[CALL TO ORDER]
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ADVISORY TASK FORCE ON THIS MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23RD, 2026 AT 2 0 3.
NICOLE, WILL YOU PLEASE CALL US TO ORDER? I MEAN, WILL YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLE? SURE.
CAN YOU HEAR ME? BEN? JUST A REMINDER TO THE TASK FORCE MEMBERS ONLINE, PLEASE TURN YOUR CAMERAS ON.
IS KABA MUTED? WHO'S MUTED IS KABA.
CAN I HAVE YOU TEST, TEST YOUR MIC FOR ME REAL QUICK? HMM.
CAN I HAVE YOU TRY ONE MORE TIME? I THINK THE PROBLEM IS OUR, IT'S NOT THEIRS.
CAN I HAVE YOUR TRY ONE MORE TIME PLEASE.
WE'RE JUST, WE'RE NOT ABLE TO HEAR YOU IN THE ROOM, SO BEAR WITH US FOR A MOMENT.
[PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL ]
WITH THE PUBLIC COMMUNICATION WHILE WE'RE WAITING FOR THE, IS THAT OKAY FROM THE AUDIO GROUP? ARE YOU GOOD WITH THAT? OKAY.FOR SOMEONE TO COME UP, CAN YOU RAISE YOUR HAND ONLINE? AT LEAST IF YOU CAN HEAR THE ROOM.
SO THEY CAN HEAR THE PRESENT, THE, THE FOLKS.
LET'S GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED WITH THAT.
WE'LL GET STARTED WITH OUR REMOTE SPEAKERS.
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SURE.WE HAVE MEL LEBLANC, VINCENT WARWICK, AND AMY CHILA.
ARE YOU READY? JUST SAY YOUR NAME.
UH, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME AGAIN.
SO, UM, SO THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME COME HERE TO SPEAK AGAIN.
AND I WANTED TO REITERATE SOME OF THE SAME THINGS I SAID LAST TIME.
YOU KNOW, THERE'S AN AFFORDABILITY CRISIS.
THERE IS A HOUSING CRISIS IN OUR CITY, AND I AM RE-ASKING THAT THE TASK FORCE RECOMMEND FUNDING FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING, SPECIFICALLY THOSE 30 ZERO TO 30% FI UNITS, THOSE PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING UNITS, AND THEN, UM, FOR SHELTER.
SO LAST TIME I TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS, AND I'M GONNA DELVE A LITTLE DEEPER.
UM, I TALKED ABOUT HOW IN 2017 THE CITY COMMITTED TO BUILDING 20,000 ZERO TO 30% MFI UNITS AND HOW THEY'VE ONLY BUILT 426.
THEY'VE USED A LOT OF BOND MONEY TO DO THIS.
SO I ALSO WANTED TO POINT OUT SOME OTHER NUMBERS 'CAUSE I FEEL LIKE THE DIFFERENCE IS REALLY STARK.
SO STARTING WITH 120% MFI AND ABOVE, THEY WERE ABLE TO BUILD ALMOST 20,000 UNITS.
UM, AND THEY HAVE BUILT ALMOST 12,000, 80, 80 TO 120%.
MFI, THEY BUILT ALMOST 13,060 TO 80% MFI.
AND THEN IT REALLY TAPERS OFF FROM THERE BEING, THEY BUILT ALMOST 10,030 TO 60 AND THEN FOUR HUNDRED AND TWENTY SIX ZERO TO 30.
SO I FEEL LIKE WE CAN REALLY SEE THAT THERE'S A DIFFERENCE, UM, IN, IT'S, IT'S, THERE'S AN EQUITABLE DIFFERENCE.
AND THEN THE, THE DISCREPANCY IS REALLY CLEAR.
AND THEN THERE WAS ALSO A GAPS ANALYSIS.
THIS IS THE, THE THING THAT'S DIFFERENT THIS TIME THAT SHOWS THAT THERE'S AN EVEN LARGER GAP THAN 20,000.
SO WE ARE SEEING THE NEED GROW AND GROW THROUGH THE YEARS.
ALMOST 10 YEARS AGO, THEY COULD, THEY SAID THAT THERE WAS A 20,000, UM, UNIT NEED, AND NOW THE NEED IS UP TO 36,000 AND THE NEED FOR, SO THAT'S ZERO TO 30.
THERE'S A A 36,000 UNIT NEED, WHEREAS ON THE FLIP SIDE, THERE IS A 12,000 UNIT NEED FOR 30 TO 50.
SO I FEEL LIKE THIS JUST REALLY SHOWS WHERE THE NEED IS AND, UM, I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF NEEDS IN THE CITY TO BE MET AND THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE ASKING FOR MONEY, BUT THESE DEEPLY AFFORDABLE UNITS CANNOT BE PUT ON THE BACK BURNER ANYMORE.
AND I KNOW HOUSING HAS GOTTEN MONEY IN THE PAST, BUT WE SEE WHERE IT'S BEEN CONCENTRATED.
SO I FEEL LIKE WE REALLY, REALLY NEED TO PRIORITIZE.
AND, UM, YOU'RE GONNA HEAR FROM SOME LEADERS TODAY THAT, I KNOW I'M READING YOU A LOT OF NUMBERS, BUT THESE ARE THE PEOPLE THAT ARE AFFECTED BY THESE NUMBERS.
THAT THERE'S, WHEN YOU HEAR THE NUMBER 426 AND LIKE THE REAL DISCREPANCY, LIKE I FEEL LIKE IT CAN BE EASY TO GET LOST IN THESE AND BE LIKE, OH, THAT REALLY, THAT'S NOT A LOT OF UNITS.
LIKE THAT REALLY STINKS, BUT YOU'RE GONNA HEAR FROM PEOPLE THAT ARE BEING CAUGHT IN THAT CROSSFIRE.
UM, SO AGAIN, I APPRECIATE YOUR TIME.
I KNOW THAT YOU'VE ALL HEARD FROM ME A LOT AND I APPRECIATE YOU GIVING ME THIS SPACE.
UM, AND AGAIN, IN THE 2026 BOND, I'M HOPING THAT YOU GUYS WILL RECOMMEND MONEY FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING, SPECIFICALLY TAILORED TO THOSE DEEPER AFFORDABILITIES, THOSE PSH UNITS, AND THEN TWO, THE MUCH NEEDED SHELTERS.
CHAIR, CAN I, CAN I GET A CLARIFYING QUESTION? SURE.
JUST A CLARIFYING ONE BASED ON WAS THE NUMBERS YOU HAD.
UH, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
NORMALLY WE DON'T HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DIALOGUE DURING PUBLIC COMMENT, BUT THE CLARIFYING QUESTION ON YOUR NUMBERS, IS THAT COMING FROM AUSTIN HOUSING WORKS? YEAH, THE STRATEGIC BLUEPRINT SCORECARD.
AND THEN THE SECOND SET OF NUMBERS I TALKED ABOUT IS FROM, UM, A GAPS ANALYSIS THAT WAS PRESENTED, I THINK EITHER LAST WEEK OR THE WEEK BEFORE.
TIME IS LIKE BLURRING TOGETHER FOR ME, BUT
AND THEN THERE WAS ANOTHER GAPS ANALYSIS PAID FOR BY THE CITY, LIKE A CONTRACTOR TO LOOK AT EVERYTHING AND BE LIKE, HOW MUCH IS ACTUALLY NEEDED? AND IT GREW.
MY NAME IS AMY AND I AM A MEMBER OF VOCAL TEXAS.
TODAY I'M HERE TO ASK THIS TASK FORCE TO RECOMMEND
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FUNDING FOR SHELTERS AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING, ESPECIALLY FOR DEEPLY AFFORDABLE UNITS AND PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING.THIS IS MY FIRST TIME SHARING MY STORY, SO PLEASE BEAR WITH ME.
I'VE BEEN HOMELESS FOR ALMOST FIVE YEARS.
SIX MONTHS AGO I MOVED TO AUSTIN FOR A FRESH START, STILL HAVE FACED THE SAME BARRIERS.
I BECAME HOMELESS WHEN MY HUSBAND OF 29 YEARS PASSED AWAY FROM CANCER.
IN 2021, HIS PASSING TURNED MY LIFE UPSIDE DOWN TOGETHER.
WE OWNED A MOBILE HOME THAT I HAD AND THEN HAD A CALL CENTER JOB, BUT WHEN HE PASSED, I WAS GRIEVING, WHICH LED ME TO LOSE MY JOB DUE TO DEPRESSION AND HAD TO SELL MY HOME DUE TO THE TRAUMA OF HIM PASSING AWAY IN OUR HOME.
AND ON TOP OF THAT, HIS LIFE INSURANCE DID NOT PAY OUT DUE TO AGE.
THIS SHOULD GO WITHOUT SAYING, BUT LOSING A SPOUSE SHOULD NOT LEAD YOU TO HOMELESSNESS.
I'VE BEEN WORKING IN AUSTIN FOR SIX MONTHS AND EVEN STILL CANNOT FIND A PLACE TO LIVE THAT I CAN AFFORD BECAUSE RENT IN AUSTIN IS HIGH.
I FEEL SO HARD TO GET BACK ON MY FEET AFTER WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO ME.
THERE ARE NO SAFE NET SAFETY NETS FOR PEOPLE LIKE ME IN THE CITY.
AND I WANT ALL, I WANT ALL OF YOU TO BE, TO PUT YOURSELF IN MY SHOES AND THINK IF YOU LOST YOUR INCOME OR IF YOU ARE MARRIED AND YOUR SPOUSE LOST THEIR INCOME, WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO AFFORD WHERE YOU LIVE? NOW, DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE ANY OPTIONS WITH LOWER INCOME? BECAUSE MOST PEOPLE, THE ANSWER IS NO.
AGAIN, PLEASE RECOMMEND FUNDING FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND SHELTER IN 2026 BOND.
MY NAME'S VINCENT, AND I'M A MEMBER OF VOCAL TEXAS.
TODAY I'M HERE TO ASK THAT Y'ALL CONSIDER FUNDING FOR SHELTER AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING, SPECIFICALLY FOR DEEPLY AFFORDABLE UNITS AND PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING.
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ME IS I'VE BEEN HOMELESS IN AUSTIN FOR FOUR YEARS.
I'VE BEEN ON HOUSING LIST FOR THE ENTIRE TIME.
I'VE DONE MULTIPLE COORDINATED ASSESSMENTS, AND I'VE BEEN TOLD THAT I'M SCORING TWO LOW FOR IMMEDIATE HOUSING PLACEMENTS.
RIGHT NOW, I'M STAYING AT ONE OF THE CITY SHELTERS AND REALLY TRYING TO GET ON, GET MY OWN PLACE.
BUT SINCE I'M FIGHTING FOR MY DISABILITY, I'M UNABLE TO AFFORD AN APARTMENT.
EVEN IF TOMORROW I GOT MY DISABILITY, IT WOULDN'T BE ENOUGH TO AFFORD A STANDARD APARTMENT IN AUSTIN.
WHEN YOU'RE ON A FIXED INCOME LIKE MYSELF OR PEOPLE ON SOCIAL SECURITY, IT'S EXTREMELY HARD TO FIND ANYWHERE AFFORDABLE TO LIVE IN AUSTIN, LET ALONE MAINTAIN OTHER LIVING EXPENSES.
UP UNTIL NOW, I'VE ASSUMED IT WAS MY CRIMINAL BACKGROUND THAT HAD BARRED ME FROM HOUSING.
BUT NOW I KNOW MY OFFENSES ARE ACTUALLY SUPPO SUPPOSED TO BE ACCEPTED INTO SOME CITY HOUSING, BUT THERE'S NO AVAILABLE UNITS FOR MY INCOME.
I LEARNED THAT THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT HAS ONLY PRODUCED 426 UNITS OF DEEPLY AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
THAT IS NOT ENOUGH FOR THE NEED IN AUSTIN.
AND AT THIS RATE, I WILL NEVER FIND A UNIT.
THE FOCUS OF THESE UNITS NEED TO SHIFT TO ZERO THROUGH 30% MFI UNITS.
HAVING AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNIT WOULD CHANGE MY LIFE.
BEING WITHOUT STABLE HOUSING CAUSES A LOT OF STRESS AND LEADS TO ANXIETY WITH A UNIT, I WOULD BE ABLE TO DO MY ART FREELY, STAY GROUNDED, AND HAVE A PLACE FOR MY SERVICE DOG THAT RIGHT NOW SLEEPS ON THE FLOOR IN THE SHELTER WITH ME AND 20 OTHER PEOPLE IN THE DORM.
PLEASE CONSIDER FUNDING AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND SHELTER.
OKAY, NEXT WE HAVE, UM, JOY CHEVALIER, ENOVIA, JOSEPH AND SCOTT JOHNSON.
I'M JOYCE VALIER AND I AM THE CHAIR OF THE AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY FOOD POLICY BOARD.
AND I AM HERE TO SPEAK VERY QUICKLY ON SOMETHING THAT A COUPLE OF OUR
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MEMBERS HAVE, UH, BROUGHT TO YOU GUYS PRIOR, WHICH IS, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS ON A RESOLUTION THAT WE HAVE PROVIDED, UH, AROUND OUR FOOD PLAN, UH, WHICH IS TO PRESERVE FOR FARMLAND PRESERVATION, UH, INCREASING LOCAL FARMER ACCESS, UH, AND FOOD PRODUCTION FOR OUR, OUR CITY AND REGION.UM, AS MANY OF YOU GUYS KNOW, UH, DUE TO EXTREMELY LIMITED FOOD PRODUCTION, LOCAL PRODUCTION, CENTRAL TEXAS HAS A VERY FRAGILE, UH, FOOD, UH, FOOD SYSTEM.
UM, WE SAW THIS VERY MUCH UNDER COVI AND URI.
UM, IF YOU LOOK AT OUR OWN STATE OF THE, UH, FOOD SYSTEM REPORT ANNUALLY THAT COMES OUT, UM, YOU GUYS ARE PROBABLY AWARE THAT NEARLY, UH, 99.6% OF OUR FARMLAND IN AUSTIN AND ACROSS TRAVIS COUNTY, UM, DOES NOT ACTUALLY PRODUCE ANYTHING.
VERY LITTLE IS PRODUCED HERE ON THAT 0.4%, UH, THAT'S LEFT.
SO MOST OF OUR FOOD COMES IN ON, ON TRUCKS DOWN THE HIGHWAY.
HERE, HERE IN OUR AREA, FARMLAND IS UNDER EXTREME DEVELOPMENT PRESSURE.
AND ONCE IT'S BEEN DEVELOPED, IT DOES NOT COME BACK.
THAT IS, THAT IS PRETTY MUCH IT.
IT WILL ONLY GET MORE EXPENSIVE TO DO THIS, UM, NOT LET, NOT LESS SO.
SO THIS IS THE TIME TO REALLY ACT ON THAT.
THERE'S LESS VIABLE FARMLAND THAT'S EVEN AVAILABLE IN OUR REGION.
AND ACQUISITION COSTS CONTINUE TO RISE AT THE CURRENT RATE OF LOSS, WHICH IS ABOUT 14 TO 16 ACRES A DAY.
UH, ALL FARMLAND IN OUR FIVE COUNTY REGION, UH, WILL BE DEVELOPED BY 2035, WHICH DOES NOT LEAVE A LOT AFTER THAT FOR OUR OWN SUFFICIENCY.
IN ADDITION TO GROWING FOOD FARMLAND MANAGED ACCORDING TO REGENERATIVE PRINCIPLES HAS HUGE POSITIVE IMPACTS OUR CARBON SEQUESTRATION, WATERSHED PROTECTION, WATER FILTRATION, REDUCED FLOODING, UH, AND PROTECTING AND IMPROVING OUR BIODIVERSITY.
UM, WE'VE ALREADY PROVEN, UH, CONSERVATION EASEMENT PROGRAMS AND PARTNERS, UH, DO WORK.
UH, THERE ARE MULTIPLE PROGRAMS IN PLACE AND THIS EFFORT, UM, THAT, UM, WE HAVE BROUGHT UP TO YOU GUYS, UH, WOULD, UH, BUILD ON THESE EXISTING MECHANISMS AND NOT CREATE A NEW ONE.
WE WOULD USE MODELS THAT ARE ALREADY BEING USED TODAY.
WHILE THE CITY HAS SUCCESSFULLY PROTECTED LAND FROM DEVELOPMENT FOR PURPOSES SUCH AS WATER QUALITY HABITAT, AND OPEN SPACE, ABOUT 60,000 ACRES PRESERVED SO FAR, VERY LITTLE FOOD IS ACTUALLY PRODUCED ON THAT, ON THAT LAND.
UH, NOW AS OUR OPPORTUNITY TO APPLY THESE SAME TOOLS TO PRESERVE LAND SPECIFICALLY FOR FOOD PRODUCTION, IF WE LOOK AT LAND THROUGH THAT LENS, FARMERS WILL BE ABLE TO GROW FOOD FOR A COMMUNITY WHILE ALSO ADDRESSING ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL GOALS, UH, PARTICULARLY AROUND, UH, WATERSHED PROTECTION.
YOU READY? IS IT RED ARROW? MM-HMM
I JUST WANTED TO PROVIDE A LITTLE HISTORICAL CONTEXT.
THESE ARE SLIDES THAT I JUST PRESENTED TO CAPITOL METRO IN THEIR MEETING AT NOON TODAY.
MY COMMENT, AS THEY ALWAYS ARE IN THE CONTEXT OF TITLE VI OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964, WHICH PROHIBITS DISCRIMINATION BASED ON RACE, COLOR, AND NATIONAL ORIGIN.
I JUST WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT THE GRAY MAP SHOWS YOU NORTHEAST OF US 180 3, WHERE IT IS INFREQUENT, UNRELIABLE, DISCONNECTED SERVICE.
AND SO I WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT WHEN YOU ARE MAKING DECISIONS TO CONSIDER THAT IT IS INEQUITABLE NORTHEAST OF US.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE MAP ON THE LEFT, IT WAS CREATED IN 2016.
IT WAS APPROXIMATELY $9.9 MILLION INVESTED.
THREE OF THE FIVE ROUTES, HOWEVER, WERE BELOW SERVICE GUIDELINES AND STANDARDS.
WE PAID A CONSULTANT, RUSH CHISHOLM $466,000 FOR THAT ANALYSIS.
BUT CAPITAL METRO UNILATERALLY CREATED THE SOUTHWEST CENTRAL NETWORK.
SO AGAIN, IF YOU LOOK AT THE GRAY MAP, YOU'LL SEE THAT IT IS AN EQUITABLE, AND THESE ARE JUST SOME OF THE SPECIFIC ROUTES THAT WERE IMPACTED.
AND I WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT BLACKS WAIT 60 MINUTES FOR THE BUS IN COLONY PARK AND CRAIG WOOD, THAT'S 10 TIMES LONGER THAN WHITE PEOPLE.
AND IT'S ALSO OUR INNER LINE WITH ROUTE 2 37.
AND THE PEOPLE IN COMMUNITY FIRST VILLAGE WHEELCHAIRS ARE ACTUALLY WAITING TWO HOURS.
I WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THIS IS NORTH LAMAR.
THIS IS THE AREA THAT HAS BEEN ON THE BONDS FOR QUITE
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SOME TIME.THERE WAS A 2010 $90 MILLION BOND MOBILITY BOND, $720 MILLION.
NOVEMBER 8TH, 2016, THERE WERE 37,500 VEHICLES THAT TRAVERSED THIS AREA DAILY.
HOWEVER, WITH UNILATERAL DECISIONS, THE FLEXIBLE FUNDING FRAMEWORK THAT THE STAFF IS GOING TO PUSH, IT MEANS THAT THEY MAKE UNILATERAL DECISIONS.
AND I WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT JANUARY 14TH, 2026, THE AUDITOR ACTUALLY FOUND THAT TEXAS, THAT TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS DOES NOT USE DATA TO INFORM THEIR DECISIONS.
NEXT SLIDE I WANT YOU TO SEE IN REAL TIME, THIS IS A PERSON IN A WHEELCHAIR.
THIS IS, UH, ACTUALLY THE AREA WHERE IMAM ISLAM MOSSAD WAS KILLED JULY 27TH, 2025.
YOU ACTUALLY HAVE TO BE IN THE DITCH TO PUSH THE BUTTON TO CROSS THE STREET.
THIS IS YEAGER IN NORTH LAMAR.
I'M NOT REAL SURE WHAT ELSE TO TELL YOU.
$47.5 MILLION WAS ACTUALLY ALLOCATED FOR SAFE FROST TO SCHOOL.
BUT FOR WHATEVER REASON, THE STAFF CONTINUES TO MAKE UNILATERAL DECISIONS AND THEY HAVE NOT CONSIDERED, NOT YOUR ORDINARY SCHOOL, WHICH IS ACROSS FROM WHERE THIS WHEELCHAIR IS.
THESE ARE JUST A FEW MORE OF THE WHITE VERSUS BLACK DISPARATE IMPACTS THAT ARE CREATED.
