* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.
          [00:00:04]
          ALRIGHT, 
          [CALL TO ORDER]
GOOD MORNING EVERYBODY. 
          IT IS SEPTEMBER 23RD AT NINE THIRTY TWO ON. 
          I'LL CALL THE CLIMATE WATER ENVIRONMENT PARKS COMMITTEE MEETING TO ORDER. 
          WE ARE AT CITY HALL CHAMBERS AND 3 0 1 WEST SECOND STREET. 
          UH, WE WILL 
          [Public Communication: General]
START WITH PUBLIC SPEAKERS. 
          SO YES SIR, WE HAVE ONE. 
          TARA CARR. 
          TARA. 
          OH, THERE YOU GO. 
          COME ON UP. 
          GOOD MORNING. 
          MY NAME IS TARA CARR. 
          I AM A LAKE AUSTIN STAKEHOLDER, WATERFRONT BUSINESS OPERATOR AND DAILY LAKE USER. 
          I SUPPORT A PROPERLY PLANNED DRAWDOWN OF LAKE AUSTIN, BUT WE ARE LESS THAN THREE WEEKS AWAY FROM OCTOBER 12TH. 
          AND QUESTIONS RAISED WELL BEFORE THAT DATE REMAIN UNANSWERED. 
          SO I WANT TO DOCUMENT WHAT I BELIEVE SHOULD HAVE BEEN ANSWERED BEFORE A DRAWDOWN WAS EVEN SCHEDULED. 
          FIRST, WHAT ARE THE ACTUAL CONSTRAINTS DRIVING THE DATES? HOW MUCH HYDROELECTRIC GENERATION IS LOST WHEN LAKE AUSTIN IS LOWERED? HOW DOES THAT DIFFER IN OCTOBER, NOVEMBER, DECEMBER, JANUARY, ET CETERA. 
          AND WHAT WOULD REPLACEMENT POWER COST? THE INTERNET ALLUDES TO ABOUT TWO MEGAWATTS AND MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY HAVE OFFERED TO FUND THE REPLACEMENT POWER COSTS FOR A TIMEFRAME OUTSIDE OF PEAK LAKE SEASON. 
          SO ASK LCRA, WHAT IS THE NUMBER? PUT IT IN WRITING. 
          SHOW US THE DATA. 
          IF DECEMBER TO MID-JANUARY IS NOW POSSIBLE, WHY ISN'T JANUARY TO MID-FEBRUARY SECOND? WHERE IS THE EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN BEFORE PEOPLE, CONTRACTORS, AND EQUIPMENT ARE PLACED ON AN EXPOSED LAKE BED? WHAT TRIGGERS AN EMERGENCY REFILL? WHO MAKES THAT DECISION? HOW QUICKLY CAN LAKE AUSTIN RISE? HOW MUCH WARNING WILL PEOPLE RECEIVE? AND WHERE IS THE COORDINATED RESPONSE FROM L-C-R-A-A-P-D, LAKE PATROL AND AUSTIN FIRE? THIRD, WHAT IS THE LAKE WIDE PUBLIC SAFETY MESSAGE? THE CITY'S MESSAGING SAYS PUBLIC BOAT RAMPS WILL BE CLOSED AND SWIMMING WILL BE PROHIBITED AT SPECIFIC PARKS THAT HAS LEFT. 
          PEOPLE ASKING WHETHER THEY CAN STILL LAUNCH PRIVATELY, BOAT OR SWIM ELSEWHERE. 
          CAN THEY? CURRENT MESSAGING DOES NOT ANSWER THAT QUESTION. 
          TELL THE PUBLIC CLEARLY WHAT IS AND IS NOT SAFE DURING A DRAWDOWN. 
          FOURTH WIRE PROCESSES STILL BEING DEVELOPED LESS THAN THREE WEEKS OUT AND VEGETATION MANAGEMENT CRITERIA REMAINS UNFINISHED. 
          WHY ARE WE STILL WRITING RULES FOR AN EVENT WERE SUPPOSEDLY READY TO EXECUTE. 
          AND WHERE WAS THE ECONOMIC IMPACT ANALYSIS BEFORE CHOOSING THE CURRENT TIMELINE? THE CITY PROPOSES STUDYING THE ECONOMIC IMPACT AFTERWARD. 
          THAT'S NOT ECONOMIC PLANNING. 
          THAT'S AN AUTOPSY. 
          BUSINESSES ARE ARE ALREADY SPENDING MONEY CHANGING OPERATIONS AND DEALING WITH CANCELLATIONS BECAUSE OF THIS UNCERTAINTY. 
          FINALLY, STAKEHOLDER INPUT SHOULD INFORM DECISION MAKING. 
          YESTERDAY WE LEARNED THAT THE CURRENTLY SCHEDULED OCTOBER NOVEMBER TIMEFRAME RECEIVED ZERO STAKEHOLDER VOTES. 
          WE STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT'S NEXT. 
          STAKEHOLDERS HAVE GONE FROM FEELING THEY WEREN'T MEANINGFULLY INVOLVED IN SELECTING DATES TO POTENTIALLY BEING BLAMED IF THE DRAWDOWN IS CANCELED. 
          THAT IS NOT A FAIR OR FUNCTIONAL STAKEHOLDER PROCESS. 
          HAD THESE QUESTIONS BEEN ANSWERED? FIRST I DO NOT BELIEVE WE WOULD BE HERE TODAY. 
          WE NEED TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS. 
          DEFINE THE POWER CONSTRAINTS, ESTABLISH THE EMERGENCY PLAN, CLARIFY PUBLIC SAFETY, FINISH THE PERMITTING AND VEGETATION RULES, EVALUATE THE ECONOMIC IMPACT BEFOREHAND. 
          GIVE BUSINESSES AND PROPERTY OWNERS ADEQUATE NOTICE. 
          ALRIGHT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          AND I KNOW THIS CONTINUES TO BE AN ONGOING ISSUE, AS YOU MENTIONED, AND HOPEFULLY WE WILL HAVE CLARITY SOON. 
          AND I KNOW, UH, YEAH, PLEASE FIRST I WANNA SAY GOOD TO SEE YOU, TARA. 
          SORRY YOU'RE HAVING TO COME HERE AGAIN. 
          AND, UM, AND I AGREE WITH A LOT OF THE QUESTIONS THAT YOU JUST RAISED AND THAT WE NEED TO GET ANSWERS TO AND THEY SHOULD HAVE HAD ANSWERS FRANKLY, A LONG TIME AGO. 
          UH, I KNOW A M CARBO LAW IS HERE. 
          I KNOW I TALKED TO A M ROGERS YESTERDAY, MY UNDERSTANDING THE STAFF IS WORKING ON A MEMO OR UPDATE A M CARBO LAW. 
          ANYTHING YOU CAN SHARE WITH US ABOUT WHEN WE CAN EXPECT THAT UPDATE?  BASED ON THE FEEDBACK THAT WE RECEIVED FROM THE STAKEHOLDER GROUP YESTERDAY, WE'LL, WE'RE COMING UP WITH A, A MEMO TO PROVIDE WITH MAYOR AND COUNCIL WITH, UH, ANY UPDATES THIS WEEK. 
          WHEN I TALKED TO AC ROGERS YESTERDAY, HE INDICATED THAT THEY WERE WORKING ON MAYBE TRYING TO GET THAT OUT YESTERDAY, BUT I HAVEN'T SEEN ANYTHING GO OUT. 
          SO I'M JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW QUICKLY CAN WE NOTIFY PEOPLE SO THAT PEOPLE LIKE TARA CAN START TO MAKE THE APPROPRIATE ARRANGEMENTS BASED ON WHATEVER THE OUTCOME OF OUR, THE DECISIONS THAT STAFF AND 
          [00:05:01]
WE'VE MADE. 
          RIGHT? WE'RE TRYING TO DO THAT DECISION MAKING SOONER RATHER THAN LATER. 
          AND DEFINITELY NO LATER THAN THIS WEEK. 
          OKAY, WELL, I'D LOVE IF SOMETHING CAN GO OUT TODAY IF THAT'S POSSIBLE. 
          I KNOW THAT I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE TIMEFRAME IS THAT'S REALISTIC, BUT I THINK THE SOONER WE CAN NOTIFY PEOPLE OR WHATEVER THE OUTCOME IS, THE BETTER THAT THEY CAN START TO ADAPT TO WHATEVER THAT THE CHANGES ARE. 
          YEAH, THE THE STAFF DECISIONS ARE ABOUT RECOMMENDATIONS HERE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          ALRIGHT, NOW YOU GOT IT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          WELL, WITH THAT, UH, LET'S 
          [1. Approve the minutes for the August 26, 2026, meeting of the Climate, Water, Environment, and Parks Committee.]
TAKE CARE OF OUR ADMINISTRATIVE ITEM HERE. 
          WE NEED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FOR THE AUGUST 26TH MEETING. 
          DO I HAVE A MOTION MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER UCHIN? UH, SECONDED BY VICE CHAIR ELLIS WITHOUT OBJECTION, THE MINUTES ARE APPROVED AND WE'LL MOVE ON 
          [2. Briefing on Climate Revolving Fund, directed by Resolution No. 20250813-022. The fund would finance emissions reduction projects that generate savings for the City, capture those savings, and reinvest them in additional projects that further reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase City savings. [Zach Baumer, Director; Braden Latham-Jones, Climate Program Manager - Climate Action and Resilience, Darrell Alexander, Director; Alison Baker, Program Manager - Facilities Management]]
TO ITEM NUMBER TWO, WHICH IS OUR BRIEFING ON THE CLIMATE REVOLVING FUND. 
          SO WITH THAT, UH, SEE DIRECTOR BOMBER AND COMPANY. 
          GOOD MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS. 
          UH, I'M ZACH BOMBER, DIRECTOR OF AUSTIN CLIMATE ACTION AND RESILIENCE. 
          I'M GONNA HAVE TWO PRESENTERS HERE WITH ME TODAY. 
          I'LL LET THEM INTRODUCE THEMSELVES. 
          I'M ALLISON BAKER, THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAM SPECIALIST. 
          IT'S A NEW TITLE, IT'S VERY LONG. 
          ANYWAYS, I'M WITH A FM, UH, BRADEN LAYTON JONES, CLIMATE PROGRAM MANAGER, CLIMATE ACTION AND RESILIENCE. 
          GREAT. 
          WE'RE EXCITED TODAY TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON THE CLIMATE REVOLVING FUND. 
          SO WE'RE GONNA FIRST WALK THROUGH THE BACKGROUND, UH, THEN PROGRESS TO DATE, UH, ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION THAT WE FIGURED OUT SO FAR, UH, A ROADMAP FOR THE FUND OVER THE COMING MONTHS AND YEARS, AND THEN NEXT STEPS. 
          SO WHY A CLIMATE REVOLVING FUND? WELL, FIRST, THERE HAVE BEEN LIMITED DEDICATED FUNDS FOR CLIMATE ACTION PROJECTS OVER THE YEARS. 
          UH, SECOND, THERE ARE NEW OPPORTUNITIES IN RENEWABLES AND RESILIENCE WITH SOLAR BATTERIES, ENERGY EFFICIENCY TECHNOLOGIES THAT ARE MORE COST EFFECT, MORE COST EFFECTIVE THAN EVER AND HAVE BETTER PAYBACKS THAN WE'VE EVER SEEN BEFORE. 
          AND THEN FINALLY, TIGHT BUDGETS, UH, INCREASE THE NEED TO REDUCE OPERATIONAL COSTS AND ACTUALLY ACTUALLY SAVE THE CITY MONEY. 
          UM, AND SP INSTEAD OF JUST SPENDING MORE MONEY ON CLIMATE ACTION. 
          SO WE REALLY VIEW THIS AS, UM, KIND OF A PIVOT POINT FOR US. 
          UM, AN OPPORTUNITY TO VIEW CLIMATE PROJECTS AS INVESTMENTS, UM, WAYS THAT THE CITY CAN INVEST MONEY, REDUCE EMISSIONS, UH, REDUCE OUR IMPACT ON CLIMATE CHANGE, AND ACTUALLY SAVE THE CITY MONEY AND RE RETURN THOSE INVESTMENTS. 
          SO, UH, THIS BRINGS US TO THE CLIMATE REVOLVING FUND. 
          UH, THIS WAS DIRECTED BY CITY COUNCIL, UM, IN AUGUST OF 2025, ABOUT A YEAR AGO. 
          THIS WAS ALSO THEN PICKED UP BY THE CITY MANAGER AS A TOP 25 GOAL FOR FY 26 TO ADVANCE THIS PROJECT. 
          AND THE IDEA WITH A REVOLVING FUND IS THAT, UH, WE START WITH SEED MONEY. 
          WE INVEST THAT SEED MONEY AND WE INVEST IT IN PROJECTS THAT REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS. 
          SO REDUCE OUR IMPACT ON CLIMATE CHANGE WHILE ALSO CREATING DOLLAR SAVINGS WITH PROJECTS THAT PAY FOR THEMSELVES AND RETURN, UH, RETURN PROFITS TO THE FUND. 
          OVER TIME, THIS WOULD END UP BEING A VIRTUOUS CYCLE WHERE SAVINGS ARE FED BACK INTO THE FUND. 
          IT PAYS FOR MORE PROJECTS AND WE ACTUALLY HAVE A SUSTAINABLE REVENUE SOURCE TO INVEST OVER TIME, UM, IN, UH, MORE AND MORE, MORE PROJECTS LIKE THIS. 
          SO THIS INITIATIVE IS BUILDING OFF BEST PRACTICES. 
          THIS IS NOT A BRAND NEW IDEA. 
          UM, THERE ARE MANY, MANY REVOLVING FUNDS, UH, IN DIFFERENT CITIES AND COUNTIES ACROSS THE UNITED STATES. 
          THERE ARE LOTS OF DIFFERENT SUCCESSFUL MODELS. 
          UH, WE HAVE SPENT SIGNIFICANT TIME WITH CITIES OF SAN ANTONIO AND HARRIS COUNTY AND HOUSTON. 
          UM, TALKING TO THEM ABOUT WHAT THEY'VE DONE, WHAT IT'S TAKEN, UH, WHAT IT TAKES TO GET THIS RIGHT, WHAT ARE THE LESSONS LEARNED? UM, AND WE FEEL LIKE WE'RE REALLY BUILDING OFF OF THESE, THESE CITIES. 
          UH, BEST EXAM, BEST, BEST PRACTICES. 
          SO PROGRESS TO DATE SO FAR. 
          GOING BACK TO LAST YEAR, UM, UH, WE GOT STARTED AND THEN EARLY IN 2026, WE STARTED OFF OUR INITIAL CONVERSATIONS REALLY JUST GETTING EVERYONE IN THEIR SAME ROOM UP TO SPEED, TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE WERE GONNA DO THIS NEW FINANCIAL MECHANISM. 
          AND SO THAT REALLY STARTED OFF THIS COLLABORATION BETWEEN MY TEAM, AUSTIN FACILITIES MANAGEMENT STAFF AND BUDGET AND ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE. 
          AND WE REALLY REALIZED EARLY ON THAT THIS COULDN'T HAPPEN WITHOUT ALL THREE OF US ACTUALLY ACTIVELY WORKING TOGETHER. 
          UM, SO WE DID A BUNCH OF WORK DURING THE SPRING. 
          IN JUNE, UH, AUSTIN FACILITIES MANAGEMENT HIRED ALLISON TO REALLY BE OUR DIRECT PARTNER AND COLLABORATOR ON THIS PROJECT. 
          [00:10:01]
AND WE AGREED ON A PHASED APPROACH, ESSENTIALLY TO, UH, START WITH SEED MONEY AND THEN START SLOWLY AND SORT OF BUILD UP OUR PROCESS AND SCOPE OF THIS REVOLVING FUND OVER A MULTI-YEAR TIMEFRAME. 
          UH, THE BIG THING FOR US FOR IN THIS, FOR THIS PROJECT WAS IN AUGUST, UM, INCLUDED IN THIS IN THE BUDGET WAS A MILLION DOLLARS IN CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION AND $500,000 IN ONE TIME CASH IN THE AUSTIN FACILITIES MANAGEMENT BUDGET TO BE THE SEED MONEY TO GET THIS PROGRAM OFF THE GROUND. 
          UM, THERE ARE TWO ALSO ADDITIONAL SOURCES OF REVENUE THAT ARE STILL PENDING RIGHT NOW. 
          THERE ARE POTENTIAL ADDITIONAL CAPITAL THROUGH ENERGY EFFICIENCY REBATES WITH AUSTIN ENERGY, UH, WE'RE WORKING ON, THESE ARE PAST PROJECTS THAT HAVE BEEN, UM, THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN IMPLEMENTED, BUT THERE ARE ADDITIONAL REBATES THAT COULD BE RECEIVED. 
          UM, AND THEN WE'RE ALSO, UH, WORKING ON A PARALLEL TRACK ON OUR SOLAR ON CITY FACILITIES PROJECT, UM, TO COLLECT FUTURE LICENSE PAYMENTS AS WE GET SOLAR, UH, USING THE SOLAR STANDARD OFFER PROGRAM ON CITY FACILITIES, CHANNELING THOSE LICENSE PAYMENTS INTO THE REVOLVING FUND. 
          UM, THAT'S PROBABLY LIKELY, UH, AT LEAST A YEAR OUT FROM HERE. 
          SO THAT BRINGS US TO NOW, SO NOW WE'RE PLANNING FOR EARLY OPERATIONS AND TO GET THE, THE PLAN ACTUALLY OFF THE GROUND AND GET THE REVOLVING FUND MOVING, UM, AFTER OCTOBER 1ST. 
          SO, UH, WE HAVE FORMED A STEERING COMMITTEE THAT IS MEETING, UH, NOW MONTHLY. 
          WE'VE DRAFTED A STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE, WHICH YOU'RE GONNA HEAR ABOUT MORE, MORE DETAIL. 
          UH, MOVING TO, WE'VE DEVELOPED SOME PROJECT PRIORITIZATION CRITERIA TO HELP US DECIDE, UM, ON WHICH PROJECTS WE'RE GONNA SELECT. 
          AGAIN, WE'RE GONNA SHARE WITH US MORE, UH, ON THE FUTURE SLIDES. 
          UM, AND THEN WE'VE ALSO BEEN GIVING UPDATES ACROSS DEPARTMENTS. 
          WE HAVE A, A QUARTERLY CLIMATE ACTION AND RESILIENCE TEAM MEETING, WHICH INCLUDES MANY, MANY DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS. 
          GAVE AN UPDATE TO THEM A COUPLE WEEKS AGO. 
          WE'VE GOTTEN A LOT OF GOOD FEEDBACK FROM DEPARTMENTS EXCITED ABOUT THIS UPCOMING PROGRAM. 
          SO NEXT, UH, ALLISON IS GONNA TAKE US AWAY WITH THE DETAILS. 
          SO YOU JUST CLICK THE GREEN BUTTON. 
          OH, DO I NEED TO USE THIS ONE INSTEAD? SO WE SHOULD BE GOOD WITH THIS ONE NOW. 
          OKAY, IF I GO BACK FORWARD? YES. 
          EXCELLENT. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          SO AS ZACH MENTIONED, I CAME ON BOARD IN LATE JUNE AND, UM, STARTED ASSISTING WITH, UM, HIS DEPARTMENT, SPECIFICALLY WITH PHIL. 
          UM, AND WE CAME TOGETHER TO FIND ALL THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS AND STAKEHOLDERS THAT NEEDED TO MAKE UP OUR STEERING COMMITTEE. 
          WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAD SOME VERY GOOD STATE, UM, SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE GETTING OUR OPERATIONS PULLED TOGETHER, LONG TERM STRATEGIC DIRECTION. 
          UM, THEY'RE THE ONES THAT ARE HELPING VOTE ON THE PROJECTS TO PRESENT THEM TO OUR EXECUTIVE ADVISORS. 
          AS WELL AS, UM, BETWEEN PHIL AND I, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE COMMUNICATING ACROSS THE BOARD TO ALL OF THE VARIOUS STAKEHOLDERS, INCLUDING COUNCIL, UM, THE COMMITTEE AND CLIMATE, WATER ENVIRONMENT AND PARKS. 
          WE ALSO ARE HAVING, OUR STAKEHOLDERS OBVIOUSLY ARE GONNA BE ALL THE DEPARTMENTS WITHIN THE CITY. 
          WE ARE STARTING WITH AUSTIN FACILITY MANAGEMENT FIRST BECAUSE WE WANNA START SMALL WITH THE PILOT PROGRAM, MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE SETTING IT UP FOR SUCCESS. 
          AND THEN SLOWLY MOVE FORWARD AND DISCUSS WITH THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS HOW THEY CAN BE PART OF THIS PROGRAM AND HAVE THEM START THINKING ON HOW THEY CAN FIND PROJECTS TO PRESENT TO THE STEERING COMMITTEE AS WELL. 
          SO THE STEERING COMMITTEE, THE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE ARE BETWEEN CLIMATE ACTION RESILIENCE, FACILITY MANAGEMENT, AUSTIN ENERGY AND BUDGET ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE. 
          UM, AS WE ADD OTHER DEPARTMENTS IN, IN PHASE TWO AND BEYOND, WE WILL LOOK AT, UM, ROTATING THE STEERING COMMITTEE. 
          PRESENTLY WE HAVE VOTED AND FINALIZED OUR, UM, STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE FROM VERSION FOUR. 
          WE HAVE SET FORTH A DRAFT OF THE CRITERIA IZATION, UM, WHICH I'LL GO INTO IN A LITTLE BIT. 
          UM, THE STEERING COMMITTEE ALSO IS GIVEN IN OUR SOP. 
          UM, WE TALK ABOUT WHAT NEEDS TO ACTUALLY HAPPEN, UM, BETWEEN GREENHOUSE GAS SAVINGS CALCULATIONS, HOW TO LIKE INCREASE FUNDS, LOOK AT OTHER OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH AUSTIN WATER GRANTS. 
          UM, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE SETTING OURSELVES UP FOR SUCCESS LONG TERM. 
          SO WE CAN ALSO BE A CITY LIKE THE ONES THAT ZACH PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED, THAT WE CAN ALSO BE AN EXAMPLE TO THEM. 
          SO THE STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE PRESENTLY, IT OUTLINES THE FACT THAT A FM IS CURRENTLY MANAGING THE FUNDS WHILE MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE DISTRIBUTING THEM APPROPRIATELY THROUGHOUT THIS PROGRAM. 
          WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE STAYING IN LINE WITH THE CITY CLIMATE ACTIONS, UM, TO REDUCE OUR CLIMATE GREENHOUSE GAS, ALONG WITH SAVING UP MONEY. 
          'CAUSE OBVIOUSLY WHAT IS A REVOLVING FUND IF YOU'RE NOT SAVING UTILITIES. 
          UM, WE HAVE IT DEFINED ON WHAT IS EXPECTED FROM OUR STEERING COMMITTEE AND 
          [00:15:01]
HOW OFTEN WE ARE TO MEET ALONG WITH THE GOVERNANCE ON VOTING AND THE CRI, UM, PRIORITIZATION ON THE CRITERIA. 
