* 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. [CALL TO ORDER ] [00:00:05] FIRST [Items 1. & 2. ] ORDER OF BUSINESS. I KNOW WE HAVE A LIGHT AGENDA, IS TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM THE PREVIOUS MEETING, UH, FROM BOTH THE JUNE AND JULY MEETING. UM, SO IF WE CAN PULL THOSE UP AND TAKE A LOOK AND WHEN SOMEONE IS READY TO MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THOSE, PLEASE DO SO. MOVE TO APPROVE. IS THERE A SECOND? GIVE PEOPLE JUST A FEW MORE MINUTE, A FEW MORE SECONDS. I'LL SECOND. OKAY. ALRIGHT. AND ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF APPROVING? UH, YES, GO AHEAD. I JUST HAD A COMMENT. UM, OR A PROPOSED EDIT ON THE, UH, JULY MINUTES. THERE'S JUST, UM, UNDER DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS. ITEM THREE, UH, IT SAYS THAT THE RECOMMENDATION WITH AMENDMENTS WAS A MOTION TO APPROVE THE RECOMMENDATION WITH AMENDMENTS WAS MADE BY CHAIR WHITE, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER HARRIS AND JUST SHOULD MAYBE BE HIS LAST NAME, KURESHI. OKAY. THAT'S, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO VOTE TO? OKAY. ALRIGHT. UM, OKAY. ALRIGHT. SO WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE JULY MEETING MINUTES, AND WE HAVE A SECOND. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE JULY MEETING MINUTES AS IS WITH THAT AMENDED CHANGE, PLEASE SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE. AYE. A AYE. ALRIGHT. AND AYE. AARON, I, OH, OKAY. ALRIGHT. I SEE ANY ABSTENTIONS OR ANY NAYS. AND SO THE MOTION PASSES AND WE NEED TO ALSO TAKE A LOOK AT THE JUNE MEETING MINUTES. SO IF WE COULD DO SO FOR A LITTLE WHILE AND THEN GO FROM THERE. OKAY. AND WHEN SOMEONE IS READY, WE CAN GO AHEAD AND MAKE A MOTION AND GO FROM THERE. MOVE TO ADOPT A JUNE MEETING MINUTES. IS THERE A SECOND? I, I'LL SECOND IT. ALL RIGHT. PERFECT. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF ADOPTING THE JUNE MEETING MINUTES AS IS PLEASE SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. ALRIGHT. AND SEEING NO ABSTENTIONS OR, UM, NAYS, THE MOTION PASSES AS WELL. OKAY. UH, SO NOW WE ARE [2. Staff briefing regarding Rain to River. Presentation by Erin Wood, Environmental Conservation Program Manager, Austin Watershed Protection ] AT, FOR THE STAFF BRIEFING REGARDING RANGE RIVER. I SEE ERIN WOOD IS ONLINE, AND WE'LL GO HAVE THAT, UH, BRIEFING AND PRESENTATION. HELLO. GOOD EVENING EVERYONE. UH, THANKS FOR HAVING ME. UH, MY NAME IS ERIN WOOD, UH, PRONOUNCE SHE HER. I WORK FOR THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT. UM, AND I MANAGE OUR WATERSHED PLANNING GROUP. UM, AND SO HERE TONIGHT TO TELL YOU MORE ABOUT OUR NEW STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE DEPARTMENT, UM, THAT WE LIKE TO CALL RAIN RIVER. UM, SO WHAT IS RAIN RIVER? LIKE I SAID, IT'S OUR, UH, NEW STRATEGIC PLAN, UH, TO PROTECT AUSTIN'S CREEKS AND COMMUNITIES. UM, OUR ORIGINAL STRATEGIC PLAN WAS ADOPTED BACK IN 2001, UH, BY CITY COUNCIL, AND SO WE'D MADE SOME KIND OF TECHNICAL ADJUSTMENTS OVER THE YEARS, BUT THIS WAS REALLY, UM, THE FIRST COMPREHENSIVE OVERHAUL WE'VE DONE IN QUITE SOME TIME. AND, UM, AS YOU ALL KNOW, AUSTIN HAS CHANGED A LOT IN THE LAST 25 YEARS. SO WE HAD SOME CATCHING UP TO DO. UM, THIS SERVES AS KIND OF OUR NORTH [00:05:01] STAR, OUR GUIDING BLUEPRINT FOR THE DEPARTMENT. IT LAYS OUT OUR MISSION, UM, OUR VISION, OUR VALUES, AND THEN IT ALSO, UH, SETS SPECIFIC STRATEGIES AND DIRECTION FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS. UM, WE ALSO REALLY WANTED THIS PLAN. UH, IF YOU'VE LOOKED AT THE PREVIOUS ONE, IT WAS OVER 400 PAGES LONG. IT WAS PRETTY DENSE AND FULL OF A LOT OF KIND OF TECHNICAL FORMULAS AND TABLES AND MAPS. AND SO WE REALLY WANTED, UH, THE NEW PLAN TO BE ABLE TO SERVE AS A RESOURCE, UM, TO HELP EXPLAIN OUR WORK, UH, TO STAFF WITHIN THE CITY, BUT ALSO TO POLICY MAKERS, UM, AND THE COMMUNITY. UH, SO AS WE SET OUT ON THIS, UM, WE WANTED TO ESTABLISH SOME GUIDING PRINCIPLES, UH, TO INFORM HOW WE WENT ABOUT CREATING THE PLAN. UH, ONE OF THEM WAS TO CENTER THE NEEDS OF VULNERABLE POPULATIONS. UM, AND I'LL TALK MORE ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS HERE IN A FEW MINUTES. UM, BUT WE REALLY WANTED TO GO OUT AND DO SOMETHING ROBUST AND INCLUSIVE, UH, TO HEAR ABOUT COMMUNITY NEEDS AND PRIORITIES, UM, AND REALLY MEET PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE AND MAKE SURE THAT THIS NEW PLAN WAS, UM, GUIDED BY THAT INPUT, UM, AND THAT WE'RE ABLE TO ALIGN OUR ASPIRATIONS AND CAPABILITIES AS A DEPARTMENT WITH COMMUNITY NEEDS AND PRIORITIES. UM, WE WANTED TO LOOK AT DIFFERENT WAYS TO STRENGTHEN OUR PARTNERSHIPS AND, UM, LEVERAGE KIND OF WORK ACROSS THE CITY AND, UM, WORKING WITH OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS TO REALLY EXPAND OUR IMPACT, UM, AS WE WORK TO PROTECT OUR WATERSHEDS. UH, WE WANTED THIS PLAN TO REALLY SERVE, TO EMPOWER OUR LEADERSHIP, UH, TO ADVOCATE STRONGLY FOR OUR MISSION. UM, AND THEN WE REALLY WANTED TO CREATE SOMETHING, UM, THAT WAS ADAPTABLE, UM, OVER TIME. AND SO, YOU KNOW, KNOWING THAT IT'S BEEN 25 YEARS SINCE THE PREVIOUS VERSION, UM, BUT LOOKING AHEAD AND, YOU KNOW, IN THE FACE OF A CLIMATE EMERGENCY AND AFFORDABILITY CRISIS AND, YOU KNOW, UH, BUDGET CONSTRAINTS AND EVERYTHING THAT THE CITY IS FACING RIGHT NOW, WANTING TO MAKE SOMETHING THAT WE CAN CONTINUE, UM, TO BUILD ON AND ADAPT AS WE MOVE FORWARD. NEXT SLIDE. ALL RIGHT. SO SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PLAN. UM, OUR MISSION REMAINS UNCHANGED. UH, WE REDUCE THE IMPACTS OF FLOODING, EROSION, AND WATER QUALITY. UM, BUT WHAT HAS CHANGED IS SOME OF THE APPROACH OF HOW WE DO OUR WORK. SO HOW DO WE STRENGTHEN AND ADOPT OUR WORK TO REALLY CENTER COMMUNITY VOICE, UM, AND BUILD RESILIENCE GOING FORWARD? UM, YOU KNOW, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE EXPANDED THE WAY THAT WE THOUGHT ABOUT INFRASTRUCTURE. IT'S NOT JUST THE DRAINAGE INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, THAT WE OPERATE AND MAINTAIN, BUT REALLY INCLUDING LIVED EXPERIENCE AND EXPERTISE AND COMMUNITY ASSETS AS ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS OF OUR INFRASTRUCTURE. YOU KNOW, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT A LOT ABOUT, UH, WE'RE NOT JUST BUILDING AND MAINTAINING STORM DRAINS AND PONDS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, BUT ALSO COMMUNITY RELATIONSHIPS AND HOW WE CONTINUE TO BUILD AND STRENGTHEN THOSE OVER TIME. UH, THIS PLAN TAKES A MORE, UH, HOLISTIC AND PROACTIVE APPROACH. SO RECOGNIZING THAT WE STILL NEED TO BE RESPONSIVE TO URGENT NEEDS, UM, YOU KNOW, MAJOR FLOODING EVENTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, BUT ALSO BALANCING THAT WITH MORE PROACTIVE INVESTMENT, UM, IN THINGS LIKE PREPARING, RESTORATION, UH, YOU KNOW, TREES ALONG OUR WATERWAYS, UM, AND MORE KIND OF, UH, RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE GOING FORWARD. UM, AND THEN REALLY MAKING SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, EQUITY IS NOT LIKE A ONE-TIME INITIATIVE, BUT AN ONGOING PRACTICE THAT WE CONTINUE, UH, TO BUILD OVER TIME, UH, TO KEEP OURSELF ROOTED IN ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRUST. NEXT SLIDE. UM, SO THESE ARE SOME OF, YOU KNOW, THE MAJOR CHALLENGES WE ARE FACING AS WE LOOK TO UPDATE THE PLAN. UM, I KNOW Y'ALL ARE GROUNDED IN ALL OF THESE, UH, BUT THE CLIMATE, UH, CLIMATE CHANGE DRIVING MUCH MORE EXTREME WEATHER, INTENSE STORMS, PROLONGED DROUGHT, UM, HISTORIC INEQUITIES ACROSS THE CITY THAT HAVE LEFT, YOU KNOW, NEIGHBORHOODS MORE EXPOSED TO FLOODING AND DEGRADED WATERWAYS. UM, URBANIZATION AND DEVELOPMENT PRESSURE, UM, REALLY, YOU KNOW, UH, CAUSING A LOT OF, UH, POTENTIAL DEGRADATION TO OUR ENVIRONMENT, UM, AND OVERWHELMING SOME OF OUR AGING INFRASTRUCTURE. UM, AND THEN, UH, AFFORDABILITY AND HOUSING COST, DRIVING DISPLACEMENT OF RESIDENTS, UM, AND SEEING AN INCREASE IN PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS. NEXT SLIDE. SO YEAH, WHEN WE SET ON THIS, YOU KNOW, WE SAID IT'S BEEN A COUPLE OF DECADES AND WE REALLY WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WENT