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WE, I THINK[Call to Order]
WE HAVE A FULL HOUSE NOW.THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR COMING.
I WOULD LIKE TO CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER.
TODAY IS AUGUST 19TH, AND THE TIME IS 2:02 PM THE MEETING HAS BEEN CONDUCTED AT THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP OFFICE, LOCATED AT 2 0 3 COLORADO STREET IN AUSTIN, TEXAS.
AND AS A REMINDER, THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP PROVIDES BOTH AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE AND OTHER INTERPRETER SERVICES.
PLEASE CONTACT CHLOE MAXWELL IF YOU EVER NEED ANY OF THESE ADDITIONAL ACCOMMODATIONS.
[1. Public Comment]
FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.UM, I BELIEVE MR. DE LEON IS HERE.
AND BEFORE JUST ANNOUNCE WE HAVE A QUORUM PRESENT.
YEAH, WE HAVE A QUORUM PRESENT.
THE WHOLE BOARD IS HERE, SO THANK YOU.
SOY CARLOS LEON, FIRST AND FOREMOST, OL FOR LETTING ME UPDATE YOU ON CAT METRO'S STUFF IN MY BACKUP MATERIAL.
YOUR LIAISON SENT YOU BEFORE THIS MEETING, DRIVERS ARE STOPPING FOR AND BOARDING ME.
HOWEVER, TWO DAYS AGO, A DRIVER WRONGLY IMPEDED ME BY CROSS FROM CROSSING THE STREET BY BLOCKING A CROSSWALK TO OBSTRUCT A PUBLIC PASSAGEWAY, VIOLATING TEXAS PE TRANSPORTATION CODE 5 4 5 0.302 A FOUR, AND TEXAS PENAL CODE 42.03.
CAP METRO CLAIMED TO HAVE REVIEWED THE VIDEO PLEDGING TO ISSUE THE GUILTY OPERATOR.
A FORMAL REMINDER REGARDING PROPER INTERSECTION AND CROSSWALK PROTOCOLS.
LET'S SEE IF SHE FOLLOWS THE LAW FORWARD.
HOWEVER, I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO LEVERAGE SPEAKING HERE TO GET THAT KIND OF PROMPT PROFESSIONAL RESPONSE.
THAT'S HOW CAP METRO SHOULD SERIOUSLY INVESTIGATE AND QUICKLY COMMUNICATE BACK ON ALL LEGIT PASSENGER COMPLAINTS ALL THE TIME.
MORE IMPORTANTLY, CAP METRO SHOULD NOT TARGET ANYONE FOR SYSTEMIC LONG-TERM HARASSMENT LIKE THEY'VE DONE TO ME BECAUSE IT'S IMMORAL.
ANY LEGAL VIOLATING THE 14TH AMENDMENT'S EQUAL PROTECTION CLAUSE FOR ALL KAT METRO MUST CONSISTENTLY FOLLOW CONSTITUTIONAL LAW OR BE LEGALLY HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR NOT.
THUS, REGARDING DARRYL JEMELE'S ALLEGED CRIMES, WHICH A PD SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT WRONGLY DID NOT RECOGNIZE MY COMPLAINT WITH AUSTIN POLICE OVERSIGHT IS MOVING FORWARD AS A FORMAL INVESTIGATION.
IN ADDITION, KAT METRO'S CURRENT SERVICE SUSPENSION POLICY, WHICH PRESIDENT AND CEO DOTTIE WATKINS APPROVED AND ENACTED IN JULY, 2025, STILL HAS NOT BEEN UPDATED, THOUGH IT WAS SCHEDULED TO BE REVIEWED LAST MONTH.
I HAVE PREVIOUSLY MADE YOU ALL AWARE OF THE SERIOUS LEGAL PROBLEMS WITHIN IT, INCLUDING PLAGIARIZING, ADA'S, DIRECT THREAT DEFINITION, WORD FOR WORD TO MISAPPLY, AND MISUSE IT AS A SERVICE SUSPENSION CONTEXT FOR WHICH IT WAS NEVER INTENDED OR VALIDATED.
DO NOT ALLOW YOUR LIGHT RAIL PROJECT TO BE DERAILED BY THAT POLICY.
MAKE SURE WHOEVER YOU HIRE TO MANAGE AND SECURE YOUR LIGHT RAIL RIGHTS AND ENFORCES A TRUE LEGAL SURFACE SUSPENSION POLICY THAT APPROPRIATELY HOLDS PASSENGERS AND LIGHT RAIL EMPLOYEES ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR BEHAVIOR.
OTHERWISE, EITHER OR BOTH OF THOSE GROUPS CAN TURN YOUR NEW LIGHT RAIL INTO AN UNSAFE NO-GO ZONE RUINING AN ANTIP PURPOSING WHAT YOU WILL HAVE BUILT.
DO NOT UNDERVALUE HOW IMPORTANT THAT POLICY IS ON PAPER AND IN PRACTICE, BE SOBER.
BE VIGILANT BECAUSE YOUR ADVERSARY, THE DEVIL AS A ROARING LION WALKETH ABOUT SEEKING WHOM HE MAY DEVOUR.
ONE PETER, CHAPTER FIVE, VERSE EIGHT.
CHLOE, DO WE HAVE ANY MORE SPEAKERS SIGNED UP TO SPEAK? OKAY, THANK YOU.
[2. Executive Director Report]
THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT.UH, WELCOME EVERYONE TO OUR AUGUST, UH, AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP BOARD MEETING.
UH, WE'RE SET UP IN A WORK SESSION, UH, FOR SOME GOOD DIALOGUE AROUND, UH, OUR BUDGET AND OUR SPACE.
AND, UM, WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT.
WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE CONVERSATION LIKE WE DO HERE IN AUGUST.
UM, REAL QUICK, UM, JUST ALWAYS WANNA HIGHLIGHT WHERE WE'VE BEEN OUT AND AROUND IN THE COMMUNITY.
UH, WE ALL KNOW IT'S BACK TO SCHOOL.
WE ALL FELT THAT THIS WEEK AS, UH, THE TRAFFIC PICKS UP AND, UM, EVERYONE'S GETTING, UH, BACK AND AROUND.
UH, LAST WEEK WE WERE REALLY PROUD TO PARTNER WITH ALLISON ELEMENTARY.
WE DID A KIND OF JUST A, A, A CROWDSOURCING WITH OUR EMPLOYEES FOR PRIVATE DONATIONS AND WENT OUT AND, AND MET WITH
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THE TEACHERS, TALKED A LITTLE BIT WITH THE PRINCIPAL ABOUT WHAT WAS HAPPENING, LIGHT RAIL.THIS IS ABOUT A MILE OFF THE ALIGNMENT.
UM, IT WAS A REALLY GREAT VIBE AND, AND, UH, REALLY NICE TO BE ABLE TO GO OUT THERE AND SUPPORT THE TEACHERS, UM, AS THEY GET READY FOR THEIR BIG TASK AHEAD OF, OF THE SCHOOL YEAR.
AND WE THANK THEM SO MUCH FOR THEIR SERVICE.
I WANT A BIG SHOUT OUT TO, UH, OUR TEAM TO, UH, TO JOCELYN AND TO CANDACE AND TO DEBBIE, AND TO, UH, TO, TO DESIREE AND CHLOE AND ZURI FOR GETTING THAT ALL DONE.
UM, ALSO, WE HAD ANOTHER, UM, I THINK THE SLIDE BEFORE, UM, OUT THERE WITH THE, UM, CONTINUING TO GROW OUR SMALL BUSINESS.
WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THAT, UH, AS WE'VE AWARDED THESE MAJOR CONTRACTS, UH, WITH, WITH FIRMS ALSO THAT THE OPPORTUNITY AND THE VALUES THAT WE HAVE HERE OF MAKING SURE THAT OUR, OUR LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES ARE PART OF THIS EFFORT.
AND PART OF THAT IS MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE OUT AND ABOUT TALKING TO FOLKS.
UM, UH, YADIS HAD A CHANCE TO PART OF OUR LEADERSHIP FORUM WITH, UH, THE COMP TO THE NATIONAL MEETING AND THE TRAINING CONFERENCE.
AND THEN ALSO WITH OUR SMALL BUSINESS, OUR DECA SUMMIT HERE IN TOWN.
UM, OUR NEW, UH, UH, OUR NEW, UH, UH, DEPUTY DEPUTY PURCHASING JOSHUA WAS OUT THERE, UM, CONNECTING WITH THAT WORLD.
AND SO WE'RE EXCITED AND REALLY LOOKING TOWARDS THE FALL AS WE TALK MORE ABOUT THIS CONTRACTING, UH, AS WE GO INTO PRE-CONSTRUCTION MODE, ALL OF THE CONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES OUT THERE FOR THE COMMUNITY.
UM, SO WE'LL BE CONTINUING TO STAY OUT THERE AND HAVING CONVERSATIONS ABOUT WHERE WE'RE ON THE PROJECT WITH, WITH EVERYBODY.
ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD? WHAT KIND OF MATERIALS DID WE GIVE AWAY AT THE SCHOOL? SO WE DID THE CLASSIC OLD, UH, KIND OF BUILD A BACKPACK, UHHUH.
UM, WE GOT SOME YELLOW AND BLUE BACKPACKS.
UM, AND, UM, ALL THE NICE THINGS, NOT ONLY FOR THE STUDENTS, BUT FOR THE TEACHERS.
I THINK, AS WE ALL KNOW, UM, OUR TEACHERS OFTENTIMES HAVE TO GET THEIR CLASSROOMS READY MM-HMM
UM, FOR MATERIALS, BASIC SUPPLY MATERIALS.
AND SO THIS OPPORTUNITY TO HELP ONE SCHOOL, WE KNOW THERE'S MANY.
UM, WE REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THE EMPLOYEES AND ALSO OUR PARTNERS, UM, AND OUR PARTNER CONTRACTORS THAT HELPED KIND OF DO THAT FUNDRAISING FOR SEVERAL THOUSAND DOLLARS TO DO ALL THAT.
UM, SO WE WERE HAPPY TO DO IT AND, AND LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING THAT PARTNERSHIP WITH ALLISON.
DID THEY ASK ANY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ABOUT THE LIGHT RAIL? UM, LIKE HOW CLOSE IT WAS GONNA BE?
OH, THIS IS, IT, IT'S REALLY INTERESTING THAT YOU SAY THAT.
UH, REBECCA ELLO WITH COMMUNICATION SERVICES, A TP, UM, WE ACTUALLY GOT A SPECIFIC REQUEST FROM THE PRINCIPAL TO DO AN ENTIRE AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL.
WHAT IS IT? TELL US HOW IT'S GONNA BE BENEFICIAL, HOW ARE STUDENTS GONNA BENEFIT? AND HUGE SHOUT OUT TO JOCELYN AND THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TEAM.
THEY'RE ALWAYS SO PREPARED TO DO THAT.
AND, UM, WE WERE ABLE TO, IN ADDITION TO THE SUPPLIES, THE PRINCIPAL WAS SO DELIGHTED BECAUSE WE CROWDSOURCED PRIVATE DONATIONS TO GIVE HEB GIFT CARDS, WHICH IS JUST SOMETHING THAT THEY WERE ALL EXCITED ABOUT BECAUSE IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR TEACHERS' LUNCHEONS AND DIFFERENT APPRECIATION EVENTS.
SO WE THOUGHT ABOUT THEM IN TERMS OF JUST LIKE WHAT THEY MIGHT NEED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
SO, SO LET ME, LET ME CHALLENGE YOU RIGHT NOW, MR. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, UH, AS WE PREPARE FOR OUR BACK TO SCHOOL IN, UH, 2027.
UH, WE WANT TO, UH, CHALLENGE YOU TO BE A PART OF THE, OF THE, UH, THE PRECINCT ONE BACK TO SCHOOL TEAM.
AND WE CAN TALK ABOUT RAIL AND WE CAN TALK ABOUT OTHER THINGS.
AND I WILL TELL YOU ABOUT ALL OF THE SECRET PARTICIPANTS THAT WE HAVE, UH, THAT ARE GOING TO BLESS A WHOLE LOT OF CHILDREN.
SO WE ARE LOVE, WE ARE EAGER, AND WE ARE RAMPED UP AND, AND, AND RESOURCED UP TOO.
WE, THIS WAS OUR TRIAL RUN, SO WE'RE, WE'RE READY TO, WE'RE READY TO PLUG IN.
SO THAT'S IN THE MINUTES, RIGHT?
IT'S A WONDERFUL TIME OF YEAR TO DO THESE THINGS, SO THANK YOU.
I KNOW MY KIDS TOOK, UH, CAPITAL BUSES TO AND FROM SCHOOL TOO, SO I KNOW THAT I'M SURE EVEN THE BUS DRIVERS ARE ALL EXCITED TO SEE THE NEW KIDDOS BACK THROUGH RIDING BUSES, SO, WELL, THANK YOU.
[3.1 Proposed Fiscal Year 2026-27 Budget Presentation.]
GONNA MOVE ON TO OUR DISCUSSION ITEMS. THE FIRST DISCUSSION ITEM TODAY IS A PRESENTATION OF THE PROPOSED FISCAL YEAR 20 26, 27 BUDGET.MR. CANAL, WOULD YOU PLEASE INTRODUCE US TO THIS NEXT PRESENTATION? CERTAINLY.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, BACK IN JULY, WE, WE, UH, GAVE YOU AN OVERVIEW OF OUR PROPOSED, UH, BUDGET.
UM, WE THINK THIS IS A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO DO A KIND OF A DEEPER DIVE ON SOME OF THE TOPICS AND TO HAVE OUR FULL TEAM UP HERE, UM, JOINING BRIAN AND DAN, UH, TO WALK THROUGH THAT.
BUT JUST AS I THINK A LITTLE, UH, A PREFACE ABOUT WHERE WE ARE.
SO LAST YEAR AT THIS TIME, WHEN WE PROPOSED, UM, OUR CURRENT YEAR BUDGET, OUR
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25 26 BUDGET, WE TALKED ABOUT THE PROGRESS THAT WE WERE MAKING, UH, ON SEVERAL FRONTS, UM, SPECIFICALLY AROUND READINESS FOR FTA AND READINESS FOR FINISHING NEPA, WHICH WE'VE, WHICH WE'VE DONE FINISHING THIS, SORRY, THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, UH, UH, WORK THAT WE HAD TO DO TO CONTINUE THROUGH OUR, OUR FEDERAL PROGRAM, BUT ALSO GETTING ALL OF OUR MAJOR CONTRACTS.UM, AND WE'RE SITTING HERE IN AUGUST AND NOW WE HAVE, HAVE, THIS BOARD HAS NOW APPROVED ALL THE MAJOR CONTRACTS EXACTLY AS WE PLANNED OUT, UM, GOING BACK INTO 2023.
AND WE TALKED BACK THEN ABOUT HOW THE VELOCITY OF OUR WORK WOULD START INCREASING.
AND I THINK WE'VE ALL SEEN THAT, RIGHT? WE'VE, WE'VE BEEN HERE, UH, OVER THIS PAST YEAR AS, UM, THE DESIGNERS ARE HERE AS WE'RE GETTING READY FOR PRE-CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES.
AND I THINK THIS BUDGET REFLECTS A CONTINUATION OF THAT.
ALTHOUGH AT PACE, I THINK UNDERSTANDING, YOU KNOW, THE PROCESS THAT WE'RE IN TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE APPROPRIATELY ADVANCING THE PROJECT, UM, TO MEET, UH, TO MEET SEVERAL THINGS.
AND I THINK ONE OF THE DIALOGUES YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TODAY IS ABOUT HOW OUR BUDGET IS REALLY VERY MUCH CONNECTED AND SUPPORTIVE OF WHERE WE ARE IN OUR FEDERAL PROCESS AND WHERE WE'RE ON OUR CONTRACTING PROCESS, AND HOW ALL THREE OF THOSE THINGS WORK TO CONTINUE ADVANCING THIS, ADVANCING THIS, THIS, THIS PROCESS.
AND REALLY KEY TO THAT IS OUR FEDERAL, RIGHT? WE NEED TO KEEP MOVING THROUGH OUR FEDERAL PROCESS.
AND WHEN YOU DO THAT, UM, THERE'S SUCCESS AT THE END OF THAT.
UM, AND SO WE JUST SAW THE LAST, UH, COUPLE WEEKS, UM, UTAH, UM, ONE OF OUR PEER PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE BEEN TALKING TO AND, AND, UH, SHARING WITH AND COORDINATING AND COLLABORATING WITH AND LEARNING FROM, TO BE QUITE HONEST THERE.
THERE'S A LITTLE BIT AHEAD OF US IN THE PROCESS.
UM, THEY RECEIVED FROM, UH, THE FEDERAL TRANS ADMINISTRATION AND THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ABOUT $1.3 BILLION OF FEDERAL GRANTS THAT ARE GONNA GO TOWARDS THEIR FRONT RUNNER.
A VERY KEY PROJECT FOR, UH, THAT STATE AND COMMUNITY.
UM, AND I THINK ONE OF THE REASONS THEY GOT THAT WAS BECAUSE THEY HAD DONE ALL THE WORK TO BE READY TO, TO GO INTO THAT NEXT GATE OF THE FEDERAL PROCESS.
UM, AND I THINK WHAT YOU'LL HEAR TODAY IS HOW OUR BUDGET CONTINUES TO SUPPORT US GETTING READY FOR OUR NEXT GATE, UM, GOING THROUGH THE FEDERAL EFFORT HERE IN, IN THE SPRING.
SO WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE DIALOGUE AND KIND OF ROLL UP OUR SLEEVES AND LET, UH, BRIAN AND DAN KICK US OFF AND, AND THEN HAVE THE TEAM READY REALLY FOR YOU GUYS TO ASK QUESTIONS.
RIGHT? WE'RE HERE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE.
WE PUT SOME SLIDES TOGETHER, BUT HOPEFULLY, UM, YOU KNOW, WE PROPOSE THE BUDGET.
WE HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO TALK.
AND OBVIOUSLY BEFORE SEPTEMBER BUDGET ADOPTION, CONTINUE TO BE AVAILABLE TO, TO DIVE ON ANY QUESTIONS THAT, UM, ANY OF OUR BOARD MEMBERS MAY HAVE.
CHAIR BOARD BRIAN RIVERA, D-T-P-C-F-O, JOINED HERE BY DAN FRICK AND THE REST OF THE EVPS, UM, AS WELL AS DAN COHEN.
AND WE'LL WALK THROUGH THE SLIDES.
AND THIS IS GREG MENTIONED, KIND OF TIE HOW OUR 27 BUDGET ALIGNS WITH THE FEDERAL PROCESS AND REALLY THE WORK PLAN FOR THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR AND ALL OF THE WORK THAT WE HAVE AHEAD OF US.
AND AGAIN, MY NAME IS DAN BROCK.
I'M THE SVP WITH BUDGET AND TREASURY FOR A CP.
AND I'M GONNA START US OFF WITH JUST A LITTLE BIT OF A GROUNDING MOMENT.
UH, GOING BACK TO BASICS A LITTLE BIT.
UM, QUICK REFRESHER ON OUR BUDGET, OR IT'S THREE COMPONENTS.
SO IT'S OUR ANNUAL BUDGET, OUR CAPITAL BUDGET, OUR SPENDING PLAN, THE ANNUAL BUDGET IS WHERE WE PULL OUR REVENUE IN AND, UH, SET UP OUR APPROPRIATIONS TO GO OUT TO THE CAPITAL BUDGET, UH, SPENDING YOU MIND.
SO OUR SPENDING PLAN, IS THAT BETTER? YEAH, EVERYONE, PLEASE.
OUR SPENDING PLAN IS OUR STAFF DERIVED PLAN THAT SHOWS THE CASH GOING OUT THE DOOR.
IT'S HOW WE'RE GONNA SPEND THESE DOLLARS IN SUPPORT OF THIS PROJECT.
AND THE CAPITAL BUDGET IS WHERE WE PUT THE APPROPRIATIONS SO THAT WE CAN HAVE THE BUDGET AVAILABILITY AND SPEND THOSE DOLLARS.
UH, THE ANNUAL BUDGET AND THE CAPITAL BUDGET ARE BOARD APPROVED.
UH, ITEMS ON THE RIGHT SIDE, WE HAVE OUR BUDGET TIMELINE.
THIS IS OUR, WHERE WE'VE BEEN, WHERE WE'RE GOING LOOK.
SO IN MARCH THROUGH JUNE, WE STARTED OUR BUDGET DEVELOPMENT.
IN JULY, WE HAD OUR INITIAL PRESENTATION TO THE BOARD.
AUGUST, WE'RE DOING OUR ENGAGEMENT.
SO WE HAD OUR COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE LAST WEEK, A REALLY GREAT DISCUSSION WITH THAT GROUP, UM, ABOUT OUR FY 27 PROPOSED BUDGET.
NEXT WEEK WE'LL BE DOING THE, UH, AWESOME LIGHT RAIL ADVISORY GROUP, UH, PRESENTATION.
AND TODAY WE'RE HERE TO DO A DEEP DIVE AND DRAW OUR BUDGET WITH Y'ALL.
AND SO THIS FY 27 BUDGET IS REALLY GROUNDED IN THESE THREE PRIORITY OUTCOMES.
WE HAVE A FOCUS ON PROTECTING AFFORDABILITY AND SECURING THE CORRIDOR.
AND SO THIS IS THE, THE PROCESS OF STARTING THE RIGHT OF WAY ACQUISITION, UH, PROCESS SO THAT WE CAN SECURE THE PARCELS ALONG THE ALIGNMENT.
AND THIS IS TO ENABLE US TO START CONSTRUCTION, START SOME OF THE EARLY UTILITY WORK AND EARLY WORK PACKAGES.
UH, WE HAVE OUR EFFECTIVE CONTRACT MANAGEMENT PRIORITY OUTCOME, AND THIS IS ENSURING THAT WE'RE, UH, DURING OUR CONTRACTING AND AWARDING CONTRACTS IN LINE WITH FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS TO GUARANTEE REIMBURSABILITY WHEN IT COMES TO THE POINT.
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EVEN AFTER THEIR INITIAL AWARD, WE FOCUS ON THE, UH, MANAGEMENT OF CONTRACTS SO THAT WE CAN EXECUTE THEM EFFECTIVELY AND WITH A GOOD FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY IN MIND.AND THE THIRD COMPONENT IS PROGRESSING THROUGH THE FEDERAL PROCESS.
AND THIS IS MAKING OUR WAY THROUGH THOSE GATES THAT WE JUST MENTIONED, UM, ENSURING THAT WE'RE ON TRACK FOR ENTRY INTO ENGINEERING AND INTO THE NEXT PHASE OF THE CAPITAL INVESTMENT GRANT.
SO THE KEY TAKEAWAY HERE IS THAT THE FY 27 BUDGET REALLY FOCUSED ENTIRELY ON PROGRESSING DESIGN AND GETTING US READY FOR THE NEXT STEPS OF THE FEDERAL PROCESS.
AND WITH THAT, I'M GONNA HAND IT TO JENNIFER PINE TO TALK ABOUT THAT PROCESS.
UH, UH, JENNIFER PINE, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT FOR PLANNING COMMUNITY FEDERAL PROGRAMS. I'M JUST GONNA TALK FOR A FEW MINUTES ABOUT WHERE WE ARE IN THE FEDERAL PROCESS AND WHAT WE'RE DOING.
SO YOU HAVE SOME GOOD CONTEXT FOR HOW THAT RELATES TO THE WORK WE'RE PROPOSING TO DO UNDER THE FISCAL 27 BUDGET.
UH, SO AS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, CERTAINLY THE CIG UH, GRANT PROGRAM IS MULTIPLE STEPS OVER MULTIPLE YEARS.
UM, WE FIRST ENTERED THE PIPELINE IN 2024, AND AT THAT TIME, WE HAD TO DEVELOP A PLAN FOR HOW WE WERE GOING TO ACCOMPLISH ALL THE WORK.
HOW ARE WE GONNA DELIVER THIS PROJECT, DO THE CONTRACTING IN A MANNER THAT ALIGNS WITH THE FEDERAL PROCESS AND ENSURES THAT WE MEET THE REQUIREMENTS TO KEEP PROCEEDING THROUGH THOSE GATES.
SO THAT'S THE PLAN WE'VE BEEN EXECUTING SINCE.
UM, WE ARE IN THE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PHASE OF THE GRANT PROGRAM.
