POINT, WE WOULD, YOU KNOW, WORK ON, UM, DRAFTING SOMETHING AND GET WARREN INTO THE WEEDS OF THIS ISSUE. PERFECT. YEAH. I JUST HAVE A QUICK ONE. OH, YES. YEP. COMMISSIONER P*****K. THANK YOU. CHAIR. QUESTION FOR YOU, IT'S, YOU TALK A LOT ABOUT THE COST. IS THERE ANY AUSTIN DEVELOPERS WHO HAVE DONE ANY SORT OF MODELING FOR THE COST? YEAH, FOR THE CO. UM, SO I'M NOT SURE THAT THERE HAVE BEEN, UM, EXACT THAT THERE HAVE BEEN MODELS, BUT WE ARE GONNA KNOW SOME COSTS SOON. ALL OF THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT PODS THAT HAVE RECENTLY BEEN APPROVED ALL HAVE WITHIN THEM REQUIREMENTS TO COMPLY WITH BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN AND LIGHT POLLUTION REDUCTION. UM, THERE IS A, UM, THE GOOGLE SALE BUILDING RIGHT OVER THERE. UM, PARTIAL PART OF THE BUILDING HAS, UM, BIRD FRIENDLY GLASS ON THE SIDE. THAT PHASE OF SHOAL CREEK. WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO FIGURE OUT OR HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO GET THE DATE ON EXACTLY WHAT THE COST WAS, BUT IT WASN'T FULL. BUT COMPLIANCE WITH WHAT WE WOULD RECOMMEND, WE DO HAVE A LITTLE, SOME INFORMATION THAT, UM, OF, SO THE AIRPORT HAS THEIR IT BUILDING THAT THEY'VE RETROFITTED, SO IT'S NOT AN EXACT EXAMPLE OF THE COST, AND THERE WAS RENOVATIONS, SO IT WASN'T REALLY A GOOD EXAMPLE NECESSARILY BECAUSE THE COST WASN'T BAKED INTO THE NEW CONSTRUCTION. BUT THERE WILL BE LOTS OF NEW BUILDINGS IN SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT DOWNTOWN AREA THAT WILL BE INCORPORATING BIRD FRIENDLY DESIGN BECAUSE IT'S REQUIRED IN THEIR ZONING ORDINANCES. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? CHAIR? JUST NOTING THAT OUR REMOTE CALLER WHO HAD TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES EARLIER IS BACK ON AND WOULD LOVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE THEIR COMMENTS FOR THREE MINUTES. COMMISSIONER HOOP HAD A QUESTION OF COURSE, AND THEN WE'LL, YES, BUT REMIND ME , BUT I THINK IT'S AN IMPORTANT ISSUE. I WAS, I WAS, UM, I WAS RAISED IN THE WOODS OUTSIDE OF WACO. I'M A BIT OF A FAIR OLD CHILD AND I WAS ALWAYS SURROUNDED BY PAINTED BUNS GROWING UP, AND I DON'T SEE 'EM ANYMORE. MM-HMM . UH, MY QUESTION I GUESS WOULD BE THAT, YOU KNOW, ON A NATIONAL LEVEL AS FAR AS LIKE, YOU KNOW, IT, IT SEEMS YOU'VE GOT A LOT OF GREAT DATA, ARE, WOULD YOU SAY THAT SOME OF THESE RESOURCES ARE SILOED BY LOCATION? ARE YOU GUYS WORKING WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THE AUDUBON SOCIETY OR THINGS LIKE THAT? YES, ABSOLUTELY. WE ARE WORKING WITH, UM, BOTH THE LOCAL CHAPTER AND THE STATE CHAPTER. UM, WE TALK TO THE AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY PRETTY OFTEN. UM, WE ARE COORDINATING WITH THE BIRD COLLISION DETERRENCE, UH, ALLIANCE, WHICH IS A NATIONAL ORGANIZATION THAT LOOKS AND, AND LOOKS AT THIS ISSUE FROM ALL DIFFERENT, UH, UH, ANGLES, INCLUDING LIKE THE SOCIAL ANGLE AND, YOU KNOW, THE ACTUAL HARD DATA ON HOW THESE DIFFERENT SOLUTIONS REDUCE BIRD COLLISIONS. SO WE'RE TALKING TO AS MANY RESOURCES AS COME ON OUR RADAR. WE'LL, WE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TRYING TO FIND THE, YOU KNOW, AS MUCH INFORMATION ABOUT HOW WE CAN COME UP WITH SOLUTIONS THAT WILL FIT AUSTIN, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE WE'RE, YOU KNOW, UNIQUE AND NEED OUR OWN, UH, KINDS OF SOLUTIONS HERE. YEAH. THANK YOU. YEP. SO SHOULD WE LET MS. LILY WILL YOU, OR LET'S HEAR THE HEAR THE SPEAKER FIRST IF THERE'S NO OBJECTION TO HEARING THE SPEAKER'S COMMENTS? NO, NOT AT ALL. UM, ERIC, ERIC KLAU. ERIC, YOU CAN UNMUTE AND ADDRESS THE BODY FOR THREE MINUTES. UH, CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES. HELLO? YES, WE HEAR YOU. OKAY. OKAY, GREAT. SO MY NAME IS ERIC LAU AND I LIVE IN THE WALNUT PLACE NEIGHBORHOOD. I AM HERE TO VOICE MY SPONSOR SUPPORT FOR THE FRIENDLY DESIGN INITIATIVE. I WANTED TO TAKE, UH, A MOMENT TO SPEAK ABOUT THE MAGIC OF BIRDS BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT WE RISK LOSING IF WE DO NOT ACT. I WANT TO SPEAK ABOUT THE QUIET BEAUTY OF THE YELLOW WARBLER GLEANING INSECTS FROM THE SYCAMORE TREE. THE TINY BIRDS SO CLOSE. YOU CAN MAKE OUT THE CHESTNUT STREAK THAT RUN DOWN AND BREATH IT BLACK BEAD LIKE EYE GLIMMERING IN THE SUN. I WANT TO TELL YOU ABOUT THE THRILL OF AN INTREPID YOUNG BLUEBIRD TAKING ITS FIRST FLIGHT FROM A WOODEN BLUEBIRD HOUSE. HIS PARENT URGING IT ON AS THIS FLASH THING. KIMBERLY POKES ITS HEAD OUT OF THE SMALL ENTRANCE HOLE. BEFORE LAUNCHING ACROSS THE YARD, I WANT TO TELL YOU ABOUT THE BREATHTAKING AWE OF A BLACK SIN HUMMINGBIRD DISPLAY WHERE THE MALE BUZZES UP AND DOWN IN THE YHA TO IMPRESS THE FEMALE HIS WINGS WORRYING ALL THE WHILE [00:40:01] TO WITNESS SUCH INTIMATE MOMENTS IN THE LIVES OF WILD BIRDS IS TO EXPERIENCE TREMENDOUS JOY AND WONDER. EVERY IRRITATION, EVERY SORROW, EVERY PAIN JUST INSTANTLY EVAPORATES. YOU FEEL PRESENT AND ALIVE. I'VE HAD THE INCREDIBLE PRIVILEGE TO EXPERIENCE THESE WONDERS IN THE COMFORT OF MY AUSTIN BACKYARD. IN FACT, SOME 70 BIRD SPECIES HAVE VISITED OUR YARD, BUT THAT'S ONLY A FRACTION OF THE 400 PLUS SPECIES THAT PASSED THROUGH AUSTIN. EACH YEAR THROUGH SHARING THEIR BEAUTY, THEIR GENIUS BIRDS CAN LIFT US FROM THE DEATHS OF DEPRESSION. THEY CAN SOOTHE OUR PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL PAIN. AND I KNOW THIS BECAUSE THEY DID. SO FOR ME. WHEN MY NEUROMUSCULAR CONDITION MADE PLAYING MUSIC IMPOSSIBLE, I LOST MY GREATEST PASSION. I THOUGHT I WOULD NEVER EXPERIENCE JOY AGAIN. AND THAT'S WHEN I FELL IN LOVE WITH BIRDS. BIRDS REKINDLED MY CREATIVITY, INSPIRING ME TO WRITE. BIRDS GAVE ME PURPOSE, AND I NOW LEAVE MONTHLY EPI OUTING THAT MORE THAN A HUNDRED PEOPLE ATTEND THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, BIRDS QUITE LITERALLY SAVED MY LIFE. BUT THIS IS NOT JUST MY STORY. A HUNDRED MILLION AMERICANS ENJOY THE WONDERS OF BIRDWATCHING. FROM JULY THROUGH SEPTEMBER, THIS PAST YEAR, 1024 PEOPLE JOINED FIELD TRIPS TO CABS AUDUBON SOCIETY IN TOTAL BURNING GENERATES MORE THAN $5 BILLION TO THE ECONOMY EVERY YEAR. WE MUST PROTECT BIRDS SO THEY CAN HELP OTHERS AS THEY HAVE HELPED ME SO THEY CAN BRING HEALTH BENEFITS TO ALL OF AUSTIN'S RESIDENTS. PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BIRD SELLING DESIGN INITIATIVE FOR OUR PEOPLE, FOR OUR ECONOMY, AND FOR THE BIRTH WHO MAKE OUR CITY A BEAUTIFUL AND WONDROUS PLACE TO LIVE. THANK YOU, ERIC. THANK YOU FOR THAT BEAUTIFUL, UM, STORY ABOUT BIRDS AND HOW THEY, HOW MUCH THEY MEAN TO YOU. THAT WAS LOVELY. SO I DID THAT. GENERATE ANY QUESTIONS FROM ANYONE? IF NOT, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. THANK YOU SO MUCH. SO NEXT WE HAVE A [3. Presentation regarding the Central City District Plan by Shanisha Johnson, Principal Planner, Austin Planning.] PRESENTATION REGARDING THE CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT PLAN BY ISHA JOHNSON, PRINCIPAL PLANNER AUSTIN PLANNING. IS SHE REMOTE? YES. OKAY. CAN YOU ALL HEAR ME? WE CAN, CAN YOU ALL SEE? OH, BARELY. HERE WE GO. . OKAY. THERE YOU ARE. HERE. OKAY, GREAT. UH, GOOD EVENING, CHAIR COMMISSIONERS. UH, THANK YOU FOR SAVING SOME TIME ON YOUR AGENDA TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THE CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT PLAN. UH, MY NAME IS FOR OTHERS. MY NAME IS ISHA JOHNSON, AND I LEAD AUSTIN PLANNING DISTRICT PLANNING TEAM. OUR TEAM IS CURRENTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE NORTHEAST DISTRICT PLANNING PROCESS, A PARTNERSHIP PLANNING EFFORT WITH TRAVIS COUNTY AND THE CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT PLAN. OUR DEPARTMENT'S RESPONSE TO THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAN UPDATE. I'M NOT SURE IF I'LL BE ABLE TO ADVANCE FLAGS, SO I'LL JUST SAY NEXT SLIDE. ? YES. YES, THAT WORKS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. IN THIS PRESENTATION, I WILL REVIEW OUR PLAN, PURPOSE AND GOALS, OUR PROGRESS TO DATE, AND PROVIDE A LITTLE MORE INFORMATION ON OUR ADVISORY GROUPS PLANNING TIMELINE AND SOME KEY NEXT STEPS. THANK YOU. A 2024 COUNCIL RESOLUTION CALLED FOR AN UPDATE TO THE 2011 DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAN WITH AN EMPHASIS ON CREATING A 10 YEAR BLUEPRINT FOR FUTURE GROWTH AND INVESTMENTS, UH, WITH A UNIFIED VISION, ALIGNING THE PLAN WITH EXISTING CITYWIDE STRATEGIES AND POLICIES, AND BUILDING CONSENSUS FOR EFFECTIVE PLAN IMPLEMENTATION. OUR PLAN GOALS INCLUDE DEVELOPING A COMMUNITY INFORMED VISION AND COMMUNITY INFORMED GOALS, PLACE TYPES, A PLACE TYPES MAP TO INFORM FUTURE DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS, PROVIDING RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE PUBLIC REALM AND MULTIMODAL IMPROVEMENTS, PROGRAM POLICY, PROJECT AND PARTNERSHIP RECOMMENDATIONS, AND DEVELOPING AN ACT. AND WITH THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS, DEVELOPING AN ACTIONABLE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN. NEXT ONE. OUR PROGRESS TODAY IS AS FOLLOWS. IN EARLY OCTOBER, WE LAUNCHED OUR SPEAK UP BOSTON PAGE, UM, THAT ON [00:45:01] THAT PAGE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PLANNING AND ENGAGEMENT PROCESS, AS WELL AS SOME RESOURCE ARTICLES THAT, UM, THAT LEAD YOU TO EXISTING PLANS AND INITIATIVES. WE'VE ONBOARDED AECOM, OUR CONSULTANTS FOR TECHNICAL AND ENGAGEMENT SERVICES. WE'VE DEVELOPED AN INFORMATION SHEET, A TWO PAGER THAT OUTLINES OUR PLANNING PROCESS AND ENGAGEMENT AND PROVIDES AN ENGAGEMENT OVERVIEW. THIS INFORM HAS BEEN TRANSLATED TO SPANISH AND, UH, BOTH VERSIONS ARE UPLOADED ON OUR SPEAK OF BOSTON PAGE. LAST MONTH, WE HELD OUR FIRST INTER-AGENCY TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP MEETING. AND, UM, IN THE UPCOMING SLIDE, I'LL PROVIDE A LITTLE MORE DETAIL ON WHAT THAT GROUPING IS. WE ALSO SUCCESSFULLY HOSTED OUR FIRST PUBLIC ENGAGE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT EVENTS THIS MONTH. THE FIRST EVENT WAS AN IN-PERSON OPEN HOUSE AT A CC RIO GRANDE. ON NOVEMBER 10TH, THERE WERE APPROXIMATELY 70 ATTENDEES AT THIS OPEN HOUSE, AND WE, UM, PRESENTED FOR OPEN HOUSE. YEAH, WE CAN'T HEAR YOU NOW, APPROXIMATELY 20 ATTENDEES AND, UM, ALSO KXA AND NEWS STATION. FOR THIS MEETING, WE TRANSFORMED THE IN-PERSON, EX IN-PERSON EXISTING CONDITIONS BOARDS INTO A DIGITAL SLIDE PRESENTATION. UM, WE ALSO LAUNCHED ON NOVEMBER 12TH A SURVEY THAT FEATURES THE SAME ACTIVITY QUESTIONS THAT WERE PRESENTED IN EACH OF THE OPEN HOUSES. NEXT, UM, I WILL JUST, I WILL PROVIDE A LITTLE MORE INFORMATION ON OUR ADVISORY GROUPS. NEXT SLIDE. THE INTERAGENCY TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP IS, IS MEANT TO BE AN INTERNAL GROUP, UM, THAT IS MADE UP OF CITY DEPARTMENTS AND OTHER CITY OFFICES, AS WELL AS PUBLIC AGENCIES, UH, SUCH AS AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE, AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP, CAP CAP, METRO CENTRAL HEALTH RALLY, AUSTIN, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, TRAVIS COUNTY, AND THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS. GENERALLY, THIS GROUP MEETS ONCE MONTHLY VIA TEAMS, UH, AND IS RESPONSIBLE