          AND WE ALSO WANTED TO LEAVE OURSELVES A LITTLE BIT OF ROOM FOR REVISIONS IN OUR SOP BECAUSE THIS IS A PILOT PROGRAM. 
          AND YES, WE ARE PULLING FROM OTHER CITIES THAT HAVE BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL, BUT AUSTIN IS UNIQUE IN ITS OWN RIGHT AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE SETTING OURSELVES UP FOR WHAT AUSTIN NEEDS SPECIFICALLY. 
          SO THIS ALLOWS US TIME TO MATURE AND GROW. 
          UM, AND WE ALSO HAVE IT DESCRIBED IN THERE THAT THERE WILL BE ANNUAL REPORTING TO THE CWEP COMMITTEE. 
          SO THE PROJECT DRAFT, UM, THAT WE HAVE PRESENTLY VOTED ON, UM, IS STILL BEING WORKED ON TO GET IN BETTER DETAIL. 
          BUT THE CRITERIA FOLLOWS FROM FINANCIAL VALUE, CLIMATE, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT, UTILITY EFFICIENCY, NEED AND READINESS AND COMMUNITY BENEFIT FROM THIS. 
          THE FINANCIAL VALUE, OBVIOUSLY WE NEED TO SEE WHAT IS THE RETURN ON OUR INVESTMENT, UM, HOW ARE WE ABLE TO REPLENISH THE FUND? WHAT IS THE PAYBACK PERIOD IS A SHORT, LONG, MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A GOOD BROAD BASE BETWEEN SOMETHING THAT IS SHORT TO A LONG TERM AND HOW MUCH IT WILL IMPACT. 
          WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THE GREENHOUSE GAS AND POLLUTION REDUCTION CONTRIBUTE TO THE CITY GOALS, UM, AS WELL AS THIS WILL AUTOMATICALLY FEED BACK INTO THE LOOP OF UTILITY EFFICIENCY, REDUCING THE UTILITIES ON GAS, WATER, PEAK DEMAND, UM, ELECTRICITY, AND THEN THE READ NEED AND READINESS. 
          THIS IS MORE ABOUT HOW FAST CAN WE IMPLEMENT IT. 
          I'VE ALREADY BEEN WORKING WITH OUR, UM, PROCUREMENT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE PEOPLE IN PLACE ALREADY, THAT CONTRACTS HAVE ALREADY BEEN DONE, THAT WE'RE READY TO PUT OUT BIDS IF NEEDED. 
          UM, THERE ARE PROJECTS THAT ARE ALREADY LINED UP THAT ARE READY TO BE CONSIDERED AS WELL. 
          SO WHENEVER THE FISCAL YEAR STARTS, WE'RE ABLE TO START IMPLEMENTING. 
          ALSO, IS THIS A PROJECT THAT IS EASY TO REPLICATE IN OTHER BUILDINGS THAT WE HAVE? AND THEN ONE OTHER HUGE THINGS, ALTHOUGH THE CITY OF AUSTIN WE'RE ALL CUSTOMERS TO EACH OTHER, WE ALSO NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE SERVING THE COMMUNITY AND THE PEOPLE SUCH AS LIKE CITY HALL, WHENEVER THE PUBLIC COMES INTO THESE BUILDINGS AS WELL. 
          THEY SHOULD ALSO BENEFIT FROM THIS PROGRAM. 
          SO A SIMPLIFIED, WELL KIND OF SIMPLIFIED VERSION OF HOW THIS PIPELINE LOOKS. 
          AS I'VE MENTIONED, AUSTIN FACILITY MANAGEMENT IS GONNA BE OUR FIRST DEPARTMENT, UM, JUST SMALL BY THE ELEPHANT BEFORE WE TRY TO TAKE ON THE WHOLE THING. 
          THE PARKS, LIBRARIES AND OTHER DEPARTMENTS WILL BE PUT IN IN PHASE TWO. 
          WE WANNA GO AHEAD AND CON UM, START TALKING WITH THEM AND FINDING WAYS TO WORK ON GETTING THE SAVINGS AND HAVE PROJECTS PROPOSED WITHIN THE NEXT 15 MONTHS. 
          UM, THE PROJECTS THAT WE BRING TOGETHER WILL GO TO THE STEERING COMMITTEE. 
          IT WILL LOOK AT BASELINE ENERGY BILLS, THE SAVINGS, GREENHOUSE GAS IMPACT, UM, AND THEN OUR COMMITTEE WILL INDIVIDUALLY LOOK AT THE CRITERIA, RATE THEM, AND THEN COME BACK TO DO A FINAL VOTE. 
          AND THEN WE'LL SEND IT TO THE EXECUTIVE ADVISORS SO THAT WAY THEY CAN HAVE FINAL SIGN OFF AND THE PROJECT WILL BE IMPLEMENTED AT THE END OF THE PROJECT BEING INSTALLED. 
          SAY IF IT WAS AN LED LIGHT RETROFIT, WE'LL TAKE THAT BASELINE SAVINGS AND IMMEDIATELY START SEEING HOW MUCH IS THE COST DIFFERENCE AND TAKE THAT WHATEVER WE DID NOT SPEND ON THE UTILITY BILL, PUT THAT BACK INTO THE REVOLVING FUND AND THEN RINSE AND REPEAT. 
          GO BACK TO STEP ONE. 
          SO THE LED LIGHT RETROFIT THAT I MENTIONED, JUST FOR AN EXAMPLE, UM, IF THE UPFRONT COST IS A MILLION DOLLARS TO DO THIS, WITHIN ABOUT SEVEN YEARS, WE'LL HAVE OUR SIMPLE PAYBACK PERIOD. 
          AND IF THE LIFETIME OF THE ASSET IS 20 YEARS, THAT MEANS AT THE FULL LIFETIME OF THE ASSET, WE WILL HAVE GOTTEN A RETURN ON $1.85 MILLION. 
          UM, THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF JUST ONE EASY LOW HANGING FRUIT THAT WE CAN DO, AND IT'S ONE OF THOSE COOKIE CUTTER TYPE OBJECTS THAT WE CAN LOOK AT FOR MULTIPLE DIFFERENT VENUES. 
          AND NOW I'LL PASS IT TO BRADEN. 
          GOOD MORNING AGAIN. 
          BRADEN LATON JONES, CLIMATE ACTION RESILIENCE. 
          YOU'VE HEARD THE PHASED APPROACH MENTIONED. 
          I'D LIKE TO DIVE MORE INTO THE DETAILS HERE. 
          SO AS YOU SEE, PHASE ONE IS WHERE WE CURRENTLY ARE. 
          WE'RE IN THE PROOF OF CONCEPT PHASE. 
          WE KNOW THIS WORKS IN OTHER CITIES. 
          WE'RE TRYING TO GET THIS RIGHT FOR AUSTIN. 
          UH, SO WE'RE GONNA BE FOCUSING ON FUND HEALTH AND GROWTH AND PROJECTS THAT MEET THE MAIN TWO GOALS OF REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND SAVING THE CITY MONEY. 
          IDENTIFYING PROJECTS THAT ESPECIALLY ARE, UH, ON THE SHORTER PAYBACK PERIOD TIMELINES SO WE CAN MAXIMIZE THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT IN THE SHORT TERM. 
          WE'RE WORKING A LOT AND VERY CLOSELY AS YOU SEE HERE TODAY WITH A FM. 
          UM, AND WE'LL FOCUS ON FACILITIES WITHIN THE A FM PORTFOLIO ON ENERGY EFFICIENCY UPGRADES. 
          ONCE WE GET TO WORK ON THE ACTUAL PROJECTS ON THE IMPLEMENTATION, WE'RE GONNA REFINE AND NORMALIZE FUND OPERATIONS AND PROCESSES. 
          WE'RE SURE THAT A LOT OF WHAT WE'VE PUT FORWARD IS THE BEST PRACTICES, UH, AS WE'VE SEEN 
          [00:20:01]
IN OTHER CITIES, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IF THIS IS THE RIGHT BEST PRACTICE FOR US. 
          SO WE'LL DOING A LOT OF CHECKS AND BALANCES, REVIEW, DELIBERATION AND DEBRIEF ON HOW THIS FIRST PHASE IS WORKING. 
          WE'LL ALSO START THE PROCESS WITH EXPANDING OUT FROM A FM FACILITIES, WORKING WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS TO DEVELOP A BROADER PROJECT PIPELINE THAT WILL LEAD INTO PHASE TWO. 
          THAT'S WHEN WE'LL LOOK AT THE OTHER FACILITIES THAT ARE NOT OWNED BY AUSTIN FACILITIES MANAGEMENT. 
          SO THINKING PARKS, UH, AND LIBRARIES, UH, OTHER ENTERPRISE DEPARTMENTS, THINGS THAT WE CAN, UH, EXPAND STILL WITHIN THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND UPGRADES PORTFOLIO, BUT WITHOUT, UH, BEYOND THE A FM FACILITIES. 
          THIS IS ALSO WHEN WE ANTICIPATE, IN THE BEST CASE SCENARIO, WE WOULD START TO CAPTURE SOME OF THE SOLAR AND CITY FACILITIES, UH, LICENSE PAYMENTS THAT WOULD ALLOW FOR ADDITIONAL INVESTMENTS INTO THE FUND FOR GREATER PROJECT CAPACITY IN THE SHORT AND LONG TERM. 
          UH, AND WILL CONTINUE THE PROCESS OF EXPLORATION AND EXPANSION BY IDENTIFYING PILOT PROJECTS OUTSIDE OF FACILITIES ASSETS AND BUILDINGS. 
          UM, THE PHASE THREE IDEAL WORLD A FUND IS HEALTHY. 
          IT HAS PROVED ITSELF. 
          WE HAVE THAT PROOF OF CONCEPT. 
          WE'VE WORKED OUT ALL THE KINKS IN OUR CONVERSATIONS AND DEBRIEFS, AND WE'RE BEGINNING TO SUPPORT HIGH VALUE, HIGH IMPACT PROJECTS ACROSS THE CITY. 
          THESE MIGHT BE, AND THIS IS NOT AN EXHAUSTIVE LIST, BUT A FOR EXAMPLE, PILOT PROJECTS SUCH AS INVESTMENTS IN FLEET ELECTRIFICATION OR CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE, NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS THAT, AGAIN, REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND TO SAVE THE CITY MONEY AND SO ON. 
          DIVING MORE INTO WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW TODAY, THE PHASE FOR THE PHASE ONE, UM, SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER, WE'RE GIVING THIS REPORT TO Y'ALL. 
          UH, AS THE CLIMATE WATER ENVIRONMENT PARKS COMMITTEE. 
          IDEALLY WE'RE FINALIZING THE SOP UH, FINALIZING PROJECT SELECTION CRITERIA AS YOU SAW THE SAMPLE THERE. 
          UH, AND BEGINNING COMMUNICATION BEYOND OUR, OUR CURRENT, UM, CURRENT STEERING COMMITTEE IN NOVEMBER TO JANUARY, WE'RE IDENTIFYING THAT POTENTIAL LIST OF PROJECTS, ESPECIALLY THE FIRST THREE THAT WE WOULD, UH, PRIORITIZE FOR THIS PHASE ONE. 
          UM, AND IN 2027 AND BEYOND, WE'RE BEGINNING TO IMPLEMENT PROJECTS. 
          WE'RE CONSTRUCTING THOSE INITIAL INVESTMENTS WITH THOSE LIST OF THREE, WE'RE MONITORING UTILITY BILLS AND UNDERSTANDING HOW TO, TO REALLY CAPTURE THOSE SAVINGS BACK INTO THE FUND AND DOING THAT WELL. 
          AND AGAIN, MAKING SURE ALL THE CHECKS AND BALANCES ARE IN PLACE. 
          SO REFINING, NORMALIZING ALL OF THE FUN OPERATIONS, THE PROCESSES DEBRIEFING AS WE GO ALONG. 
          SO OUR MAIN TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS PROCESS START TO FINISH. 
          UM, I'LL SPEAK FOR MYSELF. 
          I HAVE SEEN A LOT OF PROJECTS, UH, ACROSS THE CITY, MY TIME AS A CITY EMPLOYEE. 
          BUT THIS IS REALLY A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF INTER INTERDEPARTMENTAL COLLABORATION. 
          IN ITS BEST CASE SCENARIO, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE HAVEN'T REALLY UNDERSTOOD THAT WE'VE FOUND OUT TOGETHER. 
          WE'VE EXPLORED WITH OTHER CITIES. 
          WE'VE DISCUSSED INTERNALLY WITH ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT FROM, YOU KNOW, RANK AND FILE CITY EMPLOYEES TO CITY MANAGER DIRECTLY. 
          UM, WE'VE ALSO BELIEVE THIS IS A VERY TIMELY OPPORTUNITY TO REDUCE OPERATING COSTS. 
          OBVIOUSLY WE'RE ALL FACED AS A CITY WITH HARD DECISIONS, UH, BUT IT ALSO GIVES US A SPACE TO CONTINUE IMPROVING OUR FACILITIES, CONTINUE REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND MEETING THE NEEDS OF THE MOMENT. 
          UH, AND IN PART, THIS IS OUR OWN REFLECTION. 
          YOU KNOW, WE UNDERSTAND THAT SOMETIMES CLIMATE INVESTMENTS AND ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE CAN COME AT A COST AND SOMETIMES THAT COST IS UPFRONT AND IT PAYS OFF OVER TIME WITH THE SUSTAINABILITY OF OUR BUILDINGS OR OTHER ASSETS. 
          UM, BUT WE ALSO SHOULD BE PUTTING FORWARD IDEAS AND, AND PROJECTS THAT WOULD MEET THE NEEDS THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW WITH OUR BUDGET CONSTRAINTS AND, AND THE BUDGET REALITIES THAT WE ALL FACE, MAKING STRONG AND SMART INVESTMENTS INTO OUR COMMUNITY AND, AND INTO OUR CITY. 
          UH, THIS LAST NOTE IS MOSTLY FOR US. 
          I MEAN, WE'RE ALL EXCITED, BUT IT'S ALSO FOR US AS A CITY, UM, WE ARE PLANTING A SEED FOR THE FUTURE. 
          THE SEED HAS BEEN PLANTED. 
          IT WILL TAKE A WHILE TO, TO REST UNDER THE SHADE OF THIS TREE, BUT WE ARE EXCITED ABOUT THAT OVER THE LONG HAUL. 
          UM, IT WILL TAKE SOME TIME TO BE, UH, TO, TO VISIT, VISUALIZE THE, THE SAVINGS AND INVESTMENT, THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT OVER TIME. 
          AND WE'RE READY TO GET THAT STARTED TODAY SO WE CAN START THAT, UH, PROCESS OVER THE LONG HAUL. 
          BUT IT WILL TAKE SOME TIME. 
          WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT IT. 
          AND THAT'S OUR LAST SLIDE. 
          WE'LL OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS. 
          ALRIGHT, WELL I'LL START WITH COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL. 
          WELL, THANKS Y'ALL. 
          THIS IS, UH, OF COURSE VERY EXCITING. 
          UM, I KNOW A LOT OF US HERE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS PRESENTATION AND THE CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT OF THE REVOLVING FUND AND APPRECIATE THE WORK Y'ALL ARE DOING. 
          AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THE INTERDEPARTMENTAL NATURE OF THE COLLABORATION IS EXCITING AND IS A GOOD MODEL FOR HOW THE CITY CAN REALLY BE EFFECTIVE AND, UH, CATALYZE PRODUCTIVE CHANGE. 
          UM, I WANNA FOLLOW UP ON THE STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES A LITTLE BIT. 
          UM, ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE HEARD FROM OTHER CITIES IS THAT, UH, SOMETIMES COUNCIL 
          [00:25:01]
APPROVAL IS HELPFUL TO REALLY PROTECT A REVOLVING FUND LIKE THIS TO MAKE SURE FRANKLY IT'S NOT CANNIBALIZED FOR OTHER PURPOSES LATER, AND THAT IT STAYS FOCUSED ON MAXIMIZING A, A REALLY STRONG CLIMATE IMPACT. 
          AND SO, WANTED TO ASK Y'ALL IF YOU SEE A BENEFIT OF APPROACHING THE IDEA OF APPROVING THE STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES THROUGH AN RCA OR POTENTIALLY BY PROPOSING A FINANCIAL POLICY THROUGH THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE. 
          I WANTED TO GET YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT. 
          THIS IS, I THINK I'D JUST SAY THAT THIS IS AN AREA WHERE WE'RE NOT REALLY SURE AT THIS POINT. 
          I THINK, UM, I THINK MAYBE THE FIRST STEP THAT WE COULD TAKE IS WHEN WE FINALIZE THE STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE AND WE'RE TOTALLY CLEAR ON, IN, ON IT INTERNALLY, UM, AND CITY MANAGEMENT AND CITY EXECUTIVES ARE, ARE CLEAR UP TO THE CITY MANAGER. 
          UM, I THINK WE COULD PROBABLY START WITH, UH, SENDING A MEMO TO MAYOR AND COUNCIL WITH THE FULL SOP, UH, AND ALL THE DETAILS SO YOU CAN SEE EVERYTHING AND ALL OF ITS SPECIFICITY. 
          UM, AND WE MAYBE START WITH THAT, UM, BECAUSE THIS IS GONNA BE A LEARNING PROCESS, RIGHT? THAT WE'RE GONNA IMPLEMENT THE THINGS WE'RE PROBABLY, THERE MIGHT BE THINGS WE ADJUST, THERE MIGHT BE THINGS WE CHANGE. 
          UM, AND IF WE HAD TO GO BACK TO COUNCIL EVERY SI EVERY SINGLE TIME WE WERE GONNA ADJUST SOMETHING, IT MIGHT BE BURDENSOME. 
          UM, BUT I THINK WE, WE PROBABLY WANT TO PUT IT OUT THERE AND GET YOUR INPUT AND FEEDBACK FIRST AND THEN, AND THEN MAYBE CROSS THAT BRIDGE WHEN WE GET TO IT AND SEE IF IT'S APPROPRIATE TO GET IT FULLY ADOPTED AND YOU GUYS WANNA FULLY, UH, ENDORSE IT OR WE JUST WANNA LEAVE THIS AS A STAFF, UM, CITY MANAGER KIND OF IMPLEMENTATION ITEM. 
          THANKS, DIRECTOR. 
          YEAH, NO, I MEAN, I, I SAW THAT SOME OF THIS STUFF REALLY HAS A LONG-TERM HORIZON BEFORE IT YIELDS, YOU KNOW, A RETURN ON INVESTMENT FOR THE COMMUNITY. 
          AND, AND I GUESS I WOULD LIKE TO PROTECT AGAINST THE IDEA THAT WE GET HALFWAY DOWN THE ROAD AND THE CURRENT SET OF STAKEHOLDERS, COUNCIL MEMBERS, STAFF LEADERS, AND WE SET IN MOTION A FUND THAT THEN DOESN'T ACTUALLY GET REVOLVED FOR CLIMATE PURPOSES. 
          RIGHT. 
          YEAH. 
          AND SO, UM, YEAH, WE'LL, WE'LL STAY TUNED ON ON YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS ON NEXT STEPS THERE. 
          AND THEN ALSO JUST WANNA ASK, UM, HOW DO YOU THINK, UM, PROPOSED EXPENDITURES FROM THE CLIMATE REVOLVING FUND WOULD BE PRESENTED TO COUNCIL NOW THAT THERE IS A BUDGET ALLOCATION? WELL, AS WAS, UM, AS WAS DIRECTED IN THE COUNCIL RESOLUTION, WE PLAN TO REPORT BACK TO YOU BEFORE MAY 1ST OF NEXT YEAR WITH THE PLAN. 
          UM, SO I THINK BECAUSE WE'RE LIKE A LITTLE BIT OFF CYCLE RIGHT NOW, UH, BECAUSE WE WEREN'T REALLY 100% SURE LAST MAY THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE THE SEED FUNDING. 
          UM, BUT NOW THAT WE HAVE IT, I THINK OUR PROCESS IS GONNA BE TO SELECT THESE INITIAL PROJECTS, INVEST IN THESE INITIAL PROJECTS, WE'LL HAVE THAT OFF THE GROUND. 
          WE'LL BE INTO, YOU KNOW, MARCH, APRIL, OR NEXT OF NEXT YEAR. 
          THEN WE'LL HAVE A BETTER IDEA OF WHAT THE FUNDING'S GONNA LOOK LIKE FOR NEXT YEAR, WHAT OUR PLAN'S GONNA BE. 
          AND WE'LL SORT OF TRY TO SHIFT THE, THE CYCLE TO BE MORE OF A SPRINGTIME CYCLE WHERE WE, UM, HAVE OUR SPENDING ALLOCATED AND THEN HAVE THE PLAN FOR WHAT THE BUDGET'S GONNA BE NEXT YEAR. 
          SO THAT CAN BE PRESENTED TO THIS COMMITTEE. 
          UM, AND THEN WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT IT'S CALLED OUT IN THE BUDGET DOCUMENT. 
          SO WHEN COUNCIL REVIEWS THE BUDGET, YOU KNOW, IN JUNE JULY OF THE FOLLOWING YEAR, THEY CAN ACTUALLY SEE WHAT THE PLAN IS AND WHAT'S IN THERE. 
          GREAT. 
          WELL THANKS AGAIN FOR THAT. 
          AND, UH, I WANNA ALSO THANKS THE CITY MANAGER FOR MAKING THIS A TOP PRIORITY FOR THE YEAR AND, UH, LOOK FORWARD TO LEARNING MORE. 
          THANKS ALL. 
          VERY GOOD. 
          COUNCILOR , THANK YOU CHAIR. 
          UH, FIRST APPRECIATE THE, THE UPDATES HERE. 
          UM, I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT YOU'VE GOT LIKE LAID OUT A REALLY PHASED APPROACH HERE FOR HOW TO DO IT FEELS VERY ENTREPRENEURIAL TO ME, WHICH I PERSONALLY APPRECIATE AND ALSO APPRECIATE THAT YOU GUYS HIGHLIGHTED, YOU KNOW, THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS IN A MORE COLLABORATIVE FASHION THAN WE MIGHT OTHERWISE. 
          UH, TYPICALLY. 
          SEE, I DO HAVE SOME QUESTIONS. 
          UM, REALLY IT'S ABOUT HOW YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT SOME OF THE DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS. 
          FIRST OF ALL, UM, I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HOW ARE SAVINGS, HOW DO YOU ENVISION THE SAVINGS THAT YOU TALK ABOUT BEING GENERATED FROM THE PROJECTS BEING REINVESTED INTO, LIKE WHAT'S THE OPERATIONAL OR BUDGETARY, UM, MECHANISM THAT THAT WORKS? LIKE I, USING THE, LET'S USE THE EXAMPLE OF THE LED LIGHTS THAT'S IN THE PRESENTATION. 
