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[CALL TO ORDER ]
UH, AND IT'S 6 0 7.SO I'M CALLING THE MEETING TO ORDER.
UM, WE'LL START WITH ANY, UH, SPEAKERS.
DO WE HAVE ANYBODY SIGNED UP TO SPEAK? NOT GENERAL, RIGHT? OKAY.
THEN WE'LL START WITH APPROVING
[1. Approve the minutes of the Joint Sustainability Committee Regular Meeting on February 25th, 2026. ]
THE MINUTES.MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.
ANY DISCUSSION EDITS TO THE MINUTES? OKAY.
ALL IN FAVOR? RAISE YOUR HAND.
[2. Staff briefing on the City of Austin Action Plan to Transition to Low-Embodied Carbon Concrete in Pursuit of a Carbon Neutral Austin. Presentation by Amica Bose, P.E., Assistant Director, Civil Engineering Services, Austin Transportation and Public Works ]
HAVE, UH, TWO BRIEFINGS AND WE'RE GONNA START WITH THE, UH, BRIEFING ON THE LOW EMBODIED, UH, CAR CONCRETE.UM, AND I THINK LOOKS LIKE THAT'S AMICA BOZI.
UM, I'M AMIKA BOSE AND I'M THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OVER CIVIL ENGINEERING SERVICES AND THE OFFICE OF CITY ENGINEER IN TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS.
AND I'M HERE TO TALK ABOUT OUR CITY OF AUSTIN PLAN TO TRANSITION TO LOW EMBODIED CARBON CONCRETE.
UM, SO CONCRETE IS ONE OF THE WIDELY USED MATERIALS IN OUR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY INFRASTRUCTURE.
IT'S ONE OF THE MOST CARBON INTENSIVE, AND THIS ALSO MAKES IT A VERY HIGH IMPACT OPPORTUNITY.
WE RECOGNIZE THAT AND WE KNOW THAT THROUGH OUR CAPITAL PROJECTS AND PRIVATE DEVELOPMENT, WE HAVE THE REAL ABILITY TO REDUCE EMISSIONS IN THE NEAR TERM AND INFLUENCE THE BROADER MARKET.
THIS WORK IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT ALIGNS WITH THE CITY'S BROADER CLIMATE RESILIENCE FRAMEWORK.
UM, BUT IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THE LOW CARBON CONCRETE IS ONE OF THE MANY KEY STRATEGIES TO REDUCE EMISSIONS IN THIS CLIMATE RESILIENCE FRAMEWORK.
SO THE FOCUS FOR MY CONVERSATION AND PRESENTATION TODAY IS TO SHOW WHERE WE HAVE MADE PROGRESS, WHAT ARE THE BARRIERS THAT REMAIN AND WHAT WE ARE DOING TO ACCELERATE THE IMPLEMENTATION MOVING FORWARD.
AND I'LL WALK YOU THROUGH WHAT WE'VE DONE SO FAR, WHAT WE ARE LEARNING AND WHERE WE ARE HEADED NEXT.
SO THIS WORK IS GUIDED BY THE CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION PASSED BACK, UH, IN APRIL OF 2023 THAT REALLY, UM, HAD THREE KEY COMPONENTS, UH, IN SERVICE TO THIS WORK AND THIS INITIATIVE THAT, UM, THE TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS, UH, DEPARTMENT HAS UNDERTAKEN.
UM, ONE IS TO PROVIDE THE TRACKING OF CONCRETE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS THE CARBON FOOTPRINT, UM, AND, UM, THAT THE COMPONENTS OF THAT WORK INCLUDES HOW MUCH CONCRETE IS USED AND ITS IMPACT REQUIRING THE USE OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PRODUCT DECLARATIONS TO INFLUENCE AND ENCOURAGE MORE SUSTAINABLE CONCRETE PRODUCTION.
AND THEN A STRATEGY TO PILOT AND OR APPROVE ALTERNATE CONCRETE MIXES.
THE SECOND PART OF IT IS TO ESTABLISH, UM, A BRAND NEW CONCRETE SPEC, UH, AND DESIGNS THAT ALLOW FOR MEETING THE GOAL FOR THE LOWER, UH, EMBODIED CARBON CONCRETE.
AND THE THIRD PORTION OR COMPONENT OF IT IS TO ANNUALLY REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL ON PROGRESS TOWARDS THE OVERALL GOAL FOR MORE SUSTAINABLE CONCRETE.
SO, UM, JUST BRIEFLY LOOKING AT THE ROADMAP FOR IMPLEMENTING LOW CARBON CONCRETE.
SO FIRST, WE WILL MEASURE THE CARBON FOOTPRINT.
UM, AND THIS IS PART OF THE WORK THAT WE HAVE ALREADY UNDERTAKEN.
AND THE FOLLOWING SLIDES, UM, WILL SHOW SOME OF THAT DATA.
UM, THIS WILL REALLY HELP US UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH, UM, CONCRETE VOLUME USAGE WE HAVE IN THE AUSTIN AND SURROUNDING AREAS.
UM, INCREASE THE MATERIAL TRANSPARENCY, UM, REQUIRE EPDS OF ALL CONCRETE MIXES.
UM, THIS IS NOT JUST, UH, CONCRETE DELIVERED TO SITES FOR BUILDINGS AND VERTICAL, UH, CONSTRUCTION, BUT, UH, CONCRETE USE EVERYWHERE ELSE,
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EVEN IN PUBLIC, UH, MOBILITY INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, ENABLE LOW CARBON MIX DESIGNS.UM, THIS ENTAILS DEVELOPING PROCESSES, ALLOWING SUSTAINABLE AND INNOVATIVE MATERIALS AND MIXTURES.
UM, AND THEN, UM, A KEY COMPONENT OF THIS WORK IS TO UPDATE OUR CURRENT CONCRETE SPECIFICATION AND ALLOW FOR ITS USE IN FUTURE CONTRACTS FOR CITY PROJECTS, AND THEN REPORT THE PROGRESS ANNUALLY.
SO HERE I WANT TO SHARE SOME OF THE DATA THAT WE HAVE BEEN COLLECTING SINCE, UM, FISCAL YEAR 2023.
SO RIGHT AFTER, UH, THE PASSAGE OF THE COUNCIL RESOLUTION, UM, THE GRAPH, UM, ON THE TOP RIGHT SHOWS THE, THE AUSTIN AND SURROUNDING AREA CONCRETE USAGE BETWEEN, UH, THE YEARS 23, 24 AND 25.
UM, THE USAGE OF CONCRETE IS PRETTY STEADY.
THE VARIABILITY IS, UM, JUST WITHIN THE NORMAL RANGE.
UH, WE HAVE COLLECTED, UH, CONCRETE USAGE DATA, UM, BETWEEN 500,000 CUBIC YARDS OF CONCRETE, UM, TO, TO A LITTLE OVER LIKE FIVE 15.
UM, AND THEN THE GRAPH AT THE LOWER RIGHT SHOWS THE CEMENT USAGE AND THE CO2 EMISSIONS.
UM, AGAIN, THE, UM, THE TREND IN THE DATA IS PRETTY UNIFORM, UM, AS IS SEEN IN THESE GRAPHS.
LET'S VISIT THE TIMELINE OF THE EPD IMPLEMENTATION.
SO WHEN, UM, THE RESOLUTION WAS PASSED, UM, UM, THIS IS JUST TO KIND OF CATALOG, UH, YOU KNOW, THE STEPS IN THE PROCESS THAT WE HAVE TO TOWARDS THIS INITIATIVE.
SO, UH, WE REACHED OUT TO OUR 12 CONCRETE PRODUCERS, UM, AND WE NOTIFIED THEM THAT WE PLAN TO REQUIRE APDS.
UM, INITIALLY WE HAD SET TIMELINES FOR A YEAR FROM 2023, SO, UM, OCTOBER 1ST, 2024.
UH, AND THEN WE EXTENDED, UM, THE TIMELINE TO MARCH 31ST, 2025.
AND AS OF MARCH 31ST, 2025, ALL CONCRETE PRODUCERS OPERATING WITHIN THE CITY OF AUSTIN ARE REQUIRED TO SUBMIT THE EPDS FOR THEIR CONCRETE MIXES.
SO WE HAVE BEEN COLLECTING, UH, HUNDREDS OF EPDS, UM, FROM FIVE OF OUR, UM, CONCRETE PRODUCERS.
UM, SIX OF THE 12 CONCRETE PRODUCERS, UM, UH, OPERATE ON VOLUMETRIC MIXES.
AND WE DID NOT HAVE, UH, AN ESTABLISHED PRODUCT CATEGORY RULE.
UH, WE ARE EXPECTING TO GET ONE VERY SOON.
SO THAT WILL ALLOW THE VOLUMETRIC PRODUCERS TO, UH, DEVELOP EPDS, AND WE WILL BE ABLE TO COLLECT THE DATA FROM THOSE SIX SUPPLIERS VERY SOON.
THIS IS THE EPD DATA THAT'S BASED ON ABOUT 500 EPDS THAT WE HAVE COLLECTED FROM, UH, FIVE MAJOR CONCRETE PRODUCERS IN THE AUSTIN AREA.
THESE ARE PRODUCERS THAT ROUTINELY, UM, USE CITY OF AUSTIN MIXES.
UM, THE, THE, THE TABLE ON THE LEFT IS REGULAR CONCRETE MIXED WITH NO FLY ASH ADDED.
UM, THE DATA IS FOR ALL THE COMMONLY, UH, USED CLASSES OF CONCRETE THAT WE USE.
UM, THE NOMINAL STRENGTHS ARE PROVIDED IN THAT FIRST COLUMN.
UM, FOR THE VARIOUS CLASSES OF CONCRETE, UM, CLASS A, B, CD, ALL THE COMMONLY USE USED CLASSES OF CONCRETE.
UM, THE CITY OF AUSTIN AVERAGE EPD PER CUBIC YARD DATA IS, UM, REPRESENTED HERE.
AND, UH, THERE IS A COMPARISON TO THE NATIONAL READY MIX, UH, ASSOCIATION CONCRETE DATA THAT WE HAVE RECEIVED.
THIS IS, UM, REGIONAL DATA, UM, FOR THE SOUTH CENTRAL REGION OF THE COUNTRY.
UM, SO THE AVERAGE NUMBERS FOR EACH CLASS OF CONCRETE FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN NUMBERS, UM, LOOKS LIKE THEY ARE TRENDING BELOW THE N-R-M-C-A DATA.
UM, A SIMILAR THEME FOR THE RIGHT, UH, TABLE, WHICH IS A CONCRETE MIX WITH FLY ASH.
UM, SO FLY ASH, UM, ADDITION OF FLY ASH, UM, RE, UM, RESULTS IN LOWER USAGE OF CEMENT.
SO, UM, AS EXPECTED, THE AVERAGE, UM, GWP PER CUBIC YARD OF CONCRETE, UM, IS LOWER COMPARED TO THE CONCRETE MIXES WITH NO FLY ASH ADDED.
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WHEN COMPARED TO THE N-R-M-C-A DATA FOR EACH CLASS OF CONCRETE, THE NUMBERS ARE GENERALLY LOWER THAN THE, UM, SOUTH CENTRAL REGION DATA.THIS GRAPH IS, UM, JUST, UM, A TREND LINE, UM, VERY SIMILAR TO THE DATA I SHOWED IN THE PREVIOUS GRAPH.
SO AGAIN, WE ARE, UM, UNDER THE GREEN LINE SHOWS THE CITY OF AUSTIN DATA.
WE ARE UNDER THE N-R-M-C-A NATIONAL AVERAGE, WHICH, UM, IS A GOOD TREND TO HAVE FOR, UM, BOTH CATEGORIES, UM, CONCRETE WITH FLY ASH AND CONCRETE WITH NO FLY ASH.
SO, UM, LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT IN TERMS OF OUR PLAN OF WORK FOR THE REST OF THIS YEAR.
UM, WE ARE STILL COLLECTING AND REQUIRING EPDS FROM ALL CONCRETE SUPPLIERS.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO COLLECT THAT DATA.
UH, WE HAVE BEEN ENGAGED ACTIVELY WITH N-R-M-C-A, THE AMERICAN CONCRETE INSTITUTE AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS, UM, IN, IN VARIOUS CAPACITIES IN CONSULTATION IN TRYING TO GET THE N-R-M-C-A DATA.
UM, RIGHT NOW WE ARE IN CONSULTATION WITH N-R-M-C-A TO GET MORE TEXAS SPECIFIC, UM, GWP DATA.
UM, THEY HAVE INDICATED THAT THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO SHARE THAT WITH US IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS.
I THINK THAT WILL BE REALLY USEFUL INFORMATION TO SEE HOW THE CITY OF AUSTIN DATA COMPARES TO, UM, THE OTHER AREAS IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.
UM, WE ARE GOING TO WORK WITH THESE AGENCIES AND OUR STAKEHOLDERS TO BENCHMARK THE EPD REQUIREMENTS TO ESTABLISH BASELINE FOR EACH CLASS OF CONCRETE MIX USED IN THE AUSTIN AREA.
WE ARE UNDERTAKING THIS WORK BETWEEN NOW AND SUMMER OF THIS YEAR, UM, TO, TO BE ABLE TO BE ON A PATH TO ESTABLISH, UM, A GWP GOAL CONCURRENT WITH THE, UM, BENCHMARKING FOR ESTABLISHING A GWP TARGET OR A GOAL.
WE HAVE COMPLETELY REWRITTEN OUR, UM, CONCRETE FOR STRUCTURES SPEC.
THIS IS THE STANDARD SPECIFICATION NUMBER 4 0 3.
UM, WE HAVE CONVERTED THAT SPEC THAT IS CURRENTLY IN USE PER THE MUNI CODE TO A PERFORMANCE BASED CONCRETE SPEC.
WHAT THAT ALLOWS US TO DO IS TO BE MORE FLEXIBLE, UH, IN ALLOWING THE CONCRETE PRODUCER TO CHOOSE THE RECIPE.
UM, SOME OF THE FEATURES OF THIS PERFORMANCE BASED PICK, UM, INCLUDE, UM, THESE ITEMS THAT WE HAVE NOTED HERE.
YOU KNOW, WE'VE, UM, WE HAVE, UM, ALLOWED FOR MORE FLEXIBILITY IN THE WATER CEMENT RATIO.
UM, WE ARE NOT REQUIRING THOSE VERY LOW WATER CEMENT RATIOS, UM, LIKE WE HAVE IN THE CURRENT SPEC.
A LOWER WATER CEMENT RATIO MEANS THAT, UM, IT'LL REDUCE THE QUANTITY OF CEMENT, WHICH IS BETTER FOR, UM, LOWERING THE CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS.
UH, WE ARE ALSO ALLOWING THE USE OF, UM, CEMENTITIOUS SUPPLEMENTAL CEMENTITIOUS MATERIALS.
UM, THAT IS, UM, AGAIN, GONNA, UM, BE A REPLACEMENT FOR CEMENT, WHICH IS THE MORE CARBON INTENSIVE, UM, ITEM IN CONCRETE, UH, NO SLUMP REQUIREMENT, UM, REQUIREMENT FOR PERMEABILITY.
AND THEN WE ARE ALSO, UH, PROVIDING FOR ADDITIONAL FLEXIBILITY IN THE GRADATION OF THE MIX.
WE ARE NOT BEING PRESCRIPTIVE.
UM, ALL THIS IN SERVICE TO A PERFORMANCE BASED SPEC THAT WILL OBVIOUSLY NEVER COMPROMISE ON THE CONCRETE STRENGTH, BUT TO ALLOW FOR MORE FLEXIBILITY TO, TO MOVE TOWARDS, UM, A LOW CARBON CONCRETE, UH, PRODUCT.
UM, A A COUPLE OF OTHER THINGS WORTH NOTING IS, UM, WE HAD AN OVER DESIGN REQUIREMENT IN THE CURRENT SPEC.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, IF THE NOMINAL SPEC IS 3000 PSI, UM, THE OVER DESIGN REQUIREMENT WOULD PUT IT AT A MUCH HIGHER NUMBER, UM, WHICH OBVIOUSLY MEANS THAT MORE CEMENT MIGHT BE, WOULD BE REQUIRED.
UM, WE ARE PLANNING TO ELIMINATE THAT REQUIREMENT, WHICH WOULD MEAN THAT, UH, WHATEVER IS THE NOMINAL STRENGTH IS WHAT THE PRODUCER IS GONNA PRODUCE, AND THAT WILL REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF CEMENT.
WE ARE ALSO, UM, ADDING, UM, FLEXIBILITY IN TERMS OF THE STRENGTH OF THE CONCRETE TYPICALLY MEASURED.
THE FULL STRENGTH OF THE CONCRETE IS MEASURED IN THE 28 DAY MARK, BUT WE ARE ALSO ALLOWING FOR THE SLOWER, UM, STRENGTH GAIN FOR
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CONCRETE, UM, AT THE 56 DAY MARK.SO THIS, UM, COULD BE APPLICABLE FOR, UM, A SIDEWALK THAT DOESN'T NEED TO REACH ITS FULL STRENGTH IN 28 DAYS, CAN ACHIEVE ITS FULL STRENGTH IN 56 DAYS, AGAIN, LOWERING THE CARBON FOOTPRINT.
SO CURRENTLY WE HAVE DISTRIBUTED THE DRAFT, UH, PERFORMANCE BASED SPEC TO OUR CITY PARTNER DEPARTMENTS.
SO, UM, UH, ENTITIES LIKE, UH, CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES, THEY MANAGE A LOT OF THE CAPITAL CONTRACTS WITHIN THE CITY.
UM, AUSTIN WATER, AUSTIN ENERGY PARKS, UM, AUSTIN WATERSHED PROTECTION, UM, AND VARIOUS STAKEHOLDERS AND WORK GROUPS AND DIVISIONS WITHIN OUR CITY FOR A REVIEW.
WE'VE ALSO SENT IT TO AKA, UH, FOR A REVIEW AND THIS YEAR, UM, USING THE CITY'S STANDARD RULES POSTING PROCESS, WE ARE GOING TO PUT THIS, UM, PERFORMANCE SPEC IN THE RULES POSTING PROCESS.
UM, SO THAT, UM, THROUGH THE VARIOUS STEPS THAT A SPEC HAS TO TAKE, UM, IT WILL, UM, MOVE TOWARDS ADOPTION.
AND WE ARE AIMING FOR, UM, AN ADOPTED SPEC IN 2027.
AGAIN, THESE ARE OUR STAKEHOLDERS AND PARTNERS THAT WE ARE, HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH, UM, IN SERVICE TO THIS INITIATIVE.
SO, UM, AGAIN, UM, UPDATING THE SPEC IS JUST ONE PIECE OF THIS INITIATIVE FOR LOWERING CONCRETE.
AND, UM, THIS WORK HAS TO BE PAIRED WITH PURCHASING POLICIES, UM, THAT THAT PURVIEW RESIDES WITHIN AUSTIN FINANCIAL SERVICES.
UM, I KNOW THAT WE'VE BEEN HAVING DISCUSSIONS WITH THE CLIMATE RESILIENCE OFFICE, UM, AND LOOKING FOR THEIR LEADERSHIP TO BRING THE PURCHASING GROUPS AND THEIR LEADERSHIP INTO THE FRAME OF THIS EFFORT SO THAT WE CAN PAIR UP OUR, UM, SPEC WITH ROBUST PURCHASING POLICIES THAT WILL ALLOW US, UM, TO HAVE A GREATER IMPACT ONCE THE SPEC IS ADOPTED AND IS READY FOR USE ON CITY PROJECTS OR, UM, EVEN ON PROJECTS THAT USE A CITY OF AUSTIN CONCRETE MIX.
UM, THIS IS NOT A SWITCH WE CAN FLIP OVERNIGHT.
UM, SO WE ARE TAKING A MEASURED APPROACH.
UM, WE HAVE MADE A LOT OF PROGRESS AND WE INTEND TO LOOK AT BENCHMARKING THIS YEAR AND CONCURRENTLY PUSHING THE SPEC THROUGH THE RULES POSTING PROCESS IN ON TWO PARALLEL PATHS.
UH, BUT WE ALSO WANT TO BE, UH, THOUGHTFUL AND, UM, SYSTEMATIC, UH, IN MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE BRINGING ENGINEERS, SUPPLIERS, CONTRACTORS AND PROCUREMENT PEOPLE INTO THE PROCESS, UM, ALIGNING THIS WORK WITH THEIR, UM, INPUT AND BUY IN SO THAT WE CAN STILL DELIVER SAFE, RELIABLE, AND COST EFFECTIVE INFRASTRUCTURE.
UM, THE PATH FORWARD IS, UM, WE, WE NEED TO HAVE A PHASE OUT PROCESS THAT, UM, IS TO BE FIGURED OUT STILL IN CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR STAKEHOLDERS, AND HAPPY TO TAKE INPUT HERE AS TO HOW WE ARE GONNA PHASE OUT OUR EXISTING 4 0 3 SPEC WITH THE NEW PERFORMANCE SPEC THAT WE EXPECT TO BE ADOPT, BE ADOPTED NEXT YEAR.
UM, AND HOW DO WE ESTABLISH A GWP, UM, ADMINISTRATIVELY SO THAT, UM, THERE WILL BE A TIMEFRAME OF PHASING OUT, UH, PROJECTS WITH EXISTING MIXES THAT DON'T HAVE THE GWP UH, THRESHOLD, AND THEN BRINGING IN NEW MIXES, UM, WITH THE GWP THRESHOLD AND WHAT WILL BE OUR MECHANISM TO REJECT MIXES THAT DON'T MEET THOSE REQUIREMENTS.
SO, UM, WE THINK THAT, UM, LEADERSHIP FROM THE CLIMATE RESILIENCY OFFICE AND THE PROCUREMENT OFFICE ARE VERY KEY TO THE SUCCESS OF THIS EFFORT.
UM, THESE CHANGES THAT WE AS PRACTITIONERS IN TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS ARE EMBARKING ON AND IMPLEMENTING WILL ONLY WORK IF THE SPECIFICATION AND THE PURCHASING MOVE TOGETHER.
WE RISK CREATING STANDARDS THAT CAN BE BID, UM, CANNOT BE ENFORCED OR NEVER GET ADOPTED IN PRACTICE.
UM, AND THE MARKET IS ALSO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO GET A FEEL FOR THE MARKET AS TO HOW, UM, THEY PERCEIVE THIS.
UM, THE INDUSTRY ADOPTION FOR LOW CARBON CONCRETE HAS BEEN UNEVEN.
UM, OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE EVIDENCE THAT THE BUILDING INDUSTRY, UM, HAS BEEN USING LOW CARBON CONCRETE FOR A WHILE,
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BUT IT'S NOT VERY STANDARDIZED YET.UM, LEAD, UH, GOLD AND PLATINUM BUILDINGS DO HAVE LOW CARBON CONCRETE, UM, POINTS THAT THEY GET, BUT IT'S, IT'S DEFINITELY NOT SOMETHING THAT'S UNIVERSAL EVERYWHERE.
SO NOW WE ARE EMBARKING ON THIS PATH TO COMPLETELY REPLACE, UH, OUR EXISTING SPEC WITH, UH, A PERFORMANCE SPEC.
AND THEN, UM, HOPING TO ESTABLISH A GWP FOR ANY CONCRETE MIX THAT'S, THAT'S, UH, PLACED IN THE AUSTIN AREA.
SO, UM, IF WE PUSH TOO FAR TOO FAST, WE CAN LIMIT THE COMPETITION, INCREASE COSTS, AND EVEN IMPACT THE SUPPLY CHAIN AND DELIVERY.
SO OUR APPROACH IS TO REALLY HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS THIS YEAR AND BEYOND.
AND THEN AIM FOR, UM, SETTING THOSE GWP TARGETS.
UM, WE BELIEVE LOW CARBON CONCRETE IS ACHIEVABLE, BUT, UM, ONLY IF POLICY PROCUREMENT AND THE INDUSTRY WORK TOGETHER.
SO WHAT ARE OUR NEXT STEPS? UM, SOME OF IT I HAVE COVERED BEFORE, BUT, UM, JUST TO KIND OF RECAP, UM, WE ARE GONNA PUT THE DRAFT PERFORMANCE SPEC THROUGH THE RULES POSTING PROCESS THIS YEAR.
UM, IT TAKES A WHILE FOR IT TO GO THROUGH THE PROCESS, AND THE CITY HAS RECENTLY, UM, GONE TO ONE UNIFIED PROCESS WHERE WE ONLY HAVE ONE OPPORTUNITY, UM, TO, TO DO RULES POSTING IN A YEAR.
AND WE ARE, UM, DEFINITELY, UM, TRACKING THAT SCHEDULE AND WE INTEND TO POST IT THIS YEAR BY FALL AND EXPECT ADOPTION SOMETIME IN 2027.
UH, WE ARE GONNA, UM, GET INTO THE BENCHMARKING PROCESS IN SUMMER OF THIS YEAR.
UM, IT'LL REQUIRE MULTIPLE CONVERSATIONS AND STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS AND, AND, AND SURVEYS OF SORTS TO PULL THAT TOGETHER.
UM, ALONG WITH THAT, WE WANT TO WORK ON A TRANSITION PLAN OF HOW WE, HOW WE, UM, ACCEPT MIXES WITH THE REQUIRED GWP.
SO WE WANNA WORK WITH OUR CITY PARTNER DEPARTMENTS FIRST AND, AND WITH THE INDUSTRY PARTNERS, UM, TO ESTABLISH THAT TRANSITION PLAN.
