* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:01] WE'RE AT 5:32 PM [CALL TO ORDER ] AND, UH, WE WILL START WITH ROLL CALL. UM, VICE CHAIR LISA CHANG. PRESENT, UH, COMMISSIONER, UH, ANO, UH, COMMISSIONER, UH, ER HIGGINS HERE. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER MURPHY. HERE. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER SAM MARTIN. OKAY. UH, COMMISSIONER SIMON HERE. THANK YOU. UH, COMMISSIONER SLADE. AND COMMISSIONER VASA HERE. THANK YOU. COULD WE HEAR, UH, COMMISSIONER SAN MARTIN? WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO SAY HERE? YOU'RE CURRENTLY MUTED. OH, HERE. I'M HERE PRESENT. OKAY. THANK YOU. UH, SO AS A POINT OF PRIVILEGE, I'D LOVE TO INTRODUCE OUR, UH, NEW COMMISSIONER, UH, KATIE SIMON. AND IF YOU'D LIKE TO MAKE ANY INTRODUCTORY REMARKS, WE WELCOME YOU TO OUR COMMISSION. SURE. I'M VERY HAPPY TO. I'M VERY HAPPY TO BE HERE. UH, MY NAME'S KATIE SIMON. I'M A JOURNALIST AND AUTHOR. A LOT OF MY WORK CENTERS AROUND PTSD AND EXPERIENCES OF TRAUMA. UH, OUTSIDE OF SORT OF WHAT YOU TYPICALLY EXPECT OR HEAR ABOUT IN THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY, UM, I HAVE SEVERAL DISABILITIES AND THIS JUST SEEMED LIKE A MEANINGFUL OPPORTUNITY TO SORT OF HELP ORGANIZE AND MOVE THINGS FORWARD. SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. WELCOME. YES, YOU WELCOME YOUR PERSPECTIVE. IT'S, IT'S REALLY NEEDED ON THIS COMMISSION, SO WE APPRECIATE, UM, YOU COMING FORWARD. UM, SO WE DO HAVE [PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL ] A NUMBER OF, UM, WE DO HAVE PUBLIC COMMENT FROM CHERIAN KANA AND, UM, WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO, SORRY. OH, OKAY. SORRY. YES. UM, WELCOME. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS SHARON KANA AND I'M HERE. I'M HERE AS A STUDENT FROM WESTWOOD HIGH SCHOOL AND I'M HERE TO FORMALLY PROPOSE THE ACCESSIBLE AUSTIN INITIATIVE AND TO ASK THIS COMMITTEE TO BE OUR PARTNER IN MAKING THAT A REALITY. THIS COMMITTEE EXISTS TO REPRESENT THE NEEDS OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITY IN OUR CITY. AND I BELIEVE THIS INITIATIVE IS ONE OF THE MOST CONCRETE, ACTIONABLE THINGS WE CAN MOVE FORWARD TOGETHER. RIGHT NOW. LOCAL GOVERNMENT HAS A FUNDAMENTAL, FUNDAMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF EVERY RESIDENT, NOT JUST THOSE WITHOUT DISABILITIES. WHEN 102,000 AUSTINITES, A POPULATION THAT'S GROWN 30% IN THE LAST DECADE, CANNOT FULLY ACCESS THE BUSINESS' SERVICES AND DIGITAL SPACES THAT DEFINE DAILY LIFE IN THIS CITY, THAT IS A FAILURE OF THAT RESPONSIBILITY. DISABILITY INCLUSION ISN'T A NICHE ISSUE, IT'S A QUALITY OF LIFE ISSUE FOR ONE IN FOUR ADULTS IN THIS COUNTRY. AND IT BELONGS TO THE CENTER OF OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CONVERSATION. THERE'S ALSO A COMPLIANCE DEADLINE THAT MAKES US URGENT. THE DOJS 2024 A DA TITLE TWO RULE REQUIRES ALL STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND EVERY VENDOR THEY CANNOT CONTRACT WITH TO MEET FEDERAL DIGITAL ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS FOR TEXAS JURISDICTION SERVING POPULATIONS OVER 50,000. THAT DEADLINE IS APRIL, 2027. THAT IS LESS THAN ONE YEAR AWAY. AUSTIN CAN LEAD ON THIS PROACTIVELY BUILDING A CULTURE OF ACCESSIBILITY BEFORE THE MANDATE HITS OR WE CAN SCRAMBLE TO REACT. I'M HERE BECAUSE I BELIEVE THIS COMMITTEE WILL CHOOSE TO LEAD. OTHER CITIES ARE ALREADY MOVING FORWARD. SAN FRANCISCO HAS A MANDATORY ACCESSIBLE BUSINESS ENTRANCE PROGRAM. NEW YORK CITY LEADS THE EMPOWERED CITIES COALITION NOW INCLUDING BOSTON, CHICAGO, AND LOS ANGELES. AND SAN JOSE LAUNCHED A DISABILITY ACCESS IMPROVEMENT GRANT FOR SMALL BUSINESSES. THESE CITIES DIDN'T WAIT FOR FEDERAL DEADLINE. THEY RECOGNIZED THE OPPORTUNITY EARLY AND THE RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES ARE BETTER FOR IT. THE MARKET CASE IS EQUALLY COMPELLING. PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES CONTROL AN ESTIMATED $13 TRILLION IN GLOBAL SPENDING POWER, YET 95.9% OF BUSINESSES WEBSITES FAIL BASIC ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS TURNING AWAY THAT ENTIRE MARKET. AUSTIN'S BUSINESSES ARE LEAVING MONEY ON THE TABLE AND OUR 102,000 NEIGHBORS ARE BEING TOLD THEY AREN'T WELCOME. A NATURAL QUESTION IS WHO ENFORCE THIS? NOT THE CITY AUDITS ARE CONDUCTED BY CERTIFIED PRIVATE PROFESSIONALS, CERTIFIED ACCESSIBILITY SPECIALISTS AND ORGANIZATIONS ALREADY TRUSTED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES TO VERIFY A DA AND DIGITAL COMPLIANCE. THE CITY DOESN'T POLICE ANYONE. IT RECOGNIZES BUSINESSES ALREADY VERIFIED BY CREDENTIALIZED THIRD PARTIES, THE SAME MODEL USED IN FOOD SAFETY AND GREEN BUILDING STANDARDS. GOVERNMENT SETS THE BAR AND PROFESSIONALS VERIFY. I'M PROPOSING WE START WITH TWO QUICK WINS. FIRST IN ACCESSIBLE AUSTIN CERTIFICATION BADGE CITY ISSUED FOR THIRD PARTY VERIFIED BUSINESSES LISTED ON AUSTIN'S OFFICIAL DIRECTORIES, A ZERO BUDGET IMPACT. AND SECOND, A REQUIREMENT THAT ANY CITY VENDOR MAINTAINS AN ACCESSIBLE WEBSITE MARRYING OUR EXISTING LIVING WAGE VENDOR REQUIREMENTS. THESE TWO WINS THEN BUILD TOWARDS THE FLAGSHIP AND ACCESSIBILITY TAX INCENTIVE FOR UP TO $5,000 A YEAR FOR THREE YEARS FOR COMPLIANT BUSINESSES MODEL. IN THE AUSTIN'S OWN CHAPTER THREE 80 FRAMEWORK, I WANT TO WORK WITH THIS COMMITTEE, YOUR RELATIONSHIPS, YOUR VOICE, AND YOUR COALITION TOGETHER THIS IN FRONT OF THE RIGHT COUNCIL MEMBERS [00:05:01] AND ACROSS THE FINISH LINE BEFORE THAT 2027 DEADLINE APPROACHES TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE AUSTIN NOT JUST COMPLIANT, BUT A NATIONAL MODEL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UM, SO WE'RE MOVING ON TO THE [1. Approve the minutes of the Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities regular meeting on April 10, 2026. ] APPROVAL OF APRIL 10TH MINUTES. DO I HAVE A MOTION? I'LL MOVE APPROVAL. MR. KRISTEN? THANK YOU. UH, COMMISSIONER VASA. I SECOND. I'LL SECOND THAT. OH, WE LOST COMMISSIONER. UM, UM, SORRY. COULD I SEE THE VOTE FOR, CAN YOU ALL HEAR US OKAY? YES. COULD I GET A VOTE? OKAY. FOR, I'LL SECOND THAT. THANK YOU. UM, UH, HANDS FOR EYES. AYE. THANK YOU. MOTION APPROVED. SECOND. SECOND. AND THEN WE'RE MOVING ON TO STAFF [2. Staff briefing regarding the Austin Resilience Network. Presentation provided by James Redick, Director, Austin Emergency Management, Donny Cummings, Mass Care Coordinator, Austin Emergency Management and Natalie Lyell, Resilience and Partnership Manager, Austin Emergency Management. ] BRIEFINGS. UM, THANK YOU. THE AUSTIN RESILIENCE NETWORK. UM, PRE, UH, PRESENT PRESENTATION WILL BE PROVIDED BY JAMES REDDICK, UM, DONNIE CUMMINGS AND UH, NATALIE LYLE. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING. UH, MY NAME IS JIM REDICK AND I HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF SERVING AS DIRECTOR OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT HERE FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN. UM, NATALIE'S GONNA PRESENT, UM, AND I SHARE A LOT OF HER PASSION, UM, ON THIS TOPIC. THIS IS A PERSONAL ONE FOR ME IN TERMS OF THE WORK THAT YOU DO ON THIS COMMITTEE. UH, SO I WANNA THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AND FOR YOUR ADVOCACY. UM, IF YOU DON'T KNOW, UH, I LOST MY OLDEST DAUGHTER A COUPLE YEARS AGO AND IT WAS, SHE, IT WAS A BIRTH INJURY AND UM, SHE HAD A LIFETIME OF BEING CONFINED TO A WHEELCHAIR, PHYSICAL DISABILITIES, MENTAL DISABILITIES. UM, BUT SHE WAS MY BUDDY AND SHE MADE ME A BETTER DAD, BUT ALSO A BETTER EMERGENCY MANAGER. SO, UH, I THINK I CAN ASSURE YOU WITH 100%, UH, CONFIDENCE THAT YOU HAVE A CHAMPION IN OUR DEPARTMENT TO PUSH ISSUES AND ADVOCATE ISSUES, UH, OF DISABILITIES OR PEOPLE WITH DIFFERENT ABILITIES. AND, UM, THAT'S USUALLY NOW THE FOUNDATION OF ALL OF OUR PLANS. THAT'S NOT AN AFTERTHOUGHT. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE, UH, ADDRESS EARLY AND OFTEN. IN FACT, IF YOU SEE OUR NEW OVERHAULED EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLANS, UH, IT NOW BETTER REFLECTS THE, UH, NEEDS OF THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY. UM, AND SO WE, I THINK MORE THAN MEET THE A DA REQUIREMENTS FROM THE DOJ, UH, WE REALLY TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE LOOK OUT FOR THOSE WHO ARE IN VULNERABLE CIRCUMSTANCES TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY RECEIVE THE ASSISTANCE AND UH, AND THE CARE THAT THEY NEED. AND WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO NATALIE. THANK YOU, DIRECTOR REDDICK. UH, SO MY NAME IS NATALIE LYLE. I'M WITH AUSTIN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT. I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF WORKING UNDER DIRECTOR REDDICK AND I AM THE MANAGER FOR THE AUSTIN RESILIENCE NETWORK. SO I GOT MY LINE RIGHT HERE. JUST A BRIEF OVERVIEW. UH, AUSTIN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT IS IN CHARGE OF COORDINATING EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND MANAGING EMERGENCY PLANS FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN. I WORK SPECIFICALLY WITH MASS CARE COORDINATION RESILIENCE. SO WE HANDLE BASIC LIFE SAFETY DISASTER, BASIC LIFE SAFETY NEEDS DURING DISASTERS. SO THAT'S FOOD, WATER, SHELTER DURING NON-DISASTER TIMES. OUR MAIN FOCUS THROUGH THE AUSTIN RESILIENCE NETWORK IS DEVELOPING OUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH COMMUNITY PARTNERS, NGOS, OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR. WE OPERATE THE EMERGENCY OPERATION CENTER. SO THROUGH OUR TEAM, THE MASS CARE TEAM AND A VARIETY OF OTHER TEAMS ON AUSTIN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, WE RESPOND TO BOTH PLANNED AND UNPLANNED INCIDENTS. WE TAKE AN ALL HAZARDS APPROACH TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS ADEQUATE COORDINATION, COMMUNICATION AND RESPONSE TO ANYTHING THAT MAY IMPACT THE AUSTIN AREA. MY PRESENTATION IS GOING TO BE ABOUT THE AUSTIN RESILIENCE NETWORK, WHICH IS MY NEXT SLIDE HERE. BUT REALLY QUICKLY BEFORE THAT I WANTED TO MENTION THAT WE HAVE A COMMUNICATIONS TEAM THAT IS IN CHARGE OF THE ALERTS THAT GO OUT TO THE PUBLIC TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE ARE ADEQUATELY INFORMED ABOUT DISASTERS AND, AND AS THEY OCCUR, BUT ALSO THESE STEPS THAT THEY SHOULD TAKE TO PREPARE THOSE ALERTS ARE ALSO AVAILABLE THROUGH OUR ACCESSIBLE HAZARD ALERT SYSTEM, WHICH WE CALL OS THAT IS ACCESSIBLE FOR FOLKS WHO ARE DEAF BLIND, HARD OF HEARING OR DEAFBLIND. WE ALSO TRANSLATE OUR ALERTS INTO 15 DIFFERENT LANGUAGES AND WE HAVE PREPAREDNESS MATERIALS AVAILABLE IN SIX DIFFERENT LANGUAGES. MY PRESENTATION IS GONNA TALK ABOUT THE AUSTIN RESILIENCE NETWORK, WHICH SOME OF YOU MAY KNOW AS THE RESILIENCE HUB PROGRAM. THIS WAS BORN OUT WINTER STORM URI IN 2021 WHEN COUNCIL PASSED A RESOLUTION ENCOURAGING THE OFFICE OF RESILIENCE TO BEGIN DEVELOPING RESILIENCE HUBS ACROSS THE CITY. [00:10:01] WE BROUGHT TOGETHER A COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE WITH MORE THAN 50 DIFFERENT COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS WHO WERE ABLE TO IDENTIFY AREAS THAT MOSTLY FALL ALONG THE EASTERN CRESCENT. AS YOU CAN SEE IN THE MAP UP ON THE SCREEN THAT WE WANTED TO TARGET FOR THIS PILOT PROGRAM. WE CHOSE CITY FACILITIES AS THEY ALREADY EXISTED AND EQUIPPED THEM WITH PHYSICAL RESILIENCE UPGRADES, USING MONEY THAT WE HAD FROM ARPA FUNDING THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT. AFTER COID, WE WERE ABLE TO DO EQUIP ALL SIX WITH POWER BACKUPS. FOUR OF THEM HAVE SOLAR BATTERY BACKUPS. ALL SIX OF THEM HAVE WHAT WE CALL MISSION READY PACKAGES, WHICH ARE JUST LARGE CONEX CONTAINERS THAT ARE FILLED WITH EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO TURN THAT RECREATION SITE INTO A SHELTER IMMEDIATELY. AND TWO OF THEM ALSO HAVE COMMUNITY GARDENS. SO OVERALL WE ENDED UP WITH 16 TOTAL SITES THROUGH THIS RESILIENCE HUB PILOT PROGRAM BECAUSE WE ENDED UP CO-LOCATING WITH DIFFERENT HEALTH AND COMMUNITY AND FAMILY RECREATION CENTERS THAT WERE NEARBY TO THESE INITIAL SIX FOCUS SITES. SO THAT WAS 2021 THROUGH ABOUT 2023. AND IN AROUND 2024 WE TOOK A MOMENT TO EVALUATE HOW THE PILOT PROGRAM HAD GONE. WE THOUGHT THAT WE HAD HAD GREAT SUCCESS WITH THE COMMUNITY COLLABORATION THROUGH THOSE 50 PLUS ORGANIZATIONS THAT ALL CAME TOGETHER TO SHARE THEIR EQUITY FOCUS. AND GENERALLY WE WERE ABLE TO INCREASE PREPAREDNESS ACROSS THE COMMUNITY. BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DEFINED, OR THAT WE SAW AS A CHALLENGE WAS DEFINING RESILIENCE. WE SAW THAT VARIETY OF DIFFERENT COMMUNITY MEMBERS HAD A DIFFERENT UNDERSTANDING OF RESILIENCE AND WANTED DIFFERENT THINGS FROM THESE HUBS. SOME OF THEM WANTED THEM TO BE 24 HOUR ACCESS, SOME WANTED THEM TO HAVE LANGUAGE PROGRAMS, FITNESS PROGRAMS, FINANCIAL LITERACY PROGRAMS, ALL OF WHICH TIE INTO RESILIENCE. BUT WE DECIDED WE WERE GONNA TAKE THE FOCUS OF COMMUNITY RESILIENCE THROUGH THE LENS OF EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS. ONE OF THE OTHER CHALLENGES WE RECOGNIZED WAS THAT WE THOUGHT THE PROGRAM ENDED UP BEING A LITTLE BIT TOO LOCATION FOCUSED. WE'D POURED A LOT OF TIME AND MONEY INTO THESE SIX FACILITIES THAT HAVE REALLY GREATLY BENEFITED OUR RESILIENCE AND OUR EMERGENCY RESPONSE WITHIN THE COMMUNITY. BUT WE WANTED TO CONTINUE TO GROW AND EXPAND THE PROGRAM PAST FACILITIES INTO BEING A RELATIONSHIP BASED MODEL. SO THAT IS WHERE THE AUSTIN RESILIENCE NETWORK CAME IN. AND YOU CAN SEE HERE THAT WE'VE GOT A KIND OF GRAPHIC SHOWING THE BROAD NETWORK CONCEPT THAT WE DEVELOPED HERE. WE WANTED THIS TO BE A FRAMEWORK, A STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK FOR HOW COLLABORATION HAPPENED BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER DISASTERS. BRINGING TOGETHER FOLKS WHO ARE DOING ON THE GROUND RESPONSE, BUT ALSO THOSE WHO ARE PUSHING OUT IMPORTANT COMMUNICATIONS AND MESSAGES AND THOSE WHO ARE WORKING IN COORDINATION GROUPS OR IN THE EMERGENCY OPERATION CENTER. SO WE SAW THIS AS A COMPLEX SOLUTION TO THE COMPLEX NATURE OF DISASTERS AND AS ESTABLISHING A FRAMEWORK FOR HOW WE COULD MOVE FORWARD TO REALLY STRENGTHEN THOSE PARTNERSHIPS. WE DID NOT WANNA BE MEETING THESE ORGANIZATIONS ON THE DAY OF THE DISASTER. WE WANTED TO KNOW THEM, BE FAMILIAR WITH THEIR CAPABILITIES AND CAPACITIES AND HAVE THEM TRUST US AHEAD OF TIME. SO AS WE THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT THIS INTER-AGENCY COLLABORATION WOULD LOOK LIKE, WE WANTED TO REALLY EXPAND THE DEFINITION OF WHO COULD BE A PARTNER WITHIN THIS AUSTIN RESILIENCE NETWORK. SO OFTEN MY TEAM MEETS WITH ORGANIZATIONS WHO SAY, WELL WE DON'T RESPOND TO DISASTERS. BUT THE TRUTH IS, EVERYBODY IS IMPACTED BY A DISASTER. ALL ORGANIZATIONS, ALL INDIVIDUALS, AND WHETHER OR NOT THEY SEE THEIR DIRECT TIE IN, THEY HAVE ONE. SO WE DON'T ONLY WORK WITH FOLKS WHO ARE DIRECT BOOTS ON THE GROUND DURING RESPONSES, WE ALSO LOOK WORK WITH ORGANIZATIONS, NONPROFITS, NGOS, SAME THING. UH, WHO ARE JUST TRUSTED SOURCES OF INFORMATION WITHIN THE COMMUNITY OR WHO HAVE A VESTED INTEREST IN CONTINUING TO DEVELOP THAT COMMUNITY RESILIENCE. FOLKS WHO PROVIDE GOODS AND SERVICES, FOLKS WHO WORK WITH, UH, POPULATIONS WHO ARE MORE VULNERABLE TO THE IMPACTS OF DISASTERS. ORGANIZATIONS THAT WORK IN HEALTHCARE OR FOOD DISTRIBUTION. 'CAUSE EVEN IF THOSE ARE SERVICES THEY'RE JUST DOING ON A BLUE SKY DAY, THEY'RE EVEN MORE IMPORTANT DURING A DISASTER. AND IT'S ESPECIALLY CRITICAL FOR US TO KNOW ABOUT THEM IF THEY'RE DISRUPTED DURING A DISASTER. SO WHAT DOES ALL OF THIS ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE AS A STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK? OUR MAIN GOAL IS WE JUST WANNA BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN THOSE COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. IT'S OFTEN REALLY DIFFICULT TO EXCHANGE INFORMATION BETWEEN THOSE TWO, ESPECIALLY DURING A DISASTER. SO WE'RE PROMOTING REAL-TIME TWO-WAY INFORMATION SHARING. WE HAVE A HOTLINE THAT ESTABLISHES THIS, BUT ALSO WE PUT A TON OF TIME, ENERGY, AND RESOURCES INTO ESTABLISHING THOSE CONNECTIONS BEFORE DISASTERS, DURING DISASTERS, WE CONSOLIDATE AND ORGANIZE INFORMATION TO BE SENT OUT SO FOLKS KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING AND WHERE IT'S HAPPENING. WE HOST COORDINATION MEETINGS WHERE PEOPLE CAN COME AND SAY, HEY, I HAVE THIS UNMET NEED. I'VE RECOGNIZED THIS GAP IN RESPONSE. WHAT CAN WE COLLECTIVELY DO ABOUT IT? SO MEETING THOSE UNMET NEEDS, NOT WITH NEW RESOURCES BUT WITH WHAT ALREADY EXISTS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY. WE'VE SOLVED THAT OR WE ARE WORKING TOGETHER TO SOLVE THAT COMMUNICATION GAP. SO THIS IS MY FAVORITE EXAMPLE TO USE. UH, IN 2025, MANY OF YOU REMEMBER MAY, WE HAD A LARGE MICROBURST. IT DIDN'T RISE TO THE [00:15:01] SCALE THAT WE WERE REALLY FULLY OPERATING OUR EMERGENCY OPERATION CENTER OR HAD LIKE A FULL CITYWIDE RESPONSE, BUT THE AUSTIN RESILIENCE NETWORK WAS STILL ACTIVE DURING THIS DISASTER. WE WERE ABLE TO COORDINATE QUICKLY AND START DAILY COORDINATION CALLS WITH OUR NGO PARTNERS, OUR GOVERNMENT AGENCY PARTNERS TO COME TOGETHER TO SAY, THIS IS WHERE WE'VE SEEN THE DAMAGE. THIS IS WHERE WE'VE MAPPED THE HAIL CORE TO HAVE GONE THROUGH. THIS IS WHERE WE SEE THE TOP WIND SPEEDS. WE WORK WITH COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS WHO ARE ALREADY ON THE GROUND TAKING PHOTOS LIKE THE ONE YOU SEE UP ON THE SCREEN AND DOING EVALUATIONS OF, HEY, ARE MY NEIGHBORS OKAY? ARE ARE FOLKS OKAY? ARE THEY SAFE AT HOME RIGHT NOW? WHAT IS GOING ON? ABLE TO SHARE THAT INFORMATION OUT AND THEN PLUG IN DIRECTLY WITH ORGANIZATIONS WHO COULD HELP. WE WORKED WITH AUSTIN AREA URBAN LEAGUE, WHO PROVIDED FREE TREE REMOVAL SERVICE TO FOLKS, TO OLDER ADULTS IN THIS IMPACTED AREA. WE WORKED WITH AUSTIN DISASTER RELIEF NETWORK WHO USES A SITE CALLED CRISIS CLEANUP SO THAT VOLUNTEERS COULD DIRECTLY PLUG IN AND HELP DO CLEARING ON THESE SITES. AND THEN WE ALSO WORKED WITH CITY RESOURCES BECAUSE THE CITY CAN COME AND HAUL AWAY THE DEBRIS IF IT'S ON PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY. AND SO WE WERE ABLE TO GET THAT INFORMATION OUT, HELP CLEAR UP ANY MISCOMMUNICATIONS AND ULTIMATELY SPEED UP THE RESPONSE. MY FAVORITE EXAMPLE FROM THIS THOUGH IS THAT CENTRAL TEXAS FOOD BANK WAS DOING ADDITIONAL FOOD DISTRIBUTIONS DURING THIS TIME BECAUSE MANY HAD LOST POWERFUL FOR POWER FOR DAYS ON END AND HAD LOST ALL OF THE FOOD IN THEIR FRIDGE. THEY HOSTED A A DISTRIBUTION UP AT DELCO CENTER AND CALLED US AND SAID, HEY, WE DID NOT GIVE AWAY ALL OUR FOOD. WE DID NOT SEE THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE WE EXPECTED TO SEE. CAN YOU HELP US FIGURE OUT WHERE THE NEED IS? AND WORKING THROUGH THE AUSTIN RESILIENCE NETWORK, WE WERE ABLE TO IDENTIFY WHERE THE NEED WAS, IDENTIFY SPECIFIC FAMILIES WHO NEEDED IT, GET THE INFORMATION TO THEM, FIND SOMEBODY WHO HAD A SITE IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD AND SET UP A FOOD DISTRIBUTION ON THAT SAME DAY SO THE FOOD WOULD NOT GO TO WASTE AND PEOPLE WHO NEEDED IT COULD GET IT. SO OVERALL, THE WAY THAT THIS NETWORK WORKS FROM THE AUSTIN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SIDE IS THAT WE DO A LOT OF OUTREACH. IF YOU KNOW A PARTNER ORGANIZATION, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A QR CODE AT THE END AND ALSO BROUGHT SOME FUN ONE PAGERS THAT HAVE A QR CODE AS WELL. WE WOULD LOVE TO GET TO KNOW YOUR ORGANIZATION AHEAD OF TIME. WE SET UP EXPLORATORY MEETINGS, WE DO OPERATIONAL VISITS AND ULTIMATELY WE SIGN A PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT THAT JUST BROADLY COMMITS TO COORDINATING TOGETHER AND BEING INVESTED IN COMMUNITY RESILIENCE. WE ALSO, UM, ARE ESTABLISHING A DATABASE THAT WE STORE INFORMATION ABOUT PARTNERS CAPABILITIES AND CAPACITIES SO THAT WE KNOW THAT AHEAD OF TIME AND WE CAN QUERY THAT TO FIND, OH HEY, WE NEED A PARTNER WHO CAN DO SHOE DONATION BECAUSE WE HAVE A BUNCH OF FOLKS IN OUR SHELTER WHO DON'T HAVE SHOES. GREAT. WE'VE GOT 10 RESOURCE OR 10 AGENCIES THAT DO THAT. WE CAN REACH OUT TO THEM. OVERALL, THE BENEFITS FOR OUR PARTNERS OF BEING PART OF THE NETWORK IS WE HAVE THAT TWO-WAY INFORMATION SHARING. WE HAVE RESOURCE SHARING AND WE ALSO OFFER TRAINING AND DIFFERENT SOCIAL EVENTS AND MEETINGS TO OUR PARTNERS AS WELL. RIGHT NOW WE HAVE 85 PARTNERS WHO ARE OFFICIALLY SIGNED INTO OUR NETWORK, BUT WE HAVE AN ADDITIONAL 82 WHO WE'RE AN ACTIVE OUTREACH IN WITH AND WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED 17 DIFFERENT SITE VISITS ACROSS THE COMMUNITY. SOME ADDITIONAL