[00:00:04]
[CALL TO ORDER]
TO CALL THE REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETING OF THE MUSIC COMMISSION TO ORDER OUR, UH, BEAUTIFUL CITY WAS, UM, FACED WITH A REAL TRAGEDY, TRAGEDY THIS, UH, SATURDAY.UM, I WOULD LIKE TO, UH, JUST YIELD A FEW MINUTES TO COMMISSIONER CARDENAS TO SAY A FEW WORDS, AND, UH, WE'LL PROCEED WITH THE MEETING AFTER.
UM, I'D JUST LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE LIVES LOST AND THOSE INJURED AND AFFECTED BY THIS WEEKEND'S SHOOTING DOWNTOWN TO THE VICTIMS, THEIR FAMILIES, AND LOVED ONES.
OUR HEARTS ARE WITH YOU DURING THIS TRAGIC TIME, AND THIS IMPACTS OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY AND THE SPACES AND PEOPLE THAT WE REPRESENT.
AND I'D LIKE TO ASK JUST FOR A BRIEF MOMENT OF SILENCE.
[PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL ]
UH, START WITH PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS.UH, WE HAVE, UM, MS. LAURA ESPARZA FROM A THREE ART ALLIANCE AUSTIN.
AND THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS FOR HEARING MY COMMENTS TODAY.
UH, MY NAME IS LAURA ESPARZA, AND I'M EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF A THREE ART ALLIANCE AUSTIN.
WE WORK TO SUSTAIN AUSTIN'S ARTS ECOSYSTEM AT A TIME OF SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGE FOR AUSTIN'S CREATIVE SECTOR ARTISTS, MUSICIANS, PERFORMERS, CULTURAL WORKERS, AND CREATIVE LEADER.
LEADERS FROM ACROSS THE CITY WILL GATHER FOR THE BIG WE A CREATIVE CONVENING.
AND I'VE LEFT A LITTLE FLYER AT, UH, EACH OF YOUR DESKS, A CITYWIDE EVENT FOCUSED ON CONNECTION, COLLABORATION, AND COLLECTIVE PROBLEM SOLVING.
TAKING PLACE OVER 24 HOURS, NOT, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE NOT GONNA SPEND THE NIGHT, BUT
THIS CONVENING IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE CREATIVE COMMUNITY WITH PRE-REGISTRATION USING THE QR CODE.
AUSTIN'S CREATIVE COMMUNITY IS FACING WHAT ORGANIZERS DESCRIBE AS A PERFECT STORM REDUCTIONS OR DELAYS IN FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL FUNDING, A SHORTAGE OF PERFORMANCE, REHEARSAL AND STUDIO SPACE, AND LIMITED CIVIC INFRASTRUCTURE TO SUPPORT ARTISTS AND ARTS ORGANIZATIONS IN TIMES OF NEED.
AT THE SAME TIME, LONGSTANDING CREATIVE SPACES HAVE CLOSED AND MANY ORGANIZATIONS HAVE BEEN FORCED TO HUNKER DOWN WORKING IN ISOLATION TO SUSTAIN THEIR WORK.
IN RESPONSE, A GROUP OF ABOUT A DOZEN AUSTIN ARTS LEADERS BEGAN GATHERING INFORMALLY TO ASK A SHARED QUESTION, HOW CAN WE WORK TOGETHER TOWARDS SOMETHING GREATER THAN OUR DIFFERENCES? FROM THESE CONVERSATIONS THAT CREATIVE CONGRESS EMERGED ACROSS SECTOR COALITION OF ARTISTS, MUSICIANS, ORGANIZERS, ADMINISTRATORS, AND CULTURAL LEADERS WORKING TO STRENGTHEN COHESION ACROSS AUSTIN'S CREATIVE COMMUNITY.
WITH, UH, ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT FROM ART ALLIANCE AUSTIN, THE CREATIVE CONGRESS DEVELOPED THE BIG WE AS A PARTICIPATORY CONVENING CREATED BY CREATIVES FOR CREATIVES ACROSS DISCIPLINES.
THE GATHERING IS DESIGNED TO FOSTER COLLABORATION, SHARE RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES, AND GENERATE COMMUNITY DRIVEN SOLUTIONS TO THE CHALLENGES FACING AUSTIN'S CREATIVE ECOSYSTEM.
UNLIKE TRADITIONAL CONFERENCES, THE BIG, WE EMPHASIZES COLLABORATION AND DEMOCRATIC ENGAGEMENT.
THROUGH FACILITATED SESSIONS USING OPEN SPACE TECHNOLOGY, PARTICIPANTS WILL ACTIVELY SHAPE CONVERSATIONS, IDENTIFIES SHARED CHALLENGES, AND EXPLORE COLLECTIVE SOLUTIONS ACROSS DISCIPLINES AND SECTORS.
THE GOALS OF THE CONVENING INCLUDE EMPOWERING EMERGING LEADERS TO ADDRESS CHALLENGES FACING THE CREATIVE SECTOR, CREATING A SENSE OF IDENTITY FOR OUR DIVERSE CREATIVE COMMUNITY THROUGH RELATIONSHIP BUILDING AND GATHERING INPUT TOWARDS A COMMUNITY INFORMED DIVISION FOR AUSTIN'S CREATIVE FUTURE.
SO, I'D LIKE TO INVITE ALL OF YOU
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TO ATTEND MARCH THE 27TH, BEGINNING AT NOON, AND, UM, THE MORNING OF MARCH THE 28TH.UH, MORE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND AT THE QR CODE.
[2. Staff briefing on Live Music Fund collections by Kim McCarson, Program Manager, Music & Entertainment , Austin Arts, Culture, Music & Entertainment (AACME).]
BRIEFINGS.WE HAVE STAFF BRIEFING ON LIVE MUSIC FUND COLLECTIONS BY KIM MC CARSON, PROGRAM MANAGER, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT.
HELLO, IT IS KIM MACARON, PROGRAM MANAGER.
I'M WITH CULTURAL CULTURAL AFFAIRS AND INVESTMENTS DIVISION, AND, UH, I AM GIVING YOU THE UPDATE ON THE HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX FUNDS FOR THE LIVE MUSIC FUND UP THROUGH JANUARY.
SO, THE, TO THE, UH, AMOUNT THAT WAS COLLECTED, UH, DEC UH, JANUARY 798,245, AND THAT GIVES US CUMULATIVE TOTAL OF 1,758,090.
AND THAT'S A 4% INCREASE, UM, FOR THE CUMULATIVE TOTAL AT THIS TIME, THE PREVIOUS FISCAL YEAR.
AND I, MY UNDERSTANDING FROM THE LAST MEETING IS THAT THIS WOULD INCLUDE THE, UM, UH, SHORT-TERM RENTALS, BUT I DON'T HAVE SEPARATE DATA ON SHORT-TERM RENTALS FOR YOU.
UM, HAVEN'T RECEIVED THAT, BUT, UH, BUT MY UNDERSTANDING IS THIS, IT WOULD, WOULD INCLUDE THAT.
AND ANY QUESTIONS? THANK QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, COMMISSIONERS.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES ]
NOT, IF I MAY, I'M JUST GONNA JUMP BACK TO THE APPROVAL OF MINUTES.UH, SO IF EVERYBODY HAD A CHANCE TO REVIEW THE MEETINGS FROM, UH, MEETING NOTES FROM FEBRUARY 2ND MEETING, UH, IF SOMEBODY COULD MOTION TO APPROVE, WE HAVE A MOTION FROM COMMISSIONER PRICE.
UH, DO I HAVE A SECOND? SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER ENGLAND.
MOTION IS UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED, UH, FULL HOUSE TODAY.
[3. Staff briefing on FY24 Austin Live Music Fund final reports by Erica Shamaly, Division Manager, Music & Entertainment Division, AACME. ]
TO THE STAFF BRIEFING.SO MY APOLOGIES FOR MISSING THAT THERE.
UM, WE HAVE STAFF BRIEFING ON FY 24 AUSTIN LIGHT MUSIC FUND, FINAL REPORTS BY RICO SHAMALI, DIVISION MANAGER, USING AND ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION, ACME.
THIS IS LAURA ODEGAARD, UH, ACTING DIVISION MANAGER OF, UM, AT ARTS AUSTIN, ARTS, CULTURE, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT.
UM, I'M ACTUALLY GOING TO BE PRESENTING, UM, THIS ITEM OF ERICA'S IN MY PRESENTATION, UM, WHICH IS A FEW LATER IN THE AGENDA.
SO I JUST, UM, I'M HAPPY TO SHARE PART OF THE SLIDE DECK WITH YOU NOW, OR IF YOU WANT TO MOVE IT, UM, WITH, WITH MINE LATER, IT'S UP, IT'S UP TO YOU CHAIR.
UM, UH, LAURA, IT'S JUST AN UPDATE ON THE FINAL REPORTS FOR THE, UH, THE PAST, UH, CYCLE, RIGHT? YEAH, THAT, I MEAN, IF WE CAN GO AHEAD AND COVER IT NOW, PLEASE DO.
UH, IF YOU HAVE A PREFERENCE, SURELY.
UM, SO JUST WANTED TO SHARE THE UPDATES FROM LAST MONTH.
SO FOR OUR FY 24 LIVE MUSIC AWARDEES, UM, AS YOU KNOW, A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE FIRST PAYMENTS HAVE BEEN PAID OUT TO THE 136 AWARDEES.
UM, WE'RE AT 113 SECOND PAYMENTS THAT HAVE GONE OUT SO FAR, SO THAT'S 83%, AND WE'RE AT 63 FINAL PAYMENTS PAID OUT SO FAR.
SO 46% HAVE COMPLETELY CLOSED THEIR FY 24, UH, LIVE MUSIC FUND AWARD.
UH, QUESTIONS, COMMENTS ON THAT? COMMISSIONERS? THANK YOU.
[4. Staff briefing on Austin-Bergstrom Airport (AUS) live music performances/booking by Erica Shamaly, Division Manager, and Greg Gonzalez, Program Manager, Music & Entertainment Division, AACME. ]
BRIEFING ON THE AIRPORT LIVE MUSIC PERFORMANCES, BOOKING BY ALI, DIVISION MANAGER AND GREG GONZALEZ, PROGRAM MANAGER, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION.ACME, AND, UH, I'M AWARE ERICA IS OUT TODAY.
HELLO, UH, GREG GONZALEZ, PROGRAM MANAGER ONE, UH, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT ACNE.
UM, SO WE ARE STILL IN THE PROCESS OF INTERVIEWING CANDIDATES.
WE'VE GOTTEN THROUGH TWO ROUNDS NOW, AND WE ARE IN THE FINAL ROUND OF INTERVIEWS.
UM, WE CAN'T REALLY TALK ABOUT WHO'S BEING INTERVIEWED OR HOW THE PROCESS IS GOING, BUT WE ANTICIPATE THAT WE'LL HAVE SOMEBODY HIRED WITHIN THE NEXT WEEK AND PROBABLY STARTING
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OFFICIALLY, YOU KNOW, WORKING ON SITE PROBABLY BY THE FIRST WEEK OF APRIL.UH, QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, COMMISSIONERS? SO, GREG, AS FAR AS THE PROGRAMMING GOES, IS IT BACK UP TO SPEED EXACTLY WHERE IT NEEDED TO BE? WELL, UM, THE PERSON WHO HAD BEEN DOING BOOKING IN THE MEANWHILE CONTINUES TO DOING TO DO THE BOOKING.
UH, SO SHE'S BEEN DOING A GREAT JOB KEEPING ALL THE, UH, SLOTS FILLED.
SO THERE'S BEEN NO LAPSE IN PERFORMANCE OR CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE AT THE AIRPORT, AND WE ANTICIPATE THAT THERE WILL BE A SMOOTH TRANSITION.
UM, YEAH, THAT'S ALL I CAN REALLY SAY ABOUT IT AT THIS TIME.
ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? OKAY, THANK YOU.
[5. Staff briefing on AACME funding programs by Laura Odegaard, Acting Division Manager, AACME. ]
IS, UH, STAFF BRIEFING ON ACME FUNDING PROGRAMS BY LAURA ARD, ACTING DIVISION MANAGER, ACME.UH, MY NAME'S LAURA ODEGAARD, ACTING DIVISION MANAGER FOR AUSTIN ARTS CULTURE MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT.
UH, HERE TO GIVE YOU ALL AN UPDATE ON OUR ACME FUNDING PROGRAMS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
OH, THIS IS NOT THE CORRECT DECK.
UM, HERE WE HAVE A NICE TIMELINE.
THAT WAS THE, UH, ABBREVIATED TIMELINE THAT I SHARED WITH YOU ALL LAST MONTH.
UM, IT INCLUDED THINGS LIKE THE AWARD NOTIFICATIONS FOR OUR CURRENT FUNDING PROGRAMS, WHICH WILL BE HAPPENING, UM, THIS MONTH IN MARCH, UH, WITH FIRST FUNDING PAYMENTS, UM, ANTICIPATED TO GO OUT IN APRIL.
SO JUST A REMINDER OF WHERE WE'RE WITH THAT.
OH, NO, SHELBY, DID I GIVE YOU THE WRONG DECK? I'M WORKING ON IT.
NAGA, CAN YOU ASK YOUR QUESTION? UH, I JUST WAS, UH, WONDERING IF WE KIND OF KNOW, UH, WHEN IN MARCH THE RESULTS, THE OUTCOMES WOULD BE ANNOUNCED? SURE THING.
SO, UM, WE ARE PLANNING ON, UH, HOPEFULLY LEADERSHIP DOESN'T, UM, GET ANGRY AT ME FOR SAYING THIS, BUT WE WERE PLANNING ON A MARCH 16TH, UM, NOTIFICATION DATE FOR, UM, BOTH MAYOR AND COUNCIL FOR AWARDEES.
SO, UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT MONDAY, MAY 16TH AS OUR BIG ANNOUNCEMENT DAY.
UM, SO THAT IS, THAT IS OUR PLAN, UM, AT THE MOMENT.
AND AS A REMINDER, WE, UM, WE RECEIVED 1,607 APPLICATIONS, UM, AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO AWARD 680 GRANTS, UM, ROUGHLY 680 GRANTS, UM, WITH OUR $24.6 MILLION AVAILABLE FOR THIS ROUND.
LET'S, LET'S TRY, THANKS FOR SHARING THAT.
SO MARCH 16TH, THE COMMISSIONER
UH, HERE IS THE STATS FROM FY 24 THAT I ALREADY SPOKE TO, UM, FOR ITEM NUMBER THREE.
THIS IS WHAT I JUST WAS MENTIONING THAT FOR THIS FY 26 ACME FUNDING PROGRAMS ROUND, WE HAVE 24.6 MILLION AVAILABLE, UM, AND WE ANTICIPATE AROUND 680 GRANTS AWARDED.
UH, AS YOU ALL KNOW, UM, THE FEEDBACK IS SO CRITICALLY IMPORTANT FOR ACME AS A NEW DEPARTMENT AND FOR OUR FUNDING PROGRAMS. UM, SO AGAIN, JUST WANTED TO REITERATE THAT WE HAVE AN APPLICATION EXPERIENCE SURVEY THAT'S OPEN UNTIL MARCH 6TH, AND THIS IS FOR EVERYONE THAT IS IN THE ACME FUNDING PIPELINE.
SO EVERYONE THAT DID AT LEAST AN INTAKE FORM, AND IT'S AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH AND IN SPANISH.
UM, ADDITIONALLY, WE HAVE A COMMISSIONER PERSPECTIVE SURVEY THAT I SENT, UM, BOTH THE MUSIC COMMISSION AND THE ARTS COMMISSION LAST WEEK.
UM, SO WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU ALL TO PLEASE, UM, TO PLEASE SUBMIT, UH, YOUR THOUGHTS AND COMMENTS ABOUT THE FUNDING, UH, PROGRAMS PROCESS.
UM, AND YOUR SURVEY IS OPEN UNTIL MARCH 16TH, SO IT'S LINKED HERE, BUT ALSO, UH, WAS EMAILED DIRECTLY TO YOU ALL.
SO I'M FOCUSING MOSTLY ON THE AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND AND
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CREATIVE SPACE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM TONIGHT FOR YOU ALL.UM, SO THIS IS JUST A HIGH LEVEL, UH, OVERVIEW OF JUST THE AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND.
SO AS A REMINDER, THESE ARE AWARDS FROM $5,000 TO $70,000, UM, FOR, TO SUPPORT THE MUSIC INDUSTRY.
UM, SO YOU CAN SEE THAT WE HAD A 1,117 ELIGIBILITY FORMS SUBMITTED FOR LIVE MUSIC.
995 OF THOSE WERE DEEMED ELIGIBLE AND 112 INELIGIBLE.
THERE'S A BIT OF AN ECHO, UM, BUT WE THEN HAD 809 APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED, AND WE ANTICIPATE 380 AWARDS, UM, FOR AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND.
AND THAT'S BROKEN DOWN INTO, UM, AROUND 240 AT THE $20,000 LEVEL, 120 AT THE $5,000 LEVEL, AND 22 AT THE $70,000 LEVEL.
AND AS A REMINDER, THAT LEVEL IS FOR MUSIC VENUES.
UM, SO WE HAVE A TOTAL POT OF $7 MILLION FOR AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND.
JUST WANTED TO REITERATE TO YOU ALL THE BREAKDOWN FOR THE INELIGIBILITY REASONS FOR AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND.
SO AGAIN, THERE WERE 122 INELIGIBLE, AND THIS IS WHERE, UM, WHERE THOSE, UH, THE BREAKDOWN WAS.
UM, I KNOW I SHARED THIS WITH YOU LAST MONTH, BUT I JUST WANTED TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE IT AS WELL AS, UM, CREATIVE SPACE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
SO THIS SHOULD BE A, A REPEAT OF A SLIDE YOU SAW BEFORE.
SO THEN FOR OUR CREATIVE SPACE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, SO AS A REMINDER, THESE ARE $60,000 AWARD GRANTS.
UM, WE HAVE A POT OF $1.6 MILLION TOTAL FOR CREATIVE SPACE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
WE HAD 138 ELIGIBILITY FORMS SUBMITTED.
72 OF THOSE WERE ELIGIBLE, 66 INELIGIBLE, AND THEN WE HAD 64 APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED, AND WE HAVE AROUND 25 AWARDS ANTICIPATED.
SO THESE WERE SOME OF THE PRIMARY REASONS FOR INELIGIBILITY FOR CREATIVE SPACE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
UM, YOU CAN SEE THAT THE INELIGIBLE BUSINESS TYPE AND THE PUBLIC NOT NOT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC ESSENTIALLY AS A CREATIVE SPACE.
THOSE WERE THE TWO, UM, BIGGEST REASONS FOR INELIGIBILITY WITH CSAP.
SO I WANTED TO SPEND A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TO TALK ABOUT SCORING AS WELL.
UM, SO I, YOU ALL CAN SEE, UM, IF YOU, I CAN SHARE THE ARTS COMMISSION MEETING, UM, AS WELL.
BUT I WANTED TO JUST DO A BREAKDOWN JUST FOR LIVE MUSIC AND JUST FOR CSAP HERE.
BUT ELEVATE AND HERITAGE ARE DISCUSSED AS WELL IN THE PREVIOUS MONTHS ARTS COMMISSION MEETING.
BUT ESSENTIALLY EVERYONE SUBMITTED THEIR APPLICATIONS.
UM, AND THEN THE WAY THAT AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND WORKED IS THERE WAS AN AUTO SCORED PORTION, WHICH IS CALLED THE FORM SCORE, AND THEN OUR PARTNERS AT THE LONG CENTER, THEY REVIEWED AND VERIFIED ALL DOCUMENTATION AND ADJUSTED POINTS BASED ON THAT DOCUMENTATION, AS WELL AS SCORING SOME OTHER COMPONENTS.
AND THEN OUR STAFF, ACME STAFF, PROVIDED A SECONDARY REVIEW FOR ANY QUESTIONS.
UM, AND CURRENTLY WE ARE AT A HUNDRED PERCENT OF ALL AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND APPLICATIONS BEING REVIEWED AND PRELIMINARILY SCORED.
UM, AND SPOT AUDITS ARE HAPPENING AT THE MOMENT WITH THE LONG CENTER, AND WE, AS I SAID, WE ARE ANTICIPATING LAUNCHING THE ANNOUNCEMENT ON MARCH 16TH.
SO, THE, AGAIN, JUST WANTED TO SPELL THIS OUT, UM, THAT AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND IS NOT A PANEL REVIEW.
IT IS THE FORM SCORE, WHICH IS HOW AN APPLICANT ANSWERS THE QUESTION AND HOW THEY DOCUMENT THE ANSWERS TO THOSE QUESTIONS TO EVIDENCE THEIR RESPONSE, AS WELL AS THE REVIEWER SCORE, WHICH IS VALIDATING EVERY DOCUMENTATION SUBMITTED, AS WELL AS SCORING ANY OPEN ANSWERED QUESTIONS BY A RUBRIC TO GET THAT FINAL SCORE.
SO, SOME EXAMPLES, AND APOLOGIES IF THIS IS, UM, A LITTLE BIT SMALL, BUT THIS IS SOME SAMPLES OF THE QUESTIONS AND THEN THE POINT BREAKDOWN AND WHAT, UM, WHAT THE LONG CENTER PARTNER STAFF ARE LOOKING FOR WITH THAT EVIDENCING.
UM, SO YOU CAN SEE AS AN EXAMPLE, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS WAS WHAT LOCAL MUSIC INDUSTRY SUPPORT BUSINESSES HAVE YOU HIRED YEAR ROUND FOR OPERATIONS OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS? UM, AND THIS ONE WAS UP TO EIGHT POINTS, AND YOU WOULD GET A POINT FOR EACH BOX THAT YOU CHECKED.
UM, SO IF YOU HAD A POINT FOR EQUIPMENT OR MARKETING AND OUTREACH, UM, IT WILL AUTO SCORE YOU WITH THOSE POINTS, AND THEN
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STAFF AT THE LONG CENTER GOES BACK AND LOOKS AT THE DOCUMENTATION.AND SO THERE NEEDS TO BE AT LEAST SOME TYPE OF RECEIPT OR EVIDENCE FOR EVERY BOX THAT THE APPLICANT CHECKED IN THEIR APPLICATION IN ORDER TO GET THOSE POINTS.
UM, SIMILARLY, THE HOW HAVE YOU PARTICIPATED IN ARTIST DEVELOPMENT IN THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY? THIS ONE WAS UP TO NINE POINTS.
AND SO DEPENDING ON, UM, HOW MANY BOXES AN APPLICANT CHECKED, UM, AND WHAT EVIDENCE THEY SUBMITTED TO SUPPORT THAT, THAT WOULD BE HOW THE SCORE, UM, IS DONE.
SO, AND THEN THE OTHER EXAMPLE, ONE OF THEM WAS, UM, FOR HOW MANY PROFESSIONAL MUSIC INDUSTRY AWARDS HAVE YOU RECEIVED? SO THAT WAS UP TO THREE POINTS.
SO IF YOU'VE RECEIVED THREE OR MORE AWARDS IN THE LAST THREE YEARS, YOU GET THREE POINTS, ONE TO TWO AWARDS, TWO POINTS.
UM, IF AWARDS HAPPENED MORE THAN THREE YEARS AGO, YOU WOULD GET ONE POINT, AND IF YOU HAVEN'T RECEIVED ANY AWARD YET, YOU WOULD GET ZERO POINTS.
UM, AND SO THE TYPE OF EVIDENCE FOR THIS QUESTION WOULD BE THINGS LIKE PICTURES OF THE AWARD, NOTIFICATION OF THE AWARD, UM, ANY PRINTED ONLINE MEDIA ABOUT IT AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND THEN FOR SOME OF THE QUESTIONS.
UM, UM, I WOULD USUALLY WAIT FOR YOU TO FINISH THE WHOLE PRESENTATION, BUT IF WE COULD PLEASE GO BACK, I FEEL LIKE, UM, IF I DON'T ASK THE QUESTION RIGHT NOW, I'D LOSE TRACK.
SO, UM, WE, WE, WHEN WE, THE LAST EXAMPLE THAT WAS PROVIDED, IF YOU COULD HELP ME UNDERSTAND THE SCORING A LITTLE MORE IN DEPTH, THE, IF SOMEBODY'S CHOOSES THREE OR MORE AWARDS IN THE LAST THREE YEARS AND THEY GET THREE POINTS, IS THAT FIRST SCORED THREE POINTS BY THE SYSTEM? SO IT'S AUTOMATICALLY SCORED BY THE SYSTEM, AND THEN WHEN THE LONG CENTER TEAM GOES BACK TO VERIFY, RIGHT.
THEY NEED TO SEE EVIDENCE OF THREE OR MORE AWARDS IN THE LAST THREE YEARS.
AND IF THEY HAVE NOT, UM, PROVIDED THREE PIECES OF EVIDENCE OR A PIECE OF EVIDENCE THAT SHOWS THOSE THREE OR MORE AWARDS, THEN YOU WOULD BE SUBTRACTED POINTS.
AND SO THE LONG CENTER, BASICALLY THEY'RE LOOKING AT THIS AND SAYING, OKAY, THEY DIDN'T ACTUALLY PROVIDE EVIDENCE FOR THREE OR MORE AWARDS, RIGHT? THEY ONLY PROVIDED EVIDENCE FOR ONE AWARD.
SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A NEGATIVE TWO POINTS TO, TO COUNTERACT THAT AUTO SCORED THREE POINTS.
WE'RE GONNA SUBTRACT TWO POINTS.
SO YOU JUST GET ONE POINT BASED ON THE EVIDENCE FOR THAT QUESTION.
SO, SO THEY ARE ACTUALLY GIVING CREDIT EVEN IF, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT THE ENTIRE PROOF, BUT IT'S PARTIAL PROOF, BUT THEY'RE JUST GIVING THE DUE SCORE FOR THAT? CORRECT.
SO THIS WILL BE, UM, SAY THEY ONLY PROVIDED TWO DOCUMENTS VERSUS THREE, IT'S GOING TO BE, UH, UH, A SCORE OF MINUS TWO.
SO IT WOULD BE A MINUS, MINUS MINUS ONE, CORRECT.
TO HAVE TWO POINTS TOTAL FOR THIS QUESTION.
BUT THEY WOULD SCORE IT NEGATIVELY HERE IN THIS, IN THIS USE CASE, YES.
SO IN, IN THIS INSTANCE, SO THE, THE WAY THAT THE REVIEWER SCORE WORKS IS A TWO PART THING.
SO IT'S THE VERIFICATION OF THE EVIDENCE, RIGHT? AND SO SOME OF THAT VERIFICATION IS SUBTRACTING POINTS FOR THE AUTO SCORED QUESTIONS, RIGHT? IF THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE EVIDENCE.
AND THEN THERE'S ANOTHER COMPONENT OF THE REVIEWER SCORE THAT I HAVE ON THE NEXT SLIDE.
AND THEN IT'S THOSE TWO THINGS TOGETHER THAT CREATE THE REVIEWER SCORE, AND THEN THE REVIEWER SCORE PLUS THE FORM SCORE EQUALS THE FINAL SCORE.
SO WITH ALL OF THESE, IF IT WAS AN OPEN-ENDED QUESTION, UM, SO FOR EXAMPLE, HOW MANY STREAMS OR DOWNLOADS DO YOU HAVE FOR THE LAST 12 MONTHS ACROSS ALL ONLINE PLATFORMS? SO THERE'S A RUBRIC.
AND SO THE LONG CENTER STAFF WOULD VERIFY WHAT THE NUMBER THAT THE APPLICANT PUT FOR THIS QUESTION AGAINST THIS RUBRIC.
SO IF SOMEONE SUBMITTED AN APPLICATION AND SAID THEY HAD 5,000 STREAMS AND DOWNLOADS OVER THE LAST 12 MONTHS, THEY WOULD RECEIVE TWO POINTS FOR THIS QUESTION.
UH, SIMILARLY FOR INDEPENDENT PROMOTERS, IF THERE IS, UM, FOR THE QUESTION, YOU KNOW, HOW FREQUENTLY HAVE YOU PRODUCED NEW EVENTS THROUGH COLLABORATIONS WITH MUSICIANS AND VENUES, WHICH YOU HAVE NOT PREVIOUSLY WORKED.
IF YOU'VE DONE 25 OR MORE OF THOSE, THEN YOU WOULD RECEIVE THREE POINTS.
IF YOU HAVE DONE, UM, FIVE TO 24, 2 POINTS,
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ONE TO FOUR, ONE POINT.AND IF YOU HAVEN'T DONE ANY, THEN YOU WOULD HAVE ZERO POINTS FOR THAT INSTANCE.
SO, SO AS I UNDERSTAND THE QUESTIONNAIRE HAD KIND OF TWO CATEGORIES OF THE WAY THINGS WERE GRADED, RIGHT? ONE IS THE RANGES.
SOME OF THE QUESTIONS, THE RANGES WERE ALREADY SET, RIGHT? IF YOU, IT'S THREE AND ABOVE, YOU KNOW, IT'S BETWEEN, YOU KNOW, TWO AND ONE TO THREE AND THEN NONE.
AND THE SCORES, THE RANGES WERE ALREADY SET.
AND THERE WERE OTHER QUESTIONS WERE THE SCORE WAS SET, OR THE RANGES WERE SET BASED ON THE RESPONSES THAT WERE RECEIVED FROM THE APPLICANTS.
CORRECT? IN SOME OF THE CASES, LIKE MAYBE STREAMING AND COUPLE OF OTHER QUESTIONS, THE GRADIENT WAS SET AFTER THE FACT, AFTER THE QUESTION, AFTER THE RESPONSES WERE RECEIVED? YES, THAT'S CORRECT.
SO STAFF LOOKED AT THE, YOU KNOW, ARE THEY ALL ON THE SAME PAGE? YEAH.
HUNDREDS OF RESPONSES TO DO A MEDIAN AND TO CREATE THAT RANGE, UM, TO CREATE THE CURVE OF WHAT WAS A HIGH SCORE, A LOW SCORE, A MEDIA, UM, ET CETERA.
SO YES, THIS WAS, SOME OF THESE WERE CREATED BASED ON HOW, UM, ALL APPLICANTS ANSWERED THESE QUESTIONS AND THEN THE RUBRIC WAS CREATED AND THEN THAT RUBRIC WAS SHARED WITH OUR PARTNERS AT THE LONG CENTER, UM, FOR THEM TO ACTUALLY DO THE SCORING COMPONENT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS IN, ON THESE TWO SLIDES? PLEASE GO AHEAD.
UM, IS THIS RUBRIC, I KNOW YOU SAID IT'S SHARED WITH THE LONG CENTER, BUT IS THIS PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE THAT PEOPLE CAN GO, BECAUSE I DIDN'T, WHEN I WAS LOOKING, I WAS TRYING TO FIND THIS.
'CAUSE LIKE YOU SAID, I FEEL LIKE IT'S VERY OBJECTIVE INFORMATION ANYWAYS.
