May 19, 2026 City Council Work Session

WILL BE SEVERAL HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS.

WE'RE GONNA START WITH REMOTE SPEAKERS FOR A SEVEN, WE HAVE ONE.

TOMMY, JOAQUIN, HANCOCK.

I'D JUST LIKE TO, UH, SEND MY APPRECIATION TO SPEAKERS AND, UH, CONSIDERING ALL SIDES OF THE, UH, TOPIC DISCUSSED, TRANSPARENCY IS ESSENTIAL TO BUILDING TRUST WITH VOTERS AND PURCHASING AND INSTALLING 400 MEGAWATTS OF GAS PEAKERS COULD COST UP TO $1 BILLION, AND JUST THE EQUIPMENT

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AND INVESTMENT OF THAT MAGNITUDE DEMANDS FULL, TRANSPARENT VETTING AND THE COST OF CONTRACTS FROM, FOR EVERYTHING FROM WIND TO BIGGER PART.

NO OVERTURNING CIRCULATION.

IN PERSON SPEAKERS FOR A SEVEN, WE HAVE AL BRADEN, MARY AND SANCHEZ.

IF I'VE CALLED YOUR NAME, GO AHEAD AND COME FORWARD.

TAKE A SEAT.

STATE YOUR NAME FOR THE RECORD.

BOBBY LAVINSKY, LARRY GIL, DAVID LAVESQUE.

ANNIE FIERO.

IF YOUR NAME'S BEING CALLED, PLEASE COME FORWARD AND GRAB A SEAT.

AND MR. BRADEN, WE'LL START WITH YOU.

IF YOU'LL STATE YOUR NAME FOR THE RECORD.

UH, GOOD MORNING, MAYOR WATSON AND COUNCIL.

I'M AL BRADEN, PROUDLY FROM DISTRICT SEVEN AND VICE CHAIR OF THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION.

THIS MORNING, I'M SPEAKING FOR MYSELF AS THIS IS A WORK SESSION.

IT'S TIME TO ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS MOST SECRET BILLION DOLLAR PROJECT I'VE EVER SEEN IN AUSTIN.

DON'T LET FOMO, FEAR OF MISSING OUT, RUSH YOU AND BUYING A BILLION DOLLAR WHITE ELEPHANT.

AUSTIN ENERGY HAS CAREFULLY CHOREOGRAPHED A PUBLIC RELATIONS PROCESS THAT CHECKS THE BOX OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT WITHOUT ACTUALLY PRODUCING PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT.

I INTENDED TWO OF THE RAPID RESPONSE PUBLIC MEETINGS, AND I DOUBT IF THERE WERE 20 GENUINE COMMUNITY MEMBERS AT EITHER MEETING.

THE RESULTS WERE TABULATED, BUT NOT REALLY HEARD.

I ASKED DURING THOSE MEETINGS WHAT A'S GOALS WERE.

WHAT WAS THE GENERATION TARGET? WHAT WAS THE MIX OF BATTERIES, SOLAR, PEAKERS, WHERE WOULD IT GO? WHAT WOULD BE THE COMMUNITY IMPACTS? THERE WERE NO ANSWERS TO ANY OF THESE QUESTIONS.

THE EUC WAS LIKEWISE KEPT IN THE DARK UNTIL OUR MONDAY MEETING 400 MEGAWATTS WAS FINALLY MENTIONED.

BUT WHAT NONE OF THE DETAILS WERE DISCLOSED? AMOUNT, COST, LOCATION, TIMELINE, JUSTIFICATION, ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES.

AE IS HIDING THE BALL.

IF YOU AS COUNSEL OR RAILROADED INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION AND SIGN A BILLION DOLLAR BLANK CHECK, YOU WILL FACE THE VOTERS.

YOU CAN COUNT ON THAT.

SINCE THIS IS A WORK SESSION, ASK THESE QUESTIONS OF YOUR COLLEAGUES AND YOURSELF.

WHERE IS THE ANALYSIS, SHOW ANALYSIS SHOWING THERE ARE NOT OTHER EFFECTIVE WAYS TO BRING POWER INTO TOWN WITH TRANSMISSION AND BATTERIES? WHAT IS THE SIZE AND COST AND RATE IMPACT? HOW DOES BUYING GAS GENERATOR IN 2030 SQUARE WITH OUR GOALS OF ELIMINATING CARBON BY 2035? WHAT ARE THE GUARDRAILS? SHOW THE MODELS.

HOW IS IT POSSIBLY JUSTIFIED ECONOMICALLY WITHOUT RUNNING ALL THE TIME, WHAT WILL YOU TELL YOUR VOTERS ABOUT THIS BACK ROOM DEAL? HOW WILL YOU VOTE? THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

PLEASE, ANY ONE OF YOU JUST BEGIN BY STATING YOUR NAME FOR THE RECORD.

YES, SIR.

UH, MY NAME'S LARRY GID.

YOU MIGHT WANNA PULL THAT MICROPHONE A LITTLE CLOSER TO YOUR MOUTH.

SO YOU WANNA BE HEARD? MY NAME IS LARRY GI.

I LIVE AT 39 0 8 AVENUE G IN AUSTIN, IN HYDE PARK.

I'VE BEEN A RECIPIENT OF SEVERAL BOONS FROM THE CITY OF AUSTIN, A NO INTEREST LOAN IN 1982 TO WEATHERIZE MY HOME REBATES FOR ROOFTOP SOLAR REBATES FOR A HEAT PUMP VALUE OF SOLAR PAYMENT ON MY ELECTRICAL BELL.

EVERY MONTH, I HAVE CONSIDERED AE AN ASSET TO OUR COMMUNITY, FINDING INNOVATION, INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS TO TECHNICAL ISSUES, AND RESPONDING TO DISPARATE POINTS OF VIEW.

THE AE GENERATION AND CLIMATE PROTECTION PLAN OF 2030 ADDRESS THE PROBLEMS OF CLIMATE CHANGE WITH CLEAR, UNEQUIVOCAL MESSAGE.

NO MORE FOSSIL FUELS FOR AUSTIN.

SO GIVEN THE WORLD WE LIVE IN, I'VE BEEN STRUGGLING TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE'VE GOTTEN TO THE POINT OF EVEN CONSIDERING PURCHASE OF A GAS POWERED ELECTRIC GENERATOR.

THE FACTS OF OUR PREDICAMENT ARE NOT IN DISPUTE.

PLANET EARTH IS HEATING UP THE FASTEST RATE EVER.

THE CAUSE OF HEATING IS BURNING FOSSIL FUELS.

GLOBAL EMISSIONS OF GREENHOUSE GASES TODAY ARE HIGHER THAN WHEN THE PARIS AGREEMENT WAS SIGNED 15 YEARS AGO, 10 YEARS AGO.

WARMING TO DATE HAS ALREADY BROUGHT DEVASTATION TO COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS AROUND THE WORLD.

NOT ONE OF THE 45 INDICATORS ASSESSED IN THE PARIS AGREEMENT IS ON TRACK TODAY.

GLOBAL TEMPERATURE, AVERAGE TEMPERATURE RISE ABOVE, UH, 1.5 DEGREES ABOVE PRE-INDUSTRIAL LEVELS.

BY THE END, BY THE END OF THIS DECADE, THE LATEST AE GENERATION AND CLIMATE PROTECTION PLAN TO 2035 USES THE FACT THAT CLIMATE CHANGE IS CAUSING MORE EXTREME WEATHER.

TO ARGUE THAT WE NEED MORE OF THE SINGLE-MINDED CIRCULAR LOGIC THAT GOT US HERE BY ANOTHER GAS POWER GENERATOR THAT WILL CONTINUE TO EXACERBATE THE WARMING.

ENTRENCHED FOSSIL FUEL INTERESTS CONTINUE TO EXERT POWERFUL POLITICAL INFLUENCE, TY AND CLIMATE ACTION AND, AND AMBITION.

MANY COUNTRIES REALIZE THAT ENSURING CLIMATE PROGRESS WILL REQUIRE TRANSITIONING ENTIRE ECONOMIES AROUND SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGIES.

THE ECONOMIC TRANSITION IS

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UNDERWAY.

IT'S INTERESTING, I'VE HEARD MORE ABOUT LOAD ZONE PRICE SEPARATION IN THIS MEETING THAN ATLANTIC MARIAL.

THANK YOU, SIR.

THERE IS A CONFERENCE.

THANK YOU, SIR.

YOUR TIME HAS EXPIRED.

YES, MA'AM.

MY NAME IS DANNY FIRO, SPEAKING AGAINST ITEM A SEVEN.

UH, I'M A RESIDENT OF D SEVEN.

FOR THE SEVEN YEARS I'VE BEEN LIVING IN AUSTIN, I'VE BEEN ORGANIZING FOR ADJUST TRANSITION.

AND IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS, IT'S FULLY TRANSITIONING ENERGY SOURCES TO RENEWABLES.

AFTER HEARING AUSTIN ENERGY THIS MORNING, I'M STILL NOT CONVINCED THERE'S ENOUGH DATA TO SUPPORT THE PEAKERS, ASIDE FROM THE FACT THAT I CANNOT IN MY RIGHT MIND SUPPORT ADDING POLLUTION TO ADDRESS A POWER OUTAGE CAUSED BY CLIMATE DISASTERS.

WHEN OUR ENERGY RESOURCES HAVE BEEN THE PRIMARY DRIVER OF THE CLIMATE CRISIS, URI AND 110 DEGREE WEATHER, UH, SUMMER DAYS ARE BOTH THE RESULT OF CLIMATE CHANGE.

ADDING TO THAT, UH, ADDING TO THAT, THAT THEY, UM, AUSTIN ENERGY HAS REFUSED TRANSPARENCY WITH BOTH THE PUBLIC AND EVEN ELECTED OFFICIALS.

ALSO, AUSTIN ENERGY DURING WHAT THEY CALL THEIR COMMUNITY INPUT SESSIONS, WHICH I ATTENDED PREDOMINANTLY HAD A SMALL GROUP OF FOLKS LIKE MYSELF WHO DO THIS TYPE OF WORK AND GO OUT OF THE WAY TO CATCH THIS KIND OF THING HAPPENING.

UH, AS AN ORGANIZER, LET ME TELL YOU, THAT WAS NOT COMMUNITY INPUT.

WE ALSO HAVE NO GUARANTEE THAT THIS WILL INDEED HAVE THE PEAKERS RUNNING INSTEAD OF ALREADY EXISTING, LET'S SAY COAL GENERATION AND OTHER ENERGY RESOURCES ALSO HAVE IMPACT ON THE AIR AND THE LAND, WHICH SOME OF, LIKE, SOME OF THE POWER GENERATED BY AUSTIN ENERGY WINCO, UH, FAIN HAVE HAD BAD RESULTS AND HUGELY BURDENED AS FINANCIAL BURDEN.

ON THE CONS ON THE PEOPLE LIVING SURROUNDING THESE, UH, ENERGY PLANS, UM, THE CITY, UH, HAS ALSO LOST FINANCIAL TRUST FROM THEIR CONSTITUENCY.

AND I'M ALSO NOT CONVINCED HOW RENEWABLES ARE AN ECONOMIC BURDEN WHEN JUST THIS MONTH THERE WAS A REPORT FROM THE INTERNATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY AGENCY THAT FOUND THE COST FROM FIRM AROUND THE CLOUD.

RENEWABLE ENERGY FROM SOLAR, WIND AND PAIR WITH BATTERIES FELL FROM FELT BY 31% FROM 2020 TO 2025.

IT IS ALSO PROJECTED TO FALL ANOTHER 32% BY 2030.

THE OVERALL CONCLUSION WAS THAT THE FIRM RENEWABLES ARE COMPETITIVE WITH FOSSIL FUELS.

I'M ALSO WORRIED.

OKAY, THANK YOU, MR. LEVINSKY.

WHY DON'T YOU BEGIN NEXT? WELL, OKAY, WHOEVER, JUST SOMEBODY, BEGIN.

GOOD MORNING, MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL.

I'M DAVID LEVEK.

WE'VE SEEN CITY COUNCIL SHOW STRONG LEADERSHIP THROUGH THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN AND THE CLIMATE REVOLVING FUND LED BY COUNCIL MEMBERS ALTER AND ELLIS.

MORE GAS PLANS WOULD BE A STEP BACK FOR HUMAN HEALTH AND A BIG FINANCIAL RISK.

GAS PRICES ARE VOLATILE WHILE SOLAR AND BATTERY PRICES ARE PREDICTABLE AND CONTROLLABLE.

LOS ANGELES AND LONDON ARE PROVING THAT RELIABLE GRIDS DON'T HAVE TO LOCK IN DECADES OF FOSSIL FUEL DEBT AND STRANDED LIABILITIES.

WE HAVE INVESTED A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS IN 20 YEARS OF SOLAR AND BATTERY INCENTIVES, WHICH IS AMPLIFIED BY CUSTOMER AND FEDERAL INVESTMENTS.

WHAT IF WE MODELED A BILLION DOLLARS TO AUSTIN RESIDENTS CREATING MORE LOCAL POWER AND LOCAL WEALTH COMPARED TO A BILLION DOLLARS OVER THREE YEARS FOR GAS THAT WOULD ONLY BE PAID FOR CUSTOMERS EXPORTING OUR MONEY TO BIG NATIONAL CORPORATIONS FOR DIRTY AIR FOR US TO BREATHE? IT SEEMS THE REQUIREMENTS FOR BRINGING THE GAS PLANTS TO VOTE HAD NOT BEEN MET.

HAVE YOU SEEN A CURRENT ECONOMIC HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STUDY? ALSO, BEST PRACTICES REGARDING SOFTWARE FOR IMPROVING GRID VISUALIZATION AND SOLAR PERMITTING SEEM TO BE MISSING FROM AUSTIN EFFORTS.

100 HOUR BATTERIES ARE COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE IN THE UNITED STATES TODAY.

LASTLY, WHAT IS THE PLAN TO GET TO ZERO EMISSIONS BY 2035? CITY COUNCIL HAS COMMITTED TO LEAN INTO CLEAN, NOW IT'S TIME TO PASS ON GAS.

MR. LAVINSKY? THANK YOU.

COUNCIL MEMBERS, BOBBY LAVINSKY AVER SPRINGS ALLIANCE, THOUGH I'M HERE LARGELY IN A SUPPORTING ROLE SPEAKING, UM, TO BA LARGELY ECHO WHAT YOU'VE HEARD FROM PUBLIC CITIZEN IN THE ADVOCATES THAT HAVE WORKED SO HARD TO TRANSFORM AUSTIN'S POLICIES TO REFLECT THE URGENCY OF CLIMATE POLICY.

UM, YEARS AGO WHEN THE CARBON FREE BY 2035 GOAL WAS SET, I DON'T THINK ANYONE WOULD'VE SAID THAT MEETING THAT GOAL WOULD BE EASY.

THERE'S A LOT OF LANGUAGE IN THE PLAN THAT TALKS ABOUT THE NEED FOR CAREFUL DELIBERATION, PARTICULARLY AROUND THESE PEAKERS, UM, AND THE NEED FOR COMMUNITY COLLABORATION.

I DO THINK THAT THIS IS ONE OF THOSE MOMENTS WHERE, UH, THERE IS A LOT OF QUESTIONS AROUND WHETHER OR NOT THAT GOAL IS BEING ACHIEVED BY THE PURSUIT OF THESE PEAKERS, AND THAT CONVERSATION NEEDS TO HAPPEN IN, UH, THE PUBLIC AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.

I APPRECIATE COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, ALTER AND COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL, FOR REALLY PUSHING SOME OF THE, THE, THE DIALOGUE INTO THE PUBLIC, UH, JUST A FEW MINUTES AGO.

BUT I THINK THAT TO THE EXTENT THAT YOU CAN FORCE THESE CONVERSATIONS OUT OF EXECUTIVE SESSION AND INTO THE PUBLIC, IT'D BE REALLY IMPORTANT.

THERE'S NOT A LOT OF INDUSTRIES THAT HAVE THE ABILITY TO GO BEHIND, UH, CLOSED DOORS AND TALK ABOUT THEIR PROCUREMENT

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POLICIES.

UM, AND, UH, TO MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT, UH, IS AN OPTION THAT THE COUNCIL COULD, UH, FORCE THOSE CONVERSATIONS INTO THE PUBLIC.

UH, THERE IS SOME PRICE SENSITIVITY ISSUES THERE, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN ALL THOSE CONVERSATIONS NEED TO HAPPEN BEHIND CLOSED DOORS.

SO PLEASE, UM, YOU KNOW, DO WHAT YOU CAN TO PUSH THE CONVERSATION BACK INTO THE PUBLIC AND REALLY ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY THAT'S BEEN WORKING SO HARD ALONGSIDE YOU TO, UH, PURSUE CLIMATE RESPONSIBLE POLICIES.

UM, I THINK THAT I'LL JUST END IT THERE AND JUST, AND JUST REALLY ECHO THE, UH, THE CONVERSATION THAT COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER WAS HAVING ABOUT WHERE PEAKERS ARE LOCATED.

UM, OFTENTIMES IT'S IN ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITIES, AND THAT NEEDS TO BE, UM, ACKNOWLEDGED HERE, AND YOU CAN'T BE MAKING A DECISION THAT AFFECTS THESE COMMUNITIES WITHOUT ENGAGING THEM.

CONTINUING WITH ITEM A SEVEN, WHEN YOU HEAR YOUR NAME, PLEASE COME FORWARD AND TAKE A SEAT.

ELISA HAMMOND, NORMA CORTEZ.

RAPHAEL SCHWARTZ.

CRAIG NAZER.

FINN MCPHERSON, WHEN YOU SPEAK, PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME FOR THE RECORD.

GOOD MORNING, MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL.

MY NAME IS ELISA HAMMOND AND I LIVE IN DISTRICT DISTRICT NINE.

I'M ALSO A COORDINATOR FOR THIRD ACT, WHICH IS A LOCAL AND NATIONAL GROUP WORKING ON CLIMATE.

AND I'M HERE TO URGE YOU TO VOTE NO IN OPPOSITION TO NEW PEAKER PLANTS.

AND I AM ALSO REQUESTING THAT INSTEAD WE HAVE A A THIRD PARTY ANALYSIS OF THIS PLAN THAT'S BEEN PROPOSED THAT HAS MORE TRANSPARENCY, THAT A PLAN THAT LOOKS AT ALTERNATIVES TO FOSSIL FUELS, AND A PLAN THAT REALLY LOOKS AT BOTH THE FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY AND THE MORAL RESPONSIBILITY WE HAVE.

UH, WITH REGARD TO PEOPLE'S HEALTH.

UM, I AM REALLY PROUD AND GRATEFUL THAT AUSTIN ENERGY HAS BEEN A LEADER FOR TWO DECADES ON CLIMATE, MADE THESE COMMITMENTS EARLY ON, SIGNED THE TREATY, THE FOSSIL FUEL NON-PROLIFERATION ACT, AND AUSTIN HAS INFLUENCED OTHER CITIES AND STATES.

THIS IS THE TIME WHEN WE REALLY NEED IN NEED TO LEAN INTO THAT LEADERSHIP.

AND EACH ONE OF YOU, THESE SOME GREAT QUESTIONS THIS MORNING.

YOU HAVE THAT LEADERSHIP THAT WE NEED LOCAL AND NATIONALLY.

WE DO NOT AT THIS TIME OF CLIMATE CRISIS.

WE DON'T NEED TO LOCK OURSELVES IN TO BUYING MORE FOSSIL FUELS FOR DECADES AND SENDING OUR MONEY OUT TO LARGE FOSSIL FUEL CORPORATIONS.

LET'S KEEP THE MONEY HERE.

LET'S HAVE AN ANALYSIS.

HOW DO WE SUPPORT OUR LOCAL ECONOMY AND FIND THESE ALTERNATIVES, UH, TO PEAKER PLANTS.

UM, I REALLY ASK YOU FOR YOUR IMAGINATION AND CREATIVITY THAT AUSTIN IS KNOWN FOR, TO HELP US FIND THESE ALTERNATIVES.

THAT WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF A GLOBAL TRANSFORMATION AND ENERGY REVOLUTION AWAY FROM FOSSIL FUELS.

AND THOUGH WE'VE HAD SOME BARRIERS IN OUR COUNTRY GLOBALLY, THE WORLD IS MOVING TO RUN ON THE POWER OF THE SUN.

ELECTRICITY MORE ECONOMICALLY THAN GAS GENERATION.

PLEASE.

UH, GOOD MORNING.

UH, CITY COUNCIL MAYOR IN COUNCIL.

MY NAME IS NORMA CORTEZ.

I'M A RESIDENT IN DISTRICT TWO.

FIRST OFF, MY MAIN CONCERN IS THE PEAKERS, BUT I WANTED, UH, TO MAKE Y'ALL AWARE THAT I WAS A PARTICIPANT IN ONE OF THE AUSTIN GENERATION PLAN COMMITTEES TO HELP DETERMINE A PLAN FORWARD.

MANY GOOD DISCUSSIONS AND SOLUTIONS RESULTED FROM THOSE COMMITTEE MEETINGS.

PART OF THE CONVERSATION WE DISCUSSED NEW PEAKERS, UH, AS AN OPTION I OPPOSED THE NEW PEAKERS THEN, AND I STILL OPPOSE THEM NOW.

PEAKERS ARE NOT COST EFFECTIVE AS COMPARED TO CLEAN ENERGY.

SO ALTERNATIVES, UH, PEAKERS WILL ONLY ADD TO THE LOCAL AIR POLLUTION.

SECONDLY, UM, TRANSPARENCY IS CRITICAL IN, IN THIS PROCESS.

WE MUST HAVE PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF AUSTIN ENERGY'S ANALYSIS AND ASSUMPTIONS.

SO THERE IS FULL TRANSPARENCY TO THE VOTERS THAT HAS NOT BEEN SO, THUS FAR.

TRUST WITH THE VOTERS IS IMPERATIVE SINCE WE VOTERS WILL ULTIMATELY BEAR THE COST OF, UH, THE CHOICES YOU MAKE.

WE WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR THESE MASSIVE PURCHASES SUCH AS THESE NEW PEAKERS.

UH, AND THESE CHOICES CAN'T BE MADE, CAN'T BE DONE BEHIND CLOSED DOORS.

IT, THEY MUST BE TRANSPARENT TO THE VOTERS.

THIRDLY, AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL MUST ENSURE FULL VALUATION OF SOLAR AND WIND ENERGY PAIRED WITH BATTERY STORAGE.

WE KNOW THAT THESE OPTIONS CAN PROVIDE

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GAS PEAKERS WERE INCLUDED IN THE PLAN AS AN OPTION IF CARBONS FREE SOURCES WEREN'T AVAILABLE, THEY ARE AVAILABLE, BUT AUSTIN ENERGY HAS BEEN SLOW TO IMPLEMENT THEM.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.

DR.

NASER.

HELLO, UH, CRAIG NASSER, UH, CONSERVATION CHAIR, LONE STAR CHAPTER SIERRA CLUB.

AND I THINK THIS IS A VERY INTERESTING CONVERSATION.

AND FIRST OF ALL, I THINK AUSTIN ENERGY, GIVEN WHAT THEY ARE LOOKING AT, UM, HAS GIVEN US A, A GOOD PRESENTATION.

I WOULD HAVE TO SAY, I, I ENJOYED IT.

UH, THE ONE THING THEY DON'T KNOW IS WHERE DEMAND'S GONNA GO.

AND SO THEY'RE PREPARING FOR THE BIGGEST POSSIBLE DEMAND.

AND THAT MAKES THIS LIKE A VERY SMALL PROBLEM TO LOOK AT.

THE, THE, THE DEMAND, THOUGH YOU HAVE CONTROL OVER THAT.

I MEAN, WHAT WE'RE JUST HERE AT CITY COUNCIL TALKING ABOUT USING CITY LAND FOR MORE INDUSTRY.

I MEAN, THERE, THERE IS SOME CONTROL THAT THE CITY COUNCIL HAS OVER DEMAND.

WE PERSONALLY HAVE CONTROL OVER DEMAND.

HOW WE INSULATE OUR HOUSES, WHETHER WE BUY INTO THE REALLY GOOD SOLAR PROGRAM, WHICH I'VE DONE, YOU KNOW, WHETHER WE DRIVE AN ELECTRIC CAR OR NOT, MAYBE I CAN'T FEEL I CAN GET ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

I MEAN, THE, THERE ARE CHOICES HERE THAT THE CITY COUNCIL NEEDS TO MAKE THAT GO BEYOND JUST WHAT AUSTIN ENERGY'S TALKING TO YOU ABOUT.

WE HAVEN'T DONE ENOUGH ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE.

IN FACT, THAT IS THE BIGGEST DANGER WE FACE.

I GOT A METAL ROOF.

WELL, THE EXTRA HEAT IN MY ROOF HAS CAUSED MY RAFTERS TO CRACK, AND I HAVE TO PAY FOR THAT.

OKAY? WE, WE GET THERE, THERE WHEN, WHEN WE GET RAIN AND DROUGHT AND RAIN AND DROUGHT, THE SOIL GETS FLEXIBLE THAT CRACKS PEOPLE'S FOUNDATIONS, IT'S EXPENSIVE.

CLIMATE CHANGE ITSELF IS THE PROBLEM.

SO I WANT TO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR TAKING MY COMMENTS.

MY NAME IS FINN MCPHERSON.

UH, I LIVE RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM DECKER CREEK, POWER, POWER PLANT AND DISTRICT ONE.

UH, WE'VE HEARD A LOT ABOUT RELIABILITY, AFFORDABILITY, AND SUSTAINABILITY.

I WANNA TALK ABOUT THE REAL COSTS OF GAS PEAKS, WHICH AE HAS BEEN VAGUE ABOUT, BUT THEY'RE REAL IN LONG TERM.

$1 BILLION AT CURRENT TURBINE PRICING.

400 MEGAWATTS OF PEAK UNITS COST A BILLION DOLLARS JUST TO BUILD THE UNITS.

THAT'S NOT HYPERBOLE, THAT'S THE GOING RATE, 2.5 MILLION PER MEGAWATT.

AND THAT DOESN'T EVEN ACCOUNT FOR ADDITIONAL PRICE HIKES, SUPPLY CHAIN DELAYS, FUEL AND OPERATIONAL COSTS, WHICH ARE ASTRONOMICAL AND VOLATILE DUE TO INCREASED EXPOSURE TO GLOBAL COMMODITY MARKETS.

THIS FINANCIAL RISK IS MASSIVE AND UNCERTAIN.

UNCERTAIN, AND IS BORN ENTIRELY BY US AND RESIDENTS WHO WILL PAY FOR THIS PRE.

WHETHER THE PROJECT'S, PENCIL OR NOT, AE CAN RECOVER THOSE COSTS, WHATEVER THEY ARE PLUS 10%.

AND WE, THE CUSTOMERS ASSUME THE RISK AND PAY THE BILLS FOR DECADES TO COME.

SITE SELECTION, WE STILL DON'T KNOW WHERE THESE SITES WILL BE, BUT WE SAW THE SHORT LIST AND WE KNOW WHERE THEY WON'T BE.

THEY'RE NOT GONNA BE IN NEIGHBORHOODS ON THE WEST SIDE OF AUSTIN IN ALL LIKELIHOOD BECAUSE OF EXISTING GAS AND TRANSMISSION INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE EXISTING GAS UNITS.

THESE WILL BE CITED AT DECKER CREEK WHERE I LIVE, OR SANDHILL, BOTH EAST AUSTIN LOCATIONS THAT HAVE BORNE THE COST OF NOISE AND AIR POLLUTION FOR DECADES.

AND THIS PROPOSAL WILL EXTEND THAT DECADES INTO THE FUTURE.

THIS NOT ONLY AFFECTS THE HEALTH OF LOCAL RESIDENTS, BUT ALSO THE PROPERTY VALUE OF HOMES AND BUSINESSES IN THE AREA.

THIS IS A LONG-TERM EQUITY AND HEALTH COST THAT IS DIRECTLY EXTERNALIZED TO THE COMMUNITY.

INDEFINITELY.

AUSTIN ENERGY WANTS APPROVAL FOR A BILLION DOLLAR GAS PEAKER PROJECT, HASN'T SHARED THE MODELING ASSUMPTIONS AND DATA WITH THE PUBLIC OR SAID WHERE THEY WILL BUILD IT.

THAT'S PUTTING THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE AND IT DOES NOT RISE TO THE STANDARD OF RESPONSIBLE, AFFORDABLE, AND SUSTAINABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT.

