Sep 14, 2026 Music

IS, UH, JESUS PRESENTING THIS? NO, THAT'S, I'LL PRESENT THIS.

ERICA SHAMALI, MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION MANAGER.

AND I'M THANKS, ERICA, AND I'M PULLING IT UP ON MY COMPUTER SO THAT I CAN SEE IT.

ALL RIGHT.

HELLO EVERYONE.

I'M GONNA MAKE THIS REPORT FOR KIM MCC, UH, MCC CARSON, WHO IS OUTTA THE OFFICE TODAY.

UH, SO THIS IS OUR FY 2026 YEAR TO DATE HOTEL OCCUPANCY TACK COLLECTION FOR JULY.

SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE FAR RIGHT COLUMN AT THE VERY TOP, THAT NAVY BLUE BLOCK IS FOR 1 MILLION, UH, 54,179, AND THAT'S HOW MUCH WE BROUGHT IN FOR JULY.

AND YOU CAN SEE WHERE YOU CAN COMPARE YEAR OVER YEAR FROM FY 23 THROUGH 26 TO KIND OF SEE WHERE WE ARE COMPARED TO PREVIOUS YEARS.

AND IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE UP A LITTLE BIT OVER PREVIOUS YEARS FOR THIS TIME, UH, WHICH IS GREAT.

UH, THIS BEATS OUR ESTIMATE OF WHAT WE, YOU KNOW, UH, PUT OUR BUDGETS AT.

AND SO BY BRINGING IN MORE FUNDS, THAT'S ALWAYS, UH, VERY WELCOME AND IT BUILDS, UH, THE FUND THAT LIVE MUSIC FUND.

UH, ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU, ERICA.

QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? COMMISSIONERS? COMMISSIONER CA HI.

HEY.

HELLO.

I'M NOT SURE IF THAT, OH, WAIT.

THERE WE GO.

UH, IT'S INTERESTING.

I NOTICED THIS FROM LAST TIME AS WELL, THAT, UM, THAT WE'RE, WE'RE DOING GREAT.

WE'RE DOING GREAT ON THOSE NUMBERS.

UM, DESPITE, UM, THE, UH, REMODELING, REBUILDING OF THE CONVENTION CENTER MM-HMM .

I AGREE.

AND IT'S NOT JUST THE AIRBNBS, I SUPPOSE.

I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY WE'RE SEEING THAT AS PART OF THE COLLECTION.

SO FROM THIS, YOU KNOW, EVERY MONTH NOW.

UH, BUT I DO THINK OVERALL THAT, UH, WE'RE DOING OKAY FROM A VISITOR POINT OF VIEW, WHICH IS GREAT.

WE WANNA SEE PEOPLE COMING TO AUSTIN AND KEEP PROMOTING AUSTIN AS THE DESTINATION AND THAT IT IS, UM, WONDERFUL.

AND WHAT WAS THE TIME? WE, I THINK IT WAS SUCH A GREAT PRESENTATION WHEN THE, UM, FOLKS AT THE CONVENTION CENTER CAME AND GAVE US THIS INCREDIBLE, BEAUTIFUL, YOU KNOW, PLAN MM-HMM .

OF WHAT IT'S GONNA LOOK LIKE.

WHAT WAS THE DATE THAT IT WAS GONNA BE COMPLETED? I BELIEVE IT'S 2029, THE FIRST PART OF 2029.

IS STAFF BRIEFING ON ACME FUNDING PROGRAMS BY LAURA ARD, DIVISION MANAGER, CULTURAL AFFAIRS AND INVESTMENTS.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS FROM THE COMMISSION OR, UH, COMMISSIONER BLEVINS OR COMMISSIONER KAENA OR JOINING ONLINE TODAY? OKAY.

[3. Staff briefing on ACME funding programs by Laura Odegaard, Division Manager, Cultural Affairs and Investments, ACME.]

ACME, I BELIEVE JESUS PANTEL IS GOING TO BE PRESENTING THIS.

GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.

UH, YES.

LAURA IS OUT TODAY.

SO I WILL BE, UH, PRESENTING.

MY NAME IS JESUS PANTEL.

I'M THE CULTURAL FUNDING SUPERVISOR FOR AUSTIN ARTS, CULTURE, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT.

I'M HERE TO GIVE YOU A FEW UPDATES ON OUR FUNDING PROGRAMS. UH, SO NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

UM, SO HERE YOU CAN SEE THE DISBURSEMENT, UM, AS OF LAST WEEK.

UM, SO THIS IS A

[00:05:01]

SNAPSHOT IN TIME WHERE WE HAVE MORE FUNDS OUT FROM OUR FY 26, UM, AWARDS.

BUT YOU CAN SEE, UM, AS OF LAST WEEK, SEPTEMBER 8TH, UM, 800 AND, UH, 29, UM, AWARDEES, UM, OUT OF THAT 755 HAVE, UH, RECEIVED, UH, PAYMENT.

UH, SO THAT'S 91% OF OUR AWARDEES FOR OUR FY 26 FUNDING PROGRAMS. AND THAT'S ALL OF THE FUNDING PROGRAMS. UM, IN ADDITION TO AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND IN CSAP, THAT'S ELEVATE THE HERITAGE PRESERVATION GRANT, THRIVE AND NEXUS.

UM, AND WE HAVE DISPERSED, UH, JUST OVER $20 MILLION, WHICH IS ABOUT 70% OF THE FUNDS.

I'LL START ON JANUARY 1ST, 2027.

UM, AND SO NOW I WILL GIVE, SO THAT WAS FY 26.

NOW I WILL TALK ABOUT OUR 2027 GRANTS OVERVIEW.

UM, SO AS A REMINDER, THE APPLICATION WINDOW, UH, FOR THIS WAS, UH, JULY 7TH THROUGH AUGUST 18TH.

UH, SO APPLICATIONS OPEN JULY 7TH.

THEY, UH, CLOSED AUGUST 18TH AT 6:59 PM UM, WE HAD, WE NOTICED LATE IN THE DAY, UM, SOME, UH, SUBMITTABLE, WHICH IS THE ONLINE APPLICATION PLATFORM THAT WE USE, WAS GIVING SOME USERS NOT ALL, UM, UH, SOME DIFFICULTIES.

SO WE DID EXTEND FOR ONE DAY, UM, FOR THOSE PARTICULAR USERS WHO WERE AFFECTED.

UM, BUT NOW WE ARE, UM, IN THE MIDST OF, UH, REVIEWING ALL OF THOSE.

AND ALL OF THESE ARE FOR CONTRACT PERIODS FROM JANUARY 1ST THROUGH DECEMBER 31ST, 2027, UM, FOR A ONE YEAR CONTRACT, UM, OR THROUGH DECEMBER 31ST, 2028 FOR A TWO YEAR CONTRACT.

UM, LET'S SEE.

AND SO FOR AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND, WE HAVE $6 MILLION, WHICH WE EXPECT WILL BE COVER ABOUT 290 AWARDS BETWEEN, UH, 5,000 TO $70,000 FOR MUSICIANS, INDEPENDENT PROMOTERS, AND LIVE MUSIC VENUES FOR ELEVATE.

WE HAVE $11 MILLION FOR AWARD OUT THAT SHOULD BE AROUND, UH, 250 AWARDS, UH, RANGING FROM 30,000 TO $80,000 FOR ARTS ORGANIZATIONS, INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS, AND CREATIVE BUSINESSES.

FOR HERITAGE PRESERVATION, WE HAVE A BUDGET OF $3 MILLION FOR AROUND 30 AWARDS OF BETWEEN 50 TO $250,000.

AND THESE ARE SPECIFICALLY FOR PRESERVATION PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES.

AND THEN FINALLY, FOR THRIVE, WE ALSO HAVE, UH, $3 MILLION, UH, FOR APPROXIMATELY 30 AWARDS.

UH, THESE AWARDS RAN IN SIZE FROM 160,000 TO $250,000, AND IT IS SPECIFICALLY FOR ARTS NONPROFITS, DEEPLY ROOTED IN DIVERSE CULTURES.

UH, SO HERE YOU CAN SEE THE TOTAL NUMBER OF GRANT APPLICATIONS THAT WE RECEIVED IN EACH PROGRAM.

I'M NOT GONNA READ EVERYTHING ON THIS SLIDE HERE, BUT WE RECEIVED, UM, ALMOST 2,300 APPLICATIONS IN TOTAL.

UM, THE AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND IN ENGLISH, UM, RECEIVED THE MOST APPLICATIONS, 1059.

UM, IT ALSO DID HAVE 10, UM, IN SPANISH, BUT OUR PROGRAM THAT RECEIVED THE MOST SPANISH LANGUAGE APPLICATION WAS ELEVATE WITH, UH, 21.

UM, AND HERE IS A BREAKDOWN BY PROGRAM TYPE.

NOW, THIS REMOVES ANY TEST APPLICATIONS, UH, DUPLICATES.

UM, SO IT'S NOT GONNA TOTAL EXACTLY TO WHAT WAS ON THE PREVIOUS SCREEN.

BUT, UM, IN AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND, WE RECEIVED, UM, APPLICATIONS FROM 56 VENUES, UH, 65, UM, INDEPENDENT PROMOTERS.

A COUPLE OF THOSE WERE INELIGIBLE, UM, BECAUSE, UH, THEY DID NOT CHOOSE AN AWARD AMOUNT.

UM, AND THEN 45 CHOSE A $20,000 LEVEL 18 AT THE $5,000 LEVEL, SPECIFICALLY FOR PROMOTERS.

AND THEN FOR PROFESSIONAL MUSICIANS, WE RECEIVED, UM, BY FAR IN A WAY, THAT WAS THE MOST, A LMF, UM, APPLICATIONS, UH, 923, UH, SEVEN WERE INELIGIBLE, 545.

WE'RE AT THE $20,000 LEVEL WITH 371 AT THE $5,000 LEVEL FOR OUR HERITAGE PRESERVATION GRANT.

UM, WE DON'T HAVE IN THE R OF THE PROGRAMS KIND OF, UM, UM, BREAKDOWN BY REQUEST SIZE.

BUT FOR HERITAGE EVENTS, WE RECEIVE 40 APPLICATIONS, AND FOR CAPITAL PROJECTS 13.

AND THEN FOR ELEVATE, UH, WE RECEIVED 257 APPLICATIONS FOR 5 0 1 C3 ARTS NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, 179 FOR ARTS GROUPS, AND 418 FOR INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS.

ALL RIGHT.

AND WE HAD A RECORD NUMBER OF SPANISH LANGUAGE APPLICATIONS AS, UH, WE SAW, UM, A FEW SLIDES BACK.

UM, AND PART OF THAT WAS, UH, VARIOUS ENHANCEMENTS, UH, THAT WE, UM, UM, INSTITUTED THROUGHOUT THIS, UH, LAST GRANT LAUNCH.

UH, WE WORKED TO IMPROVE THE TRANSLATION QUALITY AND CONSISTENCY.

UM, SO, UM, WE LISTENED TO, UH, COMMUNITY FEEDBACK ON OUR SPANISH LANGUAGE APPLICATION.

SO WE EXPANDED OUR SPANISH LANGUAGE OUTREACH AND SUPPORT.

UH, WE REDUCED BARRIERS TO APPLYING IN SPANISH.

[00:10:01]

UH, WE ALSO WORKED, UH, TO STRENGTHEN COMMUNITY TRUST AND RELATIONSHIPS.

AND, UH, WE WANNA PROVIDE LANGUAGE ACCESS THROUGHOUT THE GRANT LIFECYCLE.

UH, FOR SPANISH TRANSLATIONS, UM, OF THE WORD GRANT, UM, ACME WILL USE SUBSID OIL BECAUSE IT IS A MORE FAMILIAR AND COMMONLY UNDERSTOOD TERM AMONG THE SPANISH SPEAKING COMMUNITIES THAT WE SERVE.

AND WHILE SUBSIDIARY IS NOT AN EXACT EQUIVALENT, OUR GOAL IS TO PRIORITIZE TERMINOLOGY THAT IS CLEAR AND EASILY UNDERSTOOD BY COMMUNITY MEMBERS.

UH, THIS DECISION REFLECTS A BALANCE BETWEEN TECHNICAL ACCURACY AND PLAIN LANGUAGE TO IMPROVE COMPREHENSION AND ACCESSIBILITY.

UM, ON THE CITY WEBSITE, THERE IS AN AUTO TRANSLATION TOOL, AND IT WILL TRANSLATE GRANTS INTO BOTH, UH, SUB AND INTO SUBSID.

UH, WE USED SUB VINCENT IN THE PAST, UH, THE SPANISH LANGUAGE, UH, SPEAKING COMMUNITY THAT WE SERVE, UH, PREFERRED THE TERM SUBSID.

UM, BUT WE DO HAVE SUB VINCENT ON THE CITY WEBSITE BECAUSE AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, UH, USES VINCENT FOR THEIR, UH, GRANTS IN SPANISH.

UH, THERE'S ALSO A GRANT OVERSIGHT BODY THAT IS RELATIVELY, UH, NEW TO THE CITY.

UM, AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS NAMED THE AUSTIN GOVERNMENT RELATIONS AS A CITYWIDE GRANT OVERSIGHT BODY.

THEY'VE EXISTED FOR A WHILE.

THERE WAS KIND OF A, UM, A WORKING GROUP OF DIFFERENT, UH, UH, GRANT MAKING AND GRANT WRITING, UM, YOU KNOW, STAFF THROUGHOUT THE CITY.

UM, BUT NOW AUSTIN GOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS DOES HAVE A SPECIFIC, UH, GRANTS DIVISION.

AND WE WOULD BE WORKING CLOSELY WITH THEM ON ALIGNING DEMOGRAPHICS, CAPTURED LANGUAGE AND CITY POLICIES AND PRACTICES SUCH AS SUB AND SUBSID, FOR INSTANCE.

UH, SO WE HAVE A SPANISH LANGUAGE WORD BANK AS A CITYWIDE RESOURCE.

UM, AND, UH, WE ALSO HAVE AN ACME GRANT, SPECIFIC WORD BANK.

UM, AND SO I'M NOT GONNA READ EVERYTHING ON THE SLIDE HERE, BUT YOU CAN SEE THE DIFFERENT WORDS WE HAVE, UM, IN SPANISH ON THE LEFT.

UM, IN THE MIDDLE IS, UH, WHAT THE ENGLISH, UH, TRANSLATION IS.

AND THEN WE HAVE A DEFINITION IN SPANISH, SO SPANISH SPEAKERS CAN SEE WHAT WE MEAN, UH, BY THE VARIOUS DEFINITIONS.

SO AGAIN, JUST KIND OF TRYING TO MAKE THINGS A LITTLE BIT MORE CLEAR TO UNDERSTAND.

SO THE SPANISH SPEAKING APPLICANTS, UM, UNDERSTAND WHERE WE ARE COMING FROM.

UM, SO, UH, WE HAD A VARIETY OF, UH, DIFFERENT, UM, DOCUMENTS AND MATERIALS AVAILABLE, UM, IN SPANISH.

UH, THIS INCLUDED THE ACME GRANT GUIDELINES.

SO YOU CAN SEE, UM, KIND OF ON THE LEFT HAND OF THE SLIDE IS, UM, OUR WEBSITE, UM, UH, TRANSLATED INTO SPANISH, UM, WITH A LINK TO A PDF OF THE GUIDELINES, UM, IN IN SPANISH.

THE APPLICATION QUESTIONS AND PROGRAM RUBRICS.

UH, WERE ALSO AVAILABLE IN SPANISH.

UM, AND THE APPLICATION QUESTIONS ARE ON EACH ACME PROGRAM PAGE, SO FOR THE VARIOUS, UH, DIFFERENT FUNDING PROGRAMS. UM, AND IN ADDITION, UH, SOMETHING NEW THIS YEAR WAS A DETAILED, UH, PROGRAM RUBRIC, UM, ON THE WEBSITE.

WE HAD HAD THAT A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO IN ENGLISH FOR, UM, AND IT'S WITH OUR REVIEW PANELISTS.

UM, AUSTIN LIFE MUSIC FUND, UH, DOES NOT HAVE A REVIEW PANEL, BUT ELEVATE, THRIVE AND THE HERITAGE PRESERVATION GRANT DUE.

UM, AND SO THIS IS, UM, THE SCORING RUBRIC THAT, UM, UM, THE REVIEW PANELISTS USE FOR AUSTIN LIFE MUSIC FUND, UH, THAT IS, UH, SCORED BY OUR THIRD PARTY, UM, PARTNERS AT THE LONG CENTER.

AND SO WE ALSO HAVE THE RUBRIC THAT THEY USE, UM, IN BOTH SPANISH AND ENGLISH ON OUR WEBSITE.

SO WE HAD A VARIETY OF SPANISH LANGUAGE WORKSHOPS, UH, THAT HAVE ALREADY HAPPENED.

UM, AND SO, UM, AND I SEE THIS IS A LITTLE, UM, OUT OF DATE.

I SEE THE UPCOMING HAS ALSO ALREADY PASSED.

BUT, UM, YOU CAN SEE JUST, UM, THE VARIOUS NUMBER OF, UH, WORKSHOPS, UH, THAT WE HAD, UH, SPANISH LANGUAGE GRANT WRITING WORKSHOP ON JUNE 24TH.

UM, WE HAD ONE WITH LUPE AS A CO-HOSTED WORKSHOP.

UM, A COUPLE OF GENERAL WORKSHOPS AT THE MAC.

UM, UH, WE ALSO, UH, PARTNERED IN ADDITION WITH THE LUPE WITH A CAST, OR THE RO AND ESPANOL, UM, THAT WAS CO-HOSTED AT THE MAC UMA.

UM, ALL ALSO HELP AS IN ADDITION TO A VIRTUAL WORKSHOP WE HELD ON THE 11TH OF AUGUST.

UM, YOU CAN SEE KIND OF ON THE TOP LEFT THERE WHERE THEY'RE IN ENGLISH AND IN SPANISH.

UM, SO OUR GENERAL WORKSHOP, UH, RECORDING AND SLIDES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE IN SPANISH.

UH, WE RECORD ALL OF OUR WORKSHOPS, AND SO WE HAVE THEM IN ENGLISH AND IN SPANISH.

[00:15:01]

AND THEN THE SPANISH ONES ARE HIGHLIGHTED WITH THE ARROW SHOWING, UH, WHAT THOSE DOCUMENTS LOOK LIKE IN SPANISH.

UM, SO IN ADDITION TO OUR GENERAL WORKSHOP, WE ALSO HAD A GRANT WRITING WORKSHOP, UH, RECORDING AND SLIDES ALSO AVAILABLE IN BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH.

UM, YOU CAN SEE WHAT THOSE LOOK LIKE HERE.

UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

AND THEN CREATE, AUSTIN IS A, UH, WEBSITE THAT IS RUN BY THE LONG CENTER WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, ADDITIONAL, UH, RESOURCE MATERIALS THAT ARE HELPFUL FOR GRANT APPLICANTS.

UH, SO, UM, AND THAT INCLUDES, UH, NUMEROUS SPANISH LANGUAGE, UH, RESOURCES, UH, SUCH AS GUIDANCE AND DOCUMENTATION.

UM, HISTORIC SITE DESIGNATION RESEARCH FOR THE HERITAGE PRESERVATION GRANTS, UM, TIPS FOR PREPARING YOUR BUDGET, UM, AS WELL AS FILLABLE APPLICATION FORMS. UH, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

SO WE ALSO HAVE BILLABLE APPLICATION TEMPLATES.

UM, SO, UH, THESE ARE GOOD FOR PRACTICE.

UH, THE APPLICATION STILL MUST BE SUBMITTED THROUGH THE SUBMITTABLE PLATFORM.

UH, BUT THIS ALLOWS, UM, YOU KNOW, THE APPLICANTS TO KIND OF WORK OUTSIDE OF THAT SO THEY CAN HAVE THEIR STUFF READY, SO THEY CAN JUST BASICALLY GO PUT IT INTO SUBMITTABLE, UH, ONCE THEY'RE READY.

UM, AND, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THESE HAVE, UM, UH, LINKS, UH, SO YOU SHOULD, UH, HOPEFULLY BE ABLE TO CLICK ON THOSE, UM, FOR MORE INFORMATION ON WHERE YOU CAN SEE ALL OF THE VARIOUS THINGS.

BUT, UH, FOR AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND, YOU CAN SEE WE HAD MUSICIAN, PROMOTER, AND LIVE MUSIC VENUE FILLABLE APPLICATIONS IN BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH ALONG, UM, WITH ALL OF OUR OTHER, UH, FUNDING PROGRAMS AS WELL.

UM, AND WE HAVE, UH, LOTS OF HELPER TEXT IN THE FILLABLE TEMPLATES AND IN SUBMITTABLE AS WELL.

SO, IN ADDITION TO JUST ASKING THE QUESTIONS KIND OF HELPFUL, UM, TIPS ON, YOU KNOW, WHAT THAT QUESTION IS SPECIFICALLY LOOKING FOR.

UH, WE DID, UM, A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT, UH, BILINGUAL MARKETING AND OUTREACH.

UH, WE DID A SPOT ON TELEMUNDO ON AUGUST 7TH.

UH, WE HAD, UH, BILINGUAL ORGANIC POSTS ON THE AC MAIN SOCIAL MEDIA, AS WELL AS, UH, COLLABORATIONS WITH THE MS BARTOS, UH, MEXICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER.

UM, WE HAD ADS IN SPANISH AS WELL AS, UH, POSTCARDS.

AND YOU CAN SEE, UH, SOME OF THOSE ON THE SCREEN HERE.

AND SO, FOR OUR ACME SPANISH LANGUAGE OUTCOMES, YOU CAN KIND OF SEE THE DIFFERENCE IN, UH, WITH THE ENHANCEMENTS THAT WE MADE FROM THE 2026 APPLICATION CYCLE.

WE ONLY HAD ONE SPANISH LANGUAGE WORKSHOP.

UH, WE UPPED THAT TO SEVEN, UH, THIS GO AROUND.

