Aug 11, 2026 Community Development Commission

UM, I HAVE THE THREE, UM, THE THREE COMMISSIONERS THAT APPROVED IT, SO I CAN APPROVE IT WITH THAT ONE.

IS THAT THE ONE AMENDMENT? YES, MA'AM.

OR WHICH, HOWEVER MANY AMENDMENTS THAT Y'ALL WOULD LIKE.

BUT, UM, AND I CAN RELAY THAT.

GIMME ONE SECOND.

I THINK SO.

SO WHERE I AGENDA , THAT'S A REALLY BIG PART OF THE MM-HMM .

30 MINUTES CONVERSATION.

GOT IT.

SO MIGUEL, THAT WOULD BE A NOTE ON THEIR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. IS THAT YES, SIR.

UM, AND MY NOTES HAVE IT AS, UM, THAT WILL BE COMMISSIONER MENARD, LONGORIA, AND BREWSTER.

GOT IT.

ALL RIGHT, COMMISSIONER.

SO WE HAVE THAT CHANGE TO OUR MINUTES THAT WILL BE ADDED.

UM, I'M LOOKING FOR A MOTION TO APPROVE MINUTES WITH THAT ADDITION.

UH, THAT NOTE ADDED.

THERE'S ANOTHER CHANGE.

COMMISSIONER LAGUARDIA? YES, THE MARIA DEL CARMAN.

HER NAME IS MISSPELLED.

AND THEN ALSO MARIANA KRUGER.

[00:05:01]

AND I, AND I'LL, I'LL MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES WITH THOSE, THOSE CHANGES.

DO I HAVE A SECOND? COMMISSIONER ACHILLES.

COMMISSIONER ACHILLES SECOND.

SO, UH, COMMISSIONER LONGORIA, UH, MAKES A MOTION.

SO WE HAVE, LET'S TAKE A VOTE ON APPROVING MINUTES FROM THE JULY 14TH, SORRY.

JULY 14TH.

UH, COMMUNITY, UH, SORRY.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MEETING.

UH, EVERYBODY THAT APPROVES SAY AYE.

OR RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU'RE ON CAMERA.

PLEASE TURN ON YOUR CAMERA.

ANYBODY OPPOSED OR ABSTAINING? COMMISSIONER HASSO ABSTAINS.

THE MOTION PASSES.

MOTION PASSES.

THANK YOU, MIGUEL.

[2. Staff briefing regarding Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) activities and outcomes. Presentation by Angel Zambrano, Program Manager III, Austin Public Health.]

ALRIGHT, COMMISSIONERS, UH, WE'RE MOVING ON TO, UM, ITEM NUMBER TWO, STAFF BRIEFINGS.

UH, SO OUR BRIEFING, UH, ITEM NUMBER TWO, THIS IS STAFF BRIEFING REGARDING THE COMMUNITY SERVICES BLOCK GRANT, THE CSBG, UH, WITH ACTIVITIES AND OUTCOMES.

AND IT'S, UH, OUR MONTHLY PRESENTATION BY AN ANGEL ANO PROGRAM PROGRAM MANAGER WITH AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH.

WELCOME, ANGEL.

WE'VE UPDATED HOUSEHOLDS, AVOID EVICTION.

GOOD EVENING.

THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.

ANO FROM THE NEIGHBOR SERVICES UNIT AT AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH.

I HAVE A COUPLE OF THINGS TO REPORT ON THIS MONTH.

WE'LL START WITH, UH, IN YOUR BACKUP, YOU HAVE THE PROGRAMMATIC FINANCIAL REPORT FOR AUGUST.

I ALWAYS START WITH OUR MISSION.

THE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES UNIT AIMS TO IMPROVE THE LIVES AND HEALTH OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCING POVERTY BY PROVIDING PUBLIC HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES, AND CONNECTING RESIDENTS OF AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY TO COMMUNITY RESOURCES.

WE DO THAT THROUGH A VARIETY OF MEANS, BASIC NEEDS SERVICES, PREVENTIVE HEALTH WITH OUR PUBLIC HEALTH, NURSING SERVICES, CASE MANAGEMENT, AND EMPLOYMENT SUPPORTS FROM OUR SOCIAL WORKERS AND OUR SELF-SUFFICIENCY CASE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.

I'LL JUST FOCUS ON THE, UM, THE BUDGET, GIVE YOU AN UPDATE.

UH, ACTUALLY TODAY WE RECEIVED, UH, COMMUNICATION THAT WE WERE GETTING OUR LAST AMENDMENT AND FUNDING FOR THIS YEAR.

SO THAT IS REALLY GOOD.

UH, WE'RE GOING TO RECEIVE A TOTAL OF $1,148,214.

UM, SO AS YOU SEE, THERE WAS 8 55, 640, BUT AGAIN, THAT WAS BREAKING NEWS TODAY, UH, WITH AN EMAIL.

UM, AS YOU GUYS KNOW, IT'S BEEN PRETTY PRECARIOUS OVER THE PAST YEAR.

A YEAR AGO, WE WEREN'T SURE IF WE WERE GONNA BE FUNDED AT ALL.

SIX MONTHS AGO, WE WEREN'T SURE IF WE WERE GONNA GET THE LAST ALLOTMENT FOR CALENDAR YEAR 26, BUT NOW WE GOT IT.

AND THAT IS A BRIGHT SPOT.

UH, PAGE NUMBER TWO, YOU GUYS HAD ASKED FOR A SUCCESS STORY.

SO I PULLED THIS ONE FROM OUR PUBLIC HEALTH NURSING PROGRAMMING.

UH, ONE OF OUR NURSES, UH, IN HER OWN WORDS, GAVE THIS STORY.

I HOPE YOU TAKE THE TIME TO READ IT.

I DEFINITELY WAS MOVED BY IT AND, UH, FOUND OUT ABOUT HALF HELEN'S, UH, CLINIC AT THE CLINIC.

IT'S A CLINIC THAT FOCUSES ON HELPING, UM, IDENTIFY VISION IMPAIRMENT IN YOUNG CHILDREN.

AND, UH, I WOULD RECOMMEND YOU LOOK THEM UP.

THEY HAVE A BEAUTIFUL WEBSITE TALKING ABOUT THEIR MISSION, WHAT THEY'VE BEEN DOING FOR THE PAST 10 YEARS.

UM, AND I JUST PUT A LITTLE BIT OF, UH, DETAILS ABOUT, ABOUT HOW THIS SOCIAL, THIS, UH, NURSE WAS ABLE TO, UH, HELP OUR CLIENT AND THEIR CHILD, UM, WITH NOT JUST BASIC NEEDS SERVICES, BUT SOMETHING BEYOND THAT THROUGH THE HALF HALEN'S SUPPORT.

SO, AGAIN, TAKE YOUR TIME TO READ IT WHEN YOU CAN.

IF YOU GO ON TO THE NEXT, UH, BACKUP.

THAT ONE HAS OUR, UM, HOUSING ASSISTANCE THROUGH JUNE OF 2026.

A COUPLE OF THINGS.

I MEAN, OUR AVERAGE PAYMENT IS ALMOST $1,800 IN RENT.

IT'S THROUGH JUNE.

UH, WE SPENT ALMOST $300,000 ON THAT PROGRAM THIS YEAR.

UH, THE REST OF IT WAS REQUESTED A FEW MONTHS AGO.

SOME INFORMATION ABOUT ETHNICITY AND, UH, RACE.

SO I'LL JUST LET YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THAT ON YOUR OWN.

BUT, UM, THERE IT IS.

AND AGAIN, IF YOU LOOK AT THAT CLOSELY, YOU'RE GONNA SEE THAT MOST OF THE FOLKS WE HELP EITHER HAVE NO INCOME FOR

[00:10:01]

WHATEVER CRISIS THEY'RE IN, OR THEY'RE UNDER, UM, 50% OF FEDERAL POVERTY INCOME GUIDELINES.

SO THEY'RE THE POOREST OF THE POOR.

YOU GO TO PAGE TWO THERE.

OUR BASIC NEEDS ASSISTANCE, JUST GIVE YOU SOME NUMBERS THERE.

ALMOST 28,000 SERVICES PROVIDED.

7,300 HOUSEHOLDS, AGAIN, BROKEN DOWN BY RACE AND ETHNICITY.

UH, HEAT MAP IN TERMS OF WHERE OUR SERVICES ARE MOST IN DEMAND, WHERE PEOPLE ARE COMING FROM OUR EMPLOYMENT SUPPORT SERVICES.

UM, THIS IS ONE THAT I'LL JUST REMIND ALL OF YOU.

AS PART OF OUR CSPG REQUIREMENTS.

WE ARE GIVEN A GOAL EACH YEAR OF HOW MANY TRANSITIONS OUTTA POVERTY.

WE, UH, WE GET 41 IS THE GOAL FROM THE STATE.

I THINK WE'RE AT 28TH.

WE MIGHT BE AT 32 AS OF TODAY, BUT THIS ONLY GOES THROUGH JUNE.

WE'RE ALWAYS A COUPLE MONTHS BACK IN OUR DATA.

SO AGAIN, SOCIAL WORKERS ARE DOING GREAT WORK, HELPING PEOPLE GET BACK INTO THE WORLD OF WORK, HOOKING UP WITH TRAININGS, PROVIDING SOME RENT ASSISTANCE IF NEEDED DURING THAT TRANSITION, UH, ET CETERA.

OUR NURSING SERVICES, AGAIN, A REMINDER THAT THEY'RE ALL FREE.

WE PROVIDE BASIC, UM, BLOOD PRESSURE SCREENINGS, CHOLESTEROL, BLOOD SUGAR CHECKS, UM, INFORMATION REFERRALS, JUST TRYING TO CATCH PEOPLE EARLY ON.

AND THE BIGGEST THING I ALWAYS BRING HERE IS LIKE JUST EMPOWERING PEOPLE TO TAKE CHARGE OF THEIR OWN HEALTH BY HAVING THESE, THESE NUMBERS RIGHT, THESE BASELINES, AND THEN BEING ABLE TO RECONNECT THEM TO A MEDICAL HOME OR THEIR PROVIDER.

A LOT OF THE STORIES THAT'LL COME THROUGH OVER THE NEXT YEAR WILL BE NURSING STORIES AND SOCIAL WORK STORIES.

SO IT KIND OF GIVES YOU AN IDEA OF HOW COMPLICATED IT CAN BE.

I THINK THE STORY LAST MONTH, I WAS NOT HERE TO PRESENT, BUT, UH, IF YOU READ THAT ONE, I THINK IT WAS PRETTY COMPLICATED AND I THINK IT NAVIGATED, UH, CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES AS WELL AS A LOT OF OTHER DOMAINS.

SO WE, WE DO A LOT MORE THAN JUST FOOD OR CAR SEATS OR FANS.

I THINK THAT'S THAT ONE.

IF WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT ONE EVERY YEAR, UH, AS PART OF OUR, UH, CHPG REQUIREMENTS AND ALSO OUR OWN SORT OF WANTING TO KNOW HOW PEOPLE FEEL ABOUT OUR SERVICES AND WHAT THINGS WE CAN IMPROVE.

UH, WE DO A GENERAL CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY AND THEN WE PRESENT IT TO YOU ALL HERE.

SO WE HAVE SOME REALLY GOOD NEWS THIS YEAR.

UM, HERE'S THE DIFFERENT SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE AND WE SEND, WHEN WE SEND THE SURVEY OUT, WE ASK PEOPLE, WHATEVER SERVICE YOU RECEIVE, IT'S OKAY.

JUST LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF US, WHY WE DO IT.

AGAIN, TO GET FEEDBACK FROM FOLKS HOW WE DID IT.

WE SENT TEXTS TO 1,782 CLIENTS, UH, WITH PHONE NUMBERS DOCUMENTED IN OUR SYSTEM.

WE SHARED THE FLYER WITH ATTENDEES AT EVENTS AT ALL CENTERS BETWEEN JULY 1ST AND JULY 22ND.

UH, WE ACTUALLY EXTENDED THAT A LITTLE BIT INTO THE END OF JULY JUST TO GIVE PEOPLE A CHANCE AT THE END, A QR CODE, BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH.

WHAT HAPPENED? UH, 371 PEOPLE RESPONDED ALMOST HALF AND HALF ENGLISH AND SPANISH.

UM, AND HERE IT SAYS, WE ACTUALLY WENT THROUGH AUGUST 4TH.

AND THEN WE ASKED, WHAT DID YOU GET AT THE NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS? A LOT OF THE FOLKS THAT RESPONDED WERE, WERE THINKING OF FOOD ASSISTANCE.

BUT AGAIN, PEOPLE MIGHT GET THAT, BUT AT THE SAME DAY MIGHT GET A FAM MIGHT GET SOMETHING ELSE.

BUT THAT WAS THE MAIN, UM, THING THEY REMEMBERED GETTING.

UM, SOME HOLIDAY ASSISTANCE MIGHT HAVE BEEN LIKE THE JUNETEENTH AND HOPE IS OUR SENIOR PROGRAM.

WE ASKED THEM IF I WAS HAPPY, IF THEY WERE HAPPY WITH THE SERVICES, THEY RECEIVE THE QUALITY.

87% SAID YES, 98% AGREED OR STRONGLY AGREED WITH THAT.

WOULD YOU RECOMMEND A FRIEND OR RELATIVE TO GET HELP AT A NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER? 98% SAID YES.

AGAIN, 88% STRONGLY AGREED.

10% JUST AGREED.

VERY FEW WERE NOT SURE.

AND I THINK FOUR STRONGLY DISAGREED, WHICH IS FINE.

UH, GETTING SERVICES WAS EASY.

97%.

WE DO A LOT OF TRAININGS.

SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I THINK WE DO.

UH, GOOD WORK ON ACCESSIBILITY.

WE CAN MEET PEOPLE ON THE PHONE, IN PERSON, ONLINE, HOWEVER THEY CAN MEET US.

UH, ENABLER SERVICES ENABLER CENTER STAFF WERE POLITE AND HELPFUL.

AGAIN, 98% AGREED.

UH, SOME TRENDS THAT WE'VE SEEN OVER THE LAST SO MANY YEARS REPORTED SATISFACTION OVERALL IS RISING IN 2023.

IT WAS 86% WENT UP TO 89, 90, 98 THIS YEAR.

UM,

[00:15:01]

WE HAVE A REALLY GOOD CULTURE IN TERMS OF CUSTOMER SERVICE.

NO WRONG DOOR, WARM HANDOFFS.

AND I THINK IT SHOWS IN THE, UH, SURVEY RESULTS.

AND WE'VE ALSO SEEN INCREASED RESPONSES WITH IN-PERSON OPTIONS AND FEWER QUESTIONS, WHICH MAKES SENSE.

PEOPLE SOMETIMES GET TIRED OF ANSWERING TOO MANY QUESTIONS AND JUST EXIT THE END, EXIT THE SURVEY BEFORE THEY FINISH IT.

SO HERE'S SOME PICTURES OF SOME OF THE FOOD THAT WE GIVE OUT.

OUR STAFF, SOCIAL WORKER FROM ONTOP, STAFF FROM ST.

JOHN , WE HAVE A NURSE FROM, UH, DUFF SPRINGS THERE.

PUT THE FACE TO THE SERVICES.

AND THAT'S OUR, UM, CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY FOR THE NSU.

WE CAN MOVE ON TO THE, UM, THE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY FOR THE CASE MANAGEMENT SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE.

SO IT'S A SEPARATE SURVEY JUST FOR THE FOLKS THAT ARE IN CASE MANAGEMENT.

THIS IS THE SOCIAL WORK SERVICE THAT WE HELP PEOPLE GET BACK IN THE WORLD OF WORK.

SO, SELF-SUFFICIENCY SERVICES IN 2026, IT WAS 69 HOUSEHOLDS WERE SERVED THROUGH JULY 29TH.

32 PEOPLE IN 22 HOUSEHOLDS TRANSITION TRANSITIONED OUTTA POVERTY.

THE WAY THE STATE MEASURES THAT IS PROVIDING, UH, DOCUMENTATION, BASICALLY PAY STUBS FOR THREE MONTHS ABOVE POVERTY.

SO IT KIND OF SHOWS THAT THEY'RE MAINTAINING EMPLOYMENT.

WE CAN KEEP THEM ON OUR CASELOAD TO HELP THEM OUT WITH OTHER BASIC NEEDS IF NEEDED TO HELP THEM FULLY TRANSITION.

SO A SATISFACTION SURVEY.

UH, WE SEND OUT EMAILS TO 65 CLIENTS THAT WERE IN THE CASE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.

UM, 35 RESPONDED, SO ABOUT HALF.

UM, AND THEN IT, YOU CAN SEE THAT 92% OF CLIENTS WOULD RECOMMEND THE SELF-SUFFICIENCY PROGRAM TO THEIR FAMILY OR FRIENDS.

TWO WERE NEUTRAL AND ONE STRONGLY DISAGREED.

UH, THE RATING SCALE QUESTION RESULTS, 94% OF CLIENTS REPORTED BEING SATISFIED WITH THE QUALITY OF OUR SERVICES.

AGAIN, 94% AGREED.

THEIR CASE MANAGER WAS EASY TO CONTACT.