OUT TO THE COMMUNITY IN A REALLY ROBUST AND INCLUSIVE WAY. SO WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME DESIGNING THIS PROCESS, UM, IDENTIFYING STAKEHOLDER GROUPS THAT HAVE BEEN HISTORICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED, UM, IN PAST PLANNING EFFORTS, BOTH WITHIN WATERSHED AND WITHIN THE CITY. UM, AND FINDING WAYS TO START BUILDING THOSE RELATIONSHIPS [00:10:01] AND ENGAGING WITH PEOPLE MORE DIRECTLY. UM, SO WE PARTNERED WITH ORGANIZATIONS ALL ACROSS THE CITY, UM, AND WE REALLY WANTED TO ALSO INCLUDE COMPENSATION AS A KEY PART OF THE, OF OUR DIFFERENT ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES. SO, UH, WE HAD A PAID COHORT OF COMMUNITY AMBASSADORS. IF THIS SOUNDS FAMILIAR, IT'S BECAUSE WE TOOK A LOT OF INSPIRATION FROM THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, UM, AND THE EXCELLENT WORK THAT THEY DID AROUND ENGAGEMENT. UH, WE ALSO ISSUED MANY GRANTS TO A NUMBER OF LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS SO THAT THEY COULD GO OUT AND DO ENGAGEMENT WITH THEIR NETWORKS, UM, AND BRING BACK ADDITIONAL INPUT, UH, TO INFORM THE PLAN. UM, AND THEN ENGAGEMENT V ON THERE TOOK A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT FORMS. WE HAD A COUPLE OF COMMUNITY WIDE SURVEYS, UH, BOTH AROUND KIND OF LARGER VISION AND, UM, TRADE OFFS AND PRIORITIES. UH, WE DID ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEWS WITH SOME COMMUNITY LEADERS. UH, WE DID 15 PLUS FOCUS GROUPS, UM, WITH DIFFERENT, UH, POPULATIONS THAT WE SAW. WE WERE KIND OF MONITORING THE RESPONSES TO THE SURVEYS AND SEEING WHERE WE WERE SEEING, UM, UH, DEMOGRAPHICS THAT WEREN'T REPRESENTATIVE AND TRYING TO REACH OUT TO, UH, SOME OF THOSE GROUPS THAT WERE UNDERREPRESENTED. UH, WE WENT TO A NUMBER OF NEIGHBORHOOD MEETINGS AND COMMUNITY EVENTS. UM, LIKE I SAID, IT WAS A LOT OF KIND OF MEETING PEOPLE WHERE THEY WERE. UH, SO NOT SUMMING FOLKS TO A PUBLIC MEETING AT CITY HALL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY, BUT REALLY TRYING TO GO OUT, UM, AND INTERACT AT DIFFERENT, UM, LOCAL EVENTS. NEXT SLIDE. ON TOP OF THAT, WE ALSO FORMED A COMMUNITY ACTIVATION GROUP. UM, SO THIS WAS A GROUP OF DIVERSE COMMUNITY LEADERS, UH, WITH EXPERTISE KIND OF ACROSS THE BOARD ENVIRONMENT, COMMUNITY HEALTH, UH, DISASTER PREPAREDNESS. UM, AND SO THESE FOLKS REALLY HELPED US SOUND AS A, UH, SERVE AS A SOUNDING BOARD AND HELP US KIND OF SHAPE THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE PLAN. SO, SYNTHESIZING COMMUNITY FEEDBACK, UM, HELPING DESIGN THAT SECOND SURVEY, UM, DOING A LOT OF COMMUNITY ASSET MAPPING. SO BETTER UNDERSTANDING, YOU KNOW, WAYS THAT WE CAN EFFECTIVELY PARTNER, UH, WITH COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, AND THEN HELPING US BRAINSTORM SOME OF THE STRATEGIES AND THE MORE SPECIFIC GOALS AND METRICS ASSOCIATED WITH THEM. NEXT SLIDE. SO THIS IS KIND OF THE, THE BASIC STRUCTURE OF THE PLAN. IF YOU GO CHECK IT OUT, RAIN RIVER ATX.COM, I'LL HAVE THAT LINK AT THE END OF THE PRESENTATION AS WELL. UH, BUT IT'S ORGANIZED INTO THESE FOUR MAJOR SECTIONS. UH, SO THE, THE FIRST SECTION IS INTRODUCTION. UH, THIS TALKS ABOUT, UM, THE PURPOSE OF THE PLAN AND HOW IT CAME TOGETHER. PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING I JUST COVERED IN THE FIRST PART OF THE PRESENTATION. UM, IT THEN SHIFTS TO UNDERSTAND, UM, TO HELP KIND OF TELL THE STORY OF OUR DEPARTMENT AND THE WORK THAT WE DO. UH, IN VISION TALKS A LOT ABOUT WHAT WE LEARN THROUGH THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS, UM, THE COMMUNITY VISION AND PRIORITIES THAT GUIDE US GOING FORWARD. AND THEN ENACT IS KIND OF WHERE THE RUBBER HITS THE ROAD AND HAS OUR, UH, COMMITMENTS AND STRATEGIES, UH, TO SET OUR DIRECTION FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS. SO, LIKE I MENTIONED, OUR, OUR MISSION ISN'T CHANGING. UH, WE PROTECT THE LIVES, PROPERTY AND ENVIRONMENT OF OUR COMMUNITY BY REDUCING THE IMPACTS OF FLOODING, EROSION, AND WATER POLLUTION. UH, THESE ARE THE FOUR MAJOR GOALS, UH, THAT WE'RE ORGANIZED AROUND, UM, IN TERMS OF FLOODING, SAFE AND STABLE STREAMS, UH, PROTECTING, IMPROVING THE HEALTH OF OUR WATERWAYS, UM, AND THEN, UH, CONTINUING TO PROTECT AND ENHANCE THE FUNCTIONING OF, OF OUR DRAINAGE INFRASTRUCTURE. NEXT SLIDE. BUT THIS WAS THE NEW PART. WE HADN'T HAD A VISION BEFORE. WE HAD JUST HAD OUR MISSION AND GOALS. AND SO REALLY WANTING TO UNDERSTAND FOR THE COMMUNITY WHAT THEIR VISION WAS, UH, GOING FORWARD. UM, AND THE REALLY COOL THING ABOUT THIS, WHAT CAME BACK TO US AND WORKING, UH, WITH THE COMMUNITY ACTIVATION GROUP, UM, WAS THAT A LOT OF IT WAS ABOUT THE HOW, AND NOT JUST THE WHAT. SO WE HAD, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE PROTECT, UM, YOU KNOW, HEALTHY, VIBRANT, ACCESSIBLE CREEKS AND GREEN SPACES, BUT ALSO HOW WE WORK TOGETHER TO PROTECT IT. UM, SO THINKING OF WATERSHED PROTECTION, NOT JUST AS A DEPARTMENT, BUT AS A SOCIAL CONTRACT AND, YOU KNOW, WORK THAT EVERYBODY DOES BOTH WITHIN THE CITY AND ACROSS THE COMMUNITY, UM, TO HELP PROTECT OUR WATERWAYS. AND SO REALLY, UH, LIFTING HISTORICALLY MARGINALIZED VOICES SHAPING SOLUTIONS THROUGH CO-CREATION, UM, AND REALLY TREATING OUR WATERWAYS IN NATURAL SPACES AS THESE SHARED SPACES WHERE WE CAN COME TOGETHER, UM, TO CONNECT AND LEARN, UH, AND STEWARD TOGETHER. NEXT SLIDE. SO WE ALSO HAVE 10 MAJOR COMMUNITY PRIORITIES THAT WE LAY OUT IN THAT ENVISION SECTION. UM, I WON'T GO THROUGH AND READ EVERY ONE OF THESE, UM, BUT STARTING WITH EQUITY AND INCLUSION. UM, SO REALLY MAKING SURE WE HAVE EQUITABLE ACCESS, UH, TO BOTH OUR RESOURCES, BUT ALSO ALSO TO OUR DECISION MAKING PROCESSES. UM, A FOCUS ON FLOOD MITIGATION AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS. UM, ESPECIALLY IN THE FACE OF, UH, THE SUPER EL NINO COMING OUR WAY. [00:15:01] UH, CLIMATE RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY, UH, WAS A BIG ONE. PROTECTING AND RESTORING OUR NATURAL RESOURCES. UM, TRUST AND COLLABORATION WAS SOMETHING WE HEARD A LOT ABOUT. UM, SO REALLY CONTINUING TO, UM, BUILD AND SUSTAIN THOSE RELATIONSHIPS THAT WE STARTED THROUGH THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS. SO IT'S NOT JUST SORT OF A TRANSACTIONAL, LIKE, OKAY, WE'RE DONE WITH THE PLAN, THANKS EVERYONE, GO HOME. BUT CONTINUING TO SHARE INFORMATION AND RESOURCES AND LEARN FROM EACH OTHER GOING FORWARD. NEXT SLIDE. UM, WE HEARD A LOT ABOUT ACCESSIBILITY. YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE THAT OUR NATURAL SPACES FEEL SAFE AND INVITING AND ACCESSIBLE, UH, FOR RESIDENTS. UM, THERE'S A LOT OF DISCUSSION AROUND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH, WHICH HAS BEEN A HUGE TOPIC IN THE LAST COUPLE MONTHS AS WELL. UM, FINDING MORE WAYS TO SUPPORT OUR UNHOUSED IN, UH, MOST VULNERABLE POPULATIONS. UM, LEANING IN MORE TO EDUCATION AND YOUTH ENGAGEMENT. UM, AND THEN JUST CONTINUING TO FIND WAYS TO INNOVATE, UM, AND MAKE SURE THAT AUSTIN SERVES AS A MODEL CITY, UM, ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND THE GLOBE, UH, IN TERMS OF ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP. UM, AND ONE THING I'LL NOTE, UM, ON THOSE COMMUNITY PRIORITIES, IF YOU START GOING THROUGH THEM, UM, AND I'LL TALK A LITTLE LATER IN THE PRESENTATION, YOU KNOW, AS WE WERE HEARING FROM THE COMMUNITY, YOU KNOW, SOME OF OUR STAFF ARE GOING LIKE, OOH, LIKE, SOME OF THAT'S NOT US. LIKE, THAT MIGHT BE PARKS, OR THAT MIGHT BE, UM, THE CLIMATE OFFICE. AND SO, UH, WANTING TO REALLY CAPTURE EVERYTHING WE HEARD FROM THE COMMUNITY AND PRESENT THOSE FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. UM, BUT JUST KNOWING AGAIN THAT, YOU KNOW, WATERSHED MAY LEAD ON SOME OF THOSE, WE MAY PARTNER ON SOME. AND SO, UM, HOW DO WE ALL COLLECTIVELY WORK TOGETHER, UH, TO CARRY FORWARD THOSE PRIORITIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS? UH, SO AS WE MOVE INTO THAT IN NEXT SECTION, THIS REALLY FOCUSES ON HOW WE APPROACH OUR WORK, UM, AND SET OUR DIRECTION FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS. UH, SO WE HAVE 24 STRATEGIES, UM, OVERALL. AND SO WE GROUP THEM