WE HAD TWO ATTENDEES AT OUR ONE SPANISH LANGUAGE LANGUAGE WORKSHOP LAST YEAR, UH, 74 FOR OUR SEVEN THIS YEAR.

UM, AND IN ADDITION, WE HAD, UH, 10 SPANISH LANGUAGE APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED LAST YEAR ACROSS ALL OUR PROGRAMS. THIS YEAR WE HAD 34.

ACME, AND IT REPRESENTED A BROAD CROSS SECTION OF APPLICANT TYPES AND COMMUNITIES.

UH, SO NEXT I WILL BE, UH, TALKING ABOUT OUR PARTNER SUPPORT, UM, THROUGH THE, UH, APPLICATION LAUNCH.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

UH, SO WE WORKED WITH ACME AMBASSADORS THIS YEAR, AND OUR GOAL WAS A COMMUNITY OUTREACH, UH, MARKETING SUPPORT, AND A CO-HOST, UH, ONE IN-PERSON WORKSHOP THAT WAS, UM, AND BASICALLY WHAT WE DID IS WE WENT TO VARIOUS, UM, AMBASSADORS, ASKED THEM TO, YOU KNOW, HELP US REACH OUT TO THEIR SPECIFIC COMMUNITIES THAT THEY SERVE, WHETHER IT WAS, YOU KNOW, SPANISH LANGUAGE SPEAKING, SPECIFIC ARTISTIC DISCIPLINES, UM, HERITAGE TOURISM.

UM, BASICALLY THEY CO-HOSTED THE WORKSHOP WITH US.

THEY INVITED ALL THEIR COMMUNITY, YOU KNOW, UM, DID EVERYTHING TO, YOU KNOW, LET, UM, LET THE PEOPLE KNOW, UM, ABOUT THE GRANT APPLICATIONS.

AND THEN STAFF CAME IN, PRESENTED A WORKSHOP, BUT IT WAS AT, IN THEIR SPACE, OR, YOU KNOW, IF THEY DIDN'T HAVE A SPACE AND, YOU KNOW, AT A LIBRARY OR THE MAC, FOR INSTANCE.

UM, AND SO, UH, THEY DID, UH, RECEIVE COMPENSATION, UH, FOR THIS, UM, THEY, UH, $1,000 TO COVER THEIR TIME AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, ALL THE MARKETING SUPPORT, UM, UH, HAVING THEIR VENUE AVAILABLE, UH, TO US.

UM, AND WITH THIS, THEY CAN STILL APPLY FOR ACME GRANTS, SO THEY CAN BOTH SERVE AS AN AMBASSADOR AND ALSO, UM, UM, APPLY FOR GRANTS.

UM, WE, UM, GAVE THEM, UM, ACME AMBASSADOR RESOURCE LIBRARY, WHICH INCLUDED A MARKETING, UH, TOOLKIT WITH SAMPLE POSTS AND ENGLISH AND SPANISH TO HELP, YOU KNOW, MARKET THE, UM, EVENT, UM, AS WELL AS A SOCIAL MEDIA GRAPHICS AND ONE PAGE SUMMARIES OF EACH GRANT PROGRAM.

AND, UH, DEPENDING ON THE AMBASSADOR, WE ALSO, YOU KNOW, FOCUSED ON, UH, SPECIFIC, UH, FUNDING PROGRAMS. SO, YOU KNOW, WE HAD SOME, UH, SPECIFICALLY FOR AUSTIN LIFE MUSIC FUND, UM, OR SOME SPECIFICALLY FOR HERITAGE, UH, PRESERVATION.

UM, OUR SELECTION PROCESS WAS A DIRECT SELECTION BASED ON ENGAGEMENT WITH

[00:20:01]

UM, AND WE HAD 17 IN OUR PILOT, UH, PROGRAM.

I'M NOT GONNA READ ALL OF THEIR NAMES HERE, BUT, UM, THEY ARE LISTED.

UM, SO AGAIN, AS I SAID, WE, UH, REACHED A, A WIDE VARIETY OF DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES TRYING TO GET THE WORD OUT ABOUT OUR FUNDING PROGRAMS. UH, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

UM, SO AGAIN, THE ACME AMBASSADORS, UH, CO-HOSTED EVENTS.

UM, ACME STAFF CREATED THE EVENTBRITE LISTINGS, AND WE PRESENTED ON SPECIFIC PROGRAMS. AS I MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY.

UH, WE ALSO ANSWERED ANY QUESTIONS, UH, THAT WERE THERE FOR THE SPANISH LANGUAGE WORKSHOPS.

WE HAD A TRANSLATOR.

SO, UM, UM, AS NONE OF THE, UH, FUNDING STAFF ARE, UM, THEY MAY SPEAK A LITTLE BIT OF SPANISH, MYSELF INCLUDED, BUT, UH, NOT, UH, IN, UH, NOT, UH, FLUENT.

UH, SO WE DID HAVE, UH, TRANSLATORS THERE TO HELP US IN.

SO THE SPANISH LANGUAGE ATTENDEES COULD ASK IN SPANISH, WE COULD ANSWER IN ENGLISH, AND THE TRANSLATOR WOULD, UH, TRANSLATE BETWEEN THAT.

UM, AND SO OUR NEXT STEPS IS, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS WAS A PILOT FOR THE ACME AMBASSADORS.

AND SO WE DO HAVE AN INTEREST FORM FOR, UM, ANYONE WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN SERVING AS AN ACME AMBASSADOR, UH, FOR OUR NEXT LAUNCH.

UM, IN ADDITION TO ACME AMBASSADORS, UH, WE TRIED TO DO A COMMUNITY NAVIGATOR.

UM, AND SO WE WILL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT.

UM, AND THE GOAL FOR IT WAS, UH, DIFFERENT FROM THE EC CME AMBASSADORS.

EC CME AMBASSADORS, AGAIN, WAS KIND OF GETTING THE WORD OUT TO SPECIFIC COMMUNITIES.

UH, SPECIFICALLY FOR COMMUNITY NAVIGATOR, WE WANTED TO EXPAND OUR SPANISH LANGUAGE OUTREACH AND HANDS-ON APPLICANT SUPPORT THROUGH A COMMUNITY NAVIGATOR.

SO NOT JUST HOSTING A WORKSHOP, BUT ACTUALLY HELPING, UH, SPANISH LANGUAGE APPLICANTS, UH, WITH THEIR APPLICATION, FILLING THEM OUT, UNDERSTANDING.

UM, WE REVIEWED PAST COMMUNITY NAVIGATOR, UM, WHICH, UH, MODELS AND CONTRACTORS, UM, AND IDENTIFIED POTENTIAL FUNDING, UM, BUT HELPED OUT THE EXPRESSED INTEREST IN SERVING AS A COMMUNITY NAVIGATOR, UM, AFTER WE HAD INITIALLY INVITED THEM TO PARTICIPATE AS AN ACME AMBASSADOR.

AS YOU SAW IN THE PREVIOUS SLIDE, UM, ACME ANDRO WORKED THROUGH THE SCOPE DELIVERABLES AND COST, AND WE DID REACH AN AGREEMENT ON A PROPOSED PILOT.

UM, AND THEN, UM, WE CHECK WITH THE LONG CENTER AGAIN AS OUR THIRD PARTY PARTNER FOR DIRECT CONTRACTING.

UH, THE LONG CENTER DETERMINED THAT A COMPETITIVE SOLICITATION WOULD BE REQUIRED AND THAT THEY COULD NOT CONTRACT WITH A DIRECTLY SELECTED VENDOR.

SO EVEN THOUGH WE ARE WORKING WITH THEM, WE COULDN'T JUST SAY, HEY, YOU NEED TO USE, YOU KNOW, THIS, UH, COMMUNITY NAVIGATOR.

THEY DID HAVE TO GO THROUGH A COMPETITIVE SOLICITATION PROCESS.

UM, SO WITH THE, THE TIME CONSTRAINT, UH, THAT WOULD NOT ALLOW US TO GET THE COMMUNITY NAVIGATOR OUT IN ENOUGH, ENOUGH TIME.

SO WE EXPLORED, UH, DIRECTLY CONTRACTING, UH, THROUGH A CITY CONTRACTING PURCHASE, UH, PROCESS, UH, BY PURSUING A CERTIFICATE OF EXEMPTION FOR DIRECT CONTRACTING.

AND BASICALLY, THIS IS LIKE LOOKING FOR A SOLE SOURCE PROVIDER.

UH, BUT SINCE THERE ARE OTHER SPANISH LANGUAGE, UM, YOU KNOW, UM, PEOPLE IN FAMILIAR WITH THE ARTS, UM, UM, THE PURCHASING OFFICE OR, YOU KNOW, UM, THE CITY PROCESSING, UM, UH, SAID THAT EXEMPTION WAS NOT APPROVED, UH, FOR A CERTIFICATE OF EXEMPTION.

SO THE, UM, OUTCOME WAS THAT PURCHASING ADVISED US TO MOVE FORWARD THROUGH A FORMAL COMPETITIVE, UH, PROCUREMENT PROCESS.

WHEREAS BEFORE IT WAS STAFF WHO WAS GIVING THE PRESENTATION WITH THE ACME AMBASSADORS, WITH THE COMMUNITY NAVIGATORS, THE COMMUNITY NAVIGATORS, TAKING A MORE PROACTIVE ROLE HELPING, UM, THE SPANISH LANGUAGE APPLICANTS.

SO, SO WE WERE NOT ABLE TO GET THE COMMUNITY NAVIGATOR OFF THE GROUND, THIS GO AROUND, UM, EVEN THOUGH WE TRIED THROUGH THE, THE COUPLE OF VARIOUS WAYS, UH, TO DO THAT.

UH, SO WE WILL DEVELOP A FORMAL CO COMPETITIVE SOLICITATION, UM, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CITY PURCHASING.

AND ACME'S FINANCE MANAGER IS CURRENTLY WORKING ON THAT ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESS.

UM, OUR TARGET IS IN OCTOBER TO, UH, LAUNCH A SOLICITATION TO THE PUBLIC.

UM, WITH THE TARGET, UH, CONTRACT START DATE BEING IN, UH, JANUARY OF 2027, UM, WE ESTIMATE THE FUNDING WOULD BE BETWEEN 60 TO $75,000.

UM, PENDING FINAL SCOPE DEVELOPMENT WITH PURCHASING.

AND THIS WOULD BE FOR A ONE YEAR CONTRACT WITH A POTENTIAL ONE YEAR EXTENSION.

AND THAT WOULD BE CONTINGENT ON, ON THE PERFORMANCE, UH, DURING THE FIRST YEAR, WHETHER WE WOULD EXTEND, UM, TO, UM, UH, A SECOND ADDITIONAL ONE YEAR, UM, EXTENSION, WHICH IS PRETTY COMMON WITH, UH, CITY CONTRACTS.

UM, HAVING A ONE YEAR CONTRACT AND THEN A CERTAIN NUMBER OF EXTENSIONS.

UM, WE WANNA MAINTAIN FOCUS ON SPANISH LANGUAGE OUTREACH, NAVIGATION, AND DIRECT APPLICANT SUPPORT.

UM, NOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THIS, SINCE IT IS A LARGER AWARD AMOUNT, UH, THE COMMUNITY NAVIGATOR WOULD NOT BE ELIGIBLE FOR ACME FUNDING PROGRAMS WHILE THEY UNDER CONTRACT IN THAT ROLE.

AND NOT ONLY JUST 'CAUSE IT'S MORE MONEY, BUT BECAUSE IT IS SPECIFICALLY TO HELP THE SPANISH LANGUAGE APPLICANTS, YOU KNOW, APPLY FOR FUNDING.

[00:25:01]

UM, WE WILL CONTINUE THE ACME AMBASSADORS AND EXISTING, UH, LANGUAGE ACCESS SUPPORTS, UM, IN ADDITION TO THIS NEW RESOURCE.

SO EVEN THOUGH WE'RE LOOKING FOR THE COMMUNITY NAVIGATOR, IT DOES NOT MEAN WE'D BE GETTING RID OF THE ACME AMBASSADORS.

UH, NEXT I WILL TALK ABOUT, UM, UH, MORE OF THE VARIOUS TYPES OF APPLICATION ASSISTANCE, UH, THAT WE OFFERED THROUGH THIS LAUNCH.

UH, SO WE HAD A VARIETY OF, UH, FORMS OF DIRECT ASSISTANCE.

UH, SO WE DID HAVE A BOOKINGS LINK.

UH, BOOKINGS IS JUST, UH, THE NAME OF A, A PROGRAM, A SOFTWARE THAT ALLOWS, UM, UM, INTERESTED PARTIES TO, UH, BOOK A ONE-ON-ONE MEETING WITH STAFF.

IT, YOU KNOW, HAS ACCESS TO THE STAFF'S CALENDAR.

UM, SO THAT WAY IT'S NOT GOING BACK AND FORTH IN EMAILS, TRYING TO SET UP A MEETING.

UH, THE APPLICANT, UM, UM, JUST GOES IN AND SEES, UH, WHICH DATE IS AVAILABLE, WHETHER THEY WANT IT FOR A SPECIFIC, UH, STAFF MEMBER OR JUST THE FIRST AVAILABLE STAFF MEMBER.

UM, APPLICANTS CAN ALSO REQUEST INTERPRETATION SERVICES.

SO, UM, UM, SPANISH OR OTHER, YOU KNOW, NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE, UH, SPEAKERS, UH, COULD STILL HAVE A ONE-ON-ONE WITH STAFF.

UM, AND WE WOULD GET A TRANSLATOR, UM, IF NEEDED.

UM, STAFF ARRANGING THE INTERPRETER INTERPRETERS AS THEY'RE NEEDED.

UM, IN ADDITION, THE LONG CENTER HAD A HELPLINE, UM, IN BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH, UH, WITH BOTH AN EMAIL AND A PHONE NUMBER.

UM, AND WE HAD VIRTUAL OPEN OFFICE HOURS ALL DAY, UM, ON THAT FINAL DAY, TUESDAY, AUGUST 18TH FROM 10:00 AM TO 6:00 PM UH, WITH ENGLISH, UM, AND SPANISH ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE.

UM, AND SO RO AS PART OF THEIR ACME AMBASSADOR OR ABOVE AND BEYOND, UM, HAD SOME SPANISH LANGUAGE, UM, ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE ON THAT DAY.

AND ACME STAFF WAS AVAILABLE WITH, UM, ENGLISH, UH, LANGUAGE ASSISTANCE.

SO, WITH OUR 2027 GRANT APPLICATION ASSISTANCE, UH, WE, UM, ASSISTED ALMOST 1,200 PEOPLE.

UM, THAT WAS, UH, WITH, UH, 28 WORKSHOPS, UM, APPROXIMATELY AN HOUR AND A HALF EACH, DEPENDING ON THE NUMBER OF QUESTIONS, UH, THAT WE HAD ON EACH, UH, PARTICULAR WORKSHOP.

UM, WE HAD 590 ATTENDEES AT THOSE 28 WORKSHOPS.

UH, THE OPEN OFFICE HOURS, I WAS, UM, UH, WE HAVE, UH, 10 SESSIONS, UM, OF, UH, TWO TO EIGHT HOURS EACH.

MOST OF THE TIME THEY'RE, UH, 10:00 AM TO NOON ON THE TUESDAY DURING THE APPLICATION, UH, WINDOW.

UH, WHEN THE APPLICATION IS NOT OPEN, IT'S THE SECOND AND FOURTH TUESDAY.

AND THEN, LIKE I SAID, ON THE DAY THE APPLICATION WAS, UH, DUE, WE WERE OPEN FROM 10:00 AM TO 6:00 PM SO WE HAD 207 ATTENDEES OVER THOSE VARIOUS SESSIONS.

UM, THE BOOKINGS, UH, MEETINGS I WAS TALKING ABOUT EARLIER, UH, THOSE ARE FOR 30, UH, MINUTES EACH.

WE HAD 195 SESSIONS WITH 202 ATTENDEES.

SOMETIMES PEOPLE WOULD BRING, YOU KNOW, ADDITIONAL STAFF MEMBERS OR, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE WHO WAS HELPING THEM, UH, WITH THE GRANT.

UM, AND THEN FINALLY WE HAD, UH, SIX VARIOUS, UH, COMMUNITY EVENTS, UH, WHERE WE REACHED 185 COMMUNITY MEMBERS.

AND ARTS GROUPS, UH, PRODUCING PUBLIC ART PERFORMANCES AND CULTURAL PROJECTS IN AUSTIN.

UM, AND SO THIS IS THE 2027 GRANT APPLICATION, UH, TIMELINE, UM, HERE IN SEPTEMBER.

UM, YOU CAN SEE THE PROGRAM EVALUATION AND SCORING, UH, BEGINS.

SO THAT'S, UH, WHAT'S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW.

UM, IT'S WHEN THE, UH, REVIEW PANELISTS ARE, UM, UH, SCORING APPLICATIONS ARE THE LONG CENTER FOR THE AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND.

UM, NEXUS OPENED ON, UM, SEPTEMBER 8TH, AND I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT IN JUST A BIT.

UM, IN OCTOBER IS, UH, WHEN THE PANEL MEETINGS WILL OCCUR, UM, ACTUALLY STARTING ON SEPTEMBER 29TH THROUGH OCTOBER 30TH FOR THE ELEVATE THRIVE AND HERITAGE PRESERVATION GRANT, UM, APPLICATIONS.

UM, AND FOR ALL OF THE, UM, FUNDING PROGRAMS IN NOVEMBER IS WHEN WE WILL ANNOUNCE AWARDS.

UH, DECEMBER IS WHEN THE APPEALS PROCESS, UM, WILL OCCUR.

UM, APPLICANTS HAVE UP TO 10 BUSINESS DAYS FROM THE DATE THEY RECEIVE THE AWARD, UH, NOTIFICATION, UM, TO, UH, FILE AN APPEAL.

UH, WE'LL WORK ON THAT DURING THE MONTH OF DECEMBER.

SO THAT WAY IN JANUARY, UH, SINCE THE CONTRACT START PERIOD IS JANUARY 1ST, UH, WE WILL BE ABLE TO GET, UH, CONTRACTS AND PAYMENTS OUT, UM, IN JANUARY.

UH, SO NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

AS I SAID, I'VE, UH, DISCUSSED, UH, NEXUS IN A COUPLE OF SLIDES.

SO, UM, NEXUS IS, UH, NOW OPEN.

UM, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

SO, AGAIN, IT OPENED ON SEPTEMBER 7TH.

UM, IT CLOSES ON OCTOBER 13TH, WHICH IS A TUESDAY AT 6:59 PM NO LATE APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED, SO THE APPLICATION MUST BE SUBMITTED BY 6:59 PM.

UM, NEXT, THIS HAS 5,000 AND $10,000 GRANTS TO SUPPORT INDIVIDUALS

[00:30:01]

SO, UM, UH, BY ARTS GROUPS, WE DO NOT MEAN 5 0 1 C3 NONPROFITS, SO 5 0 1 C3 NONPROFITS ARE NOT ELIGIBLE IN NEXUS.

UM, STATE OF TEXAS NONPROFITS, IF ANYONE HAS THAT STATUS, UH, WE CONSIDER THAT AN ARTS GROUP.

SO THOSE WOULD BE ELIGIBLE.

BUT 5 0 1 C NONPROFITS ARE NOT.

UM, THERE'S A BUILT IN AND AUTOMATIC ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION, WHICH IS, UH, DIFFERENT FROM LAST YEAR, BUT IT'S, UH, THE SAME AS WE DID WITH, UH, THE, THE BIG LAUNCH, UH, THAT I WAS JUST TALKING ABOUT, THAT CLOSED IN AUGUST.

UM, WHERE THE APPLICANTS, UH, ANSWER QUESTIONS AND DEPENDING ON HOW THEY ANSWER THEM, THAT EITHER LETS THEM KNOW THAT THEY'RE NOT ELIGIBLE OR GIVES THEM FULL ACCESS, THAT THEY ARE ELIGIBLE, UM, ACCESS TO THE FULL APPLICATION.

SO AGAIN, WE'LL HAVE, UM, OPEN OFFICE HOURS, UH, DURING, UH, THIS TIME PERIOD, UM, FROM 10:00 AM TO NOON.

UM, SO WE HAD THEM ON SEPTEMBER 8TH, UM, WHICH WAS THE DAY THAT NEXUS, UH, LAUNCHED.

UM, SO LAST WEEK, UH, WE ALSO HAVE ONE, UH, TOMORROW, UH, SEPTEMBER 15TH, UH, THAT WILL BE VIRTUAL ONLY.

THE AC IS ON THE FRITZ AT THE OFFICE.

I HEARD I'M WORKING FROM HOME TODAY.

BUT, UM, UM, WE DO, YOU KNOW, THERE'S USUALLY SOMEONE IN THE OFFICE.

SO NORMALLY WE DON'T HAVE MANY WALK-IN ATTENDEES, BUT IF WE DO HAVE ANY, SOMETIMES THAT CAN HAPPEN.

BUT, UH, TOMORROW SPECIFICALLY, UM, IT WILL BE VIRTUAL ONLY.

UM, AND THEN SEPTEMBER 22ND, 29TH AND OCTOBER 6TH, UM, AND THOSE ARE THE REGULAR 10:00 AM TO NOON.

AND THEN AGAIN, ALL DAY FROM 10:00 AM TO SIX ON THE DAY.

THE NEXUS APPLICATION IS DUE ON OCTOBER 13TH.

UH, WE ALSO HAVE, UH, HAVE HAD, UH, SOME INFO SESSIONS, UM, TO, YOU KNOW, HELP APPLICANTS UNDERSTAND THE NEXUS PROGRAM.

UM, SO ON SEPTEMBER, SEPTEMBER 8TH, UM, IT WAS VIRTUAL AND IT WAS RECORDED, UH, SEPTEMBER 10TH, WE HAD ONE IN PERSON AT THE UNIVERSITY HILLS BRANCH LIBRARY.

UH, WE'VE GOT ONE ON THURSDAY, UM, AT SIX, UM, IN SPANISH.

UM, AND IT WILL BE A VIRTUAL, UH, WORKSHOP.

AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE ANOTHER VIRTUAL WORKSHOP AT 3:00 PM UM, IN ENGLISH, UM, UH, VIRTUAL ON SEPTEMBER 28TH.

AND THEN WE'LL ALSO, IN ADDITION TO THAT, HAVE ASKED US ANYTHING SESSION.

SO INSTEAD OF US PRESENTING, UH, STAFF IS JUST THERE TO ASK, ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS, ALMOST KINDA LIKE, UH, OPEN OFFICE HOURS, UM, THERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT, UM, UM, APPLICANTS MAY HAVE.

SO SEPTEMBER 12TH AND SEPTEMBER 24TH WITH BOTH, UH, VIRTUAL AND IN-PERSON, UM, OPTIONS AVAILABLE.

UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

AND SO THAT IS MY PRESENTATION, AND I WILL, UM, HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS IF YOU HAVE ANY.

IT JUST FOR THE, UH, VERY DETAILED PRESENTATION, UH, I KNOW, UH, UH, COMMISSIONER CARDENAS HAS A QUESTION RIGHT OFF THE BAT, SO WE'LL GO WITH HER.

SURE.

THANK YOU FOR THAT.

CAN YOU HEAR ME OKAY? I CAN HEAR YOU FINE, YES.

OKAY, WONDERFUL.

UM, THANK YOU AGAIN SO MUCH.

I KNOW YOU GUYS WORKED REALLY HARD AND I KNOW YOU ALWAYS PRESENT WITH TO THE ARTS COMMISSION, YOU'RE ALWAYS SUPER THOROUGH.

UM, I HAD TWO QUESTIONS.

THE FIRST ONE I ATTENDED THE, UM, THE ONE FOR RED RIVER RIVER CULTURAL DISTRICT.

SO I WAS CURIOUS WHO, AS A CO-HOST WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR LIKE, PROVIDING EQUIPMENT.

IS THAT THE VENUE AND THE CO-HOST, OR IS THAT ACME CORRECT, THE VENUE AND THE CO-HOST? SO, UM, UM, WE ASK THEM TO PROVIDE THE VENUE AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WE GIVE THEM THE MATERIALS, YOU KNOW, TO HELP MARKET THE EVENT, GIVE THEM THE ONE SHEETS, YOU KNOW, LIKE I MENTIONED.

SO INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROGRAMS. UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE LET THEM CHOOSE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE ASK THEM, YOU KNOW, LIKE, YOU KNOW, HERE'S THE DATES, YOU KNOW, POTENTIAL THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE.

SO WE KIND OF WORK WITH THEM WITH DATES.

BUT AS FAR AS SETTING UP THE VENUE, GETTING EQUIPMENT THAT WAS ON, ON THE HOST.

OR ON THE, ON THE AMBASSADOR.

'CAUSE THEY DIDN'T HAVE, LIKE, THEY DIDN'T HAVE A MICROPHONE FOR TWO, AND SO LIKE THEY HAD THEIR AC GOING AND IT WAS JUST REALLY, REALLY LOUD.

IT WAS AT POST AT STUBS.

SO LIKE, I'D SAY LIKE A QUARTER OF THE PEOPLE LEFT 'CAUSE THEY JUST COULDN'T HEAR.

SO I KNOW THAT WAS FRUSTRATING.

SO THAT'S WHY I WAS JUST CURIOUS, YOU KNOW, MOVING FORWARD IF THAT'S INCLUDED, YOU KNOW, OR IF Y'ALL MADE NOTES ABOUT THAT.

BUT I WOULD DEFINITELY LIKE TO GIVE THAT AS FEEDBACK FROM THE WORKSHOP BECAUSE THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT I KNOW PEOPLE WERE, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE AGAIN, IT WAS VERY INFORMATIVE, BUT WHEN THEY COULDN'T HEAR, THEY'RE LIKE, WHAT'S THE POINT? SO YEAH, I THINK I DO REMEMBER HEARING ABOUT THAT, BUT DEFINITELY SOMETHING WE CAN, YOU KNOW, ADD AS A, YOU KNOW, IMPROVEMENT FOR NEXT TIME IS MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW.

THOSE AWARDS? I WAS ACTUALLY LOOKING AT THAT THIS MORNING, AND I THINK IT WAS TWO WEEKS BECAUSE WE WILL BE MAKING AWARD ANNOUNCEMENTS.

AND FOR THOSE CO-HOSTS, LIKE YOU'RE SAYING, IF YOU'RE GONNA BE THIS AMBASSADOR THAT YOU'RE PROVIDING, ALL OF THAT, WHAT'S NECESSARY? AMAZING.

UM, THE SECOND ONE, HOW LONG ARE YOU GUYS GOING TO GIVE? 'CAUSE I KNOW IT'S DIFFERENT THIS YEAR THAN LAST YEAR, THAT NOW, LIKE IF SOMEONE'S BEING OFFERED ELEVATE AND LMF, WHAT'S THE DURATION OF TIME THAT YOU'RE GONNA GIVE THEM TO CHOOSE BETWEEN

[00:35:01]

UM, BEFORE THANKSGIVING WE HAD WANTED TO MAKE AWARD ANNOUNCEMENTS AFTER THANKSGIVING.

SO PEOPLE WHO DID NOT GET AN AWARD WOULD NOT HAVE THEIR THANKSGIVING.

UM, BUT JUST WITH THE WAY THE APPEALS PROCESS WORKS AND WHEN THE ARTS COMMISSION IS MEETING EARLY IN DECEMBER, UM, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO MAKE IT BEFOREHAND.

SO I THINK IT WAS LIKE DECEMBER 1ST OR DECEMBER 2ND.

SO IT GIVES THEM, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE OF WEEKS OVER THE THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY TO DETERMINE, YOU KNOW, AS, AS YOU MENTIONED, FOR THOSE WHO MAY NOT KNOW, UM, YOU CAN ONLY ACCEPT EITHER AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND OR ELEVATE.

YOU CAN APPLY FOR BOTH, BUT YOU CAN ONLY ACCEPT ONE.

AND SO THEY HAVE TO CHOOSE WHICH ONE THEY WOULD WANT TO ACCEPT.

SO, UM, BUT LAURA WAS SAYING THAT THEY'RE GONNA, BECAUSE BEFORE IT WOULD JUST GO BACK INTO THE, YOU KNOW, THE POOL OF MONEY OR FOR GRANT MONEY.

AND SO SHE'S SAYING THIS YEAR, WHENEVER THEY DECIDE THAT THEY'RE GONNA THEN GO DOWN TO LIKE THE NEXT PERSON IN LINE.

SO WE ADDED SOME, UH, TIEBREAKER QUESTIONS IN, UH, THIS YEAR.

SO THEY'RE NOT WORTH ANY EXTRA POINTS OR ANYTHING.

WE ONLY UTILIZE THEM IF WE GET TO TIES.

AND, AND THE REASON FOR THAT IS LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE DID HAVE, YOU KNOW, THIS SITUATION LAST YEAR AND YOU KNOW, THE ONE PERSON, YOU KNOW, DECLINED THEIR ELEVATOR AWARD AND WENT FOR A LMF OR VICE VERSA.

BUT THEN THE NEXT HIGHEST SCORING, YOU KNOW, APPLICANT THAT WERE LIKE 20 WITH THAT SAME SCORE.

SO IT'S LIKE, WELL, THERE'S NOT ENOUGH MONEY TO AWARD ALL 20.

SO WE HAVE THE TIEBREAKER QUESTIONS TO, YOU KNOW, AND WE'LL SEE HOW IT GOES.

IT'S OUR FIRST YEAR TO DO THAT.

BUT THE HOPE IS IT'LL ALLEVIATE SOMETHING LIKE THAT FROM HAPPENING SO THAT WAY IF THE MONEY, OTHERWISE THE MONEY JUST GETS PUT INTO THE POT FOR NEXT YEAR.

AND WE WOULD LIKE TO AWARD IT OUT THIS YEAR IF, UH, IF WE CAN AT ALL.

SO IT'LL GO, SO THEY'RE GONNA HAVE THE TWO WEEKS, THEY CAN DECIDE WHICH ONE THEY'RE GONNA CHOOSE, AND THEN FROM THERE, THAT'S WHEN YOU GUYS WILL TAKE THOSE, LIKE LET'S SAY YOU DO HAVE, LET'S SAY THREE OF 'EM THAT THAT HAPPENED WITH, THEN YOU'LL TAKE WHOEVER'S NEXT IN THOSE TIEBREAKERS AND AUTOMATICALLY AWARD IT TO THEM? CORRECT? YES.

AND THEN WE'LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS IF IT'S STILL A TWO OR THREE WAY TIE, WE HAVE LIKE, AND I'M MOST FAMILIAR WITH ELEVATE, SO WE HAVE LIKE FOUR, I'M FORGETTING THE EXACT NUMBER, BUT, YOU KNOW, SO THAT WAY IT'S NOT JUST ONE TIEBREAKER.

'CAUSE IF WE'VE GOT A TIE AND A TIE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT A NUMBER OF QUESTIONS.

SO HOPEFULLY WITH, YOU KNOW, FOUR OR FIVE DEEP, WE CAN GET TWO, YOU KNOW, ONE PARTICULAR, YOU KNOW, GRANT RECIPIENT.

GREAT.

THOSE ARE MY QUESTIONS.

BECAUSE YOU HAVE AN LMF GRANT THAT THE GRANT THAT IS GOING ON FOR TWO YEARS.

THANK YOU COMMISSIONER.

UM, THANK YOU JESUS.

UM, I, UH, JUST A QUICK FOLLOW UP ON THAT.

IF SINCE, UH, ONE CANNOT TAKE A GRANT ON BOTH, UH, ARTS AND MUSIC SIDE WITHIN THE SAME YEAR, IF SOMEBODY GETS THE LMF GRANT THAT IS SAY IN FI 26, SO THAT GRANT, THE $20,000 GRANT IS APPLICABLE TO 26 AND 27, SO CAN SOMEONE THAT SAME APPLICANT STILL APPLY FOR ELEVATE IN FFY 27? OR DO THEY NEED TO WAIT FOR THE TWO YEAR GRANT PERIOD TO BE DONE AS A MUSICIAN? THEY WOULD, WELL, I MEAN, THE APPLICATIONS, UH, WINDOW HAS PASSED NOW, BUT I MEAN, THEY COULD HAVE APPLIED OF COURSE, BUT THEY WOULD, IF THEY SCORED HIGH ENOUGH TO RECEIVE ELEVATE FUNDING FOR INSTANCE, UH, THEY WOULD HAVE TO COMPLETE THEIR OFTEN LIVE MUSIC FUND, UM, AWARD, UM, BY DECEMBER 31ST, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY.

SO EVEN THOUGH IT'S A TWO YEAR GRANT, IF IT WENT INTO THAT 2027, THEN NO, THEY WOULD NOT BE ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE THE, THE ELEVATE.

UM, IS, AND LET ME DOUBLE CHECK ON THAT.

I AM NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT SURE, BUT THAT IS MY UNDERSTANDING 'CAUSE I'M NOT AS FAMILIAR WITH AUSTIN LIFE MUSIC FUND.

UM, BUT I KNOW THEY HAVE, YOU KNOW, LIKE THE TWO YEAR GRANTS.

BUT, UM, IF, IF THAT HAPPENS, WE WOULD, YOU KNOW, UM, LOOK MORE CLOSELY AT OUR GUIDELINES AND, YOU KNOW, UH, MAKE SURE, BUT MY, I I FEEL LIKE WE'VE DISCUSSED THIS AND THE ANSWER WAS NO.

THEY WOULD HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, COMPLETE THE A LMF UM, AWARD OR, YOU KNOW, FINAL REPORT, UM, BEFORE THEY, OR NOT FINAL REPORT BECAUSE YOU KNOW, ALL OF OUR APPLICANTS, WELL, YES, ALL OF OUR APPLICANTS.

UM, SO IF THEY RECEIVED, YOU KNOW, A ONE YEAR A LMF AND THEN THEY GOT ANOTHER LMF OR ELEVATE, UM, THEY COULD STILL ACCEPT IT, BUT WE'RE NOT GONNA ENTER INTO THE GRANT AGREEMENT WITH THEM UNTIL THEY SUCCESSFULLY CLOSE OUT THEIR FINAL REPORT FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR.

UH, BUT IF IT IS EXTENDING INTO THAT SECOND YEAR FOR LMF, UM, UM, PRETTY SURE THEY WOULD NOT BE ELIGIBLE TO ACCEPT THAT.

UM, BUT AGAIN, IF THAT, IF THAT HAPPENS, WE WOULD TAKE A LOOK A MORE CLOSE LOOK AT THAT PARTICULAR APPLICANT.

YEAH, NO, THANK YOU.

I I THINK, UH, IF WE CAN GET LIKE BLACK AND WHITE CLARIFICATION ON THAT BECAUSE, UH, ONE THING IS GETTING THE AWARD AND USING UP THE LMF DOLLARS ON TIME TO BE ABLE TO RECEIVE THE ELEVATE DOLLARS IN THE NEXT YEAR, THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT IS YOU JUST PLAIN CANNOT APPLY TO ELEVATE IN THE SECOND YEAR

[00:40:01]

SO, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO UNDERSTAND WHICH ONE IT IS, BECAUSE RIGHT NOW I THINK THE UNDERSTANDING IS THAT IF THIS YEAR I APPLY FOR LMF AND I GET THE GRANT, THE $20,000 GRANT AND IT LASTS FOR TWO YEARS, I CAN STILL TURN AROUND AND APPLY FOR ELEVATE THE NEXT YEAR.

I JUST WANT THAT CLARIFICATION TO BE BLACK AND WHITE SO IT'S WELL UNDERSTOOD IN THE COMMUNITY WHICH WAY THIS FALLS AND NOT JUST USING UP THE DOLLARS, BUT YOU KNOW, CAN WE STILL APPLY THE NEXT YEAR OR ARE YOU NOT ELIGIBLE TO APPLY AT ALL FOR ELEVATE BECAUSE THE YEAH, OTHER WAY AROUND IS CORRECT? IT IS, IS POSSIBLE.

THAT IS VERY CLEAR BECAUSE ELEVATE IS A ONE YEAR GRANT.

SO IF SOMEBODY APPLIES FOR ELEVATE IN FFY 26, THEY GET THAT GRANT, THEY TAKE IT, THEY CAN TURN AROUND IN FFY 27 AND EASILY APPLY FOR LMF AGAIN AND ELEVATE AGAIN.

BUT THE FLIP SIDE, UH, IT WOULD BE GOOD TO UNDERSTAND IT JUST BLACK AND WHITE, WHAT THE SURE.

I WILL, I WILL LOOK INTO THAT AND SEE WHAT I CAN, I CAN FIND OUT.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

UM, OTHER QUESTIONS? UH, COMMISSIONER LAR? UH, SURE.

YEAH, THERE WE GO.

UH, JUST A COMMENT, REALLY THANK YOU FOR A GREAT PRESENTATION AND, UH, I'D LIKE TO COMMEND YOU THE GREAT WORK FOR, UM, YOU GUYS HAVE DONE FOR THE SPANISH LANGUAGE, UH, OUTREACH.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT.

AND, UH, I LOVE SEEING THE INCREASE IN APPLICATIONS, YOU KNOW, FROM SPANISH, UH, UH, LANGUAGE COMMUNITIES.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, COMMISSIONERS? THANK YOU.

UH, AGAIN, FOR THE VERY, UH, DETAILED PRESENTATION.

UM, UH, I THINK, UH, I, I PROBABLY ALREADY SHARED THIS LAST TIME IN THAT, UM, ON THE LIVE MUSIC FUND SIDE, IT WAS REALLY GREAT TO SEE THE APPLICATION, UH, BEING SIMPLIFIED.

IT'S, UH, WONDERFUL TO SEE THE EFFORTS BEING MADE, UH, IN LANGUAGE TRANSLATION, UM, FOR SPANISH LANGUAGE TRANSLATION.

AND, UM, UM, I THINK ON THE LIVE MUSIC FUND, OUR UNDERSTANDING IS, UH, THIS PATTERN, UH, AND THE RUBRIC IS GOING TO CONTINUE, UH, FOR AT LEAST THE TWO YEARS AS I UNDERSTAND.

UM, AND SO I THINK WHAT OVERALL WE WOULD BE LOOKING FOR IS, UH, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE, UH, RESPOND TO THE DATA THAT YOU'RE GETTING OUT OF THESE CURRENT ROUNDS.

UH, ARE THERE QUESTIONS THAT, UM, UM, ARE NOT BECAUSE THEY SET A HIGH BAR, BUT ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS IN THERE THAT MAY, UH, CAUSE UH, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENCES IN UNDERSTANDING ON HOW TO ANSWER IT? AND THEN HOW DO WE TWEAK? SO A LOT OF THESE GRANTS, I FEEL, UH, ON THE LIVE MUSIC FUND SIDE IS ESSENTIALLY TWEAKING AND IMPROVING BASED ON DATA THAT'S COMING IN, UM, ON AND OUTCOMES THAT WE ARE SEEING.

UM, I DID GET TRIPPED ON THE APPLICANTS BEING INELIGIBLE FOR NOT CHOOSING THE GRANT AMOUNT.

I WOULD REALLY REQUEST THAT ANYTHING THAT IS GOING TO DISQUALIFY AN APPLICANT LIKE THAT A QUESTION, THOSE QUESTIONS SHOULD JUST BE MADE MANDATORY.

MANDATORY.

I DON'T THINK THERE IS ANY REASON TO LET ALLOW AN APPLICANT TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION IF IT'S GOING TO FAIL THEM FOR NOT PICKING UP, PICKING, UH, AN OPTION.

UH, I THINK THIS WAS ALREADY DONE.

AS I UNDERSTAND FOR, UH, ATTACHMENTS, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, IF YOU ANSWERED A QUESTION, IF YOU, IN A MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION, IF YOU PICK THREE OUT OF 10 OR EIGHT, AND IF YOU DIDN'T DO ATTACHMENTS FOR THOSE THREE, THEN MY UNDERSTANDING THIS TIME WAS THAT YOU COULDN'T, IT WOULD GIVE YOU AN ERROR.

IT WOULD GIVE YOU A MESSAGE OR NOT ALLOW YOU TO SUBMIT.

UM, SO CHOOSING A GRANT AMOUNT, UH, I THINK THAT'S, IT'S JUST FLAT OUT SHOULD BE MADE MANDATORY, UH, MANDATORY.

I CANNOT SAY THAT WORD PROPERLY, SORRY, .

SO, UM, AND YOU KNOW, THAT WILL, THAT WILL PREVENT, YOU KNOW, FOLKS FROM UNNECESSARILY GETTING DISQUALIFIED BECAUSE THEY MIGHT HAVE JUST DONE A PERFECTLY FINE REST OF THE APPLICATION.

UH, IF YOU COULD PLEASE, UH, LOOK INTO THAT, I REALLY THINK THAT SHOULD JUST BE STANDARD PRACTICE ACROSS THE BOAT.

DON'T ALLOW FOLKS TO SUBMIT IF, IF, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S GOING TO, YOU KNOW, TANK THEIR APPLICATION IF THEY DON'T ANSWER.

BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH, UH, FOR, UH, UH, LOOKING INTO THAT AND ALSO VERY, VERY DETAILED PRESENTATION TODAY.

I REALLY APPRECIATE IT, JESUS, AND FOR COMING TO THE, UH, MUSIC COMMISSION.

IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU HERE.

YEAH, GOOD TO SEE YOU HERE, .

DISCUSSION ITEMS. UH, WE HAVE PRESENTATION ON AUSTIN BASED NON-PROFIT INTERPLANETARY HELP DESK BY ANDY, SIR NORITZ FOUNDER.

UH, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? THANK YOU SO MUCH, JESUS ALI.

THANKS Y'ALL.

[00:45:01]

MOVING ON TO, UH,

[4. Presentation on Austin-based non-profit Interplanetary Help Desk by Andy Sernovitz, Founder.]

THANK YOU, ANDY.

UH, YOU COULD USE ONE OF THESE TWO IF YOU WOULD LIKE.

UH, IS THERE A REFERENCE? UM, THE CLICKERS ON THE PODIUM AND YOU CAN SIT WHEREVER YOU'D LIKE.

RAISING MONEY FOR THE BLACK LEADERS COLLECTIVE AND THE BLACK FUND OF TEXAS.

PODIUM.

THANK YOU, ANDY.

PRESIDENT MIKE AGAIN.

ALL RIGHT.

HI, I'M ANDY CERVI WITH THE INTERPLANETARY HELP DESK.

WE ARE ONE OF THE NEWER AUSTIN NONPROFITS THAT'S FOCUSED ON ELEVATING THE MUSIC COMMUNITY AND OTHER NONPROFITS.

THANKS, CELESTE, FOR THE INVITATION.

I'M GLAD TO BE HERE.

UM, OUR MODEL IS SUPER SIMPLE.

UH, WE PRODUCE A MUSIC EVENT, A CONCERT AT A LOCAL VENUE WITH LOCAL BANDS, USUALLY EMERGING BANDS WE PRODUCE AND WE PAY FOR EVERYTHING.

THE NONPROFIT'S JOB IS TO SELL THE TICKETS, AND THEY GET TO KEEP ALL OF THE TICKET MONEY WE'RE TRYING TO SOLVE FOR THE PROBLEM OF THE PORTION OF A PROCEEDS FUNDRAISER WHERE THE NONPROFIT DOESN'T END UP GETTING VERY MUCH.

UM, AND THIS WORKS REALLY WELL.

LOCAL ARTISTS GET PAID, VENUES GET A CROWD, NONPROFITS RAISE A LOT OF MONEY.

AND WE THINK THIS IS INTERESTING BECAUSE WE'RE BUILDING AN ECOSYSTEM OF MUTUALLY SUPPORTIVE ACTIVITIES THAT DO MORE THAN JUST RAISE MONEY WITH A ONE-OFF CONCERT.

YOU KNOW, FOR THE NONPROFITS, INVITING PEOPLE TO A 10 OR A $20 MUSIC EVENT AT A LOCAL VENUE IS A LOT MORE ACCESSIBLE AND INCLUSIVE THAN A FANCY GALA WITH A HUNDRED DOLLARS TICKET OR A $500 TICKET.

