Jun 17, 2026 Austin Transit Partnership Board Meeting

EDWARDS, CONCORDIA AND HOUSTON TILLISON.

YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES, RIGHT? GOOD AFTERNOON CHAIR, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.

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MY NAME IS EDWIN VATA.

I'M A RESIDENT OF DISTRICT SEVEN.

I MOVED TO AUSTIN IN 2016 AND IN A FEW MONTHS I'LL BE CELEBRATING MY FIRST DECADE IN THE CITY IN 2020.

I WAS A RECENT GRADUATE AND I VOTED FOR PROJECT CONNECT.

WHILE I'VE BEEN DISAPPOINTED BY THE SLOW PROGRESS AND BY HOW MUCH THE PLAN HAS SHRUNK FROM WHAT WAS ORIGINALLY PROPOSED, I STILL FULLY SUPPORT IT.

I WOULD VOTE FOR IT AGAIN TOMORROW, AND IF YOU ASK ME TO VOTE FOR IT EVERY SINGLE YEAR TO KEEP IT ALIVE, I WOULD.

NOW I SAY THIS AS SOMEONE WITH AN URBAN STUDIES BACKGROUND.

I'M AN AI A ICP CERTIFIED PLANNER, AND I BELIEVE IN THE PRINCIPLES.

THIS INITIATIVE IS BUILT ON AN INTERCONNECTED CITY EFFICIENT LAND USE AND REAL TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS THAT DON'T PUT THE THE PRIVATE AUTOMOBILE FIRST.

AND I SAY IT AS A RIDER TOO, I RELIED ON CAP METRO BUSES THROUGHOUT MY UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDIES AND ON THE RED LINE TO GET TO AND FROM WORK DOWNTOWN.

AND I STILL USE THEM AS OFTEN AS I CAN.

THAT IS EXACTLY WHY I'M HERE.

I LIVED IN THE WEST CAMPUS FOR THREE YEARS, SO I KNOW THIS NEIGHBORHOOD NOT FROM A MAP, BUT FROM WALKING IT EVERY DAY, I'M ASKING THE BOARD TO RECONSIDER THE PENDING ACQUISITION OF 25 30 GUADALUPE STREET THROUGH IMMINENT DOMAIN IN ORDER TO EXTEND WEST IN KEATON STREET TO SAN ANTONIO STREET AND TO PUSH IT INTO WEST CAMPUS.

AS YOU LIKELY KNOW, WEST CAMPUS IS ONE OF THE MOST DENSELY POPULATED NEIGHBORHOODS IN THE CITY DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR.

IT IS HOME TO MORE THAN 20,000 STUDENTS FROM EVERY CORNER OF THE STATE, THIS COUNTRY AND THE WORLD.

IT SERVES AS A HOME FOR STUDENTS, NOT ONLY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, BUT ALSO AT AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE, ST.

THE ONLY JUSTIFICATION I HAVE SEEN FOR THIS TAKING IS TO RECONNECT THE STREET GRID, TO GIVE CARS SOMEWHERE TO GO.

AND I'D ASK THE BOARD TO SIT WITH THAT IMMINENT DOMAIN IS AN EXTRAORDINARY POWER.

TAKING SOMEONE'S PROPERTY FOR THE RAIL ITSELF IS ONE THING, BUT TAKING IT TO WIDEN THE PATH FOR AUTOMOBILES IS A FAR WEAKER CLAIM OF PUBLIC USE.

THIS PIECE OF THE PROJECT IS NOT PRIORITIZING PEOPLE AND IS CERTAINLY IS NOT PRIORITIZING SAFETY.

WE WILL BE BLOWING A HOLE THROUGH ONE OF THE OLDEST, MOST RECOGNIZABLE COMMERCIAL DISTRICTS IN THE CITY IN ORDER TO MOVE CARS MORE EFFICIENTLY.

AND THERE'S A DEEPER CONTRADICTION HERE.

WE APPROVE PROJECT CONNECT TO MOVE AUSTIN AWAY FROM CAR DEPENDENT, DESTROYING A WALKABLE BLOCK WITH LONGSTANDING LOCAL BUSINESSES TO ADD VEHICLE CAPACITY DOES THE OPPOSITE.

BEFORE YOU DECIDE, I'D ASK EACH OF YOU TO DO ONE THING.

COME STAND AT THIS INTERSECTION IN LATE AUGUST WHEN CLASSES ARE BACK IN SESSION.

WATCH THE SHEER VOLUME OF PEOPLE MOVING THROUGH IT ON FOOT AND THEN IMAGINE WHAT THE CORNER WILL LOOK LIKE AND FEEL LIKE.

IF THIS GOES THROUGH, I DON'T BELIEVE THE NUMBERS ON A TRAFFIC DIAGRAM CAPTURE WHAT IS ACTUALLY AT STAKE.

I AM NOT HERE TO SLOW PROJECT CONNECT DOWN.

I'M HERE BECAUSE I BELIEVE IN IT AND BECAUSE I THINK WE CAN DO THIS RIGHT.

HOLD THIS PART OF THE PLAN TO THE SAME STANDARD AT AS THE REST OF IT.

CONNECT THE CITY WITHOUT TAKE TEARING ITS HEART OUT.

THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT.

THANK YOU MR. UTI.

THANK YOU FOR BOTH OF OUR SPEAKERS TODAY.

THE NEXT AGENDA ITEM IS

[2. Executive Director Report]

MR. CANAL, PLEASE PROCEED.

NO, IT'S THE OTHER ONE.

GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR BOARD MEMBERS, UH, PUBLIC.

WELCOME TO OUR, UH, OUR A CP BOARD MEETING.

JUST WANNA START QUICKLY WITH, UM, JUST A FEW NOTES, UM, ABOUT WHERE WE ARE.

I THINK JUST A REMINDER, WE ARE, IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR, AGAIN, IT'S BUDGET SEASON.

AND, AND WE WILL, UH, BE BACK IN FRONT OF YOU IN JULY WITH OUR PROPOSED BUDGET AND OVERVIEW.

THAT BUDGET AND AUGUST, WE WILL DO DONE BEFORE HAVE BOTH, UH, COMMITTEE AND BOARD ENGAGEMENT DISCUSSIONS WITH BOTH THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE AS WELL AS THE NEW, UM, UH, THE NEW ADVISORY BOARD THAT YOU HAVE CREATED, AND THEN BE BACK IN SEPTEMBER, UH, FOR ADOPTION.

AND THEN DURING THAT TIME, OBVIOUSLY WE BE ABLE TO GO THROUGH QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE ABOUT OUR BUDGET PROCESS AND, AND LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT.

UM, AGAIN, NEXT SLIDE.

WE HAVE BEEN, UH, AS ALWAYS OUT ABOUT IN THE COMMUNITY, UH, THOSE FIRST TWO, UH, PICTURES YOU'RE GONNA HEAR MORE ABOUT AS PART OF THE ACTION ITEM IN THE, IN THE PROCESS LEADING UP TO THE RECENT CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL, UH, OF NEW ORDINANCE TO GET STREAMLINE, UH, LIGHT RAIL PROJECT CONNECT PROCESS, I HAD A CHANCE TO SIT WITH, UH, DAVON BARBER TO TALK ABOUT LIGHT RAIL IN DOWNTOWN AT A GREAT EVENT, UH, AT A DOWNTOWN LOCATION, UH, OUT THERE CONTINUING TO TALK ABOUT OUR PROCUREMENTS.

WE ARE GETTING A LOT OF CALLS AROUND THE COUNTRY FROM HOW WE HAVE BEEN DOING OUR WORK HERE IN, IN, UH, IN AUSTIN.

AND, UH, D THE DIFFERENT APPROACH.

AND WE CONTINUE TO ENGAGE IN THOSE CONVERSATIONS.

UH, WE LOVED BIKE TO WORKDAY.

WE WERE A STOP OFF THE LAST STOP ON THE WAY TO CITY HALL.

WE KNOW CITY HALL IS THE END GAME, BUT WE HAD A GOOD LITTLE SHOWING OUT HERE.

AND THEN, I DON'T WANT TO STEAL THE THUNDER, BUT JUST AN AMAZING EVENT THAT CAP METRO PUT ON, UH, ON, ON LAST FRIDAY WITH THE OPENING OF THE LAUNCH OF THE EXPO CENTER AT ONE OF THE GREAT PROJECTS THAT HAS BEEN DELIVERED BY CAP METRO.

WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT.

UM, ON THE NEXT SLIDE, UH, JUST TO REMIND YOU, WE HAVE OUR CONTINUED OVERALL BRIEF TO TELL YOU NOT ONLY ABOUT AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL, BUT WHERE WE ARE WITH OUR PARTNERS, BOTH, UM, UH, ALL THE CAP METRO PROJECT CONNECT ELEMENTS, AS WELL AS, UM, THE

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CITY ADVANCING ON THE $300 MILLION OF, UH, TIDA SUPPLY SPENT DOLLARS.

AND THAT'S ALL AVAILABLE ONLINE.

AND THEN THE NEXT SLIDE, AGAIN, JUST AS A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED, UH, LAST FRIDAY, I'LL TURN THAT BACK OVER TO THE CHAIR.

YES, THANK YOU MR. CANALI.

UM, I REALLY WOULD LOVE TO GIVE THE FLOOR TO, UH, CEO WATKINS TO CELEBRATE, UH, THE WONDERFUL WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE, YOU AND YOUR TEAM IN DOING THIS WONDERFUL OPENING.

I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE A FEW REMARKS, BUT, UH, NOTHING SAYS IT BETTER THAN YOU DOTTIE, ON ALL THE WORK THAT HAS HAPPENED BEHIND THE SCENES.

SO IF YOU COULD INDULGE US.

WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

I LOVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT ONE OF MY FAVORITE DAYS EVER.

SO, UM, AS THIS BOARD LIKELY KNOWS, UM, AND AS A REMINDER TO THE COMMUNITY, UM, ONE OF THE, UM, THE REALLY THE BIGGEST INVESTMENT TO DATE THAT PROJECT CONNECT HAS PUT ON THE STREET ARE THE EXPO CENTER AND, UM, PLEASANT VALLEY METRO RAPID LINES.

WE'VE BEEN WORKING CLOSELY WITH A TP AND OUR CITY PARTNERS FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS TO BUILD, UH, 75 ALL NEW STATIONS IN MOST LOCATIONS WITH SEPARATED BIKE LANES THAT GO BEHIND THE STATIONS.

A LOT OF IMPROVEMENTS.

UM, THE, UM, ALONG THE WAY WE'VE REBUILT SOME INTERSECTIONS TO MAKE IT ALL WORK.

SO IT'S BEEN A MOBILITY INVESTMENT IN THE COMMUNITY.

UM, AND WE, A LITTLE OVER A WEEK AGO ON JUNE 7TH, LAUNCHED FULL FREQUENCY ON THOSE TWO ROUTES, UM, AND CELEBRATED THAT LAST FRIDAY.

UM, SO THESE INVESTMENTS ALLOW US TO RUN EVERY 10 MINUTE SERVICE, UM, ALONG THOSE TWO ROUTES.

UM, THIS IS THE REALLY THE LARGEST INVESTMENT IN MODERN HISTORY.

I'M GONNA CALL IT IN PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE EASTERN PART OF OUR, OF OUR SERVICE TERRITORY.

UM, AND, AND LONG OVERDUE BECAUSE THOSE HAVE LONG BEEN CORRIDORS THAT HAVE DRAWN A LOT OF TRANSIT RIDERS.

AND SO, UM, WE WERE VERY EXCITED TO HAVE OUR A TP PARTNERS THERE.

WE HAD A TON OF FOLKS FROM THE CITY OF AUSTIN THERE.

UM, WE COULD NOT HAVE DONE THIS WORK, UM, WITHOUT THE MINI CITY PARTNERS THAT HELPED US FIGURE OUT WHAT UTILITIES WERE HIDING UNDER THE GROUND THAT WE WERE ABOUT TO MOVE A STATION INTO THE LANE OF.

UM, WE ALSO ON THESE TWO ROUTES ARE RUNNING THESE WITH BATTERY ELECTRIC BUSES.

UM, YOU CAN SEE THE LITTLE ARM HANGING OUT OVER THE BUS IN THOSE PICTURES.

THAT IS ACTUALLY THE OVERHEAD CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE.

UM, WE COULD NOT HAVE DONE ANY OF THAT HIGH POWERED VOLTAGE, UM, STUFF WITHOUT OUR PARTNERS AT AUSTIN ENERGY.

UM, AND WE WERE THRILLED TO HAVE STUART RILEY WITH THIS AT THE EVENT AS WELL.

SO, UM, WE'RE JUST REALLY EXCITED TO HAVE THIS, THIS SERVICE OUT THERE.

IT WAS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO CELEBRATE, UM, GETTING IT ALL DONE.

IT WAS A BIT WARM.

UM, I DO HAVE TO SAY, I MIGHT NOT WANNA DO THE NEXT ONE IN JUNE.

I'M MAKING MYSELF A NOTE THAT IT WOULD BE LOVELY TO DO THESE THINGS IN OCTOBER.

UM, BUT, UH, WE JUST REALLY APPRECIATE ALL OF THE PARTNERSHIP IT TOOK US TO GET THERE.

UM, AND WE'RE REALLY EXCITED, UM, TO SEE PEOPLE USE THE SERVICE AND, UM, INVITE YOU ALL TO COME USE IT IF YOU HAVEN'T YET.

I THINK I LIKE TO INVITE EVERYONE TO GIVE CABINET.

Y'ALL WERE QUIETLY CHIPPING AWAY AND MAKING THIS HAPPEN, AND THEN IT REALLY JUST HAPPENS.

SO THANK YOU.

AND THANK YOU ALSO TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN FOR HAVING SUCH A GREAT SHOWING TO THE EVENT AND FOR ALL THE COLLABORATION.

ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I SAID IN MY REMARKS TO DOTTIE AND I LIKE TO REPEAT HERE IS THAT, YOU KNOW, IT WAS A RISK ABOUT DOING THE SOFT LAUNCH BECAUSE WE WERE NOT QUITE FULLY BUILT OUT WITH ALL THE STATIONS.

BUT I REALLY LOVE WHAT DOTTIE SAID IN YOUR LEADERSHIP AND SAYING, YOU KNOW, WE WANNA DELIVER SERVICE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, EVEN AS WE'RE TWEAKING AND FINISHING THE SYSTEM.

BECAUSE THE SOONER WE PROVIDE THAT SERVICE, THE BETTER WE CAN, UH, FULFILL OUR PROMISE.

AND I'M ONE OF THOSE EARLY BENEFICIARIES OF THE SYSTEM.

I'M TWO BLOCKS AWAY FROM MY HOUSE AND IT DROPS ME OFF TWO BLOCKS FROM MY JOB.

AND I REALLY AM GRATEFUL FOR THE SYSTEM.

SO THANK YOU, AND I HOPE IT REALLY SERVES THE COMMUNITY WELL.

TO, UH, OUR ACTION ITEMS. ACTION ITEM NUMBER ONE IS THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE APRIL 15TH BOARD MEETING.

SO NOW WE'RE MOVING ON

[3.1. Approval of minutes from the April 15, 2026 ATP Board Meeting]

I'D LIKE TO GET A MOTION AND A SECOND PLEASE TO APPROVE THIS ITEM.

SO MOVED, MOVED BY COMMISSIONER TRAIAN.

SECOND BY BOARD MEMBER GARZA.

EVERYONE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE.

AYE.

AND MS. KAMI, CAN, I DON'T KNOW IF WE INTERRUPTED YOU ON YOUR VOTE.

UM, IF THERE'S ANY DISCUSSION ON THE MEETING MINUTES, HEARING NONE, MEETING MINUTES APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY.