CAPITAL METRO'S, TITLE SIX FAIR ANALYSIS, UM, HAS SAID THAT THERE'S NO DISPARATE IMPACT.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'LL ANSWER THEM AT THIS TIME AND WE'LL SPEAK ON A LATER ITEM.
YOU CAN SIT DOWN WHENEVER YOU'RE READY TO PAGE SEVEN.
PAGE SEVEN, WHICH IS THE 2016 BOND 2020.
GOOD AFTERNOON COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
I'M THE LONG TIME ALTERNATE TRANSPORTATION ADVOCATE, UH, INCLUDING CYCLING.
I WAS THE FIRST OR SECOND PERSON THAT CAUSED THAT, CALLED THE CITY'S FIRST, UH, BIKE COORDINATOR RICK WARING IN 1993 AND WORKED WITH HIM.
AND I ALSO AM VERY INVOLVED WITH VISION ZERO.
I'M A FOUNDING MEMBER OF THAT GROUP THAT'S NOW REALLY A CITY DEPARTMENT OR DIVISION, RATHER.
I'M WANTING TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE CHOICES THAT, UH, WERE MADE.
THESE WERE SUGGESTIONS COMING FROM STAFF FROM THE CITY OF BOSTON TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.
I HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO DIG IN ON WHY THEY SUGGESTED THE FUNDING ALLOCATIONS THAT THEY DO ON THIS.
UH, THIS GOES BACK TO THE 2016 BOND.
AND THE REASON WHY I'M DOING THIS IS WE'RE GONNA GO 20 16, 20 20, SORRY.
AND THEN 2026, AS YOU CAN SEE THERE, UH, THE ALLOCATIONS ARE FOR VISION ZERO, BIKEWAYS SIDEWALKS, URBAN TRAILS, ET CETERA.
URBAN TRAILS GOT A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT THAT YEAR, UH, MORE SO AS YOU CAN SEE THAN, THAN BIKEWAYS.
THEN IN 2020, VERY LARGE LARGEMONT AGAIN, URBAN TRAILS RECEIVED A LARGER AMOUNT THAN BIKEWAYS AND, SORRY, I'M HAVING TROUBLE INSIDE HERE.
SO WHAT I, WHAT I WANNA SAY IS SIDEWALKS ARE THE FIRST LINE OF ALLOWING STROLLERS, ALLOWING PEOPLE IN, IN WHEELCHAIRS, ALLOWING PEOPLE WHO CAN'T MOVE ALONG SO WELL, OR MOVE OUT OF THE WAY TO BE PROTECTED IN NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE IT WILL TAKE US DECADES, LITERALLY.
AND FUNDING THAT'S A LOT GREATER THAN WHAT WE THINK WE HAVE OR WHAT WE MAY HAVE TO BUILD OUT SIDEWALKS FOR THE COMMUNITY, FOR THE CITY.
I REALIZE THAT BIKE WAYS, THOSE THAT ARE ON EXISTING URBAN STREETS ARE VALUABLE.
SOMETIMES THEY, THEY HELP PROTECT PEDESTRIANS AS WELL.
IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD, WE HAVE VERY FEW OF THAT, AND WE COULD, WE COULD USE MORE.
SO WHAT I WAS LISTENING TO THE LAST MEETING AND, UM, CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES, ERIC, WAS, WAS SAYING ABOUT THE SCOPE OF BIKEWAYS BEING, BEING LIMITED.
AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE MAP, THESE DO NOT NECESSARILY TAKE PEOPLE FROM ONE PLACE TO AN URBAN CENTER WHERE THEY CAN WORK.
SO THE QUESTION THAT I WOULD ASK IF I WAS ON THE TRANSPORTATION AND ELECTRIFICATION COMMITTEE IS WHAT ARE THE CRITERIA THAT YOU'RE USING? ARE YOU USING, IS IT GONNA REDUCE THE VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED? IS IT GONNA HELP PREVENT CRASHES WITH BICYCLES AND ALL? AND SO OFTENTIMES, URBAN TRAILS ARE CONNECTED TO AN URBAN SOURCE, BUT TAKE YOU INTO NATURE AS WELL.
I'M VERY CLOSE TO THE ONE ON AIRPORT BOULEVARD.
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THAT ONE'S NOT, NOT WELL USED.SO I'D LIKE THIS GROUP AND THE COMMITTEE TO RETHINK WHAT ARE WE DOING? WHAT ARE WE SCREENING FOR WITH THESE CHOICES? ARE THEY GONNA HELP MAKE US SAFER? VISION ZERO.
ARE THEY GONNA HELP REDUCE AIR POLLUTION? AND THERE'S A LOT TO BE SAID FOR THOSE TWO AREAS.
ANDY SMITH, WHENEVER YOU'RE READY.
MR. SMITH, ARE YOU ONLINE? WE CAN MOVE TO THE NEXT PERSON.
CINDY REED, WHENEVER YOU'RE READY.
HI, CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES, MA'AM.
SAME WAY IT DID IN THE EIGHTIES.
ANDY SMITH, WHENEVER YOU'RE READY.
AND JUST WANTED TO SPEAK, UM, IN SUPPORT OF,
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UM, FARMLAND PRESERVATION AS, UM, IN, IN ADDITION TO WHAT JOY SHARED.YEAH, JUST AS A, A REAL UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO DO A COUPLE OF THINGS AT, AT ONE TIME.
UM, YOU KNOW, AS, AS JOY MENTIONED, UH, OUR FOOD SYSTEM IS INCREDIBLY VULNERABLE IN CENTRAL TEXAS.
THERE'S, THERE'S SO LITTLE FOOD THAT IS GROWN LOCALLY AND IT, IT LEAVES US PRETTY VULNERABLE TO, UM, OR IT'S, WE HAVE LOW RESILIENCE IN OUR, IN OUR FOOD SYSTEM.
UM, BUT FARMLAND, UH, PRESERVING FARMLAND ALSO HAS SOME REALLY SIGNIFICANT BENEFITS IN TERMS OF WATERSHED PROTECTION.
UM, OBVIOUSLY PROTECTING OPEN SPACE, UM, CARBON SEQUESTRATION, UM, AND, UM, UH, PREVENTING, UH, RUNOFF AND, AND POLLUTION IN OUR WATERWAYS.
AND SO, UM, WE HAVE, UH, PRESENTED WITH THE, UH, OPEN SPACES WORKING GROUP AND ARE, ARE REALLY, UM, WHERE OUR RECOMMENDATION FROM THE BOARD IS, IS TO HAVE, UH, $15 MILLION, UM, THAT IS, UM, SPENT ON PRESERVING FARMLAND, EITHER THROUGH CONSERVATION EASEMENTS OR, UM, FEE SIMPLE PURCHASE.
UM, THAT, THAT WILL ALSO BENEFIT A LOT OF THE AIMS THAT WATERSHED PROTECTION, UH, AND, AND POTENTIALLY EVEN PARKS HAVE IN, IN PRESERVING SOME OF THAT OPEN SPACE.
UM, AND YEAH, REALLY THE, THE, UM, THE, THE RATE AT WHICH WE'RE LOSING OUR OPEN SPACES, SO CONCERNING, UH, HOW QUICKLY THAT'S HAPPENING.
AND SO THERE'S, THERE'S REALLY NOT A LOT OF TIME TO ACT.
UM, AND, UM, AND THERE'S SIGNIFICANT OPPORTUNITY TO LEVERAGE, UM, THESE FUNDS, UH, WITH SOME FEDERAL DOLLARS, UM, AS WELL, UH, IN TERMS OF CONSERVATION EASEMENTS.
THERE'S, THERE'S SOME FEDERAL FUNDING, UM, THAT, THAT COULD BE ACCESSED, UM, AND, AND LEVERAGED FOR, UM, FOR PROTECTING FARMLAND IN, IN THE AREA.
SO, UH, JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THAT AND HAPPY TO, HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
UM, AND, AND REALLY THANKFUL FOR THE TIME THAT, AND CONSIDERATION THAT YOU ALL ARE PUTTING INTO THIS IMPORTANT TOPIC.
AND OUR NEXT PIZZA SPEAKER, IF IT COULD BE THE PERSON WITH THE PHONE NUMBER, SIX ONE NINE.
WHENEVER YOU'RE READY, JUST STATE YOUR NAME.
WELL, IF THEY CALL BACK IN, JUST LET US KNOW AND WE'LL, WE'LL BREAK.
DOES THAT COMPLETE THE PUBLIC COMMUNICATION? YES.
[1. Approve the minutes of the 2026 Bond Election Advisory Task Force Regular Called meeting on February 09, 2026. ]
ONE, APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE 2026 BOND ELECTION ADVISORY TASK FORCE, REGULAR CALL MEETING ON FEBRUARY 9TH, 2026.YOU RECEIVED THE MIN THE MINUTES, UH, FROM THE EMAIL LAST WEEK.
I WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.
ANY DISCUSSION ON THE MINUTES ONLINE? RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU'D LIKE TO DISCUSS THE MINUTES.
HEARING NOTHING ALL IN FA DISCUSS
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT Y'ALL CAN HEAR US BEFORE WE PROCEED WITH THE MEETING.
ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.
PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND AND LEAVE IT UP SO THAT NICOLE CAN COUNT YOU.
ANY OPPOSED, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND.
ARE YOU ABSTAINING, DONALD? UH, YES.
[2. Staff briefing regarding Initial Draft Recommendation. Presentation by Eric Bailey, Deputy Director, Marcus Hammer, Assistant Director, Austin Capital Delivery Services and Chandler Runnells, Business Process Specialist, Austin Capital Delivery Services. ]
NUMBER TWO, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A STAFF BRIEFING REGARDING THE INITIAL DRAFT RECOMMENDATION.AND WE HAD, UH, MS. JOSEPH SIGN UP TO SPEAK ON BEHALF OF ITEM TWO.
I DUNNO IF SHE'S STILL, SHE'S WHATEVER YOU'D LIKE.
I, FOR THE PRESENTATION BECAUSE IT WASN'T POSTED ONLINE.
ERIC, MARCUS, GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR.
HOW ARE YOU GUYS? FELLOW MEMBERS OF THE TASK FORCE? GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN.
FIRST AND FOREMOST, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, JUST FOR THE RECORD, MY NAME'S MARCUS HAMMER AND I'M THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF CAPITAL
[00:35:01]
DELIVERY SERVICES TO MY RIGHT AND SIDEKICK IS CHANDLER RES.SHE'S BEEN A BIG HELP IN HELPING US DEVELOP THE, THE, THE 2026 BOND PROGRAM, INITIAL DRAFT RECOMMENDATION.
AND OF COURSE, YOU'LL KNOW ERIC BAILEY, OUR DEPUTY DIRECTOR WITH CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES.
UM, WE'RE HERE TODAY JUST TO KIND OF WALK THROUGH WHAT YOU GUYS HAD REQUESTED, JUST KIND OF TALK THROUGH THAT INITIAL DRAFT.
HOW DID WE GET THERE? UM, WHAT WERE WE LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, TO KIND OF LIKE START TO CUT THE PIE AND KIND OF GET TO THAT POINT.
SO FROM THAT STANDPOINT, I, I THINK THE FIRST THING THAT I REALLY WANT TO DO IS, I THINK WHAT I REALLY WANNA DO IS JUST THANK THE BTF FOR, FOR OF COURSE YOUR CONTINUED EFFORT AND WORK, RIGHT? UH, FROM A DEPARTMENT THAT'S BEEN LEADING THIS PROCESS.
YOU KNOW, WE UNDERSTAND THE AMOUNT OF TIME AND EFFORT AND WORK THAT YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN CONTRIBUTING.
SO OVER THE LAST 16 MONTHS, YOU GUYS HAVE PROBABLY HAD CLOSE TO 16 MEETINGS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
NOW, PROBABLY PUT IN CLOSE TO 30 HOURS, PROBABLY JUST IN B TIFF MEETINGS ALONE, NOT OUTSTANDING.
YOUR WORKING GROUP MEETINGS AND THINGS THAT HAVE GONE ON ON TOP OF THAT, WHICH WAS ANOTHER 50 OR PLUS MEETING.
SO, UM, CAN BE VERY TIME CONSUMING.
A LOT OF COLLABORATION AND COORDINATION GOES INTO JUST PUTTING THOSE MEETINGS TOGETHER AND GETTING IN A ROOM AND HAVING THESE BIGGER CONVERSATIONS.
SO AGAIN, WE APPRECIATE THIS, ALL OF THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING AS WELL BEHIND THE SCENES TO COME UP WITH YOUR INITIAL RECOMMENDATION AS WELL.
UM, OUTSIDE OF THAT, UM, THIS IS REALLY KIND OF WHERE WE'RE GOING.
YOU KNOW, WE'VE SORT OF LIVED THIS KIND OF PROCESS TOGETHER OVER THE LAST, THIS IS, YOU KNOW, FROM US, WE STARTED IN JUNE OF 2024, SO WE'RE PROBABLY 18 MONTHS INTO THIS PROCESS AS WELL NOW.
SO WE HAD THAT INITIAL CALL FOR PROJECT WITH THE CITY DEPARTMENTS, UM, WHICH KIND OF LED INTO A PARALLEL EFFORT OF WORKING WITH THOSE DEPARTMENTS TO CREATE THEIR GUIDING PRINCIPLES.
TALK ABOUT A LITTLE BIT THEIR CRITERIA, HOW COULD THEY START WORKING ON A SCORING MATRIX TO INDEPENDENTLY SCORE THEIR PROJECTS.
ONCE WE HAD THAT $10.4 BILLION LIST, HOW DO WE START TO GET THAT SHORT LIST THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THAT ULTIMATELY REACHED $3.9 MILLION BILLION? SO, UM, OUTSIDE OF THAT, YOU KNOW, THE BTF WAS CREATED IN 2024.
SO AGAIN, LIKE WE WERE SAYING ROUGHLY 16 MONTHS AGO, YOU GUYS HAVE KIND OF REALLY STARTED TO COME TOGETHER AND START WORKING THROUGH THE SIMILAR PROCESS THAT WE HAD BEEN DOING.
UM, BUT WHILE WE DID THAT, OF COURSE WE WERE GOING THROUGH THAT, THAT SCORING THE CRITERIA AND THE MATRIX.
UM, THE DEPARTMENTS CAME TO YOU GUYS HERE, THEY ALSO, UH, PRESENTED THEIR, THEIR CRITERIA.
THEY WANTED TO GET YOUR FEEDBACK TO KIND OF UNDERSTAND IF THEY WERE GOING DOWN THAT RIGHT PATH, UM, TAKING ANY KIND OF INPUT AND FEEDBACK AS THEY WERE DOING THAT.
ULTIMATELY, THEY PUT ALL THAT TOGETHER, UM, AND WE KIND OF, WE KIND OF CAME BACK WITH THAT BIGGER, UM, REDUCED LIST IN JULY, UM, OF THE YEAR, SO OF 2025.
SO A LOT OF WORK WENT INTO THAT JUST FROM THE DEPARTMENT STANDPOINT OF JUST KIND OF CREATING THAT SHORT LIST TO GET US TO A SMALLER LIST TO KIND OF TALK THROUGH.
UM, AND PARALLEL WITH THAT, OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD SEVERAL PUBLIC INPUT SESSIONS.
WE WON'T GO THROUGH ALL THAT, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD THE SUMMARY FINDINGS FROM, UM, FROM NUMBER, OUR FIRST RELEASE OF, OF THE SURVEY THAT P TIFF ACTUALLY LED SOME LISTENING SESSIONS THAT KIND OF WENT THROUGH THERE, UM, AS WELL.
AND THEN OF COURSE, UM, WITH ALL THAT KIND OF PLAYING OUT, UM, OVER THE LAST, UH, YOU KNOW, YEAR AND A HALF OR SO, UH, WE RELEASED INITIAL, UH, RECOMMENDATION IN JANUARY OF 26.
UM, AND THEN FOLLOW THAT UP WITH THAT, JUST, UM, AS YOU GUYS ARE AWARE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE STARTED THOSE FIVE OPEN HOUSES AND THE SURVEY TOO HAS BEEN RELEASED TO KIND OF GATHER A LITTLE BIT MORE INPUT ON THE FEEDBACK OF EXACTLY THAT.
HOW DOES, HOW DOES THE COMMUNITY FEEL ABOUT WHAT WAS RELEASED AS PART OF THAT, THAT INITIAL RECOMMENDATION? SO, UM, IT'S PRETTY SMALL ON THE SCREEN, DIDN'T REALIZE IT'D BE THAT TINY FOR EVERYBODY TO LOOK AT.
BUT, UM, THIS KIND OF GOES BACK, YOU KNOW, WE GET THE QUESTION ALL THE TIME, HOW DID Y'ALL START OFF? LIKE, I'M SURE YOU GUYS GET IN THE COMMUNITY.
HOW DO, HOW DO YOU, HOW DO YOU START OFF TO EVEN CUT THIS PIE, RIGHT? LIKE, HOW DO YOU START TO LOOK AT IT WITH SUCH A SMALL AMOUNT OF MONEY IS WHAT WE HEAR FROM THE COMMUNITY OR FROM DEPARTMENTS A LOT OF TIMES.
AND, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE DID REALLY WAS JUST KIND OF TAKE A HISTORICAL LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, GEO BONDS FROM NOT ONLY THE CITY OF AUSTIN, BUT ACROSS SOME BIG PURE CITIES AS WELL.
SO WE, WE LOOKED AT DALLAS, WE LOOKED AT SAN ANTONIO, UM, JUST FROM A HISTORICAL STANDPOINT, LIKE, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT WAS THE, THE PERCENTAGES THAT THEY WERE LOOKING AT AS FAR AS LIKE, UM, HOW THEY CUT THE PIE, RIGHT? SO, UM, IF YOU LOOK AT AUSTIN, YOU KNOW, EVERY, EVERY CITY REALLY KIND OF HAS ITS OWN STORY.
BUT AUSTIN IN GENERAL, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU HAD 52% THAT WAS GOING TO TRANSPORTATION.
UM, AND THEN THE NEXT BIG PIECE OF AUSTIN WAS AFFORDABLE HOUSING AT 24%.
AND THEN PARKS AND RICK'S KIND OF CAME IN THIRD, UM, WITH 8%.
NOW, AS YOU LOOKED ACROSS DALLAS, YOU COULD SEE THAT THEIR STORY WAS JUST A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT.
THEY HAD STREETS, UM, WAY UP THERE AGAIN, CLOSE TO 50%, NOT QUITE, UM, BUT A MAJORITY OF THEIR DOLLARS WENT TO PARKS AND THEN TO FLOOD.
UM, SO WATERSHED, UM, AND THEN SIMILAR WAS THE EXACT SCENARIO WITH THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
SO MOST TRANSPORTATION, UH, PARKS AND WATERSHED, AND THEN THE OUTSIDE OR THAT REMAINING PORTFOLIO WOULD TYPICALLY GO INTO PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITIES, YOU KNOW, YOUR CULTURAL FACILITIES, UM, AFFORDABLE HOUSING OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT FROM
[00:40:01]
A SMALLER PERSPECTIVE.UM, BUT FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE, THAT'S WHERE WE STARTED OFF WAS JUST LIKE HISTORICALLY, WHAT'S BEEN DONE FROM, FROM A, A GEO BOND PERSPECTIVE.
AGAIN, THIS IS JUST BECAUSE THAT WAS SO SMALL, WE WERE A LITTLE BIT WORRIED ABOUT THAT.
WE WANTED TO PUT AN INDEPENDENT SLIDE OF JUST WHAT WE HAD FROM A CITY OF AUSTIN, UM, GEO BOND HISTORY.
BUT IT MAKES IT A LITTLE BIT SIMPLER TO KIND OF SEE THAT THERE, THAT TRANSPORTATION CLEARLY STANDS OUT.
THEN YOU GET INTO AFFORDABLE HOUSING WITH PARKS KIND OF THE FOLLOWING INTO THIRD, AND THEN YOU HAVE SOME REALLY LOW PERCENTAGES KIND OF FALLING IN FROM THE WATERSHED, WATER QUALITY, PUBLIC SAFETY, AND SOME OF THOSE OTHER FACILITIES WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
UM, SO, UH, JUST FROM A HISTORICAL STANDPOINT, THAT'S REALLY WHAT YOU SEE IF KIND OF LIKE A, A HISTORY OF THE BOND AND, AND THE DOLLARS BEING ALLOCATED.
UM, WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO, UH, CHANDLER AND SHE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OF THE 23 TO 25 HISTORY OF WHAT WE'VE BEEN SEEING IN BOND ELECTION DATA AS WELL.
SO WE LOOKED AT THE PAST THREE YEARS, UM, AND AS YOU CAN SEE FOR 2023 AND 2024, THERE'S ABOUT AN AVERAGE OF 95% PASSED WITHIN THOSE BONDS.
AND THEN IT TOOK A 65% REDUCTION THE THIS PAST NOVEMBER.
