[00:00:05]
THANK YOU FOR THAT.[Call to Order]
I'M THE CHAIR OF THE COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION CALLING TO ORDER OUR SPECIAL MEETING TODAY, JUNE 12TH, I'LL BEGIN WITH A ROLL CALL AND PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT OF GUIDANCE FOR THE CALL.I'M GOING TO ASK EACH MEMBER, UH, ONCE I PROVIDE YOUR NAME TO CONFIRM YOUR ATTENDANCE AND THROUGHOUT THE CALL, UH, AS YOU HAVE QUESTIONS WOULD BE SO KINDNESS, TRY TO WAVE YOUR HANDS, UH, TO GET MY ATTENTION, THEN I CAN ANNOUNCE YOU FOR QUESTIONING ELEMENTARY.
MY NAME IS NEHEMIAH PITS AND I WAS APPOINTED BY A DISTRICT ONE.
I'D LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND PROCEED THROUGH THE ROLL CALL.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER MALCOLM EATS PLEASANT.
COMMISSIONER MICHELLE REINHART PRESENT.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER CLAUDIA.
DENNIS IS NOT PRESENT COMMISSIONER DAVID FLOYD.
I'M YOUR MISSION AS SUMMIT DUSKO PRESIDENT.
AND LASTLY, COMMISSIONER NICOLE THOMPSON IS ALSO NOT PRESENT.
[Item 1]
WE'LL GO AHEAD AND PROCEED WITH THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.ALL RECEIVED THOSE IN OUR INBOX, LOOKING FOR A MOTION TO APPROVE AND A SECOND
GO AHEAD AND DO A VERBAL VOTE ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE MINUTES AS PRESENTED, PLEASE SAY, AYE, ANYONE OPPOSED TO THE MINUTES, RATHER THAN OPPOSED TO THE MINUTES AS PRESENTED, PLEASE SAY SO NOW THE MINUTES ARE APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY.
WE'LL GO AHEAD AND PROCEED WITH THE AGENDA.
AND I'D LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND GET A CLARIFICATION AS THE AGENDA THAT I HAVE POSTED DOES NOT LIST CITIZEN COMMUNICATION AND THE AGENDA.
CAN YOU PLEASE CONFIRM THE TIMING? I BELIEVE THAT WE SHOULD LEAD WITH THE CITIZENS COMMUNICATION.
THAT WAS LIKELY A UNINTENDED PASTE ERROR.
[Additional Item]
WITH THAT.THEN I'D LIKE TO THANK JOSEPH FOR DELVING IN AND WELCOME YOU TO GO AHEAD AND COMMUNICATE WITH US.
THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN PITTS AND MEMBERS ANS ENOVIA, JOSEPH.
ACTUALLY, MY COMMENTS ARE RELATED TO YOUR AGENDA ITEM TO BE NEW BUSINESS, WHICH TALKS ABOUT THE CITY OF AUSTIN WEBSITE.
I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE WHAT YOU PLAN TO DISCUSS, BUT I DID WANT TO CALL TO YOUR ATTENTION, AT LEAST ON THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS PAGE.
IT WAS HELPFUL TO ACTUALLY HAVE THE PANEL ON THE SIDE.
AT ONE POINT THERE WAS A CALENDAR AND IT ALLOWED THE CITIZENS WHO WANTED TO PARTICIPATE TO SEE WHAT WAS COMING UP.
SO I'M NOT SURE WHY THAT INADVERTENTLY WENT AWAY, BUT IF YOU COULD MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO PUT THAT BACK ON THE CITY'S WEBPAGE, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
OTHERWISE YOU HAVE TO CLICK ON EACH BOARD OR COMMISSION THAT YOU WANT TO TESTIFY ON.
THE OTHER COMMENT THAT I WAS GOING TO MAKE A SPECIFICALLY RELATE IT TO FOUR EIGHT, WHICH IS DIGITAL INCLUSION, CIVIC ENGAGEMENT.
I JUST WANTED TO SPEAK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE CITY USING WEBEX.
[00:05:01]
LIKE A VERIZON COMMERCIAL THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE MEETING.AND IF THERE'S A WAY FOR YOU TO MAKE A RECOMMENDATION SPECIFICALLY OF WATCH HARRIS COUNTY COMMISSIONER'S COURT AND THEY USE ZOOM IS WHAT I BELIEVE WHERE THE SPEAKER IS ACTUALLY ENLARGED IN EVERYBODY.
ELSE'S JUST AN ICON OR A LITTLE, UH, UM, NAIL AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE HAVE ALSO WATCHED CAPITOL METRO'S BOARD MEETINGS AND THEIR VERY FIRST MEETING ON OR ABOUT APRIL 20TH WAS MICROSOFT MEETING AND THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANY GLITCHES IN THAT MEETING.
THE LAST MEETING THAT I PARTICIPATED IN WAS A LITTLE BIT OF A GLITCH, BUT YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE CLEARLY AND YOU CAN HEAR THE SPEAKERS, THE OTHER BEST PRACTICE THAT I WOULD SHARE WITH YOU, THAT WOULD BE FAR MORE USER FRIENDLY IS TRAVIS COUNTY COMMISSIONER'S COURT.
THEY SIMPLY PUT THE NUMBER ON THE SCREEN AND YOU CAN CALL IN THROUGHOUT THE MEETING AND IT'S ENTIRETY.
SO FOR A MATTER OF TRANSPARENCY, MY OTHER COMMENTS WHO YOU IS TO PLEASE, PLEASE PLEASE ASK THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE TO POST THE INSTRUCTIONS IN RED FONT ON THE MAIN WEBSITE OR THE MAIN PAGE FOR EACH BOARDS AND COMMISSION, YOU HAVE TO CLICK ON THE PDF AND THEN THE INFORMATION IS BURIED THERE.
AND THE REASON I'M MAKING THESE COMMENTS IS THERE'S A DATA SHARING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND CARES ACT BLOG THAT I FOUND BY AN ATTORNEY, JEREMY MEISINGER IS HIS NAME APRIL 8TH, 2020 IS THE DATE.
AND HE BASICALLY SAID NEARLY EVERY CATEGORY OF SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING CONTAINS FUNDING TO ENABLE GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES TO HAVE THAT REMOTE WORKING OR TO REMOTE WORKING IN THE ACT, ALSO CONTAINS FUNDING FOR GOVERNMENT WIDE INITIATIVES TO PROMOTE USE OF VIRTUAL PRIVATE NETWORKS, DIGITAL SIGNATURE TECHNOLOGY AND WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT.
AND SO IT ALSO GOES ON TO TALK ABOUT CYBER SECURITY AND CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND SO MY POINT IS, AND I'VE MENTIONED THIS TO MAYOR ADLER BEFORE IS THAT THERE'S FUNDING IN THE CARE ZACK.
AND SO WHILE THEY HAVE THE FUNDING, IT WOULD BE BETTER TO UPGRADE TO A SYSTEM THAT'S MORE USER FRIENDLY AND ONE THAT'S CLEAR SO THAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY HEAR THE PEOPLE THAT ARE CALLING IN AND AS IT RELATES TO THE DIGITAL DIVIDE, I JUST WANT TO ASK IF THERE'S ANY WAY POSSIBLE FOR YOU TO POST LIKE SUGGESTIONS ON THE WEBSITE THAT RELATE SPECIFICALLY TO THE CARE ZACK AND DIFFERENT TYPES OF FUNDING THAT'S AVAILABLE.
AND THE REASON I SAY THAT IS BECAUSE RIGHT NOW YOU HAVE TRAVIS COUNTY COMMISSIONER'S COURT.
FOR EXAMPLE, THEY GET SOME FUNDING THROUGH THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, THROUGH THE RISE AT A FUND, IF YOU WILL, BUT THEY ARE ACTUALLY TRYING TO USE THEIR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT, CORONA VIRUS FUNDS, AND ONE OF THE PROVIDERS RECOMMENDED DIGITAL ACCESS AND THERE'S OTHER FUNDING THAT COULD BE USED FOR THAT.
AND SO RATHER THAN THE MUSIC, THE LIMITED DOLLARS THAT THEY HAVE FOR TECHNOLOGY AND I'LL WRAP UP, UM, FOR TECHNOLOGY, IT WOULD BE HELPFUL IF THEY KNEW ABOUT OTHER SOURCES.
AND SO IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'LL GLADLY ANSWER THEM AT THIS TIME.
AND THANK YOU FOR TAKING MY COMMENTS.
IT'S JOSEPH, BUT THAT'S OKAY, GO AHEAD.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR, FOR YOUR CONFERENCE, JOSEPH.
UH, MY APOLOGIES FOR THAT, UM, I WANT TO ASK ONE CLARIFYING QUESTION OF 10.
YOU PLEASE CONFIRM AGAIN, 70, IT WAS A CALENDAR THAT YOU WANTED TO SEE RETURN BACK THAT HAD, UH, IT WAS SCHOOL DAY, A FORM CALENDAR THAT YOU WERE ABLE TO CLICK THROUGH.
IS THAT WHAT YOU WERE REFERRING TO? RIGHT.
SO I FIRST CAME TO FIND YOUR ACTUAL COMMISSION JUST BASED ON THE TITLE.
SO THERE WAS A CALENDAR ON THE RIGHT, LIKE A LITTLE SCROLLING BAR AND IT JUST HAD WHAT MEETINGS AND WHAT BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS WERE COMING UP.
SO YOU COULD CLICK ON THE ACTUAL DAY AND THEN IT BROUGHT UP WHATEVER MEETINGS WERE COMING UP.
AND THEN IF SOMETHING WAS CANCELED, IT SHOWED THAT IT WAS CANCELED.
AND SO I JUST INADVERTENTLY THOUGHT TECHNOLOGY.
AND BECAUSE I HAD THESE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS, I THOUGHT, OH, WELL, IT'S, YOU KNOW, I SHOULD JUST TELL THE TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION, BUT UNFORTUNATELY IT WAS THE DAY THAT YOU WERE MEETING AND I WAS TOO LATE TO SIGN UP.
IT'S DIFFERENT FROM WHEN YOU'RE IN PERSON, YOU CAN SIGN THEM THE SAME DAY.
SO I THEN SENT YOU INFORMATION.
AND YOU MENTIONED IN YOUR LAST MEETING, WE HAD SOME COMMENT, BUT OF COURSE SHE DIDN'T SAY EXACTLY WHAT THE COMMENT WAS, BUT IT WAS ACTUALLY ON THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS WEB PAGE ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, IT WAS JUST A LITTLE CALENDAR AND YOU COULD ACTUALLY CLICK THE CALENDAR AND SEE WHAT WAS COMING UP.
NOW, THE ONLY THING YOU SEE AS THE DROPDOWN MENU THAT HAS ALL THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ALPHABETIZED, BUT THAT IS NOT USER FRIENDLY
[00:10:01]
BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR TO CLICK ON THE BOARD OR COMMISSION THAT YOU'RE INTERESTED IN.WHEREAS IT'S JUST EASIER IF YOU SEE IT BY THE DAY.
UM, AND IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO HAVE THAT THE SPEAKER NEEDS TO REGISTER IN ADVANCE SINCE THAT'S TOTALLY DIFFERENT FROM IN-PERSON SAME DAY SERVICE.
UM, AND I DON'T MEAN TO BE LONG WINDED, BUT JUST SO YOU KNOW, WHAT THE NEW PROCESS IS, IT REQUIRES YOU TO NOW RELEASE A PHONE NUMBER TO THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE, WHICH I HAVE PUSHED BACK ON AND NOT DONE.
SO YESTERDAY THEY ALLOWED ME TO JUST CALL AND HE GAVE HIM THE INFORMATION LIKE CALLING IN FOR YOUR MEETING.
AND I JUST WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THERE ARE PEOPLE IN GROUP HOMES AND, YOU KNOW, THE, EVEN THE ARCH THAT DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO A DIRECT PHONE, THEY MIGHT GET AN INCOMING CALL, BUT NOT ALWAYS.
SO IT'S IMPORTANT FOR THEM TO JUST HAVE THAT INFORMATION AND BE ABLE TO ACCESS TECHNOLOGY AND JUST CALL IN HOWEVER THEY CAN MAYBE BORROW A PHONE OR WHATEVER.