AGAIN, WE CAN MEET PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY AT THEIR JOB IF THEY'RE COMFORTABLE OR DURING BREAKS AT THE NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER ON THE PHONE, ET CETERA.

UH, 91% OF THE CLIENTS IN THAT PROGRAM AGREED THAT THEIR CASE MANAGER HELPED THEM ACCESS SERVICES THEY NEEDED.

SO IT KIND OF GOES BEYOND WHEN I SHOW YOU THE SUCCESS STORIES, HOW THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT FACTORS THAT PEOPLE ARE DEALING WITH AND OUR SOCIAL WORKERS ARE VERY GOOD AND EXPERT AT BEING ABLE TO, TO NAVIGATE ALL THOSE DOMAINS WITH OUR CLIENTS.

UH, 94% OF CLIENTS THAT BE THEIR CASE MANAGER LISTENED TO AND TREATED THEM WITH RESPECT.

VERY IMPORTANT TO US.

UH, SOMETIMES YOU SEE IN SURVEYS THAT PEOPLE FEEL LIKE IT'S HARD ENOUGH TO COME IN AND ASK FOR HELP, BUT WHEN THEY COME IN AND THEY'RE MET WITH RESPECT AND LISTEN TO, IT GOES A LONG WAY.

UH, 92% OF CLIENTS REPORT CASE MANAGEMENT HAS HELPED THEM BECOME MORE SELF-SUFFICIENT AND STABLE.

AND THEN WE HAVE SOME OPEN FEEDBACK QUESTIONS, WHICH ARE ALWAYS INTERESTING AND, AND GOOD TO GET AS WELL.

THERE'S A LOT HERE, YOU DON'T HAVE TO READ 'EM RIGHT NOW.

UM, WE KIND OF GO THROUGH THESE, UH, THIS NEXT SOCIAL WORK MEETING AND SORT OF KIND OF BRAINSTORM THINGS THAT PEOPLE HAVE SAID AND WHAT WE CAN DO BETTER.

UH, LIKE I SAID, BETTER ACCESS TO FINANCIAL SERVICES.

WE CAN TEASE THAT OUT.

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? INSTEAD OF MANY EMAILS AND LISTS OF LINKS LIKE HOUSING ACTUALLY HELPED ME CONTACT AND APPLY AGAIN.

MORE OF THAT PERSON MIGHT NOT HAVE GOTTEN AS MUCH HAND WARM HANDOFFS AND OR MAYBE FELT THAT THEY WERE JUST GIVEN INFORMATION AND DIDN'T GET ASSISTANCE FOLLOWING THROUGH.

WE CAN, WE CAN LOOK AT THAT.

THE PANTRY HOURS PAST FIVE 30 IS A GOOD ONE.

WE'RE TRYING TO DO A LITTLE MORE IN THE EVENINGS.

WE'RE STARTING WITH A PILOT AT EAST, UH, TO DO LIKE AN EVENING PANTRY OR DRIVE THROUGH.

UM, SO AGAIN, THERE'S A LOT OF GOOD RESPONSES HERE AND A LOT OF GOOD FEEDBACK.

WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE TO IMPROVE THE CASE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM? AGAIN, A LOT OF GOOD ANSWERS.

WE'LL GO THROUGH THIS WITH THE SOCIAL WORKERS AND UH, COME UP WITH A PLAN FOR 27.

THAT'S A GOOD ONE HERE.

EXTEND MORE INFORMATION ON HOW TO GET LAUNDRY ASSISTANCE.

I MEAN, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE SEE A LOT OF OUR CLIENTS STRUGGLE WITH, ESPECIALLY IF THEY HAVE TO GO TO LAUNDROMAT OR THEY DON'T HAVE, YOU KNOW, EASY ACCESS TO THAT.

UM, WITH SOME OF OUR OWN HOUSE CLIENTS THAT COME INTO SOME OF OUR CENTERS, WE HAVE PARTNERED WITH THE, UM, NONPROFIT THAT, I'M NOT REMEMBERING THE NAME RIGHT NOW, BUT THEY PROVIDE SHOWER, UH, MOBILE SHOWER SUPPORT.

UH, THAT'S A REALLY GOOD PROGRAM.

THEY'RE HAVING A, I THINK AN OPEN HOUSE TOMORROW MORNING FOR THE MEDIA

[00:20:01]

AND FOR PEOPLE WHO WANT TO BE INTERESTED, WHO ARE INTERESTED IN HOW THEY DO THAT, UH, THEY JUST, UM, EXPANDED AND HAVE A MUCH BIGGER TRAILER TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.

UM, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT TO SHARE ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE? AGAIN, A LOT OF STUFF HERE, BUT I THOUGHT I SHARED ALL WITH YOU.

YOU CAN READ IT ON YOUR OWN TIME.

BUT AGAIN, A LOT OF GOOD INFORMATION FOR US AND, UH, THAT'S IT.

I THINK WE, WE COVERED THE THINGS THAT I NEED TO COVER THIS MONTH.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, LET ME KNOW.

UM, ALRIGHT.

, UH, COMMISSIONERS.

DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? UH, COMMISSIONER LONGORIA, GO AHEAD.

JUST TO COMMENT.

I MEAN THIS IS REALLY, REALLY POWERFUL INFORMATION, TRULY, LIKE I THINK CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEYS ARE ONE OF THE BEST WAYS TO RECEIVE FEEDBACK ON, YOU KNOW, WHAT THEIR PERSON, WHAT THESE PERSON'S EXPERIENCES WERE LIKE.

AND I'M SO GLAD THAT I THINK IT'S A RELATIVELY HIGH RATE OF, YOU KNOW, PARTICIPATION TO BE HONEST.

AND UM, YEAH, UM, I'VE KNOWN, I'VE, I KNOW OVER THE PAST I'VE KIND OF BEEN HARD ON YOU ON LIKE THE FOOD ASSISTANCE AND STUFF, BUT, UM, I LIVE RIGHT BY THE SOUTH NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD UNIT.

AND THOUGH IT IS CLOSED NOW, THEY DO THEIR WEEKLY FOOD DISTRIBUTIONS AND THEY'RE ALWAYS THERE AND THEY'RE CONSISTENT AND THEY'RE IN THEIR PARK, THEY'RE IN THE PARKING LOT AND THEY POP UP AND THEY DIP OUT SUPER FAST.

THE FOOD RUNS OUT.

THEY'RE PROBABLY THERE FOR LIKE AN HOUR OR TWO OR WHATEVER.

I'M NOT THERE FOR THE WHOLE THING, BUT I JUST SEE LIKE A DOZEN PEOPLE, 15, I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE MORE WHATEVER.

LIKE THEY'RE JUST CONSTANTLY THAT THEY USE THAT SERVICE.

AND AGAIN, I'M JUST GLAD THAT THE PEOPLE ARE APPROACHABLE AND THEY'RE RESPECTFUL AND THEY'RE JUST LIKE, THEY DO THEIR THING AND THEY'RE JUST BOUNCE.

UH, WELL THANK YOU.

AND YOU REMINDED ME, NOT AN OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT, BUT UH, WE ARE HOPING TO REOPEN THAT CENTER NOVEMBER 1ST.

AT LEAST THERE A DAY.

THANK YOU COMMISSIONER MONGOLIA.

THANKS.

THANK, UH, DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSIONERS? I HAVE A QUESTION.

YES, COMMISSIONER TISHA, GO AHEAD.

, I FEEL LIKE OUR VOICE, OUR VOICES MIGHT BE A LITTLE SIMILAR.

SOMETHING UM, OH, I APOLOGIZE.

BUT I'M JUST WONDERING HERE ON RECORD SO THE STAFF KNOW IT HAS SOMETHING TO EXPECT.

GO AHEAD COMMISSIONER.

OH, VICE CHAIR.

ASK IF, UM, THIS CAN BE MENTIONED AT LIKE THE END OF THE YEAR AS WELL, LIKE THE, UM, FEEDBACK THAT Y'ALL GOT BECAUSE I THINK SOME OF THE IDEAS WERE REALLY COOL THAT I SAW.

I DIDN'T, I CAN'T VIEW THE, THE, THE PRESENTATION FOR SOME REASON IN MY LIKE PDF FORMAT.

SO I COULD ONLY SEE THE SLIDE FOR LIKE A COUPLE MINUTES.

UM, AND SO I WAS JUST CURIOUS IF WE COULD LIKE, SEE THIS AGAIN IN A COUPLE OF MONTHS JUST TO KIND OF REMIND US OF LIKE WHAT THE FEEDBACK WAS.

'CAUSE UM, SOME OF THE ONES THAT I SAW ON THERE OF LIKE SOMEONE SAID, UH, ABOUT UM, THERE SHOULD BE A TRANSITIONAL PROGRAM FOR PEOPLE WHO CAN NO LONGER PARTICIPATE.

LIKE, UM, WHEN THEY'RE OFF AND THEN THEY KIND OF ARE LIKE, OKAY, NOW WHAT DO I DO? SOMETHING THAT KIND OF HELPS THEM TRANSITION MORE.

AND I THOUGHT THAT WAS LIKE A REALLY COOL SUGGESTION.

UM, AND I WANNA KEEP THOSE LIKE IN THE LIMELIGHT FOR A WHILE OF LIKE, HEY LOOK, WE GOT THIS REALLY COOL FEEDBACK AND LIKE KEEPING THAT KIND OF IN A PART OF OUR, OUR MINDS AS WE GO THROUGH THIS WORK.

UM, 'CAUSE THERE WERE SOME REALLY COOL THINGS THAT I SAW IN THERE JUST FOR LIKE A COUPLE OF MINUTES.

UM, YEAH.

AND I WANNA KEEP THAT MOMENTUM GOING.

SO YEAH, THANK YOU FOR THE FEEDBACK AND THE RECOMMENDATION.

MM-HMM .

THANK YOU SO MUCH, VICE CHAIR.

UH, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER TISHA? YEAH, I WAS JUST GONNA, HEY AND HELL, SO JUST LOVE SAYING HELLO TO YOU LIKE THAT IN THAT WAY.

BLESS YOUR HEART.

UM, SO I DO HAVE A COMMENT, UM, BUT I ALSO HAVE A QUESTION.

SO THE QUESTION IS THE LAST SLIDE THAT YOU PUT UP THAT SAYS MORE INCENTIVES TO BECOME SELF-SUFFICIENT.

AND I WAS WONDERING IF THERE WAS ANY KIND OF ENLIGHTENMENT THAT SOMEONE PROVIDED A FURTHER DE DETAIL ABOUT THOSE INCENTIVES, WHAT THAT MIGHT LOOK LIKE? I THINK WHAT, WHAT WE HEAR FROM THE SOCIAL WORKERS IS MORE LIKE GIFT CARDS, MORE BUS PASSES, YOU KNOW, THINGS LIKE THAT.

UM, WHICH WERE LIMITED.

WE REALLY CAN'T, UH, WE DON'T HAVE THE FUNDING FOR THAT.

WE HAVE JUST ENOUGH TO, TO DO THE, UH, THE THREE FOR THE, FOR THE, THE DURATION OF THE PARTICIPATION.

BUT I MEAN, IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO KNOW 'CAUSE IF THERE IS FUNDING AT SOME POINT, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE I CAN HELP PEOPLE SAY THAT IT HELPS.

WE DEFINITELY WANNA DO THAT.

AND WE DO HAVE BUS PASSES SO HOPEFULLY THAT'LL, WE HAVE MORE BUS PASSES NOW SO WE CAN HELP WITH THAT.

VERY COOL.

AND THEN THE, THE COMMENT I JUST WANTED TO SAY WAS, KUDOS TO Y'ALL WITH THIS SURVEY.

THAT'S REALLY GREAT FEEDBACK TO HAVE FROM THE FOLKS AND TO SEE THE TRENDS OF INCREASE.

AND UM, IT'S A SPECIFIC QUESTION, BUT ARE YOU GONNA GO ON A TOUR OF CELEBRATION TO EACH NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER DOING A WOO WOO HAHA TO ALL THE STAFF AND THE CREW, INCLUDING YOURSELF? 'CAUSE YOU DESERVE KUDOS TOO,

[00:25:01]

UH, KIND OF SERENDIPITOUS THAT YOU MENTIONED THAT.

'CAUSE UH, I AM PLANNING TO DO THAT.

BUT ALSO A PH AS A WHOLE IS HAVING, UM, AN EMPLOYEE, UH, RECOGNITION EVENT IN SEPTEMBER.

SO AT THAT EVENT WE'LL BE ABLE TO HIGHLIGHT, UH, SOME OF THIS WORK SO EVERYBODY GETS ACKNOWLEDGED IN ONE PLACE.

UM, DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSIONERS? ALL RIGHT.

ALL RIGHT, COMMISSIONERS.

AN THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

SEE YOU NEXT MONTH.

[3. Presentation and discussion on the Down Payment Assistance (DPA) program. Presentation by Nicole Joslin, Housing and Community Development Officer, and Chanda Gaither, Housing Development Manager, Austin Housing.]

UH, LET'S MOVE ON TO OUR NEXT ITEM.

UM, ITEM NUMBER THREE, UH, WHICH IS A PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION ON THE DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

UH, PRESENTATION BY NICOLE JOCELYN, HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT OFFICER AND SHONDA GAITHER, UH, HOUSING DEVELOPMENT MANAGER FROM AUSTIN HOUSING.

GOOD EVENING.

HELLO EVERYONE.

I'M SHONDA GAITHER FROM AUSTIN HOUSING, UM, HOUSING DEVELOPMENT MANAGER, MANAGE THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROGRAM.

SO THAT'S GONNA BE DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE TO COMMUNITY LAND TRUST, AND ALSO OUR OTHER HOMES THAT WE GET THROUGH VARIOUS OTHER PROGRAMS THAT ARE UNDER THE AFFORDABLE PROGRAM TITLE.

OH, OH, WHAT IS HAPPENING? I NOT, UH, OH, OKAY.

I TYPED PURPOSE.

I'M NOT SURE WHAT HAPPENED.

UM, BUT TODAY WE'RE JUST GONNA BE DISCUSSING KIND OF AN OVERVIEW OF THE CHANGES THAT I'M MAKING TO THE DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM THAT WE'RE MAKING TO THE DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

UM, AND THAT'S NOT TO SAY THIS ISN'T GONNA BE LIKE AN OUTLINE OF THE WHOLE PROGRAM IN GENERAL.

THIS IS REALLY FOCUSING ON THE UPDATES, UM, SPECIFICALLY THAT WE'RE HOPING TO DO GOING INTO THIS NEXT FISCAL YEAR.

UM, AND THAT IS TO ALIGN THAT PROGRAM WITH SOME OF THE NEW HUD HOME REGULATIONS, WHICH IS OUR FUNDING SOURCE.

AND ALSO TO ADDRESS AFFORDABILITY PRESSURES FOR LOW TO MODERATE INCOME BUYERS BY RAISING THOSE DPA AMOUNTS.

OH NO, I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING.

I'M SORRY, SEAN.

IT'S OKAY.

IT'S PROBABLY LISTEN .

IT LOOKS FINE.

IT LOOKS FINE ON THE PAPER.

FINE.

IT'S OKAY.

I THINK ACTUALLY IT'S OKAY BECAUSE THE, DOES THE CHART LOOK OKAY? UM, YES.

GREAT.

, I'LL JUST READ THE OTHER PARTS.

UM, SO ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS JUST TO ALIGN OURSELVES, MAKE SURE WE'RE ALIGNED WITH HUD HOME REGULATIONS.

AND IN CASE PEOPLE ARE WONDERING WHY THAT'S IMPORTANT, IT'S JUST IMPORTANT THAT WE ALIGN OURSELVES WHEREVER WE CAN.

AND THEN ALSO BECAUSE IT TAKES THE PRESSURES OFF OF OUR HOME BUYERS FOR CERTAIN THINGS AS HUD HOME UPDATES.

SO HOME IS THE FUNDING SOURCE FOR THIS PARTICULAR SET OF FUNDS FOR DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE THAT WE'RE MAKING SURE TO ALIGN WITH THEM WHEREVER WE CAN.

SO OUR CURRENT RULES FOR WHEN PEOPLE GET DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE IS THAT IF THEY GET UNDER A CERTAIN AMOUNT OR OVER A CERTAIN AMOUNT, THERE'S AN AFFORDABILITY PERIOD ATTACHED.

UM, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT IN GREEN ON THE SCREEN.

THOSE ARE GONNA BE THE OLD OR CURRENT RULES, UM, HUD UPDATED.

AND WE, I THINK THAT'S GONNA BE GREAT BECAUSE NOW WE'RE GOING UP TO 25,000 FOR JUST A FIVE YEAR AFFORDABILITY DATE, UM, TIME PERIOD.

UM, WHICH I THINK IS GREAT.

'CAUSE IF A PERSON REALLY JUST NEEDS HELP WITH LIKE MORTGAGE RATE BUYDOWN OR THEIR CLOSING COSTS AND THEN IT'S JUST GONE IN FIVE YEARS, UM, THE WAY THAT WE DISMISS THE AMOUNTS OF MONEY IS THROUGH A PARADED PROCESS.

BASICALLY, IT'S LIKE A SILENT PAYMENT IS BEING MADE FOR THEM EVERY MONTH THAT THEY'RE IN THEIR HOME.

SO AT ANY POINT THEY NEED TO MAKE A CHANGE.