AND SO THAT WAY PEOPLE IN THE FUTURE, THEY KNOW LIKE WHAT THEY'RE TRYING TO HIT OR WHAT METRICS, BECAUSE THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TO PROVIDE PROOF FOR IT ANYWAYS.
SO IS THAT SOMETHING THAT'S PUBLICLY SHARED? 'CAUSE I HADN'T SEEN IT, FOR SURE.
SO WITH BOTH OF THESE, WE WILL BE PUTTING THEM ON THE WEBSITE WITH THIS ONE FOR, UM, THESE OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS.
WE DIDN'T HAVE A BASELINE YET.
UM, UNTIL WE HAD THE APPLICATIONS.
SO NOW THAT WE HAVE THIS BASELINE, WE WILL PUT THIS ONLINE.
UM, SO FOLKS HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF, OF WHERE WE ARE.
ANYTHING ELSE HERE, COMMISSIONERS, BEFORE WE MOVE ON? UM, THIS IS GREAT TO SEE.
THIS WAS ACTUALLY ONE OF THE MAIN THINGS I WANTED TO ASK ABOUT.
UH, AND AT LEAST AS FAR AS THE CONSTITUENCY, UH, THAT I SPEAK WITH MOST OF THE QUESTIONS THROUGH THE APPLICATION PROCESS WERE, I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW I'M BEING SCORED, RIGHT? SO THIS IS FANTASTIC, ESPECIALLY AS, AS LONG AS IT'S PUSHED BEFORE JULY SO THAT IT'S READILY ACCESSIBLE, UH, AS SOON AS THEY HAVE THE APPLICATION, RIGHT? UM, BUT ALSO AS FAR AS, UH, ACCEPTABLE DOCUMENTS, UH, AND UPLOADING, UM, IS THERE ANY SORT OF, UH, RUBRIC AVAILABLE FOR THAT OR GUIDELINES THAT ARE AVAILABLE? THAT'S ALSO WHAT I'M HEARING A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT.
COULD WE GO BACK TO THE PREVIOUS SLIDE ACTUALLY? SO, SO WE DO HAVE SOMETHING LIKE THAT, AND THAT'S ONE OF THE ENHANCEMENTS WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT INTERNALLY TO POST ON THE WEBSITE AHEAD OF TIME.
UM, YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE, WELL YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THIS.
UM, BUT LIKE FOR THE, HOW MANY PROFESSIONAL MUSIC INDUSTRIES INDUSTRY AWARDS HAVE YOU RECEIVED? UM, THE PART IN RED IS ESSENTIALLY WHAT, UM, ACNE STAFF TRAINED THE LONG CENTER TO LOOK FOR.
UM, SO THIS IS KIND OF LIKE A CHEAT SHEET FOR THE SCORING, UM, TEAM OVER WITH THE LONG CENTER TO LOOK AT.
BUT WE WILL POST THIS ENTIRE THING, UM, ON OUR WEBSITE BECAUSE WE DO WANT FOLKS TO KNOW WHAT TYPE OF EVIDENCE, UM, IS APPROPRIATE FOR DIFFERENT THINGS.
UM, 'CAUSE WE HAVE HEARD THAT THAT IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST QUESTIONS.
WHAT DO I, WHAT DO I PUT FOR THIS EVIDENCE? DO I PUT ONE THING? HOW DO I KNOW I NEED TO PUT THREE THINGS TO GET POINTS FOR ALL THREE, UM, THREE QUESTION MARKS OR THREE, THREE CHECK BOXES THAT I PUT? UM, SO WE'LL BE SURE TO PUT ALL OF THIS, UM, ON OUR WEBSITE, I WOULD SAY IN THE NEXT WEEK OR SO, UM, JUST AS A REFERENCE POINT.
AND THEN WE HAVE BEEN TALKING INTERNALLY, INTERNALLY AS WELL ABOUT WHAT TYPE OF, UM, LIKE REFERENCE SHEETS WE CAN PROVIDE BEFORE WE LAUNCH AGAIN IN JULY.
UM, JUST TO KIND OF GIVE SAMPLES OF THE SAMPLES, UH, ESSENTIALLY TO GIVE PEOPLE AN IDEA OF WHAT SORTS OF THINGS WOULD WORK.
UH, MY ONLY OTHER QUESTION FOR THAT, UH, WHETHER FROM SCORE SAMPLES, UH, ACCEPTABLE DOCUMENTS
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TO UPLOAD, UH, FORMAT, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THOSE BASICS, WILL IT ACTUALLY BE A FULLY COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF WHAT THE LONG CENTER, UM, EMPLOYEES ARE BEING TRAINED ON? OR WILL IT ONLY BE SAMPLES? SO IN, IN LIKE THE, THE RED, LIKE WHAT TYPE OF THINGS ARE WE LOOKING AT? THAT IS, WE TRY TO BE AS INCLUSIVE AS POSSIBLE, AND WE'LL BE SURE TO, TO LOOK THROUGH IT AGAIN WITH A FINE TOOTH COMB BEFORE POSTING ANYTHING.UM, I THINK WITH, WITH ALL OF THIS, WHAT WE TELL THE STAFF ON, ON THEIR SIDE IS IF THEY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS TO PLEASE REACH OUT TO US, UM, TO SEE IF SOMETHING IS ACTUALLY EVIDENCE.
UM, BUT WE DO ALWAYS TRY TO ERR ON THE SIDE OF THE APPLICANT, UM, BECAUSE WE, WE RECOGNIZE THAT IT'S NOT ALWAYS GONNA BE A, YOU KNOW, A PERFECT FOLDER OF 20 DOCUMENTS SURE.
SUPPORTING THING X OR SOMETHING.
SO WE TRY TO BE PRETTY FLEXIBLE WITH LIKE, PICTURES OF THINGS AND, YOU KNOW, PICTURES OF THINGS ON THE WEBSITE AND WHATEVER IT IS WE TRY TO BE, UM, WE TRY TO ERR ON THE SIDE OF THE APPLICANT ALWAYS.
UH, IF, IF I CAN, UM, MAKE A SUGGESTION, UH, YES IN JULY THROUGH THE NEXT PROCESS, UH, ASIDE FROM THE FACT THAT HAVING IT BEING POSTED DIRECTLY AFTER IN THE NEXT WEEK OR SO, UM, FOR PUBLIC INFORMATION SO THAT, YOU KNOW, WHETHER PEOPLE WERE AWARDEES OR PEOPLE THAT WERE INELIGIBLE CAN UNDERSTAND WHY, WHICH I THINK IS, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF QUESTIONS AROUND.
UM, BUT ALSO RESENDING IT AFTER THE, UH, ELIGIBILITY AND THE INTAKE ONCE YOU GET THE APPLICATION, HAVING THAT ALONG WITH THE APPLICATION SO THAT SOME, YOU KNOW, I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE GET, UH, BOGGED DOWN TRYING TO GO BACK AND FIND THINGS OR NAVIGATE THROUGH WHERE THOSE THINGS EXIST.
UH, SO I, I THINK BEING ABLE TO OFFER THAT TO THE APPLICANTS, UH, IMMEDIATELY WOULD BE SIGNIFICANTLY HELPFUL.
THANK YOU FOR THAT SUGGESTION.
UH, SINCE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT RESPONSES HERE, UH, DEFINITELY WANTED TO SHARE WITH THE COMMISSION.
WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE.
UM, IN TERMS OF RESPONSES, I THINK WHAT'S ACCEPTED THERE, AS LONG AS IT'S A PROFESSIONAL AWARD, IT'S A PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATION, PROFESSIONAL RADIO STATION, UM, I THINK ACCEPTING A BROAD SET OF RESPONSES IS WHAT IS GONNA HELP US BUILD EQUITY AND TRUE INCLUSIVENESS, TRUE ACCESSIBILITY TO THESE GRANTS, RIGHT? BECAUSE AUSTIN HAS A LOT OF DIASPORAS AND WE HAVE TALKED DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION, BUILDING EQUITY WITHIN THESE AWARDS FOR A LONG TIME.
AND, AND THIS IS ONE VERY CLEAR WAY OF TRULY BUILDING INCLUSIVENESS, TRULY BUILDING ACCESSIBILITY TO THESE GRANTS BECAUSE THERE ARE A LOT OF DIASPORAS AND SOMEBODY MAY BE PROFESSIONALLY PLAYING WITHIN CERTAIN CIRCUITS THAT PERHAPS THE MAINSTREAM IS JUST PLAIN UNAWARE OF, RIGHT? THERE MIGHT BE PUBLICATIONS THAT ARE PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS THAT THE MAINSTREAM, QUOTE UNQUOTE IS UNAWARE OF, UH, RADIO PLAY, ET CETERA.
THERE ARE LEGISLATIVE WARDS WITHIN THESE COMMUNITIES, AND THERE ARE PROFESSIONAL ARTISTS WITHIN THE DIVERSE DIASPORA IN AUSTIN.
AND I THINK FOR THAT REASON, BEING, UH, MORE BROADLY INCLUSIVE ON WHAT'S ACCEPTED AS A, UM, YOU KNOW, A DOCUMENT OR, YOU KNOW, A PROOF THAT WILL BE SCORED FOR BECOMES, BECOMES VERY IMPORTANT.
AND, UH, AND WE ALSO STAY WITHIN, UM, I MEAN, WHAT'S ALLOWABLE TO DO IN TERMS OF, UH, INCLUSIVENESS AND, AND, AND, UH, HAVING DIVERSITY IN, IN THE APPLICANT POOL.
AND THIS, THIS JUST INCREASES REACH WITHIN THE PARAMETERS WITH WHICH WE ARE WORKING, UH, WORKING IN, RIGHT.
SO I THINK IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S, IT'S A GREAT WAY TO TRULY BUILD INCLUSIVENESS FOR THESE GRANTS.
UM, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, UH, BEFORE WE MOVE ON? THANK YOU, LAURA, FOR BEING PATIENT WITH US PLEASE, COMMISSIONER? YES.
ONE MORE THING, IN ADDITION TO WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, UM, IS IT POSSIBLE TO PULL LIKE A DATABASE IF WE HAVE ALL OF THE DIFFERENT, I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH WORK THAT WOULD BE, LIKE YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT AWARDS, SO IF THERE'S A DATABASE WHERE THEY'RE GOING IN, AND LIKE YOU SAID, IF IT'S A CERTAIN AWARD THAT MAYBE IT'S A, IT'S A BIT MORE OBSCURE PUBLICATION, AT LEAST WE START STORING IT.
AND THAT WAY YES, IT'S IN YOUR SYSTEM AND IT'S ALMOST LIKE AN APPROVED, YOU KNOW, ONCE IT'S IN THERE, IT'S IN THERE.
SO THAT WAY YES, THEY KNOW, AND THEY'RE NOT NECESSARILY HAVING TO ADD IT OR MANUALLY CHECK EVERY TIME.
DO YOU GUYS HAVE ANYTHING CURRENTLY LIKE THAT, OR AS FAR AS, UH, WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING EXACTLY LIKE THAT RIGHT NOW.
UM, SO WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE IS, IS COMPILING A LIST OF THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF EVIDENCES, SO DIFFERENT TYPES OF AWARDS, DIFFERENT TYPES OF PUBLICATIONS THAT IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN PROMOTED IN, UM, WHETHER THAT'S ONLINE MEDIA OR PRINTED MEDIA, THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, IT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING WE CAN, WE CAN LOOK AT DOING.
[00:35:01]
UM, THEY DON'T NECESSARILY, WE, WE, YES, WE CAN, WE CAN LOOK AT WHAT WE'VE GOT AND UH, AND SEE WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE WHEN WE TURN IT INTO A LIST.YEAH, I THINK THAT WOULD JUST BE BENEFICIAL FOR YOU AS WELL.
AND THAT WAY YOU'RE NOT PLAYING THAT GUESSING GAME.
LIKE, IS THIS SOMEONE THAT WE SHOULD ACCEPT OR SHOULDN'T ACCEPT? AND LIKE SHE SAID, I THINK, I THINK IT MAKES IT MORE DIVERSE AS WELL, BECAUSE YOU START ACCEPTING THINGS.
I THINK EVERYONE SHOULD UNDERSTAND AS WELL THAT YOU ARE BUILDING THIS AS YOU GO, AND THAT WE'RE ALL COLLECTIVELY TRYING TO HELP AND SUPPORT IN THAT WAY.
BECAUSE I THINK YOU GUYS, EVERYONE JUST THINKS THAT YOU SNAP THEIR FINGERS AND IT'S PERFECT AND WE'RE ALL LEARNING TOGETHER.
SO THANK YOU FOR DOING WHAT YOU'RE DOING.
THANK YOU FOR THAT SUGGESTION.
UH, ANYTHING ELSE BEFORE WE MOVE ON? UH, PLEASE GO AHEAD, LAURA.
UM, SO CREATIVE SPACE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM IS REALLY SIMILAR IN, UM, IN HOW IT WORKS TO AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND.
UM, APPLICATIONS ARE SUBMITTED.
THERE'S THE FORM SCORE, WHICH IS AUTO SCORED BASED ON THE APPLICANT'S RESPONSES.
UM, THE DIFFERENCE HERE IS THAT THEN ACME STAFF IS REVIEWING AND VERIFYING THE DOCUMENTATION, ADJUSTING POINTS BASED ON THAT.
UH, AND THEN WE WORK WITH RALLY AUSTIN TO PROVIDE ANY SECONDARY REVIEW FOR ANY QUESTIONS THAT WE HAVE.
UM, AND ADDITIONALLY, RALLY AUSTIN HELPS DETERMINE THE 30% BASE RENT FOR ALL AWARDEES.
UM, SO THAT'S, YOU KNOW, NOT NECESSARILY AS, UH, IN DEPTH OF A, OF A SLIDE FOR YOU FOR CREATIVE SPACE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, BUT I DID WANT TO LET YOU ALL KNOW THAT, UM, KIM HAS DONE A TREMENDOUS JOB WITH C SAP AND WE ARE 100% THROUGH ON REVIEWING C SAP AS WELL.
UM, AND JUST WAITING FOR THE FINAL SECONDARY REVIEWS FROM RALLY RIGHT NOW.
UM, SO AGAIN, WE ARE WELL ON TARGET FOR OUR MARCH 16TH NOTIFICATION DATE.
WHICH BRINGS US TO AWARD NOTIFICATION.
UM, SO I THINK I MAY HAVE SHARED THIS WITH YOU ALL, UM, PREVIOUSLY, BUT WE WILL BE HAVING A SHARED, UM, ACME FUNDING PROGRAMS AWARD NOTIFICATION.
UM, IT WILL INCLUDE WHAT THE SCORE THE APPLICANT, UM, RECEIVED WAS, AS WELL AS THE SCORE NEEDED FOR FUNDING IN THAT PARTICULAR PROGRAM.
UM, WE'LL ALSO HAVE PRETTY CLEAR INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO FOLLOW UP WITH STAFF FOR A DEBRIEF OF THEIR SCORE.
UM, AND THE DAY FOLLOWING, OR THE DAY OR TWO FOLLOWING, UH, THE AWARD NOTIFICATION PROCESS, THERE WILL BE A DETAILED, UM, PDF THAT IS SENT TO EVERY APPLICANT THAT BREAKS DOWN SCORES FOR EVERY SINGLE QUESTION, UM, TO HELP THEM MAKE IMPROVEMENTS FOR FUTURE ROUNDS.
UM, ADDITIONALLY, WE'LL BE HAVING INFORMATION, UM, ABOUT ACNE'S ARTIST ACCESS PROGRAM, UH, WHICH IS A FREE AND REDUCED RATE RENTALS FOR REHEARSAL AND PERFORMANCE SPACES AT FOUR OF OUR CULTURE AND ARTS VENUES.
UM, SO JUST AS ANOTHER, ANOTHER WAY TO SAY, HEY, HERE'S, HERE'S SOME OTHER THINGS THAT WE CAN HELP SUPPORT WHAT YOU'RE DOING.
UM, AND THEN FINALLY, WE HAD A GRANT WRITING WORKSHOP TODAY THAT WAS VIRTUAL, AND WE ARE LOOKING TO SCHEDULE ANOTHER, JUST A GRANT WRITING 1 0 1 STYLE WORKSHOP, UM, NEXT WEEK IN SPANISH.
UM, BOTH OF THESE ARE GOING TO BE ON OUR WEBSITE JUST AS PART OF A RESOURCE LIBRARY, UM, FOR, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT PROGRAM SPECIFIC, IT'S JUST A GENERAL, WHAT KIND OF THINGS DO YOU NEED TO PREPARE WHEN YOU'RE GONNA BE WRITING A GRANT, AND WHAT KIND OF BUDGET THINGS ARE REVIEWERS OR PANELISTS LOOKING FOR.
UM, SO WE'LL BE, WE'LL BE DOING WORKSHOPS SIMILAR TO THIS THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE YEAR, UM, JUST TO TRY TO FIND, YOU KNOW, WAYS TO HELP SUPPORT OUR CREATIVE COMMUNITY, UM, BOTH DAY OF AND, UM, AND ONLINE THAT THEY CAN ACCESS LATER.
AND THEN ALSO WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU ALL THAT OUR NEXT PROGRAM IS ACTUALLY LAUNCHING NEXT WEEK ON MARCH 10TH.
UM, THE DEADLINE FOR THIS PROGRAM IS APRIL 16TH AT 6:59 PM UM, AND SO NEXUS IS FIVE AND $10,000 GRANTS TO SUPPORT INDIVIDUALS AND ARTS GROUPS, UH, PRODUCING PUBLIC ART, DOING PERFORMANCES, UM, MUSIC VISUAL, ANY TYPE OF THING, UM, ANY TYPE OF CULTURAL PROJECT IN AUSTIN.
UM, ONE OF THE ENHANCEMENTS FOR THIS, UM, PROGRAM IS WE HAVE A BUILT IN AUTOMATIC ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION.
SO THIS IS ONLY A TWO STEP, UM, PROCESS FOR NEXUS THAT OPENS NEXT WEEK.
UH, WE HAVE A VARIETY OF WORKSHOPS THAT ARE SCHEDULED, UM, AS WELL AS OUR
[00:40:01]
OPEN OFFICE HOURS.UM, SO IT'S HYPERLINKED HERE, THE WORKSHOPS, SO YOU CAN SEE, UM, WHICH DAY MIGHT BE GOOD FOR YOU ALL.
AND AGAIN, SO THIS OPENS ON MARCH 10TH, SO NOTIFICATIONS FOR AWARDEES WILL HAPPEN ON THE 16TH.
SO IF FOLKS DID NOT RECEIVE FUNDING IN THE PROGRAM THAT THEY APPLIED TO, UM, AT THE END OF 2025, THIS IS ANOTHER OPTION FOR THEM TO KIND OF JUMP RIGHT BACK IN, UM, AND SEE IF THEY COULD RECEIVE FUNDING FOR NEXUS.
UM, AND THEN AGAIN, OUR NEXT BIG MEGA LAUNCH IS GOING TO BE IN JULY, AND THAT WILL BE THE NEXT ITERATION OF, UM, THE LIVE MUSIC FUND, UH, ELEVATE THRIVE, UH, IN OUR HERITAGE, UH, PRESERVATION PROGRAM.
SO I THINK WITH THAT, UM, I THINK THAT'S ALL I HAVE FOR YOU ALL TONIGHT, BUT HAPPY TO TAKE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS.
UH, JUST A QUICK QUESTION, LAURA.
UM, FOLKS WHO APPLY TO NEXUS AND RECEIVE THE GRANTS THIS YEAR, IF I, THESE R 5 26 GRANTS CAN STILL APPLY IN JULY FOR THE FI 27 MUSIC GRANTS, RIGHT? UH, THERE, THERE'S NO CONSTRAINT THERE FOR, FOR, SORRY, DID YOU SAY ELEVATE OR LIVE MUSIC? I'M SORRY.
UH, BUT THEY SHOULD BE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR FI 27 GRANTS THAT ROLL OUT IN JULY.
EVEN IF THEY GET THE NEXUS GRANT THIS ROUND IN MARCH, IF THEY GET NEXUS, YES, THEY WILL STILL BE ABLE TO APPLY FOR THE JULY MEGA LAUNCH, BECAUSE THOSE PROGRAMS ARE FOR F FOR CALENDAR YEAR 2027, CORRECT.
SO, UM, FISCAL YEAR, RIGHT? PROBABLY FISCAL YEAR 2020.
UH, COMMISSIONERS, COMMISSIONER ENGLAND, UH, APOLOGIES FOR ALL THE QUESTIONS TODAY, BUT THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME, LAURA.
UM, I'M CURIOUS BEFORE JULY, UH, ASIDE FROM, UM, I KNOW THAT THERE'S A LOT OF, UH, YOU KNOW, INCREASED RESOURCE ACCESS, RIGHT? UH, AS YOU'RE GATHERING THE DATA, UH, AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
UM, I HAVE A, A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS FOR YOU.
ONE IS THAT IT WAS MY PREVIOUS UNDERSTANDING, UM, THAT, UH, THE GUIDELINES, UH, SET FOR LMF, UM, WE'RE GONNA BE LEFT AS IS, UH, FOR THE NEXT THREE YEARS.
UH, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU'RE STILL, UM, IS THAT CONCRETE OR WILL IT BE SOMETHING TO WHERE YOU'RE TAKING THE FEEDBACK, UH, FROM, YOU KNOW, THIS FIRST PUSH FROM THE RESET TO BE ABLE TO ADJUST IN JULY? THANK YOU FOR THAT.
SO YES, WE ARE KEEPING THE GUIDELINES BASICALLY THE SAME.
AND ALSO THERE'S A MAGICAL LITTLE LINE ON PAGE 10 OF THE GUIDELINES, UM, THAT SAYS ONGOING UPDATES AND EDITS MAY HAPPEN FOR IMPROVED CLARITY AND FUNCTIONALITY.
SO WE ARE LEANING INTO THAT LITTLE STATEMENT, UM, ON PAGE 10 TO TRY TO MAKE AS MANY ENHANCEMENTS, UM, FOR ACCESSIBILITY, FOR, UM, SUPPORT, FOR UNDERSTANDING, UM, ALL OF THE THINGS WE'RE TRYING TO LEAN INTO THAT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
SO THE, THE STRUCTURE BASICALLY THE SAME PROGRAM, AND ALSO THERE'S SOME CLARIFICATION ACROSS ALL OUR PROGRAMS. UM, SO WE'LL BE MAKING MINOR EDITS TO THINGS LIKE THAT, UM, AND LEANING HEAVILY ONTO THE USER EXPERIENCE SIDE OF THINGS.
THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY THE FOCUS, I THINK, FOR OUR TEAM.
UH, COULD I ALSO REQUEST THAT YOU PRESENT WHAT THOSE UPDATES LOOK LIKE TO THE COMMISSION PRIOR TO JULY FOR THE APPLICATION OPENING? A HUNDRED PERCENT.
WE WILL BE LOOKING AT, UM, THE RESULTS FROM THE SURVEY, UM, AS WELL AS, UM, I THINK I SHARED THIS WITH YOU ALL, BUT WHEN WE LAUNCH, WHEN WE ANNOUNCE, UM, ALL OF THE AWARDEES FOR THIS FIRST ITERATION OF OUR PROGRAMS, UM, WE'LL BE HAVING DISTRICT SPECIFIC, UH, PDF HANDOUTS FOR EACH OF YOU.
SO IT'S LIKE, OKAY, D FOUR, THESE ARE THE INVESTMENTS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN D FOUR, LIKE BIG PICTURE ON ONE SIDE AND THEN DETAILS ON THE BACKSIDE.
UM, WE'LL BE HAVING A DASHBOARD ON OUR WEBSITE.
WE'LL BE GETTING THE INFORMATION FROM THE SURVEYS AND THEN KIND OF REGROUPING AS A TEAM AND WITH OUR PARTNERS TO SEE WHAT CHANGES ARE FEASIBLE, WHAT MAKES THE MOST SENSE, UM, WHAT'S ABLE TO HAPPEN.
AND THEN WE'LL BE ABLE TO COME BACK TO YOU ALL.
I WOULD, I WOULD THINK MAYBE IN MAY, UM, TO TALK ABOUT WHAT SPECIFIC CHANGES WE'RE ANTICIPATING LEADING UP TO THAT JULY LAUNCH.
UH, I ONLY HAVE ONE OTHER QUESTION FOR YOU.
UM, THE DATA THAT YOU'RE RECEIVING FOR THE APPLICANTS FOR CSAP, UM, THOSE PERCENTAGES SEEM
[00:45:01]
TO BE KIND OF ALL OVER THE PLACE AS FAR AS, UH, IN ELIGIBILITY WAS CONCERNED.UH, WHICH IN TURN LEADS ME TO THINK THAT MAYBE IT EITHER WASN'T PRESENTED IN A WAY THAT WAS UNDERSTOOD ABOUT, UH, WHO COULD APPLY OR WHAT THAT ELIGIBILITY LOOKED LIKE.
UM, I ALSO HEAR, UH, FROM QUITE A FEW VENUES THAT DIDN'T REALIZE, UH, SINCE IT'S NOT TECHNICALLY PART OF THE LMF, UH, THAT THEY WERE ALLOWED TO, TO BE ABLE TO APPLY FOR THAT.
AND THEN, THEN ALSO WHAT THE, THE DICTION WAS FOR, IF I HAVE THE LMF AS A VENUE TO BE ABLE TO APPLY FOR THE LMF, YOU CANNOT HAVE THE SAME INTENTION AS CSAP FOR THE FUNDING.
UH, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN'T ASK FOR RENTAL ASSISTANCE FROM BOTH OF THOSE, RIGHT? ONE CAN BE, YOU KNOW, CAPITAL INVESTMENTS, ONE CAN BE FOR RENT OR INSURANCE, WHATEVER THOSE GUIDELINES WERE.
UM, SO I'M CURIOUS IF YOU'RE SEEING FROM THAT DATA, UH, THAT MAYBE THERE SHOULD, THERE'S A BETTER RESPONSE, UH, FOR AWARENESS OR EDUCATION AROUND C SAP VERSUS, UH, THE LMF FOR VENUES.
SO I THINK ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS FOR, FOR THIS ITERATION OF C SAP WAS THE, THE GUIDELINES CHANGED, LIKE WHO WAS ELIGIBLE CHANGED TREMENDOUSLY.
AND I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE WERE, THERE WERE SOME APPLICANTS THAT THEY WERE LIKE, THEY SAID IT CHANGED, BUT MAYBE I'LL APPLY ANYWAY JUST IN CASE I CAN SQUEEZE IN.
UM, SO I KNOW FIRSTHAND THERE WERE AT LEAST A HANDFUL OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT TRIED TO APPLY JUST IN CASE, EVEN THOUGH THEY WEREN'T, UM, AN ELIGIBLE BUSINESS TYPE THIS TIME AROUND.
SO I THINK, I THINK THERE WAS DEFINITELY SOME OF THAT.
I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, A HUNDRED PERCENT WE CAN ALWAYS BE MORE CLEAR AND WORK ON HOW WE'RE EDUCATING THE COMMUNITY ABOUT WHAT THEY ARE AND AREN'T ELIGIBLE FOR.
UM, SO DEFINITELY SOMETHING WE'LL WE'LL LOOK INTO, UM, AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
UM, YOU KNOW, WITH ALL OF OUR PROGRAMS, IT'S STILL EVEN WITH, YOU KNOW, 66 INELIGIBLE FOR CSAP, IT'S STILL GONNA BE REALLY COMPETITIVE.
UM, WE'RE STILL ONLY GONNA BE ABLE TO HAVE 25 AWARDS ROUGHLY FOR CSAP BECAUSE IT'S CAPPED.
IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A STRAIGHT $60,000 AWARD, UM, INSTEAD OF LIKE, OH, HERE'S 5,000 AND THAT'S ALL YOU WANT TO FIX YOUR AIR CONDITIONING OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, AS ONE OF THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, THIS IS AN ITERATIVE PROCESS.
WE'RE LEARNING AS WE'RE GOING, WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT MAKES THE MOST SENSE FOR, UM, FOR THE COMMUNITY.
SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE JUST TRYING TO, TO GET THAT FEEDBACK AND SEE HOW WE CAN IMPROVE MOVING FORWARD.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND INFORMATION, LAURA.
UM, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? COMMISSIONERS? OKAY.
UM, I, I, I THINK OVERALL THE, THE GRANTS JUST MOVED IN A VERY GOOD DIRECTION.
UH, THERE WAS A VERY CLEAR EMPHASIS ON ACCOMPLISHMENTS THIS TIME AROUND THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE MUCH OF THAT IN THE PAST.
UM, AND I THINK THAT'S GONNA BE VERY, UM, QUOTE UNQUOTE FAIR AND BENEFICIAL FOR THE COMMUNITY.
UM, AND, UH, TO ALSO CLEAR A STRUCTURE IN TERMS OF THE $5,000 GRANT AND THE $20,000 GRANT, UM, UNDERSTOOD THAT THE, THE PURPOSE, YOU KNOW, WHO ARE WE PRIORITIZING FOR THE $5,000 GRANTS THAT PURPOSE, UH, MAY NEED TO BE COM, YOU KNOW, COMMUNICATED MORE CLEARLY, UH, TO OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, I THINK SOMEWHERE WE STILL, AS MUCH AS, YOU KNOW, THE, YOU KNOW, THE FACT THAT WE MOVED TO ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND, AND HAD THIS CLEAR STRUCTURE THIS TIME, I THINK THE, THE GRANT APPLICATION ITSELF GOT A LITTLE TOO COMPLICATED IN MY MIND FOR MUSIC, UH, AND FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, EVEN WHEN I COMPARE IT TO SOME OF THE GRANTS ON THE ART SIDE, WHICH HAVE MORE, UM, FREE TEXT AND, UH, UH, LESS ATTACHMENTS PERHAPS.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS IS OF COURSE TO, I MEAN, I THINK MOST OF US DON'T HAVE, UM, MAYBE ALL OF US, I DON'T KNOW, I DON'T WANNA SPEAK FOR EVERYBODY.
UH, WE LIKE THE OBJECTIVE SCORING AND, AND, UH, PERSONALLY I WOULD LIKE TO LEAVE IT THAT WAY FOR MUSIC IS TO HAVE OBJECTIVE SCORING AND NOT MOVE ON TO, YOU KNOW, THE SAME STRUCTURE AS ARTS OR HOW PANELS ET CETERA.
BECAUSE, UM, FUNDAMENTALLY I THINK IT, IT DOES WORK, UH, FOR, FOR, YOU KNOW, FOR OUR INDUSTRY, UM, SOMEWHERE, BUT THERE IS A NEED TO STILL BALANCE HOW DO YOU MEASURE APPLICANTS ON
[00:50:01]
CORE ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND IMPACT AND STILL MAKE IT A LITTLE LESS CUMBERSOME, CUMBERSOME.UM, AND I THINK SOMEWHERE STRIKING THAT BALANCE IS GOING TO BE A VERY IMPORTANT NEXT STEP.
