* 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. [ Austin Live News Conference Ribbon Cutting Roy G. Guerrero Park on February 6, 2026. ] [00:00:04] YES. GOOD MORNING. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE ON THIS BEAUTIFUL CENTRAL TEXAS FEBRUARY. UM, UH, WELCOME TO ROY G. GUERRERO, COLORADO RIVER METROPOLITAN PARK. WHAT AN AMAZING SPACE WE HAVE HERE IN CITY OF BOSTON. UH, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. MY NAME IS JESUS AGUIRE, AND I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF SERVING AS THE DIRECTOR FOR AUSTIN PARKS AND RECREATION. UH, TODAY WE'RE GONNA CELEBRATE THIS AMAZING PROJECT THAT YOU'LL HEAR MORE ABOUT IN A MINUTE. THAT, BUT, BUT FOR OUR PERSPECTIVE OF THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT, THIS IS ABOUT RESTORING SOMETHING THAT, THAT WAS MISSING AS PART OF THE FLOODS, WHICH IS THIS CONNECTION DOWN HERE AT EAST AUSTIN FROM ONE SIDE OF THE PARK TO THE OTHER. UH, THIS IMPRESSIVE ENGINEERING AND CHANNEL STABILIZATION PROJECT IS OBVIOUSLY REALLY CRITICAL AND IT WILL PROTECT THIS PARKLAND AND THE PARK RESOURCES. UH, THIS BRIDGE THAT WE'RE GONNA, UH, SORT OF HOPEFULLY WALK ACROSS TOGETHER HERE IS, IS AN AMAZING, AS I SAID, PLACE TO CONNECT CRAIG FIELDS BEHIND US WITH ALL THE, THE INCREDIBLE ATHLETIC ACTIVITIES THAT HAPPEN THERE, AND THEN ALL OF THE, THE OTHER TRAILS AND NATURE AND ALL THE WALKING IN THE OTHER COMMUNITIES. SO IT'S A REALLY AMAZING OPPORTUNITY FOR CONNECTIVITY HERE. UM, BEYOND REC RECREATION, THIS BRIDGE ALSO JUST PROVIDES A SAFER, MORE ACCESSIBLE ROUTE FOR PEOPLE COMMUTING THROUGH THIS URBAN CORE. SO IT REALLY IS FROM THE PARKS AND RECREATION PERSPECTIVE ABOUT CONNECTIVITY, EQUITY, AND CREATING SPACES WHERE EVERYBODY CAN ENJOY THE OUTDOORS. SO, I WANNA THANK ALL OF OUR PARTNERS, OBVIOUSLY THE, THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT WHO LED THIS EFFORT, ALL OF THEIR TEAMS, UH, OUR PARTNERS OVER AT THE CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES AND EVERYONE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN FOR THE AMAZING WORK THAT WENT INTO PUTTING THIS. AND I CAN'T, UH, YOU CAN'T GIVE ME A MIC WITHOUT TAKING ME, TAKING A MOMENT TO APPRECIATE ALL THE PARKS AND REC STAFF, WHERE'S ALL THE PARKS AND REC STAFF IN THE ROOM? LET'S GIVE THEM A BIG ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR ALL THEY DO ON BEHALF OF THE RESIDENTS OF THE CITY. BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE. I NOW GET TO TURN IT OVER TO A, A REAL ADVOCATE FOR PARKS AND RECREATION AS WELL, MAYOR KIRK WATSON. THANK YOU, SIR. THANK YOU, SIR. WELL, THANK YOU. AND, AND THANK YOU DIRECTOR. UM, WE'RE VERY PLEASED TO BE OUT HERE. AND I'M GONNA START, UH, WHERE HE KIND OF FINISHED THERE. AND THAT IS TO SAY A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE CITY EMPLOYEES. UH, IT'S, IT'S PROGRAMS LIKE THIS AND PROJECTS LIKE THIS THAT WE GET TO SEE THE REALLY DEDICATED PUBLIC SERVANTS THAT WORK FOR US EVERY DAY. AND, AND WE DON'T SAY THAT ENOUGH. SO I WANNA SAY A SPECIAL THANK YOU. LET'S GIVE 'EM A