MONEY HAS ALREADY STARTED TO BE FORGIVEN EVERY EVERY MONTH THAT THEY'RE IN THEIR HOME.

UM, AND SO FOR FIVE YEARS THEY COULD GET UP TO 24 9, 9 9, OR YOU KNOW, IN YOUR BRAIN IT'S PROBABLY 25,000.

JUST KNOW THAT WE HAVE TO USE THOSE TECHNICAL NINE, NINE NINES.

UM, AND THEN FROM 25,000 TO 49, 9 9 9 OR 50,000, THAT IS NOW 10 YEARS UNDER OUR OLD ONE, WE JUST WENT FROM 15 TO 40.

WE NOW HAVE A THIRD CATEGORY BECAUSE THE POINT OF THIS DISCUSSION IS TO TALK ABOUT RAISING THE LIMITS, RIGHT? AND SO NOW WE GO FROM 50,000 UP TO OUR NEW MAX, UM, AND MAX IS WRITTEN THERE BECAUSE WE WANNA BE ABLE TO FLOAT WITH THE MARKET INSTEAD OF HAVING A SOLID NUMBER THERE.

BUT THAT WILL HAVE A 15 YEAR AFFORDABILITY PERIOD.

AND YOU MAY FEEL TO FEEL LIKE THAT'S A LONG TIME, BUT WE, THE WAY THAT AUSTIN IS ROLLING FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS AREN'T MOVING OUTTA THEIR HOMES IN FIVE TO SEVEN YEARS.

IT'S MUCH CLOSER TO SEVEN TO 10.

AND SO IT DEFINITELY MAKES SENSE AS WE GET TO THESE BIGGER NUMBERS BY GIVING FOLKS 60, 70, $80,000 THAT WE HAVE AN AFFORDABILITY, AFFORDABILITY PERIOD THAT MATCHES ONE, KEEPING THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS STABILIZED.

AND TWO, THE REALITY OF YOU BEING

[00:30:01]

ABLE TO PAY THAT SUM BACK IF YOU NEED TO PAY PART OF IT BACK.

OH, OH, THANK YOU, .

SO FOR THIS ONE I AM GONNA READ OFF.

UM, SO WHAT'S DRIVING THESE UPDATES? WE WANNA MAKE SURE EQUITY AND ACCESSIBILITY GOALS FOR OUR UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES IS WHAT WE'RE FOCUSING ON.

UM, THESE HAVEN'T BEEN CHANGED IN OVER TWO DECADES.

THE AMOUNT AND SOME OF THE RULES AND AUSTIN HAS CLEARLY CHANGED IN TWO DECADES, RIGHT? SO HOW ARE WE GETTING TO THOSE FOLKS? HOW OFTEN WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR RULES AND OUR GUIDELINES TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE SERVING THE COMMUNITIES THAT WE SAY WE'RE SERVING.

UM, OBVIOUSLY THE RAPID INCREASE IN AUSTIN HOME PRICES, IT HAS COOLED DOWN, BUT THEY STAYED HIGH.

SO WE JUST NEED TO ADDRESS IT HEAD ON, RIGHT? THAT THE HUD HOME RULES HAVE CHANGED AND THEY REQUIRE US TO ALIGN THOSE AFFORDABILITY PERIODS, WHICH WE JUST DISCUSSED.

BUT DECLINE IN MARKET RATE.

WE CALL THEM RATE, BUT REALLY MEAN, WE MEAN PEOPLE BUYING FROM THE REGULAR MARKET.

SO NOT BUYING AN AFFORDABLE UNIT, NOT COMING THROUGH ONE OF MY OTHER PROGRAMS, JUST DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE THAT WE SAW A STEADY AND HUGE DECLINE FROM FOLKS BEING ABLE TO USE IT, JUST GOING OUT AND PICKING THEIR OWN HOME.

WHY? BECAUSE THE AMOUNT WE WERE GIVING AT THE TIME DIDN'T HELP PEOPLE GET INTO HOMES THAT COST THAT AMOUNT AT THAT INCOME.

AND SO CLEARLY WE NEEDED TO REALIGN.

UM, AND THEN ELEVATED MORTGAGE RATES, ELEVATED HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE, ELEVATED HOA FEES, WHICH ARE ALL CONTRIBUTING TO REDUCING EVERYBODY'S BUYING POWER, BUT ESPECIALLY OUR FOLKS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET TO AT LOW TO MODERATE INCOMES, EXCUSE ME, WHILE I FLIPPED THROUGH GIANT PIECES OF PAPER.

I HAVEN'T DONE THIS IN A LONG TIME.

OUT THERE ARE FANNIE MAE COMMUNITY SECONDS AND RY STANDARDS FOR SHARED EQUITY PROGRAMS. ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS IS BECAUSE THEY EXPECT THESE PROGRAMS TO BE SUSTAINABLE.

UM, SO NEXT ONE OF THE FIRST, OH, OH, SO THE FIRST, UM, FIRST CHANGE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE DISCUSSING IS GONNA BE THE EXACT AMOUNTS THAT WE'RE GONNA, OR THE AMOUNTS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO RAISE.

THE DPA A TO OUR CURRENT MAXIMUM IS 40,000.

THE PROPOSED IS THAT WE'RE PROPOSING, SO AGAIN, NOT A FLAT AMOUNT, BUT 20% OF THE HUD HOME SALES PRICE LIMIT FOR THE AUSTIN ROUND ROCK.

THEY CALL IT THE MSA, RIGHT? BUT THAT'S BECAUSE WE'RE BLENDED TOGETHER IN THOSE AREAS.

AND SO FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR COMING UP, IT WOULD BE $88,000.

SO A HOME BUYER COULD GET UP TO $88,000.

THAT WOULD INCLUDE DOWN PAYMENT AND CLOSING COSTS, UM, TO DO TOWARDS A PURCHASE, A HOUSE AS LONG AS IT'S IN, WHICH WE'LL DISCUSS NEXT.

BUT THE AREAS THAT WE DESIGNATE THAT WE CAN SERVE.

UM, AND THEN AGAIN, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IT'S, IT'S STILL A NEEDS-BASED DISTRIBUTION, MEANING THAT IF A PERSON HAS MONEY, WE MAY ASK THEM TO PUT IN A LITTLE BIT OF THEIR OWN MONEY.

WE DON'T WANNA CLEAR OUT PEOPLE'S SAVINGS ACCOUNTS.

THE BEST BUYER IS A BUYER THAT HAS THEIR OWN MONEY IN THE BANK, RIGHT? BUT IF THEY'RE MEETING OUR INCOME LIMITS AND THE OTHER GUIDELINES THAT WE HAVE, WE STILL WANNA BE ABLE TO SERVE THEM TO MAKE THEM A MORE STABLE HOME BUYER.

AND SO THEY WILL STILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT.

BUT IT IS NEEDS BASED AND IT EXPANDS ACCESS TO BOTH INCOME RESTRICTED, MEANING OUR AFFORDABLE UNITS AND SOMEBODY CHOOSING STRAIGHT OFF OF THE MARKET.

UM, ALL OF OUR LOANS WILL REMAIN DEFERRED AND FORGIVABLE.

UM, SECOND LANE, WE ALWAYS CALL THOSE THE, WE CALL THOSE THE SILENT SECOND, MEANING IT'S BACK THERE, IT'S BEING FORGIVEN, BUT THEY'RE NOT MAKING PAYMENTS.

THERE'S NO INTEREST RATE ATTACHED.

THERE'S NO MOVEMENT ON THIS UNLESS THEY MAKE A MOVE THAT WILL REQUIRE US TO TAKE ONE OF THE ACTIONS THAT WE HAVE TO TAKE LIKE A PAYBACK OR ET CETERA.

AND SO WE LIKE TO REMIND PEOPLE OF THAT BECAUSE IT IS DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE, IT IS NOT A GRANT.

IT IS CONSIDERED A SECOND SOFT SECOND BECAUSE HUD REQUIRES US TO HAVE A HOLD OR SOME SORT OF CONNECTION TO THE PROPERTY THAT YOU HAVE PUT FUNDS INTO, UM, MARKET RATE HOMES.

WE ARE REINTRODUCING SHARED DEPRECIATION PREVIOUSLY DISCUSSED A SHARED EQUITY, UM, IN OUR PREVIOUS GUIDELINES.

WE STRIPPED THAT ABOUT TWO YEARS, THREE YEARS AGO NOW.

UM, BECAUSE THERE WERE SOME CONCERNS AND WE'LL DISCUSS THEM IN THE FURTHER SLIDES.

BUT WE ARE RE REINTRODUCING THAT CONSIDERING THE AMOUNTS THAT WE'RE GOING UP TO.

AND BECAUSE THOSE MARKET PRICE HOMES, WE DON'T HAVE ANY OTHER CONNECTION TO OUTSIDE OF THE DPA, WHEREAS OUR AFFORDABLE UNITS, THEY'RE SIGNING ADDITIONAL AGREEMENTS ALREADY BECAUSE IT'S AN AFFORDABLE UNIT.

SO WE NEED TO HAVE AN ADDITIONAL CONNECTION TO THOSE.

UM, WE ARE CAPPING, UM, WHAT A PERSON WOULD PAY BACK BASED ON WHAT THE ORIGINAL INVESTMENT WAS.

ONE OF THE CONCERNS THAT WE HEARD FROM THE COMMUNITY AND FROM THE CDC WHEN WE HAD SHARED EQUITY THAT I HAVE RE I HAVE REBRANDED A SHARED APPRECIATION FOR A REASON, IS THAT FOLKS WERE PAYING BACK MORE THAN THEY ORIGINALLY TOOK FROM US.

AND THEY FELT LIKE THAT WAS UNFAIR.

UM, AND WE UNDERSTAND.

AND SO THAT'S ONE OF THE GUARDRAILS THAT WE HAVE PUT IN.

AND THAT AFFORDABLE UNITS HAVE NEVER HAD SHARED APPRECIATION BECAUSE THEY ARE CAPPED AT HOW MUCH APPRECIATION THEY'RE ALLOWED TO EARN ON THE AFFORDABLE UNIT.

SO THAT WILL NOT BE CHANGING.

SO WHY IS THIS SHARED APPRECIATION MODEL RETURNING? WE WANNA ALIGN WITH THE REST OF THE PROGRAMS THAT ARE

[00:35:01]

MEANING THAT YOU'RE NOT ALWAYS LOOKING FOR THE NEXT SOURCE TO KEEP FUNDING YOUR, UM, PROGRAMS. AND SO WHEN WE REMOVE THAT, WE REMOVE THE PROGRAM INCOME BEFORE.

AND SO WE ARE LOOKING WHERE WE'RE SEEING THINGS ARE TIGHTENING UP AND FUNDING ISN'T GROWING.

IT IS STEADILY DECREASING WAYS TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE ARE AMOUNTS THAT MAY FLOW BACK IN.

WE'RE NOT GUARANTEED THAT RIGHT? FOLKS MAY NOT EVEN BE SELLING THEIR HOMES.

THIS MAY NEVER BE AN ISSUE.

BUT WE WANT THE CHANCE AT, UH, RECOVERING SOME PROGRAM INCOME WHEN POSSIBLE.

UM, STANDARDS FOR SHARED EQUITY PROGRAM GUIDANCE, I'M SORRY, ALLOWS FOR LONG-TERM FUND RECYCLING, WHICH I JUST DISCUSSED.

THE PREVIOUS MODEL REMOVED IN 2023 DUE TO COMMUNITY CONCERNS.

AND THE NEW VERSION ADDS BORROWER PROTECTIONS AND REPAYMENT CAPS.

UM, AGAIN, WE ARE VERY FOCUSED ON WHAT WE HEARD BEFORE AND WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CONCERNS THAT WERE RAISED WE ADDRESS.

SO FIRST CONCERN, IT EXTENDED OUT THE WHOLE 30 YEARS SOMEBODY WAS IN A HOME.

IT WILL NOT, THE AFFORDABILITY PERIOD WILL MATCH EVEN FOR PEOPLE UNDER SHARED APPRECIATION.

THE WHOLE THING IS OVER IN 15 YEARS, IF YOU GOT AMOUNTS OVER $50,000, WHICH IS THE ONLY PEOPLE, THE ONLY CLIENTS THIS WILL APPLY TO, AND WE FEEL LIKE THAT'S IMPORTANT.

WE WANNA GIVE PEOPLE THE RELIEF OF KNOWING THAT IF THEY NEED TO MAKE A MOVE, THEY'RE READY TO CHOOSE SOMETHING DIFFERENT, THAT THEY CAN DO THAT.

AND THAT'S GONNA BE TOTALLY POSSIBLE UNDER THE NEW PROGRAM.

UM, AND THAT THERE'S CAPS.

SO IF FOR SOME REASON WE GET A HUGE SURGE AGAIN AND THEY BOUGHT, AND NOW THEIR HOUSE WENT FROM BEING WORTH THREE 20 UP TO 600 AND SOMETHING THOUSAND DOLLARS, IT DOESN'T MATTER BECAUSE YOU WILL NEVER REPAY US MORE THAN WHAT WE GAVE YOU ORIGINALLY.

SO THOSE ARE THE TWO BIG CHANGES THAT WE THINK WILL, UM, ADDRESS THE CONCERNS THAT WERE RAISED BY THE CDC WHEN WE STRIPPED SHARED APPRECIATION THE FIRST TIME.

NEXT.

SO I WANTED TO DO A BIT OF MODELING, AND I KNOW IF EVERYBODY DOESN'T LOVE MATH, YOU DON'T HAVE TO LOVE IT TODAY EITHER.

BUT I'M JUST GONNA ASK FOR A LITTLE BIT OF PATIENCE WHILE WE WALK THROUGH THIS, UH, BECAUSE I WANT TO SHOW FOLKS WHAT THIS WOULD DO FOR PEOPLE.

UM, SO LET'S JUST SAY YOU BOUGHT A HOME FOR THREE 20.

THAT'S KIND OF UP IN THE TABLE AREA.

UM, I KNOW IT'S NOT EVERYBODY'S FAVORITE, BUT WE JUST HAVE TO DO THIS.

WE'RE GONNA USE SOME FLAT NUMBERS.

WE GAVE THEM 20%, 64,000.

MAYBE THAT WASN'T THEIR CLOSING COST, BUT IT WAS ENOUGH TO DO GET THEM DOWN TO, WE CALL IT THAT MAGIC 80%.

SO THEY'RE NOT, THEY'RE NOT GONNA HAVE MORTGAGE INSURANCE.

THEY'VE WENT IN THERE.

UH, PROBABLY TO BE HONEST, IT GIVES PEOPLE A LITTLE MORE FLEXIBILITY EVEN IN HOW THEIR CREDIT PROFILE SHOWS UP BECAUSE IT LOOKS LIKE THEY'RE PUTTING DOWN 20%.

UM, THEY'VE ALREADY GONE IN WITH EQUITY AUTOMATICALLY, RIGHT? THEIR PRINCIPAL IS STARTING DOWN AT 2 56 FOR A HOME THEY BOUGHT AT THREE 20.

AND THAT'S AMAZING.

ALREADY.

WE WANNA LOOK AT 10 YEARS LATER, NOT 15.

AT 15, IT WOULD BE COMPLETELY DISMISSED.

BUT WHAT IF SOMEBODY IN 10 YEARS DECIDES, HEY, I'M READY TO MOVE ON.

UM, THIS HOUSE HAS BEEN GREAT.

I WANNA DOWNSIZE, OR I WANNA, WE'VE HAD, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER, WE WANNA GET A BIGGER HOUSE SOMEWHERE ELSE.

WHATEVER THAT LOOKS LIKE FOR THEM.

SO WE'VE HAD TO USE, MAKE SOME ASSUMPTIONS, SOME SIMPLE NUMBERS, BUT LET'S SAY THE PRICE IS NOW THREE 90 AND THEY'RE ABLE TO GET THAT ON THE MARKET.

'CAUSE WE DO HAVE TO MAKE THOSE TWO ASSUMPTIONS AT THE SAME TIME, RIGHT? THAT IT'S APPRECIATED AND SOMEBODY WANTED TO BUY IT FOR THAT.

OKAY? UM, THEIR PRINCIPLE IS NOW ALL THE WAY DOWN TO TWO 14, THEY'VE BEEN MAKING PAYMENTS, RIGHT? THAT MEANS THAT THEY'VE GOT EQUITY OF $175,000 THAT WAS WITH OUR MONEY AND WHAT THEY'VE PAID DOWN ON THEIR OWN PRINCIPLE.

SO WHAT THEY'VE PAID DOWN ON THEIR OWN LOAN PLUS THEIR APPRECIATION.

SO WHAT THE MARKET IS WILLING TO GIVE THEM FOR THE HOME, THAT MEANS IF THIS BUYER OVERALL RIGHT AFTER THEY HAVE, UM, THEY'VE DECIDED THEY'RE GONNA SELL, THEY PUT THE HOME UP FOR SALE, THEY COME TO US AND SAY, HEY, WHAT WOULD I HAVE TO PAY BACK? BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS WAS SHARED APPRECIATION, ET CETERA.

NOBODY EVER REMEMBERS AT THE BEGINNING, BUT THEY REMEMBER WHEN THEY NEED TO DO IT.