UM, AND AT THIS POINT, WE'VE COMPLETED THE STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS FOR THAT PHASE.
SOME OF THE KEY ONES THERE ARE TO COMPLETE NEPA, UH, AS WAS MENTIONED EARLIER, UH, ALSO TO PROVIDE THE INFORMATION.
SO FTA CAN RATE THE PROJECT, AND THAT WAS COMPLETED BY THE END OF 2025.
UM, SO ALL OF OUR WORK NOW IS VERY MUCH ABOUT POSITIONING TO, UM, PRESENT OUR APPLICATION FOR ENTRY INTO THE ENGINEERING PHASE OF THE PROGRAM.
SO WE'VE AGREED WITH FTA ON WHAT OUR ROADMAP IS FOR THOSE ACTIVITIES.
UH, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON NOW.
SO SOME OF THE KEY THINGS THERE, UM, THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THIS CALENDAR YEAR, UM, ACCORD IN ACCORDANCE WITH THAT ROADMAP.
WE ARE WORKING WITH OUR CONTRACTORS, UH, AND THE NEWLY ONBOARDED, UH, VEHICLE PROVIDER FOR DESIGN COORDINATION TO DELIVER THOSE PRODUCTS.
UM, AND WE ARE DOING THAT IN A MANNER THAT'S COORDINATED WITH FTA.
WE'RE GIVING THEM REVIEWS AT, UH, POINTS ALONG THE WAY.
AND THIS CULMINATES, UH, IN EARLY NEXT YEAR WHEN WE DELIVER ALL OF THE PRODUCTS, UM, THAT ARE REQUIRED TO REQUEST ENTRY INTO ENGINEERING.
UH, A KEY MOMENT AFTER THAT IS TO CONDUCT A RISK WORKSHOP, A RISK ASSESSMENT WITH FTA, UM, AND THEY'LL BE USING ALL THE SCOPE SCHEDULE DOCUMENTS THAT THE CONTRACTORS ARE PROVIDING, UH, BUT ALSO MANAGEMENT PLANS THAT OUR DELIVERY PARTNER SUPPORTS TO EXPLAIN ALL OF THE PROCEDURES WE HAVE IN PLACE TO EFFECTIVELY MANAGE THIS WORK.
UH, SO WHEN WE GET INTO THAT RISK ASSESSMENT MODE, KIND OF WHAT ARE WE DOING THERE, UM, THAT IS WHERE FTA REALLY OBTAINS A DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROJECT.
THEY'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT HOW WE'RE MANAGING RISKS, UM, IS OUR SCHEDULE VIABLE, BUT THEY'RE ALSO LOOKING AT OUR ORGANIZATION AND OUR CONTRACTORS, YOU KNOW, SO OUR FULL TEAM TO ASSESS OUR MANAGEMENT, UH, CAPACITY TO DELIVER A PROJECT OF THIS SIZE AND OUR EXPERTISE AND CAPABILITY TO DO SO.
SO WE ARE EXPECTING TO WORK THROUGH ALL THAT PROCESS IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2027 BASED ON THE DELIVERABLES THAT WE PRODUCE THIS YEAR.
UM, OUR, UH, ROADMAP HAS US, UH, WORKING WITH FTA ON ENTRY TO ENGINEERING ABOUT A YEAR FROM NOW, SO SUMMER OF 2027.
AND THAT'S AN IMPORTANT POINT IN THE PROCESS BECAUSE THAT IS THE MOMENT AT WHICH, UM, WE AGREE WITH FTA AND WHAT THE AMOUNT OF THE FEDERAL GRANT WILL BE.
UM, AND THEN WE MOVE ON TOWARDS THE FFDA.
SO THE, UH, FRONT RUNNER PROJECT IN UTAH THAT GREG MENTIONED EARLIER, THAT MOMENT THAT THEY JUST HAD, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE ANTICIPATING ABOUT A YEAR FROM NOW.
UH, THIS ON THE SAME TOPIC, THIS JUST GIVES YOU A SENSE FOR HOW THE WORK UNDER THE CONTRACTS THAT ARE ONGOING, HOW IT RELATES TO THESE MOMENTS IN THE FEDERAL PROCESS WITH, UH, FISCAL 27 BEING OUR, UH, MOMENT FOR REQUESTING AND RECEIVING ENTRY TO ENGINEERING, AND THEN SUBSEQUENTLY TOWARDS THE, UH, THE GRANT AGREEMENT.
UH, SO WITH THAT, I'M GONNA PASS IT ON TO LINDSAY TO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE SCOPE OF WORK UNDER THOSE CONTRACTS.
SO YOU SEE HERE THAT WE HAVE BROKEN UP THE WORK ACROSS OUR THREE CONTRACTS INTO MULTIPLE AUTHORIZATIONS, STAGING THOSE TO ALIGN WITH, UM, JUST THE WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE IN EACH PHASE.
SO WE PREVIOUSLY HAD BOARD AUTHORIZATION FOR OUR LIGHT RAIL AND OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE FACILITY, PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD CONTRACTS FOR WHAT WE CALLED PHASE ONE A.
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THAT'S THE PRE-CONSTRUCTION, PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION PLANNING WORK.UM, ALL OF WHICH SUPPORTS THE ENTRY INTO ENGINEERING, UM, REQUEST PACKAGE THAT JEN WAS JUST DESCRIBING.
WE ARE, UH, GOING TO BE COMING BACK TO YOU SOON FOR THE NEXT AUTHORIZATION, WHICH WE'LL CALL PHASE ONE B.
WE'LL ACTUALLY BREAK THAT UP INTO, AGAIN, MULTIPLE PIECES, ONLY ASKING FOR THE AUTHORITY TO COMPLETE THE WORK NECESSARY, UH, AT EACH STAGE OF WORK AND ASKING FOR, UM, WHAT WE'LL CALL INITIAL AUTHORIZATION TO GET US THROUGH FISCAL YEAR 2027 THAT WE'LL TALK ABOUT HERE IN A LITTLE BIT AS IT ALIGNS WITH OUR BUDGET PROCESS.
AND THAT IS TO CONTINUE THE DESIGN AND WORK THROUGH THE PERMITTING PROCESSES, UM, ALL LINED UP WITH THE FEDERAL NEEDS TO NOT ONLY HAVE ENTRY INTO ENGINEERING REQUESTS, BUT TO BE READY FOR THE STAGES AFTER THAT.
AND WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS, UM, WE HAVE TO DO THE WORK NOW TO PROTECT OUR OVERALL PROJECT SCHEDULE.
SO, UM, THINGS LIKE, UM, PREPARING OUR EARLY WORKS, UH, PACKAGES AND ADVANCING THE DESIGN FOR THOSE EARLY ENABLING CONSTRUCTION PIECES A LITTLE BIT FURTHER.
UH, AND THEN BRINGING DESIGN TO ABOUT A 60% LEVEL, WHICH IS WHAT BRINGS YOU TO THAT NEXT COLUMN OF STARS, UM, AROUND THE END OF THIS NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
AND THEN WE'LL MOVE INTO THE A HUNDRED PERCENT OR ISSUED FOR CONSTRUCTION SET OF PLANS IN THE LAST AUTHORIZATION FOR THE PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD CONTRACTS.
AND AS WE DISCUSSED AT OUR LAST BOARD MEETING, UM, STAGING THE AUTHORIZATIONS FOR OUR LIGHT RAIL VEHICLES IN THE SAME WAY.
SO ONLY COMPLETING THE WORK NECESSARY FOR EACH PHASE.
SO HERE WE HAVE THE OVERVIEW FOR THE OPERATING FUND.
AS DAN MENTIONED EARLIER, THIS IS WHERE ALL OF OUR REVENUES ARE RECEIVED.
SO GOING INTO FY 27, WE'RE ANTICIPATING, UM, SOME, THE PROP $8 OF $194 MILLION, AS WELL AS SOME INVESTMENT INCOME AND OTHER REVENUES TO BE GENERATED THROUGHOUT FISCAL YEAR 27.
ALL OF THAT IS GONNA HELP TO SUPPORT THE APPROPRIATIONS THAT THE BOARD WOULD MAKE, WILL MAKE WITH THE BUDGET ADOPTION IN SEPTEMBER.
SO WE HAVE 351 MILLION CURRENTLY ANTICIPATED, UM, BEING TRANSFERRED INTO THE LIGHT RAIL CAPITAL FUND, AS WELL AS OUR, UM, $20 MILLION THAT'S OUTLINED IN OUR ILA WITH THE CITY FOR THE ANTI DISPLACEMENT FUNDS.
MOVING ON TO THE CAPITAL FUND, WE WILL, YOU'LL SEE THAT $350 MILLION APPROPRIATION COMING IN FROM THE OPERATING FUND.
AND YOU'LL NOTICE HERE THERE'S A, THERE'S A CITY OF AUSTIN REVENUE AND THAT'S ASSOCIATED WITH THE BETTERMENTS.
AND WE'LL GO INTO THAT HERE A LITTLE SHORTLY WHEN WE START TO TALK THROUGH SOME THE CONTRACT SIDE OF IT.
ESSENTIALLY, THOSE ARE, UM, FOR DESIGN SERVICES FOR BETTERMENT RELATED FACILITIES THAT ARE GONNA BE EMBEDDED IN THE PROJECT.
AND WE'LL BREAK OUT WHAT THOSE EXACT FACILITIES ARE.
UM, SO ANTICIPATED IN FY 27, WE, WE HAVE ABOUT, UH, A PLANNED SPEND OF $348 MILLION BETWEEN OUR PROFESSIONAL SERVICE CONTRACTS AND OUR RIGHT OF WAY SPENDING NEEDS FOR, FOR 27.
ON THE ADMIN SIDE, WE HAVE ABOUT 46 MILLION.
AND THEN, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, WE HAVE 4 MILLION ANTICIPATED FOR BETTERMENT RELATED PROJECTS THAT WE WE'LL DIVE INTO SHORTLY ON THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICE AND CONTRACTS AND RIGHT OF WAY BUCKET.
WE HAVE 'EM BROKEN OUT BY OUR CONTRACTOR, AS LINDSAY MENTIONED, THE PROJECT SPECIFIC CONTRACTS, THOSE ARE THE THREE CONTRACTORS THAT WE, MAJOR CONTRACTORS THAT WE HAVE ON BOARD TO HELP DELIVER THE THE PROJECT.
UM, ON THE STAFF AUGMENTATION SIDE, THIS IS REALLY WHERE THE SUPPORT AND CAPACITY BUILDING COMES FROM.
AS JEN MENTIONED, WHEN WE'RE THINKING ABOUT ALL OF THESE REVIEWS THAT WE'RE GONNA GO THROUGH FROM A FTA LENS, THIS IS WHERE WE'RE ABLE TO DEMONSTRATE TO FTA THAT WE HAVE THE CAPACITY NEEDED TO DELIVER THE PROJECT.
UM, AND AGAIN, THOSE, THOSE SERVICES ARE HELP, ARE PROVIDED BY OUR DELIVERY PARTNER.
WE HAVE A ON-CALL ENGINEERING AND PLANNING CONTRACT THAT THE BOARD PREVIOUSLY AWARDED, AS WELL AS SOME, UM, STAFF AUGMENTATION CONTRACTS ON THE REAL ESTATE SIDE TO REALLY HELP THAT TEAM AND GOING THROUGH THE ACQUISITION PROCESS AND ALL THE DIFFERENT STEPS THAT NEED TO BE COMPLETED PRIOR TO ACQUIRING PROPERTY ON THE BETTERMENT SIDE OF, OF THE, THE SLIDE HERE.
SO THESE ARE THOSE, THOSE CITY UTILITY IMPROVEMENTS THAT ARE ABOVE AND BEYOND WHAT'S ALREADY IN THE GROUND.
AND WE'VE BEEN COORDINATING WITH THE CITY UTILITIES TO IDENTIFY WHICH PROJECTS FOLKS WANNA MOVE FORWARD WITH AND THINK IT WOULD BE BENEFICIAL TO MOVE FORWARD WITH FROM A DIG ONE'S APPROACH.
AND WE'LL GO INTO A LITTLE MORE DETAIL AS TO HOW THAT, UH, IMPACTS PROJECT
[00:25:01]
SCHEDULE AND KIND OF HOW WE'RE GOING ABOUT TO MITIGATE SOME OF THOSE IMPACTS.SO HERE, I'LL TURN IT BACK OVER TO LINDSAY AND SHE'LL WALK THROUGH EACH OF THE PHASE ONE B AUTHORIZATIONS AND SOME OF THE WORK THAT'S GONNA BE COMPLETED BY THE LIGHT RAIL VEHICLE MANUFACTURER.
SO AS WE MOVE THROUGH EACH PHASE OF THE FEDERAL FUNDING PROCESS, UM, OUR CONTINUING GOAL IS TO ALWAYS BE REFINING THE PROJECT SCOPE, UM, WHICH IS MOSTLY DRIVEN BY DESIGN, COST AND SCHEDULE.
AND EACH OF THESE ACTIVITIES THAT WE WILL BE AUTHORIZING AND SUPPORTED BY OUR, UM, BUDGET ARE SUPPORTING THAT CERTAINTY AND, UM, KIND OF RISK IDENTIFICATION AND MITIGATION TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ALWAYS HAVE A SOLID UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROJECT SCOPE, SCHEDULE AND COST.
AND THAT THOSE THREE THINGS ARE ALWAYS ALIGNED.
SO FOR THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR, UM, THE ACTIVITIES THAT SUPPORT THAT INCLUDE ADVANCING DESIGN TO A ROUGHLY 60% LEVEL, MOVING THROUGH THE PERMITTING PROCESS TO, UH, MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ULTIMATELY PROTECTING OUR OVERALL CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULE AND WE'RE READY TO BEGIN CONSTRUCTION.
UM, ALSO PREPARING FOR SOME EARLY WORKS CONSTRUCTION PACKAGES, UM, WHICH ARE THOSE KIND OF ENABLING PROJECTS THAT CAN BE DONE EARLY BEFORE WE DO THE HEAVY CIVIL CONSTRUCTION.
AND THEN A CONTINUAL PROCESS, UM, WITH OUR CONTRACTORS ON BOARD, AGAIN, MAKING SURE WE'RE ALIGNING THE DESIGN OF THE PROJECT WITH WHAT IT WILL COST AND HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE TO BUILD.
AND WE DO THAT THROUGH A VALUE ENGINEERING PROCESS OR A DESIGN INNOVATION PROCESS, AS WELL AS CONSTRUCTABILITY REVIEWS AT KEY MILESTONES.
NOT ONLY DID THOSE BENEFIT THE PROJECT, BUT THEY'RE ALSO REQUIREMENTS IN THE CAPITAL INVESTMENT GRANT PROGRAM TO SUPPORT THESE DIFFERENT GATES.
UM, AT ENTRY INTO ENGINEERING AND AND BEYOND.
UH, WE WILL BE CONTINUING THE CONSTRUCTION PLANNING, MEANING OUR SCHEDULE AND SEQUENCING AND PHASING OF THE WORK, ALIGNING ALL OF THESE ACTIVITIES THAT DRIVE THAT CRITICAL PATH, LIKE REAL ESTATE ACQUISITION AND TESTING AND COMMISSIONING, AND WHEN OUR VEHICLES ARE GOING TO BE HERE AND COORDINATING ACROSS ALL THREE CONTRACTS, UH, WHICH IS WHY YOU SEE CERTAIN BULLETS REPEATED FOR THE ARC, UM, WHICH IS OUR LIGHT RAIL CONTRACTOR CAP, OUR OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE FACILITY CONTRACTOR AND SCHADLER OUR LIGHT RAIL VEHICLES CONTRACTOR TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ALWAYS KEEPING THOSE KEY MILESTONE DEPENDENCIES BETWEEN THE THREE CONTRACTS ALIGNED IN OUR OVERALL PROGRAM SCHEDULE.
UH, WE WILL ALSO BE CONTINUING THE TECHNICAL COORDINATION BETWEEN THOSE THREE CONTRACTORS THAT WE TALKED A BIT ABOUT LAST TIME AS WE WERE DISCUSSING THE VEHICLES, UM, BUT MAKING SURE THAT THEIR VARIOUS INTERFACES IN DESIGN ARE ALWAYS SPEAKING TO EACH OTHER, UM, IN A WAY THAT AVOIDS ANY INTERFACE RISKS OR KIND OF MISMATCHING OR REDESIGN OF THE PROJECT.
SO HERE WE HAVE A BREAKOUT OF THE STAFF AUGMENTATION CONTRACTS.
AND JEN, IF YOU WANT TO TAKE THE FIRST ONE AND KIND OF WALK THROUGH SOME OF THE BULLET POINTS AND KIND OF AGAIN, TALK ABOUT THE MANAGEMENT CAPACITY, RIGHT? THAT'S HELPED MM-HMM
PROVIDED THROUGH THE ECOMM CONTRACT.
SO THE DELIVERY PARTNER TEAM WHO'S BEEN ON BOARD FOR I GUESS A COUPLE YEARS NOW, UM, PROVIDES STAFF AUGMENTATION AND ADDITIONAL EXPERTISE IN REALLY ALMOST EVERY ASPECT OF OUR ORGANIZATION AND WHAT IT TAKES TO DELIVER A PROJECT LIKE THIS.
UM, INCLUDING PROJECT MANAGEMENT SUPPORT, WORKING THROUGH THE MANAGEMENT OF THE DESIGN PROCESS AND OVERSEEING THE WORK OF THE CONTRACTORS, UM, SUPPORTING OUR QUALITY CONTROL PROGRAM.
UM, AND ON PROJECT CONTROLS, THAT'S ANOTHER ONE I'LL HIGHLIGHT.
THOSE ARE THE SCHEDULERS, THE, UM, THE COST ENGINEERS, UM, THE FOLKS WHO ARE TASKED WITH, UM, OUR RISK MANAGEMENT PROCESS, UM, THAT ARE PUTTING US IN A POSITION TO BE ABLE TO EFFECTIVELY MANAGE CONTRACTS OF THIS SIZE.
UM, THE DELIVERY PARTNER ALSO SUPPORTS ALL OF OUR WORK WITH FTA, DEVELOPING ALL THE MANAGEMENT PLANS, AND A LOT OF THE COORDINATION IT TAKES TO GET SUCH, IT'S SUCH A HEAVY LIFT, UH, TO PREPARE THE MATERIALS, UM, REQUIRED FOR ENTRY TO ENGINEERING.
UH, THE DELIVERY PARTNER ALSO SUPPORTS OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EFFORTS, AND THAT'S STAFF AUGMENTATION.
UM, AND ALSO, UM, PROVIDES, UM, EXPERTISE, UM, IN HOW WE WILL DELIVER OUR PUBLIC ART PROGRAM.
UM, AND SEPARATELY, YOU KNOW, FROM DELIVERY PARTNER, WE HAVE REAL ESTATE SERVICES AS WELL AS OUR ON-CALL.
UM, I KNOW CASEY, IF YOU WANNA SPEAK TO THE, UH, REAL ESTATE.
UM, CASEY RAKI, VP OF BUSINESS AND LEGAL AFFAIRS, UM, IN, IN OUR DEPARTMENT WITH ALEX, YOU'LL SEE LATER WE'RE
[00:30:01]
WORKING STEADILY THROUGH THE, UH, SCHEDULE THAT WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE READY TO ACQUIRE THE PROPERTY WHEN IT'S THE RIGHT TIME FOR THE PROJECT.UM, AND I KNOW YOU ALL HAD, UM, ALREADY AUTHORIZED AUTHOR, UH, THE ABILITY TO GO AHEAD AND ACQUIRE CERTAIN PARCELS, BUT ALL OF THAT WORK IS TIED CLOSELY TO THIS BUDGET, OUR SCHEDULE, AND WHERE WE ARE IN THE FEDERAL PROCESS.
UM, WE HAD A BOOTCAMP ACTUALLY WITH THE FEDS, AND WE WENT THROUGH WHAT WE, THEY CALL OUR RAMP, WHICH IS A REAL ESTATE ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT PLAN.
AND THEY WERE REALLY IMPRESSED WITH IT.
THEY ACTUALLY WAIVED SOME OF THEIR REQUIREMENTS ON THEIR APPROVALS BECAUSE IT WAS SO SOPHISTICATED IN, IN OUR APPROACH, IT REFLECTED THE ILA THAT WE HAVE WITH THE CITY, WITH OUR PARTNERSHIP ON AN EMINENT DOMAIN.
AND, UM, SO, BUT WE ARE VERY THOUGHTFULLY AND, UM, AS NECESSARY GOING THROUGH THE WORK TO ACQUIRE THOSE PARCELS.
THERE'S A LOT OF FRONT END WORK.
SO THESE SERVICES ARE REALLY TO HELP US WITH, YOU KNOW, RIGHT OF ENTRY SUPPORT, LAND USE, UH, SURVEYS, APPRAISAL SERVICES, RELOCATION PLANNING.
THERE'S A LOT OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS ABOUT HOW WE RELOCATE THE TENANTS IN THOSE SPACES.
SO WE'RE DOTTING ALL OUR I'S AND CROSSING ALL OUR T'S AS WE MOVE ALONG.
SO THE LAST TWO BUCKETS THAT WE HAVE ON THE, IN THE LIGHT RAIL CAPITAL FUND, THAT'S, THAT ARE PROJECT SPECIFIC, ARE THE ACQUISITION OF RIGHT OF WAY.
SO AGAIN, AS CASEY MENTIONED, THERE ARE CERTAIN PARCELS THAT THE BOARD HAS AUTHORIZED US TO START THE PROCESS FOR.
SO AGAIN, THOSE COSTS ARE STARTING TO MATERIALIZE IN OUR FISCAL YEAR 2027 BUDGET.
AND LINDSAY, IF YOU WANNA GO AHEAD AND DIVE A LITTLE DEEPER ON THE CITY BETTERMENTS.
SO, UM, AS NOTED IN IN THE PREVIOUS SLIDES, WE ARE BUDGETING FOR THE DESIGN PHASE OF BETTERMENT PROJECTS.
AND THOSE BETTERMENTS ARE, UM, CRITICAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS, BUT THEY ARE ONES THAT WERE REQUESTED BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
THEY'RE NOT REQUIRED BY THE LIGHT RAIL PROJECT.
THEY DO NOT NEED TO BE DONE FOR THE SAKE OF THE LIGHT RAIL PROJECT.
BUT WHILE WE ARE IN CONSTRUCTION IN THE CITY RIGHT OF WAY, THERE ARE A GREAT DEAL OF BENEFITS NOT ONLY TO THE CITY FROM A, AN EFFICIENCY AND COST SAVINGS STANDPOINT OF DOING THAT WORK ALL AT THE SAME TIME, BUT ALSO TO THE PUBLIC IN TERMS OF MINIMIZING IMPACTS AND DISRUPTIONS DUE TO CONSTRUCTION.
UH, SO THERE ARE IN THIS, UM, PROGRAM OF BETTERMENTS, WHICH WE, I THINK DISCUSSED A BIT IN, IN YOUR APPROVAL OF OUR INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN, THERE'S A ROUND 20 MILES OF PRIMARILY WATER INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO, UH, RECLAIMED WATER LINES, NEW AND UPSIZED, UM, OR SORRY, NEW RECLAIMED WATER, NEW AND UPSIZED WATER AND WASTEWATER STORM WATER, AND ALSO SOME AUSTIN ENERGY CHILLED WATER IMPROVEMENTS, UH, THAT WE WILL BE PARTNERING WITH THE CITY, UM, TO REALIZE THESE EFFICIENCIES AND DOING IT ALL AT ONCE.
SO LAST PART OF THAT, OUR BUDGET THAT WE HAVE IS, IS THE ADMIN EXPENSE SIDE.
SO THE WAY THESE ARE ALL OF THE SORT OF SAY AIR QUOTES, NON-PROJECT SPECIFIC EXPENSES, UM, IN THE FIRST BUCKET WE HAVE OUR PERSONNEL AND STAFF DEVELOPMENT.
SO THIS IS WHERE ALL OF OUR WAGES AND ALL OF OUR STAFF RELATED COSTS ARE, ARE HOUSED.
UM, AND WE'RE ANTICIPATING ABOUT 15.9 MILLION IN EXPENSES FOR THAT.
UM, INCLUDED IN OUR FY 27 BUDGET ARE CERTAIN COSTS FOR OUR PARTNER PARTNER AGENCY SUPPORT.