UM, AND, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I WOULD REQUEST, UM, YOU KNOW, CITI TO REALLY HONE IN ON.
AND IF HE COULD FIND SOME WAYS TO JUST HO JUST HONE IN ON CORE ACCOMPLISHMENTS IMPACT, BUT REDUCE, UM, PERHAPS, UH, YOU KNOW, HOW HEAVY THE APPLICATION WAS THIS TIME, UM, UNDERSTOOD THAT IT IS GOING TO BE A COMPETITIVE APPLICATION.
IT'S NOT SOMETHING SOMEBODY CAN FINISH OFF IN HALF A DAY.
UM, AND ON THE $5,000 GRANTS, THE ACCOMPLISHMENT SECTION IS NOT THERE.
SO IT'S A MUCH SIMPLER APPLICATION.
UM, BUT I THINK IF, IF, UM, IF WE COULD PLEASE LOOK INTO, UH, YOU KNOW, HOW TO SIMPLIFY THE APPLICATION, UH, MORE, AND I ALSO FEEL LIKE THERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS, AND I WILL JUST SAY IT LIKE THE, UM, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, THE QUESTION AROUND, UH, WHETHER THE VENUES ARE ACCESSIBLE TO PUBLIC.
I MEAN, IF EVERYBODY IS STICKING A CAP METRO MAP TO RESPOND TO THAT QUESTION, I, I KIND OF FEEL THAT THAT KIND OF THING BECOMES REDUNDANT.
UM, I'M NITPICKING HERE, BUT JUST AS AN EXAMPLE, A VERY SIMPLE EXAMPLE BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND THE INTENT BEHIND IT, IT IS SO THAT EVERYBODY'S ABLE TO ACCESS THESE PERFORMANCES.
BUT IF YOU ARE GONNA GET A VERY, LIKE, ANSWER PRETTY MUCH FROM EVERYBODY, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S THE CASE, BUT THAT'S WHAT I WOULD DO, IS I WOULD PUT MY VENUES AND STICK A CAP METRO MAP TO IT.
AND SO MAYBE THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT ARE PERHAPS NOT THAT USEFUL.
AND, UH, EVEN THOUGH THE INTENTIONALITY BEHIND IT IS, IS, IS CORRECT, UH, IF YOU COULD ALSO LOOK AT ELIMINATING SOME OF SOME QUESTIONS LIKE THAT.
UM, I HAD SPECIFICALLY ALSO BROUGHT UP, UH, THE QUESTION AROUND, UH, LANGUAGE.
UM, AND PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, UH, BUT I THINK THAT ONE QUESTION WAS LEFT IN THERE, WHICH I FEEL IS INHERENTLY, UM, UNLESS WE ARE SAYING THAT YES, YOU HAVE TO GO, UH, ADVERTISE IN OTHER LANGUAGE PUBLICATIONS, ET CETERA, I THINK THAT'S OKAY.
BUT IS IT REALLY PRACTICAL FOR THE MUSIC INDUSTRY? RIGHT.
AND SO ALSO, YOU KNOW, AS WE MOVE FORWARD, UH, AND AS YOU ALL COLLECT FEEDBACK, UM, IT IS ONE DEPARTMENT AND IT'S AMAZING THAT WE HAVE THAT ACME RIGHT NOW THAT CAN PUT SUCH A CLEAR DIRECT FOCUS ON MUSIC AND ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT CULTURE IN OUR CITY.
UM, BUT WITHIN THAT, I ALSO HOPE THAT THE NUANCE BETWEEN THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A COMMERCIAL MUSIC INDUSTRY AND ARTS, CULTURAL ARTS IS, IS WELL UNDERSTOOD, UH, AND THAT THESE ARE KIND OF DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES IN, IN, IN A LOT OF WAYS, EVEN THOUGH THEY HAVE SIMILARITIES AND THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY ARE TREATED AS SUCH.
UH, THERE WAS A REASON THE GRANTS WERE BROUGHT SEPARATELY TO THE COMMERCIAL MUSIC INDUSTRY TO SERVE THE COMMERCIAL MUSIC INDUSTRY.
AND I, I, I HOPE THAT THAT NUANCE IS CONTINUED TO BE CONSIDERED AND AND MAINTAINED AS WE, YOU KNOW, MOVE THESE GRANTS FORWARD.
UM, BUT YEAH, PLEASE, PLEASE DO LOOK INTO SIMPLIFYING THIS.
UM, BUT THANK YOU, UH, FOR THE, I MEAN, REALLY, I MEAN, IT WAS, IT WAS QUITE A, UM, STELLAR AMOUNT OF EFFORT THAT WENT INTO MOVING THE MUSIC GRANTS.
AND SINCE I ALSO, UM, SIT ON THE ARTS COMMISSION, UH, ALSO THE ARTS GRANTS AND THE WORKS WORK THAT HAS BEEN DONE THERE TO ROLL THESE GRANTS OUT THE WAY THEY WERE AND WITH THE KIND OF UPDATES THAT WERE MADE WITH THE DEPTH OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN THE SHORT TIME, UM, I DO WANT TO, UM, ACKNOWLEDGE THAT AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THANKS STAFF, UM, AND THE DEPARTMENT FOR, UH, FOR THE TREMENDOUS EFFORT.
UM, I'LL STOP THERE AND I WILL YIELD TO THE COMMISSION IF ANY OF THE, IF YOU HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS.
COMMISSIONER ENGLAND, SORRY, I GOT ONE MORE FOR YOU.
UH, DO YOU HAVE A SPECIFIC TARGET DATE FOR FUNDING DISTRIBUTION WITH, UH, LMF OR C SAP ASIDE FROM APRIL? I AM NOT GONNA SAY A SPECIFIC DATE OTHER THAN APRIL BECAUSE IT IS HIGHLY DEPENDENT ON WHEN, UM, WHEN THE AWARDEE COMPLETES ALL OF THEIR PRE AGREEMENT WORK, WHEN THEY DO THEIR TRAINING, WHEN THEY SIGN ALL OF THEIR FORMS, WHEN THEY GET THEIR FINANCIAL STUFF, UM, TO THE LONG CENTER.
SO WE ARE, YOU KNOW, WE CAN PLAN
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OUR PRE AGREEMENT MEETINGS AT THE END OF THIS MONTH AND EARLY APRIL AND HOPE FOR THE BEST THAT EVERYONE IS THAT IS AWARDED IS JUST REALLY ON TOP OF THINGS, AND WE CAN SAY MID-APRIL.UM, BUT SOME OF THAT ONUS IS GONNA BE ON THE AWARDEES AS WELL.
UM, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? DID ANYBODY HAVE ANYTHING THERE BEFORE WE MOVE ON? ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU.
[6. Staff briefing on The Creative Reset Phase II by Candice Cooper, Interim Chief Administrative Officer and Marion Sanchez, Acting Public Information & Marketing Manager, AACME. ]
BRIEFING ON THE CREATIVE RECENT PHASE TWO BY CANDACE COOPER, INTERIM CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER, AND MARION SANCHEZ, ACTING PUBLIC INFORMATION AND MARKETING MANAGER ACME.UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR INVITING ME.
UM, GOOD EVENING, CHAIR, NAGA VALLEY MUSIC COMMISSIONERS AND COMMUNITY.
MY NAME IS CANDACE COOPER AND I AM THE INTERIM CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER FOR ACME AUSTIN ARTS, CULTURAL MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT.
SO I WILL BE PRESENTING FOR YOU THIS EVENING.
UH, MARIA IS NOT WITH ME BECAUSE SHE IS OUT ILL, UM, BUT HOPEFULLY WHEN WE RETURN, BECAUSE WE WILL RETURN ON THIS ISSUE, SHE WILL BE HERE WITH ME.
ALL RIGHTY, LET'S MOVE FORWARD.
SO, OH, WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? THE CREATIVE RESET PHASE TWO.
SO WHAT YOU JUST HEARD FROM MS. LAURA AND I WANNA GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO LAURA, THE TEAM AND MORGAN AND ALL OF THOSE WHO HELP TO ENHANCE OUR PHASE ONE PORTION.
BUT WHAT YOU HEARD IS PHASE ONE OF THE CREATIVE RESET.
AND AS YOU KNOW, WE ARE IN THE IMPLEMENTATION PHASE NOW.
UM, AND SHE JUST TALKED ABOUT ALL OF THIS, BUT WE HAVE A PHASE TWO, AND SO I GET THE OPPORTUNITY TONIGHT TO TALK TO YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THE CREATIVE RESET PHASE TWO IS ALL ABOUT.
SO WE HA UH, PHASE TWO DEALS WITH OUR FACILITIES.
ACME HAS, AND DEPENDING ON HOW YOU COUNT 14, BUT IF YOU COUNT DI THE DIETRICH HAMILTON HOUSE AS ITS OWN FACILITY, WE HAVE A TOTAL OF 15 SPACES.
UM, THIS IS THE LIST OF ALL OF THE FACILITIES THAT ACME HAS IN OUR PORTFOLIO.
MAJORITY OF THESE SPACES CAME, THE MAJORITY OF THEM CAME OVER FROM PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT.
AND WHEN WE CONSOLIDATED IN FEBRUARY OF 2025, WHEN TOOK ON, UM, ALL OF THESE, UM, THROUGH THAT CONSOLIDATION, SOME CAME AT A LITTLE LATER DATE.
UM, LIKE THE MILLENNIUM CENTER, FOR EXAMPLE.
WE DID NOT GET THAT IN OUR PORTFOLIO UNTIL NOVEMBER 1ST.
UM, THE PINK HOUSE THAT YOU SEE NOTED, THAT'S NUMBER THREE ON THE LIST.
WE WILL, THAT, THAT IS CURRENTLY STILL WITH THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT, BUT THAT WILL EVENTUALLY TRANSITION OVER TO ACME AS WELL.
WE ANTICIPATE GETTING THAT SOMETIMES THIS YEAR, IF NOT EARLIER NEXT YEAR.
BUT HERE IS OUR FULL PORTFOLIO OF FACILITIES.
AND, UM, PHASE TWO WAS ALL ABOUT OUR FACILITIES.
SO WHAT DID WE DO? WE LAUNCHED IT OFFICIALLY IN OCTOBER OF 2025.
THIS WAS US OUT IN THE COMMUNITY.
THIS IS CHRISTINE FROM THE CARVER, UM, AND JAY'S BEHIND YOU THERE.
WE HELD MULTIPLE, MULTIPLE ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES, AND THIS IS JUST KIND OF A PHOTO TO SHOW ONE OF THOSE ACTIVITIES THAT WE DID.
BUT WE LAUNCHED THE CREATIVE RESET IN OCTOBER OF 2025.
UM, LIKE PHASE ONE, PHASE TWO WAS A COMMUNITY CENTERED APPROACH.
SOME OF THIS MAY SOUND FAMILIAR TO YOU.
UM, DURING THIS PHASE, WE LOOKED AT DATA FROM 2020 TO 2025.
WE CONDUCTED COMMUNITY FEEDBACK.
YOU JUST SAW KIND OF A PHOTO OF SOME OF THE FEEDBACKS.
ONE OF THE FEEDBACK SESSIONS THAT WE DID, THE WAY THAT WE ENGAGED OUR COMMUNITY WAS THROUGH A SURVEY OF FOCUS GROUP OPEN HOUSES, THE ONE-ON-ONE OF COURSE STYLE.
SOME FOLKS WANTED A ONE-ON-ONE, AND ALSO THE JEFFERSONIAN STYLE DINNER.
NOW, LET ME BE CLEAR, PHASE ONE, PHASE TWO, I'M GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT LATER TONIGHT ABOUT PHASE THREE AND PHASE FOUR OF THE CREATIVE RESET.
THESE ARE BUILDING BLOCKS THEY BUILD OFF OF EACH OTHER.
SO IF WE GAIN YOUR FEEDBACK THROUGH PHASE ONE, WE ALSO ROLLED THAT FEEDBACK INTO PHASE TWO.
SO WHAT THAT BULLET TALKS ABOUT IS WE INCORPORATED ANY FACILITY DATA THAT WE MAY HAVE HEARD.
AND AS YOU ALL KNOW, SPACES HAVE BEEN AN ISSUE, AFFORDABILITY, ACCESS.
AND SO SOME OF THOSE COMMENTS THAT WE HEARD THROUGH PHASE ONE, WE ALSO REVIEWED THEM AND INCLUDED THEM IN THE DATA COLLECTION PROCESS OF PHASE
[01:00:01]
TWO.WE ALSO DID EXTENSIVE RESEARCH AND BENCHMARKING WAS STILL NOT EVEN DONE WITH THAT.
BUT WE CREATED, UM, OUR STAFF HAD AN OPPORTUNITY.
EVERY SINGLE FACILITY, UH, STAFF HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE A VISION PLAN.
AND THEN WE PERFORMED INTERNAL ASSESSMENTS.
THIS IS THE PART THAT WE ARE STILL CONDUCTING INTERNAL ASSESSMENTS.
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS STREAMLINING HOW WE CAN BETTER UNIFY, UM, ALL OF OUR FACILITIES.
WE'RE LOOKING FOR EFFICIENCIES AND WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT CONSISTENCIES.
UM, IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE CONDUCTED BENCHMARKING NOT ONLY OF PEER CITIES THAT HAVE LIGHT FACILITIES, BUT ALSO WE LOOKED AT OUT OF PEER CITIES IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.
BUT WE LOOKED AT PEER CITIES IN THE UNITED STATES AS WELL AS GLOBALLY.
AS I MENTIONED, THE CREATIVE RESET PHASE TWO KICKED OFF IN OCTOBER OF 2025.
AND RIGHT NOW WE ARE IN, IF YOU LOOK AT THE THIRD PIECE, THERE WE'RE, WE'RE F FINALIZING THE PRELIMINARY DATA.
SO IN OCTOBER, WE CONDUCTED THE OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT.
WE BEGAN TO COLLECT THE COMMUNITY FEEDBACK.
WE CLOSED THAT FEEDBACK LOOP AT THE END OF DECEMBER THROUGH JANUARY.
WE BEGAN TO ANALYZE THE FEEDBACK.
MARION, SHE WENT, SHE WAS A WHIZ AT THIS STUFF.
SO IN JANUARY, SHE LOOKED AT THE QUANTITATIVE AND THE QUALITATIVE DATA, LITERALLY USING NOT JUST AI TOOLS, BUT ALSO A HUMAN TO REVIEW ALL OF THE FEEDBACK THAT WE COLLECTED.
AND THAT'S WHEN WE BEGAN PERFORMING OUR INTERNAL ASSESSMENT AND DOING THE RESEARCH AND BENCHMARKING THAT.
I TALKED ABOUT THIS LAST MONTH.
WE KINDA RO WE STARTED TO FINALIZE THAT PRELIMINARY DATA AND NOW WE ARE SHARING IT INTERNALLY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DID GET IT RIGHT.
AND SO HERE IN MARCH, WE ARE GONNA CONTINUE TO KIND OF SHARE IT WITH SOME OF THE CITY LEADERSHIP.
AND THAT'S WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW WITH, UM, SHARING THAT PRELIMINARY DATA IN APRIL AND KIND OF MORE SO THE END OF MARCH.
AND I'M HOPING THAT YOU GUYS INVITE ME BACK.
WE WILL BE AT AN OPPORTUNITY WHERE WE'RE READY NOW TO PUBLICIZE THE DATA THAT WE WE RECEIVED AND WHAT WE WILL GO ON A ROAD SHOW.
I CALL IT A ROAD SHOW, BUT BASICALLY WE'LL GO BACK TO THE ARTS COMMISSION, THE MUSIC COMMISSION, THE VARIOUS BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS THAT WE WORK WITH.
BUT IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE'LL GO TO DIFFERENT COMMUNITY GROUPS AND WE'LL ASK THE QUESTION, WHAT DID WE MISS? SO THIS IS WHAT WE HEARD FROM OCTOBER TO DECEMBER.
THIS IS THE, THE ANALYSIS THAT WE PERFORM.
AND WE WILL COME BACK TO YOU AND WE WILL SAY, WHAT DID WE MISS? THAT WILL GIVE US AN OPPORTUNITY THEN TO COURT TO INCORPORATE YOUR ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK INTO A FINAL REPORT.
THAT REPORT, WE'RE HOPING TO HAVE IT PUBLISHED, PUBLISHED IN AUGUST.
AND SO THAT IS OUR KIND OF HIGH LEVEL MILESTONES OF WHEN WE PLAN ON WRAPPING UP PHASE TWO.
SO IT'S JUST NOT ABOUT FEEDBACK, BUT IT'S ALSO ABOUT TAKING THAT FEEDBACK AND IMPLEMENTING IT AS WE GO.
SO I MENTIONED OUR NEXT STEPS, WHICH IS WE'LL BE PRESENTING TO THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ONCE WE WRAP UP KIND OF OUR INTERNAL REVIEW PROCESS.
THOSE FINDINGS WILL ALSO DEVELOP RECOMMENDATIONS.
THE RECOMMENDATIONS WILL BE WHAT WE WILL PUT FORWARD TO THE COMMUNITY TO SAY, HERE'S HOW WE PLAN TO SEE OUR FACILITIES A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY.
UM, IT'S NOT THAT THEY'RE NOT ALREADY PERFORMING AND DOING SOME AMAZING THINGS, BUT OUR GOAL WHEN ACME WAS CREATED WAS TO UNIFY AND STRENGTHEN OUR ECOSYSTEM.
AND SO WE WANNA KNOW HOW CAN OUR FACILITIES BETTER, BETTER DO THAT? AND SO AGAIN, OUR FINAL REPORT WILL BE PUBLISHED IN AUGUST OF 2026.
AND WE DO HAVE, I MENTIONED TO YOU ALL THE MILLENNIUM YOUTH ENTERTAINMENT COMPLEX WITH WHICH, WHICH WE JUST BROUGHT ON ON NOVEMBER 1ST.
WE ARE TRANSITIONING THAT INTO A CITY FACILITY, UM, FOR 25 YEARS OR SO.
IT, IT WAS A STANDALONE OPERATED BY A THIRD PARTY.
UM, THE, MY TOPLESS NEGRO SCHOOL WE'RE IN THE VISION PLAN PROCESS FOR THAT.
AND THEN OF COURSE, THE PINK HOUSE, WE ANTICIPATE GETTING THAT EITHER THIS YEAR OR EARLY NEXT YEAR.
AND THEN OUR AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL AND HERITAGE FACILITY IS ON A DIFFERENT TIMELINE.
I SAY THAT BECAUSE WE'RE LOOKING AT WHAT THE POSSIBILITIES ARE FOR THAT PARTICULAR FACILITY.
SO IT, IT, IT'S ON A DIFFERENT TIMELINE THAN THE REST.
BUT WITH THAT BEING SAID, THAT ACTUALLY CONCLUDES AND WRAPS UP PHASE TWO BECAUSE, UM, NEXT MONTH MY HOPE IS THAT WE'LL BE INVITED BACK TO SHARE WITH YOU THE DATA THAT WE'VE ACTUALLY COLLECTED THROUGH THAT PROCESS AND TO HEAR YOUR FEEDBACK.
SO THAT CONCLUDES PHASE TWO AND WHERE WE ARE IN THAT PROCESS.
UH, QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? COMMISSIONERS? COMMISSIONER SILVA, PLEASE GO AHEAD.
UM, I DO HAVE A QUESTION, AND IT KIND OF FALLS
[01:05:01]
IN LINE WITH THE MODIFIED TIMELINES FOR THESE OTHER FACILITIES THAT YOU HAVE COMING ON.SO APPROXIMATELY THE SAME TIME AS THE SURVEY WAS GOING OUT, UM, THE SCHOOL DISTRICT WAS ALSO GOING UP THROUGH A PERIOD WHERE THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT THEIR CLOSING OF SCH SCHOOLS AS FAR AS, IF I HAVE, REMEMBER RIGHT, IT'S 10 FACILITIES SCATTERED THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
IS, ARE YOU CONSIDERING ANY OF THOSE FACILITIES TO FILL ANY SORT OF, UH, VACANCIES OR, OR, OR, OR FILL SOME CAPACITY THAT WE MIGHT NEED IN SOME AREAS OF OUR TOWN SO THAT WE CAN SORT OF FULFILL A MISSION FOR THOSE FACILITIES THAT KEEP IT COMMUNITY FOCUSED.
THE WAY I PICTURED IS THE SCHOOLS ARE, THEIR MAIN MISSION IS EDUCATION, RIGHT? AND TO CHANGE SOME OF THOSE FACILITIES TO FACILITIES THAT CONTINUE EDUCATING, BUT EDUCATING IN THE ARTS, YOU KNOW, SO YOU CAN PROVIDE ANY KIND OF ART PROGRAM IN THOSE FACILITIES AS WELL AS PERFORMING ART SPACES.
AND, UM, THOSE KIND OF OPPORTUNITIES.
HAVE THOSE DISCUSSIONS OCCURRED OR DO YOU SEE THAT AS SOME POSSIBILITY OF BEING IMPLEMENTED AS YOU CONSIDER YOUR WORK THROUGH IN, IN PHASE TWO? SURE.
SO DURING PHASE TWO, WE ARE LOOKING AT PARTNERSHIPS WHO WE PARTNER WITH.
UM, WE HAVE A PARTNERSHIP LIST, OF COURSE, HOW WE PARTNER WITH INDIVIDUALS AND HOW WE EDUCATE.
AND SO THAT IS A PART OF THE PROCESS.
BUT WHEN WE COME BACK TO THIS FACILITY, I ACTUALLY WANT TO HEAR MORE ABOUT WHAT YOUR THOUGHTS ARE IN LINE WITH THAT, UM, SPECIFICALLY.
AND SO THAT IS A PART OF PARTNERSHIPS.
TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, IS A PART OF THIS PROCESS AS WE COLLECT THE FEEDBACK, HOW SPECIFICALLY IT HAPPENS, THAT PART HAS NOT BEEN DECIDED YET.
UM, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? UH, IS THERE ANY UPDATE ON THE MAC? ANY UPDATE ON THE MAC? YES, THE MAC RECEIVED.
SO THE
AND SO, UM, WE ARE LOOKING AT WHAT IS THE ACTUAL DATE.
OH MY GOSH, NOW I'M LOSING IT.
UM, I DON'T WANNA SAY THE WRONG DATE,
BUT WE, WE DID RECEIVE THAT, WHICH IS A HUGE MILESTONE.
AND WE ARE LOOKING AT, I KNOW IT'S IN THE, IN THE NEXT, IN THE COMING MONTHS, YES.
THANKS FOR THE UPDATE ON THE, UH, OCCUPANCY CERTIFICATE, THOUGH.
QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, COMMISSIONERS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE, UH, THE FANTASTIC UPDATE THERE.
[7. Staff briefing on AACME department objectives and goals for 2026 by Candice Cooper, Interim Chief Administrative Officer, AACME. ]
ON THE AGENDA IS STAFF BRIEFINGS, ALSO BY MS. COOPER ON ACME DEPARTMENT OBJECTIVES AND GOALS FOR 2026 BY CANDACE COOPER, INTERIM CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER,THIS ALSO IN LINE WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, HOW WE WANTED TO DO OUR GOALS AND WHAT WE WANTED TO WORK ON ON THE COMMISSION THIS YEAR, UH, IN ALIGNMENT, AND AT LEAST UNDERSTANDING, UH, WHAT THE DEPARTMENT GOALS ARE AND SEE WHERE WE CAN, UH, FIND SYNERGIES THERE AS WELL.
UH, CHAIR NAGA VALLEY MUSIC COMMISSIONERS AND COMMUNITY CANDACE COOPER, UH, INTERIM CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER WITH AUSTIN ARTS CULTURAL MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT.
UM, AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO BRIEF YOU TODAY ABOUT THE 2026 GOALS FOR ACME.
UM, I KNOW THAT THIS COMMISSION PLAYS A CRITICAL ROLE IN SHAPING AUSTIN'S MUSIC ECOSYSTEM.
AND SO TODAY, NOT ONLY DID I WANNA PROVIDE YOU OUR GOALS FOR OUR DEPARTMENT, BUT I WANT YOU TO WALK AWAY WITH THREE THINGS.
REMIND YOU WHY ACME WAS CREATED, SHARE WHERE WE ARE WITH OUR TRANSFORMATION WORK THAT WE ARE DOING, AND CLARIFY HOW YOU CAN, MEANING MEANINGFULLY, EXCUSE ME, PARTICIPATE MOVING FORWARD.
SO, WITH THAT BEING SAID, I WANTED TO JUST KIND OF TAKE YOU BACK INTO TIME IN TERMS OF WHY ACME WAS CREATED.
WE WERE CREATED, MATTER OF FACT, WE JUST HAD A BIRTHDAY, UM, FEBRUARY OF 2025, UM, TO UNIFY AND STRENGTHEN AUSTIN'S ARTS, CULTURAL MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT ECOSYSTEM.
UM, OUR GOAL WAS TO FOCUS ON ALIGNING FUNDING AND OUR FACILITIES PROGRAMMING, AND LOOKING AT THE OVERALL ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY IMPACT.
UH, WE WANTED TO INCREASE TRANSPARENCY, BUT ALSO ACCOUNTABILITY, UH, POSITIONING AUSTIN AS A GLOBAL CULTURAL AND
[01:10:01]
ARTS, UH, CAPITAL.NOT JUST, WE TALK ABOUT IT BEING THE MUSIC CAPITAL OF THE WORLD, BUT WE WANT TO, AND MAKE SURE THAT NOT ONLY ARE WE INCORPORATING AUSTIN AS THE MUSIC CAPITAL OF THE WORLD, BUT ALSO THAT WE, WE HAVE ARTS INCLUDED IN THAT PROCESS AND CULTURE.
WITH THAT BEING SAID, UM, I WANTED TO KIND OF SHARE WITH YOU OUR STRUCTURE, WHICH HAS CHANGED SINCE WE WERE CREATED.
UM, AS YOU GUYS KNOW, OUR, OUR DIRECTOR IS ANGELA MEANS SHE IS THE DIRECTOR OF OUR ORGANIZATION, THE INAUGURAL DIRECTOR, UH, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, WHO'S ACTUALLY HERE, UH, WITH ME THIS AFTERNOON THIS EVENING.
BUT MORGAN MESSICK MORGAN IS OVER OUR ARTS AND FUNDING MUSIC EVENTS PROGRAM, OUR CULTURAL AFFAIRS AND INVESTMENTS.
YOU GUYS JUST HEARD FROM LAURA, OUR DIVISION MANAGER OVER THAT, UM, AREA, OUR CULTURAL AND HERITAGE TOURISM, ART AND PUBLIC PLACES, ART AND MUSIC, UM, AT THE AIRPORT, ALSO OUR, UH, PARK SPECIAL EVENTS, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT, OUR ACE PROGRAM.
SHE ALSO OVERSEES HUMAN RESOURCES AND FINANCE.
UM, MYSELF AS, UH, INTERIM CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER, I AM OVERSEEING AT THIS MOMENT THE CULTURAL EDUCATION AND PROGRAMMING DIVISION, WHICH INCLUDES ALL OF THE FACILITIES THAT I JUST TALKED ABOUT IN PHASE TWO.
AND IN ADDITION TO THAT, UM, I ALSO HAVE THE COMMS AND COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING, AND THEN ALSO OVERSEEING THE ENTIRE, THE CREATIVE RESET PROCESS.
I KIND OF GO WITH THE CREATIVE RESET, UM, IF YOU WILL.
I WANTED TO ALSO JUST SHARE WITH YOU THAT WE HAVE A LINK TO OUR FULL ORG CHART.
WE HAVE CREATE DONE, THERE'S BEEN SOME REALIGNMENT, AND, UM, WE ARE CONTINUING TO RESTRUCTURE AS WE GO.
BUT I JUST WANTED YOU ALL TO KNOW THAT STRUCTURE DOES MATTER.
AND HOW WE EXECUTE EVERYTHING IS BASED ON, UM, HOW WE ARE REALIGNED.
AND WE ARE STILL REFINING THAT STRUCTURE TO ENSURE THAT IT SUPPORTS MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT APPROPRIATELY.
SO, OUR 2025 ACCOMPLISHMENTS, I TALKED TO YOU, UM, A BIT AGO ABOUT WHY WE WERE RECREATED, AND NOW I WANT TO WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT WHAT WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED IN OUR YEAR.
OUR THEME FOR OUR FIRST YEAR WAS TO STABILIZE, LISTEN AND BUILD.
AND SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID WAS, WE, OF COURSE, UM, FORM FORMALIZED THE DEPARTMENT.
WE ALIGNED OUR ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE, WE FOCUSED IT ON STABILIZING OPERATIONS.
WE LISTENED DEEPLY TO OUR COMMUNITY, AND WE BEGAN BUILDING FRAMEWORKS.
THE CREATIVE RESET OF, OF COURSE, EMERGED FROM ALL OF THE LISTENING THAT WE DID.
UM, WE WANTED TO NOT ONLY UNIFY THOSE FIVE LEGACY DIVISIONS, BUT TO SEE HOW AND WHERE WE CAN IMPROVE UPON THEM.
BUT WE LED THAT WITH WORKING AND LISTENING TO OUR COMMUNITY.
OUR GOALS FOCUS SIMPLY INTERNALLY ON OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE AND BUILDING PUBLIC TRUST.
BUT IN 2026, IF YOU ASK US, WE HAVE ONE GOAL, AND THAT ONE GOAL IS TO DELIVER TO OUR COMMUNITY OUR FIRST STRATEGIC PLAN.
SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE CREATIVE RESET AND THE FOUR PHASES OF THE CREATIVE RESET, THIS IS OUR MULTI-PHASE PROCESS TO BUILD US INTO CREATING A STRATEGIC PLAN.
SO, PHASE ONE WAS OUR FUNDING PROGRAMS, AND ALSO WE HAD AN ART AND PUBLIC PLACES RESOLUTION THAT OUR, OUR, UM, TEAM WAS ALSO WORKING ON.
PHASE TWO WAS OUR CULTURAL FACILITIES AND OUR MUSEUMS. AND I JUST PRESENTED ON THAT A FEW MOMENTS AGO.
PHASE THREE, WHICH IS OUR UP INCOMING PHASE, IS OUR SPECIAL EVENTS AND OUR ALTERNATIVE FUNDING FRAMEWORK.
AND THEN PHASE FOUR WILL BE THE IMP WILL BE THE, UH, LAUNCH OF THE DEPARTMENT'S FIRST STRATEGIC PLAN.
SO IN TERMS OF PHASE ONE OF THE FUNDING PROGRAMS, YOU ALL JUST RECEIVED A COMPREHENSIVE REPORT FROM LAURA AS IT RELATES TO WHERE WE ARE WITH OUR LIVE MUSIC FUND.
UM, THIS IS JUST A HUGE MILESTONE TIMELINE AND KIND OF SHOWS YOU WHERE WE ARE.