AND SO WE KNOW THAT THAT'S HOW THE QUESTION'S GONNA BE POSED, RIGHT? AND WE GET IT.

UM, I'VE PROVIDED THE MATH, WHICH I'M GONNA HAVE TO READ OFF THE PAPER TO SHOW WHAT THAT PERSON THANK YOU.

YOU'RE, YOU'RE AMAZING .

UM, WHAT THE ACTUAL NET PROCEEDS WOULD BE GIVEN THAT THEY WOULD HAVE TO PAY OUT SELLER CLOSING COSTS, PAY AN AGENT AFTER ALL OF THAT, THEY WOULD OWE US 20% OF WHAT THEY WOULD TAKE HOME OF THE NET.

IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN THAT.

BUT IT WAS A 30 YEAR TERM ON THE SHARED DEPRE ON THE SHARED EQUITY SIDE BEFORE.

AND I'VE REDUCED THAT TO 15.

WHAT I'M STATING IS, THIS PERSON COULD STILL WALK AWAY WITH OVER A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS IN, UNDER THE SHARED DEPRECIATION PROGRAM WITH THIS MODEL.

SAME DIFFERENCE.

WE'RE JUST STATING THAT IT WOULD'VE BEEN COMPLETELY DISMISSED IN 15, BUT IF THEY DECIDED THEY WANNA DO SOMETHING SOONER THAN THAT, THEY'RE WALKING AWAY

[00:40:01]

WITH ENOUGH MONEY TO GO DO THEIR NEXT PURCHASE OR WHATEVER IT IS THEY WANTED TO DO NEXT.

UM, AND THAT WAS THE MAIN CONCERN, IS THAT FOLKS WERE LIKE, WHY WOULD WE BE GIVING YOU A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR THE HOME THAT I BOUGHT 30 YEARS AGO? RIGHT? AND WE'RE LIKE, YOU MAY HAVE A POINT THERE.

AND SO WE'VE REVISED THE THOSE TWO GUARDRAILS AND WE THINK THAT THIS IS THE BEST METHOD.

WE UNDERSTAND THAT EVEN THE AMOUNT, UM, I KNOW YOU CAN'T SEE IT ON HERE, BUT OH, THE UPDATED ONE HAS THE MATH MATH, OKAY.

NO, NO, NO, NO WORRIES.

BECAUSE THEY CAN, YOU CAN SEND IT OUT.

YES, MA'AM.

SO I DO HAVE ONE THAT HAS ALL OF THE NUMBERS, INCLUDING LIKE THE DEDUCTIONS.

LIKE IF, IF I SOLD IT FOR THIS, THIS IS WHAT WE PAID OUT AS A SELLER, THIS IS WHAT I PAID THE AGENT.

UM, IT STILL SHOWS THE PERSON PAYING US ABOUT $27,000, BUT THEY'RE WALKING AWAY WITH OVER A HUNDRED.

AND THAT, YOU KNOW, PART OF THIS IS JUST, LIKE I SAID, MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE KEEPING UP WITH THE STANDARDS OF OTHER PROGRAMS. THE OTHER PART IS MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE ABLE TO RECYCLE THOSE FUNDS BACK INTO OUR PROGRAM WHERE WE HAVE CUT THOSE OFF AS OF RIGHT NOW, UH, BETWEEN TWO SIDES STRIPPING OFF THE SHARED EQUITY PROGRAM FROM BEFORE.

AND ALSO BECAUSE IT'S MOSTLY BEING USED ON ONLY AFFORDABLE UNITS, WHICH ARE NOT, NOT PAYING INTO THAT PROGRAM AT ALL.

UM, FOR THE MOST PART.

SO WE WANTED AN OPPORTUNITY TO COME BACK TO THIS BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT WE'RE NOT GONNA ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, THE MONEY'S NOT GETTING LARGER FROM HUD.

LIKE, AND ALSO WE NEED FOLKS TO BE ABLE TO CHOOSE THEIR OWN HOME WHERE THEY WOULD LIKE TO LIVE, RIGHT? NOT JUST FROM OUR AFFORDABLE UNITS.

AND SO THIS IS GONNA GIVE US AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO BOTH THOSE THINGS AT THE SAME TIME TO THE LAST SLIDE.

SO JUST TO KIND OF REITERATE WHAT THOSE IMPACTS WOULD LOOK LIKE, WE'RE GOING TO, WE'RE HOPING THAT THIS IS GONNA EXPAND ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE AND MARKET RATE HOMES, UM, SUPPORT ECONOMIC MOBILITY FOR FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS, IMPROVE BUYER CHOICE AND AUTONOMY, AND ALIGN WITH THE PROGRAM, UM, WITH ALIGN THE PROGRAM WITH THE FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS.

AND I'M ASSUMING YOU HAVE QUESTIONS AND I'M READY.

UM, YES, COMMISSIONERS, DO WE HAVE QUESTIONS? LET'S START WITH THOSE COMMISSIONERS ONLINE OR COMMISSIONERS IN PERSON.

COMMISSIONER LONGORIA.

WAS IT WAS, IT WAS A GREAT PRESENTATION AND YOU MAKE A VERY STRONG CASE FOR SHARED APPRECIATION.

WE'RE LIKE, NO, NO MORE SHARED EQUITY.

I KNOW , UM, YEAH, CURIOUS TO KNOW WHY YOU GUYS REVISITED.

I MEAN, I COULD SEE, I COULD UNDERSTAND HOW WITHOUT THAT SHARED EQUITY COMPONENT, BUT YOU CAN'T RECYCLE THE MONEY OR FUND THE PROGRAM.

I MEAN, I THINK, UM, I DO.

AGAIN, I THINK THE CHANGES DO ADDRESS SOME OF THE KEY CONCERNS.

I THINK THE 15 YEARS.

AND I THINK LIKE THE CAP, I MEAN, YEAH, WE'LL JUST SEE WHAT HAPPENS.

I GUESS AGAIN, THIS TYPE OF POLICY USUALLY COMES UP WITH LIKE PEOPLE WHO OWN A HOME AND WHO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROGRAM.

AND OBVIOUSLY I HAVEN'T BEEN THERE, BUT THEY'RE ABLE TO KIND OF SEE THE TECHNICALITIES, BUT, OKAY.

DON'T FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE TO BE COMMITTED THE WAY I AM TO IT.

MM-HMM .

BECAUSE I DO, I UNDERSTAND.

I WANT, I WANT YOU TO, I WANT, I WANT YOU TO KNOW, I VERY MUCH UNDERSTAND, BUT ONE OF THE OTHERS MAYBE SMALL CHANGES I SHOULD HAVE POINTED OUT, BUT IT GETS A LITTLE TECHNICAL WITH THE MATH, THE OLD VERSION OF THIS, WE REQUIRED BOTH TYPES OF PAYBACK.

SO LET'S SAY YOU HAD GOT THE SHARED EQUITY VERSION, YOU WOULD OWE PART OF THE PRINCIPLE AND THE SHARED EQUITY UP UNTIL, UNTIL THAT PRINCIPLE WAS COMPLETELY DISMISSED AFTER, UH, UP TO 10 YEARS.

AND THEN THE SHARED EQUITY PART WENT ON FROM YEARS 10 THROUGH 30.

AND THIS VERSION, I DID NOT DO THAT.

I ACTUALLY GAVE THEM AN ACCELERATED PAYOFF YEARS ONE THROUGH 10.

THE ENTIRE PRINCIPLE IS DISMISSED.

ALL THAT'S LEFT IS THE SHARED DEPRECIATION COMPONENT FROM YEARS 10 THROUGH 15.

SO THIS VERY MUCH IS A, IT'S A WINDFALL ON THEIR SIDE, RIGHT? FROM DAY ONE.

THEY MAKE IT TO YEAR 10.

YOU'RE DEFINITELY ON THE WINNING SIDE OF THE 60 OF WHATEVER WE GAVE YOU ALL THE WAY OVER TO THE SHARED DEPRECIATION SIDE, WHICH AGAIN, I DO UNDERSTAND.

BUT ONCE WE GET STARTED GETTING UP TO NUMBERS TOO, 'CAUSE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS A MOVING NUMBER, RIGHT? WE'RE SAYING WHATEVER HUD SAYS, OUR MAX SALES PRICE LIMIT FOR PROGRAMS, MIND YOU, THEY'RE STATING THAT PEOPLE AT 80% CAN BUY A 444 $40,000 HOME.

AND I'M LIKE, I BEG TO DIFFER.

UM, I'M NOT, NOT SURE THAT THOSE NUMBERS REALLY JIVE, RIGHT? BUT I'M SAYING 20% OF THAT IS OUR MAX THAT WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO HAND OUT TO SOMEBODY.

SO THAT NUMBER WILL MOVE, RIGHT? BUT IT SHOULD BE ABLE TO COVER THEIR DOWN PAYMENT AND CLOSING COSTS.

THINGS WE'RE HOPING TO SEE PEOPLE BEING ABLE TO KEEP MONEY IN THEIR OWN ACCOUNT.

LIKE I SAID, A PREPARED HOME BUYER IS A SUSTAINABLE HOME BUYER.

SO THE MORE THAT WE COVER, THE MORE LIKELY THEY ARE TO BE ABLE TO STAY IN THEIR HOME WHEN THE BIG THINGS COME UP THOSE FIRST COUPLE OF YEARS.

UM, AND WE, AGAIN, WE DO UNDERSTAND THAT THE SHARED APPRECIATION COMPONENT IS IN EVERYBODY'S FAVORITE TOPIC, BUT IT IS AN IMPORTANT TOPIC.

UM, AND THEN I THINK THE GUARDRAILS ARE GOING TO ADDRESS THOSE

[00:45:01]

ISSUES PRETTY STAUNCHLY.

LIKE PRETTY PRETTY MATTER OF FACT, STRAIGHT DOWN THE LINE AGAIN, YOU CAN WALK AWAY WITH OVER A HUNDRED THOUSAND WHEN WE GAVE YOU 64 AND STILL GIVE US BACK 27.

THOSE AREN'T BAD.

THOSE AREN'T, THOSE AREN'T BAD NUMBERS.

UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH.

UH, COMMISSIONER ACHILLES, GO AHEAD.

JUST A PROCESS QUESTION.

YOU SAID WE CAN HAVE THE WHOLE MATH SOMETIME SOON.

YES, IT'S ON THIS.

I HAD TO DO, WE DID A REVISION, UM, AND IT WAS LATE, SO THAT'S FAIR.

AND I DON'T DESPERATELY NEED IT.

I JUST LIKE IT SO NO, NO, IT MAKES SENSE.

WE WERE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET, HOW TO DEMONSTRATE THOSE NUMBERS TO YOU.

UM, THAT'S NOT EVERYBODY'S FAVORITE PART.

AND USUALLY WHEN I, I START OFF WITH A GRAPH, NICOLE WAS LIKE, ABSOLUTELY NOT.

ABSOLUTELY NOT .

UM, AND SO WE, WE JUST KIND OF KEPT GOING UNTIL WE COULD FIND SOMETHING THAT WORKED.

UM, BUT WE DO HAVE IT.

AND I I WILL SHARE IT, UH, AFTER THIS MEETING.

THANK YOU, MIGUEL.

UH, ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS HAVE, UH, QUESTIONS BEFORE WE MOVE ON? OKAY, ONE MORE QUESTION.

OH, GO AHEAD COMMISSIONER LAGUARDIA, GO AHEAD.

IS THERE NO OTHER QUESTIONS? GO AHEAD.

UM, SO I SEE THIS KEY CONCERN, ADDRESS THE AFFORDABILITY PERIOD IS REDUCED TO 15 YEARS WITH A REPAYMENT CAP NEVER TO EXCEED WHAT WAS BORROWED.

ABSOLUTELY.

THAT'S WHAT I WAS STATING EARLIER.

SO THERE'S NO WAY IT WOULDN'T HAVE MATTERED IF, LIKE I SAID, IF THEIR HOUSING VALUE HAD TRIPLED.

AND SO WHEN WE GO TO DO THE MATH, TECHNICALLY THE SHARED DEPRECIATION, MAYBE THEY'RE GONNA MAKE $300,000.

IT DOESN'T MATTER.

WE'RE NOT GONNA TAKE MORE EVER MORE THAN WHAT WE GAVE THEM.

THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS.

UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.

UH, COMMISSIONERS, WE ARE MOVING ON TO ITEM NUMBER FOUR.

THAT'S VERY INFORMATIVE.

UH, AND YES, PLEASE SEND THAT INFORMATION OVER TO US AND MIGUEL CAN GET IT.

GET IT TO ALL OF US.

[4. Presentation and discussion on the Digital Equity Assessment Survey. Presentation by Jesse Rodriguez, Program manager II, Austin Economic Development.]

UH, WOULD IS A PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION ON THE DIGITAL EQUITY ASSESSMENT SURVEY.

AND THIS PRESENTATION IS BY JESSE RODRIGUEZ, PRO PROGRAM MANAGER OF AUSTIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.

GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.

WELCOME.

UM, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.

UM, JESSE RODRIGUEZ, I'M THE PROGRAM MANAGER FOR THE COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY DIVISION OF THE CITY OF OF AUSTIN'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.

UM, AND I'M GONNA GONNA BE TALKING TO YOU ALL TODAY ABOUT SOME RESEARCH THAT THE, THE CITY AND THE COUNTY PARTNERED WITH ST.

DAVID'S FOUNDATION IN, UH, 2022 AND 2023.

AND WHAT WE FOUND, UM, I'M TRYING TO CONDENSE A LOT OF INFORMATION DOWN INTO A VERY SHORT TIME.

SO, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S A 65 PAGE REPORT.

UH, I'VE SHARED THAT TO Y'ALL'S, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, TO Y'ALL.

SO FEEL FREE TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE WHOLE REPORT.

I'LL JUST BE HITTING THE HIGH POINTS HERE.

UM, BUT JUST TO SET THE FOUNDATION IN THIS PRESENTATION, WHAT I'LL BE TALKING ABOUT VERY QUICKLY IS THE, WHAT IS THE DIG? WHAT IS DIGITAL INCLUSION OR DIGITAL EQUITY? WHY DOES IT MATTER? AND WHAT, UH, DID WE FIND IN THE DIGITAL NEED NEEDS ASSESSMENT? AND WHAT ACTION ITEMS ARE WE PROPOSING? SO FIRST OFF, WHAT IS DIGITAL INCLUSION? UM, THERE ARE THREE LEGS OF THE DIGITAL INCLUSION STOOL THAT WE USUALLY THINK ABOUT.

UH, ONE IS ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE AND RELIABLE INTERNET.

ANOTHER IS A WORKING DEVICE TO, TO USE THE INTERNET.

AND THE THIRD IS THE DIGITAL SKILLS NECESSARY TO USE THOSE OTHER TWO TECHNOLOGIES.

UM, AND IN ORDER TO FULLY PARTICIPATE IN MODERN SOCIETY AND THE THE MODERN ECONOMY, SOMEBODY NEEDS ACCESS TO ALL THREE OF THOSE.

SO WHY DOES IT MATTER? I HAVE JUST A, A VERY QUICK SELECTION OF STATISTICS HERE.

UH, JUST TO DEMONSTRATE SOME OF WHY, UH, DIGITAL EQUITY MATTERS.

UH, ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL SKILLS COALITION, GOING FROM A JOB THAT DOES NOT REQUIRE ANY DIGITAL SKILLS TO A JOB THAT REQUIRES AT LEAST ONE DIGITAL SKILL, UH, EQUATES TO A A 23% INCREASE IN WAGES.

MY MY COMMENT HERE GOT CUT OFF, AND I'LL MAKE SURE THAT Y'ALL HAVE THE FULL COMMENT HERE.

BUT WITH ADDIT, WHICH WITH EACH ADDITIONAL DIGITAL SKILL, UH, WAGES INCREASE, UH, PROPORTIONALLY.

SO THE MORE DIGITALLY SKILLED YOU ARE, THE HIGHER YOUR WAGES ARE.

UM, AND, UH, CAN INTERRUPT FOR A SECOND.

I'M SORRY.

I JUST WANTED TO ASK IF THE OTHER ONLINE COMMISSIONERS ARE NOT SEEING THE, THE, UM, PRESENTATION.

I'M NOT SEEING THAT AND IT WASN'T FOR ME THERE.

OH, THERE WE GO.

CAN EVERYBODY SEE THE PRESENTATION ONLINE? OKAY.

YES, WE GOT IT.

THANK YOU COMMISSIONER MENARD.

THAT WAS MORE, IT WAS JUST ME, BUT, OKAY.

ALRIGHT.

UH, GO AHEAD, JESSE.

YES, THE, UH, CONTINUING ON HERE.

UH, IN ADDITION, 92% OF ALL JOBS, UH, REQUIRE AT LEAST ONE DIGITAL SKILL.

[00:50:01]

AND THAT'S ACROSS ALL INDUSTRIES, ALL JOB TITLES, ALL BUSINESS SIZES.

UM, SO EVERY, EVERY JOB THAT YOU CAN THINK OF, 92% OF ALL JOBS REQUIRE AT LEAST ONE DIGITAL SKILL.

AS OF 2023, AUSTIN, TEXAS HAS A CONNECTIVITY RATE OF ABOUT 93.3%, UM, WHICH IS FAIRLY GOOD IN COMPARISON TO OUR, UH, SURROUNDING COUNTIES.