FOR REVIEWING DRAFT DELIVERABLES. WE HAVE ALSO ASKED THAT THIS GROUP, UH, HELP US REMAIN ACCOUNTABLE AS WE, UH, INTEND TO DEVELOP AN ANNUAL REPORT, UM, TO INFORM, UM, OUR IMPLEMENT PLAN IMPLEMENTATION TRACKING. NEXT SLIDE. NEXT IS OUR STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY GROUP. WE IDENTIFIED GROUPS ACROSS A NUMBER OF FOCUS TOPICS AS IDENTIFIED IN THE 2024 COUNCIL RESOLUTION. WE STARTED WITH A STRATEGY TO IDENTIFY THOSE THAT LIVE, WORK AND VISIT THE PLANNING AREA, BUT ALSO THOUGHT ABOUT UNDERREPRESENTED VOICES. THE LIST TO THE LEFT OF THE SLIDE CAPTURES THE TYPE OF REPRESENTATIVES WE SOUGHT IN FOR THE, UH, STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY GROUP. WE VETTED OUR LIST WITH VARIOUS CITY DEPARTMENTS AND OFFICES SUCH AS AUSTIN, HOMELESS STRATEGIES AND OPERATIONS, AUSTIN, CLIMATE ACTION AND RESILIENCE, AUSTIN EQUITY AND INCLUSION, AUSTIN HOUSING, AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS, AUSTIN ARTS, CULTURE, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT. AND AS WELL WITH THE DISTRICT NINE OFFICE, OUR STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY GROUP HAS BEEN CREATED TO MORE CLOSELY WORK WITH STAKEHOLDERS IN THE COMMUNITY TO REVIEW PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT FEEDBACK, BUT ALSO TO PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DRAFT DELIVERABLES. THESE MEETINGS WILL BE HELD IN A WORKSHOP STYLE FORMAT, JUST GIVEN THAT THERE ARE 50 MEMBERS IN THE GROUP. AND, UH, WHILE WE WILL OPEN UP, UH, EACH MEETING WITH A GENERAL OVERVIEW OF WHAT WILL BE DISCUSSED, UM, THROUGHOUT THE MEETING, WE PLAN ON BREAKING UP INTO, UH, FOCUS TOPIC, UH, SMALL GROUPS TO, UM, UH, TO MAKE OUR GROUP DISCUSSIONS MORE EFFICIENT. THIS GROUP IS SCHEDULED TO MEET SIX TIMES, UH, THROUGH DECEMBER, 2026. AND AS MENTIONED, THE MEETINGS WILL BE CONDUCTED IN A MORE OF A WORKSHOP STYLE FORMAT. NEXT SLIDE. OUR ENGAGEMENT APPROACH IS CLOSELY ALIGNED WITH EACH DELIVERABLE THAT WILL BE PRODUCED TO INFORM THE VISION AND IMPLEMENTATION PLANS. PHASE ONE ENGAGEMENT AT A DISTRICT WIDE APPROACH, UM, TAKES PLACE. IT HAS BEGUN AND TAKES PLACE THROUGH WINTER OF THIS [00:50:01] YEAR AND JUST, AND ALSO JANUARY OF NEXT YEAR, UM, WHERE WE'VE BEGUN TO PRESENT OUR EXISTING CONDITIONS FINDINGS, BUT ALSO ASK THE COMMUNITY TO WEIGH IN ON WHAT THEY FEEL IS MISSING, WHAT IS WORKING WELL, BUT ALSO HOW THEY, THEY FEEL, UH, THE AREA CAN BE ENHANCED. THESE CONVERSATIONS ARE THE BEGINNING OF A NEEDS AND GAP ANALYSIS, BUT THROUGH PHASE TWO, WE WILL CONTINUE THE NEEDS AND GAP DISCUSSION THROUGH SUB AREA COMMUNITY FOCUS GROUPS AND ADDITIONAL STAKEHOLDER GROUP MEETINGS AS REQUESTED. PHASE TWO, TAKING PLACE OVER SPRING OF 2026 WILL INCLUDE COMMUNITY DISCUSSIONS, WILL ALSO INCLUDE COMMUNITY DISCUSSIONS ON FUTURE GROWTH BY WAY OF SCENARIO PLANNING THAT IS INTENDED TO ACHIEVE A BETTER HELP THE COMMUNITY ACHIEVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED IN DIFFERENT GROWTH SCENARIOS. THESE SCENARIOS WILL INFORM PLACE TYPES MAPPING. I WANTED TO TO POINT OUT THAT, UH, THIS PARTICULAR PHASE OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, WHICH FEATURES, UH, ENGAGEMENT ON LAND USE SUB AREA, AND BY SUB AREA, UH, MEANING UT VERSUS DOWNTOWN PROPER VERSUS SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT. SO SUB AREA CHARACTER, BUT ALSO COMMUNITY BENEFITS. THESE TYPE OF CONVERSATIONS WILL HELP INFORM THE CODE TEAM'S WORK ON THE DOWNTOWN DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM. UPDATE PHASE PHASE THREE OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TAKING PLACE FALL THROUGH WINTER OF 2026. UM, WILL, UM, WE WILL GO OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY TO PRESENT A DIRECT VISION PLAN AND BEGIN WORKING THROUGH SOME SPECIFICS OF IMPLEMENTATION PLAN. UH, THIS WORK DOES INCLUDE BRIEFINGS TO A NUMBER OF BOARDS, COMMISSIONS AND COMMITTEES, UH, WHERE WE, UH, WILL ENSURE THAT WE SAVE ENOUGH TIME TO INCORPORATE ALL STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK AND THEN PRESENT A FINAL VISION AND IMPLEMENTATION PLAN TO COUNCIL FOR POTENTIAL ADOPTION IN DECEMBER OF 2026. NEXT SLIDE. UH, SOME KEY NEXT STEPS OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS INCLUDE FINALIZING THE EXISTING CONDITIONS REPORT FOR WHICH WE'VE ALREADY BEGUN TO ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY ON. BUT, UM, UM, THE CONSULTANTS HAVE GONE BACK AND ARE, ARE, UH, INCORPORATING SOME, UM, FEEDBACK, UH, IN TERMS OF WHERE TO LOOK, WHICH, WHICH CONDITIONS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE COVER IN THE REPORT. THAT REPORT SHOULD BE COMPLETED. UM, HERE IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS OR DRAFT FULLY DRAFTED IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS. WE KICKED OFF THE FIRST STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY GROUP MEETING. UH, THIS MEETING IS CURRENTLY PLANNED FOR DECEMBER 3RD. WE ARE ALSO, UH, WILL, UH, HAVE ALREADY STARTED ANALYZING PHASE PHASE ONE ENGAGEMENT, UH, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT FEEDBACK, BUT OF COURSE ARE UNABLE TO COMPLETE, UH, THAT ANALYSIS UNTIL OUR PHASE ONE SURVEY CLOSES ON DECEMBER 6TH. AND WE HAVE, UH, WE HAVE RECEIVED FEEDBACK FROM THE STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY GROUP STARTING DECEMBER 3RD. NEXT, WE WILL, UM, BE FINALIZING OUR NEEDS AND GAP ANALYSIS ROUGHLY AROUND JANUARY. AND THEN, UM, AT THE SAME TIME WE'LL BE PREPARING PRE, UM, BY WAY OF PRE-PLANNING FOR PHASE TWO ENGAGEMENTS. UH, THIS PRE-PLANNING PHASE, UH, JUST FOR, FOR THE TEAM, MY TEAM AND CONSULTANTS WILL BE JANUARY THROUGH FEBRUARY, ROUGH ESTIMATE, UM, WHERE WE WILL BE DEVELOPING INTERNALLY, UH, PLACE TYPES, MAP TYPOLOGIES, UM, AND ALSO, UH, BE RELEASING AN, UM, SIGNUP FOR THE COMMUNITY MEMBER FOCUS GROUPS THAT WILL TAKE PLACE IN THE SPRING. AND LASTLY, I JUST WANTED TO SHARE A LITTLE, UH, MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW YOU, HOW, UM, WE CAN BE CONTACTED. UM, YOU CAN EMAIL ME ISHA JOHNSON, PRINCIPAL PLANNER, UM, AT MY CITY EMAIL. UM, WE ALSO HAVE OUR SPEAKUP PAGE, WW DOT SPEAK UP AUSTIN.ORG/CENTRAL CITY AS WELL. WE HAVE OUR PROJECT SPECIFIC, UM, EMAIL ADDRESS AND THAT CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT PLAN TEAM@AUSTINTEXAS.GOV. NEXT SLIDE. THIS CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION. HAPPY TO [00:55:01] TAKE ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. YES. UM, BEFORE WE GET STARTED ON OTHER QUESTIONS, UM, I BELIEVE IN THE ORDINANCE TO UPDATE THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAN. THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION WAS ACTUALLY SPECIFICALLY LISTED AS ONE OF THE STAKEHOLDERS, AND IT DOESN'T APPEAR THAT WE ARE INCLUDED IN THE STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY GROUP. UM, I BELIEVE WE WOULD ALL APPRECIATE BEING INCLUDED, ONE OF OUR, ONE OF OUR MEMBERS BEING INCLUDED IN THAT GROUP. UM, I KNOW THAT YOU MENTIONED THAT THERE WILL BE PRESENTATIONS TO COMMISSIONS, BUT THE REST OF THE COMMISSIONS, NO OTHER COMMISSION HAS THE CHARGE THAT WE HAVE. AND, UM, WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE MORE INPUT THAN, THAN WE HAVE HAD SO FAR. SO, UM, IF THERE'S A WAY TO ACCOMPLISH THAT, I THINK WE WOULD ALL APPRECIATE THAT. THANK YOU, UM, FOR SHARING, UH, YOUR FEEDBACK, AND I WILL TAKE THAT FEEDBACK TO, UM, TO MY LEADERSHIP. I KNOW THAT WE WERE TRYING TO KEEP THE STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY GROUP, UM, I WON'T SAY MORE GRASSROOTS, BUT JUST, UM, MORE, UM, ORGANIZATIONS THAT, THAT AREN'T ALL CITY, LIKE CITY, CITY ONLY, UH, TYPE OF BUSINESS. WE WERE, UH, REALLY TRYING TO, UH, KEEP COMMISSIONS AND COMMITTEES OUT OF THE, THE STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY GROUP. BUT, UM, TO ME, THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE CAN'T BE HAVING STRATEGIC CONVERSATIONS, UM, ON, ON A REGULAR CADENCE TO ENSURE THAT, UM, WE, THAT YOUR FEEDBACK IS CONSIDERED ALONG THE WAY AS YOU ARE, UH, STEWARDS OF THE, UM, THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAN AND THE FUTURE CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT PLAN. I APPRECIATE THAT QUESTION. UH, YES, I HAVE A FEW COMMENTS. UM, I ATTENDED THE A CC MEETING, UH, WHICH WAS GREAT. UH, GREAT INTERACTION. UM, PERSONALLY, YOU KNOW, I'VE LIVED DOWNTOWN. IT'S BEEN MY NEIGHBORHOOD FOR 45 YEARS, AND I'M VERY INVOLVED IN MY DOWNTOWN NEIGHBORHOOD. AND, YOU KNOW, GOING THROUGH AND HAVING THESE CONVERSATIONS THE OTHER EVENING AND LOOKING AT ALL THE DATA, THE MAPPING AND ALL THAT, THERE WERE OBVIOUS OMISSIONS, UM, IMPORTANT OMISSIONS. I FEEL, UH, AS A DOWNTOWN STAKEHOLDER. UH, I MEAN, YOU WENT TO CONSIDERABLE LENGTH AND, UM, UH, ON SOME OF THE, UH, SITE PLANS, THE MAPS, UM, INDICATING DIFFERENT CULTURAL DISTRICTS. BUT, UH, AGAIN, BEING SO INVOLVED DOWNTOWN, YOU KNOW, UM, I'M INVOLVED WITH THE OLD AUSTIN NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION. I'M ON THAT BOARD, AND OUR BOUNDARIES LITERALLY ARE HALF OF DOWNTOWN. IT'S, UH, LADY BIRD LAKE, 15TH LAMAR, UH, LAVACCA, THAT'S HALF OF, UH, CENTRAL, DOWNTOWN. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WITHIN OUR BOUNDARIES, UM, MY BACKGROUND, UH, HAS BEEN, UM, HISTORIC PRESERVATION, UM, ARCHITECTURE, AND I HAVE QUITE A BIT OF PLANNING IN MY BACKGROUND AND, YOU KNOW, UM, INCORPORATING IN YOUR DATA, UM, SOME OF THESE OBVIOUS SUBMISSIONS LIKE THE HISTORIC DISTRICTS, UH, WERE NOT, UM, UH, NOTED ON THIS, ON THESE MAPS, YET OTHER CULTURAL DISTRICTS WERE, AND, UH, INDIVIDUAL, UH, HISTORIC LANDMARKS, UM, WITHIN, UH, THE CENTRAL DOWNTOWN AREA, I, I THINK WOULD BE VERY IMPORTANT. UM, AS YOU PROCEED WITH PLANNING, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, OBVIOUSLY, UH, TIED DIRECTLY TO TOURISM AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UM, UH, HISTORIC SITES, UH, RISE TO THE TOP. UM, YOU KNOW, THAT DATA IS WITH THE CHAMBER, UH, WHEN NEW VISITORS COME TO AUSTIN, THAT'S ONE OF THE, THE FIRST THINGS WE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW YOUR, YOUR HISTORIC PROPERTIES. AND SO I, I THINK INCORPORATING ALL OF THIS AND MAKING SURE THAT, UM, UH, YOU HAVE, UH, THE KEY STAKEHOLDERS IDENTIFIED, YOU KNOW, UM, I OFFERED LOTS OF INPUT, UH, THE OTHER EVENING, AND I'D LIKE TO, YOU KNOW, AS A VESTED STAKEHOLDER, UH, TO, TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, MAKE SURE THAT, UM, MY INPUT IS TAKEN SERIOUSLY AND, YOU KNOW, AND BEING MORE INVOLVED IN THIS PROCESS BECAUSE, UM, I, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, A, A VERY POSITIVE OUTCOME, UH, WITH THIS PLAN THAT'S BEING DEVELOPED. AND, UM, SO I, I WOULD LIKE, AGAIN, TO HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY AND, AND WORK WITH YOU DIRECTLY ON, UH, MAKING SURE THAT [01:00:01] ALL BASES ARE COVERED. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER. IF THAT MAKES SENSE. YES, THANK YOU. YES. THANK YOU FOR THE FEEDBACK IN IDENTIFYING THAT THAT WAS A KEY, LIKE SOME MISSING INFORMATION. UM, I CAN GUARANTEE THAT THAT INFORMATION WON'T BE MISSING IN THE EXISTING CONDITIONS REPORT ITSELF. UM, THE, THE FULLER REPORT, THE WHAT WAS PRESENTED WAS A SNAPSHOT, UM, AND IT IS NOT AN EXCUSE. UH, WE WERE TRYING TO LIKE LIMIT HOW MANY BOARDS WE HAD GIVEN THE, I MEAN, I THINK A SOLID 50 WORDS WOULD WOULD'VE ALLOWED US TO COVER EVERY RELEVANT TOPIC, UM, AND FOCUS IN THE AREA. BUT, UM, UH, IT, YOU, I HAVE RECORDED YOUR FEEDBACK AND, AND WILL ENSURE THAT THAT, UM, THOSE TYPE OF, UH, CONTEXTUAL FEATURES ARE, UM, ARE REPRESENTED IN THE EXISTING CONDITIONS REPORT. UM, AND THERE WAS, UH, ONE MORE THING THAT I WANTED TO ADDRESS. SO, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE IDENTIFIED IN TERMS OF, OF, UH, JUST REALLY TRYING TO BE MORE INCLUSIVE AND EQUITABLE WITH OUR ENGAGEMENT IS THAT WE SHOULD NOT PLAN FOR, WE SHOULD NOT OVER PLAN AND SCHEDULE WHAT WE THINK IS THE BEST WAY TO ENGAGE PEOPLE, BUT ALSO TO BE AVAILABLE AND READY TO MEET FOLKS WHERE THEY ARE. SO SAYING THIS ON PUBLIC RECORD THAT WE ARE AVAILABLE TO MEET FOLKS WHERE THEY ARE, TO SHOW UP AT COMMUNITY MEETINGS, TO SHOW UP AT, UH, ASSOCIATION MEETINGS, AND, AND THE SUCH, UM, WE, WE HAVE THE TIME AND CAPACITY TO HAVE THOSE MORE INTIMATE CONVERSATIONS. AND, UM, SO THROUGH, UH, THE NUMBER OF COMMUNICATION CHANNELS MENTIONED, WE, WE ARE HAPPY TO, UH, TO MEET THOSE REQUESTS. I, UM, NOTED THAT COMMISSIONER CARROLL LEVINSON AND SCHIFFER, I THINK ALSO HAVE COMMENTS. SO COMMISSIONER CARROLL, THANK YOU CHAIR. UM, UH, I'M LOOKING AT THE SPEAK UP PAGE AND I SEE NO INFORMATION ON THE STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY GROUP. UH, IS THERE, IS THERE NO LIST OF THOSE MEMBERS PUBLISHED ANYWHERE? NOT JUST YET. UM, AND I'M TRYING TO THINK OF WHERE WE SETTLED. I THINK THE ORGANIZATIONS WILL BE PUBLISHED, UH, NOT THE, NOT THE MEMBER NAMES, JUST TO BE SOME, UM, UH, CONFIDENTIALITY WITH THE MATTER, BUT THE ORGANIZATIONS WILL BE NAMED, UM, IT IS RECENT DEVELOPMENT THAT WE HAVE FINALIZED OUR, OUR LIST FIRST WITH, UM, THE CITY DEPARTMENTS. AND THEN LASTLY WITH, WITH, UH, THE DISTRICT NINE COUNCIL OFFICE. OKAY, I'LL, I'LL JUST SAY THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A TRANSPARENT PUBLIC PROCESS, AND, YOU KNOW, IF YOU WANT BUY-IN FROM THE PUBLIC AND INCLUDING COMMISSIONS, YOU NEED TO HAVE TRANSPARENCY IN THE PROCESS AND UNDERSTAND. AND WITHOUT KNOWING WHO, WHO IS PROVIDING INPUT INTO THIS, THAT'S HARD TO DO. SO I WOULD STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU PUBLISH THE LIST OF STAKEHOLDERS THAT ARE ACTIVELY INVOLVED. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER LEVIS, I SAW THAT YOU SAID YOU WERE LOOKING FOR, UH, TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY ADVOCATES AND SUCH. HAVE YOU REACHED OUT TO THE PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COUNCIL AND THE BICYCLE ADVISORY COUNCIL? MM-HMM . UM, WE, THAT GOES BACK TO MY NOTE THAT WE WERE REALLY TRYING TO KEEP BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, COMMITTEES, AND COUNCILS OUT OF THE STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY GROUP, AND THEN ENGAGE, UM, THOSE BODIES IN DIFFERENT WAYS. UM, THERE ARE TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY ADVOCATES THAT, UM, THAT ARE PROMINENT AND WELL KNOWN THAT I BELIEVE THE PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COUNCIL AND THE BIKE CIVIL ADVISORY COUNCIL WOULD, WOULD ALSO KNOW. WELL, UM, THOSE TYPES OF, OF ORGANIZATIONS HAVE BEEN REACHED OUT TO. UM, WE ARE STILL WAITING FOR CONFIRMATION FROM THE GROUPS, IDENT FROM SOME OF THE GROUPS IDENTIFIED. SO HAVEN'T, UM, UH, WE HAVE OUR LIST. WE'VE REACHED OUT TO THOSE FOLKS, AND, AND THE RESPONSES ARE STILL ROLLING IN. SO WE'RE NOT YET AT A, AT A PUBLISHABLE LIST. UH, CAN I MAKE A ANOTHER COMMENT? WELL, HOLD ON ONE SECOND. SIGN. MS. TURNER. YEAH. COMMISSIONER SHIPPER. SO JUST READING OFF THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN COMMISSION WEBPAGE SERVE AS STEWARDS FOR THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAN. [01:05:01] SO IN THAT REGARD, THIS COMMISSION IS NOT, QUOTE UNQUOTE, JUST LIKE ALL THE OTHER COMMISSIONS, THIS IS OUR JOB TO TAKE CARE OF THIS AND REPORTS AT THE END ARE NOT GOING TO BE SUFFICIENT. SECONDLY, IF I APPRECIATE THE DESIRE TO INCLUDE COMMUNITY MEMBERS, BUT THESE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ARE THE EXPERTS THAT HAVE BEEN CALLED TOGETHER BY THE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS TO HELP IN THESE KINDS OF EFFORTS. MM-HMM . SO I JUST THINK YOU REALLY NEED TO CONSIDER THAT CAREFULLY. UM, THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS SET UP TO SUPPORT THESE KINDS OF EFFORTS. AND FINALLY, I WANTED TO FIND OUT, IS DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE CONSIDERED A STAKEHOLDER IN THE PROCESS? 100%. ALRIGHT. CAN YOU SHARE THE CONSULTANT SCOPE OF WORK? UM, I DON'T BELIEVE THAT'S AN ISSUE, BUT AGAIN, I'LL, I'LL JUST DOUBLE CHECK WITH MY LEADERSHIP AND FOLLOW UP WITH THE, WITH THE COMMISSION AFTER THE MEETING. THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER DITO? WELL, I, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO ECHO SOME OF THIS. UM, THE MOST RECENT COMMENTS. UM, YOU HAVE THESE, UH, BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS WITH, UM, LOTS OF EXPERTISE AND, UH, DISCUSSION AND, UM, POCKETS OF PLANNING, YOU KNOW, AND HAVING A, A MORE COORDINATED, UM, EFFORT HERE, UH, BECAUSE YOU DO HAVE ALL OF THESE, UM, PLANNING EFFORTS ALREADY GOING ON AND, AND HAVING A COORDINATION, UH, IS GONNA HAVE A BETTER OUTCOME. UH, YOU KNOW, AND JUST FOCUSING ON INDIVIDUAL STAKEHOLDERS, UM, MAY NOT BE THE BEST APPROACH. I, I THINK HAVING A MORE COMPREHENSIVE, UM, YOU KNOW, APPROACH, UH, INCLUDING, AGAIN, ALL OF THESE, UM, EXPERT, UH, PLANNING EFFORTS. YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU'RE NOT REINVENTING THE WHEEL HERE. YOU, YOU ALREADY HAVE SOME, UM, SOME IMPORTANT DATA, UM, UH, TO BUILD ON. AND SO I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT, UH, YOU REALLY LOOK AT THIS CLOSELY AND, AND INCLUDE, UM, THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS AND, AND ESPECIALLY FOR DOWNTOWN, UM, YOU KNOW, THE ASSOCIATIONS, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, THE OLD AUSTIN NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION, THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION. UM, I WILL SAY THAT DANA HAS BEEN INCLUDED. HAVE THEY? OKAY. WELL, YOU KNOW, JUST MAKING SURE THAT ALL THE KEY STAKEHOLDERS ARE THERE BECAUSE, UH, YOU HAVE THIS EXPERTISE, TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS FOR A REALLY GOOD OUTCOME. SO, THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? YEAH, COMMISSIONER ? YEP. UM, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. IT LOOKS LIKE YOU HAVE A VERY BUSY YEAR AHEAD, SO I HOPE YOU GET SOME REST OVER THE HOLIDAYS. UH, MM-HMM . I THINK MY COLLEAGUES KNOW ME WELL ENOUGH TO KNOW THE QUESTION I'M ABOUT TO ASK, AND, UM, I DON'T SEE A LOT, YOU KNOW, BESIDES, I ASSUME YOU'RE WORKING WITH RED RIVER CULTURAL DISTRICT AS, AS THE CULTURAL, UH, YEAH. BRILLIANT. UM, THERE'S A LARGE, UH, PORTION OF PEOPLE INCLUDING MUSICIANS, VENUE WORKERS, UH, SERVICE INDUSTRY FOLKS, ARTISTS, UH, WHO KEEP DOWNTOWN BUZZING JUST LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE. UM, AND I THINK WE WOULD WELCOME ANY SORT OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT IN THE PROCESS. I'M NOT SAYING THEY NEED TO BE A PART OF THE COMMITTEE, BUT I THINK THERE NEED, DOES, NEED TO BE AN EMPHASIS. AND IT SEEMS LIKE YOU'RE, I WASN'T SEEING AS MUCH OF THE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO WITH THE CITY, SO I THINK YOU GUYS ARE DOING A GOOD JOB ON THAT. BUT I, WE HAVE SO MANY, UH, WHO REALLY DESERVE A VOICE IN THIS CONVERSATION. UH, MY ORGANIZATION REPRESENTED 6,000 MUSICIANS HERE, AND, UM, THEY'RE AS MUCH A, A PART OF THIS CONVERSA, OR SHOULD BE AS MUCH A PART OF THIS CONVERSATION AS ANYBODY. UH, THE SECOND THING I'LL SAY, JUST TO ECHO MY FELLOW, FELLOW COMMISSIONERS, UM, WE DON'T WORK FOR THE CITY. WE WORK FOR, UH, STAKEHOLDERS. WE WORK FOR THE COMMUNITY, WE WORK FOR, UH, ALL THE DIFFERENT SECTORS THAT WE COME TO REPRESENT. AND IT'S A VERY DIVERSE ARRAY OF, OF PEOPLE, UH, AND, AND SECTORS RE REPRESENTED. SO I THINK WE WOULD LOVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, ENGAGE AND HAVE INPUT ON THE VERY REASON THAT WE'VE BEEN ELECTED TO THESE POSITIONS. ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU. VERY FEEDBACK, COMMISSIONER WILEY. WELL, FIRST OF ALL, I WANTED TO SAY THIS IS SUPER EXCITING. I WISH IT HADN'T TAKEN SO LONG, BUT REALLY HAPPY THAT THIS IS, UH, FINALLY GETTING STARTED. UM, A AECOM, IS THAT THE CONSULTANT THAT YOU'VE HIRED? IS THERE ONE CONSULTANT GROUP? YES, IT'S ONE CONSULTANT GROUP THAT COVERS, UM, THAT, UM, IT COVERS OUR TECHNICAL PLANNING SERVICES, BUT AS WELL OUR ENGAGEMENT SERVICES. SO THEY DO EVERYTHING IN HOUSE. OKAY. AND WILL THAT BE A SMALL TEAM OR IS THIS ONE PERSON OR WHAT, WHAT, [01:10:01] WHAT ARE WE, IS THE TEAM, UH, LED BY, UM, A ONE PROJECT MANAGER, A DEPUTY PROJECT MANAGER, AND, UM, ENGAGEMENT, UM, SPECIALIST LEAD AND, AND THEN, UM, A FEW OTHER FOLKS. I'VE, SO FAR I'VE COUNTED SEVEN OR EIGHT. OH, GREAT. THE FOUR OF THEM KIND OF, UM, ARE OUR ASSISTANCE TO THE, THE FOUR LEADS. OKAY. WELL, IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE'S A GOOD CHANCE THAT MAYBE SOMEONE'S LIVED DOWNTOWN BEFORE AND KNOWS WHAT DOWNTOWN STAKEHOLDERS LIKE. THAT'S, UM, THE ENGAGEMENT LEAD IN PARTICULAR HAS WORKED ON A NUMBER OF, UH, CITY, UM, LED INITIATIVES, INCLUDING SOME THAT ARE, ARE CURRENT AND THEY ECOM THEMSELVES ARE, HAVE, HAVE, UM, BEEN THE CHOICE CONSULTANT FOR A NUMBER OF, UM, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE, THE CITY, CITY OF AUSTIN INFRASTRUCTURAL PROJECTS. OH, OKAY. THANK YOU FOR THAT. AND, AND MY, MY SECOND AND LAST QUESTION I THINK IS, UM, ON, ON ONE OF THE CHARTS THAT SAID YOU'RE LOOKING IN DECEMBER TO FINALIZE THE EXISTING CONDITIONS REPORT. IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE'RE INVOLVED WITH OR I MISSED? OR IS THAT, HOW IS THAT BEING DONE AND WHAT'S THE OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT THAT OR PROVIDE INPUT OR REVIEW OR, OR YEP. JUST HOW, WHERE, HOW IS THAT BEING DONE? TH THANK YOU. SO THE EXISTING CONDITIONS REPORT, WE, WE WANTED TO, YOU KNOW, KIND OF LEVEL SET WITH THE COMMUNITY AS WE KICKED OFF ENGAGEMENT. SO, UM, THE EXISTING CONDITIONS ANALYSIS HAD BEEN RUN SO THAT WE, YOU KNOW, HAD INFORMATION TO LEVEL SET WITH, WITH THE COMMUNITY. UM, AND THEN, AND THE REPORT WILL BE FINALIZED, UH, BEYOND JUST THE BOARDS THAT WERE PRESENTED, UM, INTO A MORE COMPLETE REPORT. UM, IN ADDITION, THERE WILL BE AN, UM, INTERACTIVE ARC GIS STORY MAP, UM, THAT IS A PRODUCT OF, OF, UH, THAT DELIVERABLE. SO, UM, I, LET ME SEE HOW WE COORDINATE YOU ALL'S, UH, REVIEW OF THE EXISTING CONDITIONS REPORT, UM, IN DRAFT FORM MR. SCHIFFER. OKAY. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. COMMISSIONER SCHIFF, ONE MORE QUICK QUESTION. WILL PHASE TWO INCLUDE ECONOMIC MODELING OF THE VARIOUS OPTIONS? 