SO WE'RE OPENING UP THEIR ABILITY TO SERVE THEIR COMMUNITY, TO BRING THEIR COMMUNITY IN AND TEACH PEOPLE HOW TO BECOME DONORS MAYBE FOR THE FIRST TIME.

SO WE'RE GROWING THAT CAPACITY.

UM, AT THE SAME TIME, WHAT'S HAPPENING IS NONPROFITS ARE BRINGING THEIR SUPPORTERS INTO MUSIC SPACES, AND WE FIGURE MAYBE 10 OR 20% OF AUSTINITES EVER GO TO INDEPENDENT LIVE MUSIC VENUES IN AUSTIN.

SO BY CREATING THIS NEW FRONT DOOR WHERE THE NONPROFIT BRINGS IN THEIR FOLKS, WE'RE EXPOSING THEM TO THE VENUES, WE'RE EXPOSING THEM TO THE BANDS.

UM, AND BOTH OF THEM ARE THEN GROWING THROUGH THESE NEW AUDIENCES THAT THEY'RE ACQUIRING.

UH, WE HAVE 80 ARTISTS IN OUR EMERGING ARTISTS PROGRAM.

WE'VE PUT 20 ON STAGE SO FAR, BUT WE'RE LOOKING TO PLATFORM AS MANY ARTISTS AS WE CAN, AS FAST AS WE CAN.

UM, AND THEN FOR THE VENUES, WE'RE DOING LOTS OF SHOWS AT HAPPY HOUR OR WEEKEND MATINEES OR ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO BRING NEW PEOPLE AND NEW REVENUE INTO THESE FACILITIES.

SO, YOU KNOW, FROM A, SO THAT'S WHAT WE DO.

AND THEN I THINK FROM A BIGGER PICTURE, THIS IDEA OF CREATING ECOSYSTEMS, I MEAN, EVERYTHING WE JUST HEARD AND ALL THIS GREAT WORK ABOUT GRANTS TO VENUES AND TO INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS DO AN AMAZING JOB OF SUPPORTING TODAY'S WORK AND MAKING EVENTS POSSIBLE AND MAKING PERFORMANCES POSSIBLE AND SUPPORTING CAREERS.

BUT WE THINK ABOUT ECOSYSTEMS THAT THEN BUILD FOR THE FUTURE AND GET SOME KIND OF LEVERAGE THAT EXPANDS OUR CAPACITY.

SO WHEN THE MONEY IS SPENT, WE'VE GAINED ADDITIONAL FUNDRAISING CAPACITY OR ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR THE MUSIC INDUSTRY BEYOND WHAT WOULD NATURALLY HAPPEN THROUGH SORT OF ONE-OFF GRANTS.

AND SO OUR RECOMMENDATION, IF ANYONE'S ASKING, I DON'T KNOW, BUT WE BELIEVE THAT CAPACITY BUILDING ORGANIZATIONS AND ECOSYSTEM BUILDING ORGANIZATIONS LEVERAGE THE INVESTMENT SUBSTANTIALLY TO A SUBSTANTIALLY BIGGER DEGREE THAN ONE-OFF GRANTS.

SO THINKING ABOUT HOW DO WE GET SCALE AND GROWTH, I THINK ABOUT SOME OF OUR FELLOW NONPROFITS IN TOWN SPACE FLIGHT RECORDS, WHICH REALLY LAUNCHES CAREERS SONIC GUILD, WHICH, YOU KNOW, IN MANY DIFFERENT WAYS, YOU KNOW, TURNS THOSE DONATIONS INTO ALL SORTS OF MUSICIAN OPPORTUNITIES AND OURSELVES, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE LIFT UP THE WHOLE MUSIC ECOSYSTEM, NOT JUST ONE CHECK AT A TIME? AND THEN JUST BECAUSE IT SEEMS VERY TIMELY, UM, TALKING ABOUT REAL ESTATE AND HOW GRANTS AFFECTS VENUES AND REAL ESTATE, UM, WE'RE LEARNING WITH THE WHOLE CRISIS ON RED RIVER RIGHT NOW, THAT SMALL GRANTS TO VENUES, EVEN THOUGH 70 OR A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS IS NOT SMALL, IT'S NOT ENOUGH TO SAVE A STRUGGLING VENUE.

SO I THINK IT'S TIME TO START THINKING ABOUT NEW PROGRAMS OUT THERE, YOU KNOW, SUCH AS DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE, WHERE THE CITY'S ONLY PROVIDING MAYBE 10% OF THE PURCHASE OF A BUILDING AND A LOAN GUARANTEE.

SO FOR THE MONEY THAT WE HAD GRANTED TO EMPIRE OR ONE OF THE OTHER BIGGER GRANTS WE COULD HAVE ENABLED, EVERY RED RIVER MUSIC VENUE THAT'S CURRENTLY RENTING COULD HAVE BOUGHT THEIR BUILDING FOR THE AMOUNT OF MONEY WE SPENT ON THAT ONE LOAN.

SO I'M THINKING IF WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING FAST TO SAVE THE STRUGGLING TRULY INDEPENDENT VENUES, SOME RELATIVELY SMALL AMOUNT OF MONEY COULD BE ENOUGH TO ALLOW DOZENS OF LOCAL VENUES TO BUY THEIR FACILITIES AND END THIS CURRENT CRISIS THAT WE'RE FACING RIGHT NOW.

SO WITH THAT, UM, COMING OUT TO A SHOW, THE NEXT ONE IS HEAVY FUNK NIGHT AT RADIO EAST ON OCTOBER 10TH,

[00:50:01]

AND WE'D LOVE TO SEE YOU AT THE SHOW AND WE'LL DO SOME GOOD FOR EVERYBODY.

THANKS.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, UH, BEING HERE, ANDY.

AND, UH, THANK YOU COMMISSIONER CASADA, UH, FOR THE RECOMMENDATION.

UM, QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, COMMISSIONERS, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAY, SAY ANYTHING? SURE, PLEASE GO AHEAD.

UM, IT, WE KNOW THAT THE MUSIC INDUSTRY AND MUSIC LOVERS ARE SUCH A, YOU KNOW, POWERFUL THREAD WITHIN THE COMMUNITY.

I JUST WANNA POINT OUT THAT ZACH AND I BOTH SERVED ON THE, I LIVE HERE, I GIVE HERE BOARD AND WELCOME BACK TO, TO TOWN FOR SERVING, UM, IN YOUR ROLE WITH INTERPLANETARY HELP DESK.

UM, YEAH, YOU'VE GOT A GREAT, YOU GOT A GREAT THING GOING.

WE'RE SO HAPPY TO HAVE YOU HERE.

I'M SURE WHEELS ARE TURNING.

UM, SO WHAT'S GOING ON WITH EMPIRE RIGHT NOW? YES, IT'S, UM, SO I'M, I'M ONE OF THE FOLKS WHO INHERITED THE BUILDING WHEN THE VENUE COLLAPSED.

SO I'M ONE OF THE CO-OWNERS OF THE FACILITY.

UM, SHORT ANSWER IS, UM, WE NEED TO SELL THE BUILDING IS THE ONLY HOPE OF IT REMAINING A LIVE MUSIC VENUE.

UM, SO WE'RE PUTTING THE BUILDING ON THE MARKET.

UM, WE'RE LOOKING FOR A HOPEFULLY A LARGE INDEPENDENT WHO CAN KEEP IT INDEPENDENT, WHO CAN KEEP IT A GREAT MUSIC VENUE, BUT WITH A 300 PERSON STAGE IN A THOUSAND PERSON STAGE, IT'S THE BIGGEST INDEPENDENT MUSIC VENUE DOWNTOWN.

AND THAT MEANS, YOU KNOW, WE'VE SORT OF GOT A MISSED OPPORTUNITY FOR TOURING ACTS FOR, YOU KNOW, LARGER SHOWS OR JUST SKIPPING AUSTIN IF THEY DON'T FIT BETWEEN SORT OF MOHAWK AND ACL.

YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT NOTHING IN THE THOUSAND CAP RANGE.

SO OUR FOCUS AND GOAL IS DO WHATEVER WE CAN TO FIND THE RIGHT KINDA OPERATOR WHO WILL TREAT THE ARTIST, RIGHT, WILL TREAT EMPLOYEES RIGHT.

AND WE'LL BRING IT BACK TO HAVE AN ICONIC MUSIC VENUE IN THAT SPOT.

THAT'S THE PLAN.

THANK YOU, ANDY.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? COMMISSIONER ENGLAND? THERE WE GO.

UM, YEAH, I HAD HEARD, UH, ABOUT, UH, EMPIRE AND THEN ALSO THE, THE INVOLVEMENT, WHICH I THINK IS, UM, UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES FANTASTIC FOR WHAT IT IS.

IS THERE A, DO YOU HAVE A TIMELINE SPECIFICALLY ON WHEN YOU NEED TO SELL THE PROPERTY AND FIND THE OPERATOR? I MEAN, I KNOW IT WAS YESTERDAY, BUT LAST YEAR WOULD BE IDEAL, RIGHT? UM, YEAH, WE'RE JUST, WE'VE HIRED A, UM, A NATIONAL BROKERAGE.

WE'VE STARTED THE PROCESS.

UM, THE QUESTION IS WITH AUSTIN'S IN AUSTIN'S LOCAL COMMUNITY, THERE AREN'T MANY INDEPENDENT OPERATORS WHO CAN ABSORB A BUILDING OF THAT SIZE.

SO IT'S GONNA BE A NATIONAL SEARCH.

AND AGAIN, IT'S GOTTA BE, WE'RE NOT JUST GONNA SELL THE BUILDING TO SELL THE BUILDING AND YOU KNOW, IT'S GOTTA BE SOMEONE WHO COULD RUN A ROOM THAT SIZE AND TREAT THE ARTISTS AND THE STAFF APPROPRIATELY, WHICH MEANS GREAT, NOT APPROPRIATELY, BUT YOU KNOW, REALLY WELL AND MAKE IT A SHOWCASE VENUE FOR THE CITY.

SO THAT'S GONNA BE A SIX MONTH SEARCH AT BEST.

GOTCHA.

IS MY GUESS.

UNLESS ANYBODY LISTENING IN TODAY WANTS TO BUY A VENUE, .

I APPRECIATE THAT VERY MUCH.

SO, COOL.

UH, COMMISSIONER CARDENA, DID YOU RAISE YOUR HAND EARLIER OR DID I MISREAD THAT? OH, I DON'T, I MIGHT HAVE JUST BEEN STRETCHING, BUT NO, THAT WAS A GREAT PRESENTATION.

UM, I ALSO, I KNOW, SO WHAT INPUT DOES I KNOW, YOU KNOW, INTERPLANETARY, THAT'S ITS OWN THING, BUT THEN YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT EMPIRE.

SO THEN WHAT INPUT DOES LIKE RALLY AUSTIN AND YOU KNOW, ARE THEY INVOLVED IN THAT SELECTION COMMITTEE? 'CAUSE I KNOW THEY'RE TRYING TO PRESERVE LIVE MUSIC VENUES AS WELL.

YEAH, SO RALLY FUNDED, THERE'S TWO EMPIRES, TWO BUILDINGS.

SO ONE OF THE BUILDINGS HAS A REGULAR BANK LOAN, AND THE OTHER BUILDING RALLY IS THE LENDER.

SO MM-HMM .

AT THIS POINT, WE'RE WORKING WITH RALLY.

WE ALL HAVE THE SAME INTEREST IN KEEPING IT AS A VENUE AND HOPEFULLY GETTING THE CITY THEIR MONEY BACK.

UH, BUT YOU KNOW, IT'S A BIG PRICE TAG.

SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE GOAL IS FIND THE RIGHT ORGANIZATION WITH THE RIGHT BUDGET TO, UH, MAKE IT ALL WHOLE.

NO, I THINK, LIKE YOU SAID, IT, IT'S KIND OF THAT WHEN YOU HAVE LIKE THE VENUE AND YOU SEE WHAT IT IS, BUT THEN IT'S, YOU KNOW, THE MANAGEMENT OF IT IS A WHOLE DIFFERENT ANIMAL.

AND SO I APPRECIATE Y'ALL TAKING, DOING YOUR DUE DILIGENCE ON THAT.

AND NONE OF US CAN CARRY, UH, THE TWO VERY LARGE MORTGAGES ON THE BUILDING, SO.

THERE'S A LOT OF GOODNESS IN THAT SPACE, UM, THAT NEEDS TO BE SAVED AND PRESERVED AND PEOPLE WHO NEED TO BE, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST ECONOMICALLY MADE WHOLE, BUT YOU KNOW, SORT OF HEALING THAT WOUND IN THE COMMUNITY.

SO WE THINK ABOUT THIS AS A START OF SOMETHING NEW, YOU KNOW, THE BEGINNING OF THE NEXT CHAPTER, AND HOPEFULLY IT'S GONNA BE SOMETHING WAY BETTER THAN ANYBODY COULD HAVE IMAGINED.

GREAT, THANK YOU.

UM, NOT TO GET TOO MUCH INTO THE, ANY NITTY GRITTY AROUND FINANCIALS AND STUFF, BUT, UH, JUST A SIMPLE QUESTION, IS LEASING TO AN OPERATOR NOT AN OPTION? UM, I'M SORRY, I COULDN'T HEAR YOU.

IS LEASING TO AN OPERATOR? NOT AN OPTION.

UM, PROBABLY NOT.

I MEAN, THE, THE FOLKS, THOSE OF US WHO OWN IT NOW ARE SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS

[00:55:01]

GOT IT.

IF WE FOUND A GOOD OPERATOR WHO COULD LEASE IT FOR ENOUGH TO KEEP IT GOING, WE WOULD DO THAT.

SO THAT IS ON THE TABLE, BUT WE'D RATHER JUST SELL IT TO SOMEONE.

GREAT.

SO FORGIVE ME FOR ASKING THIS SILLY QUESTION, BUT, SO IS IT OPERATING AT ALL NOW? IS IT JUST LIKE AN EMPTY BUILDING RIGHT NOW? IT'S, IT'S AN EMPTY BUILDING.

THE NOT EVEN POWER IS ON RIGHT NOW.

SO, YOU KNOW, THE FORMER OPERATOR BASICALLY COLLAPSED.

AND SO NOW THOSE OF US WHO ARE ON THE REAL ESTATE SIDE OR JUST TRYING TO FIND SOMEONE ELSE WHO CAN USE THAT ROOM PROPERLY, IT'S BEEN DARK SINCE, UH, END OF JUNE.

WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE FOR LIKE A THEATER COMPANY TO USE IT OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT UNTIL YOU FOUND A MUSIC VENUE OPERATOR? WE WOULD NEED TO KEEP IT OPEN SHORT TERM.

WE WOULD NEED SOME KIND OF GRANT.

JUST THE, UH, THE DAY-TO-DAY OPERATING COSTS ARE IN THE, I DUNNO, PROBABLY 30, 40,000 A MONTH, JUST POWER INSURANCE LIGHTING.

YOU KNOW, IT'S A BIG, IT'S A BIG PLACE.

AND SO WE WOULD NEED TO BRING IN A TEAM TO RUN IT IN AN INTERIM BASIS, BUT MM-HMM .

IF WE FOUND THE RIGHT OPERATOR, I MEAN, IT'D BE AMAZING.

THE FAR END LOUNGE, RADIO DOWNTOWN.

AND SO CIRCLING BACK AROUND TO YOUR NONPROFIT, UM, JUST TO KIND OF BE CLEAR, SO AS WE WERE DISCUSSING BEFORE YOUR PRESENTATION, SO THIS IS PUTTING MUSICIANS THAT CAN HELP PROVIDE A FUNDRAISER WHERE YOU ALL PRODUCE IT FOR AN ARRAY OF NONPROFITS.

SO IT'S NOT EVEN JUST NONPROFITS THAT ARE MUSIC FOLKS FOCUSED.

SO I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT IF, WHEN WE HAVE CONNECTIONS WITH OTHER NONPROFITS, UM, IT SEEMS THAT THE NONPROFITS THAT MAY NOT HAVE LIKE AN EVENT TEAM WITHIN THEIR NONPROFIT ARE PROBABLY THE ONES TO GO AFTER.

THERE'S SOME NONPROFITS, LIKE AUSTIN FILM SOCIETY FOR INSTANCE, THEY HAVE SO MANY EVENTS THEMSELVES THAT MAY NOT BE A MATCH, BUT OTHER NONPROFITS THAT NEED EVENTS, UH, PRODUCED FOR THEM ARE THE ONES TO KIND OF BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR.

YEAH, EXACTLY.

LIKE WE DID ONE FOR TEXAS ARCHIVE OF THE MOVING IMAGE, OR, UM, AUSTIN DIAPER BANK, AND WE DID A SERIES WITH 24 NONPROFITS SHARING THE FUNDS THAT THEY RAISED FROM 12 SHOWS.

BUT I THINK THE KEY THING THAT, WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT, I MEAN, THE QUESTION YOU ASKED IS IMPORTANT IS THOSE OF US IN THE MUSIC BUSINESS, WE'RE ALL SORT OF TALKING TO EACH OTHER.

SO SIMS AND HAM CAN DO, YOU KNOW, DO THEY DO DO AMAZING EVENTS, BUT IT'S SORT OF ALL OF US WHO ARE ALREADY IN THE ECOSYSTEM MM-HMM .

BUT THEN WHEN WE CAN BRING IN, YOU KNOW, COMPLETELY NON-MUSIC RELATED NONPROFITS AND THEY CAN BRING IN THEIR WHOLE COMMUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN A SHOW, THEN WE'RE PUTTING 'EM IN A ROOM THEY'VE NEVER BEEN IN BEFORE.

WE'RE RAISING A BUNCH OF MONEY, WE'RE PUTTING BANDS ON STAGE, MAYBE AT 6:00 PM INSTEAD OF 10:00 PM WHERE ALL THESE NEW FOLKS WHO AREN'T GONNA BE ATIUM ARE GONNA SUDDENLY SEE A BAND IN AN AFTERNOON SHOW AND THINK, THIS IS AMAZING.

AND SO THE NONPROFIT AS THE PATHWAY TO BRING IN NEW FOLKS INTO THE MUSIC ECOSYSTEM, UM, IT'S EASY FOR US TO THEN JUST PAY THE BANDS.

WELL PAY THE VENUES, GOOD BAR TAKE, BECAUSE PEOPLE DRINK MAYBE MORE AT A FUNDRAISER THAN A NORMAL NIGHT OUT.

SO, YOU KNOW, SUPPORTING THE MUSIC SIDE IS EASY.

'CAUSE THE EVENTS GENERATE CASH, WHICH IS THE FOCUS RIGHT NOW.

UM, BUT THEN THAT AUDIENCE EXPANSION IS WHERE THE GAME CHANGING ELEMENT HAPPENS.

AND ARE THE EVENTS SPECIFICALLY JUST PRODUCED AT MUSIC VENUES? OR ARE THEY ANY OTHER, UH, YOU KNOW, SPOTS? YEAH, VERY MUCH, UH, FOCUSED ON INDEPENDENT MUSIC VENUES.

SO THE MORE WE'VE GO, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT A ROOM THAT'S EMPTY LOTS OF HOURS OF THE DAY.

SO IF WE CAN COME IN FROM SIX TO NINE, DO A FUNDRAISER, AND THEN THEY CAN DO A TICKETED SHOW AT 10:00 PM UM, AND, YOU KNOW, THAT'S GREAT.

SO WE LOVE TO, YOU KNOW, WE LOVE TO JUST PUSH MONEY INTO INDEPENDENT VENUES.

PLUS THEY'RE VERY GOOD AT DOING SHOWS.

AND IF YOU'RE ON THE NON-PROFIT SIDE, EVENTS ARE A PAIN IN THE BUTT, GENTLY SPEAKING.

AND, UM, BUT THEY'VE GOT THIS COMMUNITY THEY CAN BRING OUT.

AND THEN ON THE VENUE SIDE, EVENTS ARE JUST EVERY DAY.

BUT MARKETING IS ALWAYS THE CHALLENGE WHERE EVERY SHOW IS A NEW AUDIENCE.

SO BY BRINGING THE NONPROFIT COMMUNITIES INTO THE SPACES AND THE SPACES ARE SO GOOD AT DOING THE SHOWS, EVERYBODY WINS.

WONDERFUL.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? COMMISSIONER ENGLAND? APOLOGIES.

I JUST HAVE ONE MORE FOR YOU.

UM, ONLY BECAUSE IT LEADS INTO PART OF, UH, A DISCUSSION ITEM THAT'S COMING UP SPECIFICALLY WITH KIND OF ALIGNING WHAT OUR PRIORITIES AS A MUSIC COMMISSION LOOK LIKE MOVING FORWARD.

UM, AND, UH, ONE SUCH THING, I, I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT, I'M, YOU KNOW, I'M AWARE OF THE CREATIVE DISTRICTS, UH, THE COMBINING DISTRICT PROGRAM, RIGHT.

FOR, YOU KNOW, PRESERVATION PURPOSES, UH, FOR CULTURAL SPACES WITHIN THAT, AND AS OPPOSED TO CURRENT

[01:00:01]

AND CULTURAL DISTRICTS LIKE RED RIVER, UH, SO SPECIFICALLY PERTAINING TO EMPIRE.

UM, A AS FAR AS I KNOW, UH, I'M NOT AWARE OF ANY PROTECTION PROVISIONS THAT, UH, ARE IN PLACE, UM, THROUGH POLICY IN THE CITY THAT ANYONE HAS TO SELL EMPIRE OR ANY OTHER SPACE THAT WAS FORMERLY, UH, AN ARTS AND CULTURE SPACE, OR INDEPENDENT MUSIC VENUE THAT THEY HAVE TO DO THAT.

UM, SO I THINK THE FACT THAT THE, THE, THE CURRENT LENDERS AND, AND YOU BEING A PART OF THAT, THAT THAT'S YOUR MAIN INTENTION TO BE ABLE TO CARRY IT, TO BE ABLE TO FIND SOMETHING IS BEAUTIFUL, HUH? YEAH.