OUR NEXT

[3.2. Approval of a resolution authorizing the Executive Director or their designee to negotiate and execute an interlocal agreement with the City of Austin defining the parties’ roles and responsibilities and establishing other terms and conditions related to the design of Austin Light Rail, and authorizing initial funding to the City of Austin for certain environmental mitigation measures related to City parkland and transportation facilities]

ITEM IS ACTION ITEM NUMBER TWO, WHICH IS THE APPROVAL OF THE RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OR THEIR DESIGNEE TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE AN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

DEFINING THE PARTY'S ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES, AND ESTABLISHING OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS RELATED TO THE SIGN OF AUSTIN

[00:15:01]

LIGHT RAIL AND AUTHORIZING INITIAL FUNDING TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN FOR CERTAIN ENVIRONMENTAL MITIGATION MEASURES RELATED TO CITY PARKLAND AND TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES.

IF THERE'S A MOTION AND A SECOND TO APPROVE ACTION.

ITEM NUMBER TWO, MOVE BY ANYONE.

MOVE BY BOARD MEMBER GARZA.

SECOND.

SECOND BY COMMISSIONER IAN.

IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? NO DISCUSSION.

PRESENTATION.

SO WE'RE GONNA GO THROUGH PRESENTATION.

ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU CHAIR.

UH, LINDSEY WOOD, A TP DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION.

AND ALSO WANT TO INTRODUCE, UH, MY, MY PARTNER IN PROGRESS AT THE CITY.

LEANNE CONTI, INTERIM MOBILITY OFFICER WITH AUSTIN PROJECT CONNECT.

ALRIGHT, SO WE ARE VERY EXCITED TO MOVE THIS FORWARD, AND THIS REALLY IS THE COMPANION ACTION FOR OUR A TP BOARD FOLLOWING THE CITY COUNCIL ACTION THAT OCCURRED ON MAY 21ST, RELATED TO THIS ITEM TO, UM, APPROVE US TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE WHAT IS ACTUALLY THE SECOND IN A SERIES OF INTERLOCAL AGREEMENTS BETWEEN A TP AND THE CITY.

UM, THIS ONE FOR THE DESIGN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT FOLLOWS WHAT WAS ALREADY COMPLETED, UM, THAT YOU SEE THERE ON THIS SCREEN FOR THE RIGHT OF WAY ACQUISITION.

AND THE FOCUS OF THIS DESIGN ILA IS REALLY TO CREATE CLARITY BETWEEN A TP AND THIS CITY ACROSS THE MANY INTERFACES THAT WE HAVE IN, IN BUILDING THIS PROJECT AND OUR PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY.

AND NOT ONLY CLARITY BETWEEN, YOU KNOW, FOR ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES BETWEEN US AND THE CITY, BUT ALSO CLARITY FOR OUR CONTRACTOR PARTNERS.

NOW THAT WE HAVE THOSE FINAL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION PARTNERS ON BOARD, UH, MANY OF THE PROCESSES LAID OUT IN THIS AGREEMENT HELP US TO REDUCE AND ELIMINATE ANY UNCERTAINTIES AND RISK ON THEIR SIDE SO THAT THEY ALSO UNDERSTAND THE RULES OF THE ROAD THAT WE'RE, WE'RE MOVING FORWARD IN KEY AREAS LIKE PERMITTING AND UTILITIES AND OTHER ITEMS. UH, WE WILL THEN COME BACK TO THE BOARD FOR FUTURE AGREEMENTS, UH, YOU KNOW, AS WE APPROACH CONSTRUCTION AND, UH, FUTURE SERVICE FOR OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE.

SO FOR THIS DESIGN, ILA, THE, THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE IS, IS REALLY STREAMLINING DELIVERY HERE.

UM, IT CLARIFIES ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN THIS PHASE OF WORK, UH, INCLUDING THE PERMITTING PROCESS THAT WE WILL FOLLOW, UH, OUR RESPECTIVE ROLES RELATED TO DESIGN REVIEWS, TO SUPPORT THAT PERMITTING AND, AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH, UM, BUILDING WHAT IS QUITE A BIT OF CITY INFRASTRUCTURE IN ADDITION TO THE TRANSIT INFRASTRUCTURE THAT'S BEING BUILT.

AND THINGS LIKE, UH, CLARIFYING THAT A TP WILL BE THE ENTITY RESPONSIBLE FOR COORDINATING WITH THE PRIVATE UTILITIES THAT WILL NEED TO RELOCATE ALONG THE ALIGNMENT.

UM, IT ALSO TALKS ABOUT CONTINUING THE CITY SUPPORT SERVICES AND, UH, YOU KNOW, LEANNE REPRESENTING AND LEADING THE PROJECT CONNECT OFFICE, UM, IS NOT SOMETHING NEW.

IT IS A BENEFIT WE'VE HAD ON THIS PROJECT FOR YEARS NOW, AND THIS AGREEMENT CONTINUING THAT SUPPORT INTO THE NEXT PHASE.

AND I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT TO MAYBE ADD TO SURE.

SOME OF THOSE SERVICES.

SURE.

AND AUSTIN PROJECT CONNECT, UM, IS A SMALL OFFICE WITHIN, UM, WE'VE KIND OF BOPPED AROUND WITHIN DIFFERENT, UH, DEPARTMENTS WITHIN THE CITY.

UM, BUT WE REPORT UP TO ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER MIKE ROGERS, AND WE HAVE A NUMBER OF DEDICATED STAFF WITHIN THE OFFICE ITSELF.

AND THEN WE HAVE POSITIONS THAT, UH, REPORT DIRECTLY INTO THOSE KEY DEPARTMENTS THAT WE WORK WITH REGULARLY, SUCH AS OUR UTILITIES, PARKS AND RECREATION, TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS.

AND THAT CREATES, UM, YOU KNOW, THOSE KEY LIAISONS BETWEEN THOSE DEPARTMENTS, UM, AND AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP AND THEIR CONTRACTORS TO MAKE THAT, UM, COMMUNICATION AND COORDINATION AS EFFICIENT AS POSSIBLE.

SO WE'RE, WE'RE EXCITED TO HAVE RECENTLY, UM, FOR EXAMPLE, BROUGHT ON AN EMPLOYEE TO WORK ON THE REAL ESTATE ACQUISITION PROCESS WITH A TP AS THAT'S A, A KEY COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE TWO ENTITIES.

SO, UM, EXCITED TO CONTINUE THE PARTNERSHIP.

UH, THIS AGREEMENT ALSO CLARIFIES WHAT CRITERIA WE WILL FOLLOW.

SO WE'RE BUILDING BOTH LIGHT RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE IN WHICH WE WILL FOLLOW A TP CRITERIA, AND WE'RE BUILDING LOTS OF PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE FROM UTILITIES TO SIDEWALKS TO RECONSTRUCTING THE STREETSCAPE.

AND WE WILL BE FOLLOWING ALL APPLICABLE CITY CODES AND CRITERIA FOR ALL OF THE CITY OWNED INFRASTRUCTURE.

UM, AND LASTLY, IT GIVES US THE PERMISSION TO BE IN THE RIGHT OF WAY AS WE APPROACH CONSTRUCTION IN COMPLETING THESE PRE-CONSTRUCTION FIELD ACTIVITIES AND SOME OF THOSE EARLY ENABLING WORKS, GETTING US READY FOR

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THE YEARS TO COME.

SO IN ADDITION TO THOSE COMMITMENTS AROUND ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES, THERE ARE FUNDING, UH, COMMITMENTS IN THIS AGREEMENT AS WELL.

THE A TP FUNDING COMMITTED IS TO FUND THE, THE CITY STAFFING SUPPORT THAT LEANNE JUST DESCRIBED, THE ACTUAL POSITIONS AND THE AMOUNT OF THAT FUNDING WILL BE BROUGHT TO THE BOARD AS PART OF THE FY 2027 BUDGET PROCESS, UH, WHICH IS HOW IT'S ALSO BEING HANDLED SIMILARLY ON THE CITY SIDE AS PART OF THE FY 27 BUDGET.

UH, AND THEN THE SECOND ITEM YOU SEE THERE IS FOR COMMITMENTS THAT WERE MADE AS PART OF OUR ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS.

AND THESE WERE MITIGATIONS IDENTIFIED IN OUR FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STUDY.

UM, ONE BEING FOR SOME INFRASTRUCTURE THAT THE CITY WILL BE DESIGNING TO RELOCATE A BIKE WAY NEEDED FOR THE PROJECT.

AND ANOTHER TO SUPPORT, UH, IN THE WALLER BEACH AREA WHERE, WHERE WE'LL CROSS LADY BIRD LAKE.

UM, THIS WILL SUPPORT ULTIMATELY SOME OF THE CHAPTER 26 PROCESSES IN RELOCATING THE WALLER CREEK BOATHOUSE NEEDED FOR THE LIGHT RAIL THERE.

THIS IS AN ADVANCE PAYMENT TOWARD THAT CHAPTER 26 CHANGE OF USE, AND IT ALLOWS THE CITY TO GET AHEAD OF SOME OF THE PLANNING AND DESIGN ACTIVITIES ASSOCIATED WITH THE NEW BOATHOUSE LOCATION SO THAT WE CAN MINIMIZE ANY DISRUPTION BEFORE WE NEED TO VACATE THE EXISTING BOATHOUSE LOCATION AND THEN LAND.

DO YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT THE CITY FUNDING COMMITMENTS? SURE.

AS, UM, AS LINDSAY MENTIONED, THERE ARE QUITE A BIT OF CITY UTILITY RELOCATIONS HAPPENING AS PART OF THIS PROJECT.

UM, YOU'RE PROBABLY FAMILIAR WITH THE, THE CONCEPT OF THE UTILITY FREE ZONE THAT HAS TO BE UNDER THE LIGHT RAIL GUIDEWAY, WHICH IS KIND OF A DOMINO EFFECT OF, OF RELOCATING CITY UTILITIES.

AND AS PART OF THE, THE, UH, REBUILDING OF ALL OF THESE CORRIDORS, UM, THERE WAS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR CITY, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS TO BE MADE AS PART OF THE PROJECT, WHICH IS, UM, BOTH A COST EFFICIENCY AND A BENEFIT, UM, FROM A, A DISRUPTION TO THE PUBLIC IN THE FUTURE OF, OF NOT NEEDING TO THEN GO AND DO THOSE, UM, UTILITY PROJECTS IN THE FUTURE.

AND SO THESE ARE OPPORTUNITIES THAT, UM, ALL THREE OF OUR UTILITIES ARE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF, UM, IN, IN THE FORM OF, UM, WHAT WE CALL BETTERMENTS, WHICH IS, UH, OPPORTUNITIES TO EITHER PUT IN NEW INFRASTRUCTURE OR EXPAND EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE TO, TO MEET FUTURE SERVICE NEEDS.

UM, AND SO THAT'S GONNA TAKE THE FORM OF NEW RECLAIMED, UM, WATER, PURPLE PIPES, UM, NEW AND UPSIZED WATER WASTE WATER CHILLED WATER, AS WELL AS STORM DRAIN.

SO, UM, CITY, UH, UTILITIES ARE COMMITTING UP TO $36.8 MILLION FOR THE DESIGN OF THOSE FACILITIES.

AND THEN THEY WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY, UM, TO COMMIT CONSTRUCTION FUNDING FOR THOSE, UM, IMPROVEMENTS IN THE, THE NEXT INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT THAT LINDSAY MENTIONED EARLIER.

AND THIS FUNDING WILL BE IDENTIFIED AS A REVENUE SOURCE IN OUR FY 2027 BUDGET PROCESS.

SO YOU'LL SEE THAT COME BACK TO YOU AS WELL.

AND WE'RE EXCITED TO BE A PARTNER TO THE CITY.

YOU KNOW, THESE ELEMENTS AREN'T NEEDED FOR THE LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM, BUT ARE A GREAT BENEFIT TO OUR CITY IN PREPARING FOR THE, THE GROWTH THAT WE ALL SEE COMING AHEAD AND MINIMIZING ANY DISRUPTION SINCE WE'LL BE BUILDING IN THE AREA.

ANYWAY, UM, WE CAN JUST DIG ONCE.

AND THAT CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATION AND HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.

AND ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD? QUESTIONS? NO QUESTIONS.

I REALLY APPRECIATE THE NOT HAVING TO DIG TWICE OR THREE TIMES OR FOUR TIMES PEOPLE ARE GONNA GO THROUGH CONSTRUCTION FATIGUE, SO THIS IS A REALLY FORWARD LOOKING ASSESSMENT OF WHAT WE NEED TO ADDRESS.

SO THANK YOU.

WELL, WITHOUT FURTHER COMMENT, I'D LIKE TO, UH, CALL FOR A VOTE ON ACTION ITEM NUMBER TWO.

EVERYONE IN FAVOR PLEASE SAY AYE.

A AYE.

MEMBER HORN.

AYE.

ACTION ITEM NUMBER TWO IS APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY.

AGENDA I, UM, IS THE DISCUSSION FOR, THERE IS NO FURTHER ACTION TODAY, BUT THIS IS AN UPDATE FROM THE AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL DESIGN RECONSTRUCTION, AND I REQUESTED THE STAFF TO GIVE US A DEEP DIVE ON ALL THE PROGRESS THEY'VE DONE SO FAR.

THE NEXT ITEM ON OUR

[4.1. Update on Austin Light Rail Phase 1 Implementation: Design and Preconstruction Progress and Delivery Readiness. ]

AND I THINK THIS IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT IS AS PHYSICAL AS MANIFESTED LIKE THE LIGHT RAIL, UM, THE METRO RAPID LINES THAT ARE ALREADY RUNNING.

THERE'S A LOT OF THE BEHIND THE SCENES THAT I THINK

[00:25:01]

IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT THE BOARD IS APPRAISED OF ALL THE OTHER WORK THAT THE CITY HAS DONE, THAT THE COLLABORATION AND HOW WE'RE IN LOCKSTEP WITH CAB METRO AND THE CITY ARE HAPPENING, THAT WE BRING ALL OF YOU ON BOARD, YOU'RE GONNA BE OUT THERE IN THE COMMUNITY MORE AND MORE AS WE GO INTO CONSTRUCTION.

AND I THINK THAT THE BOARD IS REALLY, HAS TO BE WELL POISED TO ANSWER EVERY QUESTION.

PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO TELL ME YOU'RE BECOMING A POLITICIAN AND I'M TRYING TO GET THE BOARD TO BECOME ARCHITECTS AND ENGINEERS.

SO THIS IS MY EFFORT OF DOING THAT.

AND THAT'S EXACTLY HOW I PHRASED IT TO MR. CANALI.

I SAID, PLEASE BRING THE ENTIRE BOARD ALONG IN THIS JOURNEY SO WE CAN ALL EXPLAIN WHAT ARE WE DOING IN AS WE START TO LAUNCH, UM, THIS PROGRAM.

SO WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO TURN IT OVER.

BOARD CHAIR.

YEAH, I THINK WE HAVE OUR TEAM HERE READY TO COME UP AND, UM, UH, ROLL UP OUR SLEEVES FOR HERE FOR RABBI 45 MINUTES TO GO OVER SOME KEY TOPICS.

THERE'S LOTS OF, LOTS OF GREAT UPDATES.

I THINK TO FRAME THIS UP RIGHT, THE, WE HAVE BEEN ON A, ON A PATHWAY, ON A STEADY PATHWAY AS WE'VE LAID OUT OUR PROCUREMENTS.

IF WE LAID OUT OUR FEDERAL STRATEGY, YOU HAVE AWARDED, UM, THE CONTRACTS, UH, RIGHT ON SCHEDULE AND THE WORK HAS PROGRESSING.

YOU KNOW, WE WERE, UH, VERY PROUD OF THE FACT THAT, UM, THE BOARD APPROVED CONTRACTS AND THE FOLLOWING MONDAY WE WERE AT WORK ON THOSE CONTRACTS IN ADVANCING DESIGN.

AND I THINK TODAY YOU'LL SEE THOSE EFFORTS, UM, UH, WHAT WE'VE DONE AND HOW THAT FITS INTO THE OVERALL PICTURE.