PREPAREDNESS RESOURCES I JUST WANTED TO TALK ABOUT REALLY FAST IS THAT WE ALSO HOST CERT TRAINING. SO IF YOU'VE HEARD ABOUT THIS AND YOU'RE MAYBE A LITTLE BIT SCARED ABOUT THE NEXT DISASTER THAT MIGHT COME, I WOULD LOVE IT IF YOU WOULD COME TO OUR COMMUNITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM TRAINING, WHICH IS GONNA BE AUGUST 21ST THROUGH 23RD. THIS IS A AWESOME COURSE TO EQUIP YOU WITH SOME BASIC DISASTER TRAINING SKILLS, LIGHT SEARCH AND RESCUE MEDICAL OPERATIONS, FIRE SAFETY. I GUARANTEE YOU WILL LEAVE THE COURSE FEELING MORE PREPARED FOR THE NEXT DISASTER IF THAT'S TOO MUCH. WE ALSO HOST SMALLER EVENTS THAT ARE NOT THREE DAYS LONG. WE HAVE POPUPS EVERY SINGLE MONTH ACROSS ALL 10 COUNCIL DISTRICTS THAT HAPPEN AT LIBRARIES FROM THREE TO 6:00 PM ALL THIS INFORMATION'S AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE AS WELL THAT I'VE LINKED BOTH AT THE END OF THIS PRESENTATION AND ALSO IN THE DOCUMENTS I'VE SHARED. AND FINALLY, WE DO READY TOGETHER TRAININGS, WHICH ARE JUST TWO HOUR BASIC DISASTER PREPAREDNESS SKILLS TRAINING. SO IF YOU ONLY HAVE TWO HOURS TO GIVE, WE STILL WANNA EQUIP YOU WITH THOSE SKILLS. SO THESE ARE THE QR CODES I WAS TALKING ABOUT. ON THE RIGHT IS IF YOU KNOW SOMEBODY WHO MIGHT BE A GOOD MATCH INTO OUR NETWORK, WE'D LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT IT. AND THE LEFT IS OUR READY CENTRAL TEXAS WEBPAGE THAT HAS ALL OF THESE PREPAREDNESS MATERIALS THAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT. UM, YOU ALSO HAVE TWO, LIKE I MENTIONED, THE ONE PAGER ABOUT THE AUSTIN RESILIENCE NETWORK AS WELL AS OUR MASS CARE PARTNER GUIDE, WHICH BROADLY REVIEWS WHAT WE DO WITHIN MASS CARE AND THE ROLE OF THE EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR HAVING US BE OPEN TO ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE. NOW, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? NO. UM, DO YOU DO ANYTHING, 'CAUSE YOU MOSTLY TALKING ABOUT DISASTER RELIEF AND CRISIS RESPONSE. DO YOU DO ANYTHING TO HELP CONNECT PEOPLE WITH SERVICES SORT OF FOR THE LONG TAIL FALLOUT OF DISASTERS? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. LIKE LONG-TERM RECOVERY? YEAH, DEFINITELY. SO WE ARE ENGAGED IN ALL STAGES OF DISASTERS. WE DO PREPAREDNESS AND EDUCATION, WE DO INITIAL RESPONSE. THEN WE ALSO SUPPORT LONG-TERM RECOVERY. UH, THAT MAY COME PARTIALLY FROM US [00:20:01] AND IT MAY COME FROM COLLABORATION AND SUPPORT WITH OTHER LONG-TERM RECOVERY GROUPS IN THE AREA WHO HELP FILL NEEDS LIKE LONG-TERM HOUSING OR, UH, LIKE GETTING NEW DOCUMENTS, INSURANCE CLAIMS, FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE, ALL OF THAT. YEAH. I HAD A QUESTION REGARDING, UM, WHETHER OR NOT YOU'RE PART OF THE PLANNING PROCESS WHEN NEW RESILIENCE HUBS ARE DEVELOPED. YEAH, SO WE ARE IN CLOSE COLLABORATION WITH THE OFFICE OF CLIMATE ACTION AND RESILIENCE, WHO WERE THE ORIGINAL OWNERS OF THE RESILIENCE HUB PROGRAM. SO WE WORK REALLY CLOSELY WITH THEM AS WE FIND NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR GRANT FUNDING OR ANY OTHER OPPORTUNITIES TO EQUIP PHYSICAL FACILITIES WITH POWER REDUNDANCIES OR ANY OTHER RESILIENT UPGRADES. UH, SO YEAH, RIGHT, RIGHT NOW WE ARE WORKING WITH THEM ON A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT OPPORTUNITIES SINCE THE RESILIENCE HUB PILOT ENDED IN 2024 AND WE KIND OF EXPANDED TO THE AUSTIN RESILIENCE NETWORK. WE'VE MOVED AWAY FROM THE TERM HUB, BUT WE'RE STILL GREATLY INVESTED IN, UH, THE RESILIENCE UPGRADES FOR ALL THESE FACILITIES, ESPECIALLY THE ONES THAT WE KNOW WE RELY UPON TO BE SHELTERS, WHETHER IT'S JUST DAYTIME COOLING CENTERS OR IT'S POTENTIALLY OVERNIGHT SHELTERS THAT WE USE RECREATION CENTERS FOR. THANK YOU. ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSIONERS? OKAY, THANK YOU SO MUCH. UP NEXT WE HAVE [3. Staff briefing regarding the Levers of Economic Mobility Index. Presentation provided by Gary Aaron, Business Process Consultant Sr, Austin Equity and Inclusion and Shivani Datar, Business Process Specialist, Austin Equity and Inclusion. ] A BRIEFING, UH, FROM REGARDING THE LEVERS OF ECONOMIC MOBILITY INDEX. UM, YOUR PRESENTING WILL BE GARY AARON, UM, BUSINESS PROCESS CONSULTANT AND, UM, AUSTIN EQUITY AND INCLUSION. UH, SORRY. OKAY. SHIVANI AND DAAR ALREADY DONE. WELL. HELLO COMMISSIONERS AND THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING US, UH, TIME TO PRESENT. WE ARE SO EXCITED TO BE BACK. AS YOU ALL KNOW, THIS IS OUR THIRD ROUND OF ENGAGEMENTS WITH YOUR COMMISSION. WE HAVE EXCITING UPDATE FOR YOU ALL, UM, TITLED ACCELERATING IMPACT AROUND OUR RECENTLY LAUNCHED TOOL, WHICH IS THE LEVERS OF ECONOMIC MOBILITY INDEX, WHICH WE FONDLY REFER TO AS THE LEMI. AND JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE INTRODUCING OURSELVES NOT ONLY FOR THE RECORD, BUT ALSO TO OUR NEW COMMISSIONER. MY NAME IS GARY AARON. I AM A BUSINESS PROCESS CONSULT SENIOR AND AUSTIN EQUITY INCLUSION. AND I'M SHIVANI DAAR, A BUSINESS PROCESS SPECIALIST HERE AT AUSTIN EQUITY AND INCLUSION. ALRIGHTY, SO JUST A BRIEF AGENDA OF OUR PRESENTATION THIS EVENING. UM, WE'LL RECAP OUR 2026 FAIR HOUSING AND ECONOMIC MOBILITY CONFERENCE. WE'LL THEN, UH, EXPLORE THE SEVERAL RESOURCES THAT WE'VE LAUNCHED AT THE CONFERENCE, WHICH WE ALL REFER TO AS THE LEMI, AND GET INTO THE INDEX ITSELF VIA A LIVE DEMO TO CONCLUDE WITH OUR OPERATIONAL FOCUS AND OUR NEXT STEPS. AND SO THIS YEAR'S FAIR HOUSING ECONOMIC MOBILITY CONFERENCE BROUGHT TOGETHER A WHOPPING 283 PARTICIPANTS, INCLUDING POLICY MAKERS, ADVOCATES, COMMUNITY LEADERS, PHILANTHROPISTS, NON-PROFIT PARTNERS, AND BUSINESS OWNERS THROUGHOUT THE DAY. OUR SESSIONS EXPLORED HOUSING STABILITY, NEIGHBORHOOD CONDITIONS OF EVICTIONS AND UPDATES TO FAIR HOUSING LAW, AND OF COURSE, THE HIGHLIGHT FOR OUR TEAM, WHICH IS THE PUBLIC LAUNCH OF OUR NEW NEW TOOL, THE LEVERS OF ECONOMIC MOBILITY INDEX OR LEMI, THE DAY'S ENERGY WAS REFLECTED IN PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK DESCRIBING THE CONFERENCE AS POWERFUL EYE-OPENING AND ENGAGING. AND OUR ATTENDEES EMPHASIZE THE VALUES OF BEING IN A ROOM WITH DIVERSE LEADERS AND MANY NOTED PLANS BRING THE LEMI BACK TO THEIR TEAMS. OUR KEYNOTE, ACCELERATING PATHWAYS ECONOMIC MOBILITY UNDERSCORED THAT ADVANCING ECONOMIC MOBILITY REQUIRES MORE THAN ISOLATED PROGRAMS. IT DEMANDS COORDINATED SYSTEMS CHANGE. OUR PANELISTS EXPLORE OUT FACTORS ACROSS OUR THEMES TITLED HEALTH AND WELLBEING, LIVELIHOOD AND WORK AND ACCESS, BELONGING SHAPE, LONG-TERM FINANCIAL SECURITY, OFFERING INSIGHTS ON OVERCOMING BARRIERS, AND USING DATA INFORMED COLLABORATION TO DRIVE MEANINGFUL PROGRESS. AND JUST TO CALL ATTENTION VERY BRIEFLY TO OUR KEYNOTE PANEL, UM, BECAUSE IT INCLUDED A LOT OF NAMES AND A LOT OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE THINK ARE REALLY ACTIVE AND DRIVING PROGRESS IN OUR COMMUNITY. AND SO REPRESENTING