          CAN YOU WALK ME THROUGH HOW SOME DEPARTMENT, LIKE I GUESS FACILITIES OR SOMEPLACE IS GONNA BE LIKE, OKAY, WE RECOGNIZED X AMOUNT OF SAVINGS IN LED AND WE'RE GONNA PER, AS A DEPARTMENT, WE'RE GONNA SET ASIDE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF RESOURCES OR IS IT GONNA BE A CREDIT FROM AUSTIN? I MEAN, I'M JUST MAKING STUFF UP NOW, BUT MAYBE YOU CAN WALK ME THROUGH HOW YOU ENVISION THAT WORKING. 
          YES, SO WHAT WE ARE DOING RIGHT NOW AND WHAT I'VE BEEN WORKING ON IS GETTING 
          [00:30:01]
A BASELINE OF WHAT OUR UTILITY COST IS FOR ALL THE A FM BUILDINGS. 
          AT SOME POINT I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH, UM, I STARTED HAVING TALKS WITH AUSTIN ENERGY ON HOW WE CAN GET THE SAME FROM OUTSIDE OF MY BUILDING PORTFOLIO. 
          SO THAT'S PART OF THE PHASE TWO AND THINGS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE WORKING ON WHILE WE'RE DOING OUR PHASE APPROACH. 
          UM, BUT WHAT HAPPENS IS YOU GET THIS BASELINE COST OF WHAT WE'RE SPENDING, LET'S SAY FOR CITY HALL RIGHT NOW. 
          AND THEN WE COME IN AND WE UPDATE THE BAS SYSTEM, WE UPDATE THE LIGHT SYSTEM, UM, WE CHECK IN, REDO THE HVAC SYSTEM. 
          I MEAN THIS BUILDING'S PRETTY NEW, BUT WE DO NEED TO MAINTAIN IT IN ORDER TO KEEP IT RUNNING EFFICIENTLY. 
          UM, WHENEVER THOSE COSTS AND WE DO ALL THAT MAINTENANCE WORK OR WE DO THE LED LIGHT RETROFIT, THE IDEA IS THAT THE COST GOES FROM THE BASELINE AND IT DROPS. 
          SO WHATEVER MONEY WE WERE GOING TO BE SPENDING HERE, WE'RE GOING TO TAKE THAT GAP AND PUT IT INTO THE REVOLVING FUND. 
          SO IT'S WAYS THAT WE CAN FIND DIFFERENT, UM, PLACES THAT WE CAN TAKE THAT SAVINGS AND USE IT AGAIN FOR ANOTHER PROJECT. 
          SO IF WE'RE GONNA SPEND, THIS IS A VERY LOW AMOUNT, BUT LIKE SAY $50 ON ELECTRICAL AND WE ARE ABLE TO CUT IT IN HALF AND NOW WE'RE ONLY SPENDING 10, THAT GIVES US AN EXTRA $40 THAT WE'RE PUTTING INTO OUR BUDGET. 
          SO, SO YOU'VE GOT ESSENTIALLY AN AGREEMENT WHEN YOU ROLL OUT A PROJECT, YOU'LL HAVE AN AGREEMENT WITH A DEPARTMENT THAT ALREADY CALCULATES A BASELINE COST FOR SAY AN ONGOING ELECTRICITY BILL OR WHATEVER IT IS, UTILITY BILL. 
          AND THEN THE AGREEMENT IS WHATEVER SAVINGS ARE REALIZED IN, IN RELATION TO THAT BASELINE OVER A PERIOD OF TIME GET REINVESTED. 
          AND THAT'S GONNA REF, THAT'S, THAT'S ESSENTIALLY GONNA BE SHOWING UP IN THE BUDGET. 
          SO YOU'RE ASKING THE DEPARTMENT TO SUBMIT SOMETHING TO STAFF OR TO, TO THE, UH, THE BUDGET OFFICE EVERY YEAR TO SAY, THIS IS THE AMOUNT OF SAVINGS REALIZED FROM OUR PROJECT THAT WE ARE DIRECTING STAFF TO GO REINVEST IN THE, IN THE REVOLVING FUND FROM THE LIFETIME OF THE ASSET. 
          SO AFTER A WHILE, OBVIOUSLY THE ASSET WILL NEED TO BE RENEWED AND IT'LL HAVE TO BE REDONE. 
          UM, WE ARE LOOKING AT HOW THIS WILL WORK LONG TERM IN OTHER DEPARTMENTS. 
          I KNOW HOW IT'LL WORK AT LEAST WITH AUSTIN FACILITY MANAGEMENT. 
          UM, BUT YES, THIS IS THE GENERAL IDEA THAT WE'LL COME IN, WE'LL IMPROVE THE BUILDINGS, WE'LL IMPROVE THE SPACE THAT THE COMMUNITY IS USING AND OUR, UM, CUSTOMERS LIKE EACH OTHER WITHIN THE CITY. 
          SO, AND IN RETURN WE FIND A WAY, IT'S KINDA LIKE A PAY IT FORWARD GOT IT. 
          TYPE ASPECT. 
          OKAY. 
          SO, SO I APPRECIATE THAT ANSWER. 
          NEXT QUESTION IS, UM, IN TERMS OF, UH, THE SCOPE OF THE PROJECTS THAT YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT AND THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE SOME PROJECTS TO, TO LEARN ABOUT IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS, IT SOUNDS LIKE, AND YOU'VE GOT A MILLION AND A HALF DOLLARS THAT'S CURRENTLY IN THE FUND, ARE WE LOOKING AT KIND OF THREE PROJECTS THAT ARE ROUGHLY HALF A MILLION DOLLARS? IS THAT KIND OF WHAT YOU GUYS ARE THINKING FOR THE NEXT THREE OR FOUR MONTHS TO START OUT WITH THIS PHASE ONE THAT'S KIND OF SIMPLIFIED VERSION OF IT. 
          WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT THE RETURN ON THE INVESTMENT IS GOING TO. 
          LIKE, WE NEED IT TO BE A BROAD RANGE, RIGHT? LIKE WE DO ALL OF THE LOW HANGING FRUITS IMMEDIATELY. 
          WE MIGHT NOT HAVE ONE THAT'S GOING TO LIKE TURN INTO A LIVE OAK TREE LAYER. 
          WE'RE JUST GONNA HAVE A BUNCH OF LITTLE CORN FIELDS TO PUT IT SIMPLY. 
          UM, SO WE WANNA TAKE THAT SEED MONEY AND WE MAKE SURE THAT THE PROJECTS THAT WE'RE USING WILL GROW IN VARIOUS STAGES AS WELL. 
          IT ALSO DEPENDS ON WHAT PROJECTS ARE ALREADY READY. 
          LIKE I'M LOOKING AT OUR DEFERRED MAINTENANCE. 
          'CAUSE AS YOU GUYS KNOW, OUR BUDGET DOESN'T COVER ALL THE DEFERRED MAINTENANCE THAT WE NEED TO HAVE HAPPEN FOR OUR BUILDINGS. 
          UM, AND ESPECIALLY FOR SOME OF OUR ESSENTIAL BUILDINGS LIKE OUR FIRE STATION CITY HALL, I KNOW PDC NEEDS SOME WORK TOO. 
          SO LOOKING AT THESE PLACES AND HOW WE CAN KEEP THEM MOVING, THOSE ARE KIND OF WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT. 
          SO IT'S NOT NECESSARILY HOW MUCH MONEY ARE WE SPENDING IMMEDIATELY, BUT HOW MUCH CAN WE ACTUALLY GET BACK ON THAT INVESTMENT WHILE WE'RE CUTTING THE GREENHOUSE GAS. 
          SO THEN WHAT DO THE, THE FIRST BATCH OF PROJECTS SCOPE WISE OR FINANCIALLY KINDA LOOK LIKE THAT YOU'RE ENVISIONING? WELL, MY GOAL CURRENTLY I'VE BEEN GOING THROUGH ALL THE DEFERRED MAINTENANCE, UM, BECAUSE FISCAL YEAR IS COMING UP AND SO WE NEED TO START WORKING ON THE BUILDINGS AGAIN, I'M MEETING WITH THE PROJECT MANAGERS OF EACH BUILDING. 
          UM, I'VE LOOKED AT SEVERAL HVAC OPTIONS. 
          I HAVE FOUND SOME, UM, RETROFITS FOR SOME LIGHTING THAT IS OPTIONAL. 
          I FOUND THE BAS SYSTEMS FOR LIKE PDC SHOULD BE LIKE RE-LOOKED AT, UM, EVEN THIS BUILDING AS WELL. 
          AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE THAT SOLAR PROGRAM, WHICH SAC WAS MISSIONING, WHICH THAT MONEY WE'RE ALREADY PUTTING IT IN PLACE EVEN THOUGH IT'S A DIFFERENT PROGRAM. 
          SO THAT'S ANOTHER ONE THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE GETTING FUNDS BACK ONTO. 
          SO YEAH, IT'S KIND OF A BRADEN HAS SOMETHING TO ADD. 
          YEAH. 
          AND, AND ON A BIG PICTURE, YOU KNOW, THE PROJECT CRITERIA SELECTION, UH, SLIDE THAT, THAT WILL BE SCORED AND WEIGHTED 
          [00:35:01]
AND DELIBERATED BY THE STEERING COMMITTEE ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS. 
          SO WHILE WE HAVE PROJECT IDEAS AND WE HAVE GOALS FOR WHAT WE WOULD DO WITH THE FUNDING ONCE INVESTED, UM, A LOT OF THAT WILL ALSO BE DICTATED BY THE OUTCOMES OF THAT SCORING AND THE CONVERSATION THERE. 
          OKAY. 
          I'M JUST TRYING TO GAUGE KIND OF WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS. 
          AND LOOKING AT THE EXAMPLE, IT DOES SEEM LIKE WE COULD ONLY FUND ONE OF THOSE AND THEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT MAYBE SOME SMALLER PROJECTS BEYOND THAT. 
          SO, UH, MAYBE ANOTHER, ANOTHER GOOD QUESTION TO ASK IS WHEN YOU'RE BASING THIS OFF OF WHAT OTHER CITIES HAVE DONE IN THIS SPACE, HOW LARGE HAVE THEIR FUNDS GROWN? WHERE ARE YOU GUYS ASPIRING TO TAKE THIS OVER THE NEXT, WHATEVER THE TIMEFRAME IS? AND MAYBE YOU CAN SPEAK TO THAT TOO. 
          WELL, LET'S SEE. 
          I, I THINK FOR JUST THE, THE EXAMPLE THAT WE CAN USE IS THAT, UM, IN SAN ANTONIO THEY STARTED WITH, UH, AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT FUNDS BACK IN 2009. 
          THEY STARTED WITH AN INVE INITIAL INVESTMENT. 
          I, I THINK $9 MILLION. 
          THEY USED THAT $9 MILLION ESSENTIALLY TO FUND PROJECTS, COLLECT THE SAVINGS, AND TO CREATE A SUSTAINABLE FUND OVER MULTIPLE YEARS WITHOUT A LOT OF ADDITIONAL CAPITAL INFUSIONS INTO IT. 
          SINCE WE'RE STARTING SMALLER, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO HAVE ADDITIONAL CAPITAL INFUSIONS IN ORDER TO MAKE THIS SUSTAINABLE OVER THE LONG TERM. 
          RIGHT. 
          IF WE JUST START WITH THIS INITIAL SMALL AMOUNT, IT'S NOT GONNA PAY BACK FAST ENOUGH. 
          SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO HAVE MORE THINGS ADDED TO IT. 
          UM, OUR HOPE IS IS THAT THE SOLAR ON CITY FACILITIES LICENSE PAYMENTS THAT WE HOPEFULLY, HOPEFULLY START RECEIVING IN A COUPLE YEARS, UM, WILL BE THAT CASH INFUSION THAT CAN GROW THIS FUND TO MULTIPLE MILLION DOLLARS, UM, OVER A FIVE PLUS YEAR TIME PERIOD. 
          AND HOPEFULLY THEN WE DON'T HAVE TO GO BACK TO THE BUDGET PROCESS AND ASK FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING IN THE BUDGET. 
          UM, 'CAUSE IF WE HAVE TO KEEP ASKING FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING SURE, THEN THIS ISN'T REALLY A SUSTAINABLE SITUATION. 
          YEAH. 
          OKAY. 
          I APPRECIATE THAT. 
          LAST QUESTION IS, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I KNOW WE RAN INTO WHEN WE WERE LOOKING THROUGH SOME OF THE, THE BUDGET INFORMATION FOR THIS LAST BUDGET WAS THAT WE RAN INTO A, NOT MANY, BUT AT LEAST A COUPLE OF PROGRAMS THAT WE WERE, THE CITY WAS ADMINISTERING IN DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS, THAT IT SEEMED LIKE FROM THE DAY THAT WE HAD THE COST OF OPERATING OR ADMINISTRATING THOSE PROGRAMS, UH, WAS SIGNIFICANT COMPARED TO WHAT THE PROGRAMS WERE ACTUALLY DISTRIBUTING OR DOING. 
          SO I'M JUST CURIOUS IF YOU GUYS HAVE AN INITIAL SENSE OF WHAT IT'S COSTING TO ADMINISTRATE THIS PROGRAM AT THIS STAGE RELATIVE TO E EITHER JUST BY ITSELF OR RELATIVE TO THE WORK THAT'S BEING DONE? WELL RIGHT NOW, UM, IN OUR PLAN FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE IS JUST TO USE EXISTING A FM AND CLIMATE ACTION AND RESILIENCE AND BUDGET STAFF. 
          UM, I MEAN, WE COULD GO BACK AND CALCULATE HOW MANY HOURS WE'VE SPENT ON THIS. 
          UM, BUT TRADITIONALLY THE WAY THAT WE'VE WORKED IS, UH, CLIMATE ACTION AND RESILIENCE, AS YOU KNOW, A SUPPORT SERVICES DEPARTMENT IS WE'RE HERE TO HELP OTHER DEPARTMENTS. 
          WE'RE HERE TO FACILITATE THESE KIND OF PROGRAMS AND MAKE THIS STUFF WORK, UM, WITHOUT ADDITIONAL COST. 
          SO OUR HOPE IS THAT WE CAN KEEP USING OUR OWN LABOR AND DON'T HAVE TO REQUIRE SORT OF OUTSIDE MANAGEMENT. 
          UM, SO WE KEEP THE ADMINISTRATION COSTS LOW AND WE KEEP THAT WITHIN OUR BOUNDS. 
          OKAY. 
          I, I WOULD BE CURIOUS DOWN THE LINE AS YOU GET FURTHER INTO THIS, IF YOU COULD HELP EXPAND ON AT SOME POINT WHAT IT'S, WHAT SORT OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE OVERHEAD KIND OF LOOKS LIKE FOR ADMINISTERING THE PROGRAM. 
          AND THAT'S ALL I'VE GOT. 
          THANK YOU GUYS. 
          THANK YOU CHAIR. 
          ABSOLUTELY. 
          UM, I HAVE NOTHING MORE THAN WHAT MY COLLEAGUES HAVE ALREADY ASKED AND SO I'M JUST INTERESTED TO SEE WHERE THIS GOES. 
          I APPRECIATE THE WORK Y'ALL BEEN DOING AND WE'RE PLANTING THAT SEED, SO CAN'T, CAN'T WAIT FOR THAT TREE ONE DAY. 
          BUT THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          UH, WITH THAT 
          [3. Briefing on electric vehicle diversification initiatives for Austin Fleet Mobility Services. [Rick Harland, Assistant Director - Austin Fleet Mobility Services]]
WE WILL MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER THREE, WHICH IS A BRIEFING ON OUR ELECTRICAL ELECTRIC VEHICLE DIVERSIFICATION INITIATIVES FROM FLEET. 
          AND I SEE FLEET HERE, SO COME ON DOWN. 
          GOOD MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS. 
          I'M JENNIFER WALLS, I'M THE DIRECTOR OF FLEET MOBILITY SERVICES AND I HAVE RICK HARLAND HERE, OUR DEPUTY OF, UH, DIRECTOR OF FLEET MOBILITY SERVICES. 
          UM, WHAT OUR PLAN HERE IS TODAY TO KINDA LEVEL SET AND LET YOU KNOW KIND OF WHERE WE ARE. 
          ALSO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHERE WE'RE GOING AND A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE STRATEGY OF HOW WE GET THERE. 
          SO I'LL TURN IT OVER TO RICK HARLAND. 
          UH, GOOD MORNING CHAIR ALTER. 
          GOOD MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS. 
          MY NAME IS RICK HARLAND, I SERVE AS THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR FLEET MOBILITY SERVICES. 
          [00:40:01]
UM, I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR ALL FOR HAVING US BACK TODAY TO DO AN UPDATE ON FLEET ELECTRIFICATION. 
          TODAY I'D LIKE TO PROVIDE YOU ON WHERE WE ARE WITH FLEET ELECTRIFICATION AS WE ENTER INTO FY 27 AND WHAT WE'VE LEARNED FROM OUR VEHICLES AND OUR CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WE'VE ALREADY DEPLOYED AND HOW THESE LESSONS HAVE SHAPED OUR STRATEGY GOING FORWARD. 
          AUSTIN'S MADE SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS IN ELECTRIFYING THE CITY FLEET AND, UH, WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE BUILDING ON THAT PROGRESS. 
          AFTER SEVERAL YEARS OF ACTUALLY OPERATING EXPERIENCE, WE'VE LEARNED THAT ELECTRIFICATION SIMPLY ISN'T JUST REPLACING AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE VEHICLE WITH A BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLE. 
          THE TECHNOLOGY HAS TO FIT THE MISSION, THE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE HAS TO SUPPORT THE OPERATION. 
          AND AS WE MOVE INTO MORE DEMANDING APPLICATIONS, WE NEED TO VALIDATE PERFORMANCE, RELIABILITY, AND LIFECYCLE COST. 
          AT THE SAME TIME, OUR AUTOMOTIVE MARKET IS CHANGING AND MANUFACTURERS ARE DIVERSIFYING THEIR TECHNOLOGIES. 
          WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT TODAY. 
          THEIR PRODUCT STRATEGIES ARE GIVING US MORE OPTIONS TO MEET THE CITY'S DIVERSE OPERATION NEEDS. 
          SO THE DIRECTION THAT YOU'LL HEAR THROUGHOUT TODAY'S BRIEFING IS PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD. 
          WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO ELECTRIFY WHERE TECHNOLOGY PERFORMS, VALIDATE EMERGING APPLICATIONS BEFORE WE SCALE THEM AND THEN REMAIN FLEXIBLE ENOUGH TO ADOPT THESE NEW TECHNOLOGIES TO BEST SERVE CITY OPERATIONS. 
          SO WITH THAT, LET ME START WITH WHERE WE ARE TODAY. 
          WE'RE FORECASTING APPROXIMATELY 430 BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN SERVICE BY THE END OF 2026. 
          THAT'S CALENDAR YEAR 2026. 
          OUR ELECTRIC FLEET IS NOW TRAVELING 2 MILLION MILES A YEAR ANNUALLY, UH, IN CITY OPERATIONS. 
          THAT MATTERS BECAUSE WE'RE NO LONGER EVALUATING ELECTRIFICATION. 
          SIMPLY AS A CONCEPT, WE'RE ACTUALLY OPERATING THAT SYSTEM. 
          WE HAVE YEARS OF OPERATING HISTORY, INCLUDING ACTUAL MAINTENANCE EXPERIENCE, CHARGING DATA AND COST INFORMATION. 
          WE HAVE ENOUGH EXPERIENCE NOW TO BEGIN DISTINGUISHING WHERE TECHNOLOGY IS CLEARLY WORKING AND WHERE ADDITIONAL VALIDATION NEEDS TO BE NEED, WHERE IT'S NEEDED FINANCIALLY. 
          WE'RE SHOWING APPROXIMATELY 3.1 MILLION IN LIFE TO DATE MODELED SAVINGS COMPARED TO THE EQUIVALENT INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE VEHICLE. 
          AND OUR CUMULATIVE CARBON REDUCTION IS APPROXIMATELY 46,500 METRIC TONS. 
          BUT ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PARTS OF THIS SLIDE IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SLIDE WITH OUR MORE DEMANDING APPLICATIONS. 
          WE HAVE THE A PD ELECTRIC BLAZER PATROL APPLICATION, WE HAVE THE BATTLE MOTORS GROUP ELECTRIC REFUSE VEHICLE THAT'S IN SERVICE TODAY. 
          AND WE HAVE A VOLVO ELECTRIC FRONT LOADER THAT WE'RE EVALUATING FOR ORGANIC MATERIAL HANDLING THAT'S COMING ONLINE SOON. 
          THESE ARE ADDITIONAL VALIDATION EFFORTS. 
          THE POINT IS NOT TO PROVE THAT EVERY VEHICLE CAN BE ELECTRIFIED. 
          THE POINT IS TO DETERMINE WHICH APPLICATIONS CAN RELIABLY BE ELECTRIFIED UNDER CITY OPERATIONS. 
          THAT'S HOW WE'RE APPROACHING THE NEXT PHASE, BUILDING ON WHAT'S WORKING, VALIDATING NEW APPLICATIONS, MAKING SURE INFRASTRUCTURE IS THERE TO SUPPORT IT, WHICH BRINGS ME TO OUR CHARGING NETWORK. 
          SO AS THE ELECTRIC FLEET HAS GROWN, OUR CHARGING NETWORK HAS GROWN WITH IT. 
          BY THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR 2026, WE'LL HAVE 267 CHARGING PORTS AVAILABLE. 
          255 OF THOSE WOULD BE LEVEL TWO CHARGING, AND 12 OF THOSE WOULD BE DC FAST CHARGING PORTS. 
          THAT INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPORTS APPROXIMATELY 430 BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLES THAT WE'VE DISCUSSED ALREADY ARE 1.6 DVS PER PORT OF, UH, ONE OF THE LESSONS THAT WE'VE LEARNED THOUGH, IS THAT WE DON'T NEED A CHARGING PORT FOR EACH BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLE. 
          WHEN WE UNDERSTAND THE VEHICLES, WHERE THEY'RE DOMICILED, HOW FAR THEY TRAVEL, HOW LONG THEY SIT, HOW MUCH ENERGY THEY NEED TO RECOVER, WE CAN USE THAT CHARGING OF A STRUCTURE MUCH MORE EFFICIENTLY. 
          THE NORTHEAST SERVICE CENTER REPRESENTS OUR NEXT MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT. 
          THIS IS A PLANNED WITH THIS IS PLANNED WITH 74 LEVEL TWO CHARGING PORTS, 12 DC FAST CHARGING PORTS, AND IS EXPANSION READY? IT'S ALREADY BAKED INTO THE DESIGN ON THE PROPERTY, ESTABLISHING AN IMPORTANT MULTI-PURPOSE ELECTRIFICATION HUB FOR CITY OPERATIONS. 
          OVER THE PAST 12 MONTHS, OUR FLEET CHARGING NETWORK HAS DELIVERED APPROXIMATELY 480 MEGAWATTS OF HOUR MEGAWATT HOURS OF ELECTRICITY, AND AT THE AUSTIN ENERGY RATE OF APPROXIMATELY 9 CENTS PER KILOWATT HOUR. 
