[CALL TO ORDER]
[00:00:05]
IF I CAN BRING TO ORDER THE CHAMBER HERE.
IF EVERYONE CAN LIMIT YOUR CONVERSATIONS, WE ARE GONNA GET STARTED WITH TODAY'S COMMITTEE HEARING.
I'M VANESSA FUENTES, VICE CHAIR OF OUR ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY COMMITTEE, AND WE'LL BE CHAIRING TODAY'S MARCH 20TH, 2026 MEETING.
AS OUR CHAIR COUNCIL MEMBER CADRY IS CURRENTLY OUT JOINING ME TODAY, I'M JOINED BY OUR COMMITTEE MEMBERS, COUNCIL MEMBER MIKE SIEGEL AND COUNCIL MEMBER JOSE VELASQUEZ JOINING US VIRTUALLY THE FIRST, UH, AND WE ARE HERE AT CITY HALL, MARCH 20TH, 2026.
COLLEAGUES, WE HAVE A PACKED AGENDA.
I WILL SAY THIS IS, UH, THE MOST AMOUNT OF PEOPLE I'VE SEEN AT A COMMITTEE MEETING IN A WHILE.
SO, DR. JOHNSON, YOU KNOW HOW TO DRAW A CROWD HERE.
WE'LL HAVE PUBLIC COMMUNICATION FOLLOWED BY A CONSIDERATION OF THE DECEMBER 1ST COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES.
THEN WE'LL HAVE A PRESENTATION ON THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ROADMAP, A STRATEGIC PLAN THAT IS INTENDED TO GUIDE AUSTIN'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS, FOLLOWED BY A BRIEFING PRESENTATION ON THE SMALL BUSINESS INSIGHTS AND POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS REPORT PUBLISHED BY THE INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE.
THEN WE'LL MOVE ON TO A BRIEFING PRESENTATION REGARDING AUSTIN FILM SOCIETY'S CREATIVE WORKFORCE REPORT.
THEN WE HAVE, UH, ON OUR AGENDA, COPIES OF MEMOS THAT HAVE BEEN SENT TO COUNCIL IN IN THE PREVIOUS MONTHS.
JUST WANNA DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO THAT IN CASE YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, UH, REGARDING THOSE MEMOS.
THERE'S FOUR OF THEM THAT HAVE BEEN SENT REGARDING SOCIAL SERVICES, DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, PROCESS UPDATES, THE IMAGINE AUSTIN PLAN UPDATE, AS WELL AS THE ECONOMIC INCENTIVES, WHICH I BELIEVE WE WILL ALSO BRIEFLY COVER THOSE.
ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY, SEE, I, WE WERE ALSO JOINED BY COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTER, UH, WITH
[Public Communication: General]
THAT CLERK.DO WE HAVE ANYONE SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMUNICATION? YES, WE HAVE TWO SPEAKERS.
IF I CAN HAVE LARISSA DAVILA FOLLOWED BY ANDREW ANI, PLEASE COME FORWARD.
I WASN'T EXPECTING TO BE
UM, MY NAME IS LARISSA DAVILA.
I WORK WITH, UM, HUNDREDS OF BUSINESS CONSULTANTS EVERY, EVERY YEAR.
AND I AM HERE TODAY TO PROVIDE COMMENTARY ON THE PROPOSAL FOR, UM, ALLOWING BUSINESS OWNERS OR LOOKING INTO IMPRO, UM, THE CURRENT RESTRICTIONS OR THE CURRENT REGULATION THAT WE HAVE FOR OPERATING BUSINESSES FROM HOME.
AND, UM, I WANT TO, UM, PROVIDE COMMENTARY FOR IT.
I SUGGEST THAT WE LOOK INTO IT BECAUSE IT BENEFITS SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS IN THE WAY THAT THEY CAN BETTER OPERATE.
AND IT ALSO BENEFITS THOSE BUSINESSES THAT ARE ALREADY REGISTERED AND OPERATING WITH, UM, THE CURRENT FORMAT THAT WE HAVE BECAUSE THE COMPETITION IS MORE LEVEL FIELD, UM, AND THEY CAN, UH, BOTH FOCUS ON PROVIDING BETTER SERVICE AND GROWING THEIR BUSINESSES.
AND, UM, THE OTHER COMMENTARY IN FAVOR I'M GONNA, UM, PROVIDE IS IN FAVOR OF DOING TIERED, UM, FEES FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS TO GET LICENSING TO OPERATE.
AND THE REASON BEING IS A LOT OF BUSINESS OWNERS DON'T, ARE, ARE NOT AWARE OF THE DIFFICULTY OR THE LENGTH OF TIME THAT, UM, IT TAKES TO GET A LICENSE TO OPERATE.
AND A LOT OF SMALL BUSINESSES, UM, DON'T GET TO SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY BEFORE.
THEY HAVE TO STOP THEIR INTENTION TO OPEN A BUSINESS.
THEY, UM, DEPLETE THEIR FUNDS.
SO I WOULD SAY IT WOULD BE GROUNDBREAKING IF WE WERE TO REVISIT THE CURRENT LICENSING, UM, FEES THAT WE HAVE AND LOOK FOR A BETTER SOLUTION FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS AND ASPIRING BUSINESS OWNERS.
I AM A COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE AGENT HERE, UH, FOR DISTRICT TWO.
AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SOME PUBLIC COMMENTS AS FAR AS THE REFORMS THAT ARE BEING PUT FORTH HERE.
[00:05:01]
UH, IN THE END, I'D LIKE TO FORMALLY ENDORSE THE MEASURES THAT ARE BEING PUT FORTH BY, UH, THE ORGANIZATION HERE AS SPECIFICALLY TO DEPUTY OFF ISSA WAS THE, UH, THE REFORMS AS FAR AS TRANSPARENCY MOSTLY HAS TO DO WITH BUSINESS OWNERS STARTING UP.IF YOU HAVE A LARGE ORGANIZATION, IT'S A LITTLE BIT EASIER TO NAVIGATE SOME OF THE REGULATIONS AND FEES AND PERMITS AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS, A LITTLE BIT HARDER 'CAUSE THEY'RE KIND OF MORE FOCUSED ON ACTUALLY DOING THEIR BUSINESS.
SO WITH MORE TRANSPARENCY, UH, REDUCED REGULATIONS I THINK WOULD DEFINITELY HELP THEM GET STARTED AS OPPOSED TO HAVING MORE OF A FAILURE TO START ITSELF.
'CAUSE I TALKED TO A LOT OF BUSINESS OWNERS, ESPECIALLY IN THE SITE SELECTIONS.
THOSE THAT ARE, UH, SMALLER IN ORGANIZATIONS, A LITTLE BIT HARDER, THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND AND TO NAVIGATE THE, UH, THE CITY'S PLANS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
THE SECOND THING I'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT IS THE I PRODUCE FEES.
I DO THINK THAT WOULD DEFINITELY GREATLY HELP SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS.
AGAIN, IF YOU COME FROM CAPITAL FUNDS AND YOU HAVE A LOT OF INVESTORS, IT'S SO MUCH EASIER TO START THE BUSINESS.
HOWEVER, A SMALL BUSINESS OWNER MAKE THAT LEAP OF FAITH START IT'S A LITTLE BIT HARDER BY REDUCING THE FEES OVER A TIERED FOUR YEAR TIME PERIOD, I THINK WOULD DEFINITELY HELP OUT AS FAR AS GETTING THEM OFF THEIR FEET TO ESTABLISH, UH, THEIR BUSINESS.
UH, AND WITH THAT, THAT'S, UH, LOT TO TALK ABOUT.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.
[1. Approve the minutes of the December 1, 2025, Special Called Economic Opportunity Committee Meeting.]
IS TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM DECEMBER 1ST, 2025.THIS IS A SPECIAL CALLED ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY COMMITTEE.
WE HAVE A MOTION FROM COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL SECONDED BY THE CHAIR.
UM, ANY OBJECTION TO APPROVING THE MEETING MINUTES? OKAY, SEEING NONE, THOSE STAND APPROVED.
[2. Briefing presentation on the Economic Development Roadmap, a strategic plan intended to guide Austin's economic development strategy over the next 3 years. [Dr. Eric A. Johnson - Assistant City Manager, City Manager’s Office]]
WE'LL MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER TWO, BRIEFING PRESENTATION ON THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ROADMAP.A STRATEGIC PLAN GUIDING AUSTIN'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS.
WE'RE WELCOME TODAY BY ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, DR. ERIC JOHNSON.
AND FIRST OF ALL, LEMME SAY, UH, THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY, UH, DR. ERIC ANTHONY JOHNSON, UH, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER.
BEFORE WE GET STARTED, UM, I WANT TO QUICKLY SHOW A VIDEO.
AND THIS VIDEO IS ACTUALLY ALIGNED WITH THE ROADMAP, BUT I WANNA SAY FOR ONE, FOR THE FIRST TIME, WE'VE ACTUALLY CREATED A VIDEO THAT STARTS TO CAPTURE OUR COLLECTIVE ECONOMIC STRENGTH AS A CITY.
SO LET'S ROLL THE VIDEO, THEN I'LL GET INTO THE PRESENTATION.
AUSTIN, A CITY IN THE HEART OF TEXAS WHERE COMMERCE AND CREATIVITY THRIVE.
THIS IS A PLACE OF BOLD IDEAS AND INNOVATION WHERE EDUCATION, INDUSTRY AND GOVERNMENT COME TOGETHER TO MOVE IDEAS INTO ACTION.
AUSTIN IS ONE OF THE MOST DYNAMIC BUSINESS ECOSYSTEMS IN THE US WITH A PRO-BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT, A DEEP AND GROWING TALENT POOL AND CULTURE THAT CHAMPIONS RISK TAKING AND ORIGINALITY AS HOME TO SOME OF THE LARGEST AND MOST INFLUENTIAL GLOBAL BRANDS AND A THRIVING CREATIVE ECONOMY.
WE ARE GROWING AND BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE.
AT AUSTIN BERGSTROM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, RECORD GROWTH IS DRIVING MAJOR EXPANSION WITH NEW GATES TERMINALS AND IMPROVEMENTS DESIGNED TO BETTER CONNECT AUSTIN TO THE WORLD.
PROJECT CONNECT IS RESHAPING HOW PEOPLE MOVE WITH NEW TRANSIT INVESTMENTS.
ENSURING AUSTIN REMAINS ACCESSIBLE AS IT CONTINUES TO GROW.
DOWNTOWN AUSTIN IS REIMAGINING ITS CORE.
THE REDEVELOPMENT OF THE AUSTIN CONVENTION CENTER IS CREATING MODERN WORLD CLASS SPACES THAT INTEGRATE SEAMLESSLY INTO THE CITY'S FABRIC AND WELCOME GLOBAL EVENTS, CONFERENCES AND FESTIVALS, NEW PARKS, TRANSIT HUBS, AND EMERGING INNOVATION DISTRICTS ARE PART OF A COORDINATED VISION TO ENSURE AUSTIN'S INFRASTRUCTURE KEEPS PACE WITH ITS AMBITION.
FROM MOBILITY TO MEETING SPACES, AUSTIN IS INVESTING IN CONNECTIONS THAT BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER, SUPPORT BUSINESSES, AND OPEN DOORS TO OPPORTUNITY.
THE HEART OF AUSTIN'S SUCCESS IS ITS PEOPLE DRIVEN, TALENTED, AND READY TO BUILD.
WHAT'S NEXT? AUSTIN'S TALENT PIPELINE IS FUELED BY WORLD CLASS, HIGHER EDUCATION, AND A CULTURE THAT VALUES CURIOSITY, CREATIVITY, AND AMBITION, PRODUCING INNOVATORS, ENTREPRENEURS, AND LEADERS EVERY YEAR THAT TALENT FLOWS DIRECTLY INTO AUSTIN'S ECONOMY, STRENGTHENING INDUSTRIES ACROSS TECHNOLOGY, CREATIVE MEDIA, HEALTHCARE, CLEAN ENERGY AND BEYOND.
AUSTIN'S SOUL IS CREATIVE, ENERGETIC, AND UNMISTAKABLY ITS OWN MUSIC FILLS THE CITY FROM SMALL VENUES TO GLOBAL FESTIVALS THAT DRAW THE WORLD TO AUSTIN.
AUSTIN'S FOOD SCENE SERVES UP EVERYTHING FROM LOCAL TACOS AND BARBECUE TO MICHELIN STARRED RESTAURANTS.
AUSTIN'S OUTDOORS IS UNMATCHED TRAILS,
[00:10:01]
WATERWAYS AND GREEN SPACES INVITE PEOPLE OUTSIDE AND BRING BALANCE TO A FAST MOVING CITY.IN AUSTIN, WE TIP OUR HAT TO TRADITION WHILE DESIGNING OUR FUTURE.
THIS ISN'T JUST A CITY, IT'S A LIFESTYLE THAT ATTRACTS TALENT, FUELS, ORIGINALITY, AND OFFERS MEANINGFUL WORK AND A HIGH QUALITY OF LIFE IN ONE PLACE.
WHETHER YOU'RE AN ENTREPRENEUR, A FORTUNE 500 EXECUTIVE OR CREATIVE, YOU HAVE A PLACE IN THIS COMMUNITY OF TRAILBLAZERS.
WE INVITE YOU TO COME, GROW AND THRIVE WITH US.
OKAY, SO LET'S, UH, LET'S PULL UP THE VIDEO.
UM, UH, THE PRESENTATION, UH, WE WANTED TO SHOW YOU THE VIDEO BECAUSE WHAT WE'VE COME TO LEARN IS THAT WHEN WE ARE OUT AND ABOUT TRYING TO CELEBRATE AND MARKET AUSTIN, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO SHOW THE STRENGTHS OF WHO WE ARE, WHETHER IT'S INTERNATIONALLY, DOMESTICALLY, WE FELT LIKE IT'S IMPORTANT TO DO THAT AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO BUILD UPON THAT.
OKAY? YOU SPEAK TO SOMEBODY ELSE.
SO LEMME START THE PRESENTATION.
THIS IS JUST A GREAT QUOTE FROM, UM, ED GLAZER, WHICH IS ARGUABLY ONE OF THE LEADING SCHOLARS IN TERMS OF, UH, CITIES AROUND THE COUNTRY.
SO GREAT CITIES ARE NOT JUST STATIC, THEY CONSTANTLY CHANGE AND TAKE THE WORLD WITH THEM.
SO LEMME START BY SAYING THIS, YOU KNOW, WE, WE ARE REALLY IN AN INTERESTING TIME RIGHT NOW, AND THAT TIME IS REALLY ABOUT, UH, CHANGE AND DISRUPTION AT EVERY LEVEL WE SEE.
BUT WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT AUSTIN AS A CITY, YOU CAN SEE IT ON THE SCREEN.
FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAVE WHAT'S CALLED A FULL STACK ECONOMY.
A LOT OF PLACES DON'T HAVE WHAT'S CALLED A FULL STACK ECONOMY, AND THAT'S A BALANCED ECONOMY THAT'S MADE UP OF TECH, HEALTHCARE, GOVERNMENT, HIGHER EDUCATION, CREATIVE SECTORS.
IT GIVES US A REAL STRONG BASE.
SO WHEN ONE SECTOR IS DOWN, UM, OTHER SECTORS TEND TO HOLD THE LINE.
SO WE THINK ABOUT HUMAN CAPITAL, INFRASTRUCTURE, MARKET RESILIENCE.
SO I, I WANTED TO PUT THIS UP HERE BECAUSE WE HEAR A LOT OF NEGATIVITY AND YOU KNOW, AUSTIN IS NOT A DYING CITY.
IT'S NOT A CITY THAT IS ON THE VERGE OF COLLAPSE.
AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO RECOGNIZE THAT AND OUTSTATE SOMETHING.
FOR EXAMPLE, UH, LAST YEAR ALONE, AUSTIN PROPERTY DID 8 BILLION IN VENTURE CAPITAL.
THAT'S UP 116% FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
EVEN THOUGH WE REPRESENT ONLY 8% OF THE STATE'S POPULATION, 30% OF ALL PATENTS COME OUT OF THIS CITY.
SO THE FOUNDATION IS STRONG, BUT WE ARE ACTUALLY HEADING INTO AN ENVIRONMENT THAT'S IN FLUX.
SO WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT WE'RE CURRENTLY OPERATING IN, IT'S AN ENVIRONMENT OF SLOW GROWTH AND IN AND, AND INCREASED SUBURBAN COMPETITION.
UH, WE'RE STILL ONE OF THE, UH, LEADING CREATIVE CITIES IN THE COUNTRY, STILL WORKING TO DRIVE INVESTMENT, BUT WE HAVE TO BE INTENTIONAL ABOUT WHAT WE DO.
UH, PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT IS UNDERGOING MASSIVE TRANSFORMATION, OFTEN, OFTEN REFERRED AS TO RE URBANIZATION, WHICH IS CONSTANT CONSTRUCTION.
YOU SEE IT, STREET CLOSURES, IT'S A PART OF RE URBANIZATION.
AND THE LAST BULLET REALLY TALKS ABOUT THIS CONSTRAINED RESOURCE ENVIRONMENT, WHICH IS REALLY AT THE EDGE OF, UH, WHAT WE'RE FACING REQUIRING SOME RECALIBRATION, AND I USE THE WORD RECALIBRATION BECAUSE WE ARE IN A RECALIBRATION MODE.
SOME WOULD SAY, OH, AUSTIN'S GROWTH IS SLOWING, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH.
BUT WE ARE REALLY IN A RECALIBRATION MODE NO DIFFERENT THAN MOST CITIES GO THROUGH.
SO WE THINK ABOUT AUSTIN, YEP, WE'RE SLOWING IN TERMS OF GROWTH, HYPER GROWTH, BUT IT'S NEVER EXPECTED THAT THAT PACE OF GROWTH WOULD ALWAYS BE THE PACE IN TERMS OF WHAT WE ARE DEALING WITH.
SO THE RECALIBRATION IS REALLY ABOUT A RETURN TO EARTH RATHER THAN A COLLAPSE.
AGAIN, YOU KNOW, WE REMAIN ONE OF THE STRONGEST CITIES IN THE COUNTRY.
BREAKNECK PACE HAS DECLINED, BUT IT DOESN'T MEAN THINGS ARE, YOU KNOW, UM, UH, ALWAYS NEGATIVE.