SO AGAIN, THERE'S A LOT OF DESIGN MILESTONES AND DESIGN REVIEWS THAT NEED TO BE COORDINATED WITH THE CITY AND CAP METRO, KNOWING THAT THOSE ARE, UM, ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ARE NEEDED TO HELP FACILITATE THOSE DESIGN REVIEWS.
WE'RE GOING AHEAD AND INCLUDING IN OUR BUDGET THE SUPPORT FOR THAT AND REALLY TO HELP EXPEDITE SOME OF THOSE PROCESSES AND REVIEWS.
UM, AND THEN LASTLY, WE HAVE OUR BUSINESS SUPPORT CONTRACTS.
SO THESE ARE REALLY ALL OF OUR CONTRACTS THAT HELP SUPPORT DAY-TO-DAY ACTIVITIES.
UM, THE BIGGEST, ONE, BIGGEST COUPLE OF ONES ARE LISTED HERE, SO COMMERCIAL FINANCIAL ADVISORY SERVICES.
SO THESE ARE, UM, INVESTMENT ADVISORS, OUR FINANCIAL ADVISOR, AS WELL AS OUR SORT OF RISK AND PROCUREMENT ADVISOR THAT WE HAVE ON BOARD TO HELP THINK THROUGH ALL OF THE CONTRACTS FROM A COMMERCIAL LENS, UM, AS WELL AS OUR LEGAL AND MARKETING COSTS AND FACILITY COSTS TO SUPPORT THE PROJECT AND SUPPORT OUR FACILITY.
SO, UM, WITH THAT, I MEAN, SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS REALLY FROM AN ADMIN STANDPOINT ARE THAT WE'VE CONTINUED TO, TO REDUCE STAFFING OR REDUCE OUR FTE COUNT.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE SORT OF PROUD TO SAY, UM, REALLY IS ON THE INTEREST INCOME SIDE.
SO WE, WE DO HAVE A INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO.
THE INCOME THAT'S REALLY GENERATED HAS BEEN HELPED, HAS BEEN SUPPORTING REALLY ALL OF OUR PERSONNEL COSTS OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF FISCAL YEARS, WHICH IS A GREAT ACHIEVEMENT.
UM, AND YEAH, SO THIS YEAR WE HAVE ABOUT 64 FTES INCLUDED IN OUR BUDGET, UM, AND THAT'S DOWN FROM 65 FROM LAST YEAR.
SO WITH THAT, WE WILL OPEN, OPEN IT UP TO ANY QUESTIONS THAT THE BOARD MIGHT HAVE.
[00:35:02]
THANK YOU FOR THE OVERVIEW.DO I WANNA OPEN IT TO MY FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS? ANY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS? YEAH, I HAVE A COUPLE.
UM, MAYOR, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
SO I, I WANNA START WITH KIND OF AN OVERVIEW OF WHAT WE WENT THROUGH WHILE BACK ON THE, THE LIGHT RAIL VEHICLES IN THAT DISCUSSION WE HAD THAT DAY BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WAS, I'M, I'M VERY INTERESTED IN, I THINK THE PUBLIC IS ALSO INTERESTED IN, IS AS WE GO THROUGH THESE BUDGET DOCUMENTS THAT WE RECOGNIZE THAT IN ESSENCE, THIS BOARD ADOPTED THAT DAY, WHAT I WAS REFERRING TO AS A STEWARDSHIP PROTOCOL.
AND THAT STEWARDSHIP PROTOCOL HAD TWO PARTS TO IT.
ONE WAS, UM, TO PRESERVE OUR READINESS IN THE PROCESS, WHICH IS THE BULK OF THIS PRESENTATION TODAY.
BUT IT WAS ALSO, UH, HOW DO WE REDUCE THE RISK TO THE TAXPAYER WHEN WE DON'T HAVE CER WE DON'T HAVE CERTAINTY ON SOME THINGS.
AND YOU'VE OBVIOUSLY ADDRESSED THAT A A LITTLE BIT IN YOUR PRESENTATION HERE TODAY, BUT I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, THAT AS WE WALK THROUGH, AND I'M NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO DO IT WITH, WITH, WITH THIS PRESENTATION, BUT, BUT AS WE WALK THROUGH OUR BUDGET PROCESSES AND WE TALK TO THE PUBLIC ABOUT HOW THEIR MONEY IS BEING SPENT, THAT WE DON'T, AND I, AND I GET WHY WE FOCUS ON THE PRESERVING READINESS AND PRESENTATION AFTER PRESENTATION FOCUSES ON THE PRESERVING OF THE READINESS.
BUT I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE ALSO BE TALKING ABOUT HOW IT IS THAT WE'RE REDUCING THE RISK TO THE TAXPAYER.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, WE OUGHT TO BE ABLE TO SHOW WHEN WE HAVE PRESENTATIONS LIKE THIS, WE OUGHT TO BE ABLE TO SHOW HOW WE'RE NOT SPENDING MONEY WHERE WE DON'T HAVE TO SPEND MONEY.
UM, AND, AND NOT JUST BY DECLARING THAT THIS IS TO PRESERVE READINESS, BUT THOSE INSTANCES WHERE WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT TO USE THE WORD, WE'RE NOT UTILIZING DISCRETIONARY SPENDING THAT WILL GIVE US STRANDED COSTS DOWN THE ROAD.
AND, AND SO I WOULD APPRECIATE A LITTLE BIT OF A DISCUSSION IN THAT REGARD RIGHT NOW AS WE LOOK AT THIS BUDGET.
I CAN START AND THEN WE CAN TAG TEAM.
UH, SO I, I SHOULD HAVE MENTIONED THAT IN THOSE SERVICES THAT I WAS DESCRIBING OF THE FY 27 ACTIVITIES THAT WE WILL BE COMPLETING WITH OUR DESIGN BUILD CONTRACTORS, WE'RE ACTUALLY IN ACTIVE NEGOTIATION, UH, FOR THOSE SERVICES AND THE COST, UM, AS SUCH FOR THEM RIGHT NOW.
AND PART OF THOSE NEGOTIATIONS IS TO TACKLE WHAT, WHAT YOU JUST REQUESTED, MAYOR, TO REALLY DIVE INTO THE SCOPE OF WHAT WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING IN THE NEXT YEAR, AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE NOT DOING ANYTHING RIGHT NOW THAT WE DON'T NEED TO DO, AND THAT CREATES ANY UNDUE RISK.
UM, SOME EXAMPLES OF THOSE SORTS OF CONVERSATIONS RELATE TO, I MENTIONED EARLY WORKS, UM, BUT THINKING ABOUT WHAT THOSE LOOK LIKE AND WHEN THEY GET IMPLEMENTED, UM, DO WE, YOU KNOW, REALLY NEED TO BUY A A WHEEL TRUING MACHINE RIGHT NOW? UM, PROBABLY NOT.
UH, DO WE NEED TO, UM, YOU KNOW, THINK ABOUT HOW WE ARE STAGGERING WHAT GOES INTO EACH DESIGN DELIVERABLE TO MAKE SURE WE'RE NOT ADVANCING IT ANY FURTHER THAN WE NEED TO.
UH, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, PROTECTING OUR OVERALL COMMITMENT TO DELIVER US IN LIGHT RAIL AS AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN TO OUR COMMUNITY.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF THAT BACK AND FORTH AS WE SPEAK.
UM, AND, AND OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS BEFORE WE BRING BACK TO YOU, UM, THE REQUEST FOR AUTHORIZATION OF THAT NEXT PHASE ONE B, AND, AND I THINK WE'LL BE VERY HAPPY TO PROVIDE EVEN MORE EXAMPLES OF THOSE THINGS THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY ELECTING TO NOT AUTHORIZE IN, IN THIS, UM, CURRENT FI OR UPCOMING FISCAL YEAR TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, ARE PROTECTING OUR TAXPAYERS IN ANY RISK INVOLVED.
SO I, I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT ANSWER.
AND PART OF THE REASON I APPRECIATE THE ANSWER IS 'CAUSE IT, IT BRINGS TO MIND HOW DIFFICULT IT IS TO SHOW WHAT YOU MIGHT BE SAVING.
THAT THAT THE, THE ISSUE THAT WHAT ALWAYS HAPPENS IS GET, WE GET TO FOCUS ON WHAT WE SPEND, AND OF COURSE, PRESERVING READINESS DOES REQUIRE US TO SPEND SOME MONEY, AND I RECOGNIZE THAT.
BUT THE FLIP SIDE OF THAT COIN AND WHAT WE SAVE, IF YOU'RE NOT TELLING US ABOUT IT AND YOU'RE NOT SHOWING THE THOUGHT PROCESS ON THAT AND, AND IT'S NOT REVEALED IN THIS, THEN THE BOARD AND
[00:40:01]
CERTAINLY THE PUBLIC IS NOT IN A POSITION TO BE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE THAT YOU ARE FOLLOWING A PROTOCOL FOR STEWARDSHIP.SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND, EVEN THOUGH IT'S NOT THE KIND OF THING THAT PURE FINANCE GUYS, UH, MIGHT, MIGHT PUT IN, UH, BALANCE SHEETS AND THAT KIND OF THING, IS THAT YOU DO CREATE SOME DEMONSTRATION OF THAT.
UH, SO THAT WAS A, A GOOD ANSWER IN THE SENSE THAT IT, IT HELPED HIGHLIGHT THAT.
BUT I REALLY THINK THAT BECOMES AN IMPORTANT PART IF, IF WE'RE GOING TO SAY TO THE PUBLIC THAT WE HAVE A STEWARDSHIP PROTOCOL WHERE WE'RE REDUCING THEIR RISK AND I GET THE DIFFERENT HATS THAT PEOPLE WEAR, BUT FOR EXAMPLE, THE HAT THAT SAYS THIS IS REALLY GEARED AT THE FEDERAL PROCESS WELL, OR SOMETHING CLOSE TO, THAT'S THE WAY, YOU KNOW, THIS WAS LAID OUT AND YOU TALK ABOUT RISK MANAGEMENT.
WELL, I, Y'ALL HAVE TRAINED ME ON WHAT RISK MANAGEMENT MEANS THAT FT A AND F FDA'S KIND OF TRAINED ME ON RISK MANAGEMENT, BUT WE'RE ALSO MANAGING RISK ON THE GROUND FOR THE, THE TAXPAYER RIGHT NOW.
AND WE NEED TO BE SHOWING THAT AS MUCH AS WE'RE SHOWING WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH THE FEDERAL PROCESS AND RISK MANAGEMENT THERE.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? IT DOES.
AND AND I THINK ANOTHER GREAT CATEGORY FOR A, A FUTURE DISCUSSION ON THAT TOPIC IS WHAT EARLY WORKS PACKAGES LOOK LIKE AND, AND WHAT IS THE NATURE OF THAT EARLY WORKS CONSTRUCTION THAT AGAIN, PROTECTS OUR OVERALL SCHEDULE, BUT, BUT MANAGES RISK.
SO WE'D LOVE TO COME BACK, UM, ON THAT AND, UM, NOTED, YES, WE WILL, UM, MAKE IT A POINT TO REMEMBER THOSE EXAMPLES, NOT ONLY OF WHAT WE'RE DOING, UM, BUT WHAT WE'RE CONSCIOUSLY NOT DOING.
UM, NOW I, I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE NUMBERS A LITTLE BIT.
ON PAGE 17, YOU HAVE PERSONNEL COSTS CONTINUE TO BE COVERED BY INTEREST INCOME AND PARKING REVENUE.
UM, TELL ME WHAT NUMBERS I CAN LOOK AT WHEN YOU SAY HOW, HOW YOU'RE DEFINING PERSONNEL COSTS THAT CONTINUE TO BE COVERED BY INTEREST INCOME AND PARKING REVENUE.
IS IT JUST THIS TOP NUMBER OF 15.9 MILLION? YEAH, SO THAT'S THE BULK OF IT.
UM, ACTUALLY BROKEN OUT IN OUR BUDGET DOCUMENT, WE HAVE PERSONNEL COSTS BROKEN OUT ON PAGE.
WE HAVE PERSONNEL COSTS BROKEN ON PAGE 23 OF OUR BUDGET DOCUMENT.
IT'S NOT, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S INCLUDED IN THE BACKUP.
UM, IS IT? YEAH, WELL WE HAVE PER, WE HAVE PERSONNEL COSTS BROKEN OUT.
IT'S ANTICIPATED TO BE 14.6 MILLION IS WHAT WE'RE BUILDING INTO THE BUDGET.
AND RIGHT NOW OUR INVESTMENT INCOME IS ANTICIPATED TO BE CLOSER TO 16 MILLION.
WELL, THAT WAS GONNA BE ONE OF MY QUESTIONS TOO WAS, IS HOW MUCH, HOW MUCH IS LEFT OVER AND, AND SO 15.9, I'M NOT SURE WHAT THAT INCLUDES.
YEAH, SO THAT'S, THAT'S STAFF.
IT'S THE PERSONNEL AND MATERIAL AND STAFF DEVELOPMENT.
SO THAT 15, 14.6 PLUS THE 1.2 IS THERE'S SOME ROUNDING IN THERE.
BUT YEAH, BUT 14.6 AND THEN YOU HAVE SIX, YOU HAVE, UH, ROUGHLY 1.4 LEFT OVER, YOU SAY? THAT'S CORRECT.
UM, SO THEN TELL ME AND MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND, IF, IF OF THE 46000014.6 IS COVERED BY, UH, INTEREST INCOME AND PARKING REVENUE, WHERE, WHAT ON THE, WHAT ON THE BALANCE SHEET WOULD, WHERE DO I GET THE OTHER REVENUE THAT'S PAYING FOR THE
TRANSFERRING INTO THE LIGHT RAIL CAPITAL FUND.
SO NOW GO BACK TO PAGE 12, I GUESS.
SO THAT COMES OUT SOME, SOME THAT COMES OUT OF THE 351 MILLION THAT YOU'RE TRANSFERRING OVER.
SO HOW MUCH IS LEFT IN THE OPERATING FUND? AND I KNOW IT'S PROBABLY IN THE, THE, THE, THE, THE BACKUP, BUT I WANT THE PUBLIC TO HEAR THIS.
IF WE GO TO PAGE SLIDE 11 ON THE SLIDE, PRIOR TO THE LIGHT RAIL CAPITAL FUND, WE WE'RE ANTICIPATING TO HAVE AROUND $217 MILLION, RIGHT.
CARRIED OVER AT THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR IN THE OPERATING FUND.
AND IS THAT 217, DOES THAT INCLUDE THE 195 MILLION BEING TRANSFERRED IN PROPERTY MONIES THIS YEAR? THAT DOES.
[00:45:06]
I HAD ANOTHER QUESTION AND I'VE FORGOTTEN WHAT IT IS, SO I'LL SHUT UP.UM, I DO THANK YOU FOR PUTTING THIS BACK UP, UM, SINCE JULY.
SO I, I HAVE MARKED A COUPLE OF OF TABS THAT I HAVE JUST SOME CLARIFICATION.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I, I LIKE WITH THIS REPORT THAT YOU'VE HELPED US, UM, BRING US ALONG IN THIS JOURNEY OF THE BUDGETING IS WHAT EACH OF YOUR DEPARTMENTS IS SUPPOSED TO ACCOMPLISH AND THE OUTCOMES PER DEPARTMENT.
AND, UM, SO IN GENERAL, WHAT I HAVE IS THAT FOR EACH ONE OF THESE, YOU'RE INCREASING ONE FTE ONE FULL-TIME EMPLOYEE, I SEE FROM EACH OF THE CHARTS PROJECTED VERSUS WHAT'S BUDGETED.
BUT YET YOU SAID THAT WE'VE ACTUALLY DECREASED THE NUMBER OF STAFFING.
CAN YOU GIVE US A BIT MORE BACKGROUND OVERALL OF WHAT WE WERE CARRYING EXTRA UNFILLED POSITIONS MAYBE? YEAH, SO WE ACTUALLY HAVE, WE HAVE A TABLE IN THE BACK OF OUR BUDGET DOCUMENT ON PAGE 46 THAT HAS OUR STAFFING LEVEL COUNT BY DEPARTMENT OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF FISCAL YEARS.
SO IN 26, AGAIN, ACROSS ALL OF THE DEPARTMENTS, WE HAD ABOUT 65 POSITIONS, UM, BUDGETED.
GRANTED, SOME OF THOSE WERE VACANT POSITIONS.
UM, AND THIS YEAR IN 27 WE'RE ANTICIPATING 64.
SO IF YOU'LL SEE, I THINK ONE IN LINDSAY'S DEPARTMENT, THERE WAS ONE FTE WHERE WE REPURPOSED OR WE'RE GONNA BE UTILIZING THE, UM, THE DELIVERY PARTNER FOR, BECAUSE AGAIN, SOME OF THOSE SERVICES WE RAMP UP, WE MIGHT NOT NECESSARILY NEED THAT POSITION THROUGH THE LIFE OF THE PROJECT.
SO WE'RE LEVERAGING OUR STAFF AUGMENTATION CONTRACTS.
AND THEN AGAIN, ON THE BUSINESS AND LEGAL AFFAIRS SIDE, WE WENT AHEAD AND SEPARATED OUT COMMUNICATION SERVICES INTO ITS OWN DEPARTMENT.
SO THAT'S WHY YOU'LL NOTICE FROM 26 TO 27 THERE WAS A DROP THERE, BUT IT'S JUST REALLOCATING THE POSITIONS.
SO WHEN YOU'RE SAYING ON, ON THE SLIDE, UM, THE ONE WHERE YOU SAID ABOUT 24% REDUCTION IN STAFFING, YOU'RE, YOU'RE THINKING OF THAT NUMBER FROM THE BEGINNING OF 24 WHEN WE HAD THAT'S 87, THAT'S CORRECT, FTES? THAT'S CORRECT.
UM, I HAD A QUESTION ON THIS OTHER ONE.
UM, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS WE'VE HAD, AND I I REALLY APPRECIATE THE SUMMARY THAT YOU GUYS PUT TOGETHER FOR THE ANTI DISPLACEMENT INVESTMENTS AND HOW YOU'RE TRACKING THE, WE GIVE THEM A, A BULK OF MONEY THEN THE, THE CITY MANAGES THOSE FUNDS.
BUT WE WANTED TO UNDERSTAND ON THE BOARD IS HOW IS THAT DEPARTMENT OF CITY SPENDING THAT MONEY? AND, UM, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I HAVE JUST, I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT, WHAT THIS MEANS.
UM, ON PAGE 35 OF THE BACKUP FOR THE PRESERVE AT CENTRAL PARK, THE 2.5 MILLION IN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS, YOU USED THE TERM THE TEXAS HOUSING CONSERVANCY AND ENABLE PERMANENT DEBT.
I DON'T, WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY PERMANENT DEBT? YEAH, SO THAT ONE, I'LL ACTUALLY HAVE TO GET BACK WITH YOU ON THAT ONE CHAIR.
I CAN COLLABORATE WITH THE CITY ON, UM, GETTING SOME MORE INFORMATION ON THIS PARTICULAR EXPENSE AND HOW THOSE DOLLARS ARE BEING SPENT.
YEAH, I MEAN I, I REALLY LIKE HAVING THIS SUMMARY OF OVERALL, BUT, UM, I JUST REALLY WANTED TO KNOW, I KNOW THAT THAT WAS A QUESTION YOU'VE HAD IN THE PAST BOARD MEMBER GARZA ON, ON, ON HOW WE'RE TRACKING THAT AND ARE WE MOVING THE NEEDLE AND REALLY MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PROACTIVELY MITIGATING DISPLACEMENT AND THIS IS DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION.
UM, AND ON PAGE 34, UM, AND THIS IS I THINK SOMETHING FOR US TO HIGHLIGHT AS A BOARD THAT FOR THE PROJECT CONNECT PARTNER COMPONENTS, WE HAVE PAID 86.7 MILLION.
AND AGAIN, WE CONGRATULATED YOU DELIVERING ON ALL THOSE BECAUSE YOU SPEND THAT MONEY.
THANK YOU DOTTIE AND CHAIR ILION.
UM, BUT UH, ON THE PROJECTED SPEND FOR FISCAL YEAR 27, WE'RE SEARING IT OUT.
AND I JUST WANNA UNDERSTAND, IS THERE ANY OPEX ARE WE, ARE WE HAVING ANY MONEY ALLOCATED FOR OPERATIONS? NO.
SO, UM, AGAIN, THINKING BACK TO 23 AND 24, AS WE WERE THINKING THROUGH HOW WE WERE GONNA BE FUNDING THESE PARTICULAR PROJECTS,
[00:50:01]
UM, THERE WAS A SALES TAX COMPONENT THAT WAS GOING TO HELP FUND PROJECT CONNECT PROJECTS.UM, AND THOSE DOLLARS ARE BEING HELD BY CAP METRO TO HELP PROVIDE THE FUNDS FOR THE SERVICES FOR THESE ASSETS THAT ARE COMING ONLINE.
SO A TP ISN'T DIRECTLY CONTRIBUTING FOR THE OPEX ASSOCIATED WITH THESE PARTICULAR PROJECTS.
THOSE ARE BEING FUNDED BY CAP METRO.
J IF I MAY, JUST TO CHIME IN BRIEFLY, AND IF YOU WANT DETAILS ON THIS, YOU'RE WELCOME TO THE CAT METRO BUDGET BOOK IS THAT CAT METRO.ORG AND OUR, UM, SPEND IS IN THERE, BUT WHEN, UM, THE CITY AND CAT METRO KIND OF CREATED THE FUNDING MECHANISMS FOR THIS, THE CAT METRO BOARD COMMITTED A CHUNK OF OUR SALES TAX EACH YEAR FOR THE, FOR THE 20 SOME ODD YEARS, UM, TO FUND, TO HELP FUND THE ONGOING COST OF THE PROGRAM.
WE HAVE AGREED THAT IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE FOR US TO GIVE THAT MONEY TO A TP AND THEN A TP TO TURN AROUND AND PAY US BACK FOR OPERATING COSTS.
AND SO WE ARE TRACKING THAT AS A SEPARATE FUND IN OUR BUDGET.
AND, UM, THE OPERATING COSTS OF THE PROJECT CONNECT COMPONENTS ARE GETTING SUBTRACTED FROM THAT FUND.
AND ON A, I THINK IT'S QUARTERLY BASIS, WE SEND A REPORT TO BRIAN TO LET HIM KNOW HERE'S HOW THAT ACCOUNTING IS WORKING OUT.
UM, BUT ALL OF THAT IS DETAILED IN OUR BUDGET BOOK.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE CAT METRO BUDGET, YOU'LL ACTUALLY SEE PROJECT CONNECT SPENDING CALLED OUT AS A SEPARATE FUND.
THANK YOU FOR, FOR CLARIFYING THAT AND REMINDING ME ABOUT HOW THAT WAS, THAT FUNDING TRANSFER MAKES MORE SENSE, IS MORE EFFICIENT, THAT SAVINGS OF NOT TRANSFERRING MONEY BACK AND FORTH MM-HMM
BUT ALSO WHAT I LOVE TO, TO JUST FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PUBLIC IS THAT THIS 86 MILLION THAT THIS BOARD HAS APPROVED TO TRANSFER OVER TO YOU, YOU GUYS HAVE DELIVERED ON IT.
SO WHEN, WHEN I SEE SOMETHING ZEROED OUT, IT'S GOOD NEWS BECAUSE LIKE WE'VE DONE AND YOU'VE DONE AND YOU'VE DELIVERED.
I THOUGHT THAT WAS, UM, A GOOD THING.
AND THEN, UM, MY LAST TAB, WHICH THEY STILL HAVE A LOT OF GLUE, SO I I'M LOSING THEM AS I PULL IT.
SO ON PAGE, ON PAGE 39 OF THE BACKUP ON THE, AGAIN, THE CAP METRO FUNDS, THE BEGINNING FUND BALANCE, YOU, YOU SHOW HERE THE FISCAL YEAR 27 BUDGET.
AGAIN, THIS 818 MILLION IS WHAT YOU HAVE ALLOCATED 818,000.
SO THOSE ARE DOLLARS THAT ARE LEFT OVER IN THE CAP METRO PROJECT FUND FROM PREVIOUS APPROPRIATIONS.
SO BASED OFF OF WHAT WAS APPROPRIATED AND WHAT'S BEEN SPENT, AGAIN, THE PROJECTS ARE ALREADY DELIVERED.
THESE WERE THE DOLLARS THAT ESSENTIALLY WE HAVE LEFT OVER IN THE CAP METRO PROJECT FUND WITHIN OUR TRIAL VIOLENCE OR OUR GENERAL LEDGER.
SO THESE DOLLARS ARE, ARE THERE, THEY'RE JUST UNSPENT DOLLARS THAT WENT INTO THE PROJECTS THAT WERE DELIVERED BY CAP METRO.
SO IT CAME, SO THIS CAME UNDER BUDGET.
WHEN, WHEN THEY DELIVERED THIS, YOU WERE LIT A LITTLE LESS THAN A MILLION DOLLARS.
DOLLARS THAT WE APPROPRIATED WERE, UH, $818,000 MORE THAN THE DOLLARS THAT WERE SPENT.
SO HOW DO WE REALLOCATE THAT MONEY OR MOVE IT AROUND? WHAT ARE WE DOING WITH THAT MONEY? SORRY IF I MAY, UM, YOU DON'T GET NO, I'M KIDDING.
UH, PLEASE DON'T TAKE IT AWAY.
THE, UM, INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN A TP AND CAP METRO ACTUALLY HAS ADDITIONAL CAPITAL SPEND TO FUND AN OPERATING GARAGE.
UM, AND THAT MONEY IS PROGRAMMED TO ACTUALLY FLOW TO CAP METRO, I BELIEVE STARTING IN 28.
UM, SO YOU DON'T SEE THAT IN THIS BUDGET.
SO MY GUESS IS THOSE DOLLARS WILL SIT THERE UNTIL THEY FLOW OUT YEAH.
INTO THE FUTURE APPROPRIATIONS.
BUT I MEAN, NOT GOT IT DONE, GOT IT DONE LOWER AND NOW THAT'S AVAILABLE TO PAY FORWARD OKAY.
INTO THE NEXT ROUND OF PROJECT CONNECT INVESTMENTS THAT CAP METRO IS LEADING FOR US.
AND SO I THINK THAT'S A GOOD, IT'S A GOOD NOTE.
UM, THAT'S ALL THE QUESTIONS I HAVE RIGHT NOW, JUST FROM A, AT A GLANCE AT THIS BACKUP AND THE INFORMATION YOU'VE GIVEN US, I JUST WANNA REMIND THE BOARD THAT IF YOU WANNA HAVE A ONE-ON-ONE WITH THE TEAM BETWEEN NOW AND THE TIME THAT WE ADOPT THE BUDGET, THEY'RE AVAILABLE.
THEY'RE OPEN TO MEET WITH EACH OF YOU TO GO DEEP TO HAVE A DEEPER DIVE ON THIS.
SO PLEASE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS.
GARZA, JUST A COMMON QUESTION.
UM, ON PAGE 35, THE, UH, THE, UH, ANTI INVESTMENTS, UM, UH, IN KEEPING, I THINK WITH THE MAYOR'S, UH, IDEA, UM, WHICH I'VE WHOLEHEARTED SUPPORT, UM, OF, UM, PRUDENTLY MOVING FORWARD AND NOT
[00:55:01]
SPENDING MONEY, WE DON'T HAVE TO SPEND, THIS ONE SEEMS TO BE THE OPPOSITE.UH, THIS LEAVES A BETTERMENT FOR THE COMMUNITY, UH, IF WE CAN MOVE FORWARD WITH IT.
SO, UM, UH, IT, IT JUST, UH, POPS IN MY HEAD THAT THERE MAY BE AREAS WHERE, UM, THE COMMITTEE WILL BE ENHANCED BY US MOVING FORWARD.
AND THIS IS ONE WHERE I SEE SOME BENEFIT.
AND YOU KNOW, I NEED TO PLAY BACK THE CAC MEETING.
YOU MENTIONED THAT YOU HAVE ALREADY PRESENTED THE BUDGET AT THE CAC AND, AND THEY'RE CLOSELY, UH, MONITORING THIS FUND.
SO I'LL GO BACK AND PLAY THAT MEETING IF THEY HAD ANY OF THESE QUESTIONS OF HOW THEY'RE TRACKING THE DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION FUNDS.
BUT TO YOUR POINT TOO, I MEAN, I THINK THAT THESE ARE EARLY INVESTMENTS THAT WE WANT TO MITIGATE PEOPLE BEING DISPLACED.
SO THE SOONER WE DO THIS, THE BETTER.
UM, SO AGAIN, I I THINK IT'S, IT'S A VERY SMART MOVE.
AND THIS, THIS QUESTION, UM, IS FOR JEN.
I THINK, UM, I APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION AND I ALSO APPRECIATE THE GREAT NEWS ABOUT FRONT RUNNER.
UM, BUT IN TERMS OF ENTRY INTO ENGINEERING, UM, THERE ARE STILL A LOT OF PROJECTS NOW THAT ARE SITTING IN THE CIG PROCESS NOT MOVING FORWARD.
SO MY QUESTION IS, YOU KNOW, IF NEXT YEAR AT THIS TIME, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A DELAY, WHAT'S THE BACKUP PLAN AND IS THERE A POINT WHERE, YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE, OKAY, WE WE GOTTA STOP FOR A WHILE UNTIL WE HEAR MORE? I CAN START THE ANSWER AND IF OTHERS WANNA JUMP IN.
UM, BUT YES, I MEAN, I THINK WE NEED TO BE AGILE.
UM, YOU KNOW, I'M, WE WILL DO OUR PART, YOU KNOW, WITH FTA TO IMPLEMENT THE ROADMAP AND IF THERE'S A DELAY IN THE, UH, DECISION TO PROVIDE THAT ENTRY TO ENGINEERING, I THINK WE HAVE SOME LEVERS WE CAN PULL ABOUT, UM, KIND OF STAFFING LEVELS AND KIND OF HOW WE, UM, AWARD OR PROCEED WITH CERTAIN SCOPE THAT CAN HELP US NAVIGATE.
IT'S HARD TO ANSWER IN THE ABSTRACT BECAUSE IT'S THEORETICAL AND, UM, BUT YES, I MEAN, WE'RE AWARE OF THAT AND YOU KNOW, IT'S PART OF OUR OVERALL KINDA STRATEGY FOR THE NEXT YEAR TO PUT OURSELVES IN THE BEST POSITION POSSIBLE.
YEAH, AND I GUESS THE ONLY THING I WOULD ADD TO THAT IS, I MEAN, THE WAY WE'RE APPROACHING OUR CONTRACTING, ESPECIALLY WITH THIS PHASE ONE B INITIAL AUTHORIZATION, IT'S ESSENTIALLY FOR THE SERVICES FOR THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
SO AGAIN, AS WE'RE GOING THROUGH BUDGET ADOPTION NEXT FISCAL YEAR AND THINKING THROUGH THE SERVICES FOR FY 28, WE SHOULD HAVE SOME MORE INSIGHT ON THE FEDERAL FRONT AND WE CAN BE ABLE TO REPOSITION HOW WE'RE CONTRACTING THE LAST BIT OF PHASE ONE B, UM, IN THE FOLLOWING FISCAL YEAR.
SO, AND ANOTHER ADVANTAGE OF HAVING OUR CONTRACTORS, YOU KNOW, CO-LOCATED WITH US AND, AND SITTING IN THE OFFICE EVERY DAY, IS THAT WE'RE ABLE TO CONTINUALLY ADAPT WITH THEM REAL TIME TO, YOU KNOW, VARIOUS CONTINGENCY PLANS AND, AND NOT JUST, UM, THINK ABOUT WHAT'S THE CHANGE IN THE SCHEDULE, BUT HOW DO WE MITIGATE IT REAL TIME? SO HOW CAN WE CHANGE THE SEQUENCING OF CONSTRUCTION? HOW CAN WE, UM, MOVE MAYBE A REAL ESTATE ACQUISITION IN A KEY PARCEL THAT'S NEEDED FOR ONE THING? AND IF THAT TIMING CHANGES, HOW DO WE OFFSET THAT BY, UM, YOU KNOW, BUILDING SOMEWHERE ELSE THAT WE HAVE THE REAL ESTATE OR DON'T NEED REAL ESTATE SOONER? AND SO IT'S, IT'S KIND OF A CONSTANT, IT'S HARD TO SPEAK IN THE ABSTRACT, BUT EVERY TIME WE HAVE CERTAINTY ON ANY CHANGING CONDITION, WE HAVE REAL TIME KIND OF CONTINGENCY AND MITIGATION PLANNING TO OFFSET THOSE CHANGES.
MAYBE JUST A FOLLOW UP TOO IS LIKE HOW OFTEN ARE Y'ALL MEETING WITH FTA AND SORT OF GETTING LAY OF THE LAND AND THAT TYPE OF INFORMATION? UM, WE HAVE SET MEETINGS ON A MONTHLY AND A QUARTERLY BASIS, BUT WE HAVE AD HOC MEETINGS REGULARLY ALL THE TIME.
I MEAN, WE'RE IN TOUCH EVERY WEEK.
AND, UH, MY QUESTION'S VERY MUCH SIMILAR TO YOURS AND I, I GUESS IT KIND OF GOES BACK TO THAT APPROVAL PROCESS.
AND SO IF I UNDERSTAND, ONCE WE GET THE APPROVAL FOR THE REQUEST FOR ENTRY, IT ESSENTIALLY IS A COMMITMENT THAT WE WOULD, SHOULD EXPECT SOME FUNDS, UM, BASED ON THAT DESIGNATION.
BUT IT'S NOT THE FULL, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, IT'S NOT THE FULL PROJECT FUNDS THAT DOESN'T COME UNTIL WE GET THE, THE FINAL AGREEMENT.
WELL, AT THE POINT OF ENTRY TO ENGINEERING IS WHEN WE, WE DO AGREE TO THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF THE FEDERAL GRANT.
SO IT'S A PLEDGE TO THAT AMOUNT AND IT'S SUBJECT TO CONGRESSIONAL APPROPRIATIONS.
SO IT'S STILL SUBJECT TO THE APPROPRIATIONS PROCESS.
SO WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE RISK ASSESSMENT OF SPENDING MONEY AND CONTINUING TO ADVANCE THAT, HOW WILL THAT INFORM YOUR RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD AS IT RELATES TO WHAT WE DO NEXT? IN OTHER WORDS, UH, WHAT IS THE RISK THAT, AS A BOARD THAT WE HAVE IN TERMS OF TOLERANCE
[01:00:01]
TO, TO MOVE THINGS FORWARD? SO WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT AT THAT POINT? WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT AT THE TIME OF THE RISK WORKSHOP? WELL, IF, IF FOR SOME REASON, UM, WE'RE STILL WAITING ON THAT APPROVAL PROCESS, ARE WE GOING TO ADVANCE TO THE NEXT PHASES OF THESE PROJECTS, UM, BEFORE THAT, UH, FEDERAL AUTHORIZATION IS, IS COMPLETED? OR ARE WE GOING TO, UH, WAIT FOR THAT? I'M, I'M SORRY.LET ME, LINDSAY SEEMS TO KNOW YOU, BUT CAN I ASK A CLARIFICATION? SO ARE YOU SAYING LIKE IF WE, UM, IF THERE'S A DELAY IN RECEIVING TO ENTRY TO ENGINEERING, IF WE GOT THE DELAY OF REQUEST FOR ENTRY, WE'VE GOT THAT MM-HMM
BUT IT'S STILL CONTINGENT ON THE FEDERAL AUTHORIZATION YES.
WHAT IS THAT, IN THAT TIME PERIOD, WHAT IS THE BOARD TO EXPECT IN TERMS OF RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE STAFF AS TO ADVANCING SPECIFIC PROJECTS? YOU MENTIONED IT'S VERY, YOU KNOW, DIFFICULT TO ANSWER WHAT PIECES OF THAT WOULD, BUT ARE WE GOING TO ADVANCE ANYTHING IF WE DON'T HAVE THE DOLLARS IN OUR HANDS KNOWING THAT THERE'S THAT TWO STEP PROCESS MM-HMM
WITH THE CONGRESSIONAL APPROPRIATIONS.
AND THAT'S, IT'S VERY COMMON THAT YOU DON'T HAVE FULL APPROPRIATIONS AT THE TIME OF ENTRY TO ENGINEERING.
UM, AND SO IT, YOU KNOW, WE DO NEED TO KIND OF BE AGILE AND THINK ABOUT THAT, BUT, UM, TO NOT HAVE IT BE FULLY APPROPRIATED BY CONGRESS AT THE TIME OF ENTRY TO ENGINEERING IS VERY COMMON.
AND I, I WOULD ADD THAT IT'S VERY COMMON FOR THESE PROGRAMS ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO BE HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH THEIR BOARDS IN BETWEEN EVEN THE, UM, ENTRY INTO ENGINEERING APPROVAL AND BEFORE THEY RECEIVE THE FULL FUNDING GRANT AGREEMENT, AND HAVING THOSE DISCUSSIONS ABOUT HOW, UM, AT RISK, SO TO SPEAK, THEY GO IN CONSTRUCTION.
UM, I'VE SEEN SOME PROJECTS THAT NEARLY BUILD THE WHOLE THING, UH, AT RISK BEFORE THEY ACTUALLY HAVE THEIR FULL FUNDING GRANT AGREEMENT AND OTHERS THAT TAKE A VERY DIFFERENT APPROACH AND DON'T WANT TO GO VERY FAR INTO CONSTRUCTION, UM, WITHOUT THE, THE CHECK IN HAND, SO TO SPEAK.
AND THOSE WILL BE CONVERSATIONS IN THE FUTURE.
UH, BUT WE ARE NOT ADVANCING ANY OF THOSE ELEMENTS AT THIS TIME.
AND WE'LL HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE THOSE BOARD, YOU KNOW, POLICY CONVERSATIONS IN FUTURE BUDGET AND AUTHORIZATIONS.
ACTUALLY, CAN I ADD TO THAT TOO? UM, SO IN SPEAKING ABOUT THAT, AS FAR AS DO YOU AUTHORIZE CERTAIN CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES AND WHEN DO YOU DO THAT? UM, THERE ARE METHOD, THERE ARE WAYS THAT YOU CAN DO THAT.
WE COULD START EARLY WORKS OR START OTHER, UM, COMPONENTS OF CONSTRUCTION.
UM, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD COORDINATE WITH THE BOARD WITH, AND ALSO WE WOULD HAVE TO COORDINATE WITH FTA.
SO THAT'S A VERY TRANSPARENT PROCESS THROUGH WHICH THEY CONCUR, UM, WITH WHAT WE'RE PROCEEDING TO DO AT RISK.
SO, SO THAT'S, THAT'S A GOOD POINT, AND THAT'S WHAT I WAS HOPING FOR.
THERE'S NOT, WE'RE NOT SOLELY MAKING A DECISION TO, TO MOVE FORWARD ON THE PROMISE THAT A FEDERAL APPROPRIATIONS IS GOING TO HAPPEN.
FDA IS ON BOARD WITH US IN THAT DECISION IS WHICH YOU'RE SAYING? YES, AND THAT'S A FORMAL PROCESS.
I MEAN, WE WOULD MAKE A REQUEST FOR A LETTER OF NO PREJUDICE IF THERE IS A, A CONDITION LIKE THAT WHERE WE FELT LIKE THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING THAT WE WANTED TO ADVANCE FOR SOME REASON.
LIKE IT COULD BE, UM, IT HELPS TO MAINTAIN THE SCHEDULE, WHICH HAS A VERY REAL COST, YOU KNOW, BENEFIT.
UM, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD COORDINATE WITH FTA AND WE WOULD HAVE TO, WE WOULD BE IN FULL CONCURRENCE.
AND, AND MY NEXT QUESTION, IF I COULD, UM, MM-HMM
MADAM CHAIR, ASK ANOTHER QUESTION, IS RELATED TO THE RISK ASSESSMENT.
UM, AM I TO UNDERSTAND THAT THAT PROCESS IS COMPLETED OR IS THAT RISK ASSESSMENT AND ONGOING PROCESS THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE APPROVAL SEQUENCING? UM, THERE ARE MULTIPLE
SO OUR FIRST ONE, IT WILL BE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, IT'S PLANNED FOR NEXT SPRING.
SO, AND IT'S A VERY THOROUGH, REALLY EVERY ASPECT OF HOW WE'RE MANAGING THE WORK, WHAT THE WORK IS, WHAT THE SCHEDULE IS, ET CETERA.
UM, BUT AT POINTS ALONG THE PROCESS, WE'LL DO A REFRESH OF THAT PROCESS WITH FTA.
I WOULD EXPECT TO DO THAT FOR SURE, UM, BEFORE ANY, UH, GRANT AGREEMENT IS SIGNED.
AND IT COULD HAPPEN AT OTHER POINTS ALONG THE PROJECT AS WELL, EVEN WHILE WE'RE IN CONSTRUCTION, UM, DEPENDING ON WHAT THE CONDITIONS ARE.
SO, SO WOULD, IS IT, UM, ADDITIVE, SO ONCE WE REACH THIS THRESHOLD OF, OF LIKE, OR I GUESS IT'S LOW, LOW RISK, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE MEASURE IS, BUT IS IT, CAN IT GO, CAN IT VARY FROM THAT ONCE YOU'RE REACH A FLESH THRESHOLD? IN OTHER WORDS, IF AT SOME POINT WE ARE AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF, OF, OF, OR LOWEST LEVEL OF RISK THAT THEY COULD PROVIDE US SOMETHING WERE TO CHANGE LOCALLY, CAN THEY CHANGE THEIR RISK ASSESSMENT OF US? YES.
AND YOU KNOW, AND A KEY OUTCOME OF THE RISK WORKSHOP IS,
[01:05:01]
UM, ABOUT AROUND WHAT THE LEVELS OF CONTINGENCY THAT WE'RE HOLDING.UM, SO AS WE MOVE THROUGH THE PROJECT IN ADVANCE, UH, YOU WOULD EXPECT WE HAVE MORE COST CERTAINTY ABOUT SOME CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE PROJECT, AND THAT BECOMES PART OF, OF OUR PROJECT BUDGET RATHER THAN THE CONTINGENCY.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE ARE ALL ALWAYS LOOKING AT IS KIND OF WHAT ARE WE PLANNING FOR THE, THE KNOWN UNKNOWNS, THE UNKNOWN UNKNOWNS, AND ARE WE IN A POSITION TO BE ABLE TO KIND OF SUCCESSFULLY EXECUTE THE PROJECT? ARE ALL THOSE ELEMENTS THAT GO INTO THAT RISK ASSOCIATED WITH JUST THE PROJECT ITSELF? AND AS IT RELATES TO, WE'VE GOT ALL THE AGREEMENTS IN PLACE, WE HAVE ALL THERE, ARE THERE OTHER EXTERNAL FACTORS THAT ALSO PLAY INTO THAT RISK ASSESSMENT? YES.
SO ALL OF THE THIRD PARTY AGREEMENTS ARE A BIG TOPIC IN THE RISK ASSESSMENT.
UM, AS WELL AS THE SCOPE, YOU KNOW, THE COST, THE SCHEDULE, AND THE FACT THAT THEY ARE ALL MATCHING AND ALIGNED, UM, THAT WE'VE CONDUCTED A CONSTRUCTABILITY REVIEW, UM, AND HAVE CONFIDENCE IN KINDA HOW WE'RE GOING TO APPROACH THAT WORK.
UM, SO YES, IT'S A COMPREHENSIVE, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT IF, IF AS AN EXAMPLE, THERE WAS A DRAMATIC, YOU KNOW, ECONOMIC DOWNTURN AND THE REVENUE STREAM WERE TO CHANGE DRAMATICALLY, HOW WOULD THAT IMPACT THE RISK ASSESSMENT? WELL, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE, YOU KNOW, AS A TP AND ORGANIZATION WOULD BE TACKLING.
UM, AND IN THE CASE OF FTA, THEY, THEY'RE A MAJOR INVESTOR IN OUR PROJECT, SO WE WOULD ENGAGE WITH THEM, YOU KNOW, AS APPROPRIATE ON HOW WE'RE MANAGING.
LIKE IF THERE'S, UH, ESPECIALLY IF LIKE WHAT YOU'RE DESCRIBING IS AN UNEXPECTED DRAMATIC CHANGE, UM, AND CONDITIONS, UH, YES.
SO THAT COULD IMPACT THE OVERALL RISKS.
SO, UM, I'M GONNA HAVE SIMILAR QUESTIONS, UH, THAT, THAT WERE JUST ASKED, BUT FROM A, FROM THE STANDPOINT OF STEWARDSHIP AND, AND HOW WE TALK TO THE COMMUNITY, IT, IT'S ONE THING TO EXPLAIN TO THE BOARD AND THE ENGINEERS HOW, HOW THINGS ARE BEING DONE, AND THOSE WHO WORK OFF OF PROJECT PLANS ALL THE TIME, THE QUESTION BECOMES HOW YOU CONVEY THIS, UH, TO OUR REGULAR VOTERS.
HOW, HOW ARE OUR REGULAR, UH, COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UH, JUST WANTING TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, I GUESS THE QUESTION IS HOW DO WE DOCUMENT NOT ONLY HOW WE DOCUMENT THINGS, DO WE USE CROSSWALK FORMAT IF WE'RE, IF WE'RE WORKING ON SOMETHING, WHEN YOU HAVE PROJECTS GOING ON LIKE THIS, THERE'S ALWAYS GONNA BE LITIGATION.
THERE'S ALWAYS GONNA BE SOMEBODY, UH, THAT IS UPSET.
AND IF THEY'RE UPSET ABOUT ONE PORTION OF THE OPERATION, IT MIGHT SLOW THAT PORTION DOWN.
HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT WE MOVE ON THROUGH THE RISK REGISTER AND ADDRESS THOSE THINGS THAT WE CAN, UH, WHEN WE DO THAT, HOW DO WE EXPLAIN IT? DO WE KEEP A WEEKLY, MONTHLY, QUARTERLY SET OF DELIVERABLES AND REFERENCES? AND, AND THEN HOW DO WE CONVEY THAT? DO, HOW DO WE CONVEY, UH, WHY WE DON'T TACKLE SOME PARTS OF THE PROJECT? UH, BECAUSE LITIGATION IS PENDING, YOU KNOW, IT, I'M JUST, I'M INTERESTED IN HOW WE DOCUMENT THINGS INTERNALLY, BUT SPEAK IN ONE VOICE EXTERNALLY SO THAT YOU'RE NOT GETTING FIVE DIFFERENT ANSWERS FROM FIVE DIFFERENT FOLKS.
WE'RE ACTUALLY SITTING DOWN THINKING ABOUT HOW WE CONVEY, UH, ACTUALLY TALKING ABOUT, UH, WHAT AN INTERNAL CHANGE MANAGEMENT TEAM'S TEAM LOOKS LIKE, UM, WHEN IT GETS ENGAGED, HAS IT BEEN ENGAGED, UH, THUS FAR? IF SO, WHEN AND HOW AND HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT, UH, WE'RE DOING THE THINGS THAT, THAT HAVE BEEN APPROVED TO BE DONE? UH, WE HAVE TAKEN OFF THOSE THINGS THAT ARE UNDER CONTENTION, BUT HOW DO WE MAIN, HOW DO WE MAINTAIN, UH, THE SCHEDULE TO THE EXTENT THAT WE CAN? SO I'M, I'M JUST INTERESTED IN, UH, HOW WE MAINTAIN A CROSSWALK, HOW WE, UH, HOW WE TALK NOT ONLY TO OUR ENGINEERS AND, AND, AND MANAGERS WHO ARE SIGNING THE CHECKS, BUT THEN, UH, TO THE COMMUNITY THAT IS EXPECTING CERTAIN PROGRESS OVER TIME TO LET THEM KNOW THAT WE ARE DOING EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN DO IN EVERYTHING THAT WE SHOULD DO.
AND, BUT WHEN, WHEN WE ARE, ARE, UH, WHEN WE ARE SLOWED DOWN FOR A, UH, SPECIFIC PURPOSE, EXPLAIN TO THEM THAT THAT'S WHY WE'RE NOT DOING THAT ONE RIGHT NOW.
WE, WE, WE, WE MIGHT GO FROM ONE A TO ONE C OR, YOU KNOW, WHY DO WE DO THAT? HOW DO WE CONVEY THAT, UH, THAT THAT IS WHAT'S GOING TO BE INTERESTING TO ME OVER TIME SO THAT THE PUBLIC DOES UNDERSTAND, UH, THAT WE'VE
[01:10:01]
GOT ALL OF THE MECHANISMS IN PLACE, WE'VE GOT ALL OF THE PROCESSES IN PLACE, BUT, UH, WE, WE HAVE A POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT WHICH WE OPERATE IN, AND THAT DICTATES TO A CERTAIN EXTENT WHAT WE DO FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD.I KNOW, I, I APPRECIATE THAT QUESTION.
AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S ONE THING THAT WE'RE ACTIVELY THINKING ABOUT RIGHT NOW.
UM, YOU KNOW, AS THE, THE SPEED OF THE WORK IS ACCELERATING, HOW ARE WE GOING TO BE REALLY EFFECTIVE IN PROACTIVELY COMMUNICATING WITH ALL THE STAKEHOLDERS IN THE COMMUNITY ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON? AND I, UH, ONE THING WE'VE DISCUSSED AMONGST OURSELVES IS HOW TO UP OUR GAME IN THAT SPACE, UM, SO THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN GOING OUT AT MILESTONES, BUT KIND OF THE FEEDBACK WE'RE HEARING IS THAT PEOPLE JUST WANT TO KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING ALL THE TIME.
AND SO KIND OF WHAT, WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT CHANNELS THROUGH WHICH WE CAN KIND OF UPDATE PEOPLE AND ALSO COMMUNICATE VERY TECHNICAL INFORMATION IN AN UNDERSTANDABLE WAY.
UM, SO I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE CONTINUING TO WORK ON FOR SURE.
I'LL SAY ON THE INTERNAL SIDE, UM, THAT IS PART OF THE WORK ALL TOWARDS, UM, ANTICIPATING THE RISK ASSESSMENT AND OUR CONVERSATIONS WITH FTA, UM, WHAT ARE OUR INTERNAL PROCESSES AROUND THAT? UM, WE ARE PUTTING TOGETHER A PRELIMINARY RISK REGISTER, AND HOW ARE WE GONNA MANAGE THAT? HOW IS THAT GOING TO BE A VERY ACTIVE PART OF THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING, THAT WE'RE THINKING IN THAT WE ALL THE TIME, UM, AND REFLECTING, YOU KNOW, AS RISKS ARE RETIRED OR THAT WE'RE IDENTIFYING HOW THEY'VE CHANGED OR WHAT'S NEW.
UM, AND WE ALSO HAVE BEEN PUTTING INTO PLACE PROCESSES FOR CHANGE MANAGEMENT, WHETHER THAT'S CONTRACT CHANGES OR DESIGN CHANGES TO MAKE SURE, UM, THAT WE HAVE A GOOD PROCESS IN PLACE.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE DO HAVE MULTIPLE CONTRACTS AND TO, YOU KNOW, A DECISION MADE HERE, WHAT'S THE PATHWAY FOR MAKING SURE THAT IT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT THE, THERE'S GREAT INTERFACE, UH, COMMUNICATION TO AVOID, UM, AN UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCE.
UM, SIMILARLY LIKE WITH DOCUMENT CONTROL, ALL OF THAT, UM, ASPECT OF DOCUMENTATION, THOSE ARE THE PROCESSES WE'VE BEEN PUTTING IN PLACE OVER THE LAST YEAR AND ARE CONTINUING TO DOCUMENT MAYBE ONE EXAMPLE OF THAT.
AND, AND SINCE YOU MENTIONED ENGINEERS, I'M GONNA ANSWER LIKE AN ENGINEER.
UM, SO BEAR WITH ME HERE,
UM, ON THE DESIGN SIDE, WE HAVE SOMETHING CALLED A CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT PLAN, UM, WHICH MEANS THAT WE HAVE A SET OF CHECKLIST THINGS THAT SAY SOMETHING CHANGED IN DESIGN, UM, MAYBE A, A STATION HAD TO SHIFT 200 FEET FOR SOME REASON.
WE HAVE A PROCESS THAT SAYS, DID THIS CHANGE ANYTHING FROM OUR ENVIRONMENTAL CLEARANCE AND DOCUMENTATION? DO WE HAVE TO DO ANY NEW ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS? DID IT CHANGE ANYTHING, UH, THAT AFFECTS, YOU KNOW, KEY STAKEHOLDERS, EITHER ADJACENT PROPERTY OWNERS OR COMMUNITY, AND HOW THEY'LL ACCESS THAT STATION AND DOES IT TRIGGER SOME SORT OF EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION TO, UM, LET PEOPLE KNOW OF THAT CHANGE AND VARIOUS OTHER CHECKLIST ITEMS THAT WE GO THROUGH IN EACH OF THOSE MAJOR CHANGES FROM THE KIND OF BASELINE DESIGN THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE PROCESS, SO THAT WE ARE NOT ONLY CROSSWALKING WHAT THOSE CHANGES ARE, UM, DOCUMENTING WHAT THEY AFFECT AND FLAGGING ANY THINGS THAT WARRANT, UH, EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS.
YEAH, I, I'D LIKE TO JUST TO ADD A QUESTION TO, TO THAT CONCEPT, AND I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR JUST BEING SO HELPFUL IN TRYING TO EXPLAIN ALL THE PRECAUTIONS THAT YOU'RE TAKING.
I THINK THE STAFF CLEARLY UNDERSTANDS THE BOARD'S, YOU KNOW, CONCERN HERE.
UM, BUT AS WE'RE LOOKING INTO 2027 AND WITH THIS BUDGET SPECIFICALLY, AND WE LOOK AT ALL OF THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICE CONTRACTS THAT ARE UNDERWAY, UM, AND WE DON'T REALLY KNOW THE TIMING AND WHEN WE MIGHT RECEIVE THAT REQUEST FOR ENTRY APPROVAL, HOW ARE WE DISPERSING CONTRACTUAL FUNDS TO THE OBLIGATIONS THAT WE HAVE? ARE WE MONTHLY DOING REIMBURSEMENTS ONLY ON MONTHLY EXPENSES THAT HAPPEN? ARE WE T TRANCHING THIS TO QUARTERLY PAYMENTS? I'M SURE IT'S DIFFERENT WITH DIFFERENT CONTRACTORS, BUT I THINK THAT IS ANOTHER, YOU KNOW, VULNERABILITY THAT WE HAVE AS IT RELATES TO OVER EXTENDING AHEAD OF SOME OF THESE APPROVAL PROCESSES.
YEAH, SO ALL OF OUR CONTRACTS ARE ON A MONTHLY BASIS, SO IT'S A 30 DAY BILLING PER PERIOD ULTIMATELY, AND THERE'S A REALLY DEEP REVIEW PROCESS THAT THE PMS GO THROUGH AND DESIGN TEAM GOES THROUGH TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF THE HOURS THAT ARE BEING BILLED FIT WITHIN THE DELIVERY.
WE'RE NOT FRONTLOADING ANY, NO, EVERYTHING'S ON A REIMBURSEMENT BASIS.
CAN I ADD SOMETHING TO THAT TOO? UM, ALSO WITH, UM, DELIVERY PARTNER OF OUR OWNER SIDE SUPPORT, WE DO
[01:15:01]
ANNUAL WORK PLANS.SO, UM, EVERY YEAR WE GET TOGETHER AND THINK ABOUT WHAT ARE WE DOING THIS NEXT YEAR.
UM, AND THAT'S WHERE I DO THINK WE'VE BEEN VERY THOUGHTFUL ABOUT THINKING ABOUT STAFFING, UM, AND NOT LOOKING TO OVERSTAFF AND NOT LOOKING TO GET AHEAD OF OURSELVES, UM, AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE RIGHT SIZED FOR WHAT'S GOING ON.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER FURTHER QUESTIONS ON THIS ONE TOPIC? BECAUSE WE HAVE TWO MORE TO TACKLE.
SO WE'RE GONNA, I WAS JUST GETTING MORE
OUR NEXT ITEM IS A DISCUSSION OF ATPS.
[3.2 Update on Austin Light Rail Project Space Needs.]
WE'RE GOING TO NEXT DISCUSS, UM, ATP'S SPACE NEEDS.SO PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELVES WHEN YOU START GIVING US YOUR PRESENTATION.
UM, I'LL INTRODUCE MYSELF ONE MORE TIME.
EVPK BAK, E-V-E-V-P OF BUSINESS AND LEGAL AFFAIRS.
UM, EVERY TIME I INTRODUCE MYSELF, I WANNA SAY THE FIRST EMPLOYEE.
I DON'T KNOW WHY, BUT ANYWAY, SO BEEN AROUND ON THE HISTORIAN AND WE'RE GONNA GET INTO A HISTORY SLIDE, SO THAT'LL BE RELEVANT.
UM, BUT WE'RE GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT IN THIS SESSION.
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S OF INTEREST, ESPECIALLY AS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE BUDGET AND THE WORK WE'RE GONNA BE DOING AND THE WORK WE'RE GETTING READY TO DO AS WE TRANSITION INTO A REALLY CRITICAL PHASE FOR OUR PROJECT, WHICH IS FINISHING DESIGN AND STARTING CONSTRUCTION, EARLY WORKS PACKAGING, AND ALL OF THAT, THAT WE'RE GONNA BRING TO YOU ALL.
UM, WE'RE KIND OF ON THE PRECIPICE OF THE PEAKS OF OUR PERSONNEL NEEDS FOR THE NEXT FEW YEARS.
UM, AND SO WE'RE THINKING, AND WE ALWAYS DO THOUGHTFULLY THINK ABOUT OUR SPACE AND RIGHT SIZING IT FOR THE PERIOD THAT WE'RE IN OF THIS PROJECT.
UM, SO I'LL JUST KIND OF LET FOLKS INTRODUCE.
I THINK WE HAVE A GREAT PANEL UP HERE THAT CAN KIND OF SPEAK TO THAT EXPERTISE.
UM, WE'VE GOT DIANE COWAN, YOU ALL, YOU RECOGNIZE HER.
SHE'S WITH AECOM, OUR DELIVERY PARTNER, PRINCIPAL IN CHARGE.
AND LINDSAY, OF COURSE, ARMANDO
HE'S THE PROJECT MANAGER FOR THE ARC TEAM, WHICH IS THE PRIMARY CONTRACTOR FOR THE LIGHT RAIL PROJECT, THE BUILDER, SO TO SPEAK.
UM, AND ALEX GALE, OF COURSE, WHO'S OUR, UM, SEP OF REAL ESTATE AND FACILITIES.
UM, SO WE'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THIS FOR A WHILE NOW, AND I THINK IT'S, IT WAS RIGHT FOR US TO TALK ABOUT THIS WITH THE BUDGET CONVERSATION.
SO THE SPACE NEEDS FOR OUR PROJECT, AND I'LL ONLY GO AS DEEP AS I UNDERSTAND IT, THE EXPERTS CAN SPEAK TO THIS, UM, FOR THE PROJECT ACROSS, UH, 10, ALMOST 10 MILE ALIGNMENT, HAVE VARYING NEEDS FOR THE PERSONNEL THAT'S GONNA BE WORKING ON THIS PROJECT AS WE TRANSITION INTO, UM, FINAL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION, WE'RE GONNA FOCUS PRIMARILY TODAY ON THE PROGRAM OFFICE, WHICH I THINK IS IMPORTANT, BUT WE ARE VERY AWARE THAT THERE WILL BE FIELD OFFICES AT DIFFERENT LOCATIONS THROUGH, UM, ALONG THE ALIGNMENT AS WELL AS LAY DOWN YARDS, WAREHOUSE, CRAFT, PARKING, ALL OF THESE THINGS TO HELP MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN COMPLETE THIS PROJECT, UM, FOR THE VOTERS OF AUSTIN.
AND SO WE ARE GONNA, WE'RE JUST KIND OF TOUCHING ON THOSE OTHER ELEMENTS, FOCUSING ON THE PROGRAM OFFICE, AND WE'LL BE BACK WHEN WE HAVE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT OUR CON CONSTRUCTION SEQUENCING AND HAVE MORE, UM, SPECIFICS ON THOSE OTHER TOPICS, BUT I IMAGINE THEY MIGHT COME UP TODAY.
SO YEAH, THERE'S MY HISTORY MOMENT,
UM, THIS IS KIND OF OUR, YOU KNOW, THE, THE HISTORY OF OUR DOWNTOWN OFFICES.
I THINK I VISITED AS A MEMBER OF THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE TO SEE WHAT THE ALIGNMENT COULD BE, PREVO.
IT WAS A NEAT LITTLE UNDERGROUND OFFICE, NO WINDOWS.
UM, AND THEN WE MOVED OVER TO 700 LA VACA.
WE, UM, WE WERE OVER THERE FOR A LITTLE WHILE WITH A SMALL GROUP OF US.
AND THEN, UM, YOU ALL HELPED US AWARD A LEASE BACK IN JUNE, 2021 FOR FIVE YEARS FOR US TO COME HERE, WHICH HAS BEEN A WONDERFUL SPACE, AND WE'VE WORKED TO MAKE IT A BEAUTIFUL SPACE.
BUT WE ARE STARTING TO GROW, OUTGROW IT
AND YOU CAN SEE THE POINT HERE IS THAT AS WE'VE GROWN AND WE'VE, WE'VE HAD GREATER PERSONNEL NEEDS, WE'VE GROWN ALONG WITH THE PROJECT ADVANCING, NEVER KIND OF BITING OFF MORE THAN WE COULD CHEW.
UM, WE ACTUALLY DID HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO EVEN LEASE THE NEIGHBORING SPACE BACK IN 2021, UM, BUT DECIDED THAT WE ONLY NEEDED REALLY THIS ONE BUILDING.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE BROUGHT TO YOU AT THAT TIME.
AND I'LL HAND IT OVER HERE TO ALEX TO KIND OF TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UM, OUR, OUR METHODOLOGY AT THIS POINT, AND TRY TO ASSESS WHAT WE'RE GONNA NEED AS WE MOVE TO THE NEXT, UH, STAGE OF THE PROJECT.
YEAH, THANK YOU BOARD, UH, AGAIN, ALEX GALE, SVP OF REAL ESTATE AND FACILITIES.
SO WE JUST WANTED TO BRING UP AGAIN, WHAT THE PROCESS WAS THAT WE WENT THROUGH IN ORDER TO DETERMINE WHAT OUR SPACE NEEDS WERE FOR THE PROJECT AND BRINGING FORWARD OPTIONS TO THE BOARD.
SO ORIGINALLY, BACK IN 2025, KNOWING THAT OUR LEASE,
[01:20:01]
UH, HERE WAS ENDING AT THE END OF THIS YEAR, WE STARTED SOME EARLY WORK TO DETERMINE REALLY WHAT OUR STAFFING PLAN WAS, UH, AND WHAT THAT PLAN WAS OVER THE, UH, NEXT, YOU KNOW, SEVERAL YEARS.AND SO WE BROUGHT IN AECOMM AS OUR DELIVERY PARTNER TO HELP US, UH, UNDERSTAND WHAT THE BEST PRACTICES ARE FOR THOSE PROJECT OFFICES, UNDERSTAND, HELP US UNDERSTAND STAFFING NEEDS FOR WHAT WE WOULD LOOK LIKE, WHAT THEY WOULD LOOK LIKE, WHAT OUR CONTRACTORS WOULD LOOK LIKE, UH, AND REALLY, UH, COME ON AND HELP US THROUGH THOSE BEST PRACTICES AS WELL OF WHAT A PROGRAM OFFICES, UH, PROGRAM OFFICE IS, UM, FOR, UH, A BEST PROGRAM OFFICE.
AND SO THEN WE ALSO WORKED WITH CBRE AND HKS, UH, HKS BEING OUR ARCHITECT DESIGN FIRM TO REALLY UNDERSTAND, UM, THROUGH THE BEST PRACTICES WITH, UM, AECOM AND INTERNALLY, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE AS A, AS A PROGRAM, HELP US WITH THE PROGRAMMING OF WHAT THAT OFFICE SPACE WOULD LOOK LIKE.
UM, HELP US WITH TEST FITTING OF, YOU KNOW, HOW THAT WOULD WORK WITH THE NUMBER OF OFFICES, THE NUMBER OF WORKSTATIONS, CONFERENCE ROOMS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND THEN FINALLY, AS WE WORK THROUGH THAT, WORKING WITH OUR PARTNER, CBRE, OUR BROKER, TO HELP US WITH THAT MARKET SEARCH TO UNDER, TO SEE WHAT IS OUT IN, IN THE MARKET.
UM, SO REALLY I'LL GONNA PASS IT OFF TO DIANE, BUT, UH, WE WANT TO DIVE INTO A LITTLE BIT WHAT THE, THE BEST PRACTICES ARE FOR OUR PROGRAM OFFICE.
UM, THANK YOU BOARD AND CHAIR FOR HAVING ME HERE TODAY TO SPEAK WITH YOU.
SO, UM, I'M DIANE COWEN WITH AECOM, AS WAS MENTIONED, UM, FOR AECOM.
JUST TO GIVE SOME CONTEXT, I AM, UH, RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR GLOBAL TRANSIT AND RAIL PRACTICE, SO ACROSS THE WHOLE GLOBE.
UM, SO IT'S GREAT 'CAUSE I'M ABLE TO ACTUALLY ACCESS A LOT OF OUR BEST PRACTICES.
UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, IT WAS GREAT WHEN A TP CAME TO US AND, AND ASKED AECOM TO THINK ABOUT THE SPACE AND THINK ABOUT THE MEGA PROGRAMS THAT WE'VE WORKED ON ACROSS THE GLOBE AND IN THE UNITED STATES.
AND OF COURSE HERE WHERE WE'RE HEADQUARTERED IN TEXAS, AND THINK ABOUT WHAT DOES NOT ONLY FOR RAIL PROJECTS, BUT OTHER PROJECTS, UM, WATER PROJECTS, HIGHWAY PROJECTS, ET CETERA.
WHAT, WHAT ARE THE BEST PRACTICES FOR THOSE PROGRAM OFFICES AND WHAT ARE THE, YOU KNOW, TO GET THE OUTCOMES YOU WANT, RIGHT? AND SO, UM, I'LL QUICKLY GO THROUGH WHAT THEY ARE, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHY THEY MATTER, AND THEN GIVE YOU SOME EXAMPLES.
AND I'M HAPPY TO TAKE QUESTIONS OF COURSE, AS WELL AS WE MOVE ALONG.
SO, UM, QUICKLY, THE BEST PRACTICES ARE REALLY CO-LOCATION AND COLLABORATION ARE KEY FOR REALLY MOVING PROJECTS FORWARD.
UM, LARGE DEDICATED MEETING SPACES, VERY IMPORTANT TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THAT COLLABORATION.
UM, WE ALL KNOW THE STRUGGLE OF EVERY DAY TRYING TO GET, PROBABLY AT THE CITY, PROBABLY AT CAMP METRO, TRYING TO GET A SPACE TO HAVE A MEETING
SO THOSE ARE ALSO VERY IMPORTANT TO HAVE AVAILABLE TO THE TEAMS. UM, ALSO LOCATED NEAR PROJECT ALIGNMENT.
WE'VE SEEN A LOT OF REALLY GOOD EXAMPLES OF WHERE THAT HELPS FROM A SAFETY STANDPOINT, BUT ALSO A REACTION TIME STANDPOINT.
UM, WHY DOES THIS MATTER? WHY DOES THE SPACE PLANNING MATTER SO MUCH IN THESE TYPES OF PROJECTS? THE BIG THING IS BEING ABLE TO HAVE QUALITY RESPONSES TO THE CHALLENGES THAT COME UP.
UM, THE CHANGES THAT MIGHT COME UP WHEN YOU'RE OUT THERE IN CONSTRUCTION, OR IF A DESIGN CHANGE IS COMING AND WE'RE LOOKING FOR A MORE EFFICIENT COST RESPONSE, OR IN OUR DESIGN, WE REALLY NEED TO HAVE THE TECHNICAL EXPERTS TOGETHER AND INTERACTING WITH EACH OTHER, NOT WORKING IN SILOS.
SO THAT IMPROVES THE QUALITY OF THE ANSWERS THAT WE CAN GIVE, UM, AS A FULL TEAM, UM, TO MAKE GOOD DECISIONS.
THAT ALSO RESULTS IN EFFICIENT DECISION MAKING WHEN YOU ARE ALL THERE, AS OPPOSED TO BEING SEPARATED AND NEEDING TO CALL PEOPLE IN FOR A MEETING OR JUMPING ON TEAMS AND NOT HAVING PEOPLE'S ATTENTION, ET CETERA.
SCHEDULE IS AN ELEMENT OF THESE PROGRAMS THAT REALLY RELATES DIRECTLY TO COST AND COST, UM, CERTAINTY.
SO, UM, REALLY BEING ABLE TO TRY AND MAINTAIN SCHEDULE, BE ABLE TO REACT QUICKLY AND GET ANSWERS TO A CONTRACTOR.
I KNOW ARMANDO APPRECIATES THAT, UM, OR TO A DESIGN TEAM TO MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION AND THE RIGHT CHANGE AT THE RIGHT TIME QUICKLY.
SO COST CERTAINTY IS, IS OBVIOUSLY WHAT WE ALL CARE ABOUT AS WELL.
AND LIKE I SAID, SCHEDULE IS VERY TIED TO COST CERTAINTY.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE CAN, UM, AS TEAMS
[01:25:01]
BE ABLE TO LOOK WITH ALL THE TECHNICAL EXPERTS IN THE SAME LOCATION, BE ABLE TO REALLY COME UP WITH DECISIONS THAT CONSIDER THAT AS WELL.SO HAVING THE CONTRACTOR THERE TO TELL US, WELL, THAT'S A GREAT DESIGN ANSWER, BUT WHEN I GET OUT THERE IN THE FIELD, THAT'S GONNA COST 10 TIMES MORE ENGINEER
SO HOW DO YOU MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE'S AT THE TABLE HELPING TO MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION ACROSS THE BOARD FOR THE PROGRAM? AND THAT'S REALLY KEY, YOU KNOW, THE PROGRAM FIRST DECISIONS, WHAT'S THE BEST FOR THE PROGRAM? AND THEN ACCOUNTABILITY.
SO BEING ABLE TO WORK THROUGH YOUR GOVERNANCE, UM, THROUGH YOUR CHANGE MANAGEMENT APPROACH VERY QUICKLY.
AND ULTIMATELY HAVING THE AGENCY MAKE THOSE FINAL DECISIONS.
IT'S IMPORTANT FOR THE AGENCY, UM, INDIVIDUALS TO HAVE ACCESS TO THOSE TECHNICAL EXPERTS, TO THE CONTRACTORS TO BE ABLE TO MAKE SURE THAT AS THEY MAKE THAT FINAL DECISION, THAT THEY'RE MAKING IT WITH ALL THE INFORMATION AND THE BEST INFORMATION THAT THEY CAN.
SO, A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES ON CO-LOCATION AND COLLABORATION.
YOU KNOW, CRAIG, WHO'S HERE, UM, BACK THERE, WHO YOU MET, I THINK AT THE LAST BOARD MEETING.
UM, HE WAS GIVING ME EXAMPLE FOR, FROM TRANSPORT FOR LONDON, WHERE THEY WERE WORKING ON A RAIL PROGRAM AND THEY DECIDED, OKAY, WE NEED TO CO-LOCATE BECAUSE EVERYONE'S WORKING IN SILOS AT THEIR OWN OFFICES.
SO WE'RE GONNA SET UP A PROGRAM OFFICE.
WE'RE WE'RE GONNA BE CO-LOCATED.
WELL, THEY DECIDED CO-LOCATION, BUT THEN THEY HAD, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THE DELIVERY PARTNER TYPE PEOPLE ON ONE FLOOR.
THEY HAD THE AGENCY ON ANOTHER FLOOR, THEY HAD THE CONTRACTORS ON A SEPARATE FLOOR.
THE ELEVATORS WEREN'T USED VERY OFTEN, LET'S JUST SAY THAT.
SO EVERYONE KIND OF STILL STUCK TO WHAT THEY'RE USED TO AT THEIR HOME OFFICES, ET CETERA, RIGHT? UM, AND IT WAS STILL SILOED.
SO THEN THEY LOOKED AT, OKAY, WELL HOW DO WE MAKE THIS MORE COLLABORATIVE? WELL, LET'S JUST OPEN UP ALL THE SPACES NOBODY'S ASSIGNED.
EVERYBODY CAN GO TO ANY FLOOR THEY WANT.
WELL, PEOPLE STAYED IN THE SAME PLACE 'CAUSE THEY DON'T LIKE CHANGE.
THEY KNOW THOSE PEOPLE, SO THEY WANNA STAY.
SO THEN THEY ACTUALLY ENFORCED WHERE THEY MADE A SEATING ASSIGNMENT.
AND WHAT THEY DID WAS THEY BROUGHT INDIVIDUALS AND NEED TO MAKE DECISIONS TOGETHER DURING THE PROGRAM TO SIT TOGETHER.
SO THEN ALL THE UTILITIES FOLKS FROM THE CONTRACTOR SIDE, FROM THE DESIGN SIDE, FROM THE AGENCY SIDE, WERE ALL SITTING TOGETHER.
AND THEN YOU SAW COLLABORATION AND ANS YOU KNOW, QUICK ANSWERS, SPEED, RELIABILITY AND COST CERTAINTY INCREASE SIGNIFICANTLY.
AND PART OF THAT, OF COURSE, IS THOSE DEDICATED SPACES.
I THINK A, A GREAT EXAMPLE IS A WAR ROOM.
I KNOW, YOU KNOW, DOTTIE, YOU'VE PROBABLY HAD SEVERAL OF THESE IN YOUR PROGRAMS WHERE, UM, ESSENTIALLY YOU'VE GOT A DEDICATED SPACE WHERE YOU'RE ABLE TO ALL MEET AS NECESSARY TO MAKE DECISIONS.
UM, A LOT OF TIMES, UH, WHAT ENGINEERS CALLED ROLE PLOTS OF THE ENTIRE PROGRAM IS UP THERE, UM, SO THAT YOU'RE ABLE TO ACTUALLY LOOK, STAND AROUND AND MAKE DECISIONS TOGETHER.
UM, AND THEN OF COURSE THE, THE DAILY BREAKOUT MEETINGS THAT NEED TO HAPPEN, YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE CONFERENCE ROOMS AVAILABLE FOR, FOR PEOPLE TO DO THOSE MEETINGS LOCATED NEAR PROJECT ALIGNMENT.
UM, I THINK THE BIGGEST REASON, OF COURSE, IN, IN TRANSIT IS ALWAYS SAFETY, RIGHT? AND SO IF THERE IS AN INCIDENT, UM, ON THE CONSTRUCTION SITE, UM, ET CETERA, YOU'RE ABLE TO ACTUALLY ACCESS THAT RELATIVELY QUICKLY.
UM, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE SOMEWHERE NEAR THE MIDDLE OF THE ALIGNMENT.
SO THAT'S A VERY IMPORTANT PIECE OF THIS.
THE OTHER THING THAT IS BENEFICIAL IS, AGAIN, I'M TALKING A LOT ABOUT MAKING DECISIONS, BUT THAT'S REALLY WHAT THESE PROGRAMS COME DOWN TO AT THIS PHASE.
AND SO IT'S ABOUT BEING ABLE TO SAY, OKAY, WE'RE, WE'RE PUTTING IN, DURING CONSTRUCTION, FOR EXAMPLE, IF, IF THEY'RE STARTING TO DRILL TO PUT IN AN OCS POLE OR AN OVERHEAD CANTON AREA, THAT'S THE ELECTRICAL LINES THAT RUN THE TRAIN.
AND THEY, THEY, THEY WILL, OH, WE HIT SOME UNKNOWN UTILITY, IS THAT, YOU KNOW, NOT A RARE OCCURRENCE SOMETIMES.
AND SO YOU HIT AN UNKNOWN, UH, UTILITY, YOU'RE ABLE TO IMMEDIATELY, THE CONTRACTOR CAN FLAG THAT, BRING THAT TO THE FOLKS IN THE OFFICE AND SAY, LET'S GO OUT.
LET'S UNDERSTAND IF WE DO KNOW THIS AND IT WAS IN A DIFFERENT PLACE, HOW DO WE ADDRESS IT? LET'S GET THE CITY INVOLVED, YOU KNOW, ET CETERA.
SO YOU'RE ABLE TO ALL DESCEND UPON A PROBLEM VERY QUICKLY, WHICH IS AN IMPORTANT PIECE OF IT TOO.
THERE'S SEVERAL PROJECTS THROUGHOUT THE GLOBE WHO DO FOCUS ON BEING NEXT TO THE ALIGNMENT.
SOME OF THEM, IT'S FOR THE REASONS I MENTIONED OTHERS, IT'S BECAUSE THEY WANT TO BE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC.
SOME PROJECTS, UM, FOR EXAMPLE, IN NEW ZEALAND, UM, THE CROSS RIVER LINK, THEY DID A REALLY INTERESTING THING WHERE THEY CREATED AN ACTUAL PUBLIC AWARENESS AND, UM, AND KIND OF PLAY ZONE FOR KIDS RIGHT
[01:30:01]
THERE IN THEIR OFFICE SPACE SO THAT THE PUBLIC WAS ACTUALLY PART OF THE CONSTRUCTION WITHOUT BEING, UM, YOU KNOW, IN UNSAFE ZONES.BUT THE KIDS COULD COME IN AND UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS HAPPENING, WHERE IT'S GOING.
UM, SO REALLY BEING ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC IS ANOTHER KEY THING I THINK, OF BEING ON THE PROJECT ALIGNMENT.
SO A COUPLE EXAMPLES OF THOSE, UM, MARILYN PURPLE LINE LIGHT RAIL.
UM, THEY HAVE A PROJECT OFFICE ALONG THE ALIGNMENT, UM, FREDERICK DOUGLAS TUNNEL WITH AMTRAK.
THEY HAVE A PROJECT OFFICE, UM, CRAIG'S PARATA LIGHT RAIL LINE, UH, THAT WAS, THAT'S BEEN COMPLETED, UH, IN AUSTRALIA, IN OUTSIDE OF SYDNEY ALSO, UM, WAS ON THE ALIGNMENT.
AND SEVERAL, SEVERAL MORE, SEVERAL IN CANADA AS WELL, THAT METROLINK DOES.
IT'S A STANDARD PRACTICE THAT THEY LOOK AT AS WELL.
SO THAT'S, UM, THAT'S WHAT I'VE GOT FOR YOU.
UM, I ALSO WANTED TO ADD ON THE PROGRAM AND TEST FITTING.
WE WERE HOPING TO HAVE HKS HERE.
UH, UNFORTUNATELY THEY WEREN'T ABLE TO BE HERE TODAY, BUT WE ALSO INCLUDED SOME OF THEIR LANGUAGE THAT THEY HAVE AS FAR AS THE ME SPACE.
WE SPACE, US SPACE, UM, A, THE A YEAH, THE ARCHITECT, UH, OF COURSE NOT IN THE ROOM, UH, CHILE, WHO, UH, HAS REALLY HELPED US.
HE HELPED US WITH THE SPACE THAT WE'RE IN TODAY.
UM, BUT ALSO HE'S HELPED WITH THE CITY ON A LOT OF THEIR, UM, SPACE NEEDS AS WELL.
SO, UH, I KNOW PREVIOUSLY, UH, WE HAD WORKED WITH HIM AT MY TIME OVER AT THE CITY, AND HE HELPED DEVELOP THE, THE STANDARDS, UM, THAT THE CITY, UH, I DON'T KNOW IF THEY STILL USE THEM, BUT HELPED DEVELOP THOSE SPACE STANDARDS THAT THE CITY USES, UM, FOR THEIR SPACES AS WELL.
AND SO WHEN WE MET WITH HKS, IT WAS THOUGHTFULLY WORKING THROUGH THE DATA THAT, UH, AECOM AND ARC PROVIDED TO US, BUT REALLY, UH, DIVING INTO, UM, WHAT, WHAT THOSE NUMBER OF PEOPLE ARE, THE NUMBER OF OFFICES, THE NUMBER OF WORKSTATIONS, UH, BEING THAT ME SPACE.
SO THINKING THROUGH, AND I KNOW I GOT THE BENEFIT OF GOING AFTER THE, THE, THE FINANCE BUDGET MAYOR.
BUT, UM, WHEN WE FIRST CAME UP WITH THOSE NUMBERS, UH, WE HAD MORE OFFICES AND THINKING THROUGH COST SAVINGS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
WE ACTUALLY REDUCED OUR NUMBER OF OFFICES, EVEN THOUGH, UH, WORKING THROUGH THOUGHTFULLY, THEY ACTUALLY WERE RECOMMENDING A HIGHER NUMBER OF OFFICES.
BUT IN ORDER TO SAVE SQUARE FOOTAGE AND THINGS LIKE THAT, WE ACTUALLY REDUCED THE NUMBER OF OFFICES AND THINKING THROUGH COLLABORATION AS WELL.
UM, TO, TO DIANE'S POINT ABOUT CONFERENCE ROOMS SIMILARLY, UM, WE, WE HAVE A, A LIKE SHE SAID, THERE'S A NEED FOR A LARGE DEDICATED OFFER CONFERENCE ROOMS. WE CURRENTLY HAVE THREE THAT WE UTILIZE IN THIS SPACE.
AND SO ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT HKS BROUGHT TO THE TABLE IS THE FLEXIBILITY OF THOSE CONFERENCE ROOMS TO BE ABLE TO USE, UH, FOR DIFFERENT USES, RIGHT? THIS IS OUR BOARDROOM ONE DAY A MONTH, MAYBE ONE DAY EVERY, EVERY TWO MONTHS.
BUT OTHERWISE WE'RE USING IT, UM, FOR THOSE FLEXIBLE COLLABORATIVE SPACES, UH, COLLABORATIVE MEETINGS, UM, WITH ARC, WITH THE DELIVERY PARTNER, WITH CAP, UM, OUR ENTIRE TEAM AS WELL AS THOSE, THE WAR ROOMS, WE'VE RECOINED THEM COLLABORATION ROOMS. THEY'RE NOT, THEY'RE NOT WAR ROOMS, THEY'RE, YEAH, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S FRIENDLY
AND SO IT WAS REALLY GOOD TO, TO BE ABLE TO WORK WITH HKS TO KIND OF IDENTIFY THE NEED FOR THOSE NUMBER OF OFFICES OR NUMBER OF CONFERENCE ROOMS, BUT, BUT REALLY THINKING THROUGH THE FLEXIBILITY OF THAT SPACE AND THE FURNITURE IN THAT ROOM TO REALLY ACCOMMODATE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF MEETINGS THAT WE'LL BE HAVING.
AND THEN OF COURSE, THE US SPACE BEING THE RECEPTION AND BREAK ROOMS, UM, AND THINKING THROUGH, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE, THE SQUARE FOOTAGE OF THOSE WOULD BE.
AND SO, JUMPING TO THE NEXT SLIDE IS REALLY JUMPING INTO THE SUMMARY OF WHAT THAT NEEDS ASSESSMENT WAS.
UM, AND, AND WORKING WITH A ECOM AND HKS AND CBRE, WE SEE THAT OUR PEAK NUMBERS ARE, ARE GOING TO, UM, START, YOU KNOW, NEXT YEAR.
AND, AND OVER THE NEXT THREE OR FOUR YEARS, WE'LL HAVE THESE PEAK NUMBERS BECAUSE WE ARE NOW PROGRESSING INTO THAT NA NEXT PHASE OF THE PROJECT WHERE, UM, CONSTRUCTION WILL BE STARTING.
WE HAVE RIGHT OF WAY ACQUISITION, WE'RE, UM, PROGRESSING TOWARDS THAT FINAL DESIGN AND THE, THE START OF CONSTRUCTION.
AND SO THAT'S REALLY WHEN WE'RE STARTING TO SEE, UH, THAT WE'RE GOING TO NEED THE, THAT PEAK SPACE, THOSE PEAK DESKS SLASH PERSONNEL IN THE PROGRAM OFFICE.
UM, AND SO THAT REALLY CAME TO WORKING WITH HKS DEVELOPING THAT APPROXIMATE 55,000 SQUARE FEET FOR US TO GO AND LOOK FOR IN ORDER TO MEET THOSE NEEDS OF THE OFFICE WORKSTATIONS, THE, THE, THE ME SPACE, THE WE SPACE, AND THE S SPACE.
[01:35:01]
UM, AND, AND THEN LOOKING TOWARDS THE NUMBER OF OFFICES AND WORKSTATIONS, LIKE I SAID, WE, WE, WE PUSHED BACK ON THAT, UM, AND, AND WE ACTUALLY PUSHED BACK ON THE PERSONNEL, RIGHT? SO THE FIRST ONE, UM, WE, I THINK THE NUMBER WAS MUCH HIGHER, AND WE WORKED WITH AA, YOU KNOW, THE NUMBERS THAT WE, OF COURSE WE'RE COLLABORATIVELY WORKING TOWARDS, UM, THOSE NUMBERS WERE HIGHER.AND WE SAID, WELL, WE DON'T THINK WE, WE, WE NEED, YOU KNOW, THIS MANY, YOU KNOW, WE THINK IT SHOULD BE TWO 80.
AND SO WE WERE COLLABORATIVELY WORKING, BUT ALSO FOCUSING ON WHERE WE CAN, YOU KNOW, SEE THOSE SAVINGS AND REALIZE THOSE SAVINGS, KNOWING THAT THOSE DETERMINANTS WILL, UH, MOVE US TOWARDS THE SQUARE FOOTAGE THAT WE NEED TO GO OUT THERE AND SEEK.
AND SO WITH OUR WORK, YOU CAN SEE WE HAVE THE ADDITIONAL 20 TOUCHDOWN SPACES, UM, THAT WE'RE, WE'RE SEEING TODAY.
WE HAVE A LOT OF, UM, CONTRACT THE SAME AS THE LAY DOWN SPACE.
SORRY, I NEED TO EXPLAIN THAT.
THE TOUCHDOWN SPACE, THERE'S ONLY TOUCHDOWN SPACES IS NOT, UM, IT'S MORE LIKE A HOTELING.
UH, WE HAVE, UM, PEOPLE COMING IN WORKING ON THIS PROJECT WHO AREN'T NECESSARILY NEEDING A DEDICATED WORKSTATION, BUT THEY NEED A PLACE THAT THEY CAN SIT THERE FOR ONE, TWO DAYS OUT OF THE WEEK THAT THEY DON'T HAVE AN IDENTIFIED WORKSTATION WITH THEIR NAME TAG ON.
UM, SO IT IS JUST A, A TOUCHDOWN HOTEL SPACE FOR THOSE INDIVIDUALS THAT COME INTO THE SPACE.
ALL OF THESE ONLY RELATE TO THE PROGRAM OFFICE, THE PROGRAM OFFICE BEING ONE OF MANY USES, INCLUDING THE LAY DOWN.
SO JUST SORRY IF THAT WASN'T CLEAR.
AND ONE NOTE ON THOSE SPACES IS WE ARE EXCEEDING THOSE AS WE SPEAK.
UH, AND, AND ARMANDO CAN ADD COLOR TO THIS AS WELL, BUT BOTH OF OUR CONTRACTORS ARE AND CAP ARE NEEDING TO MAINTAIN A SEPARATE SPACE FOR OVERFLOW PERSONNEL BECAUSE WE CAN'T, EVEN WITH OUR, OUR CURRENT, UM, HOTELING OR TEMPORARY FLEX SPACES, WE CAN'T ACCOMMODATE ALL OF THEIR TEAMS, UM, WHICH RESULTS IN ADDITIONAL OFFICE SPACE, BUT ALSO HAVING MORE HYBRID MEETINGS, UM, THAN I, I THINK YOU WOULD PROBABLY LIKE TO HAVE
UM, HYBRID MEETINGS ARE GREAT.
UH, THANK YOU, UH, CHAIR, UM, AND, AND BOARD MEMBERS.
MY NAME'S ARMANDO TNO AND I'M THE PROJECT MANAGER FOR ARC FOR AUSTIN RAIL CONSTRUCTORS, BUT LINDSAY'S, RIGHT, I THINK USING TEAMS IS GREAT.
IT, IT'S HELPED A LOT, BUT, UM, TECHNOLOGY CAN ALSO BE BAD.
UM, YOU KNOW, UM, THE WIFI CAPACITY'S NOT GOOD ON A CERTAIN DAY, SO THEY'RE NOT TOTALLY PRODUCTIVE MEETINGS.
BEING CO-LOCATED AND IN PERSON IS, IS IS THE BEST WAY TO GO.
UH, AS MENTIONED, WE DO HAVE SPACE HERE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, BUT IT'S OVER BY THE DOMAIN.
WE HAVE ABOUT 30 PEOPLE OVER THERE THAT WE WOULD LOVE TO GET CLOSER TO OUR, OUR, OUR, YOU KNOW, THE PROJECT OFFICE HERE.
UM, AND, AND HERE WE'RE, YOU KNOW, UM, UM, BURSTING AT THE SEAMS, I WOULD SAY ARE, ARE, ARE, ARE, YOU KNOW, ALEX MENTIONED WE ARE REDUCING OFFICES.
UM, BUT WE, WE, WE, WE STILL KEPT THE WORKSTATIONS AND THE WORKSTATIONS ARE, ARE SNUG, THEY'RE TIGHT, AND A, A LITTLE BIT MORE SPACE WOULD BE HELPFUL TO BRING PEOPLE IN FROM THE OUTSIDE.
UM, AND THEN A LITTLE BIT MORE BREATHING ROOM, UH, AMONGST OURSELVES.
I WILL SAY THAT WE, UH, I THINK IT WAS MENTIONED CAP AND, AND A, WE ARE LEVERAGING OFFICE SPACE, UH, THAT OUR PARTNERS HAVE HERE IN THE, IN DOWNTOWN AREA.
UM, KEY BEING THAT IT'S DOWNTOWN AND WALKABLE PAGE.
UH, NOW STANTEC HAS A, A CONFERENCE ROOM SPACE THAT WE USE ON A REGULAR BASIS.
UM, SO, UM, WE ARE LEVERAGING THAT ADDITIONAL SPACE, BUT WE STILL NEED MORE HERE.
UM, SO YEAH, I THINK IT, IT'S, IT'S AN IMPORTANT PIECE THAT LINDSEY BROUGHT UP IN ARMANDO IS WE DO HAVE CURRENTLY SPACE THAT, UM, ESSENTIALLY IS A COST TO THE PROJECT THAT ARC HAS RIGHT NOW.
AND SO WE THINK MOVING THOSE COSTS IN HOUSE, OF COURSE AT THE END OF THE DAY, SAVES THE OVERALL PROJECT DOLLARS BY HAVING EVERYBODY HERE IN THIS SPACE MISS ANYTHING CASEY? ALRIGHT.
UM, THIS IS, UH, REALLY THE LAST SLIDE IS REALLY JUST THINKING THROUGH WHAT OUR NEXT STEPS ARE.
I THINK WHAT WE HAVE PLANNED IS TO BRING AN ITEM FORWARD, UM, FOR THE BOARD ACTION NEXT MONTH.
UH, AND THEN WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO DO, YOU KNOW, BASED ON THAT FIRST SLIDE THAT CASEY TALKED ABOUT IS REALLY JUST CONTINUE OUR WORK, UH, AS, UH, OF THE ANALYSIS FOR THE LAY DOWN YARDS FOR THE NECESSARY FIELD OFFICES AND WAREHOUSES THAT WE KNOW WE NEED, UH, OVER THE DIFFERENT KIND OF SEGMENTS OR ALIGNMENTS OF THE PROJECT.
UM, IT'S THINGS THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING WITH ARC AND AECOM ON, UM, BUT IT'S, IT'S WORK THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO, UM, AS, UH, ARMANDO AND HIS TEAM DO THAT WORK AND, AND REALLY, UM, BRINGING THAT WORK IN HOUSE.
WE SEE COST SAVINGS WITH A TP BEING, UH,
[01:40:01]
THAT ENTITY THAT SECURES THAT SPACE BECAUSE THERE WOULD BE A COST SAVINGS ON THAT STANDPOINT AS WELL.UM, IF IT WAS SOMETHING THAT ARC OR CAP, UM, DID BY US BRINGING THAT IN HOUSE AND DOING THOSE FIELD OFFICES LAY DOWN YARDS, IT'S ADDITIONAL COST SAVINGS OVERALL FOR THE PROJECT.
MEANING WE AVOID CONTRACTOR MARKUPS,
I THINK THAT'S ALL WE'VE GOT FOR OUR, OUR SLIDES, BUT IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS, WE'RE HAPPY TO ANSWER THEM.
SO, UM, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION AND I HAVE TO SAY, YOU, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO CONVINCE ME ON THE, UM, UH, BEST PRACTICE OF CO-LOCATING.
I MEAN, 50% OF MY CAREER I THINK HAS BEEN CO-LOCATED STARTING WITH THE FIRST PHASE OF THE FRONT RUNNER IN SALT LAKE CITY.
AND I THINK THOUGH THAT IN A WAY THAT THERE'S SOME THINGS THAT COULD BE ADDED AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT, UM, UM, TO, TO SHARE.
I, YOU KNOW, MY PERSPECTIVES AND THEN I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS, BUT I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS, UM, THAT YOU DIDN'T REALLY TOUCH ON WAS SOMETHING, YOU CAN'T REALLY PUT A DOLLAR VALUE, BUT THERE IS A TRUST BUILDING ASPECT OF WORKING TOGETHER.
THERE'S AN ACCOUNTABILITY ASPECT OF WORKING TOGETHER AND THERE'S VERY SIMPLE THINGS THAT HAPPEN I THINK IN THIS PHASE OF THE PROJECT, JUST LIKE HAVING TO LOOK AT DESIGN DRAWINGS TOGETHER AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, AND ALSO LIKE INVOICING QUESTIONS THAT COME UP.
BUT THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS WHERE YOU'RE NOT JUST SENDING SOMETHING OUT THERE, UM, YOU KNOW, OVER EMAIL AND WONDERING, ARE THEY WORKING ON THE PROJECT? ARE THEY GONNA GET BACK TO ME TODAY? THIS IS ON FIRE, CAN WE PUT THE FIRE OUT TODAY? SO, YOU KNOW, I DO THINK IT'S, IT'S LIKE, I THINK IT WAS ALMOST LIKE UNDER UNDERSOLD IN THE PRESENTATION.
LIKE THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS, UM, AND, AND THE COMRADERY I THINK THAT CAN BE BUILT TOO.
I MEAN, I, I REMEMBER A LOT OF WORK EVEN GETTING DONE AFTER HOURS, UH, YOU KNOW, ON A, ON ON A, YOU KNOW, RIDING BIKES OR TAKING WALKS AND, YOU KNOW, JUST THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.
SO I THINK IT IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT, UM, AT THIS PHASE OF A PROJECT TO BE WORKING TOGETHER IN A SPACE.
AND I APPRECIATE DIANE, THE EXAMPLE OF LIKE, LIKE WHEN THEY'RE ON SEPARATE FLOORS AND STUFF AND, AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
I MEAN, UM, BUT I STILL THINK THIS SPACE IS IMPORTANT.
UM, SO, UM, A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS THAT I HAVE JUST, JUST WITH THAT BACKGROUND IS ONE, AND I I BELIEVE YOU'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS IN PREVIOUS MEETINGS, BUT ARE YOU, ARE YOU PAYING CONSULTANTS AND CONTRACTORS THE SAME AMOUNT WHEN THEY ARE USING THE A TP SPACE AS IF THEY WERE USING THEIR OWN SPACE? THAT'S NUMBER ONE.
UM, AND NUMBER TWO, ARE THERE ANY CONTINGENCIES? SHOULD THE PROJECT, AND I DON'T EVEN WANNA SAY THIS 'CAUSE WE DON'T WANNA EXPECT THIS, BUT IF THERE WAS A MAKE BIG SLOW DOWN, LIKE WE TALKED ABOUT, ARE, YOU KNOW, ARE THERE LIKE CONTINGENCIES IN PLACE, UM, FOR, FOR THAT? SHOULD YOU HAVE TO KIND OF STOP WORK ON ONE THING OR ANOTHER? UM, WITH THE, WITH THE CO-LOCATION, AND I DO APPRECIATE THE, THE PRESENTATION AND THANKS DIANE TO THAT.
UM, I CAN TACKLE THE FIRST PART OF THAT.
WE DO HAVE DIFFERENT FIELD VERSUS OFFICE OVERHEAD RATES.
SO STAFF USING OUR SPACE AND CO-LOCATED HERE WITH US ARE BILLED AT A LOWER OVERHEAD RATE THAN THOSE THAT, UM, USE THEIR OWN HOME OFFICE AND THEIR OWN FACILITIES AND INCURRING THEIR, YOU KNOW, INFRASTRUCTURE AND REAL ESTATE COSTS.
THINK, IS THAT, WAS THAT YOUR QUESTION? YEAH, AND I THINK AT SOME FUTURE IF THERE IS SORT OF AN ESTIMATE THAT YOU CAN TALK ABOUT THE CO THE ACTUAL COST SAVINGS, UM, PER, THEY'RE HAPPY TO COME BACK TO THAT, THAT PERSON.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE A GREAT, GREAT THING TO UNDERSTAND.
LIKE HOW MUCH IS A TP SAVING BY HAVING ALL THOSE FOLKS UNDER, UNDER YOUR, YOUR ROOF VERSUS IF THEY WERE WORKING FROM THEIR OFFICES AND JUST ON THE FIELD RATE BASIS, NOT ALL THE OTHER THINGS THAT COME WITH THAT.
WE CAN QUANTIFY THAT AND THEN I'LL MAYBE ASK, UH, OTHERS TO TALK ABOUT THE, YOU KNOW, NATURE OF TERMS AND TIMING AROUND THE, YOU KNOW, REAL ESTATE OPTIONS.
SORRY, WHAT WAS THE SECOND QUESTION AGAIN? BOARD MEMORIZE.
WELL, JUST, WE, WE TALKED BEFORE ABOUT LIKE, OKAY, IF THERE'S A SLOW DOWN HERE, SOMETHING LIKE THAT, BUT NOW EVERYBODY'S HERE.
LIKE IS THERE, WOULD THERE BE ANY CONTINGENCY PLAN? SHOULD, SHOULD THERE BE A SLOW DOWN? UM, AS FAR AS LIKE, WHAT, WHAT WOULD HAPPEN? LIKE WOULD THE, WOULD, WOULD THE CONTRACTORS AND CONSULTANTS GO BACK TO THEIR OWN OFFICES OR WHAT WOULD HAPPEN THERE? SURE, I MEAN, I THINK ONE LIKE OVERARCHING THEME IS THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT KIND OF SHORTER TERM FOR THIS PEAK PERIOD LEASE, UH, OR PURCHASE OPTION, WHATEVER THAT IS.
BUT WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS PHASE OF THE PROJECT SO THAT WE KNOW WHAT WE NEED.
[01:45:01]
SOME SORT OF OUTSIDE, UM, CHANGES THE PROJECT DRAMATICALLY AND PEOPLE ARE GONNA POTENTIALLY MOVE, WE WOULD COME UP WITH A PLAN FOR THAT AND WE WOULD BE ABLE TO TERMINATE OUR LEASE IF WE NEED TO.THAT WOULD BE IN, AND OF COURSE EVERY YEAR WE'RE COMING BACK TO YOU WITH OUR BUDGET AND THE APPROPRIATION FOR THAT TOO, SO WE CAN ALWAYS TERMINATE A LEASE IF, IF THE FUNDING IS NOT APPROPRIATED.
SO WE'VE, WE'VE ACTUALLY HAD THAT EXPERIENCE OF, UM, YOU KNOW, POLITICS COMING INTO PLAY ON SOME PROGRAMS. UM, WE WORK ON CALIFORNIA HIGH SPEED RAIL, SO YOU CAN IMAGINE THAT THAT THAT IS QUITE CHARGED AS EVERYONE HAS HEARD ABOUT IT.
UM, AND SO WE'VE ACTUALLY, UM, IN SOME INSTANCES WHERE THINGS HAVE SLOWED DOWN, WE THEN SUBLEASE A PORTION OF THAT OFFICE SO THAT WE THEN ARE RECEIVING MONEY BACK ABLE TO PAY FOR, FOR THE RENT AND NOT HAVE TO TAKE THAT OUT OF THE ACTUAL COFFERS.
AND I WILL SAY FROM OUR PART, THE SPACE WE HAVE, NOT HERE, BUT UH, OVER BY THE DOMAIN WE TAKE GREAT, UM, WE GO THROUGH GREAT LENGTHS TO, TO NEGOTIATE SHORTER TERM LEASES SO THAT WE'RE NOT LOCKED IN, UH, IN, IN COORDINATION WITH ALEX, OUR ALEX IS, IS NEGOTIATING THOSE TO MAKE SURE IF SOMETHING DOES HAPPEN, WE HAVE A SHORTER LEASE TO BREAK.
UM, I APPRECIATE THE DISCUSSION AND I APPRECIATE WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN.
UM, UH, BUT I WANT TO COME BACK TO, UH, TWO THINGS.
WELL, AND THEN, AND I HAVE A COUPLE, PROBABLY HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS MAYBE I'LL JUST END UP TALKING, BUT, UM, THE FIRST IS THAT I WANNA START OFF BY SAYING, AGAIN, THE RISK ASSESSMENT THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE AS I LISTEN TO THIS, IT FEELS LIKE THE RISK ASSESSMENT IS ON ONE SIDE AND, AND NOT ON THE SIDE OF WHAT IS THE RISK TO THE TAXPAYER THAT ENDS UP HAVING TO PAY FOR ALL OF THIS.
YOU KNOW, ONCE AGAIN, WE'RE FOCUSED ON ONE SIDE OF THE COIN AND THAT IS HOW DO WE MAKE IT REAL CONVENIENT FOR HELL? I WORK IN A BUILDING THAT HASN'T HAD TWO WORKING ELEVATORS SINCE I GOT THERE.
I I'M NOT LOOKING AT ANYBODY IN PARTICULAR.
I WHEN I SAY THAT, UM, UM, BUT THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER IS WHEN, WHEN YOU MENTIONED THAT THEY DIDN'T USE THE ELEVATORS, WELL, WE CAN'T, UH, BUT, UH, BUT THE MY POINT BEING, SORRY, OUR WELLNESS PROGRAM YEAH, YEAH, THAT'S YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT.
UM, BUT MY POINT BEING THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A LOT OF COST, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A LOT OF PEOPLE, WHETHER WE NEGOTIATED THAT DOWN OR NOT, THAT IS AN ENORMOUS NUMBER OF PEOPLE.
IT'S AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF SQUARE FOOTAGE, IT'S AN ENORMOUS COST, AND IT COMES AT A TIME WHEN WE FACE VERY REAL RISKS TO THE TAXPAYER.
AND SO MY QUESTION COMES BACK TO, ARE WE RUNNING ANY OF THIS THROUGH THAT LENS, OR ARE WE RUNNING IT THROUGH THE CONCEPT OF A BEST PRACTICES WHERE THOSE BEST PRACTICES DON'T NECESSARILY EXIST IN THE CONTEXT OF THOSE RISKS THAT WE LIVE WITHIN? AND WE LIVE WITHIN SOME VERY REAL RISKS.
UM, I THINK THE BEST PRACTICES ANALYSIS MUST INCLUDE, IT CANNOT BE DONE WITHOUT IT, INCLUDING THE RISK ASSESSMENT THAT WE HAVE.
AND HOW DO YOU, AND HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH IT? AND AGAIN, I KNOW I, I'M, AND I'M GONNA HARP ON IT UNTIL I, THEY THROW ME OUT OF THE BUILDING WITH ONE ELEVATOR, AND THAT IS THAT YOU HAVE TO RUN THIS THROUGH THOSE LENSES AND NOT JUST A VERY GOOD PRESENTATION ABOUT WHAT YOU DO AS A PART OF BEST PRACTICES IN THE BEST OF SITUATIONS.
AND WHAT IT DOES NOT FEEL LIKE TO ME, WE ARE DOING THAT.
AND SO I WANT TO BRING THAT UP.
THE SECOND THING THAT I WANNA SAY, AND I DON'T MEAN THIS, I DON'T MEAN ANYTHING I'M SAYING TO BE NEGATIVE OR IN A DEROGATORY WAY, THAT'S JUST NOT THE WAY I TRY TO DO THINGS.
BUT ON THIS ISSUE, I FEEL LIKE THIS AGENCY STUBBED ITS TOE IN THE BEGINNING, AND WE WEREN'T AS CLEAR, WE WEREN'T, THE AGENCY WAS NOT AS CLEAR, WAS NOT AS TRANSPARENT
[01:50:01]
AND WAS NOT AS OPEN ABOUT WHY IT WAS MAKING DECISIONS WHEN IT ANNOUNCED AND WE WERE GOING TO VOTE ON SPACE.AND AS A RESULT OF THAT, I THINK IT PUTS THE AGENCY IN A SITUATION WHERE IT HAS AT LEAST SOME CREDIBILITY ISSUE.
AND AGAIN, THAT REQUIRES US TO GO BACK TO MY FIRST POINT, WHICH IS BE SURE WE'RE PUTTING IT THROUGH THE LENS OF THE RISK THAT WE HAVE.
I HAVE VOTED IN THE VERY RECENT PAST AS MAYOR OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO NOT PUT A BOND ELECTION ON THE BALLOT FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
I HAVE VOTED AGAINST THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S BUDGET BECAUSE OF ISSUES RELATED TO PUTTING COS IN THE BUDGET CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION IN THE BUDGET AND ADDING TO THE DEBT.
THERE WERE OTHER REASONS AS WELL.
BUT MY POINT BEING, THE REASON I BRING THAT UP IS I TRULY BELIEVE THAT THE TAXPAYERS OF THIS CITY FEEL A VERY DIFFICULT TIME IN TERMS OF AFFORDABILITY.
AND IF I LOOK AT, AND WE JUST WENT THROUGH THE FINANCES AND I LOOK AT WHAT THAT MEANT IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN BUDGET, IN ORDER TO FUND THIS PROGRAM, I HAVE TO ASK, ARE WE RUNNING EVERYTHING THROUGH THE LENS OF AFFORDABILITY AND DOING IT IN A WAY WHERE WE'RE NOT PUTTING THE TAXPAYER AT ADDITIONAL RISK? I DON'T THINK WE'RE DOING THAT HERE.
NOW THAT'S NOT TO SAY I'M, I'M NOT IN A POSITION OR WON'T VOTE, UH, ALTHOUGH MY RECENT PAST MIGHT SCARE SOME PEOPLE.
UM, BUT I WON'T VOTE TO DO SOMETHING WITH REGARD TO OUR REAL, THE REAL ESTATE NEEDS AND DO IT IN A WAY THAT IS BEING EVEN BE, WILL BE RECOMMENDED TO US.
BUT I WON'T DO THAT UNTIL WE HAVE PUT IT THROUGH THAT LENS.
AND IT NEEDS TO BE DONE IN SUCH A WAY WHERE THE CREDIBILITY ISSUE THAT I THINK IS BROUGHT TO, TO THE TABLE IS ALSO ADDRESSED.
UM, CANDIDLY, AND BY THE WAY, AECOM KNOWS HOW MUCH I THINK OF THEM AND, AND WORK THEY DO, BUT THE IDEA THAT SOMEHOW BEING LOCATED AT CAPITOL METRO A A FEW MILES AWAY IS SOMEHOW NOT BEING CLOSE ENOUGH.
IS THAT WHERE THAT'S WHAT SEEMED TO BE SUGGESTED IN THE MEMO? I, I JUST CAN'T SEE THAT.
UM, WE HAVE PEOPLE ALL THE TIME WORKING ON MAJOR PROJECTS FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN, BIG INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS, AND WE'RE NOT PUTTING 'EM ALL IN THE SAME OFFICE SPACE.
AND NOT ONLY ARE WE NOT PUTTING 'EM ALL IN THE SAME OFFICE SPACE, WE'RE NOT THEN MAKING THEM TALK TO EACH OTHER.
UM, NOW THAT APPARENTLY WE'RE NOT DOING THE BEST PRACTICES, BUT THAT'S WHAT WE DO IN ORDER TO PUT IT THROUGH THE LENS OF WHAT IS PUTTING THE TAXPAYER AT LESS RISK.
AND I THINK WE OUGHT TO TAKE THAT INTO ACCOUNT.
UM, SO, AND WELL, THE LAST THING I'LL SAY ABOUT CO-LOCATING AND COLLABORATION, I AM TIRED OF, AND, AND EVERYBODY IN THE ROOM PROBABLY HAS HEARD ME SAY THIS, I AM TIRED OF THE HATFIELD AND MCCOY ISSUES THAT SEEM TO GO ON BETWEEN A TP AND CAPITAL METRO.
I DON'T BLAME THE PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM FOR THAT, BUT I THINK IT'S JUST KIND OF BEEN AN ONGOING SCAR TISSUE OF HOW THIS ALL GOT STARTED.
COLOCATION AND COLLABORATION OF THOSE ENTITIES COULD ALSO DO SOME GOOD IF WE, IF WE LIKE CO-LOCATION AND COLLABORATION.
IN ONE SENSE, I THINK WE OUGHT TO LIKE IT IN ANOTHER SENSE.
NOW, IT MAY STILL BE REASON NOT TO DO IT, BUT I THINK IT'S BEEN IGNORED.
IT HAS CERTAINLY BEEN DIMINISHED IN TERMS OF WHAT OUR CONSIDERATIONS ARE.
WE GOT PARTNERS THAT ARE, IT, IT'S CALLED AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP.
WHY THE PARTNERS CAN'T CO-LOCATE AND COLLABORATE IN THE SAME PLACE IS BEYOND ME.
UM, AND WHY IT'S NOT CONSIDERED A
[01:55:01]
BENEFIT IS BEYOND ME.SO I THINK WE OUGHT TO, WE OUGHT TO TAKE, CONTINUE TO TAKE THAT INTO ACCOUNT.
AND THEN OF COURSE, COST, UH, IS ALSO SOMETHING WE SHOULD CONSIDER.
SO THANK Y'ALL FOR THE PRESENTATION, BUT I WANT TO CHAIR YES, THANK YOU, MAYOR.
OKAY, SO THIS MIGHT SHOCK THE ROOM THAT THE CITY AND THE COUNTY TEND TO AGREE ON THINGS THEN.
SEE, SEE, I WAS, I WAS TRYING TO GET YOU BEYOND BEING A HAT FIT
UH, THERE IS, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A, A FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THAT IS, IS, UM, HAS A DIFFERENT POINT OF VIEW THAN IT'S, THAN IT'S HAD RECENTLY.
UH, THERE'S, THERE'S A STATE GOVERNMENT THAT HAS A DIFFERENT POINT OF VIEW WITH MANY OF ITS CITIES AND COUNTIES.
SO WHENEVER WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO ALIGN RESOURCES AND WORK TOGETHER AND, AND, UH, AND DO THINGS THAT ARE GOING TO MAKE SENSE TO THE AVERAGE TAXPAYER WHO IS BEING ASKED TO PAY ALMOST FIVE BUCKS A GALLON FOR GAS, WHOSE LIVING COSTS HAVE GONE UP SIGNIFICANTLY, THEY'RE LOOKING AT EVERYBODY ELSE TO SACRIFICE TO, UH, TO, TO MAKE THE BEST OF SITUATIONS AND, AND NOT REALLY ASK FOR THE OPTIMAL THING IF IT IS MORE EXPENSIVE THAN WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO WORK TOGETHER AND TO BE REASONABLE WITH EACH OTHER.
UH, NOW I, I'M GOING TO SAY THAT I HATE TO USE SPORTS ANALOGIES, BUT HERE YOU GO.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN, WHEN YOU'RE, WHEN YOU'RE DEVELOPING AN ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT, I, I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING THAT, THAT WE, WE OUGHT TO, YOU KNOW, WELL, THEY'RE LIFTING WEIGHTS AND THEY'RE RUNNING AND THEY'RE DOING THIS AND THEY'RE DOING THAT, BUT, BUT WHEN WE DECIDE THAT, YOU KNOW, UH, THE FOOTBALL TEAM OUGHT TO BE IN THIS, IN, IN, IN THIS WING, MAYBE WE DECIDE MAYBE FOOTBALL IS HERE, MAYBE BASKETBALL IS THERE, BUT WE CAN STILL PUT, PUT THE FUNCTIONS THAT ARE LIKE FUNCTIONS TOGETHER AND ULTIMATELY SAVE AND ULTIMATELY SAVE WHAT WE PAY FOR THEM ALL AT THE END OF THE DAY.
UH, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU, UH, WHEN YOU LOOK, UH, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF THINGS THAT HAVE TO BE DONE, UH, BUT THERE ARE A NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN EACH ORGANIZATION THAT DO VERY SIMILAR THINGS AND WOULD BENEFIT FROM BEING, UH, HAVING CLOSER WORKING ENVIRONMENTS.
NOW, MAYBE THAT'S NOT EVERY SINGLE THING, BUT IT SEEMS TO ME THAT AS, THAT THE PUBLIC WOULD BETTER UNDERSTAND THAN THE PUBLIC WOULD APPRECIATE OUR SAYING.
WELL, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE PLACES THAT WE WOULD RATHER BE, AND WE, AND THAT WOULD MAKE IT EASIER FOR US.
BUT IF WE'RE ASKING FOR YOU TO SACRIFICE, WE'RE GONNA SACRIFICE SOME TOO.
I THINK I, I THINK PEOPLE EXPECT US IN, IN GOVERNMENT TO, UH, TO TIGHTEN OUR BELTS AS WELL.
THEY EXPECT US, THEY EXPECT TO BE ABLE TO SEE US TRYING TO, UH, TO SEE US DEMONSTRATING THAT WE'RE SAVING HERE, WE'RE SAVING THERE, WE'RE SAVING EVERYWHERE WE CAN.
WE ARE MAKING IT EASIER FOR THE PEOPLE WHO SHOULD BE WORKING TOGETHER AND MAKING DECISION DECISIONS TOGETHER TO BE IN CLOSE PROXIMITY.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT ALL THOSE FUNCTIONS ARE.
YOU ALL WILL KNOW, UH, BETTER THAN US, BUT, BUT IT IS IMPORTANT FOR THE PUBLIC TO SEE US WORKING AS HARD AS THEY ARE WORKING TO MAKE THINGS EFFECTIVE, BUT CHEAP TO, UH, EFFECTIVE, EFFECTIVE, BUT CHEAPER TO, AND, AND, AND, UH, SOME, YOU KNOW, I, I HAVE WORKED IN BUILDINGS WHERE I WOULD'VE PREFERRED TO WORK SOMEPLACE ELSE, BUT IF IT MADE SENSE FOR THE WHOLE, IF IT MADE SENSE FOR THE, UH, THE ORGANIZATION AND IF IT MADE SENSE FOR THE PEOPLE THAT ARE SACRIFICING TO GET ME HERE, WE MAKE, WE MAKE THAT SACRIFICE.
IT'S, IT IS IMPORTANT FOR THE PUBLIC TO SEE US DOING EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN, UH, TO MEET THEIR GOALS, MAKE THEIR LIVES BETTER, AND, AND, AND, AND TO MAKE SURE THAT IT IS AS COST EFFECTIVE AS IT CAN POSSIBLY BE.
PEOPLE ARE LOOKING AT US AND SAYING, YOU KNOW, UH, ARE, ARE, ARE THEY BEING FAIR WITH ME? ARE THEY BEING REASONABLE WITH ME? ARE THEY SACRIFICING WHAT THEY'RE ASKING ME TO SACRIFICE? AND IF WE CAN SAY THAT WE ARE SACRIFICING THE THINGS THAT WE ARE ASKING THEM TO
[02:00:01]
SACRIFICE, I THINK IT MAKES IT BETTER FOR EVERYBODY.AND THEY, BUT THEY NEED TO SEE US TALKING ABOUT IT AND TRYING AND UNDERSTAND THAT THERE ARE OTHER THINGS THAT WOULD'VE BEEN PREFERABLE.
UH, BUT DURING THIS TIME PERIOD, THIS IS WHAT'S RIGHT FOR US.
I HAVE TO TELL MY KIDS THAT ALL THE TIME.
I SAID, YOU KNOW, UH, I WOULD LOVE FOR EVERY PAIR OF YOUR SHOES TO BE JORDAN'S.
HOWEVER, UH, AT THE END OF THE DAY, UH, I, I TELL 'EM, WELL, I'VE GOT THREE.
I SAID, LOOK, I SAID I HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF ALL THREE OF YOU ALL, AND I WANT ALL OF YOU TO DO OKAY.
AND THAT, AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS EVERYBODY'S GONNA HAVE TO SACRIFICE A LITTLE BIT.
EVERYBODY'S GONNA HAVE TO WORTH IT, WAIT THEIR TURN.
EVERYBODY'S GONNA HAVE TO BE REASONABLE WITH WHAT WE ASK FOR, AND WE MOVE FORWARD TOGETHER.
THAT'S WHAT FAMILIES ARE HAVING TO DO EVERY DAY.
I CAN'T GIVE YOU EVERYTHING THAT YOU WANT, BUT I'LL GIVE YOU EVERYTHING THAT YOU NEED AND I'LL PUT THE RIGHT CONDITIONS TOGETHER SO THAT WE'LL GET TO THE PLACE THAT WE NEED TO BE.
IT MEANS, UH, SOMETIMES IT IS NOT CALCULUS, IT IS SIMPLE ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION.
AND, AND, AND WHAT I'M ASKING IS THAT, THAT YOU RECOGNIZE THAT IN A VERY DIFFICULT TIME FOR OUR COMMUNITY, LET'S LET THEM SEE US DO EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN DO TO MAKE THEIR LIVES BETTER AND TO, AND TO TIGHTEN OUR BELTS, OBVIOUSLY, UH, WHERE, WHERE IT RELATES TO PUBLIC SPENDING.
LET ME HAVE, UM, BOARD MEMBER GAR NEXT, AND THEN I'LL GO TO YOU BOARD MEMBER HORN.
UM, IN SPANISH, WE SAY EACH MIND IS A UNIQUE WORLD.
UM, GREG FIRST BROUGHT THIS ISSUE TO ME BACK IN NOVEMBER.
UM, AS WE THINK ABOUT IT, YOU MIGHT HAVE MENTIONED IT TOO AS WELL.
UM, AND REALLY ALONG THE LINES THAT THE MAYOR HAS BEEN THINKING, UH, I DID NOT CONSIDER ANY OF WHAT Y'ALL PRESENTED, UH, AND DONE IT FIRST.
UM, AND IT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE AND THANK YOU FOR THE GOOD WORK.
UH, BUT MY CONCERN WAS, UM, PROBABLY INFORMED BY MY EXPERIENCE IN CITY MANAGEMENT.
AND I KNEW INSTINCTIVELY THAT DOWNTOWNS CREATE MORE VALUE AND MORE, AND THROW UP MORE CASH THAN ANY OTHER PART OF ANY CITY IN AMERICA IN GENERALLY.
UM, SO THE MONEY THEY PAY IN IS A LOT LESS THAN THE MONEY THEY SPEND FOR SERVICES.
SO THE STRONGER THE DOWNTOWN, THE BETTER THE COMMUNITY IS.
AND I KNEW THAT BECAUSE I PAY ATTENTION TO IT, THAT THE VACANCY RATE FOR OUR DOWNTOWN WAS ABOUT 21% TO 30 SOMETHING PERCENT.
AND SO MY IMMEDIATE REACTION, YOU REMEMBER, WAS, WE NEED TO SAY WHERE WE ARE.
WE'RE THERE ALREADY, WHY ROCK THE BOAT? JUST STAY THERE.
AND THEN HE IMMEDIATELY TOLD ME, WE CAN'T BECAUSE THE LEASE IS NOT BEING OFFERED.
SO I, SO I ADVISED HIM, THEN FIND ANOTHER PLACE DOWNTOWN SO WE CAN CONTINUE TO, TO, UM, AFFECT THE VACANCY RATE, UH, IN, IN THAT AREA.
I WAS THINKING AT THAT TIME THAT OUR PARTNERS WOULD WANT TO MOVE SOMEWHERE CLOSE TO US.
I WASN'T THINKING THAT THERE WOULD BE A HOUSE IN THE SAME OFFICE SPACE.
I HADN'T, I WASN'T YET THAT INFORMED, BUT MY THINKING WAS THEY WOULD WANNA BE CLOSE TO US AND MEANT THAT THEY WOULD COME IN, IN RED SPACE DOWNTOWN.
AND IN MY MIND, I WAS DOING WHAT I COULD TO TAKE CARE OF THE COMMUNITY.
AND, UH, AND THAT'S BEEN MY, THAT'S, UH, SO THAT'S AN ARGUMENT THAT I WANT US TO CONSIDER AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
THAT, UM, HOW, HOW IS THE COMMUNITY BEST SERVED BY THE MONEY THAT WE'RE GONNA SPEND? UM, AND, UH, THE OTHER THING THAT, THAT, UM, UH, GREG NEVER TOLD ME THAT THERE MIGHT BE OTHER OPINIONS, BUT WHEN I WAS APPOINTED TO THE BOARD, I HAD ONE VERY POINTED DISCUSSION WITH GREG, AND THAT WAS, I DON'T WANT YOU TO TELL ME WHAT OTHER MEMBERS OF THE BOARD ARE SAYING.
IF I WANT TO HEAR WHAT THEY'RE SAYING, I'LL TALK TO THEM.
AND IT, IT'S A RULE THAT I HAD AS A CITY MANAGER.
I NEVER, EVER, EVER DIVULGED WHAT ANY COUNCIL MEMBER TOLD ME THAT WAS BETWEEN ME AND THEM.
UH, UNLESS THEY TOLD ME TO DIVULGE IT.
AND ALWAYS I DID IT RELUCTANTLY BECAUSE IT, MY SENSE WAS THAT BUILDING TRUST WITH THE FOLKS THAT I WORKED FOR WAS THE PARAMOUNT THING THAT HAD TO DO.
SO, UM, I, UM, I WISH I HAD KNOWN, BUT STILL I'M PLEASED THAT HE DIDN'T TELL ME BECAUSE, UH, I THINK HE NEEDS TO HEAR FROM ALL OF US, UH, AS HE MAKES, AS HE MOVES FORWARD.
UH, BEFORE I JUMP TO YOU REAL QUICK, AMI, JUST A POINT OF CLARIFICATION, MAYOR, BUT, UM, CAN YOU, CAN THE TEAM EXPLAIN OF, OF ANY LEASE THAT WE HAVE, WHAT CAN WE GET ANY OF THAT MONEY REIMBURSED BY THE FDA? DOES IT, IS IT, IS IT A QUALIFYING EXPENSE TO YOUR POINT ABOUT DE-RISKING THE, THE INVESTMENTS, RIGHT? I MEAN, TO DISQUALIFY?
[02:05:01]
SURE.UM, SO THIS ROLE, WE'VE LOOKED INTO IT.
IT'S, IT'S NOT A BLACK OR WHITE ROLE TO BE HONEST.
UM, BUT THERE IS GUIDANCE AND THE LEASE EXPENSES, AS LONG AS THEY CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO THE, THE CAPITAL EXPENSES FOR THE PROJECT ARE LIKELY REIMBURSABLE.
I'LL PROBABLY HAVE TO SEND YOU THE GUIDANCE.
SO, UM, SO IT MEANS THAT WE ARE ABLE TO GET REIMBURSED FOR THE, IF WE HAVE A CAPITAL COST, SO LIKE A FIELD OFFICE, A PROJECT OFFICE, AND THE BEAUTY OF WHO WE ARE IS WE ARE WHAT WE'RE BUILDING, RIGHT? WE'RE A DELIVERY ORGANIZATION.
SO THE, SO ALMOST ALL OF THE COSTS THAT WE INCUR, AND BRIAN MIGHT HAVE A BETTER ANSWER THAN ME, UM, ARE ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE PROJECT ITSELF, TO THE CAPITAL COST OF THE PROJECT.
AND, AND THAT GENERALLY INCLUDES OUR MONTHLY LEASE EXPENSES.
AND SO WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU MIND MM-HMM
YEAH, NO, NO, THIS IS, I THINK A VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION.
AND SO WHAT HAPPENS, BECAUSE WHAT'S ASSUMED IN THAT, IN THE QUESTION AND IN THE ANSWER MM-HMM
SO WHAT HAPPENS IF, AS WE JUST DISCUSSED IN THE PREVIOUS DISCUSSION AND THE QUESTIONS THAT WERE ASKED, ONE OF THE RISKS THAT WE FACE FOR THE TAXPAYER RIGHT NOW IS THAT WE DON'T GET REIMBURSED, RIGHT? SO WE ARE NOT GONNA SPEND MORE ON OUR LEASE THAN WE COULD AFFORD WITH THE LOCAL DOLLARS THAT WE HAVE.
UM, AND WE ARE CONSIDERING THAT OF COURSE, THAT THERE'S A POTENTIAL THAT, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING HAPPENS WITH THE FEDERAL PROCESS AND WE DON'T GET THOSE FUNDING.
UM, BUT, BUT, BUT CERTAINLY IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US AS, AS THE STEWARDS OF THESE DOLLARS AND THE COMMITMENT TO THE VOTERS TO BUILD THIS PROJECT THAT WE MAKE SURE THAT EVERY THING THAT WE SPEND, WE'RE LOOKING AT THE REIMBURSABILITY OF THAT, CERTAINLY.
BUT, BUT MY, MY POINT IN, IN THE WAY I'M ASKING THAT QUESTION IS, FIRST OF ALL, OF COURSE, WE'RE NOT GOING TO SPEND MORE THAN WHAT WE HAVE IN TERMS OF TAX DOLLARS, BUT AS WE JUST DISCUSSED, $195 MILLION WORTH OF CITY OF AUSTIN PROPERTY TAX DOLLARS HAVE JUST COME INTO THE, OR ARE COMING INTO THE COFFERS BASED UPON A BUDGET COMING INTO THE COFFERS.
THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT WE JUST WALKED THROUGH IS IN THE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.
WE'RE NOW TALKING IN THE TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS FOR LEASE SPACE BASED UPON BEST PRACTICES SO THAT WE GET THE BEST RE WE GET THE DESIRE, UH, WHAT IS THE MOST DESIRABLE, I SUPPOSE, IN SOME WAYS, AS OPPOSED TO BEST PRACTICES TO GET WHAT IS NECESSARY IN ORDER TO PRESERVE THE PROJECT AND BE GOOD STEWARDS OF THE MONEY.
AND THOSE ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS, IN MY VIEW.
BEST PRACTICES TO BE GOOD STEWARDS OF THE MONEY AND BE ABLE TO GET THE, TO, TO PRESERVE, PRESERVE OUR READINESS AS IS NECESSARY, BUT NOT AS MAYBE, UH, THE MOST LUXURIOUS OR, UH, THE, THE STUFF THAT EVERYBODY WOULD LIKE THE MOST.
BUT ULTIMATELY, IF WE DON'T GET REIMBURSED, THAT IS A COST THAT THE TAXPAYER HAS HAD TO PAY, THAT DOESN'T COME BACK.
AND THAT'S THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION IS, SURE, WE MIGHT GET REIMBURSED, BUT THAT'S ONE OF THE RISKS THAT WE'RE TAKING.
SO WHY WOULDN'T WE MITIGATE THAT RISK AS MUCH AS WE CAN BY KEEPING THAT COST AS LOW AS WE CAN GET THE NECESSARY RESULTS SO THAT IF THE RISK THAT WE DON'T WANT, BUT IT COMES OUT TO BE TRUE, WE HAVE AT LEAST NOT, WE HAVE SAVED THE TAXPAYER SOME MONEY AND WE HAVE NOT MAXIMIZED THEIR LOSS.
OUR RECOMMENDATION WILL BE THE LEAST EXPENSIVE OPTION.
I JUST WANNA BE ON THE RECORD AFTER THIS CONVERSATION, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, I, I I, I DO SUPPORT CO-LOCATION, UM, AND THAT'S MY COMMENTS.
BUT, UM, AS FAR AS LIKE, DOES IT HAVE TO BE DIRECTLY ON, YOU KNOW, ON THE ALIGNMENT, DOES IT HAVE TO BE RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE, I THINK THAT WE ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO LOOK AT THE, YOU KNOW, MOST PRUDENT, UM, RISK AWARE, LEAST EXPENSIVE OPTION THAT WE CAN, BUT THAT GOES BACK TO WHY I THINK IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THE, A GOOD ESTIMATE OF WHAT WE'RE SAVING IN TERMS OF THE FIELD RATE FOR THE CO-LOCATION.
BUT, BUT MY COMMENTS WERE SPECIFICALLY ABOUT CO-LOCATING, NOT NECESSARILY WHERE THAT, WHERE THAT IS.
AND THAT'S IN RESPONSE TO THE PRESENTATION.
UM, ANY FURTHER COMMENTS, QUESTIONS? 'CAUSE WE'RE GONNA DISCUSS THIS IN DEPTH AT EXECUTIVE
[02:10:01]
SESSION ON SOME OF THE COST AND COMPARISONS.UM, BUT ANY FURTHER COMMENTS FOR THE TEAM? NO, THANK YOU.
[4.1 Presentation on Human Resources Audit]
TO ITEM NUMBER FIVE, WHICH IS ITEM FROM INTERNAL AUDIT.AND THIS ITEM IS PRESENTED BY ATP'S INTERNAL AUDIT STAFF AND LED BY THE CHIEF AUDIT EXECUTIVE, MS. KATIE HOUSTON.
KATIE HOUSTON, CHIEF AUDIT EXECUTIVE.
I'M HERE WITH MY COLLEAGUE CAMERON LAG, TO BRING Y'ALL THE RESULTS OF THE HUMAN RESOURCES AUDIT.
I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO CAMERON TO WALK US THROUGH THE PRESENTATION, BUT QUICKLY BEFORE WE DO THAT, I'LL JUST NOTE THAT THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS AUDIT WAS TO DETERMINE IF A TP HAS DEVELOPED EFFECTIVE HUMAN RESOURCES POLICIES TO ALIGN WITH BEST PRACTICES.
AND WE SPECIFICALLY LOOKED AT COMPENSATION, EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AND RETENTION TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT AND PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT.
IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE I'VE DONE THIS.
LIKE KATIE SAID, WE DID THIS AUDIT LOOKING AT HUMAN RESOURCES.
AS WE ALL KNOW, HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGES THE FULL EMPLOYEE LIFE CYCLE.
SO FROM RECRUITMENT ALL THE WAY TO SEPARATION, UH, WHEN A TP WAS STARTED, OUR HR WAS MANAGED BY SECONDED CAP METRO STAFF UNTIL FEBRUARY, 2023 WHEN WE HIRED IN-HOUSE HR DIRECTOR.
THAT POSITION IS NOW A VICE PRESIDENT POSITION THAT REPORTS UP THROUGH THE GENERAL COUNSEL.
THE RESULTS OF THIS AUDIT IS THAT GENERALLY WE FOUND THAT HR HAS TAKEN POSITIVE STEPS TO SUPPORT A FAIR, SAFE, AND RESPECTFUL ENVIRONMENT FOR A TP EMPLOYEES AND TO PROVIDE CONSISTENT ADMINISTRATION OF HR FUNCTIONS ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION.
A FEW OF THE HIGHLIGHTS THAT WE FOUND IN THIS AUDIT ARE LOOKING AT HOW
CHLOE, UM, IS THAT, UH, A TP HAS AN EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK AND EIGHT STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES FOR HR ACTIVITIES THAT WERE DEVELOPED IN THANK YOU
ALL OF THESE ARE AVAILABLE TO ALL STAFF ON THE A TP HR SHAREPOINT SITE.
HR ALSO HAS IMPLEMENTED AN ANNUAL PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM THAT THEY PROMPT AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH YEAR.
THIS PROGRAM HAS A GOAL SETTING PROCESS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, A MIDYEAR REVIEW AND A GOAL REALIGNMENT IF NECESSARY, AND THEN AN END OF YEAR FORMAL REVIEW.
A TP ALSO HAS A REALLY ROBUST ORIENTATION AND ONBOARDING PROGRAM FOR NEW HIRES.
SO TWO NEW RECENT NEW HIRES THAT WE SPOKE TO SAID THAT THAT WAS VERY HELPFUL TO THEM, GAVE THEM A LOT OF IN-DEPTH INFORMATION ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION.
WE FOUND FOUR OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT AS PART OF THIS WORK.
THE FIRST IS RELATED TO IMPLEMENTING A REGULAR MARKET ANALYSIS OF SALARIES AND PAY STRUCTURE BASED ON CRITERIA.
SO A TP PROCEDURES CALL FOR HR TO REVIEW PAY STRUCTURES ANNUALLY AND RECOMMEND ADJUSTMENTS AS NEEDED TO MAINTAIN COMPETITIVE ALIGNMENT WITH EXTERNAL JOB MARKETS.
HR REGULARLY REVIEWS INTERNAL PAY EQUITY AND REPORTS THIS TO THE CEO, BUT HAS NOT COMPLETED A MARKET ANALYSIS TO COMPARE ATP'S PAY OR SALARY STRUCTURE TO EXTERNAL JOB MARKETS.
IN 2024, A CONSULTANT WAS HIRED TO DO A MARKET ANALYSIS AND TO DEVELOP A SALARY STRUCTURE.
THAT SALARY STRUCTURE WAS DEVELOPED AND THE MARKET ANALYSIS WAS NOT COMPLETED AT THAT TIME.
BEST PRACTICES RECOMMEND REGULAR SALARY BENCHMARKING AS A TOOL TO RETAIN TALENT, UH, AND OVERALL ORGANIZATIONAL HEALTH.
UH, THE SECOND AREA WE LOOKED AT WAS TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT AN EMPLOYEE TRAINING PROGRAM ON CRITICAL HR TOPICS.
SO BEYOND THAT ORIENTATION AND ONBOARDING, A TP HAS VERY FEW MANDATORY TRAININGS RELATED TO EMPLOYEE TOPICS.
BEST PRACTICE RECOMMENDS THAT, MAN, WE MANDATE TRAININGS ON TOPICS LIKE SEXUAL HARASSMENT, DISCRIMINATION, AND ANTI-RETALIATION.
NEXT, UH, WE'RE RECOMMENDING THAT A TP CONDUCT STATE INTERVIEWS AND REGULAR EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT SURVEYS.
SO CURRENTLY NEITHER OF THOSE ARE DONE AT A TP AND THAT WITHOUT THOSE WE'RE SEEING THE ATPS MISSING KEY OPPORTUNITIES TO COLLECT REGULAR EMPLOYEE FEEDBACK AND MISSING, YOU KNOW, AN OPPORTUNITY TO GATHER VALUABLE INSIGHTS ON HOW TO SUPPORT RETENTION, MORALE, EMPLOYEE WELLNESS AND PRODUCTIVITY.
AND THEN FINALLY, WE'RE RECOMMENDING THAT THEY REINSTATE A MEANINGFUL EXIT INTERVIEW PROCESS.
SO FROM MARCH, 2024 TO MAY, 2025, HR WAS ADMINISTERING A COMPREHENSIVE EXIT INTERVIEW THAT WAS FOCUSED ON THE EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE AT A TP AND ANY EMPLOYEE SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO IMPROVE A TP AFTER MAY, 2025.
THAT TRANSITION TO AN ABBREVIATED SURVEY
[02:15:01]
THAT WAS MORE ADMINISTRATIVE IN NATURE AND FOCUSED ON TRANSITIONING ASSIGNMENTS.AND WORKPLACE BEST PRACTICE RECOMMENDS THAT EMPLOYERS USE THOSE EXIT INTERVIEWS TO GAIN INSIGHTS INTO THE WORKFORCE AND THE ORGANIZATION WITH THE GOAL OF OBTAINING FEEDBACK ON WHAT MIGHT MOTIVATE EMPLOYEES TO REMAIN EMPLOYED AT A TP.
THESE ARE THE FOUR, THOSE FOUR RECOMMENDATIONS THAT I MENTIONED.
MANAGEMENT AGREED WITH ALL OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS, AND MOST OF THE CORRECTIVE ACTIONS FOR THOSE WILL BE IMPLEMENTED BY DECEMBER, 2027.
WE CAN TAKE QUESTIONS IF ANYONE HAVE, SAY DECEMBER 20, 27 OR DECEMBER OF THIS YEAR.
UM, COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, MEMBERS, MADAM CHAIR? YES.
I, I LIKE THE LAYOUT, UH, THAT, THAT WE WOULD, UH, HAVE A REGULAR MARKET ANALYSIS.
MY, MY QUESTION IS, UM, MORE OF A, A, UH, PROJECT MEASUREMENT, UH, PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT, PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT PROCESS.
UH, HAVE WE CONSIDERED OR HAVE WE PUT IN PLACE A CAREER PROGRESSION PROCESS? MEANING, YEAH, I AM HERE, I TAKE THE TRAINING THAT I'M ASKED TO TAKE, I LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION, I PREPARE MYSELF FOR POSITIONS IN THE ORGANIZATION THROUGH TRAINING.
DO WE HAVE AN INTERNAL PROGRESSION, UH, PROCESS OR HAVE WE CONSIDERED DOING? I WOULD SAY THAT'S A QUESTION PROBABLY BEST DIRECTED TO GREG OR CASEY HI BOARD.
CASEY BURAK, PVP BUSINESS AND LEGAL AFFAIRS.
UM, SO WE DON'T HAVE A FORMAL, YOU DO THIS AND THEN YOU CAN MOVE INTO A NEW, I MEAN, WE ARE 65 STRONG, RIGHT? UM, BUT WE DO HAVE A LOT OF INVESTMENT IN, UM, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOLKS CAN GET REIMBURSED FOR GOING BACK TO SCHOOL.
AND AS, AS JOB OPENINGS BECOME AVAILABLE, WE DO PROMOTE THEM INTERNALLY.
AND WE, AND WE HAVE ACTUALLY HAD A LOT OF EXPERIENCES OF PEOPLE KIND OF MOVING IN FROM ADMINISTRATION MAYBE TO COMMUNICATIONS OR DIFFERENT AREAS WHERE THEY'RE LEARNING A LOT OF SKILL SETS.
AND PART OF IT'S 'CAUSE WE ARE SMALL AND WE WORK REALLY CLOSELY TOGETHER.
UM, BUT CERTAINLY WE COULD LOOK INTO SOMETHING MORE FORMAL.
NOVEMBER GARCIA, MY SENSE IS THAT PROBABLY THE SIZE OF THE BOARD WOULD LIMIT THAT A LITTLE BIT.
UM, BUT I WOULD HOPE THAT WE HAVE SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES.
UM, UH, AS AN EXAMPLE, FOR EXAMPLE, I, UM, I ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO, TO TAKE TRAINING IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT, WHICH CAN BE TRANSPORTED ANY, ANYWHERE.
JUST A GOOD SKILL TO, TO HAVE, UM, THE, UM, THE ONE COMMENT I WANTED TO MAKE WAS THAT WE ARE SO SMALL THAT IT MAKES THE MARKER ANALYSIS DIFFICULT TO DO, BUT MY, I STILL THINK IT'S A VALUABLE THING TO DO, UM, JUST AS A STARTING POINT.
IF WE HAVE TO MAKE EXCEPTIONS, WHATEVER, WE CAN ANNOTATE THOSE TO THE, TO THE, UH, FILE AND, UH, AND OF COURSE THE WAY, BUT THIS IS THE ONE WAY THAT THE BOARD HAS OF ESSENTIALLY, UM, SETTING THE PARAMETERS FOR WHAT WE PAY.
UM, FIRST OFF, I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT YOU GUYS REALLY TACKLED THIS, ONE OF THESE PROJECTS THAT THE BOARD APPROVED TO ASSIGN TO INTERNAL AUDIT.
ONE OF THE GENESIS, OR WHERE I WAS REALLY INTERESTED IN THIS DATA IS THAT IN THE SPIRIT OF NOT DOING REWORK, WE WANT TO HAVE A VERY STRONG WORKFORCE THAT STAYS, THAT IS HAPPY, THAT'S PRODUCTIVE.
ONE OF THE, THE LEG, SOME OF THESE VERY COMPLEX PROJECTS SUFFER FROM A LOT OF REWORK.
IF WE LOSE STAFF, THEN WHOEVER COMES OVER HAS TO START OVER.
ANY CONSULTANT NOT TO, UH, MAKE THIS A A DIFFICULT ISSUE, BUT IT'S VERY FRUSTRATING ALL AROUND.
IT LEADS TO DELAYS, IT LEADS TO PROJECT SCHEDULES BEING EXTENDED.
NOBODY WINS WHENEVER WE HAVE A HIGH TURNOVER.
BUT HOW WOULD WE KNOW IF WE HAD A HIGH TURNOVER IF WE DON'T HAVE OUR BENCHMARKS OF WHERE WE WERE ONE YEAR VERSUS ANOTHER YEAR? AND UNDERSTANDING THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF, WE HAD SECONDED EMPLOYEES FROM CAB METRO, BUT THEN WE ALSO HAVE A LOT OF, UH, AUGMENTED STAFF THAT COMES FROM ACOM.
MY QUESTION IS
UM, YEAH, IT'S A, IT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
WE HAVE CONTRACT TERMS RELATED TO CERTAIN KEY PERSONNEL UHHUH, AND THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES, UM, IF THOSE, IF THERE'S TURNOVER.
AND WE ARE VERY INVOLVED IN, IN ANY OF THAT TURNOVER.
AND, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, KIND OF, THERE'S THE SOFT PART OF LIKE, JUST REALLY THE COMRADERY AND THE TRUST AND EVERYTHING GETTING TO KNOW ONE ANOTHER.
BUT YEAH, WE DO HAVE WAYS IN OUR CONTRACTS TO DISINCENTIVIZE
[02:20:02]
TURNOVER AND WE TRACK ALL OF THAT, ALL OF THE STAFF AND WE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, UH, APPROVE ANNUAL PLANS WITH STAFF LISTS.WE KNOW WHO'S ON THE PROJECT, WHAT THEIR EXPERIENCE IS.
YEAH, I KNOW THAT EVEN WHEN WE AWARD THESE LARGE CONTRACTS FOR STAFF AUGMENTATION, WHICH I, I DO THINK IT LESSENS OUR RISK TO SEE, YOU KNOW, THAT THEY BELONG TO ANOTHER FIRM.
THEY'RE OFFICIALLY HIRED BY ANOTHER FIRM, BUT THEY'RE WOVEN WITHIN OUR OWN ORGANIZATION THAT THEY'LL PRESENT THE BEST STAFF ON DAY ONE.
YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE YOU, YOU WE'RE GONNA GIVE YOU OUR STARS AND THEN THERE'S THIS OTHER WONDERFUL PROJECT IN ANOTHER CITY, AND THEN THEY GRAVITATE, YOU KNOW, THEY MIGRATE THOSE STAFF TO THAT OTHER CITY.
I JUST REALLY HOPE, AND, AND THE GOAL THAT I, I WANT TO EMPHASIZE AND BE ON THE RECORD, IS THAT I SEEK STABILITY FOR THE TEAMS TO REALLY BE ABLE TO BE HERE, DO GREAT WORK, GROW, EXPAND, DELIVER SOMETHING THAT THEY REALLY OWN AND BE PROUD OF.
AND I WANT US TO UNDERSTAND THE, THE STRENGTH OF OUR HR DEPARTMENT AND WHERE WE NEED TO AD ADJUST WHEN NEEDED, UH, SO THAT WE CAN GET TO THAT VISION OF STABILITY AND LET'S DELIVER AND LET'S HAVE THE LEGACY THAT WE ARE HOPING TO ACHIEVE.
SO NOT REALLY ANY OTHER QUESTIONS EXCEPT THE GREAT WORK.
UM, WAS THE, IS IT, I, IS IT PUBLISHED AS ITEM SIX ON EXECUTIVE SESSION, OR SHOULD IT'S NOT, YEAH, IT'S NOT A, A NUMBERED AGENDA ITEM.
YOU CAN JUST READ THAT PART THEN.
[Executive Session]
A TP BOARD WILL NOW RECESS THE OPEN SESSION AND GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION PURSUANT TO SECTION 5 51 0.072 OF THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE.THE BOARD WILL CONSIDER AGENDA ITEM 3.2 UPDATE ON THE AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL PROJECT SPACE NEEDS NO ACTION WILL BE TAKEN BY THE BOARD IN EXECUTIVE SESSION, AND THE BOARD WILL ADJOURN THE MEETING ONCE WE RETURN FROM EXECUTIVE SESSION.
IF THERE'S ANY OBJECTION FROM MY FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS TO MOVE ON TO EXECUTIVE SESSION, NO OBJECTION.
SO THE TIME IS 4:24 PM THANK YOU.
UM, THE BOARD IS BACK FROM EXECUTIVE SESSION.
THE TIME NOW IS 5:06 PM THIS CONCLUDES THE AUGUST 19TH, 2026 A TP BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING.
THE MEETING OF THE A TP BOARD STANDS ADJOURN AT 5:06 PM THANK YOU VERY MUCH.