SO I THINK JUST TURN OVER THE TEAM AND LET THEM SHOW ALL THE GREAT STUFF THAT THEY'VE BEEN ABLE TO GET DONE.

GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYBODY.

AND, AND AGAIN, UM, WE'LL RUN THROUGH INTRODUCTIONS REALLY QUICKLY.

LINDSEY WOOD, A TP DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION.

UH, JENNIFER PINE, A TP PLANNING, COMMUNITY AND FEDERAL PROGRAMS. ARMANDO ENO, UH, AUSTIN ROCK INSTRUCTOR, PROJECT MANAGER, ALVIN LIVINGSTONE, A TP DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION.

ALRIGHT, SO WE WILL START WITH JUST A FEW TOPICS, UH, TO SHARE SOME OF THE CRITICAL AREAS THAT WE HAVE BEEN PROGRESSING TO GET READY FOR CONSTRUCTION BEGINNING JUST NEXT YEAR AND THE YEAR AHEAD.

I THINK JEN'S GONNA KICK US OFF.

YEP.

I'LL START OFF WITH AN UPDATE ON THE FEDERAL PROCESS.

UH, AND WE'VE BEEN VERY ACTIVE IN THIS AREA WORKING CLOSELY WITH FTA.

WE ARE ANTICIPATING THAT WE'LL ACHIEVE OUR NEXT GATE, UH, IF YOU WILL, IN THE PROCESS IN ABOUT A YEAR FROM NOW.

AND THAT GATE IS TERMED ENGINEERING.

UH, BUT WHAT IT MEANS IS THAT WE WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH FTA, UM, TO REVIEW THE PROJECT AND GO IN DEPTH WITH THEM, UM, REGARDING THE SCOPE, THE SCHEDULE, THE COSTS, EVALUATING RISKS, AND HOW WE SHALL MANAGE THEM, UH, WITH THE GOAL IN ABOUT A YEAR OF AGREEING TO THE AMOUNT OF THE FEDERAL GRANT, UM, AND TRIGGERING, UH, THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GRANT AGREEMENT.

SO IT'S IMPORTANT WORK IN THE NEXT YEAR OR SO.

AND THE CONTRACTS HAD THE BOARD RECENTLY APPROVED OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS.

UM, THE WORK UNDER THOSE CONTRACTS IS ORGANIZED TO, UM, MEET THIS MOMENT.

UM, THE, THE SCOPE INCLUDES DELIVERABLES THAT ARE REQUIRED TO, UM, MOVE AHEAD IN THIS FEDERAL PROCESS, UM, AND MAKE SURE THAT BOTH A TP AND FTA HAVE THE BEST INFORMATION POSSIBLE, UH, TO MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT THE PROJECT.

UM, GOING FORWARD.

UH, YOU KNOW, A KEY, I GUESS POINT OF LOGIC FOR PURSUING THE PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD MODEL THAT WE ARE, UM, IS THAT YOU BRING THE CONTRACTORS ON EARLY, YOU HAVE THIS EARLIER ENGAGEMENT, YOU HAVE THIS BETTER KNOWLEDGE OF THE PROJECT AND HOW IT WILL BE CONSTRUCTED, UM, AT THIS TIME IS IT HELPS US TO MANAGE OUR RISKS GOING FORWARD.

UH, AND I'LL NOTE TO THE, THE PICTURE ON THE SLIDE HERE, UH, IS FROM A VERY RECENT TRIP TO WASHINGTON THAT THE CHAMBER ORGANIZED.

UH, AND SO THAT PHOTO WAS TAKEN RIGHT BEFORE WE WENT INTO THE DOT OR A DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FOR A MEETING TO TALK ABOUT EVERYTHING WE'VE GOT GOING ON IN AUSTIN.

UM, IT WAS A, AND WE GOT A GREAT RECEPTION AND WE ARE VERY APPRECIATIVE OF THE SUPPORT OF THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY ON THIS TOPIC.

UH, CERTAINLY THERE WE WERE TALKING ABOUT LIGHT RAIL, BUT THAT WASN'T ALL WE WERE TALKING ABOUT.

THE EXPANSION OF THE AIRPORT, THE CONNECTEDNESS OF THE AIRPORT, AND REALLY ALL OF THE TRANSPORTATION INVESTMENTS THAT WE'RE PURSUING AS A REGION, UH, TO, TO MEET THE MOMENT AND MEET THE NEEDS IN AUSTIN.

UM, SO I THINK IT WAS A, A GREAT RECEPTION, UM, AT DOT TO SEE KINDA THIS BROAD, UH, BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY SUPPORT FOR WHAT WE'RE DOING.

ALL RIGHT, AND ONE OF THE BENEFITS AS, AS JEN NOTED OF THE PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD DELIVERY MODEL THAT WE ARE ADVANCING IS HAVING EARLY CONTRACTOR INPUT.

AND THAT INCLUDES HAVING OUR CONTRACTOR TELL US WHERE THEY NEED MORE DATA AND WHAT THEY NEED.

SO ARMANDO'S GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW THEY'RE DOING THAT, UM, OUT IN THE FIELD AS WE SPEAK TO REDUCE UNKNOWNS LEADING INTO CONSTRUCTION.

THANKS LINDSAY.

UM, SO I'M GOING TO JUST, UH, UM, LET YOU HAVE A A, A FEW BITS OF INFORMATION

[00:30:01]

REGARDING THE WORK THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING OUT THERE SINCE WE'VE GOT THE, UH, SINCE WE CAME ON BOARD AND GOT APPROVAL TO GET OUT AND DO OUR SIDE INVESTIGATION TRAFFIC COUNTS.

WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE CURRENT, UM, TRAFFIC LOOKS LIKE.

SO WE INSTALLED 1 183 CAMERAS THROUGHOUT THE CITY ALONG THE ALIGNMENT AND TRACKED THE MOVEMENTS.

WE'VE GOT 790 HOURS OF, UH, OF VIDEO AND HAVE REMOVED THOSE CAMERAS, SO NOBODY'S FREAKING OUT.

WE'RE NOT TRACKING PEOPLE.

BUT, UH, GEOTECH OR THE, THE SURVEY WE HAVE, WE HAVE BEEN BUSY.

WE HAVE SET UP OR RE RECOVERED 23 CONTROL PRIMARY CONTROL POINTS, UM, SET UP OR, OR RECOVERED, UM, 295 SECONDARY CONTROL POINTS.

AND WE'VE, WE'VE MAPPED THIS USING AERIAL SURVEY AS WELL AND ESTABLISHED 295 GROUND CONTROL PANEL SETS FOR OUR AERIAL SURVEY.

SO VERY, VERY BUSY IN TERMS OF THE GEOTECH.

WE'VE DONE OVER 25 BORINGS TO DATE.

THERE ARE MORE TO COME.

THAT'S ABOUT A THOUSAND, 1040 FEET OF, UM, OF DEPTH, TOTAL DEPTH AVERAGE.

AVERAGE DEPTH, ABOUT 40 FEET AND TREES TREE SURVEY, WE WENT OUT THERE AND HUGGED, I MEAN, MEASURED 1,360 THREES, 63 TREES TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE TRACKING THE DIAMETER BEFORE WE START CONSTRUCTION AND, UM, THEY'RE CATALOGED APPROPRIATELY.

AND THEN THE SUBSURFACE UTILITY MAPPING VERY IMPORTANT TO US TO KNOW WHAT'S UNDERGROUND BEFORE WE START DIGGING, UH, WITH BIG PIECE OF EQUIPMENT.

AND SO, UM, TO DATE, WE HAVE DONE TWO 25,000 MILLENNIAL FEE OF SUBSURFACE QUALITY LEVEL B, UM, UM, INVEST, UM, INVESTIGATION, WHICH IS ALWAYS A REMINDER THAT WE'RE REALLY BUILDING A UTILITY PROJECT.

IT IS A UTILITY PROJECT TO LITTLE TRAIN TOP.

ALRIGHT, SO ANOTHER ELEMENT NECESSARY TO HAVE IN HAND BEFORE WE GET TO CONSTRUCTION ARE THE CRITICAL AGREEMENTS THAT, THAT LAY THE FOUNDATION FOR BEING ABLE TO DO THE WORK WHERE WE NEED TO DO THE WORK.

UM, WE, WE JUST TALKED ABOUT THE DESIGN IN OUR LOCAL AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY, UM, ALSO IN MAY, UH, HAD IN, IN, UH, OUR CEO MENTIONED IT EARLIER, THE CITY REALLY MADE SOME AMAZING ADVANCEMENTS IN THEIR CODE AND CRITERIA AMENDMENTS THAT I'LL TALK ABOUT BRIEFLY.

UM, WE ARE IMMINENTLY GOING TO EXECUTE OUR DESIGN MOU WITH CAP METRO THAT, SIMILAR TO THE CITY ILA OUTLINES OUR VARIOUS RESPECTIVE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN THIS NEXT PHASE OF WORK, AND EXCITED TO CONTINUE THAT PARTNERSHIP.

UH, AND THEN ALVIN IS GOING TO TALK ABOUT WHERE WE'RE AT IN THE PRIVATE UTILITY WORLD AND HAVING ALL OF THOSE AGREEMENTS IN PLACE.

AND LASTLY, UH, WE'VE MADE GOOD PROGRESS WITH TXDOT AS WE DO CROSS TXDOT RIGHT OF WAY IN A COUPLE OF LOCATIONS TO HAVE THE NECESSARY AGREEMENTS THERE IN PLACE, UH, LATER THIS YEAR.

SO I MENTIONED THE ORDINANCE AMENDMENT THAT, UH, CITY COUNCIL PASSED AT THEIR MAY 21ST MEETING.

AND I WON'T FOCUS SO MUCH ON THE ACTUAL ORDINANCES AND, UM, GET INTO THE DETAILS OF THE CODE AND CRITERIA.

I REALLY WANT TO EMPHASIZE THE PARTNERSHIP HERE, THAT THIS WAS MANY MONTHS OF COLLABORATION BETWEEN A TP AND UM, EIGHT CITY DEPARTMENTS TO FIND WAYS TO BOTH MEET THE REQUIREMENTS WE HAVE TO KEEP AUSTIN AS THE PLACE WE ALL LOVE WHILE DOING SO IN EFFICIENT, COST-EFFECTIVE MANNER TO BE GOOD STEWARDS OF OUR TAX DOLLARS AND DELIVERING THE LIGHT RAIL PROJECT.

AND THIS HAS BEEN JUST SUCH A TRUE PARTNERSHIP WITH EACH OF THOSE CITY DEPARTMENTS.

UM, I WANT TO THANK THEM.

UM, SINCERELY, IT WAS APPARENT THROUGH THIS ENTIRE EFFORT THAT WE REALLY WERE DESIGNING AS ONE CITY AND, AND THINKING, UH, WITH THE SAME MISSION IN MIND AND, AND JUST WANT TO THANK OUR CITY PARTNERS IN THE PROGRESS THAT THEY HAVE HELPED US ACHIEVE IN THIS AREA THAT WILL MAKE IT FAR MORE CLEAR AND EFFICIENT FOR OUR CONTRACTORS TO DELIVER LIGHT RAIL.

ALL RIGHT, ALVIN, DO YOU WANNA GIVE US AN UPDATE ON, ON HOW WE'RE MOVING FORWARD WITH THE MANY UTILITIES ALONG THE LINE? YEAH, GOOD AFTERNOON.

BOARD CHAIR, UH, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.

SO I'M GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE UTILITIES AND THE AGREEMENTS AND WHERE WE ARE WITH THE, THE THIRD PARTIES.

UH, RIGHT NOW, AS YOU SEE IN THE TOP HALF OF THE LEFT BOX, UM, THOSE UTILITIES ARE THE, THE SIX THAT WE ACTUALLY HAVE IN PLACE, UM, AND COMPLETED.

AND, UH, THE REMAINING ONE, THE NINE OR SO THAT YOU SEE DOWN BELOW ARE, ARE THE ONES THAT WE HAVE TO, TO COMPLETE AND WE'RE WORKING WITH THEM ON TO TRY TO GET THOSE WRAPPED UP PRETTY QUICKLY.

THOSE ARE IMPORTANT TO US BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE IN THE MIDST OF DESIGN AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE IS THE, ONE OF THE BIGGEST RISKS THAT WE HAVE IS ACTUALLY UTILITIES, AND ESPECIALLY THIRD PARTIES AND, AND HAVING SOME SEMBLANCE OF CONTROL OVER THE DESIGN, KNOWING EXACTLY WHERE THINGS GO AND, AND WHERE THEY ACTUALLY FIT IN THE BIG PUZZLE.

SO, UM,

[00:35:01]

SO THE FACT THAT WE'RE GETTING THESE IN PLACE ACTUALLY HELPS US WITH THE, UM, PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD OF THE ARC TEAM ACTUALLY GOING AND DOING THIS WORK FOR US AND DESIGNING IT WITH THESE, WITH THESE UTILITIES IN MIND.

AS A RESULT OF THAT, WHAT HAPPENS IS THAT THEY GO AND THEY MODEL THIS, THIS STUFF, TAKING SOME OF THE, THE SIOUX LEVEL DATA THAT WE HAD TALKED ABOUT EARLIER, AND THEY ROLL THIS INTO THIS, UM, THIS MAP THAT YOU SEE HERE ON THE RIGHT SIDE, IT'S MORE OF A MODEL, UM, THAT, THAT WE USE BIM TO ACTUALLY DEVELOP AND BUILD.

BIM IS MORE LIKE A BUILDING INFORMATION MODEL.

AND BASICALLY WHAT YOU DO IS YOU LAY OUT ALL THE UTILITIES IN THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT WE IDENTIFIED BOTH THE EXISTING AND THE, THE NEW, UM, UTILITIES THAT WE WANNA RELOCATE AND, UM, AND WE IDENTIFY CLASHES.

SO IF THERE'S AN ISSUE IN THERE, THESE GUYS GET TO KNOW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT EARLY ON IN DESIGN.

AND SO I DON'T KNOW IF ARMANDO WANTS TO ADD ANYTHING TO THAT, BUT THIS IS, THIS IS THE, THIS IS THE RESULTS OF THAT WORK THAT WE'RE DOING.

SO IF WE DON'T HAVE THEM INVOLVED IN EARLY, WE CAN'T DEVELOP THE MODEL EFFECTIVELY AND HAVE THE DATA THAT WE NEED TO, TO DO A, A GOOD DESIGN.

YEAH, THAT MODEL HELPS US PLAN FOR CONSTRUCTION, UM, SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE EQUIPMENT OUT THERE IF WE HIT AN, UH, UH, UNKNOWN UTILITY RIGHT? OR AN OBSTRUCTION, WE DON'T HAVE EQUIPMENT OR MANPOWER SITTING OUT THERE, IT'S BETTER TO DO THIS AHEAD OF TIME AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, IDENTIFY WHAT'S OUT THERE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE SO THAT WE MINIMIZE THE DELAYS AND THE COSTS.

SO VERY, VERY USEFUL INFORMATION.

ALRIGHT, UH, THAT BRINGS US TO THE END OF THAT GROUP OF TOPICS, UM, AND WE'RE GONNA SWAP OUT A FEW PEOPLE AND SWAP OUR MONDO FOR MEMBERS OF HIS DESIGN TEAM.

WELL, BEFORE Y'ALL GO, DOES THE BOARD HAVE ANY QUESTION ON THIS UTILITY MODELING? SORRY, I DO HAVE A QUICK QUESTION.

SO IN TERMS OF RIGHT NOW, EVERYTHING YOU'RE DOING IN THE RIGHT OF WAY, SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO RIGHT NOW HAVE ANY AGREEMENTS FOR RIGHT OF ENTRY.

WE, I, I, I GLOSSED OVER THAT REAL QUICK, BUT WE ARE HAVING TO GET, UM, UM, LANE CLOSURE PERMITS AND RIGHT OF ENTRY AND THERE'S A PROCESS.