100%. AND THAT WAS SOMETHING EMPHASIZED FOR OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND, AND FINANCIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT, WHICH I KNOW THEY'RE UNDER NEW NAMES NOW. UM, BUT THAT WAS, UH, UM, UH, AN EMPHASIS BY, ON THE DRAFT SCOPE, UM, BY THOSE DEPARTMENTS THAT, UH, OUR SCENARIO PLANNING BEING ROOTED IN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS. THANK YOU. MM-HMM . I HAVE A QUESTION. IT'S SORT OF A PERENNIAL QUESTION AROUND HERE. UM, WHAT IS THE ENGAGEMENT OF YOUR DEPARTMENT WITH DSI AND HOW IS, HOW DOES DSI FIT INTO IT? SO, UH, THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN STRATEGIC INITIATIVES, UM, IS, ARE LED BY, UH, THE, UM, UH, CURRENTLY, UM, DEPUTY CITY MANAGER, JOHN TREVINO, AND OH, AND HIS ADVISOR, UM, WHO, I CAN'T, WHOSE NAME I CAN'T REMEMBER RIGHT NOW, ROBERTO. UM, AND SO THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR, UM, JUMP STARTING THE DOWNTOWN STRATEGY OFFICE. UM, THEIR OFFICE, UM, IS WHAT I CONSIDER A PROJECT MANAGEMENT SORT OF OFFICE. SO ANY PROJECTS HAPPENING IN THE AREA, UM, THEY ARE ENSURING THAT THERE IS COORDINATION, UM, AND, AND ACTIONABLE IMPLEMENTATION. UM, UM, OUR DEPARTMENT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PLANNING, BUT, AND RESPONSIBLE FOR IMPLEMENTATION TRACKING. BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, BEYOND A CODE MINUTES, UM, LIKE THAT, THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE TYPES OF THINGS THAT WILL MOST LIKELY BE RECOMMENDED FOR IMPLEMENTATION FALL WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS. SO THE DOWNTOWN STRATEGY OFFICE WILL HELP US, UH, CONTINUE TO COORDINATE AND, AND MAKE SURE THAT THAT IMPLEMENTATION OF, OF THE PLAN IS, IS, UM, IS, IS ROLLING, IS HAPPENING. IN ADDITION, IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT, UH, THE DOWNTOWN STRATEGY OFFICE IS ALSO, UM, ENGAGED WITH STRATEGIC INITIATIVES. SO SOME, SOME NOW RESULTS ARE KIND OF A QUICK WINS TYPE OF, OF, OF, UM, IMPLEMENTATION THAT, [01:15:01] FOR INSTANCE, I THINK THEY HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE, THE DOWNTOWN HOMELESSNESS TASK FORCE. UM, AND ARE ALSO LOOKING AT SOME OTHER INITIATIVES THAT, THAT, UM, CAN BE IMPLEMENTED IN THE NEAR TERM THAN LONGER TERM. DO YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT IT, THAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE NOT TECHNICALLY PART OF THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN STRATEGIC INITIATIVE GROUP, BUT ARE THEY UP AND RUNNING? DO THEY HAVE AN OFFICE? DO THEY HAVE STAFF? WHAT, WHAT, DO YOU KNOW? DO YOU KNOW ANY OF THAT YET? I, THE LAST I HEARD, WHICH TIME IS MOVING SO FAST THAT IT'S HARD TO REMEMBER IF IT WAS TRULY LAST WEEK OR, OR A FEW MONTHS AGO. BUT THE LAST I HEARD WAS THAT, UM, THERE A FEW POSITIONS WERE BUDGETED FOR THE DOWNTOWN STRATEGY OFFICE, BUT THE HIRING HAD NOT TAKEN PLACE YET. AND SO, NOT SURE, BUT THAT IS THE LAST THAT I HEARD. THANK YOU FOR MAKING AN ATTEMPT AT THAT. . ANY QUESTION? ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? UH, I JUST HAVE ONE MORE COMMENT. YES. UH, A COUPLE THINGS REAL QUICK. UM, UH, FIRST I'D LIKE TO REITERATE, UM, COORDINATION WITH ALL THESE POCKETS OF PLANNING AND DISCUSSIONS GOING ON AS YOU MOVE FORWARD. AND ALSO THE COMMENT, UH, OF TRANSPARENCY. UM, YOU KNOW, THE ADVISOR GROUP SHOULD BE, UM, PUBLIC, UM, UH, RECORD KNOWLEDGE. AND SO, UH, I PERSONALLY, I'M FORMALLY REQUESTING THAT THAT INFORMATION, UH, COME FORWARD, UH, WHO'S, UH, THE MAKEUP OF THIS ADVISORY GROUP. ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER. COMMISSIONER SHIPMAN. OH, MOVE. I'M SORRY, COMMISSIONER. JUST A QUICK ONE. UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE SEEN, I GUESS EVEN MOST RECENTLY, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME AMAZING THINGS HAPPEN DOWNTOWN, LIKE ANTON'S GIVING A 50 YEAR LEASE. UM, JUST TO, ARE YOU GUYS PLANNING TO ENGAGE WITH RALLY AUSTIN IN ANY FORM? YEP. RALLY AUSTIN IS A PART OF OUR INTERAGENCY TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP. UM, THEY'RE CONSIDERED A PARTNER AGENCY, AND AS OF, UM, LIKE LAST WEEK, WE, WE WENT AHEAD AND MET WITH THEM, NOT WENT AHEAD, BUT WE MET WITH THEM OUTSIDE OF THE, THE INTERAGENCY ADVISORY GROUP AND, AND PLAN TO HOLD, UM, UM, REGULAR MEETINGS WITH THEM JUST TO, WE CONSIDER THEM, UM, A PARTNER IN HELPING SHAPE THE VISION. UM, AND IT'D BE GREAT TO UNDERSTAND MORE ABOUT, ABOUT, UM, THEIR MISSION. SO WE DID HAVE SOME, UM, INTRODUCTORY CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM. THAT'S GREAT NEWS. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER WILEY. UM, YEAH, I'D LIKE TO ASK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT UT AND HOW UT IS BEING REPRESENTED, BECAUSE I, I THINK PROBABLY MORE THAN HALF OF THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN THE CITY CENTER PLANNING AREA ARE ASSOCIATED WITH UT. UM, CAN, CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT AND, AND SPECIFICALLY, ARE ANY OF THE SPECIALIST AREAS BEING GIVEN A CHANCE TO BE INVOLVED AS, UH, YOU KNOW, KIND OF A WORK STUDY THING, AND I'M THINKING OF LBJ OR, YOU KNOW, OTHER KIND OF PLANNING DISCIPLINES THAT WHERE THIS, THIS MIGHT BE A GREAT EXPERIENCE FOR THEM AND WOULD ALSO HELP US KINDA BRIDGE TO THE UT COMMUNITY? SO NOT ANY PARTICULAR DISCIPLINES, UM, IN GENERAL, LIKE NO PARTICULAR DISCIPLINES. WE, UM, HAVE TRIED TO REPRESENT THE UT COMMUNITY IN TERMS OF LIKE STUDENTS, UM, AND STUDENT CONCERNS IN OUR STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY GROUP. AND THEN IN OUR INTERNAL ADVISORY GROUP, WE HAVE A COUPLE OF STAFF FROM THE PRESIDENT'S, UM, GROUP, UM, THAT ARE ELICITING TO BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT THE CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT PLAN IS ABOUT. UM, BUT ALSO, UM, JUST, UH, REALLY WANTING TO CONTINUE CONVERSATIONS AND, AND KEEP AN, KEEP AN OPEN DOOR TO, UM, BETTER UNDERSTANDING WHAT UT HAS PLANNED FOR, FOR THEIR, UH, MASTER PLAN. UM, REALLY HOPING THAT WE ARE ABLE TO INCORPORATE, UM, THEIR, THEIR IDEAS FOR, FOR FUTURE GROWTH. SO WE'VE, WE'VE, UM, ADDRESSED THE COM UT COMMUNITY AT KIND OF THE, THE PRESIDENT'S OFFICE LEVEL, BUT ALSO THE STUDENT, UM, BODY AND, UH, STUDENT BODY REPRESENTATIVES LEVEL OO. OKAY. AND JUST, JUST TO FINISH [01:20:01] THE THOUGHT, THERE WAS AN EFFORT, UM, EARLIER IN THE YEAR TO CLOSE ON AN UPDATE TO THE UNIVERSITY NEIGHBORHOOD OVERLAY AND, UH, THE MAP THAT WENT WITH THAT AND INCREMENTAL HEIGHTS AND, UH, ADDITIONAL HOUSING SUPPLY OVER THERE. AND THAT GOT, UH, PUT ON PAUSE. HAS THAT BEEN RESOLVED NOW AS WE ENTER THIS PROCESS? OR WHERE, HOW IS THAT GONNA FIT IN? I KNOW THAT THERE ARE CONTINUED CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN UNIVERSITY LEADERSHIP AND CITY LEADERSHIP. UM, HONESTLY, I'M NOT PRIVY TO THOSE DISCUSSIONS. UM, BUT, UM, A CITY LEADERSHIP KNOWING THAT WE'RE EMBARKING ON THIS PLANNING PROCESS, SO HAVE, HAVE IDENTIFIED THAT WE, WE WILL KNOW, KNOW WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW, WHEN WE NEED TO KNOW , THEY WILL KEEP US INFORMED. PERFECT. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. IF THERE AREN'T ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, THANK YOU SO MUCH, UM, MS. JOHNSON, FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. IT WAS VERY INFORMATIVE AND, UH, ROLL BACK TO THE QUESTION AGAIN, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO YOU GETTING BACK TO US WITH THE CONSULTANT SCOPE, UH, THE CONSULTANT SCOPE AND OUR APPROACH TO, UM, TO, UM, MAKING SURE THAT YOU ALL'S FEEDBACK IS INCORPORATED. AND WE, WE ARE KEEPING YOUR FEEDBACK IN A REGULAR CADENCE, EXISTING CONDITIONS. I APPRECIATE THAT. AND, AND THE EXISTING CONDITIONS, CORRECT? YEAH. YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANKS FOR THE REPORT BACK. YEAH, THANK YOU. JUST MAKING SURE I HAVE FULL LIST. HAVE A GOOD EVENING. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. SAME TO YOU. MOVING [4. Presentation by Central Health regarding an overview of services as it relates to downtown Austin. Presentation by Virginia Potter, Development Director, Central Health.] ON TO DISCUSSION ITEMS NOW. A PRESENTATION BY CENTRAL HEALTH REGARDING AN OVERVIEW OF SERVICES AS IT RELATES TO DOWNTOWN AUSTIN. PRESENTATION BY VIRGINIA POTTER, DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL AUSTIN OR CENTRAL HEALTH. SO YES, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR, YOU CAN COME ON UP. OH, GOOD. . IT'S REALLY GOOD. HI EVERYBODY, I'M VIRGINIA POTTER. UM, IT'S GREAT TO SEE MANY OF YOU, UH, SINCE WE WERE LAST DOWN ON EIGHTH STREET, UM, TOURING THE SHELTERS TOGETHER. UM, AND AT THAT DAY, I THINK I SHARED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MY STORY THAT I HAD JUST RECENTLY JOINED CENTRAL HEALTH. AND SO I BROUGHT A PARTNER, JP WITH ME, WHO HAS BEEN AT, UH, CENTRAL HEALTH FOR OVER A DECADE. SO WE'RE A GOOD COMBINATION HERE FOR YOU TONIGHT, AND WE'RE EXCITED TO BE HERE. THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING US TO COME AND SHARE. AND JP ISS GONNA KICK OFF. THANK YOU. AND THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. UH, MY NAME'S JP ENER. I'M THE VP OF STRATEGY AT CENTRAL HEALTH. I WOULD JUST LIKE TO KIND OF START OFF WITH A LITTLE LEVEL SETTING. WE DON'T, UM, REALLY EVER WANNA ASSUME EVERYONE KNOWS EVERYTHING ABOUT US AND HOW WE OPERATE. WE ARE THE, UH, HOSPITAL DISTRICT FOR TRAVIS COUNTY, UM, CREATED IN 2004. UH, FOR A LITTLE CONTEXT, HOSPITAL DISTRICTS ARE, ARE NO GUARANTEE IN THIS STATE. THEY TEND TO BE IN LARGE URBAN AREAS AS WELL AS IN, UH, RURAL AREAS WHERE WITHOUT A, UH, PUBLICLY FUNDED HOSPITAL, THEY MAY NOT HAVE ANY ACCESS TO THAT TYPE OF CARE. UH, WE RUN A NUMBER OF PROGRAMS, UM, PROBABLY MOST WELL KNOWN IS OUR, OUR MAP ENROLLMENT PROGRAM. UH, IT'S A VERY IMPORTANT PROGRAM HERE IN TEXAS WHERE THERE WAS NOT ANY MEDICAID EXPANSION. SO ADULTS AGE 18 TO 64 HAVE LIMITED TO NO ACCESS TO HEALTH COVERAGE IF THEY ARE LOW INCOME. WE, UH, ONE DIFFERENTIATION THAT I WANT TO MENTION THAT WE HAVE THAT, UH, SETS US APART FROM MOST OTHER HOSPITAL DISTRICTS IS THAT WE DON'T ACTUALLY OWN AND OPERATE OUR OWN HOSPITAL. UH, TRAVIS COUNTY WAS LATE TO THE HOSPITAL DISTRICT GAME. MOST OF THE, MOST OF THE OTHER HOSPITAL DISTRICTS WERE CREATED DURING THE, UH, UM, TRUMAN AND EISENHOWER ADMINISTRATION. BUT, UH, BECAUSE OF THE UNIQUE NATURE OF AUSTIN, WHEN THE DS OF CHARITY CAME IN, IN THE EARLY 19 HUNDREDS, THEY ESTABLISHED THEIR OWN CHARITY CARE HOSPITAL, WHICH THEN PASSED ON TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN. UM, AND THEY FUNDED, UH, WHAT BECAME SETON HOSPITAL FOR A GOOD WHILE UNTIL THEY COULD NO LONGER, THE CITY COULD NO LONGER AFFORD TO DO THAT ALONE, WHICH IS WHY THE VOTERS CREATED A NEW TAXING ENTITY, WHICH IS CENTRAL HEALTH. AND SO, SINCE 2004, WE HAVE BEEN THE FUNDERS OF THAT, UM, OF THE PRIVATE PUBLIC HOSPITAL. COMMUNITY CARE IS ESSENTIALLY OUR, THE PRIMARY CARE ARM OF CENTRAL HEALTH. UH, THEY WERE CREATED IN 2009. THEY ARE AN [01:25:01] FQHC, AND THAT IS A FEDERALLY QUALIFIED HEALTH CENTER. UH, THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE THEY ARE, UM, THAT PROVIDES THEM WITH CERTAIN, UM, STRATEGIC ADVANTAGES IN HOW THEY OPERATE. THEY HAVE ACCESS TO, UH, DISCOUNTED DRUG PRICING, WHICH THEY MAKE A GOOD AMOUNT OF MONEY OFF OF, UM, AS WELL AS THEY GET HIGHER RATES OF MEDICAID REIMBURSEMENT. UH, LAST YEAR THEY SERVED OVER 140,000 PATIENTS IN 30 LOCATIONS. THEY'RE VERY LARGE FQHC SYSTEM, I BELIEVE IT'S THE, UH, THE SECOND LARGEST IN, UH, TEXAS RIGHT NOW. AND SEND IS REALLY THE, THE KIND OF THE NEWEST COMPONENT OF THE CENTRAL HEALTH SYSTEM. THEY WERE CREATED IN THE WAKE OF, UM, THE ORIGINAL OBAMACARE BEING PASSED WHEN WE ALL THOUGHT THAT, UH, MEDIC OR IT WAS GOING TO BE A, A NATIONWIDE PROGRAM. SO WE, WE GOT INTO THE BUSINESS AND WE'VE HAD TO ADOPT, ADAPT NUMEROUS TIMES WHEN MEDICAID EXPANSION DIDN'T COME HERE. UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAD HAD TO, WE HAD TO ADAPT THE MODEL TO HOW IT WAS GONNA WORK. UM, IT HAS BEEN, UM, IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS WITH THE SUBSIDIES THAT THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION PUT FORWARD, IT WAS GROWING TO TREMENDOUSLY. I BELIEVE WE HAD THREE TIMES THE ENROLLMENT UP, UP PAST 30,000, THEN IT HAD JUST A FEW YEARS EARLIER. UH, SO OBVIOUSLY WE ARE, UM, KEEPING AN OPEN, OPEN EYES AND OPEN EARS TO SEE WHAT THE NEXT, UH, WHAT'S, WHAT'S TO COME HERE SOON AND HOW THAT MIGHT AFFECT THE ROLES. UM, YOU KNOW, THERE IS POTENTIAL THAT CERTAIN PEOPLE COULD NO LONGER WITHOUT THOSE SUBSIDIES BE ABLE TO AFFORD SENDERO, AND THAT COULD HAVE A, A DOWNSTREAM EFFECT ON OUR, OUR MAP . SO ALL THESE THINGS KIND OF AFFECT EACH OTHER. ALL RIGHT. THANKS JP. SO WE'RE GONNA DOUBLE CLICK HERE A LITTLE BIT INTO THE SYSTEM. SO LET ME TAKE A SECOND JUST TO ORIENT YOU TO THE TOP HALF OF THE SLIDE. AND WHAT THIS MEANS. IT'S REALLY A VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF HOW CENTRAL HEALTH PLANS TO DELIVER ON ITS PROCESS PROMISE TO THE COMMUNITY TO BE ONE CENTERED, UH, ONE SYSTEM ALL CENTERED AROUND THE PEOPLE WE SERVE. AND SO WE HAVE THAT ORGANIZED INTO FOUR DIFFERENT PILLARS. FIRST IS COVERAGE. AND SO IF SOMEONE DOESN'T HAVE COVERAGE, THEY ARE MORE, LESS LIKELY TO ACTUALLY GO TO THE TROUBLED ACCESS CARE. SO WE'RE IN A UNIQUE POSITION, AS JP WAS DESCRIBING, WHERE WE CAN ACTUALLY OFFER EITHER FREE OR SUPER HIGHLY AFFORDABLE CARE TO PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY. NEXT, WE HAVE AMBULATORY CARE. THAT'S ALL THE OUTPATIENT STUFF. THINK PRIMARY CARE AND OTHER SERVICES. AND THAT IS OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH COMMUNITY CARE AND OUR DEEPLY ROOTED, UM, PARTNERSHIP IN THE COMMUNITY WITH ACUTE AND POST-ACUTE CARE. THAT'S WHERE YOU NEED THAT HIGHER LEVEL OF CARE. AND SO WE DON'T WANT ANYONE FALLING THROUGH THE CRACKS, AND WE WANT TO GET THEM AS QUICKLY PASS AS POSSIBLE BACK TO PRIMARY CARE AND STABLE. AND THE FOURTH PILLAR TO CALL OUT IS DEVELOPMENT. AND THAT'S OUR PROMISE, UM, TO CONTINUE TO HAVE A STRATEGY TO REDUCE TAX TAXPAYER BURDEN BY ENGAGING WITH THE COMMUNITY AND, AND THINKING OF DIFFERENT WAYS WE CAN SUPPORT THIS, UH, SYSTEM AND THIS SERVING THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER. I'LL TURN IT OVER TO YOU, JP, FOR THE SNAPSHOT. SURE. JUST TO QUICKLY KIND OF GO THROUGH OUR, UH, SYSTEM AT A GLANCE, THESE ARE OUR COMBINED CENTRAL HEALTH COMMUNITY CARE AND SENDERO, UM, UH, INPUTS AND OUTPUTS. UM, 924 MILLION IS WHAT THE THREE ENTITIES WILL COMBINE, BRING IN IN 2026. THIS IS A COMBINATION OF THE PROPERTY TAXES WE COLLECT, UH, THE REVENUE THAT COMMUNIC CARE BRINGS IN FROM, UH, MEDICAID, MEDICARE, PRIVATE PAYERS, UM, AS WELL AS THE HEALTH PLAN REVENUE, UM, GENERATED FROM SENDERO THROUGHOUT, UH, CUSTOMERS THROUGHOUT CENTRAL TEXAS. AND, UM, INCREASINGLY WE HAVE, UH, WHAT VIRGINIA'S HELPING US WITH, WHICH IS, UH, ACCESSING GREATER, UH, MORE GRANTS AND PHILANTHROPY AS FAR AS USES. UH, THIS YEAR WE'RE ANTICIPATING SPENDING OVER ONE ONE $1 BILLION. UH, COURSE THE BIG ONE IS ON HEALTHCARE AS WELL AS, UH, SUBSIDIZING HEALTH PLANS. UM, WE WORK CLOSELY WITH HAM AND SIMS TO MAKE SURE, UM, THOSE PATIENT OR THOSE RESIDENTS HAVE SUBSIDIZED HEALTH PLANS THROUGH SENDERO. UM, WE ALSO TAKE SOME OF OUR HIGHEST RISK PATIENTS OUT OF MAP AND ACTUALLY PAY THEIR PREMIUMS, UM, SO THEY CAN HAVE ACCESS TO, UM, SOME SPECIALIZED CARE DIALYSIS, CERTAIN HEART SURGERIES THAT THEY WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO GET JUST THROUGH MAP. WHAT ARE WE DOING WITH ALL THIS? SO WE EXPECT TO SERVE, UH, ABOUT 210,000 PEOPLE THROUGH ALL OUR SYSTEM IN THE NEXT YEAR. AND THAT'S OUT OF THE, THE COUNTY OF, I BELIEVE, LESS I READ WAS ABOUT 1.4 MILLION. [01:30:01] SO IT'S NOT AN INSIGNIFICANT CHUNK OF PEOPLE WHO ARE ACCESSING OUR SERVICES. UM, ONE AND A QUARTER MILLION VISITS, UH, 11,700 EPISODES FUNDED IN HOSPITAL AND, UH, INPATIENT SETTINGS. AND WE HAVE A COMBINED NETWORK OF OVER 10,600 MEDICAL PROVIDERS. SO EVERYTHING IN THAT FRAMEWORK WE JUST DESCRIBED ACTUALLY LEADS TO THIS 2026 FOR US IS THE YEAR OF ACCESS. AND OUR GOAL IS TO REDUCE APPOINTMENT WAIT TIMES TO TWO WEEKS OR LESS. AND THAT'S A BIG CA THAT'S A BIG CHALLENGE THAT WE'RE WILLING TO TAKE ON, BUT IT'LL BE WORTH IT. AND SO THIS MEANS FE UM, AMAZINGLY LOW WAIT TIMES FOR PATIENTS. THIS MEANS A TEAM OF US, ALL THOSE FOLKS THAT, UM, JP WAS TALKING ABOUT ON THE FIRST SLIDE. WE'RE ALL INTEGRATED AND COORDINATED TOGETHER, AND WE'RE AIMING TO MAXIMIZE EVERY SINGLE, UM, TAX DOLLAR. WE GET TO THE HIGHEST VALUE TOWARD AN OUTCOME. SO IF WE CONTINUE ON AND WE LOOK AT, UM, WE HAVE OUR FOUNDATION, WHICH IS ACCESS TO CARE, YOU'RE PROBABLY THINKING, WELL, HOW DOES THIS CONNECT INTO WHAT'S GOING ON DOWNTOWN? SPECIFICALLY, HOW DID WE MEET EACH OTHER? WELL, THIS IS CONNECTED TO THE MOST, SOME OF THE PATIENTS OUT THERE THAT NEED US THE MOST. AND IT'S IN, UH, IT'S WITH OUR, UM, NEIGHBORS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS. AND SO, UM, CENTRAL HEALTH LAUNCH, THE HEALTH, UH, THE HOUSING FOR HEALTH PARTNERSHIP SOME TIME AGO, REALLY TO PROVIDE CARE TO, UH, OUR NEIGHBORS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS. AND WE ARE COMMITTED TO PROVIDING OVER A YEAR OF CARE TO THOSE PATIENTS WE SEE IN OUR RESPITE CENTER AND IN OUR, UM, BRIDGE PROGRAM. AND NOT ONLY ARE WE LOOKING TO OFFER THEM MEDICAL CARE, WE'RE LOOKING AT CASE MANAGEMENT. WE'RE LOOKING AT ALL THOSE OTHER WRAPAROUND SERVICES THAT ALL OF YOU ALL WELL KNOW ARE SO IMPORTANT TO GET SOMEONE BACK ON A PATH FOR STABILITY. AND IT'S SO TIED IN WITH OUR MISSION, BECAUSE OUR MISSION IS TO MEET PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE AND TO ALSO STAND ALONGSIDE THEM AS THEY REBUILD THEIR LIVES. AND SO TO, TO ALSO MAKE, MAKE CLEAR HOW WE INTERACT WITH THE CITY AND, AND ITS DRIVE, THINK OF US AS THE HEALTHCARE BACKBONE, UM, AS PART OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S RESPONSE TO HOMELESSNESS. SO THAT'S THE ROLE WE'VE BEEN PLAYING WITH THINGS LIKE OUR RESPITE CENTER THAT JUST OPENED THIS YEAR. UM, AND THE, AND THE BRIDGE CLINIC AS WELL. WE DID JOIN THE CITY'S DOWNTOWN HOMELESSNESS TASK FORCE THIS YEAR IN 2025 TO BETTER COORDINATE SERVICES WITH THEM AND REALLY BE PART OF A SHARED ROLE. THAT IS, WE ALL ARE DRIVING FOR HEALTHIER FOLKS IN OUR COMMUNITY, AND WE BELIEVE WE CAN DO THAT AS LONG AS WE'RE COORDINATED AND MOVING, UM, IN ALIGNMENT. CLICK FOR YOU. A FEW YEARS AGO, CENTRAL HEALTH REALLY STARTED TO DIP ITS TOES IN PROVIDING DIRECT HEALTHCARE RATHER THAN THROUGH CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIPS. AND IN THAT, IN THAT SHORT TIME, WE'VE REALLY, UM, AS WE'VE BEEN LEARNING, AS WE'VE BEEN HIRING NEW DOCTORS, NEW STAFF PROVIDERS, UM, OUR INVESTMENTS HAVE BEEN RAMPING UP SIGNIFICANTLY. AND, UH, THE AREA OF HOMELESS HEALTHCARE FOR THE HOMELESS IS NO DIFFERENT. MM-HMM . FROM 23 TO 25, THERE WAS A 525% INCREASE IN THE MONEY WE'RE PUTTING INTO THOSE PROGRAMS. AND THIS IS AN IMPORTANT POPULATION FOR US. UH, OUR MAP PATIENTS. AMONG OUR MAP PATIENTS, WE'VE GOT OVER 10,000 PEOPLE WHO SELF-IDENTIFY AS HOMELESS. UM, REPRESENTING ABOUT 9% OF ALL THE PEOPLE ENROLLED IN OUR PROGRAMS, SPECIFICALLY WITH THE HOMELESS STRATEGY OFFICE. THERE ARE SOME INITIATIVES, UM, THAT, THAT DO TARGET THE DOWNTOWN AREA. UM, WE ARE PROVIDING MEDICAL SERVICES WITHIN SOME OF THE CITY SHELTERS, INCLUDING, UH, COMMUNITY CARE HAS ITS OWN CLINIC SET UP AT THE ARCH. AND WE HAVE MOBILE TEAMS THAT GO TO THE A STREET WOMEN'S SHELTER. UH, UH, WE ALSO WORK WITH THE ARCH TWO. UM, THEY PROVIDE US WITH WHAT'S CALLED MEDICAL RESPITE BEDS. AND THESE ARE BEDS THAT, UM, WHEN HOMELESS PATIENTS ARE DISCHARGED FROM THE HOSPITAL, THEY HAVE A PLACE TO RECOVER AND RECOUP INSTEAD OF BEING ON THE STREETS. UM, WE'RE ALSO IN, UM, VERY CLOSE COORDINATION, UM, WITH THE HOMELESS STRATEGY OFFICE ON PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING. WE, AS CENTRAL HEALTH CAN'T LEGALLY PURCHASE OR BUY, UM, UH, HOUSING FOR THESE PATIENTS, BUT WE CAN PROVIDE THE, UH, THE HEALTHCARE SERVICES AND BRING 'EM TO WHERE THEY'RE LIVING ON SITE . SO IT TALKED ABOUT THAT, THAT INVESTMENT, YOU SAW THAT ARCH GOING UP. IT'S, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT OUR TOTAL SPEND IN 2026 WILL BE, BUT WE KNOW AND ANTICIPATE IT'S GONNA KEEP GOING UP. UH, THIS YEAR WE'RE ADDING THREE NEW MOBILE TEAMS, WHICH YOU SEE IN THIS, [01:35:01] UH, THIS PICTURE. THAT'S A DIVERSE GROUP OF PROVIDERS OF DOCTORS, NURSES, CASE MANAGERS, UM, COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS WHO GO, UM, UH, TO GO TO WHERE PEOPLE ARE. MM-HMM . UM, WE DON'T JUST WAIT FOR THEM TO SHOW UP IN THE CLINIC. WE GO TO, UM, THOSE SHELTERS. WE GO TO THE PERMITS TOWARD HOUSING. WE GO UNDER BRIDGES, WE GO WHEREVER WE THINK PEOPLE NEED CARE. UM, WE ARE ALSO WORKING WITH THE JAILS AND SHELTERS TO EXPAND CARE. UM, I'M ACTUALLY GOING ON A TOUR TOMORROW OUT AT THE, AT THE COUNTY JAIL WHERE WE'RE TALKING WITH THEM ABOUT, UM, PROVIDING, UM, WELL, WE'VE ALREADY STARTED BRINGING SOME OF THE, UH, THE INMATES OUT THERE, SPECIALTY CLINICS. UM, WE'RE TALKING WITH THEM AND WORKING WITH INTEGRAL CARE TO SEE WHAT KIND OF CARE WE CAN BRING TO THEM, UM, UP TO AND INCLUDING, UM, LONG TERM, LONG-ACTING INJECTABLES TO, UM, HELP, UH, AVOID OVERDOSES WHEN PEOPLE LEAVE THE JAIL AND RETURN OUT TO, UH, THE PUBLIC. UM, AGAIN, I TALKED ABOUT WE'RE BRINGING CARE TO THOSE PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING. UH, WE'RE FUNDING INCREASED BED CAPACITY AT THE SOBERING CENTER. UM, WE'RE DOING MORE CASE MANAGEMENT, HOMELESS SERVICE NAVIGATION, AND WE'RE INCREASING SUBSTANCE USE TREATMENT OPTIONS. THAT MEANS, UM, UH, EVERYTHING FROM METHADONE TO SUBOXONE TO THOSE LONG-TERM INJECTABLES. AND WE ARE ALSO WORKING WITH, UM, NONPROFITS, UH, EMS. THEY WORK WITH OUR, UH, BRIDGE TEAM TO DIVERT. UH, WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH EMS, SO RATHER THAN TAKING, UM, THEY CAN DIVERT SOME PATIENTS MM-HMM . IN THE AMBULANCE TO COME TO OUR CLINICS RATHER THAN JUST TAKING 'EM TO THE, TO THE HOSPITAL WHEN IT'S NOT NECESSARY. AND WE'RE WORKING VERY HARD. UM, WE ACTUALLY MEET MONTHLY WITH THE, UH, REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE CITY AND THE COUNTY TO DISCUSS HOW WE'RE USING OUR OPIOID SETTLEMENT FUNDS AND REALLY, UH, USE THOSE IN A WAY THAT COMPLIMENTS EACH OTHER. UM, AND ONE OF OUR, ONE OF OUR STRATEGIES IS, OF COURSE, FLOODING THE COMMUNITY. WITH NALOXONE, WE'VE PURCHASED, UH, A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF, UH, VENDING MACHINES. WE HAVE THOSE OUT ON THE STREETS IN THE COMMUNITY, UH, FREE FOR ANYONE WHO NEEDS IT. RIGHT. AND LEAVE YOU WITH, UM, A STORY ABOUT OUR VERY FIRST, UH, RESPITE PATIENT WHO GRADUATED TO PERMANENT HOUSING. HIS NAME IS FLETCHER JONES. HE HAD MULTIPLE HEART ATTACKS, ENDED UP HAVING TO GET A PACEMAKER, AND SURE ENOUGH, HE FOUND HIMSELF WITH NO INCOME AND WITH NO HOME. AND SO WITH THE HELP OF THE RESPITE TEAM, HE WAS ABLE TO GET CARDIOLOGY SERVICES, APPLY FOR DISABILITY, AND ALSO HAVE A SUPER SAFE PLACE TO STAY WHILE HE HEALED. AND THROUGH OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH FAMILY ELDER CARE, HE WAS ABLE TO TRANSFER FROM RESPITE TO PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING. I PUT HIS STORY AND HIS OWN WORDS ON THIS SLIDE FOR YOU ALL TO HAVE JUST, UH, FOR FUN AND READ IT, UM, AT, AT SOME POINT. UH, I LOVE HIS CLOSING AND HE SAYS, THIS IS MY NEW BEGINNING. MY JOURNEY IS NOT OVER. I'VE GOT TO KEEP GOING. AND SO WE THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO US. WE HOPE YOU LEARN SOMETHING NEW ABOUT WHAT WE DO. WE ARE SO GRATEFUL TO THE SERVICE YOU ARE GIVING OUR CITY AND THIS COMMISSION, AND WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOU. WE'RE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS IF YOU HAVE THEM. WELL, WE'RE GRATEFUL FOR YOU. I MEAN, THAT WAS, UH, VERY IMPRESSIVE. I HAD NO IDEA ALL THAT YOU WERE INVOLVED IN AND ALL THAT YOU DID, AND HOW MUCH YOU DO FOR OUR COMMUNITY. SO, THANK YOU. UM, OPENING IT UP FOR QUESTIONS. JUST A QUICK COMMENT. I'M JUST SO GLAD TO SEE THAT YOU GUYS HAVE GOTTEN INVOLVED IN PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING AND WORKING WITH INTEGRAL CARE AND STUFF LIKE THAT, BECAUSE THE, THE NEED IS REALLY HUGE. AND, UM, WE REALLY APPRECIATE EVERYTHING YOU'RE DOING. THANK YOU. AND IF THERE'S EVER A WAY THAT OH, COMMISSIONER USED. YEAH. HI. I WAS JUST WONDERING, WHERE IS THE 91 MILLION DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE INCOME AND EXPECTED SPENDING FOR 26 COMING FROM? DO YOU WANNA ENTER THAT? YEAH, WE'VE BEEN, WE'VE BEEN PLANNING FOR, UM, WE HAVE, WE'RE IN YEAR TWO OF A SEVEN YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN. AND, UM, WE, OUR FINANCE TEAM HAS BEEN PLANNING FOR THIS RAMP UP FOR A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TIME. SO THIS YEAR AND OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS, WE, THERE WILL BE MORE GOING OUT THAN IS COMING IN. UM, AND THAT'S JUST, THAT WAS A NECESSARY STRATEGIC DECISION. UM, WE, WE BUILT UP OUR RESERVES AND NOW WE ARE, WE ARE SPENDING 'EM DOWN. AND SO THAT WOULD BE FOR CLINICS STAFF, SO WE CAN SERVE MORE PEOPLE. SO IT'S COMING FROM A RESERVE THAT YOU ALREADY HAVE, CORRECT? THAT'S RIGHT. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK [01:40:01] YOU, COMMISSIONER. BUT WE APPRECIATE YOU COMING. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU FOR HAVING US. THANK YOU. NEXT, UM, [5. Presentation by Safe Streets Austin regarding one-way to two-way street conversions downtown. Presentation by Adam Greenfield, Advocacy Director, Safe Streets Austin.] WE'LL HAVE A PRESENTATION BY SAFE STREETS AUSTIN, REGARDING ONE WAY TO TWO WAY STREET CONVERSIONS DOWNTOWN PRESENTED BY ADAM GREENFIELD, ADVOCACY DIRECTOR, SAFE STREETS AUSTIN, WELCOME, ADAM. THANK YOU. THANKS SO MUCH. UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME, COMMISSIONER. IT'S GREAT TO BE WITH YOU THIS EVENING. UM, AND EXCITED TO TALK ABOUT, UM, AN ISSUE THAT WE'VE BEEN VERY INVOLVED WITH FOR THE PAST YEAR. UM, MANY, UH, LEGENDS IN AUSTIN HAVE BEEN INVOLVED WITH THIS ISSUE FOR DECADES, AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THEM LATER. AND IT'S ONE WAY TO TWO-WAY STREET CONVERSIONS. SO THE CONTEXT OF THIS IS THAT, AS YOU KNOW, UM, THE CITY IS WORKING ON THE AUSTIN CORE TRANSPORTATION PLAN ACT PLAN, WHICH ENVISIONS, UH, CHANGES TO DOWNTOWN STREETS, UH, BUS LANES, BIKE LANES, WIDER SIDEWALKS, TREES, UH, OTHER PEDESTRIAN MENTEES AND SO FORTH. AND THESE WOULD BE GREAT CHANGES FOR DOWNTOWN. ONE OF THE CHANGES THAT WE ARE REALLY PUSHING FOR, FOR THE CITY TO, UH, TO CONVERT THE REMAINING ONE WAY STREETS TO TWO WAY. UM, SO THIS IS A, THIS IS A PHOTO OF SIXTH STREET FROM 1968. UH, THIS WAS SENT TO US BY THE AUSTIN HISTORY CENTER. AND YOU MIGHT NOTICE SOMETHING INTERESTING ABOUT THE PHOTO THAT'S A LITTLE UNUSUAL COMPARED TO TODAY. AND GIVEN THE SUBJECT OF THE TORQUE, YOU CAN PROBABLY GUESS WHAT IT IS. SO, UH, IT IS, IT IS TWO WAY IN THIS PHOTO. THE, UH, THE EASTBOUND SIDE OF THE STREET IS FACING EAST, AND THE WESTBOUND IS FACING WEST. UM, IN THE 1970S, AUSTIN, UH, WENT FROM BEING A COMPLETELY TWO-WAY DOWNTOWN GRID TO CONVERTING A LOT OF ITS DOWNTOWN STREETS, UH, TO ONE WAY. THIS WAS A TREND THAT CITIES ALL OVER THE COUNTRY DID. THIS IS SIXTH STREET TODAY AS A ONE-WAY STREET. UM, THAT THE, THE ASSUMPTION LIKE MANY 20TH CENTURY TRANSPORTATION PLANNING ASSUMPTIONS WAS THAT THIS WOULD BE BETTER FOR EVERYONE, THAT PEOPLE WOULD GET TO WHERE THEY'RE GOING MORE QUICKLY. UM, IT TURNS OUT THAT THERE WERE A LOT OF UNFORESEEN CONSEQUENCES OF THIS POLICY. AND EVEN THE GETTING PEOPLE TO WHERE THEY'RE GOING MORE QUICKLY, PART IS ACTUALLY, UH, BEING QUESTIONED. UM, SO REALLY BEGINNING IN THE 1990S, YOU STARTED SEEING CITIES, UH, BEGIN TO CONVERT THEIR, UH, ONE-WAY STREETS BACK TO TWO-WAY. THE, THE EXAMPLE THAT HAS BEEN STUDIED FROM A DATA POINT OF VIEW THE MOST IS LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY. UH, A 2015 STUDY FOUND, UH, PRETTY REMARKABLE RESULTS. 49% FEWER CRASHES, PROPERTY VALUES GO UP, ALMOST 40% CRIME WENT DOWN. UH, TURNS OUT WHAT, WHEN YOU SLOW THINGS DOWN, THERE'S LESS CRIME BECAUSE THERE'S MORE EYES ON THE STREET. UM, AND YOU SEE THIS, UH, WHEREVER CITIES CONVERT THEIR ONE WAY STREETS TO TWO WAY, YOU START SEEING KIND OF SIMILAR EFFECTS. IN VANCOUVER, WASHINGTON, THEIR RETAIL, UH, SALES INCREASE BETWEEN 10 AND 20%. UH, SOMEONE FROM THE, UH, DOWNTOWN ASSOCIATION SAID ONE WAY STREET SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED IN PRIME DOWNTOWN RETAIL AREAS. WE'VE PROVEN THAT, UM, IN NEW ALBANY, INDIANA, UH, ACTUALLY, UH, EMS WAS SUPPORTIVE BECAUSE THEY COULD GET TO, UH, CRISIS AREAS FROM BOTH DIRECTIONS. AND IT WAS ALSO EASIER TO REDIRECT TRAFFIC. UM, AROUND THE INCIDENT. JEFF SPECK, UM, FAMOUS NEW URBANIST, I'M SURE SOME OF YOU KNOW HIM, UH, HE DEDICATES FOUR CHAPTERS OF HIS WALKABLE CITY RULES BOOK TO TWO-WAY STREET CONVERSIONS. THIS IS THE BESTSELLING URBANIST BOOK OF THE 21ST CENTURY. AND HE FOUND OVER 75 CITIES AROUND THE COUNTRY, INCLUDING AUSTIN, HAVE CONVERTED THEIR ONE-WAY STREETS TO TWO WAY, UM, AS GOVERNING MAGAZINES SAY, SAYS, AS A MEANS OF BRINGING THEIR DOWNTOWNS TO LIFE. UM, I HAD A MEETING YESTERDAY MORNING AT WALTON'S ON WEST FIFTH. AND AS I LEFT WALTON'S, WHICH IS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE, I WAS JUST REMARKING ON HOW, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU JUST DON'T THINK ABOUT THAT PART OF SIXTH AS OFTEN AS YOU THINK ABOUT OTHER STREETS. AND IF YOU ACTUALLY DO A GOOGLE IMAGE SEARCH FOR, UH, REAL ESTATE ON WEST FIFTH AND WEST SIXTH, UH, SORRY, YOU DO A GOOGLE IMAGE SEARCH FOR THOSE STREETS, YOU'LL FIND REAL ESTATE LISTENINGS, [01:45:01] UH, LISTINGS, BUT YOU WON'T FIND PHOTOS OF PEOPLE WALKING ACTUALLY ENJOYING THE STREET. AND I THINK IT'S BECAUSE IF YOU STAND THERE OUTSIDE WHARTONS, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW IT IS DEATHLY QUIET, THEN SUDDENLY YOU'LL HAVE THIS ROARING WAVE OF HIGH SPEED TRAFFIC AND THEN DEATHLY QUIET. AND THAT'S REALLY THE EXPERIENCE OF THE STREET. IT DOESN'T, IT'S NOT VIBRANT, UH, LIKE OTHER STREETS. AND SO THIS IS A SUMMARY OF, UH, OF WHAT I'VE ALREADY, UH, TALKED ABOUT, BUT IT IS JUST SO CLEAR AT THIS POINT. WHEREVER THE DATA EXISTS FOR TWO WAY STREET CONVERSIONS, IT IS FOUND TO BE POSITIVE. UH, WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO FIND FAILED EXAMPLES OF ONE WAY TO TWO WAY STREET CONVERSIONS, SAFER STREETS, MORE WALKING, BIKING, HEALTHIER BUSINESSES, PROPERTY VALUES, EMERGENCY ACCESS, IMPROVED CRIME GOES DOWN, NAVIGATION AND ACCESS. UM, YOU KNOW, I'M SURE MANY OF YOU SEE, UH, ALL THE TIME PEOPLE DRIVING THE WRONG WAY DOWN ONE WAY STREETS BECAUSE THEY'RE JUST CONFUSED. AND PEOPLE STAY AWAY FROM CONFUSING TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS. UH, SO DO, DO ONE WAY STREETS GET PEOPLE TO WHERE THEY'RE GOING MORE QUICKLY. UH, THERE'S ACTUALLY EVIDENCE THAT THE ANSWER MAY WELL BE NO. UM, WHEN YOU FACTOR IN, UH, THE KIND OF THREE POINT TURNS PEOPLE HAVE TO DO TO GO THE RIGHT WAY, UM, INTO THE EQUATION. THIS THEORETICAL STUDY SHOWED THAT IT MAY BE A LITTLE BIT QUICKER FOR LONGER TRIPS. IT'S, THEY'RE PROBABLY SLOWER FOR SHORTER TRIPS. AND THEN IN THE END, IT'S REALLY, IT'S REALLY NOT A HUGE IMPROVEMENT OR ANY KIND OF IMPROVEMENT AT ALL. UM, ONE OF THE THINGS, SO WE HAVE SPOKEN WITH STAFF ABOUT THIS, UH, LIKE THERE WAS WITH SECOND STREET, WHICH I'LL GET TO IN A SECOND. IN CAESAR CHAVE STREET, UH, STAFF IS, IS RAISING CONCERNS ABOUT LEFT TURNS LEADING TO CONGESTION, TRANSIT, RELIABILITY. UH, THERE ARE WAYS TO ADDRESS THIS WITH, UH, WITH, UH, FACILITIES LIKE LEFT TURN POCKETS, UH, TRAFFIC SIGNAL PRIORITIZATION, PROHIBITING LEFT TURNS AT CERTAIN INTERSECTIONS, OR AT CERTAIN TIMES OF THE DAY. UM, CONSULTANTS LIKE JEFF SPECS, UH, SPEC DEM C ASSOCIATES, UH, WORK WITH CITIES ALL OVER THE COUNTRY TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT THEIR TRANSIT WORKS EFFICIENTLY IN A TWO-WAY, UH, GRID SYSTEM. UH, SUCCESS EVERY TIME IN AUSTIN, UH, OUTSIDE OF DOWNTOWN 1992 WAS THE FIRST YEAR THAT WE STARTED SEEING THESE CONVERSIONS ON EAST CESAR CHAVEZ STREET. AND SECOND. BUT REALLY THE EXAMPLES WE ALL KNOW ARE 2008 CAESAR CHAVEZ STREET, SECOND STREET. UH, THERE IS AN AUSTIN CHRONICLE ARTICLE FROM 1996 WHERE, UH, STAFF WERE RAISING CONCERNS ABOUT, UH, CARMAGEDDON. UM, IF WE DIDN'T, UH, IF WE CONVERTED CAESAR CHAVEZ. AND SECOND TO TWO WAY THAT DID NOT MATERIALIZE, AS WE KNOW, UH, TODAY, UH, THOSE STREETS ARE DOING VERY WELL. MORE RECENTLY, BRAZOS PARTS OF FIFTH, UH, COLORADO, UM, LITTLE CHUNKS OF 16TH, 17TH, AND 18TH. THERE AGAIN, NO EXAMPLES WE CAN FIND IN AUSTIN OF, OF FAILED. THEY'VE, THEY'VE ALL DONE VERY WELL. FAMOUS EXAMPLE, OF COURSE, SECOND STREET THIS, UH, SO IT WAS ACTUALLY VERY HARD TO FIND PHOTOS OF SECOND STREET PRECONVERSION BECAUSE PEOPLE JUST DIDN'T REALLY WANT TO TAKE PHOTOS OF IT. , THIS IS ONE OF THE TWO PHOTOS I CAN FIND OF SECOND STREET PRE PRECONVERSION AND, UH, SECOND STREET TODAY. UM, AS, AS PART OF OTHER IMPROVEMENTS, TWO-WAY CONVERSIONS HAVE REALLY HELPED BRING LIFE TO THIS STREET. AND TODAY IS ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL STREETS DOWNTOWN. UM, BIG SUCCESS SINCLAIR