US, WE HAD, UM, ASSET FUNDERS NETWORK, GAVA, UNITED WAY, MEALS ON WHEELS AND COMMUNITIES AND SCHOOLS, AND THEN SEVERAL OTHERS ACROSS OUR EXPANDED ECONOMIC MOBILITY ECOSYSTEM ATTENDING OUR CONFERENCE. AND SO THE FRAMEWORK WAS FORMALLY RELEASED AT OUR EXTENDED SESSION. THIS EXTENDED SESSION, UM, OVER THE COURSE OF 130 MINUTES, OUR PARTICIPANTS EXPLORED [00:25:01] THE TOOL, WERE ENGAGED IN GUIDED DISCUSSIONS, AND WORKED ACROSS SECTORS TO IDENTIFY PRACTICAL STEPS THAT ADVANCE ECONOMIC MOBILITY. BY THE END OF THIS SESSION, GROUPS HAD PAINTED SHARED VISIONS OF A FUTURE DRIVEN BY CROSS-SECTOR ALIGNMENT WITH EXAMPLES RANGING FROM STRONGER PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS, COMMUNITY ROOTED PREVENTATIVE HEALTHCARE, BILINGUAL EDUCATIONAL ALLIANCES, AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING WITH WRAPAROUND SUPPORTS JUST TO NAME A FEW AND TO TALK ABOUT WHAT EXACTLY WAS RELEASED AT OUR FAIR HOUSING ECONOMIC MOBILITY CONFERENCE. WHEN WE SAY THE LEMI OR JUST THE INDEX, WE'RE REALLY REFERRING TO ALL THESE RESOURCES THAT WE DISCUSSED AT THE CONFERENCE. AND YOU CAN THINK ABOUT THESE FALLING INTO THREE CATEGORIES. THERE ARE OUR CORE PRODUCTS, THOSE USED FOR BROADER COMMUNICATIONS, AND THEN THOSE THAT ARE APT FOR OUR TECHNICAL USERS. AND THE RELEVANCE OF THESE IS, UM, THAT WE'RE REALLY MEETING ALL USERS, UH, WHERE THEY'RE AT, WHAT THE CORE PRODUCTS ARE. LEVERAGE THE ECONOMIC MOBILITY INDEX REPORT EXPLAINS IN FULL THE PURPOSE BEHIND THIS INITIATIVE, INCLUDING BOTH THE FRAMEWORK AND THE INDEX. THERE IS OUR VISUAL AND INTERACTIVE STORY MAP THAT INTRODUCES USERS TO PLAYSPACE INSIGHTS AND THEN THE INDEX OR THE TOOL ITSELF, THE DILEMMA, OUR BROADER COMMUNICATIONS, UH, OR EXCUSE ME, RESOURCES FOR BROADER COMMUNICATIONS, REALLY LEVEL SET AROUND THIS INITIATIVE. AND THEY'RE SOME OF THE FIRST RESOURCES THAT I THINK USERS WILL ENGAGE WITH. SO THOSE INCLUDE OUR FRAMEWORK AT GLANCE, BROCHURE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS THAT ARE AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE AND, UH, SOON TO BE PRODUCED TUTORIAL VIDEOS SO THAT THERE IS NO CONFUSION AROUND USING, UH, OUR TOOL. THEN THE LAST SET OF PRODUCTS FOR OUR TECHNICAL USERS, THERE IS OUR TECHNICAL DOCUMENT, WHICH EXPLAINS, UH, THE ANALYSIS AND DATA SCIENCE, UM, THAT WAS, EXCUSE ME, CONTRIBUTE TO BY OUR VENDORS EVERY TEXAN, THE RGI S LAYERS FOR MORE ADVANCED TRANSFORMATIONS AND THE RAW DATA, UH, POWERING THE DATA SETS. AND WITH THAT WE'LL SHOW YOU A LITTLE BIT OF WHAT WE MEAN WHEN WE REFERENCE ALL OF THOSE GREAT RESOURCES. SO ALL OF OUR RESOURCES ARE LIVE AND PUBLICLY AVAILABLE ON OUR AUSTIN EQUITY INCLUSION DEPARTMENT WEBSITE UNDERNEATH ECONOMIC MOBILITY IN WHICH THE FIRST THINGS YOU'LL SEE ARE OUR DEFINITION, HOW THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS DEFINING ECONOMIC MOBILITY AND LINKS TO SOME OF OUR MORE TECHNICAL RESOURCES. THE REPORT IN FULL OPTIONS FOR THE INDEX AS WELL AS THE STORY MAP. THE FRAMEWORK AT A GLANCE BROCHURE TRANSLATE IN ALL OF OUR TIER ONE LANGUAGES AS WELL AS OUR FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION SECTION, WHICH ALSO DOES TRANSLATE WITH THE, UH, CITI PORTAL WEBSITE. BUT IF SOMEONE HAD TO ASK US WHAT THE LUMMI IS, WE WOULD REALLY TELL THEM ALL THESE RESOURCES. BUT IF THE USER REALLY WANTED TO KNOW HOW THEY CAN INTERACT WITH THE TOOL THEMSELVES, THEY WOULD SIMPLY HAVE TO CLICK EXPLORE THE INDEX AND THAT WOULD OPEN THEM UP TO THIS RGS EXPERIENCE. AND SO TO BRIEFLY TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE FUNCTIONALITY WITH OUR TOOL, UM, THE FIRST THING THAT YOU'LL NOTICE IS OF COURSE, THE SIZE AND THE COLORS OF THE MAP. THIS IS, LIKE WE SAID, A HUMAN-CENTERED PLACE BASED TOOL, WHICH JUST TRANSLATES INTO A VERY INTERACTIVE MAP IN WHICH WE ARE AT THE GEOGRAPHIC LEVEL, OF COURSE, OF FULL AND LIMITED PURPOSE. AUSTIN. THE COLORS THAT ARE REPRESENTED HERE ALLOW US TO COMMUNICATE LEVELS OF STRUCTURAL BARRIERS THAT COMMUNITY MEMBERS EXPERIENCE YET AGAIN, WHICH WE CITE AS OUR 18 LEVERS OF ECONOMIC MOBILITY. AND THESE RANGE FROM VERY LOW TO VERY HIGH STRUCTURAL BARRIERS. AND THEN THE INTERACTIVITY COMES IN REALLY IN EVERY CLICK. SO UPON CLICK, A USER WILL DRILL DOWN INTO A CENSUS TRACT AND THEN BE ABLE TO SEE THE DATA COMMUNICATED VERY EASILY TO THEM IN FORMS OF, UH, OVERALL ECONOMIC MOBILITY RANK, WHICH COMPARES THEIR CENSUS TRACT TO ALL OTHER CENSUS TRACTS WITHIN THOSE FULL AND LIMITED PURPOSE AUSTIN BOUNDARIES. IT'LL GIVE THEM THE POPULATION FOR THAT CENSUS TRACT OR COMMUNITY AS WELL AS THE INDIVIDUAL RAW DATA FOR THE LEVERS. ALSO, WE DO, UH, CITE DEMOGRAPHICS OF ESSENCE TRACK IN TERMS OF RACE, ETHNICITY, AGE, AND GENDER. SECONDLY IS OUR PERCENTILE INFORMATION AND ALL OF PERCENTILE IS, IS A DATA POINT THAT ALLOWS FOR A COMPARISON WITHIN ONE STATEMENT. AND SO LOOKING AT A PERCENTILE, YOU CAN SEE REALLY WHERE THIS TRACK RANKS FOR ALL 249 CENTS TRACKS OF OUR GEOGRAPHY THAT IS A TAXABLE ENTITY OF AUSTIN. AND WE CAN SLICE THAT DATA INSIGHT BY OVERALL THEME, SUB THEME, AND THEN DOWN INTO INDIVIDUAL LEVER. AND I REALIZE I'VE BEEN SAYING CENSUS TRACT A LOT. WE DO KNOW THAT CENSUS TRACT IS VERY HARD FOR PEOPLE TO COMMUNICATE OR UNDERSTAND. HOWEVER, THIS GIVES US THE MOST STANDARDIZED VIEW, UM, THAT'S CLOSEST TO NEIGHBORHOOD AND ANALYSIS OF PLACE. BUT HOWEVER, TO COMMUNICATE THESE INSIGHTS EASIER, WE DO HAVE SEVERAL LAYERS AND OTHER TOOLS FOR UNDERSTANDING. AND SO THERE ARE ZIP CODE BOUNDARY LAYERS THAT ARE SUPPORTED BY OUR TOOL FOR EASIER REFERENCE FOR WHERE COMMUNITY MEMBERS LIVE AND WORK, AND ALSO COUNCIL DISTRICT BOUNDARIES, UM, SHOULD YOU NEED THIS DATA. [00:30:01] UM, BRINGING IT TO OUR AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS, YOU CAN ALSO MOVE THESE LAYERS AROUND. SO UPON CLICK, UM, IT WILL ALLOW ME TO INTERACT FIRST WITH WHAT I HAVE, UH, THE ORDER OF THE LAYERS HERE TO THEN AGAIN, DRILL DOWN TO CENSUS TRACK TO FIND ANY INFORMATION THAT I WOULD LIKE TO AT ANY LEVEL. WE ALSO HAVE COMPOSITE SCORES FOR OUR THEMES AND THEN THE MAP DATA FOR OUR INDIVIDUAL LEVERS AND WHAT WE'RE DRIVING, OF COURSE, AS SYSTEMS CHANGE AND STRUCTURAL BARRIERS AND CLOSING GAPS. WE CANNOT DO THAT SUCCESSFULLY OR TALK ABOUT WHO'S DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACTED, OF COURSE, WITHOUT MENTIONING RACE AND ETHNICITY. AND FOR THAT, NOT ONLY DO WE HAVE THE DEMOGRAPHICS PER CENSUS TRACT EMBEDDED WITHIN THE TOOL, BUT THEN WE ALSO DO HAVE A DOT DENSITY LAYER SO THAT YOU CAN SEE AT A GLANCE WHERE COMMUNITIES ARE AGGREGATED AND WHO IS LIKELY TO BE DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED BY WHAT THE LEMI IS SHOWING. WITH THE ABILITY, AGAIN, TO TURN, UH, THE FILTERED MAP ON AND OFF VERY EASILY TO OVERLAY YOUR INSIGHTS AND COMMUNICATE YOUR STRATEGIES TO ADDRESS THESE COMMUNITIES WHERE THEY LIVE AND SHOULD BE ANY QUESTION OF WHERE THEY LIVE OR WHERE WE'RE TRYING TO DRIVE SYSTEMS CHANGE. YOU CAN ALSO ENTER IN YOUR OWN ADDRESS OR AN ADDRESS OF ANY FEATURE OR LOCATION THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO WITH AN AUSTIN. THE MAP WILL DRILL DOWN TO THAT. AND UPON ANOTHER CLICK WE'LL SHOW YOU ALL THE INFORMATION THAT I'VE GONE THROUGH. PERHAPS THE MOST COMPELLING, UH, FEATURE OF THE LEMI IS THAT WE'VE BEEN DRIVING ALL ALONG THAT THIS CANNOT BE USED IN ISOLATION. WE RECOGNIZE THAT OUR COMPOSITE INDEX OF 18 LEVERS DOES NOT COMMUNICATE ALL THE STRUCTURAL SYSTEMIC BARRIERS THAT COMMUNITIES GO THROUGH AS WELL. THE THROUGH LINE WITH ALL OF OUR PARTNERS IS ONLY REALLY MADE MORE TANGIBLE THROUGH THEIR OWN DATA SETS. AND SO THROUGH THIS EXPERIENCE, YOU ALSO DO HAVE THE ABILITY, ANY ORGANIZATION, COMMUNITY MEMBER, PARTNER, SO ON AND SO FORTH TO ADD IN DATA FROM REALLY ANYWHERE FROM THE RRGS ONLINE PORTAL. ESRI'S LIVING ATLAS CURATED IS THE CITY OF AUSTIN TENANT. SO WHAT, UH, YOUR CITY OF AUSTIN STAFF ARE PUBLISHING TO OUR RRG S ONLINE PORTAL THROUGH ANY WEB SERVICE URL AND IF YOU HAPPEN TO BE AN RGIS OR MAPPING PROFESSIONAL OR EVEN PSEUDO MAPPING PROFESSIONAL LIKE OURSELVES, UM, THROUGH YOUR OWN GO JSON SHAPE FILES. AND SO BEFORE WE GET INTO NEXT STEPS, I REALLY LIKE TO JUST TAKE A BRIEF MOMENT TO HIGHLIGHT THE GOVERNMENT ALLIANCE ON RACE AND EQUITIES OR GEARS RACIAL EQUITY FRAMEWORK AS I THINK IT'S CRITICAL NOTE THAT AUSTIN'S ECONOMIC MOBILITY FRAMEWORK AND INDEX IS EQUITY WORK. AND THAT AS WE KNOW, EQUITY BEING BOTH A PROCESS AND AN OUTCOME, THE LEVEE DRIVES A VERY SIMILAR DIRECTION WHERE ANALYZING STRUCTURAL BARRIERS THROUGH THE LEMI IS A PROCESS AND CLOSING GAPS AND SERVING THOSE OF GREAT, THOSE COMMUNITIES OF GREATEST NEED IS OUR OUTCOME. AND THAT TOO, THEIR STAGES REALLY DESCRIBE WHERE WE'VE BEEN AND WHERE WE'RE GOING. SO OF COURSE, WE STARTED WITH A VISION THAT WAS REALLY COMMUNICATED AND GIVEN TO US BY COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND BOARDS, COMMISSIONS LIKE YOURSELVES THROUGH OUR QUALITY OF LIFE STUDIES TO CLOSE GAPS AND SERVE OUR COMMUNITIES OF GREATEST NEED. THE QUALITY OF LIFE STUDIES ALLOWED US TO SORT OF EXPEDITE THE NORMALIZING OF THOSE CONCEPTS AND THOSE BARRIERS AND STRATEGIES WE'RE AT NOW WITH THE LEMI IS BETWEEN, I BELIEVE, ORGANIZING AND OPERATIONALIZING AS WE LOOK TO WORK WITH COMMUNITY PARTNERS, COMMUNITY MEMBERS THEMSELVES, AS WELL AS DEPARTMENTS TO UNDERSTAND VERY TANGIBLY HOW THE TOOL CAN BE USED AND TO SET UP ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURES FOR THE COMMUNITY AND KPIS IN OUR ORGANIZATION. TO, OF COURSE GO THROUGH THIS WITH OUR ECOSYSTEM THAT YOU CAN SEE HERE, UM, VERY SIMILAR TO THE PRESENTATION THAT YOU ALL JUST RECEIVED AROUND OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS, MAKING SURE THAT THEIR GOALS ARE HIGHLIGHTED IN THIS WORK AS WELL. OF COURSE, DRIVING FORTH WITH COMMUNITY, UH, MEMBER KNOWLEDGE AND LIVED EXPERIENCE AT THE CENTER OF IT. AND THEN FOR OUR NEXT STEPS, BEFORE I TALK ABOUT WHERE WE'RE GOING, I REALLY WANNA BACK US UP TO OUR LAUNCH YET AGAIN. THE LAUNCH OF THE TOOL IS FAIRLY RECENT AS OF APRIL 29TH, UM, IN WHICH AGAIN, AT OUR EVENT, WE DID ENGAGE OUR ECOSYSTEM OF PARTNERS AND TO CONTINUE THAT EXCITEMENT OR ENGAGEMENT OF THAT ECOSYSTEM, WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY IN MAY IN WHICH WE PRESENTED AT AUSTIN ENERGY'S AFFORDABLE ENERGY SUMMIT. AND THE TURNOUT JUST AS WE ENGAGED UNDER A HUNDRED, UH, COMMUNITY MEMBERS AS WELL AS COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS UNDERSCORED THE GROWING INTEREST FOR THE LEMI. AND THE FEEDBACK THAT WE RECEIVED REINFORCES THE IMPORTANCE OF CONTINUED OUTREACH TRAINING AND RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT AS ADOPTION SCALES ACROSS AUSTIN. AND AT THE ENERGY SUMMIT, AGAIN, WE ENGAGE OUR EXPANDED ECOSYSTEM, WHICH OF COURSE INCLUDED A MIX OF PUBLIC AGENCIES, SOCIAL SERVICE PROVIDERS, COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS, FAITH-BASED GROUPS AND EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS ACROSS CENTRAL TEXAS. WE'VE ALSO USED MAY AS SORT OF A PLANNING MONTH AS WE BEGIN OUR WORK WITH RESILIENT CITIES CATALYST, WHO ALSO HAD A HAND IN THE RESILIENT CITY HUBS, UH, WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND, UM, THE CLIMATE AND RESILIENCE DEPARTMENT FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE. OF COURSE, HERE WE ARE AT YORK [00:35:01] MISSION AS SHAVANI AND I HAVE ENGAGED IN OUR THIRD ROUND OF BOARDS ADMISSION UPDATES NOW THAT WE DO HAVE THE LAUNCH INDEX TO INFORM THE COMMISSIONERS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS OF ALL THE GREAT RESOURCES WE HAVE ON OUR WEBSITE AND ALL OF WHAT THE TOOL IS CAPABLE OF. WE ALSO HAVE PLANNED VIRTUAL SESSIONS WITH OUR VENDORS EVERY TEXAN FOR THE MORE TECHNICAL ANALYSIS OF OUR TOOL WITH OUR DEPARTMENT. WE HAVE AN INTERNAL VIRTUAL SESSION COMING UP, UH, JUNE 17TH, AND THEN A COMMUNITY MEMBER SESSION COMING UP JULY 10TH, HOSTED BY EVERY TEXAN IN THE MONTH OF JUNE. THIS MONTH IS WHERE WE'LL ALSO ENGAGE IN SORT OF AN INFORMATION CAMPAIGN OF SORTS SO THAT EVERYBODY IS AWARE OF THE LEMI AND HOW THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS DRIVING TOWARDS PLACE AND EQUITY EMBEDDING IN ALL THEIR DECISIONS. IN THE MONTH OF JULY, WE'LL BEGIN, UH, COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS AS WELL AS LOOKING AT A DEEP DIVE, UM, IN SOME OF OUR DEPARTMENTS WITHIN OUR ORGANIZATION. AND THIS DEEP DIVE AMONG A VERY SMALL WORKING GROUP OF DEPARTMENTS, ONLY ABOUT FOUR TO FIVE IS REALLY TO DRIVE TOWARDS OUR GOAL IN AUGUST. AND THAT'S FOR THE CREATION OF A RESOURCE IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE FOR THE LEMI AND ITS RESOURCES AS OUR TEAM. AND THE RESOURCE IS ALL ABOUT REMOVING GUESSWORK. THIS OPTION SET OR RESOURCE IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE, WE'LL REMOVE THAT FROM THE PROCESS. UM, SO WE'D HAVE CONCRETE USE CASES AS WELL AS, UM, SOME CASE STUDIES THAT WE LOOK TO SETTING GOALS ACROSS THE REST OF OUR ORGANIZATION AND OUR EXPANDED ECOSYSTEM ULTIMATELY LEADING US TO SEPTEMBER AND THE, UH, BEGINNING OF OUR NEXT FISCAL YEAR, FY 27, WITH CONTINUOUS ENGAGEMENT AMONG THOSE PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE'VE ALREADY ENCOUNTERED AND THOSE WE HAVE YET TO ENCOUNTER. AND THEN ALSO CITYWIDE IMPLEMENTATION ACROSS OUR ENTIRE ORGANIZATION. NUMBER FOUR, I OPEN UP FOR QUESTIONS. WOULD JUST LIKE TO LEAVE YOU WITH AGAIN, HOW TO FIND THESE RESOURCES. THEY ARE ON OUR, UH, AUSTIN ECONOMIC AUSTIN EQUITY INCLUSION, EXCUSE ME, I ALMOST SAID. ECONOMIC MOBILITY, AUSTIN EQUITY AND INCLUSION WEBSITE UNDERNEATH ECONOMIC MOBILITY FOR MORE NEWS ABOUT THE LEMI, AS WELL AS OUR OVERALL OFFICE AND THE SEVERAL INITIATIVES THAT WE DRIVE UNDER CIVIL RIGHTS, HUMAN RIGHTS AND EQUITY. YOU CAN SIGN UP FOR A NEWSLETTER AND OF COURSE, UM, ANY SCHEDULED DATES FOR VIRTUAL OR IN-PERSON SESSIONS WILL BE COMMUNICATED WITH YOU DIRECTLY THROUGH, UH, YOUR BOARD'S COMMISSION'S LIAISON. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER VASSO? UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THIS. IT WAS VERY INFORMATIVE. I'M WONDERING, DO YOU LOOK AT PARTICIPATION IN THE CENSUS AS YOU'RE DOING YOUR, UM, LOOK AT THE CENSUS TRACKS AND HOW MAY WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO WORK WITH PARTICULAR COMMUNITIES ON GETTING THOSE CENSUS NUMBERS UP? WE HAVE, WE DO HAVE, UH, MARGIN OF ERROR CITED WITHIN THE RAW DATA IN THE INDEX. SO THAT DOES, UH, TRACK THE PERCENTAGE THAT ARE ACTUALLY PARTICIPATING IN THE CENSUS AS WELL AS GETTING THOSE NUMBERS UP. WE HAVE ENGAGED OUR CITY DEMOGRAPHER, UM, TO LOOK AT OTHER INITIATIVES AS WELL AS COMMUNITY, UH, SOURCES OF LOCAL DATA FOR THE INDEX, AS THOSE ARE GOING TO BE, OF COURSE, MUCH MORE ACCURATE THAN THOSE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE, UH, NATIONAL AVERAGES AND RESPONSES. THAT'S GREAT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION AS WELL. UM, YOU TALKED ABOUT THE CITYWIDE ADOPTION. CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HOW YOU EXPECT, UM, OR HOW YOU ANTICIPATE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS AND THEIR STAFF TO USE THIS TOOL AND HOW IT SHOULD INFORM THEIR WORK? DO YOU EXPECT THEM TO SORT OF LIKE BE REFERENCING THIS REGULARLY? CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT VISION? ABSOLUTELY. UM, WE HAVE ENGAGED ABOUT HALF OF OUR, UH, CITY OF AUSTIN COUNCIL MEMBERS SO FAR TO TELL THEM ABOUT THE TOOL AND, UH, WORK WITH THEIR POLICY STAFF AND HOW THEY MIGHT USE IT. AND IT REALLY HELPS THEM REALIZE, UM, HOW TO SORT OF MATCH SERVICES TO NEED BEFORE WE CAN SAY WE WOULD DO A PROGRAM OR WE WOULD CITE SORT OF A COMPOSITE SCORE OR A STATISTIC FOR ALL OF AUSTIN, BUT THERE DOES LEAVE SOME GUESSWORK INTO HOW OR WHERE RESOURCES SHOULD REALLY BE ALLOCATED. ESPECIALLY WE KNOW A MAPPING TOOL LIKE THIS BECOMES REALLY RELEVANT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT SITE SELECTION OR EVEN BOND CRITERIA. AND SO AS WE HAVE THE TOOL AND WE GO THROUGHOUT OUR ORGANIZATION AND IT'S EMBEDDED IN THEIR POLICY AND PROGRAMMING AND FUTURE BUDGET DECISIONS, THAT COUNCIL WILL BE REFERENCING IT THE SAME, UM, FOR THAT ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURE. AND SO THAT WAY THAT THEY HAVE THE DATA THAT HOPEFULLY COMMUNITY MEMBERS ARE REFERENCING AS WELL AS SORT OF A THROUGH LINE, UM, FOR WHERE PRIORITIES ARE. THANK YOU. I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT THIS TOOL. I CAN'T WAIT TO EXPLORE IT FURTHER. UM, DOES IT HAVE THE ABILITY TO KIND OF LAYER ON ADDITIONAL, UM, LAYERS OF IDENTITY, UM, AGE AND UH, RACE ETHNICITY ALSO? UH, COULD YOU TELL US, UM, WHICH [00:40:01] DISABILITIES ARE BEING, UM, I GUESS TRACKED IN THIS, UM, YOUR STUDY? LIKE WHAT, WHAT THOSE WERE? ABSOLUTELY AN EXCELLENT QUESTION. UM, YES, YOU ARE ABLE TO OVERLAY, UM, ANY TYPE OF DATA AS WELL AS DEMOGRAPHIC DATA, UM, WITHIN THE FILTER OPTION IN THE TOOL. AND AGAIN, WE'LL HAVE MORE RESOURCES, UM, THAT SHOW USERS HOW TO SPECIFICALLY DO THAT. THAT IS ALREADY SOMETHING BAKED IN. YOU DON'T HAVE TO, UM, FIND ANOTHER EXTERNAL DATA SET TO, UM, PUT IN THAT DEMOGRAPHIC DATA. AND WE ARE COMING FROM THE MOST UP-TO-DATE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE DATA, WHICH IS THE, UH, MICRO DATA RELEASE FOR 2024. AND THEN IN TERMS OF, I'M SORRY, THE SECOND PART OF YOUR QUESTION. UM, UH, AS PART OF OUR LEVERS, WE DO HAVE PERCENT OF INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITY AS WELL AS PERCENT OF POPULATION AGE 65 PLUS WITH AMBULATORY DIFFICULTIES AS WELL. UM, HOW IS DISABILITY DEFINED IN THOSE QUESTIONS? DO YOU HAPPEN TO KNOW? WELL, THE A CS IDENTIFIES SIX DISABILITIES. I BELIEVE IT IS HEARING VISION, COGNITIVE, AMBULATORY, UM, THEN SELF-CARE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? NO, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. THANK YOU. SO A [4. Discussion regarding the Annual Internal Review and Report. ] DISCUSSION ITEM THAT WE HAVE, UH, IS THE ANNUAL INTERNAL REVIEW AND REPORT. UM, WE DO HAVE A DEADLINE. IS THAT JULY 31ST OR DO YOU HAPPEN TO RECALL JULY 31ST? SO AS A COMMISSION WE NEED TO REVIEW THIS ITEM AND OR NOT. THANK YOU. UM, SO WE DO INVITE INPUT FOR DISCUSSION BEFORE, UM, CHAIR, UH, ULTIMATELY SUBMITS THIS, UM, BY THE DEADLINE OF JULY 31ST. AND THAT'S ALSO AVAILABLE FOR NEXT MONTH IF, UM, EVERYONE WANTS TO BE ABLE TO HAVE, UM, MORE TIME TO REVIEW, DO WE HAVE ANY, UH, QUESTIONS OR FEEDBACK AT THIS TIME? OKAY. AND THAT WAS SENT TO OUR INBOXES I THINK MAYBE TWO WEEKS AGO. OH, VICE. OH, OKAY. OH, CAN YOU REPEAT THE, THE QUESTION? OKAY. SO, UM, THIS WAS ACTUALLY SENT TO THE CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR OF THE COMMITTEE, BUT, UM, WE ARE HAPPY TO SEND IT OUT TO EVERYONE FOR REVIEW AND, UH, FEEDBACK, UM, SUGGESTED REVISIONS, UH, BEFORE OUR DEADLINE FOR JULY 31ST. SO IF WE WOULD LIKE TO INCLUDE THIS AS A DISCUSSION ITEM FOR NEXT MONTH'S AGENDA, WE CAN ALSO, UH, DO THAT, UM, UH, SINCE YEAH, I THINK THAT'D BE A GOOD, GOOD IDEA. DO YOU THINK THAT WOULD BE ALL RIGHT WITH THE, THE COMMITTEE OR, YES, WE CAN DO THAT, UM, WHEN WE, UH, SUBMIT FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. SO, UH, MY APOLOGIES, I THOUGHT THAT WAS SENT TO THE ENTIRE COMMISSION, SO, UM, THAT WILL BE SENT TO EVERYONE AND THEN, UM, WE COULD ADD THAT TO OUR AGENDA FOR NEXT WEEK. UM, BUT HOPEFULLY EVERYONE WILL GET IT IN THE NEXT WEEK AND THEN HAVE MORE TIME TO REVIEW. OKAY. THANK YOU. UM, THEN MOVING ON, UM, WE ARE MOVING ON TO ELECTIONS [5. Approve the election of Chair. ] AND THE FIRST, UH, POSITION IS FOR CHAIR. DO WE HAVE ANY NOMINATIONS? UH, YES. I'D LIKE TO NOMINATE MYSELF FOR, FOR CHAIR OF THE COMMISSION. OKAY. WE HAVE A NOMINATION FOR, UH, UM, COMMISSIONER SAN MARTIN FOR CHAIR. DO WE HAVE A SECOND? OKAY, I'M HAPPY TO SECOND. OH, UH, SORRY. WE HAVE, UH, COMMISSIONER, UM, MURPHY. UM, NO, SORRY. UM, YES, YES. MURPHY. I'M HAPPY TO SECOND AS WELL. YES. AND THEN, UH, SO THEN WE WILL VOTE, UM, ALL, UH, HA HANDS RAISED FOR EYES. OKAY. UH, AYE. MAY I ASK YOU, MAY I ASK A QUESTION FIRST? OH, YES, I'M SORRY. YES. UM, LISA, [00:45:01] ARE YOU INTERESTED IN CONTINUING YOUR SERVICE? UM, I'M, YES. I'M HAPPY TO, UH, CONTINUE SERVICE. OKAY. WELL, I WOULD LIKE TO, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS THE RIGHT TIME, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO RECOMMEND, UM, CHAIR CHANG. OKAY. UM, THANK YOU. UM, I SECOND. OKAY. UH, THANK YOU. I, I ACCEPT. UM, SO NOW WE HAVE, UM, SLATE FOR TWO. DO WE HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL NOMINATIONS FOR CHAIR? OKAY. UM, WOULD ANYONE LIKE TO, UH, SORRY. UH, COMMISSIONER, UH, MARTINE, WOULD