SO WE'RE ASKING FOR TRANSPARENCY.

SHARE THE, SHARE THE ASSUMPTIONS AND RESULTS, NOT JUST A FEW BAR CHARTS THAT SHOW RELIABILITY RISK HOURS.

IF THE ARGUMENT IS STRONG, THERE SHOULD BE NO REASON NOT TO SHARE ALL THE EVIDENCE THAT UNDERPINS IT.

AT A MINIMUM APPROVAL FOR GAS SPEAKERS SHOULD BE DELAYED UNTIL THIS WORK HAS BEEN COMPLETED.

MORNING.

MY NAME'S RAFAEL SCHWARTZ.

I LIVE IN D TWO IN SOUTH AUSTIN.

I'VE BEEN FOLLOWING THIS AS CLOSELY AS I CAN FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS.

UH, AUSTIN ENERGY IS ASKING COUNCIL FOR A BLANK CHECK TO EVENTUALLY SPEND UP TO A BILLION DOLLARS.

ORDERING 400 MEGAWATTS OF GAS PEAKER PLANTS GOING DOWN THIS ROAD WILL ALSO ABANDON THE UTILITIES COMMITMENT TO CARBON FREE GENERATION BY 2035.

IN ANY MEANINGFUL SENSE, THIS IS, IS A SERIOUS ASK AND ONE THAT DESERVES SERIOUS ATTENTION AND

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SCRUTINY.

IN THE TWO TO THREE YEARS SINCE THE MODELING DONE FOR THE 24 GENERATION PLAN, ERCOT MARKET HAS SEEN NOT ONE, BUT TWO GENERATIONAL TRENDS PLAY OUT.

THESE ARE, UH, FIRST ENORMOUS EXPLOSION IN IN UTILITY BATTERY STORAGE ACROSS THE STATE.

AND SECOND MASSIVE TRANSMISSION SUPERHIGHWAY BUILD OUT.

ERGON ANNOUNCED A YEAR AGO THAT WE HEARD ABOUT EARLIER.

THIS HASN'T BEEN JUST ANY TWO YEARS AND TAKEN TOGETHER THESE TWO EVENTS APPEAR TO POTENTIALLY COMPLETELY UPEND THE MODELING DONE IN 2023 AND 2024, WHICH IS STILL THE CORE OF AUSTIN ENERGY'S DECISION MAKING PROCESS ON THESE PEAKERS.

FOR EXAMPLE, THE EXPLOSION IN BATTERY STORAGE ACROSS THE STATE HAS ALREADY ALLEVIATED CONGESTION PRICING THAT THE GAS PEAKER PLANTS ARE DESIGNED TO HEDGE BY 70% IN THE LAST TWO YEARS.

THAT'S SE 70% LOWER PRICES FROM THE ERCOT ENERGY.

BRINGING US BACK TO COUNCIL'S DECISION THIS WEEK, UTILITY HAS NOT DONE THIRD PARTY OR ANY SERIOUS, UPDATED AND TRANSPARENT MODELING OF THE CURRENT GRID ENVIRONMENT.

THE BASIS FOR THIS GENERATION GENERATIONAL DECISION ON BREAKING AUSTIN'S FOSSIL FREE COMMITMENTS SHOULD NOT BE GUESSTIMATES ABOUT AI DATA, DATA CENTER GROWTH, AND ASSUMPTIONS NOT AT ALL SHARED WITH THE COMMUNITY.

WE ALSO HAVE NO IDEA HOW THE ECONOMICS OF THIS LOOKS UNDER CARBON EMISSIONS, UH, CAPACITY GUARDRAILS THE COUNCIL DISCUSSED EARLIER.

AUSTIN ENERGY SHOULD DISCUSS ITS MODELING, MODELING ASSUMPTIONS, AND THE CITY COUNCIL SHOULD REQUIRE AN INDEPENDENT THIRD PARTY IN THE LOOP IN SOME FASHION.

THIS PROCESS DOES NOT SEEM TO HAVE MET THE SPIRIT OF THE GEN PLAN, WHICH STATED THAT THE UTILITY MUST DO A REAL ANALYSIS OR, OR LOOK AT ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS BEFORE INVESTING IN PEAKERS.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.

I'M NOW CALLING THE LAST SET OF SPEAKERS FOR ITEM A SEVEN KABA WHITE EILEEN MCGINNIS.

JULIE OLIVER.

REBECCA BERNHARDT.

MARIE MIGLIN, PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME FOR THE RECORD.

GOOD MORNING.

I'M KABA WHITE.

ON BEHALF OF PUBLIC CITIZENS TEXAS OFFICE, WE ARE VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE LACK OF TRANSPARENCY, FINANCIAL IMPACTS, AND PUBLIC HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE GAS PEAKER PROPOSAL.

I'VE NEVER SEEN A REQUEST TO AUTHORIZE A CONTRACT WITHOUT REVEALING WHO THE CONTRACT IS WITH OR HOW MUCH IT WILL COST.

THE CONTRACT WAS DEVELOPED OUTSIDE THE COMPETITIVE PURCHASING PROCESS AND DIDN'T GIVE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY TO OTHER TECHNOLOGIES, INCLUDING LONG DURATION STORAGE.

THIS SHOULD BE A CON SERIOUS CONCERN FOR THOSE OF YOU WISHING TO IMPROVE TRUST WITH VOTERS.

AUSTIN ENERGY IS DESIGNATING ALL USEFUL INFORMATION FOR MODELING PEAKERS VERSUS BATTERIES AND OTHER CLEAN ENERGY SOLUTIONS AS COMPETITIVE INFORMATION TO KEEP IT FROM THE PUBLIC.

GIVEN THAT AUSTIN ENERGY'S CONCLUSIONS ABOUT LONG DURATION BATTERIES VERSUS GAS PEAKERS DON'T ALIGN WITH OTHER ANALYSES, WE'RE ASKING YOU TO REQUIRE AN INDEPENDENT ANALYSIS.

BUYING A LOT OF PEAKERS WHEN THEY'RE AT THEIR MOST EXPENSIVE IS RISKY FOR REPAIRS.

NATURAL GAS PRICE VOLATILITY IS ALSO A RISK AND HAS RESULTED IN HUGE COST OVERRUNS THAT CUSTOMERS WILL BE PAYING FOR OVER MANY YEARS AT OTHER UTILITIES.

THE RESOURCE PLAN COMMITTED TO ONLY ADD GAS PEAKERS IF THERE WERE NO OTHER OPTIONS.

RECENT AND UPCOMING CONTRACTS AND CHANGES TO SOLAR PROGRAMS DEMONSTRATE THAT THERE ARE OTHER OPTIONS, BUT THEY NEED TIME TO BE IMPLEMENTED AND MORE ARE NEEDED.

AUSTIN ENERGY IS CHERRYPICKING INFORMATION AND HYPOTHETICALS TO TRY TO SCARE YOU INTO ACTING QUICKLY AND GIVE UP ON ACHIEVING CARBON FREE GENERATION BEFORE ITS FIRST UTILITY SCALE.

BATTERY IS EVEN ONLINE.

THAT'S NOT A GOOD FAITH EFFORT.

THE TRUTH IS THAT THESE PEAKERS WON'T KEEP THE POWER ON.

IN ANOTHER YURI SITUATION, ERCO WOULD STILL REQUIRE ROLLING OUTAGES.

IF YOU REALLY WANT TO HELP LOW INCOME RESIDENTS KEEP THEIR FOOD FROM SPOILING DURING AN OUTAGE.

REVIVE THE SOLAR FOR ALL PROGRAM, WHICH WAS SUPPOSED TO PUT SOLAR AND BATTERIES AT LOW INCOME HOMES.

WHY IS AU WILLING TO SPEND A BILLION DOLLARS ON GAS PEAKERS, BUT NOT 32 MILLION ON SOLAR FOR ALL? THANK YOU.

PLEASE GO AHEAD.

OH, OH.

UM, I'M REBECCA BERNHARDT AND I'M A MEMBER OR, UH, RESIDENT OF DISTRICT SEVEN.

UM, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.

UH, FIRST I'D LIKE TO THANK THE MAYOR, UH, FOR YOUR WORK ADDRESSING THE NEED FOR A REPLACEMENT PLAN FOR THE FORENSIC NURSING CARE PROVIDED BY ELOISE HOUSE.

WE CAN'T TRUST AUSTIN ENERGY ON A SECRET BILLION DOLLAR PEAKER PLANT PLAN.

THAT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT.

UM, I WANNA ADDRESS SOME OF THE REMARKS OF THE DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER OF AUSTIN ENERGY.

AUSTIN ENERGY'S STORY OF BEING A CLEAN, RENEWABLE ENERGY LEADER IS DEEPLY INACCURATE.

WHY DIDN'T AUSTIN RECEIVE LOCAL SOLAR PROPOSALS TO THEIR LA LATEST RFP? PROBABLY IN PART BECAUSE AUSTIN ENERGY HAS BEEN HOSTILE TO SOLAR PROJECTS IN THE PAST, WHY MAYOR WATSON MENTIONED CONTROL.

AUSTIN ENERGY HAS AND MAY STILL SEE SOLAR AS A THREAT BECAUSE OF ITS CAPACITY TO BE INDEPENDENT FROM THE GRID AND THEREFORE INDEPENDENT FROM THEIR CONTROL.

THEY DON'T WANT TO LOSE COMMERCIAL PRO CUSTOMERS WHO CAN CONTROL THEIR OWN ENERGY GENERATION.

[00:30:01]

IT NEEDS INDEPENDENT REVIEW.

UH, NOW I WANNA BRIEFLY TALK ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE.

THERE'S SOMETHING INCREDIBLY SHORTSIGHTED ABOUT BUILDING NEW GAS POWER PLANTS TO ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE.

IT IS BURNING NATURAL GAS THAT IS ACCELERATING GLOBAL WARMING BECAUSE BURNING METHANE IS 80 TIMES MORE POTENT AT WARMING THE EARTH THAN CO2 PEAKERS WILL NOT PROTECT US FROM BLACK SWAN EVENTS.

THEY ONLY PROTECT US.

THE ONLY THING THAT WILL PROTECT US ACTUALLY IS LOCAL SOLAR GENERATION OR LOCAL GENERATION AND MICROGRIDS AND BATTERY BACKUP.

THE IDEA THAT WE CAN HAVE CONTROL OVER PEAKER PLANT ENERGY GENERATION BELIES THE FACT THAT GAS COMES FROM ELSEWHERE.

AND THE GAS POWERED PLANTS STOPPED IN HURRICANE YURI BECAUSE THE GAS LINES FROZE.

WE ARE AT THE CUSP OF WHAT SCIENTISTS AND CLIMATE ACTIVISTS HAVE HOPED WE'D NEVER REACH 1.5 DEGREES CELSIUS WARMING.

AT SOME POINT, WE NEED TO SAY NO TO MORE FOSSIL FUELS.

THANK YOU MS. OLIVER.

I'M JULIE OLIVER, A RESIDENT OF DISTRICT NINE, AND I'M UNEQUIVOC UNEQUIVOCALLY OPPOSED TO THE SO-CALLED INVESTMENT IN GAS PEAKER PLANTS.

A DECISION ESTIMATED TO COST TAXPAYERS A BILLION DOLLARS.

LET ME BE CLEAR, I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO BE HERE.

YOU'VE PULLED ME AWAY FROM VOLUNTEERING, WALKING SHELTER DOGS TO COME DOWN HERE AND SAY WHAT SHOULD ALREADY BE OBVIOUS.

THIS COUNCIL TALKS A LOT ABOUT BEING PROGRESSIVE, BUT YOUR ACTIONS AND YOUR VOTES TELL A VERY DIFFERENT STORY.

AND CERTAINLY TELL US RESIDENTS THAT YOU DON'T TAKE CLIMATE CHANGE SERIOUSLY.

AND FRANKLY, THE LACK OF INGENUITY HERE IS ASTOUNDING.

AUSTIN ENERGY'S POSITION AND WHAT SEEMS TO BE THE MAYOR'S AND COUNCIL MEMBER OF ALA'S POSITION THAT FOSSIL FUELS, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THEY'RE IMPORTED OR PRODUCED LOCALLY, ARE THE ONLY WAY TO GET US THROUGH AN ENERGY CRISIS IS NOT JUST DISAPPOINTING, IT'S RIDICULOUS.

THIS IS A FAILURE OF IMAGINATION AND LEADERSHIP.

THERE ARE CLEANER, SMARTER, AND MORE FORWARD THINKING SOLUTIONS AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW, INCLUDING ANAEROBIC BIO WASTE TO ENERGY SYSTEMS, DISTRIBUTED BAT BATTERY STORAGE AND DEMAND SIDE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES THAT REDUCE STRAIN ON THE GRID WITHOUT POISONING OUR COMMUNITIES.

GAS PEAKERS ARE NOT A SOLUTION.

THEY'RE A STEP BACKWARDS.

CALLING THEM MORE EFFICIENT IS LIKE SAYING TODAY'S CIGARETTES ARE HEALTHIER THAN THE ONES OF YESTERYEAR.

IT'S A MEANINGLESS COMPARISON THAT IGNORES THE REAL HARM.

AND LET'S STOP PRETENDING THAT THESE WILL ONLY RUN OCCASIONALLY IN AUSTIN.

SUMMER IS A CONSTANT ENERGY EMERGENCY.

THESE PLANTS WILL RUN ALL DAY, EVERY DAY WHEN WE NEED THEM MOST, UH, CREATING MORE POLLUTION, MORE EMISSIONS, AND MORE HARM.

AND WE ALL KNOW WHERE THAT HARM WILL LAND.

HISTORY MAKES CLEAR THESE FACILITIES WILL END UP NEAR LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES AND COMMUNITIES OF COLOR, THE SAME COMMUNITIES THAT THIS CITY HAS ALREADY FAILED WHEN IT COMES TO ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH.

THE SAME EASTERN CRESCENT NEIGHBORHOODS WHOSE HEALTH CONCERNS YOU CONTINUE TO SIDELINE.

YOU'RE NOT ACCOUNTING FOR THE PUBLIC HEALTH COSTS.

YOU'RE NOT ACCOUNTING FOR THE LONG TERM ECONOMIC DAMAGE OF THE POPULATION MADE SICKER BY YOUR DECISIONS.

AND YOU'RE CERTAINLY NOT ACCOUNTING FOR THE EROSION OF PUBLIC TRUST.

SO HERE ARE MY ASKS.

ONE, VOTE NO.

TWO, IF YOU'RE PREPARED TO SPEND A BILLION DOLLARS, THEN INVESTED IN SOLUTIONS THAT ACTUALLY MOVE US FORWARD, LIKE RESIDENTIAL BATTERY STORAGE AND DISTRIBUTED ENERGY SYSTEMS THAT ALLOW RESIDENTS TO REDUCE DEMAND DURING PEAK TIMES.

THANK YOU, MS. OLIVER.

HI, I AM EILEEN MCGINNIS, A RESIDENT OF D NINE AND FOUNDER OF THE PARENTS CLIMATE COMMUNITY.

I'M HERE TO ASK CITY COUNCIL NOT TO COMMIT TO NEW GAS PEAKERS UNTIL AUSTIN ENERGY PUBLICLY DISCLOSES ITS MODELING ASSUMPTIONS AND ALLOWS FOR A SERIOUS DISCUSSION OF CLEAN ENERGY ALTERNATIVES.

RIGHT NOW, WE'RE BEING SWEPT UP IN THE URGENCY OF A SELLER'S MARKET FOR GAS P PEAKERS.

THIS RUNAWAY PRICING AND THE LACK OF TRANSPARENCY REQUIRED BY SELLERS SHOULD NOT BE THE SIGNAL TO JOIN THE FEEDING FRENZY.

INSTEAD, IT'S A HUGE RED FLAG THAT WE NEED TO SLOW DOWN AND CONSIDER THE COST OF NEW GAS, BOTH FINANCIAL AND ETHICAL.

BUT THE FALSE URGENCY OF MARKETS ISN'T WHAT BRINGS ME HERE TODAY.

THE URGENCY THAT MOVES ME TO BE HERE IS OUR OBLIGATION TO PROTECT AUSTIN KIDS FROM HARM.

AND WE CANNOT PROTECT OUR KIDS AND COMMUNITIES WITH TOOLS LIKE OIL AND GAS THAT HARM THEM.

SO RIGHT NOW, THESE ARE THE QUESTIONS THAT FEEL DEEPLY URGENT TO ME AS AN AUSTIN PARENT, AS WILL THESE NEW GAS PEAKERS IMPACT AIR QUALITY AND PUBLIC HEALTH? HOW CAN INVESTING HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN NEW GAS PEAKERS THAT DON'T GO ONLINE UNTIL 2030, ENABLE AUSTIN ENERGY TO FULFILL ITS COMMITMENT TO CARBON FREE BY 2035.

AND WHAT IS THE GENERATIONAL LEGACY OF THESE INVESTMENTS? THE ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE CLIMATE FUTURE THAT OUR KIDS WILL INHERIT NOT IN FIVE OR 10 YEARS, BUT IN 30, Y'ALL.

THE OTHER NIGHT, MY FIFTH GRADER SAID TO ME, MOM, YOU'RE DOING GOOD STUFF, BUT IT PROBABLY WON'T MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

HE'S STILL IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND HE'S ALREADY QUESTIONING WHETHER OUR LEADERS CARE ABOUT HIS CLIMATE FUTURE AND HE'S NOT ALONE.

OUR FAILURE TO MEET THE MOMENT WITH URGENCY IS TAKING A SERIOUS TOLL ON THE NEXT GENERATION.

SO LET'S DO BETTER, DEMAND BETTER OF OURSELVES.

LET'S SHOW AUSTIN KIDS THAT THEIR HEALTH AND RIGHT TO THRIVE ARE OUR GREATEST INVESTMENT.

THANK YOU FOR ITEM

[00:35:01]

B ONE.

WE HAVE SETH JOHNSON, AND THEN WE HAVE TWO REMOTE SPEAKERS FOR ITEM B TWO, JEREMY HENDRICKS.

UH, GOOD MORNING MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.

THIS IS JEREMY HENDRICKS, DIS DISTRICT FOUR RESIDENT AND, UH, FORMER MEMBER OF THE BOND ELECTION ADVISORY TASK FORCE.

BUT TODAY I'M HERE AS PRESIDENT OF THE WINDSOR HILLS NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION TO STRONGLY SUPPORT FULLY FUNDING THE $30 MILLION EXPANSION FOR THE GUS GARCIA RECREATION CENTER.

A PROJECT THAT WAS LEFT OFF STAFF RECOMMENDATION FOR THE UPCOMING BOND.

UM, THROUGHOUT THE BE PROCESS, ONE THING WAS UNMISTAKABLE.

SENIORS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS FROM GUS GARCIA SHOWED UP AGAIN AND AGAIN 'CAUSE THEY KNOW HOW CRITICAL THIS CENTER IS.

MEETING AFTER MEETING THEY TESTIFIED, SHARED THEIR STORY THAT ADVOCATED FOR OUR COMMUNITY.

FOR THEM.

THIS FACILITY IS NOT JUST A BUILDING, IT IS TRULY A LIFELINE.

OUR NEIGHBORHOODS RELY HEAVILY ON GUS GARCIA.

SENIORS DEPEND ON IT FOR MEALS, EXERCISE, SOCIAL CONNECTION, COOLING DURING DANGEROUS HEAT AND ACCESS TO ESSENTIAL PROGRAMS. FAMILIES RELY ON IT FOR YOUTH PROGRAMMING IN THE SAFE PLACE.

AND NEIGHBORHOOD GROUPS LIKE OURS RELY ON IT TO KEEP OUR COMMUNITY CONNECTED.

BUT THIS FACILITY IS BURSTING AT THE SEAMS. STAFF DO AN INCREDIBLE JOB, BUT THEY SIMPLY DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH SPACE TO MEET THE NEEDS OF ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING HIGHEST NEED AREAS OF AUSTIN.

AND EVERY SUMMER, WE SEE THE CONSEQUENCES AS YOUTH PROGRAMS EXPAND.

MANY SENIORS ARE DISPLACED FROM THE SPACE THEY DEPEND ON DAILY.

THAT OFTEN MEANS SENIORS STAYING HOME ALONE DURING EXTREME HEAT, ISOLATED WITHOUT MEALS, WITHOUT AIR CONDITIONING, WITHOUT EXERCISE, AND WITHOUT HUMAN INTERACTION.

AND WE ALL KNOW THAT NORTHEAST AUSTIN HAS ONE OF THE HIGHEST CONCENTRATIONS OF SENIORS IN NEED.

AND FOR FAR TOO LONG, OUR AREA HAS BEEN LEFT BEHIND WHEN IT COMES TO PUBLIC INVESTMENTS.

I ASK YOU PLEASE TO STAND UP FOR THE SENIORS WHO SPENT THEIR LIVES BUILDING AND SUPPORTING THIS CITY.

THEY SHOWED UP FOR AUSTIN FOR DECADES.

NOW IT'S TIME FOR AUSTIN TO SHOW UP FOR THEM.

I URGE YOU TO FULLY FUND THE $30 MILLION EXPANSION FOR GUS GARCIA AND THE UPCOMING BOND PROPOSAL.

AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME TODAY AND GOD BLESS SETH, GO AHEAD.

THEY'RE, THEY'RE ALSO SUPPORTING BICYCLISTS, ROLLER SKATERS.

I'M A, UH, SETH JOHNSON.

I'M A A, UH, DISTRICT NINE RESIDENT.

AND, UH, I WANTED TO BRING SOMETHING TO YOUR ATTENTION REGARDING THE BOND PACKAGE AND HELP YOU, UH, FRAME YOUR PRIORITIES FOR THIS UPCOMING BOND.

WHEN YOU SEE A CHILD SKATEBOARDING DOWN THE STREET IN THIS, UH, DOWNTOWN HERE OR IN YOUR DISTRICTS, I WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE A FEW THINGS IN THAT MOMENT THAT'S HAPPENING RIGHT THERE.

THAT'S A CHILD THAT'S POKED THEIR HEAD OUT OF THE VIRTUAL TO, UH, TORRENT NEXUS, CREATED BY MARK ZUCKER ZUCKERBERG TO ENSLAVE OUR YOUTH'S EYEBALLS TO, UH, STARE AT SCREENS ALL DAY.

UH, THESE, THIS CHILD IS PRACTICING MOBILITY, A MOBILITY OPTION THAT IS NOT A CAR.

THEY'RE EXERCISING.

THEY'RE CHALLENGING THEMSELVES AND ACHIEVING THOSE, THOSE GOALS.

AND THEY MAY ALSO NOT BE, THEY MAY BE SKATEBOARDING THERE BECAUSE THEY MAY NOT BE, UH, PROPERLY, UH, SUPPORTED BY THE AVAILABLE SKATE FACILITIES, UH, PROVIDED BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

UH, IT, THE CURRENT INVENTORY OF SKATE PARKS IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN INCLUDES MABEL DAVIS IN DISTRICT THREE, WHICH WAS BUILT IN 2005, OPEN IN 2005.

AND THEN, UH, HOUSE PARK IN, UH, IN JOSE VELAZQUEZ'S DISTRICT THAT, UH, I'M SORRY, MAY ANDERSON, JOSE VELASQUEZ DISTRICT HOUSE PARKS IN THE QUADRI DISTRICT.

AND THAT WAS FUNDED IN 2006.

THE GREAT THING ABOUT THESE FACILITIES THAT WE'VE SEEN OVER THE DECADES SINCE IS IT'S A ONE TIME IMPLEMENTATION COST THAT THE BENEFITS COMPOUND OVER THE DECADES THAT HAVE HAPPENED SINCE IT'S A NEGLIGIBLE IMPACT TO CITY OPERATING BUDGET, THERE'S NO STAFFING AND THE USER VISIT PER DAY COST RATIO BEATS ANYTHING ELSE.

PARKS AND RECREATION CAN OFFER.

UM, SKATE PARK SKATE PARKS ARE, ARE USED BY MORE THAN JUST SKATEBOARDERS.

THANK YOU, SIR.

APPRECIATE YOUR BEING HERE.

BACK TO THE FINAL REMOTE SPEAKER FOR ITEM B TWO, WE HAVE KATERINA HARRIS.

GOOD.

UH, GOOD MORNING MAYOR, COUNCIL MEMBERS AND OTHER ATTENDEES.

MY NAME IS KATERINA HARRIS AND I LIVE IN DISTRICT FIVE IN THE GARRISON PARK NEIGHBORHOOD WITH MY HUSBAND AND TWO YOUNG CHILDREN.

MY FAMILY AND I REGULARLY USE GARRISON POOL TO SWIM AND TO ATTEND SWIM LESSONS.

THIS IS ONE OF THE FEW ACCESSIBLE, AFFORDABLE OUTDOOR SPACES WHERE FAMILIES IN OUR AREA CAN GATHER, STAY ACTIVE AND COOL OFF DURING AUSTIN'S EXTREME SUMMERS.

I AM SPEAKING TO YOU TODAY TO STRONGLY ADVOCATE FOR FUNDING THE REPLACEMENT

[00:40:01]

OF GARRISON POOL IN THE 26TH BOND PACKAGE.

THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS ALREADY IDENTIFIED GARRISON POOL AS AN END OF LIGHT FACILITY WITHOUT REINVESTMENT.

THIS IS NOT A THEORETICAL ISSUE.

IT MEANS THE POOL WILL LIKELY BE FORCED TO CLOSE IN THE COMING YEARS.

LOSING THIS POOL WILL REMOVE A CRITICAL PIECE OF PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE THAT SUPPORTS HEALTH, SAFETY, AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN OUR COMMUNITY.

HARRISON PARK POOL IS A CHERISH COMMUNITY RESOURCE TO GATHER AND CONNECT ONE OF FIVE CHARGING POOLS IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN ALONG BARTON SPRINGS.

AND DE CHARGING AT THESE POOLS HELPS THE CITY OFFSET COSTS AND KEEP OTHER POOLS FREE.

IT IS ONE OF THREE 50 METER POOLS USED FOR RECREATIONAL AND COMPETITIVE PROGRAMMING.

ONE OF EIGHT POOLS WITH A DEPTH OF RE DEPTH REQUIRED FOR LIFEGUARD CERTIFICATION COURSES.

A KEY SOURCE OF TEACHABLE WATER, WHICH IS LIMITED CITYWIDE A FACILITY THAT PROVIDES RELIEF FROM LONG HOT, OFTEN SUMMERS A LOW COST RECREATIONAL RESOURCE INCLUDING LAP SWIMMING.

A LOCATION WHERE SOME CLASSES ARE OFFERED TO GREATER SOUTH AUSTIN AND IS AT THE END OF ITS USE TO LIFE DELAYING REINVESTMENT WILL INCREASE COSTS AND RAISE THE LIKELIHOOD OF PROLONGED CLOSURES.

PUBLIC POOLS ARE NOT JUST RECREATIONAL, THEY'RE ESSENTIAL FOR HEAT RELIEF, ESPECIALLY AS THEIR SUMMERS BECOME MORE EXTREME.

FOR MANY RESIDENTS, THIS IS ONE OF ONLY THE ONLY FREE OR LOW COST WAYS TO STAY SAFE DURING HIGH TEMPERATURES.

THIS IS ALSO A PROACTIVE INVE INVESTMENT.

REPLACING THE POOL NOW IS THE MOST COST EFFECTIVE, IS MORE COST EFFECTIVE THAN WAITING FOR FAILURE IN EMERGENCY CLOSURE, WHICH WOULD CREATE GREATER DISRUPTION AND HIGHER LONG TERM COSTS.

I RESPECTFULLY ASK THAT YOU PRIORITIZE FUNDING FOR GARRISON POOL.

SO WE THANK VERY MUCH YOU SERVING AS THE COMMUNITY.

TO BUILDING SEPARATE FACILITIES AND PERHAPS MORE IF IT IS DEVELOPED THROUGH A PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP.

MOVING TO IN-PERSON SPEAKERS FOR ITEM B TWO.

BARBARA SCOTT, ARE YOU PRESENT WITH TIME DONATED BY BRIAN DOLEZAL? ARE YOU PRESENT? GREAT.

HE IS.

THAT WILL BE FOLLOWED BY MARTHA LANGFORD, ARMANDO DELGADO, ADAM GREENFIELD, ALYSSA VARGAS, AND SETH JOHNSON.

IF YOUR NAME'S BEEN CALLED, PLEASE GO AHEAD AND COME FORWARD.