INTO THREE MAIN COMMITMENTS, UH, TO CENTER OUR COMMUNITY, TO INNOVATE TOGETHER AND TO GOVERN RESPONSIBLY. UM, AND SO I'M NOT GONNA GO THROUGH EACH OF THESE IN TURN, BUT I'M GONNA GIVE YOU KIND OF A QUICK TOUR OF WHAT ONE OF THEM LOOKS LIKE IS BASICALLY IT'S A PAGE PER STRATEGY. UM, AS YOU GO THROUGH THE DOCUMENT. ONE KEY ONE THAT I DO WANNA, UM, POINT OUT ON HERE BEFORE I MOVE ON IS THAT, UH, A HUGE PART OF OUR PROCESS WAS FORMING THAT COMMUNITY ACTIVATION GROUP AND THE WORK WE DID WITH THEM AND REALLY BUILDING, UM, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST SORT OF A LINEAR RELATIONSHIP OF LIKE, WE GOT INPUT, WE TALKED TO THE COMMUNITY, LIKE WE REFINED IT AND KIND OF TOOK IT THROUGH CITY VETTING. AND THEN WE PUT IT IN THE PLAN. WE REALLY TRIED TO CREATE SOMETHING MORE ITERATIVE, UM, WHERE STAFF AND THIS COMMUNITY GROUP WERE WORKING TOGETHER AND SAYING LIKE, OKAY, HERE'S OUR RECOMMENDATION. WELL, HERE'S SOME CONSTRAINTS WE HAVE. HOW DO WE GET PAST THOSE? AND KIND OF COMING UP WITH SOME OF THOSE SOLUTIONS AND BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS TOGETHER. AND SO IT WAS A MODEL THAT WORKED REALLY WELL IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PLAN AND SOMETHING THAT WE WANNA CARRY FORWARD. UM, AND SO STRATEGY 1.2 IS TO CREATE AND SUSTAIN A COMMUNITY ADVISORY GROUP FOR IMPLEMENTATION, UH, THAT WOULD CONTINUE TO INFORM OUR WORK AND PRIORITIES AS WE GO FORWARD. NEXT SLIDE. SO HERE'S WHAT ONE OF THESE LOOKS LIKE IN THE PLAN. UM, SO THEY'RE EACH KIND OF COLOR CODED BY THE DIFFERENT COMMITMENTS. SO THIS ONE COMES FROM CENTER COMMUNITY. IT'LL HAVE THE NAME OF THE STRATEGY, IT'LL HAVE A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF WHAT IT IS, LIKE, WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO, UH, TO CARRY THIS FORWARD. AND THEN WE HAVE A, A DESCRIPTION OF WHY THIS MATTERS TO THE COMMUNITY FROM WHAT WE LEARNED THROUGH ENGAGEMENT. IT HAS A DESCRIPTION OF WHY THIS MATTERS TO STAFF, UM, THAT WE LEARNED, YOU KNOW, THROUGH OUR DISCUSSIONS INTERNALLY. AND THEN WE HAVE FOR EACH OF THESE BY 2036, KIND OF A VISION OF WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE. UH, SO THIS ONE IS AROUND ENHANCING COMMUNITY EDUCATION AND PREPAREDNESS. UH, THIS WAS A BIG ONE, YOU KNOW, THAT WE HEARD ABOUT FROM THE COMMUNITY IN TERMS OF, UM, ESPECIALLY APPLYING THAT LENS OF VULNERABLE POPULATIONS, BUT MAKING SURE THAT, UM, IN THE FACE OF MORE EXTREME WEATHER, THAT PEOPLE FEEL INFORMED AND UNDERSTAND THEIR RISK AND UNDERSTAND, UM, YOU KNOW, HOW TO FEEL PREPARED, UH, AND READY FOR THE NEXT EVENT. NEXT SLIDE. UH, SO HERE'S ANOTHER EXAMPLE FROM THE INNOVATE TOGETHER SECTION, UH, THAT TALKS ABOUT COLLABORATING WITH PARTNERS ON SHARED PRIORITIES. UM, SO JUST CONTINUING, UH, TO BUILD ON THOSE RELATIONSHIPS BOTH ACROSS, YOU KNOW, WITH, UH, OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS, WITH OTHER GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES, AND ALSO WITH, UM, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, UH, SO THAT WE'RE ABLE TO MAKE PROGRESS ON THESE BIG COMPLEX PROBLEMS THAT WE ALL HAVE A PIECE OF, UM, LIKE EXTREME HEAT, LIKE EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, LIKE WATER CONSERVATION. AND SO HOW [00:20:01] DO WE CONTINUE TO KIND OF, UH, SCOPE THOSE AND CARRY THEM FORWARD, UM, AND PRIORITIZE THEM, UH, OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS. NEXT SLIDE. AND THEN THIS IS ONE, THIS IS AN EXAMPLE FROM OUR GOVERN RESPONSE GOVERN RESPONSIBILITY SECTION. JUST TO KIND OF GIVE YOU A FLAVOR FROM EACH OF OF THE THREE BUCKETS. UH, THIS WAS ONE THAT WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO STAFF, BUT ALSO WE HEARD A LOT FROM THE COMMUNITY ABOUT, OF JUST HELPING RESIDENTS UNDERSTAND KIND OF WHAT THEY CAN EXPECT IN TERMS OF OUR WORK AND WHAT WE CAN REALISTICALLY DELIVER, UH, SO THAT WE KNOW KIND OF WHERE THOSE CRITICAL GAPS ARE, WHERE WE NEED TO INVEST MORE RESOURCES OVER TIME, WHERE WE NEED TO BUILD OUT THOSE PARTNERSHIPS. UH, SO DEFINING THAT CLEAR AND ACHIEVABLE, UM, LEVEL OF SERVICE FOR OUR DIFFERENT FUNCTIONS AND PROGRAMS. UM, AND SO LIKE I MENTIONED, UM, YEAH, AS WE WENT INTO THIS PROCESS, WE HAD KIND OF STAFF SAYING LIKE, WHOA, LIKE, THAT'S OUT OF OUR LANE. AND SO REALLY WANTING TO, UM, NOT COME FROM A PLACE OF FEAR IN THE WAY WE DESCRIBED THAT, OR LIKE CONSTRAINT, BUT LIKE HOW DO WE KIND OF LEVERAGE THAT INTO HOW WE CAN EXPAND OUR IMPACT GOING FORWARD. AND SO BEING CLEAR ABOUT, UM, WHERE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT, YOU KNOW, LEADS THE WORK, WHETHER IT'S DESIGNING PROJECTS, MAINTAINING OUR INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, ADOPTING REGULATIONS, UM, WHERE WE CAN PARTNER, UH, LIKE I MENTIONED WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS, TO REALLY TAKE ON THOSE COMPLEX CHALLENGES AND LEVERAGE OUR, UM, EXPERTISE AND RESOURCES, UM, AND ALSO HOW WE CAN CONNECT TO BIGGER, UM, KIND OF INITIATIVES AND ISSUES. AND SO, UM, CONTINUING, UH, TO WORK WITH THE CLIMATE ACTION AND RESILIENCE TEAM, UM, TO TALK ABOUT WAY, YOU KNOW, HOW OUR WORK IMPACTS THINGS LIKE CLIMATE CHANGE AND AFFORDABILITY AND, UM, PUBLIC HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE. NEXT SLIDE. UH, SO NEXT STEPS. UH, THE PLAN WAS ADOPTED BY CITY COUNCIL ON MAY 21ST, UM, OF THIS LAST YEAR. UH, SO WE'RE STILL KIND OF GEARING UP FOR IMPLEMENTATION PLANNING AND FIGURING OUT OUR APPROACH FOR WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, UM, AND STARTING TO KIND OF STAND UP TEAMS AND PRIORITIES FOR, UM, OUR WORK AND OUR BUDGET GOING FORWARD. UM, SO THAT FIRST MAJOR PART, IMPLEMENTATION PLANNING, JUST BUILDING THAT INTERNAL ROADMAP. SO BUILDING WORK PLANS AND MILESTONES AND TIMELINES, UH, SO THAT WE CAN THEN REPORT THAT OUT TO THE COMMUNITY. UM, TECHNICAL DOCUMENTATION IS A KEY ONE. LIKE I MENTIONED, OUR ORIGINAL PLAN WAS THAT 400 PAGES AND THICK AND FULL OF FORMULAS AND TAKING A LOT OF THAT DETAIL OUT DOES MAKE THE PLAN A LOT MORE ACCESSIBLE, UM, AND A LOT MORE ADAPTABLE, BUT WE DON'T WANT THAT TO BE THAT WE'RE KIND OF PULLING ALL OF THE MATH BEHIND THE CURTAIN. WE WANNA CONTINUE TO PUBLISH THAT ON THE WEBSITE AND SHARE IT SO THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND HOW WE'RE PRIORITIZING PROBLEMS, UM, AND HOW WE'RE MAKING DECISIONS. UH, AND THEN THE LAST ONE IS PROGRESS REPORTING. UM, CONTINUING TO SHARE OUT UPDATES ABOUT HOW WE'RE ADVANCING THE PLAN, THE PROGRESS WE'RE MAKING, THE CHALLENGES WE'RE HAVING, WHERE WE'RE HAVING TO ADAPT. UH, THIS WAS, UH, ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION, UH, WAS THAT WE REALLY HAVE SOME KIND OF INTERACTIVE ONLINE DASHBOARD SIMILAR TO THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN OR THE FOOD PLAN, UH, WHICH HAVE DONE INCREDIBLE WORK, UM, IN TERMS OF SHARING, NOT PROGRESS ON IMPLEMENTATION. UH, SO CONTINUING TO BUILD ON THAT AND SHARE THAT, UH, PROGRESS GOING FORWARD. AND WITH THAT, I THINK THAT WAS ALL I HAD. UH, SO HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS OR GO BACK AND TALK THROUGH ANYTHING IN MORE DETAIL. UH, THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME TONIGHT. THANK YOU FOR THE WONDERFUL PRESENTATION. WE WILL OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANYONE THAT YOU'D LIKE TO GO FIRST? UM, OH, SORRY. UM, THANK YOU MS. WOOD, FOR THE GREAT PRESENTATION. I'M A BIG FAN OF, UM, PROTECTING OUR WATERSHEDS. UM, I WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE EDUCATION COMPONENT. I WAS PLEASED TO SEE, UM, UNDER CENTERING COMMUNITY, ENHANCING THE COMMUNITY EDUCATION AND PREPAREDNESS, UM, JUST KIND OF HOW DO YOU SEE THAT, UM, EDUCATION KIND OF TAKING PLACE IN, IN THE WORLD SO THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND HOW THEY INTERACT WITH THEIR WATERSHED AND HOW THE CREEKS AND THE STREAMS AND THE LAKES AND THE RIVERS ALL KIND OF INTERACT TOGETHER. UM, I FEEL LIKE THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS MISSING FROM MY, UM, EDUCATION AND UPBRINGING IN AUSTIN, ALTHOUGH I LOVE THE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE WATER OF COURSE IS, UM, YOU