BUT, UH, IN, BUT STILL, 10.9% OF AUSTINITES DO NOT HAVE A LAPTOP OR A DESKTOP AT HOME.

SO THERE IS STILL A GAP FOR US TO ADDRESS.

UM, AND JUST TO DRIVE HOME HOW, WHY DIGITAL INCLUSION MATTERS, THINK ABOUT HOW WE ALL USE TECHNOLOGY DAY TO DAY.

UH, CHANCES ARE YOU'VE ENGAGED IN A TELEHEALTH APPOINTMENT AT THIS POINT.

IF YOU'VE RECENTLY BEEN IN THE JOB MARKET, YOU'VE PROBABLY CREATED YOUR RESUME USING DIGITAL TOOLS.

YOU'VE PROBABLY FOUND YOUR JOB ONLINE, UH, AND APPLIED FOR IT ONLINE.

UH, YOU KNOW, YOU MIGHT HAVE, UH, ONLINE BANKING IF YOU ACCESS, UH, GOVERNMENTAL SERVICES.

YOU'RE OFTEN APPLYING FOR, UH, FOR YOUR BENEFITS ONLINE USING, UH, YOU KNOW, DIGITAL MEDIA.

SO IT'S, IT'S, UH, AN INTEGRAL TECHNOLOGY, UH, FOR EVERYBODY TO BE ABLE TO ACCESS.

OH, AND I CAN NO LONGER PROCEED.

HERE WE ARE.

UH, SO, UH, MOVING ON FROM THE INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION INTO WHAT WE FOUND IN THE RESEARCH, AND I'LL TRY AND KEEP THIS AGAIN AS QUICK AS I CAN.

UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

UH, YOU'RE GOOD TO GO NOW.

SOME ADDITIONAL FINDINGS THERE.

I SHOULD BE GOOD.

UM, A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ON THE RESEARCH.

AGAIN, 2022 IS WHEN, UH, TRAVIS COUNTY AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN WERE INDEPENDENTLY ABOUT TO EMBARK ON, UH, DIGITAL EQUITY RESEARCH.

UH, WE JUST SO HAPPENED TO BE TALKING TO EACH OTHER AT THE TIME, UH, AND DECIDED RATHER THAN DOING INDEPENDENT THINGS, LET'S JUST, YOU KNOW, THROW OUR FORCES TOGETHER.

UH, ST.

DAVID'S FOUNDATION, UH, WAS ALSO INTERESTED IN OPERATING IN THIS SPACE AT THE TIME.

AND SO THEY, UH, CHIPPED IN A, A, A GOOD CHUNK OF FUNDING TO HELP SUPPORT THIS RESEARCH.

AND THAT ALLOWED THE THREE OF US TO PULL TOGETHER RESEARCH THAT WOULD BE VERY DIFFICULT FOR US TO PULL OFF TODAY.

UM, BUT, UH, WE, WE WERE ABLE TO PULL OFF A MULTIMODAL STUDY THAT INCLUDED, UH, UH, UH, DOOR TO DOOR BI BILINGUAL ENGLISH SPANISH SURVEYING, WHICH FOR WHICH WE RECEIVED 1,382 SURVEY RESPONSES.

WE COLLABORATED WITH 19 SEPARATE LOCAL NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS IN WORKING GROUP FASHION TO HELP US DESIGN THE STUDY AND ADVISE US ON, UH, THE STUDY, UH, DESIGN.

AND WE ALSO HOSTED 11 COMMUNITY CIRCLES, WHAT WE CALLED THEM, BASICALLY FOCUS GROUPS OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS.

UH, AND WE HAD 193 PARTICIPANTS PARTICIPATE, UH, IN THE FOCUS GROUPS.

AND FROM THERE, UM, WE HAVE A NUMBER OF FINDINGS.

UH, JUST MOVING VERY QUICKLY THROUGH THESE, WE LEARNED A LOT ABOUT WHO IN THE COMMUNITY FACES THE HIGHEST DIGITAL BARRIERS AND THE HIGHEST BARRIERS TO CONNECTIVITY.

UM, JUST VERY QUICKLY, THOSE POPULATIONS ARE, UH, IMMIGRANTS, REFUGEES, INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES, INDIVIDUALS WITH LOW LITERACY LEVELS, JUSTICE IMPACTED INDIVIDUALS, LOW INCOME INDIVIDUALS, OLDER ADULTS, PEOPLE WITH LANGUAGE BARRIERS, RACIAL OR ETHNIC MINORITIES, RURAL RESIDENTS, UNEMPLOYED INDIVIDUALS, UNHOUSED INDIVIDUALS AND VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILIES.

A LOT OF THESE WE EXPECTED GOING INTO THE STUDY.

SOME OF THESE WE LEARNED, YOU KNOW, AS A PRODUCT OF THE RESEARCH.

UM, AND, UM, UH, ONE, ONE OTHER FINDING THAT WE HAD WAS AFFORDABILITY ACROSS ALL OF THE FOLKS THAT WE TALKED TO, ALL OF THE, THE FOCUS GROUPS.

AFFORDABILITY CAME UP NUMBER ONE EVERY TIME AS THE NUMBER ONE BARRIER BARRIER TO ACCESSING THE DIGITAL WORLD.

UH, AND THIRDLY, UH, WE LEARNED THAT FOLKS ARE MOBILE FIRST.

UH, SO MOST FOLKS, UH, WOULD PREFER TO USE THEIR MOBILE PHONE OVER A LAPTOP OR A DESKTOP.

UH, AND WHEN ASKED IF THEY HAD TO PRIORITIZE THEIR HOME INTERNET CONNECTIVITY OR THEIR, UH, HOME, YOU KNOW, A LAPTOP OR A DESKTOP OR THEIR MOBILE PLAN AND THEIR MOBILE PHONE, THEY WOULD PICK THE MOBILE PHONE AND THE DATA PLAN.

UH, SO PEOPLE ARE, ARE VERY MUCH MOBILE FIRST, UH, AND MORE PEOPLE HAVE SMARTPHONES THAN HAVE, UH, HOME INTERNET AND, UH, LAPTOP AND DESKTOP BY A GOOD MARGIN.

UH, OH, HERE WE GO A LITTLE BIT MORE ON THE AFFORDABILITY FRONT.

UM, THESE TWO, UH, IMAGES OF TRAVIS COUNTY LOOK VERY SIMILAR, BUT THEY SHOW TWO DIFFERENT THINGS.

UH, ON THE LEFT, WE HAVE THE, WHERE IN THE DARKER BLUE, THE FAMILIES BELOW 200% OF THE POVERTY LINE, AND WHERE THOSE FOLKS LIVE IN THE COMMUNITY.

ON THE RIGHT, YOU SEE THE PERCENT OF TRAVIS COUNTY HOUSEHOLDS WITHOUT AN INTERNET SUBSCRIPTION AND IN THEIR HOME, UH, THE, THE PLA THESE PLACES LINE UP

[00:55:01]

VERY, UH, CLOSELY.

UH, AND THIS IS JUST TO DEMONSTRATE THAT WHERE, UH, THERE ARE LOW INCOME FAMILIES, THOSE ARE THE COMMUNITIES THAT TEND TO HAVE, UH, THE LOWEST INTERNET SUBSCRIPTION RATES.

YOU CAN CONNECT FOR FREE IN THE COMMUNITY, UM, HAVING CHARGING STATIONS WHERE IF YOUR PHONE RUNS OUT OF BATTERY AND YOU'RE OUT IN THE COMMUNITY, THAT YOU CAN STOP AND GET YOUR, YOUR PHONE CHARGED, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, AT BUS STOPS ON BUSES, UH, THINGS LIKE THAT.

AND, UH, SOME OF THE FINDINGS THAT I HAVE FOR YOU ALL HERE, UM, AGAIN, THIS IS NOT ALL OF THE FINDINGS, BUT JUST A SELECTION OF WHAT'S IN THE LARGER REPORT, UH, FINDING.

NUMBER ONE, UH, WE NEED TO PROVIDE, OR, SORRY, UH, RECOMMENDATION NUMBER ONE, UH, WE NEED TO PROVIDE TARGETED SUPPORT TO EACH POPULATION THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED AS HAVING HIGHER DIGITAL, DIGITAL BARRIERS.

AND THE KEYNOTE HERE IS SOME, UH, UH, SOME BARRIERS ARE CROSS-CUTTING, LIKE AFFORDABILITY.

UH, EVERYBODY HAS, UH, YOU KNOW, THE SAME ISSUES WITH AFFORDABILITY WHEN IT COMES TO CONNECTING.

UM, BUT THERE ARE, EACH POPULATION ALSO HAS UNIQUE BARRIERS THAT WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT AND ADDRESS.

UM, SO, UH, WE, SOME OF THE, UH, FOCUS GROUPS THAT WE HAD FOCUSED ON JUSTICE IMPACTED INDIVIDUALS, UH, AND THEY HAVE, UH, THEY, THEY RELATE TO US THAT THEY HAVE CHALLENGES WHEN THEY'RE COMING OUT OF THE SYSTEM.

THEY'RE ISSUED TEMPORARY IDS.

THEY'RE TOLD THAT THESE IDS WILL WORK, UH, YOU KNOW, IN ANY WAY THAT A TRADITIONAL ID WOULD.

UM, BUT WHEN THEY GO TO GET A SERVICE AND PROVIDE THAT ID, IT'S OFTEN TURNED AWAY AND NOT RECOGNIZED, UM, AS AN OFFICIAL ID.

UM, AND THEY OFTEN, UH, IF THERE'S A CREDIT CHECK INVOLVED OR REQUIRED AS A PART OF THE PURCHASE, UM, YOU KNOW, OFTENTIMES THEY DON'T HAVE ANY CREDIT, OR IF THEY DO, IT'S NOT GOOD CREDIT.

UM, AND SO THAT CAN BE A SIGNIFICANT BARRIER.

UM, WE TALKED TO, UH, MEMBERS OF THE UNHOUSED POPULATION, UH, WHO HAVE, UH, SPECIFIC CHALLENGES AS IT RELATES TO, UH, KEEPING DEVICES, UH, SAFE.

UH, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN'T HAVE LAPTOPS OUT IN THE ELEMENTS.

UH, YOU KNOW, SO, UH, ACCESS TO DEVICES CAN BE VERY TENUOUS.

UH, AND THINGS THAT THEY MENTION IS HAVING PLACES WHERE THEY CAN STORE DEVICES WHEN THEY CAN GET THEM, UH, SO THAT THEY CAN BE KEPT OUT OF THE ELEMENTS.

UM, AND WE TALKED TO, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, SO ONE, ANOTHER ONE OF OUR FOCUS GROUPS, AND THE LAST ONE I'LL HIGHLIGHT HERE IS, UH, WE, WE TALKED TO SENIORS, UH, AND THE, UM, UH, THERE THERE WERE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT GROUPS OF SENIORS WANTED IN TERMS OF, UH, UH, HOW THEY RECEIVED DIGITAL SKILLS TRAINING.

FOR INSTANCE, UH, SOME FOLKS SAID, WHAT WE NEED IS A, UH, WE NEED A GUIDE THAT'S LIKE WRITTEN IN VERY SHORT STEP BY STEP.

LIKE, HOW DO I GET INTO MY EMAIL FROM STEP A TO Z? UH, AND THAT'S WHAT THEY NEEDED.

AND THEN SOME OTHER FOLKS SAID, I ACTUALLY WANNA KNOW WHAT THE INTERNET IS LIKE WHEN I TYPE SOMETHING INTO THE COMPUTER.

WHERE DOES IT GO? WHAT IS THE TECHNOLOGY THAT MAKES THAT HAPPEN? UH, YOU KNOW, IT, DOES IT GO TO SATELLITES? DOES IT, YOU KNOW, LIKE HOW, HOW, HOW, HOW, HOW DOES THE TECHNOLOGY ACTUALLY WORK? AND SO, UH, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT POPULATIONS WHERE, WHERE WE'RE REQUESTING DIFFERENT THINGS, AND WE JUST WANT TO BE, YOU KNOW, REALLY IN TOUCH WITH WHAT FOLKS NEED AND THE, THE NUANCES OF DIFFERENT POPULATIONS AND WHAT THEY NEED.

UH, RECOMMENDATION NUMBER TWO IS TO IDENTIFY AND SUPPORT STRATEGIES TO MAKE SURE ALL CONSUMERS KNOW WHAT LOW COST INTERNET OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE, AND HOW TO COMPARE AND SIGN UP FOR PLANS.

UH, RIGHT WHEN WE WERE DOING THIS RESEARCH, THE AFFORDABLE CONNECTIVITY PROGRAM, UH, WAS EXPIRING.

UH, AND SO THE, THE, IF YOU DON'T KNOW, THE AFFORDABLE CONNECTIVITY PROGRAM WAS A FEDERAL, THE FIRST AND ONLY FEDERAL, UH, SUBSIDY FOR INTERNET COSTS.

UH, SO YOU COULD GET $30 OFF YOUR, YOUR INTERNET PLAN, UH, IF YOU, UH, MEET CERTAIN INCOME CRITERIA.

UH, AND THAT EXPIRED.

IT WASN'T REFUNDED.

UH, AND FOLKS, UH, WERE LOOKING FOR WHAT TO REPLACE THAT WITH.

UH, AND IT'S REALLY NOT EASY TO FIND THE INTERNET SERVICE PLANS THAT ARE DESIGNED FOR, FOR, TO BE AFFORDABLE.

THEY'RE OFTEN HELD ON A SEPARATE WEBSITE FROM THE, THE INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER'S, PRIMARY CUSTOMER SITES, UH, AS ITS OWN THING.

AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, NOT FAVORED IN THE, THE SEARCH ALGORITHM.

SO YOU NEED TO KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING.

UM, OUR THIRD RECOMMENDATION IS TO INCREASE AVAILABILITY AND ACCESSIBILITY AND AWARENESS OF FREE PUBLIC ACCESS INTERNET OPTIONS.

SO I MENTIONED A LOT OF FOLKS, UH, ABOUT 10% OF THE COMMUNITY DON'T HAVE ANY INTERNET ACCESS OR DEVICES AT HOME.

UH, AND THAT MEANS THAT THEY NEED PLACES TO GO TO BE ABLE TO ACCESS, UH, YOU KNOW, DEVICES AND INTERNET CONNECTIONS WHEN THEY NEED TO DO SOMETHING.

UH, YOU KNOW, MORE COMPLEX THAN WHAT YOU CAN DO ON YOUR PHONE.

UM, NEXT SLIDE.

IT'S NOT WORKING FOR ME.

UH, ALRIGHT.

AND THIS IS MY LAST SLIDE HERE FOR YOU ALL.

UM, WE ALSO HAVE RECOMMENDATIONS AROUND, UH, MOBILE AC MOBILE ACCESSIBILITY.

UM, SO TO SUPPORT MOBILE CONNECTIVITY GENERALLY, UH, WE KNOW THAT, UH, FOLKS ARE MOBILE FIRST AGAIN, SO THEY PREFER TO ACCESS THE INTERNET ON THEIR PHONES.

UM, AND THERE ARE UNIQUE CHALLENGES THAT GO ALONG WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, MOBILE PHONE CONNECTIVITY.

UM, IN, IN OUR RECOMMENDATIONS, WE TALK ABOUT INCREASING PUBLIC WIFI NETWORKS, PLACES WHERE

[01:00:01]

SO THAT WHEN, IF YOU'RE RELYING ON, UH, YOUR DEVICE FOR WAY FINDING, YOU DON'T KIND OF GET LOST IN THE COMMUNITY 'CAUSE YOUR PHONE HAS DIED.

UM, UH, AS A SIDE NOTE, WE KNOW THAT, UH, ABOUT, UH, 15% OF THE US POPULATION IS WHAT WE CALL SMARTPHONE DEPENDENT.

AND THAT IS, UH, ACCORDING TO THE PEW RESEARCH CENTER.

UM, AND, AND, UH, WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT, THAT, UH, A SMARTPHONE WITH A DATA PLAN IS THEIR ONLY METHOD OF CONNECTING.

AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT YOU CAN'T, UH, DO A LOT OF THE MORE COMPLEX, UH, FUNCTIONS, UH, THAT WOULD BE BETTER DONE ON A LAPTOP OR A DESKTOP.

SO, SPREADSHEETS, COMPLEX FORMS WHERE YOU HAVE TO UPLOAD ATTACHMENTS, APPLYING FOR BENEFITS, UH, YOU KNOW, THESE MORE COMPLEX FUNCTIONS, UH, AND BEING A, A DIGITAL CREATOR AS WELL.

UM, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THESE MORE COMPLEX FUNCTIONS YOU'RE NOT ENGAGING WITH, YOU DON'T HAVE THE ABILITY TO ENGAGE WITH IF YOU'RE ONLY ABLE TO ACCESS THROUGH A PHONE.

UH, MY AND MY LAST RECOMMENDATION HERE IS ADVOCATING FOR THE ACCESSIBILITY OF SERVICES, PROGRAMS, AND INFORMATION ONLINE, ESPECIALLY ON MOBILE.

UM, YOU KNOW, AND AGAIN, ON THE, THE MOBILE FRONT, OUR WEBSITES, UH, PEOPLE ARE NAVIGATING TO ALL OF OUR WEBSITES THROUGH THEIR PHONE BEFORE THEIR, YOU KNOW, UH, GOING ON THEIR LAPTOPS OR DESKTOPS.

UH, SO, YOU KNOW, CITY WEBSITES, UH, SHOULD BE DESIGNED TO BE MOBILE ACCESSIBLE.

UH, I HAVEN'T TALKED ABOUT IT MUCH IN THIS PRESENTATION, BUT ALSO THAT, UH, THAT APPLIES FOR FOLKS WITH, UH, UH, FOLKS WITH DISABILITIES.

UH, SO THINKING ABOUT SCREEN READABLE TECHNOLOGY, UH, MAKING SURE THAT, UH, FOLKS WITH DISABILITIES USING ACCESSIBILITY TECH CAN ACCESS ONLINE SERVICES.

SO, WITH THAT, UH, THOSE ARE ALL OF THE SLIDES THAT I HAVE FOR YOU ALL TODAY.

UH, THIS IS JUST A SMALL SNIPPET OF THE LARGER PRESENTATION, BUT I WANTED TO KEEP IT SHORT SO THAT WE'RE, WE'RE NOT HERE ALL NIGHT.

UH, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU ALL MIGHT HAVE.

THANK YOU, JESSE.

YEAH, THAT WAS, UH, VERY INFORMATIVE.

IT COVERS, IT COVERS A LOT.

YEAH, EXCELLENT QUESTION.

UM, COMMISSIONERS, UH, ONLINE, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR JESSE? UH, COMMISSIONER ORTIZ, GO AHEAD.

HI, JESSE.

UM, UH, ONE, THANK YOU.

I DO THINK THIS INFORMATION IS GREAT.

UM, BEING IN THE GOVERNMENT, UM, NONPROFIT CITY WORLD FOR THE LAST 20 YEARS, UM, A LOT OF THIS INFORMATION WE ALREADY KNOW, AND IT WAS REITERATED SIX YEARS AGO WHEN WE HAD COVD.

WE KNOW A LOT OF THIS INFORMATION.

I DO LIKE THAT YOU SHARED SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS.

SO, AND I KNOW, LIKE YOU MENTIONED, THERE'S A MUCH BIGGER ONE.

WHAT I'M WONDERING IS WHAT IS THE STRATEGIC TIMELINE, UH, THAT Y'ALL ARE HOPING TO START IMPLEMENTING OR TRYING TO IMPLEMENT SOME OF THE LARGER SCALE ISSUES LIKE EQUIPMENT AND THE ACTUAL, UH, CONNECTIONS THAT WERE MISSING, UM, THAT ARE STILL MISSING EVEN SIX YEARS LATER AFTER COVID, UM, BEING A PART OF CAP METRO, WE, I WAS ONE OF THE, UH, FOLKS IN ENGAGEMENT WHO WORKED WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN OUR, UH, IN OUR VEHICLES TO GET INTERNET IN EAST SIDE AND NADEL VALLEY AND SOME OF THE, UH, LOWER INCOME AREAS OF THE EAST SIDE.

SO I KNOW HOW DIFFICULT THAT IS.

SO I JUST WAS WONDERING WHAT THAT LARGER TIMELINE IS LOOKING LIKE.

'CAUSE I THINK YOU GUYS HAVE DEALT DELVED REALLY WELL INTO A LOT OF THOSE SMALLER AREAS THAT A SINGLE ORGANIZATION COULDN'T DO, WHICH IS WHY I WAS REALLY, UM, IMPRESSED WITH WHAT YOU SHARED WITH US TODAY.

UM, JUST FOR A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT, UH, MY UNIT IN THE CITY, IT'S ME AND I HAVE THREE, THREE FOLKS ON MY TEAM, .

SO WE'RE, WE'RE SMALL, BUT WE TRY AND BE MIGHTY.

UM, THE, THE CITY OF AUSTIN AS A WHOLE PASSED THE DIGITAL INCLUSION STRATEGIC PLAN THAT IT CURRENTLY FOLLOWS IN 2014.

AND WE'RE USING THIS STUDY AS A LAUNCHPAD TO REFRESH THAT 2014 STRATEGY.

UM, WE'RE CURRENTLY ENGAGED IN THAT WORK.

UH, UH, YOU KNOW, ACTIVELY, I CERTAINLY WOULD INVITE ANYBODY HERE WHO IS INTERESTED TO CONTRIBUTE YOUR THOUGHTS, UH, INTO THAT PROGRESS, UH, UH, OR INTO THAT PROCESS.

UM, UH, I'LL SAY THAT WE, WE HAVE CERTAIN SERVICES THAT WE'RE FUNDED FOR THAT WE'RE IMPLEMENTING RIGHT NOW.

UM, SO WE DO HAVE, UH, ALL, WE'VE ARRANGED FOR ALL CITY DEVICES THAT ARE RETIRED.

THEY COME TO MY PROGRAM, UH, AND WE REFURBISH THOSE DEVICES AND THEN MAKE THOSE AVAILABLE TO NONPROFITS IN THE COMMUNITY.

UH, WE DO PROVIDE FREE DIGITAL SKILLS TRAINING TO ANYBODY IN THE COMMUNITY WHO NEEDS THEM.

ALTHOUGH OUR, OUR, YOU KNOW, RANGE ISN'T, UH, AS HIGH AS WE WOULD LIKE IT TO BE.

UH, THE SERVICE IS IS THERE.

UM, AND, UH, WE ALSO HAVE A GRANT THAT WE MANAGE $400,000 PER YEAR IN, IN DOLLARS THAT ARE AWARDED TO NONPROFITS DOING DIGITAL EQUITY WORK.

SO THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY DOING.

[01:05:01]

DID INCORPORATE SOME OF THE FINDINGS FROM THIS STUDY.

UH, SO, SO FAR, UH, YOU KNOW, AT THE SCALE THAT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, THAT WE'RE CAPABLE OF, OF DOING, UH, WE, WE MANAGE A NUMBER OF COMPUTER LABS IN THE COMMUNITY.

WE'VE DEPLOYED AN ADDITIONAL THREE LABS, UH, SINCE THE THE STUDY, UH, HAS BEEN RELEASED.

WE'VE ALSO, UH, HAD, UH, WE'VE INCLUDED CHARGING STATIONS AND CHARGING LOCKERS IN, IN THOSE, UH, SITES THAT WE, WE HAVE ACCESS TO AS WE CAN AFFORD IT.

WE ONLY HAVE A FEW OF THOSE OUT THERE.

UM, SO I SAY ALL THAT TO SAY THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY DOING, UM, AND THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY RESOURCED TO DO.

UM, WHAT I WOULD SAY IS, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, IF Y'ALL WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE IN ANY OF THE STRATEGIC PLANNING, UH, I'LL MAKE SURE TO SEND THAT INVITATION WHEN, YOU KNOW, AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME THROUGH THE, THE, THE RIGHT CHANNELS TO INVITE Y'ALL INTO THAT PART PIECE OF THE PROCESS.

AND IF Y'ALL THINK THAT WE ARE, THE CITY ISN'T DOING ENOUGH, UH, THAT IT NEEDS MORE, YOU KNOW, RESOURCES TO DO IT THAN COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, IF YOU KNOW, TO, TO FILL SPECIFIC NEEDS, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, AS, AS STAFF, WE CAN, WE CAN MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS, BUT WE ONLY DO WHAT WE'RE STAFFED TO DO.

NO, I LOVE IT.

I REALLY APPRECIATE IT.

ABSOLUTELY.

UH, THANK YOU COMMISSIONER ORTIZ.

UH, COMMISSIONERS, DO WE HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSIONERS ONLINE? VICE CHAIR? GO AHEAD.

UM, SO I SAW IN THE PRESENTATION THAT, UM, THE, THERE WAS, UM, SOME RECOMMENDATIONS OR JUST LIKE FEEDBACK AROUND ADDING MORE CHARGING STATIONS TO THE BUS STOPS.

AND I'VE HEARD THAT IN A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT PLACES, BUT I WANTED TO MAKE A COMMENT ABOUT POTENTIALLY CHANGING IT FROM NOT JUST CHARGING STATIONS, BUT DIGITAL SIGNAGE AT THE BUS STOPS.

I'VE SEEN SOME CITIES ACROSS THE US THAT DO, UM, DIGITAL SIGNAGE, WHICH ALLOWS FOR PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS TO GET EMERGENCY ALERTS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, S SEVERE WEATHER, UM, UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE BUS STOPS, WHAT, WHAT BUS STOPS ARE CLOSED OR WHAT WHEN YOUR BUS IS COMING.

THERE'S SO MANY OPPORTUNITIES WHEN IT COMES TO MAKING BUS STOPS LOCALLY, DIGITAL, UM, AND ALSO THE CHARGING STATIONS AS WELL.

AND THEN SOMETHING ELSE WHEN IT, WHEN I SAW THIS PRESENTATION WAS THAT, UM, THERE ARE A LOT OF BUSINESSES LOCALLY THAT DO NOT ALLOW PEOPLE TO USE THEIR ESTABLISHMENT, UM, UNLESS THEY PAY FOR SOMETHING FIRST.

AND I'VE HAD THAT SAME SITUATION HAPPEN A FEW YEARS AGO WHERE I WAS ON, LIKE A CITY CALL.

I WAS RUSHING, AND THE LADY LIKE WENT TO GIVE ME, UM, THE PASSWORD TO THE WIFI.

AND THEN BECAUSE SHE WAS NEW, SHE DIDN'T REALIZE THAT SHE WASN'T SUPPOSED TO DO THAT.

AND SO THE MANAGER SNATCHED THE PASSWORD OUTTA MY HAND AND WAS LIKE, YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO.

UM, AND I THINK THAT THAT PROBABLY HAPPENS A LOT WORSE FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE PERCEIVED AS HOMELESS IN AUSTIN AND, UM, AREN'T EVEN LET INTO AN ESTABLISHMENT BASED ON HOW THEY LOOK, UM, BECAUSE THEY'RE JUST SIMPLY TRYING TO ACCESS, UH, WIFI.

SO I JUST WANNA RECOMMEND AND ASK IF Y'ALL CAN LOOK INTO INCENTIVIZING PUBLIC ESTABLISHMENTS TO ALLOW FOR FREE ACCESS TO INTERNET OTHER THAN JUST THE LIBRARIES.

BECAUSE I DID MENTION LAST MONTH HOW, UM, UH, THE LIBRARY HAS GOTTEN A LOT OF HEAT DOWNTOWN OF LIKE HAVING PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS IN THERE, AND THAT WE, WE SHOULD TRY TO START PUSHING FOR, UM, COMPANIES TO, TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE ACCEPTING OF, OF OFFERING THAT RESOURCE TO PEOPLE.

SO, ABSOLUTELY.

UH, YEAH, TWO GREAT RECOMMENDATIONS.

UM, I'LL NOTE THAT THERE IS CURRENTLY AN INITIATIVE TO, UH, UH, LOOK AT DIGITAL SIGNAGE AROUND THE COMMUNITY.

I'M NOT A PART OF THAT INITIATIVE.

I'LL JUST, UH, THROW IT OUT THERE THAT I KNOW THAT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S BEING WORKED ON.

UH, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WHEN, WHEN I HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY, I TALK ABOUT, UH, HAVING, UH, CHART CHARGING CAPABILITIES ON THOSE DIGITAL SIGNS AND, UH, HAVING, UH, WIFI HOTSPOTS, UH, HAVING THOSE DIGITAL SIGNAGE ACT AS, UH, WIFI HOTSPOTS AS WELL.

UM, SO BOTH OF THOSE ARE, ARE GREAT.

UM, WE DID HEAR THE SAME THING THAT YOU MENTIONED IN TERMS OF, UM, BUSINESSES, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, PEOPLE TOLD US THAT THEY'VE EXPERIENCED BUSINESSES COVERING UP THEIR OUTLETS BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANT PEOPLE KIND OF U USING THE OUTLETS MM-HMM .

UH, YOU KNOW, CHARGING OR WAITING FOR FOLKS TO PURCHASE SOMETHING BEFORE THEY GIVE OUT, UH, WIFI PASSWORDS.

UM, SO THAT IS, THAT DOES SEEM TO BE FAIRLY, UH, COMMON.

UM, I'M CERTAINLY OPEN TO ANY RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOW WE MIGHT TACKLE THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, IN, IN A, YOU KNOW, IN A COMPREHENSIVE WAY.

I DON'T KNOW THAT I HAVE AN ANSWER TO THAT, BUT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE HEARD FROM PLENTY OF FOLKS, UH, IN, IN THE RESEARCH FOR SURE.

YEAH, I MEAN, INCENTIVES, I THINK PEOPLE USUALLY, LIKE WHEN YOU HEAR THAT WORD, SOME BUSINESSES WILL PROBABLY BE LIKE, OH, WHAT DO I GET OUT OF THIS? AND UNFORTUNATELY, I HATE THAT WE HAVE TO DO THAT, BUT I THINK THAT BUILDING THAT INTO, UM, MORE COMMUNITY BUY-IN WOULD PROBABLY BE REALLY HELPFUL.

UM, AND I CAN, I CAN DEFINITELY, LIKE, I, I'D LOVE TO CHAT MORE ABOUT LIKE DIFFERENT THINGS AND, UM, AND YEAH.

BUT THAT, THAT WAS THE FIRST THING THAT CAME TO MIND WAS, UH, YOU KNOW,

[01:10:01]

YEAH, INCENTIVES.

EXCELLENT.

ED'S SUSTAINABILITY GROUP.

AND I DO WANNA ADD FOR CAP METRO THAT WE DO HAVE, UM, SOME OF OUR, UM, PLANNERS AND OPERATING TEAM ALSO LOOKING AT THAT.

SOME OF OUR ISSUES HAVE BEEN, UM, PARKS PRODUCT, UM, ET CETERA.

BUT, UH, SINCE IT WAS SOMETHING I'D WORKED ON FOR YEARS WITH CAP METRO TOO, WHICH HELPS, UH, THANKS TO THE PANDEMIC, WHO KNEW YOU COULD THANK THE PANDEMIC FOR SOMETHING .

UM, BUT UNITED WAY AND, UH, ST.

ED'S AND, UM, IN THE BEGINNING ALSO US, UH, IN ENGAGEMENT HAD WORKED WELL, I'M NOT ENGAGEMENT ANYMORE, BUT AT THE TIME WE WERE WORKING ON A DIFFERENT PROJECT THAT WOULD DO JUST THAT AS FAR AS THE ELECTRONIC SIGNAGE AND GETTING ALL MESSAGING AS WELL AS NEIGHBORHOOD INFORMATION, UH, THINGS LIKE THAT THAT COULD BE EASILY ACCESSED.

AND, UH, WE DROPPED OUT OF THAT PROJECT 'CAUSE IT WAS DEFINITELY GETTING MORE INTENSE ST.

I DON'T KNOW WHICH PROFESSOR WHO WAS IN CHARGE BECAUSE I WAS STARTING TO CHANGE DEPARTMENTS AT THAT TIME, BUT I KNEW HE HAD BEEN WORKING ON IT FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS, AND I THINK THEY STILL HAVE THAT PROJECT.

SO, UM, DEFINITELY SOMETHING TO KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR AND LOOK, AND IF I HEAR ANYTHING, I'LL DEFINITELY SHARE IT.

BUT THAT WAS ONE OF THE EXCITING THINGS THAT CAME OUT OF THAT PARTNERSHIP WHEN, UH, UNITED WAY WAS ABLE TO CONNECT WITH THE, THE PROFESSOR WHEN WE FOUND OUT THEY WERE GONNA BE DOING THAT WITH A GROUP OF THEIR STUDENTS.

SO, UM, HOPEFULLY THEY'LL BE ABLE TO CREATE SOMETHING SUSTAINABLE AND WON'T COST OUR CITY SO MUCH AND GIVE OUR CITY SOME HELP.

LITTLE, THERE'S LITTLE TEAM.

UM, BUT, UH, IF I HEAR ANYTHING ELSE, I'LL DEFINITELY SHARE THAT WITH Y'ALL AS WELL.

YEAH, THAT'S WONDERFUL.

WE'LL TAKE ANY HELP.

WE CAN GET .

THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS, UH, COMMISSIONERS, UH, HERE IN PERSON.

DO WE HAVE QUESTIONS? UH, COMMISSIONER? OH, I HAVE SOMETHING REAL QUICK.

CHAIR.

OH, GO, GO AHEAD, COMMISSIONER TISHA.

NO WORRIES, NO WORRIES.

SO THANK YOU JESSE.

WONDERFUL PRESENTATION.

UH, SO MANY THINGS YOU ALL ARE DOING.

UM, I JUST WANTED TO, I COMMENT ON THE AMAZING WORK.

NOT ONLY ARE Y'ALL DOING IN TERMS OF DIGITAL ACCESS AND GETTING THE INFORMATION OUT, BUT ALSO BEING ABLE TO RESERVE DIGITAL ITEMS THAT MIGHT BE UNIQUE.

SO I KNOW WORKING IN TERMS OF SOME OF THOSE FUN THINGS, IF YOU WANTED TO SHARE.

UM, BUT , THE BIGGER QUESTION I HAVE IS WHEN WE LOOK AT PLACES, AND I KNOW THIS IS PART OF THE CONVERSATION, LOOK AT PLACES FOR FREE ACCESS.