UM, AS SHE MENTIONED, THE DETAILS WE'RE, WE'RE REALLY IN OUR, WE'RE COMPLETING OUR FIRST FUNDING CYCLE AS A DEPARTMENT, BUT WHILE WE'RE COMPLETING THAT FUNDING CYCLE CYCLE, WE'RE ALSO EVALUATING.
WE'RE REVIEWING AND WE'RE MAKING ADJUSTMENTS ALONG THE WAY.
AND ONE OF THE MAIN THINGS THAT WE HEARD ARE WRAPAROUND SERVICES.
AND REALLY WHAT THAT MEANS IS RESOURCES, RESOURCES FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
AND AS WE WRAP UP OUR FIRST ROUND OF FUNDING, WE WILL WORK WITH YOU ALL
[01:15:01]
IN TERMS OF HOW WE MOVE FORWARD BEFORE WE MAKE ANY OF THOSE ADJUSTMENTS.IN TERMS OF PHASE TWO, PHASE TWO, I WOULD SAY THAT WE'RE A BIT MIDWAY THERE.
SO I TALKED TO YOU ALL IN THE LAST PRESENTATION ABOUT KIND OF HOW WE LAUNCHED AND WHERE WE ARE WITH PHASE TWO.
AND IN APRIL, OUR NEXT STEPS, AFTER WE'VE COMPLETED OUR INTERNAL REVIEW AND HAVE CITY LEADERSHIP AND OUR CITY INTERNAL PARTNERS TO LOOK AT IT, WE WILL THEN IN APRIL, PUBLISH ALL OF THE PRELIMINARY DATA THAT WE'VE RECEIVED.
WE WILL ASK THE QUESTION, WHAT DID WE MISS? WE WILL GATHER ANY ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK, JUST LIKE THE FEEDBACK THAT WE'VE ALREADY HEARD TONIGHT.
AND THEN WE WILL TAKE THAT INFORMATION AND, UM, IN JULY, WE WILL INCORPORATE THAT FEEDBACK INTO A FINAL EXECUTIVE PORT, WHICH WILL BE PUBLISHED FOR THE COMMUNITY IN AUGUST.
AND PHASE THREE IS WHERE I KNOW THIS COMMISSION IS REALLY GONNA HA WE ARE GONNA REALLY NEED TO WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH YOU ALL FOR PHASE THREE.
BECAUSE IN PHASE THREE, THIS IS OUR SPECIAL EVENTS WHERE WE ARE REVIEWING, UM, WE'RE REVIEWING THE EVALUATING, EXCUSE ME, THE PERMITTING AND THE SUPPORT STRUCTURES.
WE'RE REVIEWING OUR SPECIAL EVENT ALIGNMENT, WE'RE WE WILL EXPLORE ALTERNATIVE FUNDING FRAMEWORKS AND IDENTIFYING SUSTAINABILITY MODELS FOR VENUES AND FESTIVALS.
MUSIC IS BOTH, IS BOTH CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC.
AND SO WE ARE LINING THOSE RE REALITIES INTENTIONALLY THROUGHOUT THIS PHASE.
AND YOUR INSIGHT HERE WILL BE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.
WE'RE ONLY IN THE INITIATION PHASE OF THIS PROCESS.
WE HAVE NOT YET LAUNCHED IT PUBLICLY.
WE'RE JUST IN THE CONCEPT PHASE.
UM, AND, AND JUST KINDA REVIEWING HOW WE WILL PLAN AND MOVE THIS PROCESS FORWARD, WE ANTICIPATE THAT THIS PROCESS WILL, WILL TAKE LONGER THAN THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR STRATEGIC PLAN.
WE'RE LOOKING AT AN 18 MONTH PROCESS FOR OUR ENTIRE PHASE THREE.
BUT WHAT WE PLAN TO INCLUDE IN OUR STRATEGIC PLAN THAT WILL, THAT WILL LAUNCH LATER THIS YEAR, IS AT LEAST THE INITIATION AND THE CONCEPT APPROACH.
PHASE FOUR, FOR OUR STRATEGIC PLAN, THIS WORK INCLUDES IDENTIFYING WHO WE ARE AND WHAT DO WE DO.
AND THAT WORK INCLUDES A MISSION STATEMENT, A VISION STATEMENT, ALIGNING OUR VALUES.
WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR PERFORMANCE METRICS, REVENUE MODELING, FACILITY, ASSET STRATEGY, UM, INDUSTRY, UH, ECOSYSTEM ALIGNMENT.
AREAS THAT WE WILL BE FOCUSING ON, OF COURSE, IS OUR, UH, PHASES OF THE CREATIVE RESET, WHICH IS OUR CULTURAL FUNDING, FACILITIES AND MUSEUMS, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT, WHICH WILL BE A HUGE PART OF PHASE THREE, OUR ECONOMIC IMPACT AND TOURISM ALIGNMENT ALONG WITH OVERALL ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS.
HERE'S WHERE YOU COME IN, IT IS CRITICAL THAT WE HEAR YOU, BUT IT'S ALSO CRITICAL THAT WE WORK TOGETHER.
AND SO HOW YOU CAN HELP IS YOU CAN OF COURSE, FOLLOW THE CREATIVE RESET CLOSELY AS WE GO THROUGH THESE PHASES, BUT ALSO PROVIDE YOUR STRUCTURED FEEDBACK, UM, CONNECTING WITH YOUR COMMUNITY, YOUR CONSTITUENTS, THOSE OF YOU THAT ARE IN YOUR DISTRICTS, HELPING US TO SPREAD THE WORD AND PARTICIPATE IN OUR ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES.
WE ARE TAKING THE FEEDBACK, AND I HEARD SOMEONE SAY FLYING THE PLANE, KIND OF FLYING THE PLANE AND BUILDING IT AT THE SAME TIME.
THAT IS AN ANALOGY THAT I HAVE USED, UM, HERE ACTUALLY AT, WITH THE MUSIC COMMISSION.
WE ARE REALLY TAKING IN THAT FEEDBACK AS WE GO.
AND IT'S IMPORTANT THAT, OF COURSE, WE, WE START, I ALWAYS LIKE TO START WITH THE COMMISSIONS AND END WITH THE COMMISSION TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GETTING IT RIGHT.
ACME'S ROLE IN OUR COMMUNITY IS TO STABILIZE, STRENGTHEN, STRATEGIZE, AND SUSTAIN.
WE ARE BUILDING A LONG-TERM FRAMEWORK FOR AUSTIN'S CREATIVE ECONOMY.
AND SO THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION AS IT RELATES TO THE 2026 GOALS.
AND I'D LIKE TO OPEN IT UP FOR ANY QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME.
THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING AND, UH, SHARING THE DEPARTMENT OBJECTIVES AND GOALS, UM, CANDACE AND, UH, UH, REALLY APPRECIATE THE DETAILED PRESENTATION AND ALSO, UM, FOR PROVIDING A GOOD UNDERSTANDING, UH, OF ALL THE DIFFERENT, UH, RESET PHASES, UH, THAT ARE IN PLACE AND WHAT THEY PERTAIN TO.
UM, I'LL OPEN IT UP TO THE COMMISSION FOR COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS.
COMMISSIONER CARVAL, THANKS FOR THE PRESENTATION.
THAT WAS REALLY THOROUGH AND REALLY ENTERTAINING, SO THANK YOU.
UM, I HELPED RUN A MUSIC VENUE IN SOUTH AUSTIN, AND I USE THE SPECIAL EVENTS, THE A BC WEBSITE FREQUENTLY MM-HMM
[01:20:01]
MUCH MORE USER FRIENDLY IT'S BEEN IN THE LAST YEAR.UM, AND THERE'S DEFINITELY THINGS I WOULD LOVE TO SEE IT IMPROVE IN SOME WAYS, BUT, YOU KNOW, AND I'M SURE THAT IT'S A, IT'S A LONG ROAD TO GET THERE.
AND, UM, FIRSTLY, I I WANTED TO SAY THAT WE DO SEE IT AND IT IS COOL TO WATCH THIS THING GET MORE, UH, USER FRIENDLY AND, UM, BETTER TO USE FOR, YOU KNOW, YOUR CONSTITUENTS.
UM, I WOULD LOVE TO BE MORE IN THE KNOW ON HOW IT IS THAT PEOPLE ARE DECIDING TO MOVE THIS THING FORWARD AND HOW TO, TO MAKE THE ACE PERMITS AND THE, UH, AND HOW TO FACILITATE THAT PROCESS A LITTLE BIT MORE TO, YOU KNOW, THE PEOPLE WHO DO OWN VENUES AND WHAT KIND OF RED TAPE WE GO THROUGH.
'CAUSE THERE, THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS.
I MEAN, I WOULD, I WOULDN'T WASTE EVERYBODY'S TIME ON IT HERE AND NOW, BUT IT'S SUCH WILDLY COMPLICATED PROCESS.
YOU'VE NEVER, IF YOU'VE NEVER DONE IT BEFORE, AND I'VE USED IT FOR THE LAST SIX, SEVEN YEARS NOW, AND I'M A LITTLE BIT MORE FAMILIAR WITH THE PROCESS, BUT IT TOOK SOME TIME TO GET THERE.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WOULD LOVE TO SEE HAPPEN IN THE ACE PROCESS IS TO, IF, IF YOU HAVE A VENUE THAT HAS A SIMILAR TEMPLATE FOR EVENTS, YOU KNOW, OVER AND OVER AGAIN, 'CAUSE IT, THERE'S ONLY SO MANY ACE PERMITS YOU CAN HAVE PER SPACE.
I THINK IT'S 19 DAYS PER YEAR IF IT'S, UH, IF IT HAS LIVE MUSIC ATTACHED TO IT, UM, IF THERE IS A TEMPLATE THAT YOU COULD JUST KIND OF USE, IF THE SPACE DOESN'T CHANGE, THAT WOULD, I THINK THAT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL AND SAVE SOME TIME AND DEFINITELY A LOT OF MONEY FOR VENUES THAT ARE SMALL, LIKE MINE AND MM-HMM
ANYWAY, JUST REALLY EXCITED TO SEE IT GET BETTER AND IT'S DEFINITELY NOTICEABLE AND I'M MOSTLY JUST THANKING YOU FOR ALL THE WORK YOU'RE DOING AND EXCITED TO SEE HOW IT IS GONNA MOVE FORWARD.
AND WE'D LOVE TO BE PART OF THE PROCESS IF I CAN HELP.
AND I APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS.
I HAVE WRITTEN, WRITTEN THEM DOWN.
THANK, UM, I CAN ASSURE YOU, OUR DIRECTOR, SHE TOLD ME, SHE SAID THAT CANVAS PHASE THREE IS GOING TO BE A BEAST.
THAT'S WHAT SHE CALLED IT,
AND THAT'S WHAT WE PLAN TO DO IN PHASE THREE, REALLY DIVING DEEP IN AND, AND REALLY HEARING FROM THE COMMUNITY IN TERMS OF HOW WE CAN IMPROVE UPON IT TO MAKE IT MORE OF A USER-FRIENDLY EXPERIENCE.
SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS.
I THINK THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT I THINK THAT COULD BENEFIT FROM THE PROCESS IF THEY KNEW HOW TO USE IT, OR CREW IS A LITTLE BIT MORE APPROACHABLE TO PEOPLE TOO.
SO I, 'CAUSE I, I THINK IT'S SUCH A COOL PROGRAM THAT IS AVAILABLE TO ALL PEOPLE IN AUSTIN THAT CAN USE PUBLIC SPACES OR PRIVATE SPACES TO HAVE THESE SPECIAL EVENTS THAT AUSTIN, AND ITS LIKE ART SCENE AND CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT COULD DEFINITELY GET A LOT BIGGER IF PEOPLE USE THESE TOOLS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO THEM.
I JUST DON'T THINK IT'S THAT, UH, KNOWABLE TO CONSTITUENCIES THAT IT WOULD BE AWESOME, BUT IF EVERYONE KNEW THAT THEY COULD HAVE A, AN ACE PRE AND APPLICATION PROCESS THAT THEY, THAT IS AVAILABLE TO ALL OF US, YOU KNOW? SO, UM, BECAUSE IT'S HUGE.
I THINK IT'S A, IT'S A MASSIVE TOOL THAT MAKES SPACES THROUGHOUT AUSTIN AVAILABLE TO US TO, TO BUILD ART AND TO, TO GROW THE COMMUNITY.
SO, YOU KNOW, THANKS FOR DOING ALL THAT.
UM, ANY OTHER COMMENTS, QUESTIONS? UM, I, UH, JUST WANT TO, UM, ALSO SHARED THE PERSPECTIVE THAT YEAH, AS, AS ESPECIALLY THE, UH, SPECIAL EVENTS, UH, UM, PHASE THREE KICKS OFF AND, UH, UM, THAT WE REALLY LOOK AT HOW TO MAKE THE SPACES AVAILABLE FOR, YOU KNOW, EXPANDED, UH, DESTINATION EVENTS, UM, IN OUR CITY.
UM, AND ALSO IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S AN 18 MONTH PROCESS.
AND, UM, UM, IF WE LOOK AT, UH, COMMERCIAL MUSIC ENTITIES AND WHAT THAT CAN BRING INTO THE CITY, I DON'T KNOW IF, UH, THERE IS A NEED TO LOOK AT INTERIM SOLUTIONS AS WELL AS THE ENTIRE PROCESS IS, UH, YOU KNOW, BEING IMPLEMENTED, UH, AND, YOU KNOW, SEEN TO ITS LOGICAL CONCLUSION.
UH, SO I THINK, UM, IT WOULD BE WORTH LOOKING AT, UM, INTERIM PROCESSES AS WELL.
IF, IF SPACES NEED TO BE MADE AVAILABLE, WHAT IS THE CURRENT PROCESS? UM, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE BUILD THE PARAMETERS AROUND IT ACCORDINGLY.
[01:25:01]
THE COMMUNITY AWARE AND EDUCATED AS THE PROCESSES EVOLVE FOR THE FUTURE.UM, BECAUSE 18 MONTHS IS, IS A FAIR AMOUNT OF TIME.
UM, THERE ARE, I KNOW, UM, FOLKS IN THE COMMUNITY THAT ARE READY TO GO AND WAITING, YOU KNOW, WAITING TO SEE PROCESSES AND, UH, R-F-C-R-F-P, YOU KNOW, AVAILABILITIES IN PLACE FOR, UM, SEVERAL OF THE PARKS THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE.
UM, AND SO IT WOULD BE GREAT TO LOOK AT SOME INTERIM SOLUTIONS AS WELL AS THE LONGER PROCESSES FIGURED OUT.
UM, VERY EXCITED ABOUT, UH, THE, THE PART, UM, THE CENTERS, THE CULTURAL CENTERS, UM, AND, AND, UH, SOME OF THESE HAVE BEEN NEEDING ATTENTION FROM A VERY, VERY LONG TIME.
UM, AND IT'S, IT'S JUST WONDERFUL TO SEE THE EFFORT THAT IT LOOKS LIKE MORE CONCERTED EFFORT BEING PUT, UH, TOWARDS, YOU KNOW, BRINGING THESE FACILITIES, UM, UM, UH, UP AND AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, REALLY UTILIZING, HOPEFULLY TO THEIR FULL BENEFIT, FULL POTENTIAL IN THE FUTURE.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? UH, COMMISSIONERS, COMMISSIONER, CARVALHO.
SORRY, I'LL, I'LL STOP AFTER THIS, I PROMISE.
I, I DO HAVE ONE COMMENT ABOUT THE, THE ACE PERMIT APPLICATION PROCESS.
AND, UM, YOU NEED TO APPLY WITHIN 30 DAYS TO BE ABLE TO OBTAIN AN ACE PERMIT, WHICH I THINK IS MORE THAN REASONABLE.
IT'S A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME, WHICH IS REALLY COOL THAT THE CITY ALLOWS US TO APPLY WITHIN SUCH A SHORT TIME SPAN.
BUT WHAT HAPPENS IS SOMEBODY WHO IS APPLYING FOR IT, YOU GET A NOTICE THAT YOU APPLIED FOR IT AND THAT YOUR APPLICATION WAS TAKEN BY, BY ACME OR WHOEVER IS TAKEN IN THE APPLICATION.
BUT THERE'S NO APPROVAL PROCESS UNTIL LIKE, SOMETIMES THE DAY OF OR THE DAY BEFORE THE APPLIC OR THE EVENT.
SO IF YOU'RE PLANNING, UH, TO ME A SIZABLE EVENT OF LIKE 500 PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, TO ME, IT'S BIG TO SOME PEOPLE, IT'S NOT.
UM, IT'S A MASSIVE CAPITAL INVESTMENT THAT PEOPLE TAKE.
AND THEN YOU HAVE TO HIRE PEOPLE WHO DO ALL THE LOGISTICS FOR THE EVENT.
AND YOU'RE NOT EVER REALLY SURE IF YOUR EVENT WAS ACCEPTED BY AN ACE PERMIT OR IF YOU'RE GONNA GET THE ACE PERMIT.
SO YOU JUST KIND OF EVERY TIME MOVE FORWARD WITH IT, HOPING THAT IT WAS ACCEPTED.
AND IF NOT THAT DAY, YOU HAVE TO JUST SAY, DIDN'T GET IT.
WHATEVER DEPOSITS YOU PUT IN, YOU LOSE, YOU KNOW, THERE.
IT'S KIND OF A, TO SAY THAT IT'S STRESSFUL IS I THINK, AN UNDERSTATEMENT.
SO IF THERE IS ANY KIND OF COMMENT I CAN MAKE ON THE ACE PERMIT APPLICATION PROCESS, UM, SAVING SOME YEARS OF MY LIFE, I THINK THAT WOULD BE ONE.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE COMMENT.
AND I, Y'ALL, I'M LOOKING BACK, MAKING EYE CONTACT WITH, WITH MORGAN, OUR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR THAT ACTUALLY OVERSEES THAT PROCESS.
AND SO SHE, SHE HEARD YOU, WE HEARD YOU.
WE'LL, WE'LL GO BACK AND TAKE A LOOK AT THAT.
ANYTHING ELSE? COMMISSIONERS, COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONER CA? UM, YEAH, AGAIN, THANKS SO MUCH.
I MEAN, JUST ABSORBING EVERYTHING THAT, UM, ALL THE PRESENTATIONS, IT'S, IT'S JUST TRULY REMARKABLE THAT, UM, AUSTIN HAS A DEPARTMENT LIKE ACME AND THAT WE HAVE, UM, A GREAT STAFF THAT'S, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO MAKE EVERYTHING MORE EFFICIENT AND, AND, UM, AND IT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT JUST SAYING THAT TO SAY IT, IT, IT REALLY IS A, A TRULY REMARKABLE THING LIKE IN, IN THIS DAY AND AGE, TO HAVE A CITY THAT'S SO PRO PRO ARTS AND CULTURE.
UM, ALONG THE LINES OF COMMISSIONER CARAVA CARVALLO TALKING ABOUT HIS ISSUES WITH THE SYSTEM AND BEING WELL SEASONED COMMUNITY LEADER IN TOWN.
I WANTED TO JUST, UM, TAKE A MOMENT AND REFLECT UPON THAT, THAT YOUNG WOMAN ARTS ORGANIZER THAT CAME MAYBE LAST YEAR OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THAT SHE WAS FROM OUTTA TOWN.
I CAN'T REMEMBER WHERE SHE WAS FROM, BUT SHE WAS REALLY A LOVELY YOUNG ARTS COMMUNITY GAL THAT HAD JUST MOVED TO AUSTIN, MAYBE WAS IN AUSTIN FOR LIKE A YEAR OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
BUT SHE REALLY WANTED TO, UM, DO SOME PROGRAMMING AT ZILKER PARK.
I THINK IT JUST A SUNDAY, SUNDAY SESSIONS.
AND IT WAS SO, UM, I WAS SO PROUD OF HER FOR COMING TO CITY HALL, SPEAKING IN FRONT OF A COMMISSION AND JUST TRYING TO NAVIGATE THE WAY THROUGH AUSTIN.
AND WE WERE LISTENING WITH OPEN HEARTS AND OPEN BRAINS, BUT IT WAS HARD TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GIVE HER ADVICE.
[01:30:01]
AND SO EVEN FROM SEASONED PROFESSIONALS THAT HAVE BEEN HERE, HAVE GREAT, YOU KNOW, CONNECTIONS, BUT TO, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S KIND OF LIKE A, AN ADVOCATE OR SOMEONE THAT YOU'RE ASSIGNED TO HELP YOU GET THROUGH THE SYSTEM, UM, SOMEONE THAT YOU'RE, I, I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, BUT IT'S, UM, IT WAS JUST KIND OF ABOUT THE MENTORSHIP OF GETTING THROUGH THE PROCESS AND TO, AND TO NOT GIVE UP BECAUSE WE NEED THOSE ORIGINAL IDEAS.YOU KNOW, SO I JUST WANTED TO KIND OF TAKE NOTE OF THAT AND THAT SHE, SHE, SHE REALLY, I WANTED TO BRING HER ENERGY BACK UP TO THIS COMMISSION BECAUSE IT, IT TOOK A LOT OF COURAGE TO DO THAT.
AND I HOPE THAT SHE IS CONTINUING TO DO GREAT WORK IN AUSTIN.
AND THAT CAN HAPPEN NOW, YOU KNOW, SO AT ANY TIME WHEN SOMEONE IS BEFORE YOU FOR IN OUR COMMUNITY AND THEY'RE NEEDING HELP TO NAVIGATE, I WOULD DEFINITELY HAVE THEM TO REACH OUT TO OUR DEPARTMENT AND WE CAN CERTAINLY MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAVE SOMEONE THAT CAN HELP THEM THROUGH THE PROCESS.
AND SO I DON'T WANNA HAVE TO LEAD THAT TO YOU ALL.
UM, I KNOW YOU HAVE A TON OF EXPERIENCE AND EXPERTISE IN THE AREA, BUT THAT IS WHAT OUR DEPARTMENT IS THERE FOR.
AND SO I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU ALL TO JUST, YOU KNOW, SHOW THEM THE WAY TO OUR WEBSITE AND, AND, AND WE HAVE ALL OF OUR EMAILS THAT ARE CONNECTED TO THE ORG CHART THAT I JUST, THAT'S ON THE WEBSITE.
SO YOU HAVE ACCESS TO EVERYONE AND ALSO PHONE NUMBERS AS WELL.
I THINK, UM, HAVING A, A FOCUS DEPARTMENT AND WITH, UH, ACE BEING WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT, SURELY, UH, YOU KNOW, PROVIDES LIKE A MORE OF A ONE-STOP SHOP FOR, UH, FOLKS TO COME IN AND, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, GO THROUGH THE PROCESS.
ANYTHING ELSE? COMMISSIONERS, COMMISSIONER ENGLAND? I KNOW WE'VE GOT A WHOLE LONG, 18 MONTHS, SO WE AIN'T GONNA TALK ABOUT IT RIGHT NOW.
I JUST WANNA SAY I SECOND COMMISSIONER CARVALLO ON THAT BRIEFLY BEFORE THIS, UH, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT STRESS A LITTLE BIT BEFORE EVERYONE SHOWED UP, AND I MENTIONED THAT, YOU KNOW, I DON'T HAVE VERY MUCH HAIR LEFT AND THAT MIGHT BE A PART OF IT, THAT PERMITTING PROCESS AND THAT APPROVAL WITHIN DAYS BEFORE AN EVENT.
I MIGHT STILL HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE HAIR IF THAT PROCESS HAS CHANGED.
SO I JUST WANTED TO QUICKLY SECOND YES.
I HEARD IT VERY LOUD AND CLEARLY.
AND WE MADE OUR CONTACT WITH MORGAN BACK HERE, SO I'M SURE THAT WILL BE ON THE TOP OF OUR AGENDA,
'CAUSE SOME THINGS, QUITE FRANKLY, THEY, THEY DON'T HAVE TO WAIT, RIGHT? AND SO SOMETHING LIKE THAT WE CAN CERTAINLY START WORKING ON NOW.
QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? BE GOOD? ALL RIGHT.
WITH THAT BEING SAID, BEFORE I TAKE MY SEAT, I JUST WANNA LET YOU ALL KNOW THAT I APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT YOU ALL DO FOR OUR COMMUNITY DAY IN AND DAY OUT, UM, TO HAVE TO GO THROUGH TRAFFIC TO IN AUSTIN TO COME HERE AND DO THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING TO SPEAK ON BEHALF, TO BE A VOICE ON BEHALF OF OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, AND THEN THE SECOND THING I WANNA SAY IS THAT OUR CULTURAL FACILITIES ARE OPEN.
ENGAGE WITH THEM, CALL THEM, ATTEND SOME OF THE EVENTS.
IF YOU ALL ARE, IF FOLKS IN OUR COMMUNITY ARE LOOKING FOR SPACES TO HOST THE EVENT, MOST OF OUR FACILITIES HAVE RENTAL SPACES.
SO I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU ALL TO PLEASE, UM, SHARE THAT NEWS WITH OUR COMMUNITY.
THE NEXT AGENDA ITEM, WE ARE MOVING ON
[8. Austin Convention Center Project and benefits to Hotel Occupancy Tax and creative community following presentation by Riley Triggs, Project Manager, Austin Convention Center and Morgan Messick, Assistant Director, AACME. ]
TO DISCUSSION ITEMS, UH, AUSTIN CONVENTION CENTER PROJECT AND BENEFITS TO HOTEL OCCUPANCY, TAX AND CREATIVE COMMUNITY.FOLLOWING PRESENTATION BY RILEY RIGGS, PROJECT MANAGER, AUSTIN CONVENTION CENTER IN MORGAN MESSICK, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, ACME.
AND THANK YOU, UH, MR. DRAKES, YOU HAVE VERY PATIENTLY WAITED SO FAR.
UM, WE ARE WORKING ON PULLING UP THE SECOND PART OF OUR PRESENTATION.
WE HAVE A TWO SLIDE DECK SITUATION.
APOLOGIES, UM, I'LL GO AHEAD AND INTRODUCE MYSELF OR ANYBODY I DON'T KNOW OR HAVEN'T SEEN IN A FEW MONTHS.
I'M THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AT ACME.
[01:35:01]
THE PLEASURE OF SERVING THIS COMMISSION AND ALL OF THOSE MANY BULLET POINTS CANDACE PUT UP.IT'S TOO MANY THINGS ONE THING AT A TIME.
UM, I'M HERE TONIGHT TO SPEAK ON BEHALF OF ACME AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO KIND OF TEE UP A CONVERSATION WITH OUR PARTNERS AT THE CONVENTION CENTER.
THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE, RI AND WE ARE KIND OF HELPING DO A LITTLE BIT OF A ROAD SHOW.
UM, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF TALK ABOUT THE CONVENTION CENTER IN THE COMMUNITY, IN OUR COMMUNITY, SPECIFICALLY AROUND THE BENEFITS OR THE HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX, WHAT'S HAPPENING WHILE CONVENTION CENTERS CLOSE, WHAT DO WE EXPECT FOR THE FUTURE? SO THIS IS A PART TWO.
WE HAVE RECENTLY BEEN TO THE ARTS COMMISSION, UM, WHERE, UH, NAGA VALLEY, OF COURSE WAS AT, BECAUSE SHE SITS ON THAT COMMISSION.
I'M NOT SURE IF ANY OF YOU HAVE SEEN PARTS OF IT OR HEARD ANY CHATTER FROM YOUR COLLEAGUES OR YOUR FRIENDS, UM, PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, BUT WE LEARNED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE PERSPECTIVE FROM THERE.
SO I WANTED TO KIND OF TEE THE CONVERSATION UP AND JUST SAY, WE'RE HERE TO JUST OPEN THE DIALOGUE.
UM, MY KICKING THIS OFF IS NOT MEANT TO LIKE BE REDUCTIVE WHEN I, WHEN I SHARE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW WE USE HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX OR HOW WE GAIN THAT IN OUR COMMUNITY, IT'S REALLY TO LEVEL SET.
'CAUSE WE'RE NOT JUST TALKING TO YOU, WE'RE TALKING TO PEOPLE WHO MIGHT BE WATCHING.
WE'RE TALKING, YOU KNOW, TO NEWCOMERS, PEOPLE WHO ARE JUST WANTING TO LEARN.
SO, UM, I'M GONNA TALK AT A SUPER BASIC LEVEL AND THEN I'M GONNA PASS IT OVER TO RILEY AND HE'S GONNA TELL US ALL ABOUT THE PLANS FOR THE CONVENTION CENTER.
WE'RE GONNA SEE SOME RENDERINGS, WE'RE GONNA HEAR SOME UPDATES AND TALK ABOUT THE FUTURE.
AND THE CITY'S REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE CONVENTION CENTER, AND THAT'S REALLY WHY WE'RE HERE TONIGHT.
WE JUST WANNA OPEN THAT DIALOGUE, BE A SOURCE FOR INFORMATION AND FACTS, DISPEL ANY MISINFORMATION THAT MIGHT BE OUT THERE, AND TALK ABOUT ALL THE GREAT PUBLIC BENEFIT THAT WE'RE ALL LOOKING FORWARD TO.
UM, A REALLY POSITIVE THING THAT CAME OUT OF THE ARTS COMMISSION CONVERSATION WAS THIS DESIRE FROM COMMISSIONERS TO BE A PART OF SHAPING WHAT THAT PUBLIC BENEFIT LOOKED LIKE.
AND WE HAD THE INTERIM DIRECTOR THERE AT THAT TIME.
UM, AND HER NAME IS KATIE NIK.
AND KATIE WAS REALLY OPEN TO HAVING THAT, UM, PARTNERSHIP WITH THE COMMISSION TO HEAR MORE ABOUT WHAT SHAPING PUBLIC BENEFITS LOOKS LIKE.
SO, UM, I'M HOPING WE GET SOME POSITIVE, UH, OUTCOMES FROM TONIGHT, BUT WE'RE JUST HERE TO TALK.
SO THANK YOU FOR HAVING US ENOUGH.
ALL RIGHT, SO LIKE I SAID, WE'RE GONNA TALK JUST AT A SUPER BASIC LEVEL ABOUT HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX FOR ANYBODY WHO ISN'T A HUNDRED PERCENT AROUND HOW WE GET TO THOSE DOLLARS THAT WE TALK ABOUT USING FOR GRANT FUNDS.
SO, WE ALL KNOW THAT HOT REVENUE SUPPORTS ARTS AND CULTURE IN AUSTIN, AND THAT IS JUST ONE PIECE OF THE MONEY.
THERE IS A LOT MORE TO HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX.
THIS IS THE PIECE THAT IS NEAR AND DEAR TO OUR HEARTS.
SO WE KNOW THAT HOT FUNDS COME FROM THE VISITORS WHO STAY IN HOTELS.
THEY DO NOT COME FROM LOCAL PROPERTY TAXES.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE HEARD, SOMETHING THAT I'VE SEEN IN THE MEDIA OR ON THE NEWS.
UM, AND WE JUST WANNA MAKE SURE ANYONE WHO'S WATCHING OR ANYBODY HERE TODAY KNOWS THAT EVERYTHING THAT WE'D USE HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX FOR COMES FROM HOTEL VISITORS, NOT FROM OUR PROPERTY TAXES.