          THIS IS BECOMING A MEANINGFUL OPERATING SYSTEM THAT WE CAN WORK WITH. 
          OUR BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE APPROACH IS STRAIGHTFORWARD, DISTRIBUTED LEVEL TWO CHARGING WHERE VEHICLES HAVE SUFFICIENT DWELL TIME AND STRATEGIC DC FAST CHARGING WHERE THE MISSION REQUIRES RAPID TURNAROUND OR SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER ENERGY DEMAND. 
          THAT EXPERIENCE WITH THE VEHICLES, THE MILES, THE CHARGING, HAS GIVEN US A MUCH BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHERE ELECTRIFICATION WORKS WELL AND WHERE OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES ARE BECOMING MORE SIGNIFICANT. 
          AND THAT BRINGS US TO WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED FROM THIS PROGRAM OVER THE FAST PAST FEW YEARS. 
          I WOULD, UH, SUMMARIZE THIS SIMPLY IN FOUR AREAS. 
          FIRST, ELECTRIFY WHERE THE DUTY CYCLE 
          [00:45:01]
FITS. 
          SECOND ONE, TECHNOLOGY DOES NOT FIT EVERY MISSION. 
          AND THIRD VEHICLES AND CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE HAVE TO BE PLANNED TOGETHER. 
          FOURTH, WE VALIDATE AND THEN WE SCALE. 
          SO WE TALKED ABOUT THE MARKET CHANGING. 
          UM, WE'RE SEEING MANUFACTURERS ADJUST THEIR PRODUCT STRATEGIES BASED ON RANGE TOWING CAPACITY, COST, OPERATING REQUIREMENTS, AND CUSTOMER DEMAND. 
          FORD IS A GOOD EXAMPLE. 
          THE PRODUCTION OF THE CURRENT BATTERY ELECTRIC FORD F-150 LIGHTNING HAS ENDED, DIDN'T REALLY ADVERTISE THAT TO US. 
          IT WAS JUST ABRUPTLY STOPPED THIS YEAR. 
          WHILE FORD'S NEXT PLAN GENERATION LIGHTNING IS MOVING TOWARDS AN EXTENDED RANGE VEHICLE ARCHITECTURE, IT'S NOT QUITE AVAILABLE TO US YET WITH THIS MANUFACTURER'S ESTIMATED RANGE OF ABOUT 700 MILES. 
          GENERAL MOTORS ENDED PRODUCTION OF THE BRIGHT DROP ELECTRIC DELIVERY VAN AND STELLANTIS IS PURSUING A BROADER MULTI-PATH PROPULSION STRATEGY. 
          WHAT THIS TELLS US IS THAT THE MARKET ISN'T MOVING TOWARDS A SINGLE PROPULSION TECHNOLOGY. 
          IT'S DIVERSIFYING. 
          AND THAT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE FLEET ITSELF HAS MULTIPLE DIVERSIFIED MISSIONS TO ACCOMPLISH A BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLE MAY BE THE RIGHT SOLUTION IN ONE APPLICATION WHILE A HYBRID OR AN EXTENDED RANGE VEHICLE MIGHT BE THE BETTER FIT FOR ANOTHER APPLICATION. 
          OUR STRATEGY EXTENDS AND NEEDS TO REMAIN TECHNOLOGY NEUTRAL AND MISSION DRIVEN. 
          WE'RE NOT CHOOSING ONE TECHNOLOGY FIRST AND THEN TRYING TO MAKE THE OPERATION FIT IT. 
          WE'RE STARTING WITH THE OPERATION REQUIREMENT AND SELECTING THE TECHNOLOGY THAT BEST MEETS THAT MISSION. 
          AND JUST BRIEFLY, THE CHART ON THE RIGHT ILLUSTRATES SOME OF THOSE DIFFERENCES IN THE TECHNOLOGY. 
          THE BEV OPERATES ENTIRELY ON ELECTRICITY. 
          IT HAS NO INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE VEHICLE AND NO TAILPIPE EMISSIONS. 
          AND THAT'S THE GOLD STANDARD FOR US. 
          AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE AIMING FOR WITH ALL OF OUR ACQUISITIONS. 
          THE CONVENTIONAL HYBRID AS A COMBINED WITH A INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE VEHICLE AND AN ELECTRIC MOTOR AND A RELATIVELY SMALL BATTERY IT DOESN'T PLUG IN. 
          AND THEN YOU HAVE THE PLUGIN HYBRID OR PHEV, WHICH HAS A LARGER BATTERY THAT CAN CHARGE EXTERNALLY AND CAN OPERATE ELECTRICITY OR IT CAN OPERATE OFF THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE INDEPENDENTLY AS NEEDED. 
          AND THEN YOU HAVE THE EXTENDED RANGE ELECTRIC VEHICLE, WHICH IS, UH, WE CALL IT E REV, IS A COMMON ACRONYM USED FOR IT, UH, USES ELECTRICITY DRIVE, IT'S ELECTRIC DRIVE TRAIN THAT POWERS THE, THE ENGINE OR POWERS THE WHEELS. 
          BUT, UH, THERE'S AN ONBOARD ENGINE THAT OPERATES AS A GENERATOR TO EXTEND THE RANGE OF THAT VEHICLE. 
          THE POINT IS THAT THOSE TECHNOLOGIES OFFER DIFFERENT CAPABILITIES FOR DIFFERENT MISSIONS. 
          AND EVEN AS THE MARKET DIVERSIFIES, WE CONTINUE TO SEE MEANINGFUL OPPORTUNITIES TO EXPAND BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLES ACROSS CITY OPERATIONS. 
          AND THAT BRINGS US TO OUR FY 27 ACQUISITIONS PLAN. 
          SO AS WE MOVE INTO FY 27, OUR, WE ARE APPLYING THOSE MISSION-BASED APPROACH, UH, TO OUR ACQUISITIONS ACROSS THE GENERAL FUND AND ENTERPRISE FUND. 
          WE HAVE 663 VEHICLES OR PIECES OF EQUIPMENT PLANNED FOR THE ACQUISITION. 
          WE'VE REVIEWED THOSE ACQUISITIONS AGAINST THE AVAILABLE VEHICLES THAT ARE AVAILABLE MARKET TODAY AND HAVE IDENTIFIED APPROXIMATELY 82 POTENTIAL ELECTRIC APPLICATIONS OR 12.4%. 
          THE REMAINING 501 81 ACQUISITIONS OR 87.6% INVOLVE VEHICLE CLASSES THAT CURRENTLY DON'T HAVE A SUITABLE BEV OPTION OR SPECIALIZED EQUIPMENT. 
          SO I WANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT THE 82 ARE OPPORTUNITIES AND NOT PREDETERMINED PURCHASES. 
          EACH APPLICATION STILL HAS TO PASS THROUGH THE SAME DECISION PROCESS. 
          IS THE TECHNOLOGY AVAILABLE? DOES IT FIT THE MISSION? AND IS THE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE READY TO SUPPORT IT? LIGHT DUTY VEHICLES REMAIN OUR STRONGEST NEAR TERM OPPORTUNITY. 
          WE HAVE PROVEN APPLICATIONS ACROSS SEDANS, SUVS, VANS, SELECTED TRUCKS, AND WE'RE CONTINUING TO DEPLOY THOSE ACROSS MULTIPLE CITY DEPARTMENTS TODAY. 
          THE ELECTRIFICATION IS ALSO MOVING BEYOND THE TRADITIONAL PASSENGER VEHICLE PARKS AND RECREATION IS MOVING TOWARDS. 
          THEY HAVE SIX MEAN GREEN ELECTRIC MOWER DECKS, AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE SLIDE, EXPANDING ELECTRIFICATION TO PARKS AND GOLF COURSE OPERATIONS. 
          AND AUSTIN BERKSHIRE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IS EVALUATING ELECTRIC COMMERCIAL GROUNDS EQUIPMENT. 
          SO WE'RE BEGINNING TO SEE ELECTRIFICATION EXPAND INTO MUCH BROADER RANGE OF CITY OPERATIONS. 
          AND WHAT I WOULD DESCRIBE AS THE NEXT FRONTIER IS SOLID WASTE. 
          REFUSE COLLECTION REPRESENTS ONE OF OUR LARGEST POTENTIAL ELECTRIFICATION OPPORTUNITIES, BUT IS ALSO HIGH ENERGY, HEAVY DUTY APPLICATION. 
          THIS MEANS THAT CONSEQUENCES OF GETTING THE VEHICLE, THE ROUTE OR THE CHARGING ASSUMPTIONS WRONG IS EVEN GREATER. 
          SO RATHER THAN MOVING DIRECTLY FROM MARKET TO, UH, MARKET AVAILABILITY TO LARGE SCALE DEPLOYMENT, WE'RE APPLYING THE SAME DISCIPLINED, UH, APPROACH THAT WE'VE APPLIED THROUGHOUT THIS ENTIRE BRIEFING. 
          IDENTIFY THE OPPORTUNITY, VALIDATE THE MISSION, MAKE SURE INFRASTRUCTURE IS READY, AND THEN DEPLOY. 
          AND THAT BRINGS US TO HOW WE'RE APPROACHING SOLID WASTE WITH ELECTRIC, WITH 
          [00:50:01]
AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY. 
          SO I WOULD SAY THAT SOLID WASTE IS WHERE MISSION-BASED APPROACH BECOMES PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT. 
          UH, EARLIER PLANNING WORK IDENTIFIED APPROXIMATELY 65% OF ARRS ROUTES AS POTENTIAL POTENTIALLY COMPATIBLE WITH BATTERY ELECTRIC OPERATIONS. 
          UNDER BROAD PLANNING ASSUMPTIONS, UH, THAT TELLS US, UH, THERE'S A SIGNIFICANT, UH, ELECTRIFICATION POTENTIAL. 
          UH, BUT THERE'S AN IMPORTANT DISTINCTION BETWEEN IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL AND DETERMINING THE PACE OF DEPLOYMENT. 
          REFUSE COLLECTION IS ONE OF THE MOST DEMANDING APPLICATIONS IN OUR FLEET. 
          THESE VEHICLES CARRY A SIGNIFICANT PAYLOAD, OPERATE HYDRAULIC SYSTEMS THROUGHOUT THE WORKDAY AND HAVE TO RELIABLY COMPLETE THEIR COLLECTION MISSION BEFORE RETURNING TO THE YARD. 
          SO WE ARE NOW MOVING FROM FEASIBILITY TO PLANNING, IMPLEMENTING, AND VALIDATION, AND THAT VALIDATION HAS ALREADY BEGUN. 
          WE'VE RECENTLY EVALUATED THE MCIS VOLTERRA BATTERY ELECTRIC REFUSE TRUCK, AS WELL AS THE ONE THAT WE'VE CURRENTLY GOT IN SERVICE WITH THE BATTLE MOTORS GROUP UNDER AUSTIN OPERATING CONDITIONS. 
          THAT EXPERIENCE HELPS US UNDERSTAND THE RANGE, THE ENERGY CONSUMPTION, PAYLOAD, HYDRAULIC DEMAND CHARGING, PERFORMANCE, UPTIME, AND MAINTENANCE. 
          THE NORTHEAST SERVICE CENTER WILL BECOME AND SERVE AS OUR FIRST AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY CHARGING DEPOT, PROVIDING INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDED TO SUPPORT FUTURE DEPLOYMENT AS WE VALIDATE THAT TECHNOLOGY. 
          AND, UH, THIS IS A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY AND FLEET. 
          A RR DETERMINES THE MISSION. 
          FLEET VALIDATES THE TECHNOLOGY, AND TOGETHER WE DETERMINE THE PACE OF DEPLOYMENT. 
          A RR DEFINES THE ROUTES, COLLECTION REQUIREMENTS, SERVICE SCHEDULES, PRODUCTIVITY EXPECTATIONS, AND PAYLOAD. 
          FLEET WILL VALIDATE THE VEHICLE SPECIFICATIONS, AVAILABILITY, CHARGE REQUIREMENTS, RELIABILITY, MAINTAINABILITY AND LIFECYCLE PERFORMANCE. 
          THE OPERATING FRAMEWORK ON THE RIGHT SHOWS HOW WE INTEND TO DO THAT. 
          MODEL, DEPLOY, MEASURE, VALIDATE, THEN SCALE. 
          WE IDENTIFY THE ROUTES AND APPLICATIONS WITH THE STRONGEST POTENTIAL, INTRODUCE VEHICLES THROUGH CONTROLLED DEPLOYMENTS AND MEASURE THEIR SCHEDULE, THEIR ACTUAL PERFORMANCE. 
          WE THEN COMPARE THOSE RESULTS WITH THE PERFORMANCE OF THE EXISTING FLEET FROM SERVICE RELIABILITY TO LIFECYCLE COSTS WHERE THE TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATES THAT IT CAN RELIABLY PERFORM A MISSION. 
          THE INFRASTRUCTURE IS READY AND THE ECONOMIC SUPPORT IT THEN WE SCALE. 
          UH, THAT IS HOW WE MOVE FROM ELECTRIFICATION FORECAST TO ACTUALLY OPERATING STRATEGY. 
          AND ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PIECES OF MAKING THAT STRATEGY WORK IS PUTTING THE RIGHT CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE RIGHT LOCATION. 
          WHICH BRINGS ME TO OUR NEXT SLIDE, WHICH IS OUR CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE SLIDE. 
          SO WE'VE DONE A LOT OF WORK IN PLANNING ON CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          WE'VE LEARNED A LOT ABOUT IT. 
          UM, AND WHAT WE'VE DETERMINED IS THE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE HAS TO FOLLOW A MISSION AND OR OPERATING GEOGRAPHY WITHIN THE CITY OF AUSTIN. 
          UH, FOR MANY LIGHT DUTY VEHICLES, MOST EFFICIENT SOLUTION IS DISTRIBUTED LEVEL TWO, CHARGING AT THE LOCATION WHERE THE VEHICLE IS NORMALLY DOMICILED, WHERE IT HAS SUFFICIENT TIME OR DWELL TIME TO RECOVER FROM CITY OPERATIONS. 
          BUT AS WE MOVE INTO HIGHER UTILIZATION AND HEAVIER DUTY APPLICATIONS, DC FAST CHARGING BECOMES MORE STRATEGIC WAY TO, UH, RESOURCE THOSE VEHICLES. 
          SO RATHER THAN SIMPLY ASK WHERE ARE, WHERE DO WE WANT TO INSTALL CHARGERS, WE'RE ASKING WHERE DO OUR VEHICLES OPERATE? WHERE DO THEY RETURN? HOW LONG DO THEY DWELL? HOW MUCH ENERGY DO THEY NEED? AND THAT'S WHERE TELEMATICS AND GIS COME INTO THE PICTURE. 
          WE USE THE VEHICLE LOCATION OPERATING DATA TOGETHER WITH GIS MAPPING TO UNDERSTAND WHERE CITY VEHICLE FLEET IS ACTIVELY, UH, CONCENTRATED. 
          AND, UH, WE'RE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE CAN PROVIDE THE GREATEST OPERATIONAL VALUE. 
          AND THIS ISN'T JUST A FUTURE PLAN. 
          WE'RE BUILDING THIS NETWORK TODAY WITH COMPLETION PLAN BY THE END OF CALENDAR YEAR 2026. 
          WE COM WHEN COMPLETED, VEHICLES OPERATING WITHIN THE CITY'S URBAN CORE WILL BE WITHIN APPROXIMATELY THREE MILES OF A DC FAST CHARGING LOCATION. 
          AND THAT'S THE MAP ON YOUR LEFT. 
          EACH ONE OF THOSE PURPLE CIRCLES IS A THREE MILE RADIUS. 
          UNDERNEATH THAT IS A HEAT MAP OF THE CITY FLEET. 
          AS YOU CAN SEE WHERE WE FUNCTION AND OPERATE TODAY. 
          THE OBJECTIVE ISN'T TO BUILD THE MOST CHARGERS, UH, IT'S TO PUT THE RIGHT CHARGING CAPACITY IN THE RIGHT LOCATION FOR MISSIONS WE'RE SUPPORTING. 
          AND THAT LEADS US DIRECTLY INTO OUR ROADMAP AND HOW WE INTEND TO EXECUTE, EXECUTE, VALIDATE, AND SCALE OUR STRATEGY OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS. 
          UH, SO DURING THE FY 27 AND 28, OUR FOCUS WILL BE ON EXECUTION. 
          WE'LL CONTINUE SCALING LIGHT DUTY APPLICATIONS THAT ARE ALREADY PROVEN, PRIORITIZING VEHICLES BASED ON MISSION FIT, DUTY CYCLE, AND TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP. 
          AND AT THE SAME TIME, WE'LL CONTINUE ADVANCING CHARGING NETWORK USING FACILITY-BASED LEVEL TWO CHARGING WHERE VEHICLES HAVE SUFFICIENT DWELL TIME AND STRATEGIC DC FAST CHARGING, UH, WHERE THE MISSION REQUIRES HIGHER ENERGY AND FASTER TURNAROUND. 
          WE'LL ALSO CONTINUE TO OPERATIONAL VALIDATION WE'VE DISCUSSED THROUGHOUT 
          [00:55:01]
WITH OUR CURRENT PILOTS WITH A-P-D-A-R-R, PARKS AND REC AND OTHER TARGETED APPLICATIONS. 
          AND WE'LL INCREASINGLY USE GIS AND TELEMATICS TO GUIDE WHERE VEHICLES AND INFRASTRUCTURE SHOULD BE DEPLOYED NEXT. 
          THEN BEGINNING IN FY 29 THROUGH FY 31, THE EMPHASIS WILL SHIFT INTO VALIDATING TOWARDS EXPANSION AND SCALING WHAT PERFORMS, WHERE APPLICATIONS DEMONSTRATE RELIABLE PERFORMANCE OPERATION, WHERE, UH, FAVORABLE ECONOMICS. 
          AND WE THEN WE WILL LOOK AT EXPANDING THOSE ACROSS CITY OPERATIONS. 
          THAT INCLUDES THE POTENTIAL EXPANSION OF SOLID WASTE ELECTRIFICATION BUILDING ON WHAT WE'VE LEARNED, UH, FROM OUR EARLIER EVALUATIONS AND DEPLOYMENTS. 
          IT ALSO INCLUDES EMERGING MEDIUM AND HEAVY DUTY TRUCK APPLICATIONS THAT ARE NOT QUITE AVAILABLE TO US YET TODAY. 
          AND WE'VE HAD OPPORTUNITY TO SEE EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES SUCH AS THE OSHKOSH VOLTERRA ELECTRIC FIRE APPARATUS, UM, THAT'S BEEN DEMONSTRATED TO US AND WE SEE OPPORTUNITIES THERE AS WELL AS SOLID WA SOLID WASTE. 
          WE'LL CONTINUE EVALUATING THESE EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES, OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE, SUPPORTING INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, AND UH, TRYING TO MEET THE NEED WHERE BEST, BEST FITS. 
          WE'LL ALSO CONTINUE DEVELOPING HIGHER POWER CHARGING CAPACITY TO SUPPORT THESE MORE HIGH DEMANDING APPLICATIONS. 
          THE ROADMAP IS DESIGNED TO EVOLVE WITH TECHNOLOGY, THE MARKET, AND WHAT WE'VE LEARNED FROM OUR ACTUAL OPERATING EXPERIENCE. 
          WE'RE CONTINUING TO INVEST PROVEN TECH TECHNOLOGY. 
          UM, WE'LL BUILD THE CAPACITY TO EXPAND INTO MORE DEMANDING APPLICATIONS TOMORROW. 
          AND THAT BRINGS US TO OUR FINAL SLIDE, UH, CHAIR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS. 
          I JUST WANNA SAY, UH, THAT, UM, WE'VE MADE SOME MEANINGFUL PROGRESS WITH FLEET ELECTRIFICATION OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS. 
          UM, BUT IT'S NOT THE NUMBER OF BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN SERVICE. 
          UM, WE'VE INCREASED OUR UTILIZATION, WE'VE GROWN OUR CHARGING NETWORK, WE'VE BEGUN MOVING ELECTRIFICATION INTO MORE DEMANDING OPERATIONS. 
          WE SEE A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY ON THE HORIZON. 
          AS YOU CAN SEE, THERE'S A LOT OF CHANGES IN THE BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLE MARKETPLACE ITSELF. 
          THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY IS GOING THROUGH QUITE A SHIFT. 
          UM, THE ECONOMICS HAVE CHANGED SIGNIFICANTLY WITH, UH, BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLES VERSUS THE COST OF INTER UH, FUEL THESE DAYS, PETROLEUM BASED FUEL. 
          SO THE ECONOMICS ARE DEFINITELY TRENDING TOWARDS ELECTRIFICATION OF THE CITY FLEET WILL CONTINUE TO ELECTRIFY WHERE THE TECHNOLOGY PERFORMS, BUILD THE INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDED TO SUPPORT IT AND EVALUATE ADDITIONAL TECHNOLOGIES AS THE MARKET DEVELOPS AND WILL REMAIN TECHNOLOGY NEUTRAL, MISSION DRIVEN, USING ACTUAL OPERATING RESULTS TO DETERMINE WHERE AND WHEN TO SCALE. 
          AND THAT ALLOWS US TO CONTINUE MAKING PROGRESS IN PROTECTING THE RELIABILITY OF CITY SERVICES THAT OUR FLEET SUPPORTS. 
          OUR OBJECTIVE IS SIMPLY NOT TO ELECTRIFY THE FLEET, IT'S TO BUILD THE MOST CAPABLE, EFFICIENT, SUSTAINABLE FLEET FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN. 
          AND I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE THIS WITH YOU TODAY. 
          I'LL BE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS. 
          ALRIGHT, COUNCIL MEMBER DE ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. 
          APPRECIATE THIS PRESENTATION. 
          IT'S, IT'S, UM, REALLY HELPFUL BECAUSE IT WAS JUST A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO I THINK I REACHED OUT TO DIRECTOR BOMBER AND INQUIRED ABOUT SOME ELECTRIFICATION QUESTIONS LIKE YOU SHOULD GO TALK TO FLEET. 
          AND UH, AND HERE WE ARE. 
          AND THAT ACTUALLY IS A GOOD FIRST QUESTION, WHICH IS HELP ME UNDERSTAND KIND OF WHAT THE RELATIONSHIP IS. 
          YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT THE CLIMATE OFFICE, THEY'RE HELPING DIRECTING STRATEGY. 
          HOW ARE THEY WORKING WITH YOU ON THIS? OR IS THIS PRIMARILY A FLEET PROJECT THAT DOESN'T HAVE THEIR INVOLVEMENT IN IT? NO, WE ABSOLUTELY ARE INTEGRATED WITH THEM. 
          WE TALK WITH THEM ALL THE TIME. 
          IT'S BEEN PART OF OUR STRATEGY FROM THE VERY BEGINNING. 
          THEY ARE A KEY STRATEGIC PARTNER OF OURS. 
          THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN IS DRIVING MUCH OF WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH. 
          UM, WE'RE WORKING WITH ZACH AND HIS TEAM WITH POLICY. 
          UM, IT'S A PROGRESS REPORT PROVIDED ALL THE TIME. 
          IF THERE'S SUPPORT THAT WE NEED OR THEY NEED INFORMATION FROM US, THERE'S A, IT'S OPEN DIALOGUE AND SHARING NOT JUST WITH THEM BUT WITH ALL DEPARTMENTS ACROSS THE ENTIRE CITY OF AUSTIN. 
          WE ARE IN EVERY DEPARTMENT IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UM, AND WE HAVE MANY STRATEGIC PARTNERS FROM BUILDING SERVICES, AUSTIN ENERGY, SO ON AND SO FORTH. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, WELL I'D LIKE TO I HAVE A COUPLE OF SPECIFIC QUESTIONS I WANT TO GET YOUR HELP WITH. 
          ONE IS, UM, TRYING TO UNDERSTAND IN TERMS OF SAY, DEPLOYING, AND YOU MENTIONED GOING INTO PLACES LIKE, UH, WORKING WITH PARKS AND, AND MEAN GREEN MOWER DECKS. 
          UH, YOU ALSO MENTIONED THE LAST COUPLE OF MINUTES HERE, LIKE MEASURING UTILIZATION. 
          SO HOW DOES THAT WORK WHEN YOU'VE GOT A VEHICLE OR YOU'RE GETTING INTO SPACES POTENTIALLY THAT ARE VERY SPECIFIC, RIGHT? NOT TALKING ABOUT A VEHICLE THAT'S SITTING AT, UM, ONE TEXAS CENTER THAT ANY DEPARTMENT COULD GO USE, BUT TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING THAT I GUESS MIGHT SIT AT JUST ONE SPECIFIC FACILITY. 
          HOW DOES THAT FACTOR INTO GOING FORWARD? THINKING 
          [01:00:01]
ABOUT IF UTILIZATION IS A CRITERIA, HOW DOES THAT FACTOR GOING FORWARD INTO THINKING ABOUT WHERE DOES, WHERE DO WE BEST INVEST IN FOR, UM, FOR ELECTRIFICATION? WELL, TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, IF WE, IF IT'S LOW UTILIZATION, WE HAVE CAR SHARING PROGRAMS, WE HAVE OTHER MEANS OF PROVIDING MOBILITY FOR EMPLOYEES ACROSS THE CITY. 
          IF WE DON'T, AREN'T GONNA USE IT, WE DON'T NEED TO OWN IT IN THE FIRST PLACE. 
          UM, SO IF IT'S LOW UTILIZATION VEHICLE, WE CAN MEASURE IT'S KIDS BLENDED WITH THE REST OF THE FLEET. 
          BUT WE LOOK FOR SHARING OPPORTUNITIES. 
          UM, WE DO THAT HERE AT CITY HALL AND WE ARE DOING THAT ACROSS OTHER HIGH DENSITY, MULTIPLE DEPARTMENT FACILITIES IN THE CITY. 
          AND WE'RE BUILDING THAT CAR SHARING PROGRAM BASED ON ELECTRIC VEHICLES TODAY. 
          SO WE'RE, WE'RE MONITORING THE UTILIZATION AND WE'RE MOVING THOSE VEHICLES AND RELOCATING 'EM AROUND TO WHERE WE CAN DRIVE GREATER UTILIZATION AND BRINGING AWARENESS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS THAT YOU DON'T NECESSARILY NEED AN ADMINISTRATIVE VEHICLE THAT JUST SITS IN YOUR PARKING LOT THAT YOU ARE PAYING A MAINTENANCE RATE ON THAT YOU DON'T USE WHERE, UH, MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS COULD USE THAT VEHICLE. 
          UH, AND THERE'S NO SENSE IN OWNING THOSE ASSETS IF THEY'RE NOT GOING TO ACTUALLY, UM, GET USED. 
          WELL, I'LL, I'LL JUST ASK, I KNOW THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER AND I HAVE BEEN INQUIRING ABOUT, AND I KNOW THAT THERE'S A PARKS, I THINK PILOT ALSO FOR THE ELECTRIFICATION OF SOME LANDSCAPING EQUIPMENT. 
          ONE OF THE FACTORS THERE THAT WE'RE, THAT'S DRIVING THAT CONVERSATION IS JUST THE NOISE THAT GETS GENERATED. 
          SO I'M ALSO CURIOUS TO THE EXTENT THAT THAT, OR OTHER FACTORS THAT WE HAVEN'T TALKED ABOUT IN THE PRESENTATION ARE PART OF THE, UH, PART OF THE ANALYSIS THAT YOU GUYS ARE WORKING THROUGH FOR WHERE THE BENEFIT IS FOR MAKING THE SWITCH TO ELECTRIFICATION. 
          SO IT'S NOT NECESSARILY PART OF OUR, UH, PARTICULAR, UM, AREA OF EXPERTISE WE'RE, WE DON'T PURCHASE THE HANDHELD LAWN EQUIPMENT TOOLS, BUT I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE TALKING THE BLOWERS, THE WEED EATERS AND ALL OF THAT SORT OF THING. 
          UH, WE'RE FOCUSED WITH THE, UH, FLEET RELATED ASSETS, UH, OR HIGHER COST ASSETS. 
          UM, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THESE LARGE MOWER DECKS, SOME OF THESE, LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, THE MEAN GREENERS ARE PURCHASING AT LIKE $45,000 A PIECE. 
          YOU KNOW, THEY'RE FAIRLY EXPENSIVE. 
          SO THOSE ARE THE TYPES OF, UH, PIECES OF EQUIPMENT THAT WE, WE MANAGE. 
          WE DON'T, UM, MEASURE, UH, ANY KIND OF ACOUSTIC, UM, VARIABLES TO DETERMINE WHETHER THAT'S A REPLACEMENT FACTOR OR NOT. 
          BUT, UH, I COULD TELL YOU THAT WITH THE SOLID WASTE FLEET, LET'S SAY GOING DOWN THE ROAD, YOU KNOW, GRAB AND TRASH CANS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT'S EXTREMELY NOISY. 
          UH, THAT WE ARE ACTUALLY, WE DON'T HAVE MEASUREMENTS ON IT, BUT I, WE ARE ABSOLUTELY ANTICIPATING THAT AS BEING A HUGE IMPROVEMENT FOR THE EXPERIENCE OF OUR CITIZENS AS WE ARE DOING WASTE COLLECTION. 
          AND I KNOW THAT'S SOMETHING I'VE GOTTEN COMPLAINTS ABOUT. 
          I KNOW COUNCILMAN SIEGEL HAS ALSO WORKED ON THAT RECENTLY AND TALKED ABOUT THE, THE ISSUES IN NEIGHBORHOODS WITH THOSE VEHICLES. 
          SO I'M, AGAIN, I'M JUST CURIOUS TO THE EXTENT THAT EITHER NOW OR DOWN THE LINE, THOSE BECOME CONSIDERATIONS THAT YOU GUYS ARE PART OF YOUR DECISION MAKING AS YOU MAKE THOSE FUTURE INVESTMENTS. 
          WHETHER IT'S NOT JUST STRICTLY, UM, THE, UH, UH, IT'S NOT JUST STRICTLY THE, THE EMISSIONS OR THE, UH, THE BENEFITS THAT YOU'VE TRADITIONALLY RELIED ON, BUT IF IT STARTS TO BECOME OTHER FACTORS THAT ALSO IMPACT PEOPLE IN DIFFERENT WAYS THAT PEOPLE MIGHT APPRECIATE HAVING, UH, QUIETER VEHICLES OR SOME OTHER BENEFIT THAT WE HAVEN'T TALKED ABOUT. 
          ABSOLUTELY. 
          GREAT POINT. 
          UH, I THINK THAT'S ALL I'VE GOT. 
          THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UM, I DO HAVE A, A COUPLE QUESTIONS. 
          I WANT TO START WITH THE A RR PIECE OF ALL THIS. 
          WE HAVE THE, THE ONE WE GOT TO SEE IT LAST YEAR. 
          UH, YOU MENTIONED THERE'S ANOTHER ONE IN THE WORKS, JUST I'M UNFAMILIAR WITH THAT. 
          WHAT'S THE TIMELINE ON THAT BEING DEPLOYED? SO, IT'S IN THE EVALUATION PHASE. 
          WE'VE BEEN MEETING WITH THE MANUFACTURER ENGINEERING GROUPS AND GOT PRICING ON IT. 
          UM, IT'S DONE SOME ROUTES FOR US AT THIS POINT. 
          UH, THEY, UM, WERE LOOKING AT THE CAPACITY, THE BATTERY CAPACITY, AND WHAT THE ENERGY DEMAND IS, WHAT THE RECOVERY TIME IS ON IT, WHERE, UH, THIS WOULD BE A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT BETWEEN US AND A RR TO DETERMINE IF THEY HAVE APPLICABLE ROUTES FOR THIS PARTICULAR VEHICLE. 
          IT CAN'T DO THE FULL ROUTE THAT ANY OF THEM COULD DO FROM AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE VEHICLE. 
          SO IT WOULD BE NOT FUNGIBLE TO THE REST OF THE FLEET, BUT IT WOULD BE A PART OF THEIR ORGANIZATION THAT YOU MAY HAVE TO FRAGMENT OUT AND SAY, OKAY, THIS GOES AND OPERATES ON SHORTER ROUTES. 
          AND THAT'S UP TO AUSTIN, UH, RESOURCE RECOVERY TO DETERMINE WHERE THAT FITS BEST INTO THEIR ORGANIZATION. 
          UM, FROM AN ELECTRIFICATION STANDPOINT, AN ENGINEERING STANDPOINT, KILOWATTS REQUIRED TO OPERATE IT, UH, CHARGING CAPACITY, 
          [01:05:01]
UM, WE'RE FAIRLY CONFIDENT THAT THIS IS A VEHICLE THAT IS A WORKABLE VEHICLE. 
          PROBABLY ONE OF THE BEST ONES IN THE MARKET, UM, PRODUCED BY A COMPANY CALLED OSHKOSH OR MCIS. 
          UM, THIS, THEY, IT'S MILITARY GRADE COMMERCIAL EQUIPMENT. 
          THEY'RE ALSO THE SAME COMPANY THAT PRODUCES AND MANUFACTURES THE VOLTERRA FOR THE, UH, UH, FIRE DEPARTMENT, THE PUMPER. 
          SO ALTHOUGH DIFFERENT TECH, A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT TECHNOLOGY ONE'S PLUGIN AND A HUNDRED PERCENT ELECTRIC, AND THE OTHER WAS MORE LIKE A E REV TYPE OF TECHNOLOGY. 
          THEY'RE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT, BUT, UM, UH, THEY SEEM TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE NEED TO OPERATE. 
          AND SO THAT'S A DISCUSSION THAT WE WOULD HAVE IN THE 2027 BUDGET CYCLE TO SEE IF THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO FIT THIS UNIT IN THERE AND GET, GET THE PILOT PROGRAM UP AND OPERATIONAL. 
          OKAY. 
          AND YOU CITED THE 65% OF THE ROUTES THAT WOULD BE POTENTIALLY ELIGIBLE IS THAT WITHOUT A TRANSFER STATION IN PLACE, LIKE UNDER CURRENT ROUTE STRUCTURES? THAT WAS WITHOUT A TRANSFER STATION. 
          UM, THAT WAS, UH, DATA THAT WAS PULLED FROM THE ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND STUDY. 
          UM, AND THE THRESHOLD ON THAT WAS 70 MILES OR LESS. 
          WE FLEET WAS NOT INVOLVED IN THAT, BUT WE THOUGHT THAT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE FOR THIS CONVERSATION TO PUT THAT ON THE TABLE. 
          OKAY. 
          WELL, I, I, I DON'T KNOW THE EXACT NUMBER, BUT I, I DO KNOW WHEN THE DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE TRANSFER STATION, YOU KNOW, IF THAT COMES INTO PLAY, THEN IT'S A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT LANDSCAPE IN TERMS OF OUR ABILITY TO DO, UH, ELECTRIC REFUGE TRUCKS. 
          SO, UM, WE THINK IT CHANGES. 
          AND THAT'S OUT OF YOUR CONTROL. 
          YES. 
          , YEAH, I DON'T WANNA SPEAK ON THAT, BUT I THINK IT WOULD CHANGE THE EQUATION A LITTLE BIT. 
          UM, AND WHAT WILL THE POINT BE? 'CAUSE WE HAVE THE, THE EXISTING PILOT GOING ON WHERE, WHAT'S KIND OF THE END OF THAT? LIKE WHEN DOES IT END STOP BEING A PILOT AND WE DECIDE LIKE THIS IS EITHER GO NO GO AND KIND OF SCALE IT FROM THERE? YEAH, I THINK, YOU KNOW, INITIALLY IT'S ALWAYS, UH, UM, SOME SORT OF EVALUATION, RIGHT? IS THE TECHNOLOGY THERE, DOES, CAN IT DO THE JOB, RIGHT? WE PUT IT OUT THERE, THE PILOT ENDS WHEN WE FEEL CONFIDENT THAT THE VEHICLE ACTUALLY PERFORMS AS EXPECTED. 
          WE'VE GOTTA GO THROUGH CERTAIN CYCLES. 
          UM, WE TALKED ABOUT THIS WITH THE A PD BLAZERS, UM, THAT WE LIKE TO TAKE THEM THROUGH ALL OF THE SEASONS OF AUSTIN. 
          UH, ONE OF THE INTERESTING THINGS IS LIKE WHEN YOU'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A HUNDRED DEGREES, A HUNDRED, A HUNDRED DAY, A HUNDRED DEGREE DAYS, YOU KNOW, HOW DOES THE VEHICLE OPERATE? OR YOU GET INTO A WINTER STORM SITUATION LIKE WE HAD, UH, FROM UH, 2021 THROUGH 2023. 
          UH, HOW DO THOSE VEHICLES OPERATE UNDER THOSE CONDITIONS? WE DON'T NEED TO GO THROUGH ALL OF THAT, BUT WE'D AT LEAST LIKE TO TAKE IT THROUGH FOUR CS, SEE HOW IT OPERATES, PUT IT ON THE ROAD, UM, SEE HOW THE ACTUAL MANUFACTURER SUPPORTS THAT VEHICLE TOO. 
          UM, LIKE WITH THE A PD BLAZERS, AND I'M NOT TRYING TO SHIFT CONVERSATION , THAT'S ACTUALLY WHERE I'M HEADED. 
          SO GO. 
          YEAH, NO, I, I, I, UH, I I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT, UM, AND, AND BY THE WAY, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT ON THAT. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, WITH THOSE, I MEAN, WE'VE HAD TO, WE'VE HAD A COUPLE THINGS. 
          WE HAD, YOU KNOW, SOME ACCIDENTS WITH ONE. 
          WE HAD TO DO SOME REPLACEMENT ON IT. 
          UH, UH, THERE WAS NOTHING UNUSUAL ABOUT IT. 
          WENT THROUGH THE NORMAL ACCIDENT CYCLE, GOT IT BACK ON THE ROAD. 
          UM, WE'RE DISPERSING THOSE VEHICLES FROM, WE'VE GOT ONE DOWNTOWN PATROL AND WE'VE MOVED ONE UP TO THE NORTH SUB. 
          AND WHAT WE'VE LEARNED THERE IS WE'VE GOTTA GET CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE IMMEDIATELY UP THERE IN WHICH WE'VE ALREADY DONE AND PUT, UH, DC FAST CHARGE UP THERE SO WE CAN DO THE QUICK TURNAROUND TIME ON THOSE VEHICLES. 
          A CONCERN THAT WE HAVE WITH THOSE IS THAT IT, THERE'S ONLY ONE MANUFACTURER THAT ACTUALLY PRODUCES A POLICE PURSUIT BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLE AT THIS POINT. 
          SO WE'RE HOPING THAT OTHER MANUFACTURERS WOULD STEP UP AND JOIN THAT, UH, AREA. 
          AND WE DON'T KNOW, UM, WHAT GENERAL MOTORS LONG-TERM PLAN IS WITH THIS. 
          THEY MAY BE SHIFTING GEARS. 
          WE HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING DIFFERENT. 
          WE KNOW THAT THE CHEVY BLAZER IS EXTREMELY POPULAR, BOTH AS A, YOU KNOW, PERSONAL USE VEHICLE AND ALSO AT THIS FOR THIS POLICE PURSUIT PURPOSES. 
          UM, BUT IT'S OPERATED FAIRLY WELL. 
          WE HAVEN'T HAD ANY PROBLEMS WITH IT. 
          UM, AND AS YOU KNOW, UH, AND WE'VE DONE SOME SURVEYING AND THE POLICE OFFICERS THAT HAVE DRIVEN IT, UH, HAVE ENJOYED IT AND THEY LIKE IT. 
          UH, AND OF COURSE WE HAD A LOT OF FUN OUT ON THE TEST TRACK ONE DAY WITH THAT, UH, WITH THOSE THINGS, UM, AS WELL THAT SOME NEW RECORDS, I KNOW SET SOME NEW RECORDS. 
          UH, IT WAS, IT WAS VERY GOOD. 
          UM, BUT, AND I THINK WE JUST NEED TO, WE NEED TO BUY A FEW MORE AND PUT THEM INTO ONE AT THE TRAINING CENTER AT SHAW LANE SO THEY CAN TRAIN DRIVERS ON THESE VEHICLES. 
          I THINK THAT'S KIND OF A CONSTRAINT FOR US. 
          AND THEN WITH OUR CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE OVERLAY THAT I SHOWED YOU EARLIER, THAT'S GONNA HELP FACILITATE THIS NO MATTER WHAT, THEY CAN STOP AT ANY ONE OF OUR DC FAST CHARGE CHARGING STATIONS AND GET ACTUALLY MORE POWER FROM THE ONES THAT WE'RE BUILDING TODAY THAN WHAT WE WERE TRYING TO BUILD BACK IN 2024. 
          [01:10:02]
SO WE THINK THAT IT'S, IT'S AN OPEN FIELD FOR US. 
          AND THE OPPORTUNITY FOR EXPANSION, UH, IS, IS THERE. 
          AND OF COURSE, UM, WE'RE COORDINATING THAT WITH A PD AND, UH, AGAIN, FLEET HAS ITS ROLE AND THEN THE OPERATION AND THE DEPARTMENT HAS THEIRS. 
          OKAY. 
          WELL, I, I KNOW, YOU KNOW, BACK IN THE BUDGET I WAS HAD A QUESTION ON THIS, AND OF, OF THE 663, UH, ACQUISITIONS 177 ARE POLICE. 
          SO THAT IS BY AND LARGE OUR GREATEST OPPORTUNITY. 
          SO I, UH, I'M HOPEFUL THAT WE CONTINUE TO, TO SCALE THAT. 
          AND, AND I HAVE HEARD THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, I DRIVE AN ELECTRIC CAR. 
          THERE ARE A LOT OF FUN TO DRIVE AND I, I KNOW THAT THE OFFICERS ARE ENJOYING, UH, THOSE VEHICLES AS WELL. 
          THE, THE NEXT HIGHEST NUMBER OF ACQUISITIONS IS PARKS AND REC. 
          AND YOU TALKED ABOUT Y'ALL AREN'T RESPONSIBLE FOR THE HANDHELD EQUIPMENT, BUT IN, IN MY THINKING OF PARKS AND REC VEHICLES, IT'S TRUCKS OR GOLF CARTS, SOMETIMES THE LAWNMOWERS, UM, IT, IT SURPRISED ME THAT, THAT OF THE 93 ACQUISITIONS FOR PARKS AND REC, ONLY 11 WERE PLANNED TO BE BATTERY ELECTRIC. 
          AND I WAS HOPING YOU COULD JUST GIVE A LITTLE MORE CONTEXT. 
          'CAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE THEY DON'T USE A LOT OF THESE, YOU KNOW, REALLY HEAVY INDUSTRIAL VEHICLES. 
          THEY'RE MORE OF THE TRADITIONAL VEHICLES THAT YOU WOULD SEE ELECTRIFIED. 
          SO WHERE'S THE, THE GAP THERE? YEAH, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. 
          UH, SO TODAY WE ARE WORKING THROUGH THAT WHOLE SPECIFICATION PROCESS, LIKE I SAID, WITH THE 82 POTENTIAL, UH, BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLE OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE OUT THERE. 
          UM, I THINK, UH, THEY'LL, THEY'LL HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE SAME SCREENING PROCESS THAT WE GO THROUGH WITH ACQUISITIONS, WHICH IS A BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLE, UM, IS WHAT WE'RE LOOKING TO TRY TO MOVE THEM INTO. 
          WE THINK THAT'S A GOOD OPPORTUNITY. 
          ANYTHING THAT'S, UH, ON A, UH, IN A CONSOLIDATED LOCATION THAT'S SOMETHING THAT IS DONE THAT HAS A CONSISTENT ROUTE THAT DOESN'T HAUL A LOT OF HEAVY DUTY, UH, TONNAGE, THEN I THINK THAT THEY'RE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY. 
          I THINK THE, UH, THIS IS STILL A, A DISCUSSION WITH THE PARKS AND RECREATIONS OPERATING STAFF AND THEIR FLEET LIAISONS. 
          OKAY. 
          WELL, AND I KNOW HISTORICALLY SOME OF THE CHALLENGES HAVE BEEN THE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE THEY WANTED TO ELECTRIFY, BUT THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          SO JUST THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS THAT Y'ALL ARE GOING THROUGH, IF IT'S NOT THE AVAILABILITY OF THE VEHICLE, BUT THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WE NEED TO BUILD AS A CITY, UM, YOU KNOW, PLEASE DO TELL US HOWEVER IT IS MOST APPROPRIATE FOR YOU TO TELL US SO THAT WE CAN MAKE THOSE NEEDED INVESTMENTS IN THE INFRASTRUCTURE, BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT THAT TO BE THE THING THAT'S HOLDING US BACK. 
          NO, I THINK, UH, THAT, UH, PROBABLY INITIALLY IT WAS, YOU KNOW, THAT, UH, WE DIDN'T HAVE, THEY HAVE A LOT OF LOCATIONS, A LOT OF SMALL LOCATIONS. 
          AND SO, UH, WITH OUR ELECTRIFICATION PLANS INITIALLY WITH THE CAPITAL THAT WE HAVE TODAY, WE'RE FOCUSED WITH THAT LEVEL TWO DISTRIBUTED CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE INTO THOSE HIGH DENSITY, UH, MULTI-DEPARTMENT FACILITY, OUR PARKING GARAGES AND, UH, PARKS AND RECREATION HAS A TENDENCY TO KIND OF GET LEFT OUT OF THAT LOOP BECAUSE THE, THE BANG FOR THE BUCK, IF YOU WILL, FOR IS, IS, IS ON THE MARGIN. 