SO OUT OF THE BOND PROPOSITIONS, WE FOUND THAT STREET SIDEWALK AND DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENTS HAD ABOUT A 70% SUCCESS RATE, WHICH SHOWED US THAT EVEN IN A CHALLENGING ELECTORAL YEAR, TRADITIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS WERE STILL POPULAR WITH VOTERS AND NEW FACILITIES WERE THE MOST LIKELY TO FAIL.
CHANDLER, WHAT, WHAT, WHO, WHAT DATA IS THIS? SO IT'S WITH, THIS IS NOT JUST AUSTIN, RIGHT? THIS IS, THIS IS, UM, ALL, ALL OF TEXAS CITIES AND TOWNS.
YOU, UM, AND IT WAS BY, I'M PROBABLY GOING TO BUTCHER THE NAME, BUT, UH, CABRIA CAPITAL MARKETS WAS THE THANK YOU BEHIND THE DATA HERE.
AND THEN WE WENT AND MOVED INTO OUR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES BASED ON THE PEER CITY ANALYSIS, BOND HISTORY, AND RECENT TEXAS MUNICIPAL BOND ELECTIONS.
SO OUR STRATEGIC APPROACH TO THE 2026 BOND PROGRAM FOCUSED ON CRITICALITY, READINESS, COST IMPLICATIONS, TIMELINESS, LEVERAGING, UH, MONIES AND INCREASING INVESTMENT.
SO THE PROJECT REVIEW BOARD IS THE NEXT BIG STEP, WHICH WAS COMPOSED OF SPONSORING DEPARTMENTS AND SEVERAL SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS.
WE WENT THROUGH EACH PROJECT AND PROGRAM OVER 120 OF THEM USING A RUBRIC BASED ON THE CITY'S STRATEGIC PLAN, CLIMATE GOALS, LEADERSHIP PRIORITIES, PEER CITY RUBRICS, AND INPUT FROM SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS.
THE RESULTING SCORES WERE THEN RANKED AND PUT UNDER ADDITIONAL PRIORITIES AND CONSIDERATIONS.
ONE EXAMPLE BEING O AND M COST.
SO BEAR WITH ME, I'M GOING TO WALK THROUGH QUICKLY FOR EACH SECTION.
UM, SO THE BASELINE CRITERIA ENSURED THE PROJECT AND PROGRAM WAS A LOCAL, STATE, OR FEDERAL REQUIREMENT AND OR WAS AN IMPROVEMENT TO CITY OWNED INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO IT HAD TO ANSWER YES TO ONE OF THOSE TWO REQUIREMENTS BEFORE IT WOULD MOVE ON DOWN THE SCORING RUBRIC.
SO THEN THE STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT EVALUATED THE DEGREE IN WHICH THE PROGRAM OR PROJECT ALIGNED WITH THE CITY'S STRATEGIC PLAN CRITICAL ASSET EVALUATED, EVALUATED WHETHER THE ABSENCE OF THE PROJECT OR PROGRAM WOULD POSE A RISK TO THE COMMUNITY.
AND WHETHER ITS IMPLEMENTATION IS INTENDED TO REDUCE RISK, MANY CONSIDERATION EVALUATED HOW THE PROJECT PROGRAM WOULD IMPACT THE TARGETED COMMUNITY, HOW IT MIGHT HAVE UNINTENDED RISKS OR IMPACT, ITS ACCESSIBILITY.
WHAT WAS THE LEVEL OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND THE CONSIDERATION OF HISTORICAL INVESTMENT TO THAT AREA OR COMMUNITY EFFICIENCY EVALUATED THE LEVEL TO WHICH THE PROGRAM OR PROJECT LEVERAGES PARTNERSHIPS AND EXTERNAL FUNDING STREAMLINES OPERATIONS AND ENSURES LONG-TERM FINANCIAL AND RESOURCE SUSTAINABILITY.
TIMELINESS AND READINESS MEASURED THE PLANNING AND PROGRESS OF THE PROGRAM OR PROJECT TO ENSURE A SIX, A SIX YEAR COMPLETION TIMELINE.
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, CLIMATE RESILIENCE EVALUATED THE PROJECT AND PROGRAM'S RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGIES.
AND FINALLY, YOU KNOW, AS WE, WE'VE TALKED QUITE A BIT ABOUT THIS AS WELL.
UH, WE DID TAKE A, A LOOK HISTORICALLY AT THE PREVIOUS BONDS AND THEIR SPEND.
UM, THAT WAS A BIG PIECE OF THIS JUST LOOKING BACK AT THAT AND ENSURING THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT DEPARTMENTS REALLY NEEDED THE FUNDING KIND OF COMING UP.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE, YOU KNOW, WE DID REDUCE HISTORICALLY WHAT TRANSPORTATION WOULD RECEIVE, UM, DOWN TO 37%, UM, AFFORDABLE HOUSING ENDED UP WITH, UM, $0 IN THIS BOND CYCLE.
UM, BUT WE DID HAVE A, A BIG INCREASE THEN KIND OF MOVING THOSE DOLLARS FROM THE TRANSPORTATION PIECE OVER TO PARKS AND RECS AND OVER TO WATERSHED.
[00:45:01]
THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT REALLY KIND OF STAND OUT, UM, AS YOU LOOK THROUGH THAT FROM OUR, OUR INITIAL RECOMMENDATION.UM, AND THEN AS WE MOVE INTO THE NEXT SLIDE, AGAIN, THIS IS, THIS HAS COME OUT IN THE MEMO TO MAYOR AND COUNCIL AS WELL, BUT THIS IS JUST THAT INITIAL DRAFT RECOMMENDATION SLIDE OR, OR I GUESS, UM, SUMMARY THAT YOU'VE SEEN WITH TRANSPORTATION AT 36% PARKS AT 20%.
WE HAVE WATERSHED AT 22, SORRY, THIS IS PRETTY TINY FOR MY AS WELL HERE.
COMMUNITY FACILITIES LOOKS LIKE IT'S, WE'RE AT EIGHT AND PUBLIC SAFETY IS AT 12%.
SO, UM, THAT'S, BUT THAT'S NOT ANYTHING NEW THAT'S KIND OF BEEN OUT THERE.
UH, JUST KIND OF A HIGH LEVEL THAT THAT WAS THE INITIAL DRAFT RECOMMENDATION.
UM, OUTSIDE OF THAT, ONE OF THE BIGGER THINGS THAT WE DID ALSO LOOK AT WAS SORT OF A ROUGH PROPORTIONALITY.
WE WANTED TO ENSURE THAT EACH COUNCIL DISTRICT DID HAVE A SIGNIFICANT PROJECT OR, OR, OR WITHIN, ITS WITHIN ITS OWN DISTRICT.
SO THIS IS A, A SMALL BREAKOUT OF WHAT YOU'RE SEEING, BUT IN TOTAL WE HAD, UM, NAMED OR EXAMPLE PROJECTS COMING OUT TO ROUGHLY 300 MILLION OR 43% OF KIND OF HOW THE PIE WAS CUT WITH THE CITYWIDE PROGRAMMATIC BUCKETS BEING ROUGHLY 400, UM, MILLION OR 57% OF IT.
UM, AND THEN OUTSIDE OF THAT, YOU KNOW, WE DO HAVE A FEW NEXT STEPS THAT ARE COMING UP.
UM, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO KIND OF TALK ABOUT EVEN JUST SOME OF THIS AT A HIGHER LEVEL.
YOU KNOW, TO DATE WE'VE PROBABLY AS CITY STAFF GONE WELL OVER 550, UH, MEETINGS NOT ONLY WITH BIF THE COMMUNITY INTERNAL WITH STAFF DEPARTMENTS.
UM, SO WE'VE PUT A NUMBER OF HOURS, UM, INTO THIS PROCESS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS INITIAL STAFF RECOMMENDATION.
AND THEN KIND OF MOVING FORWARD, THESE ARE KIND OF OUR BIGGER NEXT STEPS THAT WE REALLY HAVE IS REALLY WRAPPING UP OUR PHASE TWO SURVEY, GETTING MORE COMMUNITY INPUT COMING BACK, UH, THE PHASE THREE COMMUNITY INPUT OPEN HOUSES, WHICH WE'LL RUN THROUGH BASICALLY THE END OF, UM, FEBRUARY, OR IT'S REALLY NEXT SATURDAY WE HAVE OUR LAST ONE.
UM, AND THEN AGAIN, YOU KNOW, I THINK, UH, PART OF THE BIGGER CONVERSATION THAT'S GONNA BE COMING UP AS WELL IS CITY COUNCIL WILL BE TAKING UP THAT, UH, DECISION TREE CONVERSATION AT THE FEBRUARY 26TH MEETING.
SO NEXT WEEK WE'LL HEAR A LITTLE BIT BIT MORE ABOUT THAT'S THIS WEEK.
YEAH, SOUNDS FLYING WHEN YOU'RE HAVING FUN.
YEAH, THREE DAYS WE GET TO HEAR A LITTLE BIT MORE.
UM, BUT OUTSIDE OF THAT, I THINK THE BIG THING REALLY IS THE VT IS GONNA BE REALLY WORKING THROUGH THEIR INITIAL RECOMMENDATION AND KIND OF COMING UP WITH THAT OVER THE NEXT MONTH AND A HALF.
AND THAT'LL BE COMING UP TO, TO TO MAYOR ON MAY 4TH, UM, WITH BIGGER PIECES OF THE CONVERSATION, KIND OF WRAPPING UP WITH A FINAL STAFF RECOMMENDATION ON MAY 8TH, UM, WITH SOME COUNCIL WORK SESSIONS COMING UP TOWARDS THE, THE MIDDLE END OF MAY.
UM, AND THEN OF COURSE, CITY COUNCIL WOULD HAVE TO CALL FOR THAT, THAT FINAL ORDINANCE TO CALL A BOND ELECTION AND SET THAT BALLOT SOMEWHERE BETWEEN, UM, AUGUST THE SIXTH THROUGH THE 17TH.
THERE'S A COUPLE DATES THAT COULD BE AVAILABLE.
UM, AND IF THEY SO CHOOSE TO DO THAT, WE WOULD HAVE THE BOND ELECTION ON NOVEMBER THE THIRD, UM, IN 2026.
AND WITH THAT, THAT IS STAFF'S PRESENTATION AND WE'RE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU GUYS MAY HAVE.
I KNOW NICOLE HAS ALREADY RAISED HER HAND A LITTLE, BUT WE'LL GO AROUND THE ROOM STARTING WITH NICOLE.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION AND THE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
I JUST HAD ONE CLARIFICATION ON, ON THE BONDS, WAS IT BONDS CARRIED BY PROPOSITION OR VOLUME? UM, I'M, I'M CHECKING.
SO I WOULD ALSO SUGGEST THAT YOU UTILIZE THE MUNICIPAL ADVISORY COUNCIL OF TEXAS WEBSITE.
THEY HAVE EVERYTHING BOND RELATED AS WELL AS BOND RELATION, BOND ELECTION DATA TO SORT OF REINFORCE SOME OF YOUR DATA AND SUPPORT.
UM, BUT I WANTED TO KNOW SPECIFICALLY WAS THAT BONDS CARRIED OR PROPOSITION BY VOLUME, THE 29% AND DO YOU HAVE ANY INSIGHTS WHY THE APPROVALS FELL OFF SO DRAMATICALLY FROM, UM, THE PREVIOUS YEAR TO 2025 NOVEMBER ELECTIONS? SO IT WAS BASED ON THE 29% WAS BASED ON THE PROPOSITIONS, CARRIED PROPOSITIONS, NOT BASED ON, UM, MONIES, UH, JUST BECAUSE IT WAS EASIER TO GO BY PROPOSITION AND FOCUS ON THE CRITICALITY AND WHAT KIND OF PROJECTS WERE BEING PASSED BECAUSE THAT WAS OUR MAIN FOCUS IN LOOKING AT THIS DATA.
UM, AND WHAT WAS THE SECOND PART OF YOUR, ANY INSIGHTS ON WHAT DRAMATIC DROP OFF IN APPROVAL RATINGS BY PROPOSITIONS FOR CITIES? UM, I KNOW IT'S BEEN DIFFICULT TO, YOU KNOW, BOND ELECTIONS ARE GETTING MUCH MORE DIFFICULT TO PASS.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE FAR FROM SORT OF THE 90%, 80 PER EVEN FOR SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
UM, AND SO JUST WONDERING IF THE CITY HAS ANY INSIGHTS ON WHY THERE WAS SUCH A DRAMATIC FALL OFF SUPPORT IN APPROVAL OF CITY BOND PROPOSITIONS? YEAH, THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY BEYOND OUR, UH, EXPERTISE LEVEL, TO BE PERFECTLY HONEST WITH YOU.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE UP HERE ARE REALLY INVOLVED IN CAPITAL PROJECT DELIVERY, THE POLITICAL SIDE OF THINGS.
UM, WE LEAVE THAT TO, TO OTHER FOLKS TO, TO TACKLE THAT, THE WHERES AND WHYS OF THINGS THAT DID OR DID NOT PASS.
SO ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, NICOLE? OKAY, RICH,
[00:50:02]
ACTUALLY THAT'S JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE, UM, TO, TO TASK FORCE MEMBER CONLEY.SO THERE HAS BEEN SOME HISTORICAL DATA WHEN YOU GO BACK AND I'LL MAKE SURE I GET IT TO EVERYBODY, BUT LOOKING AT BOND REVIEW, UM, THE BOND REVIEW BOARD DATA RELATING TO PROPOSITIONS OF MUNICIPAL.
SO IT KIND OF, I MEAN, IT, IT JUST MIRRORED THAT EXACT SAME THING AND IT WENT BACK, I THINK 25 OR 30 YEARS.
LAST TIME WE HAD A BIG DIP, IT WASN'T OFF YOUR ELECTION.
UM, WE SIMILAR THE YEAR BEFORE IT WAS, HAD VERY SUCCESSFUL BONDS.
THEN AFTER THE, THE DIP, IT WENT BACK UP UNTIL I THINK 82%.
THIS WAS JUST A PARKS AND RECREATION ANALYSIS, SO IT DIDN'T CARRY IN EVERYBODY ELSE.
PARKS AND RECREATION WAS AT 32% LAST YEAR, NOVEMBER.
SO, UM, IT WAS JUST, I THINK IT WAS JUST HOW OFF YOUR ELECTION BEING A COMPONENT BUT NOT THE ONLY COMPONENT AND WHATEVER ELSE WAS HAPPENING IN THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENT, STATE ENVIRONMENT SEEMED TO BE AT PLAY.
BUT I'M HAPPY TO SHARE, UM, THE RAW DATA WITH EVERYBODY.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS IN THE ROOM, DAVE? WELL, ONE, ONE POINT TO MAKE IS THAT IN SOME OF THOSE CATEGORIES, YOU DO HAVE LARGE AMOUNTS OF PARTNERSHIP.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, WITH THE CULTURAL ENTITIES, THERE ARE FRIENDS OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT CHIP IN A LOT, BUT WITH TRANSPORTATION IT'S ALL CITY.
SO YOU'RE LOOKING AT JUST WHAT THE CITY CONTRIBUTED, BUT THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY THE WORTH OF THE PROJECTS AND SOMETIMES THE CITY IS NEEDED FOR THE GAP FINANCING.
SO IT'S NOT, EVERYTHING'S NOT THE SAME IN THESE CATEGORIES AS MY POINT CHAC.
JUST A COMMENT, SINCE MARCUS'S PRESENTATION WAS BIG ON PROCESS, I'M NOT SURE, UH, MARCUS, WHETHER YOU MENTIONED THIS AND I MISSED IT, BUT THERE IS AN UPCOMING MEETING THURSDAY OF THE CITY COUNCIL WHERE THEY'RE GONNA BE DISCUSSING A BOND DECISION TREE FRAMEWORK THAT IF YOU DIVE INTO IT LARGELY MIRRORS A LOT OF THE VALUES AND RECOMMENDATIONS COMING OUT OF THIS BODY, BUT ALSO THERE'S SOME ITEMS IN THERE THAT ARE NOT PART OF OUR CONSIDERATION AND MAY EVEN BE INTENTION WITH SOME OF THE THINGS WE'RE TRYING TO DO.
SO I'D ENCOURAGE YOU ALL TO LOOK AT THAT AND SPEAK WITH YOUR POINTERS BEFORE THURSDAY.
ANYBODY ON LIKE,
UM, AND APOLOGIES, IS THIS THE, UM, RIGHT TIME TO ASK ABOUT AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND WHY IT WASN'T IN THERE? YES, PLEASE DO.
I'M ASKING, I I THOUGHT THAT WAS GONNA BE PART OF THE PRESENTATION.
CAN, CAN SOMEBODY SPEAK TO, UM, WHAT THE PLAN IS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING, IF NOT IN THE BOND? YEP.
I, SO THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING AMOUNT IN THERE OBVIOUSLY WAS, WAS NOT RECOMMENDED.
UM, THAT'S DUE ON A COUPLE, UM, PIECES FROM OUR SIDE IN TERMS OF THE FUNDING THAT IS STILL AVAILABLE FROM PAST BOND ELECTIONS, UH, FOR THOSE PROJECTS AS THEY MOVE FORWARD.
UM, BUT THEN ALSO, UM, IN GENERAL, UH, THE CITY IS, IS EVALUATING HOW WE FUND AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND HOW THAT, UH, UH, MOVES FORWARD.
SO, UM, THERE'S A LOT AT PLAY THERE AND STUFF THAT WE DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE A WINDOW INTO.
UM, IN TERMS OF THOSE PROGRAMS AND MOVING FORWARD, UM, THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING I THINK THAT, UM, THE HOUSING, UH, STAFF CAN, CAN SPEAK TO IN TERMS OF WHAT THE PLAN IS AND HOW THOSE PROGRAMS, UM, ARE MOVING FORWARD.
UH, EITHER WITH BOND FUNDING OR WITHOUT BOND FUNDING.
SO AGAIN, I WANNA RE REITERATE THAT THIS IS VERY MUCH AN INITIAL DRAFT RECOMMENDATION.
SOMEONE HAD TO COME THROUGH THE DOOR, UH, REDUCING THE $4 BILLION IN NEED TO 700 MILLION.
UM, AND IT IS VERY MUCH UP FOR DISCUSSION AND INPUT.
THAT'S WHY WE'RE DOING THE CONTINUED, UH, PUBLIC OUTREACH.
YOU KNOW, WHERE DID WE HIT THE MARK? WHERE DID WE MISS THE MARK? IF THERE'S A LOT OF RESPONSE TO THIS SAYING, HEY, YOU NEED TO INCLUDE AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN THAT THIS IS AN ADAPTABLE PLAN THAT CAN CHANGE ACCORDING TO THE RESPONSE AND INPUT FROM PEOPLE THAT COME TO THE, UM, THE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT OPEN HOUSES AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, THIS GROUP AND OTHERS AND THE RECOMMENDATION AND INPUT FROM THIS GROUP AS WELL.
SO, UH, WE HAD THE HONOR AND PRIVILEGE OF CREATING THE INITIAL DRAFT LIST AND THAT'S WHAT WE DO.
UM, I'M JUST, SO YOU MENTIONED A FEW THINGS.
UM, ONE WAS THAT THERE WAS MONEY REMAINING AND THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY IT WASN'T INCLUDED, BUT WE KEEP BEING TOLD THAT ALL THE MONEY THAT'S STILL AVAILABLE HAS ACTUALLY BEEN SPOKEN FOR IN PROJECTS THAT ARE JUST IN PROCESS.
ARE YOU REPRESENTING PERHAPS THAT'S INCORRECT OR, UM, YEAH.
IS THERE SOME NUANCE THERE THAT I I DON'T WORK ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
I AM RELATIVELY UNINFORMED, BUT I DO THINK THAT PEOPLE NEED HOUSING AND I KNOW THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE COME FORWARD, YOU KNOW, EMPHASIZING THIS ISSUE WITH US.
SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I AM, I AM INFORMED MOVING FORWARD.
YEAH, I THINK THE FOLKS THAT ARE ON THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING GROUP WOULD
[00:55:01]
PROBABLY BE BETTER EQUIPPED TO DISCUSS WHAT'S BEEN, UH, DISCUSSED IN, IN THOSE MEETINGS AND PROBABLY HAS A LOT MORE INFORMATION THAN I DO.I CAN TELL YOU THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE WAY THAT WE EVALUATE BOND DOLLARS IS BASED ON EITHER ENCUMBRANCE OR SPEND, WHICH ME ENCUMBRANCES, IS THERE A CONTRACT WRITTEN FOR THAT MONEY OR HAS IT BEEN SPENT? UM, AND SO ALL OF THE MONEY IN THE BOND HAS A PLAN TO SPEND IT.
UM, BUT RIGHT NOW THAT'S THE MAIN, ONE OF THE MAIN EVALUATION CRITERIA IS, IS THERE UNENCUMBERED MONEY THAT'S AVAILABLE THAT HAS NOT BEEN SPENT OR IS NOT TIED UP IN EXISTING CONTRACT.