ROUND OF APPLAUSE. ALL OF 'EM. WATERSHED, EVERYBODY THAT'S HERE IS, IS PART OF THIS. UM, I ALSO WANNA RECOGNIZE, UH, A FEW PEOPLE THAT ARE HERE. AND THAT IS, UH, I'M GOING TO INTRODUCE, UH, OUR CONGRESSMAN LLOYD DOGGETT HERE IN JUST A SECOND. BUT, UH, STATE REPRESENTATIVE LULU FLORES IS ALSO HERE WITH US, AND WE REALLY APPRECIATE THAT. UH, KATE SHAN IS HERE REPRESENTING DEAN JUDITH ZINI OF THE TEXAS SENATE. WE APPRECIATE YOUR BEING HERE. AND STEVEN GARZA IS HERE REPRESENTING CONGRESSMAN CASAR. AND I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU FOR YOU BEING HERE AS WELL. WELL AS, AS, AS SU HAS ALREADY SAID IT, IT'S GREAT TO BE HERE AT THIS WONDERFUL PARK AND TO CELEBRATE THE COMPLETION OF WHAT IS A TRULY A TRANSFORMATIVE, AND I'LL JUST SAY IT OUT LOUD, A MASSIVE INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, INVESTMENT AND PROGRAM. THIS PROJECT STABILIZES THE CREEK CHANNEL, AND IT PROTECTS PARKLAND, PARKLAND. IT PROTECTS TRAILS, IT PROTECTS HOMES, AND IT PROTECTS OUR INFRASTRUCTURE FROM EROSION. IT ALSO INCLUDES, AS HAS BEEN POINTED OUT, THIS NEW 164 FOOT PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE THAT RESTORES CONNECTIVITY FOR VISITORS THAT COME TO THIS PARK. AND IT ENSURES EVERYONE THAT, THAT EVERYONE WILL BE ABLE TO HAVE ACCESS AND ENJOY ALL THE GREEN SPACE AND THE TRAILS IN A SAFE WAY. AUSTIN, THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND THE PEOPLE OF AUSTIN, INVESTED HEAVILY IN THIS EFFORT. THEY INVESTED THROUGH THEIR VOTER APPROVED BONDS AND OUR DRAINAGE UTILITY FUNDS. UH, AND, AND THAT HAPPENS BECAUSE THE CITIZENS OF AUSTIN KNOW THAT WE NEED TO, UH, MAKE SURE OUR CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE IS RESILIENT AND THAT IT'S RESILIENT FOR OUR FUTURE. APPROXIMATELY 70% OF THE FUNDING FOR THIS PROJECT CAME FROM LOCAL SOURCES. SO I'M GOING TO END WHERE I STARTED. I WANNA SAY THANK YOU TO AUSTIN WATERSHED PROTECTION. I WANNA SAY THANK YOU TO AUSTIN PARKS AND RECREATION AND AUSTIN CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES FOR THEIR INCREDIBLE TEAMWORK. THIS BIG, A MASSIVE PROJECT COULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED WITHOUT ALL OF THOSE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS WORKING SO CLOSELY TOGETHER. THIS PROJECT TRULY REFLECTS OUR PHILOSOPHY OF ONE CITY, ONE TEAM, AND ONE APPROACH. SO THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE FOLKS. THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING OUT HERE. I'M REALLY PLEASED TO SEE SO MANY PEOPLE COME OUT FOR, UH, FOR THIS TODAY. AND WITH THAT, I'VE, UH, ALREADY MENTIONED HIS NAME, BUT I WANNA INTRODUCE OUR LONGTIME FRIEND AND ADVOCATE. UH, AND YOU CAN TELL, I, I, I THOUGHT I CAME CASUAL . UM, UH, YOU, YOU CAN TELL THAT HE'S AN ADVOCATE BECAUSE HE ACTUALLY USES OUR TRAILS AND HE'S BEEN SUCH A GOOD, STRONG FRIEND IN THAT REGARD. CONGRESSMAN LLOYD DOGGETT. THANK YOU, MAYOR. IT'S A GREAT DAY. UH, THIS IS LIKE THE WISHBONE THAT WE'LL CELEBRATE [00:05:01] TOMORROW. THIS IS SUCH A GREAT ADDITION TO, UH, OUR CITY TRAILS AND OUR CITY PARKS. SO