Jul 15, 2026 Climate, Water, Environment, and Parks Committee

MEMBERS, WITH THAT, WE WILL MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER ONE, WHICH IS AN APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE MAY 18TH, 2026 MEETING.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

ALRIGHT,

[1. Approve the minutes for the May 18, 2026, meeting of the Climate, Water, Environment, and Parks Committee.]

DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THIS MOTION BY, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER UCHIN VICE CHAIR, OR SECONDED BY VICE CHAIR ELLIS? UH, WITHOUT OPPOSITION, THE MINUTES ARE APPROVED.

UH, WE'LL NOW

[2. Briefing on amendments to City Code related to Austin Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment (ACME) managing permits for special events that occur at certain parks. [Angela Means, Director; Morgan Messick, Assistant Director - ACME; Erica Shamaly - Austin Economic Development]]

MOVE TO ITEM NUMBER TWO, WHICH IS A BRIEFING ON AMENDMENTS TO CITY CODE RELATED TO THE AUSTIN ARTS, CULTURAL MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT, OR ACME MANAGING PERMITS FOR SPECIAL EVENTS THAT OCCUR AT CERTAIN PARKS.

AND WITH THAT, I SEE DIRECTOR MEANS AND HER TEAM, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER AL ALTER.

IF YOU COULD JUST ACKNOWLEDGE I'M HERE VIRTUALLY.

PERFECT ACT, UH, LET THE RECORD REFLECT THAT COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL IS IN ATTENDANCE AND HAS SUPPORTED OUR MOTION FOR APPROVING THE MINUTES.

SO YOUR WAY.

GOOD MORNING EVERYONE.

MY NAME IS AGAIN, IS ANGELA, MEANS I'M THE DIRECTOR OF ARTS CULTURE, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT DEPARTMENT.

AND I'M HERE WITH MY TEAM TO GIVE YOU A BRIEFING ON THE PROPOSED ORDINANCE UPDATES FOR THE SPECIAL EVENTS IN OUR CITY PARKS.

I'M WITH ME IS MS. ERICA SHAMALI, WHO IS THE DIVISION MANAGER OF OUR MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION.

WE ALSO HAVE MR. JOSH JACOBS, WHO WORKS WITHIN THAT DIVISION FOR THE SPECIAL EVENTS TASK, THE SPECIAL EVENTS, UH, TEAM.

WE ALSO HAVE MS, UM, MORGAN MESSICK, WHO IS THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR.

SO WE HAVE A PRESENTATION FOR YOU THAT WE'D LIKE TO WALK YOU THROUGH, UH, WITH THE DIRECTION THAT YOU ALL PROVIDED TO US THE LAST TIME YOU SAW US.

SO I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO ERICA.

HELLO, COUNCIL MEMBERS ERICA SHIAL, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION MANAGER WITH AUSTIN ARTS CULTURE MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT.

UH, THANK YOU FOR HAVING US TODAY.

ALL RIGHT, SO WE'RE GONNA JUST SHOW YOU AN EXAMPLE OF ONE OF THE BEAUTIFUL EVENTS HERE IN AUSTIN.

THIS IS ONE OF THE WATCH PARTIES FOR WORLD CUP, AND IT WAS A, YOU KNOW, A WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL DAY.

UH, BUT HOW DID WE GET HERE? THE TIMELINE TO GET TO THIS POINT WITH YOU TODAY FOR AN UPDATE? UH, THE PARKLAND EVENTS TASK FORCE, UH, MET IN 2015, UH, SPENT MANY MONTHS WORKING TOWARDS JUST ISSUES AROUND OUR CORE DOWNTOWN PARKS, ZILKER, AUDITORIUM SHORES, FIESTA GARDENS, UH, AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, TALKED ABOUT, ABOUT LOOKING AHEAD OF WHERE OUR FUTURE, YOU KNOW, LOCATIONS ARE FOR POTENTIAL EVENTS HERE IN AUSTIN.

A LOT OF, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS CAME OUT OF THAT TASK FORCE, INCLUDING ADDING, UM, RECURRING EVENTS INTO THE ORDINANCE IN CHAPTER EIGHT, WHICH IS THE PARTS ORDINANCE.

UH, AND SO AT THAT POINT, I DON'T THINK IT'S BEEN UPDATED SINCE.

UM, BUT IN 2018, UH, THIS OFFICE OF SPECIAL EVENTS, UH, WAS FORMED AND PUT INTO CHAPTER FOUR 20.

AND THEN ACME WAS FOUNDED IN 2025 IN FEBRUARY.

SO THOSE THREE MILESTONES LEAD US TO TODAY, WHICH IS TO MOVE, UM, ALL OF THE SPECIAL EVENTS PARK RELATED, UM, ORDINANCE INTO CHAPTER FOUR 20 WITH AUSTIN CENTER FOR EVENTS, WHICH IS PART OF ACME.

AND, UM, AND SO WE'RE VERY GLAD TO BE WITH YOU TODAY TO KIND OF TAKE YOU THROUGH THOSE UPDATES.

ALL RIGHT, SO WE DID COME TO YOU IN MAY, MAY 7TH, UH, WITH A DRAFT OF

[00:10:01]

A, UH, ORDINANCE UPDATE.

AND, UH, WE RECEIVED A MOTION TO ACTUALLY DO A COUPLE MORE THINGS BEFORE YOU GUYS CONSIDERED THE ACTUAL UPDATES.

SO WE WANTED TO ISSUE AN OPEN INVITATION TO CURRENT STAKEHOLDERS, LARGE SCALE EVENT PRODUCERS, UH, PARK OUR PARTNERS TO, UH, GIVE US THE INPUT ON THE ACTUAL UPDATES TO SEE WHAT THEY THINK AND IF THERE WERE ANY ADDITIONAL THINGS TO TALK THROUGH.

UM, AND THEN WE WERE SUPPOSED TO COME BACK HERE TODAY, JULY 15TH.

AND THEN IF ALL GOES WELL, WE'LL BE AT JULY 23RD WITH THE UPDATE.

UH, FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION, WE WERE ALSO TOLD TO PLEASE, UM, RELEASE THE REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS FOR AUDITORIUM SHORES, WHICH WE DID.

IT WAS POSTED MAY 22ND, IT CLOSED JUNE 11TH, IT WAS SCORED ON JUNE 12TH, AND NOTIFICATIONS WERE SENT OUT JUNE 26TH.

SO WHAT IS THE PROBLEM BEING SOLVED? UM, WE JUST WANNA BE SURE THAT IT'S VERY CLEAR TO BOTH CITY STAFF, DEPARTMENTS AND COMMUNITY, UH, ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES AND WHO'S DOING WHAT.

SO, WITH THE LIMITS STAYING IN CHAPTER EIGHT AND PARKS, IT'S SOMEWHAT CONFUSING WHEN WE COULD EASILY MOVE THEM TO THAT WHOLE SECTION INTO THE AUSTIN CENTER FOR EVENTS SECTION AND CHAPTER FOUR, TO MAKE IT VERY CLEAR TO BOTH COMMUNITY EVENT PRODUCERS, UM, OUR PARK PARTNERS AS WELL AS TO CITY STAFF.

UM, YOU KNOW, THE ROLES AND THE RESPONSIBILITIES RELATED TO SPECIAL EVENTS IN PARKS.

IF WE WERE TO LEAVE THE ORDINANCE AS IS, IT WOULD CAUSE CONFUSION.

UM, IT WOULD, UH, WE WOULD A BACK AND FORTH OF WHO DOES WHAT.

AND SO WE WANTED TO BE SURE TO MAKE IT EXTREMELY CLEAR, NOT ONLY TO COMMUNITY, TO OUR EVENT PRODUCERS AND TO OUR PARK PARTNERS, UH, BUT TO STAFF ACROSS ALL DEPARTMENTS AND TO CITY COUNCIL OF, UH, WHO DOES WHAT AND WHO'S RESPONSIBLE.

ALL RIGHT.

I'M GOING TO HAND IT OFF TO JOSH JACOBS FOR THIS NEXT SLIDE.

GOOD MORNING.

UH, SO FOR THE MEETINGS THAT WERE HELD, THESE ARE THE GENERAL TOPICS THAT WERE COVERED.

UH, THE EVENT, A LIMITS, UM, REMAINING THE SAME.

UH, FOR THE SITES THAT ARE UNDER EVENT DAY LIMITS, THE EVENT DAY TRANSFERS, UH, WE JUST TIGHTENED UP THE LANGUAGE A BIT TO TRY TO KEEP, UH, YOU KNOW, FOLKS WHO ARE AWARDED A, UH, A LOCATION TO KEEP THEM FROM BEING ABLE TO SELL OFF OR LEASE THOSE OFF.

UH, THE NON-REOCCURRING EVENTS, UM, THE LANGUAGE EXISTS ALREADY IN THE CODE, BUT WE ARE, UM, ADDING MULTIPLE DAYS TO GIVE THE CITY MANAGER AUTHORITY TO DO UP TO 25 DAYS ABOVE THE 17 LIMIT, UH, MULTIPLE DAYS IF A CITY MANAGER CHOOSES TO DO SO.

UH, THE DEFINITIONS, UM, AS WE'RE MOVING TO DIFFERENT CODE, UH, WE WANTED TO MAINTAIN THE PUBLIC RECREATION AREA, UH, AS DEFINED IN, UH, CHAPTER EIGHT AND, UH, THE CITY FACILITY, UM, TO REFLECT THE PUBLIC RECREATION AREA RATHER THAN PARKLAND.

UM, AND THEN WE UPDATED THE DEFINITION FOR A LEGACY EVENT, OR RATHER, THAT WAS NOT CHANGED, THAT WAS ADDRESSED EARLY ON, BUT, UH, THAT WAS MAINTAINING THAT 20, UM, AND, AND NO CHANGES MADE TO THAT.

THE, UH, OFFICIAL EVENT ROSTER, JUST CLEANING THAT UP TO REFLECT WHAT IS CURRENTLY HAPPENING IN AUSTIN.

UM, REMOVING EVENTS THAT NO LONGER OCCUR, UH, CLEANING UP THE NAMES AND THE NUMBER OF DAYS OF WHICH THEY HAPPEN SO THAT THE PUBLIC CAN SEE CLEARLY WHAT'S HAPPENING, UM, WHAT'S NOT CHANGING.

AS WE MENTIONED, THE, UH, THE, THE DAY LIMITS REMAIN THE SAME.

UM, AND A PR CONTINUES TO MANAGE THE PARK ONLY EVENTS.

UH, AND, UH, AND ACME WOULD BE MANAGING THE SPECIAL EVENTS.

UM, AND, UH, AND ACE REMAINS THE PERMITTING AUTHORITY WITH EVENTS.

UH, SO, UM, THE COMPETITIVE PROCESS THIS IS, IS HAS ALWAYS EXISTED.

UM, JUST CARRYING THIS OVER THAT SHOULD THE CITY MANAGER CHOOSE IF ONE OF THESE LOCATIONS FALLS UNDER THE EVENT DAY LIMITS, THAT CITY MANAGER MAY CHOOSE TO PRESENT A COMPETITIVE PROCESS TO FILL THOSE DATES.

IT IS ALREADY WITH THE RECURRING EVENTS AS WELL AS OUR FIRST AMENDMENT, UH, EVENTS.

SO WHAT'S CHANGING, AS JOSH JUST MENTIONED, UM, WE, WE ARE, UH, IT MAINTAINS THE MULTI-DAY NON-RECURRING EVENTS ALLOWED.

SO THIS GIVES CITY MANAGER THE, UH, YOU KNOW, THE FLEXIBILITY OF, UH, PROVING, UH, NON-RECURRING MULTI-DAY EVENTS RATHER THAN SINGLE DAY EVENTS.

UM, THIS IS GREAT IN TERMS OF HAVING MORE FLEXIBILITY FOR ALL KINDS OF EVENTS THAT SERVE OUR COMMUNITY.

AND, UM, AND IT ALSO FITS WELL TOO WITH THE USE OF THE PARK OF WHERE

[00:15:01]

UM, WE ARE ADDING AN ADJUSTMENT TO THE DRAGON BOAT RACE EVENT FROM A, UH, MULTI-DAY EVENT TO A SINGLE DAY EVENT.

IT HAS BEEN OPERATING LIKE THAT FOR SEVERAL YEARS.

AND AGAIN, WE WANT THE ORDINANCE TO REFLECT WHAT'S ACTUALLY OCCURRING.

AND SO THAT IS PART OF THE UPDATE.

SO FOR NEXT STEPS, AND WE'RE WORKING RIGHT NOW WITH OUR PARTNERS AT AUSTIN PARKS AND RECREATION ON ROLES, JUST CONFIRMING ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES BETWEEN ACME AND A PR STAFF OF WHO DOES WHAT, UH, RELATED TO PUBLIC EVENTS.

UM, THIS WAS RECOMMENDED BY A PR TO BE, TO BE SURE THAT IT'S CLEAR TO COMMUNITY AND TO STAFF AND TO OUR EVENT PRODUCERS AS WELL AS OUR PARK PARTNERS WHO DOES WHAT.

UM, WE WOULD ALSO LIKE TO LOOK TO THE FUTURE AND SEE WHAT, UH, 'CAUSE FRANKLY, THESE DOWNTOWN PARKS, AUDITORIUM, SHORES AND ZILKER, WE ARE AT MAXIMUM CAPACITY WITH THE APPROVED RECURRING EVENTS AS WELL AS THE ADDITION OF THE MULTI-DAY EVENT FOR THE CITY MANAGER TO APPROVE, AS WELL AS OUR FIRST AMENDMENT EVENTS THAT COME UP THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.

UM, WITH THESE EVENTS AND WITH THE, YOU KNOW, MAINTENANCE OF THE PARKS, THE TURF, WE WANNA BE SURE THAT THERE IS ENOUGH, UH, TIME FOR THE PARK TO RECOVER BETWEEN EVENTS.

AND SO WE'RE BASICALLY AT CAPACITY.

SO WHAT DO WE DO LOOKING FORWARD? BECAUSE THESE ARE WONDERFUL EVENTS, NOT ONLY FOR COMMUNITY TO ENJOY, BUT, UH, BRING A, A, A PRETTY IMPACTFUL ECONOMIC IMPACT TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

SO WE WOULD LIKE TO LOOK AHEAD AND PICK UP A ITEM THAT THE PARKLAND TASK FORCE ACTUALLY DID TALK ABOUT IN 2015, WHICH IS, WHERE IS THAT NEXT CITY PROPERTY, THAT NEXT PARK FOR THE NEXT ACL? AND SO AS WE, WE WOULD LIKE TO FORM, YOU KNOW, A GROUP WITH STAFF AND WITH COMMUNITY AND WITH EVENT PRODUCERS AND WITH NEIGHBORS TO DECIDE WHERE COULD A POTENTIAL NEW SPACE BE.

UM, IT WAS DISCUSSED, LIKE I SAID IN 2015, BUT, UH, WE HAVEN'T REALLY GOTTEN VERY FAR.

SO WE NEED TO LOOK AT, UH, A NEW LOCATION THAT IS GREAT FOR TRANSPORTATION, FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, IT HAS A GOOD IMPACT AROUND IT, YOU KNOW, BRINGS IN THE ECONOMIC IMPACT THAT WE SEE, BUT ALSO IS AN ACCESSIBLE LOCATION FOR OUR COMMUNITY.

AND SO WE WOULD HOPE, UH, THAT THAT'S OUR NEXT STEP.

AND SO ALSO AS PART OF OUR NEXT STEPS, WE'RE REVIEWING ALL CURRENT CONTRACTS WITH, UH, FOR SPECIAL EVENTS AT PARKS, JUST TO, UM, YOU KNOW, ASSURE EVERYONE WHO IS PART OF THESE CONTRACTS THAT NOTHING IS CHANGING.

THESE ARE CITY OF AUSTIN CONTRACTS, BUT ALSO GOING FORWARD, WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT WAYS THAT, UM, AND FROM A CONTRACTUAL POINT OF VIEW THAT YOU SEE THE CLEAR DEMARCATION OF ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES BETWEEN A PR AND WITH ACME.

ALRIGHT, SO HERE'S A SERIES OF QUESTIONS THAT WE DID RECEIVE FROM THE PUBLIC AT THE STAKEHOLDER SESSIONS, WHICH THERE WERE TWO.