AND REALLY THE KEY TO THIS IS, UM, TO BRING PROCUREMENT AND THE CITY PROJECT MANAGERS, UH, INTO THE FRAY OF THIS WORK TO REALLY ENSURE COMPLIANCE.
SO ALL OF THAT IS, UM, TO BE FIGURED OUT.
UH, WE MAY EVEN, UM, TRY TO PILOT SOME PROJECTS WITH OUR NEW SPEC AND SEE HOW THAT GOES, UH, BEFORE WE LAUNCH IT, UM, IN A MORE, UM, OPEN AND FREE FORM WAY.
UM, SO REALLY THE KEY TO THIS IS THE SPECIFICATIONS AND THE PROCUREMENT MUST MOVE TOGETHER.
IF CONTRACTORS CANNOT BID ON IT, WE CANNOT BUILD IT.
SO THE TRANSITION NEEDS TO BE COORDINATED WITH THE PURCHASING REQUIREMENTS.
UM, BUT WE ARE STILL GONNA CONTINUE TO COLLECT EPDS.
WE ARE GONNA COLLECT CONCRETE USAGE VOLUMES AND ALL THIS DATA ON THE CEMENT AND THE CO2 EMISSIONS.
UM, AND THEN IDEALLY AND CONCEPTUALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, ONCE WE ESTABLISH A GWP TARGET, UM, WE WILL CONTINUE TO REFINE THAT BASED ON NEW DATA THAT WE WILL BE COLLECTING, UM, AND THE ANALYSIS OF THE DATA WILL INFORM HOW WE ARE MOVING.
UM, SO THAT IN A NUTSHELL IS EVERYTHING THAT I HAD IN TERMS OF, UH, WHERE WE ARE AND WHERE WE ARE HEADED.
UM, I'M HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.
WHO HAS QUESTIONS? OH, START WITH ANNA.
UM, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP ON THIS AND ED AND ANGELA FOR BEING HERE.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE ALL APPRECIATE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE WORK THAT HAS GONE INTO THIS AND IT'S SIGNIFICANT.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S ALSO A SIGNIFICANT OPPORTUNITY FOR, FOR AUSTIN TO BE A LEADER, UM, AND MAKE SOME REAL IMPACTS.
SO, SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE SUPER, SUPER EXCITED ABOUT IT.
UM, THERE'S A LOT IN HERE, UM, AND I'LL MAYBE SELF EDIT A LITTLE BIT AND, AND WE CAN COME BACK TO SOME, SOME COMMENTS.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, IN, IN MY MIND, THERE'S, UH, A COUPLE THINGS THAT COME, COME, UH, THAT WILL NEED TO HAPPEN BASED ON WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, UM, THAT I WAS WONDERING WHERE WE'RE AT.
YOU KNOW, YOU MENTIONED SETTING THE NEED TO SET A GWP STANDARD, WHEREVER YOU SET THAT NUMBER AT, IT'S MY VIEW THAT AT SOME POINT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO MOVE TO DIFFERENT MIXED DESIGNS.
UM, AND WHEN WE'VE ASKED THIS QUESTION IN THE PAST, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S COME UP IS THE NEED TO DO SOME TYPE OF LAB VERIFICATION OR SOME TYPE OF VERIFICATION OF MIXED DESIGNS THROUGH THINGS LIKE FIELD PORES.
DOES, DOES A PERFORMANCE SPEC SOLVE THAT, DOES THAT PUSH THAT ONUS ONTO TO INDUSTRY? WHAT, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? LIKE IF, IF WE MOVE TO A PERFORMANCE SPEC AND I SAY, HEY, I'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, NOVEL MATERIAL A WITH SOME
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NOVEL CEMENTITIOUS MATERIAL, I THINK I'VE GOT IT, YOU KNOW, AN ISO STANDARD, I'D LIKE TO SELL YOU A BUCKET, I BID, CAN, CAN THE CITY THEN USE THAT? OR IS THERE STILL ADDITIONAL LIKE ENGINEERING WORK TO VERIFY THAT THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN? I, UH, LET ME CALL ON ED AND ANGELA TO HELP ANSWER SOME OF THE QUESTIONS SINCE THEY'VE BEEN, UM, UH, WORKING ON THIS.BUT, UM, THE, THE SPEC IS THE VEHICLE, UM, OBVIOUSLY BY LOOSENING THE REQUIREMENTS AND, UH, ALLOWING FOR MORE FLEXIBILITY, WE ARE ALREADY MOVING TOWARDS THAT PATH OF LOWER, UM, CARBON FOOTPRINT.
UM, I GUESS IF I'M UNDERSTANDING YOUR QUESTION, UH, YOU'RE ASKING HOW WOULD WE VERIFY, UM, THE THE MIX DESIGN? I, YEAH, I MEAN, I'M, I GUESS I'M SAYING LIKE, HOW COMFORTABLE ARE YOU GUYS WITH NOVEL CEMENT DESIGNS? I IS FUNDAMENTALLY, I THINK WHAT I'M TRYING TO GET AT, 'CAUSE I THINK TO REALLY LOWER THE CARBON INTENSITY OF THIS, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO MOVE AWAY FROM, LIKE, MY VIEW IS LIKE, THESE NUMBERS ARE GREAT, BUT THEY JUST REFLECT LIKE A SLIGHT AMOUNT OF OPERATIONAL VARIABILITY.
AND WE'RE LOWER BECAUSE AUSTIN'S GRID, LIKE TEXAS' GRID IS GREENER.
AND I THINK THAT'S WHERE WE'RE SEEING THOSE LOWER THAN AVERAGE NUMBERS.
I, WE CAN GET INTO THAT, BUT LIKE TO REALLY GET TO THESE BIG DIFFERENCES, EVEN TO NET ZERO, WHICH, YOU KNOW, I'M TALKING TO PEOPLE WHO THINK IT'S POSSIBLE WE WILL OR ZERO ZERO, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'LL HAVE TO MOVE TO, TO NEWER THINGS.
SO WHAT DOES, WHAT DOES THAT PROCESS LIKE LOOK LIKE? HOW COMFORTABLE OR UNCOMFORTABLE ARE WE AND ALL THE STAKEHOLDERS WITH THAT? YEAH, IT'S A WHOLE NEW WORLD FOR US TO BE TAKING THE CHANCE THAT, UM, SOME OF THE THINGS AREN'T GONNA BEHAVE LIKE THEY USED TO.
SO WE'RE SPECIFYING THE MOST IMPORTANT PARAMETERS IN THE SPECIFICATION, AND THAT'S, THAT'S WHY THAT PERFORMANCE, UM, BASED CONCEPT SAYS, OKAY, THIS IS THE PERFORMANCE WE ABSOLUTELY NEED, AND WE'RE LEAVING A LOT UP TO THE, TO THE SUPPLIER TO FIGURE OUT THE FORMULA, WHICH MAY INVOLVE SPECIALTY PRODUCTS.
IT MAY INVOLVE THINGS THAT WE HAVEN'T HAD BEFORE.
UM, SO THERE IS A MODEST AMOUNT OF RISK ON OUR PART, BUT THEY'RE TAKING THAT RISK TOO, BECAUSE THEY'RE PUTTING THEIR REPUTATION ON THE LINE SAYING, WE'VE DELIVERED CONCRETE THAT MEETS YOUR NEEDS.
UM, SO IT'S, UM, IT'S A CALCULATED RISK ON EVERYBODY'S PART.
BUT THAT HAPPENS WITH NORMAL MATERIALS TODAY.
UM, PRODUCERS STILL PRODUCE CONCRETE THAT DOESN'T MEET THE STRENGTH OR FALLS APART FOR SOME REASON AND DOESN'T PERFORM WELL.
UM, SO IN THAT WAY IT'S STILL A SIMILAR ACCEPTANCE PROCESS.
BUT IN ADDITION TO HAVING SOME SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS, THEY HAVE TO MEET, THERE'S ALSO A HIGHER DEMAND FOR QUALITY CONTROL ON, ON THE VENDOR'S PART AND CONTRACTOR'S PART.
AND WE'RE, WE'RE DECLARING HOW WE'RE GONNA DO A LITTLE BIT MORE QUALITY ASSURANCE ON OUR END TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, CONSISTENT PROCESSES ARE BEING HELD TO, AND USUALLY CONSISTENCY BREEDS SUCCESS, UH, IN, IN CONSTRUCTION AND MATERIALS AND, AND MANUFACTURING.
THAT IS EXTREMELY COMMON THAT IF YOU CAN HAVE A CONSISTENT PROCESS, THEN WHEN ANYTHING'S WRONG, YOU CAN TWEAK THE KNOBS, GET IT RIGHT, AND THEN EVERYTHING AFTER THAT IS GOOD BECAUSE YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT WENT WRONG, WHY IT WENT WRONG, AND HOW TO FIX IT.
IF IT'S JUST CRAZINESS, THEN NOBODY KNOWS HOW TO FIX IT.
SO QUALITY CONTROL IS A BIG ASPECT OF WHAT WE'RE ASKING FOR TOO, FROM EVERYONE TO ASSURE THAT WE'RE TAKING LESS RISK IN THAT RESPECT, EVEN THOUGH WE'RE OPENING THE DOOR TO NEW THINGS AND, AND SOME FLEXIBILITY IN HOW THEY DO THINGS.
UM, I KNOW THAT'S A LOT OF WANDERING AROUND, BUT IT, IT'S, IT IS A WHOLE NEW PHILOSOPHY FOR US AND IT'S A NEW CONCEPT FOR HOW TO, UM, ACCEPT PROJECTS AND TO GET THE PERFORMANCE WE'RE LOOKING FOR.
I, IF I CAN ADD TO THAT, UH, WE ALSO HAVE A PROCESS THAT BEEN FOLLOW, FOLLOWING TO THAT PROCESS FOR YEARS.
WE HAVE ACCEPTANCE OF MEANS DESIGNS.
SO WE ARE NOT ELIMINATING THAT OFFICE OF THE CITY ENGINEER COLLECTING SUBMISSION DOCUMENTS.
SO CONTRACTORS WHO ARE COOKING THAT NEW LOW CARBON, UH, CONCRETE, THEY NEED TO PRODUCE AND, UM, UH, VERIFIED ENGINEERING STEM BY PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER EVIDENCE OF SEVEN DAYS, STRENGTHS 28 56 IF NEEDED.
SO IT'LL ASSURE THAT RISK IS MINIMAL.
SO JUST TO BE LIKE SUPER EXPLICIT, SO IN THE WORLD IN WHICH THE PERFORMANCE BASED STANDARDS ARE PASSED, IMPLEMENTED, AND SOMEONE BIDS WITH A NOVEL MIXED DESIGN, MAYBE THAT IS, YOU KNOW, WE COULD THROW OUT PRODUCT NAMES THAT, YOU KNOW, LIKE CARBON CURE FOR EXAMPLE, IS, IS ONE THAT HAS, YOU KNOW, HAS BEEN USED IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR HERE, BUT THERE'S, THERE'S MANY OTHERS, RIGHT? IF ONE OF THOSE NOVEL MIXED DESIGNS,
[00:30:01]
LIKE BIDS ON A PROJECT AND THEY HAVE EITHER, YOU KNOW, ISO STANDARD CERTIFICATION OR YOU KNOW, WHATEVER, UH, TESTING OR BENCHMARKS, WHATEVER'S IN THE SPECIFICATION, THEY COME FORWARD AND THEY SAY, HEY, YOU KNOW, I'D LIKE TO SELL A TON.AND, AND THEY, YOU KNOW, OR, OR A COMPETITIVE BID THAT'S A BID THAT COULD GET ACCEPTED.
UH, THEY PROVIDE TESTING RESULTS, IT'S OUR FIRST REQUEST.
ALSO, PERFORMANCE BASED SPECIFICATION HAS A SET OF REQUIREMENTS FROM ICI, UH, FOR A STM TESTING.
SO WE HAVE GUARDRAILS, EVEN SO THAT WE HAVE PERFORMANCE BASED, WE STILL NEED TO ASSURE STRENGTHS, DURABILITY, AND PUBLIC SAFETY.
SO DEFINITELY AND WHOLE INDUSTRY ARE MOVING INSIDE DIRECTIONS.
YEAH, THAT, THAT MIXED DESIGN ACCEPTANCE PROCESS, WHETHER IT'S DONE ON A PROJECT BY PROJECT BASIS OR IT'S DONE IN THE ANNUAL PROCESS THAT ANGELA'S TALKING ABOUT, GIVES US SOME FAITH THAT THEY'VE DONE THE RIGHT TESTING TO ASSURE THAT THAT CONCRETE MIX IS GOOD.
AND, UM, THROUGH THAT PROCESS, THEY, THEY HAVE TO PROMISE THAT THAT IT IS GONNA PERFORM THE WAY THEY SAY IT IS.
SO THEY'RE PUTTING THEIR REPUTATION AND SOME PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS SIGNING AND SEALING THAT SAYING, YEAH, WE DID A, WE DID A VALID MIX DESIGN AND WE'RE CER, WE'RE CERTIFYING THAT THIS IS GONNA PERFORM WELL.
SO WE DO EXPECT SOME INTERESTING THINGS TO COME, BUT THEY'RE NOT GONNA TRY TOO MANY WILD THINGS BECAUSE THEY KNOW THAT THEY HAVE TO PROVE THE PERFORMANCE OR WE'RE GONNA HAVE 'EM RIP IT OUT OR, YOU KNOW, UH, DISCOUNT THE, THE AMOUNT PAID FOR IT.
THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES IF IT DOESN'T MEET THE PERFORMANCE.
AND WE HAVE, UH, WE HAVE A NUMBER OF TESTS THAT THAT, THAT THEY'LL HAVE TO GO THROUGH THAT PROVE GENERALLY THAT IT'S A GOOD IDEA.
I MEAN, WE HAVE OUR NORMAL ROUTINE TESTS THAT HAPPEN, STRENGTH AND DURABILITY, BUT BEFORE THAT, UM, THERE'S SOME BASIC BACKGROUND TESTS THAT THEY HAVE TO PASS TO FOR AGGREGATE COMPATIBILITIES AND SOME, SOME, UH, SOME THINGS THAT WILL HELP US, UH, HELP ASSURE THAT WE'RE GOING TO GET THE PERFORMANCE WE'RE LOOKING FOR.
AND THEN YOU TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE PRO THE PROCUREMENT PLAN AND LIKE HOW THE KEY IS TO BRING PROCUREMENT INTO THIS.
WHAT DOES THAT PROCESS NEED TO LOOK LIKE? HOW, YOU KNOW, AS DIFFERENT AS THIS MIGHT LOOK FROM YOUR GUYS' SEED AS, AS ENGINEERS, CONCRETE'S CHANGING A LOT, RIGHT? BUT LIKE ON THE PROCUREMENT SIDE, YOU KNOW, IS THIS EVEN SCARIER? IS THIS LESS SCARIER? LIKE, YOU KNOW, WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN, UM, TO CHANGE THOSE PURCHASING PROCESSES? YEAH, UM, I MEAN, SPEC IS ONE PART OF, UM, A BIG CONTRACTUAL DOCUMENT.
FOR EXAMPLE, IF WE CONSIDER A CITY CAPITAL PROJECT, UM, CONCEPTUALLY IF WE ADOPT THE NEW, UH, PERFORMANCE SPEC, THAT SPEC WILL BE, WE'LL REPLACE THE REGULAR SPEC.
SO IT'S GONNA BE IN THE CONTRACTED DOCUMENTS, UM, IN OUR ROADMAP, THE GWP TARGET IS GONNA BE SET ADMINISTRATIVELY OUTSIDE OF THE SPEC.
AND THE REASON WE ARE TAKING THIS APPROACH IS BECAUSE, UM, IT IS, UH, AN EXTREMELY BURDENSOME PROCESS TO, UH, CHANGE A STANDARD SPECIFICATION AND REALIZING THAT WE ARE AT THE FOREFRONT OF, YOU KNOW, DOING SOMETHING THAT'S, UM, THAT'S NEW THAT THE GWP TARGET MIGHT MOVE BASED ON NEW DATA THAT WE COLLECT AND EVEN IN A, IN A GOOD DIRECTION.
SO WE DON'T WANNA BE IN THE BUSINESS OF UPDATING A STANDARD SPEC.
SO, UM, ADMINISTRATIVELY OUTSIDE OF THE SPECIFICATION, WE, WHEN WE GET TO THE POINT WE WANT TO PUBLISH THE GWP TARGET, AND THEN HOW DO WE INCORPORATE THAT AND THE SPEC AS PART OF A CONTRACTUAL DOCUMENT FOR A CITY PROJECT.
UM, SO TO GIVE THE SPECIFICATION ITS DUE IMPACT, UH, PURCHASING NEEDS TO PLAY A PART, UM, THERE'S SEVERAL THINGS TO IT.
ONE IS, UM, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO TRAIN AND EDUCATE, UM, OUR OUR TYPICAL CONTRACTORS AND BUYERS AND ENGINEERS ABOUT THIS NEW SPEC, RIGHT? WE NEED TO BRING THEM INTO THE FOLD.
UH, BUT MORE TANGIBLE THINGS THAT COULD BE INCLUDED IN THE CONTRACTUAL DOCUMENT MIGHT LOOK LIKE.
UM, YOU KNOW, UM, WE WILL HAVE A PROCESS TO REVIEW MIXED DESIGNS FOR CONCRETE THAT'S GONNA COME IN.
UM, IF ANYTHING FALLS DOESN'T MEET THE GWP POTENTIAL, WE WILL REJECT IT.
SO THEY'D HAVE TO PRODUCE SOMETHING THAT MEETS THE REQUIREMENTS.
BUT, UM, LET'S SAY THEY PASS THAT GATE AND, YOU KNOW, WE STILL HAVE CONCRETE PLACED ON THE GROUND, UM, SOMEHOW, UM, IT DOESN'T MEET THE REQUIREMENTS.
COULD WE, UM, HAVE PENALTIES, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR, FROM A CONTRACTUAL STANDPOINT, UH, IN, IN TERMS OF PAYMENTS AND
[00:35:01]
OTHER THINGS.SO THAT'S WHERE IT'S NOT JUST THE SPEC THAT GUIDES IT, BUT IT'S LIKE WHAT WE CALL THE FRONT END DOCUMENTS THAT MAY HAVE TO, UH, KIND OF BEEF UP, UM, THIS, YOU KNOW, THIS, UM, TO, TO GO HAND IN HAND WITH THE SPEC.
MAYBE SOME MODIFICATIONS TO THE FRONT END DOCUMENTS MIGHT BE REQUIRED, OR, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE COULD BE SPECIAL THINGS IN A PROJECT WHERE CERTAIN COMPONENTS OF THE WORK WOULD HAVE TO MEET THE, THE PERFORMANCE SPEC AND THE TARGET GWP AND OTHER COMPONENTS MAY NOT.
SO, UM, AGAIN, LIKE WE, WE, WE HAVE TO HAVE MORE DISCUSSIONS WITH THE INDUSTRY AND OUR STAKEHOLDERS AS TO HOW WE ARE GONNA ROLL IT OUT.
AND EVEN WITH OUR PROCUREMENT FOLKS WITHIN OUR CITY TO UNDERSTAND LIKE HOW THEY CAN ALIGN WITH THIS EFFORT TO HELP US.
UM, UM, A LOT OF OTHER CITIES, UM, DON'T HAVE A PERFORMANCE SPEC LIKE THIS.
WE HAVE RESEARCHED IT, BUT THEY HAVE OTHER THINGS LIKE CLEAN CONCRETE POLICIES THAT IS JUST A POLICY.
THE SPEC TO US IS REALLY THE GUIDING DOCUMENT FOR, UM, UM, UH, IT'S A CONTRACTUAL DOCUMENT, YOU KNOW, IT, UH, IT, IT HAS LIKE MORE TEETH, WE THINK.
UM, SO THIS IS, I THINK, PART OF AN ONGOING CONVERSATION WE NEED TO HAVE, UM, THAT WE HAVEN'T EMBARKED ON REALLY, UM, THAT WE NEED TO BRING PROCUREMENT IN THE FOLD TO, TO SEE THE VALUE OF THIS WORK AND TO GIVE US THEIR SUPPORT AND ALIGNMENT.
AND I THINK WE ARE EXPECTING, THEY'RE GONNA BRING IDEAS TO US AS TO HOW WE CAN BEEF UP THE SPEC WITH SOME PURCHASING REQUIREMENTS, UM, EVEN WHEN WE PURCHASE CONCRETE FOR OUR IN-HOUSE WORK.
YOU KNOW, UM, CAN WE, CAN WE PUT THIS, UM, UM, UM, LIKE A CLEAN CONCRETE POLICY IN PLACE FOR, UM, SUPPLIERS THAT DIRECTLY PROVIDE CONCRETE TO US? SO THOSE ARE THE THINGS I THINK WE NEED TO LOOK AT AND WORK WITH PURCHASING ON.
UM, SO WHERE IS THAT? PARDON ME? I'M LOOKING THROUGH THE SLIDES JUST TO MAKE SURE YOU DIDN'T, YOU MIGHT HAVE ALREADY ANSWERED THIS, BUT WHERE IS THAT IN THE ROADMAP PROCESS OR YOUR LIST OF TASKS? I THINK TODAY WE ARE TRYING TO HIGHLIGHT THAT IT IS REALLY A CRITICAL COMPONENT OF THIS WORK.
UM, I THINK, UM, WE WANT TO PARTNER WITH THE OFFICE OF, WITH THE AUSTIN CLIMATE ACTION AND RESILIENCE OFFICE, TO TAKE THAT STEP AND BRING WITH THEIR LEADERSHIP TO BRING PROCUREMENT INTO THE FRAY.
UM, WE ARE BUSY WITH EPDS COLLECTING DATA, REWRITING A SPEC, PUTTING IT THROUGH THE RULES POSTING PROCESS, AND, UH, BRINGING THE INDUSTRY, UH, STAKEHOLDERS, SUPPLIERS, PRODUCERS INTO THE FRAY TO INFORM OUR WORK AND MAKE IT AS ROBUST AS POSSIBLE.
UH, BUT OUR DEPARTMENT IS NOT IN THE LEAD TO BRING PROCUREMENT IN, SO WE ARE GONNA LEAN ON A CARD TO BRING THEM INTO THE FOLD.
AND THIS CAN ALL HAPPEN CONCURRENTLY FOR SURE.
BUT, UM, TO START THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
UH, KABA? I HAVE MORE ON LIKE TWO, BUT YOU CAN, UM, YEAH.
SO SPECIFICALLY, SO I MEAN, I THINK, YOU KNOW, THIS IS IN RESPONSE TO THAT, THIS IS MAYBE LESS OF A QUESTION.
I MEAN, I THINK THE QUESTION IS, YEAH, CAN, CAN WE GET AHEAD OF SOME OF THIS? UM, YOU KNOW, SO MAYBE THIS IS A QUESTION TO ACAR AS MUCH AS ANYONE ELSE.
I MEAN, CAN, CAN YOU GUYS COMMIT TO, TO, TO, TO ATTENDING A MEETING WHERE WE GET, YOU KNOW, PURCHASING AND ACAR AND YOU GUYS TO, TO GET AHEAD OF THIS? UM, YOU KNOW, EVEN IF IT'S JUST TO SAY, HEY, THIS IS COMING DOWN THE LINE AND FYI THIS, THERE'LL BE CHANGES.
LIKE, WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK? AND GET EARLY INPUT AS, IS THAT A QUESTION FOR US? I DIDN'T KNOW IF IT WAS.
WELL, I MEAN, I GUESS YOU CAN ONLY ANSWER FOR YOURSELF, AND NONE OF US CAN SPEAK.
I MEAN, WE, WE ARE HAPPY TO ATTEND, UH, ANY MEETING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE ARE WHERE WE ARE HOLISTICALLY DISCUSSING THIS AND, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF THIS SPEC IN A CITY CONTRACT, SO TO SPEAK.
AND IF I MAY ADD, I JUST WANT TO, UM, RECALL OUR FIRST INITIAL PLAN.
WE'VE BEEN WORKING OFFICE OF THE CITY ENGINEER FOR QUITE A FEW YEARS, AND WE ARE REALLY TECHNICAL EXPERTS.
WE ARE NOT HERE TO MAKE POLICY.
WE WILL TRY, UH, ESTABLISH BENCHMARKING BECAUSE IT'S A POLICY, BUT WE STILL NEED TO, UH, UNDERSTAND WHAT OUR IS WOULD BE IF, UH, LET'S SAY MIXED DESIGN DESIGN PRODUCERS, THEY WILL SAY, HEY, WE CANNOT ACCOMPLISH THAT, AND WE WILL ESCALATE, YOU KNOW, IT'S STILL TBT.
BUT I WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT IN OUR INITIAL PLANS THAT WAS, UM, SHARED IN NOVEMBER, 2023 AND PUBLISHED, I BELIEVE IN FEBRUARY, 2000, 2024, WE ACTUALLY, UH, BROUGHT, UH, THAT, THAT IT'S IMPORTANT TO, UH, START REVIEWING PURCHASING, CONTRACTING
[00:40:01]
DOCUMENTS.SO IT JUST, WE COULDN'T, UH, INITIATE THAT, THAT, YEAH, I MEAN, I, I THINK, YOU KNOW, TO SHARE MY PERSPECTIVE IS, IS, AND I'VE, I'VE HAD SOME CONVERSATIONS WITH INDUSTRY.
I CERTAINLY HAVEN'T TALKED WITH, WITH EVERYONE, AND I THINK YOU GUYS ARE IN CONTACT WITH EVERYONE AND, AND, YOU KNOW, I'VE PROBABLY FILTERED ON PEOPLE WHO ARE WILLING TO TALK TO ME, WHATEVER THAT'S WORTH.
AND SO WE SENSE, I SENSE A GREAT DEAL OF ENTHUSIASM FROM, FROM INDUSTRY ON, ON THIS TOPIC.
UM, AND SO I HAVE SAID, AND I WILL CONTINUE TO SAY LIKE, IF ANYONE'S GIVING YOU TROUBLE, LIKE, YOU KNOW, CALL, CALL ME.
LIKE I'LL
LIKE, I'LL, I'LL GO, YOU KNOW, BUT, YOU KNOW, I THINK THERE IS SUPPORT FROM, FROM SOME OF THE INDUSTRY.
LIKE, I WON'T VOUCH FOR EVERYONE.
UM, AND THERE'S CERTAINLY SUPPORT ON, ON THE CITIZEN SIDE.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, IN, IN SO MUCH AS IS, IF THAT'S A BARRIER, LIKE PLEASE, PLEASE LET SOME OF US BE, BE HELPFUL IN, IN, IN THAT REGARD, BECAUSE THERE IS, THERE'S NOT ONLY ENTHUSIASM FROM THIS COMMITTEE, WE HAVE SOME MEMBERS OF OUR, OUR WORKING GROUP HERE.
UM, I, YOU KNOW, WHEN I TELL LIKE MY FRIENDS ABOUT THIS OVER DRINKS, AND I, I, I DO PROMISE YOU THAT CITIZENS ARE TALKING ABOUT LIKE CONCRETE OVER DRINKS.
THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME LIKE TWICE IN THE PAST MONTH.
UM, SO AT LEAST ONE PERSON IN THIS TOWN IS TALKING ABOUT IT.
AND PEOPLE ARE LIKE, THAT'S REALLY COOL.
LIKE, I'M SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS.
AND, AND THEY, THEY, THEY DO WANT THAT TO HAPPEN, AND THEY'RE EXCITED THAT THAT AUSTIN, UM, CAN, CAN BE A LEADER.
UM, SO JUST TO SORT OF FRAME THAT PIECE OF IT, UM, I WANTED TO QUICKLY GO BACK TO THE, THE, THE GLOBAL WARMING POTENTIAL LIMIT FOR A LITTLE BIT.
YOU, YOU'VE SHARED SOME OF THE DATA WE'VE GOT ABOUT WHAT, 12 DATA POINTS HERE.
UM, IT'S SUPER HELPFUL TO HAVE THE MEAN, I KNOW WE'VE, WE'VE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT DATA AND DATA AVAILABILITY.
UM, I THINK IT WOULD BE IMPORTANT HERE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS DISTRIBUTION OF, OF DATA LOOKS LIKE.
SO NOT JUST KNOWING THE MEAN, BUT YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THE STANDARD DEVIATION? IS THIS NORMALLY DISTRIBUTED? SO, YOU KNOW, MOST PEOPLE ARE HERE, ARE THERE ANY OUTLIERS ON THIS? UM, CAN YOU GUYS COMMENT ON, YOU KNOW, EITHER AVAILABILITY TO SHARE THAT DATA, UH, OR LIKE, I JUST WANNA KNOW WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE, SO YOU KNOW, IF, IF YOU CAN'T SHARE IT, I, I STILL WANT TO KNOW WHAT ARE, WHERE ARE WE LOOKING AT HERE? DO WE HAVE, YEAH, WE HAVE DONE SOME ANALYSIS ON THAT AND, AND, UH, STANDARD DEVIATIONS AND SUCH.
UM, ONE POSSIBILITY WHICH WE HAVEN'T GONE INTO BECAUSE WE WERE STILL ASKING, UH, LAW DEPARTMENT, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT CONCERNS ARE THERE, IF ANY, ABOUT, UM, PROPRIETARY PROCESSES OR, OR WHAT VENDORS THINK IS, IS INFORMATION THAT WOULD JEOPARDIZE THEIR COMPETITIVE NATURE.
UM, POSSIBLY WE COULD MAYBE PROVIDE ANONYMIZED DATA THAT DOESN'T GIVE AWAY WHO IT IS, BUT COULD POSSIBLY BE ALL THE DATA POINTS.
NOW, WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE TO TALK ABOUT THAT INTERNALLY, BUT WE HAVE DONE A LITTLE BIT OF ANALYSIS ABOUT HOW MUCH SCATTER THERE IS INTERNALLY.
UM, SO THERE'S PROBABLY SOME ROOM FOR MORE DATA TO BE SHARED, I'M SURE.
AND, UM, AS AMIKA POINTED OUT, UM, AND OUR MCA IS GETTING READY TO ROLL OUT MORE GRANULAR DATA, WE'VE NEVER SEEN TEXAS SPECIFIC DATA THAT THEY JUST HAD THE SOUTH CENTRAL REGION, WHICH WAS A SIX STATE AREA.
UM, I DON'T KNOW HOW LOUISIANA AND OKLAHOMA AND MISSOURI, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW THAT THEY'RE EITHER DRAGGING THE AVERAGE UP OR DOWN, BUT IF WE COULD GET THE TEXAS ONLY DATA, THEN IT'S AT LEAST GETTING CLOSER TO US.
BUT TEXAS IS SUCH A HUGE STATE, IT'S GOT ALL THE REGIONS TOO.
SO, UH, IT'LL BE CLOSER TO USEFUL INFORMATION FOR US.
SO WE'RE HAVING THE SAME KIND OF WRESTLING MATCH, WANTING MORE GRANULAR DATA THAT'S MORE SPECIFIC AND HELPFUL TO US.
SO WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING THE TEXAS SPECIFIC DATA THAT'LL, UM, NARROW THINGS DOWN A LITTLE BIT.
UM, BUT THEN WE'RE, WE'RE STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT LEGALLY IF WE HAVE ANY ISSUES WITH SHARING, UM, PRODUCER SPECIFIC DATA.
I'M SORRY THAT'S TAKEN SO LONG, BUT, UH, WE'RE TRYING TO GET A, A TRUE LEGAL OPINION ON THAT TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, WE'RE NOT VIOLATING ANY, UH, ANY SIGNIFICANT CONCERN LEGALLY.
AND AGAIN, THE, THE REQUEST WAS REALLY, TRULY NOT INTENDED TO BE AN CONTENTIOUS ONE.
YOU KNOW, THIS IS WHERE IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR, I'D SAY I'D BE HAPPY TO SIGN AN NDA, I DON'T THINK THAT'S APPLICABLE HERE.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, ANONYMIZED DATA WOULD BE SUPER HELPFUL, UM, FOR ME THAT WOULD PERSONALLY SATISFY MY REQUEST, AND MAYBE OTHERS MIGHT, MIGHT FEEL DIFFERENTLY AT LEAST TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT, THAT I HAVE AT THIS MOMENT.
UM, BUT ANYTHING, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU COULD DO WHEN YOU'RE SHARING OR PUBLISHING THIS THAT GETS MORE AT THE, THE FULLER PICTURE, WHETHER THAT'S MAYBE GRAPHING A BOX PLOT OR A DISTRIBUTION, OR, YOU KNOW, PUTTING SOME OF THOSE ERROR BARS, UM, I THINK WOULD BE HELPFUL TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, THERE'S, YOU KNOW, A SCENARIO ON THE GLOBAL WARMING POTENTIAL WHERE YOU'VE GOT 11
[00:45:01]
PRODUCERS WHO ARE CLUSTERED AT, YOU KNOW, OVER HERE AT LIKE N AND THEN AT LIKE N TIMES 10, THERE'S LIKE THIS OTHER PRODUCER.AND THEN FOR US, IT WOULD BE QUITE CLEAR TO SAY, HEY, YOU KNOW, I, WE HAVE SOME REAL QUESTIONS ABOUT WHY IS THIS COMPANY AN OUTLIER? LIKE, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, THIS, I'M NOT SUGGESTING THAT THIS IS THE WORLD'S EASIEST PRODUCT TO PRODUCE, BUT YOU KNOW, IT'S, THERE AREN'T THAT MANY INPUTS THAT GO INTO THIS, RIGHT? SO, UM, YOU KNOW, IT WOULD BE VERY EASY FOR US TO SAY, HEY, LIKE, THIS PRODUCER NEEDS TO LOOK AT SOME, SOME OPERATIONAL CHANGES, UM, TO IMPROVE PROCESSES.
AND SO THAT, THAT COULD BE A PLACE TO SET THE GLOBAL WARMING POTENTIAL.
NOW BY CONTRAST, IF EVERYONE'S REALLY TIGHTLY CLUSTERED TOGETHER, UM, YOU KNOW, THEN THERE'S MAYBE SOME, SOME DIFFERENT QUESTIONS ABOUT, ABOUT WHERE WE SET THIS.
YOU KNOW, I BELIEVE IN THE PAST YEARS, I JUST LOOKED THIS BACK AND I CAN'T REMEMBER IF WE ACTUALLY PASSED THIS.
WE HAVE RECOMMENDED, UM, THAT WE PILOT, UM, LOW CARBON CONCRETE THAT SITS BELOW 50% OF THE, UH, WHATEVER THE NATIONAL AVERAGE OVER THAT WE THINK WAS AVERAGED OVERALL CONCRETE STRENGTH.
SO LIKE IF A, A MEDIAN LOW, LESS THAN MEDIAN IS, IS WHAT WE'VE ADVOCATED FOR IN, IN THE PAST, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY WHERE I HOPE THIS IS GOING, BUT PROBABLY NOT WHERE YOU'RE GOING TO GO ON YEAR ONE.
BUT AGAIN, I DON'T KNOW, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE DATA LOOKS LIKE.
YEAH, LET US TAKE THAT INPUT AND, UM, GO BACK AND LOOK AT THE DATA AND SEE WHAT WE CAN PROVIDE.
WE'VE SEEN A COUPLE DIFFERENT METHODOLOGIES, LIKE THE GSA NATIONALLY HAS A LITTLE DIFFERENT TAKE ON IT THAN N-R-M-C-A DOES.
ALTHOUGH N-R-M-C-A HASN'T REALLY STATED A CLEAR, UM, GUIDELINE FOR HOW THEY WOULD SET A BENCHMARK.
I KNOW THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF TALK ABOUT IT BEHIND THE SCENES.
UM, SO WE, WE WILL LOOK INTO THE DIFFERENT METHODOLOGIES AND DEFINITELY BE HAVING SOME DIALOGUE WITH, WITH ALL THE FOLKS THAT, UH, ARE CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT THOSE LIMITS ARE GONNA BE.
AND LIKE YOU SAID, IT'S GONNA CHANGE OVER TIME.
WE KNOW THAT FOLKS GONNA START OUT AT SOME POINT.
AND IF WE'RE EVER GONNA GET TO A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN 2030 OR 2050, UM, THAT NUMBER'S GONNA HAVE TO STEADILY BE RATCHETED DOWN.
AND I, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, I, I HOPE YOU CONSIDER IS, IS HAVING, YOU KNOW, THOSE LONG-TERM PRICE SIGNALS OR CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT THE, YOU KNOW, I THINK YOU'LL HEAR AGAIN AND AGAIN IS HELPFUL TO THE, TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR.
UM, AND SO THE MORE WE CAN SAY, HEY, LIKE, WE'RE SETTING SOMETHING, EVEN IF IT'S NOT THAT AMBITIOUS.
AND SO I, YOU KNOW, I WOULD ALSO SAY AS, AS YOU'RE GOING THROUGH THIS PROCESS OF HOW, HOW DO WE EVEN SET A, A GLOBAL WARMING POTENTIAL, I WOULD SAY IF YOU EVEN SET A LIMIT THAT EXCEEDED ALL OF WHERE WE'RE AT TODAY, EVEN THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL BECAUSE IT WOULD SEND A SIGNAL THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS BEING LOOKED AT.
I WOULDN'T SAY IT'S THE MOST HELPFUL THING, BUT, YOU KNOW, IN THE ABSENCE OF PERFECT INFORMATION AND KNOWLEDGE ABOUT WHAT THE PERFECT PROCESS LOOKS LIKE, YOU KNOW, I HOPE WE CONSIDER DOING SOMETHING BECAUSE PEOPLE, PEOPLE DO READ THOSE SIGNALS AND THEY, THEY ARE MEANINGFUL.
AND WE'VE TALKED TO PEOPLE IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR WHO, WHO SAY, HEY, YOU KNOW, WHEN MY FIRM HAS GONE OUT AND SAID, WE'LL, SET THIS, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S MEANT SOMETHING AND IT'S CAUSED PEOPLE TO CHANGE BEHAVIORS.
AND IF I, UH, CAN, UH, ADD THAT, UH, WE ACTUALLY DOING, UH, THAT FOR IS TO ESTABLISH BENCHMARKING FOR EACH CONCRETE CLASS.
WE ARE LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, UH, AVERAGE WE ARE LOOKING AT STANDARD DEVIATION, WE ARE LOOKING WHERE MAJORITY OF, UH, PRODUCER'S FALL.
UH, SO THAT'S OUR GOAL TO DO THAT ANALYSIS AND ESTABLISH, UH, GLOBAL WARMING POTENTIAL FOR EACH CONCRETE CLASS A, B, C, UH, J.
UH, SO ALL CLASSES, AND THEN OUR GOAL IS TO DISCUSS, BECAUSE WE NEED TO SEE REACTION, UM, OF PRODUCERS, RIGHT? UH, HOW THEY REACT.
SO IT'LL BE DISCUSSION, BUT EVENTUALLY WE EXPECT TO PUBLISH OUR, UH, GLOBAL WARMING POTENTIAL.
SO IT'LL BE, UH, SORT OF POLICY SET UP, SO HOPEFULLY IT'LL MOVE THE NEEDLE
I, I, I TOTALLY AGREE THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT WHEN SETTING SOMETHING WILL MOVE THE NEEDLE, AND THEN I THINK THE QUESTION IS HOW MUCH THE NEEDLE SHOULD GET MOVED.
BUT, YOU KNOW, ANNOUNCING THAT THERE IS A NEEDLE GONNA, YOU KNOW, THERE'S GONNA BE SOMETHING AND THAT, THAT, THAT'S SOMETHING WILL GO DOWN OVER TIME, IS I THINK, EXACTLY WHAT PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR.
'CAUSE AS, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE, THE ELEMENTS OF THIS EXIST, RIGHT? YOU HAVE NEW TYPES OF TECHNOLOGY, YOU HAVE THE PRODUCERS WHO ARE LOOKING AT ALL OF THIS AND, AND, YOU KNOW, THEY KIND OF SIT IN THE MIDDLE AND THEY'RE SAYING LIKE, HEY, YEAH, LIKE, I'LL PRO, LIKE IF THERE'S A BUYER, I'LL PRODUCE IT.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, AS THE BUYER, WE KIND OF NEED TO SAY LIKE, HEY, YEAH, KNOW, LIKE, WE'RE GONNA BE BUYING IT TOMORROW AND THEN THE NEXT DAY AND THE NEXT DAY, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK THOSE ARE THE SIGNALS THAT I AM HOPING AUSTIN CAN SET.
AND ANOTHER QUESTION, WHEN WE COME TO THE POINT WHEN WE NEED TO BRING UP SOME PRODUCER UP TO SPEED, HOW WE WOULD DO THAT, RIGHT? UH, SO, UH, IT'S A
[00:50:01]
QUESTION LIKE, UH, CAN WE SAY, UH, AS A GOVERNMENT AGENCY TO PRIVATE INDUSTRY, HEY, YOU NEED TO LOOK AT YOUR, UH, CONCRETE PRODUCTION, YOU NEED TO ADJUST YOUR OPERATION.IT MAY BE SOME QUESTIONS ON FROM THEIR SIDE COME IN LIKE, HEY, WE DON'T HAVE FUNDS.
BECAUSE WHEN WE WERE DISCUSSING, ACTUALLY, THAT'S WHY WE DELAYED A LITTLE BIT THAT EPD IMPLEMENTATION, BECAUSE WE WERE EXPECTING GRANT, WHICH WE DIDN'T RECEIVE, AND WE NEEDED TO DELAY JUST TO GO ALONG WITH INDUSTRY.
SO, UH, FUTURE IS, THIS IS THE OVERALL PLAN, BUT THERE ARE SO MANY, UM, UNKNOWNS THAT STILL NEED TO FIGURE IT OUT.
WELL, I WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, WE SHOULD NOT BE BEHOLDEN TO THE SLOWEST MOVER.
WE AS THE CITY OF AUSTIN, SHOULD NOT BE BEHOLDEN TO THE SLOWEST MOVER IN THE SPACE.
SO LIKE, WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT THAT ONE? YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW.
LIKE IF SOMEBODY'S LIKE OUT HERE, YOU KNOW, ON, ON, ON FAR ON WHATEVER SIDE OF THE AXIS, UM, AND YOU'RE SAYING, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT THEM? I THINK IT'S STARTING EARLY WITH EDUCATION AND, AND ENGAGEMENT.
AND SO THAT'S, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE QUE ONE OF THE REASONS I'M, I STARTED WITH A QUESTION OF LIKE, HEY, WHERE ARE WE AT ON PROCUREMENT? UM, YOU KNOW, I CAN CERTAINLY SPEAK OF HAVING DONE THIS IN, IN OTHER INDUSTRIES.
AND THE ANSWER IS LIKE, YOU HO HOST A MEETING WITH EVERYONE AND YOU GET ALL THE COMMENTS, AND INEVITABLY SOMEONE WILL COMPLAIN, BUT INEVITABLY SOMEONE WILL BE THERE WHO'S LIKE, HEY, LIKE YOU'RE COMPLAINING, LIKE, MY FIRM DOES THIS.
AND, AND SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHAT I WOULD HOPE THAT THE, THE, THE CITY COULD BE DOING IS, IS USING THE FACT THAT THERE'S ROBUST INDUSTRY AND COMMUNITY SUPPORT ON, ON THIS ISSUE.
LIKE, THERE'S MANY ISSUES WHERE THERE'S NOT THAT AGREEMENT, BUT THIS SEEMS TO BE ONE, WHICH IS WHY I'M SO PASSIONATE ABOUT THIS.
I THINK WE SHOULD LET SEE ELSE HAS ANY QUESTIONS.
UM, DO OTHERS HAVE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? I ALSO HAVE A FEW.
I'M GONNA DO A FEW AND THEN WE CAN GO BACK TO ANNA.
UM, SO FIRST OF ALL, I GUESS OF THEM WAS, WAS JUST RECENTLY ANSWERED.
SO YOU DO INTEND TO, YOU'RE DOING BENCHMARKING FOR EACH OF THOSE CLASSES, UM, IN TERMS OF SETTING A NUMBER FOR EACH OF THOSE CLASSES IS, WHEN YOU SAY BENCHMARKING, THAT CAN OFTENTIMES MEAN JUST A COLLECTION AND PUBLICATION OF DATA, IS THAT WHAT YOU MEAN? OR DO YOU MEAN SETTING THIS IS OUR THRESHOLD, LIKE SETTING A VALUE THAT IS A THRESHOLD.
THAT'S THE END STAGE OF SETTING A VALUE, BUT, UH, SO THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE DOING THIS FOR.
THAT'S WHAT WILL HAPPEN THIS SUMMER.
WE ARE GONNA START THAT PROCESS, YES, BUT LIKE, WE'LL START THE PROCESS OR YOU'LL DO IT.
UH, BUT WE WILL START THE PROCESS BECAUSE IT, IT WILL REQUIRE ENGAGEMENT WITH OUR STAKEHOLDERS.
UH, WE WILL SHOW WHO, WHO ARE YOUR STAKEHOLDERS? THE PRODUCERS, THE SUPPLIERS, OUR INDUSTRY PARTNERS.
WHAT ABOUT THE PEOPLE OF AUSTIN THAT PAY FOR ALL THE MATERIAL? ARE THEY STAKEHOLDERS LIKE CONTRACTORS? NO, I MEAN, TAXPAYERS, YES, OF COURSE.
I'M ASKING BECAUSE I'VE NOTICED IN THIS PROCESS IN PARTICULAR, I CONTINUE TO SEE THAT IT'S A VERY, UM, ISOLATED GROUP THAT Y'ALL ARE ENGAGING WITH, AND THERE HAS BEEN NOTHING POSTED PUBLICLY.
AND I THINK THAT'S A PROBLEM BECAUSE YOU'RE GONNA GET A CERTAIN TYPE OF INPUT IF YOU'RE ONLY CONSULTING INDUSTRY.
I'M NOT SAYING THAT THEY SHOULD NOT BE CONSULTANT CONSULTED THAT THEY'RE NOT STAKEHOLDERS OR THAT THEY'RE NOT, SHOULDN'T BE PART OF THE PROCESS.
BUT I THINK YOU'RE, UM, GOING TO BE UNDULY CONTINUE TO BE UNDULY NUDGED IN THE DIRECTION OF SLOW MOVING THIS IF THAT IS YOUR ONLY INPUT.
AND YOU'RE HEARING FROM ANNA THAT LIKE THERE ARE OTHER PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY AND INCLUDING OBVIOUSLY US, UM, AND THIS BODY HAS VOTED MULTIPLE TIMES, ENDORSING, MOVING FORWARD AND ACTUALLY IMPLEMENTING THIS.
SO I WOULD STRONGLY URGE YOU TO START THERE.
SINCE CLEARLY THE INDUSTRY HAS HAD A HEAVY HAND IN THIS PROCESS SO FAR.
IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU INTEND TO DO IN THE NEAR TERM AS YOU START THAT PROCESS? I MEAN, WHAT SPECIFIC DO, DO YOU, IS YOUR, UM, INPUT HERE THAT WE START TO DO? THANKS.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN THERE'S A NEW, UM, BUILDING CODE THAT'S GONNA BE ADOPTED, THERE ARE PUBLIC, UM, THERE'S A PUBLIC PROCESS FOR THAT.
SOMETHING IS POSTED ON SPEAK UP, THERE MAY BE PUBLIC MEETINGS, THERE MAY BE A SURVEY, UM, THAT KIND OF THING SO THAT IT IS
[00:55:01]
OPEN TO EVERYBODY.SO THE, THERE'S TWO PARTS TO IT, RIGHT? THE SPECIFICATION UPDATE, WHICH IS A COMPLETE REVAMP OF OUR EXISTING SPEC.
I, I'M ACTUALLY, I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT THAT.
I'M TALKING ABOUT SETTING THE NUMBERS FOR THE CLASSES THAT YOU LISTED ON THE CHART.
WELL, CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE ONE FIRST, I GUESS? 'CAUSE THAT SEEMS LIKE THE MORE NEAR TERM THING.
UH, I DON'T THINK WE SAID THAT'S THE MORE NEAR TERM THING.
I, I THINK WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO DO IS TWO CONCURRENT PATHS.
THE SPECIFICATION UPDATE IS THE VEHICLE THAT WILL ENABLE THE INDUSTRY TO PRODUCE LOWER CARBON CONCRETE BECAUSE OF THE FLEXIBILITY THAT THE SPEC WILL ALLOW FOR.
AND CONCURRENTLY IN GOOD FAITH IN, IN SUPPORT OF THIS INITIATIVE, WE ARE GONNA EMBARK ON A, A, SOME KIND OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROCESS TO, UH, ENGAGE WITH OUR STAKEHOLDERS.
AND, UH, WE HAVEN'T FIGURED OUT THE UNIVERSAL, UM, LIST OF STAKEHOLDERS YET.
BUT WE INTEND TO WHEN WE START THIS, UM, TO ESTABLISH THE, THE GWP VALUES OR, OR TARGETS.
WELL, I GUESS I'M SUGGESTING THAT IT'S NOT A LIST OF STAKEHOLDERS THAT IT IS SHOULD BE A PUBLIC PROCESS RUN THROUGH, UM, THE WAY THAT OTHER, UM, RULEMAKINGS AND, UH, ORDINANCES IN THE CITY ARE DONE.
UM, BUT CERTAINLY I THINK THIS BODY IS A STAKEHOLDER.
UM, I'M WONDERING, CAN WE PUT SLIDE SEVEN BACK UP ON THE SCREEN? SO I'M HEARING, UM, YOU SAY THAT YOU NEED THE SPECI THE PERFORMANCE BASED SPECIFICATION, UM, IN ORDER TO ALLOW PRODUCERS TO MOVE FORWARD.
BUT I SEE THAT YOU HAVE 500 EPDS FOR LOOKS LIKE, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW, UH, 1620 SOMETHING, UH, CLASSES HERE.
ARE YOU SAYING THAT THEY'RE ALL PER, LIKE WITHIN A CLASS, THERE'S NO VARIATION? OR IS THERE VARIATION WITHIN A CLASS ALREADY? LIKE THESE AVERAGE NUMBERS? YEAH, WE'RE ONLY SEEING AVERAGES.
I'M ASSUMING THOUGH, THAT THERE IS ABSOLUTELY VARIATION.
SO IT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE IN ORDER TO MOVE THE NEEDLE IN TERMS OF THE CARBON INTENSITY OF WHAT THE CITY IS PURCHASING, THAT YOU HAVE TO MOVE, I'M, I'M ALL FOR YOU DOING THE PERFORMANCE BASED STANDARD, BUT YOU COULD, AS ANNA WAS SAYING, YOU KNOW, LOP OFF THE HIGH END, YOU KNOW, THE HIGH FIVE, 10% WITHIN EACH CLASS INSTEAD OF VALUE THAT SAYS, WE'RE NO LONGER GONNA BUY THE DIRTIEST STUFF IN ANY GIVEN CLASS.
AND THAT DOES NOT REQUIRE A PERFORMANCE BASED STANDARD, RIGHT? THAT'S JUST USING THE DATA THAT YOU'VE COLLECTED.
SO WHY CAN'T THAT MOVE FORWARD? I MEAN, IT'S BEEN THREE YEARS NOW, SO I GUESS IT SEEMS LIKE THE DATA'S HERE.
WHY IS IT THAT THAT CAN'T, WHY IS THAT NOT A RELATIVELY QUICK PROCESS TO DO? I MEAN, UH, WE ARE TAKING THE INPUT HERE.
UH, I MEAN, WE HAVE, WE ARE PURSUING IT IN A HOLISTIC WAY.
AND, UM, I'M, WE ARE HERE TO COMMUNICATE WHAT WE ARE DOING IN OUR APPROACH.
BUT I, I THINK I'M HEARING WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS WHY CAN'T WE DO IT? AND, UH, I'M SAYING THAT WE ARE TAKING THIS INPUT AND WE ARE GONNA LOOK INTO IT.
WELL, UH, WE ARE IN A CLIMATE EMERGENCY.
AND LIKE I SAID, I MEAN YOUR FIRST SLIDE, YOU KNOW, THREE YEARS AGO THIS POLICY DIRECTION WAS GIVEN, AND I REALIZED THAT Y'ALL HAVE DONE A LOT OF, UH, WORK, PARTICULARLY ON THE, UM, SETTING, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO WORK THAT, UH, PERFORMANCE BASED STANDARD.
AND I, I CAN SEE HOW THAT IS ULTIMATELY ESSENTIAL FOR MAKING THE BIG STEPS.
BUT, UM, GIVEN THE CITY'S, UH, YOU KNOW, GOALS ON REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS FOR THE COMMUNITY AND DEFINITELY FOR CITY OPERATIONS.
AND AS YOU POINT OUT THE KIND OF OUTSIZED IMPACT OF CONCRETE AND THE AMOUNT OF CONCRETE THAT IS, YOU KNOW, PURCHASED IT IS THE NUMBER ONE, UH, SOURCE OF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN ITSELF.
UM, I WOULD HOPE THAT THIS DOES NOT HAVE TO BE ANOTHER YEAR LONG PROCESS LIKE THIS.
THIS SEEMS RELATIVELY STRAIGHTFORWARD AND IT SHOULD START WITH SHARING THE DATA.
AND, YOU KNOW, WHILE I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THE DATA CAN'T BE CON CONNECTED TO THE PRODUCER, 'CAUSE MY UNDERSTANDING IS A LOT OF THIS IS PUBLICLY POSTED ANYWAY.
[01:00:01]
UH, DATA WOULD, YOU KNOW, IT WOULD, IT WOULD TELL THE SAME STORY, RIGHT? WHETHER WE KNOW WHO IT IS, AND FRANKLY, IT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER WHO IT IS, RIGHT? MM-HMMAND I WOULD LOVE TO MAKE, IT WOULD BE NICE IF EVERYBODY COULD MAKE THE DECISION BLIND.
SO IT'S NOT ACTUALLY ABOUT A SPECIFIC PRODUCER, IT'S, IT'S JUST ABOUT THE NUMBERS AND SAYING, WELL, WE CAN, WE CAN GET THE CITY'S BUSINESS DONE WITH A LOWER GREENHOUSE GAS INPUT BY ELIMINATING THE WORST PROVIDERS AND THOSE PROVIDERS WHO DON'T HAVE TO BE PERMANENTLY ELIMINATED.
RIGHT? AND IN FACT, THEY MIGHT NOT HAVE TO BE ELIMINATED AT ALL IF THEY CHANGE THEIR OPERATIONS AND WHICH CLEARLY IS POSSIBLE, OR ELSE THEIR COMPETITORS WOULDN'T BE, YOU KNOW, DOING IT ANOTHER WAY.
THEY WOULDN'T END UP WITH A DIFFERENT VALUE.
I MEAN, WE ARE HEARING WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
UM, TO ME IT IS A BIT SIMPLISTIC VIEW OF WHAT THIS CHANGE WOULD LOOK LIKE.
UM, IT'S GREAT THAT THE DATA IS TRENDING DOWNWARDS AND UM, THAT REALLY SHOWS, YOU KNOW, THAT, UM, UH, WE ARE IN A BETTER PLACE.
WE ALREADY HAVE, UM, IS OUR DATA TRENDING DOWNWARDS? I DON'T SEE WHERE, WHERE WAS THAT? SO THE N-R-M-C-A NUMBERS, UM, YOU MEAN WE'RE JUST BELOW THAT AVERAGE? SURE.
BUT THAT DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN WE'RE TRENDING DOWNWARDS.
WE MIGHT'VE BEEN AT THE SAME PLACE 10 YEARS AGO, RIGHT? YES.
WE ARE JUST DISCOVERING THIS NOW.
UM, BUT I THINK WHAT, FROM WHAT I, WE WANT TO TREND DOWNWARDS.
BUT I, I, I GUESS MAYBE I AM NOT UNDERSTANDING WHEN YOU WERE SAYING WE COULD JUST ESTABLISH A GWP BASED ON THE NUMBERS THAT WE SEE.
AND THE REASON FOR PROPOSING THAT APPROACH IS BECAUSE OUR EMISSION NUMBERS ARE ALREADY LOWER THAN THE N-R-M-C-A.
I MEAN, I SEE THAT AS A INTERESTING FACT, BUT NOT REALLY RELEVANT TO REDUCING THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S BURDEN.
THE, THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS WHERE IT IS.
IT'S GREAT THAT WE'RE NOT AT THE, WE'RE BELOW THE AVERAGE, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN, I MEAN, WE WANNA GET TO NET ZERO AS A, YOU KNOW, AS A COMMUNITY.
UM, SO IT DOES SEEM THAT WE COULD, WE COULD START SOMEWHERE JUST WITH WHAT WE HAVE HERE, IF I MAY.
UH, I WOULD LIKE TO CLARIFY A LITTLE BIT PROCESS.
UH, AND WE HAVE TIMEFRAME AND, UH, IT WAS A STATEMENT THAT WE STARTED TO REQUIRE ENVIRONMENTAL PRODUCT DECLARATION SOMETIMES 2025.
AND I JUST MENTIONED THAT WE WILL LATE, WE WERE EXPECTING SOONER, BUT UNFORTUNATELY BECAUSE OF A GRANT WASN'T AWARDED TO, UH, AN RCMA, SO WE BASICALLY NEEDED TO GO THIS INDUSTRY.
SO FIRST OF ALL, DELAYING IN EPD COLLECTION, THEN, UM, EACH CONCRETE MIX BEING REVIEWED ANNUALLY, RIGHT? AND EACH PRODUCER HAVE DIFFERENT CYCLE.
SO WE NEEDED TIME TO COLLECT STATISTICS TO COLLECT ENOUGH EPD FROM EVERY PRODUCERS FOR EACH CLASS.
SO WE ARE NOW, AND THAT'S WHAT, UH, IN THE PRESENTATION IKA WAS PRESENTING, THAT WE ARE AIMING, UH, TO ESTABLISH BENCHMARKS THIS SUMMER.
AND THAT'S EXACTLY OUR APPROACH.
AND BY BENCHMARK YOU MEAN, I MEAN GLOBAL WARMING POTENTIAL MARKS FOR SPECIFIC REQUIREMENT.
I THINK OUR INTENT IF WE ARE ALLOWED TO PUBLISH IT ON CITY OF WESTERN.GOV, AND OF COURSE I THINK WE SHOULD STILL DISCUSS THIS CITY LEGAL, UH, AND HOW WE WOULD IMPLEMENT IT, UH, WHAT REPERCUSSION COULD HAPPEN.
WE ARE TRYING TO MOVE AS FAST AS WE CAN CONSIDERING, UH, GOING POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT, CONSIDERING THAT, UH, WE HAVE PRODUCERS WHO MAY EXPRESS CONCERN.
WE HAVE 12 PRODUCERS, ONLY FIVE PRODUCING EPD ONE, STILL HAVING A WAIVER.
WE ARE WORKING WITH THIS PRODUCERS, WE ACTUALLY REJECTING THEY'RE MIXES IF THEY'RE NOT PRODUCING EPD.
SO I GUESS, OH YEAH, GO AHEAD.
JUST ANOTHER, JUST TO, UM, AUGMENT THAT, UM, THERE WILL BE A PHASE IN AND A PHASE OUT OF CONCRETE MIXES.
I MEAN, UH, THIS IS EXACTLY WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SHARED THE PERFORMANCE SPEC WITH OUR PARTNER DEPARTMENTS.
THERE'S HUNDREDS OF CITY PROJECTS THAT ARE IN SOME PHASE OF CONTRACTING, PROCUREMENT, UM, BREAKING GROUND OR SOMEWHERE IN THERE.
SO IT'S NOT THAT WE CAN JUST ESTABLISH A GWP NUMBER AND SAY THAT AS EFFECTIVE OF THIS DATE, WE ARE NO LONGER GONNA ACCEPT THE OTHER MIXES.
SO THERE IS A LOT MORE CONVERSATION THAT'S AHEAD OF US.
CAN, SORRY, CAN YOU EXPLAIN THAT? SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE CLASSES OR ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE
[01:05:01]
STANDARD? WE ARE TALKING ABOUT THE GWP POTENTIAL.IF, IF WE ARE ESTE, WE WANT TO ESTABLISH TARGETS, BUT THERE HA AND THE, SO FOR BOTH THE SPEC AND THE GWP TARGET, THERE HAS TO BE A PHASE IN AND A PHASE OUT PROCESS.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT? THE OLD SPEC? IF, IF THAT, IF A CONTRACT HAS BEEN PROCURED OR, UH, PUT OUT ON THE STREET WITH THE OLD SPEC SURE.
UH, FOR THE LIFE OF THAT PROJECT, WHETHER IT'S, YOU KNOW, A TWO YEAR DURATION PROJECT OR A THREE MONTH PROJECT, UH, WE WILL HAVE TO HONOR THAT.
SO THE SAME APPLIES FOR, UM, SOMETHING THAT'S MINUS A GWP REQUIREMENT.
YOU GOT A CONTRACT, YOU GOTTA HONOR THE CONTRACT.
UM, WHICH IS KIND OF, I GUESS MORE TO THE POINT OF IF WE CAN'T GET STARTED STUDYING.
AND, AND I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO USE MAYBE A LITTLE BIT FIRMER LANGUAGE.
I THINK BENCHMARKING AND TARGETS SOUND SQUISHY.
UM, I THINK REQUIREMENT FOR EACH CLASS IS WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.
IF YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT PUTTING THIS INTO PURCHASING, UH, REQUIREMENT, YOU KNOW, IT IS, IT IS A REQUIREMENT RIGHT.
THAT YOU'RE, I THINK, AIMING FOR.
UM, I'M GLAD TO HEAR YOU SAY, ANGELA, THAT YOU DO INTEND TO DO THAT THIS SUMMER.
I GUESS THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR AND UM, I MEAN, I WAS LOOKING FOR IT BEFORE IT
JUST TO CLARIFY, WE ESTABLISHING THAT, BUT WE STILL NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE, YOU KNOW, MOVE FORWARD WITH THE POLICY.
SO THIS IS OUR, SO YEAH, I GUESS, UH, AND I HEAR THAT YOU'RE ASKING FOR HELP FROM ACAR IN THAT REGARD.
IS THAT, I THINK TO BRING THE PROCUREMENT PIECE TOGETHER? UM, YEAH, WE ARE LOOKING FOR SUPPORT AND ALIGNMENT AND LEADERSHIP THERE.
AND WHAT ABOUT, UM, AND Y Y'ALL ARE WITHIN TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS, RIGHT? SO, UH, YOU KNOW, I PERIODICALLY ATTEND AND PARTICIPATE IN VARIOUS, UH, PUBLIC STAKEHOLDER PROCESSES.
I WOULD SAY TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS PROBABLY HAS THE MOST OF THEM.
'CAUSE THEY'RE, THEY'RE ALWAYS DOING SOMETHING.
UM, ARE THE FOLKS THAT RUN THOSE SORT OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT INITIATIVES OR, YOU KNOW, CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENTS OR WHATEVER, ARE THEY AT YOUR DISPOSAL TO ASSIST WITH THIS PUBLIC PROCESS? BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE NOW WOULD BE THE TIME TO GET THEM INVOLVED SO THAT THIS CAN BE LAUNCHED, YOU KNOW, NOT IN THREE OR FOUR MONTHS, BUT YOU KNOW, AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
IS THAT, IS THAT ALREADY HAPPENING OR IS THAT A THAT'S WHAT WE INTEND TO START.
WE HAVE A PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT TEAM AND THEY'RE GONNA ASSIST US WITH, UM, ALL THE STEPS IN THE PROCESS.
AND IT SOUNDED LIKE, AND, AND I'LL, I'LL WRAP IT UP HERE, THAT THERE WAS SOME, UM, LACK OF CLARITY ABOUT HOW TO PUT THIS INTO PURCHASING, AND I WAS A LITTLE SURPRISED TO TO HEAR THAT BECAUSE YOU MUST ALREADY HAVE A WHOLE BUNCH OF STANDARDS THAT ARE REQUIREMENTS FOR THIS TYPE OF PURCHASING.
HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THEM AND WHY WOULD THIS BE ANY DIFFERENT? SO THE EASY WAY OUT WOULD BE TO JUST PUT THE SPEC IN A CONTRACT DOCUMENT AND WALK AWAY FROM IT AND THEN HAVE THE GWP POTENTIAL ON OUR WEBSITE AND CALL IT GOOD.
I THINK, UH, THE WAY WE ARE TRYING TO APPROACH IS, UM, TO MAKE IT IMPACTFUL, ENFORCEABLE, UM, WE NEED TO PUT STRONGER LANGUAGE IN OUR PROCUREMENT DOCUMENTS, UM, THAT EMPHASIZE THIS AND MAKE IT A, SO WE HAVE SECTION 700 GENERAL CONDITIONS OF THE CONTRACT.
UM, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE PLACES IN THE FRONT END DOCUMENTS THAT NOT, THAT IS NOT THE TECHNICAL SPEC PORTION OF THE, THE CONTRACTUAL DOCUMENT.
UH, THAT IF WE CAN ADD LANGUAGE THERE, THAT THAT WOULD PROVIDE IT WITH MORE TEETH AND WILL HELP US, UM, GET BETTER, UM, COMPLIANCE.
AND HAS DIRECTOR MENDOZA ALREADY REACHED OUT TO PURCHASING AND TRIED TO ENGAGE THEM? IS THAT WHY YOU'RE ASKING FOR ACAR TO BE AN INTERMEDIARY? OR IS YEAH.
WHY CAN THAT NOT JUST HAPPEN DIRECTLY BETWEEN THE TWO DEPARTMENTS? NOT THAT I'M NOT ALL ACAR R BEING INVOLVED, BUT I KNOW THEY SOMETIMES HAVE BANDWIDTH LIMITATIONS.
I'M NOT AWARE IF DIRECTOR MENDOZA HAS REACHED OUT OR NOT.
UM, UM, I'M, WE ARE JUST COMMUNICATING, YOU KNOW, THE ADDITIONAL PARTICIPATION THAT'S NEEDED.
WELL I GUESS MAYBE THAT CAN BE ON SOMEBODY, MAYBE IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE AT THE DIRECTOR LEVEL, BUT AT WHATEVER LEVEL WOULD BE EFFECTIVE.
I WOULD JUST SAY, LIKE, IT SOUNDS TO ME LIKE IT'S PRETTY MUCH THE TWO DEPARTMENTS.
[01:10:01]
UH, I'M NOT SURE IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH THE WHOLE CITY PROCESS, BUT IT'S MORE THAN TWO DEPARTMENTS.IT'S IT'S LAW, IT'S, UM, UM, PURCHASING.
I'M JUST SAYING I THINK ACAR R CAN BE USEFUL AND, AND I DON'T KNOW IF ROHAN IF YOU HAVE ANY, UM, THOUGHTS ON, ON WHAT Y'ALL'S ROLES SHOULD BE, BUT, UM, I WOULD JUST HOPE THAT, THAT Y'ALL WOULD, YOU KNOW, DO THAT OUTRAGE TO WHOEVER, WHICHEVER DEPARTMENTS YOU NEED TO.
UM, AND WHICH IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAVE ON THE PERFORMANCE BASED SPEC.
SO I'M NOT SURE, YOU KNOW, IF Y'ALL CAN JUST GET WITH PURCHASING, LIKE WHAT'S, SO WE HAVE CIRCULATED THE PERFORMANCE SPEC TO OUR PARTNER DEPARTMENTS, AUSTIN WATER.
THEY DO A LOT OF WORK WITH CONCRETE AUSTIN ENERGY CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES.
THEY ARE A BIG STAKEHOLDER BECAUSE THEY MANAGE THE VERY LARGE CAPITAL PROJECTS AND, YOU KNOW, THEY WILL HAVE A LOT OF INPUT ON OUR SPEC ALREADY, UM, EITHER INFORMALLY THROUGH THE EMAIL SHARING THAT WE DID AND FORMALLY THROUGH THE RULES POSTING PROCESS.
UM, SO I THINK WE NEED TO HEAR THEIR INPUT AND THEY WILL ALSO BE A STAKEHOLDER ALONG WITH PROCUREMENT AND LEGAL, UM, TO SEE HOW THIS MOVES FORWARD.
ANNA, DO YOU HAVE
I DO THINK WE NEED TO WRAP THIS UP.
I THINK MY LAST ONE WAS, YEAH, WHEN, YOU KNOW, WHEN CAN YOU COME BACK TO GIVE US AN UPDATE? LIKE WHEN'S THE NEXT TIME WE SHOULD EXPECT AN UPDATE ON THIS? LIKE WHAT'S THE NEXT MILESTONE HERE? UM, I THINK WE CAN COME IN THE BEGINNING OF SUMMER, MAYBE JUNE.
IF, IF THAT WORKS, WE'RE ALREADY END OF, UH, MARCH HERE, SO WE CAN COME TO A JUNE MEETING.
DO YOU THINK THAT BY THEN YOU PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO INITIATE THIS STAKEHOLDER PUBLIC PROCESS? WE EXPECT TO.
AND JUST, I JUST WANTED TO, YOU KNOW, ECHO, OKAY, THIS CONVERSATION IS, I, I THINK THERE IS A ROLE FOR PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT THIS, ESPECIALLY IF YOU WERE ANTICIPATING NEGATIVE INDUSTRY FEEDBACK, WHICH AGAIN, I THINK SOMEONE'S GONNA COMPLAIN.
THAT'S BEEN MY EXPERIENCE, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO THAT.
AND SO IF, YOU KNOW, HAVING, HAVING CITIZENS WHO ARE LIKE REALLY RILED UP ABOUT THIS VERY SPECIFIC ISSUE, YOU KNOW, IS, IS CAN, CAN BE USEFUL.
I WOULD, I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO, TO USE THAT INPUT BECAUSE YOU KNOW, I I FEAR THAT YOU WERE GETTING LOTS OF NEGATIVITY.
UM, AND I, I WISH I COULD SHARE SOME OF THE POSITIVITY THAT I'M, I'M HEARING ON THIS ISSUE.
'CAUSE I, I THINK IT, IT MIGHT HELP OVERCOME SOME OF THOSE FEARS OF, OF WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR INPUT AND, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK ON THIS.
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR WORK AND, AND FOR COMING TO SHARE WITH US TODAY.
SCOTT, DO YOU WANNA SPEAK ON THIS TOPIC? COME ON UP.
HEY Y'ALL, MY NAME IS SCOTT JOHNSON.
I'M A MEMBER OF THE CONSUMPTION WORKING GROUP ALONG WITH KABA AND ANNA AND MELISSA CODDLE.
I DO BELIEVE THAT EVERY TIME THAT WE ENGAGE OTHER DEPARTMENTS, WE'RE DOING SO IN A COLLABORATIVE WAY.
AND IT IS TAKE, IT HAS TAKEN SOME TIME TO, TO CONNECT SUCCESSFULLY WITH SOME, AND THIS IS A GOOD OPPORTUNITY HERE.
WHAT I WOULD SAY IS THAT I'M HERE MORE TO SPEAK ABOUT THE WORKING THAT WE'RE DOING TO THE OTHER PEOPLE ON THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE.
WE'RE LOOKING AT ALL THESE THINGS TRYING TO STAY CONNECTED, BUT WE'RE ALSO TRYING TO ASK FOR, FOR PROGRESS IN A WAY THAT WE CAN MEASURE AND WE CAN FOLLOW.
WHAT I WOULD SAY IS THAT HAVING BEEN AROUND IN AUSTIN BEFORE THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY, THAT THE PROGRESS TOWARDS CLIMATE PROGRESS IS GOOD OR VERY GOOD IN SOME DEPARTMENTS, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THAT PROGRESS HAS BEEN SPURRED BY A A R.
THEY ARE DOING SOME IMPORTANT WORK.
BUT IF THERE IS ANOTHER ITERATION OF THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN A YEAR FROM NOW, WHICH WOULD BE ON A FIVE YEAR CYCLE, THEN IT'S CLEAR THAT THE DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR AND ANYONE ELSE SHOULD BE ENGAGING THE DEPARTMENTS MORE FULLY TO EXPECT, EXPECT OUR OUTREACH TO THEM AND BE PREPARED FOR US TO WANNA COLLABORATE AND ASK QUESTIONS THAT WE WANT ANSWERS FOR.
AND WE DON'T WANNA HAVE TO WAIT FOR THOSE ANSWERS AS WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE PROGRESS ON THIS.
[01:15:01]
AS ONE THAT THE CITIZEN SIDE OF THE FOLKS WHO ARE WORKING ON THIS HAS NOT DELIVERED TO THE LEVEL THAT WE'D EXPECT.OBVIOUSLY THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN WAS A YEAR DELAYED, BUT WE'RE COMING UP TO THE FIVE YEAR POINT END OF THIS YEAR.
AND I'VE ENCOURAGED A COUPLE OF NONPROFITS TO ENGAGE ON THIS, TO GIVE WHAT WE'VE DONE WELL, THE SUCCESS STORIES, BUT ALSO CRITIQUE IT FOR FUTURE REFERENCE.
WE NEED EVERYONE WHO COMES TO THESE MEETINGS TO BE THINKING ABOUT QUESTIONS, TO ASK STAFF WHEN THEY'RE HERE AND LEARN ABOUT THE TOPIC AND DO YOUR BEST.
I'M VERY CONCERNED THAT THE CITY IS KNOWN TO BE A GREEN ENTITY, BUT AS I'VE LIVED IN OTHER CITIES AS AN ADULT AND AS I'VE TRAVELED AND TALKED TO PEOPLE, WE ARE NOT THE WORLD LEADERS ON EVERY ISSUE OR EVEN IN WITHIN THE US THERE'S OTHERS THAT ARE DOING MORE.
WE'RE OBVIOUSLY CONSTRAINED BY, UH, A STATE GOVERNMENT THAT LIMITS OUR PROGRESS ON CERTAIN THINGS.
BUT PLEASE KNOW THAT I CARE ABOUT THIS GROUP.
I'M NOT A PART OF IT, BUT I WILL DO MY BEST.
AND I HOPE THAT'S GOOD ENOUGH.
APPRECIATE YOUR CONTINUED CONTRIBUTIONS.
[3. Staff briefing on Solar on City Facilities. Presentation by Rohan Lilauwala, Austin Climate Action and Resilience.]
PRESENTING ON THE SOLAR FOR CITY FACILITIES INITIATIVE.THANK YOU ALL, UH, APPRECIATE THE CHANCE TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE, UH, TO THIS GROUP.
UH, AND APOLOGIES IN ADVANCE, UH, FOR THE LIMITED INFORMATION.
WE ARE AT THE END OF THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS AND I CAN'T SHARE ANYTHING THAT IS NOT PUBLIC AT THIS POINT, UH, FOR FEAR OF ENDANGERING THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS, UH, WHICH IS SEEN A LOT OF WORK AND A LOT OF RESOURCES GOING INTO IT.
UM, I DO WANNA SAY THAT, UM, THE WORK THAT HAS GONE ON TO DATE HAS BEEN SUPPORTED BY A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT THIS GROUP HAS BEEN REALLY INVOLVED IN.
AND I APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT Y'ALL HAVE DONE TO GET US TO THIS POINT.
SO, UH, SOLAR ON CITY FACILITIES WAS IN THE COMPREHENSIVE CLIMATE IMPLEMENTATION, UH, PLAN.
AND THAT PLAN CALLED FOR INSTALLING EIGHT MEGAWATTS OF ROOFTOP SOLAR ON CITY FACILITIES AT A COST OF $22 MILLION.
AND I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT REALLY APPEALED ABOUT THIS PROJECT WAS THAT RATHER THAN HAVING A COST FOR GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AVOIDED, IT ACTUALLY SAVED MONEY PER TON OF GREENHOUSE GASES, UH, REDUCED.
AND IT SAVED $28 PER TON OF GREENHOUSE GASES REDUCED.
AND BECAUSE IT WAS ONE OF THE TOP PERFORMING PROJECTS AS PART OF THE COMPREHENSIVE CLIMATE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN, I THINK IT CAUGHT THE EYE OF COUNCIL.
UM, I ALSO WANNA CALL OUT A COUPLE OF RESOLUTIONS THAT Y'ALL HAVE PASSED IN THE LAST YEAR, UM, ONE IN JUNE AND ONE IN NOVEMBER TO SUPPORT THIS EFFORT.
AND, UM, I THINK GETTING TO THIS POINT, UM, IS A TESTAMENT THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE WORK THAT Y'ALL ARE DOING DOES, UM, HAVE AN IMPACT AND I ENCOURAGE YOU TO CONTINUE TO DO WHAT YOU'RE DOING.
UM, SO THE WORK THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING TO DATE IS A RESULT OF RESOLUTION, UH, PASSED IN MAY, UH, OF LAST YEAR TO, UM, DO A NUMBER OF THINGS.
AND THE SORT OF THE HEADLINE WAS TO ANALYZE CITY OWNED PROPERTY, UH, FOR SOLAR GENERATION POTENTIAL AND TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PROJECTS AND TO RETURN TO COUNCIL WITH RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, FOR THAT DEVELOPMENT.
AND I ALSO WANNA POINT OUT ONCE AGAIN THAT THIS HAS BEEN A TEAM EFFORT.
UH, AND WE REALLY COULDN'T HAVE DONE ALL OF THIS WITHOUT THE SUPPORT AND PARTNERSHIP OF, UH, OUR COLLEAGUES AND FACILITIES MANAGEMENT, AUSTIN ENERGY FINANCE AND PROCUREMENT, UM, ALSO OUR CONSULTANTS IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN INSTITUTE, UM, AS WELL AS ALL OF THE OTHER PARTNER DEPARTMENTS THAT, UH, OWN OR MANAGE FACILITIES.
YOU'VE PROBABLY SEEN THIS SLIDE AS WELL.
UM, AND I JUST WANNA LAY OUT AGAIN, OUR APPROACH.
UH, WE STARTED WITH ASSESSING OVER 250 DIFFERENT CITY FACILITIES, UH, AND NARROWING DOWN TO WHAT WE THOUGHT WERE, UM, TECHNICALLY FEASIBLE AND VIABLE FACILITIES.
UH, WE NARROWED DOWN TO ABOUT 110, UH, AND ALSO ENGAGING WITH BUILDING OWNING DEPARTMENTS UPFRONT TO BUILD SUPPORT AND UNDERSTANDING FOR THE PROJECT.
IN DECEMBER, WE ISSUED A MULTI-SITE RFP DESIGNED TO ACHIEVE ECONOMIES OF SCALE.
SO, UM, AS A REMINDER, WE PUT THE 110 SITES INTO THE RFP AND WE LAID OUT EVALUATION CRITERIA THAT WAS DESIGNED TO OPTIMIZE FOR SCALE,
[01:20:01]
COST EFFECTIVENESS AND COMMUNITY BENEFITS.AND WE ASKED, UH, VENDORS TO PROPOSE A PORTFOLIO THAT OPTIMIZED FOR ALL THREE OF THOSE THINGS.
UM, IDENTIFYING THE PROJECTS THAT THEY THOUGHT WOULD BE THE BEST AND, AND THE, THE MIX AND THE BALANCE AND THE SCALE AND THE COST THAT THEY THOUGHT WOULD HELP TO ACHIEVE THOSE OBJECTIVES.
UH, AND WE KEPT IT OPEN TO TWO DIFFERENT OWNERSHIP MODELS.
THE CITY OWNERSHIP MODEL, WHERE THE CITY WOULD, UH, PURCHASE THE SOLAR, UH, FINANCE IT, PAY FOR IT, OWN IT, MANAGE IT, UH, AND RECEIVE BILL SAVINGS OVER TIME AS WELL AS THE SOLAR STANDARD OFFER APPROACH, WHERE A THIRD PARTY WOULD, UH, PAY FOR OWN AND MANAGE THE SOLAR.
THEY WOULD BE PAID BY AUSTIN ENERGY FOR THE ELECTRICITY PRODUCED AT THE SOLAR STANDARD OFFER RATE, AND THEN THEY WOULD COMPENSATE THE CITY FOR THE USE OF ITS SPACE.
UH, WE LEFT IT OPEN TO BOTH MODELS 'CAUSE WE WANTED TO SEE WHAT WOULD COME BACK.
AND WE GOT A LOT OF IT REALLY INTERESTING PROPOSALS.
UH, AND WE ARE NOW AT THAT DECIDE AND BUILD PHASE.
UM, WE ARE VERY CLOSE TO HAVE, UH, A WINNING PROPOSAL.
I THINK A RECOMMENDATION MIGHT BE COMING IN THE NEXT DAY OR TWO.
UM, AND REALLY IMPORTANTLY, UH, WE ARE STILL LOOKING TO BUILD SOLAR ASAP TO LEVERAGE, UH, THE SOLAR INVESTMENT TAX CREDIT, WHICH IS PHASING OUT AS OF THIS YEAR.
SO WE, UM, WE DESIGNED THIS ENTIRE APPROACH TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN LEVERAGE THAT SOLAR INVESTMENT TAX CREDIT, AND WE ARE ON TRACK, UH, TO LEVERAGE THAT SOLAR INVESTMENT TAX CREDIT.
UH, AND IMPORTANTLY SOMETHING THAT WE'VE LEARNED, UM, FROM THE CITY'S PAST EXPERIENCES WITH SOLAR AS WELL AS MANY DISCUSSIONS WITH OUR FACILITY STAFF, IS THE IMPORTANCE OF BUILDING OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE INTO THE CONTRACT AND INTO THE PLAN EARLY SO THAT THE INVESTMENTS THAT WE MAKE PERFORM OVER THEIR LIFESPAN, UH, AND PAY BACK THE CITY OVER, OVER THEIR LIFESPAN.
SO WE WERE VERY INTENTIONAL ABOUT INCLUDING OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE IN OUR APPROACH.
UM, SO THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS AND, AND WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW.
IN DECEMBER, WE LAUNCHED THE RFP.
UM, AND I, AS I MENTIONED, IT WAS FLEXIBLE.
UH, WE INCLUDED 110 SITES IN IT IN JANUARY, PHASE ONE CLOSED.
AND PHASE ONE WAS BASED ON QUALIFICATIONS.
SO WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, ANY FIRM WE WORKED WITH WAS, UM, HAD THE REQUIRED OR REQUISITE EXPERIENCE AND EXPERTISE TO BE ABLE TO CARRY OUT A PROJECT OF THIS SCALE IN NATURE.
UM, WE RECEIVED 16 SUBMISSIONS FOR PHASE ONE, UM, WHICH IS VERY COMPETITIVE FOR A A PROJECT OF THIS NATURE.
UM, THE EVALUATION COMMITTEE ADVANCED EIGHT FIRMS BASED ON QUALIFICATIONS.
IN PHASE TWO, UM, FIRMS WERE ASKED TO PROVIDE PROPOSALS, WHICH INCLUDED, UM, THE, THE PORTFOLIO, THE PROPOSED PORTFOLIO, UM, THE, THE SITES SELECTED, UM, THE COST, UM, INITIAL HIGH LEVEL DESIGNS AND LAYOUTS AND ORIENTATIONS FOR EACH SITE.
UM, THE PROPOSED COMMUNITY BENEFITS, IMPLEMENTATION PLANS, SCHEDULES, CONSTRUCTION STRATEGIES, MATERIAL STRATEGIES, SORT OF A, THE WHOLE SUITE OF INFORMATION THAT WE WOULD NEED TO MAKE A DECISION OF THIS KIND.
UM, AND WE WENT INTO A BEST AND FINAL OFFER PHASE, UH, AND IN MARCH WE CONDUCTED THAT BEST AND FINAL OFFER EVALUATION.
UH, AND WE ARE ABOUT TO SELECT A VENDOR AND WE ARE TARGETING AN APRIL, UH, COUNCIL DATE FOR APPROVAL.
UM, OUR EVALUATION COMMITTEE FEATURED STAFF FROM OUR, UM, SORT OF CORE TEAM, WHICH INCLUDED AUSTIN ENERGY, UH, AUSTIN CLIMATE ACTION RESILIENCE FACILITIES MANAGEMENT.
AND WE ALSO HAD REPRESENTATION FROM AVIATION LIBRARY AND PARKS AND RECREATION.
SO WE REALLY TRIED TO HAVE AN INTER INTERDISCIPLINARY AND INTERDEPARTMENTAL EVALUATION PANEL THAT COULD LOOK AT THE PROPOSALS, UH, FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE ENTIRE CITY.
WHERE WE ARE NEXT, UH, WE ARE, AS I MENTIONED, LOOKING AT COUNCIL APPROVAL IN APRIL.
UM, WE'RE SIMULTANEOUSLY MOVING INTO A CONTRACT NEGOTIATION AND EXECUTION PHASE, AND WE ARE LOOKING TO COMMENCE CONSTRUCTION BY JULY 4TH, 2026, UH, IN ORDER TO SAFE HARBOR THE ENTIRE PORTFOLIO FOR THE SOLAR INVESTMENT TAX CREDITS.
UM, SO IT, THIS HAS BEEN A, AN IMMENSE LIFT OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS.
UM, LOTS OF CITY STAFF WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH EACH OTHER AND, UM, STAYING LASER FOCUSED ON THIS GOAL.
LOTS OF LEADERSHIP AND EXECUTIVE SUPPORT, UM, GETTING US TO THIS POINT.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, LOTS OF, UM, ENCOURAGEMENT AND SUPPORT FROM THE JSC AS WELL, UH, TO GET US WHERE WE ARE NOW.
SO ONCE AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR GETTING US
[01:25:01]
HERE, UM, AND YOUR SUPPORT.UM, THAT'S ALL I HAVE PREPARED, BUT I AM HAPPY TO ANSWER WHATEVER QUESTIONS THAT I CAN ANSWER RIGHT NOW.
CAN YOU EMAIL US WHEN YOU, UH, WHEN YOU SELECT THE VENDOR? SURE.
YEAH, IT'S GONNA BE ANNOUNCED.
UH, I MEAN ONCE IT'S UP IT'LL BE ON AUSTIN FINANCE ONLINE, BUT I'M HAPPY TO SHARE THAT WITH THE JSC AS WELL.
UM, AND I'M, I'M HEARING YOU SAY VENDOR DOES THAT VENDOR AT ONE POINT I THINK THERE WAS TALK OF IT MAYBE BEING MULTIPLE CONTRACTS.
DOES IT LOOK LIKE IT'S, I I PROBABLY SHOULDN'T ANSWER THAT QUESTION UNTIL IT'S EVERYTHING'S PUBLIC.
I DID HEAR THE GIST OF WHAT YOU TALKED ABOUT, UH, MENTIONED ON N-P-R-K-U-T TONIGHT, SO THE REST OF THE CITY KNOWS TOO WHAT YOU'VE TOLD US.
REALLY
OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, UH, A LOT OF SECRECY THAT Y'ALL NEED TO MAINTAIN AROUND THIS, BUT I WAS CURIOUS IF YOU COULD COMMENT ON WHAT Y'ALL FOUND AS FAR AS EVALUATING THE PROPOSALS.
WHAT WAS PROBABLY THE BETTER OPTION FINANCIALLY FOR THE CITY? IS IT OWNING THE SOLAR OUTRIGHT OR IS IT, YOU KNOW, HAVING A THIRD PARTY BASICALLY BUILD IT AND JUST LEASE THE SPACE FOR THE CITY? DID Y'ALL, IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN SHARE ABOUT WHAT Y'ALL FOUND? I CAN SHARE THAT WE LEARNED A LOT AND IF I SAY ANYTHING FURTHER, I'M GONNA GET IN TROUBLE.
SO I'M NOT GONNA SAY ANYTHING FURTHER ON, ON ANY OF THE PROPOSALS, UM, OR THE EVALUATION PROCESS.
A LOT OF IT WAS VERY INSTRUCTIVE.
YEAH, I'M SURE THE MAGIC WAS THE FRENZY Y'ALL MADE AROUND, ALONG THE WAY.
WHICH, UH, APRIL MEETING DO YOU EXPECT THIS TO BE AT? THE, THE LATER ONE? IT'S, IT, IT WILL LIKELY BE AT THE APRIL 23RD MEETING.
UM, MAYBE THEN COULD WE PLAN TO GET MORE OF A DEEP DIVE IN MAY TO TALK ABOUT SOME OF THOSE THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN'T TALK ABOUT NOW, THE THINGS YOU LEARNED? SURE.
WE CAN PUT THAT ON THE, ON THE, ON THE, ON THE AGENDA FOR A LATER JFC MEETING.
UM, IT SOUNDS LIKE, I MEAN, CONGRATULATIONS ON ALMOST GETTING THERE,
I'M, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO IT.
UM, HOPE TO, HOPE TO BE THERE AT THE MEETING WHEN IT PASSES IN APRIL.
UM, I AM GETTING THE SENSE THAT THERE'S PROBABLY NOT TOO MUCH USEFUL THINGS THAT WE COULD ASK YOU, BUT IF ANYBODY HAS ANOTHER QUESTION, UM,
[4. Approve a recommendation related to climate and sustainability in the FY26 City of Austin Budget. ]
UP WE HAVE OUR BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS, AND ANNA HAS BEEN KIND ENOUGH TO TAKE THE LEAD ON COMPILING THOSE AND INCORPORATING INPUT FROM THE LAST MEETING.LEMME PULL UP THE VERSION THAT'S THE LATEST VERSION.
UM, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU TO MY FELLOW COMMITTEE MEMBERS FOR LISTENING TO ME.
SO WHAT I'M GONNA DO FOR THIS IS I'M ACTUALLY GONNA PULL UP THE LIVE GOOGLE DOC OF THIS, IN WHICH I THINK ACTUALLY WE DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT QUORUM 'CAUSE WE'RE ALL HERE, RIGHT? UM, AND SO IN THE EVENT THAT, UH, WE NEED TO EDIT THIS, UM, RIGHT, UM, BUT I WAS GONNA SAY THAT SHOULD MATCH EXACTLY WITH THIS DOCUMENT, CORRECT? YES.
ACTUALLY, THAT'S A QUESTION TO ME.
I THINK THE QUESTION IS, DIDN'T EVEN EDIT THIS IN NOT EDIT MODE.
UM, BUT IF YOU COULD SCROLL DOWN TO THE, UH, PAST THE WHERE AS IS, I'M SURE YOU CAN CHECK THE VERSION.
UM, AND MAYBE ZOOM IN PERHAPS.
YEAH, I THINK, YEAH, ENHANCE
UM, SO WE'VE COMPILED A, A, A SOMEWHAT LONG LIST OF, OF BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, THAT WE HOPE TO GET PEOPLE'S SUPPORT ON.
UM, BUT WE, WE ALSO WELCOME INPUT TODAY, UH, THE, THE FIRST, UH, OF WHICH IS THAT WE ARE RECOMMENDING THAT THERE ARE NO CUTS TO A CAR.
UM, AND THE RATIONALE HERE IS, UH, YOU KNOW, AS WE'VE HEARD CONSISTENTLY, THERE'S CONTINUED DEMAND FOR,
[01:30:01]
UH, ACAR TO DO WORK THAT, UM, WE ACTUALLY DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND WHY IT WOULD BE IN THEIR PURVIEW SUCH AS LIKE, I DON'T KNOW, CRAFTING PROCUREMENT CONTRACTS.UM, AND SO, UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK, UH, WE WOULD LIKE TO ADVOCATE FOR THE POSITION THAT, UH, THEY, THEY, THEY HAVE MORE ON THEIR PLATE THAN IS, IS NECESSARY.
I'M GONNA MOVE THROUGH THESE AND BECAUSE WE HAVE THE DOCUMENT UP, UM, FOR PEOPLE ONLINE, WE UNFORTUNATELY CAN'T SEE YOUR FACES IF YOU ARE, UH, RAISING OBJECTIONS TO THESE.
UM, SO PLEASE, OH, LOOK AT THIS.
WE'VE GOT AMAZING, AMAZING SUPPORT HERE IN THE CHAMBER TODAY.
UM, SO OKAY, I CAN SEE YOUR FACES, BUT YOU'LL HAVE TO, UH, THEY'RE, THEY'RE STILL SMALL, SO YOU'LL HAVE TO MAYBE WAVE OR LOOK EXTRA, EXTRA ANGRY.
UM, WOULD ANYONE LIKE TO DISCUSS NUMBER ONE? GREAT.
SO, UH, NUMBER TWO, UM, I, UH, WENT THROUGH SOME OF THE, UM, WENT THROUGH SOME OF THE PROGRAMS THAT WE THINK ALIGN WITH SOME JSE, UH, PRIORITIES, UH, NATURAL LAND RESTORATION AND WILDLIFE PREVENTION, UH, FIRE AND URBAN FOREST REPLENISHMENT FUND, FLOODPLAIN REFORESTATION PROGRAM, THE MOVE OUT A TX PROGRAM AND FIX IT AND REPAIR CLINICS.
UM, AND THESE ARE NUMBERS, UM, THAT WERE IDENTIFIED FROM, UH, THIS FISCAL YEAR'S BUDGET.
SO THESE ARE NOT ASKING FOR ADDITIONAL DOLLARS.
THESE ARE RECOMMENDING THAT WE MAINTAIN PROGRAMS, THESE SPECIFIC PROGRAMS THIS YEAR.
UM, IN SUPPORT OF THAT, I WOULD JUST SAY IS, UM, BEYOND THIS, IF THERE'S ITEMS THAT ARE, YOU MENTIONED LIKE, HEY, WE'RE NOT ASKING FOR ADDITIONAL DOLLARS, UM, THAT WE MAYBE KIND OF KEEP SOMETHING IN OUR BACK POCKET FOR A FUTURE RECOMMENDATION REGARDING A, A POTENTIAL BOND THAT MIGHT BE COMING UP TO SAY, HEY, YOU KNOW, THIS WAS, THESE ARE OUR BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS RIGHT NOW, BUT THERE'S STILL MUCH WORK TO BE DONE.
BUT, AND FOR FUTURE, UH, YOU KNOW, BOND ELECTIONS, WE SUGGEST THAT, YOU KNOW, HERE ARE SOME FUNDS AND WAYS THAT YOU, THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION RECOMMEND YOU EXPAND, UH, SERVICES AND PROGRAMMING IN THIS AREA.
YOU KNOW, I, I THINK CERTAINLY THE INTENTION HERE WAS FOR US TO RECOGNIZE, YOU KNOW, THE CURRENT FISCAL MOMENT.
UM, YOU KNOW, I'LL CERTAINLY LEAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE, THE BOND TO, TO, TO KABA WHO'S BEEN MORE INVOLVED IN THAT.
AND I DON'T THINK WE HAVE ANY SPECIFIC LIKE BOND SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS TODAY TO VOTE ON, DO WE? NO, WE ACTUALLY VOTED ON SOME LAST MONTH.
BUT THAT DOESN'T PRECLUDE US FROM VOTING AGAIN ON SOMETHING ADDITIONAL NEXT MONTH, SO, OR WHENEVER WE WANT.
SO CERTAINLY REACH OUT IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING SPECIFIC YOU'D LIKE TO BRING FORWARD THERE.
UH, MOVING ON TO ITEM NUMBER THREE, THE CLIMATE REVOLVING FUND.
UM, THIS RECOMMENDS THAT A PREVIOUSLY P PASS COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION IS, UH, IMPLEMENTED THIS SPECIFIC, UM, SORRY, RESOLUTION, UH, NOT RECOMMENDATION, UH, IDENTIFIED THAT, UH, SAVINGS FROM, UH, SOLAR, WAS IT SOLAR SPECIFICALLY, UM, ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS, UM, BE REDIRECTED INTO A FUND.
UH, AND THE IDEA BEING THAT WE CAN TAKE THE SAVINGS WE HAVE FROM, UH, YOU KNOW, MONEY SAVING TECHNOLOGIES LIKE SOLAR AND REDIRECT THEM INTO INVESTMENTS.
UM, I THINK WE TRIED TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WAS, UH, THE STATUS OF THIS WITH A CAR.
UM, AND I ACTUALLY DON'T REMEMBER WHERE WE GOT WITH THAT.
UH, AND I DID REACH OUT TO COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL'S OFFICE, AND I GOT A RESPONSE, BUT NOT AN ANSWER YET ON WHAT THEIR INTENTION WAS.
AND SO MAYBE TO EXPAND ON WHAT KAA SAYING, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE, WHEN WE READ THIS, YOU KNOW, IT LOOKED AS IF, UH, THE WAY IT WAS WRITTEN INTENDED THAT PREVIOUS SAVINGS COULD PERHAPS BE INCLUDED.
SORRY, IT, IT LOOKED LIKE AS WRITTEN, PREVIOUS SAVINGS WERE INTENDED TO BE INCLUDED IN THIS.
UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK THE QUESTION IS, IS, IS THAT READING SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE ARE AWARE OF AND IN AGREEMENT OF? AND I'M SURE WE'LL CONTINUE TO FOLLOW THAT UP, BUT THAT'S WHY I THINK LIKE IN THIS RECOMMENDATION WE JUST SAID ALL APPROPRIATE, SO IT'S KIND OF SILENT AS TO WHAT APPROPRIATE MEANS, AND WE NEED TO SORT
[01:35:01]
THAT OUT.UM, JUST BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO THAT ONE, CAN, CAN SOMEONE REMIND ME ABOUT THAT REVOLVING FUND WAS, WAS, I SEEM TO RECALL THERE WAS A REQUEST TO SORT OF SEED THAT, UM, PROJECT WITH 4 MILLION OR 8 MILLION OR 14 MILLION OR SOMETHING, UM, IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT THE, THE SOLAR ON, ON FACILITIES AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY, WHICH WOULD THEN YIELD SAVINGS THAT COULD BE REINVESTED.
SO IS THERE, IS THERE ANY SEED MONEY OR DO I, DID I MISREMEMBER THAT, UH, THERE, THERE WAS CONVERSATION ABOUT SEED MONEY IN THE LAST BUDGET AND IT WAS VOTED IN AND THEN IT WAS REMOVED AFTER THE TRE FAILURE? UM, I GUESS I WOULD SORT OF SEE, YOU KNOW, LET'S ASSUME THE CITY MOVES FORWARD WITH AN OWNERSHIP MODEL ON THE, ON THE SOLAR FURTHER CITY FACILITIES.
IT MAY NOT EVER, THE MONEY MIGHT NOT HIT THIS FUND AND THEN GO OUT, BUT THAT'S KIND OF A SEED IN THAT THOSE SAVINGS SHOULD START TO ACCRUE, UM, EXACTLY WHEN AND HOW THE SAVINGS START TO ACCRUE IS ANOTHER OPEN QUESTION.
BUT YEAH, UNFORTUNATELY THERE'S, THERE IS, THAT'S THE ONLY CURRENT, UM, SEED MONEY THAT I AM AWARE OF BEING DISCUSSED.
AND SO TO BE CLEAR, THE SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATION DOES NOT INCLUDE SEED FUND FUNDING.
SO WE ARE SAYING WE DO NOT RECOMMEND, I MEAN, WE'RE IMPLICITLY STATING WE DON'T RECOMMEND THAT SEED FUNDING BE INCLUDED.
UM, BUT WE DO RECOMMEND THAT THOSE SAVINGS START TO ACCRUE.
UM, WE DID NOT INCLUDE A DOLLAR AMOUNT WITH THIS.
AND I WILL ALSO NOTE THAT WE'VE HAD DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE NEED FOR THE FTE AND THIS RECOMMENDATION DOES NOT INCLUDE THAT.
UH, AND SPECIFICALLY THE FT WOULD PROBABLY MAKE THIS MORE EFFECTIVE OF A, OF A PROGRAM AND OTHER CITIES HAVE A SIMILAR, BUT THIS IS, THIS IS OUR LEAN VERSION OF WHAT WE WOULD DO IN A LIMITED BUDGET.
UH, LOCAL SOLAR, CAN I HAVE QUESTION ON NUMBER FOUR, PLEASE? YEAH, PLEASE.
UM, SO I UNDERSTAND THAT, UM, THE, THE CITY WILL BE, UM, PROVIDING COMPENSATION FOR AND INCENTIVES, UM, FOR THIS ONSITE SOLAR INSTALLATION.
UM, IS THERE ANY KIND OF, UM, ESTIMATE AS TO HOW MUCH WOULD THAT BE ANNUALLY? WELL, CURRENTLY, UH, THE, UM, BUDGETS FOR THE SOLAR INCENTIVES, UH, AS A WHOLE ARE GENERALLY SOMEWHERE IN THE KIND OF $5 MILLION RANGE.
UM, YOU KNOW, HOW, HOW THIS WOULD COMPARE, UM, OR HOW, HOW, HOW THIS WOULD AFFECT THAT NUMBER.
I CAN'T, I CAN'T REALLY SAY SPECIFICALLY.
UM, BUT I THINK IT'S PRETTY REASONABLE TO EXPECT THAT SOME, A SIGNIFICANT PORTION LIKELY OF THE INSTALLATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN OCCURRING UNDER THE CURRENT, UM, INCENTIVE PROGRAMS, PARTICULARLY ON THE RESIDENTIAL SIDE, ARE LIKELY TO BE, UM, MUCH LESS UTILIZED WITH THE ELIMINATION OF THE FEDERAL, UH, SOLAR TAX CREDIT FOR RIGHT.
SO THIS IS KIND OF, UM, ENVISIONED AS A WAY OF REPURPOSING THOSE FUNDS.
NOT THAT THOSE OTHER INCENTIVES WOULD GO AWAY, BUT THE REALITY IS, IS THEY'RE JUST NOT GONNA DRAW DOWN AS MANY DOLLARS.
UM, SO, SO THEY WILL NOT BE UTILIZED BASICALLY BECAUSE, BECAUSE OF THE ABSENCE OF OTHER INCENTIVES.
IF I, IF I WERE A BETTING PERSON, I WOULD BET THAT IF THERE'S NO CHANGES TO WHAT THE TYPES OF, UM, LOCAL SOLAR THAT ARE ELIGIBLE FOR INCENTIVES, THEN YES, PROBABLY SOME OF THE MONEY WOULD GO AND USED.
AND, YOU KNOW, THE WAY IT WORKS IS THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY SERVICES FEE, WHICH, UM, PROVIDES THE FUNDING FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY AS WELL AS SOLAR INCENTIVES RATCHETS UP AND DOWN BASED ON THE NEED.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT FEE WOULD THEN JUST BE REDUCED OR IT COULD BE INCREASED IF FOR MORE SUCCESSFUL, UM, WHICH MAYBE SOUNDS A LITTLE MORE SCARY THAN IT IS.
IF YOU LOOK AT YOUR BILL, YOU'LL SEE THAT THE, THE CUSTOMER BENEFITS CHARGE, WHICH ACTUALLY INCLUDES THAT ENERGY EFFICIENCY SERVICES FEE, AS WELL AS THE CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM AND STREET LIGHTING, IT'S A REALLY SMALL PIECE OF YOUR BILL,
[01:40:01]
SO EVERYBODY'S PAYING IN A TINY BIT, UM, TO ENABLE ALL OF THOSE KIND OF, YOU KNOW, UH, CLEAN ENERGY DECARBONIZATION TYPE PROGRAMS. UM, AND THIS WOULD BE ANOTHER PIECE OF THAT.I'LL, I'LL GO CHECK MY, MY BILL, BUT THANK YOU.
AND AGAIN, THIS, THIS SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATION, AGAIN TO KIVA'S POINT IS WE JUST, WE DON'T THINK ANYBODY'S GONNA BE INSTALLING SOLAR, UH, AT LEAST NEXT YEAR BECAUSE EVERYONE WHO WAS THINKING ABOUT IT TRIED TO GET THE TAX CREDIT LIKELY.
UM, AND SO THIS WAS ALSO INTENDED TO BE ONE IN WHICH THERE WASN'T NECESSARILY, LIKE, WE'RE NOT SAYING, YOU KNOW, YOU SHOULD SPEND AN ADDITIONAL LARGE BUCKET OF MONEY, BUT RATHER THAT WE SHOULD REDIRECT A BUCKET OF MONEY THAT WE FORECAST WILL NOT BE, BE SPENT, WOULD, WOULD, IS
AND, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN ENERGY STAFF HAVE SAID THE STATE THE SAME.
YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY IS, YEAH, THAT'S THAT.
I THINK THERE'S, THERE'S PRETTY, UH, UNIFORM, UH, AGREEMENT ON THAT PROJECTION THAT IT IS GOING TO BE SUBSTANTIALLY REDUCED.
UM, I WILL JUST CALL ATTENTION TO THAT.
THERE ARE A COUPLE OF ADDITIONAL BUCKETS OF MONEY HERE MENTIONED.
UM, ONE IS THE, UH, COMMUNITY SOLAR PROGRAM.
UH, AUSTIN ENERGY HAS INDICATED THAT THEY INTEND TO, UH, LAUNCH THE NEW COMMUNITY SOLAR PROGRAM IN A DIFFERENT MODEL THAN THE, THE CURRENT PROGRAM.
AND THE, YOU KNOW, WHAT THEY WANT IS FOR THAT TO BE A, YOU KNOW, PREMIUM PRODUCT.
IN OTHER WORDS, UH, YOU KNOW, THE SUBSCRIBERS ARE ALWAYS PAYING AN INCREASE.
YOU'RE NOT WALKING IN A RATE WHERE YOU MIGHT, UH, SAVE MONEY AT SOME, SOME POINT, LIKE THE CURRENT PROGRAM.
UM, SO YOU KNOW, THE, THE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE YOU LIKE THAT, MAYBE YOU DON'T, UM,
BUT IF, IF THAT IS HOW THINGS ARE MOVING FORWARD, THEN THAT MEANS THAT WHATEVER THAT AMOUNT IS THAT, UM, SUBSCRIBERS ARE PAYING TO PARTICIPATE IN COMMUNITY SOLAR, UM, SHOULD BE REINVESTED INTO THOSE SAME INSTALLATIONS THAT ARE, UH, ENABLING THE PROGRAM.
SO THAT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, ONE, ONE PIECE OF REVENUE THAT THIS RECOMMENDATION IS RECOMMENDING BE, UH, PUT INTO THE SOLAR STANDARD OFFER PROGRAM TO, TO MAKE IT VIABLE.
UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WE DID ADD IN HERE MENTION OF THE GREEN CHOICE PROGRAM, UM, THAT IS ALSO A, YOU KNOW, A PREMIUM PROGRAM.
CUSTOMERS PAY A PREMIUM CURRENTLY, UNFORTUNATELY, THAT MONEY JUST GOES INTO THE POWER SUPPLY ADJUSTMENT FEE.
IT DOESN'T REALLY GET ALLOCATED TO PURCHASING ADDITIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY.
SO THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF CONVERSATION AT THE RMC AND
UM, BUT THIS IS ONE WAY THAT THAT MONEY COULD ACTUALLY MOVE THE NEEDLE ON SOLAR DEPLOYMENT LOCALLY.
I I, I'D CERTAINLY LIKE TO HEAR YOUR FEEDBACK, WHICH I THINK MIGHT'VE EVEN GOTTEN INCLUDED IN THE COMMENTS THAT THAT WENT
UM, COULD YOU SHARE ONE SPECIFICALLY TO THE GREEN CHOICE PROGRAM? YES.
ON, I SIT ON THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION, AND, UM, AS
UH, AND, UH, I BELIEVE IT'S ABOUT $7 MILLION, UM, IS THE REVENUE FROM IT.
AND WE HAVE HAD, UH, DISCUSSIONS ABOUT REVAMPING THE PROGRAM OR REALLOCATING THE, THE MONEY TO SOMETHING THAT ACTUALLY DOES MOVE THE NEEDLE ON SOMETHING RIGHT NOW, YOU KNOW, OSTENSIBLY PEOPLE ARE, ARE PAYING INTO THAT TO, UM, ENCOURAGE MORE PURCHASES OF WIND POWER AND SOLAR POWER RENEWABLES.
AND THAT'S NOT ACTUALLY WHAT HAPPENS.
BUT THERE IS A FAIR AMOUNT OF, UM, RESISTANCE TO, UM, JUST MOVING THE MONEY WHOLESALE WITHOUT A REDESIGN OF THE PROGRAM.
SO I THINK THAT A REDESIGN IS, UM, UH, IS A GOOD THING TO, TO DO.
UM, AND THERE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A FAIR AMOUNT OF MONEY THERE THAT, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WOULD KEEP ALL $7 MILLION OF SUBSCRIBER MONEY IF YOU DID CHANGE, YOU KNOW, CHANGE THE PROGRAM.
UM, BUT IT'S, IT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT, UM, COULD BE CONSIDERED.
SO I THINK MY COMMENT WAS JUST, UM, AROUND THE CON CONTR, A LITTLE BIT CONTROVERSIAL NATURE OF IT AND SOFTENING THE LANGUAGE TO JUST, YOU KNOW, CONSIDERING A REDESIGN OF GREEN CHOICE PROGRAM TO PROVIDE THE INCENTIVES AS OPPOSED TO JUST LIKE A STRAIGHT REALLOCATION.
AND, AND I GUESS, 'CAUSE WE HAD THIS DISCUSSION OFF OFFLINE, I MEAN, I JUST WANTED TO CHECK IN WITH YOU, KABA, IF, IF YOU'RE
[01:45:01]
HAPPY WITH THIS, THIS VERSION OF THE LANGUAGE.I MEAN, I'M, I'M HAPPY TO CHANGE THE WORDS.
I, UM, I DON'T ACTUALLY REMEMBER THE DISCUSSION, BUT I'M ALSO, UH, PERSISTENTLY SLEEP DEPRIVED.
IF WE MISS THE MARK HERE, UM, YEAH, I THINK WE CAN, WE CAN ADD OR SUBTRACT OR CHANGE, UH, WORDS, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE ESSENTIALLY IN THE SAME PLACE OF LIKE, LET'S, YEAH.
IF PEOPLE ARE GOING TO PAY INTO A PROGRAM THINKING THAT THEY ARE PAYING EXTRA IN ORDER TO HELP DEPLOY MORE RENEWABLE ENERGY, THEN THAT MONEY SHOULD BE USED TO DEPLOY MORE RENEWABLE ENERGY.
SO I THINK IT'S AN ADVERTISING, IT'S JUST SEMANTICS, WHATEVER.
SO YES, I THINK WE'RE, WE'RE IN AGREEMENT.
SO TO BE CLEAR, THIS LANGUAGE AS WRITTEN REVENUE FROM THE GREEN CHOICE PROGRAM COULD ALSO BE USED TO INCENTIVIZE SOLAR STANDARD OFFER INSTALLATIONS.
WE'RE HAPPY WITH, WELL, MY COMMENT WAS TO A SUGGESTION TO CHANGE IT TO, UM, SOMETHING LIKE A REDESIGN OF THE GREEN CHOICE PROGRAM COULD BE CONSIDERED TO PROVIDE SOLAR STANDARD OFFER INCENTIVES.
A REDESIGN OF THE GREEN CHOICE PROGRAM COULD OR SHOULD BE CONSIDERED TO PROVIDE SOLAR STANDARD OFFER INCENTIVES.
MARK YOUR COMMENT AS RESOLVED AND DELETE THE PRIOR SENTENCE.
OTHER COMMENTS ON FOUR, LOOKS LIKE ENTHUSIASTIC AGREEMENT.
MOVING ON TO WASTE REDUCTION AND DIVERSION.
UM, HERE WE ARE RECOMMENDING, UH, FUNDING, UM, FOR EDUCATION, UH, AND, UM, IN PARTICULAR FIX IT CLINICS, WHICH ISN'T STRICTLY EDUCATION ALSO FILLS, FALLS INTO THIS.
AND, UH, WE HAVE SPECIFICALLY RECOMMENDED PAUSING THE ZERO WASTE BUSINESS INCENTIVES AND REBATES.
SO THIS IS FUNDING, UH, THAT, LET'S MAKE SURE I GET THIS RIGHT, UH, TO, UH, TO, IT'S A ONE TIME PROGRAM FOR RESTAURANTS TO, UM, HAVE LIKE COMPOSTABLE, UH, DINNERWARE AS OPPOSED TO PLASTIC BASED DINNERWARE.
IT'S ACTUALLY OPEN TO MUCH MORE THAN RESTAURANTS, BUT IT IS MOSTLY NOT UTILIZED BY ANYBODY
LIKE MULTIFAMILY PROPERTY IS, YOU KNOW, ANY, ANY COMMERCIAL ENTITY CAN APPLY FOR THAT MONEY, BUT FEW DO.
AND SO IT'S THE, IT'S THE PIECE OF FEW DO THAT HAS, UM, PUT THIS ON, ON AT LEAST MY CHOPPING BLOCK WITH THE VIEW THAT, YOU KNOW, I THINK IN AN, IN AN, IN A TIME OF AUSTERITY, YOU KNOW, THE CITY CAN DO MANY THINGS, BUT PERHAPS WE SHOULD FOCUS OUR EFFORTS ON THE THINGS THAT ARE, THAT ARE MEANINGFUL, UM, AND BEING UTILIZED AND MOVING THE NEEDLE.
CAN WE MAKE SURE TO STATE THAT RATIONALE IN THIS? UM, YOU KNOW, AS SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T SPEND MY, MY FULL TIME IN THIS SPACE, UM, YOU KNOW, HEARING THAT WE'RE GONNA CUT LIKE THE, THE BUSINESS INCENTIVES AND GO TO THE EDUCATION, UM, YEAH, I, I THINK IT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL TO ME AND TO ANY OTHERS THAT ARE READING THIS TO KIND OF STATE THAT RATIONALE.
UM, SHOULD, SHOULD THAT RATIONALE GO IN HERE SPECIFICALLY AS OPPOSED TO WERAS? WHAT DID WE JUST, I THINK WE JUST ADD LIKE A ONE SENTENCE THERE.
JUST SAY LIKE, DUE TO HARRIS, CAN YOU GO ON MIC FOR THAT? YEAH.
I WAS JUST GONNA SAY, YOU KNOW, SAYING, PAUSING THE ZERO WASTE BUSINESS INCENTIVES AND REBATES FOR FFY 2026 DUE TO X, Y, Z, AND THEN, AND REDIRECT, UH, THE MONEY FROM THAT TO WASTE REDUCTION DIVERSION DUE TO LACK OF UTILIZATION.
AND I THINK THAT COULD COME RIGHT AFTER THE 20 5K THERE MM-HMM
DUE TO LACK, HOW ABOUT THIS DUE TO LACK OF UTILIZATION AND BUDGET CRISIS? LIKE, I MEAN, I MEAN, EVERYONE WHO'S READING THIS IS PROBABLY WELL AWARE OF THE BUDGET CRISIS
AND I GUESS THAT ISN'T THE WEAR EYES.
WAIT, HOW ABOUT THIS? DUE TO LACK OF UTILIZATION, WE FURTHER RECOMMEND PAUSING THE ZERO WASTE BUSINESS INCENTIVES AND REBATES FOR FISCAL YEAR 2026 AND REDIRECTING THIS MONEY TO WASTE REDUCTION AND DIVERSION PARENTHESES, COMPOSTING AND RECYCLING EDUCATION FOR MULTIFAMILY PROPERTIES.
OTHER COMMENTS ON FIVE? OKAY, GREAT.
UH, NUMBER SIX IS CITY VEHICLE FLEET.
CITY FLEET VEHICLE ELECTRIFICATION.
UM, AND, AND THIS RECOMMENDATION CAME UP BECAUSE WE'VE SEEN, UH, ANALYSIS, WHICH PRESENTED BY A CAR SUGGESTING THAT, UM, VEHICLE FLEET ELE ELECTRIFYING VEHICLES, UM, CAN BE A COST SAVINGS.
UH, AND IN PARTICULAR IS ONE OF THE MORE, UH, COST EFFECTIVE CARBON ABATEMENT MEASURES THAT WE'VE SEEN.
[01:50:01]
IN PAST DISCUSSIONS, UH, BOTH IN THE, THE SMALLER WORKING GROUPS AND, AND, UM, IN, IN, IN THIS FORUM, UM, WE HAVEN'T SUPER GOTTEN SPECIFICS ON, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE PARTICULARS.UM, SO THIS ONE'S WRITTEN, UH, ABOUT CHARGING STATIONS BECAUSE THAT, UM, WAS SOMETHING I WAS ABLE TO PULL FROM LAST YEAR'S BUDGET.
UH, AND SO THESE WERE THE NUMBERS THAT I GOT FROM THIS FISCAL YEAR, WHICH IS A MILLION 0.1 0.2 MILLION ALLOCATED FOR CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE, AN INFRASTRUCTURE.
UM, AND THIS WAS LEVEL TWO AND THREE, UH, CHARGERS THAT WERE MARKED AS PRIORITY CHARGING STATIONS.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT MAKES THEM PRIORITY.
AND SO THAT THE PRIORITY CHARGING STATIONS ARE THE CITY FLEET CHARGING.
UM, THIS NUMBER WAS SPECIFICALLY FOR CITY VEHICLES.
AND THEY REFER TO THOSE AS PRIORITY CHARGING STATIONS.
IN THE, I THINK THIS WAS IN THE LIKE, YEAH.
LAST BUDGET ADJUSTMENTS AND OKAY, WHATEVER THE FALL.
UM, BUT AGAIN, THIS WAS INTENDED TO BE LIKE A NO CUT SITUATION, UH, GIVEN THAT THIS SAVES MONEY OR WE THINK THIS WILL SAVE MONEY.
MAY I OFFER A FRIENDLY SUGGESTION PLEASE.
ON, UM, SO WHERE IT STARTS, THE 1.2 MILLION ALLOCATED, THIS WAS THE LEVEL OF FUNDING FROM LAST YEAR? CORRECT? THIS, THIS IS WHAT I BELIEVE I FOUND.
SO, SO MAYBE IT'S, IT'S JUST, UM, RETAIN 1.2 MILLION FOR LEVEL TWO E EV CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE AND 3.2 MILLION FOR LEVEL THREE.
CAN WE SAY RETAIN AT MINIMUM? RETAIN AT MINIMUM? SURE.
'CAUSE IT COULD ALSO BE AT MAXIMUM
THE MINIMUM COULD BE AT THE MAX.
NO, SORRY, THAT'S A MATH JOKE.
UM,
AND SO TAKE OUT THE ALLOCATED, I'M ALSO GONNA DELETE THE CITY VEHICLES ONLY JUST BECAUSE, SORRY, I'M GONNA SUGGEST WE REMOVE THAT CITY VEHICLES ONLY PIECE OF THIS, JUST BECAUSE THAT WAS THE, THE NUMBER, UM, THAT WAS JUST LITERALLY, I WAS JUST PULLING FROM THE, THE BUDGET SPREADSHEET THAT I HAD ANY OBJECTIONS TO THAT JUST RETAIN AT MINIMUM 1.2 MILLION FOR LEVEL TWO EV CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE AND 3.2 FOR LEVEL THREE EV CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE PERIOD BY ME SO REMOVED.
AND, AND AGAIN, WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS THE, THE, WHEN WE SAY PRIORITY CHARGING STATIONS, THAT DOES COVER CITY ONLY, RIGHT? THAT'S NOT COVERING LIKE, UM, UH, LIKE REGULAR PEOPLE, UH, CHARGING STATIONS, UM, IN, IN SO MUCH AS THAT CITY EMPLOYEES ARE NOT REGULAR PEOPLE.
WHY DON'T WE JUST SAY FUNDING LEVELS FOR CHARGING STATIONS FOR CITY OWNED VEHICLES, SINCE THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
OR CITY FLEET VEHICLES, I GUESS WOULD PROBABLY BE THE WAY TO SAY IT.
OTHER, UH, COMMENTS OR INPUT ON ELECTRIFICATION? OKAY, FANTASTIC.
I'M JUST GONNA KEEP THIS MOVING 'CAUSE UM, IT'S GETTING LATE AND I'VE TALKED A LOT.
UH, NUMBER SEVEN IS THE SIDEWALK INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM, AND I ACTUALLY, UH, THIS COMES TO US VIA RODRIGO, UH, AND A SUITE OF RECOMMENDATIONS THAT HAVE COME FROM, OH MY GOSH, WHICH COMMISSION, WHICH WOULD, WOULD THIS HAVE BEEN, UM, URBAN TRANSPORTATION.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE HAD, UH, YOU KNOW, I KNOW WE'VE HAD PUBLIC COMMENT BEFORE, UH, ON THIS SPECIFIC ISSUE.
UM, AND SO, UH, YEAH, THIS ONE WAS NOT DISCUSSED AT OUR, OUR LAST COMMISSION MEETING, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK FOR CONTEXT, UH, WE LACK A LOT OF SIDEWALKS.
UM, AND IN PARTICULAR, THERE ARE PARTS OF THE CITY THAT ARE EXPERIENCING, YOU KNOW, OUTSIDE OUTSIZE FATALITIES AND CRASHES COMPARED TO OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY.
UM, AND SO, UH, SPECIFICALLY NORTH LAMAR.
UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, THE NUMBER THAT WAS IN THE RECOMMENDATION THAT PASSED THE URBAN TRANS, WHAT'S THE COMMISSION THAT PASSED THE OTHER COMMISSION? URBAN TRANSPORTATION.
URBAN TRANSPORTATION, UM, WAS $15 MILLION.
I HIGHLIGHTED THIS JUST TO FLAG
[01:55:01]
THAT.UM, THIS IS A NUMBER THAT COULD BE AN INCREASE.
I THOUGHT THEY DID THAT FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR TOO.
I'M PRETTY SURE THEY DID, SO I THINK IT WOULD BE A CONTINUATION MAYBE.
AND I THINK THAT BECAUSE THIS IS A TOPIC WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING AS PART OF THE BOND PROCESS, UM, AND MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THEY DID MAKE A, YOU KNOW, ONE TIME ALLOCATION THIS CURRENT FISCAL YEAR BECAUSE THEY WERE OUT OF BOND MONEY.
UM, SO IT, IT'S POSSIBLE THAT THE, YOU KNOW, IF, IF A BOND MOVES FORWARD AND IS SUCCESSFUL AND INCLUDES ADEQUATE SIDEWALK MONEY, YOU KNOW, THAT COULD BECOME AVAILABLE.
UH, MY UNDERSTANDING IS BY NEXT JANUARY, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF IFS IN THAT STATEMENT THERE, NOT LEAST OF WHICH THERE MIGHT NOT BE A BOND, OR IT MIGHT BE SMALL AND WE DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH WILL BE IN THERE.
SO I DON'T THINK IT'S A PROBLEM TO HAVE THIS THERE, BUT I I DO THINK IT'S A CONTINUATION OF THIS YEAR'S FUNDING LEVEL.
I, I AM IN THIS, UM, UH, THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION.
UM, WHERE'S THIS? JUST CHECK THIS.
UM, WELL ANYWAYS, IF SOMEONE HAS STRONG FEELINGS ABOUT THIS, WE CAN DIG THIS UP.
UM, OKAY, SO THE SUGGESTION IS TO KEEP IN THIS 15 MILLION, UM, AND PERHAPS I WILL REMOVE THE HIGHLIGHT OF IT.
DOES THAT WORK IN TERMS OF I YEAH, PLEASE.
I HAVE A QUESTION, UM, RELATED TO, UH, JUST LIKE BIKE INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, RIGHT.
SO IT DOESN'T LIKE PRECLUDE THIS, LIKE MY SUPPORT ON THIS.
UM, IS THERE, UH, ANY REASON I GUESS WHY LIKE THAT WAS NOT INCLUDED? UM, AND AGAIN, LIKE YOU, YOU MENTIONED THE COMMISSION THAT YOU SIT ON AND, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THERE'S ALREADY KIND OF WORK DONE, UH, RELATED TO THAT, BUT I, I DO THINK OF, UM, I SEE THE WORK FATALITIES AND I ALSO THINK OF OTHER KIND OF MOBILITY WAYS OF, OF HOW PEOPLE DIE ON, ON OUR STREETS.
SO, SORRY, SO THE, I MEAN, YEAH, I THINK HE'S ASKING WHY WERE BIKE LANES NOT INCLUDED.
THE WOULD BE, HEY, IS THAT, UM, WAS THERE ANY KIND OF THOUGHT OF LIKE, INCLUDING LIKE, UH, LIKE BIKE LANE EXP EXPAND, CONTINUE TO EXPAND LIKE BIKE LANE INFRASTRUCTURE AND LIKE SAFETY? YEAH.
UM, SO I THINK FOR ME, UM, THE REASON THAT I WANTED TO PUT THIS IN HERE, UM, WAS, UH, YOU KNOW, A TO ECHO AND UPLIFT COMMISSIONS THAT ARE MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE IN ALIGNMENT WITH US.
AND I THINK I THEORIZE THAT IT SENDS A STRONGER MESSAGE IF YOU GET A LOT OF CITIZENS TO, TO AGREE WITH EACH OTHER.
BUT, BUT THAT BEING SAID, UM, SO, AND ON TOP OF THAT, AND I WAS, YOU KNOW, LOOKING FOR PLACES WHERE WE COULD COPY AND PASTE AND, AND DROP IN.
UM, AND THEN THE, THE THIRD REASON IS, UM, YEAH, WE'VE, WE'VE HAD PUBLIC COMMENT ON, ON THIS, UH, ISSUE BEFORE.
AND SO I, I THOUGHT THAT THAT MAYBE, UM, I FELT, I FELT MOVED TO INCLUDE THAT.
UM, BUT THIS DOES NOT PRECLUDE OTHER THINGS I'M JUST LOOKING AT.
AND JUST TO CLARIFY, I ACTUALLY DON'T SIT ON, ON THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION, UM, WHICH IS PART OF THE REASON, I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S CALLED, UM,
SO MY APOLOGIES TO THE PERSON MEMBER OF THIS COMMISSION WHO, WHO DOES, UH, I, UH, DID NOT SEE, I'M LOOKING AT THIS RIGHT NOW.
THERE IS ONE, YES, IT'S, UM, HALF A MILLION AND A DEDICATED MAINTENANCE CREW FOR VERTICAL SAFETY TO REPLACE AND REPAIR BROKEN DELINEATORS, FLEX POST CL AND OTHER VERTICAL SAFETY ELEMENTS IN BIKEWAYS CROSSWALKS AND VISION ZERO PROJECTS.
WHAT IS VERTICAL SAFETY? UH, I DON'T KNOW.
I THINK IT'S THE, I MEAN, SO SOMETIMES THOSE CARS WHEN YOU'RE RIDING A, A BIKE IN A BIKE LANE, RIGHT? THOSE, THERE ARE THE LIKE WHITE POSTS, FLEX POSTS THAT AFFECT YOU FROM THE CARS.
I WOULD IMAGINE THAT THAT IS LIKE A VERTICAL
UM, BUT, UH, I GUESS THE QUESTION IS, YOU KNOW, GIVEN THAT WE'VE GOT THIS TEXT HERE THAT WE, WE COULD PUT IN, UM, IT'S ALREADY PASSED THEIR COMMISSION.
UH, ARE YOU SUGGESTING, UH, THAT WE INCLUDE THIS IN OUR LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS? I WROTE AN E-BIKE HERE, SO I'M ALL FOR PUTTING IT IN HERE.
THIS SOUNDS WHAT YOU READ, I'M SUPPORTIVE OF, BUT IT SOUNDED LIKE A VISION ZERO THING MORE SO THAN A BIKE LANE THING.
[02:00:02]
DID I MISS SOMETHING THERE? UM, OR DID YOU WANNA, CAN I LIKE PASS YOU MY, WELL, I THINK IT, I, I THINK IT, UM, IT MAKES BIKING SAFE, SAFER, RIGHT? UM, YOU KNOW, WHENEVER THERE'S, THERE'S BROKEN INFRASTRUCTURE IN BIKE LANES, IT'S, YEAH, I JUST MISSED THAT PART.I'M GONNA COPY AND PASTE THIS IN.
UH, I THINK THIS IS A GREAT IDEA.
AND WHILE I DO THIS, SOMEONE CAN VOICE THEIR OBJECTIONS IF THEY HAVE 'EM.
UM, WHY DON'T WE FIRST SEE IS, ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS ON THE SIDEWALKS? ARE WE ALL GOOD ON THAT PIECE? AND THEN WE CAN DISCUSS THE VISION ZERO BY WAY RECOMMENDATION.
I'M NOT SEEING ANY HANDS, UH, DIANA, ARE YOU RAISING YOUR HAND? NO.
MAYBE WE, SHOULD WE GO ON TO THE NEXT ONE WHILE YOU'RE TYPING ANNA SUSTAINABLE PURCHASING? WE CAN, UH, NO, CERTAINLY DO.
I MEAN, ARE THERE ANY EDITS TO THE BIKEWAY FUNDING'S IN THERE? NO.
WELL, WE CAN ACTUALLY SEE IT READ OUT REAL QUICK.
SO HALF A MILLION AND A DEDICATED MAINTENANCE CREW FOR CAPITAL V, VERTICAL SAFETY CAPITAL S TO REPLACE AND REPAIR BROKEN DELINEATORS, FLEX POSTS, ZLA, AND OTHER VERTICAL SAFETY ELEMENTS IN BIKEWAYS CROSSWALKS AND VISION ZERO PROJECTS.
UM, THE, IT THEN GOES ON TO READ IF A TPW FEELS THAT THIS IS ALREADY BUDGETED WITHIN SCIENCE AND MARKETING, UH, JSC.
THE JSC THANK YOU RECOMMENDS THAT THE FUNDING BE BROKEN OUT AS A SEPARATE BUDGET ITEM WITHIN THE DIVISION.
AND WHAT'S, WHAT'S OUR HEADER FOR THIS ADAM BIKE BIKEWAY FUNDING? I THINK IT'S BIKEWAY AND PEDESTRIAN.
SO ANY OBJECTION TO ADOPTING THAT IN? OKAY, SO ADOPTED.
WHAT IS NOW NINE WOULD BE, AS YOU'VE SUGGESTED, WE PUT THAT AS A SEPARATE THING.
BUT, UH, THIS, UH, ON THE SCREEN, UH, ITEM EIGHT, WHICH IS ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE PURCHASING.
UM, THIS IS A RECOMMENDATION THAT HAS BEEN INCLUDED SEVERAL YEARS, UH, IN A ROW, UH, FOR A FULL-TIME PERSON TO WORK ON SUSTAINABLE PURCHASING.
I THINK AS WE HEARD TONIGHT, UM, THERE IS LOTS OF GREAT WORK HAPPENING IN MANY DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS AND, UH, THERE IS, YOU KNOW, SOME THINGS THAT ARE FALLING THROUGH THE CRACKS BECAUSE PEOPLE IDENTIFY THAT THAT IS NOT THEIR, THEIR DEPARTMENT'S JOB.
IT'S NOT WITHIN THEIR PERSONAL PURVIEW.
UM, AND SO THIS IS THE RECOMMENDATION OF A PERSON WHO WOULD FILL THAT GAP.
NOW, I WILL SAY I, I HAVE HAD SOME, YOU KNOW, RESERVATIONS ABOUT SUGGESTING AN FTE, UH, IN THIS BUDGET CYCLE.
UM, THAT BEING SAID, I THINK THERE IS A STRONG NEED AND, UH, YOU KNOW, PERHAPS IT IS IMPORTANT TO, TO BE CONSISTENT.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK IT'S THIS, TODAY'S PRESENTATION, UM, MADE, MADE PRETTY CLEAR THAT I THINK, YOU KNOW, STUFF'S JUST NOT GONNA HAPPEN IF THERE'S SOMEBODY, THERE'S NOT SOMEBODY WHO CAN LIKE, HAVE A MEETING WHERE MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS COME TOGETHER AND LIKE WRITE A WRITER TO A CONTRACT.
DO YOU, YOU'VE BEEN, YOU'VE, YOU'VE SWAYED ME ON THIS ONE.
I MEAN, WE ALMOST GOT THIS POSITION, UH, LAST YEAR.
I THINK THIS YEAR WILL BE TOUGHER.
I DON'T NECESSARILY, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, IF I WERE BETTING NO ONE BET ON IT, BUT I THINK THE NEED IS CLEAR AND CONSISTENT, AND WE HAVE MADE THIS RECOMMENDATION BEFORE.
I DON'T THINK ANYTHING HAS CHANGED IN TERMS OF THE NEED.
SO, UM, I THINK WE, WE PAIRED IT DOWN A LOT.
I THINK ADDING, ASKING FOR ONE FTE IN OUR RECOMMENDATIONS ISN'T TO OUTLANDISH.
UM, I'LL TAKE THAT AS A LACK OF OPPOSITION AND MOVE ON TO NUMBER NINE, WHICH IS NOW NUMBER 10.
UH, AND THIS ONE WE THINK IS A MONEY MAKER, WHICH IS ESTABLISH, AND THIS, UH, THIS RECOMMENDATION NUMBER NINE, UH, COMES TO US OUT OF THE ZERO WASTE COMMISSION, UM, THAT PASSED, RIGHT? KABA? ACTUALLY, NO, WE NEED TO LOOK AND SEE IF THIS PASSED.
[02:05:01]
THIS WAS, THIS WAS PROPOSED AT THE ZERO WASTE COMMISSION LAST NIGHT.IT WAS POSTED, UM, TO RECOMMEND THAT A RR LOOK AT THIS VERY SPECIFIC PROPERTY THAT THEY DEEM TO BE A, YOU KNOW, VACANT AND A POTENTIAL FOR GENERATING REVENUE.
AND SO WE WOULD LIKE TO ECHO THAT AND SAY, YOU KNOW, HEY, IN A WORLD IN WHICH THERE'S A LOT OF TALK ABOUT CUTS AND EFFICIENCIES, MAYBE WE COULD LOOK AT THE REVENUE SET QUESTIONS ON THIS ONE.
UM, IT, IT JUST A SUGGESTION, UM, OVERALL, YOU KNOW, I KNOW WE'RE KEEPING MINDFUL OF TIME IF IT'S POSSIBLE TO, BECAUSE THERE'S SEVERAL LIKE REVENUE GENERATING IDEAS IN HERE.
IF IT'S POSSIBLE TO MAYBE HAVE A HEADER TO SAY THAT YOU KNOW, THAT THE FOLLOWING ARE REVENUE GENERATING RECOMMENDATIONS, I THINK THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE A, UH, MORE TRACTION FROM ANY, UH, CITY, UH, EMPLOYEES THAT ARE READING THIS.
YEAH, THAT'S, THAT IS A FAIR TAKE.
WHICH, UM, I ACTUALLY THINK THIS IS THE ONLY ONE THAT'S LIKE REVENUE GENERATING, GENERATING.
ARE, ARE THERE, WHICH ONES CAUGHT YOUR EYE? LIKE, I THINK THERE'S SOME THAT ARE MONEY SAVING, BUT WHICH ONES ARE YOU CATEGORIZING AS REVENUE SAVING? I THOUGHT THERE WAS ONE EARLIER IN THE RECOMMENDATION SET.
UM, LET ME CON, LET ME LOOK AT ALL OF THEM.
UM, AND YEAH, IF I MISREAD THAT THEN, BUT YEAH, GIMME ONE SECOND AND I WILL, OKAY.
YEAH, NO, NO, I THINK, I MEAN, I THINK THE COMMENT IS, IS GOOD, WHICH IS LIKE, THERE'S A COUPLE OF IDEAS IN HERE AND THEN IT'S FORMATTED LIKE A LIST.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, IF SOMEBODY, UH, IS A BETTER WRITER THAN ME, UH, I WOULD, I WOULD LOVE IF WE COULD, YOU KNOW, MAKE THIS A LITTLE BIT EASIER TO, TO, TO READ.
UM, AND IF YOU SUGGEST WHERE THE HEADERS SHOULD GO, I'M, I'M VERY SUPPORTIVE OF PUTTING THEM IN.
BUT YEAH, I MEAN, I THINK THE WAY THIS IS STRUCTURED RIGHT NOW IS LIKE THINGS THAT WE, WE THINK SHOULD NOT BE CUT.
UM, AND THEN HIDDEN IN HERE, YOU'RE RIGHT, IS ACTUALLY THINGS THAT WE THINK SAVE MONEY.
LIKE I THINK CITY VOCAL FLEET ELECTRIFICATION SAVES MONEY, I THINK.
SOLAR PROBABLY SAVES, WELL, THE SOLAR PROPOSAL IS MORE ABOUT, UH, NOT CITY SPECIFIC.
UM, SO IT MIGHT, MIGHT BE NEUTRAL IN TERMS OF, I GUESS LAW.
I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WOULD SAVE MONEY LONG TERM.
YEAH, I WOULD AGREE WITH THAT.
AND I JUST, I THINK THAT FRAMING, I DON'T KNOW, I'VE, I'VE MADE THIS COMMENT AGAIN, AGAIN, I THINK, I THINK FOR SOME OF THE THINGS THAT ARE STARTING TO SAVE MONEY, LIKE WE, WE CAN'T TALK ABOUT IT IN TERMS OF CARBON COSTS.
WE GOTTA, WE GOTTA PUT COST, COSTS REALLY BIG.
UM, BUT YEAH, SO IT, I THINK THAT'S KIND OF THE FLOW ACTUALLY.
WELL, IT'S OUT A LITTLE BIT OUT OF ORDER.
AND THEN THIS LAST ONE IS LIKE, HEY, HERE'S HOW WE COULD MAKE MONEY.
UM, AND THEN THIS LAST ONE IS LIKE, HERE ARE THINGS WE THINK YOU SHOULD MAYBE, UM, POTENTIALLY, UH, NOT, NOT, UH, FUND.
I THINK ALL OF THESE THINGS, WELL, I THINK THE, THE, THE LAST ONE PERSONALLY, I DON'T NECESSARILY SUPPORT ELIMINATING.
I THINK IT SHOULD BE REVAMPED AND WE'VE MADE THAT RECOMMENDATION VAIN BEFORE, UM, ON THE, AND, AND I GUESS I WOULD KIND OF SAY THE SAME MAYBE FOR THE, UH, THE VERY LAST BULLET POINT ON NUMBER 10, THE THIRD BULLET POINT ON THE AUSTIN WATER LANDSCAPE CONVERSION REBATE.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT USED AS MUCH AS IT SHOULD BE, UH, BUT IT, IT IS, I THINK THERE IS A NEED THERE.
IT JUST, THE, THE PROGRAM NEEDS SOME RETOOLING.
AND I GUESS I, I THINK PROBABLY THE SAME IS TRUE ON THE, YOU KNOW, ELECTRIC, UM, LAWN EQUIPMENT THAT, THAT MONEY PROBABLY COULD BE USED MORE EFFECTIVELY IF TARGETED AND YOU KNOW, IF TARGETED AS OPPOSED TO JUST, YOU KNOW, GIVING OUT 15 AND $30 AT A TIME AT THE CASH REGISTER.
YOU KNOW, I DO THINK THAT'S PROBABLY PRETTY INEFFECTIVE WAY TO JUST KIND OF PIDDLE AWAY WHAT ISN'T A HUGE AMOUNT OF MONEY, BUT, BUT COULD BE USEFUL.
UM, AND THEN IN CARBON CREDITS, I MEAN, I AM FLAT OUT AGAINST THIS
[02:10:01]
NOT GONNA DIE ON THE HILL.BUT YEAH, I MEAN, I, I THINK I, MAYBE I'LL SHARE MY RATIONALE AND THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, OTHERS CAN OFFER, UH, THEIR THOUGHTS.
YOU KNOW, I, I WANTED TO COMPILE, YOU KNOW, WHERE I THOUGHT WERE AREAS, PROGRAMS THAT HAVE COME UNDER FIRE FROM MEMBERS OF THIS COMMISSION, UH, IN, IN THE PAST.
AND, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THIS IS MY PERSONAL STANCE, BUT I, I THINK, YOU KNOW, LIKE EVERYONE, THE CITY IS, AND CITY EMPLOYEES ARE DOING AWESOME WORK AND ARE OVERWORKED AND THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS.
AS A CITIZEN, I WOULD PREFER WE DO FEWER PROGRAMS AND DO THEM REALLY WELL AND LIKE REALLY KNOCK 'EM OUT OF THE PARK AND GET PEOPLE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THE GREAT WORK THAT LIKE GOVERNMENT CAN DO.
AND I THINK SOMETIMES WHEN WE ASK PEOPLE TO DO TOO MANY THINGS, IT DILUTES THAT.
UM, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S A, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A PERSONAL STANCE OR OPINION.
UM, I THINK YOUR POINT ABOUT THE ENTERPRISE ONE IS, IS ACTUALLY PROBABLY LIKE A, A FAIR ONE.
UM, YOU KNOW, SPECIFICALLY, I KNOW THE, LIKE THE REBATE PROGRAM FOR LIKE GAS LAWN MOWERS IS SOMETHING THAT'S COME QUITE PASSIONATELY OUT OF ARC, BUT, YOU KNOW, SUB SUBGROUP ON CONSUMPTION.
UM, SO I WANTED TO PUT IT FORWARD.
THAT ONE ACTUALLY, LIKE SINCE THAT ONE'S AT AUSTIN ENERGY AND PROBABLY I'M ASSUMING COMING OUT OF THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY SERVICES FEE, IT ACTUALLY LIKE COULD FREE UP MORE MONEY FOR EFFECTIVE REBATES ON SOLAR AND EFFICIENCY.
SO LIKE, I DON'T, YEAH, I GUESS I, IT'S THE LAST ONE THAT I GUESS I WOULD JUST SAY WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING ABOUT AUSTIN WATER IN HERE OF LIKE, SO WE JUST WANT THE PROGRAM TO GO AWAY AND WE DON'T REALLY GET ANYTHING FOR IT WOULD BE MY CONCERN THERE.
C CERTAINLY, YOU KNOW, AND I KNOW CHARLOTTE, I THINK YOU HAD SOME STUFF TO SAY ABOUT THIS ONE, BUT, YOU KNOW, AND WE CAN REORGANIZE THIS DOCUMENT, BUT LIKE IN THIS, IN THIS, WE ARE ASKING AUSTIN ENERGY TO DO THINGS.
AND SO I THINK FOR ME, THIS WAS INTENDED TO BE A LITTLE BIT OF A SYMBOLIC FRAMING AND, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, FEEL FREE TO PUSH BACK IF FOLKS DON'T THINK THAT'S EFFECTIVE, BUT TO SAY, HEY, LIKE WE DO RECOGNIZE THAT LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE SHORT A BUNCH OF MONEY, UM, AND YOU KNOW, THERE ARE THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE THINK COULD AND SHOULD BE CUT.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, PERHAPS ONE THING TO DO IS TO PUT THIS INTO THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT RECOMMENDATION FOR, FOR SOLAR DIRECTLY.
UM, I DON'T KNOW, CHARLOTTE, YOU HAD A COMMENT ON THIS ONE.
WELL, I THINK THE, THE SECOND ONE AROUND THE REBATE PROGRAM, I THINK IT'S MAYBE NOT, IT, IT READS I THINK A LITTLE MISLEADING.
THERE'S NOT A, A, A REBATE TO PURCHASE GAS, UM, LAWN EQUIPMENT.
OH, SORRY, THAT WAS, YEAH, SORRY, ELECTRIC.
SO I WAS CON ELECTRIC THAT'S SUPPOSED TO READ ELECTRIC.
SO IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE ELECTRIC.
OKAY, BECAUSE I, I WAS CONFUSED ABOUT THAT.
UM, SO, SO THIS IS THEIR SPUR PROGRAM, I GUESS WHERE THEY AT, AT RETAIL THERE'S LIKE 15, LIKE YOU WERE SAYING, 15, $30.
SO, UM, YEAH, I MEAN, I, I, I DON'T, YOU KNOW, I WOULDN'T FALL ON MY SWORD TO PROTECT THAT MONEY OR TO, OR TO LEAVE IT IN.
I MEAN, I, I COULD GO EITHER WAY FOR THAT.
UM, I, I DID, WE DO HAVE A, A MEMBER THAT SITS ON WATER AND WASTEWATER, UM, THAT PROBABLY KNOWS MORE THAN THAN US ABOUT THAT LANDSCAPE CONVERSION REBATE.
BUT ONE FIGURE THAT I WAS TOLD WAS THAT THAT PROGRAM SAVES $57, OR THE PROGRAM COSTS $57 PER THOUSAND GALLONS OF WATER SAVED, WHICH DIDN'T SOUND VERY EFFICIENT.
BUT, UM, I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE IF, CHRIS, I DON'T WANNA, NOT TO PUT YOU ON THE SPOT, BUT IF, IF YOU WANTED TO COMMENT ON THAT ONE, UM, I'D BE INTERESTED TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS OR NOT.
CHRIS, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING ON THAT LAST ONE? IS IT, IS IT ACTUALLY THAT INEFFICIENT? UM, I'M, I'M, MAYBE, I'M, I'M COMING AROUND
I THINK I'VE ALREADY COME AROUND ON THE FIRST TWO OR THE, THE SECOND IS HE TALKING? NO, HE'S NOT.
CHRIS, CAN YOU HEAR US? I THINK MAYBE HE CAN'T UNMUTE.
OH, THERE IT'S, SORRY, WHAT WAS THAT? SORRY, I OH, SHERLY.
YEAH, WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT THE, UM, UH, AT THE BOTTOM OF NUMBER 10, IT'S, UM, WE, YOU KNOW, LOOKING FOR SOURCES TO FUND SOME OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS AND ONE OF THEM WAS, UM, PAUSING OR REALLOCATING MONEY FROM THE WATER LANDSCAPE CONVERSION REBATE.
UM, AND I, I MENTIONED THAT I HEARD THAT THAT PROGRAM WAS, YOU KNOW, COST ABOUT $57 PER THOUSAND GALLONS OF WATER
[02:15:01]
SAVED.AND I WAS CURIOUS IF YOU HAD THOUGHTS ON, YOU KNOW, HOW PASSIONATE YOU WERE ABOUT THAT PROGRAM OR WHAT YOUR THOUGHTS WERE.
IT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS WHERE I FEEL LIKE IT'S THE, YOU KNOW, BIGGEST IMPACT, YOU KNOW, BUT I DON'T KNOW, IT JUST FEELS LIKE THERE'S NOT A LOT OF, UH, I, I DON'T KNOW, JUST LIKE FROM PUSHING, YOU KNOW, THESE, THE WATER REBATES AND EVEN, I DON'T KNOW, IT'S JUST A, A FEELING.
SO YEAH, SO I'M, I'M, I AGREE WITH THIS IS NOT LIKE A HIGH PRIORITY STUFF.
UM, YOU KNOW, THEY, I THINK THEY'RE DOING WHAT THEY CAN AND IT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, THE POPULATION HAS TO BE THERE TO GO, YES, I WANNA TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THESE.
I WANT, YOU KNOW, I WANNA DO THESE THINGS.
AND I JUST FEEL LIKE THOSE TYPE OF PROJECTS AREN'T TOP OF MIND FOR PEOPLE, YOU KNOW.
CHRIS, DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH OF THAT 40 K IS BEING UTILIZED GENERALLY? UM, IT IS, THERE'S NOT A LOT OF UPTAKE ON, YOU KNOW, PARTICULARLY THE, THE LANDSCAPE CONVERSION, UH, REBATES, UH, EVEN LESS, UM, ON THE, UM, WELL, THOSE, THOSE ARE EVEN LESS.
AND THERE'S A LITTLE BIT MORE ON LIKE THE RAINWATER HARVESTING SYSTEMS. UM, I'LL HAVE TO LOOK, UH, A COUPLE, I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER.
UM, LIKE, UH, OUR JANUARY MEETING MAYBE, UH, THEY PRESENTED AND THEY HAD, UH, THEIR PRESENTATION AND IT HAS SOME GRAPHS ON THERE ABOUT THE, YOU KNOW, THE QUARTERS OVER LAST YEAR OF HOW MANY REBATES.
AND YEAH, MY, WHEN I LOOKED AT IT, I WAS JUST LIKE, OH MAN, THIS IS NOT, NOT MANY AUSTINITES ARE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THIS STUFF.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK AUSTIN WATER DOES, YOU KNOW, THE BEST THEY CAN DO FOR PROMOTING IT.
BUT EVEN IN MY LINE OF WORK, WHEN I GO OUT TO TALK TO PEOPLE ABOUT RAINWATER HARVESTING SYSTEMS AND I SAY, DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE AUSTIN REBATE? AND THEY'RE LIKE, OH, I DID NOT KNOW ABOUT THAT.
IS MY
I THINK A, A DIFFERENT, UM, PLAN OF ATTACK NEEDS TO HAPPEN JUST FROM A AUSTIN WATER STANDPOINT, YOU KNOW, SO I THINK MAYBE JUST THROWING MORE MONEY TO IT ISN'T NECESSARILY THE, THE ISSUE.
I THINK I, IT'S NOT SO MUCH THAT I HAVE AN OBJECTION TO RECOMMENDING THE PAUSE SO MUCH AS THAT IT'S UNDER THIS HEADING OF SOURCES OF FUNDING FOR THE ABOVE RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND I DON'T THINK THAT IT IS IN, NEED A SOURCE OF FUNDING FOR ANY OF THE ABOVE RECOMMENDATIONS BECAUSE OF WHERE IT IS WITHIN THE CITY STRUCTURE.
SO ARE YOU SUGGESTING THAT YOU WOULD BE SUPPORTIVE OF THIS IF WE LIKE MOVED THESE PROGRAMS INTO THE RES, LIKE THE RECOMMENDATION THAT'S MOST RELEVANT OR IF WE MAYBE JUST CHANGED? UM, I MEAN I THINK THE FIRST AND SECOND BULLET ARE FINE AS THEY ARE HERE, BUT, UH, THE THIRD ONE I JUST, I DON'T THINK IT'S ACCURATE TO SAY THAT IT.
GREAT IF WE PULL THAT OUT INTO ITS OWN.
SO THIS WILL NOW BE NUMBER 12 AND IT WILL JUST READ PAUSE THE OTTER.
NO, WAIT, THE JSC, SORRY, THIS SHOULD BE A COMPLETE SENTENCE I SUPPOSE.
AND I WOULD JUST SAY LIKE, YOU KNOW, I THINK THE POINT BEFORE ABOUT LIKE SOME RATIONALE AND I THINK WE COULD SAY LIKE, DUE TO LACK OF UTILIZATION OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, AND WE COULD SAY PAUSE OR REDUCE, JUST TO BE A LITTLE FLEXIBLE THERE.
BUT I THINK THE LACK OF UTILIZATION IS IMPORTANT.
THAT THOSE TERMS ARE GOOD FOR THAT.
WE COULD EVEN SAY PAUSE, REDUCE OR REVAMP, YOU KNOW, LIKE TAKE YOUR PICK, BUT JUST DON'T KEEP PRETENDING THAT WE'RE GONNA SPEND MONEY ON THIS THING THAT ISN'T WORKING.
PAUSING, REDUCING OR REVAMPING THE AUSTIN WATER LANDSCAPE CONVERSION REBATE FOR FISCAL YEAR 2026.
IF WE COULD JUST SAY LIKE, THE CURRENT PROGRAM IS VERY UNDERUTILIZED.
SO, UH, SO THE SENTENCE I WAS PROPOSING WAS DUE TO LACK OF UTILIZATION.
ARE YOU SUGGESTING DIFFERENT OR DOES THAT WORK? NOPE, I DIDN'T KNOW THAT WAS IN THERE.
[02:20:01]
I'M GOING TO RESOLVE THESE COMMENTS.UM, OKAY, SO THEN WHAT HAS FORMALLY BEEN NUMBER 10 AND NOW WILL BE NUMBER 11.
FURTHERMORE, THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THE FOLLOWING PROGRAMS BE CONSIDERED A SOURCE OF THE FUNDING, PAUSING SPENDING ON CARBON CREDITS AND ELIMINATE THE, UM, AUSTIN ENERGY RETAIL PROGRAM FOR CONSUMER REBATES TO PURCHASE ELECTRIC LAWNMOWERS, LINE TRIMMERS AND LEAF LEAF BLOWER, LEAF BLOWERS, ELIMINATING REDUNDANT REBATE.
UM, ARE YOU, YEAH, I DON'T THINK THE WORD PROGRAM, YEAH.
THAT CAN ALL BE ELIMINATED THERE AT THE END.
AND CHARLOTTE HAS BEATEN US TO THE PUNCH ON THAT.
SO YOU'RE HAPPY WITH THAT VERSION? I GOT A THUMBS UP.
ARE OTHERS GOOD WITH THOSE CHANGES? ANY OBJECTIONS? ALRIGHT, SO, SO AMENDED.
YEAH, THAT'S, SO THAT IS, THAT IS THE END.
THANK YOU AGAIN OF OUR BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS NOW.
SO, UH, WE, WE'VE MADE SOME CHANGES, UH, AND, AND READ THEM OUT AND ADOPTED THEM THROUGH LACK OF, UH, OBJECTION.
BUT DOES ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ANY AMENDMENTS OR ANYTHING THAT THEY WANNA DISCUSS BEFORE WE VOTE ON THESE RECOMMENDATIONS? OKAY, THEN, UH, ALL IN FAVOR OF ADOPTING THE BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS AS AMENDED.
DID WE NEED TO GET LIKE A MOTION AND A SPONSOR? OH WAIT, DO, DID WE HAVE A MOTION? NO, NO MOTIONS.
WE DO, WE DO NEED A FORMAL MOTION.
WE SHOULD HAVE DONE THAT BEFORE.
SO WHAT MOTION TO ADOPT THE RECOMMENDATION WITH THE AMENDMENTS? SECOND.
THANK YOU COMMISSIONER GONZALEZ.
ALRIGHT, THAT'S MY BAD THAT WE DIDN'T GET THAT AT THE BEGINNING, BUT, UH, I THINK WE'RE GONNA BE OKAY.
WE HAVE THE MOTION, WE HAVE THE SECOND.
ALL IN FAVOR? RAISE YOUR HAND.
SO WE HAVE OUR BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS, WE'LL GET THOSE IN ON TIME.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EVERYONE WHO'S CONTRIBUTED TO THIS PROCESS.
I WILL DOWNLOAD A COPY OF THIS AND THEN EMAIL IT TO ROJA.
'CAUSE I THINK, THINK I'M ONE THAT'S GONNA HAVE TO UPLOAD IT TO THE PORTAL.
ROHAN, IF YOU CAN HELP REMIND ME SO I DON'T MISS THAT DEADLINE.
[5. Discussion of San Antonio’s Free Bus Pilot Program and its applicability in Austin. ]
DISCUSSION OF SAN ANTONIO'S FREE BUS PILOT PROGRAM AND IT'S APPLICABILITY IN AUSTIN.I CAN'T REMEMBER WHO THAT WAS.
IT, WAS IT YOU? YEAH, SO THIS WAS, UH, SOMETHING I BELIEVE I BRIEFLY BROUGHT UP LAST MEETING, BUT, UH, SO BASICALLY A LOT OF SAN ANTONIO'S CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, UM, WERE PASSIONATE ABOUT PASSING WHAT WAS, UH, SUPPOSED TO BE A PILOT PROGRAM THAT WOULD PROVIDE FREE, UH, BUS FARE FOR THE FIVE MOST, OR THE FIVE ROUTES WITH THE HIGHEST RIDERSHIP, UH, FOR VIA, WHICH IS THEIR VERSION OF, OF CAP METRO.
UM, AND ULTIMATELY WAS VOTED DOWN BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR VIA WITH THEM STATING THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE TRYING TO PA THEY'RE TRYING TO IMPLEMENT SOME, SOME, UH, RAPID ROUTES WITH FEDERAL FUNDING.
AND THEY SAID THE LOSS OF THE FARES WOULD JEOPARDIZE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE LEVEL OF, OF REVENUE THAT THEY NEED TO GET THE FEDERAL FUNDING.
SO THAT WAS THEIR RATIONALE FOR SHOOTING IT DOWN.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, IT HAD ME THINKING OF LIKE, YOU KNOW, WHAT IF WE ADOPTED SOMETHING SIMILAR HERE IN AUSTIN, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE, UH, QUITE A FEW CITIES AROUND THE COUNTRY THAT HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, SORT OF, UH, FREE PROGRAMS OR FREE BUS ROUTES OR, OR WHATNOT.
UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK FAMOUSLY KANSAS CITY HAD A PROGRAM WHERE THEY HAD, UH, ENTIRELY FREE BUS FAIRS, UH, FOR THE CITY AND THE SURROUNDING AREAS.
UM, TUCSON HAD AN AREA, OR YOU KNOW, HAD A PROGRAM WHERE THEY HAD TRAN BUSES AND STREET CARS FOR FREE TO RIDE.
UM, A LOT OF PLACES HAVE DIFFERENT CIRCULATORS, YOU KNOW, OGS NIGHTS OR NOWADAYS WE WOULD JUST CALL Y'ALL OLD PEOPLE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE REMEMBER THE DILLO, RIGHT? UH, THIS GOTTA BE DECADES AGO AT THIS POINT, WHICH WAS A, UH, A FREEZE, UH, CIRCULATOR THAT RAN DOWNTOWN.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, I WOULD BE INTERESTED IN SEEING, YOU KNOW, UM,
[02:25:01]
THE NUMBERS AS FAR AS LIKE, YOU KNOW, UM, CO2 THAT WOULD BE, THAT WOULD BE SAVED, RIGHT? OR CO2 EQUIVALENT, RIGHT? UH, THAT COULD BE SAVED FROM ADDITIONAL RIDERSHIP BY, YOU KNOW, MAKING THESE BUS ROUTES FREE.I THINK OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, IN AUSTIN WE HAVE SOMEWHAT DIFFERENT DYNAMIC THAN A LOT OF CITIES IN THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS THAT RIDE THE, THE BUS FOR FREE ANYWAYS.
SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, YOU WOULD WANT TO MAKE WHATEVER THE, THE BUS ROUTES, LET'S SAY YOU DO A MODEL SIMILAR TO SAN ANTONIO'S, RIGHT? WHERE IT'S THE, BECAUSE THIS WAS A PILOT PROGRAM, SO YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE THE FIVE BUS ROUTES WITH HIGHEST RIDERSHIP FOR FREE.
WELL, YOU PROBABLY WANT TO HAVE THE HIGHEST RIDERSHIP, THAT'S NOT STUDENTS, RIGHT? IT WOULD BE LIKE HIGHEST AMOUNT OF FARES TAKEN, RIGHT? BECAUSE STUDENTS ALREADY RIDE FOR FREE ANYWAYS.
SO IF YOU MAKE THAT BUS ROUTE FREE, THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY INCENTIVIZING ANYBODY TO GET ON THE BUS THAT DOESN'T ALREADY HAVE THAT CAPABILITY.
UM, SO I THINK IT WOULD BE AN INTERESTING EXERCISE TO SEE WHAT IMPACT THAT WOULD HAVE ON THE CITY.
CERTAINLY, YOU KNOW, YOU WOULD HAVE SOME PUSHBACK FROM FOLKS SAYING, WELL, HEY, YOU KNOW, THERE'S ALREADY A MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS THAT'S GOING ON IN THE CITY, UH, THAT PEOPLE CAN SEE ON BUSES.
YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY YOU HAVE EVENTS LIKE STABBINGS AND WHATNOT THAT HAPPEN ON THE BUS.
AND SO THERE ARE FOLKS THAT FEEL LIKE HAVING FREE BUS FAIRS WOULD BASICALLY, UH, EXACERBATE SORT OF THE MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES THAT WE SEE ON CAP METRO VEHICLES.
SO, YOU KNOW, THERE'S BEEN A LITTLE BIT OF PUSHBACK FROM THAT THAT WAS EXPRESSED, UH, IN SAN ANTONIO AT THE, AT THE VIA MEETINGS.
BUT, UH, I'M CURIOUS TO SEE WHAT OPINIONS PEOPLE HAVE.
AND I WOULD ALSO LOVE TO GET LIKE A PRESENTATION FROM CITY FOLKS AS THEY WEIGH IN ON WHETHER OR NOT THIS WOULD BE BENEFICIAL FOR THE COMMUNITY.
UH, I'D LIKE TO PROVIDE A INITIAL COMMENT.
UM, SO WHEN I FIRST GOT OUT OF SCHOOL, UH, AT UNIVERSITY, I WAS LIVING IN DENVER, COLORADO FOR ABOUT THREE YEARS.
UM, I, UH, YOU KNOW, WASN'T MAKING MUCH MONEY AND I, I TOOK THE TRANSPORTATION, THE LIGHT RAIL OPTION THAT THEY HAD, UH, PRETTY MUCH EXCLUSIVELY TO GET TO AND FROM WORK.
UM, I WAS LIVING PAYCHECK TO PAYCHECK AT THAT TIME AND UM, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT EVEN JUST SAVING LIKE A HUNDRED DOLLARS, YOU KNOW, PER PAYCHECK, UM, WAS, WAS REALLY DIFFICULT.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, HAVING SOMETHING LIKE THIS, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR PEOPLE WHO WE, ON THE ECONOMIC PROSPERITY COMMISSION, WE DID A REPORT ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE THAT ARE, UH, LIVING KIND OF LIMITED INCOME AND IN CONSTRAINED INCOMES.
AND I BELIEVE IT WAS LIKE CLOSE TO ABOUT 25 TO 30% OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS IN THAT BUDGET RANGE.
SO I WOULD IMAGINE THAT THOSE FIGURES GO UP EVEN AS YOU GO TO THE AREAS THAT WOULD HAVE THE HIGH DEMAND ON THE, THE, THE CITY BUS ROUTES.
SO I'M DEFINITELY IN FAVOR OF BRINGING IN ANY, ANY SPEAKERS TO UNDERSTAND THE FEASIBILITY OF THIS.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND STARTING THE CONVERSATION, I'VE REACHED OUT TO SOME PEOPLE ON THE COMMISSION THAT WE HAVE WHO TO SEE THEIR INTEREST IN KIND OF SUPPORTING WORK, UM, TO, YOU KNOW, FIND DATA POINTS TO MAYBE, YOU KNOW, JUSTIFY SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
UM, SO YEAH, I'M ON, I'M ON BOARD FOR IT AND HAVE A PERSONAL CONNECTION TO IT TOO.
UM, CAN I, UM, ASK A QUESTION, UM, IN TERMS OF SPECIFICALLY, UM, WHAT IS THE GOAL OF THE PROGRAM TO BRING IN THE, UM, THE FREE BUSES? SO, UM, I AM COMING FROM THE STEM FROM THE POSITION THAT THE, UM, I DON'T RIDE THE BUS, NOT BECAUSE IT'S EXPENSIVE, BUT BECAUSE IT DOESN'T COME FREQUENTLY OR DOESN'T GO TO MANY PLACES.
SO, UM, IT, HAVING THE AVAILABILITY OF A FREE BUS WOULD NOT ENCOURAGE ME TO RIDE THE BUSES MORE AND THEREFORE REDUCE MY, UM, CO2 EMISSION.
SO I'M WONDERING IF THERE IS A WAY TO DO A STUDY OR SOME SORT OF AN ASSESSMENT TO SEE IF WE WERE TO INCREASE, UM, THE FREQUENCY OF BUSES, WHETHER THAT WILL INCREASE THE RIDERSHIP.
THAT'S, UH, A COMMENT THAT I'VE SEEN ONLINE A LOT AS WELL AROUND THIS WHOLE DISCUSSION IS THAT, UH, A LOT OF FOLKS WERE LIKE, THE, ACTUALLY THE BETTER WAY TO GET TO INCREASE RIDERSHIP IS TO INCREASE FREQUENCY OF ROUTES AND NOT NECESSARILY JUST MAKE THEM FREE BECAUSE LIKE YOU SAID, WHAT IS THE POINT OF A FREE ROUTE IF IT TAKES TWO HOURS TO GET THERE BECAUSE THE BUS IS LATE OR IT DOESN'T RUN ENOUGH OR WHATEVER.
UH, SO THAT'S CERTAINLY A FACTOR AS WELL THAT THAT SHOULD BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.
AND JUST TO, UM, TO ADDRESS THE POINT, UM, WAS MADE BEFORE, UM, IS IT POSSIBLE TO SPECIFICALLY PROVIDE, UM, PASSES TO, UM, NOT ONLY STUDENTS, BUT TO PEOPLE WHO NEED IT,
[02:30:01]
UM, SO THAT THE, UM, THE FAIR BECOMES DISCOUNTED OR FREE FOR THEM? YEAH, I KNOW THAT THERE ARE REDUCED FAIR OR LIKE FREE FAIR PROGRAMS. I FORGET ALL OF THE QUALIFICATIONS THAT GO INTO IT, BUT, UH, I KNOW THAT THERE'S SOMETHING, AND THEN ALSO TOO, IT'S JUST A LOT OF IT'S JUST BASED ON VIBES, RIGHT? LIKE DOES THE BUS DRIVER REALLY CARE IF YOU SCAN IN, YOU KNOW, AND SHOUT TO THE ONES THAT DON'T BECAUSE I NEED THAT BUCK 50.BUT, UH, YEAH, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT, UM, THERE IS, THERE IS A PROGRAM, I BELIEVE I JUST FORGET EXACTLY WHO THE QUALIFICATIONS ARE.
UH, SO IT, IT LOOKS LIKE, UH, SHOUT OUT TO THE FELLOW COMMISSIONERS.
UH, IT SEEMS THAT THERE'S A TRANSIT PASS THAT SUPPORTS, UH, UNHOUSED FOLKS IN THE TRAVIS COUNTY HOMELESS MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM.
UM, AND THERE MAY BE SORT OF SIMILAR PROGRAMS FOR, FOR OTHER COMMUNITIES AS WELL.
I KNOW IN THE PAST, UH, CAP METRO WOULD LIKE PROVIDE FREE BUS PASSES TO LIKE DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, NONPROFIT COMMUNITY PARTNERS.
UM, BUT AS YOU KNOW, FAIR CHANGES EVOLVE.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE, UH, YOU KNOW, SORT OF WHO IS FALLING INTO THAT AT THIS POINT.
SO I THINK THAT WOULD ALSO BE SOMETHING THAT'S INTERESTING, RIGHT? IS LIKE, YOU KNOW, AND I KNOW THAT WE ALSO HAVE A PROGRAM THAT NOW GIVES, UH, KIDS, I THINK UNDER 18 OR SOMETHING, UM, FREE BUS RIDES FROM CAP METRO.
UM, AND I'M SURE THAT THERE ARE SIMILAR PROGRAMS FOR, FOR OTHER DEMOGRAPHICS AS WELL.
SO HARRIS, UM, WHAT, WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE AS OUR NEXT STEP ON THIS TOPIC? UH, YEAH, YOU KNOW, I THINK, UH, THERE ARE DEFINITELY A LOT OF DATA POINTS THAT, UM, THAT LIKE IN A PERFECT WORLD WOULD BE COLLECTED FOR THIS.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, REALISTICALLY TALKING TO FOLKS AT AT CAP METRO WHO HAVE ACCESS TO THE NUMBERS, WHO CAN CRUNCH STUFF AND BE LIKE, OKAY, IF WE WERE GOING TO DO SOMETHING SIMILAR TO SAN ANTONIO, RIGHT? THIS IS LIKE, WE'RE GONNA DO FI THE TOP FIVE BUS ROUTES, RIGHT? BASED ON, ON RIDERSHIP OR FARES OR WHATEVER, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE WHAT THE ROUTES WOULD BE IF WE'RE JUST LOOKING AT LIKE, YOU KNOW, HOW DO YOU EVEN COME UP WITH A NUMBER OF WHAT YOU THINK THE PROJECTION WOULD BE IF YOU HAVE FAIR FREE ROUTES, RIGHT? WHAT DOES THAT EVEN LOOK LIKE BECAUSE I AM, I'M NOT THE EXPERT ON THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, THEN ALSO QUANTIFYING LIKE, YOU KNOW, WHAT PEOPLE'S AVERAGE, BECAUSE IT, IT DEPENDS ON WHAT METRIC YOU'RE TRYING TO USE FOR SUCCESS, RIGHT? IF YOU'RE TRYING TO USE TOTAL REDUCTION, UH, BECAUSE YOU CAN, YOU CAN INCREASE RIDERSHIP, BUT DOES THAT ALSO DECREASE, UH, CO2 EQUIVALENT EMISSIONS, UH, OPTIMALLY, RIGHT? SO I THINK THERE ARE DIFFERENT METRICS THAT ARE POSSIBLE TO USE AS LIKE A SUCCESS INDICATOR.
UM, AND SO I THINK FIGURING THAT OUT IS IMPORTANT TOO.
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT MIGHT ALSO BE USEFUL TO TALK TO FOLKS FROM OTHER CITIES THAT HAVE IMPLEMENTED SIMILAR POLICIES TO SEE WHAT THEIR EXPERIENCE WAS.
UM, I THINK THAT WOULD PROBABLY BE LIKE A GOOD STARTING POINT.
AND WE COULD ALSO HAVE ANGRY MOBS WITH PITCHFORKS DEMANDING FREE BUS ROUTES.
I THINK THAT WOULD ALSO BE SUPER USEFUL AS WELL.
SO IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU DO HAVE SOME SPECIFIC IDEAS FOR SOME, UM, QUESTIONS TO ASK OF CAP METRO.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT, MAYBE IF YOU COULD PUT THOSE IN AN EMAIL, MAYBE ROHAN COULD PASS THEM ON TO CAP METRO AND SEE IF THEY WANT TO PROVIDE SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, MAYBE A PRESENTATION OR SOMETHING TO THIS COMMISSION SOMETIME COMING UP? YEAH, SURE.
YOU KNOW, I THINK, UH, WE SHOULD NEVER BE OUT LIBERAL BY OUR BEXAR COUNTY NEIGHBORS, YOU KNOW, SO ANY OPPORTUNITY WE CAN GET TO SHOW THEM UP, WE SHOULD TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF IT
SO HARRIS WILL PUT THAT IN AN EMAIL, GET IT TO ROHAN ROHAN.
I SAW A THUMBS UP SAYING THAT HE WAS, UH, AARON.
CAN I BE JUST INCLUDED ON THOSE COMMUNICATIONS? UM, I'D LIKE TO EXPLORE THE POSSIBILITY TO ADD QUESTIONS AS, UM, THAT THEY GO OUT TO CAP METRO.
ULTIMATELY IN THE FRAMING OF THIS TO, AND AS WE, I WOULD IMAGINE HOPE TO GET TO A RECOMMENDATION STAGE, I THINK IT HAS AN ECONOMIC MOBILITY, UH, ASPECT TO IT IN ADDITION TO OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, CLIMATE, UM, UH, LIKE CLIMATE CHANGE AND LIKE CARBON REDUCTIONS.
SO, UM, YEAH, LET'S, LET'S DEFINITELY COLLABORATE, PLEASE.
YEAH, I THINK, UH, YOU KNOW, BOTH
[02:35:01]
YOU AND VARUN, SINCE HE'S ON THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION, I THINK, UH, Y'ALL WOULD MAKE, UH, VERY GOOD SENSE FOR, FOR ROPING IN AS, AS PARTNERS FOR THIS FOR SURE.DOES ANYBODY ELSE WANT TO BE, UH, WANNA CONTRIBUTE TO THOSE INITIAL QUESTIONS TO, UH, PUT TO CAP METRO IN WRITING? OKAY.
SO HARRIS, CAN WE, CAN WE CALL YOU THE, THE LEADER OF THAT LITTLE GROUP AND SURE.
SO I GUESS ONCE Y'ALL HAVE THAT, IF YOU WANT TO SEND IT TO ROHAN, IF YOU WANNA COPY CHARLOTTE AND I JUST SO WE CAN HAVE VISIBILITY THAT THE REQUEST IS MOVING THROUGH, UM, THAT'S HELPFUL JUST FOR KIND OF AGENDA PURPOSES.
YEAH, I WOULD JUST ASK WHAT THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF PEOPLE I CAN COPY TO AVOID QUORUM ISSUES WOULD BE, UH, EIGHT PLUS YOURSELF.
AND I THINK I DON'T NEED TO BE IN THE MIX REALLY ON QUESTION DEVELOPMENT.
I'M JUST SAYING ONCE KIND OF THE, UM, ONCE IT'S GOING THROUGH, YEAH, IT MIGHT BECOME AN AGENDA ITEM.
THAT'S WHAT IS HELPFUL GOTCHA.
BUT ROHAN WILL ALSO LET US KNOW.
UM, ALRIGHT, SO THAT, THAT IS THE END OF OUR AGENDA.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ]
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. I I THINK WE'VE IDENTIFIED THAT ROHAN WILL COME BACK IN PROBABLY IN MAY TO, UM, GIVE US A DEEPER DIVE AND TO KIND OF LESSONS LEARNED SO FAR ON THE SOLAR CONTRACTING.UM, AT SOME POINT WE'LL GET CAP METRO HOPEFULLY IN HERE.
DO OTHERS, OH, AND I SHOULD SAY IN APRIL WE HAVE CHAIR, UH, VICE CHAIR ELECTIONS AND AS I HAVE SAID EVERY YEAR FOR THE PAST FEW YEARS, I'M NOT HANGING ON TO CHAIRING THIS COMMISSION.
SO IF SOMEBODY WOULD LIKE TO TAKE THIS ON, I WILL NOT HAVE MY FEELINGS HURT.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, FEEL FREE TO EITHER JUST NOMINATE YOURSELF WHEN THE MEETING COMES AROUND OR REACH OUT IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS.
UM, UM, REELECT YOU IN ABSENT
I HOPE TO, UH, BE ABLE TO BE SOMEWHERE THAT I CAN BE ON A COMPUTER, BUT, UM, I JUST WANNA KEEP SAYING THAT 'CAUSE I REALLY DO MEAN IT, LIKE I'M ALL FOR PASSING THE BATON IF SOMEBODY WANTS TO RUN WITH IT.
UM, BUT ANY OTHER AGENDA ITEMS THAT ANYBODY WOULD LIKE TO? JUST ON, ON THAT NOTE THOUGH, I JUST WANNA SAY I, I HAVE CHAIR, UH, VICE CHAIR, THIS COMMITTEE FOR TWO YEARS.
UM, IT'S BEEN VERY REWARDING AND I WILL NOT BE RE RUNNING FOR REELECTION FOR VICE CHAIR AND I'LL SAY IT'S, IT'S A GREAT ROLE.
IT REALLY DOES NOT REQUIRE MUCH ADDITIONAL TIME COMMITMENT WHATSOEVER.
SO I VERY MUCH ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO, UM, RAISE THEIR HAND FOR VICE VICE CHAIR OF THIS COMMITTEE.
SO IT SOUNDS LIKE AT THE VERY LEAST, THANK YOU CHARLOTTE, YOU HAVE BEEN VERY HELPFUL AS, AND YOU'RE, YOU'RE GONNA STEP IN ONE LAST TIME IN APRIL
UM, SO I HOPE, HOPE SOMEBODY, UH, AT LEAST WANTS A VICE CHAIR.
AND IF YOU'D RATHER CHAIR AND NOBODY ELSE WANTS A VICE CHAIR, THEN I COULD, YOU KNOW, DO THAT OR DO HAPPY TO DO NOTHING.
ANYWAY, UM, THAT WILL BE ON OUR AGENDA FOR APRIL, BUT IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT ANYBODY WANTS TO RAISE NOW? YEAH, AARON, I, I'D LIKE TO ADD AN ITEM TO THE NEXT, UH, LIKE A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM.
UM, I'D LIKE TO, UH, FOR NOW AT THE VERY LEAST RIGHT, INCLUDE AMY EVERHART FROM AUSTIN ENERGY TO BE A SPEAKER REGARDING, UM, RATE TIERS, UH, UTILITY RATE TIERS, UM, FOR THE PURPOSES OF UNDERSTANDING, UM, HOW THEY'RE THINKING ABOUT ENSURING THAT THE COMMITMENT THAT THEY'VE COMMUNICATED THAT THE, YOU KNOW, AI DATA CENTERS WILL BE PAYING 100% OF THE COST, UM, SO FAR THAT THOSE CONVERSATIONS HAVE NOT REALLY GONE ANYWHERE.
I SENT A FOLLOW UP TONIGHT, UM, AND I THINK THAT POTENTIALLY HAVING HER HER COME SPEAK, UM, AND ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT WE HAVE WOULD BE EXTREMELY HELPFUL TO PUSH THAT ALONG.
IT'S AN IMPORTANT TOPIC AND ESPECIALLY IN THE CONTEXT THAT AE IS PLANNING ANOTHER 5% INCREASE AS PART OF PART OF THE BUDGET, UM, I AM NOT SURE THAT AMY WOULD LIKELY BE THE ONE TO MAKE THAT PRESENTATION.
ARE YOU OKAY WITH JUST MAKING THE
[02:40:01]
REQUEST THAT SOMEBODY FROM AUSTIN ENERGY? CORRECT.I MEAN I THINK IT'LL, THE REQUEST WILL PROBABLY GO THROUGH AMY, BUT MY GUESS IS THAT THEY WILL, UH, ASSIGN THAT TO KIND OF THE EXPERT ON THAT AREA.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S A GREAT TOPIC.
UM, ROHAN, ARE YOU ABLE TO START THAT OUTREACH? OKAY.
AND I THINK WE CAN KIND OF MAYBE HAVE SOMEBODY TALK ABOUT, UM, YEAH, THE RATE, THE RATE TIERS.
IT SOUNDS LIKE THE RATE TIERS AND KIND OF COST ALLOCATION BETWEEN CUSTOMER CLASSES, INCLUDING DATA CENTERS IN PARTICULAR AND HOW THAT COULD AFFECT RESIDENTIAL IS THE REQUEST THERE.
IS THAT CORRECT, ERIN? CORRECT.
AND, AND I THINK WE NEED THAT SOONER THAN LATER SINCE AGAIN, THEY ARE, UH, MOVING PLANNING TO MOVE FORWARD WITH A REQUEST AS PART OF THE BUDGET.
WELL, UH, IF THINGS COME UP INCLUDING JUST UPDATES FROM YOUR COMMISSIONS, UH, PLEASE, UH, LET US AND ROHAN KNOW THAT YOU'D LIKE TO ADD SOMETHING TO THE AGENDA.