I THINK OF MEXICO CITY.

THEY HAVE THE SEAT OF THE MEXICO S WHICH IS INTERNET FOR EVERYONE, WHEREVER YOU ARE IN THE CITY.

SO I'M WONDERING IF THERE'S BIGGER VISION PLAN, UM, OR VISION IDEAS WHEN YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT FREE ACCESS AND WHERE PEOPLE CAN GO AND GET, UM, INTERNET ACCESS IN THE CITY, IF YOU WANTED TO SHARE ANYTHING ON THOSE TWO ITEMS. UH, UH, SO, UH, SECOND ONE, FIRST, UH, THE LARGER NATIONAL CONVERSATION DOES FAVOR THINGS LIKE MUNICIPAL WIFI.

UH, SO THINKING OF INTERNET ACCESS AS A UTILITY, FOR INSTANCE.

UM, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, I I WOULD SAY PERSONALLY I WOULD, I'D BE IN FAVOR.

UH, WE DO FACE, UH, CHALLENGES IN THE STATE OF TEXAS WITH, YOU KNOW, REGULATIONS AGAINST, UH, PRIVATE SECTOR, UH, OR PUBLIC SECTOR COMPETITION WITH PRIVATE SECTOR BUSINESS.

UH, THERE ARE, I THINK, TWO COMMUNITIES IN TEXAS THAT HAVE EXPERIMENTED WITH, UH, MUNICIPAL, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, UH, BROADBAND.

UM, ALTHOUGH, UH, WE, WE, WE, THAT WOULD BE A, A SIGNIFICANT UNDERTAKING FOR A CITY AS LARGE AS AUSTIN IS.

UM, I WOULD SAY THAT, UH, THOSE ARE THINGS THAT WOULD, UH, I THINK BE, BE GREAT IF WE COULD, IF WE COULD GET THERE.

UH, BUT IT, WE WOULD NEED TO GET, YOU KNOW, THE ENTIRETY OF CITY COUNCIL AND, AND CITY MANAGEMENT ON BOARD AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD LIKELY BE FACING, UH, UH, A FIGHT WITH THE, THE STATE, UH, ON THAT FRONT.

UM, SO, UH, THAT, THAT'S WHAT I WOULD HAVE ON THAT ONE.

AND, AND CAN YOU REMIND ME WHAT YOUR FIRST ONE WAS? UH OH.

UH, IT WAS, IT WAS, IT WAS A SHOUT OUT AT THE LENDING LIBRARY .

OH, YES, YES.

UH, SO WE, WE DO ACTUALLY, UH, WE'VE DIVERTED SOME OF THE COMPUTERS THAT WE GET INTO A LENDING LIBRARY.

SO, UH, WE HAVE ABOUT 30 LAPTOPS IN OUR, OUR INVENTORY THAT ANYBODY CAN CHECK OUT.

SO, UH, IF, IF, YOU KNOW, UH, IF SOMEBODY HAS SOME, SOME HOMEWORK THAT THEY NEED TO COMPLETE AND, AND, YOU KNOW, THEY NEED A COMPUTER TO DO IT AND DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO ONE, UH, ANYBODY CAN CHECK THAT THOSE OUT FROM OUR PROGRAM.

IT'S VERY LOW.

UH, UH, IT'S NOT UTILIZED VERY MUCH AT THIS POINT.

SO CHANCES ARE IF YOU NEED A LAPTOP, WE'VE GOT ONE.

UH, YOU KNOW, SO, UH, FEEL FREE TO SPREAD THE WORD.

UH, YOU KNOW, IF, IF FOLKS NEED A LAPTOP, WE, WE HAVE THOSE.

I KNOW THAT AT THE, THE, THE LIBRARY HAS LAPTOPS AS WELL, AUSTIN PUBLIC LIBRARY.

BUT I THINK THAT YOU HAVE TO STAY ON SITE, UH, WITH THE AUSTIN PUBLIC LIBRARY, UH, LAPTOPS, WHEREAS WE CAN, YOU CAN TAKE OURS HOME FOR A PERIOD OF TWO WEEKS.

SO, AND, AND JUST TO ADD A CAVEAT TO THAT, UH, ABOUT THE LIBRARY, THEY ALSO HAD A TAKE HOME PROGRAM, BUT I THINK THERE ARE

[01:15:01]

SOME CHALLENGES AND STRUGGLES WITH, UM, SOME, SOME OF THE PARTS OF EVEN RETURN .

SO, UH, BUT I THINK IT'S, IT'S GREAT AS AN ALTERNATIVE FOR THOSE THAT NEED THINGS, UM, SORT OF IN AN EMERGENCY OR IN THAT MOMENT.

SO ABSOLUTELY.

JUST WANNA MAKE SURE, SHOUTED OUT THAT Y'ALL OFFER THAT WONDERFUL PROGRAM TOO.

THANKS FOR THE REMINDER.

I DIDN'T HIT ALL OF THE POINTS.

RIGHT.

COMMISSIONER TISHA AND JESSICA, YOU TELL US HOW, HOW CAN YOU GET A HOLD OF ONE OF THESE LAPTOPS? SURE.

WE HAVE A FORM ON OUR CITY'S WEBSITE, SO IF YOU, UH, I, I DON'T HAVE IT MEMORIZED UNFORTUNATELY, BUT IT'S, UH, IF YOU, UH, LOOK AT THE CITY'S WEBSITE, GO TO THE COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY PAGE, UM, AND WE HAVE ALL OF OUR SERVICES THERE.

UM, AND I BELIEVE IT'S ON THE LANDING PAGE THAT THERE'S A, A FORM THAT YOU COULD FILL OUT IF YOU NEED, UH, ACCESS TO A LAPTOP.

ALRIGHT.

UH, COMMISSIONER ACHILLES, YOU HAVE A QUESTION? JUST A QUICK CLARIFICATION.

UM, SO I APPRECIATE THE, WHAT YOU, WHAT YOU'VE DISCUSSED ABOUT THE, THE PLAN AND REFRESHING THE CITY'S DIGITAL ACCESS PLAN AND LOOKING AT, UM, ADDING CHARGING STATIONS, ET CETERA, TO BUS STOPS.

I JUST WANTED TO FLAG, AND I ASSUME THIS WOULD BE DURING THE STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS, BUT WANTED TO CHECK, UM, YOUR GOAL IS DIGITAL EQUITY.

IT FEELS LIKE MANY TIMES THINGS CAN GET CO-OPTED THAT ARE REALLY GREAT IDEAS, UM, THAT WILL ALSO BENEFIT NOT DISADVANTAGED AND LOW INCOME FOLKS.

AND THEY OFTEN THEN IT FEELS LIKE JUST, AND I'M NOT SAYING IT IS, DON'T, COMMISSIONER ORTIZ DON'T COME FOR ME.

UM, I JUST, IT IT CAN FEEL LIKE THINGS END UP PRIORITIZED FOR COMMUNITIES THEY WERE NOT MAYBE INITIALLY INTENDED FOR, BECAUSE THEY ARE ALSO HELPFUL FOR OTHER FOLKS.

SO I JUST WANTED TO TO CHECK IF THE IMPLEMENTATION, HOW THAT IS BEING LOOKED AT VERY CAREFULLY.

'CAUSE I IMAGINE IF I'M A WEALTHY TECH PERSON WHO'S COMMUTING ON THE BUS, I WOULD ALSO LIKE A CHARGING STATION.

BUT THIS IDEA CAME FROM A NEED AND A COMMUNITY THAT DOESN'T HAVE 10 CHARGING BANKS THAT THEY COULD PUT IN THEIR, UM, LAPTOP BAG.

SO I'M JUST CURIOUS ABOUT THAT.

YEAH, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.

I DON'T KNOW THAT I HAVE A, A COMPREHENSIVE ANSWER.

I'LL JUST, UH, I'LL NOTE THAT THE TRAFFIC THAT WE CURRENTLY SEE AT OUR PUBLIC ACCESS COMPUTER LABS, UH, IS ACTUALLY HEAVILY SKEWED TOWARDS THE UNHOUSED POPULATION.

UM, SO THOSE ARE THE FOLKS THAT TEND TO BE MOST ACCESSING OUR SERVICES AT THIS MOMENT.

UM, BUT THAT BEING SAID, OUR SERVICES ARE OPEN TO ANYBODY, UH, WHO WOULD LIKE TO USE THEM.

SO, YOU KNOW, WE WORK WITH NONPROFITS TO, TO DISTRIBUTE LOW COST DEVICES.

UM, WE, UH, OUR DIGITAL SKILLS CLASSES ARE OPEN TO ANYBODY WHO, WHO WANTS TO, YOU KNOW, UH, GET SOME BASIC DIGITAL SKILLS.

UM, WE DON'T DO ANY INCOME GATING OR, UH, ANYTHING, ANY, ANY ELIGIBILITY CHECKS OR ANYTHING.

IT'S JUST, IF YOU NEED IT, IT'S FREE.

UM, SO, UH, IT, IT IS, YOU KNOW, ACCESS FORWARD.

AND TO CLARIFY, I THINK I WAS MORE ALONG THE LINES OF WOULD THE BUS STOPS TARGETED IN ADDING THESE BE ONES ON NORTH LAMAR, OR WOULD IT BE, THAT WAS MY QUESTION WAS ABOUT DO YOU KNOW IF, IN THAT PLANNING PROCESS ABOUT HOW, HOW STOPS ARE SELECTED, WHETHER THERE WOULD BE AN, AN EYE TO, AND NOT TO LIKE KEEP OUT EVERYBODY, BUT JUST AN, AN EYE TO MAKING SURE THAT FOLKS WHO MOST NEED IT FOR ACCESS REASONS ARE ABLE OR PRIORITIZED AND THE IMPLEMENTATION, THAT'S ALL.

YEAH, NO, AND THAT, THAT'S A GOOD POINT.

I, I CAN'T, UH, I CAN'T SPEAK TO ANY PLANS, UH, UH, SO MUCH, UH, BECAUSE THESE ARE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT, THAT WE'RE KIND OF PUTTING OUT THERE.

BUT, UH, I'LL NOTE THAT, UH, ON THE DIGITAL SIGNAGE ITEM, UH, THAT IS ONE THING THAT, THAT WE, YOU KNOW, JUST TEND TO SEE THAT THOSE, THOSE DIGITAL SIGNAGE, UH, PLATFORMS TEND TO BE PUT ON THE, THE HIGHEST TRAFFIC AREAS, UH, WHICH ISN'T NECESSARILY GONNA BE THE, THE, THE ROUTES THAT THE LOWEST INCOME FOLKS, UH, YOU KNOW, ARE GONNA BE COMING FROM.

IT'S NOT GONNA, YOU KNOW, IT, IT, THAT'S THE, THE WAY THAT I'VE SEEN THE PLANNING HAPPEN.

UM, BUT YEAH, I THINK THOSE ARE GOOD SUGGESTIONS FOR SURE.

AND, AND AS MUCH AS, YOU KNOW, UH, I CAN GET ENGAGED IN THOSE CONVERSATIONS, I'LL, I'LL CARRY THAT FORWARD AS WELL.

UH, DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONERS, WHERE CAN WE FIND THE INFORMATION AGAIN, ON THE, THE CITY OF AUSTIN WEBSITE? UH, I, I DON'T HAVE IT MEMORIZED AND I APOLOGIZE.

I THINK IT'S AUSTIN TEXAS DOT.GOV/COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY.

UM, BUT, UH, THAT, UH, IF YOU, IF YOU DO, IF YOU GOOGLE COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY, AUSTIN, UH, WHERE ONE OF THE TOP LINKS, UH, AND THAT'LL BRING YOU TO OUR HOMEPAGE AND ALL OF THE SERVICES THAT WE HAVE.

OH, AND I'M GETTING AN ASSIST OVER HERE, AUSTIN TEXAS.GOV/ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS, BACK SLASH COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY.

PERFECT.

YOU CAN ALWAYS JUST SEND THAT IN A FOLLOW UP EMAIL TO MIGUEL, AND MIGUEL CAN SHARE IT OUT TO THE CDC AS WELL, JESSE.

ABSOLUTELY.

YEAH, HAPPY TO, HAPPY TO SHARE.

[01:20:01]

UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.

AND YES, PLEASE SEND US ANY OTHER INFORMATION THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEND OUT TO COMMISSIONERS AND TO THE COMMUNITY AS WELL.

WILL DO.

THANK YOU SO MUCH, COMMISSIONERS.

COMMISSIONERS, UH, WE'RE MOVING ON TO OUR NEXT ITEMS. UM, SO OUR NEXT ITEMS, ITEMS FIVE, SIX, AND SEVEN, UH, WE ARE GOING TO, WE'RE GOING, GOING TO HAVE TO TABLE AND MOVE TO OUR NEXT, UH, MEETING FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER.

ALRIGHT,

[Items 5 - 7]

UH, I'LL SPEAK ON ITEMS FIVE AND SEVEN.

UM, SO FOR ITEM NUMBER FIVE, WE HAVE A, WE WERE GOING TO HAVE A DISCUSSION, BUT WE ALSO HAVE A RECOMMENDATION THAT WE HAVE PREPARED QUITE, UH, A WHILE AGO BY OUR WORKING GROUP ON, UH, CDC ELECTIONS.

AND SO UNFORTUNATELY, WE, UH, JUST PUT IT AS A DISCUSSION ITEM AND IT NEEDS TO BE AN ACTION ITEM.

SO WE'LL BRING IT BACK IN SEPTEMBER, UM, WITH THAT RECOMMENDATION, UH, WHICH WILL ALSO WILL BRING AN ANGEL ANO, WHICH HE WILL SPEAK ON THE, UM, NOMINATION PROCESS AND THE ELECTION PROCESS, UH, FOR, UH, FOR THOSE, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD, UM, REPRESENTATIVES FOR, FOR THE CDC AND THE VACANCIES.

UH, SO ITEM FIVE AND SEVEN, THOSE WILL BE TABLED AND MOVED TO THE SEPTEMBER AGENDA.

UH, ITEM NUMBER SIX, UH, WAS ALSO SUPPOSED TO BE AN ACTION ITEM.

IT COMES WITH A RECOMMENDATION, UM, AND THERE IS SOME INFORMATION IN YOUR BACKUP.

AND, UM, I'M GONNA LET COMMISSIONER MENARD SPEAK ON THAT.

UH, COMMISSIONER MENARD, CAN YOU JUST SPEAK ON THE, ON WHAT INFORMATION IS IN THE BACKUP AND, UH, WHAT WOULD BE BEST FOR COMMISSIONERS TO DO, UH, AS WE BRING IT BACK IN SEPTEMBER? PLEASE? THANK YOU SO MUCH.

UH, CHAIR LEA, UH, YES.

SO, UM, UH, I DID ASK MIGUEL TO INCLUDE THE BACKUP.

THIS IS WHAT WAS IN OUR BACKUP FOR THE SPECIAL CALLED MEETING THAT WE WEREN'T ABLE TO HAVE.

UM, AND I KNOW AT THE TIME WE WERE TRYING TO RUSH BECAUSE THERE WAS A COUNCIL, UM, WAS GONNA TAKE ACTION ON THE TOURS, BUT, UM, THIS IS A STILL AN ONGOING PROCESS, EVEN THOUGH COUNCIL DID VOTE TO, UM, APPROVE IT.

SO THERE'S STILL AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO WEIGH IN.

THERE'S GONNA BE SOME REG REGULATORY DISCUSSIONS AND THAT WILL COME UP AT COUNCIL AND THEN A FINAL APPROVAL OF THE WHOLE, UH, PLAN COMING UP NEXT YEAR.

SO, UM, SO I JUST ASK THAT, UM, Y'ALL TAKE A, TAKE A A LOOK AT THE BACKUP.

UM, THERE WERE, IT'LL GIVE YOU, UM, THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION.

IT'LL GIVE YOU A LITTLE BACKGROUND ON THE DOG'S HEAD, AND IT'LL ALSO GIVE YOU THE PLAN, THE CONTRACT THAT THE CITY'S PROPOSING.

THERE HAVE BEEN SOME AMENDMENTS TO THAT CONTRACT THAT WAS PASSED THE LAST MEETING THAT WERE PASSED.

AND I CANNOT ADD THAT FOR OUR, UM, BACKUP FOR NEXT TIME.

BUT I THINK THE BOTTOM LINE TO REMEMBER AS Y'ALL ARE LOOKING AT THIS, IS THAT NOTHING IS WRITTEN IN STONE.

AND THAT IS THE BIGGEST ISSUE ABOUT THIS DEVELOPMENT IS THERE'S A LOT OF SAY WE WILL, BUT DON'T POTENTIAL IN, IN, IN WHAT HAS BEEN AGREED TO BECAUSE IT'S FOR A 45 YEAR, UH, CONTRACT.

UM, AND ALSO WANT TO SHARE THAT.

UM, THE OTHER COMMISSION THAT HAS, UH, ALSO ENDORSED THE RECOMMENDATIONS IS THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE HAS ALSO ENDORSED THESE.