SO YOU'RE SAYING THERE IS UNENCUMBERED MONEY, CORRECT? THERE'S, I, I DON'T WANNA SAY THE NUMBER 'CAUSE I DON'T KNOW THAT I HAVE IT RIGHT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, BUT IT'S OVER A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS IN UNENCUMBERED MONEY THAT'S IN HOUSING BONDS.
NOW, AS YOU MENTIONED, THERE IS A PLAN TO SPEND IT, BUT AS OF RIGHT NOW, IT IS NOT ENCUMBERED IN A CONTRACT, DAVE, BUT WE, WE SPEND ABOUT BETWEEN 60 AND 80 MILLION A YEAR ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
AND SO WHAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW THAT HASN'T BEEN SPENT WILL BE SPENT PROBABLY BEFORE WE GO TO SPEND ANY OF THE MONEY FROM 2026.
ANYBODY ELSE, RACHEL? YEAH, I MEAN THE, THE, THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT MADE A SPENDING PLAN THAT EACH YEAR THEY WOULD RELEASE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF MONEY TO PUT OUT FOR OUR, YOU KNOW, SO THAT DEVELOPERS CAN COME IN WITH THE PROJECTS AND SAY WITH HOW THEY'RE GONNA SPEND IT.
SO THAT HOUSING PLAN WAS DESIGNED FOR A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF MONEY TO BE ENCUMBERED EACH YEAR.
AND SO WE HAVE NOT REACHED THE END OF THE YEAR YET.
SO THAT MONEY HAS NOT BEEN ENCUMBERED.
THEY HAVE TWO CYCLES THAT PEOPLE APPLY FOR THE FUNDS.
AND SO THE SPENDING PLAN HAS NOT BEEN EXECUTED BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT COME TO THE END OF THE TIME YET.
SO, OR I GUESS MANDY'S GONNA ANSWER THE QUESTION.
UM, MANDY DE MAYO, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF AUSTIN HOUSING, UM, AND JUST TO BUILD ON WHAT RACHEL SAID, UM, AUSTIN HOUSING HAS THE PRIVILEGE OF ADMINISTERING THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING BONDS.
THE LAST BOND WAS IN 2022, WHICH WAS 350 MILLION CITY COUNCIL APPROPRIATED ALL 350 MILLION IN THE SPRING OF 2023.
AT THAT TIME, WE CREATED A FIVE YEAR SPEND PLAN, WHICH WOULD HAVE EFFECTIVELY ALIGNED WITH A A 20 26 7 BOND, UH, TIME PERIOD.
AND SO WE DO BUDGET EACH YEAR AND PUT THE MONEY OUT FOR SOLICITATION, UM, THROUGH OUR FOUR DIFFERENT PROGRAMS. UM, WE HAVE TWO OF THEM ARE A SOLICITATION RENTAL HOUSING DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE AND OWNERSHIP HOUSING DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE.
DAVE SULLIVAN ACTUALLY SERVES ON OUR OUTSIDE, UM, ADVISORY BOARD, THE HOUSING INVESTMENT REVIEW COMMITTEE.
WE ALSO HAVE A HOME REPAIR PROGRAM THAT IS CONTRACTS WITH NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.
SO THAT'S AN ONGOING CONTRACTING PROCESS FOR $5 MILLION A YEAR.
AND THEN ACQUISITION AND DEVELOPMENT WHICH BUILDS, UM, ACQUIRES UH, NATURALLY OCCURRING AFFORDABLE HOUSING OR VACANT LAND.
BUT WE'VE PIVOTED TO DEVELOPMENT OF THAT LAND.
UM, SO YES, WE BUDGETED FOR A FIVE YEAR SPEND PLAN.
WE HAVE SUBSEQUENTLY, UH, LOOKED AT OUR FUNDING AND WE, UH, CAN STRETCH THOSE DOLLARS OUT INTO A SIX YEAR SPEND PLAN, WHICH WOULD ALIGN WITH THE 2028 UM, BOND.
BUT, BUT WHAT THAT MEANS IS THOSE ARE FEWER DOLLARS THAT ARE GOING OUT, UM, FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT.
UM, SO THAT IS JUST THE CONSEQUENCE.
UM, ERIC I THINK HAD SAID, UH, ABOUT THE MONEY THAT WE HAVE UNENCUMBERED, WHICH I BELIEVE LAST TIME I LOOKED WAS SOMETHING LIKE 160 ISH MILLION.
UM, AND THAT IS CORRECT, THAT IS UNENCUMBERED AND IT WAS BASED ON THAT FIVE YEAR SPEND PLAN.
YOU ALL WOULDN'T WANT US TO HAVE ENCUMBERED ALL OF THOSE DOLLARS UP FRONT, UH, 'CAUSE THAT WOULD LEAVE US, UH, NOTHING, UM, ON THE BACK END.
SO THE CONCEPT THAT IT'S LIKE THE MONEY IS UNSPENT AS THOUGH IT HAS BEEN UNABLE TO BE SPENT OR WAS SUPPOSED TO BE SPENT IS WHAT CREATES A CLOUD OVER THIS AS OPPOSED TO IT IS BEING SPENT AS DESIGNED.
AND SO IF WE, WE WERE MEANT TO RUN OUT OF MONEY AT THE END OF THE CYCLE AS DESIGNED, AND IF WE DO NOT HAVE MORE MONEY, THEN WE'LL HAVE TO STRETCH THESE DOLLARS LONGER AND PRODUCE LESS HOUSING WITHOUT MORE BONDS.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THAT ITEM OR ANY QUESTIONS FOR STAFF? JC I PLEASE GO AHEAD.
DO YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT HOUSING? WELL, YEAH, I WAS GONNA SAY, WOULD THAT, BASED UPON THAT INFORMATION, WOULD THAT CHANGE HOW CAPITAL LABOR SERVICES WOULD CALCULATE THE PROGRAM IF IT WAS INSTEAD OF MAYBE OBLIGATED, BUT, UM, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE WORD 'CAUSE I, I NOR KNOW THE NORMAL WAY
[01:00:01]
AS FAR AS WHEN YOU'RE, IF YOU'RE ACTUALLY OBLIGATED THE FUNDING ALREADY.BUT I MEAN, JUST KNOWING THAT THERE IS A PLAN ASSOCIATED WITH IT, THAT THAT'S, WE'RE IMPLEMENTING THE EXISTING PLAN BECAUSE RIGHT NOW IT FEELS LIKE A PENALTY THERE, THERE'S A PLAN FOR ALL OF THE BOND DOLLARS THAT ARE CURRENTLY UN UNCOVERED.
SO THAT'S NOT A DIFFERENTIATOR BETWEEN ANY OF THE AVAILABLE FUND, THE FUNDING THAT'S AVAILABLE, ALL OF THEM ARE TIED TO PROJECTS PLANNED TO BE SPENT IN A CERTAIN DURATION OF TIME.
IT DEPENDS ON THE BOND ELECTION AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, AND MAYBE THAT'S THE, THE PART, I WONDER IF IT'S THE DURATION, LIKE THE TIME IN WHICH IT TAKES TO EXPEND THE DOLLARS IF THAT'S LIKE, I'M JUST TRYING TO THINK THROUGH LIKE AS FAR AS WHAT THE CALCULATION, YOU KNOW, COULD BE TO, TO GET IT TIGHTER.
AGAIN, IT WAS, IT'S AN INITIAL DRAFT RECOMMENDATION.
IT'S UP FOR CHANGE AND DISCUSSION AND UH, YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE TODAY, SO, NO, NO AND I APPRECIATE IT.
I'M HONESTLY, THIS IS, Y'ALL ARE IMPORTANT DATA POINT.
I'VE SAID IT BEFORE, CAPITAL LABOR SERVICES, YOU HAVE A LOT OF INFORMATION THAT YOU'RE BRINGING TO THE TABLE AND IT IS JUST A DATA POINT.
AND I KNOW I'VE HAD SOME PEOPLE WHO'D REACH OUT PROBABLY SAME THING TO THE Y'ALL ONCE THE CAPITAL LABOR SERVICES, UM, YOU KNOW, DATA POINT CAME OUT AND I JUST KEPT REFERRING IT TO, YOU KNOW, A DATA POINT RATHER THAN NECESSARILY THE HARD AND FAST RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND IT IS REALLY HELPFUL TO THE, TO THE, THE TASK FORCE.
JUST GOING INTO ERIC'S POINT, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE DON'T TALK ABOUT THIS A LOT, BUT AGAIN, STAFF DID COME IN WITH THE $700 MILLION RECOMMENDATION, UH, THROUGH THE, YOU KNOW, RECENT, UM, I GUESS UPDATES THAT WE GOT THROUGH KIM OLIVER AND THROUGH, UH, FINANCIAL SERVICES.
WE DO KNOW THAT TO KEEP OUR AAA RATING IT'S THE CAP WAS 750 MILLION.
SO AGAIN, WE, WE DO KNOW THOUGH THERE'S, YOU KNOW, 50 MILLION AVAILABLE FUNDING, WHICH ONLY MAKES YOUR JOB HARDER KNOWING THAT THERE'S A FEW MORE SCENARIOS MAYBE TO KIND OF WORK THROUGH AND TALK THROUGH AS WELL.
SO AGAIN, I THINK WE'LL GO BACK TO THAT.
WE DO APPRECIATE EVERYTHING THAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING TO HEAR FROM THE COMMUNITY TO HAVE THESE BIGGER, BROADER CONVERSATIONS AND KNOWING, LIKE ERIC SAID, THAT THIS IS JUST THE INITIAL STARTING POINT FOR CONVERSATION TO REALLY GO OUT THROUGH THE PUBLIC AND HAVE THOSE BIGGER CONVERSATIONS.
I'M GONNA TAKE A QUESTION FROM JC AND THEN I'LL GET KABA I SEE YOU ONLINE.
UM, ERIC, SINCE YOU MENTIONED RECEIVING FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY SESSIONS AND THE SURVEY, AND I KNOW WE ARE THE PRIMARY FUNNEL FOR THE COMMUNITY VOICE, BUT WE DID HEAR FROM ONE CALL IN PERSON TODAY AS WELL AS AN EMAIL JUST BEFORE THE MEETING FEELING THAT THEIR, ESPECIALLY THEIR COMMUNITY RECOMMENDED PROJECTS, UM, WEREN'T RECEIVING ENOUGH SCRUTINY THROUGH THOSE PUBLIC PROCESSES.
UM, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE A PLAN TO SORT OF RECEIVE OR SYNTHESIZE ANY OF THAT FEEDBACK GOING FORWARD OR IF YOU HAVE ANY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR US TO DO SO.
'CAUSE IT DOES SEEM LIKE THERE'S A DISCONNECT BETWEEN, ESPECIALLY ON THE SIDE OF NAMED PROJECTS WHERE PEOPLE ARE REALLY WANTING SPECIFIC THINGS FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD OR SPECIFIC NEW IDEAS THAT HAVEN'T MADE IT THROUGH YOUR PROCESS FOR US TO EVALUATE THOSE AND FOLD THEM INTO WHATEVER OUR RECOMMENDATION IS.
YEAH, SO ALL THE COMMUNITY INPUT, UM, UH, PROJECTS THAT WERE, WERE SUBMITTED, UM, WERE SYNTHESIZED BY CAPITAL LABOR SERVICES BASICALLY TO FIT IN ONE OF THE, THE BUCKETS THAT'S THERE.
THERE WAS ACTUALLY A LOT OF OVERLAP BETWEEN THOSE COMMUNITY IDEAS AND EXISTING PROGRAMS THAT WOULD SOLVE THOSE.
AND SO, UM, WE'VE COMPILED THOSE IN A BIG SPREADSHEET AND HAD DOCUMENTATION ABOUT, HEY, THIS FITS INTO THIS BUCKET OR THIS FITS INTO THIS PART, OR A RESPONSE ABOUT THE VIABILITY OF THE PROJECT THAT WAS SUBMITTED.
UH, FOR A LOT OF THE ONES THAT WERE SUBMITTED, A LOT OF THE LARGER ONES THAT WERE SUBMITTED ARE SUBMITTED ON BEHALF OF OUTSIDE ORGANIZATIONS ON A FACILITY THAT IS NOT A CITY OWNED FACILITY.
UM, WHICH WE WERE, HAVE BEEN DIRECTED TO FOCUS OUR EFFORTS SPECIFICALLY ON THE FACILITY SIDE TO FACILITIES THAT ARE ACTUALLY OWNED BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, I THINK WE ARE OR HAVE COMPILED THAT LIST AND POSTED IT ON THE WEBSITE OR CLOSE TO IT.
UM, SO IF IT'S NOT UP THERE, IT WILL BE UP THERE SHORTLY OF THE SUMMARY OF ALL OF THOSE, UM, UH, SUBMISSIONS AS WELL AS HOW THEY TIE IN WITH THE EXISTING PROGRAMS OR WHAT THE SORT OF OVERALL HIGH LEVEL KIND OF RESPONSE WAS, UH, FROM OUR EVALUATION OF THAT PROJECT.
AND THOSE PROJECTS WERE ON A BOARD AT THE OPEN HOUSE.
YEAH, SO THEY WERE LISTED IN A SUMMARY FORMAT ON THE BOARD OF THE WEB AT, AT THE, UH, OPEN HOUSE.
YOU CAN SEE KIND OF WHERE THEY FALL IN A HIGH LEVEL ORGANIZATION.
WE DIDN'T LIST EACH INDIVIDUAL PROJECT 'CAUSE I THINK THERE WAS SOMETHING ON THE ORDER OF 300 PROJECTS THAT WERE SUBMITTED.
SO IF WE DID ALL THAT, IT WOULD BE TAKE UP THE ENTIRE SPACE FOR THE ENTIRE ROOM.
UM, WELL I GUESS IN THE SPIRIT OF GIVING FEEDBACK, UM, I GUESS I'LL SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, I I I JUST HEARD THE, THE COMMENT ABOUT STRETCHING AFFORDABLE HOUSING DOLLARS AND I, I, AGAIN, NOT THE MOST INFORMED, BUT I DON'T UNDERSTAND THE LOGIC BEHIND THAT.
UH, IT DOES SEEM LIKE HOUSING UNIT PRODUCED TODAY IS LIKE MORE VALUABLE THAN ONE PRODUCED IN TWO YEARS.
'CAUSE IT CAN BE HOUSING SOMEBODY SOONER.
[01:05:01]
UM, AND I WOULD SAY THE SAME, YOU KNOW, KIND OF LOGIC APPLIES TO, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING LIKE SIDEWALKS FOR EXAMPLE, WHERE THERE, YOU KNOW, IS SO MUCH NEED.UM, SO I GUESS, YOU KNOW, AS WE'RE MOVING FORWARD, I PERSONALLY LIKE, UM, HOPE THAT THAT ISN'T OUR, ISN'T ISN'T A PREDOMINANT STRATEGY TO LIKE TRY TO STRETCH THE MONEY OUT.
IT'S NOT LIKE, YOU KNOW, CONSERVING ENERGY OR WATER WHERE, YOU KNOW, USING LESS NOW IS BETTER.
UM, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S, IF THERE'S A NEED THAT, UM, IS JUST GONNA BE PUT OFF AND SO THERE'S MORE NEED FOR LONGER.
UH, SO I, YOU KNOW, I WANNA HEAR WHAT THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING GROUP HAS TO SAY THOUGH, BUT I, I JUST, I, I GUESS I'M, MY MIND IS STRUGGLING TO, UM, UNDERSTAND HOW THAT'S THE BEST COURSE FOR THE CITY.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR STAFF ANA? SO I JUST HAVE A QUICK QUESTION REGARDING THE UNENCUMBERED AFFORDABLE HOUSING AMOUNT.
HOW MUCH OF THAT IS TARGETED FOR DEEPLY AFFORDABLE HOUSING? BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE I HEAR THE HUGE GAP IS, IS THAT THERE'S, WHEN WE HEARD THE SPEAKER EARLIER THAT WAS TALKING ABOUT ONLY, WHAT IS IT, 400 AND SOMETHING HOMES OR SOMETHING TO THAT EFFECT OR UNITS.
SO THE QUESTION IS, ARE WE REALLY IMPACTING WHERE THE NEED IS THAT AND WHERE THE MOST VULNERABLE ARE AT? BECAUSE IF IT'S NOT DOING THAT, THEN I CAN SEE WHAT PEOPLE MAY BE FRUSTRATED.
SO, UH, AGAIN, MANDY DE MAYO DEPUTY DIRECTOR AUSTIN HOUSING, A HUNDRED PERCENT OF OUR BOND DOLLARS, IF IT'S RENTAL HOUSING, A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THAT GOES TO HOUSING SERVING PEOPLE AT OR BELOW 50% MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME.
AND FOR OWNERSHIP IT'S 80% MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME.
IN BOTH OF THOSE CASES, WE TRY TO INCENTIVIZE, UH, GOING DEEPER.
SO FOR OWNERSHIP, WE HAVE A LOT OF OWNERSHIP DEVELOPMENTS WHERE WE HAVE, UM, TARGET FAMILIES AT 60% OR BELOW A PORTION AT 60% OR BELOW, BUT OUR LIMIT IS 80%.
FOR RENTAL HOUSING, IT IS 50%.
BUT IF YOU LOOK AT OUR NEW SCORING CRITERIA THAT CAME OUT LAST SUMMER, SO THINGS THAT WE ARE SCORING AND FUNDING THIS YEAR, WE PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INCENTIVE AND WE NEGOTIATE WITH OUR DEVELOPERS TO GET MORE 30% UNITS.
THOSE ARE FOLKS TYPICALLY LIVING ON FIXED INCOMES, UM, LOW WAGE WORKERS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO WE ARE WORKING TO DRIVE THE AFFORDABILITY DEEPER, BUT IN OUR AFFORDABLE HOUSING, AGAIN, OUR SUBSIDY GOES ONLY TO A 50% OR BELOW UNIT.
I GUESS IT, THAT ALSO LEADS TO ANOTHER QUESTION IS FOR THOSE PEOPLE THAT ARE DISPLACED, WHERE THEY WERE LIVING IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING, IT'S THAT PROPERTY'S BOUGHT OUT, DESTROYED, AND THEN PEOPLE ARE FORCED OUT.
UM, WHAT ARE WE, HOW ARE PEOPLE BEING HELPED? SO, OUR DEPARTMENT ADMINISTERS A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT PROGRAMS WITH DIFFERENT FUNDING SOURCES, WITH OUR GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS.
AGAIN, HOME REPAIR WOULD BE ONE OF OUR BIG DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION PROGRAMS. AND OUR GO REPAIR PROGRAM HELPS LOW AND MODERATE INCOME HOMEOWNERS.
SO THAT'S FOLKS UP TO 80% MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME.
BUT TYPICALLY WE SERVE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER, UM, WITH, UH, HOME REPAIR GRANTS UP TO $20,000 TO HELP THOSE FOLKS STAY IN PLACE.
OUR RENTAL HOUSING PROGRAMS, UM, SOMETIMES THEY ARE UTILIZED FOR ACQUISITION OF WHAT WE CALL NATURALLY OCCURRING AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
SO OLDER PROPERTIES THAT SERVE FOLKS WHO ARE AT LOWER INCOME.
SO IT'S FOR ACQUISITION AND PRESERVATION OF THOSE IN OUR NEW CONSTRUCTION PROPERTIES.
UM, WE HAVE SEVERAL, UM, UH, UH, DEVELOPMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN SPEARHEADED BY AUSTIN HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION, SO A SUBSIDIARY OF THE CITY WHERE WE REQUIRE THE USE OF A PREFERENCE POLICY AND THAT PREFERENCE POLICY PRIORITIZES FOLKS WHO HAVE LIVED IN A GENTRIFYING NEIGHBORHOOD.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR STAFF? THANK YOU, ENOVIA.
THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR MEMBERS, I'M ENOVIA JOSEPH, I JUST WANNA PREFACE WITH THE PROCESS.
IT WOULD BE HELPFUL IF YOU HAD THE BACKUP MATERIALS POSTED IN BACKUP BEFORE THE MEETING SO THAT THE PUBLIC WOULD KNOW WHAT YOU'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO REVIEW.
[01:10:01]
I JUST WANNA CALL TO YOUR ATTENTION THAT SIDEWALKS ARE NOT EQUITABLE IN THE CITY.SO WHEN YOU MAKE YOUR DECISION, AS YOU DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT TO PUT SIDEWALKS IN THIS BOND, I WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT TERRACOTTA SIDEWALKS ARE THOSE THAT LOOK RED.
IT'S WHAT YOU SEE ON AIRPORT BOULEVARD, SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL.
ON THE RIGHT, YOU'LL SEE WHERE THE CIRCLE IS.
THE SIDEWALK JUST STOPS, AND THAT IS A COMPLETE DEAL.
THE CONTRACTOR WHO DID THIS WORK IS MUNOZ CONCRETE AND CONTRACTING INCORPORATED.
I SUBMITTED AN OPEN RECORDS REQUEST TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHO MAKES THE FINAL DECISION AS IT RELATES TO THE DESIGN.
YOU SHOULD NOT BE ABLE TO GO THROUGH THE CITY AND SEE, OH, THIS IS THE POOR SIDE OF TOWN.