THANK YOU JESUS AND ALL WHO MADE THIS POSSIBLE. MAYOR, THANKS FOR ALL YOU'RE DOING TO STRETCH AN INCREDIBLY TIGHT BUDGET IN A FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE WAY AND CONTINUE TO DELIVER SERVICES FOR PARKS AND EVERYTHING ELSE. UH, AS MOST OF YOU KNOW, LIBBY AND I LIVE, UH, JUST, UH, NOT THAT FAR FROM HERE IN EAST AUSTIN. AND WE HAVE A REGULAR CYCLING ROUTE, UH, ACROSS THE BRIDGE AND ABOUT 10 MILES AROUND THE LAKE. BUT, UH, ON OCCASION, UH, WE LIKE TO VERY LITTLE BIT GO TO ROY GUERRERO PARK. SO A FEW YEARS AFTER THE FLOOD AND AFTER THE, UH, GREAT, UH, PEDESTRIANS BIKEWAY ACROSS THE OLD MONTOPOLIS BRIDGE, WE DECIDED TO COME, UH, SEE THIS AREA, UH, FROM THE MON SIDE. AND THERE WAS NO BRIDGE TO OUR SURPRISE, AND IT WAS A HECK OF A JOB CLIMBING UP. UH, WHAT WAS A LESS LANDSCAPE AREA TO GET UP HERE. UH, I'M DELIGHTED THAT NOW 11 YEARS AFTER THIS FLOOD, WE HAVE A BRIDGE. AND A FEW, UH, I GUESS, UH, MONTH, SIX WEEKS AGO, WE CAME OUT AND CYCLED IT AGAIN WHEN WE HEARD THE BRIDGE WAS COMPLETED. IT IS A GREAT WAY TO CONNECT NOT ONLY THESE, UH, BALLPARKS ON EITHER SIDE OF THIS BRIDGE, UH, BUT TO CONNECT, UH, THE TOWN LAKE TRAILS ALL THE WAY OVER TO MONTOPOLIS AND BACK AGAIN. BECAUSE WHILE WE HAVE SOME GREAT TRAILS AROUND AUSTIN, WE NEED MORE OF THEM CONNECTED JUST LIKE THIS SO THAT PEOPLE CAN USE THEM FOR RECREATION AS WE DO, OR TO BIKE THE WORK. WE'RE HERE, OF COURSE, BECAUSE THIS COMMUNITY LEARNED, UH, AGAIN WITH THAT 2015 FLOOD, THAT EXTREME WEATHER IS NOT THEORETICAL, THAT WITH THE CLIMATE CRISIS, UH, INCREASINGLY WE WILL HAVE, UH, FLOODS, HURRICANES, TORNADOES, AND THE LIKE. AND BY COMBINING LOCAL COMMITMENT WITH FED FEDERAL HAZARD, UH, MITIGATION FUNDING, THE CITY'S BEEN ABLE TO, UH, NOT JUST PUT THE OLD BRIDGE BACK, BUT TO MAKE ALL THE CHANGES THAT ARE NECESSARY SO THAT WE WON'T SEE IT WASHED OUT AGAIN. THERE WAS ABOUT EIGHT AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS THAT FINALLY CAME OUT OF FEMA, UH, AND THEIR HAZARD MITIGATION GRANT AND COVERED ABOUT 30% OF THE COST OF THIS BRIDGE MATCHING WITH THE OTHER SOURCES THAT THE MAYOR, UH, REFERENCED. UH, WE, UH, HAVE SO MUCH MORE TO DO IN THE TRAIL FRONT. I UNDERSTAND THAT, UH, THERE WERE SOMETHING LIKE A HUNDRED TURTLES THAT HAD TO BE MOVED HERE, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE HAVE TO MOVE AT TURTLE PACE TO GET THESE, UH, TRAILS COMPLETED. , UH, UNDER TRUMP, OF COURSE, WE DON'T SEE BRIDGES TO REALITY AND THE CONTINUED ATTACKS THAT HE'S MADE ON FEMA, THE SOURCE OF THE, SOME OF THESE FUNDS ON CLIMATE SCIENCE AND THE VERY IDEA THAT GOVERNMENT HAS ANY RESPONSIBILITY, UH, TO DEVELOP PARKS AND TO MEET, UH, CONCERNS THAT HAPPEN WITH THE DISASTERS. UH, WHEN A PROJECT REQUIRES A RELA RELOCATING SO MANY TURTLES, UH, THERE'S SOMETHING TO BE LEARNED ABOUT PROTECTING OUR ENVIRONMENT AND MOVING QUICKER. UH, EVERY IMPROVEMENT, UH, THAT IS MADE, UH, IN SPEED, BRINGS A GREATER PEACE OF MIND TO THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE, WORK AND BIKE AROUND HERE. UH, WHAT STANDS OUT TODAY TO ME IS THE PROTECTION FOR OUR