AGAIN, WE SEE DECLINE IN TERMS OF, UH, POPULATION LOSS IN TRAVIS COUNTY, WHICH WE CAN ARGUE IS ALSO TAKING PLACE IN AUSTIN.
SO WHEN WE THINK ABOUT GROWTH WORK, GROWTH RATES, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS SLIDE ON THE SCREEN, I'M REALLY SETTING UP WHAT WE ARE FACING AS A, UH, AS A CITY AS WE GO FORWARD.
SO YOU SEE THE TRAJECTORY IN TERMS OF THE GROWTH RATES.
YOU SEE AUSTIN AT UH, 0.57%, UM, IN TERMS OF OUR, UH, GROWTH, GROWTH RATE DECLINE.
BUT IT SETS US UP FOR WHAT I BELIEVE IS GONNA BE, UH, WHAT WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT IN THE FUTURE.
BUT YOU SEE IN THE SCREEN OUR MAJOR COMPETITION IS ACTUALLY WHAT'S SURROUNDING US.
OUR SUBURBS ARE LIKE PACMAN, THEY'RE KIND OF CHEWING US UP, UM, IN TERMS OF, YOU SEE POPULATION GROWTH IN THE SURROUNDING SUBURBS AND YOU SEE WHERE WE ARE, WHICH IS NORMALLY A, A TRADITIONAL TREND YOU FIND IN AMERICAN CITIES, BUT WE ARE ACTUALLY OUR
[00:15:01]
STIFFEST COMPETITION IS SURROUNDING US AND HOW THEY ARE ACTIVELY GROWING, UM, AS WELL.SO PEOPLE ASK, OKAY, WHAT'S GOING ON HERE? WHY IS THIS GROWTH SLOWING? IT'S A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT THINGS WE CAN TALK ABOUT, BUT FOUR KEY KEY ELEMENTS, AFFORDABILITY WALL, AND IT'S REFERRED TO AS AFFORDABILITY WALL.
YOU KNOW, ONCE UPON A TIME WE WERE AS CHEAP AS CALIFORNIA AND SEATTLE.
NOW IF YOU'RE MOVING FROM CALIFORNIA, SEATTLE WAS STILL CHEAPER COMPARED TO WHAT'S OUT THERE.
BUT, UM, THIS AFFORDABILITY ISSUE IS PROVING TO BE SOMETHING THAT'S AN ISSUE IN PARTICULAR FOR THE MIDDLE AND THE SORT OF LOWER SIDE OF AUSTIN.
UM, TECH SECTOR IS COOLING IN TERMS OF WHAT WE SEE IN TERMS OF THE OVER OVERALL, UM, COOL OF TECH SECTOR WAS, IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT IT'S ENDING, BUT IT'S SLOWING IN TERMS OF THE, THE GROWTH SUBURBAN SIPHON, WHICH I THINK IS ARGUABLY ONE OF OUR GREATEST CHALLENGES IN TERMS OF WHAT'S HAPPENING US AROUND, WHAT'S HAPPENING AROUND US, UM, IN TERMS OF BOAT, UM, PEOPLE, RESOURCES.
WE'RE GETTING SORT OF THIS PULL AWAY THEN THE INFRASTRUCTURE FATIGUE.
WE KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON IN TERMS OF, UM, ALL OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS AROUND US IS REALLY CAUSING SORT OF, UH, THIS SORT OF SLOWING GROWTH IN AUSTIN.
I KEEP USING THE WORD RECALIBRATION WITHOUT GETTING INTO DETAILS.
DETAILED NUMBERS, UH, AGAIN, I'M FRAMING THIS IN TERMS OF WHAT'S HAPPENING AROUND US.
YOU KNOW, THERE IS NO, I WOULD ARGUE THIS ALL DAY.
THERE IS NO AMERICAN REGION THAT IS, UM, STRONG WITHOUT A STRONG, UH, URBAN CORE.
IT'S STRONG URBAN CORE DRIVES THE REGION, BUT YOU SEE THE TRENDS IN TERMS OF PROPERTY TAX AND SALES TAX.
WE ARE DECELERATING AND WE'RE STALLED IN BOTH, UH, CATEGORIES.
SUBURBS ARE STABLE AND HIGH OUTPERFORMING US.
SO WHEN YOU SEE THE KEY DRIVERS BEHIND THAT, WE KNOW WE'VE CA WE'RE NOW CAPPED AT THREE, 3% REVENUE, UM, UH, VIA THE STATE AND, UH, RETAIL MIGRATION IN PARTICULAR, RESIDENTS ARE INCREASINGLY SHOPPING IN THE SUBURBS, ET CETERA.
AND THOSE ARE BASICALLY IMPORTANT IN TERMS OF WHY WE SEE THIS RESOURCE CALIBRATION NEEDED AS WE GO FORWARD.
SO WHAT DOES THIS BASICALLY MEAN GOING FORWARD, WHILE OUR FOUNDATION IS SOLID, THE COMBINED SLOWING OF GROWTH, SUBURBAN SIPHONING, UH, RESOURCE CHALLENGES ARE REALLY PRESENTING A FORMIDABLE CHALLENGE FOR AUSTIN.
I WOULD PROBABLY ARGUE, I DON'T KNOW IF AUSTIN HAS SEEN THE COLLECTION OF THE SERIES OF ISSUES SORT OF HITTING OFF, HITTING AT ONE TIME.
SO BOTTOM LINE, WE MUST MOVE FROM A PASSIVE WAIT AND SEE WHERE AUSTIN, THEY'RE GONNA COME APPROACH TO A MORE AGGRESSIVE STANCE TOWARDS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THAT BASICALLY STRENGTHENS OUR TAX BASE AND STRENGTHENS OUR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE.
SO WE CAN NO LONGER GROW BY ACCIDENT.
WE ARE GONNA HAVE TO GROW BY DESIGN AND ESTABLISH WHAT WE ARE CALLING A ROADMAP TO ACCELERATE OUR EFFORTS TO SUPPORT GROWING THE TAX BASE AS WE GO FORWARD.
BUT HOW DO YOU DO THAT TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE A BALANCE.
SO OUR NEXT ERA IS REALLY ABOUT THE ROADMAP.
LEMME JUST SAY THIS, THE ROADMAP IS BASICALLY A 36 MONTH FRAMEWORK.
IT'S NOT A PLAN, IT'S NOT A STRATEGIC PLAN.
IT IS A FRAMEWORK THAT WILL DRIVE US OVER THE NEXT 36 MONTHS.
BECAUSE WHAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO DO IS REALIZE THAT YEP, WE ARE DYNAMIC.
BUT IF YOU STUDY CITIES IN GENERAL, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, CERTAIN STEPS COULD EASILY PUSH US IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION.
SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE ARE MANAGING THIS PERIOD OF DISRUPTION.
LEMME TELL YOU WHY I THINK THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
UM, THE ROADMAP IS A REALLY A NORTH STAR.
IT'S REALLY, REALLY HELPING US SHAPE A VISION TOWARDS A COLLECTIVE RESPONSE TO HELP US GROW TO TAX BASE AND ALSO WORK TOWARDS FAMILY SUSTAINING JOBS AND EXPAND PATHWAYS, PATHWAYS FOR ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY.
AND THE BOTTOM LINE IS WE NEED TO REINTRODUCE AUSTIN AS A LEADER AND BALANCE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
WE NEED TO LET THE WORLD KNOW AUSTIN IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS AND WE ARE READY TO DO SOME WORK.
AND LEMME JUST GIVE YOU A TIDBIT.
I READ THROUGH THE STATE OF TEXAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE, AND YOU KNOW WHAT GUYS, YOU KNOW, WHAT WAS MISSING FROM THAT GUIDE I SAW CITY AFTER CITY AFTER CITY AUSTIN WAS NOT, WAS NOT LISTED IN THAT GUIDE.
YOU HAD EVERYTHING FROM FORT WORTH, DALLAS, HOUSTON, YOU HAD 'EM ALL, BUT WE WERE NOT LISTED IN THE GUIDE.
AND I WAS LIKE, MAN, THAT IS SERIOUS.
SO, UM, WE REALLY LOOKING TO RESET OUR PLAYBOOK AND STRATEGY, UM, AND REALLY START TO WORK TOWARDS TARGETED IMPLE IMPLEMENTATION BECAUSE THIS IS NOT ABOUT CREATING A STRATEGY THAT SITS ON THE SHELF, RIGHT? STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK HAS BEEN IMPORTANT IN TERMS OF WHERE WE HEADED.
WE'VE HAD OVER 20 INTERVIEWS ACROSS CITY LEADERSHIP AND THE UM, UH, ECOSYSTEM OF PARTNERS.
WE'VE HAD FOUR WORKING GROUPS, INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL, UM, TO REALLY DISCUSS SOME OF THESE STRATEGIES AND IDEAS.
AND WE'VE BEEN LOOKING IN TERMS OF, UM, UH, SECTOR FOCUS, MUSIC, ARTS, CULTURE, REAL ESTATE, CHILDCARE, SMALL
[00:20:01]
BUSINESS WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.AND IN THE FUTURE WE'RE GONNA BE HEADED TOWARDS MORE OF THE HIGH TECH SECTORS YOU SEE IN TERMS OF WHAT WE THINK IS GONNA DRIVE THE FUTURE, SUCH AS HEALTH SCIENCES, ROBOTICS, ADVANCED MANUFACTURING, AND AI.
SO IT STARTS TO SETS US UP WITH THESE BUILDING BLOCKS AROUND THE ROADMAP.
SO ON THE SCREEN RIGHT NOW, YOU BASICALLY SEE WHAT WE'RE CALLING THE BUILDING BLOCKS.
ONE AUSTIN IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS MANTRA, UM, LEADING AS A KEY PLACE TO INVEST AND GROW, ESTABLISH SPEED AND PREDICTABILITY IN THE APPROVAL PROCESS.
THAT RIGHT THERE IS GONNA HAVE TO BE OUR NUMBER ONE STRATEGY LEAD WITH SPEED THROUGH THE PROCESS.
UM, SO WE CAN MOVE THINGS FORWARD, LEVERAGE CITY RESOURCES.
AND ONE THING YOU WILL NOT SEE IN THIS DOCUMENT, THIS IS NOT ABOUT THE GENERAL FUND, IT'S NOT ABOUT ASKING FOR MORE MONEY FOR THE GENERAL FUND.
THE STRATEGY IS TO UTILIZE WHAT WE HAVE, ALIGN THE WORK WITH OUR PARTNERS BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING.
WE JUST HAVE TO FIND PARTNERS THAT ARE DOING GOOD WORK AND ALIGN WITH THEM.
REINTRODUCE AUSTIN, UH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND STRENGTHEN OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES, SUPPORT ECONOMIC GROWTH, EXPLORE PILOTS AND SPECIAL INITIATIVE TO TEST STRATEGIES.
WE SHOULD LEAVE NOTHING UNTESTED.
THERE'S NO REASON WHY A CITY OF THIS SCALE SHOULD NOT BE TESTING INNOVATIVE IDEAS MARKET TO COMBINE ECONOMIC AND CULTURE STRENGTH GLOBALLY AND STRENGTHEN OUR INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE.
AS BIG AS WE ARE GUYS, WE DON'T HAVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE TO HOLD AND HOST INTERNATIONAL, UM, VISITS IN THIS TOWN.
SO AS WE THINK ABOUT THAT, WE WANNA REALLY, UM, A A ADAPT TO THAT.
ESTABLISH ANNUAL GROWTH TARGETS TO SUPPORT REVENUE GENERATION, YOU KNOW, UH, TO GENERATE INCREASED SALES TAXES.
SO WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THAT SALES TAXES AND INCREASE PROPERTY TAXES, HOW DO WE DO THINGS AND BRING THINGS TO TOWN THAT'S GONNA HELP US GENERATE INCREASED REVENUE WHILE ALSO DOING IT TO KEEP AUTHENTIC AUSTIN IN TECH, INCORPORATE PARTICIPATION OF SMALL LOCAL BUSINESSES ALONG WITH CREATIVE ECOSYSTEM AS A DRIVING FORCE, YOU CAN HAVE ALL THE TECH YOU WANT, YOU CAN HAVE ALL OF THIS STUFF, BUT THE, THE FOUNDATION OF THIS TOWN IS THE CREATIVE ECOSYSTEM.
IT IS OUR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE.
AND AGAIN, TO LINE OUR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES OF STAKEHOLDERS TO MEET THE SPEED OF OPPORTUNITY, I SPENT, UH, PRETTY MUCH ABOUT FOUR HOURS OUT AT A CC AND I WAS JUST AMAZED AT THE STRENGTH OF WHAT THEY HAVE IN TERMS OF THE, THE WORKFORCE, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE ALONG WITH OUR PARTNERS THAT CAN HELP US.
SO THAT GIVES YOU BASICALLY THE BUILDING BLOCKS, BUT HERE'S THE, HERE'S THE SLIDE THAT I REALLY WANT TO TALK ABOUT.
SO, OKAY, DR. JOHNSON, WHAT THE CRAP IS THIS ROADMAP, YOU SEE THAT WINDOW? SEE THAT WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY RIGHT THERE? THIS IS BASED ON THE FEDERAL RESERVE'S PROJECTIONS IN TERMS OF WHERE WE ARE AND WHERE WE ARE HEADED.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT SORT OF HEADING TOWARDS THE END OF 28, 29, WE ARE IN THIS PERIOD OF WHERE I BELIEVE WE NEED TO GET OURSELVES IN SHAPE, WE GET OURSELVES IN SHAPE, AND WE BELIEVE WE CAN RIDE THIS WAVE HEADING INTO 28, THE END OF 28, 29, WHEN WE BELIEVE THIS RECALIBRATION IN A REAL ESTATE MARKETS ARE REALLY GONNA TAKE PLACE.
SO WHAT DOES THAT BASICALLY MEAN? THAT WINDOW IS WHERE WE SHOULD BE DOING EVERYTHING TO GET STRUCTURED.
SO WE THINK ABOUT THAT, WE THINK ABOUT MANAGING THAT BRIDGE PERIOD, AND IT'S ABOUT PIPELINE PLUS SPEED PLUS ALIGNMENT OF EFFORTS.
SO WE THINK ABOUT THINGS LIKE, UH, STRONG PIPELINE OF COMMERCIAL, RESIDENTIAL AND TRANSFORMATIONAL PROJECTS ARE NEEDED TO START TO MAKE THEIR WAY THROUGH ENTITLEMENTS RIGHT NOW TO START TO BUILD THAT FOUNDATIONAL BASE.
SO WHEN WE HIT THE MARKS IN 28, END OF 28, 29, WE SHOULD START TO SEE SOME SERIOUS ADJUSTMENTS TO OUR REVENUE BASE.
SEE THAT NUMBER 0.75%, THAT'S BEEN THE AVERAGE OF WHAT OUR DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES HAS GENERATED TO THE GENERAL FUND OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS.
WE'RE GONNA MOVE THAT NUMBER FROM 0.75 TO 2% OR MORE ABOVE BEGINNING TO, TO HIT AROUND 28, 29, 30.
SO IN, IN DOING SO, ALSO BUILD OUR STRONGER, UM, LONGER TERM ELEMENTS THAT WILL CONTINUE TO BUILD OUR FOUNDATION FOR LONG-TERM ECONOMIC ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GROWTH.
SO THAT SLIDE WHEN I, WHEN I SHOW THIS, THAT BRIDGE OPPORTUNITY IS WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW.
AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE CAN COMMUNICATE, YEAH, WE HAVE SOME CHALLENGES BEFORE US, BUT WE ARE NOT GONNA SIT STILL AND BECOME A CITY THAT'S GONNA BE ON THE VERGE OF, YOU KNOW, MOVING TOWARDS A DECLINING CITY IF WE CAPTURE THAT BRIDGE PERIOD.
AND I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THE REAL ESTATE AND DEVELOPMENT INDUSTRY KNOWS WHAT THAT PERIOD MEANS IF WE CAN GET OURSELVES TOGETHER, UM, DURING THAT PERIOD.
SO JUST QUICKLY, I'M GONNA GO THROUGH ROADMAP ELEMENTS.
THIS HAS BEEN DEVELOPED IN COORDINATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS.
JOHNSON'S SITTING IN HIS OFFICE PONTIFICATING ABOUT THINGS.
SO IT'S BEEN A COMBINATION OF OUR PARTNERS.
SO WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE, THE, THE SORT OF TOP LINE WHICH IS SUPPORT A COMPETITIVE
[00:25:01]
AND CREATIVE ECONOMY, YOU SEE THE ITEMS LISTED ON THE SCREEN RECALIBRATE, BUSINESS RETENTION AND EXPANSION, BUILD CAPACITY AND STRATEGY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PURSUIT, CATALYTIC REVENUE GENERATING PROJECTS.SOME OF THIS STUFF IS ACTUALLY ALREADY UNDERWAY.
UH, THE VIDEO FOR EXAMPLE, IS SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN DONE.
UM, STRENGTHENING THE FILM AND MEDIA CREATIVE ECOSYSTEM IS GONNA BE HUGE AND IT SHOULD BE HUGE FOR US.
HOW DO WE PUT THESE PIECES IN PLACE OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT 36 MONTHS? SECOND, EXPAND PATHWAYS TO SMALL BUSINESS SUCCESS.
AGAIN, EXPAND ACCESS TO CAPITAL FINANCING PROGRAMS. LEMME GIVE YOU AN IDEA WHAT THAT MEANS.
WE DON'T HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING.
THE QUESTION WILL BE HOW WE LEVERAGE OUR RESOURCES TO BRING IN OTHERS TO HELP US BUILD THE RESOURCES WE NEED.
IN PARTICULAR, ENSURE SMALL BUSINESS AND CREATIVE, UH, SPACES HAVE AFFORDABLE ACCESS TO COMMERCIAL SPACES.
YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO SPEND 42 HOURS A SQUARE FOOT, BUT HOW DO WE DO THINGS TO BUY DOWN SPACE TO ALLOW LOCAL BUSINESSES TO PART, PARTICIPATE, CREATE A STRONG, UH, UH, PROGRAM TO MITIGATE DISPLACEMENT IN PARTICULAR IN OUR DEVELOPMENT QUARTERS? THAT'S GONNA BE HUGE.
UH, ANNUAL BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION.