WE ARE BAKING DISCRIMINATION INTO THE CONCRETE, INTO THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE CITY.
SO MY COMMENTS, AS THEY ALWAYS ARE, ARE IN THE CONTEXT OF TITLE VI OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964, WHICH PROHIBITS DISCRIMINATION BASED ON RACE, COLOR, AND NATIONAL ORIGIN.
THE PERSON WHOSE NAME APPEARS ON THESE UPDATES IS ERIC BAILEY.
AND SO IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO KNOW WHY IT IS THAT NORTH LAMAR AND BURNETT ROAD ARE NOT TREATED EQUITABLY.
THEY HAVE PRIORITIZED THE SOCCER STADIUM SAFETY FOR WHITE PEOPLE GOING TO SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT, BUT NOT NORTH LAMAR.
IT WAS MAY 15TH, 2020 WHEN TEXDOT AND THE CITY ACTUALLY HAD A PUBLIC HEARING.
NORTH LAMAR WAS RANKED NUMBER ONE BASED ON THE $720 MILLION NOVEMBER 8TH, 2016 BOND.
BUT BEHIND YOU IN SMALL PRINT THERE, YOU'LL SEE THAT THEY HAVE JUST AWARDED THE CONTRACT TO CONTINUE THE WORK FROM BRIGHT VERDE WAY ALL THE WAY TO LOOP ONE.
IF YOU GO DOWN BURNETT ROAD TODAY, YOU WILL SEE IT IS BEAUTIFUL TERRACOTTA SIDEWALKS.
AND YOU HAVE BRANDY WINE, WHICH SAYS THAT THIS IS MULTIFAMILY UNITS ONE AND TWO BEDROOMS THAT START AT $2,300.
I TOLD YOU EARLIER, THERE WAS A JANUARY, 2026 REVIEW BY THE AUDITOR, AND IT WAS BRIEFED TO THE FINANCE AND AUDIT COMMITTEE OR AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE ON JANUARY 14TH, 2026.
THIS IS THE INFORMATION YOU CAN FIND THE FINDING TWO, WHICH TELLS YOU SPECIFICALLY THAT THE TRANSPORTATION DECISIONS THAT ARE BEING MADE ARE NOT TRANSPARENT, THEY'RE INFORMAL.
AND SO I JUST WANNA RECOMMEND THAT THIS BODY ACTUALLY HAVE A JOINT HEARING WITH THE BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE BECAUSE COMMISSION, THEY ACTUALLY DID A REALLY GOOD JOB ON THE 18TH OF FEBRUARY, DISCUSSING WHAT IS BEING PROPOSED VERSUS THE LACK OF TRANSPARENCY AND THE LACK OF TRUST THAT THE, THE COMMUNITY FEELS.
AND I JUST WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE AS IT RELATES TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING, IT'S INTERRELATED WITH TRANSPORTATION AND SPECIFICALLY PROJECT CONNECT.
AUGUST 7TH, 2020, THERE'S AN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND CAPITAL METRO THAT SAYS RENTERS AS WELL AS HOMEOWNERS AND BUSINESS OWNERS ARE THE ONES THAT WILL FUND PROJECT CONNECT.
I WILL REMIND YOU THAT THAT'S A PERMANENT, A VALOREM TAX INCREASE ACCORDING TO THE BOND OVERSIGHT COMMISSION.
ANY BOND THAT'S PUT FORWARD WILL ACTUALLY BE A TAX INCREASE.
I DON'T HEAR YOU DISCUSSING THAT HERE.
IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO HAVE THAT DISCUSSION TRANSPARENTLY.
AND AS IT RELATES TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING, MANDY, THE MAIL KNOWS THAT THE CITY HAS NOT KEPT UP PACE WITH THE BLUEPRINT.
AND SO I JUST WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT YOU'RE GETTING INFORMATION IN SILOS.
BUT THIS IS ALL INTERRELATED AND IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO PROJECT CONNECT, WHICH DOES NOT SERVE NORTH OF US.
YES, IT SERVES THE RED LINE, BUT IT DOES NOT SERVE NORTHEAST AUSTIN.
SAMSUNG TO APPLE WAS ELIMINATED JULY 27TH, 2020.
AND SO WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT AFFORDABILITY AND YOU TALK ABOUT TRAFFIC CONGESTION, YOU JUST HAVE TO RECOGNIZE THAT IT IS BY DESIGN.
THERE'S NO MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT HARDLY IN THAT AREA EXCEPT FOR EAST VILLAGE 425 ACRE DEVELOPMENT.
AND I WILL TELL YOU, THERE ARE NO OPTIONS THERE BECAUSE THERE'S NO TRANSIT THERE.
SO THE 50 50 MODE SHARE THAT'S IN THE AUSTIN STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN IS A PROXY FOR RACE DISCRIMINATION TOO.
AND SO IT IS DEEPLY DISTURBING TO HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS IN SILOS WHEN THE CITY HAS DESIGNED THE DISCRIMINATION AND THEY'RE NOT EVEN APPLYING WITH THE SMART HOUSING POLICY.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'LL GLADLY ANSWER THEM AT THIS TIME, AND THANK YOU.
OKAY, NEXT ON THE AGENDA IS ITEM NUMBER THREE TO APPROVE REVISIONS TO THE 2026 BOND ELECTION ADVISORY TASK FORCE WORK PLAN, BECAUSE THAT IS BASICALLY OUR SCHEDULE OF THE COMING MONTHS.
I'M JUST GONNA DEFER THAT ITEM TO AFTER OUR TWO PRESENTATIONS FROM THE WORKING GROUPS, WHICH WILL GIVE US A BETTER IDEA
[01:15:01]
OF WHAT WE NEED TO DO NEXT.SO IF WE CAN, I WOULD LIKE TO MOVE ITEM FOUR
[4. Update from Stormwater Working Group regarding initial draft recommendation. ]
TO NOW AND GET AN UPDATE FROM STORMWATER WORKING GROUP WITH THEIR INITIAL RECOMMENDATIONS.THE OTHER TWO SPEAKERS THAT WERE HAVING TROUBLE ON DURING PUBLIC COMMENTS, ARE THEY GONNA, CAN WE JUST TRY TO GET THROUGH THE TWO WORKING GROUP PRESENTATIONS AND THEN WE'LL TAKE THOSE UP? OKAY.
SO THIS IS GONNA BE OUR, TRY TO KEEP IT AS QUICK AS I CAN, AND I APOLOGIZE I DIDN'T GET A CHANCE TO GET THIS TO YOU'ALL FRIDAY.
SO ON THE NEXT SLIDE, I'M GONNA JUST INTRODUCE REAL QUICKLY WHO THE LISTED WORK GROUP MEMBERS ARE ON THE WEBSITE.
SO IF YOU'RE NOT ON THERE, I APOLOGIZE, BUT I'VE SENT AN EMAIL JUST ASKING FOR FEEDBACK, JUST, JUST TRYING TO BE AS INCLUSIVE AS WE CAN.
I KNOW, UH, RICHARD DE PALM IS NOT LISTED ON THAT LIST, BUT HE IS ACTIVELY, UH, ENGAGED IN THE STORM, STORM WATER, UH, WORK GROUP.
SO HERE, JUST TO A REMINDER OF THE MISSION STATEMENT OF WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT, IT'S, UH, IT'S TO PROTECT THE LIVES, PROPERTY AND ENVIRONMENT OF OUR COMMUNITY BY REDUCING THE IMPACTS OF FLOODING, EROSION, AND WATER POLLUTION.
AND OF COURSE, HERE'S, UH, JUST A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF OUR REVIEW PROCESS OF WHAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON.
UM, I HAD TO DO A LITTLE BIT OF DIGGING MYSELF UP, LOOKING BACK AT, TO WHERE WE STARTED, YOU KNOW, THE INITIAL PRIMARY NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
SO LOOKING AT THAT TO MAKE SURE I, YOU KNOW, WE ARE TRYING TO KEEP UP WITH WHAT WE NEEDED TO DO, AND I APPRECIATE THE PATIENCE AND GENEROSITY OF THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT STAFF, UM, YOU KNOW, BEING THERE FOR OUR MEETINGS, DOING THEIR PRESENTATION, DOING THE PRESENTATIONS FOR US, EDUCATING US, AND INFORMING US.
SO REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THAT HARD, HARD WORK.
AND THEN THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, JUST REAL QUICK, I'M GONNA SKIP THROUGH THESE SLIDES REAL QUICK.
THESE ARE JUST THE THINGS THAT I LOOKED AT.
UM, GOING BACK FROM THE INITIAL RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT, ONE THING THAT REALLY POPPED UP IS THE LONGHORN DAM, UM, RESILIENCY, UH, IMPROVEMENTS THAT ARE NEEDED.
AND THAT'S, FOR ME, IT'S NOT JUST FROM AUSTIN WATER, BUT ALSO WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT.
UH, ONE WAS RECOMMENDED 40 MILLION, THE OTHER ONE, I BELIEVE IT WAS 67 MILLION PLUS.
UM, BUT THAT IS A, JUST SO Y'ALL KNOW, UM, THE LONGHORN DAM ISSUE WAS IDENTIFIED AS A CRITICAL ISSUE WHEN I WAS WORKING ON THE FLOOD MITIGATION TASK FORCE IN 2015.
SO WE KNEW IT WAS A HOT POTATO ISSUE AND IT WAS A HIGH RISK.
UM, MY UNDERSTANDING IS, AND I'VE VOTED IN SUPPORT OF THAT FUNDING IT, BUT MY UNDERSTANDING IS IN SPEAKING WITH MARCUS EARLIER AND CHANDLER IS IT IS THE CITY STAFF HAVE RECOGNIZED THE IMPORTANCE AND HOW CRITICAL IT IS AN ISSUE.
BUT IF THAT WERE TO GET VOTED DOWN AS IF WE PUT IT DOWN AS A BOND PROPOSAL, WE WOULD HAVE TO WAIT THREE YEARS FOR IT TO BE ADDRESSED.
SO THE ISSUE IS GONNA BE, YOU KNOW, IT'S GONNA STAY AS A, UM, AS A CRITICAL ISSUE THAT CITY STAFF NEED TO STAY ON TOP OF.
I REALLY WANT TO ENCOURAGE Y'ALL TO, YOU KNOW, PAY ATTENTION TO THAT BECAUSE THAT IS NOT JUST A WATERSHED ISSUE, IT'S ALSO A TRANSPORTATION ISSUE, BECAUSE THAT IS, YOU KNOW, THE LONGHORN DAY.
YOU KNOW, WHEN I FIRST FOUND OUT ABOUT HOW BAD A SITUATION IT WAS IN, I WAS THINKING OF MY DAUGHTER GOING TO SCHOOL WHEN SHE WAS AT UT AND DRIVING OVER THAT DAM SO MANY TIMES, YOU KNOW, IN, MAYBE IN A GIVEN DAY.
AND I WAS THINKING OF HOW OUR KIDS COULD BE IN DANGER, AND NOT JUST OUR KIDS, BUT EVERYBODY THAT DRIVES OVER THAT DAM ON A DAILY BASIS.
SO WE'LL JUST GO THROUGH THESE.
I, WHAT I SAW, THE COMMON DENOMINATOR IS NOT, YOU KNOW, THIS, UH, I DID NOT PUT ALL OF THE REQUESTS THAT THE PARKS DEPARTMENT WAS PUTTING IN THERE BECAUSE THERE WAS A LOT OF JOINT BENEFITS, BECAUSE PARKLAND DOES BENEFIT WATERSHED, UH, JUST BECAUSE OF LAND ACQUISITION.
SO I DID NOT DUPLICATE, BUT THERE WAS A HUGE NEED FOR PARKLAND, UH, THAT WAS BEING, UH, BROUGHT UP DURING THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT, UH, PROCESS.
SO WE'LL SKIP THE NEXT FEW SLIDES, IF WE CAN JUST KEEP GOING.
BUT THAT'S GONNA, UH, THIS IS GONNA BE POSTED ON THE WEBSITE, RIGHT? OKAY.
SO YEAH, Y'ALL CAN LOOK THROUGH THAT.
I WON'T BORE YOU WITH ALL THOSE DETAILS, BUT I JUST WANTED TO LOOK BACK AT WHAT WE WERE DOING, UM, THE OPENED, UM, SPACE.
YEAH, YOU CAN JUST KEEP ON GOING.
SO HERE'S, UH, MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS FOR LAND ACQUISITION.
SO WE SAW A LOT OF MONEY THAT WAS GONNA BE THE ESTIMATED
[01:20:01]
COST TO DO THAT.SO THAT WAS A SHARED A CONCERN BETWEEN NOT JUST WATERSHED, BUT ALSO PARKS DEPARTMENT, YOU KNOW, SO JUST KEEP ON GOING.
AND, UH, YEAH, AGAIN, HERE'S LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, BARTON SPRINGS, THE EDWARDS AQUIFER.
SO THE IMPORTANCE OF ALL OF THAT WAS IN THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT, YOU KNOW.
AND THEN, SO WHAT WE ASKED WATERSHED PROTECTION IS, UH, TO GIVE US IN EACH OF THEIR PROJECTS, WAS THIS A PROJECT THAT WAS ADDRESSING, ADDRESSING CREEK FLOODING, LOCALIZED FLOODING, EROSION, WATER QUALITY AND ORGANIC HAVE MULTIPLE MISSIONS.
SO THEY'VE GIVEN US THAT INFORMATION, AND THAT'S GONNA BE INCLUDED IN THE, IN WHAT WE ARE PROPOSING AND RECOMMENDING, YOU KNOW, SO IN, IN SOME OF THESE IT'S HAD MULTIPLE, UH, ISSUES THAT ONE PROJECT WAS ADDRESSING.
SOME NEIGHBORHOODS YOU'LL SEE THAT SOME OF THEM ARE LOCATED WHERE THERE'S NOT ONLY CREEK BUDDING, BUT ALSO LOCALIZED FLOODING, YOU KNOW.
SO HERE'S SOME RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE HAVE AND ALL, UM, AUTOMATICALLY THE, THE FIRST THREE THAT ARE THE FIRST FOUR, I'M SORRY, THAT ARE LISTED ON THERE AS YOU KNOW, WE FULLY SUPPORTED.
I'LL SAY THAT I WILL, I PUT A LITTLE ASTERISK ON MY 10 MILLION BECAUSE I'M PUTTING THERE MORE, PLEASE.
BECAUSE IF WE CAN AFFORD MORE MONEY FOR, UH, LAND ACQUISITION, UM, THAT WOULD TIE INTO WHAT MAY BE A REQUEST FROM THE PARKS, UM, GROUP, YOU KNOW, OR THE PARK LAND, UH, WORK WORKING GROUP.
SO PRETTY WELL, UM, YOU KNOW, MR. DEPALMA AND I PRETTY WELL AGREED ON, ON ALL OF THESE JUST ABOUT IF WE WERE OFF BY A COUPLE OF POINTS, THEN THAT MIGHT BE THE ONLY ISSUE.
AND YOU'LL SEE ON THESE PROJECTS, THE AUSTIN WATER, UM, PROTECTION DEPARTMENT, IT ADDRESSED ALL, ALL THE DIFFERENT MISSIONS, NOT LOCALIZED FLOODING, EROSION, CREEK FLOODING, ALL OF THAT.
SO, OKAY, HERE'S SOME OF THE LISTED, UM, PROJECTS.
OH, OH YEAH, THIS IS WHERE I'VE LISTED THE DAM.
UM, SO AGAIN, IF THAT'S GONNA BE SET ASIDE AND BEING STAY ON TOP OF, YOU KNOW, CITY ISSUES AND THE CITY STAFF TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT IS ADDRESSED IN THE NEAR FUTURE, UH, IT'S BETTER FOR US TO BE PROACTIVE AND FIX THE DAM BEFORE IT ABSOLUTELY FAILS, BECAUSE I KNOW THERE'S SOME PROJECTS THAT ARE BEING PROPOSED IN THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER AREA.
IF WE DO ANY OF THAT WORK THERE IN THE DAM BIRTHS, WE'RE IN TROUBLE.
AND I KNOW WHEN I WAS IN THE FLOOD MITIGATION TASK FORCE, WE WERE LOOKING AT WHAT WAS HAPPENING AT MANSFIELD DAM WHEN THERE WAS A HUGE FLOOD EVENT THAT WAS OCCURRING.
UM, AND IF THE MANSFIELD DAM COULD NOT HANDLE THE WATER FLOW OF THAT SEVERE FLOODING, WHAT IMPACT WOULD IT HAVE ON THE, ON THE, UM, LONGHORN DAM? SO THOSE ARE THINGS THAT WE LOOKED AT, UM, AGAIN HERE.
UH, AND THE OTHER PROJECT THAT I WAS LOOKING AT, UM, WAS THE BRENTWOOD, UH, DRAINAGE.
THAT'S A NEIGHBORHOOD THAT WAS ON OUR RADAR BIG TIME DURING THE FLOOD MITIGATION TASK FORCE, UH, WHEN I WAS INVOLVED IN THAT.
AND THAT NEXT TO ONION CREEK, THAT NEIGHBORHOOD FLOODS IN THE NEXT HIGHEST WHEN IT COMES TO THE LEVEL OF FLOODING THAT IT, IT IS SUBJECTED TO.
AND I BELIEVE RECENT IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD, THERE HAVE BEEN THREE LIVES LOST IN ALL, AND OF COURSE, MORE IN IN LOWER ONION CREEK, BUT STILL, I THINK WHENEVER WE'RE, WE ARE LOSING LIVES JUST BECAUSE OF FLOODING, WE NEED TO BE, YOU KNOW, TAKE THAT INTO ACCOUNT BECAUSE IT'S A PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUE AS WELL.
BUT THE, OTHER THAN THAT, ON THE OTHER ITEMS, UM, MR. DIPALMA AND I SCORED PRETTY WELL CONSISTENTLY AND AGREED ON THOSE.
UH, THE ONES THAT WE ARE, ARE LISTED THERE ARE THE ONES THAT THE STAFF ARE RECOMMENDING AS WELL.
UM, AND BEFORE I FORGET, I DON'T KNOW, UM, JENA MAY WANNA ADDRESS OR TALK ABOUT THE BRENTWOOD FLOODING, IF ANYBODY HAS ANY QUESTIONS OR THE BRENTWOOD NEIGHBORHOOD, IF ANYBODY HAS ANY QUESTIONS, SHE'S AVAILABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS, YOU KNOW, BEFORE WE GO TO THE NEXT ITEM.
AGAIN, HERE, UM, AGAINST SOME OTHER PROJECTS, OH, I DID NOT COUNT HOW MANY EXEC, I WANNA SAY LIKE 20, NO, I FORGET HOW MANY, UM, MAYBE 15 OR 20 THAT, UM, WE SCORED CONSISTENTLY AND AGREED TO SUPPORTING ON THE FUNDING THAT WAS REQUESTED BY THE STAFF, YOU KNOW, AND AGAIN, NOW THAT THE, NOW THAT THE DAM PIECE IS BEING TAKEN CARE OF AND BRENTWOOD, THAT'S GONNA BE STAY A PRIORITY, BUT IT'LL GET MOVED ON LATER ON TO STAY ON THE RADAR.
I'LL, MY, YOU KNOW, WHEREVER I DISAGREED WITH RICH, I'LL NOW GO TO SHIFT TO FULLY AGREE ON SUPPORTING THOSE, THOSE FUNDING DECISIONS, YOU
[01:25:01]
KNOW.AND THESE ARE JUST MULTIPLE PROJECTS THAT ARE LISTED, UH, DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOODS.
WHAT WE ALSO ADDED HERE IS WHAT DISTRICTS WERE, WHERE WERE THOSE, UH, PROJECTS LOCATED AT, OR WHAT DISTRICTS WOULD BE, UM, IMPACTED IN IF WE ADDRESS THOSE? YES, SIR.
WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO, UH, TO, UH, INCREASE OR ZOOM IN A LITTLE BIT ON THESE I CAN'T, I CAN'T READ IT.
I DUNNO, IF YOU WANT ME TO GO ITEM BY ITEM, I JUST DON'T WANT IT.
AND IF I CAN STEP IN REAL QUICK, UM, AND I APPRECIATE YOU PUTTING ALL THIS TOGETHER.
UM, SO WHICH COLUMN IS MINE AGAIN? AND WHICH ONE WAS YOURS? YOURS IS SECOND TO THE RIGHT.
SECOND TO THE RIGHT, AND MINE'S ON THE RIGHT.
THIS, THIS IS WHERE WE'RE WORKING AT.
THIS IS A, A, A TEMPERATURE CHECK AS FAR AS WHERE WE'RE AT.
WE DON'T HAVE THE ACTUAL RECOMMENDATION RIGHT NOW.
THIS IS INITIAL REALLY IS THE, WE'RE GONNA FINALIZE, BUT THIS IS WHERE, WHERE WE'RE AT THIS MOMENT IN TIME, THERE'S A COUPLE QUESTIONS THAT AS I WAS GOING THROUGH THAT I WANTED TO FOLLOW BACK UP.