BUT, UM, THE LAST THING I'LL TELL YOU ABOUT THAT IS GOVERNMENT COACH AFTER FIVE, FIVE, TWO PUBLIC INFORMATION HAS PROVISIONS THAT ACTUALLY ACCEPT, UH, PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION FROM DISCLOSURE.
AND THAT INCLUDES THE PHONE NUMBER.
UM, IT COULD BE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND DIFFERENT REASONS THAT ARE SPECIFIED.
SO IT'S NOT A GOOD PRACTICE TO REQUIRE, UH, THE PHONE NUMBER, BUT THAT'S A LONG ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION, BUT THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO MAKE THOSE COMMENTS.
WELL, THANK YOU FOR YOUR, UH, FOR YOUR COMMENTS.
I DO WANT TO MENTION A COUPLE OF THINGS BEFORE I OPEN IT UP TO THE REST OF THE COMMISSIONERS FOR COMMENTS, WHICH I'LL ASK THAT THEY ARE QUESTIONS THAT THEY'LL BE BRIEF, UH, AS YOU VERY WELL MAY BE AWARE BASED UPON, UH, HOW INVOLVED YOU ARE IN THE COMMUNITY AND WITH THE WEBSITE THAT OUR WEBSITE HAS RECENTLY GONE UNDER SOME, UH, EVOLUTION, AND AS A RESULT, CERTAIN THINGS HAVE BEEN CHANGED.
UH, THERE WAS A CONCERTED EFFORT TO WORK TO STREAMLINE THE WEBSITE.
HOWEVER, I'M CONFIDENT THAT THERE WAS NO INTENTIONAL EFFORT TO REMOVE FUNCTIONALITY.
WHAT I'LL COMMIT TO AS CHAIR IS TO TAKE US UP WITH THE COMMISSION APPROPRIATE WORKING GROUP, AS WELL AS YOUR OTHER CONCERNS, FRANKLY, WHICH ARE ALL I THINK ADDRESSABLE, AND THEN TO HAVE DISCUSSION AND ACTION.
I DO WANT TO MAKE MENTION OF THE FACT THAT WE'RE USING WEBEX AS, UH, THE OFFICIALLY SANCTIONED PLATFORM, UH, BY THE CITY.
EVEN THOUGH WE UNDERSTAND THAT THERE MAY BE OTHER PLATFORMS USED IN OTHER ENTERPRISE DEPARTMENTS, HAVING SAID THAT WE WILL BE ANALYZING, UH, THIS PLATFORM FOR ITS EFFECTIVENESS COMPARED TO OTHER PLATFORMS AND TAKE ALL THE FEEDBACK INTO CONSIDERATION.
UM, SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE ALL THE GROUP OF SPEAKERS, ANY COMMISSIONERS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, OR WE CONTINUE
IT LOOKS LIKE THERE ARE NO QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS.
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR TIME AND FOR THE FUTURE SECTION.
WITH THAT, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND LET'S SEE WHAT THE AGENDA NOW UNDER AGENDA ITEM, NUMBER TWO, WE HAVE SEVERAL THINGS TO COVER.
HOWEVER, A CONSIDERATION AS IS COMMON PRACTICE FOR OUR VISITORS AND OUR PRESENTERS.
I WOULD LIKE TO SHUFFLE THAT AROUND JUST A LITTLE BIT.
UH, WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO DO IS TO PRIORITIZE, UH, THE ELECTION OF OFFICERS, UH, AND THEN FOR US TO TRANSITION TO AN ITEM THREE, ALLOW FOR THAT PRESENTATION ON, THROUGH THE WIFI.
UH, AND THEN WE CAN RETURN BACK THEN THE BUSINESS, BUT, UH, I'D LIKE TO SEE IF, UH, I'M MAKING A MOTION FOR THAT, A CHANGE IN THE AGENDA.
I'D LIKE TO SEE IF, IF THERE'S A SECOND FOR THAT, JUST TO BE ABLE TO PULL THE SCHEDULE.
DARRYL, DO WE HAVE SOMEONE HERE TO SPEAK TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN WEBSITE STATUS TODAY?
UH, SO THAT'S GOING TO BE A BRIEF, UH, ITEM ON OUR AGENDA THAT WE'LL DISCOVER.
WE'LL BASICALLY DISCUSS WHAT WE'VE DONE TO TRY TO GET INFORMATION TO SHARE WITH THE PUBLIC.
BUT UNFORTUNATELY IT WON'T BE HERE.
I SECOND THE MOTION TO CHANGE THE AGENDA ITEMS. YES.
RIGHT? THE MOTION THAT WAS MADE BY MYSELF AS CHAIR AND THEN SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER NEEDS ALL IN FAVOR OF CHANGING THE AGENDA TO ALLOW FOR STAFF AND COMMUNITY BRIEFINGS.
THE AGENDA CHANGE IS UNANIMOUS.
[00:15:01]
WE'LL GO AHEAD AND PROCEED, UH, FIRST WITH THE ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND THEN WE'LL ALLOW OUR STAFF AND COMMUNITY BRIEFINGS.[Item 2A]
OKAY.NOW WITH THE ELECTION OF OFFICERS, ALTHOUGH I'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN SEVERAL, UH, THIS IS MY FIRST ACTUALLY OFFICIATING OF THE ELECTION PROCESS AS CHAIR.
UH, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT WE TYPICALLY GO, UH, WE START WITH THE ELECTION OF THE CHAIR, VICE CHAIR, AND THEN YOU SEE TO THE WORKING GROUP CHAIRS.
IS THAT CORRECT, JESSE? YES, THAT IS CORRECT.
UM, I ACTUALLY DON'T BELIEVE THAT WE'VE HELD ELECTIONS FOR THE WORKING GROUP CHAIRS IN THE PAST.
I BELIEVE WE HAVE SELECTED THOSE IN THE, UH, THE WORKING GROUP, UH, OR THE, UH, THE RETREAT SESSIONS, BUT I, IF WE WOULD LIKE TO DO THAT AT THIS MEETING, THAT IS FINE AS WELL.
WELL, THANK YOU FOR CALLING THAT OUT.
I DO NOT SUGGEST WE ADD ANY COMPLEXITY IN LINE OF OUR SCHEDULE.
UH, SO WE'LL GO AHEAD AND LEND IT TO THE CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR.
UH, W WITH THAT BEING SAID, I CERTAINLY WANT TO MAKE IT CLEAR THAT I WOULD BE HONORED REMAIN CHAIR, UM, AND LIKE MY HAT IN THE RING, BUT WE'D LIKE TO OPEN IT, BRING ANY THE NOMINATIONS FOR CHAIR
WE HAVE A MOTION TO NOMINATE ME FOR CHAIR.
THAT'S BEEN SECOND TO, UH, IS THERE ANY OTHER MOTIONS OR INTERESTING IN PARTICIPATING, COMPETING TO BE CHAIR
SO WITH THAT SAID, THEN, UH, I THINK WE CAN GO AHEAD AND SAY, THERE'S ONLY ONE NOMINEE ME, AND I APPRECIATE THAT.
UH, ALL IN FAVOR OF, OF THE NOMINATION MADE BY COMMISSIONER, YOU GOT SCOOPED UP, UH, TO REELECT ME CHAIR, PLEASE SAY HI.
UM, THE NOMINATION WAS MADE BY, UM, CONVENTIONAL COMMERCIAL DOES SCOPE THE SECOND.
DID IT THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING LAST.
I WANT TO MAKE SURE IT'S, UH, LET THE RECORD REFLECT THAT IT WAS MADE AS COMMISSIONER DUSK, AND TO JUST CORRECT IT.
UH, I WILL GO AHEAD AND ABSTAIN BECAUSE I CAN, UH, AND STILL BE ELECTED.
SO I APPRECIATE THE SUPPORT WITH THAT.
WE'LL GO AHEAD AND YES, OPEN IT UP TO NOMINATIONS FOR VICE CHAIR.
I PERSONALLY LIKE TO RENOMINATE, UH, VICE CHAIR ALEXANDER, UH, AND WE'LL CERTAINLY OPEN IT UP TO ANY OTHER NOMINATIONS AT THIS POINT.
NO, I SUBSTANCE IN DOMINO'S NOTES.
SO A NOMINATION FOR MY SHELL ZANDERS NAVAL ITSELF, AND SECOND, WE HAVE ANY OTHER NOMINATIONS FOR VICE CHAIR.
SO WITH THAT, THEN WE'LL GO AHEAD AND HOLD A, HOLD A VOTE ALL IN FAVOR OF RE-ELECTING MISSION OF DAVID ALEXANDER AS VICE CHAIR, PLEASE SAY, HI, WAVE YOUR HAND.
AND, UM, AND I THINK, UH, THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR THE SUPPORT, UH, AS, AS VICE CHAIR, DEFINITELY CHEATED AND HONORED TO HELP IN THIS CAPACITY.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH IF I SHALL XANDER AND JUST TO MAKE IT OFFICIAL, ALL OPPOSED.
UH, NO ONE COURSES IS SAYING I CAN, IT'S ALREADY NANNA PLUS MINUS A VICE CHAIR.
SO YOU'VE NOW REELECTED CHAIR.
[Item 3]
THAT BEING SAID, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND PROCEED WITH OUR AGENDA.NOW, JUMPING FORWARD, AS WE ALL AGREED TO STATUS BRIEFINGS, UH, OUR PRESENTATION ON COMMUNITY WIFI, MY AST AT METRO IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR ALL OF OUR DISTINGUISHED SPEAKERS.
THIS IS JOHN THERE'S PROGRAM MANAGER IN THE OFFICE OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS.
UM, I WILL BE INTRODUCING THE PRESENTATION TODAY AND OUR RESEARCH, UH, SHOWING BOTH IN ONE SECOND, SHARE MY SCREEN WITHOUT MESSING UP TYRELL, WEBEX
[00:20:01]
EXCELLENT.SO TODAY'S BRIEFING, UM, ALSO ALIGNS WITH A RECENT JOINT, UH, SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE, UH, RESOLUTION THAT WAS ADOPTED TO IDENTIFY POSSIBLE PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS AND FUNDING TO EXPAND ACCESS TO THE INTERNET FOR LOW INCOME.
MAYBE IT'S A COLOR WHICH HAS DISPROPORTIONATELY LOW LEVEL OF INTERNET ACCESS.
THE CITY SHOULD IDENTIFY POSSIBLE PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP FUNDING TO CREATE FREE WIFI CONNECTION OR FOR INCOME QUALIFIED.
AND WITH THAT, I WILL INTRODUCE THE BRIEFING TODAY.
THIS WILL BE ENOUGH WEIGHT, THE WIFI INTERNET ACCESS TO THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY THAT HAS BEEN PROVIDED, UH, AS IT RELATES TO THE COVID-19 CORRESPOND LEADING.
UH, THE NEXT SLIDE WILL BE THE CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER.
KEVIN SCHWARTZ WILL FOLLOW WITH A Y UM, MELISSA, THE ORG KEY NEW ENGAGEMENT COORDINATOR TO SUPPORT, UM, JANE SHORTER, THE VICE PRESIDENT CIO HASKELL METRO.
THE SLIDE FOLLOWING WILL BE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE BOSTON ROLE WITH RELATION TO NEXT STEPS THAT THE MISSION WOULD RECOMMEND TO BE AUTHENTICALLY HELPFUL IN SUPPORT OF THE, UH, RESOLUTION FROM THE JOINT INABILITY.
AND WITH THAT, I WILL INTRODUCE THE NEXT SLIDE AND EVERY SHORT CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER WITH AUSTIN.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE YOU AN UPDATE, DARK DATA, BUT IT'S CERTAINLY COMMON, UH, ACUTE AND WIDESPREAD AND CRUCIAL OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS, AS WE'VE GONE THROUGH THIS HAND IN A CRISIS AND ALTERED THE WAY THAT WE PROVIDE MANY SERVICES FOR OUR STUDENTS FROM SERVICES, HEALTH SERVICES, AND EDUCATION.
I NOTICED THE CONNECTION I HAVE IS NOT GOOD IF THERE'S BACKGROUND NOISE.
I HOPE THAT THAT WOULD PASS SHORTLY.
UM, WHAT I WANTED TO, UH, SHE SORT OF, UH, I THINK SHE WAS PUT OFF BY HIS SON AND WHAT WE STILL SEE AS NEEDING TO BE DONE TO HELP BRIDGE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE.
WE ARE ACCELERATING THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS TO PROVIDE A STUDENT TO CAN BE A RATIO OF ONE TO ONE.