          UH, SO I THINK AS WE COMPLETE THIS OVERLAY PHASE, THAT'LL GIVE THEM THE OPPORTUNITY JUST LIKE THEY HAVE TODAY TO GO TO ANY ONE OF OUR DC FAST CHARGE LOCATIONS, TOP OFF, CONTINUE ON ABOUT THEIR WORK. 
          UM, AND THEN I THINK AS WE MOVE PAST SOME OF OUR HIGH DENSITY PARKING GARAGES, THEN WE CAN KIND OF START HITTING THAT OUTER, UH, MORE, LESS DENSE, UH, PARKING LOCATIONS. 
          AND WE'RE PARTNERING UP WITH AUSTIN ENERGY AND OTHERS TO TRY TO LOOK FOR OTHER OPPORTUNITIES TO, UH, SPREAD AROUND THE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE A LITTLE BIT MORE. 
          YEAH. 
          WELL APPRECIATE YOUR WORK ON THIS. 
          WE WILL, UH, COME BACK AGAIN AND SEE HOW THINGS ARE GOING, BUT THANK YOU FOR, FOR YOUR TIME. 
          YES, SIR. 
          THANK YOU. 
          ALRIGHT, AND WE'LL MOVE ON TO OUR FINAL 
          [4. Briefing on alternative funding sources for parks management, land acquisition, amenities, facilities, and maintenance directed by Resolution No. 20241121-072. [Jesús Aguirre, Director - Austin Parks and Recreation; Ellen Ramage, Senior Managing Consultant - PFM Group Consulting]]
ITEM. 
          THIS IS ITEM NUMBER FOUR, WHICH IS A BRIEFING ON ALTERNATIVE FUNDING SOURCES FOR PARKS MANAGEMENT, LAND ACQUISITION, AMENITIES, FACILITIES AND MAINTENANCE. 
          AND I SEE DIRECTOR GIRE AND COMPANY, GOOD MORNING CHAIR COUNCIL MEMBERS, CAA GIRE, UH, DIRECTOR ROSS PARK AND RECREATION, UM, WITH VOCA, WHO'S ONE OF OUR ASSISTANT DIRECTORS. 
          AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE, UM, A CONSULTANT ON THE LINE WHO'S 
          [01:15:01]
GONNA DO THE BULK OF THE PRESENTATION. 
          BUT JUST AS YOU STATED, WE'RE HERE TO PROVIDE YOU WITH AN UPDATE ON THE EFFORTS WE'VE BEEN ENGAGED IN OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS TO IDENTIFY SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING SOURCES FOR THE DEPARTMENT. 
          UM, THIS IS ESSENTIALLY THE SECOND PHASE OF A COUNCIL DIRECTED INITIATIVE. 
          THE FIRST PHASE WAS REALLY TO TAKE A LOOK AT A BROAD SWATH OF POTENTIAL FUNDING STRATEGIES, UM, AND, UH, WE COMPLETED THAT LAST YEAR. 
          THIS, THIS IS A SECOND, UM, INITIATIVE TO REALLY FOCUS ON THREE KEY STRATEGIES THAT WERE IDENTIFIED IN THE FIRST REPORT THAT HAD SOME POTENTIAL. 
          AND WE LOOKED AT, UH, PARKS DISTRICTS, UH, LOCAL GOVERNMENT CORPORATIONS, AND THEN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF OUR PARKS MAINTENANCE FEE. 
          SO THE CONSULTANTS WILL GO THROUGH A PRESENTATION TALKING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE BENCHMARKING ANALYSIS THAT WAS DONE, UH, SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS, AND THEN WE CAN TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT IMPLEMENTATION AND HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS. 
          SO, UH, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO THE, TO THE FOLKS ONLINE AND LET THEM INTRODUCE THEMSELVES AND, AND WALK US THROUGH THE PRESENTATION. 
          AND JUST BEFORE THEY BEGIN, UM, SO WE'VE GOT ABOUT 45 MINUTES. 
          I KNOW THIS PRESENTATION, I DON'T ANTICIPATE THEY'RE GONNA GO THROUGH EVERY SINGLE SLIDE, BUT WANNA MAKE SURE THERE IS TIME FOR QUESTIONS. 
          SO IF WE COULD KEEP IT TO ABOUT 15, 20 MINUTES AND THEN WE COULD HAVE QUESTIONS. 
          ABSOLUTELY. 
          AND, UH, GOOD MORNING, UH, CHAIR, I'M SORRY. 
          GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. 
          GOOD MORNING. 
          UH, CHAIR ALTAR MEMBERS OF THE CLIMATE WATER ENVIRONMENT AND AND PARKS COMMITTEE. 
          UM, THANK YOU EVERYBODY, US TO PRESENT, UH, THE AUSTIN PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT REVENUE OPTIONS ANALYSIS TODAY. 
          MY NAME IS MATTHEW STITT. 
          I'M A MANAGING DIRECTOR AT PFM, PRESIDENT OF THE GROUP CONSULTING HERE, WHICH IS AN AFFILIATE OF PFM FINANCIAL ADVISORS. 
          WE ARE A NATIONAL FIRM, HAVE BEEN IN EXISTENCE FOR OVER 50 YEARS, AND WE'VE SUPPORTED MANY LOCAL LARGE GOVERNMENTS AND STATES AND THE PLETHORA BUDGETING CONSULTANT ASSIGNMENTS, INCLUDING THE CITY OF AUSTIN. 
          WE'VE ALSO BUILT THIS PRESENTATION TO BE UNDER 15 MINUTES, SO I'M FAIR, FAIRLY CONFIDENT WE'LL BE ABLE TO, UH, STICK TO TIME. 
          UM, BY WAY OF BACKGROUND, I LEAD OUR ECONOMIC TAX STRATEGY TEAM WITHIN NPFM GROUP CONSULTING, WHERE WE SPECIALIZE IN TAX POLICY INCENTIVES AND ALTERNATIVE REVENUE STUDIES FOR CITIES AND STATES FISCAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT ANALYSIS RELATED TO REAL ESTATE CONSULTING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES. 
          I ALSO SUPPORT GOVERNMENTS GENERAL BUDGETING, FINANCIAL PLANNING, RETIREMENT FINANCE AS WELL. 
          PRIOR TO WORKING AT PFMI WAS CFO FOR CITY COUNCIL, CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, WHERE, UH, WORKED THERE FOR ALMOST A DECADE. 
          UM, I'M ALSO JOINED TODAY BY BILL FULTON, WHO IS A SENIOR ADVISOR WITH US AND , WHO IS A SENIOR MANAGING CONSULTANT. 
          A FEW OTHER MEMBERS OF OUR TEAM ARE ALSO LISTENING IN BILL'S AN URBAN PLANNER AND FICP AND HAS EXTENSIVE PUBLIC SECTOR BACKGROUND. 
          USED TO SERVE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF KEN INSTITUTE OF RICE RICE UNIVERSITY IN HOUSTON, MAYOR OF CITY OF MATURA, CALIFORNIA. 
          AND AS PLANNING DIRECTOR FOR THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO, WHO IS ALSO PROFESSOR AT UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, LBJ WRITING Y'ALL BACKYARD, WE HAVE PUT TOGETHER A BRIEF POWERPOINT TO WALK THROUGH OUR FINDINGS OF OUR ANALYSIS AND WELCOME QUESTIONS OR THOUGHTS EITHER DURING THE PRESENTATION OR AT THE END. 
          CAN, UH, WE ADVANCE TO THE NEXT SLIDE? AS MANY OF YOU MAY BE AWARE, CITY OF AUSTIN'S PARK AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT RECEIVES APPROXIMATELY THREE QUARTERS OF ITS REVENUE FROM THE CITY'S GENERAL FUND. 
          THIS ANNUAL ALLOCATION IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE EACH AND EVERY YEAR DURING THE ANNUAL BUDGET PROCESS. 
          UM, IN SPRING OF LAST YEAR, UH, WE WERE ACTUALLY RETAINED, UH, TO COMPLETE AN ANALYSIS OF DIFFERENT REVENUE OPTIONS FOR THE CITY, UH, PARTICULARLY FOR THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT TO IDENTIFY ALTERNATIVE FUNDING SOURCES TO SUPPLEMENT THE DEPARTMENT'S GENERAL FUND ALLOCATION. 
          AFTER THIS ANALYSIS IN AUGUST OF 2025, CITY COUNCIL PASSED THE RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY TO FURTHER ANALYZE POTENTIAL REVENUE IMPLEMENTATION STEPS FOR THREE OF THE OPTIONS IDENTIFIED IN THE INITIAL STUDY, UH, THE CREATION OF A PARK DISTRICT, THE CREATION OF A LOCAL GOVERNMENT CORPORATION OR LGC AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A PARKS MAINTENANCE FEE. 
          THE FOLLOWING ANALYSIS IS COMPRISED OF TWO PHASES. 
          THE FIRST IS BENCHMARKING OF HOW PEER CITIES HAVE USED THE THREE OPTIONS IDENTIFIED TO FUND MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS EXPENDITURES WITHIN THEIR PARK SYSTEMS AND SHORTER TO LONGER TERM RECOMMENDATIONS AND INITIAL IMPLEMENTATION STEPS FOR EACH OF THOSE THREE OPTIONS. 
          TO ILLUSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY, THIS INCLUDES AN ESTIMATE OF POTENTIAL REVENUE ASSOCIATED WITH EACH OPTION. 
          IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S LAW DEPARTMENT IS AWARE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS IN THIS REPORT AND WILL PROVIDE FOLLOW UP WITH THE MEMO TO THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL PROVIDING IN THE, UH, LEGAL ANALYSIS. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          IN EVALUATING EACH OF THE THREE OPTIONS INCLUDED IN THIS ANALYSIS, WE CATEGORIZE THEM BASED ON HOW QUICKLY THEY CAN THEORETICALLY BE ACHIEVED FOR THE SHORT TO MEDIAN TERM OPTIONS, IMPLEMENTING A PARKS MAINTENANCE MEET AND OR AN LGC AND FOR THE LONG TERM, CREATING A PARKS DISTRICT. 
          WE HAVE ALSO LISTED SOME 
          [01:20:01]
OF THE CONSIDERATIONS OR PROS AND CONS OF EACH OPTION IN REGARDS TO THE PARKS MAINTENANCE FEE. 
          SOME CONSIDERATIONS INCLUDE THAT IT CAN CREATE A PROTECTED FUNDING, UH, SOURCE SPECIFICALLY ALLOWED FOR PARKS OPERATIONS. 
          IT COULD ALSO REPLACE GENERAL FUND FUNDING INSTEAD OF INCREASING DEPARTMENT'S TOTAL BUDGET, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT CONSIDER HERE. 
          AND IT ALSO HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED, UH, SUCCESSFULLY IN SAN ANTONIO, UH, FOR OVER A DECADE SINCE 2014. 
          IN REGARDS TO THE MEDIUM TERM, UH, LGC OPTION, IT CAN, IT IS BEST USED AS A CONDUIT FOR PRIVATE FUNDRAISING FOR BOTH OPERATIONAL EXPENSES AND CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS. 
          AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WILL NEED TO BE DEVELOPED OVER TIME AS A PHILANTHROPIC CLEAN DEVELOPS CAN ALSO PROVIDE A VEHICLE FOR AUSTIN PARKS AND RECS TO DEVELOP DONOR RELATIONS. 
          UM, LGC HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED ELSEWHERE IN TEXAS, UM, IN HOUSTON SINCE 1976, SO FOR A WHILE AND TO A LESS AN EXTENT, DALLAS, UM, WITHIN THE LAST DECADE. 
          AND IN REGARDS TO THE LONGER TERM OPTION, CREATING A PARK DISTRICT, SOME OF THE CONSIDERATIONS INCLUDE THAT IT MAY REQUIRE LEGISLATIVE ACTION, WHICH MAY DELAY IMPLEMENTATION TIMELINES GIVEN HAVING TO WORK THROUGH DIFFERENT LEGISLATIVE BODIES. 
          HOWEVER, IT CAN ALSO PROVIDE A DEDICATED FUNDING STREAM FOR BOTH OPERATIONAL CAP CAPITAL EXPENSES SIMILAR TO THE PARKS MAINTENANCE, REGARDLESS OF WHICH OPTION IS PURSUED. 
          IT IS NOTABLE TO MENTION THAT NONE OF THESE OPTIONS PREVENT THE CITY FROM CHANGING ITS GENERAL FULL FUND ALLOCATION TO PARKS DEPARTMENT. 
          THESE REVENUE SOURCES PROVIDE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR ADDITIONAL PROTECTIVE REVENUE. 
          IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT NONE OF THESE OPTIONS ARE MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE AND COULD BE PURSUED SIMULTANEOUSLY IN A SHORT TWO LONGER TERM. 
          NOW WE'LL TURN IT OVER TO ELLEN AND BILL, WHO WILL TAKE YOU THROUGH THE BENCHMARKING CONSIDERATIONS RECOMMENDATIONS, A PORTION OF THE PRESENTATION. 
          GREAT, THANKS MATT. 
          UH, WE CAN GO AHEAD TO THE NEXT SLIDE HERE. 
          UH, YEAH, SO THIS NEXT SECTION OF THE PRESENTATION IS ON THE FINDINGS FROM OUR BENCHMARKING ANALYSIS, SO WE CAN MOVE FORWARD AGAIN. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          UM, SO AS PART OF THIS PROJECT, WE INCLUDED SEVEN JURISDICTIONS IN OUR BENCHMARKING ANALYSIS. 
          UM, FIVE ARE IN TEXAS. 
          THAT'S DALLAS, EL PASO, FORT WORTH, UH, HOUSTON AND SAN ANTONIO. 
          AND THEN WE ALSO INCLUDED SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA AND SEATTLE, WASHINGTON. 
          UM, AS PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED, HOUSTON ESTABLISHED AN LGC IN 1976 TO SUPPLEMENT PARKS FUNDING. 
          UM, WE FOUND THAT SAN ANTONIO IMPLEMENTED A PARKS MAINTENANCE FEE IN 2014. 
          UM, DALLAS HAS ESTABLISHED A SMALLER LGC IN 2017, UH, THAT SERVICES ONE PARK. 
          UM, WE ALSO FOUND THAT EL PASO AND FORT WORTH DID NOT USE ANY OF THESE THREE FUNDING MECHANISMS. UM, AND THEN OUTSIDE OF TEXAS, WE FOUND THAT SEATTLE HAS A PARKS DISTRICT AND SAN DIEGO DEDICATES A PORTION OF ITS FRANCHISE FEE REVENUE TO PARKS. 
          UM, AND I'M SURE, AS YOU ARE ALL AWARE, AUSTIN ITSELF HAS MULTIPLE L GCS, UM, INCLUDING AN LGC FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THROUGH RALLY AUSTIN, UH, AND THE WALLER CREEK LGC, WHICH MANAGES CAPITAL PROJECTS IN THE WATERLOO GREENWAY. 
          UM, AUSTIN ALSO USES THE ONION CREEK METRO PARK DISTRICT THAT PRIMARILY APPLIES TO THE PROPERTIES OF GOODNIGHT RANCH. 
          UM, SO WE CAN MOVE AHEAD TO THE NEXT SLIDE AND KIND OF DIG DEEPER INTO SOME OF THESE FINDINGS. 
          UM, SO IN PARTICULAR, RELATED TO SAN ANTONIO, UM, SAN ANTONIO ESTABLISHED A PARKS ENVIRONMENTAL FUND, UH, IN 2014 TO PAY FOR ITS PARKS MAINTENANCE, SANITATION RELATED ACTIVITIES. 
          UM, IT IS CURRENTLY ASSESSED AT $2 PER MONTH, UH, THROUGH ITS MONTHLY ENERGY BILL, UM, WHICH WAS A RECENT INCREASE. 
          IT WAS PREVIOUSLY A DOLLAR 50. 
          UM, AND THEN IN FY 2 20 26, THEY INCREASED IT TO $2. 
          UM, WE FOUND THAT SAN ANTONIO'S PARKS DEPARTMENT, UH, RECEIVES APPROXIMATELY THREE QUARTERS OF ITS FUNDING FROM THE CITY'S GENERAL FUND. 
          AND THEN IT IS BUDGETED TO RECEIVE APPROXIMATELY 17% OF ITS REVENUE FROM THIS PARKS ENVIRONMENTAL FUND. 
          UM, WE CAN MOVE AHEAD TO THE NEXT SLIDE. 
          UM, AND THEN IN TERMS OF HOUSTON, AS YOU SOME OF YOU MAY KNOW, HOUSTON'S PARK SYSTEM IS SUPPORTED BY THE HOUSTON PARKS BOARD. 
          UM, HPB IS TECHNICALLY TWO ENTITIES. 
          UH, ONE IS A NONPROFIT AND THEN THE OTHER IS AN LGC. 
          THE LGC KIND OF SERVES AS A CONDUIT THAT FACILITATES THE WORK OF THE NONPROFIT. 
          UM, AND THEN HPB HAS RAISED OVER 285 MILLION FOR HOUSTON'S PARK SYSTEM SINCE ITS FOUNDING IN 1976, UH, NOTABLY TWO THIRDS OF HPVS FY 2024 REVENUE WAS SOURCED FROM PHILANTHROPIC CONTRIBUTIONS, ALTHOUGH THIS WAS MAINLY SOURCED, UM, FROM TWO DISTINCT DONORS. 
          HPV IS ALSO CURRENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF REQUESTING THAT THE CITY ADOPT A FEE SIMILAR TO THE SAN ANTONIO FEE, UH, WHICH WOULD BE INVOICED THROUGH ITS PUBLIC WORK, PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT'S WATER BILL. 
          AND WE CAN MOVE TOWARD TO THE NEXT SLIDE. 
          UM, 
          [01:25:01]
AND THEN IN TERMS OF A SUMMARY OF ALL THE OTHER JURISDICTIONS THAT WE LOOKED AT, UH, WE FOUND THAT BOTH FORT WORTH AND DALLAS, UH, THEIR PARKS DEPARTMENTS EACH RECEIVED ABOUT 85% OF THEIR BUDGET FROM THEIR RESPECTIVE CITIES GENERAL FUND. 
          UM, CLYDE WARREN PARK IN DALLAS IS FUNDED PARTLY, UH, BY A PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT. 
          DALLAS ALSO HAS AN LGC TO ASSIST WITH THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF HAROLD SIMMONS PARK. 
          AND THEN OUTSIDE OF TEXAS, WE FOUND THAT, UH, SEATTLE HAS A PARKS DISTRICT THAT SUPPORTS ABOUT ONE THIRD OF ITS TOTAL BUDGET. 
          AND THEN WITHIN SAN DIEGO, UM, 10% OF SAN DIEGO'S PARKS DEPARTMENT IS FUNDED BY FRANCHISE FEE REVENUE. 
          UM, AND THAT IS FROM SAN DIEGO GAS AND ELECTRIC CABLE COMPANIES AND REFUSE HAULERS. 
          THIS REVENUE FLOW FLOWS THROUGH ITS ENVIRONMENTAL GROWTH FUND, WHICH WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1972 AND 7 MILLION OF THE FUNDS 20 TOTAL 26 MILLION, UM, IN FY 2026 IS DEDICATED FOR COMPENSATORY WETLAND MITIGATION PROJECTS. 
          UM, AND NOW AS WE FLOW INTO THE RECOMMENDATIONS, WE CAN GO FORWARD TO THE NEXT SLIDE. 
          UM, MOVE FORWARD ONE MORE. 
          SO BILL'S GOING TO KIND OF GO THROUGH OUR FINAL FINDINGS, UM, AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 
          BUT BEFORE WE GET INTO THAT, UM, WE JUST WANNA NOTE THAT WE ARE NOT ATTORNEYS, WE'RE NOT PROVIDING LEGAL ADVICE. 
          UM, WE ARE GOING TO GO THROUGH THE FINDINGS OF OUR ANALYSIS. 
          SO I'LL KICK IT OFF TO BILL. 
          THANKS. 
          IF WE COULD GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. 
          SLIDE 11. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, I, I'M NOT GONNA DWELL ON THIS. 
          MATT WENT THROUGH THIS. 
          I'M GONNA GO THROUGH EACH ONE OF THESE INDIVIDUALLY, SO GO ON TO SLIDE NUMBER 12. 
          UM, UH, AS ELLEN SAID, THE PARK MAINTENANCE TEAM HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED IN SAN ANTONIO. 
          UH, WE DID A, UH, THEY CHARGE BASICALLY $2 PER, UH, PER MONTH TO EVERY, UM, ENERGY USER. 
          UM, WE, UH, TALKED TO THE PARKS DEPARTMENT. 
          THE PARKS DEPARTMENT TALKED TO AUSTIN ENERGY. 
          UH, WHAT WE FOUND WAS THAT, UH, DEPENDING ON, UM, WHETHER OR NOT YOU HAVE, UH, YOU CHARGE BETWEEN ONE AND $4 A MONTH, UH, GIVEN THE FACT THAT AUSTIN ENERGY WOULD TAKE A PIECE OF IT IN ORDER TO ADMINISTER IT, UM, THIS COULD RAISE, UH, SOMEWHERE BETWEEN TWO AND $15 MILLION A YEAR, AND THAT WOULD BE PROTECTED FUNDS FOR THE PARKS DEPARTMENT. 
          THE PARKS DEPARTMENT, OF COURSE, IS HEAVILY DEPENDENT CURRENTLY ON THE GENERAL FUND, ON ANNUAL APPROPRIATIONS FROM YOU COUNCIL MEMBERS. 
          THIS WOULD BE, THIS WOULD BE PROTECTED MONEY FOR THE FOR, FOR PARKS AND RECREATION. 
          MOVING ON TO THE SECOND, UH, ONE, UH, THE NEXT SLIDE, UH, IT'S IMPORTANT IF WE CAN MOVE THE, IT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THAT LOCAL GOVERNMENT CORPORATIONS DON'T COME WITH THEIR OWN MONEY. 
          IT, IT DOES NOT COME WITH A REVENUE SOURCE. 
          IT IS SIMPLY A CONDUIT THROUGH WHICH, UH, MONEY CAN FLOW BOTH PUBLIC AND PRIVATE MONEY. 
          UM, I'M PRETTY SURE IF I'M REMEMBERING THIS RIGHT, THE RIGHT THAT THE WALLER CREEK LGC USES TOURISM MONEY. 
          I THINK, I THINK I'M RIGHT ABOUT THAT. 
          WE ARE NOT PROPOSING THAT HERE. 
          WE ARE SIMPLY PROPOSING THE LGC AS IS KIND OF USED IN, IN HOUSTON, UH, AS A CONDUIT FOR FUTURE PHILANTHROPIC CONTRIBUTIONS. 
          WE CAN TALK IN DETAIL ABOUT, UM, WE CAN TALK IN DETAIL ABOUT HOW THAT MIGHT WORK AND HOW IT WORKS IN HOUSTON IN THE Q AND A. 
          IT'S HARD TO PUT A NUMBER ON THIS, UH, BECAUSE IT'S HEAVILY DEPENDENT ON FUTURE, UM, ON FUTURE PHILANTHROPIC CONTRIBUTIONS. 