BARBARA HAS FOUR MINUTES.

YES.

PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME FOR THE RECORD.

GO AHEAD AND JUST STATE YOUR NAME FOR THE RECORD.

UH, I AM BOB SCOTT.

I AM THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE COLONY PARK LAKESIDE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION.

AND I'M HERE TO SPEAK IN SUPPORT OF ADDING THE COLONY PARK, UM, LIBRARY SLASH AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH FACILITY TO ANY BOND THAT AUSTIN WILL HAVE.

UH, THIS PROJECT IS A RARE OPPORTUNITY TO CORRECT MORE THAN 50 YEARS OF UNEQUAL ACCESS TO ESSENTIAL SERVICES IN COLONY PARK AND THE EASTERN CRESCENT SINCE 1972.

THIS COMMUNITY HAS LACKED CONSISTENT ACCESS TO EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING, EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, LICENSED CHILDCARE, AND NEARBY HEALTHCARE.

THERE IS NO PUBLIC HEALTH FACILITY EAST OF 180 3, SOUTH OF TWO 90 AND NORTH OF THE COLORADO RIVER TO THE BASTROP COUNTY LINE.

THESE ARE NOT NEW CONCERNS.

AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH IDENTIFIED THIS SERVICE GAP AS EARLY AS 2005.

AND COMMUNITY LEADERS HAVE WORKED FOR DECADES WITH THE AUSTIN PUBLIC LIBRARY TO INCLUDE THIS AREA IN LONG-TERM PLANNING EFFORTS.

THE PROPOSAL IS SIMPLE AND PRACTICAL.

CREATE ONE SHARED MULTI-USE PUBLIC FACILITY THAT INCLUDES A LIBRARY, PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICES, CHILDCARE, AND EARLY LEARNING PROGRAMS AND FAMILY SUPPORT SERVICES LIKE WIC.

HEALTHCARE ACCESS IS ESPECIALLY CRITICAL IN THIS AREA.

WHILE CENTRAL HEALTH HAS BROKEN GROUND FOR A FACILITY IN THE AREA, IT PRIMARILY SERVES INDIVIDUALS AT OR BELOW 200% OF THE FEDERAL, UH, POVERTY LEVEL AND PERSONS WITH ACUTE ILLNESSES.

AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH SERVES ALL RESIDENTS REGARDLESS OF INCOME AND PROVIDES ESSENTIAL PREVENTIVE CARE SERVICES SUCH AS IMMUNIZATIONS, STI TESTING AND PRENATAL CARE CO CO-LOCATING THESE SERVICES WITHIN ONE FACILITY WOULD REDUCE BARRIERS TO CARE AND IMPROVE ACCESS FOR FAMILIES AND SENIORS.

THIS PROJECT DIRECTLY SUPPORTS THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S COMMITMENTS TO EQUITY INCLUSION AND THE COLONY PARK SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES PLAN.

THE NEED IS URGENT BECAUSE THIS AREA CONTINUES TO FACE MAJOR DISPARITIES.

IT IS A FOOD DESERT, A HEALTHCARE DESERT, AN AREA WITH LIMITED CHILDCARE AND ACCESS, UH, AND COMMUNITY LACKING EARLY LITERACY AND YOUTH EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES FINANCIALLY.

THIS IS THE RESPONSIBLE APPROACH.

THE CITY OF AUSTIN ALREADY OWNS THE LAND.

THE PROPERTY IS ALREADY ZONED FOR CIVIC USE.

A COMBINED FACILITY WOULD SAVE AT LEAST $11 MILLION COMPARED

[00:45:01]

BUT THE REAL VALUE IS NOT JUST COST SAVINGS.

IT MEANS CHILDREN.

IT MEANS CHILDREN ENTERING SCHOOL AFTER BE ARE BETTER PREPARED.

PARENTS ARE HAVING RELIABLE CHILDCARE CLOSE TO HOME.

SENIORS AND FAMILIES GAINING ACCESS TO PREVENTIVE HEALTHCARE AND RESIDENTS WOULD FINALLY HAVE SERVICES WITHIN THEIR OWN COMMUNITY.

A SHARED FACILITY WOULD BECOME A TRUE COMMUNITY ANCHOR SUPPORTING STUDENTS, WORKING FAMILIES AND SENIORS IN ONE TRUSTED LOCATION.

THE QUESTION IS NO LONGER WHETHER THE SERVICES ARE NEEDED.

THAT ANSWER HAS BEEN CLEAR FOR DECADES.

THE QUESTION IS WHETHER WE ARE READY TO ACT WITH URGENCY, EFFICIENCY, AND EQUITY.

THIS PROJECT IS PLANNED, ALIGNED, COST EFFECTIVE, AND READY TO MOVE FORWARD.

NOW IS THE TIME TO HONOR THE COMMITMENTS MADE TO THIS COMMUNITY AND INVEST IN A HEALTHIER, STRONGER FUTURE FOR THE EASTERN CRESCENT.

IT'S ALSO THE TIME TO HONOR THE CHALLENGING AND THOUGHTFUL DECISIONS MADE BY YOUR APPOINTED TASK FORCE MEMBERS.

WHY DON'T WE START DOWN HERE IF YOU'LL BEGIN.

MARTHA? YEAH.

WHY DON'T WE START HERE AND THEN WE'LL GO DOWN.

HE WAS NEXT, BUT OKAY.

NO, I DON'T CARE.

I'M JUST, I'M JUST GETTING, MY NAME IS MARTHA LANGFORD AND I'M A PARTICIPANT FOR A LONG TIME.

AND THE GUS GARCIA CAN GUS GARCIA RECREATION CENTER AND PARK.

AND SINCE MR. HENDRICKS ONLINE STATED WHAT I BASICALLY WAS GOING TO SAY VERY EFFICIENTLY AND MORE SO THAN I CAN, I'M GONNA TELL YOU A PERSONAL STORY, MAYBE YOU WON'T BE QUITE AS BORED.

UH, ANYWAY, 15 YEARS AGO, GUS GARCIA AND MY HUSBAND BILL WERE SITTING ON THE FIRST BASELINE OF THE LONGHORN BASEBALL TEAM PLAYING.

AND GUS SAYS TO BILL, WHY DON'T YOU COME EXERCISE WITH US AT THIS NEW RECREATION CENTER? AND WE DID NOT VERY LONG AFTER THAT, MY HUSBAND HAD A HEART ATTACK, AND AFTER THAT HE HAD SEVERE OSTEOPOROSIS.

SO WE HAD TO GO TO THE CENTER ON A MORE REGULAR BASIS.

AND YOU SAY, WHY ARE YOU TELLING ME THIS STORY? BECAUSE EVERY ONE OF THE PEOPLE THAT COME TO GUS GARCIA, AND THEY'RE HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS, IF YOU GO BACK 15 YEARS, AND IT'S NORMALLY A HUNDRED OR MORE EVERY DAY.

UH, AND THE SENIOR PROGRAM IS ONLY ALLOWED FROM NINE 30 IN THE MORNING UNTIL ONE IN THE AFTERNOON.

ALL THOSE STORIES MAKE UP THE NEEDS THAT YOU GUYS NEED TO HAVE.

WE REALIZE THE SITUATION THAT THE CITY IS IN, AND WE'RE SORRY.

AND WE'RE VERY DISAPPOINTED THAT WE'RE NOT GOING TO PERHAPS HAVE A A A TIME IN THE, I'M VERY CLOSE FOR, FOR BOND ISSUES.

MAYOR PRO TEM HAS A QUESTION.

LET, LET ME, UH, UH, UH, BLUE, LET ME, UH, ASK, UH, UH, MISS, UH, MARTHA LANGFORD A, A QUESTION OR TWO LANGFORD MAYOR PRO.

TIM HAS A QUESTION FOR YOU.

JUST RIGHT QUICK.

UM, WHAT DOES, UH, COULD YOU TELL US JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT KIND OF THE DAY TO DAY THERE AT THE SENIOR CENTER, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU GET THERE? UH, 'CAUSE YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE CONCERNS THAT, THAT, THAT WE, AND, AND IT'S A VERY SERIOUS CONCERN, IS, UH, THE OPERATIONAL KIND OF COST OF, UH, WHATEVER WE'RE BUILDING, RIGHT? IT'S ONE THING TO BUILD, IT'S ANOTHER THING TO STAFF IT AND TO OPERATE IT.

UH, AND, YOU KNOW, I'VE VISITED THE SENIOR CENTER A A NUMBER OF TIMES SURE.

FEELS LIKE IT'S VERY KIND OF SENIOR LED.

AGAIN, I KNOW THE STAFF DOES A GREAT JOB PROVIDING THAT SUPPORT.

BUT WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE IN TERMS OF THE, THE, THE INTERACTION BETWEEN THE SENIORS AND, AND THE STAFF AND THE PROGRAMMING AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF? WELL, THIS GENTLEMAN'S WIFE DIDN'T COME WITH US BECAUSE SHE WAS THE LEADER OF THE EXERCISE THIS MORNING.

AND THE, THE SECOND PERSON IN LINE THAT LEADS EXERCISE WOULD BE ME.

SO WE HAD TO CHOOSE WHO CAME AND SAID THIS.

UH, BUT THREE TIMES A A WEEK WE HAVE SENIOR SIZE, AND THAT'S LED BY VOLUNTEERS.

AND THAT'S CAN BE AS MANY AS 60 PEOPLE BECAUSE LATELY WE HAVE HAD AN INCREASE IN POPULATION OF SENIORS COMING.

AND, AND ALTHOUGH WE HAVE PEOPLE PASS AWAY ON A REGULAR BASIS, WE HAVE SO MANY MORE PEOPLE IN THE NORTHEAST AREA OF AUSTIN THAT ARE SENIORS AND THAT ARE IN THE POOR TO MODERATE RANGE.

AND SO WE, THEY EXERCISE AND WE HAVE AT LEAST 12 KINDS OF ACTIVITIES THAT TAKE PLACE IN, IN, IN THE

[00:50:01]

CENTER.

UH, PEOPLE COME FOR DIFFERENT, FOR DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES, WHICH COULD BE THE GARDEN OR CHAIR YOGA OR TAI CHI OR PING PONG OR BOOK CLUB ARTS OR CRAFTS OR NUTRITION, OUR COOKING.

AND WE SERVE A WIDE VARIETY AND DIVERSE POPULATION.

AND IF YOU CAN, LET ME SAY THAT JUST FOR A SECOND, I WILL TELL YOU, BECAUSE WE ALSO HAVE MEALS ON WHEELS THAT ARE SERVED IN A ROOM ONCE.

THERE'S ONLY THREE ROOMS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO SENIOR ACTIVITIES PLUS THE GYM.

AND THERE ARE MANY INSTANCES WHEN THOSE ROOMS ARE NOT AVAILABLE.

'CAUSE OTHER THINGS TAKE UP THEIR UP, UP THE ROOM TIME.

THAT'S TRUE.

WE WELCOME EVERYONE WHO COMES IN THE FRONT DOOR.

WE ARE AN ECLECTIC BUNCH.

WE'RE DIVERSE CULTURES, RACES, RELIGIONS, AGES, PHYSICAL AND MENTAL ABILITIES AND POOR MODERN INCOMES.

WE, AND WE PARTICIPATE IN A WIDE VARIETY OF THINGS.

AND BASICALLY THE LADY THAT'S LEADING THE EXERCISES IS 87 MM-HMM .

AND I'M 87.

SO HERE WE ARE, A BUNCH OF OLD PEOPLE JUST TRYING TO HELP EACH OTHER OUT.

WELL, I, I APPRECIATE IT.

AND AGAIN, I JUST WANTED TO, TO STRESS TO, TO, YOU KNOW, COUNSEL AND, AND, AND STAFF.

UH, I MEAN, AGAIN, STAFF MAINTAINS THE BUILDING AND, AND YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY GET E EQUIPMENT AND THE PING TO PONG TABLES AND THE, YOU KNOW, THE GARDEN WAS BUILT AND, AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.

BUT AS FAR AS I AM AWARE, VIRTUALLY EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS THERE IS KIND OF SENIOR LED, SENIOR RUN, WHETHER IT'S A PING PONG, THE ONLY THING THAT I, I SEE A LOT OF STAFF INVOLVEMENT IN WOULD BE THE MEALS.

LIKE, YOU KNOW, THEY MAKING SURE THAT, THAT THE MEALS ARE DISTRIBUTED.

YOU THINK THAT'S ABOUT, THAT'S ABOUT RIGHT.

THAT'S, YOU'RE SPOT ON.

YOU'RE SPOT ON.

ALL RIGHT.

WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH MS. LANGFORD.

I REALLY APPRECIATE, THANK YOU.

YOU COMING DOWN AND, AND TESTIFYING FOR EACH ONE OF YOU.

YES, SIR.

MY NAME IS BLUE DELGADO.

I'M ALSO A MEMBER OF THE, UH, OR ASSOCIATED WITH THE, UH, GUS GARCIA.

MY, MY QUESTION OR MY PRAISE TO Y'ALL IS YOUR LEADERS.

YOU ARE VERY MUCH IN THE LIGHT OF OUR TALKS AT HOME AND OUR NEIGHBORHOOD.

WHEN YOU GIVE AN ANSWER TO ANYBODY AND EVERYBODY, EVERY CITIZEN DESERVES AN ANSWER.

BUT WHEN YOU GIVE AN ANSWER, JUST BE HONEST ABOUT IT.

THAT'S ALL.

IT'S JUST THAT SIMPLE.

WE WORK HARD AT GUS GARCIA TO GIVE OUR SENIORS TO GIVE THE GUY THAT COMES IN THAT LIVES OUT ON THE STREET A VISION, SOMETHING THAT THEY CAN LOOK FORWARD TO.

WHAT WOULD HELP US IS JUST GIVE US SOME TYPE OF TOOLS THAT WE CAN GO OUT IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.

PEOPLE WILL LOOK AT US, PEOPLE THAT DON'T WANT TO TALK IN FRONT OF Y'ALL, PEOPLE THAT THE, THE GUY THAT'S BARELY MAKING IT FOR HIS FAMILY HELP US.

I GOT 40 MINUTES, 40 SECONDS.

I NEED TO TELL YOU THIS.

FOUR WEEKS AGO, A KID, THEY BROUGHT HIM IN A VICTIM OF A DWI.

HE WAS LEFT, WHAT DO YOU CALL HIM? PARA OR SOMETHING.

HE CALLED ME AND SAID, BLUE, COME HERE.

I CAN TALK.

I COULDN'T SAY NOTHING.

I GRABBED HIM, HE GRABBED MY HAND.

HE SAID, I CAN FEEL YOU.

I CAN SEE YOU.

I'M STILL HERE.

HELP US.

THAT'S ALL THREE ROOMS. A COUPLE OF ROOMS. GREAT TO HAVE YOU HERE.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, SIR.

ARE YOU GONNA GET TO CO WE WON'T GET IT.

YEAH, YEAH.

I I'LL ASK YOU TO MOVE.

GOOD.

AND PLAYGROUNDS, UH, IN THE SURVEY COMBINED.

HELLO, I'M SETH JOHNSON.

I'M HERE TO SPEAK ABOUT THE BM DISTRICT PARK, UH, PROJECT THAT'S GOING TO BE INCLUDED IN THE UPCOMING BOND ELECTION, HOPEFULLY.

UH, I JUST WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT WHEN THE CITY SURVEYED, UH, RESIDENTS IN ON THE EAST SIDE ABOUT WHAT THEY WANTED TO SEE FOR ACTIVITIES IN THAT, UH, PUBLIC PARK DEVELOPMENT, 66% OF PEOPLE SURVEYED SAID THEY WANTED TO SEE A SKATE OR BIKE PARK.

AND, UH, THIS, THIS USAGE DOESN'T SUR THIS INTEREST DOESN'T SURPRISE ME BECAUSE OF SUCH A DIVERSE USER BASE, INCLUDING ROLLER SKATERS, UH, ROLLERBLADERS, SCOOTER RIDERS, SKATEBOARDERS, BM XERS, AND MOUNTAIN BIKERS.

UM, THIS INTEREST WAS HIGHER THAN BOTH SOCCER FIELDS

[00:55:01]

UM, THE SKATE PARKS IN, IN SUCH AS THE BALM DISTRICT PARK PROJECT, DO NOT NEED TO BE HUGE, MONOLITHIC, INTIMIDATING FACILITIES THAT ARE GONNA BRING OUT THE NIMBYS AGAINST THE CITY.

THEY DON'T, THEY'RE NOT, THEY DON'T HAVE TO BE THIS HUGE PEAKER PLANT THAT THAT'S GONNA GENERATE CONTROVERSY.

UH, THEY CAN BE SMALL, UH, SKATE SPOTS.

THEY CAN BE PIECES OF ART THAT ARE SKATEABLE, UH, THE ART AND PUBLIC PLACES.

COMPONENT OF THE V PACKAGE IN 2006 RESULTED IN, UH, A SCULPTURE CALLED THE IRON WAVE THAT WAS RECOGNIZED BY THE AMERICANS FOR THE ARTS PUBLIC ART YEAR.

IN REVIEW, 2012, THEY SAID THE PIECE PROVIDES A MARRIAGE OF FORM AND FUNCTION AND TOGETHER GREATLY ENHANCE THE USER EXPERIENCE OF THE PARK.

UH, FINALLY, I'D LIKE YOU TO, UH, CONSIDER THAT AT, DURING COVID AND, AND AFTER COVID, THE NO COMPLIES SKATE SHOP HAS, UH, BEEN ABLE TO, TO RAISE MONEY VIA RAFFLES TO THE TUNE OF $600,000 FOR THE CAPITAL AREA FOOD BANK.

AND THAT HAS PROVIDED 2.4 MILLION MEALS, UH, FOR AUSTIN AREA RESIDENTS.

GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.

ADAM GREENFIELD HERE WITH SAFE STREETS AUSTIN.

UH, WE ARE HERE TODAY TO ASK YOU TO MAINTAIN OUR ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION AND STREET SAFETY PROGRAMS AT THEIR CURRENT CAPACITY.

UH, WHAT THESE PROGRAMS HAVE DONE WITH PREVIOUS BOND FUNDING IS, IS ABSOLUTELY STAGGERING.

UH, HERE'S JUST A FEW, 250 MILES PLUS OF SIDEWALKS, 108 MILES PLUS OF BIKE LANES 120 SCHOOLS IMPACTED THROUGH SA SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL, UH, AN EMERGING CITYWIDE URBAN TRAILS NETWORK.

UM, JUST TAKING SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL.

SO WE, THE TAXPAYER HAVE INVESTED $47.5 MILLION IN SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL THROUGH COMPREHENSIVE CRASH COST SAVINGS.

WE SAVE $47 MILLION A YEAR.

SO WE'VE SPENT 47.5 IN ENTIRETY AND WE SAVE 47 MILLION A YEAR.

THESE ARE STAGGERING NUMBERS, AND THIS IS WHY THESE INVESTMENTS ARE SO POPULAR.

UH, 20 16, 20 18 AND 2020 BONDS RESPECTIVELY RECEIVED 59%, 81%, AND 67% PUBLIC SUPPORT.

UH, THESE WERE NOT JUST, UH, VOTES FOR THESE BOND PACKAGES.

THESE WERE REFERENDA ON HOW THE PUBLIC SEES THIS INFRASTRUCTURE.

UH, PEOPLE EXPECT THIS INFRASTRUCTURE AND WHEN THEY SEE IT, THEY SEE THE GOVERNMENT WORKING FOR THEM.

IT'S GOOD FOR BUILDING TRUST IN THE COMMUNITY.

UH, THEY'VE ALSO SPENT THESE FUNDS VERY EFFICIENTLY AND EFFECTIVELY.

UH, THE SIDEWALKS PROGRAM IS ALMOST OUT OF MONEY.

SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL IS ALMOST OUT.

UH, BIKEWAYS URBAN TRAILS, VISION ZERO, YOU NAME IT, THEY HAVE BEEN GOOD AT SPENDING THE MONEY.

WE SHOULD BE FUNDING THEM TO KEEP GOING, UM, INCLUDING FUNDING OUR HIGH PRIORITY TRAILS SO THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE WE HAVE THE GREATEST CONNECTIVITY IMPACTS.

NEEDS FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS.

GOOD MORNING MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS.

MY NAME IS ALYSSA VARGAS AND I AM THE ADVOCACY MANAGER FOR AUSTIN PARKS FOUNDATION.

I COME BEFORE YOU TODAY TO STRONGLY URGE YOU TO SECURE A 250 MILLION BONDS PARK PACKAGE IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE RECOMMENDATION PUT FORTH BY AUSTIN PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT AND APPROVED BY THE PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD, AUSTIN HAS MADE A CLEAR COMMITMENT TO ITS RESIDENCE TO STEWARD A PARK SYSTEM THAT IS EQUITABLE, SAFE, WELL MAINTAINED, AND ACCESSIBLE TO EVERY COMMUNITY.

I ASK THAT YOU HONOR THAT COMMITMENT THROUGH MEANINGFUL AND SUSTAINED INVESTMENT, THE AUSTIN PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT HAS FULLY ALLOCATED AND SPENT ALL FUNDING FROM THE 2018 BOND PROGRAM OPERATING UNDER THE EXPECTATION OF A SIX YEAR BOND CYCLE.

THE 2018 BOND INVESTMENTS PRODUCED OVER 140 TANGIBLE PROJECTS AND RESULTS ACROSS THE CITY, SUCH AS NEW POOLS, IMPROVED PLAYGROUNDS, AND INCREASED TRAIL CONNECTIVITY.

AND YET TODAY, AUSTIN FACES MORE THAN 1.8 BILLION IN IDENTIFIED PARK SYSTEMS NEEDS A NUMBER THAT CONTINUES TO GROW AS PROJECTS ARE DELAYED IN INFRASTRUCTURE AGES.

IT HAS NOW BEEN EIGHT YEARS, AND THERE ARE NO AVAILABLE FUNDS LEFT FOR AUSTIN PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT.

A ROBUST PARK SPA IS LONG OVERDUE.

ANY PROPOSED FINANCIAL POLICY THAT IMPOSES RESTRICTIONS ON BONDS, SUCH AS THE 90% BOND EXPENDITURE CAP CREATES UNNECESSARY BARRIERS TO CRITICAL INVESTMENTS.

THE PROPOSED POLICY CHANGES ALSO DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECT CITY DEPARTMENTS THAT HAVE ALLOCATED TO FUTURE PROJECTS AND RESERVED FUNDS FOR RAINY DAYS.

DELAYING INVESTMENT ONLY COMPOUNDS THE PARK'S

[01:00:01]

EVERY YEAR.

DEFERRED MEANS HIGHER CONSTRUCTION COSTS, GREATER DETERIORATION AND FEWER RESOURCES REACHING THE COMMUNITIES THAT NEED THEM THE MOST.

DURING THE LAST EIGHT YEARS, OUR AQUATIC FACILITIES HAVE CONTINUED TO AGE OUR TRAILS IN PLACE.

GATES HAVE DEFERRED MAINTENANCE AND OUR RECREATION SENIOR CENTERS HAVE STRETCHED LIMITED RESOURCES TO SERVE A GROWING POPULATION WITHOUT MEANINGFUL INVESTMENTS.

MANY OF THESE INVESTMENTS WILL CONTINUE TO DETERIORATE AND EVEN CLOSE OUR PARKS CANNOT WAIT ANY LONGER.

CALLING OUR FINAL SPEAKERS FOR ITEM B THREE, BOBBY LAVINSKY.

CRAIG NAZER.

JULIE OLIVER.

YOU CAN COME DOWN AND PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME FOR THE RECORD.

BOBBY LAVINSKY ATTORNEY SAVE OUR SPRINGS ALLIANCE.

UM, I ASSUMING B THREE IS THE DOG'S HEAD.

UM, THE DOG'S HEAD DEVELOPMENT HAS UNDERGONE NO PUBLIC SCRUTINY AND IT HAS NOT GONE BEFORE THE PLANNING COMMISSION, ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION, OR ANY RELEVANT BOARD OR COMMISSION.

I WANNA REMIND THE COUNCIL THAT THE BOARDS ARE THERE TO HELP ADVISE YOU AS WELL AS SERVING AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO VET ISSUES AND GET FEEDBACK BEFORE THESE ISSUES REACH THE DAIS, UH, WHEN IT IS DIFFICULT FOR POLICIES TO BE AMENDED ON THE FLY.

THE STRETCH OF THE COLORADO RIVER THAT IS THE SUBJECT OF THE DOG'S HEAD.

IT UM, IT FLOWS AROUND.

IT IS ARGUABLY ONE OF THE MOST HIGH WATER QUALITY STRETCHES OF THE, OF AN URBAN RIVER IN A UNITED STATES CITY IS, UH, SUPPORTED, UH, IT IS SUPPORTED A HIGH EXCEPTIONAL BIODIVERSITY.

THAT'S WHY I'M CONFUSED ABOUT HOW THIS AGREEMENT HAS VIRTUALLY NO ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS.

THE AGREEMENT SETS A MAXIMUM DEVELOPMENT ENTITLEMENTS A HUNDRED PERCENT IMPERVIOUS COVER, WHICH EQUATES TO ABOUT 2,400 ACRES OF PAVEMENT.

IT HAS NO HEIGHT LIMIT, NO FAR LIMIT.

IT MODIFIES THE CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONE TO ONLY 200 FEET.

AND THEN IT ALLOWS SIGNIFICANT USE OF THE CRITICAL WATER QUALITY ZONE FOR ROADS, UTILITIES, AND GOLF CART PATHS.

IT PROVIDES THE DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES THE ABILITY TO APPROVE VARIANCES TO ANY PROVISION OF THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE.

IT ALLOWS NEARLY EVERY ZONING USE GIVEN, UH, GIVEN THE, UH, CONCERNS AROUND TECH USES.

UH, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS A CALL OUT FOR PROHIBITION ON DATA CENTERS, CHIP MANUFACTURING, AND SIMILAR HIGH TECH, UH, HIGH TECH USES.

AND THEN ON TOP OF IT, UH, IT'S CONTINGENT UPON THE CITY GIVING THE DEVELOPER TAX BREAKS ON BOTH PROPERTY AND SALES TAXES SO THAT IT CAN USE MONEY THAT WOULD OTHERWISE GO TO PUBLIC SAFETY LIBRARIES AND SOCIAL SERVICES FOR, UH, THE DEVELOPER'S INFRASTRUCTURE.

IF THIS AGREEMENT PASSES ON THURSDAY, IT CANNOT BE UNDONE FOR 45 YEARS.

YOU WILL BE ALIENATING YOUR LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITY AND THE AUTHORITY OF ALL FUTURE COUNCILS.

FOR A HALF CENTURY, A FEW MONTHS OF PUBLIC SCRUTINY AND THE BOARDS OF COMMISSIONS PROCESS SEEMS PRUDENT AND WISE.

WHAT I WOULD SUGGEST WE DO IS, UH, WE TAKE A, A RECESS, JUST A BRIEF RECESS, UH, AND COME BACK AT 1245 AND WE'LL GO THROUGH THE AGENDA, THOSE ITEMS. AT THAT POINT IN TIME, WHAT I'M GONNA SUGGEST THAT WE DO ON, UH, THE FIRST ITEM, WHICH IS RELATED TO AUSTIN ENERGY, IS WE'LL RENEW OR BEGIN THE RENEWAL OF THE CONVERSATION THERE.

HELLO, CRAIG NASER, UH, CONSERVATION CHAIR OF THE LOCAL GROUP OF THE SIERRA CLUB.

THIS, UH, I I I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND.

UM, YOU KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT GAS PEAKER PLANTS AND THE PROBLEM IS CLIMATE CHANGE.

CLIMATE CHANGE IS GONNA CAUSE LARGER FLOODS DOWN THE COLORADO RIVER.

I'M A LOT LARGER.

IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT GONNA BE, UH, A SMOOTH LINE.

WE'RE GONNA COME TO TIPPING POINTS, AND THERE'S GONNA BE THINGS LIKE WINTER STORM URI, AND THEN RIGHT IN THE FLOODPLAIN, YOU WANNA BUILD THIS KIND OF DENSE, UH, DEVELOPMENT.

NOW, LET'S SAY THAT FLOOD COMES, IT'S ON A OXBOW.

WELL, WHAT DO RIVERS WANNA DO? IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT A RIVER, THEY WANT TO CUT ACROSS THE OXBOW.

THAT'S EITHER THEY MAKE OXBOWS AND CUT ACROSS 'EM AND OXBOWS AND CUT ACROSS 'EM.