UM, AND SO I THINK, AGAIN, ONE OF THE MOST, UH, YOU KNOW, IMPORTANT QUESTIONS IS A SECOND ONE.

WHAT WAYS CAN THE CITY PROVIDE INCENTIVES TO ORGANIZERS TO HOST EVENTS AT ALTERNATE LOCATIONS FROM DOWNTOWN? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.

AND SO WE WOULD LIKE TO WORK WITH YOU WITH OUR FELLOW DEPARTMENTS AND WITH OUR COMMUNITY AND STAKEHOLDERS TO DETERMINE WHAT IS A GOOD INCENTIVE TO INSPIRE SOMEONE TO LOOK OUTSIDE OF DOWNTOWN INTO AN ALTERNATIVE LOCATION FOR A LARGE SCALE EVENT OR FOR A COMMUNITY EVENT.

UM, THERE ARE WAYS THAT WE CAN LOOK AT FUNDING TO THE STATE OF TEXAS AND, AND OTHER WAYS THAT WE COULD LOOK AT IT.

AND SO, UM, WE DO HAVE A REAL APPETITE FROM COMMUNITY TO LOOK AHEAD.

UM, ANY OTHER THINGS YOU WANNA, UH, SPECIFICALLY LOOK AT? YEAH, UH, YEAH, I THINK THE, YOU KNOW, IT IS IMPORTANT TO, TO CALL OUT THAT, YOU KNOW, UM, THE CURRENT CONTRACTS THAT WITH THE TRAIL CONSERVANCY, THAT QUESTION THERE, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, WE ARE WORKING DILIGENTLY WITH OUR PARTNERS AND PARTNERS, UH, TO REVIEW CONTRACTS SO THAT WE CLEARLY UNDERSTAND, UM, AND CAN WORK WITH THEM, UH, FOR THEIR FUTURE SUCCESSES AND, UH, AND SUCCESS, SUCCESS IN THE, UH, IN EVENT SPACES.

UM, AND, UH, AND I THINK ALSO CONTINUING TO WORK WITH PARKS AND RECREATION TO IDENTIFY CLEAR WAYS TO MANAGE SPECIAL EVENTS ON PARKLAND BETWEEN ACME AND A PR.

YEAH, I MEAN, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT FOR COMMUNITY TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE, UM, TRANSFER OF SOME OF THESE DUTIES TO ACME IS A BENEFIT.

[00:20:01]

'CAUSE IT'S ACTUALLY, WE ARE WORKING TOGETHER WITH OUR, UM, PARTNERS IN A PR TO PROVIDE A BETTER SERVICE AND MORE WRAPAROUND SERVICE TO OUR EVENT PRODUCERS AND THE, OUR PARTNERS AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS.

AND WE'RE WORKING HAND IN HAND AND, AND IN COMMUNICATION EVERY SINGLE DAY TO ENSURE THAT NOTHING FALLS THROUGH THE CRACKS AND THAT IT'S VERY CLEAR GOING FORWARD, UH, WHO DOES WHAT.

UM, SO IT'S BEEN A VERY POSITIVE, UH, RELATIONSHIP THAT WE LOOK FORWARD TO, UH, GROWING IN THE FUTURE AS, AS THIS, AS WE DO LOOK AT NEW ALTERNATIVE LOCATIONS.

UM, AND SO HERE WE ARE, NEXT STEPS.

WE'RE HERE JULY 15TH, UH, TO PRESENT TO YOU AS WE WERE DIRECTED.

AND THEN NEXT WEEK, JULY 23RD, ON THURSDAY, WE WILL BRING THE RCA FOR THESE ORDINANCE UPDATES BACK TO CITY COUNCIL FOR CONSIDERATION.

UH, SO WE APPRECIATE YOUR TIME AND HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.

ANY QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS? OH, OH, YES.

QUESTION.

YOU CAN GO IF YOU HAVE A, A SPECIFIC LIST.

I JUST HAD ONE QUESTION, AND THAT IS, HOW WOULD WE TREAT SOMEONE WHO, THEY DON'T WANT TO BE A PERMANENT EVENT, BUT MAYBE THEY COME TO US AND SAY, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY ENVISION LIKE A TWO OR THREE YEAR, UM, WINDOW AND THEN, YOU KNOW, MOVE ON SOMEWHERE ELSE.

WOULD THAT BE RECURRING, NON-RECURRING? WHAT, WHAT WOULD, HOW WOULD THAT TYPE THAT WOULD BE NON-RECURRING AND UP TO, AND IF WE'RE LOOKING AT THE PARKS DOWNTOWN THAT ARE CURRENTLY HAVE, UM, THE LIMITATIONS IN THE CODE, UH, I WOULD SUGGEST, UH, GOING TO CITY MANAGER FOR A REQUEST OF THE, FOR THOSE YEARS TO SEE WHAT'S POSSIBLE, UH, OR LOOKING AT AN ALTERNATIVE LOCATION OUTSIDE OF THE CITY CORPS, UH, THAT PROVIDES MORE FLEXIBILITY.

JUST IT'S AVAILABLE AS IT'S AVAILABLE.

JOSH? YEAH, I AGREE WITH THAT.

THE, UH, IF, IF WE'RE LOOKING FOR AUDITORIUM SHORES, A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THAT WOULD BE LIKE THE VIVO WATCH PARTIES.

THAT HAPPENED RECENTLY.

UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAD, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS CITY MANAGER, SO THIS IS A GREAT BENEFIT TO THE CITY.

UM, WE WERE ABLE TO HOST THOSE IN AUDITORIUM SHORES.

UM, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT WE'RE ALSO VERY INTERESTED IN WORKING WITH ORGANIZERS TO FIND A LOCATION THAT BEST SUITS MM-HMM .

UH, THE TYPE OF EVENT THEY'RE LOOKING TO HOST.

UM, AND, AND THERE ARE MULTIPLE LOCATIONS THAT, YOU KNOW, ARE OFTEN OVERLOOKED BECAUSE EVERYONE WANTS THAT ICONIC ZILKER AUDITORIUM SHORES BACKDROP.

UH, BUT THERE MAY BE OTHER LOCATIONS THAT ARE MUCH BETTER SUITED FOR WHAT THEY'RE TRYING TO DO, OR MAYBE THE SIZE OF THEIR EVENT THAT COULD NOT FILL A SPACE, THAT CAPACITY.

UM, AND I'M, I'M INTERESTED IN, IN THE ANALYSIS OF THE NON DOWNTOWN SPACES.

UH, I KNOW WE HAVE SOME REALLY GREAT PARK SPACES, ESPECIALLY, UH, EAST PARKS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN, THAT HAVE VISION PLANS, BUT THEY HAVEN'T HAD THE FUNDS TO HAVE THOSE VISION PLANS PUT INTO ACTION.

I THINK IT'D BE INTERESTING IF WE DO HAVE INTERESTED, UM, OR ENTITIES THAT WANT TO HAVE EVENTS HERE WHO THEIR CONTRIBUTION, RATHER THAN PAYING THE CITY FEES, YOU KNOW, COULD HELP US JUMPSTART THESE VISION PLANS AND DELIVER THESE PARKS TO THE COMMUNITIES WHO'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THEM.

UH, AND SO I, I'LL BE INTERESTED TO SEE HOW HOW THAT GOES AND, BUT I'M GLAD Y'ALL ARE, ARE LOOKING AT THAT AS AN OPTION.

IT'S A CHANCE FOR TRUE COLLABORATION FOR THESE OTHER SPACES AROUND IN EACH DISTRICT OF, UH, A CAPACITY BUILDING PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NEIGHBORS AND WITH AN EVENT PRODUCER IN THESE PARKS TO BUILD CAPACITY AND TO, UH, IMPROVE THE PARK.

UH, AND JUST DO, DO IT IN SUCH A WAY IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NEIGHBORS TO ENSURE THAT THIS WILL NOT BE IMPEDING ON THEIR QUALITY OF LIFE, UH, BUT ACTUAL IMPROVEMENT FOR THEIR COMMUNITY.

WE'RE FULLY AWARE OF ALL ASPECTS OF THE CONTRACT AS WELL AS TO, YOU KNOW, WORK WITH THEM, BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEM, UNDERSTAND WHAT THEIR NEEDS CONCERNS ARE, UH, SO WE CAN ADDRESS THOSE INDIVIDUALLY MOVING FORWARD SO THAT AS WE WORK AS A LARGER WHOLE, UH, THAT WE HAVE A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF THOSE INDIVIDUAL NEEDS BECAUSE THEY VARY, YOU KNOW, DRASTICALLY BETWEEN EACH AGREEMENT.

UM, VERY GOOD VICE .

I'M GLAD YOU MENTIONED THAT.

'CAUSE WHEN I WAS ABLE TO TOUCH BASE WITH THEM, UH, BEFORE THIS MEETING, IT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS WE HAD TALKED ABOUT IS, YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE GOOD PARTNERS WITH NEIGHBORHOODS, IF WE'RE BRINGING, YOU KNOW, MAJOR EVENTS INTO PLACES THAT HAVEN'T PREVIOUSLY HAD THEM, I KNOW THERE THEY MAY BE VERY WELCOME AND THERE MAY BE SOME OTHER CONSIDERATIONS THAT THE NEIGHBORS KNOW THAT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THE CITY IS AWARE OF.

UM, I DID WANNA ASK ABOUT, I KNOW YOU MENTIONED THE TRAIL CONSERVANCY SINCE THEY HAVE A OMA.

UM, HOW ARE THOSE CONVERSATIONS GOING? THE, THE FOLKS WITH PREEXISTING CONTRACTS MM-HMM .

UM, I KNOW YOU SAID THERE MAY BE SOME DISCUSSIONS THAT HAPPEN.

I'M SURE THE FOLKS THAT HAVE THOSE EXISTING CONTRACTS WOULD REALLY LIKE THEM TO BE UPHELD AND TO HAVE A MM-HMM .

CONSISTENCY AND PREDICTABILITY IN WHAT WAS PREVIOUSLY AGREED UPON.

CAN YOU TELL ME HOW THOSE CONVERSATIONS ARE GOING? YEAH, WE HAVE, UH, WE'RE PLANNING RIGHT NOW WITH, UM, WITH PARKS TO, UH, SET UP INDIVIDUAL MEETINGS WITH EACH OF THE PARTNERS TO GO THROUGH AND, UH, YOU KNOW, FOR US TO MAKE SURE THAT

[00:25:01]

UM, I MEAN, I'M, I'M PERSONALLY PRETTY FAMILIAR WITH THOSE AGREEMENTS, BUT I THINK THAT WE, YOU KNOW, AS A WHOLE, AS ACME NEED TO CLEARLY UNDERSTAND WHAT'S LAID OUT THERE.

I APPRECIATE THAT.

I KNOW YOU, COMING FROM A PARKS BACKGROUND HAVE BEEN IN THESE CONVERSATIONS FOR A LONG TIME.

UM, YOU KNOW, THESE MAJOR EVENTS TAKE A LONG TIME TO PLAN MM-HMM .

AND SO I, THERE HAS TO BE, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST A COUPLE WEEKS HEADS UP, UM, FOR FOLKS IF THERE'S GONNA BE ANY CHANGES TO THOSE EVENTS.

AND I WILL ALSO SAY, I WANNA MAKE SURE THERE'S CONVERSATION HAPPENING, NOT JUST WITH THE PARKS DEPARTMENT, BUT WITH PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICIALS MM-HMM .

THAT HANDLE, UH, SAFETY ISSUES AROUND THESE LARGE SCALE EVENTS, TRANSPORTATION, PUBLIC WORKS, THINGS LIKE QUEUING LINES.

MM-HMM .

YOU KNOW, HOW DO PEOPLE GET IN AND OUTTA THE PARK, UM, IN ADDITION TO CAP METRO, TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL THOSE PARTNERS REALLY, UM, ARE AT THE TABLE AND KNOW WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN, IF ANYTHING IS, YOU KNOW, SET TO CHANGE FOR, FOR THESE LARGE SCALE EVENTS.

WELL, BRINGING THIS PART OF THE ORDINANCE FROM THE PARKS CHAPTER TO THE AUSTIN CENTER FOR EVENTS CHAPTER, CHAPTER FOUR, TWO, UM, THAT JUST REITERATES THE WRAPAROUND SERVICE THAT WILL BE AVAILABLE, THAT IS AVAILABLE NOW, BUT VERY CLEAR IN CODE THAT THAT IS AVAILABLE IN THAT ALL OF THE ACE DEPARTMENTS WILL BE PART OF ANY MAJOR EVENT, UM, YOU KNOW, CONSIDERATION AND, AND ACTIVATION AND, YOU KNOW, PRE-PRODUCTION.

UH, WELL THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

I APPRECIATE THE UPDATE AND I GUESS WE'LL BE SEEING YOU NEXT WEEK ON THURSDAY.

MM-HMM .

WITH THAT, WE WILL MOVE ON TWO, SORRY, I MESSED UP MY AGENDA HERE.

ALRIGHT, VERY MUCH

[3. Briefing on potential Lake Austin drawdown and hydrilla management. [Shay Ralls Roalson, Director; Teresa Lutes, Engineer - Austin Water; Jorge Morales, Director; Liz Johnston, Environmental Officer; Andrew Clamann, Manager - Austin Watershed Protection; Ken Snipes, Vice President of Power Production - Austin Energy; Keith Mars, Director - Austin Development Services]]

ITEM NUMBER, THERE WE GO.

ITEM NUMBER THREE, UH, BRIEFING ON POTENTIAL LAKE AUSTIN DRAWDOWN AND HIGH DRILL MANAGEMENT.

AND I WILL, ALRIGHT.

I DID A HIGH SCHOOL PAPER ON HYDRILLA MANAGEMENT.

OH.

AND WROTE ALL ABOUT THE CARP IN LAKE AUSTIN.

ALRIGHT, WELL MAYBE YOU CAN GIVE THE PRESENTATION.

I DON'T THINK SO, , BUT CHAIR, CAN WE ADD THAT TO BACK UP? YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT.

IT WAS, IT WAS REALLY HIGH QUALITY.

UM, BUT I'M, I'M INTERESTED TO SEE WHERE THINGS ARE HOWEVER, MANY YEARS LATER, .

WELL, THANK YOU FOR THAT.

UM, I'M LIZ JOHNSTON, WATERSHED PROTECTION ENVIRONMENTAL OFFICER, AND WITH ME IS THERESA LUTZ, MANAGING ENGINEER WITH, UH, AUSTIN WATER.

UH, WE'RE HERE TO GIVE A PRESENTATION ON A COUPLE OF, UM, ISSUES THAT POTENTIALLY AFFECTING LAKE AUSTIN.

UH, WELL, HYDRA IS NOT A POTENTIAL.

IT IS THERE.

UM, AND SO I'LL BE GIVING AN UPDATE ON, UH, WHERE WE'RE AT WITH THE HYDRA AND, UM, WHAT OUR NEXT STEPS WILL BE TO COMBAT THAT INVASIVE SPECIES.

AND THERESA WILL BE TALKING ABOUT A POTENTIAL LAKE AUSTIN DRAWDOWN.

UM, WE HAVE OTHER STAFF HERE AS WELL, UH, FOR, FOR QUESTIONS.

SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WELL, YOU MAY, IF YOU HAVE TECHNICAL QUESTIONS, MAY CALL ON A, UM, SOME OF OUR, OUR ASSISTANCE IN THE, IN THE AUDIENCE.

YOU KNOW, THAT SPECIES, UH, A STERILIZED FORM OF THAT SPECIES TO HELP CONTROL HYDRILLA AND KEEP IT, UM, AT THE, THE, TO TO MANAGE ITS GROWTH.

ALL RIGHT, NEXT SLIDE.

THANKS.

ALL RIGHT.

SO HYDRILLA, UM, AS MOST OF YOU ARE AWARE, IS AN INVASIVE AQUATIC PLANT.

UM, IT, UH, IS, UH, WORSE THAN A LOT OF OTHER TYPES OF INVASIVE SPECIES THAT WE SEE IN OUR, IN OUR LAKES BECAUSE IT TENDS TO REALLY FORMS THESE DENSE MATS THAT, UM, REALLY IMPEDE RECREATION AND CAN CAUSE LIKE REAL DENSE, DENSE GROWTH.

UM, IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO MANAGE BECAUSE OF THE WAY THAT IT GROWS.

IT HAS THESE, UH, TUBERS THAT EXIST IN THE SEDIMENTS THAT ARE VERY HARD TO KILL.

UM, AND IT CAN GROW PRETTY DEEP IN DEPTH TO 20 FEET.

IT GROWS VERY QUICKLY ABOUT AN INCH A DAY, AND WHEN IT REACHES THE TOP, IT SPREADS OUT.

SO YOU MAY HAVE LIKE A, YOU KNOW, THE TUBERS IN ONE AREA, BUT IT COULD, THE, THE PLANT EXTENT COULD BE, UH, QUITE LARGE AT THE, AT THE SURFACE.

UM, IT'S AN INVASIVE SPECIES HERE IN THIS PART OF THE WORLD BECAUSE NOTHING WILL REALLY CONSUME IT.

UM, SO, YOU KNOW, THE, THE FISH THAT WE HAVE HERE THAT ARE NATIVE WILL PREFERENTIALLY EAT OTHER, UH, AQUATIC PLANTS.

THEY DON'T TEND TO LIKE, UM, HYDRILLA.

HOWEVER, THERE IS ONE SPECIES CALLED A GRASS CARP THAT, UH, DOES ACTUALLY PREFER HYDRILLA OVER OTHER SPECIES.

UM, IT IS NOT A NATIVE SPECIES TO LAKE TO THE CENTRAL TEXAS REGION, BUT, UM, WE CAN, UH, USE,

[00:30:01]

UM, IT DOES IMPEDE RECREATIONAL USE.

AND SO THE, THE ISSUES WITH LAKE AUSTIN, IT'S A VERY IMPORTANT RECREATION RESOURCE.

UM, IN ADDITION TO DRINKING WATER AND, AND OTHER, UM, BENEFITS THAT IT PROVIDES.

THERE'S A NUMBER OF HOMEOWNERS ALONG LAKE AUSTIN, UM, THAT HAVE BOAT DOCKS.

UH, THERE ARE PLEASURE CRUISERS THAT GO OUT.

THERE'S THE DUCK BOATS, THERE'S SWIMMING, THERE'S ALL KINDS OF RECREATIONAL USES ON LAKE AUSTIN.

AND, UM, HYDRA, UH, SIGNIFICANTLY IMPEDES, UH, THE, THE USE OF OF, OF, UM, THE, THE RESERVOIR.

UM, IT DOESN'T HAVE COMPLETELY NEGATIVE, UM, ASPECTS BECAUSE ANY AQUATIC VEGETATION AND A, A WATER BODY DOES PROVIDE CERTAIN BENEFITS INCLUDING HABITAT FOR FISHERY, UM, AND IMPROVED WATER, UH, QUALITY SO THAT, YOU KNOW, IT UPTAKES POLLUTANTS JUST LIKE ANY OTHER PLANT.

NOW, WE WOULD PREFER THOSE BENEFITS TO COME FROM NATIVE SPECIES, NOT HYDRILLA.

UH, AND IT IS ONLY CURRENTLY FOUND IN LAKE AUSTIN.

IT HAS NEVER REALLY BEEN AN ISSUE IN LADY BIRD LAKE.

LADY BIRD LAKE HAS OTHER ISSUES, BUT, UH, NOT HYDRILLA.

UH, NEXT SLIDE.

SO SPEAKING OF, UH, STERILE GRASS CARPET, THIS IS OUR PREFERRED MANAGEMENT TOOL FOR HYDRILLA.

THERE'S VARIOUS SORT OF THINGS THAT CAN BE DONE, BUT THIS IS THE LEAST NEGATIVE, UM, UH, WAY TO, TO MANAGE HYDRILLA FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS.

UH, EACH FISH IS STERILIZED BEFORE, UM, BY THE VENDOR.

AND EACH FISH THAT WE PUT INTO THE, THE RESERVOIR IS CHECKED TO MAKE SURE THAT IT IS STERILIZED SO THAT THESE ARE NOT ABLE TO REPRODUCE.

UM, THEY LIVE A VERY LONG TIME, 10 TO 15 YEARS.

SO ONCE WE HAVE A POPULATION ESTABLISHED, UH, THOSE CAN LIVE FOR A LONG TIME.

AND THOSE BENEFITS, UM, FROM A ONE-TIME STOCKING CAN, CAN LAST MANY YEARS.

UM, WE STOCK THEM AT A CERTAIN SIZE, SO WE STOCK THEM AT THE 10 TO 12 INCH RANGE WHEN THEY ARE YOUNGER AND THEY EAT MORE VO VORACIOUSLY.

YOU KNOW, TEENAGERS, UH, EAT A LOT BECAUSE THEY'RE GROWING A LOT, UM, AND KNOW AS THEY DO TEND TO CONSUME LESS AS THEY GET OLDER.

SO THAT IS SOMETHING WE, WE, WE CONSIDER, BUT THEY'RE LARGE ENOUGH THAT THEY'RE NOT LIKELY TO BE A, UM, A, A FOOD SOURCE FOR OTHER LIKE BIRDS AND, UM, AND OTHER THINGS.

SO, YOU KNOW, WE, WE TRY TO PUT THEM AT THE, THE LARGEST SIZE POSSIBLE.

UM, AND THEY EAT YEAR ROUND.

THEY SLOW DOWN IN THE WINTER, BUT THEY, IT'S A, IT'S A LONG-TERM CONTROL THAT, UM, HAS, IF WE GET THE NUMBERS RIGHT, UM, COULD POTENTIALLY BE THE, THE LEAST, UH, NEGATIVELY, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL, UM, METHOD TO CONTROL HYDRILLA.

AND WE HAVE DONE THREE, UH, STERILE GRASS CARPING EVENTS, UM, SINCE 2025 IN VARIOUS AREAS.

SO THE NUMBERS RIGHT NOW TOTAL ARE AROUND 5,000 IN, IN THE LAKE.

ARE DOING CERTAIN THINGS TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THAT THAT NUMBER IS, IS ACCURATE, AND WE CAN TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT IN OUR NEXT STEP SLIDE.

UM, THIS IS A, A CHART KIND OF SHOWING GRASS CARP, UH, ALL PLANTS NATIVE AND INVASIVE.

SO THE HYDRILLA IS THE, THE DARK LINE, THE DOTTED LINE IS ALL PLANTS.

AND THEN THAT GRAY SHADED AREA IS THE GRASS CARP POPULATION.

AND THIS IS AN IMPORTANT SLIDE TO SHOW WHAT HAPPENS IF WE DO PUT IN TOO MANY GRASS CARP.

UM, IN THE 20 12, 20 13, 20 14 RANGE, HYDRA WAS, UM, IT WAS A VERY, IT WAS A DROUGHT PERIOD, WHICH IS, UH, EXACERBATES HYDRA GROWTH.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, DUE TO THAT CONDITION, UM, UH, CITY OF AUSTIN AND TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE OFFICIALS WORKED TOGETHER AND ADDED, UH, MORE GRASS CAR THAN WOULD'VE BEEN, UH, THAN WE REALLY SHOULD HAVE.

BECAUSE AT THE TOP OF THAT, THEY DID A VERY GOOD JOB OF, UH, EATING ALL OF THE PLANTS, NOT JUST HYDRILLA, BUT EVERYTHING.

AND YOU CAN SEE THAT CRASH THAT HAPPENED IN 20 14, 20 15.

UM, SO THAT IS ALSO A NEGATIVE SITUATION TO HAVE NO AQUATIC PLANTS ON LAKE, ANY, ANY RESERVOIR.

WE NEED TO HAVE A CERTAIN NUMBER TO MAINTAIN WATER QUALITY, TO MAINTAIN THE FISHERY, UM, AND JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S, IT'S FUNCTIONING CORRECTLY AS AN ECOSYSTEM.

SO THAT YELLOW DOTTED LINE IS THAT 5,000, UM, NUMBER, WHICH IS WHAT WE HAVE SEEN WILL, WILL DO IN THEORY, KEEP IT, KEEP THE HYDRA AT THE RIGHT LEVEL.

NOW WE ARE CONTINUING TO LOOK AT THAT NUMBER.

UM, NEXT SLIDE.

UM, STAFF

[00:35:01]

BUT THAT IS, THAT IS, UM, THAT IS OUR CURRENT NUMBER, 5,000.

UM, SO HOW WE UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH HYDRILLA IS OUT THERE.

UM, THE TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT, THE STATE AGENCY WHO OVERSEES RESERVOIRS THROUGHOUT TEXAS, UM, HAS A PRO PROGRAM THAT THEY LOOK AT, UM, AQUATIC VEGETATION ON RESERVOIRS THROUGHOUT THE STATE TWICE A YEAR.

UM, SO IN THE SPRING, AT THE BEGINNING OF THE GROWING SEASON, AND IN THE LATE FALL, AT THE END OF THE GROWING SEASON, SO THAT WE UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT THE GROWTH WAS LIKE ON A PARTICULAR RESERVOIR.

UM, THEY, AT OUR REQUEST LAST YEAR, UH, CONDUCTED A THIRD, UH, SURVEY IN FEBRUARY AS TO GIVE US MORE INFORMATION BECAUSE LAST YEAR WAS A, UM, WARM AND, UH, DRY.

SO WE WANTED TO, YOU KNOW, UNDERSTAND, UH, WHAT WAS HAPPENING WITH THOSE CONDITIONS AND TO HELP US UNDERSTAND WHAT KIND OF STOCKING WE NEEDED TO, TO DO IN THE SPRING.

UM, BUT TYPICALLY IT'S TWICE A YEAR, AND SO THEY JUST COMPLETED ONE A COUPLE WEEKS AGO IN JUNE.

UM, AND WE DID SEE A SLIGHT DECREASE IN HYDRA FROM THE FEBRUARY, UH, SURVEY.

SO CURRENTLY, UM, HYDRA IS AT 36% OF THE LAKE, WHEREAS IN FEBRUARY, WHERE IT WAS AT 37% OF THE LAKE AND EURASIAN MILFOIL IS, UM, KIND OF GROWN BY THE SAME AMOUNT.

UM, SO THE TOTAL INVASIVE SPECIES BETWEEN HYDRA AND EURASIAN MILFOIL, UM, DIDN'T MENTION EURASIAN MILFOIL, BUT IT IS A, ANOTHER NON-NATIVE INVASIVE SPECIES THAT CAN ALSO IMPEDE RECREATION, BUT IS LESS OF AN ISSUE THAN HYDRA.

UM, BETWEEN THE TWO OF THOSE, THE TOTAL INVASIVE VEGETATION ON LAKE AUSTIN IS THE SAME BETWEEN, UM, FEBRUARY AND TODAY.

NOW, IF YOU ARE, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT THAT MAP, THE GREEN IS WHERE HYDRILLA IS.

PURPLE IS, UM, EURASIAN MILFOIL FOLKS WHO ARE IN THE UPPER REACHES OF THE LAKE.

IT'S, IT'S FAIRLY, UM, COVERED IN HYDRIS.

SO THOSE FOLKS ARE, UM, HAVING, YOU KNOW, SOME SIGNIFICANT, UH, UH, IMPEDANCE, YOU KNOW, RECREATIONAL IMPEDANCE, UM, IN THAT SECTION.

BULL CREEK IS ANOTHER AREA THAT HAS, UH, QUITE A LOT OF, UH, HYDRILLA.

IT'S A BULL CREEK ITSELF, DOESN'T HAVE, UH, WAKE BOATS IN THAT AREA.

IT'S A NO WAKE ZONE, SO IT'S A PRETTY IMPORTANT AREA FOR SWIMMING AND, UH, OTHER TYPES OF RECREATION.

AND THEN IN THE LOWER STRETCHES, ALL THOSE, UH, THE FOLKS THAT HAVE CUT IN BOAT DOCKS ALONG THE SHORELINE OR, UM, UH, OTHER KIND OF, UH, SMALLER, UH, UH, ISLANDS, THOSE ARE ALL FAIRLY CHOKED.

SO THOSE, THOSE ARE THE FOLKS THAT ARE BEING MOST IMPACTED BY, UH, HYDRILLA CURRENTLY.

UM, NEXT SLIDE.

SO NEXT STEP.

SO WE'VE GOT THE BASELINE INFORMATION.

UM, WE REALLY, VENDORS DON'T WANT TO SHIP FISH DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS OR COLD MONTHS WHEN, UH, MORTALITY IS MORE LIKELY TO HAPPEN DURING JUST TRANSPORTATION, UH, BECAUSE THESE FOLKS ARE SHIPPING THEM FROM NOT, NOT FROM AUSTIN.

SO THEY HAVE TO DRIVE A LONG WAY.

SO OCTOBER WOULD BE THE NEXT, UH, AVAILABLE DATE FOR AN ANOTHER STOCKING.

SO BETWEEN THIS AND THE NEXT, UH, FALL SURVEY FROM TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE, WE'RE GONNA SEE, UH, WHAT HAPPENS WITH THIS GROW GROWING SEASON.

UM, AND THEN PLAN ACCORDINGLY.

WE DO EXPECT ANOTHER GRASS STARKING.

UM, THEY MAY BE AT 5,000 NOW, BUT WE DO EXPECT SOME MORTALITY.

AND AGAIN, STAFF ARE LOOKING AT MODELS TO SEE WHAT VARIOUS, YOU KNOW, VARIABLES THROUGHOUT A A A GIVEN YEAR MAY AFFECT THE POPULATION OF GRASS CAR, SO THAT WE CAN FINE TUNE WHAT THAT, THAT STOCKING NUMBER WOULD BE.

SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE WORKING ON THAT RIGHT NOW.

UM, AND THEN, YEAH, WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA SEE HOW THIS, THIS YEAR GOES.

UH, NEXT SLIDE.

AND THEN WITH THAT, I'M GOING TO, UH, KICK IT TO THERESA FOR A DRAWDOWN UPDATE.

THROUGH LAKES, UH, LAKES, INCS, MARBLE FALLS, AND LBJ, UH, IN THAT HIGHLAND LAKES CHAIN.

CHAIR ALTER, UH, VICE CHAIR ELLIS AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.

I'M THERESA LUTZ.

I'M A MANAGING ENGINEER WITH AUSTIN WATER.

AND, UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

I WANNA, UH, POINT OUT THAT AUSTIN AND LCRA, THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY HAS A LONG PARTNERSHIP, UM, LOWER COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY.

AS YOU CAN SEE IN THIS EXHIBIT, THEY OPERATE THE, THE, UH, DAMS AND THE LAKES THAT ARE SHOWN HERE, THE HIGHLAND LAKES CHAIN.

UH, THEY ALSO, UH, GENERATE HYDROPOWER AT THE DAMS. UM, AND THEY CONDUCT, UH, DRAWDOWNS ON THOSE PASS

[00:40:01]

THE CITY OF AUSTIN OWNS, UH, TOM MILLER DAM AND LONGHORN DAM, AND WE OPERATE LONGHORN DAM, BUT THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY OPERATES THE OTHER DAMS SEEN HERE.

AND WE TAKE OUR WATER FROM LAKE TRAVIS IN LAKE AUSTIN FOR, FOR OUR DRINKING WATER.

THIS, UM, WATER PARTNERSHIP.

WE HAVE A FORMAL PARTNERSHIP WITH LCRA AND AUSTIN WATER SERVES AS THE CITY'S REPRESENTATIVE IN THAT PARTNERSHIP.

BUT, UM, WATERSHED PROTECTION ALSO PARTICIPATES IN THAT, UH, RELATED TO WATER QUALITY ISSUES.

UM, WANT TO, UM, KIND OF SHOW OR, UH, POINT OUT ON THIS GRAPH THAT YOU SEE ON THE RIGHT HERE.

IT SHOWS, UH, DRAWDOWNS THAT HAVE HAPPENED IN THE PAST, UH, THERE IN THE HISTORY.

THIS GOES BACK, UH, TO THE LATE SEVENTIES, UM, IN THE HISTORY.

WE'VE HAD QUITE A NUMBER OF DRAWDOWNS IN THE PAST, BUT THE MOST RECENT ONE WAS IN 2017.

UM, AND THE PURPOSE OF THEM, IT HELPS, UH, PROVIDE ACCESS FOR PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS TO DO THEIR OWN MAINTENANCE ON DOCKS AND BULKHEADS.

THEY CAN DO DREDGING, UH, DREDGE OUT BO UH, BOAT SLIPS AND REMOVE, UH, DEBRIS, UH, BOTH FOR PRIVATE AND, AND SOME, UH, SOME, WE HAVE SOME CITY OWNED PROPERTIES THAT HAVE ALSO, PARDON ME, UM, UM, BENEFITED FROM, UM, THE ACCESS PROVIDED WHEN THE LAKE IS DOWN.

THERE'S ALSO A POTENTIAL FOR, UH, TEMPORARY MANAGEMENT OF NUISANCE, UH, AQUATIC VEGETATION DURING A DRAWDOWN, AS I MENTIONED, THE LAST ONE WAS IN, IN 2017.

SO WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON A PROCESS, UH, SINCE IT'S BEEN SOME TIME SINCE THE LAST DRAWDOWN.

UM, IT, THE BASIC PROCESS PROPOSAL IS, UM, AUSTIN WATER WOULD INITIATE A REQUEST TO LCRA, AND THAT WOULD BE DEPENDENT ON COMMUNITY REQUESTS.

UH, STATUS OF DROUGHT.

WE, UH, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD, WE WOULDN'T ANTICIPATE REQUESTING ONE IN A DROUGHT.

UM, AND THEN, UH, DEPENDING ON COSTS AND, UH, THE FREQUENCY, WE WOULDN'T ANTICIPATE, UM, OPERATING OR ASKING FOR A, A DRAWDOWN MORE FREQUENTLY THAN EVERY FOUR YEARS.

THAT INFORMATION IS, UM, IS GATHERED.

AND THEN WE WOULD WORK WITH LCRA TO PUT THOSE PROVISIONS IN AND A LETTER AGREEMENT BETWEEN AUSTIN AND LCRA.

THAT'S THE GENERAL PROCESS.

SOME OF THE MECHANICS ARE THAT, UH, WHEN LCRA WOULD, UH, CONDUCT A DRAW DOWN, THEY WOULD TEMPORARILY STORE THOSE WA THE WATER, UH, IN LAKE TRAVIS, AND THEN LAKE AUSTIN THEN WOULD LOWER AS THE WATER'S USED BY AUSTIN LOCALLY.

AND THEN OTHERS, OTHER RELEASES OR OTHER USES LOCALLY OR DOWNSTREAM RELEASES, UH, THROUGH TOM MILLER DAM WOULD SLOWLY, UH, DRAW THAT WATER DOWN, POTENTIALLY UP TO ABOUT A FOOT A DAY.

UH, COULD BE A LITTLE SLOWER THAN THAT DEPENDING ON THE, THE USAGE DURING THE TIME OF THE YEAR WHEN THIS WOULD BE CONDUCTED, WHICH WOULD BE IN THE OCTOBER NOVEMBER TIMEFRAME.

UH, AND THEN, UH, THE, THE GOAL WOULD BE TO GET THE, THE LEVEL DOWN ABOUT 10 OR 12 FEET OR SO, UH, BELOW NORMAL.

AND THEN LAKE AUSTIN AT THE END OF THE DRAWDOWN WOULD BE REFILLED BY THE WATER THAT WAS STORED IN LAKE LAKE AUSTIN.

SO THERE ISN'T WATER LOSS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS.

THE WATER IS BENEFICIALLY USED, BUT IT WOULD BE REFILLED FROM THE WATER THAT WAS HELD IN, IN LAKE, UH, TRAVIS.

AND, UH, THE REFILL RATE WOULD BE UP TO APPROXIMATELY TWO FEET PER DAY UNDER NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES.

BUT THERE'S A POTENTIAL THAT THERE COULD BE, UH, NEED TO BE A FASTER REFILL IF THERE WAS A, A FLOOD OCCURRENCE, IF OPERATIONS WOULD REQUIRE A FASTER REFILL OR IF EMERGENCY CONDITIONS, UH, OCCURRED, THAT COULD HAPPEN MUCH FASTER.

UH, SO THE TOTAL DURATION OF SIX WEEKS WOULD BE ANTICIPATED UNDER NORMAL, UH, CONDITIONS.

UM, AND THAT WOULD BE THE, THE WINDOW OF, UH, OPPORTUNITY TO DO LATE DRAWDOWNS HAS KIND OF CHANGED OVER THE YEARS.

AND CURRENTLY THERE'S ONLY OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER OF THE YEAR THAT OUR CANDIDATE, UM, MONTHS TO CONDUCT THE, THE, UM, THE DRAWDOWNS IN DUE TO CON SOME, UH, CONSTRAINTS.

WORK, UM, THAT PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS CAN DO.

LEMME TAKE A DRINK REAL QUICK.

SO, UM, DURING A DRAW DOWN, THERE CAN BE SHORELINE MAINTENANCE

[00:45:01]

THEY CAN, UH, DREDGE, UM, BOAT SLIPS.

THEY CAN RECONSTRUCT, UM, CONCRETE BULKHEADS AND DO OTHER KINDS OF MAINTENANCE ON THEIR DOCKS.

THERE CAN BE CLEANUP, UM, THE THINGS THAT ARE ON THE, UH, THE LAKE SURFACE THAT'S EXPOSED, UM, HYDRILLA AND GARBAGE AND SO FORTH.

UH, THESE, SOME OF THE WORK THAT WOULD, UH, BE DONE WOULD REQUIRE PERMITS FROM THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT.

UH, SO I WANNA KIND OF HIGHLIGHT THE, UH, THE PROVISIONS, UH, THAT WERE, UM, HA HA HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH LCRA ON, UH, THE CITY AND THE LCRA HAVE, UM, BEEN, UH, WORKING ON, ON SOME AGREEMENT PROVISIONS.

AND THESE ARE SOME OF THE HIGH LEVEL, UH, CATEGORIES AND HIGH LEVEL ONES, UH, TO COVER, UM, FOR FLOOD CONTROL.

AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, UH, THERE CAN BE A SITUATION WHERE LCRA MAY NEED TO REFILL THE LAKE AT ANY TIME FOR FLOOD CONTROL.

UH, THERE'S A RISK OF, UH, FLASH FLOODING, WHICH COULD CAUSE A RAPID REFILL.

SO TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE CITY AND LCRA WOULD PROVIDE NOTICE TO PERMITTEES, UM, WHO WOULD, UH, POTENTIALLY BE DOING WORK ON, UM, ON DOCKS AND BULKHEADS AND SUCH, UH, LOST POWER GENERATION, THIS IS A KEY PROVISION RELATING TO, UH, COST REIMBURSEMENT OF LCRA FOR LOST POWER GENERATION.

WHEN THE LEVEL OF LAKE AUSTIN IS DOWN, THEY'RE ABLE TO PRODUCE LESS, UH, POWER FROM RELEASES THROUGH TOM MILLER DAM.

SO THE ESTIMATED BASE COST, WE'VE KIND OF BROKEN THE, THE COST REIMBURSEMENT COMPONENT FOR THIS INTO TWO PIECES, ONE'S COMPONENT A, AND THAT WOULD BE A BASE COST OF $7,000 FOR LOST HYDRO GENERATION UNDER JUST NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES WITH, UM, THAT, UM, AMOUNT BEING, UM, USED TO, UM, REIMBURSE LCRA FOR, FOR POWER LOSSES DURING THE, THE ENTIRE EVENT.

UM, THEN THERE'S THIS COMPONENT B THAT'S, UH, KIND OF A NEWER, UM, COMPONENT THAT HADN'T BEEN PART OF THE, THE EQUATION BEFORE.

AND, UM, THIS HAS TO DO WITH A CONTINGENCY FOR EXTREME EVENT OCCURRENCE OR EXTRAORDINARY CONDITIONS.

UH, ERCOT MAY CALL FOR ADDITIONAL POWER TO BE, UH, GENERATED AND, UH, DURING A, A LOCAL OR STATEWIDE EMERGENCY.

SO WE NEED, UH, WE NEEDED TO DEVELOP A, THIS COMPONENT B THAT WOULD CALL FOR, UM, THAT WOULD BE, UH, WOULD HAVE A SITUATION WHERE THERE WOULD BE EXTREME, UH, PRICE SPIKES IN, IN, UM, IN POWER PRICES.

IT WOULD BE RARE TO HAPPEN DURING THE OCTOBER NOVEMBER TIMEFRAME BASED ON HISTORY.

BUT, UM, WE'VE DEVELOPED A, UM, A POTENTIAL COST OF UP TO $68,000 THAT COULD BE REIMBURSED TO LCRA IN THE EVENT OF AN EXTREME OCCURRENCE, UM, OF THIS NATURE WHERE THE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE POWER PRICES MAY SPIKE AND NOT BE MORE IN THE NORMAL CATEGORY AS IN COMPONENT A.

SO THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF POTENTIAL COST REIMBURSEMENT TO LCRA OF COMPONENTS A AND B COMBINED WOULD BE UP TO $75,000.

UM, BUT AGAIN, THE, THE, UM, IT WOULD BE A RARE EVENT IF, UH, IF THERE WAS A NEED TO PROVIDE REIMBURSEMENT UNDER COMPONENT B.

UM, IN THE EVENT THAT THERE MAY NEED TO BE A RAPID REFILL, UM, WE WOULD HAVE, UH, HOMEOWNERS AND, UH, PROPERTY OWNERS ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THERE WAS A RISK AND PROVIDE EMERGENCY CONTACT THAT THE, UM, THE EQUIPMENT WOULD NEED TO BE TAKEN OUT WHEN, UM, WHEN THERE'S NOT WORK OCCURRING, SO THAT THERE WOULDN'T BE A RISK OF EQUIPMENT GETTING DAMAGED BY, UH, WATER BEING REFILLED AND THEN HAVING, NOT HAVING THE TIME TO GET THAT OUT.

UH, ANOTHER FEATURE OF THE AGREEMENT IS, UM, IS AN ADAPTIVE PLAN TO REDUCE THE TIME IN COMPONENT B.

UH, SO IF WE FORESEE, UH, AND, AND MONITOR CAN MONITOR THE WEATHER AND FORESEE THAT A REFILL A QUICKER REFILL WOULD BE NECESSARY TO, UM, PUT LCRA IN A POSITION WHERE THEY COULD GENERATE MORE POWER AND RESPOND TO EMERGENCY CONDITIONS, THEN WE WOULD DEVELOP A PLAN TO, UH, HAVE A QUICKER REFILL AND WORK WITH LCRA TO MINIMIZE THE IMPACT OF THAT CONDITION SO THAT, UH, THE TIME IN THAT KIND OF, UH, EMERGENCY CONDITION WHEN, UM, THE POWER WOULD BE REDUCED.

IF THERE IS AN EMERGENCY, IT WOULD BE AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE.

UH, SO THROUGH THE PERMITTING PROCESS, UH, IT WOULD BE IMPORTANT FOR US TO NOTIFY, UM, PROPERTY OWNERS NOT TO LEAVE TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT IN UNATTENDED IN THE LAKE BED.

THAT'S JUST A GOOD GENERAL PRACTICE.

BUT,

[00:50:01]

NEXT SLIDE, AND I'LL KICK IT BACK TO MS. JOHNSTON.

WOW.

UM, YEAH, SO, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDERS WHO HAVE INTERESTS ON LAKE AUSTIN, OF COURSE, UH, YOU KNOW, A NUMBER OF HOMEOWNERS BUSINESS USES MARINAS, UM, ANGLING COMMUNITY, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCATES.

AND SO WE'VE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HEAR COMPETING DESIRES, COMPETING, UH, WISHES FOR, YOU KNOW, HOW THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE LAKE AUSTIN MANAGED.

AND SO WE'VE, WE HAVE A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDER GROUPS.

WE HAVE A LARGER EMAIL LIST THAT WE, UH, USE TO KEEP INFORMED TO THE, THE LARGER GROUP.

AND WE'VE HAD A COUPLE OF, UH, STAKE, UH, TOWN HALL MEETINGS WITH THEM.

UM, COUNCIL MEMBER UCHIN HAS, UH, HELPED, UH, ON SOME OF THOSE AS WELL.

UM, AND WE ALSO HAVE A, A SMALLER, UH, STAKEHOLDER GROUP WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, TAKING, UH, A NUMBER OF FOLKS FROM THE, THOSE DIFFERENT, UM, UH, INTEREST GROUPS TO GET TOGETHER.

UM, I, IDEALLY WE WOULD MEET QUARTERLY.

WE'VE ACTUALLY MET TWICE ALREADY, SO A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN QUARTERLY AT THIS POINT.

BUT, YOU KNOW, AS THINGS, UH, POP UP AS WE NEED TO, UM, HAVE SOME DECISIONS MADE OR, UH, FEEDBACK, WE, YOU KNOW, WE ARE, WE'RE USING THIS GROUP TO, TO COME TOGETHER.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, THEY CAN TELL US, UH, WHAT YOU KNOW AND EACH OTHER, WHAT THEIR INTERESTS ARE.

AND SO HOPEFULLY WE CAN COME TO CONSENSUS ON HOW TO BEST, UH, MANAGE THESE ISSUES AFFECTING LAKE AUSTIN.

UM, SO WE'VE HAD, UH, UH, A MEETING IN MAY, EARLY MAY, AND ONE IN JUNE 25TH.

SO WE'RE, UM, ALSO THINKING ABOUT AS WE MAKE THE DECISION ABOUT THE, THE DRAWDOWN.

UM, THE NEXT ONE COULD BE LATE SUMMER, EARLY FALL.

UM, WE MAY ALSO HAVE ANOTHER TOWN HALL MEETING.

SO WE'RE, WE'RE TALKING WITH, UM, OUR FOLKS IN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES ABOUT HOW TO BEST COMMUNICATE PERMITTING NEEDS.

FOR EXAMPLE, IF A DRAWDOWN WERE TO BE, UM, UH, DECIDED UPON.

UM, AND WE'VE TALKED ABOUT HYDRILLA, YOU KNOW, DRAWDOWN PROCESSES AND, AND PERMITTING.

UM, PEOPLE HAVE ALSO BROUGHT UP OTHER ISSUES THAT MAY GET, UM, WORKED IN, UM, DEPENDING ON, ON THEIR INTERESTS, BUT THOSE ARE THE, THE, THE HYDRA ISSUE AND THE, THE DRAWDOWN OR THE, THE TOPICS THAT FOLKS ARE MOST INTERESTED IN CURRENTLY.

ALRIGHT, SO OUR NEXT STEPS.

SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE HERE TODAY WITH YOU GIVING YOU A BRIEFING AND, UM, WELCOME QUESTIONS.

AFTER THIS, UM, AUSTIN WATER WILL CONTINUE NEGOTIATIONS WITH LCRA ON THE LETTER AGREEMENT.

UM, YOU KNOW, WE HOPE TO MAKE A DECISION, IF NOT THIS MONTH AND NEXT MONTH ON WHAT THE STATUS OF THE, THE DRAWDOWN WILL BE, AND THEN COMMUNICATE THAT STATUS TO STAKEHOLDERS AND THE PUBLIC.

UM, AS YOU MIGHT UNDERSTAND, STAKEHOLDERS ARE REALLY INTERESTED TO KNOW SOONER RATHER THAN LATER, UM, IF A DRAWDOWN WILL HAPPEN SO THAT THEY CAN GET THOSE PERMITS, UH, LINED UP.

AND WE'RE WORKING ON A MORE STREAMLINED, UM, WITH THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT, A MORE STREAM STREAMLINED PERMITTING PROCESS FOR THE TYPES OF MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES THAT WOULD REQUIRE A PERMIT SUCH AS DREDGING OR, UM, BULKHEAD, UM, MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES.

AND I BELIEVE THAT IS IT.

I THINK THERE'S STILL SOME FOLKS WHO MIGHT BELIEVE THAT A DRAWDOWN WOULD HELP THE HYDRILLA ISSUE AND, YOU KNOW, THERE COULD BE A TEMPORARY RELIEF 'CAUSE ALL OF THAT ABOVE GROUND.

QUESTIONS.

ALRIGHT, ANY QUESTIONS? COUNCIL MEMBER UCHIN, THANK YOU FOR THE UPDATES AND THE ONGOING WORK WITH THE STAKEHOLDER GROUP AND SHARING, UH, THE INFORMATION TODAY.

I HAVE A NUMBER OF QUESTIONS TO FOLLOW UP ON SOME OF THE THINGS THAT YOU DISCUSSED.

ONE, AS I'M CURIOUS, SINCE IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE I VISITED WITH THE STAKEHOLDER GROUP, THE, YOU TALKED ABOUT THE CONSENSUS, SORT OF WHERE THEY'RE AT AT THIS POINT.