          WE WOULD NOTE THAT HOUSTON HAS VERY MATURE WEALTH, UH, THAT IS PHILANTHROPICALLY DEPLOYED. 
          AUSTIN IS, UH, DOES NOT, IS NOT AT THAT POINT YET, BUT IS MOVING RAPIDLY TOWARD THAT POINT. 
          FINALLY, THE, UM, PARKS, UH, UH, PARKS DISTRICT, IF WE CAN MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE. 
          UM, THE PARKS DISTRICT, UH, UH, WOULD BE THE MOST CONSISTENT, PREDICTABLE AND DEDICATED TAX REVENUE TO PARKS. 
          IT DOES REQUIRE ENABLING LEGISLATION FROM THE LEGISLATURE. 
          UM, WE DID A VARIETY OF CALCULATIONS TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT HOW MUCH THIS MIGHT COST, UM, UH, BUT DEPENDING ON THE PER CAPITA PROPERTY TAX REVENUE BETWEEN 20 AND A HUNDRED, UH, DOLLARS EACH, THIS COULD GENERATE BETWEEN 20 AND A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR FOR, UH, THE PARKS FOR AUSTIN PARKS AND RECREATION. 
          BUT BEAR IN MIND, IT DOES REQUIRE, IT DOES REQUIRE, UM, LEGISLATION, UH, FROM THE, FROM THE STATE LEGISLATURE. 
          I BELIEVE THERE MIGHT BE ONE MORE SLIDE AND WE'RE DONE. 
          SO THANKS VERY MUCH. 
          I HOPE WE KEPT IT WITHIN 10 OR 15 MINUTES. 
          AND, UH, WE'RE OPEN TO QUESTIONS. 
          ALL THREE OF US ARE NOT OPEN TO QUESTIONS. 
          YOU DID GREAT. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          UH, I'LL OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS AND LOOK AROUND GOING ONCE YOU'RE STARING AT ME. 
          SO I FIGURE YOU WANT ME TO TURN ON THE MICROPHONE? WELL, SO I, I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN PARTICULARLY INTERESTED 
          [01:30:01]
IN THIS TOPIC, SO IT IT IS, IT IS. 
          AND I, I APPRECIATE ALL OF THE INFORMATION THAT, UM, THAT THE CONSULTANTS HAVE HELPED US WITH OVER THE YEARS. 
          UM, OBVIOUSLY GIVEN THE STRUCTURE OF OUR, YOU KNOW, STATE FUNDING AND STATE REGULATIONS AROUND, UH, BEING ABLE TO COLLECT DOLLARS TO HELP SUPPORT OUR PARK SYSTEM IS A HUGE PIECE OF THIS CONVERSATION. 
          UM, I'VE ALSO BEEN CURIOUS, UM, ABOUT AN OPPORTUNITY FOR A VOLUNTEER DONATION. 
          SO I'M THINKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, INSTEAD OF JUST APPLYING A FEE, SOMEHOW BEING ABLE TO ADDRESS THIS LACK OF FUNDING FOR MAINTENANCE WITH SOMETHING THAT COULD BE ON AN ELECTRIC UTILITY BILL OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. 
          AND I THINK THE QUOTE THAT WE'VE GOTTEN BACK ABOUT DOING SOMETHING LIKE THAT IS, UM, WE'D HAVE TO COLLECT A LOT OF MONEY, UH, UPFRONT TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT. 
          AND SO I THINK WE'D, YOU KNOW, KIND OF BE STARTING IN THE RED UNTIL WE HIT A CERTAIN THRESHOLD SO THAT THAT MONEY COULD ACTUALLY, UH, GROW AND OFFSET THE, THE CHARGE THAT WOULD COME FROM HAVING TO UPDATE THAT UTILITY BILL. 
          UM, ARE THERE ANY UPDATED, UH, CONSIDERATIONS AROUND, YOU KNOW, STATE LEGISLATION AROUND PARKS DISTRICTS? I KNOW WE'RE TALKING ABOUT POTENTIALLY NEEDING TO COLLABORATE WITH OUR LOCAL LEADERS THAT GO IN THE STATE CAPITOL AND FIGHT FOR US EVERY DAY. 
          UM, AND SO I'M NOT SURE WHERE THOSE CONVERSATIONS ARE CURRENTLY. 
          ARE THERE ANY UPDATES RIGHT NOW? I KNOW WE'RE COMING ON A NEW LEGISLATIVE CYCLE IN JANUARY. 
          I WOULD DEFER TO THE STAFF ON THAT. 
          UM, ONE THING WE DID LOOK AT CASUALLY AND DISCUSS VERY CASUALLY IS THE POSSIBILITY OF, UM, OF COLLABORATING WITH TRAVIS COUNTY ON THE POSSIBILITY OF A, OF A PARKS DISTRICT. 
          ONE OF THE IMPORTANT POINTS TO MAKE, I THINK, IS THAT, UM, UH, WHAT WE LOOKED AT WAS, PARDON ME, A CITYWIDE PARKS DISTRICT, SIMILAR TO WHAT SEATTLE HAS. 
          AND THE DIRECTOR KNOWS MORE ABOUT THAT, CERTAINLY THAN I DO. 
          BUT, BUT, BUT, UH, THAT, THAT'S A, THAT'S A, THAT'S A DEDICATED FUNDING SOURCE, UH, FOR, FOR PARKS IN SEATTLE. 
          UH, UH, THAT'S DIFFERENTIATED FROM THE ONION CREEK SITUATION, WHICH IS, WHICH IS A PARKS DISTRICT FOR, FOR THAT SERVES JUST ONE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT. 
          MM-HMM . 
          YES. 
          AND, AND THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION, COUNCIL MEMBER. 
          I THINK AT THIS POINT, UM, WE, WE HAVEN'T BEGUN THOSE DISCUSSIONS VERY DEEPLY IN THAT WE'RE SORT OF WAITING FOR THIS REPORT AND THEN WAITING FOR DIRECTION FROM COUNCIL. 
          I THINK THAT IF, IF THERE IS AN APPETITE TO, UH, CONTINUE TO, TO ANALYZE THESE, THAT WOULD BE OUR RECOMMENDATION TO REALLY, TO REALLY TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHICH OF THE MODELS WORK BEST. 
          AS, AS HAS BEEN STATED, IT COULD BE WORKING DIRECTLY WITH TRAVIS COUNTY AND, AND THAT CREATES A CERTAIN SET OF PARAMETERS WITH REGARDS TO GOVERNANCE, GOVERNANCE, ET CETERA, OR, OR THE OPTION OF CREATING SOMETHING LIKE A CITYWIDE PARKS DISTRICT THAT WOULD THEN REQUIRE, I THINK, UM, A LEGISLATIVE STRATEGY. 
          AND, AND SO WE'VE HAD INITIAL CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR OWN INTERNAL IGR, BUT WE HAVEN'T LAUNCHED INTO THAT YET. 
          I THINK WE'RE, WE'RE WAITING FOR, FOR DIRECTION. 
          UM, AND, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, WELL, I'LL STOP THERE. 
          YEAH, OKAY. 
          I'M REALLY CURIOUS TO KNOW WHAT YOU WERE GONNA KEEP SAYING . 
          WELL, OKAY, WELL THEN MAYBE, NO, UM, I MEAN, I THINK, I THINK, I THINK THERE'S STILL SOME WORK TO DO TO TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE LOOKING TO ACCOMPLISH. 
          YOU KNOW, I I I, YOU KNOW, I THINK THERE'S DIFFERENT TYPES OF PARKS DISTRICTS, I THINK THERE, THERE'S THE TRADITIONAL ONES THAT WE THINK OFTEN ABOUT, FOR EXAMPLE, CHICAGO PARK DISTRICT OR MINNEAPOLIS, WHERE, UH, THERE'S A VERY SEPARATE, COMPLETELY SEPARATE GOVERNANCE ENTITY THAT OVERSEES THOSE FUNDS. 
          AND THEN THAT THAT ENTITY HAS THE AUTHORITY TO LEVY, UH, TAXES. 
          THE MODEL IN SEATTLE IS SORT OF A LITTLE BIT OF A HYBRID THAT IT IS CITYWIDE, BUT THE PARKS DISTRICT HAS AN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY, UH, THAT ESSENTIALLY, UH, UH, SORT OF CREATES AN ADDITIONAL GOVERNANCE LAYER, MUCH LIKE WE DO HERE WITH THE HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION, WHERE, WHEN I WAS IN SEATTLE, I WAS THE DIRECTOR OF PARKS AND RECREATION, BUT I WAS ALSO THE DIRECTOR OF THE PARKS DISTRICT. 
          UH, CITY COUNCIL WAS OBVIOUSLY HEAD OVERSIGHT OF THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT, BUT ALSO, UH, WOULD BECOME THE METROPOLITAN PARKS DISTRICT GOVERNANCE BOARD. 
          IT WAS THE SAME MEMBERS, BUT, BUT IT, IT ALLOWED US TO REALLY, UH, MAINTAIN GOVERNANCE, WHICH I THINK IS REALLY IMPORTANT. 
          UM, AND THEN THERE'S ALSO THE, THE, UM, RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE, THE PARKS DISTRICT AND THE CITY. 
          THERE WAS A, AS PART OF THAT INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT, THERE WAS A COMMITMENT TO, TO ENSURE THAT THERE WASN'T ANY SUPPLANTING OF FUNDS. 
          SO THE, THE GENERAL FUND HAD TO CONTINUE AT A CERTAIN RATE, UM, FOLLOWING INFLATION. 
          AND THEN ANYTHING THAT THAT CAME FROM THE PARK DISTRICT WAS EXTRA. 
          OKAY. 
          I'M, I'M INTERESTED IN THAT. 
          I MEAN, I THINK THE EASIEST WAY TO DO IT IS A FEE, BUT I THINK THAT IS PROBABLY THE, THE POLITICALLY TRICKIEST WAY TO DO IT AS WELL. 
          UM, AND SO I AM CURIOUS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, FURTHER INVESTIGATING THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT CORPORATION IDEA OR THE PARKS DISTRICT. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE LIKE AN AUSTIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, YOU KNOW, DIVISION THAT HAS A BOARD OF, YOU KNOW, 21 PEOPLE, I THINK, OR 19 PEOPLE ON THAT BOARD TO HELP WITH, UM, SOME 
          [01:35:01]
OF THE CONVERSATIONS AROUND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND, YOU KNOW, STRUCTURES AND, UM, YOU KNOW, INITIATIVES THAT CAN HELP ADDRESS NEEDS OF THE CITY THAT WOULDN'T OTHERWISE BE ADDRESSED BY THE GENERAL FUND. 
          UM, SO I'M REALLY CURIOUS TO SEE, YOU KNOW, HOW THAT CONVERSATION MIGHT, MIGHT PROCEED. 
          UM, BECAUSE LIKE YOU SAID, WE DO HAVE A COUPLE DIFFERENT WAYS WHERE THE CITY COUNCIL IS THE GOVERNING STRUCTURE. 
          UM, BUT THERE ARE WAYS TO HELP, YOU KNOW, TAKE THE DOLLARS THAT EXIST AND HELP GROW THE PROGRAMS. AND SO I KNOW, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE ADOPTED VISION PLANS FOR PARKS AND, YOU KNOW, LOOKED AT HOW DO WE, HOW DO WE IGNITE THAT REVENUE GENERATION AND HOW CAN WE MAKE IT SELF-FUNDING AND HOW CAN WE HELP, UM, YOU KNOW, BRING DOLLARS IN TO HELP SUPPORT THE PARK SYSTEM. 
          SO I'M A FAN OF ANY OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS. 
          UM, I KNOW COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER HAS ALSO DONE WORK ON, YOU KNOW, SPECIAL EVENTS, TICKET FEES AND HELPING WITH PARKS ENHANCEMENT FUND, UM, YOU KNOW, WHICH IS DOLLARS COMING IN FROM INDIVIDUALS AND PRIVATE COMPANIES, UH, THAT UTILIZE THE PARK SYSTEM TO HELP MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO BUILD PLAYGROUNDS AND, AND DO THINGS OF THAT NATURE. 
          SO, WE'LL, WE'LL TAKE THIS INFORMATION BACK AND, UM, YOU KNOW, MULL IT OVER FOR A WHILE AND, AND PROBABLY TALK TO INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS AS WELL. 
          UH, WE'LL KEEP YOU IN THE LOOP TO MAKE SURE WE KNOW WE'VE GOT A, A PLAN MOVING FORWARD. 
          'CAUSE EVERY DAY I HEAR ABOUT SOMEONE WHO SAYS, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO BE BUYING MORE LAND, BUT WE ALSO NEED TO BE ACTIVATING AND MAINTAINING WHAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE. 
          AND I KNOW THAT'S A BIG, UH, A BIG DESIRE OF THIS COMMUNITY. 
          UM, COUNCIL MEMBER, IF, IF I COULD JUST MENTION ONE THING. 
          I THINK THE BEAUTY OR GOOD SITUATION AT Y'ALL ARE IN IS THAT NONE OF THESE OPTIONS ARE EXCLUSIVE. 
          YOU KNOW, THEY CAN KIND OF ALL BE ROLLED OUT, UH, DEPENDING ON THOSE LOCAL FACTORS AND WHAT'S FEASIBLE. 
          UM, WE DID ALSO, WE, WE HELPED, UM, RALEIGH AUSTIN, THE LOCAL A DC WITH THEIR NEW GOVERNANCE AND WHEN THEY WERE KIND OF SETTING UP THE LGC AND THE ILA SO THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT INTERSECTION BETWEEN GOVERNANCE AND FUNDING, THE WHOLE GOAL IS TO REALLY, TO GET, YOU KNOW, MORE FUNDING IN THE SYSTEM. 
          YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT Y'ALL HAVE A LOT OF, UH, A LOT OF THINGS TO, A LOT OF OPTIONS AHEAD OF YOU. 
          FANTASTIC. 
          I APPRECIATE THAT INSIGHT. 
          THANKS. 
          I'M GONNA PICK IT UP THERE. 
          YOU KNOW, I, FOR ME, THE MOST ATTRACTIVE OPTION FOR NOW IS, IS THE LGC ROUTE. 
          I DO BELIEVE LONG TERM A PARKS DISTRICT PROVIDES THE GREATEST OPPORTUNITY. 
          YOU KNOW, YOU LOOK AT THE GREAT PARKS SYSTEMS ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND ALMOST ALL OF THEM, IF NOT ALL OF THEM, HAVE A PARKS DISTRICT. 
          AND THERE'S, THERE'S A REASON FOR THAT. 
          UH, WHEN YOU HAVE THAT DEDICATED PROTECTED FUNDING, IT MAKES A REAL DIFFERENCE FOR OUR PARKS LONG TERM. 
          I WOULD BE INTERESTED TO UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, THERE'S TALKED ABOUT FROM THE PARKS DISTRICT PERSPECTIVE ABOUT A COUNTY EFFORT, BUT IN THEORY YOU COULD HAVE AN LGC THAT IS CITY AND COUNTY EFFORT. 
          UH, AND JUST KIND OF THINKING ABOUT OUR ABILITY TO HAVE GREATER EFFICIENCY, BUT ALSO JUST, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE A LOT OF DIFFERENT ENTITIES TRYING TO SUPPORT OUR PARKS ACROSS THE COUNTY, ACROSS THE CITY. 
          AND IF THERE WAS, UH, A VEHICLE LIKE THE LGC THAT WOULD BE ABLE TO DO SOME OF THE THINGS THEY'RE DOING IN HOUSTON, IT'D BE AMAZING TO HAVE THAT LEVEL OF PHILANTHROPIC SUPPORT THAT THEY HAVE IN HOUSTON. 
          BUT, UM, THAT'S ANOTHER, ANOTHER CONVERSATION FOR ANOTHER DAY. 
          BUT I'D JUST BE CURIOUS TO BOTH, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THAT IS, THAT IS DOABLE, THAT AN LGC CAN BE CITY AND COUNTY. 
          I'M NOT MISSING SOMETHING THERE MISSING IF SOMEONE CAN CONFIRM FOR ME, WE'RE NOT LAWYERS, SO WE CAN'T ANSWER THAT QUESTION. 
          I DO NOT KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD. 
          OKAY. 
          WELL I'VE GOTTEN HEAD NODS. 
          I'M JUST GONNA ASSUME I'M RIGHT. 
          WELL, WE KNOW FOR SURE IT CAN BE JOINT GOVERNANCE, LIKE, YOU KNOW, WITH RALLY OFF IN, SOMEWHAT IN SOMEWHAT, RIGHT. 
          SURE. 
          BUT YEAH, THE LEGAL, WE, WE'LL, WE'LL DEFINITELY DEFER TO, YOU KNOW, CITY OF AUSTIN LEGAL DEPARTMENT ON THAT ONE. 
          THAT SOUNDS GOOD. 
          UM, I THINK IT ALSO IS ILLUMINATING, RIGHT? THERE'S NO, THERE'S NO MAGIC STONE WE HAVEN'T TURNED, RIGHT? THAT'S RIGHT. 
          THAT'S, THAT'S RIGHT. 
          AND, AND SO I THINK THAT IS ALSO HELPFUL JUST TO RECOGNIZE THAT IF WE, WE ARE DOING A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT WE CAN AND SHOULD BE DOING. 
          SO, UH, IT'S JUST A MATTER OF WHAT OTHER TOOLS WE MIGHT USE. 
          BUT, UH, WE'LL, WE'LL CONTINUE THE, THE CONVERSATION AND FIGURING OUT WHAT THE BEST MECHANISM IS AND WHAT STEPS WE NEED TO TAKE TO LAUNCH ANY OF THESE THREE OPTIONS, UH, THAT YOU'VE PUT BEFORE US. 
          UM, OKAY. 
          COUNCIL 
          [01:40:01]
MEMBER UCHIN HAD A QUESTION OR TWO, SO I'M GONNA, THANKS, I'LL TRY AND BE BRIEF HERE. 
          AND I REALIZE SOME OF THIS MIGHT WADE INTO SOME, I'LL TRY AND AVOID THE LEGAL STUFF IF I CAN. 
          UH, BUT CERTAINLY ONE QUESTION I'VE GOT ABOUT THE LGC OPTION IS WE HAVE OTHER LGC THAT WE HAVE FOR TRANSIT AND OTHER THINGS HERE. 
          AND I'M CURIOUS IN YOUR INVESTIGATION OF THESE OPTIONS, IF YOU RAN INTO ANY, MAYBE NOT LEGAL ISSUES, BUT MORE POLITICAL ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES IN TERMS OF HAVING A, YOU KNOW, LIKE A BOARD THAT'S MAYBE NOT AS RESPONSIVE AS ELECTED OFFICIALS IN SOME CASES TO ISSUES WITH, UM, HOW OTHER PEOPLE IMPLEMENTED LGC. 
          CAN YOU SPEAK AT ALL TO ANY SORT OF POLITICAL CONSIDERATIONS WE MIGHT NEED TO CONSIDER ABOUT HOW OTHER CITIES ARE USING, INCLUDING OUR OWN, ARE ARE USING EGCS? THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION. 
          UH, AS I'M SURE YOU UNDERSTAND, UH, I'LL TALK ABOUT HOUSTON. 
          'CAUSE I LIVED IN HOUSTON FOR MANY YEARS, AND I'M PRETTY FAMILIAR WITH THE WAY THEY'VE USED THE EGCS IN PARKS IN HOUSTON. 
          UM, NOT SURPRISINGLY, HOUSTON IS A DIFFERENT POLITICAL CONTEXT THAN AUSTIN, RIGHT? AND SO, UH, THE PREDOMINANCE OF PHILANTHROPY, UH, AS INFLUENTIAL IS PRETTY WIDELY ACCEPTED THERE. 
          WHAT HAPPENED IN THE CASE OF HOUSTON WAS THAT, UM, SOME OF THE MAJOR PHILANTHROPIES WENT TO THE CITY. 
          UH, YOU MAY BE FAMILIAR WITH THE BAYOU GREENWAYS PROJECT. 
          THIS IS THE MAJOR EFFORT OF THE LGC, THAT'S THE 150 MILE GREENWAYS ALONG THE BAYOU. 
          UM, THE MAJOR PHILANTHROPIES WENT TO THE CITY AND SAID, WE'LL RAISE $120 MILLION IF YOU ISSUE A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS BOND TO COVER THE, UM, AND TOGETHER WE WILL ACQUIRE ALL THE LAND AND DO ALL THE IMPROVEMENTS. 
          BUT, AND THIS IS WHAT THE PHILANTHROPIES, UH, UH, UH, DID WE ALSO WANT A ISH COMMITMENT FROM THE CITY TO PROVIDE FUNDS, UH, UH, UH, TECHNICALLY THROUGH A THREE 80 AGREEMENT TO MAINTAIN THE GREENWAYS OVER TIME. 
          SO I THINK THE, THE POLITICAL DIFFERENCE THERE IS THAT THE ROLE OF PHILANTHROPY AS INFLUENTIAL IN DRIVING THIS STUFF IN HOUSTON IS WIDELY ACCEPTED. 
          I WOULD DEFER TO THE COUNCIL MEMBERS AS TO WHETHER THAT'S TRANSFERABLE OR NOT. 
          ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE CRITICISMS THAT YOU GET FROM PRIVATE FUNDING, NOT JUST FROM THE LGC IN HOUSTON, BUT FROM CONS FROM, I'LL SAY CROWN JEWEL PARKS CONSERVANCIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, IS THAT THAT FAVORS THE CROWN JEWEL PARKS, UH, UH, UM, UH, UM, HERMAN PARK AND MEMORIAL PARK IN HOUSTON CENTRAL PARK AND PROSPECT PARK IN NEW YORK, BALBOA PARK IN SAN DIEGO, UH, ALL FAVORED BY THESE MAJOR CONSERVANCIES WHILE SOME OF THE OTHER PARKS STARVE. 
          UM, THE COUNTER ARGUMENT WOULD BE, UH, THAT WOULD FREE UP MONEY IN THE REGULAR PARKS BUDGET FOR ALL THE OTHER PARKS. 
          SO THAT'S A, YOU'RE RIGHT, THAT'S A, THAT'S A TRICKY POLITICAL CALCULATION DEPENDING ON THE LOCAL POLITICAL CONTEXT. 
          ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ON, UH, FROM THE CONSULTANTS IN TERMS OF, UH, DIMENSIONS THAT WE MIGHT WANNA CONSIDER FROM HOW TO ADMINISTRATE OR EVEN WHO THE MAKEUP IS OF THE LGC SO THAT WE'RE NOT CAUGHT IN A SITUATION WHERE THAT ENTITY'S NOT BEING REPRESENTATIVE TO A CERTAIN CONSTITUENCY OR, UH, NOT ACCOUNTABLE FOR HOW IT'S SPENDING MONEY OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THAT YOU GUYS ARE BROUGHT INTO CAN COMMENT ON? I WOULD, I WOULD SIMPLY ADD THAT THE LGC BOARD MEMBERS ARE OF COURSE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CITY COUNCIL, RIGHT? SO, SO TO THAT EXTENT, UH, UH, THE TRICKY PART IN, IN HOUSTON IS THERE'S A NONPROFIT AND THERE'S AN LGC, THEY WORK TOGETHER, THE NONPROFIT CONTRACTS WITH THE LGC, THEY HAVE SOME OVERLAPPING BOARD MEMBERS. 
          THE PHILANTHROPIES HAVE POWERFUL BOARD MEMBERSHIP ON THE NONPROFIT. 
          UM, UH, BUT THE LGC ITSELF AS, AS IS THE CASE WITH YOUR LGC, UH, BOARD MEMBERS ARE APPOINTED BY THE, BY THE COUNCIL. 
          OKAY. 
          I APPRECIATE THAT. 
          THAT SOUNDS LIKE THERE'S MORE INVESTIGATION FOR ME TO DO BOTH IN THAT HOUSTON MODEL. 
          YEAH. 
          AND, UH, HAPPY TO FOLLOW UP, HAPPY TO FOLLOW UP COUNCIL MEMBER IF YOU'D LIKE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          YEAH, GO. 
          AND THEY, AND THEY, WE DIFFERENT MODEL SOME, UH, LIBRARY SYSTEMS HAVE FOUNDATIONS WHERE THERE'LL BE NONPROFITS AND THEY'LL HAVE SOME OF THE, YOU KNOW, YOUR BIGGER DONORS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, REALLY WANT THEIR MONEY STAED TOWARDS CERTAIN LIBRARIES. 
          BUT THEN THE DEPARTMENT BOARD WILL BE APPOINTED BY THE CITY OR THE COUNTY THAT TRIES TO BALANCE, UM, YOU KNOW, SO YOU GOT SO MUCH FUNDING COMING IN FOR VERY SPECIFIC USES TO GET, YOU KNOW, CERTAIN ASSETS, UM, SPARKLING, FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD, CERTAIN OTHER ASSETS MIGHT NOT BE GETTING A SAME AMOUNT OF UPKEEP AND FUNDING OR RENOVATIONS OVER TIME. 
          SO YOU REALLY TRY TO, TO THE POINT YOU REALLY WANT 
          [01:45:01]
THAT GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE TO, TO TRY TO BALANCE OUT THOSE NEEDS OVER TIME. 
          I THINK IT BECOMES A BETTER PROBLEM WHEN YOU HAVE FUNDING THOUGH, RIGHT? I MEAN, ONE OF THE GOALS IS TO INCREASE, INCREASE THE PIE OF FUNDING, BUT TO YOUR POINT, UM, THERE, THERE CAN BE DIFFERENT GOVERNANCE STRUCTURES SET UP, UM, YOU KNOW, TO TRY TO COUNTER HOW THE WHOLE PIE IS BEING DISTRIBUTED OVER TIME. 
          OKAY. 
          WELL, AS Y'ALL SAID, IT MAY BE SOMETHING WORTH ME FOLLOWING UP WITH Y'ALL TO FIND OUT IF THERE ARE DETAILS. 
          I WOULD JUST ADD ONE MORE THING. 
          UH, I WOULD JUST ADD ONE MORE THING. 
          MATT INDICATED THAT WE HAD PREVIOUSLY DONE WORK FOR RALLY AUSTIN, YOU'LL RECALL YOU SET UP RALLY AUSTIN, UM, UH, RALLY AUSTIN HAS A WIDE VARIETY OF COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION ON THE BOARD, WHICH YOU, UH, CREATED. 
          SO THAT IS ALWAYS AN OPTION VIA THE CRITERIA OF THE BOARD MEMBERS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. 
          YES. 
          NOT THE INDIVIDUAL BOARD MEMBERS, BUT THE CRITERIA OF WHICH CONSTITUENCIES ARE REPRESENTED. 
          YEP. 
          GOT IT. 
          SO SOMEWHAT RELATED QUESTION, WHICH IS ABOUT THE PARKS DISTRICTS IS YOU MENTIONED LIKE CLYDE WARREN IS IN PART FUNDED BY A PIT. 
          UM, WHEN YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT THE SOLUTION, ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT WHAT SORT OF GEOGRAPHIC OR OTHER CONSIDERATIONS ARE YOU CONSIDERING AT WHEN YOU'RE SEEING THESE EITHER DEPLOYED OR RECOMMEND RECOMMENDING FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN? ARE THEY FOCUSED ON A SPECIFIC KIND OF PARK? ARE THEY FOCUSED ON A GEOGRAPHY? ARE THEY FOCUSED ON, UH, SERVING A SPECIFIC NEED? THIS, CAN YOU, CAN YOU EXPLAIN KIND OF YOUR THINKING ABOUT, OR IS IT A CITYWIDE BID THAT THAT DOES EVERYTHING I THINK WE ARE CONSIDERING, I THINK WE ARE, WHAT WE LOOKED AT AND WHAT WE WOULD SUGGEST IS CONSIDERATION OF IS A CITYWIDE DISTRICT THAT FOCUSES ON OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE. 
          YOU HAVE AN EFFECTIVE MECHANISM TO ACQUIRE THE LAND. 
          THE QUESTION IS HOW DO YOU INCREASE THE REVENUE? AND AGAIN, I DEFER TO THE DIRECTOR WITH HIS KNOWLEDGE OF SEATTLE, BUT THAT WAS THE, I THINK, THE BEST MODEL WE EXAMINED. 
          ANYTHING YOU WANNA ADD TO THAT QUEST, TO THAT QUESTION DIRECTOR? YEAH, I MEAN, I, AGAIN, I, I, I DO THINK THAT THAT IS THE BEST MODEL AND, AND, AND ACTUALLY THE, THE, THE SEATTLE MODEL DOES BOTH THE, THE PARKS DISTRICT FUNDS BOTH CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS AS WELL AS SOME PROGRAMMATIC IMPROVEMENTS. 
          UH, YOU KNOW, REAL FOCUS ON EQUITY AND, AND, AND ENSURING THAT, THAT THERE'S ADDITIONAL ACCESS. 
          SO, SO I THINK IT ALL DEPENDS ON HOW IT'S SET UP. 
          UM, I THINK BACK TO THE LGC MODEL, WE, WE DO HAVE SEVERAL HERE. 
          AND, AND ONE THAT, THAT THE CONSULTANTS TALKED ABOUT AND THEY LOOKED AT IS THE, THE WALL CREEK, UH, LGC. 
          AND, AND THAT HAS GONE THROUGH AT LEAST SOME OF THE CONVERSATIONS AROUND BOARD COMPOSITION. 
          SO FOR EXAMPLE, HALF OF THAT BOARD IS, IS CITY REPRESENTATIVES, HALF IS, IS BOARD OF DIRECTORS FROM THE, THE WATER AGREEMENT CONSERVANCY. 
          UM, IT HAS BOTH PHILANTHROPIC MONEY THAT COMES INTO THE, INTO THE CONCERN INTO THE, UM, THE GREENWAY, BUT ALSO HAS ACCESS TO THE TOURS DOLLARS THAT ARE GENERATED AS PART OF THAT. 
          SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, THAT'S AN ANOTHER MODEL. 
          SO L GCS HA HAVE POTENTIAL BOTH IN, IN FRANKLY, UH, BEING ABLE TO DELIVER CAPITAL PROJECTS, PROBABLY LE MORE, YOU KNOW, LESS EXPENSIVE, BUT ALSO TO LEVERAGE THOSE PHILANTHROPIC DOLLARS AT, AT THE WATER CREEK LGC. 
          WE COMBINE NOT JUST PHILANTHROPIC DOLLARS, ENTERS DOLLARS, BUT ALSO FUNDING FROM OUR BONDS AND PARK LINE DEDICATION. 
          SO IT ALL SORT OF CAN COME IN, UM, IN, WITHIN THIS GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE. 
          I THINK THE SORT OF THE COUNTER ARGUMENT THAT PEOPLE TALK ABOUT THAT HAS BEEN RAISED HERE, WHICH IS THEN YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW, ONE PARK IN THE MIDDLE OF ONE PART OF THE CITY THAT'S GETTING A LOT OF RESOURCES, RIGHT? BUT I, I DO THINK, UH, AS WAS STATED ALREADY, THAT ALLOWS US THEN TO, TO, TO, TO TAKE SOME OF THOSE LIMITED RESOURCES ELSEWHERE AS WELL. 
          SO, SO I THINK WE CAN CONTINUE TO LOOK AT THAT. 
          I THINK A CITYWIDE MODEL PROBABLY, YOU KNOW, ALLEVIATE SOME OF THOSE, BUT I'M NOT SURE THAT THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, I I ALSO THINK THERE'S SPECIFIC PARKS THAT REALLY COULD LEND THEMSELVES TO, BECAUSE THEIR LARGER VISION PLANS ARE THERE, BUT, BUT IT WOULD TAKE A LOT TO ACTUALLY FIND ENOUGH MONEY TO INVEST IN. 
          OKAY. 
          WELL, I KNOW MY COLLEAGUES HAS BEEN WORKING THIS A LOT LONGER THAN I HAVE, SO I'LL JUST FOLLOW UP DIRECTLY ABOUT SOME OF THOSE DETAILS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          AND I'LL JUST, I'LL JUMP IN SINCE I WAS HERE WHEN THE, UH, A EGC WAS DEVELOPED, HAPPY TO SHARE SOME DOCUMENTS ABOUT, I'LL PROBABLY SEND 'EM TO EVERYONE ON THIS COMMITTEE JUST ABOUT WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE AND WHAT THOSE CONVERSATIONS WERE. 
          UM, THE RALLY AUSTIN WEBSITE HAS A LOT OF GOOD INFORMATION ABOUT, IT LOOKS LIKE THEY'RE ALL SEPARATE NOMINATING BODIES AT THIS POINT, BUT WE HAD TAKEN A LOT OF CARE TO SAY, OKAY, WE NEED SOMEONE WHO KNOWS ABOUT HOUSING DEVELOPMENT AND SOMEONE WHO'S REPRESENTING THE MUSICIAN'S VOICE AND EDUCATION AND ALL OF THOSE LITTLE DETAILS. 
          SO I'M HAPPY TO PASS THOSE OFF TO Y'ALL. 
          THAT'D BE GREAT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          VERY GOOD. 
          AND I HAD SAID THIS WAS 
          [5. Briefing on the background and Fiscal Year 2026- 2027 budget for the City's adult athletic program. [Jesús Aguirre, Director; Lucas Massie, Assistant Director - Austin Parks and Recreation]]
LAST, BUT ACTUALLY I ASKED THEM TO GIVE A BRIEF PRESENTATION ABOUT THE ADULT SPORTS LEAGUES. 
          I KNOW WE'VE GOTTEN A LOT OF QUESTIONS AND CORRESPONDENCE ABOUT THIS, SO IN THE TIME REMAINING, IF YOU COULD JUST GIVE US THAT UPDATE ON WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THE ADULT ATHLETIC PROGRAM AND KINDA JUST WHERE THAT'S HEADED. 
          SURE. 
          WE'RE HAPPY TO DO THAT. 
          AND, AND THANK YOU TO OUR FRIENDS, THE CONSULTANTS FOR, FOR JOINING US AND FOR THEIR GREAT WORK. 
          UM, SO WE'LL TRANSITION 
          [01:50:01]
AND, AND TO JOIN ME HERE AT THE TABLE'S GONNA BE LUCAS MASSEY, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR WHO HAS OVERSIGHT OVER THE ADULT ATHLETICS AT THIS POINT. 
          UM, AND, AND AS YOU SAID, UH, CHAIR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS WE'RE HERE TO JUST PROVIDE AN UPDATE. 
          UM, WE'LL GO THROUGH A QUICK PRESENTATION AND CERTAINLY CAN, CAN, UM, CERTAINLY CAN ANSWER QUESTIONS. 
          AND I THINK WHAT WE'D LIKE TO DO IS JUST HERE'S WHY WE'RE HERE TODAY. 
          AS YOU SAID, WE'VE GOTTEN A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PROCESS. 
          UH, WE DID WANNA PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ON THESE PROGRAMS WITH THE WAY THE DEPARTMENT HAS APPROACHED IT, THAT LED US TO THE MODEL THAT WE PROPOSED, JUST TO GIVE YOU SOME, SOME, UM, YOU KNOW, BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WE'RE LOOKING TO ACCOMPLISH, INCLUDING THE VARIOUS BUSINESS MODELS THAT WE'RE SWITCHING TO, THAT WE'VE DONE IN OTHER ASPECTS OF OUR OPERATIONS. 
          UH, AND THEN WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE NEXT STEPS. 
          UM, BUT, BUT ESSENTIALLY, UM, AS YOU ALL KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, AS PART OF THE CITY'S BUDGET PROCESS AND, AND THE FINANCIAL CHALLENGES THAT WE'RE DEALING WITH, UH, AUSTIN PARKS AND RECREATION, LIKE ALL OTHER DEPARTMENTS, WERE, WERE ASKED TO SUBMIT POTENTIAL REDUCTIONS TO OUR BUDGET. 
          AND, AND, AND OF COURSE WE PRIORITIZE THOSE BASED ON, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'VE HEARD COME FROM COMMUNITY, WHAT WE HEAR FROM, FROM YOU ALL AND OTHER FOLKS IN OUR PARKS BOARD, UH, AND TRY TO, TO MITIGATE THE IMPACT OF ANY REDUCTIONS ON THE SERVICES THAT WE'RE PROVIDING. 
          SO, YOU KNOW, IN, IN THE OVERALL UNIVERSE OF THINGS THAT COULD BE CUT, UH, WE WANTED TO, TO, TO PRESERVE AS MUCH AS WE COULD, FOR EXAMPLE, PROGRAMMING FOR YOUTH PRESERVE AS MUCH AS WE COULD, PROGRAMMING FOR SENIORS. 
          UM, AND, AND REALLY LOOKED AT PROGRAMS THAT EITHER WERE INEFFICIENT IN THAT THEY DIDN'T HAVE VERY MUCH ENROLLMENT OR USE, UH, AND, AND OR PROGRAMS, UH, LIKE THIS THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO HAVE A DIFFERENT MODEL THAT STILL COULD DELIVER THE SERVICES, BUT HAVE LESS INVESTMENT FROM THE CITY. 
          AND THAT'S SORT OF WHERE WE LANDED WITH, UH, THE ADULT ATHLETICS. 
          UM, AND TO GIVE JUST THE HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW, UM, WITH, WITH ADULT ATHLETICS, UH, GENERALLY OUR BUDGET FOR 2026 WAS ABOUT A MILLION DOLLARS. 
          AND THAT INCLUDED STAFF TO OVERSEE THE MANAGEMENT OF THESE LEAGUES. 
          UH, SOME, SOME BOTH PERMANENT AS WELL AS TEMPORARY AND SEASONAL STAFF, AS WELL AS SOME COSTS LIKE, UH, UMPIRES AND, AND REFEREES, EXCUSE ME, AND THINGS LIKE THAT. 
          UM, THE RE THE, THE BUDGET THAT WAS APPROVED FOR 2027, UM, INCLUDED THE REDUCTION OF, UH, ESSENTIALLY TWO FTES, UH, AND THEN SOME OF THE, AS YOU SEE HERE, SOME SEASONAL EMPLOYEES, AND THEN THE OFFICIALS CONTRACT, WHICH ESSENTIALLY GENERATED $400,000 IN, IN GENERAL FUND SAVINGS. 
          AND, AND OUR, OUR APPROACH WAS TO TAKE THAT MODEL AND SWITCH IT OVER WHERE WE WOULD BRING IN THIRD PARTY OPERATORS TO HELP US. 
          AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'VE DONE, UH, IN THE PAST. 
          AND I THINK I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO, TO LUCAS HERE TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT. 
          UM, GOOD AFTERNOON, UH, HERE TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE HISTORY OF ATHLETICS. 
          UM, IT'S THE AUSTIN PARKS DEPARTMENT, UH, OPENED THE AUSTIN ATHLETIC CLUB, WHICH IS NOW AUSTIN RECREATION CENTER IN 1931. 
          SO STARTED INDOOR PROGRAMMING, UM, AND SPORTS PROGRAMMING AT THAT POINT. 
          ANOTHER BIG KIND OF FLAGSHIP MOMENT FOR US IS THE 1970S OPENING OF CRAIG FIELDS. 
          UM, AND AT THAT POINT WE WERE REALLY KIND OF OPERATING TWO UNITS AND OUTDOOR UNIT, UH, DOING SOFTBALL AND INDOOR INDOOR RECREATION CENTERS, UH, RUNNING, RUNNING THE SPORTS INDIVIDUALLY AT, AT THE CENTERS. 
          UH, THAT CHANGED PROBABLY CIRCA 2010, UM, WHERE WE BEGAN TO CENTRALIZE THE MODEL AND MOVE THOSE SPORTS FROM BEING OPERATED INDEPENDENTLY AT THE RECREATION CENTERS INTO THE CENTRAL ATHLETICS OFFICE. 
          UM, AND KIND OF RECENTLY MADE SOME CHANGES TO THAT OFFICE AND TRYING TO MOVE MAYBE BACK TO THAT COMMUNITY RECREATION CENTER CENTER MODEL, WHICH ALLOWS THE CENTERS TO BE MORE, A BIT, A LITTLE BIT MORE FLEXIBLE AND WHAT THEY'RE OFFERING, UM, AND ADAPT TO EACH COMMUNITY AS THE CENTER IS KIND OF STAGED AROUND TOWN. 
          UH, CURRENTLY, UH, THE OFFICE OF ATHLETICS IS ADMINISTERING FOUR SPORTS. 
          WE, WE DO SOFTBALL. 
          WE HAVE ABOUT 900, UH, TEAM REGISTRATIONS AND SOFTBALL, UH, BASKETBALL VOLLEYBALL, EACH HAVE ABOUT A HUNDRED TEAM REGISTRATIONS PER YEAR. 
          AND THEN FLAG FOOTBALL, WHICH WE'VE OFFERED INTERMITTENTLY, UH, WOULD BE OUR LOWEST ATTENDED SPORT. 
          UM, YOU CAN SEE WE HAVE, OH, YOU KNOW, 11,553, UH, ESTIMATED COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT PARTICIPATE IN ALL OF OUR TEAM SPORTS. 
          SO WE, WE DO OFFER A HYBRID APPROACH TO OUR OFFERINGS. 
          IN ADDITION TO OFFERING THE, UH, INTERNALLY OPERATED SPORTS, WE, WE OFFER A NUMBER OF, OF RENTALS AND, UH, PARTNERSHIPS. 
          UM, YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THE, THE LEAGUES THAT WE OFFER HERE. 
          UH, I'LL TAKE A, A BRIEF MINUTE TO PLUG THE CITY OLYMPICS, WHICH IS HAPPENING THIS THIS FRIDAY AND, AND SATURDAY. 
          UH, WE DO HAVE A BARBECUE AND SALSA JUDGING CONTEST, SO IF YOU, ANYBODY'S INTERESTED, IT'S NOT TOO LATE. 
          UM, IN ADDITION TO THOSE RENTALS, WE ALSO HAVE A COUPLE OF CONTRACTS OR MANAGEMENT AGREEMENTS FOR ATTENDANCE CENTERS, WHICH WE 
          [01:55:01]
OPERATE AROUND TOWN. 
          AND WE HAVE SOME ONGOING CONTRACTS WITH HOUSTON TILTON AND MEN'S SOCCER ASSOCIATION THAT ARE KIND OF MAINTENANCE AGREEMENTS IN WHICH THEY'RE DOING MOST OF THE MAINTENANCE OF THE FIELD AND THEN, AND THEN EXCHANGE, THEY GET PRIORITY BOOKING AND, AND, UH, OPERATIONS OF, OF THOSE FIELDS. 
          AND IN ADDITION, UM, THE RECREATION CENTERS INDEPENDENTLY OF, OF THE ATHLETICS OFFICE PARTNER AND, UH, ALREADY HAVE THIRD PARTY BASKETBALL AND VOLLEYBALL LEAGUES OPERATING IN THEM. 
          UH, THEY USE DOWNTIME IN WHICH WE ARE UNABLE TO FAIL. 
          AND, UH, THE THIRD PARTY VENDORS ARE ALREADY KIND OF TAKING THOSE, THOSE SPACES. 
          SO JUST WANNA TALK ABOUT THOSE IS, IS A, YOU KNOW, WE, SOMETHING WE'RE ALREADY KIND OF DIVERSE IN OUR OPERATIONS AND WHY WE'RE CONSIDERING MAYBE MOVING, UH, VOLLEYBALL AND BASKETBALL TO THIRD PARTY OPERATORS. 
          AND SO AS WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO REPLICATE WHAT WE'VE DONE ON THE PROGRAM WITH THIS PARTICULAR PROGRAM, YOU KNOW, WE SELECTED THE INDOOR UH, LEAGUES JUST BECAUSE THEY'RE SMALLER NUMBER OF TEAMS AND ALSO MORE PREDICTABLE AND WE ANTICIPATE THAT THIRD PARTY OPERATORS WOULD BE MORE WILLING TO JUMP INTO THAT. 
          I THINK AS WE BEGUN DIGGING INTO THE IMPLEMENTATION, WE, WE DETERMINED WE JUST NEED A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME. 
          AND, UM, SO WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE OPERATING AS WE'VE OPERATED IN THE PAST. 
          AS WE CONTINUE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ENGAGING WITH STAKEHOLDERS, UH, TO HEAR MORE DIRECTLY FROM THEM. 
          WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT THE, AT THE, UM, FINANCE PIECE TO JUST MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT PRICING TOO MANY PEOPLE OUT, GIVEN THE OBVIOUS, WELL, NOT OBVIOUS, BUT, BUT LIKELY INCREASE IN, IN FEES JUST GIVEN, GIVEN THE THIRD PARTY OPERATOR MODEL. 
          UM, AND THEN, AND THEN CONTINUE TO, TO UNDERSTAND SORT OF HOW WE CAN, WE CAN MOVE THIS FORWARD. 
          SO WE'LL KEEP THE LEAGUES THE WAY THEY'RE GOING, BUT, UM, WE'RE STILL LOOKING TO, TO TRANSITION TO, TO THIS MODEL. 
          VERY GOOD. 
          WELL, UH, IN THE INTEREST OF TIME, YOU KNOW, WE CAN ALL FOLLOW UP WITH YOU AFTER, BUT JUST WANT TO JUST LET US KNOW IF AND WHEN THAT TRANSITION IS BEING MADE SO THAT WE CAN PUSH THAT INFORMATION OUT AND, AND KIND OF NOT HEAR ABOUT IT, UH, THROUGH OUR INBOX. 
          THAT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL. 
          SO APPRECIATE, UH, THE UPDATE AND I KNOW WE HAVE A SOFTBALL CHAMPION IN OUR OFFICE, SO HE'LL APPRECIATE BEING ABLE TO CONTINUE. 
          ANYWAYS WITH THAT, IT IS 1129, I GAVE YOU ONE MINUTE BACK, SO, UH, WE'LL STAND ADJOURNED HERE. 
          THANK YOU.
* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.