UH, SO WHO'S GONNA STOP THAT? IT'S GONNA BE THE CITY, IT'S GONNA BE THE TAXPAYER.

WHEN THAT FLOOD COMES DOWN HERE, THE EMERGENCY SERVICES, ALL THAT.

AND NO VENTING, JUST LIKE BOBBY LEVINSKY SAID, NO COMMISSION, NOTHING, JUST LESS FLUSH IT THROUGH.

HOW MUCH ENERGY IS THIS THING GONNA USE? HOW ARE THE, HOW ARE THE WATER? HOW'S THE WATER QUALITY AND EVERYTHING GONNA WORK? I JUST, IT, IT, I DON'T KNOW.

AND THEN YOU HAVE ONE PROBLEM HERE, AND YOU WANNA SOLVE IT, AND, AND, AND THEN YOU CREATE LIKE A HUGE NUMBER.

WELL, MAYBE THIS WILL GO DOWN TO PEOPLE IN THE FUTURE.

YOU KNOW, YOU WON'T HAVE TO SOLVE IT BECAUSE YOU WON'T BE ON THE CITY COUNCIL ANYMORE.

WHATEVER HAPPENS.

BUT I'VE LIVED IN AUSTIN FOR 45 YEARS, AND I'VE SEEN SOME GOOD THINGS HAPPEN, AND I'VE SEEN SOME BAD THINGS HAPPEN, AND THINGS ARE GETTING TOUGHER AND CLIMATE CHANGE IS STANDING BEHIND IT.

AND THIS ONE CLIMATE CHANGE REALLY, I THINK SHOULD LET YOU THINK MORE ABOUT THIS.

BUT ANYWAY, THANK YOU.

THANK YOU, MAYOR.

ALL SPEAKERS HAVE BEEN CALLED, UH, MEMBERS, UH, ALL SPEAKERS HAVE BEEN CALLED.

SO, UM,

[01:05:01]

IF MEMBERS, UH, HAVE QUESTIONS, LET OR WANNA SPEAK, LET ME KNOW.

AND THEN WHAT I'M GONNA SUGGEST WE DO IS WE ROTATE, AND HOPEFULLY BECAUSE OF THE CONVERSATION WE'VE ALREADY HAD THIS, PRETTY MUCH EVERYBODY'S HAD THEIR OPPORTUNITY.

BUT WHAT WE WILL DO IS I'LL RECOGNIZE THAT SOMEBODY WILL LET, LET THEM SPEAK FOR 10 MINUTES, THEN WE'LL GO TO SOMEBODY NEW AND, AND IF SOMEBODY DIDN'T FINISH IN THAT 10 MINUTES, I'LL COME BACK TO THEM.

UH, BUT, SO JUST SO THAT YOU CAN ORGANIZE YOUR THOUGHTS.

UM, SO UNLESS THERE'S OBJECTION, AND I DON'T HEAR ANY WITHOUT OBJECTION, THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL IS IN RECESS UNTIL 1245 AND IT IS 12:17 PM WE'RE IN RECESS CALL TO ORDER THE, UH, WORK SESSION.

IT IS 12:48 PM AND WE HAVE BEEN IN A RECESS, BUT WE'RE NOW BACK TO ORDER.

[A7. Implementation of efficient, local, natural gas-powered peaker generation units as part of Austin Energy’s Resource, Generation and Climate Protection Plan to 2035. Funding: Funding is available in the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Capital Budget of Austin Energy. Funding for the additional amounts is contingent upon available funding in future budgets. Pulled by Council Member Siegel.]

UH, THE FIRST ITEM THAT WE'LL TAKE UP AS PART OF THIS WILL BE ITEM A SEVEN.

AND AS I'VE INDICATED, IF YOU WANT TO SAY SOMETHING ABOUT A SEVEN THAT YOU DIDN'T GET TO SAY WHEN WE WERE IN THE, UM, AUSTIN ENERGY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE MEETING, I WANNA RECOGNIZE YOU.

AND I'M ASSUMING COUNCIL MEMBER WALTER, YOU'RE RECOGNIZED.

DIDN'T EVEN GET THE PASSWORD RIGHT.

ALL RIGHT.

UM, I GUESS I HAVE A FEW MORE QUESTIONS FOR OUR ESTEEMED AUSTIN ENERGY.

JUST A COUPLE QUESTIONS RELATED TO THE RELIABILITY CONVERSATION, AND THEN I WANTED TO FINISH UP WITH, UH, JUST KIND OF THIS CONCERN ABOUT WHAT WE CAN AND CAN'T SHARE PUBLICLY, UH, AS PART OF THIS PROCESS.

SO, YOU KNOW, COUNCILOR SIEGEL TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE RELIABILITY RISK HOUR QUESTION AND WHERE KIND OF THE TIPPING POINT IS, RIGHT? ARE THESE TWO HOUR EVENTS, FOUR HOUR EVENTS, YURI LEVEL EVENTS? OH, YES.

AND AND WE'VE HAD SOME CONVERSATION FOR ABOUT THIS, BUT I WAS CURIOUS IF YOU COULD HELP ILLUMINATE FOR THE PUBLIC WHEN WE LOOK AT THAT CHART, HOW I, I THINK THE NATURAL REACTION IS, WELL, IF WE HAVE EITHER LET'S SAY X AMOUNT OF BATTERIES OR JUST WHATEVER GENERATION THAT WE CAN KIND OF PIECE THAT TOGETHER, UH, BECAUSE IT'S THE SHOULDERS, RIGHT? THE MORNING RAMP UP OR THE, THE, THE SOLAR, I FORGET WHAT WE, THE RAMP DOWN.

WOW, GOT IT THERE.

UM, CAN YOU JUST HELP PUT SOME CONTEXT INTO THOSE RELIABILITY RISK HOURS? ARE WE TALKING ABOUT A FEW CALAMITOUS EVENTS, A BUNCH OF LITTLE EVENTS? JUST PUT, PUT MORE CONTEXT TO THOSE NUMBERS IF YOU COULD.

SO THE, UM, THE ANALYSIS THAT WE DID, UM, FOR, YOU KNOW, THESE, THIS ROUND OF, OF PROPOSALS, UM, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE NUMBER OF RELIABILITY RISK HOURS, WE SEE THEM RANGE ANYWHERE FROM ONE TO 10 HOURS.

AND, UM, WE GOT SOME QUESTIONS THAT HAD US LOOK A LITTLE DEEPER, THE NUMBERS AND, UM, A A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF THEM WERE GREATER THAN FIVE HOURS IN LENGTH.

SO RANGE BETWEEN LIKE FIVE AND EIGHT, BUT THEY GO AS LONG AS 10 HOURS AT A TIME, UM, CONSECUTIVELY.

AND SO, UM, THAT'S WHAT IS BEHIND, UM, A LOT OF THE, YOU KNOW, THE, WHEN YOU SEE THE 575 OR THE 475 AVERAGE, UM, HOURS AT RISK PER YEAR, UM, IT'S, IT'S A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT INSTANCES, NOT JUST ONE BIG CLIMATE EVENT.

AND, AND I WILL JUST ADD THAT THE, THE, THE MODELING THAT'S REFLECTED IN THAT CHART OF THE RELIABILITY RISK HOURS IS, NEEDS TO BE LOOKED AT SEPARATELY FROM THE CONTEXT OF THE SLIDE ABOUT THE FINANCIAL RISK.

BECAUSE THE FINANCIAL RISK ASSUMES, UH, YOU KNOW, A WINTER STORM, A CALAMITOUS EVENT, THE, THE, THE MODELING FOR THE RELIABILITY RISK HOURS ASSUMES NONE OF THAT.

IT'S JUST LOOKING AT NORMAL CONDITIONS.

SO WE KNOW THAT RELI, THAT'S THE NUMBER OF RELIABILITY RISK HOURS IF YOU'RE ASSUMING NO EX NONE OF THE EXTREMES.

AND WHERE DO WE DRAW THE EXTREME LINER IN, IN EITHER OFFICIALLY OR IN YOUR MIND? IS IT 12 HOURS, 24 HOURS, FIVE DAYS? LIKE WHAT, WHAT IS KIND OF THAT TIPPING POINT TO BEING WELL, OUTSIDE OF A NORMAL STRESS ON THE, THE GRID OR ON OUR LOCAL? WELL, WHAT WE'RE SEEING FROM THAT DATA IS BASICALLY SHOWING US THAT THE NORMAL STRESS ON THE GRID IS LIKE THE EIGHT TO

[01:10:01]

10 HOUR TYPE PERIOD.

BUT WE KNOW THAT WE'VE SEEN OTHER EVENTS COME ALONG THAT ARE, THAT ARE LONGER THAN THAT.

AND SO IF WE WERE, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD HAVE TO DECIDE WHAT LEVEL OF EVENT ARE YOU TRYING TO SOLVE FOR.

IF YOU'RE TRYING TO SOLVE, AND I HEAR THIS FROM A LOT OF UTILITIES EVEN OUTSIDE OF TEXAS, THEY'LL SAY, WELL, WE KNOW THAT YOU GUYS HAD WINTER STORM URI AND THAT WAS OVER FIVE DAYS.

AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE SOLVING FOR TOO.

AND THAT'S KIND OF, UM, YOU KNOW, NATIONWIDE.

AND SO IF YOU THINK IF YOU TAKE THAT SAME 127 HOURS THAT WE HAD IN WINTER STORM URI, AND YOU SAY, OKAY, WELL WE'D NEED 400 MEGAWATTS OF BATTERIES FOR THAT 127 HOURS, WE WOULD NEED 50,000 MEGAWATT HOURS OF BATTERIES INSTALLED.

AND IT'S JUST, IT'S JUST COST PROHIBITIVE.

SO WE'D HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW, HOW MANY BATTERIES ARE, WOULD WE NEED FOR WHAT WE'RE SOLVING FOR? PARTLY WHY WE, UM, THE DATA SHOW US THAT THERE'S NOT A VIABLE ALTERNATIVE TO THE PEAKERS BECAUSE WE, OUR CUSTOMERS EXPECT US TO BE ABLE TO SOLVE IN EXTREMES.

WHAT IS THE IMPACT TO RELIABILITY IF SOMEONE DOES DROP A LARGE LOAD RIGHT OUTSIDE OF OUR SERVICE TERRITORY? SO VERY CLOSE, BUT NOT IN THE LOAD ZONE, IN, IN, IN TERMS OF RELIABILITY.

UM, IT WOULD STILL BE A QUESTION OF US BEING ABLE TO IMPORT POWER AND THERE WOULD BE MORE CONGESTION AND THAT POWER WOULD BE MORE EXPENSIVE.

UM, BUT WE WOULD BE ABLE TO, TO GET POWER, IT'S JUST IN TERMS OF THE PRICING AND THE AMOUNT OF CONGESTION RISK WE'D BE EXPOSED TO WOULD BE EVEN HIGHER.

AND SO THAT'S, YOU KNOW, PART OF THE VALUE OF LOCAL RESOURCES THAT WE'RE ALREADY EXPERIENCING, IT JUST BECOMES EVEN MORE ACUTE IF YOU HAVE A LOT OF LARGE LOADS.

WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS THAT THOSE LARGE LOADS AREN'T COMING TO AUSTIN.

THEY'RE COMING RIGHT OUTSIDE OF AUSTIN, AND THAT'S ON THE IMPORT PATHS.

SO IF THEN YOU HAVE MORE OF THAT, THAT THAT SUPPLY IS MEETING THAT DEMAND RIGHT OUTSIDE OF YOUR AREA, IT MAKES IT MORE EXPENSIVE TO TRY TO GET THE SUPPLY THROUGH, YOU KNOW, THAT AREA AND INTO OUR LOAD ZONE.

UM, THAT MAKES SENSE.

AND REMIND, WHAT IS THAT THE ERCOT THRESHOLD OF LARGE LOAD WHERE THEY HAVE TO 75 MEGAWATTS IS THE ERCOT THRESHOLD.

THAT WOULD BE STILL VERY, VERY LARGE.

SO EVEN THINGS BELOW 75, UM, ARE QUITE LARGE.

AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE HEARING FROM STORIES OF, YOU KNOW, UH, YOU KNOW, LARGE LOADS THAT ARE AS BIG AS ALL OF AUSTIN, YOU KNOW, THAT ARE COMING AND THINGS LIKE THAT, AND FROM, FROM REAL DEVELOPERS WHO ARE DOING THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.

AND NOT IN AUSTIN.

BUT, UH, SO IT IS, IT IS A RISK IN TERMS OF THE SUPPLY AND DEMAND DYNAMICS AROUND ERCOT.

YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE HAVE POLICIES HERE IN AUSTIN THAT LARGE LOADS THAT, THAT THESE CUST ANY CUSTOMER THAT COMES IN, THEY PAY FOR THEMSELVES, ANY INFRASTRUCTURE NECESSARY TO SERVE THAT CUSTOMER, THEY'RE GOING TO PAY THEIR OWN WAY.

WHAT WE CAN'T REALLY ACCOUNT FOR IS THE SUPPLY AND DEMAND DYNAMICS AROUND ERCOT.

AND, AND IF THERE IS A LOT MORE DEMAND, THEN THE PRICES EVERYWHERE WILL GO UP.

AND WE JUST WANT TO BE ABLE TO PROTECT OUR CUSTOMERS FROM THAT DYNAMIC.

WHEN YOU COULD DEPLOY IT.

CAN YOU GIVE US A LITTLE INSIGHT INTO THE EITHER RESEARCH OR OUTREACH Y'ALL HAVE DONE INTO LONG DURATION BATTERIES, UM, YOU KNOW, NON LITHIUM ION TECHNOLOGIES, UH, WHERE THAT, WHERE YOU SEE THAT TECH TECHNOLOGY CURRENTLY, AND HOW, ONCE AGAIN, BACK TO THE RELIABILITY, RISK HOUR QUESTIONING, KNOW THESE LONGER DURATION EVENTS WHERE THOSE EITHER CURRENTLY ARE OR Y'ALL THINK THEY'RE GOING? YEAH.

UM, YOU KNOW, IT IS IMPORTANT FOR WHEN WE TALK ABOUT STORAGE AND PEOPLE WILL TALK ABOUT MEDIUM DURATION OR LONG DURATION STORAGE TO TALK ABOUT WHAT, WHAT THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT, WHAT TECHNOLOGY THEY HAVE IN MIND, BECAUSE A LOT OF THE TIME PEOPLE ARE JUST, YOU KNOW, IF YOU NEED 10 HOURS, THEY'RE JUST PUTTING IN TEN ONE HOUR, YOU KNOW, UH, SAME TECHNOLOGY THAT THAT'S CURRENTLY BEING DEPLOYED.

BUT THERE ARE OTHER TECHNOLOGIES LIKE IRON AIR BATTERIES, UM, THAT ARE, THAT ARE A HUNDRED HOUR BATTERIES, BUT THEY'RE REALLY JUST NOT READY.

UM, THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO COMPETE IN ERCOT AND THE COSTS AND THE EFFICIENCY IS JUST NOT THERE.

FOR EXAMPLE, AN IRON AIR BATTERY, IT, IT, IT RUSTS AND UNRESTS FOR JUST TO SIMPLIFY IT, AND IT LOSES 50% OF ITS ENERGY IN THE FORM OF HEAT.

SO FROM WHAT YOU CHARGE UP, IT'S GOING TO LOSE 50% OF THAT.

IT ALSO LOSES, UH, 1% OF ITS CHARGE EVERY DAY.

AND IT'S UNCLEAR HOW MANY TIMES YOU COULD EVEN DISCHARGE IT DURING THE LIFETIME OF THAT, OF THAT, UH, UH, TECHNOLOGY.

IT'S MAYBE AROUND 30 TIMES EVER THAT YOU COULD DEPLOY IT.

THE OTHER CHALLENGES COME IN THAT, YOU KNOW, SO IT REALLY WOULD BE, UM, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT YOU'D HAVE TO CHOOSE CAREFULLY

[01:15:01]

AND, UM, THERE WOULDN'T, AND YOU'D BE CONSTANTLY KEEPING IT, IT CHARGED UP IN ORDER TO MEET THOSE FEW TIMES AND IT WOULD DEGRADE OVER TIME.

SO THERE'S NOTHING THAT REALLY MEETS THE NEED YET IN TERMS OF THAT LONG DURATION STORAGE.

UM, AND, AND, AND WE DO HAVE THAT IN THE RESOURCE PLAN IN TERMS OF MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE DOING THE TECHNOLOGY READINESS ASSESSMENTS, THE CULTURE OF INNOVATION.

WE KEEP UP ON ALL THOSE THINGS AND MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, IF SOME TECHNOLOGY LIKE THAT COMES ALONG, THAT WE GO THROUGH THE PHASES OF MONITORING IT, UM, MARKET TESTING, IT, PILOTING IT, AND THEN DEPLOYING IT.

AND SO THAT'S KIND OF, THOSE PHASES ARE PHASED APPROACH OF GETTING SOMETHING TO WHERE IT CAN BE FULLY DEPLOYED IN THE ERCOT MARKET.

AND FOR EXAMPLE, THAT'S KIND OF HOW WE GOT TO WHERE WE ARE, WHERE WE'RE PILOTING GEOTHERMAL IN TERMS OF MONITORING THAT TECHNOLOGY, UM, MARKET TESTING, IT, PUTTING, YOU KNOW, WITH, WITH MARKET OFFERS.

AND THEN NOW WE'RE PILOTING IT AND IF IT CAN SCALE UP, IT WOULD BE READY FOR FULL DEPLOYMENT.

UM, JUST BRIEFLY, MY LAST KIND OF, I MENTIONED ABOUT TRANSPARENCY.

I THINK THAT I HAVEN'T SEEN THIS, RIGHT? THIS IS A UNIQUE SITUATION WHERE WE ARE APPROVING A VERY LARGE CONTRACT, NOT IN, IN THE OPEN.

AND I UNDERSTAND THE COMPETITIVE REASONS WHY I'M NOT, UM, DISPUTING THAT.

I THINK RIGHT NOW AS IT RELATES TO THE PUBLIC'S PERCEPTION OF THAT AND UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WE'RE DOING, YOU KNOW, WE SAW IN THE GEN PLAN, RIGHT, THE ABILITY TO GIVE A LOT OF MODELING AND, AND ESTIMATES OF WHAT WOULD HAPPEN FROM A LIABILITY RISK PERSPECTIVE UNDER VARIOUS SCENARIOS OR AN EMISSIONS PERSPECTIVE UNDER VARIOUS SCENARIOS.

UM, AND THAT'S, WE DON'T HAVE THAT HERE.

AND I THINK THAT IS REALLY MAKING THIS VERY DIFFICULT FOR THE PUBLIC TO INTERNALIZE AND ACCEPT, YOU KNOW, IT'S WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO SEE THE, THE PROOF, RIGHT? IT'S JUST, WELL, YOU KNOW, WE, WE SAID IT AND, AND HOPE YOU TRUST US, BUT, BUT YOU KNOW, THAT'S ALL THERE IS.

UH, AND SO I DON'T KNOW IF THERE ARE ANY WAYS TO, TO WORK WITH, YOU KNOW, INDUSTRY AVERAGES AS IT RELATES TO PEAKERS OR JUST ANY KIND OF INFORMATION THAT WE CAN PROVIDE THAT IS NOT SPECIFIC TO THE, THE ACQUISITION THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, BUT THAT WOULD HELP INFORM THE PUBLIC OF WHAT WE ARE LOOKING AT.

I JUST THINK IT WOULD GO A LONG WAY.

SO, UH, I KNOW WE ONLY HAVE A COUPLE DAYS BEFORE THURSDAY, BUT THAT'S JUST A, A CONCERN I WANNA FLAG.

'CAUSE I KNOW IT'S BEEN TOUGH IN TALKING TO PEOPLE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHY THIS, WHY THAT AND YOU SAW TO THE UC.

SO, UM, JUST WANT TO FLAG THAT.

SO YEAH, AND IT IS TOUGH BECAUSE, UM, YOU KNOW, IN THE RESOURCE PLAN PROCESS, WE REALIZED THAT PEOPLE, WE NEED, WE WERE SHOWING OUR WORK, PEOPLE WANTED US TO SHOW OUR WORK, AND IN ORDER TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS, WE NEEDED TO SHOW OUR WORK.

THE DIFFERENCE THERE WAS THAT WE WERE, UM, WE WERE MODELING HYPOTHETICALS.

WE WEREN'T MODELING ACTUAL RESOURCES THAT WE ARE SEEKING TO CONTRACT AND HOW THOSE RESOURCES, HOW THEY WOULD DEPLOY IN THE ERCOT MARKET, THE AMOUNT OF REVENUE THAT THEY WOULD EARN IN THE ERCOT MARKET, ALL FOR A REAL, FOR AUSTIN'S ACTUAL PORTFOLIO AND THE ACTUAL ANTICIPATED, UH, PORTFOLIO ADDITIONS.

AND SO DOING KIND OF HYPOTHETICAL SCENARIOS THAT SHOW, UM, THE DIRECTION OF, YOU KNOW, WHETHER WE COULD RETIRE ALL OF OUR GENERATION OR WHETHER WE COULD DO THIS OR, YOU KNOW, KIND OF SHOWING THESE EXTREMES IS DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE NOW, IN ADDITION TO JUST THE, UH, NEGOTIATING POSITION THAT, THAT, THAT, THAT WE'RE IN AT THIS POINT AND, AND HOW, HOW CHALLENGING THAT IS.

BUT WHEN WE LOOK AT DIFFERENT PORTFOLIOS, I, I DO JUST WANNA SAY WHEN WE SHOW THINGS TO TRY TO GIVE, UM, YOU KNOW, TO TRY TO SIMPLIFY.

SO INSTEAD OF SHOWING OUR WORK AND SHOWING ALL THE NUMBERS, WE'RE TRYING TO SHOW THE CONCLUSIONS.

AND I KNOW I THINK THAT THAT'S CHALLENGING, BUT SOMETIMES WE DO IT IN A WAY THAT SUGGESTS THAT WE'RE, WE'RE COMPETING, YOU KNOW, PEAKERS VERSUS RENEWABLES OR PEAKERS VERSUS BATTERIES.

AND, AND IT GIVES, IT, IT MAY GIVE THE IMPRESSION THAT WE DON'T WANT TO DO IT ALL.

YOU KNOW, THAT WE WOULD STOP DOING BATTERIES IF WE DID PEAKERS, AND THAT'S NOT THE CASE AT ALL.

IT'S NOT AN EITHER OR KIND OF A SITUATION.

UM, WE KNOW WE'RE GONNA NEED IT ALL.

AND LIKE I SAID BEFORE, UM, UP HERE IS THAT, UH, DOING PEAKERS CAN ACTUALLY ENABLE US TO DO MORE OF THE RENEWABLES.

WE WILL NOT STOP AND SLOW DOWN IF WE CAN GET MORE BATTERIES DONE, IF WE CAN GET THE, UH, TRANSMISSION IMPORT CAPACITY DONE AND ALL THE RENEWABLES, WE WILL CONTINUE EXECUTING ON THAT.

SO I JUST WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW THAT IT, IT SHOWS UP ON A SLIDE, LIKE IT'S AN EITHER OR, BUT WE WOULDN'T BE DOING PEAKERS INSTEAD OF DOING ALL OF THE THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, ARE WHERE OUR VALUES ARE.

WELL, I APPRECIATE IT VERY MUCH, AND, UH, THOSE ARE ALL THE QUESTIONS I HAVE.

COUNCIL MEMBER, COUNCIL MEMBER SEAL AND MAYOR PRO TEM.

THANK YOU MAYOR.

AND, UH, THANKS

[01:20:01]

AGAIN, GM AND DEPUTY GM.

UM, YOU KNOW, I PULLED THIS FOR WORK SESSION BECAUSE I WANTED THIS CONVERSATION TO HAPPEN IN PUBLIC AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, AND YOU HAVE BOTH PROVIDED A LOT OF REALLY IMPORTANT INFORMATION.

UM, I'M GONNA ASK YOU SOME QUESTIONS THAT I THINK I'VE ALREADY ASKED YOU, UH, PRIVATELY, BUT I REALLY DO WANT TO HEAR YOUR, YOUR PUBLIC ANSWERS, UH, AS MUCH AS YOU CAN.

AND SO THE FIRST ONE IS, UM, I MEAN, WE KNOW WE ISSUED THIS ALL RESOURCES RFP, AND MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT ANY PEAKER PROPOSALS THAT, UH, WERE SUBMITTED IN RESPONSE TO THAT PROCESS, WERE NOT DEEMED TO BE ECONOMICAL.

AND SO WHY, WHY IS THIS PROCESS, YOU KNOW, UM, WHERE WE'RE GONNA GO IN EXEC SESSION ON THURSDAY AND MAYBE APPROVE, UH, AN ACQUISITION PLAN? WHY IS THAT PROCESS SUCCEEDING WHEN THE RFP FAILED? YEAH.

UM, GREAT QUESTION, AND THANK YOU FOR ASKING THAT BECAUSE I COULD TELL THAT THAT'S A, A LAYER OF CONFUSION TO THIS, THAT THAT NEEDS TO BE CLARIFIED.

SO, UM, WITH ALL RESOURCE RFP, WHAT WE, AND AGAIN, THE INTENT BEHIND THAT WAS TO SEE IF THERE'S A CARBON FREE ALTERNATIVE, UM, THAT COULD MEET OUR RISK AND RELIABILITY NEEDS.

AND IN ORDER TO DO THAT, SO WE ISSUED THE RFP AND THE RFP RESPONSES OR FOR PROJECTS, AND THIS IS WHY WE CAN BRING A, A WIND ENERGY PROPOSAL OR SOMETHING, A SOLAR ENERGY PROPOSAL, A BATTERY TO COUNCIL, AN OPEN SESSION, BECAUSE IT'S A WHOLE PROJECT.

IT'S NOT GETTING DOWN TO THE SPECIFICS OF THAT TECHNOLOGY AND THE PRICE OF THAT TECHNOLOGY AND HOW IT'LL PERFORM IN THE MARKET AND THE TERMS OF THAT ARE NOT, ARE NOT KNOWN TO THE MARKET.

AND EVEN WHEN IT COMES TO COUNCIL, ALL THE TERMS OF HOW THAT'S GONNA WORK IN THE MARKET AREN'T KNOWN.

UM, SO WE GOT THE PROPOSALS FOR ENTIRE PROJECTS AND THE PEAKER PROPOSALS THAT WERE PART OF THE ALL RESOURCE RFP, WERE NOT FOR AUSTIN ENERGY TO OWN THEM.

AND THAT PROVIDES A LEVEL OF, OF REVENUE AND BENEFIT TO THAT OWNER AND THAT DEVELOPER THAT WOULDN'T EXIST IF WE HAVE DIRECT OWNERSHIP.

UM, HAVING DIRECT OWNERSHIP ALLOWS US TO NEGOTIATE THE BEST DEAL WITH ALL THE MAJOR, UM, VIABLE PEAKER MANUFACTURERS, AND WE'VE APPROACHED ALL OF THEM TO GET THEIR CURRENT PRICING, AND WE CAN NEGOTIATE THE BEST DEAL THAT WAY.

AND WHAT WE'VE SEEN IS THAT THE PRICING THAT WE CAN GET THAT WAY IS BETTER EVEN THAN WHAT WE ARE ABLE TO GET THROUGH THROUGH THAT PROCESS.

UM, SO THAT'S A LOT TO SAY.

IT'S BECAUSE OF THE MODEL OF, OF THE ALL RESOURCE RFP PROPOSALS OF THAT DEVELOPER WOULD OWN THE ASSET, THEY WOULD DEVELOP THE WHOLE THING, THEY WOULD HAVE THE LAND, THEY WOULD HAVE DO, DO ALL OF THAT.

AND, UM, WE WOULD JUST CONTRACT TO BE ABLE TO USE THAT ASSET.

THAT'S WHAT MADE IT, UM, UNATTRACTIVE FOR US IN TERMS OF HOW IT WOULD DEPLOY IN THE MARKET, AND WE WOULDN'T HAVE ULTIMATELY HAVE CONTROL OVER ITS FUTURE AS WELL.

SO THAT'S SOME OF THE DIFFERENCE.

I HOPE THAT ANSWERED THE QUESTION.

AS THOSE CONVERSATIONS OCCUR.

YES.

UM, THE NEXT QUESTION IS KIND OF BUILDING OUT WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT A LITTLE BIT EARLIER ABOUT THE GUARDRAILS, AND THERE'S THE MISSION STANDARDS THAT ARE IN THE GEN PLAN.