YOU KNOW, YOU SEE THINGS ON THE SCREEN, I DON'T HAVE TO READ 'EM, BUT THE BOTTOM LINE IMPLEMENT CREATIVE REVOLVING LOAN PROGRAM THAT WE CAN PUT TOGETHER TO HELP US DO SOME OF THE THINGS WE NEED TO DO, WHICH IN MY OPINION AND MY EXPERIENCE IS NOT JUST RELEGATED TO RELIANCE ON THE GENERAL FUND, UH, STRENGTH AND TALENT AND WORKFORCE SYSTEMS. I WOULD JUST CUT THROUGH THE CHASE AND TELL YOU WHAT THIS BASICALLY MEANS.
AS WE ARE MOVING TO COMMUNICATE MORE THAT AUSTIN IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS, THAT MEANS WE'RE GONNA BE GOING AFTER BIG OPPORTUNITIES TO INCREASE OUR ABILITY TO CREATE MORE JOBS HERE.
BUT THAT MEANS OUR SYSTEM HAS TO BE ALIGNED.
WE DON'T HAVE THE TIME TO SAY, WELL, THINK ABOUT US AND GIVE US SOME TIME TO GET OUR WORKFORCE TOGETHER.
WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO SAY, AT THE POINT OF ENGAGEMENT, WHEN WE'RE DISCUSSING CONVERSATIONS WITH POTENTIAL BIG USERS, WE HAVE THE RELATIONSHIPS ALREADY INTACT, READY TO GO.
AND AS AN INCENTIVE WE CAN PROVIDE THAT WORKFORCE NEEDED TO MOVE, UH, FORWARD.
SO I DON'T HAVE TO READ THROUGH EVERYTHING, YOU CAN SEE IT ON THE SCREEN, BUT THAT GIVES YOU SORT OF AN IDEA, UH, IN TERMS OF WHAT WE HAVE TO DO.
AND THIS IS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, I'VE WORKED IN A LOT OF CITIES, I'VE DEALT WITH A LOT OF CHALLENGES AND, AND THIS IS NOT A PLACE WHERE WE DON'T HAVE THE PIECES.
AND I THINK BECAUSE WE HAVE THE PIECES, WE JUST HAVE TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO ALIGN THEM, INVEST AND STRENGTHEN STRATEGIES IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, DOWNTOWN IS GONNA BE HUGE.
WE HAVE TO ENSURE THAT DOWNTOWN AUSTIN, YOU KNOW, REMAINS AND CONTINUES TO STRENGTHEN ITS ABILITY TO BE A SOURCE OF NOT JUST ATTRACTION OF PEOPLE, BUT ECONOMIC STABILITY.
HOW DO WE CONTINUE TO LOOK AT THINGS AROUND, AGAIN, COMMERCIAL AFFORDABILITY, PROVIDING ON TIME DELIVERY OF IN INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS.
ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, UH, MIKE ROGERS.
WE'VE HAD LONG CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE CREATE THINGS THAT, UH, HELP US ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING SIDE? TRADITIONALLY WHAT WE'VE DONE IN TERMS OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING HAS BEEN A RELIANCE ON BOND DOLLARS, WHICH I BELIEVE WE HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO LOOK BEYOND THAT AND ENGAGE MORE WITH THE PRIVATE, UM, SECTOR AND THE PHILANTHROPIC SECTOR TO HELP US EXPAND OUR RESOURCE ABILITY.
AND, UH, LASTLY, ALIGN OUR ECONOMIC SYSTEMS TO DELIVER LASTING BENEFITS.
HOW DO WE, UM, JUST MAKE SURE WE ARE IN ALIGNMENT IN TERMS OF, UH, DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES, UH, THAT'S GONNA BE IMPORTANT FOR US TO MOVE THINGS FORWARD.
THIS COMES DOWN TO SPEED, IT COMES DOWN TO COORDINATION.
IT COMES DOWN TO STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT AND PARTNERSHIPS.
AND IT'S SORT OF LIKE FLYING A SHIP, UM, OR FLYING A PLANE AND PUTTING FUEL IN THE PLANE WHILE WE ARE FLYING.
WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO LAND AND SAY LET'S GET IT ALL TOGETHER BEFORE WE MAKE A MOVE.
SO, UH, THE OBJECTIVES BASICALLY LONG TERM SHORT TERM.
SHORT TERM, UH, ONE TO 12 MONTHS MIDTERM, 12 TO 24, 24, 4 TO 36.
BY THE TIME WE REACH 36 MONTHS, WE WANT TO HAVE GOTTEN THE BULK OF THESE ACTIVITIES IN PLACE AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
SO ON THE SCREEN YOU BASICALLY SEE A HIGH LEVEL TIMELINE.
WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW, WE'RE SORT OF IN THE READINESS PHASE, MOVING INTO TRANSFORMATION, SUPPORT ONTO TRANSFORMATION, UM, ACTION AND SUSTAINED ENGAGEMENT.
THIS IS HOW WE'RE GONNA DO THIS.
PEOPLE SAY, OH, HOW ARE YOU GONNA DO ALL OF THIS? UM, ALIGNMENT AND BUY-IN OF OUR, UH, ROADMAP.
UH, IF YOU LOOK AT THE CIRCLE, IT'S ROADMAP, PICK UP PARTNERSHIPS ALONG THE WAY.
UH, ACTION, UH, IMPLEMENTATION UNDERWAY.
UH, EVALUATE CONSTANT RECALIBRATION AND KEEP MOVING IN THAT CIRCLE.
WE'RE GONNA USE A PROJECT MANAGER MODEL, TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR EXECUTION OF SPECIFIC PROJECTS, INITIATIVES OUTLINED IN THE ROADMAP.
WE'RE GONNA COORDINATE OUR EFFORTS ACROSS DEPARTMENTAL TEAMS AND STAKEHOLDERS TO MAKE SURE WE CAN IMPLEMENT.
SOME WILL SAY, WELL IT'S A LOT OF STUFF, DR. JOHNSON.
IT IS, BUT IT'S NOT BECAUSE IT'S ABOUT ALIGNMENT.
ALIGNMENT OF, UH, ACTIVITIES WHICH CREATE WHAT I CALL STRATEGIC ACCELERATION.
[00:30:01]
WE'LL BE MEASURING OUR PROGRESS TIMELINES, UH, TRACKING TRANSPARENCY, DATA-DRIVEN ADJUSTMENTS, AND REGULAR BRIEFINGS.THIS WORK WILL BE DISPLAYED PUBLICLY THROUGH THIS COMMITTEE AND COUNCIL BRIEFINGS TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHAT WE ARE DOING.
AND KEEP IN MIND, I'M GOING BACK TO THAT SLIDE IN TERMS OF THAT WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY.
IF WE GET OUR ACT TOGETHER AND DO WHAT WE HAVE TO DO, I THINK WE'LL BE IN A STRONG POSITION BECAUSE WHAT I BELIEVE IS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF 28, 29 30 IS GOING TO BE A CITY I BELIEVE CAN RIDE THIS WAVE OF DISRUPTION AND BE IN A GOOD PLACE GOING FORWARD.
SO OUR NEXT STEPS ARE CONTINUAL ALIGNMENT WITH STAKEHOLDERS.
ESTABLISH CLARITY ON SHORT, LONG TERM PRIORITIES.
AND MOST IMPORTANT, YOU DO NOT DO THIS WORK WITHOUT SECURING EARLY WINS, WITHOUT SECURING EARLY WINS, WITHOUT SECURING EARLY WINS, WE ARE GOING TO MAKE SURE WE SECURE EARLY WINS TO LET THIS COMMUNITY KNOW THIS WORK IS REAL.
AGAIN, CONTINUED UPDATES THROUGH THIS COMMITTEE AND ONTO, UH, COUNCIL BRIEFINGS AS NEEDED, REFINE, IMPLEMENT, AND ADJUST.
AND WE WILL HAVE A FINAL REPORT PREPARED IN 20 AT SPRING OF 2026 AS WE GO FORWARD.
SO I'LL CONCLUDE WITH THAT AND JUST SAY THANK YOU AND TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL, ANY QUESTIONS ON YOUR END? SURE.
WELL THANK YOU SO MUCH DR. JOHNSON.
UM, I THINK I SPEAK FOR ALL OF US ON COUNCIL THAT WE REALLY APPRECIATE THE ENERGY AND ENTHUSIASM YOU'RE BRINGING TO OUR CITY.
UH, ALSO YOUR OPTIMISM, YOU KNOW, THAT, UH, WE MIGHT BE WEATHERING A STORM IN THIS MOMENT, BUT THERE REALLY IS A CLEAR PATH OUT OF IT.
UM, SO OBVIOUSLY THIS ROOM IS FULL OF EXCITED PEOPLE.
OUR COMMUNITY IS FULL OF PEOPLE WHO ARE REALLY BELIEVING IN YOUR VISION.
NO PRESSURE, YOU KNOW, BUT WE'RE, WE ARE COUNTING ON YOU.
UM, SO, SO THANK YOU FOR THIS.
UM, AND I REALLY WANNA THANK YOU FOR EMPHASIZING THE ROLE OF AFFORDABILITY.
YOU KNOW, THAT WE DEFINITELY WANNA PAIR INCREASING OUR TAX BASE WITH CREATING LIFE SUSTAINING JOBS.
'CAUSE THOSE TWO THINGS OBVIOUSLY GO HAND IN HAND.
AND, UM, I GUESS, UH, MY FIRST QUESTION RELATES TO HOUSING, UM, IS SOMETHING OBVIOUSLY WE'VE SPOKEN ABOUT A LOT, BUT, UM, IF YOU COULD SPEAK ABOUT HOW WE SHOULD INVEST IN HOUSING DURING THIS COOLING PERIOD WHEN RENTS ARE, ARE DROPPING A BIT, UM, BECAUSE I BELIEVE AS YOU DO THAT AUSTIN WILL KEEP GROWING AND THAT DEMAND WILL INCREASE AGAIN AND WE WANNA AVOID THE KIND OF EXTREMELY TIGHT HOUSING MARKET THAT WE HAD IN THE PAST.
SO IF YOU COULD SHARE A FEW MORE OF YOUR THOUGHTS IN THIS AREA.
YEAH, THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.
UM, HERE, HERE IS, HERE'S WHAT I WOULD SAY.
AND BASED ON MY EXPERIENCE, SOMETIMES WE TEND TO GET CONFUSED, CONFUSED THIS CONCEPT OF THE MARKET AS IF THE MARKET IS THIS ONE SINGULAR, UH, ENTITY THAT EXISTS.
UM, IN PARTICULAR DURING THIS COOLING PERIOD, WE SHOULD REALLY FOCUS OUR EFFORTS ON WHAT WE BELIEVE IS THE MATERIAL WEAK POINT IN AUSTIN.
THAT IS THE 50 TO 30% BELOW, RIGHT? SO, UM, AS THE MARKET TENDS TO ADJUST, OUR CHALLENGE NOW IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE NEED ALL TYPES OF HOUSING.
WE GONNA NEED THE MARKET, UPPER MARKET,
SO TO ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION, UM, IS TO FOCUS OUR EFFORTS ON PUTTING THE STRUCTURES IN PLACE, BUT BEING VERY INTENTIONAL ABOUT 50 AND 30 IN PARTICULAR DURING THIS PERIOD OF TIME.
THAT'S WHAT I WOULD SAY AND DOING.
SO LOOK AT EVERY POTENTIAL STRATEGY OUT THERE.
YOU KNOW, I THINK YOU'VE HEARD ME SAY THIS BEFORE, YOU CAN'T SAY YOU WORK IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND YOU ONLY DOING LIMITED APPROACHES TO IT.
SO I THINK IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO TEST IDEAS AND, YOU KNOW, STRATEGIES ALONG THE WAY, TO BE HONEST WITH YOU.
ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
AND UM, ANOTHER AREA I JUST WANNA EXPLORE A LITTLE MORE IS KIND OF THE POTENTIAL INTERSECTION BETWEEN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND OUR ENTERPRISE DEPARTMENTS.
UM, I WANNA SEE IF YOU HAVE MORE THOUGHTS ON THAT.
YOU KNOW, AUSTIN IS UNIQUE AS A CITY IN THAT WE HAVE OUR OWN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.
WE HAVE OUR OWN ELECTRIC UTILITY, OUR OUR WATER UTILITY.
AND THESE SEEM TO CREATE ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR INNOVATION.
YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, WE KNOW FUEL COSTS ARE RISING AROUND THE, THE WORLD RIGHT NOW.
UM, AND WE'VE ALREADY BEEN A LEADER IN RENEWABLE ENERGY AND BATTERY STORAGE.
AND THROUGH OUR ELECTRIC UTILITY WE CAN MAKE STRATEGIC INVESTMENTS, UM, IN ENERGY RESILIENCE.
AND SO WHETHER IT'S THROUGH OUR AIRPORT, OUR, OUR AUSTIN ENERGY, AUSTIN WATER, THERE SEEMS TO BE AN OPPORTUNITY TO PAIR ECONOMIC, UH, DEVELOPMENT WITH OUR UTILITIES.
AND WAS WONDERING IF YOU HAD MORE THOUGHTS ON THAT? YEAH, IT'S ANOTHER GREAT QUESTION.
I THINK, UM, IT'S COUNCIL MEMBER, I THINK IT'S ALL ABOUT ALIGNMENT AND NOT BEING SHUT OFF TO INNOVATION EXAMPLE.
UM, AS WE LOOK AT DIFFERENT POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES, HOW DO WE LOOK AT ALTERNATIVE POWER SOURCES
[00:35:01]
OR ALTERNATIVE, UM, SOURCES THAT ALLOWS US TO MOVE DEVELOPMENTS FORWARD AND DOING SO IN A WAY THAT, BECAUSE WE'VE ALWAYS DONE IT A CERTAIN WAY IN THE PAST, DOESN'T MEAN YOU HAVE TO ALWAYS DO IT.SO TO THAT QUESTION, I WOULD SAY WE HAVE TO BE OPEN-MINDED, KEEP A FOCUS ON INNOVATION AND, AND TEST SOME IDEAS.
THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT.
AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, CONVERSATIONS, WHETHER IT'S AUSTIN ENERGY, WHATEVER, I THINK THEY'RE OPEN TO DOING THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.
UM, AT LEAST THAT'S WHAT I'VE HEARD FROM THEM SO FAR.
AND THEN JUST LAST QUESTION, IN TERMS OF, UH, THE STRATEGIC PARTNERS THAT YOU THINK, YOU KNOW, NEED TO BE AT THE TABLE AS YOU DEVELOP THIS AND IMPLEMENT THIS STRATEGY, UH, IF YOU COULD SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT AND ALSO WHAT THE ROLE OF COUNCIL SHOULD BE TO SUPPORT YOUR WORK.
LET ME TALK ABOUT STRATEGIC PARTNERS IN THIS PROCESS.
WE, WE'VE HAD GREAT CONVERSATIONS WITH, UH, STRATEGIC PARTNERS AND UM, I'LL GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE OF HOW THIS SHOULD WORK.
AS A CITY, WE SHOULD BE ALIGNING WITH PARTNERS THAT ARE DOING WORK THAT'S IN ALIGNMENT AND CLEAR THE FIELD FOR THEM TO DO THEIR WORK.
THAT MEANS WE DON'T HAVE TO SAY AS A CITY, WE ARE THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO CAN DO IT.
THEY WILL HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO IT DOWNTOWN, FOR EXAMPLE.
THEY'RE WORKING ON SOME REALLY GOOD STRATEGIES.
HOW DO WE SIMPLY ALIGN AND MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN DO SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THEY NEED TO DO? ANOTHER EXAMPLE WOULD BE A CONVERSATION AROUND HOW DO WE CREATE A RESOURCE THAT WILL HELP OUR CREATIVE COMMUNITY DO THE THINGS THEY NEED TO DO? WE MAY HAVE TO LEVERAGE SOMETHING TO DRAW IN OTHER RESOURCES.
ANOTHER EXAMPLE, A CC AND HOUSING, UH, UH, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY.
HOW DO WE JUST MAKE SURE WE ARE READY UPFRONT WITH THE PARTNERS WHEN THE TIME COMES THAT WE HAVE TO CALL AND SAY, HEY, WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY, WE GOTTA MOVE FAST.
SO I THINK IT'S A COMBINATION OF ALL OF THAT.
AND WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING IS SAYING TO THE STAKEHOLDERS, TELL US WHAT THE PROBLEMS ARE SO WE CAN GET TO THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM AND SOLVE FOR IT.
SO THAT'S KINDA THE RELATIONSHIP WE'RE TRYING TO BUILD WITH THE, UM, UH, STAKEHOLDERS.
WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE IT LIKE WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO RESET.
THIS IS NOT ABOUT US VERSUS YOU AND HOW DO WE BASICALLY DO IT IN TERMS OF THE COUNCIL, UM, LEMME SAY THIS, I THINK WE HAVE A GREAT CITY COUNCIL
AND I THINK THIS IS ABOUT, UM, HELPING THE COUNCIL SEE WHERE WE NEED TO GO AND THE COUNCIL DEVELOP GREAT POLICIES TO HELP US GET THERE.
I THINK IT'S, THAT IS THE PIECE, UH, WHERE THE COUNCIL COULD REALLY HELP US BECAUSE I THINK AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE ARE GONNA BE RIDING A STORM.
WE'RE GONNA HEAR NEGATIVITIES ABOUT DIFFERENT THINGS AND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO SAY, INCLUDING THE STAKEHOLDERS IS THAT STAKE.
UM, AUSTIN, TEXAS IS NOT SOME DYING CITY
YOU KNOW, I'M, I CALL MYSELF AN INTELLIGENT OPTIMIST IS WHAT I AM.
I KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING, I SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING.
BUT I ALSO KNOW IF YOU ASKED ME, IF I WERE IN A CITY THAT WAS A DYING CITY, I WOULDN'T BE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION.
THERE'S NO WAY I COULD SIT UP HERE AND TALK ABOUT THIS BECAUSE THE MECHANICS ARE, ARE GOOD IN THIS CITY.
WHAT, WHAT? SO SAYING THE BONES OF WHATEVER OF BUILT STRONG.
I THINK WE HAVE PARTNERS THAT ARE LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO ALIGN THE WORK.
WE HAVE GREAT UNIVERSITIES IN THIS TOWN, GUYS, WE HAVE IT.
THE QUESTION IS, LET'S JUST NOT BLOW IT IN THIS OPPORTUNITY WHERE I SEE THIS WINDOW IS THERE.
SO IT'S KIND OF LONG-WINDED, BUT THAT'S WHAT I SEE.
UH, FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH, DR. JOHNSON, I HAVEN'T HEARD ANYONE CALL US A DYING CITY.
CERTAINLY OUR GROWTH HAS SLOWED DOWN
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, AND THANK YOU FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE DESPERATELY NEED AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THE FRAMEWORK THAT YOU'VE LAID OUT THAT REALLY LIKES IT TO GROWTH BY DESIGN.
YOU KNOW, HOW CAN WE ENSURE THAT THE GROWTH OF THE CITY REALLY BENEFITS AUSTINITES IN A WAY THAT MEETS THE NEEDS THAT WE HAVE TODAY, BUT ALSO PLANS OUT THE FUTURE OF OUR CITY.
AND THERE'S SOME REALLY EXCITING PROJECTS UNDERWAY.
WE KNOW THAT WE'RE IN THIS ERA OF INFRASTRUCTURE WITH THE RENOVATION OF OUR AIRPORT AND CONVENTION CENTER AND THE AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL COMING INTO TOWN.
UM, AND THEN WE HAD THE REALLY EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE NEW MD ANDERSON CENTER THAT'LL BE GOING UP IN NORTH AUSTIN, NORTH CENTRAL AUSTIN.
SO THAT JUST, I THINK REALLY SPEAKS TO, UH, THE, THE POSITIVE TRAJECTORY OF OUR CITY.
THERE ARE TWO KEY AREAS THAT I WANT TO HONE IN ON THAT I HAVE PARTICULAR INTEREST IN.
ONE IS ESTABLISHING A TIERED FEE STRUCTURE FOR OUR SMALL BUSINESSES WHEN THEY GO THROUGH THE PERMITTING DEVELOPMENT PROCESS.
CAN YOU SPEAK A LITTLE BIT MORE TO THOUGHTS ON HOW WE CAN BEST DO THAT? TO ME THAT SEEMS LIKE A VERY, YOU KNOW, EARLY WIN
[00:40:01]
THAT WE COULD DELIVER ON IN CREATING THIS TIERED FEE, FEE STRUCTURE AND UM, REALLY RIGHT SIZE OUR PERMITTING PROCESS.WE'VE ACTUALLY HEARD, UH, COUNCILMAN WE, WE'VE HEARD SOME OF THOSE COMMENTS THROUGH THE STAKEHOLDER PROCESS, UM, IN PARTICULAR RELATED TO SMALL BUSINESSES.
UM, I WON'T ASK HIM TO COME UP JUST BECAUSE OF TIME, BUT IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IN TERMS OF HOW DO WE DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT AS A PART OF, UM, ELEMENTS OF THE ROADMAP, RIGHT? IN PARTICULAR, UM, EMPHASIZING THAT SMALL BUSINESSES ARE GOING TO BE KEY.
WE TALK A LOT ABOUT THE BIG BUSINESSES, THE BIG CORPORATE STUFF, THAT'S FINE.
BUT THAT IS A CONVERSATION WE'RE HAVING RIGHT NOW OUT.
AND THEN THE OTHER INTEREST THAT I HAVE IS AROUND COMMERCIAL AFFORDABILITY.
I MEAN, I THINK WE ALL SAW THE HEADLINE THAT CAME OUT THAT SOUTH CONGRESS NOW HAS, THE MAJORITY OF BUSINESSES ALONG SOUTH CONGRESS ARE NO LONGER LOCAL BUSINESSES.
AND THAT IS HEARTBREAKING TO HEAR.
AND SO I WANNA SEE WHAT MORE CAN THE CITY BE DOING TO ENSURE THAT OF OUR COMMERCIAL RETAIL SPACE, THAT IT'S AFFORDABLE.
HOW CAN WE REALLY LEAN INTO PROVIDING MORE AFFORDABLE COMMERCIAL SPACES FOR TENANTS? THAT IS A GREAT, EXCELLENT QUESTION AND I'LL GIVE YOU THE PERSPECTIVE HOW WE'RE THINKING ABOUT IT.
UM, THIS HAS BEEN A CONVERSATION IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND WE WANT TO CREATE A PROGRAM, WHAT WE'RE CALLING A COMMERCIAL SPACE BUY DOWN PROGRAM IN PARTICULAR FOR LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES.
SO YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO AFFORD, I'M MAKING IT UP 42, 40 $5 A SQUARE FOOT, WHATEVER THE NUMBER IS.
BUT HOW CAN WE CREATE A, A, UH, A PRODUCT THAT ALLOWS FOR BUY DOWN FOR A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME FOR EXISTING AND FOR NEW BUSINESSES COMING TO TOWN, RIGHT? OR NEW MOVEMENT OF BUSINESSES LOCALLY.
WHAT WE ALSO WANNA LOOK AT IS WHEN WE ARE DOING BIG DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS, I MEAN, WOULDN'T IT BE NICE INSTEAD OF US SAYING LET'S GET A CHAIN ESTABLISHMENT VERSUS FINDING AN AUSTIN LEGACY BUSINESS, FOR EXAMPLE, WE BUY DOWN THE SPACE, ALLOW THEM TO PARTICIPATE IN SOMETHING IN AN AREA WHERE THEY NORMALLY WOULDN'T HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO SO.
SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE SCREEN AND YOU THINK ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS WE'RE GONNA BE ATTACKING OVER THAT PERIOD, THAT IS ABSOLUTELY ONE OF 'EM.
UM, BECAUSE WE KNOW IT'S AN ISSUE, IT'S AN ISSUE DOWNTOWN.
IT'S AN ISSUE ALONG THE CORRIDORS.
AND HOW DO WE DO IT IN PARTICULAR FOR, UM, LEGACY BUSINESSES AND SMALL BUSINESSES THAT ARE REALLY TRYING TO MAKE IT A GOAL.
THAT IS, THAT IS A MAJOR PRIORITY OF, OF THE ROADMAP.
AND THE OTHER AREA I WANTED TO DIG IN ON, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT YOU HAVE PUT A LOT OF THOUGHT AND CONSIDERATION INTO THE CITY'S OWN INTERNAL PROCESSES AND HOW WE WORK TOGETHER AMONGST OUR DEPARTMENTS.
IT SEEMS LIKE THERE HAVE BEEN OVER THE YEARS CONTINUED ISSUES WITH AUSTIN ENERGY AND THE PERMITTING RELATED TO OUR ELECTRIC UTILITY.
AND THAT HAS BEEN KIND OF A LINCHPIN IN US BEING ABLE TO DELIVER, TO GET BUSINESSES OPEN SOONER AND, AND AVAILABLE.
UM, THOUGHTS ON HOW WE MIGHT BEST ADDRESS EVEN INTERNALLY WHAT WE CAN DO TO STRENGTHEN OUR ANOTHER GREAT, ANOTHER GREAT QUESTION.
SO THE FOUNDATION OF WHAT WE ARE DOING IS ABOUT SPEED.
SO THERE ARE DISCUSSIONS UNDERWAY, THERE ARE STRATEGIES UNDERWAY AS WE SPEAK IN TERMS OF HOW DO WE CREATE SYSTEMS, HOW DO WE DEPLOY AI, WHICH I CAN TELL YOU THERE WAS A MEMO THAT WENT OUT TO THE COUNCIL, I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE A MONTH OR TWO AGO WHERE WE'RE LOOKING AT THE, UM, UTILIZATION OF AI IN THE PROCESS.
AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT OUR EARLY SIGNALS ARE SHOWING THAT THAT'S GONNA BE A TOOL THAT CAN HELP US SPEED THE PROCESS.
BUT WE'RE LOOKING AT PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING ACROSS THE BOARD, UM, IN TERMS OF BARRIERS WE CAN REMOVE SPECIAL TEAMS, WE CAN CREATE.
BUT HERE'S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING.
AND I KNOW THERE'S SOME DEVELOPERS IN THE AUDIENCE, AND I THINK THEY'VE HEARD ME SAY THIS BEFORE, WE CAN DO EVERYTHING WE CAN ON OUR SIDE, BUT IT'S FOR NOTHING.
IF WE HAVE BAD PLANS COMING INTO THE SYSTEM, IF 85% OF OUR PLANS COMING INTO THE SYSTEM OR BAD PLANS, THERE'S NO WAY YOU'RE GONNA SPEED THE PROCESS UP BECAUSE NOW STAFF IS GONNA HAVE TO REWRITE COMMENTS AND SPEND AN INORDINATE AMOUNT OF TIME.
SO WHAT WE TRYING TO DO IS COURSE CORRECT FOR CHANGES UPFRONT BEFORE YOU EVEN COME INTO THE SYSTEM.
AND IF WE DO THAT, WE CAN SPEED IT UP.
SO I DON'T MIND, I'VE SAID THAT PUBLICLY SO THEY KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT IT.
BUT YOU CAN'T SAY TO US, CITY, CITY, CITY, LEMME GIVE YOU BAD PLANS.
DOESN'T MAKE SENSE, RIGHT? MM-HMM
SO I'M STARTED LAUGHING ABOUT IT 'CAUSE I THINK THEY KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT IT.
BUT THAT IS WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO WORK ON.
AND I THINK KEITH MARS AND THE TEAM, WHETHER IT'S A COMBINATION OF AUSTIN ENERGY IN EVERY ELEMENT, THAT IS WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON TO TRY TO GET THAT PIECE
[00:45:01]
MORE PERFECTED UPFRONT.EVEN A BUSINESS THAT COMES TO TOWN CORPORATION, WHOEVER THEY ARE, WE WANT SPEED FROM THE CITY.
YOU KNOW, I WILL SAY TO YOU, THAT'S FINE, BUT WHAT IS THE QUALITY OF WHAT YOU ARE PROVIDING US THAT WE HAVE TO GET THROUGH THE SYSTEM THAT'S GONNA BE PARAMOUNT IN TERMS OF THE WORK.
WE CAN'T GET TO SPEED, WE CAN'T GET THROUGH UNLESS WE GET BETTER MATERIALS COMING IN.
SO WE HAVE THE SORT OF DUAL APPROACH WHERE WE ARE DOING WHAT WE NEED TO DO ON OUTSIDE IN DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNITY ENGINEERS, YOU'RE DOING WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE QUALITY SO WE CAN MOVE WITH SPEED.
YEAH, I MEAN THAT'S A GOOD POINT.
SO NOW, NOW I WANNA KNOW LIKE TO WHAT EXTENT ARE WE AWARE THAT THEY ARE SUBMITTING THAT PLANS OR IT'S THE QUALITY OF THE PLAN THAT THEY'RE SUBMITTING THAT'S CAUSING, UH, YEAH.
AND WE CAN CONTINUE THAT CONVERSATION
WELL I CAN, I CAN JUST TELL YOU, WE KNOW
IT'S LIKE THIS COUNCIL MEMBER MM-HMM.
ALWAYS GONNA GIVE SOMETHING TO THE CITY AND THE CITY'S GONNA FIGURE IT OUT FOR US AND THEY'LL GIVE US SOME COMMENTS AND THEY'LL TELL US WHAT WE NEED TO DO.
YOU SEE THAT RIGHT THERE? YEAH.
WE WANNA COURSE CORRECT FOR THAT AND GET BETTER QUALITY SO WE CAN MOVE THE SYSTEM.
AND WE ARE DOING SOME THINGS RIGHT NOW THAT'S TESTING THIS BECAUSE WE ARE REALLY COMMUNICATING THAT WE WANT TO DELIVER WITH SPEED.
AND I DO BELIEVE WE HAVE SOME EARLY WINDS THAT'S COMING VERY SOON THAT WILL COMMUNICATE THE SPEED AT WHICH WE CAN MOVE.
AND I THINK YOU'LL SEE SOMETHING IN THE COMING WEEKS THAT WILL CONVEY TO THIS COMMUNITY THAT WE CAN MOVE WITH SPEED.
WELL, AND AS WE ENTER INTO THIS RECALIBRATION ERA ON OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK, ONE AREA THAT YOU AND I HAVE TALKED ABOUT THAT I HAVE A, A PARTICULAR INTEREST IN IS AROUND OUR YOUTH SPORTS ACTIVITIES AND JUST WHAT WE'RE ABLE TO OFFER AS A CITY TO OUR YOUNG AUSTINITES.
AND CAN YOU SPEAK A LITTLE BIT AS THAT AS TO HOW THAT IS A GAP THAT WE HAVE AND HOW WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO SO IT'S, IT, IT'S A, IT'S ANOTHER GREAT QUESTION.
UM, I KNOW RILEY AUSTIN IS HERE TOO, AND I KNOW, UH, WE'VE BEEN HAVING CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THIS.
WE HAVE A BIG GAP IN THAT SPACE FOR A COUPLE OF REASONS, NOT JUST FOR THE YOUTH ACTIVITY, BUT FROM AN ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE.
JUST IMAGINE IF WE INCREASED OUR ACTIVITY THERE, IN PARTICULAR IN AAU AMATEUR SPORTS FOR EXAMPLE.
WHAT THAT DOES FROM A SPENDING POTENTIAL FOR THE CITY, IT'S HUNDREDS OF FAMILIES COMING INTO AUSTIN FOR TOURNAMENTS, WHETHER IT'S VOLLEYBALL, BASKETBALL, ON AND ON, WHICH GIVES US THE ABILITY TO HAVE A DUAL WIN SITUATION.
WE'RE GROWING THE, THE, THE SALES TAX BASE, WE'RE PROVIDING MORE ACTIVITIES FOR, UH, FOR THE YOUTH IN THIS TOWN.
SO THAT IS ABSOLUTELY SOMETHING THAT IS PARAMOUNT.
AND I THINK PEOPLE KNOW IN GENERAL, WE'VE BEEN SCOURING TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHERE WE CAN DO MORE OF THAT.
AND IF YOU DO, IF YOU LOOK AT IT IN COMPARISON TO THE CITIES AROUND US, THEY'RE KILLING US.
WE, WE DON'T HAVE THOSE ELEMENTS AND WE ARE LOOKING TO STRENGTHEN THAT.
SO IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS WE'LL GET A, A YOUTH SPORTS COMPLEX COMING TO AUSTIN.
IF IT'S UP TO ME, IT'LL BE NEXT YEAR.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COUNCIL, VELASQUEZ AND ALTAR? NONE FOR ME.
[3. Briefing presentation regarding the November 2025 "Small Business Insights and Policy Recommendations Report" published by the Institute for Justice. [Chad Reese, Associate Director of Activism and Ava Mouton-Johnston, Activism Assistant - Institute for Justice]]
OKAY, SO WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER THREE.THIS IS A BRIEFING PRESENTATION ON THE NOVEMBER 20, 25 SMALL BUSINESS INSIGHTS AND POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS REPORT.
UH, JOINING US TODAY IS CHAD REESE, WHO'S THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF ACTIVISM AND AVA MOUNTAIN JOHNSON, UH, WHO'S ALSO WITH THE INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE.
AND THEY HAVE A REALLY GOOD PRESENTATION AROUND.
AND I REALLY APPRECIATED THIS PRESENTATION BECAUSE IT'S SPECIFIC TO AUSTIN AND, AND I KNOW THIS IS, UM, VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION THAT I THINK MY COLLEAGUES WILL FIND INSIGHTFUL.
THANK Y'ALL SO MUCH FOR HAVING US COME OUT HERE TODAY.
WE REALLY APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE AND SPEAK WITH Y'ALL, ESPECIALLY COMING OFF OF DR.
WE'RE EXCITED THAT THE CITY IS DOING SO MUCH TO ADDRESS THE NEED FOR SUPPORT FOR SMALL LOCAL BUSINESSES.
MY NAME IS AVA MUTAN JOHNSTON AND I'M HERE TODAY WITH MY COLLEAGUE.
I'M SUBBING IN FOR OUR COLLEAGUE CHAD RE, WHO COULDN'T MAKE IT TODAY.
AND WE'LL BE DISCUSSING HOW THE CITY CAN KNOCK DOWN BARRIERS TO BUSINESS.
WE WILL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHO WE ARE AS WELL AS OUR FINDINGS, BOTH QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE AND REFORM OPPORTUNITIES SO THE CITY CAN MAKE THIS ROADMAP THAT THEY'VE BEEN DISCUSSING.
SO A LITTLE BIT ABOUT CITY'S WORK.
WE ARE A NATIONAL NON-PROFIT, NON-PARTISAN REGULATORY CONSULTING INITIATIVE THAT WORKS TO MAKE IT CHEAPER, FASTER, AND SIMPLER TO START A SMALL
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BUSINESS IN CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND FOCUS ON INCREASING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AND FOSTERING ENTREPRENEURSHIP.WE ARE BASED OUT OF WASHINGTON DC BUT I'LL TOUCH ON THE NEXT SLIDE ABOUT HOW WE WORK IN CITIES ALL OVER.
AND IJ DOES HAVE AN OFFICE HERE IN AUSTIN AS WELL.
WE DO THIS BY DOING COMPREHENSIVE SMALL BUSINESS REGULATORY RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS.
WE GO STEP BY STEP HOW TO START FIVE DIFFERENT BUSINESS TYPES IN THE CITY THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH.
THAT'S A RESTAURANT, A RESTAURANT WITH A LIQUOR LICENSE, A HOME-BASED BUSINESS, A FOOD TRUCK, AND A RETAIL STORE.
AND THEN WE COMBINE THAT WITH LOCAL INSIGHTS GATHERING.
WE'LL TRAVEL TO THE CITY THAT WE'RE WORKING IN, WE'LL WORK WITH A LOCAL PARTNER, HEARING FROM BUSINESS OWNERS ON THE GROUND, THE CHALLENGES THAT THEY FACE IN STARTING A BUSINESS, AND THEN TALK WITH DEPARTMENT STAKEHOLDERS IN A CITY AS WELL TO UNDERSTAND WHAT BARRIERS THEY'RE SEEING AND WHERE OPPORTUNITIES ARE FOR STREAMLINING.
THEN WE COMBINE AND SYNERGIZE THOSE INTO A CUSTOMIZED REFORM STRATEGY, WORKING WITH CITIES TO HAVE IMPLEMENTATION AND CONTINUAL LEARNING FROM REFORMS. AND THAT'S SYNTHESIZED INTO THE REPORT THAT YOU ALL SHOULD HAVE.
BUT WE ALSO HAVE SOME EXTRA COPIES HERE IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE ONE.
AS I'VE MENTIONED, WE WORK IN CITIES ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, LARGE AND SMALL, FROM PHILADELPHIA TO FORT WORTH HISTORY, FORT LOUISIANA, AND WE'RE VERY HONORED AND EXCITED TO BE WORKING WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
SO WHY REGULATORY REFORM? WE KNOW THAT ENTREPRENEURSHIP INCLUDES MANY FACETS LIKE ACCESS TO CAPITAL EDUCATION, SOCIAL CONNECTION, BUT ONE ITEM THAT'S OFTEN OVERLOOKED IS THE LOCAL REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT.
41% OF AMERICANS WOULD START A SMALL BUSINESS IN THE NEXT SIX MONTHS IF THEY COULD, BUT LESS THAN 2% ACTUALLY DO, AND APPROXIMATELY 50% SITE GOVERNMENT FEES AND REGULATIONS AS A REASON.
WE APPROACH THIS WITH THE PERSPECTIVE OF REGULATORY JUSTICE, WHICH IS THE IDEA THAT LOCAL RULES SHOULD PROTECT THE PUBLIC WITHOUT EXCLUDING THE PUBLIC.
SO MAKING SURE THAT EVERY INDIVIDUAL HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO ACCESS ENTREPRENEURSHIP AS AN ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY, EVEN IF THEY'RE UNDER-RESOURCED AND THEY CAN'T AFFORD TO HAVE A PERMIT NAVIGATOR OR AN ATTORNEY HELP THEM ALONG THE WAY.
BEFORE WE GET STARTED WITH OUR AUSTIN FINDINGS, I WANT TO BEGIN WITH A QUOTE FROM ONE OF OUR AUSTIN ENTREPRENEURS.
THEY SAID, I CAN'T IMAGINE BEING A FIRST TIME ENTREPRENEUR IN AUSTIN.
THERE'S NO WAY TO UNDERSTAND THE LANGUAGE AND INTENT OF REQUIREMENTS.
YOU'LL DIE UNDER THE WEIGHT OF BUREAUCRACY.
AUSTIN HAS SO MUCH GOING FOR IT, ESPECIALLY OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES.
AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT LIKE WAS MENTIONED IN THE PREVIOUS PRESENTATION, WE'RE LOSING THESE SMALL LOCAL BUSINESSES BOTH DUE TO DISPLACEMENT AND DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE SURROUNDING AREAS ARE OFTEN A LOT EASIER AND MORE ENTICING TO OPEN UP THESE SMALL BUSINESSES.
AND WE'RE HOPING THAT TODAY SOME OF OUR RECOMMENDATIONS CAN ADDRESS THIS.
SO HOW DID WE GET STARTED IN AUSTIN? ON A PERSONAL NOTE, I WAS BORN AND RAISED IN AUSTIN AND IT IS MY HOME.
AND SO I MOVED TO WASHINGTON DC THREE YEARS AGO WHEN I STARTED WORKING WITH CITY'S WORK.
AND I WANTED AN OPPORTUNITY TO COME HOME, A REASON TO GET BACK TO TEXAS.
AND SO THANKFULLY I WAS ABLE TO CONVINCE OUR TEAM TO DO RESEARCH IN AUSTIN.
I PITCHED THE FACT THAT AUSTIN IS A GROWING CITY.
I REMEMBER WHEN I WAS LITTLE IN FROST BANK TOWER OPENED UP AND IT WAS THE TALLEST BUILDING IN THE SKYLINE AND IT WAS A HUGE DEAL.
OUR CITY HAS SEEN SO MUCH GROWTH AND CHANGE, WHICH IS EXCITING AND WELCOMED, BUT ONE AREA THAT HAS BEEN FORGOTTEN IN SOME OF THIS CHANGE IS THE SMALL INDEPENDENT LOCAL BUSINESSES.
SO WE STARTED DOING RESEARCH ON WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE TO OPEN UP A SMALL BUSINESS IN AUSTIN, SPECIFICALLY FOCUSING ON SMALL BUSINESSES AROUND 15 EMPLOYEES OR LESS.
WE BEGAN IN 2023 DOING BUSINESS PROCESS MAPPING AND ENTREPRENEUR ROUND TABLES THROUGHOUT 2024.
WE CONTINUE THIS WITH UPDATES AND IN 2025 WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO CO-HOST A FOOD TRUCK WORKSHOP, WALKING INDIVIDUALS THROUGH THE STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS OF HOW TO OPEN UP A FOOD TRUCK HERE WITH LARISSA FROM ECONOMIC GROWTH BUSINESS INCUBATOR WHO SPOKE EARLIER.
IN NOVEMBER OF THIS PAST YEAR, WE LAUNCHED OUR SMALL BUSINESS REPORT AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE HERE TO TALK ABOUT TODAY.
NOW THIS SLIDE MIGHT BE A LITTLE OUTDATED BECAUSE WE ARE VERY EXCITED TO LEARN THAT AS OF YESTERDAY, AUSTIN LAUNCHED A BRAND NEW WEBSITE.
BUT AS OF OUR MOST RECENT ANALYSIS, WE TEND TO CON WITH EVERY CITY WE WORK WITH.
WE CONDUCT A ONE-STOP SHOP SCORE ANALYSIS.
OFTEN WHEN AN ENTREPRENEUR IS LOOKING TO START A BUSINESS, A CITY'S WEBSITE IS THE FIRST PLACE THEY LOOK.
SO IT'S ESSENTIAL THAT A CITY'S WEBSITE, CLEARLY AND CONCISELY GUIDES PEOPLE THROUGH WHERE THEY NEED TO GO IN ORDER TO START THEIR BUSINESS.
AND THAT INCLUDES REQUIREMENTS NOT JUST ON THE CITY LEVEL, BUT ALSO ON THE COUNTY AND THE STATE LEVEL.
SO WE FOUND THROUGH OUR INITIAL ANALYSIS THAT AUSTIN'S WEBSITE SATISFIES TWO OUT OF OUR FIVE ONE-STOP SHOP SCORE REQUIREMENTS THAT WHILE IT DID CONNECT ENTREPRENEURS WITH OTHER FORMS OF OTHER LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT, TRAVIS COUNTY AND REGISTERING YOUR BUSINESS ON THE STATE AND GOT GUIDED ENTREPRENEURS EFFECTIVELY THROUGH THE PROCESS, YOU COULDN'T COMPLETE FORMS AND REGISTRATION THROUGH THE PORTALS.
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ALL THE CITY REQUIREMENTS, AND IT DIDN'T PROVIDE A SINGLE LOGIN OPPORTUNITY WHERE ENTREPRENEURS CAN ORGANIZE AND TRACK INFORMATION IN ONE LOCATION.WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO TAKING A DEEPER DIVE INTO THE WEBSITE.
I'VE ALREADY HAD A CHANCE TO LOOK AT IT A LITTLE BIT AND MAYBE DO, UH, A UPDATED ONE STOP SHOP SCORE ANALYSIS WITH WHAT HAS BEEN CHANGED.
JUST A LITTLE BIT OF THE DATA.
UM, WE'LL DIVE MORE INTO THIS LATER AND HAPPY TO TALK SPECIFICS.
BUT AS I MENTIONED, PART OF OUR ANALYSIS IS GOING THROUGH STEP-BY-STEP HOW TO START A BUSINESS IN HOW TO START A RESTAURANT IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, WHICH INCLUDES THE AGENCIES IN-PERSON ACTIVITIES, NUMBERS OF FEES, NUMBERS OF FORMS, TOTAL AMOUNT OF STEPS AND TOTAL COSTS ACROSS NOT JUST CITY REQUIREMENTS, BUT ALSO STATE AND COUNTY.
AND WHAT WE FOUND IS THAT STARTING A RESTAURANT IN AUSTIN IS ONE OF THE MOST REGULATORY COMPLEX IN THE CITIES THAT WE'VE STUDIED.
BACK IN 2022, WE PUBLISHED A REPORT CALLED BARRIERS TO BUSINESS, WHICH WAS THE FIRST OF ITS KIND ANALYZING THE REGULATORY COMPLEXITY IN 20 DIFFERENT CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
AND WHAT WE FOUND IS THAT IN AUSTIN, THE TOTAL COSTS IN FEES, UM, AND PERMIT COSTS, THE NUMBER OF FEES, THE NUMBER OF AGENCIES THAT AN ENTREPRENEUR NEEDS TO NAVIGATE IN-PERSON ACTIVITIES AND NUMBER OF FORMS AND NUMBER OF STEPS OUTPACES ALL OF THESE OTHER CITIES.
AND THAT HURTS THE LOWEST INCOME.
THE ENTREPRENEUR WHO MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO AFFORD A BUSINESS NAVIGATOR OR SOMEONE TO NAVIGATE THIS REGULATORY COMPLEXITY, THIS REGULATORY COMPLEXITY, HURT, HURTS, LOW INCOME ENTREPRENEURS, ENTREPRENEURS OF COLOR, IMMIGRANT ENTREPRENEURS THAT MAKE THIS CITY SO EXCELLENT.
AND AS WE MENTIONED EARLIER, OUR CREATIVE CAPITAL AND OUR CREATIVE FOUNDATION OF AUSTIN, THESE FOLKS WHO JUST MAYBE HAVE A DREAM TO START A BUSINESS AND MIGHT NOT KNOW SOMEBODY ON THE INSIDE TO HELP THEM NAVIGATE THE PROCESS.
THROUGHOUT THESE LAST THREE YEARS, WE'VE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO HOST EIGHT ENTREPRENEUR ROUND TABLES AND ENGAGE WITH MORE THAN 30 ENTREPRENEURS FROM A VARIETY OF BACKGROUNDS FROM THE FIRST TIME ENTREPRENEURS TO THE SIERRA ENTREPRENEURS WHO'VE OPENED UP BUSINESSES IN AUSTIN, BUTTA AND OTHER SURROUNDING AREAS.
WE DID A SPECIAL FOCUS ON IMMIGRANT ENTREPRENEURS, FOOD, CHILDCARE, RETAIL AND SERVICE BASE ENTREPRENEURS AS WELL.
AND JUST AS A DISCLAIMER, THE ENTREPRENEURS WERE VERY HONEST WITH US ON OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE CITY TO IMPROVE WITH THE RECOGNITION THAT THIS REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT IS ONE THAT HAS BEEN BUILT UP OVER DECADES AND THAT THE AND COUNCIL IN FRONT OF US IS NOT THE COUNCIL WHO CREATED ALL OF THESE, BUT WHO ARE THE COUNCIL THAT CAN MAKE THE CHANGE AND REFORM.
THIS FIRST ONE THEME THAT AROSE WAS THE CHALLENGE OF NAVIGATING THE PERMIT AND LICENSING PROCESS IN GENERAL, THE LACK OF UPFRONT INFORMATION AND THE COMPLEXITY THAT WE FOUND IN OUR BACKEND RESEARCH WAS ECHOED BY THE ENTREPRENEURS.
THE CONFUSING ASPECTS OF BOUNCING BETWEEN PAGES, GOING TO DIFFERENT OUT OF DATE LINKS OR APPLICATIONS ALL ADD MORE PRESSURE ONTO AN ENTREPRENEUR WHO OFTEN HAS A FULL-TIME JOB OR WHO HAS ANOTHER RESPONSIBILITY THAT THEY'RE DOING, AND MAYBE THEY CAN'T GET TO THE BUSINESS, UM, DEVELOPMENT TEAM DURING THE WORK HOURS.
AND SO HAVING THE INFORMATION CLEAR AND STRAIGHTFORWARD WILL MAKE IT WHERE BOTH THE CITY WILL SAVE TIME AND RESOURCES, BECAUSE IDEALLY, ENTREPRENEURS WILL BE AS PREPARED AS THEY CAN BE, AND THE ENTREPRENEURS WILL SAVE PRECIOUS TIME.
ADDITIONALLY, THE COMPLEXITY CAN CREATE PERCEPTIONS OF SUBJECTIVITY WHEN THERE ISN'T TRANSPARENCY.
ENTREPRENEURS HAVE A HARD TIME BEING PREPARED AND FEELING LIKE THEY KNOW WHAT THEIR RIGHTS ARE AS AN ENTREPRENEUR AND WHAT IS EXPECTED OF THEM.
WHEN ENTREPRENEURS, ENTREPRENEURS SHARED WITH US, I WANT TO FOLLOW THE HEALTH CODE RULES, I WANT TO DO THE RIGHT THING, BUT EVERY INSPECTOR WE'VE HAD HAS THEIR DIFFERENT PET PEEVES, LIKE HOW ONE OF THEM SAID, WE HAVE TOO MANY CUTS IN OUR CUTTING BOARD.
THERE ARE REQUIREMENTS LIKE THIS IN EACH INSPECTION WHERE I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS A THING THE INSPECTOR WAS LOOKING FOR.
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THE HEALTH AND SAFETY REGULATIONS ARE IN PLACE AND ARE CLEAR AND THAT INDIVIDUALS HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO COMPLY WITH THEM.
WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS REMOVE SOME OF THE COBWEBS OF THE OUTDATED, UNNECESSARY ONES THAT ARE HURTING A LOT OF ENTREPRENEURS AND POTENTIALLY CREATING SITUATIONS WHERE ENTREPRENEURS HAVE TO DECIDE BETWEEN OPENING UP A SMALL BUSINESS, GIVING UP THEIR DREAM OR OPERATING UNDERGROUND WITHOUT COMPLIANCE IN THE CITY, WHICH CAN LEAD TO POTENTIAL INTERACTIONS WITH AUTHORITY THAT IS UNWANTED AND POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS FOR THEM AS WELL.
WE ALSO FOUND THAT THERE IS A PERCEPTION OF CHALLENGES OF NAVIGATING CITY RESOURCES AND AFFORDABLE ACCESS, UH, TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP.
LOTS OF CONFUSION ON WHERE TO START.
WE FOUND THAT THERE ARE REALLY EXCELLENT RESOURCES LIKE THE BUS AID ORIENTATION THAT ENTREPRENEURS HAVE FOUND HELPFUL, BUT THOSE CLASSES TEND TO BE LIMITED TOWARD WEDNESDAYS IN THE MORNINGS, OFTEN IN PERSON HAVING MORE OPTIONS TO HAVING THAT KIND OF INFORMATION BE AVAILABLE ASYNCHRONOUSLY WOULD DO A LOT FOR ALLOWING AN ENTREPRENEUR TO PROJECT WHETHER OR NOT STARTING A BUSINESS IS FEASIBLE FOR THEM.
WE ALSO FOUND MANY VIDEOS, LINKS, RESOURCES THAT WERE REALLY EXCELLENT AND WERE CREATED BY CITY STAFF AT A PREVIOUS POINT IN TIME THAT WOULD NAVIGATE ENTREPRENEURS
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THROUGH, UM, WE HEARD A LITTLE BIT EARLIER THE SUBMISSION OF BAD PLANS, RIGHT? LIKE CREATING MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO CREATE BETTER PLANS SO THAT CITY STAFF HAVE AN EASIER TIME WORKING WITH THE ENTREPRENEUR.BUT A LOT OF THESE RESOURCES ARE DI VERY DIFFICULT TO FIND, NOT EASILY ACCESSIBLE THROUGH THE CITY'S WEBSITE OR THE CITY'S YOUTUBE PAGE.
AND SO THESE RESOURCES ALREADY EXIST AND WE CAN DO MORE TO CREATE MORE OF THEM AND CREATE MORE ACCESSIBILITY FOR UNDERSTANDING CITY PROCESSES.
AND WE ALSO FOUND CHALLENGES WITH INTERACTING WITH THE CITY POOR COMMUNICATION WITH ENTREPRENEURS AND DELAYED CITY RESPONSES.
AND THIS WAS REFLECTED IN OUR OWN RESEARCH WHEN WE HAD QUESTIONS ABOUT CERTAIN INCONSISTENCIES THAT WE'VE DISCOVERED IN LIKE WHETHER THIS CERTAIN REQUIREMENT REQUIRED TWO SETS OF THIS OR ONE SET OF ANOTHER, AND WE WOULD CALL DIFFERENT CITY DEPARTMENTS AND WE WOULD RECEIVE CONFLICTING INFORMATION EVEN FROM PEOPLE WITHIN THE SAME DEPARTMENT.
I'LL LET THIS QUOTE SPEAK FOR ITSELF.
WE SPOKE TO A BUSINESS OWNER WHO HAD A VERY GOOD FRIEND WHO HAD TO CLOSE HIS BUSINESS BECAUSE THE CITY GAVE HIM A PERMIT AND SAID EVERYTHING WAS OKAY, AND THEN A YEAR LATER THE CITY SAID, YOU DID THAT WRONG.
IT'S NOT ALL BAD NEWS, AS WE MENTIONED AS THE, IN THE PREVIOUS, UH, PRESENTATION AND ALSO THIS COMMITTEE IS VERY FAMILIAR.
LOTS OF REFORMS HAVE BEEN PASSED IN THE LAST COUPLE YEARS AND THERE'S A LOT OF ENERGY TOWARD EXPANDING AFFORDABLE ACCESS TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND HOUSING.
A LOT OF THESE LEGISLATION HAS BEEN CHAMPIONED BY THE MEMBERS OF THIS COMMITTEE SITTING BEFORE US TODAY IN 2023, ALLOWING CHILDCARE SERVICE BUSINESSES TO OPERATE IN RESIDENTIAL ZONES BY RIGHT LIFTING A VERY EXPENSIVE AND TIME CONSUMING CONDITIONAL USE PROCESS.
PASSING RESOLUTION TO SIMPLIFY THE BUILDING PERMIT PROCESS, ESTABLISHING GREASE TRAP EXEMPTIONS FOR ELIGIBLE CAFES AND FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS, WHICH IS ACTUALLY A MODEL THAT WE'RE HOPING TO IMPLEMENT IN OTHER CITIES IN TEXAS THAT WE WORK IN AND CREATING ONSITE INSPECTION OPTIONS FOR FOOD TRUCKS NO LONGER REQUIRING TRIPS TO THE CITY OFFICE.