UM, WELL, HALF IS REQUIRED, SO I DON'T, IT'S ONLY HALF BEAUTIFUL.

I KNOW.

NO, I, I UNDERSTAND.

I UNDERSTAND.

UM, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I PERSONALLY, UH, FEEL A BIG DRAW TO AS FAR AS, YOU KNOW, THE PROTECTION AND PRESERVATION OF WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, YOU KNOW, STARTING WITHIN CULTURAL DISTRICTS BECAUSE IT'S A BIT EASIER WITH THE PROVISIONAL PROGRAMS. UM, SO I WISH YOU THE BEST OF LUCK VERY MUCH SO.

THANKS.

I MEAN, RED, RED RIVER IS IN, I CAN SAY THINGS THAT THE RED RIVER CULTURAL DISTRICT CAN'T SAY 'CAUSE I HAVE NO OFFICIAL ROLE WHATSOEVER.

BUT RED RIVER'S IN TROUBLE.

IT COULD EASILY BE IN THIS TIME NEXT YEAR, JUST MOHAWK AND STEPS, RIGHT? MM-HMM .

AND EVERY OTHER VENUE GONE.

UM, AND SO WE DON'T FIGURE OUT SOMETHING QUICKLY TO ENABLE THE VENUE OPERATORS, NOT JUST TO, YOU KNOW, KEEP GOING WITH ANOTHER GRANT THAT COVERS A COUPLE BILLS, BUT THERE'S THIS CYCLE OF DEBT THAT VENUE OPERATORS HAVE GOT.

USURIOUS, IS THAT THE RIGHT WORD? TICKET DEALS, YOU KNOW, THEY'VE GOT ALL SORTS OF LOW GRADE, REALLY HIGH INTEREST LOANS.

YOU KNOW, THE COMMUNITY IS JUST FINANCIALLY HURTING, AND IT WOULDN'T TAKE MUCH TO GO FROM PAYCHECK TO PAYCHECK AND BARELY KEEPING THE LIGHTS ON TO, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, YOU FIGURE SOME OF THESE BUILDINGS ARE TWO TO $4 MILLION.

SO IF THE CITY COULD PROVIDE 10% OF THE DOWN PAYMENT AS A LOAN THAT GETS PAID BACK AND THE OPERATOR PUTS ANOTHER 10% DOWN, THEY COULD BUY THESE BUILDINGS.

THIS IS HOW SBA LOANS WORK.

YOU KNOW, WE JUST, THE CITY JUST PROVIDES THE GUARANTEE, BUT NOT THE FULL CASH.

SO WE COULD HAVE PUT 275,000 OR $275,000 GRANT TO EVERY ONE OF THE RED RIVER VENUES WHO'S CURRENTLY RENTING A SPACE, AND THEY COULD HAVE BOUGHT THEIR BUILDINGS FREE AND CLEAR.

AND SO IT'S NOT TOO LATE FOR THAT.

BUT YEAH, THERE'S A PATH THAT FIXES THIS FOR GOOD.

I WOULD LOVE TO CONNECT OUTSIDE OF THIS AND EXPLORE A LITTLE BIT MORE OF WHAT, UH, WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.

UM, VERY MUCH SO.

THANKS.

THANK YOU, COMMISSIONERS.

THANK YOU ANDY, SO MUCH.

LAST AGENDA ITEM FOR TODAY IS UNDER DISCUSSION ITEMS, MUSIC COMMISSION, STRATEGIC GOALS, AND BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL SO QUICKLY ON THIS, UM, JUST TO SET UP CONTEXT, AGAIN, WE'VE BEEN SPEAKING ABOUT THIS FROM A COUPLE OF, UH, SESSIONS AND, UM, THE, IT INITIALLY STARTED WITH THIS IDEA OF, UH, PRIORITIZING BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NEXT YEAR, OR, OR EVEN THE ONES THAT, UH, WE HAD PRESENTED AND, UH, APPROVED THROUGH THIS COMMISSION, BUT KIND OF GOING THROUGH THIS PRIORITIZATION EXERCISE.

THE NEXT AGENDA ITEM IS DOWNTOWN COMMISSION UPDATE ON PRIORITIES AND RECENT ACTIONS BY PARLIAMENTARIAN SILVER.

UH, COMMISSIONER SILVA IS NOT IN ATTENDANCE TODAY, SO WE WILL, UH, TABLE THIS FOR, UH, UH, NEXT, UH, MONTH.

UH, AND THE

[6. Music Commission strategic goals and budget recommendations to council.]

AND, UH, I HAD SUGGESTED THAT WE PIVOT THAT TO ACTUALLY PRIORITIZING AGENDA ITEMS AND, UH, FOR THIS COMMISSION TO PICK UP AND WORK ON, UH, SO WE CAN MAKE THEM TRULY ACTIONABLE, UH, FROM OUR END.

SO THAT WAS, AND THAT IS THE IDEA OF THIS WHOLE EXERCISE.

UM, EVERYBODY HAS HAD ACCESS TO THE BUDGET ITEMS, UH, FOR A MOMENT.

AND, UH, THE GOAL WOULD BE TO ESSENTIALLY HAVE A PRELIMINARY CONVERSATION TODAY AND UNDERSTAND WHERE THE INTEREST FOR THE COMMISSION IS, UM, IN TERMS OF, UH, WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO PURSUE FORWARD.

UM, A LOT OF THE FOCUS ON, YOU KNOW, FOR THIS COMMISSION, AND I KNOW FOR EVEN FOR THE ARTS COMMISSION FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS HAS VERY MUCH HAS BEEN AROUND THE HOT FUNDS AND THE GRANTS AND GETTING THOSE GRANTS.

CHANGES TO THEM ARE, I GUESS, RECONSIDERED OR CONSIDERED.

AND TO ME, IT SEEMS LIKE A LOT OF WORK HAS BEEN DONE ON THAT FRONT, UH, IN TERMS OF RECOMMENDATIONS PROVIDED BY THIS COMMISSION, WORKING GROUPS, UM, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF WORK DONE, UM, BY ACME, UH, IN, UH, GETTING THESE GRANTS UPDATED.

AND, UM, THEY SEEM TO HAVE KIND OF REACHED A PRETTY STABLE PLACE FROM WHERE IT BECOMES, UH, MORE OF A MATTER OF, UH, LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, THE DATA AT THE OTHER END, WHAT KIND OF OUTCOMES WE ARE GETTING, AND JUST FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY AND THE COMMISSION, AND CONTINUALLY TWEAKING AND IMPROVING THESE GRANTS FOR THE NEXT, UH, AT LEAST COUPLE OF YEARS, UH, BEFORE ANY, YOU KNOW, SIGNIFICANT

[01:05:01]

UM, SO I THINK IT'S A, IT'S AT A PRETTY GOOD PLACE TO WHERE, UH, THIS COMMISSION, I THINK SHOULD REALLY, UH, FOCUS ON WHAT'S NEXT.

UM, AND, UH, REALLY WHAT'S NEXT, UH, IN RELATION TO ALSO ITS RELEVANCE TO WHAT'S GOING ON, JUST LIKE THIS TOPIC THAT WAS JUST DISCUSSED ABOUT VENUES IN OUR, UM, MUSIC ECOSYSTEM, AND OF COURSE, HOW CAN GOVERNMENT, CITY GOVERNMENT AND CITY RESOURCES BE INVOLVED AND UTILIZED TO BEST SERVE, UH, NOT ONLY SUSTAINING OUR ECOSYSTEM, BUT IN, IN BUILDING OUR ECOSYSTEM FURTHER.

SO THE GOAL WOULD BE TO HAVE A CONVERSATION TO IDENTIFY WHERE THERE IS INTEREST, WHAT, UH, COMMISSIONERS THINK, UM, ARE SOME OF THE KEY ISSUES THAT THIS COMMISSION CAN FOCUS ON MOVING FORWARD.

AND THEN I THINK AS A NEXT STEP, WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS DETERMINE, OKAY, UM, IS IT A GROUP OF FOLKS THAT ARE INTERESTED IN THIS PARTICULAR AGENDA ITEM? IS IT, YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY, ONE PERSON, ONE COMMISSIONER THAT HAS EXPERTISE, SOMEBODY ELSE SIGNS UP ON THEIR TEAM? DOES THIS NEED A WORKING GROUP TO HAVE A DISCUSSION? DOES THIS NEED, UH, JUST ONE OR TWO COMMISSIONERS TO DO FOLLOW UP AND COME BACK? UM, IS THE WORKING GROUP, IS THE TOPIC SUCH THAT THE WORKING GROUP, UH, NEEDS TO YIELD A RECOMMENDATION FOR THE COMMISSION? UM, AND, AND WHAT IS, WHAT IS OUR, UH, TIME WINDOW TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT, JUST TO MAKE THESE ITEMS, UM, ACTIONABLE FOR US? UM, AND SOME OF THESE WILL LEAD TO RECOMMENDATIONS.

SOME OF THESE MIGHT JUST BE AN ASSESSMENT.

SOME OF THESE MIGHT BE, UM, OKAY, WE DID THE RESEARCH AND, UH, UH, WE NEED TO PUT A PIN ON THIS, OR THAT'S THE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHERE WE STOP, RIGHT? SO IT COULD BE ANY AND ALL OF THOSE.

SO, SO WITH THAT IDEA, UH, COMMISSIONER ENGLAND HAD ALSO, UM, OFFERED TO, UM, HELP ME WITH THIS AGENDA ITEM.

SO I'VE ASKED HIM TO TAKE A LEAD ON THE CONVERSATION ON THE TOPICS ITSELF.

I WOULD, UM, UM, REQUEST THAT AS YOU FIND YOUR AREAS WHERE YOU ALL MIGHT WANNA FOCUS, UH, INDIVIDUAL COMMISSIONERS, UH, THAT WE PICK, LIKE DIFF YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT FOLKS PICK UP DIFFERENT TOPICS TO LEAD, UH, AND RUN WITH THOSE.

AND THEN WHAT WE DO IS WE BRING THOSE AGENDA ITEMS IN SUBSEQUENT MEETINGS BACK, UM, UM, YOU KNOW, INTO THIS MEETING AND HAVE OUR UPDATES, UH, HAVE OUR DISCUSSIONS AND COME TO CONCLUSIONS, UH, AS WE MOVE FORWARD.

UH, SO WITH THAT, I WILL, UH, YIELD TO COMMISSIONER ENGLAND, UM, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, LET HIM, UH, RUN THE DISCUSSION.

THANK YOU, NAALI.

THAT I HAD MENTIONED BEFORE.

UM, I THINK BASED OFF OF OUR, UH, BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS, WHICH, UH, I PRINTED OFF TO PUT OUT BEFORE ALL OF OUR COMMISSIONERS, JUST TO MAKE IT A LITTLE BIT EASIER TO FOLLOW ALONG.

UM, AS NAGA VALLEY SAID, OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, MUCH OF THE COMMISSION'S ATTENTION HAS BEEN APPROPRIATELY FOCUSED ON THE CULTURAL FUNDING AND THE LIVE MUSIC FUND.

UM, AND WHILE THE WORK STILL REMAINS AN IMPORTANT, UH, YOU KNOW, AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT SHOULD AND MUST CONTINUE, UM, BUT WITH THE ACME'S FUNDING FRAMEWORK THAT'S NOW FAIRLY LARGELY ESTABLISHED, UM, YOU KNOW, FUNDING, I DON'T BELIEVE SHOULD NO LONGER DEFINE THE FULLEST SCOPE OF WHAT THE COMMISSION'S WORK LOOKS LIKE.

UH, SO I GUESS THE, THE BIG QUESTION IS, IS, IS MOVING FORWARD, UM, YOU KNOW, WHERE CAN THIS COMMISSION MAKE THE GREATEST DIFFERENCE OVER THE NEXT YEAR? AND WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE AS FAR AS PRIORITIES ARE CONCERNED? UM, I THINK OUR BUDGET RECOMMENDATION IS A GREAT FRAMEWORK, UH, TO START FROM THAT.

AND SO I'VE IDENTIFIED, UM, THREE PRIORITIES THAT, UH, I BELIEVE, UM, WOULD BE INCREDIBLY BENEFICIAL FOR US TO KIND OF TAKE UP IN DISCUSSION, UM, AND THAT I WILL BE PURSUING.

UM, AND I WANTED TO SHARE THOSE WITH YOU ALL TODAY, UH, AND SEE IF THERE'S ANY INTEREST OR IF THERE'S THINGS THAT MAYBE WE'RE MISSING AS FAR AS THE PRIORITIES FOR DISCUSSION THAT AREN'T ACTUALLY IN THE BUDGET.

AND, UM, SO BASED ON THE BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, THE THREE PRIORITIES I WOULD LIKE AS A STARTING POINT FOR NEXT YEAR WOULD BE SPACE PRESERVATION, WHICH INTERPLANETARY DESK, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR, FOR, YOU KNOW, KINDA SEGUEING INTO THAT CONVERSATION.

UM, PROCESS IMPROVEMENT AND PROGRESS TRAPPING TRACKING.

SO FIRST, UM, ALONG WITH SPACE PRESERVATION IS, YOU KNOW, I'VE TITLED IT, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE KEEP MUSIC HERE? SO A FOCUS MORE ON PROTECTING VENUES, REHEARSAL SPACES, CULTURAL DISTRICTS, AND INDEPENDENT BUSINESSES THAT MAKE AUSTIN'S ECOSYSTEM POSSIBLE.

AND OBVIOUSLY RIGHT NOW, RED RIVER IS THE MOST IMMEDIATE TEST FOR THAT.

UM, BRIEFLY

[01:10:01]

YOU KNOW, A CULTURAL DISTRICT DESIGNATION, I THINK MUST PROVIDE MORE THAN JUST ITS CURRENT RECOGNITION, UM, BUT ALSO LEAD INTO A BIT MORE OF A MEANINGFUL PRESERVATION, AFFORDABILITY, AND ACQUISITION TOOLS, UH, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, WHAT YOU WERE DISCUSSING, ESPECIALLY SINCE WITH RALLY AUSTIN, YOU KNOW, THE, THE TRUST DOLLARS, SOME, UH, NOT BEING, UH, VOTED ON FOR THE BUDGET.

AND, UH, THAT'S COMING UP.

I THINK THERE'S EVEN MORE OF A PRESSING NEED FOR THAT.

UM, AND I THINK WHOLLY AS A COMMISSION, UM, I WOULD LOVE FOR US TO ADOPT THAT AS, AS A, A MAIN PRIORITY, UH, FOR WHAT THE YEAR LOOKS LIKE.

UM, SECOND IS MAKING AUSTIN WORK FOR MUSIC, WHICH LARGELY ACME UNDER THEIR TIMELINE, THE AMOUNT OF PRESSURE, UH, THE AMOUNT OF, UH, APPLICABLE SILENCE HAS, I, I, I CAN'T EVEN BELIEVE THE JOB THAT ACME HAS DONE.

IT'S INCREDIBLY IMPRESSIVE, UH, AS THEY CONTINUE TO HIRE PEOPLE AND ONBOARD AND MOVE AROUND RESPONSIBILITIES.

UM, IT, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S WONDERFUL.

UM, BUT ON TOP OF THAT, UM, I THINK UNDER THE ACME, YOU KNOW, REFACING RIGHT NOW THAT WE SHOULD ALIGN WITH, SHOULD WE BE ABLE TO HELP IDENTIFY AND HELP PERFORM THE PERMITTING SOUNDS, SPECIAL EVENT TRANSPORTATION, UH, AND INTERDEPARTMENTAL PROCESSES THAT MAKE PRODUCING MUSIC AND MUSIC RELATED EVENTS SOMETIMES MORE DIFFICULT OR UNPREDICTABLE, SPECIFICALLY FOR THE OPERATORS.

UH, FINDING A PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE FOR OPERATORS AND UNDOING SOME UNNECESSARY BURDENS, UH, ON CITY STAFF FROM THESE PROCESSES, UH, INVOLVED, I THINK SHOULD BE THE GOAL.

UM, AND LASTLY, FOR, FOR SOMETHING TO THINK ON FOR A PRIORITY, THE, THE CITY DELIVERABLES.

UM, THE MEASURE OF SUCCESS, I THINK NOT ONLY IS HOW MUCH FUNDING THAT IS DISTRIBUTED, UH, AND THE DATA THAT'S NECESSARILY CO COLLECTED FROM THAT, BUT YOU KNOW, WHETHER MUSICIANS ARE ACTUALLY RECEIVING PAID OPPORTUNITIES, VENUES AND ADJACENT SPACES ARE REMAINING OPEN AND NOT CLOSING, UM, CULTURAL SPACES AND NOT JUST HISTORICALLY DESIGNATED ONES ARE BEING PRESERVED.

UH, AND COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS ARE, ARE, ARE BEING FOLLOWED UP ON AND, AND ACTED UPON.

UM, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WHATEVER PRIORITIES WE CHOOSE INDIVIDUALLY OR AS A COMMISSION, UH, THAT IT ALIGNS WITH ACME'S STRATEGIC POSITIONING AND DIRECTION WITHOUT DUPLICATING OR ADDING UNNECESSARY BURDEN TO, TO THEIR WORK.

UM, I BELIEVE THAT THE COMMISSION'S RESPONSIBILITY IS TO LISTEN TO THE COMMUNITY AND STAFF, IDENTIFY THE POLICY GAPS, BUILD CONSENSUS, AND THEN RECOMMEND ACTION, NOT NECESSARILY AS FULLY OF AN, OF AN OVERSIGHT BODY.

COMMISSION WANTS TO TAKE UP OR FEELS LIKE, UH, YOU KNOW, ISN'T NECESSARILY A PRIORITY? UM, JUST IN KIND OF THE, THE SPIRIT OF BRINGING IN SOME FOCUS TO WHAT NEXT YEAR LOOKS LIKE.

UM, YOU KNOW, BUT ESTABLISHING THESE PRIORITIES FOR NEXT YEAR, I THINK IS KIND OF THE FIRST STEP.

UH, SO BASED ON WHAT WE HAVE FOR BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, YOU KNOW, I'D LIKE TO PROPOSE THAT WE USE THE REMAINDER OF 2026 TO KIND OF ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS AS A COMMISSION, FIGURE OUT IF THERE ARE INDIVIDUAL PRIORITIES THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO PURSUE, UM, OR COLLECTIVE ONES, UM, AND FIGURE OUT A WAY TO KIND OF ESTABLISH THE DELIVERABLES AS NAGA VALLEY SAID, WHATEVER THAT LOOKS LIKE, WHETHER IT'S THROUGH WORKING GROUPS, UH, WHETHER IT'S PRESENTING INFORMATION TO, TO HELP WITH, UM, ALIGNMENT OF WHAT THE COMMUNITY'S ALREADY DOING.

UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, A START TO KIND OF ADOPT A, A MORE CLEAR VISION OF WHAT 2027 LOOKS LIKE AS FAR AS OUR PRIORITIES ARE CONCERNED AS A COMMISSION.

UM, YOU KNOW, I, I, I THINK IT'S HARD.

THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS TO ADDRESS, AND I THINK THAT AUSTIN AS A MUNICIPALITY, UH, AS A COMMUNITY, UM, AND WITH CITY STAFF REALLY DOES A, AN AMAZING JOB.

UM, YOU KNOW, BUT WE CAN'T ADDRESS ALL OF THOSE THINGS AT ONCE.

UH, AND I THINK IT'S PART OF OUR RESPONSIBILITY IN THIS COMMISSION THAT WE CAN CHOOSE WHAT ISSUES MATTER TO US MOST, UH, ESTABLISH A CLEAR PLAN AND SEE THAT WORK THROUGH INSTEAD OF JUST NECESSARILY BEING A DISCUSSION PANEL ALL THE TIME.

UM, SO THOSE ARE KIND OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT I'M WORKING ON.

UM, AND FOR THE COMMISSIONERS THAT AREN'T HERE TONIGHT, UM, YOU KNOW, I'LL BE SENDING THIS ALONG AS WELL, UM, YOU KNOW, OPEN TO MEETING IN PERSON, TALKING ABOUT WORKING GROUPS FOR WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE FOR THESE PRIORITIES.

BUT, UM, I KIND OF WANNA POSE TO, TO THE COMMISSIONERS THAT ARE HERE IN ATTENDANCE THIS EVENING.

UM, YOU KNOW, THE REASON THAT I'VE PRINTED OFF THIS BUDGET RECOMMENDATION AS AN EXERCISE IS A GREAT STARTING POINT FOR EVERYONE, UH, IS, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT WE'RE MISSING THAT SHOULD BE A PRIORITY FOR THE COMMISSION? UM, IS THERE ANYTHING SPECIFICALLY WITHIN THESE BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS THAT, UM, ANYONE ON THE

[01:15:01]

UM, SO, AND I THINK NAGA VALLEY FOR TAKING THE TIME TO KINDA WALK ME THROUGH, YOU KNOW, WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE AND, AND, AND HELP GUIDE ME AS FAR AS IDENTIFYING THE PRIORITIES THAT I SEE IN THE COMMUNITY.

UM, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO START JUST BY OFFERING THAT TO THE REST OF THE COMMISSION AND, AND HEARING ANY REMARKS THAT THEY WOULD HAVE, UM, AS FAR AS PRIORITIES SHOULD BE FOR THIS NEXT YEAR.

COMMISSIONER ENGLAND.

UH, THANK YOU.

COMMISSIONER ENGLAND.

UH, UH, COMMISSIONER CASADA, UH, THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER ENGLAND AND NAGO VALLEY FOR PUTTING THIS TOGETHER.

UM, A COUPLE OF THINGS KIND OF COME TO MIND, LIKE, NOW THAT WE HAVE THIS PRINTED OUT.

NO, I KNOW WE'VE HAD IT PRINTED OUT BEFORE, BUT NOW THAT WE'RE REALLY, YOU KNOW, UH, GOT THIS WELL-OILED MACHINE WITH ACME AND WE CAN REALLY CIRCLE BACK AROUND TO THAT.

I AM A PROPONENT OF LIKE, KIND OF MOVING ON, YOU KNOW, THAT SYSTEM IS SET UP AND LOVE GETTING, UM, KIND OF LIKE THESE MONTHLY REPORTS ABOUT IT.

BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE DUE TO A LOT OF HARD WORK AND, UM, REFLECTION AND DEVELOPING THESE SUPER EFFICIENT SYSTEMS, IT'S JUST MOVING FULL SPEED AHEAD.

UM, FROM RECOGNIZING SOME TOPICS FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS, IT SEEMS LIKE, I GUESS THE FIRST PLACE TO START WOULD BE, IS THERE A WAY WITHIN ROBERT'S RULES OF REGULATIONS OF US ALMOST VOTING ON THESE AND WE PRIORITIZE, LIKE, YOU KNOW, WHAT PEOPLE, SO WE DON'T HAVE TO TEASE IT OUT RIGHT NOW, WE DON'T HAVE EVERYBODY HERE, BUT IS THERE SOMETHING WHERE WE SEND OUT LIKE SOME KIND OF GOOGLE FORM OR SURVEY WHERE PEOPLE CAN SAY, YOU KNOW, THIS, THIS ISSUE GOT THIS MANY VOTES THAT WE'RE GONNA DEAL WITH IT, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

UM, BUT, AND SO I WOULD KIND OF LEAVE THAT TO THE, THE CITY AND THE COMMISSION TO KIND OF FIGURE OUT WHAT IS THAT PROCESS SO WE DON'T HAVE TO TALK IT THROUGH, BUT WE CAN JUST VOTE ON IT AND COLLECT, FIND OUT WHAT THE MOST PRESSING ISSUES ARE.

UM, BUT THE THINGS THAT COME TO MY MIND, JUST IN TERMS OF BRIEF CONVERSATION, WAS BECAUSE ACME DID SUCH THIS FANTASTIC JOB OF CRE LIKE, UH, TIDYING UP A HUGE GROWTH SPURT WITH THE, UH, ALL THE, THE GRANTS AND FUNDINGS, ALMOST LIKE WITHIN A YEAR OR TWO, COMBINING EVERYTHING, IT DOES SEEM THAT THE PERMITTING PROCESSES AND, UM, THE REGULATORY OPERATIONAL BURDENS COULD BE ADDRESSED.

AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE ALREADY WORKING WITH THE CITY ON SO CLOSELY, LIKE, CAN WE TIDY THAT UP? AND THEN AS WELL AS THE, UH, THE SUPPORT FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM FESTIVALS, UH, VIS-A-VIS THE WAVING OF WAIVERS AND PERMITTING ASSISTANCE THAT ALMOST SEEMS TO KIND OF FIT IN NICELY TOGETHER MM-HMM .

AND SO MAYBE THERE'S SOMETHING THERE THAT WE, AND AGAIN, I THINK WE SHOULD TOTALLY VOTE ON WHAT PEOPLE FEEL LIKE ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT PRESSING ISSUES THAT WE DEAL WITH.

BUT BECAUSE WE'VE ALREADY WORKED, SO, UH, IN TANDEM, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE, UH, YOU KNOW, THE GRANT SYSTEM MAY, MAYBE THIS SEEMS LIKE, UH, THE NEXT FITTING OPPORTUNITY, UH, I CAN'T HELP BUT REFLECT, UM, UPON WHATEVER HAPPENED WITH RESOUND PRESENTS AND LIKE HAVING TO MOVE THREE SHOWS DUE TO LIKE, PERMITTING ISSUES.

SO MAYBE IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S IN, LIKE, WHILE WE'RE IDENTIFYING WHAT OUR MOST PRESSING ISSUES ARE, AND EVERYONE VOTES ON THAT, I REALLY DO LIKE THE OPPORTUNITY OF HAVING GUEST SPEAKERS SO WE CAN LEARN JUST STRAIGHT UP WHAT THE ISSUES ARE IN REAL TIME OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAPPENED, WHAT, WHERE WERE THE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE POINTS THAT WE REALLY NEEDED TO DISCUSS AND THEN JUST DRILL DOWN.

AND I THINK JUST MAKING THIS COMMISSION MORE ENGAGED WITH COMMUNITY LEADERS IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY, UH, IS JUST, IS FABULOUS.

AND EVEN HAVING INTERPLAY INTERPLANETARY HELP DESK HERE WAS, UM, SO REWARDING.

I JUST LOVE WHEN WE HAVE SPEAKERS COME.

SO ALMOST ALWAYS HAVING THOSE PEOPLE AND THEN, UH, COMING UP WITH A VOTING SYSTEM FOR THIS AND THEN DRILLING DOWN.

WITH WHAT'S ACTIONABLE BASED ON WHERE ACME IS AT AND THE DEVELOPMENT THAT THEY'RE DOING, UM, COMMISSIONER, UM, CARVALLO AND I ACTUALLY MET, I PUT TOGETHER A PROPOSAL FOR, UM, WHAT KIND OF UNLOADING A LITTLE BIT OF UNDUE BURDEN, UH, TOWARDS THE SPECIAL EVENTS IN PERMITTING OFFICE FOR WHAT SPECIAL EVENTS LOOK LIKE, UH, WITH, UH, ERICA AND MORGAN, AND I CANNOT REMEMBER THE OTHER MARIE.

, UH, CELESTE, I COULDN'T AGREE WITH YOU MORE, UH, FOR WHAT THAT IS.

AND PART OF LOOKING THROUGH THE, UM, BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS, WHICH YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, KIND OF SEEMS LIKE IT ALIGNS FOR WHAT THAT IS.

UM, I, I COULDN'T AGREE MORE.

UH, AND, YOU KNOW, WHILE WE'RE HAVING THESE DISCUSSIONS TOO, UH, AND KIND OF ALIGNING

[01:20:01]

UM, THANK YOU.

APPRECIATE THAT, ERICA, UH, TO KIND OF TALK ABOUT THAT, BECAUSE THEY WERE JUST STARTING TO THINK ABOUT WHAT THAT WAS.

AND, YOU KNOW, PEDRO AS AN OPERATOR AND THEN ALSO MYSELF INDEPENDENTLY, AND WITH HIM, WE'VE HAD PLENTY ENOUGH EXPERIENCE TO KIND OF TALK ABOUT WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.

UH, AND SO I THINK, UM, JUST TO KIND OF START ON ONE OF THOSE PRIORITIES, IT WOULD BE GREAT TO HAVE THE OFFICE KIND OF COME AND TALK ABOUT WHERE THEY'RE AT IN THAT PROCESS RIGHT NOW FOR HOW THOSE SPECIAL EVENTS AND T USES ARE CHANGING.

UM, BECAUSE IT DOES AFFECT NOT JUST THE, THE CURRENT VENUES OR INDEPENDENT PROMOTERS WITH UTILIZING THAT, BUT IT'S ALSO THE, UM, THE ONE-OFFS AND THE BIGGER ONES.

AND SO IT'S NOT JUST THE FESTIVALS AND IF THINGS MOVE AROUND AND WHAT THOSE COSTS AND WHAT THAT RISK AND BURDEN LOOKS LIKE FOR THE OPERATORS, NOT TO MENTION IT'S THE SAME PROCESS THAT GOES THROUGH WITH SOUTH BY OR DURING ACL, AND SO IT CAN KIND OF CLOG UP AND TAKE AWAY THAT TIME.

SO I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING VERY MUCH SO TO, TO EXPLORE.

UM, AND, AND TO YOUR POINT AS WELL, UH, I KNOW THAT YOU BRING IN A LOT OF PEOPLE TO COME AND SPEAK, AND IT'S ALWAYS EDUCATIONAL, AND I VERY MUCH SO APPRECIATE THAT.

UM, I THINK THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, IF WE CAN FIGURE OUT WHAT SOME MAIN PRIORITIES ARE FOR US, AND LIKE I SAID, INDIVIDUALLY OR COLLECTIVELY, BECAUSE IT DOES HAPPEN KIND OF ORGANICALLY, SOME THINGS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY TEND TO RISE UP IN MORE OF AN IMMEDIATE NATURE, UH, THAT WE'RE INVOLVED IN.

AND SOME THINGS ARE A BIT MORE LONG-TERM FOCUS.

SO I THINK THAT MAYBE NOT HAVING A VOTE FOR WHAT THAT IS, BUT KIND OF HAVING AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHERE THOSE LONG-TERM PRIORITIES ARE AT, AND THEN GIVING SPACE FOR THOSE, YOU KNOW, EMERGENCY ONES THAT KIND OF HAPPEN IS IMPORTANT.

UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, ALIGNING WITH WHATEVER PRIORITIES WE, WE REALLY WANNA LOOK AT, UH, KIND OF CENTERING IN AROUND WHO WE BRING TO TALK ABOUT MM-HMM .

UM, YOU KNOW, TO ADD TO OUR EDUCATION FOR QUESTIONS THAT WE DO HAVE, UH, SO THAT WE CAN MAKE A, A MORE INFORMED, UH, RECOMMENDATION FOR WHAT THAT IS.

SO I COULDN'T AGREE MORE.

UM, UH, I WILL YIELD TO COMMISSIONER AGUILAR AND COMMISSIONER KAENA, I'LL COME TO YOU NEXT.

YEAH, I THINK, UH, DEFINITELY I THINK ONE OF THE PRESSING ISSUES IS, UH, SOMETHING, UH, THAT, UH, COMMISSIONER ENGLAND BROUGHT UP WITH THE SPACE PRESERVATION AND, UH, YOU KNOW, HEARING ANDY TALK, I JUST LEARNED SO MUCH IN THE LAST, THE LAST HOUR.

UM, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE US WORK COLLECTIVELY AS A COMMISSION TO KIND OF FOCUS ON A SPACE PRESERVATION BE FOR ME, IT'S VERY PRESSING.

THERE'S, I MEAN, ALL THESE, THE LIST HERE IS GREAT.

THANK YOU FOR PUTTING THAT TOGETHER.

BUT I THINK I WOULD LIKE TO EDUCATE MYSELF MORE ON, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE FOR ME IT'S LIKE, WELL, WHY DON'T WE JUST, I KNOW THE CITY HAS A LOT OF BUDGETARY, UH, THINGS, UH, TO TAKE CARE OF.

UH, IT'S NOT JUST THE MUSIC, BUT, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE'VE, HOW MAYBE OTHER CITIES ACROSS THE NATION HAVE DONE, UH, A GOOD JOB OF PRESERVING VENUES.

HOW DO WE GO ABOUT THAT? HOW I WANNA LEARN HOW TO DO THAT? LIKE, I LIKE TO LEARN.

IS THAT POSSIBLE? I MEAN, COULD WE, COULD WE RECOMMEND, YOU KNOW, TO THE CITY, HEY, YOU KNOW, WE, WE'VE BEEN DOING SOME RESEARCH AND WE FOUND, YOU KNOW, CITY AND, YOU KNOW, SOMEWHERE IN THE STATES, SOMEWHERE ELSE IN THE CITY, THEY DID THIS, AND IT WORKED REALLY WELL FOR THEM.

WHERE WE PRESERVE THESE, UH, VENUES, I'M JUST HEARING THE LITHIUM AND AND EMPIRE, JUST LIKE, MAN, THEY'RE, IT'S LIKE, I'M LOSING SOME, I'M LOSING SOME FRIENDS.

YOU, THOSE ARE GREAT VENUES FOR LOCAL LACKS TO, UM, REALLY GROW AND TO, AND FOR US TO, YOU KNOW, TO JUST CONGREGATE AS, AS, UH, PEOPLE WHO LOVE MUSIC.

AND WE'RE LOSING THOSE.

AND I DON'T KNOW IF WE CAN STOP, UH, THE HEMORRHAGING.

I HOPE WE CAN, BUT I, I NEED TO EDUCATE MYSELF MORE ON HOW MAYBE, AGAIN, ANOTHER CITY HAS DONE A GREAT JOB OF, OF PRESERVING, UH, THESE SPACES.

SO THAT'S, UH, MY 2 CENTS.

NOT NEARLY, UH, IN ANY WAY ON PURPOSE, THAT THE DISCUSSION ASPECT OF BEING HERE ON THE COMMISSION TENDS TO KIND OF OVERTAKE.

YEAH, THANK YOU.

I, I, I FEEL LIKE IN, AS, IN TANDEM FOR THAT, UM, THAT, UH, HOW WE EDUCATE OURSELVES, RIGHT, AS COMMISSIONERS ON OUR OWN TIME AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE BASED ON WHAT OUR PRIORITIES ARE AND WHAT WE IDENTIFY, UH, WITHIN THE COMMUNITY IN OUR AREAS OF EXPERTISE.

UM, AND CONTINUING, YOU KNOW, TO COMPOUND ON WHAT CELESTE MENTIONED ABOUT BRINGING PEOPLE IN FOR WHAT THAT IS, I THINK THAT, UM, OFTENTIMES, UH, AND, AND

[01:25:01]

AND THEN SOME WORK IS DONE AND SOME ISN'T.

AND SOME THINGS KIND OF EBB AND FLOW AS FAR AS IMPORTANCE AND PRIORITY.

UM, BUT, UH, I REALLY LIKED WHAT YOU SAID, CELESTE, UH, TO, TO BACK IN ON THAT TOO ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S ACTIONABLE, RIGHT? WHAT DECISIONS ARE WE MAKING HERE? YOU KNOW, EDUCATING OURSELVES, BRINGING PEOPLE IN FOR AWARENESS, RIGHT? AND FROM A PUBLIC PERSPECTIVE, UH, AND VISIBILITY, UH, BUT THEN FIGURING OUT HOW WE CAN BE ACTIONABLE WITH THOSE THINGS AS WELL.

SO, UM, YEAH, I, AS FAR AS THE PRIORITIES THAT I'VE LISTED SO FAR, UH, I'VE GOT SOME MORE RESEARCH TO DO TO FIGURE OUT WHO TO BRING IN SO THAT WE CAN LEARN SOME MORE ABOUT WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.

MAY I ADD SOMETHING ELSE? YEAH.

SO SOMETHING THAT WAS IN HERE TO INCREASE VISIBILITY OF MUSIC VENUES CITYWIDE.

YOU KNOW, WE'VE SEEN THESE OTHER VENUES THAT, YOU KNOW, WE MIGHT LOSE ALSO HIGHLIGHTING OTHER VENUES THAT KI ARE NOT AS POPULAR.

I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT AS WELL.

AND, UM, YEAH, SOMETHING WE SHOULD DEFINITELY, UH, WORK TOGETHER.

THANK YOU COMMISSIONER KA.

SORRY, GETTING TO MY UNMUTE BUTTON.

UM, I THINK IT'D BE GREAT, GIVEN THAT EVERYBODY HAS DIFFERENT EXPERTISE IN A DIFFERENT AREA OF MUSIC.

SO JUST HOW WE DIVIDE UP THE LIVE MUSIC FUND BETWEEN PROMOTERS, ARTISTS AND VENUES.

YOU KNOW, PEDRO AND CLAYTON HAVE, YOU KNOW, REPEATEDLY SAID THEIR EXPERTISE IN VENUES AND LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE, ON HERE IT SAYS LIKE, THE VENUE SAFETY SUPPORT PROGRAM, AND EXACTLY LIKE YOU SAID, LEADING THE CHARGE ON THOSE THINGS.

UM, YOU KNOW, AND KIND OF TAKING, LIKE, I'M REALLY GOOD AT PROMOTION AND MARKETING, YOU KNOW, AND ES LIKE, WE ALL HAVE OUR OWN STRENGTHS AND RELATIONSHIPS AND THINGS THAT WE COULD BRING TO THE TABLE.

SO I THINK IT'D BE REALLY NICE, EVEN WITH THESE RECOMMENDATIONS TO REALLY KIND OF 'CAUSE IT, YOU KNOW, IT IS OVERWHELMING, LIKE YOU WERE SAYING.

AND SO, CLAYTON, I APPRECIATE YOU GOING THROUGH AND, YOU KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT JUST NARROWING IT DOWN, BUT LIKE YOU SAID, I THINK WHAT'S FEASIBLE, WHAT'S ACTUALLY GONNA BE, WHAT CAN WE TAKE ACTION ON? BECAUSE THESE, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THESE ARE JUST HAIL MARY'S, AND THAT'S PROBABLY NOT WHERE OUR, YOU KNOW, THE BEST USE OF OUR TIME.

BUT THEN ALSO WHAT, LIKE YOU'RE SAYING, WHAT'S THE PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE? WHAT ARE SOME OF THE LOW HANGING FRUIT THINGS THAT WE CAN GET SOME OF THOSE REAL QUICK WINS, BUT I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SEE US, YOU KNOW, LIKE YOU SAID, STRATEGIZE AND SEE WHAT HAS THE MOST URGENCY, WHICH IT SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE ALL IN AGREEMENT.

IT'S WITH PRESERVING VENUES AND PRESERVING MUSIC SPACES.

SO, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH REBECCA REYNOLDS WITH THE LIVE MUSIC VENUE ALLIANCE AND DOING MORE OF THAT.

SO I THINK IF WE CAN JUST, LIKE YOU SAID, GET MORE STRATEGIC, AND I'M ALSO HAPPY TO WORK WITH YOU CLAYTON, AND HOW WE CAN ACCOMPLISH THAT.

BUT I THINK JUST BEING, LIKE YOU SAID, KIND OF DOING THAT HOMEWORK AFTER WE LEAVE HERE, SO THAT WAY THERE'S MORE ACTIONABLE STEPS MOVING FORWARD.

UH, COMMISSIONER ADA.

UH, IS IT, WHAT IS THE, UM, ERICA PERHAPS, OR NAGA VALLEY, WHAT IS THE, IF WE HAD TO VOTE ON THESE AND KIND OF LIKE PRIORITIZE WHAT WOULD BE THE, A GOOD MECHANISM FOR, IS THERE A LINK THAT WE GET AND THEN WE CAN VOTE ON LIKE WHAT WE THINK IS THE MOST PRESSING? YES, BUT THAT WON'T HAPPEN UNTIL 2027 IN MARCH.

SO WHAT THIS, UH, THE NEXT BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS FOR, YOU KNOW, THE NEXT BUDGET, 28 IS MARCH, RIGHT? WELL, JUST LIKE WHAT WE TALK ABOUT AS A COMMISSION, IF I QUICKLY MAY, UH, ERICA, YES, THESE ARE BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, BUT WE PIVOTED THE CONVERSATION TO WANTING TO PRIORITIZE WHAT THE COMMISSION CAN FOCUS ON AND TAKE UP AS AGENDA ITEMS AS WE MOVE FORWARD.

SO NOT, WE, WE KIND OF MOVED AWAY FROM VOTING ON BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS RIGHT NOW.

THE COMMISSION WILL VOTE ON THE BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS WHEN THAT DOES COME UP.

BUT RIGHT NOW THE DISCUSSION IS ABOUT PRIORITIZATION AND WHAT GOES ON THE AGENDA AS WE MOVE FORWARD FROM THIS COMMISSION, WE GATHER INFO, RIGHT? ONE THING THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL IS FOR US TO COME TOGETHER.

I KNOW WE'VE DISCUSSED A RETREAT IN THE PAST OF THINGS THAT CITY STAFF IS WORKING ON AND COORDINATING WITH OTHER CITIES MM-HMM .

WITH, UM, BEST PRACTICES THROUGH CONFERENCES.

CAN START LOOKING AT THIS DATA SO THAT WE CAN SEE THE PATTERNS, NOT JUST IN AUSTIN OR IN TEXAS OR EVEN THE US MM-HMM .

JUST WENT TO THE WHOLE MUSIC CITY CONVENTION.

UH, I MEAN, THE WHOLE MUSIC CONVENTION THAT IS SOUND DIPLOMACY.

THEY HAVE THEM ALL OVER THE WORLD.

THE NEXT ONE'S IN CALGARY, UH, THIS HAPPENED IN JUNE.

AND SOME GREAT IDEAS AROUND HOW DO WE, UM, AS WHEN WE LOOK AT A DATABASE OF VENUES, HOW ARE WE CATEGORIZING THEM IN COMPARISON TO OTHER CITIES SO THAT WE CAN HAVE A REALLY A BETTER IDEA OF WHAT'S OPENING, WHAT'S CLOSING, WHAT TYPES OF CAPACITIES RIGHT NOW, CITIES TO FIND THEM FOR THEIR OWN MICRO NEEDS, LIKE THEIR LITTLE, YOU KNOW, BASED ON JUST FOR THEIR COMMUNITY, WHEN THERE ARE WAYS THAT WE

[01:30:01]

IT'S, THESE ARE GLOBAL PATTERNS.

UH, THAT IS AFFECTING VENUES, SUSTAINABILITY EVERYWHERE, EVERYWHERE.

THIS IS THE SAME PROBLEM THAT CITIES ARE HAVING AROUND THE WORLD.

AND, UM, AND SO WHAT, THAT'S THE FIRST STEP.

WE WANNA BETTER COORDINATE WITH OUR OTHER MUSIC CITIES IN THOSE WAYS AS WELL AS WHAT WORKS, WHAT DOESN'T.

UM, A LOT OF TIMES WE'RE ALL DEALING WITH THE VERY SAME ISSUES, WHICH IS MONEY, YOU KNOW, IF IT COMES TO HOW DO YOU TRULY MAKE IT SUSTAINABLE, UM, VENUES, UH, LIVE MUSIC VENUES ESPECIALLY JUST CAN'T PAY THE MARKET WHEN YOU CAN'T, YOU CANNOT SELL ENOUGH LONE STAR OR WIDGETS OR WHATEVER TICKETS FOR 30 GRAND A MONTH, UH, AND EXPECT A ACCESSIBLE LIVE MUSIC VENUE.

AND, BUT THAT IS THE COST.

AND, AND SO YES, THERE ARE THINGS WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING THAT, UH, WE WOULD LOVE TO PRESENT AND TALK TO THE COMMISSIONERS ABOUT, AND TALK TO COMMUNITY ABOUT THINGS AROUND INSURANCE PERMITTING.

WHAT DOES SPONSORSHIP LOOK LIKE FROM THE CITY? THIS IS ALL PART OF OUR PHASE THREE.

WE HAVE A PLAN IN PLACE TO GO FOR IT WITH THIS NEXT PHASE.