UM, BUT THEN I THINK THE GEN PLAN SAYS SOMETHING LIKE, UH, EMISSIONS GUARDRAILS FOR A PARTICULAR PROJECT ARE DEVELOPED AT THE TIME OF PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION, OR SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES.

AND I GUESS MY QUESTION RELATES TO THE PRICE THAT WE'RE GONNA PAY BECAUSE THE PRICE THAT WE'RE PAYING IN OUR ABILITY TO EARN BACK THAT VALUE OVER TIME IS TO SOME EXTENT DEPENDENT ON OUR UTILIZATION OF THE ASSET, RIGHT? AND SO, UM, MY QUESTION IS HOW DO, HOW DO WE KNOW IT'S A GOOD PRICE WHEN WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THE GUARDRAIL POLICY IS GONNA BE? YEAH.

SO WE DO THE BEST WE CAN WITH THE INFORMATION WE HAVE AT THE TIME.

AND SO WE MODEL WHAT WE ANTICIPATE THE GUARDRAILS WILL BE, UM, IN THE FORM OF, YOU KNOW, ESSENTIALLY RUN OUR LIMITATIONS, UM, ON, UM, KIND OF OUR, ALL OF OUR PEAKER PORTFOLIO.

UM, AND WE DO IT IN THE ORDER OF OPERATIONS THAT IS STATED IN THE PLAN, THE CLEANEST UNITS FIRST, AND THEN THE, UH, OLDEST DIRTIEST UNITS LAST.

UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN AS WE MODEL THIS, THEY, THEY DO SHOW, UM, THAT THESE UNITS ARE ECONOMIC IN THE LONG RUN AND THAT THEY ESSENTIALLY PAY FOR THEMSELVES THE REVENUES THAT THEY GENERATE OFFSET.

UM, IF THE FUTURE LOOKS DIFFERENT THAN THE MODELING, WHICH IS A VERY REAL POSSIBILITY, UM, THEN YOU SAY, WELL, WELL, SHOULD I STILL DO THIS? AND THE POINT THAT I GO TO IS THINKING ABOUT HOW IN ADDITION TO THE NORMAL CONDITIONS WHERE THEY PAY FOR THEMSELVES, THESE RESOURCES OFFSET 50% OF THE FINANCIAL EXPOSURE RISKS DURING AN EXTREME EVENT.

SO JUST ONE EXTREME EVENT WOULD CAUSE THEM TO ESSENTIALLY, YOU KNOW, SAVE EVERYTHING AROUND HERE.

AND SO, UM, IT'S THAT ESSENTIAL INSURANCE COMPONENT THAT HELPS BOLSTER THE ARGUMENT AS A WHOLE.

UM, KNOWING THAT MODELS ARE, ARE, UM, AND ANALYSIS ARE, ARE HELPFUL, BUT NOT ALWAYS, THEY'RE

[01:25:01]

NEVER EXACTLY RIGHT.

BUT, UM, EVERYTHING IS POINTING IN THE DIRECTION OF THIS IS THE RIGHT MOVE.

AND I'LL JUST ADD ONE OTHER THING IS THAT, UM, EVEN THOUGH OUR, OUR MODELING SHOWS THAT THEY HAVE A NET BENEFIT TO CUSTOMERS, EVEN ASSUMING THESE, THE HIGH PRICES THAT WE'RE SEEING, UM, IF, IF WE ARE IN A SITUATION WHERE THEY AREN'T EARNING AS MUCH REVENUE IN THE MARKET, THAT MEANS THAT'S BECAUSE OUR LOAD ZONE PRICE ISN'T HIGH ANYMORE BECAUSE WE'RE DOING ALL THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE WANT TO DO.

AND THAT STILL SAVES CUSTOMERS MONEY.

SO OUR FUTURE IN TERMS OF THE NET BENEFIT TO CUSTOMERS, BECAUSE THESE UNITS THEMSELVES, WE DON'T NEED THEM TO MAKE MONEY ON THEIR OWN.

WE NEED TO SAVE OUR CUSTOMERS MONEY AS A WHOLE, AND WE DO THAT AS A PORTFOLIO.

WE DO THAT THROUGH TRANSMISSION INVESTMENTS, WE DO ALL KINDS OF THINGS.

AND SO EVEN IF THAT FUTURE UNFOLDS WHERE THEY'RE NOT NEEDED, THAT WILL BE A GOOD THING AND IT WILL BE A GOOD THING FOR CUSTOMERS AS WELL.

UM, AND IT IS A UNIQUE SITUATION WHERE NORMALLY WE, WE AREN'T IN A POSITION TO LOOK AT CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS THAT ARE NEEDED FOR THE SAFETY OF OUR COMMUNITY.

NORMALLY, WE DON'T EXPECT THOSE TO PENCIL OUT IN A MARKET.

THERE'S NOT A, A MARKET FOR, YOU KNOW, FLOOD MITIGATION MEASURES OR, OR WATER PLANTS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.

IN THIS CASE, WE START, YOU KNOW, START FROM THE PRESUMPTION THAT THIS IS A NECESSARY CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT.

THE BONUS IS THAT IT WILL PENCIL OUT AND BE NET BENEFIT TO THE CUSTOMERS.

BUT EVEN IF THE MARKET CHANGES ON US, OUR CUSTOMERS WILL STILL BE BETTER OFF BECAUSE THAT MEANS PRICES WILL BE LOWER IN OUR LOAD ZONE.

AND I THINK WHAT GM MARTIN WAS SAYING IS THAT, UM, OR DEPUTY GM IS THAT, UH, THE INSURANCE ASPECT IS A PUBLIC GOOD IN AND OF ITSELF.

THAT'S RIGHT.

SO YEAH, ONE OF THOSE EVENTS AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, YOU KNOW, HALF OF THE HALF OF THE INVESTMENT IS ALREADY INSTANTLY, UM, RECOUPED.

WE HAVE THAT PEACE OF MIND.

UM, AND JIM RI, YOU, YOU TALKED ABOUT THIS A SECOND AGO, BUT IF YOU COULD JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION, WHY DO WE APPROVE PEAKERS IN SECRET, BUT WIND AND SOLAR IN PUBLIC? YEAH.

UM, THE NEGOTIATING ENVIRONMENT IS VERY DIFFERENT.

UM, WHEN WE PUT OUT AN RFP FOR RENEWABLE RESOURCES, WE ARE VERY MUCH IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT.

WE'RE GREAT OFFTAKER PEOPLE LOOK FOR PARTNERS LIKE US TO BUY ALL OF THE ENERGY OUTPUT FROM THAT.

THEY'RE LIMITED PEOPLE WHO CAN DO THAT IN ERCOT, QUITE FRANKLY, AS A QUALIFIED SCHEDULING ENTITY THAT CAN BE THE OFFTAKER.

UM, SO WE'RE VERY MUCH IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT.

THE OFFERS WE GET BACK IN RESPONSE TO THOSE RFPS ARE FIXED.

WE GET THE OFFER, WE HAVE MANY OF THE CONTRACT DETAILS ALREADY DONE BY THE TIME IT COMES TO COUNCIL, THAT OFFER IS NOT MOVING.

THE CHALLENGE HERE IS THE COMPETITION FOR THESE MAJOR MANUFACTURERS OF THIS EQUIPMENT.

THEY ARE NOT SPENDING THE TIME AND RESOURCES TO RESPOND TO RFPS.

THEY HAVE UTILITIES COMING TO THEM.

THEY HAVE OTHER ENTITIES, YOU KNOW, VENTURE CAPITAL COMING TO THEM ALL THE TIME.

UM, THEY DON'T NEED TO RESPOND TO AN RFP.

THAT'S WHY THESE MAJOR MANUFACTURERS DID NOT RESPOND TO OUR RFP.

THEY, THEY, WE NEED TO GO TO THE TABLE TO THEM.

UM, AND IN MANY RESPECTS WHERE, WHEREAS WE'RE IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT FOR THOSE RENEWABLE RFPS, THESE PEAKER MANUFACTURERS ARE IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT HERE.

AND SO BY MAKING SURE THAT WE CAN GET THEM TO THE TABLE, UM, THEY ARE NOT USED TO THEIR PRICES BEING PUBLIC AND THEIR PRICES ARE GOING UP.

IF WE WANT THE BEST DEAL THAT WE POSSIBLY CAN, IF WE'RE TELLING THE WORLD WHAT THEIR CURRENT PRICING IS AT THIS CURRENT TIME, WE ARE GONNA GET THEIR HIGHEST PRICING BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT GOING TO WANT THE REST OF THE MARKET TO KNOW IF WE GOT A GOOD DEAL.

AND SO WE NEED AS MANY VENDORS AT THE TABLE AS WE CAN POSSIBLY GET TO BE ABLE TO NEGOTIATE THE BEST PRICE, AND ULTIMATELY THAT'S GOING TO SAVE CUSTOMERS MONEY.

UH, LAST KIND OF AREA QUESTION IS ABOUT, UM, CITING AND, UM, I GUESS SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN CALLED A GOOD NEIGHBOR POLICY.

UM, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT AS YOU SHARED EARLIER, PLACEMENT FOR PEAKERS WILL NOT COME BACK TO COUNCIL UNLESS THERE'S A NEED TO PURCHASE LAND.

AND IN THE COMMUNITY MEETINGS, I GUESS LED BY MS. RIFE ABOUT PEAKERS, THERE WAS DISCUSSION OF GOOD NEIGHBOR POLICIES AND AGREEMENTS TO MITIGATE THE IMPACTS OF THE PEAKERS IN THE COMMUNITIES IN WHICH THEY WOULD BE LOCATED.

SO, UM, WHEN WOULD WE LEARN MORE ABOUT THESE GOOD NEIGHBOR, UH, POLICIES AND MITIGATION POLICIES? WOULD THAT COME BACK TO COUNCIL, OR WOULD THAT BE CARRIED OUT BY A ENERGY WITHOUT FURTHER INVOLVEMENT? YEAH, THE, UM, SO THIS WASN'T OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS.

YOU KNOW, IF, IF WE'RE GOING TO BE IN A, IN A NEIGHBORHOOD, IN A, IN A COMMUNITY, A PART OF TOWN, THAT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AROUND THAT SIDING IS, IS, IS GONNA GOING TO RAMP UP, AND WE WILL HAVE A LOT MORE CONVERSATIONS OF FLESHING OUT WHAT DOES, WHAT ARE THE NEEDS OF THAT COMMUNITY AND WHAT, AND GETTING EVEN MORE INTO WHAT DOES BEING A GOOD NEIGHBOR LOOK LIKE.

UM, WE CAN CERTAINLY PROVIDE MORE, UM, DETAILS TO COUNCIL AS THOSE CONVERSATIONS, YOU KNOW, REGULAR UPDATES

[01:30:01]

UM, IN TERMS OF WHETHER IT NEEDS COUNCIL APPROVAL OR NOT, I DON'T, I I DON'T THINK IT WOULD BE REQUIRED, BUT WE'RE HAPPY TO PROVIDE REGULAR UPDATES AND THEN HEAR WHAT COUNCIL THINKS AND IF THERE ARE OTHER THINGS THAT WE MIGHT BE MISSING.

OUR INTENT NOW WAS TO SEE IF THE COMMUNITY AS, AS TALKING TO, TO THE COMMUNITY ABOUT PEAKER SIDING.

WAS THERE ANYTHING WE'RE MISSING OR IS THERE ANY DEFINITE THINGS THAT YOU NEED TO SEE? WHAT, WHAT DO WE NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS AREA? YOU KNOW, ANY KIND OF SHORTCOMINGS, JUST OBVIOUS WHAT, WHAT DID AUSTIN ENERGY GET WRONG? AND SO WE HEARD SOME OF, YOU KNOW, YOU LINDA GAVE A SUMMARY OF WHAT THAT FEEDBACK WAS, BUT THAT CERTAINLY NOT ALL THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE, WE'LL CONTINUE HAVING THAT DIALOGUE AND CONTINUING TO RIGHTSIZE WHAT ANY UNIQUE NEEDS MIGHT BE.

DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING? YEAH, IF I COULD JUST ADD, UM, SO WHEN WE, UM, AS WE CONTINUE TO HONE IN ON OUR SHORTLIST, UM, WE WILL GO TO THE NEIGHBORHOODS, RIGHT? WE DID NOW THIS TIME AND WE REACHED OUT TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS, BUT IN THIS CASE, WE'RE NOT GONNA INVITE THEM TO COME TO ONE OF OUR MEETINGS.

WE'RE GONNA SAY, WHEN CAN WE COME TO ONE OF YOUR MEETINGS WHERE YOU'RE ALREADY GOING TO BE SO WE CAN HAVE A DIALOGUE? BECAUSE WE WANNA ASK THEM WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE TO BE A GOOD NEIGHBOR.

WE, WE DON'T WANNA ASSUME THAT EVERY PART OF AUSTIN IS GONNA FEEL THE SAME WAY.

SOME PEOPLE ARE GONNA WANT SCHOLARSHIPS FOR, FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN.

AND SOME PEOPLE ARE GONNA WANNA MAKE SURE THAT A RESOURCE DOESN'T LIKE, LIKE I DON'T WANNA SEE THE RESOURCE MAKE IT, MAKE IT DISAPPEAR.

AND SOME PEOPLE ARE GONNA SAY, I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU'VE DONE A NOISE STUDY OR A GLARE STUDY OR, OR WHATEVER IT IS, A FIRE MITIGATION STUDY.

AND SO, UM, WE DON'T WANNA PRESUME THAT WE KNOW WHAT'S BEST FOR THE COMMUNITY AND WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE TO BE A GOOD NEIGHBOR.

SO THERE'S A LOT MORE, UM, AS, UH, STEWART MENTIONED, A LOT MORE DIALOGUE TO BE HAD WITH THE DIRECT SURROUNDING AREAS.

UM, AND WE ANTICIPATE THAT WILL CONTINUE UNTIL WE CAN FIND THE RIGHT, THE RIGHT SIZE SOLUTION.

THANKS, MAYOR.

THAT PERSPECTIVE, THERE IS A BENEFIT ALSO TO HAVING, UH, RESOURCES ON THE WESTERN PART OF, OF OUR, UH, OF OUR LOAD ZONE.

UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, MAYOR PRO TIM.

UH, THANK YOU, MAYOR.

UM, I, I REALLY, UH, I, I THINK THOSE WERE A GOOD SET OF QUESTIONS AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THE FRAMING AROUND PEAKERS AS INSURANCE, UH, BECAUSE THAT IS ULTIMATELY, UH, I THINK WHAT WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO DO HERE IS, IS THAT WE, WE NEED TO BE PREPARED FOR THAT, UH, HEAT WAVE EVENT, THAT WINTER STORM EVENT, UH, AND NOT JUST INSURANCE TO MAKE SURE THAT FROM A RELIABILITY PURPOSE, BUT ALSO SO THAT WE DON'T WIND UP, YOU KNOW, $150 MILLION IN THE HOLE AFTER, YOU KNOW, A VERY BAD WEEK.

UH, I, I JUST DON'T WANNA IGNORE THE FACT THAT THE, THE, THE TRANSFER, YOU KNOW, THE GENERAL, UH, REVENUE FUND TRANSFER FROM THE UTILITY, WHICH IS FELT CRITICAL TO PROVIDING SO MANY OF THE OTHER SERVICES, UH, THAT, UH, UH, THAT, THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, IS INVOLVED IN.

UH, AND, AND, AND THAT IS ANOTHER JUST A REALLY IMPORTANT KIND OF GUIDING, UH, ELEMENT AS WE, AS WE GO THROUGH, UH, THIS DEBATE.

UM, WITH REGARD TO THE PLACEMENT, UH, AND I'M GOING WAY OUTTA MY DEPTH HERE, UH, BUT I, MY ASSUMPTION GOING INTO THIS DISCUSSION WAS, OF COURSE WE WERE GONNA PUT THEM WHERE THE OTHER PEAKERS WERE BECAUSE THERE'S DIRECT GAS LINES THERE AND, AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.

BUT IN THE CONVERSATIONS THAT I'VE, I'VE HAD WITH Y'ALL, UH, THERE IS THIS, THE VOLTAGE, UH, IDEA AND ALSO THAT THERE'S TRANSMISSION KIND OF LINE CAPACITY IN THAT, IN OTHER WORDS, THAT THERE IS, UH, THE WISDOM IN KIND OF SPREADING THE PEAKERS AROUND THE ENTIRE SERVICE AREA AS OPPOSED TO KIND OF ALL JUST STICKING 'EM IN ONE LOCATION.

CAN YOU JUST TALK A A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT? YEAH.

YOU KNOW, THERE ARE ADVANTAGES FROM A SYSTEM PERSPECTIVE, BUT I ALSO JUST WANNA START WITH, LET ME JUST TAKE A STEP BACK AND SAY, THE REASON FOR US TO LOOK ACROSS OUR SERVICE TERRITORY, AS MUCH OF THE REASON BEHIND THAT WAS SOME OF THE REASONS WE HEARD HERE TODAY FROM SOME OF THE FOLKS THAT SPOKE ABOUT, UM, COMMUNITIES THAT HISTORICALLY HAVE BEEN BURDENED WITH THESE TYPES OF RESOURCES.

AND SO WE, WE DIDN'T WANT TO ASSUME THAT THEY NEEDED TO BE IN THOSE COMMUNITIES, SO WE REALLY FELT A DUTY TO LOOK ACROSS THE SERVICE TERRITORY.

AND, AND WE DID THAT.

AND, AND IT DOES GET MORE CHALLENGING FROM AN INFRASTRUCTURE STANDPOINT.

UM, BUT FROM A SYSTEM PERSPECTIVE, THERE'S AN ADVANTAGE TO LOOKING, UM, SERVICE TERRITORY WIDE, SERVICE TERRITORY WIDE AS WELL.

BECAUSE FROM A VOLTAGE PERSPECTIVE, IF YOU, YOU THINK ABOUT HOW ALL OF OUR INFRASTRUCTURE WAS BUILT TO WHERE, AND YOU SAW IT ON THE, ONE OF THE PRESENTATIONS EARLIER, MUCH OF THE POWER IMPORTED INTO THE AUSTIN ENERGY SERVICE TERRITORIES COMING FROM THE EAST.

AND IF YOU THINK ABOUT, UH, VOLTAGE, KIND OF LIKE WATER PRESSURE, YOU GOTTA PUSH THAT ALL THE WAY ACROSS.

YOU GOTTA HAVE ENOUGH VOLTAGE SUPPORT, ENOUGH KIND OF LIKE WATER PRESSURE TO GET IT TO EVERYWHERE WHERE IT NEEDS TO BE.

AND SO WHERE WE SEE THAT BEING A BIGGER CHALLENGE IS KIND OF ON THE WESTERN SIDE OF THE SERVICE TERRITORY, UM, WHERE THERE'S MORE OF A NEED FOR THAT VOLTAGE SUPPORT TO BE ABLE TO, TO MOVE THE POWER ACROSS THE, THE WHOLE, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY SERVICE TERRITORY.

SO FROM

[01:35:01]

UM, FROM A VOLTAGE SUPPORT STANDPOINT, A RELIABILITY STANDPOINT, IT CAN, IT CAN BE A BENEFIT THAT WAY AS WELL.

SO THAT'S WHY WE'VE LOOKED VERY HARD AT TRYING TO FIND SITES THAT COULD MEET BOTH THE, UH, YOU KNOW, ENVIRONMENTAL AND EQUITY NEED AS WELL AS THE SYSTEM NEED.

AND, AND LUCKILY IN THIS CASE, THE, THE TWO ARE KIND OF, UH, GOING HAND IN HAND.

UM, AND WE COULD, YOU KNOW, LOCATE A LOT OF THIS AT DECKER, IT WAS OBVIOUSLY BUILT TO, THERE'S 725 MEGAWATTS OF POWER THAT WE SHUT DOWN THERE MM-HMM .

THAT WAS, THAT RAN A LOT MORE, AND IT WAS A LOT MORE INEFFICIENT, AND IT POLLUTED A LOT MORE, AND THAT'S NOW GONE, AND THE INFRASTRUCTURE IS THERE TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT THAT, BUT WE DON'T WANT TO JUST, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S GOT THE INFRASTRUCTURE, BUT WE DON'T ONLY WANNA LOOK AT THOSE TYPES OF LOCATIONS.

WE REALLY NEED TO LOOK SERVICE AREA WIDE.

HMM.

WELL, UH, UH, THANK YOU.

AND AGAIN, UH, APPRECIATE THAT BOTH FROM A ENVIRONMENTAL EQUITY AND FROM A JUST AS OPERATIONAL, UH, POINT OF VIEW THAT, THAT YOU KIND OF NEED THE POWER TO FLOW AROUND AND NOT JUST KIND OF HAVE IT ALL CONCENTRATED AND, AND GOING THROUGH, AGAIN, BEYOND MY KIND OF UNDERSTANDING, UH, MY, MY LAW, UH, SCHOOL DEGREE DID NOT PREPARE ME FOR, UH, VOLTAGE, UH, DISCUSSIONS.

BUT, UH, I'M GLAD WE'VE GOT LISA RIGHT HERE.

SO WE'RE GOOD.

, UM, FINALLY, AND I HATE TO SPEAK FOR THE DIETS, BUT I, I THINK WE ALL WANT TO, UH, CLOSE FAYETTE, UH, THAT THAT'S BEEN AN ESTABLISHED GOAL.

WE WERE MOVING IN THAT DIRECTION, WHICH OUR PARTNER HAS NOT SO MUCH, UH, WANTED TO CLOSE FAYETTE, UH, THAT SAID, UH, FAYETTE GENERATES, UH, OUR PORTION OF FAYETTE, I BELIEVE IT'S WHAT, 600 MEGAWATTS, YOU KNOW, RUNNING AT FULL STEAM.

UH, THAT'S IN A WAY OUR CURRENT INSURANCE POLICY.

I MEAN, IS IT, IS IT FAIR TO DESCRIBE FAYETTE AS KIND OF OUR, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, WE DON'T WANNA RUN IT, IT POLLUTES A LOT.

WE DON'T LIKE IT, BUT YOU KNOW THAT IT RAN DURING WINTER STORM MURRY, AND IT, IT, YOU KNOW, AS Y'ALL MENTIONED EARLIER, UH, IF WE'RE GOING TO CLOSE FAYETTE, DON'T WE NEED TO ADD THAT DISPATCHABLE CAPACITY SO THAT WE ARE READY TO HANDLE THOSE KINDS OF EVENTS IN THE FUTURE? NO, Y YOU'RE EXACTLY RIGHT.

UM, IT HAD BEEN THE WAY THAT THE PRICE ADDER WORKS ON IT RIGHT NOW, IT REALLY, WE TRY TO USE IT AS A, AS AN INSURANCE POLICY WHERE IT CAN, YOU KNOW, UM, SAVE 90% OF THE COST FOR CUSTOMERS IN, IN THOSE AND 10% OF THE TIME, UH, AND TO HAVE OTHER RESOURCES TO ASSUME THAT THAT DAY WILL COME WHEN THAT RESOURCE IS NO LONGER IN OUR PORTFOLIO.

AND WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO BE READY FOR IT.

UM, BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT THE RISKS TO EVER PREVENT US FROM, FROM BEING ABLE TO GET OUT OF THAT SITE.

WE'RE, WE, WE'RE COMMITTED TO GETTING OUT OF THAT SITE, WE'VE WORKED TO DO THAT, UM, OR TO GET OUT OF COAL.

AND, AND SO YOU'RE, YOU'RE EXACTLY RIGHT THAT HAVING THIS INSURANCE POLICY OF THESE PEAKERS AND THIS RISK MITIGATION TOOL IS A MUCH BETTER RISK MITIGATION TOOL THAN THAT ONE.

WELL, AND, AND I VERY MUCH HEAR THAT.

UH, WE'VE GOT TO MAKE SURE THAT, AGAIN, ASSUMING THAT OUR PARTNER EVENTUALLY DOES MAKE THAT DECISION TO CLOSE, UH, FAYETTE, UH, WE'VE GOTTA BE IN A POSITION FROM OUR OWN GENERATIONAL CAPACITY TO CLOSE DOWN THAT, YOU KNOW, 600 MEGAWATT, UH, FACILITY, UH, AND, AND REPLACE IT WITH SOMETHING ELSE.

UH, AND SO I THINK THAT, THAT THE, THAT THE PEAKERS WILL ENABLE US TO DO THAT.

SO THANK Y'ALL VERY MUCH.

YOU REFER TO IT AS FULL STEAM, IT WINS RUNNING FULL STEAM.

IT AIN'T STEAM , UH, THANK YOU MAYOR PRO TIM.

COUNCIL MEMBER UCHIN.

THANK YOU MAYOR.

AND, UH, THANKS FOR ALL THE INFORMATION YOU'VE SHARED WITH US SO FAR TODAY.

I HAD A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS AND A COUPLE OF COMMENTS.

UM, FIRST HELP ME UNDERSTAND, I KNOW WE'VE COVERED THIS BEFORE, BUT HELP ME UNDERSTAND KINDA THE LIFETIME INVESTMENT IN THE PEAKER.

HOW LONG DOES A A PEAKER UNIT GENERALLY, TYPICALLY LAST GIVEN VARIOUS, UH, MAINTENANCE OR REHABILITATIONS ALONG ITS LIFETIME? WELL, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, IF, IF YOU LOOK AT WHAT WE HAVE IN OUR PORTFOLIO NOW, UM, IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, A LOT, A LOT OF GRID SCALE, DISPATCHABLE GENERATION RESOURCES ASSUME ABOUT A, A A 30 TO 40 YEAR LIFE.

AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I'VE, I'VE TALKED TO SOME FOLKS AROUND, UH, AROUND THE, OF INDUSTRY AND, YOU KNOW, UM, PEOPLE WHO THINK A LOT ABOUT THE ENERGY FUTURE, ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WELL, IS THERE EVER GOING TO BE A TIME WHEN WE DON'T NEED SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THAT THAT CAN SIT ON THE SIDELINES UNTIL THAT EMERGENCY COMES WHEN, WHEN IT'S NEEDED? AND, AND, UM, WE DON'T SEE A TIME

[01:40:01]

WITHIN THAT PERIOD WHERE, WHERE IT WON'T AT LEAST BE NECESSARY AS THAT KIND OF INSURANCE TOOL.

UM, BUT YOU KNOW, THE, THE LIFE OF THE ASSET AND THE, THE BORROWING, YOU KNOW, THE, THE 30 YEAR BONDS KIND OF ALIGN AND, AND, YOU KNOW, THIS ASSET COULD PROBABLY EVEN LAST LONGER THAN THAT 30 YEARS AND BE IN KIND OF THE 40 YEAR RANGE.

SO, OKAY, SO 30, 40 YEARS, PROBABLY 40 IF WE MAINTAIN IT WELL, AND, AND THE GOAL IS TO GET IT TO WHERE WE NEED IT LESS AND LESS, AND IT STILL PRO PROVIDES THAT BACKSTOP THAT YOU NEED.

AND THAT BUILDS ON SOME OF THE QUESTIONS YOU'VE ALREADY ANSWERED.

AND, AND MY QUESTION DIRECTLY I'M GONNA ASK, WHICH IS TO, AND WE'VE HEARD SOME QUESTIONS EARLIER FROM SPEAKERS, TO WHAT EXTENT DOES THIS POTENTIAL ACQUISITION MEAN THAT GOING FORWARD WE'VE ACCELERATED THE RETIREMENT OR DECOMMISSION OF THE VERY OLDEST PICO UNITS THAT WE'VE GOT? YEAH, I THINK THAT SHOWS UP IN SOME OF THE EMISSION, YOU KNOW, THE, THE CO2 EMISSIONS DATA.

I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT TO TAKE A STAB AT THAT OR, YEAH, I MEAN, SO THE WAY I SEE IT, WE'RE OPERATING AT A DEFICIT TODAY.

AND SO TODAY WE, WE KNOW THAT WE NEED TO ADD MORE WITH MOST OF THE TIME RUNNING THE NEW UNITS IN PLACE OF THE OLDER UNITS, BUT THEN HAVING ALL THE OLDER UNITS THERE AS WELL FOR THE TIGHTEST GRID TIMES.