THIS IS THROUGH A MIX OF CHROMEBOOKS AND IPADS.
WE'VE ALSO BEEN PURSUING AND BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN RECEIVING GRANTS WITH A VARIETY OF CARRIERS FROM VERIZON AND SPRINT, AND T-MOBILE, UH, TO PROVIDE HOTSPOTS FOR OUR STUDENTS.
SOME OF THOSE BE SHARED THE COSTS ON SORT OF OUTRIGHT GRANTS.
UM, WE HAD DISTRIBUTED FOR EXAMPLE, SIX THOUSAND EIGHT THOUSAND THAT WE HAD ACCESS TO AT THIS POINT AND ARE PRIORITIZING THE REMAINDER OF THOSE IN SUCH A WAY THAT, UM, LET ME BACK UP A SECOND AND SAY THAT THEY'VE ALL GONE TO STUDENTS WHO ARE LOW INCOME AS DEFINED BY THEIR, UM, ACCESS TO THE PRIVILEGED LUNCH PROGRAM.
UM, THE SHORTAGE IS SO ACUTE THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY NOW ONLY PROVIDING THEM TO STUDENTS WHO ARE ALL ON THE LUNCH PROGRAM.
AND WE HAVE A VERY LONG WAIT, IF YOU THINK ABOUT THE CONTEXT WE KNEW WE HAD STUDENTS WITHOUT INTERNET ACCESS.
SO WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO SOLVE THAT THE CREDIT HAS PUT PARENTS AT HOME WITH STUDENTS.
SOMETIMES THAT'S THE STUDENTS ALL WORKING FROM HOME AND ALL DOING WHAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, VIDEO CONFERENCING, AUDIO CONFERENCING, AND WORK THROUGHOUT THE DAY.
IT'S NOT JUST A HOMEWORK APP ANYMORE.
IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A FAMILY GAP.
IT IS, UM, AN ISSUE OF, OF HEALTH.
UM, HOW, HOW FAMILIES RECEIVE NEWS THAT ARE GOING ON IN THEIR COMMUNITY.
UM, IT'S AFFECTING OUR TRAFFIC IN THE CITY.
IT AFFECTS HOW PEOPLE GET FOOD.
UM, I'LL SAY THE IS DELIVERED MORE THAN HALF A MILLION RULES ACROSS THE CITY DURING THIS TIME, BUT IT'S FAMILIES DON'T KNOW WHERE TO GO, THEN IT'S AN ISSUE OF FOOD.
AND SO I BRING THIS IMC THAT I THINK IT'S A MUTUAL CONCERN BECAUSE IT CROSSES SO MANY LINES.
IT'S NOT JUST A TECHNOLOGY ISSUE ANYMORE.
IT'S NOT JUST AN EDUCATION ISSUE.
IT REALLY IS, YOU KNOW, ACUTE, UM, I'LL SAY I IS, IS, HAS STEPPED IN, IN EVERY WAY THAT WE CAN, INCLUDING, UH, DEPLOYING SCHOOL BUSES THAT WERE BUILT FOR STUDENT ACCESS WHILE RIDING THE BUS AND NOW THEY'RE OR ANYTHING, BUT THEY ARE PARKED IN APARTMENT COMPLEXES IN MANY CASES, PROVIDING, UM, SIGNAL INTO APARTMENT COMPLEXES.
AND THEN WE CAN DO THIS FOR A WHILE TO SOLVE A PORTION OF THE PROBLEM, BUT IT'S NOT SUSTAINABLE.
[00:25:01]
TO MEETING THE ENTIRE PROBLEM IT'S ABANDONED ON THE AGRA FALLS.UM, SO WE ALSO HAVE SET OUT ON, ON INITIALLY TO TRY TO FIND OUT WHAT COULD WE DO AS AUSTIN ISD AND WITH POTENTIAL PARTNERS.
SO MAYBE SOLVE THIS COMPREHENSIVELY AND IT BEGINS WITH A LOOK AT DATA.
UM, WE SEE NOT TO A SURPRISE, UNFORTUNATELY, THAT IT'S, AGAIN, THE COMMUNITIES THAT ARE LOW INCOME, BUT MOST LIKELY DO NOT HAVE INTERNET ACCESS OR SUFFICIENT ACCESS.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE COMMONLY CALLED THE CRESCENT, NOT TO NOT TO UTILIZE IT, BUT THE SHAPE OF THE DATA ON THE MAP INDICATES AREAS OF LOW INCOME AND MINORITY FAMILIES IN THE CASES THAT DO NOT HAVE ACCESS AND RIP.
THESE ARE FRONTLINE WORKERS IN MANY CASES.
SO WE ALSO SEE THAT THAT BASED ON GEOGRAPHY, NOT ONE SOLUTION WILL SOLVE IT.
WE SEE IT BEING POTENTIALLY A HYBRID MIX OF, UH, PERHAPS BUILDING A PRIVATE LTE NETWORK, IF WE NEED TO, UM, USING POINT TO POINT, UH, PUMPS OR POINTS IN LTE WIRELESS SYSTEMS. TO ME CONNECT SOME HIGH DENSITY HOUSING UNITS.
UM, WE'RE TALKING WITH SAN ANTONIO AND SEEING THAT THEY'RE ACCELERATING THE PLANS, HOW THEY CAN TAKE OUR MODEL FORGOTTEN AND TAKE IT FARTHER TO PROVIDING, YOU KNOW, MAYBE COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE IN THEIR CITY, UM, DOING IT AS PARTNERSHIP THAT WAY WE SEE CARRIER ACCESS AS LTE BEING HEARTLESS, SOME OF THE GRANT.
AND SO THE PURCHASED, UM, BUT THE PRIMARY THING HERE IS THE TIMING IS PARAMOUNT.
WE HAVE MAYBE A SLIGHT BREATHER WHERE IT'S NOT AS BAD RIGHT NOW BECAUSE WE'RE IN SUMMERTIME, BUT TO PULL OFF ANYTHING SIGNIFICANT FOR THE START OF SCHOOL IS GOING TO BE CHALLENGING AND TRICKY.
UM, WE HAVE, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, I MADE A RECOMMENDATION FORWARD AROUND WHAT IT WOULD TAKE TO WRITE 10,000 HOTSPOTS AND HAVE HASN'T BEEN TIME FOR THE START SCHOOL, BUT IT'S A SIGNIFICANT DOLLAR INVESTMENT AND IT DOESN'T SOLVE THE LONGTERM PROBLEM.
IT GIVES US TIME TO SOLVE THE LONG TERM PROBLEM WHERE WE MIGHT CONSIDER.
AT WHAT POINT DO WE BELIEVE THAT INTERNET AND INTERNET ACCESS BECOMES A UTILITY AND NOT AN ENHANCEMENT THAT CAN CHOOSE TO PROVIDE IT? IT'S HOW WE DO BUSINESS, EVEN OUR CITY GOVERNMENT THESE DAYS.
UM, I I'M CONFIDENT WITH DEBBIE QUESTIONS, BUT I'LL PAUSE THERE AS, AS AN OVERVIEW.
SO YEAH, I DO HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS AND, UH, I SEE A FEW QUESTIONS IN THE AUDIENCE AS WELL.
UH, I LIKE TO BEGIN WITH ONE QUESTION OF MY OWN AND I'D LIKE TO ASK, AND THIS IS PROBABLY MORE OF A GENERAL QUESTION, BUT JUST TO SPECIFY WHAT YOU STATED, UH, IN TERMS OF DURATION AND SCALE OF A PROBLEM, UH, THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO ADDRESS, UH, WITH THE HOTSPOTS, UH, ASSUMING, UH, ECONOMIC INSECURITY IS THE LONGTERM CHALLENGE THAT AISC WILL NOT BE INVOLVED IN, UH, THAT PUTS FAMILIES IN A SITUATION WHERE THEY DON'T HAVE CONNECTIVITY.
THEN WHAT IS THE LONGTERM GOAL? IF THE SHORT TERM SOLUTION IS IT'S CONSIDERED A BANDAID AND AN ACCESS, UH, AGAIN, I'M, I'M MAKING CERTAIN, CERTAIN ASSUMPTIONS BASED ON, UH, THE POPULATIONS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, THE FAMILIES THAT WE'RE DISCUSSING AND THEIR ECONOMIC SITUATION, UH, WITH ECONOMIC INSECURITY BEING REALLY THE LONGTERM CHALLENGE FOR THOSE FAMILIES.
WHAT IS THE LONGTERM GOAL
UM, AND THIS BEGINS AT THE VERY EARLIEST GRADE LEVELS.
WE, WE, WE WANT TO, UM, CLOSE GAPS, NOT BE A PARTICIPANT AND INCREASING THEM.
UM, BUT IF THE ONLY METHOD WE HAVE OR A HUGE PORTION OF THE METHODS THAT WE HAVE FOR LEARNING IS THROUGH THE INTERNET, EITHER ON A PART TIME BASIS OR ON A FULL TIME BASIS, AS WE, AS WE RESPOND AS A COMMUNITY TO THE, THE COBRA CRISIS.
BUT THEN, UM, IT BECOMES SOMETHING THAT'S A BASELINE.
WE NEED EVERY STUDENT TO HAVE ACCESS AND TO THE EXTENT THEY DON'T HAVE IT, IT IS YET ANOTHER IMPEDIMENT, IT'S ANOTHER BARRIER IN THEIR LIVES.
SO, UM, 100% ACCESS TO THE INTERNET WOULD BE THE ULTIMATE GOAL FOR SURE.
AND A CAREFUL CONSIDERATION OF, OF THAT BEING BOTH ON JUST, UM, MOM OR DAD HAVING A CELL PHONE THAT, UM, MAYBE THIS, MAYBE THE CHILDREN ACCESS IN THE EVENING.
I DON'T THINK THAT'S WHAT WE'RE SAYING WHEN WE SAY FULL INTERNET ACCESS.
UM, AND, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT CHANGES OVER TIME.
SO, UM, I DON'T THINK IT'S ONE SOLUTION IS IT'S JUST DOING IT HOTSPOTS, BUT I THINK THAT IS PART OF A QUICK SOLUTION FOR MANY OF THE STUDENTS, UM, AND, AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHILE WE, UM, WORK
[00:30:01]
TO BUILD OUT SOME INFRASTRUCTURE IN COLLABORATION, PERHAPS LEVERAGING, UM, OUR GATLIN BACKBONE, UM, AND, AND WORKING WITH, UH, COMMITTED CARRIER PARTNERS TO MAKE THIS UBIQUITOUSUH, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THE FOCUS ON THAT.
AND WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO HAND IT OFF TO, UH, I'M NOT SURE WHO RAISE THEIR HAND FIRST.
I I'LL GO AHEAD AND CALL AND COMMISSIONER, UH, NOW SCOOPED UP CAUSE HE'S LEFT HERE.
MR. DASGUPTA
I HAD STARTED TALKING, SO I HAVE A, SORT OF A PREAMBLE I'M RIGHT NOW CO DIRECTOR OF OUR COMPLETE COUNT COMMITTEE SUPPORTING THE CENSUS BUREAU.
AND ONE OF THE AREAS THAT I'VE BEEN SPENDING A LOT OF TIME IS LAMAR RUNDBERG AREA IN DISTRICT FOUR.
THE COUNT OF ALL THE PEOPLE THERE HE'S MISERABLE AND RAINY PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO APPROACH THAT AREA.
IT'S ONE OF THE LOW AREAS IN COMPETING TECHNOLOGY IN THE CITY, SIR, THE CITY, UH, THE AISD HAS GONE AROUND AND DISTRIBUTED COMPUTING EQUIPMENT TO THE STUDENTS, HOPING THAT THEY COULD USE THAT EQUIPMENT TO FINISH THE SEMESTER ONLINE.
THE PROBLEM IS THAT THE TEACHERS DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO USE THE TECHNOLOGY.
SO IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO DISTRIBUTE THE EQUIPMENT TO THE STUDENTS.
YOU HAVE TO EMPOWER THE TEACHERS, THEY NEED TRAINING, AND IT GOT TO BE SO BAD THAT THE STUDENTS STOPPED, YOU KNOW, COULD I, YOU KNOW, CONNECTING TO THE CLASSES, IT HAD TWO DOWNSIDES.
ONE IS THEY DIDN'T LEARN THE MATERIAL BEFORE THE SEMESTER ENDED.
AND SECONDLY, OUR PLAN WAS TO APPROACH THE STUDENTS TO THE SAME PIPE, USE THE TEACHERS AND THE STUDENTS TO APPROACH THE PARENTS.
MANY OF WHOM DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH AND ASK THEM TO FILL OUT THEIR CENSUS FORMS. AND WE FAILED MISERABLY.
IN OTHER WORDS, THERE'S GOING TO BE CENSUS WORKERS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE COFFEE CRISIS GOING AND KNOCKING ON DOORS.
SO IT'S GOING TO AFFECT THE CENSUS WORKERS AND THE FAMILIES.
WE'RE GOING TO BE OPENING THE DOORS.
SO YOU NEED TO MOVE FAST ON THIS
YOU NEED TO GET GOING ON DISTRIBUTING THE EQUIPMENT AND TRAINING THE TEACHERS WITHOUT WHICH THIS EQUIPMENT WILL BE SITTING ON THE SHELF I'M DONE.
UM, I DON'T THINK YOU'LL FIND A PERSON OUTSIDE OF STEVE THAT THINKS WE'RE 100% ONLINE LEARNING IS, IS THE MOST DESIRABLE WAY TO DO THIS, EXCEPT IF IT'S REQUIRED, YOU KNOW, AT PANDEMIC.
UM, BUT KNOWING THAT, THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE ACCESS ITSELF, EVEN AS PART OF A NORMAL, UM, IN-PERSON LEARNING EXPERIENCE IS STILL CRUCIAL.
I THINK THAT'S WHY THIS STILL RISES TO THE TOP.
AND, UM, YEAH, IT'S AN IMMENSE CHALLENGE TO, TO TRY TO HELP TEACHERS MAKE A SIGNIFICANT SHIFT IN THE WAY THAT THEY WORK FOR EMERGENCY EDUCATION SERVICES WITHIN A TWO WEEK WINDOW ACROSS SPRING BREAK.
UM, AND IT'S NOT THAT WE STOPPED IN FACT, PART OF THE PLAN, BUT WE PRESENTED, UM, FOR THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES TO CONSIDER AS PART OF THE BUDGET INCLUDES NOT ONLY THE COMPUTERS, NOT ONLY THE INTERNET ACCESS TO THE EXTENT THAT WE CAN, BUT ALSO SUSTAINED ONGOING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, BOTH FROM THE CURRICULUM DEPARTMENT AND THE TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT TO, TO HELP US CONTINUE TO BE BETTER AT THIS AND CREATE THE BEST POSSIBLE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT WE CAN FOR STUDENTS.
COMMISSIONER GEEKS, DID YOU HAVE A STATEMENT OR QUESTION? YES.
NAMELY DEALING WITH THE SCHOOL BUSES PARKED IN APARTMENT COMPLEXES.
UM, FIRST OF ALL, DO YOU HAVE A LIST OF THE DIFFERENT ADDRESSES OF APARTMENT COMPLEXES WHERE THE SCHOOL BUSES ARE CURRENTLY PARK AND WHO WOULD I CONTACT FOR OUR DISTRICT DISTRICTS THREE? WE BRANDED SOME LOCATIONS, UH, FOR THE SCHOOL BUSES
[00:35:01]
AND THE, I HAVE A TECHNICAL QUESTION ABOUT THE, UH, WHAT IS THE UPLINK FROM THE SCHOOL BUS BACK TO THE INTERNET AND WHAT KIND OF UTILIZATION DO YOU HAVE? SO THOSE ARE A FEW QUESTIONS RIGHT THERE.UM, WE MAINTAIN A WEBSITE THAT IS CURRENT WITH THE LOCATIONS OF ALL THE SCHOOL BUSES.
IT HAS CHANGED OVER, OVER THE COUPLE OF MONTHS WE'VE BEEN RUNNING THIS, UM, IT'S CHANGED FROM CAP METRO JOINED BUS AND BEGAN PROVIDING SERVICES.
WELL, SO THERE'S BEEN, THERE'S BEEN A LITTLE BIT DYNAMIC, UM, BUT WE, WE ARE SOMEWHAT AT, WOULD BE AVAILABLE BEST AS WE'RE RUNNING ABOUT 130 PER DAY.
AND EVEN THOUGH WE HAD NO BUSES IN THAT OUR BEST DRIVERS ARE ACTUALLY DOING MULTIPLE BUNIONS.
THEY'RE DELIVERING COMPUTERS, THEY'RE DELIVERING FOOD.
UM, THEY ARE, UM, THEMSELVES CHALLENGED WITH, WITH THE PANDEMIC.
UM, AND, UH, SO WE HAVE THE CAPACITY FOR THIS.
WE HAVE EXTENDED THE SERVICE THROUGH THE SUMMER.
WE'VE EXPANDED THE HOURS TO SUPPORT, UM, AP TESTING IN SUMMER SCHOOL.
CAT METRO HAS BEEN PHENOMENAL AT EXTENDING THOSE.
I'LL LET THEM TALK THROUGH THAT IN THE MORNING.
UM, AND, UH, BUT I DON'T, I DON'T SEE POSSIBLY THAT IT CAN PROVIDE, UM, COVERAGE ONCE WE START SCHOOL, FOR SURE.
UM, THE, FOR EVERY STUDENT THAT IT SERVES, IF THE LIFELINE, UM, THE NUMBERS ARE STAGGERING, THE HIGH AND LOW AT THE SAME TIME, IT'S LIKE WHAT WE'RE CATCHING OUT OF KIDS, BUT NOTHING NEAR WHAT THE ACTUAL CHALLENGES, UM, IF YOU HAVE IS WHEN YOU THINK WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO SHIP THIS AS ROUND AS THE ALLOCATE THEM TO DIFFERENT AREAS, WE DONE THAT SEVERAL TIMES AND YOU CAN CONTACT ME DIRECTLY IF YOU'D LIKE, OR, UM, I HAVE MEMBERS OF MY TEAM THAT CAN BE AN ONGOING WAY RESPONSIVE TO THOSE, THOSE REQUESTS.
BUT I JUST SAY THAT IT'S, I DON'T WANT TO SAY IT SYMBOLIC BECAUSE IT'S NOT EVERY STUDENT THAT SERVES IS FANTASTIC, BUT I DON'T WANT YOU TO BE COMFORTABLE THINKING THAT WE ACTUALLY SOLVED THE PROBLEM WITH THE SCHOOL BUSES.
SO THE
AND WE HAVE ALWAYS DONE THAT, BUT WE WOULD ACTUALLY TEND OUR SYSTEM TO BROADCAST IT AS FAR OUT AS WE CAN
ONE OTHER QUESTION WAS ABOUT YOUR, UH, OUTREACH TO SAN ANTONIO AND THE THING WE'RE TRYING TO EXPAND THE CONCEPT OF GET TO CLEAN MORE CITIZENS.
AND I WAS WONDERING IF THEY WERE GOING TO COME UP AGAINST SOME LEGAL OBSTACLES THAT WERE PUT IN THE WAY BY CARRIERS SUCH THAT CITIES CANNOT PROVIDE INTERNET ACCESS TO GENERAL CITIZENS.
WHEN WE ARE, WE TRY TO MAKE A SHIFT.
UM, THEY WERE KIND ENOUGH TO REACH OUT TO ME, TO ASK FOR HOW WE WERE STRUCTURED AND, AND THEN SAID, WELL, WE SORT OF HAVE A SIMILAR INFRASTRUCTURE, BUT WE MAY HAVE A LITTLE MORE, UM, ABILITY TO GO AHEAD AND DIRECTLY CONNECTS WITH AND HELP THEM, UM, PROVIDE, YOU KNOW, THIS, THIS, THIS SERVICE.
AND OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE DEALING WITH MULTIPLE SCHOOL DISTRICTS THERE WHERE WE PRIMARILY HAVE ONE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
THE, UH, OBVIOUSLY THE CITY OF AUSTIN COVERS MORE THAN JUST AUSTIN ISD AND AUSTIN, IT COVERS MORE THAN JUST AUSTIN, BUT WE ARE CERTAINLY OUR LARGEST CUSTOMER.
UM, SO SAN ANTONIO HAS A DIFFERENT SITUATION TO TRY TO SOLVE, AND I DON'T KNOW HOW THEY'LL PROGRESS, BUT THEY FEEL THAT THEY CAN SORT OF TAKE A QUANTUM LEAP WITH THEIR THOUSAND MILES OF DARK FIBER ALREADY IN PLACE AROUND THE CITY AND USE THAT TO, UM, HELP, UM, UM, INCREASE COVERAGE.
UM, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS WAS THAT YOU MENTIONED THAT, UM, THE LOCATIONS OF WHERE THE SCHOOL BUSES ARE PARKED IS ON YOUR WEBSITE, UM, IS THAT EASY TO FIND THIS PARTICULAR PAGE? MAYBE YOU CAN SEND THAT LINK TO THE CHAIR AND HE CAN SEND IT AROUND TO US.
AND IF YOU WANT TO LOOK ON YOUR OWN ON OUR HOMEPAGE, THE COVID, UM, UH, SECTION OF OUR WEBSITE HAS AN ONGOING LIST OF RESOURCES SERVICES, INCLUDING THAT BEST LINK, BUT I CAN SEND THAT LINK SPECIFICALLY, UM, TO THE CHAIR.
[00:40:01]
YOU.UH, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR AUSTIN INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT? I KNOW WE STILL HAVE TWO OTHER PRESENTERS HERE, SO I'D LIKE TO GIVE HIM A CHANCE TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS, BUT WE DO HAVE A CONDENSED AGENDA.
SO I DO HAVE A QUESTION, UM, AND I'LL KEEP IT BRIEF, UH, FIRST, THANKS FOR YOUR CARE AND EFFORTS AND SOLVING THIS PROBLEM.
UH, IT'S, YOU KNOW, AFFECTING A LOT OF PEOPLE AND, AND I KNOW THAT EVERYONE HERE RECOGNIZES THAT.
UM, I'M CURIOUS ON HOW, UM, BEHAVIORAL POLICIES IS REFLECTING THE TRANSITION TO FULLY ONLINE LEARNING RIGHT NOW.
UM, AND THAT IS, IS THE DEFINITION OF ON CAMPUS AND ISD RESPONSIBILITY BEING EXTENDED TO THESE SCATTERED ASD PROVIDED NETWORKS, UM, AS WELL AS AN ONLINE CLASSROOM SPACE, UM, AS FAR AS USAGE POLICIES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
THAT IS A VERY INSIGHTFUL QUESTION.
I'LL TRY TO GIVE YOU TWO ANSWERS.
NEITHER ONE MAY BE SUFFICIENT, BUT WE'RE ADAPTING AS WE GO.
UM, YES, AS WE ARE, ARE CLOSED, BUT STILL TEACHING, UM, IT PUT A, PUT AN INTERESTING WRINKLE ON OUR POLICIES AROUND, UM, WHEN WE MIGHT SEND SUPPORTING SERVICES TO A STUDENT.
UM, AND WE CONTINUE TO NAVIGATE THAT SHIP.
UM, I CAN TELL YOU THAT IN TERMS OF DATA, WE HAVE SEEN A REDUCTION IN THE NUMBER OF DATA POINTS WE RECEIVE THAT INDICATE, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, A POTENTIAL SELF HARM TO A STUDENT'S, UH, BEHAVIORS ON THE INTERNET.
BUT I CROSSED THAT JUST BECAUSE WE WERE SEEKING THE DATA DOESN'T MEAN IT'S NOT HAPPENING.
IN FACT, THERE'S GREAT CONCERN THAT STUDENTS MAY HAVE, UM, LESS ABILITY TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES, UH, WHEN THEY'RE, WHEN THEY'RE ONLY AT HOME.
AND SO, UM, WE'RE TRYING TO STAY PARTICULARLY IN TUNE AND PROVIDE WHAT SERVICES WE CAN.
WE'VE ALSO INCREASED AND OUR INCREASE IN SOME OF THE, THE TOOLS THAT WE UTILIZE TO LOOK FOR THESE BEHAVIORS AS IF WE ARE MORE AND MORE RELIANT ON AN ONLINE, UH, PARTIAL, HEAVIER, FULL ENVIRONMENT, UM, WITH A SUITE OF TOOLS SUCH AS GAGGLE THAT HELPS US TO, UM, UH, PRIORITIZE AND GLEAN THE CRUCIAL BITS OF INFORMATION OUT OF, OUT OF THE DATA THAT CG USING OUR SYSTEMS. ALL RIGHT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR AISD? WE PROCEED? YEAH.
AND WHAT I'D LIKE TO ASK AS WELL, UM, I'M SORRY.
I WANTED TO, THIS IS RON DELLA HAWKINS TELECOM AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS.
UH, FIRST I, UM, I WANTED TO MALCOLM YOUR, YOUR QUESTION ABOUT THE SAN ANTONIO MODEL.
UM, I JUST RECENTLY IT WAS ANNOUNCED, AND THIS IS LEVERAGING PERHAPS OFF OF THE CITY NETWORK THAT, THAT KEVIN REFERRED TO THAT THE SAN ANTONIO, UH, THEY ANNOUNCED THAT THEY'RE ALLOCATING, UH, SOMETHING LIKE 29 ARE ALLOCATING SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF MONEY FROM THE CARES ACT FUNDING OR DIGITAL INCLUSION FOR RECOVERY RESILIENCY.
AND THAT'S GOING TO BE A HUGE, UM, YOU KNOW, I MEAN THIS PROVIDING THE CONNECTIVITY AND THE REALLY FOCUSING ON K THROUGH 12.
AND, UM, SO I, I, THIS RECENTLY ANNOUNCED, I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S A LOT OF DETAILS ON THAT, BUT, AND I DON'T KNOW HOW THEY'RE GOING TO BE UTILIZING, WE'RE GOING TO BE BUILDING OUT, YOU KNOW, NETWORK.
I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF THEY HAVE, UM, I MEAN, TO THE EXTENT THAT WE HAVE ON, I MEAN, WE HAVE A VERY EXTENSIVE GADDAM NETWORK COMPARED TO MANY OTHER COMMUNITIES, UM, OR FOR INSTITUTIONAL PURPOSES.
SO I JUST WANT TO ADD THAT THAT'S SOMETHING WE COULD, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT I THINK WE OUGHT TO KEEP MONITOR AND KEEP AN EYE ON.
AND, YOU KNOW, HAVING, UM, YOU KNOW, KEVIN FROM AI STAIN CAPITAL METRO, WE WANTED TO PRESENT TO THE COMMISSION BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THIS IS A COMMUNITY WIDE CHALLENGE THAT HAS TO BE SOLVED, YOU KNOW, BY ALL OF US, FOR DIGITAL INCLUSION AND ADDRESSING DIGITAL DIVIDE AND ASD.
I MEAN, IN SUCH A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME HAD, YOU KNOW, CAME UP WITH THIS INNOVATIVE PLAN FOR THE WIFI AND A BUS AND GETTING CAPITAL METRO AND BOARD THOUGHT IT WAS, UM, IT REALLY JUST SPEAKS TO THE VOLUME OF, UM, HOW CRITICAL AND THE LACK OF CONNECTIVITY TO OUR SCHOOL STUDENTS IS.
AND THERE THOUGHT IT WAS A REALLY EXCITING, GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO HIGHLIGHT IT AND GET THE WORD OUT.
AND COVID-19, I THINK IS REALLY ELEVATED THE, YOU KNOW, LIKE THERE'S A LACK OF CONNECTIVITY AND IT'S CRITICAL.
SO I'M JUST ONE OF THE THANK ASD AND THEN OF COURSE, CAPITAL BUDGET FOR BEING HERE.
SO I JUST WANTED TO, I'VE BEEN LISTENING AND I JUST WANTED TO CHIME IN A BIT, SO THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO FOLLOW UP.
UH, WELL WITH THAT, UH, JOHN, DID YOU WANT TO SEE THAT? I GUESS THE BUMPING, I WAS JUST GONNA MENTION, UM,
[00:45:01]
I'M NOT SURE FROM A TIMING STANDPOINT, WE'D LIKE TO HOLD QUESTIONS UNTIL THE END WHAT'S THE MIGHT MAKE MOST SENSE.SO, UM, WITH THE SHARE OUT, OR JUST GETTING THE INFORMATION THROUGH THE COMMISSION, UM, WITH THE ORTIZ FROM ALFA METRO FOR THE NEXT SLIDE
THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING US THIS TIME TO SHARE HOW CAP METRO HAS, UM, BEEN, BEEN PART OF THIS EFFORT AND THE STORIES WE HAVE HEARD, AND THE LESSONS WE HAVE LEARNED AS WE ARE PROVIDING THIS SERVICE.
SO, AS, AS WE'VE TALKED DURING THE ONGOING COVID-19 PANDEMIC, MANY FAMILIES HAVE BEEN STRUGGLING WITHOUT INTERNET ACCESS TO HOME.
I WORK ON THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TEAM AND THE MORE CONVERSATIONS WE HAVE, THE MORE THIS NEEDS SEEM TO BE AT THE TOP OF PEOPLE'S CONCERN, AS WE'RE ALL BUILDERS, RELYING ON THE CONNECTION TO THE WORLD, UM, BY DOING EVERYTHING VIRTUAL.
AND SO IN AN EFFORT TO HELP STUDENTS SEE APRIL TO DO THEIR SCHOOLWORK, UM, CAP METRO DEPLOYED BUSES, EQUIPPED WITH WIFI HOTSPOTS TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO THE INTERNET IN OUR SERVICE AREA.
AND, UM, WE WERE GRATEFUL THAT AISC ALREADY HAD JUST EIGHT ONGOING LIST OF FIREFIGHT DESERTS.
SO WE, IT WAS EASY FOR US TO IDENTIFY WHERE TO PRIORITIZE OUR BUSES AND REALLY THIS PROGRAM IS, IS POSSIBLE FOR TAT METRO RIGHT NOW, DUE TO THE RICHARD'S SERVICE NEEDS IN OUR DEMAND RESPONSE SERVICE, UM, DURING THE SHELTER IN PLACE ORDERS.
SO NATURAL WITH APRIL TO REPURPOSE OUR METRO ACCESS VEHICLES TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY IN THIS WAY, THE, UH, FACED SOME TECHNICAL CHALLENGES DURING THE PLANNING OR HOTSPOTS AND PARTNERS ORIGINALLY DESIGNED FOR PUBLIC VIEWS.
WE'VE HAD, UH, LIMITATIONS ON WHAT WE CAN PUT ON OUR SPLASH PAGE, FOR EXAMPLE, AND, AND AS FAR AS DATA, WE'RE, WE'RE UNABLE TO BREAK DOWN HOW MANY USERS ARE ON AT ONCE.
WE CAN SAY HOW MUCH BANDWIDTH IS BEING USED, WHICH IS GREAT, BUT WE CAN ONLY GET ROUGH ESTIMATES OF US WHO IS USING IT.
BUT AS IT'S BEEN MENTIONED BY KEVIN, YOU KNOW, EVEN IF IT'S ONE PERSON THAT'S ABLE TO BE CONNECTED, ONE STUDENT IT'S IT'S, IT'S COMPLETELY LIFE CHANGING.
IT'S A GAME CHANGER FOR THAT PERSON.
UM, OTHER CHALLENGES THAT WE HAVE FOUND IS, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A LOT OF VEHICLES THAT WE COULD BE USING, BUT THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION IS WHETHER THE PROPERTY ITSELF CAN HOLD OUR HEAVIER, OUR LARGER HEAVIER BUSES.
AND SO THAT'S WHY WE ARE STICKING TO THE METRO ACCESS VEHICLES, BUT KEEPING IN MIND THAT THERE IS STILL SO MANY MORE PROPERTIES, UM, WHICH ARE APARTMENTS AND, UM, NEIGHBORHOODS THAT COULD STILL USE THE CONNECTION, BUT WE JUST, WE ARE LIMITED, UM, FROM DIFFERENT PLACES ON, ON WHERE WE CAN BE.
AND, AND I RAN IT TO TAKE SOME TIME AND JUST SHARE SOME OF THE STORIES THAT REALLY DROVE US TO, TO ANSWER THIS, THIS NEED IN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, W DURING, YOU KNOW, WE'RE SUPPORTING AISB, UM, WITH BEING ABLE TO BE OUT AT SITES FROM TWO TO 8:00 PM.
AISC IS SERVING AREAS FROM 8:00 AM TO 2:00 PM.
SO THIS WAY WE'RE HELPING STUDENTS BE ABLE TO DO THEIR HOMEWORK.
SO AISC BUSES ARE NO LONGER ON SITE WE'RE ABLE TO COME ON AND CONTINUE THAT SERVICE.
BUT AS, AS THE CO YOU KNOW, AS THE PROGRAM CONTINUED, WE HAD, UM, PROMESSA PUBLIC SCHOOL, WHICH IS THE EAST AUSTIN COLLEGE PREP SCHOOL.
THE PRINCIPAL REACHED OUT, SHE HAD A LIST OF FAMILY TRIP.
IT DON'T HAVE INTERNET AT HOME.
AND WHAT HER STAFF DID IS CALLED, UM, THEIR FAMILIES AND SAID, HEY, TAP METRO VEHICLES WILL BE AT OUR SCHOOL MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY FROM THIS TIME.
AND WE HAVE STUDENTS DOING THEIR HOMEWORK IN CARS, BECAUSE WE ALSO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE A SERIES OF SOCIAL DISTANCING, AND THAT'S, YOU KNOW, A REALLY SAFE WAY TO DO THAT.
SOME STUDENTS ARE COMING CLOSER TO THE VEHICLES WELL, AND WE'RE MAKING SURE THAT THEY, UM, AGAIN, ARE, ARE JUST KEEPING DISTANCE.
BUT WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT DOING HOMEWORK IN YOUR CAR, IT'S JUST NOT THE WAY, THE BEST LEARNING ENVIRONMENT FOR OUR STUDENTS TO EXCEL.
BUT, UM, IT'S A REALITY FOR PEOPLE RIGHT NOW.
AND, UM, THIS MORNING I HAD A CALL WITH COMMUNITIES AND SCHOOLS.
AND SO THEY, UM, ALSO SHARED ABOUT ONE FAMILY WHO HAS FIVE, FIVE CHILDREN.
[00:50:01]
THE, THE DATA HAS A CELL PHONE AND STUFF, AND THE DATA COMING HOME, THAT'S WHEN THE KIDS ARE TRYING TO GET ON HIS CELL PHONE AND, YOU KNOW, DO THEIR CROSSES OR DO THEIR HOMEWORK ONLINE.AND SO THAT IS JUST SUCH A HUGE REALITY FOR PEOPLE.
UM, ADDITIONALLY, AND THEY, I WILL SHARE COMMUNITIES AND SCHOOLS.
THEY ALSO, YOU KNOW, HAVE BEEN WORKING ON HOW TO BRIDGE THIS DIGITAL DIVIDE AND HAVE GIVEN OUT LAPTOP TO OVER 600 OF THEIR STUDENTS ALONG THE HUBSPOT'S, BUT THERE'S STILL SO MANY MORE FAMILIES THAT ARE IN NEED.
AND I FEEL LIKE A LOT OF BREAKING NEWS STATIONS ARE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MEET THE NEEDS OF FAMILIES.
AND THE MORE THAT WE'VE WORKED TOGETHER AND BRING THIS CONVERSATION TO THE FRONT, WE CAN ALL FIGURE OUT A WAY TO DO THIS.
UM, YOU KNOW, BETTER FOR EVERYONE.
UM, AGAIN, IT'S NOT JUST STUDENTS WHO NEED ACCESS TO, UM, ONLINE LEARNING FOUNDATION, COMMUNITIES REACHED OUT AND SAID, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE SITES WHERE THEY WOULD WANT TO DO THE ADULT BOOKSHOP CLASSES, BUT NOT ALL OF THEIR RESIDENTS, ADULT RESIDENTS HAVE INTERNET CONNECTIONS.
WOULD IT BE, WOULD WE BE ABLE TO HAVE OUR VEHICLES, ATHLETES SITES? AND WE THINK WE ARE ABLE TO BE THERE.
AND NOW WE HAVE ADULTS WHO CAN APPLY TO JOBS.
WE HAVE, THEY CAN WORK ON THEIR RESUMES, WHETHER IT IS FROM THEIR HOME OR IN THE LEARNING CENTERS THAT ARE AVAILABLE AT FOUNDATION COMMUNITIES OR VEHICLES PARKED THEM STRATEGICALLY.
UM, SO THAT IT REACHES AS MANY UNITS AS POSSIBLE IN AN APARTMENT COMPLEX, BUT IT'S STILL SOME APARTMENT CONCEPTS THAT ARE TOO BIG AND THE REACH JUST DOESN'T GET TO EPIC.
AND SO AGAIN, PEOPLE ARE HAVING TO LEAVE THEIR HOME AND GET CLOSER TO THE VEHICLE TO BE ABLE TO ACCESS THE INTERNET.
AND, UM, I JUST, I WANT TO REITERATE HOW, UM, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW I GET TO BE IN MY HOME AND BE ABLE TO HAVE THIS CONVERSATION WITH EVERYONE, BUT IT'S JUST NOT POSSIBLE FOR, FOR EVERYONE RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT'S, UH, IT'S BECOME A BASIC NEED, BUT IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT EVERYONE HAS BEEN ABLE TO MEET IN THEIR HOME.
UM, AND THE LONGTERM ISSUE CONTINUES.
YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR, ALTHOUGH OUR SERVICE IN THE COMMUNITY IS TRANSPORTATION.
AND ONCE RIDERSHIP RETURNED, WE WILL HAVE TO END THE PROGRAM AND THE NEED OF STUDENTS, AND EVEN ADULTS WILL NOT GO AWAY.
UM, THE COVID-19 HAS MADE US DEPENDENT ON INTERNET ACCESS AND TO CONTINUE FUNCTIONING AND JUST AS A WORKING SOCIETY.
AND WE SHOULD CONSIDER OTHER WAYS TO, UM, SOLVE THIS PROBLEM, SHARE THAT, UH, IT'S BEEN HEARTBREAKING TO HEAR SOME OF THESE STORIES, UM, BUT IT HAS BEEN AMAZING TO SEE HOW MANY ORGANIZATIONS HAVE COME TOGETHER TO, TO HELP OUT.
AND I WILL STOP NOW AND FEEL, UH, ANSWER QUESTIONS, JAMES SCHROEDER, VP, OR CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER AND CHAD BALLANTINE, OUR VP OF DEMAND RESPONSE AND INNOVATIVE AND INNOVATIVE ABILITY ARE HONEST NOW.
AND WE CAN'T ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE.
I'D LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND BEGIN BY GIVING A COMMISSIONERS THAT HAVEN'T ASKED ANY QUESTIONS YET CHANCE TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS THEY MIGHT HAVE.
WELL, ALTHOUGH I DO HAVE SEVERAL QUESTIONS, THEY ARE MORE LONGTERM.
UH, ONE QUESTION I WOULD LIKE TO ASK PERSONALLY IS, UH, WELL, FIRST OFF, LET ME THANK YOU.
UH, YOU KNOW, AS AISD HAS REALLY MADE THIS A PRIORITY TO HELP THE COMMUNITY, UM, WE ARE THRILLED AS WE FOCUS, OF COURSE, ON THE DIGITAL DIVIDE SQUARELY AS A COMMISSION.
AND, UH, MY MAIN QUESTION IS REALLY WHAT THE FUTURE IN MIND, UH, AND THINGS WE'RE LOOKING TO DO AS A COMMISSION TO SERVE THE STAKEHOLDER COMMUNITY.
I'D LIKE TO ASK ALL OF YOU TO BE PART OF A WORKING GROUP DISCUSSION ABOUT THIS EFFORT AND WAYS THAT WE CAN, UH, IDEATE OR PERHAPS EVOLVE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE WERE WORKING ON AS A COMMISSION IN THIS SPACE.
I WOULD BE HAPPY TO PARTICIPATE THAT PARTICIPATE IN THAT, ESPECIALLY IF IT HELPS INCREASE THE SPEED AT WHICH WE CAN BE RESPONSIVE.
AND THIS IS MELISSA WITH CAP METRO.
BE HAPPY TO BE A PART OF THAT CONVERSATION.
[00:55:01]
YOU SO MUCH.I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT WITH THAT, JOHN, I'D LIKE TO GO OUT AND LET YOU, UH, PROVIDE YOUR PART OF THE PRESENTATION.
AND THIS IS A GREAT SEGUE TO THOSE NEXT STEPS TO BE A SHERPA, AS YOU'VE REQUESTED THE, UH, ONGOING DISCUSSION WITH THE WORKING GROUP IS MOST PRUDENT FROM THERE.
THE COMMISSION CAN'T FORMALLY DEVELOP ANY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FLORIDA LONG TERM OPPORTUNITIES THAT WERE PRESENTED HERE TODAY.
AND REQUEST MORE, UH, ANALYSIS, USABILITY STUDIES AND DETERMINATION OF WHAT WOULD BE REASONABLE TO PROVIDE FOR, UM, AND THAT ECHOES SOME OF THE COMMENTS THAT WERE MADE BY THESE ARE OFFICERS AS IT RELATES TO THE POSSIBILITIES THAT CAN BE EXPLORED WITH STAFF.
OUR RELATIONSHIP TO THE CARES FUNDING ITSELF THAT REMAINS AVAILABLE TO THE COMMUNITY.
AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE JUST HAVE SOME CLARIFYING INFORMATION HERE, AS IT RELATES TO GAP GAP, THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND OUR FISCAL AGENT, WE BOXED THEM THROUGH THE NETWORK MANAGEMENT PROVIDER FOR GAP FOR SORT OF LEVEL OF AGREEMENT, OR JUST MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE PROVIDING SOME INFORMATION AS IT RELATES TO THE NUTS AND THERE.
UM, BUT, UH, WE WILL SUPPORT THE MACHINE WORK GROUP, UH, AS IT RELATES TO THIS ONGOING DISCUSSION.
UM, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO CIRCLING BACK ON A FUTURE, UH, FULL COMMISSION MEETINGS WITH POTENTIAL RECOMMENDATIONS.
COMMISSIONER REINHART IS WAVING FOR QUESTIONS.
UM, THIS, THIS, UM, I'M JUST CURIOUS MAYBE FOR ANY OF OUR PANELISTS TO RESPOND HERE, BUT HAVE WE TESTED THE AVERAGE BANDWIDTH AT THESE LOCATIONS THAT ARE BUSES, WHETHER THEY'RE SCHOOL BUSES OR CAP METRO BUSES, AND DO WE KNOW THE AVERAGE MEGABITS PER SECOND BANDWIDTH REQUIRED TO EFFECTIVELY DO HOMEWORK? SO MY CONCERN ABOUT THE HOTSPOTS AND THE BUSES, THIS IS JUST THE SIGNAL IS NOT GREAT.
IF WE'VE EVALUATED THE QUALITY OF, OF WHAT WE'RE PROVIDING CURRENTLY AND, UM, OKAY.
HAVE WE DONE A COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS WITH JUST, YOU KNOW, COMMITTING TO A MORE ROBUST SOLUTION?
I THINK I CAN MAYBE SPEAK TO THAT A LITTLE BIT.
UM, I WOULD NOT CARE DRIES THE SCHOOL BUS WIFI SYSTEM AS ANYTHING BUT INADEQUATE TO SERVE MULTIPLE STUDENTS IN A VIDEO CONFERENCING TYPE SITUATION FOR REMOTE LEARNING.
IT'S SOMETHING, UM, AND IT'S, IT'S IN MANY CASES, IT'S, IT'S ENOUGH FOR SOME KIDS ON SOMETIMES, BUT AS I'VE SAID THROUGHOUT THIS, IT IS NOT THE SOLUTION.
IT'S ONLY, IT'S ONLY VIABLE IN THIS UNIQUE CIRCUMSTANCE WHERE WE HAVE IDLE FLEET AND THAT'S GOING TO CHANGE.
UM, IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT LIKE A, A FIVE MEGABIT CONNECTION THAT COULD BE SERVING MULTIPLE STUDENTS, THEN WE'RE NOWHERE NEAR WHAT LIKE SET THERE WOULD SAY IS, IS BROADBAND AT 25 NEGATIVE
LET ME JUST TAKE A SHOT AT ANSWERING IT FROM OUR VEHICLE STANDPOINT.
UM, WE RUN WIFI FOR THE PUBLIC ON OUR VEHICLES KIND OF REGULARLY.
AND WE REALLY FIND THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WITHIN 150 TO 200 FOOT, UH, ACCESS REACH OF THE VEHICLE USERS TYPICALLY GET AROUND 34 OF THEM BEG PER YEAR PER USER.
AND THAT'S REALLY FINE FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, INTERNET BROWSING AND EMAILS.
YOU, YOU CAN'T WATCH NETFLIX OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
WE'RE FINDING DOWNLOADS RUN AROUND 12 TO 30 MEGABITS PER SECOND, DEPENDING ON YOU WHERE YOU ARE IN THAT SIGNAL, STRENGTH AND UPLOADS RUN AROUND FIVE TO 10 MEGABITS PER SECOND.
SO WHILE IT ISN'T ADEQUATE TO DO YOUR JOB FOR PERIODIC EMAILS AND INTERNET BROWSING, IT DOES A PRETTY GOOD JOB.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE FOUND WITH OUR TYPICAL GUEST, WHY, AND KIND OF WHAT WE SAW WITH THE BANDWIDTH HUGHES HERE.
WE COULDN'T BRING IT, BREAK IT DOWN TO A PER USER, UM, METRIC.
WE COULD SEE OVERALL THAT PEOPLE WERE USING IT.
SO WE KNOW THAT IT DOES HAVE SOME BENEFITS.
[01:00:04]
NOW MY, I MOVED IN, I SEEN THAT MY MUSIC.
SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK THIS IS A SOMEHOW IN THE KIND OF TIMES YOU IN THIS IS A VERY DESPERATE STEP, BUT AS YOU, AS, AS I HEARD MORE THAN ONCE THAT THIS IS NOT REALLY THE SOLUTION, IT'S REALLY A STOP GAP SOLUTION.
SO WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR BRINGING THE KIND OF HIGH PERFORMANCE, UH, BROADBAND, UH, SOLUTIONS IN THE AREAS THAT WE KNOW NEED HELP? LIKE THIS TRIP? ONE, TWO AND FOUR.
I AM INTIMATELY FAMILIAR WITH DISTRICT FOUR BECAUSE I SPEND A LOT OF TIME LOOKING AT THAT AREA OF, OF, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S A DESERT.
SO HAVING BUSES PARKED THERE IS A TEMPORARY SOLUTION.
SO WHAT IS THE LONGTERM SOLUTION? I WOULD THINK THAT THAT'S WHERE SMALL CELL TECHNOLOGY WOULD GO A LONG WAY TO SOLVING SOME OF THAT PROBLEM WITH THE CITY, BE WORKING WITH THE SMALL CELL PROVIDERS AND TAKE THAT TECHNOLOGY OVER THERE TO DISTRICT FOUR, ONE, TWO, WHAT IS THE STRATEGY LONGER OR SHORTER? REALLY? WE NEED A SOLUTION SHORT TERM TO WHAT IS THE STRATEGY
WELL, I THINK, I THINK THE FIRST THING THAT I WOULD SAY IS THAT, UM, I'M HERE TODAY TO HOPE THAT WE FIND OUT WHAT IS MAYBE OUR STRATEGY AND NOT JUST MY STRATEGY OR
UM, SO THAT'S, THAT'S LIKE STEP ONE IS TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE ALL THE PEOPLE WHO ARE VESTED IN THOSE, UM, AT THE TABLE TO DESIGN A SOLUTION.
I CAN TELL YOU THAT, WELL, WE'VE MAY HAVE GONE EARLY INTO THIS BASED ON OUR CRITICAL NEED.
WE SEE, WE SEE SMALL CELL BEING AN IMPORTANT PART OF THIS.
WE SEE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, MAYBE BEING SERVED BY POINT TO MULTIPOINT SYSTEM, WE SEE FROM A NETWORKING PERSPECTIVE, POTENTIAL FOR THAT TO EASILY BE TIED INTO THE GATTON INFRASTRUCTURE, BUT WE MAY HAVE REGULATORY CHALLENGES TO GET PAST WITH THAT.
UM, WE SEE OUR BUILDINGS SERVING A DUAL PURPOSE.
IN SOME CASES, MAYBE PROVIDING ONE LOCATION FOR ACCESS IS, UM, PRIVATE.
YOU MIGHT HAVE SOME PARTNERSHIPS WITH CARRIERS BECAUSE THEY WANT TO HAVE BETTER SERVICE IN SOME AREAS.
BUT TO YOUR POINT, SIR, UM, THE IMMEDIATE SOLUTION, THE ONLY THING THAT WE CAN REALLY DEPLOY AT SCALE IS THE OPERA WE HAVE ON THE TABLE RIGHT NOW, WHICH IS HOTSPOTS.
AND THOSE ALLOW US TO WORK, WHETHER WE'RE IN HIGH DENSITY AREAS OR WHERE WE ARE IN MORE, UM, MORE, UM, ISOLATED AREAS.
UH, AND AGAIN, IT DOESN'T SOLVE THE WHOLE PROBLEM.
IT'S PROBABLY NOT THE LONGTERM PROBLEM, BUT FOR ME, IT'S A LITTLE HARD TO ONLY LOOK LONGTERM WHEN I'VE GOT 81,000 KIDS COMING BACK IN AUGUST IN SOME FORM OR FASHION, I NEED TO HAVE BOTH.
YOU HAVE THE SHORT TERM AND THE LONG TERM.
AND I SHOULD MENTION, WELL, JOHN, DID YOU HAVE A STATEMENT OR COMMENT? YES, SIR.
THE, UM, AS WELL, THE SOLUTIONS THAT, UH, THE COMMISSION WOULD, UH, CO-CREATE WITH STAFF HERE AND REALLY WHICH REPRESENTS OUR COMMUNITY NEEDS ARE STILL TO BE EXPLORED.
AND AS KEVIN INDICATED, THERE ARE SHORT TERM NEEDS THAT WE NEED, UH, TO ENSURE THAT THE RESOURCES TO ADDRESS ALL THE THINGS GOING BACK TO SCHOOL IN THE FALL AND, UH, THE LONGTERM APPROACH THAT ARE SOMETHING THAT, UM, THE WORKING GROUP AND, UM, START TO PRIORITIZE STAFF AND ALL OF THOSE REPRESENTATIVES HERE TO IDENTIFY WHAT ARE THE MOST SUPPORT PRIORITY TO, UH, IDENTIFY THE LONGTERM.
SO LOOK FORWARD TO THAT, THAT NEXT STEP OF THE WORKING GROUP MEETING TO START.
THANK YOU, JOHN, UH, COMMISSIONER FLOYD, UH, COMMISSIONER SIDE.
DID YOU EITHER WANT TO BE, WANTS TO ASK A QUESTION OR MAKE A STATEMENT AND THEN PUT THINGS ONLINE? THANK YOU.
I'D LIKE TO ECHO JOHN'S SENTIMENTS, UM, THAT WE'RE, WE ARE REALLY AT THE PRECIPICE.
I THINK OF DOING SOME,
UH, US BEING PART OF THAT CONVERSATION IS A HUGE PART OF THAT.
[01:05:01]
THE COMMITMENT THAT METRO AISD AND OTHER PARTNERS TO HAVE THAT VIA TAKE WITH US, OR THAT CONVERSATION IS A HUGE EVOLUTION OF THAT.SO I JUST WANT TO OFFER SOME COMFORT THAT IT SEEMS WE'RE DOING THE RIGHT THINGS AND THE THINGS YOU WANT IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
EVEN THOUGH WE ALL UNDERSTAND THAT WHERE CRISIS IS AT HAND, UH, EVERYONE ON THIS CALL AND THEN CERTAINLY, UH, EVERYONE WE'VE WORKED WITH HERE AS STAKEHOLDERS.
SO UNLESS THERE ARE ANY MORE QUESTIONS I'LL GO AHEAD AND PROCEED IN THE AGENDA.
I'VE GOT SOME QUESTIONS HERE JUST TO BE CLEAR, BUT WE NEED TO MAINTAIN THE SCHEDULE HERE.
UM, IF YOU COULD JUST GO AHEAD AND PROVIDE YOUR, YOUR QUESTION AND THEN LET ME MANAGE THE FOLLOWUP, UH, UNLESS, UH, WE NEED TO DRILL DOWN FURTHER.
THE QUESTION IS INSTALL A LIST OF CITY BUILDINGS WHERE THERE'S CURRENTLY, WHY FIVE SERVICE THAT IS AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC.
AND IS IT THIS LIST ON THE CITY WEBSITE WHERE IT COULD BE ACCESS
IT'S WE CAN PROVIDE YOU THAT INFORMATION, UM, AS IT RELATES TO THE PUBLIC WIFI
WELL WITH THAT THEN, UH, RUN BELLA.
AND DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY STATEMENTS OR COMMENTS HERE ON BEFORE WE PROCEED? OKAY.
QUICK TIME CHECK FOR EVERYONE.
WE'RE 15 MINUTES AND WE DON'T HAVE MUCH OVERTIME IS MY UNDERSTANDING, IS THAT CORRECT, JESSE? THAT IS CORRECT.
UM, WE NEED TO BE AS PROMPT AS WE CAN.
SO LET'S GO AHEAD AND PROCEED, UH, AS WE ALL AGREED.
UH, BUT ONCE AGAIN, BEFORE WE PROCEED.
I LIKE TO THANK, UH, MELISSA, JOHN, UH, JANE.
UM, I FEEL LIKE I'M MISSING ONE PERSON, JAKE, KEVIN, SORRY, KEVIN, UH, AS WELL, REALLY APPRECIATE YOU.
I'LL BE ON THE CALL REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT FOLLOW UP AT THE WORK LEVEL.
WE'LL BE IN TOUCH WITHIN THE NEXT YES, SIR.
UH, FOUR OR FIVE DAYS TO SCHEDULE THAT.
I THANK YOU FOR THE TIME TODAY.
AND WITH THAT, THEN WE'LL GO AHEAD AND PROCEED TO BACK TO A NEW BUSINESS AND WHAT WAS ORIGINALLY
[Item 2B]
TO BE THE CITY OF AUSTIN WEB SITE STATUS.UH, AS, UH, COMMISSIONER GUIRO HAD ASKED EARLIER, WE WILL NOT BE HAVING A PRESENTATION ON THIS TODAY.
UH, ALTHOUGH WE HAVE REACHED OUT TO THE APPROPRIATE DEPARTMENTS FOR AN UPDATE, UH, THIS WAS BROUGHT ON BY PUBLIC INFORMATION ABOUT, CAN I, UH, A WEBSITE OUTAGE AND A CLAIM BY AN ORGANIZATION, UH, THAT THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR IT.
UH, WE REACHED OUT FOR AN OFFICIAL STATEMENT THAT WE COULD SHARE IN THIS COMMISSION MEETING WITH PUBLIC AND UNFORTUNATE.
WELL, WE DO KNOW THAT THEY ARE WORKING TOWARDS RESOLVING IT, AND THAT IS MOST RECENT UPDATE THAT I HAVE, UH, WITH THAT BEING SAID, I'D LIKE TO EXTEND THE OPPORTUNITY FOR THE CITY STAFF.
ANYTHING LIKE TO ADD TO THAT, UH, WHEN IT COMES TO THE, THE CITY'S RESPONSE OR THE FACTS THAT WE SHARE, I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING SIGNIFICANT TO ADD CHAIR PITS, BUT, UH, THE, THE DISRUPTION, ALL THAT I KNOW ABOUT THE DISRUPTION WAS THAT IT SEEMED TO BE FAIRLY QUICK AND MINOR, UM, AND, AND SURFACE LEVEL.
BUT I WOULD LIKE TO STILL HEAR FROM, UH, IF THERE'S LIKE AN INCIDENT REPORT FROM THE CHIEF INFORMATION SECURITY OFFICER THAT WE CAN TAP INTO, PERHAPS THANK YOU.
AND I THINK THAT DOES PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR FUTURE ANALYSIS, OBVIOUSLY, BUT EVEN PERHAPS OFFICIAL REPORT, UM, AS, OKAY.
I BELIEVE WE HAVE CONSIDERED AT THIS STAGE, UM, OR PERHAPS EVEN MAYBE STARTED WORKING TOWARDS, UH, MAYBE IT WILL BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM TO COME AND PRESENT IT, TO SHARE MORE DETAILS ABOUT THAT OUTAGE AND OTHER THINGS PERTAINING THE WEBSITE.
UNLESS THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS OR FURTHER DISCUSSION AMONGST THE COMMISSION, WE'LL PROCEED NOW ON TO AGENDA ITEM, ORIGINAL
[Item 2C]
AGENDA ITEM TWO, SEE WORK PLAN, RETREAT PLANNING.SO AS MANY OF US ON, ON THE CALL NOW ARE AWARE FOR PREVIOUS YEARS, WE NORMALLY
[01:10:01]
HAVE A DEDICATED WORK PLAN RETREAT AS A COMMISSION.UH, THIS IS ONE WHERE WE GO AND WE SIT IN THE CONFERENCE ROOM TOGETHER TYPICALLY, AND WE IDEATE ON THE WORKING GROUP GOALS.
UH, THE KEY OBJECTIVES OF THE COMMISSION.
I WILL TAKE A LOOK AT OUR PREVIOUS YEAR, AND THEN WE LOOK TO TRY TO, OKAY, GAIN FOCUS AND DIRECTION AND CLARITY ABOUT WHAT TO DO.
AND THE NEXT YEAR WE'RE CLEARLY DEALING WITH THE NEW NORMAL, AND THAT IS WHY WE'RE MEETING REMOTELY NOW.
AND THAT THEN PUTS US IN A SITUATION OF NEEDING TO PROCEED WITH OUR PLANNING, BUT TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE'RE GOING TO EXECUTE THAT AND A LOT OF OUR RESTRICTIONS.
SO I WANTED TO DISCUSS THAT IN THIS SESSION BECAUSE WE ALL HAVE TO BE WILLING TO OBVIOUSLY COMMIT TO THE TIME THAT WILL BE REQUIRED FOR THIS EXERCISE, UH, AND TO BE ABLE TO SCHEDULE A TIME AS WELL.
SO I KNOW THAT THIS COULD BE A DISCUSSION THAT INVOLVES, UH, AND ANALYSIS OF PLATFORMS. I WOULD NOT LIKE TO GET TOO FAR DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE AND DISCUSSING PLATFORMS BEYOND, UH, EMBRACING WHAT WE HAVE ALREADY UTILIZED AT THE CITY LEVEL AND AT THE WORK GROUP LEVEL OF MAKING THE MOST OF TEAMS
SO WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO OPEN IT UP TO ANY INITIAL THOUGHTS OR QUESTIONS ABOUT A WORK PLAN RETREAT AND LEVERAGING A TEAM'S PLATFORM, OR WHAT WOULD TYPICALLY BE A TWO TO THREE HOUR SESSION IN PERSON
SO I THINK THAT IN ORDER TO MAKE THE MOST EFFECTIVE USE OF OUR TIME, WE SHOULD HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF PREPARATION IN ADVANCE, SUCH AS SHARING WITH THE ENTIRE COMMISSION.
EVERYONE'S THE THING SHOULD BE ACCOMPLISHED.
AND THEN ONCE, SO WE CAN HAVE A
THEN I THINK WE'D BE BETTER PREPARED FOR FUTURE MEETING TO DISCUSS THE GOALS.
ANYONE ELSE LIKE TO ADD TO THAT? YES.
I THINK TODAY'S PRESENTATIONS ARE A WONDERFUL WINDOW INTO NEXT YEAR'S PLANS.
HOW WE EDUCATE OUR CHILDREN, HOW WE MAKE TECHNOLOGY AVAILABLE TO THEM.
IT SHOULD BE ONE OF THE INCIDENT.
ONE OF THE HOT, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE HIGH PRIORITY ITEMS THAT WE HAVE TO TAKE FORWARD COVID-19 HAS OPENED OUR EYES TO THIS, THIS, YOU KNOW, THE DIGITAL DIVIDE IS AFFECTING CHILDREN IN THIS CITY, THE CITY THAT IS SO TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED, THERE ARE CHILDREN WHO ARE LACKING IN ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT AND TEACHERS WHO ARE ALSO LACKING THE ABILITY TO EXPLORE THAT TECHNOLOGY.
SO I THINK WE NEED TO COME UP WITH A STRATEGY OR AT LEAST WORK WITH THE CITY TO COME UP WITH A ROADMAP THAT WE CAN ADOPT VERY QUICKLY.
I THINK THAT HAS TO BE ONE OF THE DISCUSSION ITEMS, FIRE, OR A PLANNING MEETING.
AND I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT WE SORT OF FIND OUT WHAT IS OUT AVAILABILITY FOR A THREE HOUR SLOT, BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS CAN WE GET ACCESS TO GET THIS MEDIUM FOR THREE HOURS? AND I THINK THAT IS SOMETHING JESSE HAS TO GIVE US INPUT ON WHERE THE WINDOWS OF OPPORTUNITY THAT WE CAN GET THREE HOURS.
MAYBE WE CAN CONNECT LIKE THIS.
IS THAT A THING YOU A GOOD PLANNING ON FACE TO FACE MEETING? RIGHT.
WELL, LET ME CHECK IN ON THAT.
UH, I DO WANT A LOT OF JESSIE, A CHANCE TO ANSWER THE QUESTION, UH, BUT I DO WANT TO, UH, CLARIFY THAT WE DON'T HAVE THE SAME REQUIREMENTS, UH, UH, PLATFORM AND OUR WORKING GROUPS THAT WE HAVE FOR THESE OFFICIAL PUBLICIZED MEETINGS.
SO AS WE HAVE USED TEAMS AT THE WORKING GROUP LEVEL, I AM CONFIDENT WE CAN USE TEAMS FOR OUR WORK PLAN RETREAT, AND I'M ADVOCATING THAT WE DO THAT AND NOT MAKE THIS PLATFORM DISCUSSION.
HAVING SAID THAT I'D LIKE FOR JESSE TO CHIME IN AND TO CONFIRM MY EXPECTATIONS AND THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS.
UH, THE QUICK ANSWER IS THAT IF THIS IS NOT A BROADCAST, UH, MEETING, THEN WE CAN USE WHICHEVER PLATFORM WE'D LIKE.
WE HAVE ACCESS TO, UH, UH, A TYRA WEB X ACCOUNT THAT WE CAN TAP INTO.
WE ALSO HAVE MICROSOFT TEAMS THAT WE CAN, UH, UTILIZE FOR THIS TYPE OF A MEETING.
AND IF WE NEED TO BROADCAST, THEN IT WOULD BE THROUGH WEBEX
[01:15:01]
AND THE NEED TO BROADCAST, OR NOT AS SOMETHING THAT I WOULD LIKE TO TOUCH BASE WITH STEPHANIE BEFORE I, UH, OFFER A FINAL, UH, UH, OPINION ON THAT.UH, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, UH, UH, OR RATHER ANY OTHER THOUGHTS SHORT OF OUR NEED TO ACTUALLY AGREE TO, UH, WHEN WE CAN COMMIT TO THREE HOURS AND SCHEDULING THAT BEING OUR NEXT PRIORITY, WOULD IT BE KIND OF GOING OFF OF WHAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT PREPPING, WOULD IT BE HELPFUL TO MEET AS WORKING GROUPS AND THEN HAVE SPECIFIC THINGS TO ROLL UP?
WELL, I DEFINITELY THINK IT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
UH, AND, AND I'VE GOT A VERY SPECIFIC AND DIRECT ANSWER TO IT.
IT DEPENDS ON THE WORKING GROUP
FOR SOME OF THOSE GROUPS MIGHT BE AS BIG OF A CHALLENGE AS IT WAS, AS IT WOULD BE TO SCHEDULE A THREE HOUR RETREAT.
UM, SO I GUESS WHAT I WOULD SAY THEN I WOULD DEFINITELY NOT LIKE TO SACRIFICE COMMITMENT TO THE MITRE AND LITTLE WORKING GROUP, BUT IF MEMBERS OF THOSE WORKING GROUPS THAT COMMIT TO VOTE, THAT WOULD BE WONDERFUL.
I KNOW I'VE KIND OF FALLEN OFF BECAUSE OF COVID AND MY BUSINESS HAS BEEN VERY BUSY.
SO AM I APOLOGIES? CHAIR PITS? YEAH.
WELL, I APPRECIATE THE THOUGHTS.
I THINK THE FACT IS WE'RE ALL, UH, YOU KNOW, STRETCHED IN UNIQUE WAYS BECAUSE OF THIS.
AND I FEEL CONFIDENT THAT WE'RE ALL COMMITTED YET TO SERVE.
AND SO WITH THAT, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, IF PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO, TO SPEND THE TIME AND I THINK IT REALLY WOULD MAKE SOME SENSE, BUT IF NOT, IF, IF THEY REALLY DON'T HAVE THE TIME AND THAT'S OKAY TOO, IF YOU JUST PRIORITIZE PUTTING ALL OF OUR HEADS TOGETHER, UH, AT THREE HOUR SESSION.
SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, THEN WHAT I PROPOSE WE DO IS TO THEN HAVE THE WORKING GROUP CHAIRS, UH, INITIATE A BEAUTIFUL PROCESS RIGHT AWAY TO MEET WITH YOUR WORKING GROUPS AND FOR US TO HAVE THAT PROCESS COMPLETED BY AN AGREED UPON A DATE THAT WE ALL TALK ABOUT NOW.
SO THAT WAY, AT THE VERY LEAST, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT SCHEDULING THE RETREAT, WE KNOW THAT ALL OF THE WORKING GROUP SESSIONS HAVE TAKEN PLACE.
UM, AND AS I THINK ABOUT THAT, WE MAY HAVE A LITTLE DIFFICULTY CONFIRMING THAT DATE NOW BECAUSE WE STILL NEED TO HAVE JESSE CONFIRM ABOUT RECORDING AND BROADCASTING, WHICH WERE CLEARLY AFFECTED DATE, RIGHT.
SO I STILL WOULD LIKE FOR EVERYONE AT THE WORKING GROUP LEVEL TO BEGIN THAT BEAUTIFUL PROCESS, AND IF YOU COULD PERHAPS PRIORITIZE GETTING THEM DONE OR SCHEDULED IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS, THAT WAY WE'VE GOT ANOTHER COUPLE OF WEEKS TO WORK WITH IN TERMS OF THE WORK PLAN, RETREAT SCHEDULE BEING AROUND WHEN OUR NEXT MEETING WOULD TAKE PLACE.
SO I HOPE THAT MAKES SENSE BECAUSE WE'VE GOT TO NAVIGATE A FLAT SCHEDULE WHERE WE'RE TOLD WHEN WE CAN MEET AS A COMMISSION AND THEN HAVE TO GO BACK TO THE COMMISSIONERS TO THEN CONFIRM FORM BEFORE ACTUALLY SCHEDULING.
SO AS WE'VE DONE FOR THE PREVIOUS COUPLE OF MEETINGS, I'D LIKE TO DO THAT FOR THE WORK PLAN RETREAT, WHICH WOULD BE THE NEXT MEETING.
HOWEVER, IN THE MEANTIME, THE GOAL IS TO HAVE THOSE WORKING GROUP MEETINGS DONE, UH, OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS, IF THAT SOUNDS AMENABLE TO EVERYONE
SO I HAVE A QUESTION HERE, CAN THE MEMBERS OF THE WORK GROUP THEN PASS EMAILS TO EACH OTHER WITHOUT HAVING TO GO TO THE ENTIRE COMMISSION, AS LONG AS WE MAINTAIN THAT MUSCULAR CORE? IS THAT CORRECT? THE ANSWER IS YES.
AND THAT'S MAINLY BECAUSE WE HAVE THE WORKING GROUP SITUATED TO DEAL WITH THE QUORUM.
SO EVERY WORKING GROUP ONLY HAS, UH, THE
SO AS LONG AS THE COMMUNICATIONS ARE WITHIN THE WORKING GROUP AND OR THE CITY STAFF, THERE WOULD BE NO FORM ISSUES.
[01:20:02]
OKAY.UM, WOULD IT BE REASONABLE TO TRY AND SPLIT THIS ONE, THREE HOUR MARATHON SESSION INTO TWO, ONE AND A HALF HOUR SESSIONS THAT MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT EASIER FOR THE COMMISSION MEMBERS TO HANDLE? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
AND I THINK IT DEPENDS ON WHAT JESSICA COMES BACK AND TELLS US, UH, AS FAR AS WHETHER OR NOT THAT WILL BE THE STRATEGIC APPROACH.
I DEFINITELY AGREED THAT, UH, THREE HOURS IN AN ONLINE MEETING CAN BE VERY TOUGH.
IT'D BE BETTER FOR US TO BREAK IT UP.
I STILL DON'T KNOW YET IF WE'LL BE ABLE TO HAVE TWO SEPARATE MEETINGS, UH, BASED ON THE CURRENT PARAMETERS
BUT I WILL SAY THAT IT'S STILL, OUR PLAN STILL REQUIRES THAT WE, IN ORDER TO MAKE THE MOST OF THAT ONE TO THREE HOUR, UH, ONE, TWO, THREE MEETINGS, UM, WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THE WORKING GROUP SESSIONS COMPLETED AND THAT BACK AND FORTH WITHIN THE WORK GROUP STUFF, LET'S STILL MAKE STEP A VERY NEXT FARTY OR WORK AND RETREAT PLANNING.
SO TO SUMMARIZE, JUST TO MAKE SURE I HAVE IT CORRECT, WE WENT TWO MINUTES LEFT, WE'RE ALL GOING TO GO BACK, TALK TO OUR WORKING GROUPS, TO DECIDE ONE CONTENT AND PLANS AND THINGS THAT ARE OUR GOALS.
UM, AND WE'RE ALSO GOING TO START ORGANIZING A TIME POTENTIALLY TO MEET AS A WORKING GROUP PRIOR TO THE WORKING PLAN.
JESSE'S GOING TO GO AND SEE IF WE CAN MAYBE SPLIT UP THIS MEETING.
UM, AND, AND ALSO IF THIS WORKING FOR TREAT MEETING NEEDS TO BE RECORDED OR NOT, OR BROADCASTED OR NOT, UH, AT WHICH POINT WE WILL TAKE A POLL WITHIN OUR WORKING GROUPS, UM, AND DECIDE UPON A TIME OR THOSE THAT MEETING OR THOSE MULTIPLE MEETINGS.
OKAY, SIR, AS I REMEMBER IT, NONE OF THE OTHER WORK, UH, PLANNING MEETINGS WERE EVER RECORDED.
UM, LIKE THERE WAS SOME MINUTES MAYBE, BUT NOTHING OFFICIALLY LIKE VIDEO RECORDED.
THEY HAVEN'T BEEN VIDEO RECORDED.
AND THAT'S REALLY THE POINT OF CLARIFICATION THAT I NEED TO FIND OUT IS, UH, IF WE WERE FULLY, UH, EXEMPT FROM RECORDING REQUIREMENTS AND WE JUST DID IT, UH, TO BE SAFE, OR IF THERE, IF WE DO HAVE TO HAVE THE SESSIONS RECORDED, IN WHICH CASE THE ADDITIONAL LIMITATIONS MIGHT, MIGHT COME IN,
UM, AND
AND THEN THEY'LL ALLOW US THE OPPORTUNITY BEYOND THE TOPICAL AREAS THAT COVER EVERY WORKING GROUP IN THESE PRESENTATIONS TO THEN BE EXPANDED UPON IN OUR NEXT COMMISSION MEETING.
UH, OUR APOLOGIES AS WE ARE CONVINCED SCHEDULE TO THE COMMUNITY FOR NOT BEING ABLE TO EXTEND THIS BEAUTY FURTHER AND TO GO ON TO FURTHER COMMISSION UPDATES, HOWEVER, THESE UPDATES WILL BE AGAIN, EXPANDED UPON IN OUR NEXT MEETING.
WELL, YES, I AM HAPPY TO DO THAT.
UH, AND TO BE CLEAR, IT IS IMPORTANT FOR THE WORKING GROUPS TO DELIBERATE, UH, AND THEN TO SHARE THOSE CONSENSUS AND OR INDIVIDUAL FINDINGS, UH, THEY DON'T HAVE TO BE CONSENSUS NECESSARILY, BUT TO DELIBERATE FIRST AND THEN SHARE IT WITH JESSE.
SO THE CHAIR SHOULD BE PLAYING A KEY ROLE AND THAT WAY JESSE'S NOT OVERWHELMED WITH THAT PROCESS.
SO WITH THAT, UH, UH, REGRETTABLY AGAIN, WE'RE OUT OF TIME, UH, I'D LIKE TO ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO ADJOURN BASED ON OUR TIME LIMITATIONS.
I SECOND MOTION TO ADJOURN WAS MADE BY COMMISSIONER.
[01:25:01]
ALL IN FAVOR OF ADJOURNMENT, PLEASE SAY, AYE, AYE.OPPOSED, AND NO EXTENSIONS EITHER WITH THAT.
I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE FOR YOUR ATTENTION.
YOU'VE BEEN STANDING THERE LOOKING, OH, NO, GO ON HOME.