PARTICULARLY WITH CAPEX PROJECT, THERE'S 21.6, UH, MILLION DOLLARS RELATING TO CAPEX.
AND I KNOW THERE'S SOME OF THAT WORK THAT'S CURRENTLY UNDERWAY THROUGH, UH, TRANSPORTATION.
AND SO EITHER WE CAN HEAR FROM WATERSHED AS FAR AS WHERE THAT BEING UTILIZED.
UM, THAT WOULD BE GREAT AT THIS MOMENT IN TIME.
AND WHAT, AND I'LL GET TELL YOU THE, FOR ANYBODY WHO, FOR THE FIVE PEOPLE WHO ARE LISTENING ONLINE FROM HOME WHO ARE NOT ON THE PART OF THIS BOARD CITY STAFF IS JUST A PHENOMENAL, DOING A PHENOMENAL JOB.
THERE'S A LOT OF CRITICISM THAT WE HEAR ABOUT LACK OF COORDINATION.
DEPARTMENTS DON'T TALK TO EACH OTHER.
THERE'S NOTHING FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH.
AND SO I REALLY DO APPRECIATE BETWEEN WATERSHED, PARKS AND REC, AS WELL AS CAPITAL LABOR SERVICES.
AND I'M SURE THAT GOES ON ACROSS ALL THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS AS WELL.
SO JUST TAKE THIS QUICK SECOND WHILE YOU GUYS WERE GETTING READY.
UH, I VERY MUCH APPRECIATE THE KIND WORDS.
UH, JANAE SPENCE, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF WATERSHED PROTECTION.
SO THIS CAPEX IS SPECIFICALLY FOR WATER QUALITY.
SO AS PART OF THE CAPEX UH, PROJECT, THEY ARE GOING TO BE, UH, INSTALLING LARGE DRAINAGE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WILL GO TO A VERY LARGE PUMP.
UM, IT'S LIKE 200 FEET UNDERGROUND, VERY MASSIVE.
UM, AND THAT PUMP WOULD BE DIRECTLY PUMPING INTO, UH, LOWER, UH, DOWNSTREAM IN THE COLORADO RIVER WITHOUT SIGNIFICANT WATER QUALITY PROTECTION, UH, WATER QUALITY CONTROLS.
AND SO IT WOULD MEET WHAT THEIR REQUIREMENTS ARE FOR TECH STOP, BUT IT WOULDN'T MEET WHAT LOCAL REQUIREMENTS WOULD BE AND WHAT AUSTIN STANDARDS ARE FOR WATER QUALITY.
SO THE ONE QUESTION I HAVE IS, YEP.
HOW IS A PROJECT ABLE TO START WITH IMPLEMENTATION? BECAUSE THIS IS A PROJECT THAT'S UNDERWAY.
I SAW THE CONTRACT ASSOCIATED WITH IT.
IF THIS ISN'T ALREADY ACCOUNTED FOR IN THAT PROJECT.
SO THIS ONE IS CURRENTLY UNDER DESIGN.
SO THE CONTRACT MAYBE THAT YOU SAW FOR 3 MILLION WAS THE DESIGN.
AND SO THIS WOULD BE DELIVERING ON THE ACTUAL BUILDING OF THE WATER QUALITY POND.
AND WE CAN PROBABLY GO BACK IF THERE'S ANY, UM, TWO SLIDES.
WE CAN, IF THERE'S ANY THAT YOU ONLY HAVE QUESTIONS ON US, SOME OF THESE THAT WE ARE PROPOSING, YOU KNOW, UM, BUT YEAH.
SO THIS IS WHERE WE, FOR ME, WHEN I WAS HAVING TO DECIDE AM I GONNA PROPOSE FUNDING FIXING THE DAM VERSUS THESE OTHER PROJECTS, I WAS THINKING UP, I'M GONNA PICK THE DAM AND, YOU KNOW, ANY AT ANY TIME, JUST BECAUSE OF HOW CRITICALLY IMPORTANT THAT IS AND HOW YEAH.
WHAT THE RISK LEVEL IS ON THAT.
BUT ON THESE, IF THE BA THE DAM IS NOW NOT AN ISSUE, THEN I WOULD BE FULLY SUPPORTING THESE OTHER FUNDING, UH, REC RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THE CITY STAFF ARE ASKING FOR.
AND SO WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING APART, LIKE ON WHAT I WAS LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO DRAW A LINE AT SOME POINT.
AND SO IT WAS A SCORING BY THE WATERSHED DEPARTMENT OF AROUND 60.
AND, AND, AND PARTICULARLY WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT LIFE SAFETY, BUT ALSO WAS MEANINGFUL WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT WATER QUALITY OR AROUND THE 70 SCORE, WHICH IS THESE ARE VERY HIGH SCORES, HIGH THRESHOLDS, THE NEED IS IS ABSOLUTELY THERE.
AND SO WHEN WE LOOKED AT PRIORITIZATION, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE REALLY FEARFUL OF IS, YOU KNOW, LIFTING UP A PROJECT THAT'S NOT GONNA HAVE THE SAME DEGREE OF LIFE SAFETY IMPACT OR CONCERN AS YOU WOULD FOR SOME OF THE OTHER ONES THAT WOULD SCORE HIGHER.
SO WE PAID A LOT OF ATTENTION RELATING TO THAT IN ORDER TO SEE WHICH PROJECTS WHERE, YOU KNOW, AND, AND TO, TO BE TRUTHFUL, JUST LIKE WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT ALL THESE OTHER DEPARTMENTS, DOESN'T MEAN THAT THERE NEEDS NOT, THERE DOESN'T MEAN THAT CAN'T BE A CATASTROPHIC EVENT WHERE YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T PROTECT WHERE THE WATER'S GONNA HIT.
AND SO EVEN SOME OF THESE LOWER, UM, CLASSIFICATIONS, YOU KNOW, I WOULD HATE TO LIKE FOUR YEARS FROM NOW ALL OF A SUDDEN COME BACK AND LIKE, OH, IF WE WOULD'VE SPENT THE MONEY HERE, IT WOULD'VE EVOLVED.
PROTECTED THIS CATASTROPHIC EVENT, HAVE LOSS OF LIFE AND, YOU KNOW, PROPERTY.
BUT WE'RE DOING THE BEST WE CAN WITH THE INFORMATION
[01:30:01]
AND LIMITED FUNDING, UM, THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF INFORMATION LIMITED FUNDING.AND ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT I, THAT CAME TO MIND FOR ME IS SOME OF THESE PROJECTS ARE RECONNECTED TO A LOW WATER CROSSING SITUATION.
SO FOR ME, THE QUESTION THAT I WOULD HAVE FOR STAFF IS, HOW MANY OF THOSE, IS IT A, IS IT AN ISSUE FOR FIRST RESPONDERS TO HELP RESCUE PEOPLE? SO THAT'S ANOTHER THING THAT'S GONNA BE, YEAH.
SO YEAH, AND I THINK, UH, YOU MADE A GREAT POINT.
WE'RE NOT SURE WHERE THE RE'S GONNA FALL, SO IT'S HARD TO SAY, OH, THIS ONE.
AND IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHAT LEVEL OF RAIN FALLS IN EACH EVENT.
SO IT COULD BE THAT NOBODY'S BEEN, UH, HAD TO DO A SW SWIFT WATER RESCUE THERE, BUT IT'S BECAUSE THEY HAVEN'T HAD THAT LEVEL OF RAIN IN THAT AREA YET.
UM, I WILL SAY THE LOW WATER CROSSINGS ARE NOT JUST A, LIKE, SAFETY MEASURE.
THAT'S WHERE WE SEE, UM, LOSS OF LIFE.
IT IS DEFINITELY A HIGH RISK SCENARIO TO HAVE, UH, LOW WATER CROSSINGS, BUT THERE'S VARYING LEVELS ACROSS THE CITY OF HOW MUCH WATER, HOW FAST, AND WHAT EVENT.
AND SO WE DEFINITELY TRY TO PRIORITIZE THE MOST DANGEROUS, UH, SITUATIONS FIRST.
AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE PROGRAMMATIC WAYS WE CAN RESPOND TO THESE WITH, UH, GATE ARMS OR OUR STAFF GOES OUT AND PUT UP BARRIERS.
SO THERE ARE WAYS THAT WE TRY TO STILL ADDRESS THE RISK WITHOUT MAYBE THE SPEND OF ALWAYS RAISING THE ROAD.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WE DO THAT AS BEST WE CAN WITH THE GIVEN RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE.
IF, IF YOU COULD TAKE A, A MOMENT, AND ALSO I THINK THIS WOULD BE HELPFUL, AND THERE'S HUGE PROGRAMMATIC MONEY RELATING TO OPEN SPACE ACQUISITION.
WE TALKED ABOUT EARLIER, THE REQUEST FROM THE DEPARTMENT WAS 300 MILLION.
UM, THE REQUEST FOR SMALL SCALE STORM WATER AND DRAINAGE ASSET MANAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES WAS 36 MILLION.
STORM WATER DRAINAGE PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES IS 140.
AND THEN STORM WATER RESILIENCE PROGRAM AT 50.
COULD YOU, I HATE TO SAY BRIEFLY, CAN YOU BRIEFLY TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW THAT MONEY IS CURRENTLY SPENT AND THEN WHAT THE IMPACT IS FOR THE REDUCTION? SURE.
FOR EACH, UH, WELL, YOU KNOW, I THINK PROBABLY IF WE'RE GONNA PRIORITIZE TIME, THE BIGGEST CHUNKS OF, OF MONEY IS OPEN SPACE ACQUISITION AT 300 MILLION IN STORMWATER DRAINAGE PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AT 140 MILLION.
BECAUSE COMBINED, UM, LIKE THE 25 MILLION WAS ALL LIKE CAP DELIVERY SERVICES RECOMMENDED.
AND I DIDN'T DO MUCH BETTER AT 27.
SO, BUT I WANTED EVERYBODY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE IMPACT IS AND HOW THAT FUNDING IS CURRENTLY UTILIZED.
AND IF SHE CAN GO BACK, I THINK THAT'S, GO BACK FOUR SLIDES.
'CAUSE THAT'S THE SLIDE THAT RICH IS NOW TALKING ABOUT.
YEAH, I CAN SPEAK TO, UH, THE PARTNERSHIP THEN I'LL LET KELLY SPEAK TO THE OPEN YES.
SO FOR THE PARTNERSHIP, THIS IS MAINLY WHAT WE UTILIZE.
YOU KNOW, SOME OF THESE ARE ALREADY INTEGRATED IN HERE THAT IT'S LIKE, AUSTIN WATERS DOING A PROJECT AND WE'RE GONNA BE IN THE EXACT SAME ROAD.
HOW CAN WE DIG ONCE? UM, BUT THERE ARE OTHER OPPORTUNITIES WITH DEVELOPERS WE DON'T EVEN KNOW OF YET.
AND THEY'RE GONNA BE DOING SOMETHING SIMILAR WHERE THEY HAVE TO PUT IN AN 18 INCH, BUT WE WANT IT TO BE A 24.
AND SO ALL WE HAVE TO PAY IS A DIFFERENCE OF THE PRICE.
IT'S A REALLY GOOD ASSET MANAGEMENT WAY THAT WE COULD LEVERAGE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE PUT THIS ASK TOGETHER, IT WAS BASICALLY HOW MUCH CAN YOU SPEND IN THIS AMOUNT OF TIME? YEAH.
AND SO IT'S LIKE, WE GET TONS OF OPPORTUNITIES, WE HAVE LOTS OF DEVELOPMENT, LOTS OF PROJECTS GOING ON, SO THIS IS HOW MUCH WE CAN SPEND.
AND THEN WE TRY TO PRIORITIZE WHAT IS OUR HIGHEST NEED AND OUR BEST, LIKE, NOW'S THE BEST TIME TO DO IT.
SO THIS ALSO INCLUDES LIKE PROJECT CONNECT.
'CAUSE THAT'S GONNA HAVE A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO TRY TO, THEY'RE GONNA BE EVERYWHERE DIGGING BIG HOLES.
AND SO THAT'S A REALLY, A GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO DO ASSET MANAGEMENT AND SOME OTHER, UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE PIPES THAT ARE UNDER BUILDINGS THAT'S NOT IDEAL FROM AN ASSET MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE OR FROM IF IT FAILS.
UM, SO THESE ARE REALLY UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO TRY TO LEVERAGE THAT OPPORTUNITY.
AND IF YOU CAN TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE STORMWATER RESILIENCE PROGRAM.
WELL, HOPING, I THINK WE'RE GONNA HIT OPEN SPACE FIRST.
UH, KELLY GAGNAN, UH, PRINCIPAL PLANNER WITH WATERSHED PROTECTION.
UH, SO I'LL SPEAK TO THOSE TWO PROGRAMS. WE MENTIONED THE OPEN SPACE PROGRAM, AND THIS IS A UNIQUE SITUATION WHERE WHILE WE WOULD BE THE SPONSOR OF THE, THE OPEN SPACE FUNDING, UH, YOU KNOW, FOR THE NATURAL AREA WATER QUALITY, UH, FLOOD PROTECTION PRESERVATION, UH, IT IS A CITYWIDE UH, PROGRAM.
SO HISTORICALLY, UM, AND IN THE PREVIOUS BONDS WE PARTNERED WITH AUSTIN WATER AND OFFICE OF REAL ESTATE TO PRESERVE AND PROTECT THE, THE OPEN SPACES IN THE, TO THE WEST OF THE CITY AND THE WATER QUALITY PROTECTION LAND, SPECIFICALLY THOSE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, DRAINED TO THE EDWARDS AQUIFER OF RESEARCH ZONE THAT IS STILL A PART AND A COMPONENT OF THIS PROGRAM.
THERE'S STILL, UH, NEEDED WORK TO REACH THE, THE, THE PROGRAM GOALS OUT THERE.
BUT THIS IS, THIS ACTUALLY, UM, THE, THE OPEN SPACE LAND ACQUISITION PROPOSAL THIS YEAR CAME THROUGH THE ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTMENT PLAN FROM 2024, LOOKING AT A CITYWIDE INITIATIVE TO REACH, UH, COLLECTIVE, UH, CARBON SEQUESTRATION GOALS THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
AND THERE'S A MASSIVE WATERSHED NEXUS, OF COURSE, ANY LAND IS IN A WATERSHED.
UM, AND SO THIS IS NOT ONLY LOOKING AT ADVANCING THE GOALS IN THE WESTERN WATERSHEDS, UM, AND THE WATER QUALITY PROTECTION LANDS, BUT ALSO IN OUR EASTERN WATERSHEDS, IN THE EASTERN BLACKLAND PRAIRIES, WHICH HAVE
[01:35:01]
UNIQUE, UM, NEEDS RELATED TO THE, THE FLOODPLAIN RESTORATION.UM, AND THE COMMUNITIES THAT, THAT, THAT THEY SERVE DIFFERENT, UM, DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS IN THAT CASE, BECAUSE THE, IN THE WEST, THE LAND IS, IS, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE WATER'S DRAINING TO US IT'S OUR WATER, UM, SOURCE WATER, DRINKING WATER, UM, AND OF COURSE THE WATER THAT DRAIN TO THE CITY, UM, ON THE EAST, YOU KNOW, IT'S A MORE OF A LOCALIZED IMPACT.
SO WE'D BE WORKING MORE CLOSELY WITH PARKS AND RECREATION WHERE THERE, UH, SHARED RECREATIONAL NEEDS, UM, AND THE, UH, OFFICE OF CLIMATE ACTION AND RESILIENCY, LOOKING AT THE, THE FOOD, UM, UH, THE FOOD PLAN AND THE SYNERGY WITH SOME OF THE RESTORATIVE AGRICULTURE.
UM, AND SO ANY WAY THAT WE CAN SEE WHERE THERE IS, WHERE THERE ARE OPEN SPACES, AND OF COURSE IT'S OPPORTUNITY BASED, UM, WHERE THAT WE COULD, THEY HAVE, THAT WOULD HAVE A WATERSHED BENEFIT.
WE WOULD LOOK TO SEE THERE WOULD BE A, YOU KNOW, A MATRIX THAT WOULD LOOK AT THE HIGHEST AND BEST USE RELATED TO, AGAIN, THE UNDERLYING PURPOSE OF THE WATER QUALITY AND THE FLOOD IMPACTS.
BUT THEN ULTIMATELY THE OTHER CITYWIDE BENEFITS, UM, YOU KNOW, BASED ON WHERE IT'S LOCATED.
SO IN TERMS OF HOW WE WOULD SPEND THAT MONEY, IT WOULD BE BASED, UM, I THINK ON A COLLECTIVE CITYWIDE, UM, UH, SCORING METHODOLOGIES, HOW WE'VE USED IT IN THE PAST, UM, INFORMED BY COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS AND THEN THE, THE STAFF WHO ARE INVOLVED.
UM, AND SO I THINK WE WOULD SEE WHAT THE HIGHEST AND BEST USE IS BECAUSE OF, YOU KNOW, THE, THE CITY, UH, HAS THAT GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, UH, ASSESSMENT THAT I, I FORGET, I THINK THE SIGLO GROUP PUT TOGETHER.
UM, AND, AND OUR DEPARTMENT HAS FOUND, YOU KNOW, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THE DISPARITIES IN SOME OF THE OPEN SPACE ACQUISITION IN TERMS OF EAST AND WEST.
UM, AND WE KNOW AS A DEPARTMENT THAT, YOU KNOW, IF WE HAD LIMITED RESOURCES, WE WOULD OF COURSE WANNA START TO DIRECT TOWARDS THE EASTERN WATERSHEDS.
UM, THAT BEING SAID, THIS IS A CONVERSATION WITH, WITH Y'ALL AND WE KNOW THAT, UM, I APPRECIATE IT.
PRETTY MUCH WANTED TO JUST KEEP IT AT THE HIGH LEVEL AS FAR AS WE'RE AT.
OH, UH, JUST, JUST A QUICK CLARIFICATION QUESTION ON THAT ONE, BECAUSE I THINK SOMEONE SPOKE TO THE, THE PARKS, UH, WORKING GROUP AS WELL ABOUT THAT, THAT ACQUISITION FUND, IF THIS IS THE 300, THEY, AND, AND I BELIEVE THEY MENTIONED, AND MAYBE RICHARD COULD CORRECT ME IF I MISS IF I MISSED THIS, BUT, UH, I THINK THEY MENTIONED THAT THERE WAS A, A PORTION OF THAT THAT WAS, THERE WAS LIKE AN ESSENTIAL PORTION THAT WAS NECESSARY, UH, I THINK IN S AREA TO MAINTAIN COMPLIANCE WITH, UM, FEDERAL LEVERAGING PROGRAM.
I THINK THEY, AND I BELIEVE THEY TOLD US THAT THERE WAS LIKE A $50 MILLION MINIMUM SPEND FOR THAT.
UH, SO I JUST DIDN'T KNOW IF THAT, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE IF THAT WAS THE SAME.
YEAH, THAT'S FROM THE SAME BUCKET.
AND IF THAT'S, IF THAT'S STILL THE CASE, AND I APPRECIATE YOUR, UM, I KNOW YOU'RE SPEAKING AT THE LAST, UH, MEETING AND, UM, CHERYL WITH ON THE BE COUNTY CANYON, UM, AND I'M BLANKING ON CHERYL'S NAME.
AND SO THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE HADN'T FIT IN AFTERWARDS 'CAUSE SHE HAD BROUGHT UP AFTER THE MEETING AND IT HASN'T BEEN REALLY PART OF THE CONVERSATION WITHIN OUR WORKING GROUP WHERE THAT MONEY RESIDES FROM.
AND SO IT'S SOMETHING THAT STILL NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED.
APPRECIATE THE QUESTION AND OH, UH, AND ARE YOU SPEAKING ABOUT SHERRY COOL IN AUSTIN WATER? YES.
SO WE COLLABORATE WITH THEM CLOSELY.
UH, THERE'S, AND I SAY WE, UH, BUT MY TEAM WHO WORKS WITH IT, WE HAVE A CITYWIDE LAND TEAM THAT, UH, IS AWARE OF ALL THE, ALL THE WORKING PIECES THERE.
SO THE STORMWATER RESILIENCY RESILIENCE PROGRAM, THAT'S A NEW PROGRAM, UH, AGAIN, DIRECTED AT ADVANCING THE, OUR MISSION WATER, UH, OF FLOOD EROSION WATER POLLUTION.
BUT THIS WOULD EXPLORE ALTERNATIVES TO THE LARGER INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT THAT YOU SEE AND, AND YOU MAY BE MOST FAMILIAR WITH FROM A BOND PERSPECTIVE.
OUR DEPARTMENT PRIORITIZES OUR WORK BASED ON WHERE YOU HAVE THE MOST OF THE WORST PROBLEM.
SO LIKE FOR A CREEK FLOOD FOR EXAMPLE, IT'S THE MOST PEOPLE WITH THE DEEPEST, THE MOST STRUCTURES WITH THE DEEPEST FLOODING.