SO THE STATE LAW, THE STATE OF TEXAS, ALLOWS FOR UP TO 15% EACH FOR CULTURAL ARTS AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION TO BE USED FROM THE ENTIRE POT OF MONEY THAT THE CITY GETS.
AND SO WE ARE ALREADY AT OUR CAP.
SOME CITIES ARE BELOW THAT CAP BECAUSE THEY, UM, SPEND, THEY SPREAD THEIR DOLLARS OUT, THEY USE THEM IN A DIFFERENT WAY.
OUR CITY HAS PRIORITIZED MAXING OUT WHAT IS ALLOWABLE.
SO WE'RE ALREADY AT THAT 30% TOTAL CAP FOR FUNDING THAT CAN BE SET ASIDE FOR CULTURAL ARTS AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION.
SO WE'RE ALREADY THERE, LIKE I SAID.
AND THIS IS THE, UH, THE ONLY WAY TO GROW THAT NUMBER BECAUSE WE CAN'T RAISE THAT PERCENTAGE WITHOUT DOING SOMETHING OUTSIDE OF THE STATE LAW.
THE ONLY WAY TO GROW IT IS TO INCREASE THE VISITORS INTO OUR COMMUNITY TO INCREASE THOSE HOTEL STAYS.
SHORT-TERM RENTAL STAYS THAT GO INTO OUR BUCKET.
SO, UM, IN A VERY SIMPLE WAY, FOR ANYBODY WHO'S BRAND NEW TO HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX, THE VISITORS IN OUR CITY, UM, THAT'S HOW WE GET THE MONEY.
SO MORE VISITORS EQUALS MORE HOTEL STAYS EQUALS MORE HOT COLLECTIONS, EQUALS MORE CULTURAL MUSIC, HERITAGE FUNDING, ANYONE, YOU KNOW, INCREASING THAT NUMBER IS JUST GONNA INCREASE THE POT OF MONEY THAT WE HAVE, WHICH IS A SHARED GOAL THAT WE ALL HAVE.
SO WE CAN DO MORE PROGRAMMING, MORE GRANTS, MORE INVESTMENT INTO OUR COMMUNITY.
SO, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT CULTURAL FUNDING SUPPORTS TODAY, AND AGAIN, I KNOW YOU ARE ALL VERY FAMILIAR WITH THIS.
UM, BUT IN THE YEAR 2024, WE RECEIVED OVER $50 MILLION IN REQUESTS FOR HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX.
AND WE ONLY HAD $22 MILLION AVAILABLE IN OUR BANK TO GIVE OUT TO AWARDEES.
SO WE AWARDED 532 GRANTS TO ARTISTS AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS.
[01:40:02]
UM, THE PRIOR YEAR WE ONLY HAD $16 MILLION.AND BACK IN 2021 WE STARTED WITH 5.7.
YOU MIGHT ALL REMEMBER THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC, WHICH HAS IMPACTED A LOT OF THINGS, INCLUDING VISITORS IN DAR CITY FOR A BRIEF TIME.
UM, SO LUCKILY WE'VE BEEN BOUNCING BACK FROM THAT, AND NOW WE'VE KIND OF SEEN A LITTLE BIT OF A STAGNATION, UM, YOU KNOW, MONTH OVER MONTH, YEAR OVER YEAR.
YOU'VE SEEN THAT FROM THE PROJECTIONS THAT, UH, KEN MC CARSON BRINGS TO YOU EVERY SINGLE MONTH.
THOSE GRANT FUNDS FLOW THROUGH OUR GRANT PROGRAMS AND WE FUND THINGS LIKE MUSIC, UM, AND LIVE MUSIC FUND, HERITAGE PRESERVATION PROJECTS, CULTURAL ARTS GRANTS.
WE DO FUNDING FOR CREATIVE BUSINESS SUPPORT FESTIVALS AND EVENTS, AND SOME PUBLIC ART INITIATIVES.
SO WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE RISK AND BENEFITS, UM, THAT COME ALONG WITH WHAT WE'RE FACING NOW WITH THE EXPANSION OF THE CONVENTION CENTER.
SHOULD, UH, THERE BE DELAY OR ANYTHING OBSTRUCTING THE FUTURE OF THE CONVENTION CENTER CONSTRUCTION.
UM, WE DON'T WANNA BEAT IT AROUND THE BUSH, WOULDN'T IT BE AS TRANSPARENT AS POSSIBLE? YOU ALL MAY KNOW THAT THERE WAS A PETITION THAT CAME FORWARD TO GET COMMUNITY SIGNATURES TO TRY TO PUT THE ISSUE OF WHETHER OR NOT THE CONVENTION CENTER REDEVELOPMENT SHOULD MOVE FORWARD ON THE BALLOT FOR THE COMMUNITY TO DECIDE.
THAT PETITION ULTIMATELY DID NOT SUCCEED.
IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THEY DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH SIGNATURES AS PER, UM, ALL OF THE MANY RULES THAT GUIDE THESE PETITIONS.
UM, THE ORGANIZATION THEN IN TURN SUED THE CITY AND IT WENT FORWARD TO COURT EARLIER THIS YEAR, AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UM, WAS SUCCESSFUL AND THE OUTCOME OF THAT LAWSUIT.
AND SO THIS IS JUST SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN, YOU KNOW, TALKED A LOT ABOUT, WHICH IS ONE OF THE REASONS WE'RE HERE TO, TO HELP DISPEL SOME OF THOSE RUMORS THAT WE HEARD.
WHAT WE DO KNOW IS, UM, THIS CONCEPT OF LOSING THE CONVENTION CENTER DOES PUT US AT RISK TO LOSE A LOT OF MONEY AS A A, A GOVERNMENT.
SO WE NOT ONLY WOULD LOSE THE CULTURAL FUNDING TIED TO THAT VISITOR REVENUE, RIGHT, WE WOULD SEE, UM, A DIP OVER TIME IN, UM, CERTAINLY THE CONVENTIONS THAT WOULD COME TO TOWN, WHICH BRING THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE EVERY YEAR.
WE WOULD ALSO SEE A DIP IN SALES TAX REVENUE, WHICH IS HOW WE FUND THINGS THROUGH THE GENERAL FUND.
SO IT WOULDN'T JUST IMPACT WHAT WE HAVE A AVAILABLE ON HOT GENERAL FUND FUNDS, ALL OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT OUR DEPARTMENT DOES.
UM, WE WOULD ALSO POTENTIALLY SEE THOUSANDS OF LOST JOBS.
UM, SO WE'RE NOT EXCITED ABOUT THAT CONCEPT.
AND OF COURSE, WE HAVE $18 MILLION OF PUBLIC ART PROJECTS, SOME OF WHICH ARE ALREADY UNDERWAY AND UNDER CONTRACT, AND MANY MORE THAT ARE COMING FORWARD OVER, UM, THE PROCESS OF THE REDEVELOPMENT.
SO WE WOULDN'T WANNA LOSE THOSE EITHER.
ADDITIONALLY, WE WOULDN'T WANNA LOSE ANY OF THE AMAZING PUBLIC BENEFITS THAT COME ALONG WITH THE CONVENTION CENTER.
SO WE'VE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT HOW WE SUPPORT OUR COMMUNITY WITH HOT REVENUE, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF OTHER PUBLIC BENEFIT THAT'S AVAILABLE TO THE COMMUNITY.
THERE WILL BE AFFORDABLE AND SUBSIDIZED EVENT AND MEETING SPACE FOR COMMUNITY GROUPS, CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS, AND CREATIVE PRACTITIONERS.
THERE WILL BE INCREASED PROGRAMMING PARTNERSHIPS, WHICH INCLUDES FESTIVALS, SHOWCASES, AND CREATIVE INDUSTRY EVENTS.
WE'LL SEE GENERALLY EXPANDED TOURISM ACTIVITY, AND THAT SUPPORTS LOCAL PERFORMERS, VENDORS, HOSPITALITY WORKERS AND CULTURAL VENUES.
IN ADDITION TO THOSE, WE SEE THAT STABILIZATION THAT COMES INTO THE CULTURAL FUNDING STREAMS. WE SEE THAT INCREASE TO PUBLIC ART OPPORTUNITIES.
AND IT'S NOT JUST MONEY IN PEOPLE'S POCKETS.
GETTING A CHANCE TO PARTICIPATE IN PUBLIC ART LEADS TO MORE PUBLIC ART OPPORTUNITIES, NOT JUST LOCALLY STATEWIDE, NATIONALLY.
THAT IS A REALLY LUCRATIVE PATHWAY FOR ARTISTS, FOR FABRICATORS, AND FOR ALL OF THE WORKERS WHO SUPPORT PUBLIC ART.
ADDITIONALLY, WE, UM, WILL SEE AN INCREASED NATIONAL PROFILE FOR AUSTIN'S CREATIVE SECTORS, UM, WHICH RI WILL TALK MORE ABOUT AS WE RAISE THE LEVEL OF QUALITY, UM, OF SIZE OF CONVENTIONS THAT WE CAN BRING INTO THE COMMUNITY THAT HELPS RAISE OUR PROFILE.
AND OF COURSE, WE SEE SPILLOVER VISITATION FROM THOSE FOLKS TO EVENTS, MUSEUMS, VENUES, AND OTHER DISTRICTS IN THE COMMUNITY WHEN PEOPLE ARE IN TOWN STATE.
SO THAT'S JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT WE ARE EXCITED ABOUT AS ACME ONE OF THE REASONS WE LEFT TO PARTNER WITH THE CONVENTION CENTER BECAUSE, UM, THEY ARE GREAT PARTNERS IN PUBLIC ART, IN PUBLIC BENEFIT AND HELPING US STABILIZE THE HOT FUNDS.
AND WE REALLY WANNA JUST GIVE THEM A CHANCE TO HELP US WITH THE DIALOGUE AND SHARE MORE ABOUT THE GREAT WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING.
HAPPY TO TAKE QUESTIONS AT THE END.
UM, IT'S A DISCUSSION ITEM SO WE, WE CAN CHAT ALL AROUND, BUT WE'LL GO AHEAD AND PULL UP HIS SLIDE DECK.
THANK YOU CHAIR AND COMMISSIONERS FOR HAVING US THIS EVENING.
MY NAME IS RILEY TRIGGS AND I'M WITH CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES, AND WE DELIVER PROJECTS TO OUR PARTNER DEPARTMENTS ALL ACROSS THE CITY.
[01:45:01]
AND I'M IN CHARGE OF THE COMMISSION CENTER PROJECT AND, UH, FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.SO, JUST TO KIND OF SET THE TABLE OF WHERE WE ARE AND WHY WE'RE DOING THIS, UH, AUSTIN IS CURRENTLY THE 13TH LARGEST CITY IN THE COUNTRY.
UH, BUT OUR CONVENTION CENTER, IT RANKS ONLY AROUND 61ST LARGEST NEXT SLIDE.
SO WHAT OUR HOPE IS, UM, IS TO INCREASE THAT, THAT STANDING AND INCREASE THE, THE TYPES OF EVENTS WE HAVE AND REVENUE, ET CETERA, UH, BY MOVING UP TO 35TH WHEN WE COMPLETE, UH, THIS CONVENTION CENTER EXPANSION.
SO JUST KIND OF PUT THIS IN PERSPECTIVE, UM, WITH THE COMPLETED EXPANSION, WE WILL BE LARGER THAN THESE CITIES, UH, TO THEIR CONVENTION CENTERS.
UM, THESE ARE KIND OF DIRECT COMPETITORS, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE AN IDEA OF HOW BIG THESE CITIES ARE AND, AND WHAT THEY DO.
UM, SO THIS IS, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A HUGE THING FOR ATTRACTING CONVENTIONS, UM, AND WE'LL CERTAINLY HELP THE CITY AT LARGE.
SO WE'LL BE MOVING UP INTO THIS SET.
UH, SO CITIES LIKE SAN ANTONIO, WHO ARE VERY WELL KNOWN FOR HO UH, HOSTING CONVENTIONS AND FOR TOURISM, UH, BOSTON AND SEATTLE, UM, ALL OF THESE WILL NOW BECOME OUR KIND OF DIRECT COMPETITOR SET.
SO OVERALL FOR OUR PROJECT, UH, THE TOTAL PROJECT BUDGET IS $1.66 BILLION.
UH, THAT'S ALL IN FOR, UH, FOR THE CITY FOR CREATING THIS ENTIRE PROJECT.
THE ANNUAL ECONOMIC IMPACT IS GONNA BE OVER $750 MILLION A YEAR.
UM, OUR CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULE, WE STARTED BACK IN APRIL OF 25, AND WE'LL COMPLETE, UH, HAVE SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION IN DECEMBER OF 28.
UH, SO JUST TO GIVE YOU A SENSE OF WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH THIS EXPANSION, THE EXISTING CONVENTION CENTER HAD RENTABLE SQUARE FOOTAGE OF ABOUT 365,000 SQUARE FEET.
UM, OUR, OUR NEW EXHIBIT HALL IS GOING TO BE ALMOST THAT SIZE.
UM, THE NEW CONVENTION CENTER WILL HAVE 620,000 SQUARE FEET, UH, OF RENTABLE SQUARE FOOTAGE.
THAT INCLUDES THE EXHIBIT HALL, WHICH IS ABOUT 350,000.
UM, AND THEN MEETING ROOMS, UH, THE FLEX HALL, ET CETERA.
PLUS, WE'RE GONNA HAVE ABOUT, UH, 140,000 SQUARE FEET OF RENTABLE SQUARE FOOTAGE IN PHASE TWO.
AND I'LL BE SHOWING YOU WHERE THAT IS.
AND THAT BUILDING WILL BE A COUPLE HUNDRED THOUSAND SQUARE FEET, UH, IN TOTAL.
THE TOTAL FOOTPRINT FOR THIS NEW BUILDING IS ABOUT 1.4 MILLION SQUARE FEET, SO ALMOST DOUBLE OF WHAT IT IS NOW.
AND THEN THE FUNDING COMES FROM HOT FUNDING, THE CONVENTION CENTER REVENUES THERE, UM, AND THEN ALSO THE PFC, WHICH IS A NEW PROJECT FINANCING ZONE FOR THIS PROJECT.
OUR WONDERFUL PARTNERS, UH, WHO HAVE BEEN REALLY GREAT ALONG THIS PROCESS, UH, WE ALL GOT ON BOARD AT THE SAME TIME, BEEN WORKING TOGETHER THROUGHOUT THIS ENTIRE PROJECT.
UH, JE DUNN TURNER IS A JOINT VENTURE, UH, FOR OUR CONTRACTING TEAM, LMN, UH, FROM SEATTLE, WHO ARE CONVENTION CENTER EXPERTS AND PAGE, UH, UH, LARGE LOCAL, UH, ESTABLISHED ARCHITECTURE FIRM.
UM, THEY'RE A JOINT VENTURE FOR OUR ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES.
AND THEN WE HAVE CONVENTIONAL WISDOM WHO IS A CONVENTION CENTER, UM, CONSULTANT.
AND WE HAVE PROJECT CONTROL WHO'S HELPING MY TEAM PROJECT MANAGE THIS PROJECT, UH, WHICH IS CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES, MY TEAM.
UH, AND THEN ACME ALSO, UH, WE HAVE A LARGE A IPP COMPONENT IN THIS THAT I'LL BE SHOWING YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT.
SO OVERALL, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT SCHEDULE WISE, UM, THIS PROJECT ACTUALLY STARTED ALMOST A DECADE AGO WITH, UH, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, UH, WITH PRELIMINARY AND FEASIBILITY STUDIES.
UM, AND, AND THEN IT KIND OF BEGAN IN EARNEST, UM, LAST YEAR, I GUESS NOW, UH, WITH SOME ENABLING PROJECTS, UH, INCLUDING SOME ELECTRICAL WORK THAT WE HAD TO DO FOR AUSTIN ENERGY, UH, CHILLED WATER LOOP THAT WE DID FOR THE, UH, DOWNTOWN SHIELD WATER LOOP.
UM, AND THEN, UH, SOME WORK THAT WE DID FOR CAP METRO TOO, TO RELOCATE SOME OF THEIR INFRASTRUCTURE OFF OF OUR PROPERTY, UH, WHILE WE DID OUR WORK.
UH, BUT DEMO ITSELF, WE TURNED OVER THE PROPERTY TO THE CONTRACTOR IN APRIL OF LAST YEAR.
UH, DEMO ABOVE GRADE DEMO IS COMPLETE NOW, AND WE'RE INTO EXCAVATION, UH, THAT WILL CONTINUE UNTIL ABOUT SEPTEMBER OF THIS YEAR.
UH, BUT WE'VE ALREADY STARTED BUILDING, UH, SO WE ALREADY HAVE, UH, NEW CONSTRUCTION OUT THERE GOING ON.
AND THAT WILL BE COMPLETED BY, UH, THE END OF 2028 AND OPEN FOR FESTIVAL SEASON IN THE SPRING OF 29.
SO, SOME OF THE GOALS, UM, THAT HAVE GUIDED THIS PROJECT, UM, AND ARE REALLY IMPORTANT TO WHAT THIS BUILDING IS AND, AND HOW WE'RE APPROACHING THE DESIGN AND THE USE AND THE OPERATION OF THIS.
SO TO START WITH A CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION, UM, WHERE WE'RE REALLY LOOKING FOR A WORLD-CLASS DESIGN.
[01:50:01]
ARE TAKING THAT CHALLENGE ON, UM, AND WE ARE CREATING SOMETHING REALLY WONDERFUL AND REALLY AMAZING, UH, THAT WILL TRANSFORM THE, THE DOWNTOWN AREA ON THAT SIDE OF DOWNTOWN.UM, SO SOMETHING THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, IS GONNA BE A LANDMARK, UH, BUT ALSO SOMETHING THAT'S GONNA BE NOT JUST FOR VISITORS, NOT JUST FOR CONVENTION GOERS, BUT WILL CHANGE AGAIN, THE, THE CHARACTER OF THE FABRIC, THE ENTIRE DISTRICT, UH, DOWN THERE.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, PROVIDE SOME PUBLIC GATHERING SPACES, UH, AND REALLY, UH, ENHANCE THAT PART OF DOWNTOWN.
SO, ONE OF OUR BIG GOALS IS TO MAKE THIS UNIQUELY AUSTIN, UM, CONVENTIONS WANT TO COME HERE.
UH, PEOPLE WANT TO COME HERE, UH, BECAUSE OF WHAT AUSTIN IS.
AND SO WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS REALLY EMBODY, UH, ALL OF THESE MAGICAL THINGS, UH, THAT HAVE MADE AUSTIN.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A LIST OF, UH, KIND OF THE INSPIRATION THAT WE'RE DRAWING FROM, OBVIOUSLY THE MUSIC, THE ART, UM, UH, THE CULTURAL DIVERSITY, UH, THINGS, YOU KNOW, JUST VERY BASIC, KEEP AUSTIN WEIRD, RIGHT? THE IDEA THAT THIS IS AN UNCONVENTIONAL, UH, PLACE TO HAVE A CONVENTION, UM, UH, THE PUBLIC LIFE THAT WE HAVE, THE OUTDOOR LIFESTYLE THAT WE HAVE, ALL THOSE THINGS.
WE WANT VISITORS WHO COME HERE TO, UH, TO FEEL LIKE THEY ARE EXPERIENCING A PART OF AUSTIN, BEING IN THE CONVENTION CENTER, WHICH IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE NORMAL EXPERIENCE IN A CONVENTION CENTER.
UH, USUALLY YOU GO INTO A BLACK BOX, YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT TIME OF DAY IT IS, YOU COME OUT, YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU ARE.
UM, AND IT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER.
UH, BUT HERE YOU'RE GONNA FEEL LIKE YOU'RE IN AUSTIN, YOU'RE GONNA KNOW YOU'RE IN AUSTIN.
UH, WE'VE GOT A LOT OF REALLY SPECIAL THINGS GOING ON INSIDE THE BUILDING THAT CONNECT YOU TO THE THINGS THAT, UH, ARE OUTSIDE THE BUILDING AND ARE, ARE A PART OF AUSTIN.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, IS A REALLY PROUD MOMENT FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS OUR DEDICATION TO SUSTAINABILITY.
AS YOU KNOW, THE AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM IS BASED ON WORK THAT WAS DONE HERE IN AUSTIN, UH, MANY, MANY YEARS AGO, UM, AND TURNED INTO THE, UH, UNITED STATES GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL LEAD PROGRAM.
UH, SO SUSTAINABILITY REALLY STARTED BIG TIME HERE IN AUSTIN, HAS HAD AN IMPACT ACROSS THE WORLD.
SO WE'VE TAKEN THAT ON AS SOMETHING THAT IS A DEFINING FUTURE OF THIS PROJECT.
SO, TO THAT END, THE REALLY, REALLY COOL THING ABOUT THIS IS THAT WE ARE GOING TO BECOME THE FIRST ZERO CARBON CERTIFIED CONVENTION CENTER, NOT ONLY IN AUSTIN, NOT ONLY IN TEXAS, NOT ONLY IN THE UNITED STATES, BUT THE ENTIRE WORLD, AND QUITE POSSIBLY THE UNIVERSE.
THE CERTIFYING BODY THAT WE ARE WORKING WITH HAS NEVER DONE A COMMISSION CENTER BEFORE.
SO WE ARE HELPING THEM DEFINE WHAT IT MEANS TO BE, BE A SUSTAINABLE CONVENTION CENTER.
CONVENTION CENTERS HAVE VERY, A VERY UNIQUE TYPOLOGY.
THERE'S LOTS OF, UH, CONCRETE AND STEEL, WHICH IS OUT OF PROPORTION FROM NORMAL LIKE OFFICE BUILDINGS AND CIVIC BUILDINGS.
UM, SO WE'VE HAD TO DO A LOT OF INNOVATIVE THINGS IN ORDER TO, TO ACHIEVE THIS, UH, GOAL.
UM, SO KIND OF RUNNING DOWN THE LIST REAL QUICK, UH, WE ARE GONNA BE A HUNDRED PERCENT RENEWABLE ENERGY.
UM, ALL OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S, UH, BUILDINGS ARE DEDICATED TO USING, USING THE AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN CHOICE PROGRAM.
UH, WE'RE ELIMINATING ONSITE CARBON EMISSIONS BY HAVING AN ALL ELECTRIC KITCHEN, UM, WHICH AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, IF YOU'VE SEEN ANY OF THE, THE CHEF SHOWS ON, ON TV, UH, EVERYBODY COOKS WITH GAS, AND IT'S A BIG DEAL WITH CHEFS.
WE, WE HAD MANY MONTHS OF DISCUSSIONS WITH, UM, UH, WITH OUR, OUR CHEFS AT THE CONVENTION CENTER.
UM, AND IT CAME DOWN TO THE FACT THAT, UM, OTHER PEOPLE IN THEIR COMPANY HAD ACTUALLY USED ELECTRIC EQUIPMENT, AND THEY'RE LIKE, OH, YEAH, THAT'S OKAY.
UM, SO, BUT, BUT THE POINT BEING IS THAT WE PUSHED AND PUSHED AND PUSHED ON THIS VERY IMPORTANT ELEMENT TO ACHIEVE, UM, UH, WHAT WE'RE HOPING TO ACHIEVE WITH THE ZERO, UH, CARBON CERTIFIED CONVENTION CENTER.
UM, WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON? WE'RE ALSO USING LOW CARBON STEEL.
UH, WE'RE, UH, USING MASS TIMBER, AND WE'VE ALSO DEVELOPED OUR OWN MIXED DESIGNS, WHICH ARE, ARE NEW TO CENTRAL TEXAS FOR LOW CARBON CONCRETE.
THESE, UM, WE'VE BEEN TESTING, UH, WE'VE BEEN DEVELOPING FOR THE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS.
UH, WE'RE ABOUT TO DO A TEST POUR TO SEE THE WORKABILITY OF THEM, UH, BUT WE'RE DOING ALL THE VETTING AND ALL OF THE HARD WORK THAT WILL ESTABLISH AND MAKE AVAILABLE THESE CONCRETE MIXED DESIGNS FOR NOT ONLY OTHER CITY PROJECTS, BUT PRIVATE DEVELOPMENT AS WELL.
UH, THIS IS GONNA HAVE A HUGE IMPACT ON THE REST OF THE CITY.
UM, UM, SO THAT'S HUGELY EXCITING.
UM, SO ALONG WITH THAT, THIS IS ALSO THE FIRST MODERN MASS TIMBER, UH, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, AS WELL AS USING THAT, THAT LOW CARBON CONCRETE, UH, WHICH WILL BE ROLLED INTO A SPECIFICATION THAT, UM, WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR ALL CITY PROJECTS GOING FORWARD.
AND THEN WE'RE DOING THINGS LIKE SALVING MATERIALS AND REUSING THEM, UH, FROM THE OLD CONVENTION
[01:55:01]
CENTER IN THE NEW.UM, AND THAT ALONE IS OFFSETTING THE EMISSIONS THAT, UM, UH, THAT A COAST, THAT A LARGE PICKUP TRUCK, UH, DRIVING COAST TO COAST OVER 300 TIMES, UH, WOULD GENERATE.
SO WE'RE DOING THINGS LIKE THAT ALL ALONG THE WAY IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE SUSTAINABILITY, UM, IS AT THE FOREFRONT OF WHAT WE'RE DOING.
I GET A LITTLE BIT EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
UM, THE OTHER THING THAT I GET REALLY PASSIONATE ABOUT, UM, IS THE ART AND PUBLIC PLACES PROGRAM.
WE ARE ALSO DOING SOMETHING VERY INNOVATIVE HERE.
UM, OVERALL WE'RE, WE'VE GOT $17.7 MILLION IN TOTAL INVESTMENT IN, IN THE A IPP PROGRAM.
OUR FIRST PHASE OF THAT IS AN ARCHITECTURALLY INTEGRATED ART PROGRAM, UH, THAT WILL, UH, AMOUNT TO ABOUT $12 MILLION AND HAS THESE 10 ARTISTS WHO WERE SELECTED THROUGH, UH, A VERY RIGOROUS PROCESS, UM, AND HAVE ALL BEEN WONDERFUL TO WORK WITH AND HAVE SOME REALLY GREAT IDEAS THAT ARE REALLY EMBODYING AUSTIN AND CULTURE, UH, INTO THE WALLS, THE LITERAL WALLS OF OUR CONVENTION CENTER.
UH, SO THE FIRST 10 ARTISTS AND FIRST $12 MILLION ARE FOR THAT INTEGRATED ART.
UM, THAT MEANS THAT, THAT THE ART WILL ACTUALLY BE MADE OUT OF THE MATERIALS THAT ARE ON THE, THE BUILDING, UM, WHICH IS REALLY, REALLY COOL.
UM, AND THEN THE REMAINING ABOUT $5 MILLION WILL BE THE TRADITIONAL A IPP PROGRAM, UH, WITH TRADITIONAL ART, UM, YOU KNOW, PAINTINGS AND SCULPTURES AND THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT WILL BE PLACED IN THE BUILDING.
SO WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH THE BUILDING, UM, WE HAVE DEMOLISHED THE ENTIRE CONVENTION CENTER, THE ENTIRE SIX CITY BLOCKS BETWEEN CESAR CHAVEZ, RED RIVER, UH, FOURTH STREET AND TRINITY, UM, TO MAKE WAY FOR, UH, THIS NEWLY ENVISIONED, UM, CONVENTION CENTER OF THE FUTURE.
UH, THIS IS, THIS IS AN UNUSUAL AND UNCONVENTIONAL CONVENTION CENTER ALREADY.
UH, THERE'S ONLY ONE OTHER CONVENTION CENTER THAT IS A VERTICAL CONVENTION CENTER.
UM, AND, UM, AND WE'RE DOING THIS BECAUSE, UM, WE ARE CONSTRICTED BY THE SIX CITY BLOCKS.
WE WEREN'T ABLE TO TO EXPAND, UH, OUTSIDE OF THAT PERIMETER.
UH, SO WE'VE HAD TO GO UP AND DOWN.
SO TO DO THAT, THE ENTIRE EXHIBIT HALL IS NOW UNDERGROUND.
WE'VE GONE ABOUT 50 FEET DOWN, AND WE'LL HAVE ABOUT 350,000 SQUARE FEET OF EXHIBIT HALL, CONTINUOUS EXHIBIT HALL UNDERNEATH THE ENTIRE SIX CITY BLOCKS.
AND THEN ON TOP, UM, IN THE RED BLOCK, WE'VE GOT THE BALLROOM.
UH, THE MIDDLE BLOCK IS GONNA HAVE A BIG FLEX HALL, WHICH CAN DO EITHER BALLROOM OR UM, UH, EXHIBIT HALL TYPE EVENTS.
AND THEN ALL THE MEETING ROOMS WILL BE IN THAT SPACE.
AND THEN, UH, THE BLOCK UP AT FOURTH STREET, UM, AND THIRD STREET, UM, WILL BE ON THE RIGHT SIDE IS THE, UM, IS THE HELIX DOWN TO OUR BELOW GRADE LOADING DOCK AND SOME UTILITY, UM, TYPE THINGS LIKE SECURITY AND UTILITIES AND THINGS IN THAT ONE BUILDING.
UH, BUT THEN ON THE SITE NEXT TO THAT IS GOING TO BE AN OPEN PLAZA.
UM, THIS IS GOING TO BE, UM, UH, SET UP SO THAT WE CAN HAVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE TO PUT, UH, CONVENTION CENTER EVENTS OUT THERE.
UH, WE'LL HAVE FOOD TRUCKS, WE'LL BE ABLE TO HAVE, UH, MUSIC STAGES, UM, BE ABLE TO HAVE BIG TENTS, THAT SORT OF THING GOING ON THERE.
UM, AND ALL OF THIS IS KIND OF AN, AN INTERIM CONDITION, BECAUSE THIS IS WHERE WE'RE GOING TO PUT, UM, OUR ADDITION, THE NEXT PHASE TWO PROJECT.
UH, WE ARE REPAIRING, UH, THE CITY GRID, UM, IN THIS PART OF DOWNTOWN, AND THIS IS WHAT'S REALLY GONNA BE A GAME CHANGER FOR THE DISTRICT.
SO WE HAVE THIRD STREET, WHICH WE'RE NOW PUTTING BACK IN ACROSS OUR SITE, UH, AND THEN SECOND, WHICH WILL BE MULTIMODAL, SO CARS, BUSES, UH, PEDESTRIANS.
AND THEN SECOND STREET WILL BE A PEDESTRIAN PASSAGEWAY THROUGH THE BUILDING AND RECONNECT THAT PART OF THE GRID.
ALSO, WE'VE ALIGNED OUR, OUR MAJOR, UH, PEDESTRIAN ACCESS NORTH SOUTH, UH, WITH THE NATURE, UH, STREET, UH, RIGHT OF WAY.