BUT AS WE CONTINUE TO SEE HOW LOAD GROWTH OCCURS AND HOW WELL WE CAN CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD ON, ON OUR, OUR LOCAL SOLAR GOALS AND, UM, HOW WELL THE BATTERIES THAT WE ARE DEPLOYING ARE GONNA, UM, YOU KNOW, PENCIL OUT AND HOW THEY, HOW THAT, HOW THEY WORK IN THE MARKET, UM, WHAT ELSE WE CAN DO IN TERMS OF DEMAND RESPONSE AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY, ALL OF THOSE THINGS WILL HELP, UM, YOU KNOW, FILL OUR ENERGY NEEDS COLLECTIVELY.

AND SO I DO SEE A DAY WHEN WE WILL BE ABLE TO SAY THAT WE CAN RETIRE SUNSET OUR, UM, OLDEST UNITS.

I JUST, I CAN'T SAY THAT TODAY.

SURE.

BUT, BUT THIS HELPS US GET IN THAT DIRECTION.

BUT YOU COULD SAY IT WOULD ACCELERATE THAT SCHEDULE.

MM-HMM .

YES, IT DOES.

IT, IT WOULD HELP, IT CERTAINLY HELPS DISPLACE THOSE, UM, DIRTIER UNITS UNTIL IT CAN COMPLETELY REPLACE THOSE DIRTIER UNITS.

AND THE WAY THAT, THAT, UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT IT IS, UM, NOT ASKING FOR THE MAXIMUM THAT WE, WE MIGHT NEED IN ORDER TO, ON DAY ONE, BE ABLE TO COMPLETE, LIKE NEVER NEED THOSE DIRTIEST UNITS.

THE REASON FOR THAT IS WE, WE WILL CONTINUE ALL OF THESE OTHER THINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT, THE, THE TRANSMISSION UPGRADES, YOU KNOW, THE, THE RESOURCE PLAN STARTS WITH CUSTOMER ENERGY SOLUTIONS DOING ALL OF THE THINGS THAT WE CAN IN TERMS OF LOCAL SOLAR.

AND SO NOT, NOT SEEKING TO DO TOO MUCH TOO SOON BECAUSE WE KNOW WE'RE GOING TO KEEP EXECUTING ON ALL THE CLEAN ENERGY INITIATIVES.

ADDS TO OUR CUSTOMER'S PORTFOLIO, OR IF THEY DETRACT FROM IT.

UH, THAT MAKES SENSE.

UH, CAN YOU SPEAK A LITTLE BIT TO BE, TO ME ABOUT A, ASSUMING THIS GOES FORWARD AND WE MOVE FORWARD AND THE AGREEMENT DOES, AND IN THREE YEARS, ALL THE, ALL THE EXPECTATIONS ARE MET AND WE'VE GOT OUR PEAKER UNITS, BUT TOMORROW, OR, OR RATHER I SHOULD SAY FRIDAY, ASSUMING THIS AGAIN GOES FORWARD, WHAT IS THE NEW STRATEGY FOR LOCAL, UH, LOCAL GRID-BASED DISPATCHABLE POWER? DO WE, ARE WE STILL IN THE MARKET FOR ADDITIONAL SOLUTIONS? DOES IT SATISFY SOLUTIONS FOR A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME, A WINDOW OF TIME, FIVE YEARS, 10 YEARS? CAN YOU, DO YOU GUYS THROW A PARTY AND GO FISHING? WHAT IS, WHAT HAPPENS ON FRIDAY ? SO THE, THE, UM, WORK THAT WE'VE DONE, LISA'S TALKED ABOUT HOW, UM, OUR, OUR WORK AND IN THE, IN THE FORECASTING, THE MODELING IS SHOWING US THAT WE NEED, UH, FOUR TO 500 MEGAWATTS.

AND, AND WE, WE KNOW THAT WE'RE GONNA EXECUTE ON A LOT OF OTHER STUFF.

SO WE KNOW THAT 400 IS WHAT IS WHAT WE'RE ASKING FOR, UM, THAT IS LOOKING AT WHAT OUR NEEDS WILL BE OVER, UH, YOU KNOW, OVER A LONG HORIZON.

IT DOESN'T MEAN WE'LL COME BACK FOR ANOTHER 200 MEGAWATTS OF, OF GAS PEAKERS.

THIS IS, THIS IS THE, UM, WHAT WE CAN SEE IN THIS FORECAST HORIZON AS WHAT OUR NEEDS WOULD BE TO, TO HAVE OUR NEEDS MET.

IT WOULDN'T BE TURNING AROUND AND THEN WORKING ON THE NEXT THING TO GET MORE DISPATCHABLE GENERATION.

AND IF I COULD JUST ADD OUR, UM, ENERGY MARKET OFFICE HAS A PRACTICE OF RUNNING ANNUAL RFPS, UM, SPECIFICALLY RENEWABLE RFPS TO SEE WHAT'S OUT THERE.

AND, AND THEY'VE OPENED THOSE TO BATTERIES AS WELL.

AND SO WE WILL CONTINUE TO TEST THE MARKET TO SEE WHAT OTHER ADDITIONAL OPTIONS ARE OUT THERE.

EVERY YEAR WE'LL HAVE NEW INFORMATION ABOUT HOW THE GRID HAS GROWN, UM, HOW EVERYTHING HAS COME TO FRUITION.

AND WE TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION WITH THE LATEST OFFERS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO US, AND WE SEE IF THOSE OFFERS ARE VALUE

[01:45:01]

AND IF THEY'RE VALUE ADDS, THEN WE'LL BRING 'EM TO YOU FOR, FOR, UM, APPROVAL SO THAT WORK DOESN'T STOP.

UM, BUT IT'S, UH, IT, IT'S, YOU KNOW, THE, THE ABOUT A THOUSAND MEGAWATTS OF UTILITY SCALE RESOURCES THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE PROPOSED TO, UM, SINCE THE PLAN HAS BEEN ADOPTED SHOULD FILL OUR NEEDS FOR, FOR SOME PERIOD OF TIME, AND WE'LL JUST BE BACK TO SEEING WHAT IS VALUE ADD, THE WAY I SEE IT, IF WE CAN SOLVE FOR THE RELIABILITY EQUATION, WE GET BACK TO DOING WHAT WE DO BEST, AND THAT'S ADDING MORE CLEAN ENERGY RESOURCES.

WE'VE BEEN SUCH A LEADER AT THAT.

SO I, I SEE IT AS, UM, A STEP FORWARD ON RELIABILITY THAT THEN ENABLES US TO TAKE SEVERAL STEPS FORWARD ON SUSTAINABILITY AS WELL.

AND SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO TAKE THOSE STEPS FORWARD AFTER WE'VE SOLVED FOR THE RELIABILITY SIDE OF THE, OF THE EQUATION.

NO, THAT MAKES SENSE.

I AM CURIOUS, WHAT DO YOU ESTIMATE THAT WINDOW TO BE, RIGHT, THIS WINDOW YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT WHERE YOU THINK THAT WHILE WE'LL CONTINUE TO GET THE YEARLY PROPOSALS THAT MAY OR MAY NOT MAKE SENSE DEPENDING ON WHERE THE MARKET IS, THIS IDEA THAT WE SORT OF SATISFIED THIS RELIABILITY PIECE FOR A DECADE FOR 2035, CAN YOU GIMME A VERY ROUGH ESTIMATE WHAT THAT LOOKS MEAN? THE MODELING PERIOD IS A 10 YEAR PERIOD, WE MODELED THROUGH 2035.

OKAY, GOT IT.

SO WHAT WE COULD EXPECT, WHAT I COULD EXPECT IS, UM, IF MARKET CIRCUMSTANCES CHANGE, WE MIGHT GET ADDITIONAL PROPOSALS.

THEY WON'T BE, UH, THEY WON'T BE PEAKERS, THEY'LL PROBABLY SOLAR OR SOME OTHER TECHNOLOGY.

UM, UM, BUT THAT THIS WOULD PROBABLY SUSTAIN US, AT LEAST FOR A DECADE, FOR OUR LOCAL AND, AND OTHER TYPES OF TECHNOLOGIES THAT MAY COME ALONG IN THAT TIME AS WELL.

UM, THAT, UM, REALLY IN THE PAST, OUR PLANS MERELY RELIED ON HOPEFULLY THAT THAT THING COMING, THAT SILVER BULLET COMING TO FRUITION AND WE JUST NEED TO PLAN, UH, FOR WHAT IF IT DOESN'T, BUT BE READY FOR WHEN IT DOES AND, AND THAT THAT SOLUTION WILL COME AND, UM, BUT THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS WE'RE GONNA NEED ALL OF IT.

LOT AND OUR TEAM ENDS UP HAVING TO KIND OF EDUCATE THEM ON HOW TO DO THIS WORK WITHIN ERCOT.

CAN, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE HEARD TODAY IS THE IDEA THAT WE MAY NEED MORE INFORMATION.

CAN YOU RUN THROUGH VERY BRIEFLY, I KNOW IT WAS, I THINK YOU TOUCHED ON THE PRESENTATION, THE, UH, THE LEVEL OF STUDY THAT YOU'VE, YOU'VE ALREADY EXPENDED ON ARRIVING AT THIS CONCLUSION? YEAH, SO I'M JUST GONNA GO BACK A FEW STUDIES.

SO THE AT, AT THE ADOPTION OF THE LAST PLAN IN, I BELIEVE IT WAS MARCH OF 2020, THERE WAS A REQUEST TO DO A THIRD PARTY ANALYSIS TO SEE IF THERE WAS A TRANSMISSION SOLUTION.

SO WE HIRED A THIRD PARTY ENTITY.

THEY SAID, WHAT IF WE COULD SHUT DOWN ALL OF OUR INTERNAL RESOURCES BY 2030? COULD YOU, YOU KNOW, COULD, COULD YOU HAVE A RELIABLE OUTPUT? UM, AND THE ANSWER WAS, WAS NO.

AND THEN AS WE MOVED INTO THE ADOPTION TIME PERIOD OF THE, THAT LED UP TO THE ADOPTION OF THE, UM, THE PLAN THAT WE HAVE TODAY, THE 2035 PLAN.

WE NOT ONLY USED OUR OWN INTERNAL RESOURCES, UM, TO DO ALL OF THE MARKET ANALYSIS, WE LOOKED AT, UM, I THINK IT WAS ABOUT 20 DIFFERENT, UH, PORTFOLIOS, AND THEN THERE'S DIFFERENT SCENARIOS AND SENSITIVITIES.

SO IT ENDS UP BEING HUNDREDS OF DIFFERENT RUNS.

UM, AND WE DID THAT ANALYSIS ALONGSIDE WITH A THIRD PARTY ENTITY, UM, WHO WAS ALSO DOING ANALYSIS TO USING SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT, UH, MODELING TECHNIQUES SO THAT WE COULD SEE, UM, YOU KNOW, ONE, DO, DOES OUR WORK MATCH THEIR WORK IN THE SAME DIRECTION AND, AND, AND HOW DO WE HELP DEFINE WHAT POLICY NEEDED TO GO INTO THE RESOURCE GENERATION PLAN.

SO ALL OF THAT, UM, WORK HAS BEEN DONE.

AND SO WHAT HAS BEEN DONE NOW IS EVERY TIME WE GET A NEW PROPOSAL OR WE LOOK AT A NEW SUITE OF PROPOSALS, OUR, UM, ENERGY MARKET OFFICE TEAM DOES FULL ANALYSIS WITH REALTIME DATA AND THE REALTIME UPDATED ORCO MODEL, UM, AND THE REALTIME, YOU KNOW, PRICING AND, AND OPERATING CHARACTERISTICS OF THOSE PARTICULAR OFFERS.

AND SO THAT HAS BEEN BAKED INTO ALL OF THE PROPOSALS THAT WE BROUGHT YOU, LIKE THE JUPYTER BATTERY LAST YEAR, THE, THE, UM, PROJECTS WE BROUGHT YOU LAST, UM, MONTH, AND THEN THE ALL OF THEM THAT WE BROUGHT TO YOU TODAY.

AND, UM, AND SO ESSENTIALLY FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, THE ANALYSIS HAS BEEN DONE, THE THIRD PARTY ANALYSIS HAS BEEN DONE.

IT, IT POINTED THE DIRECTION WE NEED TO GO.

AND NOW WE'RE TELLING YOU THAT OUR INTERNAL EXPERTS ARE, UM, RECOMMENDING, UH, THE, YOU KNOW, THESE, THESE FINAL SETS OF REAL PROPOSALS BASED OFF OF THE, YOU KNOW, IN-DEPTH MARKET ANALYSIS THAT THEY DO, UM, DAY IN AND DAY OUT.

AND I'M ASSUMING MOST OF THAT'S PROPRIETARY FOR COMPETITIVENESS AND OTHER REASONS? IT IS.

GOT IT.

IT'S, YES.

UM, IN THE PAST WHEN WE'VE HIRED PEOPLE TO DO THE MODELING FOR THE ENERGY MARKET OPERATIONS SIDE, UM, THEY FIND THAT OUR TEAM KNOWS A, A

[01:50:01]

AND IT BECOMES VERY FRUSTRATING FOR OUR TEAM BECAUSE WE END UP TRAINING THE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THE CONSULTANT ON, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT, THAT WE'RE PAYING FOR, BUT WE'RE REALLY THE ONES WITH THE EXPERT KNOWLEDGE AND, AND, YOU KNOW, KIND OF COMING TOGETHER TO MUTUALLY UNDERSTAND HOW THAT WORK SHOULD BE DONE.

AND THEN, UM, AND, AND SO WE HAVE THE IN-HOUSE EXPERTISE TO DO THAT.

WE'VE DONE A, A WHOLE LOT OF ANALYSIS AT THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION.

THERE WAS A PROPOSAL TO DO MORE ANALYSIS AND TO DO A THIRD PARTY ANALYSIS.

AND ULTIMATELY WE HEARD FROM A LOT OF THE COMMISSIONERS THAT THEY WERE VERY COMFORTABLE WITH ALL THE ANALYSIS THAT WERE DONE.

THERE WAS KIND OF A CONVERSATION ABOUT NOT GETTING INTO ANALYSIS PARALYSIS.

HERE WE ARE, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE YEARS AFTER, YOU KNOW, THIS WHOLE PROCESS HAS STARTED AND THE PRICES ARE VERY HIGH.

AND I HEARD FROM SPEAKERS SAYING, WELL, WELL NOW THEY'RE JUST TRYING TO GET IN BECAUSE THE PRICES ARE GOING UP.

WELL, WE'VE BEEN DOING THE STUDIES FOR TWO YEARS.

YES, THE PRICES ARE GOING UP AND THE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE HAVE WANTED US TO SLOW DOWN AND HERE WE ARE AND THE PRICES HAVE MORE THAN DOUBLED ON US OR DURING THAT PERIOD OF TIME.

AND, AND THESE UNITS CAN STILL SAVE OUR CUSTOMERS MONEY.

AND, AND THAT'S, THAT'S WHERE THE ANALYSIS HAS BEEN.

THAT'S WHERE THE ANALYSIS STILL IS, BUT WE KEEP REFRESHING IT.

GOT IT.

UM, LAST QUESTION I'VE GOT BEFORE A COUPLE OF COMMENTS IS JUST ABOUT EMISSIONS.

I KNOW YOU SHARED A SLIDE THAT SHOWED KIND OF THE RELATIVE, A COUPLE OF THINGS.

YOU SHOWED SORT OF THE RELATIVE DECLINE OF, UH, EMISSIONS COMPARED TO THE OLDER PEAKERS, THEN YOU SHOWED THE PERCENTAGE OF THE TOTAL EMISSIONS BASED ON OLD AND NEW PEAKERS OR OLD PEAKERS PLUS NEW PEAKERS.

I'M JUST CURIOUS IF YOU'VE GOT ANYTHING YOU CAN SHARE THAT HELPS US EXPLAIN TO CONSTITUENTS IF THESE ARE DEPLOYED, UM, WHAT THE ACTUAL, UH, WHAT THE ACTUAL IMPACTS IF THEY'RE IN WHATEVER, WHAT I DON'T KNOW, HALF A MILE OR WHATEVER THE SENSITIVITY AREA IS THAT THEY CAN EXPECT.

UM, IS THERE ANY, ANY INFORMATION THAT YOU'VE GOT THAT SHOWS, NOT RELATIVE INFORMATION, BUT SORT OF, UM, UH, JUST INFORMATION THAT'S MORE UNDERSTANDABLE BY THE AVERAGE PERSON THAT MIGHT BE CONCERNED ABOUT BEING IN THE PROXIMITY OF THESE FACILITIES? WE CAN TAKE THAT ACTION ITEM BACK TO OUR ENVIRONMENTAL TEAM AND, AND SEE, UH, WHAT WE CAN COME UP WITH.

I, I DON'T THINK WE HAVE ANYTHING OFFHAND TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT, BUT UM, I THINK THAT'S A GOOD IDEA AND WE CAN WORK WITH THE ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP AT AUSTIN ENERGY TO UNDERSTAND THAT.

SOME GAS AND SOME EMISSIONS AND, UM, AND YOUR OWN MULTIPLE STUDIES THAT YOU'VE BEEN RUNNING FOR, IT SOUNDS LIKE SEVERAL YEARS NOW HAVE CONFIRMED THAT IT'S STILL THE MOST COST EFFECTIVE SOLUTION YOU COULD ARRIVE AT.

I THINK THAT MIGHT BE HELPFUL ALSO, UH, IN TERMS OF QUESTIONS THAT I MIGHT GET OR WE MIGHT GET ABOUT WHAT, WHAT RESIDENTS CAN EXPECT, UH, AND HOW CONCERNED THEY MIGHT WANNA BE ABOUT POTENTIALLY BEING IN THE PROXIMITY OF ONE OF THE, THE POTENTIAL SITES.

SO, UM, UH, JUST A COUPLE OF QUICK COMMENTS.

ONE IS, YOU KNOW, I KEPT HEARING THIS MORNING, AND I KNOW WE'VE TALKED TO ADVOCATES AND THERE'S BEEN THIS APPETITE FOR THIS THIRD PARTY ANALYSIS.

UM, BUT IT REALLY FEELS TO ME LIKE THAT REQUEST SOUNDS MORE, I'M HEARING IT MORE AS DO WE TRUST AUSTIN ENERGY? NOT DO WE NEED A THIRD PARTY ANALYSIS? IN FACT, I THINK WE LITERALLY HEARD FROM A SPEAKER THIS MORNING SAY, WE CAN'T TRUST AUSTIN ENERGY.

AND SO THERE'S A SENSE THAT I HAVE IS WE HAVE THIS DISCUSSION UP HERE THAT WE OURSELVES ARE HAVING TO MAKE THIS DIS THIS DECISION ABOUT OUR OWN EXPERIENCE WITH AUSTIN ENERGY AND OUR OWN LEVEL OF TRUST.

AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S A, IT'S A $2 BILLION ENTITY.

AND MY SENSE IS THAT THERE'S A LOT OF SHARP ENGINEERS AND ANALYSTS THAT WORKED THERE THAT Y'ALL HAVE TOUCHED ON SOME OF THE DATA THIS MORNING ABOUT BLOWING PAST THE NATIONAL AVERAGE FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY.

UM, MY SENSE IS IT'S A LEADER IN THE STATE AND COUNTRY FOR PUBLIC UTILITIES OF ITS SIZE.

UH, AND, AND WE KNOW THIS FIRSTHAND BECAUSE WE WOUND UP TRYING TO FIND AND RECRUIT THE BEST CANDIDATES IN THE SPACE TO SERVE AS THE DIRECTOR RECENTLY.

AND IT TURNED OUT I THINK WE ALREADY HAD THAT PERSON.

SO, UH, I KNOW THAT WHEN WE'VE ASKED ADVOCATES, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT A THIRD PARTY ANALYSIS COULD PRODUCE THAT WOULD BE COMPELLING TO, UM, MAKE THEM RETHINK THIS, MAKE THEM RETHINK THEIR, THEIR FEELINGS ABOUT SUPPORTING PEAKERS? AND WHEN I POSED THAT QUESTION, THEY WERE CANDID WITH ME AND SHARED THAT, YOU KNOW, BASED ON, UH, THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT THEY REPRESENT OR OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES THAT IT'D BE, THEY'D HAVE TROUBLE SUPPORTING 'EM REGARDLESS.

SO IT DOES MAKE ME WONDER THIS IDEA OF WE HAD ADDITIONAL INFORMATION EVEN BEYOND THIS WORK SESSION TODAY OR BEYOND THE INFORMATION I JUST ASKED YOU FOR, WHETHER THAT'S REALLY GONNA MOVE CERTAIN PEOPLE, UH, IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION.

AND I HAVE A SENSE THAT THE REALITY IS THIS IS GONNA INVOLVE

[01:55:01]

UH, ESPECIALLY REGARDING THE OTHER PILLARS THAT WE HAVEN'T REALLY SPENT A LOT OF TIME ON TODAY, WHICH IS THE, THE, UH, RELIABILITY AND AFFORDABILITY PIECES OF IT.

AND THEN IF WE DON'T HAVE THAT LOCAL GENERATION SOUNDS LIKE WE'LL BE IMPORTING MORE EXPENSIVE, UH, AND DIRTIER ENERGY FROM THE GRID.

SO THAT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE AN APPEALING OPTION FROM WHERE I'M SITTING EITHER.

SO REALLY I CAN ONLY SPEAK TO MY EXPERIENCE WITH AUSTIN ENERGY AND, AND THEIR RESPONSIVENESS.

AND I KNOW THAT WHEN WE HAD OUR MICROBURST STORM LAST YEAR, YOU GUYS WERE ON THE SCENE PRETTY QUICKLY AND WERE PRETTY UNDERSTANDING AND WORKED HARD TO RESTORE POWER FOR PEOPLE THAT WERE OUT WITHOUT POWER FOR FIVE DAYS, WHICH IS DEFINITELY ON MY MIND.

I THINK ABOUT THE RELIABILITY ISSUES AND THE, AND THE THINGS THAT PEAKERS CAN TRY AND BE OUR INSURANCE POLICY FOR, UM, FOR THE THREE DECADES THAT I LIVED IN AUSTIN, YOU KNOW, IT FEELS LIKE YOU'VE CONSISTENTLY BEEN COMPARED WELL TO OTHER TEXAS PRIVATE AND PUBLIC UTILITIES.

AND, UH, AND SO MY SENSE IS THAT EVEN AS WE GO THROUGH THE TEXAS GAS, UH, CONTRACT, THAT OUR DESIRE IS THAT WE HAD A PUBLIC GAS UTILITY AND THAT WE SHOULD BE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO BE GOOD STEWARDS OF THE UTIL THE PUBLIC UTILITIES WE'VE GOT.

AND THE LAST THING WE WANT IS THE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE GENIUSES OF THE STATE TO RESTRICT OUR ABILITY TO RUN OUR OWN UTILITIES.

SO, UM, YEAH, SO MY SENSE THIS IS, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THIS IS JUST ABOUT A REFERENDUM ON TRUST.

AND MY HOPE IS THAT FROM OUR CONVERSATIONS AND THE WORK THAT YOU ALL ARE DOING IN THE COMMUNITY, THAT WE CAN TRY AND EARN AS MUCH TRUST AS WE CAN WITH THIS GOING FORWARD.

AND, AND, AND OBVIOUSLY I THINK THERE'S STILL SOME MORE QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED, BUT I CAN'T SEE THAT DRAMATICALLY CHANGING PEOPLE'S, UH, PERCEPTIONS IN THE NEXT TWO DAYS ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THEY TRUST THE UTILITY.

SO, UM, I THINK THAT'S ALL THE COMMENTS I'VE GOT FOR NOW, BUT THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER.

UM, ALRIGHT, BEFORE WE GO TO THE NEXT ITEM, I, I'LL, I WANT TO FOLLOW UP ON A COUPLE THINGS AND THEN WE'LL BE, WE'LL BE DONE AND WE'LL GO TO THE NEXT ITEM.

AND WHAT I WANNA TALK ABOUT A LITTLE BIT IS THE, UM, THE FACT THAT THAT THE PUB, UH, THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT AND THE COMPETITIVE EX, UH, MARKET EXCEPTION ALLOWS FOR US TO MAKE DECISIONS, UM, AND THE WAY WE CAN MAKE THOSE DECISIONS.

I WANNA TALK ABOUT IT 'CAUSE THAT'S COME UP A COUPLE OF TIMES MORE THAN A COUPLE TIMES TODAY.

AND I THINK WE HAVE TO START WITH THE IDEA OF RECOGNITION THAT AUSTIN IS IN A UNIQUE SET OF CIRCUMSTANCES.

THE CITY IS NOT EVERY CITY OWNS AN ELECTRIC UTILITY.

AUSTIN OWNS AN ELECTRIC UTILITY AND IT IS A HUGE PART OF OUR BUDGET, AS HAS BEEN POINTED OUT, WHICH IMPACTS THE CITIZENS OF THIS CITY.

AND IT IS A HUGE PART OF THE DAY TO DAY OF THOSE CITIZENS, AS HAS ALSO BEEN POINTED OUT.

UM, AND IT ALSO IS IMPORTANT THAT WE'RE, IT'S, WE'RE NOT, UH, WHILE WE'RE AN ISLAND, IF YOU WILL, AND UNIQUE IN THAT WE HAVE OUR OWN ELECTRIC UTILITY, WE ARE NOT ABLE TO OPERATE THAT ELECTRIC UTILITY AS AN ISLAND.

WE ARE PART OF AN OVERALL PROCESS AND WITH ERCOT AND THAT KIND OF THING.

AND IN, IN, IN A COMPETITIVE MARKET, EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE A MONOPOLY.

AND JUST BY WAY OF THOSE THAT WANNA KNOW A LITTLE BIT IN 1999, UM, IS WHEN THE STATE OF TEXAS CHANGED AND DEREG, THEY CALLED IT DEREGULATION OF THE MARKET, BUT THEY CREATED A COMPETITIVE MARKET.

AND IN 19 99, 1 OF THE THINGS THEY SAID IS THAT IF YOU WERE A, A MUNICIPALLY OWNED UTILITY OR A CO-OP, YOU COULD MAINTAIN THAT MONO MONOPOLISTIC SITUATION IF YOU WANTED.

IT ALSO SAID THAT THE CITY COULD MAKE A DECISION ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT IT WANTED TO OPT INTO COMPETITION.

I REMEMBER WHERE THE MAYOR WAS STANDING WHEN THE MAYOR MADE THE ANNOUNCEMENT THAT WE ARE NOT, UH, OPTING INTO COMPETITION.

I EVEN REMEMBER THE MAYOR AND, UM, AND, AND AUSTIN CHOSE TO STAY, UH, WHERE WE ARE IN TERMS OF, OF THAT ASPECT OF IT.

BUT WITH CHANGES OVER TIME AND WITH THE ROLE THAT ERCOT HAS PLAYED, WE HAVE TO BE RESPONSIVE FOR THAT.

WE ARE IN A HIGHLY COMPETITIVE MARKET, AND, UH, THEY ANSWER THE QUESTION VERY WELL, BUT IT DESERVES A LITTLE BIT OF EMPHASIS.

AND THAT IS THAT WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO GET THE BEST PRICE IF IN THIS SET OF CIRCUMSTANCES, WE DON'T ACT LIKE AN ELECTRIC UTILITY.

WE HAVE TO ACT LIKE WE

[02:00:01]

ARE THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF AN ELECTRIC UTILITY, AND THAT MEANS WE WANT TO GET THE BEST PRICE.

A PRIVATE ENTITY ISN'T HOLDING PRESS CONFERENCES SAYING, HERE'S WHAT THE PRICES ARE, OR HERE'S WHAT WE'RE WILLING TO PAY.

WE WANT TO PLAY POKER WITH YOU BY SHOWING YOU OUR CARDS.

PRIVATE ENTITIES DON'T DO THAT.

AND IF WE DO THAT, THEN ONE OF THE THINGS WE WILL DO IS THOSE PEOPLE WE'RE TRYING TO BUY EQUIPMENT FROM WILL SAY, WELL, WE'RE NOT GOING TO GIVE YOU THE PRICE YOU WANT, BECAUSE THEN WHEN WE GO NEGOTIATE WITH THE NEXT UTILITY, THEY'LL WANT THAT PRICE.

SO UNLESS YOU'RE GONNA KEEP IT QUIET, WE'RE NOT GOING TO GIVE YOU THE BEST PRICE.

WE'RE ONLY GONNA GIVE YOU THE WORST PRICE IN.

AND THAT WHAT HAPPENS TO THAT IS THAT THEN GOES TO, WELL, IT, IT, IT COSTS, IT COSTS OUR CONSTITUENTS, IT COSTS OUR RATE PAYERS, UM, AND HAS AN IMPACT ON OUR CUSTOMERS.

SO THAT IS WHY THAT IN A NUTSHELL, IF WE WANT TO BE A BOARD THAT PROTECTS OUR RATE PAYERS, THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DO THAT MAY NOT BE CONSISTENT WITH THE WAY WE ALWAYS DO THINGS IN OTHER DECISION MAKING.

FOR EXAMPLE, I I I'LL SAY YOU, ITEM SEVEN, WHICH IS ON OUR AGENDA, IT WAS SPECIFICALLY PUT ON THE AGENDA TO PROVIDE THE COUNCIL AND THE PUBLIC WITH A VEHICLE TO EXPRESS THEIR POSITIONS ON NATURAL GAS PEAKERS.

THE FOLKS WE'RE COMPETING WITH, UH, ON THESE PRICES.

THEY'RE NOT DOING THAT.

WE DID THAT, BUT IT'S SOME, AND, AND THAT'S GREAT, BY THE WAY.

I WANT YOU TO KNOW, I THINK THAT'S GREAT.

BUT THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT STILL NEED TO BE PROTECTED IN ORDER TO PROTECT OUR CUSTOMERS.

SO WE HAVE TO, UM, SPLIT THE BABY, IF YOU WILL, ON THAT.

LET ME JUST SAY ALSO FOR THE RECORD THAT SECTION 5 5 1 0 8 6 OF THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODES PROVIDE, PROVIDES THAT THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT DOES NOT REQUIRE PUBLIC POWER, UH, PUBLIC POWER, UTILITY GOVERNING BODY, WHICH IS US TO CONDUCT AN OPEN MEETING TO DELIBERATE VOTE OR TAKE FINAL ACTION ON COMPETITIVE MATTERS.

AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT OUR COMPETITIVE MATTERS.

UM, I ALSO REMEMBER, AND BY THE WAY, THAT WAS PUT IN, IN 1999, SO THAT IT WOULD NOT DISADVANTAGE PUBLIC POWER UTILITIES.

IT WAS EXPRESSLY PUT INTO, UH, THE GOVERNMENT CODE TO ALLOW FOR THE PROTECTION OF OUR, OUR RATE PAYERS.

I ALSO SPECIFICALLY REMEMBER IN 2011, HAVE A VERY SPECIFIC MEMORY OF IT, BECAUSE WHAT HAPPENED IN THE, IN THE LEGISLATURE WAS THEY TOOK OUT ONE OF THE BARRIERS TO DOING THAT.

AND, AND WHAT THE, I SAY BARRIER, YOU USED TO HAVE TO A PUBLIC ENTITY HAD TO HAVE A GOOD FAITH FINDING, AND THAT WAS TAKEN OUT SO THAT YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO RUN THROUGH A SEPARATE SEPARATE DEAL.

IT JUST SAID YOU WILL NOT BE PUT IN A COMPETITIVE DISADVANTAGE.

I DON'T THINK WE OUGHT TO, WHEN THE STATE LEGISLATURE HAS GIVEN US THE ABILITY TO NOT PUT OURSELVES IN A COMPETITIVE DISADVANTAGE, SHOULD PUT OURSELVES IN A COMPETITIVE DISADVANTAGE.

UM, AND I'LL SAY THAT ALSO IN THE CONTEXT OF WE HAVE ALL, DURING THE TIME I WAS IN THE TEXAS SENATE AND, AND, UH, OTHERS WILL REMEMBER THIS, WE HAD TO FIGHT TO NOT HAVE DAMAGE DONE TO AUSTIN ENERGY EFFORTS TO PRIVATIZE AUSTIN ENERGY EFFORTS TO PUT US INTO COMPETITION, UH, EFFORTS TO CHANGE THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS BY LEGISLATION.

AND TYPICALLY WHAT WAS SAID IS THE REASON TO DO THIS IS BECAUSE THEY WILL MAKE A POLITICAL DECISION INSTEAD OF MAKING A DECISION ON BEHALF OF THEIR RATE PAYERS.

WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO STOP THAT OVER THE YEARS.

WE SHOULD, WE SHOULD RECOGNIZE THAT WE'RE GIVEN CERTAIN PROTECTIONS FOR OUR RATE PAYERS AND WE OUGHT TO ACT IN THAT WAY AS WE GO FORWARD ON THIS.

UM, ANYWAY, SO I, I JUST WANTED TO LAY THAT OUT AS, AS, UH, PART OF THIS, BECAUSE IT'S BEEN, IT'S, IT IS A LEGITIMATE THING TO BE ASKED, BUT THERE IS A GOOD, GOOD REASON FOR US TO BE MAKING CERTAIN DECISIONS WHERE WE'RE NOT SHOWING OUR HANDS.

THAT WE WOULD COME IN, WE WOULD CALL, PROBABLY PULL ITEM NUMBER SEVEN, JUST SO THAT IT DOESN'T GET THE SPEAKERS GO AHEAD AND PASS A CONSENT AGENDA.

COUNCIL MEMBER, I HAD A PROCESS QUESTION FOR THURSDAY.

SURE.

SO WE WILL HAVE THE SPEAKERS COME AND SPEAK.

WE WILL THEN GO TO EXECUTIVE SESSION TO VOTE ON THE APPROVAL OF THE CONTRACTS FOR THIS ACQUISITION.

WILL WE THEN COME BACK AND VOTE EITHER ON ITEM SEVEN, EITHER STANDALONE AS PART OF THE CONSENT AGENDA, OR HOW DOES THE WAY I WOULD ITEM SEVEN? YEAH, GOOD.

REALLY GOOD QUESTION.

THE WAY I CURRENTLY ANTICIPATE THAT THAT WOULD BE DONE WOULD BE

[02:05:01]

UH, WE ALSO HAVE ANOTHER ITEM THAT BECAUSE OF NOTICE REQUIREMENTS, I THINK IT'S ITEM 12.

ITEM NUMBER 12 HAS CERTAIN NOTICE NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS, AND WE NEED TO PASS IT BY NOON.

SO IT IS, UH, IT IS HIGHLY LIKELY THAT WHAT WE WILL DO IS WE, I KNOW YOU DIDN'T ASK ABOUT 12, BUT YOU CAN TELL I PREPARE FOR THESE MEETINGS.

UM, AND WHAT WE WILL DO IS, UM, ON ITEM NUMBER 12 IS I'LL PROBABLY CALL IT UP EVEN BEFORE THE CONSENT AGENDA, JUST TO MAKE SURE WE DON'T DRAG THINGS INTO NOON, RIGHT? SO WE'LL TAKE UP PROBABLY ITEM NUMBER 12, UH, AND THEN PROBABLY TAKE UP THE CONSENT AGENDA AND THEN PROBABLY ITEM NUMBER SEVEN, SO THAT WE TAKE THE SPEAKERS SPECIFICALLY ON THAT.

THEN WE WILL GO INTO THE EXECUTIVE EITHER RIGHT AT THAT TIME OR SHORTLY THEREAFTER, WE'LL GO INTO AN EXECUTIVE SESSION.

I DON'T ANTICIPATE THERE'S A NEED FOR ANOTHER VOTE THAT WE WOULD TAKE A VOTE, UM, AND, AND WE WOULD BE ABLE TO DO IT.

WE WOULD COME OUT AND ANNOUNCE THE OUTCOME OF THAT VOTE.

SO THERE WILL BE NO VOTE ON ITEM SEVEN ITSELF? NO, BECAUSE THE VOTE IS, THE VOTE THAT WE ARE REQUIRED TO TAKE IS ON ITEM NUMBER SEVEN.

SO THEN THE REASON I'M ASKING, ASIDE FOR KINDA THE PUBLIC'S, JUST TIKTOK HERE, IS IF THERE ARE LIKE DIRECTION OR AMENDMENTS, JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE TO ITEM NUMBER SEVEN, THAT WE WOULD DO THAT HERE, OR IF THAT WOULD BE DONE IN EXECUTIVE SESSION, IT WOULD BE A MO IT WOULD BE A, UH, DIRECTION THAT YOU'D BE PUTTING ON THE ITEM WE'RE VOTING ON.

SO WE, WE MIGHT ANNOUNCE THAT THERE WERE, I WOULD BE WILLING, I HADN'T THOUGHT THAT ABOUT THAT.

SO THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.

MY THOUGHT WOULD BE THAT PROBABLY WHAT WE WOULD DO IS, UH, DO THAT WHERE WE WOULD COME OUT AND ANNOUNCE ANY CHANGE IN ANY DIRECTION SO THAT, THAT, THAT DIRECTION'S MADE PUBLIC SO LONG AS WE MAKE THE DETERMINATION, IT IS NOT CHANGING THE COMPETITIVE NATURE.

UM, NOW WE WILL GO TO ITEM A 23.

VERY GOOD.

DO YOU HAVE ANY THING TO ADD TO THAT? ANY HEARTBURN WITH WHAT I JUST SAID? NO, THAT SOUNDS, THAT SOUNDS, HOW ABOUT YOU? OKAY.

YOU ALRIGHT? ANYBODY ELSE? .

ALL RIGHT, THO, THOSE ARE GOOD QUESTIONS.

I'M GLAD YOU'RE, BECAUSE I WANT, I WANNA MAKE SURE WE HAVE THE CLARITY.

SO THAT'S THE WAY I WOULD OUTLINE WHAT HAPPENS ON THURSDAY.

ALRIGHT, THIS HAS BEEN A GOOD DISCUSSION.

I'M GLAD WE HAD THIS.

SO,

[A23. Discuss six contracts for audio/visual and television broadcast equipment, products, and related services for all City departments with AVI-SPL, LLC; Donald Kenneth Martin dba DVSERVE; Halbrook and Miller, Inc. dba TM Television; Heart of Texas Music, Inc.; IES Commercial, Inc. dba IES Communications, LLC; and Nelco Media, Inc., each for an initial term of two years with up to three 1-year extension options in amounts not to exceed $36,000,000, divided among the contractors. Funding: $7,130,000 is available in the Operating Budget of all City departments. Funding for the remaining contract term is contingent upon available funding in future budgets. Pulled by Council Members Alter and Laine.]

UH, MS. RILEY, YOU'RE NOT MOVING NEAR FAST ENOUGH FOR SOMEBODY THAT'S JUST BEEN THROUGH WHAT YOU'VE BEEN THROUGH.

, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER, UH, YOU AND COUNCILOR LANE, UH, PULLED THIS ITEM.

THERE WERE SEVERAL OF US THAT HAD QUESTIONS AND SOME JUST MOVED FASTER AT PULLING IT.

UM, I'LL RECOGNIZE YOU AND COUNCIL MEMBER LANE, IF YOU WANNA SAY SOMETHING, UH, QUICKLY BEFORE WE GO TO THE ITEM.

USERS OF THE CONTRACTS WHO ARE WITH US TODAY THAT CAN, UH, DISCUSS SOME OF THE PROJECTS THAT, UH, THEY'RE INTENDING TO USE UNDER THE NEW CONTRACTS.

I JUST WANTED TO GET FURTHER CLARITY ON THIS ITEM.

THIS IS, UH, CONTRACTS FOR ACQUIRING AV AND TELEVISION, UM, EQUIPMENT AND, AND OTHER INFORMATION.

JUST WANT TO BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT EXACTLY WE ARE ACQUIRING HERE.

ARE WE DOING WHAT WE'RE ALREADY DOING TODAY? ARE WE DOING NEW THINGS? ARE WE UPGRADING CURRENT, UM, CURRENT INFRASTRUCTURE IN THIS? AND THEN THE FUNDING SOURCE, UH, BASICALLY IS THIS GENERAL FUND THAT COULD BE USED FOR SOMETHING ELSE, OR IS THIS, UH, CERTAIN, CERTAIN FUNDS THAT ARE DEDICATED TO THIS PURPOSE? SO, GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR, PLEASE, CITY MANAGER.

BROAD NEXT.

COUNCIL MEMBERS.

UH, MY NAME IS JAMES SCARBOROUGH.

I'M WITH AUSTIN FINANCIAL SERVICES.

I'M YOUR CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER.

THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO RESPOND TO YOUR QUESTIONS.

UM, THE ITEM THAT, UH, WE, THE, UH, AUSTIN FINANCIAL SERVICES IS BRINGING BEFORE COUNCIL THIS THURSDAY.

UH, ITEM 23 IS TO AUTHORIZE A SET OF CONTRACTS FOR AUDIO, VISUAL TELEVISION, BROADCAST SERVICES, AND RELATED EQUIPMENT.

UM, THIS IS A CONTINUATION OF A GROUP OF CONTRACTS.

THE CITY CURRENTLY HAS NOT, NOT THE SAME CONTRACTS, BUT A NEW SET OF CONTRACTS RECENTLY COMPETED.

UM, CURRENT, THE CURRENT SET OF CONTRACTS IS SEVEN CONTRACTS.

THE NEW SET WOULD BE FOUR SIX.

UM, IT'S CURRENTLY USED BY ROUGHLY A, A DOZEN DEPARTMENTS ACROSS THE CITY WITH A FEW, UM, THAT ARE SUBSTANTIAL, UH,

[02:10:01]

THE, UH, SCOPE OF THE CONTRACTS ARE FOR, UH, UH, PRIMARILY SERVICES ASSOCIATED WITH THE DESIGN, SUPPLY AND INSTALLATION OF, OF, OF TELEVISION AND BROADCAST EQUIPMENT, INCLUDING LIGHTING AND REFER, UH, RELATED SERVICES.

THIS WOULD INCLUDE, UH, PROFESSIONAL BROADCAST AUDIO SYSTEMS AND INSTALL INSTALLED SOUND SYSTEMS, UM, AS WELL AS COMMERCIAL AUDIO VISUAL SYSTEMS, POST-PRODUCTION SERVICES, DIGITAL STORAGE, ARCHIVING AND DESIGN, PROVISIONING, INSTALLATION, ENGINEERING NETWORK, UH, SYSTEMS. UH, THERE WOULD BE AN OPTION TO PURCHASE A VARIETY OF EQUIPMENT, UH, INCLUDING TELEVISION, BROADCAST DISTRIBUTION, ENGINEERING EQUIPMENT, COMMERCIAL AV PRESENTATION SYSTEMS SERVICES RELATED TO EQUIPMENT PURCHASING, INCLUDING SUPPORT, REPAIR, TRAINING, ENGINEERING, DESIGN AND INSTALLATION.

SO FOR THE MOST PART, THESE CONTRACTS WOULD BE USED ON AN AS NEEDED BASIS.

THESE ARE INDEFINITE QUANTITY CONTRACTS.

THEY'RE USED BY MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS AS I MENTIONED EARLIER.

UM, THE, UH, THE PRIMARY, UH, CONSUMER, UH, UNDER THESE CONTRACTS WOULD BE FOR, UH, COMMUNICATIONS AND ENGAGEMENT.

AND I BELIEVE WE HAVE SOME, UH, OF OUR COLLEAGUES HERE THAT CAN ANSWER SOME QUESTIONS ON THEIR INTENDED USES.

UM, OTHER LARGE USERS OF THE CONTRACTS WOULD BE, UH, UM, AUSTIN TECHNICAL SERVICES, AS WELL AS, UM, AUSTIN PUBLIC LIBRARY AND AUSTIN CONVENTION CENTER, ALL OF WHICH ARE HERE CAN TALK ABOUT THEIR INTENDED, UH, USE OF THE CONTRACTS.

UH, FOR THE MOST PART, THE, THE MAJORITY OF THE SPEND UNDER THESE CONTRACTS, UM, ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS, UM, WITH A A SMALLER AMOUNT, UH, COMING FROM GENERAL FUND SOURCES.

UM, ANY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS YOU'D LIKE TO GET INTO, UH, WITH REGARD TO THESE CONTRACTS? WELL, IN THE Q AND A, THERE'S A MENTION THAT THE FUNDING THAT WILL BE USED FOR THESE CONTRACTS WILL COME FROM CABLE SUBSCRIBE, CABLE SUBSCRIBER FEE REVENUE, AND THAT THESE FUNDS CAN ONLY BE USED FOR CAPITAL EQUIPMENT PURCHASES OF VIDEO PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT.

SO I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND AT THE, THE MOST EXTREME LEVEL, IF WE DIDN'T APPROVE ANY OF THESE CONTRACTS, WOULD THERE BE A NET BENEFIT TO THE GENERAL FUND? OR IS THEY, ARE THESE FUNDS THAT ARE EARMARKED ONLY FOR THIS PURPOSE? AND SO WE WOULDN'T BE FREEING UP DOLLARS TO DO SOMETHING ELSE.

COUNCIL MEMBER, THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION.

JESSICA KING, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR.

UM, SO THE FUNDS THAT ARE APPLIED FOR THE A TXN, WHICH IS WHAT WE USE FOR BROADCASTING COUNCIL MEETINGS, COMMISSION MEETINGS, UM, THAT FUNDING COMES FROM P PEG FUNDS, WHICH IS A SPECIFIC SOURCE THAT YOU MENTIONED.

UM, THAT ESTATE LAW LIMITED TO THAT SPECIFIC, UH, RESOURCE OR NEED.

SO IF WE ARE, SO WE CAN'T USE IT FOR ANY OTHER PERSON, IT'S CAPITAL EQUIPMENT PURCHASES THAT HELP US ENSURE THAT WE CAN BROADCAST MEETINGS, UM, WE WON'T BE FREEING UP ANY FUNDS BECAUSE IN ORDER TO, AS I UNDERSTAND IT, AT LEAST, UM, IN ORDER FOR US TO USE THOSE FUNDS, WE HAVE TO PULL FROM PEG FUNDING THAT IS ALREADY IN OUR BUDGET, THAT COVERS OUR BUDGET.

AND, AND THAT'S THE APPLICATION FOR IT.

AND THERE, IS IT BEING SUPPLEMENTED BY ENTERPRISE OR GENERAL FUNDS, OR IS THAT THE EXCLUSIVE, UH, SOURCE OF FUNDING HERE FOR THE A TXN PURPOSES? THAT'S THE EXCLUSIVE SOURCE FOR, UH, FOR OUR BROADCASTING PURPOSES, YES.

DOES THIS CONTRACT GO BEYOND HEXN COUNCIL MEMBER? YES, IT DOES.

AV USE FOR CON FOR THEIR CONFERENCE ROOMS. SO SETTING UP THEIR CONFERENCE ROOMS FOR MEETINGS, UM, FOR TELEWORK, TELE VISED MEETINGS, AS WELL AS A PRESS CONFERENCE SPACE.

SO I GUESS THE BOTTOM LINE I'M, I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND IS WHAT THE GENERAL FUND ATTACHMENT IS TO THIS ITEM.

AND THEN WITHIN THAT, WITH SOME OF THE DESCRIPTIONS YOU MENTIONED, ARE WE BUYING A NEW CAMERA BECAUSE THE OLD CAMERA BROKE OR BECAUSE THE NEW CAMERA'S JUST BETTER THAN THE OLD CAMERA, BUT THE OLD CAMERA WOULD WORK FOR ANOTHER FIVE YEARS OR NEW LIGHTS BECAUSE WE'RE DOING A, A NEW STUDIO, BUT WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, ONE THAT, THAT IS REALLY AT THE HEART OF WHAT I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND IS WHAT ARE WE USING GENERAL FUND DOLLARS FOR AND OUR ABILITY TO WEIGH THAT AGAINST THE MANY PRIORITIES THAT ARE ON THE GENERAL FUNDS UNDERSTAND COUNCIL MEMBER, THAT'S GONNA VARY FROM THE DEPARTMENT TO THE DEPARTMENT, DEPENDING ON THEIR FUNDING SOURCE.

UM, I WOULD HAVE TO REFER TO MY COLLEAGUES, UH, IN THE, THE LARGEST USING DEPARTMENTS TO KIND OF GIVE YOU SOME EXAMPLES OF THE TYPES OF PROJECTS THAT THEY WERE GONNA APPLY, UM, THE, UH, PRODUCTS AND SERVICES UNDER THIS DEPARTMENT, UH, UNDER THIS SET OF CONTRACTS TOO, TO, UM, GIVE YOU A, UM, SOME, UH, IDEAS OF, OF HOW THEY WOULD, UH, HOW THEY WOULD, UH, SURE, SURE.

THAT'S FINE.

IF YOU DON'T MIND.

LET ME, LEMME TRY.

UM, SO FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAVE THE PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITY THAT WE ARE WORKING TOWARDS THE, THE MAIN, THE MAIN LOCATION FOR ALL THREE PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS.

UM, IN ORDER FOR THAT, THAT FACILITY TO BE OPERATIONAL, THERE ARE A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT ELEMENTS.

ONE, THEY NEED BASIC

[02:15:01]

SO FOR THE A TXN ELEMENT, UM, WHAT WE ARE FOCUSING ON IS PROVIDING, UM, ACCESSIBILITY SO THAT WE CAN BROADCAST LIVE FROM A PRESS CONFERENCE, MEDIA BRIEFING ROOM THERE.

UM, THAT BASICALLY MEANS THAT, FOR EXAMPLE, OVER THE WEEKEND WHEN WE HAD A PRESS CONFERENCE, BECAUSE OF THE EVENTS OVER THE WEEKEND, UM, WE WOULD BE ABLE TO BROADCAST THAT LIVE VERSUS WHAT, UM, POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS TO DO RIGHT NOW, WHICH IS USE THEIR CAMERAS, THEIR OWN CELL PHONE CAMERAS TO BROADCAST AND THEN PLACE IT LATER ON A SOCIAL MEDIA SIDE OR YOUTUBE.

UM, SO FROM THE A TXN SIDE, WE WOULD EQUIP THE PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITY TO DO THAT, THE AV SIDE.

AND I THINK THAT IS NORMALLY LED BY A TS, UM, AND THE DIRECTORS HERE TO DISCUSS THAT IF SHE NEEDS TO, BUT YOU HAVE TO HAVE CONFERENCE ROOM SPACE SO THAT WE CAN ALSO HOST MEETINGS, UM, DO TELECONFERENCE MEETINGS.

WHEN WE ALSO LOOK AT, UM, THE MEETINGS FOR NEGOTIATIONS WHERE THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TO BROADCAST THOSE MEETINGS OR HAVE AV EQUIPMENT TO, UH, BROADCAST ANY, I'M SORRY, NOT BROADCAST, BUT PUT ANY TYPE OF AV USE IN PLACE SHOWING, UM, PRESENTATIONS, HAVING THOSE PUBLIC MEETINGS, THEN THEY WILL HAVE THAT EQUIPMENT.

SO WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE AVS, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT FOR THAT HELPS WITH CITY HALL.

THAT HELPS WITH ANY OTHER FACILITY, CENTRAL LIBRARY, ALL THE DIFFERENT PLACES THAT NEED AV EQUIPMENT.

WELL, JUST AHEAD OF THURSDAY, I WOULD ASK FOR JUST WHATEVER IS IMPACTED BY GENERAL FUND, WHAT IS NOT THE A TXN SIDE, NOT THE ENTERPRISE SIDE, BUT WHAT ARE WE SPENDING GENERAL FUND DOLLARS ON FIRST AND FOREMOST? AND SECONDLY, IS THIS A NEW THING OR MAKING AN EXISTING THING BETTER? SO THAT WOULD BE MY REQUEST, AND I APPRECIATE Y'ALL GIVING US SOME INSIGHTS HERE.

SURE.

I THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER LANE, I, I APOLOGIZE TO YOU.

I MEANT TO CALL ON YOU BEFORE WE STARTED ASKING QUESTIONS, BUT I WANNA MAKE SURE IF, IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WANT TO ADD OR HAVE QUESTIONS? THANK YOU, MAYOR.

MAYOR.

NO WORRIES.

UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER DID COVER, UM, SOME OF THE GROUND THAT I HAD IN MIND, WHICH IS GREAT.

I APPRECIATE THAT.

UM, I DID, I AM HOPING THAT WE COULD HEAR A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW THE VENDORS WERE SELECTED, UH, WITH AN EMPHASIS ON THE WAY IN WHICH THE PROCESS MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE BEEN DESIGNED, UH, TO BE COMPETITIVE AND LEAD TO THE BEST POSSIBLE PRICE PRICING AS WELL AS A VENDOR THAT WILL MEET THE NEEDS.

GOOD.

UH, COUNCIL MEMBER? YES.

UH, THE CURRENT SET OF, UH, UH, UH, OF RECOMMENDED CONTRACTS WERE SOURCED IN THE, UH, MANNER THAT WAS, UH, USED IN THE PREVIOUS SET OF CONTRACTS, UM, BECAUSE OF THE, UM, THE, UH, PROFESSIONAL SERVICES NATURE, THE ENGINEERING WORK, UH, AND THE DESIGN SERVICES, UH, THAT ARE INTENSELY INVOLVED IN THE DELIVERY OF, OF THESE, UH, SERVICES AND PRODUCTS.

UM, THE, UH, COMPETITIVE METHOD USED WAS THE, UM, UH, UH, REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS.

UH, THIS WAS TO DETERMINE, UM, THE, UM, UH, THE APPROPRIATE SKILLSET, THE APPROPRIATE, UH, LEVEL OF, UH, TRAINING AND CREDENTIALING NECESSARY TO DESIGN, UH, THE, UM, AV SYSTEMS SO THAT THEY COULD BE DEPLOYED IN A WAY THAT WOULD BEST MEET THE INDIVIDUAL NEEDS OF THE, OF THE VARIOUS, UM, UM, UM, PROJECTS AND, AND ASSIGNMENTS WHERE THEY WOULD BE DEPLOYED.

UM, SO WHEN WE REQUESTED, UH, UH, SUBMISSIONS FROM THE MARKET, UH, WE RECEIVED, UH, DETAILED, UH, DESCRIPTION OF THE QUALIFICATIONS AND, AND, AND, UH, EXPERIENCE AND KEY PERSONNEL FROM EACH OF THE OFFERS AND DETERMINED WHICH ONES WERE THE MOST QUALIFIED.

AND THEN, UM, UM, REQUESTED THAT THEY SUBMIT, UH, THEIR PRICING AND, AND, UH, FOR THEIR SERVICES AS WELL AS PRODUCTS THAT WOULD BE AVAILABLE IN THE MARKET.

AND THEN WE DID THE COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BETWEEN, UM, WHAT THEY SUBMITTED AND WHAT WAS AVAILABLE THEN OTHER CONTRACTS, AND DETERMINED, UH, THAT PRICING WAS, WAS FAIR AND REASONABLE AND COMPARABLE, THAT WHAT COULD WE RECEIVE IN THE MARKET.

MAINTAIN, UH, THE SYSTEMS THAT WE USE TO ENSURE THAT WE CAN BROADCAST LIVE AND CAPTURE ALL THE MEETINGS, COMMUNITY MEETINGS, PRESS CONFERENCES THAT WE NEED TO CAPTURE AND BROADCAST TO THE COMMUNITY.

VERY HELPFUL.

I KNOW WE ARE A LARGE CITY THAT LEADS IN MANY AREAS, AND WE CERTAINLY VALUE THE TYPES OF ENGAGEMENT THAT WERE DESCRIBED, SO IT'S IMPORTANT TO ESTABLISH A FLOOR OF COMPANIES THAT CAN ACTUALLY MEET OUR NEEDS.

SO I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.

I HAVE ONE ADDITIONAL QUESTION.

UM, CAN YOU WALK ME THROUGH HOW THIS CONTRACT WILL HELP IMPROVE ACCESSIBILITY, LIKE CAPTIONING, LANGUAGE OPTIONS, VISUAL AND SOUND CLARITY, OR THE EXTENT TO WHICH IT DOES HELP THAT? THANK YOU.

SO THESE, THIS CONTRACT WILL HELP US UPGRADE A LOT OF THE EQUIPMENT.

SO FROM, AGAIN, THE A TXN ASPECT, UM, WE UTILIZE, UH, CLOSED CAPTIONING.

UM, BUT IN ORDER FOR CLOSED CAPTIONING TO WORK, YOU ACTUALLY HAVE TO HEAR THINGS, THINGS HAVE TO WORK EFFECTIVELY.

AND SO THIS CONTRACT WILL ALLOW US TO UPDATE AND

[02:20:01]

I APPRECIATE THE, THOSE ANSWERS.

AND THAT'S IT FOR ME, MAYOR, ON THIS TOPIC.

THAT'LL TAKE US TO ITEM B ONE, WHICH ARE COUNCIL'S PRIORITIES FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 20 26, 20 27 BUDGET DEVELOPMENT PROCESS.