YOU'VE MET WITH THEM TWICE RECENTLY.

IS THERE STILL A STRONG APPETITE FOR THE DRAWDOWN? THAT'S KIND OF WHAT I HEARD WHEN WE FIRST MET.

YES.

I, I, I DO BELIEVE THERE IS, AND YOU KNOW, IT, IT IS A LOT EASIER TO DO SOME OF THESE MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES DURING THE DRAWDOWN AND, YOU KNOW, DREDGING, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, WITH A BOAT SLIPS GETS FULL FILLED WITH SEDIMENT AND IT'S JUST A LOT EASIER AND BETTER TO REMOVE IT WHEN IT'S DRAWN DOWN.

UM, WE PREFER IT WHEN THAT HAPPENS AS WELL BECAUSE IT'S, UH, LESS OF AN ENVIRONMENTAL RISK TO HAPPEN, YOU KNOW, TO DO DREDGING WHEN, WHEN THE LAKE IS FULL COULD BE SEDIMENT, PLUMES AND OTHER ISSUES.

SO THAT IS ONE, AND JUST BEING ABLE TO ACCESS AND SEE HOW YOUR BULKHEAD IS AND DO ANY REPAIRS, IT'S A, IT'S MUCH EASIER AND CHEAPER, UM, DURING THE DRAWDOWN.

UM,

[00:55:01]

UM, THE, THE, THE PLANT MATTER ABOVE, YOU KNOW, GROWING ABOVE GROUND COULD DIE OFF AND BE REMOVED MORE EASILY.

SO THERE COULD BE A, A TEMPORARY RELIEF.

UM, THOUGH WE DON'T SEE ANY, UM, INDICATION OVER A LONG, LIKE LONGER PERIODS THAT DRAWDOWNS HELP HYDRA AT ALL.

UM, SO THAT IS ANOTHER ISSUE.

GOT IT.

I JUST WANTED TO MAKE PRIMARILY FROM THE DRAWDOWN, THERE WERE STILL MOSTLY CONSENSUS TO MOVE FORWARD IN THERE AND THEN FROM WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU SHARED, THE CITY MIGHT ALSO BE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OR LEVERAGE THAT SITUATION ALSO, WHICH IS NOT SOMETHING WE HAD PREVIOUSLY OR SOMETHING I AT LEAST UNDERSTOOD.

YEAH, THE, THE PREVIOUS, UH, DRAWDOWN IN 2017, I, I BELIEVE, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE CITY FACILITIES, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A, A BOAT RAMP THAT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT USES AND THE PARKS DEPARTMENT HAS BULLHEADS AND OTHER THINGS.

SO, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY USE THAT OPPORTUNITY AS WELL TO, TO DO MAINTENANCE ON THEIR, UM, DOCKS AND BULLHEADS.

SO THAT LEADS ME TO A QUESTION THAT I'M NOT SURE I'VE EVER ASKED, WHICH IS, WHAT HAPPENED? WHY DID WE SLOW DOWN OR STOP THE USE OF DRAWDOWNS? UM, AND I MIGHT ASK AUSTIN WATER TO HELP WITH THAT.

UM, PART OF IT WAS, UM, WE HAD HAD SOME, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, DROUGHT CONDITIONS PRIOR TO THE 2017 DRAWDOWN.

AND, UH, SO THE, UH, THE REPLENISHMENT IN 2015 AND 2016 KIND OF HELPED FACILITATE THAT ONE.

AND THEN NOT LONG AFTER WE'VE BEEN IN, UM, ALSO CONTINUED DROUGHT CONDITIONS.

SO A LOT OF IT HAS TO DO WITH, UM, THE, YOU KNOW, THE HOW MUCH STORAGE THERE IS IN THE HIGHLAND LAKES AND, AND WHAT KIND OF A DROUGHT SITUATIONS WE'VE BEEN, WE'VE BEEN IN, UM, BEEN IN.

AND THEN ALSO, UH, DURING THE PERIOD OF TIME IN THERE, THERE WAS SOME GATE WORK, UM, DONE AT TOM MILLER DAM.

UH, SO LCRA WOULDN'T HAVE THE ABILITY UNDER SOME KINDS OF, UM, OPERATIONAL CONDITIONS TO DO THEM.

SO SOME OF THOSE, THOSE ARE SOME OF THE FACTORS, BUT I THINK LARGELY, UM, MORE RECENTLY IT'S BEEN DROUGHT.

UM, ONE OTHER, UM, REASON, SO AUSTIN WATERSHED PROTECTION WOULD ACTUALLY OFTEN REQUEST DRAWDOWNS, UM, AS WELL TO HELP CONTROL THE EURASIAN MILL FOIL BECAUSE DRAWDOWNS, UM, CAN HELP, UH, CONTROL EURASIAN MILL FOIL.

BUT, UM, BECAUSE IT CAN CONTROL YOUR EURASIAN MILL FO IT MAY ACTUALLY HELP HYDRA OUTCOMPETE, UH, IN AREAS.

SO IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT USED IN OUR ESTIMATION.

UM, IT WOULD NOT BE A MANAGEMENT METHOD THAT WE WOULD USE FOR CONTROL OF, UH, HYDRA.

SO SINCE THAT IS THE MAIN INVASIVE SPECIES ON THE RESERVOIR, WE ARE NOT REQUESTING A DRAWDOWN TO CONTROL THAT.

NO, AND I APPRECIATE THAT.

AND I'M JUST TRYING TO LOOK AT, WE HAD A LOOKED LIKE FAIRLY FREQUENT OR PERIODIC DRAWDOWNS THAT I'M ASSUMING AT THAT POINT, PER YOUR POINT, WERE INDEPENDENT OF WHATEVER THE INVASIVE SPECIES SITUATION WAS, AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN FOR NINE YEARS WE HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING.

AND I THINK FROM WHAT I HEARD ANYWAY, THERE'S, SO, INCLUDING WHAT YOU JUST MENTIONED A FEW MINUTES AGO, THERE'S SOME INHERENT VALUE PERHAPS FOR, UM, PEOPLE THAT HAVE PROPERTIES OR WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE ON THE RIVER TO, TO HAVE THOSE DRAWDOWNS.

SO THAT WAS MORE, AND IT SOUNDS LIKE MOSTLY THAT'S, THAT'S WEATHER RELATED AFFECTING THAT SCHEDULE MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE.

WELL, SPEAKING OF THE MILL FOIL, I'M CURIOUS, IN THE LATEST UPDATE YOU SHARED, IT LOOKS LIKE WHATEVER PROGRESS WE MADE ON HYDRILLA WAS INSTEAD REPLACED BY THE MILL FOIL.

SO I'M CURIOUS IF THAT'S A SIGNIFICANT CONCERN FOR YOU ALL AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH POTENTIAL FUTURE CAR DEPLOYMENTS, IF THOSE ARE IN THE CARDS OR WHATEVER THE STRATEGY IS, UH, OR IF THAT'S PREFERABLE, FRANKLY, TO HAVE BETTER, BETTER TO HAVE THE MILL FOIL REPLACE THE HYDRILLA.

AMERICAN INVASIVE SPECIES MANAGEMENT, UH, ASSOCIATION AND SOME OTHER STUFF ONLINE, IT DOES SEEM LIKE THERE IS SOME KIND OF A RISK FOR, UM, FOR SWIMMERS, FOR PEOPLE THAT MIGHT, YOU KNOW, ASSOCIATE WITH DROWNING THAT WE DIDN'T REALLY TALK ABOUT A PUBLIC SAFETY COMPONENT TO THIS.

SO I MEAN, NEITHER WE WOULD PREFER NATIVE SPECIES TO BOTH OF THOSE.

UM, HOWEVER, EURASIAN MILL FOIL DOES NOT HAVE THE NEGATIVE IMPACT ON RECREATION THAT HYDRILLA DOES.

IT DOES HAVE SOME NEGATIVE EFFECTS, BUT IT'S, IT'S NOT, UM, IT'S JUST A LESS, UH, OF A, OF A PROBLEM OR A NUISANCE WHEN IT COMES TO RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES.

SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE DON'T REALLY SEE THAT AS A SIGNIFICANT PROBLEM.

AND THE, THE CHANGES ARE REALLY PRETTY SMALL.

SO, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S, UH, IT'S, IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE WE'RE, WE'RE MONITORING, BUT WE DON'T BELIEVE IT'S AN ISSUE, UH, THAT WOULD CAUSE ANY SIGNIFICANT CONCERNS AT THIS POINT.

WELL, SPEAKING OF CONCERNS THEN, ONE THING THAT I, I'M NOT SURE HOW TO INTERPRET, BUT I KNOW WHEN WE HEARD FEEDBACK, WHEN I ORIGINALLY HEARD FEEDBACK FROM STAKEHOLDERS, WHEN I'VE LOOKED AROUND AT UH, UH, YOU KNOW, DONE A LITTLE BIT OF RESEARCH AT THE NORTH

[01:00:01]

AND I'M CURIOUS IF, UM, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT FROM AT LEAST Y'ALL'S EXPERIENCE THAT'S LESS, UH, RELEVANT OR PREVALENT HERE, WHETHER YOU ARE FACTORING THAT IN AS A SORT OF URGENCY TO FIGURE OUT WHERE, WHERE DO WE NEED TO GO NEXT WITH CARP OR THE DRAW DOWN OR ANY OTHER SOLUTIONS YOU ALL HAVE IN MIND FOR HOW TO, I KNOW WHEN WE TALKED, WE WERE LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, POTENTIAL CHEMICAL SOLUTIONS OR, AND THERE WERE OBVIOUSLY RISKS WITH ALL OF THESE THINGS AND, AND DOWNSIDES TOO, BUT WHERE ARE YOU AT WITH THAT AND YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMPONENT OF THIS? UM, YEAH, SO, YOU KNOW, WE HEAR, UM, ANECDOTES FROM STAKEHOLDERS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE GET CAUGHT UP IN IT.

IT'S HARD TO SWIM IF YOU'RE, UH, YOU KNOW, SKIING AND YOU FALL OFF AND YOU GET INTO A, UH, YOU KNOW, A BED OF HYDRA, IT'S, IT'S HARD TO KIND OF MAKE YOURSELF UPRIGHT.

SO, YOU KNOW, WE'VE ALSO KEPT OUR, UM, COLLEAGUES IN THE, UH, AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT, THE LAKE PATROL INFORMED OF THIS AND HAVE, HAVE SPOKEN TO THEM AND THEY HAVE NOT GIVEN US SPECIFIC SAFETY CONCERNS RELATED TO HYDRA, UM, NECESSARILY, ALTHOUGH, YOU KNOW, UH, ACCESS CAN BE AN ISSUE FOR THEM AS WELL, ESPECIALLY IN THE BULL CREEK AREA.

AND, UM, THEY HAVE MENTIONED THAT BECAUSE HYDRA IS ON THE EDGES OF THE, THE RESERVOIR THAT, YOU KNOW, UH, THINGS LIKE, UM, JET SKIS MAY BE CONCENTRATED INTO THE MIDDLE, AND SO THAT MAY BE KIND OF JUST MORE DENSE RECREATION IN THE MIDDLE WHERE THERE'S NO HYDRILLA.

AND SO THERE, THOSE ARE SOME SAFETY CONCERNS AS WELL.

AND SO, UM, YES, WE ARE CONSIDERING THAT AS, UH, A REASON FOR, UH, UM, ACTING ON THE HYDRILLA ISSUE.

UM, HOWEVER, IT DOESN'T CHANGE OUR MANAGEMENT STRATEGY, WHICH IS TO USE STERILE CARP.

YOU COULD PUT DOWN CERTAIN BARRIERS THAT BLOCK THE SUNLIGHT.

AND SPEAKING OF THAT, IS THERE, UH, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW IT LOOKS LIKE YOU'VE GOT THIS SORT OF GUIDELINE OF 5,000, WE WERE SORT OF HIT THERE ALREADY.

UM, AT WHAT POINT WOULD YOU, WOULD YOU RECALIBRATE THAT TO ALLOW FOR MORE, GIVEN THAT THERE'S A PRETTY WIDE GAP BETWEEN WHERE WE GOT INTO TROUBLE, YOU KNOW, A DECADE AGO VERSUS THE 5,000 THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO MAINTAIN RIGHT NOW? YEAH, SO OUR BIOLOGY STAFF AND MODELING STAFF ARE LOOKING AT THE VARIOUS, UM, UH, FACTORS THAT COULD AFFECT CARP POPULATION.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, 5,000 IS NOT SET IN STONE.

THEY'RE LOOKING AT DIFFERENT FACTORS SUCH AS WHAT WOULD A DRAWDOWN DO TO A POPULATION? WHAT DOES THE, YOU KNOW, 3D EXTENT OF THE, THE PLANT, UM, HOW DO WE MODEL THAT? WHAT ABOUT CLIMATIC FACTORS? SO THEY'RE LOOKING AT VARIOUS FACTORS TO COME UP WITH WHAT IS THE, THE RIGHT STOCKING RATE BECAUSE, UM, YOU KNOW, 5,000 IS, UH, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'VE SEEN BASED ON HISTORICAL DATA, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF FLUCTUATIONS.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, THAT WE, WE USE AN ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT APPROACH AND AS NEW INFORMATION COMES ON, WE WILL LOOK AT, UH, THE NUMBER AND ADJUST ACCORDINGLY.

UM, BUT THERE IS ALSO, YOU KNOW, THE TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE WILL HAVE TO BE CONVINCED IF, SAY WE WANT TO ADD MORE, THEY HAVE A, THEY HAVE A, A HARD STOP, UH, FOR US AS WELL.

SO, YOU KNOW, IT IS A CONVERSATION BETWEEN THE, THE SCIENTISTS AT BOTH AGENCIES ABOUT WHAT IS THE BEST AVAILABLE INFORMATION THAT WE HAVE TO MAKE THE RIGHT DE DECISION GIVEN ANY CONDITION THAT WE SEE TO DATE.

DID ANY OF THE OTHER SOLUTIONS THAT HAD BEEN BROUGHT UP IN THE PAST IN TERMS OF, AGAIN, LIKE CHEMICALS OR SOMETHING ELSE, THINGS THAT ARE USED IN OTHER BODIES OF WATER THAT WE KNOW OF IN THE STATE, UM, HAVE ALL THOSE BEEN RULED OUT AT THIS POINT, ARE WE STILL PRIMARILY JUST LOOKING AT CARB? YEAH, I, I THINK THERE'S NOT A LOT OF APPETITE FOR HERBICIDE.

UM, YOU KNOW, AMONGST, YOU KNOW, THE MOST OF THE STAKEHOLDERS, NOT ALL BUT MOST, UM, INCLUDING OUR PARTNERS IN AUSTIN WATER AND, UM, ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCATES FROM AUSTIN WATERSHED PROTECTION AS WELL.

UM, THERE ARE OTHER, UM, LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, YOU CAN ALSO REMOVE IT.

SO THERE'S HARVESTING.

SO THAT PROVIDES A TEMPORARY RELIEF.

UM, IF YOU, IF YOU NEED ACCESS TO YOUR DOCK, YOU CAN HIRE SOMEBODY TO COME OUT AND REMOVE THE ABOVE GROUND, UH, PART OF THE HYDRILLA.

YOU KNOW, THAT IS A, SOMETIMES COSTLY AND TEMPORARY RELIEF, BUT IT IS A, IT IS AN OPTION, UM, THAT ALL NEEDS TO BE DISPOSED OF PROPERLY.

YOU HAVE TO HARVEST IT AND THEN REMOVE IT, NOT LET IT, UM, FLOAT DOWN AND, UH, COLONIZE SOMEWHERE ELSE.

UM, SO THAT, THAT IS A PERMIT THAT WOULD NEED TO BE OBTAINED FROM TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE.

THE OTHER OPTION THAT WE'RE CONSIDERING, UM, ESPECIALLY IF THERE'S GOING TO BE A DRAW DOWN AND, UM, TALKING WITH, UH, PARKS AND WILDLIFE IS, YOU KNOW, BOTTOM BARRIERS AND, UM,

[01:05:01]

UM, IN CERTAIN AREAS WE WOULD NEED SOME SORT OF PROCESS TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT GETS REMOVED, BECAUSE DEPENDING ON THE TYPE OF MATERIAL, THAT COULD ALSO BECOME LITTER AND DEBRIS IN THE, IN THE RESERVOIR.