SO IN ESSENCE, WE'RE PUTTING NATURE STREET BACK AS WELL AS THAT'LL BE A CIRCULATION THROUGH THE SITE, NORTH TO SOUTH.
AND THEN OUR FUTURE EXPANSION IS GONNA GO ON THAT, THOSE NORTH, UH, TWO BLOCKS.
UM, AND AGAIN, IT'S, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE HUNDRED THOUSAND SQUARE FEET, UH, AND WILL BE CONNECTED TO THE EXHIBIT HALL, WHICH IS BEING BUILT UNDERNEATH AND HAS ALL THE, THE FOUNDATIONS AND EVERYTHING REQUIRED TO, TO HOLD THIS FUTURE EXPANSION.
UH, AND THEN CONNECTED, UM, AT STREET LEVEL AND THEN PROBABLY ABOVE WITH, UM, SOME AIRWAYS AS WELL.
SO THAT, UH, THOSE TOP TWO BLOCKS RIGHT NOW AGAIN, ARE GONNA BE WHAT WE'RE CALLING THE WAREHOUSE IS, WHICH IS WHERE KIND OF OUR, OUR UTILITY WORK IS AND KIND OF THE DIRTY WORK, UM, OF THE CONVENTION CENTER, UH, IS GOING TO BE.
[02:00:01]
UH, BUT THEN WE'RE GONNA HAVE THIS REALLY GREAT, UH, PLAZA, UM, WHICH WILL BE A NICE OPEN SPACE USED FOR CONVENTION CENTER EVENTS.UH, THIS WILL ALSO, UM, YOU KNOW, ALLOW US TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, LIKE BIG TRUCKS, LIKE FIRE TRUCKS AND HELICOPTERS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT SOME OF THOSE TRADE ASSOCIATIONS LIKE TO BRING IN, UH, WHICH WILL BE REALLY NEAT.
AND THEN THAT THIRD STREET, WHICH AGAIN, IS GONNA RECONNECT THAT PART OF THE GRID WILL ALSO BE AVAILABLE FOR FESTIVALS, AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO CLOSE THAT OFF.
UH, THAT'S GONNA STAY A PRIVATE STREET.
UM, UH, SO WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO HAVE EVENTS OUT THERE AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN YOU CAN SEE IN THE SECTION NEXT TO THAT, UH, THE BIG KIND OF BLACK BLOCK IS WHERE, UH, THE EXHIBIT HALL IS GOING TO BE UNDERGROUND.
UM, AND AGAIN, THAT'S GONNA BE THE ENTIRE SIX CITY BLOCKS.
HERE'S AN AERIAL VIEW OF THAT.
UM, TO THE LEFT IS THE HILTON HOTEL.
UH, FOURTH STREET IS RIGHT IN FRONT WHERE THE, UM, CURRENT CAP METRO STATION IS.
AND THEN THE, THE YELLOW SQUARE IS WHERE THAT BIG PLAZA IS GONNA BE.
AND AGAIN, WE'RE GONNA PUT IN ALL THE INFRASTRUCTURE SO WE CAN HOLD, UH, EVENTS, UM, AND DO SOME REALLY COOL OUTDOOR STUFF, UH, THERE.
UM, AND THEN BEHIND THAT YOU CAN SEE THE HUB, WHICH AGAIN, IS WHERE THE FLEX HALL AND THE MEETING ROOMS ARE GONNA BE.
AND IT'S REALLY GONNA BE THE, THE, THE MAIN FRONT DOOR, UH, TO THE CONVENTION CENTER, WHICH IT'S, UM, NOT HAD IN ITS PREVIOUS, UH, ITERATION.
SO THIS IS A VIEW INSIDE THE PLAZA LOOKING SOUTH, BACK TOWARDS THE MAIN BUILDING.
AND THEN THAT MAIN BUILDING AGAIN, IS GONNA HAVE, UH, THE MEETING ROOMS IS REALLY GONNA BE THE, THE HUB, UH, OF THE CONVENTION ACTIVITY.
UM, UH, THIS IS BREAKING DOWN THE, THE BIG BLOCK OF THE BUILDING THAT'S THERE RIGHT NOW.
AGAIN, WE'RE KIND OF TREATING THIS AS, AS SIX DISTINCT, UH, AREAS, UH, ON THE SITE.
UH, SO YOU'LL SEE, UH, AT ONE TIME, A, UM, YOU KNOW, KIND OF A, UH, A DOWNSIZING THE SCALE OF THIS BY PROVIDING MORE PATHWAYS THROUGH IT.
BUT THEN WE'RE GOING VERTICALLY, UH, SO IT'LL HAVE MORE OF A, A, A PRESENCE, UH, AS WELL, UH, WE'RE RESPONDING TO THE, THE CURRENT URBAN CONTEXT, AND WE'RE GONNA HAVE DIFFERENT FACADES ALL THE WAY AROUND.
SO IT'LL BE A VERY ACTIVE, VERY ENGAGING, UM, REALLY GREAT STREET SCAPE EXPERIENCE.
SO THIS IS A VIEW FROM SECOND STREET LOOKING ACROSS TRINITY.
IN THE BOTTOM RIGHT YOU CAN SEE, UM, ONE OF OUR NEW LIGHT RAIL TRAINS.
UH, THERE IS GONNA BE A STOP RIGHT THERE BETWEEN CESAR CHAVEZ AND SECOND STREET ON TRINITY.
UH, SO THIS WILL BE A VERY ACTIVE, PEDESTRIAN WAY AND IS REALLY THE MAIN FRONT DOOR FOR A LOT OF OUR VISITORS COMING FROM THE HOTELS THAT ARE, ARE IN DOWNTOWN.
UM, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A, A LARGE MASS TIMBER CANOPY OVER THIS ENTIRE AREA THAT, UH, WE'RE CALLING THE EO AS IT MOVES ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE BUILDING.
AND THEN YOU CAN SEE THE BRIGHTLY COLORED, UM, ARTWORK.
UH, THIS IS JUST AN EXAMPLE OF ONE OF OUR INTEGRATED, UM, PROJECTS.
UH, THIS IS A SOFFIT THAT GOES THE ENTIRE TWO CITY BLOCKS ACROSS THIS CONVENTION CENTER.
IT'S 32,000 SQUARE FEET OF ARTWORK, UM, THAT IS GONNA BE PERFORMED BY THREE ARTISTS WHO ARE WORKING IN COLLABORATION FOR A REALLY FANTASTIC, REALLY COLORFUL, UH, REALLY VIBRANT, UM, UH, AND DEEPLY CULTURAL KIND OF INTERPRETATION, UM, OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE HERE IN AUSTIN.
AND HERE'S A VIEW ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT POEO ON RED RIVER, LOOKING BACK KIND OF NORTHWEST, UH, INTO THE BUILDING.
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THAT COLORFUL ARTWORK, UM, THAT IS GONNA EXTEND THOSE TWO CITY BLOCKS.
UH, THIS WILL BE A MASSIVELY, UH, DEFINING FEATURE, UH, OF THIS PROJECT.
AND WE HAVE A COUPLE OF OTHER VERY LARGE SCALE PROJECTS AS WELL, UM, WHICH WILL PUT ART AS AT THE FOREFRONT OF WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE.
UM, SO YOU'RE ALSO SEEING THE MEETING ROOMS AND, AND THE FLEX HALL, UH, IN THAT MAIN AREA.
AND THEN OFF TO THE LEFT IN THAT LOWER BUILDING, UM, IS WHERE THE BALLROOM IS.
UH, AND WE'RE LOOKING OVER WATERLOO GREENWAY, WHICH IS, UM, ACTUALLY GONNA OPEN THIS SUMMER.
UH, AND WE'RE WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH, TO TIE OUR, OUR PROJECT INTO NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
SO THAT LAST, UH, COUPLE OF BLOCKS IS WHERE THE BALLROOM'S GONNA BE.
UH, THIS, UM, THIS IS THE PART THAT IS REALLY CONNECTED TO NATURE AND CONNECTED TO WHAT'S HAPPENING AT WATERLOO GREENWAY.
UH, AGAIN, WE'VE WORKED REALLY CLOSELY, CLOSELY WITH THEM SO THAT THIS LANDSCAPE, UM, IS REALLY GONNA BE A SEAMLESS, UH, CONNECTION TO WHAT'S HAPPENING, UH, ALONG WALLER CREEK.
UM, AND THEN PROVIDE AN OUTDOOR SPACE FOR, UH, CONVENTION EVENTS, UH, IN WHAT WE'RE CALLING THE PORCH AND THAT, THAT RED PORTION.
[02:05:01]
AND THEN MOVING INTO THE, THE PURPLE BLOCK, WHICH IS THE BALLROOM, UH, WHICH IS INSPIRED BY TEXAS DANCE HALL.SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE LARGE MASS TIMBER, UH, TRUSSES IN THERE, UH, SOME GREAT LIGHTING.
UM, AND IT'LL BE A REALLY UNIQUE, UH, EXPERIENCE FOR CONVENTION GOERS.
UM, ALSO, UH, SOMETHING THAT, THAT WE REALIZED EARLY ON WAS THAT THIS IS GONNA BE THE THIRD KIND OF MAJOR CIVIC BUILDING ALONG CESAR CHAVEZ.
WE'VE GOT THE LIBRARY, WHICH HAS JUST DONE, WE'VE GOT CITY HALL THAT WE'RE IN RIGHT NOW, AND NOW THE CONVENTION CENTER.
AND THIS, THIS BALLROOM BUILDING, UM, ARE REALLY GOING TO SET A TONE, UH, FOR CIVIC BUILDINGS IN AUSTIN.
UH, AND THAT TONE IS WHAT YOU SEE AROUND HERE WITH LIMESTONE AND WOOD, UH, AND REALLY RICH, WARM, INVITING, UM, EXTERIORS AND INTERIORS.
SO, THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE FROM THE WATERLINE, AND YOU CAN SEE WE'RE OVERLOOKING, UM, WALLER CREEK AND THE WATERLOO GREENWAY PROJECT, UH, THE FAIRMONT BRIDGE, WHICH CROSSES RIGHT NOW, WHICH IS GOING TO STAY, AND WE'RE GONNA RECONNECT TO THAT.
AND THEN MOVING INTO THAT OUTDOOR PLAZA AREA, WHICH WILL MAKE FOR SOME GREAT OUTDOOR EVENTS AND INTO THE BALLROOM.
UM, AND THEN THE, THE HUB, WHICH IS TO THE RIGHT, UH, YOU CAN SEE HAS, UH, REALLY GREAT ACCESS TO VIEWS ON THE OUTSIDE.
UH, WE'RE GONNA BE DOING SOME INTERPRETATION OF, OF WHAT PEOPLE SEE, UH, OUT THE WINDOWS.
UH, REALLY CONNECT TO THINGS THAT ARE OUT, UH, IN AUSTIN ITSELF.
SO, CURRENTLY WE ARE THROUGH, WITH THE ABOVE, ABOVE GRADE DEMOLITION.
WE'VE GOT JUST A, A COUPLE OF CONCRETE THINGS, UM, TO TAKE OUT OF THE GROUND NOW.
UM, THAT TOOK ABOUT SIX MONTHS, UH, TO DO.
UM, AND AGAIN, WE RECYCLED AND ARE REUSING A LOT OF THE MATERIALS, INCLUDING, UH, SOME BIG TRUSSES, NOT THESE THAT, THAT WE TOPPLED OVER, UH, BUT WE'RE INCLUDING SOME OF THOSE HUGE STEEL TRUSSES THAT WERE IN THE EXHIBIT HALL, UH, IN THAT UTILITY WAREHOUSE AREA THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT BEFORE.
UH, AS WELL AS SOME METAL PANELS, UH, SOME OF THE ARTWORK THAT WAS IN THERE.
WE'VE GOT THE BLUE GLASS PANELS, WHICH ARE GONNA BE ON THE FLEX HALL.
SO AGAIN, TRYING TO INCORPORATE BE SMART SUSTAINABLY, UH, BUT ALSO CONTINUING THE LEGACY OF THE CONVENTION CENTER AND SOME OF THE GREAT THINGS THAT WE HAD GOING THERE.
UH, WE'RE ABOUT, UH, LET'S SEE, WE'RE ABOUT HALFWAY THROUGH, UH, EXCAVATION.
UM, WE'VE GOT UNTIL, AGAIN, SEPTEMBER, UH, BEFORE WE'RE COMPLETELY DONE.
UM, AND THEN ONE OF THE UNIQUE CONSTRUCTION THINGS, WHICH IS ALLOWING US TO HAVE THIS VERY AGGRESSIVE SCHEDULE AND COMPLETE THINGS ON TIME AS WE'RE DOING THIS DIAPHRAGM WALL, WHICH WE ACTUALLY POUR FIRST, AND THEN IT ACTS AS A SHORING WALL, UM, OUR WATER BARRIER, AND THEN OUR FOUNDATION.
SO WE ACTUALLY PUT THAT IN THE GROUND FIRST, LET IT, LET IT SET UP, GET STRONG, AND THEN WE, UH, EXCAVATE, UM, UP TO IT.
UH, AND THAT BECOMES OUR SHORING FOR THE ENTIRE PROJECT.
UM, SO JUST AS A REMINDER, PALMER AUDITORIUM IS STILL OPEN, STILL HOSTING EVENTS, UM, AND, AND BOOKINGS ARE GOING REALLY WELL FOR THIS NEW CONVENTION CENTER.
UH, WE ALREADY HAVE PEOPLE SIGNED UP, UH, FOR EVENTS THAT WOULD NOT FIT IN THE ORIGINAL CONVENTION CENTER.
AND THIS HAPPENED BEFORE WE SHOWED PLANS TO ANYBODY.
UH, AUSTIN IS A BIG DESTINATION, AND THEY SAID, WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS MOMENT FOR A LONG TIME.
UM, AND WE'RE ALSO GONNA HAVE A PRETTY NEAT PLACE FOR THEM TO, TO COME TO, UH, NEXT SLIDE.
THEN ANOTHER LOOK, UH, FROM, UH, THE SECOND AND RED RIVER ENTRANCE.
UH, LOTS OF, UH, REALLY NICE LANDSCAPE.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE GREAT ARTWORK THAT IS GONNA BE RIGHT ALONG RED RIVER THERE, UH, AS PART OF THE CONCRETE WALL.
UM, JUST LOTS OF REALLY INTERESTING, INNOVATIVE THINGS GOING ON.
AND THIS IS MOVING INTO THE EO, UH, AND SO YOU CAN, YOU CAN KIND OF START TO GET A SENSE OF WHAT 32,000 SQUARE FEET OF ARTWORK OVER TWO CITY BLOCKS IS GONNA FEEL LIKE.
AGAIN, A DEFINING FEATURE FOR THIS BUILDING, UH, BUT ALSO WE'VE MADE, MADE THIS PLAZA, UH, DRIVABLE.
UH, SO WE CAN HAVE FOOD TRUCKS UP THERE, UH, FOR EVENTS FOR, UH, THINGS DURING THE WEEK.
UM, AND THEN OUTDOOR AREA FOR, UH, EVENTS MOVING INTO THE BALLROOM AS WELL.
THIS IS, AGAIN, ALONG THE POEO, THE SECOND STREET, UM, UH, PATHWAY THAT'S BEING PUT THROUGH.
UH, SO NOW YOU CAN WALK FROM ALL THE WAY IN WEST AUSTIN ALL THE WAY THROUGH DOWNTOWN INTO EAST AUSTIN, ACROSS AND ACROSS HOPEFULLY I 35 WITH, UH, ONE OF THE STITCHES THERE, AND REALLY PROVIDE A, A STRONG PEDESTRIAN ORIENTED WALKWAY ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE CITY.
AND AN OVERALL VIEW, AGAIN FROM, UH, THE WATERLINE.
UM, THIS IS, THIS IS REALLY GONNA BE A FANTASTIC PROJECT.
UM, AS YOU CAN PROBABLY TELL, THIS IS NOT
[02:10:01]
LIKE OTHER CONVENTION CENTERS.AUSTIN'S NOT LIKE OTHER CITIES.
UH, AND WE REALLY HOPE TO EMBODY THE SPIRIT OF, UM, WHAT AUSTIN IS CREATE, UH, CREATIVE WISE, UM, UH, AND REALLY PROVIDE A GREAT CONVENTION CENTER SPACE FOR OUR VISITORS.
AND THEN IF YOU WANT TO SIGN UP FOR THE NEWSLETTER, I'VE GOT THE QR CODE THERE ON THE LEFT.
UM, AND THEN WE HAVE A, A SHORT SURVEY TOO ON THE RIGHT FOR ANYBODY WHO'S INTERESTED IN THAT.
SO HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
YOU, UH, RILEY AND, UH, MORGAN FOR, UH, THE VERY DETAILED, UH, PRESENTATION.
UH, IT'S BEEN QUITE EXCITING TO SAY THIS.
UM, I WILL OPEN UP TO THE COMMISSION COMMISSIONER, UH, ERS.
I WAS WONDERING THAT, UH, TWO BLOCK COLORFUL ARTIST CANOPY, IS THAT DONE BY LOCAL ARTISTS? YES.
ALL OF THE ARTISTS ARE LOCAL ARTISTS.
UH, AND THAT IS NOT THE ACTUAL ARTWORK, THAT'S JUST A REPRESENTATION, RIGHT? YEAH, I FIGURED, UM, THE ARTWORK THAT'S BEING WORKED ON RIGHT NOW IS EVEN BETTER THAN THAT.
UH, SO THERE ARE THREE ARTISTS THAT ARE GONNA BE WORKING ON THAT SOFFIT.
UM, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, QUESTION, COMMISSIONER BLAVIN? UM, I'M NOT EVEN SURE IF MAYBE THIS IS A QUESTION FOR YOU, BUT THE THING THAT KEEPS GOING THROUGH MY HEAD, IT'S PARKING, TRAFFIC, LIGHT RAIL ROUTING, LIKE HOW'S THAT GONNA WORK DOWN THERE? UM, SO THERE IS GONNA BE A NEW LIGHT RAIL STATION THERE.
WE ALSO HAVE THE EXISTING CAP METRO RED LINE ON FOURTH STREET, UM, TO THE NORTH.
UM, SO GREAT, UM, MASS TRANSIT, UH, OPPORTUNITIES, PLUS BUS LINES ON CAESAR CHAVEZ, ET CETERA.
UM, WE HAVE TWO EXISTING CONVENTION CENTER, UH, GARAGES, ONE ON SECOND STREET, UM, AND ONE ON FIFTH STREET.
UM, AND, UM, THOSE ARE GONNA BE ADEQUATE FOR, UH, OUR PROGRAM MOVING FORWARD.
UM, MOST PEOPLE WHO COME TO CONVENTIONS FLY IN, UM, UM, THE LOCAL CONVENTIONS THAT WE HAVE DRIVE IN.
UH, AND THAT SHOULD BE, UH, PLENTY TO, TO HANDLE THAT TRAFFIC.
SO NO NEW PARKING IS PLANNED FOR THE CONVENTION CENTER.
DO YOU KNOW, IS THERE A PLAN FOR THAT LIGHT RAIL TO GO TO AND FROM THE AIRPORT? UM, SO THE FIRST PHASE, I DON'T BELIEVE GOES TO THE AIRPORT, BUT THERE, THERE IS A PATHWAY FOR, I THINK A FUTURE PHASE THAT WE'LL TAKE IT TO THE AIRPORT.
AND WHAT, I KNOW RIGHT NOW THAT THE WORLD SERVES NORTH, IT GOES NORTH, BUT WILL IT GO SOUTH? YEAH, IT GOES SOUTH ACROSS THE RIVER.
UM, SO IT'LL GO ACROSS THE RIVER AT TRINITY.
UM, AND I THINK THAT'S GOING TO BE A BRIDGE AT THIS MOMENT.
UM, AND IT GOES ALL THE WAY DOWN TO OLD TORF, AND THEN AGAIN, EVENTUALLY, YEAH, IT'S GONNA MAKE A LEFT TURN AND GO ALL THE WAY TO THE AIRPORT.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER CARVAL.
IT LOOKS, I THINK, LOOKS COOL.
UM, AND I'M, I'M NOT SURE IF THIS IS EVEN THE RIGHT PLACE TO ASK, BUT I'M GONNA DO IT ANYWAY.
UM, WITH RUMORS OF ICE CONDUCTING RAIDS IN THESE MAJOR CONSTRUCTION SITES, YOU KNOW, PREDOMINANTLY IN AUSTIN, IN THE COMMUNITIES THAT WE LIVE IN NOW, IS THERE A PLAN TO PROTECT THE CONSTRUCTION WORKERS WHILE FROM HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE WHILE BUILDING THE 35TH LARGEST CONVENTION CENTER IN THE UNIVERSE OR WHATEVER WE'RE DOING?
UNITED STATES, THAT'S MY WORLD, SO, YEAH.
UM, AND NOT, I AM REALLY NOT TRYING TO GET POLITICAL WITH IT, REALLY.
JUST TRYING TO FIND OUT WHAT ARE THE OPTIONS FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE WORKING THESE CONSTRUCTION SITES OR THESE JOBS THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, SO MAJOR THAT I THINK THERE ARE, UM, THERE THERE IS A POLARIZATION THAT PEOPLE DO.
UM, IT, IT SEEMS LIKE PEOPLE ARE BEING HARASSED IN THE WORKPLACE.
IS, IS THERE A PLAN THERE, IS THERE A CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW TO PROTECT THESE PEOPLE OR THEIR WORK ARRESTS THAT THEY'RE BEING TOLD ABOUT? ARE THERE RESOURCES THAT THEY CAN USE IN CASE THEY ARE BEING HARASSED IN THE WORKPLACE? SO OUR, UM, OUR CONTRACTOR HAS PLANS, UH, IN CASE THERE ARE DIFFICULTIES WITH PROTESTORS OR, UM, OR OFFICIALS OR WHATEVER VISITING THE SITE.
UH, SO FAR WE'VE NOT HAD ANY PROBLEMS. UM, BUT THAT IS, UM, A, A CONCERN JUST LIKE SAFETY AND, AND TRAFFIC AND EVERYTHING ELSE THAT WE'RE CONSIDERING FOR THIS PROJECT.
SO IT IS, IT IS OF THE, OF THE UTMOST, UH, I THINK ON OUR MINDS, UM, THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT WE NEED TO BE PREPARED FOR.
UH, SO WE DO HAVE PLANS IN PLACE FOR THAT.
OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? COMMISSIONERS?
[02:15:02]
I THINK, UM, I HAD, DID YOU? NO, NO.I THINK I HAD, UM, ALREADY, UH, TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS AT THE ARTS COMMISSION, BUT MY, MY PRIMARY, UM, YOU KNOW, INTEREST WOULD BE IN FIRST OF ALL, YOU KNOW, EXCITED TO SEE ACME WORKING CLOSELY AND ALIGNED, UH, WITH, UM, WITH THE CONVENTION CENTER EXPANSION.
AND, UM, MY INTEREST WOULD BE IN HAVING A FORMAL PATHWAY FOR THE ARTS AND THE MUSIC COMMUNITY WITH THIS CONVENTION CENTER ALSO BEING TOUTED AS SOMETHING THAT WE ALL CAN BE PROUD OF AND THE LOCAL COMMUNITY CAN ENGAGE IN.
UM, AND THE AMOUNT OF INVESTMENT THAT'S GOING INTO IT FOR US TO HAVE A FORMAL CHANNEL EITHER WORKING THROUGH ACME OR THROUGH, UM, WITH THE CONVENTION CENTER, UH, WHETHER IT'S A, IT'S A COMMITTEE OR A BOARD OR WHATEVER WAY IS POSSIBLE TO HAVE GENUINE INPUT FROM OUR COMMUNITIES INTO HOW THAT CAN BE OF PUBLIC BENEFIT.
UM, UM, YOU KNOW, AND, AND WHAT WAYS, UH, CAN MUSIC AND ARTS BE A PART OF THE CONVENTION CENTER, ESSENTIALLY? SORRY, THAT WAS A VERY LONG-WINDED WAY OF, UH, UM, SAYING, GETTING TO THE POINT.
UM, BUT YEAH, AND, AND SO THAT, IT'S, IT'S THE, THESE COMMUNITIES ARE PART OF THE DISCUSSIONS, PART OF THE PROCESS, UM, AS TO HOW THE SPACES ARE BEING PROGRAMMED OR WHAT THE SPACES COULD BE USED FOR.
UH, AND NOT AN AFTERTHOUGHT, YOU KNOW, AFTER, YOU KNOW, FIVE, SIX YEARS WHEN THIS IS READY TO OPEN AND EVERYTHING'S DONE.
UH, SO THAT WOULD BE MY REQUEST, IS FOR US TO BE INFORMED OF, UH, A FORMAL WAY TO ENGAGE.
THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT UP AGAIN, CHAIRMAN CHARLA.
WE TALKED ABOUT IT A LITTLE BIT AT THE ARTS COMMISSION, AND I TOUCHED ON IT A BIT AT THE BEGINNING, BUT I'LL SHARE WHAT I REMEMBER FROM THE, UH, PRESENTATION WITH DIRECTOR NIK.
SHE INDICATED THAT OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, THEY WILL BE ONBOARDING NEW STAFF MEMBERS, UM, FOR THE ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM AT THE CONVENTION CENTER.
AND AS THAT STAFF MEMBER KIND OF GETS UP AND RUNNING, GETS, YOU KNOW, THE LAY OF THE LAND, UNDERSTANDS THE PROJECT AND THE COMMUNITY GOALS, THEY ABSOLUTELY COMMIT TO ENGAGE.
UM, YOU KNOW, DIRECTOR NIK SAID AT THE ARTS COMMISSION, SHE WAS HAPPY TO, YOU KNOW, GO OUT TO LUNCH TO HEAR IDEAS, TO FORM WORKING GROUPS, TO GET FOLKS INVOLVED, STARTING WITH THAT STAFF MEMBER WHO WILL LEAD THAT KIND OF ENGAGEMENT WORK FORWARD.
AND OF COURSE, ACME WILL BE AT THE TABLE.
WE'RE HAPPY TO PARTNER ON THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, BOTH IN OUR CAPACITY OF OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU ALL AND WITH THE ARTS COMMUNITY, AND ALSO JUST AS GREAT CITY PARTNERS.
AND I THINK THAT WE ALL HAVE THE SAME GOAL, WHICH IS GREAT NEWS.
THEY JUST NEED A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TO GET SOME STAFF UP AND RUNNING.
AND, UM, SHE DID PROMISE TO COME BACK OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS WITH UPDATES.
I DUNNO IF THAT WILL BE WRITTEN OR IN PERSON.
UM, BUT WE WILL CIRCLE UP AS WE BUILD THE AGENDAS TO MAKE SURE WE CAN, YOU KNOW, KEEP TOUCHING BASE ON THAT AND SEE WHAT THAT SHAPES UP TO LOOK LIKE.
UH, PLEASE GO AHEAD, COMMISSIONER S I'LL JUST ADD REAL QUICKLY, WE DID TAKE THIS INTO ACCOUNT WHEN DESIGNING THE BUILDING.
UM, SO, UH, A LOT OF OUR SPACES WERE, UM, UH, VERY MUCH GEARED TOWARDS HOW THE COMMUNITY WOULD USE THAT SPACE.
UH, SO ESPECIALLY IN THAT EO UM, WALKWAY AND WHATNOT, UH, THERE'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE THAT, WHICH ADJOINS SOME, SOME MEETING ROOMS. AND, UH, SO ALL OF THIS HAS BEEN CONSIDERED ALREADY.
I THINK IT'S JUST THE PROGRAMMING AND EXACTLY KIND OF HOW TO HANDLE THAT, UM, THAT STILL NEEDS TO BE WORKED ON IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
HOW, LIKE, SO I LOVE HOW, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
I GOT REALLY EXCITED AS WELL WITH ALL OF THE RECYCLING AND REUSING THE EXISTING CONVENTION CENTER.
UM, WHAT SAFEGUARDS ARE YOU GONNA HAVE? SO, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE PUTTING EVERYTHING IN, YOU'RE USING AUSTIN ARTISTS AND EVERYTHING LIKE THAT, BUT MOVING FORWARD, WHAT SAFEGUARDS ARE GONNA BE IN PLACE TO KIND OF KEEP ENSURING THAT AUSTIN LOCALS AND COMMUNITY AND BUSINESSES GET KIND OF FIRST DIPS ON KEEPING IT, YOU KNOW, IN AUSTIN? YEAH.
THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT UP.
SO, UM, SOME OF YOU MIGHT REMEMBER LAST YEAR, UM, I THINK FEBRUARY, MARCH, 2025, I WAS OUT ON MATERNITY LEAVE, BUT I FOLLOWED THE NEWS.
UM, THERE WERE SOME DEAC SESSIONS OF ARTWORKS AT THE CONVENTION CENTER THAT WERE KIND OF A HOT TOPIC BOTH WITH COUNCIL, THE MEDIA AND OUR SHARED COMMUNITIES.
AND THAT, UM, PROMPTED US TO MOVE INTO AN ORDINANCE UPDATE.
SO ART AND PUBLIC PLACES IS GUIDED BY A CITY ORDINANCE, UM, THAT HAS LIKE REALLY STRICT PROTOCOLS AND OUTLINES THE PROGRAM COMPLETELY.
AND SO, CITY COUNCIL CAME FORWARD WITH A RESOLUTION LAST MARCH AND DIRECTED US TO MAKE SOME UPDATES.
AND SOME OF THE PROGRAMMATIC UPDATES THEY DIRECTED US TO WORK ON AND THINGS WE'VE BEEN IMPROVING
[02:20:01]
INCLUDE INFORMING THE COMMUNITY ABOUT THE DEACCESSION OF THEIR ARTWORK.AND ALSO THE, THE EXCHANGE OF PROPERTY, UM, ART IN PUBLIC PLACES IS A PROGRAM THAT CREATES CITY ASSETS.
WE HIRE ARTISTS TO BUILD ASSETS THAT BELONG TO THE CITY, JUST LIKE A BUILDING, RIGHT? SO WHEN WE TAKE SOMETHING INTO OUR COLLECTION, THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS THAT GUIDE THE TREATMENT, UM, THE MAINTENANCE, THE REPAIR OF THAT ARTWORK OVER THE 20 PLUS YEAR LIFESPAN.
AND SO WE DEFINITELY WANNA MAKE SURE OUR ARTISTS ARE INFORMED OF WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
UM, A BIG PART OF THE PROGRAM GOALS ARE TO HIRE LOCALLY.
SO WE KIND OF HAVE A TIER OF HOW WE LOOK AT PROGRAMS. WE LOOK AT LOCAL FIRST.
WE DO SOME OPEN CALLS, CENTRAL TEXAS, STATEWIDE, AND THERE ARE OCCASIONALLY NATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR SOME REALLY MAJOR PROJECTS.
BUT, UM, WHEN WE HIRE SOMEBODY TO DO THE ARTWORK WHO IS NOT A LOCAL, LIKE CENTRAL TEXAS, LIKE IN THE AUSTIN AREA ARTISTS, WE HAVE A LOT OF OTHER THINGS THAT WE REQUIRE THEM TO DO.