COUNCIL MEMBER.

UM, ANYBODY GOT ANYTHING ELSE? GREAT.

THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH.

APPRECIATE IT MEMBERS.

[B1. Council's priorities for the Fiscal Year 2026-2027 budget development process. [Kerri Lang, Director - Budget and Excellence].]

IT IS ALL YOURS.

GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND COUNCIL, CARRIE LANG, DIRECTOR OF BUDGET AND ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE.

WE ARE HERE TO TALK THROUGH, UM, AND HAVE A, A CONVERSATION ABOUT COUNCIL PRIORITIES AS WE MOVE FORWARD IN THE BUDGET PROCESS FOR FISCAL YEAR 27.

WE'RE FIRST GONNA TALK THROUGH THE ENGAGEMENT THAT HAS BEEN DONE SO FAR FOR THIS BUDGET PROCESS.

TALK THROUGH SOME OF THE SURVEY RESULTS THAT WE'VE RECEIVED, UM, DO A FORECAST RECAP, AND THEN, UM, TALK ABOUT THE EXERCISE OF PRIORITIZATION TOOL THAT WE, WE WILL BE DISTRIBUTING TO COUNCIL TODAY.

UM, WE ALWAYS TALK THROUGH THE TIMELINE.

WE ARE ON AT MAY 19TH, WHERE WE'RE HAVING THIS PRIORITY SET AND CONVERSATION.

UM, WE WILL BE PRESENTING THE, UH, FISCAL YEAR 27 PROPOSED BUDGET ON JULY 16TH, AND THEN GO THROUGH A NUMBER OF COMMUNITY INPUT SESSIONS, COUNCIL WORK SESSIONS TO GET TO AUGUST 12TH THROUGH 14TH FOR BUDGET ADOPTION.

SO WHEN WE THINK THROUGH, UM, OUR BUDGET ENGAGEMENT SO FAR, UM, WE BEGAN THE BUDGET ENGAGEMENT WITH REQUESTS TO BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS TO PROVIDE BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS AND ASKING FOR AREAS TO CONSIDER FOR REDUCTION FROM OUR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.

THOSE RESPONSES WERE RECEIVED ON MARCH 31ST AND ARE CURRENTLY BEING ANALYZED BY DEPARTMENTS.

THE CITY MANAGER ALSO HELD FOR THE SECOND YEAR, HIS COMMUNITY BUDGET CONVERSATIONS.

OVER THESE SIX MEETINGS, THE MANAGER HEARD FROM THE COMMUNITY ON VARIOUS TOPICS.

HE ALSO CONDUCTED TWO FEEDBACK SESSIONS FROM VENDORS WHO PROVIDE SOCIAL SERVICE, SOCIAL SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CITY, AND HAS HAD THE FIRST OF THREE EMPLOYEE BUDGET CONVERSATIONS.

THE COMMUNITY SURVEY WE RECEIVED THE COMMUNITY SURVEY RESULTS, WHICH WERE DISTRIBUTED TO THE COUNCIL LAST WEEK, AND WE'LL PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW LATER IN THIS PRESENTATION.

UM, AND EACH YEAR WE COMPLETED, WE COMPLETE AN ONLINE BUDGET SURVEY WHERE WE SHARE THE, AND WE'LL SHARE THE PRELIMINARY RESULTS HERE AND, UM, HAVE THE FULL REPORT AVAILABLE DURING, UH, THE BUDGET SEASON.

AND THEN FINALLY, THERE WILL BE OPPORTUNITIES FOR COMMUNITY INPUT, AS I MENTIONED, THROUGH, THROUGH THE BUDGET WORK SESSIONS AND THE COUNCIL DISTRICT TOWN HALLS THAT USUALLY OCCUR OVER, UM, THE JULY AND AUGUST TIMEFRAME.

LOOKING AT OUR COMMUNITY SURVEY RESULTS, WE RECEIVED MORE THAN 2000 COMPLETED RESPONSES WITH ROUGHLY 200 RESPONSES COLLECTED FOR EACH CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT.

THIS BALANCED DISTRIBUTION GIVES US STRONG REPRESENTATION ACROSS THE ENTIRE CITY AND CONTRIBUTES TO A STATISTICALLY RELIABLE MARGIN OF ERROR OF PLUS OR MINUS 2.15%.

AT THE 95% CONFIDENCE LEVEL PARTICIPANTS EVALUATED 115 ITEMS SPANNING 10 MAJOR SERVICE SERVICE CATEGORIES.

THESE CATEGORIES COVER EVERYTHING FROM DAY TO DAY, CITY SERVICES, INFRASTRUCTURE, AND PUBLIC SAFETY TO BROADER PERCEPTIONS ABOUT QUALITY OF LIFE AND THE OVERALL DIRECTION OF AUSTIN.

TOGETHER, THIS GIVES US ONE OF THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE AND RELIABLE SNAPSHOTS OF THE COMMUNITY SENTIMENTS THAT WE COLLECT EACH YEAR.

THIS SLIDE, ALTHOUGH A LITTLE BUSY, UM, PROVIDES A LOT OF INFORMATION, UM, AND LETS US SEE WHO WE HEARD FROM CONFIRMING DIVERSE AND DISTRICT BALANCED PARTICIPATION ACROSS THE CITY.

BECAUSE THIS YEAR'S SURVEY INCLUDED A MAIL-IN OPTION, IT'S IMPORTANT TO KEEP IN MIND THAT MAIL SURVEYS OFTEN PRODUCE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT RESPONDENT PROFILES.

AND OUR DATA, THESE DIFFERENCES SHOW UP MOST CLEARLY AMONGST OLDER AUSTINITES HIGHER INCOME HOUSEHOLDS AND HOMEOWNERS.

THESE PATTERNS DO NOT AFFECT THE OVERALL CONFIDENCE INTERVAL, BUT THEY ARE USEFUL CONTEXT WHEN INTERPRETING RESULTS, ESPECIALLY WHEN COMPARING DEMOGRAPHIC SUBGROUPS ARE LOOKING FOR DIFFERENCES IN PERCEPTION ACROSS THE COMMUNITY.

THE SURVEY INCLUDES TWO

[02:25:01]

TYPES OF QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS THAT ASK AUSTIN KNIGHTS HOW SATISFIED THEY ARE WITH SPECIFIC SERVICES AND QUESTIONS THAT ASK HOW, HOW MUCH THEY AGREE WITH STATEMENTS ABOUT PERCEPTIONS OF AUSTIN FOR BOTH TYPES.

ETC COMBINES THE TWO TOP RESPONSE LEVELS, VERY SATISFIED AND SATISFIED, OR STRONGLY AGREE AND AGREE.

THEY COMBINE PERCENTAGES BECOME THE SCORE YOU'LL SEE REPORTED.

IT ALSO, IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT DON'T KNOW RESPONSES ARE REMOVED FROM THE CALCULATION.

THIS KEEPS THE RESULTS COMPARABLE ACROSS DIFFERENT SERVICE AREAS, ESPECIALLY ONES PEOPLE INTERACT WITH MORE, MORE OR LESS FREQUENTLY.

OVERALL, THE CITY MADE SIGNIFICANT STRIDES.

105 OUT OF 115 ITEMS IMPROVED FROM THE FISCAL, FROM THE 2023 SURVEY.

ELECTRIC SERVICE, RELIABILITY AND OVERALL QUALITY OF LIFE SAW THE STRONGEST GAINS.

PUBLIC SAFETY ALSO SHOWED ENCOURAGING MOVEMENT, BOTH A PD, EMERGENCY RESPONSE, TIMELINESS, AND COMMUNITY CONFIDENCE INCREASED BY MORE THAN 13 POINTS.

THE TAKEAWAY WE'RE SEEING BROAD SI WE'RE SEEING BROAD CITYWIDE IMPROVEMENTS, ESPECIALLY IN OUR ESSENTIAL SERVICES.

THIS OVERALL SATISFACTION SLIDE HIGHLIGHTS THE AUSTIN AUSTIN'S PERCEPTION ACROSS TWO MAJOR AREAS.

OVERALL, QUALITY OF LIFE AND MAJOR CITY SERVICES ACROSS THE BOARD WE'RE STRONGLY, UM, WE'RE SEEING STRONG TRENDS UPWARD IN HOW AUSTINITE VIEW THE CITY AS A PLACE TO LIVE, WORK, RAISE CHILDREN, AND FEEL WELCOME.

THE BIGGEST GAINS ARE IN OVERALL QUALITY OF LIFE, WHICH INCREASED BY MORE THAN 14 POINTS.

YOU'LL ALSO NOTICE THE STARS NEXT TO A FEW SERVICE ITEMS. THESE STARS COME FROM THE IMPORTANT SATISFACTION ANALYSIS, WHICH IDENTIFIES AREAS THAT AUSTINITES CONSIDER HIGHLY IMPORTANT, BUT WHERE SATISFACTION IS COMPARATIVELY LOWER IN THIS SLIDE, TRAFFIC FLOW ON MAJOR STREETS AND THE CITY'S EFFORTS TO REDUCE HOMELESSNESS RISE TO THE TOP AS KEY PRIORITIES BASED ON COMMUNITY INPUT.

LOOKING AT THE OVERALL PERCEPTIONS, AUSTINITES REPORT STRONG TRUST AND FIRE AND EMS, AND WE ARE ALSO SEEING MEANINGFUL YEAR OVER YEAR GAINS IN PERSONAL SAFETY PERCEPTIONS.

MORE AUSTINITES NOW REPORT FEELING SAFE IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS DURING THE DAY, AND THERE'S A NOTABLE INCREASE IN FEELING SAFE IN THEIR HOMES.

AT THE SAME TIME, PERCEPTION OF OF THE CITY'S PLANNING FOR GROWTH AND THE AVAILABILITY OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING REMAINS LOWER THAN OTHER MEASURES.

THIS SLIDE HERE SHOWS THE BENCHMARKS THAT WE HAVE, UM, AGAINST OTHER TEXAS CITIES AND THE UNITED STATES.

THE FULL REPORT SHOWS THESE BENCHMARKS IN ADDITION TO BENCHMARKS OF OUR SIMILAR CITIES.

IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE HERE THAT AUSTIN, UM, IS, IS BENCHMARKED A LITTLE BIT HIGHER THAN BOTH TEXAS CITIES AND NATIONWIDE.

AND THEN THIS SLIDE IS JUST TO KIND OF SHOW THE DASHBOARD THAT IS AVAILABLE TO SHOW YEAR OVER YEAR RESULTS.

UM, IT, IT ALLOWS YOU TO LOOK AT DEMOGRAPHICS ACROSS SEVERAL AREAS BY DISTRICT, UM, AS WELL AS, UM, OVER THE COURSE OF, UM, IF YOU WANNA FILTER THINGS IN LIKE AGE, RACE, ETHNICITY, YOU CAN DO THAT THROUGH THE DASHBOARD, WHICH IS NOW LIVE FOR, UM, THE COMMUNITY AND FOR YOU ALL TO TAKE A LOOK AT.

MOVING ON TO A QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE BUDGET SURVEY.

WE PROVIDE AN ANNUAL BUDGET SURVEY TO GET THE, UM, PRIORITIES OF THE COMMUNITY.

AND THIS BUDGET SURVEY OPENED RIGHT AFTER THE FINANCIAL FORECAST WAS PRESENTED.

WE HAD OVER 850 RESPONDENTS AS OF MAY 15TH.

AND WE'LL HAVE THE FINAL REPORT ALONG WITH THE PROPOSED BUDGET, UH, DOCUMENT IN JULY.

WANTED TO JUST SHOW SOME OF THE HIGH, UM, THE, THE HIGHLY IMPORTANT AREAS ARE, ARE THE AREAS WHERE THERE WAS A NUMBER OF SUPPORT ACROSS THIS SURVEY.

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, PREVENTION AND RESPONSE, AS WELL AS HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS AND TRA TRANSPORTATION AND CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE WERE THE TOP THREE IN THE RESPONDENTS FOR THIS PARTICULAR QUESTION.

AND THEN WE ASKED A QUESTION THIS YEAR ABOUT SOCIAL SERVICE FUNDING TO GET THE COMMUNITY'S INPUT ON WHAT THEY CONSIDER TO BE THE TOP FUNDING PRIORITY.

AND AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, BASIC NEEDS LED THE, UH, RESPONSES AND TOP FUNDING PRIORITIES FOR SOCIAL SERVICES.

NOW, QUICKLY GOING THROUGH, UM, A RECAP OF THE CONVERSATION WE HAD DURING THE FORECAST.

AS YOU ALL KNOW, IN APRIL, WE TALKED ABOUT THE FINANCIAL FORECAST WHERE WE SHOWED AND WE DID A, UH, REVIEW OF WHAT OUR PROJECTED FORECAST LOOKS LIKE WITH A NO NEW REVENUE MAINTENANCE AND, UM, OPERATIONS RATE, AS WELL AS THE VOTER APPROVAL RATE.

THIS IS JUST RE RECAPPING THAT.

[02:30:01]

THE, UM, IN THE INITIAL, UH, REVIEW AND DEFICITS USING BASELINE, UM, EXPENDITURES ANTICIPATES A $1.3 MILLION DEFICIT IN 2027.

UM, AND THAT IS UNDER THE VOTER APPROVAL RATE.

OF COURSE, THAT DEFICIT IS BIGGER AND GROWS MORE UNDER THE NO NEW REVENUE RATE.

WE ALSO HAD A CONVERSATION ABOUT WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE TO ADD THE ITEMS THAT WERE REDUCED OR ELIMINATED IN THE PLANNED YEAR THAT WAS CREATED DURING THE FISCAL YEAR 26 BUDGET PROCESS.

IF WE ADDED THOSE, THOSE, UM, ITEMS BACK INTO THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 27, THAT WOULD INCREASE THAT DEFICIT TO F 50.6 MILLION.

AND THIS NEXT SLIDE JUST KIND OF WALKS THROUGH WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE WITH THOSE ADDED COSTS, UM, AND THE BASE, UH, FORECAST FOR, FOR THE, UH, NEXT FIVE YEARS.

AND THEN FINALLY, WE WANT TO JUST TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR SALES TAX UPDATE.

UM, WE HAVE RECEIVED SIX PAYMENTS THROUGH THIS FISCAL YEAR, AND WE ARE EXPERIENCING 7.3% GROWTH IN OUR SALES TAX REVENUE.

UM, THE MAY PAYMENTS CURRENT COLLECTIONS IS 12.4% HIGHER, BUT IT SHOULD BE NOTED WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS SLIDE AT THE, OR THIS, UH, CHART AT THE BOTTOM, WE HAD, UH, LARGER REDUCTIONS OR LARGER, UH, DECREASE IN OUR SALES TAX AT THE SAME TIME OF LAST YEAR.

WE ANTICIPATE SALES TAX REVENUE TO EXCEED THEIR ORIGINAL FORECASTED AMOUNT OR THE ESTIMATE.

BUT WE'LL CONTINUE TO LOOK AT THAT OVER THE NEXT COMING MONTHS AS WE'RE PREPARING THE PROPOSED BUDGET AND MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO NOT ONLY OUR CURRENT YEAR ESTIMATE, BUT ALSO TO, UM, THE IMPACTS THAT WE ANTICIPATED HAVING FOR FISCAL YEAR 27 AND, AND, UH, THE YEARS TO FOLLOW.

AND THEN AS WE TALK THROUGH CITY COUNCIL'S PRIORITIES AND THINK THROUGH WHAT, UM, WE ARE GOING TO DO OVER THE NEXT, UH, COUPLE OF WEEKS, WE DO HAVE AN EXERCISE THAT WE'RE ASKING, UH, THE COUNCIL MEMBERS TO COMPLETE, UM, WHERE IT IS A COMMUNICATIONAL.

I FEEL BETTER NOW THAT SHE'S GOT SOMETHING I I THOUGHT SHE WAS GOING TO MAKE US PRIORITIZE EXERCISE .

WE CAN DO THAT TOO.

NO, NO, NO, NO.

I FEEL A LOT BETTER NOW ABOUT WHAT, WHERE YOU'RE HEADED .

WE CAN GET THE SENIORS OUT HERE THAT CAN LEAD US IN A LITTLE GOES GOTTA SEE OUR SENIORS.

YES.

LET'S DO IT.

SENIOR SIZE, HUH? UH, WITH THAT WE'LL HAVE A, UH, SURVEY TOOL THAT WE WILL BE DISTRIBUTING TO COUNCIL TODAY THAT WILL, WE'RE ASKING YOU ALL TO PRIORITIZE AND WORK THIS TOOL THAT HAS THREE DIFFERENT AREAS.

UM, AND OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF SLIDES, I'LL WALK THROUGH EACH AREA.

THE FIRST BEING, UM, LOOKING AT OUR PRIORITIES RELATED TO OUR STRATEGIC PLAN AND THE SERVICE AREAS OR THE STRATEGIC PRIORITIES WITHIN THE, UH, IN, WITHIN THE STRATEGIC PLAN.

AND SO WE'RE ASKING YOU TO ASSIGN 100 POINTS ACROSS THE SIX STRATEGIC PRIORITY AREAS.

UM, AND THIS IS TO HELP US UNDERSTAND YOUR DESIRE FOR INVESTMENT OR PRESERVATION OF THESE GENERAL AREAS.

THEN WE'LL LOOK A LITTLE BIT MORE GRANULAR AT THE ITEMS THAT WE DISCUSSED DURING FORECAST.

AND OVER THE LAST SEVERAL, UH, WEEKS, THE ITEMS THAT WERE REDUCED IN THE FISCAL YEAR 26 PLANNED YEAR, WE WILL ASK THAT AS YOU'RE LOOKING THROUGH THIS TOOL, YOU'LL TELL US WHETHER YOU WANNA MAINTAIN THOSE REDUCTIONS, RESTORE THEM, OR PARTIALLY RESTORE THEM.

THERE'LL BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO PROVIDE, UM, INPUT ON IF THERE ARE ANYTHING, IF THERE'S ANYTHING YOU WANNA OFFSET THOSE AREAS WITH ITEMS YOU WANT US TO CONSIDER FOR REDUCTION IN ORDER TO ADD TO THE OTHER AREAS.

AND THEN WE'LL LOOK A LITTLE BIT MORE GRANULAR AT THE SOCIAL SERVICE, UH, CONTRACTS, THE FOCUS AREAS OF THOSE CONTRACTS, AND ASK YOU TO PRIORIT PRIORITIZE THOSE 15 AREAS, ONE BEING THE MOST IMPORTANT DOWN TO, OR THE ONES YOU WANNA PRIORITIZE MOST.

NUMBER ONE DOWN TO 15.

AND THEN FINALLY, THE TOOL WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR OPEN INPUT.

THERE'S THREE QUESTIONS THAT WE HAVE IN THAT, THAT THIRD SECTION THAT ALLOWS YOU TO GIVE US ADDITIONAL ITEMS TO CONSIDER, AS WELL AS ANY COMMENTS THAT YOU HAVE FOR US, OR IF THERE'S SOME PARTICULAR SERVICE AREAS, PROGRAMS OR INITIATIVE THAT ISN'T INCLUDED IN THOSE FIRST TWO AREAS THAT YOU WANT CONSIDERED FOR, UM, INCLUSION IN THE PROPOSED DOCUMENT.

AS I MENTIONED, WE'LL BE, UH, DISTRIBUTING THE SURVEY TODAY.

AND THEN ONCE IT'S DISTRIBUTED, WE'RE ASKING THAT YOU HAVE IT COMPLETED AND BACK TO MY TEAM ON BY THURSDAY, MAY 28TH.

AND WE WILL PROVIDE AN AGGREGATED REPORT OF THIS ALONG WITH THE PROPOSED BUDGET.

UM, ONCE WE HAVE THE FINAL INFORMATION, UM, FROM YOU ALL WITH THAT, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU AGAIN.

UM, ANYBODY GOT ANYTHING THAT YOU WANNA, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER JUST, UH,

[02:35:01]

AS IT RELATES TO OP, UH, PART B, THE PRIORITIES AND WHERE, WHAT WE MIGHT WANNA PRESERVE? UM, I JUST WANTED TO RE-UP THE REQUEST FOR THE SOCIAL SERVICE CONTRACT LIST.

WE'VE NOT YET RECEIVED THAT LIST, AND SO CAN'T TELL YOU WHAT WE WANNA PRESERVE.

IF WE DON'T KNOW, WE, YOU'LL HAVE THE MEMO THIS WEEK OKAY.

I ACTUALLY PUT MY HAND UP THIS TIME, BUT I DIDN'T KNOW IF WE WERE USING THAT SYSTEM TODAY.

OH, I JUST DIDN'T LOOK DOWN.

I DIDN'T LOOK DOWN, SO I APOLOGIZE.

YOU'RE ALL GOOD.

UM, I WANTED TO ASK A QUESTION ABOUT THE BUDGET PRIORITY SURVEY THAT'S CLOSING IN MID-JUNE.

WHEN WILL WE GET THOSE RESULTS AND CAN WE HAVE THEM BROKEN OUT JUST BY DISTRICT SO WE CAN SEE WHAT OUR CONSTITUENTS ARE SAYING AS RESPONSES? UM, SO THE, THE BUDGET PRIORITY REPORT WILL COME OUT, UM, WITH THE PROPOSED BUDGET.

SO WE'LL HAVE, THAT'S ONE OF THE SUPPLEMENTAL REPORTS WE ADD TO, OR WE DISTRIBUTE AFTER WE DISTRIBUTE THE PROPOSED BUDGET.

UM, THAT ALONG WITH, FOR EXAMPLE, BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, I WILL CHECK WITH THE TEAM.

I BELIEVE THE ONLINE SURVEY, UM, IS NOT DISTRICT SPECIFIC, I BELIEVE IT IS ACROSS THE CITY, BUT LET ME VERIFY THAT AND LET YOU ALL KNOW, OR IF IT HAS ZIP CODES ATTACHED TO ANY OF THEM, I REALIZE THERE'S, UH, A GOOD REASON TO HAVE THESE MAYBE BE MORE ANONYMOUS DEPENDING ON HOW FOLKS WANT TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS, BUT AT LEAST I KNOW WHICH ZIP CODES I REPRESENT AND THAT COULD HELP US UNDERSTAND AS THE BUDGET'S BEING PROPOSED, UM, WHAT OUR FOLKS ARE SAYING.

YES, I'LL CHECK WITH THE TEAM TO MAKE SURE TO SEE IF THAT'S AVAILABLE.

OKAY, PERFECT.

AND THEN I HAD ANOTHER QUESTION ABOUT WHEN WE GET THIS EXERCISE, WHICH FOR THE RECORD, I'M HAPPY TO DO ANY KIND OF EXERCISE, WHETHER THAT'S FOR YOU, MENTAL GYMNASTICS OR OR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY.

UM, WILL WE GET A BREAKDOWN OF WHICH DEPARTMENTS ARE FITTING WITHIN THOSE SIX AREAS? LIKE I'M WONDERING WHERE PARKS AND RECREATION GOES, IS THAT WITH COMMUNITY HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY? SO I'M THINKING THROUGH THE SERVICE PARTS.

I I THINK WE HAVE A DESCRIPTION OF WHAT IS INCLUDED IN EACH ONE.

UM, LET ME GO BACK AND MAKE SURE THAT IS ACCURATE.

UM, IF, AND WHAT I'LL DO AS WELL IS, IS SEND YOU ALL THE LINK TO THE STRATEGIC PLAN THAT KIND OF BREAKS DOWN THE DIFFERENT, UM, MEASURES AND GOALS THAT ARE RELATED TO EACH AREA.

SO YOU CAN KIND OF SEE WHAT GENERALLY IS INCLUDED IN, IN THOSE AREAS.

WE DON'T SAY PARTICULARLY WITH BY THE STRATEGIC PLAN THAT THIS IS WHERE PARK SITS OR AUSTIN PARKS AND RECREATION, FOR EXAMPLE.

UM, BUT BY THE, UH, GOALS AND MEASURES, YOU CAN TELL WHAT AREAS OR WHAT DEPARTMENTS PRIMARILY, UH, LEAD THOSE EFFORTS.

THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.

AND THEN WHAT ARE THE CONSIDERATIONS AROUND WHICH OF OUR PRIORITIES MIGHT BE GENERAL FUND DOLLARS VERSUS ENTERPRISE DOLLARS? UM, JUST SO WE CAN GET A BETTER BALANCE OF WHERE WE WANNA SAY OUR PRIORITIES LIE.

SO MOST OF THE, UH, WELL THE FIRST, UH, SECTION IS A MIX OF, OF COURSE, GENERAL FUND AND ENTERPRISE FUNDS.

BUT THERE IS A SECTION IN THAT A HUNDRED POINTS WHERE YOU CAN HAVE, YOU CAN ADD YOUR NOTES TO SAY, I WANT THIS TO FOCUS ON TRANSPORTATION, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, IN THE SECTION B THAT IS PRIMARILY ALL GENERAL FUND FOCUSED.

AND THEN SECTION C, YOU CAN IDENTIFY ANY SPECIFIC AREAS ACROSS ANY FUND THAT YOU WANTED, WANT US TO FOCUS ON.

OKAY, PERFECT.

'CAUSE I KNOW ALSO THE CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE THAT COULD MEAN TRANSPORTATION, BUT THAT COULD ALSO MEAN UTILITY WORK OR OTHER THINGS THAT FALL OUTSIDE OF TP W'S PURVIEW.

CORRECT.

AND, AND THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO SAY SPECIFICALLY WHICH, WHICH PART OF CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE YOU WANT FOCUSED ON.

THAT'S GREAT.

AND THEN LIKEWISE WITH THE HIGH PERFORMING GOVERNMENT SECTION, JUST SO WE KNOW EXACTLY WHICH INITIATIVES ARE BEING REFERENCED HERE, OBVIOUSLY WE WANT ALL OF THESE CATEGORIES TO BE HIGH PERFORMING GOVERNMENT.

UM, BUT JUST UNDERSTANDING SPECIFICALLY WHAT WOULD FALL UNDER THAT WOULD HELP US DO THE, DO THE PROGRAM THAT IS PRIMARILY OUR SUPPORT AREA.

SO IF YOU'RE THINKING, UM, FINANCE, UH, BUILDING SERVICE, UH, FACILITIES MANAGEMENT, UM, TECHNOLOGY SERVICES, HUMAN RESOURCES, SO IT'S MOSTLY THE INTERNAL FUNCTIONS.

THOSE, UH, STRONG SALES TAX COLLECTIONS? WELL, I'D SAY IF YOU, I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF DISTORTIONS IN THERE.

UM, AND THERE ARE ARE MEASURES THAT INCLUDE THINGS LIKE, UM, OUR, UH, FISCAL SURETY AS A, AS A CITY.

AND SO IT'S THOSE KINDS OF FUNCTIONS THAT YOU'LL BE THINKING ABOUT IN HIGH PERFORMING GOVERNMENT.

COUNCIL MEMBER MAYOR PRO.

TIM, JUST A QUICK QUESTION.

THE SALES TAX NUMBERS ARE SO UNUSUAL COMPARED TO WHAT, I'LL JUST SAY WHAT I WAS EXPECTING, BUT ESPECIALLY WHAT WE HEAR FROM KIND OF THE MACRO ENVIRONMENT OUT THERE.

UH, AND I KNOW Y'ALL ARE ON THE BUDGET SIDE OF THINGS, NOT ON THE, UH, ECONOMY SIDE OF THINGS, BUT ANY SENSE OF WHAT'S DRIVING

[02:40:01]

SO IF YOU COMPARE IT VERSUS TWO YEARS AGO WE'RE ONLY GROWING FOR INSTANCE, THE MAY PAYMENT IS ONLY, IS IF YOU'D GROWN A LITTLE OVER 1% EACH YEAR.

IT'S JUST YOU HAD A BIG DIP LAST YEAR AND THEN A LARGE INCREASE THIS YEAR.

SO I THINK, UH, IN ADDITION TO HAVING UNCERTAINTY ABOUT THE LARGER DIRECTION OF THE BROADER ECONOMIC TREND, ON TOP OF THAT, WE HAVE A LOT OF YEAR TO YEAR AND MONTH TO MONTH NOISE, UM, WHICH DOESN'T MAKE OUR FORECASTING JOB ANY EASIER.

WHAT'S YOUR NAME? WHO ARE YOU? OH, ERIC NELSON, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, BOE.

THANK, UH, THANK Y'ALL.

UH, VERY MUCH APPRECIATE IT.

THANK Y'ALL VERY MUCH.