KNOW, THE PLACES TO, TO ENJOY THE WATER, BUT EDUCATION, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE IN THIS PLAN? [00:25:01] SURE THING. UH, GREAT QUESTION. UM, ONE, I JUST WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT STAFF IN WATERSHED HAVE DONE INCREDIBLE WORK, UM, ON EDUCATION OVER THE LAST COUPLE DECADES. AND SO, UH, WE REALLY HAVE INVESTED A LOT INTO, UM, ESPECIALLY YOUTH EDUCATION WITH PROGRAMS LIKE EARTH CAMP, UH, THAT GOES OUT TO A LOT OF DIFFERENT FIFTH GRADE CLASSROOMS AROUND THE CITY, UM, AND CLEAN CREEK CAMPUS AND SOME KIND OF DIFFERENT INTERACTING WITH ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE SCHOOL, HIGH SCHOOL, UM, AND, UH, INTEGRATING IN WATERSHED COMPONENTS INTO CURRICULUM. UM, YOU KNOW, WE ALSO HAVE THEN KIND OF AT A BROADER LEVEL, MORE KIND OF MARKETING STYLE CAMPAIGNS AROUND THINGS, UH, LIKE GROW GREEN AND HELPING PEOPLE, UM, LOOK AT NATIVE PLANTS AND LANDSCAPING AND KIND OF RESPONSIBLE HERBICIDE PESTICIDE USE. UM, AND THEN ON THE FLOOD SIDE, WE HAVE A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, TURNAROUND DON'T DROWN AND KIND OF FLOOD SAFETY AND PREPAREDNESS. UM, AND AGAIN, KIND OF GREAT WEB PRESENCE AND COMMUNICATION MATERIALS. BUT I THINK, YEAH, AS WE TALKED WITH THE COMMUNITY ACTIVATION GROUP AND LEARNED MORE THROUGH ENGAGEMENT, A LOT OF THAT JUST KIND OF, UM, ONE WAS LIKE A LOT OF KIND OF ONE-ON-ONE INTERACTION WAS MISSING AND HELPING PEOPLE REALLY UNDERSTAND MORE KIND OF WHAT IS UNIQUE TO THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD AND THEIR WATERSHED IN TERMS OF, UM, WHAT A FLOOD LOOKS LIKE. YOU KNOW, KIND OF HOW, HOW FAST THAT WATER'S COMING UP, HOW HIGH THAT WATER'S COMING UP, WHAT TO DO, UH, IN TERMS OF LIKE, IS IT SAFER TO SHELTER IN PLACE, UM, OR TO MOVE TO HIGH GROUND. AND SO HELPING PEOPLE, UM, SORT OF TO FIND WAYS TO INTERACT, KIND OF LIKE I WAS TALKING ABOUT MEETING PEOPLE WHERE THEY'RE AT, AT LIKE HOW DO WE INTERACT WITH MORE PEOPLE ON A MORE KIND OF PERSONAL LEVEL AND ALSO, UH, START TO PARTNER WITH COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS TO DO SOME OF THAT, UH, WORK AS WELL. UM, AND SO, LIKE FOR INSTANCE, OUR COMMUNITY ACTIVATION GROUP, ONE OF THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS WAS PARTNERING WITH DIFFERENT, UH, KIND OF TRUSTED COMMUNITY LEADERS TO DO SOME PSAS THAT ARE NOT JUST SORT OF LIKE ANIMATED, LIKE WATERSHED SAYS, TURN AROUND, DON'T DROWN, BUT HAVING PEOPLE KIND OF TELL STORIES AND CONNECT IT A LITTLE MORE, UM, TO AUSTIN'S HISTORY AND TO OUR EXPERIENCES. UM, I THINK ANOTHER ONE, AND WE HEARD THIS THROUGH THE RECENT, UM, AUDIT THAT CAME OUT OF OUR FLOOD PROGRAM, IS REALLY JUST LOOKING AT THAT CRITICAL INTERSECTION OF OUR MOST VULNERABLE POPULATION. SO HOW DO WE TAILOR OUR EDUCATION, UM, TO THE IN-HOUSE COMMUNITY, TO RENTERS, TO IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE COMMUNITIES, AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE KIND OF BUILDING UP FOCUSED, UH, MATERIALS, UH, AND CAMPAIGNS, UH, FOR THOSE DIFFERENT GROUPS. SO WHETHER THAT'S PARTNERING WITH, YOU KNOW, AT TENANTS RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS AND HELPING PEOPLE REALLY UNDERSTAND FLOOD INSURANCE AND KIND OF, UH, KNOWING YOUR RIGHTS AROUND, UH, UNDERSTANDING PREVIOUS FLOOD HISTORY, UM, IN APARTMENT COMPLEXES AND THINGS LIKE THAT. UM, AND THE OTHER ONE IS JUST REALLY HELPING PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THEIR RISK. WE'VE COLLECTED A LOT OF DATA IN THE LAST 20 YEARS, BUT WE'RE RIGHT NOW REMODEL, REMAPPING ALL OUR FLOODPLAINS, UH, TO REFLECT THE ATLAS 14 STUDY THAT, YOU KNOW, SAID THE, WHAT WAS THE A HUNDRED YEAR FLOODPLAIN IS NOW, UM, BASICALLY THE 500 YEAR FLOODPLAIN BECAME THE 100 YEAR FLOOD PLAIN, LIKE FLOODS ARE JUST GETTING MORE EXTREME AND MORE FREQUENT. UM, AND THEN WE'RE DOING A LOT OF KIND OF MODELING AND MAPPING OF MORE LOCALIZED FLOODING WHERE STORM RAINS ARE GETTING OVERWHELMED AND WATER'S BACKING UP, UH, IN THE STREETS AND HOMES. AND SO REALLY GETTING THAT NEW DATA AND GETTING IT PUBLISHED IN A WAY THAT PEOPLE CAN INTERACT WITH IT AND REALLY UNDERSTAND LIKE, OKAY, HERE'S MY RISK. LIKE THERE IS LOCALIZED FLOODING IN THIS AREA. LIKE, HERE'S MY KIND OF, UM, ROUTE THAT I TAKE TO SCHOOL. IS THERE A LOW WATER CROSSING? LIKE IS THERE ANOTHER ROUTE THAT I CAN TAKE? UM, I WENT THROUGH A WHOLE BUNCH OF DIFFERENT THINGS THERE, . YEAH, NO, IT SOUNDS LIKE IT'S, IT'S VERY, UH, EFFICIENT, WIDE REACHING, WIDE RANGING, SO THAT'S GOOD. THANK YOU. YEAH, I HAVE A QUESTION IF THAT'S OKAY. YEAH. UM, THANK YOU AGAIN SO MUCH FOR THIS GREAT PRESENTATION AND FOR ALL THE WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE AROUND RAIN TO RIVER. I THINK IT'S A REALLY COOL SHIFT IN THE WAY THAT Y'ALL ARE THINKING ABOUT WATERSHED'S ROLE. UM, MY QUESTION IS MORE ABOUT KIND OF FUNDING NEEDS AND HOW, UM, SPECIFICALLY WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE SOME OF THE LARGEST GAPS IN TERMS OF ITEMS THAT ARE IN THIS STRATEGIC PLAN THAT REQUIRE ADDITIONAL FUNDING? UM, SO LIKE, WHERE IS THE GREATEST NEED IN TERMS OF FUNDING AND HOW HAVE Y'ALL BEEN THINKING ABOUT KIND OF COMBINED EFFORTS WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS THAT, UM, DO VERY OVERLAPPING WORK ON GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE AND PARKS AND STUFF LIKE THAT AS A WAY [00:30:01] TO KIND OF ADDRESS OVERALL FUNDING GAPS THAT THE CITY'S FACING? YEAH. UM, SO YEAH, TWO THINGS ON THAT. YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A CONSTRAINED BUDGET, UM, BUT KIND OF BOTH IN TERMS OF SIZE, BUT ALSO IN TERMS OF LIKE USE, UM, BECAUSE OUR DRAINAGE UTILITY FUND IS DEFINED BY STATE LAW, UM, IT'S VERY SPECIFIC IN WHAT WE CAN SPEND IT ON AND WHAT WE CAN'T SPEND IT ON. SO LIKE IF WE'RE DOING A PROJECT, UM, WE CAN BRING, YOU KNOW, LIKE BUILD RAIN GARDENS OR TO IMPROVE WATER QUALITY, WE CAN BRING A LOW WATER CROSSING UP OUT OF THE FLOODPLAIN, UH, TO REDUCE FLOOD RISK. BUT PUTTING IN BIKE LANES AND TRAILS AND KIND OF OTHER AMENITIES WE WOULD NEED TO PARTNER WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN. 'CAUSE WE'RE NOT ALLOWED TO SPEND, UM, DRAINAGE UTILITY FUNDS ON THAT. UM, SO THAT'S PART OF THAT CONSTRAINT IS YEAH, LIKE WORKING WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND FIGURING OUT HOW WE CAN, UM, LEVERAGE EXPERTISE, BUT ALSO DIFFERENT FUNDING STREAMS, UH, TO DO SOME OF THAT, UM, KIND OF MORE HOLISTIC MULTI-BENEFIT WORK. UM, IN TERMS OF CONSTRAINTS, YOU KNOW, I THINK, UM, AS WE WERE FINALIZING THE PLAN, UM, AND KIND OF SEEING THE CURRENT BUDGET CLIMATE, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY WANTED TO DESIGN A PLAN THAT DIDN'T NECESSARILY ASSUME NEW RESOURCES OR FTES THAT WE COULD STILL DO A LOT OF WORK JUST CHANGING SORT OF HOW WE APPROACH THINGS AND HOW WE ALLOCATE WHAT WE ALREADY HAVE, UH, TO LEAN INTO SOME OF THESE COMMUNITY PRIORITIES. UM, BUT I DO THINK A BIG CHALLENGE FOR THE DEPARTMENT, AND THERE'S AN ITEM FROM COUNCIL TO EXPLORE KIND OF WAYS TO ADDRESS THIS. UM, AS WE PREVIOUSLY, UH, YOU KNOW, WE DO A LOT OF OUR, WELL, WE DO ALL OUR PROGRAMMATIC WORK IN-HOUSE. WE DO A LOT OF IN-HOUSE PROJECTS, WE DO A LOT OF SMALL PROJECTS, UM, THAT WE FUND OUT OF OUR BUDGET, BUT THE KIND OF REALLY BIG CAPITAL PROJECTS WE WERE DOING, WE FUNDED THROUGH BONDS. UM, AND SO WE HAD, YOU KNOW, THE 2006 BOND AND THEN WE HAD THE 2018, UH, THAT GAVE US MORE TO DO, UM, FLOOD AND EROSION IMPROVEMENTS. AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH THE BOND NOT GOING FORWARD, UH, IN 2026, UH, WE HAVE STARTED EXPLORING LIKE, WHAT, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR THE DEPARTMENT? DO WE NEED TO PURSUE, UM, POTENTIALLY OTHER SOURCES OF FUNDING? UM, AUSTIN WATER AND AUSTIN ENERGY BEING MUCH BIGGER UTILITIES, UH, ISSUE REVENUE BONDS. UM, THERE'S A WHOLE LONG COMPLICATED FINANCIAL PROCESS THAT I DON'T UNDERSTAND , UH, THAT ALLOWS US TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT. BUT THAT'S SOMETHING I THINK WE'RE STARTING TO LOOK INTO TO SEE IF THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN, UH, DO GOING FORWARD TO REALLY, UM, CONTINUE TO ADDRESS THOSE MOST SEVERE PROBLEMS ACROSS THE CITY. UM, BUT ALSO LOOKING AT OUR DRAINAGE UTILITY, UH, CHARGE, UM, AND HOW THAT'S KIND OF IMPLEMENTED ACROSS THE CITY. ARE THERE SOME POTENTIAL CHANGES TO BE MADE TO THAT, UM, THAT COULD POTENTIALLY BRING IN, UH, MORE REVENUE IN THE WAY THAT'S CALCULATED? JUST A REALLY QUICK FOLLOW UP. I KNOW THAT THERE WAS, UM, AT SOME POINT WE HAD RECEIVED A PRESENTATION ABOUT KIND OF A CITYWIDE GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE WORKING GROUP, AND I'M, I'M WONDERING HOW, IF ANY OF THAT EFFORT CONNECTED TO RAIN TO RIVER , I CAN THINK OF LIKE FIVE DIFFERENT GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE WORKING GROUPS, AND ONE IS THIS THE ONE SORT OF MORE AROUND TRANSPORTATION, UM, AND THERE WAS LIKE A KIND OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE RIGHT OF WAY ONE, UM, THERE'S A GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE TEAM AROUND IMAGINE AUSTIN. UM, BUT EITHER WAY I, I THINK THAT'S, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT WE DEFINITELY, UM, YOU KNOW, WE WORKED A LOT WITH BOTH WITHIN OUR DEPARTMENT AND WITH OTHER PARTNERS, UM, ACROSS THE CITY THAT DO THAT WORK IN GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE, WHETHER IT'S WILDLANDS OR PARKS, UM, UH, AND OTHER, UH, DEPARTMENTS KIND OF ACROSS THE BOARD LOOKING AT THE FOOD PLAN AND WHAT THEY WERE LOOKING AT FOR LAND ACQUISITION. SO, UM, YEAH, WE DEFINITELY EMBEDDED SOME THINGS IN THE PLAN IN TERMS OF LIKE A MORE PROACTIVE APPROACH, UH, TO OUR NATURAL INFRASTRUCTURE, CREATING THOSE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SHARED STEWARDSHIP. UM, THERE'S ONE THAT SOME OF OUR, UH, COMMUNITY ACTIVATION GROUP MEMBERS CALLED THE CRUX OF THE WHOLE PLAN, UH, WHICH IS UNDERSTANDING AND ADDRESSING PAST ENVIRONMENTAL HARMS. UH, SO HOW DO WE REALLY UNDERSTAND THE IMPACTS, UM, OF ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE ACROSS THE CITY? LIKE LOOKING AT, UH, WHERE WATERWAYS HAVE CONTINUED TO BE NEGLECTED AND DEGRADED OVER TIME, AND HOW CAN WE WORK WITH COMMUNITIES TO REALLY RESTORE THOSE AND BUILD THEM BACK. [00:35:06] I HAVE A QUESTION. I WAS ON THE WEBSITE AND I SAW THAT THE GROUP IS REALLY FOCUSED ON QUOTE, THINKING ABOUT ADDRESSING THE WORST PROBLEMS FIRST. HOW IS THAT, I KNOW YOU MENTIONED YOU'RE LIKE, HEY, THERE'S A LOT OF COMPLICATED FORMULAS, BUT JUST KIND OF LIKE A HIGH LEVEL, COULD YOU SUMMARIZE HOW THAT'S DECIDED ABOUT WHICH PROJECTS ARE RECEIVING PRIORITY? SURE. UM, IT'S KIND OF THE, THE SHORT VERSION IS FOR EACH OF OUR MAJOR MISSIONS. SO FOR FLOODING, EROSION, WATER QUALITY, UM, WE TAKE IN THE DATA. SO FOR FLOODING, WE WOULD LOOK AT LIKE DEPTH OF FLOODING AND STRUCTURES, FREQUENCY OF FLOODING, AND THEN THE FORMULA WOULD KIND OF GO ABOUT AND BE LIKE, OKAY, THESE ARE THE STRUCTURES KIND OF MOST AT RISK FOR LIKE REALLY DEEP, REALLY FREQUENT FLOODING, UM, OR EROSION WOULD LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, UM, KINDA STRUCTURES AND INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WERE MOST AT THREAT OF BEING UNDERMINED AND, UM, YOU KNOW, COLLAPSING OR FAILING INTO THE CREEK WATER QUALITY WOULD TAKE OUR WATER QUALITY MONITORING DATA AND LOOK AT, UM, THESE ARE THE WATERSHEDS THAT HAVE, YOU KNOW, THE LOWEST SCORES FOR THINGS LIKE, UM, BACTERIA, UM, AND KIND OF HEALTHY RIPARIAN VEGETATION AND TRASH AND THINGS LIKE THAT. UM, SO THE, THE COMPLICATED PART IS, UH, THAT I THINK RAINED RIVER IS LOOKING TO REALLY LEVEL UP, UM, IS THAT IT'S VERY EASY TO SAY KIND OF LIKE WORST PROBLEMS FIRST BY MISSION. LIKE, THIS IS THE WORST FLOODING PART AND THIS IS THE WORST EROSION PART, AND THIS IS THE WORST WATER QUALITY. BUT THEN BALANCING THAT PORTFOLIO IN A WAY THAT'S MIXING KIND OF, YOU KNOW, THE REACTIVE AND THE PROACTIVE AND MAKING SURE WE'RE TAKING THAT KIND OF BIGGER HOLISTIC LOOK AT WATERSHED HEALTH AND HOW CAN WE DO PROJECTS, WHETHER IT'S KIND OF A SUITE OF PROJECTS THAT ADD UP TO LIKE A BIGGER OUTCOME FOR THE COMMUNITY, UM, OR INTEGRATING, YOU KNOW, ELEMENTS OF OUR DIFFERENT MISSIONS INTO ONE BIG PROJECT. UM, YEAH, HOW DO WE BALANCE THAT PORTFOLIO AND THEN BRING IN THINGS LIKE EQUITY, LIKE ASSET MANAGEMENT, LIKE COMMUNITY HEALTH, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, IT'S ONE THING WE TALKED ABOUT DURING THE PLAN WAS YEAH, THE ORIGINAL 2001 PLAN, LIKE WORST PROBLEMS FIRST WAS KIND OF THE MOTTO OF THAT OR THE TAGLINE. AND SO, UH, ONE OF MY COLLEAGUES LIKES TO SAY LIKE, WELL, LIKE RAIN RIVER, IT STILL IS, BUT IT DEPENDS ON HOW YOU DEFINE WORST AND HOW YOU DEFINE PROBLEM AND HOW YOU DEFINE FIRST. UM, BECAUSE PART OF IT WAS WHEN I TALKED ABOUT BRINGING IN THAT LIVED EXPERIENCE TO HELP INFORM OUR WORK THAT, YOU KNOW, THE FIRST PLAN WAS REALLY GROUNDED IN TECHNICAL RISK, BUT REALLY WANTING TO BRING THAT SOCIAL RISK ELEMENT TO IT AND UNDERSTAND THAT LIKE A FOOT OF FLOODING IN HOMES DOESN'T LOOK THE SAME ACROSS THE CITY, UH, THAT SOME FOLKS HAVE MORE RESOURCES TO RECOVER PRETTY QUICKLY, UM, VERSUS OTHERS. AND SO SOMETHING LIKE STREET FLOODING THAT MIGHT BE SEEN AS A NUISANCE IN SOME PARTS OF THE CITY MIGHT BE, YOU KNOW, FINANCIALLY DEVASTATING IN OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY. AND SO HOW TO REALLY BRING IN THAT SOCIAL ASPECT AND LIVED EXPERIENCE TO HELP INFORM, UM, WHAT WE DEFINE AS WORST PROBLEMS FIRST. ABSOLUTELY. YEAH, I'M REALLY EXCITED TO LOOK THROUGH THOSE MODELS AND, UH, AND LEARN MORE ABOUT IT. UM, TWO PIECES OF JUST KIND OF INPUT THAT HOPEFULLY IS HELPFUL. UH, YOU WERE MENTIONING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT. UM, A LOT OF US GET OUR NEWS ON SOCIAL MEDIA, UH, FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE. SO AS YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT WHO TO PARTNER WITH AND MAYBE HOW TO DISTRIBUTE INFORMATION ACROSS A COMMUNITY, I WOULD DEFINITELY THINK ABOUT HOW MAYBE INFLUENCERS WHO, YOU KNOW, AREN'T GONNA CHARGE YOU, BUT JUST WOULD BE INTERESTED IN DISTRIBUTING INFORMATION LIKE THAT COULD HELP DISTRIBUTE THAT, UM, ACROSS THE CITY. THE OTHER THING IS, UH, RIGHT, WE HAVE THE PLENTY OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN THE AUDIENCE TONIGHT TOO, SO, UH, I'LL DEFINITELY SYNC WITH THEM AFTER AND GET THEIR THOUGHTS. THE OTHER THING THAT WE WERE GONNA TALK ABOUT IS CHURCHES. YOU MENTIONED THE UNHOUSED POPULATION AND HOW TO INTERACT AND DISTRIBUTE THAT INFORMATION. UH, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE CHURCHES, FOOD PANTRIES, AND EVEN LIKE THINGS LIKE THE POINT IN TIME SURVEY. I'D BE CURIOUS TO KNOW IF IT'S POSSIBLE TO, YOU KNOW, WORK WITH PEOPLE LIKE THAT TO ALSO DISTRIBUTE THAT INFORMATION TO SAY, HEY, YOU KNOW, DID YOU KNOW YOU'RE AT RISK IN THIS AREA AND HERE'S WHERE YOU CAN GO TO GET HELP IF AND WHEN THAT TIME COMES. SO, YEAH, NO, THAT'S SUPER HELPFUL. UM, AND SHOUT OUT TO ONE OF OUR PARTNERS, UH, OPIA, THAT WAS ONE OF OUR MINI GRANT, UH, RECIPIENTS THAT WORKS WITH THE IN-HOUSE COMMUNITY. THEY WENT OUT AND DID ABOUT 40 DIFFERENT, UM, LIKE 30 MINUTE FILMED INTERVIEWS WITH DIFFERENT MEMBERS OF THE IN-HOUSE COMMUNITY. UM, THEY'RE REALLY GETTING THAT ISSUE OF LIKE, WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR INFORMATION IN TERMS OF WEATHER? LIKE WHAT DO YOU DO IN LIKE A BAD WEATHER EVENT? LIKE HOW DOES IT IMPACT YOU? UM, AND SO YEAH, CONTINUING TO GET THAT KIND OF [00:40:01] LIVED EXPERIENCE INFORMATION TO INFORM HOW WE GO OUT BECAUSE YEAH, I AGREE. IT'S NOT AS EASY AS JUST LIKE SEND EVERYONE A TEXT LIKE IT, A LOT OF IT IS NETWORKS AND WORD, WORD OF MOUTH KIND OF INTERACTIONS TO GET, UM, THE WORD OUT IN FRONT OF A BIG STORM. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I DON'T SEE ANY AT THIS TIME. UH, WHAT I DO HAVE ONE LAST ONE, THAT SHOULD BE A SHORT ONE. YOU MENTIONED, UM, EVENTS. ARE THERE ANY UPCOMING EVENTS WHERE YOU'RE GONNA BE SEEKING COMMUNITY FEEDBACK THAT WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT? UM, RIGHT NOW, LIKE I SAID, WE'RE STILL KIND OF BUILDING THAT APPROACH. SO WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY SEEKING, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT KIND OF ROLLING OUT FOCUS GROUPS OR KIND OF LIKE TAKING IN INPUT AT EVENTS IN LIKE A FORMAL WAY. BUT WE ARE CONTINUING BOTH OUR STAFF AND KINDA STAFF ACROSS THE DEPARTMENT TO, UM, LEAN IN AND CONTINUE TO DEEPEN SOME OF THOSE RELATIONSHIPS THAT WE STARTED. LIKE I KNOW OUR STAFF ARE GEARING UP TO GO TO THE AUSTIN POWWOW IN A FEW MONTHS. UM, HOW DO WE CONTINUE TO KIND OF BE IN THOSE SPACES AND SUSTAIN THOSE RELATIONSHIPS? UM, AND WE CONTINUE TO SHARE RESOURCES LIKE WITH OUR RAIN RIVER PARTNERS, FOR INSTANCE, THE IMAGINE AUSTIN SURVEY, IF Y'ALL HAVEN'T SEEN IT, UM, I DEFINITELY RECOMMEND GOING AND TAKING IT. UH, SO THAT'S WHEN WE'VE BEEN SHARING OUT KIND OF, YOU KNOW, WHEN DIFFERENT PARTNERS ARE SEEKING FEEDBACK. WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO GET THE WORD OUT ABOUT THAT AS WELL. ALRIGHT. ALL RIGHT. ONE LAST CHANCE IF ANYONE HAS ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS. OKAY. AARON, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME TONIGHT. WE REALLY APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION. YEAH, THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND IF YOU THINK OF ANYTHING, AMANDA KNOWS WHERE TO FIND ME, UH, SO I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER THINGS OFFLINE AS WELL. THANK YOU SO MUCH. ENJOY THE REST OF YOUR NIGHT. OKAY. MOVING TO THE NEXT [3. Discussion of zoning policies regarding data centers ] ITEM ON THE AGENDA. WE HAVE A DISCUSSION OF ZONING POLICIES REGARDING DATA CENTERS, UH, CHAIR WHITE. I KNOW THAT YOU MENTIONED THAT THERE WAS, UH, SOME THINGS THAT YOU WANTED TO DISCUSS ABOUT THIS, SO PLEASE, YEAH. YEAH. THANK YOU. UM, AND THANK YOU FOR STEPPING INTO CHAIR TONIGHT. I REALLY APPRECIATE IT. UM, SO, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY SOME OF YOU ALREADY, UH, KNOW THIS, BUT THE CITY COUNCIL DID PASS A RESOLUTION, UM, ON AUGUST 27TH THAT INITIATES A PROCESS FOR UP UPDATING THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE, UM, TO DO A COUPLE THINGS. UM, THE FIRST PHASE, UH, IS, UH, DEFINING, UH, LARGE SCALE DATA CENTERS AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK COUNCIL UH, MEMBERS HAVE PRETTY CLEARLY STATED THEIR INTENT IS TO, YOU KNOW, NOT ALLOW THEM IN ANY, UM, ZONING CATEGORY. UM, AND THEN, AND, AND THE RESOLUTION THAT THAT PASSED, UM, SETS THE INTENTION FOR THAT TO COME TO COUNCIL BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR, SO PROBABLY SOMETIME IN DECEMBER. UM, AND THEN THE SECOND PHASE WILL TAKE A LITTLE MORE TIME AND WOULD ESTABLISH MOST LIKELY CONDITIONAL USE, UM, FOR SMALLER SCALE DATA CENTERS, MORE LIKE WHAT AUSTIN ALREADY HAS, HOPEFULLY, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, ESTABLISH CRITERIA THAT THEY MIGHT NEED TO MEET AND, UM, YOU KNOW, ANY OTHER KIND OF REGULATIONS AROUND THEM TO GET THOSE CONDITIONAL USE, UH, AUTHORIZATIONS. UM, I CAN REAL QUICK HERE, MAYBE SHARE, UH, JUST KIND OF RUN THROUGH THE, UM, BASICS OF THE RESOLUTION, UH, SHARING. I'M JUST GONNA, I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS ACTUALLY BEING SHARED AT THIS MOMENT. UM, DID THAT BRING UP, YOU SEEN WE CAN SEE THE MEMO. MEMO, YEP. OKAY. SO, AND I'LL, I'LL, I CAN PUT THESE, UH, I CAN SHARE THESE AROUND FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO, UM, WHATEVER, WANNA DIG IN. BUT THIS IS THE RESOLUTION [00:45:01] AND JUST KIND OF WANTED TO TAKE Y'ALL DOWN TO, TO THE, THE MEAT OF IT. UM, YOU CAN SEE HERE CONSIDERING, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, IN THIS, YOU KNOW, RELEVANT SECTION OF LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE DEFINING DATA CENTERS. AND THAT'S KIND OF THE KEY. AND THIS SORT OF, UM, FOLLOWS A SIMILAR STRATEGY AS SAN MARCOS, UH, HAS USED TO, UH, REGULATE DATA CENTERS THERE. UM, AND YOU KNOW, BASICALLY FIRST THEY HAVE TO DEFINE DATA CENTER AS A SEPARATE, UM, USE. UM, BECAUSE RIGHT NOW THEY'RE, THEY'RE PART OF A, UM, A BROADER CATEGORY. UM, SO THEY NEED TO BE SEPARATED OUT, DEFINED, UM, AND, UH, THEN, YOU KNOW, IDENTIFY ANY ZONING DISTRICTS. WHAT SAN MARCOS DID WAS JUST, YOU KNOW, IDENTIFY THAT THERE WERE NO ZONING DISTRICTS WHERE THEY WERE PERMITTED. UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, ALSO ESTABLISH DIFFERENT, UM, REGULATIONS FOR EACH TYPE OF DATA CENTER USE. UM, AND AGAIN, THIS MIGHT APPLY HERE WITHIN D MORE TO THE SMALLER SCALE, UM, DATA CENTERS. AND, UM, THIS MEMO, YOU KNOW, I, IT, IT DOES SHARE AND I'LL, I'LL CIRCULATE IT AROUND SO THAT YOU'LL HAVE IT, IT DOES SHARE SOME, I THINK, IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON THE CURRENT LANDSCAPE, BUT I THINK IT IS DEFINITELY INCOMPLETE. UM, THERE ARE MORE DATA CENTERS CURRENTLY IN AUSTIN THAN IT, THAN IT IDENTIFIES. UM, AND THAT'S PROBABLY BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THEY ARE NOT CURRENTLY DEFINED, YOU KNOW, SO YOU CAN HAVE A DATA CENTER AND, UM, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN ENERGY OR, YOU KNOW, UM, THE CITY WOULD NOT NECESSARILY BE ABLE TO JUST SEARCH FOR THAT. UM, BUT, UH, WHAT, WHAT WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SEE IS THAT THERE ARE DATA CENTERS THAT, UM, IN AUSTIN UP TO ABOUT, I THINK THE, THE LARGEST ONE IS LIKE 36, UM, MEGAWATTS IN CAPACITY, AND IT IS RIGHT NEXT TO ANOTHER ONE THAT IS 24 MEGAWATTS IN CAPACITY. SO, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE ADJACENT ADDING UP TO ABOUT 60, UM, BUT MOST OF THEM ARE SMALLER THAN THAT. UM, MOST OF THEM ARE 20 MEGAWATTS OR EVEN LESS. A LOT OF THEM ARE, ARE QUITE SMALL. UM, YOU KNOW, MORE OF LIKE, YOU KNOW, JUST PART OF A, AN INDIVIDUAL BUSINESS THAT HAS THEIR OWN, UM, KIND OF DATA, UM, PROCESSING NEEDS, UM, AS OPPOSED TO WHAT WE'RE SEEING BEING BUILT OUT, YOU KNOW, NOW ACROSS TEXAS, WHICH ARE THESE MAMMOTH, UM, FACILITIES THAT ARE MORE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, AI AND, YOU KNOW, GENERATIVE AI AND ALL THAT. UM, BUT SO THESE, THESE REQUIREMENTS HOPEFULLY WILL BE MOSTLY APPLIED TO THESE KIND OF SMALLER SCALE FACILITIES. UM, AND THEN YOU SEE THERE'S JUST KIND OF THE GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS, UM, WHAT TYPES OF PERMITS, UM, YOU KNOW, ANY SORT OF REQUIREMENTS FOR CARBON FREE GENERATION. THESE ARE ALL CONSIDERATIONS, RIGHT? SO IT'S STILL TO BE DETERMINED WHAT OF THIS ACTUALLY MAKES ITS WAY INTO THE FINAL REGULATION. BUT I, I THINK THAT IT IS VERY RELEVANT TO OUR WORK GIVEN THE, UM, LARGE POWER DEMAND THAT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE BIG DATA CENTERS DO HAVE AND, AND THE FACT THAT THEY ARE MOSTLY BEING POWERED BY FOSSIL FUELS. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, IF THERE WAS AN INFLUX HERE IN AUSTIN THAT WOULD MOST LIKELY, UM, YOU KNOW, INCREASE THE DEMAND THAT WOULD UNFORTUNATELY MOST LIKELY BE MET BY FOSSIL FUELS. SO, UM, I THINK, I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO KEEP OUR EYE ON AND, YOU KNOW, MAY POTENTIALLY, UH, WANT TO, UM, YOU KNOW, MAKE A RECOMMENDATION ON DOWN THE ROAD. UH, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THAT'S PRIOR TO THE, UM, DECEMBER MEETING. UM, I WANNA HEAR WHAT Y'ALL THINK. UH, OR MAYBE IT'S, UM, YOU KNOW, SOMETIME IN THE WINTER OR SPRING. UM, AND YOU CAN SEE HERE, UH, ARE SOME OF THE TIMELINES AND OTHER, UH, I GUESS STIPULATIONS IN HERE. YOU CAN SEE THAT 20, UH, MEGAWATTS IS, YOU KNOW, KINDA ONE, UM, UH, THRESHOLD THAT HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED JUST IN TERMS OF THIS REPORTING. THIS DOES NOT STOP ANYTHING. UM, AND IN FACT, YOU KNOW, ONCE A DATA CENTER HAS REQUESTED INTERCONNECTION FROM AUSTIN ENERGY, UM, IT, IT DOES GET TO BE DIFFICULT. AND, YOU KNOW, SIDE NOTE, Y'ALL MAY HAVE SEEN THAT THERE'S THIS, UM, YOU KNOW, DIRECTIVE FROM [00:50:01] GOVERNOR ABBOTT FOR TCQ TO HALT PERMITTING. I THINK, YOU KNOW, IT REMAINS TO BE SEEN WHETHER OR NOT THAT IS, UM, ENFORCEABLE, WHETHER THE TCQ IS GONNA BE ABLE TO DO THAT OR WILL DO THAT OR NOT. SO, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S OVERLAPPING EFFORTS, OBVIOUSLY STATE AND LOCAL, BUT I THINK IT'S A REALLY GOOD THING THAT WE'RE MOVING PROACTIVELY AT THE LOCAL LEVEL BECAUSE, UM, THERE DOES, YOU KNOW, ABSENT STATE ADDITIONAL STATE REGULATION THAT IS REALLY CODIFIED AND NOT JUST IN THE FORM OF THESE, UM, YOU KNOW, KIND OF LETTERS FROM GOVERNOR ABBOTT. UH, YOU KNOW, IT REALLY DOES FALL TO THE CITIES TO ESTABLISH, UH, SOME RESTRICTIONS BECAUSE ONCE, ONCE THEY KINDA GET IN THE PROCESS OF GETTING, UH, CONNECTED TO THE GRID, AUSTIN ENERGY IS NOT ALLOWED TO SAY NO. THEY, THEY, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE TO FIND A WAY TO ACCOMMODATE ESSENTIALLY. UM, RIGHT NOW I THINK THAT IS, IS ON PAUSE, BUT, UH, STILL, SO THIS IS A GOOD TIME FOR US TO BE DOING THIS AS A CITY. UM, YEAH, SO THIS, THIS IS JUST KIND OF ADDITIONAL, UM, PROCESS HERE AND I'LL, I'LL AGAIN SHARE THIS SO THAT EVERYBODY CAN SEE THIS, BUT WANTED TO, YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY WAS AWARE THIS HAD HAPPENED. UM, AND AGAIN, YOU KNOW, YOU'LL HAVE SOME, SOME BACKGROUND HERE AND YOU CAN SEE, UM, THAT THEY, YOU KNOW, STAFF DID IDENTIFY, I THINK A PRETTY GOOD LIST OF MANY OF THE IMPACTS, UH, THAT DO NEED TO BE CONSIDERED. UM, YOU KNOW, IT IS, IT IS NOT JUST AN ENERGY ISSUE OR A WATER ISSUE. IT, IT DOES, UM, IMPACT COMMUNITIES IN PRETTY BROADWAY AND THEN, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE IN HERE PRETTY SURE THAT, YES, SO THEY DID. UM, I JUST KINDA WANTED TO SHARE THIS. UH, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW IF THESE CATEGORIES ARE GOING TO BE, UM, USED IN ANY SORT OF FINAL VERSION OF ANYTHING, BUT THIS IS KIND OF DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF DATA CENTER THAT THEY DEFINED IN THIS MEMO. YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE'S KIND OF OVERLAP IN TERMS OF CAPACITY, UM, IN TERMS OF THE MEGAWATT CAPACITY. UM, YOU KNOW, I WOULD SAY WHAT AUSTIN HAS FALLS INTO THESE FIRST TWO CATEGORIES HERE, UM, AND YOU KNOW, FOR THE MOST PART, UM, YOU KNOW, THESE, THESE ARE, THESE THREE CATEGORIES ARE MORE, UM, WHAT WE SEE GOING ON, UH, YOU KNOW, ACROSS TEXAS AND, AND IN OTHER STATES AS WELL. SO WHERE THAT LINE GETS DRAWN IS, IS OBVIOUSLY REALLY IMPORTANT. UM, YOU KNOW, EVEN A HUNDRED MEGAWATTS DATA CENTER IS MUCH LARGER THAN WHAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE IN AUSTIN AND, AND COULD BE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT. UM, BUT OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE SEEING HYPERSCALE DATA CENTERS OF OVER A THOUSAND MEGAWATTS, SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'LL, WE'LL SEE WHERE THAT LINE GETS DRAWN. SO I'M GONNA STOP SHARING, SEE IF ANYBODY HAS THOUGHTS, UM, YOU KNOW, WOULD LOVE TO INCORPORATE ANY THOUGHTS ANYBODY HAS INTO DRAFTING A FUTURE RECOMMENDATIONS. AND, YOU KNOW, THOUGHTS ON WHEN, WHEN FOLKS WOULD LIKE TO WEIGH IN ON THIS, IF THERE IS A DESIRE TO WEIGH IN, PROVIDE SOME BRIEF INPUT. UM, SO, YOU KNOW, AS WE DISCUSS, UH, THERE WILL BE A LARGE RATE WATER USER MEETING ON OCTOBER 5TH. SO, UH, YOU KNOW, THANK YOU, UM, COMMISSIONER DAVIS FOR, UH, HIGHLIGHTING THAT. BUT I THINK THAT PROVIDING FEEDBACK ON AND WORKING TOGETHER TO KIND OF THINK ABOUT WHAT OUR RECOMMENDATIONS COULD BE, EVEN IF THEY'RE INFORMAL, WILL BE HELPFUL. UH, I WAS READING IN THE NEWS ABOUT HOW, UH, NEAR RIVER PLACE, HOW THERE IS ALREADY A $1 BILLION, UH, DATA CENTER THAT'S BEING BUILT BECAUSE IT WAS PERMITTED BEFORE THE, THE, YOU KNOW, EXISTING LAWS WERE DRAFTED. AND I THINK IT'S LIKE SUPPOSED TO SUPPORT AROUND 50 MEGAWATTS OF CAPACITY. SO, UH, IT'S DEFINITELY A TIMELY DISCUSSION. I THINK FOR ME, THE, THE BIGGEST GAPS THAT I SEE THAT I DON'T NECESSARILY KNOW IF ANYONE'S TALKING ABOUT IS LOOKING AT WHAT YOU'RE PRESENTING. THERE'S A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS ABOUT WATER RECLAMATION AND, UH, YOU KNOW, ESSENTIALLY HOW THAT'S A LESS BAD ALTERNATIVE. I WOULD LIKE TO KIND OF SEE MAYBE [00:55:01] US PROVIDE SOME INPUT ON WHAT ARE SOME OF THE TRADE OFFS THAT PEOPLE NEED TO BE AWARE OF AND THAT WE SHOULD BE CONSIDERING WHEN APPROVING PERMITS LIKE THAT. SO LIKE, HOW DOES THAT IMPACT ELECTRICITY COST? YOU KNOW, HOW DOES THAT IMPACT DOWNSTREAM RIVERS THAT WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT RUNOFF? AND SO, UH, I, I FEEL LIKE THAT'S NOT A PART OF THE DISCUSSION AND I DON'T KNOW HOW WE MAKE IT ONE, BUT I THINK THAT'S WHERE WE COULD ADD VALUE. YEAH, ERIN, I'LL JUST SAY, I, I SHARE THAT CONCERN WHENEVER I, I HEAR THE, UM, YEAH, RE RECLAIMED WATER, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, SORT OF, HEY, WE GOTTA GET 'EM ALL TO USE RECLAIMED WATER. I'M LIKE, WELL, THAT, THAT WATER WAS STILL SUPPOSED TO BE HEADING DOWNSTREAM. UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT LIKE WE USE WATER AND THEN IT'S, IT'S ACTUALLY GONE. IT, YOU KNOW, IT'S USUALLY SUPPOSED TO BE HEADING SOMEWHERE, YOU KNOW, ANYTHING THAT GOES INTO THE WASTEWATER SYSTEM, ANYTHING THAT WOULD BE RECLAIMED WATER. UM, I DO THINK THERE'S MAYBE ONE EXCEPTION TO THAT HERE IN TEXAS, AND THAT IS, UH, WHAT'S CALLED PRODUCED WATER THAT COMES FROM FRACKING. UM, YOU KNOW, THE, UH, LEGISLATURE HAS AUTHORIZED TC TO, UM, YOU KNOW, ALLOW DISCHARGE OF THAT WATER, UM, YOU KNOW, IN INTO TEXAS WATERWAYS, WHICH, UM, PROFESSIONALLY, PERSONALLY I THINK IS, UH, EGREGIOUS, UH, BECAUSE THERE ARE ALL KINDS OF CONTAMINANTS IN THERE THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, WILL NOT BE REMOVED BY, UM, YOU KNOW, MOST WATER TREATMENT OR ANY WATER TREATMENT PROCESS. UM, SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, GIVEN, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY LIKE I WOULD PREFER THAT WATER NOT BE, UH, NOT END UP IN THAT SITUATION. LIKE, UH, I'M, I'M NOT A SUPPORTER OF FRACKING TO START WITH, BUT GIVEN THAT IT'S HAPPENING AND THAT WATER IS THERE, I WOULD RATHER, I GUESS, YOU KNOW, IT BE PUT TO SOME USE NOT HEADING DOWNSTREAM TO SOME FOR SOMEBODY TO DRINK. CERTAINLY I DON'T WANNA DRINK IT. UM, SO YEAH, JUST FLAGGING THAT. I THINK LIKE IN, IN MY BOOK, THAT'S THE, THE KIND OF ONE EXCEPTION, LIKE IF YOU WANNA USE PRODUCED WATER AND CLEAN IT UP ENOUGH TO USE IN YOUR DATA CENTER, THEN I GUESS, UM, THEY CAN HAVE IT , BUT THAT WOULDN'T BE PROBABLY A LIKELY SOURCE HERE LOCALLY. ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR INPUT ABOUT THIS ITEM? I'D PARTICULARLY LOVE TO HEAR IF FOLKS THINK THAT WE SHOULD, SHOULD WE WEIGH IN, UM, YOU KNOW, PRIOR TO DECEMBER, UM, WHEN THEY WILL LIKELY, HOPEFULLY MAKE SOME SORT OF DECISION. AND THAT WOULD DEFINE WHAT IS LARGE SCALE. UM, I THINK THAT'LL BE THE BIG DECISION AT THAT JUNCTURE. SHOULD WE TRY TO WEIGH IN ON THAT? UM, OR YOU KNOW, SHOULD WE JUST WAIT FOR THE KIND OF MORE NUANCED PROCESS FOR A SMALLER SCALE? MAY I, UM, I'D LIKE US TO WEIGH IN. UM, I THINK IT WOULD BE VALUABLE FOR US TO DO SO, AND IT JUST GIVES US A VOTE TO SUPPORT CITY COUNCIL AS WELL, I GUESS IF ONE OF THE COMMISSIONS IS SPEAKING UP AND AGAINST THE DATA CENTERS OR PUTTING OUR OPINION IN THERE. SO THAT'S ALL , SEEING SEVERAL NODS. DOES ANYONE DISAGREE? UH, HAVE AN AL OTHER OPINION ? YEAH, I GUESS, I GUESS I'LL, I'LL DISSENT A LITTLE BIT HERE FIRST. I'LL RECOGNIZE THERE IS SOME IRONY. I LIKE THAT, THAT WE ARE ALL RELYING ON A DATA CENTER TO ADD TO LIKE BE VIRTUAL HERE. UM, BUT, UH, I WILL SAY MY VIEW ON THIS IS THAT LIKE, THIS SEEMS TO BE GETTING A LOT OF ATTENTION AND, UM, OF ALL OF THE, THE MANY THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON IN THE WORLD, THIS SEEMS TO HAVE REALLY CAPTIVATED A BROAD AMOUNT OF POLITICAL INTEREST. UM, LIKE WE ALL AGREE ON LIKE ONE THING IN AMERICA AND IT'S APPARENTLY THIS. UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, I WOULD SAY IF SOMEBODY HAS LIKE STRONG, SHARP, DETAILED, NUANCED POLITICAL OPINIONS, LIKE GO FOR IT. I WOULD SAY PERSONALLY, I FEEL LIKE OTHER PEOPLE SEEM TO HAVE GOT THIS AND THERE'S LIKE A LOT OF THINGS IN MY VIEW LIKE SLIPPED THROUGH THE CRACKS. UM, AND SO YEAH, IF SOMEONE WANTS TO TAKE THIS AND RUN WITH IT, 'CAUSE THEY'RE REALLY JAZZED, LIKE, PLEASE, PLEASE GO FOR IT. HAPPY TO SUPPORT IT. UM, BUT IF SOMEBODY'S LOOKING AT JUGGLING THEIR TIME AND WANTS TO WRITE THIS UP VERSUS SOMETHING ELSE, LIKE, MY, MY VIEW IS THAT I, I PREFER TO SPEND MY TIME KIND [01:00:01] OF LOOKING AND FIGURING OUT WHERE THE EYES AREN'T JUST GIVEN THE MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF ATTENTION ON THIS. YEAH. AND UH, WHAT I, I HEAR YOU SAYING IS THAT IF SOMEONE FEELS PASSIONATE ABOUT IT ON OUR COMMISSION, THAT THEY KIND OF ALSO HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO NOT ONLY DO A LOT OF THE WORK, BUT ALSO EDUCATE PEOPLE ON KIND OF WHY THIS IS NEEDED. WHAT, WHAT VOICE THAT THEY'RE OFFERING THAT MAYBE IS NOT BEING SAID AND WHAT THEY'RE ADDING TO THE DISCUSSION. UH, YOU KNOW, BEFORE KIND OF BRINGING IT BEFORE ALL OF US OH MEAN, I I, YOU DON'T HAVE TO SPEND A LOT OF TIME WINNING ME OVER. WHAT I'M SAYING IS LIKE, IF YOU'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS, LIKE PLEASE GO FOR IT AND DO IT. BUT IF YOU'RE EXCITED ABOUT THIS AND YOU'RE ALSO EXCITED ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE THAT'S MAYBE NOT GETTING ALL THIS ATTENTION, I MAYBE VOTE FOR DOING THE OTHER THING. BUT THIS ISN'T A STRONG OPINION. I, I THINK I GET WHAT YOU'RE SAYING. UM, AND YEAH, I, YOU KNOW, I DON'T THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO, UM, SPEND A TON OF TIME ON. UM, MAYBE I'LL CONNECT WITH HARRIS 'CAUSE I DO THINK THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION HAS, UH, YOU KNOW, TAKING SOME TIME ON THIS AND, AND SEE, YOU KNOW, WHAT THEY'RE PLANNING TO DO AND, UH, YOU KNOW, MAYBE WE'RE IN MORE OF A SUPPORTING ROLE, UH, YOU KNOW, SUPPORTING SOMETHING THAT THEY PASS OR, UM, WORKING, WORKING COLLABORATIVELY. SO I'LL, I'LL CONNECT WITH HIM AND, UH, CIRCLE BACK WITH THE COMMISSION. I DO THINK THAT'S AN IMPORTANT THING FOR US TO KEEP OUR EYE ON. UM, COOL. THANKS EVERYBODY. OH, AND I JUST WANNA, I JUST WANNA MAKE ONE COMMENT ABOUT, ABOUT THE, YES, WE ARE USING A DATA CENTER TO DO THIS. HOWEVER, WE'VE BEEN, WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR YEARS, RIGHT? UM, THIS TECHNOLOGY AS WELL AS ALL EVERYTHING ON OUR PHONE, RIGHT? WE HEAR THIS A LOT, A LOT, RIGHT? WE'VE BEEN TAKING PHOTOS, WE'VE BEEN STREAMING NETFLIX, WE'VE BEEN DOING ALL THESE THINGS THAT ALL EXISTED WITH OUR SMALLER SCALE DATA CENTERS, RIGHT? WE DIDN'T ALL JUST LIKE, YOU KNOW, START USING A HUNDRED TIMES MORE, UM, YOU KNOW, INTERNET, UH, CAPACITY THAN WE WERE THREE, FOUR OR FIVE YEARS AGO, RIGHT? SO THIS, THIS BUILD OUT THAT WE'RE SEEING HERE IN TEXAS AND IN VIRGINIA AND, AND OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY, UH, IT'S, IT'S REALLY ABOUT SUPPORTING GENERATIVE AI. YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S ABOUT SUPPORTING A TOTALLY DIFFERENT THING THAT MOST OF US ARE NOT ACTIVELY, UM, USING IN A SIGNIFICANT WAY. SOME PEOPLE ARE, YOU KNOW, PLAYING WITH SOME OF THE TOOLS. UM, BUT IT, IT IS, IT IS SUBSTANTIALLY DIFFERENT FROM, FROM WHAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT HERE. I, I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION. KABA THOSE DOCUMENTS YOU SHARED, UM, WHERE CAN WE ACCESS THOSE? I'M GONNA SEND THEM TO AMANDA TO HAVE, UH, CIRCULATED, BUT THEY'RE, THEY'RE ALL ON, THEY'RE, THOSE TWO DOCUMENTS ARE, UM, THE EXECUTED RESOLUTION FROM, UH, THE AUGUST 27TH MEETING OF CITY COUNCIL AND THE MEMO THAT, UH, WAS THE SUPPORT DOCUMENTATION. BUT I'LL JUST THANK IT EASY FOR EVERYBODY AND PUT THOSE TWO LINK IN AN EMAIL. SO, ALRIGHT, WELL, I THINK WE CAN MOVE TO THE NEXT [5. Update regarding two new working groups: 1) Local Solar and Storage and process; 2) Long Duration Storage –Charlotte Davis, Resource Management Commission.] ITEM ON THE AGENDA, WHICH IS FOR HOME COMMISSION UPDATES. I SEE THAT WE HAVE AN UPDATE REGARDING TWO NEW WORKING GROUPS, LOCAL SOLAR AND STORAGE AND PROCESS AND LOCAL DURATION STORAGE. COMMISSIONER DAVIS, COULD YOU PLEASE UPDATE US? UH, THANK YOU. UH, VICE CHAIR GON GONZALEZ. YES, . UM, YEAH, JUST BY WAY OF AN UPDATE, I WANTED TO LET THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS KNOW THAT THERE ARE TWO RELATIVELY NEW WORKING GROUPS THAT HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED, UM, JOINT WORKING GROUPS BETWEEN THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION AND THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION. UM, THE FIRST ONE IS ON THE LOCAL SOLAR PERMITTING AND INSTALLATION PROCESS. UM, AS MANY, UM, FOLKS, I, I IMAGINE KNOW THAT IT CAN BE A LENGTHY AND ONEROUS PROCESS TO GET SOLAR PANELS INSTALLED AND, AND OR BATTERIES, UM, INSTALLED. UM, MOSTLY RESIDENTIAL IS WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. UM, THERE'S A LONG TIMELINE, THERE'S A LOT OF STEPS, THERE'S A LOT OF, UM, UH, SOME, SOME MIGHT SAY RED TAPE. UM, AND SO THERE IS AN INTEREST AMONG SOME FOLKS ON THE TWO COMMISSIONS AS WELL AS SOME, UH, FOLKS FROM SOLAR AUSTIN OR LOCAL CONTRACTORS THAT WORK ON THIS TO TRY AND STREAMLINE THE PROCESS. UH, AND SO [01:05:01] THEY HAVE, UH, FORMED A GROUP TO WORK WITH, UH, THE RELEVANT FOLKS AT AUSTIN ENERGY, AUSTIN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES AND, UM, ANY OTHER DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE INVOLVED IN THIS TO SEE IF THERE'S WAYS TO MAKE IT MORE SEAMLESS, UM, AND THEREBY ENCOURAGE, UM, GREATER ADOPTION OF LOCAL, UM, SOLAR AND, UH, BATTERY STORAGE. THE SECOND, UH, WORKING GROUP IS AROUND LONG DURATION ENERGY STORAGE. AND THIS COULD BE, UH, LONG DURATION, UM, BATTERIES. IT COULD BE THERMAL, IT COULD BE, UH, YOU KNOW, ANY OTHER TECHNOLOGIES. AND THE IDEA BEHIND THAT IS TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW LONG-TERM ENERGY, LONG DURATION ENERGY STORAGE CAN, UH, PLAY A COST EFFECTIVE ROLE IN, UH, FUTURE AUSTIN ENERGY RESOURCE PLANS. SO, UM, LEARNING WHAT TECHNOLOGIES ARE, ARE, UM, ALREADY COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE OR ON THE CUSP OF BECOMING AVAILABLE, UM, WHERE THEY'RE BEING USED, MAYBE LOOKING AT SOME CASE STUDIES, UM, UNDERSTANDING THE COSTS AND, UM, HOW, UH, HOW THEY MIGHT FACTOR INTO, UH, COMBINED, UM, RESOURCE PLANNING ANALYSES, UM, AND HOW THEY CAN MAYBE MODERATE COSTS, UM, INCLUDING CONGESTION COSTS. SO IF YOU WANNA GEEK OUT ON EITHER OF THOSE AND ARE INTERESTED IN, UH, YOU KNOW, JOINING OR, OR LISTENING IN ON EITHER OF THOSE, UM, WORKING GROUPS, I LET ME KNOW. I CAN PUT YOU IN, IN CONTACT WITH THE FOLKS THAT ARE DOING THAT. AND ALSO, I WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE, I, I BELIEVE CHAIR WHITE IS MAYBE INVOLVED IN, IN ONE OR BOTH OF THOSE AS WELL. AND YOU, IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD, PLEASE, YOU KNOW, PLEASE DO. UH, YEAH, I'M ON BOTH OF THOSE. UM, THE ONE FOCUSED ON SOLAR AND, UM, HOME BATTERY PERMITTING, MET FOR THE FIRST TIME ON MONDAY, UM, STARTED, YOU KNOW, JUST DIGGING IN ON THE INFORMATION. AND, UH, WE'LL BE MEETING MONTHLY ON THE THIRD MONDAY FOR THE MOST PART. UM, THE OTHER ONE I THINK, UH, IS SET TO MEET FOR THE FIRST TIME, I THINK THE FIRST WEEK OF OCTOBER, I THINK IT LOOKS LIKE. YEAH, FIRST THURSDAY OF THE MONTH. YEAH. YEAH, YEAH, YEAH. NEXT THURSDAY. AND YEAH, I THINK THE LONG DURATION STORAGE, YOU KNOW, UM, TOPIC IS, IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT FOR, YOU KNOW, ESTABLISHING, UH, YOU KNOW, AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE PEAKERS MM-HMM . SO THAT IS, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY A PIECE OF, OF THE MISSION THERE, AT LEAST, AT LEAST FOR SOME OF US. FOR SURE. THAT'S ALL I HAD. ALRIGHT. AWESOME. AND MOVING TO THE FUTURE [FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ] AGENDA ITEMS, JUST IF, DOES ANYONE HAVE ANYTHING THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO ADD TO A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM, UH, RIGHT NOW? AND IF NOT, WE CAN TAKE IT OFFLINE AND I DON'T SEE ANYTHING. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. WELL THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR THE ATTENTION AND THE VALUABLE INPUT TONIGHT. UH, I DON'T BELIEVE WE NEED A VOTE TO ADJOURN THE MEETING, SO THERE'S NO OBJECTION. MEETING IS ADJOURNED. THANK YOU. 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.