HIRE LOCAL FABRICATORS, HIRE, HIRE LOCAL INSTALLERS.
SO THEY STILL EMPLOY OTHER PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE A POSITIVE ECONOMIC IMPACT.
UM, I HOPE THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION, BUT YES, THE ART COMPONENT, UH, WE'RE WORKING ON IMPROVEMENTS ALONGSIDE OTHER PROGRAMMATIC IMPROVEMENTS, AND IT'LL BE GREAT.
YEAH, I MEAN, CONVENTION CENTERS HAVE, I MEAN, THEY HAVE THEIR OWN SPECIFIC PURPOSES, BUT IT IS, IT IS, UM, THE IDEA THAT IT'S ALSO AVAILABLE TO THE COMMUNITY, UM, IT PROBABLY IN AN ENHANCED MANNER IS, UH, DEFINITELY VERY EXCITING.
AND, UH, I HOPE IT DELIVERS WHAT IT PROMISES TO DELIVER, UH, FOR THE CITY.
AND, UH, IF, YOU KNOW, IT BRINGS IN MORE CONVENTIONS, MORE BUSINESS, UH, IMPROVES HOTEL TAXES, IT'S, UH, IT ALSO COMES BACK INTO THE ARTS AND MUSIC COMMUNITY.
UH, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG ON THE, UH, ON THE CALCULATION, BUT PATEL TAXES ARE ABOUT 17% AND 11% OF THAT GOES TO THE CITY, OUT OF WHICH 2% IS GOING TO, IT'S THE CONVENTION CENTER EXPANSION.
AND FROM THAT 2% 15 COMES TO MUSIC, AND 15 COMES TO, UH, HERITAGE PRESERVATION.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, GETTING MORE BUSINESS IN, GETTING MORE TOURISM IS HOW THAT POT CAN INCREASE.
UH, SO IT'S DEFINITELY, UH, HOPEFULLY DELIVERS ON THAT PROMISE.
AND THEN OF COURSE, WOULD LOVE TO SEE, UH, UH, THE LOCAL ARTS AND MUSIC COMMUNITY BENEFITING AS WELL.
UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, UM, THE FANTASTIC, UH, PRESENTATION.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? UH, COMMISSIONER CASADA, PLEASE GO AHEAD.
IT'S AN INCREDIBLE, UM, PRESENTATION.
UM, I'VE EXPERIENCED THIS ONCE BEFORE WITH A DIFFERENT SET OF, UM, CITY STUDIOS THAT WERE LARGE FACILITY, BUT, UM, I ASSUME THIS WILL BE TAKEN CARE OF, BUT WILL THERE BE LIKE LIVE MUSIC, SOUND ENGINEERS THAT WILL BE LOOKING AT SOME OF THE SPACE? UM, JUST OBVIOUSLY THERE'LL BE LIVE MUSIC IN THE LIVE MUSIC CAPITAL, YOU KNOW, UM, BUT IT'S, IT I'VE SEEN WHERE CONVENTION CENTER SOUND ENGINEERS AND LIVE MUSIC SOUND ENGINEERS, YOU KNOW, JUST HAVE DIFFERENT REQUIREMENTS AND IT MAY BEHOOVE YOU ALL TO, TO TAKE A STEP TO REALLY HAVE SOME ACOUSTICIANS GO INTO THAT SPACE SPECIFICALLY FOR LIVE MUSIC.
AND, UM, WE DO HAVE, UM, ACOUSTIC ENGINEERS, 'CAUSE I CAN'T SAY ACOUSTICIANS
UM, SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE WORKING WITH OUR IT TEAM.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, WHEN, UH, EVENTS COME IN AND THEY'RE GONNA BE BRINGING THEIR OWN EQUIPMENT AND, YOU KNOW, THEIR OWN SOUND ENGINEERS AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
UM, SO THAT'LL ALSO HELP WITH THAT SITUATION.
BUT THE ACOUSTICS IS A REALLY BIG DEAL IN CONVENTION CENTER.
SO YES, WE'RE BEING VERY CAREFUL ABOUT THAT.
UM, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ON THE TOPIC? THANK YOU.
ALL RIGHT, THE QUICK TIME CHECK, IT'S, UH, NINE O'CLOCK.
UH, WE GOT TWO MORE ITEMS TO GO THROUGH, UM, INCLUDING, UH, VOTING ON A BUDGET RECOMMENDATION, WHICH IS ABOUT TWO AND A HALF PAGES LONG.
I'M JUST LETTING YOU KNOW RIGHT NOW.
UH, BUT LET'S MOVE ON TO THE, UH, NEXT AGENDA
[9. Downtown Commission update on priorities and recent actions by Parliamentarian Silva.]
ITEM, UH, UNDER DISCUSSION ITEMS DOWNTOWN COMMISSION UPDATE ON PRIORITIES AND RECENT ACTION BY PARLIAMENTARIAN SVA.UM, SO THERE'S REALLY ONLY TWO ISSUES THAT THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION COVERED, UH, AT THE LAST MEETING.
THEY'RE THE SAME AS WE TALKED ABOUT BEFORE.
[02:25:02]
A STAFF'S OPINIONS ON THE CONVERSION OF ONE-WAY STREETS TO TWO-WAY STREETS.AND BASED ON THAT, THEY SEEMED TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE, UH, OPENNESS.
WELL, THEY WERE FINE WITH, UH, LOOKING AT STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION ABOUT WHY THEY NEED TO KEEP SOME STREETS AS ONE WAY STREETS, BUT THERE ARE SOME STREETS THAT WOULD BE CONVERTED TO TWO WAY STREETS THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE DOWNTOWN AREA AND TRYING TO LOOK AT IT AS A, AN ENTIRE SYSTEM.
SO THAT WAS ONE OF THE RE AT TOWARDS THE END OF THEIR MEETING, THEY, THEY STARTED CONSIDERING, UH, THEIR RESOLUTION BEFOREHAND TO RECOMMEND THAT ALL DOWNTOWN STREETS CONVERT TO A, TO TWO WAY.
UM, BUT THEY DIDN'T REALLY MOVE ON THAT, BUT THAT'S KIND OF WHERE THEY WERE HEADING.
UM, THE SECOND ITEM WAS A PRESENTATION BY STAFF ON THE SIXTH STREET PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING REPORT.
AND THIS WAS GONNA TAKE A LOOK AT THE DESIGN OF SIXTH STREET.
UM, STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION WAS TO PROVIDE, CONTINUE HAVING SIXTH STREET AS A ONE-WAY STREET, UH, HEADING WEST WITH TWO LANES OF TRAFFIC AND ONE LANE OF PARKING AND 25 FEET OF CURB SPACE SO THAT, YOU KNOW, RESTAURANTS COULD HAVE SEATING OUTSIDE OF THEIR VENUES.
UM, THAT WAS, UH, THOSE REPORTS ARE BOTH AVAILABLE IF YOU WANT TO ACTUALLY SEE WHAT THOSE LOOK LIKE.
UM, I BELIEVE IT'S PROBABLY ON THERE, UH, THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION'S, UH, WEBSITE FOR THE BACKUP.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT THOSE TWO ARE.
ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? UM, I, I, I'M CURIOUS, DO WE GET ANY UPDATES, UH, FROM, UM, STREAM, UM, ON, ON HOW SIXTH STREET IS GONNA BE DEVELOPED OR ANY UPDATES, UH, FROM THE DEVELOPMENT COMPANIES? NO.
NO, NOT THAT I'VE BEEN AT THE COMMISSIONER.
MOVING ON, UH, UNDER DISCUSSION
[10. FY26-27 budget recommendations following presentation by Chair Medicharla. ]
AND ACTION ITEMS, WE HAVE FFY 26, 27 BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS FOLLOWING PRESENTATION, UH, BY CHAIR.UM, I THINK EVERYONE HAS A PRINTOUT, UM, KIND OF DID WRITE THIS IN A BIT OF DETAIL.
UM, I'LL GO AHEAD AND READ IT.
IF, UM, IF THERE ARE THINGS IN HERE THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY HAS SPECIFIC CONCERNS AROUND ADDING OR, YOU KNOW, RECOMMENDING, PLEASE TO BRING THAT UP.
UM, AND, UM, ALSO MORE IMPORTANTLY, IF THERE ARE ANY OTHER ITEMS THAT, UH, THAT YOU FEEL PASSIONATE ABOUT PUTTING IN HERE, UM, PLEASE DO THAT AS WELL.
UM, ONCE, ONCE I'M DONE READING THIS, AND WE CAN GET THAT ADDED AND COLLECTIVELY, UH, VOTE ON, ON THE BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS THAT, UH, WE AS A MUSIC COMMISSION NEED TO, UH, SUBMIT ANNUALLY.
SO AS WE ARE SPENDING TIME ON THESE RECOMMENDATIONS, WE, WE ALSO UNDERSTAND, UH, IF THEY ARE HAVING ANY PRODUCTIVE OUTCOMES.
UM, MUSIC COMMISSION OF 5 26 27, BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS.
AS AUSTIN CONTINUES TO GROW AND EVOLVE, THE MUSIC COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THE FOLLOWING, FFY 26 27 BUDGET PRIORITIES TO ADVANCE INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT WHILE STRENGTHENING THE SUSTAINABILITY AND LONG-TERM GROWTH OF AUSTIN'S MUSICIANS, MUSIC INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS, VENUES, AND BROADER ECOSYSTEM.
UM, THE FIRST ONE IS STRENGTHEN THE AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND AND HOT INVESTMENTS.
UNDER THE SUB-BULLETS, WE HAVE ALLOCATE RESOURCES FOR ONGOING PROGRAM EVALUATION, IMPACT MEASUREMENT, AND STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT TO REFINE AWARD STRATEGIES.
THIS IS, THIS CAN BE CONSIDERED A CONTINUATION BECAUSE SOME OF THIS IS, I MEAN, OR, OR A LOT OF THIS IS ALREADY HAPPENING.
UM, ENSURE FUNDING STRUCTURES PRIORITIZE BROAD INCLUSION AND ACCESS ALLOCATED, ALLOCATE DEDICATED FUNDING TO IMPLEMENT COMMUNITY-BASED OUTREACH STRATEGIES THAT EXPAND AWARENESS OF CITY GRANTS PROGRAMS AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES ACROSS THE CITY'S DIVERSE DIASPORA FUND PARTNERSHIPS WITH COMMUNITY RADIO, HYPER-LOCAL MEDIA OUTLETS AND CULTURALLY SPECIFIC ORGANIZATIONS TO PROMOTE CITY MUSIC PROGRAMS. CONDUCT PHYSICAL IMPACT STUDY ON HOT REVENUE FLUCTUATIONS IN FY 26 27, UM, DUE TO FACTORS LIKE, UH, SOUTH BY DOWNSIZING OR,
[02:30:01]
YOU KNOW, THEM REDUCING THE FESTIVAL, THE, THE LA TAKING OUT THE LAST TWO DAYS OF MUSIC CONVENTION CENTER, RENOVATION, EXPANSION, TOURISM SHIFTS, ET CETERA.DEVELOP RISK MITIGATION STRATEGIES AND ALTERNATIVE FUNDING RESERVES TO PROTECT MUSIC FUNDING DURING DOWNTURNS.
FUND ALL STAFF SALARIES FOR THE CITY'S OFFICE OF ARTS CULTURE, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT.
ACME FROM THE GENERAL FUNDING, ESSENTIALLY SAYING NOT TO FUND THESE FROM HOT ALLOCATE RESOURCES TO EXPLORE AND PILOT NEW FUNDING STREAMS, INCLUDING PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS, SPONSORSHIP FRAMEWORKS, PHILANTHROPIC COLLABORATIONS, COLLABORATIONS, DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVES, ALLOCATE SEED FUNDING TO LAUNCH PILOT INITIATIVES.
SO ALL OF THESE UNDER STRENGTHENING THE LIVE MUSIC FUND PART AND HOT INVESTMENTS.
THE NEXT BULLET POINT, UH, I ADDED, AND I ALSO JUST WANTED TO QUICKLY NOTE THAT, UM, AS, AS I WAS WORKING ON THIS RECOMMENDATION, THIS IS KIND OF ALIGNED WITH THE ANNUAL REPORT THAT WE PROVIDED IN TERMS OF WHAT 26, 27 GOALS ARE.
THE NEXT ITEM IS CREATIVE AND CULTURAL DISTRICT IMPLEMENTATION.
PROVIDE CONTINUED FUNDING AND STAFF CAPACITY TO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT, IMPLEMENTATION, AND EVALUATION OF CREATIVE AND CULTURAL DISTRICT TOOLS THAT ENABLE CREATIVE BUSINESSES TO BENEFIT FROM NEW LAND USE AND PLANNING INCENTIVES.
THE NEXT ONE IS INCREASING VISIBILITY OF MUSIC VENUES.
CITYWIDE FUND, A CITYWIDE MARKETING AND BRANDING INITIATIVE FOCUSED ON VENUES WITHIN AND OUTSIDE OF DOWNTOWN, DEVELOP DIGITAL MAPPING TOOLS, HIGHLIGHTING VENUES ACROSS ALL COUNCIL DISTRICTS, SUPPORT NEIGHBORHOOD-BASED PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGNS.
PARTNER WITH VISIT AUSTIN AND LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS TO EXPAND PROMOTIONAL REACH, MUSIC, HERITAGE MARKERS PROGRAM.
SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I ADDED IN THE ANNUAL REPORT AND, UH, JUST MAKING THE RELEVANT, UM, BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS AROUND IT.
AND THEN SOME UNDER THIS, I HAVE ESTABLISH A FUNDING PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM WITH PRESERVATION AUSTIN TO CREATE MUSIC HISTORY MARKERS IN ALL 10 COUNCIL DISTRICTS.
INCLUDE INTERACTIVE AND DIGITAL STORYTELLING COMPONENTS, LINKING HISTORIC ARTISTS TO CURRENT VENUES AND NEIGHBORHOODS.
AGAIN, ESSENTIALLY TALKING ABOUT MOVING OR, OR SPREADING THE IDEA OR BROADENING THE IDEA OF AUSTIN MUSIC TO ALL, ALL CULTURAL, ALL ALL COUNCIL DISTRICTS INVEST IN PROMOTIONAL AND WAYFINDING SIGNAGE AND CENTRAL MUSIC DISTRICTS TO HIGHLIGHT LIVE MUSIC DESTINATIONS.
ESTABLISH FUNDING TO EXPAND ACME WEBSITE INFORMATION ON THE GENESIS EVOLUTION AND USE OF HOT FUNDS FOR CULTURAL AND MUSIC GRANTS.
THIS IS ESSENTIALLY ASKING TO PROVIDE MORE INFORMATION ON THE BACKGROUND OF HOW DID WE START USING HOT FUNDS FOR MUSIC AND ARTS, HOW YOU KNOW, AND HOW DID THEY EVOLVE OVER TIME.
UM, YOU KNOW, TO THE, TO WHERE, UH, THEY STAND TODAY, ESTABLISH A TX MUSICIAN HALL OF FAME AT THE NEW CONVENTION CENTER, SUSTAINABILITY OF HAM AND SIMS SUSTAINABILITY REVIEW AND IDENTIFY POTENTIAL STABLE FUNDING MECHANISMS FOR HAM AND SIMS FOUNDATION VIA MULTI-YEAR FUNDING AGREEMENTS, PUBLIC PRIVATE MATCHING MODELS, ET CETERA.
UM, I WOULD WANTED TO CHECK IN WITH THE COMMISSION IF WE SHOULD ALSO ADD HOME AUSTIN TO THIS MIX AS, AS IT IS PROVIDING QUITE ESSENTIAL SERVICES AROUND, UM, YOU KNOW, LIVING IN AFFORDABLE SPACES FOR, UM, FOR SOME OF OUR SENIOR MUSICIANS.
I'LL, I'LL GO AHEAD AND ADD THAT.
WORKFORCE AND INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT, INVEST IN MUSIC WORKFORCE AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS, INCLUDING BUSINESS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, APPRENTICESHIP AND CAREER PATHWAY DEVELOPMENT, MUSIC TECHNOLOGY AND PRODUCTION TRAINING.
PRIORITIZE THESE PROGRAMS SERVING, EMERGING AND MID-CAREER ARTISTS.
THE NEXT ONE IS AFFORDABLE REHEARSAL AND PERFORMANCE SPACES.
INCREASE FUNDING FOR AFFORDABLE CITY OWNED OR SUBSIDIZED REHEARSAL AND PERFORMANCE SPACES.
ALLOCATE CAPITAL FUNDS FOR ACQUISITION OR BUILD OUT OF FACILITIES SUPPORT OPERATING SUBSIDIES TO MAINTAIN AFFORDABILITY, EXPLORE CO-LOCATION MODELS WITHIN EXISTING CITY FACILITIES.
SOME OF THIS WE ACTUALLY HEARD WHEN, UH, FROM, UH, UH, MS. COOPER WHEN SHE WAS TALKING ABOUT USING EXISTING CITY FACILITIES FOR, UH, THESE
[02:35:01]
KIND OF SERVICES.THE NEXT ONE IS REDUCE REGULATORY AND OPERATIONAL BURDENS.
FUND A MUSIC INDUSTRY REGULATORY REGULATORY AUDIT TO IDENTIFY AND STREAMLINE PERMITTING PROCESSES, ZONING BARRIERS, CODE COMPLIANCE CHALLENGES.
AGAIN, I THINK THIS SPEAKS TO WHAT WAS, UM, DISCUSSED EARLIER AROUND, UH, ACE PROCESSES, ET CETERA.
ALLOCATE LIAISON TO ASSIST VENUES AND CREATIVE BUSINESSES IN NAVIGATING CITY SYSTEMS. THE NEXT ONE IS VENUE SAFETY SUPPORT PROGRAMS DEVELOP AND FUND SAFETY SUPPORT INITIATIVES THAT DO NOT INCREASE FINANCIAL BURDENS ON VENUES.
EXPLORE CITY SUPPORTED SECURITY OR SAFETY TRAINING PROGRAMS. CONSIDER INSURANCE ASSISTANCE OR RISK POOLING STRATEGIES.
UH, GIVEN HOW HIGH INSURANCE COSTS ARE, UH, TODAY FOR, UH, FOR INDEPENDENT VENUES IN THE CITY, THE LAST COUPLE OF THEM, UH, INCLUDE TRANSPORT, TRANSPORTATION, ACCESS TO MUSIC EVENTS, PARTNER WITH LOCAL TRANSIT AUTHORITIES, UH, TO FUND FREE OR SUBSIDIZE TRANSIT OPTIONS FOR MUSIC AND CULTURAL EVENTS.
DEDICATED MUSIC OFFICE ROLE, THIS IS SOMETHING WE HAD LAST YEAR AS WELL.
ESTABLISH A DEDICATED NIGHTTIME MUSIC OFFICE STAFF POSITION FULL OR PART-TIME TO SERVE AS A LIAISON BETWEEN CITY GOVERNMENT AND THE LIVE MUSIC NIGHTLIFE INDUSTRY.
AND COMMISSIONER CASARA, WHEN YOU WERE MENTIONING SUNDAY SESSIONS EARLIER, I THINK THIS IS IN LINE WITH THAT SUPPORT FOR SMALL AND MID-SIZED MUSIC FESTIVALS.
PROVIDE CITY SUPPORT FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM MUSIC FESTIVALS.
EXAMPLE VIA FEE WAIVERS AND PERMITTING ASSISTANCE TO HELP SHOWCASE A WIDER RANGE OF AUSTIN'S MUSICAL GENRES, BROADEN USE OF CITIES', VARIOUS PARK FACILITIES.
SO WITH THAT, UM, OUR YIELD TO THE COMMISSION TO SEE IF, UH, WE WOULD, UH, LIKE TO ADD ANY OTHER ITEMS BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO TAKING A VOTE ON THIS, OR ANY COMMENTS SO FAR, COMMISSIONER? SO IF THERE IS SOMETHING ADDITIONAL, 'CAUSE I THOUGHT IT SAID MARCH 30TH WAS THE ABSOLUTE FINAL DAY FOR SUBMISSION FOR THIS.
UH, BUT WE HAVE TO TAKE A VOTE MARCH 30TH TODAY.
UM, SHELBY, UH, IF YOU DON'T MIND, UH, UH, CLARIFYING THAT WE DO ESSENTIALLY HAVE TO TAKE A VOTE.
WHAT IF IN, UH, TWO OR THREE WEEKS THERE, THERE AN ITEM COMES UP THAT WE THINK WE WOULD LIKE TO ADD? COULD WE STILL GO AHEAD AND ADD THAT IT'S EASIER? SORRY TO PUT YOU ON THE SPOT.
I'M NO, BECAUSE IT'S JUST LIKE A RECOMMENDATION, RIGHT? ANYTHING THAT'S GOING TO COUNCIL, IT NEEDS TO BE APPROVED.
ON BEHALF OF EVERYBODY THAT IS, IS PRESENT IN QUORUM, UM, THIS IS DUE THIS MONTH.
AND SO IT'S JUST MORE DIFFICULT TO DO ONLINE TO GET THOSE APPROVALS UNLESS YOU MADE A SPECIAL CALL MEETING.
UM, THE GOAL IS TO GET IT DONE HERE, BUT IT, IT CAN BE, I CAN LOOK INTO LIKE, THE VALIDITY OF DOING IT OVER EMAIL, BUT THAT'S JUST NOT, THAT'S NOT BEST PRACTICE AT ALL.
I'M ALSO HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT, UM, ANY OF THE BUDGET THINGS FROM THE ACME SIDE, IF THAT HELPS.
WHILE YOU'RE TRYING TO THINK OF GAPS THAT YOU'VE IDENTIFIED.
IF YOU'RE WONDERING IF THERE'S SERVICES OR OTHER WAYS THAT WE'RE ADDRESSING THINGS, UM, WE'RE HERE TO TRY TO ANSWER THOSE FOR YOU TOO AS WELL.
COMMISSIONER, DID YOU STILL HAVE ANY YEAH, YEAH.
I GUESS ALL TO YOU AFTER, YEAH, SOMETHING WHEN I WENT TO NAM, UM, THEY SPOKE A LOT ABOUT AI, OBVIOUSLY, AND THAT'S JUST A BIG THING THAT ARTISTS IN GENERAL ARE HAVING TO NAVIGATE.
AND SO I, LIKE YOU SAID, THAT MIGHT BE AN ACME THING THAT MAYBE THE MUSIC COMMISSION ISN'T AS INVOLVED IN FROM A HIGHER LEVEL, BUT THAT'S JUST SOMETHING WHERE IF THEY HAD SOME KIND OF NAVIGATION OR WE CAN KIND OF HELP STEER THEM.
'CAUSE THERE'S, YOU KNOW, WITH LEGAL THINGS LIKE THAT AND PROTECTIONS, IT'S JUST BECOMING A BIGGER AND BIGGER ISSUE.
UM, FROM A BUDGETARY PERSPECTIVE, THE ONLY THING I COULD THINK IS LIKE INTEGRATING SET ASIDE FUNDS FOR EITHER HELPING ARTISTS NAVIGATE THROUGH EITHER LEGAL CHALLENGES OR OTHER, UM, ISSUES THAT MIGHT ARISE WHEN THEY'RE WORKING WITH THAT FROM THE OTHER SIDE.
I WILL TELL YOU, THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UM, HAS BEEN WORKING ON THEIR OWN POLICIES AROUND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AS MANY MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS ARE, RIGHT? LIKE, WE'RE LEARNING
[02:40:01]
SOMETHING NEW EVERY DAY.WHEN OUR GRANTS WERE OPEN AND ARTICLE CAME OUT, A LOCAL ORGANIZATION WAS ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO USE, UM, AI TO WRITE THEIR GRANT APPLICATIONS BECAUSE, UH, WORK SMARTER, NOT HARDER GENERALLY, RIGHT? IT'S LIKE THE TAGLINE.
UM, SO WE, WE ALSO ARE TRYING TO KIND OF NAVIGATE WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE IN THE LANDSCAPE OF ALL OF OUR PROGRAMMING, BUT IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADVOCATE TO PUT SOME BUDGET ASIDE FOR IT, IT WOULD PROBABLY BE A NEW PROGRAM.
I, I SORT OF HEARD ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS WAS KIND OF LIKE A LIAISON YEAH.
SO IT MIGHT BE SOMETHING THAT YOU COULD PARTNER UNDER SOMETHING YOU ALREADY HAVE AND KIND OF JUST EXPAND A PROGRAM, BUT I HEAR YOU.
I GUESS THAT WAS JUST SOMETHING THAT, I MEAN, ARTISTS CAN LITERALLY NOT GET PAID ON AN ENTIRE ALBUM, AND I DON'T THINK A LOT OF THEM REALLY KNOW THAT.
SO LIKE YOU SAID, I KNOW THAT'S LIKE A VERY NEW KIND OF THING, BUT THAT'S DEFINITELY, I MEAN, IT'S AT THE FOREFRONT AND I DIDN'T, I MEAN, NO, IT'S NOT IN HERE.
AND THAT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT I THINK WE REALLY SHOULD KEEP ON OUR RADAR BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S HERE WHETHER WE HAVE IT IN HERE OR NOT.
COMMISSIONER
BUT I WOULD, SO I WANNA MAKE IT LIKE REALLY SPECIFIC.
IT WOULD MUSIC TECHNOLOGY, RIGHT? MUSIC TECHNO.
BUT I, I WOULD LIKE TO PUT ART LIKE AI IN THERE SPECIFICALLY, JUST BECAUSE OF COULD WE, COULD WE GO AHEAD AND UPDATE THAT? HOW WOULD YOU LIKE, UH, HOW SHOULD WE BEST WORD THIS HERE? BECAUSE I THINK THIS, THIS CAN CAPTURE THAT.
UM, BUT I WAS JUST GONNA SAY, I, I CAN UNDERSTAND THE HESITATION AND, AND IT'S EASY FOR US TO JUST PUT THE LABEL AI ON IT, BUT THERE ARE SOME PARTS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE THAT WE'RE ALREADY USING THAT WE LIKE, BUT IT'S THE, UM, I HATE TO USE THE WORD STEALING, BUT IT REALLY IS, IT'S LIKE ARTISTS WORRYING ABOUT THEIR WORK BEING, YOU KNOW, COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT ON THEIR WORK AND THEM BEING KIND OF CUT OUT OF ANY, YOU KNOW, REVENUE STREAMS THAT WERE, SHOULD COME TO THEM BECAUSE THEIR WORK'S BEING COPIED AND PRODUCED.
SO, I'M NOT QUITE SURE HOW TO PUT IT, IT JUST WORRIES ME TO PUT AI ON KIND OF THE, LIKE, JUST STAMP AI ON IT BECAUSE WE USE IT ALL THE TIME RIGHT NOW IN OUR PHONES AND OUR THERON'S ON HERE.
ALL OF THAT IS SO, SO I DON'T, I DON'T QUITE KNOW HOW TO, BUT I AGREE THAT WE NEED TO INVEST IN, CURRENTLY WHAT WE HAVE IS INVEST IN MUSIC WORKFORCE AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS, INCLUDING BUSINESS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, APPRENTICESHIP AND CAREER PATHWAY DEVELOPMENT, MUSIC TECHNOLOGY AND PRODUCTION TRAINING.
COULD WE ADD ON TO THIS TO REFLECT LIKE, NEW TECHNOLOGY, NEW, NEW, I GUESS, 'CAUSE I'M LOOKING AT IT TOO, FROM A, FROM A LEGAL STANDPOINT YES.
PROTECTING THE ARTISTS, LIKE YOU WERE JUST SAYING, FROM THOSE KIND OF COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENTS AND FROM PEOPLE COMING IN AND TAKING THEIR IP OR TAKING MM-HMM
AND THEM NOT KNOWING THEM MAYBE KIND OF TAKING SOME SHORTCUTS, LIKE YOU SAID, BECAUSE IT'S THERE, BUT THEN THEY DON'T REALIZE THAT THAT RUINS THEIR PUBLISHING RIGHTS ON THAT BOARD.
JUST LIKE YOU SAID, I SEE THE EDUCATION PIECE, BUT ALSO THE LEGAL PIECE.
I JUST, THAT WAS LIKE A WHOLE REALLY BIG THING THAT KIND OF JUST BLEW MY MIND THAT ARTISTS ARE NAVIGATING AND IF WE CAN OFFER SOME KIND OF SAFEGUARDS FOR THEM, THAT'D BE GREAT.
WELL, THERE'S A BUNCH OF INFORMATION OUT THAT SPOTIFY HAS JUST INVESTED A RIDICULOUS AMOUNT OF MONEY IN AI, SO I DON'T SEE WHY WE'RE OKAY WITH USING SPOTIFY.
I THINK THAT'S A SEPARATE CONVERSATION IN MY OPINION.
I JUST DON'T, I DON'T, SPOTIFY'S A WHOLE DIFFERENT BEAST, DIDN'T THINK THAT THAT WAS A PROBLEM.
I DO THINK IT'S A PROBLEM AND SPOT THEY'RE ACTIVELY TAKING OFF, OR THAT'S, THAT'S A SEPARATE CONVERSATION.
I CAN, I'M HAPPY TO HAVE THAT WITH YOU.
I'M TALKING ABOUT ARTISTS USING BEING THEIR IP AND PRODUCING MUSIC AND THINGS GETTING STOLEN AND THEM NOT BEING, NOT KNOWING.
COULD I, UM, COULD I GO AHEAD AND, AND I WILL, UM, AS LONG AS WE ARE BROADLY GOOD WITH THE PRINCIPLE, UH, COULD I GO AHEAD AND ADD IT IN THIS SECTION? BASICALLY THAT INCLUDES CAREER PATHWAY DEVELOPMENT, MUSIC TECHNOLOGY, AND PRODUCTION TRAINING AND EDUCATION AROUND COPYRIGHT AND AI LEGAL, I'LL FIND THE RIGHT WORDS.
BUT ESSENTIALLY THE IDEA IS THAT IT'S EDUCATING, PROVIDING EDUCATION TO MUSICIANS AROUND HOW THINGS ARE MOVING AROUND MUSIC AND AI, INCLUDING THE LEGALITIES AROUND IT, BECAUSE THIS IS A
[02:45:01]
CONSTANTLY EVOLVING FIELD.WOULD THAT BE FAIR? I THINK SO.
UH, UH, COMMISSIONER ENGLAND AND I'LL, I'LL COME RIGHT TO YOU.
I ACTUALLY HAVE, UH, A QUESTION FOR YOU, MORGAN.
UM, SPECIFICALLY AS FAR AS, UH, YOU KNOW, THE SUSTAINABILITY OF HAMS AND SIMS I THINK IS IMPORTANT TO SAY, ESPECIALLY AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
UM, BUT IN LIGHT OF, UH, THE PASSING OF, UM, MR. CHALMERS, UM, WHAT IS ACME DOING SPECIFICALLY DURING THE RESTRUCTURE AS FAR AS BUDGET ALLOCATION FOR PRODUCTION WORKERS? I OFTEN FEEL LIKE THEY GET LEFT OUT OF THE CONVERSATION, UH, EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE AN INTEGRAL PART OF WHAT THE MUSIC AND HOSPITALITY ECOSYSTEM LOOKS LIKE.