IT'S, IT'S, IT'S GONE PRETTY WELL SO FAR.

BUT YEAH, UM, WE ARE DOING THAT.

YEAH, GREAT.

JUST TO COMMENT.

EVERY, EVERY TIME I HEAR THE STAFF TALK ABOUT THE PROJECT, I COME OVER THE IMPRESSION, UH, OF A VERY COMPLEX, UH, SYSTEM WORKING WITH MANY STRANDS THAT ARE BEING WOVEN TOGETHER TO PUT THE PROJECT TOGETHER.

AND AS I THOUGHT ABOUT IT MORE THAT BE BEYOND JUST US, IT JUST SEEMS TO BE A PART OF THE FABRIC OF THE WHOLE COMMUNITY, THE THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING THROUGHOUT.

IT'S EXTREMELY COMPLEX AND I APPLAUD YOUR WORK.

OVER AGAIN IS THAT IT'S CRITICAL TO HAVE AN INTEGRATED TEAM WITH A VERY INVOLVED OWNER.

ALRIGHT, IF NO OTHER QUESTIONS, UM, LET'S SEE.

WE'LL HAVE DINA AND CHRIS JOIN US FROM OUR, OUR CONTRACTOR DESIGN TEAM, AND CRAIG ALSO AS WE TALK ABOUT GETTING READY FOR CONSTRUCTION.

SO WE PICKED A FEW OF THESE DEEPER DIVE TOPICS.

UM, YOU MAY REMEMBER BACK FROM OUR NOVEMBER BOARD SESSION THAT WE LAID OUT A FRAMEWORK OF THE MANY THINGS WE'RE DOING TO BE PREPARED NOT ONLY FOR CONSTRUCTION, BUT ULTIMATELY OPERATING THIS SERVICE.

AND TODAY WE ARE, ARE BRINGING THESE TO YOU.

WE'LL BRING MANY MORE TO YOU IN THE FUTURE, BUT AS YOU SAID, CHAIR, BRINGING OUR BOARD ALONG AS, AS WE, UH, ADVANCE THE PROGRAM.

UM, SO WE CAN DO QUICK INTRODUCTIONS, MAYBE DINA AND, UH, AND CHRIS AND CRAIG.

SURE.

HI EVERYONE.

UM, MY NAME'S DINA AOV.

I AM THE SEGMENT DESIGN MANAGER FOR THE ARC AUSTIN RAIL CONSTRUCTORS TEAM.

HI EVERYONE.

I'M CHRIS LINK, THE TECHNICAL DESIGN DIRECTOR.

GOOD AFTERNOON.

I'M CRAIG PATERSON, THE, UH, CONSTRUCTION DIRECTOR.

ALRIGHT, SO OUR FIRST TOPIC, UM, THIS ONE I PROMISE YOU I WILL NOT READ ALL OF THESE BOXES TO YOU, NOR DO I REALLY, UM, EXPECT YOU TO READ THROUGH THEM IN DETAIL, ALTHOUGH YOU'RE WELCOME.

UH, BUT WHY I AM BRINGING THIS TO YOU IS THAT AS WE WERE CONSIDERING DIFFERENT DELIVERY MODELS AND PARTICULARLY THE PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD MODEL, UH, WE MET WITH AND LEARNED FROM SEVERAL DIFFERENT PEER AGENCIES AS WELL AS INDUSTRY CONTRACTORS THAT HAVE GONE DOWN THIS PATH, UH, BEFORE US.

AND ONE OF THE THEMES THAT WE HEARD OVER AND OVER AGAIN THAT WAS CRITICAL TO THE SUCCESS OF DELIVERING IN A PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD MODEL WAS HAVING A CLEAR AND EFFECTIVE PROJECT GOVERNANCE PLAN IN PLACE.

AND SO WE HAVE SPENT AND BEEN VERY DELIBERATE ABOUT HOW WE'VE ORGANIZED OUR TEAM FUNCTIONALLY TO DELIVER THE PROJECT ACROSS OUR THREE MAJOR CONTRACTS FOR THE LIGHT RAIL, THE OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE FACILITY, AND, AND TO COME WITH THE LIGHT RAIL VEHICLES IN A WAY THAT ADDRESSES MANY OF THOSE LESSONS LEARNED.

WE HEARD FROM OTHERS AHEAD OF US.

UH, SO I'LL JUST HIGHLIGHT A FEW KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF THIS.

ONE THING WE HEARD OVER AND

[00:40:01]

MEANING YOU CANNOT IN A PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD WORLD, BE HANDS OFF AS THE OWNER.

UM, YOU HAVE TO WORK HAND IN HAND WITH YOUR CONTRACTOR.

AND SO THAT LOWER LEVEL OF THIS DIAGRAM IS REPRESENTING A SERIES OF WORKING GROUPS AND TASK FORCES WHERE WE WORK, UM, EVERY WEEK WITH VERY INTENTIONAL, UH, KIND OF, UH, CALIBRATED ATTENDEES AND PARTICIPANTS IN EACH OF THOSE WORKING GROUPS ACROSS ALL KINDS OF TOPICS FROM, YOU KNOW, DESIGN TO SAFETY AND SECURITY THAT I'LL TALK ABOUT A LITTLE BIT LATER, UM, TO PERMITTING.

AND WHAT THAT DOES IS HELPS US EMBED DECISION MAKING AT THE LOWEST LEVEL APPROPRIATE TO THE TOPIC.

MEANING WE'RE NOT HAVING TO CONSTANTLY BRING EVERYTHING UP TO THE TOP BECAUSE THE PEOPLE THAT ARE EQUIPPED TO BE EMPOWERED FOR THOSE DECISIONS ARE RIGHT THERE WHERE THE WORK IS GETTING DONE, AND THEY CAN MAKE THOSE DECISIONS ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS AND KEEP THE PROJECT MOVING FORWARD EFFICIENTLY.

UM, WE ALSO HEARD THAT, YOU KNOW, SOME THINGS DO NEED TO BE ESCALATED TO THE TOP AND YOU NEED A VERY CLEAR AND EFFICIENT STRATEGY FOR NOT BOTTLENECKING THE PROJECT AND BEING ABLE TO GET THOSE DECISIONS WHEN THE CONTRACTOR NEEDS THEM.

SO THOSE UPPER LEVELS, UM, FEEDS UP THROUGH OUR PROJECT MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE, AND THEN WE HAVE COMMITTEES THAT HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED.

WE HAVE SOMETHING CALLED A DESIGN CO OR DESIGN COMMITTEE AND A STEER OR STEERING COMMITTEE.

AND WE HOLD THOSE TIMES SACRED EVERY SINGLE WEEK TO HAVE ALL OF THE LEADERS WE NEED TO HAVE IN PLACE WITH A DIVERSE SET OF PERSPECTIVES.

AND WE HAVE A RECURRING SET AND KIND OF A ROTATING LIST OF TOPICS THAT ARE COMING TO US EVERY SINGLE WEEK TO ALWAYS KEEP THE PROJECT MOVING FORWARD.

UM, WE CONTINUOUSLY SEEK TO LEARN AND IMPROVE ON ALL OF THIS, BUT IT HAS BEEN AN INCREDIBLE PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR CONTRACTOR PARTNERS ACROSS BOTH THE LIGHT RAIL, UM, WITH THE ARC TEAM YOU SEE HERE TODAY, AS WELL AS THE OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE FACILITY CAP TEAM THAT YOU'LL HEAR MUR HEAR MORE FROM IN THE FUTURE, UM, AS THEY PROGRESS THOSE ELEMENTS OF THE WORK AS WELL.

AND HAPPY TO TAKE QUESTIONS THROUGHOUT AS WELL IF YOU WANNA STOP ME, UH, AT ANY POINT.

SO ONE OF THE AREAS OF EXPERIENCE AND EXPERTISE AND CAPACITY, UH, THAT YOU SAW ON THAT FUNCTIONAL ORGANIZATION THAT'S JUST MISSION CRITICAL TO THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING AS SAFETY AND SECURITY.

UH, WE HAVE OUR DELIVERY PARTNER, UH, AECOM HERE TO HELP US WITH THIS PROCESS AND BRING THE RIGHT PEOPLE THAT HAVE FOR DECADES, UH, BEEN PART OF CERTIFYING THE SAFETY AND SECURITY THROUGH THE FEDERAL PROCESS THAT'S REQUIRED ON LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT PROJECTS.

AND SO I WANNA INTRODUCE CRAIG, WHO IS OUR NEWLY JOINED TO US, UM, CONSTRUCTION DIRECTOR, AND WILL ULTIMATELY OVERSEE OUR PROCESS THROUGH CERTIFICATION AND INTO REVENUE SERVICE.

UM, AND I THINK HE'S GONNA HIGHLIGHT A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE TEAM SUPPORTING HIM ON THE SAFETY AND SECURITY SIDE AS WELL.

LINDSAY.

UM, YES, MADAM CHAIR, FAMILY.

UH, IT, IT SEEMS TO ME LIKE YOU, YOU ARE SEGMENTING AND FLATTENING SOME OF YOUR DECISION MAKING PROCESSES IN, IN YOUR, IN YOUR LEADERSHIP LEVEL.

AND MY, AND, AND WHAT I WANNA SEE AS, AS THE PRESENTATION GOES ON IS, UM, I I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO FLAT ORGANIZATIONS WHERE YOU CAN MM-HMM .

UH, BUT HOW DO YOU INTERACT WITH THE EXECUTIVE LEVELS ALONG THE WAY? UH, WHEN DO YOU NOTIFY THEM? WHEN ARE THEY ABLE TO GIVE YOU INPUT? UH, IF SOMETHING GOES THAT, UH, IN A WAY THAT'S UNEXPECTED, HOW DO YOU MANAGE CHANGE IN THE PROCESS? JUST INTERESTED IN, I UNDERSTAND THAT THE OPERATIONS PROBABLY WILL HAPPEN MORE AT THE LEADERSHIP LEVEL MM-HMM .

BUT HOW DO WE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE EXPERIENCE OF THE EXECUTIVE LEVEL TO MAKE SURE, UH, THAT, UH, WE DON'T, WE, WE MEASURE TWICE BEFORE WE CUT ONCE.

UM, LOVE THAT QUESTION.

AND I KIND OF THOUGHT NO ONE WOULD CARE ABOUT THIS THING, SO I'M EXCITED YOU DO.

THIS HAS BEEN MY LIFE FOR 40 YEARS .

SO YES, WE HAVE AT THOSE STEERING COMMITTEE LEVELS, OUR ENTIRE EXECUTIVE TEAM, OUR CEO, ALL OF OUR EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENTS AND OUR FULL SENIOR LEADERSHIP, WE MEET EVERY SINGLE WEEK.

AND WE HOLD THAT TIME SACRED SO THAT WE DON'T EVER MISS A STEP.

AND WE ALSO HAVE A PROCESS THAT DEFINES KIND OF WHAT GETS BROUGHT TO THAT GROUP, WHAT ARE THOSE KEY TRIGGERS THAT NEED ESCALATION, UM, WHETHER IT'S FOR DECISION MAKING OR SOMETIMES IT'S JUST AWARENESS, YOU KNOW, WHETHER THERE'S A COMMUNITY INTERFACE OR MAYBE SOMETHING THAT AFFECTS, UM, THE ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY AND, AND WHAT WAS DOCUMENTED IN OUR EIS, UM, ANYTHING THAT MAY HAVE

[00:45:01]

MATERIAL, UH, EFFECT ON SCHEDULE OR COST.

AND SO WE HAVE THOSE KIND OF TRIGGERS THAT WE BRING UP TO OUR LEADERSHIP GROUP EVERY SINGLE WEEK.

WE ALSO HAVE OUR, OUR MANAGEMENT TEAM CLEARLY EMPOWERED TO GIVE DIRECTION ON THE THINGS THAT DON'T NEED ESCALATION, WHICH IS JUST AS IMPORTANT SO THAT THEY CAN KEEP, YOU KNOW, UH, OUR CEO DOESN'T NEED TO APPROVE WHETHER A WATER LINE IS 12 INCH OR 24 INCH.

AND SO THOSE TEAMS ARE WORKING DIRECTLY WITH, UM, THE EMPOWERED AUTHORITIES, INCLUDING OUR CITY PARTNERS AND CAP METRO ON VARIOUS TOPICS AT THE WORKING GROUP LEVEL.

BUT WE BRING THINGS UP TO LEADERSHIP WHEN WE NEED TO AND, AND OFTEN, SO, YEAH.

I, I WAS TRYING TO GET AT, UH, WHETHER YOUR WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE INFORMS YOU OF WHERE IT WILL BE DONE AND HOW IT WILL BE APPROVED FROM A COMPLIANCE STANDPOINT.

DO YOU MEAN FROM LIKE A WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE OF, UM, THE NATURE OF THE CONSTRUCTION WORK? WELL, UH, YOU KNOW, SO AT, AT THE END OF THE DAY, MY, MY STRUCTURE TELLS ME AREA BY AREA, FUNCTION BY FUNCTION.

MM-HMM .

HOW I'M, UH, WHAT HAS TO BE EXECUTED.

GOT IT.

AND THEN I TALK, AND THEN I TALK TO MY TEAM ABOUT HOW WE EXECUTE IT.

AND THEN I TALK TO MY EXECUTIVES ABOUT HOW THEY CAN SEE WHAT I SAW AND APPROVE MY, MY WHAT I'M EXECUTING.

THIS SPACE, I'M REALLY, REALLY WELL REPRESENTED BY CHRIS LARUE.

SO WE HAVE FIRST A SET OF REQUIREMENTS THAT DEFINES WHAT WE'RE DOING.

YOU KNOW, WE HAVE VARIOUS DESIGN CRITERIA, WE HAVE VARIOUS MANAGEMENT PLANS, UM, OPERATING PROCEDURES AND PROCESSES.

AND THOSE ARE NOT ONLY FOR OUR TEAM AND HOW WE MANAGE THE WORK, BUT ALSO EMBEDDED INTO THE CONTRACTS WITH OUR CONTRACTORS.

AND SO THAT BECOMES THE BASELINE OF WHAT EVERYONE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR.

WE HAVE VARIOUS PROCESSES THAT ENSURE THE COMPLIANCE WITH EACH OF THOSE REQUIREMENTS, UM, BOTH IN TERMS OF DESIGN, WHERE YOU HAVE LIKE CHECKLISTS AND YOU HAVE TO SAY, YES, WE MET THIS CRITERIA ALL THE WAY DOWN FOR HUNDREDS, PROBABLY THOUSANDS, UH, OF REQUIREMENTS, AND WE HAVE SIMILAR PROCESSES TO MANAGE AND AT TIMES EVEN AUDIT, UH, OUR OPERATING PROCEDURES SO THAT ALL ALONG THE WAY THAT WORK BREAKDOWN IS TRACKED AND, AND REPORTED ON TO OUR LEADERSHIP REGULARLY.

DID THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? IT DID.

I'M, I'M ALWAYS INTERESTED IN THE CRITICAL PATH, UM, AND HOW WE ADDRESS, UH, SO THAT GAVE ME WHAT I NEEDED.

OUR, OUR WORK IS, IS, IS, UH, GOING TO BE DEFINED AND WE, AND WE'RE GONNA MAKE SURE THAT, UH, EVERYBODY IS, IS, UH, MADE AWARE AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME.

I'D JUST LIKE TO SEE THE FLOW.

SO MAY I ADD TO THAT TOO? LIKE JUST, UH, ALL THE MANAGEMENT PLANS AND ALL THE STRUCTURE THAT WE PUT IN PLACE ABOUT HOW WE MANAGE THE WORK, HOW WE MANAGE THE CONTRACTS, UM, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE HAVE A GAME PLAN FOR THAT.