DR. JOHNSON MENTIONED THAT WE ARE LOOKING TO BUILD ON THE MOMENTUM THAT AUSTIN ALREADY HAS, AND WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO MAKING SURE THAT, THAT THOSE, UM, REFORMS CAN BE THE BEST THAT THEY CAN BE.
SO TODAY WE'LL BE DISCUSSING THREE MAIN RECOMMENDATIONS.
ONE, LEGALIZING THE MISSING FORMS OF ACCESSIBLE ENTREPRENEURSHIP.
TWO, ENCOURAGING ENTREPRENEURIAL GROWTH BY MAKING, GETTING STARTED MORE AFFORDABLE.
AND THREE, MEETING ENTREPRENEURS WHERE THEY ARE WITH CLEAR INFORMATION AND TRANSPARENT PROCESSES LIKE DR. JOHNSON WAS SAYING, THE POLICIES THAT THE CITY HAS NEED TO BE ALIGNED WITH THE CITY'S GOALS.
AND SO WE'RE HOPING THAT THESE REF REFORM RECOMMENDATIONS CAN BE ONE STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION OF MAKING IT WHERE SMALL BUSINESSES ARE SUCCEEDING, NOT IN SPITE OF THE CITY, BUT BECAUSE OF THE CITY'S POLICIES.
FIRST, WHAT IS THE MISSING MIDDLE OF COMMERCIAL? SO PEOPLE OFTEN THINK ABOUT EITHER GETTING STARTED OUT OF YOUR HOME, LIKE WE HEAR SO MANY GREAT ENTREPRENEURS LIKE FRANKLIN BARBECUE DOING IT, OR STEVE JOBS WITH APPLE, UM, OR GOING STRAIGHT INTO A BRICK AND MORTAR SPACE.
BUT THERE'S VERY KEY STEPS IN BETWEEN THOSE AS WELL, LIKE BOOTHS AND CARTS, MOBILE VENDORS, ACUS AND MICRO AND SHARED STOREFRONTS.
THESE ARE GENERALLY THE FORMS THAT ARE MORE AFFORDABLE AND MORE ACCESSIBLE FOR INDIVIDUALS.
AND AUSTIN DOES A WONDERFUL JOB WITH MOBILE VENDORS IN THE CITIES THAT WE WORK IN.
WITHOUT FAIL, EVERYONE'S LIKE, OH, I WANNA BE LIKE AUSTIN WITH A MOBILE VENDING.
THIS IS FANTASTIC, WHICH MAKES US REALLY HAPPY TO HEAR AND ME LIKE ANYTIME I CAN BRAG ON AUSTIN, I AM VERY HAPPY TO.
AND SO I WANNA BE ABLE TO DO THAT FOR THE OTHER TYPES OF AFFORDABLE ENTREPRENEURSHIP AS WELL.
WE, UM, ONE OF THE BASELINE REFORMS THAT AUSTIN CAN DO TO MODERNIZE THEIR AND INCREASE ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS TO MODERNIZE HOME-BASED BUSINESS REGULATIONS.
THERE ARE CURRENT SOME STRICTER REGULATIONS ON THE BOOK IN AUSTIN CREATING A MAXIMUM OF THREE CUSTOMER RELATED VEHICLE TRIPS A DAY AND NO ADVERTISING OF ANY KIND IN A HOME-BASED BUSINESS.
THERE WAS A STATE LAW RECENTLY PASSED HB 2, 4 6 4 THAT PROHIBITS LOCALITIES FROM REQUIRING A PERMIT FOR RESTRICTING NO IMPACT HBS.
BUT WE WOULD LOVE TO SEE AUSTIN GO ABOVE AND BEYOND WHAT THE STATE HAS REQUIRED AND MAKE SURE THAT HOME-BASED BUSINESS REGULATIONS ARE HAPPENING ON CITY'S OWN TERMS AND MAKE IT A, A MODEL FOR LOW, LOW BARRIER FORMS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP.
AND THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE THIS IS IMPACTING REAL AUSTINITES.
ONE ENTREPRENEUR THAT I HAD THE CHANCE TO SPEAK WITH JENNIFER, SHE SHARED WITH ME, NOT EVERYONE WANTS A SPACE.
SPACES OFTEN AREN'T VIABLE ANYMORE.
IF YOU WANT SMALL BUSINESSES TO OPEN, THEY NEED TO BE ABLE TO DO IT FROM THEIR HOME.
SO SHE GOT STARTED ABOUT 20 YEARS AGO DOING SOUTH AUSTIN GALLERY, WHICH FIRST STARTED IN HER HOME AND THEN MOVED INTO A BRICK AND MORTAR AS WELL AS A WAREHOUSE AFTER COVID, SHE RECOGNIZED THAT THE COST OF THESE SPACES WERE NOT SUSTAINABLE FOR HER, AND SO SHE DECIDED TO PIVOT AND OPEN UP A NEW SMALL BUSINESS CALLED VINTAGE FRAMING STUDIO, WHICH QUICKLY BECAME A COMMUNITY STAPLE AND WON AN AUSTIN CHRONICLES CRITICS AWARD IN 2024.
AFTER THIS AWARD, SHE WAS LIKE, THIS IS GREAT, LET'S LET PEOPLE KNOW WHO WE ARE.
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SHE PUT UP TWO MINIMALISTIC SIGNS LIKE THE ONE THAT YOU SEE ON THE SCREEN TODAY, SOON AFTER SHE DID THE CITY KNOCKED ON HER DOOR AND TOLD HER TO TAKE THEM DOWN.THIS MAKES HAVING A HOME-BASED BUSINESS INCREDIBLY CHALLENGING TO OPERATE AND HAVE CUSTOMERS KNOW, AND ESPECIALLY SINCE AUSTIN'S CHARACTER COMES FROM THESE SMALL BUSINESSES, BEING ABLE TO SAY LIKE, HEY, THIS IS WHAT WE'RE DOING IS A HUGE ASPECT OF THAT.
MAKING SURE THAT INDIVIDUALS KNOW THEIR COMMUNITY HAS NEIGHBORHOOD SERVING BUSINESSES.
THEIR COMMUNITY IS MORE WALKABLE THAN WHAT FIRST MEETS I.
SO THIS IS WHY DOING THE HOME-BASED BUSINESS REFORM IS SO CRUCIAL.
AND LIKE ZOE WAS SAYING, GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND WHAT THE STATE'S PREEMPTION BILL SAYS BECAUSE THOSE ARE JUST FOR NO IMPACT, WHICH MEANS IF YOU'RE A SMALL BUSINESS THAT HAS ONE PERSON PARK OFF STREET, YOU MIGHT NOT BE CONSIDERED NO IMPACT ANYMORE.
SO MAKING SURE THAT FOR THE REASONABLE LOW IMPACT HOME-BASED BUSINESSES, YOU'RE ALLOWED TO OPEN UP BUY.
WE WANTED TO PULL AN EXAMPLE FROM SEATTLE, WASHINGTON THAT HAD SIMILAR RESTRICTIONS TO AUSTIN.
AND IN THE PANDEMIC YONDER, CERY OPENED UP IN A ENTREPRENEUR'S GARAGE.
IT WAS A LIFELINE FOR THE COMMUNITY.
DURING THE PANDEMIC SELLING GRAB AND GO CRIES, THE BUSINESS WAS COMPLETELY COMPLIANT WITH BUSINESS LICENSING, COMPLETELY COMPLIANT WITH LIQUOR LICENSING.
WHAT FORCED THE CITY'S HANDS WAS NOT ANY OF THAT, BUT THE FACT THAT THEY HAD A SIGN THAT WAS NOT IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE CITY CODE.
SEATTLE REALIZED THAT THIS WAS A LITTLE, THAT THE REGULATION WAS NOT IN SCALE WITH THE POTENTIAL POSITIVE BENEFITS OF THIS HOME-BASED BUSINESS AND UPDATED THEIR POLICIES TO ALLOW MORE CUSTOMER VISITS LIFTED UP, RAISE THE CAP ON SIGNAGE.
AND NOW BUSINESSES LIKE YONDER CIDERY ARE ALLOWED TO OPERATE.
I WON'T SPEND TOO MUCH TIME ON THIS BECAUSE I KNOW ACCESSORY COMMERCIAL UNITS ARE ALREADY ON THE DOCKET FOR THE COUNCIL'S CONSIDERATION NEXT WEEK, WHICH WE ARE SUPER EXCITED TO SEE.
UM, BUT OF COURSE, ACCESSORY COMMERCIAL UNITS ARE SORT OF THE NEXT STEP AFTER HOME-BASED BUSINESSES ALLOWING PEOPLE TO CONTINUE THIS IDEA OF ALLOWING COMMERCIAL SPACES IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS.
AND WE WANTED TO ESPECIALLY HIGHLIGHT THAT AUSTIN IS SORT OF A MODEL FOR THE NUISANCE REGULATIONS THAT WE'VE SEEN DOING A VERY EXCELLENT JOB OF PROHIBITING VERY SPECIFIC NUISANCES AND PROTECTING NEIGHBORHOODS WHILE WITHOUT NEEDLESSLY RESTRICTING THE USE AND BUSINESSES AS A CONCEPT.
AND OF COURSE, THIS IS A STEP NOT A LEAP, IT'S A NATURAL PROGRESSION OF AFFORDABILITY GOALS THAT AUSTIN ALREADY HAS AND GOALS THAT WE'VE HIGHLIGHTED PREVIOUSLY AROUND EXPANDING ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE COMMERCIAL SPACE AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
A DU AND MIXED USE ZONING HAS DEMONSTRATED THE ABILITY AND APPETITE FOR AUSTIN TO BE A LEADER IN PLACE MAKING.
AND WE FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT ACCESSORY COMMERCIAL UNIT AND HOME-BASED BUSINESS REFORMS WILL ADVANCE THE CITY'S GOALS IN CREATING COMPLETE COMMUNITIES.
NOW THE GOOD NEWS IS A LOT OF BUSINESSES ALREADY EXIST LIKE THIS, BUT THEY EXISTED AND CAME INTO FRUITION AT A TIME WHEN A LOT OF THE REGULATORY COMPLEXITY THAT WE HAVE NOW WAS NOT IN PLACE.
AVENUE B GROCERY IN HYDE PARK IS ONE OF THE OLDEST GROCERY STORES IN AUSTIN, BUT IT IS A NON-CONFORMING USE.
IT WAS BUILT AT A TIME BEFORE, UH, THAT RESIDENTIAL AREA WAS PROHIBITED FROM HAVING COMMERCIAL SPACES.
CIVIL GOAT ON AKA IS AN EXCELLENT EXAMPLE OF A NEIGHBORHOOD SERVING COFFEE SHOP, ONE THAT REALLY ENRICHES THE NEIGHBORHOOD THAT IT'S IN.
AND WE ALSO HAVE THIS EXAMPLE OF AN ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT IN RIVERSIDE AND SILK OR A PLACE LIKE THIS AND COUPLED WITH THE A DU REFORMS THAT AUSTIN HAS ALREADY PASSED COULD ALLOW PLACES LIKE THIS TO BE BECOME NEIGHBORHOOD SERVING COMMERCIAL SPACES.
I REALLY APPRECIATED IN, UH, THE VIDEO SHOWN IN PREVIOUS PRESENTATION THAT WE TIP OUR HAT TO OUR HISTORY IN AUSTIN.
AND I THINK THAT THIS IS AN EXCELLENT ACCESSORY COMMERCIAL UNIT REFORM AND NEIGHBORHOOD COMMERCIAL REFORM IS AN EXCELLENT EXAMPLE TO CELEBRATE THIS RICH HISTORY OF NEIGHBORHOODS SERVING BUSINESSES AND EXPAND ACCESS TO NEIGHBORHOOD COMMERCE BEYOND THE PLACES, UM, HISTORICAL NEIGHBORHOODS AND PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE RESOURCES TO LIVE IN THESE NEIGHBORHOODS THAT MAY BE MORE HISTORIC AND MORE EXPENSIVE LIKE HYDE PARK.
I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT ANOTHER REFORM FROM RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA, LIKE AUSTIN.
AND LIKE SEATTLE RALEIGH IS GRAPPLING WITH THIS QUESTION OF HOW TO EXPAND ACCESS TO NEIGHBORHOOD COMMERCIAL, HOW TO CREATE WALKABLE COMMERCE AND DEVELOP THEIR URBAN FABRIC.
AND SO THEY LIFTED A SPECIAL USE PERMIT REQUIREMENT FOR THEIR LIVE WORK UNITS AND EXPANDED THE SIGNAGE ALLOWANCE AND REMOVED A PARKING REQUIREMENT THAT RESULTS IN MORE, MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR NEIGHBORHOOD SCALE COMMERCE, MORE CLARITY FOR THE ENTREPRENEUR AND LESS COMPLEXITY AND STAFF TIME TAKEN UP BY THE SPECIAL USE PERMIT REVIEW.
AND ONE MORE EXAMPLE FROM SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, AS I MENTIONED WITH HYDE PARK GROCERY, VERY SIMILAR SITUATION.
SEATTLE HAS THESE COMMERCIAL UNITS LOCATED ALL OVER IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS AT A TIME FROM BEFORE MODERN ZONING AND REGULATORY COMPLEXITY.
PEOPLE LOVE A NEIGHBORHOOD COMMERCIAL SPACE.
AND SO IN ORDER TO RECTIFY THEIR CURRENT INAC ACCESS TO COMMERCIAL RETAIL, SEATTLE RECENTLY PASSED AS PART OF THEIR ONE SEATTLE
[01:10:01]
COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW, A LEGALIZATION OF NEIGHBORHOOD COMMERCIAL IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD RESIDENTIAL ZONE, ALLOWING FOOD PROCESSING, CRAFT WORK, GENERAL SALES AND SERVICES TO OPERATE IN RESIDENTIAL ZONES.OUR NEXT RECOMMENDATION IS MAKING SURE THAT ENTREPRENEURS CAN AFFORD TO GET STARTED IN COMPLIANCE WITH CITY'S REQUIREMENTS.
SO AS OUR RESEARCH SHOWS, THE CITY IS VERY EXPENSIVE TO GET STARTED AND MOST OF OUR ENTREPRENEURS THAT WE SPOKE WITH SAID THAT THEY FELT LIKE THE CITY WAS NICKEL AND DIMMING THEM.
OBVIOUSLY THE CITY DOES NEED REVENUE FROM THESE SMALL BUSINESSES, BUT THERE'S A WAY TO RIGHTSIZE IT FOR THE SMALLEST OF BUSINESSES.
AND THAT IS WHERE OUR REFORM RECOMMENDATION, WHICH IS AN EMERGING BUSINESS FEE REDUCTION ACT, COMES INTO PLAY.
THIS WOULD ALLOW FOR A SCALED FOUR YEAR PERIOD THAT WOULD MAKE THE BUSINESS FEES PARALLEL WITH THE SMALL BUSINESS' OPPORTUNITY TO EARN INCOME.
THE FIRST YEAR WOULD BE 0% OF BUSINESS FEES THAT THEY WOULD HAVE TO PAY SECOND 25, 50, 75 UNTIL THE FIFTH YEAR WHEN THEY'RE PAYING A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE PERMIT AND LICENSING FEES THAT IS ASSOCIATED WITH THEIR SMALL BUSINESS.
THIS CAN BE NARROWLY TAILORED TO THE ENTREPRENEURS WHO NEED IT THE MOST, THE UNDER-RESOURCED ENTREPRENEURS.
IT CAN BE TAILORED TO LOCAL BUSINESSES, SO INCORPORATED IN AUSTIN WITH FEWER THAN FIVE OTHER LOCATIONS.
AND ONE AREA THAT YOU CAN DO THIS IS BY MIMICKING WHAT THE CITY DOES FOR THEIR BUSINESS CERTIFICATE CERTIFICATIONS SUCH AS DOING A PERSONAL NETWORK THRESHOLD THAT THE CITY ALREADY HAS AND MAKING IT WHERE IT'S NARROWLY TAILORED TO THOSE SMALLEST BUSINESSES THAT NEED THAT INITIAL TIME AND SPACE TO GROW AND TO MAKE THAT INCOME BEFORE PAYING IT BACK TO THE CITY.
AND WE KNOW THAT AUSTIN IS TIGHT ON BUDGET AND SO THIS MIGHT NOT SEEM THE MOST FEASIBLE RIGHT NOW, BUT WE'RE HERE TO SAY THAT IN CITIES THAT HAVE DONE SOMETHING SIMILAR, THEY OFTEN OVER A PERIOD OF TIME WILL SEE AN INCREASE IN THE BUSINESS TAX REVENUE.
THIS IS CHICAGO WHEN IN 2012 THEY ELIMINATED A LOT OF THEIR BUSINESS TYPES AND SAVED SMALL BUSINESSES OVER $2 MILLION IN THESE PERMIT AND LICENSING AND CERTIFICATE FEES.
AS YOU SEE IN THE GRAPH, IT CONTINUES TO GROW, DISREGARDING, COVID, AND BOUNCE BACK UP.
AND THAT ORANGE LINE SHOWS THE BUSINESS TAX REVENUE FROM THESE SMALL BUSINESSES THAT HAVE GOTTEN STARTED.
AND THE IMPORTANT THING TO NOTE IS THIS IS FOR ALL SMALL BUSINESSES VERSUS WHAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING TO THE CITY IS NARROWLY TAILORED TO THOSE ELIGIBLE EMERGING BUSINESSES.
AND LASTLY, WE OUR, ONE OF OUR OTHER REFORMS IS CREATING, UM, GREATER ACCESS AND REFORMS TO CREATE A TRUE ONE-STOP SHOP.
WE PROPOSE IN ORDER TO CLEAN UP SOME OF THESE OUTDATED REGULATIONS THAT CITIES ADOPT A SPRING CLEANING ORDINANCE, WHICH WOULD EMPOWER STAFF MEMBERS RESPONSIBLE FOR ADMINISTERING PROCESSES TO CREATE SOLUTIONS BASED ON THEIR EXPERIENCE OF NAVIGATING THESE PROCESSES.
MAYBE AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, A RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA EXAMPLE, THEY FOUND THAT SEVERAL ENTREPRENEURS WERE OPENING UP THESE LIVE WORK UNITS AND SO CONSISTENTLY THEY HAD TO FILL OUT THESE SPECIAL USE PERMITS.
THIS WAS A DRAG ON CITY STAFF RESOURCES AND A DRAG ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP RESOURCES.
SO BY LIFTING THAT SPECIAL USE PERMIT REQUIREMENT, THEY'VE NOW OPENED UP THAT PROCESS AND CREATED MORE, UH, ALLOWED THE CITY STAFF TO FOCUS ON BIGGER CHALLENGES.
DEPARTMENT TEAMS COULD IMPLEMENT A METRIC AND A FEEDBACK SYSTEM TO TRACK PAIN POINTS AND ANNUALLY REPORT THEM SO THAT, UM, CITIES CAN CLEAN UP THOSE OUTDATED REGULATIONS.
AND WE HAVE ACTUALLY WORKED WITH THE STAFF OF KANSAS CITY, KANSAS TO PASS A SIMILAR FORM AND WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING THE IMPACTS OF THAT.
AND THIS COMPLIMENTS NICELY THE CITY'S RECENT, UM, PROGRAM PASSED ABOUT COMPREHENSIVE EFFICIENCY ASSESSMENT PROGRAMS. THE REASON WHY WE THINK THE SPRING CLEANING ORDINANCE WOULD BE SO BENEFICIAL IS THAT THESE STAFF WHO ARE ACTUALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR ADMINISTERING THE PROCESSES HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A FORMALIZED PATHWAY TO SAY, HEY, WE HAVE HAD 75% OF ENTREPRENEURS COME AND TELL US THAT THEY'RE CONFUSED WITH THIS.
MM-HMM
MANY CITY STAFF WANT TO MAKE CHANGE AND WANT TO MAKE THE PROCESSES SMOOTHER, BUT THEY MIGHT NOT HAVE THE TIME OR SPACE TO ACTUALLY SUGGEST THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO WITH THE SPRING CLEANING ORDINANCE, IT MAKES THE REVIEW OF EFFICIENCY MORE FOCUSED ON EMPOWERING THE CITY STAFF TO ADDRESS THE EQUITY ISSUES THAT COME ALONG WITH THE DISPROPORTIONATE HARMS OF UNNECESSARY REGULATIONS.
SO TWO IN TODAY I WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OF THE ENTREPRENEURS THAT WE HAD THE CHANCE TO INTERVIEW.
ONE OF THEM IS TEMUKA, WHO STARTED WATER YOUR PLANTS.
WHEN WE SPOKE WITH HIM, IT WAS HIS FIRST TIME BEING AN ENTREPRENEUR HERE AND HE HAS SO MUCH TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE COMMUNITY, BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER AND CREATING A AFFINITY SPACE
[01:15:01]
FOR BLACK ENTREPRENEURS HERE.HE SHARED WITH US SOME OF THE CHALLENGES OF GETTING STARTED.
AND ON THE CONVERSE, WE ALSO SPOKE WITH A SERIAL ENTREPRENEUR WHO'D OPENED UP TONS OF BUSINESSES IN AUSTIN WHO ENDED UP SAYING THAT MY FRIENDS THAT HAVE OWNED AND STARTED BUSINESSES IN AUSTIN OVER THE LAST 13 YEARS MADE AUSTIN WHAT AUSTIN IS TODAY.
MOST OF THEM DON'T WANT TO DO BUSINESS IN AUSTIN ANYMORE.
AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE WANT TO ADDRESS AND WANT TO FLIP UPSIDE DOWN BECAUSE AUSTIN IS THE WAY IT IS BECAUSE OF OUR SMALL LOCAL BUSINESSES.
AND WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BRING IN SO MANY MORE PEOPLE AND SMALL BUSINESSES BY ENSURING THE POLICIES ARE ALIGNED.
AND WE'RE VERY GRATEFUL THAT WE'RE HERE TODAY TO TALK WITH Y'ALL BECAUSE THIS COUNCIL HAS BEEN DOING SO MUCH INCREDIBLE WORK AND WE ARE EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO HAVE AUSTIN AS A BEST MODEL IN A CASE STUDY THAT WE POINT OTHER CITIES TO.
AND SO FROM ME, SELFISHLY OF WANTING TO BE ABLE TO COME BACK TO AUSTIN AND LIVE HERE AND BE ABLE TO LIVE IN A WALKABLE CITY WITH COMPLETE COMMUNITIES TO THE SOCIAL JUSTICE ASPECT OF ENSURING PEOPLE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY AND THE ECONOMIC MOBILITY TO SURVIVE IN A GROWING CITY.
AND NOT JUST TO SURVIVE, BUT TO THRIVE.
SO WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME TODAY AND WE'RE HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.
THANK YOU FOR THE INFORMATION AND VERY PLEASED TO BE CO-SPONSORING THE STRONG LOCAL LOCAL COMMERCE INITIATIVE BEING LED BY OUR COLLEAGUE COUNCILOR HARPER MADISON, WHICH IS ON THE COUNCIL AGENDA FOR NEXT WEEK FOR CONSIDERATION.
COUNCIL, ANY QUESTIONS? MAINLY JUST WANNA THANK YOU ALL ALSO, UM, REALLY LOVE THE REPORT AND EXCITED TO, UM, TALK MORE ABOUT COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, HARPER MADISON'S ITEM NEXT WEEK AND ONE, APPRECIATE YOU FOR INCLUDING TWO DISTRICT SEVEN BUSINESSES, UH, BRENTWOOD SOCIAL HOUSE AND BLACK PEARL BOOKS AND, UH, YEAH, WOULD LOVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN BETTER SUPPORT THESE TYPES OF BUSINESSES.
THANK YOU FOR COMING AND I REALLY APPRECIATE IT.
I KNOW YOU AND I, WE GOT THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET A FEW MONTHS AGO AND I JUST FOUND THE INFORMATION THAT YOU HAD COMPILED THAT WAS SO SPECIFIC TO OUR CITY, INSIGHTFUL AND IMPORTANT.
SO I'M GLAD WE'RE ABLE TO PUT MORE OF A, A SPOTLIGHT ON IT TODAY.
WE APPRECIATE IT AND LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING TO WORK WITH Y'ALL.
[4. Briefing presentation regarding Austin Film Society's Creative Workforce Report. [Kristen Bell, Director of Operations -Austin Film Society].]
MOVE ON TO OUR NEXT ITEM.THIS IS A BRIEFING PRESENTATION REGARDING AUSTIN FILM SOCIETY'S CREATIVE WORKFORCE REPORT.
WE WILL HAVE WITH US FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
KRISTEN BELL, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS AT A FS.
I'M HEAD OF FILM AT AUSTIN FILM SOCIETY.
I'M JOINED BY MY COLLEAGUES, UH, RITA IRVIN AND MARTY JONES.
AND, UH, WE'LL BE GIVING THE PRESENTATION TODAY.
AUSTIN IS A CREATIVE MEDIA HUB AND AT A FS OUR MISSION IS TO EMPOWER THE COMMUNITY TO MAKE WATCH AND LOVE FILM AND CREATIVE MEDIA.
WE BELIEVE THAT CULTURE IS MADE UP OF ART AND INDUSTRY, AND WE HAVE A VISION WHERE CREATIVE CULTURE IS THRIVING FOR THE ARTISTIC AND ECONOMIC BENEFIT OF THE COMMUNITY.
AS WE SAW IN THE VIDEO, UH, THAT DR.
JAY SHOWED EARLIER, IT UNDERSCORED THAT CULTURE IS THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENT WE'VE DESIGNED, UM, SUPPORTIVE PROGRAMS. GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, SORRY.
UM, IN WE'VE DESIGNED SUPPORTIVE PROGRAMS IN FOUR AREAS THAT ARE MEANT TO GENERATE FILM CULTURE.
UM, THESE AREAS ARE ARTISTS, ART, INDUSTRY, AND COMMUNITY ACCESS TO ALL OF THE ABOVE.
TOGETHER, THESE INTERVENTIONS HAVE A CUMULATIVE, CUMULATIVE IMPACT ON THE FILM SCENE AS A WHOLE, UH, SEEDING THE CREATIVE COMMUNITY WITH CONNECTIONS AND OPPORTUNITY.
WE'RE GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT A BIT TODAY ABOUT HOW PROFOUNDLY IMPACTFUL IT IS TO HAVE A SYSTEM LIKE THIS WORKING FOR AUSTIN.
OUR PROGRAMS ARE OPERATED IN THREE LOCATIONS, AUSTIN PUBLIC AUSTIN STUDIOS, AND A FS CINEMA.
THEY SPAN THREE COUNCIL DISTRICTS, UM, RESPECTIVELY, DISTRICTS, UH, ONE, FOUR, AND NINE.
THE MAP HIGHLIGHTS THE TOP FIVE ZIP CODES WHERE PARTICIPANTS AND AF S'S WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM CREATIVE CAREERS ARE RESIDING AND ALSO SHOWS AUSTIN FILM SOCIETY'S LOCATIONS.
THAT'S ONE, TWO, AND THREE ON THE MAP.
AS WE CONSIDER HOW MUCH OPPORTUNITY THERE IS IN OUR SECTOR FOR ONGOING ECONOMIC GROWTH, MY COLLEAGUE MARTY WILL TELL YOU ABOUT THE LEVEL OF IMPACT THAT HAS COME OUT OF THE CITY'S LEASE OF AUSTIN STUDIOS TO THE AUSTIN FILM SOCIETY.
GOOD MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS AND CITY STAFF.
AS YOU LOOK AT THE CENTER OF THIS MAP, LOCATION TWO RIGHT THERE IN THE MIDDLE, UH, IS WHERE AUSTIN STUDIOS IS.
WE'RE LOCATED AT THE NORTH END OF THE MILLER DEVELOPMENT.
[01:20:01]
ACRE MOVIE STUDIO IS THE JEWEL IN AUSTIN'S CROWN, WHICH WE CREATED IN COLLABORATION WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN IN 2000.THE IMPACT ON AUSTIN'S CREATIVE COMMUNITY IS ASTONISHING.
AS YOU'LL SEE FROM THIS SLIDE I'M ABOUT TO SHOW.
AND AGAIN, I'M MARTY JONES, HEAD OF AUSTIN STUDIOS.
UM, AUSTIN STUDIOS CANNOT BE OVERSTATED AS AN ESSENTIAL TO THE CREATIVE ECONOMY THRIVING.
IT'S BEEN, UM, OVER 25 YEARS SINCE WE MOVED ONTO THIS BLANK CANVAS.
AND DURING THIS TIME, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, UM, ARE SOME BIG WINS FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
WE HAVE HOSTED OVER 1200 PROJECTS RESULTING IN OVER 45,000 JOBS AND $2.8 BILLION IN ECONOMIC IMPACT FOR THE CITY.
DURING THIS TIME OF OUR, UH, TENDENCY THERE, THE CITY HAS BECOME A MAJOR US CITY.
AUSTIN IS ALSO A SOUGHT AFTER FILMING HUB AS LONGTIME STAKEHOLDERS WITH THE CITY.
WE ARE DEVELOPING AND DELIVERING FILM CULTURE AND CASH TO THE AUSTIN ECOSYSTEM.
NOT BAD FOR A FORMER MUNICIPAL AIRPORT TURNED INTO A MOVIE STUDIO.
THESE, UH, PHOTOS HERE SHOW HOW THE FORMER HANGERS HAVE BECOME BUSTLING MOVIE STUDIOS EMPLOYING SKILLED CRAFTSPEOPLE AND NOW A CASE STUDY.
UH, WALKER SPENT FOUR SEASONS FILMING AT UH, AUSTIN STUDIOS AND REST IN PEACE.
CHUCK NORRIS, THE ORIGINAL WALKER WHO LEFT US TODAY.
UM, THIS PRODUCTION, THIS REBOOT HIRED OVER 3000 PEOPLE DURING THE TIME.
THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE SHOW AND DOLLARS SPENT IN AUSTIN EXCEEDED $220 MILLION.
MUCH OF IT SPENT IN THE MILLER COMMUNITY FROM HOTEL NIGHTS TO HOME DEPOT, LUMBER PURCHASES, RETAIL SHOPPING FROM BEST BUY AND SMALL BOUTIQUES, AS WELL AS FILMING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, RENTING THE PAVILION AND PRIVATE HOMES, AND LOTS OF CATERING FROM THE 60 PLUS RESTAURANTS IN THE COMMUNITY.
ALTHOUGH 80% OF THE CAST AND CREW FOR WALKER ARE LOCAL RESIDENTS, THE VISITING CREW, THE GUEST STARS, WRITERS AND DIRECTORS BECAME TEMPORARY RESIDENTS OF MILLER WHILE FILMING HERE.
THESE SUPER TOURISTS HAVE REALLY ENJOYED THE LIVE WORK PLAY AMENITIES IN SUCH CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THE STUDIOS.
NOW ABOUT THE STUDIOS, AUSTIN STUDIOS COMPRISING 20 ACRES IN THE NORTH EDGE OF MILLER IS BRINGING JOBS AND DOLLARS, UH, TO SUPPORT THE CREATIVE ECONOMY.
IT'S REALLY COOL HOW A MAJOR MOVIE STUDIO IS SORT OF HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT ON EAST 51ST STREET BETWEEN THE HEB AND THE BIG WATER TOWER.
THERE'S A WHOLE WORLD OF MOVIE MAGIC HAPPENING BEHIND THE GATES AND MORE THAN MOST PEOPLE IN AUSTIN ARE AWARE OF.
YOU CAN SEE THE LAYOUT OF OUR SEVEN SOUND STAGES, OUR TWO OFFICE BUILDINGS, OUR CLUSTER OF BUNGALOWS, AND OVER 700 PARKING SPACES JUST BEFORE A FS SIGNED THE LEASE WITH THE CITY, THE FIRST MOVIE TO FILM AT THE PROPERTY WITH SANDRA BULLOCKS, MS. CONGENIALITY.
YEAH, IT WAS THE FAMOUS MAKEOVER SCENE WHERE SHE GOES FROM BEING, UH, AN FBI ANALYST TO A UNDERCOVER, UH, PAGEANT PARTICIPANT AND HAS THE HIGH HEELS INCIDENT TRIPPING ON THE RED CARPET THAT WAS FILMED RIGHT THERE.
THE AIRPLANE EVEN LANDED WHERE THE HOUSES ARE IN MILLER BACK THEN AND JUST A FEW DAYS AGO, KEVIN BACON AND KIRA SEDGWICK'S FAMILY MOVIE PREMIERED AT SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST, WHICH FILMED AT AUSTIN STUDIOS.
HERE IS A LOOK AT THE FRONT OF THE CREATIVE MEDIA CENTER.
OUR MOST RECENT CITY BOND SUCCESS STORY.
THE 2012 BOND GAVE US A MAJOR OPPORTUNITY TO TRANSFORM THE FORMER TEXAS NATIONAL GUARD ARMORY INTO OUR CREATIVE MEDIA CENTER, WHICH IS A, WHICH WAS A KEY ASSET TO LANDING THE SERIES WALKER.
FURTHERMORE, THE SHOW WOULD HAVE NOT BEEN BASED AT AUSTIN STUDIOS WITHOUT THE SOUNDPROOFING MODERN HEATING AND COOLING SYSTEMS AND OTHER UPGRADES THAT WERE MADE POSSIBLE BY THE 2006 BOND.
THE IMPACT OF THE FIRST TWO BONDS HAS CONTRIBUTED TO THE STUDIO SUCCESS, AND WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT BOND TO IMPLEMENT EVEN MORE MODERNIZATION TO KEEP OUR STUDIOS COMPETITIVE FOR DECADES TO COME.
FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT DON'T KNOW, OUR LEASE GOES UNTIL THE YEAR 2084.
UH, SPEAKING OF AI, I AM GETTING MY AVATAR READY TO MAKE THIS PRESENTATION A FEW DECADES FROM NOW.
BUT ALL JOKING ASIDE, YOU CAN SEE HOW FAR A FS HAS COME SINCE IT WAS FOUNDED IN 1985 AND SINCE WE STARTED THE STUDIOS BACK IN 2000.
IT'S AN EXTRAORDINARY COLLABORATION BETWEEN A NONPROFIT AND A MAJOR CITY.
NO OTHER CITY IN AMERICA CAN BOASTED IT, OWNS A FULL SERVICE MOVIE STUDIO COMPLEX LIKE AUSTIN CAN.
SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING OUR POWERFUL STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP.
AND I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO MY COLLEAGUE RASHITA AT THIS POINT.
OH, IT'S, IT'S, OR IS IT BACK TO HOLLY? YEAH.
SO NEXT I I WANNA TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE FIRST HALF OF THIS VIRTUOUS CYCLE, WHICH IS, UM, THE ART AND AND ARTIST PIECE.
SO WE'VE SEEN THAT THE POSITIVE ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL OUTCOMES OF THIS WORK BEGINS WITH ARTISTS.
[01:25:01]
UM, WE CONSIDER ARTISTS TO REALLY BE AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS VIRTUOUS CYCLE BECAUSE OVER 40 YEARS OF OF EXPERIENCE AT THE AUSTIN FILM SOCIETY, WE'VE SEEN HOW THEY'RE THE LEADING EDGE OF CULTURE ARTISTS GENERATE ARTISTIC PROJECTS AND THUS ARE THE DRIVERS OF THE CREATIVE ECONOMY AF AT A FS WE WORK TO ENSURE THAT AUSTIN IS A HUB FOR FILM ARTISTS.WE DO THIS BY PROVIDING GRANTS TO FILMMAKERS AS WELL AS SPACE RESOURCES LIKE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT LABS, AND WORKS IN PROGRESS SCREENINGS.
WE ALSO WORK TO CREATE CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN THE ARTIST COMMUNITY LOCALLY AND NATIONALLY, AND CONNECT ARTISTS TO INDUSTRY OPPORTUNITIES.
AND WHEN YOU HAVE A REALLY THRIVING ARTIST HUB, THAT'S WHEN YOU START TO SEE HOW MANY INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITIES THERE ARE TO PROVIDE ACCESS, UM, ACCESS TO PEOPLE WHO ARE JUST GETTING STARTED, WHO ARE INSPIRED AND WANNA GET THEIR FOOT IN THE DOOR TO THIS INDUSTRY.
MEDIAN MEDIA CAREERS OFFER MEDIAN WAGE AND ABOVE SALARIES.
UH, MY COLLEAGUE RASHIA IS GONNA TALK ABOUT OUR OTHER GREAT THRIVING PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN, OUR ACCESS PROGRAMS AND OUR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS. THANK YOU, HOLLY.
I'M THE DIRECTOR OF ACCESS AND EDUCATION, PRIMARILY BASED AT AUSTIN PUBLIC.
SO AUSTIN PUBLIC IS A NON-EXCLUSIVE AND CONTENT NEUTRAL MEDIA STUDIO THAT OFFERS AUSTINITES LOW TO NO COST TRAINING, EQUIPMENT, FACILITIES, AND CONTENT DISTRIBUTION THROUGH THREE PUBLIC ACCESS CHANNELS THAT WE MANAGE.
SO A FS WON A CONTRACT THROUGH A COMPETITIVE RFP PROCESS TO CREATE AND MANAGE AUSTIN PUBLIC IN 2015.
SO THIS SPACE OFFERS MEDIA MAKERS A PLACE TO TRAIN AND COLLABORATE.
IT HELPS THEM BUILD SKILLS AND SUPPORTS CAREER GROWTH THROUGH RESOURCES, UH, AS A PRODUCER, PROGRAM MEMBER CONTINUING EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT IN OUR CREATIVE CAREERS PROGRAM.
SO ON THE LEFT IS A, A PHOTO OF OUR RECENT, UH, CREATIVE CAREERS INTERNSHIP COHORT.
ON THE RIGHT SIDE IS A PHOTO OF A LIVE SHOW BEING RECORDED BY A MEMBER OF OUR PRODUCER PROGRAM.
AND THANKS TO SUPPORT FROM THE CITY, THE CAMERAS, LIGHTS, AUDIO, UM, AND OTHER EQUIPMENT WE OFFER ARE, ARE OF HIGH QUALITY AND COMPATIBLE WITH INDUSTRY STANDARDS.
SO OUR PRODUCTION SERVICES MANAGER IS IN THE BACK OF THE ROOM THERE RECORDING CHRISTIAN NELSON AND CONTRACT PRODUCER AND, UH, CREATIVE CAREERS ALUM.
TRE WADE IS OVER HERE IN THE ROOM, SO, UH, FEEL FREE TO CHECK OUT THEIR EQUIPMENT.
SO WE LAUNCHED A FS CREATIVE CAREERS, A STIPEND PAID WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR EMERGING CREATIVES, INCLUDING UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS FOUR YEARS AGO IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY.
TO DATE, WE'VE SERVED MORE THAN 180 GRADUATES.
UH, 210 JOBS HAVE BEEN REPORTED BY OUR ALUMNI.
AND HERE'S A LOOK AT SOME LOCAL AND NATIONAL EMPLOYERS WHO HAVE HIRED OUR CREATIVE CAREERS GRADS AND THE LIST CONTINUES TO GROW.
UM, A FS COLLECTS JOB REPLACEMENT DATA AND WAGE INCREASE INCREASES POST-GRADUATION FOR ONE TO TWO YEARS AFTER COMPLETION OF THE PROGRAM, AS WELL AS TRACKING INFORMATION ABOUT THE DIFFERENT EMPLOYERS THAT HAVE HIRED OUR PARTICIPANTS, POSITIONS ACQUIRED IN PAY RATES.
SO WE HAVE A WELL-TRAINED TALENT POOL, UH, FOR PRODUCTIONS IN AUSTIN, INCLUDING THOSE WHO COME TO AUSTIN LOOKING FOR TALENT.
SO I AM GONNA PASS IT BACK TO HOLLY TO CONCLUDE OUR PRESENTATION AND TALK ABOUT HOW A FS CINEMA FITS INTO THE CREATIVE MEDIA ECOSYSTEM.
SO WHEN THIS WHOLE ECOSYSTEM IS WORKING, WE'RE CREATING VALUE LOCALLY AND ALSO IT AT AN INTERNATIONAL LEVEL.
UH, THIS IS WHY WE GET CALLS FREQUENTLY FROM OTHER CITIES AND OTHER REGIONS LIKE TAMPA, LONG ISLAND, PORTLAND, ATLANTA, SEATTLE.
THOSE ARE ALL RECENT EXAMPLES.
EACH OF THOSE COMMUNITIES HAVE SOME PIECES OF THIS PUZZLE, BUT ARE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE THEM WORK TOGETHER.
SO WE REALLY DO SEE AUSTIN'S COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE IN, IN THE CREATIVE MEDIA SPACE.
UM, SO THE FINAL PIECE OF AUSTIN'S SECRET SAUCE FOR FILMMAKERS THAT I'LL TALK ABOUT TODAY IS THE A FS CINEMA.
IN ORDER FOR ARTISTS TO THRIVE, THEY NEED A PLACE TO GATHER, TO SHARE THEIR WORK, UH, TO SEE INSPIRING WORKS IN THEIR MEDIUM AND AND NETWORK WITH THE BEST IN THE INDUSTRY.
AND SO WE'VE CREATED THIS CINEMA TO, UH, ANSWER TO ALL OF THIS.
THE A FS CINEMA IS THE PLACE TO EXPERIENCE GREAT ART AS A COMMUNITY.
AND HAVING A COMMUNITY DRIVEN ART HOUSE IN AUSTIN IS IMPORTANT TO OUR CREATIVE CULTURE AND OUR WAY OF LIFE.
WE HAVE MORE THAN 80,000 ADMISSIONS ANNUALLY AT THIS CINEMA, AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO ALL CREATIVES IN AUSTIN, NOT ONLY FILMMAKERS, BUT OTHER TYPES OF ARTISTS.
FOR EXAMPLE, THE RENOWNED AUSTIN BASED AUTHOR, ELIZABETH MCCRACKEN, WAS QUOTED IN VOGUE SPEAKING ABOUT THE A FS CINEMA.
SHE SAID AUSTIN IS AN EXTRAORDINARY MOVIE THEATER TOWN, BUT THE MONARCH OF THE MALL IS THE AUSTIN FILM SOCIETY, WHOSE NEW RELEASES AND SERIES HAVE BEEN A PROFOUND INFLUENCE ON MY WORK AND A JOY IN MY LIFE.
UM, SO THE COMMUNITY IMPACT OF AFS CINEMAS IS ALSO RECENTLY RECOGNIZED BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN WITH AN ELEVATE GRANT.
UH, LOOKING AT THE MILESTONES OF AF S'S HISTORY, WE CAN SORT OF LOOK BACK AT WHERE WE'VE BEEN AND HOW THIS HAS BEEN BUILT.
[01:30:01]
FOUNDED IN 85, UM, BY RICHARD LINKLATER, WITH RICHARD LINKLATER, WITH THE IDEA TO SHOW FILMS AND HELP FILMMAKERS, UH, AT THE A FS GRANT LAUNCHED ABOUT 10 YEARS LATER.AND THIS YEAR WE'LL SURPASS $3 MILLION GRANTED TO INDEPENDENT FILMMAKERS IN THE STATE OF TEXAS WITH THE MAJORITY OF THOSE FUNDS GOING TO AUSTIN FILMMAKERS BECAUSE OF THE CURRENT CREATIVE, UM, HOW CREATIVE THIS PART OF THE STATE IS.
UH, OUR BOND ELECTIONS HAVE, AS MARTY POINTED OUT, REALLY ELEVATED AUSTIN STUDIOS.
WE WERE THE FIRST OF THE PROP FOUR PROJECTS IN 2006 TO COMPLETE SPENDING, UH, FOR OUR $3 MILLION FOR STUDIO UPGRADES.
SO THAT CITY OWNED PROPERTY RECEIVED THOSE UPGRADES BECAUSE OF THAT BOND.
AND, UM, WE'VE RECEIVED BOND FUNDS AGAIN IN 2012, AND ALL OF THOSE FUNDS WERE SPENT TO COMPLETE THAT BEAUTIFUL CREATIVE MEDIA CENTER THAT YOU SAW IN MARTY'S SLIDES, A BUILDING WITH SOUGHT AFTER SPACE THAT NOW HOUSES TENANTS.
AND LAST YEAR WE CELEBRATED OUR 40TH ANNIVERSARY AND WITH 80 YEARS LEFT ON OUR LEASE, UH, AT AUSTIN STUDIOS, WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO CONTINUING TO SUPPORT THE THRIVING CREATIVE SCENE IN AUSTIN, UM, AND FILM AND CREATIVE MEDIA.
OKAY, WELL, I'M REALLY GLAD THAT Y'ALL WERE ABLE TO PROVIDE THIS PRESENTATION.
I KNOW THAT, UH, THE AUSTIN FILM COMMISSION IS CELEBRATING THEIR 40 YEARS THIS YEAR, AND IT'S GREAT TO SEE THE IMPORTANCE AND, AND REALLY I WAS UNAWARE THAT WE'RE THE ONLY CITY OR ONE OF THE FEW CITIES THAT HAS THIS ROBUST CITY INVESTMENT IN THE FILM ECOSYSTEM.
SOMETHING THAT I CERTAINLY TAKE A LOT OF PRIDE IN.
AND I'M CURIOUS FROM Y'ALL'S PERSPECTIVE, UH, ESPECIALLY SINCE WE ARE CONSIDERING A BOND PACKAGE EITHER THIS YEAR OR IN 28, UH, WHAT, WHAT, UH, WHAT ADDITIONAL SUPPORT SHOULD WE BE CONSIDERING? WELL, YOU'RE OUR LANDLORD.
WE LIKE HAVING YOU AS OUR LANDLORD, BUT BECAUSE YOU ARE A LANDLORD AND ALL THE PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM AND WHO ARE WATCHING THIS THAT LIVE IN AUSTIN OWN THIS FACILITY, WE CAN'T BORROW MONEY AGAINST IT, RIGHT? IT'S A CITY PROPERTY.
SO BEING A PART OF THE BOND IS A WAY FOR US TO LEVERAGE REALLY BIG LIFTS THAT HAVE HELPED US TO TAKE QUANTUM LEAPS IN SECURING OUR POSITION AS A, AS A FILM HUB.
SO THE HELP THAT WE CAN HAVE FROM YOU ALL IS CONTINUED, UH, DIALOGUE AND, UM, YOU KNOW, GUIDANCE ON WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO DO AND WHEN YOU'RE GOING TO DO IT.
BUT WE'RE BLESSED TO HAVE, UH, CONTINUITY OF THE SAME ARCHITECTS, UH, OVER THE LAST 20 PLUS YEARS.
SO THEY KNOW THE FACILITY, THEY'VE PARTICIPATED IN PREPARING FOR BONDS, AND SO WE HAVE SHOVEL READY PROJECTS.
WE HAVE A GREAT TRACK RECORD OF COMPLETING OUR PROJECTS ON TIME, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO DOING THAT AGAIN.
UM, WE DO HAVE A BIGGER LIFT BECAUSE, UH, AND A BIGGER ASK BECAUSE THE, UM, BUILDINGS HAVEN'T HAD A LOT OF CARE THAT HAS BEEN NEEDED SINCE THE, UH, CITY LEFT THE MILLER AIRPORT OVER 25 YEARS AGO.
AND SO TO ENSURE THE CONTINUITY OF THOSE BUILDINGS THAT ARE METAL AND THAT ARE IN SOME CASES MELTING AWAY, WE NEED, UH, THE INVESTMENT TO DO THE MODERNIZATION THAT IS NECESSARY.
HOW MUCH IS LIKE, WHAT, WHAT'S THE NEED TO $35 MILLION? 35 MILLION? YES.
AND WE'RE, UM, BLESSED TO HAVE HAD, UM, A FREE, UH, COSTING, UM, SERVICES FROM ROGERS O'BRIEN CONSTRUCTION, WORKING WITH STUDIO STEIN BOMBER, OUR LONGTIME ARCHITECTS, AND THAT ALSO ACCOUNTS FOR, YOU KNOW, THE UNEXPECTED TIME, MONEY, UH, COST TARIFFS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
THAT'S NOT A, A WISHLIST NUMBER.
LOVE TO BREAK IT DOWN IF YOU WANT TO DIVE IN WITH THIS.
IT'S A A, A VERY MASSIVE, UH, EXCEL SPREADSHEET THAT MY COLLEAGUE, UH, KRISTEN BE, HAS PUT TOGETHER WITH SOME AMAZING PIVOT TABLES.
SO, UH, WE'RE READY TO DIVE IN AND, YOU KNOW, CONTINUE TO DELIVER FOR THE CITY.
HAVING THIS AS AN ASSET THAT CAN COMPETE IS GOING TO BE IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY NOW WITH PURPOSE-BUILT STUDIOS APPEARING IN THE STATE.
AS YOU KNOW, UH, COUNCILOR FUENTES FORT WORTH IS COMING ON VERY STRONG.
TAYLOR SHERIDAN HAS OPENED UP A 400,000 SQUARE FOOT, UH, NEW FACILITY IN FORT WORTH.
AND, UM, YEAH, WE NEED TO COMPETE AND, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN HERE AND WE'VE BEEN DELIVERING WELL, AND THAT WAS SO 35 MILLION JUST TO DO SOUNDS LIKE GENERAL MAINTENANCE ON THE EXISTING FACILITIES AND UPGRADES NEEDED FOR THE ONES THAT WE HAVE.
WHAT I'M CURIOUS IF Y'ALL COULD PUT TOGETHER, WHAT SHOULD WE BE CONSIDERING TO ENHANCE AND ACCELERATE OUR FILM ECOSYSTEM AND TO REALLY MARRY, YOU KNOW, WE AS THE CAPITAL CITY, WE'RE KNOWN FOR INNOVATION.
THERE'S A LOT OF INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES HAPPENING RIGHT NOW IN THE CREATIVE SECTOR, PARTICULARLY IN FILM AND DIGITAL.
AND SO WHAT SHOULD WE BE PLANNING, ENVISIONING OUT TO REALLY MEET THE NEEDS OF THE ECOSYSTEM, BUT TO POSITION US AS THE LEADER, THE LEADER IN THIS SECTOR? THAT'S A GREAT COMMENT AND OBSERVATION.
UM, WE HAVE MONEY ALLOTTED FOR A FEASIBILITY STUDY THAT'S
[01:35:01]
FORWARD FACING AND FORWARD LOOKING.WE HAVE PLANS FROM THE LAST, UH, BOND PROJECT IN 2012 THAT HAD TO BE VALUE ENGINEERED OUT OF THE CONCEPT.
UM, AND FORWARD LOOKING AT PURPOSE-BUILT CONSTRUCTION ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE LOT.
SO WE HAVE PLACES AND SPACES TO BUILD NEW ABSOLUTELY PURPOSE-BUILT, UM, FACILITIES THAT CAN COMPETE ON THAT LEVEL.
UM, AND WE WOULD, UH, USE PART OF THE MONEY IN THIS 35 MILLION TO LOOK FORWARD AT PUTTING THAT FEASIBILITY STUDY TOGETHER.
WELL, IF YOU CAN, UH, SHARE FOLLOW UP INFORMATION WITH MY TEAM, I'D BE INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT IT.
[8. Social Service Funding Impacts: Workforce and Childcare.]
WE HAVE FOR THE REST OF THE ITEMS, THEY ARE JUST REFERENCES TO MEMOS THAT HAVE BEEN ISSUED FROM CITY DEPARTMENTAL STAFF OF, AND JUST WANTED TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS OF INTEREST.I KNOW FOR ME, ONE THING I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW, UM, FROM OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT IS I DON'T SEE IN THE BACKUP THE MEMO ON THE CHILDCARE PROGRAM.
SO DO WE HAVE A STATUS UPDATE ON WHEN WE CAN EXPECT IT? I THINK WE COMMUNICATED WITH COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE'S OFFICE, UH, THAT MEMO WAS, UH, REMOVED FROM THIS, UM, AGENDA, UH, BEFORE OR AFTER THE AGENDA WAS POSTED.
SO THE ITEM IS, IS NOT ON THE AGENDA TODAY.
AND SO THE ITEM WAS FOR SOCIAL SERVICE FUNDING IMPACTS SPECIFIC TO OUR WORKFORCE AND CHILDCARE SECTORS, IT WAS REMOVED FROM THE AGENDA.
IS THAT BECAUSE WE IT HASN'T BEEN RELEASED YET, WE'RE STILL WORKING ON THE INFORMATION? YES, IT'S, UM, IT'S BEEN REMOVED BECAUSE WE FEEL LIKE IT'S PREMATURE.
IN LIGHT OF THE ACTION THAT WAS TAKEN AT THE FEBRUARY 26TH COUNCIL DATE, THE ACTION WAS TO BETTER EVALUATE THE SOCIAL SERVICE FUNDING IMPACTS BY CREATING, UM, A METRIC, SOME, A RUBRIC THAT WOULD DO THAT.
AND SO WE WANNA ENSURE THAT WE ARE PRESENTING INFORMATION THAT'S IN ALIGNMENT WITH THAT METHODOLOGY AND STRATEGY GOOD DEAL.
AND TO DO ANY, UH, SENSE ON WHEN WE SHOULD EXPECT IT, UH, POTENTIALLY IN, AT THE MAY MEETING, BUT MOST LIKELY AT THE MEETING AFTER MAY, UH, JULY.
THAT'S TIGHT TIMING WITH THE BUDGET.
UM, BUT CERTAINLY IF WE'RE ABLE TO GET THE INFORMATION OUT SOONER, THAT'D BE VERY HELPFUL AND INFORMATIVE, ESPECIALLY AS WE APPROACH, UM, BUDGET DELIBERATIONS.
UM, I JUST WANNA POINT OUT, THERE WAS A MEMO IN DECEMBER, DECEMBER 17TH, UH, CITY MANAGER BROAD MAXS RELEASED A MEMO ON THE SOCIAL SERVICE IMPACTS MM-HMM
BUT IN TERMS OF THE METHODOLOGY FOR EVALUATING AND ASSESSING, UH, BROADER MAYBE THE QUALITATIVE IMPACTS, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE WAITING ON.
COLLEAGUES, ANYTHING ELSE? ALL RIGHT.
LAST ITEM ON OUR AGENDA IS JUST CONSIDERATION FOR ANY FUTURE ITEMS. ANY SUGGESTIONS ON ITEMS OR TOPICS TO DISCUSS? SEEING NONE.
IF THERE'S NO FURTHER BUSINESS, THE MEETING OF THE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY COMMITTEE STANDS ADJOURNED AT 11:41 AM THANK YOU.