WE'RE JUST WAITING FOR, WE HAVE A LOT HAPPENING IN ACME.

SO WE'RE JUST WAITING OUR, OUR TURN TO GET UP AND, AND TALK ABOUT THESE PRIORITIES.

AND SO I THINK IN THE MEANTIME, WE'D BE HAPPY TO MEET WITH YOU GUYS AND JUST SHARE WHAT WE HAVE, UH, WHAT OTHER CITIES ARE SHARING WITH US, IDEAS, THOUGHTS, UH, BECAUSE WE WOULD LOVE YOUR HELP, YOU KNOW, TO KIND OF LOOK INTO ALL OF THIS AND TO WORK WITH US ON THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THAT WILL COME OUT OF THIS TO DECIDE WHAT'S NEXT AND THEN WHAT'S ACTIONABLE AS WELL.

SO, UH, WHAT IS A, YOU KNOW, I'M SURE WE'VE GOT SOME LOW HANGING FRUIT THAT WE COULD DO, UM, AND THEN IF WE JUST THINK BROADLY AND DIFFERENTLY, ESPECIALLY AROUND INSURANCE.

AND SO, UM, AND SO I'D BE EXCITED TO, TO WORK WITH ALL OF YOU GUYS AND JUST ALIGN.

UH, 'CAUSE LAST THING I WANT IS FOR ANY OF YOU GUYS, JUST LIKE STARTING ALL OVER WHEN WE HAVE A BUNCH OF INFORMATION FOR YOU, I WANT US TO PROVIDE YOU WITH EVERYTHING WE'RE HEARING AND LEARNING SO THAT WE CAN ALL WORK COLLECTIVELY.

SO WOULD YOU BE THAT, THAT'S GREAT.

THAT'S SO EXCITING, BECAUSE I THOUGHT FOR, UM, FOR A MINUTE, I WAS JUST LIKE, COULD A GUEST, COULD WE PHONE IN A GUEST FROM NEW ORLEANS AND SEE HOW THEY, YOU KNOW, HANDLE LOTS OF PEOPLE WE CAN, YOU KNOW, HANDLE THEIR, THEIR MUSIC DISTRICTS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

BUT, UM, SO, SO THEREFORE IT DOES SOUND LIKE, HEY, WE DO HAVE A LOT OF, UH, YOU KNOW, WORK THAT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, GIVEN PERMITTING OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THAT WE ALREADY HAVE, AND WE NEED TO CATCH ALL UP TO SPEED ON IT.

SO WOULD WE GO DOWN THROUGH EACH OF THESE ISSUES AND THEN YOU ALL GIVE US A PRESENTATION ON EXACTLY WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THIS? YEAH, WE CAN CERTAINLY, WHATEVER, IF YOU WANNA REQUEST A PRESENTATION ON WHAT'S HAPPENING NEXT, BECAUSE WE ALSO HAVE A LOT OF COUNCIL DIRECTION THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH AROUND PARK SPECIAL EVENTS AND FEES.

UH, THIS, YOU KNOW, THE LATEST BUDGET PROCESS, UH, LOWERED THE COST OF THE SOUND IMPACT FEES, SOUND IMPACT PLAN FEES.

AND SO WE CAN TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT AND WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.

WE'RE VERY EXCITED TO RE-LOOK AT OUR FEES WITH THE CREATION OF ACME.

WE JUST DID NOT HAVE THE ABILITY WITH THE, THESE BUDGET PROCESSES FOR THE LAST TWO BUDGET PROCESSES TO HAVE TO BE ABLE TO DO IT BECAUSE WE WERE STILL KIND OF RIGHT, SITING THE DEPARTMENTS, MAKING SURE ALL THE MONEY FROM FIVE DIFFERENT PLACES THAT CREATED ACME, UH, ENDED UP IN THE RIGHT PLACE SO THAT WE CAN START LEVEL SETTING WHAT THE ACTUAL, YOU KNOW, FEES LOOK LIKE.

SO, UH, WE'RE EXCITED TO TALK WITH YOU GUYS AS WELL AS COMMUNITY ABOUT WHAT THAT COULD LOOK LIKE.

'CAUSE WE UNDERSTAND IT'S ABOUT AFFORDABILITY.

UM, I MEAN, THERE'S CERTAIN THINGS WE CAN DO, THERE'S CERTAIN THINGS WE CAN'T CONTROL, BUT WHAT CAN WE DO TO TRY TO OFFSET THE THINGS WE CAN'T CONTROL? UM, SO, SO THEN WOULD IT BE INSTEAD OF US SAYING, HEY, WE WANNA PRIORITIZE THESE, WOULD IT BE LIKE, HERE'S WHAT WE'RE MOST CONCERNED ABOUT, AND THEN YOU GUYS SAYING, WE'RE READY TO GIVE US A CONVER, YOU KNOW, WE'RE READY TO GIVE YOU A PRESENTATION ON THESE IN, IN THIS ORDER.

IS THIS THE LIST? SO THESE ARE, UM, IF I MAY, COMMISSIONER, UH, CASS, THESE ARE BUDGET, BUDGET PRIORITIES THAT WE PRESENTED, UH, AND VOTED ON AND, UH, SUBMITTED LAST ROUND.

IF YOU HAVE LIKE A LIST, I MEAN, I WANT YOU TO KNOW WHAT ALL YOUR PRIORITIES ARE AS A COMMISSION, UM, SEPARATE FROM THE CITY.

AND SO I WOULD DEFINITELY HAVE THAT DISCUSSION TO SEE WHAT IS IMPORTANT FOR THIS MUSIC COMMISSION.

AND WE HAVE 'EM, RIGHT? GET A LIST OF THERE, AND THEN WE CAN COME BACK AND PROVIDE YOU AN UPDATE WHERE WE CAN, AND THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, THEN PUT THINGS INTO PLACE TO LOOK, YOU KNOW, TO START INVESTIGATING OTHER THINGS WE HADN'T THOUGHT ABOUT.

UH, SO MAYBE THAT'S A GOOD PLACE FOR US TO START SO THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN JUST GIVE US LIKE A, A LIST, UH, OF WHATEVER MAKES SENSE FOR YOU GUYS.

AND THEN, UH, WE CAN COME BACK AND PRESENT ON WHAT WE'VE GOT.

SO THEN THE QUESTION IS,

[01:35:01]

UM, EXCEPT FOR MAYBE ONE OR TWO BRAINWAVES, UH, THAT I MIGHT HAVE PUT IN THERE.

UH, MOST OF THEM HAVE COME FROM DISCUSSIONS, GENERAL DISCUSSIONS THAT HAVE EITHER COME UP AT THIS COMMISSION IN THE COMMUNITY, WITHIN THE INDUSTRY.

SO THEY ARE ALL VERY RELEVANT TO OUR MUSIC ECOSYSTEM OR THE ITEMS THAT, UH, ARE IN THE, IN THE BUDGET DOCUMENT.

UM, ANY ITEM CAN BE ADDED TO THE AGENDA AS LONG AS TWO COMMISSIONERS WANT TO ADD IT TO THE AGENDA.

SO, UM, AS WE PRIORITIZE, LET'S ALSO KEEP THAT IN MIND THAT THAT IS STILL A POSSIBILITY BECAUSE FOR EXAMPLE, COMMISSIONER ROSENTHAL IN THE PAST WAS VERY, UH, DEDICATED AROUND, UH, ABOUT THE IDEA OF, UH, ACCESSIBILITY A DA WITH CODA.

AND THAT WAS AN ITEM THAT HE PER PURSUED PASSIONATELY, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, PRETTY MUCH INDEPENDENTLY AND WAS ABLE TO BRING SOME OUTCOMES OUT OF THAT AND SHARE THAT BACK WITH THE COMMISSION, UH, AS THE COMMISSION ALSO SUPPORTED HIS EFFORT.

SO, SO IT CAN BE A MIX OF THINGS, UM, DEFINITELY UNDERSTANDING WHAT ACME IS WORKING ON, AND AS THEY ARE MAKING DECISIONS, UH, AND THE CITY IS MAKING DECISIONS, IT WOULD BE REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO PLUG IN SO THAT WE, IF IT IS AN, AN A TOPIC THAT, UH, REQUIRES COLLABORATION OR ALSO NEEDS A RECOMMENDATION, WOULD VAL WOULD BE, IT WOULD BE VALUABLE TO GET A RECOMMENDATION FROM A COMMISSION ON THAT PARTICULAR TOPIC.

THEN THAT BECOMES VERY RELEVANT, UM, FOR THIS COMMISSION.

UH, IT COULD ALSO BE A TOPIC AROUND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, AND I HAVE TO UNDERSTAND HOW DIRECTLY THE CITY IS INVOLVED IN, IN WHAT WAY, BUT THAT IS SOMETHING I'M AWARE, FOR EXAMPLE, COMMISSIONER BLEVINS IS VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT, NOT TODAY, BUT SHE HAS, THAT'S A TOPIC SHE'S BEEN PASSIONATE ABOUT FROM A LONG TIME THAT I'VE KNOWN HER.

SO, UM, THAT IS SOMETHING, SAY, I'M NOT PUTTING YOU IN A SPOT, .

I WOULD, I WOULD ASK YOU TO SPEAK, UH, UM, YOU KNOW, IF, IF YOU CHOOSE TO ON THIS TOPIC.

BUT, UM, BUT JUST AS AN EXAMPLE, I HOPE YOU DON'T MIND.

UH, IF SHE PICKS THAT UP AND SOMEONE ELSE FROM THE COMMISSION IS INTERESTED IN IT, AND NOW YOU DECIDE TO PURSUE THAT TOPIC FORWARD, UM, IT'S POSSIBLE THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY CAN INVITE A SPEAKER ON THAT TOPIC TO THE COMMISSION.

THEY CAN CHECK WITH, UH, ACME IF WHAT KIND OF WORK IS BEING DONE ON THAT FRONT.

UM, AND, UH, IF NEEDED, THEY CAN PUT A WORKING GROUP AROUND IT.

IF NOT, MAYBE IT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT ONE OR TWO COMMISSIONERS PURSUE AND BRING BACK THE OUTCOMES.

IT COULD BE AN ASSESSMENT, IT COULD BE A COLLECTION OF RESOURCES FOR, UM, INTERNSHIPS OR WHATEVER IT IS THAT MAYBE ALL NEED TO BE IN ONE PLACE.

AND IT'S SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS THAT.

UH, OR IT COULD BE, LIKE I SAID, A RECOMMENDATION OR, YOU KNOW, IT, IT COULD BE JUST, THERE COULD BE VARIOUS OUTCOMES THAT ARE STILL VERY USEFUL, UH, TO OUR COMMUNITY.

AND, AND THEN THERE ARE THESE LARGER ITEMS, LIKE SPECIAL EVENTS.

DEFINITELY.

UM, I THINK SPACE, UH, CREATIVE SPACES, UM, IN OUR CITY AND CULTURAL DISTRICTS IS DEFINITELY LOOKS LIKE VERY, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT THE IMPORTANCE OF THAT, IT'S A HOT TOPIC COMMONLY HELD, UM, ACROSS THE BOARD.

UM, THAT COULD BE, YOU KNOW, DEFINITELY A WORKING GROUP ITEM.

UM, I THINK, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, COULD NEED MORE COORDINATION WITH THE CITY.

SO WE HAVE ALIGNMENT.

WE ARE NOT GOING OFF INTO DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS AROUND IT.

UM, AND THERE'S A FAIR EXCHANGE OF IDEAS THERE.

SO I THINK WE COULD, WE COULD, UM, DO THIS IN MULTIPLE WAYS, BUT MY SUGGESTION WOULD BE TO GET INTEREST IN WHO'S INTERESTED IN, AND BY THAT I DON'T MEAN JUST INDEPENDENTLY, NOW YOU'RE COMPLETELY RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT TOPIC, BUT IT COULD BE THREE FOLKS THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THEY ARE THE THREE FOLKS THAT END UP IN A WORKING GROUP WITH, WITH MAYBE SOME COMMUNITY MEMBERS, FOR EXAMPLE.

GET SOME INTEREST AROUND, UH, UM, YOU KNOW, WHERE THINGS ARE AND, AND THEN PURSUE IT FORWARD, FIND A PATH TO PURSUE THOSE TOPICS.

THAT WOULD BE, UH, MY SUGGESTION.

UM, DEFINITELY I THINK IN, IN THESE CONVERSATIONS ITSELF, IT'S STARTING TO KIND OF, YOU CAN SEE WHERE SOME TOPICS, TOPICS ARE VERY, LIKE HOT TOPICS, LIKE YOU SAID.

UM, IT'S PRETTY OBVIOUS.

UM, BUT WE CAN, UM, YEAH, THERE ARE MULTIPLE WAYS TO TAKE IT FORWARD.

UH, ERICA, PLEASE.

YOU GUYS JUST, YOU KNOW, GIVE US YOUR TOP LIKE ONE TO 10, WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT AND HOW HAVE THAT HELP, UH, ADDRESS THEN A RETREAT.

I, I KIND OF WANT TO GET BACK TO THE THOUGHT OF A MUSIC COMMISSION RETREAT TO GO THROUGH EVERYTHING AND WHAT THE CITY CAN DO.

WHAT I CAN DO IS WE CAN DO US A SURVEY, JUST A COMMISSION SURVEY OF WHAT ARE YOUR TOP PRIORITIES? MAYBE LIST EVERYTHING WE'VE HEARD FROM YOU, JUST LIKE ONE OR TWO WORDS, WHAT ARE THE, WHETHER IT'S SPACE STABILIZATION PERMIT, UH, FEE STRUCTURES, WHATEVER.

AND

[01:40:01]

LIKE WE WOULD CREATE AN AGENDA FROM THAT FOR A RETREAT WITH EACH OTHER.

AND THEN WE COULD FILL YOU IN ON EVERYTHING WE KNOW AND WHAT WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE CAN DO, WHAT WE'VE SEEN OTHER CITIES DO, WHAT BEST PRACTICES ARE, WE CAN GO THROUGH IT DURING THAT RETREAT.

SO IT'S A GREAT WAY FOR US JUST TO KIND OF GET STARTED WITH YOU GUYS, UH, AND THEN DO A RETREAT AND THEN WE CAN START PLANNING WHAT, WHAT'S WHAT.

UH, THERE'S CERTAIN THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN ALREADY DIRECTED BY COUNCIL THAT ARE ALREADY ALIGNING WITH SOME OF THE THINGS THAT YOU'VE GUYS HAVE MENTIONED, THAT WE ARE REQUIRED TO GO BACK AND, AND GIVE A REPORT ON WHICH WE ARE PREPARED TO DO.

SO IT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR YOU GUYS TO KNOW THAT.

AND SO WE COULD SAY, HERE'S THE SUBJECT AND THEN MENTION COUNCIL DIRECTION FROM RESOLUTION, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH.

YOU KNOW, SO YOU CAN SEE THAT THE BE THE BEST WAYS IS TO ALWAYS ALIGN WITH WHAT COUNCIL PRIORITIES ARE, ESPECIALLY IN THIS AREA.

THERE ARE LOTS OF PRIORITIES THAT HAVE BEEN PUT FORWARD BY DIFFERENT COUNCIL OFFICES AND BEEN VOTED ON BY A MAJORITY OF THE COUNCIL.

AND THEN THERE ARE OTHER THINGS THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALREADY JUST DOING OURSELVES IN TERMS OF DATA COLLECTION AND, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT ECONOMIC IMPACT OF OUR INDUSTRY HERE IN AUSTIN.

AND THEN AGAIN, HOW DO WE BETTER CATEGORIZE ALL THE SPACES, THE CREATIVE SPACES IN THE VENUES SO THAT WE ARE COMPARING APPLES AND APPLES, YOU KNOW, WITH ACROSS THE BOARD WITH OTHER CITIES.

SO I THINK WE CAN WORK WITH YOU GUYS ON, ON THAT.

I WOULD JUST WANNA KNOW, UH, WHEN A GOOD TIME A RETREAT IS, 'CAUSE WE'RE ABOUT TO ENTER CRAZY TIMES IN OCTOBER.

UH, COMMISSIONER .

WELL, SO IT SOUNDS LIKE VERY EXCITING THAT YOU ALL HAVE A LOT OF INFORMATION THAT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL FOR US TO BE ENGAGED IN.

AND SO THEREFORE, I WOULD ALMOST PUNT IT BACK TO YOU GUYS TO SAY, WHEN DO YOU THINK YOU WOULD HAVE LIKE A, A GOOD A RETREAT PRESENTATION? WHAT WOULD FOR YOU ALL'S SCHEDULE IN TERMS OF A RETREAT? WELL, I'LL JUST BE HONEST, WE'RE ABOUT TO HEAD INTO OUR BUSIEST TIME AROUND ALL OF OUR, YOU KNOW, SPECIAL EVENTS AND PERMITTING, UH, THE BEST TIME.

THEN THE HOLIDAYS, OF COURSE MM-HMM .

AND BELIEVE IT OR NOT, IT'S, IT'S A HUNDRED DEGREES OUTSIDE.

BILL WILL BE HERE BEFORE WE KNOW IT.

AND, UH, SO JANUARY, LIKE HONESTLY, WE COULD REALLY DIG IN AND BEFORE THAT WE COULD JUST DO ALL OF THE DUE DILIGENCE OF THE SURVEYING OF YOU GUYS INDIVIDUAL MEETINGS.

WE CAN'T MEET WITH A QUORUM OBVIOUSLY, BUT WE CAN MEET WITH A WORKING GROUP OR CERTAIN PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, HEY, UM, JUST TO HELP FORM THE CONVERSATION THAT WOULD HAPPEN IN JANUARY, BECAUSE I CERTAINLY WOULDN'T WANT US TO WAIT ON ANY KIND OF PROGRESS.

SO, SO WITH THE, UH, WITH THE RETREAT, BECAUSE I'VE NEVER BEEN TO A COMMISSION RETREAT SITUATION, ARE WE ALL ALLOWED TO GO TO THE RETREAT? IT WOULD BE AN OFFICIAL MEETING.

UH, ARTS COMMISSION HAS DONE THIS BUNCHES OF TIMES.

AND MONGA VALLEY WOULD PROBABLY HAVE SOME OKAY.

THOUGHTS HERE.

SO JANUARY SOUNDS GREAT, CONSIDERING WE HAVE OCTOBER, NOVEMBER, DECEMBER THREE MEETINGS BEFORE WE WOULD, BEFORE JANUARY.

AND, AND THEN WHAT WE CAN DO IN THAT MEANTIME IS GET THE SURVEY OUT AND THEN START ANSWERING JUST QUESTIONS SO THAT WE'RE NOT STARTING IN JANUARY, WE'RE STARTING NOW, BUT WE CAN HAVE A BETTER ACTION PLAN IN JANUARY THAT WOULD LEAD TO BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS AND THINGS LIKE THAT AS WELL, IF YOU WANTED TO.

SO I HAVE ANOTHER LITTLE QUESTION.

IS THIS RETREAT SOMETHING, WHATEVER THE ARTS COMMISSION'S ALREADY DONE, BECAUSE I'VE NEVER BEEN TO ONE.

UH, IS IT SOMETHING THAT IT WOULD JUST BE COMMISSIONERS OR WOULD WE ALSO HAVE LIKE OTHER MUSIC INDUSTRY PEOPLE GOING TO THIS RETREAT? NO, THIS WOULD BE JUST FOR COMMISSIONERS AND CITY STAFF AND PEOPLE THAT WE WOULD BRING IN AS SPEAKERS TO HELP INFORM STUFF.

THANK YOU , COMMISSIONER ENGLIN.

I'VE BEEN TO ONE ARTS COMMISSION RETREAT.

IT'S PRETTY MUCH A, A, A FORMAL MEETING.

IT'S JUST, IT'S JUST BOUND BY SLIGHTLY.

IT'S STILL RECORDED AS WELL.

I BELIEVE IT'S JUST BOUND BY LESS, UH, I THINK PARAMETERS.

UH, AND IT'S CAN BE A BIT MORE OF AN OPEN DISCUSSION AND IT CAN ALSO JUST GET FOCUSED ON THIS PARTICULAR AGENDA ITEM AS WELL.

UM, MY SUGGESTION AGAIN, STILL WOULD BE TO GET THIS WORK STARTED, PUT SOME THINGS IN MOTION, PUT SOME AGENDA ITEMS IN MOTION WORKING GROUPS FORMED WHERE, UH, IT'S NEEDED.

AND, UH, THE, UH, FINDING OUT OF INFORMATION ON SOME OF THESE AGENDA ITEMS. UH, ANY, ANY OF THESE ITEMS. UH, I THINK THERE WILL BE TOPICS, A LOT OF TOPICS THAT WILL COME AFTER WE ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, AGREE TO TAKE THAT TOPIC ON AND THEN WE GO ON FACT FINDING MISSION.

UH, YEAH.

AND PLEASE START WITH US LIKE, WE'RE HAPPY TO MEET WHENEVER, AS LONG AS IT'S NOT A QUORUM TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS AS YOU START NOW TO START JUST DOING, YOU KNOW, SO THAT YOU HAVE EVERYTHING WE'VE GOT TO HELP INFORM THE DISCUSSION.

[01:45:01]

UM, YES TO, TO KIND OF WRAP UP, ESPECIALLY THAT INITIAL, UH, PROPOSAL FOR WHAT THAT IS.

UH, I THINK THAT A RETREAT IDEA IS FANTASTIC, ESPECIALLY IF WE KIND OF CATEGORIZE AROUND AN ALIGNMENT RETREAT MM-HMM .

UM, WHICH AS I PREVIOUSLY SAID, I THINK THAT IT'S VERY IMPORTANT FOR, UH, IN ORDER TO HAVE AN INFORMED OPINION FOR WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, TO REALLY UNDERSTAND WHERE ACME'S AT AND WHAT THEY'RE DOING IN ORDER TO BE APPLICABLE IN A TIMELY MANNER SO THAT WE CAN OFFER THAT IN EFFICACY.