AND THAT'S PART OF THE MATERIAL THAT WE SHARE WITH FTA AND THEY EVALUATE AND, UM, UH, WE'RE, BUT WE'RE ALSO CONSTANTLY LOOKING TO IMPROVE OUR MANAGEMENT, YOU KNOW, CAPACITY AND CAPABILITIES TOO.

SO I THINK ONE THING I WOULD NOTE ABOUT THIS ORGANIZATION IS THAT I THINK WE HAVE A HEALTHY DOSE OF SELF-AWARENESS AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO KEEP THAT AND BE NIMBLE, UM, ON HOW THINGS ARE WORKING AS WELL.

UM, AND I UNDERSTAND THIS IS THE 30,000 FOOT LOOK, SO, UM, NOT EXPECTING EVERY GRANULAR DETAIL, UH, BUT JUST SO WE HAVE A SYSTEM, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT WE BUILD A SYSTEM RATHER THAN JUST A FEW TRANS, AND, AND I KNOW THAT, UH, Y'ALL HAVE DONE EXCELLENT WORK AND HAVE DONE WELL.

IT JUST, I JUST LIKE TO HEAR THE FLOW PERIODICALLY THERE.

THERE'S A LOT OF PAPERWORK THAT GOES BEHIND ALL OF THIS, PROBABLY MORE THAN I'D LIKE, I, I DON'T WANT TO KILL TOO MANY TREES, SO, SO I'M SORRY.

ALRIGHT.

UH, CRAIG, IF YOU COULD TALK ABOUT HOW WE'RE EMBEDDING SAFETY AND SECURITY INTO REALLY ALL THAT WE'RE DOING TO ADVANCE THE PROJECT.

SURE.

THANKS LINDSAY.

UM, I'LL JUST QUICKLY INTRODUCE MYSELF.

I JOINED THE PROGRAM THIS WEEK.

HEY, WELL SECOND WEEK NOW.

I AM, I MOVED TO AUSTIN 18 MONTHS AGO.

PRIOR TO THAT, I, UH, DELIVERED THE NEW LIGHT RAIL IN SYDNEY.

SO I AM REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO BRINGING A LOT OF THOSE LESSONS LEARNED, UH, ACROSS TO THIS PROJECT.

ALSO, YOU HAVE A BIT OF A CONFUSING ACCENT MERGING SCOTTISH AUSSIE, AND I CALL MYSELF.

SO THE FIRST HALF OF MY LIFE HAS BEEN IN SCOTLAND, THE SECOND HALF IN AUSTRALIA.

SO THAT PROBABLY MAKES IT EVEN HARDER FOR YOU GUYS TO UNDERSTAND , BUT I'LL, I'LL TRY MY BEST THAT I'LL SPEAK SLOWLY.

SO, UM, YEAH, I'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR 30 YEARS, UM, A A LOT OF EXPERIENCE AS WELL IN THE, UH, PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BILL WITH ANOTHER ALTERNATIVE DELIVERY MODELS AS WELL, SUCH AS P THREE AND HYBRID, ET CETERA.

SO AGAIN, LOOKING AT BRING THAT EXPERIENCE ACROSS TO THE BENEFIT OF THE PROJECT HERE.

UM, IN

[00:50:01]

HE'S, UH, OUR SAFETY, UH, DIRECTOR.

UH, AND HIS KEY ROLE IS REALLY TO LOOK AFTER THIS WHOLE PROCESS.

SO HE'S EXPERIENCED, UH, FROM THE DESIGN RIGHT THROUGH TO THE ACTUAL COMMISSIONING, TESTING, ET CETERA, AND OPENING OF THE RAILWAY, AS AM I.

UM, SO THE, THE SLIDE YOU SEE IN FRONT OF YOU IS, IS IT SHOWS THE, THE LIFE CYCLE.

SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT SAFETY AND SECURITY, WE OFTEN, OUR MIND GOES TO WHAT HAPPENS ON THE CONSTRUCTION SITE, AND THAT'S ONE OF THE MOST VISIBLE AREAS, WHICH IS CORRECT.

BUT IN REALITY, WHAT WE HAVE TO DO IS START MUCH, MUCH EARLIER THAN THAT.

AND WE HAVE STARTED THAT PROCESS ALREADY THROUGHOUT THE DES UH, DESIGN PHASE.

SO YOU, YOU, YOU START AT THE BEGINNING, YOU DESIGN FOR SAFETY AND SECURITY, YOU THEN LOOK TO ESTABLISH WHAT THE RISKS ARE GOING TO BE, ESTABLISH THE MITIGATIONS THAT YOU PUT IN PLACE BEFORE YOU MOVE INTO THE CONSTRUCTION, BEFORE YOU EXPOSE ANYBODY TO THESE HAZARDS.

AND THIS CONTINUES RIGHT THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS, UH, BEYOND CONSTRUCTION, UH, UP INTO THE OPERATIONS READINESS SPACE AND BEYOND.

IT REALLY IS A, A, A FULL LIFE CYCLE APPROACH THAT WE'RE TAKING ON THIS PROJECT.

UM, AND AS I SAID, I'VE BEEN THROUGH THIS BEFORE.

I UNDERSTAND THE COMPLEXITY, ESPECIALLY AT THE BACK END, ABOUT HAVING THE SAFETY AND SECURITY, RIGHT? WHEN YOU'RE EXPOSING THE SYSTEM TO, TO PEOPLE, TO YOUR EMPLOYEES, TO FIRST LINE RESPONDERS, TO THOSE WHO HAVE TO MAINTAIN THE SYSTEM, YOU HAVE TO TAKE ALL THAT INTO ACCOUNT.

SO IT'S, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE TAKING THIS VERY, VERY SERIOUSLY AND WE'VE STARTED THAT APPROACH, AS I SAID ALREADY.

AND THIS WORK HAS ALREADY BEGUN.

UH, YOU SEE ACTUALLY A PICTURE HERE THAT SHOWS, UH, WHAT WAS A MULTI-DAY, I THINK NEARLY WEEK LONG, UM, WORKSHOP THAT HAD INTER-AGENCY REPRESENTATIVES FROM OUR VARIOUS PUBLIC SAFETY AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE, UM, AUTHORITIES ACROSS THE REGION TO PROVIDE THEIR INPUT ON THE PROJECT THAT WILL ULTIMATELY INFORM HOW WE PROGRESS THE DESIGN GOING FORWARD.

AND WE'RE ALSO EXCITED TO FORMALLY KICK OFF, UM, WHAT IS CALLED THE FIRE LIFE SAFETY COMMITTEE, UM, THAT WILL BEGIN HERE IN JULY TO CONTINUE ALL OF THIS WORK.

UH, IT'S INTEGRATED AT ALL LEVELS AND ACCOUNTABLE ULTIMATELY TO OUR CEO.

ALRIGHT, SO I'LL ADMIT I DON'T REALLY HAVE A CLEVER TRANSITION FROM THAT TOPIC TO THIS ONE.

UM, BUT WE'LL, BUT I ACTUALLY, BEFORE YOU MOVE ON, ON THE SAFETY AND SECURITY, I KNOW WHEN WE DID GET AN UPDATE, UM, FROM THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP THAT MET LAST WEEK, I BELIEVE MM-HMM .

THAT'S WHEN WE MET.

AN INTERESTING TOPIC CAME UP AS WE SHARE THE RIGHT OF WAY WITH OUR LIGHT RAIL VEHICLES AND OTHER VEHICLES, BUT THE USE OF THE GUIDEWAY FOR EMERGENCY VEHICLES, I THINK THAT IS SOMETHING THAT IS GONNA COME OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

SO SOMETHING FOR US TO KEEP IN MIND THAT THAT IS ALSO STILL AN OPTION.

UH, THAT'S A GREAT TOPIC FOR THAT FIRE LIFE SAFETY COMMITTEE TO HELP INFORM WHAT WILL ULTIMATELY BE OPERATING PROCEDURES AS WELL AS DESIGN DETAILS TO FACILITATE, UH, YOU KNOW, MOVING EMERGENCY VEHICLES THROUGH OUR SYSTEM AT THE HIGHEST PRIORITY AT ALL TIMES.

I THINK SOMETIMES PEOPLE THINK, OH NO, A FIRETRUCK CAN'T GET THROUGH WHEN THERE'S A FIRE .

WE MAKE SURE THE FIRETRUCK CAN GET THROUGH.

AND SO WE'LL HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR PARTNERS AND INCLUDING THE OPERATING PERSPECTIVE AS WE ADVANCE THE PROJECT.

WHAT WE CALL STAGE THREE, UH, WHICH INVOLVES ANALYSIS AND STAKEHOLDER AND PARTNER ENGAGEMENT.

ALRIGHT, SO DESIGN, UM, I WANT TO ASK DINA AND CHRIS TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT OUR CONTRACTOR HAS BEEN UP TO SINCE COMING ON BOARD A FEW MONTHS AGO IN PROGRESSING THE DESIGN THROUGH THE LENS OF HOW IT WILL GET BUILT, HOW LONG THAT WILL TAKE, WHAT THAT WILL COST, AND MANY OTHER PERSPECTIVES THAT INFORM, UH, THE INNOVATION PROCESS OF, OF BRINGING OUR DESIGN ALONG.

THANKS LINDSAY.

SO, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS WE WANNA DO FROM FEBRUARY 23RD ON WAS MAKE THE MOST OF THE DESI, UH, PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD MODEL THAT'S BEEN CHOSEN.

SO THE FACT THAT WE CAN BE RIGHT THROUGH THOSE DOORS TOGETHER, THE DESIGNER, THE BUILDER, A TP, THE PARTNERS, WE WANNA MAKE THE MOST USE OF THAT, ESPECIALLY IN THE FIRST FEW MONTHS AS WE'RE, AS WE'RE SETTING IN AND CONFIGURING THE PROJECT AND UNDERSTANDING WHAT INNOVATIONS CAN BE INCORPORATED.

SO WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THERE WAS A THOROUGH AND THOUGHTFUL PROCESS ON THIS AND NOT JUST SCATTERSHOT.

SO BEFORE WE EVEN JOINED, WE PUT A LOT OF THOUGHT INTO THIS DESIGN INNOVATION PROCESS, UH, AND, AND WE'VE BEEN EXECUTING IT OVER THE LAST THREE MONTHS.

SO WE STARTED WITH IDEA GENERATIONS, SO BASICALLY STARTING WITH, UH, WITH AN OPEN FORM FOR WHATEVER IDEAS WE'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT FOR THE YEARS, LEADING INTO JOINING THE TEAM AS WELL AS, AS ALL THE OTHER PARTNERS AND WHAT THEY HAD HAD PERCOLATING IN THEIR HEADS.

SO WE HAD THIS PHASE ONE IDEA GENERATION, UH, AND THEN QUICKLY TRANSITIONING INTO A PRESCREEN OF THAT.

SO SOME IDEAS JUST DON'T NECESSARILY MATCH WITH THE OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT OR THE CRITERIA NEED TO BE SCREENED OUT.

UH, YOU CAN START TO GET TO A MORE MANAGEABLE LIST OF THINGS THAT YOU CAN THEN DO YOUR HOMEWORK ON.

SO DOING YOUR HOMEWORK PHASE, THAT'S

[00:55:01]

SO THE IDEAS THAT HAD ENOUGH MERIT WHO WEREN'T THE INVESTMENT IN TIME.

WE'VE, WE'VE BEEN MOVING THROUGH THAT NOW.

SOME, SOME BIGGER IDEAS THAT WE'RE, WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT.

AND, AND GOING THROUGH TECHNICAL ANALYSIS, OPERATIONAL IMPACTS, STAKEHOLDER IMPLICATIONS, ALL OF THAT.

SO THEN WE, WE PULL TOGETHER THE PACKAGE OF INFORMATION AND THEN MOVE IT THROUGH THE GOVERNANCE PROCESS THAT LINDSAY WAS SHOWING EARLIER.

SO THAT WOULD BE STEP FOUR, OUR FINAL EVALUATION.

SO A, A HOST, A HOST OF DIFFERENT IDEAS THAT WE'VE RAN THROUGH THAT PROCESS.

WE'RE GONNA FOCUS ON A COUPLE MORE IN MORE DETAIL NOW.

ONE OF THE BIG THINGS THAT WE CAME UP WITH ON THE EVALUATION PROCESS IS THAT THERE'S, UH, THERE'S KIND OF A STANDARD APPROACH TO VALUE ENGINEERING, TRYING TO DRIVE APPROPRIATE COSTS DOWN AND, AND MAKE THINGS CONSTRUCTIBLE AND MAKE SURE THAT THE SCHEDULE IS, IS THE BEST SETUP IT CAN BE.

BUT WE ALSO REALLY WANTED TO BE, UH, COGNIZANT OF THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES THAT A TP HAD SET OUT FOR THIS PROJECT.

AND A LOT OF THEM ARE, ARE COMMUNITY RELATED AND STAKEHOLDER RELATED AND, AND THINGS WITH THE GREENWAY AND, AND ALL, YOU KNOW, CULTURE, LEGACY PLACE, THE, THE THINGS THAT, THAT WERE SET OUT AND, AND THOUGHT LONG AND HARD ABOUT.

SO WE TRIED TO CREATE OUR, OUR CRITERIA WITH THAT IN MIND.

SO BEYOND BUDGET, PROJECT DELIVERY, LIGHT RAIL OPERATIONS, WE MOVED INTO THINGS LIKE THE OUTDOORS, THE CULTURE, THE PLACE, THE LEGACY.

AND WHAT WE WANT TO DO AS WE EVALUATE ALL OF THOSE THINGS IS WE'RE NOT JUST SIMPLY MAKING A DECISION ON LOWEST COST.

WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE UNDERSTAND THE TRADE-OFFS, AND WE DON'T WANT TO BE CAUGHT WITH ANY UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES.

SO WE WILL STILL MAKE AS, AS A TEAM THE BEST DECISION FOR THE PROJECT, BUT WE WANT TO GO EYES WIDE OP WIDE OPEN AS TO WHAT WE'RE, WHAT WE'RE WEIGHING, WEIGHING AGAINST.

SO I THINK TO MAKE THIS TANGIBLE, WE'LL GO INTO A, A COUPLE EXAMPLES AND I'LL PASS IT TO DINA FOR THAT.

THANKS, CHRIS.

UM, I THINK JUST TO HIGHLIGHT, WITHIN THE PROCESS THAT WE'VE DEVELOPED, IT'S VERY, IT, IT WAS CREATED TO BE VERY INTENTIONALLY NIMBLE TO MEET KIND OF THE NEEDS OF WHAT WE NEEDED TO DO.

SO THERE ARE SOME AREAS WHERE IT'S, YOU KNOW, DEFINITELY A LOT OF MULTI-CRITERIA, UM, INPUTS, A LOT OF DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES THAT NEEDED TO INPUT INTO IT.

AND SOME AREAS WITHIN THE PROCESS THAT WE DEVELOPED IT SO THAT IF THERE WAS A, YOU KNOW, A CLEAR VE THAT WE WOULD BE ABLE TO JUST FAST TRACK THOSE, UM, INTO, YOU KNOW, IMPLEMENTATION INTO OUR, INTO OUR DESIGN.

UM, SPECIFICALLY ON LADY BIRD LAKE.

WITHIN THIS, THE, THIS INNOVATION, THERE WAS A FEW OTHER CRITERIA THAT WE HAD, YOU KNOW, BEEN VERY SPECIFIC AROUND CONSTRUCTABILITY, WORKING WITH THE BROADER TEAM SO THAT WE COULD LOOK AT, UM, UNDERSTANDING SUPERSTRUCTURE VERSUS SUBSTRUCTURE, UM, UNDERSTANDING HOW WE'RE GOING TO BE, UM, BUILDING, UM, THIS TEMPORARY, THE TEMPORARY WORK BRIDGE, UM, AS WELL AS SOME OF THE OTHER, YOU KNOW, KEY ELEMENTS WERE AROUND UNDERSTANDING, YOU KNOW, THAT HABITAT, WHAT THE IMPACTS ARE WITH THE BRIDGE HYDRAULICS IS A KEY COMPONENT AS WELL.

UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WE ARE HAVE ALSO BEEN WORKING, UM, TO UNDERSTAND THE UTILITIES BETTERMENT AND WHAT DIFFERENT BRIDGE TYPES, UM, WOULD BE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE FROM A, THE UTILITIES BETTERMENT PERSPECTIVE AS WELL.

UM, SO THAT JUST HIGHLIGHTS SOME OF THE KEY CRITERIA.

AND IF YOU GO ONTO THE NEXT ONE, UM, AS I MENTIONED THE PROCESS, WE REALLY WERE TRYING TO DRIVE, DIVE INTO CONSTRUCTABILITY, UNDERSTANDING ELEMENTS OF CONSTRUCTION RISK AND WORKING, UM, THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS.

I THINK THAT THE COLLABORATIVE AND THE INTEGRATED APPROACH WITH, UM, THE DIFFERENT, UM, TEAMS, UM, HAS BEEN, UH, REALLY HELPFUL AS WE'RE GOING THROUGH OUR DETAILED ANALYSIS.

WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH, YOU KNOW, WATERSHED INTER WITH, UM, UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE HYDRAULICS IMPACTS ARE OF DIFFERENT BRIDGE TYPES WORKING WITH THE US ARMY CORPS, UH, TO UNDERSTAND PERMITTING REQUIREMENTS AND REALLY UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN, UM, YOU KNOW, A SEGMENTAL BOX STRUCTURE VERSUS, YOU KNOW, CONCRETE U GIRDERS, UM, HAS BEEN THE KEY ELEMENTS.

AND ALL OF THIS REALLY IS FOCUSED AROUND, YOU KNOW, BALANCING THESE ELEMENTS WITH ALSO THE USER EXPERIENCE AND THE SOFTER SIDE TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE STILL PRIORITIZING ALL OF THE USERS THAT ARE USING THE SYSTEM, LRT USERS AND ALSO PARK USERS, ANYBODY WHO IS INTERACTING IN THE COMMUNITY AROUND THE BRIDGE ASK QUESTION.

SO, UM, I JUST HAPPENED TO LIVE IN WEST PART, THOSE, HOW DID THOSE ELEMENTS RELATED TO JUST THE IMPACT TO THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES GO INTO THE DESIGN PIECE

[01:00:01]

OF THE RAIL? IF YOU WANT TO GO BACK TO THE CRITERIA SLIDE HERE, MAYBE I MISSED SOMETHING.

YEAH, NO, I, AND I THINK IN TERMS OF WHAT WE'VE BEEN, HOW WE'VE BEEN APPROACHING THIS IS LOOKING AT IT HOLISTICALLY OF ALL OF THE IMPACTS.

SO THERE ARE ITEMS THAT HERE ON OUR CRITERIA AROUND, UM, CONNECTING TO CULTURE, WHAT THE ACTIVE PUBLIC SPACE IS.

SO WE ARE TRYING TO BRING ALL OF THOSE CONSIDERATIONS TOGETHER, THE HARD TECHNICAL PLUS ALSO THE SOFTER, UM, ELEMENTS IN TERMS OF THE BROADER USER EXPERIENCE.

ALSO THROUGH THIS DESIGN PROCESS, AS WE'VE BEEN GOING THROUGH VALIDATION, WE'RE ALSO TRYING TO OPTIMIZE, YOU KNOW, THE DESIGN WHERE WE CAN AND LOOKING AT WHERE WE CAN, YOU KNOW, BRING OPTIMIZATIONS TO CURVATURE TO HELP BALANCE NOISE AND VIBRATIONS.

AND SO NOISE AND VIBRATION BOTH ARE PART OF THE DESIGN ON THE TECHNICAL SIDE OF, OF CONSIDERING THE IMPACTS OF DIFFERENT DESIGN ALTERNATIVES.

IN, IN THE PARTICULAR EXAMPLE I'M USING, NOISE IS NOT CAUSED BY THE TRAIN ITSELF.

IT'S NOT CAUSED BY, YEAH, THE VI IT'S, IT'S THE ACTUAL CONFIGURATION OF THE TRACK.

AND SO I KNOW THERE WILL BE CURVES AND THERE WILL BE YES, UPS AND DOWNS AND OTHER THINGS.

AND SO I JUST, YOU KNOW, I I WOULD APPRECIATE THAT, THAT KIND OF CONSIDERATION.

OBVIOUSLY AS WE MOVE FORWARD.

IT, SO IT, IT'S CAUSED IT'S RAIL, UH, WHEEL TO RAIL SQUEAL, BASICALLY WHEN THE INTERFACE BETWEEN THE, THE TRAINS WHEELS AND THE STEEL RAILS, UM, WHICH IS INFLUENCED BY THE DEGREE OF CURVATURE OR HOW SHARP IT IS.

SO WE HAVE MINIMUM, UM, RADIUS OR RADII OF CURVATURE TO AVOID THOSE KIND OF SEVERE NOISE IMPACTS.

YOU ALSO HAVE DESIGN CHARACTERISTICS, UM, THAT ARE LIKE ONBOARD WHEEL LUBRICATORS, UM, THAT ESSENTIALLY THEY, THEY DON'T LITERALLY GREASE IT SORT OF LIKE GREASE THE TRACKS, BUT IT'S MUCH MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY , UM, FRIENDLY.

BUT THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT, UH, TACTICS TO MANAGING THOSE, AND WE ABSOLUTELY ARE DESIGNING FOR THEM.

I WANNA POINT OUT THAT MY CONSTITUENT, JOHN FORTUNE HAS NEVER SENT ME AN EMAIL COMPLAINING ABOUT IT.

I'M VERY, I'M VERY PROUD OF HIM FOR THAT.

AND, AND MAYOR, I WILL TELL YOU THAT, THAT THE FACT THAT THAT TRAIN DERAILED HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE GREASE I PUT ON THE TRAIN.

ALL RIGHT.

AND ALVIN, ONE OF THE OTHER AREAS THAT WE'VE BEEN FOCUSING ON AS, UM, IT IT'S CRITICAL TO OUR ALL ELECTRIC OPERATION IS OUR POWER SUPPLY.

AND SO I THINK GOING TO TALK THROUGH A LITTLE BIT OF HOW WE'VE BEEN MOVING THAT WORK FORWARD.

IT'S NOT GONNA COMPROMISE LIKE, YOU KNOW, UM, OUR POWERPOINTS WITH AUSTIN ENERGY.

SO, UM, SO, SO WITH THIS, THIS EXAMPLE HERE, THIS IS AN, THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF WHERE ONE INITIAL VALUE ENGINEERING LED TO SEVERAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR, FOR COST SAVINGS.

AS AN EXAMPLE WITH THIS, UH, WHEN WE FIRST STARTED THIS, WE WERE DEBATING BETWEEN 1500 VOLT, UM, VERSUS A 850 VOLT, UM, TRACTION POWER SUBSTATION SYSTEM, RIGHT? TO BE ABLE TO KIND OF FEED THE SYSTEM.

AND, UM, WE SETTLED ON 1500 VOLT BECAUSE IT ENDED UP SAVING US COSTS.

LIKE YOU HAD LESS SUBSTATIONS, UM, IT WAS, UM, LESS REAL ESTATE ACQUISITION AS WELL.

SO AS A WHOLE, WE SAVED, UM, SOME SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF MONEY, BUT WE DIDN'T DO IT WITHOUT BEING THOUGHTFUL ON IT.

WE HAD TO DO LOW FLOW, LOW FLOW CALCULATIONS.

WE HAD TO CONSIDER THE FUTURE VEHICLES THAT WE WOULD BE DEALING WITH.

WE HAD TO CONSIDER AUSTIN ENERGY AS AN EXAMPLE.

LIKE DO THEY HAVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE IN PLACE TO ACTUALLY SUPPORT THE SYSTEM? AND THEN AS YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, WHAT HAPPENS IS THAT THAT NOW LED TO LIKE, HEY, LISTEN, NOW WE, WE KNOW WE'RE GOING TO 1500 VOLTS, SO NOW WE ARE, WE ARE NOW BETWEEN TWO DIFFERENT WAYS OF POWERING THIS.

DO WE GO BY MEDIUM VOLTAGE, BULK POWER DISTRIBUTION OR RADIO FIELD FEED? AND WHAT THAT MEANS IN SIMPLISTIC TERMS IS THAT THE BULK POWER DISTRIBUTION IS REALLY WHERE WE GET POWER FROM A FEW DIFFERENT POINTS.

SO, AND I THINK IN OUR CASE, WE WERE GOING TO FOUR POINTS AND WE WERE BECOMING OUR OWN POWER SYSTEM AND KIND OF JUST DISTRIBUTING THAT POWER AS WE NEED IT.

AND THE RADIAL FEED, UM, THAT ONE IS MORE OR LESS WE WERE GETTING, WE'RE GETTING FED AT ALL THE DIFFERENT POINTS.

SO FOR INSTANCE, IF YOU SEE THE ARROWS ON THE, ON THE IMAGE ON THE RIGHT, THE BIGGER ARROWS OF THE ACTUAL TRACTION POWER SUBSTATIONS, WE HAVE ABOUT NINE ALONG THE SYSTEM.

AND THEN OF COURSE YOU HAVE THE SMALLER ARROWS THAT POINT TO THE STATION.

SO WE'RE GETTING DIRECT FEEDS TO THOSE.

WHAT WE FOUND WITH THAT IS THE RADIAL FEED ACTUALLY SAVES US COST.

AND YOU MIGHT SAY, WELL, HOW IS IT SAVING YOU COST? WELL, A LOT OF IT DEALS WITH THE AMOUNT OF INFRASTRUCTURE YOU NEED FOR THE, FOR THE LARGER POWER SUPPLY VERSUS WHAT THE RADIAL FEED WOULD BE.

UM, AND WHAT THAT DID IS THAT AFFECTED OUR DUCK BANK.

SO AT ONE POINT, OUR DUCK BANK WAS PRETTY LARGE, RIGHT? WE WERE TALKING, I'M GONNA GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE, LIKE EIGHT FEET FROM TOP OF RAIL WHERE WE HAD TO CLEAR FOR UTILITIES.

SO NOW WE'RE CLEARING THAT MUCH FOR UTILITIES.

BUT RADIO FEED, WE CAN ACTUALLY PROBABLY CUT THAT IN HALF.

SO THOSE UTILITIES WITHIN FOUR TO EIGHT FEET, NOW THOSE UTILITIES NO LONGER HAVE TO BE RELOCATED.

SO THE CONTRACTORS ACTUALLY LOOKING AT THAT RIGHT NOW, UM, TO TRY TO DO THE NEXT PHASE TO ACTUALLY DO THE DESIGN SO THAT WE CAN START SAVING A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF COST.

NOW, IT'S NOT GONNA COMPROMISE OUR RESILIENCY IN TERMS OF HOW THE SYSTEM ACTUALLY RUNS.

UM,

[01:05:01]

THOSE ARE SOME THINGS THAT WE'RE GONNA WORK OUT WITH THEM.

AND ALSO, LIKE WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT IN TERMS OF THE BIG PICTURE, IT KIND OF ALLOWS THE DESIGN TO GO A LOT, A LOT.

IT HELPS IT TO GO A LOT MORE, UM, STREAMLINED SO THAT WE CAN BE ABLE TO DO LESS WORK IN TERMS OF UTILITY RELOCATIONS.

I'LL PAUSE THERE FOR A SECOND AND SEE IF YOU GUYS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.

ALSO HAS OPERATING CONSIDERATIONS OF OPERATING YOUR OWN DUCK BANK AND POWER SUPPLIES IS A DIFFERENT PROFILE FROM A STAFFING STANDPOINT THAN JUST GETTING THE POWER FROM AUSTIN ENERGY AT EACH OF THE KEY POINTS.

SO WE'RE, WE'RE THINKING ABOUT ALL OF THOSE, NOT ONLY NEAR TERM IMPLICATIONS, BUT THE LONG TERM AS WELL.

AND THE MEDIUM VOLTAGE RING, UH, ACTUALLY HAS A HIGHER VOLTAGE THAN THE RADIAL FEED OPTION.

SO FROM AN OPERATIONAL MAINTENANCE PERSPECTIVE, YOU'RE HAVING TO HAVE DIFFERENT EXPERTISE IN MAINTAINING THE SYSTEM, DIFFERENT KIND OF SAFETY PROCEDURES, AND THERE'S DIFFERENT KIND OF STEP DOWN EQUIPMENT WE WOULD NEED TO INSTALL, INSTALL TO CHANGE THE VOLTAGE DOWN TO WHAT WE'RE USING FOR THE OVERHEAD LINE.

SO THAT'S, WE'RE, WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THIS ONE.

IF I UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY, JUST REAL QUICK, YOU MENTIONED ALVIN, THAT WE HAVE TO RELOCATE UTILITIES HORIZONTALLY SO THAT WE CLEAR THE GUIDEWAY MM-HMM .

BUT ALSO VERTICALLY, YOU'RE ALSO TALKING ABOUT THE DEPTH AND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO IMPACT BY GOING THROUGH THE SYSTEM FROM A VERTICAL PERSPECTIVE.

SO YOU'RE SAYING THAT IF WE HAD THE, THE DIFFERENT POWER DISTRIBUTION WOULD FORCE US TO GO DEEPER, EXCAVATE DEEPER? YES.

IS THAT WHAT YOU WERE SAYING? IT IT REQUIRED, IT REQUIRED MORE INFRASTRUCTURE TO ACTUALLY CARRY THAT AMOUNT OF POWER? YES.

YOU UNDERSTAND? GOT IT.

I UNDERSTAND.

SO WE HAD A, WE HAD A DEEPER, A DEEPER SECTION BASICALLY.

AND SO WE'RE NOW WITH, WITH THE RADIAL FEED, WE, WE DON'T NEED AS MUCH.

SO NOW WE CAN SHRINK THAT SECTION.

SO ANYTHING AT THE CROSSINGS, ANY PERPENDICULAR UTILITIES AS AN EXAMPLE THAT CROSS AND THEY WERE IN, THAT WE MAY NOT EVEN HAVE TO RELOCATE THOSE ANYMORE WITHIN THAT, THAT TOP, YOU KNOW, FROM THE FOUR TO EIGHT FEET DOWN BASICALLY, WHICH SOUNDS REALLY GREAT.

UM, AND THE THING I'VE ALSO KEPT KEEP ASKING THE TEAM TO LOOK AT VERTICALLY IS ARE WE GIVING OURSELVES ENOUGH SPACE TO HAVE SOLID ROOT BALLS OF TREES ALONG THIS ALIGNMENT? SO LET'S NOT LOSE SIGHT OF THAT.

THAT IS, WE SAW ONE THING, WE'RE NOT CREATING A DIFFERENT CHALLENGE.

ACTUALLY ORIGINALLY, ORIGINALLY BUILT TO FUNCTION LIKE A HIGHWAY.

SO I APPRECIATE THE EXPLANATION.

OKAY, THANK YOU.

AN EXCITING COMPONENT OF THAT.

UM, THE ORDINANCE AMENDMENT I MENTIONED EARLIER, HELPS, UM, CONTRIBUTE TO WHAT YOU JUST ASKED ABOUT IN TERMS OF DEFINING, UM, REQUIREMENTS RELATED TO THE UTILITIES THAT CAN HELP US PROVISION FOR TREES AND, AND KIND OF MAKE EVERYTHING WORK IN THAT CONSTRAINED SPACE.

ALRIGHT, SO I'M GONNA BRING US, UM, A LITTLE OUT OF THE, THE WEEDS THAT WE WERE JUST INTO AND, AND BACK TO, UH, A HIGHER LEVEL AND KIND OF REMINDING US THAT LIGHT RAIL IS, IS REALLY MORE THAN JUST MOBILITY OPTIONS.

