* 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. [CALL TO ORDER] [00:00:03] COMMISSIONERS, FROCK AND EASTWOOD, THANK Y'ALL FOR JOINING. WE HAVE QUORUM IF YOU, IF THE TWO OF YOU COULD COME ON SCREEN, TEST YOUR AUDIO AND YOUR VIDEO, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND, AND GET GOING. COMMISSIONER FROCK, WOULD YOU MIND TESTING YOUR AUDIO VERY QUICKLY? YES. OKAY, I CAN HEAR YOU. COOL. GREAT, GREAT. WELL, WELCOME EVERYONE. MY NAME IS STEVEN, AKA I'M CALLING TO ORDER THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION. TODAY IS WEDNESDAY, MAY 13TH. I HAVE THE TIME AT 6:35 PM UM, SOME MEMBERS YOU MAY NOTICE ARE JOINING US VIRTUALLY, UH, MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC, UH, CAN VIEW, UH, MEETINGS OF THE TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION AS WELL AS MANY OTHERS VIA A TXN LIVE. UH, TO START, WE'LL DO OUR, UM, OUR ROLL CALL. AGAIN, MY NAME IS STEVEN APODACA AND I AM REPRESENTING DISTRICT TWO. UH, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND START TO MY LEFT IN THE ROOM. UH, THIS IS COMMISSIONER BEN KBY, REPRESENTING DISTRICT SEVEN, MILANA PREVI, REPRESENTING DISTRICT 10. SUZANNE HERITAGE, REPRESENTING DISTRICT FOUR COMMISSIONER FROCK. WE'LL GO TO YOU NEXT. UM, COMMISSIONER FROCK REPRESENTING DISTRICT SIX AND COMMISSIONER EASTWOOD. COMMISSIONER EASTWOOD REPRESENTING DISTRICT EIGHT. GREAT, THANK YOU. UH, SO, UH, TONIGHT WE'LL TAKE, BE TAKING THE AGENDA ITEMS OUT OF ORDER. UM, SO WE'LL START WITH PUBLIC COMMUNICATION AND THEN WE WILL, UH, SHIFT TO, UH, THE PRESENTATION BY, UH, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, UH, COMPASS, UM, AND THEN MOVE TO OUR, UM, OUR RECOMMENDATION ON, UH, DATA CENTERS. AND THEN FROM THERE, UH, WE'LL TAKE THE SUBSEQUENT ITEMS AS PRESENTED IN, UH, THE AGENDA. SO, [PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL ] UH, WE DO HAVE ONE MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC HERE. UH, I'LL GO AHEAD AND, AND TURN IT OVER TO, UH, REPRESENTATIVE FROM CAN THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER AKA, AND COMMISSIONERS FOR ALLOWING ME THIS TIME AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK ON BEHALF OF COMMUNITY ADVANCEMENT NETWORK OR CAN, AND SOME OF OUR RESOURCES AND EVENTS COMING UP. IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR, CAN, OR COMMUNITY ADVANCEMENT NETWORK IS A, UH, AND I ACTUALLY HAVE SOME FLYERS. I'M DOING THIS OUT OF ORDER. UM, KEN IS A PARTNERSHIP OF PUBLIC, PRIVATE, NON-PROFIT AND FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS THAT COLLECTIVELY, UH, WORK TO IMPROVE SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, EDUCATIONAL, AND, UH, UH, OTHER OPPORTUNITIES IN OUR COMMUNITY. AND, UH, THAT FLYER KIND OF HAD SOME INFORMATION ABOUT US AND, UH, COINCIDENTALLY ONE OF OUR, UM, LONGTIME BOARD MEMBERS IS ON THE AGENDA. JOHN MICHAEL CORTEZ. HE ALSO SERVED AS BOARD CHAIR FOR ONE YEAR. SO SMALL WORLD, BUT WE'RE ALL WORKING TOGETHER TO, UH, IMPROVE, UH, CONDITIONS HERE. UM, AND THE WAY THAT CAN DOES IT, UM, WE DEVELOP TOOLS LIKE THE CAN DASHBOARD AND THE DASHBOARD REPORT, WHICH HAS 18 DIFFERENT INDICATORS AND FOUR DIFFERENT ISSUE AREAS WHERE THE DATA ARE DISAGGREGATED BY RACE, ETHNICITY, AGE, SEX, AND WHATEVER ELSE ARE AVAILABLE. UM, WE ALSO, UH, MANAGE THE CAN WEBSITE WHERE FOLKS CAN, UH, FIND INFORMATION ABOUT, UH, COMMUNITY NEEDS AND HOW TO GET ENGAGED. AND, UH, WELL, UM, I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT THE, UM, TWO REPORTS I GOT PUBLISHED EARLIER THIS YEAR. THE CAN DASHBOARD REPORT AND, UH, THE ECONOMIC MOBILITY REPORT BECAUSE, UM, THERE IS SOME DATA, THE, THE, UH, CRITERIA FOR INCLUDING DATA INTO THE DASHBOARD AND THE DASHBOARD REPORT ARE KIND OF STRICT AND THERE IS STILL DATA OUT THERE THAT'S VALUABLE TO DISCUSS AND, AND LEARN ABOUT. SO, UM, BUILDING ON THE FINDINGS FROM THE ECONOMIC MOBILITY REPORT, UM, SOME EXPANDING OPPORTUNITY FORUMS HAVE BEEN ORGANIZED AND, UH, WE ALREADY HAD ONE ON, ON, UM, ADVANCED MANUFACTURING. AND THERE'S ONE NEXT WEEK ON, UM, ELECTRICAL TRADES, ESPECIALLY SPECIFICALLY EARN AND LEARN OPPORTUNITIES, WHICH ARE, UH, APPRENTICESHIP KIND OPPORTUNITIES WHERE FOLKS, UH, CAN UPSKILL WHILE THEY'RE GETTING PAID. AND THAT WAY IT DOESN'T, UH, MAKE, UH, MOVING AHEAD SUCH AN UNATTAINABLE PROPOSITION. SO, UH, IF YOU'D LIKE MORE INFORMATION OR WOULD LIKE TO SCHEDULE US TO PRESENT TO THE COMMISSION, I'M GOING TO LEAVE SOME BUSINESS CARDS. UM, THE TITLE IS OBSOLETE, BUT THE REST OF THE INFORMATION IS CORRECT. AND, UH, WITH THAT I'D LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY AND GOOD LUCK WITH THE REST OF THE MEETING. [00:05:01] THANK YOU. GREAT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND AS AN ACTUAL, WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO HA TO SEND THE SPECIFIC INFORMATION TO DAN, UM, AND THEN PERHAPS YOU COULD DISTRIBUTE THAT TO THE REST OF THE COMMISSION, BUT WOULD LOVE TO ATTEND, UH, THE EVENT THAT YOU MENTIONED. ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU COMMISSIONER POLKA. WE'LL FOLLOW UP WITH DAN WITH THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE EVENT AND, UH, COPIES OF THESE FLYERS. GREAT. HAVE A GREAT EVENING. [3. Presentation by the University of Texas’ Bureau of Compass (Collaborative Optimization & Management of Power Allocation) coalition on environmental impact of data centers (Dr. Ning Lin and Shirpa Mishra, The University of Texas) ] SO WITH THAT, AS MENTIONED, WE WILL GO AHEAD AND MOVE TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER THREE. AND THAT'S, UH, THE PRESENTATION BY THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS BUREAU OF COMPASS, UH, BY DR. NING LIN AND SHERPA MISHRA. OKAY. CAN YOU GUYS HEAR ME OKAY? OKAY. UM, GOOD EVENING. UM, EVERYONE, SO THANK YOU FOR HAVING US HERE. UM, ACTUALLY I HAVE, UM, MY TEAMMATE, UH, SHIPRA MISRA AS WELL AS, UH, MARIAN, A ROMANIAN BACK THERE. SO BOTH OF THEM ARE FROM THE COMPASS TEAM. WE'RE VERY HAPPY TO BE HERE AND SHARE WITH YOU GUYS ABOUT, UH, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR RESEARCH. UM, OKAY. SO, YOU KNOW, FIRST JUST KIND OF WANTED TO SAY, YOU KNOW, WHO WE ARE. UH, SO WE REPRESENT, UH, UT AUSTIN, UH, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN, BUT IT SPECIFICALLY IS A RESEARCH INSTITUTE CALLED BUREAU OF ECONOMICS GEOLOGY. SO THE BUREAU, UH, IS ACTUALLY OVER 110 YEARS OLD. IT'S ONE OF THE OLDEST, AS WELL AS THE LARGEST, SECOND LARGEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF UT AUSTIN. WE'RE ALSO THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF TEXAS. SO THAT GIVES US A VERY UNIQUE DUAL ROLE OF A RESEARCH INSTITUTE AS WELL AS, UH, A PUBLIC ENTITY. SO COMPASS, UH, COMPASS IS ACTUALLY ONE OF THE RESEARCH CONSORTIUMS THAT WE ESTABLISH UNDER THE BUREAU. UM, AND UNDER THE BUREAU WE HAVE PROBABLY TWO DOZEN DIFFERENT TYPE OF, UH, CONSORTIUMS. BASICALLY IT IS JUST RESEARCH PROGRAMS FOCUSED ON SUBSET OF, UM, YOU KNOW, ENERGY OR ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS, UM, TOPICS THAT IS VERY CRITICAL FOR THE STATE AND FOR THE NATION. UM, FOR COMPASS, UH, WE, THIS IS A VERY LONG NAME SO YOU GUYS CAN SEE THAT, BUT COMPASS ACTUALLY ESTABLISHED TO LOOK AT THE BALANCE AND TRADE OFF OF LARGE LOAD THAT IS, UM, YOU KNOW, INTERSECT WITH WATER, LAND, UM, POWER AND COMMUNITIES. UM, AND CURRENTLY I JUST WANTED TO JUST, UH, SPECIFY LARGE LOAD. I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE ASK US WHAT IS LARGE LOAD? LARGE LOAD IS UNDER ERCOT, THE TEXAS ELECTRICITY MARKET. IT IS ANYTHING WHICH IS GREATER THAN 75 MEGAWATT OF LOAD. BUT WHEN WE ARE THINKING ABOUT LARGE LOAD, I WOULD SAY WE'RE THINKING ABOUT MORE A GENERAL TERM, NOT REALLY A, YOU KNOW, ERCOT MARKET DEFINITION. WE ARE REALLY LOOKING AT, UM, LOAD OR FACILITIES THAT WILL TAKE ENERGY, POWER, UH, YOU KNOW, AS WELL AS, UM, WATER, LAND AND COMMUNITIES INTERACTION THAT WILL INCLUDE DATA CENTER. OF COURSE THAT IS KIND OF THE TOPIC OF THE DAY, BUT ALSO IT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT WE ARE TAKING A VERY HOLISTIC VIEW SO WE'RE NOT JUST LOOKING AT DATA CENTER ALONE. 'CAUSE WE WILL NOT FORGET OUR DIFFERENT MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES AS EXISTING, YOU KNOW, ENERGY INDUSTRY AS WELL AS, UM, YOU KNOW, PETROCHEMICAL AND MANY OTHERS THAT ALSO ARE IN TEXAS. SO THE APPROACH WE'RE TAKING IS REALLY LOOKING AT ALL DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES AND THAT IS TAKING SIGNIFICANT LOAD ON OUR ENERGY SYSTEM AND HOW TO DO INTEGRATED PLANNING. SO THIS TODAY, THE, UH, PRESENTATION, I'M GONNA TAKE A LITTLE BIT TIME TO EXPLAIN AND SHARE WITH YOU WHAT'S OUR OVERALL SCOPE OF WORK OF RESEARCH AND HOW WE CAN SEE THAT POSSIBLY WILL ALIGN WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN. HOW WE CAN HELP OUR OWN CITY, UM, BECAUSE WE DO A LOT OF, UM, YOU KNOW, CROSS CUTTING DISCIPLINARY WORK. SO WE TAKE A VERY LARGE AND A CROSS-CUTTING TEAM. UH, MYSELF IS AN ECONOMIST WITH A BACKGROUND IN ENERGY ECONOMICS, UM, AS WELL AS SOME OF MY, UM, TEAM MEMBERS. THEY'RE COMING FROM GEOLOGY, CHEMISTRY, UH, GIS ENGINEERING, MANY OF DIFFERENT SUBJECTS. AND WE ALSO, VERY IMPORTANTLY HAVE A VERY STRONG WATER HYDROLOGY GROUP BECAUSE THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT TOPIC FOR TEXAS. UM, SO WE STARTED OUR WORK ACTUALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, ABOUT [00:10:01] TWO YEARS AGO. AND LAST YEAR, ACTUALLY JUST ABOUT TODAY, LIKE, YOU KNOW, AROUND THIS TIME IS ONE YEAR THAT WE PUBLISHED THE VERY FIRST DATA CENTER REPORT THAT IS LOOKING VERY SPECIFICALLY ABOUT TEXAS. AND YOU CAN USE THIS QR CODE. AND THIS IS A WHITE PAPER AND THE FREE PAPER THAT WE PUBLISHED LAST YEAR. AND THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS IS THE FIRST PIECE OF THE PUBLICATION. WE WANT TO TAKE A LOOK AT OVERALL VIEW OF WHAT IS THE DATA CENTER GROWTH AND TREND AND WHAT, HOW IT INTERSECT WITH DIFFERENT SYSTEMS OF ENERGY RESOURCES AND REGULATORY LANDSCAPES IN TEXAS. SO THE VERY FIRST THING WE SAW WAS, YOU KNOW, REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATUS QUO. UH, CURRENTLY THERE ARE OVER 400 DATA CENTERS IN TEXAS. MOST OF THEM EXISTING ONES ARE CLUSTERED AROUND THE I 35 CORRIDOR FROM DALLAS, UM, AUSTIN, SAN ANTONIO AND HOUSTON AREA. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, SINCE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, LAST YEAR WE HAVE SEEN A LOT MORE OF WHAT WE CALL GIGA FACTORIES. THESE ARE MUCH LARGER SCALED AI TRAINING DATA CENTERS, AND THEY HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED AND GOING MORE TO WHAT WE CALL THE ENERGY PRODUCING REGIONS, FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE WEST TEXAS, IN PERMIAN REGION, YOU KNOW, IN THE PANHANDLE AREA. UM, IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND AND KIND OF HOW CAN WE HELP THE STATE AS WELL AS A COMMUNITY AND THE INDUSTRY TO REALLY PLAN FOR THIS. YOU KNOW, I WILL SAY A HUGE AMOUNT OF OPERATE, YOU KNOW, OPPORTUNITY AS WELL AS CHALLENGES I THINK IS BOTH SIDES. UM, SO WHAT WE ARE REALLY TRYING TO DO, I ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT THE VERY FIRST TIME WE HAD THIS IDEA ABOUT COMPASS, WE WANT TO TALK TO, YOU KNOW, PUBLIC UTILITY OF TEXAS. UM, YOU KNOW, WE TALKED TO THE COMMISSIONERS ABOUT WHAT WE CAN HELP TEXAS DO. ONE OF THE THINGS IS WHAT WE'RE ASKED TO IS, CAN YOU GUYS HELP US TO FIND A CRITICAL PATH FOR THIS PROJECT? AS WE KNOW, ALL KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF DATA CENTER BEING ANNOUNCED RIGHT NOW. THERE IS MORE THAN 410 OR MAYBE EVEN HIGHER GIGAWATT TODAY IN THE INTERCONNECTION QUEUE OF ERCOT. BASICALLY, THOSE ARE THE QUEUING SYSTEM FOR LARGE LOADS TO GET ON THE, OUR GRID. AND, UH, 70% OR HIGHER IS DATA CENTERS. BUT THE QUESTION IS MORE THAN THAT. IT'S NOT THE NUMBER IS WHERE THEY'RE GONNA BE BUILT AND WHEN, RIGHT? SO WHEN THERE IS ANNOUNCEMENT COMING THROUGH, UM, A LOT OF THE TIME THAT THERE'S JUST A LOT OF RUMORS AND A LOT OF TENSION. BUT THE QUESTION IS, WHICH ONE WILL GET BUILT? BECAUSE I THINK THAT EVERYBODY, INCLUDING FROM THEIR OUTLOOK, WE KNOW AND WE RECOGNIZE NOT ALL 400, OVER 400 OF THE APPLICANTS WILL ACTUALLY GET BILL. SO THE QUESTION IS, HOW CAN WE REALLY GUIDE OUR COMMUNITY AND POLICY MAKERS TO MAKE A BETTER AND MORE EFFECTIVE DECISION TO FIGURE OUT WHICH ONES SHOULD YOU KNOW, WHICH ONE WILL BE BUILT AND WHICH ONES WILL BE MORE ALIGNED WITH OUR LOCAL RESOURCE AND ENDOWMENT AND WORKFORCE. SO IN ORDER TO DO THAT, COMPASS REALLY TAKE A SYSTEM APPROACH. IF YOU SEE THE, YOU KNOW, THE PIN RAIL IN THE MIDDLE FOR THE DELIVERED MEGAWATT OF A DATA CENTER, THE WAY WE SEE IT IS A SUCCESSFUL PROJECT ACTUALLY GET DELIVERED. THEY REALLY HAVE TO GO THROUGH SIX GATES. THEY HAVE TO REALLY HAVE POWER GRID, WATER RESOURCE, UM, STRATEGIES AND PERMITTING, UM, FINANCING AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, ONSITE GENERATION BECAUSE BESIDES OF POWER GRID, SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO BRING YOUR ONSITE AS WELL AS COMMUNITY ACCEPTANCE. NOW IT'S BECOME EVEN MORE IMPORTANT WITH IS DOING THAT. THAT'S WHAT WE CALL SYSTEM OF SYSTEM APPROACH. 'CAUSE EACH OF THOSE BLOCKS BY ITSELF IS A SYSTEM. BUT IN ORDER FOR A PROJECT TO BE SUCCESSFUL AND EFFECTIVE AND SUSTAINABLE, ALL SYSTEM HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER. AND FOR OUR RESEARCH, WE COVER ALL OF THEM. AND IN ORDER TO DO, UH, YOU KNOW, EFFECTIVE JOB, WE ACTUALLY ORGANIZED OUR RESEARCH IN FIVE DIFFERENT PILLARS. WE DO GEOSPATIAL ANALYSIS AND PERMITTING AND A TIMELINE OF, UM, REGULATION AS WELL AS WATER ONSITE GENERATION, COMMUNITY. AND FOR THE REST OF THE TIME OF MY PRESENTATION, I'M GONNA WALK THROUGH EACH OF THEM VERY BRIEFLY. UH, FOR THE GEOSPATIAL, UM, ACTUALLY THIS IS A WORK I JUST WANNA HAVE A SHOUT OUT WITH FOR MY COLLEAGUE OF MARIAN AT THE BACK. SHE'S A LEAD AUTHOR OF THIS WORK, UH, FOR CREATING THIS, UH, BEAUTIFUL MAP. BASICALLY WHAT WE DID IS WE, WE TAKE A LOT OF DIFFERENT LAYERS OF THE DATA WE HAVE, WHICH COMES FROM THESE MAJOR CATEGORIES, ENERGY RESOURCE, INFRASTRUCTURE, LAND AND WATER AVAILABILITY, SKILL, LABOR FORCE, HAZARDS, WHICH IS VERY IMPORTANT, SESAM, ETHNICITY, FLOOD, YOU KNOW, AND WILDFIRE, MANY OTHERS. AND FIBER OPTIC. WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO DO IS USING THIS DATA AND ALSO THE EXISTING AND ANNOUNCED [00:15:01] DATA CENTERS IN TEXAS TO USE MACHINE LEARNING, WHICH IS ADVANCED STATISTICS MODEL, TO FIGURE OUT WHAT IS THE WEIGHT OF EACH OF THE DRIVERS, WHAT REALLY ARE THE DRIVERS ARE DRIVING THE BEHAVIOR OF DATA CENTERS. SO WE ARE TRYING TO USE THAT TO TRAIN OUR DATA AND FIGURE IT OUT IF WE KNOW THAT IS WHAT IS DRIVEN FOR THE DATA CENTER EXISTING ONE AND ALSO THE ONES BEING ANNOUNCED. CAN WE USE THIS TO HELP TO GAUGE WHAT WILL BE THE INTEREST IN SUITABILITY FOR THE REST OF TEXAS? SO THE RESULT IS THIS HEAT MAP. UM, AND YOU CAN SEE THE MAINLY TWO COLORS. THE BLUE, IT'S MORE SUITABLE AREA AND THE RED IS LESS. SO IF YOU JUST FOCUS ON THE BLUE AREA, THAT REALLY COINCIDES WITH OUR TRANSMISSION SYSTEM AS WELL AS LARGE, UM, NATURAL GAS, UH, DIAMETER PIPELINES, WHICH REALLY HIGHLIGHTS MOST OF THE, UH, DATA CENTER. THEY'RE REALLY EMPHASIZED ON THE POWER AXIS. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT IS IN THIS MAP WE HAVE, WE HAVE CUSTOMIZED WEIGHTING SYSTEM. SO IN THE FUTURE, WHEN THE DIFFERENT COUNTRIES OR POLICY MAKERS AND DEVELOPERS, THEY CAN USE THIS MODEL TO CHANGE THE LAYER OF IMPORTANCE. FOR EXAMPLE, IF I WANT TO BUILD SOMETHING THAT'S REALLY RESILIENT, SO THE HAZARD WILL HAVE MUCH HIGHER WEIGHT OR FOR A COMMUNITY OR POLICYMAKER, WATER IS MORE IMPORTANT, I CAN INCREASE THE WEIGHT TO TAKE A LOOK. HOW THAT WILL CHANGE THE LOOK OF THE MAP FOR TEXAS AS A WHOLE. UM, AND BY THE WAY, THE MAP CAN BE ZOOMING INTO A FAIRLY GRANULAR LEVEL. AND HERE I'M JUST SHOWING YOU THE ONE MAP. UM, THE SECOND LAYER OF THE PILLAR, WE ACTUALLY RECENTLY JUST PUBLISHED THE WORK AND MY COLLEAGUE, UM, SHERA IS ON THE CALL. UM, SHE AND HER TEAMMATE HAS PUBLISHED A WHITE PAPER LOOKING TO PERMITTING PROCEDURES OF SETTING UP DATA CENTER. THIS IS A QUESTION WE GOT A LOT FROM ERCOT, FROM PUC TECH, EVERYBODY, BECAUSE THE FEEDBACK WE GOT IS EVERY AGENCY ARE REALLY FAMILIAR WITH WHAT THEY CAN SEE, BUT NOBODY HAS A VERY HOLISTIC SYSTEM VIEW OF WHAT THE ROADMAP FOR THESE LARGE LOAD LIKE DATA CENTER WALK THROUGH ONCE THEY WANT TO START SETTING UP SHOP IN TEXAS. SO WHAT WE DID IS TO PUT TOGETHER A WHITE PAPER AFTER INTERVIEWING EVERY SINGLE AGENCIES THAT THIS DATA CENTER HAS TO GO THROUGH TO PUT THIS PAPER TOGETHER TO UNDERSTAND WHAT TYPE OF DECISION WILL TRIGGER WHAT TYPE OF PERMITTING PROCESS, EACH OF THE PROCESS WILL, WHAT TYPE OF TIMELINE. THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT AS A ROADMAP TO PUT IT OUT THERE TO LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD ON BOTH SIDES, NOT ONLY ON THE COMMUNITY, BUT ALSO ON THE DEVELOPERS. SO EVERYBODY IS ON THE SAME, YOU KNOW, KNOWLEDGE BASE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT TYPE OF A REGULATORY AND PERMITTING PROCESS LOOK LIKE FOR DATA CENTER. AND AGAIN, THIS PAPER IS ALSO PUBLISHED AND IS FREE, UH, FOR ANYONE TO USE. UM, ONE OF THE EXAMPLE THAT WE PUT IS REALLY ON LAND AND ZONING. THIS IS A TOPIC THAT I THINK EVERYBODY HERE IS PROBABLY VERY FAMILIAR WITH. IN THIS PAPER WE TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE TWO TALE OF TEXAS, THE TWO DIFFERENT COUNTY VERSUS CITY OF DIFFERENT, UH, UM, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT TOOLS THAT THE CITY VERSUS COUNTY HAS TO DEAL WITH DATA CENTER APPLICATIONS. SO I'M JUST GONNA MOVE, UH, ALONG. UM, THE NEXT PILLAR IS ON WATER USE. UH, THIS IS A VERY BUSY MAP, UM, OR TABLE. THIS TABLE IS PART OF ANOTHER WHITE PAPER WE PUBLISH, WHICH IS ON WATER USE AND REQUIREMENT. BASICALLY THE IDEA IS IN THIS PAPER WE UNPACKED DIFFERENT TYPE OF TECHNOLOGY THAT ASSOCIATED WITH COOLING TECHNOLOGY. AND MANY PEOPLE, WHEN THEY HEAR ABOUT THE COOLING TECHNOLOGY OF DATA CENTER, THERE'S REALLY TWO LAYERS. ONE IS CALLED THE GREEN SIDE, WHICH IS ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE MAP, WHICH IS CALLED THE IT COOLING. THIS IS WHERE YOU TALK ABOUT CLOSED LOOP OR IMMERSION. THIS IS PART THAT THEY'RE PULLING THE HEAT AWAY FROM THE CHIP. AND THIS THE OTHER PART, WHICH IS A BLUE COLOR ONE, IT'S CALLED A PRIMARY LOOP. ONCE YOU PULL THE HEAT AWAY FROM THE CHIP, THE FACILITIES STILL HAVE TO DESIGN COOLING TECHNOLOGIES TO DISSIPATE THE HEAT, UH, TO THE AIR, RIGHT? SO THERE'S REALLY TWO PARTS OF THIS WHY IT IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE HAVE COME ACROSS MANY OF THE RESIDENTS AND COMMUNITIES AND YOU KNOW, MANY PEOPLE THAT THEY'RE QUITE CONFUSED ABOUT EACH OF THE TERM BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT EASY TO UNDERSTAND. AND WE ALSO LISTED AND DISCUSSED ABOUT DIFFERENT POWER, ELECTRICITY USAGE AND WATER USAGE OF EACH OF THE, UM, COOLING TECHNOLOGY, WHICH IS VERY IMPORTANT. 'CAUSE THIS GOES DIRECTLY INTO THE RATIONALITY OF THE SELECTION OF THE COOLING TECHNOLOGY FOR DATA CENTER. UH, AND BESIDES THAT, ONE THING THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT IS WHAT WE SEE HERE ON THIS SLIDE IS JUST THE WATER USAGE OF THE DATA CENTER, THE TWO PARTS COMBINED. BUT BEYOND THAT, THERE IS ALSO INDIRECT WATER USE. SO EVEN IF THERE [00:20:01] IS A DATA CENTER, THEY HAVE EXACTLY THE SAME DESIGN ON PREMISE. DEPENDING ON WHERE THEY GETTING THEIR POWER, THEY COULD HAVE A DIFFERENT WATER FOOTPRINT BECAUSE DEPENDS IF YOU'RE USING HOW MUCH RENEWABLE VERSUS, UH, FOSSIL. SO THESE ARE THE POINTS THAT WE COVER IN THE PUBLICATION, TRYING TO HELP TO EDUCATE EVERYONE AND GET EVERYBODY ON THE SAME PAGE. UM, AND BESIDES THAT, I WILL ENCOURAGE YOU GUYS TO CHECK OUT THAT PAPER BECAUSE WE ALSO HAVE, UM, WORKED WITH TEXAS WATER DEVON BOARD, UM, COLLEAGUES TO HELP TO USE WATER STATE WATER PLAN, UH, TO USE SOME OF THE MAP TO SHOW WHAT IS A LOCALIZED WATER STRESS LEVEL, UH, WHICH AGAINST, UH, DATA CENTER DEVELOPMENT. THE LAST, UH, YOU KNOW, SECOND LAST PILLAR IS AN ONSITE GENERATION, WHICH IS A VERY IMPORTANT TOPIC AND IS ONE OF THE ONES THAT IS REALLY MAJOR ROADBLOCK FOR DATA CENTERS DEVELOPERS. THE KEY REASON IS REALLY BECAUSE ERCOT RIGHT NOW HAS SUCH A LONG WAITING LIST, AND MOST OF THE DATA CENTER DEVELOPERS, IF THEY HAVE THEIR OWN OPTIONS, THEY WILL ALSO DEVELOP ONSITE GENERATION OPTIONS WHILE WAITING FOR THE GRID CONNECTION. SO SOMETIMES THEY WOULD, MOST OF THE TIME WHAT WE SEE IS THEY WILL PURSUE BOTH OPTIONS. THE LAST ONE I WANNA SPEND A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME IS ON COMMUNITY. UM, SO, WHICH IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM REST OF MY RESEARCH PROGRAMS AT THE INSTITUTE, COMPASS HAS, UM, YOU KNOW, REALLY ESTABLISHED ITSELF, UM, TO INTERACT DIRECTLY WITH COMMUNITY. AND THE REASON WHY IS WE REALIZED, ESPECIALLY AFTER, YOU KNOW, LAST YEAR WHEN WE PUT OUR WHITE PAPER, WE GOT A LOT OF DIRECT REQUESTS FROM THE COMMUNITY ACROSS TEXAS TO ASK US FOR HELP AND SUPPORT. AND WE REALIZE AFTER, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE MONTHS, WE CAN SEE THAT COMMUNITY ACCEPTANCE AND ENGAGEMENT IS NO LONGER A NICE PR FOR DATA CENTER DEVELOPMENT. AND WE HAVE BEEN TELLING THEM THIS IS FINANCIALLY IMPERATIVE, UM, THAT FOR THE, YOU KNOW, THE INDUSTRY AS WELL AS COMMUNITY TO HAVE EQUAL ACCESS TO KNOWLEDGE AND DATA FOR THEM TO MAKE THE BEST DECISION. SO ONE POINT I WANT TO SAY IS ON THIS SLIDE, I LISTED ALL THE, YOU KNOW, COMMON COMMUNITY QUESTIONS THAT WE CAME ACROSS THAT YOU CAN SEE FROM EVERY COMMUNITY'S DIFFERENT. EVERYBODY HAS DIFFERENT TYPE OF QUESTIONS, BUT A LOT OF THEM, WHAT WE ALWAYS SAY IS, AS A INSTITUTE, WE'RE NOT ADVOCATE OR OBJECT ANY PROJECTS OR WE ARE NOT TELLING ANY COMMUNITY WHAT THEY SHOULD CHOOSE. OUR ROLE IS TO EDUCATE AND DOING RESEARCH. OUR ROLE IS TO PROVIDE AND BRIDGE THE KNOWLEDGE GAP. WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO HAPPEN IS EVERYBODY WILL GO THROUGH A FASTER AND CLEAR PROCESS. EITHER IS A FAST NO, IT DOESN'T WORK, OR IS A YES, RIGHT? BUT EITHER WAY IS BUILD ON TRUST AND THE SOLID DATA. SO THAT IS REALLY OUR GOAL. AND WITH THAT, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE, MY LAST SLIDES IS BECAUSE OF THAT, WE ACTUALLY ARE, I WANTED TO JUST KIND OF, UM, UH, INFORM THIS, UM, GROUP AS, 'CAUSE WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS IS AS WE ARE TALKING TO A LOT OF COMMUNITY, WE REALIZE THERE IS SUCH A KNOWLEDGE GAP. WE ARE ACTUALLY, UM, DOING A COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP WORKSHOP ON THE JJP CO CAMPUS, UH, ON OUR OWN CAMPUS TO PROVIDE, UM, COMMUNITY TRAINING. THESE ARE FOR THE ROLES OF CITY MANAGERS, PLANNERS, UH, OR ECONOMICS DEVELOPMENT, UH, YOU KNOW, TEAMS, CITY COUNCILS, WHAT WE CALL OUR CITY TEAMS AT WHO ARE AT THE FRONT LINE EITHER DEALING WITH THE PUBLIC AS WELL AS THE, YOU KNOW, THE PROJECT. SO WE REALLY LIKE TO HELP, UM, THOSE, UH, TEAMS TO HAVE THE SOLID AND, UH, CONFIDENCE OF WHAT DEALING WITH WHAT, UH, YOU KNOW, WITH DIFFERENT PROJECT AND IT MAKES THE RIGHT DECISION. UM, SO THAT IS, THAT'S ALL I HAVE TODAY. AND IN THE END, THIS IS A QR CODE FOR OUR WEBSITE. THESE ARE THE, SOME OF THE, YOU KNOW, SELECTION OF OUR WHITE PAPERS THAT I MENTIONED IN MY PRESENTATION. SO THANK YOU. WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH DR. LIN. UM, I'LL, UH, ASK THE FIRST QUESTION. I'LL OPEN IT UP TO, UH, SOME OF THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS. I AM CURIOUS, UH, ARE THERE ANY OTHER STATES, UH, THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, REALLY IMPLEMENTING THIS MODEL OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, UM, UH, UH, KNOWLEDGE SHARING, UM, GATHERING DATA REALLY WELL THAT SORT YOU, YOU'VE KIND OF LIKE MODELED OR IS TEXAS IN IN THE WORK THAT, THAT YOU'RE DOING SORT OF THE TRAILBLAZER? UH, I WILL, I WILL SHARE WHAT I KNOW, RIGHT? AND I THINK THAT MY TEAM CAN JUMP IN AND, UH, TALK. WE, WE ACTUALLY HAVE NOT COME ACROSS ANYONE HAVE DONE WHAT WE HAVE DONE. BUT THE REASON I SAY THAT IS BECAUSE, 'CAUSE WE, WE, WE DO TALK TO OTHER STATES, BUT ALSO OFTEN WHEN WE ARE PRESENTING THIS ON NATIONAL OR TO OTHER STATES, THE VERY FIRST QUESTION THEY ASK [00:25:01] IS, ARE YOU DOING OUR STATES ? SO I THINK THAT FROM THAT RESPONSE, I THINK THAT, UH, WE ARE PROBABLY ONE OF THE FIRST ONE. AND, UH, QUITE FRANKLY, WE WORK WITH SOME OF THE DEVELOPERS IN CENTRAL TEXAS, AND THEY ALSO TOLD US, YOU KNOW, IF WE CAN PULL THIS OFF, IT'LL BE GREAT BECAUSE THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, UM, IT WOULD REALLY BENEFIT A LOT OF COMMUNITIES. SO WE'RE TRYING TO DO AS FAST AS WE CAN BECAUSE, UH, THE, I THINK EVERYBODY KNOW THAT THE COMMUNITY'S IN GREAT NEEDS OF, UH, YOU KNOW, SOLID KNOWLEDGE. SO, YEAH. WELL, YEAH, THANK YOU FOR THAT AND FOR BEING THE TRAILBLAZER. IT'S, IT'S SPECIAL TO KNOW THAT THIS IS HAPPENING RIGHT HERE IN OUR BACKYARD. UH, WANTED TO WANT TO OPEN IT UP TO OTHER COMMISSIONERS MAYBE IN THE ROOM FIRST. GO AHEAD, COMMISSIONER. HERITAGE, I JUST HAD A QUESTION. I THINK, UM, GOING BACK TO YOUR PILLAR TWO SLIDE THAT HAD THE PERMITTING PROCEDURES FOR SETTING UP DATA CENTERS MM-HMM . YOU HAD IT SORT OF LINEARLY SPACED OUT WITH I THINK THE, UM, TECQ AND KIND OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STUDIES ON THE FRONT PIECE AND ZONING, I THINK ON THE FRONT END WITH THE, OR CUT INTERCONNECTION SOMEWHAT SORT OF MIDWAY THROUGH. WHAT WOULD YOU SAY THE LONGEST PULL IN THE TENT FROM THAT PILLAR TWO IS, NO PUN INTENDED, . YEAH, SO I WOULD TRY TO ANSWER, AND I ALSO HAVE SHIPRA WHO IS REALLY THE LEAD AUTHOR ON THIS. UM, I WOULD SAY THAT WHEN YOU SAY IT'S LINEAR, I, I BELIEVE THAT WHEN WE SET THAT UP, VISUAL IS LINEAR, BUT ACTUALLY WHEN IT HAPPENED, IT'S NOT NECESSARY. SO, SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S ONE THING WE PROBABLY SHOULD DO IT IN A CIRCLE OR SOMETHING, BUT THE LONGEST ONE AT THE TIME IS REALLY THE INTERCONNECTION THAT IS BY FAR THE LONGEST. YEAH. SO, SHIPRA, DO YOU HAVE ANY TWO CHARMING AND A YES. UM, I, I CAN JUST QUICKLY JUMP IN. WE ACTUALLY DO NOT HAVE IT LINEAR IN OUR MM-HMM . FORMATTING WHITE PAPER. IT'S ACTUALLY CIRCULAR BECAUSE THIS JUST LOOKED BETTER GRAPHICALLY. BUT OTHERWISE, A LOT OF THESE PROCESS REALLY START TOGETHER. IT'S NOT NECESSARILY IN THAT ORDER. UM, BUT NING IS CORRECT THE LONGEST, UH, AND THE, THE MOST IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION IS POWER INTERCONNECTION. AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT IS TAKING A LONG TIME RIGHT NOW BECAUSE OF HOW, HOW OVERWHELMED THE UTILITIES ARE, HOW WHEN THE AIR CODE IS, THEY ARE, UH, HOWEVER, IN THE MIDDLE OF, UH, ALMOST FINALIZING THE BAD STUDY PROCESS AND WITH THE HOPE THAT, UH, THE TIME THAT IT TAKES FOR THESE LARGE LOADS TO INTERCONNECT TO THE GRID REDUCES, WHICH WITH THE NEW BAD STUDY PROCESS. SO FOR NOW, I THINK POWER INTERCONNECTION IS SOMETHING THAT TAKES THE LONGEST. UH, NEXT IN LINE WOULD BE AIR PERMIT MADE, BUT ONLY IF IT'S IN A NON-ATTAINMENT ZONE, WHICH REQUIRES A NEW SOURCE REVIEW. AND, UH, THAT REQUIRES A PUBLIC NOTICE. IF THERE'S A PUBLIC CONTENTION, THEN IT ALSO REQUIRES A PUBLIC HEARING. SO SOMETIMES, IDEALLY THAT PROCESS IS BETWEEN SIX TO NINE MONTHS, BUT SOMETIMES THAT CAN TAKE AS LONG AS 18 MONTHS AS WELL. BUT THAT'S ONLY FOR NON-ATTAINMENT ZONES. OKAY. WELL, I DO NEED TO MOVE US FORWARD NOW THAT WE HAVE THE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF, UH, COMMISSIONERS. UH, BUT THANK YOU DR. LYNN, FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. WE'LL, WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO ENGAGING WITH YOU AND, UM, AND, UH, AND HAVING THAT TOUR OF, UM, YES, THE FACILITY, THE TOUR. YEAH. YEAH. YEAH. SO THANK YOU. YEAH, THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, SO WITH THAT, I'M [7. Presentation and Approval of the Artificial Intelligence and Public Surveillance working groups recommendation on data centers ] GONNA MOVE US TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER SEVEN, AND THAT'S PRESENTATION AND APPROVAL OF THE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE WORKING GROUP AND PUBLIC SURVEILLANCE WORKING GROUP'S RECOMMENDATION ON DATA CENTERS. UH, WE DO HAVE AT LEAST ONE SPEAKER SIGNED UP. I DON'T KNOW IF ANYONE IS ONLINE. UM, I SEE NEHA IS IS ONLINE, BUT, UM, KEVIN, UH, WELSH IS IN THE ROOM. SO I'LL GO AHEAD AND LET HIM, UH, ADDRESS THE COMMISSION FIRST ON THIS ITEM. AND, UH, I BELIEVE YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES. UM, ALL RIGHT. UM, DEAR MEMBERS, THE TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION, AS MUCH AS YOU KNOW ME AT THIS POINT, I'LL DISPENSE WITH ANY LONG INTRODUCTION AND JUST SAY THAT I AM KEVIN WELCH, CURRENT PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD AT EFF AUSTIN, AND THAT I'VE COME TO SPEAK ON YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING DATA CENTER DEVELOPMENT, BOTH IN THE CAPACITY OF REPRESENTING EFF AUSTIN AND IN MY CAPACITY AS A PRIVATE CITIZEN. OVERALL, I THINK THESE RECOMMENDATIONS, WHICH BUILD ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION ALL REPRESENT GOOD IDEAS AND SUGGESTIONS. WHILE I HAVE A COUPLE OF SUGGESTIONS REGARDING POTENTIAL CHANGES AND IMPROVEMENTS TO THESE, UM, TO THESE SUGGESTIONS, I THINK THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE I WOULD HIGHLIGHT IS THE NEED FOR COUNCIL TO MAKE SURE THAT ANY RULES AND REGULATIONS THEY PASS HAVE REAL TEETH WHEN IT COMES TO VIOLATING THESE POLICIES. WE MUST REMEMBER THAT IF THERE ARE NOT FINES OF SUFFICIENT MAGNITUDE TO CONSTITUTE AN EXISTENTIAL RISK TO ANY COMPANY BUILDING OR RUNNING A DATA CENTER FINES, WHICH WILL COST MORE THAN THE MONEY THAT WILL BE SAVED, OR THE PROFITS THAT WILL BE CREATED BY VIOLATING OUR REGULATIONS, THEN VIOLATING OUR REGULATIONS AND PAYING THESE FINES WILL [00:30:01] MERELY BE SEEN AS THE COST OF DOING BUSINESS BY THESE DATA CENTER COMPANIES. WE'VE ALREADY SEEN NUMEROUS EXAMPLES, BOTH LOCALLY AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY WHERE DATA CENTERS HAVE VIOLATED LOCAL RULES, AND SO FAR FACED A LITTLE IN THE WAY OF CONSEQUENCES. A $16 BILLION STARGATE AI DE CENTER WAS VOTED DOWN BY LOCAL RESIDENTS IN MICHIGAN. THE DEVELOPERS SUED ALLEGING EXCLUSIONARY ZONING AND CONSTRUCTION ON THE DATA CENTER BEGAN ANYWAY. AND IN FAYETTEVILLE, GEORGIA, RESIDENTS NOTICED LOW WATER PRESSURE AND DISCOVERED THAT A DATA CENTER CONSTRUCTED BY QUALITY TECHNOLOGY SERVICES HAD USED OVER 29 MILLION GALLONS OF ADDITIONAL WATER BEYOND WHICH THEY HAD REPORTED AND BEEN BILLED FOR. AS HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED BY THE RECENT PASSAGE OF THE TRUST ACT, THE CITY'S ATTITUDES TOWARDS COMPANIES WHO WANNA DO BUSINESS IN OUR AREA SHOULD NOT BE ONE OF BLIND TRUST. IT SHOULD BE ASSUMED THAT WHEN THIS AMOUNT OF MONEY IS ON THE LINE, COMPANIES CAN AND WILL LIE TO THE CITY. THE ONLY WAY TO MAKE IT IN THEIR SELF-INTEREST, TO BE HONEST WITH US, IS TO MAKE THE CONSEQUENCES OF VIOLATIONS MORE FINANCIALLY PAINFUL THAN A OBEYING OUR RULES. FURTHERMORE, WHILE THERE IS AN ARGUMENT THAT DATA CENTERS SHOULD BE SEEN AS A FORM OF INFRASTRUCTURE, AND THAT THEREFORE OUR REGULATION SHOULD BE NEUTRAL WHEN IT COMES TO THE PURPOSES THAT OTHER COMPANIES WILL USE THE COMPUTE OF THESE DATA CENTERS FOR WHEN WE ARE POTENTIALLY CONSIDERING GIVING TAX BREAKS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THESE CENTERS, I THINK IT VERY MUCH BECOMES OUR BUSINESS THAT WHAT THESE DATA CENTERS ARE USED FOR SHOULD NOT BE FOR PURPOSES THAT GO AGAINST AUSTIN'S VALUES. AUSTIN HAS BEEN A LEADER IN ESTABLISHING RULES AROUND MASS SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGIES. I THINK IT'S MORE THAN FAIR THAT WE MANDATE THAT ANY DATA CENTERS THAT RECEIVE TAX BREAKS FROM OUR CITY SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO OPEN CONTRACTS WITH OTHER COMPANIES TO ALLOW FOR THE USE OF THEIR COMPUTE FOR SURVEILLANCE PURPOSES. FINALLY, ALL THIS COMPUTE WILL BE GREAT FOR THE AMAZON'S AND GOOGLES AND MICROSOFTS OF THE WORLD, BUT I ARGUE THAT AI WILL ONLY TRULY ACHIEVE ITS POTENTIAL FOR THE AVERAGE CITIZEN IF THIS COMPUTE CAN BE HARNESSED BY INDIVIDUALS WITHOUT NEEDING COMPANIES LIKE OPEN AI OR ANTHROPIC TO ACT AS COMPUTE MIDDLEMEN. THUS, I WOULD URGE THE TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION TO EXPLORE SUGGESTIONS FOR COUNCIL ON WAYS IN WHICH TO PROMOTE AND FACILITATE INDIVIDUALS WHO MAY BE SELF-HOSTING THEIR OWN MODELS ON THEIR PERSONAL COMPUTERS OR VPSS WITH TOOLS LIKE AAMA TO BE ABLE TO DIRECTLY REQUEST ADDITIONAL COMPUTE FROM DATA CENTERS DIRECTLY. THE MAIN POWER THAT COMPANIES LIKE OPEN AI ANDRO HAVE IS IN THEIR MONOPOLY OVER COMPUTE. A MONOPOLY IS SO STRONG THAT IT IS SKYROCKETING. THE CONSUMER COSTS FOR THINGS LIKE GPUS AND RAM ORDINARY DECISION SHOULD BE ABLE TO ACCESS DATA CENTER COMPUTE WITHOUT HAVING TO USE THESE COST AND MIDDLEMEN AS BROKERS IF THEY SO CHOOSE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU, KEVIN. APPRECIATE YOUR TIME. AND FOR YOUR, UH, ATTENDANCE IN PERSON, I DO SEE NEHA SHAH IS ONLINE. NEHA, WOULD YOU LIKE TO COME ON SCREEN? OKAY. NEHA, WE'RE NOT SEEING YOU OR HEARING YOU. OKAY. WELL, WHILE SHE IS TROUBLESHOOTING, LET'S GO AHEAD AND START, UH, DISCUSSION ON THE ITEM. UH, COMMISSIONER PREVI, YOU WERE THE PRIMARY AUTHOR ON THE ITEM, SO WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO, UH, TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE PROCESS THAT THE WORKING GROUP WENT THROUGH, UM, AS WE AUTHORED, UH, THAT ITEM AND, UH, COMMISSIONER HERITAGE WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO CHIME IN AS, AS WELL. GREAT. UM, YEAH, WE ALL GOT TOGETHER. IT WAS THE PREVIOUS AI WORKING GROUP, AND WE ALSO HAD A MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC, ALEJANDRA THOMAS, WHO MIGHT BE ALSO LISTENING IN. UM, SHE WAS VERY HELPFUL IN GETTING, UM, A LOT OF THIS RESEARCH DONE AND KIND OF FORMING THE, THE CORE OF THE RECOMMENDATION. UM, AND THEN COMMISSIONER HERITAGE WAS EXTREMELY HELPFUL WITH SOME OVERALL EDITS. UM, YEAH, WE, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE ALIGNING WITH THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION'S RECOMMENDATIONS, AND WE HAD SOME SPECIFIC EXAMPLES IN HERE, UM, SOME LINKS WE DID SPEAK WITH COMPASS PREVIOUSLY, AND WE DID INCLUDE THEM NOW AS A, UM, SOMEONE THAT WE, WE SHOULD BE WORKING WITH IN THE FUTURE. UM, ANYTHING ELSE TO ADD COMMISSIONER HERITAGE? I MEAN, I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS WE WANTED TO DO IS WE LAID THIS OUT AS NUMBER ONE, WE CAN'T BOIL A NOTION IN A RECOMMENDATION. SO I THINK THERE'S PROBABLY A NUMBER OF THINGS THAT, UM, ESPECIALLY WITH PUBLIC TESTIMONY WE NEED TO TAKE FORWARD, UM, EITHER IN THIS RECOMMENDATION OR IN ADDITIONAL ITERATIONS. UM, BUT WE TRIED TO LAY OUT INITIALLY THAT NOT ALL DATA CENTERS ARE THE SAME, SO JUST TRYING TO DELINEATE A LITTLE BIT OF MM-HMM . KIND OF WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. UM, TAKING SOME LESSONS LEARNED. I KNOW THERE WAS, UH, A LOT OF WORK AROUND, UM, HIGHLIGHTING SOME OTHER COMMUNITIES AND WORK THAT THEY'VE DONE AROUND, UH, MANAGING, UH, DATA CENTER DEVELOPMENT IN THEIR COMMUNITY. SO WE LISTED A NUMBER OF THOSE THINGS THERE. UM, AND THEN ALSO JUST THINKING ABOUT THE TOOLS IN THE TOOL BELT THAT COUNCIL MAY HAVE AVAILABLE TO, AGAIN, MANAGING THE APPROPRIATE GROWTH, UM, OR WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE. SO, UM, THINGS LIKE COMMUNITY BENEFIT AGREEMENTS, THINGS LIKE WORKING WITH, UH, INSTITUTES WHO ARE BRINGING TOGETHER, [00:35:01] UH, RESEARCH AND CONSORTIUM IN OTHER CITIES AS WELL. UM, SO AS A POINT OF REFERENCE, WE JUST HAD OUR GUEST SPEAKER EARLIER FROM COMPASS, UM, AND THEN THINKING A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT TOOLS ON THE TOOL BELT AS IT RELATES TO TAX ABATEMENT, APPROPRIATE TAX ABATEMENT AND LIMITS, UM, ON THAT AS WELL. SO I THINK THOSE ARE SOME OF THE, AND THEN COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS WHEN IT COMES TO WORKFORCE, ONE OF THE THINGS WE REALLY TRIED TO LAY OUT WAS HOW DO WE FUND SOME OF THIS WORK? I KNOW THERE ARE OTHER INITIATIVES THAT, FROM A ZONING LENS ON A DENSITY BONUS PERSPECTIVE, WE THINK ABOUT WITH HOUSING. UM, AND MULTI-USE, WELL KIND OF BEG BORROWING AND STEALING FROM THAT TO APPLY HERE FOR THINGS LIKE WORKFORCE AND TECHNOLOGY PARTNERSHIPS AS WELL. SO, UM, I THINK, YEAH, I THINK THAT'S SORT OF THE, THE SPIRIT WITH WHICH WE TOOK THIS APPROACH AND PROBABLY A LOT MORE THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO REFINE FOR FUTURE. YEAH, I THINK THAT IN TERMS OF NOW MAYBE MAKING SOME AMENDMENTS, UM, KEVIN, WHO JUST BROUGHT UP, UM, SPECIFICALLY THE, THE NOTE ABOUT THE FINES, I THINK THAT WOULD BE GREAT TO PUT IN, UM, IN THE THIRD TO LAST SECTION HERE WHERE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE TAX ABATEMENTS. MAYBE WE CAN ADD IT IN AS LIKE F THERE, IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT TAX ABATEMENTS. UM, IF SOMEONE HAS A BETTER IDEA OF WHERE WE CAN ADD THAT NOTE ABOUT THE FINES, UM, AND WE COULD SAY SOMETHING LIKE, RULES, FINES OF SUFFICIENT MAGNITUDE. UM, HAPPY TO ELABORATE ON THAT. SO IF I'M UNDERSTANDING YOU CORRECTLY, SO, UH, THAT LAST PARAGRAPH WITH, UM, IT STARTS OUT, THE CITY OF AUSTIN SHOULD CAP ANY LOCAL TAX ABATEMENTS, ET CETERA, ET CETERA. MM-HMM . SO THERE WOULD BE A NEW ITEM, UH, ITEM F UH, THAT WOULD READ RULES AND FI FINES OF SIGNIFICANT MAGNITUDE. YES. OKAY. JUST WANNA MAKE SURE DAN CAPTURES THAT. OKAY. UM, ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION ON THAT AMENDMENT? ANYONE ELSE? IF ANYONE ELSE HAS A SUGGEST SUGGESTION ON THE WORDING? NOT SEEING ANYTHING, I JUST WANTED IT, UM, SO I DO HAVE AN AMENDMENT MM-HMM . AS WELL. UM, SO PERHAPS LET ME ADD MINE AND THEN WE CAN VOTE ON BOTH OF THEM TOGETHER. I ALSO THINK I WOULD LIKE TO PROPOSE AN AMENDMENT, UM, WITH THE WATER USAGE AND THE TIERED BLOCK RATES. UM, I GENERALLY DISAGREE WITH THE PHILOSOPHY THAT DATA CENTERS AS A SINGLE INDUSTRY SHOULD BE SINGLED OUT FOR, FOR WATER PRICING OR ANYTHING BECAUSE THEY HAVE THE SAME USE CASE AS OTHER LARGE COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL USERS. AND SO I THINK IF YOU'RE MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT WATER USAGE, IT SHOULD BE TIED TO GENERAL USAGE INSTEAD OF SINGLING OUT A SINGLE INDUSTRY THAT HAS THE SAME EQUIVALENT USAGE OF SAY, LIKE MANUFACTURING OR SOMETHING LIKE. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? YES, IT DOES MAKE SENSE. UM, I'M HAPPY TO TAKE OUT SOME OF THIS SPECIFIC DETAIL ON THAT ONE. I THINK ME AND COMMISSIONER HERITAGE WERE ALREADY TALKING ABOUT MAYBE MAKING THAT ONE A LITTLE BROADER. UM, MM-HMM . DO YOU HAVE A SPECIFIC, UM, ASK THERE? SO DO, WOULD YOU TAKE OUT THE, I GUESS FROM B AND THROUGH D? UH, YEAH, THAT'S, THAT IS PROBABLY WHAT I WOULD RECOMMEND, UM, JUST BECAUSE IF YOU'RE IT, I, I DON'T THINK IT, LIKE, I THINK IF YOU'RE GONNA MAKE A RECOMMENDATION ABOUT WATER USAGE, IT SHOULD APPLY TO ALL LIKE INDUSTRIAL COMMERCIAL USERS VERSUS JUST SINGLING OUT ONE SPECIFIC INDUSTRY. SO PROBABLY THAT'S PROBABLY THE CLEANEST WAY TO DO IT. OKAY. I, I THINK I AGREE WITH THAT BECAUSE IF WE'RE DOING IT FOR, UM, I GUESS MULTIPLE OR DIFFERENT PLAYERS AS A WHOLE, IT WOULDN'T QUITE FIT INTO THIS RECOMMENDATION. HMM. THAT'S MY GENERAL THOUGHT. HOW DOES EVERYONE FEEL ABOUT THAT? SO YOU'RE SAYING JUST REMOVE B, IS THAT CORRECT? REMOVE B THROUGH D. 'CAUSE I THINK THEY ALL, UM, SINGLE OUT DATA CENTERS. WELL, D IS DIFFERENT AND IT'S NOT WATER RELATED THOUGH. D IS ABOUT, UH, RENEWABLE ENERGY [00:40:01] GENERATION. THAT ONE I DEFINITELY SUPPORT, SO OKAY. YEAH. D THROUGH D UP TO D. UP TO D. OKAY. GREAT. TO D. SO WE'LL TAKE OUT B AND C AND THEN WE'LL SAY, ADDITIONALLY, A REQUIRE DISCLOSURE OF PROJECTED AND ACTUAL WATER USE FOR LARGE SCALE DATA CENTER FACILITIES, AND B, REQUIRE AT LEAST 50% OF GRID CONSUMPTION, OFFSET, DOT, DOT, DO, AND THEN THE ADDITIONAL, WELL, IT WAS IN DIFFERENT PARAGRAPH, SO MM-HMM . OKAY. I THINK THAT WE'RE GOOD WITH THIS ONE NOW. YEAH. SO I THINK WE'RE, WE'RE GOOD WITH THAT ONE. UM, THERE'S THE EDIT IN THE PARAGRAPH, UH, FURTHER DOWN, HOPEFULLY DAN'S TRACKING. UM, I DO HAVE AN AMENDMENT AS WELL, SO, UH, AS A NEW NOW AS ANOTHER, NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, UH, PARAGRAPH, UM, I THINK JUST BEING CLEAN AND, UH, APPEND IT TO THE END. AND I DID SEND DAN, UH, THIS TEXT DIRECTLY, BUT I'M JUST GONNA READ IT INTO THE RECORD. UM, BUT JUST TO GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND, UH, MY CONCERN IS ABOUT STRANDED ASSETS. SO, UM, EITHER, UH, UH, FACILITIES THAT ARE EITHER NOT COMPLETED OR, UH, OR ABANDONED OR, UH, HAVE MINIMAL USAGE AFTER A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME, UM, I'VE HEARD THAT BE A CONCERN. UM, BUT, UH, GENERALLY I'VE, I'VE PERSONALLY SEEN IT IN RESIDENTIAL AND, AND COMMERCIAL, SO I, I, I THINK THAT THIS COULD APPLY AS WELL, BUT I'LL READ, I'LL READ IT INTO THE RECORD AND HAPPY TO GET Y'ALL'S FEEDBACK. SO, UM, AGAIN, AT THE VERY END, IT WOULD READ NOW THEREFORE BE RESOLVED, THAT TO MITIGATE THE STRANDED ASSET RISK, THE TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THE CITY OF AUSTIN REQUIRED DATA CENTER DEVELOPERS TO POST A DECOMMISSIONING BOND AS A CONDITION OF PROJECT APPROVAL OR INCENTIVE AGREEMENT IN THE AMOUNT COMMENSURATE WITH THE PROJECTED COST OF SITE REMEDIATION, COMMUNITY IMPACT MITIGATION, AND THE TOTAL COST OF DEMO OF DEMOLITION OR SECURING THE SITE. THE BOND SHOULD BE TRIGGERED UPON ANY OPERATIONAL ABANDONMENT DEFINED AS 12 CONSECUTIVE MONTHS DURING A FACILITY FAILS TO MAINTAIN AT LEAST 20% OF ITS PROJECTED UTILITY LOAD, OR 20% OF ITS COMMITTED STAFFING LEVELS AS VERIFIED BY ANNUAL INDEPENDENT AUDITS OUTLINED EARLIER. AND IN THE EVENT OF SUCH ABANDONMENT OR FISCAL INSOLVENCY, THE BOND PROCEEDS SHOULD BE REDIRECTED TO A LOCALLY CERTIFIED COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL INSTITUTION, A-C-D-F-I TO FUND DIGITAL EQUITY WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT OR NEIGHBORHOOD LEVEL, UH, ECONOMIC REVIT REVITALIZATION PROJECTS WITHIN THE CITY OF AUSTIN. GREAT. I LIKE IT. AND GREAT, GREAT GOLD STAR , IS THAT, SORRY, JUST TO CLARIFY, IS DID YOU SAY THAT WAS THE LAST PARAGRAPH, OR WAS IT IT WOULD BE APPENDED AT THE VERY END. YEAH, APPENDED AT THE VERY END. GOT IT. YEAH. YEAH. STEVEN, CAN YOU READ IT SLOWLY? SURE. UM, NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT TO MITIGATE THE STRANDED ASSET RISK, THE TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THE CITY OF AUSTIN REQUIRED DATA CENTER DEVELOPERS TO POST A DECOMMISSIONING BOND AS A CONDITION OF PROJECT APPROVAL OR INCENTIVE AGREEMENT IN THE AMOUNT COMMENSURATE WITH THE PROJECT PROJECTED COST OF SITE OPERATION. WHOOPS. JUST LOST IT. OF SITE REMEDIATION, COMMUNITY IMPACT MITIGATION, AND TOTAL COST OF DEMOLITION. AND JUST TEXTED IT TO YOU, COMMISSIONER OR SECURING THE SITE. THE BOND SHOULD BE TRIGGERED UPON OPERATIONAL ABANDONMENT DEFINED AS 12 CONSECUTIVE MONTHS DURING WHICH A FACILITY FAILS TO MAINTAIN AT LEAST 20% OF ITS PROJECTED UTILITY LOAD, OR 20% OF ITS COMMITTED STAFFING LEVELS AS VERIFIED BY AN ANNUAL INDEPENDENT AUDIT DEFINED EARLIER. AND THEN THE EVENT OF SUCH AN ABANDONMENT OR FISCAL INSOLVENCY, THE BOND PROCEEDS SHOULD BE REDIRECTED TO A LOCALLY CERTIFIED COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL INSTITUTION, CDFI TO FUND DIGITAL EQUITY WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, OR NEIGHBORHOOD LEVEL ECONOMIC REVITAL REVITALIZATION PROJECTS WITHIN THE CITY OF AUSTIN. SO JUST UNDERSTAND THE MECHANISM THERE. YOU'RE SAYING THAT IF THEY BECAME INSOLVENT, THE MONEY WOULD GO TO THE CDFI BUT NOT BE USED TO ACTUALLY DECOMMISSION THE SITE. RIGHT. OKAY. YEAH. ANY EDITS? I'M GOOD WITH THAT. OKAY. UM, LET'S GO AHEAD AND VOTE ON THE AMENDMENTS, AND THEN I SAW NEHA [00:45:01] COME ON AND WE COULD HAVE HER PROVIDE HER TESTIMONY BEFORE WE ACTUALLY VOTE. UM, SO IF SHE COULD JUST COME BACK ON, UM, IS THERE A MOTION TO, UH, ADD IN THE AMENDMENTS AS DESCRIBED? MOTION TO ADD IN THE AMENDMENTS AS DESCRIBED? SECOND. SECOND. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF ADOPTING THE AMENDMENTS AS OUTLINED? PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND, SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. OKAY. UH, I THINK, UH, WE ARE ALL IN FAVOR AND, UM, SO WE HAVE THAT COMPLETED. AND I'LL JUST GIVE NEHA ANOTHER 30 SECONDS OR SO TO COME ON. I WANNA MAKE SURE SHE HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE TESTIMONY BEFORE WE VOTE ON THE RECOMMENDATION. YEAH, I THINK YOU CAN HEAR ME. I'M NOT SURE WHAT HAPPENED TO MY CAMERA AGAIN. YEP. WE CAN HEAR YOU NEHA. MAYBE I'LL JUST PROCEED. I THINK YOU SAW MY FACE FOR A SPLIT SECOND THERE. UM, IS IT OKAY FOR ME TO PROCEED NOW? YES, PLEASE PROCEED. ALL RIGHT. WE'LL, THREE MINUTES. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE A STATEMENT ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS ON DATA CENTERS FOR AUSTIN. UM, MY NAME IS NEHA SHA, AND I'M SPEAKING TO YOU AS A PRIVATE INDIVIDUAL WHO GREW UP IN A TECH FAMILY. I'VE BEEN CODING SINCE MY DAD HANDED ME OUR FAMILY COMPUTER. I'VE SPENT MY CAREER BELIEVING TECHNOLOGY SHOULD BE AN EQUALIZER AS BOTH A CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE LOBBYIST IN WASHINGTON DC AND AS A STARTUP AND SOFTWARE TECH PROFESSIONAL. I AM PRO INNOVATION. I'M ALSO SOMEONE WHO'S WATCHED THIS INDUSTRY EVOLVE AND CHANGE LONG ENOUGH TO KNOW WE CANNOT AND SHOULD NOT ASSUME GOOD FAITH. THE RECOMMENDATIONS PUT TOGETHER BY THIS COMMISSION TAKES MANY IMPORTANT STEPS. I WANT TO PUSH THE COMMISSION AND THE COUNCIL FURTHER IN THREE WAYS. FIRST, TRANSPARENCY. THESE COMPANIES HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO HIDE WHO THEY ACTUALLY ARE AND WHAT THE INFRASTRUCTURE WILL BE USED FOR WHEN NEGOTIATING WITH STATES AND CITIES. AUSTIN MUST REQUIRE FULL DISCLOSURE OF THE ACTUAL PARENT COMPANY AND ANY OTHER ONGOING CONTRACTS BEING NEGOTIATED BEFORE ANY PERMANENT INCENTIVE OR AGREEMENT MOVES FORWARD. SECOND, CLEAR OUTCOMES FOR JOBS. THE CONSTRUCTION JOBS BEING PROMISED ARE LARGELY TEMPORARY, AND THEY'RE NOT FILLING THEM LOCALLY. THESE COMPANIES FLY IN SPECIALIZED CREWS FROM PROJECT TO PROJECT ACROSS THE COUNTRY. AND WHEN THE CONSTRUCTION ENDS, UH, THEY MIGHT EMPLOY AS FEW THREE TO 50 PERMANENT WORKERS ON SITE. THAT IS A VERY THIN RETURN FOR AUSTIN RESIDENTS IN THE NAME OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. AND FINALLY, NUMBER THREE, IRREVERSIBLE ENVIRONMENTAL COSTS. THIS IS ALREADY WELL DOCUMENTED IN THE COMMISSION'S RECOMMENDATIONS. I WILL ADD THAT WHEN FARMLAND IS REZONED TO BE CONVERTED TO A DATA CENTER CAMPUS, WHICH IS WHAT IS HAPPENING IN MANY CASES, THAT CONVERSION IS ESSENTIALLY PERMANENT AND THE LONG-TERM COSTS TO FOOD SECURITY, WATER SUPPLY ARE REAL. AND NO CURRENT TAX REVENUE PROJECTION IS CURRENTLY ACCOUNTING TO THEM. I AM LOOKING AT OTHER COUNTRIES FAMOUS FOR INNOVATION AND GROWTH WHILE PROVIDING CITIZEN SU SOCIALLY SUSTAINABLE LIVING. SO LET'S LOOK AT GERMANY, FOR EXAMPLE. THEY REQUIRED THE DATA CENTERS TO MEET THE 50% RENEWABLE ENERGY THAT Y'ALL ALSO HAVE, BUT THAT IS FROM DAY ONE IN GERMANY, AND THEN SCALING THAT TO OVER TO A HUNDRED PERCENT OVER FIVE TO SEVEN YEARS. AND THEN THEY ALSO HAVE MANDATORY PUBLIC REPORTING BECAUSE THEY CLASSIFY THESE AS CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE THAT USES PUBLIC RESOURCES. SWEDEN HAS IMPLEMENTED BINDING COMMUNITY BENEFIT AGREEMENTS TIED TO WATER ALLOCATION. SINGAPORE HAS GONE FURTHER REQUIRING RIGOROUS EFFICIENCY BENCHMARKS AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENTS BEFORE THE CONSTRUCTION IS APPROVED. AND THEY ALSO HAVE STRICT PENALTIES. AND LET ME REMIND YOU, THESE ARE NOT ANTI-INNOVATION COUNTRIES OR POLICIES. THESE COUNTRIES ARE CONSISTENTLY RANKED AMONG THE MOST TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED IN THE WORLD, AND THEY HAVE SET STRICT STANDARDS THAT INDUSTRY IS FOLLOWING, EVEN IF THEY GRIPE ABOUT IT. I'M GONNA END BY SAYING THERE'S A STORY BEING TOLD HERE IN AUSTIN, IN TEXAS AND THE US THAT THOSE WHO DON'T EMBRACE AI OR INVITE DATA CENTERS OR SUPPORTING INDUSTRIES OR LUDDITES, WHO WILL MISS OUT ON THIS GOLD RUSH OF FIRST CENTURY, PLEASE DON'T LET THAT FEAR OF BEING LEFT BEHIND DRIVE THIS DECISION. AUSTIN HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE A ROLE MODEL FOR THE REST OF THE COUNTRY ON HOW WE MIGHT ENCOURAGE CUTTING EDGE DEVELOPMENT THAT ALSO SUPPORTS LONG-TERM PUBLIC WELLBEING. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANKS SO MUCH, NEHA. AND, UH, SORRY ABOUT THE TECHNICAL ISSUES THERE, , BUT WE APPRECIATE YOU, UH, PUSHING THROUGH. I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY. YEAH, THANKS AGAIN. UM, SO WITH THAT, UM, I THINK WE HAVE OUR AMENDMENTS. WE CAN PUSH THINGS FORWARD FOR A VOTE. IS THERE A MOTION ON THE TABLE TO, UH, ADOPT, UH, THE MODIFIED RECOMMENDATION, UM, AS DISCUSSED MOTION TO ADOPT? IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND. OKAY. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF ADOPTING THE RECOMMENDATION AS DISCUSSED, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND, SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS THERE TOO. THANK YOU. ANYONE AGAINST ANYONE? ANYONE NOT WANNA VOTE? OKAY. DON'T THINK SO. I THINK WE ARE UNANIMOUS. THANK YOU ALL. UH, VERY EXCITED. THANK YOU TO, UH, SEND THIS OVER TO COUNCIL. I JUST WANNA SAY ONE MORE QUICK THING. YES, GO [00:50:01] AHEAD. UM, KEVIN, YOU MADE ANOTHER GREAT POINT ABOUT THE COMPUTE RESOURCES AND WHERE THEY'RE GOING, AND I WANNA MEET WITH YOU ON THAT SEPARATELY ALSO BECAUSE I'M, YEAH, I MEAN, I DON'T NECESSARILY CLAIM I HAVE THE ANSWER RIGHT, BUT I IT'S A GREAT POINT. IT'S A GREAT POINT, YES. OKAY. YEP. THIS IS CERTAINLY NOT THE END. WE'LL CONTINUE TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS AND, UH, ENGAGE, UH, ACTIVE MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC, UM, WHERE IT MAKES SENSE. OKAY. GOING BACK TO OUR, UM, OUR AGENDA AS OUTLINED, WE ARE GONNA SKIP BACK TO, UH, AGENDA ITEM NUMBER [2. Presentation from Google Fiber on their affordable internet options for the city of Austin and surrounding area (John Michael Cortez, Governmental Relations, Google Fiber) ] TWO. DO WE HAVE JOHN MICHAEL CORTEZ ON THE LINE? THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE, JOHN. MICHAEL. YEAH, THAT'S COOL. OH, HERE, LET ME, UH, FIX MY CAMERA. HOLD ON A SECOND. HOW ARE Y'ALL DOING? WE ARE DOING GREAT. YEAH. SORRY, I'M NOT THERE IN PERSON. I JUST GOT BACK INTO TOWN AND, UH, COULDN'T I, I, I, I THOUGHT I WOULD BE EARLIER ON THE AGENDA, SO I DIDN'T THINK I COULD MAKE IT TO CITY HALL ON TIME, BUT, UH, I COULD HAVE. YEAH, WE, WE HAD TO GET CREATIVE AND SKIP AROUND. WELL, UM, LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING, HEARING FROM YOU. UM, OVER TO YOU. YOU HAD THE FLOOR. OKAY. WELL, UH, THANK YOU FOR THE INVITATION. I'LL BE VERY BRIEF AND, UM, AS IS MY HABIT, I ABSOLUTELY DETEST, UH, SLIDE PRESENTATION. SO I'M JUST GONNA TALK IF THAT'S OKAY. UH, AND, UH, FEEL FREE TO INTERRUPT ME IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS. YOU'VE ALREADY HAD A PRETTY MEATY DISCUSSION THUS FAR, AND, UH, YOU HAVE SOME OTHER PRETTY COOL STUFF ON YOUR AGENDA. I WILL SAY, JUST AS A, UH, POINT OF, UH, PERSONAL PRIVILEGE THAT I WAS ON THE VERY FIRST EVALUATION COMMITTEE FOR G OS LIKE A MILLION YEARS AGO, AND I AM SO PLEASED TO SEE IT'S STILL AROUND AND STILL MAKING A BIG IMPACT IN THE COMMUNITY. SO, UH, KUDOS TO THE CITY, UH, AND THE TEAM THERE FOR KEEPING THAT GOING. IT, IT DOES A, IT DOES A LOT OF GOOD. UH, AND SO, UH, UH, IT'S, UH, NOSTALGIC FOR ME TO SEE THAT ON THE AGENDA. UH, WHAT, UH, I'M JOHN MICHAEL WITH, UH, G FIVE. I'M THE HEAD OF GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNITY AFFAIRS, UH, FOR G FIVE HERE IN AUSTIN AND, UH, CENTRAL TEXAS. I ALSO COVER, UH, SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, AND NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE AND HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA. SO, I'M, I'M, UH, TRAVELING AROUND QUITE A BIT, UH, BUT WE'RE STILL DOING SO MANY, UH, THINGS HERE IN CENTRAL TEXAS. I THOUGHT I WOULD JUST GIVE, UH, A BRIEF UPDATE ON OUR PROGRESS AND AS REQUESTED, TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UH, SOME OF OUR PROGRAMS TO ENSURE THAT, UH, SERVICE INTERNET ACCESS IS AFFORDABLE FOR THOSE WHO ARE MOST IN NEED IN OUR COMMUNITY. AND THEN, UH, JUST ANSWER WHATEVER QUESTIONS I, I CAN FROM Y'ALL. UH, AND JUST ONE THING, UH, THAT I WANNA BE SURE TO SAY RIGHT OFF THE BAT. UM, YOU MAY HAVE HEARD, UH, WE HAVE BEEN CALLING OURSELVES G FIBER FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS. WELL, NOW THAT'S OFFICIAL. WE ARE OFFICIALLY G FIBER, UH, FORMERLY KNOWN AS GOOGLE FIBER. UM, WE WILL BE, UH, SEPARATING OUT FROM, UH, THE, UH, FROM OUR PARENT COMPANY CURRENTLY GOOGLE INTO OUR OWN INDEPENDENT COMPANY, UH, HERE IN THE NOT TOO DISTANT FUTURE. SO PLEASE, UH, REFER TO US AS GFI IF YOU CAN, 'CAUSE THAT'S WHO WE ARE. UH, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE'LL, WE'LL STILL RESPOND TO GOOGLE FIBER IF YOU, UH, IF YOU MENTION IT. BUT AN UPDATE ON OUR PROGRESS, UH, HERE IN AUSTIN AND CENTRAL TEXAS. UH, UH, IT'S GOING VERY, VERY WELL. UH, Y'ALL MAY KNOW WE'VE BEEN IN AUSTIN SINCE 2013. IT WAS THE SECOND, UH, CITY WHERE, UH, GOOGLE FIBER, UH, AS WE WERE KNOWN AT THE TIME, COMMITTED TO BUILD OUT OUR FIBER TO THE PREMISE NETWORK, UH, AFTER THE FIRST CITY, WHICH WAS, UH, KANSAS CITY. AND, UH, SINCE THAT TIME, UH, WE'VE BEEN DEPLOYING IN EVERY PART OF THE COMMUNITY AS BROADLY AS WE POSSIBLY CAN. WE ARE VERY, VERY NEARLY DONE BUILDING OUT THE ENTIRETY OF THE CORPORATE LIMITS OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN. WE JUST HAVE A FEW POCKETS LEFT THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH THE CITY TO TRY TO FINISH UP, MAINLY IN WEST AUSTIN AND A BIT IN FAR EAST AUSTIN. THAT, THAT, UH, WE HAVE YET LEFT TO DO FAR EAST AUSTIN, SO EAST OF LIKE THE BERGSTROM EXPRESSWAY. UH, BUT, UH, WE'RE NEARLY DONE, UH, FOR THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS. UH, WE HAVE CONTINUED TO GROW OUTSIDE OF THE CORPORATE LIMITS OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN INTO, UH, THE EXTRA TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION OF THE CITY IN UNINCORPORATED AREAS OF [00:55:01] TRAVIS COUNTY. A LOT OF THOSE FOLKS CONSIDER THEMSELVES IN AUSTIN. THEY HAVE AUSTIN ADDRESSES, SO THEY THINK THEY'RE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN. UH, MANY OF THEM DO, BUT THEY'RE ACTUALLY NOT. BUT WE'VE BEEN BUILDING IN THOSE AREAS. SO THINK OF PLACES LIKE WELLS BRANCH. UH, THINK OF PLACES LIKE THE AREAS AROUND, UH, NORTHWEST AUSTIN UP, UH, 180 3 THAT ARE, UH, ACTUALLY IN WILLIAMSON, UH, IN, UM, EXCUSE ME, IN TRAVIS COUNTY. UM, BUT, UH, ALSO, UH, I THINK WE'RE CURRENTLY BUILDING IN SHADY HOLLOW RIGHT NOW, WHICH IS JUST SOUTH OF THE CITY LIMITS. SO, UH, WE'RE CONTINUING TO GROW THERE. WE'RE NOW GROWING IN WILLIAMSON AND HAYES COUNTY. UH, WE'RE NEARLY DONE BUILDING OUT ALL OF ROUND ROCK AND HAVE, UH, STARTED CONSTRUCTION IN CEDAR PARK. LAKEWAY, UH, WE WILL BE IN KYLE, UH, TEXAS, AND, UH, WE'LL BE SOON BREAKING GROUND IN GEORGETOWN, LEANDER AND, UH, OTHER COMMUNITIES IN TRAVIS WILLIAMSON AND HAYES COUNTY. SO WE'RE GROWING, UH, PRETTY SIGNIFICANTLY. UH, THE COMPANY AND THE SERVICES HAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, AS DEMAND FOR BANDWIDTH HAS CONTINUED TO INCREASE. YOU KNOW, WE ALL HAVE MEETINGS LIKE THIS THAT WE'RE DOING ALL DAY WHERE, UH, DOWNLOAD AND UPLOAD SPEEDS ARE IMPORTANT. BUT OF COURSE, UH, OTHER APPLICATIONS THAT, UH, DEMAND BANDWIDTH, LIKE, UH, YOU KNOW, IF YOU GOT CAMERAS, RING CAMERAS, UH, AND OTHER DOORBELL CAMERAS THAT ARE CONSTANTLY UPLOADING VIDEO INTO THE INTERNET, UH, UH, YOU HAVE THAT NEED. WE'RE ALL STREAMING. UH, OUR TELEVISIONS, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE PHONES, TABLETS FOR SOME REASON. MY, UH, WASHING MACHINE HAS WIFI. I DON'T KNOW WHY, BUT IT, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S USING BANDWIDTH. SO WE HAVE DOZENS OF, OF INTERNET ENABLED DEVICES IN OUR HOMES. SO WE'VE MOVED BEYOND OUR INITIAL OFFERING OF ONE GIGABIT SYMMETRICAL SERVICE, WHICH WAS PRETTY, UH, REVOLUTIONARY AT THE TIME. FOLKS THOUGHT WE WERE KIND OF CRAZY. IT'S LIKE NOBODY NEEDS THAT MUCH BANDWIDTH, BUT NOW EVERYBODY OFFERS IT BECAUSE WE ALL NEED THAT MUCH BANDWIDTH. YOU JUST HAD A CONVERSATION ABOUT, UH, DATA CENTERS AND, AND AI. AND OF COURSE THOSE ARE INCREASING, UH, THE DEMAND FOR BANDWIDTH, UH, AND HOMES AND OFFICES AND BUSINESSES, UH, IN OUR COMMUNITY. SO WE, UM, CONTINUE TO, TO LEAD THE INDUSTRY AND OFFERING RELIABLE, HIGH SPEED SERVICE IN ADDITION TO OUR ONE GIGABIT, OUR CORE, WHAT WE CALL OUR CORE SERVICE. WE NOW OFFER, UH, IN OUR MARKETS, UH, WHAT WE CALL OUR HOME SERVICE, WHICH IS A THREE GIGABIT, UH, SERVICE WITH WIFI SEVEN. AND NOW, UH, WHAT WE CALL OUR EDGE SERVICE, WHICH IS EIGHT GIGABIT, UH, SERVICE, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT YOU CAN SIGN UP FOR, WHICH IS REALLY, REALLY FAST. AND, UH, WE'RE TESTING A 20 GIG, AND WE HAVE SOME, UH, SOME DESIGNS ON LOOKING AT A HUNDRED GIG SERVICES IN THE FUTURE. 'CAUSE IT'S, YOU KNOW, WHY STOP, WHY STOP AT EIGHT GIGS, RIGHT? SO WE'RE, WE'RE CONTINUING TO TRY TO INNOVATE AND, UM, YOU KNOW, ADVANCE THE LATEST TECHNOLOGIES, THE LATEST SPEEDS, INVEST IN RELIABILITY, UH, BECAUSE AS WE ALL KNOW, INTERNET ACCESS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE ALL RELYING ON FOR ALMOST EVERY FACET OF OUR LIFE THESE DAYS. UM, YOU KNOW, I'LL, I'LL KIND OF SWITCH TO, UM, ONE TOPIC THAT WAS, UH, REQUESTED, UH, US TO COVER. AND THAT IS, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE WE DOING TO ENSURE, UH, THAT THERE'S, UH, OUR SERVICES AFFORDABLE TO THOSE WHO MAY NOT OTHERWISE BE ABLE TO, UH, PAY, UH, UH, THE COST OF, OF, OF OUR SERVICE? YOU KNOW, I'LL, I'LL START BY SAYING, AND, AND I, I THINK IT'S ACTUALLY PRETTY EXTRAORDINARY, UH, TO SAY THIS, BUT WHEN WE FIRST STARTED OUR SERVICE IN KANSAS CITY IN 2012, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, STARTED DELIVERING SERVICE IN AUSTIN IN AROUND 2013, THAT ONE GIGABIT SYMMETRICAL SERVICE THAT WE OFFERED WITH NO CONTRACTS, NO FEES, VERY TRANSPARENT, WAS $70 A MONTH. THAT WAS IN 2012. UH, IT IS NOW, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY 2026, THAT SERVICE IS STILL PRICED AT $70 A MONTH. SO, YOU KNOW, AT A TIME WHEN EVERYTHING HAS GOTTEN MORE EXPENSIVE, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO MAINTAIN THAT VERY SIMPLE, CLEAR, TRANSPARENT PRICING, UH, FOR OVER A DECADE, UH, GETTING CLOSE TO, UH, 15 YEARS NOW, WHICH I THINK IS PRETTY EXTRAORDINARY. NOW, $70 IS A LOT, UH, FOR SOME FAMILIES, UH, $70 A MONTH. UH, AND SO WE RECOGNIZE THAT. BUT I THINK THAT, UH, MAKING SURE THAT WE MAINTAIN, UH, THAT PRICING, AND AGAIN, WITHOUT ALL THE ADD-ONS THAT, THAT MOST PEOPLE ARE, AREN'T AWARE OR, OR DON'T REALIZE THAT ARE GONNA BE ON THEIR BILL, UH, IS, IS A, A PRETTY FANTASTIC, UH, UH, ACHIEVEMENT TO BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN THAT. AND WE HAVE NO PLANS TO CHANGE THAT ANYTIME, UH, IN THE FUTURE, UH, AT LEAST TO MY KNOWLEDGE. SO THAT'S, THAT'S PRETTY EXTRAORDINARY. BUT OUR COMMITMENT TO ENSURING OUR SERVICE IS AVAILABLE TO, TO THOSE WHO WOULD OTHERWISE NOT HAVE ACCESS [01:00:01] HAS BEEN WITH, FROM, BEEN WITH US FROM THE VERY BEGINNING. IT'S IN OUR DNA. SO, UH, ALMOST FROM THE VERY BEGINNING, WE HAVE SOUGHT OUT, UM, UH, THOSE HOUSEHOLDS THAT, UH, ARE OUR MOST VULNERABLE, UH, POPULATIONS HERE IN THE COMMUNITY AND JUST PROVIDED THE SERVICE FOR FREE. UH, SO, UH, MAINLY THROUGH A PARTNERSHIP THAT WE HAVE WITH THE HOUSING AUTHORITY, UH, OF, OF, UH, THE, UH, THE HOUSING AUTHORITY HERE IN AUSTIN, UH, IN THEIR PUBLIC HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS. UH, WE STARTED A PROGRAM THAT WE NOW CALL GIGABIT COMMUNITIES, UH, WHERE AT THIS POINT WE HAVE, I BELIEVE, OVER 4,000 PUBLIC HOUSING UNITS HERE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN THAT JUST HAVE A FREE GIGABIT SERVICE, UH, TO THE UNIT. SO THINK OF PLACES LIKE CHALMERS COURTS, UH, NORTH LOOP APARTMENTS, WHICH ARE, YOU KNOW, SENIORS, UM, UH, A NUMBER OF MANCHACA, UH, UH, PUBLIC HOUSING, UH, BOLDEN, UH, CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT THE NAME, BOLD. ANYWAY, THEY'RE ALL, WE HAVE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT PROPERTIES. THEY'RE PUBLIC HOUSING PORTFOLIO, UH, BOOKER T WASHINGTON, O OVER THERE OFF, UH, WEBER, BILL. UH, THOSE ARE ALL RECEIVING A FREE GIGABIT, UH, GFI CONNECTION, UH, FOR THEIR USE. UM, WE'VE ALSO PILOTED A SIMILAR SERVICE IN SOME OF THE RECENTLY DEVELOPED PERMANENT SUPPORTED HOUSING UNITS HERE IN AUSTIN. UM, WE KIND OF TOOK A PAUSE ON EXPANDING THAT FURTHER, UH, AS THOSE UNITS WERE COMING ONLINE. BUT, UM, IT'S GONE FAIRLY WELL. AND SO WE'LL BE LOOKING AT DOING MORE OF THAT IN THE FUTURE BECAUSE OUR NEIGHBORS WHO ARE TRANSITIONING OUTTA HOMELESSNESS COULD ALSO USE, UH, THAT ACCESS. AND, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT IN A POSITION TO BE ABLE TO PAY FOR THE SERVICE. SO, UH, AND AT LEAST ONE DEVELOPMENT, WE'RE PROVIDING IT FOR FREE. UM, WE ALSO, UH, LIKE MANY OF THE OTHER UH, PROVIDERS, UH, AROUND THE COUNTRY, UH, DURING THE, YOU KNOW, THE HEADY DAYS OF THE EARLY 2020S, UH, WERE PARTICIPANTS IN THE AFFORDABLE CONNECTIVITY PROGRAM, THE FEDERAL PROGRAM THAT WAS, UH, PUT IN PLACE TO, UH, PROVIDE, UH, SUBSIDIES FOR HOUSEHOLDS WHO, UH, WERE AT, I BELIEVE IT WAS 200% OF THE FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL AND BELOW, TO PROVIDE THEM A, UH, UH, UH, A SUBSIDY FOR, UH, INTERNET ACCESS. UH, WE INTRODUCED THAT PROGRAM, AND THEN, OF COURSE, UNFORTUNATELY, THAT PROGRAM, UH, WAS NOT FUNDED, UH, BY, UH, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE WERE AMONG THOSE WHO, UH, DECRIED, UH, THE, THAT LACK OF FUNDING AND REALLY, REALLY HOPE THAT, UH, AT SOME POINT, UH, IN THEIR WISDOM, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, UH, BRINGS THAT BACK, UH, BECAUSE IT REALLY WAS TRANSFORMATIONAL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALL AROUND THE COUNTRY. SO WE DID OFFER A, UH, A PROGRAM THAT, UH, A PRODUCT THAT WAS ELIGIBLE FOR THE A CP, UH, WHICH WAS PRICED AT $30. SO WITH THE $30 SUBSIDY, IT WAS FREE FOR FAMILIES. IT WAS A VERY HIGH QUALITY SERVICE. UH, I BELIEVE IT WAS, UH, IT IS AT, UH, 300 MEGABITS SYMMETRICAL, WHICH IS PLENTY FAST FOR, FOR MANY HOUSEHOLDS. UH, THAT PRODUCT, UH, IS STILL AROUND, UH, AND IS STILL AVAILABLE FOR THOSE WHO HAD SIGNED UP, UH, AS, UH, A CP, UH, ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLDS. UH, YOU KNOW, WE DIDN'T TURN IT OFF. THEY'RE NOW BEING CHARGED THE $30, UH, IN, UH, AS OPPOSED TO HAVING A $0 BILL BECAUSE OF THE A CP, UH, SUBSIDY. BUT IT'S STILL THERE. WE, WE HAVE, UH, TAKEN THAT PRODUCT AND MADE IT AVAILABLE IN SOME TARGETED AREAS, UH, THAT WE KNOW THERE ARE, UH, LOW TO MODERATE INCOME HOUSEHOLDS. YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE, THE THINGS THAT THE, WE ALL LOST, UH, WHEN THE A CP WAS NOT FUNDED. IT WAS NOT JUST THAT SUBSIDY, BUT ALSO THE, UH, VERIFIER PROGRAM, UH, THE NATIONAL VERIFIER THAT, UH, UH, WAS IN PLACE TO BE ABLE TO QUALIFY HOUSEHOLDS TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THAT SERVICE. SO THAT DOESN'T, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT REALLY AVAILABLE ANYMORE. AND SO, UH, IT'S, WE'RE ALL KIND OF HOPING THAT SOMETHING LIKE THAT COMES BACK. BUT IN THE MEANTIME, UH, WE HAVE MADE THAT PRODUCT, UH, AVAILABLE IN SOME TARGETED AREAS AND ARE LOOKING TO, UH, EXPAND IT IN THE FUTURE, AS, YOU KNOW, AS WE, UH, DETERMINE THAT THE NEED IS THERE. SO, I DON'T REALLY HAVE A LOT OF DETAILS I CAN SHARE ON THAT AT PRESENT, BUT, UH, IT IS SOMETHING THAT'S IN OUR, OUR TOOLKIT AND, UH, WE'LL BE LOOKING TO, UH, DEPLOY OR MAKE AVAILABLE ACTUALLY, UH, TO A GREATER DEGREE IN THE FUTURE. UH, LET'S SEE. UH, WE ALSO, OF COURSE, UH, HAVE A VERY ROBUST COMMUNITY IMPACT PROGRAM, UH, WHERE WE PARTNER AND SUPPORT, UH, LOCAL COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE WORKING ON THE OTHER ELEMENTS OF DIGITAL INCLUSION BEYOND JUST ACCESS AND AFFORDABILITY, [01:05:01] BUT ALSO, UH, DIGITAL SKILLS, UH, UH, DI DIGITAL SAFETY, UH, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, ET CETERA, ET CETERA. SO, A, A NUMBER OF, OF THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT MANY OF THEM ARE, ARE ALSO GTOP PS RECIPIENTS. WE ALSO SUPPORT AND PARTNER WITH TO ENSURE THAT THE, THAT ALL THE ELEMENTS OF DIGITAL INCLUSION ARE ADDRESSED AS BROADLY AS POSSIBLE IN OUR COMMUNITY. YOU KNOW, WE'RE VERY FORTUNATE HERE IN AUSTIN IS THAT WE'RE A VERY WELL CONNECTED COMMUNITY. THERE'S VERY, UH, I, UH, VERY FEW PLACES, UH, THAT DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO, UH, RELIABLE HIGH-SPEED INTERNET SERVICE, WHETHER IT'S G FIBER OR NOT. UM, SO THAT'S NOT AS BIG AN ISSUE. I CAN TELL YOU IN A NUMBER OF THE OTHER COMMUNITIES I WORK AT, STILL IS AN ISSUE. UH, THERE ARE ENTIRE SWATHS OF SOME COMMUNITIES THAT DO NOT YET HAVE ACCESS TO RELIABLE HIGH-SPEED INTERNET SERVICE AND MUCH LESS AFFORDABLE SERVICE. UM, SO WE, WE SHOULD COUNT OURSELVES VERY FORTUNATE, UH, THAT, UH, WE HAVE THAT HERE IN OUR COMMUNITY. WE STILL HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO IN SOME OF THE OTHER AREAS. UH, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THIS COMMISSION, I KNOW THAT THE CITY AND G FIBER AND A NUMBER OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE JOINTLY SUPPORT, UH, WILL CONTINUE TO WORK TO ENSURE THAT'S THE CASE. SO I COULD TALK, UH, A LOT, UH, A LOT MORE, BUT, UH, LET ME STOP AND SEE IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS OR IF THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE ME TO ADDRESS. UM, AND AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR THE INVITATION. WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH, UH, FOR THAT BRIEFING. UH, JOHN MICHAEL, UM, I GUESS, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME, SOME OF THE THINGS I ALWAYS MENTION ABOUT GFI WHEN I'M TALKING TO PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY IS, UH, THEIR COMMITMENT TO, UM, UH, TO, TO THESE, THESE THINGS, UH, WHETHER IT'S HELPING THE SPONSOR DIGITAL INCLUSION WEEK, OR, UM, UH, PROVIDING THOSE, UM, FREE OF CHARGE SERVICES TO, UH, COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN NEED. UM, I THINK GFI IS, IS A MODEL. SO HOPEFULLY AS, UH, GFI IS, IS MOVED TO, UH, ASTOUND, UH, THOSE, THOSE TYPES OF, UH, PROGRAMS CAN, CAN CONTINUE. UM, AND IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO AS A COMMISSION TO, UH, CONTINUE TO ADVOCATE FOR THOSE, PLEASE, UM, ENGAGE US. ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE REST OF THE COMMISSIONERS? WELL, SINCE YOU RAISED IT, I, I WILL SAY THAT, YEAH, THERE, FOR THOSE WHO WEREN'T AWARE, UH, AS THE CHAIRMAN MENTIONED THERE, THERE WAS AN ANNOUNCEMENT OF A PENDING, UM, MERGER WITH AS SOUND, UH, WHICH IS A LARGE, UH, PROVIDER, UH, IN VARIOUS AREAS OF THE COUNTRY, VERY COMPLIMENTARY FOOTPRINT WITH EFI. UH, THEY'RE IN A LOT OF PLACES THAT, THAT WERE NOT. SO THAT'S PRETTY EXCITING, UM, THAT THAT DEAL HASN'T CLOSED YET. AND I, I JUST WANNA PUT IT OUT THERE THAT NOTHING IS CHANGING. NOTHING IS CHANGING. G FIBER WILL CONTINUE TO BE G FIBER FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE. AND, UH, YOU KNOW, IT REMAINS TO BE SEEN HOW THAT MERGER HAPPENS. UH, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, HERE YOU MAY KNOW ASTOUND, UM, HAD ACQUIRED, UH, GRANDE COMMUNICATIONS, SO THERE IS A LITTLE BIT OF OVERLAP WITH GRANDE THAT'S, THAT'S HERE IN THE AUSTIN AREA, BUT NOTHING IS CHANGING, UH, UH, AT LEAST FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE. WE'RE STILL G FIBER, WE'RE STILL DOING, UH, EXACTLY WHAT WE HAVE BEEN DOING FOR THE LAST 10 PLUS YEARS HERE IN AUSTIN. ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS? UH, THIS COMMISSIONER CUBY, I HAD A QUICK QUESTION. YOU MENTIONED ABOUT PROVIDING THE FREE SERVICE FOR, UM, SOME OF THE HOUSING PROJECTS HERE. IS THAT SERVICE DONE THROUGH LIKE A SHARED WIFI IN THE BUILDINGS? NO, SIR. UH, WE PROVIDE, UH, FIBER TO THE UNIT, UH, JUST AS WE WOULD, UH, A MARKET RATE, UH, APARTMENT, UH, COMPLEX. UH, YEAH. SO, NO, I MEAN, THEY, THEY ALL HAVE THEIR OWN ACCOUNTS. UH, THEY ALL HAVE THEIR OWN, UH, ROUTER OR FIBER JACK, UH, JUST, JUST AS I HAVE IN MY HOME. OKAY. NOW, WE, WE FELT IT IMPORTANT. NOW WE DO. UH, AND, AND QUITE FRANKLY, UH, UH, UNTIL VERY RECENTLY, WE DIDN'T HAVE A MANAGED WIFI PRODUCT WE DO NOW. THAT'S BEEN PRETTY RECENT DEVELOPMENT. SO, UH, BUT, UH, FOR THESE, UH, GIGABIT COMMUNITIES, IT'S, IT'S FIBER TO THE UNIT. OKAY. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? OKAY. WELL, UH, THANK YOU, UH, FOR BEING WITH US, JOHN MICHAEL. WE'LL CERTAINLY, UH, ENGAGE YOU AS, AS, UM, UH, AS, AS COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND AS A COMMISSION. AND, UH, IF, IF THERE ARE ANY, UM, A ACTIONS THAT YOU, UH, WOULD LIKE OF US, PLEASE DON'T HESITATE TO REACH OUT TO EITHER MYSELF OR DAN OR JESSE. WELL, UH, I, I'LL JUST SAY WE'RE, WE'RE ANXIOUS AND EAGER TO, UH, FINISH UP THE LAST FEW NEIGHBORHOODS THAT WE, WE HAVE IN AUSTIN. UH, AND, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, AND WE'RE NOT GOING AWAY. YOU KNOW, WE DON'T BUILD IT AND THEN JUST LEAVE. WE'RE GONNA BE COORDINATING [01:10:01] WITH THE CITY CONSTANTLY, UH, YOU KNOW, WITH THEIR PUBLIC, WITH THE PUBLIC WORKS PROGRAM, WITH THE CIP PROGRAM TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, WE HAVE OUR INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE RIGHT PLACE, THAT WE'RE PROTECTED AS, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO USE THE RIGHT OF WAY, RIGHT? YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE AUSTIN WATER, YOU HAVE AUSTIN ENERGY, YOU HAVE US, YOU HAVE TEXAS GAS, YOU HAVE, OR, UH, YOU HAVE OTHER TELECOM PROVIDERS. SO IT TAKES A LOT OF COORDINATION. UH, IT'S COMPLICATED, IT'S MESSY, BUT, UH, WE'RE COMMITTED TO, TO WORKING WITH OUR MUNICIPAL PARTNERS TO ENSURE THAT, UH, UH, WE'RE ALL IN THE RIGHT PLACE. GREAT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. WELL, THANKS FOR JOINING AND HAVE A WONDERFUL EVENING. UM, ALL RIGHT. SEE YOU ALL LATER. YEAH. ARE WE OKAY TO MOVE TO AGENDA ITEM FOUR? [4. Presentation on an existing City developed artificial intelligence capability and Austin Public Health’s internally developed artificial intelligence innovation platform (Phillip Bays, Senior IT Manager, Christopher Collins, IT Scrum Master Senior, and Brian Morris, IT Service Owner at Austin Public Health, Health IT Unit) ] NO, AS FAR AS WE, UH, MY, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THIS, UH, WE HAVE TO, UH, WE CAN ADJOURN, UH, MM-HMM . YEAH. THANK YOU. SORRY. WE'RE, WE'RE, UH, JESSE RODRIGUEZ, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, WHERE, UH, WE JUST NOTICED THAT THE QUORUM HAS BEEN LOST FOR THE MEETING. UM, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT WE, UH, ARE NOT ALLOWED TO CONTINUE BUSINESS. UM, SINCE WE HAVE, UH, DROPPED BELOW THE QUORUM, WE CAN RECESS AND TRY AND REESTABLISH, UH, A QUORUM. UH, IF ANY OF THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS THAT WERE PRESENT CAN COME BACK ON. UM, BUT OTHERWISE WE'LL HAVE TO ADJOURN. OKAY. LET'S RECESS FOR FIVE MINUTES, UNFORTUNATELY, LOST QUORUM. UM, SO WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO TERMINATE THE MEETING. UH, EVERYONE HAVE A WONDERFUL EVENING. WE'LL SEE EVERYONE NEXT MONTH. . * 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.