SO IN THAT PRIORITIZATION, A SINGLE HOMEOWNER WITH THE DEEPEST FLOODING COULD GET LOST IN THAT MM-HMM
UM, YOU KNOW, IN THAT PRIORITIZATION.
AND SO WE, THIS PROGRAM IS LOOKING AT HOW CAN WE LOOK AT, UH, WORK WITH INDIVIDUAL LANDOWNERS OR, UH, WHETHER IT'S, YOU KNOW, RESIDENCES OR COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES THAT HAVE FALLEN OUT OF THAT TYPICAL PRIORITIZATION AND LOOK AT OTHER WAYS TO INCREASE THEIR RESILIENCY WITH THE TOOLS AVAILABLE TO US.
NOW, A A TYPICAL TOOL THAT WE HAVE HAD SUCCESS WITH IS, IS FLOODPLAIN BUYOUTS.
WE KNOW THAT THAT IS NOT RIGHT FOR EVERYONE, BUT THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE WHO WANT TO VOLUNTEER INTO THAT PROGRAM.
THERE ARE OTHER, UM, MUNICIPALITIES WHO LOOK AT THINGS LIKE STRUCTURE ELEVATION OR OTHER WAYS THAT YOU CAN, UH, IMPROVE OR REDUCE SOMEONE'S RISK ON THE PROPERTY.
AND SO THIS IS A, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, WE'RE EXPLORING THOSE.
WE KNOW THAT THE BUYOUT, VOLUNTARY BUYOUTS IS A VIABLE LEGAL OPTION AT THIS TIME THAT WE COULD READILY INVEST OR, YOU KNOW, UH, LOOK, LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES, UH, WITH RESIDENTS.
[01:40:01]
SPEAKING TO.NANDO, WE'RE RUNNING LOW ON TIME.
SO THERE'S THE, THE REST OF THE OTHER PROJECTS ARE, YOU KNOW, LIKE MORE SPECIFIC TO CERTAIN NEIGHBORHOODS AND JUST ADDRESS, UM, LOCALIZED FLOODING, CREEK FLOODING, EROSION, AND, UH, WATER QUALITY AS WELL.
SO THERE'S SOME MIX OF, OF ALL OF THEM.
OF COURSE WE'VE GOT THIS IS, WE'RE STILL CONTINUING THE WORK, SO THANK YOU.
SO AS WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD IN OUR PLANNING, DID YOU COME UP WITH A TOTAL INITIAL RECOMMENDATION? THERE'S A TOTAL IN THERE SOMEWHERE.
BUT YOU, YOU SAID EARLIER THAT YOU WERE, THIS, YOU WERE STILL WORKING ON INITIAL RECOMMENDATION, OR IS THIS THE INITIAL RECOMMENDATION? THIS IS THE INITIAL, BUT THERE'S STILL MORE WORK.
AND I KNOW THE LAST SLIDE THAT I ASK IS, DID WE MISS SOMETHING? ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS, ANY FEEDBACK? SO, BUT IF YOU GO RIGHT, OOPS, RIGHT BEFORE THAT OR THAT'S WHERE, THAT'S WHAT OUR, SOME OF OUR TOTALS LOOK LIKE.
THE FAR RIGHT NUMBER IS YOUR RECOMMENDATION.
THE FAR RIGHT IS MEAN THAT INCLUDED THE DAM AND BRENTWOOD.
BUT OF COURSE, UM, BUT THAT WOULD BE MUCH LOWER NOW.
UM, IT'S PROBABLY, IT WOULD PROBABLY BE CLOSER TO WHAT RICH, UM, CAME UP WITH.
SO THESE ARE YOUR INDIVIDUAL RECOMMENDATIONS? YES, CORRECT.
THE GROUP WORKING GROUP HAS NOT MADE A RECOMMENDATION YET? CORRECT.
WHEN DO YOU THINK YOU MIGHT, IF YOU WANT HAVE THAT? I MEAN, I THINK IF YOU WANTED TO SET A NUMBER RIGHT NOW, WHEN WE CAN GIVE YOU THE NU WE CAN COME UP WITH IT.
BUT GIVEN WE HAD THE CONVERSATION PRIOR TO THE MEETING, I MEAN, I FEEL PRETTY COMFORTABLE AT THE $180 MILLION RANGE AS FAR AS WHERE THE INITIAL RECOMMENDATION WE WILL COME IN AT, GIVE OR TAKE A LITTLE BIT.
'CAUSE I GOTTA LOOK AT HER NUMBERS, BUT, UM, OKAY.
I THINK THAT'S HELPFUL IF YOU USE 180.
'CAUSE THAT'S WHERE WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO FORM IT AND WE UNDERSTAND THAT WE'RE GONNA GET FEEDBACK AS WE GO OUT, AS WE GO OUT TO THE PUBLIC THROUGH A PROPOSED BOND, I BELIEVE IS WHAT WE'RE, WE'RE WE'RE GONNA PLAN ON DOING AND NOT JUST GOING OUT WITH CAPITAL LABOR'S, CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES PLAN, BUT I BELIEVE WE'LL GO OUT TO ONE WITH THE PUBLIC.
I'M GUESSING THAT WE'RE GONNA REFINE IT FROM THERE.
SO THAT'S, THESE ARE QUESTIONS I HAVE ON WHEN WE GO BACK TO WHAT OUR WORK PLAN IS.
UM, BUT YEAH, I PUT 180 WHEN YOU'RE PENCILING IT IN CAP FOR YOUR CALCULATIONS.
CAN YOU SHOW THE, A GROUP, THE, UH, FOLKS ONLINE SO I CAN SEE IF THERE ARE ANY HANDS RAISED OUT THERE FOR QUESTIONS FOR THIS WORKING GROUP? DONALD, WE WANNA GO AHEAD AND ASK YOUR QUESTION THEN I'LL SEE IF THERE'S ANYONE ONLINE RAISING THEIR HAND.
I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT THE LONGHORN DAM INCLUSION.
I GUESS IT'S JUST A TECHNICAL THING.
THE DAM ITSELF IS, IS IT'S AN AUSTIN WATER FACILITY, AND I'M JUST, I WAS JUST CURIOUS WHY THAT WOULD BE GEO BOND FUNDED INSTEAD OF REVENUE BOND FUNDED SINCE IT'S AN ENTERPRISE DEPARTMENT.
UM, HI, SHELLEY KILDAY, AUSTIN FINANCIAL SERVICES.
SO I BELIEVE THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION IS THE DAM DOESN'T FUNCTION, DOESN'T HAVE A WATER FUNCTION THAT INVOLVES LIKE GETTING CLEAN WATER TO AND FROM YOUR HOUSE.
UM, SO THERE'S NO DIRECT REVENUE GENERATION? NO.
IT USED TO BE AUSTIN ENERGY AND IT WAS DIRECTLY RELATED TO POWER GENERATION, BUT THERE'S NO RELATIONSHIP LIKE THAT WITH AUSTIN WATER.
I DON'T SEE ANY QUESTIONS ONLINE.
ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE TO ADD? NO, THANK YOU.
AND AGAIN, THANKS TO THE WONDERFUL STAFF THAT'VE BEEN AMAZING, SO THANK YOU.
[5. Update from Affordable Housing Group regarding initial draft recommendation. ]
GONNA BE HEARING FROM AFFORDABLE HOUSING, I'M LOOKING AT THE CLOCK AND THERE'S 13 MINUTES, SO I'M GONNA LOOK OVER TO RACHEL AND SEE HOW SHE FEELS ABOUT MAKING THE PRESENTATION ON THE INITIAL RECOMMENDATIONS.NOW, KNOWING THAT WE'RE GONNA COME BACK AND HAVE TIME FOR QUESTIONS OR IF YOU'D PREFER, AND I'M HAPPY TO DO IT, PUT YOU ON THE AGENDA FOR NEXT TIME.
SO THIS IS OUR PRESENTATION FROM THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING WORKING GROUP.
UM, I'M NOT GONNA NAME WHO IS ON IT, WE'RE RUNNING OUTTA TIME, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, WE KNOW THE NEED IS GREAT.
I HAVE HERE THE SCORECARD FOR THE BLUEPRINT, WHICH HAS BEEN REFERENCED MULTIPLE TIMES TODAY.
THIS WAS, UM, FROM 2018 TO 2023, AND AS YOU CAN SEE DOWN AT THE 30% MFI OR BELOW THE 20, THE 10 YEAR GOAL.
SO FROM 2018 TO 2028 WAS 20,000 UNITS.
[01:45:01]
ONLY PRODUCED 426 OF THOSE.THIS CHART IS SHOWING LIKE ALL NEW HOUSING, NOT JUST HOUSING FROM THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT.
SO, UH, THIS IS THE NUMBERS YOU SEE IN TERMS OF HIGHER INCOME UNITS IS JUST WHAT THE MARKET, UM, HAS PRODUCED.
AND THEN IN THE 31 TO 60%, MFI, THE 10 YEAR GOAL WAS 25,000 UNITS AND THAT THEY HAD PRODUCED 9,668.
SO THOSE TWO, UM, BRACKETS DOWN THERE ARE THE TARGETED AREAS FOR THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING BONDS AND HOW THEY'RE SPENT.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE 45,000 UNITS THAT WERE NEEDED, UM, THE MONEY THAT HAS BEEN ALLOCATED TO THE CITY DEPARTMENT, THAT, THAT THE WAY THEY HAVE SET UP THEIR BUDGET IS TO TRY TO RESOLVE THESE GAPS AS BEST THEY CAN WITH THE FUNDING AVAILABLE BY DELIVERING A SET NUMBER OF UNITS EACH YEAR, AS YOU KNOW, AS THEY ALLOCATED IN THEIR SPENDING PLAN.
UM, SO AGAIN, SIGNIFICANT NEED.
THERE WAS A, IT HAD, THE GOALS HAD BEEN 2% ACHIEVED BACK IN BY, YOU KNOW, OVER THIS COURSE.
SO THE FUNDING AT THE WELL, UM, WE'VE ALSO HEARD SIGNIFICANTLY FROM THE COMMUNITY THAT AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS A SIGNIFICANT CONCERN.
34% OF RESPONDENTS EXPRESSED SIGNIFICANT CONCERN ABOUT RISING RENTS, EVICTIONS AND DISPLACEMENT.
HOMELESSNESS HAS BEEN A CRITICAL ISSUE.
YOU GO FORWARD, OH, SORRY, I WENT FORWARD ON MY OWN PAGE.
UM, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE HAS BEEN URGENT AND SUSTAINED NEED FOR, FOR INVESTMENT IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING SHELTERS AND TENANT PROTECTION, HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS OR HOMELESSNESS ARE ALSO TOP RESPONSES FROM SURVEYS AND OPEN HOUSES AND REMAIN CORE DEMANDS FROM THIS COMMUNITY.
COULD COULD YOU GO AHEAD, GO, GO FORWARD.
OH YEAH, I'M, I'M ON THE HOUSING FOR LOW INCOME FAMILIES.
UM, AND AGAIN, THE CITY HOUSING SPENDING IS TARGETED AT THAT 30 TO 50% MFI AND THAT INCLUDES PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING, WHICH IS HOUSING FOR FOLKS EXITING OUT OF HOMELESSNESS WHO NEED ONSITE SERVICES.
UM, OTHER COMMUNITY BENEFITS FROM AFFORDABLE HOUSING INCLUDE, UM, YOU KNOW, SOCIETAL PAYOFFS THAT EXCEED, IT'S NOT JUST FOR THE FOLKS THAT RECEIVE HOUSING.
UM, THERE ARE SAFER STREETS, REDUCE SOCIAL SERVICE SPENDING.
UH, OUR AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROGRAMS FOLLOW SMART HOUSING, WHICH HAS MANY, UM, CARBON MITIGATING STRATEGIES.
THEY BUILD ALONG TRANSIT CORRIDORS.
IT'S REDUCING TRAVEL TIME ON ROADS, REDUCING CARS NEEDED.
IT'S HELPING PEOPLE LIVE IN BETTER HIGHER STANDARD BUILDINGS, UM, WITH MORE ENERGY EFFICIENCY, OFTEN HAVE SOLAR, UM, WATER CONSERVATION, CLIMATE RESILIENCY.
AND THESE PROPERTIES ARE ALSO BRINGING A LOT OF NEEDED AMENITIES TO THE NEIGHBORHOODS, SUCH AS AFTER SCHOOL AND SUMMER LEARNING PROGRAMS, UM, SUPPORT FOR SENIORS.
THERE'S A LOT OF JOB GROWTH FROM THESE PRO PROPERTIES, UM, BOTH IN THE CONSTRUCTION PHASE AND, UM, FOR ONSITE SERVICES THAT ARE CREATING JOBS FOR FOLKS IN THE CITY.
AND A REDUCTION IN PUBLIC COSTS, UH, FOR, BECAUSE OF THE SERVICES SUCH AS EMERGENCY ROOM VISITS AND COUNSELING FOR STUDENTS, COUNSELING, FINANCIAL COUNSELING FOR FOLKS.
SO THESE, THESE PROPERTIES ARE BRINGING IN A LOT OF SOCIAL BENEFITS THAT GO BEYOND JUST AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
THESE ARE FROM THE, UM, FROM HOUSING WORKS REPORTS, JUST TALKING ABOUT THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE 2013 AND 2018 BONDS.
SO THE 122 MILLION SPENT RESULTED IN 1.08 BILLION IN CONSTRUCTION IMPACTS.
SO THESE ARE, UM, LEVERAGED DOLLARS THAT ARE COMING IN THESE PROJECTS.
THE CITY IS NOT, IS ONLY PAYING FOR A PORTION OF THE PROJECTS.
THE DEVELOPERS ARE BRINGING IN A LOT OF PRIVATE EQUITY AND OTHER, UH, SUBSIDIES THAT HELP GET THESE BUILT.
AND IT HAS AN ENORMOUS IMPACT ON, ON THE, UM, LOCAL ECONOMY.
SO THE 20 18 13 AND 2018 BONDS BUILT AND REHABILITATED, 4,370 HOMES, 3,700 WERE DEEPLY AFFORDABLE AND 830 WERE PERMANENTLY SUPPORTIVE HOMES.
AND YOU CAN SEE THESE NUMBERS.
THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, SHOWS THE ONGOING IMPACT OF THESE UNITS.
UM, SO EACH YEAR YOU SEE AN ONGOING IMPACT OF 101 MILLION PER YEAR FROM THE 136 MILLION BONDS SPENT THROUGH VARIOUS IMPACTS ON THE ECONOMY AND DOLLARS SAVED THROUGH ALL OF THESE PROGRAMS. SO THIS IS, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, AN INVESTMENT THAT HAS A LARGE ROI, WE GET A LOT OF BENEFITS FROM THESE PROGRAMS IN MANY WAYS BEYOND FILLING THE VERY NECESSARY TO FILL AFFORDABLE HOUSING, UH, GAP.
SO THE CITY'S REQUEST THAT WE RECEIVED, THE HOMELESS STRATEGY OFFICE ASKED FOR 50 MILLION TO REPLACE THE ARCH, THE DOWNTOWN, UH, SHELTER AND A FEW OTHER SHELTERS WITH A NEW FACILITY THAT WOULD
[01:50:01]
PROVIDE SERVICES AND REPLACED BEDS.THERE WAS A $15 MILLION ASK FOR A HOMELESS RESOURCE CENTER THAT WOULD PROVIDE CASE MANAGEMENT AND A RANGE OF SERVICES, UM, FOR FOOD, CLOTHING, AND SHELTER FROM THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT.
THE REQUEST WAS 350 MILLION AND THAT WOULD BE IN LINE WITH THE SPENDING THAT CAME OUT OF THE LAST BOND.
UM, THAT'S ABOUT 40 TO 80 MILLION EACH YEAR OVER A SIX YEAR SPEND.
AND THAT, UM, THOSE FUNDS GO TOWARDS DEVELOPING THESE MULTIFAMILY PROJECTS FROM LIKE FOUND FOUNDATION COMMUNITIES, UM, HOME OWNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FROM HABITAT FOR HUMANITY, CARITAS, UM, CREATING UNITS AROUND TOWN.
UH, THEY, THIS, THESE FUNDS ARE EITHER DISTRIBUTED THROUGH RENTAL HOUSING OR HOME OWNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT.
AND IN ALL CASES, THE CITY'S CONTRIBUTION IS A FRACTION OF THE TOTAL PROJECT COST, BUT IS REQUIRED TO COMPLETE THE ENTIRE PACKAGE.
THESE UNITS DO NOT GET BUILT WITHOUT CITY SUBSIDY.
SO WHILE THEY ARE LEVERAGING FEDERAL DOLLARS OR PRIVATE EQUITY, THERE IS GOING TO BE A CONSTRUCTION GAP THAT IS NECESSARY FOR THE CITY TO COME IN.
SO, UM, AND THEN THERE'S ALSO A PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM IN WHICH THE CITY PURCHASES, UM, AFFORDABLE UNITS THAT ARE COMING OUT OF THEIR COMPLIANCE PERIOD, SO WOULD OTHERWISE BE LOST TO THE MARKET, UH, AND THEIR HOME REPAIR PROGRAM.
SO, UM, WHAT WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT HERE TODAY IS THAT THE BOND SPEND PLAN THAT WAS ALLOCATED FOR THE 200, UH, FOR THE 2022 BONDS COULD BE EXTENDED.
SO THAT WOULD MEAN WE ARE TAKING THE MONEY THAT WAS DESIGNED TO CONTINUE TO FILL THE GAPS AND FOLLOW THE PLAN THAT THEY HAD TO RESPOND TO THE NEED OF THOSE 45,000 UNITS THAT ARE REQUIRED.
AND THE OTHER PROGRAMS. SO, YOU KNOW, UNLIKE IF THE PROJECTS WERE NAMED AND WE WERE SITTING HERE SAYING, OH, WELL WE'RE JUST NOT GONNA BUILD THIS LIBRARY BECAUSE WE'RE GONNA CUT THE MONEY.
WE CAN'T SEE IT THAT WAY BECAUSE IT'S, THE PROJECTS HAVEN'T BEEN DETERMINED YET BECAUSE THAT'S HOW THAT DEPARTMENT WORKS.
SO IF WE JUST CUT THE MONEY AT WHERE IT IS AND SAY, STRETCH THESE DOLLARS OUT THAT YOU WERE GONNA SPEND BY THE END OF THE YEAR TO THE NEXT TWO YEARS, WE WILL SIMPLY SEE FEWER UNITS OF HOUSING BUILT IN AUSTIN TO ADDRESS THE GAP.
UM, THE 350 MILLION REQUEST FROM WHAT WE HEARD FROM THE CITY WAS NOT A PIE IN THE SKY NUMBER.
IT WAS WHAT CAN BE DONE AND WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE.
SO WE HAD A VERY CHALLENGING TASK OF HOW DO WE CHIP AWAY AT WHAT WE KNOW IS NECESSARY.
UM, IT WAS NOT, UH, WE WEREN'T LOOKING AT THE VARIOUS INDIVIDUAL PROGRAMS TO TRY TO CHIP AWAY AT THEM.
WE AS A GROUP JUST DETERMINED THAT THERE IS A GREAT NEED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND THE CITY, UM, SHOULD USE THE FUNDS AS NEEDED IN THE AREAS OF RENTAL AND HOME OWNERSHIP.
UM, WE WERE A LITTLE LESS CONCERNED WITH THE REP HOME REPAIR PROGRAM 'CAUSE IT DOES SEEM LIKE THAT FUNDING IS A LITTLE MORE, YOU KNOW, FLEXIBLE AND THAT THE, THE DEPARTMENT CAN, CAN MOVE FORWARD ON THAT AS THEY SEE FIT.
SO OUR RECOMMENDATION, UM, WAS TO FUND THE 50 MILLION FOR THE HOMELESS STRATEGY OFFICE.
CAN YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE? I THINK? OH YEAH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
UH, TO FUND THE 50 MILLION FOR THE HOMELESS STRATEGY OFFICE.
AND WE BELIEVE THAT THE TWO, THAT 270 MILLION WAS CHIPPING AWAY AT THE 350 MILLION THAT WAS REQUESTED, BUT WOULD STILL SERVE THE CITY.
AND THE SIGNIFICANT NEED WE FOUND AND, UM, AT LEAST NOT DROP OFF A CLIFF OF PRODUCING THE UNITS THAT ARE GREATLY NEEDED FROM THE DEPARTMENT.
UM, WE AS A, AS A MEDIUM RECOMMENDATION, WE OFFERED 47 MILLION FOR THE HOMELESS STRATEGY OFFICE.
THAT WAS JUST A, THESE ARE AVERAGES OF WHAT THE, UM, THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS PUT FORWARD AS WHAT THEY WOULD BE COMFORTABLE SEEING.
SO DROPPING DOWN TO 145 MILLION FOR RENTAL AND HOME OWNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND THEN OUR ABSOLUTE MINIMUM THAT WE THOUGHT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE.