UH, IT'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND CITY BUILDING AND THE, UM, SUCCESS OF ACCOMPLISHING THAT REQUIRES CLOSE COORDINATION WITH THE SURROUNDING ENVIRONMENT THAT WE ARE BUILDING WITHIN.

AND SO WE HAVE SET UP A STRUCTURE TO ENSURE CLOSE COORDINATION WITH OUR INJ ADJACENT DEVELOPERS, UM, BOTH BEFORE THEY ARE EVEN SUBMITTING SITE PLANS AS PART OF THE SITE PLAN REVIEW PROCESS INTEGRATED WITH THE CITY AND PLANNING FOR CONSTRUCTION.

UM, WE HEARD JUST THE OTHER DAY FROM ONE OF THE MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS ALONG THE LINE ALONG EAST RIVERSIDE THAT THEY'RE MO MOVING FULL STEAM AHEAD AND THEY JUST NEED THE TRAIN TO MAKE IT ALL WORK.

SO WE REALLY VIEW IT AS ONE INTEGRATED FABRIC, AND WE ARE ARE GRATEFUL TO PARTNER WITH THESE ENTITIES, UH, AS ULTIMATELY IT'S A SINGLE EXPERIENCE FOR AUSTINITES AS WE INTEGRATE INTO OUR, OUR ENVIRONMENT.

CAN I SHARE ONE MORE QUESTION, PLEASE.

UM, SO LINDSAY, I THINK YOU AND I HAVE HAD THIS DISCUSSION BEFORE AS IT RELATES TO JUST PEDESTRIAN, I KNOW IN TERMS OF LINKING THESE BUSINESSES AND FROM THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STANDPOINT, BUT ALSO WHEN YOU HAVE A RAIL LINE, SOMETIMES IT TRAVERSES DOWN THE MIDDLE OF A MAJOR THOROUGHFARE.

YOU KNOW, MY EXPERIENCE HAVE BEEN IN, BEEN IN DALLAS, THERE ARE PARTS OF THE COMMUNITY THAT REALLY GET CUT OFF FROM ONE ONE ANOTHER.

AND I, I KNOW THAT'S AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT TO US SPECIFICALLY IN SOME OF THESE BUILDINGS OR RESIDENTIAL.

UH, AND THESE, THESE AREAS ARE RESIDENTIAL IN NATURE AND JUST THE CONTINUED ACCESS FOR THOSE INDIVIDUALS TO BE ABLE TO MAKE IT TO STORES, TO, UM, SHOPPING TO JUST THEIR EVERYDAY LEISURE FOR PARKS AND WHATEVER.

SO I I JUST, CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT AND REMIND ME KIND OF HOW WE'RE TAKING THOSE KIND OF THINGS INTO CONSIDERATION SPECIFICALLY ALONG LIKE EXACTLY WHERE THE, THE TRAIN'S GONNA GO RIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE OF A ROAD AND YOU DON'T HAVE A LOT OF CROSSINGS FOR PEDESTRIANS.

RIVERSIDE IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF THAT.

YOU HAVE A VERY WIDE RIGHT OF WAY.

UM, IT WAS

[01:10:01]

I MEAN, YOU EVEN SEE IT PLEASANT VALLEY.

YOU HAVE THOSE KIND OF U-TURNS THAT YOU SEE MORE COMMON WITH HIGHWAYS AND, AND INTERSTATES AND ALL OF THAT IS RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF NEIGHBORHOODS AND CONNECTING PEOPLE FROM, YOU KNOW, THEIR HOMES TO JOBS, TO THEIR GROCERY STORES AND SCHOOLS.

AND, AND IT CREATES A, YOU KNOW, EVEN WITHOUT THE LIGHT RAIL, IT ACTUALLY CREATES A VERY CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENT OF CONNECTING PEOPLE BOTH ACROSS THE ROADWAY AND EVEN ALONG THE ROADWAY.

AND SO WE HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT HOW WE IMPROVE MOBILITY FOR ALL MODES.

UM, WE'RE MAINTAINING VEHICULAR CAPACITY, WE'RE PUTTING THE LIGHT RAIL IN THE MIDDLE, AND WE ARE SUBSTANTIALLY IMPROVING THE BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN INFRASTRUCTURE IN THAT ENTIRE CORRIDOR WHERE YOU DON'T ACTUALLY HAVE CROSSWALKS, YOU KNOW, VERY FREQUENT BECAUSE IT'S NOT LIKE DOWNTOWN CITY BLOCKS WHERE YOU HAVE THEM, YOU KNOW, EVERY 250 FEET.

UH, THEY CAN BE, YOU KNOW, THOUSANDS OF FEET OR MORE APART.

AND SO WITH THE LIGHT RAIL, UH, WE ARE BUILDING A SHADED BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN PATH THAT CONNECTS ALONG, UM, AS WELL AS THE NORMAL CITY, YOU KNOW, SIDEWALKS ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE CURB.

AND IT'S NOT JUST TO BRING PEOPLE SAFELY TO THE LIGHT RAIL STATIONS, IT'S TO CONNECT THEM SAFELY THROUGH THE ENTIRE CORRIDOR SO THAT WE AREN'T SEPARATING COMMUNITIES AS YOU NOTE.

AND, AND WOULD BE HAPPY TO PROVIDE YOU SOME MORE INFORMATION ON THAT IN THE FUTURE AS WELL.

UM, THIS IS ANOTHER ONE THAT I DON'T HAVE A GREAT SEGUE FOR.

SO LET'S JUST JUMP INTO IT.

UH, AS WE PLAN FOR NOT ONLY CONSTRUCTION, WE NEED TO ALWAYS BE THINKING ABOUT THE ULTIMATE SERVICE THAT'S GOING TO BE DELIVERED.

AND SO WE HAVE ESTABLISHED A PROCESS AND COLLABORATION WITH BOTH OF OUR PARTNERS AT THE CITY AND CAP METRO TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE AT ALL STAGES OF THIS WORK.

UH, WE HAVE EMBEDDED OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE INTO VARIOUS DESIGN FUNCTIONS YOU SAW IN THAT FUNCTIONAL ORGANIZATION EARLIER.

NOT ONLY DO WE HAVE OPERATIONS WORKING GROUPS THAT MEET REGULARLY TO ADDRESS DIFFERENT DESIGN IDEAS, EVEN SOME OF THE EXAMPLES THAT WERE DISCUSSED TODAY, THEY GET BROUGHT TO THAT GROUP TO SAY, HEY, IS THERE AN OPERATIONAL, UM, IMPACT OR, OR TRADE OFF, UH, ASSOCIATED WITH THIS IDEA BEING CONSIDERED? WE ALSO HAVE THAT BUILT INTO OUR FEDERAL, UM, PROCESS FOR THE VARIOUS MANAGEMENT PLANS THAT REQUIRE US TO SAY, THIS IS HOW WE'RE GOING TO OPERATE AND MAINTAIN THE SYSTEM.

AND THOSE ARE CRITICAL COMPONENTS.

UM, AND JEN, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANNA MENTION HOW THAT RELATES TO OUR NEXT STEP IN THE CAPITAL INVESTMENT GRANT PROCESS.

UH, WELL, IT'S JUST PART OF THE DUE DILIGENCE THAT WE'LL BE DOING OVER THE NEXT YEAR, KINDA LOOKING AT HOW WE ACTUALLY EXECUTE THE OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE.

UM, AND SO THAT'S THE WORK RIGHT NOW IS WORKING TOGETHER WITH CAP METRO WITH THE CITY TO EVALUATE THE DIFFERENT OPTIONS, DIFFERENT OPTIONS FOR, FOR EXAMPLE, ARE THERE CERTAIN THINGS WE WOULD OUTSOURCE, UM, AND TO REVIEW THAT INFORMATION TOGETHER AND DEVELOP A RECOMMENDATION FOR GOING FORWARD.

I THINK WITH REGARD TO THE FTA PIECE, IT'S JUST WORKING TOWARDS THAT, WORKING TOGETHER TOWARDS IT, UM, AND BEING THOUGHTFUL AND ARRIVING AT THE BEST OPTION FOR AUSTIN.

AND JUST BEFORE WE MOVE FORWARD, I KNOW BOARD MEMBER HORN, YOU HAVE YOUR HAND UP, UM, AND IF WE NEED TO REWIND TO ANOTHER SLIDE, HAPPY TO DO THAT.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

UH, WELL FIRST, UH, THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR.

THANK YOU FOR THIS GREAT PRESENTATION.

IT'S, UH, SUPER INFORMATIVE AND I APPRECIATE IT.

BUT, UM, JUST BACK TO THE LAST SLIDE, UM, I WAS JUST WONDERING IF, UM, YOU COULD EXPAND JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE, UM, BECAUSE YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT, UH, YOU, I THINK YOU USED THE TERM PARTNERSHIP, UM, AND, UM, I WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD EXPAND A LITTLE BIT MORE ON THE PARTNERSHIP FOR 13 AIRPORT, UM, EXPANSION.

UH, SURE.

SO WE, ALTHOUGH THE PHASE ONE PROJECT, UH, THAT WE'RE ADVANCING AT THIS STAGE TERMINATES AT THE EAST END, AT THE YELLOW JACKET STATION OR JUST SHY OF 71, WE ARE CONTINUOUSLY PLANNING TO BE PREPARED FOR THAT PRIORITY EXTENSION TO THE AIRPORT.

AND SO COORDINATING VERY CLOSELY WITH, UH, THE AIRPORT EXPANSION TEAM AS THEY PLAN FOR THE, THE MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR GROWTH, UM, NEEDED FOR AUSTIN AND, AND ADDING GATES AS WELL AS A NEW ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURE HALL TO ENSURE THAT ULTIMATELY THERE IS A SEAMLESS PASSENGER CONNECTION WHEN ONCE THAT EXTENSION FOR LIGHT RAIL IS ACCOMPLISHED.

UM, WE'D BE HAPPY IF THERE ARE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS ON THAT TO FOLLOW UP WITH THE BOARD ON HOW WE ARE COORDINATING THAT CONNECTION

[01:15:01]

OKAY, THANK YOU.

OKAY, SO O AND M, JEN MENTIONED WE HAVE TO HAVE A, WELL, NOT ONLY DO WE NEED A CLEAR PLAN TO ACTUALLY OPERATE, WE NEED A CLEAR PLAN TO COMMUNICATE TO OUR FUNDING PARTNERS.

AND THAT PLAN IS NEEDED FOR THE NEXT STEP IN THE FEDERAL FUNDING PROCESS, UM, WHICH WE HAVE TO SUBMIT THOSE ELEMENTS EARLY NEXT YEAR.

SO TO REACH THAT, UM, WE HAVE LAID OUT A MULTI-STEP PROCESS THAT WILL CULMINATE IN BRINGING A RECOMMENDATION FOR THE OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE DELIVERY MODEL TO OUR A TP BOARD THIS FALL.

AND WE ARE EXCITED TO BE KICKING OFF, UM, AS WE SPEAK SOME OUTREACH TO BOTH PEER AGENCIES AND INDUSTRY CONTRACTORS, UM, SIMILAR TO HOW WE LEARNED ABOUT DELIVERY MODELS, YOU KNOW, FOR DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION, A SIMILAR PROCESS TO LEARN FROM OTHERS IN THEIR, UM, BEST PRACTICES TO INFORM OUR RECOMMENDATIONS AND BEGINNING THAT WORK.

UM, AS I SAID, AS WE SPEAK THIS SUMMER, WE ARE DOING ALL OF THAT HAND IN HAND WITH CAP METRO AND THE CITY AND, AND ALL JOINING TOGETHER IN THIS LEARNING, UM, TO HELP US REACH A RECOMMENDATION TO BRING TO OUR BOARD THIS FALL.

ALL RIGHT.

AND, AND THAT BRINGS US TO THE END OF THAT GROUP OF TOPICS IF THERE'S ANY OTHER QUESTIONS AND THEN WE HAVE JUST TWO MORE FOR YOU.

THAT'S GREAT.

THINGS THAT HAVE HELPED THEM IF THEY'VE EXPERIENCED CONSTRUCTION AND JUST UNDERSTANDING, UM, REALLY WE WERE ALSO TRYING TO UNDERSTAND VISITORS, LOCAL FOLKS, LIKE THEY'RE REALLY GIVING US REALLY GOOD INTEL ON HOW THEIR BUSINESSES RUN, AND WE'RE USING THAT AS WE CONSIDER THE PROGRAM ELEMENTS.

ALL RIGHT, THANKS Y'ALL.

AND FRANCE? UH, YEAH, FRANCIS AND ZA.

SO WE'RE GONNA DO A LITTLE SWAP OUT AGAIN, .

UM, UH, AND WHILE THAT'S HAPPENING, I'LL, I'LL SAY THAT WE'RE ALWAYS ENGAGED IN THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT , YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALWAYS IN THAT MODE.

UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALWAYS TABLING, WE'RE TALKING TO NEIGHBORHOODS, UM, GOING TO MEETINGS AND LETTING PEOPLE KNOW WHAT THE LATEST IS WITH THE PROJECT.

UM, AND CERTAINLY YOU CAN HEAR FROM ALL OF THIS THAT THERE'S A LOT OF WORK UNDERWAY.

AND SO WE'RE PLANNING OUT KIND OF OUR NEXT MAJOR OUTREACH, UM, KIND OF ONCE WE'VE REACHED SOME MILESTONES IN DESIGN, SO WE, WE CAN SHARE, UH, WITH MORE FOLKS KIND OF WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.

UH, BUT TODAY WE WANNA FOCUS ON A COUPLE OF AREAS WHERE WE ARE KINDA OUT THERE.

ONE IS OUR OUTREACH TO BUSINESSES, AND THEN THE SECOND ONE IS OUR PUBLIC ART PROGRAM.

SO FRANCIS AND ALPHONS, DO YOU WANNA INTRODUCE YOURSELVES TO GET STARTED? YES.

UM, AND I AM THE BUSINESS SUPPORT MANAGER.

MY NAME'S ALFON SMIT, AND I AM THE ART PROGRAM MANAGER FOR A TP.

AND SO LAST TIME I WAS HERE, I TOLD YOU ABOUT SOME OF THE OUTREACH THAT WE WERE GOING TO ENGAGE IN ON DOING SOME OF THE BLOCK WALKING.

AND SO I JUST WANTED TO SHARE, UM, A PROGRESS THERE.

UM, WE HAVE CONTACTED HER, UH, OVER 600 PLUS BUSINESSES ALONG THE ALIGNMENT WITH OUR DURING OUR BLOCK WALKING, AND WE'VE ALREADY COLLECTED OVER 60 SURVEY RESPONSES.

UM, THE SURVEY WILL BE OPEN, UM, UNTIL JULY 15TH.

UM, AND AS YOU CAN SEE, THERE'S A PICTURE HERE OF SOME OF OUR TEAM OUT THERE, BOOTS ON THE GROUND.

UM, AND IT WAS, UH, ONLY THING I'LL SAY IS THAT WE'RE ALSO FOLLOWING UP SOME OF THE BUSINESSES WHERE WE LIKE DELIVERED.

WE HAD A HANDOUT AND WE DELIVERED THE SURVEY.

UM, BUT THIS WAS THE REAL WORLD RELATIONSHIP BUILDING WAS REALLY USEFUL.

WHILE WE DID TALK TO EMPLOYEES WHILE WE WERE OUT THERE, WE TALKED TO REAL BUSINESS OWNERS AND WERE ABLE, UM, TO GET THEIR INPUT IN PERSON AND HAVE REAL CONVERSATIONS ALONG WITH THE GOAL, WHICH WAS TO FILL OUT A SURVEY.

UM, ALONG THE WAY WE ALSO, AS MENTIONED BEFORE, WE'VE DONE FOCUS GROUPS, BUT RECENTLY AS WELL WE ENGAGED WITH THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND THE LIGHT RAIL ADVISORY GROUP.