INFRASTRUCTURE RESTORED PARKLAND, RESPECT FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, AND A BRIDGE THAT CONNECTS PEOPLE TO THE PLACES THAT THEY WANT TO GO. IT'S A REMINDER THAT AUSTIN IS A CITY THAT'S RESILIENT, THAT IS COOPERATIVE AND CAN GET THINGS DONE. UH, HAVING THIS SAFER AND STRONGER CITY, UH, IS CERTAINLY IN NO, UH, SMALL PART, UH, THE RESULT OF THE COOPERATION FROM THE CITY DEPARTMENTS. AND I'M PLEASED TO, UH, REC TO, UH, PRESENT FROM WATER PROTECTION, WHICH PLAYED SUCH A BIG ROLE HERE. MY FRIEND JORGE MORALES. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU, SIR. THANK YOU. THANK YOU CONGRESSMAN DOGGETT. I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT. UM, MY NAME IS JORGE MORALES. I'M THE DIRECTOR OF THE AUSTIN WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT. AND LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE, I'M VERY EXCITED TO BE HERE IN THIS AWESOME MILESTONE. I'M PLEASED TO BE STANDING HERE TODAY. I'M ESPECIALLY HONORED TO ANNOUNCE THAT THIS PROJECT WAS JUST NAMED THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECT OF THE YEAR BY THE TEXAS AMERICAN PUBLIC WORKS ASSOCIATION IN ITS SIZE CATEGORY. AND I HAPPEN TO BRING THE PLAQUE. YEAH, DUDE, DUDE, BECAUSE WE LITERALLY JUST PICKED THIS UP ON TUESDAY. SO WE HAPPEN TO HAVE THE PRESIDENT OF A PWA HERE WHO HAPPENS TO BE OUR DIRECTOR OF, UM, UH, TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS. I ASKED RICHARD AND JANA AND DARRELL AND THE CONTRACTOR AND THE CONSULTANT COULD PLEASE COME UP HERE. SO, YEAH, COME ON. COME ON. THAT'S GREAT. YEAH. GREAT. GOOD TO SEE YOU. I, I COULDN'T RESIST MYSELF TO MODIFY THE AGENDA. COME ON, ERIC. YEAH, BUT I JUST WANTED 'EM TO COME UP HERE AND PARTICIPATE 'CAUSE IT'S A BIG WIN FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN. IT'S A VERY COMPLEX PROJECT, AND THIS IS PART OF THE TEAM MEMBERS THAT PARTICIPATED IN THAT. THIS IS A 2020 8.5 MILLION STABILIZATION PROJECT THAT WAS MADE POSSIBLE THROUGH DEEP COLLABORATION WITH OUR PARTNER DEPARTMENTS, CONTRACTORS, AND ONGOING COMMUNITY FEEDBACK. SO, LIKE EARLIER, I WANT TO JUST SEE SHOW OF HAND, ANYBODY THAT PARTICIPATED IN PARTICIPATED IN THE PROJECT. PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. PLEASE, [00:10:01] PLEASE, PLEASE. IT TAKES A WHOLE VILLAGE TO DO THIS. YES, THANK YOU. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. CONSTRUCTION WAS EXTRAORDINARILY CHALLENGING, WORKING DIRECTLY IN AN ACTIVE CREEK WITH SHALLOW GROUNDWATER AND UNPREDICTABLE FLOWS TO MEET THE CHALLENGE. AND CUSTOM SYSTEMS WAS DESIGNED THAT MANAGED THE WATER ONSITE AND KEPT THE CONSTRUCTION AREA DRY SUBSTANTIALLY SU SUSTAINABILITY OF IN THE ENVIRONMENT WHERE SHARED PRIORITIES. THROUGHOUT THIS PROJECT, WE IMPLEMENTED A RIGOROUS CARE OF SURFACE WATER PLANT THAT RELOCATED OVER A HUNDRED FISH AND TURTLES BEFORE CONSTRUCTION. SPEAKING OF TURTLES, THROUGH STRONG OVERSIGHT AND EFFECTIVE COST CONTROL AND PLANNING, I'M PROUD TO SHARE THAT AUSTIN CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES COMPLETED THIS SPRAWLING COMPLEX PROJECT