WE DID NOT, NONE OF US BELIEVED THAT THE HOMELESS STRATEGY OFFICE SHOULD BE, UM, UNDER UNDERFUNDED AND, UH, COULD NOT REALLY IMAGINE THAT WE WOULD DROP UNDER 105 MILLION.
BUT THAT IS LIKE THE FLOOR THAT WE WERE THINKING.
IF WE CANNOT FIND IT WITHIN THE GROUP TO FUND, UH, THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE CITY, THERE REALLY WASN'T ANY WAY TO PRIORITIZE THIS BECAUSE IT WAS SIMPLY, THIS IS OUR NEED AND ANYTHING WE GET IS LESS THAN OUR NEED AND IS GOING TO HURT THE PROJECTION OF UNITS THAT WE PUT FORWARD.
SO IT WAS A VERY DIFFICULT TASK AND UM, YOU KNOW, OUR GROUP WAS QUITE SHOCKED TO SEE THE, THE MEMO COME OUT OF $0, UM, FROM THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE.
UM, BECAUSE WE DID HEAR LOUD AND CLEAR THAT UNITS WERE NEEDED FROM BOTH THE PUBLIC AND FROM THE DEPARTMENT.
SO, UM, I WILL SAY THAT THE HOMELESS STRATEGY OFFICE, I, I'M PRETTY SURE IS NOT PART OF THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING ACTUAL BALLOT LANGUAGE.
IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT CONSIDERED THE SAME THING.
SO THAT WOULD BE ON THE FACILITIES, I BELIEVE THE FACILITIES BUDGET.
SO THAT IS SOMETHING TO KEEP IN MIND AS WE MOVE
[01:55:01]
FORWARD.BUT THAT WE WERE ASKED TO LOOK AT IT ALONG WITH AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
UM, THEY ARE CONSIDERED LEGALLY DIFFERENT 'CAUSE ONE IS TAX EXEMPT AND ONE IS NOT AND IT'S COMPLICATED.
BUT, UM, SO THESE ARE OUR NUMBERS WITH THE 270 MILLION BEING OUR RECOMMENDATION.
UM, AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS OR IF ANYONE ELSE WANTS TO PROVIDE INPUT FROM THE ONE OTHER THING.
LOOKING AT THOSE, THOSE TOTALS, OBVIOUSLY THE FLOOR IS, IS PROBABLY CLOSER TO WHAT'S REALISTIC, UH, AT, AT THE, IF, IF THERE'S A BOND THAT MOVES FORWARD THIS YEAR.
THAT BEING SAID, IT SEEMS THAT IS STILL OF QUESTION VERY MUCH UP IN THE AIR.
UH, IF THE BOND WILL HAPPEN THIS YEAR, IF THE BOND WILL BE POSTPONED IN TWO YEARS, IF THE BOND IS POSTPONED IN TWO YEARS, THAT MEANS ALL AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOND FUNDING WILL BE SPENT.
UH, AND THERE WON'T BE ANY LEFT.
SO AT THAT POINT, IT'LL BE A QUESTION OF THINKING ABOUT WHAT, WHAT A SUBSTANTIAL, WHAT A REGULAR SUBSTANTIAL BOND ALLOCATION SHOULD BE.
IF, IF I COULD ALSO ADD ABOUT THE HOMELESS SERVICES, UM, OFFICE, UM, THAT PARTICULAR PROJECT DOES HAVE SOME OPPORTUNITY TO REALIZE EFFICIENCIES IN TERMS OF CONSOLIDATING SOME OF THOSE HOMELESS SERVICES SUPPORT.
UM, THERE MAY BE ABLE TO OPPORTUNITY TO SORT OF DEPLOY, UM, REPURPOSE ASSETS IN A MEANINGFUL WAY TO RECOUP SOME OF THOSE DOLLARS.
AND, AND THERE ARE ALSO SOME TIMELINES AND DEADLINES BY WHICH THOSE AGENCIES AND SUPPORT SERVICES HAVE TO BE OUT OF THOSE BUILDINGS THAT WERE OF GRAVE CONCERN, WHICH IS WHY WE SORT OF ADVANCE THAT PROJECT FORWARD AS PART OF THE, THE PROPOSAL.
UM, I WOULD SAY SORT OF SHAVING OFF DOLLARS, IT'S, YOU KNOW, I, I, I PERSONALLY WOULD, DID NOT RECOMMEND THAT.
UM, BUT THERE IS SOME OPPORTUNITY DOWN THE ROAD TO REALIZE EFFICIENCIES AND REALIZE SOME, UM, POTENTIAL CAPITAL DOLLARS TO REINVEST AS A, AS YOU REPURPOSE THOSE CITY ASSETS.
OTHER QUESTIONS OR THOUGHTS FROM FOLKS ON KABA? KABA, GO AHEAD.
UM, YEAH, SORRY, I WAS JUST GETTING TO THE UNMUTE.
UM, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UH, I ACTUALLY JUST GOT A TEXT FROM SOMEBODY WHO IS WAITING STILL TO GIVE PUBLIC COMMENT, I THINK ON THIS ISSUE.
SO, UM, I, I I HOPE WE LET THEM SPEAK BEFORE WE CLOSE OUT THE MEETING.
'CAUSE I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR TWO HOURS.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? UNDERSTANDING THAT, UM, WE DID NOT GIVE THEM A, A LOT OF TIME TO THIS GROUP, BUT WE WILL CERTAINLY HAVE MORE TIME IN UPCOMING MEETINGS TO REALLY DIVE IN.
APPRECIATE THE WORKING GROUP'S EFFORTS AND THE PRESENTATION.
SORRY, JC, JUST A NOTE OF APPRECIATION FOR THE LOW MEDIUM HIGH RECOMMENDATION.
UM, AT RICH'S RECOMMENDATION, THE TRANSPORTATION ELECTRIFICATION GROUP WENT BACK AND IS DOING THE SAME THING.
UM, WE'RE COMING UP WITH SOME SIMILAR KIND OF NUMBERS TOO, SO THAT'S GOOD TO SEE.
I'D LOVE TO SEE SIMILAR, UM, TIERED RECOMMENDATIONS FROM WORKING GROUPS GOING FORWARD IF IT'S POSSIBLE.
I KNOW THOSE ARE HARD CONVERSATIONS, BUT THEY'RE GOOD CONVERSATIONS AND THEY HELP MY DELIBERATIVE PROCESS.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS ON THIS ITEM? OKAY, LET'S HAVE OUR, UM, PUBLIC SPEAKER.
WELL, I, I DO JUST WANNA SAY THAT UNFORTUNATELY WITH THE LOW NUMBER, THAT'S PROBABLY LIKE A COUPLE OF PROJECTS A YEAR, IT IS BECAUSE THESE ARE EXPENSIVE PROJECTS, SO IT REALLY DOES BECOME LIKE, WHAT IS FILLING THE GAP AT THAT POINT.
I MEAN, NOT FILLING THE GAP, LIKE SORT OF KEEPING THE DRIP ON TO GET TO THE NEXT PLACE.
OKAY, WE'RE GONNA MOVE BACK TO PUBLIC SPEAKING.
SO PRAXIS, WHENEVER YOU'RE READY, YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES.
SO WE'LL COME BACK TO YOU KEISHA, IF YOU ARE READY.
KEISHA, CAN YOU HEAR US?
[02:00:01]
LET ME SEE.IT SAYS I CAN'T UNMUTE MYSELF, BUT SHE'S IN THE MEETING ONLINE.
SHE'S NOT CURRENTLY MUTED, BUT LET ME JUST MAKE HER A PANELIST REAL QUICK.
I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR TWO HOURS.
I REALLY APPRECIATE Y'ALL MAKING THE EFFORT TO GET ME ON.
UM, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.
MY NAME IS SO PRAXIS FROM DISTRICT THREE.
I'M HERE AS A LONGTIME AUSTINITE LOW INCOME RENTER SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF COMMUNITY PART A TX TO ASK THAT YOU PLEASE PRIORITIZE THAT $320 MILLION MAXIMUM FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
AND THAT THOSE DOLLARS GO TO UNITS FOR ZERO TO 30% MFI AND PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING UNITS.
THE COMMUNITY DOESN'T WANT THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT TO HAVE TO STRETCH HOUSING DOLLARS.
WE NEED MORE INVESTMENTS IN DEEPLY AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
NOW, AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS WE'RE TOP PRIORITIES FOR THE PUBLIC IN THE COMMUNITY SURVEY.
WE ALSO NEED TO FUND THE HOMELESS STRATEGY OFFICES PLAN TO EXPAND SHELTER AND MORE MONEY FOR HOUSING PRESERVATION WITH RE RESIDENT OVERSIGHT TO PURCHASE MORE EXISTING AFFORDABLE UNITS AT RISK OF DEMOLITION.
WE HAVEN'T DONE ENOUGH PRESERVATION AS SHOWN BY CASES LIKE ACACIA CLIFFS.
ERIC GOMEZ, ACACIA CLIFFS TENANT LEADER ASKED ME TO SHARE SOME WORDS BASED ON HIS EXPERIENCE IN WHICH 290 UNITS OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING WERE REZONED DUE TO A CITY POLICY THAT INCENTIVIZES THE DESTRUCTION OF OUR LIMITED AFFORDABLE HOUSING STOCK FOR PROFIT.
TO PUT ERIC'S EXPERIENCE IN CONTEXT, HE WAS FIGHTING FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING WHILE ALSO DEALING WITH HARASSMENT BY DOGE AS A FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WORKER, HE SAID, I WOULD LIKE TO RESPECTFULLY REQUEST THAT THE BONDED, UH, ELECTION ADVISORY TASK FORCE ALLOCATE FUNDS FOR PEOPLE LIVING AT 30% MFI AND BELOW.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING AFFECTS EVERYONE, BUT THIS GROUP IS PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE TO CHANGES IN THE MARKETPLACE AND HAVE BEEN UNDERSERVED.
MANY OF OUR UNITS, ATAC CLIFFS ARE AT 30%.
MFII HAVE NEIGHBORS WHO ARE DISABLED, ELDERLY VETERANS, AND AT RISK OF HOMELESSNESS THERE ARE UNITS.
THESE ARE THE UNITS AUSTIN DESPERATELY NEEDS TO PROTECT AND PRESERVE THROUGH INVESTMENTS.
FURTHERMORE, I REQUEST THAT THE BTF, UM, ALLOCATE FUNDS FOR PRESERVATION FUND TO PRESERVE NOAH.
I'M A RESIDENT OF ACACIA CLIFFS AND I'VE PERSONALLY BEEN NEGATIVELY IMPACTED BY CITY COUNCIL'S DECISION TO REZONE MY APARTMENT SO THAT REAL ESTATE DEVELOPERS CAN RAISE MY HOME TO BUILD LUXURY CONDOMINIUMS. ACACIA CLIFFS IS UNIQUE TO THE FAR WEST AREA FOR BEING DEEPLY AFFORDABLE.
TRYING TO FIND AN APARTMENT FOR THE SAME RENT IS NEAR IMPOSSIBLE IN AUSTIN, NEVERMIND IN THE SAME AREA.
IT'S TOO LATE TO SAVE SCIA CLIFFS.
BUT SINCE AUSTIN LIKES TO BE CONSIDERED LEADERS IN AFFORDABILITY, UM, THEN A PRESERVATION FUND FOR NOAH WOULD HELP TO MITIGATE THE NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF DISPLACEMENT AND GENTRIFICATION.
SO, BACK TO SPEAKING ON MY OWN BEHALF, I'D LIKE TO SHARE THAT THIS IS A TIME OF GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO PURCHASE AFFORDABLE APARTMENTS AND LAND BANK TO BUILD DEEPLY AFFORDABLE HOUSING, INCLUDING SOCIAL HOUSING THAT REACHES ZERO TO 30% MFI HOUSEHOLDS.
THE HOUSING MARKET HAS COOLED DUE TO A VARIETY OF ECONOMIC FACTORS.
AND ALTHOUGH AUSTIN'S DEMOGRAPHICS CHANGED DRAMATICALLY DURING MANY YEARS OF MARKET DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT OF LUXURY TOWERS, MANY OF US WHO ARE LOW INCOME RENTERS, HOMEOWNERS, AND UNHOUSED NEIGHBORS ARE STILL HERE.
I LIVE AT AN APARTMENT THAT WAS PRESERVED AS AFFORDABLE IN PART THROUGH CITY FUNDING AND AFFORDABLE DEVELOPERS WILLING TO MAKE AN OFFER ON ACACIA CLIFFS TO PRESERVE IT AS A HUNDRED PERCENT AFFORDABLE OR REDEVELOP WHILE MITIGATING DISPLACEMENT AND INCREASING UNITS.
WE HOPE OR, OR WE KNOW THAT PRESERVATION OF EXISTING AFFORDABLE HOUSING WORKS, WE HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO COLLABORATE WITH TRUSTED, AFFORDABLE DEVELOPERS.
AND WE NEED A HOUSING PRESERVATION FUND THAT ACTUALLY HAS COMMUNITY OVERSIGHT TO LOCK IN DEEP, DEEPLY AFFORDABLE SUPPLY.
LET'S PRESERVE AND BUILD DEEPLY AFFORDABLE HOUSING ON CITY ON PROPERTY.
THE CITY HAS NOT GOTTEN ANYWHERE CLOSE TO MEETING OUR HOUSING NEEDS FOR RESIDENTS AT ZERO TO 30%.
UM, IN SOME, THE CITY IS BARELY PRODUCING DEEPLY AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND DESTROYING THROUGH DENSITY BONUSES MORE THAN THEY PRODUCE.
FINALLY, MY COLLEAGUEAL RAMOS WAS ASKED TO MEET WITH RESIDENTS WHO DUE TO NOT BEING ABLE TO AFFORD THEIR PROPERTY TAXES, NOW LIVE IN THE WOODS BEHIND WHAT USED TO BE THEIR GENERATIONAL HOME IN EAST AUSTIN.
THESE ARE THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE STATISTIC.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORDS POPULATION.
WELL, WHILE, WHILE WE'RE WAITING, JUST IN CASE THAT PERSON COMES UP, UM, THE NEXT ITEM ON
[3. Approve revisions to 2026 Bond Election Advisory Task Force Work Plan.]
THE AGENDA, WE HAD APPROVE REVISIONS TO THE 2026 BOND ELECTION ADVISORY TASK FORCE WORK PLAN.I DON'T THINK THERE ACTUALLY ARE ANY REVISIONS NECESSARY.
WHAT WE HAD PLANNED FOR THAT, THAT MEETING IS DISCUSSION OF INITIAL WORKING GROUP RECOMMENDATIONS.
I WILL BE BACK TOGETHER HAVING MORE TIME TO, TO WORK THROUGH THE RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND I, UH, WOULD HOPE THAT BETWEEN NOW AND THEN THOSE WORKING GROUPS CAN REASSEMBLE AND START TO TAKE SOME OF THE FEEDBACK THAT WE'VE GOTTEN AT LEAST INITIALLY.
AND, UH, I WOULD SECOND THE, THE SUGGESTION BY JC THAT WE COME UP WITH, WITH, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, SMALL, MEDIUM, LARGE, AND, UM, THEN ALLOW THE GROUP TO TALK THROUGH THAT.
SO I, THAT WILL STAY ON THE AGENDA FOR NEXT TIME AND OTHERWISE WE DON'T NEED TO CHANGE, CHANGE THAT.
I APPRECIATE THE WORKING GROUPS, UH, MAKING THEIR PRESENTATIONS.
WE'VE GOT A LOT OF WORK TO DO, BUT I'M GLAD WE'VE, UM, GOT A START.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
ELSE, UH, FOLKS WOULD LIKE TO PUT ON THE AGENDA FOR MARCH THE NINTH? ANNA, I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING FOR THE AGENDA FOR FUTURE.UM, PEOPLE NEED HELP NAVIGATING THE WEBSITE BECAUSE
[02:05:01]
I'VE BEEN GETTING CALLS ABOUT HOW DO I FIND OUT ABOUT THESE OPEN HOUSE MEETINGS.AND SO IF WE CAN JUST PUT THOSE TO THE VERY FRONT INSTEAD OF THEM HAVING TO GO THROUGH THE WORK GROUPS PIECE ALL THE WAY DOWN.
SO THEY'RE NAVIGATING THROUGH OUR, OUR PAGE.
AND IT'S, IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE AT ALL.
SO THEY NEED TO HAVE JUST THE STRAIGHT AND THEN THEY, IT WOULD BE HELPFUL IF THEY KNEW ALSO THAT IT WAS A COME AND GO.
THEY DON'T, 'CAUSE THEY'RE SEEING LIKE TWO HOURS OR WHATEVER THEY, WE CAN BE THERE.
SO IT'S A COME AND GO TYPE THING AND THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
WELL, MAYBE WE CAN WORK WITH LUCERO LUCERO AND HER TEAM TO TRY TO MAKE THAT A LITTLE BIT CLEARER.
UM, ANYTHING ELSE FOR MARCH 9TH MEETING? WE'VE GOT A LOT OF WORK TO DO, SO I THINK WE PROBABLY HAVE, WE USE UP OUR TIME, BUT I MEAN I'M STILL LOOKING FOR LIKE SOMEBODY FROM EITHER PACE OR SOMEBODY ELSE TO TALK ABOUT ENERGY SAVINGS, PERFORMANCE CONTRACTING AS VEHICLE TO REDUCE THE, UH, FACILITY COSTS.
SO EITHER, WELL IF THAT COMES UP, YOU KNOW, EMAIL ME AND WE CAN GET IT ON THE AGENDA.
BEFORE CHAIR, UM, MS. JOSEPH HAD A COMMENT ON ITEM, UM, NUMBER THREE ON, OKAY.
YES, THIS IS ON THE WORK PLAN IS MADAM CHAIR.
MADAM CHAIR MEMBERS, I'M OPIA JOSEPH AGAIN, I JUST WANTED TO PREFACE BY ASKING YOU TO POST WHAT YOU'RE ACTUALLY LOOKING AT.
I APPRECIATE THAT YOU'RE ACTUALLY DIS OR PLAN TO DISCUSS THE INITIAL LIST AS RELATES SPECIFICALLY TO GUS GARCIA.
IT WENT FROM $55 MILLION AND IT WAS A MAY NOT A MUST, THAT THEY MUST BUILD SOMETHING THERE FOR THE SENIORS TO $30 MILLION.
IT WOULD BE HELPFUL WHEN YOU BRING THIS ITEM BACK THAT YOU ACTUALLY SHOW THE COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS WHEN THE PRICE CHANGES.
I PUT IN AN OPEN RECORDS REQUEST, BUT THAT'S NOT TRANSPARENT, SO I'M NOT SURE WHY IT'S EVEN AS EXPENSIVE AS IT SHOWS.
UM, BASED ON THE OTHER SENIOR CENTERS.
UM, I WOULD JUST ALSO ASK YOU TO RECOGNIZE WHEN IT COMES TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING, IT WOULD BE HELPFUL IF YOU ACTUALLY LOOKED AT THE ZONING CASES AND ACTUALLY SAW HOW MANY UNITS WERE, UH, USED TO DISPLACE INDIVIDUALS.
I'LL JUST GIVE YOU A POINT OF REFERENCE.
OCTOBER 17TH, 2019, EAST RIVERSIDE, THE CITY REZONED 1,308 UNITS.
IT WAS ONE OF THE LARGEST REZONINGS, OCTOBER 23RD, LESS THAN A, A WEEK LATER HEATHER WAY, THE UT LAW PROFESSOR ACTUALLY WROTE AN ARTICLE THAT ACTUALLY SAID, UH, IT DIDN'T HAVE TO BE THAT WAY.
SO HALTING DISPLACEMENT ON EAST RIVERSIDE IS WHAT SHE REFERRED TO.
AND OFTENTIMES YOU'LL HEAR THE UPROOTED REPORT.
SHE WAS ONE OF THE CO-AUTHORS OF THAT AND THE CITY HAS NOT FOLLOWED WHAT THEY HAVE RECOMMENDED, BUT YET USE THAT TO JUSTIFY THE DECISIONS THAT THEY'VE MADE.
SO I WOULD JUST BE HELPFUL TO SEE HOW MANY UNITS HAVE, UH, BEEN REZONED AND THE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN DISPLACED VERSUS WHAT YOU'RE ACTUALLY REPLACING THOSE UNITS WITH.
I WOULD VENTURE TO SAY THAT, UH, EVEN WITH THE LITTLE BIT OF, UH, AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS THAT ARE BEING, UH, PLACED, UH, IT'S NOT EQUALING WHAT HAS BEEN TAKEN AWAY.
I WOULD ALSO ASK YOU, AND I'VE ASKED COUNSEL AS WELL FOR A MAP OVERLAY SO YOU CAN SEE THE AREA MEDIAN INCOME, UH, AND THE NUMBER OF UNITS AS WELL.
AND THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO MAKE MY COMMENTS.
WE ARE, UH, 12 PAST THE HOUR, SO I WILL MOVE TO ADJOURN.
SECOND, WE JUST WE'RE JUST ADJOURNED.