AND SO SOME OF WHAT WE'VE ALREADY HEARD, JUST KIND OF TO SHARE, UM, BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS ARE CONCERNED ABOUT DISRUPTIONS, UM, NUANCES, UM, UH, DUE TO CONSTRUCTION, CUSTOMER RETENTION, CONSISTENT ACCESS TO INFORMATION, PROPER NOTICE TO ALLOW TIME TO PLAN, AND THEN FINANCIAL CUSHION TO HELP WITH, UH, DISRUPTION ACCESS BEING REALLY THE TOP PRIORITY THAT WE'RE HEARING.

AND ALSO REALLY ASKING A TP TO CONSIDER COMMUNICATION AND PREDICTABILITY AS FOUNDATIONAL NEEDS.

AND LASTLY, CUSTOMER BEHAVIOR REALLY DRIVES OUTCOMES.

SO THINKING A LOT ABOUT THIS PROGRAM AND HOW WE CAN, UH, SUPPORT THE BUSINESSES IN THE WAY THAT CUSTOMERS MOVE ABOUT DURING CONSTRUCTION.

AND SO WE JUST WANTED TO KIND OF SHARE WHAT WE'RE THINKING.

YOU KNOW, WE'RE STILL EXPLORING AND KIND OF TAKING IN THIS INPUT AND INFORMATION, BUT WE JUST WANNA GET AT A HIGH LEVEL SO WE'RE EXPLORING, UM, WHAT TECHNICAL ASSISTANT PROGRAMS AND FEASIBILITY, UH, FINANCIAL PROGRAMS COULD LOOK LIKE.

AND JUST TO BE CLEAR, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE IS LIKE YOUR BUSINESS OPERATIONS AND PLANNING GRANT WRITING, WHICH IS SOMETHING WE'VE HEARD A LOT FROM BUSINESSES, MARKETING WEBSITE AND SEO SUPPORT, BUT ALSO THAT IDEA OF DRIVING CUSTOMERS TO BUSINESS, RIGHT? SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PROMOTIONAL EVENTS, INCENTIVES AND MARKETING CAMPAIGNS, AND REALLY WE WERE ASKING DIRECT BUSINESSES TO GIVE US IDEAS.

SO THEY'RE TELLING US REAL

[01:20:01]

UM, AND THE LAST FEW THINGS IS PROVIDING CLEAR AND REGULAR PROACTIVE COMMUNICATION AND THE WORK WITH OUR CONTRACTORS, WHO YOU'VE HEARD FROM TODAY ABOUT MAINTAINING ACCESS AND MITIGATE, UM, MAINTAINING ACCESS AND MITIGATING IMPACTS.

AND SO WE'LL BE BACK LATER THIS YEAR TO KIND OF REALLY LAY OUT THE PLAN FOR THE PROGRAM.

I DUNNO IF ANYONE HAS QUESTIONS, BECAUSE I THINK THE NEXT SLIDE IS ALFONS.

WELL, IT IS MY PLEASURE TO, UM, BE WORKING, UH, ON THIS PROGRAM.

AND TO GIVE YOU GUYS A COUPLE OF BRIEF UPDATES ON IT.

UH, THIS PROGRAM IS ACTUALLY GOING TO BE A, A COORDINATED EFFORT ACROSS, UH, MANY PROJECT DISCIPLINES FROM DESIGN AND ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION TO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND PROCUREMENT, OF COURSE, WITH OUR ARTIST COMMUNITY AND THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE.

WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE COMMISSION ARTWORKS THAT AUSTIN CAN BE PROUD OF, BUT TO DO IT IN A WAY THAT'S SAFE, UH, SUSTAINABLE, UH, CONSTRUCTABLE, UM, AND, UM, ALSO CAN BE DELIVERED ALONG WITH THE CAPITAL, UH, SCHEDULE.

UH, WHEN WE DID SOME INITIAL RESEARCH INTO NATIONAL TRANSIT ART PROGRAMS IN 2025, WE SAW THREE EMERGING THEMES THAT ARE NOW OUR PRIORITIES FOR THIS PROGRAM AS WE CONTINUE TO DEVELOP IT.

THE FIRST THING WE SAW WAS THAT STRONG ART PROGRAMS BUILD A STRONG ARTIST COHORT, WHICH WE ABSOLUTELY WANT TO DO BY SELECTING WELL AND SELECTING ARTISTS WHO HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO THE WORK, BUT ALSO LOOKING BROADLY AT A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT ARTISTS WHO HAVE THE ABILITY TO, UH, UH, WORK ON COMMISSIONS FOR THE, UH, FOR THE PROGRAM.

WE ALSO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE SUPPORTING ARTISTS THROUGH WHAT WILL BE, UH, VERY COMPLEX, UH, CAPITAL PROGRAM.

SO WE WANT TO GIVE THEM SUPPORT AND, AND MENTORSHIP THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS.

UH, WE WANT TO FOSTER COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND CONNECTION COLLABORATING WITH RIDERS, RESIDENTS AND ORGANIZATIONS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT JUST GETTING INPUT, THAT WE'RE REALLY CONSIDERING THEIR INPUT AS PART OF THE DELIVERY OF THE PUBLIC ARTWORK ITSELF.

UM, AND TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PUBLIC ARTWORKS REFLECT THE COMMUNITIES WHERE THEY'RE GOING TO BE, UH, INSTALLED.

AND, AND LASTLY, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE DEVELOP A PROGRAM STRUCTURE THAT IS BUILT FOR THE LONG HAUL.

SO THAT'S IMMEDIATE GOVERNMENT GOVERNANCE, BUT THAT'S ALSO THINKING THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS THAT COLLECTIONS MANAGEMENT, DURABLE MATERIALS, UH, DSES POLICIES, AND ALL OF THE THINGS THAT YOU SHOULD BE THINKING ABOUT AT THE BEGINNING AS YOU BUILD A PUBLIC ART, UH, PROGRAM.

SO WE PLAN TO COMMISSION PERMANENT WORKS SYSTEM WIDE THROUGHOUT THE ALIGNMENT.

UH, WE WILL BE COMMISSIONING WORKS AT ALL STATIONS AT LADY BIRD LAKE BRIDGE, THE GREENWAY CORRIDOR SYSTEM SITES THAT THE OMF.

WE'RE ALSO CONSIDERING TEMPORARY ACTIVATIONS DURING CONSTRUCTION AND AFTER THE, UH, SYSTEM IS IN SERVICE, UH, THAT IS SO THAT WE CAN GENERATE SOME VISIBILITY AND BUILD, UH, CONNECTIONS WITH THE COMMUNITIES ALONG, UH, THE ALIGNMENT.

UH, RIGHT NOW WE HAVE SOME WORK UNDERWAY WITH ARC AND CAP, UH, TO DETERMINE THE, UH, ART OPPORTUNITY ZONES AT EACH OF THE SITES.

AND AS PART OF THAT, UH, PROCESS, THAT SERIES OF ETTES, WE ARE THINKING THROUGH THESE, UH, COMMISSION TYPOLOGIES.

SO THE FIRST IS INTEGRATED ARTWORK.

SO THAT'S ARTWORK EMBEDDED INTO, UH, INTO THE ARCHITECTURE ITSELF, UH, INCORPORATED INTO THE PROJECT DESIGN.

SO THAT'S LIGHTING SYSTEMS, BRIDGE RAILINGS, GUARDRAILS, GATEWAY FEATURES, ENTRY MARKERS, UH, SCREEN WALLS, THAT IS AN EXAMPLE OF A PEER ORGANIZATION THAT WE LOOKED AT AT SOUND TRANSIT, UH, LEO BURKE IN REDMOND, UH, UH, WASHINGTON, THAT IS A PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE.

YOU WORKED VERY EARLY ON IN THE PROCESS WITH THE ARCHITECTS TO DESIGN THAT AS PART OF THAT BRIDGE STRUCTURE.

UH, THE NEXT, UH, TYPOLOGY THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT ARE FREESTANDING ARTWORKS.

SO THESE ARE SELF-SUPPORTING SITE SPECIFIC WORKS THAT COMMAND THEIR OWN FOOTPRINT.

SO WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THESE, YOU THINK ABOUT SCULPTURES, MONUMENTS, AND OTHER CREATIVE INSTALLATIONS.

THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL WORK RIGHT HERE IN AUSTIN, THE PETALS AT THE BLANTON MUSEUM, UH, WHICH IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF HOW BEAUTIFUL FREESTANDING ARTWORKS, UH, CAN BE AS SIGNATURE PIECES AS WELL.

THE NEXT, UH, TYPOLOGY, UH, TYPE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS OVERLAY.

UM, SO THIS IS, UH, OVERLAYING ARTWORK TO EXISTING SURFACES.

SO WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THIS TYPOLOGY, YOU THINK ABOUT MURALS, MOSAIC TILES, WRAPS, ETCH GLASS.

THIS IS ANOTHER WONDERFUL AUSTIN, I HOPE YOU'RE FOLLOWING A THEME, UH, ARTIST.

UM, COMMISSIONED A MURAL ACROSS, UH, THE CEILING OF THE WISHBONE BRIDGE TUNNEL.

AND ALONG THE SIDES, UH, INTEGRATED MOSAIC TILES THAT SPEAK TO THE CULTURE AND HISTORY OF AUSTIN.

VERY BEAUTIFUL.

I JUST GOT A CHANCE TO TAKE A LOOK AT IT.

UM, WE WERE LOOKING AT,

[01:25:01]

IT IS BREATHTAKING.

IT IS BEAUTIFUL.

UM, FUNCTIONAL ARTWORK.

SO THAT'S ART INTEGRATED INTO FUNCTIONAL STATION ELEMENTS, SO ARTISTICALLY DESIGNED, BUT HAS SOME TYPE OF FUNCTIONALITY.

SO THIS IS, THESE ARE YOUR SEATING ELEMENTS, SHADE STRUCTURES, LIGHTING, PLAY ELEMENTS, WAYFINDING.

THIS IS ANOTHER TERRIFIC AUSTIN EXAMPLE IN DOWNTOWN AUSTIN OPEN ROOM.

THIS, UH, SPACE SERVES AS A, UH, GATHERING SPOT FOR ALL TYPES OF EVENTS.

IT, IT, IT TAKES ON THE SHAPE OF A, A, A DINING ROOM WITH LAMPS AND KIND OF GIVES YOU THAT COZY HOME FILL.

UH, IT'S A REALLY GREAT PIECE OF WORK.

AND OF COURSE, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, TEMPORARY AND ONGOING PROGRAMMING.

THIS IS TIME LIMITED ARTIST LED OR COMMUNITY LED COMMUNITY ACTIVATIONS.

UH, THIS PARTICULAR, UH, PIECE IS FROM WATERWORKS, WHICH IS A VIDEO AND LIGHT PROJECTION, UH, EVENT ALONG LADY BIRD LAKE.

I'M SURE IT'S GORGEOUS.

I LOOK FORWARD TO ATTENDING IT IN THE FALL.

WE HAD SOMETHING SIMILAR IN NEW ORLEANS, AND IT IS A TERRIFIC SHOW.

THERE ARE ALSO OTHER TYPES OF ONGOING TEMPORARY PROGRAMMING LIKE TEMPLE, UH, SOME, UH, POP-UP, UH, INSTALLATIONS THAT HAPPEN THROUGHOUT THE CITY.

SO WE'RE GONNA BE MAKING SURE THAT WHEN THE, UH, WHEN THE SYSTEM ITSELF IS IN SERVICE, THAT WE HAVE PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR PERFORMANCE AND OTHER CREATIVE, UM, ACTIVATIONS ALONG THE ALIGNMENT.

ALRIGHT, LOOKING FORWARD TO THE FUTURE.

RIGHT NOW, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, WE ARE WORKING WITH THE DESIGN TEAMS TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL ART ZONES THROUGH A SERIES OF CHARETTES.

WE ARE TARGETING THE FALL FOR A PROGRAM LAUNCH WHERE WE WILL ENGAGE THE ARTS COMMUNITY, THE PUBLIC, TO GATHER MORE INPUT AND BUILD AWARENESS OF THE PROGRAM AND GENERATE INTEREST NOT ONLY IN A PROGRAM, BUT IN THE ARTIST OPPORTUNITY.

AND SO WE'LL BE BACK LATER THIS YEAR WITH MORE UPDATES, UH, ABOUT THE PROGRAM ITSELF.

ANY QUESTIONS? HE BETTER HURRY OR THAT, THAT SOUND ISN'T PART OF THE, UH, QUESTION.

YES, PLEASE.

SO AS IT RELATES TO ARTS, I JUST WANTED TO, IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY, AND YOU MAY HAVE, I'D JUST ENCOURAGE YOU TO CONNECT WITH THE CITY'S ARTS, CULTURE, MUSIC, UM, AND ENTERTAINMENT GROUP.

THEY'VE GOT AN AMAZING PROGRAM ALREADY UNDERWAY WITH A LOT OF CONNECTION TO LOCAL ARTISTS THAT I THINK COULD, YOU KNOW, DOVETAIL REALLY NICELY INTO WHICH YOU'RE TRYING TO DO.

AND IF THERE'S ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO LEVERAGE SOME SYNERGY TO MAKE IT EASIER AND BETTER FOR, YOU KNOW, THE, THE RAIL PROJECT, THEN WE CERTAINLY WANT TO DO THAT.

SO I JUST WANT TO PUT THAT OUT THERE.

OH, ABSOLUTELY.

I, I WILL TAKE THAT ALL DAY.

, I'VE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO TALK TO A COUPLE OF FOLKS, UH, THAT ARE A PART OF THE IPP PROGRAM AND IT, IT APPEARS THAT EVERYONE'S OPEN ARMS AND REALLY WANT TO COLLABORATE ON PROGRAMMING.

YEAH, I'D LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR THAT OFFER.

I THINK THE CITY HAS A REALLY ROBUST PROGRAM.

ONE OF THE CHALLENGES THAT, FROM A LESSONS LEARNED PERSPECTIVE IS THE MAINTAINABILITY OF THIS, UH, THIS ART, ESPECIALLY IN THE RIGHT OF WAY.

SOME PART SOME ART IS LOVE TO DEATH, .

SO WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT IT CAN BE SUSTAINED AND CONTINUE TO BE LOVED.

THE, YOU MENTIONED SOMETHING REALLY INTERESTING ABOUT EVEN THE DEES OF THE ART.

SO LIKE DECOMMISSIONING SOMETIMES THE ART OR WHAT REVOLVING ART, HOW WELL IS EMBEDDED WITHIN THE PROGRAM, AND HOW EASY TO NOT ONLY MAINTAIN BUT TO REMOVE AT A TIME MM-HMM .

WHEN NEEDED.

I THINK IT'S ALSO REALLY IMPORTANT.

SO I THINK THESE ARE THE PIECES THAT REALLY ARE INSPIRING AND GIVE A LOT OF PEOPLE THE, THE SENSE OF BELONGING IN OUR CITY AND OUR STATIONS.

SO I REALLY COMMEND YOU ALL FOR NOT MAKING THIS AN AFTERTHOUGHT, BUT REALLY MAKING THIS A CONSCIENTIOUS EFFORT FROM THE BEGINNING.

UM, I'M BIASED ON THAT ALSO, THE PROJECTED ART IN A WAY BECAUSE IT IS A FAL AND SO IT'S A POINT IN TIME THAT IF YOU MISS IT, YOU KNOW, IT GIVES AN EXCITEMENT ABOUT IT.

AND I'VE BEEN INVOLVED FROM WATER WORK THROUGH DESIGN AUSTIN.

I LOVE THAT YOU PICKED UT HOOK THEM.

SO I'M GOING GONNA GIVE THE BLANTON A BIG SHOUT OUT BECAUSE IT, THESE ARE GATEWAYS.

MM-HMM .

THESE ARE REALLY IMPORTANT INTERVENTIONS THAT ARE, THEY BECOME INSTANT ICONS OF OF PEOPLE LOVING THEM.