YOU LIKE TO, UM, UH, MAKE ANY STATEMENTS OR TAKE QUESTIONS? UH, YES. UM, I, I'M READY TO SERVE IN THIS, UH, CAPACITY. I, I AM JUST, YOU KNOW, READY TO SERVE EVERYONE ON THE COMMISSION. I AM JUST, YOU'RE LOOKING TO JUST BE OF SERVICE AND BE AVAILABLE AND TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING'S DONE CORRECTLY IN THE RIGHT WAY IN THE CHAIR POSITION. I'M JUST READY TO LEAD AND JUST MAKE SURE THAT THE COMMISSION'S, YOU KNOW, GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION AND I'M AVAILABLE AND, YOU KNOW, IF ANYBODY HAS ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS, I'M BASICALLY HERE AND AVAILABLE FOR EVERYONE. IF ANYBODY HAS, YOU KNOW, WANTS TO BRING UP AGENDA ITEMS OR YOU KNOW, WHAT HAVE YOU, OR TOPICS OR ISSUES, I'M OPEN AND I'M AVAILABLE AND FREE TO PUT THINGS ON THE AGENDA TO, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY PROMOTE THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY IN THE CITY OF BOSTON. AND I'M REALLY HAPPY TO SERVE IN THIS, IN THIS CAPACITY. SO I ASKED FOR YOUR VOTE AND, YOU KNOW, I'M JUST READY TO SERVE AND MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY'S TAKEN CARE OF AND THE THE COMMUNITY'S TAKEN CARE OF AT THE SAME TIME. SO I ASK FOR YOUR VOTE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UH, ANY QUESTIONS? UM, OKAY. UH, SO, UM, HANDS RAISED FOR, AYE, FOR, UM, SORRY. OH, FOR, UH, COMMISSIONER, UM, SANMAR. FOR CHAIR. AYE. OKAY. AND WE'VE ALREADY HAD A SECOND, SO. OKAY. SO THEN THIS IS JUST FOR, OH, ANY NAYS, UH, REUSE, UM, ARE, CAN EVERYONE HEAR ME? SORRY. OKAY. HANDS RAISED FOR YES, YOU HAVE ONE. OKAY. AND THEN NAYS. OKAY. WE HAVE THREE. OKAY. OH, FOUR. OKAY. FIVE. OKAY. UM, OKAY, THEN NAYS HAVE IT. OKAY. UM, SO VICE CHAIR CHANG FOR, UH, CHAIR, UM, UH, OKAY. HANDS RAISED FOR YAY. OKAY. UM, IS HE UNANIMOUS? OH, SORRY. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I, UM, VERY HUMBLED AND THIS IS UNEXPECTED, BUT I WILL DO MY BEST TO, UM, REPRESENT THIS COMMISSION AND CONTINUE, UH, WORKING TOWARDS, UM, OUR GOALS. AND, UM, I HAVE A QUESTION. YES. THE CHAIR, UM, SAYING, SO SINCE YOU BECAME THE CHAIR, CAN I PUT MY NAME IN [6. Approve the election of Vice Chair. ] FOR VICE CHAIR? YES, ABSOLUTELY. THE CAPACITY? YES, ABSOLUTELY. OKAY. SO, UM, I THINK, YEAH, I COULD LIKE WORK ALONG WITH YOU AND HELP YOU ALONG THE WAY AS WELL. THAT SOUNDS WONDERFUL. UM, SO I WOULD LIKE TO NOMINATE, UM, COMMISSIONER SAN MARTIN FOR VICE CHAIR. I'LL SECOND THAT. OKAY. SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER. AND THEN, UM, HANDS RAISED FOR YAY. YAY. OKAY. UNANIMOUS. OKAY. UM, SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND, UM, LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH, UH, VICE CHAIRS AND MARTINE TO ADVANCE THIS WORK. UM, THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE YOUR, YOUR CONFIDENCE IN YOUR, YOU KNOW, YOUR VOTE. THANK YOU. YES, THANK YOU EVERYONE. UM, OKAY, SO THEN WE JUST HAVE, [7. Approve a Recommendation to Council regarding the Austin Resilience Network. ] UM, THE APPROVAL OF THE RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL REGARDING THE AUSTIN RESILIENCE NETWORK. [00:50:01] AND YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED THIS ALREADY. UM, BUT IT WAS PART OF THE BUDGET RECOMMENDATION THAT WAS PASSED IN MARCH. THAT WAS FOR THE FAR SOUTHEAST, UH, LIBRARY, UM, PROPOSAL FOR CITING THAT WOULD ALSO DOUBLE FOR THE SITE TO BE A RESILIENCE NETWORK, UM, LOCATION THAT HAS ACTUALLY ADVANCED QUITE A BIT, UM, THROUGH THE BUDGET PROCESS. AND THEY ARE LOOKING FOR, UM, TO APPROVE FINAL BUDGET ITEMS, UH, FOR THE NOVEMBER BALLOT, UH, STARTING, THEY'RE GOING INTO MEETINGS NOW, SO MID-JULY THROUGH AUGUST IS THE ABSOLUTE DEADLINE. AND SO, UM, THIS IS ALSO A MEASURE THAT IS, UM, BEING DISCUSSED AT OTHER QUALITY OF LIFE, UH, COMMISSIONS THAT ARE, UM, GOING TO BE IMPACTED BY, UH, DATA CENTERS MOVING INTO THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS. SO, UM, THIS IS A RECOMMENDATION AS PART OF THE BUDGET TO REALLY MAKE IT, UH, A SITE THAT CAN HOST, UH, THOSE IMPACTED BY, UH, POWER OUTAGES THAT MAY AFFECT THEIR EQUIPMENT OR THEIR HVAC UNITS. UM, SO NOT ONLY MAKING THIS A COOLING CENTER, WARMING CENTER, BUT ALSO, UH, ONE THAT CAN WITHSTAND MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, UM, IN LIFE THREATENING SITUATIONS. SO, UM, I DO BELIEVE THAT SINCE WE REC, UM, WE REPRESENT THE MEDICALLY VULNERABLE COMMUNITY, THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD WANT TO PASS INDIVIDUALLY AS A COMMISSION. UM, I WILL ALSO TELL YOU AS A MEMBER OF THE, UH, JOINT INCLUSION COMMITTEE THAT THEY WILL BE CONSOLIDATING ALL RECOMMENDATIONS TO PASS, UH, AS COMMISSION. SO, UM, IF THIS IS SOMETHING THAT FEELS INCOMPLETE AT THIS MOMENT OR NEEDS, UH, TO BE WORDSMITH, I WOULD DEFINITELY INVITE, UM, THIS OPPORTUNITY TO REVISE IT AND, UM, SUBMIT IT, UM, AS PART OF, TO TONIGHT'S MEETING. UM, SO THEN IT CAN GO ON TO THE JOINT INCLUSION AS A RECOMMENDATION THAT'S BEEN PASSED, UM, BY MAYOR'S COMMITTEE. SO WITH THAT SAID, I OPEN THE FLOOR TO DISCUSSIONS. HEARING NONE SO FAR, OR DOES EVERYONE NEED TO READ THROUGH? UM, I WOULD, DOES ANYONE WANT TO, UM, MAKE A MOTION TO PASS? THANK YOU. UH, COMMISSIONER VASA. UM, I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO, TO PASS THE RECOMMENDATIONS. OKAY. UH, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SECOND? YES. OKAY. WONDERFUL. UH, VICE CHAIR SAM MARTIN. OKAY. THEN, UM, IF THAT'S THE CASE, UH, HANDS RAISED FOR E OKAY. OKAY. UNANIMOUS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY. UM, THEN FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. [FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ] I, UH, WOULD BE HAPPY TO, UM, TO RECOMMEND, UH, BASICALLY EXPLORING WHAT, UM, OUR INITIAL SPEAKER, UH, REHAN KANA PROPOSED, UM, WHETHER WE NEED TO WORK WITH ANY CITY DEPARTMENTS THAT COULD SEE THE FEASIBILITY OF, UH, A BADGE THAT WOULD, UM, KIND OF GIVE A, AN APPROVAL THAT, UM, BUSINESS HAS TAKEN MEASURES TO BE ACCESSIBLE TO OUR COMMUNITY. SO, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO DISCUSS THAT, UM, IN A FUTURE MEETING. ARE THERE ANY OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS? CAN WE ALSO PUT THE ANNUAL INTERNAL REVIEW AND REPORT ON THERE AS WELL? YES. FOR DISCUSSION NEXT TIME. THAT SOUNDS GREAT. AND WE WILL SEND THAT TO YOU AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE? OKAY. IF NOT, THEN, UM, DO I JUST GET, COULD I GET A MOTION TO ADJOURN AT 6 26? ADJOURN. OKAY. I, I'LL SECOND. OKAY. I SECOND HANDS RAISED FOR YAY. ALL DO? YES. OKAY, WONDERFUL. WELL, THANK YOU. THEN WE ADJOURNED AT 6:26 PM YEAH. THANK YOU EVERYBODY. THANK YOU A HAVE A LOVELY WEEKEND EVERYONE. YOU HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. BYE BYE. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.