BLACK, UH, QUOTED IN THE 1996 AUSTIN CHRONICLE ARTICLE, AS, AS BEING A PROPONENT OF TWO-WAY STREET CONVERSIONS, OF COURSE, HELPED LEAD THIS PROJECT AND CONTINUES TO BE, UM, UH, A BIG ADVOCATE FOR TWO-WAY STREET CONVERSIONS. TODAY, AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS SAID IN 1991, UH, SIXTH STREET SHOULD BE IMMEDIATELY CONVERTED TO TWO-WAY TRAFFIC. UM, SO, UH, THIS HAS BEEN TALKED ABOUT FOR A LONG, LONG TIME. UH, WHEN THE MAYOR OF LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY WAS AT A CONFERENCE WITH THE MINNEAPOLIS MAYOR, UH, IN 2010 AT THE TIME, UH, THE, UH, KENTUCKY MAYOR ASKED THE MINNEAPOLIS MAYOR, UH, SHOULD THEY CONVERT THEIR STREETS TO TWO WAY IN, UM, LEXINGTON. AND, UH, HE SAID, THE MAYOR OF MINNEAPOLIS SAID, JUST DO IT. 15 MINUTES AFTER YOU MAKE THE CHANGE, PEOPLE WILL BE ASKING WHY YOU DIDN'T DO IT 25 YEARS EARLIER. AND THAT'S JUST HOW THESE THINGS GO [01:50:01] ON SECOND STREET. UM, HAYDEN BLACK WALKER, WHOSE SINCLAIR BLACK'S DAUGHTER WAS TELLING ME RECENTLY, SHE WAS STANDING ON THE CORNER ON SEC ON SECOND STREET THE DAY THAT IT WENT TO TWO WAY. AND PEOPLE WERE THERE BITING THEIR NAILS AND CLASHING THEIR WHITE KNUCKLES, AND, OH, NO, WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN? AND IT WAS JUST FINE IMMEDIATELY, AND NO ONE EVER LOOKED BACK AFTER THAT. AND NO ONE HAS EVER LOOKED BACK ON A ON A TWO-WAY STREET CONVERSION. SO CERTAINLY THERE ARE ISSUES TO ADDRESS, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, IT MIGHT BE WISE FOR US TO BRING IN SOME OUTSIDE EXPERTISE TO LOOK AT THAT. UM, BUT AGAIN, UH, REALLY AN UNBROKEN TRACK RECORD OF TWO-WAY STREET CONVERSIONS AND, AND SAFE STREETS. AUSTIN, UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE REVIEWED THE DATA, WE'VE REVIEWED THE PRECEDENTS, AND, UH, WE ARE REALLY, UM, WANTING TO BRING THIS FORWARD FOR THIS COMMISSION TO, UM, CONSIDER ADOPTING AS ITS POSITION TO SUPPORT, UH, CONVERSIONS OF ONE-WAY STREETS, UM, TO TWO-WAY DOWN DOWNTOWN. AND I'LL JUST END WITH, UM, UH, TELLING YOU ABOUT A STATEMENT THAT, UH, STAFF MEMBER COLE KITTEN ACTUALLY SAID, UM, IN THIS VERY SPOT WHERE I'M SITTING NOW TO THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION EARLIER THIS YEAR. HE SAID THAT THE CHOICE BETWEEN ONE WAY AND TWO, TWO-WAY STREETS DOWNTOWN IS REALLY A POLICY CHOICE FOR OUR LEADERSHIP ABOUT WHAT WE WANT DOWNTOWN TO BE. DO WE WANT DOWNTOWN TO BE A PLACE WHERE WE MOVE PEOPLE, UH, QUICKLY THROUGH DURING RUSH HOUR, OR DO WE WANT IT TO BE A DESTINATION? AND REALLY, THAT, THAT CHOICE IS, IS TO A LARGE EXTENT, BOUND UP IN THE CHOICE BETWEEN ONE WAY AND TWO WAY STREETS. SO, UH, THAT'S, UH, THAT'S, THAT'S THE PRESENTATION. HAPPY TO, UM, TAKE QUESTIONS. THANKS FOR THE TIME. AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR PRESENTING. UM, ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? GO AHEAD, COMMISSIONER CARROLL. YEAH, I, I DON'T HAVE A QUESTION. I'LL JUST MAKE A COMMENT THAT I, THAT THIS IS EXCITING TO ME. I MEAN, I ENTHUSIASTICALLY SUPPORT THIS. I'VE, I'VE READ, UH, SPEC'S BOOK. UM, THE DATA IS CLEAR, THE EXAMPLES AROUND THE COUNTRY ARE CLEAR. AUSTIN NEEDS TO DO THIS. IT'S AS SIMPLE AS THAT. OH, SORRY. GO AHEAD. YES, COMMISSIONER MC. THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN. UM, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT HADN'T BEEN ON MY RADAR. I HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK, BUT THE DATA SEEMS COMPELLING. I AM CURIOUS IF THERE'S BEEN ANY THOUGHT OR IF WE'RE NOT QUITE TO THAT PHASE YET OF LIKE, WHAT THE DESIGN MIGHT LOOK LIKE, BECAUSE THE PICTURE YOU SHOWED OF SECOND STREET LOOKS NOTHING LIKE THE, LIKE SECOND STREET TODAY, AND THEN THE PICTURE OF SIXTH STREET FROM THE, WHEN WAS THAT? 1968, RIGHT? IT LOOKS NOT VERY SIMILAR TO SIXTH STREET TODAY. SO I'M WONDERING, LIKE, WOULD IT LOOK MORE LIKE SECOND STREET? WOULD SIXTH STREET TODAY LOOK MORE LIKE SECOND STREET TODAY? OR HAVE WE KIND OF GOT THERE? OR WHAT WOULD A BEST PRACTICE BE, IN YOUR OPINION? YEAH. WELL, THE, THE TIMING OF THIS, AS I SAID EARLIER, IS THAT THE CITY IS GOING THROUGH THE ACT PLAN PROCESS. THEY'RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON SIXTH STREET. AND SO, YOU KNOW, OUR TIMING IS REALLY BECAUSE WE WANT THESE CONVERSIONS TO BE BUNDLED IN WITH THE ACT PLAN, UM, DESIGNS. SO IT'S AS SIMPLE AS THAT, THAT WHEN, WHEN STAFF ARE, ARE GOING THROUGH THOSE TO JUST ENGINEER TWO WAY CONVERSIONS AT, AT THE SAME TIME, WE, UM, WE DID A, UH, A, A THEORETICAL, UM, UH, STREET SEGMENT BY STREET SEGMENT, UM, TWO-WAY CONVERSION JUST USING, UH, YOU KNOW, THE TOOLS THAT WE HAVE VISUALLY. AND BECAUSE OUR STREETS DOWNTOWN ARE RELATIVELY WIDE, UH, THERE, THERE IS QUITE A BIT OF SPACE, UM, TO DO THIS. UH, YOU CAN'T INCLUDE EVERYTHING ON EVERY STREET. SO, YEAH, THIS IS JUST SOMETHING WE, WE WANT TO SEE, UM, COUNCIL AND OUR LEADERSHIP DIRECT STAFF TO INCLUDE THESE AS PART OF THE ACT PLAN PROCESS. YEAH. 'CAUSE I GUESS MY INITIAL GUT REACTION WOULD BE, YOU MIGHT LIMIT THE WALKING SPACE, BUT IT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE THAT'S THE CASE AT ALL, RIGHT? YOU WOULD JUST, YOU HAVE TO BE THOUGHTFUL ABOUT HOW THE LANES ARE ALLOCATED, I GUESS. YEAH. I, I COULD SHARE WITH YOU THE DIAGRAMS, THE THEORETICAL, THEY'RE NOT ENGINEERED DIAGRAMS, BUT THEY WERE JUST SORT OF PLAYING WITH THE CONCEPT. AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING AT KIND OF FOUR LANE ROADS MOST OF THE TIME. MM-HMM . UM, TWO-WAY STREET CONVERSIONS. UH, CAN, CAN CERTAINLY FIT IN WITH THAT. THANK YOU. YES, LEVINSON, I COULD REMEMBER WHEN CAESAR CHAVEZ WAS STILL NOT TWO WAY, AND THEY HAD A ONE WAY PART OF THE WAY, AND TWO WAY PART OF THE, ONE WAY MOST OF THE WAY, AND TWO WAY PART OF THE WAY. AND THEY HAD THE MEETING IN THE MIDDLE, AND YOU HAD SEVERAL HEAD ON COLLISIONS BECAUSE IT WAS JUST MORONIC. PEOPLE HAD NO IDEA WHERE THEY WERE GOING, . AND SO, UH, IT LOOKS LIKE, UM, SECOND, UH, THE WAY SECOND STREET HAS TURNED OUT OBVIOUSLY HAS MADE EVERYBODY LOOK TWICE AT THIS ISSUE. AND, UM, I WOULD DEFINITELY SUPPORT SOMETHING LIKE THIS BECAUSE I THINK THE DATA IS [01:55:01] REALLY CLEAR. IT'S SAFER FOR PEDESTRIANS. UM, IT'S ACTUALLY BETTER FOR BUSINESSES BECAUSE YOU END UP WITH MORE PEDESTRIANS WILLING TO WALK IN THE AREA, AND THEREFORE MORE FOOT TRAFFIC. AND, UM, IT'S, I THINK OVERALL NOT THAT MUCH OF A REDUCTION IN PEOPLE GETTING THROUGH. SO IT'S WELL WORTH IT. I HAVE A QUESTION. UM, SO IF THE COMMISSION CONSIDERS A RECOMMENDATION, WHICH, UM, I WOULD SUGGEST WE TAKE SOME TIME TO ACTUALLY COMPLI, UM, DRAFT, THINK ABOUT WHAT IS THE IDEAL TIMING? IS THERE ANY, IS THERE ANYTHING COMING UP IN, IN THE NEXT MONTH THAT IF WE DRAFTED A RECOMMENDATION AND CONSIDERED IT IN A MONTH, THAT WE WOULD MISS SOME IMPORTANT WINDOW? UH, SO STAFF ARE WORKING ON A PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING REPORT RIGHT NOW FOR SIXTH STREET. UM, RIGHT NOW, EVERY INDICATION THAT MULTIPLE SCENARIOS PRESENTED AS PART OF THE PUBLIC PROCESS ARE THAT STAFF ARE NOT CONSIDERING TWO-WAY CONVERSIONS AS PART OF THAT. SO THAT IS NOT, WE DON'T NEED TO HAVE SOMETHING IN BY THE END OF THE YEAR. UH, LAST TIME WE HEARD FROM STAFF, UH, THEY'RE CONSIDERING BRINGING THE ACT PLAN FORWARD FOR COUNCIL ADOPTION IN THE SPRING. SO, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY IF, IF THIS COMMISSION WANTED TO PUT FORWARD A, A RECOMMENDATION THIS MONTH, NEXT MONTH, OKAY. THAT, THAT WOULD BE STILL TIMELY. CORRECT. BUT YES. COMMISSIONER HOUSTON, EXCUSE ME. UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH. THINKING ABOUT SIXTH STREETS SPECIFICALLY AND THE UNIQUE KIND OF CULTURAL GOINGS ON THAT GO ON ON SIXTH STREET, WOULD THERE BE, HOW WOULD YOU, BECAUSE I DON'T SEE ALL THE ONE WAY STREETS IS BEING THE SAME. SIXTH STREET IS ITS OWN THING AND HAS VERY SPECIFIC THINGS THAT GO ON AND THE WAY THEY'VE NARROWED IT. AND ARE, ARE YOU TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION THE, THE SPECIFICS OF EACH STREET RATHER THAN JUST SAYING, WE'RE GONNA CHANGE ALL THE STREETS? UM, I MEAN, THERE ARE JUST NO FAILED EXAMPLES OF TWO-WAY STREET CONVERSION. SO WE, WE WANT EVERY STREET TO BE REALLY THOUGHT THROUGH CAREFULLY. UM, SIXTH STREET IS ONE OF THE GREAT DESTINATIONS, NOT ONLY IN AUSTIN, BUT IN THE ENTIRE STATE. AND SO I THINK, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, BACK TO THIS PARADIGM THAT TWO WAY STREETS ARE DESTINATIONS AND ONE WAY STREETS ARE KIND OF HIGHWAYS BASICALLY TO PASS THROUGH. UH, SIXTH STREET IN OUR MIND OF, OF ALL STREETS DESERVES, UM, THIS, THIS CONVERSION. UM, ONE OF THE POINTS THAT SOMETIMES COMES UP IS THAT SIXTH STREET CARRIES A LOT OF TRAFFIC, AND THAT'S GONNA BE AN ISSUE. BUT THE REASON WHY SIXTH STREET CARRIES A LOT OF TRAFFIC IS BECAUSE IT'S ONE WAY. IF IT WERE CONVERTED TO TWO WAY A, A A ALONG WITH OTHER STREETS, THEN SIMPLY THE GRID WOULD FUNCTION DIFFERENTLY. UM, AND ACTUALLY IN THE, IN THE, IN THE LEXINGTON EXAMPLE, UM, TRAFFIC ACTUALLY IMPROVED AFTER TWO-WAY CONVERSION BECAUSE A TWO-WAY GRID DISTRIBUTES, UH, TRAFFIC EAS MORE EASILY WHEN THERE ARE BOTTLENECKS AS OPPOSED TO ONE WAY STREETS WHERE YOU CAN'T JUST TURN ONTO THE NEXT STREET 'CAUSE THAT STREET'S GOING THE OTHER WAY. SO YEAH, I WOULD SAY JUST EVERY STREET NEEDS TO BE THOUGHT THROUGH VERY, VERY CAREFULLY. UM, AND, AND WE'RE CONFIDENT THAT TWO WAY STREETS WILL, YOU KNOW, CONTINUE THEIR, UH, THEIR UNBROKEN TRACK RECORD OF SUCCESS. AND THEN THE OTHER QUESTION I HAD WAS ABOUT THE LEFT TURN SIGNALS. DOESN'T IT MAKE IT MORE CONFUSING IF YOU'RE SAYING IT, SOMETIMES YOU CAN TURN LEFT AND SOMETIMES YOU CAN'T, WOULDN'T IT BE BETTER TO JUST NOT HAVE A LEFT TURN AT THAT INTERSECTION? POTENTIALLY? YEAH. AGAIN, THIS IS, THIS IS AT A LEVEL OF DETAIL THAT WE REALLY DEPEND ON. YOU KNOW, EITHER EXPERTS OR ENGINEERS TO DO, UH, LEFT TURN BANDS OR LEFT TURNS AT CERTAIN TIMES OF THE DAY ARE A TOOL. UH, BUT THEY MAY ONLY BE APPROPRIATE IN CERTAIN CONTEXTS. AND SIXTH STREET, FOR EXAMPLE, I KNOW WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SIXTH STREET RIGHT NOW, MAY OR MAY NOT BE A CONTEXT FOR THAT, BUT, UM, THERE ARE CERTAINLY NUMEROUS TOOLS THAT CAN BE CONSIDERED FOR MAKING SURE PEOPLE GET THROUGH INTERSECTIONS IN A, IN A TIMELY WAY. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? NO. YES, COMMISSIONER WILEY. UM, YEAH, I JUST WANTED TO ASK IS AS FAR AS, UH, FIFTH AND SIXTH STREET GOES SPECIFICALLY, UM, IS THERE ANY KIND OF DEPENDENCY ON I 35 BEING DESIGNED A CERTAIN WAY IN ORDER FOR THAT TO WORK? OR YOU, YOU KNOW WHAT I'M [02:00:01] SAYING, LIKE, LIKE WE'RE ABOUT TO JUST DO A MAJOR REDESIGN ON I 35 ? YEAH. SO I WOULD THINK THAT THEY WOULD BENEFIT FROM HAVING A STABLE ASSUMPTION ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. UH, IT, IT WOULD BE GOOD TO GET THIS, UM, AGREED UPON SOON. UH, WE WOULD CERTAINLY AGREE WITH THAT. UM, WE DON'T THINK THAT DOWNTOWN SHOULD BE AN EXTENSION OF A HIGHWAY. SO I 35 OBVIOUSLY IS A HIGHWAY DOWNTOWN, SHOULD NOT BE A HIGHWAY, IT SHOULD BE A DESTINATION. AND, UH, TRAFFIC COMING OFF OF I 35 IN A TWO-WAY GRID JUST HAS MORE OPTIONS FOR GETTING AROUND WHETHER A BOTTLENECKS. SO, UH, WE THINK THAT TWO-WAY CONVERSIONS ARE ENTIRELY COMPATIBLE WITH WHATEVER I 35 ENDS UP BEING IN, INCLUDING THE TECH STOCK CALLS IT A BOULEVARD DOWNTOWN. MM-HMM . SOME PEOPLE CALL IT A TWO-WAY FRONTAGE ROAD, BUT WHATEVER IT IS, YOU KNOW, IT'S SORT OF MAYBE A LITTLE LESS HIGHWAY LIKE THAN THE MAIN LANES. AND SO TWO-WAY CONVERSIONS JUST KIND OF SLOTS INTO THAT. WELL, THANK YOU FOR COMING OUT TONIGHT. YOU'VE, UH, PROVIDED REALLY GOOD, UH, NEW REASONS FOR ME TO WARM UP TO THE IDEA. APPRECIATE IT. PLUS, ON THE HIGHWAY STUFF, LIKE RIGHT NOW, AT LEAST, UH, FROM WHAT I'VE SEEN ON THE MOBILITY COMMITTEE THAT I'M ON, UM, T.IS LOOKING AT MAKING THE FIRST COUPLE BLOCKS WHEN YOU GET ON AND OFF FIFTH AND SIXTH STREET, TWO WAY TO FACILITATE STUFF BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO DO THAT IN ORDER TO ACCOUNT FOR THE FACT THAT THE CITY WANTS TO KEEP THE OTHER STUFF ONE WAY. WILL IT BE JUST AS EASY, I THINK, FOR THEM TO GO AHEAD AND JUST STRIPE IT TWO WAY ALL THE WAY. SO I DON'T THINK TEXT DOT WOULD ACTUALLY HAVE A PROBLEM WITH IT. THANK YOU FOR PRESENTING TO US. I APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. UM, ITEM [6. Approve a Recommendation to Council regarding one-way to two-way street conversions downtown. ] SIX WOULD BE, UM, DISCUSSION ABOUT A POTENTIAL RECOMMENDATION. I, UH, I PERSONALLY WOULD LIKE TO, UM, HAVE A LITTLE MORE TIME TO ACTUALLY PREPARE A RECOMMENDATION THAT IS THOUGHTFUL AND INCLUDES A LOT OF THE GREAT INFORMATION THAT WAS PRESENTED TO ME. WELL, I WOULD PROPOSE TABLING THIS THEN AND WORKING ON IT, UH, OVER THE NEXT MONTH AND BRINGING IT BACK TO OUR NEXT MEETING. MM-HMM . IS THERE A SECOND? IS THAT, DO WE NEED A MOTION FOR THAT? OKAY. YOU DON'T NEED A MOTION FOR THAT? OKAY. WELL, YES, THAT WAS MY MOTION. THAT WAS HER MOTION. SECOND. AND SHE JUST SECONDED. AND COMMISSIONER, SHE SECONDED. OKAY, PERFECT. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ANY OPPOSED? ALRIGHT, IT'S TABLED. UM, [FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS] ANY NEW ITEMS? YES, COMMISSIONER WILEY. YES, I, I WAS, UH, LISTENING INTO, UH, SOME OF THE BUDGET DISCUSSIONS TODAY AND THEY MAY HAVE, UH, PROVIDED US A NEW ASSIGNMENT. UM, APPARENTLY IT'S, AND I'M, I'M A NEWBIE HERE, BUT APPARENTLY IT'S PRETTY NORMAL EVERY MARCH FOR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS TO COME FORWARD WITH I GOOD IDEAS THAT THEY HAVE THAT'LL BE CONSUMING ADDITIONAL, UH, EXPENSE DOLLARS. AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO, THEY'RE, THE INTENT IS TO GO TO THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS AND ASK FOR SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO SAVE MONEY. NOW I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S SPECIFIC TO THE BUDGET OR IDEAS JUST IN GENERAL THAT WILL HELP REDUCE THE AFFORDABILITY PRESSURES THAT WE'RE FEELING. BUT, UM, THERE WAS SOMETHING VERY SPECIFICALLY SAID ABOUT THAT TODAY. SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE STEPS WOULD BE TO KIND OF PUT THAT IN MOTION. I JUST WANTED TO BRING IT UP IN CASE IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO START THINKING ABOUT IT NOW AND POTENTIALLY ACT ON IT AND CREATE A GROUP OF INTERESTED PEOPLE AND FOCUSING ON THAT. OR ALL RECOMMENDATIONS NEED TO BE END TO THE CITY BY MARCH ON WHAT, WHAT YOU'RE RECOMMENDING AND YOUR BUDGETS AND STUFF LIKE THAT AND WHAT YOU THINK THE CITY BUDGET SHOULD HOLD. SO DEFINITELY DECEMBER AND JANUARY ARE THE TIMES THAT WE SHOULD REALLY BE GETTING TOGETHER TO THINK ABOUT WHAT WE THINK WE SHOULD RECOMMEND TO THE CITY. MM-HMM . SO, UM, WE COULD CONSIDER A, A WORKING GROUP, A WORKING GROUP, MAYBE OF SOME SORT. YES. MM-HMM . AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WOULD NEED TO BE VOTED ON, CORRECT? YES. MM-HMM . UM, AND IT'S NOT ON THE AGENDA TONIGHT, SO WE CAN PUT IT ON THE AGENDA FOR NEXT TIME. MM-HMM . PERFECT. JUST POINT OF CLARIFICATION, THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE WORKING GROUP WOULD NEED TO BE VOTED ON. YES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. OKAY. THANK YOU. SO LET'S PUT THAT ON NEXT MONTH. ANY OTHER YES, CHAIRMAN, I JUST WANTED TO ITERATE THE FACT THAT THERE WERE SEVERAL QUESTIONS AND TOPICS FROM THE CENTRAL DISTRICT, CENTRAL CITY DISTRICT PLAN THAT I THINK ALL OF US WOULD APPRECIATE FOLLOW UP ON. SO I, I KNOW THAT SHE GOT THOSE NOTES AND EVERYTHING, BUT, UM, I'M NOT SURE IF THERE'S A, [02:05:01] A TIMELINE OR AN EXPECTATION LIKE, YOU KNOW, SHE SAID THE STAKEHOLDER LIST WAS GONNA BE PUBLIC SOON, BUT IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE COULD REQUEST? UH, I, I JUST DON'T KNOW. THE PROCESS FOR THAT IS THAT GENERALLY, UM, WHEN THOSE KINDS OF ISSUES COME UP AND THERE ARE ITEMS THAT SOMEONE THAT HAS PRESENTED IS GONNA FOLLOW UP WITH US, THEN, UM, EITHER COMMISSIONER LEVINSON OR MYSELF REACH OUT TO CHRISTIE AND CHRISTIE NAGS PEOPLE TO TRY TO GET THE INFORMATION. OKAY. . YEAH, I ACTUALLY WAS MESSAGING WITH ISHA AND LET HER KNOW, UM, THAT SHE CAN, I CAN DISTRIBUTE WHATEVER SHE HAS AS FOLLOW UP AND SHE, UM, CONFIRMED THAT SHE WOULD PROVIDE THAT AND, UM, SHE JUST NEEDED TO CHECK IN WITH LEADERSHIP FIRST. AND I WOULD ANTICIPATE THAT SHE'LL ALSO COME BACK FOR AN UPDATE FIRST OF THE YEAR. YEAH. AND THEN MY SECOND PART ON THAT IS, UM, SEVERAL COMMISSIONERS EXPRESS INTEREST OF US BEING OFFICIAL STAKEHOLDERS OR INVOLVED IN THAT CONVERSATION. I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S A RECOMMENDATION OR SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD CONSIDER OR SOMEHOW FORMALIZING THAT VERSUS JUST VERBALIZING IT OR, UM, OR NOT. I, I, I DON'T KNOW THAT IT WOULD BE A BAD IDEA. THAT'S, TO MAKE IT FORMAL, WE NEED TO LOOK AT OUR ORDINANCE. THE ORDINANCE THAT PASSED. WELL THE ORDINANCE DEFINITELY HAD US AND THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE AS NAMED STAKEHOLDERS. THAT'S RIGHT. WELL, IN THAT CASE, I THINK WE NEED TO START REACHING OUT TO OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS. 'CAUSE AND I THINK HE'S THE NATIVE IS RIGHT THAT THIS IS A GOOD IDEA TO PUT, UH, ON OUR A RECOMMENDATION FOR NEXT MONTH THAT WE SHOULD PUT ON YOU THAT VOTE ON A, YOU KNOW, YEAH. CHAIR. I, I WOULD JUST SAY, I MEAN, I'VE, I'VE BEEN THROUGH THIS PROCESS BEFORE AND IT REALLY COMES DOWN TO THE DEFINITION OF STAKEHOLDER, RIGHT? THEY COULD SAY, OH, WE CAME TO DOWNTOWN, DOWNTOWN COMMISSION, WE GOT FEEDBACK THAT WAS A STAKEHOLDER PROCESS VERSUS BEING ON AN ADVISORY GROUP, RIGHT? IT'S ANOTHER PROCESS. AND SO THAT TYPICALLY THE RESOLUTIONS DON'T GET THAT SPECIFIC AND THAT'S WHERE WE GET INTO THIS SORT OF AREA. SO THAT SOUNDS LIKE YOU WOULD SUGGEST A RECOMMENDATION WOULD BE HELPFUL TO SPECIFICALLY STATE WE, WE WANT INPUT AND NOT JUST REPORTS. I MEAN, AT THIS POINT, I DON'T KNOW IF WE HAVE THAT ABILITY. I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S IN THE CITY MANAGER'S HANDS AND STAFF. I THINK IT WOULD HAVE TO COME FROM COUNCIL AGAIN. RIGHT. BUT THAT'S THE RECOMMENDATION WOULD BE TO COUNSEL. YEAH. THEN YEAH. OKAY, THEN WE SHOULD, WE'LL WORK ON THAT. WE'LL WORK ON THAT TOO. I'M JUST CURIOUS OUR THOUGHTS ON THAT. NO, IT'S A GOOD, YEAH, IT'S A GOOD POINT. YES. HI. DO I HAVE TO REQUEST TO BE ON THE AGENDA EACH MONTH, UH, TO, TO REPORT OUT FROM ARCH COMMISSION? I, I, IF IF IT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU WANT TO REPORT, THEN LET US KNOW AND THEN WE WILL MAKE SURE THAT TECHNICALLY WE EITHER REACH OUT TO YOU OR YOU REACH OUT TO US. AND THEN SECOND COMMISSIONER WOULD NEED TO SECOND THE SPONSOR. IT'S NOT A SPONSOR OR SPONSOR, RIGHT. SPONSOR. BUT IF YOU KNOW THAT YOU'LL HAVE AN UPDATE FOR NEXT MONTH AND YOU WANNA BRING THAT UP NOW. WELL, I GUESS I THOUGHT THAT WAS WHAT MY ROLE WAS, WAS TO, TO BRING UPDATES FROM ARCH COMMISSION A. WELL, IT IS, AND PREVIOUSLY WE HAD, EVERY MONTH WE WENT THROUGH SORT OF THE LIST OF LIAISONS AND ASKED IF THEY HAD SOMETHING TO REPORT. BUT THEN, UM, THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE CHANGED THE RULES BECAUSE OF OPEN RECORDS ACT OR OPEN MEETINGS ACT OR 72 HOUR NOTICE. SO, YEAH. WELL I THINK THAT WHAT HAD BEEN HAPPENING WAS THAT THEY WERE JUST INCLUDED AND THEN THERE WERE NO UPDATES AS JUST PLACEHOLDERS. AND SO YES, IT DOES FALL INTO OPEN MEETINGS ACT TERRITORY. UM, SO THE AGENDA SHOULD BE INTENTIONAL. YEAH. AND I'LL BE HAPPY TO SECOND ANYTHING YOU WANT TO BRING YEAH. . SO JUST LET US KNOW AND THEN WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT IT GETS ON THE AGENDA. YEAH. OKAY. SO FOR DECEMBER, FOR REPORT FOR NOVEMBER, I HAVE TO WAIT TILL DECEMBER. YY YES, UNFORTUNATELY. OKAY. SO CAN I MAKE SOME JUST GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS? 'CAUSE I, I'VE GOT STUFF THAT'S ENDING DECEMBER 1ST IS THAT, UM, YOU CAN TAKE A POINT OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE IF THERE'S NO OBJECTION, AS LONG AS IT DOESN'T MOVE INTO ANY SORT OF DISCUSSION. IF THERE'S LIKE A TIMELINE, A GRANT APPLICATION THAT MIGHT BE CLOSING, YOU CAN, YOU CAN MAKE UP. AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I MAY I HAVE A POINT OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE. YES. . YEAH. THANK YOU SO MUCH. SO WE HAD OUR ARTS COMMISSION MEETING ON MONDAY AND UH, ACME IS UP AND RUNNING WITH THE FIRST, UM, CULTURAL FUNDING THAT THEY'VE, THAT THEY'RE OVERSEEING AS THE NEW DIVISION. SO WE HAVE OPEN APPLICATIONS FOR AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND, CREATIVE SPACE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, THE ELEVATE GRANT AND THE HERITAGE PRESERVATION GRANTS. THERE IS A TWO STEP [02:10:02] INTRODUCTORY PROCESS. SO YOU HAVE TO DO AN INTAKE FORM AND THEN YOU HAVE TO COMPLETE YOUR ELIGIBILITY FORM THE SECOND STEP BY DECEMBER 4TH. AND THEN YOU HAVE UNTIL DECEMBER THE 11TH TO ACTUALLY COMPLETE THE APPLICATION. SO DECEMBER 4TH TO GET INTAKE AND ELIGIBILITY AND DECEMBER 11TH TO ACTUALLY COMPLETE THE APPLICATION. AND THEN WE ARE RECRUITING FOR PANELISTS TO, TO REVIEW THE APPLICATIONS AND DO THE SCORING OF EVERYTHING. UH, WE NEED ABOUT 265 PANELISTS. SO , THAT'S A LOT. THAT'S A LOT. SO WE ARE DOING AN OPEN CALL. YOU CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT IT AT, LET ME GET THE EXACT WEBSITE. THE LONG CENTER.SUBMITTABLE.COM, THE THE LONG CENTER DOT SUBMITTABLE, S-U-B-M-I-T-T-A-B-L E.COM. AND IT HAS ALL OF THE ACME ARTS CULTURE, MUSIC, ENTERTAINMENT, FUNDING PROGRAMS. AND THERE'S A, UM, AREA DOWN AT THE BOTTOM FOR INTEREST IN, UH, PANEL PANELISTS INTEREST. THERE IS A STIPEND OF UP TO $500. WOW. WELL THANK YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME. FOR LETTING US KNOW. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? YES, CHRISTIE, UH, JUST NOTING THAT THE UM, DECEMBER MEETING WILL INCLUDE A GREAT STREETS PRESENTATION FROM PLANNING AND THEN ALSO A SIXTH STREET ENGINEERING REPORT. OKAY. ALRIGHT. IF WE HAVE NO OTHER BUSINESS, IS THERE A MOTION TO ADJOURN? SO MOVED. SECOND. OKAY. I'M NOT SURE HE SECONDED. . I THINK COMMISSIONER SHIPPER MAY HAVE SECONDED MAYBE, BUT ASK YOU A QUESTION. UH, WELL, I MEAN. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.