UNDER BUDGET. I'M GONNA REPEAT THAT UNDER BUDGET. FINALLY, I WANT TO THANK OUR PARTNERS. I'M SORRY, WHAT'D YOU SAY? UNDER BUDGET . FINALLY, I WANT TO THANK OUR PARTNERS AT AUSTIN WATERSHED PROTECTION. OH, I'M REPEATING MYSELF, AUSTIN PARKS AND REC'S DEPARTMENT, OUR CONTRACTOR, OUR COMMUNITY, AND FOR HELPING US DELIVER A RESILIENT AND PHYSICALLY RESPONSIBLE PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT FOR THE CITY. TOPPED OFF WITH BEAUTIFUL PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE THAT FOLKS WILL BE ABLE TO ENJOY FOR THE GENERATIONS TO COME. AND WITH THIS, I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND, UM, JORGE TOOK MY COMMENTS. OH, THOSE ARE YOUR COMMENTS, . WE'LL, LET'S DO HEAR AGAIN. COME READ MY COMMENTS. SO I'M GONNA INVITE OUR FRIEND ERIC BAILEY FROM CAPITAL DELIVERY TO READ MY COMMENTS FOR YOU, . UH, WELL, UM, YOU KNOW, MY NAME IS ERIC BAILEY. I'M THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES. AND, UM, I JUST WANTED TO EXTEND, YOU KNOW, MY THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO'S HERE TODAY, MAYOR CONGRESSMAN JORGE, UH, RICHARD, EVERYONE WHO'S MADE IT OUT AS WELL AS THE PROJECT TEAM. THESE ARE THE FOLKS THAT DESERVE THE REAL CREDIT FOR DELIVERING THIS, AS JORGE MENTIONED, UNDER BUDGET, WHICH IS AMAZING. YOU NEVER HEAR ABOUT CITY PROJECTS UNDER BUDGET. SO THAT'S A REAL, UH, REAL ACCOMPLISHMENT FOR US HERE. SO, JUST A QUICK BACKGROUND. CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES IS THE DEPARTMENT THAT'S RESPONSIBLE FOR MANAGING THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE CITY'S CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE. WE PARTNER WITH OUR, UH, COWORKERS IN WATERSHED AND TRANSPORTATION, PUBLIC WORKS TO DELIVER PROJECTS LIKE THIS FOR THE COMMUNITY THAT HAVE ALL THE BENEFITS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN MENTIONED ABOUT THE RECONNECTION OF, UH, THE PARK PROPERTY HERE, AS WELL AS IMPROVING THE URBAN TRAIL SYSTEM THROUGHOUT THE CITY. SO, AS YOU'VE ALREADY MENTIONED, CONSTRUCTION HERE, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, WAS AN EXTREMELY CHALLENGING PROJECT. THE SOILS UNDERNEATH WERE VERY SANDY MATERIAL, A LOT OF WATER, A LOT OF GROUNDWATER IN THERE. AND I WANTED TO ESPECIALLY GIVE A GREAT SHOUT OUT TO OUR CONTRACTOR AT BASILICO CIVIL, WHO DID A LOT OF THE WORK AND REALLY WAS A GREAT PARTNER WITH US, UM, ON THIS PROJECT. SO A QUICK ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR THEM. THEY DID A GREAT JOB. SO, AGAIN, UM, I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU TO EVERYONE INVOLVED IN THE PROJECT. APPRECIATE EVERYONE COMING OUT TODAY. AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE FOLKS WALKING AND BIKING BEHIND US, THIS IS ALREADY BEING USED BY PEOPLE ACROSS THE CITY TO IMPROVE THEIR MULTI-MODAL CONNECTION AND, UH, ENJOY THE GREAT PARKS, UH, AND FACILITIES WE HAVE HERE. SO WITH THAT, WE'LL GET ONTO THE RIBBON CUTTING. SO THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH. GOOD. * 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.