UM, SO I THINK TAKING THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS AND KIND OF ALIGNING INTERNALLY WITH THE COMMISSION, WHETHER WE HAVE LIKE, UH, NAGA VALLEY PROPOSED, WE HAVE INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS THAT WE, AND PRIORITIES THAT WE WANNA WORK ON, IF THERE ARE COLLECTIVE PRIORITIES THAT WE WANNA WORK ON EVEN BETTER.

UM, BUT BEING SITUATED TO A POINT TO WHERE, UM, WE CAN KIND OF COME AT WITH A BIT OF A DIRECTION FOR WHAT THE ENTIRE YEAR LOOKS LIKE TO BE ABLE TO WORK MM-HMM.

WORK IN TANDEM WITH CITY STAFF AND COUNCIL SO THAT, YOU KNOW, OUR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR WITH THIS COMMISSION CAN MEAN, CAN LEAD TO A MORE EFFICIENT WAY OF IMPACT AGREED FOR WHAT THAT IS.

AND I THINK THAT BY DOING THAT SORT OF ALIGNMENT AND INTERNALLY US FINDING OUT WHAT THAT IS, I THINK THAT THAT SORT OF AFOREMENTIONED LOW HANGING FRUIT WILL COME OUT FAIRLY QUICKLY AND FAIRLY EASY.

SO THAT TIME AND ENERGY CAN BE FOCUSED ON NOT JUST LONG TERM AND SUSTAINABILITY SCALES, BUT ALSO ORGANICALLY AS NAGA VALLEY ALSO SAID THAT IF SOMEONE, YOU KNOW, ONE MONTH IS LIKE, HEY, THIS IS WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO DO, THIS IS WHAT WORKING A GROUP, THAT'S PART OF WHAT BEING ON THE COMMISSION IS, REGARDLESS OF WHAT WE COLLECTIVELY DECIDE OR WHAT QUESTIONS WE ASK.

AND I THINK THAT THERE'S A WAY TO BE ABLE TO HOLD SPACE FOR BOTH OF THOSE THINGS, UM, WHILE KIND OF FIGURING OUT AN ALIGNMENT WITH EVERYONE INVOLVED TO ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO CREATE A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A DI DIRECT IMPACT.

SO, UM, THE, THE THREE THINGS THAT, THAT I HAVE MENTIONED THAT KIND OF CAME FROM THAT THOUGH, YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE THINGS THAT I'M GONNA PURSUE AND THAT IF ANY OF THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS WOULD LIKE TO PURSUE THEM WITH ME, UM, I, I'M, I'M HAPPY TO.

UH, BUT I, I DO WANT TO REITERATE THAT NO MATTER WHAT THE PROCESS LOOKS LIKE OF COLLECTIVELY OR INDIVIDUALLY, ORGANICALLY OR OTHERWISE, I THINK THAT THE FOCUS NEEDS NEEDS TO BE ON ALIGNMENT AND WITH WHAT ACME IS DOING AND WHAT COUNSEL AND WHERE THEY ARE AT, AND BEING ABLE TO HAVE ACCESS TO THAT INFORMATION ON A FAIRLY REGULAR BASIS MM-HMM .

SO THAT WE CAN PLAN OUT WHAT THE ENTIRE YEAR LOOKS LIKE, MUCH LESS TWO OR FIVE RIGHT.

TO SEE THAT.

AND ALSO COMMUNITY, EVERYTHING.

'CAUSE YOU CAN'T WORK IN A VACUUM.

YOU'RE GONNA HAVE WITH YOU GUYS ARE JUST SO WONDERFUL AND EXPERIENCE AND WE HAVE SO MANY FOLKS LIKE YOU, LIKE YOU OUT IN THE COMMUNITY THAT WE NEED TO HEAR FROM.

AND SO AS WE GO, WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT KIND OF, AND THAT'S THAT PHASE THREE, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT OF THE CREATIVE RESET IS AS WE GO MAKING SURE WE'RE HAVING REGULAR, YOU KNOW, CONNECTIONS WITH OUR WHOLE COMMUNITY TO DISCUSS, HEY, THIS IS WHERE WE'RE GOING SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE SOMETHING THAT POPS OUT AT THE END AND PEOPLE ARE LIKE, THIS IS A TOTAL SHOCK TO US.

YOU KNOW, WE WANT PEOPLE TO BE ALONG FOR THE RIDE AS WELL.

AND THAT WILL BE MORE HELPFUL FOR YOU AND FOR COUNCIL TO REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT DOES THE COMMUNITY WANT AND YOU REPRESENTING WHAT THAT IS.

SO, UM, MY SUGGESTION IS I THINK WE COULD PROBABLY GET LIKE JUST AN INTERNAL SURVEY FOR YOU GUYS JUST TO GET THE BALL ROLLING OUT BEFORE THE NEXT MEETING SO THAT YOU'LL, WE CAN SHOW YOU KIND OF, OR WE CAN SEND IT TO YOU GUYS WHAT THOSE RESULTS ARE AND THEN YOU CAN USE THEM TO, TO FORM YOUR DISCUSSION ITEMS FOR, UH, YOU KNOW, WHAT YOUR PRIORITIES WOULD LIKE TO BE AND HOW YOU WOULD LIKE TO DO THAT.

AND, UM, AND WE CAN START TALKING THROUGH JUST A PROCESS TO GET US THROUGH THE EARLY NEXT YEAR, ESPECIALLY WITH, UH, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TOO.

I THINK THAT WOULD BE ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL.

UM, I KNOW THAT JUST ON AN INDIVIDUAL LEVEL, THAT WOULD HELP ME MM-HMM .

UH, TO, TO FIGURE OUT AND, AND ALIGN, UH, YOU KNOW, WHERE MY TIME AND ENERGY NEEDS TO BE SPENT, UH, IN A WAY THAT, THAT MAKES SENSE AND MAKES IMPACT, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, AND TO GO ALONG WITH THAT TIMELINE.

SO THANK YOU.

UM, YOU KNOW, IF WE CAN FIGURE OUT SOMETHING, ERICA, FOR WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE AND ACTUALLY GET SOMETHING, UH, YOU KNOW, IN THE, ON THE BOOKS, AND I'M NOT SURE THE ACTUAL PROCESS OF DOING IT, WHETHER WE NEED TO VOTE ON WHETHER WE NEED TO HAVE A RETREAT, IF SOMEONE INTRODUCES THAT AS AN AGENDA ITEM, UM, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY WE WOULD NEED TO FIGURE THAT OUT.

BUT, UH, I WOULD LOVE TO PURSUE THAT.

THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS.

THANK YOU ERICA.

UM, ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS WOULD LIKE TO CHIME IN ON THIS TOPIC OR, UM, TOPICS

[01:50:01]

OF INTEREST OR THE GENERAL PROCESS? OKAY.

COMMISSIONER BLAVIN.

AYE.

UM, SO CAN WE START BACK WITH WHAT, UM, WAS SUGGESTED LIKE WITH A SURVEY SO WE CAN JUST KIND OF SEE WHERE ALL OF OUR GENERAL INTERESTS LIE AND THEN WE CAN START MAYBE MEETING WITH EACH OTHER FROM THERE.

AND THEN FOCUS IN ON LIKE WITH THE RETREAT, CAN FOCUS IN ON SOME OF THOSE THINGS WE'RE REALLY INTERESTED IN WHILE ALL ALSO FINDING OUT WHAT WHAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN WORKING ON AND THE CITY HAS BEEN WORKING ON.

DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? YES.

AND, AND WHETHER OR NOT IT COULD BE JUST THE GEN, YOU KNOW, YOU GUYS GENERATE THE SURVEY FOR YOURSELVES THROUGH LIKE GOOGLE, YOU KNOW, FORMS OR SOMETHING.

DO THAT.

AND MAYBE THAT'S THE BEST FIRST STEP IS YOU CAN DISTRIBUTE IT, THAT YOU CAN FORM YOUR OWN SURVEY MM-HMM .

AND THEN REPORT ON IT BACK TO, YOU KNOW, THE COMMUNITY AT OUR NEXT MEETING.

AND THEN WE CAN JUST OBVIOUSLY START FIGURING OUT A GAME PLAN FOR, YOU KNOW, PRIORITIES AS WELL AS THE, THE RETREAT IF WE WANNA, UH, I THINK JANUARY WOULD BE BEST FOR THAT BECAUSE THEN YOU WOULD HAVE SOME TIME TO REALLY GET SOME LEGWORK DONE BEFOREHAND.

THANK YOU ALL.

AND I WOULD DEFINITELY LIKE TO EMPHASIZE THAT, UH, ALIGNMENT WITH, UH, THE CORE AGENDA ITEMS THAT ACME IS WORKING ON, UM, IS IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY AS DECISIONS ARE MADE, BEING MADE ON THAT FRONT BY ACME AND COUNCIL.

UM, THAT WOULD BE THE TIME TO GET, UM, A RECOMMENDATION IN, FOR EXAMPLE, WHETHER IT'S IN ALIGNMENT OR YOU, MAYBE WE HAVE A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT SUGGESTION.

ALL OF THOSE THINGS, UM, HAVE TO GET IN, IN A TIMELY MANNER, OTHERWISE THE DECISIONS ARE MADE AND THEN IT'S TOO LATE TO PROVIDE ANY RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THIS COMMISSION.

SO I THINK THAT IS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT.

BUT ALSO, UH, VERY IMPORTANT IS WHAT, UH, ERICA, UH, TOUCHED ON EARLIER, IS THAT, UM, YES, ALIGNMENT WITH ACME ON SPECIFIC TOPICS, BUT IF THERE ARE TOPICS THAT WE ARE HEARING ABOUT FROM THE COMMUNITY OR THAT WE SEE THAT, UM, OUR, UM, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY, I MEAN IMPORTANT FOR, UH, OUR MUSIC ECOSYSTEM, THE MUSIC STAKEHOLDERS IN OUR COMMUNITY, THEN I THINK IT BECOMES VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE BRING THOSE FORTH AS WELL.

MAYBE IT'S NOT ON THE RADAR, BUT MAYBE IT NEEDS TO BE ON THE RADAR, UH, FOR THE CITY.

SO I THINK IT'S A, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S A MULTI-PRONGED, UH, YOU KNOW, WAY OF, UH, YOU KNOW, COMING TO SOME CONCLUSIONS.

UM, UH, I THINK WE CAN USE, UM, VERY MUCH THESE BUDGET ITEMS, UM, AS A STARTING POINT FOR OUR SURVEY.

UH, IT IS FAIRLY COMPREHENSIVE, BUT AGAIN, THIS WAS DONE A FEW MONTHS BACK.

THINGS ARE SHIFTING.

UH, IF, IF, UH, IT'S POSSIBLE THAT I HAVE A GENERAL ITEM AND WE VOTED ON A GENERAL ITEM AROUND, UH, SPACES OR SOMETHING, MAYBE IT NEEDS TO GET A LITTLE MORE SPECIFIC FOR OUR WORK, UH, MOVING FORWARD.

SO THINGS LIKE THAT WE CAN TWEAK ON.

BUT I THINK WE CAN USE THIS A STARTING POINT.

SO, UM, WE'LL, WE'LL PUT THIS TOGETHER, UH, TO GATHER INTEREST AND SEE WHERE IT IS AND I WILL, UM, BASICALLY SEND IT THROUGH STAFF, UH, AND, AND DISTRIBUTE IT AND, YOU KNOW, MAYBE WE SET A DATE TO GET SOME RESPONSES BACK SO WE CAN FAIRLY PUT THIS BACK ON THE AGENDA NEXT MONTH IN A TIMELY MANNER.

UM, SO THERE'S THAT.

AND UH, I WANTED TO ASK IF IT'S POSSIBLE TO HAVE A GENERAL AGENDA ITEM TO FORM WORKING GROUPS FOR PRIORITIZATION FOR, OR OR ON, OR, OR WORKING GROUPS ON PRIORITY ITEMS. CAN I ADD A GENERAL AGENDA ITEM TO DON'T WHERE I, I, I I WILL, WE SHALL ASK, TRY TO WORD IT CORRECTLY.

YOU KNOW, AND WE CAN REVIEW IT.

TRY, UH, WORDSMITH IT.

AND WE WILL CHECK WITH THE CLERK'S OFFICE.

TYPICALLY THEY LIKE A VERY SPECIFIC ITEM SO THAT THE PUBLIC IS AWARE OF WHAT YOU'RE VOTING ON.

UM, BUT IF YOU, UM, IF, IF FIRST YOU GET YOUR SURVEY RESULTS THAT YOU'RE CREATING, THEN YOU HAVE A BETTER SENSE OF HOW CORRECT WHAT YOU'RE PROMOTING.

AND THEN OF COURSE THE MUSIC COMMISSION MEETINGS ARE ACTUALLY A, A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO PROMOTE THESE MEETINGS FOR COMMUNITY TO COME AND ENGAGE AS YOU GO.

CORRECT.

RATHER THAN ADDITIONAL MEETINGS ON TOP OF EVERYTHING.

AT LEAST THEY CAN WATCH IT ONLINE OR, OR THEY CAN WATCH IT LATER 'CAUSE IT'S RECORDED AND THEY CAN SHOW UP IF THEY WANT TO.

UH, IT IS SOMETHING WE TOTALLY TOOK ADVANTAGE OF WITH COVID, OBVIOUSLY.

BECAUSE EVERYONE WAS AT HOME AND SO WE HAD LIVELY ONLINE MUSIC COMMISSION MEETINGS WITH LOTS OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND SPEAKERS.

AND I HIGHLY RECOMMEND WE ALL PROMOTE, YOU KNOW, THESE MEETINGS TO GET OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGED BECAUSE THIS IS LIKE THE PERFECT WAY TO DO.

IT'S ONCE A MONTH AND YOU HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY.

UH, AGENDA ITEM IN THERE.

YEAH, I MEAN, IF POSSIBLE, I WOULD LIKE TO ADD SOME,

[01:55:01]

EXCUSE ME.

JUST SO WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO CREATE A WORKING GROUP IF WE NEED TO.

SORRY.

UM, YEAH, I'LL GIVE YOU, I'LL GIVE YOU A BREAK.

UH, JUST TO KIND OF WRAP UP WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.

UM, I THINK CREATING AN INTERNAL SURVEY MM-HMM .

ONE, RIGHT, THAT WILL LEAD US TOWARDS A BIT OF OUR LARGER PRIORITIES, I THINK.

SO THAT WILL HELP, THAT WILL ALSO HELP US ALIGN SOME OF THOSE PRIORITIES IF THEY DO ALIGN WITH, WITH ACME, RIGHT? SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE MOVING THROUGH THAT.

WE CAN SET A DATE FOR WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE FOR A RETREAT.

AND THEN FROM THERE, I FEEL LIKE HAVING THAT SORT OF DIRECTION THROUGHOUT THE YEAR WITH OVERARCHING WHERE, WHERE ACME IS AT AND WHERE WE ARE AT WITH THOSE PRIORITIES, THAT ACTUALLY ALLOWS US TO HAVE MORE SPACE FOR THOSE INDIVIDUAL COMMUNITY NEEDS AS THEY ARISE, UH, INDIVIDUALLY AS WELL.

SO, UM, SURVEY NATURALLY LEAD TO, TO THE PRIORITIES, SET A DATE FOR WHAT THIS RETREAT IS FOR ALIGNMENT.

AND THEN I, I FEEL LIKE HAVING SOME OF THAT STRUCTURE, UM, YOU KNOW, LIKE I SAID, WILL NATURALLY ALLOW US TO HAVE MORE SPACE TO MOVE IN A WAY THAT MAKES SENSE FOR EVERYBODY.

UM, SO YEAH, WHATEVER, YOU KNOW, I NEED TO DO TO, TO HELP, UH, NAGA VALLEY WITH WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE OR WITH, UM, CITY STAFF, UH, TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO NAVIGATE THAT IN AN APPROPRIATE MANNER.

UM, I'M MORE THAN HAPPY TO DO.

BUT, UM, I FEEL REALLY GOOD ABOUT USING THE BUDGET AS A JUMPING OFF POINT AND, UH, REALLY KIND OF LOOKING FORWARD TO WHAT THIS COMMISSION, UH, CAN DO TO ALIGN WITH CITI AND, AND, AND CAN ALSO RECOMMEND, UM, NOW THAT THE, THE FUNDING CYCLE HAS, HAS REALLY LARGELY GOTTEN THE GEARS GOING BECAUSE OF ALL THE WONDERFUL WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE AND, AND REALLY SEE, UM, WHAT WE CAN DO AS FAR AS IMPACTS FOR OUR COMMUNITY THIS NEXT YEAR.

SO THANK YOU ALL FOR LISTENING.

APPRECIATE IT.

ON, UH, UH, NEXT MONTH'S AGENDA ITEMS, PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.

THANK YOU COMMISSIONER ENGLAND, FOR FACILITATING THIS CONVERSATION.

UH, UM, ANY OTHER LAST COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS ON THIS TOPIC? I APPRECIATE IT.

UM, UH, REALLY, UM, KIND OF, UH, APPRECIATE THE CONVERSATION AROUND, UH, THIS, I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE, UH, START LOOKING AT WHAT'S NEXT AND, UH, START BRINGING THOSE INTO, UH, THE COMMISSION MEETING.

MOVING

[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]

WE'LL MOVE, UH, MUSIC PERFORMANCE BY, UH, PETER, STOP GAVEE TO NEXT MONTH APPROVAL OF MINUTES.

OF COURSE.

UH, WE'LL HAVE, UH, STAFF BRIEFINGS AROUND LIVE MUSIC FUND, UH, COLLECTIONS BY KIM CARSON, STAFF BRIEFING ON ACME FUNDING PROGRAMS BY LAURA OGAR.

UM, UNDER DISCUSSION ITEMS, UH, WE WILL KEEP MUSIC COMMISSION STRATEGIC GOALS AND BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS.

UH, I MIGHT GO AHEAD AND REWORD THIS, UH, ON MUSIC COMMISSION PRIORITIES FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS FISCAL YEAR, THIS NEXT FISCAL YEAR, AND, UH, GO WITH THAT.

UM, AND I WOULD LIKE TO ADD A DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEM THAT IS AROUND THE POTENTIAL OF FORMING WORKING GROUPS IF THE CLERK'S OFFICE ALLOWS IT, SO WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO MOVE ON AT LEAST SOME OF THE ITEMS IF WE WOULD LIKE IN THE NEXT ROUND.

UM, WAS THERE ANYTHING ELSE? I FEEL LIKE I'M MISSING SOMETHING.

UM, QUARTER SESSIONS, WE WILL ADD DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEM, UM, ON, UH, DECIDING ON A RETREAT, A MUSIC COMMISSION RETREAT DATE IN, UM, POSSIBLY IN JANUARY, BUT I THINK WE HAVE TO GO AHEAD AND VOTE ON THAT.

YEAH, I'M NOT QUITE, I'M NOT SURE, BUT WE'LL CHECK, WE'LL FIND OUT.

BUT THAT'S ON THE AGENDA.

WE'LL EITHER DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEM OR JUST A DISCUSSION, BUT WE'LL KEEP THAT ON THE AGENDA.

MAYBE ALSO THE AGENDA ITEM, UM, SURROUNDING, UM, COMMISSIONER AGUILAR AND I ABOUT, UH, QUARTERLY SESSIONS AS FAR AS, OR ALTERNATE SPACES, UH, ONCE SHELBY IS BACK IN TOWN AND, AND MAYBE HAS THE CAPACITY TO, TO LOOK AT THAT WITH US.

UM, OKAY, SO I WAS GOING TO BRING THAT UP, BUT KIND OF, UH, I WAS WONDERING IF WE SHOULD PUT A, PUT A PIN ON IT.

JUST DO SOMETHING JUST INDEPENDENTLY, UH, WITH COMMUNITY.

BECAUSE IT ALSO LOOKS LIKE IT, IT JUST, FROM EVERYTHING I'VE HEARD ABOUT IT SO FAR SEEMED LIKE DIFFICULT TO DO UNLESS THE COMMISSION IS WANTING TO

[02:00:01]

UM, BUT YOU CAN'T HAVE A QUORUM.

WE CAN'T HAVE A QUORUM THERE, RIGHT? IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO CHANGE AROUND VENUES FOR THE, FOR THE COMMISSIONS.

IT IS A PRETTY STRINGENT PROCESS SO THAT WE HAVE A TX IN COVERED FOR EVERYTHING WE NEED FOR TO DO, RIGHT? ACCORDING TO THE LAW.

WELL, I'M, I'M HAPPY TO TABLE IT FOR NOW, , IF THAT MAKES THE MOST SENSE FOR EVERYONE.

YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.

WELL, UH, BUT THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT UP.

WHAT, UM, WHAT, WHAT WORRIED ME WAS THE POTENTIAL OF LOSING CITY HALL IF WE ARE MOVING AROUND , YOU KNOW, AND THAT'S A REALLY GOOD SPACE FOR US TO HAVE MEETINGS.

EVERYBODY'S USED TO IT, SO, UM, DON'T WANNA LOSE THAT.

BUT, UM, I WOULD STILL WANNA FIND A WAY TO BRING COMMUNITY AND MORE COMMUNITY IN INTO THESE MEETINGS, ESPECIALLY AS WE MOVE TO SOME NEW TOPICS AS WELL.

UM, SO, AND AS WELL AS COUNCIL, UM, YOU KNOW, WHERE, WHERE IT SEEMS, UH, WORTHWHILE AND, UH, I THINK WE, WE SHOULD STILL LOOK INTO THAT.

UM, OKAY, SO ANYTHING ELSE ON NEXT AGENDA ITEMS? ALRIGHT, SO COULD I HAVE A MOTION VOTE ON ALL OF THE FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? HAVE, UM, A MOTION FROM COMMISSIONER CASADA? DO I HAVE A SECOND? A SECOND FROM, UH, COMMISSIONER POSE.

SO THE MOTION IS UNANIMOUSLY.

UH, WELL, THE MOTION'S APPROVED.

I GUESS WE JUST NEED TO VOTE TO ADD AN AGENDA ITEM.

UM, MOTION TO ADJOURN.

COMMISSIONER ENGLAND, I HAVE A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER CARDENAS.

UM, ALL IN FAVOR, MOTIONS UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED.