* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:04] GO. SO [CALL TO ORDER] IT IS 6 41, UH, APRIL 14TH, 2026. UH, I CALL TO ORDER THE MEETING, THE APRIL MEETING OF THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION. UH, REMEMBER THAT, UH, THE PURPOSE OF THIS COMMISSION IS TO ADVISE THE COUNCIL AND THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF PROGRAMS DESIGNED TO SERVE THE POOR AND THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE WITH AN EMPHASIS ON FEDERALLY FUNDED PROGRAMS. SO, THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS FOR BEING HERE. UM, WE'RE GONNA START WITH OUR AGENDA. AND FIRST THING [PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL ] IS THE PUBLIC COMMUNICATION. UH, REMEMBER THAT THE FIRST 10 SPEAKERS THAT ARE SIGNED UP PRIOR TO THE MEETING BEING CALLED, UH, CALLED TO ORDER, WILL EACH BE ALLOWED AT THREE MINUTES TO ADDRESS THEIR CONCERNS, RE REGARDING ITEMS THAT ARE NOT POSTED ON THE AGENDA. MIGUEL, DO WE HAVE ANY, UH, CITIZENS SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMUNICATION? YES, SIR. CHAIR MS. SUSANNA AMANZA. OKAY. REPRESENTING. OKAY. WELCOME. MR. AMANZA. IS THIS, SORRY, UH, MIGUEL. IS THIS, UH, GENERAL COMMUNICATION OR AGENDA ITEM? UH, YES, SIR. THIS IS JUST GENERAL COMMUNICATION. OKAY. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING, CHAIR, VICE CHAIR AND COMMISSIONERS. I'M SUSAN ALMANZA WITH POED. UH, AT THE LAST MEETING ON MARCH THE 10TH, I TALKED ABOUT THE REPORT ON THE AUSTIN EQUITY OVERLAY STUDY, BUT I WAS NOT, SINCE MY TIME RAN OUT, I WASN'T ABLE TO TALK ABOUT THE RECOMMENDATIONS. SO I'M HERE TO TALK ABOUT THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS. RIGHT NOW, AS YOU KNOW, THE A PD URBAN PLANNING MANAGEMENT REPORT ON THE AUSTIN EQUITY STUDY. SIDESTEPS, WHAT IS AN OVERLAY AND WHAT IS EQUITY? SO, THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE MAKE, IT IS THAT ON THE PEOPLE'S PLAN OF 2018, PROVIDED TOOLS FOR AN EQUITY OVERLAY. FOR INSTANCE, DEDICATING FUNDING FOR LOW INCOME HOUSING TRUST FUNDS, STAY IN A RIGHT TO RETURN, USE CITY OWNED LAND FOR LOW INCOME HOUSING, USE NEIGHBORHOOD CONSERVATION, COMBINED DISTRICTS AND HISTORIC DISTRICTS. AND EQUITY OVERLAY SHOULD INCLUDE TOOLS THAT REDUCE OR FREEZE PROPERTY TAXES FOR LOW INCOME RESIDENTS. AND SENIORS PRESERVE INCOME RESTRICTED UNITS. THE EQUITY OVERLAY SHOULD PRIORITIZE THE PRESERVATION AND REHABILITATION OF EXISTING HOUSING TO ADDRESS THE ISSUES OF INCREASING ACCESS TO CAPITAL SO THAT LOW, LOW TO MODERATE INCOME AND LEGACY HOMEOWNERS CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HOME. THERE MUST BE COMMITMENT, FUNDING AND APPROVAL OF FORGIVABLE LOANS. ACCESS TO SEPARATE FUNDING IS NEEDED TO ASSIST WITH ADDITIONAL EARNEST MONIES OR CARRYING COSTS. THAT FUNDING DISBURSEMENT OR DELAY. THERE MUST BE A TRUE AND HONEST COMMITMENT TO INSTITUTING A RIGHT TO REMAIN RETURN PRIORITY POLICY FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS CURRENTLY RECITING IN OR WITH HISTORICAL TIES TO THE ZIP CODES WHERE DEVELOPMENT IS PROPOSED. EVERY YEAR, THE CITY FAILS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OPPORTUNITIES TO ACQUIRE PROPERTY AND GENTRIFYING NEIGHBORHOODS. IT CATALYZE A DISPLACEMENT OF LONGTIME RESIDENTS LOOKING AT CENSUS DATA. IT'S OBVIOUS AS TO WHO IS BEING DISPLACED. MOST OF THE DISPLACEMENT IS OCCURRING IN LOW-INCOME AND COMMUNITIES OF COLOR. THE AUSTIN EQUITY OVERLAY STUDY IS JUST ANOTHER REPORT TO SUPPORT THE DISPLACEMENT AND GENTRIFICATION OF LOW-INCOME PEOPLE OF COLOR COMMUNITIES. NUMEROUS RESEARCH REPORTS, TASK FORCES AND COMMUNITY GROUPS, IE SUCH AS THE PEOPLE'S PLAN, INSTITUTIONAL RACISM AND SYSTEMIC INEQUITIES. TASK FORCE REPORT, ANTI-DISPLACEMENT, TASK FORCE REPORT, UPROOTED REPORT, AND THE AUSTIN STRATEGIC HOUSING BLUEPRINT HAVE IDENTIFIED THE NEED FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO PRIORITIZE STRATEGIC LAND ACQUISITION FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND THE PRESERVATION OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING AS METHODS OF MITIGATION. DISPLACEMENT HOME WILL JUST EXACERBATE DISPLACEMENT AND GENTRIFICATION. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MS. ALMANZA. UH, MIGUEL, DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER SPEAKERS? NOT AT THIS TIME. CHAIR. OKAY. THANK YOU. UM, AND JUST TO ADD ON TO THAT, YES, THE, THIS COMMISSION HAS, UH, MADE A RECOMMENDATION, UM, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, AS WE KNOW, THE COMMUNITY HAS DONE A LOT OF WORK, COMMUNITY GROUPS, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, UH, THERE IS A BLUEPRINT OUT THERE, THE PEOPLE'S PLAN. YOU KNOW, THERE'S OTHER, UH, WORK THAT HAS BEEN DONE BY THE COMMUNITY TO SOLVE, TO TACKLE THIS AFFORDABILITY ISSUE. AND UNFORTUNATELY, WE'RE NOT SEEING THAT. AND I'M SO GLAD THAT I SERVE ON THIS COMMISSION THAT WE SERVE, ON THIS COMMISSION BECAUSE WE ARE REALLY HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS THAT, THAT NEED TO BE HAD. SO, THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, SO NOW WE'RE STARTING WITH OUR AGENDA ITEMS. UH, AGENDA ITEM NUMBER [APPROVAL OF MINUTES ] ONE, UH, APPROVAL OF MINUTES. [00:05:01] UH, COMMISSIONERS, PLEASE TAKE SOME TIME, UH, AND LOOK AT OUR MINUTES, UH, FROM MARCH 10TH, 2026. AND WHEN WE'RE READY, I'M LOOKING FOR A MOTION TO APPROVE THE, APPROVE THE MINUTES OR, UH, ANY AMENDMENTS QUESTION AGAIN ON NUMBER SEVEN ON THE, UM, EQUITY OVERLAY MEMO, DO WE NEED TO CAPTURE THE WORDING CHANGES IN THE MINUTES? ARE WE, OR IS THIS YES, THE CDC RECOMMENDATIONS? UM, WE, WE HAVE IT. OKAY. SO THERE WAS AN AMENDMENT TO APPROVE ONE, LET ME PULL IT UP RIGHT NOW, UM, BECAUSE I BELIEVE THAT WAS THE ONE THAT HAD THE AMENDMENT TO THE AMENDMENT. SO GIMME ONE SECOND ON THAT. OKAY. THANK YOU. AND COMMISSIONER ACHILLES, YOUR QUESTION IS, UH, IF WE HAVE TO BE THAT SPECIFIC IN THE NOTES. UM, I, I KNOW WE, WE DID MAKE WORD CHANGES TOO. MM-HMM . SORRY, IT WAS NUMBER EIGHT. NUMBER EIGHT, THE MEMORANDUM. YES, COMMISSIONER. YEAH. THAT WAS, UM, ALSO WITH THE DISCUSSION, UM, ON TRANSPORTATION AS WELL. SO, YES. ONE SECOND CHAIR. I DON'T THINK THAT WE CAN IMPROVE IT RIGHT NOW BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE THE FULL, UM, THE TWO CHANGES. 'CAUSE THERE WAS AN AMENDMENT TO ONE SENTENCE AND THEN THERE WAS AN AMENDMENT TO THAT SENTENCE. I MAY HAVE THAT. OKAY. AND IS THAT SOMETHING, SOMETHING WE CAN PUSH TO THE NEXT, UH, MEETING TO APPROVE? YES, SIR. OKAY. IS THAT OKAY? OKAY. UH, YES. SO LET'S, UH, GO WITH THAT. UH, COMMISSIONERS WILL, UH, TABLE THIS ITEM AND HAVE IT, UH, IN OUR NEXT, UH, MEETING. UM, CHAIR. YES. COMMISSIONER MENARD. YEAH. I JUST ALSO HAD ANOTHER, UM, REQUEST, UH, MIGUEL, IF WE COULD GET THE TEXT OF THAT, UM, APPROVED MEMO. YES, MA'AM. WITH THE FULL, AND I WILL HAVE THE, UM, EDITS IN RED. COOL. UH, WHEN I PROVIDE THEM. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. SORRY ABOUT THAT DELAY CHAIR. MM-HMM . YEP. OKAY. SO WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ITEM. AND AGAIN, WE'LL, UM, GO THROUGH THOSE MINUTES IN THE NEXT, UH, MEETING. [00:10:28] UH, SORRY. YES, MIGUEL, ABOUT THAT CHAIR. YEAH. IT WAS, UM, JUST BASED ON THE RECOMMENDATION, UH, OF WHAT IT WAS AND WHAT THE, UH, CHANGES WERE. AND I JUST NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT BECAUSE IT WAS APPROVED, IT JUST NEEDS TO BE DISTRIBUTED BETWEEN THE COMMISSIONERS SO THAT THEY, UH, UNDERSTAND AND THEN WE CAN MOVE FORWARD FROM THERE. OKAY. DOES THAT MEAN, UH, SORRY, WE'RE STILL TABLING THE SECOND, UM, NO. YEAH, WE WERE JUST, UH, TABLING THE MINUTES FOR NEXT MONTH. YES. AND I WILL PROVIDE THEM WITH THE, UH, YES. THAT SOUNDS GOOD. AMENDMENTS IN RED. GOT IT. YES, SIR. OKAY. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. UH, COMMISSIONERS, LET'S GO ON [2. Staff briefing regarding Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) activities and outcomes. Presentation by Angel Zambrano, Program Manager III, Austin Public Health.] TO ITEM NUMBER TWO, UH, WHICH IS OUR MONTHLY STAFF BRIEFING, UM, FROM HIL SAMANO REGARDING THE COMMUNITY SERVICES BLOCK GRANT AND ACTIVITIES AND OUTCOMES. UH, AUSTIN, UH, HIL SAMANO FROM AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH. UH, PROGRAM MANAGER. WELCOME, ANHILL. ALRIGHT. GOOD EVENING EVERYONE. ANO THE MANAGER FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES UNIT HERE TO DO MY MONTHLY REPORT SHOULD BE PRETTY SIMPLE TODAY. I HAVE A SEPARATE ITEM THAT I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT NOW AND THEN COME BACK FOR THAT. SO, WE'LL START WITH OUR PROGRAMMATIC AND FINANCIAL REPORT. WE'LL ALSO LATER BE DISCUSSING THE MISSION STATEMENT AND, UH, ASKING FOR FEEDBACK PER, UM, THE CSPG GRANT. I'LL READ IT OFF NOW. THE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES UNIT IMPROVES THE LIVES AND HEALTH OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCING POVERTY BY PROVIDING PUBLIC HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES, AND CONNECTING RESIDENTS OF AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY TO COMMUNITY RESOURCES THROUGH PROVIDING BASIC NEEDS. PREVENTIVE HEALTH CASE MANAGEMENT, UNEMPLOYMENT SUPPORTS AT OUR SEVEN NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS. BOTTOM OF PAGE ONE, YOU'LL SEE THE BUDGET SO FAR. WE RECEIVED OUR FIRST ALLOCATION OF $382,620 IN FEBRUARY. UH, PRESIDENT TRUMP APPROVED A FEDERAL FISCAL YEAR 2026 CSPG FUNDING, BUT WE'RE STILL WAITING TO RECEIVE THOSE FUNDS. UH, THE OFFICE OF COMMUNITY SERVICES HAS, UH, REQUESTED THOSE BE RELEASED BY THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET AND HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL. IT'S NOT OFFICIALLY ON MY REPORT TODAY, BUT I HEARD THAT AFTER I SUBMITTED THIS. SO, WE'RE HOPING THAT THOSE FUNDS GET RELEASED SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO PROVIDE THESE SERVICES IN A TIMELY MANNER. I'LL KNOW MORE OF NEXT MONTH'S REPORT. IF WE GO TO PAGE TWO. AGAIN, I'LL BE BRIEF HERE. UH, WE HAVE A GOOD PACE ON OUR, AHEAD OF OUR GOAL, UH, OF TRANSITIONS OUTTA POVERTY. I THINK WE HAVE 1711 THROUGH FEBRUARY. THIS REPORT IS ALWAYS TWO MONTHS BEHIND. UM, AND OUR GOAL IS 41. SO OUR SOCIAL WORKERS ARE DOING REALLY GREAT WORK WITH THE SELF-SUFFICIENCY CASE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM, GETTING PEOPLE BACK IN THE WORLD OF WORK. UH, I DON'T KNOW IF ANY OF YOU HAVE GONE TO SOME OF THE OPEN HOUSES WE'VE HAD, UH, BUT IF YOU HAVEN'T, I WILL SEND YOU THAT INFORMATION WHEN WE HAVE SOME MORE. WE'VE HAD SOME INTEREST FROM COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS THAT HELP PEOPLE ALSO WITH, UH, TRAININGS AND GETTING BACK IN THE WORLD OF WORK AS WELL, AND CASE MANAGEMENT. SO THAT WOULD BE A GOOD COLLABORATION. UH, WE CONTINUE TO, YOU KNOW, WITH OUR SMALL RENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM HELPS SOME FOLKS, YOU KNOW, AVOID EVICTION. UH, A LOT OF, UH, FOOD DISTRIBUTIONS WITH THE PARTNERSHIP AT THE CENTRAL TEXAS FOOD BANK. AND, UH, WE HAVE SEEN A PRETTY BIG INCREASE IN OUR FOOD PANTRY, UH, SERVICES BY APPOINTMENT ONLY, OR, UH, DROP IN. UM, LET'S GO TO PAGE NUMBER THREE, WHERE THE PROGRAMMATIC HERE. THE SOUTH AUSTIN NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER IS STILL CLOSED. IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME, OVER A YEAR AND A HALF. UM, WE ARE STILL DOING A COUPLE OF FOOD DISTRIBUTIONS IN THE PARKING LOT THERE, BUT OTHERWISE WE'RE SENDING PEOPLE TO OTHER CENTERS. WE'RE HOPING TO REOPEN THIS, UH, SUMMER. THE REST I JUST LEAVE FOR YOU TO READ ON YOUR OWN. NOTHING SUPER NEW. UH, I'LL GO DOWN TO NUMBER SEVEN. WE WILL COME BACK TO THIS, UH, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY AFFAIRS WORK STANDARDS. 4.1 REQUIRE THAT THE BOARD HAS REVIEWED OUR MISSION STATEMENT WITHIN THE PAST FIVE YEARS, AND THAT ASSURE THAT ONE, THE MISSION ADDRESSES POVERTY. AND TWO, THE ORGANIZATION'S, PROGRAMS AND SERVICES ARE ALIGNMENT WITH THE MISSION. I THINK LAST TIME I PRESENTED MOST OF YOU WERE NOT HERE. [00:15:01] IT WAS, I THINK IN 2021. UM, YOU GUYS WILL HAVE SOME TIME TO DISCUSS, REVIEW, GIVE US SOME FEEDBACK. UH, BUT I'LL WAIT FOR THAT FOR THE NEXT ITEM DONE FOR TODAY. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. . UH, COMMISSIONERS, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? I, I HAD A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS. UM, YOU KNOW, AFTER LOOKING AT YOUR DATA A A COUPLE OF TIMES, UM, HOW DO YOU DEFINE THE SUCCESS FOR THIS PROGRAM? IS IT BASED ON THE TRANSITION OUT OF THE POVERTY GOAL FOR THAT PROGRAM? YES. THAT'S A STATE REQUIREMENT AND THEY SET THE GOAL. IS THAT PERCENTAGE BASED ON LIKE A 30 DAY, 90 DAYS, SIX MONTHS? UH, 90 DAYS. 90 DAYS. OKAY. DO WE HAVE, UM, RECIDIVISM RATES FOR THIS? LIKE, PEOPLE WHO ARE COMING BACK? ANECDOTALLY, NOT MANY. MOST OF THE FOLKS WHO WE TRANSITION OUTTA POVERTY, WE DON'T SEE THEM AGAIN FOR THAT TO COME BACK FOR THAT PROGRAM. SOMETIMES WE DO SEE FOLKS COME BACK, EITHER THEY ARE, UM, UH, LET GO FOR WHATEVER REASONS, OR THEY HAVE A CRISIS AGAIN AND NEED HELP. MM-HMM . AND WE USUALLY RE-ENROLL THEM WITH THE SAME CASE MANAGER TO TRY TO GET THEM BACK ON THEIR, UH, ON THEIR FEET AND PROVIDE OTHER BASIC NEEDS SERVICES AS WELL. BECAUSE I, I THINK THOSE NUMBERS ARE REALLY IMPORTANT TO SEE HOW MANY PEOPLE ACTUALLY KEEP APPLYING AND KEEP COMING BACK. MM-HMM . UM, DO YOU HAVE THE DATA FOR THAT? WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO GET THE DATA? WE, MAYBE. OKAY. UM, THE OTHER QUESTION I HAVE IS, WHAT IS THE AVERAGE TIME FROM LIKE APPLICATION TO APPROVAL TO PAYMENT FOR THE RENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM? IS IT THE YEAH. YEAH. I WOULD SAY A WEEK, WEEK AND A HALF. A WEEK AND A HALF. THAT'S A LONG TIME. UH, NOT REALLY, NO. UH, NO. OKAY. UM, BECAUSE I WONDER IF THEY CAN DO THAT FASTER. I DON'T THINK SO. OKAY. OUR PROGRAM IS VERY UNIQUE 'CAUSE WE WORK WITH THE LANDLORDS AND WE HAVE PROVIDED A LOT OF OUR LAND REMEDIATION. SO IT'S NOT JUST THE LANDLORD'S NOT JUST WAITING FOR A CHECK TO COME OUT OF THIN AIR. WE'RE CONSTANT COMMUNICATION WITH THEM. WE ALSO NEGOTIATE THE LATE FEES. A LOT OF TIMES THEY'RE ABLE TO, UH, TO DROP THOSE, WHICH IS HUGE. 'CAUSE SOMETIMES PEOPLE COME WITH US WITH THREE $500 IN LATE FEES ON TOP OF THEIR RENT. UM, SO YEAH, I THINK A WEEK AND A HALF, GIVEN THAT WE DO COMMUNICATE WITH THE LANDLORD, WE'VE NEVER HAD ANY ISSUES WITH, UH, WITH LANDLORDS STILL EVICTING SOMEONE BECAUSE THEY HAVEN'T GOTTEN THEIR CHECK. YEAH, THAT'S DEFINITELY AN IMPORTANT PART OF IT. UM, I MEAN, BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE WHEN I LOOK AT THESE NUMBERS, I DON'T SEE A, A STORY, YOU KNOW, LIKE A, A COMPLETE STORY ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO ARE BEING SERVED, WHO'S BEING TURNED AWAY, RIGHT? YEAH. MOST PEOPLE ARE BEING TURNED AWAY. THAT'S CORRECT. SO YEAH, THAT'S AN IMPORTANT ASPECT TO THIS BECAUSE IT SHOWS IMPACT, RIGHT? WHO, WHO'S BEING TURNED AWAY AND, AND, AND IS, AND IS, IS THE PROGRAM HELPING THEM? THE PROGRAM IS NOT HELPING THOSE WHO ARE BEING TURNED AWAY, OBVIOUSLY, BECAUSE THEY'RE BEING TURNED AWAY. THERE'S JUST NOT ENOUGH FUNDING. I MEAN, WE GOT 15,000 CALLS ON MONDAY MORNINGS. YEAH. 15,000. 15,000 FOR JUST A FEW SLOTS. YEAH. 15,000. YEAH. THAT'S A LOT. UM, OKAY. PEOPLE CALL AT THREE IN THE MORNING YEAH. AND WAIT ONLINE AND WAIT ON THE PHONE FOR HOURS. DO YOU, THERE'S JUST NOT ENOUGH FUNDING. YEAH. DO YOU HAVE, WELL, OBVIOUSLY THE 3 1 1 DATA IS THERE, IS THAT, ARE YOU SHOWING THOSE NUMBERS OF HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE ACTUALLY CALLING, SHOWING THEM TO WHO? WELL, TO, TO US. RIGHT. BECAUSE I THINK WHEN YOU HAVE THESE NUMBERS, IT SHOWS US WHAT'S MISSING, WHAT THE GAPS, RIGHT? MM-HMM . THAT ARE IN, IN THE SERVICE. SO IF WE HAD MORE NUMBERS ON THAT, AND WE CAN GET THAT FROM THE 3 1 1 DATA, RIGHT? AND, AND IT SAYS HOW MANY PEOPLE CALLED FOR THIS PARTICULAR ISSUE, AND WHERE ARE THEY? RIGHT. BECAUSE WHEN I, WHEN I SEE, WHEN YOU SAY A WEEK, I STILL FEEL [00:20:01] LIKE THAT'S A LONG TIME. AND I'LL, I'LL TELL YOU WHY. BECAUSE WE CAN HAVE A LIVE DATA SYSTEM, RIGHT? SO THAT IT, IT'S SORT OF LIKE A TRAFFIC STOP, RIGHT? IT, IT, IT, AND YOU CALL IT, AND THE TRAFFIC STOP SAYS, OKAY, THERE'S SO MANY CARS OVER HERE. THERE'S SO MANY CARS HERE, BUT I'M GONNA GO OVER INTO THIS DIRECTION, RIGHT? BECAUSE I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF TRAFFIC THERE. AND THE TRAFFIC LIGHT CHANGES, RIGHT? IT'S JUST KIND OF THE SAME THING. IT'S LIKE A LIVE DATA SYSTEM, WHICH CAN BE BUILT IN A MONTH. AND SO IT SAYS, IF A HUNDRED PEOPLE FROM THIS ONE ZIP CODE CALL, WE KNOW THERE'S A PROBLEM, LET'S HELP RIGHT? RIGHT AWAY. WE DON'T WAIT FOR A WEEK. WE KNOW WHERE THE PROBLEM IS. AND A WEEK IS, IS WE'RE WAITING TOO LONG, BUT YOU MISUNDERSTAND ME. IF YOU CALLED IN ON MONDAY, YOU GOT ONE OF OUR SLOTS, YOU WOULD IMMEDIATELY BE PUT INTO THE QUEUE AND WE WOULD DO OUR ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION, WHICH WOULD BE DONE WITHIN 24 TO 48 HOURS. IT REQUIRES THAT YOU PROVIDE INCOME FOR THE LAST 30 DAYS. IF YOU'VE HAD ANY INCOME FOR YOU AND EVERYBODY IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD, INFORMATION ON YOUR HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS, BASICALLY A STORY. YOU KNOW, WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE CRISIS, WE CALL THE LANDLORD. THAT'S ANOTHER DAY OR TWO. RIGHT? LET THEM KNOW THAT YOU'RE WORKING WITH US AND THAT WE'RE ABLE TO PROBABLY PAY YOUR RENT. THE LANDLORD SAYS, OKAY, GIVES US THE INFORMATION, RETURNS THE, UH, LANDLORD AGREEMENT FORM ANOTHER DAY. EVERY DAY AND A HALF. HE KNOWS HE'S GETTING HIS $7,252 AND 52 CENTS. WE SEND THAT OVER TO AUSTIN, DIEGO URBAN LEAGUE, SO THEY CAN CUT THE CHECK. THERE ARE FISCAL AGENTS, WE CAN'T DO OUR OWN FINANCIALS. AND WITHIN THAT WEEK, WE CAN HAVE THAT LANDLORD HAS THE CHECK FOR THE THREE MONTHS OF BACK RENT. THERE'S NO WAY TO PAY THAT ANY SOONER. I MEAN, WE'RE PROUD OF THE WORK THAT WE DO. WE CAN PROCESS THESE VERY QUICKLY. NO, NO, I DO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, BUT I THINK THERE'S A FASTER WAY TO DO IT, RIGHT? WHERE IF YOU HAVE A, A SYSTEM, THAT'S IT. IT'S SORT OF LIKE, UM, THE 3 1 1 SYSTEM, RIGHT? WHERE SOMEONE CALLS AND IT'S AUTOMATICALLY LOGGED, EVERYBODY CAN LOOK AT IT, RIGHT? AND SO IT BECOMES A LIVE SYSTEM WHERE ANYONE CAN LOOK AT IT. IT, IT, IT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT I THOUGHT ABOUT, BUT I, I WOULD, I WOULD, UH, STRONGLY SUGGEST MAYBE THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN INTEGRATE INTO THE PROGRAM TO MAKE IT FASTER, IF YOU MAY. COMMISSIONER, UH, IS, IS IT OKAY IF I GO, UH, GIVE SOMEBODY ELSE A CHANCE? YEAH, I'M DONE. AND, UM, YEAH, THE WAY THAT I, THAT I, JUST FROM THE CONVERSATION, IT SEEMS LIKE YES, THERE'S LIKE, WE NEED TO TRACK THAT DATA. UM, BUT AS FAR AS, UH, WHAT ANGELA WAS SAYING, JUST THE TIME, THAT TIME IS NOT, YOU KNOW, NOT BEING SPENT DOING SOMETHING, IT'S, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE ACTUALLY WORKING. UM, WHEN YOU ASKED THAT QUESTION FIRST, MY THOUGHT WAS, OKAY, YEAH. ARE THEY WAITING, YOU KNOW, A WEEK AND A HALF? AND THEY MAY GET EVICTED IN THAT TIME. BUT WHAT ANKA WAS SAYING IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE ACTIVELY WORKING TO PREVENT THAT. UM, WHEN THE, I COMPLETELY AGREE WITH THE ISSUE OF WE'RE NOT TRACKING THE PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT BEING SERVED. AND THAT IT'S A VERY, THAT'S VERY GOOD DATA TO SHOW THAT HOW BIG THE NEED IS, THE NEED FOR INCREASED FUNDING, THE NEED FOR, YOU KNOW, THE NEED OUT IN THE COMMUNITY. AND IT CAN BE AS DETAILED AS WHAT YOU WERE SAYING, YOU KNOW, CERTAIN AREAS BEING AFFECTED MORE, YOU KNOW, THINGS LIKE THAT. THAT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING. UM, BUT YEAH. SO, UM, I'M GONNA GIVE SOMEBODY ELSE A CHANCE, IF THAT'S OKAY. UH, DO WE HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS OR NEFERTITI, DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO ADD? I WAS WONDERING IF IT WOULD BE HELPFUL. YES. UM, FOR A FUTURE MEETING, YES. FOR US TO MAP OUR PROGRAMS, WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING ON THAT, UM, IN A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT AREAS IN THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT, UH, TO UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS. MM-HMM . BECAUSE SEVEN, THEY . I MEAN, THAT IS AN EXTREMELY, UM, I KNOW IT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE IT'S FAST AND RAPID AND QUICK, BUT WHEN YOU'RE DEALING WITH, YOU'RE DEALING WITH BASICALLY TWO TO THREE TO FOUR DIFFERENT PROCESSES AND PEOPLE YOU'RE DEALING WITH LANDLORDS WHO HAVE TO RESPOND AND PROVIDE DATA. YOU'RE DEALING WITH TENANTS WHO ALSO, AND SOMETIMES THEY CAN'T FIND DOCUMENTS AND PAPERS AND PAY STUBS. THEN YOU'RE DEALING WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER, WHICH IS INTAKE, AND THEN A THIRD PARTY ENTITY THAT'S ALSO PROCESSING PAYMENTS. SO, [00:25:01] 'CAUSE WE ALSO DO IT IN A LARGER VOLUME, UH, THAN THE NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS. AND WE COULDN'T, WE DON'T PROCESS PAYMENTS AS RAPIDLY AS, UM, AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH DOES WITH THEIR VENDOR, UM, THE AUSTIN AREA URBAN LEAGUE. BUT MAPPING OUT AND UNDERSTANDING THE PROCESS, UM, AND THEN I THINK MIGHT BE HELPFUL SO THAT, UM, MAYBE MM-HMM. YOU CAN KNOW WHERE THIS COMMISSION MIGHT WEIGH IN BECAUSE WE CAN ENHANCE. MM-HMM. YES. THERE MIGHT BE OPPORTUNITIES TO, AND THERE'S SOMETHING THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I BROUGHT UP IN OUR SPECIAL CODE MEETING IS THAT THEY'RE LIKE ALL THESE PROGRAMS THAT WE, UH, YOU KNOW, WE RECEIVE PRESENTATIONS, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE COMPLEX IN DIFFERENT WAYS. UM, AND THERE ARE WAYS FOR US TO, UM, IDENTIFY THOSE GAPS, TO IDENTIFY WHAT'S NEEDED. YOU KNOW, IT DOES, YOU KNOW, TAKE COMMITMENT FROM US COMMISSIONERS LEARNING WHAT THOSE PROGRAMS ARE LIKE TO BE ABLE TO, UM, TO SEE THAT, UH, TO SEE WHERE WE CAN AFFECT THAT CHANGE, I THINK. UM, SO EITHER WAY IS YES, EITHER I BOTH WAYS, I THINK BOTH WAYS WHERE, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN PUT SOMETHING TOGETHER, BUT ALSO COMMISSIONERS, YOU KNOW, IF YOU TAKE THAT INITIATIVE TO LEARN ABOUT THESE PROGRAMS, LIKE IN A DEEPER WAY, AND I KNOW ANIL'S ALWAYS AVAILABLE TO TALK ABOUT THOSE PROGRAMS AND HOW THEY, HOW THEY WORK. AND BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, I, BEING, YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY THAT'S SERVED ON THIS COMMISSION FOR A WHILE, I DO SEE ALL THE GAPS. I, YOU KNOW, WE SEE ALL THE GAPS AND, YOU KNOW, WE DO NEED TO MAKE SOME CHANGE. UH, WE NEED TO FIGURE THAT OUT FOR SURE. YEAH. I REALLY APPRECIATE THE, UH, COMMISSIONER MOORE, THE, UH, IDEA OF SHARING SOME OF THAT SORT OF MORE NEGATIVE NEWS. LIKE YOU, SOME OF, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE I OFF THE RECORD, TALK TO YOU SOMETIMES WHEN YOU REACH OUT TO ME AND SAY, OH, WE GET 10,000 CALLS OR 6,000 CALLS. SO YOU'RE AWARE OF THAT, BUT I HAVEN'T INCORPORATED THAT AS AN OFFICIAL PART OF MY REPORT, WHICH COULD GIVE IT, I GUESS, SOME GRAVITAS TO YOU GUYS AND MAYBE SOME IMPETUS TO DO A RECOMMENDATION. EXACTLY. THAT'S, UH, YEAH, THAT'S WHERE THAT CONVERSATION WAS, BUT THAT'S HAPPENING. BUT THAT, THAT'S REALLY IS THE BIGGEST GAP, IS FUNDING, AS YOU ALL KNOW, THERE'S JUST NOT ENOUGH FUNDING AND THE DEMAND IS HUGE. UH, COMMISSIONER MENARD, AND THEN WE'LL MOVE ON. OH YEAH, I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY ALSO, AND HOW IS THAT WHEN YOU GET THESE CALLS, WHAT I'M HEARING IS THAT IT'S NOT THAT FOLKS ARE TURNED AWAY IN THE MOMENT. YOU TAKE EVERY CALL AND BEGIN THE PROCESS, IT'S UNTIL YOU RUN OUT OF MONEY. IS THAT CORRECT? UH, THERE'S A PHONE TREE THAT THE CITY SET UP FOR US. SO PEOPLE DO CALL AND THEN AFTER WE HAVE SO MANY PEOPLE IN THIS QUEUE, THE REST WILL WAIT UNTIL WE PUSH A CERTAIN BUTTON THAT SAYS, I'M SORRY, NO MORE SLOTS TODAY. TRY BACK NEXT MONDAY AT EIGHT O'CLOCK. SO, YEAH, I MEAN, PEOPLE ARE ON HOLD AND IT'S WORKING BETTER NOW BECAUSE WE HAVE, WE DO HAVE MORE MODERN PHONE TREE, WHEREAS PEOPLE GET MORE EXPLANATION AS WHAT'S GOING ON, BUT IT STILL DOESN'T HURT, DOESN'T HELP IF YOU'RE IN CRISIS TO SAY, CALL BACK NEXT MONDAY AND TRY AGAIN. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU COMMISSIONER MENARD. UM, COMMISSIONERS, UH, MOVING ON TO THE NEXT ITEM. OH, SORRY, WHO WE HAVE, UH, SOMEBODY ON? SORRY, SOMEBODY LINE WITH THE QUESTION. WE GOT TWO PEOPLE. OH, OKAY. SORRY. GO AHEAD COMMISSIONER ARNOLD, GO AHEAD. YOU CAN GO FIRST. COMMISSIONER MARTINEZ. OKAY. SO JUST A QUICK QUESTION. UM, AN ANGEL, YOU, YOU MENTIONED THAT THE, UM, THE SOUTH AUSTIN, IS THAT THE NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER BUILDING THAT'S BEEN CLOSED FOR OVER A YEAR? UH, CORRECT. AND, AND, AND SO I'M JUST, I'M JUST CURIOUS WHAT, I MEAN, THAT'S A LONG TIME, A WHOLE YEAR FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER TO BE CLOSED. WHAT, WHAT, UM, IS GOING ON THERE? WHAT ARE THEY DOING THAT'S TAKING OVER A YEAR? WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME FOR THAT. , IT WAS AN HVAC, UH, FULL HVAC OVERHAUL. THEY FOUND SOME OTHER ISSUES WHEN THEY GOT INTO THE HVAC THAT HAD TO DO WITH WATER AND PIPES. AND SO IT BECAME A MUCH BIGGER PROJECT. OH, OKAY. AND, UH, GETTING, IT'S THE CITY, RIGHT? THE CONTRACTORS AND ALL THAT GOING BY THE TIME WE ARE ADDRESSING ALL THE ISSUES THAT IT PUSHED IT OUT A YEAR AND A HALF AND YOU PROBABLY GET IN THERE AND FIND MORE ISSUES AND, AND MORE ISSUES. AND I WAS CURIOUS. I WASN'T SURE. I WASN'T SURE WHAT, WHAT THE HOLDUP WAS TAKING SO LONG. 'CAUSE A YEAR, THAT'S A REALLY LONG TIME DEFINITELY TO HAVE THAT PLACE CLOSED. DEFINITELY. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER MARTINEZ? YES. COMMISSIONER ARNOLD, YOU HAD A QUESTION? UH, SORRY. VICE CHAIR, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? THANK YOU. YES. I WANTED TO KNOW WHY IS AUSTIN AREA URBAN LEAGUE THE VENDOR FOR THOSE PAYMENTS? THEY WENT THROUGH THE APPLICATION PROCESS A FEW YEARS AGO WHEN WE GOT THIS MONEY. [00:30:01] SO THEY WERE, UH, ONE OF MANY VENDORS WHO APPLIED AND THEY WERE SELECTED. OKAY. AND HOW, WHEN WILL THIS, UH, THIS, UH, THE VENDOR POSITION BE SOLICITED AGAIN? UH, I THINK THEY HAVE, UH, THREE YEARS LEFT, THE FIVE-YEAR CONTRACT. OKAY. AND, UM, IN ADDITION TO THOSE, UH, CALLS, THE DATA FOR THE CALLS, I, I AGREE. I WOULD LOVE TO, WE'LL LOVE TO KNOW THAT SO WE CAN KNOW WHO'S BEING TURNED AWAY, UM, AND WHO'S ALSO RECEIVING THE FUNDS AND ALSO IMPLEMENTING SOME KIND OF RESOURCE NAVIGATION WITHIN THAT PROGRAM. SO NO ONE WALKS AWAY WITH NOTHING OR NOT RE-TRIGGERED OR TRAUMATIZED. UM, I'VE BEEN ONE OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS THAT HAD TO CALL 60 TIMES MM-HMM . UM, ON A MONDAY AS WELL. AND I HAVE TO KEEP CALLING TO KEEP CALLING. BUT THANK GOD I WAS ABLE TO GET THAT. UM, AND I WAS HOPING LIKE MAYBE WE CAN SEE THE FEEDBACK OF THE INDIVIDUALS RECEIVING THAT FUND IN THE, IN FROM THE LANDLORDS OF THE PROCESS OF RECEIVING THAT PAYMENT FROM AUSTIN AREA URBAN LEAGUE. WE WOULD LOVE TO KNOW THE GOOD AND THE BAD, BECAUSE THAT'S ULTIMATELY HOW WE'RE GONNA RE BE ABLE TO FIGURE THIS OUT ON THE VENDOR SIDE OF THINGS. RESOURCE NAVIGATION, INTAKE AND RECEIVING SERVICES. ALRIGHT. I WILL SAY THAT AUSTIN AREA URBAN LEAGUE HAS DONE A REALLY AMAZING JOB. THERE ARE TIMES WHEN THEY ACTUALLY HAND DELIVER THE CHECKS TO THE LANDLORDS, UH, BECAUSE OF THE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE TIME SENSITIVE ISSUE AND THE LANDLORD WANTS THEIR CHECK. SO WE DON'T GO THROUGH THE MAIL. AS YOU KNOW, THE MAIL NOW IS NOT PREDICTABLE . SO, UM, KUDOS TO THEM FOR, FOR GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND. UH, MOST OF THE TIME, SOMETIMES THEY CAN'T AND THEY JUST HAVE TO MAIL THE CHECK, BUT MOST OF THE TIME WE, UH, WE HAND DELIVER THE CHECKS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UH, THANK YOU VICE CHAIR FOR YOUR QUESTION. THANK YOU, HIL. UM, WE'RE MOVING ON TO NEXT ITEM. THANK YOU. UH, SO [3. Presentation on the Public Hearing on Needs Assessment for Annual Action Plan. Presentation by Veronica Samo, Public Information and Marketing Program Manager, and Julie Smith, Community Engagement Specialist, Austin Housing.] NEXT ITEM IS A DISCUSSION ITEM ON THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT FOR THE ANNUAL ACTION PLAN. UH, SO YES, GO AHEAD, MIGUEL. THANK YOU, CHAIR. UM, SO I AM GOING TO BE PRESENTING ON THIS ONE, UM, THE COMMUNITY NEEDS RIGHT HERE FOR THE PUBLIC HEARING, UM, ON THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT. SO, UM, AS THIS IS A DISCUSSION ITEM, WE CAN, WE CAN HAVE A DISCUSSION. I WON'T HAVE TOO MUCH INFORMATION ON IT, BUT WE WILL HAVE IT AS A PUBLIC HEARING FOR THE NEXT MEETING, UH, ON MAY. AND THAT'LL, IT HAS A, A WHOLE PROCESS OF, UM, HOW IT'S PRESENTED. BUT THE MAIN THING IS THIS IS THE SURVEY, AND IF EVERYONE COULD TAKE A PICTURE OF THE QR CODE, UM, IT'S ALSO IN YOUR PACKETS IF YOU CAN'T MAKE IT TO THE, UM, THE SCREEN. UM, BUT THIS SURVEY IS VITAL IN ALLOWING AUSTIN HOUSING TO RECEIVE FEEDBACK FOR WHAT AND ESSENTIALLY THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT. UM, VERONICA SAMO, OUR PUBLIC INFORMATION AND MARKETING PROGRAM MANAGER, AND JULIE SMITH, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SPECIALIST. UM, WE'LL BE HERE NEXT MONTH TO TAKE US THROUGH IT. BUT WHAT WE REALLY WANT IS WE'D LOVE FOR Y'ALL TO AMPLIFY THIS SURVEY TO TAKE IT BACK TO YOUR COMMUNITIES AND, UM, LET THEM KNOW THAT THEY CAN HAVE THEIR VOICE HEARD, UM, NEXT MONTH. UH, AND THEN THEY CAN ALSO FILL OUT THE SURVEY ONLINE. AND THE MORE FEEDBACK, THE BETTER WE WILL BE ABLE TO GET A BETTER ASSESSMENT OF WHAT AUSTIN NEEDS. THANK YOU, MIGUEL. THANK YOU CHAIR. SO YES, DEFINITELY THIS, UM, SURVEY. YOU KNOW, HOW SHOULD WE DIS OR HOW SHOULD THE, UM, CITY DISTRIBUTE THIS FUNDING? UH, VERY IMPORTANT. PLEASE SHARE IT, COMMISSIONER, SHARE IT WITH YOUR COMMUNITY. UH, FILL OUT THE SURVEY. ALSO, UH, JUST IN THAT SAME THINKING OF WHAT, UH, VICE CHAIR, UH, AND COMMISSIONER TIFFANY WERE SAYING, YOU KNOW, LET'S LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, HOW THAT WORKS. IS IT, YOU KNOW, HOW THE SURVEY WORKS? IS IT, ARE WE REALLY, WHO, WHO'S FILLING OUT THESE SURVEYS? YOU KNOW, LIKE, IS IT SOMETHING THAT WE CAN IMPROVE? THINGS LIKE THAT. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE ALWAYS LOOK FOR, UH, AS WELL. UH, SO YES, PLEASE DO THAT. AND LIKE MIGUEL SAID, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A PUBLIC HEARING NEXT MONTH ABOUT THIS. UH, SO, UM, AND DID YOU SAY THERE WAS AN OPEN HOUSE? UM, IT THERE, SO IT HAS TO BE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC MM-HMM . UM, AND THERE'S, THE WAY THAT THE PROCESS WORKS, I HAVE IT WRITTEN DOWN IF YOU'D LIKE FOR ME TO GO THROUGH IT. BUT ESSENTIALLY, UH, THE CITY STAFF WILL PRESENT, UM, WHAT THIS IS ABOUT. UM, IF THERE IS SOMEONE THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK IN FAVOR, AND THEN THERE WILL BE PUBLIC COMMENT, AND THEN THERE CAN BE, UM, SOMEONE WHO MIGHT SPEAK AGAINST, AND THEN THERE COULD BE A REBUTTAL THAT IS THE FULL, UH, MM-HMM . PROCESS FOR THAT. OKAY. SO, YES, SO COMMISSIONERS, UH, BRING YOUR QUESTIONS, INVITE YOUR COMMUNITY, UH, TO COME NEXT TIME [00:35:01] AND, AND SPEAK ON THIS, UM, ON THE SURVEY AND THE, THE FUNDING THAT'S, UH, ON THE LINE THERE. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UH, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FROM ANY COMMISSIONERS? SO WHEN IS THE DATE? UM, THE NEXT ONE? UH, IT WILL BE, I BELIEVE IT IS AP, UH, MAY 12TH. MAY I BELIEVE I HAVE A QUESTION. SO WHAT IS THE APRIL 23RD DATE COM? UH, SORRY. SORRY ABOUT THAT. UH, MIGUEL, WE HAVE A, WE HAVE A QUESTION. YES. COMMISSIONER, WHAT IS THAT APRIL 23RD DATE? 'CAUSE IT LOOKED LIKE IT WILL SPEAK UP. OH. UM, THAT THEY ARE GOING TO ALSO PRESENT TO THE CITY COUNCIL. SO THESE ARE FEDERAL GUIDELINES, AND SO THEY HAVE TO DO, UM, PUBLIC HEARING, UH, CITY COUNCIL HEARING. AND THEN ALSO, UM, THERE'S A, A THIRD ONE THAT IS REQUIREMENT FROM HUD. UM, AND, AND THOSE ARE ALL THREE OF THOSE. AND THAT'S WHAT THAT DATE IS FOR. OKAY. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. UH, SO YES. DID WE GET THE DATE FOR THE NEXT, UH, YES. IT'LL BE MAY 12TH. MAY 12TH. UH, FOR, FOR THE CDC MEETING. MM-HMM . AND THAT'S WHEN THE PUBLIC HEARING WILL BE. OKAY. SO THE PUBLIC HEARING AT THE, AT THIS COMMISSION WOULD BE ON MAY 12TH. AGAIN, UM, PLEASE INFORM YOUR COMMUNITY AND ASK THEM TO COME AND, UH, SPEAK UP ON THIS SIDE ON THIS FUNDING. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS. UH, WE'RE GOING ON TO DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS. UH, ITEM NUMBER FOUR, [4. Discussion and possible action on the Neighborhood Services Unit’s mission statement. Presentation by Angel Zambrano, Program Manager III, Austin Public Health.] WE'RE BRINGING BACK ANO, UH, DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON THE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES UNIT MISSION STATEMENT. UH, IT'S IN YOUR PACKET. UM, UH, HIL, READ IT OUT LOUD EARLIER. UH, PLEASE LOOK THROUGH IT. AND THEN, UM, WE'LL HAVE, UM, HIL PRESENT ON IT. AND THEN WE'LL HAVE A DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION AND WHY WE NEED TO DO THIS. UM, I MEAN, WE WANT TO DO IT ANYWAYS, JUST TO HAVE YOU GUYS CHECK IN. LIKE, I KNOW YOU TALKED ABOUT YOUR OWN MISSION STATEMENT THAT THE RETREAT, SO THIS IS THE MISSION STATEMENT FOR, UH, THE NEIGHBOR SERVICES UNIT. AND IT'S REQUIRED BY, UM, OUR ORG STANDARDS TO BRING IT TO YOU ALL, EVERY FIVE YEARS. AND YOU GUYS CAN OPEN THE DISCUSSION, I CAN READ IT AGAIN OFFICIALLY, AND THEN, UH, THE CHAIR CAN TAKE OVER. UH, YOU CAN GIVE FEEDBACK, YOU CAN MAKE CHANGES, UM, YOU CAN LEAVE IT AS IS. WE, THIS ONE WAS PUT TOGETHER WITH THE FEEDBACK OF THE COMMISSION ABOUT FOUR AND A HALF YEARS AGO. SO THE MISSION STATEMENT IS, THE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES UNIT IMPROVES THE LIVES AND HEALTH OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCING POVERTY BY PROVIDING PUBLIC HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES, AND CONNECTING RESIDENTS OF AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY TO COMMUNITY RESOURCES. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU, ANGEL. UM, SO I'M, I'M ASSUMING SINCE IT'S AN ACTION ITEM, I WOULD LOOK FOR SOMEBODY TO MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THIS, UM, MISSION STATEMENT AS IS, OR, UH, ADD AMENDMENTS OR QUESTIONS. IS THAT CORRECT? EXACTLY, YES. IF ANY OF YOU HAVE FEEDBACK WHEN SEMANTICS MAY CHANGE WORDS AGAIN, UH, DOES IT ALIGN PER THE, IF YOU LOOK AT YOUR BACKUP THERE, IT NEEDS TO ASSURE THAT IT ADDRESSES POVERTY. AND TWO, THAT THE NSU PROGRAMS AND SERVICES ARE IN ALIGNMENT WITH THIS MISSION, OUR BASIC NEEDS PUBLIC HEALTH, NURSING AND, UH, SOCIAL WORK PROGRAM. SO, AGAIN, YES, COMMISSIONERS, I'M LOOKING FOR A MOTION TO APPROVE THIS OR A DISCUSSION ON ANY CHANGES OR ANY AMENDMENTS. COMMISSIONER, OH, SORRY. GO AHEAD. MENARD. GO AGAIN. IT'S OKAY. I WAS GONNA MAKE THE MOTION TO APPROVE. MOTION TO APPROVE. OKAY. SO WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE, UH, THIS MISSION STATEMENT AS IS. DO WE HAVE ANY DISCUSSION OR ANY QUESTIONS? I HAD A COMMISSIONER LYRIC. GO AHEAD. QUESTION. DO WE NEED FOR DISCUSSION FOR MY MOTION TO MOVE? YES, YOU, YES YOU WILL. UM, BUT I BELIEVE COMMISSIONER, UH, LYRIC HAS A QUESTION. YES. YEAH. UM, JUST THE PART ABOUT, UH, LIKE THE HEALTH OF PEOPLE AND, UH, PROVIDING PUBLIC HEALTH, I WAS WONDERING IF ANY SPECIFICITY WOULD BE HELPFUL. 'CAUSE I DO KNOW THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MENTAL HEALTH, PHYSICAL HEALTH, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS. AND SO, UM, JUST SPECIFYING WHAT [00:40:01] TYPES OF HEALTH YOU'RE OFFERING. UM, I DON'T KNOW, JUST A THOUGHT. UM, YEAH, THAT WAS THE ONLY THING I WAS THINKING ABOUT WHEN I SAW IT WAS JUST WHAT, WHAT TYPE OF HEALTH ARE WE TALKING ABOUT IN SERVICES? SO I, I BELIEVE WHAT COMMISSIONER MENARD WAS ASKING IS IF WE HAVE A SECOND AND WE CAN MAKE AMENDMENTS. IS THAT CORRECT? THAT, SO CURRENTLY WE HAVE A MOTION ON FLOOR SECOND. YES. UM, BUT WE CAN AMEND THE MOTION. UM, IF, IF SOMEBODY WOULD LIKE TO PROPOSE IT AT THIS TIME. MY UNDERSTANDING IS YOU NEED A SECOND YES. TO START THE, THE DISCUSSION DISCUSSION, ROBERT? THAT'S WHEN AMENDMENTS A SECOND FIRST BEFORE DISCUSSION, BECAUSE RIGHT NOW THERE'S, YEAH. OKAY. OH, I, YES, I SECOND THE MOTION. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. SORRY, WHAT, WHO WAS THAT? I SECOND THE MOTION. SECOND. THE MOTION. IS THAT COMMISSIONER MARTINEZ? YES. YES. OKAY. SO WE HAVE A SECOND TO APPROVE, UH, THIS MISSION STATEMENT AS IS. UH, DO WE HAVE ANY DISCUSSION, ANY AMENDMENT, ANY COMMISSIONER LYRIC? DO, DO YOU, UM, DO YOU HAVE A PROPOSED AMENDMENT? I THINK I MEAN, IT, IT SAYS IT BELOW, BUT LIKE SAYING SPECIFICALLY PREVENTATIVE HEALTH MM-HMM . UM, IN IT, I THINK WOULD BE REALLY GOOD. UH, JUST ADDS MORE CLARITY, I THINK. CAN YOU, UM, SORRY, I'M LOST IN THE, UH, WHERE, UH, WHERE WOULD YOU ADD THAT? UM, BY PROVIDING, WHAT'S THIS PUBLIC HEALTH, PUBLIC PREVENTATIVE HEALTH? I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S WEIRD OR NOT. UM, DOES THAT MAKE SENSE TO PUT IT PROVIDING, PUT IT THERE, PUBLIC PREVENTATIVE HEALTH? SURE. LIKE I SAID, GRAMMAR'S NOT RIGHT. UH, I BELIEVE, UH, THE HEALTH, UM, IT'S HEALTH SERVICES. RIGHT? SO PREVENT, YEAH. IT'S HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES. SO IT IMPROVES THE LIVES OF HEALTH BY PROVIDING IT. SO ESSENTIALLY COULD READ BY PROVIDING PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICES AND SOCIAL SERVICES. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? SO I'M NOT, I'M NOT SURE HOW, YEAH, IT DOES, DOESN'T SEEM LIKE IT MAKES SENSE. YEAH. PREVENTATIVE COMMISSIONER MENARD. YEAH. JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY. UM, COMMISSIONER RIC, SO YOU WANTED THE, DID I HEAR CORRECTLY THAT, SO YOU'RE ASKING FOR SOME REFERENCE TO MENTAL HEALTH, JUST LIKE BEING MORE SPECIFIC, LIKE WE'RE SAYING PUBLIC HEALTH, BUT I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF ASPECTS, ASPECTS TO HEALTH IN GENERAL. LIKE THERE CAN BE MENTAL HEALTH AND IF, IF WE'RE SAYING IT'S PREVENTATIVE HEALTH, I THINK IT SHOULD BE IN THE MISSION STATEMENT ITSELF. AND THAT WAY IT'S LIKE, IT'S, IT'S JUST ADDING MORE CLARITY TO THE MISSION. UM, THAT'S THE ONLY THING THAT I THOUGHT ABOUT. IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE ADDED. UM, IT'S JUST THE ONLY THING THAT, LIKE WHEN I READ IT, PUBLIC HEALTH CAN INCLUDE A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS. SO BEING MORE SPECIFIC ABOUT IT, OF LIKE WHAT TYPE OF HEALTH WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. DO YOU WANNA BE SPECIFIC AND SAY PUBLIC, PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH? YEAH. I MEAN, IF THAT MAKES SENSE. BY PROVIDING PUBLIC, PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH. PHYSICAL HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES. SOCIAL SERVICES. MY, MY CONCERN IS THAT PUBLIC HEALTH IS BROAD. IS THAT CORRECT? AND IF WE ADD THOSE TWO, IT MAKES IT SEEM LIKE IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST THOSE TWO THINGS. YEAH. YEAH. UH, YES. COMMISSIONER HASSEL AS A NURSE WHO WORKED IN PUBLIC HEALTH, PUBLIC HEALTH IS NOT PRIMARY CARE. OKAY. SO YOU DO HAVE PEOPLE COMING IN, IN CRISIS, YOU KNOW, HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, DIABETES, WHATEVER. THEY ARE NOT SET UP TO TREAT THAT. AND LEGALLY THEY CANNOT BY THE NURSE PRACTICE ACT. SO THE REFERRALS ARE MADE TO AGENCIES THAT CAN PROVIDE THAT SERVICES, LIKE COMMUNITY CARE, THE VOLUNTEER HEALTH CLINIC, ASCENSION, THINGS LIKE THAT. SO, AND, AND PART OF THAT IS THE MENTAL HEALTH PIECE, RIGHT? SO, YOU KNOW, REFERRING THEM AGAIN, TO THE SAME ORGANIZATIONS OR TO TRAVIS COUNTY, MM. MHMR. SO PUBLIC HEALTH IS VERY BROAD, BUT I THINK WHEN YOU START TRYING TO DRILL IT DOWN, THEN YOU'RE GONNA PIGEONHOLE YOURSELF AND YOU'RE GONNA GET IN A BIND. 'CAUSE WE CAN'T DO THAT LEGALLY. THAT IS NOT WHAT PUBLIC HEALTH IS DESIGNED FOR. YEAH, THAT MAKES SENSE. OKAY. SO THAT'S JUST MY 2 CENTS. UH, YES. UH, JUST A SEC. COMMISSIONER LYRIC, ARE WE OKAY WITH, WITH THE WORDING? JUST, UH, YEAH, THAT'S TOTALLY FINE. ESSENTIALLY WHAT I'M HEARING IS, YOU KNOW, KEEPING BROAD IS BETTER. WE HAVE THE DISCUSSION, OR WHEN AN ANGEL TALKS ABOUT PUBLIC HEALTH, HE CAN THROW IN, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT THINGS THAT ARE INCLUDED IN THERE. YEAH. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? OKAY. SORRY, COMMISSIONER TIFFANY, GO AHEAD. SO I WONDER IF POVERTY CAN BE, 'CAUSE I, I MEAN, WE [00:45:01] CAN USE POVERTY'S USED AS A NOUN, YOU KNOW, IT CAN BE USED AS AN ADJECTIVE BY DESCRIPTION, BUT I WONDER IF IT'S MORE PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HARDSHIP. RIGHT? THAT WOULD BE MY ONLY RECOMMENDATION. DO WE HAVE, UH, I GUESS ANY DISCUSSION ON THAT? OR DID YOU WANNA MAKE A MOTION TO REPLACE POVERTY WITH HARDSHIP COMMISSIONER? HOW SO? AGAIN, I'M FULL OF IT TONIGHT. GO AHEAD. POVERTY, AND CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, AND HOW THAT HAS FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS TO IT, RIGHT? TO BE AT POVERTY CONSIDERED POVERTY, UH, CORRECT. RIGHT. THIS KIND OF, THIS IS KIND OF HELPFUL BECAUSE IT DOES BRING ME TO THE, UH, QUESTION THAT COMMISSIONER MOORE HAD EARLIER IN TERMS OF KIND OF MORE OF THE, THE STORY, RIGHT? MM-HMM . IN NUMBERS AND DATA, AND THAT IS, I, I FORGOT HOW NEW YOU ARE. WE HAVE A BACKUP THAT I DON'T PRESENT TO YOU ALL, BUT IT'S PART OF YOUR PACKET THAT DOES BREAK IT DOWN IN TERMS OF THAT. SO TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, I'M LOOKING AT IT RIGHT NOW IN TERMS OF, UH, IN FEBRUARY, I THINK A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE PEOPLE WE SERVED WE'RE UNDER 250% OF POVERTY. SO THAT, THAT'S VERY POOR. MM-HMM. SO, UM, I DON'T KNOW HOW IT'S IN MFI, MAYBE 30%. A LOT OF OUR FOLKS, YOU CAN LOOK AT THE BACKUP NOW AND IT SHOWS YOU THERE, UM, 27% OF THE PEOPLE WE SERVE HAD NO INCOME, UH, AND THE REST ARE UNDER 200%. SO WHEN YOU SAY HARDSHIP, HARDSHIP CAN BE A LOT OF THINGS, BUT IT MAY NOT NECESSARILY BE RELATED TO FINANCES. RIGHT? YOU CORRECT. YOU COULD HAVE, UH, THE LOSS OF A SPOUSE TO HARDSHIP FEES. CORRECT. BUT YOU'RE LOADED. RIGHT? RIGHT. SO THAT'S WHERE I WAS TRYING TO MAKE THE DISTINCTION, BECAUSE SO MANY OF THE PROGRAMS ARE BASED ON FINANCIAL NEED. CORRECT. AS OPPOSED TO ME JUST SAYING, OH, I NEED HELP THIS MONTH. YOU KNOW, I SPENT TOO MUCH, I NEED HELP. MM-HMM . YES. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER HASSEL. AND I, I GUESS TO ADD TO THAT, JUST AS YOUR QUESTION ABOUT, YOU KNOW, MINIMIZING LIKE THE, THE, THE NEED RIGHT EARLIER ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW MANY PEOPLE CALL TO THE, TO THE RENTAL ASSISTANCE AND DON'T GET IN, YOU KNOW, I WOULD THINK CHANGING THAT WORDING OUT OF POVERTY FROM POVERTY TO HARDSHIP WOULD MINIMIZE THAT THE FACT THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE THAT ARE IN POVERTY CONSTANT, LIKE YOU SAID, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WITHOUT AN INCOME, PEOPLE THAT NEED ALL THESE SERVICES. AND IT'S NOT JUST A ONE TIME THING. IT'S NOT JUST, YOU KNOW, UH, THIS WHAT THESE SERVICES ARE MEANT TO ADDRESS. UM, YEAH. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR ANYTHING ELSE? UH, COMMISSIONER TIFFANY? YES. OH, UM, JUST REAL QUICK, I'M JUST STUCK ON THE WORD IMPROVE BECAUSE LIKE WE'RE SAYING, IF THEY COME IN WITH A FINANCIAL HARDSHIP OR HEALTH SITUATIONS OR, OR, OR WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE, AND THE, ALL OF THE NEEDS AREN'T BEING MET, SAY THEY COME AND GET A BLOOD PRESSURE OR IMMUNIZATION, BU ALTHOUGH THEY CAN'T GIVE RENTAL ASSISTANCE BECAUSE THERE'S ENOUGH FUNDING, SO HOW HAS THEIR LIFE'S IMPROVED? SO THE WORD IMPROVE IS KIND OF LIKE, AH, I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO USE. BUT, YOU KNOW, UM, JUST BEING SOMEONE DIRECTLY IMPACTED AND USED, UM, RECEIVED, UH, ASSISTANCE BEFORE, UM, I CAN SAY THAT IT ASSISTED ME, ALTHOUGH IT DID NOT IMPROVE MY LIFE. SO, YES. UM, SO I'M HEARING YES, THAT SAYING THE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES UNIT IMPROVES, UM, IS, IS SAYING THAT YEAH, PEOPLE THAT COME TO RECEIVE THOSE SERVICES, UM, THEY SEE IMPROVEMENT IN THEIR LIVES, WHEREAS, AGAIN, THINKING ABOUT THE, THE FACT THAT POVERTY IS, YOU KNOW, A CONSTANT THING, A LOT OF TIMES IT, UM, THAT MAY NOT BE THE CASE. WE MAY JUST BE HO HOLDING OFF THE EVICTION FOR ANOTHER MONTH, OR WE MAY JUST BE HOLDING OFF, YOU KNOW, A HEALTH PROBLEM FOR ANOTHER MONTH, SOMETHING LIKE THAT. UM, IT SEEMS ALMOST LIKE HERE I'M HEARING THAT THAT'S OUR GOAL IS TO IMPROVE, RIGHT? CORRECT. THE NEIGHBOR SERVICES GRANT HAS THAT GOAL. THAT HAS A, YOU KNOW, BUT, UH, WHAT VICE CHAIR IS SAYING IS THAT, UH, JUST FROM EXPERIENCE AND FROM WHAT YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'RE SEEING HERE IS THAT IT'S, YEAH. [00:50:01] IT MAY NOT BE COMPLETELY ACCURATE, I'M GUESSING. YEAH. IN ADDITION TO THAT, JUST AWFUL. AND HE'LL, THE, UM, THE TESTIMONY HE PROVIDED EARLIER, SOMEONE, UM, LOSES THEIR JOB AND THEY HAVE TO COME BACK AND RECEIVE SERVICES, YOU KNOW, SO LIKE, HOW, HOW IS THAT IMPROVEMENT? UH, SO, UH, JUST SO FROM THAT DISCUSSION, UH, DOES ANYBODY WANNA MAKE A, UM, MOTION OR MAKE AN AMENDMENT TO THIS, UH, BASED ON THAT, I DON'T KNOW IF I CAN AMEND MY OWN MOTION , BUT I WANNA OFFER SUGGESTIONS IF SOMEONE WANTS TO MAKE AN AMENDMENT MM-HMM . UM, FIRST, UM, ON HELD FOR THE FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS, IS THAT WORD IMPORTANT? THE WORD IMPROVE? IS THAT NECESSARY FOR YOUR FED TO MEET FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS AT ALL? NO. AS YOU CAN SEE, IT JUST ADDRESS POVERTY. OKAY. UM, AND THAT OUR SERVICES ARE IN ALIGNMENT. OKAY. WITH, SO THEN I WOULD, I WOULD SAY OFFER, IF SOMEONE JUST WANTS, WE COULD JUST DELETE THAT LINE AND INSTEAD OF IMPROVE THE LIVES AND HEALTH OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCES, IF WE COULD JUST DO WHAT, WHAT THE VICE SAID ASSISTS PEOPLE EXPERIENCING POVERTY BY PROVIDING HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES. I'LL SECOND THAT. JUST A SUGGESTION. CAN MY, MY THING IS THAT FOR A MISSION STATEMENT THOUGH, YOU'RE AIMING FOR A GOAL. YOU'RE AIMING FOR SOMETHING MORE PROACTIVE. YOU WANT SOMETHING MUCH MORE. SO, UH, WHILE I UNDERSTAND AND ORIGINALLY DID LIKE THE WORD ASSIST, I THINK I NOW UNDERSTAND AS IT'S BEING READ, ALEX HEARING BOTH OF 'EM, UM, THAT DIFFERENCE. I, I WOULD RATHER HAVE SOMETHING IF, IF I WAS IN HIS PLACE AND THEIR ORGANIZATION AND WHAT THEY'RE TRYING TO DO, UM, MAYBE IT IS JUST USING A DIFFERENT WORD THAN IMPROVES. BUT, UM, I DO THINK IT FITS FOR WHAT THEY ARE TRYING TO DO WITH THIS MISSION. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? IT'S NOT JUST WHAT THEY ARE DOING NOW, BUT HOW THEY WANT TO MOVE FORWARD IN HOW THEY'RE IMAGINING THE ORGANIZATION TO BE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH THINGS. SO THEY WANT TO IMPROVE THE LIVES. SO WE WANNA BE, IF WE'RE GONNA CHANGE THE WORD, I THINK, AND WE WANNA BE CLOSER TO THE ASSIST, WE JUST NEED SOMETHING A LITTLE MORE POSITIVE THAT'S GONNA BE, UM, ACTIONABLE. UM, AS THIS JUST SEEMS, IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S JUST EXISTING MM-HMM . IT'S NOT ACTUALLY MOVING THEM FORWARD. SO, UM, WHILE I, LIKE I SAID, I, I UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE. I'M JUST NOT SURE IF THAT'S THE RIGHT WORD TO REPLACE IT. YES. AND, AND FROM WHAT I'M HEARING, UH, YEAH. SO MISSION IS ESSENTIALLY A GOAL OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES UNIT. AND, UM, I GUESS GOING BACK TO, UM, TO WHAT I'VE SAID BEFORE IS, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE SEE SOMETHING LIKE THIS THAT, UM, THAT MAY NOT BE, WE MAY NOT BE REACHING THAT GOAL, IT'S SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, AS A COMMISSION, WE CAN START LOOKING INTO, UH, UH, AGAIN, LIKE COMMISSIONER TIFFANY'S, UH, COMMENT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE NOT BEING SERVED BY THE RENTAL ASSISTANCE. YOU KNOW, THINGS LIKE THAT. YOU KNOW, HOW, UM, WE CAN HAVE A DISCUSSION OR PRESENTATION ON WHAT ARE WE, WE HAVE THIS MISSION, AND IS THIS MISSION, UM, ARE WE MEETING THAT GOAL AS, AS THIS, UM, COMMISSIONER LYRIC? CAN WE JUST ADD THE GOAL OF IT ITSELF? LIKE THE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES UNIT AIMS TO IMPROVE THE LIVES OF, LIKE, LIKE SAYING, LIKE, IT AIMS TO, WE'RE WORKING TO, LIKE, JUST SAYING THAT. SO IT'S NOT JUST LIKE, IT IMPROVES, BUT LIKE, THAT IS THE GOAL IS TO IMPROVE THE LIVES OF PEOPLE. I, I THINK THAT, I MEAN, THAT WAY IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF BOTH. WE'RE NOT JUST TAKING IT OUT COMPLETELY, BUT WE'RE STATING THE GOAL AND THE MISSION MM-HMM . SO THAT MAKES IT SOUND MORE LIKE A GOAL. DEFINITELY. OKAY. UM, YES. I'M, SOMEBODY CAN MAKE A MOTION TO AMEND THE MISSION STATEMENT. UM, TO ADD THAT PART, IF YOU LIKE, I'LL MOTION IT, UH, VICE, I SECOND IT BY SHARE MOTIONS TO, UM, ADD, UM, TO CHANGE THE MISSION STATEMENT TO READ, THE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES UNIT AIMS TO IMPROVE THE LIVES AND HEALTH OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCING POVERTY BY PROVIDING PUBLIC HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES IN AND CONNECTING RESIDENTS OF AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY TO COMMUNITY RESOURCES. IS THAT CORRECT? OKAY. AND WE HAVE A SECOND. I'LL SECOND IT. SORRY. UH, COMMISSIONER, [00:55:01] UH, HASA. SECOND. SECOND. OKAY. THANK YOU. UM, SO WE VOTE ON THE AMENDMENT AND THEN WE VOTE ON THE ORIGINAL MOTION TO APPROVE THIS. OKAY. UH, SO LET'S VOTE ON THE AMENDMENT, UM, TO THIS, TO ADD AIMS TO IMPROVE. SO WE'RE ALSO CHANGING THE WORD IMPROVES TO IMPROVE, UH, THE NEIGHBOR SERVICE UNIT AIMS TO IMPROVE. UH, WE TAKE A VOTE. AND IF YOU'RE ONLINE, PLEASE TURN ON YOUR CAMERA. THAT'S A HAND . OKAY. UH, AND COMMISSIONER OLIVER, IS THAT AN AFFIRMATIVE OR, UM, AGAINST IT? COMMISSIONER OLIVER? THAT'S A HAND. MM-HMM . OKAY. PERFECT. AND, UM, WE WILL COUNT, UM, COMMISSIONER MADANO, UM, ON, UH, OFF THE DICE AT THIS TIME. SOUNDS GOOD. THANK YOU. DON'T WE HAVE TO CALL FOR AGAINST AND ABSTENTIONS? YES. NOW WE NEED TO. SO YEAH, THAT WAS THE VOTE FOR THE AMENDMENT. YES. UM, AND SO NOW WE STILL HAVE THE ORIGINAL MOTION ON THE TABLE. SO THE MOTION, NO, SORRY, I COUNTED FOR THIS VOTE. UH, MIGUEL, FOR THIS VOTE, ANYBODY AGAINST OR, OR ABSTAINING ANYBODY? NO. OKAY. AND THEN, UM, WE GO TO THE ORIGINAL, UH, A MOTION FROM COMMISSIONER MENARD, BUT NOW WE ARE AS AMENDED. OKAY. SO WITH AIMS TO IMPROVE. YES. RIGHT. AND I THINK I JUST WANTED TO ADD, I THINK FOR THE FUTURE, IF I MIGHT BE WRONG, BUT YOU COULD HAVE ASKED, I THINK YOU CAN ASK THE MAKER OF THE MOTION IF WE'RE COOL WITH THE AMENDMENT, AND THEN IF I'M COOL WITH IT IN THE SECOND MM-HMM . THEN WE DON'T HAVE TO TAKE VOTE. OKAY. SOUNDS GOOD. THEN, THEN WE'LL DO THE MOTION AS AMENDED. SOUNDS GOOD. YEP. , I'VE NEVER HEARD THAT BEFORE. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER. I WILL CHECK ON THAT. ? YES. SO WE HAVE, UM, COMMISSIONER MENARD, SHE'S OKAY WITH THE MISSION, WITH THE AMENDMENT TO THIS, UH, MISSION STATEMENT. SO HER MOTION, WHICH HAS BEEN SECONDED, UH, TO COMMISSIONER MARTINEZ BY COMMISSIONER MARTINEZ. UH, SO NOW WE WILL VOTE ON IT. TO APPROVE YES. THIS MISSION STATEMENT AS AMENDED. OKAY. UH, RAISE YOUR HAND. ALL IN FAVOR? YES. IF YOU'RE IN FAVOR. AND IF YOU'RE ONLINE, PLEASE UH, TURN ON YOUR CAMERA TO VOTE. PERFECT. THE MOTION PASSES. OKAY. TO DO. SORRY. OKAY. . SORRY. OKAY. UH, GOOD. SO THAT, UM, MISSION STATEMENT HAS BEEN APPROVED. THANK YOU HIL. UM, THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS FOR YOUR EDITS AND YOUR DISCUSSION. UH, NOW WE WILL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ITEM, LOST ITEM NUMBER FIVE, [5. Discussion and possible action concerning the Acquisition of Montopolis/Fairway property by the city of Austin for the future construction of deeply affordable housing. Presentation by Susana Almanza, Executive Director, People Organized in Defense of Earth and its Resources (PODER).] UH, WHICH IS A DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION CONCERNING THE ACQUISITION OF MONTOPOLIS FAIRWAY PROPERTY, UH, BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN FOR FUTURE CONSTRUCTION OF DEEPLY AFFORDABLE HOUSING. SO THIS PRESENTATION IS BY MS. SUSAN ALMANZA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF PEOPLE ORGANIZED IN DEFENSE OF EARTH AND ITS RESOURCES. UM, POED, UH, AND THEN I BELIEVE MIGUEL IS PASSING OUT THE LANGUAGE OF, UM, INCLUDED IN THE PACKET, BUT I WANTED TO MAKE SURE. OKAY. THIS IS WHAT SHE, OKAY. THANK YOU. UH, GO AHEAD, MS. AMANZA. GOOD EVENING. UM, CHAIR, VICE CHAIR AND COMMISSIONER SAN SUSANA WITH PO PO CALLS ON THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL TO PURCHASE THE ONTOP FAIRWAY PROPERTIES. ED, ALONG WITH OTHER GROUP ACTIVIST PARTNERS AND ALLIES, CALL FOR AN IMMEDIATE RESPONSE AND SUSTAINED ATTENTION TO INEQUITIES CAUSING GENTRIFICATION IN THE OPEZ COMMUNITY. LES HAS BECOME A SACRIFICE ZONE FOR PEOPLE LIVING THERE. WE MUST USE THIS MOMENT TO BRING THESE INEQUITIES TO AN END. FOR YEARS IN LES NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN, CONTACT TEAM, ALONG WITH OTHER SUPPORTERS, HAVE BEEN FIGHTING TO SUSTAIN ITS SINGLE FAMILY ZONING. THE 1.9 ACRES KNOWN AS THE MONTIS FAIRWAY ZONING CASE INCLUDES PROPERTY AT 62 0 2, 62 0 4 CADDY STREET, 62 0 5 6 2 11 62 15 FAIRWAY STREET, 1616 0 4, 16 0 6, 16 0 8, AND 1612. AND 1614 [01:00:01] OPIS DRIVE, WHICH HAS BEEN UNDER CONSTANT THREAT FROM PROFIT SEEKING REAL, REAL ESTATE DEVELOPERS WITH LITTLE TO NO REGARD FOR THE MANLESS COMMUNITY'S FRAGILE, NATURAL AND CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT, OR ITS ICONIC HISTORY. OR YOU CAN TAKE THAT OFF 'CAUSE I'M NOT GONNA GO THROUGH THAT HISTORY. OUR, OUR GREEN SPACES, LIKE OUR SINGLE FAMILY ZONING ARE PRECIOUS AND LIMITED. HELP US TO PROTECT OUR FAMILIES AND OUR COMMUNITY BY PERCHING PROPERTIES. LOCATED IN THE MONTOPOLIS FAIRWAY ZONING CASE IN 2018, THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL COMMISSION, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS RESEARCHERS TO STUDY GENTRIFICATION AND DISPLACEMENT. THIS STUDY PRODUCED IS CALLED UPROOTED RESIDENTIAL DISPLACEMENT IN AUSTIN'S GENTRIFYING NEIGHBORHOOD. AND WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT IT, THE COMMUNITY IS ONE OF THE CASE STUDIES IN THIS REPORT. THAT STUDY RECOMMENDS MAKING STRATEGIC ANTI DISPLACEMENT INVESTMENTS IN MONIS. IS NOW 2026. WILL THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL FOCUS ON SOLUTIONS FOR MONIS? THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL MUST THANK BIG AND ACT BOLDLY. THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION HAS DECLARED GENTRIFICATION TO BE A HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION. AGAIN, BOTH CALLS ON THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL TO PURCHASE OF ONTOP FAIRWAY PROPERTIES TO BUILD LOW INCOME HOUSING. AND WE ASK THAT THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION, UH, SEND A LETTER OF SUPPORT IN THIS LAND ACQUISITION. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MS. ALMANZA. UM, I WILL PASS IT ON TO COMMISSIONER MENARD, WHO HAS, UM, A LETTER TO PRESENT FOR SUPPORT FROM THIS COMMISSION. UM, THANK YOU. THANK YOU, CHAIR. UM, YES. SO, UM, I DID WORK WITH MIGUEL AND WITH BODER ON PUTTING TOGETHER, UM, A LETTER BECAUSE WE WANTED TO MAKE, 'CAUSE I, THIS IS MY FIRST TIME DOING THIS , SO I WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE GOT IT RIGHT. THAT'S, UH, AND IT WAS SOMETHING THAT'S COMMISSIONER MENARD, UH, LET'S USE THE WORD, UH, RECOMMENDATION. IT'S A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE, WHAT WAS I SAYING? LETTER. OH, SORRY. IT'S A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE RECOMME. CDC. YES. THANK YOU. OKAY. AND SO, YEAH, SO I GUESS, UM, UH, ALSO FULL DISCLOSURE, I WORKED FOR POED. UM, BUT AS FAR AS THE, UM, CONFLICT, UH, THERE'S NO FIDUCIARY AT ALL. I MEAN, THERE'S NOTHING ABOUT THIS THAT WOULD EITHER ADVANCE EZ FINANCIALLY OR ME. SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE TO MAKE THAT CLEAR. UH, SO MOVING FORWARD, UM, THIS IS JUST SOME THE KIND OF THING THAT WE WANT. I THINK AS FAR AS THIS COMMISSION IS CONCERNED, WE WANT COMMUNITY TO COME FORWARD, UM, WITH, UH, SOLUTIONS OR, UH, ISSUES, UH, FOR US TO HELP HELP THEM ADDRESS AND HELP THEM MOVE FORWARD WITH COUNCILS AS IN OUR ADVISORY ROLE. SO, UM, SO AS WE SEE HERE, THERE'S A, SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT, UM, ANA PRESENTED ARE INCLUDED IN, IN THIS RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL. UM, THAT'S ONE. I BELIEVE ALSO PART OF THE PEOPLE'S PLAN WAS THIS, UM, TO PURCHASE PROPERTIES WHERE WE WERE POSSIBLE TO, TO SAVE THEM FROM, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, UH, TO SAVE THEM. SO THAT'S ALSO PART OF, OF, OF THAT PROCESS. SO THIS IS SOMETHING WE KNOW THE CITY CAN DO. THE CITY PURCHASES PROPERTY ALL THE TIME. CITY OWNS A LOT OF PROPERTY. SO, UM, IF THEY CAN DO THIS, I, I HOPE THAT WE CAN ALSO, UH, GIVE COUNCIL OUR RECOMMENDATION AS WELL TO MOVE FORWARD. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER. COMMISSIONER MENARD, WOULD YOU LIKE TO READ THE RECOMMENDATION INTO THE RECORD? YES. THANK YOU. UM, THIS RECOMMENDED RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL SUBMITTED BY THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION, WHEREAS THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY DEVELOP COMMISSION IS TASKED WITH REVIEWING PROGRAMS DESIGNED TO SERVE THE POOR AND THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE, AND PROVIDING RECOMMENDATIONS TO AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL. AND WHEREAS THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION HAS DISCUSSED THE NEED FOR DEEPLY AFFORDABLE HOUSING WITH THE AUSTIN HOUSING DEPARTMENT, THE AUSTIN PLANNING DEPARTMENT, ADDITIONAL CITY DEPARTMENTS AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS THAT COORDINATE WITH COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS. AND WHEREAS ONE OF THOSE COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, PEOPLE ORGANIZED IN DEFENSE OF EARTH AND HER RESOURCES BROUGHT FORWARD A RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL TO PURCHASE A PROPERTY AT OPPOS AND FAIRWAY TO SECURE THE PROPERTY FOR FUTURE LOW INCOME SINGLE FAMILY HOUSING. AND WHEREAS IN 2001, THEY ALSO CITY COUNCIL ADOPTED THE ON TOPLESS NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN, WHICH CALLED FOR SUSTAINING ITS SINGLE FAMILY ZONING IN THE HEART OF MONTOPOLIS. AND WHEREAS THE 2018 REPORT, UPROOTED RESIDENTIAL DISPLACEMENT IN AUSTIN'S GENTRIFYING NEIGHBORHOOD CAN BE DONE ABOUT IT, COMMISSIONED BY THE CITY COUNCIL, AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL, AND COMPLETED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS. EXPERTS RECOMMENDED THAT THE CITY MAKE STRATEGIC ANTI-DISPLACEMENT INVESTMENTS IN MONTOPOLIS TO PROTECT IT FROM FURTHER GENTRIFICATION. AND WHEREAS FOR YEARS, THE MONTOPOLIS NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNED CONTACT TEAM, ALONG WITH OTHER SUPPORTERS, HAVE BEEN FIGHTING TO SUSTAIN ITS SINGLE FAMILY ZONING. AND WHEREAS [01:05:01] MONTAO ALREADY HAS THE HIGHEST CONCENTRATION OF MULTI-FAMILY, COMMERCIAL, AND INDUSTRIAL ZONING OF ANY PLANNING AREA IN THE CITY. AND WHEREAS THE 1.9 ACRES KNOWN AS THE MONT TOPLESS FAIRWAY ZONING CASE IS CURRENTLY ZONED FOR SINGLE FAMILY HOUSING AND INCLUDES PROPERTIES AT 62 0 2 62 4 CADDY STREET, 62 0 5, 62 11 62 15 FAIRWAY STREET, 1616 0 4, 16 0 6 16 0 8 16 12, AND 1614 MONTOPOLIS. AND WHEREAS WHAT THE ZONING REQUEST FROM THE DEVELOPER TO CHANGE ZONING FROM SINGLE FAMILY SF THREE AND P AND COMMUNITY COMMERCIAL GRNP TO COMMUNITY COMMERCIAL VERTICAL MIXED USE, GRV AND P WAS DENIED. THE PROPERTY REMAINS VULNERABLE TO FUTURE GENTRIFYING DEVELOPMENTS. AND NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN PURCHASE THE PROPERTY INCLUDED IN THE MELOS FAIRWAY ZONING CASE TO BE USED TO BUILD LOW INCOME SINGLE FAMILY HOUSING AND PROTECT THE NEIGHBORHOOD FROM FUTURE GENTRIFICATION. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER MENARD. UH, DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THIS RECOMMENDATION? I MOVE TO APPROVE. I CAN'T SEE YOU ON THE SCREEN. IS THAT COMMISSIONER ORTIZ? YES. YES. COMMISSIONER ORTIZ, UH, MOVES TO APPROVE, UH, THIS RECOMMENDATION. UH, DO WE HAVE A SECOND? I SECOND. COMMISSIONER, COMMISSIONER, VICE CHAIR. I SAW TWO AT THE SAME. I WELL, I HEARD ONE AND I SAW ONE. UH, WAS THAT COMMISSIONER, UH, WAS THAT VICE CHAIR? OKAY. SO VICE CHAIR. YES, SIR. UH, SECOND. OKAY. THANK YOU. DO WE HAVE, UH, QUESTIONS? I HAD, I HAD A QUESTION. DO WE HAVE QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER TIFFANY? UH, I WAS WONDERING, DO YOU HAVE A, A DISPARATE IMPACT STUDY FOR THIS PARTICULAR, UM, LIKE JUST SHOWING ANY KIND OF STUDIES TO SHOW NOTHING? OH, SORRY. UH, STUDY TO SHOW, UM, JUST LIKE A DISPARATE INCOME, UH, A DISPARATE IMPACT STUDY TO SHOW LIKE IT WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD FOR THE LAST 50 YEARS. IT'S PART OF THIS UPROOTED, I DON'T HAVE IT ON ME, BUT I BELIEVE IT IS IN PART OF THAT. IT IS IN THE UPROOTED REPORT. OKAY. IF YOU GO TO THE UPROOTED REPORT, IT'S VERY EXTENSIVE TO CENSUS DATA, INCOME, EVERYTHING. OKAY. AND THEN, UM, THE OTHER QUESTION IS, SO IF THEY DENY THIS, WHAT IS YOUR BACKUP PLAN? LIKE, HAVE YOU LOOKED AT OTHER COMMUNITIES WHO ARE DOING OTHER THINGS THAT ARE SIMILAR TO THIS? THEY DID DENY IT. AND THAT'S THE NEXT PHASE IS TO GET THE CITY TO PURCHASE, UH, THE LAND. OKAY. AND SO THERE IS MONEY PROJECT CONNECT HAS LAND ACQUISITION. THIS DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION HAS, UH, THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT SOURCES THAT HAVE, UH, FUNDING. YEAH. BECAUSE IF THE CITY DOESN'T BUY IT, THEN YOU HAVE A BACKUP. YOU'RE SAYING, NO, WE DON'T HAVE A BACKUP WE DON'T HAVE ANY MONEY. UH, BUT THAT IS A POVERTY ORGANIZATION. SO OUR, OUR GOAL IS TO GET THE CITY TO PURCHASE THE LAND. HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT PURCHASING IT? IF THEY DO, WE DON'T. WE'RE A POVERTY ORGANIZATION AGAIN. POVERTY ORGANIZATION. SO WE DON'T HAVE ANY MONEY TO PURCHASE LAND. DO YOU HAVE BUT WE'RE, WE ARE PART OF THE CITY'S PEOPLE, THE PEOPLE OF CITY COUNCIL, THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN. AND WE KNOW THERE'S MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOND THAT HASN'T BEEN USED. SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE ASKING. WE'RE EXPLORING FOR THEM TO PURCHASE THE LAND. SO IF THEY SAY NO, THEN WHAT IS YOUR BACKUP PLAN TO HAVE SOME DEAL, KEEP GOING, KEEP GOING WITH THE CITY. WE DON'T TAKE A NOTE. SO I WOULD, UM, YEAH, I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT YOU HAVE A BACKUP PLAN, RIGHT? LOOKING AT OTHER COMMUNITIES AND WHAT THEY HAVE DONE, BECAUSE THERE'S EXTENSIVE RESEARCH WHERE SOME CITIES HAVE COME IN AND THEY NEGOTIATE, RIGHT? BECAUSE THERE'S ALWAYS ROOM TO NEGOTIATE WHAT CAN BE DONE. HAVE YOU EXPLORED THAT OR ARE YOU JUST STAYING ON? WELL, WE HAVE TALKED TO, WE HAVE TALKED TO OTHER PEOPLE AND THEY SAY THERE'S MONEY AT CITY, AT CITY HALL TO PURCHASE THIS LAND. THERE REALLY ARE. SO WE'VE TALKED TO, UH, CITY COUNCIL PEOPLE, AND SO THEY'VE SAID, HEY, THERE'S MONEY THERE. THERE'S ALL TYPES OF MONEY. I MEAN, THEY JUST DID A, A PARK ON TOP OF THE HIGHWAY, MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. SO, THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER TIFFANY? UH, COMMISSIONER LYRIC, GO AHEAD. UM, I'M KIND OF AWARE, UM, COMMISSIONER MOORE WAS, I THINK THAT JUST BECAUSE THE CITY HAS MONEY DOESN'T MEAN THAT THEY CHOOSE TO SAY NO TO WHAT THEY WANNA SAY NO TO. YEAH. UM, SO I LOVE THE IDEA OF LIKE, NOT JUST HAVING THIS ITSELF, BUT HAVING OTHER OPTIONS OF LIKE, IF YOU PLAN TO SAY NO, BECAUSE WHATEVER REASON THAT WE HAVE THESE OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS, LIKE FAST TRACKING, UM, PROJECTS THAT ARE AFFORDABLE, UNIT BASED, UM, MAKING SURE THAT, UH, FEES ARE WAIVED FOR ANY, UM, DEVELOPERS THAT WANT TO CREATE AFFORDABLE HOUSING. LIKE JUST THINGS THAT ARE [01:10:01] KIND OF GONNA HELP THEM BE LIKE, OH, IF WE SAY NO, LIKE WE'RE SAYING NO TO, LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE THAT THEY'RE INCLUDING AS OTHER OPTIONS, UM, NOT JUST TO SOMETHING, UM, BIG. UM, SO LIKE, I, I JUST THINK HAVING SOME KIND OF LIKE ADDITIONAL, UM, LIKE AT THE END OF THIS, LIKE BE IT RESOLVED, UM, SHOULD THIS NOT BE FEASIBLE, THE CITY OF AUSTIN SHOULD PURSUE ALTER ALTERNATIVE STRATEGIES. AND YOU CAN LIST A COUPLE OF THOSE STRATEGIES, LIKE WHAT I JUST SAID, LIKE WAIVING FEES OR WHATEVER IT IS THAT WAY. I THINK IT'S JUST A LOT HARDER FOR, UM, A NO TO BE SAID BECAUSE YOU'RE, YOU'RE GIVING THEM A, B AND C. THAT WAS MY ONLY THOUGHT. SO, YEAH. COMMISSIONER. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER LYRIC. DO WE HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER ORTIZ, GO AHEAD. UM, I JUST WANTED TO ADD, JUST IN GENERAL, HAVING DONE A LOT OF RESEARCH IN PAST YEARS, UM, IN OTHER CITIES, AND THERE'S A LOT OF WAYS THAT, UM, A A LOT OF DIFFERENT DIRECTION IT COULD GO. AND WHAT I DO LIKE ABOUT THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE LETTER AS IT'S WRITTEN IS THAT IT'S SHOWING THAT WE SUPPORT ALL THE EFFORTS THAT ED IS DOING. UM, FOR THOSE OF Y'ALL WHO'VE BEEN IN AUSTIN FOR A WHILE AND KNOW WHAT ED HAS BEEN DOING, UM, OVER THE YEARS TO MITIGATE, THEY CONTINUE TO DO A LOT OF THOSE THINGS AND THOSE SUGGESTIONS THROUGHOUT. UM, SO I THINK THE WAY THE LETTER IS WRITTEN AS PART OF THE RECOMMENDATION AND AS SUPPORTING THEM AND THEIR EFFORTS IS WHY I WAS, UH, AND I AM, UH, UM, HIGHLY RECOMMENDING THAT WE JUST MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT LETTER. I THINK IT'S WRITTEN WELL TO ACTUAL, AND, AND AGAIN, JUST KIND OF SUMMING UP OF ALL THE ACTION THAT ED CONTINUES TO DO AND HAS DONE THROUGHOUT THE YEARS, UM, IT'S VITAL THAT WE MAKE THIS KIND OF A STAND BE JUST LIKE, UM, WAS MENTIONED WITH WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING IN OUR COMMUNITY. A LOT OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN PUT IN PLACE OVER THE DECADES, NOT JUST OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, BUT OVER THE DECADES, THE CONTRACTORS ALWAYS FIND LOOPHOLES. MM-HMM . THE BUSINESS OWNERS ALWAYS FIND LOOPHOLES. UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, AS PART OF CAP METRO, UM, HAD, UM, PARTICIPATED AND HAD WORKED WITH, UH, A COMPANY IN THE EAST SIDE, AND OUR PORTION, WE DID EVERYTHING WE OUTLINED. WE SAID WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO, AND THEN ONE OF THE INVESTORS DECIDED THAT, OH, WELL, WELL, WE ALREADY GOT THIS AMOUNT AND FOUND A LOOPHOLE THAT THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO DO AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR THEIR PORTION, SO THERE WAS FEWER APARTMENTS, THINGS LIKE THAT. SO I THINK THE WAY THE LETTER WAS WRITTEN, UM, AGAIN, JUST PROVIDING THAT, LIKE WE, WE AS AN ORGANIZATION, AS A, AS A COMMISSION SUPPORT FOR THAT IN, IN ALL OF THEIR EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN THIS LAND IN WHATEVER WAY POSSIBLE IS, IS A POSITIVE WAY FOR US TO GO. UM, THAT'S JUST MY 2 CENTS, UM, OF, UH, BEING HERE ON THE EAST SIDE AND LIVING IN AUSTIN AS LONG AS I HAVE. UM, UH, AND I DO HOPE, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT, UH, AGAIN, THERE'S SO MANY DIFFERENT THINGS HAPPENING IN, UM, IN OUR COMMUNITIES, AND THERE ARE A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS. I THINK JUST FOR THE SUPPORT AND FOR THE ACTION. I THINK THE LETTER, UH, THE, THE RECOMMENDATION , SORRY, I KEEP USING THAT PHRASE TOO. UM, THE RECOMMENDATION IS, IS A POSITIVE ONE THAT WE AS A COMMISSION SHOULD, UH, SHOULD VOTE FOR IF Y'ALL ARE INCLINED AS WELL. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER ORTIZ. UH, DO WE HAVE ANOTHER, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM COMMISSIONERS? UH, COMMISSIONER MENARD, GO AHEAD. THANK YOU, CHAIR. OH, I DON'T, I CAN SPEAK TO IT. I DUNNO IF ANA WANTS TO SPEAK TO IT, BUT THIS IS, WE'RE COMING TO THIS POINT, UM, AFTER A LONG BATTLE. AND ALSO, IF YOU CAN SEE WHERE THIS WOULD'VE HAPPENED, WHERE THIS WAS ON MONTOPOLIS, IF YOU COULD SEE THAT IT WOULD'VE BEEN A NINE STORY BUILDING RIGHT IN FRONT OF ALL THESE LITTLE HOUSES, UNPRECEDENTED SIZE, UH, THAT WAS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY COUNSEL REFUSED THE ZONING CHANGE REQUEST. SO THAT LAND IS STILL GONNA BE VULNERABLE AND TO SEE THAT, AND, AND THERE WILL BE EFFORTS TO DO THAT AGAIN. SO I THINK THIS IS, WELL, ANYWAY, I FELT LIKE THIS WAS, THIS WAS THE SOLUTION THAT WOULD REALLY PROTECT THAT SPOT OF LAND AND, AND NOT CON HAVE PUT THE COMMUNITY IN A POSITION TO KEEP COMING TO COUNCIL AGAIN AND AGAIN TO, TO ADDRESS AN EVERY NEW DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL, EVERY NEW REQUEST TO CHANGE THE ZONING, WHICH WILL HAPPEN IF THAT PROPERTY STAYS AVAILABLE FOR DEVELOPERS AND CHAIR. I JUST WANNA ADD THAT THERE'S ALREADY, YES, 3,744 APARTMENT UNITS IN OUR LITTLE ES NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN. IF YOU DON'T KNOW THE BORDERS, IT IS GROVE TO THE WEST, UH, BEEN [01:15:01] WHITE TO THE SOUTH AND 180 3 TO THE NORTH. AND SO IN OUR LITTLE BITTY AREA, WE HAVE OVER 3,744 APARTMENT UNITS. UH, AND SO IT'S NOT LIKE WE ARE, DON'T HAVE, WE HAVE MORE THAN IN OUR SHARE. UH, AND THAT LAND IN 2001 WAS APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL TO RETAIN SINGLE FAMILY HOUSING THAT IN THE HEART OF OPIS, THEY WOULD LEAVE THE SINGLE FAMILY HOUSING ALONE. AND NOW WE'RE UNDER SIEGE THAT, THAT SINGLE FAMILY, AND THAT'S THE REASON THAT WE ARE REALLY WORKING TO TRY, BECAUSE, UH, IT'S NOT THAT WE DON'T WANT A, UH, APARTMENTS. WE HAVE LUXURY AND AFFORDABLE APARTMENTS IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD. SO, BUT WE NEED HOUSING BECAUSE HOUSING IS THE WEALTH. HOW DO YOU PASS THAT TO THE NEXT GENERATION IS HOUSING. THEY OWN A HOUSE. AND SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE KEEP THE HEART OF ONTOP THIS AS IF IT WAS APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL, UH, SINGLE FAMILY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MS. ALMANZA. UH, COMMISSIONER LONGORIA, YOU HAD A QUESTION? UH, WELL, YEAH, THANK YOU FOR THIS. I, I, I'M FASCINATED BY THIS. UM, WE'VE BEEN TALKING A LOT ABOUT COMMUNITY LAND TRUSTS WHERE LIKE THE CITY OWNS A PROPERTY AND THEN FAMILIES OWN THE HOME AND, YOU KNOW, ANYWAY, SO I SEE THAT THERE'S LIKE ABOUT A DOZEN PROPERTIES. UM, I'M CURIOUS TO KNOW IF LIKE THEY'RE ALL FOR SALE. I'M CURIOUS ALSO ABOUT LIKE, THE PROCUREMENT OF ALL THE PROPERTIES, LIKE INDIVIDUAL. LIKE I FIGURE THAT IT MIGHT BE A LOT. UM, I'M ALSO CURIOUS ABOUT LIKE HOW MUCH THE ESTIMATE OF HOW MUCH IT WOULD BE TO PURCHASE ALL OF THESE PROPERTIES YOU MENTIONED, UH, PROJECT CONNECT BOND MONEY, AND, AND, UH, I, I AGREE THAT, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY EVERY TWO YEARS WE, WE PASS BONDS AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ON AN, WE HAVE AN IN INFRASTRUCTURE WORKING GROUP THAT HOPEFULLY WE CAN, YOU KNOW, UH, RECOMMEND SOME MONIES GO TO THIS. BUT IT'D BE NICE TO KNOW, UH, THE AMOUNT AND WHAT YOU KIND OF SPOKE ABOUT, UM, TO DO WHAT WITH, YOU KNOW, THAT IT SERVE AS SINGLE FAMILY HOMES. RIGHT. SO I THINK, UM, YEAH, THROUGH THIS LINE OF QUESTIONING, YOU KNOW, I JUST, I I WAS JUST CURIOUS TO KNOW ABOUT HOW MUCH ALL THE PROPERTIES OF PROCUREMENT AND, AND THE PLAN TO DO WHAT, AND WAS THE MONEY WHERE IT WAS COMING FROM. YEAH. I HAVEN'T LOOKED AT EXACTLY WHAT HE PAID FOR THE LAND. I CAN ASSURE YOU IT'S PROBABLY NOT ANYWHERE CLOSE TO, UH, WHAT YOU WOULD PAY IN OTHER PARTS OF TOWN ON THE LAND. MM-HMM. MM-HMM . UH, SO HE DID PURCHASE ALL OF THAT LAND. MM-HMM . UH, WELL, I DON'T KNOW IF HE, IT'S A LLC, SO I DON'T KNOW WHO THE REAL PURCHASER IS. I MEAN, THAT WOULD TAKE A LITTLE BIT MORE INVESTIGATION, UH, TO IT. UH, BUT HE IS SURROUNDED BY SINGLE FAMILY HOUSES. AND G-N-C-G-N-D-C WAS ONE OF THE PEOPLE WE THOUGHT ABOUT. 'CAUSE IT DOES HAVE COMMUNITY LAND TRUST. IT HAS BUILT A VILLAGE, YOU KNOW, TILLERY ON FATHER JOE SINTAS, WHERE IT HAS DONE, YOU KNOW, DUPLEXES AND RENTAL HOUSING OWNERSHIP. UH, IT'S DONE A LOT OF GOOD WORK, UH, IN THE, IN THE CITY. SO THERE'S AVENUES. AND I KNOW THAT, UM, THE CITY HAS WORKED REALLY CLOSELY, UH, WITH GNDC. SO WE'RE NOT SAYING WE WANNA OWN, WE ARE JUST SAYING THEY NEED TO, WHETHER THEY LAND, BANK THE LAND, BUT IS THIS TO PURCHASE IT. AND THEN THEY CAN DECIDE HOW, UH, THAT, WHO, WHO THE PARTNERS WILL BE, WHO WILL DO THE DEVELOPMENT ON THE LAND. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. SORRY, DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? AND THEN WE'LL GO BACK TO COMMISSIONER MOORE. COMMISSIONER TIFFANY, COMMISSIONER ACHILLES. JUST QUICK CLARIFICATION ON THE TIMELINESS. I'M SORRY. ON WHAT'S, WHAT'S THE TIMELINESS, WHAT'S THE, IS THERE A TIMELINE ON THIS? UH, THERE'S NOT A TIME. WE'RE GOING TO ALL THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS FIRST, AND THEN WE'LL HIT CITY COUNCIL. THANK YOU. SO, ALRIGHT, COMMISSIONER TIFFANY, GO AHEAD. UH, SO BASED ON THAT FINAL, UM, INFORMATION THAT YOU GAVE US, I WOULD STRONGLY SUGGEST THAT YOU PUT IN ALTERNATIVES BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT GOING TO OFFER YOU SOLUTIONS, RIGHT? IF YOU GIVE THEM SOLUTIONS AND THEY SAY, NO, THEY CAN COME. YOU HAVE TWO OR THREE OTHER OPTIONS THAT YOU CAN GO WITH. THAT WOULD BE MY RECOMMENDATION. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER. UH, TIFFANY? UM, YEAH, ONE MY THOUGHT ON, ON THIS IS, UH, I AGREE WITH COMMISSIONER ORTIZ. I THINK THAT THIS, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS WELL LAID OUT. UM, I ALWAYS DEFAULT TO THE COMMUNITY KNOWING WHAT THE COMMUNITY NEEDS, UM, AND ESSENTIALLY EXERTING THAT POWER THAT, THAT WE HAVE, THAT WE SHOULD HAVE AS A COMMUNITY, UH, WHICH IS, THIS IS WHAT WE WANT, THIS IS WHAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING TO PUSH FOR. AND THEN JUST THE FACT THAT, UH, PODER IS GOING TO OTHER COMMISSIONS AND, YOU KNOW, RALLYING OTHER, UM, [01:20:01] OTHER GROUPS, UH, TO PUSH FOR THIS BEFORE THEY GO TO CITY COUNCIL. I THINK IT, IT'S, YOU KNOW, MAKES ME HOPEFUL THAT, THAT THERE WOULD BE THAT PRESSURE, UM, ON CITY COUNCIL TO, TO DO RIGHT. TO, TO DO THIS. UM, YEAH. AND, YOU KNOW, JUST THE FACT THAT THERE'S A LOT OF DATA THAT GOES WITH THIS, THE FACT THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS, THE MENTALIS NEIGHBORHOOD WAS EX EXPLICITLY, YOU KNOW, STUDIED BY THE UT PROFESSORS SAYING THIS IS WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE HERE. AND, UM, AND THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THAT. AND I THINK, UH, I WOULD SUPPORT IT AS IS. UM, SO WE HAD A MOTION AND THEN WE HAD A SECOND COMMISSIONER, I THINK. SORRY, CHAIR, VICE CHAIR. GO AHEAD. I HAD A QUESTION REGARDING, UM, WHO DID THE CITY OF AUSTIN PURCHASE THE LAND FROM, AND WERE THERE ANY DEED RESTRICTIONS? UH, JUST THE CLARIFICATION. THE LAND IS PRIVATELY OWNED. UM, AND I GUESS I CAN GIVE SOME BACKGROUND ON THAT. UH, PRIVATELY OWNED, IT WENT BEFORE CITY COUNCIL WHERE THE CURRENT OWNER, UH, PROPOSED A ZONING CHANGE. UH, IT WAS DENIED BY CITY COUNCIL. UM, AS FAR AS I'M UNDERSTANDING, UM, THE COMMUNITY WANTS THIS LAND PURCHASED BY THE CITY TO PROTECT IT FROM FURTHER SPECULATION AND, UH, REALLY HARMFUL DEVELOPMENT THAT WOULD COME TO THAT COMMUNITY. OKAY. I WAS WONDERING IF THERE'S ANY KIND OF DEED RESTRICTIONS THAT WILL CAUSE, FOR EXAMPLE, SO BLACK PEOPLE CAN'T PURCHASE THIS PROPERTY OR ET CETERA, ET CETERA, THAT WILL NO, THERE WAS NO, THERE WAS NO, UH, DEED RESTRICTIONS. OKAY. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. SO WE HAVE A MOTION AND WE HAVE A SECOND TO APPROVE, UH, THIS RECOMMENDATION AS IS. SO, UH, LET'S TAKE A VOTE. UH, RAISE YOUR HAND OR SAY, AYE, IF YOU APPROVE TO, UM, IF YOU APPROVE OF THIS RECOMMENDATION, THE MOTION PASSES. THANK YOU. DO WE HAVE ANY ABSTAINING OR ANY NAYS? WE'LL COUNT TWO OFF THE DIAZ . THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UH, THANK YOU MS. ELMAN. THANK YOU. MM-HMM . ALRIGHT, COMMISSIONERS, WE'RE, UH, MOVING ON, MOVING ALONG TO, UM, ITEM NUMBER [6. Discussion and possible action concerning CDC recommendations for City of Austin Rental Assistance program. Discussion led by Chair Noe Elias and Vice Chair Nyeka Arnold.] SIX. SO ITEM NUMBER SIX IS ANOTHER RECOMMENDATION, UM, DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON THIS RECOMMENDATION. AND IT'S, UH, FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. UM, THIS DISCUSSION WILL BE LED BY MYSELF AND VICE CHAIR ARNOLD. UH, SO I WILL FIRST ASK, UH, VICE CHAIR ARNOLD, TO GIVE US A BACKGROUND ON THE AUSTIN, UH, RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. HOW, HOW IT HAS WORKED, UM, AND ALSO EXPERIENCES AND THEN, AND THEN WHERE, WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATE OF THE, UH, RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM? GO AHEAD. VICE CHAIR. YEAH. SO, UM, HISTORICALLY, UM, WELL, PREVIOUSLY THE RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROCESS WAS VERY EASY FOR INDIVIDUALS TO APPLY FOR. UM, THEY WILL RECEIVE HELP THAT SAME DAY AND, UM, FOLKS CAN RETURN FOR HELP, UM, AND NOT WAIT THREE TO FIVE YEARS IF THEY NEEDED IT, THE ASSISTANCE, THEY CAN GET IT. AND IT WAS COMING FROM NOT JUST, UM, ORGANIZATIONS, IT WAS COMING FROM CHURCHES. UM, AND IT WASN'T, IT WASN'T, UM, WHAT'S THE WORD I'M LOOKING FOR? IT WASN'T DETERMINED WHERE, WHERE YOU LIVE OR DIFFERENT PROJECTS IMPACTING AUSTIN, FOR EXAMPLE, PROJECT CONNECT. UM, RIGHT NOW THEY'RE COUNSELING THE RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. UM, A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE CAUGHT OFF GUARD, INCLUDING ORGANIZATIONS THAT DISTRIBUTE RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS, UM, AS YOU CAN SEE AND HELD WHO, UM, WORKS FOR, UH, THE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICE CENTER SPOKE AND SAID THERE'S JUST NOT ENOUGH FUNDING THERE. AND, UM, THEY'RE STATING THAT THE FUNDING WILL BE GOING MORE TOWARDS EVICTION, WHICH, UM, I THINK JUST FROM EXPERIENCE AND BEING DIRECTLY IMPACTED AND SERVING THE DIRECTLY IMPACTED INDIVIDUALS THAT RECEIVE RENTAL ASSISTANCE. UH, ME PERSONALLY, I RECEIVED RENTAL ASSISTANCE FOR ABOUT FOUR TO FIVE YEARS STRAIGHT. AT THIS POINT, RENTAL ASSISTANCE IS DISSOLVED OR EXHAUSTED BECAUSE THE NEED KEEPS GROWING AND, UM, A LOT OF INDIVIDUALS ARE BECOMING UNHOUSED OR, OR WORSE. UM, [01:25:01] SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE AIMING TO CHANGE THAT IMMEDIATELY. YEAH, I TRIED TO SUM IT UP AS BEST AS I COULD. THANK YOU IF I MISSED ANY CHIME IN CHAIR. YES, THANK YOU, VICE CHAIR. UM, WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO DO NOW IS I WAS GOING TO READ THE RECOMMENDATION, UH, BUT BEFORE THAT ONE, A FEW CLARIFICATION THINGS. UH, ONE IS THAT THE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A SPECIFIC RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. UH, SO AN ANGEL'S, UH, PRESENTATION EARLIER IS A DIFFERENT, UH, COMES FROM DIFFERENT FUNDING. UM, AND ACTUALLY, UH, NEFERTITI, WOULD YOU LIKE TO, UH, JUST GIVE US A QUICK, UM, A QUICK, UM, DESCRIPTION OF WHAT THE, WHICH ONE, UH, WE ARE SPECIFICALLY TALKING ABOUT THAT'S BEING, UM, UH, CANCELED OR DONE AWAY WITH AND HOW IT WORKED THROUGH AND WHEN, AND YOU KNOW, ALL OF THAT? SURE. UH, THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS. UH, MY NAME IS NEFERTITI JACKMAN. I FORGOT TO ANNOUNCE MYSELF BEFORE, SO I APOLOGIZE. THAT, UH, COMMUNITY DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION OFFICER IN AUSTIN HOUSING, UM, THERE WAS REFERENCED BY THE VICE CHAIR OF VARIOUS RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS THAT, UH, HAVE EXISTED HISTORICALLY. AND THOSE WERE OFTEN VERY SMALL, UH, DOLLAR AMOUNTS, UM, BY, OPERATED BY VARIOUS CHURCHES AND OTHER NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS. AND PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC, AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, UH, WHICH, UH, AND HELL REFERENCED TODAY HAS OPERATED, UH, EMERGENCY RENT ASSISTANCE OR RENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS. AND I BELIEVE IT WAS ROUGHLY $250,000 ANNUALLY, UH, AFTER OR DURING THE PANDEMIC AUSTIN. UM, BOTH WITH LOCAL FUNDS, THE CITY OF AUSTIN WITH LOCAL DOLLARS AS WELL AS WITH FEDERAL DOLLARS. THEN INITIATED, UH, OUR RENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM THAT WE OPERATED. AND THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME WE STARTED WITH, UH, LOCAL DOLLARS FROM THE HOUSING TRUST FUND OF $1.2 MILLION. UH, WHICH WE WERE IN A PROCESS OF RELEASING JUST BEFORE THE PANDEMIC HAPPENED. THIS PAST, UH, YEAR, THIS CURRENT FISCAL YEAR, UH, WE HAD ROUGHLY $3 MILLION THAT WAS ALLOCATED BY COUNCIL FOR RENT ASSISTANCE. WE, THE PRO PROGRAM WASN'T CANCELED. I WILL SAY, UM, THERE WERE PEOPLE WHO RECEIVED RENT ASSISTANCE FROM THE PROGRAM, BUT WHAT WE WERE SEEING, WE WERE SEEING THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE APPLY FOR LIMITED FUNDING. AND SO, AS OPPOSED TO, UM, HAVING SO MANY PEOPLE TURNED AWAY AND FRUSTRATED WITH THE PROCESS, UM, BECAUSE OF THE, UH, LOWER DOLLAR AMOUNT, BECAUSE THE DOLLARS HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY BEEN REDUCED, UM, THE PRIORITY HAS BEEN TO STARTING APRIL ONLY ALLOCATE DOLLARS FOR, UM, IMMEDIATE EVICTIONS, PEOPLE WHO ARE FACING IMMEDIATE EVICTION. AND THAT IS A VERY TOUGH CHOICE. THE PREFERENCE, OUR PREFERENCE IS ALWAYS TO GO MORE UPSTREAM WHERE WE'RE INTERVENING EARLIER BEFORE PEOPLE ARE ACTUALLY RECEIVING AN EVICTION. UM, BUT GIVING THE LIMITED, UH, DOLLARS AVAILABLE THAT ARE REMAINING AND THE ONGOING FRUSTRATION WITH THE LOTTERY SYSTEM, I, I, I MEAN, PEOPLE ARE FRUSTRATED ALL THE WAY AROUND. AND THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES, LIKE INHALE SAID, WE HAVE MORE PEOPLE APPLYING FOR ASSISTANCE THAN DOLLARS THAT ARE AVAILABLE AND EVICTIONS ARE CONTINUING TO RISE. RIGHT. AND SO THAT IS THE PROGRAM THAT IS OPERATED, CURRENTLY OPERATED BY AUSTIN HOUSING DEPARTMENT THAT I BELIEVE YOU'RE REFERENCING. IS THAT OKAY? YES. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, NEFERTITI. AND YES, SO THIS RECOMMENDATION COMES FROM THAT, THAT INFORMATION, UH, SPECIFICALLY REFERENCING THE PROGRAM, UH, THAT NEFERTITI DESCRIBED. UM, WHICH AGAIN, COMES FROM, UM, THE NEED, THE GREAT NEED FOR RENTAL ASSISTANCE AS AN ANGEL HAS, UH, SHOWN US WITH HIS PROGRAM. AND THEN NEFERTITI, UH, HAS TOLD US ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE APPLYING. UM, AND SO THIS IS WHERE THE RECOMMENDATION COMES FROM. I WILL READ THE RECOMMENDATION, AND THEN I'M LOOKING FOR A MOTION, UH, TO APPROVE, AND THEN A SECOND, AND THEN WE'LL HAVE A DISCUSSION. UH, SO THIS [01:30:01] IS A RECOMMENDATION, UH, TO SUPPORTING THE ALLOCATION OF $10 MILLION FOR RENTAL ASSISTANCE. UM, SO THE DESCRIPTION OF THE RECOMMENDATION IS, UH, FOR COUNCIL TO ALLOCATE $10 MILLION IN FUNDING TO RESTART THE RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM AND PROVIDE EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE AS WELL. SO, AS AUSTIN CELEBRATES THE RECENT DECREASE IN RENT DRIVEN BY INCREASE IN HOUSING SUPPLY, THE REALITY IS THAT OUR COMMUNITY IS ALSO EXPERIENCING RECORD NUMBERS OF EVICTIONS AND GROWING NUMBERS OF NEIGHBORS FACING HOMELESSNESS. THE INCREASE IN HOUSING SUPPLY HAS CONTRIBUTED TO DECLINING RENT AT HIGHER ENDS OF THE MARKET ONLY, AND IT HAS NOT MEANINGFULLY IMPROVED THE AFFORDABILITY FOR THOSE STRUGGLING ON THE LOWER END OF THE INCOME SPECTRUM, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE THE INCREASED DENSITY HAS LED TO DEMOLITION OF NATURALLY OCCURRING AFFORDABLE HOUSING. AUSTIN MUST CONTINUE TO ADDRESS THE HOUSING SUPPLY, BUT WE MUST ALSO ENSURE THAT OUR POLICY SUPPORT THOSE THAT ARE MOST AT RISK OF DISPLACEMENT. UH, PROTECTING OUR MOST VULNERABLE RESIDENTS IS ESSENTIAL TO MAINTAINING THIS INCLUSIVE AND RESILIENT COMMUNITY THAT WE STRIVE TO BE AS LOWER WAGE WORKERS, THOSE WHO KEEP OUR CITY FUNCTIONING EVERY DAY, UH, STRUGGLE TO REMAIN IN AUSTIN. THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT HAS MADE THE DECISION TO END, UH, THE RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. UH, THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN CRITICAL, A CRITICAL LIFELINE, ACCORDING TO DR. MURILLO OF ELANO, UH, THEIR PROGRAM, THEY ALLOCATED THE, JUST TO CLARIFY, THEY, THEY'RE THE ONES THAT GAVE THE, THE FUNDS OUT. UM, UH, THEY WERE, UH, ONLY REACHING ABOUT 20% OF THOSE IN NEED. SO, AGAIN, CLARIFICATION, AS NEFERTITI SAID, THERE WERE THOUSANDS OF APPLICATIONS THERE WERE ONLY TO ABLE TO SERVE ABOUT 20% OF THOSE IN NEEDS, UH, WHICH ARE FAMILIES ON THE BRINK OF EVICTION. UH, SO ENDING THE PROGRAM NOW WHEN THE NEED IS CLEARLY FAR GREATER THAN THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE, WILL ONLY EXACERBATE HOUSING AND STABILITY ACROSS OUR COMMUNITY. FOR MANY FAMILIES, RENTAL ASSISTANCE IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN STABILITY AND EVICTION, BETWEEN REMAINING HOUSED AND FA FALLING INTO HOMELESSNESS. SO THE RECOMMENDATION READS AT, WHEREAS THE DATA SHOWS THAT HIGHER INCOME LUXURY DEVELOPMENTS DOMINATE THE HOUSING BUILT IN AUSTIN OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS. AND WHEREAS ALTHOUGH AUSTIN IS LEADING THE NATION IN AFFORDABLE UNIT DEVELOPMENT, WE ARE ONLY SEEING BUILDING HOUSING AT 60% MFI AND ABOVE. AND WHEREAS AUSTIN IS FALLING BEHIND IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF HOUSING THAT IS AFFORDABLE FOR OUR LOW INCOME NEIGHBORS, PARTICULARLY THOSE LIVING AT OR BELOW 30% OF THE AREA MEDIUM INCOME. AND WHEREAS NEARLY HALF OF ALL RENTS, RENTERS ARE STRUGGLING TO PAY RENT IN AUSTIN, AND AUSTIN IS SEEING MORE THAN 14,000 EVICTIONS IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS. AND WHEREAS THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION HAS HEARD COUNTLESS STORIES FROM RESIDENTS HIGHLIGHTING THE URGENT NEED FOR RENTAL ASSISTANCE AND THE IMPORTANCE OF EXPANDING, NOT ELIMINATED, ELIMINATING THE SUPPORT, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE COMMISSIONERS OF THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION STRONGLY OPPOSE THE CITY'S DECISION TO END THE RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. FURTHERMORE, WE CALL ON THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL TO ALLOCATE $10 MILLION TO RESTART THE PROGRAM AND EXPAND IT TO INCLUDE EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE, ENSURING THAT FAMILIES FACE SUDDEN FINANCIAL, ENSURING THAT FAMILIES FACING SUDDEN FINANCIAL HARDSHIP HAVE THE SUPPORT THAT THEY NEED TO REMAIN HOUSED. AND AGAIN, I'M LOOKING FOR A MOTION TO, UH, TO APPROVE THIS RECOMMENDATION. I APPROVE IS THAT COMMISSIONER BREWSTER, COMMISSIONER BREWSTER MAKES A MOTION TO APPROVE. WE HAVE A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER MENARD. DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? UH, COMMISSIONER LYRIC? UM, I WAS JUST CURIOUS IF I, I KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, OPENING IT UP COMPLETELY IS JUST NOT REALISTIC, BUT I WAS WONDERING IF THIS INCLUDES LIKE EVICTION PREVENTION AS IN LIKE LATE FEES THAT ARE ADDED, UM, SO THAT IT'S NOT JUST LIKE, WHAT IF SOMEONE NEEDS JUST THE LATE FEES, THEY CAN PAY THE REST OF THEIR RENT, BUT THEY JUST NEED THAT TO PREVENT THE EVICTION FROM, UM, TAKING PLACE. UM, OR JUST LIKE COVERING LIKE THAT KIND OF THING. UM, JUST BROADENING, BROADENING THE CRITERIA. LIKE IF THAT'S POSSIBLE, THAT WAY IT'S NOT LIKE WE'RE STRICTLY DOING EVICTION AND WE'RE LIKE OPENING UP COMPLETELY, BUT LIKE THERE IS SOME WIGGLE ROOM AT ALL. SO I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND YOUR QUESTION. IS THE, SO YOUR QUESTION SAID YOU'RE ASKING IF SOMEBODY CAN COME [01:35:01] AND APPLY FOR THIS FUNDING JUST TO PAY THEIR LATE FEES? IS THAT YEAH. TO PREVENT THE, LIKE, EVICTION FROM HAPPENING? OKAY. UM, I GUESS THAT'S A QUESTION. WAS THAT PART OF THE PROGRAM ALREADY? NEVER TD YES, THEY COULD APPLY, BUT THAT WOULD BE CONSIDERED PART OF THEIR RENT. UH, THEY COULD BE ELIGIBLE AND SO YOU CAN MAKE, UH, WHATEVER RECOMMENDATIONS MM-HMM . BUT THAT IS A PART OF IT. OKAY. YES. THE EXISTING PROGRAM. YES. SO IF WE FULLY FUNDED IT AGAIN, WE WOULD HAVE THOSE SERVICES. OKAY. OKAY. IN ADDITION TO THAT, IT WASN'T JUST RENT LATE FEES, IT WAS ALSO MOVING FEES, STORAGE FEES, AND UH, YES. AND ALL OF THAT. YES. DEPOSITS, EVERYTHING. THANK YOU. VICE CHAIR. YES. NOW, TO BE CLEAR, I I WANNA MAKE SURE WE UNDERSTAND. UM, WHEN YOU ARE, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT MOVING AND LATE FEES, DO WE UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT ALSO MEANS? THAT MEANT THAT WE ALSO, WE WERE NOT ABLE TO ENSURE THAT ALL INDIVIDUALS WERE ABLE TO MAINTAIN HOUSING. SO SOMETIMES THE ONLY OUTCOME IN TERMS OF A NEGOTIATION WAS FOR THE INDIVIDUAL. THEY WOULD HAVE TO LEAVE. AND SO AS PART OF OUR PROGRAM, ANOTHER PROGRAM, WE WOULD ENSURE THAT PEOPLE WOULD BE ABLE TO BE MOVED AND STABILIZED. YES, THAT IS CORRECT. JUST, JUST TO CLARIFY, PEOPLE WOULD COME AND SEEK THE HELP, AND THE ONLY OPTION WAS TO FUND THEM LEAVING UH, MOVING. RIGHT. AND SO IF THEY WERE REPRESENTED IN COURT, BECAUSE AGAIN, WE HAVE A, WHAT WE CONSIDER A COMPREHENSIVE, OR WE WERE STRIVING TO HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM. SO WITH THE TENANT STABILIZATION PROGRAM, THERE IS EMERGENCY RENT ASSISTANCE, BUT THERE IS ALSO MOVING AND STORAGE, BUT THERE IS ALSO LEGAL REPRESENTATION. SO IT'S NOT JUST ONE PROGRAM. MM-HMM. IT'S A SET OF PROGRAMS THAT WORK COLLECTIVELY TOGETHER AS WELL AS TENANT AND LANDLORD MEDIATION SERVICES THROUGH ANOTHER PROGRAM. RIGHT. AND SO COLLECTIVELY, THESE PROGRAMS WERE ABLE TO SORT OF CLOSE SOME OF THE GAPS. AND SO IF A PERSON WAS REPRESENTED IN COURT, BUT FOR WHATEVER REASON A LANDLORD DOES NOT WANT TO, UM, KEEP THE TENANT, THEN THE BEST THING THAT THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO IS SAY, OKAY, WE'LL JUST PAY THESE FEES THAT YOU OWE. WE WON'T PUT AN EVICTION ON YOUR CASE, AND THEN WE WOULD HELP. THE GOAL IS TO HELP STABILIZE FAMILIES BECAUSE WE ALSO HAVE STORIES WHERE WE WERE NOT ABLE TO HELP PEOPLE, AN EVICTION CAME, AND THEN ALL OF THEIR BELONGINGS ARE OUT, WHICH I KNOW ALL OF US HAVE PROBABLY SEEN THIS AS WELL. AND SO WE FURTHER PUSH PEOPLE INTO POVERTY AND THEY'RE STARTING ALL OVER AGAIN. SO MM-HMM . YES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. . UH, COMMISSIONER BREWSTER, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? NO, I WAS JUST AGREEING. OKAY. THANK YOU. UH, I HAVE A QUESTION, COMMISSIONER TIFFANY, AND THEN WE'LL GO BACK TO VICE CHAIR. SO THEN I WOULD ASK YOU ARE ASKING THEM TO RESTART IT, BUT DO YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVE IT? NOT IN THIS RECOMMENDATION, BUT IT'S, IT'S A COMMISSION. WE CAN ALWAYS MAKE AMENDMENTS TO OUR RECOMMENDATIONS. YEAH, BECAUSE I, I THINK, AGAIN, WE'RE ASKING THEM TO RESTART SOMETHING THAT'S BROKEN. RIGHT. IF WE CAN GIVE THEM SUGGESTIONS ON HOW WE CAN IMPROVE IT OR WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO TO MAKE IT BETTER, THEN I THINK THAT WOULD BE, UM, A BETTER CASE FOR US TO, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THE REASONS WHY WE'RE GOING TO RESTART IT? OBVIOUSLY WE KNOW THOSE, BUT WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO SO THAT IT DOESN'T FALL INTO THE SAME PROBLEM. MM-HMM . CAN I ASK FOR POINT OF CLARIFICATION? YES, GO AHEAD. IF, IF SO, AN ASSUMPTION HAS BEEN MADE THAT IT IS BROKEN, AND SO I WOULD JUST, UM, JUST TO BE CLEAR THEN, WHAT, WHAT ARE YOU SAYING IS BROKEN? WE DIDN'T SAY IT WAS BROKEN. WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY. AND I, YES. I ALSO WANTED, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE CLEAR. I WANTED TO CLARIFY THAT AS THANK YOU AS WELL THAT YES. UH, SAME THING AS OTHER, OTHER THINGS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT. YES. I THINK IT, ANY OF THE CITY PROGRAM, I THINK ALL THE CITY PROGRAMS DESERVE TO BE LOOKED AT AND FIND, YOU KNOW, WAYS TO IMPROVE THEM. BUT JUST THE CLARIFICATION IS THAT THIS WAS JUST A CUT IN FUNDING, OR NOT ENOUGH FUNDING TO CONTINUE THE PROGRAM SO IT WAS NOT SHUT DOWN BECAUSE IT WAS BROKEN OR BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE SOMETHING, SOMETHING LIKE THAT. SO, UM, BUT I DO AGREE THAT THERE'S [01:40:01] PROBABLY A LOT OF STUFF THAT, THAT COULD BE IMPROVED. SO THEN, UM, WHAT, SO IT, OKAY, OBVIOUSLY THERE'S NOT ENOUGH MONEY, BUT HAVE THEY, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO SHOW THEM NUMBERS TO SHOW THAT THE IMPACT OF THE PROGRAM, WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF THE PROGRAM? WHAT ARE THE NUMBERS TO SHOW WHY IT'S NOT WORKING? RATHER THAN SAYING IT'S NOT WORKING, I'M JUST WHAT YOU'RE USING THAT'S NOT, I, IF I COULD JUST SAY, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THERE'S ALWAYS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT. ABSOLUTELY. UM, BUT I, I THINK THE PREMISE THAT YOU'RE STARTING FROM IS, IT'S BROKEN OR IT'S NOT WORKING AS A FALSE PREMISE BECAUSE OF THE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN SERVED. IT WOULD BE ERRONEOUS TO STATE THAT IT'S BROKEN OR NOT WORKING. I DID NOT COME PREPARED. I SHOULD HAVE COME PREPARED MM-HMM . TO BRING NUMBERS AND REPORTS FOR IMPACT TO DISCUSS ON THE IMPACT OF IT. UM, BUT I DID NOT. BUT OUR VENDOR AND OUR STAFF ARE BOTH HAPPY TO COME BACK TO SHOW THE IMPACT. AND WE GET REPORTS ALL THE TIME SHOWING HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE STABILIZED AS A RESULT OF THE RENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM AND FOR HOW LONG. RIGHT. UM, THERE ARE FOLLOW-UP SURVEYS THAT WE DO. WE ALSO PROVIDE, UM, CASE MANAGEMENT AND OTHER SERVICES. THERE'S FINANCIAL, UH, WORKSHOPS THAT WE HAVE STARTED FOR THOSE WHO HAVE, UM, RECEIVED RENT ASSISTANCE. RIGHT. SO, UH, WE'RE HAPPY TO COME BACK AND BRING THOSE. I JUST WANNA BE, IT'S NOT PERFECT. NOTHING IS PERFECT. AND ONE OF THE THINGS I THINK JUST TO PROVIDE ONE RECOMMENDATION IN TERMS OF WHAT WE WOULD DO IF THE CITY APPROVES FUNDING OR WHATEVER, WHICH I, UM, ANYWAY, I WON'T SPEAK TO THAT, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE COULD DO IS LIMIT RIGHT NOW WE, UH, HOUSEHOLDS AT 80% MFI AND BELOW ARE ELIGIBLE FOR ASSISTANCE BECAUSE OF LIMITING LIMITED FUNDING AND WE HAVE SO MANY PEOPLE APPLYING, THEN WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS THEN LOWER THE MFI AND THAT'S GONNA ELIMINATE SO MANY PEOPLE, BUT AT LEAST THOSE PEOPLE AT THE LOWER MFIS, WHICH ARE OUR DATA, ALREADY SHOWS THAT THE VAST MAJORITY OF PEOPLE SERVED ARE AT 30% MEDIUM FAMILY INCOME AND BELOW. BUT WE WILL LIMIT THAT. SO ALL EVERYONE ELSE IS NOT APPLYING AND FACING DISAPPOINTMENT MONTH AFTER MONTH. SO THAT, THAT'S ONE PROGRAM CHANGE I KNOW THAT WE COULD AND WOULD MAKE MM-HMM . YES. AND, UM, I MEAN, THAT SEEMS LIKE IF ANYBODY WANTS TO APPROACH IT THAT WAY, WE CAN MAKE THAT AMENDMENT TO THE RECOMMENDATION. UH, THAT, BUT AGAIN, I WANTED TO CLARIFY THAT THIS IS, I SEE THIS AS AN EMERGENCY RECOMMENDATION. THERE WAS A PROGRAM HELPING TONS OF FAMILIES, UM, THAT WILL END AND, YOU KNOW, THE THOUSANDS OF FAMILIES OR THE, THE, ALL THE FAMILIES THAT WERE BEING SERVED OR WILL NOT BE SERVED BY THIS RENTAL ASSISTANCE. UM, YES. YOU KNOW, THERE MAY BE A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, THERE MAY BE THINGS THAT NEED TO BE CHANGED AND IMPROVED, BUT, UH, RIGHT NOW THIS RECOMMENDATION IS CALLING FOR FUNDING TO KEEP HELPING THOSE FAMILIES. YEAH. ONE LAST THING I WOULD SAY, UM, TRY FIND OTHER CITIES WHO HAVE DONE SIMILAR PROGRAMS AND USE THOSE AS A BASIS FOR KEEPING IT GOING AS FAR AS WHERE THEY GET THEIR FUNDING, ARTWORK. NO, JUST SHOWING WHAT THEY'RE DOING, WHY IT'S SUCCESSFUL, AND, AND MAYBE USE THAT AS A LEVERAGE TOOL. MM-HMM . TO SAY, THIS CITY'S DOING THIS, THIS CITY'S DOING THIS. LET'S TRY WHAT MODEL WHAT THEY'RE DOING. SO WE GIVE, WE'RE BRINGING THEM, WE'RE GIVING THEM A LIST OF SOLUTIONS AND A LIST, NOT JUST ONE, NOTHING. MM-HMM . RIGHT. I THINK IT'S BETTER TO GIVE THEM A COUPLE THINGS TO SAY, OKAY, THIS IS, LET, LET'S SEE IF WE CAN MODEL THIS. YES. AND AGAIN, I THINK I SEE THAT AS TWO DIFFERENT THINGS. I THINK RIGHT NOW THIS IS THE FUNDING PART OF IT. AND THEN WE ALSO CAN HAVE A, YOU KNOW, HOW CAN WE IMPROVE THIS PROGRAM, UM, DISCUSSION AS WELL, IF THAT MAKES SENSE. YEAH. OKAY. UH, DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR, UH, AGAIN, UH, YES, COMMISSIONERS, YOU'RE WELCOME TO MAKE AN AMENDMENT IF YOU WANTED TO, UH, CHANGE ANYTHING FROM THE RECOMMENDATION. UH, SOMEBODY ONLINE. SORRY. YES, VICE CHAIR. VICE CHAIR. GO AHEAD. UM, JUST, UM, SPEAKING FROM SOMEONE DIRECTLY IMPACTED AND THAT ACCESS THAT FUNDING ALONG WITH OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS, COMMUNITY MEMBERS, AND NAVIGATE PEOPLE THROUGH TO THAT FUNDING FROM THE BEGINNING AND SEEING HOW IT DID IMPROVE, UM, YOU, UM, NE [01:45:01] FOR TD YOU MENTIONED THAT Y'ALL GOAL IS TO WORK UPSTREAM. AND I, AND FOR ME, I FEEL LIKE RENTAL ASSISTANCE IS WORKING UPSTREAM VERSUS FUNDING THE EVICTION. UM, PART OF IT, AND I ALSO, MY QUESTION IS, THERE WAS 3 MILLION ALLOCATED TO THE VENDOR BU, ALTHOUGH WAS THERE 1 MILLION REMOVED FROM THEIR ACCOUNT, OR WAS THERE ANY KIND OF FUNDING REMOVED FROM THAT 3 MILLION THAT WAS ALLOCATED FOR RENTAL ASSISTANCE? NO. UM, THIS WAS OUR FIRST, UH, FISCAL YEAR WORKING WITH $3 MILLION IN PREVIOUS YEARS. UM, COUNCIL HAD ALLOCATED MORE DOLLARS TO THE PROGRAM. UM, SO AS A RESULT, UH, THE IMPACT THAT WE SEE IN TERMS OF HOW MANY PEOPLE NOT BEING SERVED WAS GREATER. RIGHT? SO WE SAW THAT WE NEEDED TO PIVOT, AND THIS WAS A VERY CHALLENGING DECISION. IT WAS NOT AN EASY DECISION. UM, YEAH. SO, SO NO, NO MONEY. SOME MONEY HAS ALREADY BEEN SPENT. SO KEEP IN MIND, WE STARTED THE FISCAL YEAR IN OCTOBER ONE. SO WE BEGAN WITH $3 MILLION. UM, WELL, WE BEGAN WITH $3 MILLION THIS FISCAL YEAR. AND SO SOME OF THE DOLLARS HAVE ALREADY BEEN ALLOCATED. IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE REFERRING TO WHEN YOU SAY, BECAUSE THE BALANCE OF NO, UM, I WAS TOLD MM-HMM . THAT THERE WAS 3 MILLION ALLOCATED TO BUEN AND A MILLION WAS REMOVED OUT OF THAT ACCOUNT. A MILLION DOLLARS WAS REMOVED OUT OF THAT ACCOUNT. NO. SO NO. LET, I WANT TO MAKE SURE, UM, THE $3 MILLION IS STILL PART OF THE EMERGENCY RENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. WHAT, WHAT? PEOPLE DIDN'T KNOW IT. IT IS A LITTLE COMPLICATED. AND, UM, WE WORK WITH PARTNERS. SO BU N MANAGES ALL OF THE DOLLARS. THERE WAS A PORTION, UM, THAT WAS ALLOCATED FOR DIRECT RENTAL ASSISTANCE, AND THERE WAS A PORTION THAT WAS PROVIDED TO, UM, OUR LEGAL PARTNERS THROUGH A PROCESS OF NEGOTIATED SETTLEMENTS, WHICH BUEN ALSO PROCESS THOSE CHECKS TOO. SO THEY CONTINUE TO BE INVOLVED. THEY WORK WITH OUR LEGAL PARTNERS, UH, BOTH TRELLO, VOLUNTEER LEGAL SERVICES, AND THERE'S ONE MORE ENTITY. AND THE REMAINING DOLLARS FOR, UM, FOR EMERGENCY RENT IS JUST ALLOCATED TOWARDS LEGAL REPRESENTATION IN COURTS AND LIKE PAYING THOSE LATE FEES AND THINGS LIKE THAT ONCE A PERSON FINDS THEMSELF IN EVICTION COURT. BUT WE'RE NOT GIVING ANY MORE DIRECT ASSISTANCE TO LANDLORDS. SO A WIN IS NOT PROCESSING CHECKS FOR THO THAT PORTION. THEY'RE JUST, UH, PROCESSING CHECKS FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE, UH, REPRESENTED IN COURT, IN EVICTION COURT. AND IT'S PART OF YES. SO NO MONEY IS, IS, HAS BEEN LOST, IF YOU WILL. OKAY. MY LAST QUESTION IS, WOULD THE CITY RATHER SEE PEOPLE NOT SERVED AT ALL RATHER THAN HAVING SOME FOLKS SERVED? BECAUSE THAT'S NOT WORKING UPSTREAM. I, I , I, I FEEL LIKE I CAN'T, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION. I WILL SAY THIS, IT IS A HARD DECISION WHEN YOU HAVE LIMITED FUNDING, RIGHT? WHAT WE DON'T LIKE TO SEE IS THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE APPLYING FOR ASSISTANCE, AND WE'RE SERVING 20, 30 PEOPLE. IT'S, IT'S, IT SLOWS DOWN THE PROCESSING FOR THOSE WHO ARE SERVED. IT CREATES FALSE HOPE. IT'S TRAUMATIZING TO BE WAITING FOR ASSISTANCE AND YOU DON'T GET IT. AND SO, YES. AND, AND WE'VE, WE HAD, UH, CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR VENDOR. WE HAD CON WITH OUR VENDORS, ALL OF OUR LEGAL PARTNERS, WE MET WITH THEM, WE TALKED INTERNALLY, UH, WITH STAFF, WE MET WITH, UH, COUNCIL OFFICES. RIGHT. AND SO WE'RE ALSO, I MEAN, WE'RE JUST IN A VERY TIGHT HEIGHT SITUATION WITH, UM, EVICTIONS RISING. THANK YOU. YEAH. THANK YOU NEFERTITI FOR ANSWERING THOSE QUESTIONS. THANK YOU, VICE CHAIR. UM, DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? UH, CAN WE MOVE FORWARD WITH, WITH OUR VOTE? OKAY. SO WE HAVE, UH, WE HAVE A RECOMMENDATION. WE HAVE, UM, [01:50:01] OH, SORRY. WE HAVE A, NO. OKAY. , UH, YES. SO WE HAVE A REC WE HAVE A RECOMMENDATION. WE HAD A MOTION BY . MY COMPUTER JUST DIED. I'M SO SORRY. . UH, BUT IF I , I, I REMEMBER THE MOTION WAS SECONDED, UH, BY, BY COMMISSIONER MENARD. UM, AND I, IT WAS, I WILL, I WILL DOUBLE CHECK. I'M SO SORRY. MOTION MADE BY VICE VICE-CHAIR. IS THAT CORRECT? BREWSTER? YES. MOTION. YEAH. SORRY. SEE, THAT'S WHY Y'ALL ARE SO GOOD AT THIS. BY WHO? YEAH. THE, IT WAS, THE MOTION WAS BY COMMISSIONER BREWSTER AND IT WAS SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER MENARD. GOOD. OKAY. SO MOTION MADE BY COMMISSIONER BREWSTER, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER MENARD. UM, SO WE HAVE THIS, UH, RECOMMENDATION FOR WRONG ONE, UH, SUPPORT OF ALLOCATE FOR ALLOCATING $10 MILLION FOR RENTAL ASSISTANCE. UM, LET'S TAKE A VOTE. IF YOU ARE ONLINE, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. UH, TURN ON YOUR CAMERAS, RAISE YOUR HAND OR SAY AYE. AND ALL THOSE OPPOSED, AND ALL THOSE OPPOSED. AND ANYBODY ABSTAINING. GOT IT. THANK YOU, MIGUEL. THE MOTION PASSES. THE MOTION PASSES. THANK YOU SO MUCH, COMMISSIONERS. AND WE WILL GO ON TO ITEM NUMBER SEVEN, [7. Discussion and possible action concerning the creation of an Infrastructure Working Group. This working group will focus on access to, and accessibility of, current and future infrastructure. Discussion led by Chair Noe Elias and Commissioner Tiffany Moore.] OUR LAST ITEM ON THE AGENDA HERE, UH, WHICH IS A DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION CONCERNING THE CREATION OF AN INFRASTRUCTURE WORKING GROUP. UH, THIS WORKING GROUP WILL FOCUS ON ACCESS TO AND ACCESSIBILITY OF CURRENT AND FUTURE INFRASTRUCTURE. UM, AND I GUESS I CAN JUST LAY OUT LIKE THE SIMPLER PART, AND THEN COMMISSIONER TIFFANY WILL DISCUSS, UH, A LITTLE BIT MORE. UH, SO, YOU KNOW, THIS WORKING GROUP WILL HAVE NO MORE THAN SEVEN, CORRECT? NO MORE THAN SEVEN COMMISSIONERS. UH, AND, UH, CAN MEET AND DISCUSS AND COMMUNICATE ABOUT, UM, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE AND WHAT THE DESCRIPTION SAYS. AND ALSO COMMISSIONER MOORE WILL TELL US A LITTLE BIT MORE OF WHAT THAT ENTAILS. UH, SO WE'LL DO THAT AND THEN WE'LL TAKE, UM, VOLUNTEERS, WHOEVER WANTS TO SERVE ON THIS WORKING GROUP. UH, GO AHEAD, COMMISSIONER TIFFANY. SO, UM, WE WANTED TO LAUNCH A SYSTEM-WIDE AUDIT OF AUSTIN'S PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE AND CAP METRO'S TRANSIT BUS SYSTEM NETWORK TO EVALUATE COMPLIANCE. UM, WE KNOW WE HAVE A SHORT, UM, STRUCTURE, SO TO SPEAK, TO BE ABLE TO PRESENT THIS. SO WE'RE GOING TO KEEP IT, UM, BASED ON PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUES. AND THOSE PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUES WILL BRANCH DOWN TO INCLUDE, UM, ANY A DA VIOLATIONS OR ANY TITLE, IS IT TITLE SIX CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATIONS. SO THAT'S OUR, OUR GOAL. AND, UH, COMMISSIONER, IF YOU DON'T MIND, UH, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO ADD, THIS WAS THE, UM, WORKING GROUP THAT WAS DISCUSSED, UM, DURING OUR RETREAT. THE ISSUE WAS THAT THERE WAS A SLIGHT DISCREPANCY BETWEEN CALLING IT THE TRANSPORTATION OR THE INFRASTRUCTURE. AND SO BASED ON, UM, THE INTENT THAT COMMISSIONER MOORE HAS JUST STATED, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE MIGHT BE THE BETTER, UH, LABEL FOR THIS RATHER THAN TRANSPORTATION ONLY. UM, AND SO WE JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE TO REDO IT SO THAT IT IS, IT IS DONE CORRECTLY. THANK YOU. MIGUEL, GO AHEAD, COMMISSIONER TIFFANY. YEAH, INFRASTRUCTURE IS A GOOD WORD FOR IT BECAUSE OF THE, THE TWO DIFFERENT, UM, RESPONSIBILITIES. THAT'S WHAT CAP METRO AND, UM, THE CITY OF AUSTIN, WHICH DOES INVOLVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE. SO YES, MA'AM. OKAY. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER MOORE. UM, COMMISSIONER TIFFANY, WHATEVER, WHO YOU PREFER. UM, COMM, UH, COMMISSIONERS, UH, WE'RE LOOKING FOR, UH, VOLUNTEERS THAT WOULD LIKE TO SERVE ON THIS WORKING GROUP. I LIKE INFORMATION ITSELF. WHAT BRANDS? UM, JUST BECAUSE OF THE NATURE OF IT. UM, I GONNA ABSTAIN FROM BEING PART OF THE WORKING GROUP, BUT YOU ARE MORE THAN WELCOME TO REACH OUT FOR ANY GENERAL QUESTIONS THAT Y'ALL MAY HAVE, ESPECIALLY FOR THE CAP METRO SIDE. UM, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT I WAS, I'M AVAILABLE FOR Y'ALL, UM, TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. AS I KNOW BOTH SIDES OF OUR CONTRACTS FOR RAIL, I ALSO KNOW A LOT ABOUT A TP AND THEIR CONTRACTS AS WELL AS, AGAIN, OUR BUS OPERATIONS AND AMENITIES. UM, SO AGAIN, I CAN'T NOT ABLE TO WORK ON THE WORKING GROUP, UM, BUT AM AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS, UH, FOR THE TEAM THAT DOES, [01:55:01] UM, BECOME PART OF THE WORKING GROUP. THANK YOU. UH, COMMISSIONER ORTIZ. SO WE HAVE COMMISSIONER LONGORIA, UH, COMMISSIONER TIFFANY, I'M ASSUMING A GOOD IDEA GO TO YOU ALONG WITH YES, PLEASE. . OKAY. NO, YOU'RE GREAT. YOU'RE NAILING IT. COMMISSIONER, UH, BREWSTER, IS THAT, UH, VOLUNTEERING? YES. AND VICE CHAIR AS WELL. THANK YOU. UM, ANYBODY ELSE? OKAY. THANK YOU. UH, AND SIMILAR TO COMMISSIONER ORTIZ. UH, I, I'M BIG ON PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. I, YOU KNOW, I GREW UP USING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, UM, UH, ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY. SO IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT I CAN HELP WITH, I HONESTLY CAN'T MAKE TIME TO, UH, BE IN ANOTHER WORKING GROUP. BUT I CAN, UH, ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS OR ANY GUIDANCE, UH, FROM, FROM HERE, FROM THE DIOCESE, I WILL WILL SAY THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT ARE VERY, UH, HAVE A LOT OF EXPERIENCE WITH PUBLIC TRANSIT. THEY KNOW THEIR COMMUNITY, THEY KNOW THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS. UM, AND SO THAT WOULD BE A GOOD START TO START THINKING ABOUT, UH, YOU KNOW, SOME OF US SERVE HERE REPRESENTING OUR NEIGHBORHOODS, AND WE SEE, UM, WE SEE THAT, UH, SO, YOU KNOW, REACHING OUT TO OTHER COMMISSIONER, OR SORRY, UH, COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT, YOU KNOW, HAVE THOSE EXPERIENCES WOULD BE KEY TO THAT. JUST FOR CLARIFICATION, THIS IS GOING TO FOCUS SPECIFICALLY ON DATA? YES. OKAY. UH, AND NOT, UM, NOT SURVEYS, RIGHT? I MEAN, WE CAN TAKE SOME PREVIOUS SURVEYS, BUT THIS IS, UH, AS FAR AS I'M UNDERSTANDING, THIS IS INFRASTRUCTURE WORKING GROUP. IT. IF YOU'RE ASKING ME, UH, THE PARAMETERS, I THINK IT COULD BE FOCUSED ON DATA OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT YOU'D LIKE. THAT'S, UM, I MEAN, THAT'S ESSENTIALLY, I MEAN, THE DESCRIPTION I GUESS IS, YOU KNOW, INFRASTRUCTURE. SO IF YOU JUST WANNA FOCUS ON DATA, THAT'S OKAY, BUT IF YOU WANT TO ADD MORE TO IT, UH, WHATEVER THE WORKING GROUP CAN HANDLE, I GUESS. YEAH. UM, I, I THINK WE NEED TO KEEP IT SHORT, RIGHT? BECAUSE IT, IT CAN BE LONG MM-HMM . SO WE'RE TRYING TO KEEP IT AT A, A VERY MM-HMM . YOU KNOW, COMFORTABLE PRESENTATION TIME. AND SO IT WILL, IT WILL JUST INCLUDE DATA. OKAY. GOOD. OKAY. THANK YOU. YES, THAT CORRECT. MIGUEL? THE, THEY DECIDE WHO'S LEADING THE WORKING GROUP ON THEIR OWN. YES. THEY, THEY CAN DECIDE. YES. MM-HMM . IF IT A CHAIR IS NOT NECESSARY FOR A WORKING GROUP, BUT IT CAN BE SELECTED. YES. AND YES. UH, SO Y'ALL CAN COMMUNICATE, UM, AS A WORKING GROUP AND SELECT THE CHAIR IF YOU WOULD LIKE. YES, THANK YOU. AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, ANY OTHER CLARIFICATIONS, UH, ANY WAY, IF YOU NEED, UH, CONTACT INFORMATION OF COMMISSIONERS, UH, JUST CONTACT MIGUEL PLEASE. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONERS. UM, WE ARE DONE WITH, WITH, WE WILL, WE WILL NEED A MOTION. I'M SO SORRY. OH, SO SORRY. SORRY. I, NO, YOU'RE GREAT. OKAY. SO WE NEED A MOTION TO APPROVE, UM, THIS WORKING GROUP WITH THE MEMBERS THAT, UM, WE HAVE, UH, COMMISSIONER ACHILLES. UM, I SO MOVE, UH, COMMISSIONER ACHILLES MOVES TO APPROVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE WORKING GROUP WITH OUR, UH, MEMBER, OUR COMMISSIONERS THAT HAVE VOLUNTEERED TO BE MEMBERS. WE HAVE A SECOND. I, SECOND. COMMISSIONER LAGUARDIA WAS FIRST. COMMISSIONER LAGUARDIA. SECOND. SECOND. UH, THANK YOU. GOOD EYE. MIGUEL. UM, UH, AND, UH, COMMISSIONERS, UH, IF WE DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR ANYTHING ELSE, WE CAN MOVE TO THE VOTE. VOTE. OH, VOTE. OKAY. THANK YOU. OKAY. SO IF YOU'RE ON ONLINE, PLEASE TURN ON YOUR CAMERA AND VOTE. UH, RAISE YOUR HAND OR SAY AYE. OKAY. AND ANYONE OPPOSED? ANYONE OPPOSED? ANYONE? ABSTAINING? THANK YOU, MIGUEL. UM, YES. SO THAT'S, UH, ITEM NUMBER SEVEN. NOW WE'RE GOING, UH, MOVING ON TO FUTURE AGENDA [FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ] ITEMS. COMMISSIONERS. REMEMBER CHAIR, I SINCERELY APOLOGIZE. SORRY. I JUST WANNA GIVE A SMALL UPDATE ON GO AHEAD. UH, FU ON, UM, WORKING GROUPS AND HOW THEY WILL REPORT OUT TO THE CDC. GO AHEAD. UM, I'VE BEEN INFORMED THAT WITH THE NEW, UM, AGENDA FORMAT, THAT WORKING GROUPS CANNOT BE A STANDING ITEM. SO, UM, IT, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S A TEXT MESSAGE [02:00:01] OR AN EMAIL OR ANYTHING THAT YOU WOULD SAY WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO DISCUSS ON, THEN WE CAN PUT YOU ON THE AGENDA. IF NOT, THE CITY CLERK WILL KICK IT BACK TO ME. UM, AND THE, THEY'RE GONNA BE ASKING FOR WHAT THE TOPIC IS OF THE REPORT OUT, JUST FOR A CLARIFICATION. THANK YOU. YES. SO IF YOUR WORKING GROUP IS READY TO PRESENT, UH, PLEASE REACH OUT TO US AND TELL US WHAT YOU'RE PRESENTING ON. UH, SO WE CAN PUT, PUT YOU ON THE AGENDA, OTHERWISE WE CANNOT HAVE YOU AS A STANDING ITEM. UM, YEAH. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, UH, COMMISSIONERS, UH, REMEMBER THAT WE HAVE A AGENDA SETTING MEETING. WE PRIORITIZE, UH, OF COURSE THE THINGS THAT ARE NECESSARY AS FAR AS, UH, WHAT OUR MISSION AND ALL OF THAT GOES. UH, THAT GOES WITH OUR MISSION. UH, WE ALSO HAD A VERY GOOD, UM, SPECIAL CALLED MEETING WHERE WE DISCUSSED, UH, OUR FOCUS. UH, SO WE'RE GOING TO PRIORITIZE THOSE, UH, THINGS THAT FALL UNDER THAT. UM, BUT YOU'RE WELCOME TO ADD ANYTHING, UH, ANY FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE. UH, AND PLEASE, UM, WHETHER IT'S HERE NOW OR IN AN EMAIL OR ALSO IN AN EMAIL TO MIGUEL, PLEASE SPECIFY. UM, AND BE AS SPECIFIC AS YOU CAN ON WHAT YOU WANT TO SEE. PRESENTATION QUESTIONS THAT YOU WANT TO, WANT TO GET ANSWERED BY PRESENTERS, THINGS LIKE THAT. SO, DO WE HAVE ANY COMMISSIONERS, UH, ANY COMMISSIONERS? DO YOU HAVE ANY FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS THAT, FOR THE MAY AGENDA? UH, COMMISSIONER LONGORIA, UH, WELL, I UNDERSTAND THAT THE BOND AND, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BOND AND CAPITAL AND, UM, I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE IF RESPONSIBLE FOR TRANSPORTATION OR ABOUT HOUSING. I'M SORRY, I CAN'T HEAR. AM I THE ONLY ONE? ? MY BAD. MY BAD. MY BAD, MY BAD. . OKAY. SO, UM, I SPOKE ABOUT HOW, UM, THE BOND HAS BEEN IN DEVELOPMENT FOR THE PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS OR YEARS, AND, UH, IT'LL BE ON THE BALLOT IN NOVEMBER. AND THERE HAVE BEEN TASK WORKING GROUPS FOR THE PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS AND YEARS, UM, SPECIFICALLY FOCUSED ON INFRASTRUCTURE, HOUSING INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE. AND I WANT TO HEAR WHAT IS IN THE BOND PACKAGE NOW, THE WAY THAT IT'S GONNA BE PRESENTED TO THE PUBLIC IN NOVEMBER. UM, THAT'S ONE ITEM, OR A COUPLE OF ITEMS, LIKE I SAID, DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS. I COULD EMAIL YOU TO CLARIFY MIGUEL. UH, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, RECENTLY THE CITY COUNCIL ALSO PUT OUT A, A, A SOLICITATION FROM COMMISSIONS ABOUT THE RENAMING OF CESAR CHAVEZ STREET. I THINK WE OUGHT TO DISCUSS THAT ALSO, PLEASE. ALRIGHT, SO I'M UNDERSTANDING THE TWO DIFFERENT AGENDA ITEMS, UH, THE BOND AND, UH, MIGUEL, UH, SORRY, UH, COMMISSIONER LEGIA, UH, GIVE WITH MIGUEL IF THERE'S ANY CLARIFICATION, ANYTHING THAT'S NEEDED, OR MIGUEL, SAME THING. UM, BECAUSE IF I'M REMEMBERING, UM, IT MAY NOT BE THE DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE, THAT WOULD BE BE PRESENTING. I THINK MAYBE YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT THE TASK FORCE THAT WAS WORKING ON THE, UM, OR DID YOU WANT DEPARTMENT I SEE THE TASK FORCE, YES. I ALSO SEE DEPARTMENT, UH, PRESENTATIONS. OKAY. YEAH, I SEE A, A PRESENTATION FROM, FROM HOUSING AND DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS. OKAY. THANK YOU. SO YES, IF YOU NEED ANY CLARIFICATION, MIGUEL, JUST COMMUNICATE YES, SIR. AND I, I WILL REACH OUT TO YOU, COMMISSIONER LONGORIA, BUT AT THIS MOMENT I HAVE THE, UM, BOND DEVELOPMENT AND HOW THAT AFFECTS THE ELECTION AND WHO IS INVOLVED AT THIS TIME. UH, IS THAT CORRECT? UH, UH, YEAH. WHO'S, UH, I'M LESS, I'M LESS CONCERNED ABOUT WHO'S INVOLVED AND LIKE, WHAT'S BEING PROPOSED FOR WHAT'S, WHAT'S ON, OR, UM, I THINK IT'S, IT'S, THEY'RE COMING UP WITH A $700 MILLION PACKAGE, BUT WHAT THEY'RE GONNA USE TO MM-HMM . PURCHASE WITH THAT MONEY. YES. YEAH. SO WHAT'S ON THE BOND ? WHAT'S ON THE MM-HMM . I'M GONNA UNDERLINE THAT. . SOUNDS GOOD. THANK YOU SO MUCH. COMMISSIONER LONGORIA, UH, ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS HAVE ANY FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? YES, I DO. YES. VICE CHAIR, GO AHEAD. UM, I WANNA KNOW IF THERE'S ANY WAY THAT THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT CAN COME PRESENT AND GIVE US INFORMATION MORE ON THE RENTAL ASSISTANCE OR THE PREVENTION, UM, SERVICES PRO OR PROGRAM. YES. JUST TO GET MORE INFORMATION ON WHO'S TURNED AWAY, HOW MANY FOLKS ARE BEING SERVED, HOW MUCH FUNDING IS, UH, THAT MM-HMM . THEY'RE SET ON, ALL OF THAT. IT'S GOOD STUFF. [02:05:01] THANK YOU. YES. UH, I, I BELIEVE WE DISCUSSED THAT, UM, OF THE, UH, WE HAVE HOUSING PRESENTING REGULARLY. UM, WE'VE HAD TO BUMP THEM OFF THE AGENDA A FEW TIMES, UH, JUST TO, UH, TO MAKE THINGS FIT. BUT YES, UH, WE CAN DO THAT. AND COM UH, VICE CHAIR, IF YOU HAVE ANY LIKE, VERY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS THAT YOU'D LIKE TO BE, UH, ANSWERED, PLEASE, UH, SEND THEM TO MIGUEL. OKAY. ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS HAVE FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? ALL RIGHT. UM, SO IF YOU DO THINK OF ONE LATER ON, PLEASE, UH, EMAIL MIGUEL. UM, AGAIN, BEING AS SPECIFIC AS YOU CAN, AND AGAIN, WORKING GROUPS, IF YOU, UM, ARE READY TO PRESENT ON ANYTHING, PLEASE REACH OUT TO MIGUEL AS WELL SO WE CAN PUT YOU ON THE AGENDA. UH, COMMISSIONER ACHILLES CLARIFICATION QUESTION, AND I'M NOT ASKING FOR IT TODAY 'CAUSE I'M SPRINGING IT ON YOU, BUT I WONDER IF AT NEXT MEET, UH, AT FUTURE MEETINGS, WE COULD FIND OUT THE DATE OF THE NEXT AGENDA SETTING MEETING TO BE ANNOUNCED. EVERYBODY KNOWS WHAT THE DEADLINE IS TO GET THOSE REQUESTS IN BEFORE THAT MEETING? YES, MA'AM. SO I'M NOT TRYING TO SPRING IT ON YOU, BUT FOR THE NEXT DAY. NO, THAT IS GREAT. MAKES A LOT OF SENSE. YEAH, THAT'S A, THAT'S A GREAT POINT. UM, I CAN SEND IT AND I CAN ALSO BE ABLE TO PRESENT IT IN THE NEXT ONE AS WELL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER ACHILLES. THANK YOU, MIGUEL. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS. IF WE DON'T HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS, IT IS EIGHT FORTY SEVEN. SO I CALL THIS, UM, MEETING OF THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION ADJOURNED. HAVE A GREAT NIGHT. THANK YOU EVERYBODY FOR YOUR PRESENTATIONS, FOR YOUR QUESTIONS, AND THANK YOU. HAVE A GOOD NIGHT. THANK YOU P. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.