SO THOSE ARE THE OTHER KIND OF TEMPORARY OPTIONS, BUT WE REALLY DO HOPE THAT THE, THE CARP WILL GET THE, THE BALANCE THAT, THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR.

WELL, UH, I'VE GOT FUTURE QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE WE NEED TO GATHER SOME ADDITIONAL DATA BEFORE THAT.

THE LAST QUESTION I'VE GOT IS, AGAIN, AS I WAS LOOKING AROUND AT TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW OTHER STATES AND AREAS HAVE DEALT WITH THIS, IT DOES SEEM LIKE THEY REPORTED OR THERE WERE INSTANCES OF, UH, IN SOME CASES SIGNIFICANT ECONOMIC IMPACT FROM HAVING THESE HYDRILLA OR INVASIVE SPECIES OUTBREAKS, IN SOME CASES THE LOSS OF MILLIONS OR TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.

I'M CURIOUS IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU'RE MEASURING IN TERMS OF IMPACT TO LOCAL TOURISM OR JUST ANY OTHER WAY THAT THAT'S, UH, THAT THIS PROBLEM IS IMPACTING, UH, OUR WATERWAYS.

YEAH, I DON'T BELIEVE WE HAVE A METHOD TO ADDRESS ECONOMIC IMPACT AT THIS TIME.

UM, BUT YEAH, I MEAN, I THINK THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE CERTAINLY A AWARE OF AND I'M SURE THE HOMEOWNERS WHO CAN'T ACCESS THEIR DOCKS ARE AWARE OF IT FOR THEMSELVES.

'CAUSE THEY HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, ARE LIVING ON LAKE AUSTIN FOR A REASON, AND NOW THAT REASON IS TAKEN AWAY FROM THEM IN SOME CASES.

SO, YOU KNOW, IT IS A, IT IS AN ISSUE THAT WE ARE AWARE OF.

I DON'T THINK WE HAVE A METHOD TO DETERMINE THE, LIKE DATA, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE EFFECTS WOULD BE AT THIS, AT THIS TIME.

WELL, AT THE EARLIEST, I WANNA FLAG THAT FOR Y'ALL IN CASE THAT IS SOMETHING IN THE GOING FORWARD, DEPENDING ON THE, THE, YOU KNOW, TO THE EXTENT THAT THIS POTENTIALLY EVEN GETS WORSE OR THE, AT THE, THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS GET WORSE, CAUSING IT TO GET WORSE.

UM, BUT THAT'S SOMETHING I AT LEAST FLAG FOR Y'ALL.

THAT'S ALL I'VE GOT, UH, LOOKING FORWARD TO THE UPDATE AND IT SOUNDS LIKE A MONTH OR SO WHEN YOU GUYS START MAKING SOME DECISIONS ABOUT HOW TO PROCEED ON BOTH FRONTS.

THANKS.

ALRIGHT.

UH, NO QUESTIONS.

WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

I'LL BE INTERESTED TO SEE THE RESULTS.

WITH THAT, WE'LL MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER FOUR, WHICH IS A BRIEFING ON AUSTIN PARKS AND RECREATIONS PARKLAND ACQUISITION PROCESS.

[4. Briefing on Austin Parks and Recreation parkland acquisition process. [Jesús Aguirre, Director - Austin Parks and Recreation]]

THE DIRECTOR, GURE, WELL, I DID SEE HIM, I THINK I SAW HIM STEP OUT FOR JUST A MOMENT.

IS THIS MR. SCOTT KELLY VOCA? WELL, GOOD MORNING.

GOOD MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS.

HOW ARE YOU TODAY? DOING WELL.

SCOTT GRANTHAM WITH AUSTIN PARKS AND RECREATION.

RANDY SCOTT WITH THE AUSTIN PARKS AND AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT, AND WE'RE WITH THE LAND USE AND ACQUISITIONS DIVISION.

UM, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE, PLEASE.

I'M HERE TO PRESENT, I'M HERE TODAY TO PRESENT TO YOU ON A FEW DIFFERENT TOPICS.

UM, PARKLAND ACQUISITION GOALS.

THOSE ARE THE GOALS OF OUR PROGRAM, CHALLENGES THAT WE FACED RECENTLY.

UM, A GLIMPSE INTO WHAT IT'S LIKE TO OPEN A NEW PARK AND AN UPDATE ON THE CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION.

THIS SLIDE IS A SMORGASBORD OF ALL OF OUR FOCUSED AREAS, UM, THAT STAY ON OUR MIND WHEN WE'RE CONSIDERING, UH, WHERE AND HOW TO FULFILL OUR PARK NEEDS.

INFILL PARKS, GREEN BELTS, THE COLORADO RIVER, AND THE LOCATION OF A NEW RECREATION CENTER.

INFILL PARKS.

UM, ONE OF THE KEY, OUR KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS IS THAT EVERY AUSTINITE FROM A SMALL CHILD TO A SENIOR HAS A PARK WITHIN A FIVE TO 10 MINUTE WALK OF WHERE THEY LIVE.

THE INVERSE OF THIS IS, UH, THE PARK DEFICIENT AREAS, SO AREAS OF THE CITY WHERE THERE ARE MORE THAN A FIVE TO 10 MINUTE WALK AWAY.

SO WE HAVE AREAS THAT ARE SERVED WELL AND AREAS THAT ARE PARK DEFICIENT.

GREEN BELT GAPS.

WE HAVE MANY LOVELY GREEN BELTS, AND ONE OF OUR GOALS IS TO EXTEND THEM AND LINK THEM TOGETHER.

BY DOING THIS, WE FULFILL MULTIPLE PURPOSES, INCLUDING WATER QUALITY PROTECTION.

A BEST PRACTICE IN PUTTING TOGETHER TRAIL SYSTEMS IS TO FOLLOW CREEKS AND WATERWAYS AND TO CLOSE ANY GAPS THAT EXIST.

THE COLORADO RIVER IS OF COURSE OUR BIGGEST WATERWAY, AND IT'S THE REGION'S LIFEBLOOD.

[01:10:01]

WE ARE FOCUSED ON EX EXPANDING OUR TRAIL NETWORK ALONG THE RIVER, PROVIDING PARK NODES EVERY SO OFTEN ALONG THE TRAILS, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, PROVIDING PUBLIC ACCESS TO THE COLORADO AS NEW, AS NEW SECTIONS ARE ACQUIRED.

THE RECREATION CENTER, A GAP ANALYSIS IDENTIFIED SOUTHEAST AUSTIN AS IN NEED OF A NEW RECREATION CENTER AND IDENTIFYING LAND FOR IT IS PART OF OUR LONG-TERM PLANNING.

THIS SLIDE HIGHLIGHTS SOME OF THE METRICS THAT WE'LL BE SPEAKING ABOUT TODAY.

ACRES OF PARKLAND PER THOUSAND RESIDENTS AND PERCENTAGE OF AUSTINITES WITHIN A FIVE TO 10 MINUTE WALK OF A PARK.

IN THE GRAPHIC ON THE LEFT, WE SEE CHANGES OVER TIME IN THE ACRES OF PARKLAND PER THOUSAND RESIDENTS.

THE CITY'S STANDARD AS ADOPTED, IS SHOWN AS THE GREEN LINE AND THE ACTUAL QUANTITY IS SHOWN AS NAVY BLUE, CURRENTLY 18.5 ACRES PER THOUSAND.

ON THE RIGHT, YOU CAN SEE THE PERCENTAGE OF AUSTINITES CURRENTLY WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE OF A PARK.

IT'S CURRENTLY 65%, AND WE ARE CONTINUALLY WORKING TO INCREASE THAT SO THAT EVERY, WITH EVERY PARKLAND ACQUISITION AND EVERY PARKLAND DEDICATION CASE.

SO THIS SLIDE IS AN ILLUSTRATION OF THAT ADOPTED STANDARD OF PARKLAND, UH, PARKLAND LEVEL OF SERVICE, WHICH IS 24 ACRES PER THOUSAND RESIDENTS.

SO THAT'S THE CITY ADOPTED GOAL COMPARED WITH DIFFERENT PARKLAND DEDICATION STANDARDS THAT WE'VE HAD AND THE IMPACT OF RECENT STATE LEGISLATION AND THE TOOLS THAT WE NOW HAVE TO ACHIEVE THAT UNDIMINISHED GOAL OF 24 ACRES PER THOUSAND RESIDENTS.

SO THE LARGEST GREEN RECTANGLE ON THE LEFT REPRESENTS OUR COUNCIL ADOPTED GOAL OF 24 ACRES PER THOUSAND.

THE SECOND LARGEST IS OUR CURRENT LEVEL OF SERVICE.

THE THIRD IS WHAT WAS PROVIDED UNDER THE 2016 PARKLAND ORDINANCE.

AND THEN ON THE FAR RIGHT YOU SEE THREE SMALLER RECTANGLES.

THOSE REPRESENT WHAT IS PROVIDED BY OUR CURRENT ORDINANCE, WHICH WAS ADOPTED IN 2023.

SO UNDER THE PREVIOUS ORDINANCE, UM, WHICH IS REPRESENTED BY THAT THIRD RECTANGLE, 50% OF OUR GOAL COULD BE MET WITH PARKLAND DEDICATION.

WITH THE CURRENT PARKLAND ORDINANCE, IT'S ABOUT 12.5% OR LESS.

SO WHATEVER THE SHORTFALLS WE ARE NOW ENCOUNTERING IN TERMS OF PARKLAND DEDICATION, WE'LL BE RELYING MORE HEAVILY ON OTHER TOOLS OUTSIDE OF OUR PRESENT TOOLKIT, BONDS, CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION, AND OTHER CREATIVE SOLUTIONS.

SO ONCE AGAIN, UH, IT JUST TO, TO EXAMINE THE GRAPHIC.

THE, UH, THE CURRENT LEVEL OF SERVICE IS THAT, THAT, UH, SECOND RECTANGLE.

AND OUR, OUR GOAL REALLY IS THAT LARGE RECTANGLE ON THE LEFT.

AND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO FILL IT WITH ARE THE THREE RECTANGLES ON THE FAR RIGHT AND THE GAPS.

UM, UH, THE GAP IS REALLY REPRESENTED THERE.

UM, THE GAP WOULD NEED TO BE FULFILLED BY THOSE ALTERNATIVE MEANS OF PARKLAND ACQUISITION.

SO THIS SLIDE SHOWS A DIFFERENT DIMENSION.

IT'S THE AMOUNT OF PARKLAND FEES APPROPRIATED ANNUALLY.

THOSE APPROPRIATIONS GENERALLY INCREASED EVERY YEAR UP TO 2025 WHEN THE EFFECTS OF THE NEW ORDINANCE WERE FULLY REALIZED.

ONE ITEM TO HIGHLIGHT HERE IS THAT USING THE 2018 BOND, A DOLLAR IN BOND FUNDING WAS MATCHED BY 33 CENTS IN PARKLAND DEDICATION FUNDING, EFFECTIVELY STRETCHING THAT DOLLAR BY 33% UNDER THE NEW ORDINANCE.

THE TIMING OF COLLECTION IS, IS SUCH THAT, UM, IT, THERE'S AN UP TO FIVE YEAR DELAY IN THE FEE COLLECTION.

YOU CAN SEE THE PROGRESSION BETWEEN, UH, THE ACQUISITION OF A PARK ON THE LEFT, LIGHTLY USED PARK SECOND FRAME, SOME AMENITIES ADDED, AND A FULLY DEVELOPED PARK ON THE FAR RIGHT.

SO THIS SLIDE SHOWS A TYPICAL SEQUENCE, UM, IN THE OPENING OF NEW PARKS.

IT REINFORCES THE CONCEPT THAT WE'D LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT, WHICH IS THAT OF PASSIVE PARKS.

THESE PARK TYPES WOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED DEVELOPED, BUILT OUT, OR HIGHLY AMENITIZED.

HOWEVER, THEY'RE STILL PARKS, THEY'RE OPEN AND ACCESSIBLE, AND THEY SERVE IMPORTANT, IMPORTANT FUNCTIONS.

THEY SUPPORT RECREATION, WILDLIFE, HABITAT, AND CONNECTION TO NATURE.

SO THIS YOU, HERE

[01:15:01]

THIS SLIDE SHOWS THE ONE STEP TRANSITION FROM AN ACQUIRED SITE TO A PASSIVE PARK AND INCLUDES A TIMELINE.

WE TAKE THE FIRST STEP TO ACQUIRE THE LAND, THEN WE PLAN AND IMPLEMENT ANY NEEDED DEMO.

WE REMOVE POTENTIAL HAZARDS AND PUT UP SIGNAGE.

THE PARK CAN THEN BE OPEN AND SAFE FOR PUBLIC ACCESS.

AND WE ALSO HAVE, UH, MAINTENANCE COSTS SHOWN HERE ON THIS SLIDE.

THIS SLIDE HIGHLIGHTS A AN EXAMPLE OF LAND BANKING OF PARKLAND, JOHN TREVINO PARK.

THIS LAND WAS PURCHASED IN FOR $8 MILLION IN 2003.

UM, I WASN'T ON STAFF AT THAT TIME, BUT I WOULD VENTURE THAT THAT PROBABLY SEEMED LIKE A VERY LARGE INVESTMENT AT THE TIME.

FOR 20 YEARS NOW, THE PARK HAS HAD ACCESS TO THE LAND AS A PASSIVE PARK, FOR EXAMPLE, PEOPLE ACCESS THE COLORADO STOP OFF DURING FLOATS AND RIVER TRIPS AND TAKE NATURE HIKES.

WE'RE ENTERING PHASE ONE OF DEVELOPMENT THIS YEAR, WHICH IS FOLLOWING A PLANNING PROCESS THAT INVOLVED COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.

IF WE WERE TRY TO, IF WE WERE TRYING TO PURCHASE THIS LAND TODAY, IT WOULD COST AN ESTIMATED 33 TO A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS.

THE OBVIOUS LESSON IS THAT A WISE PURCHASE TODAY CAN BE A GREAT USE OF FUNDING AND CAN BENEFIT THE PUBLIC EXPONENTIALLY WITHIN A FEW YEARS TIME.

THE NEXT TWO SLIDES WILL BE USED TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE TO CWP COUNCIL, INCLUDING SEVERAL MEMBERS NOW PRESENT.

ESTABLISHED A DEDICATED LAND ACQUISITION FUND OF $50 MILLION TO ACQUIRE PARKLAND AND OPEN SPACE, AND ALSO TO ADVANCE OTHER CITY GOALS.

THIS ALLOCATION HAS BEEN RIGHT IN LINE WITH THE GOALS THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT AND CONCEPTS OF PASSIVE PARKS AND LAND BANKING, WATERSHED PROTECTION, AND OTHER DEPARTMENTS HAVE ALSO BEEN INVOLVED IN THE PRIORITIZATION OF WHERE WE'RE LOOKING TO EXPEND THESE FUNDS.

UM, FOLKS WILL TRY TO MOVE INTO THEM.

SO, GOOD NEWS TO REPORT A PR HAS ACQUIRED A 50 ACRE PROPERTY ON OLD SAN ANTONIO ROAD, AND WE CLOSED IN MAY OF 2026.

IT'S A BEAUTIFUL PROPERTY, IT HAS GOOD ACCESS, AND WE ARE WORKING DILIGENTLY ON DEMOS AND ADDRESSING SITE HAZARDS SO THAT THIS NEW PARK CAN BE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

SECONDLY, WE HAVE ANOTHER PROPERTY THAT IS NEARING THE CONTRACT STAGE.

FINALLY, WE HAVE 10 OTHER POTENTIAL ACQUISITION PROPERTIES THAT ARE CURRENTLY UNDER NEGOTIATION.

UM, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

AND THAT IS ALL FOR MY PRESENTATION, AND WE ARE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE.

ALRIGHT, COUNCIL MEMBERS, ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY.

UM, WELL, THANK Y'ALL VERY MUCH.

I WANNA JUST CIRCLE BACK ON A COUPLE OF THINGS.

YOU TOUCHED DIFFERENT AREAS, UH, BUT IF YOU COULD GO BACK TO SLIDE 11 AND, UM, WE HEAR A LOT THAT, YOU KNOW, WE WILL, WE'LL TALK TO A NEIGHBORHOOD THAT IS PARK DEFICIENT AND, AND SAY, YOU KNOW, WE WANNA PURCHASE THIS PARCEL AND, AND DELIVER THAT NEIGHBORHOOD PARK AND WE'LL BUY THAT LAND.

AND THEN THEY SAY, YOU KNOW, IT, IT SITS FALLOW FOR A LONG TIME AND, AND, YOU KNOW, WHERE'S OUR PARK? RIGHT? AND I WAS HOPING YOU COULD TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT WE DO WITH A PIECE OF LAND IN BETWEEN PURCHASE AND, YOU KNOW, FULL BUILD OUT TO MAKE IT STILL AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC.

UH, AND IT, IT'D BE A, A PUBLIC BENEFIT, NOT JUST SITTING AND WAITING, BUT, UH, ACTIVELY ENRICHING THAT COMMUNITY EVEN THOUGH IT DOESN'T HAVE A PLAY SCAPE ON IT.

GREAT.

UM, EXCELLENT QUESTION.

UM, I WOULD, UH, MY SUPERVISOR RANDY SCOTT MIGHT WEIGH IN SOME ON THIS TOO, BUT, UH, I HAVE SOME RECENT EXPERIENCE WITH THIS, UM, IN, IN DEALING WITH SOME PARKS THAT, UM, WE'VE ACQUIRED THAT, THAT HAVE STRUCTURES ON THEM, UH, SOMETIMES OLD HOUSES.

SO REALLY OUR FIRST STEP IS TO, TO DEMO THOSE.

UM, WE, WE FIND THAT IF WE DON'T DO THAT, THEN

[01:20:01]

UM, THERE IT'LL BE, UM, THEY'LL BECOME HAZARDS.

THEY'LL BECOME LIABILITIES.

AND SO WE, WE DEMO THE, THE ANY HOUSE THAT'S, THAT'S ON THE SITE AND ANY STRUCTURES THAT ARE ON THE SITE THAT WE FEEL LIKE ARE NOT GOING TO SERVE THE PROPERTY.

UM, SECONDLY, WE WOULD LOOK TO REMOVE ANY HAZARDS THAT EXIST.

UM, SEEN A LOT OF BARBED WIRE FENCES, UM, SEEN A LOT OF, UM, UH, SOME TRASH AND, AND THINGS THAT WOULD, WOULD POTENTIALLY HAVE, UH, SOME POTENTIAL HAZARDS WITHIN.

AND SO WE, WE REMOVE THAT AS PART OF THE DEMO.

UM, FROM THERE, UH, WE, WE FIND THAT OUR NUMBER ONE REQUESTED, UH, AMENITY IS ALWAYS TRAILS.

AND SO WE WORK WITH NONPROFIT PARTNERS LIKE AMERICAN YOUTH WORKS TO START, UM, LOOKING AT CAN WE, CAN WE POTENTIALLY GET A NATURE TRAIL ON THE SITE AND CAN WE POTENTIALLY ACTIVATE THE SITE SO THAT WE START TO GET SOME, SOME NEIGHBORS ACTUALLY USING IT.

AND WE FIND THAT, UM, WHEN PEOPLE START TO USE THE SITE, IT BECOMES SAFER, IT BECOMES, UH, MORE KNOWN TO THE COMMUNITY AND IT BECOMES SOMETHING, SOMETHING THAT THEY, THEY REALLY START TO, UM, LOOK AT AS, AS THEIR OWN.

SO, UM, WITH THAT, UH, I MIGHT, I MIGHT ASK RANDY IF HE MIGHT HAVE SOME THINGS TO ADD.

JUST YEAH, JUST ADD, THERE'S, THERE'S ALWAYS A PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROCESS THAT ALSO INCURS WHEN A PARK IS GONNA BE DEVELOPED INTO A NEIGHBORHOOD PARK TYPE.

UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT KIND OF AMENITIES DOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD WANT? UH, I'VE BEEN ON THE TOTAL OPPOSITE DEAL WHERE WE'VE ACQUIRED A, A PARKLAND IN A DEFICIENT NEIGHBORHOOD AND, UH, THE ENTIRE NEIGHBORHOOD JUST WANTED IT TO BE PASSIVE.

UH, THEY DIDN'T WANT IT DEVELOPED ANY FURTHER.

SO, UH, THERE'S ALWAYS A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS THAT ALSO INCURED DURING THAT TIMEFRAME.

HOW MANY, I'M NOT SURE THE RIGHT WAY TO ASK IT IF IT'S FROM AN ACREAGE PERSPECTIVE OR A COST PERSPECTIVE, BUT WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO MOVE THE NEEDLE FROM THAT 65% NUMBER TO LET'S SAY 70%, 80%, HOPEFULLY A HUNDRED PERCENT ONE DAY.

YOU KNOW, IF A IF A PARK SERVES 10,000 PEOPLE YOU CAN THINK OF, OR 30,000 PEOPLE, YOU CAN THINK OF WHAT PERCENTAGE THAT MIGHT MOVE THE DIAL.

UM, WELL WE HAVE MOVED IT A LOT, UH, CURRENT.

WE'RE, WE'RE ALSO DOING AN ANALYSIS IN HOPES TO IMPROVE THAT NOW IS LOOKING AT WHAT ARE OUR, UH, BARRIERS OF GETTING PEOPLE TO THE PARK.

A LOT OF TIMES IF A A ROAD IS OVER 40 MILES, 45 MILES AN HOUR, THAT BECOMES A BARRIER.

UH, IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE A CROSSING OF THAT ROAD, UH, WITH A, A HYBRID BEACON OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO ALLOW THE PUBLIC TO ACCESS IT, TO BRING THEM WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE OF A PARK, UM, UH, BRIDGES THAT MIGHT CROSS THE CREEK OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT? UM, THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF OPTIONS BESIDES JUST ACQUIRING LAND THAT WE COULD GO THROUGH.

WE ARE DOING THAT ANALYSIS RIGHT NOW ON TRYING TO, UH, BREAK DOWN THOSE BARRIERS OR IMPROVE 'EM WHERE WE CAN.

UH, GREENWAYS IS AN OPTION TO, UH, CONNECT PEOPLE TO PARKS AS WELL.

THAT'S HOW WE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE, THE BACKBONE OF OUR, OUR PARK SYSTEM, UH, GREENWAYS AND HAVING NODES ALONG THOSE, GETTING PEOPLE TO 'EM.

UM, ACQUISITIONS, UH, WE LOST A LOT OF, I THINK ABOUT 12 NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS.

UH, UH, A ISD UH, CONDEMNED, UH, CONDEMNED US.

SO THAT KICKED US BACK A LITTLE BIT IN OUR PERCENTAGE OF NEIGHBORHOODS OR POPULATIONS SERVED.

UH, GOING BACK AND TRYING TO ACQUIRE LAND IN THOSE AREAS ARE GONNA BE VERY EXPENSIVE.

INFIELD PARKS ARE OUR PER ACRE, MOST EXPENSIVE PARKS THAT WE CAN ACQUIRE.

UM, SO WE HAVE, UH, RANKED THE CITY INTO AREAS, UH, THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A, ANOTHER MAP, I DON'T KNOW WHAT SLIDE THAT'S ON SCOTT.

IT WAS THE, THE MAP THAT TALKED ABOUT INFIELD PARKS IN THE DEEPER PURPLE AREAS OR THE HIGHEST PRIORITY AREAS AND WHERE WE'RE PAST IT THERE.

UM, OR AREAS WHERE WE'RE REALLY FOCUSED ON TRYING TO, UH, EITHER BREAK DOWN A BARRIER TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO, UH, NEIGHBORHOODS IN THE COMMUNITY OR ACQUIRING PARKLAND IN THOSE AREAS.

AND IS THERE, THE AVERAGE ACQUISITION IN THAT AREA IS, INFILL PARK IS $2 MILLION AND ANOTHER $2 MILLION TO DEVELOP A PARK.

AND DO WE HAVE LIKE TO MOVE IT EITHER EVERY 1% OR EVERY 5% COSTS US X MILLION DOLLARS? JUST I'M TRYING TO, WELL, THERE'S A MILLION PEOPLE, UH, IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, ROUGHLY.

SO, UM, IT,

[01:25:01]

I CAN'T DO THAT MATH OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, BUT, SURE.

UM, WELL, WHAT DO WE THINK? THERE'S OBVIOUSLY A CONVERSATION GOING ON RIGHT NOW ABOUT LAND ACQUISITION AS PART OF, UH, A, A BOND, A PARKS OR BROADER BOND EFFORT.

UM, I THINK THE NUMBER WITHIN THAT PROPOSAL WAS AROUND $50 MILLION AS WELL.

UM, WHAT IF, IF WE'RE TALKING TO THE PUBLIC, WHAT DOES THAT DELIVER? WHAT DOES THAT GET, UM, A NEIGHBORHOOD RESIDENT? UH, IS THAT GOING TO, YOU KNOW, RAISE IT? I, I DON'T KNOW IF THE RIGHT WAY TO SAY IS X NUMBER OF PARKS OR TO SAY WE'RE GONNA GO FROM 65% TO 68%.

SO, UH, HOW, HOW DO WE QUANTIFY IT? YEAH, IT WOULD BE MORE THAN THAT.

SO IF, UM, I THINK OUR, OUR LAST BOND PACKAGE IN INFILL PARKS, UH, WE DID DECREASED, UH, OR INCREASED THE PERCENTAGE OF POPULATION WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE BY ABOUT 10%.

AND HOW MUCH WAS THE ACQUISITION? I THINK WE HAD 20 MINUTE MILLION IDENTIFIED FOR INFILL PARKS.

SO THAT'S BASICALLY 10 INFILL PARKS.

UM, SO WE, WE MIGHT'VE BEEN ABLE TO STRETCH IT A LITTLE BIT MORE, UH, 'CAUSE WE WERE ABLE TO MATCH THE LAST BOND PACKAGE, UH, FOR EVERY DOLLAR OF BOND DOLLAR WE SPENT.

WE, UH, MATCHED IT WITH 33 CENTS OF, UH, OUR CLIENT DEDICATION FEE IN LIEU OF ON ACQUISITIONS.

UH, THE ONLY OTHER COMMENT I'LL MAKE, AND I THINK IT'S A BROADER DISCUSSION FOR ANOTHER TIME, YOU TOUCHED ON A BIT ABOUT, UM, THE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROCESS.

AND I THINK THAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO FIGURE OUT WHAT DOES A COMMUNITY WANT AND, UM, HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT THIS SPACE THAT REALLY IS FOR A COMMUNITY, UM, FITS THOSE NEEDS? I DO.

I, I HAVE SEEN IN THE PAST THAT PROCESS REALLY DRAG OUT AND A COMMUNITY KIND OF FEEL LIKE, WHE WHEN IS THE COMMUNITY PROCESS GONNA END AND THE COMMUNITY PARK START? RIGHT? YEAH.

SO I I THINK IT WOULD BE, UM, WORTH US LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, SHOULD THERE BE KIND OF A STANDARD TIME PERIOD WHERE IT'S A, A 12 MONTH PROCESS, UH, YOU KNOW, PICK YOUR TIME.

I, I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S THE APPROPRIATE TIME, BUT THAT WE TRY TO REALLY GET IT ALL WRAPPED UP IN THIS SPECIFIC AMOUNT OF TIME AND THEN MOVE ON TO THAT NEXT STEP, UH, INSTEAD OF KIND OF DRAGGING IT OUT, DRAGGING IT OUT.

'CAUSE UM, I KNOW SOMETIMES WE AIM FOR THAT PERFECT PARK, UH, FOR EVERYBODY AND SOMETIMES THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE ARE PARKS THAT HAVE, UM, LAID FALLOW FOR A LONG TIME.

AND TO YOUR POINT, THAT MAYBE THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THE COMMUNITY WANTS.

UM, BUT I KNOW JUST IT'S NOT ALWAYS THE DOLLARS AS THE QUESTION.

I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT FROM A PROCESS PERSPECTIVE, WE'RE NOT, UH, THE ONES HOLDING UP THAT DELIVERY TO THE COMMUNITY.

BUT, UM, I APPRECIATE THIS, THIS PRESENTATION.

I'LL, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO COUNCIL MEMBER DECHEN.

I KNOW.

GOT SOME QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU, CHAIR.

I HAD A COUPLE OF THINGS I WAS CURIOUS ABOUT, SOME OF WHICH I JUST MAYBE COMPARING APPLES AND ORANGES HERE.

WHEN WE MET WITH TPW RECENTLY, THEY MENTIONED TO US THAT THEY'RE BUILDING OUT TRAILS AT ROUGHLY $10 MILLION A MILE IN HERE.

IT SEEMS LIKE YOU'VE CHARACTERIZED IT AS MINIMAL DEVELOPMENT.

SO WHAT AM I MISSING IN HOW THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT TRAILS AND HOW YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT TRAILS? THERE ARE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SURFACES OF TRAILS.

UM, UH, URBAN TRAILS BUILDS A TRAIL THAT'S 14 FOOT WIDE CONCRETE AND THAT THAT'S WHAT THEY PURSUE AS A TRAIL.

UH, PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT HAS, UH, SEVERAL DIFFERENT TYPES OF TRAILS.

WE HAVE START OUT WITH A NATURE TRAIL THAT, UH, GROUPS LIKE WHAT, UH, SCOTT MENTIONED EARLIER, AMERICAN YOUTH WORKS, UH, CAN BUILD.

AND THOSE ARE NATURE TRAILS.

IT'S EARTH AND TRAIL, TWO FOOT TREAD, SOMETHING THAT YOU MIGHT SEE ON BARTON CREEK GREENBELT OR BULL CREEK GREENBELT.

UH, THAT'S KIND OF THE FIRST INITIAL PHASE OF A TRAIL OR THE LIFE OF A TRAIL.

UH, FROM THERE, THAT TRAIL MIGHT GO TO SOME TYPE OF IMPROVED SURFACE TRAIL, MAYBE INTO A GRANITE, UH, TRAIL.

AND, UH, THEN THE, THE, THE LAST PART OF THE LIFE OF A TRAIL OR, OR THE MATURITY OF A TRAIL WOULD BE AN IMPROVED SURFACE IN CONCRETE, UH, TRAIL.

[01:30:02]

GOT IT.

THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING THAT.

UM, I'M ALSO CURIOUS IF YOU CAN GO BACK TO SLIDE THAT'S ABOUT THE RECREATION CENTERS.

I'M NOT SURE IF THIS LINK THERE IS, IS INTENDED TO TAKE US TO THAT GAP ANALYSIS, BUT I COULDN'T GET THAT WORKING.

SO IF IT'S AVAILABLE, UM, I WONDER IF THERE'S A WAY FOR US TO GET THAT IN A DIFFERENT FORMAT.

YEAH, SLIDE SEVEN, SORRY.

YEAH, SO FIRST OF ALL THAT THERE'S A GAP ANALYSIS AND FACILITY ASSESSMENT LOOKS LIKE IT'S A HYPERLINK.

IS THAT SUPPOSED TO TAKE US TO THE ACTUAL DOCUMENT? OKAY.

YEP.

IS IT POSSIBLE TO GET THAT DOCUMENT YEP.

IN A DIFFERENT WAY? 'CAUSE I COULDN'T GET THAT WORKING.

YEP.

SO SECOND QUESTION IS, WHEN I LOOK AT THIS MAP AND THE EQUITY PRIORITY AREAS, UNLESS I'M MISTAKEN, I MAY BE THE ONLY COUNCIL DISTRICT THAT HAS NO REC CENTER, AND YET IT SEEMS LIKE THERE'S VIRTUALLY NO, UH, MY ENTIRE AREA EXCEPT FOR A FEW SMALL AREAS IS PRIMARILY LOW FOR A PRIORITY AREA.

SO I'M CURIOUS, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? HOW DO, AM I INTERPRETING THIS INCORRECTLY? UH, CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND, I'M PROBABLY MISSING SOME HISTORY AND CONTEXT HERE.

CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHAT, WHAT I'M SEEING, UH, THE, THE PURPLE AREAS, UH, EQUITY PRIORITY AREA AND, AND WHY IT'S, UH, A LIGHTER, UH, COLOR MAYBE IN YOUR DISTRICT? UH, I WOULD IMAGINE THE WEIGHTING OF UH, LOWER INCOME, UH, IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MAJOR, MAYBE YOUTH POPULATION IS ALSO MAYBE ONE OF THE MAJOR REASONS THAT THAT'S A LIGHTER SHADE OF BLUE OR PURPLE, UH, THAN OTHER AREAS OF THE TOWN.

UH, HOW MUCH DOES GEOGRAPHY WEIGH IN THERE? I MEAN, EVEN IF I LOOK EQUIDISTANT BETWEEN THE TWO REC CENTERS NOW ON THAT ARE ADJACENT DISTRICTS, I'M STILL NOT SEEING, UM, REALLY ANY INDICATION THAT THERE'S, UH, A NEED OR THAT'S SCORING HIGHLY THERE.

I'M, I'M SORRY, I I COULDN'T QUITE HEAR THE, THE COMMENT.

SO HOW MUCH DOES GEOGRAPHY, HOW MUCH DOES DISTANCE FACTOR INTO THE CALCULATION THERE? 'CAUSE AS I LOOK AT, SAY THE REC CENTER AND D SIX, I LOOK AT THE REC CENTER THAT'S IN YES.

SEVEN.

YES.

THE, THE, THE DISTANCE ONLY FACTORS INTO THE AREAS THAT ARE SHADED IN, UH, THE BEIGE COLOR, UH, AREA.

SO THAT, THAT IS THE, THE AREAS THAT ARE SERVED WITH A RECREATION CENTER.

UM, THE, I THINK I'M SURE EXACTLY THE EASTERN BOUNDARY OF, OF YOUR DISTRICT ON THIS MAP.

OF COURSE, WE DIDN'T OVERLAY THE COUNCIL DISTRICTS.

UM, BUT THERE JUST KIND OF CENTRAL NORTH CENTRAL, UH, ALONG 180 3.

UM, I THINK MAYBE IT'S IN DISTRICT EIGHT.

UM, SO THAT'S PROBABLY NOT IN YOUR DISTRICT.

THAT'S A HIGH PRIORITY AREA.

UM, BUT YEAH, SIX IS, UH, THE ONLY RECREATION CENTER WE HAVE UP THERE IS THE, THE OLD FIRE STATION, UH, IS WHAT'S CONSIDERED AND PROGRAMMING THAT'S PROVIDED.

WELL, I'M GONNA PULL OFF OF QUESTIONS THERE.

I'LL, I'LL LOOK FOR THAT GAP ANALYSIS THAT YOU GUYS CAN SEND ME THAT MIGHT HELP ME BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW YOU GUYS ARE, UH, ABLE TO SCORE THIS, BECAUSE THAT HAS BEEN A LONGSTANDING QUESTION I'VE HAD, WHICH IS, AND WE, WE'D BE MORE THAN GLAD TO PROVIDE THE WEIGHTING THAT WE USED, UH, WITH THAT BROUGHT OUT THOSE DARKER SHADES OF PURPLE THAT YOU SEE.

IT'S, WHEN I LOOK AT THE DESCRIPTIONS AND THE LANGUAGE ONLINE, IT'S NOT ENTIRELY CLEAR THAT THAT'S EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED.

UH, AS I SAID, I'M SURE I'VE GOT MORE QUESTIONS HERE, BUT I'LL WAIT TO GET THAT ANALYSIS FIRST BEFORE I, UM, BEFORE I MAKE ANY MORE ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT IT.

UH, I THINK THE LAST QUESTION I'VE GOT IS, I'M UNCLEAR, I KNOW WE'RE ADDING ABOUT THREE AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS IT LOOKS LIKE IN OUR LATEST BUDGET TO THE URBAN FORESTRY REPLENISHMENT FUND.

I'M CURIOUS IF THAT'S A POTENTIAL TOOL FOR ACQUISITION OR NOT, OR IF THAT'S DEDICATED TO SPECIFIC THINGS THAT, UM, CAN'T EXPRESSLY BE USED FOR LAND ACQUISITION.

I, I, I HAVE NEVER, OH, I'VE BEEN DOING THIS ABOUT 30 YEARS.

UM, I HAVE NEVER UTILIZED IT FOR LAND ACQUISITION IN THE PAST, SO I WOULD IMAGINE THAT THERE'S SOME KIND OF, UH, UH, REGULATION WE THAT WE CANNOT.

BUT, UH, I, I APPRECIATE THAT THOUGHT AND WE WILL DEFINITELY LOOK INTO IT.

OKAY, I'D APPRECIATE THAT.

YEAH, I'D BE CURIOUS IF THERE'S AN ANSWER ON THAT.

[01:35:01]

SO ON, ON BULL CREEK, UM, WE DID, UH, MAKE AN ACQUISITION, UM, WHERE WE DID UTILIZE SOME MITIGATION, UH, THAT WAS REQUIRED AND, AND THAT AREA WAS SET ASIDE TO PRESERVE THE TREES ON THAT, THEIR PERCENTAGE.

UH, AND THAT IS, UH, CLOSE TO LOW WATER CROSSING NUMBER ONE.

MM-HMM .

ALRIGHT.

I'LL LOOK FOR ANY ANSWERS YOU GUYS CAN SHARE IN THE FUTURE ABOUT THE STATUS.

UH, THANK YOU.

THANKS CHAIR.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

UH, COUNCILMAN MORALES.

I WANTED TO MOVE BACK TO SLIDE 11, THE DIFFERENT PHASES OF ACTIVATION, IF YOU WILL, OF THE PARK SPACES.

UM, WHEN WE BUY LAND AND WE USE CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION, ARE WE ALLOWED TO USE ANY ADDITIONAL DOLLARS TO GET US TO LEVEL TWO, THREE OR FOUR TO BE ABLE TO ACTIVATE THE, THE ACTUAL PLAYGROUNDS? OR ARE THERE ANY RULES AROUND UTILIZING THAT SOURCE OF FUNDING? UH, AC ACQUISITION DOLLARS FOR DEVELOPMENT? YEAH, I KNOW WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE COS TO BE ABLE TO BUY THE LAND.

ARE THOSE FLEXIBLE ENOUGH TO DO ENGAGEMENT? THE LANGUAGE DOES NOT ALLOW FOR THE LANGUAGE IN THE, UH, I THINK THE RESOLUTION DOES NOT ALLOW FOR THE EXPENDITURE ON DEVELOPMENT.

COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND THAT.

EVEN THE NATURE TRAIL COMPONENT.

UH, NO, WE, WE DO HAVE, UH, PARKLAND DEDICATION FUNDINGS THAT WE USE.

UH, AMERICAN YOUTH WORKS ALL OVER THE CITY TO DEVELOP NATURE TRAILS.

IS THERE A PARTICULAR AREA THAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE FOCUSED ON COUNCIL MEMBER? NO, I JUST KNOW THAT WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, A SIMILAR ISSUE TO WHAT MY COLLEAGUES ARE SPEAKING TO AS WELL, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, WE BUY LAND AND EVERYONE GETS EXCITED ABOUT IT AND THEN IT TAKES, YOU KNOW, A DECADE SOMETIMES TO SEE IT ACTIVATED.

AND SO I'M CURIOUS WHAT THE MULTI-STAGE PLANNING AND TIMELINES LOOK LIKE.

DO WE HAVE SET THRESHOLDS TO SAY WE'RE GONNA BUY THIS LAND NEAR OUR NEIGHBORHOOD AND WITHIN TWO YEARS WE WANNA SEE A NATURE TRAIL AND THEN WITHIN FIVE YEARS, MAYBE SOME SOFT AMENITIES? DO WE HAVE METRICS LIKE THAT WITHIN THE CITY THAT WE ARE TRYING TO HOLD OURSELVES TO? I WOULD LIKE TO SAY, JUST TO CLARIFY THERE, THAT AS PART OF THE ACQUISITION, UM, THE TEAM IS, DOES PLAN FOR ANY KIND OF DEMOLITION AND, UH, THE CLEARING OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS IF, IF NEEDED, UH, FROM THEN ON, UM, AS RANDY SAID, THERE ARE PATENT DEDICATION FUNDS OR IF THERE IS BOND FUNDING, WE CAN AT LEAST, UM, TRY TO GET INTO THE LEVEL TWO WITH NATURE TRAILS WHEN PEOPLE CAN ALSO WALK THEIR PETS OR DO BIRDWATCHING OR HAVE A PICNIC.

UM, SO THAT CAN COME QUICKLY FOR THE NEXT STAGE.

WE NEED TO USUALLY CREATE A CONCEPT PLAN.

AND FOR THAT ACTUALLY IS WHERE THE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT HAPPENS.

BUT THAT FUNDING ACTUALLY CANNOT COME FROM CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION CANNOT COME FROM BOND FUNDING EITHER.

SO THAT HAS TO COME FROM A DIFFERENT SOURCE OR BEING DONE IN-HOUSE.

SO THAT IS PART OF THE, UM, OF SOME OF THE DELAY.

AND OF COURSE, WE DON'T WANT TO START THE CONCEPT PLANNING UNLESS WE KNOW THAT THERE'S GONNA BE SOME BOND FUNDING THAT COMES AFTERWARDS SO THAT WE CAN DEVELOP THE PLAN.

SO IN PREPARATION FOR BONDS, WE DO HAVE ADDITIONAL CONCEPT PLANNING DONE FOR NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS, FOR INFIELD PARKS AND POCKET PARKS.

UM, BUT OTHERWISE THERE IS NO POINT IN ENGAGING WITH THE COMMUNITY IF WE CANNOT REALLY MOVE INTO DEVELOPMENT.

RIGHT.

I KNOW I'M GOING THROUGH THAT ON A DIFFERENT PROJECT WHERE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW OPEN-ENDED IS THE QUESTION OF WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE? UM, OR, OR WOULD PEOPLE CHOOSE SOMETHING THAT'S NOT ABLE TO BE DELIVERED FOR WHATEVER REASON? UM, DO, BUT DO WE TRACK INTERNALLY, YOU KNOW, WHICH PARKS GET THAT LEVEL OF ACTIVATION AND WHEN, JUST SO WE KNOW, UM, ARE WE WAITING FOR EVERY SIX YEARS THERE MIGHT BE A PARKS BOND AND SO THEN WE'RE DOING THEM IN PHASES WHERE EVERYONE'S GETTING SOME IMPROVEMENTS? OR IS IT AD HOC AT THIS POINT OF WE'RE JUST WORKING THROUGH THE PRIORITY LIST AND THEY MAY ALL HAVE DIFFERENT TIMELINES? YEAH.

UM, SO WE DO HAVE A PRIORITY LIST AND THIS IS, UH, BEING REVIEWED AND REVISITED ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.

AND THERE ARE SEVERAL FACTORS THAT ARE AFFECTING IT.

UM, SO BASED ON THAT AND THE CAPACITY AND THE FUNDING, WE, UH, PROCEED WITH, UH, THE CONCEPT

[01:40:01]

STUDIES.

AND IN MANY CASES, WE ARE ALSO COORDINATING WITH, UH, WITH PARTNERS.

A LOT OF TIMES A PF HAS HELPED OUT, TAKEN OVER EVEN THE RESPONSIBILITY TO WORK WITH THE COMMUNITY AND DELIVER A CONCEPT PLAN THAT WE WILL THEN MOVE FORWARD, UH, WITH THE DEVELOPMENT.

I MAY WANNA CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION OFFLINE.

I KNOW WE HAVE FOUND, AT LEAST IN DISTRICT DATE WITH THE PRIORITIZATION LIST, YOU KNOW, AS, AS MORE PROJECTS COME ONLINE, SOMETIMES YOU MAY BE, YOU KNOW, EIGHTH IN LINE FOR AN IMPROVEMENT, BUT THEN THE CITY'S BOUGHT MORE LAND AND OTHER THINGS END UP CONTINUING TO BUMP THE PROJECT DOWN THE LIST.

AND SO, UM, I FEEL VERY STRONGLY, ESPECIALLY IN A DISTRICT LIKE MINE, WE HAVE A LOT OF PARKLAND.

NOT ALL OF IT IS ACTIVATED, BUT IT'S ALSO IN AREAS OF HIGH WILDFIRE RISK.

AND WE REALLY WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T JUST HAVE VACANT LAND SITTING THERE.

THAT WE, AT LEAST EVEN THE NATURE TRAIL MEANS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN SEND IN VOLUNTEER GROUPS TO HELP DO CLEANUPS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, BUT IF YOU DON'T GET TO THE NATURE TRAIL LEVEL, IT'S HARD TO GET EQUIPMENT IN AND OUT TO BE ABLE TO DO SOME OF THE BRUSH CLEARING THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN.

UM, BUT I'LL CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION OFFLINE WITH YOU.

ALL RIGHT, WELL THANK Y'ALL FOR, OH, I, SORRY, COUNCILLOR DUCH.

I HAVE ONE FOLLOW UP QUESTION.

I'M SORRY ABOUT THIS.

I HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION, UM, ACTUALLY MAYBE TWO REALLY SHORT ONES, BUT ONE IS JUST BASED ON THE INFORMATION SHARED IN THE PRESENTATION, TRYING TO REALLY JUST CONFIRM THAT BASED ON PRESUMABLY O AND M AND DEFERRED MAINTENANCE, THE PREFERENCE THAT A PR WOULD HAVE WOULD BE TO HAVE ANY ACQUISITION BE GREENBELT BASED ON THE MAINTENANCE COST.

IS THAT A FAIR AS ASSESSMENT OR IS IT MORE COMPLEX THAN THAT? IS IT IT'S DEFINITELY MORE COMPLEX THAN THAT.

UH, GREENBELTS, UH, SERVE AS LINEAR PARKS AND UH, ARE, THEY WILL, UH, ARE ONLY AWAY.

THERE'S NO MORE ACTIVE RECREATION OTHER THAN TRAILS THAT CAN BE BUILT ON THOSE.

SO THEY'RE OFTEN IN THE FLOODPLAIN.

SO WE USE THOSE AS CORRIDORS, UH, FOR HUMANS NATURE, UH, TO GET PEOPLE TO A NODE ALONG THAT WHICH HAS SOME HIGH AND DRY LAND WHERE MORE ACTIVE RECREATION AMENITIES COULD BE BUILT.

UH, SO, UH, THAT WOULD BE, THAT WOULD IS EITHER IN THE FORM OF A NEIGHBORHOOD PARK, UH, DISTRICT PARK OR A METRO PARK.

UH, OKAY.

WELL IT SOUNDS LIKE, I LIKE COUNCILOR ELLIS.

I'VE GOT SOME FOLLOW UP THERE TO BETTER UNDERSTAND YOUR THOUGHT PROCESS FOR HOW YOU WOULD DESIGNATE THE ACQUISITIONS AND HOW YOU'RE TARGETING THEM BASED ON THE L AND M COST AND TO THE EXTENT THAT THAT'S A SIGNIFICANT FACTOR AND YOUR DECISION MAKING PROCESS.

THE OTHER QUICK QUESTION IS JUST TO THE EXTENT THAT THERE'S AN UPDATE.

SO WE'VE GOT THE $50 MILLION DEDICATED ACQUISITION FUND.

YOU'VE, YOU'VE, UH, YOU'VE SECURED THIS 50 ACRE PROPERTY, YOU'VE GOT STUFF THAT ISN'T THE PIPELINE IT LOOKS LIKE.

UH, IS THERE A WAY TO, FOR US IN FUTURE UPDATES TO GET A SENSE OF HOW THAT FUND IS BEING, YOU KNOW, USED, DEPLOYED, EXHAUSTED OVER TIME? UH, YES.

UM, SO BEYOND THAT, WHAT'S ON THAT SLIDE? UH, UM, WE ARE IN NEGOTIATION, I BELIEVE IT SHOWED ON 10 PROPERTIES, UH, IN THE $50 MILLION.

UH, WATERSHED IS, UH, IN NEGOTIATIONS ON A PROPERTY.

AND AUSTIN WATER IS ALSO IN NEGOTIATIONS ON TWO PROPERTIES.

SO THE $50 MILLION, UH, ALL HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED AND ARE IN DEEP INTO NEGOTIATIONS.

ON THOSE PROPERTIES, UH, THEY WILL COME THROUGH TO COUNSEL, UH, IN THE COMING YEAR, UH, AS FAR AS APPROVAL TO, UH, MOVE FORWARD ON THE ACQUISITION THE COMING YEAR.

SO WITHIN WITHIN 12 MONTHS, WE SHOULD SEE MOST OF THOSE.

MOST OR ALL OF THEM COME FORWARD.

YES.