UM, AS FAR AS GRANT OPPORTUNITIES, AS FAR AS HEALTHCARE ACCESS, AS FAR AS REPRESENTATION.
UH, SO BEFORE I ASK NAGA VALLEY TO PUT ANYTHING IN THERE SPECIFICALLY ABOUT, UH, PRODUCTION WORKER RIGHTS, UH, AND VALUE, ARE THERE ANY PROGRAMS THAT ARE BEING CONSIDERED AT THE MOMENT? THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION.
SO I WILL, I WILL NOT BURY THE LEAD.
I'LL SAY NO, WE DON'T HAVE ANY SPECIFIC PROGRAMS IN DEVELOPMENT RIGHT NOW THAT ADDRESS THAT.
AND I WILL ALSO ADD THAT, UM, THE PROBLEM IS JUST LIMITATIONS ON OUR FUNDING.
LIKE WE KNOW WE HAVE GOALS BEYOND WHAT WE ARE FOCUSING ON RIGHT NOW, BUT HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX REQUIRES THIS ELEMENT OF EVENT PRODUCTION, TOURISM, THESE OTHER KIND OF CONSTRAINING COMPONENTS THAT REALLY MAKE THESE GRANTS MYOPIC.
WHAT WE ARE ADDRESSING AS PART OF THE PHASE, UM, THREE WORK THAT CANDACE COOPER SHARED ABOUT EARLIER TODAY IS WE'RE LOOKING AT ALTERNATIVE FUNDING SOURCES, RIGHT? THIS IS SOMETHING WE'VE TALKED ABOUT FOR YEARS WITH COMMISSIONS AND ALSO JUST INTERNALLY IN THE CITY.
WE, WE LACK THE PHILANTHROPIC, UH, PHILANTHROPIC COMMUNITY THAT OTHER MAJOR CITIES HAVE, WHICH HINDERS HOW WE'RE ABLE TO SUPPORT THE CREATIVE INDUSTRY.
SO WE COMMIT TO LOOKING AT ALTERNATIVE FUNDING SOURCES, LOOKING AT WHAT RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT FROM BIG BUSINESSES LOOK LIKE, LOOKING AT, UM, HOW WE CAN ENGAGE THEM TO BETTER SUPPORT THE COMMUNITY.
AND OUR GOALS ARE TO TURN THAT INTO POTS OF FUNDING THAT WE CAN USE FOR UPSTARTING NEW PROGRAMS THAT, UM, SUPPORT THINGS THAT WE KNOW, LIKE CREATIVE SPACES THAT NEED MORE FUNDING, BUT ALSO TO SUPPORT THINGS THAT HAVE LACKED ATTENTION OVER THE YEARS BECAUSE OF THE, THE FUNDING SOURCE THAT WE HAVE ACCESS TO.
SO I THINK IT'S WORTH BRINGING UP.
I THINK IT'S WORTH ADVOCATING FOR IF IT'S IMPORTANT TO YOU BECAUSE ANYTHING ON THE RECORD IS GONNA HELP THOSE CONVERSATIONS IN THE FUTURE AS WE HOPEFULLY DEVELOP NEW FUNDING STREAMS DREAMS. THANK YOU.
UH, COMMISSIONER ENGLAND, WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND ADD A LINE ITEM? UM, I WOULD JUST LIKE IT SOMEHOW ADDED INTO UNDER SUSTAINABILITY OF HAMMOND SIMS, UH, UH, MAYBE WHEN IT SAYS, UH, VIA MULTI-YEAR FUNDING AGREEMENTS, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE MATCHING MODELS, ET CETERA, UH, WITH A SPECIFIC FOCUS ON, UM, UNDERSERVED AND UNDERREPRESENTED, UNDERREPRESENTED, UM, UH, ASPECTS OF THE MUSIC ECOSYSTEM MM-HMM
IT'S NOT JUST PRODUCTION WORKERS, IT'S A LOT OF THINGS.
IT'S SECURITY ON TOP OF THAT TOO, BUT THERE ARE LOTS OF INDIVIDUALS THAT SEEM, BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT ACTUALLY CREATORS OR THEY'RE NOT ACTUALLY INVESTING PARTNERS IN WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE WITHIN THE ECOSYSTEM THAT GET OVERLOOKED AND UNDERREPRESENTED.
AND SO I WOULD, I LIKE THIS AND I THINK IT'S ALWAYS BEEN A THING, BUT I THINK THERE NEEDS TO BE A LITTLE MORE FOCUS ON THAT.
SO, UH, MAY I ASK, WHEN, WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT PRODUCTION, UH, WORKERS AND, UH, YOU KNOW, HOW, HOW, HOW CITY GOVERNMENT, UH, RESOURCES ARE BEING LEVERAGED TO SSM, ARE YOU SPEAKING OF THAT SPECIFICALLY WITH THE FOCUS ON MENTAL HEALTH SERVICE AND, AND HEALTH HEALTH INSURANCE? I THINK THAT'S WHAT KIND OF, I THINK'S WAY TO START.
I THINK THAT'S A GREAT WAY TO START.
I THINK THAT'S WHERE THE MOST, THE BIGGEST NEED IS.
RIGHT? AND, UH, I THINK THAT'S UNFORTUNATELY BASED ON RECENT EVENTS, IT HAS THE MOST GRAVITAS FOR PEOPLE TO PAY ATTENTION TO.
UH, I THINK FURTHER DOWN THE LINE, IF ANYONE WANTS TO ARGUE ABOUT SPECIFIC AMOUNT OF ALLOCATED FUNDING THROUGH HOT OR FROM OTHER PLACES, WHERE THAT'S GONNA COME FROM, WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE AS FAR AS PROGRAMMING.
I, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT CONVERSATION NEEDS TO HAPPEN, BUT I THINK THIS IS THE MOST ACCESSIBLE PLACE TO START THAT CONVERSATION.
UM, COULD YOU PLEASE JUST REPEAT THAT LINE AND I'LL, I'LL, I'LL WORK ON IT A BIT, BUT TO JUST, UH, SURE.
UH, WHAT YOUR RECOMMENDATION WAS AFTER THE VM MULTI-YEAR FUNDING AGREEMENTS AND PUBLIC AND PRIVATE MATCHING MODELS MM-HMM
UH, WITH A SPECIFIC FOCUS ON, UM, UNDERREPRESENTED AND UNDERSERVED, UH,
[02:50:01]
EMPLOYEES AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS WITHIN THE MUSIC ECOSYSTEM.C FOUNDATION ALREADY SERVES THE INDUSTRY PROFESSIONAL.
THAT, THAT THAT IS, THAT IS TRUE.
UM, I KNOW THAT, UH, THEIR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR WAS TRYING TO WORK ON A 2029 PLAN THAT WOULD MAKE SENSE TO BE ABLE TO LOOK AT IT AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, INSTEAD OF LIMIT FUNDING THAT IT THERE CREATES OTHER, UH, PHILANTHROPIC OPPORTUNITIES RIGHT.
BY SERVICING PRODUCTION SECURITY WORKERS FOR THAT.
UM, BUT, UH, I DON'T HAVE THE ANSWER FOR WHAT THAT IS.
I JUST FEEL LIKE WE ALL TALK ABOUT ARTISTS AND WE TALK ABOUT MUSICIANS AND WE TALK ABOUT THE VENUES AND INFRASTRUCTURE AND IT'S LIKE, WHAT ABOUT THE GUY WHO WAS WORKING SECURITY THAT GOT HIT BY THE CAR DURING SOUTH BY A COUPLE YEARS AGO, HOLE ON THE WALL? YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? LIKE, THERE'S NO VOICE FOR THOSE PEOPLE.
THAT'S WHY I THINK IT SHOULD BE THERE IN THAT LINE.
JUST TO KIND OF PIGGYBACK ON THAT TOO, THINKING ABOUT LIKE WHAT MUSIC CARES DOES, IT'S ABOUT MUSIC INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS THAT COVERS, REALLY COVERS EVERYONE.
AND WE REALLY SAW THAT DURING COVID MM-HMM
WHEN LIVE MUSIC JUST, IT WAS INSTANTLY GONE.
IT WASN'T JUST, YOU KNOW, MUSICIAN COULD TURN ON THEIR INSTAGRAM AND PLAY THE GUITAR, BUT ALL OF THOSE OTHER SUPPORT STUFF.
BUT YOUR STAGE MANAGER, YOUR TOUR MANAGER, SOUND, EVERYONE, YOU KNOW.
AND IT'S NOT JUST PEOPLE THAT EXIST SPECIFICALLY ONE OF WITHIN A PHYSICAL SPACE I'M TALKING ABOUT TOO, RIGHT.
IT'S THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE HERE BUT WORK FOR A PRODUCTION COMPANY THAT MAYBE WORK HERE, BUT WORK OTHER PLACES AS WELL.
UM, THERE'S JUST NOT A LOT OF VOICE RESOURCES FOR THAT.
UH, COMMISSIONER SILVA, YOU HAD, UH, A COMMENT ON YOU.
UH, FIRST OF ALL, CHAIR, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PUTTING IT TOGETHER.
IT'S A REALLY, UH, IN DEPTH AND THERE'S A LOT OF INFORMATION HERE, UM, THAT I'D LIKE TO SPEND A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME ON.
I WANNA REALLY FLESH 'EM OUT AND PROVIDE STAFF AND AS THEY GO THROUGH THE BUDGET PROCESS OF ACTUALLY, UM, EVEN PROVIDING DOLLAR AMOUNTS AND EVEN PRIORITIZING THE LIST BECAUSE I'M, WHAT I'M AFRAID OF IS, UM, WITH SO MANY ITEMS AND NOT REALLY, UH, THE COMMISSION'S DECLARATION OF WHAT WE, THE ITEMS THAT WE FEEL ARE MOST IMPORTANT MM-HMM
VERSUS THE YES, THE NICE TO HAVES.
UM, IT, THEY MAY JUST GET LOST.
AND SO CONSIDERING THE TIME, UH, CAN, I'D LIKE TO RECOMMEND MAYBE THIS, THAT COMMISSION COME BACK BEFORE THE MARCH 30TH DAY TO MEET AND REVIEW IT IN A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL.
AND IT'LL ALLOW US COMMISSION MEMBERS TO REALLY LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE PROVIDED AND ALSO CONSIDER WHICH ONE OF THESE ARE MOST IMPORTANT THAT WE GOT IT, WE ALL FEEL WE NEED TO REALLY PRESS TO MAKE SURE IT GOES THROUGH THE BUDGET PROCESS.
AND SOME OF THE ITEMS ARE SO, ARE VERY CLEARLY LAID OUT, LIKE THE HALFTIME OR FULL-TIME NIGHT NIGHTTIME LIAISON.
THAT'S A VERY EASY ONE TO PUT IN A BUDGET BECAUSE YOU CAN SAY ONE STAFF MEMBER, HERE'S A COST FOR THAT.
UM, AND IF THAT'S A PRIORITY FOR US, WE CAN DO IT.
THE IDEA ABOUT THE GENERAL FUND, DEFINITELY THAT'S ONE THAT CAN, IT HAS GREAT REASON TO DO IT AND THERE'S A DOLLAR AMOUNT THAT WE CAN PROVIDE TO A BUDGET AND IT MAKES IT EASIER FOR THE BUDGET STAFF TO CONSIDER THESE THINGS AS IT MOVES FORWARD.
SOME OF THE OTHERS, THERE'S JUST NOT ENOUGH INFORMATION AND IT'S NOT REAL CLEAR WHAT WE ARE ASKING THEM TO PUT MONEY TOWARDS.
AND SO, UM, I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT WE HAVE A SPECIAL CALLED MEETING TO REVIEW THIS.
UM, AND BEFORE WE GET, BEFORE WE HAVE TO VOTE ON IT TONIGHT.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S A MOTION I'D LIKE TO MAKE.
CHAIR, AMANDA, CHARLOTTE, IF I MIGHT, BEFORE YOU, UHHUH BEFORE YOU GIVE YOURSELF ANOTHER MEETING THIS MONTH, UM, IF I COULD, COULD I SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE BUDGET PROCESS AND LIKE YES, PLEASE.
THE DIFFERENT ROLES? 'CAUSE I, I JUST, WELL, I ALSO WANNA MANAGE YOUR EXPECTATIONS AROUND LIKE WHERE YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS GO TO.
SO, UM, DEPARTMENTS ARE DEEP IN THE BUDGET PROCESS CURRENTLY.
AND SO WE RECEIVED BACK IN, LIKE STARTING IN DECEMBER, EVERY DEPARTMENT HAS A PREASSIGNED LIKE DEADLINE FOR EVERY PIECE OF THE PROCESS.
AND JUST FOR TRANSPARENCY, UM, THE PROCESS, THE ACME THE PHASE WE'RE IN IS OUR ENHANCEMENT REQUEST.
RIGHT NOW WE ARE WORKING ON WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT WE KNOW WE NEED TO OPERATE NEXT YEAR.
OUR DEPARTMENT, WE LOVE FOR OUR RECOMMENDATIONS TO BE INFORMED BY OUR COMMISSIONS AND BOARDS, OF WHICH WE HAVE A GREAT MANY BEYOND THE MUSIC COMMISSION.
WE HAVE, WE HAVE A LOT OF COMMISSIONS AND BOARDS THAT WE
[02:55:01]
STAFF.UM, THE GOAL FOR YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS IS THESE GO UP TO YOUR COUNCIL MEMBERS AND, AND THE MAYOR, THE FOLKS THAT YOU ARE ASSIGNED HERE TO REPRESENT, RIGHT.
THESE ARE ITEMS THAT ARE MUCH BETTER SUITED FOR PEOPLE WITH THAT POLITICAL CAPITAL TO ADVOCATE FOR.
UM, WE TAKE YOUR, WE TAKE YOUR IDEAS INTO CONSIDERATION.
BUT WE HAVE OUR OWN SET OF LIKE RESTRICTIONS AND GUIDELINES FROM THE BUDGET OFFICE.
AND I'LL JUST GIVE A GREAT EXAMPLE.
WE HEAR A LOT ABOUT MOVING STAFF OFF OF HOT TAX AND IT'S NOT THAT WE DON'T SUPPORT THAT, BUT THAT MIGHT BE AN ITEM IF WE BRING THAT FORWARD TO THE BUDGET OFFICE AND SAY WE WOULD LIKE A A MILLION DOLLARS IN THE GENERAL FUND STARTING IN OCTOBER.
UM, Y'ALL KNOW IT'S A TIGHT BUDGET YEAR.
SO IT'S LIKE A CONSIDERATION OF LIKE, IS THAT WHERE WE'RE GONNA PUT ALL OF OUR CAPITAL IN OUR LIMITED ENHANCEMENTS OR DO WE NEED STAFF FOR THE LIKE 60,000 NEW SQUARE FOOT OF FACILITIES? WE'VE BEEN GIFTED WITH NO STAFF TO REDDIT, YOU KNOW, SO WE HAVE, WE HAVE A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE'RE WEIGHING AND EVERYTHING Y'ALL ARE PUTTING ON THE BOARD IS IMPORTANT AND I WANT YOU TO DO IT AND I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT IT'S GOING TO THE COUNCIL FOR CONSIDERATION.
SO THEY WILL, Y'ALL, Y'ALL MIGHT REMEMBER FROM THE BUDGET LAST YEAR, THEY WILL GET A CHANCE TO PLAY AROUND WITH WHAT THEIR PRIORITIES ARE.
SO THERE'S GONNA BE A BASE BUDGET, RIGHT? WE KNOW THERE'S LIKE THE COST OF STAFF, THE COST OF INSURANCE, THE COST OF PROGRAMS, STATUS QUO.
WE HAVE TO HAVE TRASH, WE HAVE TO HAVE RECYCLING, PUBLIC SAFETY.
THERE'S A LOT OF PRIORITIES THEY GO THROUGH TO GET KIND OF THE BASELINE NEW STUFF WE WANT.
THOSE ARE KIND OF ENHANCEMENTS ON TOP OF THAT.
AND WE'RE ALSO FACING LIKE MANDATORY REDUCTIONS BECAUSE AS YOU KNOW, WE HAD A BUDGET SHORTFALL LAST YEAR.
THEY'RE JOCKEYING PUT EVERYTHING YOU WANT ON THE TABLE, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR Y'ALL.
AND I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW IT'S NOT, IF YOU, IF YOU SEE SOMETHING NOT REFLECTED IN WHAT WE PUT FORWARD, IT'S NOT 'CAUSE WE DON'T THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO, IT'S 'CAUSE WE, WE HAVE A, A MYRIAD OF THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO PASS THROUGH, UM, WITH WHAT WE COME FORWARD WITH.
SO, UM, BASICALLY THIS IS OUR CHRISTMAS LIST OF SANTA AND WE CAN PUT AS MUCH ON HERE AS WE WANT.
AND THEN THAT IS GOING TO BE CONSIDERED BY THE COUNCIL AS THEY TAKE THIS PLUS EVERYTHING ELSE THAT THEY HAVE AND TO MANAGE OUR, YEAH.
AND, AND LIKE I SAID, WE USE IT TO INFORM THE DECISIONS WE DO MAKE ON OUR ENHANCEMENTS LIST.
UM, BUT WE, WE DON'T HAVE THE CAPABILITY OR AUTHORITY TO INCLUDE EVERYTHING FROM ALL OUR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.
AND SO, SO GETTING INTO THE KIND OF WEEDS ON THIS IS NOT NECESSARILY, I THINK FOR LIKE, UM, COMING UP WITH LIKE A BUDGET NUMBER FOR WHAT IT WOULD COST TO MOVE STAFF OFF OF HOT.
WE DO HAVE THOSE NUMBERS AND WHEN, WHEN PEOPLE PUT FORWARD THESE IDEAS FOR LIKE ADDING A NEW STAFF MEMBER, THAT'S SOMETHING COUNCIL WILL VET WITH US.
WE GO THROUGH A REALLY LONG KIND OF BACK AND FORTH PROCESS WHERE THEY SAY, HEY, I'M INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT THAT.
I NEED, UM, A FINANCE MANAGER TO RUN THE NUMBERS FOR ME.
UH, COMMISSIONER PLEASE GO AHEAD.
I WAS JUST GONNA ASK AND THANK YOU FOR BRINGING UP THE FACT THAT THIS, THIS IS A COMMUNICATION TO THE COUNCIL BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS, OUR ROLE IS TO TALK TO OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS.
SO WHAT WE'D BE USEFUL IS IF WE HAVE A WAY OF PRIORITIZING AMONG THE COMMISSION WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO US.
EACH OF US CAN THEN GO TALK TO OUR COUNCIL MEMBER AND SAY, THIS IS WHAT THE COMMISSION THOUGHT WAS IMPORTANT.
LEMME EXPLAIN WHAT THEY ARE AND WHY THEY'RE IMPORTANT.
UM, SO THEN IT BECOMES NOT OUTSIDE OF STAFFS.
WE'RE NOT TRYING TO GO AROUND STAFF, BUT IT'S, IT'S WORKING THROUGH THE COUNCIL MEMBERS, NOT NECESSARILY, UM, JUST HERE'S THE DOCUMENT AND THEY READ IT.
I MEAN THAT'S, THAT'S OUR ROLE IS TO TALK TO YOUR COUNCIL MEMBER.
AND SO THE PROCESS OF PRIORITIZING WHAT WE HAVE IN FRONT OF US MAY BE USEFUL.
UM, I MEAN INCLUDE EVERYTHING, BUT SAY, BUT THESE THREE THINGS ARE REALLY IMPORTANT THIS YEAR.
SO I THINK, I MEAN THE, WHEN AT LEAST I WAS BUILDING THESE RECOMMENDATIONS, THEY'RE PRETTY BROAD BASED BECAUSE IN MY MIND, LIKE I SAID, FIRST OF ALL, I'VE NOT NECESSARILY SEEN THESE TRANS TRANSLATE, UH, EVERY LINE ITEM BECAUSE SOME OF THESE LINE ITEMS LIKE THE MUSIC OFFICE ONE WERE ALSO IN LAST YEAR.
UM, I DO UNDERSTAND THAT FROM COUNCIL SPECIFIC ITEMS DO REACH THE DEPARTMENT.
IT'S NOT LIKE THE DEPARTMENT DOESN'T SEE THEM.
UH, AND, AND UH, AND AND ASSESS THE VIABILITY OF WHETHER, UH, SOMETHING CAN BE DONE OR NOT.
SO I SEE THIS DOCUMENT FROM EXPERIENCE AS MORE OF AN INFORMATIONAL DOCUMENT, THE ASK AROUND THE HOT NOT USING, UH, HOT FUNDS, BUT USING THE GENERAL
[03:00:01]
FUND, FOR EXAMPLE, HAS BEEN THERE FROM A COUPLE OF YEARS, NOT JUST FROM OUR COMMISSION, BUT ALSO FROM THE ARTS COMMISSION.SO I SEE THIS AS MY UNDERSTANDING IS THIS IS ALSO INFORMATIONAL TO THE DEPARTMENT, EVEN THOUGH, YOU KNOW, THIS IS NOT DIRECTLY GOING TO THEM ON, ON, YOU KNOW, ON WHAT THEY MIGHT CONSIDER AS THEY'RE BUILDING THEIR BUDGETS.
UM, AND HENCE THE, THE BROAD BASED, UH, WAY OF DOING THE, UH, DOING THESE RECOMMENDATIONS BECAUSE IT IS TOUCHING ON THE CULTURAL DISTRICT STUFF THAT THE DEPARTMENT WORKS ON.
IT'S TOUCHING ON, UH, HOT FUNDS AND, UH, IT'S TOUCHING ON THE DEPARTMENT'S, UH, DEPARTMENT'S GOAL TO RAISE OTHER SOURCES OF REVENUE.
UM, NOT REVENUE, SORRY, FUNDS FOR THE COMMUNITY.
SO IT'S, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT PARKS AND, YOU KNOW, SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZED MUSIC FESTIVALS AND SUPPORTING THOSE AND EXPANDING THE USE OF PARKS THAT FITS INTO THE, THE CREATIVE PHASE.
UM, WAS IT THREE, THREE OR FOUR? FOUR, I THINK THE SPECIAL EVENTS PHASE THAT'S BEING DONE.
THE FOURTH ONE IS THE STRATEGIC PLAN.
UM, SO THAT'S WHY MY IDEA WAS TO DO THIS BROAD BASED IS TO GIVE IDEAS ACROSS THE BOARD THAT THE DEPARTMENTS KIND OF ALREADY, UH, WORKING ON.
SO THAT'S WHERE AT LEAST THIS WAS COMING FROM.
UM, AND, AND, AND YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS, UM, AND THIS IS NOT A WAY OF PUNTING IT, UH, BUT WE, WE CAN IMPLEMENT A MORE DETAILED PROCESS AROUND HOW THESE BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS ARE DONE IN THE FUTURE YEARS.
AND ALSO, UM, I DON'T THINK ANY, EVEN IF WE VOTE ON THESE RECOMMENDATIONS TODAY, I DON'T THINK ANYTHING IS STOPPING US FROM STILL MAKING THIS, GETTING OUR PRIORITY LIST IN THE NEXT MEETING AND THEN ADVOCATING WITH COUNCIL ANYWAY BECAUSE IT'S PRETTY CLOSE TO WHEN THE NEXT MEETING IS PRETTY CLOSE TO WHEN THESE ARE DUE.
SO IF WE WAIT, THAT'S, WE'RE LIKE A WEEK BEHIND, WE'RE LIKE A WEEK BEHIND.
AND IF WE DISCUSS THE PRIORITIES AND IF IT'S A MATTER OF ADVOCATING WITH COUNCIL, UM, I THINK WE WOULD STILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT.
AND MORGAN, I MEAN, I I'M NOT ASKING YOU TO COMMIT TO THE TIMELINES AND STUFF, BUT DOES THAT GENERALLY SOUND RIGHT? I MEAN YEAH,
LIKE, UH, THE BUDGET PROCESS WILL GO ON AND ON.
YOU'LL GET A LOT OF CHANCES TO TELL THEM WHAT YOU WANT OVER.
THIS ISN'T THE ONLY TIME, MY PROMISE, BECAUSE THE COUNCIL MEMBERS ALSO HAVE BUDGET TOWN HALLS, THE INDIVIDUAL COUNCIL MEMBERS WHERE YOU CAN GO AND SPEAK TO THESE.
SO, UM, SO IF COMMISSIONER SWE, THAT'S OKAY.
WE'LL GO AHEAD AND TAKE THE VOTE.
OR WOULD YOU LIKE TO STILL LIKE TO MOVE ON HAVING THE MEETING THIS MONTH? I, I'LL, I'LL WITHDRAW THAT MOTION.
UM, AND I WOULD MOVE RECOMMENDATION OF THE APPROVAL OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT YOU'RE PROVIDED WITH THE, WITH THE CHANGES OF EDITS MM-HMM.
THAT YOU'VE ALREADY CONSIDERED.
UM, AND LET THAT MOVE FORWARD.
DO I HAVE A SECOND? WE HAVE A MOTION FROM UH, UM, COMMISSIONER SILVA.
WE HAVE A SECOND FROM, UH, COMMISSIONER CARVALHO.
UM, ANYTHING ELSE TO, UH, DISCUSS BEFORE WE MOVE ON THE VOTE? COMMISSIONER CASADA.
SO, SO TO BE CLEAR, IT SOUNDS LIKE IF ANYTHING WE'RE JUST KIND OF REITERATING CERTAIN WORDS OVER AND OVER AGAIN TO THE CITY COUNCIL OR TO WITHIN THESE RECOMMENDATIONS, JUST BROAD BASE STUFF.
SO YOU SAID YOU'RE GONNA INCLUDE THE NONPROFIT HOME? YEAH.
INCLUDE THE NONPROFIT WHOLE GONNA PUT, INCLUDE THE VERBIAGE AROUND THE AI HAM AND SOMETHING ABOUT MUSIC INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS IN THE HAM SECTION IN THE, WHERE WE HAVE HAM SIMPSON HOME MM-HMM
WE ARE ALSO GONNA EMPHASIZE ALSO SUPPORTING UNDERSERVED, UNDERREPRESENTED MUSIC INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS IN THAT REALM.
AND THEN THE EDUCATION IS AROUND AI TRENDS AND LEGALITIES AROUND, YOU KNOW, HOW LEGALITIES AROUND AI AND MUSIC ARE EVOLVING.
AND THEN JUST ONE OTHER THING ON THIS, IF THIS IS THE DOCUMENT, THIS IS LIKE SILLY, BUT THIS IS WHERE MY BRAIN GOES.
UM, AND THEN ALL OF THESE OTHER LITTLE, UH, UH, BOLDED STATEMENTS ARE GONNA BE UNDERLINED, RIGHT? YEAH.
BECAUSE IT TOOK ME A MINUTE TO BE LIKE, OH, THIS IS AN ALL UNDER SUSTAINABILITY OF HAMMOND.
THE MOTION IS UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED.
[03:05:01]
UM, THANK YOU.THANK YOU ALL FOR, UH, BEING PATIENT WITH THIS AND FOR YOUR INPUTS.
UM, MOVING ON TO FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ]
WE HAVE PUBLIC COMMS, APPROVAL OF MINUTES, STAFF BRIEFING ON LIVE MUSIC FUND COLLECTIONS.UH, FINAL REPORTS FOR FI 24 AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND.
UM, WE'LL HAVE, UH, ACME FUNDING PROGRAMS UPDATE AND, UH, UM, IF WE COULD, UM, PLEASE ALSO PROVIDE AN UPDATE TO THE MUSIC COMMISSION AROUND THE REVIEW THAT THE ACME IS DOING WITH THE, THE LONG CENTER CONTRACT.
COULD YOU PLEASE PROVIDE IT HERE AS WELL? THANK YOU SO MUCH.
SO, UH, IF EVERYONE'S NOT AWARE, ACME IS, UH, JUST ESSENTIALLY DOING, UM, ANOTHER REVIEW OF THE CURRENT LONG CENTER CONTRACT AS IT STANDS TODAY.
UM, AND, UM, AND I'M JUST REQUESTING TO SHARE, UH, THE OUTCOMES OF, OF THAT REVIEW.
UH, UNDER DISCUSSION ITEMS, UH, WE WILL HAVE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION UPDATES BY PARLIAMENTARIAN AND SILVER.
UM, AND, UH, WHAT ELSE? UH, WE WILL ALSO DISCUSS BUDGET RECOMMENDATION PRIORITIES OR JUST KEEP THAT OPEN BASICALLY FOLLOWING, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, NOT FOLLOWING, SORRY, THE, WE'LL JUST UNDER DISCUSSION ITEMS, ESSENTIALLY KEEP OUR, UH, CONTINUE THE DISCUSSION ON BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE APPROVED TODAY.
ANYTHING ELSE? OH, WE HAVE, UM, IT'S APRIL, RIGHT? NO, NEXT MONTH.
WE HAVE OFFICER ELECTIONS CHAIR, VICE CHAIR, PARLIAMENTARIAN, AND SECRETARY.
ALL OF THOSE WILL BE UP FOR, UH, NOMINATIONS AND VOTING AGAIN IN APRIL.
WHAT ONE OTHER THING FOR THE DISCUSSION, THIS MAY BE TOO PREMATURE, MAYBE IT NEEDS BE IN MAY, BUT DO WE WANNA HAVE ANYBODY FROM SOUTH BY COME AND TALK ABOUT WHAT, HOW SOUTH BY WENT OR NICE.
AND GO AHEAD AND GET ON THEIR CALENDAR FOR, YEAH.
WE CAN GO AHEAD AND REQUEST THAT.
COULD SOMEBODY MOTION FOR, UH, ALL OF THE ABOVE ITEMS FOR THE NEXT MONTH'S MEETING? AGENDA? WE HAVE A MOTION FROM COMMISSIONER CARVALHO.
DO I HAVE A SECOND? SECOND FROM, UH, COMMISSIONER BLEVINS.
WE HAVE A MOTION FROM COMMISSIONER.
UH, POOL IS A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER ENGLAND.
ALL IN FAVOR? COMMISSIONER CARDENA.
YOU DON'T WANNA GO HOME?
AND JUST SO WE'RE AWARE FOR THE FUTURE, YOU WANT ANYTHING AS FAR AS LIKE GOING TO COUNCIL.
IT HAS TO BE, WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT IT HERE AND DECIDE HERE BECAUSE OF THE TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT.
IF WE DO IT OVER EMAIL, PEOPLE CAN'T SEE THAT.
I MEAN THE CONCEPT IS YOU DISCUSS IT HERE, IT IS VOTED ON HERE, SO JUST SO WE'RE AWARE, IF IT'S GOING TO COUNCIL MEETING, WE NEED TO DISCUSS.