SO ANYWAY, I FELT LIKE BECAUSE OF THE DOG'S HEAD IS, UM, MAJORITY, UM, WORKING CLASS, UM, LATINO POPULATION, AND WITH AN AVERAGE INCOME OF AROUND $40,000, IT DOES, UM, APPLY TO OUR MISSION.

SO, SO YEAH.

SO PLEASE TAKE A LOOK AT THE BACKUPS AND IF Y'ALL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, UM, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME OR YOU, I'M HAPPY TO TALK MORE ABOUT THIS.

UH, YES, UH, MIGUEL, YOU WANTED TO ADD SOMETHING? THANK YOU, CHAIR.

AND I'LL MAKE SURE THAT ALL THREE OF THESE ITEMS ARE ON DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS. UM, BUT I JUST WANTED TO SAY, THERE WAS ALSO AN EMAIL THAT I SENT OUT, UH, TODAY WITH ITS BACKGROUND, BUT NOT BACK UP.

IT WAS A KUT ARTICLE THAT COMMISSIONER MENARD WAS ABLE TO SHARE WITH ME, AND IT'S VERY INFORMATIVE.

UM, AND I WILL MAKE SURE TO RECIRCULATE THAT.

THANK YOU, MIGUEL, AND THANK YOU COMMISSIONER MENARD.

SO, YES, SO ITEM FIVE, SIX, AND SEVEN WILL BE, UH, BROUGHT BACK IN SEPTEMBER.

SO LET'S MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER EIGHT.

SO THIS IS AN UPDATE FROM THE STRATEGIC WORKING GROUP, UH, CONCERNING THE UPDATED ONBOARDING DOCUMENTATION AND FUTURE TOPICS.

AND THIS IS A DISCUSSION LED BY COMMISSIONER ATISHA.

UH, GO AHEAD, COMMISSIONER ATISHA, SORRY, GAVE ME ONE MOMENT TRYING TO

[01:25:01]

SET THINGS UP HERE.

OH, NO, WHAT DID I DO WITH MY EMAIL? WELL, I ALMOST HAD IT READY? HMM.

ALL RIGHT, CAN WE PAUSE BEFORE ME FOR A SECOND AND THEN COME BACK TO IT? I FEEL I'M SORT OF, SORRY, CAN I COME BACK TO IT? I'M JUST TRYING TO PULL IT UP.

PULL UP THE EMAIL HERE.

GO AHEAD, COMMISSIONER LONGORIA.

COMMISSIONER TISHA.

UH, WE WILL,

[9. Update from the CDC Housing Committee concerning the most recent quarterly meeting. Discussion led by Commissioner Raul Longoria.]

UH, OKAY.

MOVE TO ITEM NUMBER NINE AND COME BACK TO ITEM NUMBER EIGHT IN A MINUTE.

UH, SO WE HAVE A QUICK UP, AWESOME, QUICK UPDATE ON THE CDC HOUSING COMMITTEE COMMITTEE CONCERNING THE MOST RECENT QUARTERLY MEETING.

UH, THIS IS, UH, LED BY COMMISSIONER RA LONGORIA.

HE IS THE CHAIR OF THE CDC D'S HOUSING COMMITTEE.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

UM, SO WE DID HAVE A, OUR QUARTERLY CDC HOUSING COMMITTEE, UH, MEETING, UH, AT TODAY'S MEETING.

UM, WE ALSO HAD NO ACTION ITEMS, JUST DISCUSSION ITEMS. AND, UM, AFTER HAVING DISCUSSED THE DOG'S HEAD DEVELOPMENT, UH, WE WERE ABLE TO AGREE THAT THE CITY STAFF MEMBER FROM THE REAL ESTATE, UM, DEPARTMENT WAS GOING TO GIVE US A PRESENTATION AT THE NEXT HOUSING COMMITTEE MEETING, WHICH I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT.

UM, I INVITE THE CDC IF THEY'RE INTERESTED TO ADD THEM ONTO THEIR, UM, AGENDA TO KILL, UH, TO KILL TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE, SO TO SPEAK.

UH, WE'RE STILL INTERESTED IN THE DOG'S HEAD DEVELOPMENT, HOW IT'S GONNA PHASE OUT, AND, UH, BEING MINDFUL OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING, UM, IN THAT DEVELOPMENT.

UM, THE CURRENT RESIDENCE, UM, YOU KNOW, FUTURE CITY ACQUISITIONS AND THOSE TYPE OF THINGS.

BUT ANYWAY, UH, THE SECOND ITEM THAT WE DISCUSSED WAS THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S FY 26, 27 BUDGET.

UM, WE, WE SPOKE A LOT ABOUT SOCIAL SERVICES.

UH, WE HAD A LOOK AT OUR PREVIOUS HOUSING COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES, AND WE, WE HAD PREVIOUSLY DISCUSSED PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING, UH, LOCAL HOUSING VOUCHERS.

UH, WE, WE KIND OF BROUGHT UP THE ISSUE AGAIN, OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS, UH, THE SAFE ALLIANCE A LITTLE BIT ON THE TOPIC.

WE SPOKE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HPD AND, YOU KNOW, JUST HOW WE COULD PUT FORTH MORE EFFECTIVE RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE FUTURE.

I MEAN, IT'S NEVER TOO EARLY TO START THINKING OR CONSIDERING NEXT YEAR.

SO YEAH, THOSE ARE THE UPDATES.

THANK YOU SO MUCH, UH, COMMISSIONER LONGORIA.

AND YES, WHENEVER THERE'S A HOUSING COMMITTEE MEETING, THE AGENDA GOES OUT, UH, THE SAME WAY THAT IT GOES OUT FOR THE CDC REGULAR MEETING.

SO IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR ANYTHING, UM, YOU CAN JOIN THAT MEETING VIRTUALLY.

YOU CAN JOIN IN PERSON.

UM, YOU, YES, SORRY, AS LONG AS WE DON'T HIT, UH, QUORUM AS YES, AS LONG AS WE DON'T HAVE QUORUM.

AND YOU CAN ALSO SEND SOME QUESTIONS TO, UH, MIGUEL OR COMMISSIONER LONGORIA.

SORRY, UH, NO, CHASE, I'LL, I'LL GIVE IT TO HIM.

THANK, BUT YES, , UM, CHASE BRIAN IS THE, UM, LIAISON FOR THE HOUSING COMMITTEE AS WELL.

SO YOU HAVE LOTS OF OPTIONS.

WE'RE, WE'RE ALL HERE TO HELP.

YES, THANK YOU.

AND YES, AND MIGUEL WILL KEEP US, UH, HONEST IN, IN QUORUM AND ALL OF THAT.

I HAD A QUESTION.

UH, YES, COMMISSIONER MENARD, GO AHEAD.

UH, THANK YOU.

JUST WANTED TO, TO RECONFIRM.

SO, UH, COMMISSIONER LAGUARDIA, YOUR MEETINGS ARE AT FIVE 30 BEFORE OUR, OUR REGULAR MEETINGS? THEY'RE ACTUALLY AT 5:00 PM AT FIVE, OKAY.

NO, I INVITE IF, IF ANYONE HAS ANY QUESTIONS, HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS, BUT I INVITE YOU TO CALL OR TEXT ME, EMAIL ME IF YOU HAVE ANY AGENDA ITEM SUGGESTIONS FOR THE HOUSING COMMITTEE WHERE I'M HAPPY TO ENTERTAIN ANYTHING, LIKE, WE'LL, WE'LL PUT IT ON THERE IF YOU THINK IT'S IMPORTANT.

UH, SO WE ARE BACK TO ITEM NUMBER EIGHT.

ALRIGHT.

[8. Update from the Strategic Working Group concerning the updated onboarding documentation and future topics. Discussion led by Commissioner Tisha.]

UH, THE UPDATE ON FROM THE STRATEGIC WORKING GROUP, UH, AND READY NOW, AND COMMISSIONER LETICIA IS READY.

UM, SORT OF WHAT WE CAN DO IN ALIGNMENT, HOW WE CAN MAKE SURE WE'RE STRUCTURING AND PROVIDING INFORMATION, UM, THAT IS A PART OF THE ENGAGEMENT AND HAVING INFORMATION OUT AND AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC.

AND COMMISSIONER LEGIA JUST WANTED TO ADDRESS ONE THING I FORGOT TO MENTION DURING THE, UM, COMMITTEE MEETING, UH, A HOST JUST TO HAVE A NOTE, UM, THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING SEARCH TOOL, UH, FOR AN UPCOMING MEETING NOTED FOR THE WORKING COMMITTEE.

UM, WE HAVE A CHANCE TO MEET DEPARTMENT AND TO TALK A LITTLE,

[01:30:01]

SO WE MET WITH CAITLIN AND JULIE, UH, WHO WERE WONDERFUL AND PROVIDED SUCH GREAT INSIGHT.

SO THESE FEW THINGS, UH, WE HAVE SOME UPDATES ON THAT.

THE INFORMATION GATHERING, UH, WILL FALL UNDER THE ONBOARDING WORKING GROUP.

UH, WHENEVER WE'RE LOOKING AT STRATEGIC, UH, SCHEDULING AND CALENDAR PLANNING AHEAD, UH, THAT, THAT CAN FALL UNDER THE ONBOARDING WORKING GROUP BECAUSE WE WANT TO ENSURE THAT THERE IS A SPACE AND A CASE FOR IN THE ONBOARDING WORKING GROUP.

AND, AND, UH, COMMISSIONER ACHILLES CAN SPEAK TO THAT IN A LITTLE BIT, UM, IF SHE WOULD, SO LIKE TO, AS WELL AS LIAISING, UH, INFORMATION TO SHARE BETWEEN NOT ONLY THE CDC, BUT ALSO ANY OTHER COMMITTEES OR ANY OTHER GROUPS, UM, IN THE MEETINGS IN THE FUTURE THAT WE WANT TO DO.

SO WE CAN REASSESS THAT AS WE NEED.

BUT FOR THE MOST PART, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT SOME OF THOSE SCHEDULINGS IN THE, IN THE FUTURE, THAT THERE'S A BIT OF, IT CAN FALL UNDER ONBOARDING, UH, THE ONBOARDING WORKING GROUP.

AND THEN WE ALSO LOOKED AT, UH, AREAS OF HUD REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE PART OF THE CAP C-B-D-G-C-S-B-G COMMUNITY ACTION PLAN.

UM, BUT NOT NECESSARILY THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT.

WE DIDN'T DIVE DEEPLY INTO THAT WITHIN, WITHIN THE GROUP FROM THE STRATEGIC WORKING GROUP THAT WAS ABLE TO MEET WITH CAITLYN AND JULIA.

UH, BUT WE DID LOOK A LITTLE BIT MORE AT HUD REQUIREMENTS.

AND SO BEING ABLE TO SHARE SOME MORE OF THAT INFORMATION AND WILL BE COMING UP IN FUTURE SUCCESSIVE MEETINGS.

BUT THAT'S SOMETHING TO LOOK AT.

AT LEAST NOW WE KNOW SORT OF WHAT ARE THE, THE BOUNDARIES OR THE GUARDRAILS THAT HOUSING HAS TO WORK WITH TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE COMPLYING WITH HUD REQUIREMENTS IN TERMS OF ENGAGEMENT AND OUTREACH.

SO THE OTHER CONSIDERATIONS WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT THESE HUD CALENDARS, UM, THAT THERE'S A GREATER INTENTIONAL SPACE BETWEEN THE COMMISSIONERS BEING A PART OF THESE COMMUNITY MEETINGS.

SO AGAIN, ONE OF THE CONCERNS WE'VE HAD AND THINGS THAT WE'VE SPOKEN ABOUT HERE IS GETTING THE INFORMATION, SO LAST MINUTE PER SE.

UM, SO IT'S BEING ABLE TO HAVE US INCLUDED MORE INCLUSIVE OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS OF HOW DO WE ENSURE THAT WE ARE RECOGNIZING NOT ONLY THE TIMELINE WE HAVE TO MAKE FOR HOUSING AND HUD AND THOSE REQUIREMENTS, BUT ALSO HOW CAN WE INCORPORATE AND EVOLVE, UM, THE COMMISSIONERS MORE IN A PROACTIVE WAY SO IT DOESN'T SEEM REACTIONARY IN TERMS OF THE INFORMATION THAT WE GET.

UM, SO THAT'S SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO AS WELL AS FINALIZING THE CALENDAR SO THAT WE GET TO BE A PART OF SORT OF WHAT THAT CALENDAR LOOKS LIKE AND SHARING SOME OF OUR INSIGHT IN REGARDS TO THE PROGRESS OF THE OUTREACH CALENDAR THAT HOUSING, UM, IS DUE FOR THOSE HUB REQUIREMENTS.

AND THEN THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE WERE CONSIDERING IS JUST LOOKING AT FEEDBACK LOOPS OVERALL.

SO THE TIMELINESS, UM, THE TYPE OF DATA THAT THE ASSESSMENT IS GATHERING, UH, SORT OF WHAT ARE SOME OF THE INTERESTS, MAYBE SOME CONTEXT BEHIND THAT.

LOOKING AT, UM, OF COURSE PROACTIVE PLANNING THAT INVOLVES THE PILLARS OF CDC.

SO A LOT OF IT IS AROUND TIMELINESS, UH, THAT WE ARE HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH.

AND AGAIN, COMMISSIONER ACHILLES CAN TALK ABOUT HOW THAT ALSO FALLS UNDER ONBOARDING WORKING GROUP AND WHAT THAT CAN LOOK LIKE.

BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE MAJOR UPDATE, WHAT WE'RE HAVING IS A MORE PROACTIVE PLAN, A MORE PROACTIVE, UM, FOCUS ON, ON SORT OF THESE REQUIREMENTS AND THE CALENDAR WHEN IT COMES TO OUTREACH.

SO IT DOESN'T HAVE US FEEL ANY BIT OFF GUARD, BUT MORE AS A PART OF THE PROCESS THAN SORT OF LEARNING ABOUT IT AFTER IT'S HAPPENED.

SO THAT'S IT FOR THE SWAG, THE STRATEGIC WORKING GROUP.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR UPDATES.

UM, COMMISSIONER LETICIA.

ALRIGHT,

[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]

UM, WE ARE AT THE END OF OUR AGENDA.

WE ARE NOW LOOKING AT OUR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. SO COMMISSIONERS, UH, WE KNOW THAT WE ARE TAKING, UH, WHAT WE HAD AS ITEM FIVE, SIX AND SEVEN.

THE CDC ELECTION, UH, RECOMMENDATION, UH, THE DOGS HEAD DEVELOPMENT RECOMMENDATION.

AND THEN ON ANGEL'S UPDATE AND ON THE ELECTION AND NOMINATION PROCESS, UH, THOSE WILL BE IN OUR SEPTEMBER AGENDA.

UH, DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE FOR SEPTEMBER? AYE, UH, COMMISSIONER MENARD, GO AHEAD.

YES, THANK YOU.

UM, CHAIR.

SO I THINK BY THEN WE WILL ALL, I'LL BE UP, I WILL HAVE COMPLETED THE PERC UM, SELECTION PROCESS FOR, UH, SOME AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROGRAMS. UM, AND SO I'LL BE ABLE TO GIVE Y'ALL AN UPDATE ON THAT.

[01:35:02]

SOUNDS GOOD.

AND THEN I WANTED TO ASK, UH, MIGUEL, JUST TO GET A BARBARA'S REPORT ON THE GETTING AUSTIN ENERGY FOLKS HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE PEAK PLAN, UH, EXPANSION.

AND IF YOU NEED, IF YOU NEED ANY HELP FROM ME TO TRY TO MOVE THAT ALONG.

AND THEN ALSO WITH THE WATERSHED FOLKS WHO ALSO, UM, GIVE US SOME INFORMATION ON THE WATERSHED AND ENVIRONMENTAL ART THAT'S THERE.

I MEAN ON THE, I'M SORRY, DOGHEAD, IT'S YES.

YES MA'AM.

COMMISSIONER.

UM, AND SO I, I HAVE MADE THE INITIAL, UH, REQUEST FOR THE PEAKERS, UM, BUT I WILL REACH OUT TO YOU TO MAKE SURE THAT I'M MAKING IT IN THE RIGHT, UH, LOCATIONS.

UM, AND THEN I, IN THAT SAME COMMUNICATION, I'LL MAKE SURE THAT I HAVE EXACTLY WHAT YOU NEED FOR THE WATERSHED AS I ASK FOR, UM, PRESENTATIONS ON THAT AS WELL.

GREAT.

UH, COMMISSIONERS.

ANY OTHER COMMISSIONER? HAVE SOMETHING FOR OUR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? OKAY.

SO REMEMBER, UH, IF THERE'S EVER ANYTHING YOU NEED TO, YOU WOULD LIKE TO PUT ON THE AGENDA, PLEASE CONTACT, UH, MIGUEL AND SEND THEM AS MUCH INFORMATION AS YOU CAN ABOUT IT.

UH, AND ALSO COMMUNICATE, RESPOND TO HIS EMAIL SO WE CAN GET THOSE ON THE, ON THE AGENDAS AND ALSO GET THE PROPER PRESENTATION PROPER, UM, PRESS PRESENTERS AS WELL, UH, TO COME TO THE COMMISSION.

ALL RIGHT, SO IF WE DO NOT HAVE ANYTHING ELSE, IT IS 8 0 8 AND WE ARE ADJOURNED.

THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYBODY.